U.S. CAPITOL building, the seat of Congress, in Washington, D.C. (Wikipedia photo).

In an historic and controversial act, the U.S. House of Representatives voted narrowly to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

On its third try, the Republican majority prevailed, this time on a vote of 214-213. The return of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise gave the GOP members enough to have a majority.

The impeachment is based on the accusation that Mayorkas failed to enforce immigration laws on the southern border with Mexico.

President Joe Biden called the action “a blatant attack of unconstitutional partisanship.”

The impeachment – an accusation – will now go to the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority and impeachment is given no chance of mustering the two-thirds majority needed for conviction and removal from office.

Three Republicans joined with all 210 Democrats in the final tally.

Santos replacement likely to be Democrat

DEMOCRATS FLIP SANTOS SEAT (Shutterstock).

Returns from a special election in New York’s Third Congressional District show Democrat Tom Suozzi with big lead over Republican Mazzi Pilip in the race to replace former Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from his seat.

With 85 percent of the vote counted, Suozzi had 54.2 percent of the vote, with Pilip getting 45.8 percent.
Santos lost his seat in the face of evidence that he had lied repeatedly about his education, job history, ethnicity and several other issues.

If Suozzi holds his lead, Republicans’ slim hold on the House would be further reduced.

Isolation period may be reduced

The Centers for Disease Control is considering changing the isolation period for Covid-19 patents from five day to one day.

COVID-19 is still a threat (Shutterstock).

Proposed guidelines would state that after testing positive for the disease, a person could return to his or her daily routine if they have been free from fever for at lest 24 hours without medication.

In the early days of the pandemic, the quarantine period was 14 days, later reduced to seven days and currently five.

The change doesn’t mean that Covid-19 is no longer a threat. It is still a public safety threat, say physicians, especially to people over the age of 65.

Ducks, Kings cold; Lakers hot

Both LA-OC area NHL teams had rough nights on ice Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Kings lost 7-0 to the Buffalo Sabres on the road. With the loss, the Kings are 24-16 and in fourth place in the NHL Western Conference.

The Anaheim Ducks lost 5-0 to the Canadiens in Montreal. With the defeat, the Ducks are 18-32-2 and in seventh place in the NHL Western Conference.

The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and came away with a 125-111 victory to improve their record to 29-26, good for ninth place in the NBA Western Conference.

Six Lakers were in double figures, led by LeBron James with 25 points and followed by D’Angelo Russell with 21, Anthony Davis with 20 and Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura with 15 each.
Christian Wood added 10. The Lakers are next in action Wednesday against Utah.

Weather: Partly cloudy, then rain

The sunny days that we in our West Orange County area have enjoyed recently appear to be over. Partly cloudy skies are forecast from Wednesday through Friday with daytime highs ranging from 63 to 66 and overnight lows from 47 to 53. Saturday should bring rain with a high of 63 and a low of 53.