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Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Updated Guidance Expected On Wearing Masks


President Biden is expected to announce updated Covid-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today, including whether vaccinated vaccinated people need to wear masks outdoors, according to media reports. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist, forecast on CNN Sunday that the guidance would be updated this week, quote, "of what people who are vaccinated can do and even some who are not vaccinated."

U.S. to Share AstraZeneca Vaccine with World After Safety Clearance: The White House said yesterday that the U.S. will begin sharing its entire stock of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with the world once it gets federal safety clearance. As many as 60 million doses are expected to be available to send to other nations in the coming months. The U.S. already shared some four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with Mexico and Canada last month.

➤ATTORNEYS: BLACK MAN KILLED BY NORTH CAROLINA DEPUTIES SHOT IN BACK OF THE HEAD: Attorneys for the family of a 42-year-old Black man who was killed by deputies in North Carolina last week said Monday that Andrew Brown Jr. was shot in the back of the head and had his hands on his car steering wheel when they opened fire, according to relatives who saw bodycam video. The footage has not yet been made public. Brown was killed in Elizabeth City by deputies serving search and arrest warrants for drug offenses, and his death last Wednesday led to nightly protests. 

Attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who saw 20 seconds of the video with Brown's family, all they were allowed to see, said Brown didn't appear to be a threat to the deputies as he backed his vehicle out of his driveway and tried to drive away. Lassiter said, "They’re shooting and saying, 'Let me see your hands,' at the same time," and stated, "This was an execution." Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said Monday that a judge has to authorize release of the video, and asked for patience while the State Bureau of Investigation looks into the case. He said, "This tragic incident was quick and over in less than 30 seconds, and body cameras are shaky and sometimes hard to decipher. They only tell part of the story." Seven deputies are on leave while the investigation is ongoing.


➤GARLAND ANNOUNCES FEDERAL PROBE OF LOUISVILLE POLICING IN WAKE OF BREONNA TAYLOR'S DEATH: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday that the Justice Department is opening a probe of policing in Louisville, Kentucky, in the wake of the death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police in a March 2020 raid at her home. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot multiple times by police who burst into her home while looking for her ex-boyfriend in a drug investigation. They had a no-knock warrant, and Taylor's boyfriend said he fired his licensed gun once after they were woken from sleep and believed they were intruders. Taylor was killed in the volley of return fire.  This comes less than a week after Garland announced a similar probe of police tactics in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd. Both will be "pattern or practice" investigations, that looks into whether there's a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing in the department. Louisville's mayor and police chief both said they supported the probe. 



➤CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS SAY ENOUGH SIGNATURES FOR GOVERNOR RECALL ELECTION:
An election to try to recall California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom will now almost certainly take place after state election officials said yesterday (April 26th) that organizers of the recall effort had collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. The California secretary of state’s office said more than 1.6 million signatures had been judged valid as of yesterday, about 100,000 more than required. People who signed the petitions now will have 30 days to withdraw their signatures, but it's unlikely that enough will do so to stop the election. An election is likely to take place in the fall, and voters would be asked if they want to recall Newsom, and if so, who they want to replace him. The votes for the second question will be counted only if the first gets a majority. Dozens of candidates, many of them not serious, are expected to enter the race. In the only other gubernatorial recall election in California, Democratic Governor Gray Davis was voted out in 2003 and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger won the race to replace him.

 
➤INTRUDERS BREAK INTO THE SAME DENNY’S TWICE IN ONE NIGHT TO MAKE MULTIPLE MEALS FOR THEMSELVES:  They say offenders always return to the scene of a crime, but it’s usually not twice in the same night. Two unidentified men entered a Denny’s restaurant in Evansville, Indiana, around 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Reports say it seems the building may have been left open, as the suspects didn’t appear to force their way in. The two men allegedly went into the restaurant’s kitchen and prepared some eggs, and after eating their food they left. But just before 3 a.m. the same two men reportedly returned and began preparing a second batch of eggs. Police say that’s when a Denny’s worker arrived on the scene to confront the suspects, and the two men reportedly left while the worker called police. As of Friday (April 23rd) the two men had not been identified, but if and when they are they will reportedly face charges of theft and criminal trespassing.

➤GROCERY STORE PRICES ARE RISING AT HISTORIC RATES:  If you noticed you’ve been spending more and more money at the grocery store the past few months you’re not alone. The monthly consumer price index was released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it shows that food prices have risen by 3.5 percent over the past year. The USDA notes that between March 2020 and March 2021 the price of meat rose by 5.8 percent, poultry 4.4 percent, and fish and seafood 5.3 percent. The cost of eggs increased 4.7 percent from a year ago, and the price of dairy has gone up 1.6 percent. Fruits and vegetables now cost 3.8 percent more, on average, than they did last March, and the price of nonalcoholic beverages are up 3.2 percent, while cereals and baker products are 2.6 percent more expensive than they were a year ago. The increases in price at the store are all spurred by the uptick in prices of key farm products, and the Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index, which tracks these prices, had its biggest surge in almost nine years last week—and experts say it’s likely to keep rising.

➤2020 CENSUS SHOWED SLOWEST GROWTH SINCE GREAT DEPRESSION: The Census Bureau released information Monday from last year's 2020 census, showing that the U.S. population increased to 331,449,281, a 7.4 percent increase from the last census in 2010 that was the slowest rise since the Great Depression. Experts cited as factors an aging population, reduced immigration, and the effects of the Great Recession, which led young people to delay marriage and children. The Census results also showed people continuing to move South and West, and allocated congressional seats. Texas added two seats, the most of any state, while Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Montana and Oregon all added one seat. California, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia all lost one seat. The other states stayed the same.


➤ADMINISTRATION CREATING CENTER FOCUSED ON FOREIGN ELECTION INTERFERENCE: The administration said yesterday that it will establish a new center focused on foreign election interference that will be housed in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Politico first reported. The establishment of the Foreign Malign Influence Center comes as the U.S. intelligence community has judged there have been attempts by Russia and other adversaries to interfere with U.S. elections. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a statement, "These efforts by U.S. adversaries seek to exacerbate divisions and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions."

➤STUDY..SIX FACTORS THAT DETERMINE SUCCESS WHEN WORKING FROM HOME: Many people with office jobs have spent long periods of time working from home over the last year, and now the Technical University of Denmark has determined six main areas that company managers should focus on when developing strategies for remote work in the future. They note these six things can be broken into three advantages: 1) better work/life balance, 2) great efficiency, 3) more control over one’s work, and three disadvantages: 1) limitations of remote work (isolation, more time in front of the screen), 2) uncertainty about the work (which tasks need to be solved, unexciting tasks, less meaningful), and 3) insufficient tools (limited access to documents, data, printers, etc.) Researcher Christine Ipsen adds, “By analyzing the employees’ experiences based on the six factors we identified, management can get an overview of what to keep in mind and when to take action in relation to different employee groups.”  

⚾ANGELS' PITCHER OHTANI DOES SOMETHING NOT SEEN SINCE BABE RUTH: Los Angeles Angels pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani started yesterday's game against the Texas Rangers after having hit his seventh home run the day before to tie for the MLB lead. By doing so, he became the first home run leader to be a starting pitcher for a game since Babe Ruth did it for the New York Yankees on June 13th, 1921. Ohtani struck out nine over five innings in yesterday's 9-4 win over the Rangers, and also scored three runs and drove in two as he batted second.

 
🏀MULKEY SAYS WOULD ONLY HAVE LEFT BAYLOR FOR LSU: LSU introduced Hall of Fame women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey on Monday, after it had been announced a day earlier that she was leaving Baylor after 21 years and three national championships to join LSU in her home state of Louisiana. The 58-year-old said yesterday, "There’s only one institution I would have left for, and they made the commitment and I’m home." She'll be looking to recreate her success at LSU, which hasn't made it past the Sweet 16 since 2007.

🏀ROCKETS' WALL LIKELY TO MISS REST OF SEASON WITH HAMSTRING STRAIN: The Houston Rockets' John Wall is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring strain, general manager Rafael Stone said Monday. ESPN cited sources as saying the typical recovery time is about three weeks, and since Houston is eliminated from playoff contention with the NBA's worst record, there's no reason to rush the 30-year-old back. The five-time All Star averaged 20.6 points in 40 games this season for Houston.

➤TOKYO OLYMPICS ORGANIZERS EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE DAILY TESTING, BUT NO QUARANTINE: Tokyo Olympics organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are set to unveil new plans this week for safely holding the Games this summer amid the pandemic. This comes as several areas of Japan are having a surge in cases, and the country has had a slow vaccine rollout. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on some of the plans, including that there will be daily coronavirus testing for athletes, but a 14-day quarantine requirement for the athletes after they arrive will be dropped. They will be required to stay in a "bubble" of the Olympic Village, and venues and training areas.

🏀LEBRON JAMES ROOKIE CARD SELLS FOR RECORD $5.2 MILLION: A LeBron James rookie card has sold for $5.2 million in a private sale, according to PWCC Marketplace, a new record for a basketball card. The buyer of the signed 2003 James Exquisite Collection patch card, one of a limited edition of 23, wasn't disclosed. The sale also tied the all-time sports trading card record, set by a 1952 Mickey Mantle card in January.

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