Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Jan 30, 2020 - Sports

An Astros fan logged his team's sign-stealing, trash-can-banging scandal

Kendall Baker, author of Sports

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Angry Astros fan Tony Adams spent the last few weeks meticulously sorting through every home game with available video from the 2017 regular season.

By the numbers: Adams logged 8,274 pitches and found trash can bangs in 1,143 (13.8%) of them. There were 58 games available.

Notes:

The Farquhar incident: Adams found that the frequency of bangs fell abruptly on Sep. 22, which was the day after the Astros nearly got caught in the act by White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar.
Varied player to player: For instance, bangs could be heard in 18.1% of the pitches that Carlos Beltrán faced during the 58 games covered in the study, while that number plummets to 2.8% for José Altuve.

Go deeper: Spygate 2.0 hits the Houston Astros

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Bryan Walsh, author of Future

28 mins ago - Health

Falling sperm counts could threaten the human race

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

A new book makes the case that sperm counts have been falling for decades — and a major reason is chemicals in the environment that disrupt the body's hormonal system.

Why it matters: The ability to reproduce is fundamental to the viable future of any living thing. If certain chemicals are damaging our fertility over the long term, human beings could end up as an endangered species.

Go deeper (3 min. read)

2 hours ago - Health

Black churches become vaccine hubs

A woman arrives at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic outside the Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church in southeast D.C. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Black pastors have a new job on their plates during COVID-19: encouraging skeptical congregants to get vaccinated.

Why it matters: “There’s distrust in our community. We can’t ignore that,” Rev. James Coleman of D.C.'s All Nations Baptist told AP.

Go deeper (1 min. read)

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden names USPS board of governors nominees, as Democrats put pressure on DeJoy

United States Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at a Feb. 24 committee hearing. Photo: Graeme Jennings/pool/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden on Wednesday nominated a former postal union lawyer, a vote-by-mail advocate, and a former deputy postmaster general to sit on the Postal Services' Board of Governors.

Why it matters: The nominations, which require Senate confirmation, come as some Democrats call for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's ouster and others push for Biden to nominate board members to name a new postmaster general.

Go deeper (1 min. read)