Veterans’ home COVID charges reinstated: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-04-27/court-revives-charges-over-covid-19-outbreak-at-massachusetts-veterans-home . The 5-2 vote indicates the prosecutors made a good case for their day in court.
WSJ: Speculators buy COVID property insurance claims: https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-streets-new-trade-covid-19-insurance-claims-fc4e191c .
China’s COVID cases rise again: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3218486/covid-19-cases-are-rising-china-economic-impact-seen-limited .
Lilly’s Mounjaro powerful weight-loss results: https://apnews.com/article/mounjaro-wegovy-ozempic-obesity-weight-loss-bd0e037cc5981513487260d40636752a . Given the US’s obesity mega-epidemic, the newer weight-loss drugs are likely to fuel a rapidly growing market. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/obesity-drug-hype-outweighs-profit-miss-at-eli-lilly-7ed3b163 . Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mounjaro-eli-lilly-weight-loss-new-study-5f7661cc .
WSJ: US abortion status by state: https://www.wsj.com/articles/where-abortion-is-legal-and-where-it-loses-protections-without-roe-v-wade-11656080346 .
WSJ: How social media turbocharged bank runs: https://www.wsj.com/articles/silicon-valley-bank-run-twitter-59061759 . While this seems obvious, we now have research supporting everyone’s conclusion.
Intelligence leaker in court for pre-trial custody determination: https://apnews.com/article/leaked-documents-air-national-guardsman-jack-teixeira-d7c8dbaeb3b7a5ae69faeab04ede2ab0 . Teixiera’s public defenders appear to be no match for the US Attorney’s Office: https://time.com/6275259/jack-teixeira-leak-documents-filing/ . However, given the facts currently public, few attorneys would expect to keep Teixeira from ongoing detention. He is an immense and apparently ongoing security risk, he destroyed evidence, and he has engaged in violent threats. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/jack-teixeiras-defense-team-faces-off-with-prosecutors-over-detention-1021596d .
Fort Lee renamed in honor of two Black veterans: https://abcnews.go.com/US/fort-lee-renamed-honor-2-black-us-army/story?id=98904204 . The Army phases out the naming of US forts for Confederate generals, over 150 years after the end of the Civil War.
Pence testifies before special counsel’s January 6 grand jury: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/mike-pence-testify-federal-grand-jury-donald-trump-rcna77281 . Special counsel Jack Smith appears to be rapidly proceeding to a January 6 indictment. We will see.
Musk likely faces deposition over Autopilot failure: https://www.aol.com/finance/elon-musk-will-likely-face-deposition-in-lawsuit-over-deadly-tesla-autopilot-crash-003310457.html . Summary of Musk’s legal problems: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-tesla-tweets-trial/ .
Next up for Fox Not-the-News: Smartmatic: https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-smartmatic-93d34ffd5e7490db8bd316729fbbf060 . As the article notes, Smartmatic machines were used only in Los Angeles in the 2020 election. Because the state went heavily for Biden over Trump, there is essentially no possibility that Smartmatic’s machines affected the outcome of the election. This makes Fox’s repeated, knowingly false attacks on Smartmatic even more irresponsible than the attacks on Dominion. One suspects this case will settle, but for much less than the $2.7 billion claim.
Biden’s re-election prospects: https://www.aol.com/biden-win-3-clues-track-163032743.html . Readers know my views here. If Orange Julius is renominated, Biden will beat him by a wider margin than last time. OJ’s mounting legal problems may push him out of the presidential race. However, the best non-OJ chance the GOP has is DeMentis. Ron is slipping as people get to know him, and Disney has so far made a fool of him. In 2024, everyone thought Biden would be a one-term president. But as things have turned out, he is currently the frontrunner in 2024. More: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2024-disaster/ .
Many GOP mega-donors back off DeMentis: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/04/27/billionaire-gop-donor-says-he-wont-support-desantis-because-florida-gov-doesnt-even-return-phone-calls/?sh=6ea4c7d6ae12 . DeMentis also does not give media interviews or answer questions at press conferences. This behavior has built the narrative that DeMentis lacks relationship-building skills.
Jerry Springer, talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor, passes at 79: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/obituaries/jerry-springer-daytime-television-pioneer-dies-79-rcna81773 .