Fauci says wear goggles, Trump wants to delay presidential election, and great white sharks are thriving in Maine

AP News Source
Photos: Twitter and Facebook

UPS is showing a profit of 1.77 billion dollars in the second quarter
A boom in online shopping during the pandemic pushed revenue higher at United Parcel Service Inc., which reported a $1.77 billion profit for the second quarter. 

UPS said Thursday that shipping volume jumped 23% to more than 21 million packages a day. Crucially, shipment from businesses to U.S. consumers soared 65%.

“Our results were better than we expected, driven in part by the changes in demand that emerged from the pandemic, including a surge in residential volumen, COVID-19 related healthcare shipments and strong outbound demand from Asia,” said new CEI Carol Tome.

With thousands of retail stores ordered closed for safety reasons this spring, and some shoppers still wary of returning, consumers are going online to buy items they once carried out of a store, meaning more business for delivery companies.
 
99 days without a single death and now it's back

Hanoi, Vietnam - for 99 days, Vietnam seemed to have defeated the coronavirus. There wasn’t a single reported case of community transmission. not a signal death. A handful of cases were caught and isolated at the border, but otherwise people were returning to their normal lives. The country of 96 million people was hailed globally as a standout success. 

But then a week ago, an outbreak began that has now grown to 43 cases in six parts of the country, including three of the largest cities, and forced authorities to reimpose restrictions many thought they had put behind them. And experts worry the outbreak could be much larger than currently known. 

Sharks find easy prey among seals in Maine, swimmers take extra precaution

Portland, Maine - Seals are thriving off the Northeast coast thanks to decades of protections, and that victory for wildlife has brought a consequence for humans - more encounters with sharks. 

Seals are a favorite prey of large sharks such as the great shark. The death this week of swimmer Julie Dimperio Holowach, who was killed by a great white off Harpswell, Maine, might have happened because the shark mistook her for a seal, authorities said. 

Fauci promoting goggle wear

Washington - Trump administration health officials say there is evidence to support wearing face shields to protect oneself from the coronavirus. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx have both suggested their use, saying they provide the wearer with some protections, unlike face masks, which are primarily recommended to protect others. 

“The mask is to protect others,” Birx told Fox and Friends Thursday. “The thing about the face shields, we think that could protect the individuals and that it would decrease the ability of them to touch their eyes and spread the virus.” 

Fauci on Wednesday told ABC News, “If you have goggles or an eye shield, you should use it.”

Trump tweets mail-in ballot voter fraud, move the election date

Washington - President Donald Trump is for the first time floating a ‘delay’ to the Nov. 3 presidential election, as he makes unsubstantiated allegations that increased mail-in voting will result in fraud. 

The dates of presidential elections - the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every fourth year - are enshrined in federal law and would require an act of Congress to change. The Constitution makes no provisions for a delay to the Jan. 20, 2021 presidential inauguration.

Trump tweeted Thursday? “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”

U.S. economy down 33% second quarter worst EVER

Washington - a grim picture emerged Thursday of a U.S. economy that has endured a record-shattering plunge last quarter and is now struggling to rebound as the coronavirus keeps forcing more layoffs.

The economy shrank at a dizzying 32.9% annual rate in the April-June quarter, when the viral outbreak shut down businesses, throwing tens of millions out of work and sending unemployment surging to nearly 15%.

The government’s estimate of the second-quarter fall in the gross domestic product was the sharpest such drop on records dating to 1947. The previous worst quarterly contraction, a 10% drop, occurred in 1958 during the Eisenhower administration.  

Earthquake in Los Angeles

Los Angeles - A magnitude 4.2 earthquake shook the Los Angeles region before dawn Thursday but no significant damage was reported.

The 4:29 a.m. jolt was centered in the northern San Fernando Valley and occurred at a depth of 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometres), the U.S. Geological Survey said. A magnitude 3.3 aftershock followed.

The Los Angeles Fire Department found no damage or injuries in a survey by ground and air units, a standard procedure after earthquakes in the nation’s second-largest city.



​