Today’s News: April 14, 2021

World News

In world first, Denmark ditches ASTRA shot

Reuters – Denmark on Wednesday became the first country to stop using AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine altogether over a potential link to a rare but serious form of blood clot.

The decision will push back the scheduled conclusion of Denmark’s vaccination scheme to early August from July 25, health authorities said.

But that new timeline assumes it will start using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, whose rollout in Europe has been delayed over similar clotting concerns and the use of which Denmark has suspended. That shot comprises around a third of the country’s total contracted supply.

Results of investigations into the AstraZeneca-associated blood clots “showed real and serious side-effects,” Danish health agency head Soren Brostrom told a news briefing.

“We have therefore chosen to continue the vaccination programme for all target groups without this vaccine.”

Astrazeneca said it respected Denmark’s choice and would continue to provide it with data to inform future decisions.

“Implementation and rollout of the vaccine programme is a matter for each country to decide, based on local conditions,” the Anglo-Swedish company said.

The European Union’s drug watchdog said last week it had found a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), a brain blood clot.

It said the risk of dying from COVID-19 was much greater than the risk of mortality from rare side effects, but left it to individual states to make their own risk assessments and decide how to administer the vaccine.

Many countries in Europe and elsewhere have resumed using the shot, with some restricting it to certain age groups, mostly those aged above 50 or above 60.

Brostrom said joint studies based on Danish and Norwegian health data estimated that one in 40,000 people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca shot could expect to experience this serious complication, with nothing conclusive related to age or gender.

He said Denmark had come far in inoculating the elderly population most at risk of contracting a serious form of the virus.

Future target groups for vaccination had a lower risk of that. “This must be weighed against the fact that we now have a known risk of serious harmful effects … with the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca, even though the risk in absolute numbers is small.”

So Denmark’s decision should solely be seen in a Danish context, and “I understand very well why other countries will use it,” he said.

Denmark was the first country to initially suspend all use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March over safety concerns.

Almost one million of the country’s 5.8 million population have received their first shots, 77% getting Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, 7.8% Moderna’s and 15.3% AstraZeneca’s.

Denmark is in the process of easing restrictions after its daily COVID-19 infection rate slowed to 500-600 from several thousand in December. (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Toby Chopra and John Stonestreet)

Danish drug regulator FAINTS at press conference announcing AstraZeneca vaccine halt (VIDEO)

RT – Denmark will completely abandon the rollout of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine due to a risk of rare blood clots. One of the country’s top drug officials passed out at a press conference delivering the news.

As National Health Board Director Soeren Brostroem announced the decision, the Danish Medicines Agency’s acting director of pharmacovigilance, Tanja Erichsen, fainted and collapsed to the ground.

Erichsen’s fall sparked panic, as Brostroem and other officials rushed over to check on her. The medicines agency later announced that she had regained consciousness, but was taken to hospital for a checkup. No explanation was given for her fainting.

Denmark was the first country in the world to suspend the rollout of AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria shot in March, though a number of other countries followed suit, among them France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Denmark, however, is the first country in the world to permanently ditch the British-Swedish developed jab.

In the midst of an epidemic, it has been a difficult decision to continue our vaccination program without an effective and readily available vaccine against Covid-19,” Brostroem said at the press conference. “However, we have other vaccines at our disposal, and the epidemic is currently under control.”

The suspension is expected to push the country’s vaccination timeline back by “some weeks,” according to a report from Danish broadcaster TV2.

Denmark began vaccinations in December, and has to date approved four vaccines – from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. Only two shots, from Moderna and Pfizer, are currently available to Danes, after Johnson & Johnson delayed its own European rollout on Tuesday, due to several cases of blood clots being reported in the US.

British doctor reveals how her gut instinct helped link AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine to blood clots

Daily Mail – A British scientist has revealed how her instinct helped to uncover the link between AstraZeneca‘s coronavirus vaccine and a very rare blood clot.

Haematologist Professor Marie Scully unknowingly stumbled upon the complication in early March, when a woman in her 30s was admitted to hospital with a brain blockage.

Despite numerous tests, University College London Hospital medics could not work out what caused her to suffer the condition, which sparked a severe headache, light intolerance and vomiting.

Further tests showed she had clots in her stomach, liver and lungs. Baffled doctors also spotted she had low levels of platelets – which clump together to form clots.

The unidentified woman, one of the first to suffer the vaccine-related complication in Britain, was later wheeled into intensive care because her condition deteriorated so quickly.

In desperate hope of finding a way to treat her, Professor Scully had the brainwave of swabbing for an unusual blood-clot causing antibody that is normally only triggered by heparin – a drug that is designed to stop blood clots.

The ironic side effect – heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) – occurs when the immune system wrongly attacks the blood-thinner.

The patient tested positive for the antibodies – named PF4 – despite never being given the drug.

Recalling her decision to test for the antibodies, Professor Scully told The Guardian: ‘Oh, I’d love to tell you why. I don’t know why I did it. Looking back, it makes no sense.’

She then ran the same tests on a blood sample from another woman in her 50s who had died with the same brain blood clot – called CVST – and thrombocytopenia, and a third patient in Birmingham. Both also came back positive. 

Professor Scully claimed the only factor linking them was AstraZeneca’s vaccine — all three had the jab shortly before they were struck down. 

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Daunte Wright Accused of Choking, Robbing Woman at Gunpoint, Had an Arrest Warrant

Just the News – Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot Sunday by police in Minnesota during a traffic stop, was wanted by authorities in connection with an aggravated armed robbery attempt, according to court records.

Wright, 20, had been charged with first-degree aggravated robbery in the December 2019 incident, and authorities had a related warrant for his arrest at the time of his death.

The case was still pending at the time of Wright’s death. His bail was revoked in July for possession of a firearm and not keeping contact with a probation officer.

In the fatally shooting, Police body camera video appears to show Wright trying to get back into his vehicle during the arrest. He drove away after being shot and crashed a short time later. The officer who shot Wright seems to say in the video that she intended to use her Taser gun.

During the robbery attempt, Wright and his friend, with Wright when he was killed, allegedly were at a house party and stayed the night with the two alleged victims because they claimed not to have rides home.

When one victim left to go to work the next day, Wright pulled a handgun on the other victim and demanded she give him the money she had, according to Fox News.

“Give me the f—ing money, I know you have it,” Wright told the victim. “I’m not playing around.”  

When she did not comply, Wright allegedly choked the victim and tried to take the $820 she had. The two were unable to take the money and left. They were later identified by the woman in a line-up and arrested and released on a $100,000 bail.

Google Shadow-Bans Searches For “Riots Today” Following Violent Unrest In Minnesota

Summit News  – Amidst yet another night of violent unrest in Minnesota, Google is effectively shadow banning searches for “riots today” despite other search engines providing links to stories about the riots when the same search term is used.

Black Lives Matter agitators rioted and looted for a second night in Minnesota despite the deployment of the National Guard.

The unrest is in response to the police shooting of Daunte Wright, who resisted arrest after cops stopped him for a traffic violation.

The killing is being described as an example of “systemic racism” despite the fact that Wright was shot by a dumb female officer who mistook a gun for a taser.

Apparently, Google is keen to not have the disorder that followed be described as “riots,” despite the fact that is precisely what happened.

A search for the term “riots today” returns results pertaining to the January 6th incident at the Capitol and the Brixton riots, which took place 40 years ago.

In comparison, searching for the same term on DuckDuckGo provides numerous links to stories about the riots (despite them being described as “protests” by most mainstream media sources).

The top news search result on Microsoft Bing also returns a story about the Minnesota riots.

Twitter also continues to describe the chaos as “protests,” despite even Joe Biden himself asserting that looting and attacks on buildings aren’t a legitimate form of protest.

Once again, despite the fact that Wright’s killing is blatantly being exploited by opportunistic thugs to commit crimes that have nothing to do with “justice” or “peaceful protest,” the media and the Big Tech establishment continues to run defense for violent BLM-inspired scumbags.

GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn Introduces Bill to Protect Border Wall by Declaring It a National Monument

Gateway Pundit – A bill introduced last week by Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina seeks to have the U.S.-Mexico border wall built by former President Donald Trump declared a national monument.

The legislation, called the “Donument Act” in honor of Trump, would create the “Southern Border Wall National Monument.” It would effectively provide “permanent protection from alteration” for the wall, defending it from any future executive orders by President Joe Biden or anyone else to demolish it, according to a statement from Cawthorn.

The bill would preserve about 289,920 acres in the area along and around the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas as a national monument.

Approximately 450 miles of the wall was built under the Trump administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Although the bill is unlikely to be passed by the Democratic-controlled House, it could serve to rouse the support of the many Republicans in Congress who remain staunchly loyal to Trump and provide a basis for Republican attacks against the Biden administration’s immigration policy.

Since Biden entered the White House, Customs and Border Protection data has revealed that the number of encounters with migrants along the southwest border has skyrocketed.

According to a report, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas recently told Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the Biden administration already is considering continuing construction on Trump’s border wall to fill in “gaps” through which many are succeeding in crossing the border illegally.

Sen. Rand Paul to Newsmax TV: For Vaccine Buy-In, Don’t ‘Lie’ to People

Newsmax – If the government wants conservatives and African Americans, two populations who have been skeptical of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, to buy in to the program it is essential they are truthful with them to avoid further resistance, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tells Newsmax TV.

“If you want people who are skeptical of the vaccine to take it, a couple of things tell them, number one is, it’s their choice,” Paul said Tuesday on “Spicer & Co.” “In a free society, their freedom, make a choice and through persuasion, try to persuade them to take it.”

Secondly, he added: “You can’t lie to us. We’re not stupid, and the more you lie to us, the more resistant we’ll be. If you tell me that an 18-year-old absolutely has to take it the same as an 85-year-old you are lying to me. And once I know you’re lying to me, I’ll be resistant to believe everything else.”

COVID, he noted, is heavily weighted in mortality towards age so older people and those with risk factors should be first in line to be vaccinated.

Paul was critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, because Paul said Fauci has not said that a third of the public has antibodies from already having had COVID.

Though people who have COVID do have immunity for several months after they contract the virus, infectious disease experts say that immunity is not permanent and they should still be immunized to prevent reinfection.

Paul also said Fauci should be talking more about the benefits of monoclonal antibody treatments that saved the life of former President Donald Trump and others as a vital treatment of the disease once someone has contracted COVID.

Though Paul favors personal choice, he said, “No one should make me produce papers to say that I’ve agreed with somebody to have a vaccination, he added, “That being said, I’m for the vaccine, particularly for high risk individuals.”

Responding to news that the CDC and FDA has recommended a pause in administering Johnson & Johnson vaccines over concerns that six women have had complications with blood clots, Paul said again decisions should be left to individuals.

“If I was 80 years old, I would take the Johnson & Johnson right now,” he said, because he’d be at higher health risk. “If I were 25, I probably wouldn’t.”

“If you’re at high risk, and it’s the one out there … I’d take whatever vaccine you get your hands on if you’re younger, and don’t have any health risk, then it’s really gonna be your choice,” he said.

Sen. Rand Paul: Anthony Fauci Should Be Removed From TV for Reckless ‘Fear-Mongering’

The Federalist – Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul suggested Tuesday National Institutes of Health Director Anthony Fauci should be removed from the airwaves for his incessant anti-science fearmongering throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Dr. Fauci should be voluntarily removed from TV because what he says is such a disservice and such fear-mongering, and almost all of what he says isn’t even matched by the science of his own institute,” Paul said on Fox Business. “Really, what we need to do is hear from a lot of different experts.”

Other expert opinions however have been stifled repeatedly by Silicon Valley tech giants with lucrative interests in prolonging a pandemic. Just this month, Google-owned YouTube, the internet’s most popular video hosting website, stripped a coronavirus roundtable event featuring Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis with elite-educated medical professionals in March because one expert questioned the need for children to wear face masks.

Paul’s comments came after Fauci gave his blessing to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending states halt distribution of the coronavirus vaccine produced by Johnson and Johnson after six women developed blood clots.

“I don’t think it was pulling the trigger too quickly,” Fauci said Tuesday.

Six women developing blood clots out of the nearly seven million doses of the one-shot vaccine distributed, puts the probability of blood clot complications, which are not confirmed directly related to the medicine, at 0.000001 percent. Americans, according to the CDC, have a better chance of being struck by lighting.Paul said Tuesday vaccination for COVID ought to be a personal decision, in which individuals evaluate the risk factors of receiving the vaccine versus infection from the virus.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine, Paul reiterated, is “very very safe.”

“If you’re over 80, without question, it’s the only one you should get, take it. If you’re over 70, take it. But it does depend on your age. If you’re under 25, the chance of dying from this is one in a million,” Paul said.

Paul, himself a medical doctor as an optometrist, clashed with Fauci last month in a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing over masks. He accused the corporate media’s favorite doctor on coronavirus of “political theater” for wearing two masks despite full vaccination.

“You want people to wear masks for another couple of years,” Paul said, highlighting the absence of significant evidence to show widespread infection in those with immunity. “You’ve been vaccinated and you parade around in two masks for show. You can’t get it again… You want to get rid of vaccine hesitancy? Tell them they can quit wearing their masks after they get the vaccine.”

Bernie Madoff, jailed for largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in prison at the age of 82

RT – Financier Bernie Madoff, who pleaded guilty to being behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, passed away in a federal prison from natural causes.

Madoff, who was 82, died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. He was serving a 150-year sentence.

Last year, his lawyers requested his release during the Covid-19 pandemic, citing several medical conditions, including kidney disease. The request was denied.

Madoff admitted in 2009 to duping thousands of clients out of billions of dollars over his criminal career, some even notable public figures like actor Kevin Bacon and director Steven Spielberg. He was estimated to have taken almost $65 billion from his clients.

The financier apologized to his victims, but claimed he always intended to return to standard investing. He also said that his fraud began in the 1990s once the market “stalled” and a recession hit. Investigators, however, argued that Madoff made no real trades on behalf of his clients and simply paid off new customers with funds from older ones to earn their trust. Prosecutors also suggested the fraud began in the 1980s or even earlier.

Economy & Business

New day, new all-time high: Bitcoin beats its own records again, rising above $64,000

RT – The world’s largest cryptocurrency has continued to rally, passing the $64,000 level for the first time in history ahead of the highly anticipated stock market debut of popular trading platform Coinbase.

The price of bitcoin rose more than 6% on Wednesday to reach $64,829, a new record high. The new milestone comes less than 24 hours after it broke past $63,000. The cryptocurrency has more than doubled its value since the beginning of the year, and has already hit $1.2 trillion market capitalization.

Most of the top 10 cryptocurrencies followed bitcoin’s rally. Ethereum also hit an all-time high for the second time in two days, reaching $2,388 on Wednesday.

The records were set ahead of the initial public offering (IPO) of one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase, on Nasdaq. The listing is considered by some as another sign of the wider mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.

“A successful addition to Nasdaq should act as endorsement of cryptocurrencies by traditional investors,” senior analyst at Swissquote Ipek Ozkardeskaya wrote, as cited by Bloomberg. The analyst also noted that Coinbase’s appearance on Wall Street marks “the first official juncture between the traditional financial avenue and the alternative crypto path.”

Coinbase is the second-largest crypto platform in the world after Binance, and the largest in the US by trading volume. Its client base has significantly expanded in recent months due to growing interest in cryptos, pushing its first quarter revenue to a whopping $1.8 billion.

Coinbase set to go public with a $90 billion valuation — and it’s probably heading higher

CNN – Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global is set to go public Wednesday at a valuation north of $90 billion, as the company takes advantage of surging demand (and prices) for bitcoin, ethereum and other digital currencies.

Coinbase said that it was setting a reference price for its stock of $250 a share. The company is listing shares directly on the Nasdaq, as opposed to selling new stock through an initial public offering. It’s how Roblox, Palantir and Spotify (SPOT) also went public.

Shares are likely to begin trading later Wednesday morning or early afternoon. But many market observers expect the stock will rise sharply from its $250 reference price, because the company is already profitable, has rapidly rising sales and a growing number of customers.

As of mid-morning, the stock was indicated to open at $350. That would value Coinbase at $91.5 billion.

“When it comes to Coinbase, this is pretty much the crypto event of the year,” said Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO of CoinShares, a European digital asset manager whose stock recently began trading on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange. “It shows that bitcoin is for everyone.”

And that will also turn Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong into a mega-billionaire. At a price of $350 a share, his 39.6 million shares will be worth just under $14 billion.

Nancy Pelosi’s husband very suspicious stock trades

The Street  -Nancy Pelosi’s husband made an excellent Microsoft stock market trade. Let’s check out the details.

Purchase of Stock Via Call Options

Barron’s reports Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Bought Roblox, Microsoft Stock

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband just disclosed he bought Roblox stock the day it went public, and acquired Microsoft stock through options.

The Barron’s article is behind a paywall. Fox News also reports the same thing: Pelosi’s Husband Bought $10M in Microsoft Shares Through Options. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband purchased millions of dollars worth of Microsoft (MSFT) and Roblox (RBLX) shares last month, new financial disclosures form reveal.

Paul Pelosi exercised call options and paid $1.95 million to buy 15,000 shares of Microsoft at a strike price of $130 on March 19, according to an April 9th filing with the House clerk. That same day, Pelosi, who owns and operates a California venture capital investment and consulting firm, paid $1.4 million for 10,000 shares valued at $140 apiece.

Since Pelosi made the purchase, Microsoft share prices have climbed from about $230 to roughly $255 – an increase of close to 11% – after the company secured a lucrative government contract worth nearly $22 billion to supply U.S. Army combat troops with augmented reality headsets. The deal was announced on March 31.

Comments by Krystal and Saagar

• This is an extremely bad look at the very least. And at worst, it’s outright corrupt.
• It has the appearance of using insider knowledge of where the US government is headed.
• Access to that knowledge if you are Speaker of the House you may have special insights in order to profit massively off of your stock trades.
• Nancy Pelosi is already a very wealthy woman. 
• Why are members of Congress allowed to trade stock while they are holding public office? 
• We covered this on the Republican side at the beginning of Covid.
• Even the appearance of this is so disgusting.

Health

Former Chief Scientist for Pfizer Makes Shocking Revelations, Says New Vaccines Will Skip Clinical Trials

Edward Griffin – Dr. Mike Yeadon, former Vice President and Chief Scientist of Allergy and Respiratory Research for Pfizer, says the COVID-19 virus has yet to be produced for study, even after more than one year into the ‘pandemic’. He also said the ‘top up’ booster vaccines for variants will be excused from clinical safety studies! He dropped a bombshell when he predicted that those who refuse vaccines will be coerced, and those who are left will be rounded up and thrown into prison camps. He warned that there is no benign explanation for mass vaccination and vaccine passports. [OK, if not benign, then what is the correct adjective? The answer is ‘sinister’.] -GEG

Listen to James Delingpole’s podcast audio interview with Dr. Mike Yeadon at this link:   https://delingpole.podbean.com/e/dr-mike-yeadon-1617215402/

Moderna Eyes Combo COVID-19, Flu Vaccine

Newsmax – The wave of the vaccine future may be a one-two punch aimed to KO both COVID-19 and the flu with one shot.

Moderna CEO, Stéphane Bancel, appeared on NBC’s Squawk Box Wednesday morning to discuss a much anticipated move by the pharmaceutical company that would make boosting both vaccines simpler and more effective.

“COVID-19 is not going away. It’s not leaving the planet,” Bancel said, adding that with the variants mutating, getting a booster shot custom designed to neutralize whatever form of the coronavirus is dominant would be the logical path to take.

Bancel said that with more vaccination and more people getting infected, the pace of COVID-19 will naturally slow down, much like influenza. He said Moderna’s goal is to develop a vaccine annually tailored to tackle both the COVID-19 and flu pathogens in one dose so that people can go to their pharmacies or primary care providers and be vaccinated in one visit.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Bancel predicts that the combination vaccine could be ready in a couple of years, pending upon the formal approval of their COVID-19 vaccine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and then the standard authorization for the dual drug. Currently, the COVID-19 vaccines on the U.S. market have emergency use authorization, or EUA.

Both influenza and COVID-19 are respiratory illnesses. Bancel said that the mRNA technology used in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine can be easily tweaked to accommodate multiple viral strains.

“Today the vaccines we have for seasonal flu are OK in a great year, and they are pretty bad in a bad year, in terms of efficacy,” Bancel said, according to the WSJ. “It’s not impossible that in a couple of years we should have the product I just talked about — a high efficacy seasonal flu vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine — for you at your pharmacy on an annual basis.”

Nearly 40% Of Marines Refuse COVID-19 Vaccine

G Edward Griffin – A report states that 38.9% of Marines, with an average age of 25, putting them at roughly 0.18% risk of death, are refusing to take the COVID-19 experimental vaccines when they have been given the choice to reject them. None of the COVID-19 vaccines have been proven to prevent people from testing positive for COVID-19, falling ill, or transmitting it. Approximately 75,500 marines have been vaccinated, while 48,000 have declined.