And another day of the ‘worst variant,’ boosters, a doctor’s legal team, disturbed Republicans, global inflation, LGBTQ harassment on social media, the US prison slave labor, wildfires, ads, and UFOs comes to a close:
“The sound of children screaming has been removed." — Uvalde video
Deaths
US: 1,047,794 (+1181)
World: 6,379,368 (+2657)
Cases
US: 90,909,760 (+226,537)
World: 563,951,0695 (+1,104,251)
The ‘worst variant’ is here. Nearly two-and-a-half years since the coronavirus pandemic began, the most infectious and transmissible variant yet has arrived. Repeated Covid-19 waves have left millions of people dead, with only vaccines helping to blunt the toll. Now the virus is spreading again — evolving, escaping immunity and driving an uptick in cases and hospitalizations. The latest version of its shape-shifting, BA.5, is a clear sign that the pandemic is far from over.
Officials urge Americans over 50 to get Covid-19 booster right away, but younger adults have to wait. The White House’s Covid-19 response team sent a clear message to the nation this week on the spread of the Omicron subvariant BA.5 and the importance of second vaccine booster doses for adults over the age of 50. “If you have not gotten a vaccine shot in the year 2022, if you have not gotten one this year, please go get another vaccine shot,” response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Tuesday. “It could save your life.”
US officials working on a plan to allow second Covid-19 boosters for all adults. US health officials are urgently working on a plan to allow second Covid-19 boosters for all adults, a senior White House official confirmed to CNN on Monday. The US Food and Drug Administration is making it a high priority, the official said.
Something in the water: Wastewater programs track COVID variants in Missouri flushes. As fewer people are getting tested for the coronavirus, sewer shed surveillance remains one of the most accurate ways to show the virus still exists in the community...When someone is infected with the virus, traces are left in their feces. The samples aren’t contagious, but they are useful. Regular testing can show if the virus is spreading in the community and identify new dangerous strains.
Now hovering in the background during a risky pregnancy: The doctor's legal team. Physicians in states with new abortion bans are leaning heavily on lawyers to decide when to terminate a life-threatening pregnancy without violating state laws.
Biden admin to pharmacies: Refusing to fill contraception and abortion pill prescriptions could break federal law. Senior Biden administration officials announced Wednesday that they are reminding tens of thousands of pharmacies around the country that they risk violating civil rights laws if they refuse to fill orders for contraception or abortion medication or discriminate based on a person’s pregnancy status.
Arrest made in rape of Ohio girl that led to Indiana abortion drawing international attention. A Columbus man has been charged with impregnating a 10-year-old Ohio girl, whose travel to Indiana to seek an abortion led to international attention following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade and activation of Ohio's abortion law. Gershon Fuentes, 27, whose last known address was an apartment on Columbus' Northwest Side, was arrested Tuesday after police say he confessed to raping the child on at least two occasions. He's since been charged with rape, a felony of the first degree in Ohio...But in recent days, some abortion opponents, Republican politicians and news outlets had criticized the story as unproven. -- And yesterday Rep. Jim Jordan called the rape allegation a lie. He’s such a piece of shit.
“Jim Jordan's entire career makes a lot more sense if you view him as enthusiastically in favor of sexual abuse and molestation. It all falls into place.” -- Steve Silberman
Ohio Republicans’ attempted erasure of a 10-year-old rape victim is incredibly sick and disturbed. The propaganda erasing this 10-year-old’s existence was so swift it spread out over right-wing social media like a blanket. Those advocating the truth of her story — privately and devastatingly already confirmed for some of us — were subjected to wild-eyed mockery and ridicule. It’s incredibly disturbing that the default position of so many sick and twisted people — including Ohio’s most prominent Republican elected officials — is to very vocally and very publicly question whether the rape and impregnation of a 10-year-old child ever happened. -- There are no “good” Republicans. None. Not in the current version of the GOP. Reject government-mandated pregnancy.
Uvalde video raises more calls for police accountability. As video taken inside Robb Elementary School puts in full view the bewildering inaction by law enforcement during the May slaughter of 19 children and two teachers, some in Uvalde are shouting: Will police face consequences?
Former senior U.S. official John Bolton admits to planning attempted foreign coups. Bolton made the remarks to CNN after the day's congressional hearing into the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The panel's lawmakers on Tuesday accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the violence in a last-ditch bid to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. Speaking to CNN anchor Jake Tapper, however, Bolton suggested Trump was not competent enough to pull off a "carefully planned coup d'etat," later adding: "As somebody who has helped plan coups d'etat - not here but you know (in) other places - it takes a lot of work. And that's not what he (Trump) did." Tapper asked Bolton which attempts he was referring to. "I'm not going to get into the specifics," Bolton said, before mentioning Venezuela. "It turned out not to be successful. Not that we had all that much to do with it but I saw what it took for an opposition to try and overturn an illegally elected president and they failed," he said.
U.S. inflation rises 9.1% in June, more than expected, as prices keep climbing. The Consumer Price index, which measures changes in the cost of a basket of goods, jumped 1.3% in June compared to the 1% increase in May — a sign that inflation kept burning hot last month. Compared to one year ago, the index in June hit 9.1%, rising from the 8.6% year-on-year increase the month before — staying at the fastest pace in 40 years.
“Note: Inflation is a global phenomenon. Most major developed nations are suffering rates similar to those in the US. Most major drivers for inflation are global in nature. Reporting on US inflation like it was isolated or unique to us is misleading and not constructive.” — David Rothkopf
“Inflation is a Global Issue:
Russia - 15.9%
Brazil - 11.8
Spain - 10.2
UK - 9.1
Nether - 8.6
Italy - 8.0
Mexico - 8.0
Canada - 7.7
Germany - 7.6
India - 7.0
South Korea - 6.0
France - 5.8
Australia - 5.1”
Inflation is a global issue. President Biden did not cause it.
LGBTQ harassment, slurs abound on social media, report says. Social media platforms including Facebook and TikTok are failing to stop hate and threats against LGBTQ users, a report issued Wednesday from advocacy group GLAAD found. Those are some of the internet’s most vulnerable users, with a majority of LGBTQ people saying they’ve faced menacing posts or comments when they’re scrolling through social media. But it’s unclear how social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube are handling those threats. Instead of protecting their users, GLAAD says in the report, the tech companies are safeguarding information about how they respond to those attacks, revealing few details about how often they take down posts or accounts that push hate speech or harass LGBTQ users.
'It's inhumane': how US prison work breaks bodies and minds for pennies. Among over 1.2 million Americans currently imprisoned in federal and state prisons, two out of three prisoners are forced to work while imprisoned. Often referred to as modern day slavery, the 13th amendment of the US constitution abolished slavery or involuntary servitude, but included an exception for prisoners…According to a June 2022 report published by the American Civil Liberties Union, prison labor generates over $11bn annually, with more than $2bn generated from the production of goods, and over $9bn generated through prison maintenance services. Wages range on average from 13 cents to 52 cents per hour, but many prisoners are paid nothing at all, and their low wages are subject to various deductions.
Wildfires scorch parts of Europe amid extreme heat wave. A spate of wildfires is scorching parts of Europe, with firefighters battling blazes in Portugal, Spain, Croatia and southern France on Wednesday amid an unusual heat wave that authorities are linking to climate change.
Who was James Webb? And why do scientists want to rename the James Webb Space Telescope? Webb was undersecretary of state during the Truman administration when the federal government systematically purged its ranks of LGBTQ employees.
Netflix with ads is coming. The timing of the ad tier’s launch has not been formally announced, but the New York Times reported in May that Netflix told employees it may come by the end of 2022. Netflix said Wednesday that the move is in “very early days” and that the company has “much to work through” when it comes to introducing an ad tier to its 221.6 million subscribers globally.
House approves measure for sharing information on UFO reports. A bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would establish a "secure system" for receiving reports about UFOs. The Senate has yet to take up the bill. The UFO reporting system would provide for "immediate sharing" of information with certain scientists, analysts and government personnel, according to the legislative text.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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