Friday, October 7
Latest Legal Absurdity in Trump Case
First, she stopped FBI special agents from even glancing at the classified documents they recovered from Mar-a-Lago. Then she appointed a special court referee that former President Donald Trump wanted to slow down the investigation over his mishandling of classified documents.
But now, it’s clear District Court Judge Aileen Cannon already knew the Department of Justice was ready to hand Trump back a ton of personal records six days before she claimed the former president was suffering “a real harm” by being “deprived of potentially significant personal documents.”
The “medical records” she worried the feds might leak to the press—what she called a “risk of irreparable injury” to the former president—were actually a doctor’s note Trump himself made public when running for the White House in 2016 as part of a publicity stunt.
A description in court records indicates the feds were trying to return an addendum to the infamous, eye-rolling letter that a Manhattan doctor quickly typed up emphatically declaring, “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” READ MORE...
Long COVID
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey 2022; Chart: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals
Of the nearly 24 million adults in the U.S. who currently have long COVID, more than 80% are having some trouble carrying out daily activities, according to CDC data released Wednesday.
Why it matters: Nearly three years into a pandemic that has left millions newly disabled, medical researchers continue to search for an effective treatment.
The big picture: Long COVID symptoms can include shortness of breath, cognitive difficulties and symptoms that worsen even with minimal physical or mental effort — a primary indicator of chronic fatigue syndrome.
The pandemic sharpened the focus on the once largely dismissed area of chronic fatigue in health care, but misunderstandings and stigma persist.
Up to 4 million people are estimated to be out of work because of long COVID symptoms, according to a Brookings Institute report in August.
While long COVID is classified as a disability, qualifying for Social Security benefits requires proof that the condition has or will last a year, even though there's no test to diagnose long COVID, per CDC.
Up to 4 million people are estimated to be out of work because of long COVID symptoms, according to a Brookings Institute report in August.
While long COVID is classified as a disability, qualifying for Social Security benefits requires proof that the condition has or will last a year, even though there's no test to diagnose long COVID, per CDC.
Transgendered Children
Across the United States, thousands of youths are lining up for gender-affirming care. But when families decide to take the medical route, they must make decisions about life-altering treatments that have little scientific evidence of their long-term safety and efficacy.
On the two-hour drive back from the hospital, Danielle Boyer kept replaying the doctor’s questions in her mind. Was her then-12-year-old child, Ryace, hearing voices? Was she using illegal drugs? Had she ever been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment? Had she ever harmed herself?
Danielle was still shaken when she and Ryace arrived home in this small town nestled in a bend of the Ohio River. Dinner would have to wait. She had to talk to her husband. “They were asking us these sad, terrible questions,” she told Steve Boyer as the two sat in their garage that August 2020 evening. “Do you know kids have tried to kill themselves?”
“I had no idea,” he said. READ MORE...
Thursday, October 6
Our World is On Fire
How do we stop it?
- Russia invasion of Ukraine
- North Korea launching missiles
- China eyeing Taiwan for invasion
- OPEC reducing production by 2 million barrels per day
- Global Inflation
- Global increase in crime and violence
- Global supply chain problems
- Global increase in illegal drugs
OPEC+ Cuts Oil Production - Gas Prices to Rise
In Vienna on Wednesday, the OPEC+ alliance is expected to consider a cut in oil production of up to 1 million to 2 million barrels a day — an amount that could drive oil and gas prices back up after weeks on a downward trend.
The meeting of the 24 OPEC+ oil-producing countries, including Russia, comes at a time when much of the world is already battling soaring energy costs.
The meeting of the 24 OPEC+ oil-producing countries, including Russia, comes at a time when much of the world is already battling soaring energy costs.
A supply cut could also exacerbate tensions between Saudi Arabia and the U.S., where President Biden has been trying to rein in prices at the gas pump ahead of the midterm elections.
OPEC+, formed in 2016, includes the 13 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members and 11 other non-OPEC members. READ MORE...
OPEC+, formed in 2016, includes the 13 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members and 11 other non-OPEC members. READ MORE...
Mortgage Rates Spike
US mortgage rates jumped to a 16-year high of 6.75%, marking the seventh-straight weekly increase and spurring the worst slump in home loan applications since the depths of the pandemic.
The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose nearly a quarter percentage point in the last week of September, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday.
The steady string of increases in mortgage rates resulted in a more than 14% slump last week in applications to purchase or refinance a home. READ MORE..
Most CEOs Planning for Recession
Most CEOs are already preparing for a recession, which they think will slash earnings and stunt growth, according to a new survey by KPMG.
Measures companies plan to take to weather the recession include cutting ESG spending and laying off staff, the survey, which canvassed the opinions of the CEOs of 400 American companies with annual revenues of at least $500 million, showed.
The vast majority of CEOs – 91% – said they thought there would be a recession within the next year, and only a third said it would be mild and short. 80% said they thought it would affect their organization's anticipated growth over the next three years.
Goldman Sachs analysts said in August that there was a 30% probability that the US would enter a recession over the next 12 months, but that a recession in the Euro area was twice as likely. READ MORE...
Wednesday, October 5
Zero Extinction Plan
Australia's environment authorities on Tuesday presented a plan to bolster protection and restoration of the country's threatened species and natural places.
"The need for action to protect our plants, animals and ecosystems from extinction has never been greater," Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said in a statement.
Australia's questionable conservation record
Australia, while ranked among the world's wealthiest countries, gets a poor score when it comes to the protection of its animal species.
"Australia is the mammal extinction capital of the world," Plibersek said.
Wildlife advocacy groups say that animal habitats are in decline due to human activity, and events like the devastating 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires are estimated to have killed, injured or displaced around 3 billion animals.
"The Black Summer bushfires in particular have seen devastating results for many species. We are determined to give wildlife a better chance," said Plibersek. READ MORE...
Robots Making French Fries
PASADENA, Calif., Oct 4 (Reuters) - Fast-food French fries and onion rings are going high-tech, thanks to a company in Southern California.
Miso Robotics Inc in Pasadena has started rolling out its Flippy 2 robot, which automates the process of deep frying potatoes, onions and other foods.
A big robotic arm like those in auto plants - directed by cameras and artificial intelligence - takes frozen French fries and other foods out of a freezer, dips them into hot oil, then deposits the ready-to-serve product into a tray. READ MORE...
The Nation's Highest Court
WASHINGTON – Even as the fallout continues over its controversial abortion ruling in June, the Supreme Court is gearing up for a new term in which its conservative majority will wade into questions about race, LGBTQ rights and federal elections.
The nation's highest court has agreed to hear 27 arguments so far – roughly half its expected caseload for the term that will likely end in June 2023.
This guide will be updated throughout the nine-month term.
Affirmative action
Background: Perhaps the most closely watched cases at the Supreme Court this term involve race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina. Those schools consider race as one of many factors in deciding whether to accept prospective students, a policy that is consistent with current Supreme Court precedent. But an anti-affirmative action group has argued the policies discriminate against Asian American and white candidates in violation of federal law and the Constitution. READ MORE...
Background: Perhaps the most closely watched cases at the Supreme Court this term involve race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina. Those schools consider race as one of many factors in deciding whether to accept prospective students, a policy that is consistent with current Supreme Court precedent. But an anti-affirmative action group has argued the policies discriminate against Asian American and white candidates in violation of federal law and the Constitution. READ MORE...
Tuesday, October 4
Slave Traders Cheated
Copper manilla bracelets from a late 17th-century Royal African Company trader in the Western Approaches. Photograph: Seascape Artifact Exhibits Inc.
Dr Tobias Skowronek, a German scientist, has conducted a scientific analysis of horseshoe-shaped bracelets that were exchanged over hundreds of years for enslaved people from Africa who were transported to Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean.
His study revealed that copper had been sourced from Cornwall decades earlier than previously thought, overturning assumptions that it had come primarily from Sweden and Flanders until the 1720s. READ MORE...
14 Year Old Denied Lifesaving Drug
A 14-year-old girl in Tucson, Arizona, was denied refill of a lifesaving drug—methotrexate (MTX)—she had been taking for years over fears that she would use the medication for abortion purposes.
For years, Emma Thompson has been relying on low, weekly doses of MTX to treat her juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a form of the condition in children that can cause serious complications, including growth problems and joint damage, which MTX slows down.
But at higher doses, MTX can be used to end ectopic pregnancies, where a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus.
This is why the girl's doctor, Deborah Jane Power, thinks Thompson was denied her prescribed medication, only three days after Arizona's new abortion law had taken into effect. READ MORE...
Kardashian Breaks the Law
Kim Kardashian Charged by SEC for “Unlawfully Touting Crypto Security,” Agrees to $1.26M Settlement
She agreed to pay penalties, disgorgement and interest, while also cooperating with the SEC's ongoing investigation into EthereumMax: "Ms. Kardashian’s case also serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law requires them to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities." READ MORE...
Monday, October 3
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