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Seattle 13-Year-Old Watches Father Die as Police Funding Cuts Delay Emergency Response
Staffing shortages in Seattle, due in part to the city’s vaccine mandate for emergency workers, resulted in a 13-year-old boy watching his father die after he suffered a medical emergency.
Last week, the 13-year-old called 911 to report that his father was having a medical emergency but when Seattle Fire arrived they were told to wait for police before entering and Seattle police took 15 minutes to arrive which delayed the medics who were unable to save the father, according to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.
The police precinct was reportedly down to two officers and was leaning on non-patrol volunteers to meet minimum staffing levels. Seattle’s vaccine mandate for first responders has exacerbated the staffing issues, taking 100 officers off the streets in October and leaving the police department with under 1,000 deployable officers.
A Texas Hospital Suspends a Doctor’s Privileges for Spreading ‘Misinformation’ About COVID
A Texas hospital says it has suspended the privileges of a doctor who spread misinformation about COVID-19 on her social media.
Dr. Mary Bowden, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Houston Methodist Hospital, posted “harmful” and “dangerous misinformation” about COVID-19 and its treatments, according to the hospital.
Bowden’s attorney Steven Mitby said the doctor has treated “more than 2,000 patients with COVID-19” at her private practice and that none of them have ended up in the hospital. “Her early treatment methods work and are saving lives,” he added.
Outcry in China After COVID Health Workers Kill Dog While Owner Was in Quarantine
The killing of a pet dog whose owners were in quarantine has sparked outrage on Chinese social media and raised questions about extreme measures health authorities are taking to battle a continuing Delta outbreak.
On Friday a resident of Shangrao, in Jiangxi province, posted allegations on Weibo that her pet dog was beaten to death by health workers inside her apartment while she was quarantining in a hotel that didn’t allow animals.
In video purportedly from her apartment’s security camera posted online, one of two PPE-wearing individuals is shown hitting the dog with what looks like a crowbar.
‘I Definitely Was Not Comfortable’: Vaccinated Indiana University Students Reject Unvaccinated Roommates
Random roommate assignments, a freshman year tradition at colleges across the U.S., were once again allowed this year at Indiana University (IU). Although IU mandated all students receive the COVID-19 vaccine, not every student has gotten it. While random assignments returned, IU updated its policy to deal with vaccine concerns.
“One of the stipulations that got written into that was that students who lived in the residence halls wouldn’t have to live with someone who wasn’t vaccinated or had a mismatch in status,” said Sara Ivey Lucas, IU director of residential life.
It led to IU having many unvaccinated students without a home. And in turn, IU has created dorms of unvaccinated students.
Austria Orders Nationwide Lockdown for Those Not Fully Vaccinated Against COVID
Austria will place millions of people not fully vaccinated against coronavirus in lockdown as of Monday in an effort to deal with a surge in infections, the country’s chancellor Alexander Schallenberg has said. Lockdowns for two of the provinces, Upper Austria and Salzburg, were announced on Friday, but Sunday’s move extends that to the whole country.
The Austrian health minister, Wolfgang Mückstein, said that those aged 12 and under would be exempt from the lockdown, under which the unvaccinated can only leave their homes for a limited number of reasons, such as going to work or shopping for essentials. He said the lockdown would initially last 10 days.
Many officials, including within Schallenberg’s conservative Austrian People’s party and the police, have expressed doubts that such a lockdown can be properly enforced since it applies to only part of the population. However, Schallenberg and the interior minister, Karl Nehammer, said that police would carry out thorough checks.
America Has Moved On From COVID. Why Can’t Biden? | Opinion
America has moved on from the coronavirus pandemic. The lockdowns are over, schools are opening back up, sports stadiums are full, and the holiday season is in full swing. Americans are going about their everyday lives as we approach the milestone of herd immunity through vaccinations and natural immunity to COVID-19.
But while most Americans are relegating coronavirus to the back burner, the Biden administration is not, refusing to bring back the “normalcy” the country was promised during the campaign.
Though President Biden’s controversial vaccine mandate was recently struck down in court by a federal judge after over half the Attorneys General in the United States challenged it in court, the Biden administration is planning on defying the court and enforcing the President’s executive order compelling businesses with at least 100 employees get their staff vaccinated by early January 2022.
Federal Appeals Court Calls Biden Vaccine Mandate ‘Fatally Flawed’ and ‘Staggeringly Overbroad’
A federal appeals court has called President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing requirements for private businesses “fatally flawed” and “staggeringly overbroad,” arguing that the requirements likely exceed the authority of the federal government and raise “serious constitutional concerns.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in an opinion issued Friday evening, reaffirmed its decision to press pause on the implementation of the requirements, in another sign that they may not survive judicial scrutiny.
While the court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of the requirements, the three-judge panel made clear that the lawsuits seeking to overturn the mandates “are likely to succeed on the merits.”
Facebook’s Deceptive Announcement About an End to Their Use of Facial Recognition Technology Is a Reminder That Lawmakers Need to Crack Down On Invasive Tech
Last week, Facebook — or Meta, or whatever we’re supposed to call it now — announced that the company will cease using facial recognition technology (FRT) on Facebook, its flagship platform, and that it will delete all of its existing face scan data. The company cited privacy and societal concerns as its reason for ending some of its current use of the technology. The decision is estimated to affect about 1 billion people. But there’s a catch.
Facebook is still keeping its facial recognition system. It has not promised to not use it again. It has reserved the right to deploy facial recognition on future products. And it has not said what this means for its many other properties, including Instagram.
In fact, it’s abundantly clear that Facebook is planning to find new ways to use facial recognition technology, which raises even larger concerns.
DeSantis Brings Back Florida Lawmakers to Crack Down On Pandemic Mandates
A special legislative session dubbed “Keep Florida Free” begins Monday at the behest of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who wants lawmakers to pass more measures to block coronavirus vaccine mandates by public and private employers.
The four bills being considered would ratchet up the penalties for businesses, local governments and other entities that require workers to be vaccinated against the virus and students to wear masks in school.
According to DeSantis (R), the session will strengthen as well as augment rules already in place — in part through his own executive orders.
United Airlines’ Vaccine Mandate Leads to Lawsuit From Pilot Placed on Unpaid Leave: Report
A longtime pilot is reportedly suing United Airlines for being placed on unpaid leave as a result of not following the company’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.
Dave Morgan — who is based in the Phoenix area — has flown planes with United for 22 years, according to FOX10 Phoenix. “My deeply held religious beliefs do not allow me to take the vaccine United Airlines is asking me to take,” he told the station.
On Monday last week, a U.S. federal judge ruled that United Airlines can impose a vaccine mandate that provides unpaid leave for staff who obtain medical and religious exemptions.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Signs Sweeping COVID Legislation Into Law
With a stroke of a pen Friday afternoon, Gov. Bill Lee signed into law an expansive legislative package strictly limiting the authority schools, health agencies and businesses have over COVID-19 restrictions.
The law now takes immediate effect in Tennessee and will almost certainly face swift legal challenges.
The new law restricts private businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccination proof and only allows schools and other public entities to enact mask mandates under an extreme surge of 1,000 infections or more for every 100,000 residents in a 14-day period.
Amazon Sued Over Crashes by Drivers Rushing to Make Deliveries
Ans Rana was in the back seat of his brother’s Tesla Model S when they stopped behind a disabled car just before 9 p.m. on Atlanta’s busy Interstate 75. Seconds later, a blue Amazon.com Inc. delivery van slammed into them from behind — mangling the rear of the car and sending Rana, his brother and father to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital. Rana bore the brunt of the collision, suffering life-changing brain and spinal-cord injuries.
In June, Rana filed a lawsuit in Georgia state court, alleging that Amazon is liable for the accident. Central to the complaint: the algorithms, apps and devices the company uses to manage its sprawling logistics operation.
