The Daily Valet. - 1/8/21, Friday

✔️ Consequences, Storms and Something Sweet

January 08, 2021

Friday, January 8th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I’ll be trying to reset my sleep schedule this weekend.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Resignations and Calls for Removal

Trump faces possible impeachment after the Capitol chaos

Several high-ranking government officials resigned Thursday after rioting by violent Trump supporters at the Capitol on Wednesday left five people dead and drew calls from members of Congress for an investigation into security measures around the complex.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and presumptive Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer threatened to pursue impeachment if Vice President Pence didn’t invoke the 25th Amendment to strip the president of his powers for his role in inciting the violence, reports NBC News.

There were multiple reports that Pence, supported by “several Cabinet members,” is refusing on grounds that it would make the chaos in Washington worse rather than better. And with less than two weeks before Joe Biden’s inauguration, you have to wonder if there is even time to impeach? The short answer is: almost certainly not.

The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal—a bellwether for the conservative establishment—described his behavior as “impeachable,” encouraged Trump to resign from office to prevent the country (and perhaps the GOP) from having to endure a second impeachment. “It is best for everyone, himself included, if he goes away quietly.”

Of course, Trump has dedicated his final months in office to disputing his loss to Biden, but Thursday, after the president’s Twitter account was unlocked, he abruptly changed his tone. In a video from the White House, he essentially conceded by confirming a “new administration” would be sworn in on Jan. 20. He then condemned the violence saying that “this moment calls for healing and reconciliation.” But as the New York Times points out, the president has a “long history of recording such videos only to undermine his own remarks a short time later.”

↦ Dig Deeper: There's a lot of talk about invoking the 25th amendment to the Constitution. Here's why it has never happened before.

Raging COVID Cases Keep Getting Worse

America reported a record number of hospitalizations in the first week of 2021

There were more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths reported on Thursday, and experts said research suggests that people without symptoms transmit more than half of all cases of the novel coronavirus now.

As disease specialists had forecast for months, the coronavirus is spreading with speed and ferocity in the new year, with Thursday’s single-day record for deaths underscoring the threat. In the past seven days, U.S. infections, hospitalizations and deaths have hit record highs.

Public health experts have said they expect the holiday season to continue to take a heavy toll—the full extent of which will take several weeks to be seen in the numbers. What's more, the CDC’s most recent forecast predicts fatalities could stand between 405,000 and 438,000 by the end of January.

Arizona currently has the highest per-capita rate of new Covid-19 infections, with 785 cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days. That rate not only leads the U.S., but is the highest in the world, according to NBC News data. For comparison, the Czech Republic, the country with the highest per-capita rate of infection, has reported 653 cases per 100,000 over the past seven days.

↦ Meanwhile: Texas and Connecticut announced on Thursday that they have identified their first cases of the new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus, known as B.1.1.7.

Do You Remember Viennetta?

The fancy ice cream cake from the ’90s is coming back to stores after nearly three decades

At the end of a long week, let's celebrate the little victories. Even if they're just the return of a junk food favorite from our childhoods.

Do you remember Viennetta? If you were a kid in the '90s who appreciated the finer things, you no doubt, like me, loved this sophisticated frozen confection. Far too classy for my parents, I had to rely on my generous grandmother to spoil me with the rich, delicate waves of ice cream and crunchy layers of chocolate—it was ice cream that required a knife and plate.

According to Mental Floss, Viennetta is coming back and while it was previously a Breyers item, this time around it's coming from classic ice cream brand Good Humor (Unilever is the parent company of both brands).

The Takeout reports that the pandemic is fueling this resurgence of a lot of throwback-based food. From the return of 3D Doritos and Totino’s pizza stuffers, to the McRib. I don't really care. I'm just glad Viennetta has returned when I'm old enough to have my own bank account.

↦ FYI: Enjoy this mesmerizing video of the original Viennetta cakes being made on the automated assembly line.

The Polar Vortex Is Moving

This could mean wild winter storms ahead

Each winter, the Arctic's polar vortex—strong winds that circle westward around the pole—comes to life in the stratosphere. It's a normal, naturally reoccurring phenomenon.

But every couple of years or so, the polar vortex gets thrown out of whack, loses its stability and weakens during the winter. This can have dramatic, extreme weather implications in places like the U.S. and Europe. And this year, of course, it's been significantly disrupted.

Several climate scientists now believe that global climate change is leading to more frequent disruptions and thus, more extreme weather, reports CBS News.

As for 2021, it means bitter cold air pushing southward into much of the United States within the next couple of weeks, though where exactly that Arctic air will swoop down—and for how long—remains uncertain.

↦ FYI: The polar vortex is located in the stratosphere, about 18 miles above Earth's surface, which is well above the jet stream, where most weather occurs.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Cold therapy

Kim and Kanye

Shower tablets

Reset Your Sleep

Expert advice on rebooting your night routine

Who doesn’t feel great after a long restful sleep?You awake recharged and ready for anything. But the truth is, that kind of restful night—filled with quality sleep—seems rare these days. Maybe it's because of the pandemic and the wrench it threw into so many of our schedules. Perhaps it is the state of the world or some personal dilemma.

Whatever the reason, when our sleep patterns get disturbed, the effects ripple through our waking lives in big ways. We're less productive, less likely to work out and, for lack of a better word, we're grumpy.

So what's a rest-deprived guy to do? Reset your personal sleep routine. Humans, quite scientifically, are creatures of habit. According to the National Sleep Foundation, actively cultivating a healthy sleep routine makes it easier to get the sleep you need on a consistent basis.

We consulted some experts for their guidance on simple things you can do to reset your sleep and create a foolproof plan to get optimal shuteye.

↦ Read: How to fix your sleep schedule after it's been thrown off.

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Sales We’re Eyeing

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