Friday, February 19 top stories

Hello, I’m Renca. I will take Alex’s place for today’s top news stories. It is Friday, February 19. Ready for the news?

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) returned to Texas yesterday after being criticized for leaving his home in Houston on Wednesday while the state was dealing with a winter storm crisis. Cruz said his trip was a mistake and explained that he wanted to honor his daughters’ wish for a Cancun vacation. News outlets reported that Cruz’s wife sent a group text to neighbors earlier this week to ask who wanted to go to Cancun because their family home was “FREEZING.”

Yesterday afternoon NASA successfully parachuted down a new car-sized rover on Mars named Perseverance, or “Percy” for short. The flight, from launch to landing, took seven months. A NASA team of engineers was seen jumping with joy and cheering when it was confirmed that Percy landed safely and could take photographs of the Martian surface. Now Percy will look for signs of ancient life to determine if there was ever any kind of living thing on the planet. The rover has a small experimental helicopter that NASA will test, and if it is successful, it could be a new way to further explore Mars.

At the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, two women showed up dressing like “grannies” so they could get their 2nd dose of the COVID vaccination. Both of the women (44 and 34) dressed with bonnets, gloves, and glasses. The workers there noticed that the women “looked funny” and stopped them before they could get vaccinated. They got caught because their birthdates did not match what the two women used to register. Articles say it is not clear how the two women got their 1st dose of vaccination. Dr. Raul Pino, the director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County said that people faking their identities are higher than we expect. In Florida, you have to be a Florida resident and 65 years old and up to qualify for a COVID vaccination.

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Last year January 2020, Harry and Meghan said they would step back as ‘senior’ royals and work to become financially independent. In March 2020, they officially stepped down, but with a 12 months trial period before deciding to return as working royals. As of today, it is confirmed that Harry and Meghan will not return to their royal duties. However the couple said they will continue their service, support the Queen, serve the UK, and around the world. A spokesperson for the couple said that for the past year we have seen the couple do service around the world and they will continue doing that. The spokesperson also said we all live a life of service and service is universal. Queen Elizabeth II expressed that she is disappointed that the couple will not be working royals, but they are still much loved by the family. Harry and Meghan are expecting their 2nd child.

Elizabeth Ann, a Black-footed Ferret, is a clone of another ferret that died more than 30 years ago. Willa is the name of the ferret that died, but her genes and tissue samples were preserved in the San Diego Zoo Global’s Frozen Zoo which led to the clone of Elizabeth Ann. Elizabeth Ann is the first successful clone of any endangered species that are native to the U.S. She was born on December 10th. The U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service said this is a “bold step” to increase the genetic diversity and disease resistance of black-footed ferrets. This species has been endangered since 1967. The U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service said they are hoping that Elizabeth Ann will be able to successfully reproduce.

Samira Zargari, an Iranian Alpine ski team coach, was blocked by her husband from traveling to the World Championship in Italy because she did not agree to a divorce. Samira ended up coaching remotely with her 4 racers when they competed in the women’s giant slalom. Samira’s husband is dating her best friend so he wanted a divorce. Samira did not agree to it so her husband used the Iranian law that husbands can stop their wives from traveling outside of the country. Samira and her husband are both dual citizens of U.S. and Iran and they are currently living in Iran. So, Samira’s husband took advantage of using the Iranian law against her. Samira did ask the International Ski Federation for help to get her to travel to Italy for the World Championship, but they could not because they said they cannot dispute against a law of a country. One of the skiers on the Iran team said this not the first time and it is common with all the women in Iran. Samira said she still loves Iran and wants to stay to make changes for the oppressed women and children there.

That’s all for now. Hope you all have a great weekend. Stay safe, stay warm, and stay with the light.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/science/nasa-peseverance-mars-landing.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/18/sen-ted-cruz-flew-mexico-vacation-amid-texas-winter-storm/6798518002/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/us/politics/ted-cruz-storm-cancun.html

https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-women-dressed-grannies-covid-vaccine

https://people.com/health/florida-women-caught-dressed-up-as-grannies-trying-to-get-covid-vaccine/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/black-footed-ferret-becomes-the-first-endangered-animal-to-be-cloned-in-the-u-s-marking-a-bold-step-forward-for-conservation-efforts/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/19/us/elizabeth-ann-ferret-cloned-scli-intl-scn/index.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/02/19/meghan-markle-prince-harry-royal-roles-done-good-queen-says/4504421001/

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56127673

https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/iranian-skier-makes-appeal-womens-rights-country-75969163?cid=clicksource_4380645_15_hero_headlines_headlines_hed

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/18/iranian-womens-ski-coach-barred-from-going-to-world-championships-by-husband