What Happened Was...

A lightning fast comprehensive recap of the week's biggest events for Feb. 6th - 12th, 2023

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Vice President Kamala Harris looks on after the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on February 7, 2023 in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/via Getty Images)

Below is a catch-up of the significant events of this past week. You can check in with a minimal time commitment, read about the big stuff, and stay in the know before we’re on to the next. If you want more information on the past week's events, you might want to scroll through my Twitter feed for more detail on other topics I don’t mention below.

I have set up accounts with the handle @girlsreallyrule at Counter Social and Post Social and am confirmed at Mastodon. I have also been added to Spoutible with a verified account, and you can find that here. I will still be full-time on Twitter for the next few months at least, and I will continue to post all of my SHERO newsletter articles on all five of these platforms. If you are interested in learning more about how each of these platforms works, I recommend you read my latest: I've Been Checking Out the New Platforms: UPDATED.

Gun Violence This Week

There were 10 separate mass shooting incidents in the US last week, where eight people were killed and 37 were injured. I document all mass shooting incidents for the week every Sunday, so please take a moment to review them and remember to keep up the fight for sensible gun reform. 

1. Sunday, February 5, 2023: Newport, Arkansas

2. Sunday, February 5, 2023: Tucson, Arizona

3. Sunday, February 5, 2023: Stockton, California

4. Sunday, February 5, 2023: Peyton, Colorado

5. Monday, February 6, 2023: Corpus Christi, Texas

6. Wednesday, February 8, 2023: Elizabeth City, North Carolina

7. Wednesday, February 8, 2023: New Orleans, Louisiana

8. Wednesday, February 8, 2023: Laurinburg, North Carolina

9. Friday, February 10, 2023: Brooklyn, New York

10. Friday, February 10, 2023: Bronx, New York

• The Biden administration is preparing to ask Congress for the largest Pentagon budget in history, according to the Department of Defense Chief Financial Officer, as partisan squabbling over the debt ceiling raises the specter of deep cuts to the military’s funding plans.

• Newly elected Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (FL) has recently come under scrutiny for making a drastic turn to the political right and embellishing her account of an isolated and impoverished childhood, and for embracing her Hispanic heritage, in order to help her political ascent.

• Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced this week that he plans to reduce the workforce of the United States Postal Service (USPS) by 10% overall over the next ten years through the process of attrition — which will ultimately cut 50,000 jobs — in order to “break even.”