In other news, Liz Shuler has been chosen as the next president of the AFL-CIO following the death of Richard Trumka. Schuler is the first woman to lead the union.
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has stopped trying to enforce a ban on masks in schools after the state Supreme Court declined to immediately intervene and rule in his favor while a lawsuit is pending.
Finally, hospitals are nearly full across the south.
In Alabama, there are now more people in ICUs statewide than there are staffed beds available, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Florida, Mississippi, Georgia and Texas are all using more than 90% of their ICU capacity. Covid-19 patients take up about half of ICU beds in those states, an extraordinary amount for a single diagnosis.
The fast-spreading delta variant has fueled the Covid-19 wave that began lashing the Ozarks in late June and spread nationwide. There are some preliminary signs that the wave may be close to a peak, especially in those original hot spots, but the situation remains dire in hospitals, where officials say the vast majority of Covid inpatients are unvaccinated.
Unless you want to talk about Afghanistan from morning until night (I don't) this week was relatively slow compared to last week. I'll do my best to cover whatever happens next week. I got my hair done this morning and I'm going to a bar with my dad this evening.
Have a good weekend.