POLICE PATROL HAVANA IN LARGE NUMBERS: One day after thousands of Cubans demonstrated in the capital of Havana and elsewhere in the communist nation in rare anti-government protests not seen in decades, driven by food shortages and high prices amid the pandemic, President Biden called them a "clarion call for freedom" on Monday. Biden said in statement, "We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime. The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights." Meanwhile, large groups of police patrolled in Havana on Monday, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel blamed Cuban-Americans in the U.S., saying they stirred up the protests on social media. He said in a nationally televised appearance, "That’s the way it’s done: Try to create inconformity, dissatisfaction by manipulating emotions and feelings."
➤WARNING ABOUT RARE NEUROLOGICAL REACTION ADDED TO JOHNSON & JOHNSON COVID VACCINE: The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that a new warning was being added to Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine about a rare, potentially dangerous, neurological reaction, although it's not entirely clear that the vaccine caused it. There have been reports of about 100 of the nearly 13 million Americans who've gotten the J&J vaccine developing Guillain-Barre syndrome, an immune system disorder that can cause muscle weakness and occasionally paralysis that's usually temporary. Of them, one person died and almost all were hospitalized. Most of them were men, many of then aged 50 and older. Guillain-Barre can be triggered by a number of infections, and there have been rare cases after receiving certain vaccines.
➤RECOVERED CONDO COLLAPSE VICTIMS RISES TO 94: The number of victims recovered from the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, rose to 94 on Monday with the recovery of the remains of four more people. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that 22 people still remain missing. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said officials planned to increase security at the site to make sure that victims' personal possessions are preserved for their families.
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| Daily Mail Screenshot 7/13/21 |
➤TEXAS DEMOCRATS LEAVE STATE TO TRY TO BLOCK REPUBLICAN VOTING BILL: Democratic state lawmakers in Texas left the state yesterday in an effort to prevent passage of a Republican bill with sweeping new voting restrictions in a special legislative session by denying the Texas House of Representatives attendance of enough members to conduct business. More than 50 Democrats flew to Washington, D.C., saying they were prepared to stay there for weeks until the session ends next month. This is the second time Democratic lawmakers in Texas have left to prevent the overhaul of voting laws, which they say will make it harder for young people, people of color, and people with disabilities to vote. Republican Governor Greg Abbott said in a TV interview hours later that he would just keep calling special sessions through next year if necessary to pass the legislation, and suggested the Democrats will be arrested when they return. He said, "As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done." But Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer said in D.C., "This is a now-or-never for our democracy. We are holding the line in Texas." The lawmakers' intent in going to Washington is to increase pressure on President Biden and Congress to enact voting rights legislation on the federal level.
➤SEVERAL OF THOSE TIED TO HAITI ASSASSINATION WERE INFORMANTS FOR U-S LAW ENFORCEMENT: Several of the men who've been tied to last week's assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise previously were informants for U.S. law enforcement, CNN reported yesterday, citing sources. The Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement that one of them was "at times . . . a confidential source to the DEA." The DEA also said that after the assassination, the suspect reached out to his DEA contacts, and he was urged to surrender to local authorities, and the U.S. also gave the Haitian government information that "assisted in the surrender and arrest of the suspect and one other individual." The DEA also said it was aware of reports that some of the assassins yelled "DEA" at the time of their attack, but that none of the assailants was working on the agency's behalf. Haitian officials say the assassination operation involved at least 28 people, many of them Colombian mercenaries hired through a Florida-based security company.
➤STUDY..GETTING A FLU SHOT SLASHES THE RISK OF BEING HOSPITALIZED WITH COVID-19 BY UP TO 60%: Getting a flu shot could actually help you avoid COVID-19. Researchers in Britain analyzed 75,000 COVID-19 patients, and found those who had received an annual flu shot were 60 percent less likely to end up in the emergency department due to COVID-19 compared to people not vaccinated against the flu. Those who got their flu shot between two and six months before catching COVID also appear to be protected against nasty complications linked to the virus. Researchers say their findings suggest the flu shot could provide increased protection to people in countries where COVID-19 vaccine supplies are limited. It’s thought that getting the flu shot might boost the body’s innate immune system, improving its overall defenses against disease.
➤POPE FRANCIS TO BE HOSPITALIZED A FEW MORE DAYS: The Vatican said yesterday that Pope Francis will remain hospitalized for a few more days as he continues to recover from surgery he had on July 4th to treat a severe narrowing of his large intestine. The Vatican had originally said the pontiff could be released by the end of last week, but said Monday that while he'd finished his post-operative treatment, the 84-year-old would, quote, "remain a few more days to optimize medical and rehabilitation therapy." Francis spoke from the balcony of his hospital suite on Sunday to deliver his weekly prayer in his first public appearance since the surgery.
➤REPORT..GOP'S TOP LAWYER WARNED AGAINST PUSHING FALSE STOLEN ELECTION CLAIMS: The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Republican Party’s top lawyer had warned in November against continuing to push false claims that the presidential election was stolen. Citing an email it obtained, the Post said Justin Riemer, the Republican National Committee's chief counsel, called efforts pushing election fraud claims by some of then-President Donald Trump's lawyers a "joke" that could mislead millions of people and were being "laughed out of court." The November 28th email from Riemer was sent to Liz Harrington, a former party spokeswoman. The Post cited sources as saying some Trump allies, including Rudy Giuliani, tried to get Riemer fired after learning about the email. He still works for the RNC.
➤CYCLIST DIES THREE WEEKS AFTER MAN DROVE INTO RACERS: A 58-year-old cyclist has died three weeks after a pickup driver plowed into a bicycle race in Arizona, injuring several cyclists. Tucson.com reports that Jeremy Barrett had been improving, but suffered a stoke in recent days and deteriorated, with AZ Cycling saying he died Saturday night. The 36-year-old suspect, Shawn Michael Chock, who was shot by police after he allegedly fled the scene, has been charged so far with nine counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, as well as fleeing an accident and unlawful flight. More charges are now expected. He pled not guilty.
➤PEOPLE'S DREAMS ARE CHANGING: The fear and upheaval of our lives caused by the pandemic led many people to have nightmares during the worst of it, and now that we're starting to emerge from the pandemic, with vaccines widely available in the U.S. and many other nations to protect ourselves, people's dreams are changing. CNN spoke to psychologist Deirdre Barrett, an assistant psychology professor at Harvard Medical School, who's been collecting information about our dreams and nightmares since the pandemic sent the world into lockdown. She's collected more than 14,000 dreams, two-thirds of them from the U.S. Unsurprisingly, many of the dreams during the worst of the pandemic revolved around the fear of death, with the virus represented in others by an invasive predator, often insects. People would also dream that they were outside without their mask, whether having forgotten it or it fell off or it was disintegrating, or they were around others without masks, and in these dreams they'd try to get away from others because of fear of being infected. Barrett said dreams began to be more positive last December when it was announced that the vaccines were highly effective and being given emergency use approval. People started having upbeat dreams like happily being in a crowded social situation doing something they like, such as dancing or being at a family reunion or being at a sporting event. Some people were still having mask dreams, but instead of having Covid fear, it was about shame or social embarrassment about what people would think about them for not having a mask, which she said it a more traditional social shame dream, like being someplace in public naked.
➤STUDY..AVERAGE PERSONS KEEPS TWO SECRETS FROM EVERYONE THEY KNOW: Whether you tend to be a private person or an open book, we all have some secrets, and a recent survey of 2,000 adults in the U.K. found that the average person has two secrets that they keep from everyone. The OnePoll survey for Sky HISTORY found that 20 percent are most likely to keep a secret from their mothers, 16 percent from their best friends, and 16 percent from their partners. The top secrets people said they keep from friends and family are about mental health issues, followed by embarrassing incidents that have happened to them and their internet history. In fourth place was eating/snacking habits followed by hygiene habits in fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were: number of past sex partners; bank/credit card statements; faking an illness in the past to avoid a commitment; affairs/infidelities; and one night stands.
➤COFFEE CONSUMPTION LINKED TO LOWER RISK OF COVID-19 INFECTION: If you enjoy coffee, go ahead and drink up. Northwestern University researchers found that consumption of at least one cup of regular coffee daily was associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 infection. After adjusting for factors like race, sex, age, and other factors like physical activity, BMI level, and history of certain medical conditions, researchers found “habitual consumption of 1 or more cups of coffee per day was associated with about a 10% decrease in risk of COVID-109 compared to less than 1 cup per day.” Coffee is known to contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and researchers say, “Coffee consumption favorably correlates with inflammatory biomarkers. Taken together, an immunoprotective effect of coffee against COVID-19 is plausible and merits further investigation.”
➤IS IT WRONG TO GO THROUGH YOUR PARTNER’S PHONE? EXPERTS EXPLAIN: It can be tempting to want to look at your partner’s phone, but you should generally resist the urge. Kurt Smith, who is a therapist who specializes in counseling men, says, “When people sneak a peek at their partner’s phone, it feeds secrecy and distrust into the relationship, both of which are likely to be the primary reasons the person is checking in the first place. So while this may seem, in the moment, as a good idea and justified, it only creates more of the problems that need to be resolved.” Dating and empowerment expert Laurel House adds, “If you’re looking for something inappropriate, you’ll find it. You can twist and mistake words and purposes. You can make assumptions and make up stories.” She also says, “[If] every time you see them on the phone, you wonder who they are communicating with or what they are looking at,” it could be your gut warning you that something is wrong, and you should talk to your partner about what you’re seeing and feeling. The experts say there is one time it’s ok to look through your partner’s phone, and that’s if you do so with permission, and if you’re doing so “to get over cheating when complete transparency is the purpose.”
⚾ALONSO REPEATS AS HOME RUN DERBY CHAMP: New York Mets first basemen Pete Alonso won the Home Run Derby last night for the second year in a row, declaring after his victory, "I’m the best power hitter on the planet." The only other players to win back-to-back derbies are Yoenis Cespedes and Ken Griffey Jr. Alonso hit 74 total home runs in the contest at Denver's Coors Field, the longest of them 514 feet, beating the Baltimore Orioles' Trey Mancini 23-22 in the final round. L.A. Angels star Shohei Ohtani, who's set to both start during the All-Star Game tonight and hit leadoff as DH for the American League, forced two tiebreakers with the Washington Nationals' Juan Soto before losing 31-28 in the second round.
⚾MLB COMMITS $100 MILLION TO HELP INCREASE BLACK BASEBALL PLAYERS: Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced before the Home Run Derby last night that MLB will give at least $100 million over 10 years to the Players Alliance, which was launched last year, and help raise an additional $50 million with the goal of increasing the number of Black young people playing baseball and eventually making it into the majors. Manfred said it would be MLB's largest charitable commitment.
🏒LIGHTNING'S STANLEY CUP WIN CELEBRATED WITH TAMPA BOAT PARADE: The Tampa Bay Lightning's second straight Stanley Cup championship was celebrated with a boat parade in Tampa Monday on the Hillsborough River. Thousands of fans turned out as players and coaches were carried on boats, and later a rally was held after the parade in a downtown park in rainy weather. The Stanley Cup suffered some damage in all the celebrating, and with the bowl getting dented, and it will have to be sent for repairs before the team gets it back.
🏀USA BASKETBALL LOSES TO AUSTRALIA, SECOND PRE-OLYMPICS LOSS: The U.S. men's basketball team lost to Australia 91-83 last night in the second loss for the three-time defending Olympic gold medalists before the Tokyo Olympics. So far, the U.S. has played two of five planned exhibitions leading up to the Olympics later this month and have lost both, defeated by Nigeria in the first game Saturday. Damian Lillard led with 22 points for the U.S. team, which is being coached by Gregg Popovich, Kevin Durant scored 17 and Bradley Beal had 12 points.
🏌JOHNSON TO MISS BRITISH OPEN AFTER TESTING POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS: U.S. golfer Zach Johnson will miss the British Open this weekend after testing positive for the coronavirus. The withdrawal ends a streak of playing in 69 consecutive majors, since 2004, for Johnson, who won the British Open in 2015. He is the latest of a number of players who've withdrawn, some of them also for coronavirus-related reasons. The British Open is returning after not being played last year due to the pandemic.
