Are You Over Covid? National Emergency to End

Why the Biden administration is telling the GOP, "not so fast!" Plus, is J.K. Rowling plotting to lead Scotland as First Minister? And: What's the #1 problem in America? Not inflation, say pollsters.

Credit: freakwave from Pixabay

Thanks for rising up this Tuesday, January 31, 2023. February is right around the corner!

On this day in 1865, the House of Representatives voted 119-56 in favor of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which says: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

Here Now The News:

U.S. TO END NATIONAL COVID EMERGENCY ON MAY 11: President Biden announced his opposition to House Republicans’ efforts to end the emergency declarations immediately, arguing that would cause chaos and disrupt efforts at an orderly winding down of the emergency status.

WHY: Most Americans have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and its variants; Life has largely returned to normal. Still, an average of more than 500 Americans are dying every day from the virus. And Covid remains the leading cause of death among children and young people — SciTech

TYRE NICHOLS CASE: TWO MORE OFFICERS PUNISHED, FIRE DEPT. TAKES ACTION — CNN

WHAT THE MEMPHIS POLICE VIDEOS DON’T SHOW: L.A. Times editorial

BIDEN TO UKRAINE: NO JETS FOR YOU! — The Guardian

MOST AMERICANS FEAR EXERCISING YOUR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS WILL GET YOU ARRESTED: 19th News

NAME THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING THE U.S. TODAY: A new poll says it’s not inflation, or immigration… it’s the government. Gallup

Politicukoos

N.Y. GRAND JURY REPORTEDLY INVESTIGATING DONALD TRUMP’S HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS TO STORMY DANIELS: Associated Press

FLORIDA GOP PROPOSES LAW ALLOWING EVERYONE TO CARRY CONCEALED WEAPONS WITHOUT A PERMIT OR TRAINING: News4Jax.com

NEW POLL SHOWS FAMILIES FLEEING FLORIDA OVER “DON’T SAY TRANS OR GAY” LAW — WPTV

THE WOMAN TASKED WITH BRINGING DOWN REP. GEORGE SANTOS: Politico

JUSTICE DEPT. TELLS FEDERAL ELECTION OFFICIALS INVESTIGATING SANTOS: HOLD MY BEER! The Advocate

SANTOS SHUTS OUT HIS CONSTITUENTS AND STIFFS HIS DONORS: CBS2 New York legend Jennifer McLogan

Recession? What Recession?

GOOD NEWS FROM THE IMF: No, not the Impossible Mission Force led by Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise)! The international Monetary Fund says things are looking up, even if the economy does slow down this year, and Wall Street analysts agree: We ought to avoid a recession. Whew! — Washington Post

Tesla over the cliff followup

WIFE TELLS POLICE, “HE TRIED TO KILL US:” — San Francisco Chronicle

Mercy Rule

R. KELLY CATCHES A BREAK, SORT OF: Prosecutors in Chicago say the convicted rapper is already facing so many years behind bars, they’re cutting him some slack and dropping abuse charges against him. — NYT

It’s Billy Crystal’s fault Elon Musk bought Twitter

SO SAYS DAVID LETTERMAN! The former Late Show host was putting together a deal of his own but found himself short a few million. — The Things

Will tweet cost Zachary Levi his role as Shazam?

“HARDCORE AGREE:” That’s what the actor tweeted in response to a question about whether the manufacturer of one of the Coronavirus vaccines, Pfizer, is a danger to the world. — Giant Freaking Robot

Messy Marie

MARIE KONDO ADMITS THAT AFTER 3 KIDS, SHE’S A BIT OF A SLOB: BuzzFeed

Gay Trailblazer

CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE OF NEW ZEALAND: The rugby player has become the first “All Black” to come out. — CNN

You might think Rowling’s running for office

BUT NO, AUTHOR J.K. ROWLING WAS JUST SPENDING YET ANOTHER DAY ON TWITTER: The Harry Potter series creator and transphobe has been viciously trolling Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon so hard about her reversal on the policy of where to house violent convicts who come out as transgender, one might think Rowling’s convinced she should run for the job:

J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling

I don't know about you, but excluding women from women's prisons just because they've got penises, male pattern baldness and have committed a couple of rapes seems awfully TERFy to me.

Peter A Smith @PeterAdamSmith

Does Scotland’s First Minister believe all trans women are women? Scottish Gov has just implemented an effective ban on trans prisoners who’ve committed sexual & violent crimes against women being moved to a women-only prison. @itvnews https://t.co/DRbvItHZ3i

LET’S GET SOME FACTS, PLEASE? Leave it to out trans TV personality India Willoughby to separate Rowling’s fearmonging from the reality:

India Willoughby @IndiaWilloughby

Do you know how many trans women were in the entire women’s prison estate of Scotland as of March 2022? FIVE. England and Wales? SIX. None of them rapists. All vetted before transfer. That’s ELEVEN people out of a combined prison estate of 88,000.

India Willoughby @IndiaWilloughby

Outright lies being told about this Scottish prisoner. They were NEVER going into the women’s estate. They were held in solitary while the process took its course. Yet it’s being spun as a U-turn. Goebbels was right: If you keep repeating a lie, it becomes the truth.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! So far, however, the tweet that’s garnered the most headlines is Rowling’s comparison of a modern anti-TERF meme with an anti-suffragette poster from a century ago. See for yourself:

Bad Writing Takes 🖊️🏳️‍🌈 @BadWritingTakes

JK Rowling got angry at a meme telling transphobes to shut up, so she compared it to torturing suffragettes. Because of course she did. Awestruck by the level of ego it must take for Rowling to compare her war on trans people to the freaking suffragette movement. #JKRvsLGBTQ

Zane Schacht - Voice Goblin 🐀 @VoicesByZane

Really wild how this is going to be her legacy. Like JK Rowling is no longer an author. She's that person who wrote some books that made a lot of money and now sits on twitter all day getting mad that trans people exist

J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling

Same shit, different century. https://t.co/Bn73NseF1n

Trans World

VIRGINIA ADVANCES TWO ANTI-TRANSGENDER BILLS: Washington Blade

MEET THE TRANS AND OTHER OUT LGBTQ+ STATE AND LOCAL LAWMAKERS MAKING WAVES: Washington Blade

Farewell

CINDY WILLIAMS, 75: Best known as Shirley Feeney in TV’s Laverne & Shirley — NYT

LISA LORING, 64: The original Wednesday in TV’s The Addams Family — NYT

BOBBY HULL, 84: “The Golden Jet,” who lived a troubled life off the ice — Toronto Star

How to see the Green Comet without leaving your couch:

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIRTUAL TELESCOPE! PIX!

Thanks for rising up today. I’ll be back tomorrow with more. Until then, may your news be good news!

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