Monday, July 19, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Oregon Fire Biggest Of 70 Wildfires

Oregon's Bootleg Fire, which grew on Sunday to an area about equal to the size of Los Angeles, is the largest of more than 70 major wildfires burning in the western part of the country. Some 2,000 people have had to evacuate due to the Bootleg Fire, which has burned down 167 buildings and is just 22 percent contained. The weather forecast isn't helping amid the hot, dry conditions on the ground, with the National Weather Service saying lightning is possible through today in northern California and southern Orgeon, stating, "any thunderstorm has the potential to ignite new fire starts."
 
➤AS U.S. COVID CASES CONTINUE TO RISE, SURGEON GENERAL SAYS HE'S CONCERNED: Coronavirus cases are now rising in every state, driven by the highly-contagious delta variant and a significant percentage of people remaining unvaccinated, particularly concentrated in some states and regions, and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said yesterday that he's concerned about what's still ahead. Murthy said on CNN's State of the Union, "I am worried about what is to come because we are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular. And while, if you are vaccinated, you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately that is not true if you are not vaccinated." 


He says that more Americans need to be convinced to get vaccinated, saying, "It is our fastest, most effective way out of this pandemic."


➤DEATH TOLL FROM EUROPEAN FLOODING UP TO AT LEAST 183: The death from last week's catastrophic flooding in Germany and Belgium as well as parts of the Netherlands and Switzerland rose to at least 183 on Sunday, at least 156 of them in Germany. About 150 people are still unaccounted for in that country. At least 27 are dead in Belgium with 103 missing, and the death toll there is expected to rise. The flooding was caused by record rainfall that caused rivers to overflow their banks, with whole communities devastated. The waters began to recede in some areas as of Saturday and rescue and recovery efforts were being carried out.

➤U-S FATHER AND SON SENTENCED TO PRISON IN JAPAN FOR HELPING EX-NISSAN CHAIRMAN FLEE: An American father and son were sentenced to prison Monday in Japan, accused of helping former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn escape to Lebanon while he was awaiting trial in Japan on corruption charges. Lebanon doesn't have an extradition treaty with Japan. Michael Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison and his son, Peter Taylor, was sentenced to one year and eight months. In the December 2019 escape that the Taylors were accused of assisting, Ghosn hid in a big box that had air holes in it so he could breathe, which supposedly contained audio equipment, that was flown to Lebanon in a private jet. The defense argued the Taylors has been used by Ghosn, and they apologized during their trial, saying Ghosn had misled them about Japan's criminal justice system. The judge said they'd done it for the $1.3 million Ghosn paid them. The Taylors were arrested in Massachusetts in May 2020 and extradited to Japan in March.
 

➤POLL FINDS UNVACCINATED AMERICANS LEAST WORRIED ABOUT DELTA VARIANT: Perhaps unsurprisingly, a new CBS News poll out yesterday found that people who aren't vaccinated against Covid-19 or aren't fully vaccinated are the least likely to be worried about the delta variant, which is driving an increase in cases across the U.S. It found that 62 percent of all U.S. adults are concerned about the highly-contagious variant, but only 48 percent of those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated are concerned. Among people who are vaccinated, 72 percent are worried about the variant. Only 10 percent of people who weren't vaccinated said they would be swayed to get vaccinated if their doctor advised them to do so.

➤73 PERCENT OF COVID VACCINE MISINFORMATION ON FACEBOOK COMES FROM 12 ACCOUNTS: There are 12 accounts on Facebook that are responsible for 73 percent of the misinformation about Covid vaccines. That's according to a group called the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which says it looked at content posted on Facebook and anti-vaccine Facebook groups in February and March, and then monitored how the content was shared. One of those accounts belongs to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been opposed to vaccines since even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Facebook says it has taken down more antivaccine content since the group's story was released.

➤NORTH KOREA DOESN'T WANT ITS PEOPLE USING SOUTH KOREAN SLANG: North Korea warned its people yesterday against using South Korean slang, with an editorial in the official newspaper of the ruling Worker's Party reminding young people to speak North Korea's standard language. The BBC reported that it's part of a new law that also bans skinny jeans, mullets and other Western culture trends, as well as South Korean music, with violations punishable by jail time or potentially even death.

➤TEENS SHOULD MAKE OWN COVID-19 VACCINATION CHOICES, EXPERTS SAY: Some people are against the COVID-19 vaccine, but an expert says teens should be allowed to make their own choices about it. A survey done in April found 52 percent of American teens said they’d like to get the vaccine. University of Pennsylvania’s Dominic Sisti explains that many teens “understand the biology. They understand the risks and benefits. And they may have parents who don’t. We want to give those teens a chance to be protected. They shouldn’t have to wait until they’re 18 to do the right thing.” Sisti’s opinion, as well as the opinions of others were recently published in a medical journal, where they argue that kids as young as age 12 should be allowed to choose for themselves to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Sisti also added, “These adolescents, these young adults almost, ought not to be placed in a situation where they are placed in preventable risk.” Researchers add that the COVID-19 vaccination rate among teens could be boosted by allowing school nurses to administer vaccines, installing vaccine navigators to help teens find the vaccine they want, and even having large-scale vaccine drives at local schools.


➤THE TRUTH BEHIND COFFEE MYTHS:  You’ve likely heard many myths about coffee—for example: that drinking coffee can help you lose weight, or that drinking coffee will shorten your lifespan. USA Today spoke to a few experts to help unravel some of the mysteries surrounding coffee. Katherine Zeratsky, a registered dietician at the Mayo Clinic says caffeine can increase metabolism in the body, but caffeine alone does not contribute to long-term weight loss, as there are other factors to take into consideration. As for whether coffee is healthy or unhealthy, Edward Giovannuci with Harvard, says in major reviews of studies, coffee has been associated with a probable decreased risk of some cancers and Type 2 diabetes. But depending on your health status, the health benefits of coffee are not always there—for example, caffeine use in pregnant women is associated with increased risk of pregnancy loss. Other myths that experts made a ruling on: the darker the roast does NOT mean the higher the caffeine content, coffee does NOT directly stunt growth, drinking coffee is NOT shorten your lifespan (in fact, studies have shown the opposite to be true), and drinking coffee won’t necessarily dehydrate you if you drink one to two cups.
 

➤FAN WHO HIT BOSTON OUTFIEDLER WITH BALL AT YANKEES TDIUM BANNED FOR LIFE: After a rash of fans behaving badly at NBA games in May, including popcorn being dumped on Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving nearly being hit by a bottle thrown from the stands, and a fan spitting at Trae Young, it's now baseball's turn. Major League Baseball confirmed Sunday that a fan had been banned for life from attending all MLB games after hitting Boston Red Sox left fielder Alex Verdugo with a ball he threw from the outfield stands at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night. Verdugo was hit in the back by the ball when it was thrown during the sixth inning, but wasn't hurt. Still, he angrily shouted at the fans and was restrained by Boston's first-base coach, after which Red Sox manager Alex Cora briefly pulled him team off the field. The fan was ejected. Verdugo said he tossed the ball into the stands to a young Red Sox fan, but a Yankees fan grabbed it instead and threw it back on the field, hitting him. He said, "It felt like it was targeted towards me, and it don't sit well with me." NJ.com reported the fan wasn't arrested, but the Yankees planned to meet with authorities Sunday night to give them whatever information they had about the incident.

🏌MORIKAWA WINS BRITISH OPEN: American Collin Morikawa won the British Open on Sunday at Royal St. George's, his second major after winning the PGA Championship last year, becoming the first player to win two different majors in his debut in both of them. The 24-year-old won the claret jug over fellow American Jordan Spieth by two shots, finishing with a 15-under 265.

⚾NATIONALS, PADRES FINISH GAME STOPPED BY GUNFIRE: The Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres finished their game Sunday that had been stopped the night before after there was gunfire right outside Nationals Park. The sound was so close that many fans and some players thought someone was shooting inside the stadium and ran to try to find cover. The gunfire was heard just after the top of the sixth inning had ended. The shooting was an exchange of gunfire between people in two cars and left three people injured, including a woman who'd been at the game and was waiting for an Uber. The game was halted, and then picked up yesterday, with the Padres winning 10-4, before the teams played their scheduled game.
 

➤POSITIVE COVID CASES ALREADY AT TOKYO OLYMPICS: The Tokyo Olympics aren't starting until Friday, but there have already been positive coronavirus cases at the Games. Two South African soccer players became the first athletes inside Olympic Village to test positive, and a team video analyst also was positive. They've been moved to an isolation facility. There were other positive tests as well, including South Africa's rugby sevens team coach, another unnamed athlete who wasn't living at the Olympic Village, and a South Korean International Olympic Committee official.

🎾U-S TENNIS PLAYER GAUFF TO MISS OLYMPICS WITH POSITIVE COVID TEST: U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff, who's ranked Number 25 in the world, tweeted Sunda that she won't be able to play in the Tokyo Olympics because she tested positive for the coronavirus. The 17-year-old said, "It has always been a dream of mine to represent the USA at the Olympics, and I hope there will be many more chances for me to make this come true in the future."

🚴POGACAR WINS TOUR DE FRANCE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR: Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia won the Tour de France, cycling's premier race, on Sunday for the second straight year. When he won last year, Pogacar became the Tour's youngest champion in 116 years, and now the 22-year-old is the youngest double-winner of the three-week race.

🏀U-S MEN AND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS WIN PRE-OLYMPICS EXHIBITIONS: The U.S. men's basketball team beat Spain 83-76 last night in the fourth and final exhibition game before the Tokyo Olympics. The Americans won two games and lost two, and they were supposed to play a fifth exhibition last week, but it was canceled out of caution because of coronavirus issues on the team. The U.S. women's team also won their exhibition game yesterday, their last before the Olympics, beating Nigeria 93-62. The women had lost to the WNBA All-Stars and Australia this past week.
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