The Full Belmonte, 12/30/21
“CHICAGO (AP) — More than a year after the vaccine was rolled out, new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to their highest level on record at over 265,000 per day on average, a surge driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant.
New cases per day have more than doubled over the past two weeks, eclipsing the old mark of 250,000, set in mid-January, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The fast-spreading mutant version of the virus has cast a pall over Christmas and New Year’s, forcing communities to scale back or call off their festivities just weeks after it seemed as if Americans were about to enjoy an almost normal holiday season. Thousands of flights have been canceled amid staffing shortages blamed on the virus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-disease expert, said Wednesday that there is no need to cancel small home gatherings among vaccinated and boosted family and friends.” Read more at AP News
“A Johnson & Johnson booster shot provided strong protection against the Omicron variant, greatly reducing the risk of hospitalization, according to a clinical trial in South Africa.
The study, which compared more than 69,000 boosted health care workers with a corresponding group of unvaccinated South Africans, found that two shots of the vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization from Omicron by about 85 percent. In comparison, another study in South Africa found that two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization by about 70 percent.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a booster shot, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that other vaccines be preferred. The C.D.C. raised concerns about rare but life-threatening blood clots that have been linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
But the authors of the new study, which was published on a preprint server and has not yet been peer-reviewed, said that the results were important for vaccination efforts in Africa, where the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a mainstay of Covid public health efforts. As the continent braces for a wave of Omicron cases, a second dose of the vaccine could prevent a surge of hospitalizations.” Read more at New York Times
“A new ensemble forecast from the CDC predicts more than 44,000 people could die of Covid-19 over the next four weeks as the US endures a much-feared winter surge. Cases are rising in other countries around the world, as well. In India, a sharp Covid-19 surge has been worsened by a two-week-long doctor’s strike which could lead to a frontline response shortage. In Xi’an, China, 13 million people have been locked down for a week, and case numbers in the city are still high. Covid outbreaks are also leading to critical staffing shortages. In Cincinnati, so many firefighters are out with Covid-19that the mayor has declared a state of emergency.” Read more at CNN
“A federal court on Tuesday denied a lawsuit filed by Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt that challenged the Pentagon’s military-wide coronavirus vaccine mandate by asking that the requirement be suspended for his state’s National Guard members until a final court decision is made.
Judge Stephen P. Friot sided with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who has said the mandate is needed to maintain a healthy force that is ready to act quickly. Friot also disagreed with Stitt’s assertion that the Pentagon was overstepping its constitutional authority, noting that guard members are already required to receive nine immunizations.
‘Adding a tenth . . . vaccine to the list of nine that all service members are already required to take would hardly amount to ‘an enormous and transformative expansion [of the] regulatory authority’ the Secretary of Defense already possesses,’ he wrote in his ruling.
The ruling boosts the legal standing of the military vaccine mandate as the Biden administration struggles to increase vaccination rates among Americans.
Tuesday’s decision comes a few weeks after the Republican governors of Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Wyoming urged the Pentagon to reconsider vaccine requirements for their National Guard contingents in a joint letter.
They argued — just as Stitt has done — that the National Guard is under the authority of each state’s governor unless activated by the president. This means, they said, that coronavirus vaccination requirements cannot be imposed by the defense secretary on their states’ National Guard members so long as the troops are not mobilized by the federal government.
Judge Friot’s ruling on Tuesday served as a de facto disagreement with that argument.
‘It is unmistakably clear that the intent of Congress . . . is that the Guard and its members will at all events be prepared, conformably to federal military standards, to be ordered into federal service . . . on little or no notice,’ said Friot, who was nominated to his post by Republican President George W. Bush in 2001.” Read more at Boston Globe
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell via Reuters
“NEW YORK (AP) — The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico.
Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars — an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein’s teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse.” Read more at AP News
“President Joe Biden is scheduled to hold a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin today to discuss a range of topics ahead of diplomatic meetings in January. The call was requested by Putin, and Biden accepted in the interest of what he called ‘direct leader-leader dialogue.’ Biden reportedly plans to preview the upcoming bilateral talks between the US and Russia set for January 10, and will also discuss the NATO-Russia and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meetings slated for January 12 and 13. Things with Russia have been especially tense since the country has been making military moves near its border with Ukraine, stoking fears of a possible invasion. A Biden administration official said the US is ‘at a moment of crisis’ with Russia, and a ‘high level of engagement’ is needed to defuse the situation.” Read more at CNN
“SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The jury weighing fraud charges against former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes departed court Wednesday without reaching a verdict after six days of deliberations. It won’t resume discussions until after the upcoming New Year’s holiday weekend.
The eight men and four women on the jury had been expected to continue deliberations on Thursday morning, but a court filing after they left disclosed they will be taking a break until Monday. There was no explanation for the decision to pause deliberations. The jury had already been scheduled to be off Friday, a federal court holiday.
The latest round of discussions occurred against a backdrop of intrigue raised by a closed-door meeting early Wednesday involving Holmes’ attorneys, and the judge presiding over the case.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila held the ‘in camera’ hearing Tuesday morning with two of Holmes’ lawyers, Kevin Downey and Lance Wade, along with a two of the prosecutors, Jeffrey Schenk and Robert Leach, according to a court filing late Tuesday night. Holmes was not present at the 23-minute hearing.” Read more at AP News
“DENVER (AP) — A man accused of killing five people in a rampage in Denver is believed to have written fictional books self-published online that named some of his real-life victims and described similar attacks.
The writings are part of the investigation into what led Lyndon James McLeod to carry out the shootings, which took place in less than an hour Monday at several locations around the metro area, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said Wednesday.
McLeod, 47, knew most of the people he shot through business or personal relationships, police have said. Four of those shot were attacked at tattoo shops. In addition to those killed, two other people were wounded, including a police officer who shot and killed McLeod after being hit.
In the first novel, written under a pen name of Roman McClay, a character named Lyndon stalks a poker party held by a character named ‘Michael Swinyard’ and gains access to a building near Cheesman Park by posing as a police officer. He then fatally shoots everyone at the party and robs them before fleeing with his dog in a van.” Read more at AP News
Representative Andrew Clyde called the fines ‘deeply troubling,’ and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the mandate was ‘tyrannical.’ Credit...Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times
“WASHINGTON — During a recent marathon session in the House, two Republican lawmakers from Georgia sat in full view of television cameras. Neither was wearing a mask.
It was the latest act of defiance by the pair, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Andrew Clyde, against a rule requiring legislators to wear masks on the House floor. Most Republican lawmakers, however grudgingly, have complied with the mandate, which can carry fines that quickly add up to hefty amounts. But Ms. Greene and Mr. Clyde have repeatedly, and proudly, flouted it.
To date, the two have incurred more than $100,000 combined in fines, which are taken directly from their paychecks.
A resolution approved by the House in January says that members will be fined $500 the first time they fail to wear a mask on the House floor, and $2,500 for subsequent violations. The House Ethics Committee notes each fine in a news release, but Ms. Greene’s and Mr. Clyde’s violations were so numerous that the panel began announcing theirs in bunches.” Read more at New York Times
Homeland Security Police kept watch as thousands of demonstrators from across the country rally outside of Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters on September 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY
“WASHINGTON — Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations say they have been kicked out of joint drug operations, shunned by local police departments, and heckled at campus career fairs. Their parent agency, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, carries a stigma that is undermining their investigative work across the country, the agents said in an internal report.
The agents say they face a backlash in liberal ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions where authorities strictly limit contact with ICE but also in some Republican-led states where politicians are vocal in their support for the agency. And the toll on HSI agents is ‘getting worse,’ according to the report that was prepared by a working group of agents formed by HSI to consider changes to the agency’s place within the Department of Homeland Security.
The HSI agents assembled dozens of these examples to convince DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that they should leave ICE. They say their affiliation with ICE’s immigration enforcement role is endangering their personal safety, stifling their partnerships with other agencies, and scaring away crime victims, according to a copy of the report provided to The Washington Post.
‘Separating HSI into its own standalone agency is not simply a branding preference,’ agents said in the document, which was circulated in a Sept. 16 internal e-mail. ‘HSI’s affiliation with ICE significantly impedes investigations and HSI’s ability to fulfill its mission.’” Read more at Boston Globe
Voters in Detroit in 2020.Brittany Greeson for The New York Times
“A ballot initiative in Michigan took redistricting out of the hands of partisan legislators. The result: a fairer political map.” Read more at New York Times
“The Pentagon is building a secret courtroom for war crimes trials at Guantánamo Bay.” Read more at New York Times
“Good morning. If you’re confused by changing Covid rules, you’re not alone.
Receiving a rapid test this week in Washington.Kenny Holston for The New York Times
Changes and confusion
As we approach the third year of the pandemic, the coronavirus continues to make life difficult — and confusing. Official guidance on masks, testing and isolation change as new variants emerge, and a stream of case numbers turns us into armchair epidemiologists, trying to figure out how risky it is to attend a New Year’s Eve party.
If the past few weeks have left you dizzy, you’re not alone. In today’s newsletter we’ll explain some recent developments and take stock as we head into 2022.
New isolation rules
The C.D.C. this week shortened its recommended isolation period, saying that people who are infected can re-enter society after five days if they don’t have symptoms or if their symptoms are resolving. The guidance adds that people should wear a mask for five days after that.
The change came about, officials said, because studies have found that a majority of transmission happens in the first five days of an infection. It also allows companies to bring back workers in half the time.
Delta Air Lines, which had urged the C.D.C. to adopt the change, welcomed the news, as did officials in the food and retail industries. In New York City, a vital subway line shut down yesterday because so many workers were out sick. Shops and restaurants have temporarily closed across Europe.
Dr. Ashish Jha called the new guidance ‘reasonable,’ as long as people follow the rule that they leave isolation only if they are asymptomatic. But Jha added that he would have required a negative rapid test before leaving isolation.
Many public health experts had a harsher reaction to the new rules, particularly the decision to omit testing. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, called it ‘reckless and, frankly, stupid.’
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the C.D.C. director, told CNN that the guidance ‘had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate.’ She estimated that less than a third of people who should have isolated in the past had done so; the new rules, she said, were meant to encourage people to stay in when they were ‘maximally infectious.’
Experts also noted that the guidelines make no distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated people who test positive, despite the unvaccinated facing far greater risks.
‘The C.D.C. should develop further guidelines, right now, that allow for those who are vaccinated and boostered to leave isolation as soon as possible after they have gotten negative results repeatedly with antigen tests,’ Dr. Aaron E. Carroll, the chief health officer for Indiana University, wrote in The Times. And, he added, the Biden administration should do ‘everything possible to make such antigen tests freely and easily available.’
Severe cases
It’s too early to be sure of Omicron’s effect on hospitalizations and deaths. But health officials say the early data offers some cautiously positive signs.
Walensky said yesterday that cases had increased by around 60 percent over the past week and hospitalizations had risen by 14 percent. While hospitalizations tend to lag cases, she noted, the pattern is similar to countries that have had the variant for longer, like South Africa and Britain.
Take the two states below as an example. New York has been one of the hardest-hit states in the current wave, and Florida was hit hard this summer by Delta. In each, hospitalizations haven’t yet reached the levels of last winter’s peaks, despite cases rising past that mark. (Look up your state here.)
Source: New York Times database
‘The pattern and disparity between cases and hospitalizations strongly suggest that there will be a lower hospitalization-to-case ratio when the situation becomes more clear,’ Dr. Anthony Fauci said yesterday.
It’s not clear that Omicron’s severity is the main cause of the split between cases and hospitalizations, though, as a year’s worth of vaccinations and infections have strengthened the country’s resistance to the virus.
Omicron and Delta
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been talking a lot about Omicron, which is the dominant variant in the U.S. and many other countries. But Delta, the variant that came to prominence in the summer, is still here.
South African scientists are hoping that there’s some good news: People who have recovered from an infection with Omicron may be able to fend off Delta, according to a small early study. (The reverse is most likely not true: Delta antibodies seem to offer little protection against Omicron.)
If the theory holds, Omicron may eventually overwhelm Delta, Carl Zimmer explained in The Times. And if Omicron is indeed less severe, its takeover could mean that fewer people get seriously ill or die.
But that doesn’t mean that Omicron will be the only variant for years to come, Carl wrote: ‘Once people gain immunity to Omicron, natural selection may favor mutations that produce a new variant that can evade that immunity.’
Something else to know about Omicron versus earlier variants: The incubation period seems to be shorter. It may take three days for people to develop symptoms, become contagious and test positive, compared with four to six days with Delta.
New Year’s Eve
All of this could have you asking whether to gather with friends or family members for New Year’s Eve tomorrow. Many public health experts agree that you can celebrate with your favorite people as long as you’re taking precautions.” Read more at New York Times
“Israel is trying to contain an avian flu outbreak that has led to the mass culling of infected poultry.” Read more at New York Times
“South Korea has ‘effectively’ agreed with the US on a draft declaring the end of the Korean War, according to South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong. Although the war ended in 1953 with an armistice, there was never actually a peace treaty to conclude the conflict between North Korea, South Korea and their respective allies. In September, North Korean Vice Minister Ri Thae Song said South Korea's call to declare an end to the Korean War was ‘premature’ due to ‘US hostile policy’ toward Pyongyang. However, a US State Department spokesperson said the US has ‘no hostile intent’ towards North Korea, and will continue to engage with its allies on the best way to handle the reclusive nation.” Read more at CNN
“Lawmakers threw punches and hurled insults in Jordan’s Parliament on Tuesday when a heated debate about women’s rights turned physical. The lawmakers were preparing to discuss a change to the constitution to address Jordanian citizens in both the feminine and masculine tense — a linguistic update that is part of a larger set of changes backed by King Abdullah II in an attempt to modernize the country. Conservative parliamentarians fear the change will override the terms of inheritance or citizenship laws, which heavily and sometimes exclusively favor men. It was this point of contention that led to Tuesday’s donnybrook, and even the speaker of Parliament had to resort to angry outbursts to manage the commotion.” Read more at CNN
“Alaska has recorded its warmest December day: 67 degrees.” Read more at New York Times
Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“The Omicron variant is threatening the recovery of the fitness industry, reports Axios' Oriana Gonzalez.
Why it matters: January is an extremely important month for the industry, which thrives on New Year's resolution memberships.
The big picture: 27% of the gyms open in 2019 had permanently closed by summer 2021, per IHRSA, the global health and fitness coalition.
Visits were down 30% in mid-February compared to 2019.
Additionally, the fitness industry lost 47% of its workforce during the pandemic.
Globally, gyms, studios and in-person fitness classes saw a 37% revenue decline in 2020, per the Global Wellness Institute.
The bottom line: Marc Thomas, who owns 40 Orangetheory Fitness locations in California, told The Wall Street Journal that revenue for his best gyms is 30% lower than that before the pandemic.
Some gyms in Ohio don't expect to get membership increases until after the winter surge, according to a local CBS affiliate.” Read more at Axios
Photos: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
“Interest in the vintage video game Tetris is growing, with rising applications for Classic Tetris World Championships and a boom in ‘tournament Tetris,’ the N.Y. Times' Zach Schonbrun reports (subscription).
Why it matters: Competitors in Tetris — which launched in 1984, 37 years ago — are getting younger, tournament organizers say. Nostalgia seems to be a lesser factor.
In 2018, the longtime world Tetris champion — Jonas Neubauer of California, then 37 — lost to 16-year-old Joseph Saelee.
‘To the sport of competitive Tetris, it was a Buster Douglas moment’ — and a win for the YouTube generation, The Times notes.
On Twitch, the platform that lets you watch your favorite gamer play live, two of the top attractions are Fort Worth, Texas, brothers Michael and Andy Artiaga, ages 14 and 16.” Read more at Axios
“Greece is banning music and standing customers on New Year's to tamp down on the Omicron spread — with all public celebrations canceled. Go deeper.” Read more at Axios
“Citing a surge in COVID among staff, the Smithsonian will close four museums for the remainder of the holidays.” Read more at Axios
“It's hot up there: Kodiak, Alaska, recorded an air temperature of 67°F on Dec. 26, which if verified would become the state's record high for the month.” Read more at Axios
Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
“In Times Square today, a confetti ‘flight test’ was staged from the Hard Rock Cafe marquee, ahead of scaled-back New Year's Eve festivities.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced 15,000 socially distanced revelers will be allowed — about a quarter of the usual 58,000.
San Francisco canceled its New Year's fireworks show.” Read more at Axios
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s marriage is officially over more than 10 years after the award-winning journalist petitioned to end her then-25-year marriage to the action star and former California governor.
A Los Angeles judge finalized the divorce on Tuesday, court records show.
The pair had been married since 1986 when Shriver filed for divorce in 2011 after Schwarzenegger disclosed he had fathered a child with a member of their household staff years earlier.
The revelation set off a tabloid frenzy, but Schwarzenegger and Shriver handled their divorce quietly and without lobbing accusations in court or in public.
It’s not clear why the process took so long. There were virtually no public actions taken in the case between the initial flurry of filings in 2011 and a resumption of court moves in June.
Financial details of the settlement were kept confidential. Because the couple’s four children together are now all adults, there is no child support or custody arrangement.” Read more at AP News
“Lives Lived: Lee Kaufman and her husband, Morty, found fame in their 90s when Swiffer featured them in advertising spots. ‘I didn’t understand why people would be looking at me,’ she said in 2014. Kaufman died at 99.” Read more at New York Times
“Amy Schneider grew up watching ‘Jeopardy!,’ honing her trivia skills from an early age. Now, decades later, a legion of fans young and old are watching her set record after record as a long-running champion on the show. On Wednesday, she notched her 21st straight victory, the most by a woman.
The milestone comes during a remarkable run for Schneider, an engineering manager who grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and now lives in Oakland, Calif. Last week she became the woman with the most all-time earnings in ‘Jeopardy!’ history, and on Tuesday she tied Julia Collins’s 2014 mark of 20 consecutive wins. Earlier this year, she became the first transgender contestant to make the Tournament of Champions, where the top players from each season compete.
Schneider, 42, now holds a top-five spot in three of the show’s four Hall of Fame categories: consecutive games won, highest winnings during regular-season play and all-time winnings — despite having yet to participate in a lucrative tournament. As of Wednesday, she had earned $806,000.” Read more at Washington Post
Amy Schneider competes on ‘Jeopardy!’ (Casey Durkin/Jeopardy Productions)