Pandemic, Week 60 ("I'm just a boy with a new haircut")

This week Facebook decided that Donald Trump would remain temporarily banned from the platform. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is backing a challenge to the Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney after she published an op-ed in the Washington Post criticizing Trump's election fraud claims and his culpability in the January 6th insurrection. The May jobs report found that employment increased substantially less than expected in April, prompting GOP governors to slash unemployment payments to force more Americans to return to work. A sixth grade girl shot two students and a staff member at an Idaho middle school. A 23-ton rocket crashed into ocean by the Maldives, fueling criticism of the Chinese government and its failure to plan for re-entry of space debris. Elon Musk hosted Saturday Night Live.

The world hit 158.4 million COVID cases and 3.3 million deaths this week, of which the US accounted for 33.5 million cases and 596,000 deaths. As cases rise in India and other countries, President Biden announced his support for suspending patents on the vaccines. Here in the US, 46 percent of the population has received at least one dose and 34 percent are fully vaccinated. The FDA is expected to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 12-15 imminently (we've already signed Owen up for a wait list).

Since Allen and I are now 2 weeks out from our second shots, I convinced him that all I really wanted for my birthday was for us to both get a professional haircuts (Allen's first in 15 months). I also asked that he trim his beard – which while not quite at the millennial ironic stage, had long passed the "I am proud to be seen in public with you" phase. It looked so good, that I decide Owen was also overdue and got him cleaned up over the weekend. (I'm hoping to pencil Nora in soon.) Other than that, the kids went to school (sometimes), we worked from home (always), we dined at a real restaurant (outside), and on Saturday we headed up to Katherine's for some chill time (and a walk past "Fawcett's Mill") before the onslaught of Mother's Day and birthday celebrations.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)