Thursday, May 13, 2021

And another day no masks, open schools, refusing shots, pleading guilty, verbal assaults, consequential midterms, inching toward war, another shooting, panic buying houses, pay increases, and ‘forever chemicals’ in breast milk comes to a close:

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Deaths

US: 598,540 (+755)

World: 3,358,489 (+13,471)

Cases

US: 33,626,097 (+39,961)

World: 161,824,477 (+743,861)

The CDC embraces the power of the vaccines. “The science is clear: If you are fully vaccinated, you are protected, and you can start doing the things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic,” the CDC said in a statement.

Fauci says school should be open "full blast" five days a week in the fall.

Over a quarter of EU adults would refuse COVID-19 shot, survey says. The results also suggested a strong link between vaccine hesitancy and the use of social media, particularly where social media is the main source of information, according to Eurofound which carried out the survey.

New York Yankees say 7 vaccinated members tested positive for Covid-19. Here's how that could happen. -- And yes, if you are not vaccinated yet, you still need to be. Get it done now.

Gaetz ally plans to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors. As part of the deal, Joel Greenberg will cooperate with investigators in a wide-ranging probe, according to one source familiar with the matter. For months, federal investigators have been examining whether Gaetz broke federal sex trafficking, prostitution and public corruption laws and whether he had sex with a minor.

Pelosi denounces Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'verbal assault' on AOC, says it may require ethics investigation. Two reporters from The Washington Post saw Greene yell at Ocasio-Cortez when they left the House chamber on Wednesday. -- Marjorie Taylor Greene is a bully. She’s always been a bully. The Republican Party is insane.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office is calling on top lawmakers to ensure that Congress remains “a safe, civil place" for members and staff after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly accosted her and accused her of supporting “terrorists.”

The Republican Party just showed its real face and it's uglier than we thought. With more tools at their disposal than ever before to overturn democracy and a Cheney ousting proof of its hardening narrative, the GOP has become an existential threat. The 2022 midterms just became incredibly consequential.

Israel threatens Gaza ground invasion despite truce efforts. Israel on Thursday said it was massing troops along the Gaza frontier and calling up 9,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory, as the two bitter enemies plunged closer to all-out war. Egyptian mediators rushed to Israel for cease-fire efforts but showed no signs of progress.

Nine people have been wounded during a shooting in Rhode Island’s capital in what police there believe to be the largest shooting in city history.

People are panic buying homes as prices skyrocket around the world. In one staggering example of how frenzied the market has become, realtor Ellen Coleman received 76 all-cash offers on a $275,000 fixer-upper in suburban Washington D.C. within three days of listing the property. The four-bedroom, 1,800 square-foot home sold for $460,000, a 70% increase on the asking price.

Desperate for workers, US restaurants and stores raise pay. U.S. restaurants and stores are rapidly raising pay in an urgent effort to attract more applicants and keep up with a flood of customers as the pandemic eases. McDonald’s, Sheetz and Chipotle are just some of the latest companies to follow Amazon, Walmart and Costco in boosting wages, in some cases to $15 an hour or higher.

An outbreak of dangerous toxin-producing E. coli appears to be spreading in Washington state, and health officials say it may be linked to fresh produce.

Study finds alarming levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in US mothers’ breast milk. A new study that checked American women’s breast milk for PFAS contamination detected the toxic chemical in all 50 samples tested, and at levels nearly 2,000 times higher than the level some public health advocates advise is safe for drinking water. The findings “are cause for concern” and highlight a potential threat to newborns’ health, the study’s authors say.

College students who were at risk for failing and who spent more time with therapy dogs over the course of a four-week academic stress management program were more likely to experience improvements in their executive functioning skills, such as time management and coping techniques, than students who spent less time interacting with the dogs.

Target will temporarily stop selling Pokémon and sports trading cards in stores due to safety concerns. Target has announced that it will temporarily stop selling trading cards -- of both the sports and Pokémon variety -- in stores following a recent violent dispute at one of its locations. Last week, a Target in Wisconsin was locked down after a man was physically assaulted by four others over sports trading cards.

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

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