Today’s News: March 14, 2022

WORLD NEWS

Growing Number of Countries Identify Cases of ‘Deltacron’ Variant

A growing number of cases of a hybrid COVID-19 variant dubbed “Deltacron” are being identified, including several cases in the United States.

Researchers with Helix, a California-based genomic company, found two cases of COVID-19 infection caused by a hybrid of the Delta and Omicron variants, while researchers in France determined 18 people were infected by the hybrid.

Cases have also been detected in the Netherlands and Denmark, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Delta was the dominant version of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, in many countries in 2021 but was displaced in most of them by Omicron by the end of the year.

Experts so far haven’t seen any difference in the characteristics of patients who are infected with the hybrid and haven’t seen any signs that the Deltacron causes more severe cases of COVID-19, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, told reporters in a recent briefing.

“Unfortunately, we do expect to see recombinants, because this is what viruses do, they change over time,” she said, adding later that, “this pandemic is far from over.”

In the United States, Helix scientists and collaborators with the University of Washington Medical Center and Thermo Fisher Scientific sequenced 29,719 samples between November 2021 and February 2022 and identified 20 cases where a person was “co-infected” with the Delta and Omicron variants and two additional cases where the infection was pinpointed as being caused by the variant resulting from the recombination of Delta and Omicron.

Russia seeking military aid from China, says US official

A United States official says Russia has asked China for military equipment to use in its invasion of Ukraine, a request that heightened tensions about the ongoing war before a meeting between senior US and Chinese officials in Rome.

In advance of the talks on Monday, White House NSA Jake Sullivan bluntly warned China to avoid helping Russia evade punishment from global sanctions that have hammered the Russian economy.

“We will not allow that to go forward,” he said.

The White House said the talks in the Italian capital will focus on the direct effect of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security.

Russia Tells US Convoys Carrying Weapons to Ukraine Are ‘Legitimate Targets’

Russia has informed the United States that it views convoys carrying weapons to Ukrainian forces are military targets, a top Russian official said on March 12.

“We have warned the U.S. that the U.S.-orchestrated inundation of Ukraine with weapons from some countries is not just a dangerous move, but also an action that makes these convoys legitimate targets,” Sergey Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, was quoted as saying by state media.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) declined to comment.

The U.S. State Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.

A senior U.S. defense official told reporters Friday that there had been “no signs” of Russians targeting weapons shipments.

The United States has been providing weapons to Ukraine, including anti-tank and anti-armor missiles.

Ryabkov described such actions as “escalatory.”

“The escalatory component of Washington’s policy absolutely dominates, despite all the incantations that they are extremely responsible people and weigh every step they make,” he said.

John Kirby, the U.S. DoD’s spokesman, told reporters recently that President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing “the calculus of the need and the potential risk of providing that need” with “every piece of material and system that we’re providing” to Ukraine.

Due to the U.S. intelligence community assessing the proposed transfer of Polish fighter jets to the United States, which would then hand them over to Ukraine, as high-risk, U.S. officials rejected the plan.

Australian Fuel Prices Skyrocket to 8-year High in February and Showing No Sign of Slowing

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, on top of the refusal of OPEC nations to increase crude oil production, pushed February prices for Australian petrol prices in the five largest capital cities to an eight-year high.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) latest quarterly petrol report found that the daily average petrol prices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth was 182.4 cents per litre (US$5 a gallon) in late February.

This is the highest inflation-adjusted level since 2014, at a time of strong international demand, conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and a lower Australian exchange rate.

In the first half of March, prices have accelerated towards 220 cents a litre, surpassing the previous record, with no signs of slowing.

In June 2008, during the Global Financial Crisis, daily average prices reached an equivalent to 213 cents per litre (US$5.87 a gallon) in today’s dollars.

“The world was already experiencing high crude oil prices late last year due to the continuing actions of the OPEC and Russia cartel, and the enduring Northern Hemisphere energy crisis,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said. “The shocking events in Ukraine have forced crude oil prices even higher, as Russia is a major supplier of oil.”

Australian retail petrol prices are largely determined by international refined petrol prices and the Australian-U.S. dollar exchange rate.

“Crude oil prices have been climbing sharply since late-2020, and prices at the bowser here have followed,” Sims said.

U.S. NEWS, POLITIC & GOVERNMENT

Cops in America Have So Much Militarized Gear, They are Sending It to Ukraine

There is no question that police in the land of the free have become the standing army that the founders warned us about. Armed to the teeth with tactical gear fit for the battlefield in Afghanistan, American cops are prepared for war domestically. In fact, they are over prepared, and they have so much military gear that they are now sending their surplus to be used in Ukraine to battle the Russians.

“Many of our Department of Defense (DOD) and State Department contacts have asked the law enforcement community for equipment to help the Ukrainian people push back against this violence and protect their citizens,” Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman said on Twitter — noting that his department is sending hundreds of ballistics helmets to Ukraine.

Hoffman is one of many sheriffs and law enforcement personnel sending their equipment to Ukraine to be used in war against Russia.

As VICE News reports, the Colorado Department of Public Safety said it was donating more than 80 sets of body armor and 750 helmets, and that it was accepting donations from other law enforcement agencies in the state.

“This is equipment that we are no longer able to use because it is beyond life cycle, or in some cases it may have been replaced or upgraded by some equipment that maybe better fits our needs or is safer,” Colorado DPS spokesperson Patricia Billinger told local station KARE9.

In true American political fashion, however, this move is not free from corrupt practices.

Though much of this equipment is at the end of its life cycle, Hoffman said that the Pentagon is attempting to “supply more than 50,000 helmets and law enforcement supplies in the coming weeks” from a weapons manufacturer in his town — a claim the Pentagon denies.

According to VICE News, the State Department “has made no such request.” A Pentagon spokesperson told VICE News in an email Thursday: “We are aware of no such requests from the Department of Defense.”

However, the defense contractor in Sarasota says it has inside information and “all communication has been verbal through a third-party vendor that has been vetted by DOD.” 

US Concerned About Escalation From Russia but Not Changing Nuclear Posture: White House

The Biden administration is very “concerned” that Russia might escalate its invasion of Ukraine and use nuclear weapons, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” Sullivan said the United States was monitoring Russia’s moves closely but noted that officials have not yet seen anything that would require them to change their “nuclear posture.”

“We are watching this extremely closely, and obviously, the escalation risk with a nuclear power is severe, and it is a different kind of conflict than other conflicts the American people have seen over the years,” Sullivan said.

“And the American President, Joe Biden, has to take that responsibility extremely seriously, even as we redouble our efforts to support the Ukrainians. As things stand today, the United States has not adjusted our nuclear posture, but it is something that we monitor day by day, hour by hour, because it is a paramount priority to the president.”

When asked if the Biden administration was “concerned” about the situation, Sullivan said, “Anytime you have a nuclear power fighting in a conflict zone in Europe near NATO territory, of course we have to focus on and be concerned about the possibility of escalation, the risk of escalation.”

However, Sullivan again doubled down on his previous comment that officials “have not seen anything that would require us to change our nuclear posture at this time.”

Within days of invading Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his nuclear forces on high alert, blaming the “hostile actions” and statements of Western nations and NATO.

“Western countries are not only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic area. I’m speaking about the illegitimate sanctions that everyone is well aware of. However, the top officials of the leading NATO countries also make aggressive statements against our country as well,” Putin said in a televised meeting with top ministers.

As a result, Putin said that he has ordered “the minister of defense and the chief of the general staff [of the Russian armed forces] to transfer the deterrence forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty.”

The Truth Is Coming Out About COVID Deaths

Hospitals receive payments for testing every patient for COVID, every COVID diagnosis and every ‘COVID death,’ as well as any time they use remdesivir and mechanical ventilation.

Early on in the COVID pandemic, people suspected that the deaths attributed to the infection were exaggerated. There was plenty of evidence for this. For starters, hospitals were instructed and incentivized to mark any patient who had a positive COVID test and subsequently died within a certain time period as a COVID death.

At the same time, we knew that the PCR test was unreliable, producing inordinate amounts of false positives. Now, the truth is finally starting to come out and, as suspected, the actual death toll is vastly lower than we were led to believe.

Video: Freedom of information discussion

COVID Deaths Have Been Vastly Overcounted

In the video above, Dr. John Campbell reviews recent data released by the U.K. government in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. They show that the number of deaths during 2020 in England and Wales, where COVID-19 was the sole cause of death, was 9,400. Of those, 7,851 were aged 65 and older. The median age of death was 81.5 years.

During the first quarter of 2021, there were 6,483 deaths where COVID-19 was the sole cause of death, again with the vast majority, 4,923, occurring in seniors over 65.

A total of 346 died from COVID-19 alone during the second quarter of 2021, and in the third quarter, the COVID death toll was 1,142. Again, these are people with no other underlying conditions that might have caused their death.

So, in all, for the 21 months covering January 2020 through September 2021, the total COVID-19 death toll in England and Wales was 17,371 — a far cry from what’s been reported. As of the end of September 2021, the U.K. government reported there were 137,133 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, and these deaths were therefore all counted as “COVID deaths.”

In a January 19, 2022, press conference, U.K. health secretary Sajid Javid admitted that the daily government figures are unreliable as people have been and continue to die from conditions unrelated to COVID-19, but are included in the count due to a positive test.

He also admitted that about 40% of patients presently counted as hospitalized COVID patients were not admitted due to COVID symptoms. They were admitted for other conditions and simply tested positive.

Michigan Election Official Charged With Ballot Tampering, Misconduct

A Michigan county elections official and former township clerk was charged with ballot tampering related to the August 2020 primary election, according to state Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Kathy Funk, who was running in 2020 as a Democrat for reelection as Flint Township clerk, also was charged with misconduct in office, Nessel said. The charges, which are both felonies, each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison upon conviction.

Nessel alleged that Funk purposely broke a seal on a container for ballots so that the votes couldn’t be totaled during an anticipated recount. She narrowly won reelection in the unofficial count, the attorney general’s office said.

“Election officials must uphold the integrity of their positions. Those who abuse that commitment undermine the very foundation of our democracy,” Nessel, a Democrat, said in a Twitter response to a ClickonDetroit report.

“Our department is committed to prosecuting election violations, regardless of the political party of the perpetrator.”

Nessel’s office didn’t provide any more details about the allegations against Funk.

Barack Obama Says He Tested Positive for COVID-19

Former President Barack Obama confirmed Sunday he tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

“I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise,” Obama said on his Twitter page. His wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, has tested negative for the virus.

The former president then called on people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, saying that he believes it helped him against more symptoms of the disease.

He provided no other details about the diagnosis.

Republicans Introduce Bill to Help Victims of COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Reactions

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and other Republican senators introduced legislation on March 11 to help people who have suffered adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines.

“The federal government has encouraged all Americans to receive the COVID-19 vaccines. While these vaccines have been miraculous and have helped save innumerable lives, there are always some who experience adverse reactions,” Lee said in a statement.

A summary of the measure (pdf) provided by his office states that “Unfortunately, the thousands of patients who have sought relief for adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccines have not received compensation under the existing framework.”

Lee said, “My Countermeasure Injury Compensation Amendment Act will help build trust in future medical treatments and to make sure those who were harmed are properly compensated.”

The measure, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), seeks to amend the Countermeasure Injury Compensation Program (CICP).

‘I’ve Never Seen Morale So Low’: USAF Lt. Col. On Military Life Under Vaccine Mandates

In an interview with The Epoch Times U.S. Air Force (USAF) Lt. Col. Adam Conrad said that morale for both military personnel and contractors has been hard-hit by President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates, which require that everyone employed by the federal government get vaccinated or lose their job.

Conrad painted a grim picture of the state of USAF personnel, who have faced persistent fears of losing their jobs if they object to being forced to take the relatively-untested CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus vaccine.

“I’ve never seen morale so low,” said Conrad, who asked that his name be changed to protect his identity.

Conrad, like many servicemembers across the military, faces the risk of losing his job if he does not accept the CCP virus vaccine. Though he has submitted an exemption request, Conrad is not optimistic that the request will be granted, despite his relatively high rank in the service.

Most service members who have sought such an exemption from the vaccine, though ruled to have “sincere belief” against it by military chaplains, have had their request denied.

“I have a sincerely held religious belief against the [COVID] vaccine due to how it’s created,” Conrad said, citing the use of fetal cells from aborted infants during the development process of the vaccine.

He explained, “I started questioning the COVID vaccines due to the novelty of the mRNA technology. While researching, I came to have a sincerely-held religious belief due to my anti-abortion stance, as well as the low risk that COVID poses to me.”

Based on reports received from those around him who have taken the vaccines, Conrad argued that adverse effects from the novel vaccine likely posed more risk to him than does the virus.

“The ends couldn’t justify the means by any stretch,” he ruled.

NYT Reporter Pans Jan. 6 ‘Overreaction,’ Says Newsroom Has ‘Bullies’

Matthew Rosenberg also says paper ‘might well lose’ case against Project Veritas

A New York Times reporter who has claimed it’s a lie that the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol “was no big deal” was captured on undercover video saying the left has overreacted to what happened.

The left’s “overreaction” in some places “was so over the top,” Matthew Rosenberg, the reporter, told Project Veritas, a nonprofit journalism group.

Rosenberg smiled as he said he was “supposed to be traumatized” by the breach but described himself and two colleagues he was with on Jan. 6 as “just having fun” and said he wanted to tell younger reporters at the paper who have said they were scared of the events of the day that “you were not in any danger” and to “man up.”

Rosenberg, being taped at restaurants, also said that there were “a ton of FBI informants amongst the people who attacked the Capitol.”

Rosenberg was one of the authors of a recent story that alleged there were “false narratives” being pushed by some about Jan. 6, including the allegation that “the FBI planted agents to stir up the crowd” and claims that Jan. 6 “was no big deal.”

US Defense Contractor’s Former CEO Arrested for Allegedly Exporting Military Technology to China

The former owner and chief executive of a California-based military contractor has been arrested for allegedly breaking federal export laws by transferring sensitive U.S. technology to countries such as China.

The 77-year-old Joe Sery, who used to run Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts (Tungsten Parts), has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of “knowingly and willfully” exporting military intelligence, including data and drawings, to China and India without U.S. approval, the Justice Department announced on March 5.

The San Diego-based company supplies fragments and weapon-grade components made of tungsten, a rare metal, to the military.

Prosecutors have identified Sery’s 70-year-old brother, Dror Sery, a dual citizen of Israel and South Africa, as a co-conspirator. An arrest warrant has been issued for the man, who remains a fugitive and is believed to be living in Israel.

The brothers allegedly created a non-company email to secretly access the sensitive documents from Tungsten Parts’ system, to which Dror Sery was then given full access. The two then exported the sensitive technical drawings by email when Dror was in India and China, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

It’s unlawful to transfer data, goods, and services that are designated as defense items out of the United States without a license, or to release such technical data to a foreign individual in the United States, according to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. If convicted, violators face a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Parents Should Ask These Questions Before Giving Their Child a COVID-19 Vaccine: ER Doctor

For parents who are contemplating whether their child should receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Joseph Fraiman, an emergency medicine physician, says they should ask the following two questions to help them decide.

“The first thing that you want to do for harm/benefit analysis [is to ask], is there a mortality benefit for these vaccines for your child,” Fraiman said at a roundtable discussion hosted by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 7.

Experts say that children are at much lower risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19 compared to other age groups.

“The majority of studies haven’t been able to find a single healthy child who’s died from COVID. The studies that say they have found them, they can’t confirm that they were healthy children,” Fraiman said.

Researchers of three studies, two have been peer-reviewed and published, found that there were 25 deaths from COVID-19 in children younger than 18 in England between March 2020 and February 2021—a mortality rate of about 2 for every million children in that age group. Of the 25 deaths attributed to COVID-19, 15 had a life-limiting condition.

Fraiman, who is also a clinical scientist focused on analyzing the methodology and interpreting the risk/benefit analysis of clinical studies, was one of the health experts invited to speak at the event.

For children with underlying health conditions that may make them at risk for COVID-19, Fraiman says, “that’s a discussion with your pediatrician.”

“But if you have a healthy child, the chances of that child dying are incredibly low, essentially close to zero, if not actually zero,” Fraiman said.

Of the 73 million children under 18 in the United States, 894 children have died of or with COVID-19 during 2020–2022 as of March 9, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. Whereas, there were 72,781 deaths from all causes within the same timeframe for this age group.

The Atlantic Ridiculed for Warning Nuclear War Would ‘Wreck’ Climate

A nuclear war would be disastrous for the earth’s climate, according to a recent piece in the Atlantic that drew harsh criticism for its focus on the harms posed to the environment by a potential nuclear exchange resulting from the current conflict in Ukraine.

The Wednesday essay, titled “On Top of Everything Else, Nuclear War Would Be a Climate Problem,” was penned by Atlantic staff writer Robinson Meyer and began by noting climate change is often associated with energy policy.

Correction, Mr. President: It’s a Deadly Pandemic of the Vaccinated Too

News Analysis

Despite promises from President Joe Biden and top health officials that COVID-19 vaccines would prevent severe illness, death, and perhaps even transmission of the virus, data indicate that thousands of Americans are dying from the illness even after having been vaccinated.

Striking evidence comes from California, Georgia, and Illinois, where a third of people dying with COVID had been vaccinated–even some who had received a third booster shot. In the absence of publicly available federal data, the three states offer some of the best numbers on the post-vaccine impact of a pandemic that has claimed 950,000 American lives.

Some health experts say such deaths were predictable. After all, initial reports on the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson jabs promised vaccine efficacy rates in the 90 percent-plus range–not perfection. So even if a substantial percentage of the population is vaccinated, vaccinated people will still die. And the vaccines were designed to combat a strain of the virus before the Delta and Omicron variants appeared, suggesting the new scourges may have played a major role in the vaccines’ disappointing effectiveness.

Nevertheless, on July 21, 2021, President Biden assured Americans at a Cincinnati town hall that “If you are vaccinated, you are not going to be hospitalized, you are not going to be in the ICU unit, and you are not going to die.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, echoed his remarks in an interview later that month: “The vaccines are very effective in protecting you and extremely effective in protecting you against severe disease.”

The president has largely held to his stance, allowing during his State of the Union address on Tuesday that new vaccines might be needed, even as reality increasingly undermined it. In December, he asserted, “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated”–words soon to become an administration mantra.

He would later warn: “We are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated–for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm.”

With such debatable claims, authorities have arguably harmed the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. The vaccinated–especially the elderly or immunocompromised–have been given a false sense of invincibility. The unvaccinated have been not only scapegoated; some have lost their jobs as the administration’s pronouncements were used to enforce inflexible employer vaccine mandates.

It is true that COVID mortality statistics are uncertain. They are clouded in many cases by failures to distinguish those who died from COVID versus those who died with COVID, and by variations in how “unvaccinated” is defined–with numerous deaths classified as unvaccinated up until two weeks after a victim’s second jab.

But the fairly detailed and unambiguous data from California, Georgia, and Illinois show the vaccinated making up a significant percentage of those dying from COVID as the new strains became prevalent. When the Delta strain circulated from mid-November to mid-December of last year, the vaccinated accounted for 21 percent of all COVID-related deaths in California and Georgia, and 38 percent in Illinois. After Delta was overtaken by the Omicron variant, the proportions in California and Georgia rose substantially to over 33 percent—a level comparable to Illinois, which remained at its already higher rate.

14 AGs Sue Biden Administration Over DOJ’s Call to Investigate Protesting Parents

Fourteen Republican attorneys general, led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, have sued the Biden administration for not responding to a Freedom of Information request related to the Department of Justice calling for surveillance of parents expressing opinions at school board meetings and other forums.

The lawsuit follows a chain of events that began last October.

It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana Indianapolis Division. It asks the court to force the Biden administration to respond to the requests for information.

It names President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, the U.S. Department of Justice, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and the U.S. Department of Education as plaintiffs.

The coalition, led by Rokita, are from the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

On Oct. 4, Garland issued a memo on the “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff” and called for the FBI and other federal law enforcement agents to monitor activities in school districts nationwide.

Six months later, the attorneys general argue, the Biden administration has provided no evidence of any spikes in threats against school personnel by American parents.

Garland issued the memo after the National School Board Association (NSBA) sent a Sept. 29 letter to the Biden administration lamenting that parents were opposing the teaching of critical race theory and other divisive ideologies, referring to parental protests as “domestic terrorism.”

Garland’s memo “attacked dissent by parents during local school board meetings in an effort ‘to intimidate parents into giving up their constitutional rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children,’” the attorneys general argue.

DC Provides Dubious Vaccination Mandate Exemption to Nun-Physician 2 Days After Lawsuit Filed

Two days after being sued by a Roman Catholic nun who provides free medical services to the poor, the District of Columbia seemed to capitulate on March 11 by granting the nun a religious exemption to the district’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers. But Sister Deirdre Byrne’s attorney said on March 12 that the lawsuit isn’t going away—at least not for the time being—because the exemption may be revoked by the D.C. government at any time.

Byrne is a member and superior of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and a retired U.S. Army colonel who served overseas as a soldier and missionary. A medical doctor, she’s double board-certified in family medicine and general surgery.

Christopher Ferrara, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm that’s representing Byrne, said his client has a “deep and sincere religious opposition” to all three COVID-19 vaccines approved in the United States because “they have been tested, developed, or produced with cell lines derived from abortions, something to which Sister Deirdre has deep and sincere religious opposition.”

Byrne grabbed national attention when she delivered a pro-life address to the Republican National Convention on Aug. 26, 2020, describing the unborn as “the largest marginalized group in the world,” and President Donald Trump as “the most pro-life president this nation has ever had, defending life at all stages.”

“As a physician, I can say without hesitation: Life begins at conception. While what I have to say may be difficult for some to hear, I am saying it because I am not just pro-life, I am pro-eternal life. I want all of us to end up in heaven together someday.”

The 484-page legal complaint (pdf) in the case, Byrne v. Bowser, court file 1:22-cv-655, was filed on March 9 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The defendants are the District of Columbia, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, and D.C. Department of Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt. Bowser and Nesbitt are being sued in their official capacities.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

Heitkamp: Trump Administration ‘Overspent and Drove Up Inflation’

Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that today’s soaring inflation was former President Donald Trump’s fault.

Heitkamp said, “You always blame the party in power. And, you know, the administration wasn’t aggressive enough, in my opinion, in pushing back on the red herrings. The red herrings like it’s because you didn’t build the Keystone XL pipeline and remind them one of the first things Donald Trump did was give the permit, and in four years, the pipeline didn’t get built? Why not? It wasn’t economical to build that pipeline in those price points. They argue that this is because of inflation. Runaway inflation. Who drove up inflation? We saw the CBO numbers this week. It was the Trump Administration that overspent and drove up inflation. So if inflation in prices and housing and in gas is because of deficit spending, that’s Trump’s fault, and so the administration has not been nearly aggressive enough to explain what’s actually going on.”

Anchor Jon Karl said, “Although if you look at the numbers, inflation really started to rise almost exactly when Biden came in the White House.”

Heitkamp said, “Now that argues my point, doesn’t it?”

Biden’s Rhetoric and Regulations Hampering Oil and Gas Output: Energy Alliance President

Jerry Simmons, president of the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, said President Joe Biden’s statements about removing fossil fuels by 2050 and his administration’s tightening of the industry’s regulations are stifling the production of energy and causing prices to rise.

“When you make these statements about an industry and, as the president, the incoming president, then you kind of set the stage,” Simmons told NTD Business on March 10. He added that the rhetoric about fossil fuels further curtails investors’ willingness to put money into an industry already hurting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Simmons was referring to statements Biden made during his campaign about ending the use of fossil fuels by 2050 to mitigate the so-called climate crisis.

Simmons said that investment is key to exploring fossil fuels because each viable well costs millions of dollars to get up and running.

“A typical well today costs about $8 million to drill; this isn’t cheap, easy stuff. And these projects take years in development to get everything done to get the geology right, the engineering, and all of the infrastructure around it,” said Simmons.

Biden, however, blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as the key factor causing inflation, especially the rising prices of oil and gas.

“Today’s inflation report is a reminder that Americans’ budgets are being stretched by price increases, and families are starting to feel the impacts of Putin’s price hike,” Biden said in a March 10 White House statement.

“A large contributor to inflation this month was an increase in gas and energy prices as markets reacted to Putin’s aggressive actions,” Biden said.

Simmons pointed out that Biden’s regulations are key to rising energy prices, saying that even though most drilling takes place on private land, the president’s new regulations on the industry are hampering production.

“Again the Biden administration has put up roadblocks to infrastructure since coming in office. Three regulations, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that permits pipelines, they’ve got new regulations now that require some assessments that never had been required before,” Simmons said. “So those kinds of things have hampered our efforts to ramp up production.”

“So late 2019, we were almost 13 million barrels a day in U.S. production. Now we’re a little under 12 million or so, and the Russian oil and refined products just got banned by President Biden. That’s about 700,000 barrels a day that we consume of Russian product.”

Simmons said even if Biden changed his position about the U.S. developing fossil fuels, it would still take several months to get production back up and reduce prices.

“You’ve got to plan these projects out, and you’ve got to have the investor confidence that it’s going to last,” Simmons said.

He reiterated how important the president’s stance on fossil fuels is for drawing investments but was not hopeful that Biden would prioritize fossil fuels.

“I think that that would be huge, but I don’t see that coming.”

Yellen Says Ukraine War Fallout Means Inflation Likely ‘Very Uncomfortably High’ All Year

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that economic uncertainty driven by the Ukraine war means Americans should brace for inflation to remain “uncomfortably high” throughout the year.

Yellen made the remarks on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” program, responding to a question whether the crisis in Ukraine had led her to revise her earlier projections for inflation to ease in the second half of 2022.

“It is exacerbating it,” she said of the Russia–Ukraine conflict. “I think there’s no doubt about it. We’ve seen a very meaningful increase in gas prices and my guess is that next month, we’ll see a further evidence of an impact on U.S. inflation of Putin’s war on Ukraine.”

The invasion of Ukraine has prompted Western nations to impose punishing sanctions on Moscow, while a flurry of major brands have cut their business ties with Russia.

Oil prices have surged in the wake of the invasion, as have prices of key minerals, fertilizer, and food products like wheat, which several days ago vaulted to a historic high of $13.63 per bushel. The price of urea, a key nitrogen fertilizer, has risen more than threefold over the past 12 months.

Inflation in the United States rose at a blistering pace of 7.9 percent in the year through February, data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed. That’s the highest pace in 40 years.

Asked whether she stood by her earlier predictions for inflation to ease in the second half of this year, Yellen declined to make a firm prediction citing “a lot of uncertainty” related to the situation in Ukraine, but she did suggest those bets are off.

“We’re likely to see another year in which 12-month inflation numbers remain very uncomfortably high,” Yellen said, adding that the Fed would be keeping a close eye on the inflation data and is poised to act to relieve upward price pressures.

“I have confidence in their ability to make a meaningful difference going forward,” Yellen said, adding that she thinks the Fed’s planned cycle of monetary tightening would result in a “soft landing” and that she doesn’t expect a recession.

Meanwhile, consumers’ one-year-ahead expectations for the rate of inflation have risen to their highest level since 1981, according to the University of Michigan’s most recent consumer sentiment survey.

Consumer confidence fell for the third month in a row, with sentiment dropping to its lowest level in nearly 11 years.

Nearly a quarter of people responding to the Michigan University survey mentioned the Ukraine invasion when answering questions about the economic outlook.

Commenting on the stark consumer confidence data was economist Peter Schiff, who predicted more downside for sentiment and more upside for inflation.

“The Mar. Univ. of Mich. Sentiment Index ‘unexpectedly’ plunged to 59.7, its lowest level since 2011,” he said in a tweet.

“Worse one-year #inflation expectations hit 5.4 percent, the highest since Dec. 1981. Imagine how much gloomier consumers would be if they realized inflation will actually be much higher!” he added.

Allianz chief economic adviser Mohamed El-Erian, too, suggested Americans should brace for inflation to go climb further.

“High and persistent #inflation is a key issue with multiplying—actual and potential—economic, financial, institutional, political and social spillovers,” he said in a tweet.

Foxconn Halts iPhone Production At Factories In Shenzhen Due To Lockdown

Beijing’s decision to lock down 17.5 million people in China’s de facto ‘tech capital’ of Shenzhen is already creating serious problems for global supply chains.

Now, it appears that among the earliest casualties of this latest lockdown is the perennially popular iPhone. Because, as Bloomberg reports, Apple supplier Foxconn has been forced to scale back production at two sites used to make iPhones due to the lockdowns.

The firm is shifting production away from two campuses in the area to try and reduce the impact from the lockdown.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

DuckDuckGo Bows to Authoritarians, Begins Censoring Search Engine Results to ‘Fight Disinformation’

Arguably the world’s most popular private search engine, DuckDuckGo, has long been a haven for those who do not want to participate in Google’s censorship, manipulation, and tracking. In 2008, Gabriel Weinberg stared this mission with an emphasis on protecting searchers’ privacy and avoiding the filter bubble of personalized search results that comes with all things Google.

Since its inception, the pro-privacy and anti-tracking business model has propelled the company from just a couple hundred thousand searches a month to over 100,000,000 searches every day. Their growth has been nearly exponential. But that all may be changing now.

This week, Weinberg, took everything his organization had been working on for years, and flushed it down the toilet with a single tweet.

Like so many others I am sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create. #StandWithUkraine️ At DuckDuckGo, we’ve been rolling out search updates that down-rank sites associated with Russian disinformation.

While this may seem like a noble gesture, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an unlawful and horrific invasion, the idea of a search engine which prides itself as anti-censorship and pro-privacy turning to the dark side and hiding information from its users, is not appealing to those who actually stand by these principles.

Moreover, who gets to decide what exactly constitutes “disinformation”? In his thread, in which he engaged with several users, Weinberg said nothing of transparency. Nor did he elaborate on what is and what isn’t disinformation or who would be telling DuckDuckGo what to censor.

If anything, the last two years, and especially the last three weeks, have shown us that today’s disinformation is the next days reality and vice versa. So many stories have been called disinformation only to be proven true months later while at the same time, overt disinformation has been presented as fact only to be proven false down the road.

HEALTH

“Small but mighty” chives offer a trio of important health benefits

Scientists have long been aware of the ability of onions and garlic – both members of the super-healthy allium family of vegetables – to support the function and well-being of the immune system and the heart.  But chives, the smallest members of the family, could possibly outdo their larger cousins in providing health benefits – while contributing a milder flavor and aroma.

Botanically known as Allium schoenoprasum, the chive plant features hollow green stems with a piquant oniony taste.  According to recent research published in the journal Pharmaceutical Biology, chives have the highest content of antioxidant polyphenols (beneficial plant compounds) of any of the allium family.  And, this abundance of natural “goodies” can pay big health dividends.  To discover three of the most impressive benefits of chives, keep reading.

Chives promote heart health with a pair of high-powered plant chemicals

Like onions and garlic, chives are rich in a sulfur-containing compound known as allicin, which promotes the release of beneficial nitric oxide and optimizes blood flow from the heart to other organs in the body.  With both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, allicin has been linked in studies to lower levels of harmful LDL cholesterol.  It may also maintain normal blood pressure and reduce the tendency of blood to form into dangerous clots, thereby helping to protect against stroke and coronary artery disease.

Benefits of chives include helping to preserve vision

Another helpful pair of plant compounds in chives, lutein, and zeaxanthin, are believed to protect against age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 65.  These natural plant pigments can help protect the macula of the eye from damage from ultraviolet and “blue” light – and are so effective that some scientists characterize them as “sunscreen for the eyes.”Chives contribute a cornucopia of vitamins and minerals

Chopped chives deliver an impressive variety of nutrients – yet only contain a negligible 3 calories per tablespoon.  According to the United States Department of Agriculture, this serving contributes 8 percent of the adult recommended dietary intake for vitamin K.  This important fat-soluble nutrient contributes to bone health by promoting the production of osteoblasts (cells that form and strengthen bone).

Vitamin K also “does its bit” for heart health by helping to keep calcium in the bones and out of the arteries – thereby helping to protect against unwanted atherosclerotic plaque.  In addition to providing vitamin K, chives offer up antioxidant vitamin C, which helps produce the collagen needed for healthy skin and arteries.  Other health-sustaining nutrients in chives include choline – an essential component of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that helps with sleep, mood, and cognition – and folate, a type of B vitamin that helps prevent neural tube defects in newborns.

Elevate recipes with fresh chives

Chives are among a select ensemble of seasonings known in French cuisine as “fines herbes” – or “the fine herbs.”  (The others are chervil, parsley, and tarragon).  Whether used “solo” or as part of a team, chives can enhance salads, soups, stews, and dips with their mild, tangy taste and attractive green color.  Sprinkle chives on a baked potato with yogurt, add them to a mixed green salad, or use them to accent omelets or scrambled eggs.  The satisfying flavor of chives may help you use less salt – a definite “plus” if you are looking to reduce your sodium intake.

(Pro tip: Don’t cut your chives until you are ready to use them.  And – when used in soups, quiches, or other cooked dishes – chives should be added late in the process to protect their delicate flavor and antioxidant value.)

By the way, it’s not hard to grow your own fresh chives on a sunny kitchen windowsill.  When the green shoots reach six inches long, simply snip them as needed – then enjoy the sophisticated flavor and many health benefits of chives.

Worse than junk food? Studies show farmed salmon among most toxic foods on planet

When you think of clean eating, chances are salmon immediately springs to mind.  It is the poster child of brain-friendly, heart-healthy fare, advertised on cooking shows and in medical journals as a panacea for the ills of the modern age.  And yet, not all salmon are created equal.

Farmed salmon has gained an unfair advantage when it comes to its reputation, simply by dint of being related to its wild ancestor.  New studies show, however, that not only is that advantage unearned, but it may also actually be prompting us to make terrible health choices.  Because it turns out, farmed salmon is worse than junk food.

Salmon farms: Rife with health concerns for humans and fish

As nicely summarized by The Defender, linked above, aggregated studies have some pretty terrible news to share about farmed salmon.  These include the facts that:

• Fish farms pollute the ocean with toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), which is linked to higher incidences of cancer, immunosuppression, neurotoxicity, and reproductive issues
• Farmed salmon contained toxin levels at as much as five times the rate of wild fish
• Farmed fish spread disease to wild fish populations, threatening ecosystems and our future food stock
• Toxins in fish food and local environmental pollutants on fish farms concentrate in the salmon and are passed on to people

Here is why farmed salmon is NOT a health food

The above study found that farmed salmon is among the most toxic foods on the planet.  So rather than the health food it is proposed to be, it has more in common with junk food.

Why?  Because fish are fed pellets that have more in common with low-grade pet kibble than with their natural food source.  Close proximity to one another also means fish get diseases and attract parasites at higher rates, so they must be “protected” with antibiotics and pesticides.

Many farms are located in naturally polluted waters, such as the mouths of dirty rivers.  Where these empty out, the oceans receive massive loads of garbage, human waste, and algae blooms.  Moreover, farmed salmon is often passed off as its superior cousin, wild salmon.  This happens in restaurants, cheating the consumer and depriving career fishermen of valuable income.

So if you wouldn’t feed your family McDonald’s, saying no to farmed salmon should be a no-brainer.  It is not how we should spend our money as conscientious consumers.

Gene-edited tomato promoted as therapeutic, but is it even safe?

 Engineered foods are becoming more and more prevalent as scientists seek to make our whole, natural fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats into substances that vaguely resemble the original product.  They claim to be doing it all in the name of better health, but is it really?

Japanese startup, Sanatech, is behind the launch of the CRISPR gene-edited tomato, the first of its kind in the world.  The engineered fruit contains higher levels of the sedative Gamma-AminoButyric Acid or GABA.  It is garnering a mixed reception, with some experts touting its supposed health benefits and others voicing concerns about its safety for human consumption.

The trouble with GABA and gene-editing

GABA is an amino acid that is believed to help lower blood pressure and increase relaxation.  It is naturally found in tomatoes in small amounts, but the gene-edited tomato contains five times more GABA than a regular one.  This has some scientists very concerned.

In Japan, GABA is considered to be a health-promoting substance.  However, studies show mixed findings.  More disturbing, though, there have been absolutely zero studies showing that consuming the CRISPR tomato has any health benefits for humans or is safe to consume.

There haven’t been enough studies done to determine if GABA is safe to use.  It seems to be safe in the amounts commonly found in foods, but higher amounts could cause problems.  There just isn’t enough evidence for many experts to feel comfortable with these higher amounts – and worse, putting in our food.

Gene-editing has also raised some serious concerns.  Research has shown that it can lead to serious chromosomal damage.

Eyebrow-raising “marketing” – or lack thereof

Sanatech is stepping lightly around the so-called benefits of the gene-edited tomato.  In fact, they are very careful to avoid any claims of its ability to promote relaxation or lower blood pressure.  To get around this, the company is using a more general tactic, marketing GABA as a substance that can help with relaxation and lower blood pressure.  It then follows up by explaining that its tomatoes are fortified with high levels of GABA.

Essentially, they are saying it without saying it, and this is causing some concern within the research community, especially since there is little evidence that even supports the substance as a viable health supplement, much less a safe one.

Another genetically modified tomato is also causing concern

Cathie Martin of the UK’s John Innes Centre has developed a purple tomato using an older genetic modification technique.  She plans to market to the public directly even though there have not been any human intervention studies on the tomatoes.

This means that the health effects of conventional tomatoes and genetically modified tomatoes have not been studied or compared.  The fact that she does not intend to make any claims regarding health benefits is of little comfort.  However, the media and the John Innes Center have created a great deal of hype regarding the tomatoes’ cancer-fighting properties over the past few years.  Warning from health organizations that state there is no evidence supporting the claims has not deterred or stopped them.

With weak government regulations on genetically modified crops, these foods are already making their way onto American soil.  After that, these scientifically-altered foods will be coming to a market near you … and most consumers will have no idea it’s happening.

COVID RELATED NEWS

Study finds 13,000% increase in myocarditis risk in children after mRNA COVID jab

Dr. Fauci has virtually disappeared from the headlines, but other stories about COVID-19 and the mRNA jabs continue to make their way into the news.

A recent study, for instance, affiliated with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), raises even more concern over the causal link between COVID shots and a heart inflammation condition called myocarditis among children, especially boys.

Journal of the American Medical Association: Over 13,000% increased risk of heart inflammation in boys aged 12 to 15 years old after COVID shot

The study, called “Myocarditis Cases Reported After mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccination in the US From December 2020 to August 2021,” was published in January of this year in the prestigious journal JAMA.  The authors used passive surveillance data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) to answer the following question: “What is the risk of myocarditis after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination in the US?”

Pulling from over 1,600 reported cases of myocarditis following COVID jabs and comparing the rates of these myocarditis cases to baseline rates, the researchers determined the following:

• Among boys aged 16 to 17 who received Pfizer mRNA COVID injections, the risk of myocarditis post-jab increased by at least 7,800%
• That figure rose to more than 13,000% for boys aged 12 to 15
• Even young men between the ages of 18 and 24 had a 2,800% increased risk of myocarditis after receiving the Pfizer jab

The risk of myocarditis in children increased significantly following Moderna mRNA shots, too.

UK government report shows 9 out of 10 COVID-19 deaths occur in fully vaxxed

The mainstream media claim that the COVID shot rollout and mandate were “never about” stopping transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (and only about reducing pressure on hospital systems and preventing deaths) is nothing more than a highly propagandized attempt to gaslight the American public.  In reality, government and pharmaceutical leaders were adamant early in the pandemic that pushing these new mRNA jabs onto as many people as possible was the “only” way out.  Even President Biden once claimed that a person wouldn’t get COVID if they were jabbed.

At this point, however, it is painfully clear that this is no longer true.  In fact, breakthrough cases are surprisingly common (just imagine if any other “vaccine” in history had such a poor track record).  And in the UK, grim data about who is dying with COVID-19 paints an entirely different perspective on the so-called safety and effectiveness of these novel drugs.

No wonder the media isn’t telling you about this shocking UK COVID deaths data

A recent UK Health Security Agency report reveals that fully vaxxed individuals in the United Kingdom account for 9 out of 10 COVID-19 deaths between January 24 and February 20, 2022.  Of these, 4 out of 5 are among triple jabbed folks (i.e., those with two doses and a “booster,” to use the somewhat euphemistic term, since a booster dose is simply an additional dose of the original shot … necessary not because the shots don’t work, officials claim, but only because the shots stop working after about five months … as if that isn’t a red flag).

Fully vaxxed individuals are also the overwhelming majority of people hospitalized with a COVID-19 positive diagnosis and simply being diagnosed with COVID-19 during this reporting period.  Meanwhile, the number of individuals in England dying with COVID-19 and did not receive any vax is on a clear downward trend.

As reported by the Daily Expose, UK data reveals that:

• Deaths among vax-free individuals went from 889 between November 22 and December 19, 2021, to 559 between January 24 and February 20, 2022 .. nearly a 40% decline in overall COVID deaths (or at least, deaths that occurred in people who tested positive for COVID, as we know that false positives are possible)
• But deaths among the UK’s vaxxed population went from 2,913 between November 22 and December 19, 2021, to 4,302 between January 24 and February 20 22..nearly a 50% INCREASED rate of overall COVID deaths

CDC data: Millennials experienced ‘a Vietnam War’ in 2nd half of 2021

CDC data shows the Millennial generation suffered a “Vietnam War event,” with more than 61,000 excess deaths in that age group in the second half of 2021, according to an analysis by a former Wall Street executive who made a career of crunching numbers to make big-dollar investment decisions.

Edward Dowd, who was a portfolio manager for the multinational investment firm BlackRock, posted the results of an analysis he did with an insurance industry expert on the social media platform Gettr.

In an interview Thursday with Steve Bannon on “War Room,” he said that what they found was “shocking.”

The Millennials, about ages 25 to 40, experienced an 84% increase in excess mortality in the fall, he said, describing it as the “worst-ever excess mortality, I think, in history.”

Moderna Plans Three More mRNA Vaccines, Not All for Infection

Moderna announced they were developing three vaccines using mRNA technology for cancer, shingles and herpes. Yet, the current mRNA shot has not proven to be successful, nor are the long-term effects of genetic therapy known

Moderna and BioNTech, the two companies that developed mRNA vaccines with emergency use authorization in the U.S., had not produced an approved product before the COVID injection

Some authorities believe the shot is successful. Yet, it doesn’t stop recipients from getting the illness or from being hospitalized, and it has a significant risk of adverse side effects, including permanent disability and death

Dr. Robert Malone, who discovered how to prepare mRNA so human cells could incorporate the genetic code and use it, warned the FDA that the shot could be dangerous, and he is warning parents they should carefully consider injecting children, which is an irreversible decision

Massive Conflicts of Interest at the NIH

One of the primary vehicles for kickbacks and fraud seems to be foundations associated with federal agencies. The reason they’re so frequently used for questionable transactions is because foundations are private entities and not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests and other open records laws

The board of directors of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) is heavily populated with Big Pharma players. This raises serious questions about conflicts of interest, as the foundation oversees the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars — unregulated funds that typically go right back into the coffers of the drug industry

This conflict of interest also, at least in part, helps explain the actions of Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and now-retired director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins. Both have gone out of their way to protect the makers of COVID shots and dismiss evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was created in and escaped from a lab

Dr. Julie Gerberding became the FNIH CEO March 1, 2022. She was formerly director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After leaving the CDC, she became the executive vice president of strategic communications at Merck

The FNIH’s board of directors includes seven current or former drug company executives, the FDA, the Sackler family (notorious for its creation of a deadly opioid epidemic), Johns Hopkins (co-sponsor of Event 201, which “predicted” COVID-19 and the subsequent destruction of human rights), and two major investment bankers, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock

Pfizer CEO: Fourth COVID-19 Vaccine Dose Necessary

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on March 13 that a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine would be necessary, claiming it would continue to reduce hospitalizations.

“Clearly, we are not where we would all like to be, which is [where] COVID is behind us,” Bourla told CBS News. “I think that right now, we have very significant tools in our hands so that we can go gradually, I think, back to our normal lives. But we need to understand that the COVID will not go away in the years to come.”

Saying Americans would have to figure out “how to live” with the virus, Bourla then claimed it was likely people would have to get yearly COVID-19 boosters.

“We know that the duration of the [vaccine] protection doesn’t last very long,” Bourla said. “If you get sick, you can get sick again next year. … Right now, the way that we have seen, it is necessary—a fourth booster right now.

“It’s not that good against infections but doesn’t last very long. But we are just submitting those data to the FDA, and then we will see what the experts also will say outside Pfizer.”

The CEO didn’t provide data or evidence for the claim, and he also made no mention of natural immunity as a result of prior COVID-19 infection. In the interview, Bourla also didn’t touch on COVID-19 vaccine mandates or passport systems required to enter restaurants, gyms, theaters, and other venues in some places.

SARS-COV-2 Vaccines and Neurodegenerative Disease

Since December 2020, when several novel unprecedented vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 began to be approved for emergency use, there has been a worldwide effort to get these vaccines into the arms of as many people as possible as fast as possible. These vaccines have been developed “at warp speed,” given the urgency of the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Most governments have embraced the notion that these vaccines are the only path towards resolution of this pandemic, which is crippling the economies of many countries.

Thus far, there are four different vaccines that have been approved for emergency use for protection against COVID-19 in the US and/or Europe. Two (the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine) are based on mRNA technology, whereas the other two (produced by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca) are based on a double-stranded DNA recombinant viral vector. The mRNA vaccines contain only the code for the SARS-CoV-2 envelope spike protein, whereas the DNA-based vaccines both contain an adenovirus viral vector that has been augmented with DNA that codes for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The DNA-based vaccines have a certain advantage over the RNA-based vaccines in that they do not have to be stored at deep-freeze temperatures, because double-stranded DNA is much more stable than single-stranded RNA. But a disadvantage is that those who have been exposed to natural forms of the adenovirus have antibodies to the virus that will likely block the synthesis of the spike protein, and therefore not afford protection against SARS-CoV-2.

ENTERTAINMENT 

‘What Is Happening?!’: The Sports World Reacts to Tom Brady’s Unretirement

Tom Brady retired from the NFL two months ago because, as he put it, there were “other things” that required his attention.

Well, apparently, he finished those things.

On Sunday, the greatest quarterback other than Aaron Rodgers shocked the sports world by announcing he was unretiring and joining the Bucs for the 2022 campaign.

“These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands,” Brady wrote on Twitter. “That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG.”

That news brought forth a torrent of reactions on Twitter and an immense amount of speculation about what might have prompted Brady to consider unretirement.