Biden signs bill to keep the government open; Democrats continue internal war; critical vaccine mandates and immigration decisions announced; and the U.S. kills an al-Qaida leader.
Synagogue shooter sentenced; Michigan man freed after being wrongfully imprisoned; Halloween and ecstasy; Musk richest man in the world; who has the most nuclear weapons? and what's in baby poop?
Good Friday morning! TGIF.
My take: The Democrats are eating their own on Capitol Hill. And with that the President’s agenda is being compromised. Once again, the Democrats have three factions. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer stand in the center with their mainstream party cronies. To the left the Squad along with Senator Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey balk at legislation that does not tie one spending bill in with another. To the right of Pelosi over in the Senate, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema represent moderate to conservative Democrats who opt for lower spending. The Republicans, now out of the majority with little power, watch with glee while the President tries to work all factions from the sidelines without compromising the bills. With his own popularity waning with party Independents, his agenda hangs in the balance. My take simply is that the Democrat Party is doing itself political damage daily. While some factions have strong ideological beliefs, others view the political make-up of their constituency and vote with that philosophy. Lastly, some operate out of purely self-centeredness. The Biden agenda is tied in closely with the 2022 mid-term elections in which the control of the House of Representatives and the Senate will be up for grabs. Currently based on retirements and open seats, the Republicans have a better chance to take back the House while the Democrats may well gain several seats in the Senate. Failure of the party to unify on the big ticket bills before Congress this month will undoubtedly set the Congress up for a split government once again. It is shocking. that with control of the three chambers of government, the Democrats have been unable to pass any of the President’s agenda. Stay tuned! October will be the pivotal month.
Now to your “1 to…”
Breaking: CENTCOM IDs ‘senior al-Qaida leader’ killed in airstrike in Syria: U.S. Central Command on Thursday identified Salim Abu-Ahmad as the senior al-Qaida leader killed in an airstrike near Idlib, Syria on Sept. 20. “Salim Abu-Ahmad was responsible for planning, funding, and approving trans-regional al-Qaeda attacks,” Army Maj. John Rigsbee, a CENTCOM spokesman told Military Times. “There are no indications of civilian casualties as a result of the strike. This strike continues U.S. operations to degrade international terrorist networks and target terrorist leaders who seek to attack the U.S. homeland and its interests and allies abroad.”
Breaking: Appeals court says US can keep expelling migrant families. The government can continue to use Title 42 to turn families away at the southern border: A federal appeals court on Thursday gave the Biden administration permission to continue expelling migrant families under a public health directive known as Title 42, delivering a blow to immigrant advocates who had successfully challenged the policy in court. In a brief order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the administration’s request for temporary reprieve from a lower court order against the expulsion policy, which permits border agents to send back migrants without considering their claims for protection.
For the first time since June, the number of projected Covid-19 deaths in the US is decreasing: For the first time since June, the rate of new Covid-19 deaths in the US is expected to decrease over the next four weeks, according to an ensemble forecast from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And for the third week in a row, Wednesday's CDC forecast predicted that hospitalizations will decrease as well -- a bit of hope as the more transmissible Delta variant continues to spread.
Congress averts shutdown, sends 9-week funding patch to Biden’s desk: Top Democrats are keenly aware that, in averting one fiscal cliff, they have forfeited leverage in heading off another — the debt default. Biden signs bill to avert government shutdown, approves bill to fund government through Dec. 3.
Progressives AOC, Bush unload on moderate Manchin over infrastructure bills: Ocasio-Cortez called the West Virginia Democrat "fundamentally unserious."
Steep fines buried in Dems budget bill could impact businesses if vaccine mandate becomes law: An increase in fines for health and safety violations for U.S. companies is getting a big increase in the Democrat’s budget bill. According to Forbes, there is a ten-fold increase in fines for employers that “willfully” and “repeatedly” violate a section of labor law that deals with hazards, deaths, or serious physical harm to their employees. The fines go up to $700,000 for serious infractions, and that is for each incidence.
Democratic civil war hits new heights: Democrats engaged in a verbal war on Thursday, with progressives and centrists accusing one another of essentially sabotaging President Biden’s agenda and putting the party’s majorities in jeopardy. The two factions have been growing more and more mutually irritated by the day amid a stalemate over the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by the Senate and a larger, sweeping social spending measure now being crafted.But as lawmakers wondered whether they would be voting on an infrastructure bill that progressives have vowed to tank unless the budget bill moves first, the gloves really came off. Democratic factions dig in, threatening fate of infrastructure vote.
De Blasio insists substitutes in New York schools will fill staff gaps caused by vaccine refusal: Some schools have doubts.
New York teachers ask Supreme Court to block vaccination mandate: A group of teachers is challenging the city order, saying thousands of public school employees will be forced out of work if it remains in effect.
N.Y. health workers win religious exemption to shots mandate: New York state must temporarily allow exemptions from a mandate on Covid-19 vaccinations for health care workers with religious objections, a federal appeals court ruled, amid a spate of U.S. legal battles over vaccine and mask requirements.
School board group asks for federal help to stop threats and violence in debates on Covid and critical race theory: A group representing national school board associations asked President Joe Biden and the federal government on Wednesday to help look into threats against school board members and educators to see if laws were broken regarding bullying, hate crimes, or domestic terror, as anger around masks and critical race theory have boiled over around the country. "America's public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat," said the letter, signed by National School Boards Association President Viola M. Garcia and NSBA interim Executive Director and CEO Chip Slaven.
Biden administration unveils new limits on immigration arrests and deportations: The Biden administration on Thursday published new rules governing immigration arrests across the country, directing U.S. officials to focus on detaining and deporting immigrants determined to pose a threat to national security or public safety, as well as migrants who recently crossed the southern border. In a long-awaited memo, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas outlined a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration enforcement policy that will likely spare most undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years from arrest and deportation, as long as they don't commit serious crimes.
Biden administration favors insurers over doctors in controversial new surprise billing regulations: The Biden administration on Thursday sided with insurers over physicians and other health care providers, choosing the approach they prefer for resolving disputes over surprise medical bills. Congress last year passed a landmark law to protect patients from getting large, unexpected bills in emergencies and non-emergency situations where patients can’t choose their doctors. But many of the controversial details of its implementation were left to the Biden administration. The law barely passed after an all-out, yearslong lobbying war between health care providers and insurers.
UN agencies warn against deporting migrants to Haiti, describe situation as ‘dire’: Four United Nations agencies have called on countries to refrain from expelling Haitian migrants without properly assessing whether they need protection. Some Haitian nationals may be entitled to seek international refugee protection, the agencies noted. The Biden administration is ramping up deportations for thousands of Haitians who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks.
Which countries have the most nuclear weapons?In theory, nuclear weapon stockpiles are closely held national secrets. The leading countries have rough estimates that aren’t regularly updated, newly nuclear countries keep their capabilities vague and unclear, and Israel has never officially confirmed a nuclear weapons program. But thanks to limited disclosures, records, and leaks, we can visualize the full extent* of the world’s nuclear arsenal. This graphic uses estimated nuclear warhead inventories from the Federation of American Scientists as of August 2021. Based on these estimates, there are just nine countries with nuclear weapons in the world.
Bag of suspected ecstasy disguised as candy found during traffic stop: A Georgia police department wants to warn families about a potentially dangerous discovery found during a traffic stop. The Auburn, Georgia police department posted on its Facebook page this week that they found a bag of what looked like candy, but were actually suspected ecstasy pills.
American Airlines passenger opens emergency exit, jumps onto wing of plane in Miami: The Federal Aviation Administration has reported "a disturbing increase" in unruly behavior on planes this year.
13-year-old boy shot at Memphis school, suspect to be charged with attempted murder: Police: A 13-year-old boy turned himself in after the shooting, police said.
California synagogue shooter sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole: John T. Earnest was formally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday for murder and attempted murder in the deadly 2019 shooting at a Southern California synagogue. Under a plea agreement accepted by San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh in July, Earnest, 22, avoided the death penalty. The stipulated sentence was life in prison without parole, plus 121 years to life and another 16 years in prison. Armed with an AR-15 style rifle, Earnest, 19 at the time, killed 60-year-old Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was there to honor her late mother, and injured three others, including the rabbi and an 8-year-old girl, as they worshiped inside a synagogue in the San Diego suburb of Poway. They were among more than four dozen people inside the synagogue at the time.
Man convicted in fatal Royal Oak Township fire released after 15 years over ‘compromised’ investigation: Investigation found reported misconduct by police, prosecutors.
A British police officer was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Sarah Everard: Former firearms officer Wayne Couzens, 48, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole Thursday for the kidnap, rape, and murder of British woman Sarah Everard after he used his police powers to detain her on her way home. Everard, 33, was walking home from a friend’s house on March 3, when Couzens stopped her and used his police identification to detain and handcuff her under the pretense of enforcing COVID-19 restrictions. Prosecutors said Couzens then placed her in a car and drove to Kent where he raped and strangled her with his police belt.
Elon Musk throws another dig at Jeff Bezos’ approach to space: ‘You cannot sue your way to the moon’: Elon Musk repeated prior criticisms of fellow billionaire space mogul Jeff Bezos, as their companies continue to battle in federal court and in front of regulators. “You cannot sue your way to the moon, no matter how good your lawyers are,” Musk said Tuesday at the CodeCon 2021 conference. Musk said he has “not verbally” spoken to Bezos recently but does “subtweet, if you will,” adding that he has “encouraged him to emphasize getting to orbit.”
Teen vaping rates plunge – but the FDA continues its anti-vaping crusade: The FDA continues with its scary anti-vape messages to children and teenagers but is it all about the money?
How Florida fails those with mental illness: After 13 years of living with mental illness and three years battling in court, Mikese Morse is finally getting mental health treatment. The cost: another man’s life. Mikese’s saga illustrates how Florida treats those in need of involuntary mental health care — as criminals, relying on cops and courts to solve problems that need medical intervention — with potentially tragic results. Mikese, 33, once dreamed of representing Tampa in the Olympics as a track and field star out of USF before his mental illness derailed that plan. His parents say they tried to get him permanent assistance but failed, as seen in a 2017 encounter with police where they were told "being mentally ill isn’t a crime." But one day Mikese did commit a crime, killing 42-year-old Pedro Aguerreberry when he drove into the father and his two young sons as they rode their bicycles in 2018. After that, his parents say, he was treated like a criminal instead of a person with mental illness.
Artificial sweetener in soda, other drinks may increase food cravings, appetite in women and obese people: Sucralose appetite effects may depend on biological factors.
Your baby's poop may be full of microplastics: New parents know that surprises abound in a baby’s diaper. But according to new research, it’s what you can’t see (or smell) that could be a cause for alarm. Infant fecal matter contains a lot of plastic. In a study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, scientists at the New York University School of Medicine braved the task of examining retrieved baby poop from six 1-year-old infants by running it through a filter to trap microplastics. They discovered it harbored a median of 36,000 nanograms of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, a common plastic, per gram of feces. That was roughly 10 times the amount found in the 10 samples of adult waste they analyzed. The researchers estimated that a baby is exposed to an average of 83,000 nanograms of PET per kilo of body weight each day.
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts within national park: The eruption is not in an area with homes and is entirely contained within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Here's when McDonald's is bringing back the McRib: he limited-time offering is returning to menus nationwide on November 1, McDonald's announced Thursday. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the McRib, which was a dud on its debut but has bounced back to become a fan-favorite menu item. The sandwich is a boneless pork patty, shaped like a rack of ribs and smothered in barbecue sauce then placed on a homestyle bun. Price varies by location.
Elon Musk reclaims top spot as world's richest person: Musk is the third person to surpass the $200B milestone, following Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault.
Powell says Fed has 'no intention' to ban cryptocurrencies: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says it is appropriate to regulate cryptocurrency activities. He speaks in response to a question from Representative Ted Budd of North Carolina during testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. (Source: Bloomberg)
Facebook ‘addictive’ and particularly destructive for kids, say senators:U.S. lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle agree on virtually nothing these days. The exception is when the topic is Facebook. Republicans and Democrats grilled Antigone Davis, Facebook’s global head of safety, on Thursday, in a hearing before the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection. Antigone, who testified by video, was called to answer questions about Instagram’s impact on the mental health of teens and Facebook’s efforts to build more products targeting children. The hearing, titled “Protecting Kids Online: Facebook, Instagram, and Mental Health Harms,” follows a series of Wall Street Journal reports earlier this month that were based on internal studies conducted by Facebook researchers. Those stories revealed that Facebook is aware of the harmful effects of Instagram on the mental health of young users. In particular, Facebook’s own studies showed that 13% of British users and 6% of American users traced their desire to commit suicide back to Instagram.
What is he talking about? Does he know what FINSTA is?
Powerball jackpot rises to $620 million, 10th largest in US: The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $620 million after nearly four months without a big winner.
Clubhouse rolls out new features in bid to juice growth: Social audio chat app Clubhouse is rolling out new features to help content creators expand their audience. The new features include the ability to record and replay conservations and the ability to download 30-second clips from other social media sites. The social app is also rolling out an improved search function to help find live and scheduled audio rooms for users with clubs and certain interests, the company said in its statement on Thursday.
Folgers coffee: BUY 'BEST PART OF WAKIN' UP' JINGLE ...Royalties Up For Sale!!!
Michigan man found dead on beach had winning $45K lottery ticket in wallet: A Michigan man was found dead on a private beach last Friday with a winning $45,000 lottery ticket in his wallet. He was the victim of a tragic accident, authorities said Wednesday.
All the Michelin stars awarded to U.S. restaurants in 2021: After a year off for the pandemic, the tire company has returned with a vengeance but with many of the same predictable selections.
Maine passes a law requiring companies to pay for their own recycling: Diana Olick joins The Exchange to discuss Maine’s new law and how charging companies for recycling may end up costing consumers.
Murdaugh murder mystery: 'Behind the black ties and fancy dresses were miserable people': More details are emerging about the realities of life for the well-heeled, powerful Murdaugh family, who seemed to have it all.
How American crocodiles are being saved from extinction: Nearly two dozen animals have plants have just been declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but one species of crocodile was saved from the brink. As our TODAY Climate series continues, NBC’s Kerry Sanders reports from Homestead, Florida.
The world's trees are more interesting than you might think.
The Vinland Map, thought to be the oldest map of America, is officially a fake: A map of America touted as being one of the oldest on record has turned out to be a convincing forgery, according to new studies. For decades, many believed that the Vinland Map was an important historical artifact that showed an early version of North America. Yale has been the map's home since the 1960s, but during that time, debate regarding its authenticity has never completely ceased.
Meet the bodaciously bulky bears of fat bear week 2021: The annual tournament celebrates Alaska’s chunkiest brown bears and their summer-long salmon feast.
550-foot Ferris Wheel becomes stuck for two hours and is captured by viral TikToks: I will never be stepping foot in a Ferris wheel again.
Britney Spears says she's 'on cloud 9' in first post after father's suspension as conservator: Britney Spears is up, up and away after her father, Jamie Spears, was suspended as conservator of her estate in L.A. court on Wednesday (Sept. 29), posting a video of herself flying a plane for the very first time and writing that she's "on cloud 9." "On cloud 9 right now!!!! First time flying a plane and first time in a prop plane!!!" Spears captioned two flying videos and one blurry photo of palm trees. "Geez I was scared!!!"
‘Clickbait’ shoots to No. 1 on streaming rankings: Hulu places two shows in the top 10 originals for the first time with 'Only Murders in the Building' and 'Nine Perfect Strangers.'
Sean Penn returns to ‘Gaslit;’: Compromise Is That Entire Crew Is Covid Vaccinated For Two Weeks He Has Left To Shoot.
Gloria Estefan says she was sexually abused aged nine: Singer Gloria Estefan has revealed she was sexually abused by a family member when she was nine years old. The Cuban-American pop star, 64, said she was molested while at music school by someone her mother trusted. "Ninety-three per cent of abused children know and trust their abusers. And I know this because I was one of them," she said.
'I love you and care about you deeply.' Katie Couric's sympathetic texts to Matt Lauer after he was fired from NBC for sexual misconduct, as she admits it felt 'heartless to abandon him' in new memoir: DailyMail.com has seen the manuscript for Katie Couric's book Going There which is out in late October and will be accompanied by an 11-city book tour. In it, Couric reveals she sent messages of support to former colleague Matt Lauer after he was fired from NBC for sexual misconduct. Couric writes that her 'heart sank' when she heard the Today Show anchor was fired and that she 'couldn't imagine' what it was like to be him. Lauer was fired November 2017 following complaints about his inappropriate sexual behavior at the network. In her memoir, Couric says it felt 'heartless' to abandon her longtime friend and sent him multiple text messages to check in on him. But she admits she 'heard the whispers' and describes how Lauer's wife once called the control room asking for the phone number of a woman she thought was having sex with him.
Kanye West’s $90 Yeezy Gap hoodie is now available to buy: Kanye West’s “perfect hoodie” is now available for purchase. The Yeezy Gap sweatshirt was released exclusively on gap.com/yeezy on Wednesday, in six colors. There’s the classic black and blue (which the “Donda” rapper himself has been sporting since his partnership with the retailer was announced), as well as red, purple, brown and mustard yellow — all retailing for $90 for adults and $70 for kids sizing.
Elton John & Stevie Wonder create gospel magic on their first-ever duet 'finish line': Listen
Super Bowl LVI halftime show performers revealed: The big game will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Tom Brady previews return to New England ahead of Buccaneers-Patriots showdown: Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady acknowledged Monday that he will feel "different kinds of emotions" when he returns to Gillette Stadium this weekend for the first time since leaving New England, where he said he enjoyed "some of the greatest experiences of my life." Brady's Bucs visit the Patriots, with whom he spent 20 seasons and won six Super Bowls, on Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).
Can an average passenger actually be talked through landing a plane in an emergency? Some people are born great, and others have greatness thrust upon them. And there are few thrustings-upon more dramatic than the disaster-movie scenario of an airliner’s flight crew being stricken and a non-pilot having to take the wheel and land the plane. It's typically depicted as being as simple as getting some instructions from the tower and setting the plane down on the runway—but is that how it would really go down?
New Research Shows People Actually Enjoy Deep Conversations With Strangers: How often have you avoided getting into a deep discussion with a stranger because you figured they'd prefer to keep the conversation light? According to new research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, you might be better off just diving in.
How to stop enabling a narcissist: Putting another’s needs ahead of your own to avoid their negativity and blowback is one sign you may be enabling a narcissist.
That’s a wrap for the week. Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate it! Have a great weekend unless you have something else to do. See you on Tuesday unless news breaks.