Friday, August 6, 2021

And another day of cases, mandates, firings, distrust, ending friendships, going to Canada, the attempted coup, GA uses new voter suppression law, DeJoy’s plan moves forward, ‘dead zones,’ trading cards, and another Einstein prediction proves true comes to a close:

“I'm glad we no longer live in a country where lunatics are advising the president.” — Aaron Rupar

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’” -- Isaac Asimov

Deaths

US: 632,641 (+762)

World: 4,290,425 (+10,101)

Cases

US: 36,447,123 (+145,379)

World: 202,402,184 (+705,525)

Tokyo reported 5,042 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, its most since the pandemic began as infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics.

Potential military vaccine mandate brings distrust, support. “A lot of U.S. troops have reached out to us saying, ‘I don’t want a vaccine that’s untested, I’m not sure it’s safe, and I don’t trust the government’s vaccine. What are my rights?’” Rinckey said. Generally, their rights are limited since vaccines are widely seen as essential for the military to carry out its missions, given that service members often eat, sleep and work in close quarters. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said he is working expeditiously to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for military personnel and is expected to ask Biden to waive a federal law that requires individuals be given a choice if the vaccine is not fully licensed. Biden has also directed that all federal workers be vaccinated or face frequent testing and travel restrictions.

CNN fires unvaccinated employees for going to office. US news network CNN has sacked three employees for going into an office without having been vaccinated against Covid, US media say. It is one of the first examples of a US firm firing staff for breaching a company vaccination mandate. It is legal in the US for firms to require employees to be vaccinated.

Starting Monday, Amazon will be requiring all of its 900,000 U.S. warehouse workers to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status.

My brother is one of millions who won't get the COVID-19 vaccine. I asked why. Here are his reasons, my responses. Those against the shot are adamant in their beliefs…And that, in the end, is his biggest problem. Trust. — There is a lot wrong with every one of his reasons. Particularly that his “belief” is better than scientific knowledge and facts. It’s all just so sad.

Television ads persuading people to get vaccinated have declined sharply, according to a new analysis of national advertising data. Advertising experts say they are no longer working to influence the unvaccinated.

Contact tracing not required in Texas public schools when students test positive.

New polls show large number of Americans have ended friendships over COVID-19 — and larger number know someone who has died. When asked if they had lost friendships over COVID-19 disagreements, however, 68 percent said they had not. But 20 percent indicated that the pandemic disputes led to failed relationships — 11 percent did not know.

Canada will allow fully vaccinated Americans across its border starting Aug. 9, but there are several steps people need to take before traveling.

The full picture of Trump's attempted coup is only starting to emerge. Woven together, they show that Trump's assault on democracy, which looks more and more like an attempted coup, was even more reckless and insistent than previously thought.

Georgia Republicans didn’t waste any time in using their new voter suppression law. Republicans have begun a legal process that could allow them to disenfranchise much of Atlanta.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) expels Belarus coaches over Krystsina Tsimanouskaya's removal from Tokyo 2020.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's plan to slow delivery of first-class mail is moving forward despite objections from newly-confirmed members of the U.S. Postal Service's Board of Governors.

“People do not trust that Facebook is a healthy ecosystem.” But Facebook’s effective shutdown of the Ad Observatory raises larger questions about whether the company is trying to limit outside interrogation of the company’s business practices in the name of protecting its users’ privacy. At the same time, the social media network has good reason to be worried about privacy as it faces intense regulatory scrutiny for past missteps that led to it having to pay the largest penalty ever imposed by the Federal Trade Commission.

Scientists make shocking discovery of "dead zones" where nothing can live on two US coasts. Scientists surveying the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico discovered a “dead-zone” — where low oxygen levels make the area inhospitable to fish —  “equivalent to more than four million acres of habitat.”…Dead zones develop when “excess nutrients” from cities and farms drain —”runoff” — into the water, decaying algae and eventually making the area uninhabitable for most marine life.

For the first time, scientists have detected light from behind a black hole, and it fulfills a prediction rooted in Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Trading cards are big business now. Blame the adults. Pokémon cards, baseball cards, even Magic: The Gathering cards can all be worth thousands.

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

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