Tuesday, February 8 top stories
It is Tuesday, February 8. Here are today’s top stories.
Florida woman dies in drawbridge fall
In Florida, a bicyclist who was an older woman died after she fell through a drawbridge. This happened on Sunday at the Royal Park Bridge that connects West Palm Beach to Palm Beach. Police said the woman was walking her bike across the bridge when the drawbridge started going up. The woman slid down and tried to hang on to the bridge and a bystander tried to help her, but couldn’t hold on and the woman fell about sixty feet down a gap and landed on a concrete piece of the bridge below. There is an investigation on why the bridge operator did not notice the bicyclist. There are usually safety barriers that come down and audible alerts before the drawbridge goes up. News reports said the bridge operator is “distraught.”
Pfizer earned tens of billions from Covid-19 vaccine
Pfizer made $36.8 billion in sales in 2021 from the vaccine, which is now the record for the top-selling pharmaceutical product ever in a single year.
Pfizer said it predicts that in 2022, it will sell $32 billion worth of Covid-19 vaccines and $22 billion of its antiviral Covid pill called Paxlovid.
Supreme Court OK’s new Alabama voting districts
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision allowed Alabama to use its new congressional / voting district maps that were drawn by state Republicans. It is controversial because a lower federal court said the new map’s design takes away the opportunity for Black voters to have a second and new Black-majority district in line with population growth of African-Americans according to the 2020 Census. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said it was too close to the 2022 election to undo the map.
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Canadian protesters block Detroit-Windsor bridge
Canadian truck drivers protesting Covid-19 related rules have blocked the Ambassador Bridge that connects Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario. It is the busiest international crossing in North America. Canadian PM Trudeau said the protesters are trying to “blockade our economy, our democracy and our fellow citizens’ daily lives.” Some protesters have vowed to not leave until Covid-19 rules change. The Canadian government said almost 90% of Canada’s truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border and called the protesters a “small, fringe minority.” There is a tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, but it is only for non-commercial vehicles (meaning no semi-trucks).
California and other states ending mask mandates
California Gov. Newsom said the state’s indoor mask mandate would end next week because the omicron surge has receded. But masks will still be required for schools, public transportation, and nursing homes.
On Monday, leaders in New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut announced they would end mask mandates for schools.
An Axios poll that asked the question, “How should the U.S. handle Covid-19 at this time?” showed that most Americans wanted to either open up and get back to life as usual with no mandates or requirements or move towards opening up but with precautions. A smaller majority wanted things to stay the same or to ramp up mask mandates and vaccine requirements.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/template-west-palm-beach
https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-bicyclist-falls-to-her-death-from-rising-drawbridge
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/08/covid-pfizer-pfe-earnings-q4-2021.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/08/americas/canada-trucker-protests-covid-tuesday/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/us/californias-indoor-mask-mandate-will-end-next-week-gov-newsom-says