Is this the 5th wave of COVID?, Rittenhouse Trial Coming to an End: 5 Things Podcast
On today’s episode of the 5 Things podcast: Is this the fifth wave of COVID-19?
Medical reporter Elizabeth Weise examines whether this is the new normal. In addition to the expected closing arguments in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, Ghislaine Maxwell is due in court, today is the deadline to apply for the child tax credit and hundreds of people have been injured in Egypt as a result of the child tax credit. stung by scorpions after a flood.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I’m Taylor Wilson and here are 5 things you need to know Monday, November 15, 2021. Today, a potential fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, plus arguments concluding in court Kyle Rittenhouse, etc.
Here are some of the top titles.
- President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill today. The package tackles issues ranging from public transport to broadband internet and bridging.
- There is now a 10th victim from the deadly Astroworld Festival crowd. Ezra Blount, 9, passed away yesterday after initially being placed in a medically induced coma.
- And the virus that causes COVID-19 appears to be spreading widely among deer species across the country. Various studies have shown that between 30 and 40% of a given population has been infected.
For the first time in two months, the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths increased again in most US states. So does this mean we are entering the fifth wave of the pandemic or is this just winter? Medical reporter Elizabeth Weise review.
Elizabeth Weise:
It’s too early to say it might just be winter. Coronavirus is back. Common colds, they peak in winter. They pretty much disappear in the summer. SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID, is a coronavirus, so that may just be what it will look like later on. We can overcome the waves. It’s a bit difficult to know yet. There is an increase everywhere in the Northern floor, like the Northern part of the country, where people go indoors in the winter because it gets cold. There is an increase in cases in all states, whether they have high or low vaccination rates. The difference is that in the highly vaccinated states, there are more cases, but very few hospitalizations or deaths. When we start thinking about waves, we need to think very clearly about what the vaccine is for and what we want it to do. And what we want it to do is keep people from going to the hospital and keep people from dying. And it’s actually still pretty good.
I just got on the phone with a very smart group of epidemiologists and virologists and they all said, “Yes, we’re seeing more cases, but people aren’t dying. And so that’s a win. ” Yes, we may have waves, but they are not waves that flood hospitals and kill tens of thousands of Americans. “
Taylor Wilson:
You can stay up to date with all of our updates on our TODAY Network by visiting our live COVID-19 updates page. Find it in today’s episode description.
Closing arguments are expected today in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. The 18-year-old is charged with killing two men and injuring a third during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year after a white police officer shot paralyzed Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse faces charges of attempted murder and attempted murder. But Judge Bruce Schroeder said last week he would allow the jury to consider lesser charges against the teen. It was a way for the prosecution to give jurors further consideration. Rittenhouse is charged with the murders of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and the judge will allow a lighter sentence than the charge of second-degree attempted murder in Huber’s case. That means the jury will still have to find out that Rittenhouse intentionally took Huber’s life, but that he believes he was acting in self-defence. The jury will still consider the original charges first and only move on to the lesser charges if they find him not guilty in principle. Judge Schroeder and legal teams reviewed the changes on Friday, along with Rittenhouse himself.
Judge Bruce Schroeder:
By including a lesser offence, you are increasing your risk of conviction, even though you are avoiding the possibility that the jury will eventually compromise on the more serious charge. Any questions about any of this so far?
Kyle Rittenhouse:
No, your honor.
Judge Bruce Schroeder:
Okay. Have you had enough time to talk to your attorney about this?
Kyle Rittenhouse:
I have.
Judge Bruce Schroeder:
Have you had enough time to think about what you’re doing?
Kyle Rittenhouse:
Yes, I have.
Judge Bruce Schroeder:
Do you think what you are doing is the best thing in all circumstances?
Kyle Rittenhouse:
Correct.
Taylor Wilson:
Rittenhouse testified during the trial that he feared for his life during the violent protests and acted in self-defence. That is despite allegedly crossing the state line from his native Illinois carrying a weapon to the protest when a young man was 17 years old. However, legal observers have noted that the prosecution appears to be struggling to poke holes in the self-defense statement. And at some point, it was the prosecution’s own witnesses that even bolstered Rittenhouse’s case. Witnesses say Joseph Rosenbaum threatened to kill Rittenhouse and that the wounded Gaige Grosskreutz pointed a gun at him before Rittenhouse opened fire.
Ghislaine Maxwell will appear in court today. British social media site and ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein is accused of helping him sexually abuse underage girls. He was indicted in 2019 on charges of sexually exploiting and abusing dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005, but he died behind bars while awaiting trial. Maxwell was arrested last year on charges including transporting a minor to engage in criminal sex activity and conspiring to entice a minor to travel to commit illegal sexual acts. . A judge laid out the rules for the trial at a pretrial hearing earlier this month, as Larry Neumeister APs explained.
Larry Neumeister:
Judge Alison Nathan ruled today that victims and women who will testify in court about the ordeals they have gone through can use pseudonyms and sometimes just names and will not have to disclose their names. their full names or identities for jurors. . And that’s a point that should be an example of evidence that needs to be narrowed down, evidence rulings need to determine how a trial should be conducted.
There’s a lot the defense wants to include in the trial, evidence about how prosecutors ended up prosecuting Ghislaine Maxwell and how they built the case and who they interviewed and who they subpoena. And Judge Nathan said none of that could be told to jurors. It’s all in the testing process. She said that bringing that up would confuse jurors, would make the trial take too long, and wouldn’t involve the charges.
Taylor Wilson:
Maxwell has been in custody since his arrest in July 2020 and denies all charges.
Today is the deadline to apply for child tax credits. This credit goes up to $300 per month for each child under the age of six and up to $250 a month for children between the ages of six and 17. If you’re already signed up, the child tax credit payment will arrive in your bank account today, and the next payment is expected on December 15. Payments begin on December 15. July after the Rescue Plan for America was signed into law by President Joe Biden in March. According to the Tax Policy Center, around 2.3 million children could still lose benefits because their families didn’t pay income taxes in 2019 or 2020. If you haven’t already, see the link in the description. describe today’s episode.
More than 500 people were injured after a scorpion sting in southern Egypt. That comes after heavy rains and floods forced scorpions from their hiding places into homes across Aswan province. Egypt is home to the Egyptian fat-tailed scorpion, considered one of the deadliest in the world. At least three people have died in the floods, although the country’s acting health minister says no one has been killed by scorpions.
Thank you for listening to 5 Articles. You can find us right here, wherever you are listening at the moment, seven mornings a week. And if you’re using Apple Podcasts, we ask for a five-star rating and review if you get the chance. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his amazing work on the show and tomorrow I will be back with more than 5 things from USA TODAY.