'Tis the Season to Be Safe: Top Tips for Your Family During COVID-19 - Poster
The holidays normally are a time to get together in person with friends and family. However, the pandemic may mean virtual celebrations this year. Regardless of how you celebrate, it's important to protect yourself from possible dangers associated with holiday trees, candles, and cooking fires, as well as unsafe toys.
To keep the season safe, here's what you need to know:
'Tis the Season to Be Safe: Top Tips for Your Family During COVID-19 ( Photo by Polesie Toys)
Toys:
Data:
Choking on small parts and riding toy injuries: CPSC reports that in 2019, there were an estimated 162,700 toy-related, emergency department-treated injuries and 14 deaths to children younger than 15, with most of the deaths associated with choking on small parts, like small balls and small toy parts and riding toys.
Toy recalls: continue to decline, with nine toy recalls in fiscal year 2020, three involving a lead violation, compared to 172 recalls in 2008, with 19 involving lead violations. Toys were also recalled for defects, such as choking, entrapment, ingestion and laceration hazards. Recalled toys present choking, entrapment, ingestion and laceration hazards, among other hazards that pose the threat of death or injury to a child.
Scooters: The number of injuries associated with non-motorized scooters significantly decreased from 2015 to 2019 for children younger than 15, from about 45,500 to about 35,600 injuries.
Tips:
Follow age guidance and other safety information on the toy packaging, and choose toys that match your child's interests and abilities.
Get safety gear, including helmets for scooters and other riding toys–helmets should be worn properly at all times and be sized to fit.
Keep small balls and toys with small parts away from children younger than age 3, and keep deflated balloons away from children younger than 8 years old (discard broken balloons at once).
'Tis the Season to Be Safe: Top Tips for Your Family During COVID-19 (Photo by Andrea Piacquadio)
Cooking:
Data:
Cooking fires are the # 1 cause of residential fires.
An average of 1,700 cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving Day each year, more than three times the average number on any other day of the year.
In the last two decades, there were 220 fire or scald/burn incidents involving turkey fryers, resulting in 81 injuries and $9.7 million in property loss.
Tips:
Never leave cooking food unattended on the stove.
Keep children away from the cooking area, and keep flammable items, like potholders and paper or plastic bags, away from the stove and oven.
Only fry a turkey outside and away from your home–not inside your garage, or on your porch. Do not overfill the oil in the turkey fryer and follow the manufacturer's instructions on use, including thawing your turkey thoroughly and maintaining control of the oil temperature.
'Tis the Season to Be Safe: Top Tips for Your Family During COVID-19 (Photo by Jonathan Borba)
Decorating:
Data:
On average, there are about 200 decorating-related injuries each day during the holiday season, with about half of the incidents involving falls. And in the 2018 holiday season, about 17,500 people were treated in emergency rooms due to holiday decorating-related injuries.
In the 2019 holiday season, there were six deaths associated with holiday season decorations.
From 2015 to 2017, on average, there were about 100 Christmas tree fires and about 1,100 candle fires (in November and December), resulting in 20 deaths, 160 injuries and nearly $50 million in property damage each year.
Tips:
Make sure your live Christmas tree has plenty of water, and look for the "Fire Resistant" label when buying an artificial tree.
Place burning candles in sight, away from flammable items, and blow them out before leaving the room.
Only use lights tested for safety by a national recognized testing laboratory. Throw out sets with broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections.
The Video:
About the U.S. CPSC:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
A New Data-Driven Model Shows That Wearing Masks Saves Lives – And The Earlier You Start, The Better (screengrab)
Dr. Biplav Srivastava, professor of computer science at the University of South Carolina, and his team have developed a data-driven tool that helps demonstrate the effect of wearing masks on COVID-19 cases and deaths. His model utilizes a variety of data sources to create alternate scenarios that can tell us “What could have happened?” if a county in the U.S. had a higher or lower rate of mask adherence. In this interview, he explains how the model works, its limitations and what conclusions we can draw from it.
What does this computer model do?
This is a nationwide tool which can show the effect that wearing masks can have. If it’s a county where people wear masks regularly, it will show you how many COVID-19 cases and deaths they avoided. If you pick a county where people don’t wear masks, it will show you how many cases and deaths could have been prevented there.
How does it do it?
We need a lot of data to do this. The New York Times surveyed almost every county in the U.S. over the summer and assigned a mask-wearing score of 0-5 to each of them, so this is at the heart of the model. We also use New York Times and Johns Hopkins data for real-time case numbers; census data for demographics such as population size, median age and more; and geographic data to measure the distance between counties.
It is based on a mathematical technique called robust synthetic control, which is often used in drug research, where there is a control group and there is a treatment group.
For example, let’s look at Wyandotte County, Kansas. It has a relatively high mask-wearing score of about 3.4. Because the model is designed to tell us the “what if?” scenario, it will look at what would have happened if the mask-wearing score was reduced to 3.0, which is our cutoff for “low mask-wearing,” but the user can experiment with other values too just to see what happens. We arrived at 3.0 based on analysis of nationwide mask-wearing habits. The actual values ranged between 1.4 and 3.85, with a national average of 2.98.
We can set a date at which the mask-wearing score changes to 3.0. If we set it to run from June 1 to Oct 1, it tells us that Wyandotte County would have had 101.5% more cases and 150 more deaths in that period. It tells the user how many deaths have occurred or been prevented based on a mortality rate parameter that the user can set. In this example, it was set at 2%.
How does the model create the “what if?” scenario if it didn’t actually happen? It does this by looking at other counties that are close by and have similar demographics and case count but a lower mask-wearing threshold. It tries to come up with a weighted average to form a synthetic control group which is similar to our county of interest (treatment group). The model then looks at how much the two groups have diverged in terms of the case counts. The difference in case counts between the two groups is converted to a difference in deaths using the mortality rate parameter.
Computer scientist Biplav Srivastava provides a demo of the simulation to show that earlier policies to recommend mask-wearing make a bigger difference on the spread of the coronavirus.(screengrab)
What does this tell us about the impact of mask-wearing policies?
Keeping up mask-wearing or implementing a mask policy at any time can be helpful. But its impact is highest when you do it early. When you run this model multiple times using different dates, you see that the impact reduces as you delay implementing a mask-wearing policy. So if a county implemented a mask policy on June 1, it would have prevented many cases. If it acted on July 1, it would have a smaller impact. If it acted in August, it would still have prevented cases, but a very small number.
What are the limitations of this model?
This tool works better for some counties than others. In general, it works best with counties that are closer to the average, because it will have closer matches to compare against. There is also a limitation in the sense that The New York Times mask adherence survey was done in the summer, and things keep changing. So if other researchers use this tool, they will have to account for the changes.
But what you see is that when you implement a mask policy or the population regularly wears masks, it makes a positive impact. And the earlier you do it, the more effective it is.
I would like to acknowledge the work of my team, Sparsh Johri, Kartikaya Srivastava, Chinmayi Appajigowda and Lokesh Johri, in developing this program.
Honda is giving gaming and automotive enthusiasts a first glimpse of what's in store for America’s best-selling car with the world debut of the all-new 11th-generation Civic, in prototype form, Tuesday, Nov. 17 live on Honda’s Head2Head Twitch channel.
Honda is giving gaming and automotive enthusiasts a first glimpse of what's in store for America's best-selling car with the world debut of the all-new 11th-generation Civic, in prototype form, Tuesday, Nov. 17 live on Honda's Head2Head Twitch channel.
This special edition episode of Honda Head2Head on Twitch will begin live at 5 p.m. PST, with the Civic reveal set to start at 6:45 p.m. PST.
The reveal also will feature an exclusive live performance by Grammy-nominated ART@WAR/Atlantic Records recording artist, Cordae.
Honda's iconic Civic, the No. 1 vehicle for young, first-time and multicultural consumers, will undergo a full redesign that once again raises the bar for style, performance, safety and advanced technology in the compact car market.
Nov 17: Next-Generation Honda Civic Prototype To Be Revealed On Twitch! (screengrab)
A teaser image and video released today give viewers a glimpse of the all-new Honda Civic through a geometric looking glass, which will all take shape to fully reveal the new Civic on Nov. 17.
Since it was first introduced in America in 1973, Civic has brought nearly 12 million U.S. customers into the Honda family. The all-new Civic Sedan will launch in late Spring 2021 as a 2022 model-year vehicle.
Honda and Esports:
Honda has a significant presence in gaming and esports, as the exclusive automotive partner of Team Liquid and the Riot Games League of Legends Championship Series. In addition, Honda's gaming strategy includes a partnership with Twitch, where the Honda Head2Head gaming channel, now in its third season, is the exclusive auto-branded channel on the platform.
With Twitch's average daily visitors reaching 17.5 million, Honda aims to grab the attention of the audience behind the explosive growth of esports. These deeply enthusiastic fans share a similar passion for Civic, making the nameplate America's most popular among all vehicles with Millennial, Gen Z and multicultural consumers. Honda's integration of the all-new Civic on its Head2Head Twitch channel one-ups the brand's commitment in the gaming space.
The Civic reveal on Honda's Head2Head Twitch channel will be hosted by Rachel Seltzer and MonsterDface. The hosts will be joined by eight participants: Four top Fortnite players and four top Twitch streamers, including Benjyfishy, SypherPK, Jordan Fisher, Dakotaz, and more. The two teams will battle it out in Fortnite, the world's most popular battle royale game, ranking second on Twitch's most streamed games. Honda also will have presence on endemic gaming communities, including Twitter and Reddit, to support the reveal of the new Civic.
The Teaser:
More Information:
Consumers can get details about the Civic reveal and sign up for additional information about the all-new Civic at honda.com/civicreveal. More information, plus photos and video will be added after the reveal..
America may not know the identity of the next US president for some time to come. Amid this uncertainty, No Labels has released an unprecedented national ad—featuring Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Governor Larry Hogan—focused on the importance of Americans staying calm and respecting the votes in the post-election period.
The ad kicks off No Labels' "Respect the Vote" campaign, which aims to rouse Americans and remind them that there is more at stake in 2020 than whether their preferred presidential candidate wins or loses this election.
Throughout its history— through wars, depressions, and previous pandemics—America has always had elections and respected the results.
As Manchin says in the ad "If we lose that, we lose everything."
The No Labels Ad:
For almost a decade, No Labels has been working to combat the dangerous tribalism consuming U.S. politics and to build a bipartisan coalition capable of solving the country's toughest problems. Senators Manchin and Governor Hogan have been helping to lead and expand this coalition and felt compelled to participate in this unusual—but urgent—ad that will be seen by millions of American nationwide.
"The world is watching. What happens in the coming days and weeks will define America for decades to come," said Hogan. "I know emotions are running high but we need to keep faith in the voters and our Democracy. America knows how to elect and inaugurate a president. Let the election officials in every state do their jobs. Let the votes be counted. Let the process work, just like it has every four years for over 200 years."
"This unprecedented campaign has challenged our nation to its core," Manchin said, "Now that the campaign has ended, we must come together as Americans to show that the strength and greatness of our democracy is in the power of the American people to unite and respect the laws that make the United States the hope of the World. Throughout our nation's 240 year history we have persevered through many hardships, and we will continue to do so now as our country begins to unify around solving the problems facing our families and communities."
Governor Larry Hogan
About Larry Hogan:
(Via Wilipedia)
Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as the 62nd Governor of Maryland since 2015.
Hogan ran unsuccessful campaigns for Maryland's 5th congressional district in 1981 and 1992, the latter of which was incumbent Steny Hoyer's closest race. He was the Secretary of Appointments under Governor Bob Ehrlich from 2003 to 2007. Hogan founded the Change Maryland organization in 2011, which he used to promote his own 2014 gubernatorial campaign. Hogan has enjoyed high approval ratings during his time as governor, and he has been rated as one of the most popular governors in the United States. [...]
Media outlets have described Hogan as a moderate Republican and a "pragmatist", and in 2018 he polled well among Maryland Democrats, according to The Baltimore Sun.The Washington Post's editorial board wrote in 2015 that he was "true to his promise to govern from the center in the first legislative session of his term." On the Issues, a non-profit and non-partisan organization which tracks politicians' positions, considers Hogan to be a centrist.
Hogan served as vice chairman of the National Governors Association (NGA) from July 2018 to July 2019 and as chairman of the NGA from July 2019 to July 2020.
In 2019, Hogan raised the possibility of running for president in 2020, emphasizing bipartisan collaboration, but eventually decided not to run. In June, he addressed the Maryland Free Enterprise Foundation, a business advocacy group, in a combative speech, "skewering Democrats who control the state legislature and vowing to spend the remainder of his term in 'battle' with them." Hogan promised to work against tax increases. [...]
Joseph Manchin (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 34th governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and the 27th secretary of state of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005.
Manchin is a moderate Democrat, which has allowed him to continue to win elections in West Virginia even as it has shifted from one of the most Democratic states in the country to one of the most Republican. He won the 2004 gubernatorial election by a large margin and was reelected by an even larger margin in 2008; in both years, Republican presidential candidates won West Virginia. Manchin won the special election with 54% of the vote in 2010 to fill the Senate seat vacated by incumbent Democrat Robert Byrd when he died in office. Manchin was elected to a full-term in 2012 with 61% of the vote and reelected with just under 50% of the vote in 2018. He became the state's senior U.S. Senator when fellow Democrat Jay Rockefeller retired in 2015.
No Labels is a groundbreaking movement led by Americans who embrace the new politics of problem solving and are collaborating to find common-sense non-partisan solutions to our toughest challenge. It is working to build a new bipartisan governing coalition with members of the 50 members House Problem Solvers Caucus and several allies in the U.S. Senate.
'Starsky and Hutch' Actor David Soul Releases New Short Film/Documentary 'America' (screengrab)
Actor/director and musician David Soul, co-star of the iconic 1970s television series, Starsky and Hutch, has created and directed a short film/documentary called America, based on a song of the same name.
The song, written by Jack Murphy and recorded by David Soul 40 years ago, was never released - until now.
David's not-for-profit film, produced by Me and Thee Productions and available free across all social media, reveals America's story as illustrated in the song's lyrics; from her slave-trading beginnings in 1619, through the years of the Civil Rights struggles, to the inspirational, global, and long-overdue Black Lives Matter movement.
'Starsky and Hutch' Actor David Soul Releases New Short Film/Documentary 'America' (screengrab)
America, the film, is a reminder that our uniqueness as a country (often concealed in superficial patriotic bravado and self-congratulation) actually lies in our immeasurable compassion and love, as well as in our undaunting willingness to learn from our past and rise above our differences.
The film, at moments graphic and challenging, is not always easy to watch, but in fact, it serves to embrace the collective heart and soul of our nation's diversity.
We are reminded by David Soul's America that we must unite together on "the Yellow Brick Road" in our continuing journey to form "a more perfect union;" in essence, to ensure that the promises of equality and justice for all Americans, enshrined within the United States Constitution, are finally realized.
#HalloweenIsHappening - 66% Of Americans Admit To Stealing From Their Halloween Candy Stash (Photo by Karolina Grabowska)
Do you open the bag of mini Halloween treats as soon as you get it home from the store? About two-thirds (66%) of people admit to enjoying a few pieces of Halloween chocolate and candy before handing the treats out to trick-or-treaters or using them for other Halloween activities, according to a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the National Confectioners Association.
Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors On Halloween:
74% of millennial moms and young parents say that Halloween 2020 is more important than ever. (The Harris Poll)
80% of the general public and 90% of millennial moms and young parents say they can’t imagine Halloween without chocolate and candy, and that trick-or-treating is irreplaceable. (The Harris Poll)
2/3 will participate in trick-or-treating, whether handing out the candy or going out with their children. (NCA)
79% of parents indicate they have taken candy from their children after a night of trick-ortreating. (Morning Consult)
66% of people enjoy at least some of their pre-purchased Halloween candy before using it for Halloween-related activities, like passing it out to trick-or-treaters. (Morning Consult)
80% of people believe that they will find creative and safe ways to celebrate the Halloween season this year. This is up from just 63% in July. (NCA/Morning Consult)
Fun Facts:
Most people in the U.S. enjoy chocolate and candy 2-3 times per week, averaging about 40 calories per day and just one teaspoon of added sugar per day. (NHANES)
What’s the right way to eat candy corn?
Who enjoys candy corn the most?
Visit AlwaysATreat.com/HalloweenCentral for ways to celebrate a socially distanced but not socially awkward Halloween and join the conversation on social media with #HalloweenIsHappening.
Sigma Comics, a comic book publisher dedicated to fighting animal abuse, today introduced the world to Calico, the company's first comic book character. As part of the introduction, the company revealed its flagship comic book series, entitled, "Calico Volume 1: Pin-Up Gallery".
While there are other comic book superheroes that are Vegan, Calico is the first Vegan "Anti"-hero. "What's funny is, on the surface, it might seem like a gimmick, yet there's no reference to Veganism anywhere in the series," said Calico-creator H.H. German, and founder of Sigma Comics. "This is just one rough hombre who doesn't eat meat, and really, really hates bullies."
Calico Volume 1: Pin-Up Gallery, Issue #1 - Front Cover
Set in the rough outer boroughs of New York City, Calico Volume 1: Pin-Up Gallery follows Hector Gil, a former boxer from The Bronx with a huge chip on his shoulder, created by life regrets. He decides to enter a prestigious boxing tournament, and as he trains, his new Brooklyn neighbors are unaware of the double-life he leads. On choice evenings, Hector Gil becomes the Calico, to pay unfriendly visits to people who abuse and kill animals. He is supported by a varied network of technically savvy and resourceful data professionals, all bent on making sure Calicocompletes his missions without a hitch.
Calico Volume 1: Pin-Up Gallery will be an 8-book series, with each issue featuring 22 pages of story by H.H. German and art by Javier Orabich, with cover art by Garnabiel. The first issue is expected to be released just in time for Christmas 2020.
"If you love animals and comic books, this is an absolute must-have for your collection," said German. "The response has been incredible. I really appreciate the support we're getting from different groups of people, including Vegans, animal lovers, and comic book fans that are tired of lackluster comic books. Your unfriendly neighborhood Calico represents a big departure from the average superhero comic book. I'll leave it at that."
Introducing Calico - Video:
Calico Volume 1: Pin-Up Gallery, Issue #1 is now available for pre-order at:igg.me/at/sigma.
About Sigma Comics:
Sigma Comics, LLC is a comic book publisher dedicated to fighting animal abuse. The company's goal is to reach a growing audience of readers across the globe, in order to promote animal rights advocacy and provide a powerful mechanism for animal rights charities to promote their efforts.
Comic book fans can learn more about Calico and Sigma Comics at sigmacomics.com.
#TrustedJournalism Campaign Launched to Help Slow Spread of Disinformation on Social Media Among Older Adults Ahead of US Elections
TheTrusted Journalism Partnership, a coalition of nonpartisan academic and media organizations, today launched a public information campaign focusing on people aged 65 and over, encouraging them to take a reflective pause and consider whether a news story is true or not before sharing it on social media.
One quarter of all Americans visited a website masquerading as a legitimate news organization, but was in fact peddling false claims.
The largest source of this internet traffic came from Facebook.
While most people did not share the misleading information, Facebook users 65-and-over posted seven times as many articles from such websites, compared with adults under 29.
#TrustedJournalism Campaign Launched to Help Slow Spread of Disinformation on Social Media Among Older Adults Ahead of US Elections
"We want to help people sort fact from fiction at a time when they are bombarded with disinformation," said Dan Shelley, executive director and COO at the Radio Television Digital News Association, one of the participating organizations. "Our campaign is a critical reminder that fact-based journalism is different from other types of media. Legitimate news organizations hold themselves to high standards of transparency and accuracy. "
The PSA campaign, which provides 15-, 30- and 90-second videos, highlights the Trust Project's 8 Trust Indicators to help people evaluate the source of a news story and determine its validity.
"Our 8 Trust Indicators provide an easy checklist for making decisions about what news comes from reputable news organizations and what might be intentionally misleading or just plain wrong," said Sally Lehrman, Trust Project founder and CEO, and a member of the Trusted Journalism Partnership.
To reach older Americans with its message, the Trusted Journalism Partnership is advertising on Facebook, the most popular social media platform among seniors.
"Technology has dramatically altered the way we consume information. But one thing has not changed: the difference between the truth and a lie," said Akhtar Badshah, distinguished practitioner, University of Washington Evans School and founder of Accelerating Social Transformation. "We are giving people the tools to help them discern the difference."
The campaign invites people to take three simple steps to support a healthy democracy:
Share the campaign
Learn the Trust Indicators
Sign a pledge to share only trusted journalism and curtail the spread of disinformation.
The campaign includes a social media toolkit and a collection of resources.
![A New Data-Driven Model Shows That Wearing Masks Saves Lives – And The Earlier You Start, The Better [Video Included]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SA3D0NVXv3BgMsnUMfH5p7H5D_z6hTxuQFt3NAYvona8KuZ71Um8Wgr1g7K6d2gKrm09apBCj8BuDKyrEa4_INGXJO2eiDicKsyuN3zpbyVBxaekyagy0Pm6Xq8KURl_rkmAi38Dj0bT/s1128/data+masks.png)
![A New Data-Driven Model Shows That Wearing Masks Saves Lives – And The Earlier You Start, The Better [Video Included]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdOSRiFPTYPka9rO4gxy3IEBPFnZ2SIQJdTwL_aWJgRcPNhRFbHg98CVJAXuBrDiVw9OHK9LpWsnhHNiItj4ueabtBMtgliJUhuJjSMsQpTJw9M7yNKHZiA-q8IWNtKQRPLrN1t2M6mK7/s1126/data+masks+2.png)
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