Congress is criticizing U.S. intelligence; Elon Musk suspended a Twitter account tracking his jet and Arizona faces a lawsuit over shipping containers. These stories and more highlight the midday rundown for Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022.
Congress: U.S. should’ve spied on China
House Democrats have released a new report detailing the shortcomings of the U.S. in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. The report indicates the U.S. could have and should have spied on Chinese health officials who were hiding what they knew about the virus, leaving the world with questions on its origins harder to answer three years later.
In the same report, Congress says the U.S. is ill-prepared for another biological threat to the country, concluding with missed lessons from the pandemic.
Warren calls out Pfizer price hike
Democratic Senators are calling Pfizer’s vaccine price “pure and deadly greed.” Pfizer announced a 400% increase to its COVID-19 vaccine just as the government is expected to stop covering the cost.
Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Pfizer asking for the company to justify such a significant price hike. The price of the vaccine right now is $30 which the government has been paying. But the price is expected to jump between $110 to $130 dollars just as insurance companies and uninsured Americans are expected to start paying for them next year.
Warren is asking Pfizer to answer questions by Jan. 9 about how much profit the company expects to make off the price hike.
Musk suspends Twitter account tracking jet
Elon Musk is threatening to sue a Twitter user who has been tracking the private jet Musk uses for travel after suspending the user’s account. The account was used to post real-time tracking information of flights the jet was taking.
The action to suspend the user has some critics saying his promise of a free speech platform is falling flat. The jet location data is public information.
Musk says the posts were putting his family’s safety at risk after a stalker allegedly used the data to follow his kids. Musk says real-time posting of someone’s location is a violation of Twitter policy.
Arizona sued over shipping containers
Arizona and the federal government have been clashing over how to handle migrants crossing the border at record levels.
The state has been using shipping containers to create a boundary and prevent crossings, but the federal government has told them not to. Arizona continued to do it, and now the Department of Justice is suing the state.
The DOJ accuses Arizona of trespassing on federal grounds. In the lawsuit they demand that the shipping containers be removed.
The current Republican governor has led Arizona’s fight, but he’s about to be replaced with a Democratic governor come January. The incoming governor has vowed to stop construction of the border blockade.
Charts measuring child obesity revised
Because of the dramatic increase in child obesity, the CDC has revised its charts measuring a child’s BMI. The charts used to go up to a BMI of 37. Now the charts will read up to 60, after too many children’s BMI were going off the charts.
In recent decades, severe obesity among children in the U.S. has nearly quadrupled. The new charts will be a better indicator for parents to understand their child’s obesity and health concerns.
Grinch gives onions to speeding drivers
In Florida, deputy Grinch is reporting for duty. He is eyeing the police radar and stopping speeders in school zones.
Drivers are given the choice between a traffic citation or an onion for their violation. It’s a tradition of 20 years in the Florida Keys, where the Grinch has been going to deliver bags of onions to residents with the need for speed.
