Trump advisor and Fox host Sean Hannity asks renowned sanity consultant Donald Trump about Joe Biden’s mental fitness for office, and Trump brings up the test he took in 2020 to prove he wasn’t demented.

So sure, Trump seems as fit for office as ever.

The notoriously famous Jamaican four-man bobsled team will return to the Olympics for the first time since 1998, the Washington Post reports.  The team, subject of the 1993 Disney movie “Cool Runnings,” made its debut at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary.

Jamaica is no longer alien in the world of sled sports.  They’ve fielded two person and individual competitors in previous Olympics and world championships since their 1988 appearance.  The team took the final slot in the 28-team field for the Olympics.

“I am absolutely buzzing. I am happy. I am thrilled for myself and my teammates at what we have accomplished,” brakeman Nimroy Turgott told the “Today” show on Wednesday. “We are prepared to go to the Olympics and put on a great show.”

Tucker Carlson thinks we’re too dumb to see him try to encourage violence against people his viewers feel are takin’ away their freedoms!  “Don’t do this!” Tucker says with a wink and a nod.  “Violence is bad!” Tucker says in a sing-songy voice.

And who believes Carlson forget the violence of January 6th in DC and the months after the election at places around the country, as Trump supporters marched on state capitols to undermine the Constitution?

Retired Pope Benedict XVI was responsible for releasing four known sexual predators into pastoral duties while he was archbishop of Munich before joining the Vatican, a new report from the German diocese reveals, reports the Associated Press.

Then known by his birth name, Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope reportedly assigned two priests who had been convicted in a diocesan court of wrongdoing to return to duties in parishes, but he did not provide any notification to the parishioners about the priests’ pedophaelic predilections.  In another case, Ratzinger knew a priest had been convicted in a different diocese of wrongdoing, but still assigned him to provide pastoral care to a parish.

“In all cases, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI strictly denies any wrongdoing on his part,” the report said, and the retired pontiff cites largely “lack of knowledge of the facts and a lack of relevance under canon and criminal law.”

Knoxville, Tennessee couple Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram have filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services alleging that the state-funded Holston United Methodist Home for Children have refused to provide the Rutan-Rams with the certification training necessary to adopt a child because they’re Jewish, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

Holston United is weaponizing a controversial Tennessee state law signed by Confederate cosplayer Governor Billy Lee in early 2020 specifically allows for adoption agencies to refuse service to people who “violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies.” The law, while obviously written to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ couples, was conveniently broad enough to also deem Jewish folk unworthy of parenthood. “I felt like I’d been punched in the gut,” said Elizabeth Rutan-Ram in a news release. “It was the first time I felt discriminated against because I am Jewish. It was very shocking. And it was very hurtful that the agency seemed to think that a child would be better off in state custody than with a loving family like us.”

“Democrats don’t accept the results of elections they don’t win,” declares Senator Bro Josh Hawley (Q-MO), the same person caught on film cheering on the domestic terrorist trying to undermine the Constitution.

A Florida man is charged with human trafficking after four people, including a baby, he intended to transport from the Canadian border died in subzero temperatures and high winds when trying to get to a pick-up point across the US border, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Steve Shand, 47, was arrested on the Minnesota side of the US-Canada border on Wednesday as he drove a 15-person van he rented at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.  In the van were two undocumented immigrants; authorities picked up another five who were arrested a half-mile away as they attempted to meet Shand.

Four people from one family, including a baby and a teenage boy, were found just 10 yards from the US in drifting snow on the Canadian side of the border.  Officials state the four planned to cross the border and meet Shand, but they got separated from the others in the group.

An anti-vax Czech folk singer died of Covid after intentionally contracting the coronavirus in an errant effort to giving herself immunity because she refused to take the available vaccines, the Washington Post reports.

Fifty-seven year old Hanka Horká wanted to get around Czech requirements that people who attend or perform in concerts be vaccinated or have a so-called “recovery pass” available to people who previously had Covid.  Horká opted to spend time with her husband and son, both of whom are vaccinated but had contracted the virus.

Two days before she died, Horká posted on social media that she had “survived” the virus and was looking forward to going to concerts, saunas and other venues where proof of immunity was required.  “I’ll tell you my secret, yes, I endured, and I survived … however, it was very colorful,” she said. “Life is here for me and for you too.”

A group of Orthodox Jewish visitors to the US Capitol had a bizarre encounter with QAnon fan Congresswoman Lauren Boebert in an elevator, who greeted them by asking if they were on a “reconnaissance” tour, Buzzfeed reports. The men in the group, on their way to meet with New York Dem Congressman Tom Suozzi, were wearing yarmulkes when crossing paths with the shitbrained conspiracy woman, so there was no mistaking their background. Probably. Boebert is pretty stupid.

“You know, I’m not sure to be offended or not,” a rabbi in the group told Buzzfeed, adding “I was very confused.” For her part, Boebert told Buzzfeed it was a joke about her being credibly accused of leading MAGA terrorists on a “recon” tour of the building in the days before the Capitol riot in January 2021. “I saw a large group and made a joke. Sadly when Democrats see the same they demonize my family for a year straight,” Boebert said in a text to Buzzfeed. “I’m too short to see anyone’s yarmulkes,” she added in a falsely premised bit of self-deprecation. Remember this is a woman who regularly harasses her Muslim colleagues for supposedly being anti-semitic.

A two-mile long coral reef, a hundred feet below where coral is normally found and in relatively pristine condition, has been discovered off the coast of Tahiti, the Associated Press reports.

A researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Moorea, French Polynesia found the reef while on a recreational scuba dive.  “When I went there for the first time, I thought, ’Wow — we need to study that reef. There’s something special about that reef,” Laetitia Hédouin said.

The reef doesn’t show any of the signs of bleaching, the whitening of dead coral caused by warmer ocean temperatures due to climate change.  The deeper depths of the reef likely protected it from a massive bleaching event that impacted other reefs in the region in 2019. 

Justice Department: “A federal grand jury in New York returned an indictment today charging four Belarusian state officials with conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy. According to court documents, Leonid Mikalaevich Churo, Oleg Kazyuchits, Andrey Anatolievich Lnu and Fnu Lnu, all of Belarus, allegedly engineered the diversion of Ryanair Flight 4978 (the Flight) – which was carrying four U.S. nationals and more than 100 other passengers on board – while it was in flight on May 23, 2021, to arrest a dissident Belarusian journalist who was on board.”

“‘Since the dawn of powered flight, countries around the world have cooperated to keep passenger airplanes safe,’ said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. ‘The defendants shattered those standards by diverting an airplane to further the improper purpose of repressing dissent and free speech. Thanks to the extraordinary investigative work of a joint team of FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigators, today’s indictment provides a prompt and public explanation of what actually happened to the Flight. We are committed to holding accountable these central participants in a shocking conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy that not only violated international norms and U.S. criminal law, but also potentially endangered the lives of four U.S. citizens and scores of other innocent passengers on board.'”

Wet brained dipshit Rudy Giuliani led the effort for the Trump electoral college delegates to meet and sign the certificates in seven states as if the Orange Caesar had actually won on December 14th, 2020, CNN reports. That the plot was executed so incompetently made it an easy bet that Rudy was behind it, however it’s always nice to have confirmation. New revelations in what had originally been considered a clownish side note in the sad tale of the 11 weeks between the 2020 election and the Biden inauguration have painted a picture of an actual sinister plot to keep these electors on deck should Vice President Mike Pence have been talked into “setting aside” the legitimate electoral votes from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on Jan 6th, 2021. Nice of Dan Quayle to talk Pence through handling that hot potatoe.

“Ivanka Trump just learned that the January 6 Committee issued a public letter asking her to appear. As the Committee already knows, Ivanka did not speak at the January 6 rally. As she publicly stated that day at 3:15pm, ‘any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable. The violence must stop immediately. Please be peaceful'” says an Ivanka Trump spokesworm in a statement responding to the House Capitol riot committee inviting her to chat.

Malevolent loose-toothed hick Congressman Louie Gohmert, challenging misshapen ghoul Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a primary, set a fundraising goal of $1 million in 10 days back in November as he launched his campaign. On Thursday the Texas Tribune got a look at Gohmert’s statement for the second half of 2021 and found out he raised $27,000 during that 10 day period.

For better or worse, the Doomsday Clock, the original infographic that rates the risk to humanity, remains at 100 seconds to midnight, the closest the clock has been to striking midnight since its creation 1947, USA Today reports. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists CEO Rachel Bronson, whose organization publishes the clock, said the panel determined the setting based on the current prospect of nuclear war, the ongoing pandemic, the threat of climate change, and attacks by disruptive technologies. The clock, which was set to 100 seconds before midnight during 2020, “continues to hover dangerously, reminding us about how much work is needed to be done to ensure a safer and healthier planet. We must continue to push the hands of the clock away from midnight,” Bronson said.

Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis has requested a “special grand jury” be impaneled to investigate the infamous “Find me 11,780” votes call Trump placed to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Willis said the step is necessary “significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony,” in a letter to Christopher S. Brasher, chief judge of Fulton County’s Superior Court, citing Raffensperger’s comments to rodent-faced Chuck Todd. “If she wants to interview me, there’s a process for that,” said Raffensperger in an October 2021 “Meet the Press” appearance.

House January 6th Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told reporters Thursday that a formal invitation to Former Princess Ivanka to come talk to the committee is imminent, CNN reports. Thompson did not specify if it would come in the form of a voluntary request or a subpoena.

It was at this exact moment one year ago at 11:49 AM on January 20, 2021 that President Joe Biden was sworn in. It wasn’t until 11 minutes later at 12 noon did he legally become president, but the swearing in happened slightly ahead of schedule.

Pro-Trump influencers who did well on mainstream social networks have seen stagnant growth – and even declines – in their follower counts on MAGA social media networks in the year since Trump was banned from Twitter, a Washington Post analysis of 47 different personalities found. Lin Wood, OAN, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Sidney Powell were among those who lost followers on Telegram from their peaks over the last year, while Mike Lindell’s went up just barely in the last few months. Alex Jones went from 25,000 new Gab followers a month in the spring of 2021, then down to 1,000 added a month since, illustrating the weak hype cycles of these platforms.

“Right-wing platforms are one-trick ponies. They’re only going to, by their nature, appeal to the type of person they are branded to appeal to, and there’s only so many people in that world,” said Clemson University Media Forensics hub researcher Darren Linvill, quoted in the piece to drive home what we already know about the boredom fanboys face when there aren’t any libs to trigger.

NOT INVITED ON BEHALF OF THE UYGHURS pic.twitter.com/uWbjgeIbbI

— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) January 19, 2022

At least Schlappy is disinviting an actual real life person as opposed to fictional characters this time around. We didn’t get to reporting this story at all this week here at National Zero, but Golden State Warriors co-owner Chamath Palihapitiya stirred up a shitstorm for himself when he said he said in a podcast interview “Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uighurs, OK? You bring it up because you really care. And I think that’s nice that you care. The rest of us don’t care,” in response to one of the hosts praising Biden Administration policies toward China over the ongoing genocide in the region. Palihapitiya tried to walk it back and apologize, but he quickly became a target of right wingers who already think the NBA is too cozy with the ChiComs (and they’re not wrong, it is), with all sorts of wild-eyed, impotent outrage coming from the fanboys.

Palihapitiya said he didn’t care because he was far more worried about climate change, supply chain issues, and the economic disruption a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would cause. That still doesn’t make his callousness toward the Uighurs okay, but in context at least him snapping like that makes more sense. Having such concerns over climate change also makes it seem pretty unlikely Palihapitiya was planning on going to CPAC, but Schlapp wasn’t going to let that stop him.

We’re also left wondering why if condemning China’s real abuses toward an impoverished Muslim minority are a noble and righteous cause on the right then why aren’t Israel’s? There’s no equating the situations as China is far more destructive toward the Uighurs than Israel is to the Palestinians, but what’s different in scale and severity is largely the same in the toplines: A modern, organized state is depriving a Muslim population of basic human rights. And American Conservatives are rooting for one but not the other. Yeah, big shock that right wingers are fucking hypocrites, but this one particular flavor hasn’t really been highlighted much yet.