Sunday saw another air travel record in the United States, with 1.18 million passengers going through TSA checkpoints on Sunday. It was the highest number to go through security since March 16, 2020, and only 8,100 short of the mid-March milestone. Over 13 times more passengers flew on Sunday versus April 14, 2020, basement, when COVID infections numbers were near their spring peak.
In stark contrast, 90,000 Americans are in the hospital with COVID and 6,000 on ventilators, both records since the first infection in January 2020. In some parts of the country, infection rates are the worst recorded. In Denver, a group of 10 or more had a 53% chance of at least one person being infected. In Bismark, North Dakota, it was a 92% chance, while Miami and Seattle had a 26% chance.
Regionally on the roads, traffic was relatively light across the passes and not choked with holiday travelers. Stevens Pass had an advisory for traction tires, but there were no significant issues. Blewitt and Snoqualmie Passes were clear and dry with free-flowing traffic.
In Chelan and Grant County, where the worst infection rates are in the state, mask compliance was low, particularly in Chelan. Further to the north in Okanagon County, mask compliance was high, particularly in Twisp despite the numerous Culp signs.
The CDC is advising anyone who traveled over the extended holiday weekend to get a COVID test. However, many states are still struggling with adequate test kits, lab facilities, and staff. In Washington state, people have been advised not to get a test unless they are symptomatic, with wait times stretching into the hours.
Officials and data scientists have warned that a drop in overall test numbers from Thursday to Sunday will create a false dip in positive test numbers. Many test facilities were closed during part of the long weekend, and labs are dealing with a backlog.
One America News Network, a pro-Trump alternative news source, has received a one week ban and demonetization of all content posted on YouTube. The network ran afoul of a YouTube policy on posting false COVID-19 information. In the now-deleted video, OANN claimed there was a “guaranteed COVID cure.”
There is no “cure” for COVID, and a small number of promising therapies are not widely available to the public.
YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi stated the suspension comes from receiving a “strike” against their account. The demonetization may be a more significant blow, as OANN will have to reapply for YouTube Partner status.
OANN, once an obscure fringe network, has come to the forefront among the most ardent Trump supports for pedaling election conspiracy theories. NewsMax, another alternative far-right news network, has also enjoyed a significant boost in ratings in the weeks after the election. Iconic right-wing network FoxNews has struggled to straddle the line of reality and fantasy in their post-election coverage, resulting in outrage and defections with their audience.
OANN received another black eye earlier this month when a video showed their reporters allowed actress Maria Bakalova to coattail into a White House press briefing. Bakalova was in character, playing the 15-year old daughter of Borat, a character created by Sacha Baron Cohen. Bakalova was only feet away from the President and engaged in a conversation with his son, Donald Trump Jr., at a reception. She was allowed access without a security screening or COVID test. The White House nor OANN would comment on the lapse in security.
Despite surging COVID cases and record hospitalizations, 3.97 million Americans passed through TSA checkpoints from November 20 to November 23. On CBS “Face the Nation,” Dr. Anthony Fauci appealed for people to do a risk-benefit assessment. In his interview, Fauci stated, “people at airports…are going to get us into even more trouble than we are in right now.”
Over three-million COVID cases have been reported in the United States between November 1 and 22. The dizzying increase in positive tests represents almost 25% of all COVID cases in the United States since January 21. According to Johns Hopkins, 9.6% of tests are coming back positive, indicating significant under testing.
Multiple departments of transportation officials reported near-normal levels of pre-holiday traffic across the United States on the roads. AAA had predicted 50 million Americans would travel by car, a 10% reduction from 2019. Although many Americans are opting to stay home, too many are traveling to mitigate significant spread.
Although being on an airplane wearing a mask is considered to have moderate risk, passengers have no control over who is masked. Additionally, the airport themselves and queues for security, check-in, restrooms, and retail are higher-risk activities. Travel by car with members of the same household is safer than air travel, but using the bathroom and fuel and meal stops introduces a higher risk.
To compound the problem, anti-science protesters have events planned in Washington, Oregon, Illinois, and Connecticut. In Washington, protesters are calling for a potluck outside of the governor’s residence.
Black Lives Matter activist Frank Sensabaugh, known as Frank Nitty, has been released from a Milwaukee jail without charges. Police arrested Nitty last week without incident after being accused of sexual assault by a 39-year old woman. Nitty and his friends live-streamed the arrest.
The District Attorney’s office stated that Nitty was released without charges but that the investigation is ongoing. During Nitty’s arrest, Arthur Von Morgan, better known as Sino, punched a Milwaukee police officer and was also arrested. Sino’s alleged assault and subsequent arrest were live-streamed, with associates begging him to stop. Von Morgan is facing felony battery to a law enforcement officer charges from the incident. Bail has not been set and Von Morgan remains in custody.
Nitty is best known for his walk from Milwaukee to Washington, D.C., in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. I had a Dream speech. Nitty and his group faced harassment, arrest, and Sino was shot in Pennsylvania. John and Terry Myers, the shooters in the August 25, 2020 incident in Bedford County, have gone uncharged. According to an investigation by the Philadelphia Inquirer on September 30, 2020, the Pennsylvania State Police have changed the story of the events three times. None of the versions align with three live-streams and one video shot at the time.
Update: An edit was made to reflect that the SBA estimates one-third of all small businesses will fail by June of 2021.
With growing signs that the economic recovering is stalling out and a fresh set of COVID-based lockdowns across the United States, federal benefits will end on December 26 with no extension in sight. The Federal CARES Act provided additional unemployment benefits in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). For thousands of Washingtonians depending on these lifelines, the looming deadline is a body blow.
PUA provides for an additional 13 weeks of unemployment compensation above and beyond state benefits. PEUC provides unemployment compensation for gig workers, the self-employed, and others who rely upon 1099 pay. Recipients of PEUC typically would not be eligible for traditional unemployment compensation, with millions of Americans dependent on the “gig economy” for work.
Congressional leaders, the White House, and the Federal Reserve have been bickering over a new COVID stimulus package since the summer with no progress. The White House has favored a $2.4 trillion package, including small business and individual relief, which the House has supported. The Senate prefers a far smaller package of $500 billion, which provides almost no individual relief and corporate protections that are a non-starter for the House.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell issued a very rare rebuke to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, who ordered the Fed to wind down CARES Act programs and return all unspent funds to Treasury. Chairman Powell indicated that the economy is still fragile, and ending these programs prematurely as COVID surges could extend the ongoing recession. Despite the public dust-up, the Fed agreed to wind down these programs over the weekend in a letter to Mnuchin.
The unemployment rate has dropped to 6.9% in October. However, the U3 unemployment figure doesn’t include people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits. The broader U6 unemployment figure consists of those who have used up unemployment compensation, given up looking for work, or, most critically, are underemployed. The U6 for October was 12.1%, down from a high of 18% earlier in the year.
White House and GOP leaders are distracted, attacking the national election results with baseless fraud claims, indicating they have no interest in focusing on economic security. The Small Business Association estimates one-third of all small businesses will fail by June of 2021. So far, in 2020, 40% of all black-owned small businesses have collapsed.
Also looming in early 2021 is the end of eviction, foreclosure, and energy bill deferments. Over 12 million American households are $5,000 or more behind on rent or mortgage payments.
Ignoring warnings from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), some Americans have taken to the skies and roads to travel for Thanksgiving. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), 1,019,836 travelers went through security on November 20, the largest number of travelers in a single day since March 16.
Trip Advisor predicted that more Americans would take the road for Thanksgiving versus flying. On November 12, AAA predicted that 50 million Americans would drive to a different location for Thanksgiving. If that prediction holds, 15% of Americans will take to the road to celebrate Thanksgiving somewhere else.
Although many Americans are heeding the pleas of federal, state, and local officials to have a virtual Thanksgiving, evidence shows that small and medium gatherings can turn into superspreader events. Poor air circulation, sitting close together with masks off while eating and drinking, and a sense of false safety create additional risks.
Under this backdrop, the United States experienced a record 193,000 new COVID cases in a single day and has over 82,000 people in the hospital with COVID. Detected cases are a leading indicator for hospitalizations, which is a leading indicator of fatalities. Hospitalizations are expected to continue to grow into December, with deaths moving to a new peak by Christmas.
There are positive signs that some Americans and listening to the warnings to stay home. Tiny turkeys, those that weigh 10 to 14 pounds, are in short supply across the country. Severely impacted states like Utah, Iowa, and North Dakota have taken additional action to curb spiraling infections.
On November 17, South Dakota earned the distinction of being the only state left without some form of a mask mandate for their citizens. Kristi Noem (R), state governor, has refused to implement any COVID-based restrictions. Many believe the staunch Trump ally has aspirations to run for President in 2024 or 2028.
In South Dakota, the seven-day moving average positivity rate for COVID-19 is 57.5%. Anything over 5% is problematic, and over 20% is considered a public health crisis. Only Wyoming has a higher rate of 62.9%. Of the top ten states in the country for positive results, only one, Pennsylvania, voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Jodi Doering, a Sioux Falls emergency room nurse, wrote in a Twitter thread that has gone viral that patients deny they are infected with COVID-19 to their dying breath. “I can’t stop thinking about it. These people really [sic] think this isn’t going to happen to them. And then they stop yelling at you when they get intubated. It’s like a fucking horror movie that never ends. There’s [sic] no credits that roll. You just go back and do it all over again.”
According to Forbes, in May of 2020, the rural state of South Dakota had 159 ICU beds to support the state. Governor Noem claimed that capacity had been expanded to 607 beds but later admitted that it included pediatric and NICU beds. ICU utilization in South Dakota is up to 87%, with staffing a major issue. A COVID patient in ICU typically requires a team of 3 or 4 caregivers to keep them stabilized.
But in western South Dakota, there is a different story on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Earlier this year, tribal officials implemented roadblocks into the reservation, including on state highways. At the checkpoints, tribal officials prevented leisure travel and non-essential visitation. In May, Governor Noem threatened to sue the tribe in court (along with tribal leaders of the Pineridge Indian Reservation). In June, she made good on the threat, with federal officials refusing to intervene. Tribal land is considered sovereign.
Tribal leaders decided to lockdown the reservation because they believed the federal government would provide ineffective assistance, and they lacked medical resources to deal with widespread COVID transmission. Additionally, they had long prepared for supply chain disruptions due to the centuries-long history of dealing with the federal government.
Their actions appear to be paying dividends, but the efforts are showing cracks. While South Dakota has a positivity rate of 57.5%, the Cheyenne River Reservation rate is 17.9%. The percentage indicates significant under testing but is well below the catastrophic rate of infection ravaging South Dakota.
In Indigenous culture, the respect and care of the elderly is a core value. Tribal members have set up support networks to assist families who have to quarantine and care for sick relatives. The tribe supports each other by providing meal and supply deliveries, adequate fuel for heating, and check-ins multiple times a day. Creating a system and safety net to help families dealing with infection can further isolate the sick and asymptomatic carriers.
With neighboring North Dakota issuing a mask mandate and Iowa taking further steps to curb infections, governor Noem is under increasing pressure to do something to curb the infection rates in her rural state.
Frank Sensabaugh, a Milwaukee activist and central figure in the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, was arrested yesterday on a sexual assault warrant by Milwaukee police. In a series of live stream videos posted on November 16, 2020, Nitty stated, “Police knocked on my door and said I sexually assaulted this young lady.” The videos show that Nitty was taken into custody without incident and was cooperative with the police.
According to Nitty’s videos, he took in a woman who had marched with him to Washington D.C. who was unhomed. The woman was using a rental car, rented in his name. When the car was supposed to be returned, the woman and the rental car were missing. After three days, the rental agency indicated to Nitty they would take further action. Nitty says he sent texts to the woman that he would have to go to the police if the car was not returned. Nitty denies the allegations of sexual assault calling them, “bullshit,” saying that phone calls and text messages will exonerate him.
Nitty became a central BLM figure this summer when he, and a group of supporters, marched from Milwaukee to Washington D.C. The walk was documented on social media and in the news. He was arrested in Indiana, shot at in Pennsylvania, and suffered multiple racially motivated incidents during his journey.
Nitty and his group arrived in Washington D.C. for the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s, I Had a Dream speech. While there, he was embroiled in another controversy over statements he made that some deemed homophobic.
Although the woman has been identified by other sources, Malcontent News has a policy of not publishing the name of individuals who make claims of or are victims of sexual assault.
