Wednesday, November 30, 2022

And another day of rail strikes, a new generation of leaders, GOP threats, China crackdowns, penalizing doctors, Trump’s tax returns, Amazon deforestation, same-sex households, a woman referee making history, and mind controlling parasites comes to a close:

“Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.” -- Albert Einstein

Covid Deaths

US: 1,105,546 (+497)

World: 6,640,229 (+1551)

Covid Cases

US: 100,625,493 (+92,782)

World: 647,938,257 (+939,268)

House votes to avert rail strike, impose deal on unions. The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. If approved there, it will be signed by President Joe Biden, who urged the Senate to act swiftly.

Jeffries wins historic bid to lead House Dems after Pelosi. House Democrats ushered in a new generation of leaders on Wednesday with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries elected to be the first Black American to head a major political party in Congress at a pivotal time as long-serving Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside next year.

GOP senators threaten to delay major military bill over Covid vaccine mandate. The seven Republicans say they will prolong consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act unless they get a vote on their proposal to lift a vaccination requirement.

China vows crackdown on ‘hostile forces’ as public tests Xi. China’s ruling Communist Party has vowed to “resolutely crack down on infiltration and sabotage activities by hostile forces,” following the largest street demonstrations in decades by citizens fed up with strict anti-virus restrictions. A massive show of force by the security services Wednesday sought to deter further protests.

AG: Penalize doctor who spoke of Ohio 10-year-old’s abortion. Indiana’s Republican attorney general on Wednesday asked the state medical licensing board to discipline an Indianapolis doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled from Ohio after its more-restrictive abortion law took effect.

House committee receives Donald Trump’s federal tax returns from IRS. The House Ways and Means Committee now has six years of Donald Trump’s federal tax returns, ending a yearslong pursuit by Democrats to dig into one of the former president’s most closely guarded personal details.

Amazon deforestation in Brazil remains near 15-year high. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon slowed slightly last year, a year after a 15-year high, according to closely watched numbers published Wednesday. The data was released by the National Institute for Space Research.

Same-sex households in the U.S. surpass 1 million for the first time, data shows. The number of same-sex households increased 120% from 2008 to 2021, according to recently released Census Bureau data.

Stéphanie Frappart to be first woman to referee men’s World Cup match. It has taken 92 years, 942 matches, and a seismic shift in football’s attitudes to women, but on Thursday night an overdue slice of World Cup history will finally be made with a sharp parp of the referee’s whistle before Germany’s group game against Costa Rica. At that moment, Stéphanie Frappart, a 38-year-old from France, will become the first woman to take charge of a men’s match at the tournament finals. In a World Cup suffused with rancour and controversy it is an undisputed sign of progress.

‘Mind control’ by parasites influences wolf-pack dynamics in Yellowstone National Park. Wolves are pack animals, living in family groups led by a matriarch and her mate. Some wolves stay with their pack their whole lives, helping hunt and raise pups like aunts and uncles as they mature, but others split off to find a mate of their own and start their own packs. There are lots of factors that go into these types of behavior, such as quirks of personality and family relationships established as pups, but new scientific findings revealed a surprising influence on wolf-pack dynamics: a mind-controlling parasite that makes a gray wolf engage in riskier behavior.

RIP Christine McVie. She was 79.

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

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

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

And another day of same-sex marriage bills, US gun death rates at highest levels, Twitter again allowing Covid misinformation, the World Cup reflecting the entire planet, monks testing positive for meth, and NYC getting tough with the mentally ill comes to a close:

“Beware of the politics of neutrality.” — Habiba Ibrahim

Covid Deaths

US: 1,105,049

World: 6,638,678

Covid Cases

US: 100,532,711

World: 646,998,989

Landmark same-sex marriage bill wins Senate passage. The bill, which would ensure that same-sex and interracial marriages are enshrined in federal law, was approved 61-36 on Tuesday, including support from 12 Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the legislation was “a long time coming” and part of America’s “difficult but inexorable march towards greater equality.” Democrats are moving quickly, while the party still holds the majority in both chambers of Congress. The legislation now moves to the House for a final vote.

Study: U.S. gun death rates hit highest levels in decades. The U.S. gun death rate last year hit its highest mark in nearly three decades, and the rate among women has been growing faster than that of men, according to study published Tuesday.

Oath Keepers’ Rhodes guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn President Joe Biden’s election, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Twitter ends enforcement of COVID misinformation policy. Twitter will no longer enforce its policy against COVID-19 misinformation, raising concerns among public health experts and social media researchers that the change could have serious consequences if it discourages vaccination and other efforts to combat the still-spreading virus.

Elon Musk says Apple stopped advertising and threatened to boot Twitter from app store. Twitter's billionaire owner asked in a series of tweets whether Apple hated free speech and if it would go after Tesla, his electric-car company. "Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?" asked Musk. -- Musk does not understand the concepts learned in Business 101. And he is certainly no genius. He’s just a privileged white boy.

As Qatar World Cup unfolds, planet keeps spinning. Nations, their disputes and their aspirations and those of minority communities don't just go away when the World Cup is unfolding. Soccer is not human society itself, with all its thorny issues. But it is at times a reflection of the entire planet.

NATO renews membership vow to Ukraine, pledges arms and aid. NATO doubled down Tuesday on its commitment to one day include Ukraine, a pledge that some officials and analysts believe helped prompt Russia’s invasion this year. The world’s largest security alliance also pledged to send more aid to Ukrainian forces locked in battle with Russian troops.

Justice Department intervenes for struggling water system. The Justice Department made a rare intervention Tuesday to try to bring improvements in the beleaguered water system in Mississippi’s capital city, which nearly collapsed in late summer and continues to struggle.

Every monk in Thai temple defrocked after testing positive for meth. "The temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making," he said. Merit-making involves worshippers donating food to monks as a good deed.

Mayor says NYC will treat mentally ill, even if they refuse. New York City’s mayor on Tuesday said he was directing police and city medics to be more aggressive about getting severely mentally ill people off the streets and subways and into treatment, even if it means involuntarily hospitalizing some people who refuse care.

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

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

Monday, November 28, 2022

And another day of public anger in China, an AZ county refusing to certify election, Iran threatening families of national soccer team, Favre asks to be dismissed, erupting volcanoes, and ‘gaslighting’ comes to a close:

“The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.” -- George Orwell

Covid Deaths

US: 1,104,879

World: 6,637,466

Covid Cases

US: 100,507,928

World: 646,463,451

China’s Xi faces threat from public anger over ‘zero COVID’. Barely a month after granting himself new powers as China’s potential leader for life, Xi Jinping is facing a wave of public anger of the kind not seen for decades, sparked by his “zero COVID” strategy that will soon enter its fourth year. Demonstrators poured into the streets over the weekend in cities including Shanghai and Beijing, criticizing the policy, confronting police — and even calling for Xi to step down. On Monday, demonstrators gathered in the semi-autonomous southern city of Hong Kong, where the pro-democracy movement was all but snuffed out by a harsh crackdown following monthslong demonstrations that began in 2019.

GOP-controlled Arizona county refuses to certify election. Republican officials in a rural Arizona county refused on Monday to certify the 2022 election, despite no evidence of anything wrong with the count, amid pressure from prominent Republicans to reject results showing Democrats winning top races. -- Republicans are purposefully trying to destroy democracy.

Surgeons work by flashlight as Ukraine power grid battered. The devastating strikes, which continued last week and plunged the country into darkness once again, strained and disrupted the health care system, already battered by years of corruption, mismanagement, the COVID-19 pandemic and nine months of war. Scheduled operations are being postponed; patient records are unavailable because of internet outages; and paramedics have had to use flashlights to examine patients in darkened apartments.

Iran threatened families of national soccer team, according to security source. The source said that they [the players] were told that their families would face “violence and and torture” if they did not sing the national anthem or if they joined any political protest against the Tehran regime.

Veterans Affairs has denied benefits to Black people at higher rates for years, lawsuit alleges. “The results of VA’s racial discrimination has been to deny countless meritorious applications by Black veterans, depriving them and their families of care and support that their faithful service has earned,” the lawsuit reads. Filed in federal court by Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic on behalf of Conley Monk Jr., a Vietnam War veteran, the suit claims Monk was repeatedly denied home loan, education and medical benefits because he is Black.

Flu continues to spread across the U.S., infecting millions, CDC reports. “People don’t have a good appreciation for how severe flu can be,” said the CDC’s influenza expert. Nearly 3,000 deaths from influenza have been reported since October.

Favre asks to be dismissed from Mississippi welfare lawsuit. Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is asking to be removed from a lawsuit by the state of Mississippi that seeks to recover millions of dollars in misspent welfare money that was intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S.

Slow cognitive decline with flavonols, study says. Eating more flavonols, antioxidants found in many vegetables, fruits, tea and wine, may slow your rate of memory loss, a new study finds.

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa erupts, officials warn people to prepare. Many now living in the area weren’t around when Mauna Loa last erupted 38 years ago...“I think everybody should be a little bit concerned,” he said. “We don’t know where the flow is going, we don’t know how long it’s going to last.” He said he’s seen three Mauna Loa eruptions in his lifetime and knows that people need to be vigilant. -- It’s the world’s largest active volcano.

‘Gaslighting’ is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2022. “Gaslighting” — behavior that’s mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful — is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year. Lookups for the word on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740% in 2022 over the year before. But something else happened. There wasn’t a single event that drove significant spikes in curiosity, as it usually goes with the chosen word of the year. The gaslighting was pervasive. “It’s a word that has risen so quickly in the English language, and especially in the last four years, that it actually came as a surprise to me and to many of us,” said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s unveiling. “It was a word looked up frequently every single day of the year,” he said.

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

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

Sunday, November 27, 2022

And another day of angry crowds, supporting violent men, travel warnings to the US, Asian faiths trying to save the swastika symbol, exploiting NCAA recruits, the water-security crisis, and Iran calls for US to be kicked out of the World Cup comes to a close:

“MAGA Republicans are bullies, plain and simple. To win against them you have to fight back.: -- The Lincoln Project

Deaths

US: 1,104,755

World: 6,636,288

Cases

US: 100,465,087

World: 646,189,252

Crowd angered by lockdowns calls for China’s Xi to step down. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China’s powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party.

Herschel Walker Has a History of Standing Up For Violent Men. But Walker hasn’t just been accused of violence. He’s also defended other athletes who have inflicted it. For instance, he bragged about remaining in contact with a man who allegedly choked a woman and threw her onto a couch with loaded assault weapons. He also opposed the NFL’s suspension of two men accused of abuse—one of whom was videotaped striking a woman unconscious in an elevator; another was charged with felony child abuse for spanking his toddler with a switch. -- Herschel Walker is excrement personified.

Six million Americans carried guns daily in 2019, twice as many as in 2015. The trend is expected to continue, after the supreme court ruling earlier this year overturning strict limits on public gun-carrying.

What travel warnings do other nations give their citizens about US violence? It's not exactly a flattering picture. Would-be visitors aren't being warned off entirely as if America is an active war zone. Each nation has its own approach, but a general theme boils down to this: The United States is more violent than what you're used to. Learn to take precautions there that you might not have to take at home.

Brazilian protests intensify; Bolsonaro stays silent. Now, most acts of resistance are taking place at night, carried out by “extremely violent and coordinated hooded men,” acting in different regions of the state at the same time, federal highway police said...Since the vote, Bolsonaro has dropped out of public view and his daily agenda has been largely vacant, prompting speculation as to whether he is stewing or scheming.

Asian faiths try to save swastika symbol corrupted by Hitler. Over the past decade, as the Asian diaspora has grown in North America, the call to reclaim the swastika as a sacred symbol has become louder. These minority faith communities are being joined by Native American elders whose ancestors have long used the symbol as part of healing rituals. Deo believes she and people of other faiths should not have to sacrifice or apologize for a sacred symbol simply because it is often conflated with its tainted version...Yet to others, the idea that the swastika could be redeemed is unthinkable.

‘There’s no rules. It’s crazy’: New money in NCAA recruiting leaves elite athletes ripe for exploitation. But with that potential for great reward comes great risk. There are few guidelines for young athletes — kids — who are entering this chaotic new marketplace. Many are from low-income homes or difficult circumstances. In pursuit of their dreams or financial security for their families, they can wind up violating state-level restrictions that still pertain to high school athletes, and they can also find themselves exploited by adults who want to get rich off their skills.

Houston issues boil water notice for 2.2 million residents. Residents should boil all water used for food preparation, drinking bathing or brushing teeth for three minutes, and avoid using water from refrigerators or ice makers.

America’s Food-Security Crisis Is a Water-Security Crisis, Too. Researchers know water insecurity isn’t confined to one region or population. But “we don’t know how big of a problem it is,” says Sera Young, an associate professor of anthropology and health at Northwestern University.  “And it’s going to keep biting us in the ass, because we’re not measuring these things correctly.” Public health researchers talk about food and nutrition, while water researchers are siloed in infrastructure circles, and it’s rare for the two worlds to overlap. Says Young, “We need to build a bridge between those two disciplines.” Most estimates put US water insecurity at 2.2 million residents. Asher Rosinger, director of the Water, Health, and Nutrition Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, says this is probably a “huge” undercount, and the actual number might be closer to 60 million. There are no official estimates of combined food and water insecurity, which makes it tough to understand the scope of the problem, let alone to propose solutions.

Dogs may hold key to treating cancer in humans. Some 4 million dogs in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer every year, often the same kinds humans get. And since we share many of the same genes with our canine companions, dogs with naturally developing cancers are being enrolled in clinical trials, with doctors and scientists using what they learn to speed potential treatments to them and us. It's called comparative oncology and it's now funded in part by the White House's Cancer Moonshot Initiative.

There is a trend on TikTok for playing AC/DC's Back In Black while being beaten with a frying pan. We literally have no idea what's going on anymore.

Iran calls for US to be kicked out of 2022 World Cup after it changes Iran flag on social media to show support for protesters. US Soccer told CNN on Sunday that it wanted to change the official flag for 24 hours to show “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights” but always planned to go back to the original flag.

Riots in Belgium, Netherlands after Morocco win at World Cup. Dozens of rioters overturned and torched cars, set electric scooters on fire and pelted cars with bricks...“Those are not fans, they are rioters. Moroccan fans are there to celebrate.”

‘Normal thing to do’: Japanese fans tidy up at World Cup. The sight of Japanese fans at a World Cup bagging trash after a match — win or lose — always surprises non-Japanese. Japanese players are famous for doing the same in their team dressing room: hanging up towels, cleaning the floor, and even leaving a thank-you note. The behavior is driving social media posts at the World Cup in Qatar, but it’s nothing unusual for Japanese fans or players. They are simply doing what most people in Japan do — at home, at school, at work, or on streets from Tokyo to Osaka, Shizuoka to Sapporo. “For Japanese people, this is just the normal thing to do,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said. “When you leave, you have to leave a place cleaner than it was before. That’s the education we have been taught. That’s the basic culture we have. For us, it’s nothing special.” -- The rest of us humans could learn a thing or two from the Japanese.

RIP Irene Cara. She was 63.

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

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

Thursday, November 24, 2022

And another day of survival mode, distinguishing among the illnesses, Covid lockdowns in China, Musk granting ‘amnesty,’ “Three Minutes,” mannequins helping doctors, cracked secret codes, and masturbating at work comes to a close:

“Republicans are easily confused by the difference between recognizing American history as it really occurred, modifying one's behavior to acknowledge that history and feeling ‘ashamed of our country.’ The former does not lead to the latter unless you're simple-minded.” -- Brandon Friedman

Deaths

US: 1,104,602

World: 6,632,629

Cases

US: 100,425,201

World: 644,811,948

Bombed, not beaten: Ukraine’s capital flips to survival mode. Residents of Ukraine’s bombed capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and crowded into cafés for power and warmth Thursday, switching defiantly into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes a day earlier plunged the city and much of the country into the dark. In scenes hard to believe in a sophisticated city of 3 million, some Kyiv residents resorted to collecting rainwater from drainpipes, as repair teams labored to reconnect supplies.

Is it Covid, flu or RSV? A few hallmarks can help distinguish among the illnesses. Covid, flu and RSV can be difficult to distinguish, since they share many common symptoms. But it's useful to know which virus you have, since that determines the treatments you should receive and how long you should isolate. Certain hallmarks — either symptoms or how the illness progresses — can help differentiate each virus. Here are five factors to consider.

China expands lockdowns as COVID-19 cases hit daily record. In the previous 24 hours, the number of new COVID cases rose by 31,444, the National Health Commission said Thursday. That’s the highest daily figure since the coronavirus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

Musk says granting ‘amnesty’ to suspended Twitter accounts. New Twitter owner Elon Musk said Thursday that he is granting “amnesty” for suspended accounts, which online safety experts predict will spur a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation.

‘A small victory against erasure’: the three minutes that bring an exterminated Jewish past to life. A new documentary extends 200 seconds of home-movie footage shot in Poland in 1938 into a forensic examination of a community obliterated by the Nazis. The people he photographed were Nasielsk’s Jews, who made up nearly half the town’s population, and who, like the rest of Europe’s Jews, would soon be sentenced to death by the Nazis. It means that almost every face you look at – every bearded old man, every mother in a scarf, every daughter in plaits, every woman in a housecoat, and every boy grinning and waving at the camera – is someone who, in the following year, would be shipped out of Nasielsk and confined to a ghetto and then, three years after that, taken from the ghetto to the death camp of Treblinka, where they would be gassed. -- The film is called “Three Minutes: A Lengthening”

Iranian soccer player arrested amid World Cup scrutiny. Iran arrested a prominent former member of its national soccer team on Thursday over his criticism of the government as authorities grapple with nationwide protests that have cast a shadow over its competition at the World Cup.

Lifelike mannequins that moan and groan help doctors learn life-saving emergency skills. Mannequins with a heartbeat that blink, breathe and even scream in pain are helping teach young doctors critical emergency medicine at a regional hospital.

Emperor Charles V's secret code cracked after five centuries. A team of researchers have cracked a five century-old code that reveals a rumoured French plot to kill the Roman emperor and king of Spain Charles V.

Ronaldo becomes 1st male player to score at 5 World Cups. He has now scored in every World Cup since his first in 2006, when he converted a penalty against Iran in the group stage.

Masturbating at Work: Really Working It. Masturbating at work is more common (and healthier) than you think! And going by the numbers, you probably already know how much fun it can be. Masturbating during work hours may sound taboo, but it’s much more common than you might think. In an informal survey conducted by a Time Out New York writer, almost 40% of respondents reported they masturbated on the job. And that was in 2015 -- well before work-from-home made a midday sesh that much more handy.

Webb Telescope Reveals Noxious Atmosphere of a Planet 700 Light-Years Away. WASP-39b is a hot Saturn with some nasty chemicals in its skies.

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

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

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

And another day of mass shootings, Right-wing influencers and media doubling down, Ukrainians without power, measles being an ‘imminent threat,’ cholera in Haiti, GA reinstating abortion ban, and taking billionaires at their word comes to a close:

“Maybe this world is another planet’s hell.” -- Aldous Huxley

Deaths

US: 1,104,229 (+874)

World: 6,631,217 (+2039)

Cases

US: 100,382,913 (+103,215)

World: 644,488,978 (+581,254)

Walmart manager opens fire in break room, killing 6. A Walmart manager opened fire on fellow employees in the break room of a Virginia store, killing six people in the country’s second high-profile mass shooting in four days, police and witnesses said Wednesday. The gunman, who apparently shot himself, was dead when officers found him, police said. There was no clear motive for the shooting, which also left at least six people wounded, including one critically.

Right-wing influencers and media double down on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in the wake of the Colorado shooting. Tucker Carlson was among the conservative media figures who continued attacking LGBTQ people in the wake of the Club Q shooting.

Georgia high court reinstates ban on abortions after 6 weeks. The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state’s ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, abruptly ending access to later abortions that had resumed days earlier. In a one-page order, the justices put a lower court ruling overturning the ban on hold while they consider an appeal. Doctors who had resumed providing abortions after six weeks had to immediately stop.

Lisa Murkowski Just Beat an All-Out MAGA Attack. But Murkowski’s win should still come as a huge relief for Americans who care about preserving democracy—she’s the only surviving Republican senator in this general election who voted to impeach Trump…Then there’s Murkowski, nearly the opposite in every way. She’s part of a political dynasty, holding a Senate seat vacated by her father. She’s anti-Trump, pro-choice, and has refused to join MAGA anti-CRT, trans-bashing, culture war rhetoric. According to Govtrack, she’s not only the most liberal Republican in the Senate but to the left of Manchin and Sinema. In addition to voting to impeach Trump, she voted against Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation, and in June was one of few Republicans to genuinely back some gun control measures. In many ways, she’s emblematic of a state that has traditionally refused to fall neatly within party lines: over half of Alaska’s voters are registered independents…Besides having a sub-par record on labor rights, she’s an unabashed supporter of heavy resource extraction, mainly in the forms of fossil fuels and mining—including throwing her support behind oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. So she’s not exactly good. But she’s less bad.

GOP operative pardoned by Trump convicted of funneling Russian money to Trump campaign. Jesse Benton, a former top aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), was convicted Thursday of helping a Russian citizen illegally funnel a political donation to former President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. — This story broke 6 days ago. Does anyone give a shit about this collusion?

Stop taking billionaires at their word. Why do we keep believing things that are too good to be true? Somehow, somewhere along the way, the American public was duped into believing that these things could be true despite being, well, not…Did anyone really think that a billionaire could be benevolent? Did anyone think Horizon was the future? Did people think Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover was going to proceed in any normal way? Probably. We lie to ourselves all the time. In a world in which liberal arts colleges and humanitarian studies are increasingly demonized as “wokeism factories,” it’s the technologists who are made to seem like the rational ones. Those who criticize them end up seeming naive, or ignorant, or afraid of progress, so much so that sometimes, we end up believing it ourselves instead of believing our own eyes.

Most Ukrainians left without power after new Russian strikes. Russia unleashed a new missile onslaught on Ukraine’s battered energy grid Wednesday, robbing cities of power and some of water and public transport, too, compounding the hardship of winter for millions. The aerial mauling of power supplies also took nuclear plants and internet links offline and spilled blackouts into neighbor Moldova.

Brazil election body rejects Bolsonaro’s push to void votes. The head of Brazil’s electoral authority on Wednesday rejected the request from President Jair Bolsonaro and his political party to annul ballots cast on most electronic voting machines, which would have overturned the Oct. 30 election.

WHO, CDC: A record 40 million kids miss measles vaccine dose. In a report issued Wednesday, the WHO and the CDC said millions of children were now susceptible to measles, among the world’s most contagious diseases. In 2021, officials said there were about 9 million measles infections and 128,000 deaths worldwide. The WHO and CDC said continued drops in vaccination, weak disease surveillance and delayed response plans due to COVID-19, in addition to ongoing outbreaks in more than 20 countries, mean that “measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world.”

UN: Children in Haiti hit by cholera as malnutrition rises. A cholera outbreak sweeping through Haiti is claiming a growing number of children amid a surge in malnutrition, UNICEF announced Wednesday. The deadly combination means that about 40% of cholera cases in the impoverished country of more than 11 million inhabitants now involve children, with 9 out of 10 cases reported in areas where people are starving, according to the United Nations agency.

German soccer team players cover mouths in team photo protest ahead of World Cup match in Qatar. The squad declared on Twitter that "human rights are non-negotiable” before playing Japan. "Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice."

Spain's Gavi becomes youngest World Cup scorer since Pele. Spain midfielder Gavi's goal in his team's 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica on Wednesday made him the youngest World Cup scorer since Brazil great Pele in 1958.

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

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

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

And another day of tax returns, climate disaster aid to poor nations, Fauci’s final briefing, flu cases rising, Americans turning away from vaccines, Bolsonaro contests election, the World Cup, earthquakes, and Taylor Swift fans comes to a close:

“The "Gay Agenda" is to work, study, create, shop, worship, and live without being emotionally, physically, and legislatively attacked at every turn by phobic Christians who believe someone else's body, relationship, marriage, or bedroom is their business.” — John Pavlovitz 

Deaths

US: 1,103,355 (+455)

World: 6,629,178 (+1512)

Cases

US: 100,279,698 (+28,344)

World: 643,907,724 (+461,634)

Supreme Court OKs handover of Trump tax returns to Congress. The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the imminent handover of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns to a congressional committee after a three-year legal fight. The court, with no noted dissents, rejected Trump’s plea for an order that would have prevented the Treasury Department from giving six years of tax returns for Trump and some of his businesses to the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee. -- I don’t have high hopes that anything will come of this.

Cop27 Climate Summit Promises Disaster Aid to Poor Nations. “There is no way we can avoid a catastrophic situation, if the two [the developed and developing world] are not able to establish a historic pact,” he said, in an interview with the Guardian. “Because at the present level, we will be doomed.” In the end, after two weeks of fraught and often bitter negotiations, the “historic pact” Guterres wanted was finally struck. For the first time in 30 years of climate talks, developed countries agreed to provide finance to help rescue and rebuild poorer countries stricken by climate-related disasters, known as a loss and damage fund.

In final White House briefing, Fauci urges Americans to get updated Covid booster. “The final message I give you from this podium is that please, for your own safety, for that of your family, get your updated Covid-19 shot as soon as you’re eligible.”…Fauci does not plan to retire. He told NBC News he is considering various paths that include working in academia, a foundation, or possibly on his own. He said it is "highly likely" he will write a book. But in a departure from so many government officials-turned authors in the post-Trump era, he added it wouldn't be a tell-all.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) wants the public to know flu cases are rising quickly in Washington as well as nationwide. In a statement released Tuesday, health officials said flu hospitalizations are at the highest rates seen in 10 years for this point in the year. They say things have especially ramped up in the last two weeks.

Will America continue to turn away from vaccines? Precisely because of the highly public discourse around the Covid-19 vaccines — which have been ferociously debated like no shot in modern memory — the small but vocal minority that oppose them, and the prevalence of hard-to-stamp-out disinformation and misinformation, the public is paying more attention to vaccines in general. Instead of leading to greater appreciation of our best weapons against infectious disease, it is possible, even likely, that the hesitation and fatigue generated by Covid vaccines may spill over into vaccines for other diseases…That’s in part because Americans tend to view vaccines in the same way they do consumer products, like a dietary supplement or over-the-counter drug — meaning they believe it’s up to them to decide whether to use or not, based on their perception of its risks and benefits, rather than relying on expert or government recommendations…Recent polling suggests politically motivated vaccine hesitancy has already spilled over from Covid-19 into the flu vaccine. In October, Grid News found that nearly half of Democrats but only 22 percent of Republicans had gotten the flu shot so far this year. This polarization of flu vaccine attitudes had already existed before the pandemic, but since then, the gap between Democrats and Republicans has grown even wider.

Bolsonaro contests Brazil election, demands votes be anulled. More than three weeks after losing a reelection bid, President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday blamed a software bug and demanded the electoral authority annul votes cast on most of Brazil’s nation’s electronic voting machines, though independent experts say the bug doesn’t affect the reliability of results.

Top US diplomat criticizes FIFA armband threat at World Cup. America’s top diplomat on Tuesday criticized a decision by FIFA to threaten players at the World Cup with yellow cards if they wear armbands supporting inclusion and diversity. Speaking alongside his Qatari counterpart at a news conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was “always concerning ... when we see any restrictions on freedom of expression.”

Iran media blames humiliating World Cup loss on protests. Iran was reeling Tuesday from the humiliation of starting the World Cup with a lopsided 6-2 loss against England in a match overshadowed by protests on and off the field. Hard-line Iranian media sought to blame the defeat on the unrest that has gripped the Islamic Republic since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police. Iranian newspapers turned to the familiar tactic of accusing foreign enemies, including the United States, Britain and Israel, of stirring up protests to throw the national team off its game. -- Anything to try and quell the human rights protests. Fucking authoritarians. 

Search effort intensifies after Indonesia quake killed 268. More rescuers and volunteers were deployed Wednesday in devastated areas on Indonesia’s main island of Java to search for the dead and missing from an earthquake that killed at least 268 people.

Taylor Swift ticket trouble could drive political engagement. Some of Taylor Swift’s fans want you to know three things: They’re not still 16, they have careers and resources and, right now, they’re angry. That’s a powerful political motivator, researchers say. Look what Ticketmaster made them do.

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

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