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Science

After doubling launch record in 2022, can SpaceX take another step up in 2023?

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Enlarge / One of SpaceX’s 61 launches in the year 2022 was the CRS-25 supply mission for NASA to the International Space Station.

Trevor Mahlmann

On the penultimate day of 2022, SpaceX completed its final launch of the year, boosting an Israeli optical satellite into low Earth orbit. This was the company’s seventh launch in December and capped a year in which the Falcon family of rockets launched 61 times, all successful.

All but one of these missions flew on the Falcon 9 rocket, and more than 90 percent of these flights were on a previously used booster. The other launch took place on a Falcon Heavy. With these 61 flights, SpaceX tied a record set by the Soviet R-7 rocket, which in 1980 flew a combined 61 missions across its Soyuz, Molniya, and Vostok variants.

The Soviets accomplished this amid the Cold War, of course, with a large budget devoted to space surveillance and a massive government space program with tens of thousands of workers. SpaceX performed the same feat as a private company, flying both its Starlink satellites and a mix of missions for satellite companies and governmental space agencies. SpaceX also landed every first stage that attempted to return on a drone ship or landing site in 2022, for a total of 60 rockets, including two side-mounted boosters from the Falcon Heavy mission on November 1.

As early as Tuesday morning, SpaceX will open its launch account for 2023 with the Transporter-6 mission. As the name suggests, this will be the company’s sixth rideshare mission, carrying 114 small satellites into low Earth orbit for various companies. These include CubeSats, microsats, picosats, and orbital transfer vehicles that will ferry spacecraft to be deployed into different orbits. These rideshare missions, which SpaceX initiated in January 2021, have put a damper on the financial prospects for some small-launch-vehicle companies by eating into the base of small-satellite customers.

SpaceX is targeting 9:56 am ET (14:56 UTC) on Tuesday for launch of the Transporter-6 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This will be the second time SpaceX has attempted to launch one of its Falcon 9 first stages 15 times, as this rocket has previously launched the GPS III-3 satellite for the US Space Force, three other commercial missions, and 10 batches of Starlink satellites. It now seems possible that the company will fly one of its rockets as many as 20 times by the end of this year.

In 2022 SpaceX was able to dramatically increase its launch cadence by both ramping up Starlink satellite production as well as maturing its operations to reuse Falcon 9 first stages and payload fairings. Previously, during the five-year period from 2017 to 2021, SpaceX averaged 22 launches a year, with an annual record of 31 flights in 2021. Last year the company very nearly doubled its previous record.

The question for the new year, therefore, is whether SpaceX can take another leap in cadence. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said earlier in 2022 that the company aimed to launch 100 rockets in 2023. That seems like the upper bound of what is possible; however, given that the company was able to launch seven rockets in December, it is perhaps not unreachable in terms of raw production.

Of course nothing in launch is straightforward, and another important factor will be payload readiness. Of its missions in 2022, 27 were for governments or commercial customers, whereas 34 were the company’s Starlink Internet satellite payloads. Assuming about 30 flights for government and commercial customers, approaching 100 launches in 2023 would require SpaceX to nearly double production of its Starlink satellites. That, too, is a big ask for the disruptive California launch company.

But after seeing its remarkable performance in 2022, one can perhaps not rule out big asks.



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Business

Bitcoin Breaks Down, But Kevin O’Leary Is Doubling Down: ‘I’m Not Selling Anything’

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The cryptocurrency market was crashing on Saturday, as most currencies are now trading in bear market territory. And more importantly, the market is still searching for a bottom.

Billionaire investor and Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary, however, isn’t too bothered about the predicament.

Pullback Buying Opportunity In These Cryptos: O’Leary said he expects the current crypto bear market to prop up the whole crypto sector in the long run, the Market Insider said, citing an exclusive interview with the venture capitalist.

He reportedly said he will double down on tokens, including Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD, as well as various Web3 projects.

Although conceding that not all his bets will end up winning, he suggested he isn’t “selling anything.”

“Long term, you just have to stomach it. You have to understand you’ll get volatility, and that some projects aren’t going to work,” O’Leary reportedly said.

Related Link: With Crypto Market In Free Fall, Is There A Safe Haven?

O’Leary’s Crypto Bets: The billionaire has about 32 positions in the digital asset space, Business Insider said. His crypto holdings include Solana SOL/USD and Polygon MATIC/USD, the publication added.

The sell-off in the crypto market, however, has reduced his digital currency holdings from 20%, six months ago, to 16% currently, the report noted.

Bullish Outlook: O’Leary sees the recent crypto collapses as events that can teach investors caution and improve further the technology behind digital assets, the report said.

The billionaire also delved into the positives that emerged out of the collapse of the stablecoin Terra USD LUNA/USD.

“It’s nothing, a rounding error in the context of a sovereign wealth. It’s bad for investors, but they’ve educated the market on what not to do. It’s a good thing,” O’Leary said.

The failing of the smaller projects, according to the investor, will help strengthen the crypto market even as the floundering projects will be regulated out of existence, he added.

Another supporting point to remain bullish on cryptocurrencies is that the “best intellectual capital” is working on solving poor outcomes on the chain, the report said.

At last check, Bitcoin was seen tumbling 14.20% to $17,717.99, according to Benzinga Pro data. Ethereum dropped below $1,000 was trading down 18.03% at $1896.11.

Photo: Courtesy of Ontario Chamber of Comm on Flickr

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World

in Putin’s Mind ‘Doubling Down’ Is Only Way to Defeat Ukraine

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  • Putin is convinced that “doubling down” will help Russia turn the tide in Ukraine, CIA director William Burns said.
  • Putin may redouble his efforts because he “doesn’t believe he can afford to lose,” Burns said, per CBS News.
  • Russia has failed to make ground in the Donbas region, and reports say military morale is low.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to redouble his efforts in Ukraine despite his army’s flagging offensive, CIA director William Burns said on Saturday, per CBS News.

“I think he’s convinced right now that doubling down still will enable him to make progress,” Burns said at the Financial Times’ Weekend Festival, CBS News reported.

The Russian leader is in “a frame of mind in which he doesn’t believe he can afford to lose,” Burns continued, according to CBS News.

Putin has already “staked a lot” on the second phase of the Ukrainian offensive, Burns added, which has seen Russia refocus its military efforts on the south and east of Ukraine.

Burns’ comment that Putin will double down comes amid reports of low morale among Russian soldiers and the Pentagon’s assessment, last week, that his forces are “behind schedule.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is now concentrated primarily in the Donbas region. After 10 weeks, Russian troops have still failed to take control of any major cities.

Ukrainian resistance is stiff, with analysts telling BBC News that Ukraine’s military operation is turning into a successful counter-offensive.

Putin’s “biggest mistake” throughout the invasion, Burns said, was to “underestimate the Ukrainians.”

The Russian leader is now trying “to adapt some of the lessons from the failures of the first phase,” Burns said, per CBS News. 

Some Western officials expect that Putin will make a big announcement on May 9, designed to show Russia’s strength ahead of the symbolic Victory Day military parade.

There are reports that he intends to formally declare all-out war on Ukraine, which Russia has so far referred to as a “special military operation.” Other reports indicate that Putin might introduce general mobilization.

“We don’t see, as an intelligence community, practical evidence at this point of Russian planning for deployment or even potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” Burns said, per CBS News. He added, however, that “we can’t take lightly those possibilities.”

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Sports

Vikings draft Lewis Cine: Doubling down on coverage in a pass-first league

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NFL Draft 2022 tracker: Live blog and pick-by-pick analysis

After trading down 20 spots from No. 12, the Minnesota Vikings selected Georgia safety Lewis Cine with pick No. 32 in the NFL Draft. After two cornerbacks went third and fourth overall, the Vikings didn’t find much value at No. 12 and saw a chance to get two players with first-round grades with picks No. 32 and 34.

“He was one of our targets in the teens,” said general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of Cine.

In describing Cine, Adofo-Mensah mentioned his range multiple times and also praised his competitiveness, intelligence and athleticism.

Draft grades: Sheil Kapadia weighs in on the picks
Big board best available: Who’s left from Dane Brugler’s Top 300?

Big board ranking: Cine was the 33rd-ranked player on Dane Brugler’s big board as well as on the Consensus Big Board and the third-ranked safety, behind Kyle Hamilton and Daxton Hill.

Introduction: The Athletic’s Seth Emerson profiled Cine, describing him as a reliable do-everything player who quietly led a star-studded defense without drawing as much attention from fans as players like Nakobe Dean, Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt.

“Cine just did the job at strong safety the past two years,” he wrote, “making plays when needed in the back end and rarely (if ever) being the guy who was around the ball for a big play. If there was a weakness on last year’s Georgia defense it was probably the secondary, which at times had leakiness in coverage. But Cine was the one who stabilized things in the back, keeping things from getting worse on pass plays and being very dependable in run defense. He was the cleaner in Georgia’s secondary.”

Cine was born in Haiti but grew up in Florida before moving to Texas, where he was identified as a four-star prospect by college recruiting firms. One of the top recruits in a football-obsessed state, Cine’s commitment to Georgia paid off after starting for two years in their historic defense and leading the team in tackles in their championship season.

The former Bulldog has remarkable speed and ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash, which clearly shows up on the field. His eye-popping 11-foot-1-inch broad jump underlines his explosiveness.

Brugler summarized Cine as a versatile player. “With his range, explosiveness and appetite for contact, Cine is a do-everything safety and led a talent-rich Georgia defense in both tackles and passes defended in 2021,” he said. “Although he has room to tidy up his tackling technique, he is at his best as a physical run defender, running the alley like a freight train and tuning up his target. Overall, Cine lacks ideal size by NFL standards and has marginal ball skills, but he is an enforcer versus the run with the athleticism in coverage to make plays. He is an ascending talent with NFL starting skills, similar to Xavier McKinney as a prospect.”

How he fits: The Vikings will have to be creative about getting Cine on the field if they are as committed to Camryn Bynum as they’ve indicated. The Vikings employ outside linebacker coach Mike Smith and defensive assistant Mike Pettine, both of whom coached Packers defenses with heavy implementation of “dime” defenses.

Given Bynum’s history as a cornerback at Cal, it could be that they’ll leverage his versatility to put some confusing defensive looks on the field. It’s certainly something Ed Donatell did with Kareem Jackson, who played cornerback for the Texans before joining the Broncos as a safety. That said, it’s nothing more than a personnel sub-package, not the primary defense, so they’ll have to make decisions about which of Cine, Bynum and Harrison Smith they’ll put on the field at a time.

Whatever the case, Cine does provide a long-term solution for when Harrison Smith eventually retires.

Second guess? The real second-guess is if the Vikings had stayed at 12 and picked a player like fellow safety Kyle Hamilton or the pick that was actually made there, receiver Jameson Williams. The Vikings mentioned that they had a few players in mind for the pick and that Williams was one of them, according to Adofo-Mensah.

As it stands, they were faced with the prospect of drafting Cine, cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. from Clemson or quarterback Malik Willis from Liberty. If Booth’s medicals are OK, then they would have been able to add a player at a position of greater need with a possibility of an immediate upgrade over Cameron Dantzler as well as long-term insurance against Patrick Peterson’s eventual departure.

Rookie impact: Cine should be a pro-ready player who can learn the defense inside the compressed timeframe of an NFL offseason and could conceivably be ready to start right away given his intelligence, demeanor and physicality. The issue is not whether he’s capable of entering an NFL defense and playing right away but whether there’s room for him to play a high number of snaps with a safety room that’s already capable.

Coach Kevin O’Connell did not immediately embrace the idea of a three-safety defense when asked about it after the pick, instead mentioning that they made the pick knowing that they wouldn’t always select players who would fit their needs as a team.

Depth-chart impact: Cine enters a safety room with an established star in Smith and an up-and-comer in Bynum, who played well but with a limited share of snaps in 2021 as an injury replacement for Xavier Woods and later forced his way onto the field in three-safety sets. Bynum’s spot as a starter was never guaranteed, but now it seems like there will be an open competition at the other safety spot while backups Myles Dorn and Josh Metellus get pushed further down the depth chart.

Fast evaluation: Cine is a fast player with remarkable physicality and a great feel for coverage angles and good instincts against the run. His impact on the record-setting Georgia defense was immense, and he was excellent at preventing big plays. He will have to prove that his size matches up to NFL offenses, especially against the run, and he may not be a turnover machine, limiting his impact to erasing mistakes, a quality O’Connell values.

(Photo: Jeff Speer / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)



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Business

Many Nations Won’t Buy Russian Energy — but Others Are Doubling Down

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  • Several countries have cut energy ties with Russia, while others are snapping up cheap supplies. 
  • The US, UK, and some EU countries have all taken action. 
  • India and China, however, continue to maintain their oil and gas trade with Russia.

A divided approach toward the Russian energy trade has become more apparent in recent weeks.

While some nations have deliberated or announced bans on Russian oil and gas imports, others are doubling down.

When Russia launched an unprecedented attack on Ukraine earlier this year, Western nations joined forces to impose sanctions on the country in an effort to punish Russia for its actions.

Punitive measures range from blocking certain Russian banks from accessing the SWIFT global banking system to the EU and other European countries barring Russian flights from their airspace. 

As the war continues, countries are now slapping sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, which has the world’s largest natural gas reserves and is the third-biggest oil producer, accounting for about 12% of global oil production. 

Here’s how some countries are grappling with Russian energy issues.

Italy is tempering its reliance on Russian gas by turning to countries like Egypt and Algeria for their energy supplies. 

Eni, the Italian oil and gas giant, recently signed a framework agreement with state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), which it said would help maximize gas production and exports of liquefied natural gas.

Per Reuters, Italy sources around 40% of its gas imports from Russia. It has also agreed to ramp up its gas imports from Algeria by around 40% amid the war. 

This month, the Baltic states comprising Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia cut Russian gas imports. 

“Since April 1st, Russian natural gas is no longer flowing to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania,” Uldis Bariss, CEO of Conexus Baltic Grid, Latvia’s natural gas storage operator, per Al Jazeera. 

Lithuania became the first European country to abandon Russian energy supplies in the wake of the Ukraine war. “If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too!” the country’s president, Gitanas Nauseda said on Twitter.

Outside of Europe, the US banned Russian oil and gas imports too. President Joe Biden announced the “powerful blow” against Russian President Vladimir Putin last month.

“This is a step that we’re taking to inflict further pain on Putin, but there will be costs as well here in the United States,” Biden said. “I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home.”

American consumers are feeling the effects of surging gas prices as a result of pandemic-era inflation, coupled with the new sanctions imposed on Russian energy supplies. In March, the average US gas price-per-gallon jumped above $4 for the first time since 2008.

The UK government recently announced measures against Russian energy supplies, pledging to end all imports of Russian coal and oil by the end of 2022. 

“By the end of 2022, the UK will end all dependency on Russian coal and oil, and end imports of gas as soon as possible thereafter,” the government said. 

It added that the UK would also ban the export of key oil refining equipment and catalysts, “degrading Russia’s ability to produce and export oil.” 

Further sanctions include measures against Aleksander Dyukov, the CEO of Russia’s third-largest and majority state-owned oil producer Gazprom Neft. 

The country faces escalating pressures to pull away from Russian energy, though it has been heavily reliant on it, particularly the natural gas that’s through the Nord Stream pipeline network.

However, cutting Russian ties may prove a lengthy process.

Cutting Russian gas from the German economy would significantly impact its manufacturing industry and could lead to rationing schemes, Insider’s Ben Winck reported. 

Per Bloomberg, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “We are actively working to get independent from the necessity of importing gas from Russia. This is, as you may imagine, not that easy because it needs infrastructure that has to be built first.”

Amid a wave of countries cutting Russian energy supplies, India and China stand have taken a different approach.

As sweeping sanctions hit Russia’s oil exports, prices shot down so much that some buyers from India and China were attracted to snapping up cheap Russian energy, Insider’s Huileng Tan reported. 

Reuters reported that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, India had bought at least 13 million barrels of Russian oil. It’s not stopping at cheap oil, however. Russian coal remains on India’s radar.

Ramchandra Prasad Singh, an Indian politician and member of parliament, said at a conference in New Delhi that India is “moving in the direction of importing coking coal from Russia,” per Reuters. He added that India had imported 4.5 million tonnes of Russian coal but he did not indicate over what time period. 

As for China, the country is snapping up Russian oil and coal with its own currency. Smaller independent refiners in China are also still buying Russian oil discreetly, Reuters recently reported. 

 

 

 

 



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Health

Omicron cases doubling at least every 3 days, WHO says | Coronavirus pandemic News

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Global health agency says there are ‘still limited data’ on the clinical severity of new variant, which has so far been reported in 89 countries.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading significantly faster than the Delta strain in countries with documented community transmission, with the number of cases doubling in 1.5 to 3 days, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

In an update on Saturday, the United Nations’ health agency said Omicron has been reported in 89 countries.

The highly mutated variant is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, the WHO said, but it is unclear if this is due to the virus’ ability to evade immunity, its inherent increased transmissibility or a combination of both.

The agency designated Omicron a variant of concern on November 26, soon after it was first detected by scientists in South Africa, and much is still not known about it. Scientists remain uncertain how dangerous it is, but early data suggests it can be more resistant to vaccines and more transmissible than the Delta variant.

“There are still limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron,” the WHO said in its update. “More data are needed to understand the severity profile and how severity is impacted by vaccination and pre-existing immunity.”

It added, “There are still limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron.”

On Friday, a non-peer reviewed study by Imperial College London said the risk of reinfection with Omicron is more than five times higher and it has shown no sign of being milder than Delta.

The research cast doubt on the cautious optimism of some experts, based primarily on anecdotal accounts from South Africa, that the new strain may not be as virulent and not overwhelm healthcare systems.

The study was released as British officials reported record COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day, with a rise to 93,045 new infections, while French Prime Minister Jean Castex likened Omicron’s spread in Europe to “lightning”.

On Thursday, United States President Joe Biden warned of a “winter of severe illness and death” for those unvaccinated against COVID-19, while health ministers at the G7 bloc of advanced economies called Omicron the biggest threat to global public health.

It came after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Omicron “is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant” and lamented that some people were dismissing it as a mild variant.

“Surely, we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril,” he told a media briefing on Tuesday. “Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems.”



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US

Biden accused of ‘doubling down’ on Trump move to strip US immigration judges of union rights | US immigration

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US immigration judges are embroiled in a tense dispute with Joe Biden over their battle to restore union rights taken away from them under the Trump administration.

The head of the federal immigration judges’ union has accused the Biden administration of “doubling down” on its predecessor’s efforts to freeze out their association even as they struggle with a backlog of almost 1.5m court cases and staff shortages, which exacerbate due process concerns in their courts.

Mimi Tsankov, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), declared herself “mystified” that Biden’s Department of Justice would not negotiate with her members despite the US president vocally and frequently touting his support for workers’ representation.

“This administration has really doubled down on maintaining the [Trump] position that we are not a valid union,” Tsankov said.

Tsankov was appointed as an immigration judge in 2006 and is based in New York, where she also teaches at Fordham University School of Law. She spoke to the Guardian only in her union role.

After what she described as “decades” of relatively smooth relations between the NAIJ and the Department of Justice, Donald Trump capped four years of rightwing immigration policy by successfully petitioning to strip hundreds of immigration judges of their right to unionize.

The hostile move was decided by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), an independent administrative federal agency that controls labor relations between the federal government and its employees, on 2 November 2020, the day before the presidential election.

Despite a Democratic victory and Joe Biden taking the White House pledging to undo damage done by Trump, the union remains shut out and silenced without a date set to hear its case attempting to restore its official status.

“I cannot understand it … Working together, as the president has stated, working with federal employees, working with unions, achieves better results,” said Tsankov.

The justice department did clear the way in June for the judges’ union to at least ask for its rights back when the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) – home to the country’s immigration courts – withdrew opposition to the NAIJ’s motion for reconsideration.

However, Tsankov said the administration was still refusing to negotiate. A hearing on Tuesday will pit the union against EOIR as the dispute deepens.

The complaint in question accuses EOIR of “interfering with, restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights” to organize and “refusing to negotiate in good faith”.

In a formal response to the complaint, EOIR has stated that “in essence, the NAIJ is defunct”.

Administration officials went so far as to file a motion to dismiss the NAIJ’s grievances about unfair labor practices, though the motion was denied.

Tsankov said in a phone interview last week: “Good faith, in my mind, would have said, if we really cared about this union, this administration would have started negotiating with us. But they haven’t, so we’re really mystified as to why.

“I don’t think there’s any other way to say it … They have simply doubled down on this policy, and it is counterintuitive given the positions that the president has set forth,” she said.

EOIR does not comment on continuing litigation.

The conflict rumbles on as the nation’s immigration courts tackle crushing case loads with severe shortages of vital personnel such as legal assistants and translators.

Tsankov said one of the New York immigration courts only had about 30% of the staff it needs, and other courts in cities as geographically diverse as Memphis, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia have been short-staffed for years.

The lack of personnel makes it more difficult for judges to be fully prepared for hearings and can even affect whether those in front of the courts, often including migrants at the US-Mexico border, receive adequate notice of important changes to their cases.

She suggested that shifting political priorities between administrations might have focused resources on law enforcement instead of hiring more staff to make the immigration courts run more efficiently.

“It has a very real impact on the ability of respondents who are seeking justice … to ensure that they’re receiving a fair hearing,” said Tsankov.

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Health

US COVID-19 cases rising again, doubling over three weeks

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Patrons enjoy cold tropical cocktails in the tiny interior of the Tiki-Ti bar as it reopens on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. COVID-19 cases have doubled over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates in some states and Fourth of July gatherings. (Damian Dovarganes, Associated Press)

BALTIMORE (AP) — The COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising again after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings.

Confirmed infections climbed to an average of about 23,600 a day on Monday, up from 11,300 on June 23, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And all but two states — Maine and South Dakota — reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks.

“It is certainly no coincidence that we are looking at exactly the time that we would expect cases to be occurring after the July Fourth weekend,” said Dr. Bill Powderly, co-director of the infectious-disease division at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis.

At the same time, parts of the country are running up against deep vaccine resistance, while the highly contagious mutant version of the coronavirus that was first detected in India is accounting for an ever-larger share of infections.

Nationally, 55.6% of all Americans have received at least one COVID-19 shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The five states with the biggest two-week jump in cases per capita all had lower vaccination rates: Missouri, 45.9%; Arkansas, 43%; Nevada, 50.9%; Louisiana, 39.2%; and Utah, 49.5%.

Even with the latest surge, cases in the U.S. are nowhere near their peak of a quarter-million per day in January. And deaths are running at under 260 per day on average after topping out at more than 3,400 over the winter — a testament to how effectively the vaccine can prevent serious illness and death in those who happen to become infected.

Still, amid the rise, health authorities in places such as Los Angeles County and St. Louis are begging even immunized people to resume wearing masks in public. And Chicago officials announced Tuesday that unvaccinated travelers from Missouri and Arkansas must either quarantine for 10 days or have a negative COVID-19 test.

COVID-19 cases have doubled over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates in some states and Fourth of July gatherings. (Photo: Nathan Papes/The Springfield News-Leader via Associated Press)

Meanwhile, the Health Department in Mississippi, which ranks dead last nationally for vaccinations, began blocking posts about COVID-19 on its Facebook page because of a “rise of misinformation” about the virus and the vaccine.

Mississippi officials are also recommending that people 65 and older and those with chronic underlying conditions stay away from large indoor gatherings because of a 150% rise in hospitalizations over the past three weeks.

In Louisiana, which also has one of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, officials in the city of New Orleans said Tuesday that they are likely to extend until fall virus-mitigation efforts currently in place at large sporting and entertainment gatherings, including mask mandates or requirements that attendees be vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test. State health officials said cases of the coronavirus are surging, largely among nonvaccinated people.

But the political will may not be there in many states fatigued by months of restrictions.

In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is facing a drive to repeal a law that she used to set major restrictions during the early stages of the pandemic.

And Republican Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama pushed back against the idea that the state might need to reimpose preventive measures as vaccinations lag and hospitalizations rise.

“Alabama is OPEN for business. Vaccines are readily available, and I encourage folks to get one. The state of emergency and health orders have expired. We are moving forward,” she said on social media.

Dr. James Lawler, a leader of the Global Center for Health Security at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, said bringing back masks and limiting gatherings would help. But he acknowledged that most of the places seeing higher rates of the virus “are exactly the areas of the country that don’t want to do any of these things.”

Lawler warned that what is happening in Britain is a preview of what’s to come in the U.S.

“The descriptions from regions of the world where the delta variant has taken hold and become the predominant virus are pictures of ICUs full of 30-year-olds. That’s what the critical care doctors describe and that’s what’s coming to the U.S.,” he said.

He added: “I think people have no clue what’s about to hit us.”

President Joe Biden is putting a dose of star power behind the administration’s efforts to get young people vaccinated: 18-year-old actress, singer and songwriter Olivia Rodrigo will meet with Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday.

While the administration has had success vaccinating older Americans, young adults have shown less urgency to get the shots.

Some, at least, are heeding the call in Missouri after weeks of begging, said Erik Frederick, chief administrative officer of Mercy Hospital Springfield. He tweeted that the number of people getting immunized at its vaccine clinic has jumped from 150 to 250 daily.

“That gives me hope,” he said.

Associated Press writers Leah Willingham in Jackson, Mississippi; Ed White in Detroit; Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Kevin McGill in New Orleans; and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

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Business

Elon Musk: Tesla is doubling the size of its Full Self-Driving beta program

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Elon Musk says that Tesla is doubling the size of its Full Self-Driving Beta program with an upcoming new update.

Another one following it could see the size of the test fleet increase by a factor of 10.

Back in October 2020, Tesla started to push a Full Self-Driving Beta release to owners in the “Early Access” program, a group of Tesla owners who test early versions of Tesla’s new features before a wider release to the fleet.

The software update was seen as a major step toward Tesla delivering on its longtime promise of making its vehicles “full self-driving” through over-the-air software updates.

While the update doesn’t result in a truly self-driving vehicle since the responsibility still lies with the driver, which Tesla still requires to stay attentive and be ready to take control at all times, it does close the gap with Tesla’s Autopilot highway driving features and enable Tesla’s driver-assist system to control the vehicle on city streets and through intersections.

Tesla owners using the FSD beta are able to give the car a destination and the vehicle will attempt to drive them there autonomously with the driver keeping their hands on the steering wheel and ready to take over.

Since the first beta release in early access, Tesla has released several new versions of the beta software and gradually opened up the beta release to more owners, but it has yet to have a wider release and the rollout of new versions has slowed down over the last month or two.

Earlier this week, Musk linked a wider release of the FSD beta to an updated version of the software coming next month.

Now the CEO said that the number of Tesla owners testing the Full Self-Driving Beta will double with a new update:

“If you want the Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta downloaded to your car, let us know. Doubling beta program size now with 8.2 & probably 10X size with 8.3. Still be careful, but it’s getting mature.”

Last month, Musk revealed that there are over 1,000 Tesla owners currently testing the FSD beta.

Tesla uses the test fleet to provide real-world data to its neural network and improve the performance.

The CEO didn’t elaborate on the timing of these two new versions of the FSD Beta software, but they are likely coming within the next month as he mentioned earlier this week.

Over the last few months, Musk has stated several times that he feels confident Tesla will release a truly full self-driving level 5 system by the end of 2021.

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Health

Japan supercomputer shows doubling masks offers little help preventing viral spread

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Japanese supercomputer simulations showed that wearing two masks gave limited benefit in blocking viral spread compared with one properly fitted mask.

The findings in part contradict recent recommendations from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that two masks were better than one at reducing a person’s exposure to the coronavirus.

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Researchers used the Fugaku supercomputer to model the flow of virus particles from people wearing different types and combinations of masks, according to a study released on Thursday by research giant Riken and Kobe University.

Using a single surgical-type mask, made of non-woven material, had 85% effectiveness in blocking particles when worn tightly around the nose and face. Adding a polyurethane mask on top boosted the effectiveness to just 89%.

Wearing two non-woven masks isn’t useful because air resistance builds up and causes leakage around the edges.

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“The performance of double masking simply does not add up,” wrote the researchers, led by Makoto Tsubokura.

In general, professional grade N95 masks were the best in protecting against infection, followed by non-woven masks, cloth masks, and finally polyurethane types, the study showed.

The Riken research team previously used the Fugaku supercomputer to model how humidity can affect viral contagion and the infection risks in trains, work spaces, and other environments.

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As the COVID-19 epidemic has worn on, scientific consensus has grown that the virus is spread through the air and masks are effective in controlling contagion.

(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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