The pandemic is becoming a grief crisis
It’s been nearly a year since Julie Horowitz-Jackson’s mother, Arlene, died of Covid-19 in a nursing facility in Philadelphia. “What hit me recently is that the world is opening back up, and my mom’s still dead,” Horowitz-Jackson says. At this point in the Covid-19 pandemic, as vaccines get rolled out in the United States and…
6 players from Galway as 8 counties feature in Rising Stars Hurling Team of the Year
THERE’S A STRONG Galway contingent in this year’s Hurling Team of the Year selection, awarded after the recent Fitzgibbon Cup and Ryan Cup finals. Six Galway players are included, the same number as champions UL. Beaten finalists NUIG have four players included, with beaten Fitzgibbon Cup semi-finalists GMIT and IT Carlow having two representatives each.…
Why even a small increase in Covid-19 cases is so scary
Over the past few days, Covid-19 cases have taken an upward turn — a trend that led Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky to say she has a sense of “impending doom.” The increase might seem small; the US is still better off than it was in January. And news about America’s…
9 GAA games live as part of this week’s TV coverage
NINE GAA GAMES are live on TV this week as part of a hectic week of action. Mayo and Tyrone face off next Saturday night. Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO On Saturday the inter-county action commences with the football league tie involving Tyrone against Mayo, a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland decider, and the hurling league clash…
When will teens and kids be able to get the Covid-19 vaccines?
With the news Wednesday from Pfizer/BioNTech that preliminary data suggests their vaccine is effective and safe in youth ages 12 to 15, Covid-19 shots for those under 16 seem like they might finally be on the horizon. But the big question of whether most kids will be able to get vaccinated before they head back…
Biden wants to give electric cars a huge boost. Will people buy them?
About 2 percent of new cars on US roads right now run on electricity. The auto industry expects that by 2030, half of new car sales will be electric. And President Joe Biden is stepping on the gas pedal to make that happen. Among the many provisions of the White House’s $2 trillion infrastructure and…
New data disproves a big concern about Covid-19 lockdowns
Last year, as then-President Donald Trump railed against Covid-19 lockdowns and called on states to reopen their economies, he claimed the shutdowns would lead to a spike in suicides: “You’re going to lose more people by putting a country into a massive recession or depression. You’re going to lose people. You’re going to have suicides…
How a tiny, wobbling particle could unlock mysteries of the universe
It’s an exciting time in particle physics. The results of a new experiment out of Fermilab in Illinois — involving a subatomic particle wobbling weirdly — could lead to new ways of understanding our universe. To understand why physicists are so excited, consider the ambitious task they’ve set for themselves: decoding the fundamental building blocks…
The CDC embraces the power of the vaccines
Over the past few months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was criticized for playing it too cautiously with its Covid-19 guidance. The agency had recommended people wear masks outdoors, even kids in the outdoor heat of summer camp. It has overestimated the risk of outdoor spread and surface transmission. It was too…
3 possible futures for Covid-19 in the US — with hope for a return to normal
The future of America’s Covid-19 epidemic can now be distilled into this: long-term confidence and hope, but short-term uncertainty and, perhaps, even despair. Vaccines are rolling out quickly, setting up the country to crush the outbreaks that have warped our lives for the past year. But in the short term, perhaps the next month, the…