Monday, September 27, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Amtrak Derailment Kills Three

Federal investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are looking for the cause of an Amtrak derailment in northern Montana Saturday afternoon that left three people dead and seven others hospitalized. The Empire Builder train was heading from Chicago to Seattle when it derailed near a switch in the middle of farmland near the small town of Joplin. There were 141 passengers and 16 crew members on the 10 cars, eight of which derailed, some of them tipping over. A BNSF Railway spokesman said that section of track was last inspected on Thursday. Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said they are working with the NTSB, Federal Railroad Administration and local law enforcement on the probe.

➤PFIZER TO SUBMIT DATA TO FDA ON COVID VACCINE FOR CHILDREN WITHIN 'DAYS': Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on ABC's This Week yesterday that the pharmaceutical company will submit trial data about its Covid-19 vaccine for children ages five to 11 to the Food and Drug Administration very soon, saying, "It's a question of days, not weeks." The FDA will then have to decide whether or not to approve it. Pfizer announced last week that the results from its trials in children, who were given a smaller dose than adults, showed the vaccine to be safe and effective for them.

➤GERMANY'S CENTER-LEFT PARTY BEATS MERKEL'S CENTER-RIGHT BLOC IN ELECTION: Germany's center-left Social Democrats narrowly beat outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc in the country's parliamentary election yesterday. Merkel is leaving office after leading Germany for 16 years. Because of the close result, there might be a long process before the next government is formed, with AP reporting who becomes the new leader will likely depend on whom the environmentalist Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats decide to join in government. Merkel and her government will remain in office until a successor is sworn in, which could potentially take weeks or months.

➤MOURNERS PAY RESPECTS TO PETITO IN NEW YORK: Lines of mourners turned out in Holbrook, New York, yesterday to pay their respects to 22-year-old Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito, some of them strangers who hadn't known her, but were touched by her story that's drawn national media attention. Petito was reported missing on September 11th by her parents after she hadn't responded to calls and texts for days. She and her fiance, Brian Laundrie, had set out months earlier on a cross-country van trip. Laundrie returned home to Florida on September 1st with the van, but without Petito, and refused to talk to her family or police. Petito's body was discovered in a remote area of Wyoming last Sunday and her death was classified as a homicide. Laundrie, who's been named a person of interest in the case, went missing days before her body was found, and an ongoing manhunt is looking for him.

 
Daily Mail composite 9/27/21
➤TWO-YEAR-OLD, MOTHER FALL TO DEATH AT PADRES STADIUM, POLICE SAY APPEARS 'SUSPICIOUS': A two-year-old boy and his 40-year-old mother fell to their death at the San Diego Padres' Petco Park on Saturday, and the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that police say they don't know whether it was an accident or not, but it, quote, "appeared to be suspicious." The boy's father was at the ballpark too. The names of the victims weren't released. Witnesses reported that that boy fell first and then his mother also fell when she tried to catch him. They plunged down from a third-level concourse at a concessions area, about six stories up. The incident happened shortly before the Padres game against the Atlanta Braves, which went on as scheduled. The Padres said in a statement Sunday, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of life at Petco Park last evening." They said they wouldn't comment further as the police investigation is ongoing.

➤REP LIZ CHENEY SAYS SHE WAS WRONG TO OPPOSE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE:  Saying they were wrong isn't something politicians like to do, but Rep. Liz Cheney did in an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes that aired last night, stating that she was wrong to have opposed same-sex marriage. The stance by the Wyoming Republican had once been a divide in her family since her sister, Mary Cheney, is a lesbian and is also married. Back in 2013, Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, broke with her family by opposing gay marriage during her failed U.S. Senate run. She told 60 Minutes, "I was wrong. It’s a very personal issue -- and very personal for my family. I believe that my dad was right. And my sister and I have had that conversation . . . Freedom means freedom for everybody." Cheney has become a lightning rod of controversy in her party and lost her House Republican leadership post for her staunch opposition to former President Donald Trump in the wake of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.'

➤STUDY..PANDEMIC CUT LIFE EXPECTANCY BY MOST SINCE WORLD WAR TWO: A study out today from Oxford University says that the Covid-19 pandemic cut life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War Two. The study looked at 29 countries that spanned Europe, the U.S. and Chile, and found that life expectancy dropped in 27 of them, and declined by more than six months compared to 2019 in 22 of them. Men had greater declines in life expectancy than women in most countries, with the largest seen in the U.S., where men had their life expectancy drop by 2.2 years compared to 2019.

🛫THIS IS WHEN YOU SHOULD BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY FLIGHTS:  If you’re hoping to get a deal on holiday airfare, you’ll want to book soon. Flight-tracking experts at Hopper say the lowest prices are very likely available right now, especially for Christmas. When it comes to fare prices, Hopper says for Thanksgiving, you should expect domestic airfare of around $300/round-trip, which is up 23 percent from 2020, but down 11 percent from 2019. They predict Thanksgiving fares will spike after Halloween, and cost about $400 round trip leading up to Thanksgiving. International travelers can expect to pay about $620 round-trip, and waiting until the last minute will drive that price up about $200 more per ticket. Meanwhile, prices are higher for Christmas travel. Domestic travelers can expect to pay an average of $430 round-trip, while international travelers can expect to pay an average of $969. Hopper recommends booking Christmas travel no later than Thanksgiving, as over the course of December prices are expected to rise as much as $230.

➤STUDY: INSULIN RESISTANCE DOUBLES RISK FOR DEPRESSION, EVEN WITHOUT DIABETES:  Suffering with insulin resistance can make you more than twice as likely to develop major depression, even if you haven’t developed full-blown diabetes. Stanford University researchers found that initially healthy people who later developed prediabetes were 2.6 times more likely to come down with major depression during a nine-year follow-up period. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says about one in three U.S. adults are estimated to have prediabetes, a condition where insulin resistance and blood sugar levels are increasing, but there’s still time to ward off the development of type 2 diabetes.
 
➤POLL..3 IN 5 SHOULD END DATE, BREAK-UP OVER ANNOYING EATING HABITS: Annoying eating habits are apparently a bigger dating deal-breaker than you might think, with a new survey finding that three in five people said they'd end a date early or break up with someone if they had an irritating eating habit. In the OnePoll survey of 2,000 Americans, men were nearly twice as likely as women by 42 percent to 25 percent to end a date or relationship because of bad eating habits, but were also more likely to admit to having the same bad habits themselves. So what habits are most annoying? Of those surveyed, 68 percent named talking with your mouth full, chewing loudly was named by 64 percent, and 63 percent said chewing with your mouth open. What justifies ending a first date early? There were 52 percent who said slurping food, 49 percent who said dropping food on the floor and then eating it, and 42 percent said chewing with your mouth open. There was a difference by age groups, with Millennials being the most likely to say they'd politely ask the other person to stop and also most likely to end a date or relationship over an annoying eating habit, while Gen Z respondents were most likely to say they'd ignore a food habit that annoyed them.

🏈NFL SCORES -- WEEK 3:
  • Buffalo Bills 43, Washington Football Team 21
  • Cleveland Browns 26, Chicago Bears 6
  • Baltimore Ravens 19, Detroit Lions 17
  • Tennessee Titans 25, Indianapolis Colts 16
  • Los Angeles Chargers 30, Kansas City Chiefs 24
  • New Orleans Saints 28, New England Patriots 13
  • Atlanta Falcons 17, New York Giants 14
  • Cincinnati Bengals 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 10
  • Arizona Cardinals 31, Jacksonville Jaguars 19
  • Denver Broncos 26, New York Jets 0
  • Las Vegas Raiders 31, Miami Dolphins 28 (OT)
  • Los Angeles Rams 34, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
  • Minnesota Vikings 30, Seattle Seahawks 17
  • Green Bay Packers 30, San Francisco 49ers 28
Tonight's Monday Night Football game on ESPN: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (8:15 p.m. ET)

🏈RAVENS BEAT LIONS ON NFL-RECORD 66-YARD FIELD GOAL: The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Detroit Lions 19-17 yesterday on an NFL-record 66-yard field goal as time expired. The ball kicked by Justin Tucker hit the bottom crossbar and bounced through the uprights. Tucker's kick topped the previous field goal record of 64 yards set by the Denver Broncos' Matt Prater against the Tennessee Titans in 2013.

 
🏈PACKERS GET 30-28 WIN ON FINAL DRIVE WITH 37 SECONDS LEFT: The Green Bay Packers pulled out a 30-28 win over the San Francisco 49ers last night on a final drive that began with just 37 seconds left on the clock and no remaining timeouts. After taking over at the 25 yard line, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed two passes of 25 yards and 17 yards to Davante Adams, setting up a 51-yard field goal that was successfully made by Mason Crosby on the final play of the game.

🏈RAMS WIN SNAPS TAMPA BAY'S 10-GAME WINNING STREAK: The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-24 yesterday, handing the reigning Super Bowl champions their first loss of the season and snapping the Tom Brady-led team's 10-game regular season and playoff winning streak. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 343 yards and four touchdowns as L.A. improved its record to 3-0. Brady didn't get the win, but after throwing for 432 yards and two touchdowns he joined Drew Brees as the only quarterbacks to throw for more than 80,000 yards.

⚾CARDINALS DOWN CUBS 4-2 FOR 16TH STRAIGHT WIN: The St. Louis Cardinals downed the Chicago Cubs 4-2 on Sunday for their 16th straight win. The Cardinals’ franchise-record winning streak is the longest in MLB since the Cleveland Indians won 22 games in a row in 2017, and the best in the National League since the New York Giants won 16 straight in 1951. St. Louis is now in position for the second NL wild card, ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds by six games.



🏌U.S. GETS DOMINATING RYDER CUP WIN OVER EUROPE: The U.S. team had a dominating Ryder Cup win yesterday (September 26th), at Whistling Straits Golf Course in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, handling Europe its worst-ever loss by a half-point at 19-9 since it became part of the Ryder Cup in 1979. Among the accomplishments of the 12-player team led by captain Steve Stricker: the U.S. didn't lose a session for the first time in 44 years; Dustin Johnson became the first American to go 5-0 since 1979; and the six rookies scored more points than all of the European players combined, with a 14-4-3 record. Europe had won nine of the last 12 Ryder Cups.
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