7. Some potential long-term effects of coronavirus found
- In Chicago, a new study has been looking into some of the neurological impacts that the coronavirus could have on people. Of those hospitalized that were included in the study from March 5 to April 6, 42.2% had neurologic manifestations, 62.7% had neurological symptoms and 82.3% had some neurological illness.
- The most common symptoms and issues were muscle pain, loss of taste, loss of smell, headaches and dizziness. There were more severe issues that only affected 0.2-1.4% which were strokes, movement disorders, seizures and motor and sensory deficits. Also found in the study is that young people were more likely to experience neurological issues.
6. Rise in hospitalizations near colleges
- Across the state, there’s been a rise in people being hospitalized with the coronavirus near universities, particularly in Tuscaloosa and Auburn. There are currently 69 patients hospitalized at DCH Hospital in Tuscaloosa, which hasn’t been seen since August.
- At East Alabama Medical Center in Auburn, they have 39 hospitalizations, which is lower than the peak of 62 they had in July, but more than twice what it was a month ago. A majority of patients are over the age of 65 and have preexisting conditions.
5. Clinical trials starting for drug Trump took
- UAB Hospital is working to begin a clinical trial for the antibody drug cocktail Regeneron, which was one of the treatments that President Donald Trump received for the coronavirus last week.
- Dr. Turner Overton of UAB has also been leading a monoclonal antibody treatment development, and he’s said that they’re “looking forward to being part of these studies to create a situation where we can have drugs to offer people in the outpatient setting and get our lives back to normal.”
4. Judge rules against Moore
- Former Chief Justice Roy Moore brought a lawsuit against Governor Kay Ivey and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris over the state health orders, and especially the statewide mask mandate, claiming that these orders violate constitutional rights.
- U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins has shut down the request for a temporary restraining order to prevent coronavirus regulations being enforced, specifically in relation to “wearing of masks, unconstitutional regulation of houses of worship, discriminatory closings of businesses, social distancing, assembly, and stay at home orders,” as claimed by the plaintiffs. Judge Watkins detailed that this request didn’t meet the standard for issuing a temporary restraining order, since there isn’t “imminent irreparable harm.” The case will continue, but Ivey and Harris are expected to file for the case to be dismissed by the October 20 deadline.
3. Jones says climate change is not China’s problem
- U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is in the fight for his political life and decided to play to his base by telling them that not only is America not doing enough to combat climate change but China is doing much better. He advised, “This is not a China problem,” adding, “China’s actually doing a lot to correct the problems that they’ve had in the past.” He also argued that America must rejoin the job-killing Paris accords to get on track.
- This is not true because China is by far the biggest creator of these emissions by a wide margin. The emissions are growing and based on China’s own timeline. China’s emissions won’t even peak until around 2030 while the United States is reducing its global emission in totality and cumulatively every day without the Paris Climate Accords.
2. Jones attacks Sessions’ and Trump’s Christianity
- Senator Doug Jones made some statements against President Donald Trump and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a Facebook livestream campaign event. Jones said that Trump and Sessions don’t actually support Christian values.
- These statements come after a report from The New York Times unveiled that Sessions and other officials were the driving force on separating parents from their children at the border. Jones said that the views revealed in the report are “so inconsistent with the values of people in Alabama.” He added, “It is so inconsistent with the Christian values that they pretend they support…there is no way you can reconcile ripping away an infant from a mother’s arms with the Christian values we have here in the state of Alabama.”
1. VP debate
- At the first and only vice presidential debate, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Vice President Mike Pence went head to head for the first time with Pence burying Harris with a barrage of facts, corrections, Midwest politeness and pointed questions about Harris’ and former Vice President Joe Biden’s inconsistency on everything from health care, fracking, COVID-19, court-packing and even abortion.
- The American media, knowing this was a debacle for Harris, chose to focus on a fly that landed on Pence’s head for two minutes and declare that a black female couldn’t possibly win a debate in a sexist and racist America, further solidifying what everyone watching knows was a one-sided Pence victory.
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