Good morning
The US is “not out of the woods” in this pandemic, as the Delta variant of coronavirus is now spreading with incredible efficiency, especially in areas with low vaccination rates.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said yesterday at a White House briefing that the country was “at another pivotal moment in this pandemic”.
The US government did not change its guidance on mask wearing, however, despite ongoing debate between the White House and the CDC over whether vaccinated individuals should still wear masks indoors to prevent spread.
Covid cases are up 195%, hospitalizations by 46% and deaths by 42%, according to Dr Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the president.
The Delta variant accounts for more than 83% of new coronavirus cases in the US. There are some parts of the country where it accounts for 90% of new cases, Fauci said.
California has had a dramatic uptick in Covid-19 infections that have prompted counties to reinstate masking requirements just months after the state dropped all its coronavirus safety restrictions.
An Alabama doctor said her unvaccinated Covid patients are begging her for the vaccine before they’re intubated. “ I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late,” she said.
Democrats: FBI failed to fully investigate Kavanaugh allegations
Newly released materials show the FBI failed to fully investigate sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh when Donald Trump nominated him to the court in 2018, a group of Democratic senators said yesterday.
The senators said they received a letter from FBI director Christopher Wray that stated the agency gathered more than 4,500 tips relating to Kavanaugh without any apparent further action by investigators.
Truth of US Capitol attack may be elusive with clash over committee
“The American people want to know the truth” about what happened the day of the 6 January attack of the US Capitol, House speaker Nancy Pelosi said – as well as what led to it. But with minority leader Kevin McCarthy pulling all his Republican appointees from the House select committee tasked with investigating the attack, experts question if the truth will ever come out.
About 100 CIA officers and family have been sickened with Havana syndrome, director says
Two hundred US officials and their family have been sickened by “Havana syndrome”, including about 100 CIA officers and their family, CIA director William Burns said yesterday.
Havana syndrome is a set of mysterious ailments that include dizziness, nausea, migraines and memory lapses. It was first was reported by US officials based in the US embassy in Cuba in 2016.
In other news …
A northern California wildfire crossed into Nevada, prompting new evacuations, as a major California utility that had been found at fault for a number of fatal fires announces plans to bury 10,000 miles of its power lines.
The ACLU is calling for an investigation into the Alaska assistant attorney general revealed by the Guardian to have tweeted racist and antisemitic tweets as a far-right Deseret nationalist.
Thousands are trapped without fresh water amid the China floods, as the extreme rainstorms move further north.
An eight-week gap between the first and second doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is a “sweet spot” when it comes to generating strong immune response against the Delta variant of coronavirus in the UK, scientists said.
Stat of the day: about 9 million Americans are estimated to have lost work due to the pandemic – but have received no unemployment benefits
State systems were quickly overwhelmed with the mass influx of unemployment applications that came with the onset of the pandemic, causing months of backlog.
Don’t miss: the ultramarathoners crossing Death Valley in extreme heat
A hundred athletes are picked each year for the 135-mile race in California’s Death Valley, but this was the year that Death Valley hit the highest recorded temperature in the valley – and on Earth – since 1913.
Climate check: hot where it’s not
Ballywatticock, a small townland in Northern Ireland, drew attention last weekend when it recorded the highest temperature in the UK during a heatwave. While locals enjoyed the dry heat – “like walking off a plane in a really hot country,” one local said – it was indicative of the extreme weather happening elsewhere around the world.
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Last Thing: the new kids of pop punk
Once upon a time, pop punk was defined by all-male bands in Dickie pants, whining about high school, small towns and faceless girls. Now it’s Gen Z’s turn with the genre of Green Day, Blink-182, New Found Glory and Sum 41, and a diverse group of women have emerged with a playful emotional maturity that had been woefully missing from the music of yesteryear.
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