Good morning.
A sweeping new bill with powerful bipartisan support in the US Senate would establish an inquiry into the country’s Covid-19 response similar to the 9/11 Commission, among other provisions aimed at preventing the next pandemic.
The new Covid commission would inform the US response to future outbreaks as well as the current impact of the disease. The bill will be co-sponsored by Senator Patty Murray of Washington and Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, who plan to mark it up in committee in the coming weeks.
“The pain of this pandemic is unforgettable, and we have a responsibility to make sure its lessons are unforgettable, too,” Murray said.
The legislation, called the Prevent Pandemics Act, would lay the groundwork to enshrine new powers in federal health agencies.
In November 2019, the US was ranked first of 195 countries for pandemic preparedness in a report co-produced by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, but it has consistently had one of the worst responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, said John Farmer Jr, the senior counsel for the 9/11 Commission.
US Senate panel close to approving ‘mother of all sanctions’ against Russia
The leaders of the Senate foreign relations committee said yesterday they were on the verge of approving “the mother of all sanctions” against Vladimir Putin, warning there would be no appeasement as the Russian president contemplates an invasion of Ukraine.
“We cannot have a Munich moment again,” the panel’s Democratic chair, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, told CNN’s State of the Union, referring to the 1938 agreement by which allies ceded parts of Czechoslovakia to Hitler, believing it would stave off war.
“Putin will not stop if he believes the west will not respond,” Menendez said. “We saw what he did in 2008 in Georgia, we saw what he did in 2014 in pursuit of Crimea. He will not stop.”
Menendez said he believed bipartisan negotiations for severe sanctions were “on the one-yard line”, despite disagreements with Republicans over whether measures should be imposed before or after any Russian invasion. The UK government promised to ramp up sanctions against Putin and his associates.
What’s going to happen next? There is expected to be a UN security council meeting today, at the request of the US, to give Russia the opportunity to explain its actions. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said the US was “prepared to listen” but was “not going to be distracted by their propaganda”.
What’s happening on the ground? Tensions on the Ukraine border have continued to escalate, with Reuters reporting the Russian military build-up included supplies of blood in anticipation of casualties.
Florida Republicans advance wave of draconian bills
It has been a long and painful month in the Florida legislature for opponents of the state’s Trumpist governor, Ron DeSantis, and his loyal band of rightwing Republicans, writes Richard Luscombe. A slew of bills has advanced attacking everything from diversity rights to abortion protections and free speech in schools, in addition to a proposal that would legally shield white people from feeling “discomfort” over the state’s racist past.
Last Wednesday, an anti-masker physician, handpicked by the governor and apathetic about the value of Covid-19 vaccines, was backed unanimously by a Republican senate panel as the next surgeon-general after a walkout by Democratic politicians frustrated by Joseph Ladapo’s evasiveness.
To hear DeSantis tell it, the “freedom state” of Florida is merely following the will of a populist citizenry in defying the perceived tyranny of the federal government, determined to protect liberty in the face of a deadly pandemic that has claimed more than 64,000 of their fellow residents, and standing up against the “indoctrination” of children.
DeSantis is finding opposition beginning to harden. Those voices come from parents, doctors, LBGTQ+ activists, proponents of voting rights and others who will be affected if many of the Republican bills, as expected, become law.
In other news …
A booming online industry specialising in fake passports with official visas and travel stamps is offering people with links to Islamic State the opportunity to leave Syria and travel onwards to the US, EU, Canada and the UK, a Guardian investigation has found.
The US east coast fell into a deep freeze on Sunday after a powerful nor’easter dumped mounds of snow, flooded coastlines and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people. The weather may have contributed to at least four deaths in New York, all on Long Island.
Donald Trump’s promise to pardon supporters who attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 was “the stuff of dictators”, Richard Nixon’s White House counsel said. Trump made the promise at a rally in Conroe, Texas, on Saturday.
The United Nations says it has received “credible allegations” that more than 100 extrajudicial killings have been carried out in Afghanistan despite Taliban assurances of safety. Those killed include members of the ousted Afghan government, its security forces and those who worked with international troops.
Don’t miss this: The age of intimacy famine
As modern life has grown more distanced through technological innovation, our opportunities for deep, intimate moments have dwindled. Millions of people worldwide are isolated and lonely, woefully lacking in the meaningful and diverse social experiences that help support emotional and physical health. The pandemic has only exacerbated this trend, prohibiting or impeding many types of friendly and professional touch and sending many of us deeper into our online worlds. This has left many of us starving. We’ve entered an intimacy famine.
… or this: want to sleep better? Try a short, gentle stretch before bed
Studies have shown that low-level physical activity and meditation practice that uses gentle stretching such as yoga or tai chi can help with sleep quality. And while it is good to stretch at any time of day, establishing a gentle and quiet routine before bed can help send a signal to the brain that it is time for sleep. Best of all, stretching doesn’t require money.
Climate check: Tilting menus towards plants cuts meat eating, study shows
Tilting menus towards plant-based meals significantly cuts the amount of meat eaten, according to research. The experiments in work and university cafeterias showed making it easier to choose meat-free food can be effective and could be a more acceptable approach than other proposals, such as taxing meat or banning it on certain days. Meat production is an important driver of the climate crisis, and substantial falls in meat consumption are needed in rich nations to curb global heating.
Last Thing: Cold iguanas could drop from trees in Florida
The US weather service has warned Florida residents that immobilised iguanas could fall out of trees due to unusually cold temperatures across the region. “Iguanas are cold-blooded. They slow down or become immobile when temps drop into the 40s [4-9C],” the US National Weather Service Miami-South Florida said on Twitter on Sunday. “They may fall from trees, but they are not dead.” South Florida temperatures reached a low of 25F [-3.9C] on Sunday morning, according to the weather service.
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