All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Prosecutors Drop Felony Charges Against 87 Breonna Taylor Protesters in Kentucky

The Jefferson County attorney will expunge the charge from the records of an N.F.L. player, a reality TV star and 85 others who gathered this week on the Kentucky attorney general’s lawn.

US sets daily COVID-19 record: 75,000 new cases | CIDRAP

The United States saw more than 75,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus, as hospitals in Georgia and Arizona are looking to nearby states to take on patients. According to the New York Times, 75,600 cases were recorded by the end of yesterday, a record high since the United States first started fighting widespread transmission of the virus in March. The United States now has 3,612,045 cases and 138,840 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. National Public Radio reports that hospital workers in Georgia describe an imploding admission situation, with administrators calling hospitals in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida to check for bed availability. Per the Georgia Department of Public Health, the state reported 3,908 cases today, and 301 hospitalizations.

Source: US sets daily COVID-19 record: 75,000 new cases | CIDRAP

US: Arizona Republican says ′I want my party back′ | Americas| North and South American news impacting on Europe | DW | 17.07.2020

The 61-year-old lawyer, like many in her age group, is doing all she can take make sure Donald Trump does not win reelection. She says that is because his rude, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic style has angered old allies. She says most of all, she is fighting the man who destroyed her political home.

“Donald Trump has blood on his hands,” Rawles says. “He ignored the virus, because he found it politically embarrassing and convinced our governor to open too soon and now people are dying.”

Rawles says that is because good economic numbers are more important to Trump than more than 100,000 dead. But she scoffs, saying one can’t separate the pandemic from the economy: “They go up and down together.”

She believes the only chance the Republicans have of finding their way back to their core principles is to get rid of the party’s entire leadership. Rawles says she cannot trust those who still remain loyal to Trump because they clearly have a different moral compass.

“I want my party back,” she says, adding that it ultimately comes down to what kind of a person one wants to be: One that follows the law and respects others, or one that puts children in cages at the Mexican border.

Source: US: Arizona Republican says ′I want my party back′ | Americas| North and South American news impacting on Europe | DW | 17.07.2020

Coronavirus latest: WHO says health workers account for 10% of global infections

The UN body announced that over 1.4 million infections of COVID-19 are accounted for by health care sector workers, at least 10% of all cases. EU leaders have met to discuss a recovery package.

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The UN body announced that over 1.4 million infections of COVID-19 are accounted for by health care sector workers, at least 10% of all cases. EU leaders have met to discuss a recovery package. Follow DW for the latest.

Analysis: Trump has sidelined the CDC with the White House taking control of coronavirus data. It has worldwide ramifications

With the world in desperate need of authoritative information, one of the foremost agencies for fighting infectious disease has gone conspicuously silent, writes Erin Smith.

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With the world in desperate need of authoritative information, one of the foremost agencies for fighting infectious disease has gone conspicuously silent, writes Erin Smith.

Texas attorney general says religious private schools “need not comply” with local health orders to close

Texas Attorney General wants religious schools to fail their children and put them at risk of being sick and infecting the parents and grandparents.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention in Dallas on Oct. 19, 2017.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention in Dallas on Oct. 19, 2017.
Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune

While local health officials have the authority to keep school districts closed for in-person instruction through the fall, Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a letter to schools Friday that private religious schools are are free to decide for themselves whether to reopen.

Last week, the state’s education agency released an order requiring schools to open their buildings to in-person instruction five days a week for all students who want it. Following backlash, on Friday, Texas officials said school districts will be allowed to delay on-campus instruction for at least four weeks, and ask for waivers to continue remote instruction for up to four additional weeks in areas hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, TEA officials confirmed that school districts wouldn’t be penalized for barring students on campuses if local health officials mandated that schools stay closed, as long as remote instruction is offered.

Already local health officials in counties, including Dallas and El Paso have issued mandates barring in-person classes for public and private schools in their jurisdictions, at least through August and in some cases to the end of September.

However, Paxton in an opinion said imposing these mandates on private religious schools would violate the U.S. and Texas Constitutions and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Religious services have already been exempted from Gov. Greg Abbott’s state-wide masking order.

“There are robust constitutional and statutory protections unique to religious individuals and communities, specifically including religious private schools,” Paxton said in the letter. “In accordance with the protections granted by the First Amendment and Texas law, this guidance allows religious private schools to determine for themselves when to reopen free from any government mandate or interference.”

On Friday, Texas education officials said schools can keep classrooms closed for longer than what was to be initially allowed.

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