January 1, Dems Scored Real Estate Cash Before Letting Eviction Ban Expire

Good morning Americans,

House Democrats’ super PAC received a substantial donation from the chairman of an apartment rental giant before letting the federal eviction moratorium expire. The Biden administration failed to act until after it had already lapsed. George Marcus, chairman of both Marcus & Millichap and Essex Property Trust, donated $1 million on June 1 to House Majority PAC. Marcus also donated $263,400 to a joint fundraising committee benefiting Nancy Pelosi’s campaign, her leadership PAC, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Lawmakers are calling for an investigation of the University of Pittsburgh’s federally funded research on fetal tissue after troubling details surfaced. Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-PA) requested that Pennsylvania’s auditor general review the university’s state and federal funding. “If these allegations are true that scientists at the University of Pittsburgh were harvesting kidneys of unborn babies while their hearts were still beating, they should not only have their taxpayer funding immediately suspended, everyone involved should face criminal charges,” said GOP Senate candidate Sean Parnell. The school refuted the allegations, calling them “irresponsible and completely false.”

The US Embassy in Moscow, Russia lost track of a former US Marine who was sentenced to nine years for attacking two police officers. Trevor Reed, 28, has insisted that he has “no memory of anything” pertaining to the incident. Reed’s supporters say the Russian officers changed their testimony throughout the trial. “We continue to press the Russian authorities for consular access to him,” a State Department spokesperson said. The embassy has been unaware of Reed’s whereabouts for three weeks.

The head of the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) warned that the coronavirus will continue to mutate. “As the number of infected cases has just become too big, this allowed the novel coronavirus more opportunities to mutate and select,” said Shi Zhengli. “New variants will continue to emerge.” A recent Republican-led investigation from the House Foreign Affairs Committee found that Shi, and others associated with WIV, lied about the origins of COVID-19 and actively hid the leak and the research done at the lab.

Unvaccinated people are twice as likely to get reinfected with COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC recommends that those who were previously COVID-positive get their vaccines for additional protection. “These findings suggest that among persons with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, full vaccination provides additional protection against reinfection,” the report reads.

Talk about a New York bubble. A Florida man washed ashore inside a bubble-running wheel, barrel-type device. “The occupant advised he left the St Augustine area yesterday to head to New York, but came across some complications that brought him back to shore,” the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said. Reza Baluchi’s goal was to “run” to New York, but he ended up 30 miles south of where he started. “I will show people anything you want to do, do it. Don’t listen to anyone. Chase your dreams.” Baluchi plans to resume his journey once the weather improves.

Be well,

Fraser Dixon

Sources

• US Senate candidate, PA lawmaker call for investigation after reports on Pitt fetal tissue research
• Dems Scored Real Estate Cash Before Letting Eviction Ban Expire
• US says ex-Marine from Texas has disappeared within Russian prison system
• Head of notorious Wuhan lab warns more COVID-19 mutations are coming
• CDC: Unvaccinated more than twice as likely to get COVID-19 reinfection
• Florida man washes ashore after trying to ‘walk’ to New York in bubble device