Students are greeted yesterday as they arrive at PS811 in New York City.
“Covid-19 cases among US children have risen almost 240% since July, American Academy of Pediatrics data shows. Kids now account for 29% of all cases reported nationwide. This substantial increase has coincided with school reopenings, and experts say vaccine mandates may be the only way to keep in-person classes viable. Children under 12 are not eligible for a vaccine yet, so advocates are urging parents to get vaccinated to protect their children. In China, authorities are rushing to contain what is being dubbed the country’s first ‘school centered’ outbreak in the southern province of Fujian. The outbreak was traced to an elementary school and could become a huge problem if it’s not contained before the National Day holiday next month, when hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel in the country.” Read more at CNN
“The Delta-variant surge is hitting working-age people hard.
High vaccination rates among the elderly, who are more vulnerable to severe Covid-19 outcomes, are restraining the overall increase in U.S. deaths, some researchers say. That is shifting a larger share of the nation’s deaths from the virus to younger populations with lower vaccination rates, underscoring the need to get more people inoculated. Younger people have represented a growing share of deaths since vaccines became available, a trend that has continued into the summer’s Delta surge. People in their 30s are four times as likely to die from Covid-19 infections as people ages 18 to 29, according to the CDC. For people ages 75 to 84, the risk of death is 220 times as high. The CDC released studies Friday showing unvaccinated Americans were 4.6 times as likely to be infected, 10 times as likely to be hospitalized and 11 times as likely to die as vaccinated people. To date, the pandemic has killed some 660,000 people in the U.S., Johns Hopkins University data show.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“(CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin is self-isolating after several people in his inner circle tested positive for Covid-19, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
He has tested negative for the virus and is healthy, the Kremlin added.
Putin has been vaccinated against Covid-19. He received a shot in March, more than three months after qualifying to do so.” Read more at CNN
“Republicans’ sweeping denunciations of President Biden’s plan to force more people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus are raising concerns among public health experts that this heated criticism could help fuel a broader rejection of other vaccine requirements, including those put in place by schools and the military, as the issue of inoculations becomes increasingly political.” Read more at Washington Post
“Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday, becoming the first Biden administration official to publicly account to Congress for the chaotic, violent US withdrawal from Afghanistan that ended last month. Though the hearing brought few answers, it did set up what will likely become an ugly battle between Biden officials defending the hurried exit and Republican lawmakers heavily criticizing it. The painful topic could become especially contentious as we enter the midterm election season. Meanwhile, people in Afghanistan are facing spiraling poverty, possible starvation and economic collapse under Taliban rule, the UN warned. The Taliban has also mandated segregation of genders in classrooms and required women and girls to wear hijabs in academic settings.” Read more at CNN
“One-third to half of the $14 trillion spent by the Pentagon since 9/11 went to for-profit defense contractors, according to a study by Brown University's Costs of War project and the Center for International Policy.” [Axios] Read more at AP
“The Taliban says Afghan women must attend female-only classrooms
The Taliban have announced that Afghan women will be required to wear conservative Islamic clothing and that university classrooms must be separated by gender from now on, raising concerns that their pledge to rule more progressively than they did when previously in power was a lie. [Guardian / Hanna Ellis-Petersen]
The international community has been watching Afghanistan to see how the Taliban would treat women’s rights. After the group assumed control of the country in the late 1990s, women were not allowed to study or work outside the home.[Reuters]
Some Afghan women responded to the announcement by the Taliban’s higher education minister by sharing photos in traditional attire on social media. [Independent / Saman Javed]
The news came as more than $1 billion in aid has been pledged for Afghanistan after UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutierrez warned that the country was perhaps facing its ‘most perilous hour,’ with poverty rates increasing and public services on the brink of collapse. [Reuters / Emma Farge and Michelle Nichols]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised $64 million in US support that will go directly to UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations ‘to meet critical health and nutrition needs, address the protection concerns of women, children, and minorities, to help more children — including girls — go back to school.’ [Washington Post / John Hudson]” Read more at Vox
“Tropical Storm Nicholas strengthened to a hurricane in the western Gulf of Mexico Monday night before making landfall along the middle Texas coast during the predawn hours Tuesday.
The storm produced wind gusts over 90 mph and cut power to over 100,000 customers as it bombarded coastal Texas, but forecasters most feared its heavy rain both in Lonestar State and southern Louisiana.
From just south of Galveston to Lake Charles, La., some areas could see rainfall amounts topping 10 inches triggering significant flooding.
Houston, the fourth-largest city in the nation and particularly vulnerable to flooding, could see several inches of rain, but projections for the city were scaled back some on Monday as the storm appeared to be taking more of a coastal rather than inland track.
As the storm gained strength Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an anticipatory disaster declaration for 17 counties.” Read more at Washington Post
“Democrats return to Capitol Hill this month with a crushing set of deadlines. First up, the $3.5 trillion social safety net bill has to be finalized by the Senate, then passed through the House next week. That’s easier said than done, since it seems there are still deep divisions within the Democratic ranks about the plan’s scope. Then, the House must vote on the separate, $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill by September 27. After that, the next deadline for government funding is at the beginning of October, and then lawmakers will need to tackle the problem of raising the debt ceiling by the middle of next month -- or risk serious damage to US’ financial reputation.” Read more at CNN
“House Democrats are expected to propose a series of tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations. The effort comes as Democrats search for ways to fund their spending proposals, including a large-scale expansion of the social safety net touching on family care, public education and climate policies. Taken together, the changes would raise about $2.9 trillion in revenue. The proposals would bring back a tiered system for corporate taxes, raising the rate from 21% to 26.5% for corporations that have more than $5 million in annual revenue, while lowering it to 18% for companies that make less than $400,000. Individuals would experience the rate at $400,000; households at $425,000; and married couples at $450,000.” Read more at USA Today
“The prospect of a $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending bill has sparked a lobbying frenzy in Congress, as lawmakers zero in this week on a measure that could reshape the nation’s energy system.
The jockeying over what promises to be the largest-ever overhaul of the United States’ electricity grid and automotive fleet involves major industries, environmental groups and President Biden, who argued for cutting carbon emissions while touring wildfire damage in the West on Monday.
Unlike the usual lobbying drive on high-profile bills, this campaign has been swift, reflecting the political urgency of Democrats’ efforts to advance long-stalled policy priorities and vast swaths of Biden’s broader economic agenda. Using a budget process known as reconciliation, they hope to pass the mammoth package with only Democratic votes as soon as this month, along with another, nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.” Read more at Washington Post
“MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Four former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Tuesday at a hearing that could also address some pretrial motions.
A federal grand jury indicted Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao in May for allegedly depriving Floyd of his rights while acting under government authority on May 25, 2020, as Floyd, 46, was held face-down, handcuffed and not resisting in a restraint that was captured on bystander video. His death led to worldwide protests and calls for change in policing.” Read more at USA Today
“BOSTON—Determined to get their children into the University of Southern California and other elite schools, two wealthy parents falsely portrayed the teens as recruited athletes and knew the money they gave a college counselor and others served as payments in exchange for admission offers, prosecutors told jurors in opening statements at the first criminal trial in the Varsity Blues college-admissions case.
The case is about ‘lies, lies to obtain admissions spots that were bought and paid for,’ said Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Wright in the government’s opening salvo. ‘It was a sprawling conspiracy that extended from coast to coast. None of these kids were getting recruited to play collegiate sports without the money.’
The trial kicked off Monday, more than two years after the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts charged dozens of people—ultimately 57—in what they called a complex fraud and bribery scheme. College counselor William ‘Rick’ Singer has admitted to working with parents and others to rig teens’ SAT and ACT scores, and to bribe coaches at schools including USC, Stanford and Yale universities to fraudulently present applicants as recruited athletes, all but guaranteeing they would get in. He is awaiting sentencing.
Forty-six defendants, including Hollywood stars, Division I coaches and test proctors, have pleaded guilty.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Leaked data and emails reveal the federal civil rights agency’s internal triage system. These documents detail a secret reality: Some Black workers who complain about discrimination are being discriminated against by the EEOC itself.” Read more at USA Today
“Parliamentary elections in Norway have shaken up the country’s government, giving the center-left Labor Party a chance to form a new coalition after the ruling Conservatives lost their lead. This also means the end of Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s eight-year reign. Norway’s campaign period heavily focused on the climate crisis and the future of the country's lucrative oil industry. But a new government doesn’t necessarily mean a boon for climate-minded politicians. The anti-oil party, the Greens, failed to win enough votes to become the potential kingmaker. And even left-leaning politicians have been hesitant to go all-out on fossil fuel reduction since oil contributes significantly to the nation's wealth.” Read more at CNN
“LONG BEACH, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom's final visitor before his campaign against the recall election ended Monday was also his most politically important. President Biden arrived in the state with a message for California voters that keeping the incumbent in office was the most effective way to ensure a quick-as-possible end to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the advent of coronavirus vaccines and an easing of requirements in some places, the pandemic has again become priority one for Newsom and Biden, a pair of politically vulnerable Democrats whose vaccine and mask rules have helped to revive their approval ratings.
The visit, ostensibly a political favor for Newsom, served both politicians’ purposes for the eve-of-election stage it gave them to again implore the nation to get vaccinated and wear masks. On Monday, Newsom announced that his administration has spent more than $1 billion on rent and utility assistance for those affected by the coronavirus.” Read more at Washington Post
“The Big Lie — a falsehood peddled by Donald Trump that his election was stolen — is now being pushed by conservatives in today's California recall election, Axios' Sara Fischer reports.
Why it matters: Now that the precedent has been set, more losing pols will use unfounded allegations of fraud to try to undermine outcomes they don't agree with.
Reality check: There’s been no evidence of widespread fraud in the California election, or the 2020 election.
Right-wing media and political figures have already begun alleging that today's recall faced by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is ‘rigged.’
Newsom's lead in polls is big enough to withstand major sampling errors, The New York Times' Nate Cohn reports
Conservative radio host Larry Elder polls best to replace him.
Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren said last week that the only thing that would save Newsom in his recall election is ‘voter fraud.’ The claim has been pushed by right-wing media outlets and personalities for the past few weeks.
‘Does anybody really believe the California Recall Election isn’t rigged?’ Trump's ‘Save America PAC’ blasted in an email to supporters yesterday.
What's happening: Tech platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, implemented systems to address false allegations of fraud in the 2020 election. But those systems may not be equipped to handle similar narratives circling down-ballot elections.
Data from Zignal Labs, a social-media intelligence firm, finds that between June 1 and Sept. 1, mentions of terms like ‘fraud,’ election ‘rigging’ or ‘stealing ballots’ received hundreds of thousands of mentions, with occurrences spiking in the past two weeks.
Google searches for ‘voter fraud ‘in California have increased more than 5x over the past week, according to Google Trends data.” Read more at Axios
“Two Supreme Court justices are attempting to convince the public that the divides on the court are a result of differing judicial philosophies, not partisan motivations.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, making her most visible public remarks since being confirmed to the court last year, told a Kentucky crowd Sunday that the justices do not take partisan outcomes into account when deciding cases.
‘My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks,’ she said, according to a report in the Courier-Journal. Instead, she said, competing judicial philosophies control the way the justices look at the legal issues before them.
Barrett moves Supreme Court to the right, but cautiously
But the setting for Barrett’s remarks prompted immediate blowback on social media: She was talking to guests at an event marking the 30th anniversary of the opening of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville.
It is named for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who as Senate majority leader was instrumental in Barrett’s nearly party-line confirmation vote after President Donald Trump nominated her to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last September.
McConnell pushed for Barrett’s confirmation even as voters began voting to deny Trump a second term. He said her confirmation was the capstone of his efforts to make the federal judiciary more conservative, including the confirmation of three Supreme Court justices nominated by Trump.
McConnell introduced Barrett at the event, and praised her for not trying to ‘legislate from the bench’ and for being from ‘Middle America,’ noting that the Notre Dame law graduate is the only current justice who didn’t attend Harvard or Yale.
The pushback was swift. ‘If Justice Barrett wants the Supreme Court not to be seen as partisan, she should avoid being hosted by a center named after the most partisan person in America,’ said Gabe Roth, leader of a Supreme Court reform group called Fix the Court….
Meanwhile, Justice Stephen G. Breyer continued a book tour in which he, too, has evangelized that the justices are not ‘junior league’ politicians but are deciding cases based on the way they look at the law….
But Breyer acknowledged that the court is divided in many high-profile cases and noted especially a recent decision allowing Texas’s restrictive abortion law to go into effect while legal battles continue.
‘I did think it was very wrong, and I wrote a dissent,’ Breyer said. ‘The dissent gave my reason, and the timing wasn’t very good for my book because it’s pretty hard to believe in a case like those that come along that we’re less divided than you might think, but here we are. Sometimes people, as I did in that case, do feel pretty strongly, and then you’re not going to get compromise.’
As in other interviews, the 83-year-old Breyer declined to talk in detail about the unprecedented pressure he has received to retire so that President Biden can appoint a successor while Democrats are in control of the Senate.
He has said he will take into consideration his health, which appears good, and other factors, including how it would affect the court.” Read more at Washington Post
“Facebook says its rules apply to all, but company documents say different.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said Facebook allows its more than three billion users to speak on equal footing with the elites of politics, culture and journalism, and that its standards of behavior apply to everyone. In private, the company has built a system that has exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules, according to company documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The program, known as ‘cross check’ or ‘XCheck,’ was initially intended as a quality-control measure for actions taken against high-profile accounts, including celebrities, politicians and journalists. Today, it shields millions of VIP users from the company’s normal enforcement process, the documents show. Some users are ‘whitelisted’—rendered immune from enforcement actions—while others are allowed to post rule-violating material pending Facebook employee reviews that often never come.
In June, Facebook told its Oversight Board that its system for high-profile users was used in ‘a small number of decisions.’ In a written statement, Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said criticism of XCheck was fair, but he added that the system ‘was designed for an important reason: to create an additional step so we can accurately enforce policies on content that could require more understanding.’ He said Facebook has been accurate in its communications to the board and that the company is continuing to work to phase out the practice of whitelisting. ‘A lot of this internal material is outdated information stitched together to create a narrative that glosses over the most important point: Facebook itself identified the issues with cross check and has been working to address them,’ he said.” Read more at Wall Street Journal“Apple issued emergency updates in response to a flaw that let spyware from an Israeli company infect iPhones and Macs.” Read more at New York Times
“Our warming planet. The number of days a year where temperatures reached 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) or above has doubled since the 1980s, a study conducted by the BBC has found. Although most high temperatures have been recorded in the Middle East, super-high temperatures are found increasingly in North America and Europe. ‘The increase can be 100% attributed to the burning of fossil fuels,’ Friederike Otto, associate director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, told the BBC.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Researchers have taken a small step toward reducing agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions by potty-training a herd of cows. Scientists at an animal research lab in the German town of Dummerstorf trained the group of young cows to use a ‘MooLoo,’ a designated pen for the animals to urinate in—a process that took only 15 days.
‘The cows are at least as good as children, age 2 to 4 years, at least as quick,’ Lindsay Matthews, the study’s senior author told the Associated Press.
The eight gallons of urine a cow passes per day can wreak havoc for the environment, creating ammonia when mixed with cow dung and polluting the air with nitrous oxide. Matthews is confident the same training method could be applied to deal with cow dung, but conceded that stopping cows’ flatulence—a significant source of methane emissions—was beyond the realm of behavioral training. ‘They would blow up,’ Matthews said.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“$2.7 trillion — The amount the U.S. budget deficit narrowed in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, down from $3 trillion a year earlier. Federal revenue during the latest period increased 18% from the previous year to a record $3.6 trillion, largely due to higher receipts from individual and corporate income taxes.
65% — The percentage of U.S. employees who would like their employers to mandate Covid-19 vaccines, according to a survey of 2,000 American workers by consulting company Mercer.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Lives Lived: The music impresario George Wein almost single-handedly turned the jazz festival into a worldwide phenomenon. He died at 95.” Read more at New York Times
“Former San Francisco 49ersand New Orleans Saints linebackerParys Haralsonhas passed away, the 49ers announced Monday. He was 37.” Read more at USA Today
“Americans know more about the three branches of government than ever before, likely due to the massive increase of politics in our media diets, Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer writes.
‘This knowledge appears to have been purchased at a real cost,’ said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of Penn's Annenberg Public Policy Center. ‘It was a contentious year in which the branches of government were stress-tested.’
An annual civics study by the Annenberg Center finds that a more polarized society knows more about the basics of government.
In 2021, 56% of Americans were able to name all three branches of government, up from 33% in 2006.
More than half of Americans (61%) incorrectly said that the First Amendment requires Facebook to let all Americans express themselves freely on its platform.
Nearly half of Americans (49%) believe it's accurate that arresting the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters violates their constitutional rights.” Read more at Axios