Coronavirus Tidbits #208 8/28/22
Announcements:
First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting.
Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that.
New post:
This was a fun post and interview:
Medieval Friars Were Riddled With Parasites, Say Archaeologists
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/979596
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Election volunteer opportunities:
NOPE Neighbors: https://www.nopeneighbors.org/volunteer
If you like calling and talking to voters, Power the Vote is assembling weekly volunteer opportunities. These are remote opportunities that you can do from home! Click on this link to find out more: https://docs.google.com/
News
Great news:
Some journal publishers had long fought this open access requirement, fearing it would harm their subscription business model... pic.twitter.com/fwCLVlu7qf
— ScienceInsider (@ScienceInsider) August 25, 2022
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WHO: COVID deaths for 2022 pass 1 million worldwide
At a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing today, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said COVID-19 deaths for 2022 alone passed 1 million this week, as he pressed countries to do more to vaccinate all healthcare workers, older people, and others at highest risk. Since the pandemic began in early 2020, 6,472,848 deaths have been reported, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard.
Tedros said countries in Africa with the lowest rates are making progress with vaccine coverage, and many countries are making good strides in targeting high-priority groups. He said, however, that one third of the world is still unvaccinated, including two thirds of health workers and three quarters of older adults in low-income countries...
Germany tightened its COVID measures ahead of fall and winter, including wearing N95 respirators for long-distance travel by plane, train, or bus, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Aug 25 Tedros speech
Johns Hopkins online dashboard
Aug 25 AP story
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/08/covid-19-scan-aug-25-2022
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Nirmatrelvir [Paxlovid] Use and Severe Covid-19 Outcomes during the Omicron Surge (nejm)
A total of 109,254 patients met the eligibility criteria, of whom 3902 (4%) received nirmatrelvir during the study period. Among patients 65 years of age or older, the rate of hospitalization due to Covid-19 was 14.7 cases per 100,000 person-days among treated patients as compared with 58.9 cases per 100,000 person-days among untreated patients.
No evidence of benefit was found in younger adults.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2204919?utm_source=
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Study: Incubation times of SARS-CoV-2 variants fell over time
As the dominant circulating strain of SARS-CoV-2 evolved from Alpha to Omicron, the incubation period from infection to symptoms or first positive COVID-19 test result gradually decreased, from 5 to 3.4 days, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published today in JAMA Network Open.
The incubation period is the time from exposure to a pathogen like a virus to the time of first symptoms of the disease that the pathogen causes.
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New type 2 diabetes diagnoses in youth climbed 77% amid COVID
New diagnoses of type 2 diabetes in US youth rose 77% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic over the previous 2 years, according to a new multicenter study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
A team led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers retrospectively reviewed the records of 3,113 COVID-19 patients 8 to 21 years at 24 US hospitals who had a new type 2 diabetes diagnosis and a body-mass index (BMI) in the 85th percentile (overweight or obese) from March 2018 to February 2021.
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Could tiny blood clots cause long COVID’s puzzling symptoms?
Scientists debate evidence for a micro-clot hypothesis that has some people pursuing potentially risky treatments.
Nature Cassandra Willyard 24 August 2022
Researchers are baffled by long COVID: hundreds of studies have tried to unpick its mechanism, without much success. Now some scientists, and an increasing number of people with the condition, have been lining up behind the as-yet-unproven hypothesis that tiny, persistent clots might be constricting blood flow to vital organs, resulting in the bizarre constellation of symptoms that people experience.
Proponents of the idea (#teamclots, as they sometimes refer to themselves on Twitter) include Etheresia Pretorius, a physiologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and Douglas Kell, a systems biologist at the University of Liverpool, UK, who led the first team to visualize micro-clots in the blood of people with long COVID. They say that the evidence implicating micro-clots is undeniable, and they want trials of the kinds of anticoagulant treatment that Hawthorne is considering. Pretorius penned the Guardian article that caught Hawthorne’s attention.
But many haematologists and COVID-19 researchers worry that enthusiasm for the clot hypothesis has outpaced the data. They want to see larger studies and stronger causal evidence. And they are concerned about people seeking out unproven, potentially risky treatments.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02286-7
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Regular physical activity tied to lower risk of COVID, poor outcomes
At least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate physical activity—or 75 minutes (1.2 hours) of vigorous exercise—weekly was linked to a lower risk of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, severe illness, and death during periods dominated by the Beta and Delta variants, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published yesterday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
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Up to 4 million Americans out of work with long COVID
NEW REPORT: using updated data, I find that 2-4m Americans are not working due to #longcovid. This is costing us ~$170 billion annually in lost wages alone. A thread (1/) https://t.co/qNbmuKq3gm
— Katie Bach (@kathrynsbach) August 24, 2022
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Monkeypox:
Trials for monkeypox antiviral, fractional vaccine dosing launch
The NIAID will start a clinical trial of tecovirimat in September in collaboration with the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Plans are to enroll more than 500 patients.
The agency is also collaborating with the National Institute for Biomedical Research to initiate a clinical trial of tecovirimat in adults and children with monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This trial was planned before the current outbreak, the NIAID said.
In the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced a separate clinical trial of tecovirimat, called PLATINUM (for placebo-controlled randomized trial of tecovirimat in non-hospitalised monkeypox patients).
Study shows Tpoxx well tolerated
In related news, today JAMA published a research letter on the compassionate use of tecovirimat in 25 monkeypox-confirmed patients seen at University of California-Davis this summer.
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released demographic information on patients who have received Tpoxx in the United States. The median age of patients is 37 years, 98.9% are men, and Whites (40%) are the largest ethnic group to have received it.
Overall, however, Blacks and Hispanics make up about 65% of US monkeypox cases. The CDC also published new data from a behavioral survey to stop the spread of the virus. It shows that 48% of men who have sex with men say they are reducing their number of sexual partners, 50% are reducing the number of one-time sexual encounters, and 49% are reducing sex with partners met at sex clubs or on dating apps. Results were based on an online survey.
All participants were men, with a median age of 40.7 years. Nine had HIV, 1 had a smallpox vaccine more than 25 years earlier, and 4 had received one dose of Jynneos after symptom onset.
Oral tecovirimat was well tolerated by all patients with monkeypox infection, with minimal side effects, the authors said. Ten patients had complete resolution of lesions by day 7 of therapy, while 23 (92%) had resolution of lesions and pain by day 21.
"No control group was included, limiting conclusions of antiviral efficacy pertaining to duration of symptoms or severity," the authors cautioned,
In total, the nation has 15,433 monkeypox cases, the most of any country in the world.
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Polio:
Spate of polio outbreaks worldwide puts scientists on alert
Cases of paralysis in the United States and Israel suggest vaccine-derived poliovirus has infected many people.
Nature Heidi Ledford 22 August 2022
The discovery of poliovirus in New York state, London and Jerusalem this year has taken many by surprise — but public-health researchers fighting to eradicate the disease say it was only a matter of time.
“No country in the world is immune to the effects of polio,” says Zulfiqar Bhutta, a global-health researcher at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. “It’s all interconnected.”
The virus found in these regions is derived from an oral polio vaccine used in some countries. So far, only two cases of polio-related paralysis have been reported, in Jerusalem in February and New York in June1; the New York infection was the first such US case in nearly a decade. But wastewater samples in all three areas suggest that the virus is circulating more widely.
Polio causes irreversible paralysis in less than one in 200 of the susceptible people it infects, so the cases of paralysis suggest that many other people there have been infected, says Walter Orenstein, who studies infectious diseases at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. “Cases like that are just the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “It’s very concerning.”
Nature talked to researchers about the scale of the outbreak, and what can be done to stop it.
Why are these outbreaks happening?
Wild poliovirus circulates in only two countries — Afghanistan and Pakistan — where this year nine cases had been reported by June.
But vaccine-derived poliovirus appears periodically elsewhere, particularly in Africa and Asia. These cases come from a widely used oral vaccine that contains live, weakened virus that sometimes mutates to a dangerous form capable of infecting the nervous system.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02233-6
Diagnostics:
still an incredible, negligent last of testing.
Drugs and Vaccines:
Covid:
Moderna files for emergency use of BA.4/BA.5 Omicron booster
Moderna yesterday announced that it has submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use of its bivalent (two-strain) COVID booster vaccine that targets the BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariants, following a similar move this week from Pfizer and BioNTech.
The company said a phase 2/3 trial of the BA.4/BA.5 targeted booster is already under way and that it has rapidly scaled up manufacturing to be ready, if authorized, to deliver doses in September.
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Life-saving COVID-19 treatments didn't make it to US patients, study finds
Paxlovid and Molnupiravir, two leading COVID-19 antiviral medications, are life-saving drugs that have been shown to reduce deaths, in Paxlovid's case, by a factor of 10 in the most severe cases.
Distribution was inequitable. Researchers also report significant socioeconomic and gender disparities in who received treatment, with roughly 16% of those surveyed who received treatment for their infections reporting that they earn more than $100,000, compared to just 7% of those who reported earning $25,000 or less, the data shows. Adults over 65—considered high risk for severe COVID-19 illness—had higher treatment rates than other age groups at roughly 20%, which the authors note is still low.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08-life-saving-covid-treatments-didnt-patients.html?
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Just published @NEJM
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) August 24, 2022
A marked reduction of death (~80%) and hospitalization (~70%) for Paxlovid in people age 65+ during the Omicron wave in Israel, not seen in the 40-64 year age grouphttps://t.co/1fmfcbI6ux pic.twitter.com/ghEatkxtFc
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Monkeypox:
Can a smallpox drug treat monkeypox? Here’s what scientists know
Tecovirimat, a little-known antiviral, shows promise against monkeypox. But human data and supplies of the drug are limited.
Nature Max Kozlov 25 August 2022
As supplies of vaccines against monkeypox remain constrained and the number of people contracting the disease continues to mount, physicians and researchers are looking to the drug tecovirimat for relief. In animals infected with monkeypox, the antiviral has been shown to lower the amount of virus in their bodies and reduce the number of fluid-filled ‘pox’ lesions forming on their skin.
Efficacy data in humans, however, are much more limited, making some researchers and regulatory agencies hesitant about authorizing tecovirimat’s widespread use. But people with monkeypox — in particular those with severe disease, which can cause extreme pain, scarring and, in rare cases, death — are pleading for access to the drug.
Clinical trials of the drug are starting up now, but results are still months away. Nature spoke to infectious-disease specialists to understand how tecovirimat works, and what data are still needed to assess whether it is effective against monkeypox in humans.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02245-2
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#TPOXX overall well tolerated. Common adv effects- fatigue in 7 patients (28%), headache in 5 (20%), nausea in 4 (16%), itching in 2 (8%), and diarrhea in 2 (8%). No discontinuation due to adverse effects. Mean duration of patients presenting was around 12 days
— Raghav Tirupathi, MD, FACP, FRCP, FIDSA (@drraghutg) August 23, 2022
Devices:
Simple rubber band fix improves surgical mask seal to N95 levels, study shows
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and when maximum protection is needed against air-born infections, the N95 respirator has remained the gold standard of personal protective equipment. However, it is also much more difficult to produce and obtain than a standard surgical mask.
Photographs of the simple modification demonstrating an individual properly donning the modified mask. (A) Modified mask components consist of a standard ASTM Level 1 surgical mask and two 8” rubber bands. (B) While wearing an ASTM Level 1 surgical mask which has been adjusted to fit along the bridge of the nose, apply one 8” rubber band along the crown of the head and place the front of the rubber band under the nose. (C) Take another 8” rubber band and apply it perpendicularly under the first rubber band so that two loops are formed above and below the first rubber band. (D) Shift the first rubber band so that it is over the bridge of the nose and fold the second rubber band in half on itself along the first rubber band on the horizontal axis. € Place the second rubber band along the cheeks and under the chin. Adjust both rubber bands as needed to achieve a full seal as shown in this anterior view of the final construct. (F) Lateral view of the final construct.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0272834
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How a $100 box is changing the way people protect themselves against COVID #corsirosenthalbox #COVIDisAirborne #CovidIsNotOver https://t.co/SgiQ4kOxLI via @medical_xpress
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) August 27, 2022
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https://twitter.com/TheAngryEpi/status/1562460043303276544?s=20&t=hnc29ZfYvuUsn1fqx0BpaQ
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.. I asked him if he wanted to go ahead of me as it was visible how ill he was, but he declined. I then quietly asked if he wanted one of my extra masks because covid is still in the air and dangerous. He smiled, pulled out a mask from his pocket..
— Tammy (@tamalama67) August 23, 2022
I know it's easy to assume everyone who doesn't wear masks are people who are ignorant and/or cruel, but there are definitely some who are as scared of being different, or ridiculed, as they are of losing their health. Wise choices have been stigmatized.
— Tammy (@tamalama67) August 23, 2022
Epidemiology/Infection control:
Covid:
Important info for the Back-to-School crowd:
Presenting v4.0 aka the "I can't believe we're still doing this in August 2022" version.
— Amanda Hu (@amandalhu) August 22, 2022
Additions: new concerns addressed, pdf with hotspot links to references. Interactive pdf link here: https://t.co/Rdup91LOMO https://t.co/PIUEDgkcxN pic.twitter.com/tFaLkPB6Qn
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Template letter for school/childcare settings asking that they use #HEPA. Please send it to your child's school/setting! And encourage others to do the same. #CovidIsNotOver #COVIDisAirborne #LongCovidKids https://t.co/V7NRr9e5uq
— Anne Marie (@annesmithmcc) August 15, 2022
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Life expectancy fell amid COVID, especially for Hispanic and Black males
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy in the United States fell by 4.5 and 3.6 years for Hispanic and Black males, respectively, while declining 1.5 years for their White counterparts, finds a study published yesterday in PNAS.
Aug 23 PNAS study
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/08/news-scan-aug-24-2022
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4) There’s one more positive aspect of a shorter incubation period - less time for infected individuals to unknowingly transmit the virus.
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) August 23, 2022
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Polio:
"If you really want to scare yourself, look in wastewater in other counties" for polio virus, said @DrPaulOffit. "I think there's a much bigger iceberg there. I think this virus is circulating."
— Liz Szabo (@LizSzabo) August 25, 2022
Tips, general reading for public:
Ventilate.
Mask.
Vax.
Politics:
Covid:
The CDC loosening its guidelines to supposedly "meet people where they are" is a complete abdication of their responsibility to public health and equity. https://t.co/3oFjRRFAdt
— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran) August 22, 2022
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Our new paper led by @jljcolorado :
— Trisha Greenhalgh (@trishgreenhalgh) August 22, 2022
What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic?https://t.co/DfOvIlKnrm
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https://twitter.com/amandalhu/status/1561517055588777984/photo/1
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I've written a fair bit about the COVID disinformation coming from the highest levels of the US federal government, but the craven cynicism of the tactics uncovered in the select subcommittee report are shocking even to me. https://t.co/P3cBUdNsRB
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) August 25, 2022
Or weaponizing the Department of Justice to harass and "shut up" (their words, not mine) the leaders of the US pandemic response. pic.twitter.com/traCiY81kG
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) August 25, 2022
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Denialism in UK:
"Routine Covid tests in English hospitals are to be scrapped next week despite a near doubling in UK deaths from the virus this summer compared with the same period last year."https://t.co/U6yDZqRyIJ
— Kit Yates (@Kit_Yates_Maths) August 25, 2022
Student loans:
https://twitter.com/schwarz/status/1562521561118429187?s=20&t=2-zb5SthryZy8aHgjYKauQ
this is a screenshot from "Vietnam and Other American Fantasies" by H. Bruce Franklin. Freeman was quoted in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle on October 30, 1970, p. 13. You can find it via the Chronicle archives.
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Media please do your homework. Esp Sunday shows. If you’re gonna “both sides” Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan, then you must ask guests about PPP loans (did you or anyone in your family get one? was it forgiven?); Farmers’ bailout, auto bailout did you oppose them?
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@SIfill_) August 25, 2022
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Biden isn’t just forgiving a set amount of debt. He is also enacting a new policy that ends excess interest on student loans—as long as a borrower pays their minimum monthly payment (now capped at only 5% of their income), their balance will no longer increase.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) August 24, 2022
This is huge.
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Congressman Vern Buchanan had over $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven.https://t.co/bXpwJlWRm4
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 25, 2022
Congressman Kevin Hern had over $1 million in PPP loans forgiven. https://t.co/XsBaqxNZN4
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 25, 2022
There's a whole series of tweets from the White House rebutting these ppl:
incl: Congressman Mike Kelly had $987,237 in PPP loans forgiven.
Congressman Matt Gaetz had $482,321 in PPP loans forgiven.
Dr. Oz also was forgiven of his PPP loan to the tune of $365,745
Forgiven PPP loans
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) August 25, 2022
Marjorie Taylor Greene: $183,504
Boebert: $233,305
Catholic Church: $3.5 billion
Joel Osteen: $4.4 million
Tom Brady: $960,855
GOP should slink away in shame for attacking Biden for forgiving $10,000 of student debt
But they won’t cuz they have no shame
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Donald Trump has declared bankruptcy six times. https://t.co/dnSzhtWIdm
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) August 24, 2022
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Trump saves millions in property taxes by owning a dozen goats & pretending Bedminster is a farm, but GOP wants you to believe relieving student debt is a handout. @GOP
— NoelCaslerComedy (@caslernoel) August 24, 2022
[or the benefits of burying Ivana there]
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So it’s “socialism” when you give $10,000 to working people to forgive student loans but it’s “economic relief” when you give $1,200,000,000,000 to the super rich to forgive their predatory loans?
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) August 24, 2022
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Espionage/TFG
With ample evidence, this is now an espionage investigation of a former President of the United States. Mindblowing.
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) August 26, 2022
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https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1562207363620392960?s=20&t=2-zb5SthryZy8aHgjYKauQ
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https://twitter.com/duty2warn/status/1561884725681192960?s=20&t=hnc29ZfYvuUsn1fqx0BpaQ
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Allow me to address the elephant in the room: We live in the digital age. Are we really assuming that the Trump/Kushner gang hasn’t already digitized all the classified and top secret documents they had hoarded in boxes at Mar-a-Lago?
— Andrea Junker (@Strandjunker) August 20, 2022
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This is an expert knifing: they can say it was just the writer’s opinion, but of course if they truly opposed this view they would never have published it.https://t.co/cgGHZAqUkn
— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) August 22, 2022
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Elections:
NBC news poll finds “threats to democracy” is now voters’ top issue, above “cost of living” and “jobs and the economy.”
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) August 21, 2022
Abortion, which has been energizing base Democrats, not ranked as a top issue here. Neither is Crime, which Republicans have tried to make a top issue. pic.twitter.com/UvfTFacxrs
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Women are registering to vote in Pennsylvania in numbers far exceeding men since the Supreme Court overturned Roe.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 25, 2022
Of the women who've registered since the decision, there are four Democrats for every Republican. https://t.co/pAXW7u3gbv
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Missouri League of Women Voters says new state law would criminalize the work they do via @meganrabundis:https://t.co/LAIhMoIV6e
— KSHB 41 News (@KSHB41) August 23, 2022
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Books:
NPS, like many districts, is also making teachers review their classroom libraries and remove any titles that don’t have 2 research articles demonstrating their value. Teachers were given virtually no time to accomplish this so students returned to classes with empty bookshelves.
— Wendy Suares (@wsuares) August 23, 2022
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I’m told it was sharing this resource that sparked recent action against the Norman High English teacher: Brooklyn Public Library is offering any American teen unlimited digital + audio access to banned + challenged books. Called Books UnBanned. @okcfox https://t.co/9neAjma8jm
— Wendy Suares (@wsuares) August 23, 2022
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Patmos Library in Michigan may close over #LGBTQ book ban debate https://t.co/dgL1CR1mZB
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) August 27, 2022
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Well played, local book store, well played pic.twitter.com/SBXqadHmzQ
— Wm. Brett Hill (@magisternihil) August 24, 2022
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Busing migrants to NYC fr Texas:
A number of the arrivals today needed medical attention, several were sent to the hospital—including a girl 3 months old.
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) August 24, 2022
Most arrived with no more possessions than what they put in a small plastic bag. 2/
It’s clear the migrants did not give their consent in any real way to be sent here. As many as 40% have family or close relations in other parts of the country who could provide them accommodation, but the migrants were not given the option of going to those places. 3/
Not only is the State of Texas not coordinating with NYC, they have made [bus company employees] sign NDAs to ensure we get no advance warning of bus arrivals. 4/
Regardless of these obstacles, NYC is showing up strong to receive the arriving migrants. This morning there were scores of City staff and volunteers running a receiving operation at the bus terminal. Providing medical care, essential supplies, coordination social services. 5/....
has proven to be cynical and heartless in his treatment of the asylum seekers. I am proud that NYC is responding with compassion, as we always have, to people seeking refuge here. This is the true America way. 8/
NEW: Trump’s team told ICE officials to wipe all data from their phones before leaving their jobs. The MAGAs who separated kids from their parents and locked them in cages — scrubbed their official emails & texts. Every Federal agency that worked for Trump is corrupt to the core.
— Dash Dobrofsky (@DashDobrofsky) August 24, 2022
It turns out that the Kochs, Leo, and Leo’s “anonymous donor” wanted a lot more than a name change - they sought to influence faculty hiring and get the university to pump money into right-wing projects. It doesn’t end there.https://t.co/mcRYa9VvFn
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) August 24, 2022
These are the tactics creepy billionaires use to secretly manipulate the public square and shape American life. Enough is enough.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) August 24, 2022
Oh my. Are we finally mentioning Barre Seid, the dark money backer of the Republicans who just dumped $1.6 billion into the party of seditious conspiracy?
— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) August 22, 2022
And did Seid dodge taxes from the sale of a company to do it? https://t.co/1lwMMOIfO1
Recall that just a few big checks to the tune of millions of $$ in anonymous money propped up the Supreme Court nominations of Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. Who wrote those checks? What business do they have before SCOTUS?
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SheldonforRI) August 21, 2022
We already have an idea of how this dark money will be weaponized. Leo’s dark-money web funds voter suppression and disinformation, bogus arguments about “critical race theory,” and attacks on President Biden’s nominees. Expect to see a whole lot more of that now.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) August 24, 2022
Wow. CNN’s Brian Stelter closed his show by saying “We must make sure we don’t give platforms to those who are lying to our faces.” Then, he was fired — and the very next hour Jake Tapper let Dan Crenshaw lie to his face with no fact-checks or pushback. Journalism at CNN is dead.
— Dash Dobrofsky (@DashDobrofsky) August 21, 2022
What do Medscape, Forbes, the New Yorker, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have in common? Twitter is censoring their #COVID research.. My latest.https://t.co/8GyVkeNnj3
— Kim Crawley (@kim_crawley) August 21, 2022
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) August 22, 2022
Police in Sacramento detain a woman for drawing a rainbow on a sidewalk with chalk pic.twitter.com/XFjtRBlZa4
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) August 20, 2022
I'm 68 years old.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) August 22, 2022
I've seen this same type of racism and police abuse my entire life.
The only solution is for there to be real consequences for the officers who do this and that means fighting the police unions who protect cops who should not be cops.pic.twitter.com/CCABcJlE4J
Riley Williams, accused of stealing Pelosi's laptop, was given permission to leave house arrest to attend a Renaissance fair.
— Eliza Orlins (@elizaorlins) August 22, 2022
As a public defender, I represented a teenager who wasn't given permission to leave jail to go to his dad's funeral.
Two. Systems. Of. Justice.
Woman accused of stealing Pelosi's laptop gets OK to attend Renaissance Fair https://t.co/tvdTjrO2UN pic.twitter.com/p1m4qRifHy
— New York Post (@nypost) August 21, 2022
Hobby Lobby:
Hobby Lobby took out a full page ad saying that only Christians should be involved in running the country. If you’re not Christian, and you’re shopping at Hobby Lobby, you’re paying for your own persecution. And if you are Christian and are shopping there you should know. pic.twitter.com/z4pHVzpEo9
— #RandyResistING Authoritarianism (@RandyResist) August 20, 2022
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Abortion:
Jewish congregations mount legal challenges to state abortion bans https://t.co/FFlgHsvNci
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) August 27, 2022
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https://twitter.com/duty2warn/status/1562642676373020672?s=20&t=hnc29ZfYvuUsn1fqx0BpaQ
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Antisemitism:
CNN said it multiple times — but failed to show any examples of Antisemitism on the left. It’s like blaming the Weimar Republic and Hitler for the rising Anti-Semitism in 1930s Germany. Absolutely horrible to “both sides” this issue. Disgusting.
— Dash Dobrofsky (@DashDobrofsky) August 22, 2022
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LGBTQ:
https://twitter.com/PolarPrem/status/1561392046811881473?s=20&t=2-zb5SthryZy8aHgjYKauQ
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Remember, 22 states are suing the Biden Administration so they can deny free lunches to LGBTQ children & still receive federal funding. It’s almost as if the cruelty is the point.
— Daniel T. Ho (@RealDanHo) August 22, 2022
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Oklahoma GOP candidate Scott Esk said it is “totally just” to kill gay people.
— Duty To Warn 🔉 (@duty2warn) August 22, 2022
“What I will tell you right now is that that was done in the Old Testament under a law that came directly from God.”
Our theocratic Federalist Society Supreme Court may not be far behind.
Climate Change/Ecology:
The massive heat wave & drought China is experiencing may end up being the worst in recorded history. But turn on the corp news & it’s barely mentioned. George Monbiot calls it The Great Silence. It’s a failure of communication that can’t be rivaled by anything in human history. https://t.co/px9Qe2r74A
— Adam McKay (@GhostPanther) August 24, 2022
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In 1995, 14 wolves were released into the wild in Yellowstone National Park. Scientists at the time did not suspect that this would radically change the entire ecosystem of the park. 1/n pic.twitter.com/HBOeZ4Hut5
— Dr. Clayton Forrester (@DrClaytonForre1) August 22, 2022
remarkable story cont at https://t.co/HzOGSjSfgi
Leana Wen:
How dangerous from Monica Gandhi & Leana Wen. Masking delays speech?!? It's like watching the "vaccines cause autism" lie developing in real time. So @MonicaGandhi9 how far does "parental choice" go as we track a possibly emerging polio outbreak? pic.twitter.com/zPEiFBuLH2
— Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH (@BrianCCastrucci) August 24, 2022
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Peds Academy pushes back at Leana attributing her child's slow speech development to masks:
Regardless of mask use, some children will take longer to reach language milestones – and some may need help meeting them. Speech and language delays are common, but highly treatable. If you have concerns, talk with your pediatrician.
— American Academy of Pediatrics (@AmerAcadPeds) August 26, 2022
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Arizona:
Whiplash: Arizona Free and Fair Elections Act won’t be on the ballot after last-minute math changes https://t.co/UQaSEUxXsU
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) August 27, 2022
California:
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) turned down a bill [really, vetoed] that would have allowed supervised drug injection sites in three large cities, though San Francisco may proceed with the plan anyhow. (Politico) [Clearly signaling political/presidential aspirations]
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Colorado:
Sen. Kevin Priola, a Colorado Republican state lawmaker, is becoming a Democrat. "I cannot continue to be part of a political party that is okay with a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election," he wrote. @CPRNews https://t.co/457igU967e
— NPR (@NPR) August 22, 2022
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Florida:
"Major medical organizations such as the American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association have endorsed gender-affirming care as standard and accepted medical treatment for years." https://t.co/5f5ajaDfC3
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) August 22, 2022
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You know what it cost Florida taxpayers to find 17 cases of voter fraud (out of 11 million votes cast)? $3.9 million = $195,000 each.
— Mark Elliott (@markmobility) August 22, 2022
And @GovRonDeSantis is a serious candidate for higher office? GMFB
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BREAKING: Twitter has SUSPENDED the account of MAGA candidate for Florida state senate, Luis Miguel who called for violence against the FBI. Good riddance.
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) August 19, 2022
Georgia:
Herschel Walker on the federal climate change bill: “They continue to try to fool you that they are helping you out. But they’re not. Because a lot of money it’s going to trees. Don’t we have enough trees around here?” #gapol #gasen
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) August 22, 2022
https://t.co/1HpulYTJl4
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Minnesota:
.@drscottjensen, the @MNGOP nominee for governor, compared COVID mask mandates to Kristallnacht and Nazi book-burning at an April event. - https://t.co/syoTIKDuqR pic.twitter.com/wp8cHpM8vO
— TC Jewfolk (@TCJewfolk) August 22, 2022
Missouri:
"A Missouri school district has decided to reinstate corporal punishment in its classrooms, allowing students to be punished with a paddle under a new policy."https://t.co/b5qfHA6y8t
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) August 25, 2022
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North Carolina:
In a new book promoting a likely run for Governor in 2024, NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robison says he would ban history and science classes in elementary school, @WRAL reports #ncpol #ncga
— Will Doran (@will_doran) August 22, 2022
(The Governor has very little power over education policy, FWIW) https://t.co/drsRuRisaE
Oklahoma:
NEW: A Republican candidate in Oklahoma said he wants gay people to be stoned to death. He told reporters his position “simply makes me a Christian.” https://t.co/Us19cS8p4O
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) August 22, 2022
Oregon
This is the kind of coverage we need of Betsy Johnson. Not some mealy-mouthed repeat of her campaign slogans. She’s an extreme-right candidate running as an independent. Support @TinaKotek. Thank you for an unvarnished look @7im. https://t.co/ki1XuGgdFS
— Amie Wexler (@am_wex) August 22, 2022
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Pennsylvania:
Young Harry Truman working his family's crudités farm in Missouri. pic.twitter.com/8U0Nt27EJa
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) August 18, 2022
Feel good du jour:
Friends, you’ll never know how your messages have eased my heart. Maggie passed peacefully at home, surrounded by love. I know you’re grieving with me, but Maggie would never allow us to remain sad. I’ll add an option below if you’d like to honor her.
— 🐾Maggie🐾🌈😇 (@Maggarooo) August 22, 2022
Love,
Maggie’s Photographer pic.twitter.com/iLgWhEE33s
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https://twitter.com/nehakprasad9/status/1561844792857853953?s=20&t=hnc29ZfYvuUsn1fqx0BpaQ
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A village in India Rescue Elephant Using Excavator…. And It Wave Back to Thanks pic.twitter.com/B5Wc1LCsq4
— Gabriele Corno (@Gabriele_Corno) August 25, 2022
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Momma Sea Otter Making Sure Her Puppy is Comfy pic.twitter.com/wFKHG5fpjQ
— Gabriele Corno (@Gabriele_Corno) August 25, 2022
Comic relief:
The most passionate audience of all pic.twitter.com/uc87J31SUq
— Gabriele Corno (@Gabriele_Corno) August 20, 2022
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Seal breaks into New Zealand home, traumatises cat and hangs out on couch https://t.co/cHqibP8eek
— Judy Stone (@DrJudyStone) August 23, 2022
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https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1562535440304918528?s=20&t=hnc29ZfYvuUsn1fqx0BpaQ
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I’ve never seen a cat with floppy ears.. pic.twitter.com/bLu8lcS45y
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) August 25, 2022
Perspective/Poem
“Your home is not where you were born. Home is where all your escape attempts cease. "
— Francisco Ribeiro (@fraveris) August 21, 2022
(Nagib Mahfuz) pic.twitter.com/lrT1TDDT7X
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He became a lightning rod during Covid. But I first started covering Fauci closely during Ebola. And two things stood out. 1. He treated patients himself. 2. He made it point to try and de-stigmatize the patient. His hug of Nina Pham was an indelible image of that scary moment. pic.twitter.com/R958L5dcYz
— Sam Stein (@samstein) August 22, 2022
Bits of beauty:
