Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Payroll tax cut will kick off in two weeks. Your employer isn’t ready (where does he get the authority to sabotage social security?)

President Trump signed an executive order calling for a deferral of the employees’ portion of the payroll tax from Sept. 1 through the end of the year. Currently, employers and employees share responsibility for a 12.4% levy that funds Social Security and a 2.9% tax to support fund Medicare. Payroll companies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business associations say it would be difficult to implement the deferral. They’re concerned about the liability employers and employees may face.

Source: Payroll tax cut will kick off in two weeks. Your employer isn’t ready

Coronavirus: Lawsuit says HCA hospital endangers staff in pandemic

  • The suit alleges that management at HCA-owned Southern California’s Riverside Community Hospital failed to provide workers with adequate protective equipment.
  • It also accuses management of pressuring staff to ignore safety precautions to meet quotas.
  • The hospital also failed to alert staff to possible Covid-19 exposures, the suit says.

Source: Coronavirus: Lawsuit says HCA hospital endangers staff in pandemic

Make Covid-19 tests compulsory for students (in UK), say scientists | Education | The Guardian

Covid-19 tests should be compulsory for all university students and staff to prevent outbreaks on campuses and protect communities, according to an independent group of scientists.

Testing should be carried out either before or as soon as people arrive on campus, with further tests conducted regularly, said the Independent Sage committee.

 

Source: Make Covid-19 tests compulsory for students, say scientists | Education | The Guardian

Israeli developed COVID-19 breath test could be used by public – The Jerusalem Post

The efficacy of the COVID-19 breath analyzer testing device, which is comprised of a nanomaterial-based sensor array, was successfully validated in March 2020 by a preliminary case-control clinical study in Wuhan, China. The study included 49 confirmed COVID-19 patients, 58 healthy controls and 33 non-COVID lung infection controls. COVID-19 patients were sampled twice: during the active disease and after the recovery. Analysis of the results of the test showed great discrimination between the different groups.

The test could significantly reduce transmission of COVID-19 in public spaces, reduce the burden on number of unneeded confirmatory tests and lower the burden on the hospitals, and has the potential to be used in future outbreaks of new diseases in the future.

Source: Israeli developed COVID-19 breath test could be used by public – The Jerusalem Post

Susan Collins helped cripple the USPS: Now Maine farmers are getting dead baby chicks in the mail | Salon.com

Maine farmers have blamed recent changes at the U.S. Postal Service after receiving thousands of dead baby chicks due to shipping delays. The state’s postal workers blamed the slowdown on a bill championed by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that “weakened the Postal Service” — and faces a tough re-election battle this fall.

At least 4,800 chicks shipped to Maine farmers through the USPS have arrived dead in recent weeks, the Portland Press Herald reported.

Source: Susan Collins helped cripple the USPS: Now Maine farmers are getting dead baby chicks in the mail | Salon.com

Alexei Navalny poisoning live updates: German doctors say patient is fit to fly | News | DW | 21.08.2020

The German medical team has gained access to Navalny and ascertained he is fit enough to be airlifted Berlin, despite comments to the contrary from Russian doctors. Follow DW for the latest updates.

Source: Alexei Navalny poisoning live updates: German doctors say patient is fit to fly | News | DW | 21.08.2020

North Carolina, Arizona Republican parties are encouraging their voters to cast ballots by mail

The Republican parties in a trio of battleground states have sent mailings to registered GOP voters encouraging them to cast absentee ballots for November’s general election.

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The Republican parties in a trio of battleground states have sent mailings to registered GOP voters encouraging them to cast absentee ballots for November’s general election.Republican voters in Arizona, North Caro…

A Texas chaplain prayed with his patients, until coronavirus came for him | The Texas Tribune

Alvarado with one of his grandchildren, Judah.

The hospital where he had previously ministered to terminally ill patients was full when Adolfo Alvarado Jr. neared death in his Mission home. He was finally admitted, and his daughter watched on her laptop as he died.

Source: A Texas chaplain prayed with his patients, until coronavirus came for him | The Texas Tribune

Stars Join Lebanese Fashion Designer Zuhair Murad in the Launch of a Limited Edition Iconic #RiseFromTheAshes T-Shirt for Beirut Relief – Look to the Stars

Sofia Vergara Wears RiseFromTheAshes T-shirt

One hundred percent of the net proceeds will go towards responding to on ground humanitarian needs for the people of Beirut during this horrific time. This cause is very close to Zuhair’s heart as Lebanon is not only his home but a true inspiration for his creativity. This is the moment, he believes, that from this tragedy, Lebanon has to #RiseFromTheAshes.

Source: Stars Join Lebanese Fashion Designer Zuhair Murad in the Launch of a Limited Edition Iconic #RiseFromTheAshes T-Shirt for Beirut Relief – Look to the Stars