1 January 6th Anniversary Marked On Capitol Hill
Yesterday marked one year since our nation hit a crossroads. As President Biden sees it, American democracy was attacked on January 6th, 2021. Speaking at the Capitol, Biden said a violent mob tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power a year ago, but noted, "They failed." And while not calling his predecessor by name, Biden made clear that he blamed now-former President Trump for inspiring the attack. He also ripped the "defeated former president" for watching the attack on TV for hours at the White House and "doing nothing" to stop it. Biden also accused many Republicans of enabling Trump while trying to "rewrite history" about the election. Biden called it "the big lie" and labeled it "un-American." He said there's no evidence of widespread election fraud in 2020. “(It was) the same ballot, the same day, cast by the same voters,” Biden offered. “The only difference: The former President didn’t lose those races; he just lost the one that was his own.”
2 SCOTUS Showdown Over Vax Mandates Looms
The roughly 10-percent of Virginians who decided not get vaccinated will likely be watching the nation's highest court today as the debate about federal vaccine mandates finds its way to a special hearing at the Supreme Court. The justices will hear oral arguments in two cases disputing vaccines mandates: The one issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for employers of 100 workers or more that includes a weekly testing option. It requires workers to be vaccinated or wear masks on the job and submit to weekly testing. Another by the Department of Health and Human Services for healthcare staff at facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding be vaccinated. On the side against mandates? The argument that the federal agencies don't have the constitutional authority to unilaterally issue these rules. On the other – a federal government confident in the legal authority for both policies.
3 First Bomb Cyclone of 2022 Marches Toward Already Battered Northeast
As the northeast states continue to recover from Monday’s winter storm, another strong system is headed into their region that could be even worse. Accuweather senior meteorologist Joe Lundberg says the storm moving into the area today should develop into the first bomb cyclone of 2022. A bomb cyclone is defined as a storm where the central pressure falls 24 millibars in 24 hours, producing strong winds and high snow totals that will add to a large amount of snow already on the ground. Buffalo, New York had already picked up over 14 inches of snow by early yesterday afternoon, a total the National Weather Service says is a new snowfall record for Buffalo for the date. Over 100k homes and businesses were still without power in Virginia alone as of last night, and Governor Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency and asked the Virginia National Guard for assistance, saying the “back-to-back storms will generate landmark winter weather that requires extra flexibility.” The storm is affecting parts of Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, with record snowfalls expected throughout the region.