COVID lab leak debate continues: https://apnews.com/article/covid19-united-states-intelligence-china-23dcbde0be5638556739b564ece97027 . As previously discussed here, no evidence so far exists of an intentional lab leak or of viral engineering in the lab. More: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3225246/no-evidence-covid-created-chinas-wuhan-lab-us-intelligence . WSJ: Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-virus-wasnt-at-wuhan-lab-before-pandemic-u-s-report-says-da8511c8 .
XBB.1.16 20% of COVID cases: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-06-23/cdc-data-omicron-subvariant-xbb-1-16-or-arcturus-causing-20-of-new-covid-19-infections .
WSJ: The biological research behind Ozempic: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ozempic-mounjaro-gila-monster-anglerfish-8c9c1ff2 .
Biden signs executive order expanding contraception access: https://www.axios.com/2023/06/23/biden-executive-order-birth-control-roe .
WSJ: Abortion opponents rethink backlash: https://www.wsj.com/articles/abortion-dobbs-year-after-roe-support-politics-d1ef5a5 . Kansas was a lot more than an alarm bell. The abortion opponents should realize that they are on the wrong side of history. The GOP will take more election defeats promoting a religious idea whose time has passed.
Are rate hikes cooling the global economy?: WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/central-bank-action-finally-cooling-global-economy-data-indicate-c6da0776 .
WSJ: More US bank mergers may be coming: https://www.wsj.com/articles/yellen-says-more-bank-mergers-likely-this-year-96f69e73 .
FDIC reimbursement of SVB depositors gave Sequoia Capital $1 billion: https://www.benzinga.com/government/23/06/32986591/mistakenly-released-fdic-document-shows-big-venture-capital-firm-got-backstopped-a-hefty-amount-in-s . How could Sequoia Capital possibly have been so stupid as to deposit $1 billion in one bank? A Beijing-based tech company got over $900 million, while a crypto firm got $3.3 billion. So of the total bailout cost of $15.8 billion for SVB and Signature Bank, the 10 top depositors got $12.8 billion. That’s insane. If FDIC had raised its insurance limit in these cases from $250,000 to $100 million, the top 10 depositors would have received a total of $1 billion, and the total bailout cost would have dropped from $15.8 billion to $4 billion (or less). Why did FDIC bail out these 10 depositors?
Federal judge blocks DeMentis’ anti-drag legislation: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/us-court-blocks-florida-law-restricting-drag-performances-rcna90900 . That’s 3 defeats this month for Ron in Florida’s federal courts. Never to my knowledge has a Harvard Law School graduate lost 3 times in one month in federal court over legislation he ordered drafted. Ron apparently wants to replace OJ’s “losing” with his own “losing”. What a loser …
Russia may face armed rebellion: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-06-23-23/h_fc3cdfb941b5658cd08fcd7a9ed3a2ce . Earlier in the day, Wagner chief Prigozihn claimed the Russian military had attacked his troops and vowed retaliation against them. Moscow now claims Prigozhin is attempting a coup. The army has taken defensive measures in the capital. The link shown above is updated frequently, so developments may have moved quickly by the time you access it. Wagner troops enter Russia: https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-war-russia-nuclear-647a545db4e4628676ff7db5b1bded34 . More: Prigozhin and 25,000 troops march on Moscow: https://www.gzeromedia.com/prigozhin-marches-on-moscow-what-we-know-and-what-to-watch .
Why did the submersible implode?: https://www.aol.com/news/fate-those-titanic-bound-submersible-040347776.html . The print reporting has not focused on this issue, but I’ve seen a couple of expert interviews which create a pretty strong theory here. First, a former employee said the hull was engineered to be 7 inches thick of this experimental fiber/metal composite material, but when it arrived, it was 5 inches thick. The company decided to proceed anyway, and he left.
Second, another expert pointed out that because of the incredible pressure at depth, the hull is squeezed on the way down, and then expands on the way up. He felt that the fatigue that occurs in metallic materials over time had not been tested at these pressures for this composite, and that fatigue failure was a likely cause. These two ideas together suggest a company that was not “over-engineering” in a situation that demands it.
Third, I would suggest that in future expeditions to depth, the vessels carry a small pressure-adapted beacon that inflates and rises to the surface when released. This emergency locator would release either manually if the crew gets into trouble or automatically in the event of hull failure. That would not only vastly reduce the resources needed to complete a search, but would locate a missing vessel much more quickly, increasing survival chances.
Fourth, an ROV should be available to be immediately flown to the location where the vessel is believed lost. Here, the ROV dispatched quickly determined there had been a hull implosion. Again, this would have vastly reduced the time and expense devoted to locating this vessel.
Finally, with the CEO’s death in this tragic situation, previously warned against in the adventurer community, lawsuits against this company will now end its existence. Presumably this will warn others away from this type of risk.
UPDATE: The Washington Post did publish an online article this afternoon which does address possible deformation of the hull material over time (a similar issue to material fatigue). Having tired of the poor quality of the Wall Street Journal’s current reporting, I subscribed to the Post about a month ago (special offer of $29 for a year). The quality of research at the Post is in a different galaxy than the Journal (everyone knows that), and it makes a difference on a daily basis for me. I’m not talking politics here – if you want to be well-informed, you have read something other than the Journal.
DOJ requests delay in Orange Julius classified documents trial to December 11: https://www.aol.com/prosecutors-request-trumps-classified-documents-012532337.html . The delay, while not unexpected, extends to December 11. Implementing a detailed schedule should reduce further delays.
WSJ: Audio tapes prove OJ’s motives in keeping documents: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-prosecutors-struggled-over-motives-then-they-heard-the-tape-37a7efed . At some point the entire world will realize that OJ’s penchant for bravado has led him to confess his crimes on tape. What a loser …
Arizona GOP election official sues Kari Lake: https://apnews.com/article/kari-lake-stephen-richer-defamation-lawsuit-9fe16e97b16edb8901171593cc399bf9 . The world is on fire. Bring marshmallows.
Cat fight in the Freedom Caucus: https://knewz.com/majorie-taylor-greene-house-freedom-caucus-purge-problematic-members/ . Now we have two white trash Congresswomen pulling each other’s hair in public. This must be a delayed tribute to Jerry Springer. Your government, not at work …
Up next: White trash to investigate Garland and Wray: https://www.mediaite.com/tv/ill-break-some-news-for-you-mtg-says-kevin-mccarthy-has-oked-house-investigations-into-garland-and-wray/ . Um, Orange Julius appointed Republican Christopher Wray FBI Director in 2017. Not biased enough for you?
Iowa meteorologist resigns after receiving death threats over his climate change coverage: https://www.aol.com/iowa-meteorologists-climate-change-coverage-214702350.html . So facts are now unwelcome in some parts of Iowa. This doesn’t bode well for the corn crop.
Rich nations pledge $200 billion to fight climate change: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-06-23/frances-macron-says-leaders-finalised-accord-on-100-billion-in-climate-finance . But the key word here is “pledge”.
Chris Christie booed after criticizing OJ: https://www.aol.com/news/chris-christie-jeered-criticizing-trump-185939992.html . It seems certain he won’t be applying for the meteorology job there.
Tom Brokaw talks about his cancer battle: https://news.yahoo.com/preview-tom-brokaw-discusses-battle-211200888.html .
The dangers of gas stoves: https://news.yahoo.com/study-finds-more-evidence-gas-213533887.html . Personally, I’ve always preferred cooking over gas because of the ability to rapidly adjust temperature. However, induction burners have the same capacity without the health risks. I would expect induction burners to become the new standard in this area.