Post by mhbruin on Jan 21, 2022 11:37:32 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 533 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday Jan 18)
We had a great December, but January has been pretty bad. There are no big storms in the 10-day forecast.
Reservoirs are still low, but they are filling up a bit.
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One Quarter of a Billion Americans Have Received At Least One Dose of Vaccine
That's over 80% of the eligible population. And around 300,000 are still getting their first does every day.
Also the Omicron wave seems to have peaked, although no steep decline has been seen and regionally the picture isn't always good.
Dueling Headlines
ABC News: "2 years after 1st COVID case, US is battling biggest surge"
Reuters: "Is COVID retreating in the U.S.? Data paints encouraging scenario"
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He Would Do Anything For Love, But Would He Do That?
Meat Loaf made great music, and was also a MAGA guy. It is reported he died of COVID, and it is unknown if he was vaccinated.
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Deja Vu All Over Again
On September 29,1938, Chamberlain, Hitler, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier gathered at the Munich Conference to discuss Hitler’s threatened invasion of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs were not invited.
Today the US and Russia are meeting to discuss a threatened invasion of The Ukraine. The Ukrainians have not been invited.
BTW, A Lot of Historians Think History Has Been Unfair to Chamberlain. There Was Virtually No Support in England for War with Germany to Stop Hitler.
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Electrical Banana, Going to Be the Coming Craze
Scientists say the plant enset, an Ethiopian staple, could be a new superfood and a lifesaver in the face of climate change.
The banana-like crop has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in a warming world, according to a new study.
The plant is almost unknown outside of Ethiopia, where it is used to make porridge and bread.
Research suggests the crop can be grown over a much larger range in Africa.
"This is a crop that can play a really important role in addressing food security and sustainable development," said Dr Wendawek Abebe of Hawassa University in Awasa, Ethiopia.
Enset or "false banana" is a close relative of the banana, but is consumed only in one part of Ethiopia.
How About Bogus Banana?
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
The New York City Police Department has arrested a woman accused of spitting on an 8-year-old Jewish boy outside a Brooklyn synagogue last week, authorities said.
The woman, identified as 21-year-old Christina Darling, was charged with multiple counts including aggravated harassment as a hate crime, acting in a manner injurious to a child and menacing, the NYPD said on Friday. CNN has not been able to determine if Darling has legal representation.
The incident took place last Friday when the woman allegedly approached three children outside the Kehal Tiferes Avrohom Ziditshov Orthodox synagogue. Police said she shouted "anti-Jewish statements" before spitting on the boy and walking away.
The children were not injured, police said.
The children's father, Aryah Fried, told CNN affiliate WCBS the woman said, "something along the lines of Hitler should have killed you all."
Here's Another
A top women's handball team in Germany says it is sticking together after two hidden cameras were discovered in the players' locker room earlier this week.
According to TuS Metzingen, which competes in the Bundesliga, an individual has since been placed under urgent suspicion and their association with the club has been terminated immediately. A police investigation is ongoing.
"This disgusting act -- which was also committed by a person we trust directly -- is simply shocking and has affected all of us greatly," said manager Ferenc Rott in a statement released by Metzingen on Thursday.
The Not-So-Friendly Skies
A United Airlines flight bound for Tel Aviv turned around mid-flight Thursday evening due to unruly passenger behavior.
It's the second US flight in two days that has returned to its departure point because of poor behavior.
United flight 90 departed for Tel Aviv from Newark Liberty International Airport and returned to Newark nearly three hours later "due to disruptive passengers on board," United Airlines said in a statement. "Law enforcement officials met the aircraft upon landing."
The Not-So-Friendly Rails
A New York couple has been arrested and charged after they were filmed launching a hateful rant against a family on a train earlier this month, calling them "foreigners" and "immigrants with no rights."
Justin Likerman, 37, of Ronkonkoma, Long Island, and Kristin Digesaro, 38, of Huntington, Long Island, turned themselves into transit police Wednesday afternoon, MTA police confirmed.
Both were charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and Likerman was additionally charged with second-degree aggravated harassment, according to officials.
The charges are in collaboration with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and the Hate Crimes Unit, officials said.
The incident unfolded on Jan. 10 aboard a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train.
Liz Edelkind was with her 10-year-old son, husband and two others, on their way home from a New York Knicks game held at Madison Square Garden, NBC New York reported. They were looking for seats on the train together and asked some passengers to move to accommodate them when Likerman and Digesaro allegedly started to yell. Edelkind told the outlet she believes they were targeted due to her accent and skin color.
According to the complaint, Digesaro said, “You f——— immigrants, you have no rights in this country. You have no right to ask anyone to move. You don’t even pay taxes.”
Likerman also allegedly said: “F——— foreigners. You take all our resources,” according to the complaint.
Likerman was observed holding a beer can in his hand and threw beer from the can in the direction of the family, the complaint stated.
Back to the Skies
An American Airlines flight to London returned to Miami after a passenger refused to follow the federal requirement to wear a face mask, according to the airline.
The airline called Miami police, and officers escorted a woman off the plane at Miami International Airport Wednesday evening without incident.
Not Even Mr. Rogers Would Want These People to Be His Neighbor
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How Did They Resolve This? Beats Me!
Airline executives breathed a sigh of relief to their investors Thursday, saying they believe the threat to their operations from the rollout of 5G technology is now behind them.
Although AT&T and Verizon have agreed only to temporarily delay 5G deployment at major airports, the CEOs of American and United both said there will now be a resolution of the dispute without thousands of delayed, diverted or canceled flights. They had been predicting those dire consequences earlier this week.
"It's taken a while to get to the right spot, but I feel like we're in the right spot," said Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines. "I don't think you're going to see any material disruption going forward because of this."
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If You Always Wanted a Ferry, You Missed Your Chance
Staten Island natives Pete Davidson and Colin Jost, along with real estate agent Paul Italia, have purchased a decommissioned Staten Island ferry boat at auction for $280,100, Italia told NBC News Friday.
Italia, who is also a co-founder of Manhattan’s The Stand comedy club, told the New York Post that the trio plans to turn the boat into a live entertainment space.
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I Rarely Post Good Things About Oil Companies
Total Energies and Chevron, two of the world’s largest energy conglomerates, said Friday they were stopping all operations in Myanmar, citing rampant human rights abuses and deteriorating rule of law since the country’s military overthrew the government.
The announcement came just a day after the French company called for international sanctions targeting the oil and gas sector, which remains one of the military government’s primary sources of funding.
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Rudy, Rudy, Rudy
On the heels of a subpoena for him from the Jan. 6 committee, reports are piling up fast to suggest that former President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was responsible for overseeing a Trump campaign scheme to send fake electors to seven states that the twice-impeached president lost in 2020.
First reported by The Washington Post and then again through anonymous sources over at CNN, individuals familiar with the election subversion scheme said Giuliani was engaged in “multiple planning calls between Trump campaign officials and GOP state operatives” where discussions centered on efforts to secure pro-Trump electors and prepare illegitimate electoral certificates. Giuliani also “orchestrated” at least one of those calls, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Trump’s reelection campaign made no secret about the plan to send “alternate electors” to battleground states, but the extent to which Giuliani and other Trump campaign officials, as well as an anchor from the pro-Trump One American News network, were “actively choreograph[ing] the process,” CNN reported, is only now starting to come to light.
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Mini-Mini-Me Is Panicking
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The Media Loves This Garbage
14 People Is Such a Tiny Sample, This This Means Nothing
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Laughing Gas is No Laughing Matter
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the third-most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane, and per unit mass an almost 300 times stronger warming agent than carbon dioxide. It is produced in soils as a result of microbial activity. The discovery of nitrous oxide release from the late-Pleistocene-aged Yedoma permafrost is important due to the large area of the Yedoma region, and its large carbon and nitrogen stocks and high ice content, which makes it vulnerable for abrupt thaw. The nitrous oxide emissions from thawing permafrost represent a poorly known, but potentially globally significant positive feedback to climate change. Overall, the consequences of nitrogen release from permafrost for Arctic ecosystems have been insufficiently studied and remain poorly understood.
In the study published today, the researchers measured nitrous oxide emissions from the riverbanks of the East Siberian rivers Lena and Kolyma, where rapid permafrost thaw exposes Yedoma permafrost to the surface, releasing large amounts of carbon and nitrogen for microbial activity. The researchers found that nitrous oxide emissions from recently thawed Yedoma were initially very low but increased within less than a decade to high rates, exceeding typical emissions from permafrost-affected soils by one to two orders of magnitude (10–100 times). The increase in nitrous oxide emissions was related to drying and stabilization of the Yedoma sediments after thaw, and to associated changes in the microbial community participating in soil nitrogen cycle: the relative proportion of microbes producing nitrous oxide precursors (nitrate, nitric oxide) increased and the relative proportion of microbes consuming nitrous oxide decreased.
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Boebert's Gotta' Boebert
BuzzFeed reported on Thursday that a group of Orthodox Jewish visitors to the Capitol this morning were left “bewildered” after an interaction with Boebert on an elevator.
The group, whose members donned traditional yarmulkes—one person leading the group sported a long beard—was meeting with Rep. Tom Suozzi. A witness and several legislators were waiting for the elevator doors to open and when they did, out popped Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
Looking at the group “from head to toe,” BuzzFeed reported, Boebert asked them if they were in the Capitol Thursday to conduct “reconnaissance.”
......
As for her remark on Thursday, Boebert told BuzzFeed News that some people there “got it” and knew it was a joke.
“I’m too short to see anyone’s yarmulkes,” she added.
Cawthorn's Gotta' Cawthorn
On Wednesday, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a virtual meeting to hold a hearing on veterans exposed to toxic fumes. Many people spoke, including 9/11 first responders, veterans affairs representatives, and former Daily Show host Jon Stewart. The main focus was to inform the representatives on what was and was not being done to research, protect, and provide care for military service members who are exposed to toxic chemicals during their service to our country.
According to some of the people on the virtual call, Rep. Madison Cawthorn decided to use the time when representatives were hearing about the need to (and ways to) research potential hazards faced by military members due to “burn pits” in order to play around and clean his gun. Yes. Strange.
Flynn's Gotta' Flynn
FBI agents and the House panel investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol have both learned of an alleged plan by allies of retired army Lt Gen Michael Flynn to gather “intelligence” on top Republicans to “move” them to back election audits in key states Trump lost, said ex-whistleblower Everett Stern who talked to the panel and the FBI.
Stern, who runs the intelligence firm Tactical Rabbit and is a Republican vying for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, in multiple interviews with the Guardian said two Flynn associates with the rightwing Patriot Caucus group enlisted his help in April in a scheme to seek potentially damaging information on two Republican members of Congress to prod them to back an audit of the 2020 vote that Joe Biden won.
Stern told the Guardian he spent several hours in November telling House panel investigators about the alleged drive by Flynn associates who sought campaign finance and other dirt on Pennsylvania’s senator Pat Toomey and congressman Brian Fitzpatrick to win their support for an audit to bolster Trump’s debunked charges that Biden’s win was fraudulent.
A long shot candidate to succeed the retiring Toomey, Stern said he alerted the FBI in June when he learned more details of the bizarre drive by Flynn allies to specifically target the two Republicans, both of whom backed impeaching Trump after the January 6 insurrection.
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Simena: An Eight-Percenter
As Kerry Eleveld has pointed out, before last night’s vote, and a day after her horrendous, crocodile tear laden speech a week ago implying that ensuring voting rights was a divisive thing and less important than the filibuster, Civiqs polled Arizona Democrats on Senator Cash’N’Curtsy, and found her with an 80 percent disapproval rating, along with an 8 — that’s right 8 — percent approval rating.
Having a 72 point gap between approval and disapproval is pretty strong rejection by the folks who put her in office, and 8 percent is probably around the same approval rating as Novocain free root canals. Sure, she can switch parties, but the MAGAts won’t forget that she voted to convict Dimestore Mussolini twice, so she’d probably lose a GOP primary too. A switch to being a Joe Lieberman-style GOP cozy independent is more likely, and while it may help her all-important (to her) branding and reinforce her narrative of being a McCain-style “maverick”. But wait, as they say on infomercials, that’s not all!
Today, EMILY’s List, one of the largest donors in the Democratic sphere and a group that strongly backed Sinema in her House and Senate bids, announced today that it will no longer support Sinema.
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70,000 People Just Got a Raise
U.S. federal agencies have been directed to raise the minimum wage for government employees to $15 an hour, according to a new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The directive will impact almost 70,000 federal employees most of whom work at the Departments of Defense, Agriculture and Veteran Affairs, OPM said in a statement on Friday.
President Biden made supporting blue-collar workers a priority of his presidential campaign, saying strong unions and higher wages could resurrect America's middle class while helping bridge economic and racial inequities.
Last year Biden issued an executive order raising wages of federal contract workers to $15 an hour.
That's $31,000 Per Year. How Would You Like to Raise a Family on That?
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Lobbying For Alzheimer Ivermectin
Alzheimer's patient groups, disappointed by Medicare's plan to sharply limit coverage of new drugs for the brain-wasting disease, are planning publicity and lobbying campaigns to protest a proposal they say could delay their use for 10 years.
"Congress has to know how bad this will be for patients," said John Dwyer, president of Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation (GAP) advocacy group.
In a preliminary decision last week, the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), which runs the government health plan for people age 65 and older, said it would cover Biogen Inc's already approved Aduhelm, and similar Alzheimer's disease treatments in development, only for patients enrolled in approved clinical trials.
That plan would severely limit the number of patients receiving the treatment, undercutting the Food and Drug Administration's accelerated approval of Aduhelm for patients in the early stages of the memory-robbing condition.
I Wonder Who Funds Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation
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Not All Monoclonal Antibodies Are Created Equal
As the omicron variant completes its sweep across the U.S., states with scarce supplies of monoclonal antibody therapies continue to use two treatments that federal health officials warn no longer work against the highly contagious version of the virus that causes Covid-19. The antibody treatment now most recommended is sotrovimab from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, and it’s in short supply.
Use of the newly ineffective treatments produced by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Co. is highest in a dozen states. They include several Southern states with some of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, but also California, which ranks in the nation’s top 20 for fully vaccinated residents, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Many hospitals and clinics are still infusing the costly treatments — often charging hundreds of dollars a session — that public health officials now say are almost certainly useless.
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What Happens When You Mix a Dog, a Drone, and Sausages?
Volunteers have rescued a runaway dog from dangerous mud flats -- by luring her to safety with freshly cooked sausages tied to a drone.
Millie, a rescue dog, slipped her collar and went missing on Thursday, January 13 while out for a walk in Hampshire, southern England.
Alerted by her worried owner, volunteer organization Denmead Drone Search and Rescue (DDSI) set up a drone to track Millie.
After covering a large distance, the dog became stranded on mud flats that can flood in high tide, 20-year-old DDSI volunteer Stefani Dennis told CNN.
Volunteers initially set about on foot, and on kayaks, to try to get close to Millie, who is a jack russell whippet cross.
The coastguard, fire services and the police also tried to help catch her, said Dennis.
But because she was so spooked, efforts to get close to her risked pushing her even further away and potentially into danger.
"One of the guys [called Dave] said, as a last resort, why don't we try tying a sausage to a drone?
"This was day three, she'd been there on the mud flats for two days," Dennis told CNN.
"One of the neighbors who lived by the beach came out and said she'd cook them for us. She was under a lot of pressure, she must have felt the world was on her shoulders," Dennis added. "But these sausages were obviously very tasty."
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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 21 | 1,035,111 | 250,262,153 | 210,021,766 | ||
| Jan 20 | 1,094,988 | 250,028,635 | 209,842,610 | 726,870 | 1,843 |
| Jan 19 | 1,135,453 | 249,702,939 | 209,509,297 | 744,615 | 1,749 |
| Jan 18 | 1,158,537 | 249,393,487 | 209,312,770 | 755,095 | 1,669 |
| Jan 17 | No Data | 736,350 | 1,746 | ||
| Jan 16 | No Data | 771,131 | 1,851 | ||
| Jan 15 | 1,268,202 | 248,707,432 | 208,995,438 | 788,628 | 1,858 |
| Jan 14 | 1,286,773 | 248,338,448 | 208,791,862 | 798,335 | 1,784 |
| Jan 13 | 1,291,013 | 247,987,225 | 208,564,894 | 794,587 | 1,730 |
| Jan 12 | 1,234,672 | 247,695,845 | 208,182,657 | 782,765 | 1,729 |
| Jan 11 | 1,213,113 | 247,321,023 | 207,954,605 | 761,535 | 1,656 |
| Jan 10 | 1,307,445 | 247,051,363 | 207,796,335 | 750,996 | 1,633 |
| Jan 9 | 1,331,635 | 246,812,939 | 207,662,071 | 674,406 | 1,552 |
| Jan 8 | 1,286,783 | 246,447,823 | 207,452,448 | 680,330 | 1,544 |
| Jan 7 | 1,226,151 | 246,050,320 | 207,229,983 | 668,497 | 1,513 |
| Jan 6 | 1,164,127 | 245,653,518 | 207,016,514 | 614,552 | 1,350 |
| Jan 5 | 1,117,999 | 245,278,020 | 206,797,799 | 586,391 | 1,245 |
| Jan 4 | 1,093,005 | 244,947,293 | 206,581,659 | 554,328 | 1,238 |
| Jan 3 | No Data | 491,652 | 1,165 | ||
| Jan 2 | No Data | 438,082 | 1,174 | ||
| Jan 1 | No Data | 411,871 | 1,151 | ||
| Dec 31 | No Data | 391,098 | 1,135 | ||
| Dec 30 | 1,234,917 | 243,527,564 | 205,811,394 | 360,276 | 1,144 |
| 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 |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 1,716,311 | 39,670,551 | 15,015,434 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 75.4% | 64.3% | 39.5% |
| % of Population 5+ | 80.1% | 67.3% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 85.3% | 72.1% | 42.6% |
| % of Population 18+ | 87.3% | 73.8% | 54.1% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 88.2% | 62.7% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday Jan 18)
We had a great December, but January has been pretty bad. There are no big storms in the 10-day forecast.
| Percent of Average for this Date | Last Week | 2 Weeks ago | 3 Weeks ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 134% | 149% | 158% | 170% |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 121% | 138% | 156% | 170% |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 112% | 127% | 145% | 151% |
| Snow Water Content - North | 117% | 128% | 135% | 134% |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 114% | 129% | 148% | 148% |
| Snow Water Content - South | 121% | 135% | 160% | 158% |
Reservoirs are still low, but they are filling up a bit.
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One Quarter of a Billion Americans Have Received At Least One Dose of Vaccine
That's over 80% of the eligible population. And around 300,000 are still getting their first does every day.
Also the Omicron wave seems to have peaked, although no steep decline has been seen and regionally the picture isn't always good.
Dueling Headlines
ABC News: "2 years after 1st COVID case, US is battling biggest surge"
Reuters: "Is COVID retreating in the U.S.? Data paints encouraging scenario"
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He Would Do Anything For Love, But Would He Do That?
Meat Loaf made great music, and was also a MAGA guy. It is reported he died of COVID, and it is unknown if he was vaccinated.
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Deja Vu All Over Again
On September 29,1938, Chamberlain, Hitler, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier gathered at the Munich Conference to discuss Hitler’s threatened invasion of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs were not invited.
Today the US and Russia are meeting to discuss a threatened invasion of The Ukraine. The Ukrainians have not been invited.
BTW, A Lot of Historians Think History Has Been Unfair to Chamberlain. There Was Virtually No Support in England for War with Germany to Stop Hitler.
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Electrical Banana, Going to Be the Coming Craze
Scientists say the plant enset, an Ethiopian staple, could be a new superfood and a lifesaver in the face of climate change.
The banana-like crop has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in a warming world, according to a new study.
The plant is almost unknown outside of Ethiopia, where it is used to make porridge and bread.
Research suggests the crop can be grown over a much larger range in Africa.
"This is a crop that can play a really important role in addressing food security and sustainable development," said Dr Wendawek Abebe of Hawassa University in Awasa, Ethiopia.
Enset or "false banana" is a close relative of the banana, but is consumed only in one part of Ethiopia.
How About Bogus Banana?
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
The New York City Police Department has arrested a woman accused of spitting on an 8-year-old Jewish boy outside a Brooklyn synagogue last week, authorities said.
The woman, identified as 21-year-old Christina Darling, was charged with multiple counts including aggravated harassment as a hate crime, acting in a manner injurious to a child and menacing, the NYPD said on Friday. CNN has not been able to determine if Darling has legal representation.
The incident took place last Friday when the woman allegedly approached three children outside the Kehal Tiferes Avrohom Ziditshov Orthodox synagogue. Police said she shouted "anti-Jewish statements" before spitting on the boy and walking away.
The children were not injured, police said.
The children's father, Aryah Fried, told CNN affiliate WCBS the woman said, "something along the lines of Hitler should have killed you all."
Here's Another
A top women's handball team in Germany says it is sticking together after two hidden cameras were discovered in the players' locker room earlier this week.
According to TuS Metzingen, which competes in the Bundesliga, an individual has since been placed under urgent suspicion and their association with the club has been terminated immediately. A police investigation is ongoing.
"This disgusting act -- which was also committed by a person we trust directly -- is simply shocking and has affected all of us greatly," said manager Ferenc Rott in a statement released by Metzingen on Thursday.
The Not-So-Friendly Skies
A United Airlines flight bound for Tel Aviv turned around mid-flight Thursday evening due to unruly passenger behavior.
It's the second US flight in two days that has returned to its departure point because of poor behavior.
United flight 90 departed for Tel Aviv from Newark Liberty International Airport and returned to Newark nearly three hours later "due to disruptive passengers on board," United Airlines said in a statement. "Law enforcement officials met the aircraft upon landing."
The Not-So-Friendly Rails
A New York couple has been arrested and charged after they were filmed launching a hateful rant against a family on a train earlier this month, calling them "foreigners" and "immigrants with no rights."
Justin Likerman, 37, of Ronkonkoma, Long Island, and Kristin Digesaro, 38, of Huntington, Long Island, turned themselves into transit police Wednesday afternoon, MTA police confirmed.
Both were charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and Likerman was additionally charged with second-degree aggravated harassment, according to officials.
The charges are in collaboration with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and the Hate Crimes Unit, officials said.
The incident unfolded on Jan. 10 aboard a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train.
Liz Edelkind was with her 10-year-old son, husband and two others, on their way home from a New York Knicks game held at Madison Square Garden, NBC New York reported. They were looking for seats on the train together and asked some passengers to move to accommodate them when Likerman and Digesaro allegedly started to yell. Edelkind told the outlet she believes they were targeted due to her accent and skin color.
According to the complaint, Digesaro said, “You f——— immigrants, you have no rights in this country. You have no right to ask anyone to move. You don’t even pay taxes.”
Likerman also allegedly said: “F——— foreigners. You take all our resources,” according to the complaint.
Likerman was observed holding a beer can in his hand and threw beer from the can in the direction of the family, the complaint stated.
Back to the Skies
An American Airlines flight to London returned to Miami after a passenger refused to follow the federal requirement to wear a face mask, according to the airline.
The airline called Miami police, and officers escorted a woman off the plane at Miami International Airport Wednesday evening without incident.
Not Even Mr. Rogers Would Want These People to Be His Neighbor
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How Did They Resolve This? Beats Me!
Airline executives breathed a sigh of relief to their investors Thursday, saying they believe the threat to their operations from the rollout of 5G technology is now behind them.
Although AT&T and Verizon have agreed only to temporarily delay 5G deployment at major airports, the CEOs of American and United both said there will now be a resolution of the dispute without thousands of delayed, diverted or canceled flights. They had been predicting those dire consequences earlier this week.
"It's taken a while to get to the right spot, but I feel like we're in the right spot," said Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines. "I don't think you're going to see any material disruption going forward because of this."
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If You Always Wanted a Ferry, You Missed Your Chance
Staten Island natives Pete Davidson and Colin Jost, along with real estate agent Paul Italia, have purchased a decommissioned Staten Island ferry boat at auction for $280,100, Italia told NBC News Friday.
Italia, who is also a co-founder of Manhattan’s The Stand comedy club, told the New York Post that the trio plans to turn the boat into a live entertainment space.
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I Rarely Post Good Things About Oil Companies
Total Energies and Chevron, two of the world’s largest energy conglomerates, said Friday they were stopping all operations in Myanmar, citing rampant human rights abuses and deteriorating rule of law since the country’s military overthrew the government.
The announcement came just a day after the French company called for international sanctions targeting the oil and gas sector, which remains one of the military government’s primary sources of funding.
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Rudy, Rudy, Rudy
On the heels of a subpoena for him from the Jan. 6 committee, reports are piling up fast to suggest that former President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was responsible for overseeing a Trump campaign scheme to send fake electors to seven states that the twice-impeached president lost in 2020.
First reported by The Washington Post and then again through anonymous sources over at CNN, individuals familiar with the election subversion scheme said Giuliani was engaged in “multiple planning calls between Trump campaign officials and GOP state operatives” where discussions centered on efforts to secure pro-Trump electors and prepare illegitimate electoral certificates. Giuliani also “orchestrated” at least one of those calls, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Trump’s reelection campaign made no secret about the plan to send “alternate electors” to battleground states, but the extent to which Giuliani and other Trump campaign officials, as well as an anchor from the pro-Trump One American News network, were “actively choreograph[ing] the process,” CNN reported, is only now starting to come to light.
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Mini-Mini-Me Is Panicking
--------------
The Media Loves This Garbage
14 People Is Such a Tiny Sample, This This Means Nothing
--------------
Laughing Gas is No Laughing Matter
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the third-most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane, and per unit mass an almost 300 times stronger warming agent than carbon dioxide. It is produced in soils as a result of microbial activity. The discovery of nitrous oxide release from the late-Pleistocene-aged Yedoma permafrost is important due to the large area of the Yedoma region, and its large carbon and nitrogen stocks and high ice content, which makes it vulnerable for abrupt thaw. The nitrous oxide emissions from thawing permafrost represent a poorly known, but potentially globally significant positive feedback to climate change. Overall, the consequences of nitrogen release from permafrost for Arctic ecosystems have been insufficiently studied and remain poorly understood.
In the study published today, the researchers measured nitrous oxide emissions from the riverbanks of the East Siberian rivers Lena and Kolyma, where rapid permafrost thaw exposes Yedoma permafrost to the surface, releasing large amounts of carbon and nitrogen for microbial activity. The researchers found that nitrous oxide emissions from recently thawed Yedoma were initially very low but increased within less than a decade to high rates, exceeding typical emissions from permafrost-affected soils by one to two orders of magnitude (10–100 times). The increase in nitrous oxide emissions was related to drying and stabilization of the Yedoma sediments after thaw, and to associated changes in the microbial community participating in soil nitrogen cycle: the relative proportion of microbes producing nitrous oxide precursors (nitrate, nitric oxide) increased and the relative proportion of microbes consuming nitrous oxide decreased.
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Boebert's Gotta' Boebert
BuzzFeed reported on Thursday that a group of Orthodox Jewish visitors to the Capitol this morning were left “bewildered” after an interaction with Boebert on an elevator.
The group, whose members donned traditional yarmulkes—one person leading the group sported a long beard—was meeting with Rep. Tom Suozzi. A witness and several legislators were waiting for the elevator doors to open and when they did, out popped Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
Looking at the group “from head to toe,” BuzzFeed reported, Boebert asked them if they were in the Capitol Thursday to conduct “reconnaissance.”
......
As for her remark on Thursday, Boebert told BuzzFeed News that some people there “got it” and knew it was a joke.
“I’m too short to see anyone’s yarmulkes,” she added.
Cawthorn's Gotta' Cawthorn
On Wednesday, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a virtual meeting to hold a hearing on veterans exposed to toxic fumes. Many people spoke, including 9/11 first responders, veterans affairs representatives, and former Daily Show host Jon Stewart. The main focus was to inform the representatives on what was and was not being done to research, protect, and provide care for military service members who are exposed to toxic chemicals during their service to our country.
According to some of the people on the virtual call, Rep. Madison Cawthorn decided to use the time when representatives were hearing about the need to (and ways to) research potential hazards faced by military members due to “burn pits” in order to play around and clean his gun. Yes. Strange.
Flynn's Gotta' Flynn
FBI agents and the House panel investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol have both learned of an alleged plan by allies of retired army Lt Gen Michael Flynn to gather “intelligence” on top Republicans to “move” them to back election audits in key states Trump lost, said ex-whistleblower Everett Stern who talked to the panel and the FBI.
Stern, who runs the intelligence firm Tactical Rabbit and is a Republican vying for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, in multiple interviews with the Guardian said two Flynn associates with the rightwing Patriot Caucus group enlisted his help in April in a scheme to seek potentially damaging information on two Republican members of Congress to prod them to back an audit of the 2020 vote that Joe Biden won.
Stern told the Guardian he spent several hours in November telling House panel investigators about the alleged drive by Flynn associates who sought campaign finance and other dirt on Pennsylvania’s senator Pat Toomey and congressman Brian Fitzpatrick to win their support for an audit to bolster Trump’s debunked charges that Biden’s win was fraudulent.
A long shot candidate to succeed the retiring Toomey, Stern said he alerted the FBI in June when he learned more details of the bizarre drive by Flynn allies to specifically target the two Republicans, both of whom backed impeaching Trump after the January 6 insurrection.
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Simena: An Eight-Percenter
As Kerry Eleveld has pointed out, before last night’s vote, and a day after her horrendous, crocodile tear laden speech a week ago implying that ensuring voting rights was a divisive thing and less important than the filibuster, Civiqs polled Arizona Democrats on Senator Cash’N’Curtsy, and found her with an 80 percent disapproval rating, along with an 8 — that’s right 8 — percent approval rating.
Having a 72 point gap between approval and disapproval is pretty strong rejection by the folks who put her in office, and 8 percent is probably around the same approval rating as Novocain free root canals. Sure, she can switch parties, but the MAGAts won’t forget that she voted to convict Dimestore Mussolini twice, so she’d probably lose a GOP primary too. A switch to being a Joe Lieberman-style GOP cozy independent is more likely, and while it may help her all-important (to her) branding and reinforce her narrative of being a McCain-style “maverick”. But wait, as they say on infomercials, that’s not all!
Today, EMILY’s List, one of the largest donors in the Democratic sphere and a group that strongly backed Sinema in her House and Senate bids, announced today that it will no longer support Sinema.
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70,000 People Just Got a Raise
U.S. federal agencies have been directed to raise the minimum wage for government employees to $15 an hour, according to a new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The directive will impact almost 70,000 federal employees most of whom work at the Departments of Defense, Agriculture and Veteran Affairs, OPM said in a statement on Friday.
President Biden made supporting blue-collar workers a priority of his presidential campaign, saying strong unions and higher wages could resurrect America's middle class while helping bridge economic and racial inequities.
Last year Biden issued an executive order raising wages of federal contract workers to $15 an hour.
That's $31,000 Per Year. How Would You Like to Raise a Family on That?
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Lobbying For Alzheimer Ivermectin
Alzheimer's patient groups, disappointed by Medicare's plan to sharply limit coverage of new drugs for the brain-wasting disease, are planning publicity and lobbying campaigns to protest a proposal they say could delay their use for 10 years.
"Congress has to know how bad this will be for patients," said John Dwyer, president of Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation (GAP) advocacy group.
In a preliminary decision last week, the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), which runs the government health plan for people age 65 and older, said it would cover Biogen Inc's already approved Aduhelm, and similar Alzheimer's disease treatments in development, only for patients enrolled in approved clinical trials.
That plan would severely limit the number of patients receiving the treatment, undercutting the Food and Drug Administration's accelerated approval of Aduhelm for patients in the early stages of the memory-robbing condition.
I Wonder Who Funds Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation
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Not All Monoclonal Antibodies Are Created Equal
As the omicron variant completes its sweep across the U.S., states with scarce supplies of monoclonal antibody therapies continue to use two treatments that federal health officials warn no longer work against the highly contagious version of the virus that causes Covid-19. The antibody treatment now most recommended is sotrovimab from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, and it’s in short supply.
Use of the newly ineffective treatments produced by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Co. is highest in a dozen states. They include several Southern states with some of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, but also California, which ranks in the nation’s top 20 for fully vaccinated residents, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Many hospitals and clinics are still infusing the costly treatments — often charging hundreds of dollars a session — that public health officials now say are almost certainly useless.
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What Happens When You Mix a Dog, a Drone, and Sausages?
Volunteers have rescued a runaway dog from dangerous mud flats -- by luring her to safety with freshly cooked sausages tied to a drone.
Millie, a rescue dog, slipped her collar and went missing on Thursday, January 13 while out for a walk in Hampshire, southern England.
Alerted by her worried owner, volunteer organization Denmead Drone Search and Rescue (DDSI) set up a drone to track Millie.
After covering a large distance, the dog became stranded on mud flats that can flood in high tide, 20-year-old DDSI volunteer Stefani Dennis told CNN.
Volunteers initially set about on foot, and on kayaks, to try to get close to Millie, who is a jack russell whippet cross.
The coastguard, fire services and the police also tried to help catch her, said Dennis.
But because she was so spooked, efforts to get close to her risked pushing her even further away and potentially into danger.
"One of the guys [called Dave] said, as a last resort, why don't we try tying a sausage to a drone?
"This was day three, she'd been there on the mud flats for two days," Dennis told CNN.
"One of the neighbors who lived by the beach came out and said she'd cook them for us. She was under a lot of pressure, she must have felt the world was on her shoulders," Dennis added. "But these sausages were obviously very tasty."
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