Thursday, January 2nd, 2025 Today, a Tesla truck exploded and caught fire outside of the Trump hotel in Vegas and lightning struck the US Capitol - signaling what we have in store for 2025; a Virginia man has been arrested after the feds found more explosive devices in his home than have ever been found in the history of the FB; 10 people are dead after a driver rammed into New Years Eve revelers in New Orleans; trans trailblazer Sarah McBride heads to her debut in Congress hoping for a touch of grace; and Allison and Dana delivers your Good News.
Thursday, January 2nd, 2025
Today, a Tesla truck exploded and caught fire outside of the Trump hotel in Vegas and lightning struck the US Capitol - signaling what we have in store for 2025; a Virginia man has been arrested after the feds found more explosive devices in his home than have ever been found in the history of the FB; 10 people are dead after a driver rammed into New Years Eve revelers in New Orleans; trans trailblazer Sarah McBride heads to her debut in Congress hoping for a touch of grace; and Allison and Dana delivers your Good News.
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Cybertruck filled with fuel and fireworks explodes at Trump's Las Vegas hotel (BBC)
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Um, MSW Media Media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Thursday, January 2, 2025. Today, a Tesla truck exploded and caught fire outside of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, and lightning struck the US Capitol, signaling what we have in store for 2025. A Virginia man has been arrested after the feds found more explosive devices in his home than have ever been found in the history of the FBI. 10 people are dead after a driver rammed into New Year's Eve revelers in New Orleans. And trans trailblazer Sarah McBride heads to her debut in Congress, hoping for a touch of grace. I'm Allison Gill.
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
Hi. My friend, did you have a wonderful, ah, New Year's?
I had a quiet and calm New Year's. I actually stayed up long enough to watch the ball drop in New York City, and I love watching the fireworks in Paris and London and other incredible capitals around the world, um, that do an extraordinary job. Now, listen, I know there's a lot of animal owners that do not like fireworks. They scare the animals. I respect that. But when I'm watching them on TV and I have no control over them, they are a spectacle to be seen. So please do not write in an angry comment. I did not like them. I, uh, had a very calm. I had a very calm, uh, New Year's Eve. And, uh, wow. Day one. Shit started quickly, didn't it?
You even put on blue sky. You're like, calm down. It's day one.
Jesus Christ. Take it down a notch, people.
Uh, and somebody put. There was a lightning strike at the Capitol.
Yeah.
Um. Um. And I was like, lol. I don't know what else to say. Like, it's.
It's, uh. It was. There was a thunder and lightning storm in New York City last night. Thunder and lightning. It was 50 degrees during the day. None of this is normal.
No. And it'll continue to be absolutely abnormal and unprecedented, as they say. I would. I would give anything to live in precedented times. Can we just have a nice, boring government? No, we. We will not. And, uh, we cannot. But, uh, the Tokyo fireworks were amaz. I like how they do drone shows.
Me too. And silent fireworks. They have figured out how to make silent fireworks, which is brilliant.
Yeah. Because I, you know, I have ptsd. So.
Absolutely.
Fire at, uh, midnight. I know they're coming, and it's fine, but at, like, 8:42pm, like, happy 8:42pm what are you doing? Why are you in the park near my house setting off fireworks?
Thank you for mentioning that. I always Think about the animals. But I, you know, I've had dear friends that. That were in wars, and I lived under a flight. A flight, um, route for one of the airports, and even that they would hit the ground when they would hear an airplane go over. And so I can only imagine what the sound of the fireworks going off does to people that have served our country that have ptsd and even those that haven't, that have ptsd. So thank you so much for saying something.
And it's not necessarily, but, like, I always thought that, you know, back in the. Because my dad was in Vietnam and they talked about shell shock, like, that the loud noises reminded you of bombs and gunfire, but that's not what it is. You're in fight or flight mode. So, you know, my PTSD doesn't come from being in a war zone. So any PTSD, you can. @ the drop of a hat, literally, like, if. If a hat hits the floor, you'll be like. And like, it's. There's nothing you can do to control it, so.
Got it.
But, yeah, we had a great time. We stayed into. It was. It was quiet. We do have a park near our house, like I said. So some fireworks were launched at very inappropriate times. But, yeah, I was sort of expecting them. And so it was. It was pretty okay. Uh, we watched. Me and my bestie watched 200 Cigarettes, uh, and When Harry Met Sally.
Nice.
And four rooms. Those are the three, like, New Year's Eve movies that I know of. I know there's more, but, uh, if you want to write in and tell us about what you did to ring in the new year, please do so. And send in any other good news stories daily beanspod.com and click on contact. We have a lot of news to get to today, so let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up from the Associated Press. An army veteran driving a pickup truck that bore the flag of n Islamic State group wrought carnage on New Orleans raucous New Year celebration, killing at least 10 people as he steered around a police blockade and slammed into revelers before being shot dead by the cops. The FBI said it's investigating the attack early Wednesday in the city's famed French Quarter as a terrorist act and does not believe the driver acted alone, which is interesting. Investigators found multiple improvised explosive devices, including two pipe bombs that were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation. And that's according to the Louisiana State Police Intelligence Bulletin obtained by the Associated Press. The bulletin, relying on information gathered soon after the attack Also said surveillance footage showed three men and a woman placing one of the devices, but federal officials did not immediately confirm that detail, and it wasn't clear who the individuals in the video were or what connection they may have had to the attack. The rampage turned festive Bourbon street into a macabre mayhem, injuring more than 30 people. Pedestrians fled to safety inside of nightclubs and restaurants. One man watched in horror as authorities placed a tarp on over his friend's body after she was hit and thrown some 30ft. A college football playoff game between Georgia and Notre Dame at the nearby Superdome was postponed until Thursday. A Georgia student was critically hurt in the attack, according to university president Jarrett Morehead. Quote, this is not just an act of terrorism, this is evil. That's what New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said. The driver defeated safety measures in place to protect pedestrians and was, quote, hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did. The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud Din Jabar, 42 years old, a US citizen and an army veteran from Texas, and said it is working to determine Jabar's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations. Quote, we do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. That's Oletha Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's New Orleans field office. And she said that during a news conference, Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic. A barrier system meant to prevent vehicle attacks was undergoing repairs in preparation for the super bowl, which is scheduled to take place there in February. Police killed Jabbar after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers. Three officers returned fire. Two officers were shot, but they're in stable condition. At least 33 other people were hurt in the attack. A photo circulating among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The intelligence bulletin obtained by the Associated Press said he was wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. The flag of the Islamic State group was on the truck's trailer hitch, according to the FBI. This is a rented truck, though investigators recovered a handgun and, of course, an AR style rifle, according to law enforcement officials. The official was not authorized to discuss details and, um, spoke on the condition of anonymity. President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters in Delaware, said he felt anger and frustration over the attack, but that he would refrain from further comment until more details were known. Quote, My heart goes out to the victims and their families who are simply trying to celebrate the holidays. There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities.
Thank you so much, Alison. And this is the story we were talking about with the cybertruck. This is from BBC. Police are investigating the explosion of a Tesla cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now, police said a cybertruck pulled up in front of the hotel on Wednesday near a glass entrance. Then smoke started coming from the vehicle and it exploded. The video is actually quite alarming. The driver was killed and seven people were injured, police said, without naming any of the individuals involved. Officials said all injuries were minor. Um, except, I'm sorry, gonna correct that. The person that obviously died. In a post on Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the explosion, quote, was caused by very large fireworks and or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. I don't necessarily disagree with this. The way that thing exploded, it looked like a bomb was set off. I don't know for sure. Obviously, none of us do right now. The fire occurred around 8:40pm Just hours after 15 people were killed, as you just said, when a man drove a truck into a crowd in New Orleans, Louisiana, on, uh, New Year's Day. Police have yet to confirm the incident was caused by a bomb or fireworks, but two sources with knowledge of the investigation told BBC's US partner, CBS News, that investigators were working to determine whether fireworks were responsible for the explosion. And you know what? If it was a bunch of fireworks and somehow one of them caught, it would have done the same thing. Uh, Sheriff Kevin McMahal of Las Vegas Police Department said officials were, quote, well aware of what happened in New Orleans, referring to attack that included improvised explosive devices found near the scene. In Louisiana, quote, as you can imagine, with an explosion here and an iconic Las Vegas boulevard, we are taking all the precautions that we need to take to keep our communities safe. This is what he said during a news conference. He went on to say, obviously, a cybertruck. The Trump Hotel. There's lots of questions that we have to answer as we move forward. Mr. McMahill said there was no longer a threat to the Las Vegas community. Fire Department officials said emergency responders quickly worked to extinguish the vehicle fire. They added that the public should stay away from the area and that the hotel was evacuated, which, uh, with most of the guests moving to a different location. The hotel is owned in part by President Elect Donald Trump's company. In A post on Twitter Trump's son Eric Trump said reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the Port de Cochere of Trump Las Vegas. Okay, Eric, sorry, I just left the Port Cochere. The driveway, I think the valet. It's the coach port. Like where the carport. I think it's the carport.
Translates to. To carport to Eric, not whale's vagina. Yeah.
Thank you. He went on to say, the safety and wellbe of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism. The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the incident and his administration has offered any federal assistance needed. Videos of the incident circulating on social media show a cybertruck in front of the entrance to the Trump Hotel before erupting in flames. Steven Furlando told the Washington Post that he witnessed the incident from his hotel room on the 53rd floor of Trump Tower. He told the outlet there was, quote, definitely an explosion and that the windows began to shake. The Trump Hotel spans 64 floors and about 1300 suites. According to its website, Trump recently named must co lead a presidential advisory commission, the Department of Government Efficiency. Otherwise what we like to call dodgy after the two became close during Trump's campaign. So, obviously the sad part of all of this is that seven people were injured and one person died. But the, um, the irony of a cybertruck in front of a Trump Hotel. I just don't believe it was.
The cops were like, we gotta, we have questions.
Yeah.
Like, I mean, I, um, mean, that's, you know, not just about the Port coche or whatever, but Eric, dude, Eric. I like how he's like an electric vehicle fire, not a cybertruck explosion, but. Yeah, you know, I don't, I don't know that it was necessarily because it was a cyber truck. Uh, Elon Musk doesn't have anything to say. Nice. About the families. Or he's just like, it wasn't because of the truck. It was definitely fireworks. But fine, you know what? We'll find out soon and we'll let you know what happened. This is from. Uh, Next story. Minivon Burke at NBC. A Virginia man was arrested after federal authorities found a cache of homemade explosive devices, some of which were marked as lethal, at his home, marking the largest seizure of finished explosive devices in FBI history. Authorities took Brad Spafford into custody on Dec. 17 at a farm in Smithfield, about 29 miles northwest of Norfolk, Virginia, and charged him with unlawful possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle. According to court filings, FBI agents found that rifle, along with, quote, a stockpile of more than 150 homemade improvised explosive devices assessed as pipe bombs during a search of his home. My God. 150 pipe bombs. Quote, some of these devices were marked lethal. Most of the devices were found in a detached garage where the FBI also found tools and manufacturing materials, including homemade fuses, pieces of PVC pipe. As several additional apparent pipe bombs were found in a backpack in the home's bedroom, completely unsecured. The phrase no lives matter was written outside the backpack. According to prosecutors, no lives matter follows an extremist ideology and promotes mass killings, criminal activity and targeted attacks, and has historically encouraged followers to engage in self harm or animal abuse. The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security said this and, uh, in. In a report. But the memo also stated that Spafford lived at the home with two young children. Dana. Two kids. Spafford allegedly told authorities that he kept in his freezer a jar of an explosive material that is so unstable it can explode as a result of friction, just because of temperature changes. That's insane. Photos in the court filing show a jar labeled dangerous and do not touch next to what appeared to be hot pockets and other food items in the freezer.
Oh, boy.
We have to reach out to Jim Gaffigan now. I mean that, like, do not touch.
In a jar with kids.
With children. And if. And friction from temperature changes can make it explode. Wow. They argued that his release poses an extreme danger because, uh, prosecutors in Spafford used those images to, you know, put him in pretrial confinement. Right. And, quote, expressed support for political assassinations and recently sought qualifications in sniper rifle shooting at a local range. So an attorney for Spafford didn't respond to requests for comment. The investigation into Spafford began last year when a source told authorities that Spafford had disfigured his hand while working with a homemade explosive device. Okay. The source also said that Spafford was stockpiling weapons and homemade ammunition. Homemade ammunition. That's. According to court documents, Spafford allegedly told the source that he makes about 50 rounds of ammunition per day.
My God, the damage this person could have done.
I'm very glad that they, uh, caught him. Uh, I'm surprised it took. When they say the investigation began last year, do they mean last week or do they mean.
That's a fair question.
A year ago. Like, how long have you been looking at this guy, anyway? Um, just a. That's a bizarre story, but you have a, you have a much better story for us. I saved this one for you, my friend, because I know that you are very good friends with, uh, Sarah McBride.
I am. And I'm so excited to read this. And I'm going to read it just as they wrote it, and you're going to learn a lot more about this incredible woman. This is from Tiffany Stanley at the Associated Press. It was her last day in session as Delaware state Senator, and Sarah McBride sat in her tiny office at the state Capitol preparing farewell remarks. She had made history here as the first openly transgender state senator in the country. Now she was making history again. Recently elected as the first openly transgender member of Congress, her political promotion has come during a reckoning for transgender rights, when legislation in Republican governed states around the country aims to curb their advanced. During an election where a deluge of campaign ads and politicians demean trans people, McBride still easily won her blue state's only seat in the US House of Representatives. But even before she was sworn in on Friday, her reception from congressional Republicans has been tumultuous. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina targeted her, proposing to ban transgender people from US Capitol restrooms that correspond to their gender identity and a ban that House Speaker Mike Johnson enacted. For her part, McBride tried to defuse the situation, saying she would follow the rules. She said, I'm not here to fight about bathrooms. This is what the 34 year old wrote in a statement. While some activists want her to fight harder, to those who know her, the move was classic Sarah, a pragmatist with a reputation of bipartisanship, a person who values diplomacy over pugilism. Quote, this is so much joy and so much awe in having this opportunity. I will not let anyone take that from me. This is what McBride told the Associated Press. She said, I'm simply here to do the job just like anyone else. Her political home of the last four years, the Delaware Senate. It's small, just 21 members, much like the state itself, not even 100 miles from north to south. That proximity creates the kind of collegiality that, while not constant, is often lacking these days in Washington. Quote, we're a family. That's what State Senator Brian Petty John, a Republican colleague who walked over to hug McBride, quote, We're going to disagree on a lot of things, but we don't have the vitriol. In the Delaware Chamber, there were last minute nominees to confirm and mundane business to Finish. During the December 16th special session. In between votes, McBride sat at her office's burgundy couch Typing on her laptop, a staffer went through papers on her desk. The next day, they would, uh, remove art from the walls and pack up prize mementos. A wedding photo with McBride's m. Late husband. A letter from former president Barack Obama. A photograph with the most famous Delaware politician, President Joe Biden. Back down the hall on the state Senate floor, McBride's colleagues in the General assembly sent her off like the popular classmate at graduation. She opened the day with a prayer about, quote, new beginnings and bittersweet endings. She ended with a. She ended with a speech of gratitude for her fellow state lawmakers. She's just a fucking class act. Obviously, that's not part of the story.
But, okay, everybody loves her. Everyone loves her.
And I, quote, I take with me the hope that I have found here that despite the rancor and the toxicity that we too often see in our politics, that we do genuinely have more in common than what divides us. This is what McBride said. Um, she continued, we have a politics of grace and not of grandstanding, a politics of progress, not pettiness. Growing up in Wilmington, McBride was the type of child who practiced Democratic political speeches in her bedroom at a makeshift podium.
This is so classic Sarah, right? By high school, I had no idea. She was like, did she have a hairbrush that she probably. I love it. I love it.
By high school, she had worked on multiple campaigns, including that of Beau Biden, the president's late son and former Delaware attorney general. She combines a passion for public service with a great intellect, with extraordinary political judgment and messaging ability. This is from Jack Markell, the US ambassador to Italy, a former Delaware governor and McBride's mentor. Though she seemed destined to work in politics, McBride once felt revealed her gender identity would derail those ambitions. She was 21 and the President of the American University student government when she came out as transgender. First to her friends and family, and later to public posts that went viral. Sitting in her Wilmington condo, McBride said, quote, coming out was without question the hardest thing I have ever done up until that point. And yet it was still relatively easy compared to the experiences of so many. Her parents have been her biggest supporters, but they worried for her. One of their first calls after McBride came out was to their pastor, Reverend Gregory Knox Jones of Westminster Presbyterian, a progressive church where Sarah was a youth elder and Jill Biden is a member. Quote, we talked about the fact that this was your child. You love your child. This is what Jones recalled and went on to say. You can't think of losing a son. You've gained a daughter. David McBride, Sarah's father, said that kind of support has made all the difference in her family. Quote, our life and Sarah's lives have been made by the response that we and she got first from our friends, our church, and our community. McBride would go on to forge a trail through a rapid series of firsts. During college, she became the first openly transgender woman to intern at the White House. At a reception there, she met and later fell in love with a younger lawyer, Andrew Cray, a trans man, an LGBTQ/health policy advocate. As an activist at 22M, McBride was instrumental in helping pass a transgender non discrimination law in Delaware. She worked as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, which is where I met her. A, uh, leading LGBTQ rights group. In 2016, she became the first openly trans person to speak at the Democratic National Convention. To be a first, a historic first, is a privilege and a burden. McBride M is quick to point out that she's more than just the headlines about her gender identity. Quote, the reality is that I didn't run to be a first. I didn't run to make history with an election. Her focus is to be the best member of Congress she can be for all of Delaware in the country. It's the, quote, only way that I can guarantee that while I may be first, I'm not the last. Some activists have criticized McBride for not fighting back more forcefully against the Capitol bathroom ban. She agrees it's important for transgender people to access public facilities, quote, but the people who are talking about bathrooms aren't trans people. I really want to hear. I want listeners right now to hear that the people who are talking about bathrooms, they're not trans people. She said the people who are obsessing about bathrooms are right wing Republicans who are seeking to stoke division and to distract. She said she will continue to respond with grace. At the end of the day, our ability to have a pluralistic, diverse democracy requires some foundation of kindness and grace. This is what McBride said, and I believe in that so strongly that even when it's difficult, I will seek to summon it. And I apologize for, uh, getting choked up in the middle, um, when I, When I was, uh, reading the part about her meeting Andrew, um, that's the person she married. And he, um, later, uh, very shortly after they married, passed away from cancer. So, um, just. Just a tough moment. But for those of you that don't know Sarah McBride, and there's a little bit of more about this incredible woman, and she has a wonderful career ahead of her, and I cannot wait to see what she Does, Um, and. And, yeah, she's. She's doing this her way. So I sure hope the trans community can support the fact that they now have someone sitting at that table. And she's gonna do it this way so that she can sit there as long as she can and as long as she needs to, um, to continue to pave her way.
Yeah, the diverse democracy that we need. I mean, you and I felt it when we were at the DNC this year, just the incredible diversity of the people in the room.
Oh, it was amazing. Amazing.
And to know she was the first openly trans person to speak at a DNC way back in 2016. So many firsts. But she's like, I'm not here to be a first. I'm here to do a job. And, uh, she's just so fantastic. And, um, I imagine she's just as fantastic in person. So. Thank you so much for sharing that story, Dana. I really wanted to talk about that, and especially the part about, you know, these people talking about bathrooms aren't trans people. You know, they're here to distract us and divide us. So thank you so much for that. Everybody. We have a lot of good news that we need to get to, but we have to take a quick break. Break. So stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody, it's AG in 2025. I am all about building habits that last, not chasing perfection. As Mitch Hudberg says. You know, I'm tired of chasing my dreams. I'm going to just hang out here and catch up with them later. But AG1 is my favorite go to for this. It is the easiest habit to pick up. Daily ritual helps me feel my best. With benefits like digestion and boosted energy. AG1 takes the guesswork out of healthy living and keeps me focused on my goals. Healthy choices don't need to wait for the perfect moment. Whether it's January or July, starting with AG1 is always the right move. It's simple, it's effective. It's the one change I've made that I'm genuinely excited to stick with. For me, health is about balance, supporting my body and mind without unnecessary complexity. And that's why AG1 has become a staple every morning for me. Just one scoop delivers everything I need to feel grounded and ready for the day. AG1 makes consistency effortless. I love the refreshing taste. It's the easiest part of my morning to commit to. Starting my day with AG1 gives me the clarity and momentum to tackle my New Year's goals and simplify my health routine. No more supplements juggling like I have. I had a whole cabinet of supplements before and now it's just one delicious scoop of AG1 in some cold water every morning. So this new year, try AG1 for yourself. It's the perfect time to start a new healthy habit. And that's why I've been partnering with AG1 for so long. And AG1 is offering new subscribers a free $76 gift. When you sign up, you'll get a welcome kit, a bottle of D3K2, and five free travel packs in your first box. So make sure you check out drinkag1.comdailybeans to get this offer. That's drinkag1.comdailybeans to start your new year on a healthier note. You'll be glad you did. Everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone. Then good news, everyone. And if you have any good news and you want to send it to us, all you got to do is go to dailybeanspod.com, click on Contact and submit your good news story, your confession, your correction, especially pronunciation corrections. Uh, your shout out self shout out shout outs to government programs that have helped you, like the Affordable Care act or Social Security. Shout out to a small business or your small business. You just send it all to us. Your bird watching photos. We would love to see those. And bird watching photos. You can actually send us photos of birds, but you can also send us photos of you flipping off Trump properties. So we call that bird watching. Uh, and you just attach your pod pet tax a photo of your pet. And if you don't have a pod pet, you can send us, uh, any animal photo, really, or an adoptable pet in your area. And if you don't have any of those, you can send us a baby photo. Even if it's just like a random baby on the Internet. We're fine. We love baby pictures. So send all that to us. Go to dailybeanspot.com and click on contact. All right, so let's, uh, check out our good news submissions today. First up from Anonymous pronoun She and her Good thing I waited until I was eligible for Medicare for my right hip replacement. It was going to cost at least $10,000. Out of pocket. Out of pocket.
Wow.
Before I turned 65, Medicare and my union supplied supplement paid every penny. If my left hip goes bad on maga's watch, I'll forward the medical bills to the White House. No joke, folks. Pet tax photo is my cat Dewey on boxing day in a box. He was named, uh, for the Dewey Decimal System, which I love, which we used in the prison library where I worked when this feral baby kitty showed up. P.S. he's not supposed to be on the table. Yeah, but you put a box on the table. Anonymous so that's what you get. That's so cool that you worked in a prison library, by the way, and found instead of a bird like the Birdman of Alcatraz, you're the cat lady of whatever prison you worked in. I think that's so fantastic. And the Dewey Decimal System. I love that his name is Dewey.
Thank you so much Ag. This one's from Anonymous Pronouns they them hi beans Queens I started listening to Mueller She Wrote Ah all the way back in 2017 when I was 20 me and trying to figure out what the was happening. I stopped listening to podcasts in General sometime in 2021. Since then I figured out that I'm part of a plural collective sharing a headspace slash body mind with roughly six other people in parentheses alters according to psychiatrists headmates in a non pathological term. As of early 2024, our life has been relatively stable and secure. We have our parents willing to support us, even though we had to move from Pacific Northwest to Fair Region within southern Indiana to enjoy that stability. In mid late November, we made two decisions to start listening to podcasts again and to start submitting our creative writing, especially poetry, largely penned by my beloved headmate, Rose, to literary magazines, a step we'd wanted to take for years. I guess we got pushed when we needed from a combination of getting back into classes with one of our first creative writing mentors and realizing voices like ours are increasingly important but underrepresented. On December 21, Rose got their first acceptance email. One of their poems, explicitly about plurality, written with help from the rest of us, will appear in February issue of Many Worlds, an online publication that can be found at ManyWorlds place. We still have a number of submissions pending in various magazines, but this is our first and I'm so proud of my headmates, especially Rose and myself, for holding it together and finding an accessible way to represent the unusual way we exist in writing. Here are three pictures of our pod pet, Tax, because our family's cats are too dang cute. Our sister's four year old cat Bubba was very curious about my menorah on the fourth day of Hanukkah, our family's 11 year old cat Cassie, touching noses with Bubba the week before Christmas, and our 11 year old cat Angelica who decided to belong with a clean laundry a few months ago.
They all do. If you put a box on the table and you don't want your cat on the table. Same with laundry. Fresh laundry. They're in it.
All of our cats were shelter kitties. Bubba's probably a melanistic, uh, black Bengal cat. Angelica is a dilute calico. Cassie's a tuxedo. And Piper, not pictured, is a piebald tabby.
Oh, look at this baby angel.
Anonymous. Thank you so much for sending in this submission. I want to learn so much more now.
I was going to say the same.
Thing that I'm going to. I'm going to start doing some research on this, uh, plurality more about pluralists, plural collect real plural collective.
Yeah. Headspace body mind with six other people. That's incredible. Alters according to psychiatrist headmates in non pathological terms. And congratulations to Rose for getting the acceptance email for the poetry. I'm definitely checking this more. I, um, I have to learn more. I have to learn more now. It's um. That's amazing. Next up from Sean. No pronouns shout out to a government program that helped me. In 1998, my husband was killed in a car accident, leaving me with a newborn and a 4 year old. I was able to receive widows and orphans benefits based on my husband's previous income from Social Security until my youngest turned 16. It's scary to even think about what would have happened to us without it. Eternal gratitude. We made it through, Sean. Thank you for that. Um, and I'm so, so very sorry for your loss. Next um up is from Ann Marie. Pronouns she and her greetings to the people of the beans. I have been on the lookout for people who are trying to make the world a better place. While driving to work today, I saw a woman with a, uh, grabber and a plastic bag. She was picking up garbage. Another piece of great news. On December 9th, I had my four year and two and a half year check for cancer. I had what I refer to the results of the doctor's visits as a great and glorious negative day. The VA found the one cancer during a routine screening. Annemarie. Thank you. And look at this dog. Oh, oh, and by the way, that floor is fantastic.
That is very cool.
That 1974 linoleum. Um, in the oranges and yellows. And this dog is beautiful. Thank you so much for that submission. Sean and Ann Marie.
All right, next up is Craig and Erica. No pronouns given. This is Dexter. Fine. We rescued him from our local state run. No, no, kill shelter you will never guess his breed because he's a Dandy Dinmont. Oh, uh, he's a hunter. He has to protect his family from any and all animals. Ask him to heal. He will, but he'll second guess you first. My wife and I have had him for close to 10 years. We have no real ID, how old Dexter is. Dexter is adorable.
Dandy Dunmont Terrier. God loves a, uh, terrier. And by the way, the name Dexter. Fine.
So good.
Uh, all right, next up, from Julianne Pronoun. She and her thank you, Allison and Dana, for all you do to keep us informed and bring us joy. I'd like to give a shout out to another source of joy, the Joykeepers network@joykeeper.org whose mission it is to expand joy, peace and oneness in the world. They've released a book titled how do youo Live in a World of Crisis? Written by 12 authors from around the world. This is offered for free to download or in paperback for the cost of printing. This group also has an online community on Facebook and a monthly zoom meeting for members. No, no cost to join. Just subscribe to the email list. The meetings are a wonderful way to connect with others and support each other as we navigate these challenging times. I arrange my schedule around them because they give me strength and fill me with joy, which we all need right now so we can stay healthy and centered to continue to stay informed and do what we can do to resist. My sister Sheila is one of the group leaders, so big shout out to her as well. For my pod pet tax, I'm sharing a couple of photos of Sheila's kitten, Kuohi, who meowed at her front door this fall, walked into the house and has been bringing joy ever since. The cat distribution system at work. This is obviously his first Christmas, and he's quite pleased with the tree they put up for him.
Oh, my God, So cute.
How do you live in a world of crisis? A free book. That's so cool. Again, that's joykeeper.org thanks, Julianne.
Wonderful. All right. And to close this one off, this is Judy from Kansas. Pronouns she and her hello, beans queens. Since the election, I found solace in watching movies and documentaries about World War II. I'm just giggling that this is how we have found solace after the election.
Yeah, we're taking solace in World War II.
But in particular, which I love this, that, uh, Judy says England's fight against the Nazis was inspiring. They had little hope of prevailing, yet they persevered against all odds. We have a Chance to fight back against fascism in our country before it gets too powerful. I hope each one of us can find ways to fight back. I found a couple of Winston Churchill quotes that may help inspire us at this time. First one is, we are guardians of our country in an age when its life is at stake. And to close out this good news segment, success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. Judy, hell of a submission. I understand now why you're taking solace in watching this, and I agree with you. So many other countries have been able to do this. They've been able to get through shit like this. We have got to learn from them. We are babies when it comes to this because we've never been faced with something this close to fascism. I don't believe in our country, definitely not in my lifetime.
A little bit in the 30s, but it was quashed pretty quickly.
Yeah. And I think we can do it again, but it's going to take more power this time. So thank you for the submission and reminder.
Yeah, we're fighting against billionaire social media owners and corporate media and.
Yeah.
Uh, along with. Who are all siding with the fascists. Like what? It's so frustrating. I actually just wrote a piece@, uh, muellershare.com that I think that I am going to go out on a limb and I felt a little kind of nuts writing this, but I think that we should object to the electors on January 6th, uh, under section three of the 14th amendment. You know, the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that this is. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is not self executing. They're wrong, but that's what they ruled. And they said that legislation has to be passed to disqualify Trump. But we can also object to the electors. Um, and we have a new electoral law, the Electoral Count Reform act of 2022. So it's not just one senator and one representative that can object to a state's electoral votes. You need one fifth of the House and one fifth of the Senate, and then you need a majority vote to toss them out. Uh, but I have to say I think Section 3 of the 14th Amendment applies here. You don't have to be convicted of insurrection. Um, and I mean, there's a lot, a lot of thought that I put into this. I'm actually kind of afraid to send it to my constitutional law friends, my actual law professor friends, to see what they have to say about it. And the chances are slim, but I'd rather step in the ring than not throw a punch. You know what I mean? I don't know. Maybe.
I absolutely do, and I agree with you 100%.
Maybe it's just me. All right, everybody, thank you so much for your good news. If you have good news to submit, send it to us dailybeanspod.com, click on Contact. Head to molasherote.com to read my free newsletter. Uh, if you're so inclined. Um, all of it's free there. You can subscribe for free. And, uh, we'll see you tomorrow. We'll be back in your ears tomorrow. Happy New Year, everybody. Until tomorrow, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, and take care of your family.
I've been AG and I've been dg.
And them's the Beans.
The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants, and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information, Please visit msw media.com msw media.