| ‘We’re losing, dude, and we’re going to get really hurt’: Trump Jr believes father will be defeated by Biden, report says Posted: 25 Aug 2020 03:40 PM PDT  Donald Trump Jr is reportedly concerned that his father may not win re-election come November.The New York Times reported the claim on Tuesday.
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| ‘Putin’s Chef’ Threatens to Destroy Alexei Navalny in the Courts if He Survives Poisoning Posted: 26 Aug 2020 06:31 AM PDT  A notorious ally of Vladimir Putin says he will use Russia's corrupt courts to destroy Alexei Navalny financially if the stricken opposition leader ever recovers from a chemical agent believed to have been slipped into his tea.Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was sanctioned by the U.S. for financing online efforts to distort the 2016 presidential election, used a company to buy out debts owed by Navalny so that he could increase the financial pressure on the anti-corruption campaigner.He chose the moment that Navalny was at his weakest—unconscious in a hospital bed—to make the announcement. "I intend to strip this group of unscrupulous people of their clothes and shoes," Prigozhin said.Navalny, the leading opponent of President Putin's government, is in a coma in a Berlin hospital, where German doctors say they found evidence of cholinesterase inhibitors in his body, which could indicate the use of weapons-grade nerve agents.Prigozhin got the nickname "Putin's chef" because of the success of his catering company, but his empire, which includes billions of dollars in Russian government contracts, stretches well beyond food preparation. The U.S. government accuses him of funding the Internet Research Agency, an online troll farm that helped to get Donald Trump elected president. Prigozhin is also accused of financing Wagner, a private army used by the Kremlin for some of its most nefarious overseas missions, but he denies any involvement.On Tuesday night, his company Concord, announced that it would do everything it could to collect a court-ordered fine of 88 million rubles (around $1.2 million) that he bought from Moskovsky Shkolnik (Moscow Schoolboy), a company Navalny was found guilty of defaming in a video report, according to the Moscow Times. Prigozhin was quoted as saying on Concord's social-media accounts Wednesday: "If comrade Navalny kicks the bucket, I personally don't intend to persecute him in this world. I'll put this off for an indefinite time and then I'll compensate myself to my pleasure." He added that if Navalny survives, he would be liable "according to the full severity of Russian law" to pay off his court-ordered debt.Navalny was rushed to a hospital in Omsk last week after losing consciousness on a flight back to Moscow, after campaigning against Putin in local elections.Ivan Zhdanov, a key ally of Navalny and director of his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), has claimed that Putin must have authorized the suspected poisoning. "He hates what the FBK does too much, exposing him and his entourage."The Kremlin brushed off the accusation as "hot air" and stood by earlier reports from a Siberian hospital where Navalny was first treated that said no evidence of poisoning had been found. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Striking photos from California wildfires show homes, boats engulfed in flames Posted: 24 Aug 2020 04:08 PM PDT  Large wildfires continue to ravage parts of California, threatening the homes and lives of many residents in the northern half of the state.
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| Alaska attorney general quits after texts with woman surface Posted: 25 Aug 2020 12:35 PM PDT  Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson resigned Tuesday, shortly after details of text messages that the state's married and socially conservative top law enforcement officer sent to a female state employee were revealed. "Kevin Clarkson has admitted to conduct in the workplace that did not live up to our high expectations, and this is deeply disappointing," Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica published a story earlier Tuesday outlining text messages Clarkson sent to the state employee.
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| A white man shot at a group of Black Lives Matter activists on a 730-mile march from Wisconsin to DC. One protester was hospitalized and demonstrators refused to leave him behind. Posted: 25 Aug 2020 12:19 PM PDT  Frank Nitty, of Milwaukee, has been walking to Washington, DC for the 57th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech. On Monday a supporter was shot.
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| Three workers trapped 20 feet underground die in sewer manhole, Indiana officials say Posted: 25 Aug 2020 12:50 PM PDT  The men were working at a school facility, officials say.
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| One of Billy Graham's granddaughters praised Trump at the RNC. Another is asking Christian women not to vote for him. Posted: 25 Aug 2020 10:14 PM PDT  Cissie Graham Lynch and Jerushah Duford are both granddaughters of the late evangelical leader Billy Graham, but they stand on opposite ends of the Trump spectrum.Lynch delivered an address at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, where she called President Trump a "fierce advocate" of faith, condemned transgender inclusion, and accused Democrats of trying to make "faith organizations pay for abortion-inducing drugs," apparently referring to birth control, which does not induce abortion.Duford also made her political stance clear on Tuesday, writing in an op-ed for USA Today that "every big decision" in her life has been "guided by faith," but now she feels "disoriented as I watch the church I have always served turn their eyes away from everything it teaches." Many Christian women have been telling her they also have experienced a "tug at their spirit," felt when they hear Trump say things about "government housing having no place in America's suburbs" or his border wall, "designed to keep out the very people scripture tells us to welcome."Seeing Trump holding up a Bible in Lafayette Square earlier this summer, minutes after peaceful protesters were tear gassed, should have offended "anyone intimately familiar with the word in it," Duford said. Yet few evangelical leaders have come forward to say Trump's "behavior is antithetical to the Jesus we serve." Because of this, the "entire world has watched the term 'evangelical' become synonymous with hypocrisy and disingenuousness," Duford declared, and "my faith and my church have become a laughing stock."Duford does not want Christian women to ignore the "disrespect and misogyny" being shown by Trump, and she emphasized that they "represent God before we represent any political party or leader." In November, she said, evangelical women must "embrace your inner tug, and allow it to lead you to use the power of your God-given voice and not allow Trump to lead this country for another four years." Read the entire op-ed at USA Today.More stories from theweek.com Trump's RNC role is a much bigger mistake than Republicans realize Hurricane Laura is now forecast to hit Texas and Louisiana as a 'catastrophic' Category 4 storm 2 dead, 1 wounded in Kenosha after armed 'vigilantes' clash with protesters, police say
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| China's BGI defends COVID-19 test kit after Swedish criticism Posted: 26 Aug 2020 06:36 AM PDT |
| Israel keeps up Gaza strikes after Qatar joins mediation bid Posted: 26 Aug 2020 12:09 AM PDT  Israeli warplanes struck a Hamas target in Gaza overnight, the military said Wednesday, even as a Qatari envoy joined efforts to broker an end to the almost three-week flare-up.
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| Just Like Your Pup, This Dog Gear is Ready for Adventure Posted: 25 Aug 2020 03:44 PM PDT |
| Jacob Blake’s mother says she has ‘utmost respect’ for Trump after revealing she missed his call Posted: 26 Aug 2020 05:20 AM PDT  Julia Jackson, the mother of Wisconsin man Jacob Blake, who was shot several times by police on Sunday, says she has the "utmost" respect for president Donald Trump as she apologised for missing his call."And then also, for president Trump, I'm sorry I missed your call!," Ms Jackson told CNN in a press conference on Tuesday. "Because, had I not missed your call maybe the comments you had made would have been different. I'm not mad at you at all. I have the utmost respect for you as the leader of our country."
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| Do you believe in life after Trump? Cher sure does and wants to help Biden win Posted: 24 Aug 2020 11:01 AM PDT  Cher, pop culture icon and outspoken Trump critic, will headline an LGBTQ+ fundraiser for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden next week.
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| Wife of Miami police officer dies after being trapped in his patrol car for hours Posted: 25 Aug 2020 11:35 AM PDT  A Miami police officer's wife died after becoming trapped in the back of his patrol vehicle for several hours during a hot afternoon, police said Monday.
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| RNC Speaker Kristi Noem Is a Master of COVID Delusion Posted: 26 Aug 2020 01:28 AM PDT  When South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem addresses the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, the theme of the evening will be "Land of Heroes."But whatever Noem says in her remarks, she will remain somebody who smilingly approved a gathering of nearly half a million people who were in some ways worse than cowards.Cowards run away from danger to save themselves. But people who gather in huge numbers largely without masks or social distancing in the middle of a pandemic prove themselves happily willing to risk the lives and well-being of others.The approximately 450,000 who assembled for a biker rally in Sturgis spoke of freedom and personal choice. But they were not just risking their own lives, as many of them do when they hop on a Harley without a helmet. Not to wear a mask is to place people around you at risk, who in turn place others at risk, who in turn do so to others. Do not let all those American flags fool you. The Sturgis rally was not about being free. It was about being monumentally selfish. To put it in terms of this brand of supposed patriotism: My country, 'tis of ME!'I Have 12 Masks': Teacher Stuck Between Rogue Guv and Biker ShitshowAs of Tuesday, eight states—South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington—had reported 103 cases of COVID-19 that had been traced back to the Sturgis rally. And that was likely just the start."We're expecting that we're going to see many more cases associated with Sturgis," Kris Ehresmann, infectious disease director at the Minnesota Department of Health, said on Friday when announcing the first 15 rally cases in her state. "Thousands of people attended that event, and so it's very likely that we'll see more transmission. Obviously, it takes a while for people to develop symptoms and get tested and for us to get those results."By Tuesday afternoon, the number in Minnesota had more than doubled to 35. One was somebody who worked at the rally. Another played in a band there. The rest were described as "attendees." "The 35 cases represent 33 households," Ehresmann told the press. "I think we'll continue to see cases."She added, "We're likely to see additional cases of secondary transmission; 'I traveled to Sturigis, but now I've exposed someone else.'" So, it is an all but sure thing that the virus will continue to spread as a result of the rally in South Dakota—and that more infections will be arising even as Noem's speech is aired. Some of Noem's defenders point to the absence of publicized COVID-19 cases tied to a largely maskless gathering at Mount Rushmore on July 3. But that was a single-day event involving only 7,500 people, held exclusively outdoors. The Sturgis rally ran for 10 days, with an estimated 442,500 more in attendance, with much of that time spent in concert halls and bars. The South Dakota Department of Health (SDOH) was reporting as of Monday that there were 37 infections traced to the rally in-state. One was an employee of Asylum Tattoo on Main Street in Sturgis. Asylum appears to have immediately taken down its social media sites. But an SDOH notice remains online listing the days and long hours (10 a.m. to 2 a.m.) the employee worked as a reference for people who think they might have been infected there.Meanwhile, even as her own state health officials were posting such notices about two other Sturgis establishments, Noem was tweeting irresponsible nonsense."Science says we can't stop the virus from spreading," she tweeted, as if it were true. "That's why we do what we can to care for our vulnerable population."In another tweet, she said, "Our fight against COVID-19 isn't over. We'll continue to see cases, and we'll keep taking smart steps and exercising personal responsibility to protect our most vulnerable."What science does say is that the virus can be largely stopped from spreading when aggressive testing is combined with basic precautions, which include masks and social distancing."As I've told you many times, together, we will get through this," she said in another tweet. "Together, we're proving that we can."Right.And she is not done with large gatherings. She has announced plans to hold "Governor Noem's Sportsmen's Showcase and Concert," with country music star Chris Young playing before as many as 13,000 people in a Sioux Falls arena. The concert is intended to augment the annual "Governor's Hunt" of pheasants."South Dakota is home to the best pheasant hunting in America," Noem told the press at the July 31 announcement. "We're adding the Sportsmen's Showcase and Concert to make this event bigger and better than ever before."As if "bigger" made any sense these days.By her own account, Noem understands from her father the sense of invincibility that can lead people to take risks. She was 21 and married and pregnant with her first child and away at college when she was suddenly called back to the family ranch in South Dakota. Her father, Ron Arnold, had sought to clear a clogged 50,000 bushel grain bin and fell in while his teenage son watched. "He was the kind of guy who could do anything," Noem later said of her father to a local reporter. "He was indestructible. We had spent our lives watching him do crazy stuff, and have all kinds of crazy stories about him. So you just never thought he could ever get hurt or anything could ever happen to him."She herself wrote in an op-ed, "My dad didn't expect to die on March 10, 1994. He was young and vibrant, but that day, he was moving too fast... People came quickly, ripping apart our grain bin to find him... Despite their best efforts, my dad died in the hospital that night."She left college to keep the ranch running. That led to her becoming active in several agricultural organizations and that led her into politics. Her first campaign ad was about her father. She wrote the op-ed in 2017, when she was running for governor, and it was largely about estate taxes and the family's struggle to hang onto the ranch, but she also gave witness to the enormity of such a tragic loss. "I've spent the last 23 years without my dad," she wrote. "He didn't get to meet my kids or see how we were able to grow the family farm. He didn't get to see me elected to Congress. And he's not going to be there when his granddaughters walk down the aisle."He also will not be able to hear her big RNC speech. All that only deepens the mystery of how Noem—or indeed anybody—can shrug away thousands of COVID-19 deaths so that people can eschew masks and social distancing in what they call an exercise of freedom but is really worse than cowardice.By the time Noem speaks on Wednesday night, retired school counselor Linda Chaplin of Sturgis expects to know if she tested positive for COVID-19 after the rally. Back on June 10, Chaplin gave a speech of her own, at a hearing preceding the vote by the Sturgis City Council on whether to approve the rally."It is my deepest conviction that this is a huge, foolish mistake to make to host the rally this year," Chaplin warned. "The government of Sturgis needs to care most for its citizens."A poll of Sturgis residents found that 60 percent were in favor of canceling this year's rally. The city council went ahead and voted to authorize the road closures and traffic adjustments that would enable the rally to proceed. Mayor Mark Carstensen argued that the bikers were going to come anyway.That was when Noem could and should have stepped in. She instead ignored the risk assessment that her own state health department posted regarding public gatherings:"Highest risk: Large, in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and attendees travel from multiple areas."South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's COVID-19 Inaction Has Made Her a Right-Wing HeroIn private recognition of the risk, Chaplin stayed away from the rally. She continued to observe all the precautions, but there were hundreds of thousands in Sturgis who did not, and there was no way of being sure to have avoided infection. She reports that she knows two Sturigis residents who tested positive. And she has a son and a daughter who are teachers, as well as grandchildren who are students. All will be at risk when the schools reopen on September 8.On Monday morning, Chaplin went to the drive-in testing facility that was set up in the parking lot of a city community center in the aftermath of the rally. She was told that the results would be available in 48 hours."They said it would appear on MyChart," she told The Daily Beast.Statewide on Tuesday, there were only 216 tests, with 80, or more than a third, coming back positive. Should Chaplin be among the positive results on Wednesday, it will not be because she was careless or selfish. "I'm wearing my mask," she said. "Trying to be careful."Thus spoke someone who is a true citizen of the Land of Heroes that the Republicans will seek to evoke on Wednesday, when Noem speaks.Back at the July 3 event at Mount Rushmore that Noem set in motion and Trump stage-managed, an array of military aircraft roared overhead to symbolize the power of our national defense. But the upturned faces were bare of what our best scientists say is essential to protecting ourselves and the country during the pandemic. Afterwards, Noem gave Trump a 4-foot replica of Mount Rushmore in which our current president had been added to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Trump's bare face will forever be that of the president who scoffed at wearing masks and led millions of others to do the same as the virus spread. Noem and the rest of the GOP can say whatever they want—Trump still comes up as worse than a coward. If you want a real American speech, pull up the one on YouTube of Linda Chaplin addressing the Sturgis City Council. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Fewer voters say they're voting by mail amid uproar over USPS changes Posted: 26 Aug 2020 06:20 AM PDT  Fewer voters both nationally and in six swing states said they plan to vote by mail than did two weeks ago, according to new CNBC/Change Research polls.
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| Jerry Falwell Jr. is leaving Liberty University with a $10.5 million golden parachute Posted: 26 Aug 2020 12:24 AM PDT  Jerry Falwell Jr. officially stepped down as president of Liberty University, the conservative evangelical Christian school his father co-founded, on Monday night, following a day of scandal and confusion over whether he had actually resigned. Falwell, 58, told The Washington Post late Tuesday that he was relieved to be free of the burden of running the university, and said the contract he negotiated in July 2019 entitles him to $10.5 million over two years, including $8 million in retirement and $2.5 million for the equivalent of two years' salary."The board was gracious not to challenge that," Falwell told the Post. "There wasn't any cause. ... I haven't done anything."Falwell's departure follows weeks (or years) of scandal culminating in a Reuters report Monday where a much younger former business partner, Giancarlo Granda, said both Falwell and his wife, Becki Falwell, had been involved in a seven-year relationship with him, Jerry Falwell watching the other two have sex. Both Falwells told the Post on Tuesday only Becki Falwell had been involved in the affair.While Jerry Falwell told the Post he was stepping down partly out of boredom with the job, he told The Associated Press on Tuesday "the only reason I resigned" is "because I don't want something my wife did to harm the school I've spent my whole life building." Becki Falwell said she wished "Christians, and people, would be as forgiving as Christ was" and her husband is.Falwell's scandals have diminished his standing in the evangelical community, and the large severance package irked his critics, including a group of Liberty alumni called Save71 that has spent the past several months calling for his ouster and replacement "with a responsible and virtuous Christian leader." If the Liberty board is "going to bow down and let this happen, it's going to be an obvious statement that they care less about the interests of the university than Falwell," Dustin Wahl, a Save71 founder, told the Post.Sexual indiscretion was the clear cause of Falwell's fall from grace, said Jonathan Merritt, a Liberty graduate and writer on conservative evangelical culture. "In some ways, Jerry Falwell Jr. is living the consequences of the moral hierarchy that his dad helped to put into place," he told the Post. But "evangelicals tend to have an individualistic view of sin, so when one famous leader falls from grace, they tend to see it as 'one bad apple.'"More stories from theweek.com Trump's RNC role is a much bigger mistake than Republicans realize Hurricane Laura is now forecast to hit Texas and Louisiana as a 'catastrophic' Category 4 storm 2 dead, 1 wounded in Kenosha after armed 'vigilantes' clash with protesters, police say
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| Thousands told to evacuate Gulf Coast as Hurricane Laura nears Posted: 25 Aug 2020 03:27 PM PDT  Storms Laura and Marco have already ripped through the Caribbean, killing at least 20 people.
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| Passenger tramples gate attendant at Seattle airport after mask run-in, police say Posted: 26 Aug 2020 07:50 AM PDT  The Folsom, California, man faces misdemeanor assault charges, police say.
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| Gov. Abbott issues state disaster declaration for 23 counties Posted: 24 Aug 2020 10:56 AM PDT  Pres. Trump declared a federal emergency for several counties that cover most of the Texas coast Monday as Laura approaches.
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| Trump's former campaign manager complains that Fox News cut away from the RNC and he had to watch on CNN Posted: 24 Aug 2020 07:06 PM PDT  "The mob, the media won't be covering large parts of the RNC that we'll be showing," Sean Hannity said right as CNN and MSNBC were airing it live.
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| Fact check: Fake Kamala Harris quote that 'our military are soulless cowards' is from satire site Posted: 24 Aug 2020 02:30 PM PDT  Sen. Harris never called the military "soulless cowards." The statement originated from a satirical site in 2019 and has previously been fact-checked.
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| French government defends ‘freedom’ of topless sunbathing Posted: 26 Aug 2020 12:21 AM PDT |
| U.S. immigration agency cancels furlough of 13,000 employees Posted: 25 Aug 2020 09:57 AM PDT  The furlough of 13,000 employees at the fee-funded agency would've have severely limited the processing of applications for green cards, U.S. citizenship and other benefits.
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| Jacob Blake's father says police who 'shot my son like a dog' are 'responsible' for protests that followed Posted: 25 Aug 2020 07:13 AM PDT  Jacob Blake is paralyzed from the waist down after police officers shot him in the back eight times on Sunday night, his father tells the Chicago Sun-Times.Police shot Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, on a street in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he was getting into his SUV, where his children were sitting inside. Video of the shooting quickly started circulating, and turned Kenosha into the latest center of protests against police brutality and racism.Blake's father, also named Jacob Blake, told the Sun-Times that when he talked to the younger Blake on Sunday morning, he was preparing to celebrate his son's eighth birthday. But now, there are "eight holes" in his Blake's body, and his lower body is paralyzed with no word on if his injury is permanent, the elder Blake said. Witnesses say Blake was trying to break up a verbal fight when two police officers arrived at the scene.Protests broke out Sunday night at the scene of the shooting and at the Kenosha County Public Safety Building and have continued since. The city instituted a curfew and Gov. Tony Evers (D) called in 125 members of the National Guard on Monday, but people stayed out anyway and set some buildings on fire later that night. Peaceful protests have continued throughout the day as well.To Blake's father, the police were "the flint as well as the gasoline" sparking those fires and protest, he told the Sun-Times. "Those police officers that shot my son like a dog in the street are responsible for everything that has happened in the city of Kenosha," he continued. Read more of what Jacob Blake's father had to say at the Chicago Sun-Times.More stories from theweek.com Trump's RNC role is a much bigger mistake than Republicans realize Hurricane Laura is now forecast to hit Texas and Louisiana as a 'catastrophic' Category 4 storm Pam Bondi blasts Joe Biden over nepotism just before Tiffany Trump speaks at RNC
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| Kim Jong-un warns over North Korea typhoon and coronavirus Posted: 26 Aug 2020 12:10 AM PDT  Despite rumours over his health, the North Korean leader appears well and in charge.
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| Don’t argue with anti-mask customers, CDC warns businesses in new guidance Posted: 26 Aug 2020 08:53 AM PDT  Here's what experts suggest instead.
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| Hurricane Laura is forecast to hit the Gulf Coast as a 'catastrophic' major storm. Its sibling cyclone, Marco, made landfall there on Monday. Posted: 26 Aug 2020 06:56 AM PDT  Laura increased in strength overnight Tuesday into a Category 3 hurricane. It's forecast to hit Louisiana and Texas as a Category 4 storm.
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| Nikki Haley tried to argue the U.S. isn’t racist — but she just proved the opposite point Posted: 26 Aug 2020 02:55 AM PDT  "America is not a racist country. This is personal for me," said ex-UN Ambassador Nikki Haley
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| Declining antibodies and immunity to COVID-19 – why the worry? Posted: 26 Aug 2020 05:22 AM PDT  Most people are aware that testing for antibodies in a person's blood can show if someone has had a specific disease, such as COVID-19. Those antibodies provide protection from getting the disease again.But in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that antibody levels decline in individuals who have recovered from COVID-19, dropping by half every 36 days. Does that mean people who have recovered from COVID-19 have lost their immunity? I am a geneticist interested in innate immune response – the part of the immune system that we have at birth – and how the innate immune cells "educate" antibody-producing cells about a pathogen and how to identify and destroy it. As I'll explain, antibodies are important for immunity, but they aren't the only factor that counts. Two arms of the immune systemThe immune system is made up of two parts: innate immunity and adaptive – or acquired – immunity. The innate immune system, which includes white blood cells called dendritic cells, monocytes and neutrophils, is present at birth and responds instantly to invaders. This group of white blood cells bombard pathogens with destructive chemicals and swallow and destroy viruses and bacteria. The innate immune system provides an instantaneous reaction to a pathogen. The problem is that it's a blunt instrument – it responds the same way to all perceived threats. The adaptive immune system, which is made up of B cells and T cells, must learn about a pathogen and its characteristics from the innate immune cells. This system takes longer to kick in, but the up side is that it is very specific and in many cases lasts a lifetime. The immune system's memoryThe history of pathogen exposure is carried in so-called memory T cells and memory B cells. When an infection is defeated and gone, these cells reside in the peripheral tissues of the body such as lymph nodes or spleen and serve as a memory of the disease-causing virus. This immunological memory is responsible for the host defense and kicks into action in case of the second wave or attack of the pathogen. It is normal for antibody levels to decline after a person has recovered from a disease. But the New England Journal of Medicine paper raised concerns because it suggests that we are losing our immunological memory – which is as bad as losing a real memory. What role do T cells play in immunity?B cells and antibodies are only part of the immune response. T cells help B cells produce antibodies – which are proteins that can bind to a specific pathogen and destroy it.The way this happens is that first the B cells swallow the virus and start producing antibodies. T cells cannot swallow the virus. But a type of white blood cell called an antigen-presenting cell can. After it does, it "shows" different parts of the virus to the T cells. The T cells then learn about the virus which they can now seek and destroy. T cells also stick to the B cells and send them the activation signals that help B cells ramp up antibody production. If antibodies decline, what does this mean for COVID-19 immunity?It suggests that when there are fewer antibodies in the blood, there is a greater chance that a number of individual virus particles, called virions, will survive and escape destruction. Therefore, the remaining virions will continue to proliferate and cause disease.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.] What do declining antibody levels mean for establishing herd immunity?Herd immunity refers to a population and occurs when a sufficiently high number of people within a community are immune to the virus and incapable of transmitting it. That provides protection for those who are still vulnerable. For example, if 60% of people are protected against COVID – because they have survived the infection and carry antibodies – it might protect (via less frequent interactions) the remaining 40% from getting sick. But the results in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that people with lower levels of antibody may still have the virus and may not have symptoms of the disease. That means that if these people with low antibody levels hang around healthy, uninfected people, they present a danger to them because they can transmit the virus. When antibody levels fall, does immunity disappear?In general, the answer is no. If the virus attempts to cause a second infection, the memory B and T cells are able to recognize it, multiply million of times and defend the body against the virus, preventing it from triggering another full-blown infection. The protection provided by memory T and B cells is the reason that vaccine-based protection works.However, there are exceptions. A lifelong vaccine against the flu does not work because flu's genetic code changes rapidly, altering the appearance of the flu, and therefore requires a new vaccine every season. But with SARS-CoV-2, the problem as I see it, seems to be that those memory T cells and B cells seem to be wiped out. Antibodies are proteins and last for only between three and four weeks in the blood circulation. To keep antibody levels high, B cells need to replenish them with a fresh supply. But in COVID-19, the declining antibody levels suggest that the cells that produce these antibodies are not present in sufficient numbers, which would explain the drop in antibody levels. Studies of how long immunity from COVID-19 last may shed more light, but for now we do not know the reason why.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Does coronavirus linger in the body? What we know about how viruses in general hang on in the brain and testicles * Blocking the deadly cytokine storm is a vital weapon for treating COVID-19Alexander (Sasha) Poltorak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Lovecraft Country Is Packed With Supernatural Symbolism Posted: 25 Aug 2020 02:56 PM PDT |
| 'Disaster inside a disaster': California wildfires and COVID-19 form twin crises Posted: 26 Aug 2020 08:30 AM PDT  "It is manifestly an unsafe situation," a veteran firefighter said.
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| US high court denies bid to restore Greens on Montana ballot Posted: 25 Aug 2020 01:29 PM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an attempt by the Montana secretary of state to restore Green Party candidates to the November ballot — striking a blow to a Republican-bankrolled effort that threatened to siphon votes from Democratic candidates. The ruling came less than a week after the state Supreme Court upheld an Aug. 7 ruling by district Judge James Reynolds that granted the requests of more than 560 people to remove their names from ballot petitions after they learned the Republican Party had bankrolled the $100,000 signature-gathering effort and violated finance laws by not reporting the spending. Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton filed a motion Monday to halt the state Supreme Court order.
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| Donna Brazile accuses Fox News pundit of ignoring ‘400 years’ of racism in tense exchange about 2020 election Posted: 25 Aug 2020 04:02 PM PDT  Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile accused conservative commentator Tammy Bruce of ignoring "400 years" of racism in the US, during a tense exchange about November's presidential election.The pair were being interviewed about the first night of the Republican National Convention by host Brian Kilmeade during Fox and Friends on Tuesday, when the conservative pundit praised president Donald Trump.
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| More than 100 nudists test positive for the coronavirus after visiting France's 'Naked City' Posted: 25 Aug 2020 10:21 AM PDT  Ninety-five nudists tested positive at nudist resort Cap d'Agde in France and an additional 50 tested positive after returning home.
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| A 3-pound fish was worth $1,000 for this Idaho angler, officials say. Here’s how Posted: 25 Aug 2020 03:58 PM PDT  Anglers who catch a tagged fish get $1,000 and there are 95 tagged fish still available in the "walleye lottery."
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| Hurricane Laura could undergo 'rapid intensification' before landfall. Here's why that could be so dangerous Posted: 25 Aug 2020 12:09 PM PDT  Rapid intensification is typically defined to be a tropical cyclone intensifying by at least 35 mph in a 24-hour period,
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| Sudan tells Pompeo it can't normalise Israel ties now Posted: 25 Aug 2020 11:09 AM PDT  Sudan said Tuesday it cannot establish diplomatic relations with Israel for now, dashing US hopes for a speedy breakthrough during a visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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| Iran relents on IAEA inspections at two sites, ending standoff Posted: 26 Aug 2020 05:08 AM PDT  Iran said on Wednesday it was ending a months-long standoff with the U.N. nuclear watchdog by granting it access to two sites suspected of once hosting secret activities, easing diplomatic pressure on Tehran as Washington seeks to reimpose sanctions. Wednesday's breakthrough in the dispute over the sites was announced in a joint statement by Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency during IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi's first visit to the Islamic Republic since he took over the role in December. "Iran is voluntarily providing the IAEA with access to the two locations specified by the IAEA," Grossi and Iran's nuclear agency chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in a joint statement, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.
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| Chinese envoy says Australia betrayed China for US on virus Posted: 25 Aug 2020 11:21 PM PDT  A senior Chinese diplomat on Wednesday likened Australia's call for an inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic to the betrayal of Roman dictator Julius Caesar in a Shakespearean tragedy for the benefit of the United States. Wang Xining, the Chinese Embassy in Australia's deputy head of mission and its second-in-charge, spoke at the National Press Club about Australia's call for an independent inquiry into the origins of and international responses to the pandemic. The call has been blamed for a major deterioration in bilateral relations that has resulted in the Chinese government refusing to take phone calls from Australian ministers and disruptions to Australian exports including beef.
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| Black Lives Matter protesters stand over diners at DC restaurant demanding they show solidarity Posted: 26 Aug 2020 06:59 AM PDT  Video of a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters angrily hectoring a patron at a Washington, DC restaurant has gone viral, drawing a backlash from both left and right.Shared by Washington Post reporter Fredrick Kunkle on Tuesday, the footage shows a crowd of black-clad demonstrators shouting "white silence is violence" and raising their fists in an affluent DC neighbourhood, then descending on a white woman seated at an outdoor table.
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| Elon Musk now has another lavish Gulfstream private jet in his arsenal Posted: 26 Aug 2020 07:56 AM PDT  Gulfstream private jets are one of the most popular choices for the world's ultra-wealthy, and Elon Musk is known for putting in plenty of miles.
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| 15-year-old was ‘passed off’ to men in sex-trafficking case, Kentucky police say Posted: 25 Aug 2020 12:23 PM PDT  In exchange for sex, the girl received money and pets, police said.
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| Nicholas Sandmann: No one has been a victim of unfair media coverage more than President Trump Posted: 25 Aug 2020 06:38 PM PDT  Nicholas Sandmann speaks at the second night of the 2020 Republican National Convention.
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| Puerto Rico has the right to self-determination. Our bill enables that. Posted: 25 Aug 2020 08:48 AM PDT  Understandably, many of our Democratic friends want to make the territory a state to empower it. But many Puerto Ricans view that push as the culmination of colonization.
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| 'The power of Mother Nature': Flash flooding in Utah city opens at least 3 sinkholes, the largest of which swallowed a vehicle Posted: 25 Aug 2020 04:15 AM PDT  Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is considering an emergency declaration after flash flooding in St. George that opened at least three sinkholes on Sunday.
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