Thursday, December 16, 2021

And another day of recommendations, worried experts, the flu virus, not being ready for what’s coming next, the abortion pill, poison in the air, schools concerned about threats made on TikTok, online privacy, water on Mars, and calculating ‘dog years’ comes to a close:

“We’re fans of yours, as you know” — Tucker Carlson to a kid whose claim to fame is killing two people (Disgusting)

Deaths

US: 824,520 (+1130)

World: 5,352,685 (+7293)

Cases

US: 51,435,652 (+144,673)

World: 273,220,729 (+751,050)

A panel of CDC advisers recommends narrowing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to concerns about rare blood clots.

Few cities and states in the U.S. still have active mask mandates, even as COVID-19 cases spike across the country. That has public health experts worried.

First UK patients given take-at-home Covid pill. Molnupiravir will be tested on 10,000 people at risk of serious illness in research led by Oxford University.

Flu vaccines don't match the main circulating flu virus strain, researchers find. One of the main circulating influenza viruses has changed and the current flu vaccines don't match it well any more -- an indication they may not do much to prevent infection, researchers reported Thursday. But they are still likely to prevent severe illness.

Party of Freedom Pushes Bill to Let People Sue Schools for Teaching Things They Don't Like. Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis continued his crusade against critical race theory (CRT) on Wednesday when he unveiled the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, legislation that would allow parents to sue school districts if they believe their children are being taught CRT concepts. — To Republicans, freedom applies only to things they approve of. 

The country is not ready for what's coming next from the Supreme Court. Individual justices themselves say it. The court's message to the country in recent months has smacked of politics. Most conspicuously, the justices have repeatedly rejected requests to prevent a Texas abortion law that outright conflicts with women's constitutional rights under the 1973 Roe v. Wade. The remade conservative majority also appears ready to strike down New York gun control regulations and require state aid for religious schools in Maine.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday called for the US Supreme Court to be expanded with more justices and said that the current court "threatens the democratic foundations of our nation."

Dozens of criminal cases thrown out over police officers' racist and homophobic texts. At least 85 criminal cases in Torrance, California, have been dismissed over racist and homophobic text messages shared by police officers. The texts, sent by current and former officers at the Torrance Police Department in Los Angeles, contained slurs and hateful messages about Black people, Jewish people and members of the LGBT+ community. — Back the Blue? Hmph. They should not be universally backed. 

US regulators lift in-person restrictions on abortion pill. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday permanently removed a major obstacle for women seeking abortion pills, eliminating a long-standing requirement that they pick up the medication in person. Millions of American women will now be able to get a prescription via an online consultation and receive the pills through the mail. FDA officials said a scientific review supported broadening access, including no longer limiting dispensing to a small number of specialty clinics and doctor’s offices.

Poison in the Air. The EPA allows polluters to turn neighborhoods into “sacrifice zones” where residents breathe carcinogens. ProPublica reveals where these places are in a first-of-its-kind map and data analysis. Our analysis found that ethylene oxide is the biggest contributor to excess industrial cancer risk from air pollutants nationwide. Corporations across the United States, but especially in Texas and Louisiana, manufacture the colorless, odorless gas, which lingers in the air for months and is highly mutagenic, meaning it can alter DNA.

U.S. records most hurricane-force gusts in a single day. More than 55 gusts of above 75mph (121kph) were recorded across a number of mostly Midwestern states, the NWS Storm Prediction Center said in a tweet, citing data up to 10:00 p.m. Central Time. The Center also registered 19 tornadoes.

Schools step up security in response to threats on TikTok. Educators announced plans to increase security in response to TikTok posts warning of shooting and bomb threats at schools around the country Friday as officials assured parents the viral posts were not considered credible.

DuckDuckGo’s Quest to Prove Online Privacy Is Possible. The company best known for its search engine is launching a new set of tools aimed at creating an “easy button” for protecting your data online.

Science Finds a Better Way to Calculate 'Dog Years'. Anyone who has ever owned a pet is likely familiar with the concept of “dog years,” which suggests that one year for a dog is like seven years for a human…If that seems rather arbitrary, that’s because it is. But now, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have come to a more data-based measurement on dog aging through DNA…Their recommended formula for comparing dog and human aging? Multiply the natural logarithm of a dog’s age by 16, then add 31.

'Significant amounts of water' found in Mars' massive version of the Grand Canyon. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, launched in 2016 as a joint mission between the European Space Agency and Roscosmos, detected the water in Valles Marineris on Mars. This canyon system is 10 times longer, five times deeper and 20 times wider than the Grand Canyon.

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

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