Lesser Included: As the case against the Kenosha, Wisconsin shooter Kyle Rittenhouse goes to the jury today, the judge in the case says he will allow the jury to consider what’s called “lesser included” charges, including whether the defendant provoked the situation in which he killed two unarmed men with an assault rifle and wounding a third.

  This gives the prosecution a better chance of some kind of conviction in a case that has not looked like a slam dunk. 

  Rittenhouse has been on trial for six counts ranging from first-degree intentional homicide to a misdemeanor unlawful firearms charge for killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, who was 26 at the time. Rittenhouse, who has claimed he acted in self-defense, faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious offense.

  His mother Wendy said in an interview with NBC News, “He brung that gun for protection, and to this day if he didn’t have that gun, my son would’ve been dead.” 

  Rittenhouse was 17 when he arrived at a street demonstration in Kenosha with what he said was the intent of defending private property. He had driven there although he did not have a driver’s license, was carrying an illegally obtained rifle, and was ignoring a curfew order.

 Judge Bruce Schroeder briefed Rittenhouse Friday saying, “By having a lesser offense included, you’re raising the risk of conviction. And you’re also decreasing the risk that you’ll end up with a second trial because the jury is unable to agree.”

How Low Can You Go: Just 10 months into a presidency in which he’s trying to pull the country out of a pandemic, recover the economy, and inject billions of dollars into public investments, President Biden has hit a job disapproval high of 54 percent of American adults, according to a poll conducted by ABC News and The Washington Post.

  Inflation is surging and gasoline prices are spiking. Americans don’t like it and they’re blaming Biden.

  Fifty-five percent disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy and 49 percent don’t like what he’s doing with the pandemic.

  Demonstrating that Americans are not complex thinkers, the poll say 63 percent of respondents like his plan to spend more than $1 trillion on roads, bridges, and general infrastructure.

Political Climate: After two weeks of wrangling over climate change, its causes, and ways to remediate global warming, the leaders of 200 countries came away with an agreement that’s likely to do little to solve the problem.

  Most countries are still hung up on the burning of fossil fuels for energy, and particular coal. Even if the countries of the world live up to the agreements they made in Glasgow, Earth’s climate will be warmer by about 2.4 degrees Celsius by year 2100 over preindustrial times. The target is 1.5 degrees.

  It’s the biggest industrial powers including the US, China, and India that can change the direction of the world, but industry is standing in the way while developing countries are asking for help to convert to cleaner power.

  While we’re discussing climate, heavy rain, dust storms, and snow in the southern Indian city of Aswan has disturbed the homes of  scorpions and snakes. About 450 people have been stung by scorpions and three have died.

Fare Beater: The explosion of a taxi outside a Liverpool hospital in which one man was killed has been described as a terrorist attack. The driver managed to get out of the car before it exploded and burst into flames.

  Police say the passenger detonated an improvised explosive device.

  Following the incident three men in their 20s were arrested elsewhere in Liverpool under the Terrorism Act, and a fourth was detained. Police said all four are believed to be “associates” of the dead passenger.

The Spin Rack: A nine year old boy caught in the crush at the Travis Scott concert in Houston has died of his injuries. That’s the 10^th death. — Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has negotiated the release of Danny Fenster, the American journalist sentenced to 11 years in prison in Myanmar for criticizing the military government. — The Trump organization has agreed to sell the former president’s hotel in Washington’s old post office building. The buyers are expected to remove the Trump name. — The Green Bay Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 17-0 in quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ return after testing positive for Covid-19 and admitting he was unvaccinated. — Gasoline prices in California set a new record average of $4.676 yesterday, beating its previous record of $4.671 for regular gasoline in October 2012.

The Obit Page: Petra Mayer, a book editor for National Public Radio who described herself as the “resident nerd” and entertained fans with her thoughts about science fiction, comics, and cats, died in Silver Spring, Maryland. She was 46.

  The cause of death was given as a sudden pulmonary embolism.

   Mayer reported on everything from Comic-Con to books about sci-fi, fantasy, romance, and thrillers. She had been a contributor to NPR’s Book Concierge.

  A graduate of the Columbia University graduate School of Journalism, Mayer had been an associate producer and director on the weekends for “All Things Considered,” the radio network’s flagship program, before she joined the book department.

  Nancy Barnes, NPR’s senior vice president for news, said in a statement that, Petra’s passion for her work, her love for her colleagues and her joy sharing books with public radio listeners have made a lasting impact.”

Sunny Day: The children’s television show “Sesame Street,” which has been on the air for 52 years, is introducing its first Asian-American Muppet. The character Ji-Young is Korean American and she’s into rocking on her electric guitar and skateboarding. 

-30-