Post by mhbruin on Feb 7, 2022 9:57:46 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 543 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday Feb 2)
There has been no significant rain since the first week in January. There are no big storms in the 10-day forecast. After a great start, this could still turn out to be a bad season.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
China: The King Kong of the Mekong
The Mekong, one of the world’s longest waterways, runs about 2,500 miles from its source in the heights of the Tibetan Plateau. Its sinuous path takes it through six countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, where it flows into the South China Sea. Tens of millions of people rely on the river, whose name is sometimes translated as the “mother of waters,” for food, water, energy and income.
The banks of the fast-moving river are lined with crops, grazing livestock and pontoons for fishing villages. But the fish have been disappearing: The Mekong River Commission — an intergovernmental group made up of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — estimated that this stretch of river has 40 percent fewer fish than it did 10 years ago.
Environmentalists and experts blame 11 dams China has built on the Upper Mekong within its borders, which they say are contributing to historic flooding and droughts that have damaged fish spawning areas and upended people’s lives. They say water levels could be further disrupted by another 11 dams — many of them financed by Chinese companies — that are planned for the Lower Mekong, including two that Laos has opened since 2019.
“We’re not talking about one or two people or one or two problems,” said Deetes, 42, the regional campaigns and communications director for Southeast Asia at International Rivers, a nonprofit group based in California. “What we are talking about is a large number of people and the regional economy.”
Oz Can Tell He's President. Because Of Our Mistakes??
NBC’s Dasha Burns interviewed four of the Pennsylvania Republicans running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
And here’s how all four of them answered, in separate interviews, the question of whether Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election.
Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz: “Well, you can tell he's the president. I think it's pretty obvious from the mistakes we've been making.”
Former hedge fund executive David McCormick: “Well, listen, it's you can't go across Pennsylvania without hearing over and over again about the broad irregularities in our elections. So the three-day extension of the ballot, the lack of secure ballot boxes, the lack of oversight in many of the precincts of Philadelphia, so the majority of Republican voters in Pennsylvania do not believe in the outcome of the election. That's a terrible thing. If you're somebody who served in the military for the specific purpose of making sure that our democracy thrives, that's a major problem. So we have to fix that and one way to fix that is to have a great senator win in 2022. That makes sure that we have an accurate election in 2024.”
2018 Lt. Gov. nominee Jeff Bartos: “Well, I've been asked this many, many times over the last year, as you probably know, and each time I've consistently said, I believe Joe Biden won the state of Pennsylvania and won the presidency. We definitely had problems here in Pennsylvania.”
Conservative political commentator Kathy Barnette: “I believe there are a number of questions and I believe, unfortunately, our nation has not allowed those voices who feel uncomfortable about what happened.”
Youngkin Bullies on Young Man
The Washington Post reports that Ethan Lynne, 17, retweeted a story about a historian who was upset about Youngkin's lack of respect for the history of the Virginia Governor's Mansion.
But, Lynne’s twee, caused a firestorm, and “Team Youngkin”—the official Twitter account for Youngkin’s campaign—posted a photo of the teen and Northam, taken at a Democratic fundraiser in October.
The tweet was later removed, but only after a severe backlash accusing Youngkin of “cyberbullying of the worst kind.”
“A governor’s campaign account has attacked a minor—to me that was a new low,” Lynne said, according to the Post. “And they just now took it down. It was up for over 12 hours. I received no apology, no communication, nothing.”
Let the Records Reflect That He Broke the Law About Records
The story about Donald Trump’s treatment of official White House records keeps getting worse and worse. It’s been recently reported that the select committee investigating Jan. 6 has been receiving documents that have been Scotch-taped back together in an attempt to fix Trump’s abuses, but that’s not all.
Under Trump, White House officials would routinely put documents into "burn bags," sources told The Washington Post, forcing records officials to dump out the burn bags and look for documents that, under the law, were supposed to be archived. On top of that, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) was recently forced to go to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve White House records that Donald Trump had carried off with him, which is against the law.
15 Million Reasons to Hate Coal Joe
Manchin could be responsible for 15 million people losing Medicaid coverage this year
Right now, there are nearly 77 million non-elderly people who have health coverage through Medicaid, the federal/state partnership program to provide coverage to disabled Americans, and low-income Americans and their children. Something like 17 million people have enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic, the result of job loss or long-term disability from the disease. Their coverage is protected under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, one of the first pandemic response bills which prohibits states from kicking people off the program during the public health emergency.
The problem: That emergency status is now scheduled to expire in April, but it’s uncertain given the short history of this virus and its variants. That’s creating a lot of uncertainty for states, and the very real possibility that 15 million people, including 8.7 million adults and 5.9 million children, will lose their Medicaid coverage this year.
The version for the BBB that the House passed provided a path to coverage for the people in the Medicaid coverage gap—many of this population—by allowing for them to purchase subsidized coverage under Obamacare marketplaces. It also requires that states provide a full 12 months of Medicaid coverage for postpartum people and infants, to make sure that population doesn’t fall out of coverage.
Between February 2020 and June 2021, Medicaid enrollment in West Virginia increased from 489,000 people to 587,000. That means 80,000 people in that state are in danger of losing coverage and potentially not even knowing it, largely thanks to their senator, Joe Manchin, who is single-handedly stopping the legislation that would fix it.
Turning Coal Joe Hate Into Votes
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is not on the ballot in November.
But that isn’t stopping many Democratic Senate candidates from effectively running against him in competitive primaries.
Whether attacking Manchin on Twitter, invoking his name to raise money, or accusing rivals of resembling the conservative Democratic senator, Manchin’s prominence in key intraparty contests attests to how much of a villain he has become to Democratic primary voters.
Along with Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D), Manchin has been scorned by Democrats for blocking President Joe Biden’s key priorities, including the Build Back Better social spending and climate bill, and a filibuster carve-out for voting rights legislation.
“It’s definitely effective for fundraising and ginning up the activist base,” Mike Mikus, a Pittsburgh-based Democratic consultant said. “The only open question is: Does it have electoral success? That’s something we’ll find out as the primaries progress.”
Mikus said he’s never seen Democratic Senate primaries pick up so much steam from attacks against a Democrat from another state. There used to be more conservative Democrats like Manchin, Mikus said, making it harder to train anger on a single person.
Are They Truckers or TucKKKers
The ‘Freedom Convoy’ that converged in Ottawa a week ago started in response to the federal government’s move to require that all Canadian truck drivers crossing the U.S. border be fully vaccinated. The Canadian Trucking Alliance, the main advocacy body for truckers, has disavowed the protest, saying the vast majority of its members are fully vaccinated and are continuing to work. The core organizers of the protest insist that they are not anti-vaccine but instead oppose mandates that require vaccination for people to work.
Has Joe Spawned More Boys Than Wilt Chamberlain?
Funny How This Keeps Happening to Black Women
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One Small Step For a Man. One Giant Leap for Mankind.
A paralysed man with a severed spinal cord has been able to walk again, thanks to an implant developed by a team of Swiss researchers.
It is the first time someone who has had a complete cut to their spinal cord has been able to walk freely.
The same technology has improved the health of another paralysed patient to the extent that he has been able to become a father.
The research has been published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Michel Roccati was paralysed after a motorbike accident five years ago. His spinal cord was completely severed - and he has no feeling at all in his legs.
But he can now walk - because of an electrical implant that has been surgically attached to his spine.
More Info
Chalk Up Another Win For Scientists and Engineers
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How Not To Start a New Job: Don't Say Your New Boss Isn't a Complete Clown
Boris Johnson told his new director of communications Guto Harri, "I will survive", by singing him lines from the Gloria Gaynor song as he appointed him to the post.
Mr Harri was hired after a string of resignations from No 10 amid turmoil over parties held during lockdowns.
The aide told a Welsh news website he saw the PM on Friday afternoon.
He also said his new boss was "not a complete clown, he's a very likeable character".
Also, Don't Sing to Your New Hires, Unless You Are Lady Gaga
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Fight Club Rides Again!
Chinese streaming giant Tencent has reinstated the original ending of a Hollywood movie after a censored version last month sparked backlash.
The original ending to the 1999 film Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt, shows scenes of explosions and relentless fighting. But China's version simply showed a message on screen saying the authorities won and saved the day.
The change ignited intense debate about cinematic censorship in China.
The latest version on Tencent reportedly restores about 11 of the 12 minutes that were cut. According to news site SCMP, the scenes still missing are those featuring nudity.
The film's original finale shows Norton's character killing his alter ego, before bombs destroy buildings in a subversive plot to reorder society.
China's version of the film, which was only released last month, cut all those scenes, and instead explained that the police foiled the plot, arrested the criminals and sent Durden to a "lunatic asylum".
"Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding," it said.
The censored ending was ridiculed online and criticised by both human rights groups and Chinese viewers who had previously seen pirated versions of the original.
When Does "Unhealthy" Mean "Healthy"? When You Are on Fox News. Waiting for the Correction. Waiting. Waiting.............
Fox News completely upended statistics it claimed proved that Democrats run the unhealthiest cities in the nation.
The Fox face-plant Saturday evening was spotted by Twitter sleuth @acyn, and got a shout-out from CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale.
Dan Bongino, host of “Unfiltered” — who has been permanently banned by Youtube.com for spinning COVID lies — savaged Democrats in the “Tale of Two Cities” episode for running what a dramatic map behind him targeted as the “Top Ten” unhealthiest cities in America.
But, oops — all the cities clearly labeled in the map Bongino displayed, including San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, Washington, Austin and Denver — are the healthiest in the country, according to a WalletHub analysis, the very source cited by the program.
Bongino’s map also mistakenly names “Irving” in Texas in the Top 10 list. The WalletHub analysis actually refers to “Irvine,” a city in California, as among the healthiest.
From the Coward Who Encouraged His Followers to "Beat the Crap Out of Them".
Former President Donald Trump was confused when White House staffers didn't like him rewinding Capitol riot highlights on TV, The Associated Press reported Monday.
The report offers new details into what happened in the West Wing on January 6, 2021, as a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
The AP report repeats a previous claim made by Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary, who told CNN last month that Trump "gleefully" watched the insurrection unfold on TV, rewinding the footage at several points to watch it over again.
"Look at all of the people fighting for me," Trump said at the time, according to Grisham.
As White House staffers watched the riot unfold, the former president was shocked that they weren't as excited as he was, the AP said.
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How Does a Prison Not Make the Vents Impassable?
Three Tennessee inmates escaped from jail through an HVAC air vent Friday morning, and are believed to be on the loose in Virginia, authorities said.
Tobias Wayne Carr, 38, Johnny Shane Brown, 50, and Timothy Allen Sarver, 45, accessed the air vent system through the ceiling of their cell and escaped through the vent on the roof of Sullivan County Jail, Capt. Andy Seabolt with the county sheriff's office told NBC affiliate WCYB of Bristol, Virginia.
The sheriff's office shared the charges the three men were jailed on: Carr with second-degree murder, vandalism and tampering with evidence; Brown with harassment, domestic assault and aggravated stalking; and Sarver with auto theft and identify theft.
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Want Some Cheap Salvation? Cheap Isn't Always Bad.
New research reinforces the old adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” when it comes to preventing future pandemics.
With the world now entering its third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of 20 experts have released a “blueprint” for stopping animal-borne pathogens from spilling over into humans. The study, led by Harvard University researchers and published in the journal Science Advances on Friday, finds that implementing just three pandemic prevention strategies — halting deforestation, improving disease monitoring and surveillance, and better managing the wildlife trade — would cost a fraction of the annual economic and human losses that result from emerging infectious diseases.
Less than 5%, to be exact ― and that’s a conservative estimate.
Aaron Bernstein, the study’s lead author and director of Harvard’s Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, said during a call with reporters this week that given the world’s ongoing experience with COVID-19, it would be foolish not to invest in an alternative path that costs 5 cents on the dollar.
“Our salvation comes cheap,” he said.
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What Happened In Vegas Didn't Stay in Vegas.
Atourist in Las Vegas hit the jackpot on a slot machine last month, but he was never informed due to a malfunction in the machine, according to gaming officials.
Now after an exhaustive search, the Nevada Gaming Control Board says they have identified the winner of the nearly $230,000 prize.
On January 8, a man, later identified by officials as Robert Taylor, played a slot machine at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. Due to a communications error, according to gaming officials, the slot machine malfunctioned and didn't notify Taylor or casino personnel that he was a winner.
By the time the error was noticed, casino personnel were unable to identify the man, who was from out of state. The gaming board took on an exhaustive search to make sure the man would be awarded his prize.
To identify the winner, gaming officials combed through hours of surveillance videos from several casinos, interviewed witnesses, shifted through electronic purchase records and even analyzed ride share data provided by the Nevada Transportation Authority and a rideshare company, according to a news release.
The jackpot winner was determined to be Taylor, a tourist from Arizona.
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COVID Responses Are All Over the Map
Australia
Australia will open its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers from late February, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Monday after a meeting of the government's national security committee.
"The National Security Committee and Cabinet has decided today that Australia will reopen our borders to all remaining visa holders on the 21st of February," Morrison said, speaking outside parliament in Canberra.
Australia, which has been closed to most travelers since early 2020, has been slowly easing its restrictions since November through travel programs with New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.
China
Chinese city of 3.6 million locked down as virus defies curbs
Ireland
Ireland will hold St Patrick’s Day celebrations for the first time in three years, adding to signs of life returning to normal amid the coronavirus pandemic. The five day festival in Dublin, which takes place around the St Patrick’s holiday on March 17, was one of the first major events to be canceled in March 2020 as COVID-19 took hold around the world. Its return comes after Ireland dropped most remaining pandemic restrictions in January amid declining infections from the Omicron variant. Smaller events will take place elsewhere across the country on the holiday itself.
New Jersey
N.J. to lift school mask mandate as cases fall.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is poised to lift the state’s controversial school mask mandate as the Omicron variant’s surge abates.
The move will be announced Monday and take effect March 7, with flexibility for districts to decide on their own mask requirements, according to a person familiar with the decision who was unauthorized to speak publicly. Murphy is scheduled to hold a virus briefing at 1 p.m. in Trenton.
Indonesia
Indonesia bans foreign tourist arrivals at Jakarta airport as COVID-19 spikes
Indonesia has temporarily banned foreign tourists entering the country through Jakarta's airport, the transport ministry said, in a bid to slow a spike in coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant.
The Southeast Asian country has seen a jump in cases, with more than 36,000 infections recorded on Sunday and the bed occupancy rate at hospitals in the capital reaching 63%.
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I Don't Get This Headline.
"Where to Get Home COVID Tests and Why They’re So Hard to Find"
Friday, I went to my local CVS to pick up a prescription. There was a big stack of home tests sitting on the counter. No one was buying them.
Two weeks ago my daughter bought 8 of them at another local pharmacy. 7 are still sitting around out house.
They don't seem hard to find at all, and with Omicron cases tanking, it doesn't seem like a problem.
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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 | |
| Feb 9 | |||||
| Feb 8 | |||||
| Feb 7 | 611,742 | 251,176,199 | 212,920,278 | ||
| Feb 6 | 627,161 | 251,070,439 | 212,806,521 | 291,471 | 2,294 |
| Feb 5 | 655,591 | 250,915,858 | 212,657,682 | 298,890 | 2,331 |
| Feb 4 | 680,135 | 250,731,754 | 212,481,465 | 313,117 | 2,404 |
| Feb 3 | 719,986 | 250,593,665 | 212,336,183 | 343,563 | 2,371 |
| Feb 2 | 494,092 | 250,378,993 | 212,130,684 | 378,015 | 2,403 |
| Feb 1 | 510,477 | 250,184,240 | 211,954,555 | 415,552 | 2,369 |
| Jan 31 | 575,732 | 250,029,773 | 211,818,885 | 446,355 | 2,287 |
| Jan 30 | 603,030 | 249,892,470 | 211,695,131 | 497,296 | 2,234 |
| Jan 29 | 595,871 | 249,695,301 | 211,533,229 | 522,626 | 2,261 |
| Jan 28 | 626,946 | 249,473,925 | 211,343,818 | 543,016 | 2,265 |
| Jan 27 | 643,725 | 249,267,851 (I don't know why) | 211,162,083 | 577,748 | 2,300 |
| Jan 26 | 962,958 | 251,518,114 | 210,850,212 | 596,859 | 2,288 |
| Jan 25 | 1,011,603 | 251,289,667 | 210,682,471 | 627,294 | 2,246 |
| Jan 24 | 1,201,186 | 250,964,433 | 210,459,963 | 692,359 | 2,166 |
| Jan 23 | 1,101,405 | 250,763,600 | 210,358,008 | 663,908 | 1,936 |
| Jan 22 | 1,002,322 | 250,568,431 | 210,229,586 | 686,715 | 1,939 |
| Jan 21 | 1,035,111 | 250,262,153 | 210,021,766 | 716,829 | 1,974 |
| 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 |
| 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 | 75.7% | 64.1% | 42.3% |
| % of Population 5+ | 80.4% | 68.2% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 85.4% | 72.8% | 43.6% |
| % of Population 18+ | 87.2% | 74.4% | 45.5% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 88.5% | 65.0% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday Feb 2)
There has been no significant rain since the first week in January. There are no big storms in the 10-day forecast. After a great start, this could still turn out to be a bad season.
| Percent of Average for this Date | Last Week | 2 Weeks ago | 3 Weeks ago | 4 Weeks ago | 5 Weeks ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 113% | 124% | 134% | 149% | 158% | 170% |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 99% | 110% | 121% | 138% | 156% | 170% |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 91% | 101% | 112% | 127% | 145% | 151% |
| Snow Water Content - North | 89% | 117% | 128% | 135% | 134% | |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 89% | 114% | 129% | 148% | 148% | |
| Snow Water Content - South | 92% | 121% | 135% | 160% | 158% |
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
China: The King Kong of the Mekong
The Mekong, one of the world’s longest waterways, runs about 2,500 miles from its source in the heights of the Tibetan Plateau. Its sinuous path takes it through six countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, where it flows into the South China Sea. Tens of millions of people rely on the river, whose name is sometimes translated as the “mother of waters,” for food, water, energy and income.
The banks of the fast-moving river are lined with crops, grazing livestock and pontoons for fishing villages. But the fish have been disappearing: The Mekong River Commission — an intergovernmental group made up of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — estimated that this stretch of river has 40 percent fewer fish than it did 10 years ago.
Environmentalists and experts blame 11 dams China has built on the Upper Mekong within its borders, which they say are contributing to historic flooding and droughts that have damaged fish spawning areas and upended people’s lives. They say water levels could be further disrupted by another 11 dams — many of them financed by Chinese companies — that are planned for the Lower Mekong, including two that Laos has opened since 2019.
“We’re not talking about one or two people or one or two problems,” said Deetes, 42, the regional campaigns and communications director for Southeast Asia at International Rivers, a nonprofit group based in California. “What we are talking about is a large number of people and the regional economy.”
Oz Can Tell He's President. Because Of Our Mistakes??
NBC’s Dasha Burns interviewed four of the Pennsylvania Republicans running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
And here’s how all four of them answered, in separate interviews, the question of whether Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election.
Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz: “Well, you can tell he's the president. I think it's pretty obvious from the mistakes we've been making.”
Former hedge fund executive David McCormick: “Well, listen, it's you can't go across Pennsylvania without hearing over and over again about the broad irregularities in our elections. So the three-day extension of the ballot, the lack of secure ballot boxes, the lack of oversight in many of the precincts of Philadelphia, so the majority of Republican voters in Pennsylvania do not believe in the outcome of the election. That's a terrible thing. If you're somebody who served in the military for the specific purpose of making sure that our democracy thrives, that's a major problem. So we have to fix that and one way to fix that is to have a great senator win in 2022. That makes sure that we have an accurate election in 2024.”
2018 Lt. Gov. nominee Jeff Bartos: “Well, I've been asked this many, many times over the last year, as you probably know, and each time I've consistently said, I believe Joe Biden won the state of Pennsylvania and won the presidency. We definitely had problems here in Pennsylvania.”
Conservative political commentator Kathy Barnette: “I believe there are a number of questions and I believe, unfortunately, our nation has not allowed those voices who feel uncomfortable about what happened.”
Youngkin Bullies on Young Man
The Washington Post reports that Ethan Lynne, 17, retweeted a story about a historian who was upset about Youngkin's lack of respect for the history of the Virginia Governor's Mansion.
But, Lynne’s twee, caused a firestorm, and “Team Youngkin”—the official Twitter account for Youngkin’s campaign—posted a photo of the teen and Northam, taken at a Democratic fundraiser in October.
The tweet was later removed, but only after a severe backlash accusing Youngkin of “cyberbullying of the worst kind.”
“A governor’s campaign account has attacked a minor—to me that was a new low,” Lynne said, according to the Post. “And they just now took it down. It was up for over 12 hours. I received no apology, no communication, nothing.”
Let the Records Reflect That He Broke the Law About Records
The story about Donald Trump’s treatment of official White House records keeps getting worse and worse. It’s been recently reported that the select committee investigating Jan. 6 has been receiving documents that have been Scotch-taped back together in an attempt to fix Trump’s abuses, but that’s not all.
Under Trump, White House officials would routinely put documents into "burn bags," sources told The Washington Post, forcing records officials to dump out the burn bags and look for documents that, under the law, were supposed to be archived. On top of that, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) was recently forced to go to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve White House records that Donald Trump had carried off with him, which is against the law.
15 Million Reasons to Hate Coal Joe
Manchin could be responsible for 15 million people losing Medicaid coverage this year
Right now, there are nearly 77 million non-elderly people who have health coverage through Medicaid, the federal/state partnership program to provide coverage to disabled Americans, and low-income Americans and their children. Something like 17 million people have enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic, the result of job loss or long-term disability from the disease. Their coverage is protected under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, one of the first pandemic response bills which prohibits states from kicking people off the program during the public health emergency.
The problem: That emergency status is now scheduled to expire in April, but it’s uncertain given the short history of this virus and its variants. That’s creating a lot of uncertainty for states, and the very real possibility that 15 million people, including 8.7 million adults and 5.9 million children, will lose their Medicaid coverage this year.
The version for the BBB that the House passed provided a path to coverage for the people in the Medicaid coverage gap—many of this population—by allowing for them to purchase subsidized coverage under Obamacare marketplaces. It also requires that states provide a full 12 months of Medicaid coverage for postpartum people and infants, to make sure that population doesn’t fall out of coverage.
Between February 2020 and June 2021, Medicaid enrollment in West Virginia increased from 489,000 people to 587,000. That means 80,000 people in that state are in danger of losing coverage and potentially not even knowing it, largely thanks to their senator, Joe Manchin, who is single-handedly stopping the legislation that would fix it.
Turning Coal Joe Hate Into Votes
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is not on the ballot in November.
But that isn’t stopping many Democratic Senate candidates from effectively running against him in competitive primaries.
Whether attacking Manchin on Twitter, invoking his name to raise money, or accusing rivals of resembling the conservative Democratic senator, Manchin’s prominence in key intraparty contests attests to how much of a villain he has become to Democratic primary voters.
Along with Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D), Manchin has been scorned by Democrats for blocking President Joe Biden’s key priorities, including the Build Back Better social spending and climate bill, and a filibuster carve-out for voting rights legislation.
“It’s definitely effective for fundraising and ginning up the activist base,” Mike Mikus, a Pittsburgh-based Democratic consultant said. “The only open question is: Does it have electoral success? That’s something we’ll find out as the primaries progress.”
Mikus said he’s never seen Democratic Senate primaries pick up so much steam from attacks against a Democrat from another state. There used to be more conservative Democrats like Manchin, Mikus said, making it harder to train anger on a single person.
Are They Truckers or TucKKKers
The ‘Freedom Convoy’ that converged in Ottawa a week ago started in response to the federal government’s move to require that all Canadian truck drivers crossing the U.S. border be fully vaccinated. The Canadian Trucking Alliance, the main advocacy body for truckers, has disavowed the protest, saying the vast majority of its members are fully vaccinated and are continuing to work. The core organizers of the protest insist that they are not anti-vaccine but instead oppose mandates that require vaccination for people to work.
Has Joe Spawned More Boys Than Wilt Chamberlain?
Funny How This Keeps Happening to Black Women
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One Small Step For a Man. One Giant Leap for Mankind.
A paralysed man with a severed spinal cord has been able to walk again, thanks to an implant developed by a team of Swiss researchers.
It is the first time someone who has had a complete cut to their spinal cord has been able to walk freely.
The same technology has improved the health of another paralysed patient to the extent that he has been able to become a father.
The research has been published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Michel Roccati was paralysed after a motorbike accident five years ago. His spinal cord was completely severed - and he has no feeling at all in his legs.
But he can now walk - because of an electrical implant that has been surgically attached to his spine.
More Info
Chalk Up Another Win For Scientists and Engineers
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How Not To Start a New Job: Don't Say Your New Boss Isn't a Complete Clown
Boris Johnson told his new director of communications Guto Harri, "I will survive", by singing him lines from the Gloria Gaynor song as he appointed him to the post.
Mr Harri was hired after a string of resignations from No 10 amid turmoil over parties held during lockdowns.
The aide told a Welsh news website he saw the PM on Friday afternoon.
He also said his new boss was "not a complete clown, he's a very likeable character".
Also, Don't Sing to Your New Hires, Unless You Are Lady Gaga
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Fight Club Rides Again!
Chinese streaming giant Tencent has reinstated the original ending of a Hollywood movie after a censored version last month sparked backlash.
The original ending to the 1999 film Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt, shows scenes of explosions and relentless fighting. But China's version simply showed a message on screen saying the authorities won and saved the day.
The change ignited intense debate about cinematic censorship in China.
The latest version on Tencent reportedly restores about 11 of the 12 minutes that were cut. According to news site SCMP, the scenes still missing are those featuring nudity.
The film's original finale shows Norton's character killing his alter ego, before bombs destroy buildings in a subversive plot to reorder society.
China's version of the film, which was only released last month, cut all those scenes, and instead explained that the police foiled the plot, arrested the criminals and sent Durden to a "lunatic asylum".
"Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding," it said.
The censored ending was ridiculed online and criticised by both human rights groups and Chinese viewers who had previously seen pirated versions of the original.
When Does "Unhealthy" Mean "Healthy"? When You Are on Fox News. Waiting for the Correction. Waiting. Waiting.............
Fox News completely upended statistics it claimed proved that Democrats run the unhealthiest cities in the nation.
The Fox face-plant Saturday evening was spotted by Twitter sleuth @acyn, and got a shout-out from CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale.
Dan Bongino, host of “Unfiltered” — who has been permanently banned by Youtube.com for spinning COVID lies — savaged Democrats in the “Tale of Two Cities” episode for running what a dramatic map behind him targeted as the “Top Ten” unhealthiest cities in America.
But, oops — all the cities clearly labeled in the map Bongino displayed, including San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, Washington, Austin and Denver — are the healthiest in the country, according to a WalletHub analysis, the very source cited by the program.
Bongino’s map also mistakenly names “Irving” in Texas in the Top 10 list. The WalletHub analysis actually refers to “Irvine,” a city in California, as among the healthiest.
From the Coward Who Encouraged His Followers to "Beat the Crap Out of Them".
Former President Donald Trump was confused when White House staffers didn't like him rewinding Capitol riot highlights on TV, The Associated Press reported Monday.
The report offers new details into what happened in the West Wing on January 6, 2021, as a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
The AP report repeats a previous claim made by Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary, who told CNN last month that Trump "gleefully" watched the insurrection unfold on TV, rewinding the footage at several points to watch it over again.
"Look at all of the people fighting for me," Trump said at the time, according to Grisham.
As White House staffers watched the riot unfold, the former president was shocked that they weren't as excited as he was, the AP said.
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How Does a Prison Not Make the Vents Impassable?
Three Tennessee inmates escaped from jail through an HVAC air vent Friday morning, and are believed to be on the loose in Virginia, authorities said.
Tobias Wayne Carr, 38, Johnny Shane Brown, 50, and Timothy Allen Sarver, 45, accessed the air vent system through the ceiling of their cell and escaped through the vent on the roof of Sullivan County Jail, Capt. Andy Seabolt with the county sheriff's office told NBC affiliate WCYB of Bristol, Virginia.
The sheriff's office shared the charges the three men were jailed on: Carr with second-degree murder, vandalism and tampering with evidence; Brown with harassment, domestic assault and aggravated stalking; and Sarver with auto theft and identify theft.
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Want Some Cheap Salvation? Cheap Isn't Always Bad.
New research reinforces the old adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” when it comes to preventing future pandemics.
With the world now entering its third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of 20 experts have released a “blueprint” for stopping animal-borne pathogens from spilling over into humans. The study, led by Harvard University researchers and published in the journal Science Advances on Friday, finds that implementing just three pandemic prevention strategies — halting deforestation, improving disease monitoring and surveillance, and better managing the wildlife trade — would cost a fraction of the annual economic and human losses that result from emerging infectious diseases.
Less than 5%, to be exact ― and that’s a conservative estimate.
Aaron Bernstein, the study’s lead author and director of Harvard’s Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, said during a call with reporters this week that given the world’s ongoing experience with COVID-19, it would be foolish not to invest in an alternative path that costs 5 cents on the dollar.
“Our salvation comes cheap,” he said.
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What Happened In Vegas Didn't Stay in Vegas.
Atourist in Las Vegas hit the jackpot on a slot machine last month, but he was never informed due to a malfunction in the machine, according to gaming officials.
Now after an exhaustive search, the Nevada Gaming Control Board says they have identified the winner of the nearly $230,000 prize.
On January 8, a man, later identified by officials as Robert Taylor, played a slot machine at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. Due to a communications error, according to gaming officials, the slot machine malfunctioned and didn't notify Taylor or casino personnel that he was a winner.
By the time the error was noticed, casino personnel were unable to identify the man, who was from out of state. The gaming board took on an exhaustive search to make sure the man would be awarded his prize.
To identify the winner, gaming officials combed through hours of surveillance videos from several casinos, interviewed witnesses, shifted through electronic purchase records and even analyzed ride share data provided by the Nevada Transportation Authority and a rideshare company, according to a news release.
The jackpot winner was determined to be Taylor, a tourist from Arizona.
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COVID Responses Are All Over the Map
Australia
Australia will open its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers from late February, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Monday after a meeting of the government's national security committee.
"The National Security Committee and Cabinet has decided today that Australia will reopen our borders to all remaining visa holders on the 21st of February," Morrison said, speaking outside parliament in Canberra.
Australia, which has been closed to most travelers since early 2020, has been slowly easing its restrictions since November through travel programs with New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.
China
Chinese city of 3.6 million locked down as virus defies curbs
Ireland
Ireland will hold St Patrick’s Day celebrations for the first time in three years, adding to signs of life returning to normal amid the coronavirus pandemic. The five day festival in Dublin, which takes place around the St Patrick’s holiday on March 17, was one of the first major events to be canceled in March 2020 as COVID-19 took hold around the world. Its return comes after Ireland dropped most remaining pandemic restrictions in January amid declining infections from the Omicron variant. Smaller events will take place elsewhere across the country on the holiday itself.
New Jersey
N.J. to lift school mask mandate as cases fall.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is poised to lift the state’s controversial school mask mandate as the Omicron variant’s surge abates.
The move will be announced Monday and take effect March 7, with flexibility for districts to decide on their own mask requirements, according to a person familiar with the decision who was unauthorized to speak publicly. Murphy is scheduled to hold a virus briefing at 1 p.m. in Trenton.
Indonesia
Indonesia bans foreign tourist arrivals at Jakarta airport as COVID-19 spikes
Indonesia has temporarily banned foreign tourists entering the country through Jakarta's airport, the transport ministry said, in a bid to slow a spike in coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant.
The Southeast Asian country has seen a jump in cases, with more than 36,000 infections recorded on Sunday and the bed occupancy rate at hospitals in the capital reaching 63%.
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I Don't Get This Headline.
"Where to Get Home COVID Tests and Why They’re So Hard to Find"
Friday, I went to my local CVS to pick up a prescription. There was a big stack of home tests sitting on the counter. No one was buying them.
Two weeks ago my daughter bought 8 of them at another local pharmacy. 7 are still sitting around out house.
They don't seem hard to find at all, and with Omicron cases tanking, it doesn't seem like a problem.
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