Short Takes – 1-9-23

Melted butter clogs drains and historical canal after dairy plant fire. HazardExOnTheNet.net article. Pull quote: “The Portage Fire Department said in a statement that the fire started in a room where butter was being stored and as it was heated it began to flow throughout the structure. The butter runoff and heavy smoke slowed access to the structure. After multiple hours with many crews the fire was contained and extinguished before it could spread past the firewalls and throughout the building.”

Could the next great space race involve China? TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Both NASA and China have major lunar ambitions, which involve reaching the resource-rich lunar south pole. NASA took its first steps toward that goal in 2022, with the launch of its massive moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). The launch was part of a larger program called Artemis, which will return astronauts to the lunar surface and establish a presence in lunar orbit. When those astronauts land, they will explore the moon’s south pole and work to establish a lunar base.”

Jordan: Republicans will be able to pass House rules package. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““I think we’ll get the 218 votes we need to pass the rules package,” Jordan said on “Fox News Sunday” with Shannon Bream. “What this rules package is designed to do is to stop what we saw happen literally 15 days ago when the Democrats passed a $1.7 trillion monstrosity of a bill.””

GOP lawmaker open to letting C-SPAN cameras run free. Politico.com article. Pull quote: “C-SPAN, the cable network that televises hours of daily, unfiltered federal government affairs, had a moment in the spotlight during the votes for House speaker, as camera operators were able to capture many more angles than usual in the absence of an active rules package. Viewers consequently saw live looks at discussions between members, exasperated facial expressions and one near-physical altercation, leading to some commentators to call for the House to leave the cameras on.”

U.S. national cyber strategy to stress Biden push on regulation. WashingtonPost.com article. Pull quote: “But the analysis also found there are five critical sectors of the U.S. economy in which oversight agencies lack authority to issue national-level cyber regulation. Those include food and agriculture, government facilities such as election infrastructure and schools, and “critical manufacturing” — including vaccine-makers, pharmaceuticals and mask manufacturers, the official said. That’s where Congress would have to step in to pass legislation granting the relevant federal agency power to regulate, the official said.”

Elon Musk Updates the Timeline for Starship to Finally Launch to Space. CNET.com article. Pull quote: “Musk, who also currently helms Tesla and Twitter, said via the social media platform on Saturday that he's hopeful the first orbital flight of Starship could happen as soon as next month. "We have a real shot at late February. March launch attempt appears highly likely," he wrote.”

Classified documents found from Biden’s time as VP, White House cooperating with DOJ. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““Attorneys for President Biden appear to have taken immediate and proper action to notify the National Archives about their discovery of a small handful of classified documents found in a locked cabinet at the Penn Biden Center so they could be returned to federal government custody,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said in a statement Monday evening.”

These Republicans were selected to chair House committees after Speaker battle delay. TheHill.com article.

Rep. Roger Williams (R,TX) – Small Business Committee,

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R,NC) – Education and Workforce Committee,

Rep. Jason Smith (R,MO) – Ways and Means Committee, and

Rep. Mark Green (R,TN) – Homeland Security Committee