Linkee-poo Thursday July 22

"China's military has blasted a dam to release floodwaters threatening one of its most heavily populated provinces, as the death toll in widespread flooding rose to at least 25."

"Despite this conflict of interest, Manchin chairs the influential Senate energy and natural resources committee, which has jurisdiction over coal production and distribution, coal research and development, and coal conversion, as well as 'global climate change'."

"US life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since the second world war, public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years… The drop spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is due mainly to the pandemic, which health officials said is responsible for close to 74% of the overall life expectancy decline."

"Last month, Michigan's two largest hospital systems, Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health, announced they wanted to become one. The $12.9 billion 'megamerger' would create a health industrial complex spanning 22 hospitals, 305 outpatient facilities, and an insurance company. It would employ 64,000 people, making it the largest employer in Michigan. Local newspapers had expected the merger to 'sail through' government approval. But now they're not so sure."

"Despite the Affordable Care Act's guarantees for free contraception coverage, Force's experience illustrates that even for women whose health plans are subject to the law's requirements, obtaining the right product at no cost can be onerous. New types of contraceptives aren't automatically incorporated into the federal list of required methods that insurers use to guide coverage decisions."

"With the highly contagious Delta variant spreading, particularly among unvaccinated Americans, it may be time for much of the country to put masks back on, experts said." And especially this coming fall. Ta-da!

"The United States could see a wave of Covid-19 vaccine mandates as soon as the Food and Drug Administration grants full approval to one or more of the shots, public health experts predicted… The three vaccines authorized by the FDA for emergency use against the coronavirus have proven safe and effective under that expedited review process and in the real world, and doctors and the nation's top public health officials have said there's no need for anyone to wait to get inoculated."

"A popular Massachusetts tourist destination issued a mask advisory Monday after an outbreak of Covid-19 cases following the July 4 holiday weekend."

"Visitors now need a special COVID-19 pass to ride up the Eiffel Tower or visit French museums or movie theaters, the first step in a new campaign against what the government calls a “stratospheric” rise in delta variant infections."

"Pfizer and BioNTech will start to manufacture their Covid-19 vaccine in South Africa, they announced jointly on Wednesday, in a move that could significantly increase the availability of doses across the continent next year."

"White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and Sen. Rand Paul traded barbs in a heated exchange at a Senate hearing Tuesday over whether the National Institutes of Health funded controversial research Paul claims could have contributed to the Covid-19 pandemic."

"The United States has extended border restrictions on nonessential travel yet again as COVID-19 infections rise in every state… U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada will remain closed through Aug. 21, according to documents to be published in the Federal Register. The previous U.S. border restrictions were set to end Thursday."

"Hundreds of Frito-Lay workers in Topeka, Kan., are in their third week of a strike, citing so-called 'suicide shifts' and poor working conditions at the manufacturing and distribution plant at a time when the company's net revenue growth has exceeded all of its targets."

"Dependence on tipped wages, along with job requirements to appear friendly and pleasant — in other words, 'service with a smile' — jointly create a culture of sexual harassment, according to a team of researchers at the University of Notre Dame, Penn State University and the Emlyon Business School in France, who say their study is the first to empirically link tipping to sexual harassment."

How goes Brexit? "The UK has launched an audacious bid to rewrite a key plank of the Brexit deal, saying the Northern Ireland protocol was flawed at conception but served its purpose to get the UK out of the EU as 'one country'… The European Commission immediately ruled out a renegotiation of the deal, which was trumpeted by Boris Johnson as a solution to the Irish border impasse two years ago. The commission is understood to be open to some changes on the special arrangements for Northern Ireland, however."

"Marks & Spencer has warned it is already cutting Christmas products in Northern Ireland due to concerns over forthcoming post-Brexit customs checks… Chairman Archie Norman told Radio Four's Today Programme the changes could mean higher prices and less choice for Northern Ireland customers." The Brexit that stole Xmas.

"Moments after returning from the edge of space, Jeff Bezos thanked the Blue Origin team that made his flight possible. He also thanked the Texas town of Van Horn, which hosted Tuesday's launch. And then he said this… 'I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer, 'cause you guys paid for all this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart very much.'… The internet responded with an incredulous gasp." And then he gave about $200M. That sounds like a lot. The Median net worth in the US is $121,760, at the same percentage that's roughly about if a normal family gave away $118.79, or just a little over a 1 day ticket to the Magic Kingdom (without Park-Hopper, for non-Florida residents). Tax the mother fuckers already.

"An Ohio man federal prosecutors say is an 'incel' was charged in federal court this week with attempting a hate crime for his plot to kill women… Tres Genco, 21, was arrested Wednesday and is also facing charges related to illegally possessing a machine gun, according to the Justice Department."

"The U.S. Treasury Department is projected to exhaust its borrowing authority in October or November, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday, as a partisan fight over raising the nation's debt ceiling erupted in Congress." Here we go again.

"Republicans will not vote to increase the federal borrowing limit, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a new interview, setting the stage for a huge battle in Congress as it stares at a deadline to avoid a debt default… Republicans, however, voted to approve increases in the debt ceiling under former President Donald Trump, and McConnell did not mention in the Punchbowl interview that under his own leadership of the Senate last year, members approved an additional $1.4 trillion in spending to fight the coronavirus and fund the federal government."

"The allegations that spy software known as Pegasus may have been used to carry out surveillance on journalists, activists - and even perhaps political leaders - highlights that surveillance is now for sale… The company behind the tool, NSO Group, has denied the allegations and says its customers are carefully assessed."

"A federal judge on Tuesday blocked an Arkansas law banning nearly all abortions in the state while she hears a challenge to its constitutionality."

An extraordinary effort by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to block nominees from being confirmed to vital jobs in the State Department is creating hurdles for the Biden administration and hindering US diplomacy, according to Democrats and Republicans who spoke to CNN."

"Thomas Barrack, a longtime friend of Donald Trump's who chaired the former president's inauguration committee, was arrested Tuesday on federal charges that he acted as an agent of a foreign government… Prosecutors said Barrack, 74, parlayed his close ties to the Trump White House to advance the interests of the United Arab Emirates."

"Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the new House select committee to scrutinize the Capitol attack, says he will investigate Donald Trump as part of his inquiry into the events of 6 January – a day he sees as the greatest test to the United States since the civil war."