Godspeed: John Glenn, the last surviving member of the Mercury 7 astronauts and the first American to orbit Earth, died yesterday at age 95.

In 1962 with the US losing the space race and the nuclear arms buildup to the Soviet Union, the country froze in front of grainy black and white televisions in homes, schools, offices, and Grand Central Station. As he took off, Astronaut Scott Carpenter said, “Godspeed, John Glenn.”

Glenn was from a time when heroes were quiet and reserved. The mission came close to disaster. The heat shield on Glenn’s Mercury 7 capsule nearly failed on re-entry, sending fiery sparks past the window. Glenn thought it might be all over.

As a Marine pilot, Glenn flew 59 combat missions in WWII and 90 in Korea. He answered the call for pilots in space.

Not getting another mission after Mercury 7, Glenn resigned from NASA and ran for the US Senate from Ohio, serving 24 years. In the last months of his final Senate term, Glenn got his wish to return to space, flying aboard the space shuttle Discovery at age 77.

In Transition: President-elect Trump has chosen a fast-food executive who has fought the $15 minimum wage and regulation of business to be his Secretary of Labor. , Andrew Puzder runs the company that operates the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr chains. Puzder says both a high minimum wage and the Affordable Care Act cost jobs. A corporate boss has been chosen to look out for the well-being of workers.

Carl’s Jr is known for its ads in which near-naked women eat a burger and let the mustard and ketchup run down their bodies.  By the way, their burgers are pre-cooked and frozen, then warmed on a conveyor belt.

Inhale: Electronic cigarettes deliver an addictive dose of nicotine and are dangerous, particularly for young people, the Surgeon General says. Use of E-cigarettes is growing fastest among teenagers and young adults.

Death Be Not Proud: Life expectancy in the US dropped for the first time since 1993, particularly among people younger than 65, according to demographers. The death rate increased by 8.5 people per 100,000 in 2015. A lot of it can be attributed to heart disease and stroke but also Alzheimer’s disease, respiratory disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and suicide.

Permawar: The Syrian army has come close to crushing the rebellion in Aleppo. They’ve called a brief ceasefire so civilians can evacuate, but some fighting continues.

Fired: South Korean lawmakers today impeached and removed from office President Park Geun-hye, the country’s first female president. She had been accused of extorting money from companies and giving a personal friend sway in the government.

The Constitutional Court has six months to decide whether she must be permanently removed from office. Park said, “I’d like to say that I’m deeply sorry to the people because the nation has to experience this turmoil because of my negligence and lack of virtue at a time when our security and economy both face difficulties.”

The Obit Page: Greg Lake the musician who co-founded both King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, has died of cancer at age 69. Lake was a groundbreaker in what was known as “progressive rock” before punk moved in. King Crimson, in particular, was stoner music.

Dave Edwards, a linebacker who was a member of the Dallas Cowboys “Doomsday Defense” and helped take the team to three Super Bowls in the 1970s, has died at age 76.

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