Free spread of COVID-19 in Sweden didn't lead to 'herd immunity'
By HealthDay News

People stroll, sunbathe and swim at a bathing jetty in Malmo, Sweden, in June. The country attempted to achieve COVID-19 "herd immunity" by skipping lockdowns and other measures most countries around the world are using to limit spread of the disease. Photo by EPA-EFE/Johan Nilsson/TT

Diverging from much of the world, Sweden let COVID-19 spread in hopes the population would develop "herd immunity." But the risky strategy failed, a new report finds.

Rather than imposing a hard lockdown in March as other countries did, the Scandinavian nation relied on individual responsibility to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus. This is the idea of "folkvett" -- common sense of the people -- and the approach made headlines at the time

Gyms, stores and restaurants remained open schools were open for kids up to age 16 while gatherings of more than 50 people were banned.

Authorities predicted that 40% of the people in Stockholm would get the disease and develop protective antibodies by May. The actual prevalence, however, was around 15%, according to the study published Aug. 11 in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

RELATED Common cold could boost COVID-19 immunity, study finds

It is clear that not only are the rates of viral infection, hospitalization and mortality [per million population] much higher than those seen in neighboring Scandinavian countries, but also that the time-course of the epidemic in Sweden is different, with continued persistence of higher infection and mortality well beyond the few critical weeks period seen in Denmark, Finland and Norway," said researcher Dr. David Goldsmith, a retired physician in London.

Experience suggests that severely infected COVID-19 patients acquire antibodies immediately and during early recovery, but antibodies are much less common in only mildly ill or asymptomatic patients.

This means they are likely not immune, and can't prevent the spread of the virus, the study noted. This is central to the concept of herd immunity.

RELATED Three top spots for COVID-19 deaths in Western Hemisphere

In the other Scandinavian countries, rapid lockdown appeared more successful in stopping the spread of infection, Goldsmith said.

The findings are a cautionary tale for the world, and for the United Kingdom in particular, he indicated.

"We in the U.K. would do well to remember we nearly trod the same path as Sweden, as herd immunity was often discussed here in early March. Right now, despite strict [but tardy] lockdown in the U.K., and the more measured Swedish response, both countries have seen high seven-day averaged COVID-19 death rates compared to other Scandinavian and European countries," Goldsmith said in a journal news release.

RELATED COVID-19 immunity might fade after 90 days, study finds

Only a year or two after the pandemic, however, can experts fairly judge what was done correctly, the authors said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19.

RELATED CDC: U.S. COVID-19 case count 6 to 24 times higher than reported



Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Study: Yoga helps half of adults with anxiety, but therapy is more effective

Kundalini yoga can help people with generalized anxiety disorder, a new study has found. Photo lograstudio/Pixabay


Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Yoga is an effective treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, a study published Wednesday by JAMA Psychiatry said, though researchers say therapy proved to be effective for more people.

More than half of patients who practiced Kundalini yoga, which includes movement, breathing techniques, meditation and chanting, responded well to therapy, the researchers said.

But cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, a form of psychotherapy, was effective for more patients, with 70% of people who underwent the treatment responding well.

Both approaches were more effective than stress education, which included lectures on the physiologic, psychological and medical effects of stress. One-third of all anxiety patients treated using this approach responded well, according to the researchers.
RELATED Anxiety, depression spiked among college students early in pandemic



"Yoga is a safe and popular stress reduction strategy that ... can also improve anxiety," study co-author Dr. Naomi M. Simon, professor of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told UPI.

"These anxiety-reducing effects for people with generalized anxiety disorder, however, may be less strong or long-lasting than ... cognitive behavioral therapy," she said.

Generalized anxiety disorder is a chronic anxiety condition in which patients experience frequently overwhelming nervousness, worry and associated symptoms, according to Simon said.

RELATED COVID-19 stressing out U.S. more than other nations, survey says
]

Nearly 3% of U.S. adults have been diagnosed with the disorder, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates.

For their research, Simon and her colleagues compared treatment with Kundalini yoga, cognitive behavioral therapy and stress education in 155 adults with the condition.

Study participants practiced a Kundalini yoga program developed by the GuruRam Das Center for Medicine and Humanology. The program included physical postures and exercises, breathing techniques, relaxation exercises, meditation and mindfulness practices, yoga theory, philosophy and psychology.

RELATED Abused, neglected kids show increased signs of biological aging

After 12 weeks of treatment, 32 of the 60 generalized anxiety disorder patients in the yoga group and 47 of 67 patients in the CBT group saw a reduction in their anxiety symptoms, the researchers said.

Nine of the 28 patients who received stress education -- including information on the effects of lifestyle behaviors, such as caffeine and alcohol consumption as well as smoking, diet and exercise -- experienced an improvement in their GAD symptoms, according to the researchers.

"Access and engagement are among the greatest challenges to helping people with distressing anxiety receive adequate treatment," Simon told UPI. "Many people either are unable to access or afford cognitive behavior therapy, for example, [but] yoga ... is widely available and popular."

upi.com/7028407

Study: Nearly half of teens who vape say they want to quit

Nearly half of teens who vape say they want to quit, an analysis has found. Photo by kevsphotos/Pixabay

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Forty-five percent of teenagers who use e-cigarettes want to quit the habit, according to an analysis published Monday by JAMA Pediatrics.

Moreover, one in four young people who vape said they have tried to quit -- unsuccessfully -- at least once in the past year, the researchers found.

"Families and teens should know that like all tobacco products, nicotine vaping products are addictive," analysis co-author Tracy Smith told UPI.

"Teens who are struggling to quit should talk with their doctors," said Smith, an assistant professor of addiction science at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Recent research has found that just over 25% of American high school students use e-cigarettes at least periodically and 12% report that they vape daily.

For their research, Smith and her colleagues surveyed nearly 15,000 teens ages 12 to 17 on their use of e-cigarettes and their intention, if any, to quit as part of the Population Assessment on Tobacco and Health study.

Of the survey participants, roughly 500, or 3.6%, said they had used an e-cigarette product in the past 30 days. Just over 50% said they wanted to quit vaping within the next 30 days, while 17% hoped to do so within the next year, the researchers said.

Among teen e-cigarette users surveyed, 57% reported experiencing symptoms of depression and 61% indicated they had symptoms of anxiety, the researchers said.

"A significant portion of adolescents who vape want to stop vaping," Smith said. "Funding is needed for the development of cessation interventions."

Read More   

Vaping increases COVID-19 risk among teens, young adults,

 study finds Vaping-related lung injury still happening, may look like COVID-19 

upi.com/7030008

Philippines death penalty: A fight to stop the return of capital punishment
Preeti Jha - BBC News, BBC•August 15, 2020

Mr Duterte has once again pushed to reintroduce the death penalty
MR DUTERTE IS AN ATHEIST, APOSTATE, BLASPHEMER DO YOU THINK HE

CARES WHAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE OVERWHELMING CATHOLIC 

MAJORITY THINKS.....ABOUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.....DO YA......

Capital punishment opponents expect a steep battle to prevent President Rodrigo Duterte from reimposing the death penalty, as he renews calls for the law as part of a "drug war" that has already killed thousands of Filipinos.

Few were surprised when Mr Duterte last month pushed, once again, to reintroduce the death penalty for drug offenders.

Since coming to power in 2016 he has waged a brutal crackdown on suspected drug users and dealers, issuing police with shoot-to-kill orders while encouraging citizens to kill drug users too.

Officially the police say they shoot only in self-defence and data shows more than 8,000 people have been killed in anti-drug operations. The nation's human rights commission estimates a toll as high as 27,000.

Relatives mourn the death of a man who was accused of being a drug addict in Manila

The piling bodies have been documented by photojournalists whose images of dead suspects face-down in pools of blood after a police raid, or strewn on streets in suspected vigilante murders, have shocked the world.

"The death penalty would give the state another weapon in its ongoing war against drugs," said Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch.

How many have died in Philippines drugs war?

'Permission to kill' condemned in Duterte drug war

Mr Duterte was restrained, at first, by the upper house of parliament. But last year's mid-term elections saw his allies win control of the senate and many fear the law could now be passed.

Twenty-three bills have been filed across both houses to reinstate the death penalty for drug crimes, including possession and sales. Committee deliberations began last week.
Nuanced views

Mr Conde says he would like to be proved wrong but senses the law "is as good as passed". He points to the swift recent passing of the controversial anti-terrorism law, and the speed at which ABS-CBN, a broadcaster critical of the president, was forced off air.

The move would be a breach of international human rights law.

But this is unlikely to faze Mr Duterte, who frequently expresses his disdain for human rights checks. Last year the Philippines left the International Criminal Court as it was probing accusations of crimes linked to his drugs campaign.

Surveys by the Social Weather Stations, a pollster, have shown the war on drugs remains popular among Filipinos despite experts saying the signature policy has failed to curb drug use or supply. A majority are also in favour of reinstating capital punishment.

But a closer look at the results shows an alternative picture, says Maria Socorro Diokno, secretary-general of the Free Legal Assistance Group, a network of human rights lawyers.

When presented with alternatives to capital punishment for crimes linked to illegal drugs, for instance, most favoured other options.

"They begin to think that death is not always the answer," said Ms Diokno.

Ms Diokno, who leads her group's anti-death penalty task force, has been braced for a battle with Mr Duterte ever since he vowed to bring back the death penalty as part of his election campaign.

She knows that minds can be changed because she was part of the movement that succeeded last time.

The death penalty has been abolished twice before - first in 1987 and then again in 2006 after being reinstated in 1993.
Protests in previous years saw students condemning the return of the death penalty

The last push for abolition was led by the Catholic church, which holds considerable influence over Filipinos in the largely Catholic country while Mr Duterte is an open critic.

Last week the Clergy of the Archdiocese of Manila condemned the "lack of independence and imprudence" of some lawmakers in supporting the president on the issue.

"We see such acts as betrayal of the people's interests and an implicit support to the creeping authoritarian tendencies exuded by this administration," it said.
Mistaken convictions

In his annual address to the nation last month Mr Duterte claimed reinstating the death penalty by lethal injection would "deter criminality".

But there is little evidence to prove that the death penalty can be a deterrent. Instead research has shown the punishment frequently affects the most disadvantaged.

In the Philippines alone the Supreme Court said in 2004 that 71.77% of death penalty verdicts handed by lower courts were wrong.

By imposing the death penalty for drug offences, the Philippines would also be moving away from what Harm Reduction International has identified as a downward global trend in using the penalty for such crimes.

It says 35 countries and territories retain capital punishment for drug offenders but only a few carry out executions regularly. Five of the eight "high application states" are in South East Asia.

Raymund Narag, an assistant professor of criminology at Southern Illinois University, knows firsthand the problems of a flawed criminal justice system.

He spent nearly seven years jailed in the Philippines as a pre-trial detainee before he was acquitted of a campus murder that took place at his university when he was 20.

The death penalty was still intact at the time and prosecutors had sought it for the 10 men charged.

Worse than his overcrowded cell and frequent prison riots, he says, was the "agony of waiting" for hearings.
Inmates are cramped together in one Quezon City jail

"It was traumatic thinking that you can be put to death for a crime you did not commit," said Dr Narag, speaking from the US.

Now 46, he was one of five men eventually acquitted, while the others were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The experience has shaped his career. He now researches prolonged trial detention in the Philippines, while advocating for criminal justice reform.

Dr Narag says that if he hadn't managed to track down a key witness, an overseas worker, to return home and testify, proving he wasn't at the crime scene, he may have been convicted.

Through his advocacy he wants Filipinos to know the consequences of mistaken convictions, which could become mistaken executions if the law changes, in an already struggling justice system.

The scope of and timeline for the eventual death penalty bill put to vote in parliament is uncertain, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some have argued the bill should not be a priority.

Gloria Lai, Asia director of the International Drug Policy Consortium, says the death penalty has not solved the drug-related problems of any country.

"It is the poor and vulnerable who bear the harsh punishment of criminal justice systems in grossly unjust ways," she says.

DHS chief of staff under Trump endorses Biden, describes 'terrifying' dealings with president

58% OF BIDEN'S SUPPORT IS FROM
NEVER AGAIN TRUMP VOTERSKathryn Krawczyk, The Week•August 17, 2020

One of the Department of Homeland Security's top officials under President Trump is now turning against him

Miles Taylor, who worked as DHS chief of staff under Trump, announced in a Monday ad and a Washington Post op-ed that he would be supporting former Vice President Joe Biden this fall. While he once hoped Trump would "soberly accept the burdens of the presidency," Taylor said in the op-ed that "he did not rise to the challenge," and thus Taylor had no choice but to speak out against his re-election.

In the ad, Taylor said what he saw "after two and a half years in that administration was terrifying." He described how "we would go in and try to talk to [Trump] about pressing national security issues," but "he wasn't interested in those things." "The president wanted to exploit the Department of Homeland Security for his own political purposes and to fuel his own agenda," Taylor continued. For example, Trump tried to tell FEMA to stop sending aid to wildfire-stricken California because it didn't vote for him, and "wanted to restart zero tolerance" and "have a deliberate policy of ripping children away from their parents" at the border," Taylor said.

Taylor goes on to make clear in the ad that he's not a Democrat, and disagrees with Biden on many fronts. But Trump is "actively doing damage to our security," while Biden "will protect the country," he said. Watch the ad below, and find Taylor's op-ed at The Washington Post.

NEW: Testimonial ad from Trump's Former DHS Chief of Staff @MilesTaylorUSA, declaring his support for Joe Biden and describing Trump's presidency as "terrifying" and "actively doing damage to our security."

WATCH & go to https://t.co/Nz2NiSCquN for more. pic.twitter.com/iChqOdIIew
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@RVAT2020) August 17, 2020
Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting.


DHS removes acting chief of intelligence and analysis after protest response

Black Lives Matter protesters against racism and police brutality storm the Justice Center and clash with local police and federal agents in downtown Portland, Ore., Monday. On Saturday reports surfaced that Brian Murphy, acting chief of intelligence and analysis for the Department of Homeland Security, following criticism of his department's handling of the protests. EPA-EFE/DAVID SWANSON

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The Department of Homeland Security is removing its acting chief of intelligence and analysis amid criticism of his office's role in responding to civil unrest in Portland, Ore.

As of Saturday, Brian Murphy was still listed as Acting Under Secretary for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis Brian Murphy on the DHS website.

But the Washington Post has reported that DHS Secretary Chad Wolf has removed Brian Murphy from his role following a series of reports about how his office responded to nightly protests in the city.

Most recently, the reports surfaced reported that DHS had compiled "intelligence reports" on journalists who published leaked documents, and that the agency had monitored protesters' electronic communications.

On Saturday House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said the committee had been conducting an investigation into Murphy and his department for more than two weeks.

"In light of recent public reports, we are concerned that Murphy may have provided incomplete and potentially misleading information to Committee staff during our recent oversight engagement, and that the Department of Homeland Security and I&A are now delaying or withholding underlying intelligence products, legal memoranda, and other records requested by the Committee that could shed light on these actions," Schiff said in the statement.

The demonstrations have been part of a nationwide protest against police brutality and racism following the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
.

Tensions between demonstrators and police -- who had used tear gas and other means of crowd dispersal repeatedly in late May and throughout June -- were high before the arrival of federal officers in early July.

After DHS agents arrived in the city, viral videos showed officers -- who have dressed in military gear have not worn badges revealing their names or agencies -- appearing to arrest protesters without probable cause, drawing criticism from city officials and the public.

Video also shows federal agents shooting a protester, who was holding a boom box over his head during the incident, in the head with a rubber bullet and sending the man to the hospital.

On July 23 U.S. District Judge Michael Simon blocked federal agents from arresting and using force against clearly identified journalists in Portland for 14 days.

A group of journalists and legal observers has filed a motion accusing federal agents of defying that order.

On Wednesday Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced federal officers would begin a phased withdrawal from the city beginning Thursday.

Wolf said later that day that DHS would remain in the city "until the violent activity toward our federal facilities end."

On Friday DHS published a press release saying federal officers had been present to protect the federal courthouse as part of a collaboration agreement with Oregon State Police and the Portland Police Bureau, but described the protests as peaceful and not resulting in any arrests.

Pro-democracy Milk Tea Alliance brews in Asia

HELLO KITTY BUBBLE TEA ACTIVISTS FOR 

BOURGEOIS DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION

Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Yanni Chow,
Reuters•August 18, 2020

Protesters hold signs of the Hong Kong-Thailand-Taiwan network (Milk Tea Alliance) during a rally to demand the government to resign, to dissolve the parliament and to hold new elections under a revised constitution, in Bangkok

BANGKOK/HONG KONG (Reuters) - As Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates voiced support for Thai anti-government protests at the weekend, they used the hashtag #MilkTeaAlliance.

In Bangkok, flags representing Hong Kong and independence for Taiwan appeared on a sign bearing the tag at the biggest demonstrations in years.

And in Taipei, dozens of people gathered to back the Thai protests and give weight to a nascent community of cross-border youth movements pushing for democracy at home and uneasy with China's growing regional power.

"This is the first physical expression of the Milk Tea Alliance," said Thai student Akrawat Siripattanachok, 27, who helped organise the show of solidarity in Taipei joined by Hong Kong activists, a Chinese dissident and Taiwan students.

"We don't want to just talk about it online. We want a pan-Asian alliance for democracy."

A hashtag that began in April as a backlash to Chinese nationalist attacks on a Thai celebrity for a perceived slight to China shows signs of turning into a bigger movement uniting like-minded activists.

Why milk tea? The light-hearted name represents a shared passion for sweet tea drinks in Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"The innovative idea of Milk Tea Alliance will enhance more students to push forward global solidarity which might confront hardline crackdown," prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong told Reuters.

Wong tweeted support for the Thai protesters, while users on LIHKG, a social media forum used by Hong Kong demonstrators, also called on people to highlight the call of the Thai protesters for greater democracy and the departure of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader.

"The show of solidarity between different pro-democracy groups in Asia reflects a greater intensity and camaraderie," Parit 'Penguin' Chiwarak, 22, one of the Thai protest leaders, told Reuters.

'UNDER PRESSURE'

Help flows both ways.

Some Thai students have shown support for Hong Kong activists as Beijing has tightened its grip and for the Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of increased Chinese rhetoric over what China views as a breakaway province.

"The situation in Thailand isn't so different from Hong Kong or Taiwan, which are under pressure from the authoritarian government of China," said Rathasat Plenwong, 24, a student protester with a Milk Tea Alliance sign.

The Thai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the alliance of activists and whether they were concerned about its impact.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, dismissed the activists' cooperation.

"People who are pro-Hong Kong independence or pro-Taiwan independence often collude online, this is nothing new. Their conspiracy will never succeed," Zhao said.

While the groups' bonds may not concern China now, they were a clear sign of the challenge facing its influence in the region, Wasana Wongsurawat, a Chinese history professor at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters.

"It's amazing that the Hong Kong and Taiwan bond expanded into the Milk Tea Alliance with Thailand, a sovereign country that doesn't even list Chinese as a national language," she said.

Use of the hashtag peaked in April when Chinese internet users hit back against attacks on the Thai celebrities who had appeared to suggest that Hong Kong was a state and that Taiwan was not part of China.

While a few people have promoted it almost daily since then, the Thai protests saw a big increase in its use - mostly on Twitter, but also Facebook, TikTok and other platforms.

Data from a Twitter analytic tool showed the hashtag was used in more than 100,000 tweets on Sunday alone and nearly 200,000 times over the past eight days.

There have also been shows of interest from the Philippines, because of a dispute with China over the South China Sea, and India after border skirmishes with China since May.

Singaporean blogger and activist Roy Ngerng, who was found guilty of defaming Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a 2014 blog post, was also in the crowd in Taipei.

"The Milk Tea Alliance became the common ground from which we can express our solidarity in humorous and safe spaces," Ngerng told Reuters.

"Solidarity is taking on a more organisational and structural form."
(Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Additional reporting by Ann Wang and Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Editing by Matthew Tostevin, Robert Birsel)

Right-wing militia pulls out of event with New Mexico Republicans, citing 'blatantly racist' remarks from some speakers

Charles Davis, Business Insider•August 17, 2020

Albuquerque police detain members of the New Mexico Civil Guard, an armed civilian group, following the shooting of a man during a protest over a statue of Spanish conqueror Juan de Oñate on Monday, June 15, 2020, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Adolphe Pierre-Louis/The Albuquerque Journal/APMore

The New Mexico Civil Guard announced on Sunday that it is pulling out of an August 22 rally that features a number of local Republicans.

The news comes after Business Insider reported on the existence of the rally, which was to pay "special tribute" to the group, whose leaders include a neo-Confederate and a member of the Proud Boys, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group.

In a post on Facebook, the New Mexico Civil Guard said that state Republicans had shown the group "an overwhelming amount of very appreciated support."

But the paramilitary group claimed it could not attend the rally because "key speakers have publicly made some remarks that came across as blatantly racist."

The rally is set to feature Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin, who has argued that Black athletes protesting racism in the US should "go back to Africa."s.

A right-wing militia is pulling out of a rally featuring elected Republicans days after Business Insider reported that one of its leaders is a member of a hate group who has denied the Holocaust.

The New Mexico Civil Guard, in a Facebook post on Sunday, said it had "made the decision not to attend the event" — where organizers planned to pay "special tribute" to the paramilitary group — for a number of reasons, among them: that the militia, while led by avowed supporters of President Donald Trump, is ostensibly nonpartisan.

"[T]he Republican side of the ticket in New Mexico has shown an overwhelming amount of very appreciated support," the militia said, "but we are not a Republican or Democratic organization." The "main reason" it will not be attending, however, is because "it has been brought to our attention that key speakers have publicly made some remarks that came across as blatantly racist."

The New Mexico Civil Guard, whose leaders include a neo-Confederate and a member of the Proud Boys, announced it is pulling out of an Aug. 22 rally featuring New Mexico Republicans.

Last week, Business Insider reported that the militia itself was founded by a man with a swastika tattoo who has served as the "commander" of a neo-Confederate organization; another leader is a member of the Proud Boys, designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, who has made comments denying the Nazi extermination of 6 million Jews.

The paramilitary organization is currently facing a lawsuit from the Bernalillo County District Attorney, Raúl Torrez, who alleges that is an illicit, far-right vigilante group.

On Facebook, the New Mexico Civil Guard said it is avowedly anti-hate, asserting that it "in no way condones or participates in racism, and by us being at this event we feel that is what we would be doing."

The New Mexico Civil Guard declined to comment further.

In an email to Business Insider, New Mexico Republican Pat Woods described the August 22 event, promoted by the Republican Party of Curry County, as a "GOP grand opening event." A flyer for the rally says it intends to honor law enforcement and the militia, listing the vice-chair of the state Republican Party, Rick Lopez, as a featured speaker.

Another special guest: Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin, an elected county commissioner who recently said Black athletes protesting racism should "go back to Africa."

The Republican Party of New Mexico has refused to say whether or not its vice-chair will be speaking at the event. In a statement, Anissa Tinnin, executive director for the Republican Party of New Mexico, instead lambasted critics of the rally, which she described as a "grassroots" event. "[W]e will not waste our energy assaulting New Mexicans' free speech," Tinnin said, contrasting the rally with "lawless Antifa protesters looting and shooting."

Tinnin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the party agrees with the militia's statement that participating in the rally would be to condone racism.

However, three New Mexico Republicans who were listed as speakers at the August 22 rally have told Business Insider they are not planning to participate, with Stefani Lord, a candidate for the state legislature, citing the changing "tone and tenor" of the event.

Read the original article on Business Insider

A spectacular image reveals the electrical tentacles of red jellyfish sprite lightning in the skies above Texas
Aylin Woodward Business Insider•August 16, 2020

McDonald Observatory specialist Stephen Hummel captured a photo of this red jellyfish sprite from Mt. Locke, Texas, on July 2, 2020. Stephen Hummel


Sometimes during a thunderstorm, you can glimpse tentacles of jellyfish-shaped lightning drooping down from space.


This phenomenon is called a red sprite — it's a type of electrical discharge that happens up to 50 miles into the atmosphere.


In July, a scientist from the McDonald Observatory in Texas captured a rarely seen red sprite on camera.


Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

If you've ever looked up during a thunderstorm and glimpsed a red jellyfish sitting high in the sky, you weren't hallucinating.

These tentacle-like spurts of red lightning are called sprites. They're ultrafast bursts of electricity that crackle through the upper regions of the atmosphere — between 37 and 50 miles up in the sky — and move towards space, according to the European Space Agency.

The phenomenon is a rare sighting: It lasts just tenths of a second and can be hard to see from the ground since it's generally obscured by storm clouds. But Stephen Hummel, a dark-skies specialist at the McDonald Observatory, captured a spectacular image of one of these sprites on July 2 (shown above) from a ridge on Mount Locke in Texas.

"Sprites usually appear to the eye as very brief, dim, grey structures. You need to be looking for them to spot them, and oftentimes I am not certain I actually saw one until I check the camera footage to confirm," Hummel told Business Insider.


On the night he snapped this photo, he'd recorded 4 1/2 hours of footage before capturing the sprite on film.

"Overall I've probably recorded close to 70 hours' worth of footage and stills this year, and caught about 70 sprites," he said, adding that half of those were in a single storm.
Jellyfish sprites can be seen glimpsed from space

Davis Sentman, a professor of physics at the University of Alaska who died in 2011, proposed the name "sprite" for this type of weather phenomenon. He said the name was "well suited to describe their appearance," since the word evokes the lightning's fairy-like, fleeting nature.

Some sprites, like the one Hummel photographed, are jellyfish-shaped. Others are just vertical columns of red light with tendrils snaking down: these are called carrot sprites.

Jellyfish sprites can be enormous — the one Hummel photographed was "probably around 30 miles long and 30 miles tall," he said. Some can be seen from more than 300 miles away.

They occur because when lightning strikes the ground, it tends to release positive electrical energy that needs to be balanced out by equal and oppositely charged energy elsewhere in the sky. So sprites are the electrical discharges that balance the equation.

"The more powerful the storm and the more lightning it produces, the more likely it is to produce a sprite," Hummel said.

While similar to regular lightning, which shoots between electrically charged air, clouds, and the ground, sprites happen much farther from Earth's surface.

Astronauts sometimes spot them from the International Space Station.

Astronauts glimpse a red lightning sprite below the white light of an active thunderstorm from aboard the International Space Station, August 2015. NASA

As a sprite sparks, it turns red because of nitrogen floating high in Earth's atmosphere. The gas gets excited by the burst of electricity and emits a red glow.
—Paul M Smith (@PaulMSmithPhoto) April 21, 2019

Since the sprites' discovery in 1989, scientists have spotted them over every continent except Antarctica.
Dave Mosher contributed reporting to this story.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Virginia state senator, NAACP leaders charged with felony 'injury' to Confederate statue
Kathryn Krawczyk,
The Week•August 17, 2020


The arrest of Virginia's Senate president pro tempore is raising suspicions from the state's top Democrats.

Louise Lucas, the legislature's top ranking Democrat, who represents Portsmouth, was charged with felony "injury to a monument" and conspiracy Monday, as were the city's NAACP president and vice president, a school board member, and four others. The charges stemmed from a June protest where protesters tore down a statue of a Confederate soldier, though it's unclear if Lucas played a role in taking it down, per local station WAVY.

The timing of the arrest raised questions from Virginia House Rep. Lee Carter (D), given that the state legislature was set to reconvene this week for a special session on criminal justice reform. Virginia's constitution bars the arrest of General Assembly members during or 15 days before their sessions, except for "treason, felony, or breach of the peace."

If you're wondering why they dug up an obscure crime like "conspiracy to commit injury to a monument," it's because they need a felony to arrest a Senator within 15 days of a session.

It's not supposed to stick. The purpose is to prevent her from voting to rein in the cops. https://t.co/RRNHq4EDIo
— Lee J. Carter (@carterforva) August 17, 2020

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) echoed Carter's suspicion.
It's deeply troubling that on the verge of Virginia passing long-overdue police reform, the first Black woman to serve as our Senate Pro Tempore is suddenly facing highly unusual charges.@SenLouiseLucas, I look forward to seeing you in Richmond tomorrow—so we can get to work. https://t.co/flI9W5HnYH
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) August 17, 2020

Virginia lawmakers this week will consider a change to "a law that allows police to charge people with felony assault even if the arresting officers are not seriously hurt," The Virginian-Pilot reports. Bills to bar police from using chokeholds and no-knock warrants, to make it easier to expunge criminal records, and to eliminate jury sentencing are also on the docket this week.

Fox News heaps praise on Michelle Obama’s DNC speech: 'She really flayed, sliced and diced Donald 


Proctor, Yahoo Entertainment•August 18, 2020

VIDEO Michelle Obama's DNC speech praised by Fox News analysts: 'It was a heck of a contribution' 2:01 

Michelle Obama wrapped up the first night of the first ever virtual Democratic National Convention Monday with a scathing speech in which she slammed the Trump White House for its “chaos, division,” and “lack of empathy,” and urged voters to vote for Joe Biden like their lives depend on it. She also made it clear that she doesn’t believe Trump is up to the task of being president. Still, following the speech, a panel on Fox News heaped praise on the former First Lady and her speech.

The Daily Briefing host Dana Perino was less than impressed with what the rest of the convention had to offer, but the same can’t be said for how she felt about Obama’s speech.

“You’ve just got the sense that when you talk about authenticity, she has it in spades,” Perino said. “She has that voice, she has clarity and she knows what she’s out there wanting to do. And she was trying to get everybody to really focus, and then she had a call to action: Ask for your ballot tonight. I think that the DNC, if they look over the course of the night, the first virtual convention of our history, I think they would say that Michelle Obama stuck the landing.”

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, who has been the target of Trump’s ire in the past, agreed.

“You know, it’s interesting. You know, Michelle Obama, as she said, doesn’t like politics and she said that this speech was her main contribution to the Biden campaign. It was a heck of a contribution,” Wallace said. “She really flayed, sliced and diced Donald Trump, talking about the chaos and confusion, and lack of empathy, especially coming from this president and this White House…And again, very practical. Not just, ‘This is what your feelings should be.’ But you gotta get out, you gotta vote, you gotta convince your neighbors to vote. This was a very effective speech.”

Fox News political analyst Brit Hume, who recently accused Biden of peddling “black grievance politics,” questioned the accuracy of some of Obama’s statements, saying it was “laced with exaggerations and distortions,” but even he had to agree on the effectiveness of the speech.

“But that’s what we expect in political rhetoric, that’s the way you do it,” Hume said. “So the question becomes, you know, not the actual truthfulness of the case that’s made, but how effectively it’s delivered and whether the attacks are likely to have the effect on the electorate that she hopes for. I suspect in this case, probably, it did.”

This came just one day after President Trump once again attacked the network and told Fox News viewers to look elsewhere. Following the praise for Michelle Obama, and just before ending convention coverage, anchor Bret Baier assured viewers that nothing has changed at the network.

“Listen, I just want to say, Fox News has not changed,” Baier said. “We have covered both parties’ conventions from the beginning of this network, fully and fairly from all sides, and we will continue to.”