Following Netflix’s docu-series Tiger King instant rise to viral fame, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister saw an opportunity to close the 20-year-old cold case surrounding the mysterious disappearance of Carole Baskin‘s husband Jack “Don” Lewis. The couple were prominently featured on the show, which gave Chronister hope that the renewed attention on Baskin and Lewis might jar some memories, so he tweeted out a request for new leads that could finally put the case to bed.
While Chronister’s request worked and his department has received a steady barrage of tips, not all of them have been helpful. In a surprisingly lengthy interview with Vulture, the Florida sheriff shoots down theories, sheds light on the “complicated” lives of the show’s subjects, and most importantly, he drills down on a key point that makes Lewis’ disappearance seem very suspicious:
And then there’s the will. I know that was a big point of contention: that the will was forged. Certainly, like you and everyone else, I am suspect of the will. I’ve never heard, in my 52 years of life or in my 28 years in law enforcement, of anyone creating a will that stated “if I’m missing, or kidnapped, please leave the bulk of my wealth to this individual.” So a lot of that was suspect. And then we had someone who worked for Carole who said, “Yes, I witnessed all the signatures.”
And then, later on, she recanted her statement.
As Chronister further explains, there are two things about the will that are huge red flags: Lewis’ kids were written out of it, and it specifically predicts going missing or being kidnapped. “I’ve heard of wealthy people wanting to get away or disappear,” Chronister said. “But I’ve never heard of one disappearing and not taking their money with them. Who can forecast that they might disappear?”
When it comes to the new leads that have become coming in, Chronister notes that, so far, none of the tips have been viable. In fact, most of them are just people who watched Tiger King and formed their own theories from the documentary, but Chronister is still encouraging his detectives to hear them out:
I’ve told my detectives not to get upset, because someone may call and cause us to look at this case from a different lens, and maybe that will help us solve the case. I certainly don’t discount it. But you saw the documentary, where everyone believed that he was buried under the septic tank. Well, that septic tank wasn’t put in until years after his disappearance. That was a dead end. There something about the meat grinders, and people asked, “Why didn’t you get DNA from the meat grinders?” Well, the meat grinders where removed. They stopped using them weeks before his disappearance. But people watching the documentary don’t know a lot of the information we’ve already investigated.
According to Chronister, detectives investigated Lewis’ disappearance so thoroughly that they even flew down to Costa Rica to investigate if he really did flee the country, but due to Lewis’ shady connections, they were met with obstacles at every turn and returned with nothing but conflicting stories. As for whether all of this makes Baskin a main subject, Chronister says she always has been cooperative and makes no such accusation. He does note, however, that some of her details have never been corroborated including Lewis’ allegedly deteriorating mental health or the night that he supposedly told her he was leaving for Costa Rica before vanishing.
It’s a bad time for, y’know, existence, but a good time to be a John Mulaney fan.
On Thursday (tonight!) at 7 p.m. EST, he’s getting the Sack Lunch Bunch back together. “Me & the Sack Lunch Bunch invite you to our LIVE REWATCH PARTY,” he tweeted. “Comedy, noodles, Jake Gyllenhaal, a song about my Nana’s bf that got me in trouble with my family. And a calm discussion of anxiety.” Even if Mr. Music doesn’t drop by, because he’s too busy doing handstands for Tom Holland, at least we’ll get to listen to “I Saw a White Lady Standing on the Street Just Sobbing (And I Think About It Once a Week)” again. (You’re welcome to sob, white lady, but please, do it in your apartment.)
Mulaney also revealed that he and Nick Kroll have recorded a podcast as Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland, the Steely Dan of Upper West Side Jews, and it’s coming out on April 3 (tomorrow!). As someone who has watched the Oh, Hello special on Netflix in its entirety three times, and thinks about how Gil Faizon’s “real name” is Gil Cosby weekly, this is exciting news. “She was the People’s Princess and they were two men who hung out at Duane Reade. But now worlds have collided. From the stars of Oh Hello on Broadway and the video taped version of Oh, Hello on Broadway comes a podcast on the life and death of Princess Diana,” the podcast description reads. There’s also an audio trailer, with a “Sarah Koenig–style audio producer [reading] a ‘Xerox copy of a fax’ sent to her by Gil and George,” according to Vulture. Here’s what it says:
Oh, hello.
It’s George and Gil, your favorite guys in the world and also New York, which is an awesome city, but not as good as it used to be, because of Mayor de Blasio and the Knicks, who stink. We are in mandatory self-quarantine right now, but we think what the world needs is a podcast from us, George and Gil: the bad boys of broadcast. It’s time we finish and air this podcast. The very fact that we have content banked means we are miles ahead of the competition. Even a half-finished podcast that almost ruined our friendship is more than you dunces have out there in nobodyville. We’re gonna win the quarantine. And one last thing: you’re welcome.
Feel free to eat a plain plate of noodles while watching John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch, as long as you save room for a tuna sandwich during the Oh, Hello podcast.
Me & the Sack Lunch Bunch invite you to our LIVE REWATCH PARTY Thursday April 2 7 PM EST. Comedy, noodles, Jake Gyllenhaal, a song about my Nana’s bf that got me in trouble with my family. And a calm discussion of anxiety. #SackLunchWatch
With COVID-19 aka the coronavirus impacting the entire world, thousands of people have been forced to work from home or in many cases stop working altogether. Every industry has been impacted by this and that includes the world of video games. Many games have managed to release despite the current state of the world, but it has not come without its difficulties. Games such as Ring Fit are currently sold out everywhere and no one is sure when you’ll be able to get it again.
With making video games becoming more difficult and time-consuming for developers, there’s a growing sense that delays for titles are on the way. After all, it’s hard to finish making a game when the entire company is forced to a work from home status and others are being forced to let go of employees due to the current economic situation. One highly anticipated game has already been delayed. The Last of Us 2, already delayed once, was officially delayed again on Tuesday when Sony announced that the current “global crisis” is preventing them from giving fans the launch they deserve.
Update: SIE has made the difficult decision to delay the launch of The Last of Us Part II and Marvel’s Iron Man VR until further notice. Logistically, the global crisis is preventing us from providing the launch experience our players deserve.
Game developer Naughty Dog shortly followed up with a statement of their own. They stated that while the game is pretty close to completion there are some logistical issues that would make selling the game right now difficult. Most likely on the physical disc side.
It was only a matter of time before games started being delayed due to the effects of coronavirus. It’s disappointing that The Last of Us 2 can’t come out on time, but hopefully, this means that when everything has finally calmed down it can release to a world more ready for a massive release.
Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the US is now facing an acute shortage of surgical masks. Though Americans have been urged to stay at home in order to “flatten the curve” of infections and give hospitals and healthcare workers a break, ER rooms are still seeing an increasing number of cases. Many musicians have stepped up to the plate to help out healthcare workers amid the pandemic. Lizzo recently offered free lunch to several hospitals throughout the country. Future started a campaign to donate masks to hospitals. Now, DJ Khaled is following suit.
The producer and his philanthropic foundation We The Best is partnering with Direct Relief and Simplehuman to donate necessary supplies to hospitals and healthcare workers. With the partnership, over 10,000 masks will be donated to healthcare workers in Miami and New York along with PPE (personal protective equipment) kits and latex gloves. According to Direct Relief’s website, the organization works within “the U.S. and internationally to equip doctors and nurses with life-saving medical resources to care for the world’s most vulnerable people.”
Khaled’s partnership with Simplehuman will supply hands-free soap dispensers to places in need like hospitals, and other community-based organizations. The recipients of the soap dispensers will be nominated by community members through their website.
Check out DJ Khaled’s partnership announcement above.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Welcome to UPROXX Sessions, Uproxx’s new performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Just as we put our stamp of approval on superstars-in-the-making like Chika, D Smoke, Guapdad 4000, Roddy Ricch, and more with The RX, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
UPROXX Sessions is performed on the set we call “The Bathroom,” with artists curated by one of LA’s most respected warehouse party promoters, Ham On Everything. Ham On Everything is known for curating the most cutting edge underground talent and showcasing them in the most authentic setting — that’s exactly what we are doing with Sessions. Creative direction is handled by Willo Perron and Associates and painter/designer Julian Gross, who previously collaborated with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
For our inaugural episode of Sessions, we tapped Compton, California native 1TakeJay to come through and shut up some haters with a fiery performance of the song “F*cked Up,” from his 2019 mixtape, G.O.A.T. If Jay’s name looks familiar, it should; the 24-year-old’s voice is the first one you heard when you hit play on Mustard’s Perfect Ten. 1TakeJay kicked off the album with a gut-busting performance on “Intro,” showing off his witty humor and swaggering West Coast flow — the same tools he employs throughout G.O.A.T. to make it one of the more entertaining tapes from hip-hop’s next generation of stars.
Watch 1TakeJay’s all-out performance of “F*cked Up” above.
There’s no disputing that sheltering in place and quarantining yourself from the rest of the world (while safe and effective and absolutely the right move right now) can be downright boring. That’s why it’s important to make time for activities that keep you entertained and add a little normalcy to a very hectic, strange period in your life.
In our opinion, one of the best ways to at least feel like everything is normal is to have taco night. That’s right, taco night. Hard or soft shells, beef or Beyond Meat, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, and whatever else you typically add to your taco. Be a maximalist. Go wild. Double the cheese you brilliant, beautiful bastard.
If we’re really trying for the illusion of a regular night, we have to pair our tacos with tequila or mezcal. But picking the right bottle to enjoy at home requires a little expert advice — especially if you want to hit the sweet spot between buget, flavor, and mixability. That’s why we decided to ask the pros to tell us the one tequila they’d bring into quarantine.
I like to spread the gospel of drinking agave spirits straight, but if I really needed to, and if no one knew, and if no one was around to judge, I would totally drink Tapatio 110. It’s a kick to the teeth and really showcases what a strong tequila can be.
Espolon Blanco. It’s never let me down. I find that a lot of people try to hide the tequila in their margaritas. The subtle vegetal notes really keep the tequila the star of the show — as it should be.
Fuentaseca tequila is doing some very daring and risky things with aging tequila. Where most tequilas are un-aged or rested, their oldest tequila is aged for 21 years. They had to practically reinvent the whole approach to aging tequila and it results in something truly unique and special.
Casa Dragones Blanco. I really like things produced in small batches. The reason why I like it is that they are very meticulous with their processes and every bottle has a well-defined flavor of Agave. I also like that every bottle is numbered and signed by hand, which makes it special and personal.
If I only had to pick one, it would be La Gritona Reposado. I love this brand because it’s a small batch, pure and clean tequila at a great price point.
I wish more people knew about VIVA XXXII Tequila. They produce a wonderful product and do a lot of philanthropic work as well — donating 10% of all net proceeds to animal abuse prevention charities. Beyond that, their entry-level Joven tequila is blended with extra Anejo tequila and then filtered for its clear color making their value in the “Blanco”/”Joven” category untouchable.
We all know Don Julio blanco, reposado, and anejo, but the Don Julio 70 clear anejo is the bomb diggity. In a signature square bottle and celebrating 70 years of Don Julio Gonzalez and their heritage, its notes of white chocolate and hazelnut will take your breath away. Pour it neat, let it sit for two minutes, and enjoy.
Maestro Dobel Diamante. The versatility Dobel have is incredible. From a classic Margarita all the way to an Old Fashioned. It’s an aged tequila that has been filtered to come out clear. It’s a blend of anejo, reposado, and extra anejo.
I think it would be a great idea to spend the day showing our love by supporting a community in need. Los Vecinos Mezcal is a small production Mezcal made from Espadin by ten families of mezcaleros in a co-op in Oaxaca. The distillery is run by Carmen Villareal who has committed to invest in the local community to provide jobs and opportunities through the production of her Mezcal.
Profits from the Mezcal go toward building women’s shelters for victims of domestic violence.
Jose Cuervo Gold
Abraham Millett, head bartender at Plunge Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Okay, so the reason Margarita’s exist is because the quality of tequila back when they were invented was awful, it just doesn’t matter what you use so long as you mix it right. That being said, you can’t lose with Cuervo.
Del Maguey Vida Mezcal
Jill Bulmash, mixologist at Monk’s Flask in Asheville, North Carolina
Can I say mezcal? Because I’d go with mezcal. Del Maguey Vida is savory, smoky, and is so perfect in a margarita that you may never go back to tequila again.
Previously on the Best and Worst of NXT: Matches originally scheduled for NXT TakeOver Tampa Bay were moved to the weekly TV show for a sort of NXT TakeOver: In Your House, and Triple H moderated an argument between his Garbage Sons.
And now, the Best and Worst of WWE NXT for April 1, 2020.
Worst: [Vague Gestures]
Thought NXT with no TakeOver and no fans was depressing? How about no TakeOver, no fans, and Sam Roberts on commentary? The next time Mauro Ranallo screams a bad analogy at the top of his lungs and you think it’s a little much, remember how lucky you are that it’s not five high-octave minutes of WWE pre-show Ben Shapiro sharing America’s worst wrestling opinions.
Up first on an almost impossible to get through episode of NXT is Velveteen Dream vs. Bobby Fish, somehow booked poolside by Adam Cole last week. I miss when William Regal made a point to show up and dunk on wrestlers for pretending they had the power to sign matches. Dream still doesn’t seem to have that pre-injury spark back yet — possibly hurt due to the lack of crowd response making his basic offense look less like a meta statement on sports-entertainment and more like, well, basic offense — and while Bobby Fish is great, he doesn’t have the obvious, over-the-top dipshit personality that anchors a lot of Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, or Roderick Strong matches. Dream wrestling in little gloves is cute, though, and probably a good idea if he’s going to be handling Fish.
Anyway, enjoy Sam dumping on Animal Crossing and saying Velveteen Dream’s not going to be able to get out of a hold while Velveteen Dream’s literally in the middle of getting out of the hold.
Best: Atlas, Shrugged
I think the high point of this week’s episode for me was the NXT debut of Jake Atlas. Great to see him on the show. He’s up against the dreaded DeXtEr LuMiS, aka “Dahmer Krueger,” and as much as that character cracks me up with how corny its whole existence is, I have to admit this is Lumis’ best NXT match so far. Thanks, Jake Atlas!
Two fun notes: (1) Lumis is now using the head and arm choke as a submission finisher, which I am unironically referring to as the HAGER CLUTCH, and (2) he has got to stop doing that move where he gets a running start, slides out of the ring on his belly, and then has to turn around and stand up to throw a punch. Why are you even doing that? He did it in a match at NXT Cleveland a few weeks ago and the entire building was split between laughing out loud or just standing there in confusion. I know you have to add theatrics to something to make it “yours,” but how is you almost breaking your wrists once per match to put yourself in the compete opposite position to throw the strike you’re trying to throw adding to your presentation? It just makes you look like an idiot. Imagine if The Rock set up the Rock Bottom by doing a handstand on the second rope and dropping himself onto his own head.
Yarp: The True Knot Lucha Brothers Are Back!
Walking Wild® loses a solid but a little underwhelming (partially due to commentary) nine minute match with KUSHIDA that’s mostly a ZOOM seminar on creative ways to get into an arm bar, but it’s mostly the prologue to Wilde getting abducted by the same public domain luchadors who kidnapped Raul Mendoza back before we were all quarantined. That’s what you get for not staying inside like you’re supposed to, Joaquin!
I’ve got to say though, it’s pretty weird that these guys are wearing Black Shadow and Dos Caras masks without, you know, being Black Shadow or Dos Caras. I hate that NXT has become a promotion where they expect fans to not know anything about wrestling. Especially when Dos Caras is a former four-time world champion’s dad, you know? As @luchablog correctly pointed out, if NXT used Tiger Mask and Jushin Thunder Liger masks here, maybe American fans would realize how weird it is for WWE to use easily identifiable wrestling legend iconography for unidentified kidnappers in a throwaway segment. Y’all don’t have the Conquistadors’ masks somewhere in storage down there? At least put in the effort to dress them up like the Lucha Dragons. We know there’s already at least two Sin Caras.
Best, But Kinda Sad At The Same Time: No One Will Survive Blackheart!
I thought the gauntlet match to see who’ll get the final spot in the NXT Women’s Championship number one contender match at NXT TakeOver Regular Episode was extremely well-booked. By the numbers, sure, but that’s by design. The numbers are there because they work. Shotzi Blackheart starts off the match and gives the performance of a lifetime, running through Deonna Purrazzo, Xia Li, Aliyah, and Kayden Carter. Not that those are top shelf opponents in NXT terms or whatever, but it’s a big accomplishment for a relative newcomer to take out four opponents in a row. And then, because opportunism is the shittiest thing you can employ in the WWE Universe, evil Dakota Kai enters last AND utilizes outside interference from Lady Diesel Raquel Gonzalez to take out a tired opponent and win the match. Gauntlet matches only really exist so you can get pissed about how unfair they are. That’s part of what made Kofi Kingston having to win a million of them to get to WrestleMania such an anomalous accomplishment.
The “kinda sad at the same time” modifier up there is because Shotzi did all this in front of nobody, when a performance like this would’ve seriously impressed the Full Sail crowd and ingratiated them to her, and would’ve built some substantial heat for the eventual Kai/Shotzi rematch. ESPECIALLY if Kai wins that number one contender match. It is what it is, I guess. At least Shotzi got in the tank entrance before the world went to shit.
Same: The North American Championship Triple Threat
I think more so than Raw or Smackdown or even AEW Dynamite, NXT’s empty arena shows are showing how crucial the crowd’s rabid response to NXT, its matches, its characters, and its plot progression are to NXT existing and feeling like itself. These shows, at least to me, feel like they’re not even happening. The wrestling’s still good, but NXT being the WWE brand that actually excites people and gets them reacting is what makes it special. If you remove that, the line between it and something like Raw or Smackdown is pretty damn thin. Like, Street Profits and Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory, Angel Garza, and Seth Rollins could be switched with Lee vs. Dijakovic vs. Priest and there wouldn’t be much difference. Again, I know none of this is WWE or the performers’ faults and they can’t do anything about it, but get SOMEBODY out there reacting to it. Subtracting 100% of fans and adding a color commentator who sounds like hates having to be there kills the whole vibe.
So anyway, yeah, with no TakeOver we’re forced to do Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest in a triple threat match for the North American Championship on a normal, empty building edition of NXT TV with only Tom Phillips and Sam Roberts to react to it. I’m kinda shocked Sam didn’t spend the whole match talking about how Keith actually sucks and doesn’t belong on a TakeOver episode. Even moreso than how it affects our enjoyment at home, I think the lack of crowd response hurts the performers in the ring. How can you get invested and feel the ebb and flow of the match without folks reacting to it? It’s gotta feel like practice, even when it’s a high stakes championship match on TV. That might explain some of the rough spots, which I’m not sure would’ve happened under normal circumstances.
Again though, I want to make sure I’m typing too many sentences about how I appreciate the performers for trying to work through this insane global situation, and how happy I am that pro wrestling’s trying to persevere in spite of every sports organization in the world shuttering its doors weeks ago. I just don’t think WWE’s doing them any favors by pretending it’s business as usual, because the context is off, and context is everything.
Next week we’re getting a (I won’t say “the”) blow off to the Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa feud that’s been going on for four damn years with that same loss of context. If they spend the entire episode kicking out of stuff without a crowd to react to it, we’re officially in “tree falls in the woods and no one’s around to hear it” territory.
To Leave You On A High Note After All This Depressing Distillation Of Content And Intent
Here’s Malcolm Bivens formally introducing Rinku, Saurav, and Bivens Enterprises. Times are tough, but at least we’re getting Stoke.
Best: Top 10 Comments Of The Week
AddMayne
I hope for Dexter’s entire career Bobby Lashley tries to convince everyone that he’s a serial killer but no one believes him despite it being very obvious that he’s a serial killer
Mr. Bliss
“The Archer of Infamy” uses a nightstick as a weapon? Sure. Can’t wait til next week on AEW when “The Blade” shows up with a gun and “The Butcher” shows up with a potato peeler.
Blackheart’s run in this gauntlet match would be more impressive if she wasn’t beating people who qualified for the match by losing a different match.
JayBone2
Anyone figure out why Councilman Jamm is on commentary for NXT yet?
SexCauldron
Sam Roberts has a face for radio and a voice for audiobooks for the deaf
Dexter Lumis is Imperium catnip
Baron
Vince: I’m proud of you, Hunter.
HHH: Wow….thank you, Vince. I guess I always knew, but to actually hear you say it…I’m really emotional right n….
Vince: You found the son of Tony Atlas and SQUASHED him just like I would have! So proud!
HHH: …and the moment’s gone.
Caz
Sam Roberts sounds like Walter the Muppet and looks like if Walter the Muppet were stitched together entirely out of human assholes
EvilDucky
Dexter Lumis looks like a tatted blonde Von Kaiser from Punch Out!!
FeltLuke
*hears Sam Roberts’s voice for only a second*
Welp, looks like I’m just watching AEW for the next two hours.
WWE Network
same
That’s it for this week’s Best and Worst of NXT. As always, make sure to drop down into our comments section and let us know what you thought of the episode, and if you liked or laughed at anything in here, give us a share on social media to help us out. It helps more than you know, especially during all this COVID-19 nightmare where we’re trying to keep freelancers lancing freely writing about almost wrestling shows.
Join us here next week for Gargano vs. Ciampa, the number one contender’s ladder match, and (I hope) extended vignettes of Matt Riddle trying to figure out how to get Pete Dunne back to Full Sail during a travel ban. Also, you know, WrestleMania this weekend. See you then sometime!
There’s a lot of misinformation about the coronavirus floating around out there. Myths and outright lies are the currency of hucksters and global pandemics are feeding season for the unscrupulous. We need real experts now more than ever. Yesterday, that expert was Dr. Peter Hotez — who skyped into the Joe Rogan podcast.
Say what you will about Rogan, he has a massive audience and has often used his platform to highlight what actual scientists say about health, vaccines, fitness, and nutrition (he has also, according to many, given far too big a platform to crackpots). Dr. Hotez is legit, though. He works at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital and has devoted his life to studying tropical diseases, vaccines, and finding cures to things like the coronavirus. He’s a no-nonsense expert whose goal right now is to get real information to as many people as possible.
We thought we’d parse some of the most important highlights from Rogan’s chat with Dr. Hotez. The doc himself prefaces all of this with a big disclaimer, “Anything I say today, I might look like the biggest idiot tomorrow or next week.” It’s important to remember that this is a brand new virus that we’ve never seen before. “We’re learning new things about this virus every day,” Dr. Hotez makes clear. In reality, it’s only been four months since we’ve known about COVID-19 — also called SARS-CoV-2 or just SARS-2 or coronavirus 2 — and that’s how long we’ve had to learn about it. Dr. Hotez points out that it took over a year to learn almost everything about SARS-1.
“The truth is, we knew this was coming,” Dr. Hotez says plainly. “We had a heads up before last year because this is now our third major coronavirus disaster of the 21st century.”
Dr. Hotez then goes to break down how SARS-1 in 2003 that spread from China to Canada and beyond. Then he briefly touches on the MERS coronavirus EMC/2012 epidemic. Both coronaviruses started in bats. In the case of SARS-1, it was from bats via civets from wet markets in China. In the case of MERS, it was an Egyptian Tomb Bat that someone was keeping in their home.
According to Dr. Hotez, the medical community has been working on a coronavirus vaccine for over a decade.
What’s The Difference Between SARS-1, MERS, and COVID-19 (or SARS-2)?
Dr. Hotez says that “both SARS-1 and MERS made you so sick and had such a high fatality rate, that anybody who got it was almost immediately hospitalized … and basically out of the community.”
The difference with COVID-19 and what makes it so toxic, the doctor explains, is that there’s a “big group of people walking around and spreading the disease” unknowingly. And that can be devastating for people with maladies like high blood pressure, lung issues, diabetes, other health issues, or simply advanced age.
How Much More Lethal Is COVID-19 Than The Seasonal Flu?
The doc says it’s five to ten times more deadly as far as they now know. When the subject comes up again later, he revises that to “four to ten times” more lethal. According to Hotez, anywhere from 12,000 to 50,000 Americans die from the flu yearly and the “vast majority of those people die because they didn’t get a flu shot.”
With COVID-19 four to ten times more deadly than the common seasonal flu and if we’re able to contain this virus, that’s still anywhere from 48,000 to 500,000 deaths comparatively.
The point Dr. Hotez is trying to get across is that a lot of Americans are likely going to die from this. He hopes it’s closer to the low end but we just don’t know right now. Per Dr. Hotez, “again, those are models based on assumptions and with a new virus pathogen it’s hard to get all the assumptions right.”
Are Only Old People Getting Sick and Dying?
Plainly, no. “The Center for Disease Control came out with this very chilling document a few weeks ago showing that a third of the very sick people in the hospital are under the age of 44.”
Dr. Hotez points out that 30 percent of hospitalizations have been people between the ages of 20 and 44. He then points out that when the disease hit European populations, it started hitting younger populations for “reasons unknown” at the moment.
Is The Virus Mutating?
Dr. Hotez points out the “host component.” That is, the virus seems to be attacking younger populations in Europe and the U.S. (which is heavily populated by European descendants). “Everything we know so far about what happens with the virus is from China. And, it turns out, the Chinese have some genetic differences to Europeans.”
Furthermore, Dr. Hotez laments that “who knows what happens?” when the virus runs through South America, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
What About The Talk Of Avoiding Ibruprofen?
Dr. Hotez bluntly says, “There’s not a lot of evidence to say your symptoms will get worse with ibuprofen.” Basically, the doctor says that it’s mostly “internet buzz” spreading a rumor and the WHO has put out a paper saying there’s really no science behind the claim.
Are Certain Blood Types More Susceptible To The Virus?
“This is actually well-known in the infectious disease literature,” says Dr. Hotez.
Dr. Hotez points out that it’s already established that a long list of diseases, viruses, bacteria, and infections can behave very differently depending on a person’s blood type. In the doctor’s words, “host’s genetics influences things quite a bit.”
What’s Going On In Germany?
Compared to Italy which has a ten percent mortality rate despite a similar amount of cases, Germany has a less than one percent mortality rate. The doctor believes it’s all a matter of the German system not being overwhelmed. “In Germany, so far, we think it’s been a combination of things.” He goes on to point out that there are more younger people getting corona in Germany with minor symptoms and that the hospital system was ready and better managed.
(I can attest to this. As I experienced firsthand, Germany was keeping people home who showed mild symptoms and not letting them flood into hospitals for the last six weeks.)
However, Dr. Hotez points out that Germany is shifting quickly. The virus has now entered the eldercare system and Germany is starting to build pop-up hospitals to deal with a surge in cases. “They’re worried now too,” Hotez says.
Why Is New Orleans Experiencing Such A High Mortality Rate?
“What happened there is they kept Mardi Gras open,” Dr. Hotez says bluntly. “A large number of people are getting infected.”
Hotez points out that, like Italy, this overwhelmed the health system. But there’s more to it than that he says.
“There’s lots of people living in extreme poverty [in New Orleans]. And poverty is very linked to diabetes and hypertension. And we know diabetes and hypertension is a big risk factor for death.” Hotez says it’s like New Orleans is getting hit twice. Once due to the overwhelmed medical system and once again due to the poverty rate among the African American population with diabetes and hypertension plaguing that community.
Dr. Hotez ends by mentioning that authorities in Houston, Texas are very worried about the warning signs they’re seeing in New Orleans as their demographics are very similar.
Do Smoking And Vaping Exacerbate The Virus?
“Smoking actually up-regulates the receptor in the lungs that virus responds to,” according to the doctor. Translation: That means smoking is creating more receptors in the lungs for the virus to bind to, thus accelerating the virus’s growth and severity.
With Vaping, it’s less clear. While there are a lot of young people who vape getting put on ventilators, there just haven’t been enough studies on vaping, in general, to know the effects when coupled with COVID-19, according to Hotez.
What About Chloroquine?
Chloroquine is an anti-malarial that is also used as an anti-inflammatory in the treatment of lupus and other autoimmune issues. Dr. Hotez breaks down why it’s getting press right now.
“We know that this drug can block the replication of the virus in the test tube.” (Emphasis ours) “Second, we know this drug reduces inflammation,” the doctor says. We know COVID-19 causes inflammation in the lungs as the virus takes hold. An anti-inflammatory as a treatment tracks.
According to Dr. Hotez, the whole thing is based on a very small study in France where a scientist combined chloroquine with azithromycin and found positive results in patients with COVID. “The problem was it was a very tiny study,” Dr. Hotez points out.
People have been touting this as a miracle cure but Dr. Hotez isn’t so sure until we do massive and widespread studies to see if it really works. He’s speaking from a place of knowledge. Evidently ten years ago, they found that chloroquine worked wonders in the test tube against influenza and then didn’t have any effect on the population. “It didn’t pan out,” the doctor laments.
He does say that clinical trials are scaling up and that “there’s a lot of ‘off-label’ use” of chloroquine right now. Still, he says that the evidence is “not strong.” Again, that’s now. This could change.
How Long Will It Take To Get A Vaccine?
“A year, 18 months, but likely longer. We simply don’t know.” That’s sobering, we know.
What’s Happening With People In Wuhan Testing Positive Again After Recovering?
“We don’t know.” Hotez carries on to say that it’s highly unlikely they’re getting re-infected once they developed anti-bodies but we simply don’t know for sure right now.
Basically, it breaks down to this: It’s really hard to test for respiratory viruses in the first place. That’s also responsible for some of the delays in getting testing off the ground in the first place for COVID-19.
How Important Is Social Distancing?
Dr. Hotez states it simply: “Without a vaccine or other technologies, we have to go back to the 14th century when quarantine was invented.” In short, social distancing is the only tool we have right now to stop the spread of the virus.
The doctor then goes on to break down why we know social distancing works. He says the modeling from the cities in China where they used social distancing have shown “the longer you allowed transmission to go on before you intervened with social distancing and other things, the worse the surge and the worse the epidemic and therefore, as we talked in Italy, the worse the mortality.”
Dr. Hotez cites Wuhan which took six weeks to take measures compared to other cities in South China that only waited a week. The evidence shows that waiting longer led to a massive surge in people showing up at the hospital, overwhelming the system, and leading to much higher death rates in Wuhan.
Hotez also points out that because “things got so fucked up with testing” in the United States that people were transmitting the disease for weeks and we only learned how bad it was by people showing up in emergency rooms already very ill. This tracks with what’s happening in New Orleans, Detroit, New York, and Atlanta right now.
Social distancing is absolutely “paramount,” says Dr. Hotez. “That’s all we got right now.”
When Will This Peak In The U.S.?
Estimates from the experts studying this say by mid-April we’ll hit the peak, according to Dr. Hotez. That’s another two weeks. There’s a big “but” coming, however:
That’s not nationwide. Dr. Hotez points out that the modeling for Texas and Calfornia pin the peak of the viral outbreak in May.
Overall, the numbers show that the “next two months are going to be the crunch time” where numbers are always going up. That’s until June, folks.
The way Dr. Hotez sees it, the April 30th date Trump has assigned is more of a date to reaccess whether we go another month in lockdown or not.
The doctor says, “We hope that by the summer this won’t be a huge problem. But we really don’t know.”
What Don’t We Know?
This is more a collection of things that Dr. Hotez says we don’t know that we’ve compiled in one spot for clarity.
We don’t know if we can get people to properly social distance to lower the spread for long enough. We don’t have to look far to see how many people still aren’t taking social distancing seriously.
We don’t know the seasonality of the virus and how severe it might come back in the fall. Dr. Hotez points out that when we enter summer, our off-peak flu season, the southern hemisphere enters winter or their peak flu season.
We don’t know if that means this could be a year-round thing if travel restrictions are lifted too early.
We don’t know if this will come back year after year, as the flu does.
Can We Isolate Higher-Risk People To Help Stop The Spread?
Dr. Hotez shoots this down saying that that seems to have been a thought when we believed this was only effecting sick people or the elderly. That’s changed. “Now — as the Centers for Disease Control has been reporting — we’ve had this big flux of young adults getting very sick and in the ICU.”
The doctor also points out that another thing we’ve “only just learned” is that infants are at very high risk with ten percent getting very sick in China in effected areas. News reports of infants dying in Europe and the U.S. have started trickling in.
Dr. Hotez asks, “At what point do you say that pretty much everybody is at risk?”
Is It Possible To Fully Recover From The Lung Scarring COVID-19 Causes?
The doc is very optimistic on this point, especially for the younger population. Otherwise, he says, “I think for older people, they may have some permanent pulmonary deficits.”
But again, Hotez reiterates that “it’s still too early in the epidemic to know” for certain what any lingering effects may be. Hotez points out that it usually takes years and years to fully understand a virus like this. “We’re just trying to buy time,” he says.
The Tonight Show continues to host quarantine edition episodes of the program, and during last night’s show, Jimmy Fallon was hoping to get a big breaking news announcement from Lady Gaga. That was the plan, but when he got her on a video chat for the show, things didn’t go as he had hoped they would.
When the call started, Gaga seemed to be confused as she continually apologized and told Fallon that she couldn’t make her expected announcement just yet. She told the host, “I can’t tell you everything right now because I’m still ironing out the details and I have a lot of phone calls to make.” That latter point is easy to believe, as there was a phone ringing by Gaga in the background for most of the call. She then scheduled another call with Fallon for Friday and noted that what she wants to announce is “for COVID-19.”
Later that day, she called Fallon back to tell him that Friday actually didn’t work, but promised that their next call would happen on Monday (April 6), so whatever Gaga has planned is still a few days away.
Watch the clip of Gaga and Fallon’s not-so-productive video call above.
LaMelo Ball is expected to go quite high in the 2020 NBA Draft, whenever that ends up happening. While his path to the league is about as unconventional as they come — he went from a high school powerhouse in California, to a pro team in Lithuania, to a school in Ohio, to his most recent stop in Australia’s National Basketball League — there is no denying his mix of talent and upside.
But before Ball leaves Australia, the 6’6 guard has one final piece of business he wants to get out of the way. According to ESPN, Ball and his manager, Jermaine Jackson, have decided to purchase his NBL squad, the Illawarra Hawks. Jackson explained that Ball grew fond of the fans and the community, which “opened their arms to him” when he joined the franchise last June. Now, with the Hawks in a bit of a financial bind, he wants to reciprocate that love.
“He is going to be locked into his NBA career, but we are going to hire the right people to oversee everything,” Jackson told ESPN. “He wants to create the best basketball program possible for that community there.”
Jackson mentioned that he’s had conversation with “several former NBA GMs” and “high-level coaches that won every championship you can imagine” about potentially being part of this project, and also said that while Ball is going to be focused on his NBA career during the season, he wants to get down to Australia during the offseason to help grown the game down under.
“When Melo wants to do stuff in the summertime, we’ll be there,” Jackson said. “We’ll take a tour with his family all over Australia, doing basketball camps and connecting with the youth. He wants to inspire the next generation.”
We’ll have to wait and see how this arrangement works in the long run and if there’s any red tape that needs to be cut through. It’s a major undertaking and quite the move for an 18 year old who isn’t officially in the NBA yet, but it is evident that making sure the club is a financially viable place is really important to Ball.
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