NANCY PELOSI is Speaker of the House (Wikipedia photo).

The battle of Jan. 6 when hundreds of right-wing extremists stormed into the U.S. Capitol is still echoing in the halls of Congress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said Thursday that a congressional investigation into the riot that resulted in the death of seven people would proceed despite objections from Republicans.

Kevin McCarthy (R-California) criticized the inquiry as a “sham process” after two of his nominees to the investigating panel were rejected. Pelosi objected to Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio because they had voted against certifying the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president and vice president.

Pelosi has the option to appoint other members to the panel. Already named are seven Democrats and one Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

Oregon’s Bootleg Fire continues to burn

BOOTLEG FIRE in Oregon (Forest Service photo).

It’s now been two weeks since the Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon flared up, and firefighters continue to struggle to contain it.

According to The New York Times, the blaze was ignited by a lightning strike and has been spread in part by high winds over a parched landscape.

Global warming is blamed for the scope of the fire, drying soils and turning vegetation brown and brittle. Forest management policies may also contribute to the problem. Extinguishing every small fire allows underbrush to survive, which can feed the flames of a bigger blaze.

Sanctions against Cuba announced

FLAG OF CUBA

Cuba’s recent crackdown on protests about food, fuel and medicine shortages and demands for more political freedoms has brought sanctions from the United States.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden said, “This is just the beginning – the United States will continue to sanction individuals responsible for oppression of the Cuban people.”

According to USA Today, the sanctions were aimed at a leading military official and a brigade in the Cuban intelligence agency. Freezing the assets of those being sanctioned is a typical part of the process.