Saturday, May 15, 2021
Vaccinate vulnerable global poor before children in rich countries, WHO says
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| The World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Photograph: Reuters |
The WHO has urged wealthy countries to reconsider plans to vaccinate children against Covid-19 and instead to donate doses to poorer nations, while warning that the pandemic’s second year looks set to be more deadly.
The World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, voiced outrage that a number of rich countries were now vaccinating children and teenagers while poorer states had barely begun vaccinating health workers and their most vulnerable groups.
Instead of offering jabs to young and healthy people, countries should give their doses to the Covax global vaccine-sharing scheme and thereby ensure that those most in need in all countries receive protection, he said.
“In January, I spoke about the potential unfolding of a moral catastrophe,” he told a press conference. “Unfortunately, we’re now witnessing this play out. In a handful of rich countries, which bought up the majority of the supply, lower-risk groups are now being vaccinated.
“I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to Covax.
“Because in low- and lower-middle-income countries, Covid-19 vaccine supply has not been enough to even immunise healthcare workers, and hospitals are being inundated with people that need lifesaving care urgently.”
Milwaukee's COVID-19 face mask requirements remain in effect despite CDC guidance. Here's why.
The City of Milwaukee's face mask requirements remain in effect, despite Thursday's announcement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that significantly loosened restrictions for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The city's requirements were created through an ordinance that was approved by the Common Council and signed by Mayor Tom Barrett last summer. Altering the ordinance requires a similar process, which takes time.
Here's where things stand.
Here's what Milwaukee's mask mandate says
As it currently stands, the city mask mandate requires anyone in the city who is at least 3 years old to have a face covering when they leave home. Masks must be worn whenever in a building that is open to the public, and when outside in a public space and within 6 feet of any other person who is not a household or family member.
Owners or operators of buildings that are open to the public must make sure that those inside wear masks and can face penalties for not enforcing the ordinance.
Changes to Milwaukee's mask mandate were recommended before CDC guidance changed
Changes to the outdoor requirements in the ordinance were unanimously recommended for adoption by the council's Public Safety and Health Committee Thursday morning — hours before the new CDC guidance was issued.
Under the new legislation recommended by the committee, the mask ordinance would be altered to require people to follow the CDC's guidance on wearing masks outside instead of providing specific local requirements.
It does not alter the indoor section of the ordinance that requires that masks be worn whenever a person is in a "building open to the public," except to exempt outdoor spaces and patios.
The changes are expected to be taken up by the full council at its next meeting on May 25, though they do not fully reflect the new CDC guidance.
Racine mayor suspends enforcement of mask mandate
As of noon Friday, enforcement of Racine's mask ordinance is no longer being enforced.
Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in Wisconsin
Mayor Cory Mason issued an emergency declaration Friday.
"Earlier this week, the CDC, issued new guidance which said fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance," Mason said in a written statement.
“The City of Racine has always said we will follow the best public health guidance from the CDC and other experts as we work to mitigate COVID-19 locally. The CDC issued this new guidance because of the success the nation is having in getting people vaccinated, especially in major population centers. However, this new guidance also means that the City’s mask ordinance is now outdated and nearly impossible to enforce, which is why Public Health Administrator Bowersox, ask for an emergency order of suspension," Mason said.
Mason said he will ask the Common Council to fully repeal the ordinance at their meeting on Tuesday.
It does not mean everyone will be able allowed to not wear a mask.
Mason said private businesses, institutions and residences can still require masks. He also said the CDC still recommends people wear masks if they are not fully vaccinated.
Mason said since most children are not fully vaccinated, Racine schools will continue to follow CDC guidelines.
Read more: https://www.wisn.com/article/racine-mayor-suspends-enforcement-of-mask-mandate/36433607
‘Fuck This Court’: We Obtained Larry Flynt’s FBI File and It’s Pretty Wild
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| PORN MOGUL LARRY FLYNT TALKS ABOUT THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF 'HUSTLER' MAGAZINE AT HIS OFFICES IN BEVERLY HILLS,CALIFORNIA ON AUGUST 26, 2014. (PHOTO BY MARK RALSTON / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES) |
The 322-page file contains a litany of events from John DeLorean’s cocaine bust to an alleged effort by Flynt to blow himself up in front of the Supreme Court.
When Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt died on Feb. 10 at the age of 78, it signaled the end of an era where a misogynistic smut peddler could be viewed as a kind of antihero.
It’s hard to laud someone who built his empire by unabashedly treating women like pieces of meat, but as a First Amendment warrior, Flynt won important legal victories while sticking his thumb in the eye of the powers that be.
Over the decades, Flynt took on America’s morality police or anyone he felt to be hypocritical on matters of sex, engaging in what the Washington Post once referred to as “Dirt Bag Journalism.” This involved offering millions to anyone who could prove an extramarital affair with a high-ranking government official, such as in 1998, when he took down then-House speaker designate and staunch Clinton impeachment backer Bob Livingston. In 2017, Flynt offered $10 million for information leading to Donald Trump’s impeachment and removal from office.
Many know Flynt best from the Oscar-winning 1996 Milos Forman film “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” in which he was portrayed as a rakish rogue by Woody Harrelson. The movie went a long way toward softening Flynt’s image as a tawdry yet charismatic freedom fighter, while sanding off the more grotesque aspects of his personality.
To the FBI, he was a person of interest. His 322-page FBI file, obtained by VICE News through a Freedom of Information Act request, contains a wild litany of events involving the Hustler honcho—from John DeLorean's cocaine bust and an alleged plot to hire a mercenary to kill Hugh Hefner and Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione, to an alleged effort by Flynt to blow himself up in the Supreme Court, as well as threats to Sandra Day O’Connor and President Ronald Reagan.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7evg4/larry-flynt-fbi-file-hustler
Friday, May 14, 2021
Fully vaccinated? No face mask required, CDC guidance says
But don't toss out those masks just yet. Local state health officials still have the final say on whether or not to implement those guidelines.
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| Belinda Thielen | Racine | They wear their masks to protect the community and reserve respirators for health care workers. They wear them for all of us. |
Officials with the Center for Disease Control revised their recommendation around mask wearing Thursday saying that if you’ve been fully vaccinated, you are protected from COVID-19.
The announcement represents a shift from two weeks ago when CDC guidelines exempted people who had been fully vaccinated from not having to wear masks unless in the case of mass gatherings.
But don’t toss out those masks yet. The decision to implement the CDC recommendations would still need to be made at the local and county level.
The guidelines also contain exemptions for federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance that are in place.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the recommendation changed because the number of COVID-19 cases around the country have dropped over the past two weeks by one-third. She also pointed to increasing availability of vaccines and the loosening up of restrictions of who can get the vaccine.
“I would encourage counties and localities to look at how much vaccine they have, how many people have been vaccinated,” she said “Look at how many cases are in their area and to make those decisions with that information in mind.”
READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds could happen soon
“So the science demonstrates that if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected,” Walensky said.
Read more: https://racinecountyeye.com/cdc-face-mask-guidance/
Because of COVID-19, 16- and 17-year-olds don't need road tests to get driver's licenses. The DMV wants to make that permanent.
Last March when the COVID-19 pandemic caused Wisconsin to shut down, DMV administrators had a problem. How could they comply with COVID safety standards while avoiding a massive backlog of driving tests and license renewals?
Wisconsin's Department of Transportation responded by waiving the road test requirement starting May 11, 2020, for 16- and 17-year-olds to get their first probationary driver's license. Pending legislative approval, it would like to keep doing so.
Instead of passing a road test to get a license, the parents of 16- and 17-year-olds can sign a waiver, as long as the teenagers have had their instruction permit for a minimum of six months; have completed an approved driver training education course; and have completed 30 hours of supervised driving time with their parent or adult sponsor.
Thursday, May 13, 2021
COVID-19 pandemic was "preventable disaster," WHO-commissioned report says
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| A health worker gives a COVID-19 test to a woman in Oakland, California. Photo: Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group |
The COVID-19 pandemic was a "preventable disaster" that exposed weak links "at every point" of the preparedness process, according to a World Health Organization-commissioned report published Wednesday.
Why it matters: The report by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response criticized governments worldwide for being unprepared for the pandemic despite the prevalence of past "global health threats," such as Ebola, Zika, and SARS outbreaks.
The big picture: The report states that the world's response to the emergence of COVID-19 was "too slow" and "too meek," and that the WHO was "underpowered."
- "Global political leadership was absent," it adds.
- The report also says that February 2020 was a "lost month" when governments should have taken action to prevent the epidemic from developing into a pandemic.
- "COVID-19 is the 21st century’s Chernobyl moment—not because a disease outbreak is like a nuclear accident, but because it has shown so clearly the gravity of the threat to our health and well-being."
To end the ongoing pandemic, the panel recommends that...
- Richer countries provide "at least 1 billion" vaccine doses to poor and middle-income nations;
- The World Trade Organization and WHO get vaccine-producing countries "to agree to voluntary licensing and technology transfer for COVID-19 vaccines";
- Nations scale up the access of COVID-19 tests and therapeutics.
University president resigns after plagiarizing part of a speech by the former head of US Special Operations Command
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| USC President Bob Caslen at the commencement ceremony on Friday. |
(CNN)The University of South Carolina accepted the resignation Wednesday of President Bob Caslen, who admitted he plagiarized part of a speech by the former head of US Special Operations Command during a weekend commencement speech.
Wisconsin will start giving vaccines to 12- to 15-year-olds Thursday
COVID-19 vaccinations for 12- to 15-year-olds will begin Thursday in Wisconsin after the plan received a key approval.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday that adolescents ages 12 to 15 should get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
The state Department of Health Services immediately updated its order:
"The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announces that children 12-15 years old are now eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and vaccinations can begin starting Thursday, May 13. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine requires two doses for full protection and is the first and only vaccine available for this age group."
“This pandemic has been tough on everyone, but I know it has been especially hard for our kids,” said Gov. Tony Evers.
A Caledonia house on the edge of a crumbling cliff has sold after a monthslong saga
This cliffhanger has a happy ending.
A Caledonia house on the verge of falling off a crumbling bluff into Lake Michigan has sold after months on the market.
The new owner will likely demolish the house and reinforce the eroded cliff before building something new on the 11 acres of lakefront property.
The sale, in late April, hasn't stopped people on social media from reacting with surprise to the dramatic drone photos included with the listing. Posts about the home from the account "Zillow Gone Wild" have garnered attention in recent days.
"Let me just step ou- OHMYGOD," one commenter joked on Instagram.
The monthslong saga to sell the house at 7009 Novak Road was first reported by the Racine Journal Times.
The powerful winter storm in January 2020 that damaged South Shore Yacht Club also erased 30 to 50 feet of land from the owners' backyard and put the house in jeopardy, said real estate agent Jo Ann Vetter.
Police: man shot teen at house party
A man accused of fatally shooting a 17-year-old at a house party at a residence on the 3000 block of Clairmont Street Friday told police he thought the victim was reaching for a weapon.
However, witnesses told police Joshua Daniel Jr., 18, shot the as-yet-unidentified victim without provocation, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday afternoon in Racine County circuit court.
Nine teenagers were present in the room where the shooting took place, and none reported seeing the victim – identified so far publicly only by the initials DMB – with a gun, authorities said.
Daniel was arrested a short time later at an address in the 1600-block of 6th Street after he ran from police down an alley.
Police first responded to the Clairmont address Friday evening for a report of gunshots and found the victim dying.
Three women present told police they had brought Daniels to the residence, and “as soon as they walked in the door, Daniels pulled a gun and shot DMB,” the complaint reads.
As police were speaking with the women, Daniel continued to text them, authorities said. A resident at the address where Daniel was arrested told police he’d picked Daniel up. When police searched the car used to transport Daniel, they found a half-empty magazine for a .38-caliber pistol. Multiple .38-caliber casings were found at the scene of the shooting, according to police.
Read more: https://racinecountyeye.com/police-man-shot-teen-at-house-party/