Pelé, and so it goes.
"Millions of people hunkered down against a deep freeze Sunday to ride out the winter storm that has killed at least 34 people across the United States and is expected to claim more lives after trapping some residents inside houses with heaping snow drifts and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses."
"Roads reopened Thursday in storm-besieged Buffalo as authorities continued searching for people who may have died or are stuck and suffering after last week’s blizzard."
"About 20 minutes later, the 'NHS-NoReply' number messaged: 'Please accept our sincere apologies for the previous text message sent. This has been sent in error. Our message to you should have read We wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.'"
"When the man known as 'father of genetics' turns 200, how do you celebrate?… By digging up his body and sequencing his DNA, of course."
"The U.S. Justice Department is suing one of the nation's largest corporations, drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen, for allegedly fueling the nation's deadly opioid crisis… In its complaint, DOJ officials said the company failed to report the diversion of 'hundreds of thousands' of prescription opioid medications shipped to pharmacies."
"Economists are baffled by a wider-than-usual divergence between long-term mortgage rates and the yield on the benchmark U.S. government bond that is driving a sharp rise in borrowing costs and helping to torpedo the U.S. housing market this year."
"As if canceled flights and lost luggage weren't enough of a hassle, would-be Southwest Airlines passengers faced another hurdle to their holiday travel this week: High fares on other carriers."
"The $1.7 trillion spending bill President Biden is expected to sign into law this week includes several key provisions that are meant to make it easier for workers to save for retirement… This comes as more Americans are working later in life, often unable to get by on Social Security and retirement savings. By 2030, the number of people age 75 years and older who will be working or looking for work is expected to grow by 96.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics."
"Republicans are planning to use their control of the House of Representatives in 2023 to intensify attacks on companies that account for climate-related risks when they're making investment decisions." Conservatives are all about free commerce and allowing businesses to do what they want… right up until it makes them look bad. There is no reason for a response to ESG investment options. No one is forced to use them, no business is forced to adopt environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. But it looks bad that these ESG focused funds did better than others this past year, and that companies may adopt better business practices to get into these portfolios… but most importantly fossil fuel companies will find it difficult to qualify. Again, the conservatives are going to interfere in the free operation of markets and market forces because it doesn't benefit them. That's how thin their ideology is. Notice no conservative voices calling for investigation into Southwest Airlines or any of the heinous fuckery around airlines violating the rules on flight cancellations.
"The first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana in New York rung up its first sales on Thursday, opening up what is expected to be one of the country’s most lucrative markets for cannabis — underscored by the dozens of unauthorized shops that have operated in the open for years."
"Amid the political chaos following the ousting of Peru’s President Pedro Castillo, lawmakers in the country’s congress are quietly trying to pass a bill into law that would strip 'uncontacted' Indigenous people of protection and dismantle existing reserves created for them." More of the story of what is happening in Peru. As a reminder, Pedro Castillo was Peru's first indigenous president.
"Under the cover of darkness on the night of March 27, 2017, housing activists snuck past the guards of two government-owned buildings in central Cape Town — a derelict hospital and an abandoned nursing home — and took up residence. The activists, who belong to a social movement called Reclaim the City, were protesting gentrification and what they saw as the government's failure to provide affordable housing in what remains, nearly three decades after the end of apartheid, a deeply divided city."
"Automakers are preparing for electric vehicles, currently around 6% of new vehicle sales in the United States, to conquer a huge share of the market in just a few years. That means companies will need a tremendous number of batteries… The think tank Atlas Public Policy recently tallied all the announced projects located in the United States… the group counted more than $128 billion of announced investments into electric vehicle plants, battery plants and battery recycling."
"Users around the world struggled to access Twitter on Wednesday—even as an error message urged 'don’t fret… Let’s try again.'… Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but its new owner Elon Musk tweeted on the platform that it 'works for me,' in response to a user query."
"A federal court has ruled that the Marine Corps cannot deny entry to Sikhs because of their unshorn beards and hair… The Marine Corps told three Sikh men that they could serve only if they shaved before going through basic training. Most Sikh men don't cut their hair as a sign of their religious commitment. But to serve in the military satisfies another aspect of their faith."
"The U.S. military says a Chinese navy fighter jet flew dangerously close to an Air Force reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea earlier this month, forcing the American pilot to maneuver to avoid a collision."
"Throughout Mariupol, Russian workers are tearing down bombed-out buildings at a rate of at least one a day, hauling away shattered bodies with the debris… Russian military convoys are rumbling down the broad avenues of what is swiftly becoming a garrison city, and Russian soldiers, builders, administrators and doctors are replacing the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have died or left."
"The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has a peculiar 'cemetery,' one that recalls some of the worst damage done since the Russian invasion: the debris of rockets used against this town and its people."
"Russia’s foreign minister on Tuesday warned anew Ukraine that it must demilitarize, threatening further military action and falsely accusing Kyiv and the West of fueling the war that started with Moscow’s invasion." Fuck you, Sergey.
"Pope Francis used his Christmas message Sunday to lament the 'icy winds of war' buffeting humanity and to make an impassioned plea for an immediate end to the fighting in Ukraine, a 10-month-old conflict he decried as 'senseless.'"
"On Wednesday Francis revealed that Benedict was 'very ill' and went to see Benedict at his home in the Vatican where he has lived since retiring in 2013, sparking fears that he was near death… The Vatican later said Benedict’s health had deteriorated in recent hours but that the situation was under control as doctors monitored him."
"Several busloads of migrants were dropped off outside of the Washington, D.C., residence of Vice President Kamala Harris on Christmas Eve — apparently the latest in an escalating battle between state officials and the Biden administration over the country's immigration policy."
"The water system in Jackson, Mississippi, which partially collapsed in late August, was experiencing 'fluctuating' pressure impacting residents on Saturday amid frigid temperatures, officials said… Some neighborhoods in Jackson had low water pressure and residents said they had no water pressure on Christmas Eve."
"Andrew Tate, a divisive social media personality and former professional kickboxer, was detained in Romania late Thursday on charges of human trafficking and rape, according to local media reports… Tate also was embroiled this week in a war of words with 19-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg…" Which he then posted a video retort and in that video were pizza boxes, which lead the Romanian authorities to know he was in the country, and they arrested him. The Guardian has a longer article on the asshole, and describes his business and his conservative connections.
"A Delaware trucker described as a co-leader of the conspiracy to kidnap Michigan's governor was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison Wednesday, a day after an accomplice received 16 years behind bars."
"Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos met in person for the first time in two years Thursday as both sides are talking more about trying to work together in the coming legislative session."
"In respective letters to Reps. James Comer (R-Ky) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), White House Special Counsel Richard Sauber said that the Biden administration had no immediate plans to respond to a slew of records requests that both men made the past several weeks. In those letters, obtained exclusively by POLITICO, Sauber described such requests as constitutionally illegitimate because both Jordan, who is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee, and Comer, who is expected to head the Oversight Committee, made them before they had any authority to do so."
"The Nassau County District Attorney’s office on Wednesday launched an investigation into Rep.-elect George Santos after the Republican admitted to lying about his education and work experience as well as misleading voters about his religion on the campaign trail." Well, there's also the question about how he could have afforded to give his campaign a loan of $600,000. Lying on a campaign isn't really a crime, but money laundering is.
"A recount of votes has confirmed Democrat Kris Mayes narrowly defeated Republican Abraham Hamadeh in the Arizona attorney general’s race, one of the closest elections in state history."
"After Trump left office, the IRS said it was beefing up the audit team, to three. The tax agency itself acknowledged that it was still overwhelmed by the complexity of Trump’s finances and the resistance mounted by the former president and his sophisticated army of accountants and lawyers, which included a former IRS chief counsel and raised questions early last year about why even three revenue agents should be assigned to audit him." Seven trillion dollars in uncollected taxes for the lack of funding the IRS.
"Charles Rettig, the Trump-appointed IRS Commissioner who has refused to release President Trump’s tax returns, has made hundreds of thousands of dollars renting out Trump properties while in office, according to documents obtained by CREW. Last year Rettig said it was his decision whether to turn over Trump’s tax returns to Congress, under the supervision of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin." Grifts all the way down.
"Nearly two years after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Democratic-led House committee investigating the attack released its full report Thursday."
"Don Jr meanwhile couldn’t explain the whereabouts of $240m raised by the Trump campaign after the 2020 election. His testimony includes several moments where he was unable to recall events or conversations."
"A special grand jury investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies illegally tried to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election in Georgia appears to be wrapping up its work, but many questions remain."
"Former President Donald Trump's tax returns from 2015 through 2020 have been made public by the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee — concluding a years-long political battle by Democrats to obtain and share the documents." Which concludes with this… "In a briefing to reporters Thursday morning, GOP aides argued that Democrats' decision to release the report could have political consequences, including the potential of future partisan-led investigations into public officials' finances… 'This is not what serious oversight looks like,' a GOP aide told reporters…" No sir, this is exactly what Congressional Oversight looks like, not the hilarious sideshows the GOP puts on.
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