Non-IT News Thread
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Racism definition: Merriam-Webster to make update after request
The American dictionary Merriam-Webster is to change its definition of the word racism after receiving an email from a young black woman.
Kennedy Mitchum, a recent graduate of Drake University in Iowa, suggested that the definition should include a reference to systematic oppression. An editor then responded, later agreeing to update their definition. The decision comes amid international anti-racism protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd died after a white police officer held a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes. -
Coronavirus: Fracas on Brazil's Copacabana over Covid-19 'graves'
Activists angry at Brazil's response to Covid-19 have created 100 graves on Rio's Copacabana beach to remember the country's nearly 40,000 victims.
However, organisers said supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro had mocked the event with one man pulling out crosses. The president's opposition to lockdowns and his downplaying of the virus have deeply divided the nation. Brazil has the world's second-highest number of cases - and the third-highest number of deaths in the world. The symbolic graves, with black crosses, were dug before dawn opposite the Copacabana Hotel by members of the Rio de Paz group. Organiser Antonio Carlos Costa told Reuters news agency: "The president has not realised that this is one of the most dramatic crises in Brazil's history. -
BBC News - Swiss search for owner of gold haul left on train
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53041884 -
Coronavirus: US withdraws emergency use of hydroxychloroquine
Emergency use of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus has been withdrawn by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA said that new evidence from clinical trials meant that it was no longer reasonable to believe that the drug would produce an antiviral effect. President Donald Trump later defended promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment of Covid-19. In March, the FDA granted the emergency use of the drug for some serious cases. But on Monday, the agency said clinical studies had suggested that hydroxychloroquine was ineffective in treating the deadly virus and failed to prevent infection among those exposed to it. -
Coronavirus: Dexamethasone proves first life-saving drug
A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.
The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say. The drug is part of the world's biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus. It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth. Had the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK from the start of the pandemic, up to 5,000 lives could have been saved, researchers say. And it could be of huge benefit in poorer countries with high numbers of Covid-19 patients. The UK government has 200,000 courses of the drug in its stockpile and says the NHS will make dexamethasone available to patients. -
Active shooter at Dallas Galleria near us right now.
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Rayshard Brooks shooting: US policeman faces murder charge
A police officer who fatally shot a fleeing black man in the back last week in Atlanta, Georgia, will be charged with murder and assault, officials say.
Garrett Rolfe, who has already been fired, faces 11 charges related to Rayshard Brooks' death. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. The other officer who was at the scene, Devin Brosnan, plans to testify as a witness in the case, officials said. The case comes amid US protests over police killings of black Americans. Lawmakers in Washington are currently debating new police reform laws. Officer Brosnan - who had already been placed on administrative leave - will be charged with assault for standing on Mr Brooks' shoulder as he lay dying. Officials said this was the ninth time that an Atlanta police officer had been prosecuted for homicide. -
Trump's bid to end Obama-era immigration policy ruled unlawful
The US Supreme Court has ruled against President Donald Trump's bid to end a programme that protects hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.
The justices upheld lower court rulings which found his move to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme was "unlawful". It protects "Dreamers" - undocumented youths brought to the US as children. The Trump administration has sought to end the Obama-era policy since 2017. The Supreme Court took up the case after lower courts ruled that the Trump administration did not adequately explain why it was ending the programme, criticising the White House's "capricious" explanations. -
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Coronavirus was already in Italy by December, waste water study finds
Italian scientists say sewage water from two cities contained coronavirus traces in December, long before the country's first confirmed cases.
The National Institute of Health (ISS) said water from Milan and Turin showed genetic virus traces on 18 December. It adds to evidence from other countries that the virus may have been circulating much earlier than thought. Chinese officials confirmed the first cases at the end of December. Italy's first case was in mid-February. In May French scientists said tests on samples showed a patient treated for suspected pneumonia near Paris on 27 December actually had the coronavirus. -
@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/entertainment/ian-holm-death-scli-intl-gbr/index.html
Damn, we just had a random thread about him last week as his Cornelius character from the Fifth Element.
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Arctic Circle sees 'hottest-ever' temperatures
Temperatures in the Arctic Circle are likely to have hit an all-time record on Saturday, reaching a scorching 38C (100F) in Verkhoyansk, a Siberian town.
The record still needs to be verified, but it appears to have been 18C higher than the average maximum daily temperature in June. Hot summer weather is not uncommon in the Arctic Circle, but recent months have seen abnormally high temperatures. The Arctic is believed to be warming twice as fast as the global average. Verkhoyansk, home to about 1,300 people, sits just inside the Arctic Circle, in remote Siberia. It has an extreme climate with temperatures plunging in January to an average maximum of -42C and then surging in June to 20C. But a persistent heatwave this year in the Arctic Circle has worried meteorologists. In March, April and May, the Copernicus Climate Change service reported that the average temperature was around 10C above normal. -
Coronavirus: Ireland set to launch contact-trace app
Ireland's health authority plans to press ahead with the launch of a coronavirus contact-tracing app based on Apple and Google's technology.
The Health Service Executive told the BBC that it would submit a memo to government this week, and "subject to approval" would launch its Covid Tracker app shortly after. The move comes despite concerns raised about the tech's accuracy in its current state. The UK is worried about false alerts. And researchers advising the Irish effort have also questioned whether the software should be rolled out in its current state. Ireland would follow Germany in deploying such an app nationwide. -
Mexico Hit with 7.7 mag quake just a few minutes ago.
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Getting news feeds or click bait alerts talking about a complete shutdown in Utah.
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Coronavirus: US cases at highest level for two months
New Covid-19 cases in the US have risen to their highest level in two months, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the outbreak.
On Tuesday the US reported 34,700 new cases - the third highest daily tally since the US outbreak began, according to AP news agency. States including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas had record numbers of new cases, AP said. Health officials say the coming weeks will be crucial to stem the outbreaks. On Tuesday America's top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci told lawmakers there was "a disturbing surge of infection" and "increased community spread" in many southern and western states. -
@mlnews TX broke the 3K in one day barrier one week ago, the 4K barrier four days ago, the 5K barrier yesterday. We expect to have six thousand new cases per day in the next 48 hours.
Texas as a total is now at over 900% that of NY, and the DFW alone is double NY. Houston passed hospital capacity yesterday, Austin expects in the next few days. Dallas has a little spare, for the moment.
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@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews TX broke the 3K in one day barrier one week ago, the 4K barrier four days ago, the 5K barrier yesterday. We expect to have six thousand new cases per day in the next 48 hours.
Texas as a total is now at over 900% that of NY, and the DFW alone is double NY. Houston passed hospital capacity yesterday, Austin expects in the next few days. Dallas has a little spare, for the moment.
My only comfort is morbid: the scump voters that die will not vote, and I retain hope that those who get sick will realize how serious it is and how flippant Dear Leader has been, and change their vote.
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@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews TX broke the 3K in one day barrier one week ago, the 4K barrier four days ago, the 5K barrier yesterday. We expect to have six thousand new cases per day in the next 48 hours.
Texas as a total is now at over 900% that of NY, and the DFW alone is double NY. Houston passed hospital capacity yesterday, Austin expects in the next few days. Dallas has a little spare, for the moment.
OK, that's all fine and good - how are the hospitals?
NYC was (at least claiming) to be over run with covid patients. While they never officially ran out of ventilators, they were sure squaking like they had. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure the lock down reduced case load, allowing them to not run out, so I'm not saying lock down was a total bad thing...but really - how many of these "new cases" are because we are testing so many more per day now than we were months ago? Are nearly all of these new cases symptomatic?
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@Grey said in Non-IT News Thread:
@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews TX broke the 3K in one day barrier one week ago, the 4K barrier four days ago, the 5K barrier yesterday. We expect to have six thousand new cases per day in the next 48 hours.
Texas as a total is now at over 900% that of NY, and the DFW alone is double NY. Houston passed hospital capacity yesterday, Austin expects in the next few days. Dallas has a little spare, for the moment.
My only comfort is morbid: the scump voters that die will not vote, and I retain hope that those who get sick will realize how serious it is and how flippant Dear Leader has been, and change their vote.
I definitely see where you're coming from here - but really - truly, what do you see as the long term solution to this problem? lockdown for a year? 2 ? until there is a vaccine - what if 5 years goes by and no vaccine?
