Post by mhbruin on Dec 24, 2021 8:48:52 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 500 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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Tesla Realizes Driving is No Game
Tesla has agreed to make changes to its Passenger Play feature that allowed games to be played on its touchscreen while the car is in motion.
It follows an investigation launched by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The agency said it had been informed by Tesla that a software update would disable the feature while driving.
Elon Musk's car firm had faced criticism that the feature was dangerous.
The New York Times reported that Tesla had contacted the NHTSA directly.
"Passenger Play will now be locked and unusable when the vehicle is in motion," the agency told the paper.
Unless You were Playing Gran Turismo Sport. Then It Is a Game.
--------------
The Wolf of Grisons Street
One or perhaps two wolves, spotted at a distance, roaming the mountains from which they were driven to extinction a century ago may be a good thing - a sign of nature rebalancing itself, of diversity restored.
A whole pack, prowling through alpine villages, lurking along the paths children take to school, is something different.
When the first wolf returned to Switzerland almost 30 years ago, wandering over the border from Italy, environmental groups were delighted.
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of species disappeared from the Swiss Alps: the brown bear, the lynx and the wolf. The high mountain environment, so often regarded as pure and untouched, had been ravaged by one particular predator - humans.
Now all three species are back. The bears and the wolves returned naturally, the lynx has been successfully reintroduced. But the dream of people and animals living harmoniously side by side has turned, for some alpine farming communities, into a bit of a nightmare.
Just this month a sheep farmer close to the Swiss capital Bern woke to find seven of his 35 sheep dead, their throats ripped out by a wolf that had apparently jumped over the electric fence designed to protect the flock.
Unlike their predecessors in the Middle Ages who were constantly aware of the danger wolves could pose, today's farmers rarely employ shepherds to keep an eye on their flocks. Even the traditional sheep dog, which can help keep wolves at bay, has gone out of fashion.
Thirty years on, that lone Swiss wolf has become close to 100, forming at least eight packs across the country.
--------------
Don't Be a Man of the Cloth
As the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread, some experts say it's past time to reconsider your face mask options -- especially if you're still wearing the cloth variety.
"Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There's no place for them in light of Omicron," said CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, on CNN Newsroom Tuesday.
"This is what scientists and public health officials have been saying for months, many months, in fact," Wen added in a separate phone interview.
"We need to be wearing at least a three-ply surgical mask," she said, which is also known as a disposable mask and can be found at most drugstores and some grocery and retail stores. "You can wear a cloth mask on top of that, but do not just wear a cloth mask alone."
Ideally, in crowded places, "you should be wearing a KN95 or N95 mask," which can be as inexpensive as a few dollars each, Wen added. By having a better fit and certain materials -- such as polypropylene fibers -- acting as both mechanical and electrostatic barriers, these masks better prevent tiny particles from getting into your nose or mouth and must be fitted to your face to function properly.
--------------
Fraud Sounds Like a Crime to Me. Lock Him Up!
A North Carolina police chief has been placed on unpaid leave and probation for telling officers about a "clinic" that would issue them a Covid-19 vaccination card without actually receiving the shot, local officials said.
T.J. Smith -- the police chief of Oakboro Town, North Carolina -- violated policies including, fraud, willful acts that endanger the property of others and serving a conflicting interest when he allegedly told officers about the scheme, according to a letter addressed to him from Town Administrator Doug Burgess.
--------------
Checking that Leading Indicator
--------------
South Africa Calling
--------------
A Traffic Stop Should Never Have Escalated Into This.
A Minnesota jury on Thursday found former police officer Kimberly Potter guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop when she mistakenly fired her handgun instead of her Taser.
A 12-member jury declared Potter, 49, guilty of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the death of the 20-year-old Wright, whom she killed in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on April 11 with a bullet to the chest.
--------------
WTF Were Police Doing Shooting in a Clothing Store?
Two people were fatally shot, including a 14-year-old girl struck by a stray bullet that entered her dressing room, after officers opened fire during a confrontation with a suspect at a Los Angeles clothing store, police said.
14-year-old in dressing room killed by stray bullet during police shooting
The incident occurred shortly before noon Thursday at a Burlington store in North Hollywood, where Los Angeles police responded to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
While searching for the suspect, "the officers encountered an individual who was in the process of assaulting another, and an officer-involved shooting occurred," LAPD Capt. Stacy Spell told reporters during a news briefing.
The suspect, an adult man, was shot by police and declared dead at the scene, LAPD said.
A second person was also shot during the incident, whom LAPD later identified as a 14-year-old girl.
Police believe the teenager was struck by an officer's bullet fired at the assault suspect that penetrated a wall into her dressing room, LAPD said in an update Thursday evening. She was found during a search for additional suspects and victims and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Burlington 2 Days Before Xmas Must Have Been Filled With People. Use a Freakin' Taser!
--------------
The Raise Craze
Minimum wages will rise around the country when 2022 arrives, with hikes coming to 21 states and dozens of cities and counties.
The increases are due to cost-of-living adjustments and scheduled raises written into local minimum wage laws. The lack of movement on the federal minimum wage over the last 12 years has led more states and localities to take matters into their own hands.
Both California and New York will hit a $15 minimum wage for many workers, a landmark for the union-backed Fight for $15 campaign that began in New York City more than nine years ago.
On New Year’s Day, California’s wage floor will rise to $15 for employers with more than 25 workers, and to $14 for those with 25 or fewer. That amounts to a $1 raise in each group.
New York already has a $15 minimum wage for workers in New York City, but the $15 wage floor will extend to Long Island and Westchester County on New Year’s Eve. The minimum wage in the rest of the state will increase from $12.50 to $13.20.
--------------
Who ISN'T Suing Rudy and OAN?
Two Georgia election workers filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing a right-wing cable news channel and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of defaming them by falsely claiming they engaged in ballot fraud during the 2020 election.
It was the second defamation lawsuit by Fulton County election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss this month over debunked claims they introduced suitcases of illegal ballots and committed other acts of election fraud to try to alter the outcome of the presidential election in Georgia. The pair, a mother and daughter, sued conservative website The Gateway Pundit on Dec. 2.
The lawsuit filed Thursday says One America News Network continued to accuse Freeman and Moss of wrongdoing even after Georgia election officials refuted the allegations against them. Giuliani, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, appeared frequently on the network and along with OAN, “continued to publish and amplify the lie,” according to the suit filed in federal court in Washington.
--------------
Or Is He Getting Rid of It Because It Was Totally Useless
President Joe Biden will lift travel restrictions on eight Southern African countries on Dec. 31, citing new “understanding” of the omicron variant’s risks and spread, the White House announced Friday.
Biden made the decision on the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which pointed to evidence that coronavirus vaccines are effective at preventing severe disease from the mutation-laden variant, a senior administration official told the Washington Post.
Why Wait Until the 31st?
--------------
Let's Hear It For the Nerdy Trans Girl!
Amy Schneider – who's won 17 consecutive games of Jeopardy! – is climbing the ladder of series champions.
She's now collected the fourth-highest winnings in regular season play with $687,400, behind legends Matt Amodio ($1,518,601), James Holzhauer ($2,462,216) and Ken Jennings ($2,520,700).
The engineering manager from Oakland, California, became the first openly transgender contestant to qualify for a spot in the next tournament of top winners after just five wins earlier this year. She's since opened up about the value of on-screen representation.
"I am so incredibly grateful," she said in a recent interview with San Francisco station KGO-TV. "Hopefully I can send a positive message to the nerdy trans girl who wants to be on the show too."
--------------
A New Supply Chain Problem. A Shortage of Cupcakes in Durham.
For men's and women's college basketball, the holiday season has come with a sickening sense of déjà vu.
As a new variant of the coronavirus, known as omicron, races across the globe, the sport is beginning to grapple with a familiar round of cancellations and postponements impacting nearly every conference and many of the biggest names in the country.
Duke was originally scheduled to end non-conference play this past Saturday against Cleveland State but was forced to cancel after COVID-19 concerns pushed the Vikings' program into an indefinite pause.
The Blue Devils, ranked second in the Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, then rescheduled with Loyola University Maryland, but the Greyhounds also went into COVID-19 protocols. Finally, a third opponent in a 72-hour span was found in Elon, and the Blue Devils cruised past the Phoenix.
"Our sport is being impacted in an amazing fashion with the virus," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
COVID-19 issues with No. 21 Colorado State forced the program to preemptively cancel a crucial neutral-site matchup against No. 11 Alabama, robbing the Rams of an opportunity to post a résumé-building win against a major-conference opponent.
No. 18 Kentucky canceled this past Saturday's game against No. 12 Ohio State and Wednesday's game against Louisville, marking the first time the two rivals have not met since 1981-82. No. 6 UCLA has already had three games canceled — Alabama State, North Carolina and Cal Poly — while the Bruins' women's program has canceled twice.
--------------
This Is Terrible! Some People Can't Tell If they Have COVID Because the Symptoms As So Mild
It starts with a sneeze, maybe a sniffle.
You think to yourself, it’s just mild allergies or a minor cold. You’re not worried about covid-19, because the symptoms don’t match up with the distinct, often severe indicators of covid-19: joint aches, violent coughing, a fever or chill, and the dreaded loss of ability to taste or smell.
But with the omicron variant now the dominant strain in the United States infecting the unvaccinated and fully inoculated alike, health experts warn the symptoms that previously helped people to gauge whether they had a cold, flu or covid-19 are no longer the useful marker they once were.
Preliminary real-world data from the United Kingdom found people infected with the omicron variant were almost 60 percent less likely to be hospitalized than those infected with delta. Even though early data indicates omicron may not be as dangerous as delta for unvaccinated individuals, the ease with which omicron spreads still poses a significant threat to the most vulnerable populations.
The Washington Post: We Find the Bad News in Every Story
--------------
Maybe They Thought He Liked Boar's Head, Not Bird's Head. It's a Common Parenting Mistake.
Prosecutors said Thursday that James and Jennifer Crumbley's bonds should stay high since they knew their son Ethan Crumbley kept a bird's head in a jar, along with knowledge of his depression and fascination with guns.
The parents "willfully ignored the needs and well-being of their son and the threat he posed to others," said prosecutors. "Their son was torturing animals, even leaving a baby bird's head in a jar on his bedroom floor, which he later took and placed in a school bathroom."
--------------
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 2 or More Doses | New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Dec 24 | |||||
| Dec 23 | 1,189,954 | 241,520,561 | 204,740,321 | ||
| Dec 22 | 1,283,244 | 241,583,543 | 204,818,717 | 176,097 | 1,213 |
| Dec 21 | 1,542,936 | 241,132,288 | 204,578,725 | 161,261 | 1,223 |
| Dec 20 | 1,554,261 | 241,881,712 | 204,098,982 | 149,331 | 1,188 |
| Dec 19 | 1,558,720 | 241,571,084 | 203,926,479 | 132,659 | 1,169 |
| Dec 18 | 1,562,366 | 241,205,528 | 203,727,446 | 127,445 | 1,182 |
| 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 |
| 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% | 61.7% | 31.5% |
| % of Population 12+ | 83.0% | 70.9% | 34.2% |
| % of Population 18+ | 85.0% | 72.6% | 46.2% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 87.5% | 56.6% |
--------------
Tesla Realizes Driving is No Game
Tesla has agreed to make changes to its Passenger Play feature that allowed games to be played on its touchscreen while the car is in motion.
It follows an investigation launched by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The agency said it had been informed by Tesla that a software update would disable the feature while driving.
Elon Musk's car firm had faced criticism that the feature was dangerous.
The New York Times reported that Tesla had contacted the NHTSA directly.
"Passenger Play will now be locked and unusable when the vehicle is in motion," the agency told the paper.
Unless You were Playing Gran Turismo Sport. Then It Is a Game.
--------------
The Wolf of Grisons Street
One or perhaps two wolves, spotted at a distance, roaming the mountains from which they were driven to extinction a century ago may be a good thing - a sign of nature rebalancing itself, of diversity restored.
A whole pack, prowling through alpine villages, lurking along the paths children take to school, is something different.
When the first wolf returned to Switzerland almost 30 years ago, wandering over the border from Italy, environmental groups were delighted.
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of species disappeared from the Swiss Alps: the brown bear, the lynx and the wolf. The high mountain environment, so often regarded as pure and untouched, had been ravaged by one particular predator - humans.
Now all three species are back. The bears and the wolves returned naturally, the lynx has been successfully reintroduced. But the dream of people and animals living harmoniously side by side has turned, for some alpine farming communities, into a bit of a nightmare.
Just this month a sheep farmer close to the Swiss capital Bern woke to find seven of his 35 sheep dead, their throats ripped out by a wolf that had apparently jumped over the electric fence designed to protect the flock.
Unlike their predecessors in the Middle Ages who were constantly aware of the danger wolves could pose, today's farmers rarely employ shepherds to keep an eye on their flocks. Even the traditional sheep dog, which can help keep wolves at bay, has gone out of fashion.
Thirty years on, that lone Swiss wolf has become close to 100, forming at least eight packs across the country.
--------------
Don't Be a Man of the Cloth
As the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread, some experts say it's past time to reconsider your face mask options -- especially if you're still wearing the cloth variety.
"Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There's no place for them in light of Omicron," said CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, on CNN Newsroom Tuesday.
"This is what scientists and public health officials have been saying for months, many months, in fact," Wen added in a separate phone interview.
"We need to be wearing at least a three-ply surgical mask," she said, which is also known as a disposable mask and can be found at most drugstores and some grocery and retail stores. "You can wear a cloth mask on top of that, but do not just wear a cloth mask alone."
Ideally, in crowded places, "you should be wearing a KN95 or N95 mask," which can be as inexpensive as a few dollars each, Wen added. By having a better fit and certain materials -- such as polypropylene fibers -- acting as both mechanical and electrostatic barriers, these masks better prevent tiny particles from getting into your nose or mouth and must be fitted to your face to function properly.
--------------
Fraud Sounds Like a Crime to Me. Lock Him Up!
A North Carolina police chief has been placed on unpaid leave and probation for telling officers about a "clinic" that would issue them a Covid-19 vaccination card without actually receiving the shot, local officials said.
T.J. Smith -- the police chief of Oakboro Town, North Carolina -- violated policies including, fraud, willful acts that endanger the property of others and serving a conflicting interest when he allegedly told officers about the scheme, according to a letter addressed to him from Town Administrator Doug Burgess.
--------------
Checking that Leading Indicator
--------------
South Africa Calling
--------------
A Traffic Stop Should Never Have Escalated Into This.
A Minnesota jury on Thursday found former police officer Kimberly Potter guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop when she mistakenly fired her handgun instead of her Taser.
A 12-member jury declared Potter, 49, guilty of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the death of the 20-year-old Wright, whom she killed in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on April 11 with a bullet to the chest.
--------------
WTF Were Police Doing Shooting in a Clothing Store?
Two people were fatally shot, including a 14-year-old girl struck by a stray bullet that entered her dressing room, after officers opened fire during a confrontation with a suspect at a Los Angeles clothing store, police said.
14-year-old in dressing room killed by stray bullet during police shooting
The incident occurred shortly before noon Thursday at a Burlington store in North Hollywood, where Los Angeles police responded to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
While searching for the suspect, "the officers encountered an individual who was in the process of assaulting another, and an officer-involved shooting occurred," LAPD Capt. Stacy Spell told reporters during a news briefing.
The suspect, an adult man, was shot by police and declared dead at the scene, LAPD said.
A second person was also shot during the incident, whom LAPD later identified as a 14-year-old girl.
Police believe the teenager was struck by an officer's bullet fired at the assault suspect that penetrated a wall into her dressing room, LAPD said in an update Thursday evening. She was found during a search for additional suspects and victims and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Burlington 2 Days Before Xmas Must Have Been Filled With People. Use a Freakin' Taser!
--------------
The Raise Craze
Minimum wages will rise around the country when 2022 arrives, with hikes coming to 21 states and dozens of cities and counties.
The increases are due to cost-of-living adjustments and scheduled raises written into local minimum wage laws. The lack of movement on the federal minimum wage over the last 12 years has led more states and localities to take matters into their own hands.
Both California and New York will hit a $15 minimum wage for many workers, a landmark for the union-backed Fight for $15 campaign that began in New York City more than nine years ago.
On New Year’s Day, California’s wage floor will rise to $15 for employers with more than 25 workers, and to $14 for those with 25 or fewer. That amounts to a $1 raise in each group.
New York already has a $15 minimum wage for workers in New York City, but the $15 wage floor will extend to Long Island and Westchester County on New Year’s Eve. The minimum wage in the rest of the state will increase from $12.50 to $13.20.
--------------
Who ISN'T Suing Rudy and OAN?
Two Georgia election workers filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing a right-wing cable news channel and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of defaming them by falsely claiming they engaged in ballot fraud during the 2020 election.
It was the second defamation lawsuit by Fulton County election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss this month over debunked claims they introduced suitcases of illegal ballots and committed other acts of election fraud to try to alter the outcome of the presidential election in Georgia. The pair, a mother and daughter, sued conservative website The Gateway Pundit on Dec. 2.
The lawsuit filed Thursday says One America News Network continued to accuse Freeman and Moss of wrongdoing even after Georgia election officials refuted the allegations against them. Giuliani, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, appeared frequently on the network and along with OAN, “continued to publish and amplify the lie,” according to the suit filed in federal court in Washington.
--------------
Or Is He Getting Rid of It Because It Was Totally Useless
President Joe Biden will lift travel restrictions on eight Southern African countries on Dec. 31, citing new “understanding” of the omicron variant’s risks and spread, the White House announced Friday.
Biden made the decision on the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which pointed to evidence that coronavirus vaccines are effective at preventing severe disease from the mutation-laden variant, a senior administration official told the Washington Post.
Why Wait Until the 31st?
--------------
Let's Hear It For the Nerdy Trans Girl!
Amy Schneider – who's won 17 consecutive games of Jeopardy! – is climbing the ladder of series champions.
She's now collected the fourth-highest winnings in regular season play with $687,400, behind legends Matt Amodio ($1,518,601), James Holzhauer ($2,462,216) and Ken Jennings ($2,520,700).
The engineering manager from Oakland, California, became the first openly transgender contestant to qualify for a spot in the next tournament of top winners after just five wins earlier this year. She's since opened up about the value of on-screen representation.
"I am so incredibly grateful," she said in a recent interview with San Francisco station KGO-TV. "Hopefully I can send a positive message to the nerdy trans girl who wants to be on the show too."
--------------
A New Supply Chain Problem. A Shortage of Cupcakes in Durham.
For men's and women's college basketball, the holiday season has come with a sickening sense of déjà vu.
As a new variant of the coronavirus, known as omicron, races across the globe, the sport is beginning to grapple with a familiar round of cancellations and postponements impacting nearly every conference and many of the biggest names in the country.
Duke was originally scheduled to end non-conference play this past Saturday against Cleveland State but was forced to cancel after COVID-19 concerns pushed the Vikings' program into an indefinite pause.
The Blue Devils, ranked second in the Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, then rescheduled with Loyola University Maryland, but the Greyhounds also went into COVID-19 protocols. Finally, a third opponent in a 72-hour span was found in Elon, and the Blue Devils cruised past the Phoenix.
"Our sport is being impacted in an amazing fashion with the virus," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
COVID-19 issues with No. 21 Colorado State forced the program to preemptively cancel a crucial neutral-site matchup against No. 11 Alabama, robbing the Rams of an opportunity to post a résumé-building win against a major-conference opponent.
No. 18 Kentucky canceled this past Saturday's game against No. 12 Ohio State and Wednesday's game against Louisville, marking the first time the two rivals have not met since 1981-82. No. 6 UCLA has already had three games canceled — Alabama State, North Carolina and Cal Poly — while the Bruins' women's program has canceled twice.
--------------
This Is Terrible! Some People Can't Tell If they Have COVID Because the Symptoms As So Mild
It starts with a sneeze, maybe a sniffle.
You think to yourself, it’s just mild allergies or a minor cold. You’re not worried about covid-19, because the symptoms don’t match up with the distinct, often severe indicators of covid-19: joint aches, violent coughing, a fever or chill, and the dreaded loss of ability to taste or smell.
But with the omicron variant now the dominant strain in the United States infecting the unvaccinated and fully inoculated alike, health experts warn the symptoms that previously helped people to gauge whether they had a cold, flu or covid-19 are no longer the useful marker they once were.
Preliminary real-world data from the United Kingdom found people infected with the omicron variant were almost 60 percent less likely to be hospitalized than those infected with delta. Even though early data indicates omicron may not be as dangerous as delta for unvaccinated individuals, the ease with which omicron spreads still poses a significant threat to the most vulnerable populations.
The Washington Post: We Find the Bad News in Every Story
--------------
Maybe They Thought He Liked Boar's Head, Not Bird's Head. It's a Common Parenting Mistake.
Prosecutors said Thursday that James and Jennifer Crumbley's bonds should stay high since they knew their son Ethan Crumbley kept a bird's head in a jar, along with knowledge of his depression and fascination with guns.
The parents "willfully ignored the needs and well-being of their son and the threat he posed to others," said prosecutors. "Their son was torturing animals, even leaving a baby bird's head in a jar on his bedroom floor, which he later took and placed in a school bathroom."
--------------
