Friday, October 8, 2021

Wake-Up Call: U-S Senate Passes Extension Money Deal

The Senate on Thursday approved a short-term extension of the government's borrowing authority into December, avoiding an October 18th deadline to lift the debt ceiling or face an unprecedented U.S. default, which would have set off a damaging financial crisis. The House is set to approve it next week. The measure was passed on a party-line 50-48 vote, after 11 Republican senators joined with the Democrats to overcome a filibuster by other GOP senators. The break in the crisis came when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday offered support for a short-term extension. The Republicans had previously been refusing to provide votes to lift the debt limit, saying Democrats should do it on their own, but also using the filibuster to prevent Democrats from voting to lift it on their own, wanting Democrats to use the cumbersome reconciliation process. The reprieve won't be long, with another default deadline now set to arrive in December that will have to be avoided.

➤PFIZER OFFICIALLY ASKS FOR APPROVAL OF VACCINE IN CHILDREN AGES 5 TO 11: Pfizer officially asked U.S. government regulators yesterday to approve its Covid-19 vaccine for use in children ages five to 11. The Food and Drug Administration will review the results of Pfizer's research to decide whether it's confident that the vaccine is safe and effective in that age group, which the pharmaceutical company says it is. However, Pfizer says these younger children should get one-third of the dose given to those ages 12 and up. If the FDA authorizes emergency use, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make the final decision.



 ➤SENATE REPORT DETAILS TRUMP'S EFFORTS TO GET JUSTICE DEPT. TO UNDO ELECTION RESULTS: A Senate Judiciary Committee report released yesterday detailed then-President Donald Trump's extraordinary efforts after he lost the 2020 election to get the Justice Department to undo the results. The report from the Democratic-led committee said Trump asked Justice Department leaders to declare the election "corrupt," and disparaged its top official for refusing to do so, leading to senior officials warning of a mass resignation in the face of the pressure. The report said Trump did have the support of a little-known Justice Department lawyer, Jeffrey Clark, but other senior officials stood against it. It charges Trump, quote, "grossly abused the power of the presidency” in his efforts and arguably violated federal law barring ordering federal employees to engage in political activity. Republicans on the committee issued their own report downplaying what's in the Democratic-led report, portraying Trump as having ignored suggestions from Clark and refused to fire top Justice Department officials.


➤NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARDED TO DUO FOR PROMOTING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS:  Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, praised the journalists from the Philippines and Russia for their efforts to safeguard the freedom of expression, "which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace."

➤U-S NUCLEAR SUB HIT OBJECT UNDERWATER, SAILORS INJURED: A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine hit an object underwater in the South China Sea on Saturday, CNN reported Thursday, citing two defense officials. Several sailors on board the USS Connecticut suffered injuries, none of them life-threatening, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. It's still unclear what the sub may have hit, but the fleet's statement said, "The submarine remains in a safe and stable condition." An investigation is being carried out. The Connecticut was operating in the region as the U.S. and allies have been carrying out a major show of force amid heightened tensions with China over its military's incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone, according to CNN.


➤BOBBY FLAY LEAVING FOOD NETWORK: Variety is reporting that celebrity chef Bobby Flay is set to leave Food Network after 27 years. Sources tell the outlet that he walked away after talks on a new contract broke down. His current contract is set to expire at the end of this year, at which time Flay will exit.

➤'NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE' TO FEATURE SPANISH LANGUAGE COUNTDOWN: Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022 will feature the show’s first Spanish Language countdown. According to Deadline, the festivities will take place on the grounds of the Puerto Rico Convention Center and DISTRITO T-Mobile. Details around co-hosts, performers in Times Square and additional locations will be announced closer to show night.


➤U-S HEALTH OFFICIALS URGE AMERICANS TO GET FLU SHOT: U.S. health officials have been urging Americans to get vaccinated against Covid-19 for many months, but they are now reminding us not to forget to get a flu shot. There are concerns that there could be a bad flu season after flu cases were at an historically low level last winter, which would come on top of the ongoing pandemic. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said yesterday (October 7th) that it's, quote, "doubly important this year" to get your flu shot. Health officials also says that if you still haven't gotten your Covid vaccine, you can get both that vaccine and the flu shot in the same visit.

➤RUSSIA BEHIND 58 PERCENT OF STATE-SPONSORED HACKING: Microsoft said yesterday that Russia was behind 58 percent of state-sponsored hacking that the company detected over the past year, with most of it targeting government agencies and think tanks in the U.S., followed by Ukraine, Britain and European NATO members. Microsoft also said in its second-annual Digital Defense Report, covering July 2020 through June 2021, that China accounted for fewer than 10 percent of the state-backed hacking attempts they detected, but was successful 44 percent of the time, compared to Russia's 32 percent success rate.

🤑STUDY...ARE WOMEN WORSE THAN MEN AT SALARY NEGOTIATION?:  Stereotypes don’t always hold true. University of Southern California researchers found that women and men are both equally bad at salary negotiation. They found in an experiment that 43 percent of participants didn’t negotiate at all, and that job seekers left 20 percent of value on the table. Researcher Peter Kim explains that in real-world scenarios, “Women have been found to perform just as well as men when negotiating on behalf of others. It is only when they negotiate for themselves that women perform worse than men. This suggests that such differences may be due to the fear of social stigma against women seeking to benefit themselves too much– a stigma that women typically find difficult to navigate around on their own.”


 🦑SQUID GAME HALLOWEEN COSTUMES ARE GOING TO BE BIG THIS YEAR: There’s always at least one costume that dominates Halloween, and this year costumes inspired by the Netflix show “Squid Game” seem to be taking that top spot. The show’s iconic red and green jumpsuits have become best sellers on retail sites like Amazon, and the masks worn by the show’s guards (which resemble fencing masks) have also been selling well. Since many of the costumes from the show are so simple, some social media users have also been showing off how to recreate the costumes without actually having to spend money. The show is A South Korean drama that revolves around a deadly contest where people who have massive debt compete for a large cash prize.

🏈RAMS DEFEAT SEAHAWKS 26-17: The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks 26-17 last night, in a game that Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had to leave in the third quarter. Wilson exited after injuring the middle finger on his throwing hand with what head coach Pete Carroll later said was a bad sprain. Backup Geno Smith came in for the rest of the game. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 365 yards and a touchdown in the win in Seattle.
 

⚾RAYS, ASTROS WIN ALDS OPENERS: The Tampa Bay Rays and the Houston Astros won the opening games of their best-of-five American League Divsion Series yesterday. The Rays shut out the Boston Red Sox 5-0, with rookie Randy Arozarena hitting a home run and stealing home for Tampa Bay, the first player to do both in a postseason game. Shane McClanahan pitched five innings for the Rays before handing it over to the bullpen. In the other game, the Houston Astros downed the Chicago White Sox 6-1. Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. held Chicago scoreless into the seventh inning, while Yordan Alvarez hit an RBI double and a solo homer in the game. Game 2 for both series will be held today.

Wall Street Journal 10/8/21



🏀18 EX-NBA PLAYERS CHARGED IN HEALTH CARE FRAUD SCAM: Eighteen former NBA players were charged Thursday in a health care fraud scam that illegally netted them some $2.5 million by defrauding the league's health and welfare benefit plan. The scheme, which began in 2017, involved the ex-players claiming false medical and dental expenses. U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said the conspiracy was led by Terrence Williams, a first-round draft pick in 2009, who played with four franchises over four seasons. He then recruited other former players to the scheme. One of them was allegedly Tony Allen, a six-time All-Defensive team selection and a member of the 2008 champion Boston Celtics. However, most of those involved didn't have notable careers.

🏈BROWNS QUARTERBACK MAYFIELD REPORTEDLY HAS PARTIAL LABRUM TEAR: Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has a partially torn labrum in his left, non-throwing shoulder, according to media reports yesterday. It reportedly doesn't require surgery right now, and Mayfield will continue to play as long as the injury doesn't get worse. He was injured last month when he tried to tackle Houston Texans safety Justin Reid after throwing an interception, causing his shoulder to pop out.

🏒CANADIENS STAR GOALIE PRICE ENTERS NHL PROGRAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH HELP: Montreal Canadiens star goalie Carey Price is stepping away from the ice to voluntarily enter the NHL/NHL Players’ Association joint player assistance program, it was announced yesterday, less than one week before the start of the season. Neither the league nor the players' union said why the 34-year-old is entering the program, but Price's wife, Angela, said in an Instagram post that it's for the former NHL MVP's mental health. She wrote, in part, "No matter what is on the line, we hope we can communicate the importance of putting your mental health first not just by saying it, but by showing up and doing the work to get better." Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said Price would be in the program for at least 30 days.
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