Monday, April 19, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Half of Us Have Gotten Some Vaccine


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that half of all U.S. adults -- 50.4 percent -- have gotten at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot, and 32.5 percent of all U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated. Overall, 75 percent of adults say they're willing to get vaccinated or already have had at least one shot, according to the latest AP-NORC poll, up from 67 percent in January. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist, said in several Sunday news show interviews yesterday that he expects the government will likely move to return to using Johnson & Johnson's vaccine this week, after its use was paused due to very rare blood clot cases in a handful of people. Fauci said resuming use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may be done with restrictions on who should take it based on age or gender or a broader warning. He said, "I would be very surprised if we don’t have a resumption in some form by Friday."

➤SUSPECT ON THE RUN IN TEXAS AFTER THREE KILLED IN AUSTIN: A 41-year-old former sheriff's deputy was on the run in Texas Sunday, wanted in the fatal shooting of three people in Austin late Saturday morning. Interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said of suspect Stephen Broderick, "The victims were all known to this suspect. At this point, we do not think this individual is out there targeting random people to shoot. That does not mean he is not dangerous." Chacon didn't say how Broderick knew the victims, who were two women and one man, or give a motive. He did say a child was involved, but the child has been located and is safe. Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said Broderick, who was a property crimes detective with the Travis County sheriff's office, was arrested for sexual assault of a child last June and was released on $50,000 bond. He resigned after being arrested.

➤THREE KILLED, THREE INJURED IN SHOOTING AT WISCONSIN TAVERN: Three people were killed and three others injured in a shooting early Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Police have a suspect in custody, who Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said earlier had been asked to leave the Somers House Tavern and then returned and opened fire. Beth said it's not clear exactly why the suspect was removed from the tavern, which he said was "very busy" at the time of the shooting. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers called the shooting a "senseless tragedy."


➤NSA ADVISER SAYS 'WILL BE CONSEQUENCES' IF RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER NAVALNY DIES: Amid reports that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is rapidly deteriorating in prison, with his doctor warning Saturday that he "could die at any moment," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned yesterday that there, quote, "will be consequences" if he dies. 

Appearing on CNN's State of the Union, Sullivan said, "We have communicated to the Russian government that what happens to Mr. Navalny in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community." He wouldn't say what actions would be taken, but stated, "we have communicated that there will be consequences if Mr. Navalny dies." Navalny, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, has been on a hunger strike for several weeks after being sentenced to more than two-and-a-half years behind bars in early February, with a court saying he violated the terms of his probation while recovering in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. 

The probation violation related to a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny charged was fabricated and politically motivated. He was arrested when he returned to Russia in January from Germany.

➤CLOSING ARGUMENTS TODAY IN CHAUVIN TRIAL: The prosecution and defense will give their closing arguments today after three weeks of testimony in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd last May. Chauvin is facing charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.


 ➤PIG'S BLOOD SMEARED ON FORMER HOME OF CHAUVIN TRIAL DEFENSE WITNESS: Pig's blood was smeared early Saturday on the former Santa Rosa, California, home of a use-of-force expert who testified for the defense in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. A pig's head was also thrown at the home, with police responding when the homeowner called around 3 a.m. The perpetrators, who were dressed in black, fled after the 911 call. The defense witness, former police instructor Barry Brodd, hadn't lived at the home in years. Brodd testified that Chauvin acted reasonably and wasn't applying deadly force when he kneeled on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.

➤RESCUERS CONTINUING TO LOOK FOR NINE BOAT CREW MEMBERS IN GULF OF MEXICO: Rescuers were in the Gulf of Mexico some eight miles off the coast of Louisiana for a sixth day yesterday, looking for nine missing crew members of a capsized lift boat. The Seacor Power lift boat, which has three legs that can be lowered to the sea floor to lift it out of the water as a temporary platform, capsized last Tuesday in a storm. Six people were rescued alive, and since then four bodies have been found. The boat was headed to an oil platform at the mouth of the Mississippi River when it capsized.


➤POLL..MORE TEXANS WOULD VOTE FOR MATTHEW McCONAUGHTY OVER CURRENT GOVERNOR: Matthew McConaughey said last month that he's giving, quote, "true consideration" to running for governor of his native Texas, and now a new poll finds that more voters in the state say they'd support him over current Governor Greg Abbott. In the poll out yesterday (April 18th) from The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler, 45 percent of registered voters said they'd back McConaughey if he were to run for governor, while 33 percent said they'd vote for Abbott, and a little less than one-quarter said they'd vote for someone else. It's unclear which political party McConaughey aligns with, but he had more support from Democratic voters in the poll, with 66 percent saying they'd back him. Abbott, who's a Republican, had the support of 56 percent of GOP voters. McConaughey had more support among independents, 44 percent to 28 percent for Abbott. McConaughey has suggested his political views are more moderate, having previously urged Americans to get, quote, "aggressively centric."


➤CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION WARNS ABOUT PELOTON TREADMILL: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned Saturday that people with children or pets should stop using Peloton's Tread+ treadmill after one child died and others were injured.

The safety commission said that children and at least one pet had been pulled, pinned and trapped under the treadmill's rear roller, saying it knew of 39 incidents, but didn't give a number of children involved. The commission posted a video of a child being pulled under the treadmill. AP cited Peloton Interactive as saying 23 of the incidents involved children, one involved a pet, and the others involved objects, like medicine balls. Peloton called the warning "inaccurate and misleading," and said there's no reason to stop using the treadmill if children and pets are kept away from it, it's turned off when not in use, and a safety key is removed.

➤OFFICIALS BELIEVE NO-ONE WAS BEHIND THE WHEEL WHEN TESLA CRASHED, KILLING TWO: Texas officials believe no-one was behind the wheel when a Tesla Model S that was apparently in autopilot mode crashed late Saturday, near Houston, killing two men who'd been in the vehicle. The car burst into flames after the crash and firefighters were unable to put it out for hours because the electric car's batteries kept reigniting. When the bodies of the victims were recovered, one was in the passenger seat and the other was in the back seat. The brother-in-law of one of them says the car's owner decided to take his best friend for a ride, and may have gotten into the backseat after backing out of the driveway. The car crashed just a few hundred yards later.

➤STUDY...SHIFT WORKERS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE HEART ATTACK OR STROKE AS UNSOCIAL HOURS DEVIATE FROM THE NATURAL BODY CLOCK:  Shift workers are a higher risk of heart issues than people who work consistent hours, finds a new study. European researchers found that for every hour the natural body clock is out of sync with a person’s work schedule, the risk of developing a heart health issue increases by 31 percent. Study author Dr. Gamboa Madeira explains, “Circadian misalignment occurs when there is a mismatch between what your body wants (e.g. to fall asleep at 10 p.m.) and what your social obligations impose on you (e.g. work until midnight).” This misalignment is referred to as social jetlag, and researchers found a higher level of social jetlag was associated with greater odds of being in the high cardiovascular risk group. Madeira adds, “The findings suggest that staff with atypical work schedules may need closer monitoring for heart health.”

➤GEORGIA AQUARIUM OTTERS TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS: Otters at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta have tested positive for Covid-19, but they are doing well and are expected to make a full recovery. The aquarium said in a statement, "They began exhibiting mild respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, runny noses, mild lethargy, and some began coughing." The Asian small-clawed otters, which don't have direct contact with zoo visitors, are being kept off-exhibit while they recover. The aquarium said they suspect the otters may have gotten Covid from an asymptomatic staff member, even though they followed health and safety protocols.

🏒CANUCKS WIN IN RETURN AFTER NEARLY FOUR WEEKS IDLE DUE TO COVID: The Vancouver Canucks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime last night in their first game back after being out of action for nearly four weeks due to a Covid-19 outbreak on the team. The Canucks, who had last played on March 24th, had a least 21 players and four members of the coaching staff test positive for the coronavirus. None of the team's players remained on the NHL’s Covid list as of Sunday.
 

⚾THIRD TWINS GAME POSTPONED DUE TO COVID ISSUES: The game between the Minnesota Twins and the Oakland Athletics that was scheduled for tonight was canceled yesterday, with MLB saying it will allow for continued coronavirus testing and contact tracing. It's the third Twins game in a row that has been canceled due to the team's Covid-19 issues, with games between Minnesota and the Los Angeles Angeles on Saturday and Sunday also postponed. The Twins have had at least four positive coronavirus tests in the past week.

🏀ESPN...NBA TELLS TEAMS TO BE READY FOR IMPACT OF CHAUVIN VERDICT: The NBA has told teams to be ready for the impact of a possible verdict this week in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, including the possibility of games being postponed, ESPN reported yesterday. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets postponed a game last week after the fatal police shooting of an unarmed Black man, Daunte Wright, during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Days of playoff games were postponed last August after another Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and left paralyzed from the waist down.
 

⚾INDIANS' BIEBER SETS SEASON-STARTING STRIKEOUT RECORD: Cleveland's Shane Bieber struck out 13 batters in the Indians' 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds Sunday, setting a new record as the first pitcher in MLB history to begin the season with four straight starts with at least 10 strikeouts. The American League Cy Young Award winner has 48 strikeouts so far this year, matching Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan for the most through the first four starts of a season.

⚾YANKEES OUTFIELDER BRUCE RETIRES: New York Yankees outfielder Jay Bruce announced yesterday that he was retiring, saying he'd made the decision because of his poor showing since the start of the season. The 34-year-old three-time All-Star said before the Yankees game against the Tampa Bay Rays, "Just the consistent underperformance for me. Felt like I wasn’t able to do it at a level that was acceptable for myself." Bruce had a .244 average with 319 homers and 951 RBIs in 14 MLB seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Mets, the Cleveland Indians, the Seattle Mariners, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Yankees.
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