Grumpy Editor

ALL TROOPS DUE TO RECEIVE VIRUS SHOTS

Mandatory COVID-19 inoculations for U.S. Armed Forces personnel seems to be a normal routine, so why the fuss by some, asks Grumpy Editor.

Military personnel need protection from dangerous infections they can contract during training, based on occupation, during overseas deployment or because of underlying health status.

Yet, there is some static.

Despite a massive effort by the Pentagon to promote the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. military's opt-out rate for vaccinations may be far higher than the 33 percent figure defense officials have used publicly, reports CNN, adding conversations with military medical officials and service members, as well as data from several bases and units around the country, suggest the current rejection rate may be closer to 50 percent.

Grumpy Editor recalls a time years ago when just-inducted military recruits, who become government property, did not have much to say when lined up for physicals.  They received an experimental flu shot that was not entered on their shots record.  But it worked.  No flu, even in cold regions.

Things are changing. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is preparing to issue a mandate for all troops to receive the coronavirus vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration gave its full authorization for one of the shots.

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AVERAGE AGE --- 22.   Among the 13 U.S. service members lost to a suicide bomber in Afghanistan, 10 of them were from Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base near San Diego. Average age: 22.

 

NEWSPAPER SELLS BOOZE.  The newspaper in Stapleton, Neb., finds a way to increase its revenue and supplement the entire town of 267 residents:  it opens a liquor store in the backrooms of its offices.  Asked “what residents would like to see in the town and wine and spirits was pretty much at the top of the list,” says Marcia Hora, owner and publisher of Creative Printers.

 

"TERMINATOR" LOSES SPONSOR.   Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger's rant about people who don’t wear masks cost him a corporate sponsor, REDCON1, a sports supplement company, at his upcoming bodybuilding competition in Columbus, Ohio.  In an interview with CNN, the former California governor called Americans who oppose wearing face masks "schmucks."

FRB RATES TO CHANGE.  The Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell says the Fed plans to dial back its ultra-low-interest rate policies this year as long as hiring continues to improve, signaling the beginning of the end of the Fed's response to the pandemic recession. 

BORDER ENCOUNTERS JUMP.  U.S. Border Patrol reports nearly 200,000 encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border last month, highest monthly total in more than two decades.  The number of monthly encounters had fallen to 16,182 in April 2020, shortly after the coronavirus outbrteak. 

 

PAROLE VOTED FOR SIRHAN SIRHAN.  More than 50 years after he was convicted of killing former U.S. Attorney General and Democratic Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, California officials vote to grant parole to Sirhan Sirhan.

MORE JOURNALISTS SET FOR KC STAR.  McClatchy, with 30 newspapers in the family, promises more journalists and an expanded Sunday print edition for The Kansas City Star and three smaller publications.

 

WW II VET MEETS KIDS HE SAVED.  World War II Army veteran Martin Adlder, 97, visiting in Italy, meets three Italians who, when children, were saved by the then soldier as the Nazis retreated northward in 1944.

 

FACTORS BEHIND BOOST IN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC DEATHS

Speeding has boosted this year's highway deaths, greatest in more than a decade, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Traffic data indicates an increase in the death toll is linked to higher average speeds in conjunction with roads seeing more drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol, along with a slight decline in seatbelt use.

 

But Grumpy Editor points to another factor behind the speeding:  TV commercials.

 

Viewers this year have seen TV spots from various American and foreign manufacturers showing speeding vehicles on winding mountain roads, sliding sideways on city streets, splashing through small streams, and kicking up dust and rocks while zooming off roads.

 

Think that doesn't give viewers ideas?

In California, for example, tickets issued by the Highway Patrol for speeding in excess of 100 m.p.h. from January to June were nearly double pre-pandemic levels.  The number of tickets for reckless driving citations also jumped.

 

Nationwide traffic deaths last year rose 7.2 percent to 38,680 even after a 13.2 percent reduction in the number of miles traveled.

 

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SOCIAL SECURITY BUMP COMING UP.  Social Security recipients are in line for the biggest percentage bump for inflation in 40 years.  Likely cost of living adjustment for 2022, to be announced in October, is predicted to be 6.2 percent.

READY TO HELP VETS.  The Department of Veterans Affairs urges Afghanistan War veterans  to seek mental health care if they need help coming to terms with the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan…a country where hundreds of thousands of veterans served in the 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

FALSE ONLINE INFORMATION EYED.  Amid rising concerns over misinformation online, including that of COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines, Americans are a bit more open to the idea of the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online. A majority of the public continues to favor technology companies taking such action, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

 

THURSDAY SPOTLIGHTS CANINES.  International Dog Day, observed on Thursday, encourages dog ownership of all breeds.  It celebrates all dogs and encourages adoption.

UNRULY BEHAVIOR IN AIR DRAWS FINES.  Fines for unruly behavior during commercial air flights soar this year, with the Federal Aviation Administration reporting it has proposed more than $1 million in penalties in 2021.  The FAA receives almost 4,000 reports of aggressive behavior since January.

VETERANS TOUR D.C. MONUMENTS.   A flight organized by Honor Flight Chicago, sends more than 100 veterans from three wars to Washington, D.C. for a whirlwind tour of monuments around the nation's capital that were built in their honor.  In attendance:  Three veterans from World War II, 33 from the Korean War and 76 from Vietnam War.

 PELICAN ESCAPES AGAIN.  A great white pelican escaped for a second time from an Irish zoo and was spotted more than 100 miles away.  The pelican flew the coop and was spotted in Wexford --- the same place it visited after an earlier escape in 2018.

INJURED CANADA GOOSE DRAWS WIDE ATTENTION

Goose activity at the New England Wildlife Center in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, which treats thousands of animals a year, attracts the attention of Grumpy Editor...and others.

 

Executive Director Zak Mertz says a recent case involving a Canada goose, stands out from all the rest.

Named Arnold by the staff, he was brought it for treatment of a badly damaged foot.

“Prepping him for anesthesia --- giving him meds --- we hear this faint tapping at the door," Zak recalls.

Turns out it's Arnold’s mate.

"My guess is that she saw us capture him the day before and he was probably honking in the cage overnight," Zak adds.

After surgery, Arnold was moved to another floor for recovery, where his mate, now named Amelia, comforted and preened him --- the avian embodiment of "in sickness and in health."

Geese mate for life. And Amelia visited him during his convalescence period until he was finally released.

After Arnold’s release, Zak points out, "I think it gave us all a new respect for how social these animals are and sort of the depth they have in their emotions. 

 

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JULY HOTTEST MONTH IN HISTORY.  July was the hottest month on record worldwide, reports NOAA, adding the Northern Hemisphere land-surface temperature was several degrees above normal while temperatures set a record for Asia and second hottest for Europe.

INSPIRATION FOR TERRORIST ATTACKS?  Upcoming 20^th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could inspire extremist attacks, warns the Department of Homeland Security, noting the U.S. is in a “heightened threat environment.”

FLOODS HIT OTHER PARTS OF WORLD.  While it may be dry in most of the U.S., floods caused thousands to be evacuated in North Korea, while there was severe flooding in northern and western Japan, torrential downpours and flooding in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

LIFEGUARD DOGS USED IN ITALY.  Italy employs “lifeguard dogs” that patrol 30 beaches with 300 units made up of one dog and trainer each.  The head of the dog patrol says the canines are integral to Italy’s lifeguard operations, especially when helping large groups of people.

MORE HOMES ADD PETS.  Roughly 13 million U.S. households added a pet last year as breeders and shelters were overwhelmed by Americans stuck at home and craving companionship.

ROUGH TREATMENT FOR DOG WALKER.  In New York, Upper West Side resident Dora Marchand, 29, is handcuffed, tossed into a police holding cell and treated like a criminal after a minor infraction:  walking her two Australian shepherds without a leash in Riverside Park, she tells the New York Post. 

 

WOMAN TO LEAD ARMY COMBAT UNIT.  Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson is confirmed by the Senate in a unanimous voice vote to become the next commander of the Army’s U.S. Southern Command, which will make her the second woman in history to lead a combat unit.

  

BORDER CROSSINGS JUMP.  More than 210,000 people attempted to cross the U.S. southern border illegally last month, the most in 21  years and three times as many as in January, reports the Border Patrol.

 

EXPENSIVE TICKET FOR SPACE TRIP.  It’ll take almost a half million dollars ($450,000 to be exact) for a seat on Virgin Galactic’s space flights.  Want to take the family?  There’s an option to buy out the entire six-seat cabin.

WILDFIRE DESTROYS CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN TOWN

 

 

 

Wildfires continue to sweep through California and one mountain town is left in ashes, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Greenville, a community of about 800, 115 miles northeast of Sacramento, is about 75 percent destroyed, the result of the Golden State’s largest current wildfire, called the Dixie Fire.

 

Some of its downtown area’s wooden buildings are more than a century old.

 

“We just lost Greenville tonight,” Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R., Calif.), whose district includes the town, says in a video posted on Facebook.

 

The Dixie Fire in the past few days burns about 322,500 acres, making it the second largest fire in California history. 

 

 

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STAMPS TO COST MORE.  Postage rates are going up again.  First class stamps rise to 58 cents from 55 on Aug. 29.

 

RAIN SOAKS NORTH KOREA.  Things may be dry in many parts of the U.S., but heavy rain over four days in North Korea last week brought a whopping almost two feet of rain in Puryong County in North Hamgyong Province.

 

NEXT SEASON'S BASEBALL STARTS SAME DAY FOR ALL.  Next year’s baseball season will have all teams starting on the same day --- March 31 .  That's the first time since 1968 that every team will play its first game on the same day.

 

UNVACCINATED CNN WORKERS FIRED.  In an effort to keep the virus from spreading in its offices, CNN fired three workers who came to work without getting a Covid-19 vaccine.

 

N.Y. TIMES AD REVENUE REBOUNDS.  Reflecting a strong rebound in advertising business, New York Times’ second quarter revenue rises 24 percent while operating profit almost doubles from a year earlier, reaching $73.3 million.

 

CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS PENGUINS.  Research published in Global Change Biology finds that by 2100, 98 percent of Emperor penguin colonies may be pushed to the brink of extinction if no changes are made to current rates of carbon emissions and climate change.

 

100-YEAR OLD POWERLIFTER.  Tampa’s Edith Murway-Traina, who turned 100 yesterday, receives word that she is a Guinness World Record holder as the oldest competitive powerlifter. Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift.

RECORD BIG MAC EATER.  Donald Gorske, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, who holds the Guinness World Record for lifetime Big Mac consumption since 1999, gets his record updated to 32,340, averaging two McDonald's signature sandwiches a day,  part of his routine since 1972.

CALIFORNIA POWER PLANT CLOSED.  Drought-stricken California shuts down one of its largest hydroelectric plants.  The six-turbine Edward Hyatt Power Plant is off-line after the water level in the Oroville Dam reservoir that feeds it drops to an historic low of less than 642 feet above sea level.

2022 BIG YEAR FOR WEDDINGS.  An estimated 2.5 million weddings are planned for 2022, the most for the U.S. since 1984, according to a forecast by The Wedding Report, a market research firm. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIGHER BRAZIL COFFEE PRICES TRIGGERED BY DROUGHT

Drought is what’s socking it to coffee prices from Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee producer, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Arabica coffee prices, main variety from Brazil, in June rises to six-year highs in global markets.

 

The drought results in the biggest slump in coffee output for farmers in almost 20 years.

 

It was just last year that Brazil produced a record coffee harvest.

 

It illustrates how weather can affect crop output.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

GREENLAND ICE MELT.  Rising temperatures in the Arctic results in Greenland experiencing a significant melting event.  The amount of ice that melted on one day last week is enough to cover the entire state of Florida in two inches of water. Greenland lost more than 8.5 billion tons of surface mass last Tuesday and 18.4 billion tons since two days prior, according to the Denmark Meteorological Institute.

 

PAIR OF BLUE SUITS.  A photo of President Joe Biden with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Washington shows them wearing identical color blue suits and ties --- something media failed to note in stories.

 

SAILOR CHARGED WITH SHIP FIRE.  The U.S. Navy charges an American sailor with starting a fire that heavily damaged an amphibious assault ship last year.  The ship burned for more than four days in San Diego.  The vessel was scrapped rather than rebuilding it at a price tag of $3.2 billion.

 

TOSSED WEDDING DRESS.  Tollway officials in Texas said they are trying to find the owner of an unusual piece of debris rescued from the side of a highway --- a wedding dress.

WASHINGTON POST REQUIRES SHOT PROOF.  The Washington Post will require all employees to provide proof that they have been vaccinated if they plan to return to the paper's newsroom on Sept. 13.

SUNSHINE STATE TRANSPORTS SALMON.  California is trucking millions of young salmon to cooler water to prevent them from dying in in Northern California’s Klamath River, where warmer water temperatures can be fatal to the fish. 

FLOW OF AFGHANS TO U.S. STARTS.   More than 200 Afghan interpreters and their families arrived in the U.S. last week, the start of an effort to evacuate thousands of Afghans who face retribution by the Taliban.

SEAFOOD PRICES JUMP.  With a shortage of seafood, prices have jumped about 11 percent in the year ended last month.  Factors causing the shortage and price spikes: Ports are congested, there aren’t enough fishermen or truck drivers, and demand for seafood at restaurants is soaring.