There is now a $10K reward posted by US Marshalls for information leading to the arrest of the parents. Also, as an aside, the parents' lawyers, Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman, specialize in the defense of accused rapists and child molesters; their "Results" page brags about getting rapists and pedophiles off with just probation. Shannon Smith was less successful when she represented Larry Nasser, despite basically calling many of the victims liars in a public interview, claiming he couldn't possibly have molested that many girls.

Supposedly LE had the parents under surveillance at the motel where they were staying Thursday night, but some kind of mix up between agencies allowed the parents to slip out of the hotel overnight without being seen. They withdrew $4000 from an ATM in Rochester Hills, around 15 miles north of Oxford, Friday morning and turned off their cell phones, which LE had been using to track them. Oh, and their lawyer, who had released a statement claiming they were not on the run and planned to turn themselves in, admitted she hadn't actually talked to them, doesn't know where they are, and has not been able to reach them. Sheriff says the couple had not made any arrangement to surrender and are currently considered fugitives.

No, there's no advantage in terms of efficacy in choosing Pfizer over Moderna. The only advantage might be if you had a really bad reaction to Moderna and wanted the lower dose of Pfizer (30 µg vs 50). Personally, if I were eligible for a "3rd dose" (100 µg) of Moderna, I'd go with that unless I had a severe reaction to the first shots.

https://www.findlaw.com/state/michigan-law/michigan-involuntary-manslaughter-law.html Under MI Penal Code 750.321, the maximum punishment for involuntary manslaughter, aka criminally negligent homicide, is 15 yrs in prison, a fine of $7500., and restitution to the victim's family.

It should be noted that although AZ + Moderna resulted in a larger percent increase in antibodies compared to Pfizer + Moderna, that is due to the fact that Pfizer recipients started out with antibody levels that were 3-4 times higher than AZ recipients even before the boosters. Tables 5 through 10 in the Lancet article, which cover the various vaccine/booster combinations in different cohorts, show that Pfizer + Moderna results in the highest level of antibodies at 28 days post-boost, generally followed by Pfizer + Pfizer, and then AZ + Moderna. Some examples comparing the level of anti-spike IgG, ELU/mL, in the matched/unboosted control group vs boosted participants at 28 days: Table 10 / Cohort C: AZ + Moderna 600 ---> 23,771 Pfizer + Pfizer 2094 ---> 27,498, Pfizer + Moderna 2094 ---> 30,654 Table 7 / Cohort B AZ + Moderna 852 ---> 31.111, Pfizer + Moderna 3029 ---> 33,768.

This is a good summary of the timeline: Here's a timeline of how the events unfolded, according to the prosecutor: Nov. 26: Ethan Crumbley's father, James Crumbley, purchased a gun with his son present. On or about Nov. 26: Ethan Crumbley posted photos of a semi-automatic gun on social media with a caption: “Just got my new beauty today. SIG SAUER 9mm.” On or about Nov. 27: Jennifer Crumbley, Ethan Crumbley's mother, made a social media post that read, “mom and son day testing out his new Christmas present.” Nov. 29: A teacher at Oxford High School observed Ethan searching for ammunition on his phone and reported that information to school officials. His parents did not reply when the school attempted to contact them. Later, Jennifer Crumbley exchanged texts with Ethan stating, “LOL I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.” Nov. 30: On the morning of the shooting, Ethan’s teacher came across a note that “alarmed her to the point that she took a picture of it on her cell phone.” The note contained “a drawing of a semiautomatic handgun pointing at the words ‘the thoughts won’t stop. help me.’" Also included in the note was a drawing of a bullet with “blood everywhere” written above it. Between the gun and the bullet is a drawing of a person who appears to have been shot twice and bleeding with a laughing emoji under it. The note also has “my life is useless” and “the world is dead” scrawled on it. The parents were “immediately summoned to the school." A school counselor removed Ethan from class with his backpack and obtained the note, but the drawings of the gun, bloody figure and writings were all “altered.” At the meeting with school officials, his parents were shown the drawing and were told they had to submit their son to counseling within 48 hours. His parents did not ask the whereabouts of the gun and did not suggest to inspect his backpack for the gun which he had with him, according to McDonald. His parents “resisted” the idea of taking Ethan out of school and left without him.

I've seen reports that they not only had a school resource officer, they also two private security guards on site. ETA: the resource officer, along with a backup, was the one that arrested Ethan: "Like many schools across the country, Oxford High School has a police officer assigned to patrol its halls and campus. On Tuesday, according to a law enforcement official, that deputy and a responding deputy disarmed and arrested a 15-year-old student who is accused of killing three fellow students and wounding eight others, including a teacher." https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/11/30/oxford-high-shooting-police-school-liaison-officer/8813723002/

A teacher reported Ethan to the office on Monday due to a "disturbing search history" and the office called his parents. In response, his mother texted him: “LOL I’m not mad at you, next time just don’t get caught.” When his mother heard a report of the shooting she instantly knew it was him and texted "Don’t do it, Ethan.” After his father heard about the shooting, he called to report the missing gun, which had been kept in an unlocked drawer. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/michigan-school-shooting-ethan-crumbley-latest-b1968386.html

The prosecutor, Karen McDonald, referred to "an additional piece of evidence that hasn’t been released yet” and added “I can assure you it was troubling, it was disturbing, and unfortunately he was allowed to go back to class." There are reports that he was openly threatening to kill teachers and students that day, which is why his parents were called in, and not only was he allowed to go back to class, it seems that they didn't check even his backpack or locker to look for a weapon???

So in South Africa omicron cases are doubling every 3.5-5 days, it's outcompeting Delta, and it seems to be 3x more infectious than Delta in a population where an estimated 80+% have already had a previous infection. "In other words, there seems to be in less in the way (like reduced immunity protection or easier/faster access into cells) for Omicron than for Delta." That is just horrifying.

I'm so sorry! I hope everyone recovers quickly. (((hugs)))

It's his real account, it includes photos of himself, his wife, and Ethan going back to 2011, and it lists an accurate job and location history. It's where the media are getting all the photos of Ethan as a kid.

Her husband linked to the blog post when she first wrote it:

Police say they have recovered two cell phone videos and a diary in which Ethan talked about his plans to shoot up the school and murder students. The prosecutor says they are also considering charges against the parents. Ironically, the shooter's mother wrote a blog post a few years ago in which she thanked the previous president for protecting her right to bear arms and she complained about schools where "kids come from illegal immigrant parents. Most of their parents are locked up. They don’t care about learning and threaten to kill [the teacher] for caring about their grades." She signed the post "A hard working Middle Class Law Abiding Citizen who is sick of getting f***ed in the ass and would rather be grabbed by the pussy." Charming.

I really hope that Pfizer's pill (Paxlovid) gets approved quickly, since it's significantly more effective and also works in a totally different way that doesn't involve purposely causing genetic errors in viral replication.

That looks so pretty! I saw those little planters of narcissus at TJ's this morning and almost bought one, but I already had a huge herb planter (rosemary, thyme, and sage) in my cart and a ton of other stuff and I didn't get it — but it looks so pretty on your mantel I might have to go back and get one. I'm so happy for you that your kiddo is coming home early — mine has his last final on the very last day, so he won't be home until the 19th, which is much later than last year. I'm a bit bummed about that, I can't wait to spoil him with yummy food!

If you have an REI near you, they have tons of great travel-friendly clothes that are lightweight, easy to hand wash, and dry quickly. My kids and I have done many 2-3 week European trips with carry-on only, with pants and tee shirts from REI (and Keen sandals). A couple of other suggestions that worked really well for me: I had two very lightweight, almost gauzy long sleeved shirts, one was a v-neck tunic in a simple print that went with everything and the other was a plain white button-front blouse in a super loose linen-like weave. They were great to throw on over a tee shirt to cover arms when out in the sun for a long time, but they didn't add any weight or make me too hot. My other suggestion is a large scarf or shawl in a very open, gauzy cotton-linen blend that I could wear around my neck, throw over my shoulders for a little more warmth, cover my head when visiting churches or mosques, etc. It was also handy for long plane rides because I could put it over my head and face and have a little privacy while sleeping without it affecting my breathing.

If you don't want to go totally no contact at this point, then this is what I would do: I would write her a letter stating that you will not stand for her trying to blame your sister, that you and your sister are standing together on this and will no longer allow her to triangulate and and talk behind your backs, that from now on any information she says to one of you will be shared with the other, and state in the letter that your sister is also getting a copy of the letter. If she wants to have any kind of relationship with you and your kids, those are the rules, and if she breaks them you will go no contact. I totally get the advice to just immediately cut her out, but I think if you do that she will try to manipulate and guilt your sister into persuading you to resume contact, and that's a terrible position for your sister to be in, especially since none of this is her fault to begin with. So if I were in your shoes I would be willing to give your mother ONE shot at respecting your boundaries, for your sister's sake, before invoking the nuclear option. Right now you have something she desperately wants and can't get with her usual tricks, so you have more leverage and power than you have probably ever had before. As long as you can be really truly FIRM about enforcing boundaries, then it could work to have limited contact. But if you feel like you will have a hard time standing up to her and enforcing boundaries, then you would probably be better off just cutting all contact. Whatever you do, I hope you will invite your sister to have Christmas with your family. (((hugs)))

I've gotten some pretty good deals this week (all online). I got DS two pairs of his favorite Levis for 40% off, and got him some tee shirts, a flannel shirt, and a nice hoodie from Lands End that were 40-50% off. My favorite Lands End tee shirts (100% cotton, 3/4 sleeve, tunic length) were on sale for $8.72, so I grabbed 3 of them plus a pair of Starfish pants that were 50% off. (I never buy anything from Lands End without a coupon for at least 40% off, but the price on those tee shirts is less than half of what I normally pay even with a coupon.) I also got some nice candles and diffusers for 30% off from Anthropologie.

Pfizer says they are already testing their vaccine against omicron, and they should have an answer in about 2 weeks as to how effective it is. Then it would take 6 weeks to tweak the vaccine if necessary, and 100 days after that to get it manufactured and shipped. The original statement from Pfizer was in an interview with the FInancial Times, which is behind a paywall so I haven't read it myself, but I'm seeing the comments repeated by other sources.

Yeah, this one looks seriously scary. It also seems to have picked up a tiny fragment of human RNA??? Virologist Tom Peacock had a thread on it, and he seemed pretty concerned about the extreme number of mutations, many of which are in bad places, although he didn't think that the human RNA bit was particularly concerning and said that it had happened with SARS as well. But it sure sounds creepy! And no surprise that antivaxers were already commenting on that thread that this was caused by "leaky vaccines" and the only solution is to stop vaxing and allow people to develop "natural immunity." Except that the vax rate in South Africa is in the low 20s, and there are estimates based on excess deaths suggesting that as many as 80% of the population have already been infected — yet it's spreading quite rapidly in a population where most people have the "natural" immunity that antivaxers tout as the solution. And several experts have said that the extremely high number of mutations suggest that omicron evolved in a single individual whose immune system just could not kick it.