Monday, November 8, 2021

Wake-Up Call: U-S Ends International Travel Ban

The U.S. has ended its pandemic-caused international travel ban as of today after more than a year and a half. People from a long list of countries, including Canada, Mexico and most of Europe, will now be able to travel to the U.S. as long as they are fully vaccinated and have a negative Covid-19 test. Travelers can be fully vaccinated with any vaccine that's been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, not just the three approved for use in the U.S.: Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Land travel from Mexico and Canada will require proof of vaccination, but not a Covid test.
 

➤INVESTIGATION BEGINNING INTO 'ASTROWORLD' FESTIVAL TRAGEDY THAT LEFT EIGHT DEAD: Investigators are beginning a probe of the tragedy at rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld music festival in Houston Friday night in which eight people were killed and hundreds injured in a crush of spectators who rushed forward as Scott took the stage. They are expected to look into the design of safety barriers, crowd control, the security plan, and more for the festival at NRG Park, which was attended by some 50,000 people. The dead ranged in age from 14 to 27. Over 300 people were treated for injuries at the concert and 13 people remained hospitalized on Sunday.


➤BIDEN TO VISIT BALTIMORE PORT THIS WEEK TO TALK JUST-PASSED INFRASTRUCTURE BILL: The White House said Sunday that President Biden will visit the Port of Baltimore on Wednesday to talk about how the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that was passed by Congress will upgrade ports and strengthen supply chains. The House finally passed the legislation late Friday after it had been approved by the Senate months earlier, both on bipartisan votes. Biden, who hailed the bill's passage Saturday, said he'll sign it soon in a formal ceremony. The legislation will fund a big upgrade to the nation's roads, bridges, airports, seaports and rail systems, while also expanding broadband internet service.

➤SURGEON GENERAL DEFENDS VACCINE MANDATE FOR LARGE EMPLOYERS AFTER COURT PUTS ON HOLD: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy yesterday defended the administration's Covid-19 vaccine or weekly testing mandate for employees of companies with more than 100 workers, which was set to get into effect on January 4th, after a federal appeals court temporarily put in on hold on Saturday. Murthy said on ABC's This Week that the mandate is good for both people's health and the economy, and said, "The president and the administration wouldn't have put these requirements in place if they didn't think that they were appropriate and necessary, and the administration is certainly prepared to defend them." Similarly, Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said after the court's action that the Labor Department is "confident in its legal authority" and is "fully prepared" to defend the requirement in court.

➤BOMB THREATS MADE AT SEVERAL IVY LEAGUE COLLEGES: Bomb threats were made at several Ivy League colleges on Sunday (November 7th), days after similar threats were made at several Ohio universities. Cornell and Columbia Universities in New York and Brown University in Rhode Island all issued emergency alerts for their campuses after getting bomb threats yesterday afternoon, evacuating buildings and warning students to stay away from campus. All were eventually deemed by law enforcement to not be credible threats. On Friday, two schools in Ohio received similar threats found to not be credible, at Ohio University and Miami University, as did Yale University in Connecticut. Cleveland State University in Ohio received a bomb threat on Thursday.

✋NORTH CAROLINA TEEN RESCUED AFTER USING HAND GESTURE FOR HELP FROM TIKTOK: A missing 16-year-old girl from Asheville, North Carolina, was rescued by police in Kentucky Thursday (November 4th) after she signaled a motorist for help by using a hand gesture popularized on TikTok that's meant to represent domestic violence. After seeing the hand gesture, the driver called 911 to report a girl in distress in a vehicle on the interstate. The girl had been reported missing by her parents two days earlier. In the gesture, the person using it holds up their hand up with their palm facing out, then tucks their thumb into their hand, and then closes their fingers to trap the thumb. The suspect originally took the girl from North Carolina to Ohio where he has relatives, according to police. They left Ohio once his relatives discovered that the girl was a minor and had been reported missing. The man has been charged with unlawful imprisonment and possession of a matter of sex performance by a minor.

🛫AMERICAN AIRLINES OFFERING CASH INCENTIVES FOR FLIGHT ATTENDANTS FOR HOLIDAY SEASON: Part of American Airlines' problem with canceled flights is due to labor shortages, so its offering cash incentives to its flights attendants for working during the upcoming holiday season. They will earn 150 percent of their normal rate during peak periods, and those who show up for every flight between November 15th and January 2nd will have their pay tripled for those peak periods, the Wall Street Journal reported. The peak periods are between November 23rd and 29th, and between December 22nd and January 2nd. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants negotiated the extra pay.  

➤SOME REPUBLICANS UPSET WITH BIG BIRD MAKING VAXX PLUG: Big Bird landed on the wrong side of some Republicans when Sesame Street's beloved big yellow Muppet tweeted Saturday that he got the Covid-19 vaccine. Big Bird is supposed to be six years old, and the tweet was sent after the Pfizer vaccine was approved for children ages five to 11. In the tweet, Big Bird said, "I got the COVID-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it'll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy. Ms. @EricaRHill even said I've been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!" 

Among those angry about the tweet was Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who accused Big Bird of tweeting, quote, "government propaganda . . . for your 5 year old!" However, many others liked the tweet, and some posted clips from 1972 of Big Bird getting vaccinated against measles, another effort meant to ease kids' fears. NBC News notes Sesame Street has been addressing the pandemic throughout, including talking about vaccines and teaching kids about masks and staying healthy. 

🐶PETS BENEFIT FROM SLEEPING WITH THEIR OWNERS: Sleeping with your pet can have tons of benefits for your cat or dog. According to the chief veterinary officer for the North American Veterinary community, pets who live with heir humans have a higher trust level and a tighter bond with the people in their lives. The dogs and cats who are more closely bonded with their humans also get health benefits such as increases in beneficial neurotransmitters such as oxytocin and dopamine.

🏈NFL SCORES -- WEEK 9:
  • Cleveland Browns 41, Cincinnati Bengals 16
  • Denver Broncos 30, Dallas Cowboys 16
  • Miami Dolphins 17, Houston Texans 9
  • Atlanta Falcons 27, New Orleans Saints 25
  • New York Giants 23, Las Vegas Raiders 16
  • New England Patriots 24, Carolina Panthers 6
  • Jacksonville Jaguars 9, Buffalo Bills 6
  • Baltimore Ravens 34, Minnesota Vikings 31 (OT)
  • Los Angeles Chargers 27, Philadelphia Eagles 24
  • Kansas City Chiefs 13, Green Bay Packers 7
  • Arizona Cardinals 31, San Francisco 49ers 17
  • Tennessee Titans 28, Los Angeles Rams 16
Monday Night Football game on ESPN: Chicago Bears at Pittburgh Steelers (8:15 p.m. ET)


🏈PACKERS, WITHOUT RODGERS, FALL TO CHIEFS AS SEVEN-GAME WINNING STREAK SNAPPED: The Kansas City Chiefs snapped Green Bay's seven-game winning streak Sunday with a 13-7 victory over the Packers, who were without quarterback Aaron Rodgers after he tested positive for Covid-19 last week. Jordan Love, who was filling in for Rodgers, was 19 of 34 for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception, both in the fourth quarter as the Packers tried to rally from being down 13-0 going into the final quarter. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was just 20 of 37 for 166 yards, his fewest in a full game in his career, and a touchdown.

➤LARSON WINS NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP: Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series championship yesterday, his first, with a title-winning victory at Phoenix Raceway, holding off Martin Truex, who finished second. It was Larson's 10th Cup victory of the year, as he returned this season from a nearly year-long suspension. Larson was fired four races into the season last year and lost nearly every sponsor for using a racial slur while racing online during the early days of the pandemic. Rick Hendrick decided to give him another chance and hired Larson once NASCAR lifted his suspension.


🏃KENYANS KORIR, JEPCHIRCHIR SWEEP NYC MARATHON: There was a Kenyan sweep in the New York City marathon on Sunday, with Albert Korir winning for the men and Peres Jepchirchir finishing first among the women. Korir won in two hours, eight minutes and 22 seconds, two years after coming in second in the last NYC marathon run, since it was canceled last year due to the pandemic. Jepchirchir became the only woman to win a major marathon in the fall after taking an Olympic gold medal, winning in two hours, 22 minutes and 39 seconds.

⚽MLS' ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER WONDOLOWSKI RETIRES: The San Jose Earthquakes' Chris Wondolowski, Major League Soccer's all-time leading scorer, announced his retirement yesterday after his team's 1-0 win over FC Dallas in their regular-season finale. The 38-year-old scored the game's only goal to extend his MLS record to 171 goals over his 18-year career.

⚾RECORD FIVE CARDINALS WIN GOLD GLOVES: A record five St. Louis Cardinals won National League Gold Gloves yesterday, the most by a time in a season: first baseman Paul Goldschmidt; second baseman Tommy Edman; third baseman Nolan Arenado; center fielder Harrison Bader; and left fielder Tyler O'Neill. Voting is done by MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team, and they can't vote for players on their teams.


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