Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
L.A. County’s spiking COVID hospitalizations are literally heading off the charts
Covid-19 is now on every continent as Antarctica records its first outbreak
Americans Numb to Staggering Virus Death Toll
In the face of one of the biggest mass casualty events in American history, we are growing increasingly numb to death, experts say — numb to the crisis and tragedy it represents and to the action it requires in response. Something happens in the brain when fatalities reach such high numbers, say psychologists who have studied genocides and mass disasters. The casualties become like a mountain of corpses that has grown so large it becomes difficult to focus on the individual bodies.
Federal agency says employers can legally require workers to get COVID vaccine
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance on Wednesday saying that requiring workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine does not violate the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits employers from requiring "medical examinations like blood tests, breath analyses and blood-pressure screening" to obtain medical information on workers…
'My second life': California nurse walks out of hospital after 8-month COVID-19 ordeal
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:
The $600 Stimulus Checks Will Start Arriving Next Week But The Memes Are Here Already
Joe Biden says he will push for more stimulus checks in next Covid relief bill
Trump calls on Congress to approve $2,000 stimulus checks, hinting that he might not sign economic relief bill into law without changes. Um, how realistic is this given the time crunch? Sign or veto, make a decision.
The real cost of ocean freight out of Asia is hitting 'unbelievable' heights
Politics:
Why Did Bill Barr Agree to Leave Today?
Yesterday Barr suggested there were several things he wouldn’t do that Trump wanted him to do as ranging from appointing special counsels for Hunter Biden or election fraud, to giving a legal OK for seizing voting machines or for various types of Insurrection Act-type moves by the president. Can one be confident Barr’s successor as AG, Jeffrey Rosen, will also say no?
I’m also reliably told senior military officials in the Pentagon are more, not less, alarmed than they were a few weeks ago when Mark Esper was fired. The new crew of Trump loyalists in the most senior civilian positions don’t seem there only to burnish their resumes, as one person put it. They’re trying to figure out, in coordination with people in the White House, ‘how to make things happen.'
Conspiracy theories and talk of martial law grip the White House as Trump seeks to undo Biden's win
Trump threatens 30-day reign of destruction on the way out of office
Joe Biden will be president in 30 days. Until then, the question is how much damage can be done by a vengeful, delusional soon-to-be ex-President swilling conspiracy theories, whose wild anti-democratic instincts are being encouraged by fringe political opportunists.
Donald Trump will retain the awesome powers of the presidency until noon on January 20, and there’s never been a time when he has been subject to as few restraining influences or has had a bigger incentive to cause disruption.
You know things are bad when even Pat Robertson starts talking rationally.
Thune Sees Challenge to Biden Win Going Down Like ‘Shot Dog’
Trump’s Longtime Banker Resigns
President Trump’s longtime banker at Deutsche Bank, who arranged for the German lender to make hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to his company, is stepping down from the bank.
Rosemary Vrablic, a managing director and senior banker in Deutsche Bank’s wealth management division, recently handed in her resignation, which the bank accepted… The reasons for the abrupt resignation of Ms. Vrablic, as well as that of a longtime colleague, Dominic Scalzi, were not clear.
Targets of his outrage include Vice President Pence, chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Secretary of State Pompeo and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump thinks everyone around him is weak, stupid or disloyal — and increasingly seeks comfort only in people who egg him on to overturn the election results. We cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House.
What we can all learn from Biden's refusal to feed the troll
Serendipity:
1,000 lost on one boat - this woman hopes to name them
CRISPR Helps Researchers Uncover How Corals Adjust To Warming Oceans
Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:
L.A. County’s spiking COVID hospitalizations are literally heading off the charts
Covid-19 is now on every continent as Antarctica records its first outbreak
Americans Numb to Staggering Virus Death Toll
In the face of one of the biggest mass casualty events in American history, we are growing increasingly numb to death, experts say — numb to the crisis and tragedy it represents and to the action it requires in response. Something happens in the brain when fatalities reach such high numbers, say psychologists who have studied genocides and mass disasters. The casualties become like a mountain of corpses that has grown so large it becomes difficult to focus on the individual bodies.
Federal agency says employers can legally require workers to get COVID vaccine
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance on Wednesday saying that requiring workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine does not violate the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits employers from requiring "medical examinations like blood tests, breath analyses and blood-pressure screening" to obtain medical information on workers…
'My second life': California nurse walks out of hospital after 8-month COVID-19 ordeal
Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:
The $600 Stimulus Checks Will Start Arriving Next Week But The Memes Are Here Already
Joe Biden says he will push for more stimulus checks in next Covid relief bill
Trump calls on Congress to approve $2,000 stimulus checks, hinting that he might not sign economic relief bill into law without changes. Um, how realistic is this given the time crunch? Sign or veto, make a decision.
After sitting on his hands during COVID negotiations, Trump just demanded big changes in compromise bill, threatening its future. With a madman in the WH, we are entering the most dangerous 4 weeks of his presidency. @CNN @AC30, @JohnBerman
— David Gergen (@David_Gergen) December 23, 2020
The real cost of ocean freight out of Asia is hitting 'unbelievable' heights
Politics:
Conspiracy theories and talk of martial law grip the White House as Trump seeks to undo Biden's win
Trump threatens 30-day reign of destruction on the way out of office
Joe Biden will be president in 30 days. Until then, the question is how much damage can be done by a vengeful, delusional soon-to-be ex-President swilling conspiracy theories, whose wild anti-democratic instincts are being encouraged by fringe political opportunists.
Donald Trump will retain the awesome powers of the presidency until noon on January 20, and there’s never been a time when he has been subject to as few restraining influences or has had a bigger incentive to cause disruption.
You know things are bad when even Pat Robertson starts talking rationally.
Thune Sees Challenge to Biden Win Going Down Like ‘Shot Dog’
Trump’s Longtime Banker Resigns
President Trump’s longtime banker at Deutsche Bank, who arranged for the German lender to make hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to his company, is stepping down from the bank.
Rosemary Vrablic, a managing director and senior banker in Deutsche Bank’s wealth management division, recently handed in her resignation, which the bank accepted… The reasons for the abrupt resignation of Ms. Vrablic, as well as that of a longtime colleague, Dominic Scalzi, were not clear.
Targets of his outrage include Vice President Pence, chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Secretary of State Pompeo and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump thinks everyone around him is weak, stupid or disloyal — and increasingly seeks comfort only in people who egg him on to overturn the election results. We cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House.
What we can all learn from Biden's refusal to feed the troll
Serendipity:
1,000 lost on one boat - this woman hopes to name them
CRISPR Helps Researchers Uncover How Corals Adjust To Warming Oceans