Wednesday, October 6, 2021

And another day of not making sense, suspensions, desperation, waning immunity, strict mandates, the malaria vaccine, OAN funded by AT&T, a TX HS shooting, strikes, the student loan crisis, and adolescent attachment security comes to a close:

“The collective amnesia of the GOP over what they did during the Trump administration is quite remarkable.” — Victoria Brownworth

Deaths

US: 727,274 (+2546)

World: 4,839,420 (+7816)

Cases

US: 44,913,970 (+132,770)

World: 237049291 (+455,638)

Mark Zuckerberg's Latest Defense of Facebook Doesn't Make Any Sense. Zuck asks why he'd want Facebook users to be angry in the same way Big Tobacco asked in the 1990s why they'd harm their customers. Mark Zuckerberg is making the same arguments that Big Tobacco made in the last decade of the 20th century. Billions of people loved and continue to love smoking tobacco. But it doesn’t mean it’s good for them.

A federal judge has ordered Texas to suspend the nation’s most restrictive abortion law, which banned most abortions statewide. The state is expected to appeal. But even with the law on hold, abortion services in Texas may not instantly resume because doctors still fear that they could be sued without a more permanent legal decision.

I’m an abortion doctor in Texas. My patients are desperate. Just as predicted, poor women and victims of sexual assault and abuse are suffering most under Texas’s draconian new law. — Which, of course, was the Republican plan all along.

While US summer surge is waning, more mandates in the works. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are coming down again, hospitalizations are dropping, and new cases per day are about to dip below 100,000 for the first time in two months — all signs that the summer surge is waning. Not wanting to lose momentum, government leaders and employers are looking to strengthen and vaccine requirements.

Studies confirm waning immunity from Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine. Two real-world studies published Wednesday confirm that the immune protection offered by two doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine drops off after two months or so, although protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death remains strong.

Los Angeles OKs one of strictest US vaccination mandates. Los Angeles leaders on Wednesday approved one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates — a sweeping measure that requires the shots for everyone entering bars, restaurants, nail salons, gyms or even a Lakers game.

Study reveals why some people get Covid toe condition. It can happen at any age, but affects children and teenagers more commonly. For some it is painless, but the rash can be extremely sore and itchy, with tender blisters and swelling.

Flush with COVID-19 aid, schools steer funding to sports. One Wisconsin school district built a new football field. In Iowa, a high school weight room is getting a renovation. Another in Kentucky is replacing two outdoor tracks — all of this funded by the billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief Congress sent to schools this year. The money is part of a $123 billion infusion intended to help schools reopen and recover from the pandemic. But with few limits on how the funding can be spent, The Associated Press found that some districts have used large portions to cover athletics projects they couldn’t previously afford.

UN endorses world’s 1st malaria vaccine as ‘historic moment’. The World Health Organization on Wednesday endorsed the world’s first malaria vaccine and said it should be given to children across Africa in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease.

Far-Right Network One America News Was Almost Entirely Funded by AT&T, According to Court Records. One America News, the network for conservatives that have wriggled down the far-right rabbit hole so deep they think Fox News is anti-Donald Trump propaganda, is reportedly largely run on the dime of AT&T and its former subsidiary DirecTV.

Student taken into custody hours after Texas school shooting. An 18-year-old student opened fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school on Wednesday, injuring four people and then fleeing before being taken into custody hours later, authorities said.

Kellogg's workers go on strike at all U.S. cereal plants. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union said in a statement it's seeking a "fair contract" for workers in negotiations with the company after the previous one expired at midnight Monday.

A Texas teacher can't afford health insurance or buy a home. Here's why Black leaders say the student loan crisis is a civil rights issue. Montgomery, 30, is among millions of Black college graduates who face significant student loan debt that has prevented them from attaining the same financial freedom as many of their White counterparts. Some graduates, like Montgomery, say they are unable to continue their education after obtaining a bachelor's degree, purchase a home, open a business, start a family, or travel because monthly student loan payments are leaving them strapped for cash. It's an issue that experts say has compounded the nation's racial wealth gap in which the median net worth of a White family is $188,200 compared to $24,100 for a Black family.

Instagram and teens: How to keep your kids safe. For many parents, revelations this week from whistleblower Frances Haugen showing internal Facebook studies of the harms of Instagram for teenagers only intensified concerns about the popular photo sharing app.

Largest human trafficking sting in Ohio history nets 161, including city councilman. A firefighter, college professor and a Cleveland-area city councilman were among 161 people arrested in a sex sting operation last week, described as the state's largest focused on human trafficking.

Adolescents’ attachment security predicts their engagement in prosocial and health protective behaviors during the pandemic. “By supporting our adolescents, we may engage our strongest allies, not only in the ongoing fight to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in future efforts to negotiate threats to public health and well-being.”

Tina Turner has sold the rights to her music catalog spanning six decades — including songs "What's Love Got to Do With It" and "The Best" — to music publishing company BMG.

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

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