Week of 01/29: FREECABLE TV’s Top 10 Stories

Appropriations Committees Led By Women For The 1st Time

NBC - This year, women will hold all four of the top positions on the House and Senate Appropriations committees for the first time in history. In the Senate, Washington Democrat Patty Murray is the new Appropriations Committee chairwoman, while Maine Republican Susan Collins is the ranking member. In the House, Texas Republican Kay Granger is the new Appropriations Committee chairwoman, while Connecticut Democrat Rosa DeLauro, the panel’s past chair, is serving as ranking member. This is quite the remarkable feat for these veteran lawmakers who arrived on Capitol Hill during the 1990s, at a time when there were only but a few women serving in Congress. Together, this new quartet of powerful appropriators is now known on the Hill as “the Four Corners.”

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COVID-Positive Children May Get Sicker Easier

CBS - In a new study, researchers looked at data on more than 4,300 children who were in the hospital due to coronavirus. According to the study, 21% of such patients also tested positive for another respiratory virus. Patients, when younger than five, are now being speculated to become sicker and develop more severe diseases when under the affliction of coronavirus. Similarly, such patients are more likely to need increased oxygen support and be admitted to the intensive care unit. Experts warn that these new findings should reinforce the idea that children must remain up-to-date and receive their COVID-19 and flu vaccines in a timely manner.

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Richard Barnett Found Guilty Of All Charges

Politico - Richard Barnett, the man who took the internet by storm when he put his feet up on a desk in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office as rioters swarmed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been convicted by a Washington jury this week of all eight charges he faced, including four felonies. Barnett, 62, was convicted of obstructing Congress’ Jan. 6 proceedings, disorderly conduct in the Capitol while carrying a dangerous weapon: a “Hike ‘N Strike” walking stick that doubles as a stun weapon, as well as stealing an envelope from the desk in Pelosi’s suite. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Barnett has since vowed to appeal the verdict and said he had “absolutely not” received a fair trial. "This is not a jury of my peers. I don’t agree with that decision. But I do appreciate the process. And we are surely going to appeal."

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DeSantis Blocks AP African American Studies Class

WP - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is currently facing backlash regarding his administration’s decision to prohibit an Advanced Placement high school course on African American studies. This latest controversy in Florida education policies began when the DeSantis administration initially stated that a pilot Advanced Placement course on Black history would not be approved by the state Department of Education because it “lacks educational value” and violated state law. “Now who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory?” DeSantis said at a news conference this week. “That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids.”

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Classified Documents Found At Mike Pence's Home

CNN - Pence explained during remarks at Florida International University this week that he had thought “out of an abundance of caution, it would be appropriate to review (his) personal records” kept at his Carmel, Indiana, residence after revelations that classified documents had been found at President Joe Biden’s private office and residence dating to his time as vice president. And upon searching the residence, Pence said that there was, in fact, a “small number of documents marked classified or sensitive interspersed in my personal papers,” and that the documents “immediately” secured. “And while I was not aware that those classified documents were in our personal residence, let me be clear: Those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence. Mistakes were made. And I take full responsibility,” Pence added.

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Rep. George Santos, Target Of An Assassination Attempt

TheHill - Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), the freshman congressman whose early political career has been marred in controversy, reportedly claimed in an interview on a Brazilian podcast in December that he was the target of an assassination attempt. “We have already suffered an attempt on my life, an assassination attempt,” Santos said in Portuguese to the “Radio Novelo Apresenta” podcast, which recently shared the video with “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC. But despite the underlying severity of such a claim, due to the fact that Santos had previously admitted to lying about his past and work history, a growing chorus of his fellow congressmen have simply opted to call on the freshman lawmaker to resign and to not cause any more problems.

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Gavin Newsom Vs. 2nd Amendment

FOX - Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week that the Second Amendment is "becoming a suicide pact" following the Monterey Park massacre that took place in his state over the weekend. "Nothing about this is surprising. Everything about this is infuriating," Newsom told CBS' Norah O'Donnell.

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Using Airplane Wastewater To Track COVID-19

NBC - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently talking to airlines about the possibility of testing for the coronavirus in sewage from planes, the federal agency told NBC News. "CDC is exploring all options to help slow the introduction of new variants into the United States from other countries. Previous Covid-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool, and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," CDC press officer Scott Pauley told NBC News. "The more information you have, the more accurate decisions that you can make," said Kata Farkas, a postdoctoral research officer at Bangor University. "I believe wastewater-based surveillance is a really good tool to support any decision made on public health."

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Trump Allowed Back On Facebook And Instagram

CBS - Former President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts will be reinstated "in the coming weeks," the social media platforms' parent company Meta said this week. While the announcement from Meta comes as Trump looks to ramp up his third presidential campaign, the social media company said its platforms will be reinforced "with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses" before Trump makes a decision to log back on or not. "In light of his violations, he now also faces heightened penalties for repeat offenses," Nick Clegg, Meta's President of Global Affairs said in a blog post. "In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation."

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Nationwide Peaceful Protests Held For Tyre Nichols

NPR - Numerous mostly peaceful protests were seen across the U.S. following the release of body camera footage of the killing of Tyre Nichols. In Memphis, where Nichols died, demonstrators gathered at a downtown park and then took to the streets, chanting "no justice, no peace" and "justice for Tyre". In light of the numerous protests, Nichols' family, including his mother, RowVaughn Wells, and his stepfather, Rodney Wells, asked protesters to remain peaceful. "I don't want us burning up cities, tearing up our streets, because that's not what my son stood for," Wells said at a vigil for her son this week.