*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

• Editor’s note: I received many solicitations from Yelm area readers to join in this campaign, yet upon reading the Board of Health agenda vs. the multiple e-mails of the seemingly misinformed, something was clearly amiss. The first three stories below described the facts:

+ USA Today: Fact check: No discussion of forced quarantine, vaccines from Washington health board

+ The Olympian: FACT FOCUS: Washington state isn’t changing quarantine rules – A Washington State Board of Health meeting on Wednesday became the topic of a nationwide misinformation campaign as social media users, political hopefuls and conservative pundits pushed false claims that the meeting would include a vote to force unvaccinated residents into COVID-19 quarantine camps.

+ The Seattle Times: Protesters descend on WA Board of Health after misinformation about vaccine plans goes viral

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+ The Olympian: Port of Olympia Commissioner Amy Evans, one of two new faces to join the commission this year, heard conflict of interest accusations during her first regular commission meeting on Wednesday.

• Ed. note: Other county jurisdictions are forced to take conflicts of interest seriously. When will Yelm’s council understand and acknowledge conflicts of interest here?

+ The News Tribune (Tacoma) via MSN: Washington hospitals describe ‘worst’ level of operational crisis since start of COVID

+ KING-5 TV: Inslee pauses non-urgent medical procedures, deploys National Guard to Washington hospitals Inslee is also dedicating resources to make it easier to discharge patients to long-term care facilities and asking retired healthcare workers to temporarily return.

+ Office of the Governor: Inslee prioritizes poverty reduction efforts

+ Thurston Talk: Olympia is Third Pacific Northwest City to Prioritize Health and Clean Air by Cutting Climate Pollution From New Buildings

+ KING-5 TV: WA. election worker harassment could lead to prison, big fine under Senate-approved bill – the bill now goes to the House

+ Thurston County Elections: Offering Observer Training ahead of February Special Election  

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

The Washington Post: The past seven years have been the hottest in recorded history, new data shows

CNBC: Queen strips Prince Andrew of royal affiliations as he fights Epstein accuser case in the U.S.

*** POLITICAL NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

CNBC: Supreme Court blocks Biden Covid vaccine mandate for businesses, allows health-care worker rule

CNBC: Oath Keepers leader, 10 others charged in seditious Jan. 6 plot to breach Capitol

Daily Kos: Who will receive a Jan. 6 committee subpoena next? Time will tell but the clues are mounting

CNBC: January 6 committee subpoenas Google, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit in probe of Capitol attack

Daily Kos: Carl Bernstein: (almost) all will be revealed, 1/6 is “in excess of anything we saw in Watergate”

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

The Points Guy: ‘Worst may be behind us’: Delta sees demand hit from omicron, but thinks it won’t last long

Newsweek: Quebec to Impose ‘Significant’ Fines on Unvaccinated Residents

NBC News: Whether we’ll need yearly boosters remains an open question, Fauci says

The Defender: What Did Fauci Know … and When Did He Know It? Two members of Congress this week called for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to produce the transcript of a conference call between Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins during which the two discussed possible origins of COVID-19.

*** TRUMP NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

CNN via MSN: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham sent GOP Leader Mitch McConnell a very clear message Wednesday night: Get on board with Donald Trump or get out.

Truthout: Trump Is Still Casting Himself as the Victim to Keep Political Control