I’m saddened to report that there were multiple mass casualty events from dozens of tornadoes that hit the US Friday and over the weekend. An Amazon warehouse took a direct hit from an EF1 in Edwardsville, IL. Monette Manor Nursing Home in Arkansas was leveled. The National Guard has been sent in to help with the aftermath of these storms in KY, where Bowling Green and Mayfield took serious damage. A supercell that was part of this mess travelled for 250 miles. Upwards of 70 people are known to have died, but the final tally will be in the hundreds.
This pretty much sums it up in :19. #Mayfield #MayfieldTornado #KyWx #WX pic.twitter.com/IcPL4XGtPS
— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) December 11, 2021
Not really the kinds of records you want to see broken. The Mayfield, KY tornado has lofted debris over 30,000 feet into the air. That’s among the most intense ever record. pic.twitter.com/mIkuZzggHC
— Tyler Hofelich (@T_Hofelich) December 11, 2021
FEMA says December tornadoes are “a new normal” because of climate change.
I question the legality, morality, and the spirit of any law that encourages citizens to run around and sue each other when the parties involved in the suit have no cause for an accusation of tort. If you’re going to sue someone, it’s because you, personally, have been wronged by another party. This is dangerous and Texas, California (it’s always Texas and California, isn’t it…) and any other state that thinks this is cute needs to reverse course:
BREAKING: Amid SCOTUS decision allowing private citizens in TX to sue to stop abortions, Gov. Newsom announces move to allow any private citizen to sue “anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts” in California for at least $10,000.
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) December 12, 2021
There are big storms and a lot of snow in the Sierras. It could cause travel delays. Southern California can expect rain which will make wildfire burn scar areas potentially dangerous. Some Santa Barbara residents have been ordered to evacuate ahead of the rain for just this reason.
A military base near Pearl Harbor has significant levels of petroleum in its drinking water. Over 90,000 people have been told to avoid drinking it. The water was contaminated after a jet fuel spill. The Navy says it’s working to ameliorate the problem.
In good news, there are FDA approved eye drops that can help with presbyopia now (presbyopia is fuzzy near-vison that occurs more often with advancing age).
The world has over 270.9 million COVID cases. The world has gained 4.3 million cases in the last week—just as it did the week before. There have been over 5.3 million deaths in total. The US has had a cumulative 50.9 million cases. The US gained about 800,000 cases in the last seven days. Over 818,000 Americans have died during the pandemic—about 9,000 in the last week. The US gained over 74,000 new cases on Sunday, and over 68,000 by late afternoon Monday. The US, India, Brazil and the UK, have had the largest case gains today.
Lab accidents can happen, are probably not as rare as frequently espoused, and these accidents can unleash infectious diseases on a population:
NEW: A mouse with Covid bit a lab worker in Taiwan. She later tested positive, sparking an investigation into whether the bite was the cause of a new outbreak https://t.co/6RSMGIip3o
— Bloomberg (@business) December 10, 2021
There are a bunch of novel mechanisms for both vaccines and therapeutics for COVID, and they’re pretty exciting. Doctors at Vanderbilt are working on a new antibody treatment, and an inhaled COVID vaccine is now being tested.
Omicron is growing fast in Denmark and the UK and will be dominant in those places by Christmas. Omicron could grow to be dominant in the US around or early in the New Year if we’re not careful:
Updated #Omicron analysis with latest batch of 🇩🇰@SSI_dk data.
Progression is exactly on predicted path.🎯#Omicron to become dominant (late) Tuesday. Expect Wednesday to have average #Omicron cases > 50%.
Underlying math/stats detailed here: https://t.co/JxFz94vVHj https://t.co/SoaEumqQtz pic.twitter.com/Pwxw9UcxMK
— Peter R. Hansen (@ProfPHansen) December 12, 2021
Source
News roundup for Tue, Dec 14, 2021 – The Prepared is written by Stephanie Arnold for theprepared.com
