Health and Science

Update, Oct. 3: “The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,” a source familiar with the president’s health told a White House pool reporter in a pool report issued at about noon. “We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.” At 74 years old, Trump is at higher risk of developing a more severe case of COVID-19 than younger people. Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data available through Aug. 6, show that people ages 65 to 74 are five times as likely as 18- to 29-year-olds to be hospitalized and 90 times more likely to die. more »

Roberta McReynolds writes: Imagine a ‘toy store’ dedicated to the decadent, culinary urges of pastry chefs (both professional and amateur) and the scene is set for a dieter’s nightmare. This store exists a mere four miles from my front door, and worse yet, within walking distance from my husband’s favorite hobby shop. The aisles are stocked with innovative gadgets for every conceivable special event and season, with a rich emphasis on wedding supplies. Cake pans, cookie cutters, and candy molds are strategically situated to catch and hold the attention of those who dare enter. I suspect that the sugar-laden atmosphere is delivered directly through the air-conditioning system to reduce any natural resistance, causing a hypnotic-like trance. more »

Adding a justice opposed to abortion to the bench — which is what Trump has promised his supporters — would almost certainly tilt the court in favor of far more dramatic restrictions on the procedure and possibly an overturn of the landmark 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade. For Ginsburg, those issues came down to a clear question of a woman’s guarantee of equal status under the law. “Women, it is now acknowledged, have the talent, capacity, and right ‘to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation,’” she wrote in her dissent in that 2007 abortion case. “Their ability to realize their full potential, the Court recognized, is intimately connected to ‘their ability to control their reproductive lives.'” more »

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified on the latest coronavirus response efforts. CDC Director on Availability Coronavirus Vaccine by "Late Second Quarter, Third Quarter 2021". CDC Director Redfield on Face Masks: "More guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine." more »