7 ways men live without working in America

You've heard people bemoaning this "labor participation rate," which is simply the number of working-age men (usually counted as ages 16 to 64) not working or not looking for work, as a percentage of the overall labor force. It's true that the pandemic, which of course produced a number of factors that made working more difficult never mind dangerous, pushed the labor participation rate to a record low. In fact, the participation rate for men peaked at 87.4% in October 1949 and has been dropping steadily ever since.

Footage shows new details after NYC restaurant incident over proof of vaccination

Three tourists were arrested after allegedly assaulting a New York City restaurant hostess when she asked for proof of their vaccination status before they could be seated indoors, the New York Times reports. The latest: On Saturday, lawyers for the restaurant and the three women revealed that the tourists had in fact shown proof of vaccination and been allowed into Carmine's Italian restaurant, according to the Times. Driving the news: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order mandating proof of vaccination to participate in indoor activities, including visiting gyms and restaurants.

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  Video shows restaurant hostess being assaulted over NYC vaccine requirement

  WABC – NY
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  NYC hostess allegedly punched after asking customers for proof of COVID vaccine required by city

  USA TODAY

McConaughey leads Abbott in Texas poll as O'Rourke inches closer

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) may be feeling the pressure, the latest poll from The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler shows. Abbott's approval rating has dropped to 45 percent in the aftermath of controversial legislation such as a ban on mask mandates amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a ban on most abortions after six weeks. It's far too early to tell how things will play out in next year's election, but two well-known potential candidates look like they could give Abbott a serious run if they do wind up entering the race.

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  Gov. Abbott signs Texas border security bill

  Associated Press Videos
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  Beto Plans to Challenge Greg Abbott in Run for Texas Governor, Report Says

  Rolling Stone

Taiwan threatens to take China to WTO in new spat over fruit

TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) -Taiwan threatened to take China to the World Trade Organization on Sunday after Beijing said it would suspend sugar apple and wax apple imports from the island on pest concerns, in the latest spat between the two over fruit. Relations between Taipei and Beijing, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, are at their lowest in decades, with China increasing political and military pressure to get the island to accept its sovereignty. China's customs administration said it had repeatedly detected pests called "Planococcus minor" in sugar apples, also known as sweetsops or custard apples, and wax apples from Taiwan.

Cave created by underground river hits Tennessee market for $4.5 million. Look inside

This popular Tennessee attraction is decked out in caves that have been around for millions of years — and it could be yours. Bristol Caverns is for sale for $4.5 million by Southeastern Properties, according to the listing. The impressive structure was carved out by an underground river 200 million to 400 million years ago, according to Bristol Caverns.

Right-Wing Conspiracy Rally Collapses Under Weight of Right-Wing Conspiracies

A rally for supporters of the “Big Lie” is looking like a big flop. Reports from the start of the “Justice for J6” rally Saturday show an event much smaller than the January 6th Capitol insurrection. Although Capitol Police expected as many as 1,000 attendees, and organizers obtained permits for a group of 700, the final turnout looks like it will be much lower, according to reports on the ground.

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  Police warn of threats ahead of right-wing rally at US Capitol

  BBC
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  Police outnumber protesters at right-wing Capitol rally

  BBC

Three shot as family fight over gifts at Pa. baby shower erupts into gunfire

Three people were shot on Saturday during a baby shower in Pennsylvania after a fight about gifts, police said. Authorities discovered it was “not an active shooter situation but rather an isolated family incident during a baby shower,” according to a statement city police made on Facebook. Police believe a family argument broke at the baby shower over presents, turning physical before the suspect took out a semi-automatic handgun and began shooting.

Big gap between Pfizer, Moderna vaccines seen for preventing COVID hospitalizations

Amid persistent concerns that the protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines may be waning, a report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that America's workhorse shot is significantly less effective at preventing severe cases of disease over the long term than many experts had realized. Data collected from 18 states between March and August suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduces the risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19 by 91% in the first four months after receiving the second dose. Beyond 120 days, however, that vaccine efficacy drops to 77%.

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  U.S. administers about 384 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

  Reuters
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  Pfizer and Moderna have revealed the way they're tracking how long vaccine protection lasts

  Business Insider

St. Louis woman after eviction: 'I have no idea' what to do

The knock on the door that Kristen Bigogno has long dreaded finally arrived Friday — two St. Louis deputies came to evict her, joined by a couple of other men there to change the locks on the apartment. The eviction was months in the making, yet it felt sudden to Bigogno. The judgment against her was last winter, but thanks to a national moratorium, she got a reprieve that ended with a Supreme Court ruling last month.

Fisherman’s sonar spots mysterious object in Carolinas lake. Here’s what divers found

A fisherman's sonar emitted a “strange signal” of a mysterious object in Lake Wylie, prompting a deep-water search by divers from the York County, S.C., Sheriff's Office. What turned up was neither the world's largest fish nor a creature from the murky depths that no one had seen before. The car was about 50 feet off shore and 20 feet deep, Sheriff's Office spokesman Trent Faris said.

Kellyanne Conway told Trump that he didn't have 'swagger' in 2020 and said his campaign resembled Hillary Clinton's 2016 bid: book

Kellyanne Conway was brutally honest with Trump about his 2020 campaign missteps, per a new book. "What you didn't have this time was the hunger and the swagger," she said of Trump's 2020 run. During the summer phone call, Conway reportedly told Trump to stop focusing on election grievances.

Aluminum wrap used to protect homes in California wildfires

Martin Diky said he panicked as a huge wildfire started racing down a slope toward his wooden house near Lake Tahoe. The material that can withstand intensive heat for short periods resembles tin foil from the kitchen drawer but is modeled after the tent-like shelters that wildland firefighters use as a last resort to protect themselves when trapped by flames. Diky, who lives most of the time in the San Francisco Bay Area, bought $6,000 worth of wrapping from Firezat Inc. in San Diego, enough to cover his 1,400-square-foot (130-square-meter) second home on the edge of the small California community of Meyers.

Classic Car Restorer Indicted On Fraud Charges

The owner of West Coast Chassis LLC is facing some serious accusations. A Fresno businessman offering classic car restoration services to the community under the name West Coast Chassis LLC was recently indicted on fraud charges, announced U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott recently. Jeffrey Scott Hodges, who currently lives in Irvine, California, was charged with 22 federal charges of both wire fraud and money laundering.

Gabby Petito told police her 'downer' fiancé didn't think she could make it as a travel influencer, according to bodycam footage

About a month before Gabby Petito was reported missing, she was questioned by police. After Petito and her boyfriend were pulled over, she told officers he was a "downer." Petito said he didn't believe she could start a career as a travel blogger.

Man who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones sentenced to 12 years in prison

A US district court has sentenced a man who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones to 12 years in prison. Muhammad Fahd continued the seven-year scheme to defraud the company even after learning of an investigation against him, according to the Department of Justice. At Fahd's sentencing hearing, Judge Robert S. Lasnik said he committed a “terrible cybercrime over an extended period,” with AT&T said to have lost $201.5 million as a result.

The Stock Market Dropped Because There’s Something Scarier Than Taxes, Tapers, and Contagion

Wall Street has found something scarier than tapering, taxes, and China Evergrande Group combined. The reasons for a pullback are many: The stock market has rallied for too long and has gone up too smoothly, the Federal Reserve is about to remove the bond buying that has helped prop markets up, taxes are ready to rise, economic data are slowing. For the S&P 500, it was the first close since June 18 below its 50-day moving average—a technical measure of the previous 50 days' closes that often ends up acting as support or resistance and that currently sits at 4436.35.

Even Steve Bannon Looks Skeptical About Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Latest Claim

In her first year as a member of the House, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has said a lot of outrageous things. Greene, who has said she believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory but not in the effectiveness of vaccines, was being interviewed on Bannon's “Real America's Voice” podcast when she told the former Trump White House strategist: “I have been the most effective member of Congress this session.” Greene, however, has been unable to do much congressional work since February, when she was stripped of her committee assignments because of her support for racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, and for advocating the execution prominent Democrats.

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  Watch Steve Bannon’s Epic Side-Eye at Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Claim She’s ‘Most Effective Member of Congress’

  The Wrap
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  Marjorie Taylor Greene calls to shut down the government in wild Steve Bannon interview

  The Independent

Suspect in deaths of 4 found in SUV surrenders in Arizona

A suspect in the shooting deaths of four Minnesotans who were found in an abandoned SUV in Wisconsin surrendered to authorities in Arizona on Friday. Dunn County Sheriff Kevin Bygd said in a statement that Antoine Darnique Suggs, 38, turned himself in to police in Gilbert, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb. He said Suggs had been living in the Phoenix area recently before traveling to Minnesota in the last couple of weeks.

We're watching the implosion of the Supreme Court in real time

The reputation of the Supreme Court is sinking. After decisions like the Texas abortion case, the impartiality of the Court is in doubt. Michael Gordon is a longtime Democratic strategist, a former spokesman for the Justice Department, and the principal for the strategic-communications firm Group Gordon.

Mali says it can seek military help from anyone, despite French concern

Mali has the right to seek military support from whoever it wants, the prime minister said, after France and other foreign powers expressed alarm at a report that Bamako was approaching Russian mercenaries for assistance. Prime Minister Choguel Maiga did not confirm whether the government was in talks with any other party in his comments that were released by a Malian news site, but diplomatic and security sources have told Reuters Mali's government was close to a deal with a private Russian military contractor. The sources said Russia's the Wagner Group would supply mercenaries to train Mali's military and protect senior officials, based on the deal being negotiated.

FBI says fortune seized in Beverly Hills raid was criminals' loot. Owners say: Where's the proof?

Ruiz is one of roughly 800 people whose money and valuables the FBI seized from safe deposit boxes they rented at the U.S. Private Vaults store in a strip mall on Olympic Boulevard. Federal agents had suspected for years that criminals were stashing loot there, and they assert that's exactly what they found. The government is trying to confiscate $86 million in cash and a stockpile of jewelry, rare coins and precious metals taken from about half of the boxes.

The anti-vaxxers who 'gaslight' medics are destroying the patient-doctor relationship in America, experts warn

A hotline for physicians is seeing a surge in calls as many consider quitting the profession. One emergency room doctor from Indiana told Insider he's feeling increasingly "demoralized." Anti-vaxxers who "gaslight" medics are destroying the patient and doctor relationship in America and pushing healthcare professionals to the brink of burnout, a mental health expert told Insider.

The GoPro-ification of the iPhone

This week, we're talking about Apple and the company 1,600 times smaller than it that's facing similar product problems. If you're reading this on the TechCrunch site, you can get this in your inbox from the newsletter page, and follow my tweets @lucasmtny the big thing When you get deep enough into the tech industry, it's harder to look at things with a consumer's set of eyes. I've felt that way more and more after six years watching Apple events as a TechCrunch reporter, but sometimes memes from random Twitter accounts help me find the consumer truth I'm looking for.