*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM TUESDAY ***

+ City of Yelm – Government: On Tuesday, Earlier today, Mayor DePinto gave the State of the City Address at a Yelm Chamber of Commerce sponsored event.

Click here for the video. Click here for the Q&A.

+ Thurston Public Works: Contractors start working on Vail Rd from 148 Ave SE to 153 Ave SE. Expect delays due to single-lane alternating traffic and a rough driving surface until paving is complete.

+ Yelm Dollars for Scholars News: Support YDFS by attending upcoming Taste of the Prairie events!

+ KING-5 TV: Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic returns after 2-year hiatus – The event was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

+ South Sound Business: South Sound Home Prices Start 2022 with Double-Digit Climbs – Thurston County’s combined median sales price was $475,000, up 18.5 percent.

+ KING-5 TV: Washington Lt. Governor Denny Heck tests positive for COVID-19 – Heck is currently isolated at home until he is cleared to return to his post at the head of the Senate chamber.

+ KING-5 TV: Explosives found at Yelm-area’s Neat RD SE home of recently-deceased man

+ KING-5 News: Washington’s mask requirements may be revisited in the ‘near future’ – Washingtonians may hear soon whether they’ll have to leave their masks on in indoor spaces for much longer.

+ Truthout: Amazon Dodged $5.2 Billion in Taxes Last Year, Report Finds

+ McClatchy Newspapers Opinion: The Boeing 737 Max tragedy is a cautionary tale of cost-cutting corporate hubris – “Boeing got away with murder,” according to author on book about the tragedy.

+ JOLT News: Lawmakers study changing peace officers’ use of force practices

+ The Olympian: Ocean heat waves trigger ‘squid bloom’ along Pacific coast, scientists say

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM TUESDAY ***

The Washington Post: Canadian trucker protest spreads to second city, threatening U.S. auto industry lifeline (the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor, Ontario, with the city of Detroit.)

The Washington Post: McConnell pushes back on RNC censure of two lawmakers for role in probe of Jan. 6 Capitol attack

U.S. Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe: This is a new low even for this lawless Court. Not even Chief Justice Roberts, author of the infamous Shelby County decision, could bring himself to join the radical right majority in draining the Voting Rights Act of all meaning and leaving it a hollow shell.

CNN’s Jim Acosta: Reagan’s ‘Big Tent’ GOP Has Collapsed Under Lies And Bigotry

MSNBC’s The Reidout Blog: The Supreme Court is executing a totalitarian nightmare before our eyes

The Defender: In what may be the first such move by a city health department, members of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Board of Health on Feb. 2 voted unanimously to issue a cease-and-desist order to Verizon if the company refuses to discuss removing or relocating a cell tower residents said is the source of multiple illnesses.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The Washington Post: Pope Benedict XVI apologizes for clerical abuse but admits no personal responsibility

Truthout: Israeli Policies Satisfy the Definition of Apartheid Under International Law

The Defender: Twitter Bans Freedom Convoy Account, Ottawa Police Seize Truckers’ Diesel Fuel​​​​​​​

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM TUESDAY ***

The Defender: Pfizer, FDA Lose Bid to Further Delay Release of COVID Vaccine Safety Data​​​​​​​

The Defender: 16 States File New Lawsuit Challenging Vaccine Mandates for U.S. Healthcare Workers​​​​​​​

McClatchy Newspapers: The governors of four states have announced plans to lift statewide mask requirements in schools a month or two from now

The Defender: Preventive Use of Ivermectin Reduced COVID Mortality by 90%, Study Found – A peer-reviewed study published last month found the prophylactic use of ivermectin reduced COVID mortality by 90% among more than 223,000 study participants in a town in Southern Brazil.

*** TRUMP NEWS FROM TUESDAY ***

+ The Guardian (UK): Trump’s incendiary Texas speech may have deepened his legal troubles, experts say+ Business insider: Trump was confused when White House staffers didn’t like him rewinding Capitol riot highlights on TV, report says

+ Insider: Chris Christie says Trump has accidentally ‘told the truth’ by revealing he incited the Capitol riot to intimidate Mike Pence into overturning the election

+ Newsweek: Ex-Trump Adviser McMaster Rips ‘Illegitimate Political Discourse’ of Jan. 6

+ Talking Points Memo: Marc Short: Trump Had ‘Snake Oil Salesmen’ Giving Him ‘A Lot Of Bad Advice’ On Pence’s Authority