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Once the dust settles mid-term, we’ll know if the U. S. will make a U-turn in its COVID-19 policy. The Biden administration still needs Covid relief funds, we’re still in a health emergency, and House Republicans are embarking on a series of investigations. That’s what majority means, and much more.
Such an update could simply mean the end of some Biden-era pandemic policies, adding the end of the public health emergency and the accompanying national emergency declaration. Taken together, those statements give President Biden broad powers to freeze student loan payments and set health policies. such as government-paid vaccines and COVID testing, and require federal employees, in addition to the military, to be vaccinated. The president needs an additional $47 billion in COVID-19 funding, which has no chance of passing if he doesn’t get it done before the end of this term in Congress.
Let’s take a look at what a congressional majority replacement would mean for a series of congressional investigations.
The Hill says you should get used to hearing a name in the months ahead:
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. , is set to take over the tough House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction over issues such as Medicare, Medicaid, food and drug safety, and federal enforcement agencies. health.
Rodgers and other Republican lawmakers have said they will prioritize an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, as well as the administration’s policies in reaction to the virus, such as school closures.
Republicans in both chambers are also eager to launch investigations into Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who is set to retire from government this year.
When Fauci announced his intention to retire in August, Republicans vowed to continue their investigation.
Most likely, another circular of investigations will be carried out through the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which is the main investigative committee of the House.
The Washington Post explains what this committee could do first:
Speaking to The Health 202, the Republican who would likely soon lead the panel, Rep. James Comer (Ky. ), laid out his health care and Covid agenda. Here’s what the committee plans to prioritize:
Axios complements some of the GOP’s other COVID-era likely peak targets.
Corporations that allow remote painting can be cited as one of the points that contributed to the record 8,412 temporary residency visas issued to Americans in the first nine months of the year. The Mexican government claims that this represents an 85% increase compared to the same period. Bloomberg says it’s the highest since 2010, when government reporting began.
Naturally, Mexico City has noticed the largest increase in the number of transient resident visas. And the other Mexican state that hosts significant U. S. immigrants is Quintana Roo, home to the city of Cancun, the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, as well as the towns of Bacalar and Playa del Carmen.
(politicamigratoria. gob. mx)
When it comes to granting permanent residency, Americans are granted the third-highest number of visas: Honduras and Venezuela. This year, thousands of Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Cubans and Haitians have also settled or fled to Mexico.
The number of US citizens granted permanent residency in Mexico is up 48% over 2019, which again, points to before the pandemic, when report work was less common.
Two new reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show us that deaths directly attributable to alcohol increased by about 30% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports of alcohol-induced liver or pancreatic failure, alcohol poisoning, and withdrawal. and some other diseases.
These causes of death increased from 39,000 in 2019 to 52,000 in 2021.
(CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION)
And the CDC broke down alcohol-related deaths by state.
(JAMA Network)
Even before the pandemic, alcohol consumption in the U. S. was on the rise, especially among women, minorities and the elderly.
But during the pandemic, Americans’ alcohol intake skyrocketed. A study by Rand indicates that “alcohol intake among U. S. adults increased by as much as 14% in the first year of the pandemic. “
The horrific crowd clash in South Korea, which killed more than 150 people and injured many more, reminded me of a story I saw on Good Morning America after a fatal crowd rush for a concert. It’s worth checking out because it shows how to stay Alive even if you fall. Here is a link to the video.
Here’s a sobering interactive article from Columbia Journalism Review that attempts to divulge a systemic bias called “lacking white woman syndrome. “CJR states, “This calculates the price of media based on existing news reports in the United States, to expose this bias and advocate for change. “. You’ll see that men are less likely to be reported in missing persons cases; The older you are, the less likely you are to get a media policy if you’re away; and other people in urban spaces are more likely to be reported than other people in rural spaces. And RGC’s data reveals: “Data show that whites are more likely to be covered by the press, while blacks and Hispanics are the least likely to be reported. “possibilities. “
CJR explained its method for building the calculation used in the interactive:
Our research and style are based on a representative pattern of 3630 missing persons stories out of 19,561 collected through Meltwater from January to November 2021. Of this pattern, 2,383 stories were about one or more expressed missing persons, encompassing 735 exclusive missing persons who were known. and categorized by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and geography. The missing persons were then cross-referenced with the NAMUS database for the same time period. Meltwater met the editor of the article, the possible r of that media outlet and the social sharing for the article.
CJR Why it produced the project:
The number of people who know about a person’s disappearance has a fundamental effect on their chances of being found.
Unfortunately, the goal of the policy that an absent user receives is influenced by various demographics, such as race, age, gender, and even geographic location. In other words, who you are and what you look like can determine whether your case makes headlines. months or never seems at all.
Columbia Journalism Review believes it’s time for change. Who you are and what you look like should not determine your likelihood of being found.