Exponential rise in new Covid-19 cases from the Omicron variant in a South African province suggests the variant is highly transmissible. But hospitalisations and excess deaths have been lower than the rate of increase in new Covid cases, suggesting that the variant may cause less severe illness.
Health & Society
How the Car and Oil Industry Knowingly Poisoned You for 100 Years
When GM began selling leaded gasoline, public health experts questioned its decision. One called lead a serious menace to public health, and another called concentrated tetraethyl lead a “malicious and creeping” poison. It made no difference.
Democrats’ Failure to Protect Abortion Rights
Conservative Republicans started prioritizing a high court takeover, with the explicit aim of ending legal abortion, more than 40 years ago. Democrats and progressives stuck their heads in the sand. Women, denied autonomy over their own bodies, are poised to pay the biggest price.
‘It’s Stressful to Kill Somebody’: Health Workers Behind Assisted Dying
New legislation in Britain laying groundwork for legalizing assisted dying are part of a wider international movement towards formally allowing some form of assisted dying. That means addressing how and whether healthcare professionals will be involved in facilitating assisted dying, and the effect this may have on them.
Covid Cases Creeping Back Up, Hospitalizations and 1st Death in Weeks Has Flagler Health Officials on Guard
Concerning indicators in Flagler County point to covid case counts creeping back up slowly but steadily, a tripling of covid hospitalizations in the last week, to 10, and the first covid-related death in weeks, to a 76-year-old man, bringing the total number of covid deaths in Flagler to a staggering 277 since the first death was reported in April 2020.
Sondheim’s ‘Assassins’ and the Bizarre Role of Guns in American Culture
Stephen Sondheim, who died on Nov. 26, 2021, had a knack for using stage and song to explore America’s dark, violent underbelly. “Assassins” is a collective biography of the historical figures who attempted to assassinate U.S. presidents, four of them successfully.
Violating Facilities and College Board Agreements, School Board’s McDonald Peddles More Masking Falsehoods at SAT Testing Site
Flagler County School Board member Janet McDonald stood guard at a Matanzas High School SAT testing site Saturday, where she had no jurisdiction and was not authorized to be, countering College Board requirements that students must wear masks while testing. The College Board is investigating.
Divided Federal Court Denies DeSantis Request for Injunction in Health Care Vaccination Fight
Sunday’s decision, however, did not mean the Biden administration can move forward with the health-care worker vaccination requirement Monday, as originally planned. That is because a Louisiana federal judge last week issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Biden administration rule.
Four More Children Dead, and a Nation Shrugs. Again.
After every one of these shootings, we ask ourselves: How could this happen again? It is our national shame that we have become as accepting of it as we have. Lawmakers who refuse to act should be required to personally explain their inaction to the families of the dead. It is hard to see any other way for that cold-hearted resistance to crumble.
Matanzas High School Student Who Assaulted Teacher Is Found Incompetent to Stand Trial
An 18-year-old student in a Matanzas High School class class for behaviorally challenged students, facing a felony charge after assaulting a teacher, was found incompetent to stand trial–and not qualified to be sent to a state psychiatric hospital while awaiting a return to competency.