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Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Wake-Up Call: FDA Okays COVID Booster For Teens


The Food and Drug Administration yesterday expanded eligibility for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine booster shot to children ages 12 to 15 amid the huge omicron surge. The FDA also said anyone 12 and older who's eligible for a Pfizer booster can now got one as soon as five months after the second vaccine dose instead of having to wait six months. Boosters are already recommended for everyone age 16 and older. The FDA based its decision largely on data from Israel that found no new safety concerns when 12- to 15-year-olds got a Pfizer booster five months after their second dose, or for those 16 and up to get a booster a month earlier than the six months that had been the recommendation.


Back to School: As schools returned from their holiday break yesterday amid the omicron surge, with new cases across the U.S. having tripled in the past two weeks, some school systems extended the break instead, while others temporarily went back to remote learning. But many went forward with in-person classes as planned, among them the nation's largest school system in New York City. However, it has a a stockpile of Covid test kits that can go home with students and plans to double to number of random tests done in schools. The Los Angeles Unified School District, meanwhile, announced that schools will now reopen on January 11th, and students and employees will have to show a negative Covid test result to enter campus.



🛫FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS AT HOLIDAY-SEASON HIGH MONDAY: After a weekend of thousands of flight cancellations and delays due to weather and to staff shortages caused by the omicron variant as people tried to return home after the holidays, cancellations hit a holiday-season high Monday as a winter storm hit the mid-Atlantic, worsening the situation. More than 3,000 flights in the U.S. and some 4,800 worldwide were canceled by late afternoon, according to tracking service FlightAware, and another 13,000 flights were delayed, including more than 6,000 in the U.S. Things may get better today, however, with airlines having canceled fewer than 400 U.S. flights for Tuesday, with an improving weather forecast. Airlines are paying temporary bonuses, including double or even triple pay, for pilots and flight attendants to work shifts that are open due to co-workers with Covid.

➤FORMER THERANOS CEO HOLMES FOUND GUILTY OF SOME FRAUD AND CONSPIRACY CHARGES, ACQUITTED OF OTHERS: Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges yesterday after being accused of duping investors into believing the startup had developed a medical device that could detect diseases and conditions from a few drops of blood. Holmes was convicted of two counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, while being acquitted on four other counts of fraud and conspiracy that alleged she also deceived patients who paid for Theranos blood tests. The jury deadlocked on three charges. Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison for each count, but legal experts say she's unlikely to receive the maximum sentence. Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 when she was just 19 years old.

➤INVESTIGATORS ZERO IN ON BOULDER AREA IN SEARCH FOR CAUSE OF COLORADO WILDFIRE: Investigators looking for the cause of the fast-moving Colorado wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 home and other buildings last week have zeroed in on an area near Boulder. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said Monday that they're focusing on an area where a passer-by captured video of a burning shed on the day the fire began. Pelle wouldn't give many more details, saying he wouldn't comment on the investigation until he was ready, quote, "to announce some progress -- perhaps that may be a week, perhaps that may be a month." Search teams, meanwhile, continued looking for two people who remain missing after the wildfire.


➤TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP JR., IVANKA TRUMP SUBPOENAED IN N.Y. AG'S PROBE: New York Attorney General Letitia James' office confirmed yesterday that former President Donald Trump and his two oldest children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, had been subpoenaed as part of a civil probe of the family's business practices, including issues like the valuation of properties controlled by Trump and his company, the Trump Organization. Attorneys for the Trumps asked a court yesterday to block the subpoenas, accusing James of trying to get testimony that could be then be used against the Trumps in a separate criminal investigation being carried out by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. The attorneys claimed James is trying to force the Trumps to testify without the immunity that’s guaranteed if they were subpoenaed to testify in front of the grand jury in the criminal probe. James accused them of "delay tactics," saying in a statement, "Despite their names, they must play by the same rules as everyone else."

➤REVEALED THAT JEFFREY EPSTEIN PAID ACCUSER GIUFFRE $500K: A federal court unsealed the terms of a 2009 settlement between Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and one of his accusers, Virginia Giuffre, showing he paid her $500,000 to drop her sexual abuse suit. He didn't admit to any wrongdoing under the agreement. The court that unsealed the documents is considering her current sexual abuse lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew. Giuffre has said Epstein and his longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to have sex with men including Andrew. The prince has denied the claim and says he never met Giuffre. Maxwell was convicted on sex trafficking charges last week. Andrew's attorneys wanted the settlement revealed because they claim Giuffre agreed in it not to pursue legal action against anyone who could have been named a co-defendant in the suit against Epstein. The agreement doesn't name Andrew.

➤PSYCHOLOGISTS OFFER WAYS TO KEEP YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS:  If you made a New Year’s resolution for 2022, how’s it going so far? The American Psychological Association (APA) says if you want to see your resolution through, it’s best to make a goal you think you can keep realistically. Psychologist Jessy Levin explains, “I’ve discussed SMART goals and how creating goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound will have the greatest likelihood of success.” But, she adds, that advice came before the pandemic, and now she encourages people to set resolutions that “offer themselves grace and self-forgiveness.” For those setting more standard resolutions, the APA says you should change one behavior at a time, consider sharing experiences with family, friends or possibly even a support group to reach certain goals, and remember that perfection isn’t attainable and minor missteps are normal. Levin adds, “People are searching to find mental stability amid a changing environment. So this year, let us not be our harshest critics. Let us offer ourselves kindness, grace and forgiveness. Let us set those as our resolutions.”


🏈STEELERS TOP BROWNS 26-14 IN ROETHLISBERGER'S LIKELY LAST HEINZ FIELD GAME: The Pittsburgh Steelers topped the Cleveland Browns 26-14 last night, keeping their playoff hopes alive in what was likely Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's final game at Heinz Field. The Steelers will need to beat Baltimore next week and Jacksonville will have to defeat Indianapolis for Pittsburgh to reach the playoffs. Roethlisberger was 24 of 46 for 123 yards with a touchdown as "Let's Go Ben!" chants rang out from the Steeler fans. The 39-year-old admitted this week that, quote, "all signs" indicate this season, his 18th, will be his last and he'll be retiring. He choked back tears in the post-game interview, saying, "I'm so thankful and blessed to be able to call this place home for almost half my life."


🏈BUCS COACH ARIANS SAYS BROWN DIDN'T TALK ABOUT INJURY BEFORE WALKING OFF FIELD: Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said Monday that Antonio Brown didn't say anything about an injury before taking off his pads and shirt and walking off the field bare-chested during the third quarter of the Bucs game against the New York Jets a day earlier. Arians had wanted Brown to go in the game and he'd refused, with an NFL Network reports saying it was because of an ankle injury that had kept him out for weeks. But Arians said yesterday that Brown didn't tell him he didn't want to go in because he was injured. Although Arians had Sunday that Brown was no longer a member of the team, the Bucs didn't officially release him Monday, and ESPN said there are ongoing discussions with the NFL about how to move forward with the situation.

🏀EMBIID GETS TRIPLE-DOUBLE IN 76ERS' 133-113 WIN OVER ROCKETS: Philadelphia's Joel Embiid had a triple-double in the 76ers' 133-113 win over the Houston Rockets last night. The All-Star center had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as the fans in Philadelphia chanted "MVP!" It was the third career triple-double for Embiid.

🏈OKLAHOMA QB WILLIAMS ENTERING TRANSFER PORTAL: Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams said Monday (January 3rd) that he's entering the transfer portal so he can speak with other schools, but the freshman said he hadn't ruled out staying with Oklahoma. Williams was recruited to Oklahoma by then-head coach Lincoln Riley, who made the stunning and unexpected move in late November to leave for USC. But Oklahoma looks to be ready if Williams does leave, with former UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel tweeting within hours of Williams' announcement that despite committing to transfer to UCLA last month, he was instead planning to go to Oklahoma.

🏈RAIDERS' HOBBS ARRESTED ON DUI CHARGE: Las Vegas Raiders rookie cornerback Nate Hobbs was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge early Monday morning, hours after the Raiders' win over the Indianapolis Colts kep their playoff hopes alive. Las Vegas police said they got a call just after 4 a.m. about a driver asleep inside a vehicle parked on the exit ramp of a parking garage. Hobbs, who was the driver, failed a field sobriety test and was booked for misdemeanor DUI. The Raiders said they were gathering information about the incident.

⛄ARE YOU TOO OLD TO SHOVEL SNOW?:  Not everyone should be shoveling snow. A study from 2010 estimated that nearly 200,000 people were treated in emergency rooms for snow-shoveling-related incidents between 1990 and 2006, an average of about 11,500 people per year. About 55 percent were soft-tissue injuries, while about 34 percent were lower-back injuries, but experts say shoveling snow can also be a trigger for heart attacks. Dr. Barry Franklin says he cautions anyone over age 45 from partaking in the winter chore due to the “perfect storm” of factors that seem to cause heart attacks. Dr. Luke Laffin, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic, says he encourages people to start finding other ways to remove snow once they turn 55. The cold temperatures plus intense exercise of shoveling is no joke, and for middle-aged adults who don’t get a lot of exercise, Franklin and Laffin agree it’s best to leave the shoveling for someone else.




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