Saturday, February 20, 2021

And another day of raising money, outrageous energy bills, people with disabilities getting vaccinated, bird flu case reported, making it harder to vote by mail, lewd comments, new legislation, new breast cancer treatment, and more comes to a close:

“There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.” -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Deaths

US: 509,875 (+2129)

World: 2,472,298 (+8730)

Cases

US: 28,706,473 (+106,660)

World: 111,648,903 (+405,533)

Biden approves Texas disaster declaration following deadly freeze.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez raises more than $3,000,000 for relief efforts in Texas as of Friday afternoon before traveling to Houston to help in the recovery effort. “Charity isn’t always a replacement for good governance, but we won’t turn away from helping people in need when things hit the fan,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. — And some will still find a way to hate her even more because of it.

Texas officials are investigating outrageous energy bills in storm price surge.

Detroit's Covid vaccination queue is one of first to include people with ADHD, other disabilities. While most Covid-19 vaccination clinics around the country are focused primarily on first responders, essential workers and seniors, the city of Detroit is now offering shots to residents who haven’t made vaccination priority lists almost anywhere else in the country. Among them: Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, vision or hearing impairments, and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.

First human case of H5N8 bird flu reported in Russia. “It is not transmitted from person to person. But only time will tell how soon future mutations will allow it to overcome this barrier,” she said, according to the news outlet. “The discovery of this strain now gives us all, the whole world, time to prepare for possible mutations and the possibility to react in a timely way and develop test systems and vaccines.”

Feds probing Roger Stone, Alex Jones over roles in Capitol riot. Charges were unlikely for Stone and Jones, but investigators want a broad view of who might have instigated the violence.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, wants to make it harder to vote by mail after a record number of the state's residents utilized the voting method during last year's election. — Republicans can’t win any other way.

Twitter users mocked Rep. Lauren Boebert over a tweet in which she argued that defending the U.S. Constitution “doesn’t mean trying to rewrite the parts you don’t like.” — Ugh. Just, ugh.

A 95-year-old Tennessee man has been deported to Germany for his role in guarding a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.

Golfer Michelle Wie West slams Rudy Giuliani for lewd comments about her putting stance. "What should be discussed is the elite skill level that women play at, not what we wear or look like." Wie said. 

School board resigns after swearing and joking about parents in virtual meeting. Members of the Oakley Union elementary school board in California were unaware that parents could see and hear them.

New legislation would protect drivers who hit protestors. Now, Republican politicians across the country are moving to stop the road-blocking maneuver, proposing increased penalties for demonstrators who run onto highways and legal immunity for drivers who hit them.

New Breast Cancer Treatment Freezes Cells & May Spare Surgery. The freezing process takes less than an hour and is not as invasive as biopsies and it doesn’t change the shape of the breast like a lumpectomy.  Another big plus is that the patient gets to go home without being hospitalized and most of the trial participants were actually able to resume normal activities within 48 hours.

Enrollment at US community colleges plummets amid pandemic.

Twitch dubbed Metallica's BlizzCon performance to avoid a copyright claim.

Pandemic makes prostitution taboo in Nevada’s legal brothels. Before the coronavirus pandemic, tourist-dependent Nevada had a notorious attraction: It was the only place in America where someone could legally pay for sex. These days, even in the state known for sin, the business is taboo.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.