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Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Dems Voting Rights Legislation Blocked

Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked the Democrats' voting rights legislation, using the filibuster to prevent debate from starting on the sweeping bill. The measure failed on a 50-50 party line vote, 10 short of the 60 needed to overcome the GOP filibuster. The For the People Act seeks to not only remove barriers to voting, but also to limit partisan influence over the drawing of congressional districts, and to restrict the influence of money in politics. But Republicans have blasted it as federal overreach into the states' authority to conduct their own elections.


President Biden, who called voting changes being passed in many Republicans states since the 2020 election "an ongoing assault of voter suppression that represents a Jim Crow era in the 21st Century," declared, "This fight is far from over." However, it's unclear what Democrats' next move on the issue might be.

➤ADMINISTRATION INCREASING EFFORTS TO GET YOUNGER AMERICANS VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19: The administration is increasing its efforts to get younger Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 amid growing concerns about the Delta variant, which now makes up more than 20 percent of coronavirus infections in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a White House briefing yesterday, "The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19. Good news: Our vaccines are effective against the delta variant." Meanwhile, the White House acknowledged yesterday that the U.S. would fall short of President Biden's goal of having 70 percent of American adults having gotten at least one shot of a vaccine by July 4th. However, it said we've already reached that threshold for those aged 30 and older, and will meet it for those age 27 or older by the Fourth of July.


➤FED CHIEF POWELL SAYS SPIKING INFLATION TEMPORARY: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in testimony before Congress yesterday that spiking inflation in the U.S. is likely to be temporary, and that it mostly reflects short-term supply bottlenecks. He also said before the congressional oversight panel that prices fell sharply last spring at the start of the pandemic, which make inflation data now compared with a year ago look much larger. Consumer prices rose five percent in May compared with a year earlier, which is the largest increase in 13 years. Powell further said most of the inflation has been in areas like used cars, airplane tickets and hotel rooms, in which demand has soared as the economy has reopened, with many companies having not been ready for the quick surge.

➤COLORADO POLICE CHIEF SAYS KILLED OFFICER WAS AMBUSHED: Arvada, Colorado, Police Chief Link Strate said Tuesday that an officer who was one of three people killed in a shooting a day earlier had been ambushed by the suspect, who the chief said had expressed hatred toward police. Strate said that Police Officer Gordon Beesley, quote, "was targeted because he was wearing an Arvada police uniform and a badge." Strate didn't give details about the suspect, 59-year-old Ronald Troyke, who also died in the shootout in a shopping district, or reveal how they knew he intentionally attacked Beesley. Strate also didn't say what started the shootout, in which another man, John Hurley, who was described as a "Samaritan" by officials, also died. The chief didn't say what Hurley did, but said he was a, quote, "true hero who likely disrupted what could have been a larger loss of life."


➤STUDY...MENTAL WELL-BEING HIGHER IN SUMMER VS. FALL:   It turns out mental well-being is higher in the summer compared to the fall. Researchers from Binghamton University found that “summertime is associated with better diet quality, higher exercise frequency and improved mood.” Study leader Lina Begdache says specifically that good quality diet was associated with mental well-being, good sleep was associated with mental and overall well-being (and also with higher diet quality and exercise frequency), while seasonal changes had in impact on diet quality and mental health, and seasonal changes were associated with alterations in diet quality and mental wellbeing. Begdache adds, “[…] it is crucial to recognize the dynamic relationships between these lifestyle factors and mental distress to provide the groundwork necessary for nutritionists and healthcare professionals to improve prophylactic and therapeutic approaches.”

➤CONNECTICUT BECOMES 19TH STATE TO LEGALIZE RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA: Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed legislation yesterday making his state the 19th to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Use of the drug will be legal for those 21 and older starting on July 1st under the measure that received final approval by state lawmakers last week during a special legislative session. Retail sales aren't expected to begin before next summer. The commissioner of the state's Department of Consumer Protection said it's expected that half of the licenses to sell marijuana will be for social equity applicants, which includes people who live in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by drug-related crimes and high unemployment.

➤MEDIAN HOME PRICE IN U.S. OVER $350K FOR FIRST TIME: The median home price in the U.S. is over $350,000 for the first time, with the National Association of Realtors saying it was $350,300 for existing homes in May. The Wall Street Journal reports that's a record increase from the year before of 23.1 percent. It also comes just 10 months after the median price topped $300,000 for the first time. A shortage of supply is continuing to drive prices up, but economists say home sales are starting to slow as the high prices and lack of inventory are keeping people from buying.
 
➤DISNEY WORLD TO HAVE 18-MONTH CELEBRATION FOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY: Disney announced yesterday (June 22nd) that it will have an 18-month celebration starting on October 1st to mark the 50th anniversary of Disney World's opening on October 1st, 1971. "The World's Most Magical Celebration" will include: a new nighttime show called "Disney Enchantment," at the Magic Kingdom; the show "Harmonious" at Epcot's World Showcase Lagoon; and the show "Disney Kit Tails" at Animal Kingdom. The Disney characters will be part of a collection of special golden sculptures in all four parks, and guests will be able to interact in surprising ways with the 50 characters featured in the "Disney Fab 50," according to the company. There will also be what Disney is calling "Beacons of Magic" each night at the four Disney World Parks: Cinderella’s castle will light up the Magic Kingdom with pixie dust; magical fireflies will gather and give off light from the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom; the Hollywood Tower Hotel will be lit, quote, "in a brilliance evoking the golden age of imagination and adventure" at Hollywood Studios; and new lights will shine across Spaceship Earth at Epcot.

➤STUDY..LISTENING TO MOTIVATIONAL MUSIC CAN BOOST PERFORMANCE:  The music you listen to really can impact your workout. University of Edinburgh researchers found that listening to motivational music (such as “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor) helps runners combat mental fatigue and improve overall performance. Study leader, Dr. Shaun Philips explains the study shows, “that listening to music may be a useful strategy to help active people improve their endurance running capacity and performance when mentally fatigued. The positive impact of self-selected music could help people to better maintain the quality and beneficial impact of their exercise sessions.” The experts say the positive effects of music could potentially be due to altered perception of effort when listening to music.


➤CLICKBAIT HEADLINES MIGHT NOT LURE READERS AS MUCH, MAY CONFUSE AI: Clickbait headlines aren’t as tempting to readers as once thought. Penn State researchers found that clickbait, or headlines that often rely on linguistic gimmicks to get readers to read them, often did not perform any better, and in some cases, performed worse than traditional headlines. They also found that it may be more difficult for artificial intelligence (AI) to systematically identify and block clickbait than anticipated. Researcher Shyam Sundar adds, “People were putting a lot of stock into using clickbait headlines as an element for fake news detection algorithms, but our studies are calling this assumption into question. It becomes a bit of a cat and mouse game. The people who write fake news may become aware of the characteristics that are identified as fake news by the detectors and they will change their strategies. News consumers may also just become numb to certain characteristics if they see those headlines all the time. So, fake news detection must constantly evolve with the readers as well as the creators.”


➤EVERYONE IS BOOKING PSYCHICS RIGHT NOW, AND HERE’S WHAT THEY’RE FINDING OUT:  It seems many are turning to spiritual advisors lately. Keen.com is a website that connects psychics with consumers and announced a jump of more than 50 percent for new users during the pandemic compared to the same period in 2019. Pew Research did a study, and found that as millennials begin to dominate the economy New Age spiritual and wellness practices, are transitioning from something questionable, to legitimate self-help tools—60 percent of millennials said they accepted at least one practice, including astrology, horoscopes, crystals, and seeking psychic guidance, instead of organized religion. Narayana Montufar is a senior astrologer at astrology.com, and says “At the beginning of the pandemic, a lot of people were really freaking out and just wanted to make sense of it all. Now, because a lot of people went through so much change, they want to know how to best adapt to their new life: they’ve digested the pandemic and want to begin a new way of living that is more spiritual.”

🏀SUNS WIN CONFERENCE FINALS GAME 2 ON LAST-SECOND SCORE BY AYTON: The Phoenix Suns won Game 2 of the Western Conference finals last night on Deandre Ayton's dunk of a pass from Jae Crowder with 0.7 seconds left, giving them the 104-103 victory over the L.A. Clippers. The referees reviewed the play for about a minute before ruling it was good, sending the Suns to 2-0 lead in the series after the Clippers were unable to make a shot in the final 0.7 seconds. Game 3 is on Thursday.

🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Finals yesterday:
  • Phoenix Suns 104, L.A. Clippers 103 - Phoenix leads series 2 games to 0

🏒NHL PLAYOFFS: Results from Conference Finals yesterday:
Montreal Canadiens 4, Vegas Golden Knights 1 - Montreal leads series 3 games to 2

🏀PISTONS WIN NBA DRAFT LOTTERY: The Detroit Pistons won the NBA draft lottery last night, giving them the Number 1 pick in the draft on July 29th. The Houston Rockets got the Number 2 pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers got the third pick, and the Toronto Raptors will choose fourth. Favored to be the first pick, which is now Detroit's, is Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham, who won Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year in the same season, after averaging 20.2 points per game in his single college season.


⚾TAMPA BAY'S FRANCO HITS THREE-RUN HOMER IN MLB DEBUT: Tampa Bay Rays rookie Wander Franco hit a three-run home run and doubled in his major league debut yesterday, in a game that the Rays went on to lose 9-5 to the Boston Red Sox. The 20-year-old Franco, who's considered the best prospect in the minor leagues, hit his homer in the fifth inning and doubled in the seventh after being called up from Triple-A Durham earlier in the day.

🏀LAKERS' CARUSO ARRESTED ON MARIJUANA CHARGE: The Los Angeles Lakers' Alex Caruso was arrested Tuesday in Texas for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, both of which are misdemeanors. Caruso was arrested on possession of less than two ounces of marijuana at Easterwood Airport in College Station, where he was also found to have a grinder with marijuana residue. The 27-year-old was released after posting bond.

➤VANESSA BRYANT AGREES TO SETTLE LAWSUIT OVER DEATH OF KOBE, GIANNA: Kobe Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant, has agreed to settle a lawsuit against the pilot and owners of the helicopter that crashed in January 2020, killing her husband and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, as well as seven others, including the pilot, Ara Zobayan. Relatives of other victims also filed the settlement agreement, whose terms weren't disclosed. If approved by the court, the settlement would end the negligence and wrongful death suit. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed pilot error for the crash, saying a series of poor decisions led Zobayan to fly into a wall of clouds, where he became so disoriented. The NTSB also said Island Express Helicopters had inadequate review and oversight of safety matters.
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