South Dakota lawmakers voted on Wednesday to broaden their examination of the state attorney general's killing of a man in a fatal collision last year.

Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg killed a pedestrian while driving in September 2020. Ravnsborg initially told police he had hit a deer but discovered 55-year-old Joseph Boever's body the following morning after returning to the scene of the crash.
The House Select Committee on Investigation is considering whether to recommend Ravnsborg be impeached following the fatal car crash. The articles alleging corrupt conduct were initially filed in February.
State lawmakers in March halted an initial impeachment effort against Ravnsborg, after criminal charges were filed against him. At the conclusion of the legal proceedings in late August, in which Ravnsborg pleaded no contest, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem called on the legislature to reconsider the impeachment articles.
In August, Ravnsborg pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in connection with the fatal crash. He was ordered to pay a $500 fine for each of the misdemeanors -- one count of operating a motor vehicle while using a mobile electronic device and one count of lane driving. A third misdemeanor charge was dismissed. Ravnsborg did not get jail time.
Noem called for Ravnsborg to step down and offered her continued support for his impeachment should he not submit his resignation.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/30/politics/ravnsborg-impeachment-investigation-south-dakota/index.html
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Or, as my Democratic friend from Sioux Falls said, "Business as usual"

For more than a year, Victoria Gray's life had been transformed. Gone were the sudden attacks of horrible pain that had tortured her all her life. Gone was the devastating fatigue that had left her helpless to care for herself or her kids. Gone were the nightmarish nights in the emergency room getting blood transfusions and powerful pain medication.

But one big question was: Would getting her blood cells genetically modified keep working, freeing her from the complications of sickle cell disease that had plagued her since she was a baby?

More than another year later, the answer appears to be: Yes.

"I'm doing great," Gray, now 36, said during a recent interview from her home in Forest, Miss. with NPR, which has had exclusive access to chronicle her experience for more than two years.

"I haven't any problems with sickle cell at all. I did get a cold about a week ago," she says with a nervous chuckle.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/12/31/1067400512/first-sickle-cell-patient-treated-with-crispr-gene-editing-still-thriving

The new year brings new protections for patients with private health insurance who will no longer be blindsided by "surprise" medical bills when they unknowingly receive out-of-network care.

The No Surprises Act, passed by Congress in 2020 as part of the coronavirus relief package, takes effect Jan. 1.

It generally forbids insurers from passing along bills from doctors and hospitals that are not covered under a patient's plan — such bills have often left patients to pay hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars in outstanding fees. Instead, the new law requires health care providers and insurers to work out a deal between themselves.

Here's how the law will work and how it might affect insurance premiums and the health care industry.


https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/10/14/1045828215/ban-on-surprise-medical-bills

As 2021 comes to a close, a city in Texas had one last unexpected event: raining fish.

Residents in Texarkana – almost 200 miles from Dallas – saw fish fall from the sky on Wednesday and land in their yards or sidewalks, KXXV reported.

"2021 is pulling out all the tricks … including raining fish in Texarkana today. And no, this isn’t a joke," The City of Texarkana wrote in a Facebook post.

The city said raining fish is a phenomenon called "animal rain" that happens when small water animals such as frogs, crabs or small fish are swept into waterspouts that occur on the surface of the Earth.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/12/31/fish-falling-from-sky-texarkana/9062273002/

Kirk Cousins tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, which means he will miss Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers

Cousins said before the season he is unvaccinated, meaning he is tested every day. According to NFL Network, Cousins self-reported symptoms and was later positive.

Like his fellow unvaccinated signal-caller Carson Wentz of the Indianapolis Colts, the timing couldn't be worse for Cousins and the Vikings. After last week's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Vikings fell out of the NFC Wild Card race and would need help to make the playoffs. Beating Aaron Rodgers (also unvaccinated) and the current No. 1 seed Packers was already going to be a tall task.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/vikings/2021/12/31/vikings-kirk-cousins-covid-positive/9062741002/
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Good morning, Ms. Karma

Multiple wildfires fueled by strong winds have triggered evacuation orders Thursday in Boulder County, Colorado.

The National Weather Service for Denver and Boulder called the situation "life threatening" and urged residents of Superior and Louisville, cities about 8 miles southeast of Boulder, to "LEAVE NOW." Officials issued evacuation orders for both communities by Thursday afternoon.

The weather service said the fires were “becoming a very high impact wind event for our area” and urged people to “take it seriously and abide by any evacuation orders from local authorities.”

NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver reported that the strong winds brought down power lines which sparked several grass fires in the area. The sheriff's office said in a tweet that it has received multiple reports of downed power lines and transformers blowing.

Crews were responding to the fires, the sheriff's office said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/life-threatening-colorado-wildfires-trigger-evacuations-boulder-area-rcna10475

We watched it on streaming last night (Disney+)....we are not crazy enough to pay theater prices and go sit with a bunch of people who might have God knows what. Also needed it after a tough day...buried our priest, who died suddenly last week at the age of 52. (NOT Covid!)

Anyway, it was just what we needed and put us both to bed with smiles. Spousal unit is a geek-for-life and was totally wowed by the animation. Actually I was too; it's amazing and I couldn't help thinking how far it's come since Show White and Cinderella. I totally loved the music, of course, which is Lin-Manuel Miranda. And the message about what families should be and often aren't hit home too. Anyway, we definitely found it worthy of a watch and maybe even a re-watch.

(He's already vaccinated and boostered.) He reported that there were 10 people ahead of him, most in various stages of getting vaccinated for Covid, and at least that many behind him, including one family who he described as "Mom and daughter dragging dad in kicking and screaming for his first shot", and various seniors filling out paperwork.

Reminding you that we are blue dots in a big red district.

The former Virginia Military Institute cadet was scrolling Facebook when he saw a trio of photos that made him seethe.

The images showed a graduating VMI student being sworn in as a Marine officer on a December day in 2019 at the school’s historic Memorial Hall.

The former cadet knew the freshly commissioned Marine second lieutenant in a way he’d never forget. Just across the street from Memorial Hall, that same student had helped waterboard him and another VMI freshman inside the barracks as part of an unauthorized initiation ritual, according to two lawsuits, a VMI police report and the transcript of a VMI disciplinary hearing.

One VMI official testified that the January 2018 incident, though brief, was one of the worst episodes of abuse against a freshman he could remember at the nation’s oldest state-supported military college, where hazing is prohibited by state law and VMI policy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/12/30/vmi-waterboarding-hazing-rat-line/
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There is no excuse for VMI (or The Citadel, or any other state "military college" to exist. I resent my taxes going to this institution when ROTC is available at other state-run schools.

The death of a Black teenager who lost consciousness after being handcuffed and restrained at a juvenile detention center in Kansas has been ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy report released this week.

The findings contradict a preliminary autopsy report which suggested that 17-year-old Cedric Lofton didn't suffer life-threatening injuries prior to his September death while being held at the youth facility.

The autopsy released this week from the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Center cites a law enforcement timeline and unreleased video of the incident, and paints a disturbing portrait of the final moments of Lofton’s life.

Authorities arrested Lofton in Wichita on Sept. 24 after he began “exhibiting erratic and aggressive behavior toward his foster family,” according to the report. Police then brought the teenager to the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. After Lofton reportedly began fighting with staff at the juvenile center in the early morning hours, the teen's ankles were shackled, he was rolled onto his abdomen, and his wrists were handcuffed behind his back at 5:08 a.m.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdxqq/cedric-lofton-death-ruled-homicide
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A kid in mental health crisis doesn't belong in juvie