 Good evening. I'm Herman Hansen, and something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. Iran de Lerar is taking the night off. I will be filling in, or at least attempting to. Them is some mighty big socks to fill. The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were a 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. The airstrike was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, which in its first weeks has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as Middle East threats persist. Biden's decision to attack in Syria did not appear to signal an intention to widen U.S. military involvement in the region, but rather to demonstrate a will to defend U.S. troops in Iraq. I'm confident in the target that we went after. We know what we hit, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters flying with him from California to Washington. Speaking shortly after the airstrikes he added, we're confident that the target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes, referring to a February 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition personnel. Austin said he recommended the action to Biden. We said a number of times that we will respond on our timeline, Austin said. We wanted to be sure of the connectivity and we wanted to be sure that we had the right targets. Earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. action was a proportionate military response taken together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with coalition partners. The operation sends an unambiguous message. President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel, Kirby said. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in eastern Syria and Iraq. Kirby said the U.S. airstrikes destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including Khatib Hezbollah and Khatib Said al-Shwanda. The U.S. has blamed Khatib Hezbollah for numerous attacks targeting U.S. personnel and interests in Iraq in the past. Further details were not immediately available. Mary Ellen O'Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, criticized the U.S. attack as a violation of international law. The United Nations Charter makes absolutely clear that the use of military force on the territory of a foreign sovereign state is lawful only in response to an armed attack on the defending state for which the target state is responsible, she said. None of those elements is met in the serious strike. Biden administration officials condemned the February 15th rocket attack near the city of Irbil in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region, but as recently as this week officials indicated they had not determined for certain who carried it out. Officials have noted that in the past Iranian-backed Shiite militia groups have been responsible for numerous rocket attacks that targeted U.S. personnel or facilities in Iraq. Kirby had said Tuesday that Iraq is in charge of investigating the February 15th attack. Right now we're not able to give you a certain attribution as to who was behind these attacks, what groups, and I'm not going to get into the tactical details of every bit of weapon we used here, Kirby said. Let's let the investigations complete and conclude, and then when we have more to say, we will. A little-known Shiite militant group calling itself Saraya-U-Aula al-Da'am, Arabic for Guardians of Blood Brigade, claimed responsibility for the February 15th attack. A week later, a rocket attack in Baghdad's green zone appeared to target the U.S. embassy compound, but no one was hurt. Iran this week said it has no links to the Guardians of Blood Brigade. The frequency of attacks by Shiite militia groups against U.S. targets in Iraq diminished late last year ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration, though now Iran is pressing America to return to Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal. The U.S., under the previous Trump administration, blamed Iran-backed groups for carrying out the attacks. Tensions soared after a Washington-directed drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassam Soleimani and powerful Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Mahandas late last year. Trump had said the death of a U.S. contractor would be a red line and provoke U.S. escalation in Iraq. The December 2019 killing of a U.S. civilian contractor in a rocket attack in Kirkuk sparked a tit for tat fight on Iraqi soil that brought the country to the brink of a proxy war. U.S. forces have been significantly reduced in Iraq to 2,500 personnel and no longer partake in combat missions with Iraqi forces in ongoing operations against the Islamic State Group. The Democratic-led House passed a bill Thursday that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation's labor and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate. The bill passed by a vote of 224 to 206, with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting yes. The Equality Act amends existing civil rights law to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identification as protected characteristics. The protections would extend to employment, housing, loan applications, education, public accommodations, and other areas. Supporters say the law before the House on Thursday is long overdue and would ensure that every person is treated equally under the law. The LGBT community has waited long enough, said Representative David Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island, who is gay, and the bill's lead sponsor. The time has come to extend the blessings of liberty and equality to all Americans regardless of who they are and who they love. Republicans broadly opposed the legislation. They echoed concerns from religious groups and social conservatives who worry the bill would force people to take actions that contradict their religious beliefs. They warned that faith-based adoption agencies seeking to place children with a married mother and father could be forced to close, or that private schools would have to hire staff whose conduct violates tenants of the school's faith. This is unprecedented. It's dangerous. It's an attack on our first freedom. The first freedom listed in the Bill of Rights, religious liberty, said Representative Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana. The House passed the Equality Act in the last Congress with unanimous Democratic support and the backing of eight Republicans. But Donald Trump's White House opposed the measure and it was not considered in the Senate where 60 votes will be needed to overcome procedural hurdles. Democrats are trying to revive it now that they have control of Congress and the White House, but passage still appears unlikely in the evenly divided Senate. This time, Republican representatives Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and John Katko and Tom Reed of New York sided with Democrats in voting for the bill. The Supreme Court provided the LGBTQ community with a resounding victory last year in a six-to-three ruling that said the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applied to LGBTQ workers when it comes to barring discrimination on the basis of sex. Civil rights groups have encouraged Congress to follow up that decision and ensure that anti-bias protections addressing such areas as housing, public accommodations and public services are applied in all 50 states. Biden made clear his support for the Equality Act in the lead up to last year's election saying it would be one of his first priorities. Democratic Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, Democrat of Pennsylvania said the Equality Act is needed to end the patchwork of state laws around gay rights and create uniform nationwide protection. It's been personal since my baby sister came out to me almost 40 years ago, Scanlon said. For many people all across this country and across this house, that is when the fight hits home. Leaders at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote lawmakers this week to say they had grave concerns about the bill. Among the concerns they raised is that the bill would expand the government's definition of public places, forcing church halls and equivalent facilities to host functions that violate their beliefs, which could lead to closing their doors to the broader community. Republicans cited an array of consequences they said could occur if the bill passed into law, from eliminating the existing ban on the use of government funds for abortion, to allowing transgender people into women's shelters, and transgender youth into girls' sports. Democrats likened the effort to past civil rights battles in the nation's history. Siciline challenged Republicans. I hope you will bear in mind how your vote will be remembered years from now. Some of the nation's largest corporations are part of a coalition in support of the legislation, including Apple Inc., AT&T, Chevron, and 3M Co., just to name a few of the hundreds of companies that have endorsed it. After the vote advocacy groups weighed in, with the human rights campaign describing the vote as bringing us closer to ensuring that every person is treated equally under the law. Meanwhile, the conservative alliance defending freedom called on the Senate to reject this dangerous bill for the good of all Americans. The number of monarch butterflies that showed up at their winter resting grounds in Central Mexico decreased by about 26 percent this year, and four times as many trees were lost to illegal logging, drought, and other causes, making 2020 a bad year for the butterflies. The Government Commission for Natural Protected Areas said the butterfly's population covered only 2.1 hectares in 2020 compared to the 2.8 hectares the previous year, and about one-third of the 6.05 hectares detected in 2018. Because the monarchs cluster so densely in pine infertories, it is easier to count them by area rather than by individuals. Gloria Tvera, the Regional Director of Mexico's Commission for National Protected Areas, blamed the drop on extreme climate conditions, the loss of milkweed habitat in the United States and Canada on which the butterflies depend, and deforestation in the butterflies' wintering grounds in Mexico. Illegal logging in the monarch's wintering grounds rose to almost 13.4 hectares, a huge increase from the .43 hectare lost to logging last year. Jorge Ricards of the WWF Environmental Group acknowledged that the lost trees were a blow, but said the logging is very localized in three or four of the mountain communities that make up the butterfly reserve. In addition, windstorms, drought, and the felling of trees that had fallen victim to pine beetles or disease caused the loss of another 6.9 hectares in the reserve, bringing the forest loss in 2020 to 20.65 hectares. That compares to an overall loss of about 5 hectares from all causes the previous year. Tvera said the drought was affecting the butterflies themselves, as well as the pine infertories where they clumped together for warmth. The severe drought we are experiencing is having effect, Tvera said. All the forests in the reserve are under water stress. The forests are dry. The butterflies are looking for water on the lower slopes near the houses, she noted. Tvera also expressed concern about the severe winter storms in Texas, which the butterflies will have to cross and feed and lay their eggs on their way back to their northern summer homes in coming months. This is a cost for worry, Tvera said, referring to whether the monarchs will find enough food and habitat after the winter freeze. It was also a bad year for the mountain farming communities that depend for part of their income on tourists who visit the reserves. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, visits fell from around 490,000 last year to just 80,000 in the 2020-2021 season. Environmentalist and writer Homero Ardeas, who grew up around the reserve, said the decline in butterflies and rise in logging was not surprising given the reduction in Mexican government funding for protected natural areas and environmental work. While the reserves were close to tourism during practically the whole winter season, the way was open for loggers with no control, Ardeas said. The question is, can the monarch migration survive this environmental negligence? The U.S. Group Center for Food Safety called for the monarchs to be granted endangered species protection, noting that the minimum population threshold needed to be out of the danger zone of extinction is six hectares. It was unclear whether the drop in tourism income contributed to the increased logging. Ricard said there has long been pressure on the area's forests from people who want to open land for planting crops. Felipe Martinez-Mesa, director of the Butterfly Reserve, said there have been attempts to plant orchards of avocados, hugely profitable for farmers in the area. In the buffer zones around the reserve, the high mountain peaks where the butterflies' clumpen trees are probably a bit above the altitude where avocado trees like to grow, Martinez-Mesa said. But the buffer zones provide protection and support for the higher areas, and he said more must be done to combat the change in land use. Frequently, illegal logging is carried out by outsiders or organized gangs and not by the farm communities that technically own the land. The butterflies hit a low of just 0.67 hectares in 2013-2014. Loss of habitat, especially the milkweed where the monarchs lay their eggs, pesticide and herbicide use, as well as climate change all pose threats to the species migrations. While there was plenty of bad news for the butterflies, very few showed up to some historic wintering sites like Sierra Chincua. There was the welcome news that a new wintering site was discovered nearby, in the mountaintop near the Lagunas de Simpuala Protected Area near Mexico City. Tavares said the wintering site had always been there, but was so difficult to reach that it wasn't discovered until earlier this month. Well, the abs are at it again. How about them Broncos? And now for sports. Days after marking a solemn milestone in the pandemic, President Joe Biden is celebrating the pace of his efforts to end it. On Thursday, Biden marked the administration of the 50 millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine since his swearing in. The moment came days after the nation reached the devastating milestone of 500,000 coronavirus deaths and ahead of a meeting with the nation's governors on plans to speed the distribution even further. The more people get vaccinated, the faster we're going to beat this pandemic, Biden said at the White House ceremony, noting that his administration is on course to exceed his promise to deliver 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. We're halfway there, 50 million shots in 37 days, Biden said. That's weeks ahead of schedule. All told, more than 45 million Americans have been administered at least one dose of the approved vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna since they received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in December, with more than 20 million receiving both required doses. As part of the ceremony, four frontline workers, a pair of emergency medical technicians, a school counselor, and a grocery store worker received vaccine doses on live television, part of the White House's efforts to build confidence in the vaccination program. Biden predicts that by late spring there will be enough vaccine to administer to anyone that wants it, but that hesitance of the vaccine will limit the number of people who want it. We'll have the vaccine waiting, Biden said, predicting that point could come within 60 to 90 days. He promised a massive campaign to educate people about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines in hopes of stimulating demand as the nation aims to vaccinate about 80% of adults to reach herd immunity and end the pandemic. Biden said he planned to tour U.S. military run mass vaccination site in Houston on Friday, one of several ways his administration is aiming to speed injections, particularly once supply increases. Biden noted that the promise of a third vaccine receiving approval as soon as this weekend as Johnson and Johnson's single dose candidate undergoes review by the FDA. We have a plan to roll it out as quickly as Johnson and Johnson can make it, Biden said. Meeting with governors, Biden appealed for their help in passing his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which provides funding to expand vaccination and testing as well as economic relief for people struggling during the pandemic. The economic toll of this pandemic continues to tear through the country as brutally as the virus itself, Biden said. Biden also warned that variants could continue to spread, leading to more cases and hospitalizations. He appealed to Americans to keep up with social distancing measures and wear face coverings. This is not the time to relax, he said. And today I'm very excited to announce the rollout of our new cooking feature segment, which we are calling the Cooking Segment. Today our very special culinary celebrity from nowhere in particular is the highly acclaimed Chef Goop. Please welcome Chef Goop. Everybody, Chef Goop. Hello, I am Chef Goop. I am from absolutely nowhere. Chef Goop, welcome to the show. Thank you, it is your honor to have me. And what will you be making for us today? Today I will be making my signature dish. And what is that? It's Goop. It's Goop. I'm Chef Goop. I'm making the Goop. Are you stupid in your head? It's a possibility. So, what goes on making of your Goop, Chef Goop? A depressed ingredient is the milk from the lactating, spermy whale. Whales milk. Fascinating. That's not exactly readily available. How do you, why? Well, of course, you must yourself obtain. One must venture forth into the endless majesty of the open sea. And one must address the animal in the language of the whale, which I myself have taught to myself. And one must say, which these are mean. Hello, Mrs. Whale, who is the currently lactating. May I please have the honor to be the squeezing of the ginormous whale, Boob. And then if you should be the purist of heart she, the reply of, Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Which they meaning yes, o'est thou, of purist culinary intent, thou mayest suckle upon my ginormous whale, Boob. The point at which one must make the haste to the latching on, remind you, the nibble of the whale is quite large, the size of a man. So, very difficult to latch on, but once done, it's who we easily, the mother lord, so much milk shall come forth. I see, and what is the flavor profile of whale's milk? Well, of course, in the open sea, it is impossible to isolate from the brine, so in fact, it does ensure the taste like cheese, salty cheese. Okay, so let's go ahead and have you prepare the food? Yes, and now for the preparation of the whale's milka kupa. Are we cooking? Cooking a kook, kook, kook, kook, kook, kook, so much a kook. Kook biddi kook, biddi kook, a kook biddi kook, biddi kook, biddi kook, biddy kook, biddi kook, biddy kook, biddy kook, biddy kook, biddy kook, biddy kook, biddy kook, biddy kook, biddy kook, biddy kook! It is a prepared! And now, Mr. Hansen, you may come back, and you may taste. Oh my god, that's the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted in my entire life. It's like, It's like if you made a milkshake out of rancid milk, and then poured salt in it, and then put it in a blender with rotten fish and drank it, and then you threw up, it's like that's what your mouth would taste like. Oh yes, that is the general profile. It's a required taste. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, just get out of here, get the hell off my show. See that door? I want you to walk out that door, and leave, and never ever come back. You're a monster. Oh yes, yes, of course I leave, but first I curse you in the language of the whale. I tell you, and what does that mean? It means, please, the Mrs. Electrifying Whale, may I please do a squeezing danger enormous whale? Boom. It's all I know. I'm so sorry, ladies and gentlemen, that will never, ever happen again. And now let's get back to the news. Good evening. I'm Herman Hansen, and nothing bad will ever happen again. You know what's weird is I actually kind of find myself sort of craving this stuff. Hasbro created Confusion Thursday when it announced that it would drop the Mr. from the brand's name in order to be more inclusive and so all could feel welcome in the potato head world. It also said it would sell a new play set this fall without the Mr. and Mrs. designations that will let kids create their own type of potato families, including two moms or two dads. But in a tweet later that afternoon, Hasbro clarified that the Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters will still live on and be sold in stores, but under the Potato Head brand. In a picture posted on Twitter, the Mr. and Mrs. names are less prominently displayed at the bottom of the box instead of the top. While it was announced today that the Potato Head brand name and logo are dropping the Mr., I am proud to confirm that Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head aren't going anywhere and will remain Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, the company tweeted. This is hard news. The tweet came after news of the brand's name change exploded on Twitter with people asking if Barbie will change her name next. I think Hasbro needs to drop the bro and just be Has, another person tweeted. Hasbro appears to want to have it both ways, expand the brand while not killing off its most iconic characters, which appeared in the Toy Story films. They are looking to broaden the franchise, said Robert Pasikoff, founder of marketing consultancy brand Keys. You take the focus of what is essentially one character and now allow it to be a platform for many characters. Kimberly Boyd, a senior vice president at Hasbro, said the intention of the brand name change was to be more inclusive and have the characters still live within the Potato Head universe. It created a lot of excitement, she said about the reaction. GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group, applauded the more inclusive potato play set. Hasbro was helping kids to simply see toys as toys, which encourages them to be their authentic selves outside of the pressures of traditional gender norms, said Rich Ferraro, GLAAD's chief communications officer in a statement. Many toy makers have been updating their classic brands in recent years, hoping to relate to today's kids and reflect more modern families. IT'S A POTATO, said Ali Mersowitzky, editor-in-chief at a toy review site, The Toy Insider, about the new play set. But kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with. Barbie, for example, has tried to shed its blonde image, and now comes in multiple skin tones and body shapes. The Thomas the Tank Engine toy line added more girl characters, and American girl is now selling a boy doll. Mr. Potato had first hit the toy scene in 1952, when it didn't even come with a plastic potato. Kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose, or a mustache into. I had that one when I was a kid. Anyway, Hasbro, which also makes Monopoly and My Little Pony, bought the brand and eventually added the plastic spud. And that's all we have time for today. For Puppet News, I'm Hector Herman. Good night.