Tuesday, April 27, 2021

And another day of strict voting bills, new guidelines, false claims, an ‘execution,’ CPS, more abortion bans, Title IX lawsuits, a fired CEO, gas stations running out of gas, and Toyota acquires self-driving technology comes to a close:

“When rights are considered privileges, only the privileged have rights.” -- Sarah Kendzior

Death

US: 587,384 (+773)

World: 3,148,781 (+15,277)

Cases

US: 32,927,091 (+52,046)

World: 149,328,858 (+855,974)

In his first 100 days, President Biden has signed 11 bills into law; 42 executive actions; and reversed 62 Trump-era executive orders. More key numbers from Biden's first 100 days:

Republicans in Florida's state senate passed a voting bill that imposes new restrictions on voting by mail and ballot drop boxes. A stricter version of the bill is still under consideration in the state House. —  None of this shit would be happening had Trump won and the GOP retained control of the Senate. The GOP is trying to stack the deck in their favor for future elections. We all lose when you vote Republican.

The CDC now says people who are fully vaccinated don't need to wear a mask when they're outdoors, unless they're in a crowd. The agency continues to recommend that everyone — including vaccinated people — avoid medium or large-sized gatherings. “If you are vaccinated, things are much safer for you," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday at a White House briefing. "If you are fully vaccinated and want to attend a small outdoor gathering — with people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated — or dine at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households, the science shows you can do so safely, unmasked."

Miami private school, citing false claims, tells vaccinated teachers they can't be around students. In the letter, Centner reportedly told employees that they would not be allowed to be around students if they received the coronavirus vaccine, pointing to reports she claimed that “surfaced recently of non-vaccinated people being negatively impacted by interacting with people who have been vaccinated. Even among our own population, we have at least three women with menstrual cycles impacted after having spent time with a vaccinated person.” — The disinformation war rages on. 

Women, people of color more likely to be financially worse off after pandemic year.

Independent autopsy shows deputies shot Andrew Brown Jr. 5 times with "kill shot" to the back of head, lawyers say.

Khalil Ferebee, the son of Andrew Brown Jr. who was fatally shot by deputies in North Carolina last week, said his father's death "was an execution" a day after viewing body camera footage.

FBI launching investigation into Andrew Brown shooting in NC.

Child Protective Services investigates half of all Black children in California. CPS investigators often need to make quick, high-stakes decisions about whether a home is safe and suitable for children, and the broad nature of neglect leaves such decisions rife with implicit bias. “Every single kind of social hierarchy and form of discrimination that you can think of plays into the child welfare system and identifies who are the families that are going to be split up,” said Roberts recently. “It’s racist. It’s sexist. It’s ableist. It’s classist.” Indeed, the disparities shown in the AJPH study went beyond race: Children born to adolescent moms and children receiving public insurance were among those far more likely to have CPS contact or experience family separation.

Montana bans abortions at 20 weeks. “Today we're taking action to protect the most vulnerable amongst us, the unborn -- we are celebrating life," the Republican said at the bill signing Monday, adding that he was "proud to sign three bills that will protect the lives of the unborn." — But they don’t give a shit about people once they’re born. The GOP is not “pro-life.” They are pro-birth. There is a huge difference.

The tiny American towns passing anti-abortion rules. In the last year, 23 Texas towns have declared themselves ‘sanctuary cities for the unborn’, making the procedure punishable, and in April, a Nebraska village became the 24th.

LSU facing Title IX lawsuit from multiple women claiming sexual discrimination, assault. The suit names as defendants the university itself as well as former athletic directors, team head coaches, presidents and various other staff members, alleging that LSU has “repeatedly engaged in discriminatory, retaliatory, and other unlawful actions” when students tried to report sexual assault, violating Title IX and the university’s own policies.

CEO fired after telling teen "you look like an idiot" for wearing dress to prom. -- The now former CEO is a hateful waste of flesh.

Coming this summer: Gas stations running out of gas. Not that there's a looming shortage of crude oil or gasoline. Rather, it's the tanker truck drivers needed to deliver the gas to stations who are in short supply.

CDC study says unsafe bedding leading cause of sudden unexpected infant death.

Toyota will acquire Lyft's self-driving technology unit for $550 million, the companies said, as the Japanese firm steps up its automation ambitions.

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the Washington coast would generate a tsunami capable of submerging not only coastal areas but also most of the Puget Sound shoreline with churning waves of seawater several feet high for up to 14 hours, says a new study.

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

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