Thursday, January 28, 2021

Wake-Up Call: TWH Begins New COVID Briefings

NY Times 1/28/21


AS MANY AS 90,000 MORE WILL DIE IN NEXT FOUR WEEKS: The Biden administration yesterday held the first of what will be its regular coronavirus briefings three times a week, with participants projecting that as many as 90,000 more people will die in the U.S. in the next four weeks. The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said, "I know this is not news we all want to hear, but this is something we must say so we are all aware. If we are united in action we can turn things around." The briefing was held virtually, with officials appearing from separate locations on Zoom, speaking about the administration's efforts to combat the coronavirus, including speeding up vaccines. 



Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said there are concerns about the new virus mutations that are emerging and if the vaccine might not be as effective against them. But he said scientists can make adjustments to keep their effectiveness, saying the government is working with pharmaceutical companies on potential booster shots for the new variants.


➤BIDEN SIGNS CLIMATE-RELATED ORDERS, SAYS 'CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER': President Biden signed several executive orders yesterday intended to help combat climate change, saying, "We can’t wait any longer" and calling the threat "existential." Biden presented his approach as being one of job-creation, saying, "When I think of climate change and the answers to it, I think of jobs," stating that his plans would create jobs in the automotive and renewable energy sectors, like solar and wind power, that would offset losses in oil, coal or natural gas jobs.

➤SECOND POLICE OFFICER DIED BY SUICIDE AFTER CAPITOL ATTACK: A second police officer who responded to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol died by suicide in its aftermath, Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee told a closed session of the House Appropriations Committee Tuesday evening. Officer Jeffrey Smith was a Washington, D.C., police officer. A Capitol Police officer, Howard Liebengood, also took his own life in the wake of the attack, and another Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, died of injuries he suffered while trying to hold off the rioters. Meanwhile, the head of the union that represents Capitol Police, Gus Papathanasiou, described some of the injuries suffered by Capitol Police as well as members of Washington, D.C.'s police force, in a statement Wednesday saying nearly 140 had been injured. He said, "I have officers . . . who have sustained brain injuries. One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs. One officer is going to lose his eye, and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake."

➤HOMELAND SECURITY DEPT. ISSUES NATIONAL TERRORISM WARNING: The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin yesterday about a remaining potential for violence after President Biden's inauguration by people motivated by anti-government sentiment. While not citing any specific plots, the bulletin suggested the U.S. Capitol attack may embolden extremists, and believes the heightened threat environment will continue for weeks after the inauguration. A statement that went out with the bulletin said the potential for violence from a, quote, "broad range of ideologically-motivated actors."


 ➤PROUD BOYS LEADER WAS REPORTEDLY GOVERNMENT INFORMANT: The leader of the Proud Boys, Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, was a government informant who worked undercover and cooperated with investigators after he was accused of fraud in 2012, Reuters first reported Wednesday, with the information found in court documents. Tarrio denied to Reuters ever cooperating with authorities. The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, was a major agitator during the Capitol riot, according to AP, however Tarrio was arrested in Washington shortly before the attack, accused of vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church during an earlier protest in D.C.

➤IS WATCHING TV ACTUALLY A GOOD WAY TO RELAX?:  Watching TV is an American pastime, and with the pandemic, people are watching more TV than ever before. According to new data from Nielsen, 29 percent of remote workers have the TV on during billable hours daily, and the average American watches 5 hours and 56 minutes of cumulative videos each day. But outside of working hours, can watching TV actually help you relax? Science says kind of. Studies from 2012 found that rewatching old, familiar TV favorites can make our brains feel safe, allowing them to recharge. However, watching horror movies and the news can have the opposite effect, though this varies from person to person. Viale Wright is a clinical psychologist, and notes that watching too much TV can be problematic, noting, “If [watching TV] is your only coping mechanism—if you have nothing except TV—then that’s probably problematic.” As for having the TV on while you work—researchers say we’re likely ignoring it, and that have a low-key distraction in the background can actually help you complete creative tasks (though they add that any ambient sound that mimics the murmur of people talking and moving in the background should have the same effect).

➤S-F BOARD REMOVES NAMES OF LINCOLN, WASHINGTON, JEFFERSON, OTHERS FROM SCHOOLS: The San Francisco Board of Education decided in a 6-1 vote Tuesday night to remove the names of former Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson and other prominent figures from public schools in the city. Others whose names will be removed from a total of 44 San Francisco schools in the controversial decision include Paul Revere, "Star Spangled Banner" composer Francis Scott Key, naturalist John Muir, 18th century Spanish priest Junipero Serra, and current Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who was a former mayor of San Francisco. A committee was created in 2018 to lead the renaming process, charged with identifying schools named for people who owned slaves or had connections to slavery, colonization or exploitation, anyone who oppressed women, children, queer or transgender people, anyone connected to human rights or environmental abuses, or anyone who espoused racist or white supremacist beliefs. Washington and Jefferson owned slaves, and the criticisms of Lincoln were related to Native Americans, including construction of the transcontinental railroad, which affected their lands, and his refusal to commute the sentences of 39 Native Americans sentenced to hanging. Feinstein was included because when she was mayor in 1984, she replaced a vandalized Confederate flag that was part of a flag display in front of City Hall. Seeyew Mo, executive director of Families for San Francisco, which has been critical of the renaming effort, called the process "top-down" in which a small group of people made the decisions without consulting experts and the wider school community. He also said, "We would like to have historical experts to provide historical context as we are evaluating people from the past with today’s sensibilities."

➤CLORIS LEACHMAN DIES AT 94: The Oscar and Emmy winner Cloris Leachman, best known for her role as Phyllis Lindstrom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, has died of natural causes at age 94. “It’s been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time,” her longtime manager Juliet Green said. “There was no one like Cloris. With a single look she had the ability to break your heart or make you laugh ’till the tears ran down your face. You never knew what Cloris was going to say or do and that unpredictable quality was part of her unparalleled magic.”

🏈POLL: JUST 25 PERCENT TO ATTEND SUPER BOWL WATCH PARTIES: The holidays are over, but there's another event coming up that could lead people to gather together and potentially increase the spread of the coronavirus -- the Super Bowl. A new Seton Hall Sports Poll of just over 1,500 people from across the country found that while 64 percent said they won't attend a gathering with people from outside their home to watch the February 7th championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 25 percent said they will. Another 11 percent said they weren't sure. Among those who said they were avid fans, an ever higher 40 percent said they'd gather with people from outside their household. The poll also asked if respondents expected the game would be less exciting because of pandemic-related restrictions, including reduced fan attendance, and 47 percent either "strongly" or "somewhat" agreed it would be, compared to 28 percent who either "somewhat or strongly" disagreed.

🏈SEAHAWKS DROP WHEELER OVER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGE: The Seattle Seahawks have dropped offensive lineman Chad Wheeler after he was charged with first-degree domestic violence assault yesterday following his arrest last weekend. Wheeler's contract was set to expire in March. 

Chad Wheeler
Police were called to a home in Kent, Washington, Friday night after the victim and family members called 911, saying she'd locked herself in a bathroom after being attacked. Officers heard a woman screaming when they arrived and forced their way in, finding Wheeler with the woman, who's face was covered in blood and had her arm hanging at her side. Wheeler was uncooperative and a Taser was used against him. The woman told investigators Wheeler told her to stand up and bow to him and when she refused, he threw her on the bed, choking and trying to smother her. As she tried to fight back, Wheeler twisted her arm and she lost consciousness. When she came to, Wheeler said, "Wow, you’re alive?" She then ran into the bathroom, where she called her family and 911. 

Wheeler picked the lock to the bathroom and went in and began apologizing, and then police arrived. The woman had a fractured bone and dislocated elbow in her left arm, and lesions on her neck, some of which were in the shape of fingers.

🏈TEXANS HIRE CULLEY AS HEAD COACH: The Houston Texans have hired David Culley as their new head coach, according to media reports Wednesday. The 65-year-old Culley spent the past two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens as assistant head coach. This will be his first job as head coach.

⚾METS TRADE MATZ TO BLUE JAYS: The New York Mets traded pitcher Steven Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday, getting three prospects in return, all of them pitchers. Matz struggled in the coronavirus-shortened season last year, going 0-5 with a 9.68 ERA.

🏈NFL'S JASON WITTEN RETIRING AFTER 17 SEASONS: Jason Witten is retiring after 17 seasons in the NFL, ending a career in which he played more games than any other tight end in league history, is second only to Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez in receptions and yards in the position, and is fourth on the all-time receptions list behind Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald and Gonzalez. The 38-year-old played 16 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, before spending 2020 with the Las Vegas Raiders. He plans to sign a one-day contract with the Cowboys and retire as a member of the team. Witten first retired after the 2017 season and spent 2018 as a Monday Night Football analyst, but returned to the Cowboys in 2019. Witten told ESPN yesterday, "As I hang it up, I walk away knowing that for 17 seasons I gave it my absolute all."



⚾FUNERAL HELD FOR HANK AARON: The funeral service was held yesterday for baseball Hall of Fame legend Hank Aaron, who died last Friday at age 86, with former Presidents Bill Clinton attending and former President Jimmy Carter sending a videotaped message. Both had been friends of Aaron. Only some 50 people attended the service at Atlanta's Friendship Baptist Church because of Covid-19 restrictions. After the funeral, the hearse carrying Aaron's coffin detoured to the former site of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, where Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record in April 1974. The stadium no longer exists, but the outer retaining wall is still there, as well as a display that marks the location where the home run cleared the left-field fence. Fans have been leaving flowers, notes and baseball memorabilia since Aaron's death.

➤INAUGURATION POET GORMAN TO READ POEM AT SUPER BOWL: Amanda Gorman's time in the spotlight after reciting her poem, "The Hill We Climb," at President Biden's inauguration last week to acclaim is continuing, with news that she will read a poem before the Super Bowl. The NFL has chosen three people who have served during the pandemic as honorary captains for the game, and the 22-year-old Gorman will read her original poem about their impact that will be televised and shown inside Tampa's Raymond James Stadium. The honorary captains are educator Trimaine Davis, nurse manager Suzie Dorner and Marine veteran James Martin. They will take part in the coin toss.

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