(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 10 things you need to know this Friday – December 17, 2021

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Report: $1.9 Trillion Reconciliation Package Dead Until 2022; Biden, Manchin ‘Not Close to a Deal’ – President Biden’s $1.9 trillion reconciliation package will reportedly be shelved until 2022 due to Sen. Joe Manchin’s opposition to inflation-exacerbating measures within the deal.

As Democrat leadership has desperately tried to win Manchin’s vote to pass the largest welfare package since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society initiative in the 1960s, a Fox News anchor on Wednesday indicated negotiations between the president and the senator exploded in failure and will not be restarted until 2022. – READ MORE

Court Restores Biden Administration Healthcare Worker Vaccine Mandate In 26 States –A federal appeals court out of New Orleans effectively restored the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 26 states across the country.

In late November, a federal judge in Louisiana blocked Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers, putting into place an injunction on the order across the country, The Daily Wire reported. – READ MORE

Ohio hospitals ‘pause’ Biden vaccine mandate as COVID patients strain ICUs – Ohio hospitals are “pausing” the vaccine mandate for health care workers as the hospitalization rate for COVID-19 patients statewide drastically soars – though most facilities there still support the Biden administration’s federal mandate, which will likely make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

OhioHealth – a system of 12 hospitals across the state of Ohio – rejected that the pause of the mandate for its employees was due solely to staffing shortages, as spokesman Colin Yoder told Fox News Digital that its “more do to the things going through the legislature and the courts right now.” – READ MORE

774, or MAYBE 11? Another Minister Can’t Remember Number of Omicron Cases in UK Hospitals – Another British minister has shown themselves unable to recall the number of Omicron cases in hospitals — presumably a matter of great importance, given government policy to lock the country down is justified by it — initially overestimating the real number over 70 fold.

UK Health Minister Gillian Keegan tied herself up in knots on Thursday morning over the number of Omicron cases in the country’s hospitals, initially giving a number over 70 times larger than her next guess. – READ MORE

Major Airline CEOs Push Back On Plane Mask Mandates: ‘Case Is Very Strong That Masks Don’t Add Much’ – The CEOs of two of America’s largest airlines said this week that they do not believe that the Biden administration’s continued mask mandate requiring travelers to wear masks while flying serves much benefit considering the fact that airplanes have advanced filtration systems that remove nearly all airborne contamination from the cabin.

The comments from American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly came on Wednesday during a Senate committee hearing on the financial support the industry received during the pandemic. – READ MORE

Police Arrest Anti-Vaccine Mandate Protesters At New York City Applebee’s ‘Sit-In’ – Police in Queens, New York, arrested four individuals who were participating in an anti-vaccine mandate sit-in at an Applebee’s Wednesday night. The establishment requires patrons to be vaccinated as is required under New York City’s COVID-19 restriction rules.

Multiple police officers were seen on video handling the restaurant-goers, who attempted to order food from the vaccine-required restaurant. – READ MORE

New York MTA Manager Caught Using Blow-Up Doll to Evade HOV Restrictions – Anyone caught in rush hour traffic in a big city on the way to work can sympathize with Giulio Divirgilio, a general superintendent at the MTA Buses department. Mr. Divirgilio decided to trick out his Kia Telluride by placing a blow-up doll in the passenger seat in order to drive in the HOV lanes on the expressway.

To be sure, it’s not a very unique subterfuge. Drivers have been using blow-up dolls, mannequins, and even stuffed animals to simulate a passenger in their vehicles for as long as HOV lanes have been in existence. – READ MORE

Pelosi On Why Congress Should Be Allowed To Trade Stock After Dozens Broke Law: We ‘Should Be Able To’ – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi brushed off questions on Wednesday about why Members of Congress should be allowed to trade stock when a recent report found that dozens allegedly broke insider trading laws.

“Madam Speaker, Insider just completed a five‑month investigation finding that 49 Members of Congress and 182 senior Congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act, the insider trading law,” a reporter said. “I’m wondering if you have any reaction to that.” – READ MORE

‘Egg Armageddon’: Mass. voters passed animal welfare law that effectively bans eggs from being sold in the state – Eggs will largely disappear from Massachusetts grocery store shelves come Jan. 1, 2022, unless state lawmakers act quickly to amend a strict new animal welfare law.

In 2016, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly passed an animal treatment measure that, in part, made it illegal to sell eggs born of hens with less than 1.5 square feet of floor space in their enclosure. Now that decision, scheduled to take effect in 2022, is coming home to roost — and it’s threatening to wipe out the supply of eggs in the state. – READ MORE

Thanks To Inflation, The Typical American Family Took A $3,500 Hit This Year – A new analysis shows that American families are experiencing a diminished standard of living due to high inflation.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced last week that consumer price inflation in the United States has reached a 6.8% clip — the largest year-over-year rate since June 1982, as well as the sixth straight month in which inflation remained above 5%. – READ MORE