California

“California is a leader when it comes to animal welfare and today that leadership includes banning the sale of fur,” Newsom said in a statement.

Supporters say the bill is necessary to end an inhumane fur trade that raises animals in filthy conditions and slaughters them solely for their coats, often using methods such as electrocution.

“We’ve known from people who’ve gone undercover for years in the fur industry that it is impossible to be assured of humanely raised fur,” said Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Glendale (Los Angeles County), who carried the bill.

Retailers can still sell secondhand fur clothing or decor under the new law. The ban also won’t apply to faux fur, which is generally made from plastics. It also doesn’t apply to leather, cowhides, stuffed animals and the full skin of deer, sheep and goats.

Opponents of the bill, including the Fur Information Council of America, call it government overreach and a step toward animal rights activists banning products like leather and meat.

“This issue is about much more than animal welfare in the fur industry,” Keith Kaplan, a spokesman for the industry lobbying group, said in a statement. “It is about the end of animal use of any kind. Fur today, leather tomorrow, your wool blankets and silk sheets — and meat after that.”

Violators could face a civil fine of $500 or up to $1,000 for repeat violations within one year. Each fur item sold could be treated as a separate violation.

Kitty Block, CEO and president of the Humane Society of the United States, cheered California’s move Saturday morning. She said other states are likely to pass similar bans, which could pressure more clothing brands to use synthetic materials.

“The signing of AB44 underscores the point that today’s consumers simply don’t want wild animals to suffer extreme pain and fear for the sake of fashion,” Block said in a statement.

San Francisco became the first major U.S. city to ban the sale of fur last year, a move that drove at least one retailer to leave the state. Berkeley, Los Angeles and West Hollywood have enacted similar bans.

Newsom signed several other animal rights bills Saturday, including SB313 by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-Logan Heights (San Diego County), which prohibits the use of wild animals such as bears, tigers, elephants and monkeys in a circus. Under the law, only domesticated cats, dogs and horses will be allowed in performances in California.

“We are making a statement to the world that beautiful wild animals like bears and tigers have no place on trapeze wires or jumping through flames,” Newsom said. “Just YouTube the videos showing the cruel way these animals — often stripped from their mothers as babies — are trained to do dangerous tricks. It’s deeply disturbing.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that if the military doesn’t lift the requirement that service members be vaccinated against COVID-19, Republicans will withhold votes from the annual defense authorization bill. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, however, spoke firmly ovr the weekend in support of the mandate to protect the troops’ health. McCarthy, who seeks to be House speaker when Republicans assume control next year, said he talked to President Biden about it a few days ago. “We’re working through what is the national defense bill; we will secure lifting that vaccine mandate on our military. Because what we’re finding is they’re kicking out men and women that have been serving,” McCarthy said on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” He said Biden “worked with me” on the matter.

Pressed on whether the mandate would definitely be lifted, McCarthy replied: “Yes, it will. Otherwise the bill will not move.” White House officials confirmed the president told McCarthy he “would consider” lifting the mandate, but nothing was resolved, the Washington Post reported. A White House spokesperson also stated Biden supports Austin’s recommendation to retain it. Austin, who last year directed all troops get vaccinated or face potential expulsion from the military, told reporters on Saturday, “A million people died in the United States of America,” from the coronavirus. “We lost hundreds in DOD. So this mandate has kept people healthy. … “I support continuation of vaccinating the troops.” Congress is exploring whether to lift the mandate as a concession to win GOP votes for the vital, roughly $800 billion defense bill.

Bay Area wastewater reveals big new surge underway

Surveys of coronavirus levels in Bay Area wastewater suggest that another COVID-19 surge is not only underway but poised to top this summer’s omicron BA.5 wave in terms of the number of people currently infected. While official case numbers show a sharp uptick, they do not capture the true scale of the virus because a majority of people use home tests, the results of which are not reported to county or state public health authorities. State data shows that viral levels in wastewater collected from the Oceanside sewer shed in San Francisco show the virus gene copies per gram of wastewater solids are rising sharply and are already at the same level they were in July near the peak of the summer surge. Samples from the Alameda and Central Contra Costa sewer sheds show a similar spike with a near-vertical rise on the graph between Nov. 1 to Dec. 1.

China sees 2 new virus deaths as government starts pulling back a little on restrictions

China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations, the Associated Press reported. The National Health Commission said one death was reported each in the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan. No information was given about whether the victims had been fully vaccinated. China, is the last major country trying to stop coronavirus transmission completely through quarantines, lockdowns and mass testing. Concerns over vaccination rates are believed to figure prominently in the ruling Communist Party’s determination to stick to its hard-line strategy. While nine in 10 Chinese have been vaccinated, only 66% of people over 80 have gotten one shot while 40% have received a booster, according to the commission. It said 86% of people over 60 are vaccinated.

Soccer legend infected, family says

Brazilian soccer great Pelé, three-time World Cup winner, has been hospitalized since Tuesday to treat a respiratory infection aggravated by COVID-19, two of his daughters and one grandson said. They added that the 82-year-old is under no imminent risk of death. Kely and Flavia Nascimento and Arthur Arantes do Nascimento said in an interview aired Sunday night that Pelé, who is also undergoing chemotherapy in his fight against cancer, is expected to leave the hospital in Sao Paulo once he fully recovers from the respiratory infection. The hospital said Saturday that Pelé is responding well to treatment for the infection and his health condition had not worsened over the previous 24 hours. The hospital did not issue any statements on the former footballer’s health Sunday.

California urges families to test kids before they return to school after winter break

California is providing free at-home COVID-19 tests to K-12 schools in California to be used before returning from winter break. State health and education officials urge parents to contact their kids’ schools to learn about the #OTCCOVID19Testing program, and to go to https://schools.covid19.ca.gov . Socializing and family gatherings inside during the cold winter break days pose a higher risk for COVID-19 transmission, especially with new variants circulating that are substantially resistent to vaccines.

Basketball star Jeremy Lin fined in China over criticisms of quarantine facilities

Former NBA star Jeremy Lin, who plays for a Chinese team, was fined 10,000 yuan ($1,400) for criticizing coronavirus quarantine facilities, China’s professional league and a news report said, as the government tries to stop protests against anti-virus controls that are among the world’s most stringent. The Shanghai news outlet The Paper reported Lin posted a video complaining about hotel workout facilities ahead of games in Zhuji, a city south of Shanghai. “Can you believe this is a weight room?” Lin was quoted as saying. “What kind of garbage is this?” The Paper said the video was deleted after “the situation was clarified” that the hotel was only for a brief stay required by regulations. Lin made “inappropriate remarks about quarantine hotel-related facilities” where his team stayed last week ahead of a game, the China Basketball Association announced. It said that “caused adverse effects on the league and the competition area.”

The ruling Communist Party is trying to crush criticism of the human cost and disruption of its “zero COVID” strategy, which has confined millions of people to their homes. Protesters have been detained and photos and videos of events deleted from Chinese social media.

More than 4 in 10 of U.S. adults infected but nearly half didn’t know it

About 42% of people in the U.S. have antibodies indicating previous coronavirus infection, according to a study published Friday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. But of these individuals, 44% said they never had COVID-19, suggesting a wide prevalence of asymptomatic infection.