July 16, 2021

Judge gives Lin Wood 1 week to justify posting video that likely broke court rules

Judge gives Lin Wood 1 week to justify posting video that likely broke court rules

Dave Boucher
Detroit Free Press


One of the prominent purveyors of election conspiracies and an avowed Donald Trump advocate must explain to a Michigan federal judge why he posted a video recording of a recent court hearing likely in violation of local rules.

U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker is giving Lin Wood until Thursday to explain in writing why he posted a recording of a recent hearing to the social media platform Telegram. Under the court rules for the Eastern District of Michigan, the "broadcasting of judicial proceedings by radio or television or other means" is prohibited. ........(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2021/07/16/lin-wood-court-hearing-video-recording-telegram/7990486002/

July 16, 2021

MARC will return to normal this fall. But what's the new normal for Maryland's commuter rail riders?

Premal Shah boarded a 7:15 a.m. southbound MARC train to Washington at Halethorpe for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

The 43-year-old, who works in information technology for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, commuted to Washington by train before COVID-19 prompted many workplaces to close last year and the Maryland Transit Administration to reduce MARC service.

“I drove in a couple of times, and I thought, ‘Let me try it out today,’” Shah said. “I want to go in for a return to normal, and I don’t want to drive.”

He was greeted on a summer morning last month by plenty of open parking spaces at the station and empty seats on the train, as MARC ridership remains down about 90% since the pandemic struck. ..............(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/21230529/md-marc-will-return-to-normal-this-fall-but-whats-the-new-normal-for-marylands-commuter-rail-riders

July 16, 2021

The Reassuring Data on the Delta Variant

(WSJ) You read the same alarming headlines every few months, now with Greek letters. As the virus that causes Covid-19 evolves and mutates, the same concerns pop up about whether the variant evades vaccines, makes people sicker than the old versions, and increases transmissibility. What we know about the Delta variant is reassuring.

One of the most important questions is whether vaccines are still working well. The best way to answer that is to look at the number of vaccinated people getting serious Covid-19 symptoms or being hospitalized. A new study from the U.K. found that vaccines are still incredibly effective at preventing serious illness with the Delta variant circulating. The Pfizer vaccine was 96% effective after two doses at preventing hospitalization, meaning the average unvaccinated person in the study was more than 25 times as likely to be hospitalized with Covid as the average vaccinated one. (This almost certainly understates the protectiveness of the vaccine, as the vaccinated cohort was older and had a higher incidence of pre-existing conditions than the unvaccinated one.) The Johnson & Johnson vaccine produces strong neutralizing antibodies and cellular responses against the Delta variant, still present eight months after administration.

Studies from Canada and the U.K. show 79% to 87% effectiveness against symptomatic infection with the Delta variant. On July 8 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration asserted their confidence in the vaccines. They jointly announced that no boosters are necessary at this time. ...........(more)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/delta-variant-hospitalizations-covid-coronavirus-vaccine-immunity-11626374706

July 16, 2021

Florida man accused of stealing gator from golf course, threw it around to teach 'it a lesson'

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. – A Florida man who stole an alligator from a miniature-golf course, swung it around by its tail and threw it into the air claimed he was teaching the reptile “a lesson,” according to the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety.

Police said they were patrolling on South Atlantic Avenue around 3:20 a.m. Thursday when they saw a man later identified as William Hodge attempting to throw a live gator onto the roof of a building.

Hodge, 32, grabbed the creature by its tail and hit it against a building awning, according to the affidavit. He’s also accused of slamming it onto the ground and stomping on it twice and throwing the alligator over his shoulder and then onto the ground. ..........(more)

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/07/15/florida-man-accused-of-stealing-gator-from-golf-course-threw-it-around-to-teach-it-a-lesson/#//

July 16, 2021

The Pillow man thinks Salon.com is destroying America

(Salon) DALLAS — MyPillow CEO turned 2020 election truther Mike Lindell, whom I have interviewed many times by phone, got his first chance to meet me in person on Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gathering here. He did not waste the opportunity, accusing me of being "evil" and "destroying the country"

While taking in the carnivalesque sights and of CPAC early on Sunday afternoon, I noticed Lindell by his booth on the conference floor. I approached and introduced myself, beginning to ask some of the questions he has avoided answering during our multiple phone conversations.

Much of the following exchange was captured on video and later posted by Raw Story. "I'm going to tell you something, and I'm going to tell everybody," Lindell began. "In our country's history, every single election official, if there's fraud involved, there's not a statute of limitations. They take the guy that won, and they put him back in office, and it's just never happened at the presidential level." (In fact, cases of courts overturning certified elections at any level are vanishingly rare. At the federal level, it is likely a legal and constitutional impossibility.)

....(snip)....

Nearing the end of the interview, I asked Lindell about the raw data he claims to possess relating to the 2020 election, specifically the "packet-captures" (PCAPS) he has mentioned on several occasions. If the information is so explosive, I wondered, why doesn't he share it with the media?

"Sorry, Zachary. Sorry, Zachary," he responded, dodging the question by repeatedly asking whether I enjoy "destroying this country." ............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/07/13/mike-lindell-goes-ballistic-at-cpac-accuses-salon-reporter-of-destroying-the-country/

July 16, 2021

Flight From Hell: Passengers Land In Stockton 17 Hours After Taking Off From Las Vegas

STOCKTON (CBS13) – For passengers on Allegiant Airlines flight 161, an hour-long flight turned into a 17-hour journey.

“It was absolutely horrible,” said Jade Watts, who was flying from Vegas to Stockton.

The flight was scheduled to arrive at Stockton Metropolitan Airport on Monday night at 9:30 p.m. They got in on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Here’s what happened.

“The pilot comes on and says the control tower is closed,” said Watts. ........(more)

https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2021/07/14/las-vegas-stockton-flight-allegiant/

July 16, 2021

Democratic congresswoman arrested during voting rights protest at Capitol

(Guardian UK) Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat of Ohio, was one of nine people arrested during a voting rights protest at the Capitol this afternoon.

Beatty, who serves as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, shared a photo on Twitter of US Capitol police (USCP) officers putting a zip-tie on her and escorting her out of the building.

“Let the people vote. Fight for justice,” Beatty said in the tweet.

https://twitter.com/RepBeatty/status/1415759404390129670?s=20

The congresswoman had been participating in a protest calling on the Senate to pass the For the People Act, Democrats’ sweeping election reform bill. ............(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/15/joyce-beatty-democrat-arrested-congress-voting-rights-protest

July 16, 2021

US west and Canada brace for another heatwave amid more than 70 wildfires

(Guardian UK) The fourth searing heatwave in five weeks is set to strike the west of the United States and Canada this weekend, aggravating wildfires that are already ravaging an area larger than Rhode Island as drought and record-breaking temperatures tied to the climate crisis pummel the region.

The impending heatwave comes as 12 states are already battling 71 active wildfires. The combined area of blaze is about 1,562 sq miles (4,047 sq km), according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The largest blaze by far continues to be the Bootleg fire in south-central Oregon, which has been burning for nine days and has devastated an area larger than New York City with no sign of it letting up. As of Thursday morning, the fire is at only 7% containment and the cause is still unknown.

Almost 2,000 houses are currently threatened by the Bootleg fire. Tim McCarley described to the Associated Press having to flee his home in a rural area north of Bly. “The sheriff’s department had been there and they said, ‘If you don’t get out of here now, then you are going to die,’” he said. “We were running around like a chicken with its head cut off, throwing stuff into the car. Then we say, OK, that’s it, we got to go.” ........(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/15/heatwave-us-west-canada-wildfires

July 15, 2021

Michigan GOP plans "shocking" scheme to ram through voting restrictions over Whitmer's veto

(Salon) The Republican leader of the Michigan State Senate says the party will try to push through its proposed voting restrictions, using a unique loophole in state law, despite a near-certain veto by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Republicans have already introduced 39 voting bills in the State Senate and dozens more in the House, three of which have already passed. Whitmer has vowed to veto the proposed restrictions. Senate Republican Leader Mike Shirkey told local news outlet JTV earlier this month that Republicans do not have the votes to override the veto but would instead pursue a scheme to use the state's citizen initiative process to circumvent the veto.

"You heard it here first, keep your eyes and ears open for the potential of a citizen initiative driven by the state party on some of these more important election laws that need to be considered," Shirkey said.

But state Sen. Erika Geiss, a Democrat, warned in an interview with Salon that "citizens will never actually see this question on their ballot."

....(snip)....

Michigan's unique "adopt and amend" procedure allows the state legislature to adopt a citizen initiative and then pass it into law with a simple veto-proof majority. The scheme only requires about 340,000 signatures, or 8% of the total votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, meaning that Michigan's heavily gerrymandered Republican majority and less than 4% of the state's population can circumvent the governor's power without ever putting the question before the public. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/07/15/michigan-gop-plans-shocking-scheme-to-ram-through-voting-restrictions-over-whitmers-veto/

July 15, 2021

Amazon rainforest now emitting more CO2 than it absorbs

(Guardian UK) The Amazon rainforest is now emitting more carbon dioxide than it is able to absorb, scientists have confirmed for the first time.

The emissions amount to a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to a study. The giant forest had previously been a carbon sink, absorbing the emissions driving the climate crisis, but is now causing its acceleration, researchers said.

Most of the emissions are caused by fires, many deliberately set to clear land for beef and soy production. But even without fires, hotter temperatures and droughts mean the south-eastern Amazon has become a source of CO2, rather than a sink.

Growing trees and plants have taken up about a quarter of all fossil fuel emissions since 1960, with the Amazon playing a major role as the largest tropical forest. Losing the Amazon’s power to capture CO2 is a stark warning that slashing emissions from fossil fuels is more urgent than ever, scientists said. ...........(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/14/amazon-rainforest-now-emitting-more-co2-than-it-absorbs