Linkee-poo Thursday

Also note this morning's post of yesterdays' linkee-poo (which apparently didn't post).

"Forecasters warn of a bizarre spring pattern that is expected to sweep unseasonably raw weather east of the Rockies, possibly shattering dozens of temperature records throughout the country. Highs will hover around 10 to 25 degrees below average Friday into Sunday, more like February and March than May."

"Firefighters in the Florida Panhandle have been battling wildfires that forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their homes, and a stretch of Interstate 10 remained closed in both directions Thursday morning due to smoke, authorities said." Stay safe, my Florida friends.

Something new has been added. "Astronomers say they have discovered a black hole on our doorstep, just 1,000 light years from Earth… It was found in a system called HR 6819, in the constellation Telescopium."

"'This moon might look a little funny to you, and that's because it is an impossible scene,' McCarthy wrote on Instagram. 'From two weeks of images of the waxing moon, I took the section of the picture that has the most contrast … aligned and blended them to show the rich texture across the entire surface.'"

"The US military's X-37B space plane is heading back into space in mid-May, and while the Air Force doesn't often say much about the mysterious aircraft, the service's top civilian outlined what it will be doing this time around."

"Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was jogging in a neighborhood outside Brunswick on February 23 when a former police officer and his son chased him down, authorities said. According to a Glynn County Police report, Gregory McMichael later told officers that he thought Arbery looked like a person suspected in a series of recent break-ins in the area." Yeah, we're going to save time and just call bullshit on McMichael.

"A gas leak at a chemical factory in south-east India has killed at least nine people, including two children, and led to hundreds being taken to hospital, with fears the death toll could grow."

"Most new Covid-19 hospitalizations in New York state are from people who were staying home and not venturing much outside, a 'shocking' finding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday… The preliminary data was from 100 New York hospitals involving about 1,000 patients, Cuomo said at his daily briefing." Jazz hands. Because people aren't really sheltering in place.

"Officials said on Wednesday that the number of children who have been hospitalized in New York City with symptoms consistent with a rare disease possibly linked to the coronavirus has nearly quadrupled to 64. Health officials said the illness has features of Kawasaki disease, a serious illness previously noted in children with COVID-19 in the United Kingdom."

"A nurse found out Wednesday what happens when you contradict President Donald Trump on how well coronavirus response efforts are going while standing near him in the Oval Office… Trump clapped back at that nurse, Sophia Thomas, who said that access to sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment 'has been sporadic.' Her comments came during a National Nurses Day event at the White House meant to honor those first responders." One does not contradict the dear leader and point out he's naked. She forgot she was there for decoration and to support the president. Except for her capitulation near the end, good on her. This is what we are taught to do as healthcare providers. We tell the truth (a much as we can, there are caveats for scope of practice and "not worrying the patient"). But if you ask me (as several patients and patient families have) about this disease and what it will take to "get beyond" it, I won't sugar coat it or blow smoke up your ass. Unless 1) we have massive testing and contract tracing or 2) an effective vaccine that people can get (cost and manufacturing) or 3) the virus mutates to a less dangerous stage this will take at least a year. Because if none of those things happen, the way we get beyond this is with a lot of deaths.

Meanwhile in Ohio… "On Wednesday, the Ohio House of Representatives voted to limit the power of state health director Dr. Amy Acton. The bill now goes to the Ohio Senate and if it passes there, would require the governor’s signature… It was mostly Republicans who were in favor of limiting Acton’s power… The bill, which passed the House 58-37, will not allow the existing stay-at-home order to be extended without approval of the ten-member Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review… Also, any further orders from the department of health will be limited to 14 days, with any extensions requiring committee approval as well." This is exactly why health departments have powers, so politics doesn't become involved. Unfortunately, since reality has a notoriously liberal bias, conservatives can't allow any power to be shared if they want to control the narrative.

Why are you hearing about so many vaccines for coronavirus that are so early in the testing stage? "Moderna shares surge after FDA approves coronavirus vaccine for phase 2 trial."

"Another 3.2 million people filed for unemployment for the first time last week, bringing the total number of jobs lost during the coronavirus crisis in the last seven weeks to at least 33.5 million."

"California’s economic rebound from the coronavirus may take longer than people may think as the state struggles with record 'Depression-era' unemployment numbers, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday." Gee, ya think?

"The eurozone economy is set to shrink by 7.75 percent this year due to the coronavirus, a contraction overshadowing the worst of the financial crisis in 2009."

"The U.S. government has been sending out millions of stimulus checks for up to $1,200 per individual based on their tax returns for either 2018 or 2019… Some of those individuals have died since filing those returns. However, that hasn’t stopped the government from sending them checks." You gotta send them back.

I've joked about how I've seen executives go into the bathroom talking on their phones. "The Supreme Court was making history Wednesday afternoon, holding arguments over the phone because of Covid-19, when all of a sudden there was the distinct sound of a toilet flushing." Don't do that. Seriously. Just don't.

"Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from the hospital on Wednesday after being treated for gallstones, the court said in a statement."

"The Philippine government ordered the country's largest broadcast network, ABS-CBN, to stop broadcasting immediately on Tuesday after its license expired. The network, which employs about 11,000 people, went off the air on free TV and radio across the Philippines on Tuesday evening."

Our man in Iraq. "Iraq finally has a new government. More than five months after the country's caretaker prime minister announced he would resign amid anti-government protests, parliament early Thursday approved intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi and most of his cabinet."

"Australian Cardinal George Pell knew a notorious pedophile priest had been moved decades ago because he had sexually abused children, and should have removed an unstable priest in another parish who was also a suspected pedophile, a government inquiry concluded." Of course he did.

"The U.S.-China relationship is one of disappointment and frustration, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Wednesday, highlighting a deepening rift between Washington and Beijing over the deadly coronavirus." Meaning they're not doing what we say. I though Trump was the best negotiator and could get anything. It so surprising once an entity doesn't need his money that his "negotiation" style would fail so drastically. As my friend, Jim Wright, says, "You mean we can't trust China? If only we had a mechanism where we could get accurate information out of that country without relying on their government to tell us." (I'm paraphrasing here, Jim puts it much better)

"'There are 30 million Americans who are unemployed. ... There have been forecasts -- 15, 16, 17%. One of your advisers projected an unemployment rate of 19%. That's nearly 1 in 5 Americans without a job. How bad is this going to get?' Muir asked the president… 'You know, it's very interesting. Even the Democrats aren't blaming me for that,' Trump said." It's so cute when the president is delusional. Wait, not cute. It's the other thing. Dear President Trump, you are to blame for this. For our late response to the coronavirus. For not protecting the economy. For not protecting jobs. Gee, I wonder how all those Trump voters who were "economically distressed/concerned" are dealing with this?