The Full Belmonte, 1/12/2022
Biden endorses filibuster reform on voting rights
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty
“President Joe Biden endorsed changing Senate filibuster rules that have stalled voting legislation during a speech in Georgia Tuesday, imploring Americans to choose ‘democracy over autocracy.’” [Vox] Read more at AP /Alexandra Jaffe, Colleen Long, and Jeff Amy
“Ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, Republican legislatures across the country have passed laws making voting more difficult in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Democrats want to counter those laws with legislation instituting new federal voting protections called the Freedom to Vote Act.” [Vox] Read more at Washington Post / Seung Min Kim
“But Democrats don’t have the 60 Senate votes they need to overcome the filibuster and to pass the legislation. That’s led to an effort to change filibuster rules so that the Freedom to Vote Act could be considered with the 50 votes Democrats have.” [Vox] Read more at CNN / Nicole Chavez
“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to bring a vote on filibuster reform to the floor before MLK Day if the GOP filibusters the voting right bill. (They’re expected to.) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said Republicans would retaliate if the filibuster is eliminated.” [Vox] Read more at The Hill / Jordain Carney
“Despite Biden’s speech, he still faces significant challenges within his own party. Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have publicly indicated they don’t support removing the filibuster.” [Vox] Read more at Politico / Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine
“Falling flat | U.S. civil rights groups panned President Joe Biden’s speech on voting rights yesterday, saying the administration left the issue on the back burner too long and now must prod the deadlocked Senate to pass legislation to ensure fair balloting rules. Their criticism is a troubling sign from a crucial constituency for Democrats less than 10 months from the midterms.” Read more at Bloomberg
“The World Health Organization has warned that half of Europe will have caught the Omicron Covid variant within the next six to eight weeks.
Dr Hans Kluge said a ‘west-to-east tidal wave’ of Omicron was sweeping across the region, on top of a surge in the Delta variant.
The projection was based on the seven million new cases reported across Europe in the first week of 2022.
The number of infections has more than doubled in a two-week period.
‘Today the Omicron variant represents a new west-to-east tidal wave, sweeping across the region on top of the Delta surge that all countries were managing until late 2021,’ Dr Kluge told a news conference.
He quoted the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation as forecasting that ‘more than 50 percent of the population in the region will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks.’” Read more at BBC
“Scientists are seeing signals that COVID-19′s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the U.S., at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically.
The reason: The variant has proved so wildly contagious that it may already be running out of people to infect, just a month and a half after it was first detected in South Africa.
‘It’s going to come down as fast as it went up,’ said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle.
At the same time, experts warn that much is still uncertain about how the next phase of the pandemic might unfold. The plateauing or ebbing in the two countries is not happening everywhere at the same time or at the same pace. And weeks or months of misery still lie ahead for patients and overwhelmed hospitals even if the drop-off comes to pass.
‘There are still a lot of people who will get infected as we descend the slope on the backside,’ said Lauren Ancel Meyers, director of the University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, which predicts that reported cases will peak within the week.” Read more at AP News
“NEW YORK (AP) — For two years, coronavirus case counts and hospitalizations have been widely used barometers of the pandemic’s march across the world.
But the omicron wave is making a mess of the usual statistics, forcing news organizations to rethink the way they report such figures.
‘It’s just a data disaster,’ said Katherine Wu, staff writer who covers COVID-19 for The Atlantic magazine.
The number of case counts soared over the holidays, an expected development given the emergence of a variant more transmissible than its predecessors.
Yet these counts only reflect what is reported by health authorities. They do not include most people who test themselves at home, or are infected without even knowing about it. Holidays and weekends also lead to lags in reported cases.
If you could add all those numbers up — and you can’t — case counts would likely be substantially higher.
For that reason, The Associated Press has recently told its editors and reporters to avoid emphasizing case counts in stories about the disease. That means, for example, no more stories focused solely on a particular country or state setting a one-day record for number of cases, because that claim has become unreliable.” Read more at AP News
“WASHINGTON—The Biden administration plans to distribute millions of free Covid-19 tests to schools around the country, part of the federal government’s effort to keep schools open amid a surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant.
Later this month, the administration will begin shipping five million rapid Covid-19 tests to K-12 schools each month, White House officials said. States will have to apply to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to receive the tests. The administration has previously distributed $10 billion in resources to states for testing at schools. That funding was included in the coronavirus response legislation signed into law last year, according to the White House.
The rapid tests for schools are in addition to the 500 million rapid tests the administration plans to begin distributing to the public for free in the coming weeks, a White House official said. The administration has faced criticism for testing shortages around the country that led to long lines and empty shelves at the start of the Omicron surge.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The nation’s top health officials testified Tuesday in a Senate hearing on the federal government’s response to the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Officials with the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services also testified.
The hearing came as the United States surpassed its record for coronavirus hospitalizations. Tuesday’s total of 145,982 people in U.S. hospitals with covid-19, which includes 4,462 children, passed the record of 142,273 set Jan. 14, 2021, during the previous peak of the pandemic in this country.
Here’s what to know
The CDC is considering updating its mask guidance to recommend that people use N95 or KN95 masks instead of cloth ones, if they can do so consistently.
The United States has agreed to buy 600,000 more doses of sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody treatment for covid-19 from GSK and Vir Biotechnology that lab tests show works against omicron, the companies said Tuesday.
After a heated exchange during a Senate hearing on the federal government’s response to the omicron variant, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert was heard referring to a Republican senator as ‘a moron.’
Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, who spent much of his time criticizing health authorities who were testifying, asked Anthony S. Fauci if he would be willing to submit a financial disclosure. Fauci responded, ‘I don’t understand why you’re asking me that question,’ pointing out that that information has been public knowledge for more than three decades.
Marshall then suggested that ‘Big Tech giants’ were keeping it hidden and asked where it could be found.
‘All you have to do is ask for it,’ Fauci said, appearing incredulous. ‘You’re so misinformed. It’s extraordinary.’
The two went back and forth, with Marshall saying there was ‘an appearance that maybe some shenanigans are going on,’ although he ‘assumed that’s not the case,’ and Fauci cutting in with, ‘Senator, what are you talking about?’ and adding that he was ‘getting amazingly wrong information.’
The chairwoman, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), intervened and moved onto another senator. That’s when Fauci was heard saying, ‘What a moron. Jesus Christ.’
In response to Fauci’s comments, Marshall said in a statement that, ‘Calling me a moron during a Senate hearing may have alleviated the stress of the least-trusted bureaucrat in America, but it didn’t take away from the facts.’
Fauci’s financial disclosure can be obtained through a request to the National Institutes of Health. After the exchange with Marshall, Center for Public Integrity reporter Liz Essley Whyte posted it on Twitter.
Fauci also clashed with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has attacked him repeatedly in recent months, falsely claiming he is part of a conspiracy that led to the creation of the coronavirus in a Chinese lab. Others at the hearing, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), spoke out in support of Fauci and other health officials.” Read more at Washington Post
“Wearing the right mask — the right way — can be the most powerful tool in your arsenal to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Fitted particle-filtering masks like N95s are up to 75x more effective at preventing COVID infection than surgical masks, Axios visual journalist Will Chase reports.
Researchers at Max Planck Institute in Germany investigated the risk when two individuals are speaking with each other at a close distance.
Only universal masking with well-fitted N95 or similar masks reduced the risk to below 1% after 20 minutes.
Surgical masks — and situations where one person wore a poorly fitting mask, or did not mask — reduced the infection risk. But it remained far above the acceptable risk level.
This study didn't include cloth masks. But other studies have shown that those provide even less protection than surgical masks.
The bottom line: The fit of the mask is the most important factor, study author Eberhard Bodenschatz told Axios.
Masks should have a tight fit around your face and nose, to minimize any air leakage.” Read more at Axios
“It takes 2,500 hours for an infectious dose of COVID to transmit between people wearing tightly sealed N95 masks, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Compare that to 25 hours for people wearing N95 masks that aren't tightly fitted — and 15 minutes for people not wearing masks.
The bottom line: The better the mask, the longer you can be in close proximity without spreading the virus.” Read more at Axios
“Be on the lookout for true N95 or KN95 masks — meaning they're rated with 95% filtration efficiency.
Why it matters: Counterfeits have flooded the market.
Go deeper. Here's a guide to respirator masks approved by the CDC and the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health.” Read more at Axios
“Nursing homes are contending with a record-high number of staff Covid-19 cases.
According to the most recent week of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, 57,243 staffers tested positive, 36% higher than the previous week’s tally and close to twice the total at the December 2020 peak. So many staffers testing positive means workforce shortages and some nursing homes have had to stop admitting new residents. That causes upstream backups at hospitals, because they can’t free up beds, which means patients are staying in ERs. Eighty-two percent of nursing-home employees have completed vaccination, but only 28% have received a booster, the CDC said. The operational pressures on medical providers comes as the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations reported in the U.S. hit a new pandemic high, with the latest seven-day average of 140,576 surpassing last winter’s peak.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“About 3,000 employees at United Airlines have tested positive for the coronavirus, another example of how quickly the omicron variant has spread through workplaces and upended the plans of even the most data-driven industries.
In a memo to employees Tuesday, United CEO Scott Kirby called the past few weeks a ‘challenging and stressful time.’
‘The Omicron surge has put a strain on our operation, resulting in customer disruptions during a busy holiday season,’ he wrote, also acknowledging the stress the rise in cases has put on employees and operations.
Kirby cited the impact of the virus on the airline’s Newark hub, noting that on a single recent day nearly one-third of employees called out sick. The New York region was among the first spots in the United States to see a sharp uptick in coronavirus cases, largely driven by omicron.” Read more at Washington Post
“Novak Djokovic knew he'd tested positive for COVID-19 when he attended an interview and photo shoot at his tennis center in Serbia last month. In a statement posted on his social media accounts Wednesday Djokovic said made an ‘error of judgment’ and should have immediately gone into isolation. He made the admission when he moved to clarify ‘ongoing misinformation’ about his movements after he tested positive last month. He also blamed ‘human error’ by his support team for an error on the travel document he used a week ago to enter Australia, where his visa was revoked and then reinstated in a COVID-19 vaccination saga that has overshadowed the days leading up to the Australian Open. The nine-time and defending Australian Open champion is in limbo before the year's first major starts next Monday, a week after he won a legal battle allowing him to stay in the country.” Read more at USA Today
“Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who died last month at 82, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. A formal ceremony honoring Reid will also be held but will be limited to invited guests due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The longest-serving senator in Nevada's history, Reid presided over the upper chamber as majority leader from 2007 to 2015. The last person to lie in state at the Capitol was former Kansas lawmaker and decorated World War II veteran Bob Dole, who died in early December at age 98.” Read more at USA Today
“The Federal Reserve chairman outlined his strategy for tackling inflation. Jerome Powell said during his confirmation hearing for a second term that he was prepared to raise interest rates but hoped that supply-chain snags would straighten out. Powell also told the Senate Banking Committee that the economy no longer needs aggressive stimulus.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“A federal judge recused himself from an Amazon case due a financial conflict. A Wall Street Journal investigation found that U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady’s wife owned about $22,000 worth of stock in the online retail giant during a nearly two-year period when he presided over the case. Her investment adviser sold the shares after the Journal’s query. In the civil suit, Amazon accuses two ex-employees of accepting kickbacks from a real-estate developer and violating the company’s conflict-of-interest policies.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Some progressive Democrats and MAGA Republicans are uniting on a proposal to ban sitting lawmakers from trading individual stocks. But it's unlikely that leadership will bring the bill up for a vote, Axios' Dan Primack and Sophia Cai report.
Why it matters: Members of Congress have great power to move stock prices, and great financial incentives to do so.
What we're watching: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) will introduce a bill to ban lawmakers, their spouses and dependent children from trading individual stocks while in office — not just if they have inside information.
Ossoff is in talks with potential Republican co-sponsors.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) yesterday tweeted support for a trading ban.
Another one to watch: Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), the onlyRepublican senator who has reported using a qualified blind trust for personal investments.
If the GOP wins control of the House, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is interested in legislation to limit or ban lawmakers from trading stocks, Punchbowl News reports.” Read more at Axios
“Companies aren’t talking much about return-to-office dates anymore. After Delta and Omicron surges foiled employers’ previously laid plans, many are adopting more flexible procedures, such as predicating in-office work on infection rates, specific teams’ needs and the amount of time required for in-person collaboration.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Medicare officials said they would cover Biogen Inc.’s controversial Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm on the condition that patients are in clinical trials and have early-stage symptoms.
The clinical trials are intended to gather evidence on the drug’s safety and effectiveness and would apply to similar drugs if they are approved, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said in a proposed policy issued Tuesday.
Patients enrolling in trials supported by the National Institutes of Health would also be eligible for coverage, according to CMS’s draft policy.
CMS said the Aduhelm studies must limit enrollment to patients in the early-stages of disease and have lab tests confirming that their brains have accumulated amyloid, a sticky protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease that Aduhelm is designed to clear.
A final decision is expected in April following an additional 30-day comment period in which members of the public can weigh in on the proposed coverage policy.
Aduhelm has the potential to help patients with Alzheimer’s, but also has the ‘potential for serious harm’ because of its risk of side effects, which include headaches and small brain bleeds, said CMS Chief Medical Officer Lee A. Fleisher at a press briefing.
Biogen criticized the proposed coverage policy, saying in a statement that it ‘denies the daily burden of people living with Alzheimer’s disease’ and ‘will exclude almost all patients who may benefit.’” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The Justice Department is opening a new unit to investigate domestic terrorism, and it warned Congress of an "elevated" threat from violent extremists in the U.S. Go deeper.” Read more at Axios
“With the stakes of election machinery now obvious to all, record-breaking waves of cash are flooding races for secretary of state and other positions with a role in administering the vote, Axios' Stef Kight writes.
Why it matters: Both parties are focusing on installing what they see as the ‘right ‘election officials.
In a report out today, the Brennan Center for Justice, an election watchdog, says secretary of state candidates in Georgia, Michigan and Minnesota have been more than doubling their overall fundraising, compared to comparable points in the 2018 and 2014 midterms.
In Georgia — the front lines both in the battle over voting rights and Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's reelection campaign had raised four times more money by last June than he had at the same point in 2018.
And he's only the second-best fundraiser in the race: Trump-backed former Rep. Jody Hice had brought in more than any opponent.” Read more at Axios
“Ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever on record, researchers say, marking the sixth year in a row the record has been topped due to ‘human-induced climate change.’ Last year’s temperatures shattered previous records, even despite an La Niña event that cooled down waters in the Pacific, a new study found. ‘The ocean heat content is relentlessly increasing, globally, and this is a primary indicator of human-induced climate change,’ Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado who co-authored the research, said in comments carried by The Guardian. Ocean temps have been steadily rising since 1955, a trend that experts say is fueling hurricanes, monster storms, and extreme weather. ‘Until we reach net-zero emissions, that heating will continue, and we’ll continue to break ocean heat content records, as we did this year,’ said researcher Michael Mann of Penn State University.” [Daily Beast] Read it at The Guardian
“A federal judge has rejected Meta’s request to dismiss an antitrust complaint from the FTC, allowing antitrust officials to continue their case to break up the social media giant. Federal prosecutors allege that Meta -- which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp -- has illegally abused a monopoly in the marketplace for social media. FTC chair Lina Khan is a vocal critic of the tech industry who previously helped lead a congressional investigation that concluded Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta enjoy monopoly power. Meta has argued that Khan’s stance on Big Tech should have barred her from approving the antitrust complaint, but a federal judge disagreed. If the lawsuit advances, Meta could be forced to spin off some of its most valuable assets.” Read more at CNN
“Thomas Welnicki, a 72-year-old from New York, has been charged with threatening to kill former President Donald Trump. Welnicki, who was upset by what he saw as Trump’s threats to democracy and once likened him to Hitler, vowed to do everything he could to kill the former president, according to authorities. In July 2020, Welnicki allegedly told Capitol Police that if Trump lost the 2020 election and didn’t step down, he would ‘acquire weapons’ and ‘take him down’ himself. In January 2021, Welnicki called the Secret Service and threatened the president’s life as well as the lives of 12 congressional supporters and referenced a $350,000 bounty. ‘I will do anything I can to take out [Trump] and his 12 monkeys,’ Welnicki told the Secret Service. ‘Tomorrow [Trump] will be in Georgia, maybe I will.’ Most recently, in a December 2021 call with the Secret Service, Welnicki claimed that ‘the new Civil War could break out and taking up arms against the government is justified when ballots don’t matter.’ He has been charged with threatening to kill, kidnap, and inflict bodily harm. [Daily Beast] Read it at Reuters
“A North Carolina court on Tuesday upheld the state’s new Republican-drawn voting maps, rejecting claims that they were illegally gerrymandered for partisan advantage.
A three-judge panel in Wake County Superior Court said while excessive partisanship in redistricting was incompatible with democratic principles and had subjected the state to many years of ridicule, the court had no basis for constraining the legislature.
‘Redistricting is a political process that has serious political consequences,’ the panel wrote. ‘It is one of the purest political questions which the legislature alone is allowed to answer. Were we as a court to insert ourselves in the manner requested, we would be usurping the political power and prerogatives of an equal branch of government.’
The court also said plaintiffs challenging the voting maps hadn’t proven their claims that the districts were discriminatory on the basis of race.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s re-election bid is facing a legal challenge from a group of 11 North Carolina voters who are arguing that his participation in a rally preceding the Jan. 6 riots should bar him from holding office. On the morning of the violent attack, Cawthorn gave a speech accusing Democrats of silencing the opposition and broadcasted unfounded claims regarding the 2020 election. The lawsuit was filed by way of the State Board of Elections, and claims that Cawthorn violated the 14th Amendment, which reads that no one w’ho, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.’ [Daily Beast] Read it at The Hill
“Bank of America is overhauling its overdraft policies, eliminating fees at a time when banks are under more pressure from online rivals and regulators are hinting at a possible crackdown.
The Charlotte-based bank announced Tuesday that it will do away with non-sufficient funds fees, which are applied when a transaction is blocked due to a lack of money, in February, and make it impossible to overdraw an account at an ATM. In May, it will slash its overdraft fees ― which occur when an account balance drops below zero ― from $35 to $10.
Industry leaders said the move is part of a broader shift away from the controversial fees — which are disproportionately absorbed by already vulnerable consumers — that generated nearly $15.5 billion in revenue for the nation’s largest banks in 2019. Last month, Capital One announced it would scrap overdraft fees entirely.” Read more at Washington Post
China lockdowns grow to 20 million people
“Across China, 20 million people are on lockdown as officials work to contain a rash of Covid-19 outbreaks just weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.” [Vox] Read more at AP / Ken Moritsugu
“After discovering 21 cases, including two cases of omicron in the city of Tianjin, just 70 miles from Beijing, officials tested the entire population of 14 million.” [Vox] Read more at Fortune / Grady McGregor
“To pursue their ‘zero-Covid’ strategy, officials locked down the cities of Xi’an, Yuzhou, and Anyang, causing widespread disruptions across China. Hong Kong is reportedly planning to ban international travelers from 150 countries.” [Vox] Read more at Guardian / Helen Davidson
“Though 80 percent of China’s 1.4 billion population were fully vaccinated as of last month, omicron’s fast rate of transmission and ability to evadeavailable vaccines is leaving officials scrambling to keep community spread under control.” [Vox] Read more at Washington Post / Eva Dou and Lyric Li
“In a revelation that threatens his hold on office, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of lying about his attendance at a boozy Downing Street garden party in May 2020 — at the height of Britain's strict COVID lockdown.
For weeks now, Johnson has parried damaging leaks about various lockdown-breaking social events at his house, claiming that they happened under his nose or were in fact ‘work events,’ Axios' Zachary Basu writes.
Johnson's former press secretary resigned after being caught on camera joking about a Christmas party, but the Teflon prime minister seemed set to survive.
Then on Monday, ITV News published a May 20 email from Johnson's personal private secretary inviting more than 100 staff to a ‘BYOB’ party in the Downing Street garden to ‘make the most of the lovely weather.’
The email was sent less than an hour after the government had warned the public they were not permitted to meet more than one person outside of their household in an outdoor setting — and must stay two meters apart.
Between the lines: Unlike previous Johnson scandals, the revelations about his behavior — at a time when thousands of Brits were being forced to hold Zoom funerals — have cut through:
66% of the public believe Johnson should resign.
Just 12% think the prime minister is telling the truth — fewer than the proportion that think the moon landing was fake.
What to watch: Johnson has deflected all questions since the story broke, insisting — to the incredulity of the British press — that an independent investigation will determine whether he attended the party in his own backyard.” Read more at Axios
“The US is providing $308 million in humanitarian aid and additional Covid-19 vaccine doses to Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover and US withdrawal that unraveled the country’s economy. Medical systems are in dire need of resources and millions of Afghans face starvation. International organizations are sounding the alarm that Afghanistan is on the brink of disaster. The US assistance will help provide shelter, essential health care, emergency food, water, sanitation, and hygiene services in response to the growing humanitarian needs, the National Security Council announced yesterday. Separately, evacuation flights out of Afghanistan have been grounded by the Taliban for nearly a month, stranding nearly 80 Americans.” Read more at CNN
“BY THE NUMBERS
41% — The share of the world’s Catholics who live in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the Vatican. But this longtime stronghold of Catholicism is weakening, as the faithful convert to other religions, especially Pentecostalism, or become unchurched. Under Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, the Church has tried to avoid fighting the rise of rival faiths.
21 — The number of Grand Slam titles Novak Djokovic would have clinched should he win the Australian Open, which he is back in the running for now that his visa appeal has succeeded. He held his first official practice on Tuesday. A victory at the coming tournament, which begins Jan. 17, would be a record for the Serbian player ranked No. 1 in the world.
20% — The potential increase in lifespan some researchers believe is possible through antiaging treatments, beyond the current, roughly 80-year average in the U.S. for men and women. The scientists, whose estimates for boosting life expectancy range as low as 10%, are looking at medications and cellular reprogramming but caution that a ‘magic pill’ isn’t likely.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The Yankees made Rachel Balkovec the first woman to manage a minor league team affiliated with Major League Baseball.” Read more at New York Times
“Lives Lived: Michael Lang was 24 when he and three others put on the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969. They hoped for 50,000 attendees, and got more than 400,000. Lang died at 77.” Read more at New York Times
“A rat whose gallantry was rewarded after he sniffed out 100 landmines during his heroic career has died peacefully at the age of 8. Magawa was one of the most successful mine-sniffing rats of his age. After a year of training in Tanzania, he spent five years using his skills in Cambodia, where he managed to clear more than 1,500,000 sq ft of land. Toward the end of his career, in 2020, Magawa became the first rat ever to be awarded the PDSA Gold Medal in recognition of his ‘life-saving devotion to duty.’ The Belgian charity that trained him, Apopo, said in a statement that Magawa ‘passed away peacefully’ over the weekend. The charity said he “spent most of last week playing with his usual enthusiasm... [but] he started to slow down, napping more and showing less interest in food in his last days.” It added: ‘All of us at Apopo are feeling the loss of Magawa and we are grateful for the incredible work he’s done... A hero is laid to rest.’” [Daily Beast] Read it at BBC News