Three Things for March 17
1. Senate approves Sunshine Protection Act
On Tuesday, March 15, the Senate officially approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which aims to make Daylight Saving Time permanent across the United States next year.
“Members of Congress have long been interested in the potential benefits and costs of Daylight Saving Time since it was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942. The proposal will now go to the House, where the Energy and Commerce Committee had a hearing to discuss possible legislation last week,” reports AP News.
The Sunshine Protection Act was passed by the Senate but still needs approval from the House before President Joe Biden’s signature to become a law.
"I just think the extra hour at the end of the day consistently is better than having it dark when kids go to school and dark when kids get home," said Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican.
2. Rescuers search for survivors in destroyed theater
A man injured in a bombing lies on a stretcher at a hospital hallway during an air raid alarm in Brovary, north of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Rescuers searched for survivors on Thursday, March 17 in the ruins of a theater blown apart by a Russian airstrike in Mariupol.
“Hundreds of civilians had been taking shelter in the grand, columned theater in central Mariupol after their homes were destroyed in three weeks of fighting in the southern port city,” reports AP News.
There are no confirmed fatalities.
“We hope and we think that some people who stayed in the shelter under the theater could survive,” Petro Andrushchenko, an official with the mayor’s office, told AP News.
On Monday, satellite imagery showed huge white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the theater spelling out “children” in Russian — “deti” — to alert warplanes to those inside.
On Wednesday, Russia’s military denied bombing the theater or anyplace else in Mariupol.
3. Pfizer and BioNTech seek approval for second booster shot
On Tuesday, March 17 Pfizer and BioNTech filed an emergency authorization to the Food and Drug Administration to administer a second COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for people 65 and older.
”Pfizer and BioNTech said an additional dose of their vaccine at least four months after a third shot could restore levels of virus-blocking antibodies and has been shown to protect adults 60 and older against severe illness and infections. They also added that ‘people who are vaccinated, particularly those who have received a booster, maintain a high level of protection, particularly against severe disease and hospitalization’,” reports the Washington Post
The FDA’s decision could come quickly depending on the results of data collected in Israel, where a second booster was already approved.
