Biden pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession
President Biden will pardon all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, the White House said Thursday, a move toward decriminalizing the drug.
Columbia
Colombia elects leftist ex-guerrilla to presidency
Former guerrilla militant Gustavo Petro won Colombia’s runoff election on Sunday, becoming the country’s first leftist president with 50.47% of the vote.
A National Vaccine Pass Has Quietly Rolled Out – And Red States Are Getting On Board
Even as the omicron variant loosens its grip on the world, destinations continue to require travelers to show proof of vaccination. And, increasingly, a paper CDC vaccination card is not cutting it.
Pentagon approves deployment of 700 National Guard troops to D.C. ahead of trucker convoys
The Pentagon has approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops to the nation’s capital as it prepares for trucker convoys that are planning protests against pandemic restrictions beginning next week.
House Republicans introduce bill to block tracking religious accommodations to COVID vaccine
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., introduced a bill Tuesday that would prevent the federal government from tracking information on individuals who receive a religious exemption to the coronavirus vaccine.
Biden admin. to list employees seeking religious exemptions to vaccine mandate in new database
A federal government agency’s announced plan to keep track of employees who have refused on religious grounds to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has drawn concern from conservatives.
Washington DC March for Life to take place amid vaccination mandate
The 49th annual March for Life in Washington DC will go ahead on January 21 this year, albeit with restrictions due to a new COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the nation’s capital, the Christian Post (CP) reports. The March for Life is part of an ongoing campaign to end abortion by “uniting, educating, and mobilizing pro-life people in the public square,” the event website attests.
Gallup: Trust in the media drops to lowest level since 2016 election
The Gallup polling firm reported Thursday that Americans’ trust in the media to report the news with fairness, accuracy and fullness has dropped to its lowest level since the 2016 presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Roughly one-third of U.S. population had COVID-19 by the end of 2020, new study
Roughly one-third of the U.S. population had been infected by the coronavirus by the end of 2020, according to a new study that appears to show how widespread but underreported the virus was.
Poll: Majority of US voters think it important for schools to teach “traditional Western values”
A poll carried out by Rasmussen Reports earlier this month has found that a large majority of likely American voters think it is at least somewhat important for children to learn “traditional values of Western Civilization” in school.
Another Church in Canada Set Ablaze
Police are investigating a suspected arson attack against the House of Prayer Alliance Church in south-east Calgary, Canada on Sunday evening, CBC News reports. A refugee from Vietnam, the church’s pastor Thai Nguyen said no one was in the building at the time of the attack, but that his congregation would still have to be “more careful” in the future.
Evangelical denomination passes resolution to acknowledge Church’s “complicity” in “dispossession, subjugation” of Indigenous peoples in Americas
On June 25 the Evangelical Covenant Church in the US voted to approve its “Resolution to Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery,” acknowledging what it calls the Christian church’s “complicity” in the “dispossession, subjugation and relegation” of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Christianity Today reports.
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. counties now ‘Second Amendment sanctuaries’
The majority of all U.S. counties have been designated as Second Amendment sanctuaries, according to an analysis by SanctuaryCounties.com.
Federal judge tosses FTC and states’ antitrust lawsuits against Facebook
A federal judge on Monday dismissed antitrust lawsuits against Facebook brought by the Federal Trade Commission and by attorneys general for 46 states plus D.C. and Guam.
New York State Senate passes bill to legalize recreational weed
The New York State Senate on Tuesday voted 40-23 to pass a bill to legalize recreational marijuana. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would sign it after agreeing with state lawmakers on the framework just days ago.
Poll: 63% of white evangelicals believe Biden election was “not legitimate”
A post-election poll reveals that nearly two-thirds of white Evangelicals do not believe US President Joe Biden was elected legitimately, the Christian Post reports. The survey was conducted in January by the public policy research organization American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
Pelosi says making D.C. a state would be ‘really good’ to help protect Capitol
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that making Washington, D.C., a state would better protect lawmakers in the aftermath of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
National Guard keeping 25,000 troops in Washington with no plans to leave — yet
The more than 25,000 National Guard troops called to provide inauguration security remained in place Thursday and will continue to patrol the near-vacant capital city until federal agencies release them, military officials said.
U.S. Investigating Claims That Capitol Mob Tried To Capture and Kill Elected Officials
Federal authorities are investigating claims that some within the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington last week intended to “capture and assassinate elected officials,” including the Vice President.
National Guard DC presence will swell to 21,000 for Biden inauguration
U.S. officials say the number of National Guard troops who will pour into the nation’s capital to assist law enforcement with security surrounding the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden has grown to about 21,000.