"Here's to all the plucky machines that have tangled with Mars and ultimately lost. Goodbye, Opportunity. Godspeed, Beagle 2. We hardly knew you, Schiaparelli. And now we must bid farewell to the "mole" part of NASA's InSight lander mission… The lander itself is fine and healthy and still studying marsquakes, but the mole's efforts to dig into the red planet have been stymied every step of the way. On Thursday, NASA announced the end of the mole's journey."
The cat came back… "A calico cat named Patches had belonged to Josie Gower, one of the 23 people killed in the mudslides that hit Santa Barbara, Calif., in January 2018. Patches was thought to have died too… But in December, Patches was found alive and roaming around the same area she disappeared in."
"Many U.S. pharmacies, including those inside Kroger Co supermarkets and the drugstore chain of CVS Health Corp, say they will not be checking IDs before administering COVID-19 vaccines, leaving the door open to those who do not meet states’ guidelines to jump the line."
"Dr. Michelle Maloney, executive director of addiction services at Rogers Behavioral Health, said for many people, the pandemic has amplified mental health and financial issues. And social isolation has also increased the risk of dying from an overdose."
"For the first time, a medication regime has been found effective for some patients with meth addiction in a large, placebo-controlled trial… It's welcome news for those working with the growing number of people struggling with meth addiction."
"U.S. retail sales declined further in December as renewed measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 undercut spending at restaurants and reduced traffic to shopping malls, the latest sign the economy lost considerable speed at the end of 2020… Retail sales dropped 0.7% last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Data for November was revised down to show sales declining 1.4% instead of 1.1% as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales unchanged in December."
"Even as people continue to splurge on shopping, they have cut back on going out to eat and shop. Plus, the earlier-than-usual holiday shopping season meant online shopping as well sales of electronics and appliances dipped in December. Gas stations saw the biggest jump in spending last month, up 6.6%, as people traveled for holiday visits despite health warnings."
But on Bullshit Mountain… "U.S. equity markets were mixed Friday morning after details of President-elect Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package underwhelmed investors and the big banks kicked off earnings season." No one else but Fox is making that connection. And I'll note that part of the stock market run up to this point was in anticipation of the relief bill.
"At least 42 people were killed and hundreds more injured after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's Sulawesi island early Friday, the country's disaster mitigation agency said."
"The whole Dutch government collectively resigned on Friday after a scandal involving the mismanagement of childcare funds, which drove thousands of families into financial hardship… An investigation revealed in December that tax officials wrongly accused thousands of working families of fraud and ordered them to repay childcare benefits between 2013 and 2019. The event has been described as an 'unprecedented injustice' by some Dutch lawmakers."
"When schools shut down in the spring, that raised immediate worries about the nearly 30 million children who depend on school food. Those worries were essentially borne out, with researchers reporting a large rise in child hunger."
"Former national security adviser John Bolton can seek evidence about the classification process around his book in case there was bad faith decision-making by the White House and intelligence community meant to protect President Donald Trump politically, a federal judge ruled on Thursday."
"Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions knew his "zero tolerance" policy on illegal entry along the Southwest border in 2018 would separate children from their parents, a watchdog office reported on Thursday. Despite warnings that the government couldn't care for the children, he pushed forward with the policy. As a result, more than 3,000 children were separated from their families."
"In recent weeks, Geauga County residents have reported a series of explosions outside of Chardon, in Hambden Township and Claridon Township… The Geauga County Sheriff said the explosions, in the area of Sisson Road and state Route 608, have homeowners on edge."
"A Delaware County man linked to the white supremacist Proud Boys has been charged with assaulting three Capitol Police officers with a fire extinguisher during last week’s violent riots at the U.S. Capitol."
"Federal prosecutors have offered an ominous new assessment of last week’s siege of the US Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters, saying in a court filing that rioters intended 'to capture and assassinate elected officials'… Prosecutors offered that view in a filing asking a judge to detain Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man and QAnon conspiracy theorist who was photographed wearing horns as he stood at the desk of the vice-president, Mike Pence, in the chamber of the US Senate." And yet we're accommodating this lunatic's dietary preferences in jail. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.
"Earlier this week, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) added his voice to unverified Democrat allegations that Republican lawmakers showed insurrectionists around the Capitol building a day before it was stormed by a mob."
"'Guys were like grabbing gear off my vest,' he said. 'I remember guys chanting, like "Kill him with his own gun!"'"
"The formation, known as 'Ranger File,' is standard operating procedure for a combat team that is 'stacking up' to breach a building — instantly recognizable to any U.S. soldier or Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a chilling sign that many at the vanguard of the mob that stormed the seat of American democracy either had military training or were trained by those who did."
"US Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman has been hailed as an American hero for leading a growing mob away from the Senate chambers during last week's attack on the Capitol… Now, a bipartisan trio of lawmakers wants to recognize Goodman with a Congressional Gold Medal for potentially saving lives on one of the darkest days in US history."
"To many Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, there's no question in their minds: President Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses… But getting McConnell and at least 16 other Republicans to convict Trump after he's left office is another question entirely." So much for Law and Order.
"Some Republicans who broke from the GOP to back the Democrats' historic second impeachment resolution for President Trump are facing heat from their local Republican parties for how they voted." It's time to end the GOP.
"What We Know So Far: A Timeline Of Security At The Capitol On January 6"
"One week after a pro-Trump mob ransacked the US Capitol, federal officials reiterated a warning in a call with law enforcement leaders across the country, saying they remain concerned about the prospect of extremists appearing at planned rallies and conducting violence… Security is also ramping up in battleground states that were crucial to President-elect Joe Biden's presidential victory, with governors activating the National Guard, closing capitols, erecting fences and barriers and, in at least two cases, boarding up windows."
"Instructed not to use any of the half-dozen bathrooms inside the couple’s house, the Secret Service detail assigned to President Trump’s daughter and son-in-law spent months searching for a reliable restroom to use on the job, according to neighbors and law enforcement officials. After resorting to a porta-potty, as well as bathrooms at the nearby home of former president Barack Obama and the not-so-nearby residence of Vice President Pence, the agents finally found a toilet to call their own."
"The rehearsal for the inauguration ceremony will be delayed a day amid heightened security concerns, acting Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli told CNN Friday morning… 'It is going to take place on Monday, is the current schedule. Secret Service is in charge of running that schedule, but that's done in partnership with Biden team, and it was their decision to delay a day,' Cuccinelli told CNN's John Berman on 'New Day.'"
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