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Democracy

Donald Trump pushed back against Candace Owens' anti-vaxxer claims. It may save lives.

candace owens, donald trump, anti-vaxxer

Candace Owens interviews Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump made a strong statement about the importance of COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday in an interview with conservative firebrand Candace Owens. His full-throated endorsement of their effectiveness could inspire his supporters—who are among the least likely to get vaccinated—to get the jab and help stop the virus’ spread.

Owens has a long history of spreading deadly misinformation about vaccines. In the interview, she attempted to lead Trump into a discussion on their ineffectiveness, repeating the false claim that more people have died of COVID-19 during the Biden administration than during Trump’s.

In reality, the numbers show that more people died of COVID-19 under Trump’s watch (424,401 to 379,192) and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, MD, unvaccinated people are 14 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than the unvaccinated.

One can imagine how high the death toll would have been without lifesaving vaccines.


Trump:I came up with three vaccines—all are very, very good. I came up with three of them in less than nine months. ....

Owens: And yet more people have died under COVID this year, by the way, under Joe Biden than under you. And more people took the vaccine this year, so people are questioning how—

Trump:Oh, no. The vaccine worked. But some people aren't taking it. The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't take the vaccine.

But it’s still their choice, and if you take the vaccine, you're protected. Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and if you do get it, it's a very minor form. People aren't dying when they take the vaccine.

Trump was far from honest in saying that he “came up with three vaccines,” but he was right in touting their effectiveness. Trump has a very big influence over American conservatives, who are one of the largest contingents of unvaccinated people. By talking positively about vaccines, he may cause some to change their minds and get the lifesaving jab.

Trump’s pushback against Owens comes three days after he was booed in front of an audience in Dallas with Bill O'Reilly for saying he recently received his COVID-19 booster shot.

When Trump was president he downplayed the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating the perception that it wasn’t a serious problem. He’s also been criticized for not promoting vaccines as much as he should.

However, Trump’s recent high-profile endorsement of vaccines is important because the areas where his supporters live have been hit much harder by the virus than in places that supported Democrat Joe Biden for president.

According to NPR, since the vaccines became available:

“People living in counties that went 60% or higher for Trump in November 2020 had 2.73 times the death rates of those that went for Biden,” the report states. “Counties with an even higher share of the vote for Trump saw higher COVID-19 mortality rates.”

A major reason for the lack of vaccination among Republicans is misinformation. According to NPR, more than 90% of Republicans surveyed believe or are unsure about at least one false statement about COVID-19.

Trump played down the deadly virus while in the White House, leading to countless deaths. Now, in his post-presidency, he has the opportunity to right that wrong by continuing to be a vocal supporter of COVID-19 vaccinations. On Wednesday, the Biden administration acknowledged the important role that Trump can play in the nation’s COVID-19 health initiatives, saying he sent an "important signal to many Americans about the importance of getting boosted.”

Let’s hope his supporters listen.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Family

Pediatrician shares two simple tips that could save a child's life at a pool party

"The more folks present, the safer the pool is, right? Wrong."

Photo by Ash Dowie on Unsplash

If there's a body of water anywhere, a designated adult needs to have their eyes on it.

It's that time of year when the weather across the country is warm enough for families to enjoy outdoor barbecues, picnics and pool parties. That means it's also the time of year when tragedy will strike a certain percentage of families who get blindsided by how quickly and easily a child can drown in a backyard pool, even when they're surrounded by people who care about them and their safety.

We've all been at a gathering where adults are coming and going, chatting, setting up food, taking trips to the bathroom, all while kids are busy playing in the water. In such scenarios, it's easy to assume that someone else is keeping an eye on the pool.

But as pediatrician Diane Arnaout has shared, the harrowing reality is that the more people there are at a pool party the more likely it is that a child could slip into the pool or become distressed in the water without anyone noticing.

In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 77,000 times, Dr. Arnaout wrote:

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Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS.

On May 25, the show’s Instagram page posted a touching video of an off-the-cuff moment between Barrymore and a fan during a taping of her show. In the clip, Barrymore realizes that someone in the audience is crying. So, instead of ignoring the fan, she jumps to action to see what is the matter.

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Pop Culture

Musician uses traditional Chinese instrument to create hypnotic cover of 'Hotel California'

There are literally hundreds of covers of this song floating around on the internet, but this one has its own unique flair.

Moyun/Youtube

Moyun peforms "Hotel California" on the guzheng.

The Eagles' hit song, “Hotel California,” has been covered countless times over the years by a variety of artists, including the likes of Nancy Sinatra, the Gypsy Kings and that guy at your local karaoke spot.

And while every rendition gives the song a fresh dynamic, one musician with a penchant for mystery has transformed the rock n’ roll staple into something entirely new.

Using a traditional Chinese string instrument called a guzheng, Moyun plays the song focusing mostly on its two guitar solo arrangements, creating a sound that has all the otherworldly beauty of an ancient folk tale.
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Pop Culture

Man rewatches shows from his childhood and his recaps of the bonkers storylines are priceless

Rob Anderson's hilarious recaps of shows like "Mighty Ducks," "Beethoven," and "7th Heaven" might make you wonder how they got made in the first place.

@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

And so, what do we do with these problematic pieces of old-school pop culture? Well, we can certainly update them to better reflect a more modern attitude, but that also comes with a set of potential problems. Or we could simply never watch them again. Certainly an option given all the content out there. But then we might miss an opportunity to better understand what seemed to work for the mainstream then, and why it doesn’t work now.

And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

That’s certainly the route taken by Rob Anderson. Over on TikTok, Anderson has taken ultra-popular movies and television shows from his childhood and given them hilarious recaps capturing how absurd some of the storylines are.
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Joy

Woman decides that she is the love of her life and marries herself at her retirement home

“I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not?”

77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

On a beautiful May day, friends and family gathered in the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community, where Fideli is a resident, to witness the ceremony.

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