Study out of Wuhan, China, claims coronavirus symptoms can last at least 6 months

Dr. Marc Siegel discusses potential long-term symptoms of the virus and President-elect Biden’s vaccine rollout plan.

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  • ‘Sedition caucus’ facing mounting calls to resign after voting against Biden’s election win

    Corporations suspending campaign donations to 127 lawmakers who voted to nix president-elect Joe Biden’s victory

  • Trump reportedly told Kelly Loeffler he'd 'do a number on her' if she didn't back Electoral College challenge

    President Trump was prepared to "do a number" on outgoing Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) last week on stage during the president's final pre-runoff rally in Georgia, a source familiar with the events told The Washington Free Beacon's Eliana Johnson, per Politico.The implication is that Trump told Loeffler what he said about her on stage was contingent upon whether she backed the Electoral College challenge championed by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), among others.> Scoop in @playbookplus, guest-written today by @elianayjohnson:> > Trump “told Kelly Loeffler before he landed in Georgia for a final rally on Monday that if she didn’t back the Electoral College challenges, he would ‘do a number on her,’ from the stage.”https://t.co/qdxrdmRB1N> > — Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) January 10, 2021Loeffler did plan to object, though it's unclear if the decision was directly related to Trump's alleged threat. Ultimately, the point was moot, since Loeffler lost to her Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock, and wound up voting to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory afterwards. But the report still carries some significance for analysts, who think it's a microcosm of the larger issues that led to Loeffler's defeat.> In the end, it’s a symptom of the broader dynamic of Loeffler’s loss, one that was evident from the beginning of the year. She tried to transform herself into something she was not, alienating moderates while never being genuine enough to win over a skeptical Trump base.> > — Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) January 10, 2021Johnson's scoop also further suggests that Trump was willing to let the Republican Party lose control of the Senate for personal gain.More stories from theweek.com 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt Pelosi says House 'will proceed' with legislation to impeach Trump

  • Capitol rioters shown beating face-down police officer

    Information continues to be released regarding Wednesday’s violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and the new updates prove to be just as shocking as what we already know. A new video released on Sunday shows pro-Trump rioters beating an officer who is laying facedown on the ground. The rioters pull the officer down and use objects in their hands to beat him.

  • 6 inmates use 'homemade rope' to escape from California jail

    Authorities in central California were searching Sunday for six inmates who used a “homemade rope” to escape from a county jail, sheriff's officials said. All six escapees should be considered armed and dangerous, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

  • Petition to Recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom Draws 1 Million Signatures

    The latest effort to recall California governor Gavin Newsom has gained more than 1 million signatures, with nine weeks left to collect the additional 500,000 that would enable the measure to be placed on the ballot.Should the recall effort receive 1.5 million total signatures by mid-March, a mid-year election would take place."The people are being heard loud and clear, and it is not a matter of IF we are going to reach our goal necessary that will trigger a recall election of Newsom, it is just when we cross the finish line," Orrin Heatlie, the Lead Proponent of the official RecallGavin2020.com, said in a statement.A senior adviser to the recall campaign, Randy Economy, previously told Fox News that it hoped to meet the benchmark required to place the measure on the ballot by mid-to late-January.He told the outlet the effort is nonpartisan, with supporters of both Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and President Trump backing the cause.While recall initiatives in the Golden State seldom make it onto the ballot, Newsom’s public image has been marred recently by a series of controversies, including his attendance at a mask-less, not-socially-distanced indoor dinner party late last year even as he enacted strict coronavirus restrictions in the state.Economy said a number of the movement’s supporters believe the governor has mismanaged the state’s coronavirus response, particularly as it relates to small businesses.Many small business owners in the state have lost their livelihoods while big-box stores have been allowed to remain open, he said. Newsom "put corporate interests before the people of California," Economy said.In 2003, Gray Davis became the first governor to be recalled in the U.S. since 1921. The vacancy was ultimately filled by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

  • Experts express concern about Biden's plan to release nearly all available vaccine doses

    President-elect Joe Biden plans to release nearly every available dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines when he takes office later this month rather than holding back millions of second doses, his transition team said Friday. The decision is meant to "ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible."The Trump administration has insisted it's necessary to retain second doses, with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Friday expressing concern that Biden's plan could backfire if there are any manufacturing mishaps.Outside of the White House, Dr. Leana Wen of George Washington University, was also apprehensive, noting that there is "an ethical consideration" since those who volunteered for the initial dose were reasonably expecting to receive the second in the proper amount of time. Biden does not intend to delay the second shot for those patients, and is instead counting on an increased production to keep pace. But, Wen says, not only is there no guarantee of a smooth manufacturing process, much of the slowdown has occurred between distribution and injection, so until that stage improves the risk of delay remains.> First, the bottleneck now is not supply, but the "last mile" between getting the vaccine to distribution sites & injecting it into people's arms. Speeding up this process should be the focus, or else vaccines will just sit in different freezers. > > (2/6)> > -- Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) January 9, 2021Harvard University's Juliette Kayyem, however, is more on board with the plan. She believes it's unlikely there will be a supply problem and is encouraged by recent upticks in actual vaccinations. > Quick thoughts: we are unlikely to have a supply problem by Feb with Biden announcement (he is not changing FDA standards, only distribution timing of first vaccine because of reliance on supply chain per @ScottGottliebMD good idea) and other vaccines (johnson and johnson). 2/> > -- Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) January 9, 2021More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly told Kelly Loeffler he'd 'do a number on her' if she didn't back Electoral College challenge 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt

  • Melania Trump has ‘blood on her hands’ over Capitol riots, says former aide

    The Trumps 'lack character, and have no moral compass,' former White House aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff says

  • EXPLAINER: Why is Indonesia prone to plane crashes?

    Saturday's plane crash in Indonesia, in which a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 carrying 62 people plunged into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff, has once again cast the limelight on the safety of the country's aviation industry. Indonesia's aviation record is one of the worst in Asia, with more civilian airliner passenger accidents since 1945 than any other country in the region. While experts say there have been many improvements in recent years, the latest crash has experts questioning the true progress of Indonesia's aviation oversight and regulation.

  • North Carolina Democrats look to oust Madison Cawthorn

    Several Democratic leaders in North Carolina are calling for an investigation into U.S. Congressman Madison Cawthorn claiming that he had a hand in inciting the violence that occurred during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. A letter sent on Saturday, Jan. 9, to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, signed by N.C. District 11 leaders of the Democratic Party, lists examples they say are grounds for Rep. Cawthorn’s expulsion from Congress. In the letter, Cawthorn’s strong language in his Twitter posts on the days leading up to Wednesday’s riots was cited as an example of his support and encouragement of the violence that ensued.

  • China's state media says Pompeo 'crossed a dangerous red line' with latest Taiwan move

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that he is lifting "self-imposed restrictions" on contacts between American diplomats and their Taiwanese counterparts, ending a practice that was in place to appease China.The United States, like most countries, doesn't have official relations with Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, but the Trump administration has "ramped up" its support for the self-ruled, democratic country over the years, Reuters notes, and Pompeo's latest move appears to be part of an effort to "lock in a tough approach" to Beijing before the White House transition takes place later this month.Taiwan's government welcomed the decision, but Chinese state media was unsurprisingly critical. One piece of commentary published by CGTN, the English-language channel of state broadcaster CCTV, called it a "cowardly act of sabotage" that "crossed a dangerous red line." And Hu Xijin, the editor of China's state-owned Global Times, warned — in a since-delated tweet — that Taiwan could face repercussions for Pompeo's actions, The Associated Press reports. "The option of using military means to solve [the] Taiwan question will also be put on the table," the tweet reportedly read.The move may not be universally applauded stateside, either, per Reuters. Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, predicts the Biden administration will "rightly be unhappy that a policy decision like this was made in the final days of the Trump administration." Read more at Reuters and The Associated Press.More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly told Kelly Loeffler he'd 'do a number on her' if she didn't back Electoral College challenge 7 scathing cartoons about Trump's Capitol riot Sympathy for Ashli Babbitt

  • Unlicensed dog breeder first to be prosecuted privately

    An unlicensed dog breeder was forced to give up two rescued pets after she became the first to have a private prosecution brought against her by an animal charity. Nicola Palmer, 39, of Kesgrave, Suffolk, was taken to court by Phoenix Rehoming after she breached her adoption contract by failing to neuter her male and female dog brought to the UK from Romania. Palmer had no licence to breed the dogs but allowed them to have a litter of nine puppies, five of which were sold for £300 each. The remaining dogs were given to family members. Animal welfare chiefs said the case reflected how "growing numbers" of people were looking to cash in on rising demand for puppies exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic. Phoenix Rehoming, which spotted that Palmer's female dog Esme was pregnant at the age of 10 months, sought help from the charity Animal Protection Services which organised the private prosecution. Ms Palmer was accused of three counts of theft relating to the two adult dogs and the litter, and breeding dogs without a licence. She gave back the adult dogs when she was served with the summons at her home three days before Christmas and was allegedly told the police would be called if she did not comply. The theft charges were dropped at Suffolk magistrates court in Ipswich last Wednesday, in return for her pleading guilty to not having a breeding licence. Ms Palmer who is on benefits was given a conditional discharge, and ordered to pay £230 towards the estimated £11,000 costs of the prosecution, and a £21 victim surcharge. A spokesperson for Animal Protection Services which investigates and prosecutes animal cruelty said: "We believe this is the first ever private prosecution relating to an unlicensed dog breeder. "We have found that there are a growing number of people cashing in on the huge demand for puppies caused by the coronavirus pandemic and people spending more time at home. "While this case related to a woman who had broken the condition of adopting dogs, there are also organised crime groups who are getting involved in breeding. Many groups are switching from drugs to puppies because there is so little enforcement. "The law about licensing breeders is supposed to be enforced by local authorities, but they have only brought a handful of cases. "We are in the process of bringing a further seven private prosecutions of people involved in unlicensed breeding." Anyone making more than £1,000 a year from dog breeding has to have a local authority licence, although the requirement is not enforced for the breeding of family pets. The law introduced in 1999 to crack down on puppy farms was strengthened in 2018 when a licence became compulsory for anyone breeding three or more litters a year, even if not for profit, instead of the previous limit of five. Ms Palmer who lives in Kesgrave, Suffolk, made a donation of £530 to the charity for the pups. She said: "It wasn't made clear to me when I took on the dogs that the charity still owned them even though I had paid for them. I had all their paperwork and passports showing they had been imported from Romania so in my mind, they were entirely mine.”

  • Trump supporters, counter-protesters clash in San Diego

    Supporters of President Donald Trump clashed with counter-protesters in San Diego on Saturday, prompting police to declare the gathering an unlawful assembly because of acts of violence. Officers were hit with rocks, bottles and eggs, police said, and the crowd directed pepper spray at them. KSWB-TV tweeted video of counter demonstrators, most of them dressed in black and waving an antifa flag, throwing a folding chair and spraying a chemical irritant at a smaller group of people participating in the march on the Pacific Beach boardwalk.

  • American Airlines pilot says he will drop Trump supporters in Kansas

    An American Airlines pilot on flight 1242 from Washington D.C. to Phoenix threatened to divert his plane to Kansas if passengers didn’t behave. “We will do that if that’s what it takes, so behave, please.”

  • Alabama attorney general asks why Republican legal association promoted Trump rally ahead of Capitol riots

    The Republican Attorneys General Association paid for Robocalls asking ‘patriots’ to march on Congress

  • An off-duty Capitol Police officer has died by apparent suicide days after the department lost an officer during the Capitol riots

    The federal law enforcement agency confirmed the death of Officer Howard Liebengood, who had been with the Capitol Police since April 2005.

  • Marriott, BlueCross suspend donations to U.S. lawmakers who voted against Biden certification

    Marriott International Inc, the world's largest hotel company, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) said Sunday they will suspend donations to U.S. lawmakers who voted last week against certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory. "We have taken the destructive events at the Capitol to undermine a legitimate and fair election into consideration and will be pausing political giving from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election," Marriott spokeswoman Connie Kim said, confirming a report in Popular Information, a political newsletter. BCBSA, the federation of 36 independent companies that provide health care coverage for one in three Americans, said "in light of this week’s violent, shocking assault on the United States Capitol, and the votes of some members of Congress to subvert the results of November’s election by challenging Electoral College results, BCSBA will suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy."

  • Capitol protests organized by Alabama AG’s nonprofit group

    Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall plays a key role in the group that helped organize the protest rally that took place in D.C. prior to the deadly revolt at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Marshall is at the helm of the Republican Attorneys General Association’s dark-money nonprofit, Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF), which is listed as a participating organization for the March to Save America on the march’s website. Although the website has been taken down, archived versions confirm RLDF as a participating group, according to Alabama Political Reporter.

  • FAA to crack down on unruly Trump supporters

    After video of unruly Trump supporters harassing lawmakers in airports and reports of distruptions on flights to and from Washington the same week Trump loyalists descended on D.C. and stormed the Capitol, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration vowed to take "strong enforcement action" . In a statement over the weekend, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said quote, "I expect all passengers to follow crew member instructions, which are in place for their safety and the safety of flight." Earlier this week, the flight attendants union said Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol should not be allowed to depart Washington on commercial flights after exhibiting quote "mob mentality behavior" on flights into the region. Alaska Airlines said on Friday it banned 14 passengers from future travel with the carrier after a number of passengers were quote "non-mask compliant, rowdy, argumentative and harassed our crew members" on a flight from Washington to Seattle last Thursday. American Airlines temporarily halted alcohol service on flights departing and arriving in Washington after last Wednesday's events. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was harassed on Friday by supporters of Trump and called a "traitor" at Washington's Reagan National Airport before departing on a flight.

  • Horned Capitol rioter is ‘failed actor and QAnon conspiracy theorist who lives with his mother’ — report

    Jacob Angeli Chansley seen at pro-Trump rallies and spread disproved QAnon theories

  • Switzerland's decision to close schools was one of most effective measures of reducing Covid spread, study says

    Switzerland's decision in the spring to shutter schools was one of measures that was most effective in reducing mobility and thus also transmission of Covid-19, a study showed Sunday. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, ETH, determined that the closure of Swiss schools last March was responsible for cutting mobility by more than a fifth. "School closures reduced mobility by 21.6 percent," Stefan Feuerriegel, an ETH professor of management information systems who headed the study." "School closures reduce mobility, (which) then reduces new cases" of Covid-19, he said. His team analysed some 1.5 billion movements in Swiss telecommunication data between February 10 and April 26 last year to evaluate the impact on mobility as various anti-Covid measures were introduced. In decentralised Switzerland, its 26 cantons introduced measures at different paces before a country-wide partial lockdown, including school closures, was ordered on March 16. Schools across the country remained closed for about two months before gradually opening up again. The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, found school closures ranked third in terms of reducing mobility. At the top of the list was a ban on gatherings of more than five people, which was seen slashing mobility by 24.9 percent, and the closure of restaurants, bars and non-essential shops, which caused people to move about 22.3 percent less, the study shows. Feuerriegel said it was not surprising that school closures had such a big impact on people's movements. "If schools are closed, we can expect a large change in behaviour," he said, pointing out that "not only will kids stay home, but sometimes it also requires their parents to change their mobility as well." School closures have been among the most controversial measures introduced around the world to help rein in the pandemic. Children are far less likely to develop severe illness from Covid-19 than older people, but it remains unclear how much they transmit the virus. The ETH study does not address that, but indicates that school closures can significantly reduce transmission by prompting people to move about and mingle less. "Our analysis confirms school closure as a measure to slow the spread, through reduced mobility," Feuerriegel said.