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Comedian Jon Stewart called Republicans “cowards” after senators blocked legislation that would provide health-care coverage for military veterans who were exposed to toxins and burn pits during their service. “This is an embarrassment to the Senate, to the country, to the Founders and all that they profess to hold dear,” Stewart said in an impassioned speech outside the Capitol on Wednesday. A version of the legislation was approved by the Senate in June. It was back in the Senate on Wednesday because the House made some modest changes before passing the bill about two weeks ago. On Wednesday, the revised measure drew 55 votes in the Senate — short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. Democrats accused Republicans of voting against it in retaliation for a deal announced earlier by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) that will allow Democrats to move ahead on an economic package without Republican votes.

Demand for steak was rising even before the pandemic, said Robert Byrne, director of consumer and industry insights at the restaurant consulting firm Technomic. But now, many diners want to "make it count" when they go out to a restaurant, and they're finding that steakhouses offer nice ambiance and a filling meal.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read more.⁠ ⁠ 📸: Adobe Stock

A man who was suspected of purposefully setting forest fires in a remote section of woods was tracked down and confronted by three local residents who tied him to a tree until authorities could arrest him, police say.⁠ ⁠ Full story at LINK IN BIO.⁠ ⁠ #arson #forest #fires #wildfires #crime #police #news #oregon

💬 Poet salmaelwardany joins bryonygordon to discuss her debut novel 'These Impossible Things' on this week's Mad World podcast 👉️⁠ ⁠ "And I never saw myself or my friends on the pages of literature, and I was a real bookworm. I read nine books a week when I was young."⁠ ⁠ "And nowhere was I to be found on those pages. And, you know, I loved all the classics, but I think there's only so much you can relate to Jane Austen's Emma when you were a brown, Muslim girl growing up in Newcastle upon Tyne, who is working class."⁠ ⁠ And so the half Egyptian, half Irish Muslim writer decided to take on the task of seeing herself on the page by writing her debut novel, These Impossible Things, which charts the friendship of three British Muslim women and what life throws at them.⁠ ⁠ 🎧️ Read more at the link in bio⁠ ⁠ #madworld #podcast #books #literature #poetry

The head of the World Health Organization has suggested that men who have sex with men temporarily limit their number of sexual partners while monkeypox cases increase within their community — a shift in messaging days after the agency raised its threat alert level for the outbreak. The chief made the comments Wednesday during a news briefing in which he said 98 percent of monkeypox cases have been reported in men who have sex with men. Since the monkeypox outbreak was first reported, public health officials have sought to balance the need for outreach to the community experiencing the bulk of transmission and the desire not to stigmatize members of that community — or give the impression that monkeypox exclusively affects men who have sex with men. For more, tap the link in our bio.

"I'm used to all of it. But I'm not used to the cruelty." Comedian #JonStewart slams the #Senate for failing to pass legislation that would provide millions of #veterans with expedited health care and disability payments related to illnesses caused by toxic exposure from burn pits. #news #politics

The “other American” imprisoned in Russia has a name, too. Marc Hilliard Fogel has spent many years teaching history courses at schools attended by the global elite — including those in Russia. And for the past 11 months, Fogel has languished in Russian detention centers following his August 2021 arrest for trying to enter the country with about half an ounce of medical marijuana, prescribed in the United States for chronic pain. Now, he serves an incomprehensible 14-year sentence. Fogel’s plight parallels a similar, more popular case: the trial of WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States has made a proposal to release Griner and another American, Paul Whelan. Marc Fogel’s wife said in an interview that she’s still hoping her husband can be included in a swap. But those hopes are fading, she said. For the full story, tap the link in our bio.

"I was just playing in the pool and then I saw a boy at the bottom of the pool," Massiah, a second-grade student, tells goodmorningamerica. "And I went to go get him."⁠ ⁠ Full story at LINK IN BIO.

Mask mandates are making a comeback at public schools in Louisville. They could return to Los Angeles, after a possible decision this week. And outside Atlanta, where classes start in a matter of days, they are required for school employees. This is not what school leaders hoped for when they pictured the lead-up to the 2022-2023 school year. But a sizable swath of the country is seeing a surge of covid-19 cases, according to data posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For another year, educators are scrambling to adjust to covid’s fluctuations. But while some school districts are following CDC guidance, which recommends universal masking indoors when community levels are high, others are taking a mask-optional approach. Some school systems have not decided, hoping the virus wanes before they open. Read more through the link in our bio.

Structures are surrounded by water in what Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear calls "one of the worst, most devastating" floods in the state's history. The governor told reporters that he expects "double-digit" deaths and anticipates this will be one of the deadliest floods in Kentucky in "a very long time." #news #flooding #weather

💍 At 170-carats, this would make one heck of an engagement ring!⁠ ⁠ The "Lulo Rose" diamond discovered in Angola is believed to be the largest Pink diamond found in three centuries 💎.⁠ ⁠ Large colored diamonds have fetched record-high prices at auctions in recent years. Last April, 15.10-carat "The De Beers' Cullinan Blue" diamond sold for $57.5 million at an auction by Sotheby's in Hong Kong. It only narrowly missed beating the record set by the 14.62-carat "Oppenheimer Blue" diamond, which fetched just shy of an extra $70,000, when it sold in 2016.⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Tap the link in our bio to read more⁠ 📸 Lucapa Diamond Company

Check your phone. Are there any unanswered texts, snaps or direct messages that you’re ignoring? Should you reply? Or should you “ghost” the person who sent them? Ghosting happens when someone cuts off all online communication with someone else without an explanation. Instead, like a ghost, they just vanish. The phenomenon is common on social media and dating sites, but with the isolation brought on by the pandemic — forcing more people together online — it happens now more than ever. A study by a professor of psychology sought to understand what leads college students to ghost others, and if ghosting had any perceived effects on one’s mental health. Here’s what it found. To read more, tap the link in our bio.

A former teacher in northeast Ohio is opening up about why he walked away from years of teaching for a management job at walmart. Read his story at LINK IN BIO. https://abcn.ws/3zCgeYi

Across rural America, Covid killed Black and Hispanic people at considerably higher rates than it did their white neighbors, new research has found. Even at the end of the pandemic’s second year, in February 2022, overstretched health systems, poverty, chronic illnesses and lower vaccination rates were forcing nonwhite people to bear the burden of the virus. Black and Hispanic people in rural areas suffered an exceptionally high toll, dying at far higher rates than in cities during that second year of the pandemic. Black death rates at this winter’s peak were greater than those of white people by 34% in rural areas, 40% in small or medium cities and 57% in big cities and their suburbs. The racial gap was so large in cities because white urbanites have died from Covid at vastly lower rates than white people in rural areas for most of the pandemic. Tap the link in our bio to read the full report and for the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.

Olaf from Frozen said “some people are worth melting for”, but we’re not sure this is what he had in mind. Disney have released their most extravagant holiday yet - their VIP world tour. The 24-day “bucket list adventure”, which is limited to 75 guests, takes in 12 Disney resorts in six countries on three continents. Customers will travel on a “VIP-configured” Boeing 757, accompanied by Disney specialists, a chef, and a private medical team. A Disney spokesperson said the company had “a long commitment to protecting the planet and delivering a positive environmental legacy for future generations” - and that it would be monitoring the emissions from the tour and balancing them out with “investments in high-quality, certified natural climate solutions.” But what exactly is the estimated cost to the planet? Our environment reporter damiengayle explains. #Disney #climatecrisis #climatechange #privatejet #carbonemissions #carbonfootprint #environment