Month: February 2021

Categories
Health

Historic winter storm delays Covid vaccine shipments throughout the U.S.

Historic winter storm delays Covid vaccine shipments across the U.S.

Snow plow carts clear a street in New York, United States on Thursday, December 17, 2020.

Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Deliveries of Covid-19 vaccine doses were delayed in several states this week due to historic winter storms across the country, state and federal officials said.

Almost all of the cans that were supposed to arrive in New York state this past weekend have been delayed, Governor Andrew Cuomo said late Thursday.

“Any dose that should have been shipped on Monday was withheld and limited numbers of Pfizer vaccines left shipping facilities on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Cuomo said, adding that the state is working with vendors to “increase the number reduce the deadlines that are required. ” be moved. “

It’s not just New York. Samantha Bequer, a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said more than 200,000 cans expected this week had not arrived.

“The state is still expecting full vaccine allocation by week 10,” Bequer said in a statement. “Yesterday, the state was notified that federal deliveries of Moderna vaccines are still being delayed due to severe weather. At this point in time, the state has not been given a new timetable for when expected delayed deliveries will occur.”

Bequer said the state is working with vendors advising them to postpone, but not cancel, vaccine appointments hit by the setbacks.

In Colorado, state officials said earlier this week that a shipment of more than 130,000 cans was delayed due to the storm. They said the storm hit a vaccine distribution center in Tennessee, which has pushed back shipments to several states.

The North Carolina Department of Health said Thursday it had been informed by the federal government of ongoing delays in some deliveries and deliveries this week due to severe weather.

The Virginia Department of Health said Thursday that the expected delivery of more than 106,000 shots will likely be delayed “due to distribution channels in the Midwest and elsewhere that are currently closed”.

Andy Slavitt, the White House’s senior advisor on Covid Response, confirmed Friday that there is now about 6 million doses backlog affecting all 50 states. “Many states” were able to make up for the missed deliveries with existing inventory, he said at a Covid-19 briefing in the White House.

Health officials in California, Louisiana, and Georgia have also confirmed delays in their shipments.

The Georgian Ministry of Health announced earlier this week that Pfizer and Moderna were holding shipments due to the weather, which “severely affected shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to Georgia”.

White House officials have recognized the setbacks. The chief physician Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Thursday that the storm is creating a significant problem for vaccine distribution.

“Well, obviously it’s a problem. It slowed down and stalled in some places,” Fauci told MSNBC. “We just have to make up for it as soon as the weather subsides a bit, the ice melts and we can get the trucks and the people out.”

Slavitt told CNN Thursday evening that officials “will have to work double next week, provided the weather improves”. However, he added that “there has not been a single vaccine that is spoiled”.

“We will keep these vaccines safe and sound, then give them to people and catch up as soon as the weather allows,” he said.

Categories
Politics

Justice Dept. Is Stated to Be Inspecting Stone’s Potential Ties to Capitol Rioters

Justice Dept. Is Said to Be Examining Stone’s Possible Ties to Capitol Rioters

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is investigating communications between right-wing extremists who violated the Capitol and Roger J. Stone Jr., a close associate of former President Donald J. Trump, to see if Mr. Stone played a role in the extremists’ plans To disrupt the confirmation of President Biden’s election victory, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Should investigators find any news that Mr. Stone knew about or was participating in these plans, they would have a factual basis to launch a full criminal investigation into him, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss continued investigation. While this is far from certain, prosecutors at the U.S. law firm in Washington will likely if they find this connection.

Mr. Stone, a self-described fixer for Mr. Trump, escaped a 40-month sentence when the former president commuted his sentence in July and pardoned him in late December. Mr Stone had been convicted of seven offenses, including obstructing a House of Representatives investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 election, lie to Congress and manipulate witnesses. However, this pardon does not protect Mr. Stone from future law enforcement actions.

Justice Department officials have been debating for weeks whether to open a full investigation into Mr. Stone, the person said. While Mr. Stone was speaking at an arson rally the day before the attack, right-wing extremists serving as his bodyguards and standing outside the Capitol, these actions are not crimes themselves.

But the FBI also has videos and other information suggesting that in the days leading up to and including the day of the attack, Mr. Stone was linked to men who eventually stormed the building and broke the law, those with the investigation said familiar person. This has given investigators a window in which to examine communications to see if Mr Stone knew of any plans to break through the complex.

The Washington Post previously reported that the Justice Department was investigating Mr Stone’s possible links with right-wing extremists at the Capitol.

The New York Times has identified at least six members of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing extremist group formed by former military and law enforcement officials who guarded Mr. Stone and were later seen in the Capitol after a pro-Trump mob violently builds the building. Prosecutors have accused two of these men of plotting to attack Congress.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. Mr. Stone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement posted online this month, Mr. Stone denied any role in the “lawless attack” and said that members of the Oath Guards “should be prosecuted” if there is evidence that they have broken the law. He added that he “saw no evidence of any illegal activity by members of the group”.

A day after the Capitol attack, Michael Sherwin, the US attorney in Washington, told reporters that he would not rule out bringing charges against Mr. Trump or his associates for their possible role in inciting or otherwise encouraging the mob.

“We look at all of the actors, not just the people who entered the building,” Sherwin said. When asked if such goals would include Mr. Trump, who admonished supporters during a rally near the White House on Jan. 6, telling them that they “could never retake our country with weakness,” Mr. Sherwin stood by his testimony . “We all look at actors,” he said. “If the evidence fits the elements of a crime, they will be charged.”

Another member of Mr. Sherwin’s office soon appeared to be tracing those remarks back to them, suggesting that individuals in Mr. Trump’s orbit were unlikely to be examined. But Mr. Sherwin later said he stood by his original statement.

Categories
Business

United Boeing 777 suffers engine failure after takeoff from Denver, particles discovered however no accidents

United Boeing 777 suffers engine failure after takeoff from Denver, debris found but no injuries

A United Airlines plane

Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images

A United Airlines Boeing 777-200 bound for Honolulu suffered an engine failure shortly after taking off from Denver on Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The plane returned to Denver, where it landed safely. Images shared on social media showed what appeared to be part of the engine nacelle in front of a house while police shared other debris. United said no injuries were reported on board the flight.

“The FAA is aware of reports of debris near the aircraft’s flight path,” the agency said in a statement.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA said they are investigating the incident. The Broomfield Police Department in Colorado said the plane dropped debris in several neighborhoods and warned not to touch or move any part of the plane.

United Flight 328 had 231 passengers and 10 crew members on board.

United said it is in contact with the FAA, NTSB, as well as local law enforcement agencies.

“All passengers and crew were dropped off and transported back to the terminal,” United said in a statement in Denver. “We are now working on getting our customers on a new flight to Honolulu in the next few hours.”

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents United cabin crews, said its staff support and safety committees provide assistance to the crews.

“We are grateful that the plane landed safely,” said the union.

Boeing said it had received reports of the incident.

Categories
Health

‘I Am Value It’: Why 1000’s of Docs in America Can’t Get a Job

‘I Am Worth It’: Why Thousands of Doctors in America Can’t Get a Job

The 61 percent match rate for international students may underestimate the problem, say some experts, as medical students who do not receive interview offers are not considered. With these students included, the match rate for international medical students can drop to as little as 50 percent.

The directors of the residency program said that in recent years they have stepped up their efforts to take a holistic view of candidates. “Straight A’s in college and perfect test scores aren’t perfect candidates,” said Dr. Susana Morales, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. “We are interested in the diversity of the background and the geographic diversity.”

Some international medical students struggling to agree have been looking for alternative routes into medical work. Arkansas and Missouri are among the states that offer internship licenses to people who have completed their license exams but are not yet a resident. Unsurpassed doctors who wanted to use their clinical skills to help with the pandemic said they had found the opportunity to serve as interns, which was particularly significant during the crisis.

After failing a first attempt at a license exam and then passing her second attempt, 30-year-old Dr. Faarina Khan excluded from the matching process. In the past five years, she has spent more than $ 30,000 on application fees. With an assistant doctor license, she was able to join the Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team in the spring and help in medical facilities where employees had tested positive for coronavirus.

“Hospitals need to recognize that there are people in my position who could be in for work within the hour if someone calls us,” said Dr. Khan. “I didn’t go to medical school to sit on the sidelines.”

Some states are considering legislation that would allow similar licensing. This position typically pays about $ 55,000 a year – much less than a doctor could make – making it difficult to repay loans, but it allows medical school graduates to keep up with their clinical education.

Dr. Cromblin, of Prattville, Alabama, felt a similar urge to join the Covid-19 front in the spring. She had defaulted on a loan and little in her bank account, but as soon as she got her stimulus check she bought a plane ticket to New York. She spent the month of April volunteering with the medical staff at Jamaica Medical Center in Queens.

Categories
Business

United Flight Sheds Particles Over Broomfield, Colo., After Engine Failure

United Flight Sheds Debris Over Broomfield, Colo., After Engine Failure

A United Airlines flight with 331 people on board suffered an engine failure on Saturday afternoon in the suburbs of Boulder, Colorado, throwing debris in three neighborhoods before landing safely in Denver.

No injuries have been reported, officials said.

Flight 328 took off from Denver International Airport at 12:15 p.m. local time, said Alex Renteria, an airport spokeswoman.

The FAA said in a statement that the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200, had a “right engine failure” shortly after takeoff and that there were reports of debris “near the aircraft’s flight path”.

The flight was being routed from Denver to Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport when the episode happened.

David Gonzalez, a United press representative, said the flight had 321 passengers and 10 crew on board. The flight was picked up by rescue workers as a precaution when it returned to Denver.

He said all passengers and crew had left the plane and were taken to an airport terminal. “We are now working on getting our customers on a new flight to Honolulu in the next few hours,” he said.

Police in Broomfield, Colorado, about 15 miles southeast of Boulder, said unspecified parts of the plane fell in three neighborhoods around 1:08 p.m. local time.

A video on Twitter showed a burning engine with parts of its case missing.

Rebecca Schulte, a resident, said she saw two pieces that were just a few doors away from her home. She describes how she heard a “low noise” that she compared to an empty dump truck going over a pothole, and then she heard sirens.

As she investigated further, she found a “large metal ring” that landed on the front stairs of a nearby house and hit the handrail.

“How it missed the house is a mystery to me,” she said. She said the metal ring was about 10 feet wide.

In a video on Twitter, passengers can hear cheering when the plane lands safely.

The aircraft was a different model than the Boeing 737 Max, which was on the ground in March 2019 after two fatal crashes.

Categories
Business

Elon Musk says bitcoin appears excessive after surpassing $1 trillion market cap

Elon Musk says bitcoin seems high after surpassing $1 trillion market cap

SpaceX Founder and Chief Engineer Elon Musk speaks during the Satellite 2020 conference on March 9, 2020 in Washington, DC, United States.

Yasin Ozturk | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, said on Saturday that bitcoin prices appear “high” after the cryptocurrency rose to another record high this week.

The price of Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, passed a major milestone on Friday after its market value hit more than $ 1 trillion, surprising some large financiers. Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, also hit record highs.

“Money is just data we can use to avoid the inconvenience of bartering,” tweeted Musk, a major advocate of digital currencies. “This data, like all data, is subject to latency and errors. The system will evolve to minimize both.”

In a subsequent post, Musk added, “that is, BTC & ETH seem high” in response to a user who said gold is better than bitcoin and cash.

Bitcoin was trading at less than $ 54,000 per coin on Friday when it hit the new level and rose above $ 55,000 later in the session, according to Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency traded above $ 57,000 on Saturday. Bitcoin price has increased by around 350% in the past six months.

Ethereum also hit a record $ 2,040.62, which translates into a weekly gain of around 12%. It was trading at $ 1,996 on Saturday.

The Bitcoin surge was partly due to increased adoption by major investors and corporations. The Bank of New York Mellon said this month it would be moving into the room.

Tesla also converted some of its balance sheet money to Bitcoin earlier this year and announced it would accept the digital currency as a means of payment, sparking even more interest in the currency.

– CNBC’s Jesse Pound contributed to the coverage

Categories
Politics

Biden declares catastrophe, thousands and thousands boil water after energy outages

Biden declares disaster, millions boil water after power outages

City workers and volunteers will hand out bottled water at Delmar Stadium in Houston, Texas, USA on Wednesday, February 19, 2021.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

President Joe Biden has endorsed a statement of major disaster for Texas as the state grapples with widespread power outages and water shortages in freezing winter conditions, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Saturday.

The move unlocks federal funding for individuals in Texas, grants for temporary home and home repairs, and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property damage.

Millions of Texans are grappling with power outages and more than half of the state are suffering from disrupted water supplies as the boiling water reports are effective.

The statement also provides funding for cost-sharing with state and local governments, as well as some private nonprofits, for emergency response and risk reduction measures. Help is available in dozens of counties.

More than 15.1 million people faced water disruptions in Texas on Saturday after freezing conditions disrupted more than 1,300 public water systems and led to boiling water reports, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said Saturday.

The federal government has already approved emergency statements for Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and shipped supplies such as generators, blankets, water, and meals to Texas last week.

“This is great news for the people of Dallas after a terrible week,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wrote in a tweet. “The damage caused by this storm is great and the declaration of the disaster will help our city to recover.”

Continue reading:
The power failure in Texas sparked a feud over Republican oversight of the power industry
How the Texas power grid went down and what could stop it from happening again

Biden plans to visit Texas as early as next week to assess the federal response. The president said he will make a final decision after making sure his presence does not hamper recovery efforts. The government has worked closely with Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott on disaster relief.

“I thank President Biden for his assistance in responding to the effects of winter weather on our state,” Abbott said in a statement. “While this partial approval is an important first step, Texas will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure that all eligible Texans have access to the relief they need.”

Texas’s Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) announced Friday that it has returned to normal conditions, restoring power for millions of customers. More than 60,000 people in Texas were still without power at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, according to PowerOutage.us.

A shopper walks past a bare shelf as people stock up on essentials at the HEB grocery store in Austin, Texas on February 18, 2021.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Texas Division of Emergency Management’s chief Nim Kidd said at a news conference Saturday that distributing bottled water is still the number one priority.

The state has ordered 9.9 million water bottles and received a total of 5.5 million bottles. The military provides water and food by air while the state utilities work to restore water supplies.

Around 156,000 people still have no water at all, said Toby Baker, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. “I understand the public is extremely frustrated right now,” said Baker.

In addition to the declaration of the major disaster, the US Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency waiver for Texas on Friday. The immediate exemption enables the state to temporarily waive certain fuel standards in order to address the gas shortage in the affected areas.

Texas refineries had disrupted about a fifth of the country’s oil production during the outages and freezing temperatures. Oil prices fell from recent highs on Friday as companies were ready to resume production as soon as electricity services resumed.

Categories
Health

Biden speaks at Pfizer vaccine manufacturing website as storm delays shipments

Biden speaks at Pfizer vaccine manufacturing site as storm delays shipments

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President Joe Biden speaks at Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Friday as his government works to increase the supply of doses in the U.S.

Earlier in the day, government officials said the massive winter storms in the Midwest and Texas had delayed delivery of 6 million Covid-19 vaccine doses this week, affecting every state in the US. The backlog equates to three days of late deliveries, Andy Slavitt, Senior White House Advisor on Covid Response, said during a news conference.

Slavitt also announced that the government is working with Florida and Pennsylvania to open five more vaccination centers.

Four of the five vaccination centers will be located in the cities of Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Florida. The four sites could vaccinate up to 12,000 people a day. A fifth center in Philadelphia will be able to vaccinate 6,000 people a day, he said.

Read CNBC’s live updates for the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.

Categories
World News

U.S. condemns deadly shootings of protesters

U.S. condemns fatal shootings of protesters

Anti-coup protesters hold placards as they protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on Saturday, February 20, 2021.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The U.S. embassy in Myanmar released a statement on Saturday condemning the fatal shootings of two anti-coup protesters in Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, after weeks of demonstrations.

“Nobody should be hurt while exercising the right to dissent,” the message said in a Twitter post. “We are deeply concerned about the fatal shooting of protesters in Mandalay, one day after the death of Mya Thwe Thwe Khine in Nay Pyi Taw. The military must stop the violence against the people of Myanmar.”

One of the victims was shot in the head and died on the spot, according to local reports. Another was shot in the chest and died on the way to the hospital. Relatives identified him as Thet Naing Win, a 36-year-old carpenter, according to Reuters.

The shootings took place near Mandalay’s Yadanabon Dock, where some 500 police and soldiers entered the area after dock workers joined protests against the military junta, which took power on February 1.

Security forces used water cannons, tear gas, slingshots and rubber bullets against demonstrators and beat dock workers.

Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing’s picture is shown by anti-coup protesters near Myaynigone intersection in Yangon, Myanmar, on Saturday, February 20, 2021.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

At least five people were injured by rubber bullets and had to be carried away in ambulances, according to a local Associated Press journalist.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the shooting of peaceful demonstrators in Myanmar: “We will consider further measures with our international partners against those who destroy democracy and stifle dissent,” he said in a tweet.

The two deaths and other serious injuries occur one day after the death of Mya Thwet Thwet Khine, who was shot in the capital Naypyitaw on February 9 and spent more than a week on hospital life support. Her death on Friday was the first confirmed death among thousands of protesters who called for the restoration of the elected government and the release of lawmakers, including Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, rounded up in the coup.

The video from the day she was shot shows her protection from water cannons when she fell to the ground after a bullet penetrated the motorcycle helmet she was wearing.

A protester bandaged her head after being beaten by security forces during a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay on February 20, 2021.

STR | AFP | Getty Images

State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed condolences to his administration on Friday and again urged the military not to use violence against peaceful demonstrators.

On February 10, President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on military leaders in Myanmar who led the coup that ousted and detained leader-elect Suu Kyi and others. He announced that the government was working to freeze around $ 1 billion in assets in the U.S. that Myanmar’s military leaders have access to.

A protester is being led away after being arrested by security forces during a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay on February 20, 2021.

STR | AFP | Getty Images

Biden said Myanmar’s “military must relinquish power it has seized on February 1 and release its prisoners” and urged the military not to use force against protesters who are exercising their democratic rights to object to the coup to raise.

The national movement for civil disobedience showed no signs of slowing down despite the recent raids by the military government.

– Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

Categories
Business

The Boredom Financial system – The New York Instances

The Boredom Economy - The New York Times

Some of the most vivid examples of the recent economic impact of boredom included amateur traders late last month, including many followers of the Reddit forum Wall Street Bets, who piled into stocks of GameStop, a retailer for gamers. These investors took their stock to astronomical highs before falling back to earth.

Part of their motivation was the idea that they could hold it up to hedge funds that had bet GameStop would fall. Part of it was boredom.

“I’m bored, I have 8,000 free funds to invest in for at least a small profit,” wrote a Reddit user who runs biged42069 on Wall Street Bets at the height of the hype. The answer was unanimous: GameStop.

On Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee held a controversial hearing on the GameStop saga. The emphasis was on market volatility and stock trading, but some witnesses admitted that they may have found themselves in this situation because people had plenty of time to spend.

Jennifer Schulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute, cited several factors that may have drawn amateur traders into the public markets, and said that “more time at home may have even played a role during the pandemic.”

Of course, during the pandemic, millions of people were busier than ever. Nurses, grocery store workers, and other key employees have rarely seen boredom. Women who have left the workforce to take care of children who cannot go to school are often exhausted and overwhelmed. Your days are a stream of zoom classes, dinners, and bed times. Large numbers of families grieve for their loved ones, a painful and harrowing change.

In a sense, boredom is a luxury experienced by those who have unfulfilled and unfilled time.

And some groups of people are more likely to experience boredom than others. People who live alone, for example, are more likely to get bored, said Daniel Hamermesh, an economist at Barnard College who researched loneliness during the pandemic.