"A handful of coins unearthed from a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in rural Rhode Island and other random corners of New England may help solve one of the planet’s oldest cold cases."
"NASA's miniature helicopter has safely deployed on Mars, setting the stage for a potential first flight on the Red Planet… The four-pound helicopter, called Ingenuity, made the long journey from Earth stowed away underneath the Perseverance rover, which touched down in February. On Saturday, NASA confirmed that Ingenuity had safely separated from the rover's belly and survived the four-inch drop to Mars' surface."
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a salmonella outbreak that’s infected 19 people and hospitalized 8 is linked to songbirds, especially those that congregate around bird feeders." Wash your hands.
"A man who was arrested after refusing a temperature screening at Disney Springs in Florida told authorities that he couldn't be told to leave because he had spent $15,000 on his vacation."
"Doctors are worried that coronavirus may end up being like influenza, which requires a new vaccine every year both because the circulating strains mutate fast and because immunity from the vaccine wears off quickly… Although initial evidence suggests immunity from vaccination against coronavirus provides long-lasting protection, vaccine makers have begun making and testing versions of their vaccines that protect against worrying variants of the virus. That includes the B.1.351 version first seen in South Africa, which carries a mutation that, in lab experiments, appears to allow it to evade the human immune response a little."
"Zoom meetings. Virtual happy hours. Facetime dates. We've been living in a pandemic world for over a year now, and for better or worse, many of us are used to our new social routines… But as vaccinations ramp up and restrictions begin to loosen across the country, the new question is: Are we ready? After so much time apart, do we even know how to socialize in-person anymore?" Having had a few opportunities recently to socialize (more than the 10-15 minutes with a patient) the answer (for me at least) is no.
"As widely rumored for the past few weeks, LG officially announced today that its mobile division is shutting down. Software updates and support for existing smartphone owners will continue for a 'period of time.'" Time for the mobil phone industry to play Ten Little Indians.
"The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found Amazon illegally retaliated against two of its most outspoken internal critics when it fired them last year, The New York Times reported on Monday." Not much will happen.
"For more than two decades, Amazon has bulldozed over bricks-and-mortar businesses, hired and churned through vast numbers of workers and even pitted cities against each other to bid for its second headquarters, all in service to its seemingly bottomless thirst for growth and satisfying customers. Its dominance was only further cemented in the last year by the pandemic, as households across the country leaned on the company for deliveries… But if the company's recent public statements are any indication, a small town in Alabama now has the tech giant on edge."
"'We share your view that a national discussion on wage issues for working Americans is needed—but the Raise the Wage Act is the wrong bill at the wrong time for our nation's restaurants,' the National Restaurant Association wrote in a letter to congressional leaders in February. 'The restaurant industry and our workforce will suffer from a fast-tracked wage increase and elimination of the tip credit.'… The following day, a top executive at Denny's, one of the association's members, told investors that gradual increases in the minimum wage haven't been a problem for the company at all. In fact, California's law raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2023 has actually been good for the diner chain's business, according to Denny's chief financial officer, Robert Verostek." Funny how both of those things could be true. Hint: they're not, but look to where the businesses must tell the truth or face financial and legal consequences, like investment calls. What it will affect (until they raise prices) is the amount of profit distributions the executives and owners receive.
"The problem for students like Ha is that youth unemployment remains stubbornly high. Though much better than the 27.4% rate in April last year, the unemployment rate for those ages 16-24 actually ticked higher, to 11.1% in March. That was significantly above the overall unemployment rate of 6%… That's no surprise to Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. When the economy tumbles, the job market tends to be worse for young people, she says." Let's see, 1982-1984, my first paycheck job search. From 1991-1993 my first professional job search. What do those two dates have in common? Well, before 2007, those were some of the worst recessions the US ever had. There's also the problem that boomers are still holding on to the top jobs, and for Gen X our "major income window" (35-55) is starting to close and we were never given the opportunity to hold those higher income jobs. As for choosing "more experienced" workers, let me set the record straight, industry as a whole has never gone that route. This has been the same story for Gen X, Millenials, and now Gen Y. Three generations placed in an underperforming economy with stagnate wages while the boomers vacuum up all the remaining wealth.
"For the second time this year, inmates at a jail in downtown St. Louis broke into a small riot."
"President Joe Biden’s infrastructure initiative — and the measures it contains to curb climate change — may be a tailwind for investors in so-called sustainable or ESG funds, according to financial advisors."
"Fewer than half of Americans belong to a house of worship, a new study shows, but religion – and Christianity in particular – continues to have an outsize influence in US politics, especially because it is declining faster among Democrats than Republicans… Just 47% of the US population are members of a church, mosque or synagogue, according to a survey by Gallup, down from 70% two decades ago – in part a result of millennials turning away from religion but also, experts say, a reaction to the swirling mix of rightwing politics and Christianity pursued by the Republican party." As you may remember, that's about the same percentage of membership church's had in the late 90s. After 9-11, church membership soared.
"A defining political clash took shape Sunday over Joe Biden's latest effort to reshape the US economy, with Republicans mobilizing against a massive infrastructure plan that could put the President in historic Democratic company… GOP office holders launched a broad assault on the package, arguing it was too expensive and was stuffed with overly partisan programs that had nothing to do with fixing roads and bridges." Remember when every week was Infrastructure Week for the Trump Administration? Yep, they still never fixed anything.
"Scores of (Capitol Police) officers are considering early retirement, top leaders have resigned and those in office face increasing criticism. Security concerns over the events of the past four months may alter not only how the department operates, but also whether the historically public grounds can remain open."
"On Election Day 2016, Crystal Mason went to vote after her mother insisted that she make her voice heard in the presidential election. When her name didn’t appear on official voting rolls at her polling place in Tarrant County, Texas, she filled out a provisional ballot, not thinking anything of it… Ms. Mason’s ballot was never officially counted or tallied because she was ineligible to vote… Ms. Mason maintains that she didn’t know she was ineligible to vote."
"Boycotts work. The focused power of No, trained on corporate actors used to being told Yes, can yield transformative results. As a Black person, a Southerner, an American, I respect and defend the right to boycott — and the advancement of civil rights has relied heavily on economic boycotts. Indeed, the very threat of such a call to action by Georgia’s faith leaders spurred the hasty adoption and cloistered signing of our state's new restrictive voting law. In Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Florida and across our fractured, diversifying nation, similar voter suppression bills proliferate. While their employees and customers face new obstacles to the ballot box, the business community's response has been untenable." As I've mentioned on twitter (to these corporations), I appreciate some of their stances against these voting restriction laws, but it will take me seeing them cut their funding (through PACS and individual donations) to the politicians they will determine my intent to boycott.
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