US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has tried to dig himself out of the hole of claiming roads are racist.

🗣 "I’m still surprised that some people were surprised when I pointed to the fact that if a highway was built for the purpose of dividing a White and a Black neighborhood, or if an underpass was constructed such that a bus carrying mostly Black and Puerto Rican kids to a beach... was designed too low for it to pass by, that that obviously reflects racism that went into those design choices," he said.

🧐 What's next, criticizing the game of chess?

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Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey has decided not to run for governor of Texas despite a poll by the Dallas Morning News indicating that he would beat incumbent Republican Greg Abbott by eight points in a head-to-head fight.

❓ What could be his reason for not running? The impact of political campaigning on his acting projects or personal reasons?

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🇺🇸 🦠 US top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci predicts that it will take about 2 weeks to get full data on the new coronavirus strain, Omicron. Fauci told US President Joe Biden on Sunday that, for now, existing vaccines should protect against severe infection.

🇺🇸 ✍️📃 Former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has sued the Defense Department, accusing Pentagon officials of blocking parts of his memoir A Sacred Oath, due to be published in May 2022.

❗️Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Khatibzadeh says Tehran will not hold bilateral talks with US delegation in Vienna nuclear talks

⚡️ Germany rejects sanctions policy on Nord Stream 2 amid tensions with US

⚡️ 'Washington must stop': Moscow vows to respond to upcoming expulsion of Russian diplomats from US

Check out some news you may have missed:

▪️The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell starts today in a Manhattan federal court.

▪️Merriam-Webster has declared "vaccine" the word of the year.

▪️A ninth child has reportedly been discharged from a hospital after sustaining injuries in the Waukesha Christmas parade attack; seven children are still recovering.

▪️The WHO has recommended that countries be ready to boost anti-pandemic measures.

▪️Students at Arizona State University are demanding the administration "withdraw" Kyle Rittenhouse, calling him a "murderer".

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👀 Today begins the trial of actor Jussie Smollett, who VP Kamala Harris supported after “an attempted modern day lynching”.

This was, of course, before he was indicted for staging a fake hate crime assault on himself.

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🧑‍⚖️ People are gathering outside a Manhattan federal court, where the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell is set to begin.

Jeffrey Epstein's "madam", charged with trafficking underage girls between 1994 and 2004, has pleaded not guilty on all charges.

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⚡️ Jack Dorsey expected to step down as Twitter CEO, media claims

⚡️ Twitter shares jump more than 10% on report Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO

⚡️Twitter CTO Parag Agrawal to replace Jack Dorsey as CEO, company statement says

📃 “Not sure anyone has heard but, I resigned from Twitter”

Jack Dorsey has posted his resignation letter as he steps down as Twitter CEO.

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🦠 President Biden is giving an update on the measures his administration plans to introduce to stop the spread of the Omicron coronavirus strain in the country.

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