(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 12 things you need to know this Friday – March 4, 2022

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The federal government paid hundreds of media companies to advertise the COVID-19 vaccines while they covered the pandemic – In response to a FOIA request filed by TheBlaze, HHS revealed that it purchased advertising from major news networks including ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as cable TV news stations Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, legacy media publications including the New York Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, digital media companies like BuzzFeed News and Newsmax, and hundreds of local newspapers and TV stations. These outlets were collectively responsible for publishing countless articles and video segments regarding the vaccine that were nearly uniformly positive about the vaccine in terms of both its efficacy and safety.

Hundreds of news organizations were paid by the federal government to advertise for the vaccines as part of a “comprehensive media campaign,” according to documents TheBlaze obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services. The Biden administration purchased ads on TV, radio, in print, and on social media to build vaccine confidence, timing this effort with the increasing availability of the vaccines. The government also relied on earned media featuring “influencers” from “communities hit hard by COVID-19” and “experts” like White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and other academics to be interviewed and promote vaccination in the news. – READ MORE

New COVID Subvariant In All 50 States, ‘May Be Even More Contagious Than Omicron’ – Just as Omicron fades, a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 has now been detected in every U.S. state, according to a new report. The variant, which didn’t get its own Greek letter name and is known simply as Omicron BA.2, is more contagious than its brother, but vaccines are effective against it.

The subvariant was first found in Europe in January and has already spread across the world “becoming the leading strain behind new coronavirus infections in at least 18 countries,” the report by Fortune magazine said. – READ MORE

NFL set to drop all COVID restrictions for 2022 season: reports – The NFL plans to drop all of its COVID-19 restrictions going to the 2022 season, according to multiple reports.

The NFL and the NFLPA’s agreement is effective immediately, the NFL Network reported, citing a memo from the league office. It means there will be no more requirements for masks, COVID-tracking devices, surveillance testing or capacity limits unless mandated by the state the teams are in. – READ MORE

Liberté! France Announces ‘Suspension’ of Vaccine Pass Regime – After a short yet controversial reign, France’s vaccine pass regime is set to be “suspended” by mid-March.

First introduced in January, France’s pass system was controversial even before implementation, with the country’s president — Emmanuel Macron — explicitly stating that the purpose of the new measures was to “piss off” the nation’s unvaccinated. – READ MORE

Study: More than 33% of Children Who Started School During Coronavirus Need ‘Intensive’ Reading Intervention – More than one-in-three students who started school during coronavirus pandemic restrictions are reading far below grade level and have little chance of recovering by the end of the school year.

According to a study by Amplify, a curriculum and assessment group, students in kindergarten through third grade are struggling with reading to such a degree that many require “intensive” intervention in order to recover from losses due to the pandemic. – READ MORE

Highly Lethal Bird Flu Spreads to Iowa Backyard Poultry Flock – Iowa reported a highly lethal form of bird flu in a backyard poultry flock on Wednesday, expanding a U.S. outbreak of the disease to the top egg-producing state.

The flock in Pottawattamie County, which was not being raised for commercial production, will be culled to prevent the spread of the disease, Iowa said. – READ MORE

‘I Have The Biggest D*** In Chicago’: Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Accused Of Raging Against Officials Who Wanted To Display Columbus Statue: Report – According to a lawsuit filed by a former Chicago Park District deputy general counsel who made a deal with an Italian American group to allow a Christopher Columbus statue to be used in a parade, Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot furiously told him, “My d*** is bigger than yours and the Italians. I have the biggest d*** in Chicago.”

The prelude to Lightfoot’s alleged remarks involved Lightfoot’s 2020 order — after the death of George Floyd prompted nationwide protests — to remove two Christopher Columbus statues which had stood for decades in Grant Park and Little Italy’s Arrigo Park. “This step is about an effort to protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols,” Lightfoot stated. – READ MORE

Critics slam Buttigieg for ‘all options are on the table’ response to question about getting oil from Iran – Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday that “all options are on the table” during a discussion about oil prices after MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle asked if President Biden would consider “working something out with Iran.”

Ruhle asked Buttigieg if Biden would consider activating the Keystone XL Pipeline or “working something out with Iran” during MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour” on Wednesday. – READ MORE

Citi Stopped Out Of Oil Short At Double Digit Loss As TD Sees Oil Spiking To $145 –While Wall Street was getting increasingly bulled up on oil prices, one bank was turning ever more bearish, and exactly one month ago when Brent traded at $82, Citigroup’s commodity head told Bloomberg he was advising clients to go short December Brent futures, predicting U.S. production would be “on the low side” at the end of the year while saying he doesn’t expect an LNG crunch in Europe if Russia invades Ukraine.

Boy was he wrong… but at least the pain didn’t last long and earlier today Citi announced that it was closing its oil short at a substantial, 11.5% loss – READ MORE

Aussie Coal Prices Surge Almost $100 As Countries Seek Alternatives To Russian Energy – The price of Australian thermal coal has skyrocketed by US$99, or 33 percent, in one day as countries traditionally reliant on Russian coal scramble to secure alternative sources.

Newcastle coal, the benchmark for thermal coal in the Asia-Pacific region, ended at US$400 (A$549) per tonne on March 2 after peaking at US$446 per tonne during the day. – READ MORE

EU Official Warns ‘Suffering’ Ahead as European Farmers Lose Access to Ukrainian Animal Feed – While many enjoy European-reared beef, in many cases the crops that feed the animals while they grow come from Ukraine. Now, a senior EU official has warned the European agricultural sector is going to face serious ‘pain’ as a result of losing access to Ukrainian animal feed and fertiliser.

Long known colloquially as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine produces a significant percentage of the world’s market share of grains, including the likes of wheat, corn and barley, which Europe in part relies on to feed livestock. – READ MORE

How Biden’s energy policies enabled Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – President Joe Biden has pushed an aggressive anti-fossil fuels agenda since taking office, harming U.S. energy independence goals and enabling Russian aggression, experts said.

The Biden administration has consistently implemented policies against the U.S. fossil fuel industry — nixing pipelines and ditching drilling projects, pursuing burdensome regulations and delaying the key federal oil and gas permit program— as part of its aggressive climate agenda. Meanwhile, the U.S. has become increasingly reliant on oil imports, including those from Russia, and Russia has established itself as a major player in global natural gas markets. – READ MORE