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Monday, October 5, 2020
President Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 late last Thursday, along with several others. First Lady Melania Trump, White House advisor Hope Hicks, former advisor Kellyanne Conway, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie all tested positive for the disease. Most of these people attended President Trump's announcement of his Supreme Court nominee, and many of the attendees were not wearing masks or social distancing. The president checked in to Walter Reed National Medical Center, and although multiple reports said his vital signs were concerning, his doctors said he has been improving and could return to the White House by today. But what happens if the president is so ill that he cannot do his job? The Constitution states that he can inform both chambers of Congress of this and his powers would be transferred to the vice president, currently Mike Pence, and he would serve as Acting President. If he is so incoherent that he cannot make this decision, the vice president and Cabinet can decide to take power. If they cannot reach a consensus, then a supermajority (2/3 vote) of Congress could also transfer power. But what if Mike Pence also contracts COVID-19? Then the Constitution states that the Trump administration's rival, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, would take power. Of course, most experts believe that the Republicans would find a way around that, either going to the next in line, Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley, or a member of the Cabinet. If this sounds complicated, don't worry - there are laws in place for far more complex situations. On October 31st, the SpaceX Crew Dragon will embark on its Crew 1 mission - taking 4 astronauts to the ISS - in its first fully operational mission.
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
The WHO released a statement saying that COVID-19 could have infected 10% of the world population, or 770 million people. This is a controversial statement because Johns Hopkins University says that just over 35 million people have been infected. The reason the World Health Organization's estimate is so much higher is because an estimated 40% of infected people are asymptomatic. Even though many countries have reopened after strict lockdowns brought the virus under control, nations across Europe have tightened restrictions after cases jumped over the weekend. On Monday, President Trump returned to the White House from Walter Reed Medical Center. The state of California has seen the most cases in the US, at almost 1 million cases, while New York has recorded the most deaths. The mayor of New York is also considering further lockdowns as the city took a step backward after a long period of decline in positive cases. The Supreme Court officially began its next session yesterday; however, there is currently a vacant seat on the Court after associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death. President Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett. The Republicans on the Senate want to move quickly on her confirmation despite having multiple sick members, and the Democrats want to delay it until after the election. In the meantime, there are 8 justices, which means that there could be a tie. In that case, the lower court decision would be upheld. On December 10th, the Nobel Prizes will be handed out; the categories include Peace, Economics, Physics, Literature, Chemistry, and Medicine. The awards were laid out in Alfred Nobel's, the inventor of dynamite, will and established in 1895. The winner(s) get a diploma, a medal, and a huge monetary prize. Boston Dynamics has put its versatile robot dog, Spot, on sale for $74,500. It's intended for business use and not approved for play with children.
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Hurricane Delta has sped up very fast. Rapid intensification of a storm occurs when its sustained wind speeds increase by more than 35 mph in a 24 hour period, and Delta's increased by 85. That hasn't happened since 2005, and that storm hit Cancún, Mexico, where Delta was expected to make landfall today as a category 4 hurricane. Delta is not a name on the usual storm list. There are 21 names on the list, and it is the 25 storm this year, so meteorologists are using Greek letters. This is the second time that's been necessary, and Delta may be the first storm ever with a Greek letter to make landfall in the US after it hits Mexico. In Venice, a new flood prevention system stopped the city's seasonal flooding on Saturday. When the water hits a certain level, the barriers are set to rise; however, they only do so when the water level is extremely high and did not protect the city on Sunday when the waters were high enough to flood the city but not quite high enough to trigger the barriers. Regal Cinemas has closed hundreds of theaters worldwide after reopening due to COVID-19 concerns. There is also a question as to whether they will reopen again in the future or stay closed permanently. The move has affected tens of thousands of employees globally. New research has shown that mealworms, the larvae of a type of darkling beetle, can break down many types of plastics. The broken-down plastics are also excreted by the mealworms, which means that they do not bioaccumulate, or build up in the body. Researchers at Stanford are trying to find the bacteria in the mealworm digestive system that performs this function.
Thursday, October 8, 2020
The 2020 vice-presidential debate was held last night, sponsored by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. It was moderated by Susan Page from USA Today over a 90-minute debate with 9 subjects. One of the topics was the pandemic, and after President Trump was diagnosed after the first presidential debate last week, new social distancing measures were introduced. The candidates, US Senator Kamala Harris for the Democrats and incumbent Vice President Mike Pence were placed 12 feet apart with two plexiglass barriers. The main goals of vice-presidential nominees, according to political strategists, are straightforward: portray their running mate as the best candidate, defend their records, and attack their opponents. The next presidential debate will be held on October 15th, though there are concerns due to President Trump's recent diagnosis of COVID-19. For over a decade, the Postal Service has been losing money. In fact, when Benjamin Franklin was named the first Postmaster General, the USPS was not intended to be a profitable business. However, this has sparked concern over its ability to deliver a large number of ballots on time this election cycle. There are three main reasons for the Postal Service's decline. First, it does not receive any taxpayer funding, although it does get a monopoly on first-class mail. Second, Congress sets its rates despite the previous fact, and the USPS is required, by law, to deliver to all US residents, no matter how remote. Third, Congress imposed a controversial law in 2006. It required the Postal Service to set up funds for retired employees for the next 75 years in a span of just 10 years. Before that law, it had been making a profit. The Postal Service has the framework of a private business without financial freedom to act as such. Sports have been severely impacted by the pandemic - the NBA, MLB, and NFL are all playing without fans, and the NFL imposed stricter restrictions this week after a barrage of positive tests. Players and organizations can be fined money and/or draft picks for not wearing PPE and following guidelines, and in some cases, be forced to forfeit a game.
Friday, October 9, 2020
Hurricane Delta is heading toward Louisianna after hitting the Yucatán Peninsula. It made landfall in Mexico on Wednesday as a category 2 storm, weaker than meteorologists expected, and with no major damage. After heading into the Gulf, it weakened further to category 1 status and is expected to be the fourth named storm to hit Louisianna this hurricane season, which has never happened since records began to be made. Its effects will be magnified because of the recent destruction by Hurricane Laura, a category 4 storm. Many homes were damaged, and the debris still in the streets could be picked up by Delta. There are different models for how weather systems will behave. This is because there is an infinite number of atmospheric layers, and to use data from all of them to make a perfect model is impossible. Instead, faster simulations are made that are slightly less accurate but can be used on time. For example, the Euro model is slightly more accurate in some cases than the American model because it takes more time to generate. Originally, three presidential debates were scheduled. Now, one may be canceled. After President Trump tested positive for COVID-19 last week, the Commission on Presidential Debates moved the one coming up on the 15th online. However, the Trump Campaign did not agree to this, so it was canceled. The Biden campaign wants the next debate, on October 22nd, to be the last one, while the Trump campaign wants the canceled one rescheduled to come after that. On Halloween this year, a blue moon will occur. This means that we will have two full moons this month. The first one was earlier this month, and this rare occurrence only happens every two to three years because the lunar calendar doesn't match up with our calendar.
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