Misplaced Pages

#91908

93-689: His father, novelist Larry McMurtry , gave him his first guitar at age seven. His mother, an English professor, taught him how to play it: "My mother taught me three chords and the rest I just stole as I went along. I learned everything by ear or by watching people." McMurtry spent his first seven years in Ft. Worth but was raised mostly in Leesburg, Virginia . He attended the Woodberry Forest School , Orange, Virginia . He began performing in his teens, writing bits and pieces. He started performing his own songs at

186-440: A fatwā calling for Rushdie's assassination, after which attempts were made on his life. In 1989, McMurtry testified on behalf of PEN America before the U.S. Congress in opposition to immigration rules in the 1952 McCarran–Walter Act that for decades permitted the visa denial and deportation of foreign writers for ideological reasons. He recounted how before PEN America was to host the 1986 International PEN Congress, "there

279-511: A civil ceremony in Archer City. McMurtry died on March 25, 2021, at his home in Archer City, Texas. He was 84 years old. It was announced in early 2023 that McMurtry's personal property including his writing desk, typewriters and personal book collection would be sold at public auction by Vogt Auction in San Antonio , Texas , on May 29, 2023. Larry McMurtry's first three novels, all set in

372-654: A cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan . The first American case was reported on January 20, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency on January 31. Restrictions were placed on flights arriving from China, but the initial U.S. response to the pandemic was otherwise slow in terms of preparing the healthcare system, stopping other travel, and testing . The first known American deaths occurred in February and in late February President Donald Trump proposed allocating $ 2.5 billion to fight

465-529: A downtown beer garden while studying English and Spanish at the University of Arizona in Tucson . After traveling to Alaska and playing a few gigs, he returned to Texas and his father's "little bitty ranch house crammed with 10,000 books". After a time, he left for San Antonio , where he worked as a house painter, actor, bartender, and sometimes singer, performing at writers' nights and open-mic events. In 1987,

558-535: A friend in San Antonio suggested McMurtry enter the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk songwriter contest; he became one of six winners that year. Also around this time John Mellencamp was starring in a film based on a script by McMurtry's father, which gave McMurtry the opportunity to send a demo tape to Mellencamp. Mellencamp subsequently served as co-producer on McMurtry's debut album, Too Long in

651-533: A lecturer in English until 1969, and a visiting professor at George Mason College (1970) and American University (1970–71). He entertained some of his early students with accounts of Hollywood and the filming of Hud , for which he was consulting. In 1964, Kesey and his Merry Pranksters conducted their noted cross-country trip, stopping at McMurtry's home in Houston. The adventure in the day-glo-painted school bus Furthur

744-569: A letter asking the federal government to "shut it down now, and start over". In July and early August, requests multiplied, with a number of experts asking for lockdowns of "six to eight weeks" that they believed would restore the country by October 1, in time to reopen schools and have an in-person election. In August, over 400,000 people attended the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota , and from there, at least 300 people in more than 20 states were infected. The CDC followed up with

837-529: A new album, The Horses and the Hounds , was announced on June 9, 2021 and released on August 20. Lead track "Canola Fields" was released to streaming services at the time of the announcement and would go on to get an Americana Music Award nomination. The album, produced by longtime collaborator Russ Hogarth and recorded at Jackson Browne's Santa Monica Groove Masters studio, was reviewed positively, scoring an 81 on Metacritic. Pitchfork reviewer Stephen Deusner said of

930-554: A report on the associated 51 confirmed primary event-associated cases, 21 secondary cases, and five tertiary cases in the neighboring state of Minnesota, where one attendee died of COVID-19. The U.S. passed five million COVID-19 cases by August 8. On September 22, the U.S. passed 200,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In early October, an unprecedented series of high-profile U.S. political figures and staffers announced they had tested positive for COVID-19. On October 2, Trump announced on Twitter that both he and

1023-646: A rollicking tune about a dead grandma and the events afterwards. Walk Between the Raindrops followed in 1998 and 2002 brought St. Mary of the Woods . In April 2004, McMurtry released a tour album called Live in Aught-Three . " Choctaw Bingo ", one of McMurtry's most popular songs, is featured on both St. Mary of the Woods and Live in Aught-Three . In 2005, McMurtry released his first studio album in three years. Childish Things again received high critical praise, winning

SECTION 10

#1732876173092

1116-430: A short story by E. Annie Proulx . He accepted his Oscar while wearing a dinner jacket over jeans and cowboy boots . In his speech, he promoted books, reminding the audience the movie was developed from a short story. In his Golden Globe acceptance speech, he paid tribute to his Swiss-made Hermes 3000 typewriter. McMurtry married Jo Scott, an English professor who has authored five books. Before divorcing, they had

1209-489: A small proportion of overall variants. Although variant XBB was of concern internationally, it was rare in the United States. Recommendations for receiving vaccination booster shots are mixed: while populations at risk of severe disease and death should stay up-to-date, healthy, middle-aged-and-younger populations are rarely at risk of severe illness, and most have adequate immunity. Although the newest bivalent boosters target

1302-443: A son together, James McMurtry . Both James and his own son, Curtis McMurtry, are singer/songwriters and guitarists. In 1991 McMurtry underwent heart surgery. During his recovery, he suffered severe depression. He recovered at the home of his future writing partner Diana Ossana and wrote his novel Streets of Laredo at her kitchen counter. McMurtry married Norma Faye Kesey, the widow of writer Ken Kesey , on April 29, 2011, in

1395-610: A surge in Beijing caused the Biden administration to require U.S. visitors from China, Hong Kong, and Macau to provide proof of COVID-19 negative test results. At the end of the year, the CDC reported that the COVID Omicron XBB.1.5 variant became much more prevalent and represented about 41% of new cases in the U.S. Scientists at Columbia University warned that the rise of subvariants could "result in

1488-471: A surge of breakthrough infections as well as re-infections." On January 11, 2023, the Biden administration decided to renew the COVID-19 public health emergency amid a winter surge of cases related to highly transmissible Omicron subvariants. With relief measures such as automatic Medicaid re-enrollment being decoupled from the emergency declaration, some commentators believed this signaled the final extension of

1581-694: Is also a singer-songwriter and has performed with his father, as well as filling in for his father's Tuesday night solo residency at The Continental Club when James is on tour. Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936 – March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas . His novels included Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966), and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films. Films adapted from McMurtry's works earned 34 Oscar nominations (13 wins). He

1674-416: Is three times the fatality rate of a bad flu season . The number of cases for the months of July through September 2022 was about 0.86 times the number for the same period in 2021, and the number of COVID-attributed deaths likewise averaged 0.42 times the number for the same period in 2021. In October, new variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 from the dominant BA.5 appeared to be spreading quickly, but comprised only

1767-632: The Amon G. Carter award for periodical prose in 1966 for Texas: Good Times Gone or Here Again? and the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984. In 1986, McMurtry received the annual Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award from the Tulsa Library Trust . He reflected on his 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Lonesome Dove , in Literary Life: A Second Memoir (2009), writing that it

1860-507: The Biden administration advised Congress of a lack of funding for testing, therapeutics and vaccines, but Republicans continued to block new spending on the pandemic so Democrats removed an emergency aid package from a proposed spending bill. On March 20, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci warned of an "uptick" in cases like Europe had seen recently, stating the U.S. should "be prepared for the possibility that we might get another variant". In April 2022, it

1953-679: The Defense Production Act of 1950 to assist. By mid-April, disaster declarations were made by all states and territories as they all had increasing cases. A second wave of infections began in June, following relaxed restrictions in several states, leading to daily cases surpassing 60,000. By mid-October, a third surge of cases began; there were over 200,000 new daily cases during parts of December 2020 and January 2021. COVID-19 vaccines became available in December 2020, under emergency use, beginning

SECTION 20

#1732876173092

2046-673: The Immigration Act of 1990 . While at Stanford, McMurtry became a rare-book scout. During his years in Houston , he managed a book store called the Bookman. In 1969, he moved to the Washington, D.C., area. In 1970 with two partners, he started a bookshop in Georgetown , which he named Booked Up. In 1988, he opened another Booked Up in Archer City. It became one of the largest antiquarian bookstores in

2139-532: The National Humanities Medal . In Tracy Daugherty 's 2023 biography of McMurtry, the biographer quotes critic Dave Hickey as saying about McMurtry: "Larry is a writer, and it's kind of like being a critter. If you leave a cow alone, he'll eat grass. If you leave Larry alone, he'll write books. When he's in public, he may say hello and goodbye, but otherwise he is just resting, getting ready to go write." McMurtry's birth certificate states that he

2232-667: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci said the mortality from COVID-19 was ten times higher than the common flu . By March 12, diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. exceeded a thousand. Trump declared a national emergency on March 13. On March 16, the White House advised against any gatherings of more than ten people. Three days later, the United States Department of State advised U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel. By

2325-503: The Omicron variant , which was first discovered in South Africa , led to record highs in hospitalizations and cases in early 2022, with as many as 1.5 million new infections reported in a single day. By the end of 2022, an estimated 77.5% of Americans had had COVID-19 at least once, according to the CDC. State and local responses to the pandemic during the public health emergency included

2418-656: The Peter Bogdanovich –directed The Last Picture Show ; James L. Brooks 's Terms of Endearment , which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture (1984); and Lonesome Dove , which became a popular television miniseries starring Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall . In 2006, he was co-winner (with Diana Ossana ) of both the Best Screenplay Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Brokeback Mountain , adapted from

2511-497: The cluster on December 31, 2019. After China confirmed that the cluster of infections was caused by a novel infectious coronavirus on January 7, 2020, the CDC issued an official health advisory the following day. On January 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) and China both confirmed that human-to-human transmission had occurred. The CDC immediately activated its Emergency operations center (EOC) to respond to

2604-652: The national vaccination program , with the first vaccine officially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 23, 2021. Studies have shown them to be highly protective against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. In comparison with fully vaccinated people, the CDC found that those who were unvaccinated were from 5 to nearly 30 times more likely to become either infected or hospitalized. There has nonetheless been some vaccine hesitancy for various reasons, although side effects are rare. There were also numerous reports that unvaccinated COVID-19 patients strained

2697-589: The 1 million mark with a presidential proclamation on May 12, ordering flags to be flown at half-staff at all federal facilities through sundown on May 16. In June, the United States concluded the approval process for the vaccination of children under five years of age, with the first vaccines expected to be administered on June 21. On June 12, the U.S. dropped COVID testing requirements for inbound international air travelers, while vaccination requirements largely remained in place for inbound travelers using any mode of cross-border transportation. The number of cases for

2790-594: The American public for the first time to prepare for a local outbreak. The next day, New York City saw the sickening of its "patient zero", Manhattan attorney Lawrence Garbuz, then thought to be the first community-acquired case. Another case known as "patient zero" in Los Angeles is a man named Gregg Garfield, who spent 64 days in the Burbank Hospital, on a ventilator for 30 days, with a 1% chance to live. Contracting

2883-502: The Biden administration felt that there was "enough community protection that we're not going to see a repeat of what we saw last year at this time," referring to the emergence of the Omicron variant. A study of vaccine effectiveness found that U.S.-authorized bivalent mRNA boosters administered to those having already received 2 to 4 monovalent vaccinations provided significant additional protection against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2. Concerns of

James McMurtry - Misplaced Pages Continue

2976-458: The Biden administration on the advice of the CDC, was ended nationwide by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle , a Trump-appointed federal judge in Florida. The Justice Department challenged the ruling several days later, yet masks remained optional on airplanes, buses, and subway systems, except when required by local mandates. The first annual National COVID Week of Remembrance & Action

3069-557: The CDC confirmed the first person-to-person case in the U.S. The next day, the country declared a public health emergency. Although by that date there were only seven known cases in the U.S., the HHS and CDC reported that there was a likelihood of further cases appearing in the country. The Trump administration evacuated American nationals from Wuhan in January. On February 2, the U.S. enacted travel restrictions to and from China. On February 6,

3162-577: The Delta variant. By July 7, the Delta variant had surpassed the Alpha variant to become the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S., according to CDC data. By August the Delta variant accounted for 99 percent of all cases and was found to double the risk of hospitalization for those not yet vaccinated. On August 1, the U.S. passed 35   million cases. By early and mid-August, hospitals in some states with low vaccination rates began to exceed capacity. One-quarter of

3255-547: The First Lady had tested positive for COVID-19 and would immediately quarantine. Trump was given an experimental Regeneron product with two monoclonal antibodies and taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center , where he was given remdesivir and dexamethasone . USA Today studied the aftermath of presidential election campaigning, recognizing that causation was impossible to determine. Among their findings, cases increased 35 percent compared to 14 percent for

3348-427: The January 2023 distribution, and the 17 other states which terminated pandemic food supplements prior to the federal end date were all states with Republican-controlled state legislatures. On January 31, 2023, President Biden announced the end to the COVID-19 emergency declarations by May 11, 2023. By February 23, eighteen states had already cut payments for more than 10 million people, and Congress had decided to end

3441-597: The McMurtry canon. Cold and Bitter Tears: The Songs of Ted Hawkins , released in late 2015 on Austin-based Eight 30 Records, includes McMurtry's take on the late busker's song "Big Things". Additionally, Dreamer: A Tribute to Kent Finlay , released in early 2016 (also on Eight 30 Records), features McMurtry's version of Finlay's "Comfort's Just a Rifle Shot Away." McMurtry contributed his rendition of Adam Carroll's "Screen Door" to Highway Prayer: A Tribute to Adam Carroll (Eight 30 Records, 2016) as well as "Grandpa's Promise" to

3534-544: The Trump administration reached an agreement with a number of retail outlets, including pharmacies and supermarkets, to make the COVID-19 vaccine free once available. In spite of recommendations by the government not to travel, more than 2   million people flew on airlines during the Thanksgiving period. On December 8, the U.S. passed 15   million cases, with about one out of every 22 Americans having tested positive since

3627-470: The U.S. death toll became the highest in the world when the number of deaths reached 20,000, surpassing that of Italy . On April 19, the CMS added new regulations requiring nursing homes to inform residents, their families and representatives, of COVID-19 cases in their facilities. On April 28, the total number of confirmed cases across the country surpassed 1   million. By May 27, less than four months after

3720-519: The U.S. passed 25   million cases, with one of every 13 Americans testing positive for COVID-19. On January 29, a nationwide requirement for use of face masks on public transit and other forms of public transportation was issued by the CDC and the federal Transportation Security Administration , to go into effect on February 1. (Subsequently, extended, the federal mask mandate for public transportation remains in effect in April 2022.) On February 22,

3813-418: The U.S. passed 30   million cases, just as a number of states began to expand the eligibility age for COVID-19 vaccines. Experts began warning against public relaxation of COVID-19 mitigation measures as vaccines continue to be administered, with CDC director Rochelle Walensky , warning of a new rise in cases. By April 7, the Alpha variant had become the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S. On April 12,

James McMurtry - Misplaced Pages Continue

3906-498: The U.S. passed 45   million cases. On November 26, Biden announced that the U.S. will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other African countries due to concerns over a new variant from the area , called Omicron. At the beginning of January 2022, the number of cases per day exceeded 1 million. As of February 1, fatality rates were 63% higher in the U.S. than other large wealthy countries, due in part to far lower vaccination rates compared to those countries. On March 9,

3999-443: The U.S. passed 500,000 deaths, just five weeks after the country passed 400,000 deaths. By March 5, more than 2,750 cases of COVID-19 variants were detected in 47 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico . In the first prime time address of his presidency, on March 11, Biden announced his plan to push states to make vaccines available to all adults by May 1, with the aim of making small gatherings possible by July 4 . On March 24,

4092-419: The U.S. population had been infected with the virus as of March 2021, about four times higher than the official reported numbers. On May 4, Biden announced a new goal of having 70 percent of all adults in the U.S. receive at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot by July 4, along with steps to vaccinate teenagers and more inaccessible populations. The country ultimately did not reach that goal, with only 67 percent of

4185-576: The U.S. population resides in eight states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and Texas—but, by mid-August, these states together had a half of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the nation. By the end of the month, the ICUs of five of those—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Texas—were over 90% full. On September 8, the U.S. passed 40   million cases. By September 15, one in every 500 Americans had died from COVID-19. By September 20, COVID-19 had killed over 675,000 Americans,

4278-459: The U.S. reported its first cases of a new "double mutant" SARS-CoV-2 variant from India , later called Delta, in California. By April 25, the country's seven-day average of new infections was reported to be decreasing, but concerns were raised about drops in vaccine demand in certain parts of the U.S., which were attributed to vaccine hesitancy . On April 29, the CDC estimated that roughly 35% of

4371-581: The United Kingdom , later called Alpha, the CDC announced testing requirements for American passengers traveling from the UK , to be administered within 72 hours, starting on December 28. On December 29, the U.S. reported the first case of this variant in Colorado. The patient had no travel history, leading the CDC to say, "Given the small fraction of US infections that have been sequenced, the variant could already be in

4464-408: The United States without having been detected." On January 1, 2021, the U.S. passed 20   million cases, representing an increase of more than a million over the past week and 10   million in less than two months. On January 6, the CDC announced that it had found at least 52 confirmed cases of the Alpha variant, and it also stressed that there could already be more cases in the country. In

4557-402: The United States, carrying between 400,000 and 450,000 titles. Citing economic pressures from Internet bookselling, McMurtry came close to shutting down the Archer City store in 2005, but chose to keep it open after great public support. In early 2012, McMurtry decided to downsize and sell off the greater portion of his inventory. He felt the collection was a liability for his heirs. The auction

4650-557: The Wasteland (1989). McMurtry also appeared on the soundtrack of the film Falling from Grace , working with Mellencamp, John Prine , Joe Ely and Dwight Yoakam in a "supergroup" called Buzzin' Cousins. McMurtry released follow-up albums Candyland (1992) and Where'd You Hide the Body (1995). 1997 saw the release of "It Had to Happen" which included a cover of " Wild Man from Borneo " originally done by Kinky Friedman and " Sixty Acres ";

4743-717: The capacity of hospitals throughout the country , forcing many to turn away patients with life-threatening diseases. A fourth rise in infections began in March 2021 amidst the rise of the Alpha variant , a more easily transmissible variant first detected in the United Kingdom . That was followed by a rise of the Delta variant , an even more infectious mutation first detected in India , leading to increased efforts to ensure safety. The January 2022 emergence of

SECTION 50

#1732876173092

4836-545: The craft of fiction under Frank O'Connor and Malcolm Cowley , alongside other aspiring writers, including Wendell Berry , Ken Kesey , Peter S. Beagle , and Gurney Norman . ( Wallace Stegner was on sabbatical in Europe during McMurtry's fellowship year. ) McMurtry and Kesey remained friends after McMurtry left California and returned to Texas to take a year-long composition instructorship at Texas Christian University . In 1963, he returned to Rice University, where he served as

4929-524: The earliest confirmed American death with COVID-19 (that of a 57-year-old woman) occurred in Santa Clara County, California . The CDC did not report its confirmation until April 21, by which point nine other COVID-19 deaths had occurred in Santa Clara County. The virus had been circulating undetected at least since early January and possibly as early as November. On February 25, the CDC warned

5022-401: The emergence of misinformation and conspiracy theories , and highlighted weaknesses in the U.S. public health system. In the United States, there have been 103,436,829 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,207,479 confirmed deaths, the most of any country, and the 17th highest per capita worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic ranks as the deadliest disaster in the country's history . It

5115-671: The emergency declaration. Although some states had already ended emergency SNAP benefits enacted during the pandemic, the USDA announced that emergency allotments for the remaining 32 states, the District of Columbia , Guam , and the U.S. Virgin Islands would end after the February 2023 distribution. Leaders of some anti-hunger organizations believed that the end of the $ 95-per-month additional benefit would strain local food pantries and food banks. South Carolina , which ended emergency food grants after

5208-449: The estimated number of American deaths from the Spanish flu in 1918. As a result, COVID-19 became the deadliest respiratory pandemic in recent American history. The Associated Press called the new numbers a "colossal tragedy" because, despite a century of advances in science, the country failed to take full advantage of vaccines. On October 1, the U.S. passed 700,000 deaths. On October 18,

5301-447: The first few days [of January], which doesn't sound like a lot, but our community is very small," Henderson said. "The last couple of weeks, we have seen single digits every day. I certainly won't speak for other counties, but I think we're probably heading in that direction where if they're not closing down, they're decreasing hours and staff." On April 18, 2022, the federal transportation mask mandate, which had been extended to May 3 by

5394-401: The following days, more cases of the variant were reported in other states, leading former CDC director Tom Frieden to express his concerns that the U.S. will soon face "close to a worst-case scenario". It was believed the variant had been present in the U.S. since October. On January 19, the U.S. passed 400,000 deaths, just five weeks after the country passed 300,000 deaths. On January 22,

5487-573: The front porch every night and tell stories. In 1942, McMurtry's cousin Robert Hilburn stopped by the ranch house on his way to enlist for World War II, and left a box containing 19 boys' adventure books from the 1930s. The first book he read was Sergeant Silk: The Prairie Scout . During the 1960–1961 academic year, McMurtry was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, where he studied

5580-547: The mandate. The CDC was criticized for the confusion resulting from the announcement, as it did not remove existing state and local mandates. The guidance also did not remove the federal mask mandate on public transportation. On June 15, the U.S. passed 600,000 deaths, though the number of daily deaths had decreased due to vaccination efforts. By June, COVID-19 cases rose again, especially in Arkansas, Nevada, Missouri, and Wyoming. The rising numbers were believed to be attributable to

5673-596: The middle of March, all fifty states were able to perform tests with a doctor's approval, either from the CDC or from commercial labs. However, the number of available test kits remained limited. As cases began spreading throughout the nation, federal and state agencies began taking urgent steps to prepare for a surge of hospital patients. Among the actions was establishing additional places for patients in case hospitals became overwhelmed. Throughout March and early April, several state, city, and county governments imposed "stay at home" quarantines on their populations to stem

SECTION 60

#1732876173092

5766-450: The months leading up to November, deaths from COVID-19 substantially decreased, attributed to high levels of population immunity (through vaccination or prior infection), and improvements in early treatment for patients at risk for severe disease. The CDC recommended vaccinations, treatments for immunocompromised individuals and to reduce severity of the disease, and continuing to wear masks in public. Nonetheless, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that

5859-555: The months of January through June 2022 was about 2.4 times the number for the same period in 2021, and the number of COVID-attributed deaths likewise averaged 0.74 times the number in 2021. Nonetheless, as of July 14, only 21 states have active COVID-19 emergency orders in place, and there are no state-level mask requirements still in force. The number of cases for July and August 2022 was 3,672,358 and 3,154,320, respectively, with 11,963 and 15,943 COVID-attributed deaths, respectively. The totals for these two months reflect about 1.6 times

5952-470: The north Texas town of Thalia following World War II . The books follow the story of mother/daughter characters Harmony and Pepper. The books follow the story of character Duane Moore. The books follow the stories of occasionally recurring characters living in the Houston, Texas, area. COVID-19 pandemic in the United States On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of

6045-488: The number of cases and 0.81 times the number of deaths from the same months in 2021. On September 18, 2022, in an appearance on 60 Minutes , president Joe Biden declared his belief that the COVID-19 pandemic was "over" in the United States. This assessment met some debate in the medical community: at the time, the United ;States had roughly 400 deaths from the disease per day, and when extrapolated to 150,000 per year

6138-611: The outbreak in China. Also, the first report of a COVID-19 case in the U.S. was publicly reported, though the All of Us study (released in 2021) showed five states already had cases weeks earlier. After other cases were reported, on January 30, the WHO declared a Public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) – its highest level of alarm  – warning that "all countries should be prepared for containment." The same day,

6231-470: The outbreak, but Congress instead approved $ 8.3 billion with only Senator Rand Paul and Representatives Andy Biggs and Ken Buck voting against, and Trump signed the bill on March 6. By March 11, the virus had spread to 110 countries, and the WHO officially declared a pandemic . The CDC had already warned that large numbers of people needing hospital care could overload the healthcare system, which would lead to otherwise preventable deaths. Director of

6324-478: The outbreak. Instead, Congress approved $ 8.3 billion with only Senator Rand Paul and two House representatives ( Andy Biggs and Ken Buck ) voting against, and Trump signed the bill, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 , on March 6. Trump declared a national emergency on March 13. The government also purchased large quantities of medical equipment, invoking

6417-554: The overall adult population having done so by July 4. On May 6, a study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated that the true COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. was more than 900,000 people. On May 9, Dr. Fauci confirmed that the U.S. death toll was likely undercounted. On May 13, the CDC changed its guidance and said that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks in most situations. Some states ended their mask mandates shortly after, while others maintained

6510-399: The pandemic began. On December 14, the U.S. passed 300,000 deaths, representing an average of more than 961 deaths per day since the first known death on February 6. More than 50,000 deaths were reported in the past month, with an average of 2,403 daily deaths occurring in the past week. On December 24, following concerns over a probably more easily transmissible new SARS-CoV-2 variant from

6603-543: The pandemic reached the U.S., 100,000 Americans had died with COVID-19. State economic reopenings and lack of widespread mask orders resulted in a sharp rise in cases across most of the continental U.S. outside of the Northeast. A study conducted in May 2020 indicated that the true number of COVID-19 cases in the United States was much higher than the number of confirmed cases with some locations having 6–24 times higher infections, which

6696-569: The previous album's political themes and included the song "Cheney's Toy," McMurtry's most direct criticism of George W. Bush so far. Like "We Can't Make It Here" from the previous album, "Cheney's Toy" was made available as a free Internet download. McMurtry's ninth album, Complicated Game was released on February 24, 2015 on an L.A. record label also named Complicated Game. The album achieved critical acclaim, scoring 87 on Metacritic. Lead single "How’m I Gonna Find You Now" and other tracks such as album opener "Copper Canteen" have become staples in

6789-522: The program early, exchanging additional benefits for a new permanent program that provides extra money to low-income families to replace school meals during the summer. On April 10, 2023, President Biden signed into law a resolution terminating the national emergency, effective immediately. This national emergency was separate from the public health emergency, which remained in effect until May 11, 2023. A late-summer wave of COVID-19 cases, as reflected by tests at pharmacies and healthcare settings, marked

6882-551: The recent BA.4 and BA.5 variants and their risks are low, some experts recommend new strategies to develop vaccines with broader effectiveness. In a survey of vaccination booster intake (after completing a primary series), about 15% reported receiving the updated booster. The rates varied racially with 19% among White, non-Hispanic people, about 11% among Hispanic people, and about 7% among non-Hispanic American Indians, Alaska Native people, Black people, and those of multiple races, leading to concerns of vaccination access inequity. In

6975-449: The record: "McMurtry sounds more engaged here, more focused, and more generous to his hard-luck characters." McMurtry lives in Lockhart, Texas , 30 miles south of Austin, Texas where, until recently, he and The Heartless Bastards regularly played a midnight set at The Continental Club on Wednesday nights after Jon Dee Graham , another Austin roots rock musician. McMurtry's son, Curtis,

7068-564: The requirement to wear a face mask in specified situations (mask mandates), prohibition and cancellation of large-scale gatherings (including festivals and sporting events), stay-at-home orders , and school closures . Disproportionate numbers of cases were observed among Black and Latino populations, as well as elevated levels of vaccine hesitancy, and there was a sharp increase in reported incidents of xenophobia and racism against Asian Americans . Clusters of infections and deaths occurred in many areas. The COVID-19 pandemic also saw

7161-619: The satirical album Floater: A Tribute to the Tributes to Gary Floater (Eight 30 Records, 2018). Also in 2018 McMurtry performed at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. During restrictions on touring and live music imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States , McMurtry started streaming several live acoustic performances a week on Facebook and YouTube. After using this platform to premiere new songs including "If It Don't Bleed",

7254-594: The song and album of the year at the 5th Annual Americana Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee . The album was perhaps McMurtry at his most political, as his working-class anthem "We Can't Make It Here" included direct criticism of George W. Bush , the Iraq War , and Wal-Mart . The music critic Robert Christgau ranked "We Can't Make It Here" as the best song of the 2000s. McMurtry released his follow-up album to Childish Things in April 2008. Just Us Kids continued with

7347-463: The spread of the virus. By March 26, The New York Times data showed the United States to have the highest number of known cases of any country. By March 27, the country had reported over 100,000 cases. On April 2, at President Trump's direction, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and CDC ordered additional preventive guidelines to the long-term care facility industry. On April 11,

7440-615: The state after a Trump rally in Beltrami County, Minnesota . One case was traced to a Joe Biden rally in Duluth, Minnesota . On November 9, President-elect Biden's transition team announced his COVID-19 Advisory Board . On the same day, the total number of cases had surpassed ten million while the total had risen by over a million in the ten days prior, averaging 102,300 new cases per day. Pfizer also announced that its COVID-19 vaccine may be up to ninety percent effective. In November,

7533-565: The virus from a ski trip, Garfield was able to return to the slopes, although with some fingers and toes amputated. In February, Vice President Mike Pence took over for HHS Secretary Alex Azar as chair of the White House Coronavirus Task Force , with Trump saying, "We are very, very ready for this, for anything, whether it's going to be a breakout of larger proportions, or whether we're at that very low level." In late February Trump proposed allocating $ 2.5 billion to fight

7626-478: The weekend of the sale, "I've never seen that many people lined up in Archer City, and I'm sure I never will again." In April 2006, McMurtry was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society . McMurtry became well known for the film adaptations of his work, which were seen by many viewers, especially Hud (from the novel Horseman, Pass By ), starring Paul Newman and Patricia Neal ;

7719-500: Was a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books . McMurtry was a vigorous defender of free speech and, while serving as president of PEN American Center (now PEN America ) from 1989 to 1991, led the organization's efforts to support writer Salman Rushdie , whose novel The Satanic Verses (1988) caused a major controversy among some Muslims , with the Supreme Leader of Iran , Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , issuing

7812-651: Was a serious question as to whether such a meeting could in fact take place in this country... the McCarran–Walter Act could have effectively prevented such a gathering in the United States." He denounced the relevant rules as "an affront to all who cherish the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and association. To a writer whose living depends upon the uninhibited interchange of ideas and experiences, these provisions are especially appalling." Subsequently, some provisions that excluded certain classes of immigrants based on their political beliefs were revoked by

7905-592: Was also a prominent book collector and bookseller . His 1985 Pulitzer Prize -winning novel Lonesome Dove was adapted into a television miniseries that earned 18 Emmy Award nominations (seven wins). The subsequent three novels in his Lonesome Dove series were adapted as three more miniseries, earning eight more Emmy nominations. McMurtry and co-writer Diana Ossana adapted the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain (2005), which earned eight Academy Award nominations with three wins, including McMurtry and Ossana for Best Adapted Screenplay . In 2014, McMurtry received

7998-579: Was born in Wichita Falls, Texas , the son of Hazel Ruth (née McIver) and William Jefferson McMurtry. He grew up on his parents' ranch outside Archer City, Texas . The city was the model for the town of Thalia which is a setting for much of his fiction. He earned a BA from the University of North Texas in 1958 and an MA from Rice University in 1960. In his memoir, McMurtry said that during his first five or six years in his grandfather's ranch house, there were no books, but his extended family would sit on

8091-526: Was chronicled by Tom Wolfe in his book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test . That same year, McMurtry was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship . McMurtry won numerous awards from the Texas Institute of Letters : three times the Jesse H. Jones Award—in 1962, for Horseman, Pass By ; in 1967, for The Last Picture Show , which he shared with Tom Pendleton's The Iron Orchard ; and in 1986, for Lonesome Dove . He won

8184-402: Was conducted on August 10 and 11, 2012, and was overseen by Addison and Sarova Auctioneers of Macon, Georgia . This epic book auction sold books by the shelf, and was billed as "The Last Booksale", in keeping with the title of McMurtry's The Last Picture Show . Dealers, collectors, and gawkers came out en masse from all over the country to witness this historic auction. As stated by McMurtry on

8277-522: Was further confirmed by a later population-wide serosurvey. On July 6, the United States Department of State announced the country's withdrawal from WHO effective July 6, 2021. On July 10, the CDC adopted the Infection Fatality Ratio (IFR), "the number of individuals who die of the disease among all infected individuals (symptomatic and asymptomatic)", as a new metric for disease severity. In July, US PIRG and 150 health professionals sent

8370-438: Was held from April 24–30, with mayors and other political officials declaring the week of remembrance in their respective jurisdictions as part of a national movement led by a collection of COVID advocacy groups. According to data compiled by NBC News, the U.S. death toll reached 1 million on May 4, 2022, the largest-recorded death toll in any single country, followed by Brazil, with about 660,000 deaths. The White House confirmed

8463-659: Was reported by CNN that COVID-19 numbers reached pandemic lows across the US, resulting in many testing sites closing their doors. With testing sites seeing as low as single digits per day, Director of Public Health Services Division of the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency in North Carolina Sarah Henderson suggested that she expected most counties to see closures soon, if they had not already. "We were seeing an excess of 100 patients at our testing site in

8556-595: Was the " Gone With the Wind of the West … a pretty good book; it's not a towering masterpiece." McMurtry described his method for writing novels in Books: A Memoir . He said that from his first novel on, he would get up early and dash off five pages of narrative. When he published the memoir in 2008, he said this was still his method, although by then, he wrote 10 pages a day. He also wrote every day, ignoring holidays and weekends. McMurtry

8649-575: Was the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer. From 2019 to 2020, U.S. life expectancy dropped by three years for Hispanic and Latino Americans , 2.9   years for African Americans , and 1.2   years for white Americans . In 2021, U.S. deaths due to COVID-19 rose, and life expectancy fell. Sources: Official reports from state health officials Sources: Official reports from state health officials In November 2019, COVID-19 infections had first broken out in Wuhan , China. China publicly reported

#91908