The Daily Populous

Monday January 18th, 2021 day edition

image for Statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico only needs 50 votes

Many journalists and political commentators have been pessimistic about the possibility of statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

But in a recent CNN interview, Manchin himself provided evidence for why this thinking is all wrong.

In the interview, Manchin reaffirmed his opposition to eliminating the legislative filibuster, but in response to a separate question about D.C. and Puerto Rico statehood, said that, "I don't know enough about that yet.

In fact, there is a solid legal, historic, and moral case that the legislative filibuster can remain but that it shouldn't be applied to statehood.

Constitutionally, the admission of a new state is not actually a legislative matter, so the legislative filibuster shouldn't apply.

It is possible and reasonable both to keep the legislative filibuster and to allow statehood to proceed with a simple majority vote.

Democrats can grant full representation to the 3.9 million people living in D.C. and Puerto Rico — if they want to. »

Thor 4: Matt Damon Reportedly Cast In Marvel Sequel

Authored by thedirect.com

Matt Damon has joined the already stacked cast of Thor: Love and Thunder.

While he is yet to star in an MCU project, Damon is no stranger to the Marvel Universe, and specifically the Thor franchise.

It feels a little odd to say “Matt Damon is back in the MCU,” but technically, that's the case. »

COVID 'long haulers': Some who first saw mild symptoms experiencing debilitating problems months later

Authored by abc7.com
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We spoke with experts to dispel the myths and provide the most up-to-date information when it comes to vaccines.

Many patients, especially those between 40 and 50 years old, who have suffered milder COVID-19 symptoms, are now showing up at the doctor's office months later with puzzling and debilitating problems.

They're modeling the center after what they did for first responders after 9/11, but on a much larger scale. »

California man lived inside O’Hare Airport security zone for 3 months — because he was afraid to fly during COVID, prosecutors say

Authored by cwbchicago.com

A California man who was afraid to fly due to COVID-19 lived inside the secure area of an O’Hare International Airport terminal for nearly three months before being caught on Saturday, prosecutors said.

The man, who was found to have an airport worker’s misplaced credentials, survived “largely from other passengers giving him food,” Assistant State’s Attorney Kathleen Hagerty said.

Ortiz denied a defense request to allow Singh to fly home while the case works its way through the court system. »

Rescuers detect signs of life from 22 trapped Chinese miners a week after blast

Authored by straitstimes.com
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BEIJING (AFP) - Rescuers detected signs of life on Sunday (Jan 17) from 22 gold miners trapped underground in east China, a week after the workers were cut off by an explosion, state media reported.

Rescuers on Sunday afternoon drilled down into the mine and heard "knocking sounds", the official Xinhua news agency said, although they still "needed confirmation".

Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced. »