Month: September 2020

Hurricane Sally slammed the Gulf Coast of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday as a Cat 2 storm, with 100 mph winds, two and a half feet of rain and a surge of seawater. At least two people in Alabama and Georgia were killed. Heavy rains are expected to wreak havoc from Virginia to North Carolina throughout the night before the storm moves out over the Atlantic.

Sally has since been downgraded to a post-tropical depression, but parts of Pensacola on the Florida Panhandle were deluged with nearly 30 inches of rain, causing some streets to look like rivers with whitecaps at times.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than half a million people across Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana were without power.

Florida panhandle reels after Hurricane Sally slammed coast

Via www.nbcnews.com

NBC News’ Sam Brock details the search and rescue operations underway in Florida as the…

09/17/2020 6:08 PM

 

Editorial credit: William A. Morgan / Shutterstock.com

A federal judge on Thursday placed a temporary block on operational changes to the U.S. Postal Service that have been cited for causing a slowdown in mail delivery. U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian granted a request from Washington and 13 other states to issue a temporary injunction against the policies implemented under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, saying backlogs in mail “likely will slow down the delivery of ballots” in November’s election.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson led the lawsuit, which called for the USPS to halt a policy requiring postal trucks to leave at specified times even if some mail is being loaded, to treat all election mail as First Class mail regardless of postage, and to replace, reassemble or reconnect mail-sorting machines that have been removed

Judge Bastian said that his preliminary injunction would be issued “essentially in the form presented by the states” but it was not immediately clear how long it would remain in effect.

Judge blocks ‘politically motivated’ changes to U.S. Postal Service ahead of election

Via news.yahoo.com

U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he was issuing a nationwide…

09/17/2020 7:03 PM

 

According to a Health and Human Services playbook released Wednesday, a COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan aims to begin delivering doses in January with no out-of-pocket costs to patients. CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, “I think there will be vaccine that will be initially available sometime between November and December, but very limited supply and it will need to be prioritized.” Redfield said the vaccine then will become available to the general population in the third quarter of 2021.

HHS broke down the process into first communicating with local officials to promote the vaccine, distributing it, ensuring the reliability of the supply chain and monitoring the vaccine’s administration. Vaccines will be delivered to a number of locations including doctors offices and retail pharmacies, according to the plan, and no American will be charged for either the COVID-19 vaccine or its distribution. Delivery will happen in phases, starting in a targeted manner with the goal of increasing vaccine acceptance followed by providing widespread access and high uptake in at-risk populations.

The HHS plan requires states and localities to submit plans to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Oct. 16.

New details on U.S. distribution plan for a Covid vaccine

Via www.nbcnews.com

Once a coronavirus vaccine receives FDA approval, the CDC and Defense Department will work…

09/16/2020 7:54 PM

 

The top spokesman at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Michael Caputo, will take a two-month leave of absence, the agency said on Wednesday. The move came two days after the New York Times reported that Caputo, a former adviser to President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, said on Facebook that government scientists were engaging in “sedition” in their handling of the pandemic.

Caputo said without evidence that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was harboring a “resistance unit” determined to undermine Trump, according to the report. He also said that armed left-wing squads were preparing for insurrection following the election. HHS said in a statement that Caputo had decided to go on a leave of absence “to focus on his health and the well-being of his family.” Caputo said he decided to take the leave to undergo screenings for a “lymphatic issue” discovered last week.

HHS official Michael Caputo to take medical leave after promoting conspiracies

Via www.upi.com

Michael Caputo, assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Health and Human…

09/16/2020 7:38 PM

 

Editorial credit: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.com

Democratic congress members reacted Tuesday to claims that immigrants held at a detention center in Georgia are undergoing an unusual number of hysterectomies. 

In a complaint filed Monday, a nurse alleges that the Irwin County Detention Center performed questionable hysterectomies, refused to test detainees for COVID-19 and shredded medical records. Lawyers for the nurse, Dawn Wooten, refused to release her full statement that she made to the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General. She appeared at a press conference Tuesday, but declined to take questions after reading a statement. The doctor is not named in the complaint.

The facility in Ocilla, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Atlanta, houses men and women detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as inmates for the U.S. Marshals Service and Irwin County. ICE said it does not comment on matters before the inspector general but that it takes all allegations seriously. “That said, in general, anonymous, unproven allegations, made without any fact-checkable specifics, should be treated with the appropriate skepticism they deserve,” the agency said in a statement.

Lawyers allege abuse of migrant women by gynecologist for Georgia ICE detention center

Via news.yahoo.com

I was brought up by the American dream that you treat people the way you want to be treated,”…

09/15/2020 8:03 PM

 

Editorial credit: Christopher Penler / Shutterstock.com