Monday, March 15, 2021

Wake-Up Call: FEMA Deployed to the Border

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said over the weekend that the administration is deploying the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help manage and care for the record of number of unaccompanied children who are illegally crossing the border with Mexico. 
Mayorkas said FEMA will support the administration's effort over the next three months to receive, shelter and transfer the children. Unaccompanied children are supposed to be processed and transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services within three days for placement with a parent or other sponsor already in the U.S. until their immigration cases are resolved. 

But a growing number of children are being held longer at Border Patrol facilities because long-term shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services don't have space. President Biden has ended former President Donald Trump's policy of deporting unaccompanied children who cross the border.


➤BIDEN, HARRIS HITTING THE ROAD TO PROMOTE COVID RELIEF PLAN: President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses will be hitting the road this week to promote Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan that he signed into law last Thursday, visiting sites including vaccination locations, businesses and schools. Harris will kick off the "Help is Here" tour today at a Covid vaccination site and a culinary academy in Las Vegas while First Lady Jill Biden tours a New Jersey elementary school. The president will visit a small business in Pennsylvania on Tuesday while Harris will meet with small business owners in Denver. Jill Biden will also be in Concord, New Hampshire, and Harris' husband Doug Emhoff will appear in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Wednesday. President Biden and Harris will appear together in Atlanta on Friday. Cabinet secretaries will also be out touting the benefits of the American Rescue Plan.


➤AT LEAST 38 KILLED IN MYANMAR PROTESTS, MARTIAL LAW DECLARED IN PARTS OF LARGEST CITY: At least 38 people protesting last months's military coup in Myanmar were killed Sunday and dozens of others injured in a growing crackdown by security forces. That came as the country's ruling junta declared martial law in parts of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. The country has been under a nationwide state of emergency since the military coup six weeks ago. 


The number of people killed in the ongoing protests appears to now be over 100, according to the independent group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

➤SUSPECTED INCENDIARY DEVICES FOUND NEAR NORTH CAROLINA CHURCH: Local businesses were evacuated on Sunday after several suspected incendiary devices were found near a Baptist church and county building in Brevard, North Carolina. Police first got a call about the devices near the First Baptist Church of Brevard and the Transylvania County Community Services Building at around 10:30 a.m. Officers found several small, undetonated devices, and carried out the evacuations as a precaution. The police are working on the investigation with the county sheriff’s office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, and ATF.

➤POLL...MAJORITY FAVOR REQUIRING COVID VACCINATIONS FOR PLANES, GYMS, MOVIES, THEATERS, CONCERTS, WORKPLACES:  As the Covid-19 vaccination effort continues to ramp up across the country, a new poll finds that a majority of Americans are in favor of requiring people to be vaccinated for a range of public activities. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll out Friday, 62 percent said people should be required to have been vaccinated to fly on planes and 55 percent said it should be required for exercising in public gyms, going to movie theaters or attending public concerts. Additionally, 60 percent said they'd want to work for an employers that require people to be vaccinated before returning to the office, and 56 percent said unvaccinated workers should remain at home. Overall, 72 percent said it's important to know, quote, "if the people around me have been vaccinated." There was some division by party among the results, with Republicans less likely than Democrats to support requiring vaccinations for these activities. But even among Republicans, 50 percent support requiring being vaccinated to fly and 40 percent for going to gyms or movie theaters.

➤CELL PHONE DATA SHOWS AMERICANS ARE LEAVING HOME MORE ON A DAILY BASIS THAN BEFORE COVID LOCKDOWNS: As weather slowly transitions into warmer temperatures across much of the U.S. people are venturing out of their homes more. University of Maryland researchers looked at data from cell phones, and found that between summer and mid-winter, the number of daily trips per person, indicated by cellphones pinging more than a mile from home, had been at around 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels. By mid-February, the number of daily trips started to surpass pre-pandemic levels, and by the first week of March, the number of trips people took was up as much as 13 percent compared to the same time last year. Researchers at the Maryland Transportation Institute are attributing Americans’ newfound wanderlust to fewer new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as early spring fever caused by the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s official declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic (which was on Thursday, March 11th.) Still, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that travel still increases people’s chances of getting and spreading COVID-19 through social interactions, and urges people to delay trips and stay home, even if they are vaccinated.


➤CDC UPDATES CORONAVIRUS GUIDANCE FOR CHILD CARE CENTERS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its guidance for operating child care programs. The new guidance, which is intended for all types of child care programs, marks the first update since July 2020. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, said Friday that their updates are based on “the most recent science.” She says, “That science includes additional evidence showing that when used consistently and correctly, prevention strategies such as mask-wearing, staying home when sick and good hand hygiene can allow childcare programs to operate safely and reduce the spread of COVID-19.” The updated guidance also emphasizes the “importance of mask-wearing for children older than two-years-old, and all staff, except when eating and sleeping.” In addition, the guidance also discourages the use of face shields or goggles as a substitute for masks, and reiterates that plastic face shields or masks should not be placed on newborns or infants.


MEGAN MARKLE FOR PRESIDENT?:  Could we all be referring to Meghan Markle as President Markle one day? Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that Markle wants to be the first female U.S. president and is already networking with senior Democrats to help her achieve that goal. The report cited a senior U.K. politician who has close ties to Washington for the alleged news that she's been openly networking. The Mail story cited other sources as saying Markle hopes her and Prince Harry's headline-making interview with Oprah Winfrey will help fulfill her political ambitions, which she'd previously spoken about to friends. A campaign could be happening as early as 2024, according to the Mail, if President Biden decides against running for a second term. An unnamed friend told Vanity Fair last year that one of the reasons the Duchess of Sussex didn't give up her American citizenship after she married Harry was that so that she, quote, "had the option to go into politics."
 

➤DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME COULD BE ESPECIALLY HARD THIS YEAR DUE TO COVID-19 SLEEP LOSS:  The clocks “sprang forward” across much of the U.S. yesterday morning for Daylight Saving Time, and if you’re having a tougher time adjusting than usual, you’re not alone. Over the past year, sleep has been affected by many factors related to the pandemic, including anxiety, inconsistent schedules, and increased screen time. Even before the pandemic many Americans got less than the recommended seven hours of sleep per night, and many researchers were already concerned about the twice-a-year time change’s effects on our health. Sleep has been proven to affect every aspect of our health, and getting too little is detrimental. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine even recommends that we get rid of Daylight Saving Time, and simply stick with a national year-round standard. The group says this is a better way to align with our natural circadian clock and minimize health and safety risks.


➤GAMBLING INDUSTRY EXPECTS ABOUT SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO BET ON MARCH MADNESS: The gambling industry is expecting about the same number of people to bet on March Madness this year as did in 2019, after the NCAA basketball tournament was canceled last year because of the coronavirus. The American Gaming Association predicted Sunday that more than 47 million Americans plan to make a bet, whether it's a legal one or not, about the number who planned to bet on March Madness in 2019. That's despite the fact that about eight percent fewer Americans expect to fill out brackets this year because so many offices and other workplaces are closed. But that dip is expected to be almost totally made up for by the expansion of legal sports betting in the U.S. The gaming association said 30.6 million Americans will bet in other ways for this year's tournament -- which begins this Thursday (March 18th) -- up from 17.8 million in 2019, including via casinos, racetracks, online betting apps, illegal bookmakers, or with a friend.


🏀GONZAGA NAMED 'MARCH MADNESS' TOP SEED: Gonzaga was named the overall top seed in this year's men's NCAA basketball tournament by the selection committee last night, one year after the tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gonzaga is the fifth team to enter the March Madness tournament undefeated since Indiana's perfect 1975-76 season. Gonzaga was joined by fellow Number 1 seeds Baylor, Illinois and Michigan in the 68-team bracket. The tournament begins Thursday (March 18th) with the "First Four" games in Indiana, where the whole tournament is being hosted in Indianapolis and surrounding areas because of the pandemic. Four teams that didn't make the cut are on standby and could be put in if any team notifies the NCAA by Tuesday night that it has to withdraw because of health concerns. They are Louisville, Colorado State, St. Louis and Mississippi. Full March Madness bracket: http://bit.ly/3tgmHSH

🏈SAINTS QB DREW BREES ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT: New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is retiring, the 42-year-old NFL leader in career completions and yards passing announcing the news yesterday on social media. Brees said, "Til the very end I exhausted myself to give everything to the Saints organization, my team and the great city of New Orleans. . . . I am only retiring from football. I am not retiring from New Orleans. This is not goodbye." The post also included video of Brees' four young children saying, "Our dad is finally going to retire so he can spend more time with us!" Brees, who is also second in career touchdowns to Tom Brady, spent the last 15 of his 20 NFL seasons with New Orleans, including leading them to a Super Bowl victory in 2009, when he was the game's MVP. Brees spent his first five seasons with the San Diego Chargers.
 

🏌THOMAS WINS PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP: American Justin Thomas won the Players Championship at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Sunday, getting a one-shot victory over British golfer Lee Westwood. Thomas finished at 14-under 274 for his 14th career title. He also became only the fourth player to win a major, The Players Championship, the FedEx Cup and a World Golf Championship.

🏈AARON JONES STAYING WITH PACKERS WITH FOUR-YEAR, $48 MILLION DEAL: Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones is staying with the Green Packers, agreeing to a new four-year, $48 million deal, according to media reports Sunday (March 14th). Jones, who decided against free agency with the deal, tweeted a picture of himself in a Packers uniform with the message, "Let’s run it back #GoPackGo" yesterday. The 26-year-old Jones has been with the Packers for all four of his NFL seasons.

🥊BOXING GREAT 'MARVELOUS' MARVIN HAGLER DEAD AT 66: "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, one of the greatest middleweights in boxing history, died on Saturday, his wife, Kay Hagler, announced on Facebook. He was 66. She said that his death had been unexpected. Hagler had a 62-3-2 record with 52 knockouts over his 14-year career. Hagler defeated Thomas Hearns in a legendary 1985 fight that had an opening round many consider the best in boxing history as they traded punches for three minutes. The match lasted less than eight minutes as Hagler stopped Hearns in the third round.
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