Post by mhbruin on Apr 2, 2022 9:59:43 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 560 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
↓ 2.7% Cases, two-week change
↑ 17.4% Deaths, two-week change - I have no idea what is going on with NBC's data.
986,162 Total confirmed deaths
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 22)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
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First time average deaths below 600 since August 4, 2021.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
If You Are Arrested, Will You Get Fed?
A 36-hour curfew has been announced in Sri Lanka as a state of emergency is enforced amid violent protests against food and fuel shortages.
The move is aimed at stopping new protests - two days after crowds were accused of setting vehicles ablaze near the president's private residence.
The military has since been deployed and now has the power to arrest suspects without warrants.
Sri Lanka is in the midst of a major economic crisis.
It is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which is used to pay for fuel imports.
Faced with power cuts lasting half a day or more, and a lack of fuel and essential food and medicines, public anger has reached a new high in the island nation of 22 million.
The Russians Are So Thoughtful. They Left Lovely Parting Gifts.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that retreating Russian forces were leaving mines, including around homes and corpses. "There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers," he said.
The Devil Made Him Do It. Or Was it the Democrats? I Don't Think He Knows the Difference
Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., broke his silence Friday after days of GOP uproar over his remarks on a podcast claiming congressional colleagues were using drugs and inviting him to sex parties.
But in a lengthy statement, Cawthorn attempted to distance himself from his own comments by suggesting it was Democrats and the media that made the allegations about cocaine use and orgies.
“My comments on a recent podcast appearance calling out corruption have been used by the left and the media to disparage my Republican colleagues and falsely insinuate their involvement in illicit activities," he said in statement posted to Twitter.
On the podcast, Cawthorn discussed “the sexual perversion that goes on in Washington” and said some of his older colleagues had invited him to orgies.
“I mean, being kind of a young guy in Washington, where the average age is probably 60 to 70, and I look at all these people, a lot of them that I’ve looked up to through my life — I’ve always paid attention to politics — then all of a sudden you get invited,” Cawthorn said, quoting one such alleged exchange.
“‘Oh, hey, we’re going to have kind of a sexual get-together at one of our homes. You should come.’ I’m like, ‘What did you just ask me to come to?’ Then you realize they’re asking you to come to an orgy,” Cawthorn, 26, said.
The first-term lawmaker also described drug use in his presence. “The fact there are some of the people leading on the movement to try and remove addiction in our country, and then you watch them do a key bump of cocaine right in front of you. And you’re like, ‘This is wild.’”
193 Members of the QOP Voted To Keep Screwing Diabetics. I Am Sure the Checks from Pharma Are in the Mail.
Hey Tom! Only One Party Makes Most People Poor, And Makes Billionaires Richer.
No Wonder Previous Guy Likes Him
For years, Herschel Walker has told the same inspiring story: that he graduated in the top 1% of his class at the University of Georgia. He's told the story, according to a review of his speeches by CNN's KFile, during motivational speeches over the years and as recently as 2017. The only problem: it's not true.
Walker did not graduate from Georgia, where he was a star running back after entering as a prized high school recruit. A profile of Walker from 1982 in the Christian-Science Monitor and an article in The New York Times said he maintained a B average at the school. Walker himself told The Chicago Tribune in 1985 he maintained a 3.0 before his grades dropped. He left to play professional football before graduating and, though having repeatedly said he was returning to obtain his degree, he never received a diploma.
Walker has also claimed he was the valedictorian of his high school class and—you guessed it—that’s not true either. A media review found the school didn’t actually name a valedictorian until 1994.
He Wants to Go to Congress to Fight Demons. He Isn't Talking About Marjorie Taylor Greene
Tim Reichert, a businessman who has described abortion as “the sacrifice of a child at the altar of Baal,” is running for Congress in Colorado’s 7th District, and is so far the only candidate who has qualified for the Republican primary ballot.
“Every abortion is a human sacrifice,” Reichert said last year in an acceptance speech for an award from Catholic Charities of Denver, a ministry-based charity that opposes abortion rights. “Every abortion feeds the demonic and thereby contributes directly to the demise of the church, the demise of America and the demise of the West.”
“Every single abortion is not just a tragic loss with two victims,” he went on. “It is much more than that ― it’s fuel. Fuel for the demonic, because it is the sacrifice of a child at the altar of Baal.”
Previous Guy Like the Look of HIS Gays
Former President Donald Trump told a supporter in the group Gays for Trump at an event at Mar-a-Lago: “You don’t look gay” — triggering an eruption of laughter among his fans.
“We did great with the gay population, as you know,” Trump boasted at the Wednesday fundraiser for Republican John Gibbs, who’s running for the House in Michigan.
In fact, 73% of the LGBTQ community supported Democrat Joe Biden and not Trump, according to a poll conduced by the nonpartisan National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. While in office, Trump was responsible for a litany of anti-gay and anti-transgender actions, and he decimating several anti-discrimination protections. He banned transgender people from the military.
As for Trump’s implication that gays have a single “look,” Gays for Trump founder Peter Boykin told Newsweek on Thursday that the former president was probably referring to gays on the left. Members of Boykin’s organization “probably wouldn’t look gay because it’s a stereotype that fits more with the typical ‘look’ of leftist LGBT,” Boykin insisted. He didn’t detail what that might be.
I Think Some Nude Students Should Greet Him and Offer Him Peyote
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) imagined he might have to take peyote and be nude for an upcoming speaking engagement at that bastion of liberal hedonism, Yale University.
Twitter foes, unfortunately, couldn’t shake the image.
Cruz, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard, meant to diss Yale on “The Liz Wheeler Show” and his own “Verdict With Ted Cruz” podcast when he said Yale would probably require him to (initially) be in a “smoking jacket with maybe a Sherlock Holmes pipe and maybe some Madeira.”
He mused: “Or, I don’t know, has it gone more hippie than that? Like, nude and taking peyote or something.”
Que Sarah, Sarah?
Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and absolute disaster of a presidential running mate, has announced her intention to run in the special election for the open U.S. House seat in Alaska. Don Young, the state’s longtime only congressman, lost consciousness while on a flight to Seattle and died three weeks ago on March 18.
“Public service is a calling, and I would be honored to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep. Young did for 49 years. I realize that I have very big shoes to fill,” Palin said in a statement released Friday night.
In fact, Sarah, no one was calling. The phone was not ringing.
Of course, Palin is coming at this race like she’s running against Fidel Castro. “At this critical time in our nation’s history, we need leaders who will combat the left’s socialist, big-government, America-last agenda,” her statement continued. “This country was built by heroes, and the radical left dishonors their legacies by opening our borders to illegal immigrants, mortgaging our children’s future, and selling out our nation’s interests to the highest bidder.”
If the pandemic and the Trump administration turned your brain to goo, let me refresh you with some of this woman’s greatest hits. The woman can’t name a newspaper she reads. She’s been spewing absolute unintelligible batshit nonsense on her online subscription channel. Her sense of geography was parodied so well that now we only remember the wrong parody. Oh God, Tina Fey will have to go back to Saturday Night Live to revive her impersonation. John McCain is so lucky to be dead.
She's Running Against Santa Claus. The War on Christmas Heats Up.
Sarah Palin on Friday shook up an already unpredictable race for Alaska's lone U.S. House seat, filing paperwork to join a field of at least 40 candidates seeking to fill the seat that had been held for 49 years by the late-U.S. Rep. Don Young, who died last month.
Palin filed paperwork Friday with a Division of Elections office in Wasilla, said Tiffany Montemayor, a division spokesperson. The paperwork was being processed by the division, she said.
The field includes current and former state legislators and a North Pole city council member named Santa Claus. The deadline to file was 5 p.m. Friday. A final list of official candidates was not yet available.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
They May Rue the Day They Took on Transgender Youth. Dickey Takes on a Dick.
Rue Dickey, who lives in Corvallis, Oregon, said that as a transgender person, they felt helpless watching Texas officials begin to investigate parents of trans children.
Dickey, who uses “they” and “he” pronouns, said they were “having a bit of a crisis” at their day job in marketing when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (AKA The Dick) ordered the state child protective services agency to pursue child abuse investigations into the parents of transgender children who are suspected of receiving gender-affirming medical care. (Those investigations have since been blocked by a judge.)
Dickey, 25, wanted to do something to help trans youth and their families in the state.
“The lack of things that I can do as a single person was super overwhelming,” they said. That’s when Dickey, who also designs tabletop role-playing games, remembered that Itch.io, a website that sells independent games, held fundraisers for racial justice, Palestinian relief and, more recently, people in Ukraine.
Tabletop role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, a popular game released in the 1970s, are interactive; players sit around a table and describe their characters' actions, which affect the rest of the game. One player, usually designated the game master, describes the setting of the game and uses a set of rules to give players some structure and guidance.
Dickey, who has been playing the games for about 10 years and writing them since 2019, decided to gather other game designers and create a bundle of games to sell on Itch.io to benefit two small groups in Texas that support trans people, the Transgender Education Network of Texas and the Organización Latina de Trans en Texas.
The bundle they created includes 493 games from 300 designers, and it’s on sale until April 3. It’s valued at more than $2,700 but is available through the fundraiser for $5.
The bundle went live March 2, and Dickey said they initially set the fundraising goal at $1,000.
Just 45 minutes later, the fund met that goal. So they increased the goal to $5,000, and it was quickly surpassed again.
They went to bed, and the next morning the fund hit $11,000. Since then, they have increased the goal seven more times to $420,000. As of Friday evening, that had raised nearly $394,000.
Florida Teachers Strike Back. Many May Be Sending This Letter Home.
Dear Florida parent/caretaker:
The Florida house of Representatives has recently ruled that “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
To be in accordance with this policy, I will no longer be referring to your student with gendered pronouns. All students will be referred to as “The” or “them.” I will no longer use a gendered title such as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” or make any references to my husband/wife in the classroom. From now on I will be using the non-gendered title “Mx.”
Furthermore, I will be removing all books or instruction which refer to a person being a “mother,” “Father,” “husband” or “wife” as these are gender identities that also may allude to sexual orientation. Needless to say, all books which refer to a character as “he” or “She” will also be removed from the classroom. If you have any concerns about this policy, please feel free to contact your local congressperson.
Thank you, Mx. XXXXXXXXXX
Let's Nominate Medical Researchers
Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a debilitating genetic skin disorder that leads to severe blistering, wounds, scarring, and usually an untimely death. Up to now it has had no approved specific therapies at all, so its victims have basically been left to suffer. This disease has had a quite a run preying on genetically unlucky people.
But — thanks to a long history of dedicated researchers working towards viable gene therapies — if you’re RDEB, suddenly your future isn’t looking too bright. A gene-therapy gel (!) that can be received in the mail and used at home causes skin cells to make their own functional collagen VII, the missing component in RDEB. Great clinical improvements are already being reported in Phase 1 and 2 human trials.
If you enjoy scientific journal articles
He Does Not Have to Sort Out His Priorities
Reporting the weather was a really personal experience for one Washington, D.C. meteorologist on Thursday.
Doug Kammerer of NBC Washington was doing a live broadcast about a tornado warning when he suddenly realized his own home was in harm’s way.
Knowing his kids were home alone, Kammerer temporarily switched into dad mode and called home while he was still in the middle of his live broadcast,
These Red Cross People Don't Give Up
Treacherous ground conditions tempered hopes of humanitarian relief on Friday for the bomb-ravaged southern city of Mariupol, where tens of thousands of Ukrainians remained trapped under Russian siege as aid workers tried desperately to reach them.
About 6,200 civilians, many of whom apparently had fled Mariupol on their own in recent days and weeks, were transported Friday from Russian-held territory outside the city into the relative safety of a Ukrainian-controlled area. But the International Committee of the Red Cross said its nine-person team was unable to enter Mariupol itself, despite earlier assurances from Moscow of a cease-fire and safe passage for civilians. The team would try again Saturday, the Red Cross said.
One Small Step For Workers
Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fueled the union drive.
Votes were still being tabulated but union supporters secured a wide enough margin to give the fledgling Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory. The votes that were either voided or contested by either Amazon or the ALU did not appear to be enough to sway the outcome.
More than 8,300 eligible workers cast their ballots. Amazon provides the list of eligible workers to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees the process. Organizers say a high attrition rate may have shrunk that pool since the election was scheduled.
The victory was an uphill battle for the independent group, made up of former and current workers who lacked official backing from an established union and were out-gunned by the deep-pocketed retail giant. Despite obstacles, organizers believed their grassroots approach was more relatable to workers and could help them overcome where established unions have failed in the past.
Joni Will Always Be One Of the Best People in the World
An 81-year-old jazz giant and a 15-year-old rock singer were the first to perform tributes to Joni Mitchell on Friday night.
Such was the diversity of artists honoring a most diverse artist, Mitchell, a Canadian-turned-Californian, folkie-turned-rocker-turned-jazz explorer who was honored as the 2022 MusiCares Person of the year by the Recording Academy two days before the Grammy Awards.
Herbie Hancock played a jazz piano rendition of music from Mitchell's 1976 album “Hejira” that was followed by a rocking version of 1974's “Help Me” from Violet Grohl, the teenage daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, to open the tribute concert in a ballroom at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
Mitchell, sitting at the front table, brought out the teenager in many of the older entertainers.
“When I first heard Joni Mitchell it was 1968 and I was 15 years old,” Cyndi Lauper, now 68, said. “I had never heard anyone sing so intimately about what it was like to be a young woman navigating this world.”
Lauper recited several of Mitchell's lines that moved her most, before launching into “Magdalene Laundry” while playing mountain dulcimer.
“I don’t know how you do what you do, I just know I need it like food,” Meryl Streep said in a video message played for Mitchell and the crowd. “Ever since we were both young girls. We didn’t know each other, but you sang me into being. You sang my life."
Seven years after a brain aneurysm that left her temporarily unable to walk or speak, Mitchell, 78, was delighted to be in Las Vegas and out at a major public event for the first time since the pandemic began.
“I had the best margarita that I've ever had at our hotel,” she told The Associated Press as she walked into the gala.
Mitchell is a presenter and a nominee for best historical album at Sunday’s Grammys. She says she's always found herself in the genres and categories that don’t make the Grammy telecast.
This is a nice story
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Invasions Have Consequences
The Best of the Best Became the Deadest of the Deadest.
In any war, there are units that distinguish themselves and others that become symbolic of failure. The 331st Guards Parachute Regiment had high hopes of being the first, but now represents the disintegration of Russia's plan for a quick war.
The regiment's commanding officer, Col Sergei Sukharev, was killed in Ukraine on 13 March, and was posthumously awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation medal. At his funeral, deputy defence minister Gen Yuri Sadovenko said the colonel "lived for the future, for the future of our people, a future without Nazism".
Casualties among Russian forces are not widely reported in Russia itself, but using open source material, the BBC has pieced together the story of their advance, and found that at least 39 other members of the elite 331st regiment have died.
That advance swiftly got drawn into a destructive stalemate in districts on the outskirts of Kyiv which soon became synonymous with the viciousness of the war: Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel.
The men in the 331st regarded themselves as the pick of Russia's army. In a video posted online last May, a general tells soldiers of the 331st Parachute Regiment that they are "the best of the best". The unit served in the Balkans, Chechnya, and the 2014 Russian intervention in the Donbas region of Ukraine, and regularly took part in Red Square parades in Moscow.
As for the price of failure, it mounts daily. At the time of writing, BBC Newsnight had compiled a list of 39 named members of the 331st Parachute Regiment killed in Ukraine. But since none of those fatalities is more recent than the 13 March, it can be supposed that dozens more will emerge in the coming weeks.
Kostroma locals have told us they believe that around 100 members of the regiment may have died. And many families will never receive their loved one's body because it was left behind on the battlefield.
Even a conservative projection of the deaths we now know about, and their dates, suggest that the town's losses in a few weeks in Ukraine already exceed those from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
In His Supposed "War Against Nazis", Putin Is Emulating the Ultimate Nazi
Putin is making the same mistakes that doomed Hitler when he invaded the Soviet Union
Russian President Vladimir Putin often evokes the Soviet Union's epic defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II to justify his country's invasion of Ukraine.
Yet Putin is committing some of the same blunders that doomed Germany's 1941 invasion of the USSR -- while using "Hitler-like tricks and tactics" to justify his brutality, military historians and scholars say.
Russian tanks have been stymied by lack of fuel. The lack of fuel is part of a bigger problem. The once-vaunted Russian army has become bogged down in Ukraine not just because of fierce resistance but by something more prosaic: logistics.
There is a lot more in this article.
The Ukrainians Will Feel Like Kids in a Candy Weapons Store
The U.S. Defense Department said Friday that it would fulfill a virtual wish list for Ukrainian forces. The promised goods, worth an estimated $300 million include laser-guided rocket systems; armed drones; armored off-road vehicles; ammunition; machine guns; night-vision devices and more, the department said in a statement.
Remember the Finns
The apt comparison is to Russia’s botched invasion of Finland in 1939. Before the Ukrainians established themselves as Europe’s fuck-around-and-find-out crew, that honor went to the Finns.
Russians Are Shaken, But Not Stirred
Shaken at First, Many Russians Now Rally Behind Putin’s Invasion
The stream of antiwar letters to a St. Petersburg lawmaker has dried up. Some Russians who had criticized the Kremlin have turned into cheerleaders for the war. Those who publicly oppose it have found the word “traitor” scrawled on their apartment door.
Five weeks into President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, there are signs that the Russian public’s initial shock has given way to a mix of support for their troops and anger at the West. On television, entertainment shows have been replaced by extra helpings of propaganda, resulting in an around-the-clock barrage of falsehoods about the “Nazis” who run Ukraine and American-funded Ukrainian bioweapons laboratories.
Polls and interviews show that many Russians now accept Mr. Putin’s contention that their country is under siege from the West and had no choice but to attack. The war’s opponents are leaving the country or keeping quiet.
Note to Vlad the Invader: Murdering People Won't Cure Your Cancer
Russian President Vladimir Putin was visited by a thyroid cancer doctor 35 times, new investigation claims.
Russian investigative news outlet Proekt revealed that a team of doctors frequently visited the 69-year-old Russian president at his residences or accompanied him on trips amid growing questions about his health.
Yevgeny Selivanov, an oncology surgeon, specializing in thyroid cancer, flew to visit Putin at his Black Sea residence 35 times and spent 166 days in his presence, the report said.
Two otolaryngologists, or ear, nose, and throat specialists, Igor Esakov and Alexei Shcheglov, visited the Russian president even more frequently.
Alexei Shcheglov flew to see Putin 59 times and spent a total of 282 days with him between 2016 and 2020, according to the report.
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Will You Want to Be Slimed?
Researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong have created a "soft robot" made of slime containing magnetic particles, which can be manipulated using external magnets.
The magnetic particles are toxic, but have theoretically been made safe to enter the human body after being covered in a layer of silicone compound - although further safety testing will be needed in the future.
The team in Hong Kong hope the slime will one day be used to collect objects which have been accidentally swallowed.
Slimy, Yet Satisfying
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Let's Hope This Holds
A two-month truce has been agreed by warring parties in Yemen, the UN says.
It is the first nationwide truce agreed since 2016 in a war which has killed nearly 400,000 people, according to UN estimates.
About 60% died from hunger, lack of healthcare and unsafe water.
The deal between the Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed Houthi rebels - which can be extended if both agree - is scheduled to come into effect at 16:00 GMT on Saturday.
Saturday is the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for many Muslims.
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COVID Isn't Over for a Lot of People
'I've had long Covid for two years now'
The initial emergency of Covid may feel like it's over, but thousands of people are still suffering from ongoing symptoms known as long Covid. So are we any closer to understanding the causes of this debilitating condition or to finding the best way of treating it?
Neil Robinson is finding it hard to accept that he is still affected by Covid. "I was just so certain that I would have recovered by now," he told me.
Jo House is learning to adjust to her new reality. "It feels weird to say it, but I'm now disabled and I need to rethink how I live my life," she says.
And although John Dusabe Richards is now improving, he has not fully recovered. A year after a mild Covid infection he could not read a bedtime book to his children because of the "sandbag on my chest" that made it hard to breathe. The breathlessness, constant headaches and joint pain are largely gone, but his fatigue is lingering. Dancing or doing sports with his kids needs planning due to an unnaturally long recovery time.
Including the UK
The prevalence of COVID-19 in the U.K. has reached record levels, with about 1 in 13 people estimated to be infected with the virus in the past week, according to the latest figures from Britain's official statistics agency.
Some 4.9 million people were estimated to have the coronavirus in the week ending March 26, up from 4.3 million recorded in the previous week, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. The latest surge is driven by the more transmissible omicron variant BA.2, which is the dominant variant across the U.K.
Hospitalizations and death rates are again rising, although the number of people dying with COVID-19 is still relatively low compared with earlier this year. Nonetheless, the latest estimates suggest that the steep climb in new infections since late February, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson scrapped all remaining coronavirus restrictions in England, has continued well into March.
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Many Disabled US Teens Dreams of Being Discovered by Hollywood. But, Bollywood?
Surya Kasibhatla, who plays a teen with cerebral palsy in a new Bollywood thriller, lives with the disability every day. But casting him is a rare move of inclusivity in the world's largest film industry.
The Texas-based teenager has his own Instagram handle and YouTube channel, gleefully noting the rising number of followers.
His acclaimed performance, alongside celebrated Indian actors Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah, in a new Amazon thriller Jalsa has put him in the spotlight.
"I have cerebral palsy but that does not hinder my ability to learn new skills," Surya said on a Zoom interview.
Jalsa is a gritty drama set in the city of Mumbai. Surya plays Ayush, the geeky son of a popular news anchor, played by Balan. He loves playing video games, listening to music and acting cheeky with his doting grandmother. A hit-and-run accident involving his mother turns the family's life upside down.
Surya landed the role when the casting director spotted his YouTube videos and got in touch. In the videos, Surya sings, "teaches" computer programming and offers cricket "lessons". A family friend suggested he audition for the film and his homemaker mother, Sunitha Sanagaram, encouraged him saying, "Let's do it."
The director, Suresh Triveni, picked Surya from more than 100 teen actors who auditioned. Surya flew to Mumbai during the pandemic and prepared for the role by attending workshops that "were a lot of fun" and says the crew made it "very comfortable" for him.
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COVID Was An Excuse for a Lot of Bigotry
The Biden administration announced on Friday that it will soon end a Trump-era immigration policy, known as Title 42, that allowed US officials to bar entry to migrants and asylum seekers at the US border on the grounds that they could pose a health risk because of Covid-19.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield previewed the policy change during a briefing on Wednesday, telling reporters that the move is being made at the recommendation of top federal health authorities.
"This is a decision we have long deferred to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)," she said. The CDC, saying it conferred with the Department of Homeland Security, announced the change would go into effect at the end of May.
It's past time to say good riddance to Title 42: It was bad policy during the Trump administration, and it has been bad policy under Biden. Title 42 is legally questionable and morally indefensible. Its use put migrants in danger under the dubious justification of public health.
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Just As With the Ivermectin Study, The Unvaccinated Won't Believe This.
Compared to vaccination, Covid-19 itself is far more likely to lead to heart problems in teenage boys and young men, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.
The study is the first to compare directly the odds of a type of heart inflammation called myocarditis following an infection versus vaccination — providing a clearer understanding of the real risk for heart problems and perhaps offering comfort to parents and young men who have had questions about the risks and benefits of the vaccine.
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Think the Insurrectionists Are Getting Off With a Little Jail Time? Think Again.
D.C. attorney general’s civil lawsuit against Jan. 6 insurrectionists aims to wreck them financially
This week more names were added to the federal civil lawsuit filed late last year by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine seeking to hold the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, as well as others involved in the violent attack on the Capitol, financially culpable for the millions of dollars in damage they caused, including injuries to Capitol Police officers.
AG Racine told The Washington Post that the goal of the lawsuit is to expose how these groups are financed and to secure “full restitution and recompense” for the damages inflicted on Washington. The largest of these, Racine said, has involved the huge costs incurred treating scores of injured Metro Police officers, including Officer Michael Fanone. Rioters assaulted Fanone with a stun gun and dragged down the Capitol steps, during which he lost consciousness, suffered a heart attack, and had traumatic brain injury.
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The Trump Slump and the Biden Boom
We added 431,000 jobs in March, for a total of 8.4 million jobs added since the end of 2020. It’s mind bogglingly fast and sustained growth—well over half a million jobs added per month on average for 15 months.
EPOP = Employment to Population Ratio
We are on pace to recover nearly EIGHT YEARS faster than we recovered from the Great Recession.
Let the Good Times Roll!
As a half-dozen or so happy hour patrons gathered at the bar on a recent afternoon, most had something remarkable in common: Everybody seemed to know somebody who had earned a significant raise, or multiple raises, in the past year — and many, if not all, had received a jump in pay themselves.
That included the bartender on the early-evening shift, Nikki Paulk, an easygoing woman with a flash of pink hair. “I’m in hot demand, baby,” she said, mentioning “desperate” employers with a burst of a grin. “I’ve worked at like six bars in the last six months because I just keep getting better offers I can’t turn down.”
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Why Everyone Hates Duke
Google doesn't always have the answer to every question. But ask the search engine why people hate Duke basketball so much, and you'll get page after page filled with articles on why folks hate Duke, Coach K, Grayson Allen, Danny Ferry, and more.
Hatred for Duke can stem back to Grayson Allen's shady "tripping" plays a few years ago, or the Laettner shot from a Grant Hill assist to beat Kentucky on the final play during overtime of an Elite 8 game in 1992.
Hatred can be linked to Laettner making the 1992 Olympic Dream Team because of his Duke status—making the roster on the best team ever assembled of NBA greats and the one college player.
This Story Doesn't Mention Laettner Stomping on a Kentucky Player. He Shouldn't Have Been in the Game.
Then There is This Headline
"Duke Fans Are Hiring Private Jets for Coach K’s Final Four Game"
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↓ 2.7% Cases, two-week change
↑ 17.4% Deaths, two-week change - I have no idea what is going on with NBC's data.
986,162 Total confirmed deaths
New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Apr 1 | 26,106 | 584 |
| Mar 31 | 25,980 | 605 |
| Mar 30 | 25,732 | 626 |
| Mar 29 | 25,218 | 644 |
| Mar 28 | 26,190 | 700 |
| Mar 27 | 26,487 | 690 |
| Mar 26 | 26,593 | 697 |
| Mar 25 | 26,874 | 705 |
| Mar 24 | 27,235 | 732 |
| Mar 23 | 27,134 | 753 |
| Mar 22 | 27,545 | 787 |
| Mar 21 | 28,657 | 861 |
| Mar 20 | 27,786 | 901 |
| Mar 19 | 27,747 | 909 |
| Mar 18 | 28,274 | 972 |
| Mar 17 | 29,317 | 1,035 |
| Mar 16 | 30,040 | 1,052 |
| Mar 15 | 30,934 | 1,107 |
| Mar 14 | 32,458 | 1,186 |
| Mar 13 | 34,113 | 1,187 |
| Mar 12 | 34,253 | 1,210 |
| Mar 11 | 34,805 | 1,198 |
| Mar 10 | 35,269 | 1,197 |
| Mar 9 | 37,146 | 1,179 |
| Mar 8 | 37,879 | 1,161 |
| Mar 7 | 40,433 | 1,208 |
| Mar 6 | 42,204 | 1,259 |
| Mar 5 | 43,665 | 1,281 |
| Mar 4 | 45,555 | 1,319 |
| Mar 3 | 49,888 | 1,413 |
| Mar 2 | 53,016 | 1,558 |
| Mar 1 | 56,253 | 1,674 |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 76.9% | 65.5% | 44.8% |
| % of Population 5+ | 81.7% | 69.6% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 86.5% | 73.9% | 46.4% |
| % of Population 18+ | 88.3% | 75.4% | 48.2% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 89.0% | 67.2% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 22)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
| Percent of Average for this Date | 2 Weeks ago | 3 Weeks ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 79% (62% of full season average) | 84% (61%) | 87% (60%) |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 69% (54%) | 74% (53%) | 76% (51%) |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 65% (51%) | 71% (51%) | 70% (48%) |
| Snow Water Content - North | 46% | 55% (52%) | 59% (53%) |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 55% | 59% (64%) | 58% (66%) |
| Snow Water Content - South | 52% | 60% (66%) | 54% (63%) |
First time average deaths below 600 since August 4, 2021.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
If You Are Arrested, Will You Get Fed?
A 36-hour curfew has been announced in Sri Lanka as a state of emergency is enforced amid violent protests against food and fuel shortages.
The move is aimed at stopping new protests - two days after crowds were accused of setting vehicles ablaze near the president's private residence.
The military has since been deployed and now has the power to arrest suspects without warrants.
Sri Lanka is in the midst of a major economic crisis.
It is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which is used to pay for fuel imports.
Faced with power cuts lasting half a day or more, and a lack of fuel and essential food and medicines, public anger has reached a new high in the island nation of 22 million.
The Russians Are So Thoughtful. They Left Lovely Parting Gifts.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that retreating Russian forces were leaving mines, including around homes and corpses. "There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers," he said.
The Devil Made Him Do It. Or Was it the Democrats? I Don't Think He Knows the Difference
Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., broke his silence Friday after days of GOP uproar over his remarks on a podcast claiming congressional colleagues were using drugs and inviting him to sex parties.
But in a lengthy statement, Cawthorn attempted to distance himself from his own comments by suggesting it was Democrats and the media that made the allegations about cocaine use and orgies.
“My comments on a recent podcast appearance calling out corruption have been used by the left and the media to disparage my Republican colleagues and falsely insinuate their involvement in illicit activities," he said in statement posted to Twitter.
On the podcast, Cawthorn discussed “the sexual perversion that goes on in Washington” and said some of his older colleagues had invited him to orgies.
“I mean, being kind of a young guy in Washington, where the average age is probably 60 to 70, and I look at all these people, a lot of them that I’ve looked up to through my life — I’ve always paid attention to politics — then all of a sudden you get invited,” Cawthorn said, quoting one such alleged exchange.
“‘Oh, hey, we’re going to have kind of a sexual get-together at one of our homes. You should come.’ I’m like, ‘What did you just ask me to come to?’ Then you realize they’re asking you to come to an orgy,” Cawthorn, 26, said.
The first-term lawmaker also described drug use in his presence. “The fact there are some of the people leading on the movement to try and remove addiction in our country, and then you watch them do a key bump of cocaine right in front of you. And you’re like, ‘This is wild.’”
193 Members of the QOP Voted To Keep Screwing Diabetics. I Am Sure the Checks from Pharma Are in the Mail.
Hey Tom! Only One Party Makes Most People Poor, And Makes Billionaires Richer.
No Wonder Previous Guy Likes Him
For years, Herschel Walker has told the same inspiring story: that he graduated in the top 1% of his class at the University of Georgia. He's told the story, according to a review of his speeches by CNN's KFile, during motivational speeches over the years and as recently as 2017. The only problem: it's not true.
Walker did not graduate from Georgia, where he was a star running back after entering as a prized high school recruit. A profile of Walker from 1982 in the Christian-Science Monitor and an article in The New York Times said he maintained a B average at the school. Walker himself told The Chicago Tribune in 1985 he maintained a 3.0 before his grades dropped. He left to play professional football before graduating and, though having repeatedly said he was returning to obtain his degree, he never received a diploma.
Walker has also claimed he was the valedictorian of his high school class and—you guessed it—that’s not true either. A media review found the school didn’t actually name a valedictorian until 1994.
He Wants to Go to Congress to Fight Demons. He Isn't Talking About Marjorie Taylor Greene
Tim Reichert, a businessman who has described abortion as “the sacrifice of a child at the altar of Baal,” is running for Congress in Colorado’s 7th District, and is so far the only candidate who has qualified for the Republican primary ballot.
“Every abortion is a human sacrifice,” Reichert said last year in an acceptance speech for an award from Catholic Charities of Denver, a ministry-based charity that opposes abortion rights. “Every abortion feeds the demonic and thereby contributes directly to the demise of the church, the demise of America and the demise of the West.”
“Every single abortion is not just a tragic loss with two victims,” he went on. “It is much more than that ― it’s fuel. Fuel for the demonic, because it is the sacrifice of a child at the altar of Baal.”
Previous Guy Like the Look of HIS Gays
Former President Donald Trump told a supporter in the group Gays for Trump at an event at Mar-a-Lago: “You don’t look gay” — triggering an eruption of laughter among his fans.
“We did great with the gay population, as you know,” Trump boasted at the Wednesday fundraiser for Republican John Gibbs, who’s running for the House in Michigan.
In fact, 73% of the LGBTQ community supported Democrat Joe Biden and not Trump, according to a poll conduced by the nonpartisan National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. While in office, Trump was responsible for a litany of anti-gay and anti-transgender actions, and he decimating several anti-discrimination protections. He banned transgender people from the military.
As for Trump’s implication that gays have a single “look,” Gays for Trump founder Peter Boykin told Newsweek on Thursday that the former president was probably referring to gays on the left. Members of Boykin’s organization “probably wouldn’t look gay because it’s a stereotype that fits more with the typical ‘look’ of leftist LGBT,” Boykin insisted. He didn’t detail what that might be.
I Think Some Nude Students Should Greet Him and Offer Him Peyote
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) imagined he might have to take peyote and be nude for an upcoming speaking engagement at that bastion of liberal hedonism, Yale University.
Twitter foes, unfortunately, couldn’t shake the image.
Cruz, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard, meant to diss Yale on “The Liz Wheeler Show” and his own “Verdict With Ted Cruz” podcast when he said Yale would probably require him to (initially) be in a “smoking jacket with maybe a Sherlock Holmes pipe and maybe some Madeira.”
He mused: “Or, I don’t know, has it gone more hippie than that? Like, nude and taking peyote or something.”
Que Sarah, Sarah?
Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and absolute disaster of a presidential running mate, has announced her intention to run in the special election for the open U.S. House seat in Alaska. Don Young, the state’s longtime only congressman, lost consciousness while on a flight to Seattle and died three weeks ago on March 18.
“Public service is a calling, and I would be honored to represent the men and women of Alaska in Congress, just as Rep. Young did for 49 years. I realize that I have very big shoes to fill,” Palin said in a statement released Friday night.
In fact, Sarah, no one was calling. The phone was not ringing.
Of course, Palin is coming at this race like she’s running against Fidel Castro. “At this critical time in our nation’s history, we need leaders who will combat the left’s socialist, big-government, America-last agenda,” her statement continued. “This country was built by heroes, and the radical left dishonors their legacies by opening our borders to illegal immigrants, mortgaging our children’s future, and selling out our nation’s interests to the highest bidder.”
If the pandemic and the Trump administration turned your brain to goo, let me refresh you with some of this woman’s greatest hits. The woman can’t name a newspaper she reads. She’s been spewing absolute unintelligible batshit nonsense on her online subscription channel. Her sense of geography was parodied so well that now we only remember the wrong parody. Oh God, Tina Fey will have to go back to Saturday Night Live to revive her impersonation. John McCain is so lucky to be dead.
She's Running Against Santa Claus. The War on Christmas Heats Up.
Sarah Palin on Friday shook up an already unpredictable race for Alaska's lone U.S. House seat, filing paperwork to join a field of at least 40 candidates seeking to fill the seat that had been held for 49 years by the late-U.S. Rep. Don Young, who died last month.
Palin filed paperwork Friday with a Division of Elections office in Wasilla, said Tiffany Montemayor, a division spokesperson. The paperwork was being processed by the division, she said.
The field includes current and former state legislators and a North Pole city council member named Santa Claus. The deadline to file was 5 p.m. Friday. A final list of official candidates was not yet available.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
They May Rue the Day They Took on Transgender Youth. Dickey Takes on a Dick.
Rue Dickey, who lives in Corvallis, Oregon, said that as a transgender person, they felt helpless watching Texas officials begin to investigate parents of trans children.
Dickey, who uses “they” and “he” pronouns, said they were “having a bit of a crisis” at their day job in marketing when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (AKA The Dick) ordered the state child protective services agency to pursue child abuse investigations into the parents of transgender children who are suspected of receiving gender-affirming medical care. (Those investigations have since been blocked by a judge.)
Dickey, 25, wanted to do something to help trans youth and their families in the state.
“The lack of things that I can do as a single person was super overwhelming,” they said. That’s when Dickey, who also designs tabletop role-playing games, remembered that Itch.io, a website that sells independent games, held fundraisers for racial justice, Palestinian relief and, more recently, people in Ukraine.
Tabletop role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, a popular game released in the 1970s, are interactive; players sit around a table and describe their characters' actions, which affect the rest of the game. One player, usually designated the game master, describes the setting of the game and uses a set of rules to give players some structure and guidance.
Dickey, who has been playing the games for about 10 years and writing them since 2019, decided to gather other game designers and create a bundle of games to sell on Itch.io to benefit two small groups in Texas that support trans people, the Transgender Education Network of Texas and the Organización Latina de Trans en Texas.
The bundle they created includes 493 games from 300 designers, and it’s on sale until April 3. It’s valued at more than $2,700 but is available through the fundraiser for $5.
The bundle went live March 2, and Dickey said they initially set the fundraising goal at $1,000.
Just 45 minutes later, the fund met that goal. So they increased the goal to $5,000, and it was quickly surpassed again.
They went to bed, and the next morning the fund hit $11,000. Since then, they have increased the goal seven more times to $420,000. As of Friday evening, that had raised nearly $394,000.
Florida Teachers Strike Back. Many May Be Sending This Letter Home.
Dear Florida parent/caretaker:
The Florida house of Representatives has recently ruled that “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
To be in accordance with this policy, I will no longer be referring to your student with gendered pronouns. All students will be referred to as “The” or “them.” I will no longer use a gendered title such as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” or make any references to my husband/wife in the classroom. From now on I will be using the non-gendered title “Mx.”
Furthermore, I will be removing all books or instruction which refer to a person being a “mother,” “Father,” “husband” or “wife” as these are gender identities that also may allude to sexual orientation. Needless to say, all books which refer to a character as “he” or “She” will also be removed from the classroom. If you have any concerns about this policy, please feel free to contact your local congressperson.
Thank you, Mx. XXXXXXXXXX
Let's Nominate Medical Researchers
Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a debilitating genetic skin disorder that leads to severe blistering, wounds, scarring, and usually an untimely death. Up to now it has had no approved specific therapies at all, so its victims have basically been left to suffer. This disease has had a quite a run preying on genetically unlucky people.
But — thanks to a long history of dedicated researchers working towards viable gene therapies — if you’re RDEB, suddenly your future isn’t looking too bright. A gene-therapy gel (!) that can be received in the mail and used at home causes skin cells to make their own functional collagen VII, the missing component in RDEB. Great clinical improvements are already being reported in Phase 1 and 2 human trials.
If you enjoy scientific journal articles
He Does Not Have to Sort Out His Priorities
Reporting the weather was a really personal experience for one Washington, D.C. meteorologist on Thursday.
Doug Kammerer of NBC Washington was doing a live broadcast about a tornado warning when he suddenly realized his own home was in harm’s way.
Knowing his kids were home alone, Kammerer temporarily switched into dad mode and called home while he was still in the middle of his live broadcast,
These Red Cross People Don't Give Up
Treacherous ground conditions tempered hopes of humanitarian relief on Friday for the bomb-ravaged southern city of Mariupol, where tens of thousands of Ukrainians remained trapped under Russian siege as aid workers tried desperately to reach them.
About 6,200 civilians, many of whom apparently had fled Mariupol on their own in recent days and weeks, were transported Friday from Russian-held territory outside the city into the relative safety of a Ukrainian-controlled area. But the International Committee of the Red Cross said its nine-person team was unable to enter Mariupol itself, despite earlier assurances from Moscow of a cease-fire and safe passage for civilians. The team would try again Saturday, the Red Cross said.
One Small Step For Workers
Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fueled the union drive.
Votes were still being tabulated but union supporters secured a wide enough margin to give the fledgling Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory. The votes that were either voided or contested by either Amazon or the ALU did not appear to be enough to sway the outcome.
More than 8,300 eligible workers cast their ballots. Amazon provides the list of eligible workers to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees the process. Organizers say a high attrition rate may have shrunk that pool since the election was scheduled.
The victory was an uphill battle for the independent group, made up of former and current workers who lacked official backing from an established union and were out-gunned by the deep-pocketed retail giant. Despite obstacles, organizers believed their grassroots approach was more relatable to workers and could help them overcome where established unions have failed in the past.
Joni Will Always Be One Of the Best People in the World
An 81-year-old jazz giant and a 15-year-old rock singer were the first to perform tributes to Joni Mitchell on Friday night.
Such was the diversity of artists honoring a most diverse artist, Mitchell, a Canadian-turned-Californian, folkie-turned-rocker-turned-jazz explorer who was honored as the 2022 MusiCares Person of the year by the Recording Academy two days before the Grammy Awards.
Herbie Hancock played a jazz piano rendition of music from Mitchell's 1976 album “Hejira” that was followed by a rocking version of 1974's “Help Me” from Violet Grohl, the teenage daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, to open the tribute concert in a ballroom at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
Mitchell, sitting at the front table, brought out the teenager in many of the older entertainers.
“When I first heard Joni Mitchell it was 1968 and I was 15 years old,” Cyndi Lauper, now 68, said. “I had never heard anyone sing so intimately about what it was like to be a young woman navigating this world.”
Lauper recited several of Mitchell's lines that moved her most, before launching into “Magdalene Laundry” while playing mountain dulcimer.
“I don’t know how you do what you do, I just know I need it like food,” Meryl Streep said in a video message played for Mitchell and the crowd. “Ever since we were both young girls. We didn’t know each other, but you sang me into being. You sang my life."
Seven years after a brain aneurysm that left her temporarily unable to walk or speak, Mitchell, 78, was delighted to be in Las Vegas and out at a major public event for the first time since the pandemic began.
“I had the best margarita that I've ever had at our hotel,” she told The Associated Press as she walked into the gala.
Mitchell is a presenter and a nominee for best historical album at Sunday’s Grammys. She says she's always found herself in the genres and categories that don’t make the Grammy telecast.
This is a nice story
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Invasions Have Consequences
The Best of the Best Became the Deadest of the Deadest.
In any war, there are units that distinguish themselves and others that become symbolic of failure. The 331st Guards Parachute Regiment had high hopes of being the first, but now represents the disintegration of Russia's plan for a quick war.
The regiment's commanding officer, Col Sergei Sukharev, was killed in Ukraine on 13 March, and was posthumously awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation medal. At his funeral, deputy defence minister Gen Yuri Sadovenko said the colonel "lived for the future, for the future of our people, a future without Nazism".
Casualties among Russian forces are not widely reported in Russia itself, but using open source material, the BBC has pieced together the story of their advance, and found that at least 39 other members of the elite 331st regiment have died.
That advance swiftly got drawn into a destructive stalemate in districts on the outskirts of Kyiv which soon became synonymous with the viciousness of the war: Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel.
The men in the 331st regarded themselves as the pick of Russia's army. In a video posted online last May, a general tells soldiers of the 331st Parachute Regiment that they are "the best of the best". The unit served in the Balkans, Chechnya, and the 2014 Russian intervention in the Donbas region of Ukraine, and regularly took part in Red Square parades in Moscow.
As for the price of failure, it mounts daily. At the time of writing, BBC Newsnight had compiled a list of 39 named members of the 331st Parachute Regiment killed in Ukraine. But since none of those fatalities is more recent than the 13 March, it can be supposed that dozens more will emerge in the coming weeks.
Kostroma locals have told us they believe that around 100 members of the regiment may have died. And many families will never receive their loved one's body because it was left behind on the battlefield.
Even a conservative projection of the deaths we now know about, and their dates, suggest that the town's losses in a few weeks in Ukraine already exceed those from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
In His Supposed "War Against Nazis", Putin Is Emulating the Ultimate Nazi
Putin is making the same mistakes that doomed Hitler when he invaded the Soviet Union
Russian President Vladimir Putin often evokes the Soviet Union's epic defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II to justify his country's invasion of Ukraine.
Yet Putin is committing some of the same blunders that doomed Germany's 1941 invasion of the USSR -- while using "Hitler-like tricks and tactics" to justify his brutality, military historians and scholars say.
Russian tanks have been stymied by lack of fuel. The lack of fuel is part of a bigger problem. The once-vaunted Russian army has become bogged down in Ukraine not just because of fierce resistance but by something more prosaic: logistics.
There is a lot more in this article.
The Ukrainians Will Feel Like Kids in a Candy Weapons Store
The U.S. Defense Department said Friday that it would fulfill a virtual wish list for Ukrainian forces. The promised goods, worth an estimated $300 million include laser-guided rocket systems; armed drones; armored off-road vehicles; ammunition; machine guns; night-vision devices and more, the department said in a statement.
Remember the Finns
The apt comparison is to Russia’s botched invasion of Finland in 1939. Before the Ukrainians established themselves as Europe’s fuck-around-and-find-out crew, that honor went to the Finns.
Russians Are Shaken, But Not Stirred
Shaken at First, Many Russians Now Rally Behind Putin’s Invasion
The stream of antiwar letters to a St. Petersburg lawmaker has dried up. Some Russians who had criticized the Kremlin have turned into cheerleaders for the war. Those who publicly oppose it have found the word “traitor” scrawled on their apartment door.
Five weeks into President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, there are signs that the Russian public’s initial shock has given way to a mix of support for their troops and anger at the West. On television, entertainment shows have been replaced by extra helpings of propaganda, resulting in an around-the-clock barrage of falsehoods about the “Nazis” who run Ukraine and American-funded Ukrainian bioweapons laboratories.
Polls and interviews show that many Russians now accept Mr. Putin’s contention that their country is under siege from the West and had no choice but to attack. The war’s opponents are leaving the country or keeping quiet.
Note to Vlad the Invader: Murdering People Won't Cure Your Cancer
Russian President Vladimir Putin was visited by a thyroid cancer doctor 35 times, new investigation claims.
Russian investigative news outlet Proekt revealed that a team of doctors frequently visited the 69-year-old Russian president at his residences or accompanied him on trips amid growing questions about his health.
Yevgeny Selivanov, an oncology surgeon, specializing in thyroid cancer, flew to visit Putin at his Black Sea residence 35 times and spent 166 days in his presence, the report said.
Two otolaryngologists, or ear, nose, and throat specialists, Igor Esakov and Alexei Shcheglov, visited the Russian president even more frequently.
Alexei Shcheglov flew to see Putin 59 times and spent a total of 282 days with him between 2016 and 2020, according to the report.
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Will You Want to Be Slimed?
Researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong have created a "soft robot" made of slime containing magnetic particles, which can be manipulated using external magnets.
The magnetic particles are toxic, but have theoretically been made safe to enter the human body after being covered in a layer of silicone compound - although further safety testing will be needed in the future.
The team in Hong Kong hope the slime will one day be used to collect objects which have been accidentally swallowed.
Slimy, Yet Satisfying
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Let's Hope This Holds
A two-month truce has been agreed by warring parties in Yemen, the UN says.
It is the first nationwide truce agreed since 2016 in a war which has killed nearly 400,000 people, according to UN estimates.
About 60% died from hunger, lack of healthcare and unsafe water.
The deal between the Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed Houthi rebels - which can be extended if both agree - is scheduled to come into effect at 16:00 GMT on Saturday.
Saturday is the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for many Muslims.
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COVID Isn't Over for a Lot of People
'I've had long Covid for two years now'
The initial emergency of Covid may feel like it's over, but thousands of people are still suffering from ongoing symptoms known as long Covid. So are we any closer to understanding the causes of this debilitating condition or to finding the best way of treating it?
Neil Robinson is finding it hard to accept that he is still affected by Covid. "I was just so certain that I would have recovered by now," he told me.
Jo House is learning to adjust to her new reality. "It feels weird to say it, but I'm now disabled and I need to rethink how I live my life," she says.
And although John Dusabe Richards is now improving, he has not fully recovered. A year after a mild Covid infection he could not read a bedtime book to his children because of the "sandbag on my chest" that made it hard to breathe. The breathlessness, constant headaches and joint pain are largely gone, but his fatigue is lingering. Dancing or doing sports with his kids needs planning due to an unnaturally long recovery time.
Including the UK
The prevalence of COVID-19 in the U.K. has reached record levels, with about 1 in 13 people estimated to be infected with the virus in the past week, according to the latest figures from Britain's official statistics agency.
Some 4.9 million people were estimated to have the coronavirus in the week ending March 26, up from 4.3 million recorded in the previous week, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. The latest surge is driven by the more transmissible omicron variant BA.2, which is the dominant variant across the U.K.
Hospitalizations and death rates are again rising, although the number of people dying with COVID-19 is still relatively low compared with earlier this year. Nonetheless, the latest estimates suggest that the steep climb in new infections since late February, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson scrapped all remaining coronavirus restrictions in England, has continued well into March.
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Many Disabled US Teens Dreams of Being Discovered by Hollywood. But, Bollywood?
Surya Kasibhatla, who plays a teen with cerebral palsy in a new Bollywood thriller, lives with the disability every day. But casting him is a rare move of inclusivity in the world's largest film industry.
The Texas-based teenager has his own Instagram handle and YouTube channel, gleefully noting the rising number of followers.
His acclaimed performance, alongside celebrated Indian actors Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah, in a new Amazon thriller Jalsa has put him in the spotlight.
"I have cerebral palsy but that does not hinder my ability to learn new skills," Surya said on a Zoom interview.
Jalsa is a gritty drama set in the city of Mumbai. Surya plays Ayush, the geeky son of a popular news anchor, played by Balan. He loves playing video games, listening to music and acting cheeky with his doting grandmother. A hit-and-run accident involving his mother turns the family's life upside down.
Surya landed the role when the casting director spotted his YouTube videos and got in touch. In the videos, Surya sings, "teaches" computer programming and offers cricket "lessons". A family friend suggested he audition for the film and his homemaker mother, Sunitha Sanagaram, encouraged him saying, "Let's do it."
The director, Suresh Triveni, picked Surya from more than 100 teen actors who auditioned. Surya flew to Mumbai during the pandemic and prepared for the role by attending workshops that "were a lot of fun" and says the crew made it "very comfortable" for him.
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COVID Was An Excuse for a Lot of Bigotry
The Biden administration announced on Friday that it will soon end a Trump-era immigration policy, known as Title 42, that allowed US officials to bar entry to migrants and asylum seekers at the US border on the grounds that they could pose a health risk because of Covid-19.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield previewed the policy change during a briefing on Wednesday, telling reporters that the move is being made at the recommendation of top federal health authorities.
"This is a decision we have long deferred to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)," she said. The CDC, saying it conferred with the Department of Homeland Security, announced the change would go into effect at the end of May.
It's past time to say good riddance to Title 42: It was bad policy during the Trump administration, and it has been bad policy under Biden. Title 42 is legally questionable and morally indefensible. Its use put migrants in danger under the dubious justification of public health.
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Just As With the Ivermectin Study, The Unvaccinated Won't Believe This.
Compared to vaccination, Covid-19 itself is far more likely to lead to heart problems in teenage boys and young men, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.
The study is the first to compare directly the odds of a type of heart inflammation called myocarditis following an infection versus vaccination — providing a clearer understanding of the real risk for heart problems and perhaps offering comfort to parents and young men who have had questions about the risks and benefits of the vaccine.
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Think the Insurrectionists Are Getting Off With a Little Jail Time? Think Again.
D.C. attorney general’s civil lawsuit against Jan. 6 insurrectionists aims to wreck them financially
This week more names were added to the federal civil lawsuit filed late last year by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine seeking to hold the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, as well as others involved in the violent attack on the Capitol, financially culpable for the millions of dollars in damage they caused, including injuries to Capitol Police officers.
AG Racine told The Washington Post that the goal of the lawsuit is to expose how these groups are financed and to secure “full restitution and recompense” for the damages inflicted on Washington. The largest of these, Racine said, has involved the huge costs incurred treating scores of injured Metro Police officers, including Officer Michael Fanone. Rioters assaulted Fanone with a stun gun and dragged down the Capitol steps, during which he lost consciousness, suffered a heart attack, and had traumatic brain injury.
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The Trump Slump and the Biden Boom
We added 431,000 jobs in March, for a total of 8.4 million jobs added since the end of 2020. It’s mind bogglingly fast and sustained growth—well over half a million jobs added per month on average for 15 months.
EPOP = Employment to Population Ratio
We are on pace to recover nearly EIGHT YEARS faster than we recovered from the Great Recession.
Let the Good Times Roll!
As a half-dozen or so happy hour patrons gathered at the bar on a recent afternoon, most had something remarkable in common: Everybody seemed to know somebody who had earned a significant raise, or multiple raises, in the past year — and many, if not all, had received a jump in pay themselves.
That included the bartender on the early-evening shift, Nikki Paulk, an easygoing woman with a flash of pink hair. “I’m in hot demand, baby,” she said, mentioning “desperate” employers with a burst of a grin. “I’ve worked at like six bars in the last six months because I just keep getting better offers I can’t turn down.”
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Why Everyone Hates Duke
Google doesn't always have the answer to every question. But ask the search engine why people hate Duke basketball so much, and you'll get page after page filled with articles on why folks hate Duke, Coach K, Grayson Allen, Danny Ferry, and more.
Hatred for Duke can stem back to Grayson Allen's shady "tripping" plays a few years ago, or the Laettner shot from a Grant Hill assist to beat Kentucky on the final play during overtime of an Elite 8 game in 1992.
Hatred can be linked to Laettner making the 1992 Olympic Dream Team because of his Duke status—making the roster on the best team ever assembled of NBA greats and the one college player.
This Story Doesn't Mention Laettner Stomping on a Kentucky Player. He Shouldn't Have Been in the Game.
Then There is This Headline
"Duke Fans Are Hiring Private Jets for Coach K’s Final Four Game"
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