CNN reports: First, the good news: The United States reported a record-high 4.6 million doses of vaccines administered in one day, according to data published Saturday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Amazing Saturday! +4.63M doses administered over total yesterday, a new record,” tweeted Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, the White House Covid-19 data director. “More than 500K higher than old record last Saturday. Incredible number of doses administered.” The
April 11, 2021
As vaccinations keep rising, so do Covid-19 hospitalizations among those who aren’t vaccinated
April 11, 2021
For immigrants, IDs prove to be a barrier to a dose of protection
The Washington Post reports: The line started outside, on a street usually teeming with people waiting to enter college bars, and snaked up the stairs of an old firehouse to the Brazilian Worker Center, where shots of the coronavirus vaccine were being administered on this cold New England spring morning. Finally, it was Maria Sousa’s turn. She had been waiting for more than an hour with her husband and daughter
April 11, 2021
Official: Chinese vaccines’ effectiveness low
The Associated Press reports: In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country’s top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost. Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates,” said the director of the China Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, at a conference Saturday in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Beijing has distributed
April 11, 2021
CEOs plan new push on voting legislation
The Wall Street Journal reports: Dozens of chief executives and other senior leaders gathered on Zoom this weekend to plot what several said big businesses should do next about new voting laws under way in Texas and other states. Kenneth Chenault, the former chief executive of American Express Co. , and Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck & Co., urged the leaders to collectively call for greater voting access, according to
April 11, 2021
How Trump unleashed a domestic terrorism movement — and what must be done to defeat it
Mother Jones reports: Even the wifi password was a signal. Attendees at President Donald Trump’s rally in Dalton, Georgia, on January 4 who wanted to log in to the Make America Great network had to enter the phrase into their devices: “SeeYouJan6!” Trump was in town that night ostensibly to boost two Republican Senate candidates, but he spent much of his speech railing about the “stolen” 2020 election—and inciting supporters
April 11, 2021
‘Mossad behind cyber attack against Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility’
The Jerusalem Post reports: The Mossad was reportedly behind the cyberattack at the Natanz nuclear plant on Sunday that caused extensive damage to Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the security cabinet’s first meeting in two months to discuss Iran next Sunday amid increased tensions with Tehran. Western sources quoted in Israeli media said the attack, which was initially referred to as an “accident” by Iran,
April 11, 2021
Will latest push for accountability for Syria torture succeed?
Al Jazeera reports: As the world marked 10 years since the start of the uprising in Syria last week, renewed efforts are under way to hold President Bashar al-Assad’s government accountable for abuses in the war-torn country. Canada announced this month that it is joining the Netherlands in an international effort to seek justice under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, a process that ultimately could trigger a case at
April 10, 2021
How to avoid the anti-imperialism of fools
Gilbert Achcar writes: The last three decades have witnessed increasing political confusion about the meaning of anti-imperialism, a notion that, in and of itself, hadn’t previously been the topic of much debate. There are two main reasons for this confusion: the victorious end of most post–World War II anticolonial struggles and the USSR’s collapse. During the Cold War, the United States and allied colonial Western powers directly waged several wars
April 10, 2021
On Ukraine’s doorstep, Russia boosts military and sends message of regional clout to Biden
The Washington Post reports: Russia is steadily massing its largest military presence in years near the Ukrainian border — on land and at sea — as the Kremlin tests Western support for Kyiv and its battles against pro-Moscow separatists less than three months into the Biden administration. Russia’s motivations for the buildup are still unclear and do not necessarily signal a looming offensive, Ukrainian and Western officials said. But moving
April 10, 2021
Michigan’s virus cases are out of control, putting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a bind
The New York Times reports: Nowhere in America is the coronavirus pandemic more out of control than in Michigan. Outbreaks are ripping through workplaces, restaurants, churches and family weddings. Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients. Officials are reporting more than 7,000 new infections each day, a sevenfold increase from late February. And Michigan is home to nine of the 10 metro areas with the country’s highest recent case rates. During previous
April 10, 2021
The pandemic’s terrible toll on kids: ‘All of the people I look up to, they are all, like, breaking down’
The Wall Street Journal reports: When Victoria Vial’s Miami middle school shut down last spring and her classes went online, it felt like the beginning of an adventure. “I was in my pajamas, sitting in my comfy chair,” the 13-year-old recalled. “I was texting my friends during class.” Then she received her academic progress report. An A and B student before the pandemic, she was failing three classes. The academic
April 10, 2021
Anti-Defamation League calls for Tucker Carlson to be fired over ‘replacement theory’ remarks
The New York Times reports: The Anti-Defamation League called on the Fox News host Tucker Carlson to resign in an open letter published on Friday, accusing him of giving “an impassioned defense of the white supremacist ‘great replacement theory.’” Mr. Carlson, in an appearance on Fox News on Thursday, referred scornfully to the term “white replacement theory,” which describes a racist conspiracy theory popular in far-right circles, while arguing that
April 10, 2021
Proud Boys and other far-right groups raise millions via Christian funding site
The Guardian reports: A data breach from Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo has revealed that millions of dollars have been raised on the site for far-right causes and groups, many of whom are banned from raising funds on other platforms. It also identifies previously anonymous high-dollar donors to far-right actors, some of whom enjoy positions of wealth, power or public responsibility. Some of the biggest beneficiaries have been members of groups
April 10, 2021
The Republicans calling for their party to reject QAnon conspiracy theories
CNN reports: Republican Rep. Peter Meijer has a warning for his party: He fears baseless conspiracy theories like QAnon will destroy the GOP from within if Republicans don’t decisively and unequivocally condemn the false and dangerous beliefs and take action to stop their spread. “The fact that a significant plurality, if not potentially a majority, of our voters have been deceived into this creation of an alternate reality could very