Tuesday, August 3, 2021

And another day of sexual harassment, delta and kids, DeSantis endangering Floridians, eviction moratoriums, vax proof for dining and gyms, the ACA and disabilities, out athletes and endorsements, melting ice, law school, and a digital map for 750 million years comes to a close:

"We, the investigators appointed to conduct an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, conclude that the Governor engaged in conduct constituting sexual harassment under federal and New York State law." -- Investigators in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office

Deaths

US: 630,497 (+635)

World: 4,258,670 (+9784)

Cases

US: 36,049,015 (+153,035)

World: 200,258,271 (+663,232)

Cuomo urged to resign after probe finds he harassed 11 women. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced mounting pressure Tuesday to resign, including from President Joe Biden and other onetime Democratic allies, after an investigation found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.

Here are six takeaways from an investigation launched by New York Attorney General Letitia James that concluded Governor Andrew Cuomo broke federal and state laws by sexually harassing women who worked for him.

New details emerge about how CNN anchor Chris Cuomo advised New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo amid sex harassment inquiry.

What should I know about the delta variant? It’s the most contagious coronavirus mutant so far in the pandemic, but COVID-19 vaccines still provide strong protection against it. Nearly all hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated.

Covid-19 cases among US children and teens jumped 84% in a week, pediatrician group says. The report comes as schools have just started or will soon start, with some requiring no masks or social distancing, and as cases in many parts of the country are surging and hospitalizations at levels not seen in months.

DeSantis won’t move on masks as Florida COVID wards swell. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday downplayed a spike in COVID-19 cases that’s shattered state hospitalization records and strongly reiterated his vow not to impose a mask mandate or any business restrictions.

A Florida school district has dropped its mask mandate for schools after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an executive order that would cut off funding to schools that did so. -- Republicans are literally trying to kill your kids.

White House calls on states to prevent evictions. The White House moved Monday to pressure state and local governments to swiftly adopt policies to protect renters after an eviction moratorium expired over the weekend, potentially pushing millions of Americans out of their homes.

CDC announces limited, targeted eviction moratorium until early October. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a fresh stop on certain evictions Tuesday, saying that evicting people could be detrimental to public health and would interfere with efforts to slow the pandemic.

Grocery stores around the country are once again updating their policies on facial coverings.

NYC will require vaccination proof for indoor dining, gyms. New York City will soon require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, see a performance or go to the gym, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday, making it the first big city in the U.S. to impose such restrictions.

How Obamacare Helped Americans With Disabilities. However, there’s a long ways to go. Nearly 10 years after the ACA’s passage, the report found that adults with disabilities were still 5% less likely to have insurance for the whole year than adults without disabilities, 17% more likely to be uninsured for the entire year, and 54% more likely to be insured for part of the year. If you combine their rates of being uninsured for the whole year (9.3%) and part of the year (9.5%) in 2017-2018, consistent health insurance coverage remained out of reach for nearly 1 in 5 disabled adults.

A federal judge Tuesday blocked Texas from allowing state troopers to stop vehicles carrying migrants on the grounds that they may spread COVID-19 as worries and new cases are rising along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Garth Brooks reassesses touring during pandemic. Country music star Garth Brooks says he is reassessing whether to continue his stadium tour in light of the rising number of coronavirus cases across the country. Brooks says in a statement that while he is scheduled to play the next two tour stops in Kansas City, Missouri, and Lincoln, Nebraska, he will not put tickets on sale for the next planned stop in Seattle.

From ‘kiss of death’ to competitive edge: Out athletes finally score big endorsements. In fact, being  gay might even be an edge for athletes seeking endorsements from companies looking to appeal to younger consumers.

Melting ice imperils 98% of Emperor penguin colonies by 2100. With climate change threatening the sea ice habitat of Emperor penguins, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday announced a proposal to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Waves of sharks swim into Florida canal to flee toxic red tide.

Officials are closing some areas on the south shore of Lake Tahoe after some chipmunks tested positive for plague.

Law school applicants surge 13%, biggest increase since dot-com bubble. Experts attribute the crush of applications to a number of factors, particularly the slowdown in the entry-level job market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Law school and other graduate programs historically become more popular when jobs are tougher to come by in slow economies. Law school applicants shot up nearly 18% in 2002, amid the bursting of the so-called dot-com bubble. The number of people applying also climbed nearly 4% in 2009, amid the Great Recession.

Digital map shows where your hometown was when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. A digital map of the Earth goes back 750 million years — just a fraction of the 4.5 billion years the planet is estimated to be of age — even before the Cryogenian Period, when glaciers were thought to cover the entire planet. You can jump back to see what the Earth looked like when the first green algae, coral reefs, land animals and dinosaurs appeared on Earth — all the way through when the last dinosaur went extinct.

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

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