Plus Pages

▼

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Wake-Up Call: 5 Dead After Bow & Arrow Attack In Norway

DANISH MAN IN CUSTODY: Norwegian police have a 37-year-old Danish man in custody after a bow-and-arrow attack in a small town in Norway yesterday evening in which five people were killed and two others critically wounded. Several of the victims were in a supermarket, and Norwegian news agency NTB said the suspect also used other weapons. Prosecutor Ann Iren Svane Matthiassen said the man, who wasn't identified, had confessed to the deadly rampage in the town of Kongsberg, where he lives. She said the man is known to police, and it's believed he acted alone.
 
➤BIDEN ANNOUNCES EXPANDED PORT OF L.A. OPERATIONS AMID BACKED UP CONTAINER SHIPS: President Biden announced a deal yesterday to expand operations at the Port of Los Angeles to around-the-clock hours as container ships continue to be backed up as they wait to dock. The off-shore traffic jam is contributing to the ongoing supply chain problems that are threatening holiday deliveries. It's also contributing to inflation due to shortages and delays as ships can't dock and unloaded goods are waiting to be put on trucks. The Port of Los Angeles will now operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which the nearby port of Long Beach, California, has already been doing for about three weeks. As part of the deal, Walmart, FedEx, UPS, Target, Samsung and The Home Depot agreed to unloading during off-peak hours, making it easier for the Los Angeles port to operate nonstop.


 ➤STUDY..JOHNSON & JOHNSON COVID VACCINE RECIPIENTS MIGHT BE BETTER OFF WITH PFIZER OR MODERNA BOOSTER: Preliminary data out yesterday from a federal clinical trial found that people who got the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine might be better off getting a Pfizer or Moderna booster instead of another Johnson & Johnson shot. The researchers found that people in their study who'd gotten the Johnson & Johnson shot who got a Moderna booster saw their antibody levels rise 76-fold within 15 days, those who got a Pfizer booster had them go up 35-fold, while those who got another Johnson & Johnson shot only had a fourfold increase. The Food and Drug Administration's panel of advisers is set to vote Friday on whether to allow a second booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

➤JANUARY 6TH COMMITTEE HEARS TESTIMONY FROM TRUMP'S FINAL AG: The House select committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol heard closed-door testimony yesterday from Jeffrey Rosen, the acting attorney general during the final days of the Trump administration, according to The Washington Post. Rosen reportedly explained his notes about events leading up to that day and spoke about what the Justice Department did to counter the attack on the Capitol. The committee also subpoenaed Jeffrey Clark, the acting head of the Justice Department's civil division during the end of Trump's administration. According to emails and previous testimony, he was a key ally of then-President Donald Trump in trying to prevent certification of Joe Biden's election victory.

➤UNITED AUTO WORKERS MEMBERS GO ON STRIKE AGAINST JOHN DEERE: Some 10,000 members of the United Auto Workers union went on strike this morning against John Deere, the largest private-sector strike in the U.S. since the UAW's six-week strike against General Motors two years ago. The UAW had reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year contract with the farm and construction equipment maker two weeks ago, but 90 percent of the union's rank-and-file members rejected it in a ratification vote. It would have given them immediate raises of five to six percent, and additional wage increases later in the contract that could have increased average pay by about 20 percent over six years.


➤STUDY...MORE THAN HALF OF PEOPLE GET ‘LONG COVID’:  Getting COVID-19 isn’t a quick and easy process for many. Penn State researchers say more than half of the 236 million people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide since December 2019 will experience post-COVID symptoms, known as “long COVID,” up to six months after recovering. During their illness, many COVID-19 sufferers experience symptoms such as tiredness, difficulty breathing, chest pain, sore joints, and loss of taste or smell. Researchers analyzed data and found COVID-19 survivors experienced an array of residual health issues that complicated their general well-being, their mobility or organ systems. Overall, one in two survivors experienced long-term COVID symptoms, usually from one month to more than six months after their initial illness. Researchers say early intervention will be critical for improving the quality of life for many COVID-19 survivors, and these long-term health conditions may cause increased demand for medical care and could overwhelm the health care system. They add their findings could help shape treatment plans to improve care for COVID-19 survivors and establish integrated evidence-based clinical management for those affected.




🚀WILLIAM SHATNER SPENT 11 MINUTES IN SPACE: William Shatner officially became the oldest person to have flown in space on Wednesday. The 90-year-old Star Trek actor took an 11-minute trip into space aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin flight alongside three other passengers. CNN reports that after landing back on Earth, Shatner said the flight was “the most profound experience" he could imagine, adding, “I hope I can maintain what I feel now. I don’t want to lose it.”

➤SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS TO GET BIGGEST BOOST IN 39 YEARS: Social Security recipients will get a 5.9 percent increase in benefits in 2022, the biggest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years. That increase is being made due to the spike in inflation as the economy continues to deal with the financial fallout of the pandemic. Over the past 10 years, cost-of-living adjustments have averaged just 1.65 percent each year.

➤NEW SALT GUIDELINES FROM THE FDA: The Food and Drug Administration released voluntary guidelines yesterday aimed at getting food companies to reduce the amount of salt in their products. The guidelines are aimed at these companies since most of the sodium in Americans' diets comes from packaged or restaurant foods. The FDA's target sodium levels over the next 2.5 years aim to cut average intake by 12 percent, from 3,400 to 3,000 milligrams a day. That would still leave average intake above the federally recommended limit of 2,300 milligrams a day for people 14 and older.

➤YELLOWSTONE BREAKS SEPTEMBER AND YEAR-TO-DATE VISITOR RECORDS: Yellowstone National Park set an attendance record in September after doing the same thing in August, and has also set a year-to-date visitor record through September. The National Park Service said there were 872,695 recreation visits to Yellowstone in September, up four percent from September 2020, and 4,463,599 visits so far in 2021, up 32 percent from the same period in 2020. The NPS said it's the first time the park has ever exceeded four million visitors this early in the year. If you plan to visit Yellowstone, the NPS is recommending making plans well ahead of time.

➤'THE VIEW' GAVE CANDACE CAMERON BURE PTSD: Candace Cameron Bure says that she felt such an “enormous pressure” to represent conservatives while hosting The View in 2015 and 2016 that she has PTSD. The Fuller House star told the Behind The Table podcast, "The stress and the anxiety—I actually have a pit in my stomach right now. There was only one type of stress that I've ever felt in my life, that came from that show. And I [have] PTSD, like, I can feel it. It was so difficult, and to manage that emotional stress was very, very hard." She further admitted that although she often ended up “crying before the show” she ultimately doesn’t have any regrets.

➤PSYCHOLOGIST ON WHY YOU CAN’T STOP WATCHING SCARY MOVIES, EVEN IF YOU HATE THEM:  If you find yourself having a love-hate relationship with scary movies, you’re not the only one. Dr. Sanam Hafeez, a neuropsychologist explains, “Oddly enough, the brain releases dopamine when we’re scared, almost as if we’re excited. This sudden dopamine rush explains why some people laugh when they get scared while walking through a haunted house or seeing a jump scare in a movie.” He says this hit of dopamine is even more enjoyable if you’re sitting in a controlled environment because even though you may feel like you’re in danger, your body knows you aren’t, which, “Therefore, subconsciously, your body allows you to enjoy it.” He adds that some people are actually more chemically inclined to watch horror movies, since their bodies may release more dopamine and adrenaline than the average person. In other words, if you hate horror movies but can’t look away it might be due to your brain chemistry. Hafeez says another reason you might stick it out through a scary movie even if you hate it could be that you like that feeling of accomplishment you get after finishing it.


🏀NETS' IRVING SAYS NOT GETTING VACCINATED 'ABOUT BEING TRUE TO WHAT FEELS GOOD FOR ME': One day after the Brooklyn Nets said Kyrie Irving wouldn't be allowed to play with the team until he's vaccinated against Covid-19, Irving said in an Instagram Live last night  that his decision is, quote, "about being true to what feels good for me." Irving said he's neither pro-vaccine nor anti-vaccine, but said, "This is about my life and what I am choosing to do." He said he understands the ramifications of his decision, and that he still hopes to return and play for the Nets, making clear he's not upset with the organization or the NBA. Irving also said his decision isn't political, and that he respects doctors, those who are vaccinated, and those who aren't vaccinated who are, quote, "being mandated to do this and are losing their livelihood." 


He ended by saying his career isn't over, stating, "And no, I am not retiring. And no, I am not going and leaving this game like this." Because of a New York City mandate, Irving wouldn't be allowed to play home games unless he's vaccinated, and the Nets' decision shot down talk of the possibility of him only playing road games.

🏒CAPITALS' OVECHKIN MOVES INTO FIFTH PLACE ON NHL GOALS LIST: The Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin scored his 731st and 732nd career goals in his team's 5-1 win over the New York Rangers last night, moving into fifth place on the all-time NHL goals list in the Capitals' season-opening game. He passed Marcel Dionne to claim the fifth spot. The game also saw Washington rookie Hendrix Lapierre score a goal in his first NHL game.

⚾RAY FOSSE, CATCHER BOWLED OVER BY PETE ROSE IN 1970 ALL-STAR GAME, DEAD AT 74: Former MLB catcher Ray Fosse, who was famously bowled over by Pete Rose in the 1970 All-Star Game, died yesterday after a 16-year battle with cancer. He was 74. Rose barreled over Fosse, then a 23-year-old with the Cleveland Indians, to score the winning run in the 12th inning of the All-Star Game in Cinncinnati. Fosse's left shoulder was fractured and separated, and he never again had as good as season as he did in 1970. He played for 12 years with Cleveland, Oakland, Seattle and Milwaukee, and then became a broadcaster for the Oakland A's starting in 1986, and worked all the way through part of this season.


➤BILES, OTHER CHAMPION GYMNASTS ASK CONGRESS TO DISSOLVE U.S. OLYMPIC COMMITTEE BOARD: Olympic gymnastics champions Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman and World champion Maggie Nichols called on Congress yesterday to dissolve the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s board of directors. All four are survivors of sexual abuse by former USOPC and USA Gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar. They wrote in a letter to Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jerry Moran, "We believe it is time for Congress to exercise its authority over the organization it created by replacing the entire USOPC board with leadership willing and able to do what should have been done long ago: Responsibly investigate the systemic problem of sexual abuse within Olympic organizations -- including the USOPC -- and all efforts to conceal it." The four recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on Nassar.
Posted

No comments:

Post a Comment