Iowa clinic for COVID-19 long-haulers: https://health.usnews.com/hospital-heroes/articles/iowa-clinic-treats-long-term-effects-of-covid-19?src=usn_nl_yourhealth .
WSJ: White House invents Medicare prescription assistance: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-says-discount-cards-will-soon-be-mailed-to-seniors-to-help-pay-for-prescription-drugs-11600988649 . Well, this is more detailed than the plan to protect those with pre-existing conditions if the ACA is overturned. Is this package the result of 4 years of work on the “replace” part of “repeal and replace”? More: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/trump-drug-coupons-seniors-421511 .
More support for the bradykinin hypothesis: https://www.vox.com/21445038/covid-19-symptoms-treatments-bradykinin-cytokine-storm . The initial newsletter on the bradykinin hypothesis is here.
WSJ: Global round-up: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-latest-news-09-24-2020-11600936005 . According to Worldometers, US cases approach 7.2 million while deaths passed 200,000 on September 15. World cases exceed 32.3 million while deaths approach 1 million.
US facing fall wave?: https://news.yahoo.com/after-declining-for-months-us-coronavirus-cases-are-rising-again-has-the-fall-wave-begun-132222774.html . The issue is college reopenings. Texas and Wisconsin are two places that insist on fall football, while the Pac-12, with 4 California schools, remains shut down. Update: The Pac-12 decided today to play a 7 game season starting November 6-7: https://kslsports.com/442439/pac-12-to-begin-2020-college-football-season-on-november-6/ .
House Democrats prepare another relief aid package: https://www.newsweek.com/mnuchin-pelosi-revive-stimulus-talks-democrats-call-compromise-bill-before-election-1534171 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/centrist-democrats-push-for-paycheck-protection-bill-if-no-broader-coronavirus-deal-reached-11600965422 .
WSJ: Trump says he may overrule FDA rule tightening: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-update-trump-suggests-he-may-overrule-fda-in-vaccine-hunt-airlines-ramp-up-testing-161421678.html . Trump accused the FDA of playing politics with the new rule.
USPS tells judge it can’t restore dismantled machines: https://www.yahoo.com/news/usps-claimed-cant-restore-mail-012336070.html . If true, USPS should have told the judge this in the original hearing.
WSJ: Corporate accounting for COVID-19 expenses: https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-adjust-earnings-for-covid-19-costs-but-are-they-still-a-one-time-expense-11600939813 .
Companies use PPP money to buy back stock, pay dividends: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/smallbusiness/publicly-traded-firms-paid-dividends-bought-their-own-stock-after-receiving-ppp-loans-to-pay-employees/ar-BB19oNwp?li=BBnb7Kz .
WSJ: United will offer COVID-19 testing for Hawaii travelers: https://www.wsj.com/articles/united-to-offer-covid-testing-to-some-hawaii-bound-travelers-11600948818 . This dovetails with Hawaii’s entrance requirements.
WSJ: Europe fights COVID-19 surge with local restrictions, avoiding general lockdowns: https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe-shunning-new-lockdowns-fights-resurgent-coronavirus-with-local-restrictions-11600940232 .
WSJ: UK provides businesses additional pandemic relief aid for next 6 months: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-reverses-course-extending-covid-19-support-to-businesses-for-six-more-months-11600954154 .
WSJ: Israel tightens lockdown: https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-tightens-lockdown-closes-synagogues-as-coronavirus-cases-surge-11600961753 .
WSJ: Rochester faces police overhaul: https://www.wsj.com/articles/rochester-faces-challenges-in-overhauling-police-after-daniel-prudes-death-11600952400 .
WSJ: Weekly jobless claims stuck at 870,000: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-government-bond-yields-tick-lower-after-mixed-economic-data-11600961369 . Isn’t the important news here that jobless claims continue at unprecedented levels? More bond news below.
WSJ: Corporations use “war games” for resiliency planning: https://www.wsj.com/articles/firms-conduct-war-games-to-prepare-for-external-threats-11600957343 .
WSJ: Theater finances look to “Bond”: https://www.wsj.com/articles/movie-theaters-are-counting-on-james-bond-11600958111 . Shaken, not stirred?
WSJ: Blues’ blues: https://www.wsj.com/articles/blue-health-insurers-reach-tentative-antitrust-settlement-for-2-7-billion-11600967231 . This has the potential to put significant pressure on the smaller Blues.
Parts supplier for Boeing 737 MAX files for bankruptcy: https://www.thestreet.com/investing/boeing-ba-supplier-impresa-aerospace-bankruptcy-737-max . This reminds me of this story from April, 2019: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/15/trump-boeing-737-max-1274719 . Free advice and worth the price!
WSJ: TikTok’s role in Oracle cloud strategy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/oracles-most-expensive-cloud-sale-yet-11600943580 . The judge considering the feds’ TikTok ban apparently is a no-nonsense adjudicator: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-tiktok-ban-faces-fast-track-court-review-11600969106 .
WSJ: Europe: Large vehicle challenge emission goals: https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-love-of-suvs-is-putting-car-makers-at-risk-of-fines-11600941260 .
WSJ: Court vacancy jeopardizes ACA: https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-vacancy-makes-health-care-leading-issue-in-2020-elections-11600948807 .
WSJ: Senate Republicans push ahead on Court nomination: https://www.wsj.com/articles/republicans-push-ahead-with-plans-to-confirm-supreme-court-nominee-11600939803 . So Trump did one interview and is done. What suspense? What process?
Opposition research on Amy Coney Barrett: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-favorite-judge-amy-coney-barrett-faces/story?id=73206743 . Opposition research is now a standard part of any Supreme Court nomination process. The larger discussion is how the Supreme Court has come to house so many Roman Catholics. Before Antonin Scalia was appointed to the Court in 1986, there were 8 Protestant and 1 Roman Catholic justices. When Elena Kagan was appointed to the Court in 2010, there were 6 Roman Catholic and 3 Jewish justices.
This shift primarily reflects the Republican political fixation on abortion and the attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade. The two previous Trump appointments have been Neal Gorsuch, who was raised a Catholic, and Brett Kavanaugh, a practicing Catholic. Barrett and Barbara Lagoa are both practicing Catholics.
WSJ: Opposition research on Joe Biden: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-trump-catholic-voters-presidential-election-abortion-supreme-court-11600961731 . Good Lord, how two-faced can conservatives get? We’re supposed to have separation of church and state in this country (that Constitution thing). Amy Coney Barrett said in her last confirmation that she could judge separately from her personal views, but that’s not what she’d previously written. The conservative “worry” about JFK was that he would be beholden to the Pope. This is even more offensive given the way Republicans have twisted the Supreme Court nomination process into a one-issue qualification for a lifetime appointment.
WSJ: Meanwhile, a dysfunctional family goes even more public: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mary-trump-sues-president-and-his-sister-claiming-fraud-conspiracy-11600962765 .
Nate Silver’s 538 slightly favors Democrats to win the Senate: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/senate/ . Last week the projection was 58/42 D/R control. This week’s 62/38 appears to reflect increasing certainty (built into the model) as we get closer to November 3. Previously the most likely outcome was a 50/50 split (with Harris as tie-breaker); now 50/50 and 51D/49R are equally likely.
WSJ: What we know about vote counts on November 3: https://www.wsj.com/articles/actually-we-will-know-a-lot-on-election-night-11600959867 .
DOJ issues bizarre election-tampering announcement: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/doj-announcement-on-pennsylvania-ballot-investigation-baffles-election-experts-421541 . In normal times, this announcement is indeed “career-ending improper”. The White House teasing of the announcement before its DOJ release is also disturbing. This implies Bill Barr knew and allowed (or directed) this.
WSJ: Could Einstein get published today?: https://www.wsj.com/articles/could-einstein-get-published-today-11600974323 . What is the author’s point? Apparently, it is a lament that as science has become more professionalized, breeziness in writing has been discouraged. There is of course a difference between breeziness and clarity. As Einstein also wrote books (for public consumption) on his theories and (as the author concedes) Einstein would have found a way to be published, I don’t really see a problem here.
WSJ: The nerd’s nerd as sleuth: https://www.wsj.com/articles/rand-million-random-digits-numbers-book-error-11600893049 . And since no one has opened the book in years, this is truly an academic exercise.