COVID Brings Layoffs to Universities

Photo from Google Images

University of Delaware confirmed the layoff of 122 employees due to a potential $0.25 billion shortfall in its budget. University spokesperson confirmed the reduction in force this week. Job reductions occurred mostly in the areas affected heavily by COVID-19, such as facilities maintenance, construction project management, and conference services.

However, that’s not where the reductions stop; top administrators will receive a small salary cut, and there will be other actions to deal with the shortfall.

UD also sought to use its $1.5 billion endowment to cover the shortage in the budget.

It is believed that layoffs come from those who are nonunion employees, as negotiations are underway with professors and others with union representation regarding early retirement and other options. This year’s enrollment is low, with most classes being held remotely, and as the university’s  budget model had been based on growing enrollment and broadened number of academic offerings, the impact seems to have become difficult.

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Louisiana and Mississippi faces Hurricane Zeta

Photo credit to the Weather Channel

Hurricane Zeta landed on southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi with high winds and heavy rain, along with life-threatening storm surge. The Category 2 storm had winds of 110 mph but has decreased to 100 mph. It is moving at around 25 mph, and that speed is expected to increase Wednesday evening.

Eye of the storm passed over New Orleans at around 7:30 PM. More than 400,000 customers are without power in Louisiana and Mississippi, with more than 80,000 power outages in New Orleans alone.

Because of how fast Zeta is moving, more states inland will be affected by the storm. When Zeta turns into a tropical storm, it will affect parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolinas, and Tennessee.

Zeta is the 27th storm of this hurricane season. In 2005, there were 28 storms. As a result of the storm, some of the parishes have issued curfews for Wednesday evening, especially in St. Bernard parish, where it is receiving “the full brunt of Zeta.” Already, telephone poles are down, and some parishes are impassable.

Other parishes have issued evacuation orders, and even New Orleans have called for voluntary evacuations. Zeta is the first direct hit storm for New Orleans, but New Orleans had been on the outskirts of several storms this year.

With evacuees still recovering from past storms, Zeta is an unwelcome visitor. As such, more than 1,500 National Guard members and 5,000 lineament have been activated and staged for recovery efforts Thursday morning.

When Zeta struck the Yucatan peninsula on Monday night as a category 1 hurricane, trees were toppled, and much of the region faced heavy winds. The region is still recovering from hurricane Delta, just three weeks earlier, and days before Delta, was also hit by tropical storm Gamma. It is safe to say that this isn’t a great year to live on the Yucatan peninsula.

As global warming continues its rapid ascent, those living in these areas will be facing stronger, and more frequent storms as this, and governmental assistance might not be enough at a certain point.

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Zuckerberg to Congress: Make Tech Regulation better, Not Ruin Tech Companies

Section 230 is up on the chopping block, as the Senate Commerce Committee, and CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter prepared and released remarks on Tuesday against repealing Section 230. Section 230 is the statute protecting social networks from liability for their users’ posts. Senate Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday.

The issues with social networks and their moderation or failure to moderate content posted by users have become a hot topic in recent years as fake news and misleading information have caused mass issues.

The committee will examine Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which was in effect since 1990s. Twitter’s choice to block an unverified New York Post story regarding “smoking gun” email related to presidential candidate Joe Biden.  Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter defended the existence of Section 230, claiming that this law allows smaller, less funded companies to compete against the better-funded, larger companies. Should Section 230 be repealed, social networks would further be forced to limit their ability to address harmful content due to legal liability exposure. Twitter has promised to increasing transparency. Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook continues to argue that the government should take a more active role in regulating tech companies. In fact, Zuckerberg explained that platforms could face liability for even basic moderation without Section 230. He encourage Congress to update Section 230 so that it worked better, but acknowledged the public upset behind Section 230. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai equally provided that Section 230 allows Google to provide access to a wide range of information and viewpoints, which has also been foundational to US leadership in the tech sector.

Ultimately, tech sector may require better regulation by Congress, but exposing tech companies to legal liability for user content may ultimately create a barrier for many people from even becoming users and limiting the amount of important information available for view by the public.

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Amy Coney Barrett Confirmed to Supreme Court

The US Senate voted 52-48 and confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. This process only took 30 days. After the ceremony, Supreme Court Justice Clarance Thomas administered the constitutional oat to Coney Barrett. Pres. Trump thanked the Senate, and expressed positive support for her.

Unfortunately, the Democrats could not halt the process, although they certainly tried to slow down, the confirmation process. As the Republicans hold the majority in the Senate, this was very difficult for the Democrats to act upon. This contrasts sharply with former Pres. Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, who the republican-majority Senate refused to hold even hearings for, although the nomination had occurred 8 months before the election.

Many Democrats voiced strong dissatisfaction in the unfair manner in which the Republicans choose to handle state affairs.

Unfortunately, this confirmation creates a strong conservative majority in the Supreme Court, worrying many women’s rights supporters and those concerned about healthcare.

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Remdesivir first FDA-approved COVID treatment, but only for severe Cases

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved remdesivir as a treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients aged 12 and up. In May 2020, FDA approved remdesivir for severe COVID-19 cases only, under the initial Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Remdesivir was allowed only for those with low blood oxygen levels or those in need of oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation.

FDA issued another EUA in August to include all adult and pediatric hospitalized COVID-19 patients regardless of the severity of the case. EUA today allows treatment of hospitalized pediatric patients younger than 12 weighing at least 3.5 kg.

Gilead, the owner of Remdesivir, attributes the approval on three randomized controlled trials. Nonetheless, remsidivir, which will be marketed as Veklury, is advised to be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting that is capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care.

The studies show that the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients improve with a 5-day treatment compared with standard of care (odds ratio of 1.65).

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Study Says 99.9% of Viruses Inactivated by Mouthwash

Penn State College of Medicine has published a new study showing that most coronaviruses can be inactivated by mouthwash and oral rinses. The study tested various rinses, which included 1% solution of baby shampoo, net pot, peroxide sore-mouth cleansers and mouthwashes.

Out of them, the baby shampoo solution and the mouthwashes were the most effective at inactivating greater than 99.9% of virus after only 30 seconds. This turned to 99.99% after 30 seconds.

However, it is important to note that the Novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19 has not been tested. Researchers nonetheless are hopeful that this would equally apply to the Novel coronavirus given the optimistic results seen in other coronaviruses.

Ultimately, while vaccine continues to be elusive, simple methods like using mouthwash to gargle every day could significantly prevent the spread of disease, including the Novel coronavirus. However, clinical studies are necessary to determine whether this 99.9% result applies to COVID-19.

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GOP NOT Supporting Stimulus Package

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reported that he warned the White House against striking a deal with the House on a new stimulus plan until at least November 3 election.

He blamed this on House Speaker Pelosi, claiming that she was not negotiating in “good faith” with the Treasury Secretary, and any deal reached would disrupt the Senate’s plans to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court next week. The Senate Republicans believe that the stimulus plan would divide the Republicans up in the Senate.

Therefore, most Americans will be held captive by the Republican desire to confirm a Supreme Court justice, as they continue to struggle through the pandemic-laden economy.

That being said, McConnell has not been part of the talks between Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin. Regardless, he stays adamantly opposed to the bill. As Republicans fear losing the majority in the Senate, they believe in appealing to the fiscally conservative voters, and the signing of a stimulus plan, they believe, would definitely do the opposite of that.

Pelosi has denied McConnell’s accusations. Furthermore, Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin have continued their talks for the stimulus plan, which will provide Americans with a second $1,200 check, along with aid for small businesses, money for covid-19 testing, and support for airlines and hospitals.

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Virtual Cults and Their Believers

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QAnon is a virtual cult that began in late 2017, with a fundamental belief that Pres. Trump is a hero in a fight against the “deep state” and the evil of Democratic politicians and celebrities who abuse children. “Q” in QAnon indicates someone in the US government with insider knowledge of these governmental evils.

It is unclear as to how many people are part of this cult, but QAnon-related Facebook pages and groups based outside of the US are continuing to increase, with at least 12.8 million interactions from January 2020 to September, according to CNN.

QAnon is a weird mix of cult and conspiracy theory, but ultimately, it continues to branch off of a central worldview, which includes the whole assumption of the Democratic Party worshipping Satan, JFK Jr. having faked his death to escape deep state, and even false ideas regarding the 5G infrastructure and even the very dangerous idea that COVID-19 pandemic is a ploy to monitor private citizens.

The last is particularly harmful, but QAnon has no known leadership structure, and no true way to contain it.

The fact that Pres. Trump had won the 2016 election had a profound effect globally, it turns out, as a former QAnon believer explained, no major media outlet had predicted his win, and that had proven to him that most of these media outlets were not correct. Alex Jones, Infowars exposed some to QAnon theories. Those who are obsessed with QAnon would oftentimes only want to talk about QAnon theories, which makes offline life very difficult.

People are likely to seek out conspiracy theories in times of crises, say experts. With the 2016 US election and the ensuing chaos that seemed to be the Trump presidency, followed by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, many people are feeling exactly that.

As conspiracy theories often blame some unknown party as orchestrating and controlling all aspects of one’s perceived reality, it can provide those unsettled by the chaos, some leverage to hold onto, even if dangerous.

In May 2019, FBI released a bulletin warning that conspiracy theorists like QAnon could “very likely” motivate criminal and sometimes violent activity in the US especially because of the extent and the content of the materials.

Modern social networks have made QAnon possible faster, as any misinformation can get in the mainstream quickly through platforms like Twitter. Reddit has banned the QAnon subreddit, and Twitter has removed 7,000 QAnon-associated accounts. Facebook is planning to ban QAnon-related pages, and YouTube will remove QAnon-related materials off of its website.

However, it is an enormous task given the widespread reach of QAnon globally.

Some are smart enough to notice the logical flaws of these conspiracy theories, others are not. Those who do, might be able to leave QAnon, and some are active on r/Qult_Headquarters to point out logical flaws in the conspiracies proposed by “Q.”

Since QAnon essentially fights against “facts,” this is not the way to solve the QAnon problem. It seems that to dissolve the dangerous entity known as QAnon, people must use empathy and sympathy and remind people that QAnon is essentially not a productive or helpful force in their lives.

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Ex-Candidate for Idaho Governor Charged in 1984 Cold Case Murder of a 12-year-old girl

69-year-old man who ran for governor of Idaho twice in the past has been charged to the death of then 12-year-old Colorado girl in 1984. The Weld County district attorney’s office announced that the grand jury indicted Steven Pankey for the killing of Jonelle Matthews. He is accused of kidnapping Matthews from her home in Greeley, Colorado in December 1984, and to have shot and killed her.

He is charged with first degree murder – after deliberation, first degree murder – felony murder, second degree kidnapping, and two counts of crime of violence.

He was arrested on Monday in Meridian Idaho and is being held without bail at the Ada County Jail. Colorado court date has not yet been scheduled.

Pankey had run for governorship of Idaho in 2014 and 2018 on the Constitution Party line to win the Republican nomination.

Matthews’ body was only recently found in July 2019 by a construction crew unearthing project for a pipeline installation.

Her death was ruled as homicide.

Pankey awaits trial, and it is not yet clear whether he has an attorney representing his case.

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2020 is for States Setting Record for Early Voting

Georgia, Texas, Ohio, and Illinois have come up as the top 4 states with highest early voting records, already outpacing voter turnout in 2016.
So far, more than 13.8 million voters have already cast their ballots for this year’s upcoming general election (November 3), according to U.S. Elections Project. In 2016, early voting had only been at 1.4 million.
The coronavirus pandemic, with health and safety concerns have led to expansion of mail-in voting, and it seems that this has helped increase voter turnout. Georgia and Texas began their early voting this week and already set records.
For example, Georgian voters reported waiting nearly 10 hours at the polling sites on the first day of early voting. 128,000 people hit the polls on Monday, surpassing 91,000 votes cast on the first day of early voting in 2016.
In Texas, more than twice the 2016 early voters showed up for the first day of early voting.
This pattern was repeated in Ohio and Illinois.
Voting pace in Virginia, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin have also reached 20 percent or greater than the 2016 total vote.
Ironically, the pandemic that locked so many of us inside seems to have only led to the result of enhancing the nature of the political system in the US: Representative Democracy.

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