(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 13 things you need to know this Monday – November 15, 2021

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Extending Its Stay, the 5th Circuit Says OSHA’s Vaccine Mandate Is ‘Fatally Flawed’ – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has extended its stay on the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers, which the unanimous three-judge panel called “fatally flawed” and “staggeringly broad.” The stay, which the court issued on Friday evening, says OSHA shall “take no steps to implement or enforce the Mandate until further court order.” It is officially a preliminary pause “pending adequate judicial review of the petitioners’ underlying motions for a permanent injunction.” But the court left little doubt that it would grant those motions, saying “petitioners’ challenges to the Mandate show a great likelihood of success on the merits.”

The appeals court was responding to several lawsuits challenging the vaccine mandate, including complaints by businesses, employees, and five states (Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah), all of which are now consolidated under the heading BST Holdings v. OSHA. The 5th Circuit originally issued a stay on November 6, the day after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an “emergency temporary standard” (ETS) demanding that companies with 100 or more employees require them to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or wear face masks and undergo weekly testing. That stay said the ETS raised “grave statutory and constitutional issues,” which the new order, written by Judge Kurt Engelhardt and joined by Judges Edith Jones and Stuart Kyle Duncan, spells out in detail. – READ MORE

New Head of Oklahoma National Guard Removes Vaccine Mandate – Adjutant Gen. Thomas Mancino is removing the vaccine mandate for the Oklahoma National Guard, according to a Thursday memo obtained by The Oklahoman.

“No negative administrative or legal action will be taken” against guard members who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, the memo reads. – READ MORE

With 7.4 Billion COVID Shots In Arms, Bill Gates Admits The Quiet Part Out Loud – The world’s most influential “public health” advocate has come to seemingly doubt the technology behind mRNA injections, following their deployment into more than 7.34 billion arms worldwide.

A little-noticed interview from last week with a U.K. think tank saw Microsoft founder Bill Gates make some incredible statements about his most prized “solution” to the pandemic. – READ MORE

CDC says it doesn’t keep records on whether unvaccinated Americans with natural immunity spread COVID-19 – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have any records of an unvaccinated person with a COVID-19 reinfection transmitting the virus to another person and admitted that it does not collect such information.

The CDC’s admission came on Nov. 5, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by attorney Elizabeth Brehm. The New York-based legal firm for which Brehm works, Siri & Glimstad, has performed millions of dollars of legal work on behalf of groups opposed to vaccine mandates. – READ MORE

Regulator Reviewing Reports Of “Rare” And Serious Condition Linked To Moderna Vaccine –Europe’s drug regulator on Thursday confirmed it is investigating reports of a blood condition in recipients of Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. According to a bulletin posted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), it is reviewing six cases of capillary leak syndrome, considered a “very rare disorder,” after they were reported in the EMA’s EudraVigilance database. – READ MORE

Biden’s social welfare bill estimated to raise taxes 30% on middle class, cut them for millionaires – President Biden’s mammoth social welfare and climate change bill is poised to raise taxes on the middle class, while giving lucrative breaks for the superwealthy, according to a new study.

Nearly 30% of lower- and middle-class households would pay more in taxes starting next year if the bill were to become law, according to the study by the liberal-leaning Tax Policy Center, a project of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute. The report is an in-depth analysis of the tax increases that House Democrats want to see included in the multitrillion-dollar legislation. – READ MORE

Record Number Of Americans Left Jobs In September – The number of Americans who quit their jobs reached record levels in September at 4.4 million, according to data from the federal government.

According to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday, the number of job openings didn’t shift much and was at 10.4 million on the final business day of the month of September. However, the rate of people quitting rose. – READ MORE

Biden’s Banking Nominee Calls to Eliminate All ‘Private Bank Accounts’ – Saule Omarova, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), called during a March 2021 virtual conference to eliminate all private bank accounts and deposits.

Omarova spoke at the Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project’s “Law & Political Economy: Democracy Beyond Neoliberalism” conference in March. – READ MORE

Robots Steal Jobs During Pandemic As Working Poor Displaced – Companies faced with worker shortages and soaring labor costs are increasingly turning to automation to address the challenging economic climate.

Hiring issues have been widespread across the economy, and wages are spiking. These two forces are compressing margins for companies that force them to invest in robots to mitigate labor woes. – READ MORE

Utility warns customers of looming blackouts under Biden energy policy – An upcoming Biden administration decision on a key pipeline could lead to widespread blackouts, Missouri-based power company Spire Energy warned in an email to customers.

The natural gas company, which serves 1.7 million homes throughout Missouri, Alabama and Mississippi, emailed customers Wednesday that a federal review of the STL Pipeline could jeopardize their energy supply. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will discuss revoking the pipeline’s permit during a Nov. 18 hearing. – READ MORE

U.S. experiencing shortages of 100+ drugs, including Narcan, insulin – The U.S. is experiencing shortages of over 100 drugs ranging from Narcan to Adderall and insulin while record amounts of fentanyl flows across our southern border thanks to DHS head Alejandro Mayorkas’ refusal to enforce federal immigration laws.

From WKRN, “FDA reports 100+ drug shortages nationwide”: “Recent supply chain disruptions are impacting everything from clothes to food, and even trips to the pharmacy. Popular drugs like Adderall, oxycodone, and insulin are running low nationwide. In Tennessee, Steve Beasley said he’s having trouble finding iron dextran for his iron infusions. ‘I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place right now – none of the pharmacies around here can get it where they can compound it in-house.’ – READ MORE

U.S. Experiencing Shortages of 100+ Drugs Including Narcan And Insulin As Record Amounts of Fentanyl Flows Across Southern Border – The US is experiencing shortages of over 100 drugs ranging from Narcan to Adderall and insulin while record amounts of fentanyl flows across our southern border thanks to DHS head Alejandro Mayorkas’ refusal to enforce federal immigration laws. – READ MORE

3 in 5 Americans BANNING unvaccinated relatives from family gatherings – The holidays are about to get heated — and politics aren’t even the main issue this time. Nearly two-thirds of vaccinated Americans are banning unvaccinated family members from their holiday gatherings this year.

A survey of 2,000 U.S. residents – conducted by OnePoll on Nov. 2 – examined how the COVID-19 vaccine has impacted people’s relationships with their loved ones ahead of the holidays this year. – READ MORE