Post by mhbruin on Jan 3, 2022 8:44:05 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 508 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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Omicron is More Benevolent. Or Is It? Here's Why We Don't Know.
The simple answer is cases are up and hospitalizations are not up as much as they would be with Delta. Is it less virulent than Delta?
A much higher proportion of the new cases are in vaccinated people. Those are mostly milder cases.
Here is what we don't know:
It Could Be Worse, But It is Not Good.
The United States was averaging more than 400,000 new cases each day as of Monday, double the previous week’s rate, according to Washington Post data, and is expected to soon hit as many as 1 million cases per day.
Hospitalizations are up 31 percent from last week, and deaths increased by 37 percent, with about 1,500 Americans dying of covid-19 each day. Experts have warned that this surge will be driven by the unvaccinated, as those who are vaccinated and boosted would have considerable protection from serious illness.
Is It Less Dangerous? Even If It Is Less Virulent, Probably Not.
--------------
Here's Someone Else's Take
Like clockwork- almost rote at this point.
Patient comes into the ER. Months of notes from their PCP trying to get them vaccinated. They steadfastly refuse. Get COVID. Try every home "treatment" available. Decompensate. Show up in the ER, panicked. We stabilize them.
But it's too late.
They show up wanting Regeneron- the "vaccine bad, fetal-cell derived synthetic antibodies good" rationale is a tough one- but it's too late. Or they have the Omicron, which regeneron doesn’t work for anyway.
They continue to decompensate. Go to the COVID unit. Then to the ICU. Then they get intubated.
And then- well.
Again, I've seen people chuckle at the schadenfreude they experience watching people "earn their Herman Cain Award", but I assure you nobody in healthcare feels that way.
I've seen the frenzied horror on people's faces when they understand what's happening.
That it's too late.
Sigh.
The Omicron isn't "just a cold", particularly to unvaccinated people. Stupid that people want to think that. “Oh, South Africa is past their peak!” What, the South Africa that is in the middle of their summer, with mask mandates and restricted gathering sizes? Yeah. We’re gonna be exactly like South Africa.
--------------
This is So Senseless
Barb Bartolovich was an 82-year-old grandmother who liked to play cards. And as a cancer survivor, with a compromised immune system, she took precautions against getting COVID seriously. She was vaccinated. And when she was invited to a card game, she only attended after she was assured all the other players were also vaccinated.
But according to her granddaughter, Lauren Nash, one of the players not only had COVID but knew they had it after a positive test. Tragically, Bartolovich caught COVID-19, was hospitalized, ventilated, and died on Dec. 21, right before Christmas.
My Idiot Nephew Went to a Christmas Party With COVID Symptoms. Did He Kill Anyone?
--------------
Some Men Seem Determined to Prove They Are Pigs
Police in two Indian states have registered cases after an app shared photos of more than 100 Muslim women saying they were on "sale".
The accused include developers of the app and Twitter handles that shared the images and content.
The open source app - Bulli Bai - was hosted on web platform GitHub, which has since taken it down.
This was the second attempt in months to harass Muslim women in India by "auctioning" them online.
In July, an app and website called "Sulli Deals" created profiles of more than 80 Muslim women - using photos they uploaded online - and described them as "deals of the day".
In both cases, there was no real sale of any kind - the purpose is to degrade and humiliate Muslim women by sharing their personal images.
Isn't This Kind of How Mark Zuckerberg Got Started?
--------------
Note To Self: Don't Invest in Chinese Bonds
Crisis-hit Chinese real estate giant Evergrande has suspended trade in its shares in Hong Kong as investors await news on its restructuring plan.
The statement to the stock exchange did not give a reason for the trading halt.
Evergrande has more than $300bn (£222bn) of debt and is scrambling to raise cash by selling assets and shares to repay suppliers and creditors.
Last week, the company dialled back plans to repay investors in its wealth management products.
Evergrande said on Friday that each investor in its wealth management product could expect to receive $1,257 each month as principal payment for three months irrespective of when the investment matures.
The company had earlier not mentioned any amount and had agreed to repay 10% of the investment by the end of the month when the product matures.
--------------
Note to Self: Don't Invest in Turkish Anything
Turkey's annual inflation rate has soared to a 19-year high, underlining the country's financial turmoil and alarm over its president's policies.
Prices hit more than 36% December as the cost of transport, food and other staples ate into household budgets.
Most central banks raise interest rates to help cool inflation but Turkey has gone the other way.
It has meant a collapse in the value of the lira, as Tayyip Erdogan prioritises exports over currency stability.
The lira shed 44% of its value against the dollar last year, and fell another 4% on Monday.
--------------
The Boy Who Lived
Airport staff in Mauritius have found a newborn baby boy abandoned in the rubbish bin toilet of a plane's toilet.
A 20-year-old woman from Madagascar, suspected of having given birth on the flight, was arrested.
The Air Mauritius plane, which arrived from Madagascar, landed at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport on 1 January.
Airport officers made the discovery when they screened the plane for a routine customs check.
They rushed the baby to a public hospital for treatment.
The woman suspected of being the child's mother, who initially denied the boy was hers, was made to undergo a medical examination which confirmed that she had just given birth.
--------------
This Guy Needs To Make Up His Mind
South Korea's military suspects a man who crossed the heavily fortified border into the North on New Year's Day previously defected to the South.
Officials believe he is a gymnast who jumped the barbed wire fence into South Korea in 2020.
It is not clear why he made the perilous return crossing, or if he is alive or dead.
North Korea has implemented a shoot-on-sight policy at the border to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
If He Just Likes Jumping Fences, He Should Pick Other Fences
--------------
But Maybe He Shouldn't Jump Turnstiles
A 28-year-old New York man died Sunday morning after attempting to jump a subway turnstile in Queens, police said.
Officers responding to a 911 call discovered the man, who was not identified by authorities, unresponsive on the concrete floor at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue station, The New York Daily News reported. He was declared dead at the scene.
Police said surveillance footage showed that when he hopped over the turnstile at the station, the man’s foot caught and he tumbled, head first, onto the floor.
The city medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.
Straphangers who jump turnstiles are generally trying to avoid paying the $2.75 subway fare. Occasionally, riders will also leap the barrier if the turnstile is stuck or otherwise inoperable.
--------------
The American People Know What Is Going On
But They Aren't Doing Much to Stop It.
The US could be under a rightwing dictatorship by 2030, a Canadian political science professor has warned, urging his country to protect itself against the “collapse of American democracy”.--------------
Water, Water, Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink
The Navy is slowly coming closer to decontaminating the unsafe drinking water that led to thousands leaving their homes near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam over water from the Red Hill well that was tainted with petroleum. During a recent meeting with lawmakers, Navy officials described cleanup efforts that included flushing the entire system, from source to faucet, that will also include flushing at least 10% of individual homes that have been affected as well as businesses and schools. This process is expected to last until the end of January—far longer than officials’ initial estimates—though the Navy believes that some residents may be able to return to their homes as early as next week. The Navy stressed it would be transparent in releasing test results. The decision to flush and then filter the drinking water was created in consultation with Hawaii’s Health Department and the Board of Water Supply serving the region.
Lawmakers were understandably skeptical, especially given that the Navy claimed that no mandatory evacuation would be needed, as officials believe the water is safe for everything but drinking. Sen. Kurt Fevella pushed back, demanding that the Navy speak to his constituents, who have been reporting devastating effects from even bathing in the contaminated water. Residents had previously complained that their children’s skin burned and that contaminated water had even led to the death of pets. “You guys are just doing the minimum because you want to keep the facility there,” Fevella said. The military earlier boasted that it was providing affected residents with hand-washing stations and going above and beyond what the Hawaii Health Department requires. But Fevella is clearly onto something given the Navy’s reticence to comply with the Department of Health’s demand that the fuel tanks above Red Hill be shuttered.
The Water Has Been Contaminated Since Late November
--------------
It Wasn't a Jan 6 Attack, But ...
Fire crews have continued to work at South Africa’s national Parliament complex in Cape Town on Monday after a major fire blazed through the buildings a day earlier, causing extensive damage.
The main chamber of the National Assembly was “completely gutted,” City of Cape Town safety and security official J.P. Smith said, and parts of the roof had collapsed.
“The entire Parliament complex is severely damaged, waterlogged and smoke damaged,” Smith said.
Firefighters were still working on “hotspots” in the National Assembly building more than 24 hours after the fire started, Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse said. But the fire crews had been scaled back from around 70 firefighters Sunday to 20 by Monday morning.
Other buildings in the complex were also damaged by the fire that started early Sunday morning and spread from an old Parliament building that now houses offices to the National Assembly building.
A man arrested Sunday is being questioned in connection with the fire, police said. He is to appear in court on Tuesday and is expected to face charges of breaking and entering, theft and arson, while he will also be charged under South Africa’s National Key Points Act, a security law controlling access to places of national importance and government buildings.
The man had to be rescued from the fire on Sunday, according to South African media reports. Parliament was closed for the holidays and no injuries were reported.
--------------
It's Not the Name on the Back of the Jersey, It's the Name on the Front. But What If You Have No Jersey?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown pulled off his jersey and left the field before the end of his team's 28-24 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, hastening his exit from the organization.
Head coach Bruce Arians said after the game that Brown, 33, was "no longer a Buc."
Brown's display included removing his jersey, his shoulder pads, his undershirt and his glove; giving the crowd a peace sign; and leaving MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
According to Jay Glazer of "NFL on Fox," which aired the game, Arians repeatedly ordered Brown into the game but was refused, prompting him to send Brown to the locker room.
Earlier this week, when speaking to reporters, Brown blamed the media for fabricating the drama surrounding him this season. Brown was suspended for three games by the NFL for misrepresenting his vaccination status against COVID-19, then he refused to answer questions about it.
Antonio Brown’s temper tantrum at MetLife Stadium on Sunday will likely cost him at least $1 million. Even if it is the end of his season, it will cost him seven-figures. According to Spotrac, Brown is 8 catches away from unlocking a $333,333 bonus.
Is He Planning To Be Kanye West's Running Mate in 2024?
--------------
Here Comes the Manchin Child Poverty Wave
Families are bracing for bank balances to suffer when the middle of January comes and the monthly child-tax-credit payment doesn’t.
More than 30 million households started getting up to $300 per child in July after Congress temporarily transformed an annual tax break into a near-universal monthly benefit. Families spent the money on essentials like groceries and stashed it as emergency savings, researchers found.
Maybe He and His Fossil-Fuels Buddies Can Throw a Party
--------------
Note To Self: Don't Fly on January 5th
Verizon and AT&T have rejected a request by the U.S. government to delay the rollout of next-generation wireless technology.
A joint letter Sunday from the telecommunications giants to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Steve Dickson, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, sought to dismiss concerns brought by U.S. airlines that a new 5G wireless service could harm aviation.
But Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, and John Stankey, CEO of AT&T, also wrote that they were willing to accept some temporary measures over the next six months to limit the service around certain airport runways.
Airlines had asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay this week’s scheduled 5G rollout, saying the service, set to launch Wednesday, could interfere with electronics that pilots rely on.
--------------
One Good Jab Deserves Another, and Another, and Another, and Another.
But as new variants like Omicron arise and vaccination rates continue to be sluggish in many areas, worrying those with weak immune systems, many of them are getting extra shots without being certain of whether they are safe or effective.
Typically, doctors have discretion to use approved medications outside of their recommended uses — so a fully approved vaccine like Pfizer’s could normally be prescribed as doctors see fit.
People taking the extra shots aren’t doing anything illegal. They could face civil lawsuits if vaccine providers decide to go after them for lying, but that is extremely unlikely, according to Govind Persad, an assistant professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
--------------
It's National Humiliation Day
ASU basketball celebrated early yesterday.
Humiliation Day is not a day to humiliate someone. Rather, it should be viewed as a time to recognize the negativity of humiliating someone, or a group of people.
Every Day Should Be a Day to Recognize the Negativity of Humiliating Someone, or a Group of People.
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 | |
| Jan 3 | |||||
| Jan 2 | No Data | ||||
| Jan 1 | No Data | ||||
| Dec 31 | No Data | ||||
| Dec 30 | 1,234,917 | 243,527,564 | 205,811,394 | ||
| Dec 29 | 1,042,911 | 243,182,423 | 205,638,307 | 316,277 | 1,100 |
| Dec 28 | 1,091,279 | 242,813,374 | 205,420,745 | 277,241 | 1,085 |
| Dec 27 | 1,034,442 | 242,433,620 | 205,196,973 | 240,408 | 1,096 |
| Dec 26 | No Data | 206,577 | 1,041 | ||
| Dec 25 | No Data | 196,511 | 1,053 | ||
| Dec 24 | No Data | 195,713 | 1,108 | ||
| Dec 23 | 1,189,954 | 241,520,561 | 204,740,321 | 192,453 | 1,199 |
| 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 |
| 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 | 73.3% | 62.0% | 33.4% |
| % of Population 5+ | 78.0% | 65.9% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 83.5% | 71.1% | 36.3% |
| % of Population 18+ | 85.5% | 72.8% | 48.2% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 87.6% | 58.2% |
--------------
Omicron is More Benevolent. Or Is It? Here's Why We Don't Know.
The simple answer is cases are up and hospitalizations are not up as much as they would be with Delta. Is it less virulent than Delta?
A much higher proportion of the new cases are in vaccinated people. Those are mostly milder cases.
Here is what we don't know:
- What portion of vaccinated people with Omicron end up in the hospital?
- What portion of unvaccinated people with Omicron end up in the hospital?
- How do these numbers compare with Delta for each group?
It Could Be Worse, But It is Not Good.
The United States was averaging more than 400,000 new cases each day as of Monday, double the previous week’s rate, according to Washington Post data, and is expected to soon hit as many as 1 million cases per day.
Hospitalizations are up 31 percent from last week, and deaths increased by 37 percent, with about 1,500 Americans dying of covid-19 each day. Experts have warned that this surge will be driven by the unvaccinated, as those who are vaccinated and boosted would have considerable protection from serious illness.
Is It Less Dangerous? Even If It Is Less Virulent, Probably Not.
--------------
Here's Someone Else's Take
Like clockwork- almost rote at this point.
Patient comes into the ER. Months of notes from their PCP trying to get them vaccinated. They steadfastly refuse. Get COVID. Try every home "treatment" available. Decompensate. Show up in the ER, panicked. We stabilize them.
But it's too late.
They show up wanting Regeneron- the "vaccine bad, fetal-cell derived synthetic antibodies good" rationale is a tough one- but it's too late. Or they have the Omicron, which regeneron doesn’t work for anyway.
They continue to decompensate. Go to the COVID unit. Then to the ICU. Then they get intubated.
And then- well.
Again, I've seen people chuckle at the schadenfreude they experience watching people "earn their Herman Cain Award", but I assure you nobody in healthcare feels that way.
I've seen the frenzied horror on people's faces when they understand what's happening.
That it's too late.
Sigh.
The Omicron isn't "just a cold", particularly to unvaccinated people. Stupid that people want to think that. “Oh, South Africa is past their peak!” What, the South Africa that is in the middle of their summer, with mask mandates and restricted gathering sizes? Yeah. We’re gonna be exactly like South Africa.
--------------
This is So Senseless
Barb Bartolovich was an 82-year-old grandmother who liked to play cards. And as a cancer survivor, with a compromised immune system, she took precautions against getting COVID seriously. She was vaccinated. And when she was invited to a card game, she only attended after she was assured all the other players were also vaccinated.
But according to her granddaughter, Lauren Nash, one of the players not only had COVID but knew they had it after a positive test. Tragically, Bartolovich caught COVID-19, was hospitalized, ventilated, and died on Dec. 21, right before Christmas.
My Idiot Nephew Went to a Christmas Party With COVID Symptoms. Did He Kill Anyone?
--------------
Some Men Seem Determined to Prove They Are Pigs
Police in two Indian states have registered cases after an app shared photos of more than 100 Muslim women saying they were on "sale".
The accused include developers of the app and Twitter handles that shared the images and content.
The open source app - Bulli Bai - was hosted on web platform GitHub, which has since taken it down.
This was the second attempt in months to harass Muslim women in India by "auctioning" them online.
In July, an app and website called "Sulli Deals" created profiles of more than 80 Muslim women - using photos they uploaded online - and described them as "deals of the day".
In both cases, there was no real sale of any kind - the purpose is to degrade and humiliate Muslim women by sharing their personal images.
Isn't This Kind of How Mark Zuckerberg Got Started?
--------------
Note To Self: Don't Invest in Chinese Bonds
Crisis-hit Chinese real estate giant Evergrande has suspended trade in its shares in Hong Kong as investors await news on its restructuring plan.
The statement to the stock exchange did not give a reason for the trading halt.
Evergrande has more than $300bn (£222bn) of debt and is scrambling to raise cash by selling assets and shares to repay suppliers and creditors.
Last week, the company dialled back plans to repay investors in its wealth management products.
Evergrande said on Friday that each investor in its wealth management product could expect to receive $1,257 each month as principal payment for three months irrespective of when the investment matures.
The company had earlier not mentioned any amount and had agreed to repay 10% of the investment by the end of the month when the product matures.
--------------
Note to Self: Don't Invest in Turkish Anything
Turkey's annual inflation rate has soared to a 19-year high, underlining the country's financial turmoil and alarm over its president's policies.
Prices hit more than 36% December as the cost of transport, food and other staples ate into household budgets.
Most central banks raise interest rates to help cool inflation but Turkey has gone the other way.
It has meant a collapse in the value of the lira, as Tayyip Erdogan prioritises exports over currency stability.
The lira shed 44% of its value against the dollar last year, and fell another 4% on Monday.
--------------
The Boy Who Lived
Airport staff in Mauritius have found a newborn baby boy abandoned in the rubbish bin toilet of a plane's toilet.
A 20-year-old woman from Madagascar, suspected of having given birth on the flight, was arrested.
The Air Mauritius plane, which arrived from Madagascar, landed at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport on 1 January.
Airport officers made the discovery when they screened the plane for a routine customs check.
They rushed the baby to a public hospital for treatment.
The woman suspected of being the child's mother, who initially denied the boy was hers, was made to undergo a medical examination which confirmed that she had just given birth.
--------------
This Guy Needs To Make Up His Mind
South Korea's military suspects a man who crossed the heavily fortified border into the North on New Year's Day previously defected to the South.
Officials believe he is a gymnast who jumped the barbed wire fence into South Korea in 2020.
It is not clear why he made the perilous return crossing, or if he is alive or dead.
North Korea has implemented a shoot-on-sight policy at the border to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
If He Just Likes Jumping Fences, He Should Pick Other Fences
--------------
But Maybe He Shouldn't Jump Turnstiles
A 28-year-old New York man died Sunday morning after attempting to jump a subway turnstile in Queens, police said.
Officers responding to a 911 call discovered the man, who was not identified by authorities, unresponsive on the concrete floor at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue station, The New York Daily News reported. He was declared dead at the scene.
Police said surveillance footage showed that when he hopped over the turnstile at the station, the man’s foot caught and he tumbled, head first, onto the floor.
The city medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.
Straphangers who jump turnstiles are generally trying to avoid paying the $2.75 subway fare. Occasionally, riders will also leap the barrier if the turnstile is stuck or otherwise inoperable.
--------------
The American People Know What Is Going On
But They Aren't Doing Much to Stop It.
The US could be under a rightwing dictatorship by 2030, a Canadian political science professor has warned, urging his country to protect itself against the “collapse of American democracy”.--------------
Water, Water, Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink
The Navy is slowly coming closer to decontaminating the unsafe drinking water that led to thousands leaving their homes near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam over water from the Red Hill well that was tainted with petroleum. During a recent meeting with lawmakers, Navy officials described cleanup efforts that included flushing the entire system, from source to faucet, that will also include flushing at least 10% of individual homes that have been affected as well as businesses and schools. This process is expected to last until the end of January—far longer than officials’ initial estimates—though the Navy believes that some residents may be able to return to their homes as early as next week. The Navy stressed it would be transparent in releasing test results. The decision to flush and then filter the drinking water was created in consultation with Hawaii’s Health Department and the Board of Water Supply serving the region.
Lawmakers were understandably skeptical, especially given that the Navy claimed that no mandatory evacuation would be needed, as officials believe the water is safe for everything but drinking. Sen. Kurt Fevella pushed back, demanding that the Navy speak to his constituents, who have been reporting devastating effects from even bathing in the contaminated water. Residents had previously complained that their children’s skin burned and that contaminated water had even led to the death of pets. “You guys are just doing the minimum because you want to keep the facility there,” Fevella said. The military earlier boasted that it was providing affected residents with hand-washing stations and going above and beyond what the Hawaii Health Department requires. But Fevella is clearly onto something given the Navy’s reticence to comply with the Department of Health’s demand that the fuel tanks above Red Hill be shuttered.
The Water Has Been Contaminated Since Late November
--------------
It Wasn't a Jan 6 Attack, But ...
Fire crews have continued to work at South Africa’s national Parliament complex in Cape Town on Monday after a major fire blazed through the buildings a day earlier, causing extensive damage.
The main chamber of the National Assembly was “completely gutted,” City of Cape Town safety and security official J.P. Smith said, and parts of the roof had collapsed.
“The entire Parliament complex is severely damaged, waterlogged and smoke damaged,” Smith said.
Firefighters were still working on “hotspots” in the National Assembly building more than 24 hours after the fire started, Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse said. But the fire crews had been scaled back from around 70 firefighters Sunday to 20 by Monday morning.
Other buildings in the complex were also damaged by the fire that started early Sunday morning and spread from an old Parliament building that now houses offices to the National Assembly building.
A man arrested Sunday is being questioned in connection with the fire, police said. He is to appear in court on Tuesday and is expected to face charges of breaking and entering, theft and arson, while he will also be charged under South Africa’s National Key Points Act, a security law controlling access to places of national importance and government buildings.
The man had to be rescued from the fire on Sunday, according to South African media reports. Parliament was closed for the holidays and no injuries were reported.
--------------
It's Not the Name on the Back of the Jersey, It's the Name on the Front. But What If You Have No Jersey?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown pulled off his jersey and left the field before the end of his team's 28-24 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, hastening his exit from the organization.
Head coach Bruce Arians said after the game that Brown, 33, was "no longer a Buc."
Brown's display included removing his jersey, his shoulder pads, his undershirt and his glove; giving the crowd a peace sign; and leaving MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
According to Jay Glazer of "NFL on Fox," which aired the game, Arians repeatedly ordered Brown into the game but was refused, prompting him to send Brown to the locker room.
Earlier this week, when speaking to reporters, Brown blamed the media for fabricating the drama surrounding him this season. Brown was suspended for three games by the NFL for misrepresenting his vaccination status against COVID-19, then he refused to answer questions about it.
Antonio Brown’s temper tantrum at MetLife Stadium on Sunday will likely cost him at least $1 million. Even if it is the end of his season, it will cost him seven-figures. According to Spotrac, Brown is 8 catches away from unlocking a $333,333 bonus.
Is He Planning To Be Kanye West's Running Mate in 2024?
--------------
Here Comes the Manchin Child Poverty Wave
Families are bracing for bank balances to suffer when the middle of January comes and the monthly child-tax-credit payment doesn’t.
More than 30 million households started getting up to $300 per child in July after Congress temporarily transformed an annual tax break into a near-universal monthly benefit. Families spent the money on essentials like groceries and stashed it as emergency savings, researchers found.
Maybe He and His Fossil-Fuels Buddies Can Throw a Party
--------------
Note To Self: Don't Fly on January 5th
Verizon and AT&T have rejected a request by the U.S. government to delay the rollout of next-generation wireless technology.
A joint letter Sunday from the telecommunications giants to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Steve Dickson, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, sought to dismiss concerns brought by U.S. airlines that a new 5G wireless service could harm aviation.
But Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, and John Stankey, CEO of AT&T, also wrote that they were willing to accept some temporary measures over the next six months to limit the service around certain airport runways.
Airlines had asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay this week’s scheduled 5G rollout, saying the service, set to launch Wednesday, could interfere with electronics that pilots rely on.
--------------
One Good Jab Deserves Another, and Another, and Another, and Another.
But as new variants like Omicron arise and vaccination rates continue to be sluggish in many areas, worrying those with weak immune systems, many of them are getting extra shots without being certain of whether they are safe or effective.
Typically, doctors have discretion to use approved medications outside of their recommended uses — so a fully approved vaccine like Pfizer’s could normally be prescribed as doctors see fit.
People taking the extra shots aren’t doing anything illegal. They could face civil lawsuits if vaccine providers decide to go after them for lying, but that is extremely unlikely, according to Govind Persad, an assistant professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
--------------
It's National Humiliation Day
ASU basketball celebrated early yesterday.
Humiliation Day is not a day to humiliate someone. Rather, it should be viewed as a time to recognize the negativity of humiliating someone, or a group of people.
Every Day Should Be a Day to Recognize the Negativity of Humiliating Someone, or a Group of People.