Wednesday, October 20, 2021

And another day of plans, boosters, blocks, contempt, Manchin’s support, Brazil, Russia, Seville, coal, parents suing DOJ, protests, abusive youth facilities, abandoning free community college, Vikings, and pig-to-human transplants comes to a close:

“I read the news today, oh boy.” -- John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Deaths

US: 751,692 (+5277 over two days)

World: 4,937,410 (+82,967 over two days)

Cases

US: 46,082,070 (+161,693 over two days)

World: 242,786,366 (+909,589 over two days)

White House details plans to vaccinate 28M children age 5-11. Children ages 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school, the White House said Wednesday as it detailed plans for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for elementary school youngsters in a matter of weeks. Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the safety and effectiveness of giving low-dose shots to the roughly 28 million children in that age group.

FDA authorizes booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, says mix and match OK. The FDA gave emergency use authorization for boosters of Moderna's vaccine for people fully vaccinated at least six months ago who are also at least 65, or who are at least 18 and who are at high risk of severe Covid-19 or have frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Senate GOP again blocks Democrats’ election bill. For the third time this year, Senate Democrats on Wednesday tried to pass sweeping elections legislation that they tout as a powerful counterweight to new voting restrictions sweeping conservative-controlled states. Once again, Republicans blocked them. But amid the ongoing stalemate, there are signs that Democrats are making headway in their effort to create consensus around changing Senate procedural rules, a key step that could allow them to muscle transformative legislation through the narrowly divided chamber.

Jan. 6 panel votes to hold Steve Bannon in contempt. The Tuesday evening vote sends the contempt resolution to the full House, which is expected to vote on the measure Thursday. House approval would send the matter to the Justice Department, which would then decide whether to pursue criminal charges against Bannon.

Scrutiny grows of Joe Manchin’s steady stream of support from oil, gas and coal. In the current electoral cycle, Manchin has received more in political donations from the oil and gas industry than any other senator, more than double the second largest recipient. He is also the No 1 beneficiary of donations from the coal mining sector, leads the way in money accepted from gas pipeline operators, and is sixth in the ranking of senatorial donations from electricity utilities. This industry largesse has led to accusations that the senator has been unduly influenced by the companies that have helped stoke the climate crisis. — Check out the graphic. Ugh.

NYC requiring vaccine for cops, firefighters, city workers. New York City will require its entire municipal workforce to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, an ultimatum that ensures a fight with some unions representing employees, including police officers and firefighters, who have refused the shots. The Democrat gave approximately 46,000 unvaccinated city employees until Nov. 1 to get their first vaccine dose, and he offered an incentive: City workers who get a shot by Oct. 29 at a city-run vaccination site will get an extra $500 in their paycheck.

Senate report urges charging Brazil’s leader over pandemic. A Brazilian Senate report recommended Wednesday pursuing crimes against humanity and other charges against President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly bungling Brazil’s response to COVID-19 and contributing to the country having the world’s second-highest pandemic death toll.

Russians to stay off work for a week as virus deaths rise. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered most Russians to stay off work for a week starting later this month amid rising COVID-19 infections and deaths, and he strongly urged reluctant citizens to get vaccinated.

Americans are on track to use more coal this year — the first time since 2014.

Seville becomes the first major city in the world to categorize and name heat waves. The Spanish city of Seville is set to become the first major city in the world to start naming and categorizing heat waves — the same way tropical storms and hurricanes are named in other parts of the world.

Extreme heat in cities a growing problem as climate warms, study finds. As more people move to cities and the climate warms, extreme heat could harm and kill more people, reduce worker productivity and hurt economies, the study says. The urban poor are most at risk.

Parents in Michigan, Virginia sue DOJ over response to school board threats. A lawsuit accuses Attorney General Merrick Garland of trying to criminalize free speech by ordering a review of threats made against school personnel. A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington on behalf of several parents by the American Freedom Law Center, a conservative public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, says Garland is attempting to stifle free speech when he announced this month that he is directing federal authorities to address a rise in threats against school board members and educators at public schools across the country.

Racism declared a public health crisis by NYC Board of Health. The resolution calls on the NYC Health Department to expand that work to develop a “racially just recovery from COVID-19 and other actions – including resource allocation – to address this public health crisis in the short and long-term.”

A Black girl was arrested at school in Hawaii over a drawing that upset a parent. In January 2020, a parent called the Honowai Elementary School in Honolulu to complain about the drawing made by the girl and demanded the staff call police, the ACLU said. When police arrived, the girl, who was only identified as "N.B," was "handcuffed with excessive force and taken to the police station," the ACLU said...In the letter, the ACLU said the girl had "allegedly participated in drawing an offensive sketch of a student in response to that student bullying her."

The gang that kidnapped a group of 17 American and Canadian missionaries in Haiti has asked for $1 million each for their release, a top Haitian official said. The 16 American citizens and one Canadian were kidnapped by the powerful "400 Mawozo" gang on Saturday after visiting an orphanage in Croix-des-Bouquets, a northeast suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince, officials said over the weekend.

Netflix Protest Rally Draws Hundreds as Staffers Lead Walkout Over Chappelle Special. The Wednesday rally coincides with a walkout organized by trans staffers at the streamer and allies to protest Ted Sarandos' handling of the comedian's special and other potentially harmful content.

Paris Hilton pushes for bill to crack down on abusive youth facilities. A group of congressional Democrats said Wednesday that they plan to work with Paris Hilton to create new regulations to prevent the abuse of children in facilities for troubled teens. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said he is drafting legislation that would give children in youth facilities the right to call their parents, be free from restraints, and have access to clean drinking water and nutritional meals — none of which is currently ensured for thousands of children in these facilities nationwide..."There are thousands of these types of schools, and there is almost 200,000 children every year put into these places," Hilton said. "And every day, children are being physically, emotionally, verbally, psychologically and sexually abused."

Bolsonaro's veto on free menstrual products sparks outrage. Brazilian women are mobilizing against President Jair Bolsonaro. And this time, they could end up having their way on an issue that the president is anything but comfortable with — menstruation. On October 6, Bolsonaro vetoed a bill to combat so-called period poverty, which occurs when people cannot afford or access necessary menstrual products. His move sparked an outcry in Brazil. Ever since, the country has seen furious debate over whether sanitary pads and tampons should be provided free of charge to girls in state-run schools. But the veto could be overturned by Brazil's Congress in early November. The draft bill had been passed by the Brazilian Parliament in August and by a large majority in the Senate in September.

Democrats abandon free community college as White House warns social safety net bill will shrink below $2T. President Joe Biden told progressive lawmakers Tuesday that the final social spending bill is expected to drop tuition-free community college and curtail the child tax credit program, two sources familiar with the meeting said. -- The goal of many in Washington is to keep poor people poor.

Bitcoin tops $66,000, sets record as crypto goes mainstream. The surge has come as more businesses, professional investors and even the government of El Salvador buy into Bitcoin, further broadening its base beyond its initial core of fanatics.

Facebook is planning to rebrand the company with a new name. Mark Zuckerberg wants to be known for building the metaverse.

In tree rings and radioactive carbon, signs of the Vikings in North America. Wood at a settlement in Canada's Newfoundland that was cut with metal tools helped researchers pinpoint when the Norse first reached the continent — well before Columbus. Vikings from Greenland — the first Europeans to arrive in the Americas — lived in a village in Canada’s Newfoundland exactly 1,000 years ago, according to research published Wednesday.

Pig-to-human transplants come a step closer with new test. Scientists temporarily attached a pig’s kidney to a human body and watched it begin to work, a small step in the decades-long quest to one day use animal organs for life-saving transplants.

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

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