Post by mhbruin on Dec 19, 2021 9:08:25 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 495 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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I Am a Victim of the Supply Chain
My laptop needs a new battery. Even when plugged in it will die without warning. As a result, I have to save my work frequently.
The repair place ordered the new battery a month ago, but they still cannot get it.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU CLEARLY IGNORED THE SUBJECT LINE
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Don't Mess With the Sikhs Unless You Seek Death
Police in the Indian city of Amritsar say a man suspected of trying to commit a sacrilegious act at Sikhism's holiest shrine has been beaten to death.
The incident took place during a prayer service at the city's Golden Temple on Saturday, according to local media.
The man allegedly barged into the inner sanctum, where Sikhism's holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept.
He then grabbed a ceremonial sword placed next to the book, but was overpowered by guards and worshippers.
Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as not just the holy scripture of their religion but also as the living Guru, and believe it should be treated with respect as a human might be.
The scuffle took place at around 17:45 local time (11:45 GMT), and was captured on camera as evening prayers were being broadcast on television.
It is unclear exactly what happened next. Police said the man was found dead once officers arrived at the scene, and an investigation is under way.
Less than 24 hours later, another man was beaten to death by Sikhs accusing him of sacrilege after he allegedly tried to remove the Sikh flag, Nishan Sahib, from a temple in Kapurthala, also in Punjab state.
--------------
California's Drought? Snow Big Deal.
Thanks to multiple atmospheric river events, average snowpack in California has gone from 18% to 98% in just two weeks.
"Increases in snowpack of this size are not common, but also not unprecedented," Julie Kalansky, deputy director of operations for the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), explained.
Kalansky pointed out previous studies have shown a jump on this scale can happen about twice every three years, but usually over the course of an entire winter, not just the month of December.
While they don't have the exact rankings for each month of the year, "most of the storm events in the study we referenced for the above calculation were in the second half of December and later into the season," Kalansky added.
The sudden change gives California its wettest start to the Water Year in more than 40 years, thanks to several drought-denting rain and snow systems pushing through the area in recent weeks. The Water Year runs from October 1 through September 30 of the following year.
Parts of California are known for whiplash weather, but the rapid changes are quite remarkable given the snowpack was off to such a rough start, after a very warm and dry November for much of the state.
There's More Rain and Snow Coming, Too.
--------------
Could CBD Help with Autism? Early Signs Are Promising
The Story
Commercial CBD Products Contain So Little CBD, They Are Worthless.
--------------
The School That Scammed ESPN Is Not A School
The Ohio Department of Education said Bishop Sycamore High School is "a scam" and was a way for students to play football in hopes of increasing their chances of playing at the college level.
The department detailed its findings in a 41-page report released Friday. It began investigating the school in August at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine after concerns were raised over a blowout football game between Bishop Sycamore's team and Florida powerhouse IMG Academy.
IMG Academy beat the school 58-0 in a game that was broadcast on ESPN as part of the network's GEICO ESPN High School Football Kickoff series. During the game, ESPN’s own announcers questioned the matchup and raised concerns about the school's legitimacy.
Tyren Jackson, who was described as the school’s head coach, previously spoke out about the controversy, telling NBC affiliate WCMH of Columbus that Bishop Sycamore was “not a school.”
“That’s not what Bishop Sycamore is, and I think that’s what the biggest misconception about us was, and that was our fault. Because that was a mistake on paperwork,” he said in September.
The Department of Education report said Bishop Sycamore registered as a private, nonchartered school. The report said the school, however, failed to meet the minimum requirements.
The report detailed how investigators found no evidence that the school provided the required coursework for students and "was not open for instruction the requisite hours." The report also said the school changed its listed address several times.
--------------
Today's Tip Tip: You Don't Know Who's Getting the Tip
The incident occurred in early December when a group of more than 30 diners contributed to a $4,400 tip to be split between their two servers at the Oven and Tap in Bentonville, Arkansas. But then one of the servers, Ryan Brandt, told the diners that her manager said the tip had to be shared with all staff, with only 20 percent going to her. Then she was fired. (The restaurant issued a statement saying it wouldn’t disclose the reason she was let go.) So we’ve got an easy-to-hate villainous restaurant manager, a victim the audience can identify with — she has student loans to pay off! — and a whole squadron of heroes. All of which obscures what’s actually wrong with this story.
When sufficient tips are given out to boost wages above the minimum hourly rate, how those tips get divvied up lacks transparency and any guarantee of equity. There is no standardized way of splitting tips, and disclosure of tipping policies has not yet become part of the expected information a restaurant provides its customers.
While it can seem wrong that the Arkansas server had an intended tip snatched away, restaurant hosts, bartenders and bussers who don’t get handed cash directly might themselves working below minimum wage and relying on shared tips from their co-workers.
--------------
Apparently God Took 2020 Off
--------------
Who Won the Week?
Democrats, for single-handedly voting to prevent a government default by raising the debt ceiling
President Biden: visits scene of KY twisters and gets raves for emergency response in KY, IL, and TN; announces 9 more diverse judicial picks; jobs numbers still strong
Federal Judge Trevor McFadden, who grabbed Trump's attempt to keep his tax returns hidden from Congress, stomped on it, threw it in the trash, and lit it on fire
NASA, whose Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to touch the Sun by reaching its upper atmosphere
The Jan. 6 select committee, for releasing documents revealing a coordinated coup attempt by Republicans, and panic among their supporters (notably Fox News propagandists & Don Jr.) when it fell apart
Claudette Colvin, 82, whose 1955 juvenile criminal record for not giving up her seat on a Montgomery bus (9 months before Rosa Parks) was wiped clean by a judge
The rescue and relief agencies and volunteers who swooped in to help victims of last week's mega-tornadoes
The FDA, for lifting restrictions on access to abortion pills so patients can receive them by mail
Barack and Michelle Obama, once again voted the world's most admired man & woman in YouGov’s annual international survey
--------------
Who Lost the Week? Poor, Sick, Female, and Young Americans.
Manchin says he ‘cannot vote’ for Democrats’ $2 trillion spending package - The Washington Post
Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) on Sunday said that he could not support Democrats’ roughly $2 trillion bill to overhaul the country’s health care, education, immigration, climate and tax laws, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the final piece of President Biden’s economic agenda.
The statement of opposition amounted to the most forceful condemnation yet from the moderate Democratic holdout, who cited rising consumer prices, a growing federal debt and the arrival of a new coronavirus variant as reasons he could not supply his must-have vote to help his party adopt its signature spending package.
He May Have Lost the Next Decade for Many Americans. Thanks Joe!
--------------
Corruption Central
Former President Donald Trump raked in payments from foreign interests at his Pennsylvania Avenue hotel in an operation that was the “epicenter” of a corrupt presidency, the head of a citizen watchdog organization says.
“Anyone looking to curry favor with his administration could simply walk over to his namesake hotel a couple blocks from the White House and flash cash,” Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, wrote in an opinion piece for NBC published Saturday.
Bookbinder slammed the operation in the wake of a scathing report issued by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The report, released Thursday, asserts that Trump received payments ― unfettered and unmonitored ― through his hotel from foreign entities.
The General Services Administration, in charge of monitoring the landmark Old Post Office property that the Trump Organization leases from the public, was found to have “ignored glaring constitutional issues.” The report also stated the administration “allowed for conflict of interest” when Trump refused to divest from the property while serving as president.
The emoluments clause of the Constitution prohibits federal officers from receiving payments or benefits from foreign interests to safeguard against undue influence.
Yet, the GSA “washed its hands of any responsibility” to track foreign government payments to the hotel or identify the origins of more than $75 million in loans arranged by Trump and his family, according to the report.
“Donald Trump should never have been allowed to retain ownership of the hotel when he became president,” the former federal corruption prosecutor argued.
Anywhere the Previous Guy Hangs His Hat or His Name is Corruption Central
--------------
How Many Taliban Does It Take To Screw Up A Country?
Thousands of Taliban fighters and supporters have poured into Afghanistan from Pakistan over the past four months, answering the calls of influential clerics and commanders eager to consolidate control of the country, according to interviews with half a dozen current and former Taliban members in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Senior Taliban leadership urged fighters, Afghan refugees and madrassa students in Pakistan to come to Afghanistan to help the group maintain security as it made a string of sudden territorial advances this summer that created an urgent need for reinforcements, the current and former Taliban members said.
Surprise, panic and fateful choices: The day America lost its longest war
“Many of our mujahideen were offered permanent residences in Afghanistan if they wish to move here,” said one Pakistani Taliban fighter who aided in the recruitment effort from a madrassa in northwest Pakistan. He, like others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The surge in Taliban fighters and supporters from Pakistan is bolstering ranks as the movement grapples with security threats, economic collapse and a deepening humanitarian crisis. But the source of the additional forces is also stirring long-held tensions with Pakistan at a critical time for Taliban leadership as it focuses on maintaining unity in the face of multiple crises that have the potential to undermine the group.
How Many Taliban Does It Take to Screw in a Light Bulb.
It doesn't matter. They won't have electricity anyway.
--------------
The Next Time the Texas Grid Fails, They Can Rest Easy
Construction crews have begun work on a border wall funded by the state of Texas and private donations, Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday.
Speaking in front of a segment of the wall in Rio Grande City, Abbott said the barrier is being built using the same materials used by former President Donald Trump, who oversaw construction of 17 miles of barriers in Texas during his time in office.
"Texas is taking what truly is unprecedented action by any state ever, for a state to build a wall on our border to secure and safeguard the sovereignty of the United States, as well as our own state," Abbott said, flanked by Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush and officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Military Department.
Border security has been a top priority for Abbott this year as he prepares to seek a third term next year. He has dedicated significant state resources toward the border, arguing that the Biden administration has failed to act to stem the influx of migrants there.
Immigrants Will Have to Enter the US Going Around a Wall
--------------
Just in Time For Omicron
Across the country, local agencies are preparing for the unraveling of the expanded social safety net created in response to the pandemic — and, most significantly, the end of continuous Medicaid coverage, which expires Jan. 15, at the end of the public health emergency, unless extended by the Biden administration.
The provision, a requirement under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that passed in March 2020, prevented states from removing Medicaid recipients from the program’s rolls. At least 11 million people have enrolled in Medicaid since February 2020.
Up to 15 million Americans, including nearly 6 million children, could be at risk of losing their Medicaid eligibility when the protection expires, according to the Urban Institute, an economic and policy research think tank. The change could have an outsize effect on communities of color, the Urban Institute concluded.
--------------
CDC doesn't do a good job of reporting around holidays.
Doses Administered 7-Day Average | Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses | Number of People Fully Vaccinated | New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Dec 19 | 1,558,720 | 241,571,084 | 203,926,479 | ||
| Dec 18 | 1,562,366 | 241,205,528 | 203,727,446 | ||
| Dec 17 | 2,065,555 | 240,775,382 | 203,479,206 | 125,775 | 1,182 |
| Dec 16 | 2,043,207 | 240,321,022 | 203,159,327 | 122,296 | 1,179 |
| Dec 15 | 1,795,384 | 239,975,167 | 202,748,005 | 119,546 | 1,187 |
| Dec 14 | 1,904,464 | 239,553,956 | 202,504,037 | 117,950 | 1,143 |
| Dec 13 | 1,951,329 | 239,274,656 | 202,246,698 | 117,890 | 1,147 |
| Dec 12 | 1,984,721 | 239,008,166 | 201,975,235 | 116,742 | 1,131 |
| Dec 11 | 2,020,853 | 238,679,707 | 201,688,550 | 116,893 | 1,131 |
| Dec 10 | 1,721,570 | 238,143,066 | 201,279,582 | 118,575 | 1,146 |
| Dec 9 | 1,583,662 | 237,468,725 | 200,717,387 | 118,052 | 1,089 |
| Dec 8 | 1,611,831 | 237,087,380 | 200,400,533 | 118,515 | 1,092 |
| Dec 7 | 1,781,389 | 236,363,835 | 199,687,439 | 117,488 | 1,097 |
| Dec 6 | 1,780,807 | 236,018,871 | 199,313,022 | 117,179 | 1,117 |
| Dec 5 | 2,264,301 | 235,698,738 | 198,962,520 | 103,823 | 1,154 |
| Dec 4 | 2,009,864 | 235,297,964 | 198,592,167 | 105,554 | 1,150 |
| Dec 3 | 1,700,056 | 234,743,864 | 198,211,641 | 106,132 | 1,110 |
| Dec 2 | 1,428,263 | 234,269,053 | 197,838,728 | 96,425 | 975 |
| Dec 1 | 1,116,587 | 233,590,555 | 197,363,116 | 86,412 | 859 |
| Nov 30 | 1,152,647 | 233,207,582 | 197,058,988 | 82,846 | 816 |
| Nov 29 | 937,113 | 232,792,508 | 196,806,194 | 80,178 | 804 |
| Nov 28 | No Data | 72,008 | 719 | ||
| Nov 27 | No Data | 72,139 | 721 | ||
| Nov 26 | No Data | 73,962 | 742 | ||
| Nov 25 | No Data | 82,440 | 887 | ||
| Nov 24 | 898,833 | 231,367,686 | 196,168,756 | 93,931 | 989 |
| Nov 23 | 1,126,545 | 230,669,289 | 195,973,992 | 94,266 | 982 |
| Nov 22 | 1,521,815 | 230,732,565 | 196,398,948 | 93,668 | 1,009 |
| Nov 21 | 1,774,196 | 230,298,744 | 196,284,442 | 91,021 | 985 |
| Nov 20 | 2,136,513 | 229,837,421 | 196,128,496 | 90,823 | 996 |
| Nov 19 | 1,952,717 | 229,291,004 | 195,920,566 | 92,852 | 1,047 |
| Nov 18 | 1,870,564 | 228,570,531 | 195,713,107 | 94,260 | 1,069 |
| Nov 17 | 1,811,047 | 228,175,638 | 195,612,365 | 88,482 | 1,032 |
| Nov 16 | 1,608,906 | 227,691,941 | 195,435,688 | 85,944 | 1,028 |
| Nov 15 | 1,582,519 | 227,133,617 | 195,275,904 | 83,671 | 1,029 |
| Feb 16 | 1,716,311 | 39,670,551 | 15,015,434 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 72.8% | 61.4% | 29.5% |
| % of Population 12+ | 83.1% | 70.7% | 32.1% |
| % of Population 18+ | 85.1% | 72.4% | 43.8% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 87.5% | 54.3% |
--------------
I Am a Victim of the Supply Chain
My laptop needs a new battery. Even when plugged in it will die without warning. As a result, I have to save my work frequently.
The repair place ordered the new battery a month ago, but they still cannot get it.
--------------
Don't Mess With the Sikhs Unless You Seek Death
Police in the Indian city of Amritsar say a man suspected of trying to commit a sacrilegious act at Sikhism's holiest shrine has been beaten to death.
The incident took place during a prayer service at the city's Golden Temple on Saturday, according to local media.
The man allegedly barged into the inner sanctum, where Sikhism's holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept.
He then grabbed a ceremonial sword placed next to the book, but was overpowered by guards and worshippers.
Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as not just the holy scripture of their religion but also as the living Guru, and believe it should be treated with respect as a human might be.
The scuffle took place at around 17:45 local time (11:45 GMT), and was captured on camera as evening prayers were being broadcast on television.
It is unclear exactly what happened next. Police said the man was found dead once officers arrived at the scene, and an investigation is under way.
Less than 24 hours later, another man was beaten to death by Sikhs accusing him of sacrilege after he allegedly tried to remove the Sikh flag, Nishan Sahib, from a temple in Kapurthala, also in Punjab state.
--------------
California's Drought? Snow Big Deal.
Thanks to multiple atmospheric river events, average snowpack in California has gone from 18% to 98% in just two weeks.
"Increases in snowpack of this size are not common, but also not unprecedented," Julie Kalansky, deputy director of operations for the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), explained.
Kalansky pointed out previous studies have shown a jump on this scale can happen about twice every three years, but usually over the course of an entire winter, not just the month of December.
While they don't have the exact rankings for each month of the year, "most of the storm events in the study we referenced for the above calculation were in the second half of December and later into the season," Kalansky added.
The sudden change gives California its wettest start to the Water Year in more than 40 years, thanks to several drought-denting rain and snow systems pushing through the area in recent weeks. The Water Year runs from October 1 through September 30 of the following year.
Parts of California are known for whiplash weather, but the rapid changes are quite remarkable given the snowpack was off to such a rough start, after a very warm and dry November for much of the state.
There's More Rain and Snow Coming, Too.
--------------
Could CBD Help with Autism? Early Signs Are Promising
The Story
Commercial CBD Products Contain So Little CBD, They Are Worthless.
--------------
The School That Scammed ESPN Is Not A School
The Ohio Department of Education said Bishop Sycamore High School is "a scam" and was a way for students to play football in hopes of increasing their chances of playing at the college level.
The department detailed its findings in a 41-page report released Friday. It began investigating the school in August at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine after concerns were raised over a blowout football game between Bishop Sycamore's team and Florida powerhouse IMG Academy.
IMG Academy beat the school 58-0 in a game that was broadcast on ESPN as part of the network's GEICO ESPN High School Football Kickoff series. During the game, ESPN’s own announcers questioned the matchup and raised concerns about the school's legitimacy.
Tyren Jackson, who was described as the school’s head coach, previously spoke out about the controversy, telling NBC affiliate WCMH of Columbus that Bishop Sycamore was “not a school.”
“That’s not what Bishop Sycamore is, and I think that’s what the biggest misconception about us was, and that was our fault. Because that was a mistake on paperwork,” he said in September.
The Department of Education report said Bishop Sycamore registered as a private, nonchartered school. The report said the school, however, failed to meet the minimum requirements.
The report detailed how investigators found no evidence that the school provided the required coursework for students and "was not open for instruction the requisite hours." The report also said the school changed its listed address several times.
--------------
Today's Tip Tip: You Don't Know Who's Getting the Tip
The incident occurred in early December when a group of more than 30 diners contributed to a $4,400 tip to be split between their two servers at the Oven and Tap in Bentonville, Arkansas. But then one of the servers, Ryan Brandt, told the diners that her manager said the tip had to be shared with all staff, with only 20 percent going to her. Then she was fired. (The restaurant issued a statement saying it wouldn’t disclose the reason she was let go.) So we’ve got an easy-to-hate villainous restaurant manager, a victim the audience can identify with — she has student loans to pay off! — and a whole squadron of heroes. All of which obscures what’s actually wrong with this story.
When sufficient tips are given out to boost wages above the minimum hourly rate, how those tips get divvied up lacks transparency and any guarantee of equity. There is no standardized way of splitting tips, and disclosure of tipping policies has not yet become part of the expected information a restaurant provides its customers.
While it can seem wrong that the Arkansas server had an intended tip snatched away, restaurant hosts, bartenders and bussers who don’t get handed cash directly might themselves working below minimum wage and relying on shared tips from their co-workers.
--------------
Apparently God Took 2020 Off
--------------
Who Won the Week?
Democrats, for single-handedly voting to prevent a government default by raising the debt ceiling
President Biden: visits scene of KY twisters and gets raves for emergency response in KY, IL, and TN; announces 9 more diverse judicial picks; jobs numbers still strong
Federal Judge Trevor McFadden, who grabbed Trump's attempt to keep his tax returns hidden from Congress, stomped on it, threw it in the trash, and lit it on fire
NASA, whose Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to touch the Sun by reaching its upper atmosphere
The Jan. 6 select committee, for releasing documents revealing a coordinated coup attempt by Republicans, and panic among their supporters (notably Fox News propagandists & Don Jr.) when it fell apart
Claudette Colvin, 82, whose 1955 juvenile criminal record for not giving up her seat on a Montgomery bus (9 months before Rosa Parks) was wiped clean by a judge
The rescue and relief agencies and volunteers who swooped in to help victims of last week's mega-tornadoes
The FDA, for lifting restrictions on access to abortion pills so patients can receive them by mail
Barack and Michelle Obama, once again voted the world's most admired man & woman in YouGov’s annual international survey
--------------
Who Lost the Week? Poor, Sick, Female, and Young Americans.
Manchin says he ‘cannot vote’ for Democrats’ $2 trillion spending package - The Washington Post
Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) on Sunday said that he could not support Democrats’ roughly $2 trillion bill to overhaul the country’s health care, education, immigration, climate and tax laws, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the final piece of President Biden’s economic agenda.
The statement of opposition amounted to the most forceful condemnation yet from the moderate Democratic holdout, who cited rising consumer prices, a growing federal debt and the arrival of a new coronavirus variant as reasons he could not supply his must-have vote to help his party adopt its signature spending package.
He May Have Lost the Next Decade for Many Americans. Thanks Joe!
--------------
Corruption Central
Former President Donald Trump raked in payments from foreign interests at his Pennsylvania Avenue hotel in an operation that was the “epicenter” of a corrupt presidency, the head of a citizen watchdog organization says.
“Anyone looking to curry favor with his administration could simply walk over to his namesake hotel a couple blocks from the White House and flash cash,” Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, wrote in an opinion piece for NBC published Saturday.
Bookbinder slammed the operation in the wake of a scathing report issued by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The report, released Thursday, asserts that Trump received payments ― unfettered and unmonitored ― through his hotel from foreign entities.
The General Services Administration, in charge of monitoring the landmark Old Post Office property that the Trump Organization leases from the public, was found to have “ignored glaring constitutional issues.” The report also stated the administration “allowed for conflict of interest” when Trump refused to divest from the property while serving as president.
The emoluments clause of the Constitution prohibits federal officers from receiving payments or benefits from foreign interests to safeguard against undue influence.
Yet, the GSA “washed its hands of any responsibility” to track foreign government payments to the hotel or identify the origins of more than $75 million in loans arranged by Trump and his family, according to the report.
“Donald Trump should never have been allowed to retain ownership of the hotel when he became president,” the former federal corruption prosecutor argued.
Anywhere the Previous Guy Hangs His Hat or His Name is Corruption Central
--------------
How Many Taliban Does It Take To Screw Up A Country?
Thousands of Taliban fighters and supporters have poured into Afghanistan from Pakistan over the past four months, answering the calls of influential clerics and commanders eager to consolidate control of the country, according to interviews with half a dozen current and former Taliban members in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Senior Taliban leadership urged fighters, Afghan refugees and madrassa students in Pakistan to come to Afghanistan to help the group maintain security as it made a string of sudden territorial advances this summer that created an urgent need for reinforcements, the current and former Taliban members said.
Surprise, panic and fateful choices: The day America lost its longest war
“Many of our mujahideen were offered permanent residences in Afghanistan if they wish to move here,” said one Pakistani Taliban fighter who aided in the recruitment effort from a madrassa in northwest Pakistan. He, like others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The surge in Taliban fighters and supporters from Pakistan is bolstering ranks as the movement grapples with security threats, economic collapse and a deepening humanitarian crisis. But the source of the additional forces is also stirring long-held tensions with Pakistan at a critical time for Taliban leadership as it focuses on maintaining unity in the face of multiple crises that have the potential to undermine the group.
How Many Taliban Does It Take to Screw in a Light Bulb.
It doesn't matter. They won't have electricity anyway.
--------------
The Next Time the Texas Grid Fails, They Can Rest Easy
Construction crews have begun work on a border wall funded by the state of Texas and private donations, Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday.
Speaking in front of a segment of the wall in Rio Grande City, Abbott said the barrier is being built using the same materials used by former President Donald Trump, who oversaw construction of 17 miles of barriers in Texas during his time in office.
"Texas is taking what truly is unprecedented action by any state ever, for a state to build a wall on our border to secure and safeguard the sovereignty of the United States, as well as our own state," Abbott said, flanked by Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush and officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Military Department.
Border security has been a top priority for Abbott this year as he prepares to seek a third term next year. He has dedicated significant state resources toward the border, arguing that the Biden administration has failed to act to stem the influx of migrants there.
Immigrants Will Have to Enter the US Going Around a Wall
--------------
Just in Time For Omicron
Across the country, local agencies are preparing for the unraveling of the expanded social safety net created in response to the pandemic — and, most significantly, the end of continuous Medicaid coverage, which expires Jan. 15, at the end of the public health emergency, unless extended by the Biden administration.
The provision, a requirement under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that passed in March 2020, prevented states from removing Medicaid recipients from the program’s rolls. At least 11 million people have enrolled in Medicaid since February 2020.
Up to 15 million Americans, including nearly 6 million children, could be at risk of losing their Medicaid eligibility when the protection expires, according to the Urban Institute, an economic and policy research think tank. The change could have an outsize effect on communities of color, the Urban Institute concluded.
--------------