Weekly Review

The United States’ COVID-19 death toll surpassed 1 million.¹ “I never anticipated that happening,” said Joe Biden, who blamed “ultra-MAGA Republicans” for a failure to secure bipartisanship.² Joe Manchin and all Senate Republicans voted against a bill that would have codified nationwide abortion access.³ U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified before the Senate Banking Committee that the repeal of Roe v. Wade would have “very damaging effects on the economy,” the president of Planned Parenthood said that the organization was “looking into a number of things” related to cryptocurrency, and the president of PlayStation sent a company-wide email about his cats that also asked employees to “respect differences of opinion” on the issue of choice.^{4 5 6} “If there’s one thing I want you to get from these writings, it’s that white birth rates must change,” read a manifesto posted by a gunman who killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, livestreamed the violence on Twitch, and was captured alive by law enforcement; he was one of three men who perpetrated mass shootings over the weekend.^{7 8 9 10} “The White House, House Dems, & usual pedo grifters are so out of touch with the American people that rather than present ANY PLAN or urgency to address the nationwide baby formula crisis, they double down on sending pallets of formula to the southern border,” tweeted Representative Elise Stefanik, an adherent of the great replacement theory; a staffer for the congresswoman later clarified that “pedo” was not short for “pedophile,” but for “children.”^{11 12}

A report found that more than 500 Native and Pacific Islander youths died while attending federal Indian boarding schools.¹³ Israeli riot police beat pallbearers carrying the coffin of a journalist who was shot and killed by Israeli Defense Forces.^{14 15} A court in Varanasi, India, ruled that only 20 Muslims could gather at a mosque after Hindu symbols and relics were found at the site.¹⁶ “There is no point to reporting because discipline is nonexistent,” said one respondent to a survey of misconduct and harassment by judges in U.S. federal trial and appeals courts.¹⁷ Scientists at New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, a facility where nuclear weapons are still being developed, were evacuated because of wildfires.¹⁸ It was reported that the Russian army has begun using microchips from home appliances to fix its tanks and other military hardware.¹⁹ A six-hour police standoff in Duluth, Minnesota, ended when officers realized that the suspect had left before their arrival.²⁰ “The next day, it’s barbecuing,” said Eric Adams in defense of police who had strip-searched a woman accused of selling fruit in the subway without a license.^{21 22}

Lufthansa apologized after more than 100 Jewish passengers in Frankfurt, Germany, were prevented from boarding their connecting flight; a Turkish flight taxiing at Ben Gurion Airport, in Israel, was grounded after passengers received photographs of crashes via AirDrop, and a passenger with no prior experience landed a plane in Florida after the pilot had a medical emergency.^{23 24 25} A government study stated that less-polluted air leads to more Atlantic hurricanes, and it was revealed that a player for Lyon’s soccer team was let go for farting in the locker room.^{26 27} The right-wing internet personality known as Baked Alaska, who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, had his plea deal rejected after he told the judge he thought he was innocent.²⁸ “They’re saying if I go to trial they’re going to hit me with a felony,” the influencer said. Scientists found that sea turtles may not know where they’re going, and that the ocean is losing its memory.^{29 30} —Violet Lucca