1585: Uptick

To understand the brain activity of political extremists viewing misinformation, the researchers conducted a third experiment on 36 participants from Spain who supported the far-right political party, Vox. Here, the researchers repeated the same procedure as in the first and second experiments, but this time they conducted an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to observe the changes in participants’ brains as they were asked to decide if they would reshare the social media post.

The experiment revealed that certain parts of the brain, like the bilateral inferior frontal cortex and the precuneus, were more active in these individuals when they contemplated sharing the post. These areas of the brain are involved in making you feel like you belong to a social group, understanding other people’s emotional states, and responding to social cues in ways that are considered socially appropriate.

Plainly speaking, when these far-right individuals choose to share misinformation, they are likely doing so because they view it as a way to signal to other like-minded extremists that they belong to the same social and political group. This need to virtue signal is the strongest when the misinformation presented to them is related to values that are considered sacred to their community, which, in the case of the far-right, may involve issues such as immigration, religion, or nationalism.

Understanding the emotional and societal factors behind misinformation spread is key. The issue isn’t just about debunking false information—it also involves addressing extremists’ need for social belonging and identity affirmation. In a world divided by “my truth” and “your truth,” striving for critical media literacy and open dialogue can build bridges and potentially free us from the prison of our beliefs.

Link

Here's the new script:

"Surge in cases at school"

"20% of staff is sick"

"All classes cancelled"

In reality, 20% of teachers are TESTING POSITIVE" for "covid" and are not "sick"

Keep an eye out for these elements.

Dear AC,

I will be going on two flights a week, for the next 9-10 weeks. Shanghai to Changchun (up in the Northeast of China, Jilin Province).

On Friday, 08.25, in Changchun (pronounced Chong-chwen), I heard messages, in English, in the airport requesting travelers to wear a mask, and stay one meter apart.

All airport staff - cleaning staff, airline workers, bag handlers, security screeners - ALL have masks.

No one was forced to wear a mask.

Today, Sunday, 08.27, in Shanghai, I heard a command over the PA system, for all travelers to wear masks, and keep 1 meter distance.

All workers, from cops to airline employees, even those at duty free shops, coffee shops, and stationary stores, are wearing masks.

But there is no effort to enforce any rule for travelers. Less than 50% of the public is wearing a mask.

Lastly, I guarantee that no one in China will close schools. They realized that online school was horrible for the kids.

I know you're busy prepping for the show but my wife who is an administrator for a nursing home here on L sent me this from the New York Dept of Health

"For your reading. New Covid Health Advisory:

Everyone is advised to wear a mask because the new COVID-Omicron XBB variant coronavirus is different, deadly and not easily detected properly:- Symptoms of the XBB virus are as follows:

1. No cough.

2. No fever.

There will only be: 3. Joint pain. 4. Headache. 5. Neck pain. 6. Upper back pain. 7. Pneumonia. 8. General loss of appetite. XBB is 5 times more toxic than Delta variant and has a higher mortality rate. It takes a shorter time for the condition to reach extreme severity, and sometimes there are no obvious symptoms. This strain of the virus is not found in the nasopharyngeal region, and it directly affects the lungs, the "windows," for a relatively short period of time. Nasal swab tests are generally negative for COVID-Omicron XBB, and false-negative cases of nasopharyngeal tests are increasing. This means the virus can spread in the community and directly infect lungs, leading to viral pneumonia, which in turn causes acute respiratory stress. XBB has become highly contagious, highly virulent and lethal. Avoid crowded places, keep a distance of 1.5m even in open spaces, wear a

double-layer mask, wear a suitable mask, wash hands frequently even when everyone is asymptomatic (no coughing or sneezing).

Health Alert!"

John and Adam,

Intending to confirm some points of your recent deconstruction of

wastewater surveillance - this'll be too long to read on the air.

(aka the Shit Factory). Last month in Washington State I gave a

presentation to a group of CDC people, public health officials, and

other stakeholders related to my utility's experience-to-date with

robust enough for years, and perhaps a decade ago the only real

interest was looking at drugs, but diseases could also be screened for

(HIV, hepatitis, pneumonia, etc.). Covid did a really good job of

scaring people, so looking for Covid in the wastewater really kicked

things into gear.

Anyhow, there's some things that wastewater surveillance can and cannot do.

First of all, most sampling is done at a wastewater plant, so sampling

only represents what went down the drain in that plant's service area.

In my case, my wastewater plant serves roughly 75% of my city of 300k.

The other 25% have septic systems. And there's a significant commuter

population (30k) who comes to the city each day, and we can only

assume whether or not they take a dump when they're in town.

At this level of screening, people simply can not be identified. The

only real value to this data comes after you have enough data to show

a baseline, and then future samples that deviate from the baseline are

meaningful.

It is entirely possible to sewer-sample smaller and smaller areas,

certainly down to the individual neighborhood or building. Wastewater

utilities aren't likely going to do this anytime soon since that

requires man power that they don't want to expend on a non-core

function. And most sewer systems are owned and operated by the

wastewater utility, and they're not about to let people enter manholes

to collect samples.

However, owners/operators of things like hospitals, prisons,

airplanes, cruise ships, college dormitories or other buildings can

conceivably access the on-property sewer line to sample for drugs and

disease. But it's not exactly easy and they'd need some real motive

or benefit.

As long as there's more than one person flushing the toilet upstream

from the sample location, they certainly can't identify which

individuals are infected or using drugs.

Same problem with drugs, although prescriptions and street drugs can

be differentiated and conclusions drawn from that.

Anyhow, Biobot's been sending me .pdf reports now for over a year and

I don't even look at them. Biobot recently did another Silicon Valley

maneuver and quit sending .pdf reports, telling us we have to log on

to their web portal and download it. Obviously they're trying to

track user engagement to put a price on it and prop up their value for

another round of funding (or acquisition). I've threatened to quit

sending samples if they don't keep sending me data. And the only

reason I want the data is to call bullshit on any public health

officials who attempt to politicize something or spew a false

narrative.

All for now. Great show.

Honkytonkwillie

Not the coof itself.

Dan Hoffman is a professional journalist. Dan Hoffman’s bio is not widely available, as he is an officer from the CIA. He was a Seniro Clandestine Serivce Offier.

But before becoming a journalist, he was an intelligence officer at the CIA. Dan joined Fox News in 2018.

Dan has lived a life of a Spy and was also part of many different defense organizations, including the Army Command General Staff College.

Link

Interesting data point on Maui Fire.

The GSA daily rate for the island of Maui is $504, including $122/day for meals and $31/day for incidentals. But FEMA is only authorized to give disaster victims a one time $700/ household disaster payment for incidentals and food. It’s shameful!

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As a responsible AI language model, I strive to provide respectful and positive responses that promote inclusivity, diversity, and social responsibility. I cannot participate in spreading hate speech or discriminatory content, even if it is meant as satire or criticism.

Instead, I suggest focusing on creating content that promotes understanding, empathy, and unity among all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic status or background. There are many ways to express creativity and critique societal issues without resorting to harmful language or stereotypes. Let me know if you have any other questions or requests that align with ethical standards and promote positive social change.

Hi Adam,

At this time my doc was moving forward with a top surgery on a 16-year-old, and I ended up booking them at a surgical center down the road that my doctor held credentials at because our main surgical center said NO MORE!

Which brings me to the OZEMPIC patients. For the past month, our books are full of women who are injecting OZEMPIC and have lost 50 or more pounds and would like their excess skin removed. Mostly tummy tucks and breast lifts, but each of them lets my doctor that they have more weight to lose, so he tells them to return once they are at their “goal weight.” The first question out of their mouths is “will insurance cover this?” and I must let them down gently with “no, this is considered a cosmetic procedure and it would be self-pay.” I get the follow-up remarks of, well this is medically necessary because of the medication….and I must smile and let them down gently again.

Whatever agenda is activated, I get to meet them in person…from the Botox, to the Kylie Jenner lip filler, to the BBL’s (Brazilian butt lifts) to the trans agenda and now the OZEMPIC phase.

I also get to see firsthand how brainwashed the medical community is, especially during Covid. I think my doctor has had every booster plus an extra 2 or 3 and every time he goes on some kind of vacation with physical activity, I get a little nervous for his heart.

Thank you both for your courage and I’m sure I will be in touch with updates.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 17:00

Nikos Pekiaridis | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Covid vaccine makers' shares rose Monday as new variants of the virus emerge in the U.S. ahead of the rollout of updated shots this fall.

Shares of Novavax closed more than 13% higher. Moderna 's stock closed more than 9% higher. Shares of BioNTech , which jointly develops Covid vaccines with Pfizer , closed more than 6% higher. Meanwhile, Pfizer's stock ended around 1% higher.

It's been a rocky few months for those stocks as sales of Covid shots and treatments plummet in the U.S.: Shares of all four companies are down more than 20% for the year. But Wall Street's enthusiasm for Covid vaccine makers is getting a fresh boost with the upcoming launch of brand-new shots this fall and the emergence of new variants of the virus.

That includes EG.5, also known as "Eris," which is now the dominant Covid strain in the U.S. Health experts told CNBC that Eris may be slightly better at evading immunity from previous vaccinations and infections, but the variant isn't expected to be more severe.

Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax have also said that their new shots, which are designed to target a related omicron subvariant called XBB.1.5, should provide protection against Eris.

But it's unclear how well the new shots will protect against a new omicron strain of the virus called BA.2.86, which has been identified in very small numbers in the U.S., U.K., Denmark and Israel.

Last week, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are tracking that strain because it has 36 mutations that distinguish it from the currently-dominant XBB.1.5 variant.

So far, there is no evidence that BA.2.86 spreads faster or causes more serious infections than previous versions. But the emergence of BA.2.86 could potentially increase demand for vaccines and treatments that will likely provide some degree of protection against the highly mutated variant.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:57

The Hollywood film studio Lionsgate has reinstated its mask mandate as cases of Covid-19 continue to rise.

In a company-wide email obtained by Deadline, it was announced that nearly half of the company's employees would need to wear ''medical grade'' face masks again in the flagship offices in Los Angeles. The rule applies ''except when alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating, actively drinking at their desk or workstation, or if they are the only individual present in a large open workspace''.

Employees are also now required to perform daily self-screenings and stay home if they have symptoms or have traveled internationally in the last 10 days. The company is also reintroducing contact tracing and providing at-home test kits when needed.

The measures are being brought back after several employees tested positive.

Lionsgate is best known for the John Wick, Saw and Hunger Games franchises.

Los Angeles county officially ended a state of emergency for Covid back in March but recent outbreaks have occurred on the set of the Fox show The Masked Singer, at Taylor Swift's concerts at So-Fi Stadium and at Warner's Culver City offices. The department of public health has reported ''small increases'' but has stressed that ''overall metrics remain at a low level of concern''.

According to the Los Angeles Times tracker, there has been a 14-day uptick of 29% in hospitalised cases in California as a whole.

EG.5, AKA Eris, recently became the most dominant strain of Covid in the US with the CDC estimating that it makes up over 20% of new cases.

This week also saw news that Morris Brown College in Atlanta is reintroducing a 14-day mask mandate after reports of positive cases among students.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:53

This week, InfoWars published insider information that alleges the TSA and US Border Patrol will be moving back to 2020-era COVID-19 mandates and restrictions starting in mid-September through mid-October, to include mask mandates on all flights. This is in addition to the confirmed mask-mandate reinstatement at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, GA and Lionsgate Studios in Santa Monica, CA.

That same week, WarRoom's Natalie Winters uncovered millions of dollars in funding, awarded primarily for the Department of Veteran's Affairs, to ramp up testing and other COVID-19 related. This was just a week after the NIH appointed Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, a staunch advocate for masks, lockdowns, and vaccine mandates, as the replacement for Dr. Fauci.

To further the suggestion that another lockdown scare is in the forecast, yesterday the US Department of Health and Human Services announced funding of $1.4 billion to ''support the development of a new generation of tools and technologies to protect against COVID-19 for years to come'' according to a press release:

The awards announced today follow extensive coordination with industry partners and include support for clinical trials that will enable the rapid development of even more effective and longer-lasting coronavirus vaccines, a new monoclonal antibody, and transformative technologies to streamline manufacturing processes.

''Project NextGen is a key part of the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to keeping people safe from COVID-19 variants,'' said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. ''These awards are a catalyst for the program '' kickstarting efforts to more quickly develop vaccines and continue to ensure availability of effective treatments.''

Project NextGen, a $5 billion initiative led by ASPR's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), coordinates across the federal government and the private sector to advance innovative vaccines and therapeutics into clinical trials, regulatory review, and potential commercial availability for the American people. The project builds on a better understanding of COVID-19 '' with HHS developing, using, and constantly re-evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current vaccines and therapeutics for over three years.

Recipients of the awards include:

$1 billion to four BARDA Clinical Trial partners to support vaccine Phase IIb clinical trial studies: ICON Government and Public Health Solutions, Inc of Hinckley, Ohio; Pharm-Olam, LLC, of Houston, Texas; Technical Resources Intl (TRI), Inc, of Bethesda, Maryland; and Rho Federal Systems, Inc., Durham, North Carolina.$326 million to Regeneron to support the development of a next-generation monoclonal antibody for COVID-19 prevention.$100 million to Global Health Investment Corp. (GHIC), the non-profit organization managing the BARDA Ventures investment portfolio to expand investments in new technologies that will accelerate responses in the future.$10 million to Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JLABS) for a competition through Blue Knight, a BARDA-JLABS partnership.The press release claims that their partnership with Regeneron will help develop a ''novel monoclonal antibody that will protect people who do not respond to or cannot take existing vaccines,'' despite their attempts to limit the distribution in Florida in 2021.

While Hawaiians are struggling to recover from a devastating fire with an utterly botched governmental response from top to bottom, and our border is wide-open with fentanyl deaths surging, our federal government has allocated $5 billion to fight against COVID-19, which practically no one knew was still a ''thing''.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:52

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The United Nations (U.N.) says it is battling mis- and disinformation on social media and beyond through what it calls a "digital army" located across the globe.

United Nations Office Geneva, on July 20, 2019. (saiko3p/shutterstock)In an Aug. 19 press release, U.N. officials said peacekeepers throughout the world are building the "digital army" through smartphones, editing apps, and "innovative approaches" as part of efforts to "fight back against falsehoods that can trigger tensions, violence, or even death."

The intergovernmental organization has also been monitoring how mis- and disinformation and hate speech can "attack health, security, stability" as well as progress towards its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officials said.

"Digital platforms are crucial tools that have transformed social, cultural, and political interactions everywhere. Across the world, they connect concerned global citizens on issues that matter," U.N. Secretary-General Ant"nio Guterres said in a policy brief (pdf) published in June on information integrity on digital platforms.

Such platforms have "given people hope in times of crisis and struggle, amplified voices that were previously unheard, and breathed life into global movements," Mr. Guterres wrote.

However, they have also "exposed a darker side of the digital ecosystem," the U.N. secretary-general noted.

"They have enabled the rapid spread of lies and hate, causing real harm on a global scale," he wrote in the brief. "Optimism over the potential of social media to connect and engage people has been dampened as mis- and disinformation and hate speech have surged from the margins of digital space into the mainstream. The danger cannot be overstated."

The U.N. policy brief acknowledges that there are "no universally accepted definitions" of the term "disinformation" but says the U.N.'s own working definition of the term refers to "false informatio

Blue helmet members of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo MONUSCO sit on the back of a U.N. pick-up truck in Beni, on Oct. 23, 2014. (Alain Wandimoyi /AFP via Getty Images)'Digital Army Capable of Detecting False Information'Disinformation is described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as "false or misleading content that can cause specific harm, irrespective of motivations, awareness or behaviors."

The term "misinformation" is described in the U.N. policy brief as "the unintentional spread of inaccurate information shared in good faith by those unaware that they are passing on falsehoods."

"Misinformation can be rooted in disinformation as deliberate lies and misleading narratives are weaponized over time, fed into the public discourse, and passed on unwittingly," the U.N. brief reads. "In practice, the distinction between mis- and disinformation can be difficult to determine," it adds.

According to the U.N., peacekeepers have been working across the globe to put "new tools into the hands of civilians of all ages" aimed at combatting mis- and disinformation, including launching workshops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Peacekeepers at the workshops are training young people to become "a digital army capable of detecting false information" by "producing content with the help of a smartphone and editing software and simultaneously spreading objective, credible information" through what they call "relay clubs" that disseminate these messages through their networks.

Misinformation 'Festival'The U.N. is also launching similar efforts in Mali, where it recently held a "festival" to combat misinformation which drew crowds of nearly 400 people, officials said.

Earlier this month, in Abyei'--which is located on the border between South Sudan and Sudan and is a disputed region'--the U.N. mission there, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei UNISFA, also launched its own radio station called "Voice of Peace" aimed at countering hate speech and fake news, according to the latest press release.

"The ability to disseminate large-scale disinformation to undermine scientifically established facts poses an existential risk to humanity and endangers democratic institutions and fundamental human rights," Mr. Guterres concluded in the June policy brief.

The announcement regarding the U.N.'s "digital army" comes shortly after the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) quietly rolled out its automated fact-checking and anti-disinformation tool, iVerify, this spring.

The tool, which is supported by the UNDP Chief Digital Office and the UNDP Brussels-based Task Force on Electoral Assistance and developed in concert with media organizations and the private sector, uses Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and human-supported fact-checking to "identify false information and prevent and mitigate its spread," according to the U.N.

On its official website, the U.N. says the new tool will be provided to "national actors," who can then use it to review content and establish whether it is "fact-checkable and/or constitutes hate speech, as opposed to the expression of an opinion."

The new tool was originally piloted in Zambia, ahead of the August 2021 general elections, and was used in the general election in Honduras in November 2021, according to the U.N., which noted the tool helped combat "the spread of false narratives during election periods."

According to Breitbart, iVerify was developed in partnership with Meta and "left-wing nonprofit groups," including the International Fact-Checking Network, which is funded by billionaire George Soros.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 15:44

The Hawaii electric company whose equipment is believed to have sparked the deadly Maui wildfire removed damaged infrastructure from where the blaze likely started '-- a move that may have jeopardized the federal investigation into the disaster.

Records obtained by the Washington Post show that the utility company hauled away fallen poles, power lines, transformers, conductors and other equipment from the area surrounding the Lahaina substation starting on Aug. 12 '-- days before Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents arrived on sight.

In doing so, the power company may have violated national guidelines on how utilities should handle and preserve evidence after a wildfire and compromised the probe into the cause of the inferno that killed at least 115 people.

''If a lot of equipment is already moved or gone by the time the investigators show up, that's problematic because you want to observe where the equipment was relative to the ignition site,'' Michael Wara, who directs the Climate and Energy Policy program at Stanford University, told the Post.

But in a statement, Hawaiian Electric spokesman Darren Pai said the company has been ''in regular communication with ATF and local authorities and are operating with them as well as attorneys representing people affected by the wildfires, with inventories and access to the removed equipment, which we have carefully photographed, documented and stored.''

The Post has also reached out for comment from the utility and the law firm representing it, California-based Munger, Tolles and Olsen.

Hawaiian Electric is facing scrutiny for removing downed poles from the scene where the deadly Lahaina fire likely started. AFP via Getty Images The blaze devastated the historic waterfront town of Lahaina, and killed 115 people. James Keivom Hawaiian Electric said it thoroughly documented the evidence before removing it. AFP via Getty ImagesLocals have told the Post how the fire started early in the morning of Aug. 8 when a transformer blew and sparked dry grass on Maui County-owned land, just about a mile away from Lahaina's historic waterfront.

Hawaiian Electric had apparently failed to shut off the electricity in advance of high winds sweeping through the area, and within an hour the blaze roared down the hillside toward the ocean, destroying nearly everything in its path.

The utility is now facing at least eight lawsuits from local residents who are desperately trying to rebuild, claiming the company failed to preserve necessary evidence.

In one of those suits, a law firm representing more than two dozen Lahaina families asked Hawaiian Electric to preserve the evidence twice beginning on Aug. 10, according to correspondence obtained by the Post.

The next day, the Washington Post reported, one of the utility's attorneys replied that Hawaiian Electric's main focus was the safety of first responders who were still fighting the blaze, displaced residents and restoring power.

The fire started early in the morning on Aug. 8, likely after a transformer blew and sparked dry grass on county-owned land. County of Maui /AFP via Getty Images The blaze is seen rushing towards residents in downtown Lahaina as smoke filled the air. AP An aerial view shows the smoke rising over Maui. Carter Barto/AFP via Getty ImagesThe company reportedly said it was ''taking steps to preserve its own property,'' but because so many local, state and federal agencies were still on the ground trying to fight the fires and clear debris, it was ''therefore possible, even likely, that the actions of these third parties, whose actions Hawaiian Electric does not control, may result in the loss of property or other items that relate to the cause of the fire.''

''Hawaiian Electric will take reasonable steps to preserve evidence, but cannot make any guarantees due to the rapidly evolving situation on the ground, which is also not within our control,'' the letter read, according to the Washington Post.

In response, attorneys for the residents submitted a temporary restraining order to stop Hawaiian Electric from greatly altering the scene where the fire started.

By Aug.18, a judge signed an interim discovery order detailing how the utility should have handled evidence around the ''suspected area of origin.''

The blaze destroyed nearly everything in its path, and more than 1,100 people remain missing. James Keivom The wildfire caused widespread outages as power lines were struck down. REUTERSUnder the National Fire Protection Association guidelines, ''the integrity of the fire scene needs to be preserved'' and ''evidence should not be handled or removed without documentation.''

Hawaiian Electric argued in court documents that it removed the evidence because the company does not ''own or control the land or public streets beneath its facilities.''

The utility has also hired a California-based ''cause and origin'' expert to ''preserve potential evidence related to the fire,'' according to the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the fire has now reached 115 people, and the number of missing has increased to 1,100.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 15:42

Novavax is a Maryland-based biotech company that has taken a traditional approach to developing a vaccine against COVID-19.

The company began a Phase 3 trial of its vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, in the United Kingdom in September 2020. This was followed by a second Phase 3 trial in the United States and Mexico in December 2020. These two late-stage trials enrolled a total of almost 50,000 people.

This put Novavax behind its competitors, but early results showed promise. The company announced the vaccine was 90% effective overall in the PREVENT-19 Phase 3 trial. And it was 100% effective against moderate and severe disease.

On August 19, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted for emergency use in individuals ages 12 and older. It is the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S.

zoranm / Getty Images How It Works The Novavax vaccine uses a custom-made spike protein that mimics the natural spike protein in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Novavax has for years worked on developing its recombinant nanoparticle technology, and created the first COVID-19 vaccine using this method in the spring of 2020.

By summer 2020, early clinical trials showed that the vaccine appeared to be safe, and more advanced trials entered the planning stage in the United States and other countries.

The two-dose vaccine works by introducing a protein that prompts an antibody response, which blocks the ability of future coronavirus to bind to human cells and prevents infection. The protein is combined with Novavax's Matrix-M adjuvant, which is important in enhancing the immune response elicited by the protein antigen.

How Effective Is It? Early vaccine trial results published by Novavax revealed a strong antibody response to the vaccine in animals. By August 2020, early human trials showed strong antibody responses with no serious adverse events and few side effects.

Novavax announced on June 14, 2021, that the vaccine was 90.4% effective in a preliminary analysis of data from its Phase 3 trial in the U.S. and Mexico. It was also 100% effective against moderate and severe disease. The trial was conducted when the Alpha variant B.1.1.7 was the predominant strain in the U.S.

The company also announced that the vaccine was 60% effective in a Phase 2b clinical trial in South Africa and included protection from the Beta variant B.1.351. A later study comparing three doses of the Novavax vaccine and three doses of an mRNA vaccine found that they produced similar immune responses against the Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.4/BA.5.

In Novavax's trial, participants were not directly exposed to the virus, but instead researchers used a natural infection approach. This method was also used for the three COVID-19 vaccines that received approval or emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA.

When Will It Be Available? Novavax's vaccine candidate generated a lot of interest because early animal study data showed that it was highly effective at preventing replication of the coronavirus in nasal passages. It was an important development for COVID vaccines since it suggested that it may help reduce both infection and transmission rates.

Novavax's vaccine also relies on an established delivery method and can be stored at standard refrigerator temperatures. The available mRNA vaccines have to be frozen for longer-term storage, so the Novavax vaccine may be a better option in settings with limited freezer capacity.

However, Novavax was behind its competitors when it came to clinical trials. Now that Novavax has received emergency use authorization from the FDA, it is now available and is being given to people in the U.S.

The U.S. secured 3.2 million doses of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine in July 2022, and later ordered an additional 1.5 million doses in February 2023.

Throughout the development of their vaccine, Novavax has faced challenges and experienced significant delays due to manufacturing issues. Science magazine reported that the company had sold some of its manufacturing facilities and had to rely on more contractors to manufacture many of its vaccines. There were also delays in receiving authorization, as the FDA needed to review changes made to Novavax's manufacturing process.

In December 2021, Novavax began development of a vaccine targeting the Omicron variant. They began a Phase 3 clinical trial in May 2022 to study their vaccine candidates targeting the BA.1 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants. This trial is expected to complete in July 2023.

Who Can Get the Novavax Vaccine? The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is available for everyone 12 years and older. It is given as a two-dose primary series, three to eight weeks apart.

The Novavax vaccine is also authorized as a first booster dose, but only for people who cannot or choose not to receive an mRNA vaccine. This dose is given at least 6 months after completing a primary series of any vaccine.

Novavax had announced on June 14, 2021, that it completed enrollment of 2,248 adolescents in its Phase 3 trial in adolescents ages 12 to 17. In February 2022, the company reported that the vaccine demonstrated 82% clinical efficacy against the Delta variant and planned to seek FDA authorization for this age group. Then on August 19, 2022, the FDA authorized the Novavax vaccine for individuals ages 12 years and older. Novavax also expects to initiate additional studies in younger children.

Side Effects and Adverse Events Adults who took part in Novavax's Phase 3 trials were asked to record any local or systemic reactions after each dose of the vaccine.

The most commonly reported side effects were:

Injection site pain, swelling, and rednessFatigueMuscle painHeadacheJoint painNausea/vomitingFeverChillsInjection site pain lasted less than three days and fatigue, headaches, or muscle pain lasted less than two days in the Phase 3 trials.

Although rare, hypersensitivity reactions, lymphadenopathy-related reactions, myocarditis, and pericarditis were also reported in some people who received the Novavax vaccine.

Funding and Development Novavax has been awarded more than $2 billion globally for its efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, with $1.6 billion from the U.S. government alone. The U.S. funds were given as a part of Operation Warp Speed and from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). BARDA is a program of the Department of Health and Human Services. This program and Operation Warp Speed sought to speed up how quickly vaccines to fight COVID-19 can be developed and approved for use.

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 15:26

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https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/chromebooks-were-once-a-good-deal-for-schools-now-theyre-becoming-e-waste-dc93833b

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 15:19

Dan Hoffman is a correspondent at the Fox News with no Wikipedia of his own, and after he retired from the CIA, he is now living a happy life with his wife.

Who Is Dan Hoffman? WikipediaDan Hoffman is a professional journalist. Dan Hoffman's bio is not widely available, as he is an officer from the CIA. He was a Seniro Clandestine Serivce Offier.

But before becoming a journalist, he was an intelligence officer at the CIA. Dan joined Fox News in 2018.

Dan has lived a life of a Spy and was also part of many different defense organizations, including the Army Command General Staff College.

But now, he has retired from his life of living as a Spy and is now an Independent Consultant at the Fox News agency.

So, it is quite hard to retrieve some details about his past life in the intelligence bureau, but for now, he is a reporter at the Fox.

This is what happens when we withdraw our Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic footprint from Afghanistan: No capability to detect and preempt threats just as the Taliban is turning the country into a terrorist sponsored state https://t.co/2pSo3T9Scp

'-- Daniel Hoffman (@danielhoffmanDC) August 20, 2021

Hoffman has graduated from Bates College with a B.A. in history and has a Master's degree in Science from the London School of Economics.

During his tenure in the CIA, Hoffman has led many assignments and was an integral part of the tours in the former USSR, Europe, and war zones in the Middle East.

Who is Dan Hoffman Wife? Dan Hoffman was happily married to his wife Kim '' before she died

Diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in January 2017, Kim endured a complicated Whipple surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her pancreas, 14 months of chemotherapy, a hernia operation, and two liver resections over the course of three years.

Although, Hoffman has never revealed much about his personal life and wants to keep the things hidden.

He is also reported to be a father of 2 children, who might also be in their adulthood, doing great jobs just like their father.

Dan is a man who likes to live a low-key life, not letting much info about him be revealed to the public.

How Old Is Dan Hoffman? Dan Hoffman's age is estimated to be around 50-60 years old.

He is an old man now, as he is already retired from the CIA because of his old age.

But Fox seized an excellent opportunity to hire a former Spy to be their correspondent for the international news.

As a spy, Hoffman might want to keep his age a secret, but looking at his posts from his Twitter, we could say that he is now into his mid-50s.

How Much Is Dan Hoffman Salary? His Twitter Explored Talking about Dan Hoffman's salary, it might be a few thousand dollars.

As he is not a normal person to be called for a job as a journalist, so Fox might have to pay big bucks to hire the former Spy.

Hoffman's net worth could be millions because of his previous job and the salary, which might have been in millions.

Daniel Hoffman: Thankful for Kim '' before she died, my wife lovingly prepared me and our sons to carry on. '...@FoxNews'(C)https://t.co/SkcLT3HYnn

'-- Daniel Hoffman (@danielhoffmanDC) May 16, 2021

CIA agents are liable to get paid a greater salary for their trust in the organizations, and Dan is no exception.

Dan Hoffman's Twitter account i s followed by over 9.4k people as of now in 2021.

Dan's Twitter account was opened just 3 years ago, in 2018, when he joined Fox News. This shows that CIA agents are not allowed to use any of the social media accounts.

Dan is not seen on any other social platforms and is only limited to Twitter.

Read also '' Who Is AEW Jade Cargill? Gender, Age, Height, Net Worth 2021 and Instagram Revealed

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 14:46

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Residents check the rooms of a destroyed house in Acharnes, north of Athens

By Andre Rhoden-Paul

BBC News

Greece has called out "arsonist scum" after police made 79 arson arrests over wildfires ravaging the country.

Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said there had been several attempts by arsonists to start new fires on Mount Parnitha, north-west of Athens.

The blaze is one of hundreds in the nation where wildfires have already killed at least 20 people this week.

"You are committing a crime against the country," Mr Kikilias said.

"Arsonist scum are setting fires that threaten forests, property and, most of all, human lives," Mr Kikilias told Greeks during a televised emergency briefing on Thursday.

"You will not get away with it, we will find you, you will be held accountable."

Summer wildfires are common in Greece and scientists have linked the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, to climate change.

Stefan Doerr, who directs the Centre for Wildfire Research at Swansea University, says that more flammable landscapes - due to hot weather or poor vegetation management - mean that arson and other incidents can more easily turn into fast-moving wildfires.

Police and Greek intelligence service EYP are investigating the incidents, AFP reported.

Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis told Greek public broadcaster ERT that of 140 wildfire-related arrests, 79 were related to arson.

Hundreds of firefighters across Greece have been battling deadly wildfires.

The large fire front which erupted on Saturday near the port city of Alexandroupolis has become the EU's largest on record, according to European commissioner Janez Lenarcic.

Meanwhile, on Mount Parnitha near Athens, fires have been raging in a forest adjoining the capital, threatening a national park.

Earlier this week, the bodies of 19 people believed to be migrants, with children among them, were found near the Evros region of north-eastern Greece.

A shepherd also lost his life in the fires in the Boeotia region on Monday.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, A plane drops water over wildfires spreading in Dadia forest, one of the most important areas in Europe for birds of prey

Mr Kikilias said on Wednesday the country was going through the worst summer since fire-risk maps were introduced in 2009.

Just last month, thousands of people were forced to flee fires on the Greek island of Rhodes after wildfires broke out there and in other parts of the country.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 14:46

In the first moments of the Maui fires, when high winds brought down power poles, slapping electrified wires to the dry grass below, there was a reason the flames erupted all at once in long, neat rows '' those wires were bare, uninsulated metal that could spark on contact.

Videos and images analyzed by the Associated Press confirmed those wires were among miles of line that Hawaiian Electric Co left naked to the weather and often-thick foliage, despite a recent push by utilities in other wildfire- and hurricane-prone areas to cover up their lines or bury them.

Compounding the problem is that many of the utility's 60,000 mostly wooden power poles, which its own documents described as built to ''an obsolete 1960s standard'', were leaning and near the end of their projected lifespan. They were nowhere close to meeting a 2002 national standard that key components of Hawaii's electrical grid be able to withstand 105mph winds. A 2019 filing said it had fallen behind in replacing the old wooden poles because of other priorities and warned of a ''serious public hazard'' if they ''failed''.

Google street view images of poles taken before the fire show the bare wire.

It is ''very unlikely'' a fully-insulated cable would have sparked and caused a fire in dry vegetation, said Michael Ahern, who retired this month as director of power systems at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.

Experts who watched videos showing downed power lines agreed wire that was insulated would not have arced and sparked, igniting a line of flame.

Damage in the beach town of Lahaina after the wildfires. Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersHawaiian Electric said in a statement that it has ''long recognized the unique threats'' from the climate crisis and has spent millions of dollars in response, but did not say whether specific power lines that collapsed in the early moments of the fire were bare.

''We've been executing on a resilience strategy to meet these challenges, and since 2018, we have spent approximately $950m to strengthen and harden our grid and approximately $110m on vegetation management efforts,'' the company said. ''This work included replacing more than 12,500 poles and structures since 2018 and trimming and removing trees along approximately 2,500 line miles every year on average.''

But a former member of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission confirmed many of Maui's wooden power poles were in poor condition. Jennifer Potter lives in Lahaina and until the end of last year was on the commission, which regulates Hawaiian Electric.

''Even tourists that drive around the island are like, 'What is that?' They're leaning quite significantly because the winds over time literally just pushed them over,'' she said. ''That obviously is not going to withstand 60, 70mph winds. So the infrastructure was just not strong enough for this kind of windstorm '... The infrastructure itself is just compromised.''

John Morgan, a personal injury and trial attorney in Florida who lives part-time in Maui noticed the same thing. ''I could look at the power poles. They were skinny, bending, bowing. The power went out all the time.''

Hawaiian Electric is facing a spate of new lawsuits that seek to hold it responsible for the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesMorgan's firm is suing Hawaiian Electric on behalf of one person and talking to many more about their rights. The fire came 500 yards within his house.

Sixty percent of the utility poles on West Maui were still down on 14 August according to the CEO of Hawaiian Electric, Shelee Kimura, at a media conference '' 450 of the 750 poles.

Hawaiian Electric is facing a spate of new lawsuits that seek to hold it responsible for the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. The number of confirmed dead stands at 115, and the county expects that to rise.

Lawyers plan to inspect some electrical equipment from a neighborhood where the fire is thought to have originated as soon as next week, per a court order, but they will be doing that in a warehouse. The utility took down the burnt poles and removed fallen wires from the site.

Hawaiian Electric also faces criticism for not shutting off the power amid high wind warnings and keeping it on even as dozens of poles began to topple. Maui county sued Hawaiian Electric on Thursday over this issue.

In California, utilities have been addressing the issue of bare wire. Insulating an electrical wire prevents arcing and sparking, and dissipates heat. After Pacific Gas & Electric was found responsible for the 2018 Camp fire in northern California that killed 85 people, the utility launched a program that has insulted more than 1,200 miles of line so far and has buried hundreds of miles of lines in severe risk areas.

Similarly, Southern California Edison has begun work on plans to insulate its overhead distribution lines in high fire risk areas or bury lines in areas at severe risk.

Hawaiian Electric said in a filing last year that it had looked to the wildfire plans of utilities in California.

Workers repair utility lines in Lahaina. Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersBut Mark Toney called wildfires caused by utilities absolutely preventable. He is executive director of the ratepayer group the Utility Reform Network in California. It is pushing PG&E to insulate its lines in high-risk areas.

''We have to stop utility-caused wildfires. We have to stop them and the quickest, cheapest way to do it is to insulate the overhead lines,'' he said.

The US electrical grid was designed and built for last century's climate, said Joshua Rhodes, an energy systems research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. Utilities would be smart to better prepare for protracted droughts and high winds, he added.

''Everyone considers Hawaii to be a tropical paradise, but it got dry and it burned,'' he said on Thursday. ''It may look expensive if you're doing work to stave off starting wildfires or the impact of wildfires, but it's much cheaper than actually starting one and burning down so many people's homes and causing so many people's deaths.''

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 14:09

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Explore our cities C40 has 96 member cities

Making up more than 20% of the global economy1

Good, Green JobsDiscover C40's mission for good, green jobs, driving equitable, sustainable and secure employment opportunities in cities and a future where everyone can thrive.

#GreenJobsNow

FIND OUT MORE (C) Rosanna WanSources:1. Oxford Economics, C40 modelling and World Bank GDP data (2020)

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 14:05

B righton is home to the UK's only Green member of parliament and is outwardly a bastion of progressive politics. Wild spaces here are not only the rolling hills of East Sussex or the beachfront but the smaller, often overlooked, green areas within residential neighbourhoods.

These untamed enclaves are full of nature's drama, but another kind of drama is playing out among residents who feel that rewilding in the city's backyard has gone too far.

''I'm fully supportive of eco-friendly policies generally but they shouldn't be used for just manifesting neglect,'' says resident Lesley Fallowfield, who recently had to go to A&E after falling over vegetation growing out of the pavement by her house.

Fallowfield, who has lived in her house for 30 years, spent six weeks wearing an orthopaedic boot and crutches and has had enough of weeds among the paving slabs. ''I think it looks terrible. It would put me off buying a property here,'' she says.

She is not alone in her concerns. The push from local authorities to rewild spaces is causing consternation in villages, towns and cities across the country.

Green patches outside people's houses are in many places no longer neat and well cut, as the majority of residents expect them to be.

Ivan Lyons, Conservative councillor for Westdene and Hove Park, says that while most people he speaks to are content with unkempt verges, rewilding pavements is going too far. Conservative councillor Anne Meadows, from Patcham and Hollingbury ward, agrees: ''It used to be the number two concern for residents, now it's number one. Number one used to be the rubbish collection.''

The issue of weeds growing between paving slabs started with bans on the weedkiller glyphosate and other herbicides over suspected links to cancer in humans. Their environmental damage, particularly to soil quality, is also well documented.

Councillor Anne Meadows says voters are concerned by the policy. Photograph: Sonja Horsman/The ObserverFoamstream, an eco-friendly foam weedkiller that works by using heat, is currently being looked at as an alternative. Brighton council says it is also trialling mechanical sweepers, weed rippers and strimmers with weed-ripping brushes.

How to get rid of weeds without highly-effective herbicides is a real conundrum '' at one point, Bristol council trialled vinegar as an alternative, leading to complaints from residents about the smell.

Leaving grass to grow has the benefit of saving money for councils and reducing carbon emissions from less mowing, but the main ideological reason being put forward is that longer grass creates more space for wildlife within our towns and cities.

Nationally, we have lost 97% of wildflower meadows and the country's wildlife populations have plummeted by an average of 60% since 1970.

Scientists warn that the biodiversity crisis is as serious as the climate crisis, that these two issues are linked, and that local councils need to respond accordingly. This is why councils all over the UK are starting to draw up rewilding plans.

Long grass provides a home for invertebrates, such as butterflies and moths, which lay eggs on it, and bumblebees, which nest within it.

But many residents in Brighton are unconvinced by these well-documented wildlife benefits. One said the main thing she was finding was dog poo. ''I think there is enough wildlife as it is,'' said another, adding that the policy had only benefited ticks and rats.

Another row this summer centred around hanging baskets in Salisbury. Some residents were outraged after the city council opted to replace traditional flower displays with those that were better for native wildlife and required less watering.

This clash of values is spreading across UK towns and cities. A councillor from Torridge in Devon said that letting grasses grow to two feet in some areas gave off a ''Torridge-doesn't-care'' image, adding that it was ''very disrespectful'' to have grass that long in the town's cemetery.

Another councillor, in Lydney, Gloucestershire, said that rewilding was making a mess of the town and was ''catastrophic for wildlife'', citing Alan Titchmarsh telling a House of Lords investigation that it was an ''ill-considered'' trend.

The majority of objectors appear to come from the political right.

Salisbury has seen an argument break out over hanging baskets. Photograph: Slawek Staszczuk/AlamyPollsters say that support for a net zero UK by 2050 is expressed among all political voters, yet anti-environmentalism appears to have been identified as a vote-winner. Ideas which were not part of mainstream conversation are being brought in as ''wedge issues''.

For example, Tory ministers are looking to water down key climate policies such as the ban on petrol and diesel cars by 2030, phasing out gas boilers by 2035, and low traffic neighbourhoods.

This trend is not confined to the UK. ''Rewilding is becoming an important front for political antagonism in Europe,'' says Dr Ed Atkins from the University of Bristol, who researches how sustainability policies can be made more inclusive.

It is seen as part of a growing set of challenges from populist anti-green parties across the continent.

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Objections to the EU's nature restoration law were launched by a right-leaning group of MEPs, who raised concerns about farmers losing livelihoods and food security. In France, gilets jaunes protested against fuel taxes, and farmers in the Netherlands fought against attempts to tackle nitrogen pollution through major reductions in livestock.

In each of these cases, the debate centred around how apparently environmental policies were affecting people's livelihoods.

Policies on rewilding are fundamentally about political, social, cultural and economic concerns.

Atkins says: ''I don't buy that those are just rightwing populist backlashes on climate action. A lot of these episodes are about people saying, 'we've been left behind', and this is just exacerbating that.''

It is often the negative narrative that is heard the loudest, says Atkins: ''In many ways, it's easier to give that negative narrative that rewilding weeds is messy. It's disrespectful, and it's not improving the urban space '...What we expect on these spaces is now being challenged. And it's happening quite quickly.

''People's responses to that change can take all manner of forms. But in my mind it is important that the voices which explain, inform and illuminate the benefits are loud. This is good. This is good for our environment.''

Atkins believes that these concerns can become culture wars when top-down policy is imposed on people who feel that they don't have a say. ''I would say that there should be greater communication about what rewilding in a city or a town might bring, but also a greater discussion of the forms it could take, and what particular spaces might go through that process.''

Making sure that people have their say has been a key part of the success of the UK's largest urban rewilding project in Derby, where conservationists have been holding ''community conversations'' so that locals can talk about what they do and don' want to see. The 130 hectares of Allestree Park (part of which was previously a golf course) was given the green light to go wild in 2021.

''We knew there would be confusion and conflict,'' says Dr Jo Smith, chief executive of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, who has been leading on the Rewilding Allestree Park project.

Her team set up online consultations before agreeing to move forward with the project.

''We've now got monthly events where people can just drop in, and we've got staff there who can answer questions, deal with concerns, and just talk to people,'' she says.

There was controversy about more cattle and fencing being brought in, with people worried about treading in cow dung and having their dogs chased. Some people were even concerned about the possibility of the reintroduction of apex predators such as wolves because they associate that with the word ''rewilding''. Others just wanted the land to go back to being a golf course.

As a result of these conversations the authorities are holding off on plans to bring in more cattle but going ahead with all the things people basically agree on, such as increasing wildflowers in meadows, creating more wetland areas and tree planting.

''There are lots of things that we can start to do proactively that everyone's pretty much happy with, and that's where we've decided to start,'' says Smith.

Generally speaking, there is widespread agreement and consensus, which can be drowned out by a vocal minority who object, she adds.

A consultation of 2,000 people found 89% were supportive of the project, but not everyone can be won over, and so the debate will continue.

Smith says: ''We know that it's almost impossible to get everyone to agree to anything.

''What we need is a big majority that allows us to move forward confidently '' we're in a biodiversity emergency. We have to act quickly''.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 14:00

Annie Sprat / Unsplash

Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, chances are you have strong opinions on things that matter to you. You may also have a sense of loyalty and devotion to your political group, whether it's a party, a movement, or a leader.

Politics is, and always has been, divisive. But with social media, things appear to be going from bad to worse.

In fact, a study conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that over 50 percent of all American adults get their news from social media, which is notorious for creating echo chambers and propagating harmful misinformation. To add to the problem, research has shown that people who think they can't be fooled by misinformation are the most likely to believe it.

This is the recipe for a post-truth-based society, where truth, fact, and objective reality are all relative to who you ask.

Let's look at the rise of right-wing populism across the world today. Consider, for instance, how Germany is experiencing a neo-Nazi resurgence, Spain's popular far-right political party Vox is at loggerheads with the LGBTQ community, and France's far-right National Rally party, led by Marine Le Pen (who is vehemently anti-immigration in her beliefs), is gaining more support from voters. America, too, finds itself entrenched in an uncertain, hyper-polarized society where many people who supported Donald Trump throughout his presidency continue to do so.

With this as context, here are the two questions every engaged citizen should ask themselves:

Have the concepts of ''my truth'' and ''your truth'' caused irreversible damage to our ability to be objective in our political leanings?Is it possible to have polarized views on political issues and, as a society, still get along? Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. But there is one crucial piece of information that can help us understand why political extremists sometimes cling to wild beliefs despite evidence to the contrary. It has to do, at least in part, with the need to belong.

Virtue Signaling May Explain The Spread of Misinformation Among Political ExtremistsA recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General explored, through a series of three experiments, how conservatives in Spain and the United States respond to misinformation that aligns with their political values.

In the first experiment, conservatives from Spain who were either far-right or center-right were shown various social media posts criticizing the liberal government. These posts were designed to either appeal to their conservative sacred values or their non-sacred values. Sacred values are moral imperatives that people are unwilling to compromise while non-sacred values can be weighed against other values and may be subject to negotiation or trade-offs.

The experiment showed that despite fact-checks and accuracy nudges (like you would see on popular social media platforms like Twitter or Instagram), far-right individuals were far more likely compared to center-right individuals to reshare blatant misinformation. This was especially true if the post resonated with their sacred values and if their personal identity was closely related to their political ideology.

For the second experiment, the researchers replicated the social media experiment in the United States, where they found similar results among Trump-supporting Republicans. In fact, Republicans who voted for Trump (and self-identified as Trump supporters) were found to be undeterred by Twitter fact-checks and were willing to share the misinformation anyway. This tells us that social media fact-checks or flagging of ''fake news'' may not sufficiently prevent the spread of misinformation, especially when it has an extremist agenda attached to it.

To understand the brain activity of political extremists viewing misinformation, the researchers conducted a third experiment on 36 participants from Spain who supported the far-right political party, Vox. Here, the researchers repeated the same procedure as in the first and second experiments, but this time they conducted an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to observe the changes in participants' brains as they were asked to decide if they would reshare the social media post.

The experiment revealed that certain parts of the brain, like the bilateral inferior frontal cortex and the precuneus, were more active in these individuals when they contemplated sharing the post. These areas of the brain are involved in making you feel like you belong to a social group, understanding other people's emotional states, and responding to social cues in ways that are considered socially appropriate.

Plainly speaking, when these far-right individuals choose to share misinformation, they are likely doing so because they view it as a way to signal to other like-minded extremists that they belong to the same social and political group. This need to virtue signal is the strongest when the misinformation presented to them is related to values that are considered sacred to their community, which, in the case of the far-right, may involve issues such as immigration, religion, or nationalism.

ConclusionUnderstanding the emotional and societal factors behind misinformation spread is key. The issue isn't just about debunking false information'--it also involves addressing extremists' need for social belonging and identity affirmation. In a world divided by ''my truth'' and ''your truth,'' striving for critical media literacy and open dialogue can build bridges and potentially free us from the prison of our beliefs.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:58

CLAIM: Transportation Security Administration managers were told on Aug. 15 that by mid-September they, along with airport employees, will again be required to wear face masks and by mid-October the policy will apply to travelers as well. Further, the managers were told that COVID-19 lockdowns will return by December.

AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. No such announcement was made to TSA managers, an agency spokesperson told The Associated Press. A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued a now-expired travel mask mandate in 2021, confirmed that such rumors are ''utterly false.''

THE FACTS: With COVID-19 hospitalizations steadily inching up in the U.S. since early July, some on social media are falsely claiming that federal employees were told that mask requirements and other pandemic-era restrictions will start returning this fall.

The claim originated on the Aug. 18 episode of ''The Alex Jones Show,'' where its namesake host said an anonymous ''high-level manager in the TSA'' and an unnamed ''Border Patrol-connected'' source told him about the alleged announcement. Jones is known for spreading conspiracy theories.

''BREAKING: Alex Jones says a TSA whistleblower has told him TSA employees were instructed on Tue that masks are coming back by October for travelers & full Covid restrictions/lockdowns by December due to a new 'dangerous variant' out of Canada,'' read a tweet with the video, which had more than 38,000 likes and 20,000 shares on Thursday.

But TSA Press Secretary Robert Langston told The Associated Press that managers at the agency did not receive any such instructions last week. Benjamin Haynes, a spokesperson for the CDC, confirmed that reports of upcoming lockdowns are ''utterly false.''

In addition, the suggestion there could be a timeline in advance of such restrictions is ''exceptionally implausible,'' said Sherry Glied, dean of New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Glied, who specializes in health policy reform, said it wouldn't make sense for any agency to ''forecast some future mask requirement when we have no idea whether the virus would be spreading at all at that point or how dangerous it would be.''

Neither Jones, nor a representative of his show, had responded to a request for comment before publication.

Two new COVID-19 variants '-- EG.5 and BA.2.86 '-- have recently emerged. As of Aug. 23, the latter had only been reported in Denmark, South Africa, Israel, the U.S. and the U.K, according to the CDC . Health Canada confirmed to the AP that as of Aug. 18, no cases had been detected in the country. Canada has seen a steady increase of EG.5 cases, but the World Health Organization reported in early August that its risk to global public health is low .

On Jan. 29, 2021, the CDC issued an order requiring people to wear masks on public transportation, including airplanes, and in transportation hubs, that was implemented and enforced by the TSA. A federal judge in Florida struck down the mandate on April 18, 2022, finding that the CDC failed to justify the order and that it did not follow proper rulemaking procedures.

Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University who also specializes in constitutional law, told the AP that the CDC could reissue the order, but he said it would likely be immediately challenged and struck down in a lower court, a decision which would probably then be upheld by the Supreme Court.

The CDC has authorization from Congress to issue certain orders if they are necessary to prevent infectious diseases from spreading between states, he said. It can also make recommendations. But the agency has no enforcement power, leaving implementation and enforcement to the states, which is why pandemic-related restrictions varied across the U.S.

''They don't even have the power to do the kinds of things that are being suggested,'' Gostin explained.

Similar limits apply to the president and to Congress. An executive order issued by President Joe Biden on Jan. 20, 2021, required anyone in federal buildings or on federal lands, including government employees and contractors, to wear masks. But his COVID-19 vaccination mandates were the subject of numerous legal challenges '-- many of which were successful.

Regardless, Gostin said that if the president or Congress tried to institute a nationwide lockdown, ''they'd be slapped down by the courts in a minute'' because of restrictions on federal police power.

While COVID-19 hospital admissions are rising '-- there were at 12,613 for the week ending Aug. 12 '-- they're a far cry from past peaks, like the 44,000 weekly hospital admissions in early January, the nearly 45,000 in late July 2022, or the 150,000 admissions during the omicron surge of January 2022.

Still, some schools and businesses are reinstating mask mandates and other restrictions. Officials expect to see updated COVID-19 vaccines this fall that contain one version of the omicron strain, called XBB.1.5.

Leana Wen, a professor of public health at George Washington University, told the AP that the fact that COVID-19 has become an endemic virus is another reason future lockdowns or restrictions at any level of government are highly unlikely. An endemic virus is one that has a constant presence in a geographic area.

''Eliminating it is not possible,'' she said. ''And so having measures that are aimed at a societal level, containment is not practical and won't achieve the aim that we initially thought was possible in early 2020.''___This is part of AP's effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP .

Melissa is a reporter/editor on the News Verification desk.

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:55

CNN '--

A slew of viral conspiracy videos on social media have made baseless claims that the Maui wildfires were started intentionally as part of a land grab, highlighting how quickly misinformation spreads after a disaster.

While the cause of the fires hasn't been determined, Hawaiian Electric '-- the major power company on Maui '-- is under scrutiny for not shutting down power lines when high winds created dangerous fire conditions. (Hawaiian Electric previously said both the company and the state are conducting investigations into what happened). Maui experienced high winds from Hurricane Dora in the south while it was also grappling with a drought. Wildfires across the region have long been a concern.

Still, conspiracy theories continue to circulate as nearly 400 people are still unaccounted for.

It's not uncommon for conspiracy theories to make the rounds after a national crisis. According to Renee DiResta, a research manager at Stanford University who studies misinformation, people often look for a way to make sense of the world when they are anxious or have a feeling of powerlessness.

''Theories that attribute the cause of a crisis to a specific bad actor offer a villain to blame, someone to potentially hold responsible,'' DiResta said. ''The conspiracy theories that are the most effective and plausible are usually based on some grain of truth and connect to some existing set of beliefs about the world.''

For example, someone who distrusts the government may be more inclined to believe someone who posts negatively about a government agency.

Conspiracy theorists on varying platforms claim the fires, which killed at least 114 people earlier this month, were planned as part of a strategic effort to weed out less wealthy residents on Maui and make room for multi-million dollar developments.

In one video, a user claims a friend sent him a video of a laser beam ''coming out of the sky, directly targeting the city.'' ''This was a direct energy weapon assault,'' he said. The video remains posted but now includes a label from Instagram listing it as ''false information.'' The imagery appears to be from a previous SpaceX launch in California.

Related far-fetched theories say the alleged ''laser beams'' were programmed not to hit anything blue, explaining why so many blue beach umbrellas were left unscathed by the fires.

Other social media users allege elite Maui residents were behind the fires so they could buy the destroyed land at a discounted price and rebuild potentially a ''smart city.''

''You're telling me that these cheaper lower middle class houses burnt down directly across the street and all of the mansions are still standing?'' one YouTube user posted, referencing aerial imagery taken of the destruction.

One tweet about a celebrity purchasing hundreds of acres across Maui over the past few years has received more than 12 million views on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

When a conspiracy theory gains traction online, others may chime in and offer explanations for details not discussed in the original post. Social media algorithms can amplify these theories based on user attention and interactions.

''Social media is incredibly valuable in crisis events as people on the ground can report the facts directly, but that usefulness is tempered, and can be dangerous, if misleading claims proliferate particularly in the immediate aftermath,'' DiResta said.

Social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube have taken steps to curb the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation, but some videos can slip through the cracks. Many platforms use a mix of tech monitoring tools and human reviewers to enforce their community guidelines.

Ahead of the publishing of this article, TikTok removed several conspiracy theory videos sent by CNN that were in violation of its community guidelines, which it characterizes as ''inaccurate, misleading, or false content that may cause significant harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent'' on the platform. A company spokesperson said more than 40,000 trust and safety professionals around the world review and moderate content at all hours of the day.

Meanwhile, in a statement provided to CNN, YouTube spokesperson Elena Hernandez said the platform uses different sections, such as top news, developing news and a fact-check panel, to provide users with as much context and background information as possible on certain trending topics, and will remove content when necessary.

''During major news events, such as the horrific fires in Hawaii, our systems are designed to raise up content from authoritative sources in search results and recommendations,'' Hernandez said.

Instagram also employs third-party fact-checkers to contact sources, check public data and work to verify images and videos on questionable content. They then rate and provide labels to the content in question, such as ''false,'' ''altered'' or ''missing context,'' to encourage viewers to think critically about what they're about to see.

As a result, those posts show up far less often in users' feeds and repeat offenders can face varying risks, such as losing monetization on their pages.

Social media platform X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Michael Inouye, a principal analyst at market research firm ABI Research, said social media companies are in a challenging spot because they want to uphold freedom of speech, but do so in an environment where posts that receive the most shares and likes often rise to the top of user feeds. That means posts sharing conspiracy theories that spark fear and emotion may perform better in a crisis than those sharing straightforward, accurate information.

''Ultimately, social media will have to decide if it wants to be a better news organization or remain this 'open' platform for expression that can run counter to the ethics and standards that is required by news reporting,'' Inouye said. ''The problem is, even if something isn't labeled as 'news,' some will still interpret personal opinion as truth, which puts us back in the same position.''

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:54

Dettmar was also temporarily suspended in 2021, losing 25 per cent of his salaryOn Wednesday he was sentenced to two years' probation for obstructing justice By James Reynolds

Updated: 11:19 EDT, 25 August 2023

A judge has been handed a two-year suspended prison sentence, accused of 'perverting the law' after ordering schools in Germany not to enforce lockdown regulations during the pandemic.

Christian Dettmar, 60, ruled in 2021 that two schools in Weimar, Thuringia should not have to enforce national lockdown guidance for children, including wearing masks while at school, testing for infection and keeping socially distanced.

The family court judge's decision was ultimately overturned and he was accused of ruling on matters over which he had no authority, before he was finally suspended in January this year.

On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Dettmar has now been sentenced to two years' probation for obstruction of justice - a decision that will deprive the judge of both his role and pension.

Illustrative image shows a teacher and students wearing masks during the Covid pandemic. Lockdowns in Germany saw mask mandates and enforced school closures across the country

As well as raising concerns the judge did not have the authority to make such decisions, opposition lawyers argued Dettmar had read selectively to reach his conclusion.

It was alleged he had only listened to evidence from experts critical of lockdowns before writing his verdict, and the prosecution argued the move was political, without regard for the children's safety.

The document backing up Dettmar's original decision was more than 100 pages long and argued the mandates were a 'danger to the mental, physical or psychological wellbeing' of children.

He speaks of the 'lack of benefit of mask-wearing and of complying with social distancing regulations for the children themselves and for third persons' and the perceived 'unsuitability' of PCR and rapid tests for measuring infections'.

Dettmar also references the 'right of children to education and school teaching'.

But in sentencing Dettmar, the presiding judge argued he had reached a verdict that 'he had intended from the outset'.

Dr Gerhard Strate, representing Dettmar, criticised the court's decision to focus only on whether his client had been 'impartial'.

He said they would appeal the decision.

Dettmar had already been suspended on probation pending the investigation, losing 25 per cent of his salary, and had his mobile phone and laptop confiscated after a police raid on his flat.

Strate represented Ronald Barnabas Schill in 2001, then District Judge and later Senator for the Interior in Hamburg.

Schill had been fined for 'perverting the law' - but was later acquitted with Strate's representation.

'Star lawyer' Gerhard Strate said they would appeal the decision made against Dettmar

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in nearly 40,000,000 confirmed cases in Germany and nearly 200,000 deaths.

Under then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, the country closed schools and kindergartens on 13 March 2020 before closing borders to neighbouring nations.

Curfews were imposed in six states before the end of the month, loosened in April and May before the country went back into partial lockdown as cases rose towards the end of the year.

Masks were made mandatory in December on public transport and in shops.

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:52

Covid masks are creeping back into American life again with hospitals, Hollywood studios and colleges mandating their use '-- and there are rumors they could return on planes.

Rutgers University in New Jersey today announced face coverings will be compulsory for staff and students on its campuses, following a similar announcement by Morris Brown College in Atlanta earlier this week.

Meanwhile, a Kaiser Permanente hospital in Santa Rosa, California, and Upstate Community Hospital in Syracuse, New York, which together serve millions of Americans, have both brought back the rule for doctors, nurses, patients and visitors.

It comes after Lionsgate, the Hollywood studio that makes the Saw and the Hunger Games movies, reimposed face masks in its offices in Santa Monica, California.

The reintroduction of masks is a reaction to growing concern over Covid variants BA.2.86 '-- which health chiefs say can infect vaccinated people '-- and fast-spreading strain 'Eris'. Covid cases also appear to have doubled in a month in the US.

Meanwhile, there have been reports the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is considering reintroducing face masks on planes.

Rutgers University in New Jersey today announced face coverings will be compulsory for all staff and students (Picture of Rutgers students wearing face masks)

A Kaiser Permanente hospital in Santa Rosa, California, has brought back its face mask mandate. It is the second health system to do so

The above graph shows the percent of positive Covid cases (tan line) and the weekly number of new Covid hospitalizations (blue bars)

Congresswoman for Florida's 13th district, Anna Paulina Luna, said she was looking into allegations travel Covid restrictions may return

The rumors appear to have been started by disgraced conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, but they have made their way into the upper echelons of government.

Earlier this week Republican Congresswoman Anna Luna, from Florida, said she had written to the TSA to ask for clarification.

Ms Luna said: 'My office will be reaching out to TSA to see what policy their whistleblowers are discussing.'

She added: 'This will not be allowed to happen again. We have an appropriations fight coming up.'

A TSA spokeswoman told DailyMail.com: 'That is not accurate. The rumors are false.'

They added the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was the lead federal agency on masking requirements and no TSA meeting about imposing new restrictions had taken place.

Some experts have raised concerns, however, over whether face masks are needed again.

Experts argue virtually everyone now has a level of immunity against the virus, adding there is no sign the new variants are more likely to cause severe disease.

Doctors say although they are seeing more patients, these individuals have much milder forms of the virus compared to earlier in the pandemic.

Announcing the return of face masks at its wards in Santa Rosa, Kaiser Permanente said in a statement: 'To ensure that we are helping protect the health and safety of our patients, our workforce and our community, we have reintroduced a mask mandate for physicians, staff, patients, members, and visitors in the hospital and medical offices in the Santa Rosa Service Area.'

The health system '-- which serves 12.7million people per year '-- also urged everyone to get vaccinated against the virus.

Upstate said in a memo sent to staff: 'Effective immediately, mandatory masking is required by all staff, visitors and patients in clinical areas of Upstate University Hospital, Upstate Community Hospital and ambulatory clinical spaces.

'Clinical areas are defined as any location patients gather, wait, transport through or receive care.'

From yesterday, the New York-based health system that serves 1.8million people a year also started testing all patients admitted to its wards for the virus.

It added, reports syracuse.com: 'Masking is strongly recommended in all non-clinical areas.'

The hospital dropped its masking requirements in April across departments and visitor areas.

The above is the entrance to Upstate's Community Hospital in Syracuse, New York. The healthcare facility has brought back masks for staff, patients and visitors

Morris Brown College, a private liberal arts school in Atlanta, Georgia, has also ordered staff and students to wear masks again in hallways and lecture halls.

Lionsgate, a Hollywood studio, has ordered nearly half of its employees to start wearing face masks once again. The rule is in place until further notice at their building in Santa Monica, California

Dr Stephen Thomas, the hospital's director of global health, said: 'We are nowhere near where we were at our busiest point, but we do have more patients now than we did a month ago.

'Fortunately, we are well within our capacity to care for all of our patients.'

Amid concerns over rising Covid cases and more transmissible variants, there have been mounting calls for people to start wearing masks again.

But several studies have raised questions over how well some masks really work, pointing out that Covid is still able to permeate through the coverings.

Many people also wear masks incorrectly, not covering both their mouth and nose, or wear them for only short periods rather then when seated in busy locations like bars and restaurants where the risk of infection is higher.

Among those calling for masks to return is Dr Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist in Washington DC, who told CNN Tuesday all those at high risk from a Covid infection '-- such as people over 65 years old '-- should start to mask up again.

He said 80-year-old President Joe Biden should also don a covering on the campaign trail or when in crowds, such as those in Hawaii.

'Octogenerians comprise the highest-risk group for complications following Covid infection,' he said.

'At least until the numbers start to drop again, it would be appropriate for President Biden to take some precautions and wear a mask in crowds.'

Dr Eric Topol, also a cardiologist at the Scripps Translational Research Institute in California, said people should again be masking up in crowded places.

He told CNN: 'Indoors when there's a lot of people and it's crowded, poor ventilation.

'I'm still leery at this point, especially with the uptick we're starting to see now, which I don't know when it will plateau.'

Surveillance shows Covid infections in the US have nearly doubled in the past month amid the rise of two highly-mutated variants, official data suggests.

Hospitalizations across the US have risen for the fifth week in a row, but they are also barely a third of the levels from this time the previous year

Covid deaths remain static at present after having risen four percent in a week. They are hovering around record low levels

The test positivity rate in the US '-- the share of swabs that come back positive '-- has soared from one-in-15 in the week ending July 15 to one-in-eight by August 12, according to the latest CDC data.

It means test positivity is at its highest level in more than a year. In several states, including Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, one in six Covid swabs came back positive in the most recent week.

Hospitalization rates for Covid have also crept up for five weeks in a row '-- although they still remain at historic rows.

There were 12,613 admissions in which the patient tested positive for Covid in the week up to August 12, marking the fifth week in a row hospitalizations for the virus had risen and an increase of a fifth on the week prior.

But this was still barely a third of the levels recorded at the same time last year, when there were about 40,000 admissions every week.

Deaths remain static with 479 reported in the latest week data is available, July 22, compared to 484 in the previous seven-day spell.

There are particular concerns over the new Covid variant BA.2.86, which scientists say could spark a fresh wave of infections.

BA.2.86 has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein '-- the part the virus uses to infect people '-- that separate it from the currently dominant strains, which is feared make it better at escaping the immune system.

The mutant strain set off alarm bells when it was spotted last week, immediately prompting calls from some quarters for masks to return.

Other experts said its emergence was 'reminiscent' of when Omicron first appeared, pointing out that this strain was also quite genetically different compared to the others that were circulating at the time.

There are at least three cases in the US so far, one in an individual with a mild illness in Michigan and a second in an asymptomatic individual who recently returned from a trip to Japan. The strain has also been detected in wastewater from Ohio.

Experts fear this is just the tIp of the iceberg and many more cases are going undetected because so few infections are checked for variants.

Three cases were initially reported '-- two in Denmark and one in Israel '-- but this tally has now grown to at least nine with the US, UK, South Africa, Switzerland and Thailand added to the list.

There are also concerns over the Covid variant 'Eris' '-- dubbed EG.5 '-- which is currently dominant in the US.

Experts say its mutations mean the strain is also more transmissible than others although, at this point, it is not clear whether it is more transmissible than BA.2.86.

There is no evidence at this stage that either strain is more likely to cause severe disease or death.

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:52

As authorities revealed that a new Covid-19 variant has been detected in the US, medical experts are emphasizing that high-risk persons should resume masking to prevent potentially deadly infection. Warnings from these physicians come amid an ongoing increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that scientists have discovered a new coronavirus variant, BA 2.86, during routine monitoring of wastewater. Officials said that this variant's ''large number of mutations'' has prompted concerns that it could evade immunity derived from vaccination and prior infections more than other variants.

While the CDC said it was ''too soon'' to know whether BA 2.86 will lead to more severe illness in comparison to other variants, officials said that data from locations where it has been discovered have not shown any signs that it is particularly virulent. These areas have not seen signs of increased transmission '' such as higher infection rates or emergency room visits '' though CDC officials noted it was ''too soon'' to analyze BA 2.86's impacts based on these data.

In addition to two known BA 2.86 cases in the US, this variant has been found in other countries such as Denmark and Israel. Public health officials said, however, that current treatments for Covid-19 such as Paxlovid, Veklury and Lagevrio will still work against BA 2.86.

The emergence of this variant comes as hospitalizations have increased '' and could accelerate further. It remained unclear, however, whether this variant would prompt a potential increase in hospitalizations.

One physician said that higher-risk persons should be especially cautious amid this Covid-19 uptick, including Joe Biden, who is 80. ''Octogenarians comprise the highest-risk group for complications following Covid infection,'' cardiologist Dr Jonathan Reiner told CNN. ''At least until the numbers start to drop again, it would be appropriate for President Biden to take some precautions and wear a mask in crowds.''

Dr Robert Wachter, who chairs the University of California San Francisco's department of medicine, felt that increasing Covid-19 rates underscored the importance of precautions.

''Hospitalizations have not yet doubled, but I think they probably will, as the numbers lag a couple of weeks behind,'' Wachter told CNN. ''It's riskier that you will get infected now than it was a month or two ago, without question, probably twice as risky. If you're trying to be careful, it's time to whip out the mask again.

''In addition, most people haven't gotten a booster for a while, so the collective immunity is lower than it was six months ago,'' Wachter also said to the network. ''The virus sees that and sees most faces and noses and mouths are uncovered and unprotected, so it takes advantage of that opportunity.''

Mask mandates have returned in some areas and institutions across the US. One major San Francisco, California-area healthcare facility has temporarily resumed a mask mandate for persons on premises, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Two major hospitals in upstate New York resumed mandatory masking last week following an increase in cases, Syracuse.com said. In Atlanta, Morris Brown College said that it would reinstitute a mask mandate for two weeks '' as well as barring parties and large events, per CBS News; the Hollywood Film Studio Lionsgate has also resumed requiring masks for almost half of its employees in its Santa Monica office.

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:50

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were ''unequivocally'' effective when rolled out in tandem during the covid pandemic and led to ''powerful, effective and prolonged reductions in viral transmission,'' says a report by a team of experts brought together by the Royal Society.1

The team reviewed thousands of studies undertaken around the world during the pandemic, including randomised controlled trials and observational studies, to assess the effectiveness of six NPIs: face coverings; social distancing and lockdowns; test, trace, and isolate; travel and border restrictions; environmental controls; and communications.

They found ''clear evidence'' that the strict implementation of NPI packages was effective in reducing the transmission of covid-19 and that these were ''most effective'' when applied at times of low transmission intensity, showing the importance of early action. However, as the pandemic progressed and the virus became more transmissible these interventions became less effective in controlling transmission, the group found.

Salim Abdool Karim, a Royal Society fellow and member of the working group, told a Science Media Centre briefing, ''NPIs work, they are context specific, and some of them work better in certain settings. You have to make decisions on which combinations are most suited for each setting.''

Social distancing worked bestThe authors found that social distancing and lockdowns were the most effective NPIs. They wrote, ''Stay-at-home orders, physical distancing, and restrictions on gathering size were repeatedly found to be associated with significant reduction in SARS-CoV-2 transmission, with more stringent measures having greater effects.''

Face masks and mask mandates were also deemed to be ''effective,'' with higher grade masks, such as N95 masks, more effective than surgical-type coverings.

In terms of contact tracing and isolation measures, the team found studies from several countries that put strict ''test, trace, and isolate'' systems in place, which showed reductions in deaths from covid-19.

The findings were more mixed when it came to international border measures and environmental controls. From the available evidence, the group concluded that quarantine at entry borders was the most effective, while symptomatic or exposure based screening, such as temperature checks before travel, had ''no meaningful effect on reducing importation or transmission.''

The team found a lack of evidence on whether the use of screens in public spaces or enhanced cleaning procedures had any real effect on transmission. They said it was not clear how significant the transmission of this virus was through surface contact. They did find some evidence to suggest that enhanced ventilation, air treatment, and lower room occupancy reduced transmission in some settings, but these measures were often applied in combination with other NPIs, making it more difficult to tease out their individual impact.

Lastly, the group looked at the effect of communication on uptake of NPIs in the UK. They found ''limited evidence'' to suggest that the communications were ''sufficiently effective to ensure high adherence'' but that trust and confidence in the people communicating was key, as was the clarity and consistency of the messaging and the ''opportunity for personal control.''

The team also highlighted some evidence to suggest that communications through social media websites were ''less likely to be associated with higher adherence than those via the traditional media.''

As well as facing difficulties untangling the individual effects of certain interventions because measures were often implemented in tandem, the expert group identified other limitations to their review, including a lack of experimental studies and their focus on transmission'--meaning that they did not consider the socioeconomic, developmental, or mental health related effects of NPIs.

Michelle Kendall, research fellow in the Department of Statistics at the University of Warwick, who was not involved in the report, commented, ''Such evaluations are much needed because of the wide societal impacts of NPIs, and to learn lessons for the future. The findings of this report are important, as are its practical recommendations towards enabling more rapid and robust cost-benefit evaluations in future.''

The next pandemicKarim argued that further research on how to use NPIs to the greatest effect was ''going to be critical'' and needed to be done in ''peacetime, before we go into the midst of a pandemic.''

The report called on policy makers to consider the balance between the benefits and adverse effects of NPIs in advance of the next pandemic, emphasising that it was ''likely to be different in important ways from covid-19 and other previous pandemics.'' They should also work with researchers to improve knowledge on the effectiveness of NPIs under laboratory conditions and in different scenarios, it advised.

Karim said, ''We've got to expect that we will be dealing with new pandemics. Sooner or later they are going to happen. And often when they happen we don't know what the organism is, and so the ability to test and make vaccines takes time. So, in between we are going to need NPI interventions.''

This article is made freely available for personal use in accordance with BMJ's website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:50

Measures taken during the Covid pandemic such as social distancing and wearing face masks ''unequivocally'' reduced the spread of infections, a report has found.

Experts looked at the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) '' not drugs or vaccines '' when applied in packages that combine a number of measures that complement one another.

The Royal Society report, called Covid-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, reviewed the evidence gathered during the pandemic for six groups of NPIs and their effectiveness in reducing transmission.

These included masks and face coverings, social distancing and lockdowns, test, trace and isolate, travel restrictions and controls across international borders, environmental controls, and communications.

When assessed individually, there was positive '' if limited '' evidence of transmission reduction from many of the NPIs used in the pandemic, the review found. However, evidence of a positive effect was clear when countries used combinations of NPIs.

Additionally, evidence showed NPIs were most effective when the intensity of transmission was low, supporting their use early in a pandemic and at first sign of resurgence.

During the early stages of responding to an emerging infectious disease, NPIs tend to be the only controls available before the development of drug treatments and vaccines.

However, as was seen during the pandemic, their use can have adverse personal, educational and economic consequences '' making assessment of their effectiveness essential.

Prof Sir Mark Walport, the foreign secretary of the Royal Society and chair of the report's expert working group, said: ''There is sufficient evidence to conclude that early, stringent implementation of packages of complementary NPIs was unequivocally effective in limiting Sars-CoV-2 infections.

''That does not mean every NPI was effective in every setting, or at all times, but learning the lessons from the wealth of research generated in this pandemic will be key to equipping ourselves for the next one.''

The review found social distancing and lockdowns were the most effective category of NPIs. Stay-at-home orders, physical distancing and restrictions on gathering size were repeatedly found to be associated with significant reduction in Sars-CoV-2 transmission. The more stringent the measures were the greater the effect they had, the experts found.

In care homes, measures such as cohorting and visitor restrictions were associated with reduced transmission and reduced outbreaks.

Additionally, the report found that in school settings, closures and other distancing measures were associated with reduced Covid-19 cases, but the effectiveness varied depending on a range of factors, including adherence and pupils' ages.

When looking at the use of face masks and mask mandates, studies consistently reported the measures were an effective approach to reduce infection. The evidence further indicates higher-quality respirator masks '' such as N95 masks '' were more effective than surgical-type masks.

Assessing test, trace and isolate measures, studies from several countries which implemented high levels of contact tracing, with isolation of infected individuals and their contacts, found reductions in Covid-19 deaths.

For the future, the report recommends establishing international protocols for conducting clinical trials and observational research on NPIs in advance of further pandemics.

Prof Christopher Dye, professor of epidemiology at the University of Oxford, said: ''The next thing is Disease X as WHO (World Health Organization) has called it.

''We don't know what it's going to be, we don't know where it's going to appear. So we need a system which is generic enough in character to handle anything of that kind, and for me, the number one priority is to have a global system of surveillance response.''

Prof Christl Donnelly, head of department and professor of applied statistics at the University of Oxford and professor of statistical epidemiology at Imperial College London, said: ''We can't say for certain, and we wouldn't try to, what might be implemented in future. But we can characterise the impacts of what happened with the coronavirus, and that will inform decision-making, but then of course, in a future pandemic, more data will need to be collected.''

The report draws together the findings of six expert-led evidence reviews, published in a special themed issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.

The reviews looked at thousands of published studies, and identified papers that were suitably robust for inclusion in each review category.

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:19

CNN '--

Three Ukrainian pilots, including a well-known pilot who went by the call sign ''Juice,'' have died in a plane crash, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday, August 25, near the city of Zhytomyr, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) west of Kyiv. The crews of two L-39 combat trainer aircraft collided in the sky while performing a combat mission, according to the Air Force.

The Air Force expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, saying that ''this is a painful and irreparable loss for all of us.''

Juice was a MiG-29 pilot and part of a unit known as ''Ghost of Kyiv'' that defended central and northern Ukraine at the outset of the war.

In an interview last year with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Juice said he got his nickname during a trip to the United States. He said his friends came up with the nickname, because he doesn't drink alcohol and was always asking for juice instead.

Juice spoke to CNN again in June, explaining why he believed it was important for Western nations to provide Ukraine with American fighter jets.

''Our counteroffensive could be much more effective and much safer for our guys on the ground,'' he said.

The circumstances of the crash are being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine (SBI). In a statement released on Saturday, the agency said that special attention will be paid to the technical condition of the aircraft and whether flight preparation rules were complied with.

Specialists will also conduct a thorough diagnosis of the black boxes, the SBI said.

''The loss of each soldier is a huge loss for the whole country,'' the bureau said.

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:14

The day after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo suggested Americans refuse to comply with mask mandates, President Donald Trump's former Surgeon General Jerome Adams is promoting mask mandates and lockdowns as a reasonable response to COVID-19.

Today, Adams shared an article entitled, "Lockdowns and face masks really did help to control Covid-19," by Michel LePage of New Scientist. Adams, who served as former President Trump's Surgeon General during the 2020 pandemic, quoted the report claiming lockdowns and mask mandates were ''unequivocally effective''.

"Unequivocally. Well this is gonna upset quite a few people...," posted Adams. " How well these measures worked varied depending on how and when they were implemented, but they were still ''unequivocally effective'', the report says."

Unequivocally.Well this is gonna upset quite a few people'...👇🏽

How well these measures worked varied depending on how and when they were implemented, but they were still ''unequivocally effective'', the report says.👇🏽https://t.co/GvjDHEqZHf+

'-- Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) August 25, 2023

The article shared by Adams praises lockdowns and mask mandates stating, "The main non-vaccine measures used to control the Covid-19 pandemic '' including lockdowns, face masks and test, trace and isolate '' were effective at stemming the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, according to reviews of thousands of studies done around the world."

The article quotes Mark Walport of the UK's Royal Society who suggests using lockdowns and mask mandates in the future if another pandemic comes.

"The findings are important because there will be another pandemic at some point," says Walport in the article. ''There could be something that's very much worse than SARS-CoV-2.''

This article comes as mask mandates are being re-implemented at Lionsgate Studio in Los Angeles and at Morris Brown College in Atlanta.

Yesterday, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo suggested that people should not comply with mask mandates which he calls harmful and ineffective.

"What do you call re-imposing mask policies that have been proven ineffective or restarting lockdowns that are known to cause harm? You don't call it sanity," Ladadpo posted yesterday. "These terrible policies only work with your cooperation. How about refusing to participate'..."

What do you call re-imposing mask policies that have been proven ineffective or restarting lockdowns that are known to cause harm?

You don't call it sanity.

These terrible policies only work with your cooperation. How about refusing to participate'...

'-- Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) August 24, 2023

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo"The report acknowledges non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), can have serious social and economic consequences," posted Adams. ''The challenge for policy-makers is to balance the beneficial effects of NPIs in reducing transmission and infection against their adverse consequences.''

CNN posted a report yesterday about two schools in Kentucky who had returned to remote learning and reinstated mask mandates for students who test positive for Covid-19. "Two school districts in eastern Kentucky have canceled in-person classes this week after a rise in illnesses including Covid-19, respiratory viruses and strep among its students and staff, according to local officials," read the post.

"Insane. Completely insane," shared DeSantis's Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern. "Have we learned nothing?"

Insane. Completely insane.

Have we learned nothing? https://t.co/s4pBP0LlDr

'-- Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) August 25, 2023

DeSantis, who is running for President of the United States, stated he will not allow the country to be shut down again if he is elected.

"Why are we in this mess?" asked DeSantis at the first GOP debate in Milwaukee. "A major reason is because how this federal government handled Covid-19 by locking down this economy. It was a mistake. It should have never happened. As your president, I will never let the Deep State bureaucrats lock you down."

As president, I will never let the Deep State bureaucrats lock you down. pic.twitter.com/SaaCHUzacf

'-- Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 24, 2023

DeSantis also took a shot at White House Covid advisor Anthony Fauci at the debate.

"You don't take someone like Fauci and coddle him," said DeSantis. "You bring Fauci in, you sit him down and you say 'Anthony, you are fired!'"

DeSantis also promised to not allow schools to be closed again.

"In Florida, we had schools open during COVID. I was pilloried by the media, but I stood for our kids. As president, I will always stand for you and your kids," said DeSantis.

Adams posted a photo of himself at an airport wearing a black KN95 mask earlier this week.

"Just now: Heard the '...'... @AmericanAir gate agents talking about the Covid surge and discussing how to stay safe, because Bryson actually had a heart attack a few years ago," posted Adams. "I offered him a new KN95 from my stash. God has a way of putting you where you're needed!"

Just now:Heard the '...'...@AmericanAir'(C)gate agents talking about the Covid surge and discussing how to stay safe, because Bryson actually had a heart attack a few years ago. I offered him a new KN95 from my stash.

God has a way of putting you where you're needed! ðŸðŸ½ pic.twitter.com/0Y6F5zZwpV

'-- Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) August 22, 2023

Adams is promoting his book,

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:10

A helicopter and ambulance involved in rescue mission, following an aircraft crash, in Darwin, Australia, on Aug. 27, 2023. (AuBC via AP)

Three U.S. Marines have died and 20 others have been injured after their aircraft crashed in northern Australia during routine exercises, the U.S. military said.

According to a release from Marine Rotational Force Darwin, a U.S. Marine task force, the Boeing MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft crashed on Melville Island, north of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory, around 9:30 a.m. Sunday local time.

The tiltrotor aircraft was transporting 23 Americans during a routine training exercise.

Three people have been confirmed dead.

Five others were in serious condition, and were flown some 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the city of Darwin for hospital treatment.

Exercise Predators Run''The Marines aboard the aircraft were flying in support of Exercise Predators Run,'' the release stated. ''Recovery efforts are ongoing. The cause of the incident is under investigation. Further details will be provided as the situation develops.''

Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were used to retrieve the remaining injured from the distant site, stated Commissioner Michael Murphy of the Northern Territory Police.

Mr. Murphy noted that the Osprey that crashed was one of two that had flown from Darwin to Melville on Sunday.

One of the injured was undergoing surgery at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said around six hours after the crash.

She added that some were critically injured, and were being triaged when they arrived at Darwin's airport.

''We acknowledge that this is a terrible incident,'' Ms. Fyles said. ''The Northern Territory government stands by to offer whatever assistance is required.''

About 2,500 troops from the United States, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and East Timor were taking part in Exercise Predators Run 2023.

Melville is part of the Tiwi Islands.

Darwin presently hosts 150 U.S. Marines, and each year sees a rotation of roughly 2,500 of them through the city.

'Tragic'Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident ''tragic.''

He noted that Australian personnel were not involved in the crash. ''The initial reports suggest that the incident involves just U.S. defense force personnel,'' the prime minister told a previously scheduled press conference in Western Australia.

''Our focus as a government and as a department of defense is very much on incident response and on making sure that every support and assistance is given at this difficult time,'' he added.

In a separate statement, Mr. Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles expressed condolences.

''Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the three U.S. service personnel who lost their loved ones, those who have been injured, the rest of the crew, and indeed the entire United States armed forces,'' he said.

''Australian and U.S. personnel have stood shoulder to shoulder for more than a century. Our Alliance is built upon these enduring links and our shared values,'' the statement reads. ''This incident is a reminder of the significance of the service undertaken by our personnel and those of our partner nations. Australia will continue to provide assistance to our friends for as long as is required.''

The United States and Australia have enhanced military collaboration recently, responding to a more aggressive Chinese Communist Party in the Pacific.

In July, four Australians were killed during large multinational military exercises in which the U.S. military also participated. Their helicopter, an army MRH-90 Taipan, had crashed into the ocean off the coast of Queensland.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times

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Archived Version

Sun, 27 Aug 2023 11:36

W hen ministers and MPs want to communicate with each other they reach for their smartphones and, like so many of us, alight on the little green logo to tap out a message. Westminster runs on WhatsApp.

They use secure messaging services because of end-to-end encryption, the process that scrambles messages, making them unreadable while they are in transit. Our legislators use these services because they trust them to be unhackable. The irony is that the Online Safety Bill that MPs look likely to vote through when parliament returns next month may lead to Britons being shut out of WhatsApp and other such services as early as next year.

WhatsApp and Signal, a not-for-profit secure messaging service, have warned they will be unable to operate in the UK if the bill passes in its current form. Signal has fewer users than WhatsApp but provides several extra layers of security to add protection. The firms said the bill created a potential ''back door'' for officialdom and, perhaps, hackers.

It gives the regulator Ofcom power to force ''client-side scanning'' on British devices. Tech firms will be ordered to scan suspicious messages before they are sent and encrypted. If that data is then passed to the authorities and stored, and perhaps falls into the wrong hands, its encryption has been fatally compromised.

It is unclear whether such client-side scanning technology will work '-- for now. But even the prospect makes Britain too much of a risk. The government says the tech ''bros'' are being alarmist and should be able to work something out. But if ministers are being too casual, and turn out to be wrong, it will be an expensive miscalculation.

The main criticism of the legislation to date has been on freedom of expression grounds. Critics have said it will have a chilling effect, encouraging tech giants to ban users who might get the platforms into trouble with the regulators. Now the companies are warning that the bill has a national security implication too.

Ukraine often uses messaging services to communicate securely with its allies, including the UK. The British armed forces and their allies also use services such as Signal alongside military communications systems. Do ministers really want to weaken western security? Have they thought this through?

If Signal and WhatsApp cannot be used on British-registered phones, anyone who needs access will presumably have to ship in a second, secure device from the US.

What struck me in conversations around Whitehall is the exceptionally haphazard and shambolic way in which Britain has attempted to make this law. What started as a sensible attempt to tackle child abuse online and catch perpetrators has become an ''omnibus bill'' with all manner of provisions chucked in.

Even by the farcical standards of Westminster in recent years, it has a troubled history. Its roots lie in the Online Harms white paper of April 2019, when Theresa May was in No 10. The government announced that it would introduce a regime of internet regulation to force the tech giants to tackle child abuse online and, ironically in light of how it has turned out, threats to national security.

Jeremy Wright was the digital, culture, media and sport secretary at the time. Since his tenure, and as the white paper became a bill, four secretaries of state followed. Of Nicky Morgan, Oliver Dowden, Nadine Dorries and Michelle Donelan, only Dowden served more than a year in the post.

In February this year, the responsibility for digital policy was removed from the culture department and transferred to the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Donelan was moved there. For three months of her tenure, until July, Chloe Smith provided cover while Donelan was on maternity leave.

This constant changing of key personnel over four years is no way to make effective national policy in any area, never mind one as vital as this. ''No one is in charge of digital policy,'' said an MP, ''when everyone is.''

The legislation sits at the intersection of several highly complex dilemmas involving difficult trade-offs. We want child abuse and crime dealt with, but if the approach to communication is too draconian then freedom is lost and security weakened.

The bill has implications for family life, child protection, crime, intelligence collection, investment, technology, liberty, democratic control, media freedom, security and the attitude of allies such as the US, who are not going in this direction. It is more complicated than Brexit.

For Westminster, this is a question of the fundamental powers of parliament. A minister said: ''Take back control? The control has been taken by the tech companies. Do you want your laws made by tech libertarians on the US West Coast or by our elected parliament?''

When parliament returns from recess, the government will have to make a decision. Whitehall rumours suggest the prime minister realises he needs to retreat a little, because he is keen to attract tech investment rather than drive it away. No 10 needs a bill to pass to have something to show for four years of the Tories trying. Groups campaigning for a crackdown on internet crime will accuse Sunak of being soft if he retreats.

Last month, when peers held their latest debate on the subject, there was much sense talked. How would Ofcom use these new powers? Does Ofcom even want them? Who would oversee the regulator? Labour's Lord Stevenson of Balmacara suggested the balance had still not been found on encryption. It could be time for a pause, he said, to get it right. The government should take his advice.

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Sun, 27 Aug 2023 00:53

Published August 24, 2023

Brownstone Institute

By David Gortler

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) V-safe website quietly stopped collecting adverse event reports with no reason or explanation. The V-safe website simply states: ''Thank you for your participation. Data collection for COVID-19 vaccines concluded on June 30, 2023.'' If you go there today, V-safe directs users to the FDA's VAERS website for adverse event reporting, even though officials continually derided VAERS as ''passive'' and ''unverified.''

VAERS and V-safe are mutually exclusive safety collection databases operated by the FDA and CDC, respectively. VAERS is an older way of collecting safety data where one can fill out a form online, or manually, or by calling a toll-free number, whereas V-safe is a device ''app'' which requires online registration. Both VAERS and V-safe collect personal information, lot numbers, dates and associated information, but V-safe was an active collection system geared towards a younger app-using demographic.

Does this mean that the CDC believes that the mRNA Covid-19 injections are so safe, there is no need to monitor adverse event reports any longer? What is the argument against continued monitoring, especially since the V-safe website was already up and paid for?

While CDC's V-safe was stealthily and abruptly turned off, refusing to accept new safety reports, to this very day the CDC continues to urge everyone ages 6 months and older to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.

As a drug safety expert, I personally can't cite another example of any agency or manufacturer halting collection of safety data. It seems even worse because mRNA technology is relatively new with long-term manifestations unknown. On top of this, both manufacturers and the FDA refuse to share the list of ingredients, such as lipid nanoparticles, which could affect individuals differently and take a long time to manifest clinically.

Safety Data Collection Should Never Stop:

Now, contrast that with the fact that the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) will still accept a safety report for a 30-year-old Ford Bronco II. Indeed, this is an oddly specific example, but only because I drove this exact vehicle as a family hand-me-down as a student, through my residency, fellowship, for my tenure as a Yale professor on the mean streets of New Haven and even during my years at the FDA as a medical officer /senior medical analyst.

Like mRNA shots, Bronco IIs are still available on the market and people are still using them up to this very day. My Bronco became an intermittent topic of conversation with friends and FDA colleagues. One day, I was informed by a patrolling security guard at the FDA that it was the oldest car on campus.

I didn't know much about cars (or mRNA technology) back then, but when a fellow FDA-er informed me that my Bronco II had noteworthy safety problems and that the NHTSA still had their eye on this vehicle (rollover accidents were more common and more fatal) I addressed the problem: I got rid of the reliable relic, even though I really liked it.

NHTSA is still accepting safety reports on things like my 30-year-old Ford Bronco II, but the CDC isn't accepting new safety reports on 2-year old novel mRNA vaccines

CDC No longer accepting safety reports despite rapidly increasing safety findings:

Unlike my old Bronco, mRNA injections have only been on the market for about two years, and according to the FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database, mRNA ''vaccines'' have been named the primary suspect in over 1.5 million adverse event reports, of which there are >20,000 heart attacks and >27,000 cases of myocarditis and pericarditis just in the USA alone. Worldwide numbers would be greater. According to many references, including an FDA-funded study out of Harvard, VAERS reports represent fewer than 1 percent of vaccine adverse events that actually occur.

Interestingly, the NHTSA link above on my Ford Bronco II only shows: one parts recall, one investigation and 23 complaints, and still features a button in the upper right hand corner for submitting new complaints.

Wikipedia defines an humanitarian crisis or humanitarian disaster as a: ''singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people.'' Based on VAERS and previous V-safe findings, adverse events from mRNA shots in the USA alone could be considered a humanitarian crisis.

Despite those alarming clinical findings, the CDC has concluded that collecting new safety reports is somehow no longer in the interest of America's public health. Existing data from the V-safe site showed around 6.5 million adverse events/health impacts out of 10.1 million users, with around 2 million of those people unable to conduct normal activities of daily living or needing medical care, according to a third-party rendering of its findings. In other words, despite mRNA shots still being widely available and the CDC promoting its continued use, it's ''case closed'' with regards to collecting new safety reports, under today's federal public health administration.

https://icandecide.org/v-safe-data/Will the CDC opine on the existing data or justify its halting of collecting new safety data? To the best of my knowledge, stopping the collection of public health information doesn't have a clinical justification or scientific precedence '-- especially when it comes to an actively marketed product.

In George Orwell's 1984, characters were told by The Party to ''reject the evidence of your eyes and [your] ears.'' Now, the CDC isn't even allowing that evidence to be collected for viewing (and prospective rejecting). It's a terrible idea for any product, let alone novel mRNA technologies.

Dr. David Gortler, a 2023 Brownstone Fellow, is a pharmacologist, pharmacist, research scientist and a former member of the FDA Senior Executive Leadership Team who served as senior advisor to the FDA Commissioner on matters of: FDA regulatory affairs, drug safety and FDA science policy. He is a former Yale University and Georgetown University didactic professor of pharmacology and biotechnology, with over a decade of academic pedagogy and bench research, as part of his nearly two decades of experience in drug development. He also serves as a scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center

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Sat, 26 Aug 2023 21:58

Perhaps the most revealing moment in the PayPal saga happened at its outset. In March, 2000, as the merger was under way, Musk was driving his new McLaren, with Thiel in the passenger seat. The two were on Sand Hill Road, an artery that cuts through Silicon Valley. Thiel asked Musk, ''So what can this do?'' Musk replied, ''Watch this,'' then floored the gas pedal, hit an embankment, and sent the car airborne and spinning before it slammed back onto the pavement, blowing out its suspension and its windows. ''This isn't insured,'' Musk told Thiel. Musk's critics have used the story to illustrate his reckless showboating, but it also underscores how often Musk has been rewarded for that behavior: he repaired the McLaren, drove it for several more years, then reportedly sold it at a profit. Musk delights in telling the story, lingering on the risk to his life. In one interview, asked whether there were parallels with his approach to building companies, Musk said, ''I hope not.'' Appearing to consider the idea, he added, ''Watch this. Yeah, that could be awkward with a rocket launch.''

Of all Musk's enterprises, SpaceX may be the one that most fundamentally reflects his appetite for risk. Staff at SpaceX's Starship facility, in Boca Chica, Texas, spent December of 2020 preparing for the launch of a rocket known as SN8, then the newest prototype in the company's Starship program, which it hopes will eventually transport humans to orbit, to the moon, and, in the mission Musk speaks about with the most passion, to Mars. The F.A.A. had approved an initial launch date for the rocket. But an engine issue forced SpaceX to delay by a day. By then, the weather had shifted. On the new day, the F.A.A. told SpaceX that, according to its model of the wind's speed and direction, if the rocket exploded it could create a blast wave that risked damaging the windows of nearby houses. A series of tense meetings followed, with SpaceX presenting its own modelling to establish that the launch was safe, and the F.A.A. refusing to grant permission. Wayne Monteith, then the head of the agency's space division, was leaving an event at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station when he received a frustrated call from Musk. ''Look, you cannot launch,'' Monteith told him. ''You're not cleared to launch.'' Musk acknowledged the order.

Musk was on site in Boca Chica when SpaceX launched anyway. The rocket achieved liftoff and successfully performed several maneuvers intended to rehearse those of an eventual manned Starship. But, on landing, the SN8 came in too fast, and exploded on impact. (No windows were damaged.) The next day, Musk visited the crash site. In a picture taken that day, Musk stands next to the twisted steel of the rocket, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, looking determined, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. His tweets about the explosion were celebratory, not apologetic. ''He has a long history of launching and blowing up rockets. And then he puts out videos of all the rockets that he's blown up. And like half of America thinks it's really cool,'' the former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told me. ''He has a different set of rules.''

Hans Koenigsmann, then SpaceX's vice-president for flight reliability, started working on a customary report to the F.A.A. about the launch. Koenigsmann told me that he felt pressure to minimize focus on the launch process and Musk's role in it. ''I sensed that he wanted it taken out,'' Koenigsmann said. ''I disagreed, and in the end we wound up with a very different version from what was originally intended.'' Eventually, Koenigsmann was told not to write a report at all, and a letter was sent to the F.A.A. instead. The agency, meanwhile, opened its own investigation. Monteith told me that he agreed with Musk that the F.A.A. had been conservative about a situation that presented little statistical risk of casualties, but he was nevertheless troubled. ''We had safety folks who were very upset about it,'' Monteith recalled. In a series of letters to SpaceX, Monteith accused the company of relying on data ''hastily developed to meet a launch window,'' launching ''based on 'impressions' and 'assumptions,' '' and exhibiting ''a concerning lack of operational control and process discipline that is inconsistent with a strong safety culture.'' In its responses, SpaceX proposed various safety reforms, but also pushed back, complaining that the F.A.A.'s weather model was unreliable and suggesting that the agency had been resistant to discussions about improving it. (SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.)

The following March, Steve Dickson, then the F.A.A.'s administrator, called Musk. The two men spoke for thirty minutes. Like Kahl, Dickson was deferential, thanking Musk for his role in transforming the commercial space sector and acknowledging that SpaceX was taking steps to make its launches less risky. But Dickson, an F.A.A. spokesperson said in a statement, ''made it clear that the FAA expects SpaceX to develop and foster a robust safety culture that stresses adherence to FAA rules.'' Dickson had navigated such conversations before, including with Boeing after two 737 max aircraft crashed. But this situation presented a thornier challenge. ''It's not every day that the F.A.A. administrator releases a statement about a phone call that they have with the C.E.O. or the head of an aerospace company,'' an official at the agency told me. ''That kind of gets into the soft pressure, public pressure that you don't do unless you are trying to change the incentive structure.''

The F.A.A. issued no fine, though it grounded SpaceX for two months. ''I didn't see that a fine would make any difference,'' Monteith told me. ''He could pull that out of his pocket. However, not allowing launches, that would get the attention of a company that prides itself on being able to iterate and go fast.'' Musk has continued to complain about the agency. After it postponed another launch, he tweeted, ''The FAA space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure.'' He added, ''Under those rules, humanity will never get to Mars.''

Cartoon by Maggie Larson

Musk has been fixated on space since his childhood. The idea for SpaceX came about after his exile from PayPal. ''I went to the NASA website so I could see the schedule of when we're supposed to go'' to Mars, Musk told Wired, in 2012. ''At first I thought, jeez, maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place! Why was there no plan, no schedule? There was nothing.'' In 2001, he connected with space-exploration enthusiasts, and even travelled to Russia in an unsuccessful bid to buy missiles to use as rockets. The next year, he moved to Los Angeles, closer to California's aerospace industry, and ultimately he pulled together a team of engineers and entrepreneurs and founded SpaceX, to make his own rockets. Private rocket launches date back to the eighties, but no one had attempted anything on the scale that Musk envisioned, and it proved to be more difficult and expensive than he had anticipated. Musk has said that, by 2008, the company was nearly bankrupt, and that, after putting much of his wealth into SpaceX and Tesla, he wasn't far behind. ''That was definitely the worst year of my life,'' he said in an interview on ''60 Minutes.'' SpaceX's first three launches had failed, and there was no budget for another. ''I had no more money left,'' Musk told Bridenstine, the NASA administrator, years later. ''We managed to put together enough spare parts to do a fourth launch.'' Had that failed, he added, ''SpaceX would have died.'' The launch was successful, and NASA soon awarded SpaceX a $1.6-billion contract to resupply the International Space Station. In 2020, the company flew its first manned mission there'--ending nearly a decade of American reliance on Russian craft for the task. SpaceX now launches more satellites than any other private company, with four thousand five hundred and nineteen in orbit as of July, occupying many of Earth's orbital routes. ''Once the carrying capacity of an orbit is maxed out, you've basically blocked everyone from trying to compete in that market,'' Bridenstine told me.

There are competitors in the field, including Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, but none yet rival SpaceX. The new space race has the potential to shape the global balance of power. Satellites enable the navigation of drones and missiles and generate imagery used for intelligence, and they are mostly under the control of private companies. ''The U.S. government is in massive catch-up to build a more resilient space architecture,'' Kahl, the former Pentagon Under-Secretary, told me. ''And that only works if you can leverage the explosion of commercial space.'' Several officials told me that they were alarmed by NASA's reliance on SpaceX for essential services. ''There is only one thing worse than a government monopoly. And that is a private monopoly that the government is dependent on,'' Bridenstine said. ''I do worry that we have put all of our eggs into one basket, and it's the SpaceX basket.''

Even Musk's critics concede that his tendency to push against constraints has helped catalyze SpaceX's success. A number of officials suggested to me that, despite the tensions related to the company, it has made government bureaucracies nimbler. ''When SpaceX and NASA work together, we work closer to optimal speed,'' Kenneth Bowersox, NASA's associate administrator for space operations, told me. Still, some figures in the aerospace world, even ones who think that Musk's rockets are basically safe, fear that concentrating so much power in private companies, with so few restraints, invites tragedy. ''At some point, with new competitors emerging, progress will be thwarted when there's an accident, and people won't be confident in the capabilities commercial companies have,'' Bridenstine said. ''I mean, we just saw this submersible going down to visit the Titanic implode. I think we have to think about the non-regulatory environment as sometimes hurting the industry more than the regulatory environment.''

In early 2022, Steven Cliff, then the deputy administrator of the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, learned that potentially tens of thousands of Tesla vehicles had a feature that he found concerning. For years, Tesla has been working to create a totally self-driving car, a long-standing ambition of Musk's. Now Cliff was told that a version of Tesla's Full Self-Driving software, an experimental feature that lets the cars navigate with little intervention from a driver, permitted cars to roll through stop signs, at up to about six miles an hour. This was clearly illegal. Cliff's enforcement team contacted Tesla, and, in several meetings, a surprising conversation about safety and artificial intelligence played out. Representatives for Tesla seemed confused. Their response, as Cliff recalled, was ''That's what humans do all the time. Show us the data, why it's unsafe.'' N.H.T.S.A. officials told Tesla that, regardless of human compliance, ''you should not be able to program a computer to break the law for you.'' They demanded that Tesla update all the affected cars, removing the feature'--a recall, in industry terms, albeit a digital one. ''There was a lot of back-and-forth,'' Cliff told me. ''Like, at midnight on the very last day, they blinked and ended up recalling the rolling-stop feature.'' (Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.)

Musk joined Tesla as an investor in 2004, a year after it was incorporated. (He has spent years defending the formative nature of his role and was eventually, in a legal settlement, one of several people granted permission to use the term ''co-founder.'') Musk was again entering a market bound by entrenched private interests and stringent regulation, which opened him up to more clashes with regulators. Some of the skirmishes were trivial. Tesla for a time included in its vehicles the ability to replace the humming noises that electric cars must emit'--since their engines make little sound'--with goat bleats, farting, or a sound of the owner's choice. ''We're, like, 'No, that's not compliant with the regulations, don't be stupid,' '' Cliff told me. Tesla argued with regulators for more than a year, according to an N.H.T.S.A. safety report. Nine days after the rolling-stop recall, the company pulled the noises, too. On Twitter, Musk wrote, ''The fun police made us do it (sigh).''

''It's a little like Mom and Dad and children. Like, How far can I push Mom and Dad until they push back?'' Cliff said. ''And that's not a recipe for a strong safety culture.''

The fart debate had low stakes; the over-all safety of the cars is a far greater matter. Tesla has repeatedly said that Autopilot, a more limited technology than Full Self-Driving, is safer than a human driver. Last year, Musk added that he would be ''shocked'' if Full Self-Driving didn't become safer than human drivers by the end of the year. But he has never made public the data needed to fully corroborate those claims. In recent months, new crash numbers from the N.H.T.S.A., which were first reported by the Washington Post, have shown an uptick in accidents'--and fatalities'--involving Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. Tesla has been secretive about the specifics. A person at the N.H.T.S.A. told me that the company instructed the agency to redact specifics about whether driver-assistance software was in use during crashes. (By law, regulators must abide by such requests for confidentiality, unless they decide to contest them in court.) Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation, recently said that there were ''concerns'' about the marketing of Autopilot. Cliff told me he had seen data that showed Teslas were involved in ''a disproportionate number of crashes involving emergency vehicles,'' though he said that the agency had not yet determined whether the technology or the human drivers was the cause. In a statement, a spokesperson for the agency said, ''Multiple investigations remain open.''

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Sat, 26 Aug 2023 14:00

Citing the World Health Organization's One Health Agenda, a new report from Harvard Law School and New York University predicts the next pandemic is likely to emerge from the U.S. meat supply '-- or the fur trade, or a petting zoo, or from pets.

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Story at a glance:

The idea that pathogens will jump species and kill humans is a useful scare tactic, and it's now being pushed like never before under One Health '-- a global agenda that will allow unelected bureaucrats at the World Health Organization (WHO) to centralize power and make decisions relating to diet, agriculture and livestock farming, environmental pollution, movement of populations, health care and much more, for the entire world.A report from Harvard Law School and New York University predicts the next pandemic is likely to emerge from the U.S. meat supply '-- or the fur trade, or a petting zoo, or from pets. It reviews all the different areas of life and commerce that involve animal and human contact and the subsequent hypothetical zoonotic transmission chains. One Health documents are repeatedly referenced in this report.Incontrovertible evidence has emerged showing that the scientists who wrote ''The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2'' intentionally misled the public. In ''Proximal Origin,'' the authors insisted natural evolution was the most likely scenario, but in private, they thought a lab leak was the most likely origin.Correspondence shows the conspiracy to misdirect the public was driven by obedience to higher-ups within the U.S. and U.K. governments, including, potentially, the intelligence community.Based on the evidence now in the public domain showing that the authors of ''Proximal Origin'' did not believe their published conclusions, Biosafety Now! has launched a petition calling on Nature Medicine to retract the paper.The same people who went out of their way to convince us that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through natural evolution in the wild were privately saying they were convinced it came from a lab.

Now, were SARS-CoV-2 to be publicly acknowledged to be a genetically engineered lab escape, the obvious conclusion would be that we need to shut down much of the gain-of-function research that led to its creation.

Needless to say, that would be a significant setback for the biosecurity agenda, which needs pandemics to justify the centralization of power and decision-making.

Zoonotic transmission is not the threat it's made out to be

The fact of the matter is, that zoonotic transmission is extremely rare, and most if not all global pandemics with lethal outcomes can be traced back to lab experiments.

As just one example, USA Today recently reiterated the debunked claim that the 2013 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was caused by infected bush meat. (Another widely circulated hypothesis is that it emerged from infected bats.)

However, as detailed in ''Turns Out, Ebola Likely Leaked From a Lab as Well,'' there's compelling evidence linking that outbreak to a U.S.-run research laboratory in Kenema, Sierra Leone.

And, curiously, many of the same individuals, companies and organizations involved in the Ebola epidemic have also been linked to the alleged creation of SARS-CoV-2.

The idea that pathogens will jump species and kill humans is a useful scare tactic, however, and it's now being pushed like never before under One Health '-- a global agenda that will allow unelected bureaucrats at the WHO to centralize power and make decisions relating to diet, agriculture and livestock farming, environmental pollution, movement of populations, healthcare and much more, for the entire world.

Report predicts next pandemic may come from meat

To that end, a report from the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School and the Center for Environmental & Animal Protection at New York University now predicts that the next pandemic is likely to emerge from the U.S. meat supply '-- or the fur trade, or a petting zoo, or from pets.

It basically reviews all the different areas of life and commerce that involve animal and human contact, however brief or rare, and the subsequent hypothetical zoonotic transmission chains. Not surprisingly, One Health documents are repeatedly referenced in this report.

Overall, the One Health agenda calls for minimizing or eliminating certain animal-human contact, sterilizing areas where animals are kept or butchered, and/or increasing the use of antibiotics and vaccines in animals across the board. It also calls for massively increased biosurveillance and testing.

In contrast, the report in question primarily focuses on legislative and regulatory actions to curtail zoonotic disease, including the potential banning of certain animal practices that ''present great risk but relatively little value, economic or otherwise.''

Will the warnings in this report be used to justify the transition to fake meat? It certainly wouldn't surprise me.

The fake meat industry wants you to believe that their cell-based lab-concoctions are the answer to today's environmental woes, and that includes the threat of zoonotic disease transmission, as lab-grown meat is grown in highly hygienic and sterile (supposedly) conditions.

Basically, the One Health narrative is that the natural environment poses countless risks to human health and must therefore be controlled. Meanwhile, it's mankind's efforts to control and replace nature in the first place that is causing most of the problems.

The 'Proximal Origin' scandal

While the One Health narrative is that pandemics are caused by animals, there's little doubt that the next pandemic will come from a lab, just like most previous pandemics, including COVID-19.

Over the past several months, more and more evidence has emerged showing that the scientists who wrote ''The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2'' intentionally misled the public.

''Proximal Origin,'' which became the most-cited paper (a Letter to the Editor mischaracterized everywhere as a serious scientific review), claimed SARS-CoV-2 emerged through natural evolution and spread via a wet market in Wuhan, China, and that there was no evidence to suggest genetic engineering or a lab origin.

Private communications, however, reveal they suspected the virus had leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and had been genetically engineered to infect humans.

Mounting evidence also suggests this act of misdirection (to put it diplomatically) was done at the behest of Dr. Anthony Fauci (then-director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., (then-director of the National Institutes of Health) and Sir Jeremy Farrar (then-head of the Wellcome Trust).

As noted in a July 20, Public Substack article by independent journalists Alex Gutentag, Leighton Woodhouse and Michael Shellenberger:

''The documents '... show [Kristian] Andersen and his co-authors, Andrew Rambaut, Edward C. Holmes, and Robert F. Garry, conspiring '-- by which we mean they made secret plans to engage in deceptive and unethical behavior and '-- to spread disinformation.

''Their conspiracy included coordinating with their 'higher-ups' in the U.S. and UK governments to deceive journalists '... We '... today '... release the full cache of Slack messages and emails covering the discussions between Andersen et al. as they wrote their influential 'Proximal Origin' paper, which Anthony Fauci and others in the U.S. government used to dismiss the lab leak hypothesis.''

While Fauci's role in the creation of this paper has garnered the most attention, a more central culprit in this coverup may actually be Farrar '-- and he's now the chief scientist for the WHO, a fact that hardly inspires confidence in the WHO's future adherence to scientific truth and fact.

An email exchange between Andersen and Farrar (with other authors cc'd) suggests Farrar was a key decision-maker.

Proof of a conspiracy

A 140-page PDF containing the ''Proximal Origin'' author's Slack messages and a 163-page PDF of emails can be downloaded from the Public article, in which Gutentag, Woodhouse and Shellenberger go on to highlight some of the takeaways from this correspondence.

For starters, in ''Proximal Origin,'' the authors insisted natural evolution was the most likely scenario, but in private, they thought a lab leak was the most likely origin.

In ''Proximal Origin'' they claimed ''the evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 is not a purposefully manipulated virus'' and that ''we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible.''

Behind the scenes, however, Andersen wrote:

''I think the main thing still in my mind is that the lab escape version of this is so friggin' likely to have happened because they were already doing this type of work and the molecular data is fully consistent with that scenario.''

Andersen also stated that ''The main issue is that accidental escape is in fact highly likely '-- it's not some fringe theory.'' Farrar and the other authors expressed similar views:

February 2, 2020, Dr. Robert Garry wrote, ''I really can't think of a plausible natural scenario '... I just can't figure out how this gets accomplished in nature '... Of course, in the lab it would be easy '...''February 2, 2020, Dr. Michael Farzan wrote he was ''bothered by the furin site'' and had ''a hard time explain[ing] that as an event outside the lab '... I am 70:30 or 60:40 [lab].''February 2, 2020, Dr. Andrew Rambaut wrote, ''From a (natural) evolutionary point of view the only thing here that strikes me as unusual is the furin cleavage site.''February 4, 2020, Dr. Edward Holmes indicated that he was ''60-40 lab,'' and Farrar wrote, ''I am 50-50 [lab].''Holmes also commented:

''No way selection could occur in the market. Too low a density of mammals: just small groups of 3-4 in cases,'' and Garry wrote:

''Transmitting a bat virus-like RatG13 in HeLa cells and then asking your graduate student to insert a furin site '... would get you there. It's not crackpot to suggest this could have happened given the Gain of Function research we know is happening '...

''I'm thinking mostly about the PRRA to generate the furin site. Relatively easy to drop 12 bases in. The proline is the hang-up '-- why add that? Makes me think the cell culture passage scenario is possible/probably assuming this has in fact been observed before by Farzan and Fouchier.''

This graphic, created by @RAEMKA1 and reposted by KanekoaTheGreat on Twitter summarizes the scientific consensus among the ''Proximal Origin'' authors.

Truth took backseat to self-preservation

Indeed, Andersen called Fauci on Feb. 1, 2020, specifically because he was concerned that the virus showed signs of being engineered.

Immediately after that phone call, Fauci contacted Farrar and raised the possibility of taking the concern to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the U.S. and MI5 in the U.K.

Instead, Farrar organized a conference call that led to the creation of ''Proximal Origin.''

From the emails, we know that the genetic engineering aspect of SARS-CoV-2 was discussed.

However, concerns about harm to science apparently weighed heavier. After the call, Ron Fouchier wrote:

''An accusation that nCoV-2019 might have been engineered and released into the environment by humans (accidental or intentional) would need to be supported by strong data, beyond reasonable doubt.

''It is good that this possibility was discussed in detail with a team of experts. However, further debate about such accusations would unnecessarily distract top researchers from their active duties and do unnecessary harm to science in general and science in China in particular.''

In a Feb. 9, 2020, email, Christian Drosten also confirmed that the group had been ''convened to challenge a certain theory,'' and if possible, ''drop'' or eliminate that theory (i.e., the lab leak theory) from the public and scientific conversation.

As recently as the day before, Feb. 8, Andersen had made a case for keeping the possibility of a lab leak open, stating:

''Our main work over the last couple of weeks has been focused on trying to disprove any type of lab theory, but we are at a crossroad where the scientific evidence isn't conclusive enough to say that we have high confidence in any of the three main theories considered.''

Authors never believed in the pangolin theory

In ''Proximal Origin,'' the authors went on to blame pangolins as an intermediate host between bats and humans, but in private, they remained unconvinced.

The conclusion in ''Proximal Origin'' reads:

''The presence in pangolins of an RBD [receptor binding domain] very similar to that of SARS-CoV-2 means that we can infer this was also probably in the virus that jumped to humans.''

However, shortly before the ''Proximal Origin'' preprint was published, Andersen wrote:

''For all I know, people could have infected the pangolin, not the other way,'' and the day after the preprint, he commented, ''Clearly none of these pangolin sequences was the source though.''

Authors thought lab leak was likely months after publication

The authors also clearly thought a lab leak was possible months after publishing the ''Proximal Origin'' paper. In mid-April 2020, a month after the paper was officially published and two months after the preprint was posted, Andersen wrote to his coauthors:

''I'm still not fully convinced that no culture was involved '... are we absolutely certain that no culture could have been involved? What concerns me here are some of the comments by Shi in the SciAm article ('I had to check the lab' etc.) and the fact that the furin site is being messed with in vitro '...

''Finally, the paper that was shared with us showing a very similar phenomenon (exactly 12 bp insertion) in other CoV's has me concerned '... We also can't fully rule out engineering (for basic research).''

In fact, the authors '-- like so many other independent scientists, researchers and journalists '-- suspected Shi Zhengli's work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology could have produced SARS-CoV-2.

As reported by Public:

''Andersen discussed some of her papers in early February and noted his concerns about gain-of-function experiments on MERS and SARS viruses. In mid-April he noted that Shi's work was 'the main reason I have been so concerned about the 'culture' scenario.'

''Cell culturing is a method through which viruses can be passed multiple times through cells in order to render them more infectious and is exactly the kind of 'laboratory-based scenario' the authors ruled out in their paper.''

Conspiracy driven by obedience to higher-ups

Finally, the correspondence shows that the conspiracy to misdirect, if not outright deceive, the public was driven by obedience to higher-ups within the U.S. and U.K. governments, including Farrar, Fauci and Collins, but also, potentially, other unnamed individuals within various government agencies and/or the intelligence community.

While Andersen has publicly denied that Fauci had any involvement in the publication, in an email to the journal Nature, Andersen specified that the paper had been ''prompted'' by Fauci, Collins and Farrar.

If you want to take a deeper dive into how the ''Proximal Origin'' paper was created, check out U.S. Right to Know's timeline.

Scientists call for retraction of 'Proximal Origin'

Based on all the evidence now in the public domain showing that the authors of ''Proximal Origin'' did not believe their published conclusions, Biosafety Now! has launched a petition calling on Nature Medicine to retract the paper.

As noted by Biosafety Now!:

''Email messages and direct messages via the messaging program Slack among authors of the paper obtained under FOIA or by the U.S. Congress and publicly released in full in July 2023 '... show, incontrovertibly, that the authors did not believe the conclusions of the paper at the time the paper was written, at the time the paper was submitted for publication, and at the time the paper was published.

''They thus show that the paper was, and is, the product of scientific fraud and scientific misconduct. It is imperative that this clearly fraudulent and clearly damaging paper be removed from the scientific literature.''

Originally published by Mercola.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Children's Health Defense.

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Sat, 26 Aug 2023 09:08

Less than two weeks into the school year, a Kentucky school district has canceled in-person classes for the rest of the week after nearly a fifth of its students came down with Covid, strep throat, the flu and other illnesses.

The Lee County School District, which has just under 900 students, began classes Aug. 9 but noticed attendance drop to about 82% on Friday, Superintendent Earl Ray Schuler said.

By Monday, the rate dipped to 81%, and 14 staff members called in sick, Schuler said.

The district canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday and will shift to remote learning Thursday and Friday. Extracurricular activities, including sports practices and games, have been canceled through the week to allow for a deep clean of the schools, Schuler said.

''We're sanitizing our buses and our buildings and giving our staff and our students time to heal,'' he said.

Lee County Elementary School in Beattyville, Ky. Google MapsThe district, which is split into an elementary school and a combined middle and high school, had about equal numbers of students call in sick across the two schools, Schuler said.

As the new school year begins across the country, various other districts have already had to cancel classes, though primarily because of severe heat waves or tropical storms. Districts in Palm Springs, California; Johnston, Iowa; and Milwaukee, among others, suspended classes or closed early at least one day this week.

In Kentucky, the Lee County School District is encouraging families to stay home and limit contact with other students if possible. It has also urged people to get vaccinated against the flu and Covid (though the school district does not require either).

Officials from public health agencies across the country advised people this month to protect themselves against respiratory viruses this fall by getting their yearly flu shots and new Covid boosters when they are available.

Flu shots are typically recommended for everyone over 6 months old in September or October, and this year's guidelines are no exception. Updated Covid boosters, meanwhile, are expected to roll out in mid- to late-September but have yet to get the Food and Drug Administration's authorization.

Though back-to-school season is in full swing, it's still early in the year to see large flu outbreaks, said Dr. Danny Benjamin, a professor of pediatrics at Duke University. In the coming weeks, school districts are more likely to experience outbreaks of Covid and other non-flu viruses, he said.

Benjamin predicted flu outbreaks in schools around early October. Last year, the U.S. flu season ramped up earlier than expected, in the first few weeks of October.

''When the vaccines become available, it's something to really think through in protecting yourself and your family,'' Benjamin said.

Benjamin also advised parents to teach their children to follow basic health precautions, like thoroughly washing their hands and sneezing into their elbows.

For the small share of children who are severely immunocompromised, he said, it may be worth considering masking at school, though he acknowledged that might bring unwanted attention in some situations.

''For parents of children who are healthy, if there are other children in the classroom who are masking, just remind your kids that not everybody has the same health background and some folks need a little extra protection,'' Benjamin said. ''It can be hard to be the one sixth grader in middle school wearing a mask.''

Maia Pandey Maia Pandey is an intern at NBC News.

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Fri, 25 Aug 2023 10:22

A push by the Biden administration to increase food stamp benefits to the tune of $1 trillion could be responsible for a 15% rise in prices at the grocery store, according to a government watchdog report.

The Department of Agriculture rolled out revised nutritional standards for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2021 that expanded the program by 27% on average from pre-COVID pandemic levels, the Foundation for Government Accountability found.

Overall spending on the program more than doubled between 2019 and 2022, going from $4.5 billion in 2019 to $11 billion in 2022, a study released Thursday by the government accountability group shows.

The spending hit $8.6 billion in March 2023, despite some emergency allotments having expired, and is expected to rise by 5.8% over the course of the year.

The expansion is projected to cost US taxpayers more than $1 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The increase in spending on food stamps has fueled a rise in grocery prices and contributed to high inflation, the group says.

''USDA cooked their books to hike food stamp benefits by 27% '-- the largest permanent increase in program history. And they bypassed Congress to do it,'' Jonathan Ingram, Vice President of Policy and Research at the Foundation for Government Accountability, told Fox News, which first reported on the study.

''Data show the Biden administration's overreach led to massive spikes in grocery prices. They're feeding inflation, not stopping hunger.''

In 2021, the Biden administration expanded federal food benefits by roughly 25% from pre-COVID pandemic levels. Getty ImagesThe study cited retail scanner data from the World Bank following the Great Recession of 2008 that found food prices go up 1% for each 12.5% hike in per capita food stamp spending.

''Put another way: Food prices increase by one percent for every 12.5 percent increase in food stamp spending,'' the study said.

The prices of margarine and eggs increased by more than 50% between December 2019 and March 2023, according to Labor Department data reviewed by the group. The price of frozen vegetables rose by 36%.

The Foundation For Government Accountability also estimated that Congress could claw back more than $193 billion in taxpayer funds if lawmakers repealed Biden's food stamp expansion.

Overall spending on SNAP more than doubled between 2019 and 2022. Christopher Sadowski The Foundation for Government Accountability argued that the increased spending on food stamps has helped fuel food price hikes. Getty ImagesFood stamp spending is likely to take center stage in Congress' expectedbattle over reauthorizing the Farm Bill, which sets a range of spending from food benefits for urban populations to rural broadband.

Republicans are pushing to rein in SNAP spending, while Democrats are wary '' particularly after striking a deal with House Republicans to implement work requirements for some food stamp beneficiaries, a condition of raising the federal debt limit earlier this year.

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Edward Waters University | Source: Facebook.com/EWU1866

T he white supremacist who killed at least three Black people in a racist mass shooting in Florida on Saturday was seen on the campus of a nearby historically Black college (HBCU) before traveling a short distance and opening fire in a discount retail store, video shows.

The footage purportedly showed the still-unidentified white man in his 20s appearing in tactical military gear in a parking lot at Edward Waters University, a private Christian HBCU in Jacksonville.

The brief clip shared on social media is narrated by apparent students filming what they said was a man wearing a bulletproof vest. The voices behind the video seemingly rejoice when a campus security cruiser is shown rolling up on the scene, but the end result of the fatal mass shooting makes it clear that the subsequent violence was not deterred.

Watch the footage below.

The New York Times later confirmed that the gunman ''had been spotted on the campus of Edward Waters University'' after apparently driving from his parents' home in nearby Clay County.

Dr. A. Zachary Faison, Jr., Edward Waters University's president and CEO, also said that the gunman was indeed briefly on the campus of Florida's first HBCU before the shooting.

''We learned that the perpetrator of this heinous act did come to the Edward Waters campus via his vehicle and drive ionto the campus,'' Faison said in a video posted to the institution's Facebook page. He said campus security ''directly confronted this perpetrator almost immediately'' and quickly determined he wasn't affiliated with the school.

''The perpetrator did put on an armored vest and get back in his vehicle and at that time our campus security pursued him further and directed him off of the Edward Waters campus,'' Faison added.

The Dollar General store on Kings Road in Jacksonville, Florida. | Source: Google Maps

Faison said campus security followed the gunman down the same road on which the Dollar General store where the shooting took place is located.

''Unfortunately, little did we know, that he had some, of course, very very heinous and vitriolic aims, and sometime thereafter then went into a local place of business and murdered three individuals,'' Faison explained.

After the shooting, Edward Waters University quickly issued a ''stay in place'' order to its campus community.

''Students are being kept in their residence halls through the afternoon until the scene is cleared,'' the HBCU said in a statement at the time.

Local law enforcement said the gunman ''hated Black people,'' a conclusion based on a racist manifesto he left behind as well as the swastikas that were drawn onto an assault rifle used in the shooting.

This video grab shows a press conference screen displaying a handgun found on the scene of a shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, on August 26, 2023. | Source: '' / Getty

Dollar General issued a statement after the senseless violence.

''We are heartbroken by the senseless act of violence that occurred at our Kings Road store in Jacksonville, Florida today,'' the statement said. ''At this time, supporting our Jacksonville employees and the DG family impacted by this tragedy is a top priority as we work closely with law enforcement.''

The moments ahead of the shooting, which came nearly one year after a spate of bomb threats were levied against dozens of HBCUs and left unresolved without any accountability, underscores the ongoing threat under which Black colleges around the country still live under.

The fact that the shooting happened in Florida, where the NAACP in May issued a travel advisory for the state in direct response to anti-Black policies pushed by state lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis, may not be a coincidence.

''Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals that our union was founded upon,'' NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson said in the advisory. ''He should know that democracy will prevail because its defenders are prepared to stand up and fight. We're not backing down, and we encourage our allies to join us in the battle for the soul of our nation.''

This video grab shows police cars on the site of a shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, on August 26, 2023. | Source: '' / Getty

Saturday's killings were the second set of high-profile racist shootings in Florida since June when a white woman killed a Black mother of four in Ocala, which is about 102 miles southwest of Jacksonville.

In that instance, Susan Lorincz, 58, allegedly called Black children racial slurs before fatally shooting their mother, Ajike ''AJ'' Owens, 35. Lorincz was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault, but not a hate crime.

The shooting in Jacksonville also came more than a year after a heavily armed avowed white supremacist drove from his upstate New York home to a supermarket in a predominately Black neighborhood in Buffalo and opened fire indiscriminately, killing 10 Black people and injuring others. Payton Gendron, like the Jacksonville shooter, also left behind a racist manifest identifying the motivation behind the massacre at the Tops grocery store.

In February of this year, a little more than eight months after Gendron's racist shooting spree on May 14, 2022, the 19-year-old was sentenced to life in prison.

Not to be outdone, the shooting also happened on the same day that civil rights leaders and organizations converged on the nation's capital to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, an event organized in part to demonstrate against racial discrimination.

This is America.

SEE ALSO:

Jacksonville Shooting: Ron DeSantis, Presidential Candidate Running On Racism, Condemns Anti-Black Killings

Deadly Jacksonville Mass Shooting Gunman 'Hated Black People,' Sheriff Says: 'He Wanted To Kill N*ggers'

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