When you consider addictions what do you think about? Do you think of drugs, alcohol, or nicotine? Do you think of food? The medical profession is becoming more receptive to the concept that people can suffer from food addiction. What is food addiction? Food addiction is a compulsive need to eat a particular type of food. It usually leads to compulsive binge eating and uncontrolled cravings. The body can become dependent on these foods. Usually, if someone has a food addiction it involves food high in sugar, flour, fat, and salt. Studies show that certain foods can release dopamine. According to an article in Psychology Today, dopamine is the feel-good neurotransmitter. The brain releases it when we eat food that we crave contributing to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Sometimes when we see people who are obese, we assume they lack willpower when they can be dealing with a food addiction.
Food addiction can be serious. It can lead to overeating which can cause weight gain. It can also cause physical symptoms including headaches, insomnia, irritability, mood changes, and depression. It is difficult for someone with an untreated food addiction to live a healthy lifestyle. A person can have a food addiction and go on a diet and lose weight; however, once the diet is completed, they will typically relapse and go back to eating the same food and gain the weight back.
Each person will have to judge for themselves if they have a food addiction. It will take some self-reflection. Do you have uncontrolled food cravings? Do you binge eat? Are you secretive or ashamed about your eating habits? Do you get irritable or agitated when you do not consume certain foods? Do you use food for emotional support? If you determine that you have a food addiction there are support groups available to you. You can search the Internet for a location near you. If you have a food addiction do not let shame or embarrassment stop you from getting the help you need.
I have been interested in preventive medicine since my childhood. In the 70s, my aunt would take me with her to meet with a doctor who emphasized preventive medicine. A lot of the things that doctor discussed then has become standard today.
Tina Fey (left, pictured on an advertising sign in Los Angeles) will co-host the Golden Globe Awards from New York, while Amy Poehler will join her from Beverly Hills, California. | Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Voting group vows bring in black members; Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host from opposite coasts
When drained of glamour, what’s left of the Golden Globes?
That’s one of the biggest questions heading into the 78th annual awards, airing live from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday on WMAQ-Channel 5 (and available for streaming Monday on Peacock). The show, postponed two months from its usual early-January perch, will have little of what makes the Globes one of the frothiest and glitziest events of the year.
Due to the pandemic, there will be no parade of stars down the red carpet outside the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. Its hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, will be on different sides of the country.
More than any award show, the Globes revel in being an intimate banquet of stars. With Poehler in Beverly Hills and Fey in New York’s Rainbow Room, the circumstances will test the Globes telecast like never before.
Presenters will include Awkwafina, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Wiig, Tiffany Haddish, Margot Robbie and Angela Bassett. At least some of them will be present at one of the two locations. Pre-show coverage is still going forward on NBC beginning at 6 p.m. The telecast will be streamed on NBC’s website with a television-provider log-in, as well as on the Roku Channel, Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV, Sling TV and Fubo TV.
But pandemic improvising is only part of the damage control the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the Globes, finds itself dealing with this year. A pair of extensive reports by The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times in the week leading up to the awards renewed scrutiny on the press association and its 87 voting members.
While the HFPA has long been known as an organization with members of questionable qualification — the majority of its members don’t write for well-known publications — and are known for being swayed by high-priced junkets, the reports again forced the HFPA to defend itself.
Among the most damning details was the revelation that there are no Black voting members in the group, something that only reinforced criticism that the press association — which host Ricky Gervais last year called “very, very racist” in his opening monologue — is in need of overhauling. This year, none of the most acclaimed Black-led films — “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “One Night in Miami,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Da 5 Bloods” — were nominated for the Globes’ best picture award.
In a statement, the HFPA said it would make “an action plan” to change. “We understand that we need to bring in Black members, as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds,” the group said.
For some, none of the revelations were surprising. Ava DuVernay tweeted in response to the L.A. Times article: “Reveals? As in, people are acting like this isn’t already widely known? For YEARS?”
Two-time nominee Sterling K. Brown, who’s presenting Sunday, said in an Instagram post that “having a multitude of Black presenters does not absolve you of your lack of diversity.”
“87 people wield a tremendous amount of power,” said Brown. “For any governing body of a current Hollywood award show to have such a lack of voting representation illustrates a level of irresponsibility that should not be ignored.”
Yet the Globes have persisted because of their popularity (the show ranks as the third most-watched award show, after the Oscars and Grammys), their profitability (NBC paid $60 million for broadcast rights in 2018) and because they serve as important marketing material for contending films and Oscar hopefuls. That may be especially true this year when the pandemic has upset the normal rhythms of buzz in a virtual awards season lacking the usual frenzy.
The Globes are happening on the original date of the Academy Awards, which are instead to be held April 25.
Netflix comes in with a commanding 42 nominations, including a leading six nods for David Fincher’s “Mank” and “The Crown” also topping TV nominees with six nods. Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” also from Netflix, is also a heavyweight with five nominations.
Chloe Zhao, the “Nomadland” filmmaker and Oscar frontrunner, is expected to become the first woman of Asian descent to win best director at the Globes and the first woman since Barbra Streisand won for “Yentl” in 1984.
Chadwick Boseman, nominated for best actor for his performance in the August Wilson adaptation “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” could win a posthumous Golden Globe. Boseman is widely expected to be nominated for an Oscar.
And “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” stands a good chance of being crowned best picture, comedy or musical. With many of the leading nominees in the drama category — among them “Mank,” “Nomadland,” “The Father,” “Promising Young Woman” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” — Sacha Baron Cohen’s sequel could emerge a big winner. Cohen, who won a Globe for his performance in the first “Borat” film, is nominated for Borat and for his role in “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
Jane Fonda, a seven-time Globe winner, will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. Norman Lear will be honored for his television career and accept an award named after Carol Burnett.
White Sox manager Tony La Russa is still playing to win. (John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times)
La Russa’s White Sox fell to the Brewers in his first game as a manager since 2011.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — White Sox manager Tony La Russa was back in the dugout for the first time since 2011 and said it felt ‘‘familiar.’’
So did the feeling after a loss, which still gets in his craw, even in the first exhibition game of the spring. The Brewers beat the Sox 7-2 on Sunday at Camelback Ranch.
‘‘Everybody thought I was foolish my whole career, you know?’’ La Russa said of underlining the importance of winning spring-training games. ‘‘I think you’ve got to practice winning. You get 30 chances, so you don’t want to wait until Opening Day.
‘‘Whether the team or a manager, you’re supposed to be using those games to anticipate and make decisions. That’s why I like it, in the sense that when I get to Opening Day or October, there really isn’t any difference in the concentration and the process.’’
La Russa, who started his Hall of Fame managerial career with the Sox in 1979, hadn’t managed a game since winning the World Series with the Cardinals in 2011. He said he was nervous, as always, even before he took the lineup card to home plate before the game.
‘‘Nervous about the competition, the outcome and excited that we came back right away to answer in the first [with two runs after the Brewers had scored three in the top of the inning],’’ La Russa said. ‘‘[The Brewers] pitched and hit better than we did, so you tip your cap and learn. I always said you learn more from a loss.’’
A moment for Burger
Jake Burger, a first-round pick in 2017 last seen when he suffered the first of two Achilles injuries on the same field three years ago, started at third base and went 0-for-3.
It has been a difficult road back for Burger, who said he ‘‘broke down in tears’’ on his way to the Sox’ complex for the first day of camp.
‘‘This is just another milestone in the comeback,’’ he said. ‘‘It feels great to be out there with the guys and just playing baseball again.’’
Abreu on La Russa
First baseman Jose Abreu got a call from Angels slugger Albert Pujols about La Russa, who managed him with the Cardinals. Pujols told Abreu to reserve his judgment until he gets to know La Russa.
‘‘[He said], ‘After your first day, call me and let me know your impressions,’ ’’ Abreu said through a translator. ‘‘He was right. Today and throughout all the conversations I’ve had with Tony, I can tell he cares about people. He cares about us and the team, and that is something that will be very important for us. It will unite us and make us stronger. And baseball? He’s a Hall of Famer. We’re glad he’s here with us.’’
Grandal on mend
Catcher Yasmani Grandal, who has been out for three days because of inflammation in his right knee, ramped up his throwing and hitting and is expected back soon.
“I think that’s great that they feel that way about this place,” president Jed Hoyer said Sunday. “It’d be disappointing after this much time with these players if they felt otherwise.”
MESA, Ariz. – Much of the discussion surrounding the Cubs during the first full week of spring training has been about the future of Javy Baez, Kris Bryant, and Anthony Rizzo. All three players will be free agents after the 2021 season.
When camp opened, president Jed Hoyer stated that the team would like to sit down with its three superstars to discuss the possibility of a long-term deal this spring. All three players spoke about the matter this week and are open and receptive to the idea.
There’s no guarantee that anything gets done before the team breaks camp, but the fact that all sides are willing to listen is a good place to start.
“It’s the best time of year to have those conversations,” Hoyer said. “I think the danger of having those discussions or opening things up publicly is this notion that if you don’t get something done by the opening day, like talks failed, or fell apart. So I think there’s a real risk in that and not with us. … I’d love to have conversations with these guys and their agents, kind of talk through where we are.
“I think it’s a testament to ownership and the front office and the coaching staff and all the staff that guys want to be here. They enjoy the environment. Obviously, we got the ballpark and the fan base and the city, but like people want to be here. And that’s a great thing. And that was kind of the theme I felt reading all the parade of articles one day after another with guys saying that. More as a collective, I think that’s great that they feel that way about this place. And you know, it’d be disappointing after this much time with these players if they felt otherwise.”
Cubs to play seven-inning games this spring
MLB is allowing teams the option of playing abbreviated games this spring, if both teams agree prior. According to manager David Ross, the Cubs will be playing mostly seven-inning games for various reasons, including health, the remainder of the spring with the exception being one nationally televised game on ESPN.
“We’ve had different phone calls with different organizations,” he said. “I think there’s some organizations that feel like they want to push it to nine [innings] and some organizations that we’ve talked to feel like they’re gonna have trouble finding five. I think it all depends on pitching and strategy and … what teams are doing with their pitching.”
Ryan activated off COVID-19 list
The Cubs activated left-hander Kyle Ryan off the COVID-19 list on Sunday. Ryan, 29, was able to participate in team activities on Saturday. Right-hander Robert Stock was designated for assignment to make room for Ryan on the team’s 40-man roster.
Cubs’ lineup Monday at San Diego
1B Anthony Rizzo C Willson Contreras LF Joc Pederson SS Javier Báez RF Cameron Maybin 2B David Bote 3B Ildemaro Vargas CF Ian Miller DH P.J. Higgins
Tina Fey, in New York, pretends to reach across the split screen to touch Golden Globes co-host Amy Poehler, in Beverly Hills, California, during the Sunday awards ceremony. | NBC
Hosts zing the HFPA for its much-discussed lack of Black members.
It didn’t take long for Golden Globes co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to address the white elephant in the room.
With Poehler at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and Fey at the Rainbow Room in New York City, the opening monologue included the following explainer:
Poehler: “The Golden Globes are awards given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.”
Fey: “The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is made up of around 90 professional, no-Black journalists who attend movie junkets each year in search of a better life. We say, ‘around 90’ because a couple of them might be ghosts, and it’s rumored that the German member is just a sausage that somebody drew a little face on.”
Three feet apart or 3,000 miles apart, Fey and Poehler are awards-show-host first ballot Hall of Famers.
With the Globes under fire for its lack of a single Black member and for excluding Black films such as “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “One Night in Miami” and “Judas and the Black Messiah” from best picture nominations, it was something of a welcome surprise when the first two winners of the night — both very deserving — were Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) for best performance by an actor in a movie supporting role and John Boyega (“Small Axe”) for best performance by an actor in a television supporting role. On Twitter, Scott Feinberg of the Hollywood Reporter noted, “We’re 15 minutes in and this year’s Golden Globes has two more Black winners than Black voters.”
With a safely limited amount of first responders and essential workers as the in-person attendees (nice touch) and the nominees tucked away in hotel rooms or their living rooms or home offices, it didn’t take long for the Globes to fall prey to the same types of technical snafus we’ve all experienced in the Video Chat Era. When Kaluuya was announced as the winner, we couldn’t hear him at first and the show was about to cut to commercial when the sound problem was fixed and they returned to Kaluuya.
And as Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”) gave her acceptance speech, her husband Bo Welch kept playing with his cell phone, which seemed to be blaring the kind of “wrap it up” music we hear at awards shows. Whatever the joke was supposed to be, it lost everything in translation.
The first part of the telecast was also filled with fantastically awkward and therefore entertaining reaction shots, e.g., Poehler cracking, “ ‘The Undoing’ was a sexy and dramatic mystery where Nicole Kidman’s coat is suspected of murdering her wig,’ ” followed by a shot of Kidman, her husband Keith Urban and their two daughters at home, with Urban cracking up, Kidman looking confused and the girls looking like they were counting the minutes until they could go to their rooms and get back to texting with their friends.
We also had some pretty cool video moments, as when David Fincher (“Mank”) reacted to losing out on best director to Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) by taking a shot of an adult beverage, and when winner Mark Ruffalo (“I Know This Much is True”) gave a heartfelt and moving speech about the world coming together as one and his fellow nominees Jeff Bridges, Bryan Cranston, Ethan Hawke and Hugh Grant looked on with empathy. For a moment at least, an awards show didn’t seem to be just about the awards.
Corliss (6-0): Harvey Jones has changed everything for the Trojans. They’ve been one of the area’s best programs since he took over in 2017. Jones is one of several Public League coaches that play it close to the vest. He doesn’t pump his team up in the preseason or complain about rankings. Corliss just goes out and wins its way in. That’s exactly what happened this week. The Trojans dominated Clark on Saturday.
Hersey (10-2): High-scoring senior Ethan Roberts is one of the season’s best stories. The Hawks have only lost to Glenbrook South and Rolling Meadows.
Richards (6-0): Bulldogs senior Anthony Taylor hasn’t received much attention yet, but he’s clearly one of the area’s most dynamic scorers. He’s scored more than 21 points in every Richards game this season and had 37 points and 11 rebounds against Evergreen Park on Thursday.
Dropping out
Downers Grove North (6-1): It was a one-week stay for the Trojans, who lost to York.
Lake Forest (8-3): The Scouts lost to St. Patrick and Mundelein. Certainly no shame in that, those are two really good teams. But they are out for now. Sophomore Asa Thomas was excellent against the Shamrocks.
Thornton (2-2): Starting guard Sean Burress has to sit out for another few days. He played in Indiana for a few months. The Wildcat should be much improved when he’s back. They lost to Young and Kankakee this week.
The week ahead
There’s a tremendous amount of basketball this week now that the Public League and all of the suburbs are in full swing. These two teams have especially challenging weeks.
DePaul Prep: It’s possible the Rams are ranked a little too low right now. We should find out this week. They host Loyola on Monday, Mount Carmel on Wednesday and play a Fenwick on Friday.
Kenwood: JJ Taylor is a revelation. The sophomore is probably posting the best numbers in the area. But he hasn’t faced any top-tier competition yet. That changes this week. The Broncos play at Simeon on Tuesday and host Curie on Thursday.
Eastern Illinois looked even rustier than one would expect from a 463-day layoff caused by the worldwide pandemic.
Southeast Missouri State breezed to an easy 47-7 win over the Panthers in Sunday’s Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.
“We didn’t expect this. We expected much better,” EIU head coach Adam Cushing said in the postgame. “That’s a really, really good football team that we lined up across from. They’re a ranked team that played like a really good football team. I’m going to give them all the credit in the world. I’m not going to shortchange them a bit.
“But, that doesn’t mean that we played well. We didn’t play well at all. We didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to make plays.”
Three things Prairie State Pigskin learned from Sunday’s game:
EIU’s offense struggles continue
The Panthers had difficulty moving the ball in 2019 and those woes continued in the season opener.
EIU managed only 114 first-half yards, 72 on which came on one play. Twice the Panthers failed on fourth-and-short yardage attempts; EIU also turned the ball over twice and went 0-for-7 on third downs in the first two quarters. The Panthers were just 2-of-15 by game’s end.
“We’ve got to go get first downs on offense,” Cushing said. “We were just having so many zero yard plays.”
Veteran quarterback Harry Woodbery was just 5-for-18 for 32 yards in the first half. He also threw an interception that led to a SEMO touchdown. He finished the day 10-of-26 for 101 yards with two interceptions.
As a result, 21st-ranked Southeast Missouri enjoyed favorable field position for much of the first half and built a 34-0 lead and cruised to the easy victory.
The Skyhawks broke the game wide open with a 27-point second quarter. SEMO, which lost its only fall game 20-17 at Southern Illinois, made the FCS playoffs in 2018 and ’19 under seventh-year head coach Tom Matukewicz.
SEMO ran 54 plays in the first half and amassed 333 yards and 14 first downs.
2. Special team woes
A familiar bugaboo returned for the Panthers as SEMO blocked a punt and set up the Skyhawks’ second touchdown on a short field.
“Allowing the blocked punt early, that changed the game,” Cushing said. “That set the tone for some bad things to slide.”
EIU has been plagued by poor special teams play for the past several seasons.
SEMO had several positive kickoff and punt returns, while Eastern mostly struggled in its return game.
“Their specialists did a great job of switching the field for them, and we didn’t execute in switching the field on our special teams,” Cushing said.
Many of EIU’s Stone Galloway’s punts were low line drives directly at the returner. He averaged 35.1 yards per punt.
3. Youth will be served
Eastern is in a rebuild mode in Cushing’s second year at the Panther helm.
The staff has clearly made the decision to give younger players meaningful experience.
The Panthers started five freshmen and three sophomores on defense and three sophomores in the offensive line.
Kendi Young
Freshman running back Kendi Young broke loose for a 72-yard touchdown on just his second career carry in the waning minutes of the first half. The Thornton Fractional North graduate led EIU with 88 yards on 11 carries.
Redshirt sophomore Dwayne Cooks led EIU with five receptions for 62 yards.
Sophomore Anthony Shockey tied for the team lead with nine tackles including one for loss.
True freshman Colin Bohanek from Chicago Marist recorded six tackles (four solo) in a reserve role.
News and notes
Receiver Isaiah Hill and defensive end/linebacker Dytarious Johnson were each named to the preseason All-OVC squad, but neither appeared in Sunday’s game. Cushing said that Hill is injured and likely won’t play next week . . . SEMO quarterback Andrew Bunch passed for 302 yards, 229 in the first half alone . . . SEMO outgained EIU 474-286 in total yards . . . Eastern turned the ball over four times, three coming off interceptions . . . true freshman quarterback Otto Kuhns played much of the fourth quarter.
What’s next?
Eastern returns to OVC action Sunday, March 7 at UT-Martin. This is a makeup date for a game that was originally scheduled to open the season but postponed by severe winter weather.
Blog co-authors Barry Bottino and Dan Verdun bring years of experience covering collegiate athletics. Barry has covered college athletes for more than two decades in his “On Campus” column, which is published weekly by Shaw Media. Dan has written four books about the state’s football programs–“NIU Huskies Football” (released in 2013), “EIU Panthers Football (2014), “ISU Redbirds” (2016) and “SIU Salukis Football” (2017).
The Chicago White Sox return to the field in 2021 as Spring Training officially begins. The Good Guys Talk Back podcast breaks down everything you need to know plus more on Tim Anderson and Tony LaRussa!
Here’s the latest news on how COVID-19 is impacting Chicago and Illinois.
Latest
Another 79,000 coronavirus vaccines administered as Illinois’ pandemic death toll surpasses 20,500
Illinois reached another grim milestone Sunday as the state’s pandemic death toll surpassed 20,500 fatalities.
State health officials reported an additional 22 people have succumbed to COVID-19, bringing the number of virus-related deaths to 20,516. Eight of Sunday’s 22 fatalities were reported in the Chicago area and included three Cook County men in their 60s.
This comes as the state continues to make progress in its unprecedented vaccine rollout, giving a glimmer of hope for the future.
State health officials announced 79,266 coronavirus vaccines were injected into the arms of Illinois residents Saturday, marking the seventh-highest single day total.
After Illinois saw a drop in vaccine distribution two weeks ago in part due to heavy snow and delayed shipments from the federal government, the state averaged an all-time high of 79,140 doses doled out per day over the last week, which included a two-day streak of six-figure vaccination totals.
In total, more than 2.7 million vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois. About 11.7% of those shots were given to people at long-term care facilities.
3:38 p.m. 83K more COVID-19 shots given in Illinois as positivity rate nears all-time low
Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times
Public health officials on Saturday announced 1,780 more Illinoisans were diagnosed with COVID-19 as more than 83,000 vaccine doses went into arms across the state.
A total of 83,048 shots were administered Friday, breaking a two-day streak of six-figure vaccination totals, including Illinois’ all-time high of more than 130,000 doled out Wednesday.
But the state’s rolling average of shots given per day has climbed to a new high of 69,736 over the past week. As that rate steadily rises, daily tallies of new infections have fallen precipitously. The Illinois Department of Public Health has reported roughly 1,800 positive coronavirus tests each day over the last week, down from an average of about 3,500 new daily cases at the end of January.
2:33 p.m. Far fewer students, classrooms without teachers and learning on laptops: How many Chicago schools will look starting Monday
Chicago Public Schools is taking its largest step toward a return to normalcy Monday, a full 349 days after the pandemic closed schools and upended education as families and educators knew it. But school, for the foreseeable future, will still look nearly unrecognizable.
The vast majority of the 421 elementary and middle schools welcoming students back over the next week — more than 92% — will be less than half full, and 42% will be less than a quarter full. Teachers across the city are expecting single-digit students per class, including some with no children returning at all. Schools have split their returning students into Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday cohorts, with Wednesdays reserved for school cleaning and remote learning for all.
Principals have been frank with parents in school meetings over the past few weeks and months. At many schools, the focus will be causing as little disruption as possible to remote learning. Which for most in-person students means their return to classrooms could feature a similar educational experience to the one at home.
Though every school is free to tailor the district’s plans to its needs, educators will largely work with in-person and remote students simultaneously. Most teachers will sit at a computer at the front of the classroom and provide virtual instruction as they have this whole school year. For large portions of the day, students will sit at socially distant desks either following along on their own devices or a projector screen.
12:51 p.m. Bulls game called off Sunday because of Raptors’ ongoing virus issues
The Toronto Raptors’ issues with the coronavirus have worsened, prompting the NBA to call off their game scheduled for Sunday night against the Bulls.
The league said the Raptors are dealing with positive test results, without disclosing how many, and that combined with ongoing contact tracing issues meant they would not have the league-required eight players available to play.
Toronto played Friday without head coach Nick Nurse, several other assistants and staffers and starting forward Pascal Siakam because of virus-related issues. Assistant coach Sergio Scariolo coached the team to a win over Houston and was in line to coach again Sunday.
WASHINGTON — Looking beyond the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, President Joe Biden and lawmakers are laying the groundwork for another top legislative priority — a long-sought boost to the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure that could run into Republican resistance to a hefty price tag.
Biden and his team have begun discussions on the possible outlines of an infrastructure package with members of Congress, particularly mindful that Texas’ recent struggles with power outages and water shortages after a brutal winter storm present an opportunity for agreement on sustained spending on infrastructure.
Gina McCarthy, Biden’s national climate adviser, told The Associated Press that the deadly winter storm in Texas should be a “wake-up call” for the need for energy systems and other infrastructure that are more reliable and resilient.
“The infrastructure is not built to withstand these extreme weather conditions,” said Liz Sherwood-Randall, a homeland security aide to the president. “We know that we can’t just react to extreme weather events. We need to plan for them and prepare for them.”
A White House proposal could come out in March.
“Now is the time to be aggressive,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a former South Bend, Indiana, mayor who knows potholes.
9:12 a.m. Plunging demand for COVID-19 tests may leave US exposed
WASHINGTON — Just five weeks ago, Los Angeles County was conducting more than 350,000 weekly coronavirus tests, including at a massive drive-thru site at Dodger Stadium, as health workers raced to contain the worst COVID-19 hotspot in the U.S.
Now, county officials say testing has nearly collapsed. More than 180 government-supported sites are operating at only a third of their capacity.
“It’s shocking how quickly we’ve gone from moving at 100 miles an hour to about 25,” said Dr. Clemens Hong, who leads the county’s testing operation.
After a year of struggling to boost testing, communities across the country are seeing plummeting demand, shuttering testing sites or even trying to return supplies.
The drop in screening comes at a significant moment in the outbreak: Experts are cautiously optimistic that COVID-19 is receding after killing more than 500,000 people in the U.S. but concerned that emerging variants could prolong the epidemic.
“Everyone is hopeful for rapid, widespread vaccinations, but I don’t think we’re at a point where we can drop our guard just yet,” said Hong. “We just don’t have enough people who are immune to rule out another surge.”
The Illinois Department of Public Health has reported roughly 1,800 positive coronavirus tests each day over the last week, down from an average of about 3,500 new daily cases at the end of January.
A total of 83,048 shots were administered Friday, breaking a two-day streak of six-figure vaccination totals.
Analysis & Commentary
9:14 a.m. Lessons from COVID-19 that are worth remembering, like not becoming numb to it all
Like gun fatalities and car crashes, you could become numb to the 500,000 coronavirus deaths and to what that number means to the families of COVID-19 victims.
Indeed, we shouldn’t dwell on the misery the deadly virus has caused, if only for the sake of our mental health.
It helps to look on the bright side.
Forced to stick close to home, many of us found joy in simple pleasures like learning how to bake the perfect apple pie.
But as President Joe Biden said at a ceremony for the nation to pay our respects to those we have lost to the pandemic: “We have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow. We have to resist viewing each life as a statistic or a blur.”
There are lessons from COVID-19 that should stay with us for the rest of our lives.
In the interest of saving lives, most of us willingly went on lockdown and took refuge behind masks. But we all had some aspect of the shutdown that we didn’t like.
For many, it was enduring the indignity of churches being closed while liquor stores and weed shops flourished.
And there was the pain of teachers knowing that, for children whose only escape from danger at home was the classroom, the pandemic was the boogeyman in the closet.
When the pandemic touches us individually, we feel the sharp sting of its grip. Last week, my daughter’s wonderful mother-in-law suffered a catastrophic stroke and was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center, where she remains in a coma.
Except for one brief moment, her son and daughter have been unable to sit by her bedside because of COVID restrictions. They are beside themselves with worry.
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