Thursday, August 12, 2021

Wake-Up Call: COVID Vaxx Urged For Those Pregnant

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday urged all pregnant women to get vaccinated against Covid-19, with Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky saying the vaccines are "safe and effective" during pregnancy. Pregnant women have a higher risk of severe illness and pregnancy complications from the coronavirus, potentially including miscarriage and stillbirths, but only about 23 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. have gotten at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. 




Meanwhile, reports yesterday said that the Food and Drug Administration will update its emergency use authorization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as early as today to let immunocompromised people get a third dose. About 2.7 percent of U.S. adults are immunocompromised.

California to Require Teachers to Be Vaxxed or Tested Weekly: Amid the delta-driven surge of the coronvirus across the country, California will become the first state to require that all teachers and school staff be vaccinated or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing. Governor Gavin Newsom announced the new policy yesterday, which applies to both public and private schools.

➤TALIBAN CAPTURE THREE MORE PROVINCIAL CAPITALS IN AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban captured three more provincial capitals in Afghanstian Wednesday, giving them effective control of two-thirds of the country, as the U.S. continues to move towards having all troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the month. The U.S. hadn't anticipated Afghan military forces collapsing so quickly when President Biden ordered the full withdrawal, but Biden has made clear he's not reversing his decision. He told reporters on Tuesday that U.S. forces had done all they could over the past two decades to help the Afghans, saying, "They’ve got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation." It was reported yesterday that the most recent U.S. military assessment is that the Afghan capital of Kabul could potentially fall to the Talibn within a couple of months.

➤CALIFORNIA MAN KILLS TWO CHILDREN OVER QANON, ILLUMINATI CONSPIRACY THEORIES: A 40-year-old California man was charged yesterday with killing his two children over QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories that led him to believe they, quote, "were going to grow into monsters," according to federal officials, and that his wife has passed down "serpent DNA" to them. Matthew Taylor Coleman, who's a surfing school owner, confessed and told the FBI he killed his two-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter by stabbing them with a spear fishing gun. Coleman's wife contacted Santa Barbara police on Saturday after he took the kids out, but didn't tell her where they were going and didn't respond to messages. Police used Apple's Find My iPhone feature to find Coleman in Rosarito, Mexico, which is where he killed the children. Coleman was detained Monday as he tried to re-enter the U.S.

 
➤JUDGE SAYS DOMINION LAWSUITS AGAINST GIULIANI, POWELL, LINDELL CAN CONTINUE: A federal judge ruled yesterday that defamation lawsuits by voting machine maker Dominion Voting Systems totalling $1.3 billion can proceed against Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell, allies of former President Donald Trump who falsely accused the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols found there was no blanket protection on political speech and rejected the argument that Dominion had failed to meet a legal burden that their statements were made with "actual malice."


➤DELTA VARIENT STARTING TO AFFECT AIR TRAVEL: Air travel in the U.S. had bounced back this year from the depths of the pandemic in 2020, with Americans who'd been staying home for a year eager to travel again as coronavirus vaccinations pushed the infection rate down to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic. It came back so fast, in fact, that some airlines were surprised and weren't staffed back up enough to handle it. But then came the current delta variant-driven surge, and it's now starting to affect airlines again. Southwest Airlines said yesterday that it's seeing weaker bookings this month, and it expects that will likely to continue into September if the Covid case rate remains high. This comes after Frontier Airlines also said last week that it was seeing a decline in bookings. The Washington Post suggested that in addition to people being wary of flying again because of the Covid-19 surge, they could also be canceling because popular destinations, like Florida, have became hot spots, as well as because some places are reimposing Covid restrictions. United Airlines last week became the first U.S. airline to require employees be vaccinated against Covid.

➤BOTTLED WATER 3,500 TIMES MORE HARMFUL THAN TAP: Bottled water is 3,500 times more harmful to the environment than drinking water from the tap. The primary reason is the bottle itself. According to a study published in Science Direct, it turns out that it takes three times the amount of water to make the bottle than what is actually put into the bottle, along with the oil required to make the plastic. The oil needed to make plastic water bottles yearly could be used to power hundreds of thousands of homes in the United States. Beyond that, the bottles are primarily used once then discarded, making a refillable water bottle a better option.

➤EX-U.S. ATTORNEY TESTIFIES QUIT BECAUSE TRUMP WAS GOING TO FIRE HIM FOR NOT BACKING 2020 ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS: Byung J. Pak, a former U.S. attorney in Atlanta, said in closed-door testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday that he suddenly resigned in January after he was told then-President Donald Trump was going to fire him for refusing to say there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, the New York Times reported. Pak said he was given the warning about his firing on January 3rd from top Justice Department officials after he'd announced that he looked into Trump's claims of voter fraud in Georgia's Fulton County and didn't find any evidence of it.

➤NEW EUROPEAN TEMPERATURE RECORD MAY HAVE BEEN SET IN SICILY: As Italy suffers through a punishing heat wave, a new European temperature record may have been set in Sicily yesterday. It was reported that Sicily reached 48.8 degrees Celsius, which is 119.85 degrees Fahrenheit, which would break the previous European record of 48 degrees Celsius set in Athens, Greece, in 1977. The World Meteorological Organization must still confirm the temperature for a new record to be official.

➤DUNKIN' BRINGS BACK PUMPKIN SPICE NEXT WEEK: Dunkin’ will bring back its pumpkin flavored offerings on August 18th. The menu will include new items like the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew and Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte alongside classic Pumpkin Flavored Coffees, Donut, Muffin and Munchkins Donut Hole Treats. From August 18 through September 14, fans can score a medium Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew or a medium Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte for a special price of $3, while supplies last.


⚾BREWERS' BURNES STRIKES OUT 10 STRAIGHT, TYING MLB RECORD: Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes struck out 10 straight batters in Milwaukee's 10-0 win over the Chicago Cubs last night, tying the MLB record held by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver and Aaron Nola. Seaver did it for the New Yorks Mets in 1970, and Nola did it for the Philadelphia Philies just a few weeks ago on June 25th. Burnes finished with 15 strikeouts in eight innings.


⚾MLB'S 'FIELD OF DREAMS' BEING PLAYED TODAY IN IOWA: MLB will be holding its Field of Dreams game this evening between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees in Iowa, next to the actual site used in the filming of the 1989 movie, which is maintained as a tourist attraction. A temporary venue that can hold some 8,000 people was built in the small town of Dyersville for the game, which was supposed to take place last year but was delayed because of the pandemic. Both teams will wear throwback uniforms representing those from 1919.

 ⚾DODGERS STAR BETTS OUT WITH SORE HIP: L.A. Dodgers star outfielder Mookie Betts was put on the injured list Wednesday with a sore right hip. Betts left during Friday’s game with hip discomfort, played Saturday, and then sat out Sunday. He didn't play in the Dodgers' 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.

➤NCAA IMPOSES ONLY PROBATION, FINE IN BAYLOR SEX ASSAULT SCANDAL: The NCAA said yesterday that Baylor will face only four years of probation and a $5,000 fine, as well as recruiting restrictions during the 2021-22 academic year, for a sex assault scandal more than five years ago that led to the firing of football coach Art Briles and the departure of athletic director Ian McCaw and Baylor president Ken Starr. The NCAA said that Baylor, quote, "shielded football student-athletes from the institution’s disciplinary process and failed to report allegations of abhorrent misconduct by football student-athletes, including instances of sexual and interpersonal violence." But while saying that the behavior was "egregious" and "unacceptable," the NCAA also said it didn't violate any specific NCCA rules, stating that it came to that conclusion with, quote, "tremendous reluctance."

➤ALEX SMITH TO BE NFL ANALYST FOR ESPN: Former quarterback Alex Smith is joining ESPN as an NFL analyst for the upcoming season, according to the New York Post. Smith, who was the Number One pick in the 2005 draft, retired from the NFL in April after 14 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Football Team.

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