5 things to know for August 25: Afghanistan, Covid-19, Congress, immigration, Nicaragua

According to the World Health Organization, global cases of Covid-19 appear to be declining after a two-month increase. Last week the WHO reported more than 4.5 million new cases and 68,000 new deaths worldwide, a slight increase from the previous week. However, don’t be too optimistic: there was a similar pattern in May, before the Delta variant drove a global increase in outbreaks. Winter can be even harder when the risk of Covid-19 is combined again with the flu season. The CDC typically recommends receiving a flu shot in late October. But with so many pandemic variables, some experts recommend getting it even sooner.

Moderate and progressive Democrats disagree on how two major bills that make up their party’s broad economic agenda should proceed. House progressives want the final budget conciliation package to move at the same time as the Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill, so that its voting group can vote on both bills. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has signed an agreement with moderates to vote on the infrastructure bill before Sept. 27, which pushes the timeline forward and threatens the prospect of keeping the two bills linked. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called on Democrats to completely stop the process to focus on evacuations from Afghanistan. The White House withdrew, saying the federal government is capable of taking on more than one responsibility at a time.

The Biden administration must move forward with the revival of the controversial Trump-era policy, “Rest in Mexico,” the Supreme Court has ruled. The policy forces migrants to stay in Mexico while they wait for U.S. immigration court dates. It was suspended at the beginning of Biden’s term and was formally formalized months later. However, Texas and Missouri sued to challenge the Biden administration’s decision. A federal district judge appointed by President Trump then ruled that the way the Biden administration ended the program violated U.S. law. The Supreme Court sided with this lower court decision and its rejection could set the tone for the way the court sees Biden administration’s emergency requests in the future.

The Nicaraguan government is cracking down on opposition leaders and activists ahead of the country’s presidential election this fall. The last person arrested is lawyer Roger Reyes, leader of an opposition political party. According to the CNN account, he is the 34th opposition figure arrested since May 28. Many, like Reyes, have been arrested for claims of actions against national sovereignty or for alleged money laundering, claims that they, their relatives and lawyers generally reject. Nicaragua’s elections are on November 7 and President Daniel Ortega plans to run for re-election. Reyes had planned his own arrest and his party shared a video he recorded in June calling for the country to unite against Ortega’s government.

If nothing else convinces you, let free pastry be what it is.

Sounds like trying to say “community” with your mouth full of peanut butter.

It was only a matter of time! It is ubiquitous!

Wow, every word in that sentence gets worse every time.

In case you need it, it is explained: milk cartons are for milk. Do not stack on top of each other and maintain human weight!

Charlie Watts, the modest son of a truck driver who gained worldwide fame as a Rolling Stones drummer, has died. He was 80 years old. Watts became part of the Stones’ four-year-old quartet alongside Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, anchoring the band’s blues-rock sound from their drum kit for over 50 years.

This is how many major companies, state and federal agencies, and other organizations inadvertently exposed the personal information of millions of people on the public Internet for months after misconfiguring a configuration of their Microsoft software, according to security researchers. Many of the affected organizations have secured their systems and there is no indication that the data has been accessed incorrectly.

President of FIFA Gianni Infantino, after the U.S. Department of Justice awarded $ 201 million to FIFA and several other international football governing groups. The agency determined that the organizations had been victims of decades of bribery plans that have corrupted the sport and slowed the development of the game.

Your morning breakfast requires a lot of care and attention, and seeing this man spend an entire day standing (in time-lapse style) to make them is both exhausting and amazing. (Click here to see.)