China demands cancellation of UN meeting on Uyghurs

As per a report by NYT, the CDC’s estimate that the risk of Covid transmission while outdoors is around 10% is greatly exaggerated. According to the Times, the 10% benchmark is based ’partly on a misclassification’ of some virus transmission in Singapore at construction sites that may have actually taken place in indoor settings. The actual number was more like 1% or less, the report stated.

Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci sparred at a Senate hearing Tuesday, this time over the funding of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Asked by Paul if he supported funding by the NIH of the lab in Wuhan, Fauci shot back at him: ’You are entirely, entirely and completely incorrect. The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.’

In what is the most intense airstrikes in Gaza since 2014, the Israeli military targeted several areas after rockets were fired by the Hamas from the enclave. Health authorities in Gaza said at least 36 Palestinians, including 10 children, have been killed in air strikes on the Strip since Monday. At least five people in Israel have been killed. A rocket attack Wednesday hit an Israeli pipeline.

A Judge has denied the NRAs attempt to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reincorporate from New York to Texas. NRA filed the claim last January saying New York was rife with political and regulatory corruption.

Over the last two decades, accumulative forest expansion the size of France have grown around the world. The amount of carbon dioxide that these trees can store offsets the entire carbon footprint of the United States annually. While great progress has been made, forestry experts and activist say there is still work to be done, as logging still outpaces planting.

Virgin Galactic revealed an information that the company may need to adjust spaceflight testing schedule. This statement cause a 20% downfall in shares in pre-market trading. Virgin Galactic said the planned launch for the next test flight was currently being reassessed. Executives said that they were determining whether there is any potential abrasion issues on the mothership and launch platform.

The UK is moving to ban conversion therapy and provide more support to those in the LGBT community who have undergone the treatment. The government said measures would be brought forward to prevent these ’abhorrent practices which can cause mental and physical harm.’ The govt. plans to begin the process with a consultation on how best to protect people and how to eliminate coercive practices.

The FBI confirmed on Monday that the ransomware group responsible for the compromise of the Colonial Pipeline network is DarkSide. A senior DOJ official revealed that the investigation into the attack is ongoing, labeling the sophistication of the tools involved ’very high.’ Darkside claims it only attacks large corporations, and donates a portion of what it takes to charity.

According to leaked internal documents, Disney is teaching employees critical race theory through a new plan called ’Reimagine Tomorrow,’. The documents highlight that the killings of black Americans are ’part of a long history of systemic racism.’ Also recommended is a guide titled ’75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice’.

At least nine people have been killed by gunfire at a school in the Russian city of Kazan. One of the shooting victims was a teacher and the other eight were students. Reports say two people opened fire and a 17-year-old boy has been detained. Two students reportedly died after jumping from a third-floor window. At least 32 people have been injured.

Facebook, in an effort to stem the flow of misinformation on it’s platform, has taken a leaf from Twitter’s book. Beginning this week, the social media giant will begin testing a program that will prompt some users to read a news article before sharing it, with a warning that they ’may be missing some key facts.’ Twitter implemented a similar policy last year.

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee Tuesday defeated an amendment from Senate Minority Leader McConnell to Democrats’ sweeping elections bill. McConnell’s amendments aimed at keeping the FEC at six members rather than five. It’s unlikely that the For the People Act will pass the Senate in its current form, given the unified GOP opposition.

Fewer than 0.01% of all items which were bought on Amazon received counterfeit complaints. Amazon is currently under pressure due to counterfeit item marketing on the site. Amazon blocked more than 10 billion suspected fake listings last year before any of those products were sold. Amazon destroyed 2 million fake products which were sent to its warehouses last year before they were sold.

Hamas launched dozens of rockets from Gaza and Israel retaliated with new airstrikes early Tuesday, in an escalation of tensions. 24 people, including nine children, were killed in Gaza overnight, most of them in Israeli strikes. More than 700 Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli security forces. Six Israeli civilians have been reported hurt by rocket fire Tuesday morning.

President Joe Biden, age 78 has not publicly released any information regarding his health since December 2019. Dr. Kevin O,Connor, Biden’s White House physician has previously told reporters that the President takes regular medication to handle the symptoms of aFib. No specific date has been set for the physical, only that it will happen in the next 8 months.

Biden announced Uber and Lyft will present a free ride to whom wants to go to COVID-19 vaccination center. The apps will arrange ride routes to and from thousands of vaccination points. Users on Uber and Lyft will pick a route and redeem their free ride. This feature will start within the next two weeks. White House said this campaign will help Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of the US adults.

GOP Sen. Ernst came out in defense of Rep. Cheney, accusing some in the GOP of seeking to purge dissent. ’Cancel culture is cancel culture. And, unfortunately, I think there are those that are trying to silence others in the party,’ she said. Ernst said that while she agrees with Cheney when it comes to the election results, she supports ’President Trump and his policies.’

US unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 6.1%, despite 266,000 new job addition. Economy continues to recover from the detrimental effects of COVID-19, plus Biden’s stimulative financial help. Companies work to get people back to work by offering more salary, bonus and more benefits. Walt Disney World raised minimum wage to $15 per hour. Costco’s hourly wage is $16. Target offers $18 per hour.

The Israeli air strikes from Tuesday morning, which were in response to a terror attack targeting Israeli civilians, wiped out the home of Hamas terrorist group’s leader. The Strikes also took out several tunnel systems used by the terrorist network to illegally enter Israel. The strikes are being condemned by Palestinian supporters, and mourned by several. Nine of the 24 killed were children.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told House Republicans on Monday that there would be a vote to recall Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney as chairwoman of the GOP conference on Wednesday. ’If we are to succeed in stopping the radical Democrat agenda from destroying our country, these internal conflicts need to be resolved,’ McCarthy said, justifying the need for change in the ranks.

Fast food chain Wendy’s plans to return to the UK after 20 years. Wendy’s plans up to 400 restaurants nationwide. They will also create at least 12,000 jobs. Wendy’s will still be far smaller than McDonald’s in number of outlets. McDonald’s has 1,300 UK outlets. Abigail Pringle, Wendy’s executive, said that they want to return to the UK, as burger and takeaway market has been growing.

The Biden administration has reversed yet another Trump-era policy, protecting gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care. The action by the DHS affirms that federal laws forbidding sex discrimination in health care also protect gay and transgender people. ’Everyone, including LGBTQ people, should be able to access health care,’ HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said.

Starbucks is considering leaving Facebook due to the tone of comments left on its posts about social issues and racial justice. As per BuzzFeed, Starbucks experienced overwhelmingly ’negative/insensitive, hate speech-related comments.’ In June last year, Starbucks joined hundreds of other brands, in temporarily pulling their ads from Facebook as part of a Stop Hate for Profit boycott campaign.

Public health experts have asked the Indian Health Minister to present evidence after he asked people to have dark chocolate with 70 per cent cocoa content to beat Covid-19 related stress. The advice has drawn widespread flak on social media. In February, the same minister was criticized for endorsing an avuryedic tablet to fight Covid-19 without any supporting evidence to that effect.