Post by mhbruin on May 7, 2022 8:58:27 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 578 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
--------------
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday May 3)
We had some rain up north this week.
--------------
--------------
The Mountains Are Not Just Funny. They Are Hill Areas.
--------------
Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
Beating Up Old White People With Dementia Is Out of Season in Colorado
A former Colorado police officer has been sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting a woman with dementia during an arrest in June 2020.
Karen Garner, then 73, was left with a broken arm, sprained wrist and a shoulder injury during the arrest by officer Austin Hopp.
Footage later showed police officers laughing while viewing footage of the incident.
Hopp pleaded guilty to assault charges in March.
The former officer avoided a potential sentence of between 10 and 30 years had he been convicted following a trial with that plea.
The charges stem from an incident in which Hopp and another officer, Daria Jalali, responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart in the town of Loveland, about 50 miles (80km) north of Denver.
Ms Garner had been suspected of taking about $14 (£11) worth of goods without paying. CCTV from the supermarket shortly beforehand showed members of staff stopping Ms Garner to recover the merchandise, which included cans of fizzy drinks and laundry detergent.
As Ms Garner walked home, body camera footage shows the officers approaching her.
After failing to comply with police orders that she stop, she is grabbed roughly by Hopp and taken to the ground. Her arm is forced behind her and towards her shoulder blades.
Footage later emerged of police officers in the booking area of the police station mocking Ms Garner as they review body camera video of the incident, and laughing at the audible "pop" heard when her shoulder is dislocated.
No medical attention was provided to Ms Garner for several hours while in detention, despite Hopp, Ms Jalali and other officers acknowledging that she may have been injured during the arrest.
In September, Loveland announced that it would pay $3m (£2.43m) in compensation to Ms Garner. Her family says the incident worsened her condition.
Both officers resigned following an investigation. Ms Jalali is facing charges of failure to report excessive use of force, failure to intervene in the use of excessive force, and official misconduct. Her case in ongoing, according to local media.
Can't the QOP Get Their Story Straight? Is It Mexicans or Asians Spreading Disease?
The number of biased crimes against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community continues to increase nationwide. Several data reports have indicated an alarming surge across the country, with some major cities seeing over a 100% increase in AAPI targeted hate crimes.
While crimes against the AAPI community are not a new phenomenon, a surge in targeted attacks has been connected to the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. A new report released Wednesday indicates that Americans continue to wrongfully accuse Asian Americans of the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. As a result, distrust of the AAPI community has increased.
According to the report released by nonprofits Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change (LAAUNCH) and The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), 21% of U.S. adults now say Asian Americans are at least partly responsible for COVID-19.
The Taliban Gotta' Taliban
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on Saturday ordered all Afghan women to wear head-to-toe clothing in public, a sharp hard-line pivot that confirmed the worst fears of rights activists and was bound to further complicate Taliban dealings with an already distrustful international community.
The decree, which calls for women to only show their eyes and recommends they wear the head-to-toe burqa, evoked similar restrictions on women during the Taliban’s previous rule between 1996 and 2001.
“We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety,” said Khalid Hanafi, acting minister for the Taliban’s vice and virtue ministry.
The Taliban previously decided against reopening schools to girls above grade 6, reneging on an earlier promise and opting to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the international community.
Poor Junior. He Doesn't Understand
Tiny Hands and Not a Leg to Stand On
A judge dismissed a lawsuit former President Trump brought last year against Twitter and its then-CEO Jack Dorsey. The social media giant had sought to dismiss the suit, which Trump filed after Twitter banned him from its platform, for "failure to plausibly state a claim."
Trump, the American Conservative Union and five other people claimed Twitter violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment after it "censored" their accounts. U.S. District Judge for Northern California James Donato rejected their argument because Twitter is a private company, and the free speech clause in the Constitution applies only to the government. The judge found no evidence that Twitter acted on behalf of government officials, as plaintiffs also alleged.
The plaintiffs also accused Twitter of violating two Florida acts — the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Stop Social Media Censorship Act. The lawsuit, which was originally filed in Florida, was moved to Northern California, where Twitter is located.
In response to the first act, the judge ruled that because Twitter's terms of service state that "California law will govern all disputes that arise between Twitter and its users," the plaintiffs could not accuse the company of violating a Florida law. For the second, the judge ruled that only one of the plaintiffs lived in Florida and had an active Twitter account at the time the state's act went into effect. Therefore, the majority of the plaintiffs cannot argue they were protected under the Stop Social Media Censorship Act.
Judge Rules People Can Vote for the Wack-Job
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, may remain on the ballot for Congress, an administrative law judge ruled Friday, after her right to run for reelection was challenged by a group of voters seeking to block her from the ballot.
Administrative Judge Charles Beaudrot said Greene, a Republican, may remain on the ballot because there was not enough evidence to show she had violated a Civil War-era rule that prevents insurrectionists from running for office.
"The Court concludes that the evidence in this matter is insufficient to establish that Rep. Greene, having 'previously taken an oath as a member of Congress . . . to support the Constitution of the United States, . . engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or [gave] aid or comfort to the enemies thereof' under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution," Beaudrot wrote, quoting Section 3 of the amendment.
Soon after Beaudrot's ruling, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger officially adopted his decision.
Greene's constituents had argued that between Jan. 3 - 6, 2021, Greene had "crossed a line" by engaging in planning and encouraging the insurrection. She stated that her main goal had been to object to the results of the Electoral College, which would affirm Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
The plaintiffs may appeal their case against Greene to the Fulton County Superior Court, but they're running out of time before the Republican primary election is held later this month, on May 24.
--------------
Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
The Zoology Must Go On
Anton Vlaschenko often hears shelling outside his office in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, not far from the front lines of the war. He sometimes even sees smoke rising from Russian tanks hit by missiles.
But the 40-year-old zoologist continues his work, dissecting and labeling bat tissue, as he probes the disease ecology of the flying mammals. When news of the war overwhelms him, he says, it helps to have something familiar to do with his hands.
He also sees it as an act of defiance.
“Our staying in Ukraine, our continuing to work — it’s some kind of resistance of Russian invasion,” Vlaschenko said via Zoom, a barrage of shelling audible in the background. “The people together in Ukraine are ready to fight, not only with guns. We don’t want to lose our country.”
His resolve isn’t unique. Like other Ukrainians whose labors aren’t essential to the war effort, the scientists and academics want to continue their important work where they can.
A common refrain is that they want to stay connected to their scholarly community, which provides a shard of normalcy amid the chaos and violence, and “keep the light of Ukrainian science and humanities alive,” said Yevheniia Polishchuk, who teaches at Kyiv National Economic University.
As vice chair of the Young Scientists Council at Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, Polishchuk organized an online survey of academics to assess their situation and needs after the Feb. 24 invasion. An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 scholars had left Ukraine by early April — mostly women with families — but about 100,000 stayed.
Most who went abroad wound up in Poland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, getting temporary positions at European institutions. Some scientists have received grants from the Polish Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and other organizations. Polishchuk, now in Krakow with her children and husband, is a visiting professor at a university for May and June but says she hopes to return to Kyiv when fighting stops.
“We don’t want the war to result in a brain drain from Ukraine,” she said.
--------------
Invasions Have Consequences
Small Progress From Kharkiv to Lviv
Ukraine is continuing a counter-offensive near the city of Kharkiv, and says it has recaptured five villages
The US-based Institute for the Study of War says the Ukrainians could soon free Kharkiv from the threat of Russian artillery
Artworks from Lviv's National Gallery - many of which were removed for safekeeping at the outbreak of the Russian invasion - are going back on display in key buildings around the western Ukraine city.
Gallery director Taras Voznyak told the New York Times putting up the work was an act of resistance.
“Putin now has the goal of turning Ukrainians into nobody, into nothing,” he says.
“In order to show that we are alive, we have opened several branches," he adds.
Eighteen branches across the Lviv province are hosting works from the 65,000-piece collection, in buildings including palaces, castles and cathedrals.
There are even plans to re-open the main gallery in Lviv's ornate Potocki Palace, where two local artists have been sheltering - and producing "living art" reflecting the war - over the past two months.
“Life does not stop,” insists Mr. Voznyak.
Earlier in the invasion, as the Russian threat to Lviv - which sits a short distance from the Polish border - intensified, many of the historic city's artworks were boarded up or wrapped in protective sheets to shelter them from artillery damage.
Have You Figured Out Where Kharkiv and Izyum Are Yet?
This past Monday, a local Telegram account gave us the first inkling something was happening near Kharkiv, in Ukraine’s northeast. The account claimed that Ukraine had pushed Russians out of Staryi Saltiv, well east of the last known Ukrainian positions around Kharkiv (as well as complained that withdrawing Russians had run over his aviary).
It’s as if Ukraine had leap-frogged a whole string of villages en route to the key city on the Donets. Today, we finally got confirmation from Ukraine General Staff that they had, indeed, taken all the towns between Kharkiv and Staryi Saltiv.
Ukrainian gains east/northeast of Kharkiv, in light yellow.
Ukraine General Staff’s territorial claims have always been extremely conservative, usually lagging early reports by days. In this case, four to five days. They don’t just want to take the town, they want to be sure they can hold it. Perhaps Russia doesn’t even know what’s happening, given the poor state of their communications equipment and systems. Waiting also keeps Russia’s general staff guessing.
Ukraine is also gaining ground west of Izyum, the territory Russia won by pushing in the exact opposite direction from their main objective—the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk to Izyum’s southeast.
White marks the territory Ukraine has retaken, west of Izyum.
Russia’s Izyum salient has been frozen since last … Friday or so, about a week, despite being the most heavily reinforced axis of the entire war with around 22 battalion tactical groups (BTG).
A BTG, on paper, is supposed to have 1,000 men, 10 tanks, and 40 infantry fighting vehicles. The reality is around half that. The Ukrainian side lists brigades, which are around 2-3x the strength of a BTG. (Henry Schlottman|@hn_Schlottman on Twitter)
Why has Russia stopped advancing, and is now losing ground, in its most heavily reinforced part of Ukraine? Because, here we go again, they can’t manage long supply lines.
Directly north of Izyum, that entire stretch of major highway is in range of Ukrainian artillery, and just like they did around Sumy earlier in the war, Ukraine has feasted on Russian equipment.
Directly north of Izyum, that entire stretch of major highway is in range of Ukrainian artillery, and just like they did around Sumy earlier in the war, Ukraine has feasted on Russian equipment.
Meanwhile, see all that white on the map above? That’s territory recaptured by Ukraine in recent days. That means even more of that supply line is exposed to indirect Ukrainian artillery fire, and so is the town of Volchansk, on the Russian border—the primary road and rail supply line from the key Russian city of Belgorod.
Indeed, the collapse of Russian lines around Kharkiv has become so dire that Russia’s border is at risk, with Belgorod within range of Ukrainian artillery. Russia seemingly has no choice but to reinforce, but … from where?
Pop Goes Popasna
And, sadly, Popasna seems to have finally fallen. They will polka no more. For now.
Where Ukrainian forces withdrawing from Popasna to the west and north set up next isn’t clear. The loss of the town, with its many trenches and well-constructed fortifications prepared over the last eight years, is a bit loss. Whether Russia is capable of exploiting that loss is another question.
I Have Heard Experts Saying Russia Will Launch It's Big Offensive in the Summer When It is Dry, But There is Also This Opinion
From the very beginning, Russia had too few troops for such a big country. It diluted those troops across too many axes of attack. It pulled out of the Kyiv area after a bloody debacle, but Russia is still spread too thin, and attacks at random, without consideration of any broader strategic goal like that push west of Izyum. Those attacks are the usual drip-drip-drip, proving daily that Russia simply cannot open the spigot and attack en masse. It never has, and seemingly never will.
Ukraine has played it smart, playing rope-a-dope with Russia, attriting its forces, pinning them down, and then counter-attacking judiciously, never over-committing, but probing weaknesses in Russia’s lines. It’s no mistake that Ukraine is counterattacking in the two regions (Kharkiv and Kherson) that have the fewest number of committed Russian forces.
Ukraine is still not ready for a true massed counteroffensive—Russia’s advantage in artillery and air support make that too risky. But the balance shifts slowly toward Ukraine every single day, with every tank and artillery gun destroyed, with every warplane and helicopter shot down, and with every Russian and proxy soldier taken off the field.
--------------
Congress Has Better Things to Do Than Protect Our Health
The Biden administration is issuing a new warning that the US could potentially see 100 million Covid-19 infections this fall and winter, as officials publicly stress the need for more funding from Congress to prepare the nation.
The projection of 100 million potential infections is an estimate based on a range of outside models that are being closely tracked by the administration and would include both the fall and winter, a senior administration official told CNN. Officials say this estimate is based on an underlying assumption of no additional resources or extra mitigation measures being taken, including new Covid-19 funding from Congress, or dramatic new variants.
The White House is sharing these estimates as officials renew their push to get Congress to approve additional funding to combat the virus and as the nation approaches a coronavirus death toll of 1 million. Officials have said the White House will commemorate the moment when the US surpasses 1 million deaths from Covid-19.
The Biden administration has been sounding the alarm for weeks that additional funding is needed to continue the federal Covid-19 response, even as it seeks a return to "normal" with many pandemic-era restrictions lifting.
CNN has reported that the Biden administration requested $22.5 billion in supplemental Covid-19 relief funding in March in a massive government funding package but it was stripped from the bill. That request included funding for testing, treatments, therapeutics and preventing future outbreaks. Negotiators were able to reach an agreement on a scaled-back $10 billion package, but Congress left Washington in April without passing that bipartisan bill amid a disagreement over the Title 42 immigration policy -- a pandemic-era rule that allowed migrants to be returned immediately to their home countries, citing a public health emergency.
--------------
How Dry We Are
Against the backdrop of the water crisis in the Colorado River Basin, where the country's largest reservoirs are plunging at an alarming rate, California's two largest reservoirs — Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville — are facing a similar struggle.
Years of low rainfall and snowpack and more intense heat waves have fed directly to the state's multiyear, unrelenting drought conditions, rapidly draining statewide reservoirs. And according to this week's report from the US Drought Monitor, the two major reservoirs are at "critically low levels" at the point of the year when they should be the highest.
This week, Shasta Lake is only at 40% of its total capacity, the lowest it has ever been at the start of May since record-keeping began in 1977. Meanwhile, further south, Lake Oroville is at 55% of its capacity, which is 70% of where it should be around this time on average.
Shasta Lake is the largest reservoir in the state and the cornerstone of California's Central Valley Project, a complex water system made of 19 dams and reservoirs as well as more than 500 miles of canals, stretching from Redding to the north, all the way south to the drought-stricken landscapes of Bakersfield.
The two largest reservoirs in California are already at 'critically low levels' and the dry season is just starting
How Dark We'll Be
California energy officials on Friday issued a sober forecast for the state's electrical grid, saying it lacks sufficient capacity to keep the lights on this summer and beyond if heatwaves, wildfires or other extreme events take their toll.
The update from leaders from three state agencies and the office of Governor Gavin Newsom comes in response to a string of challenges with the ambitious transition away from fossil fuels, including rolling blackouts during a summer heat wave in 2020.
California has among the most aggressive climate change policies in the world, including a goal of producing all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045.
In an online briefing with reporters, the officials forecast a potential shortfall of 1,700 megawatts this year, a number that could go as high as 5,000 MW if the grid is taxed by multiple challenges that reduce available power while sending demand soaring, state officials said during an online briefing with reporters.
Supply gaps along those lines could leave between 1 million and 4 million people without power. Outages will only happen under extreme conditions, officials cautioned, and will depend in part on the success of conservation measures.
In 2025, the state will still have a capacity shortfall of about 1,800 MW, according to officials from the California Energy Commission, Public Utilities Commission, California Independent System Operator and Newsom's office. They also projected annual electricity rate increases of between 4% and 9% between now and 2025.
California's electricity planning has been challenged as devastating wildfires have cut off transmission lines and extreme heat events and drought have hampered hydropower supplies. Officials said traditional electricity demand forecasting does not account for such extreme events prompted by a changing climate.
At the same time, many solar farms and energy storage projects the state has commissioned over the last two years were delayed due to supply chain challenges during the pandemic and a recent federal trade probe into solar imports.
--------------
The Least Democratic Branch of Our Government
--------------
I'm No Lawyer, But Isn't This Regulating Interstate Commerce?
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill Thursday criminalizing abortion-inducing drugs that are provided via mail.
The measure, known as HB2416, establishes criminal penalties for offenders, but would not apply to the patient who was provided the abortion drugs.
The legislation sets strict parameters around abortion-inducing drugs. The drugs "may be provided only by a qualified physician," the bill says, stipulating also that a "manufacturer, supplier, pharmacy, physician, qualified physician, or other person may not provide an abortion-inducing drug via courier, delivery, or mail service."
The bill also lays out other limitations including: the patient must be examined in-person, the doctor must "inform the patient that the patient may see the remains of the unborn child in the process of completing the abortion," the physician must schedule a follow-up appointment within two weeks, and none of the abortion-inducing drugs can be provided on elementary, secondary, or post-secondary school facilities.
”It’s only unconstitutional until you get the right court."
In a forthcoming paper, Cohen and co-authors Greer Donley and Rachel Rebouché argue chillingly that the governing law is by no means settled. “The Constitution’s general prohibition of state restrictions on interstate travel, burdens on interstate commerce, or application of a state’s law outside its borders should make it difficult for antiabortion states to enforce these laws,” they write. “Yet, these constitutional defenses are underdeveloped and subject to debate, leaving federal courts as the ultimate arbiters of these interjurisdictional battles.”
The morning after the draft leaked, Donley told me that the opinion “implies that an abortion right that’s based in states and is not a federal right is going to be easy to understand. But the Court has no understanding that a post-Roe world is going to be one where jurisdictions fight each other. There will be novel questions,” she said. “There are going to be a few states who will try to fund abortion travel and try to protect abortion providers from out-of-state lawsuits, like California, Connecticut, maybe New York. But if in a state like Missouri, a zealous prosecutor goes after an Illinois provider who has been providing abortions on their citizens, the courts are going to have to figure out: Can a state do that if the provider is completely following Illinois law?”
There is grim precedent for states trying to criminalize the conduct of their residents beyond their borders. New York University law professor Melissa Murray points out that when Virginia prosecuted Mildred and Richard Loving for violating its 1924 Racial Integrity Act by marrying in the District of Columbia, the couple was also subject to a provision that “not only prohibited interracial marriages, it also made it a crime to leave the state for those purposes.” The Supreme Court struck that down in the landmark 1967 case Loving v. Virginia, but at least one U.S. senator freely admitted that such a decision was in conflict with his approach to states’ rights as recently as this March, before backtracking under pressure. “When you want that diversity to shine within our federal system, there are going to be rules and proceedings, they’re going to be out of sync with maybe what other states would do,” Indiana senator Mike Braun told reporters when asked specifically about Loving. “It’s the beauty of the system, and that’s where the differences among points of view in our 50 states ought to express themselves.”
Can Republicans Stop Patients From Leaving the State for an Abortion? Some Are Willing to Try.
Who Leaked? I've Got to Know?
--------------
Upset About Inflation? Blame Canada. They Aren't Sending Us Enough Immigrants.
After immigration to the United States tapered off during the Trump administration — then ground to a near complete halt for 18 months during the coronavirus pandemic — the country is waking up to a labor shortage partly fueled by that slowdown.
The U.S. has, by some estimates, 2 million fewer immigrants than it would have if the pace had stayed the same, helping power a desperate scramble for workers in many sectors, from meatpacking to homebuilding, that is also contributing to supply shortages and price increases.
“These 2 million missing immigrants are part of the reason we have a labor shortage,” said Giovanni Peri, an economist at the University of California at Davis, who calculated the shortfall. “In the short run, we are going to adjust to these shortages in the labor market through an increase in wages and in prices.”
The labor issues are among several contributors to the highest inflation in 40 years in the United States — from supply chains mangled by the pandemic to a surge in energy and commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Immigration is rapidly returning to its pre-pandemic levels, researchers say, but the U.S. would need a significant acceleration to make up its deficit. Given a sharp decline in births in the United States over the past two decades, some economists forecast the overall pool of potential workers will start shrinking by 2025.
Immigrants. They Get the Job Done
An aggressive effort in St. Louis is trying to lure Afghan refugees. About 600 have arrived so far and another 750 are expected later this year.
Civic leaders are hopeful that over the next few years, thousands more will decide to relocate to the Midwestern city, helping to offset seven decades of population loss and rejuvenate urban neighborhoods — just as the arrival of Bosnian refugees did three decades ago.
--------------
Not Everything Goes Better With Coke
Swiss police say an investigation is underway after workers at a Nespresso warehouse in western Switzerland found over 1,100 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of $50 million, as they unloaded coffee beans that had arrived by train.
Regional police in Fribourg said late Thursday they were alerted Monday by the company to the discovery at the facility in the town of Romont and immediately set up a "broad security perimeter" around it with a large deployment of officers. Customs and border control agents were called in.
Early indications were that the shipment turned up in five containers that had arrived by sea from Brazil before being transferred onto a train, authorities said.
"The cocaine seized has an 80% degree of purity and its market value is estimated at more than 50 million francs," the police said, adding that the stash appeared "destined for the European market."
On Friday, the European Union's law enforcement agency Europol and the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported that cocaine availability in Europe "is probably at an all-time high."
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | New Hospitalizations 7-Day Average | |
| May 6 | 68,807 | 340 | |
| May 5 | 67,263 | 341 | 2.363 |
| May 4 | 64,780 | 334 | 2,267 |
| May 3 | 61,712 | 325 | 2,219 |
| May 2 | 60,410 | 318 | 2.214 |
| May 1 | 57,020 | 307 | 2,072 |
| Apr 30 | 56,581 | 310 | 1,882 |
| Apr 29 | 56,166 | 308 | 1,946 |
| Apr 28 | 54,696 | 311 | 1,955 |
| Apr 27 | 53,133 | 334 | 1,941 |
| Apr 26 | 48,692 | 299 | 1,889 |
| Apr 25 | 47,407 | 330 | 1,840 |
| Apr 24 | 44,416 | 314 | 1,779 |
| Apr 23 | 45,413 | 315 | 1,629 |
| Apr 22 | 44,308 | 311 | 1,642 |
| Apr 21 | 40,744 | 346 | 1,647 |
| Apr 20 | 42,604 | 375 | 1,609 |
| Apr 19 | 40,985 | 385 | 1,582 |
| Apr 18 | 37,132 | 380 | 1,564 |
| Apr 17 | 35,212 | 373 | 1,542 |
| Apr 16 | 34,972 | 379 | 1,532 |
| Apr 15 | 34,778 | 399 | 1,510 |
| Apr 14 | 35,475 | 446 | 1,490 |
| Apr 13 | 31,391 | 409 | 1,477 |
| Apr 12 | 29,401 | 452 | 1,463 |
| Apr 11 | 30,208 | 483 | 1.447 |
| Apr 10 | 28,927 | 500 | 1,443 |
| Apr 9 | 28,339 | 509 | |
| Apr 8 | 28,169 | 516 | |
| Apr 7 | 26,286 | 471 | |
| Apr 6 | 26,595 | 496 | |
| Apr 5 | 26,845 | 533 | |
| Apr 4 | 25,537 | 537 | |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 77.7% | 66.3% | 45.9% |
| % of Population 5+ | 82.6% | 70.4% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 87.4% | 74.7% | 47.7% |
| % of Population 18+ | 89.1% | 76.2% | 49.5% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 90.4% | 68.8% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday May 3)
We had some rain up north this week.
| Percent of Average for this Date | Last Week | 2 Weeks Ago | 3 Weeks Ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 80% (74%) | 81% (74%) | 79% (70%) | 73% (63% of full season average) |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 66% (61%) | 67% (61%) | 65% (58%) | 65% (57%) |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 61% (57%) | 62% (57%) | 60% (54%) | 61% (53%) |
| Snow Water Content - North | 20% | 29% | 15% | |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 27% | 33% | 27% | |
| Snow Water Content - South | 17% | 23% | 24% |
--------------
The Mountains Are Not Just Funny. They Are Hill Areas.
--------------
Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
Beating Up Old White People With Dementia Is Out of Season in Colorado
A former Colorado police officer has been sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting a woman with dementia during an arrest in June 2020.
Karen Garner, then 73, was left with a broken arm, sprained wrist and a shoulder injury during the arrest by officer Austin Hopp.
Footage later showed police officers laughing while viewing footage of the incident.
Hopp pleaded guilty to assault charges in March.
The former officer avoided a potential sentence of between 10 and 30 years had he been convicted following a trial with that plea.
The charges stem from an incident in which Hopp and another officer, Daria Jalali, responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart in the town of Loveland, about 50 miles (80km) north of Denver.
Ms Garner had been suspected of taking about $14 (£11) worth of goods without paying. CCTV from the supermarket shortly beforehand showed members of staff stopping Ms Garner to recover the merchandise, which included cans of fizzy drinks and laundry detergent.
As Ms Garner walked home, body camera footage shows the officers approaching her.
After failing to comply with police orders that she stop, she is grabbed roughly by Hopp and taken to the ground. Her arm is forced behind her and towards her shoulder blades.
Footage later emerged of police officers in the booking area of the police station mocking Ms Garner as they review body camera video of the incident, and laughing at the audible "pop" heard when her shoulder is dislocated.
No medical attention was provided to Ms Garner for several hours while in detention, despite Hopp, Ms Jalali and other officers acknowledging that she may have been injured during the arrest.
In September, Loveland announced that it would pay $3m (£2.43m) in compensation to Ms Garner. Her family says the incident worsened her condition.
Both officers resigned following an investigation. Ms Jalali is facing charges of failure to report excessive use of force, failure to intervene in the use of excessive force, and official misconduct. Her case in ongoing, according to local media.
Can't the QOP Get Their Story Straight? Is It Mexicans or Asians Spreading Disease?
The number of biased crimes against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community continues to increase nationwide. Several data reports have indicated an alarming surge across the country, with some major cities seeing over a 100% increase in AAPI targeted hate crimes.
While crimes against the AAPI community are not a new phenomenon, a surge in targeted attacks has been connected to the spread of COVID-19 misinformation. A new report released Wednesday indicates that Americans continue to wrongfully accuse Asian Americans of the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. As a result, distrust of the AAPI community has increased.
According to the report released by nonprofits Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change (LAAUNCH) and The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), 21% of U.S. adults now say Asian Americans are at least partly responsible for COVID-19.
The Taliban Gotta' Taliban
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on Saturday ordered all Afghan women to wear head-to-toe clothing in public, a sharp hard-line pivot that confirmed the worst fears of rights activists and was bound to further complicate Taliban dealings with an already distrustful international community.
The decree, which calls for women to only show their eyes and recommends they wear the head-to-toe burqa, evoked similar restrictions on women during the Taliban’s previous rule between 1996 and 2001.
“We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety,” said Khalid Hanafi, acting minister for the Taliban’s vice and virtue ministry.
The Taliban previously decided against reopening schools to girls above grade 6, reneging on an earlier promise and opting to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the international community.
Poor Junior. He Doesn't Understand
Tiny Hands and Not a Leg to Stand On
A judge dismissed a lawsuit former President Trump brought last year against Twitter and its then-CEO Jack Dorsey. The social media giant had sought to dismiss the suit, which Trump filed after Twitter banned him from its platform, for "failure to plausibly state a claim."
Trump, the American Conservative Union and five other people claimed Twitter violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment after it "censored" their accounts. U.S. District Judge for Northern California James Donato rejected their argument because Twitter is a private company, and the free speech clause in the Constitution applies only to the government. The judge found no evidence that Twitter acted on behalf of government officials, as plaintiffs also alleged.
The plaintiffs also accused Twitter of violating two Florida acts — the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Stop Social Media Censorship Act. The lawsuit, which was originally filed in Florida, was moved to Northern California, where Twitter is located.
In response to the first act, the judge ruled that because Twitter's terms of service state that "California law will govern all disputes that arise between Twitter and its users," the plaintiffs could not accuse the company of violating a Florida law. For the second, the judge ruled that only one of the plaintiffs lived in Florida and had an active Twitter account at the time the state's act went into effect. Therefore, the majority of the plaintiffs cannot argue they were protected under the Stop Social Media Censorship Act.
Judge Rules People Can Vote for the Wack-Job
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, may remain on the ballot for Congress, an administrative law judge ruled Friday, after her right to run for reelection was challenged by a group of voters seeking to block her from the ballot.
Administrative Judge Charles Beaudrot said Greene, a Republican, may remain on the ballot because there was not enough evidence to show she had violated a Civil War-era rule that prevents insurrectionists from running for office.
"The Court concludes that the evidence in this matter is insufficient to establish that Rep. Greene, having 'previously taken an oath as a member of Congress . . . to support the Constitution of the United States, . . engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or [gave] aid or comfort to the enemies thereof' under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution," Beaudrot wrote, quoting Section 3 of the amendment.
Soon after Beaudrot's ruling, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger officially adopted his decision.
Greene's constituents had argued that between Jan. 3 - 6, 2021, Greene had "crossed a line" by engaging in planning and encouraging the insurrection. She stated that her main goal had been to object to the results of the Electoral College, which would affirm Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
The plaintiffs may appeal their case against Greene to the Fulton County Superior Court, but they're running out of time before the Republican primary election is held later this month, on May 24.
--------------
Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
The Zoology Must Go On
Anton Vlaschenko often hears shelling outside his office in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, not far from the front lines of the war. He sometimes even sees smoke rising from Russian tanks hit by missiles.
But the 40-year-old zoologist continues his work, dissecting and labeling bat tissue, as he probes the disease ecology of the flying mammals. When news of the war overwhelms him, he says, it helps to have something familiar to do with his hands.
He also sees it as an act of defiance.
“Our staying in Ukraine, our continuing to work — it’s some kind of resistance of Russian invasion,” Vlaschenko said via Zoom, a barrage of shelling audible in the background. “The people together in Ukraine are ready to fight, not only with guns. We don’t want to lose our country.”
His resolve isn’t unique. Like other Ukrainians whose labors aren’t essential to the war effort, the scientists and academics want to continue their important work where they can.
A common refrain is that they want to stay connected to their scholarly community, which provides a shard of normalcy amid the chaos and violence, and “keep the light of Ukrainian science and humanities alive,” said Yevheniia Polishchuk, who teaches at Kyiv National Economic University.
As vice chair of the Young Scientists Council at Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, Polishchuk organized an online survey of academics to assess their situation and needs after the Feb. 24 invasion. An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 scholars had left Ukraine by early April — mostly women with families — but about 100,000 stayed.
Most who went abroad wound up in Poland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, getting temporary positions at European institutions. Some scientists have received grants from the Polish Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and other organizations. Polishchuk, now in Krakow with her children and husband, is a visiting professor at a university for May and June but says she hopes to return to Kyiv when fighting stops.
“We don’t want the war to result in a brain drain from Ukraine,” she said.
--------------
Invasions Have Consequences
Small Progress From Kharkiv to Lviv
Ukraine is continuing a counter-offensive near the city of Kharkiv, and says it has recaptured five villages
The US-based Institute for the Study of War says the Ukrainians could soon free Kharkiv from the threat of Russian artillery
Artworks from Lviv's National Gallery - many of which were removed for safekeeping at the outbreak of the Russian invasion - are going back on display in key buildings around the western Ukraine city.
Gallery director Taras Voznyak told the New York Times putting up the work was an act of resistance.
“Putin now has the goal of turning Ukrainians into nobody, into nothing,” he says.
“In order to show that we are alive, we have opened several branches," he adds.
Eighteen branches across the Lviv province are hosting works from the 65,000-piece collection, in buildings including palaces, castles and cathedrals.
There are even plans to re-open the main gallery in Lviv's ornate Potocki Palace, where two local artists have been sheltering - and producing "living art" reflecting the war - over the past two months.
“Life does not stop,” insists Mr. Voznyak.
Earlier in the invasion, as the Russian threat to Lviv - which sits a short distance from the Polish border - intensified, many of the historic city's artworks were boarded up or wrapped in protective sheets to shelter them from artillery damage.
Have You Figured Out Where Kharkiv and Izyum Are Yet?
This past Monday, a local Telegram account gave us the first inkling something was happening near Kharkiv, in Ukraine’s northeast. The account claimed that Ukraine had pushed Russians out of Staryi Saltiv, well east of the last known Ukrainian positions around Kharkiv (as well as complained that withdrawing Russians had run over his aviary).
It’s as if Ukraine had leap-frogged a whole string of villages en route to the key city on the Donets. Today, we finally got confirmation from Ukraine General Staff that they had, indeed, taken all the towns between Kharkiv and Staryi Saltiv.
Ukrainian gains east/northeast of Kharkiv, in light yellow.
Ukraine General Staff’s territorial claims have always been extremely conservative, usually lagging early reports by days. In this case, four to five days. They don’t just want to take the town, they want to be sure they can hold it. Perhaps Russia doesn’t even know what’s happening, given the poor state of their communications equipment and systems. Waiting also keeps Russia’s general staff guessing.
Ukraine is also gaining ground west of Izyum, the territory Russia won by pushing in the exact opposite direction from their main objective—the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk to Izyum’s southeast.
White marks the territory Ukraine has retaken, west of Izyum.
Russia’s Izyum salient has been frozen since last … Friday or so, about a week, despite being the most heavily reinforced axis of the entire war with around 22 battalion tactical groups (BTG).
A BTG, on paper, is supposed to have 1,000 men, 10 tanks, and 40 infantry fighting vehicles. The reality is around half that. The Ukrainian side lists brigades, which are around 2-3x the strength of a BTG. (Henry Schlottman|@hn_Schlottman on Twitter)
Why has Russia stopped advancing, and is now losing ground, in its most heavily reinforced part of Ukraine? Because, here we go again, they can’t manage long supply lines.
Directly north of Izyum, that entire stretch of major highway is in range of Ukrainian artillery, and just like they did around Sumy earlier in the war, Ukraine has feasted on Russian equipment.
Directly north of Izyum, that entire stretch of major highway is in range of Ukrainian artillery, and just like they did around Sumy earlier in the war, Ukraine has feasted on Russian equipment.
Meanwhile, see all that white on the map above? That’s territory recaptured by Ukraine in recent days. That means even more of that supply line is exposed to indirect Ukrainian artillery fire, and so is the town of Volchansk, on the Russian border—the primary road and rail supply line from the key Russian city of Belgorod.
Indeed, the collapse of Russian lines around Kharkiv has become so dire that Russia’s border is at risk, with Belgorod within range of Ukrainian artillery. Russia seemingly has no choice but to reinforce, but … from where?
Pop Goes Popasna
And, sadly, Popasna seems to have finally fallen. They will polka no more. For now.
Where Ukrainian forces withdrawing from Popasna to the west and north set up next isn’t clear. The loss of the town, with its many trenches and well-constructed fortifications prepared over the last eight years, is a bit loss. Whether Russia is capable of exploiting that loss is another question.
I Have Heard Experts Saying Russia Will Launch It's Big Offensive in the Summer When It is Dry, But There is Also This Opinion
From the very beginning, Russia had too few troops for such a big country. It diluted those troops across too many axes of attack. It pulled out of the Kyiv area after a bloody debacle, but Russia is still spread too thin, and attacks at random, without consideration of any broader strategic goal like that push west of Izyum. Those attacks are the usual drip-drip-drip, proving daily that Russia simply cannot open the spigot and attack en masse. It never has, and seemingly never will.
Ukraine has played it smart, playing rope-a-dope with Russia, attriting its forces, pinning them down, and then counter-attacking judiciously, never over-committing, but probing weaknesses in Russia’s lines. It’s no mistake that Ukraine is counterattacking in the two regions (Kharkiv and Kherson) that have the fewest number of committed Russian forces.
Ukraine is still not ready for a true massed counteroffensive—Russia’s advantage in artillery and air support make that too risky. But the balance shifts slowly toward Ukraine every single day, with every tank and artillery gun destroyed, with every warplane and helicopter shot down, and with every Russian and proxy soldier taken off the field.
--------------
Congress Has Better Things to Do Than Protect Our Health
The Biden administration is issuing a new warning that the US could potentially see 100 million Covid-19 infections this fall and winter, as officials publicly stress the need for more funding from Congress to prepare the nation.
The projection of 100 million potential infections is an estimate based on a range of outside models that are being closely tracked by the administration and would include both the fall and winter, a senior administration official told CNN. Officials say this estimate is based on an underlying assumption of no additional resources or extra mitigation measures being taken, including new Covid-19 funding from Congress, or dramatic new variants.
The White House is sharing these estimates as officials renew their push to get Congress to approve additional funding to combat the virus and as the nation approaches a coronavirus death toll of 1 million. Officials have said the White House will commemorate the moment when the US surpasses 1 million deaths from Covid-19.
The Biden administration has been sounding the alarm for weeks that additional funding is needed to continue the federal Covid-19 response, even as it seeks a return to "normal" with many pandemic-era restrictions lifting.
CNN has reported that the Biden administration requested $22.5 billion in supplemental Covid-19 relief funding in March in a massive government funding package but it was stripped from the bill. That request included funding for testing, treatments, therapeutics and preventing future outbreaks. Negotiators were able to reach an agreement on a scaled-back $10 billion package, but Congress left Washington in April without passing that bipartisan bill amid a disagreement over the Title 42 immigration policy -- a pandemic-era rule that allowed migrants to be returned immediately to their home countries, citing a public health emergency.
--------------
How Dry We Are
Against the backdrop of the water crisis in the Colorado River Basin, where the country's largest reservoirs are plunging at an alarming rate, California's two largest reservoirs — Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville — are facing a similar struggle.
Years of low rainfall and snowpack and more intense heat waves have fed directly to the state's multiyear, unrelenting drought conditions, rapidly draining statewide reservoirs. And according to this week's report from the US Drought Monitor, the two major reservoirs are at "critically low levels" at the point of the year when they should be the highest.
This week, Shasta Lake is only at 40% of its total capacity, the lowest it has ever been at the start of May since record-keeping began in 1977. Meanwhile, further south, Lake Oroville is at 55% of its capacity, which is 70% of where it should be around this time on average.
Shasta Lake is the largest reservoir in the state and the cornerstone of California's Central Valley Project, a complex water system made of 19 dams and reservoirs as well as more than 500 miles of canals, stretching from Redding to the north, all the way south to the drought-stricken landscapes of Bakersfield.
The two largest reservoirs in California are already at 'critically low levels' and the dry season is just starting
How Dark We'll Be
California energy officials on Friday issued a sober forecast for the state's electrical grid, saying it lacks sufficient capacity to keep the lights on this summer and beyond if heatwaves, wildfires or other extreme events take their toll.
The update from leaders from three state agencies and the office of Governor Gavin Newsom comes in response to a string of challenges with the ambitious transition away from fossil fuels, including rolling blackouts during a summer heat wave in 2020.
California has among the most aggressive climate change policies in the world, including a goal of producing all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045.
In an online briefing with reporters, the officials forecast a potential shortfall of 1,700 megawatts this year, a number that could go as high as 5,000 MW if the grid is taxed by multiple challenges that reduce available power while sending demand soaring, state officials said during an online briefing with reporters.
Supply gaps along those lines could leave between 1 million and 4 million people without power. Outages will only happen under extreme conditions, officials cautioned, and will depend in part on the success of conservation measures.
In 2025, the state will still have a capacity shortfall of about 1,800 MW, according to officials from the California Energy Commission, Public Utilities Commission, California Independent System Operator and Newsom's office. They also projected annual electricity rate increases of between 4% and 9% between now and 2025.
California's electricity planning has been challenged as devastating wildfires have cut off transmission lines and extreme heat events and drought have hampered hydropower supplies. Officials said traditional electricity demand forecasting does not account for such extreme events prompted by a changing climate.
At the same time, many solar farms and energy storage projects the state has commissioned over the last two years were delayed due to supply chain challenges during the pandemic and a recent federal trade probe into solar imports.
--------------
The Least Democratic Branch of Our Government
--------------
I'm No Lawyer, But Isn't This Regulating Interstate Commerce?
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill Thursday criminalizing abortion-inducing drugs that are provided via mail.
The measure, known as HB2416, establishes criminal penalties for offenders, but would not apply to the patient who was provided the abortion drugs.
The legislation sets strict parameters around abortion-inducing drugs. The drugs "may be provided only by a qualified physician," the bill says, stipulating also that a "manufacturer, supplier, pharmacy, physician, qualified physician, or other person may not provide an abortion-inducing drug via courier, delivery, or mail service."
The bill also lays out other limitations including: the patient must be examined in-person, the doctor must "inform the patient that the patient may see the remains of the unborn child in the process of completing the abortion," the physician must schedule a follow-up appointment within two weeks, and none of the abortion-inducing drugs can be provided on elementary, secondary, or post-secondary school facilities.
”It’s only unconstitutional until you get the right court."
In a forthcoming paper, Cohen and co-authors Greer Donley and Rachel Rebouché argue chillingly that the governing law is by no means settled. “The Constitution’s general prohibition of state restrictions on interstate travel, burdens on interstate commerce, or application of a state’s law outside its borders should make it difficult for antiabortion states to enforce these laws,” they write. “Yet, these constitutional defenses are underdeveloped and subject to debate, leaving federal courts as the ultimate arbiters of these interjurisdictional battles.”
The morning after the draft leaked, Donley told me that the opinion “implies that an abortion right that’s based in states and is not a federal right is going to be easy to understand. But the Court has no understanding that a post-Roe world is going to be one where jurisdictions fight each other. There will be novel questions,” she said. “There are going to be a few states who will try to fund abortion travel and try to protect abortion providers from out-of-state lawsuits, like California, Connecticut, maybe New York. But if in a state like Missouri, a zealous prosecutor goes after an Illinois provider who has been providing abortions on their citizens, the courts are going to have to figure out: Can a state do that if the provider is completely following Illinois law?”
There is grim precedent for states trying to criminalize the conduct of their residents beyond their borders. New York University law professor Melissa Murray points out that when Virginia prosecuted Mildred and Richard Loving for violating its 1924 Racial Integrity Act by marrying in the District of Columbia, the couple was also subject to a provision that “not only prohibited interracial marriages, it also made it a crime to leave the state for those purposes.” The Supreme Court struck that down in the landmark 1967 case Loving v. Virginia, but at least one U.S. senator freely admitted that such a decision was in conflict with his approach to states’ rights as recently as this March, before backtracking under pressure. “When you want that diversity to shine within our federal system, there are going to be rules and proceedings, they’re going to be out of sync with maybe what other states would do,” Indiana senator Mike Braun told reporters when asked specifically about Loving. “It’s the beauty of the system, and that’s where the differences among points of view in our 50 states ought to express themselves.”
Can Republicans Stop Patients From Leaving the State for an Abortion? Some Are Willing to Try.
Who Leaked? I've Got to Know?
--------------
Upset About Inflation? Blame Canada. They Aren't Sending Us Enough Immigrants.
After immigration to the United States tapered off during the Trump administration — then ground to a near complete halt for 18 months during the coronavirus pandemic — the country is waking up to a labor shortage partly fueled by that slowdown.
The U.S. has, by some estimates, 2 million fewer immigrants than it would have if the pace had stayed the same, helping power a desperate scramble for workers in many sectors, from meatpacking to homebuilding, that is also contributing to supply shortages and price increases.
“These 2 million missing immigrants are part of the reason we have a labor shortage,” said Giovanni Peri, an economist at the University of California at Davis, who calculated the shortfall. “In the short run, we are going to adjust to these shortages in the labor market through an increase in wages and in prices.”
The labor issues are among several contributors to the highest inflation in 40 years in the United States — from supply chains mangled by the pandemic to a surge in energy and commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Immigration is rapidly returning to its pre-pandemic levels, researchers say, but the U.S. would need a significant acceleration to make up its deficit. Given a sharp decline in births in the United States over the past two decades, some economists forecast the overall pool of potential workers will start shrinking by 2025.
Immigrants. They Get the Job Done
An aggressive effort in St. Louis is trying to lure Afghan refugees. About 600 have arrived so far and another 750 are expected later this year.
Civic leaders are hopeful that over the next few years, thousands more will decide to relocate to the Midwestern city, helping to offset seven decades of population loss and rejuvenate urban neighborhoods — just as the arrival of Bosnian refugees did three decades ago.
--------------
Not Everything Goes Better With Coke
Swiss police say an investigation is underway after workers at a Nespresso warehouse in western Switzerland found over 1,100 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of $50 million, as they unloaded coffee beans that had arrived by train.
Regional police in Fribourg said late Thursday they were alerted Monday by the company to the discovery at the facility in the town of Romont and immediately set up a "broad security perimeter" around it with a large deployment of officers. Customs and border control agents were called in.
Early indications were that the shipment turned up in five containers that had arrived by sea from Brazil before being transferred onto a train, authorities said.
"The cocaine seized has an 80% degree of purity and its market value is estimated at more than 50 million francs," the police said, adding that the stash appeared "destined for the European market."
On Friday, the European Union's law enforcement agency Europol and the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported that cocaine availability in Europe "is probably at an all-time high."
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------