AOC recognizes that supply chain instability can do serious harm to the US economy—particularly if it’s ignored. The push for logistics and manufacturing resiliency is a bipartisan effort:
About inflation: the price increases we're seeing are due to supply chain issues worsened by COVID. They are not permanent.
We need to understand this. If we panic & raise interest rates, rather than strengthening infrastructure to help the supply chain, unemployment will go up. pic.twitter.com/fxOtFeTyIC
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 20, 2021
Speaking of supply chain dangers, the CEO of Whirlpool says the company could be facing $1 billion of scarcity-driven inflationary costs. Trouble with sourcing metals and resin is the cause. The company feels it can navigate the scarcity issues and maintain its status as a leader in the appliance field.
The French co-owners of the struggling nuclear power plant in Guangdong Province say developments there may require a shutdown of the plant. They add that if the plant were in France, it would have been shut down already. The problems with the plan are only vaguely described: there’s an increase in gasses in the reactor. China denies any imminent safety dangers.
One of the largest nuclear bunkers in the Northern Hemisphere is in Canada, and it’s comprised of 42 school buses buried four meters underground. The buses are shielded with reinforced concrete. 500 people can seek shelter inside.
A drone photographer spotted a man being attacked by sharks and was able to direct first-responders to his location. The man was saved.
Police and bystanders working together and freed a baby trapped under a car in Yonkers. The mother and baby were hit by an erratic driver. Mother and baby are expected to survive.
California is restricting some water access to farmers who use the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds. The restrictions and curtailments are happening in the context of severe drought conditions. Food prices may rise even more.
Athens is appointing a Chief Heat Officer to help its region cope with increased temperatures. The city is often one of the hottest in Europe and is likely to suffer greater temperature increases over time. It also has outdated infrastructure. Athens will need a multi-front approach to address heat mitigation needs.
Crops have been left to rot in the fields as Brexit destroyed opportunities for migrant field work. Ironically, grocery stores may have to increase imports of fresh foods from Europe to fill the gap.
The world has nearly 195.3 million COVID cases. The world has gained 3.6 million cases in the last week. There have been nearly 4.2 million deaths in total. The US has a cumulative 35.3 million cases. Nearly 627,000 Americans have died. The US has gained over 23,000 new cases since yesterday. The US is in a distinct fourth wave. There have been 67 deaths reported in the US in the last day. Iran, India, Indonesia and the UK have the highest case gain in the world. Delta is the dominant global variant now.
The UK tactic of allowing natural infection to help the country reach herd immunity is controversial. Whether it’s an actual strategy versus inevitable fallout from errant policy decisions is also debatable.
Fauci says that the US is going in the wrong direction now that Delta is burning through multiple states. He also recommends wearing masks indoors again where the variant is common. He adds that booster shots may be needed for the elderly or for the immunocompromised.
Anti-vaccine protests have broken out all over the world. Tunisia’s president ousted its government and suspended parliament amid similar protests this week. Protests in Paris got violent in the last few days:
#BREAKING: The anti-vaccine protests in Paris have turned violent. Police are clashing with protesters. Tear gas deployed. pic.twitter.com/Se6637t8bU
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) July 24, 2021
Indonesia is seeing a rise in child deaths secondary to Delta infections.
