Southern Progressives

National News:

Attorney General Merrick Garland yesterday appointed a special counsel to investigate the handling of an unidentified number of improperly stored classified documents from President Joe Biden's time as vice president. The decision comes after officials confirmed a second batch of documents had been found at Biden's personal residence in Wilmington, Delaware. 

The find follows news that similar, improperly stored classified documents had been found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, DC. The first batch of records was found Nov. 2—but only disclosed publicly earlier this week. Biden officials said all documents had been turned over to the relevant authorities; House Republicans have launched an investigation into the matter. 

The revelations come amid an ongoing probe into the handling of presidential records by former President Donald Trump. A reported 33 boxes or containers, including roughly 100 classified documents, were retrieved during an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in August.

Officials have yet to reveal details regarding the content in the records previously held by either Biden or Trump. 

Deaths from all types of cancer in the US fell by an estimated 33% since 1991, saving a cumulative 3.8 million lives, according to a report released yesterday by the American Cancer Society. Progress was attributed to improvements in cancer treatment, early detection, and significant drops in smoking.

Lung, breast, and colorectal cancers account for the highest number of deaths in women. However, cervical cancer rates have dropped 65% among women ages 20-24 from 2012-19, largely credited to the introduction of the human papillomavirus or HPV vaccine. For men, lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers are the deadliest. The report highlighted a 3% increase in prostate cancer from 2014-19, driven by an increase in advanced disease diagnosis. To combat the rise, ACS announced an initiative to increase access to screening and treatment for prostate cancer.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the US, with more than 1.9 million people expected to be diagnosed with cancer resulting in an estimated 610,000 deaths this year. See the full report here.

US inflation rose 6.5% year-over-year in December, according to figures released yesterday, meeting analyst expectations and marking a drop from 7.1% in November. While reflecting increased costs over a 12-month period, the figure marks a 0.1% drop in the seasonally adjusted consumer price index from November. It also marks the slowest annual rate of inflation since October 2021 (see data). 

Largest-known flower encased in amber found to be between 34 million and 38 million years old, related to modern-day species in Asia; identification came after scientists successfully extracted and tested its pollen (More)

State News:

It's never too early to get registered to vote for the next election.

Register online at the Tennessee Secretary of State's Website

Local News:

The annual Dream Achievers Awards will take place Sunday,

January 15th at 4 p.m. at TWU Auditorium. Ann Boyd is the coordinator.

The event is sponsored by the McMinn County Chapter of the NAACP.

It rewards African American students that maintain a GPA of 3.0 or

above with scholarships they can use at Tennessee Wesleyan University.

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will be celebrated on Monday, January 16th at 12 noon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Athens.

The speaker at the event will be Rev. Benjamin Jackson, pastor at

Mt. Olive AME Zion Church in Etowah.

The Arts: