The Daily Valet. - 11/21/22, Monday
✔️ Another One
Monday, November 21st Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
Hug your loved ones today. Text a friend. Tomorrow's not promised to any of us.
Today’s Big Story
Another Mass Shooting
Gunman kills 5, injures 25 in Colorado LGBTQ nightclub before he's stopped by patrons
The story starts the same ... A man shrouded in body armor and wielding an AR-15 style rifle, barges into crowded place and opens fire. But this time, things ended differently. Sadly, the suspect did kill at least five and injured at least 25 others when he went on a rampage at a gay club in Colorado Springs on Saturday night.But he was soon stopped by “heroic” patrons, according to police who arrived within minutes and arrested the suspect. The authorities said at least two people inside Club Q tackled and grabbed a weapon from the gunman and then hit him with it—not only preventing further bloodshed but standing up to senseless hate.It's difficult not to see the attack against a backdrop of continuing threats and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric aimed at the community (including transgender teens), and the rise of hostile protests at gay-rights parades and events.The man identified as the suspect appears to have been arrested last year—accused of engaging in a lengthy standoff with the police after threatening to hurt his mother with a homemade bomb. Yet despite that scare, there's no record that prosecutors moved forward with charges or that police or relatives tried to trigger Colorado's “red flag” law that would have allowed authorities to seize the weapons and ammo the man's mother says he had with him.Every time these shootings happen (which, we know, is all too often), I wonder what I'd do in that situation. According to the security experts who spoke with The Atlantic, our current guidance may be needing a rethink. “Run, hide, fight” is often discussed as the mass shooter response mantra, but fighting—or engaging with the assailant—was never really taken seriously. The bravery of these club goers (along with several heroic students in recent school shootings) have prompted a discussion about the merits of fighting back. It's dangerous, yes, but it's also a viable and, at times, necessary, option to stop a massacre in progress.
FYI:
America has seen at least 601 mass shootings so far in 2022. We ended 2021 with 690 mass shootings, per the Gun Violence Archive. The year before saw 611.
Musk Reinstates Trump on Twitter
Decision made via a twitter poll
By now, I'm sure you've heard that over the weekend, Elon Musk reinstated former President Trump's Twitter account—ending a lifetime ban. Musk put it up to vote on his Twitter account, and 52% of more than 15 million total votes were in favor of the return. Of course, Musk has a history of using informal pop surveys to win buy-in for plans he likely would have made regardless.Like many of Musk's decisions as the company’s “chief twit,” this one is hard to understand. He'd previously said he wouldn't reinstate any accounts until a content moderation council with “wildly diverse viewpoints” convenes. It's unclear if any council was ever convened—but it's hard to believe that during the last two weeks of chaos they'd be able to accomplish that.Musk seems to be making up policy on the fly. Before he announced the results of the Trump poll, Musk said that Kathy Griffin, Jordan Peterson and Babylon Bee had all been reinstated. Kanye is back too, testing the waters after a temporary restriction following a rash of hate speech. And while some are worried about a Trump tweet storm, the former president posted on Truth Social (his own Twitter-like platform he's used since being banned), that he would not be switching back over.
Meanwhile:
The Justice Department has named a war crimes expert as special counsel for the probes into Trump's handling of sensitive documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Flu Is Spreading Fast Across U.S.
So far, older adults and children are most at risk
This year's flu season is already showing signs that it might be a really nasty one—just in time for us to all travel and get together for the holidays. Fun! The CDC says that from the start of October to now, at least 4.4 million Americans had the flu (with at least 38,000 requiring hospitalization). We're still months away from the estimated peak of flu season, which usually occurs in February and March. Which is why CDC officials have warned that this flu season will likely be the worst in 13 years. Why? Well, the biggest reason is that the COVID precautions we all took the last two years helps stave off viral spreading.Such widespread flu activity this early in the typical flu season hasn't been recorded in the U.S. in more than a decade. The flu strains currently circulating, H1N1 and H3N2, tend to affect very young and very old people. And NBC News reports that pharmacies across the country are now experiencing shortages of the prescription antiviral Tamiflu, which protects against the most severe flu complications. So if you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, it's not too late. And if you've been lax on your 20-second hand washing ... time to get back to it.
City Birds Change Their Tune
Urban birds actually modify their songs because of our noise
I'm not sure if this is really cool or kind of sad. Maybe it's a little bit of both? You see, the birds in cities around the world are actually changing the songs they chirp and whistle in response to human-generated noise. Scientists discovered that the size of the birds' repertoire also decreased as the surrounding city noise increased.According to ArsTechnica, the act of birdsong has two main functions: to attract mates and also to defend their territory. So, in order to communicate in cities, to keep their territory safe and find mates, birds must find ways to counteract the effects of anthropogenic noise—that is, the noise produced by humans. Birds in urban environments now sing at higher frequencies to match pitch or to rise above the din.But as noise increases, the birds actually sing less—perhaps it's too tiring to compete. But a reduced repertoire can affect how well these birds learn their sound language, as songbirds need to hear themselves and other birds to crystallize their song. As one expert put it: In the long run, this could make it difficult for birds to communicate with other populations of their species. That is, city birds will start evolving differently from those living in rural habitats. And the consequences of that are still unknown.
In Other News
Here's what was decided at COP27.
Have you heard about ...
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