Fred Willard, and so it goes.
Coming to a supermarket near you! "Now, however, freshwater prawns may be able to enjoy wider commercial success, thanks to a new breeding technique developed by Enzootic, an Israeli agro-biotech venture founded in 2012 by Dr. Assaf Shechter and Professor Amir Sagi. One of the company's first initiatives was to develop and commercialize a technology for manipulating the gender of freshwater prawns in collaboration with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. This collaboration led to the creation of a one-time, non-chemical, non-genetic gender-bending treatment that allows freshwater hatcheries to produce crops of all-female prawns."
"A factory in Colombia is making hospital beds that can be turned into a coffin if the patient dies… These dual-purpose beds are designed for #COVID19 patients." They're made out of corrugated cardboard. There's a video of how they work. Trigger warning, the "patient"/coworker on the bed appears to be the only female in the video. So, ya know, extra points for the misogyny. (Grokked from Bo Bolander)
"In particular, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator for the President's coronavirus task force, has become increasingly critical of the CDC, making clear in recent meetings that she is more than frustrated with the agency, according to two senior administration officials. Specifically, Birx believes the way the CDC gathers data on the coronavirus is antiquated, causing inaccurate and delayed numbers on both virus cases and deaths." What we need is the New Math.
"The health care system in Brazil's largest city is wavering on the brink of collapse and coronavirus deaths throughout the South American nation are soaring -- but President Jair Bolsonaro nonetheless reveled in crowds of supporters on Sunday, joining yet another anti-lockdown protest in Brasilia." Fiddling while Rome burns.
"India has begun evacuating thousands of villagers and halted port operations ahead of a cyclone expected to hit its east coast this week, officials said, piling pressure on emergency services already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic."
"The new cases Thursday marked the seventh day in a row that Texas saw more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day, bringing the total number of known cases to 43,851. There are 18,148 active cases of the coronavirus, the health agency reported." That's 14 days after Texas "re-opened." ::Checks watch:: Right on time. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"Authorities are not seeing spikes in coronavirus cases in places that are reopening but are seeing increases in some areas that remain closed, U.S. health secretary Alex Azar said on Sunday." Uh, sure, Bob. (Strong side-eye)
"But when Tapper pressed him further, and emphasized that the overall number of deaths in the US is the highest in the world, Azar said this could be explained by ethnic demographics… 'Unfortunately the American population is a very diverse, and, it is, it is a population with significant unhealthy comorbidities that do make many individuals in our communities, in particular African American, minority communities, particularly at risk here, because of significant underlying disease, health disparities, and disease comorbidities,' Azar said." Well I'm glad he didn't go full racist there. He only went halfway (narrator voice: still racist).
"Just as epidemiologists are concerned that a post-reopening 'second wave' of Covid-19 cases could further batter America’s health care system, many economists warn that the current wave of nutritional insecurity and overwhelmed food banks could be just the beginning of the economic crisis and will get worse starting in August if Congress doesn’t act now."
A new twist to the phrase, your money or your life. "But Murray kept telling herself she had bills and rent coming due. The store had cut back her hours in recent years, making it harder to accumulate enough paid time off – she says it takes her more than a week of work to earn one hour of sick time… But one angry customer put her over the edge."
"Can you refuse to go back to work and still claim unemployment benefits?" Signs point to no (but it's complicated).
"A federal judge has denied a request from Martin Shkreli — the former pharmaceutical executive widely disdained as 'pharma bro' — to be released from prison so he can work on a coronavirus treatment." Good. Plus the fact that this asshole is a business major, not even a scientist (let alone a biologist, and he has never researched diseases, and even if he was release right this second, he's 3 months behind everyone else). Seriously, these people don't know how businesses are actually run and how the work gets done.
"The U.S. economy could shrink by upwards of 30% in the second quarter but will avoid a Depression-like economic plunge over the longer term, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told '60 Minutes' in an interview aired Sunday." Uh huh, pull the other one. Again, they're looking at this as if it's only the coronavirus, not that the response is putting pressure on all the cracks in the system.
"When banks got done making their first batch of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, the results looked like a quiet 'red state bailout,' as the Atlantic’s David Frum put it. The quickly depleted funds had disproportionately aided smaller, more rural states in the middle of the country that just happened to have voted for Donald Trump in 2016—to the relative neglect of blue states that had been hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic."
"Michigan closed down its capitol in Lansing on Thursday and canceled its legislative session rather than face the possibility of an armed protest and death threats against Democratic Governor Gretchen … The gathering, meant to advocate opening the state for business despite the coronavirus pandemic, followed one April 30 that resulted in pictures of protesters clad in military-style gear and carrying long guns crowding the statehouse. They confronted police and taunted lawmakers." Ah those patriotic people who ::checks notes:: don't believe in government and worked to shut it down. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware will open beaches Memorial Day weekend with some restrictions, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Friday." Somebody has to feed those sharks.
"Japan has fallen into recession for the first time since 2015 as the financial toll of the coronavirus continues to escalate… The world's third biggest economy shrank at an annual pace of 3.4% in the first three months of 2020."
"Félicien Kabuga, one of the most wanted suspects in the Rwandan genocide, has been arrested near Paris, the French justice ministry has announced… Mr Kabuga was detained by gendarmes in Asnières-sur-Seine, where he had been living under a false identity."
"US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is asking Congress for a $1.2 billion bailout. The agency claims it will run out of money by the end of the summer without aid due to a decline in immigration caused by the coronavirus pandemic… Unlike other federal agencies, USCIS receives almost no taxpayer dollars, and is dependent on fees associated with filing applications for green cards, visas, work permits, US citizenship, and humanitarian benefits such as asylum."
"'And you hear that outside, that beautiful sound -- those are truckers that are with us all the way. They are protesting in favor of President Trump, as opposed to against,' Trump said. 'There's hundreds of trucks out there, and that's the sign of love. Not the sign of your typical protest. So I want to thank our great truckers. They like me and I like them.'" Hey Sparky, sometimes they are laughing at you, not with you. And to the truckers, guess you didn't realize what red tape the conservatives wanted to cut, eh?
"President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months." Slow motion Saturday night massacre.
"The State Department inspector general who was removed from his job Friday was looking into whether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a staffer walk his dog, pick up his dry cleaning and make dinner reservations for Pompeo and his wife, among other personal errands, according to two congressional officials assigned to different committees." That's abuse of office.
"The Texas Supreme Court on Friday halted the expansion of mail-in voting in the state during the coronavirus pandemic… The court issued the stay after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) asked the Lone Star State's top court to take action in a letter earlier this week."
"Donald Trump has hit back at Barack Obama’s criticism of his administration’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, accusing the former US president of being 'grossly incompetent' during his time in office." Ah, the ol' I'm rubber, you're glue gambit.
"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the Senate would work to confirm a Supreme Court nominee this year if a vacancy arises, saying the circumstances are different from 2016, when Republicans blocked then-President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland." Because of course it is, when it serves the conservative interest there is no road-block. It's only when a liberal wants to appoint a judge that there's a problem. Because it never was about letting the people have a vote (their original argument). "However, the comments mark a reversal from Graham, who in 2018 said no nominations would be considered in 2020."
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