Thursday news recap
May 19, 2022 11:31 pm
Hi there,
Here's a daily update for May 19th, 2022...
🗒️ Lawmakers grill Interior chief over oil and gas drilling plans amid high prices
(CNN)Interior Sec. Deb Haaland squared off with lawmakers on Thursday at a contentious Senate hearing that addressed high gas prices, oil and gas drilling and delays in the department's plan to hold more drilling lease sales.
Haaland told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that her agency plans to release a proposal for its next five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing by the end of June -- a timeline that would likely lead to a gap between the current plan and a new one.
Sen. Joe Manchin and Republicans on the committee expressed concern that the Department of Interior appeared to be delaying holding more oil and gas lease sales just as gasoline prices are surging in the US....
🗒️ Democrats ask Biden to appoint staffer to oversee baby formula shortage
(CNN)A group of Democratic senators are calling on President Joe Biden to appoint someone to oversee the baby formula shortage as it continues to devastate families across the country searching for supplies.
Sen. Patty Murray, the chairwoman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania led 30 Democrats in sending a letter to Biden urging him to hire someone who can implement a national strategy to deal with the supply chain issues.
"We urge you to immediately assign a coordinator within the White House to work with manufacturers directly and oversee the development and implementation of a national strategy," they wrote in the letter, which was first reported by NBC News.
The Democrats added: "We need organized leadership and a clear plan for addressing this crisis....
🗒️ Oklahoma lawmakers pass bill banning abortion after fertilization – The Washington Post
Oklahoma lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill that would ban abortions from the moment of “fertilization,” which if signed into law would effectively prohibit almost all abortions in the state.
The bill is similar in its enforcement mechanism to one that was signed into law in Texas last year, allowing civilians to file lawsuits against […]
🗒️ May 19, 2022 The Morning Sixpack
Welcome to today's The Morning Sixpack!
Happy ‘Little Friday' 🌈 Top of the News The Buffalo Grocery Store Shooting Suspect Appears in Court Today One Dead, One Wounded in Shooting after High School Graduation in Tennessee California Church Shooting Suspect Mailed Seven-Volume ‘Diary’ to Chinese-Language Newspaper Tesla Removed from S&P 500 ESG Index on Autopilot, […]
(CNN)As health officials warn of rising Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations, the mayor of New York said the city would not reinstate mask mandates at this time.
More than 1 million people have died of Covid-19 in the US
"I'm proud of what we are doing and how we are not allowing Covid to outstmart us," Mayor Eric Adams said during a Wednesday news conference, after he was asked about reinstating a mandate, specifically in the city's schools.
"We're staying prepared and not panicking."
To defend his stance, Adams cited what he said were stable hospitalization numbers and deaths across the city, as well as Covid-19 testing in schools.
"Variants are going to come," he said.
"If every variant that comes, we move into shutdown thoughts, we move into panicking, we're not going to function as a city."
City officials this week said New York City has reached the "high" Covid-19 alert level, indicating there is a high level of spread in the community and "substantial pressure on the health care system.
"The city's health department encouraged people to wear high-quality masks in all public, indoor settings and crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of whether vaccination status is known.
New York isn't the only place seeing high infection numbers.
About 40% of people in the US northeast are in counties considered to have high community levels, CNN has reported....
Enjoy,
Bill