Ire over pharmacy middlemen fuels lobbying blitz
The effort to paint pharmacy benefit managers as villains has sparked a multimillion-dollar campaign to influence Democrats.
Today's Liberal News
Omicron complicates puzzle over at-home Covid pill
Independent advisers to the FDA endorsed the pill, molnupiravir, in an unusually tight 13-10 vote this week after airing concerns about its low efficacy rate and potential safety risks to pregnant people.
Biden’s free at-home test promise could come with added costs
“We should not think for a minute that this is some sort of magic bullet that is going to get us to universally free and accessible testing,” said a Georgetown health policy expert.
Powell: Fed may pull back economic support more quickly as prices spike
Powell’s comment came after the Fed already announced earlier this month that it would slow the pace at which it buys U.S. government debt and mortgage-backed securities.
Why Biden picked Powell
In the end, President Joe Biden did what many close to him expected: He took a longer-than-anticipated amount of time to arrive at a reasonable, moderate decision that thrilled few but carried limited risk.
Raimondo: Commerce ‘war room’ seeing improvements on supply chain woes
The Commerce secretary said in an interview that the Biden administration sees trading partners in Asia as part of the solution.
Opinion | Don’t Learn the Wrong Lesson on Inflation
Aggressive action to deliver pandemic relief was the right call — and withdrawing support now would only hurt American workers.
Biden’s war on inflation is a battle to change human behavior
The president needs people to overcome a new set of fears and direct their purchases into the areas of the service economy hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Facility”: Meet the Former Prisoner Who Details Fight for His Life Inside ICE Jail During COVID
We go inside a notorious ICE jail at the height of the pandemic to see how people held there spoke out against dangerous conditions, and faced retaliation before they were ultimately released with no notice. Their story is captured in a new documentary called “The Facility.
News Roundup: Nunes bails from Congress; pandemic deaths mount in Republican counties
In the news today: House Republican Devin Nunes has apparently decided he can do more to undermine the country as private citizen than he can in the House: Today he announced he’ll be retiring from his House seat to (cough) allegedly run a new startup pro-Trump media company. Allegedly.
Georgia Gov.
Educators in states without school mask mandates are concerned about the COVID-19 omicron variant
by Alexandra Martinez
This article was originally published at Prism
The World Health Organization has designated the new COVID-19 variant, omicron, as a variant of concern, with cases already being reported in California and Minnesota, adding another risk for educators in nine states where wearing a mask in the classroom is optional.
Evangelical anti-vaxx ‘rebel’ reveals father ended up in ER after whole family contracts COVID-19
The evangelical right in our country is not populated by people promoting long-term thinking. While most Christians believe that vaccinations are miraculous ways in which science has been able to help humanity fend off disease and death, evangelicals continue to promote an end-of-times eschatological Judeo-Christian view of the world that has been wrong about the coming apocalypse for about 2,100 years now. Never fear, at some point they’ll get it right.
Openly trans high schooler says school officials told him he can’t use boys’ bathroom anymore
As Daily Kos has continued to cover, Republicans are more than happy to push hateful agendas on vulnerable trans youth. We’ve covered the ongoing attempts to keep trans girls out of girls’ sports teams, for example, as well as the recent movement for schools to essentially “out” trans youth to their parents.
Tech company slammed after using white actors to voice Black characters in diversity training video
Following the outcry and global protests after the police murder of George Floyd, many companies began their glacial march toward equality by becoming suddenly and extremely compelled to improve workplace diversity.
So, how does a white-owned tech company address race issues in the workplace? By hiring an organization designed to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Emmett Till’s Family’s ‘Heart Is Broken’ After Justice Department Closes Investigation
The DOJ closed its investigation after finding “insufficient evidence” that a white woman had recanted her claims that led to the Black 14-year-old’s lynching.
California Rep. Devin Nunes Will Leave Congress To Join Trump Tech Startup
The 10-term congressman will be the CEO of the new Trump Media & Technology Group.
Finally, Donald Trump Has A Legit Reason To Cry ‘Fake News!’
A Trump Christmas card that looks extra phallic is trending on Twitter. Of course, many people are asking if it’s real.
Biden touts drug pricing plan in push for social spending bill
The president nudged Democratic senators to push through his Build Back Better plan, which includes several measures designed to alleviate burdens on consumers.
Justice Department Sues Texas Over Gerrymandered Redistricting Plan
Texas lawmakers “refused to recognize the state’s growing minority electorate” in drawing the state’s new district maps, the DOJ said.
How to Socialize Safely in the Booster Era
This past spring, if someone told you that they were fully vaccinated, you knew precisely what they meant: At least two weeks before, they’d received two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, two doses of Pfizer, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson.Now what it means to be vaccinated encompasses much more variety. Some people who have gotten their initial doses haven’t gotten a booster dose, and some people mixed and matched the brands of their first shots and their booster.
‘It’s Giving’: A Gift to Language
Sign up for Caleb’s newsletter here.The first time I heard the phrase It’s giving, I admit that I was mystified. A friend showed me a pre–Met Gala Instagram post by the pop star Camila Cabello: a picture of her face with small circles of makeup next to her eyes, each a different reddish shade, to which she had given the caption, “It’s giving … dots.
We’re Not at Endemicity Yet
No one knows exactly what endemic COVID will look like, but whatever it looks like, this—gestures at the current situation—ain’t it. COVID is not yet endemic. There is little doubt that the coronavirus will get there eventually, when almost everyone has been vaccinated or infected or both, but right now we are still living through a messy and potentially volatile transition period. Cases are ticking up again. A new variant is afoot.
U.S. Opposes a Ban on Killer Robots – A New Autonomous Form of Warfare – Ahead of U.N. Weapons Summit
Human rights activists and dozens of countries are calling for an all-out ban on the use of lethal autonomous weapons, also known as “killer robots” that can make the final order to kill without a human overseeing the process. The robots will be coming under review next week during high-level talks on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
“Crisis of Accountability”: Pentagon Reopens Probe of Syrian Airstrike That Killed Dozens of Civilians
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a new investigation into one of the deadliest U.S. airstrikes in recent years after the New York Times exposed an orchestrated cover-up by U.S. military officials to conceal the attack. The March 2019 airstrike killed dozens of women and children during a bombing of one of the last strongholds of the Islamic State of Syria. Evidence has shown that U.S.
“Systemwide Failure”: Gun Control Advocates Demand New Regulations After Michigan School Shooting
Funerals have begun in Oxford, Michigan, for the four students killed when their 15-year-old classmate opened fire in a rampage that also injured seven others. Ethan Crumbley has been charged with terrorism and first-degree murder, and his parents have also been charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly giving him access to a firearm even as he displayed obvious signs he was thinking about committing violent crimes.
What’s Really Behind Global Vaccine Hesitancy
In the public-health world, the rise of Omicron prompted a great, big “I told you so.” Since the new variant was detected in South Africa, advocacy groups, the WHO, and global-health experts have said the new variant was a predictable consequence of vaccine inequity. Rich countries are hoarding vaccine doses, they said, leaving much of the developing world under-vaccinated. But in reality, countries with low vaccination rates are suffering from more than just inequity.
David Letterman Immediately Shreds Donald Trump At Kennedy Center Honors
President Joe Biden presided over the annual gala that was repeatedly snubbed by the former president.
Ire over pharmacy middlemen fuels lobbying blitz
The effort to paint pharmacy benefit managers as villains has sparked a multimillion-dollar campaign to influence Democrats.
Omicron complicates puzzle over at-home Covid pill
Independent advisers to the FDA endorsed the pill, molnupiravir, in an unusually tight 13-10 vote this week after airing concerns about its low efficacy rate and potential safety risks to pregnant people.
Biden’s free at-home test promise could come with added costs
“We should not think for a minute that this is some sort of magic bullet that is going to get us to universally free and accessible testing,” said a Georgetown health policy expert.