CORONAVIRUS deaths in the U.S, have passed 700,000
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The total number of Americans who have died in the coronavirus pandemic has passed 700,000, despite the widespread availability of vaccines and extensive — and sometimes controversial – use of public health measures such as wearing masks and socially distancing.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the total deaths – as of this writing – are 700,891 in the United States. A total of 43,653,269 Americans have become infected with the disease.
Worldwide, 3.796 million people have died, and 234.5 million cases of COVID-19 reported.

The emergence of the Delta variant, along with the large number of people hesitant about or resistant to getting the vaccine has contributed to the death toll, according to the Associate Press.

Biden’s agenda proving tough to get

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN (White House).

President Joe Biden is seeking to be a “transformative” chief executive, one who might merit comparison to Franklin Roosevelt. But, unlike FDR, Biden does not have a big Democratic majority in Congress and getting his proposed legislation passed is proving to be a heavy lift.

According to The New York Times, expensive proposals for infrastructure and improvements in the social safety net are being stalled by differences between moderates – who say they are too expensive – and progressives who say they’re not expensive enough.

At issue, says The Times, is that progressives worry that if they help Biden pass the $1.1 trillion “American Jobs” plan, moderates will “declare victory” and lag in their support for the $3.5 trillion “American Family Plan.”

Also in the news …

• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will not run for vice president in 2022, he announced on Saturday. Banned by the constitution from serving as president again, he had considered running for veep so he could continue running the government with a compliant president from his party.
• An estimated 600 marches took place on Saturday across America in protest of the strict curbs on abortion imposed by a new law in Texas. There is concern it will be used as a model for laws in other state.

Sports: Math doesn’t favor the Dodgers

With just two games to go in the Major League Baseball season, the mathematics of the National League West race don’t look good to the fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Francisco Giants lead the Dodgers by two games, so their “magic number” is one. Any win by SF or loss by LA will mean the division title goes to the guys from Northern California.

The Dodgers are hosting Milwakuee while the Giants and hosting San Diego.

As for the Angels, they are in Seattle for their final games of 2021.

College football: USC defeated Colorado 37-14 today (Saturday) to improve to 3-2; UCLA (3-1)  will host Arizona State (3-1) today at 7:30 p.m.

Weather: Warm, then cooling fast

The week ahead for the West Orange County area will see high heat cooling quickly to typical autumn temperatures. According to the National Weather Service, Sunday will start with patchy fog turning to sun, with a high of 92 (overnight low of 65). Monday will see a slight chance for thunderstorms and patchy fog as the thermometer drops to 85. Tuesday looks like a high of 78 under mostly sunny skies. In coastal Huntington Beach, under cloudy skies, Sunday will see a high of 83, dropping to 80 on Monday and 75 on Tuesday.