Flu virus with 'pandemic potential' found in China

Source: BBC

A bad new strain of influenza is among the top disease threats that experts are watching for, even as the world attempts to bring to an end the current coronavirus pandemic.

The last pandemic flu the world encountered - the swine flu outbreak of 2009 that began in Mexico - was less deadly than initially feared, largely because many older people had some immunity to it, probably because of its similarity to other flu viruses that had circulated years before.

That virus, called A/H1N1pdm09, is now covered by the annual flu vaccine to make sure people are protected.

The new flu strain that has been identified in China is similar to 2009 swine flu, but with some new changes.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53218704

Golden State Killer Suspect Pleads Guilty To More Than A Dozen Murders

Source: NPR

Wearing an orange jumpsuit and a clear face shield to protect against coronavirus, former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. pleaded guilty on Monday to 13 counts of first-degree murder. The string of murders in the 1970s and '80s terrorized California, and the suspect who committed them became known as the Golden State Killer.

DeAngelo, 74, sat in a wheelchair as he rasped out "yes" and "I admit" to the charges, after prosecutors described the grisly circumstances of each crime. Otherwise, he hardly spoke and did not look at the victims' families.

"Mr. DeAngelo is acknowledging his guilt for the heinous crimes he has committed," said Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton. "There is really nothing that could give full justice because he has committed horrendous acts and murder up and down the state of California. But at least we can now begin the process — after decades — to bring some closure to families."

The hearing took place in a makeshift courtroom within a ballroom at Sacramento State University, NPR's Eric Westervelt reports from the scene. The chairs in the gallery were spaced 10 feet apart for social distancing, attorneys wore face shields, and sheriff's deputies wore black face masks.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/29/884809588/golden-state-killer-suspect-pleads-guilty-to-more-than-a-dozen-murders

Why is Mr Foreign Policy Lindsey Graham so quiet?

Isn't this BountyGate in his wheelhouse? I mean he wants "answers" but if this was a Democrat in office, we know he's be calling for impeachment.

Exclusive: Golden State Killer suspect DeAngelo could plead guilty, avoid death penalty

Source: The Sacramento Bee

Lawyers in the Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist case believe they have reached a deal under which suspect Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. will plead guilty to 88 murder, rape and other charges at a June 29 hearing and avoid a death penalty trial with a life sentence imposed instead, four sources have told The Sacramento Bee.

Details of the agreement, which has not been formalized in court documents filed in the case, still are being worked out, as is the final decision on where the hearing will take place.

Hearings in the case to date have been held in a cramped courtroom on the first floor of the Sacramento County Main Jail that can accommodate only several dozen people.

Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article243547517.html#storylink=cpy

Read more: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article243547517.html

Let's all enjoy some "right wing intellectual" schadenfreude Re:SCOTUS

Just a taste.


https://twitter.com/goldengateblond/status/1272567595065987072

Conservatives are losing it over today's ruling

Just a reminder. “Economic anxiety, my ass.”

Three minutes of pure Covidiocy.

Remember Lara Logan? 60 Minutes Lara Logan? Now a full blown nut.