Slog PM: Dancing robots, COVID at the Olympics and Bezos is ready for the start – Slog

Jeff is ready to plunge into the great beyond. Mark Wilson / Getty Images

First criminal conviction for insurgents: Paul Hodgkins, 38, is the Florida man who stormed the Capitol and waved a Trump 2020 flag in the Senate during the January 6 riot. Hodgkins is jailed for eight months for obstruction of an official process. The sentence is significantly lower than the recommended prison term of 15 to 21 months. As the verdict was pronounced, the judge said, “It was an attack on the Capitol and it was an attack on democracy. It has left a stain that will remain on us and our country for years.”

Sponsored

US gymnast tests positive for COVID-19: Ahead of this week’s Olympics, Kara Eaker, 18, a substitute on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team, tested positive for the coronavirus. Eaker and her deputy, Leanne Wong, were isolated after Eaker’s positive test result.

Canada is opening its borders to fully vaccinated Americans as of August 9th. The rest of the world can enter Canada on September 7th with their vaccination certificate. Fully vaccinated visitors are not required to go through a 14-day quarantine upon entry, Canadian officials said. Unvaccinated children traveling with vaccinated parents also do not need to be in quarantine, but cannot participate in group activities.

An outbreak in Vancouver, Washington: Fourteen people, including patients and staff at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, tested positive for COVID-19. Only five of the confirmed cases occurred in unvaccinated people. However, only the unvaccinated people show symptoms.

weather today: No smoke in the forecast. Still.

Sunny & flirt today at 80.

And the beat goes on.
– Seattle Weather Blog (@KSeattleWeather) July 19, 2021

Israeli spyware company allegedly used Amazon’s services Monitor journalists, politicians and activists. Amazon shut down services for the NSO Group after reports last weekend of how the group’s malware, Pegasus, was used by multiple governments to attack devices around the world. Amazon’s CloudFront service appears to have played a large role in these malware attacks. Amazon condemned the attacks and acted swiftly, despite Gizmodo reporting that the tech giant hid similar reports about its technology used in malware attacks last year.

Refugee reveals their location: The Tulsa Police Department in Oklahoma posted a photo on Facebook of Lorraine Graves, a suspect charged with aiding and abetting murder, as part of their weekly “Most Manhunt” series. Graves herself then left a comment asking about the reward money for her arrest. The police tracked her down and arrested her the next day.

Robots now have rhythm I absolutely hate everything in this scary horror video. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a robot dog making mashed potatoes on a bed of human skulls.

Imagine what AI-powered machines can do in the next 5-10 years.

Boston Dynamics machines dance flawlessly and soulfully to the rhythm. pic.twitter.com/1PHmurRo1k
– Vala Afshar (alaValaAfshar) July 17, 2021

Now to Stranger employee Rich Smith with a little PAC update for the election.

New PACs on the scene: A PAC called Fuse Votes and another called SEIU 775 Quality Care Committee collect and spend money on local candidates. Fuse votes are held by the leaders of the progressive organization Fuse Washington, and so far the $ 15,000 SEIU 775 has made the largest contribution of the PAC. Fuse backed Seattle councilman Teresa Mosqueda and Port of Seattle candidate Hamdi Mohamed so the money could end up in their two pots, but it looks like the latest move is on the running for mayor relates; The SEIU PAC paid the Fuse PAC $ 10,000 in digital advertisements for Lorena González. In other PAC news, the Pro-Colleen Echohawk PAC raised $ 25,000 from commercial developers and sports managers. Rich pro Nick Hanauer dropped $ 25,000 into the pro-Jessyn Farrell PAC. Meanwhile, the pro-Bruce Harrell PAC has enjoyed a steady stream of great contributions from real estate agents and investors.

Thanks, Rich!

Wild boars contribute to the climate crisis: When wild boars search for food, they dig up the ground with their annoying hooves and release the carbon dioxide trapped in the dirt into the atmosphere. Scientists recently conducted a global study to find out just how big the problem is for these pigs around the world. They found that pigs churning up earth around the world are responsible for more CO2 emissions than over a million cars.

Speaking of pesky pigs: US parents say the incredibly popular UK children’s show Peppa Pig got their children to speak with a British accent. Linguists aren’t that sure about the claims, but American parents insist that their toddlers have grown posh.

Oops: A Philadelphia bakery baked a cake for the Philadelphia police. The bakery used a clip art stock photo of the Philly Police Sign for the cake topper. Instead of the motto “Honor, Service, Integrity” on the sign, the version of the bakery read “Coffee, Donuts, Corruption”.

A Philadelphia woman was stunned when she received this cake from the Bakery House in Bryn Mawr. She got the cake for her friend @PhillyPolice’s 25th anniversary. Bakery says they are ashamed and it was an honest mistake and have nothing but respect for our officers @ 6abc pic.twitter.com/SRTlJxhCnH
– Jaclyn Lee (@JaclynLeeTV) July 19, 2021

Texas Democrats subject to COVID-19: Five of Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to postpone a vote on a number of election suppression laws have contracted COVID-19. All were vaccinated. The MPs fled to DC, where they met with Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff. Her office said Harris was not in close contact with any of the Texan Dems now having COVID-19.

Pediatricians recommend children’s masks in school: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all children, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks when they return to school this fall.

The Blue Origin team is ready to go: Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, 18-year-old high school graduate Oliver Daemen, and aviation legend Wally Funk will all board a spaceship tomorrow. Not to be superficial, but why is Jeff wearing those ugly boots into space? Oh. Is it a “space cowboy” thing?

Our astronauts have completed their training and are ready to go. #NSFirstHumanFlight pic.twitter.com/rzkQgqVaB6
– Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 19, 2021

Do you think they will listen to this song repeatedly during the ascent?