President Joe Biden ordered U.S. airstrikes on Syria in his first military offensive since he took office. The strikes were aimed at buildings purportedly used by Iranian backed Iraqi militias in a nation that has experienced a decade of devastating war. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the strikes resulted in the deaths of, “22 militiamen of the Iraqi Hezbollah and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces,” as well as “three trucks carrying ammunition.” The UK-based group that has been tracking Syrian war casualties for years also reported that Russian fighter jets earlier this week dropped 250 bombs killing “nearly 35 ISIS members.” According to Associated Press, the U.S. air strikes on Thursday, “were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit.” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called the strikes a “proportionate military response.” Mainstream media outlets like the New York Times were quick to characterize the air strikes as “a carefully calibrated approach” by the new president.

In other news, the Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled that a federal minimum wage increase to $15 an hour cannot be included in the current Democrat-backed $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill if it is to pass through a simple budget reconciliation process. While President Biden appeared to capitulate instantly saying he was “disappointed” by the decision but “respects” it, Senator Bernie Sanders, chair of the Senate Budget committee had a far different reaction. Sanders slammed the decision in a statement saying there was a clear case for economic stimulus impact through raising the wage. He pointed out, “it is hard for me to understand how drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was considered to be consistent [with the budget reconciliation rules] while increasing the minimum wage is not.” Congresswoman Ilhan Omar suggested firing the Senate Parliamentarian who is an unelected official —just as Republicans had once done so years ago. Omar also said the Senate needs to abolish the filibuster which is the reason why Democrats are forced to use budget reconciliation instead of a majority vote. The House is expected to pass the bill as is on Friday, keeping intact the wage increase. 

GOP lawmakers continue to show hostility to transgender people. Just a day after Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene attacked trans-rights in the Equality Bill (which incidentally was