House minority leader McCarthy meets Trump in Florida
Former President Donald Trump is expected to meet privately on Thursday with prominent Congressmaker House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. A Trump aide who speaks on condition of anonymity to discuss his schedule, confirmed that the meeting will take place in South Florida. The meeting will take place when Trump and his attorneys prepare his defense in a Senate impeachment trial next month. McCarthy criticized Trump after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6th – “the president is responsible,” he said a week after the uprising. Inauguration day last week, McCarthy congratulated President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris presented them with framed photos of the moment everyone was sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. McCarthy, however, also voted against the former president’s second impeachment and has softened Trump in recent days.
Remembering the tragedy of the Challenger space shuttle 35 years later
On January 28, 1986 the The space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after taking off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, killed all seven crew members and left the nation in shock. The crew, which included Ronald McNair, the second black American in space, and Christa McAuliffe, the first school teacher to fly in space, were given much publicity prior to launch, which made the explosion much more personal for the country. After a lengthy investigation, it was found that an o-ring seal in the hinge of the right solid rocket booster failed, resulting in the catastrophic destruction of the spacecraft. But as USA TODAY Network journalist Tim Walters pointed out, he can “still imagine this day as clearly as it happened” and that it will be “35 years later, the hearts of these astronauts’ families are in pain. ”
Acceptance messages: The nominees for the GLAAD Media Awards will be announced
GLAAD, the world’s largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer media (LGBTQ), will announce the nominations for the 32nd annual GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday. Since 1990, the media have been recognized with awards for fair, accurate and comprehensive depictions of LGBTQ people and problems. Actress Josie Totah (“Saved by the Bell”), actor DJ “Shangela” Pierce (“We’re Here”) and actor Jonathan Bennett (“The Christmas House”) will be the nominees in a live stream on GLAAD’s TikTok page under reveal noon ET. The winners of the awards will be announced later this year.
Wisconsin could join states without a mask mandate as health officials urge lawmakers to reconsider
Wisconsin will become one of only 10 states with no nationwide mask mandates if the assembly votes as scheduled Thursday to overturn an order from Governor Tony Evers. However, due to local regulations, masks are still required in some of the largest cities. More than two dozen public health organizations, along with state and local health officials, have urged the Republican-controlled legislature to reconsider the vote. The mask elimination plan is likely to save nearly $ 50 million in food aid for low-income people and those who have become unemployed during the pandemic. the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The move comes as Wisconsin falls behind in distributing coronavirus vaccines and health officials warn of the spread of contagious new varieties. Republican lawmakers claim Evers exceeded his authority by issuing multiple health emergencies and masking orders rather than coming for legislative approval every 60 days. The issue is also being discussed in the Wisconsin Supreme Court
- Coronavirus updates: Herd immunity will “take a while,” says the CDC director. California wants to change vaccine distribution; U.S. deaths close to 430,000
- Republican plan The end of the mask requirement could cost Wisconsinite $ 49 million in food benefits
- Road death rate increases during COVID as open roads try to accelerate the drivers
Game or no game, NBA All-Star Voting begins
Once again, NBA fans have the option to choose who should start in this year’s All-Star game. But will the game actually take place? As reported by USA TODAY Sports and other outlets, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have done so discussed an all-star game with Atlanta in March, a potential location in the hope of providing COVID-19 aid and funding to historically black colleges and universities. But the NBA had abandoned its original plan for the All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis (February 12-14) because of the pandemic. Either way, fans will be able to begin voting for the starters from Thursday at 12:00 PM ET through February 16. During this time, fans can cast a ballot each day through the NBA app or the NBA website. Fans can also vote up to 10 unique players per day on Twitter.
Contributor: The Associated Press
