"The rock samples brought back from the Moon in December by China's Chang'e-5 mission were really young… It's all relative, of course, but the analysis shows the basalt material - the solidified remnants of a lava flow - to be just two billion years old… Compare this with the samples returned by the Apollo astronaut missions. They were all over three billion years of age."
"The 'diet' in diet drinks may be a false promise for some soda lovers. True, they deliver the fizz and taste of a soda experience, without the calories. Yet, new research shows they also can leave people with increased food cravings… A study published recently in JAMA Network Open adds to the evidence that drinks made with sucralose may stimulate the appetite, at least among some people, and gives some clues as to why."
"(Dr.) Recinos has treated people who, two weeks into hospital stays for Covid-related breathing struggles, still do not believe they have the coronavirus. She has had patients who have questioned her judgment, patients who have demanded to be given the same medications that former President Donald Trump received when he had Covid and family members of patients who have screamed at her for something as simple as giving their loved ones oxygen, a necessary treatment that they argue is doing more harm than good."
"Finland has joined other Nordic countries in suspending or discouraging the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in certain age groups because of an increased risk of heart inflammation, a rare side effect associated with the shot." They don't give an actual statistic of occurrence, just that the risk is "very small." It's like these people have never met the public before.
"In the US, however, public health officials are unequivocal in their approach: people are categorized as either vaccinated or unvaccinated, regardless of prior infection. It's an approach with many strengths, including robust scientific data supporting vaccination for people who have recovered. That data—which we'll get into below—has consistently shown that immune responses from natural infections are extremely variable, thus unreliable. Vaccines, on the other hand, have repeatedly been proven to generate highly protective immune responses."
"A Colorado kidney transplant candidate who was bumped to inactive status for failing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 has become the most public example of an argument roiling the country's more than 250 organ transplant centers… Across the country, growing numbers of transplant programs have chosen to either bar patients who refuse to take the widely available Covid vaccines from receiving transplants or to give them lower priority on crowded organ waitlists. Other programs, however, say they plan no such restrictions — for now." Right-wing whackaloon freakout in 3… 2… 1…
"The Florida Board of Education on Thursday voted to sanction eight school districts that have instituted Covid-19 mask mandates without giving parents the ability to opt their students out… In doing so, the state board said that school districts in Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange and Palm Beach counties were not in compliance and directly violating a Florida Department of Health emergency rule."
"U.S. employers added just 194,000 jobs in September, a second straight tepid gain and evidence that the pandemic still has a grip on the economy with many companies struggling to fill millions of open jobs." I'm old enough to remember when they would say "strong growth" with the same numbers when it was a Republican in the White House.
"A few months ago, forecasters thought September would be a banner month for hiring… Schools would re-open, freeing parents to go back to work. Supplemental unemployment benefits that some employers blamed for keeping workers on the sidelines would expire. Most importantly, widespread vaccinations would put the pandemic in the rear-view mirror… It hasn't exactly worked out that way." Funny old world, ain't it.
"Poland’s highest court has ruled that some EU laws conflict with the country’s own constitution — a move that has raised concerns about Poland’s commitment to the Union… The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, and the conservative government in Poland have clashed for several years over the rule of law. Brussels has accused Warsaw of undermining the independence of the judicial system and has so far held back on deciding whether to disburse post-pandemic recovery funds worth about 30 billion euros ($34 billion)."
"The electric carmaker Tesla is moving its headquarters to Austin, CEO Elon Musk announced Thursday at a factory under construction in Southeastern Travis County… 'Our factory is like five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from downtown, and we're going to create an ecological paradise here because we're out on the Colorado River,' Musk said at an annual shareholder event. 'It's going to be great.'"
"Most also think social media companies, and the people that use them, bear a good deal of blame for (misinformation). But few are very concerned that they themselves might be responsible, according to a new poll from The Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research." Can confirm from real life. When I find I've passed on false information here, I try very hard to correct the record and am very open about being wrong (and then I begin to be suspect of the sources I use).
"Maybe you've noticed the birthday card that arrived belatedly or the check in the mail that didn't pay your credit card quite on time. It's not your imagination. The mail has definitely gotten less speedy… The U.S. Postal Service began slowing deliveries of first-class mail nationwide on Oct. 1." Fire DeJoy.
"The sheriff of California's Riverside County, outside Los Angeles, has acknowledged that he once briefly belonged to the extremist Oath Keepers militia in 2014 after emails from the group were leaked online." He says he barely remembers joining, defends them as just "simply pro-Constitution and pro-freedom", but then he goes on to defend the organization, blame antifa and BLM, and minimize the Jan 6th insurrection.
"Senior members of the Biden administration will meet with their Mexican counterparts in Mexico City on Friday to discuss overhauling an existing security arrangement between the two nations."
"As President Joe Biden puts his party on notice that the $3.5 trillion price tag on his social safety net agenda will get cut in order to secure a deal, congressional Democrats are confronting fresh divisions over how to scale back… In recent days, some Democrats have begun pushing to narrow the scope of the package to a few programs and to make them permanent so a future Republican-led Congress or White House cannot let them lapse."
"The Senate has passed a bill to increase the federal debt ceiling, after weeks of tense cross-aisle negotiations regarding the looming threat of the country defaulting on its debt… The legislation was approved Thursday night along party lines, with a simple majority. An earlier procedural vote required Republicans to get to 60 votes. It got 61. House approval is still needed."
Fibs, lies, and accounting… "Former President Donald Trump racked up more than $70 million in losses over a four-year period from his Washington, DC, hotel, while publicly claiming that the hotel was making more than tens of millions of dollars, according to documents released by the House Oversight Committee." All the better to not pay taxes with, my dear.
"The Democratic-led House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has issued a new wave of subpoenas on Thursday for a right-wing group, Stop the Steal, and several of its members, including far-right activist Ali Alexander."
"Among the options the panel is weighing to compel cooperation is the threat of holding them in criminal contempt. Former Trump aide Dan Scavino could be the first to test that threat, with the select committee so far unable to physically serve him a subpoena, according to multiple sources familiar with the effort."
"As Senate Judiciary Committee aides investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election questioned top Trump-era Justice Department officials, a DOJ attorney present for the interviews intervened repeatedly to say such questions were outside the scope of the panel’s inquiry… The official, DOJ attorney Bradley Weinsheimer — a career official who has worked under attorneys general of both parties — cited guidance he issued in July that paved the way for congressional testimony but limited the topics former DOJ officials were permitted to discuss. But his assertions drew repeated, and sometimes pointed, challenges from Judiciary Committee aides in both parties, the transcripts show."
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