Monday, April 11, 2022

And another day of killing civilians, joining NATO, ceding constitutional power to the executive branch, expanding abortion access, restoring mask mandates, Republicans attacking LGBTQ kids, and restrictions on ‘ghost guns’ comes to a close:

“Groomers is the new CRT, so what’s next?” -- Sari Beth Rosenberg

“Every time Republicans mention grooming they're projecting.” -- John Pavlovitz

Deaths

US: 1,012,461 (+310)

World: 6,205,888 (+2566)

Cases

US: 82,103,067 (+40,078)

World: 499,977,020 (+844,488)

Mariupol mayor says siege has killed more than 10K civilians. The mayor of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol said Monday that more than 10,000 civilians have died in the Russian siege of his city, and that the death toll could surpass 20,000, as weeks of attacks and privation leave the bodies of Mariupol’s people “carpeted through the streets.”

Ukraine's prosecutor general says the bodies of at least 1,200 civilians have been recovered around the capital, Kyiv. The office is also investigating possible war crimes.

Report: Sweden and Finland to join NATO over Ukraine invasion. Russia has repeatedly warned Finland against joining NATO. On March 12, Russia’s foreign ministry warned that “there will be serious military and political consequences” if Finland joins the alliance.

Florida lawmakers cave to DeSantis on redistricting and will defer to him with new map. Republican legislative leaders in Florida have given up trying to draw new congressional boundaries that can win Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature and, in an unprecedented move, announced Monday that they intend to essentially cede this constitutional power to the executive branch. -- DeSantis wants to be a dictator. He should never be president.

Maryland expands abortion access as lawmakers override Republican governor. Maryland has become the 15th US state to allow health professionals other than doctors to carry out abortions, as part of a bill expanding access to reproductive rights for women. Under the new law, midwives, senior nurses and trained doctor’s assistants will be authorised to perform medical abortions from 1 July. The bill also directs the state to ring-fence $3.5m a year for abortion-care training.

The Gridiron Club superspreader event shows we can't just go back to normal. Whether or not anyone falls seriously ill from a Covid case picked up at the soiree, the incident is a reminder that the coronavirus is still very much with us. As Times opinion writer Sarah Wildman noted in a Saturday column, “estimates suggest about 3 percent to 4 percent of Americans are immunosuppressed,” and thus remain vulnerable to serious illness from an exposure to the virus.  Their number includes Wildman’s teenage daughter, a cancer survivor. Maybe Biden was right that Covid should no longer dominate our lives. But that shouldn’t mean reestablishing the pre-pandemic status quo. “Returning to what once was is not possible for all; we need, instead, a new normal, one that recognizes that everyone deserves the chance to participate in daily life,” Wildman wrote. “In practical terms that could mean, say, that the family of a child undergoing chemotherapy might ask her classmates and teachers to don masks to protect her against Covid (and other diseases like flu), without having to sue the school to comply.”

Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate as cases rise. Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen more than 50% in 10 days, the threshold at which the city’s guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors.

Florida's not alone — 19 other states eye LGBTQ school bills. “The truth is, this has never been about Florida,” said Brandon Wolf, the press secretary for the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida, which sued DeSantis over the law last month. “It’s never been about one state but rather a policy objective from the furthest right wing of the Republican Party to try to roll back civil liberties and progress through fear and manipulation of their base.” He added, “You can, I think, imagine that we’re staring down a national ‘Don’t Say Gay’ debate if we’re not successful in pushing back against it here in Florida.”

Biden finalizes restrictions on 'ghost guns,' names new ATF nominee. President Joe Biden on Monday announced new restrictions on homemade guns known as “ghost guns,” as well as a new nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk won’t join Twitter’s board after all. “Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective on 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he would not be joining the board,” Agrawal wrote in a reposted note originally sent to Tesla employees. “I believe this is for the best.”

Your personality can protect or age your brain, study finds. Being more conscientious and extroverted keeps mild cognitive impairment at bay longer, while having higher levels of neuroticism increases the chances of cognitive decline, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

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

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