Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:         

• Vaccine Mandates Hit Amid Historic Health-Care Staff Shortage. Nearly one in four beds lies empty at TaraVista Behavioral Health Center in central Massachusetts -- not for lack of patients, but for lack of staff. Even before the pandemic, nurses and lower-paid aides were in perennially short supply, but the 116-bed facility could still run full, said Chief Executive Officer Michael Krupa. At similar hospitals around Massachusetts, hundreds of beds can’t be filled, and “the reason is exclusively staff,” he said. What some are calling the worst U.S. health-care labor crisis in memory is sharpening concerns about attrition from resistance to vaccine mandates -- even in the medical mecca of Massachusetts, where Covid cases remain well within hospital capacity. About 16% of American hospitals had critical staffing shortages as of Oct. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We don’t have a single position we can afford to lose right now,” Eric Dickson, president of UMass Memorial Health, told Bloomberg Radio last month. “I have areas that have a 50% vacancy rate. And God forbid we lose any more.” In recent weeks, worker shortages have prompted extreme measures, even in regions that aren’t Covid hot spots. “While it may be disappointing for someone to wait for a lobster roll or an ice cream cone, or have a longer wait for their hotel room, when essential staff are missing from human services, clients’ and residents’ safety and health are immediately at risk,” he said.
• China Continues Taiwan Flybys With 20 More Jets Seen Saturday.    
• Busiest Summer for Asia IPOs on Record With $56 Billion in Deals.
• Top UAE Official Warns on Risk of ‘Cold War’ Between China, U.S. 
• Saudis Triumph in Oil Market With Comeback From Covid Crisis.
• Pelosi Sets Revised Oct. 31 Target to Pass Infrastructure Bill.
  
• Carmakers Log Ugly Quarter Amid Chip Squeeze: Auto Sales Update.
• Restaurants’ Fragile Recovery Is Fizzling in the U.S.
• U.S. Rents Are Increasing at ‘Shocking’ Rates of More Than 10%.
• Charting the Global Economy: U.S., Europe Inflation Accelerates.

Wall Street Journal:  

• Covid-19 Vaccine Makers Say There Are Enough Doses for Everyone. Poor Countries Are Still Waiting for Shots.  
• Pelosi Goes for Broke.
  
• Ilhan Omar’s Idea of Progress.
• Democratic Clashes Hold Up Biden’s Agenda. 
• Tesla Deliveries Surge, Defying Supply-Chain Woes.
• Countdown Starts on Chinese Company Delistings After U.S.-China Audit Fight.
• Market Is Right to Be Spooked by Rising Bond Yields. 
• Democrats Pursue Europe’s Welfare State on American-Style Taxes. Biden’s agenda further severs the connection between government benefits and the obligation to pay for them.

IG:

• Weekend Markets Trading Live.

CNBC:

• Why California is shutting down its last nuclear plant.
• Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is a ‘toxic’ workplace, some current and ex-workers claim in essay.
• American, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines tell employees they must get Covid vaccinations under federal rules.
• These high-yielding investments can protect against inflation risk, market analysts say.

 Yahoo News:

• Merck’s COVID-19 pill is a 'huge game changer': Doctor. (video)
  

Fox News:   

• McConnell and Graham ask CBO for 'true cost' of Biden spending plan.
• Biden admits ‘everyone’ frustrated as Dem disunity stalls agenda, pres to launch campaign to sell ideas.
• Socialist spending bill fiasco a setback for Pelosi, a big win for far-left Jayapal.
• Canadian pastor warns Americans after arrest for opposition to COVID rules.

Newsmax:   

• Panama Official: 60,000 More Migrants, Mostly Haitians, Are Headed to US.
• Rep. Stewart: Getting Votes to 'Destroy the American Dream' Isn't Easy.

NY Times:

• Covid on the Border: Migrants Aren’t Tested on Arrival in U.S. The Border Patrol says it has insufficient time and space to conduct coronavirus testing at crowded processing stations. Officials in border cities fear further spread of the virus.
  
• Covid-19 cases are plunging in the South over the last two weeks despite packed college football games and campuses. Florida -51%(vaccination rate: 57%), Louisiana -43%(vaccination rate: 46%), Tennessee -58%(vaccination rate: 46%), Georgia -40%(vaccination rate: 45%), Texas -38%(vaccination rate: 51%), Mississippi -52%(vaccination rate: 44%) and South Carolina -47%(vaccination rate: 47%), Arkansas -46%(vaccination rate: 46%) and Alabama -41%(vaccination rate: 43%).
• Covid-19 hospitalizations are rising at some of the fastest rates in the country over the last two weeks in three of the most vaccinated states. Maine +20%(vaccination rate: 69%), Vermont +14%(vaccination rate: 70%) and Rhode Island +11%(vaccination rate: 68%).

Reuters:

• Colombia has administered at least 35,750,492 doses of COVID vaccines so far. (graph) Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 40.1% of the country’s population. COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Colombia, with 1,518 new infections reported on average each day(21 infections per 100K people reported last 7 days). That’s 5% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 27.
• South Africa has administered at least 14,670,161 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 14.9% of the country’s population. COVID-19 infections are decreasing in South Africa, with 1,423 new infections reported on average each day(17 infections per 100K people reported last 7 days). That’s 7% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on July 7.
• Singapore has administered at least 9,403,389 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that's enough to have vaccinated about 82.4% of the country's population(4th best rate in world). Singapore is reporting 2,131 new infections on average each day(261 infections per 100K people reported last 7 days), 100% of the peak - the highest daily average reported on Oct. 2.

Zero Hedge:   

• Fed Vice Chair Clarida Traded Millions One Day Before Powell Emergency Pandemic Statement.
• NYC Restaurateurs: Business Down 40-60% Due To Vaccine Mandate.
• "We've Been Locked Up For Almost 50 Days" - 1000s Rally Against Auckland Lockdown As Public Opposition Grows.
• UK Military Wants To Spy On Social Media To Detect "Change In Population Sentiment".
• France Begins "Price Protection" Measures To Shield Consumers From Soaring Energy Prices.
• Dutch Greenhouses Go Dark As Energy Crisis Worsens; Food Inflation Fears Mount For Europe.
• COVID-19 Detention Camps: Are Government Round-Ups Of Resistors In Our Future?
• How Autonomous Weapons Could Be More Destabilizing Than Nukes.
• Housing's On Fire... Literally: Burned-Out Boston Home Selling 'As Is' For $400K.
• Orwell And The Woke.
• US Trade Chief To Give Major Speech Monday Belatedly Unveiling Biden's China Trade Strategy.
• "The Great Reset" Is The Road To Socialism Mises Warned Us About.
• Military Suicides Jump By Alarming 15% - Pentagon Downplays Pandemic's Impact.
• The Streets Of Major US Cities Are Being Flooded With Far More Drugs Than Ever Before.
• Liberal Justice Sotomayor Rejects NYC Teachers' Pro-Choice Vaccine Plea.
• Despite DHS Panic Over 400K Migrants In October, Agency Issues 'No-Arrest' Guidelines.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• Scenes in Australia Now Look Like Dystopian Horror Flick – And Lt. General Promises EVERYONE Will Have First Dose of Vax by Christmas (VIDEO).
• Far Left ‘Eco-Terrorist’ Confirmed To Lead Bureau Of Land Management By Senate Democrats.
• UPDATE: Court Denies Bail to Jeremy Brown Until Next Tuesday – Former Green Beret Was Arrested Thursday After He Earlier Refused FBI Request to Be Informant Plant at Jan. 6 Rallies.
• Dems Stunned In Florida As More Republicans Continue to Register To Vote – Openly Admit Their Policies Don’t Connect with Voters.
• National School Boards Association Begs Biden To Label Outraged Parents “Domestic Terrorists” and Use The Patriot Act Against Them.
• CRAZY: Australian Authorities Show Up to Woman’s Home and Harass Her Over Social Media Posts: “We Have Instructions Because You Have Been Posting Things” – (Video).
• Likely Charges Announced Against Lt. Col. Scheller for Speaking Out Against Military Leaders Who Surrendered to Taliban and Armed them with $80 Billion in US Weapons.

The Epoch Times:

• US Heading Towards New Cold War With Chinese Regime Amid Beijing’s Rising Aggression: Experts.

Covid-19(Data, Maps, Graphs):

• Our World in Data:  New Global Covid-19 Cases(7-day rolling average graphs). New US Covid Hospital Admissions/ICU Admissions/Deaths
  
• FT.com:  Fully Vaccinated by Country(graph). Global Lockdown Stringency Index(map).
• Bloomberg.com:  International Travel Restrictions.  Case Graphs by State.
  
• NYTimes.com:  County Trends and Clusters. Local ICU Occupancy.
  
• Brown School of Public Health:  Covid Severity by State/County(map).  US Hospital Capacity(region).
  
• CovidActNow:  Covid Severity/Infection Rate by Metro Area.
  
• KFF:  US Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity.
  
• Carnegie Mellon: Covid-Like Symptoms in Community. Covid Symptom Searches on Google. Covid-Related Dr.Visits.  Restaurant Visits. Wearing Masks. (graphs)
  
• Safegraph.com:  Commerce Patterns(graphs).