Birx: Trump adviser squeezed out health officials to downplay seriousness of Covid-19
Scott Atlas had rapidly consolidated power on a platform that downplayed the seriousness of Covid to most Americans.
Today's Liberal News
U.S. to defer 33M Covid vaccine doses to Africa
“This deal will get the continent Moderna doses that have been long-awaited and in high demand,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Justice for the Dead
As relatives looked on, some sobbing, some applauding, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons in August to the Martinsville Seven, young Black men electrocuted 70 years ago for the rape of a white woman. Northam took no position on their guilt or innocence; he merely cited ample evidence that the state had not accorded the men justice.“Race played an undeniable role during the identification, investigation, conviction, and the sentencing” of the men, Northam said.
“Worked to Death”: IATSE Film Crew on “Rust” Walked Off Set to Protest Conditions Before Shooting
We look at how the tragic shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of “Rust” last Thursday on a set in New Mexico is drawing attention to cost-cutting decisions and overall safety in the film industry. Yahoo News is reporting the gun that killed Hutchins had been used by crew members just hours beforehand for live-ammunition target practice.
“Devastation and Anger” in Sudan as Military Coup Halts Country’s Democratic Transition
We look at the attempted coup in Sudan, where the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan overthrew the transitional government Monday, detaining Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other political leaders. As protesters flooded the streets of Khartoum demanding the government be handed back to the civilians, Sudanese soldiers opened fire on them, killing at least 10 and wounding scores more.
The Facebook Papers: Docs Reveal Tech Giant’s Complicity in Hate, Lies & Violence Around the World
Thousands of internal Facebook documents leaked to media outlets continue to produce damning revelations about how the social media giant has prioritized its profits over user safety. The Facebook Papers have provided fresh evidence of how the company has let serious problems fester on its platform, including hate, misinformation, and human trafficking, and failed to invest in moderation outside English-speaking countries.
CDC director encourages Halloween trick-or-treating
“If you are spread out doing your trick-or-treating, that should be very safe for your children,“ Rochelle Walensky said.
Dems eye slimmed-down drug price deal to advance social spending bill
Democrats say it’s likely the final bill will involve very limited government negotiation of drug prices.
Biden meets with top FDA candidate
President Joe Biden spoke Friday with Robert Califf, in the clearest sign yet he’s poised to nominate Califf to run the Food and Drug Administration.
CDC gives green light to Moderna, J&J boosters plus mix-and-match strategy
The advisory committee endorsed the FDA’s decision to authorize a Moderna booster for people 65 and older and for all adults who either have underlying conditions or work in high-risk settings.
Insurers look to make Dems’ latest pay-for plan politically toxic
Industry-allied groups have spent $2.6 million on television advertisements opposing cuts to Medicare Advantage since the spring.
Yellen expects inflation to linger, then ease later in 2022
The most recent Consumer Price Index showed prices have gone up 5.4 percent in the past 12 months.
Opinion | How Corporations Keep Their Own Workers in Debt
Too many employers are imposing crippling debt on workers. Biden can do something about it.
The political peril that Biden didn’t see coming
The current inflation spike now appears to be on track to persist deep into 2022.
Opinion | What the Supply Chain Crisis Reveals About American Infrastructure
Politicians like to argue in favor of more infrastructure — and more spending on it. But we can use the capacity we already have in much smarter ways.
Public Citizen Blasts Pfizer for Putting Corporate Profit Over Increasing Access to COVID Vaccines
A damning new report shows that one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine makers appears to have played a role in restricting access to those very vaccines. The report, “Pfizer’s Power,” published this week by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, examines Pfizer’s contracts with the United States, United Kingdom, European Commission, Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic and Peru.
News Roundup: House Republicans were in contact with January 6 organizers; Facebook still evil
In the news today: A new Rolling Stone article identifies seven House Republicans who were in contact, either personally or through staff, with organizers of the January 6 rally demanding the nullification of Donald Trump’s election loss. The FDA is likely to move swiftly to approve a COVID-19 vaccination regimen for children as young as 5.
NASA’s largest rocket since the Saturn V is all stacked and ready to go. Now what?
This week, NASA completed “stacking” the components of the Artemis 1 mission. That mission will fly using the Saturn-V-sized Space Launch System (SLS) and send an uncrewed version of the new Orion crew capsule on a trip around the moon. On a Friday conference call with journalists, NASA put a date on that flight: February 2022.
Mark Zuckerberg Let False Anti-Abortion Video Back On Facebook To Mollify GOP: Report
Zuckerberg was “personally involved” in a decision to reinstate the video after Republican politicians complained about its deletion, said The Financial Times.
Yale professor and expert on authoritarianism says 2024 Trump coup is ‘underway’
If U.S. democracy falls this century, it will likely be at the hands of a stubby-fingered sack of extra-piquant donkey farts who likely never bothered to read the Constitution he swore to uphold—and certainly didn’t understand it if he did bother. In other words, we’re at the stage in the Siegfried & Roy show where the tiger starts picturing Roy as a semi-ambulant canned ham.
Biden Denies Trump Request To Cover Up His Role In The Jan. 6 Insurrection. Again.
Donald Trump tried to overthrow the Constitution, but now wants to use the Constitution’s “executive privilege” concept to protect himself.
If you’ve been thinking about donating to your local diaper bank, take this as a sign to do it today
As the nation has faced the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, there’s been a crucial conversation about food insecurity. As Daily Kos has covered, we’ve seen unusually long lines at food banks and schools scrambling to get enough food into cafeterias to feed hungry children. One topic that gets less coverage, but is just as is essential, is diapers.
Even before the pandemic, surveys have shown that about one-third of families struggle to afford diapers.
Wealthy teen’s case in fatal crash shows failures in county’s juvenile halls, sentencing injustices
After months of protests and outrage from the Latino community in Los Angeles, the son of a millionaire businessman was sentenced to seven to nine months in a juvenile camp after the teen’s Lamborghini SUV slammed into a woman’s car at over 100 mph, nearly splitting it in half and killing her at the scene.
Mom Who Wanted To Ban ‘Beloved’ Featured In New Glenn Youngkin Ad
Her son, a high school senior, had nightmares after reading the Toni Morrison classic.
GOP Rep. Paul Gosar Reportedly Promised ‘Blanket Pardons’ To ‘Stop The Steal’ Planners
Two organizers of the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rallies say the Arizona congressman repeatedly dangled the pardons in order to inspire their insurrection efforts.
How Gunther Broke the Fourth Wall
In a Season 4 episode of Friends, Ross is about to get married (again). At his bachelor party, Joey and Chandler argue over who will serve as his best man. Their bickering devolves into pettiness, until a fed-up Chandler makes an announcement about one of their guests, the barista at their favorite coffee shop: When he gets married, Chandler says, he’ll just ask Gunther to be his best man.
Donald Trump Jr. Selling ‘Alec Baldwin Kills People’ T-Shirt
The former president’s son is attempting to capitalize on the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by outspoken GOP critic Alec Baldwin.
The Netflix Series That Should Make Religious People Uncomfortable
This story contains spoilers for the Netflix series Midnight Mass.The Exorcist is a film I’ve long loved because it raised the bar not just for horror, but also for movies that explore questions of faith and doubt, good and evil, life and death. I know all of its beats by heart, but when I recently rewatched the 1973 classic, the ending hit differently. The movie concludes with an exorcism, naturally.
Free Julian Assange: Snowden, Varoufakis, Corbyn & Tariq Ali Speak Out Ahead of Extradition Hearing
As jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces an extradition hearing Wednesday in London, supporters gathered Friday for the Belmarsh Tribunal, named for the Belmarsh maximum security prison where Assange is being held. The mock trial highlighted major WikiLeaks revelations of U.S. war crimes and demanded Assange’s freedom. Assange faces up to 175 years in prison in the U.S. under the Espionage Act for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes.
Rep. Ro Khanna, Grandson of Activist Jailed with Gandhi Movement, Decries Facebook’s Role in India
A consortium of 17 news outlets is examining the “Facebook Papers,” a trove of internal documents turned over to federal regulators by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen that sheds new light on the social media giant’s role in spreading misinformation and polarizing content. The documents reveal most of Facebook’s efforts to combat online hate are focused on the United States, even though 90% of users are outside the country.