Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Wake-Up Call: 'Fourth Wave' COVID Warnings Issued

President Biden and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned yesterday about a possible fourth wave of the coronavirus, saying that many are viewing the pandemic as over too soon. Even as he announced expansion of coronavirus vaccinations, with all adults to be eligible over the next five weeks, Biden urged governors and city and local leaders to reinstate mask requirements and other Covid-19 restrictions that some have been easing, and to pause removing more requirements, saying, "This is deadly serious." Earlier yesterday, Walensky, who's been warning about another surge, become emotional during a virtual briefing as she spoke about treating Covid patients who are alone as they died. She said, "[R]ight now, I’m scared. I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom." She said cases are up about 10 percent from the previous week, with hospitalizations and deaths both starting to rise again too. She also urged, "Please limit travel to essential travel for the time being."

In other developments:

Real-World Study Finds Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines Highly Effective: The CDC said yesterday that a real-world study of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines show they are highly effective and performed nearly as well as they did in the previous controlled studies. Both vaccines were 90 percent effective after two doses, compared to about 95 percent in the earlier testing. The study also found the vaccines were 80 percent effective two weeks after a first dose. The CDC's Mark Thompson called it "very reassuring news."

Ban on Eviction of Renters Extended: The federal moratorium on evicted tenants who've fallen behind on their rent during the pandemic is being extended by the Biden administration through the end of June, it was announced yesterday. The moratorium had been set to expire on Wednesday.

Canada Pauses AstraZeneca Vaccine Use for Those Under 55 Over Blood Clot Concerns: Canada suspended the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for people under age 55 yesterday because of concerns it might be linked to rare blood clots. Officials said the pause decision was made due to new data from Europe that suggests the blood clot risk is potentially as high as one in 100,000, much higher than the previously believed one in one million risk. Most of those in Europe who developed a blood clot were women under age 55, and the fatality among those who did develop clots was as high as 40 percent.
 

➤TRIAL OF OFFICER IN DEATH OF FLOYD BEGINS, VIDEO SHOWN TO JURORS ON FIRST DAY: The murder and manslaughter trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd got underway yesterday. The video seen around the world of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck was shown to jurors on the first day of the trial, which is being livestreamed, with proseuctor Jerry Blackwell presenting it during his opening statement. Although the length of time Chauvin kneeled of Floyd's neck had originally been said to be eight minutes and 46 seconds, Blackwell said it was really nine minutes and 29 seconds, stating, "He put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him, until the very breath . . . until the very life was squeezed out of him.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Eric Nelson said Floyd had been fighting officers as they tried to put him in the police car, and that the crowd around them became larger and increasingly hostile. He stated, "Derek Chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do over his 19-year career." Nelson also disputed that Chauvin caused Floyd's death, saying that he had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, and that, combined with heart disease, high blood pressure and the adrenaline in his body caused a fatal heart rhythm disturbance. He said, "[T]he evidence is far greater than 9 minutes and 29 seconds."
 

Jurors also heard testimony from Donald Williams, a witness to the incident. Williams, who said he was trained in mixed martial arts, said Chauvin appeared to increase the pressure on Floyd's neck several times with a shimmying motion, and said he yelled that he was cutting off Floyd’s blood supply. He spoke about Floyd's breathing becoming more labored and how he eventually stopped moving, saying he saw hime, quote, "slowly fade away." Minneapolis police dispatcher Jena Scurry testified that she the incident on a city surveillance camera, and became so concerned she called a duty sergeant, saying, "my instincts were telling me that something is wrong."

➤SUEZ CANAL REOPENS AFTER CONTAINER SHIP FREED: The Suez Canal finally opened on Monday after a massive container ship that had been stuck sideways in the waterway for nearly a week was freed. A group of tugboats, aided by high tide, and after days of removing earth from around where the ship was embedded finally allowed the container Ever Given to be freed. The Suez Canal Authorioty said the navigation through the canal resumed at 6 p.m. local time. More than 420 ships had been halted waiting for the canal to reopen, and at least of 113 of them are expected to cross the canal by Tuesday morning. Analysts said it could take at least another 10 days for all the backlogged ships to go through.

➤SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES ADDED AGAINST FORMER EPSTEIN ASSOCIATE MAXWELL: Federal prosecutors added sex trafficking charges yesterday against Ghislaine Maxwell, former associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein, alleging she recruited and groomed a 14-year-old girl to engage in sex acts with Epstein. They alleged Maxwell and Epstein paid the girl hundreds of dollars for each encounter. Maxwell, who has been held without bail since last July, was previously charged with conspiracy and enticing minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts from 1994 through 1997. The new charges allege she engaged in sex trafficking of a minor more recently, from 2001 to 2004. Epstein fatally hung himself in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges involving underage girls.


➤POLL..64 PERCENT SEE 'CANCEL CULTURE AS FREEDOM THREAT: Nearly two-thirds of Americans, 64 percent, said in a new poll that there's a growing "cancel culture" that they view as a threat to their freedom, while 36 percent said they don't consider it a threat. In the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey released exclusively to The Hill yesterday, 36 percent said cancel culture is a "big problem," 32 percent said it's a "moderate problem," 20 percent said it's a "small problem," and just 13 percent said it's "not a problem." Of those surveyed, 54 percent said they were concerned that if they expressed their opinions online they'd be banned or fired, while 46 percent said they weren't concerned. Mark Penn, director of the survey, said, "The public generally gives negative ratings to social media companies and sees the movement as more about censorship rather than trying to correct wrongs."


➤POLL..LESS THAN HALF BELONG TO A CHURCH: Less than half of Americans belong to a church, synagogue or mosque for the first time, according to the results of a Gallup poll out yesterday. In the survey, 47 percent said they had such an affiliation, down from 50 percent in 2018, the first time in the eight decades Gallup has done the survey that a majority didn't have one. When Gallup first polled the question in 1937, 73 percent of Americans were members of a place of worship, and it stayed around that level for six decades until it started to fall in the 21st century. There was a strong association with age, however, as 66 percent of those born before 1946 said they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque, while 56 percent of Baby Boomers, 50 percent of GenXers and 36 percent of Millennials said the same. Gallup said it had limited data on generation Z, but their numbers were similar to those of Millennials. The decline has come as a growing number of Americans say they aren't affiliated with a religion.

➤VW REPORTEDLY TO USE 'VOLTSWAGEN' AS BRAND NAME:  Volkswagen is reportedly going to be using the brand name "Voltswagen" for its electric cars in the U.S. The company briefly announced the change on its media site yesterday before it was removed, with USA Today saying it had apparently been released before it was ready for an official rollout. The news release was dated April 29th. USA Today said that in the news release, Volkswagen said, quote, "more than a name change, 'Voltswagen' is a public declaration of the company’s future-forward investment in e-mobility." Volkswagen plans to launch more than 70 electric vehicles by 2029.

➤PARENTS OFTEN DON’T USE CHILD CAR SEATS IN RIDE-SHARE VEHICLES: It seems parents who use ride-share services with their kids often do not use the recommended car seats. A national survey of parents published in a medical journal found that only half of parents with kids ages eight and under traveled in the recommended child car seats or booster seats when in ride-share vehicles. Among parents of this age group, over 40 percent used only a seat belt for their child, while 10 percent allowed their child to travel on a lap or unrestrained. 

Study author, Dr. Michelle Macy says, “Our results are concerning, as ride-share services are increasingly popular. Car accidents remain the leading cause of death for children under 10-years-old and traveling without the recommended child restraint system increases the risk for serious injury or death in a crash.” In most states, kids under age eight are legally required to travel in a child car seat or booster seat when in a ride-share. Researchers say lack of awareness of these laws may be a reason for the findings, and solutions could include enforcement of policies, reminders from ride-share apps, and signs posted in ride-share vehicles.


➤CBS DENIES IT:   CBS is denying a report that Sharon Osbourne received a payout of up to $10 million for exiting “The Talk” after making inflammatory comments about race on the daytime talk show earlier this month. A CBS spokesperson said of the report: “False, inaccurate or untrue. Take your pick.” The network announced Friday that Osbourne, the last original panelist on “The Talk,” would be leaving the series following an internal investigation prompted by comments she made during the March 10 broadcast. 

➤STUDY...WHY THE BRAIN ENJOYS MUSIC: Listening to music has no obvious biological benefits, so why do we like it so much? Researchers have found that communication between the brain’s auditory and reward circuits is the reason humans find music so rewarding. Brain imaging shows that the brain processes music similarly to other rewards like food, money, and alcohol. When researchers inhibited the brain’s reward system prior to playing music, people experienced less pleasure when hearing it, and when they excited the brain’s reward system prior to playing music people experienced increased pleasure upon hearing music.



🏀BAYLOR, HOUSTON ADVANCE TO NCAA TOURNAMENT'S FINAL FOUR: Baylor and Houston advanced to the men's basketball NCAA Tournament with wins in their Elite Eight game yesterday. Number 1 Baylor defeated Number 3 Arkansas 81-72 to reach the team's first Final Four since 1950, and Number 2 Houston downed 12th-seeded Oregon State 67-61 to reach its first Final Four since 1984. The other two Elite Eight games, between Gonzaga and USC and between Michigan and UCLA will take place today.


🏀UCONN, ARIZONA WIN TO REACH FINAL FOUR IN WOMEN'S NCAA TOURNAMENT: The University of Connecticut and Arizona won their Elite Eight games in the women's basketball NCAA Tournament Monday to advance to the Final Four. Number 1 UConn beat Number 2 Baylor 69-67 to reach its 13th straight Final Four, and Number 3 Arizona defeated fourth-seeded Indiana 66-53 to reach the first women's Final Four in team history. The other two Elite Eight games, between South Carolina and Texas and between Stanford and Louisville, will be played today.

➤LOGANO WINS NASCAR CUP RACE ON DIRT AT BRISTOL: Joey Logano won NASCAR's first Cup Series race on a dirt track in 50 years yesterday at Tennessee's Bristol Motor Speedway, which had been postponed from the day before because of rain. The track at Bristol was covered with 2,300 truckloads of red Tennessee clay for the race before a reduced capacity sellout of about 30,000 people.

➤TWO STUDENTS KILLED DURING IOWA STATE CREW CLUB PRACTICE: Two Iowa State University students were killed during crew club practice on Sunday morning when the boat capsized with five students on board, the school said. The body of one student was recovered from Little Wall Lake on Monday by a dive team and the other student's body was recovered Sunday. The three other students were treated and released from the hospital after being rescued. There is an ongoing investigation into what happened, but there were high winds at the time of the accident.
 

🐶NO SPECTATORS TO BE ALLOWED AT WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW: The Westminster Kennel Club announced Monday that spectators won't be allowed at this year's dog show because of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. It's the latest change due to the pandemic for the prestigious dog show, which was moved from its usual February date to June, and from its usual home at New York City's Madison Square Garden to Tarrytown, New York, north of Manhattan, where it will be held outdoors. It will be the first time in over a century that Westminster won’t be held at Madison Square Garden.
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