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ReutersIn boost for COVID-19 battle, Pfizer vaccine found 94% effective in real world
The first big real-world study of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be independently reviewed shows the shot is highly effective at preventing COVID-19, in a potentially landmark moment for countries desperate to end lockdowns and reopen economies. Up until now, most data on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines has come under controlled conditions in clinical trials, leaving an element of uncertainty over how results would translate into the real world with its unpredictable variables. The research in Israel - two months into one of the world's fastest rollouts, providing a rich source of data - showed two doses of the Pfizer shot cut symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 94% across all age groups, and severe illnesses by nearly as much.
- WCVB - Boston
Promising new data for Johnson and Johnson vaccine
There is promising new data today on Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine. If approved, it would add a third option to the vaccine rollout in the United States.
- The Independent
Biden news - live: Trump Jr deposed over inaugural funds as White House defends migrant camp after AOC attack
Follow all the latest news from the White House
- INSIDER
Kaley Cuoco thought she was meeting with her 'Big Bang Theory' costars to discuss a 13th season - instead she found out the show was ending
The actress said she was "in a state of shock" when Jim Parsons said he wanted to leave the series, which ended the popular CBS sitcom.
- Reuters
Militant involved in OPEC kidnapping buried in Lebanon
Anis Naccache, a Lebanese former guerrilla fighter who was part of the team led by Carlos the Jackal that kidnapped oil ministers in 1975, was buried in Beirut following his death two days ago in Syria at the age of 70, witnesses said. Naccache took part in the 1975 OPEC conference hostage-taking in Vienna led by Venezuelan guerrilla fighter Carlos the Jackal in which three people were killed. He was later jailed in France after he was found complicit in an attempted assassination of Iran's former Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar in Paris in 1980.
- INSIDER
Marvel Studios president hints 'we probably could' see characters like Jessica Jones again 'someday' in the MCU
"I'm not exactly sure...but perhaps someday," Kevin Feige said of the possibility that Netflix or ABC characters would enter the MCU.
- Associated Press
Marvel's Wanda has a future, but 'WandaVision' fate unclear
When “WandaVision” wraps its initial run next month on the Disney+ streaming service, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda will make her next appearance in the big-screen “Doctor Strange” sequel. It’s storytelling that determines how and when characters from the Marvel Comics universe hopscotch between TV and movies, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige said Wednesday. “All of the crossover between series, between films, will always vary based on the story,” Feige said.
- Yahoo News
Mitch McConnell: Nancy Pelosi's plan for investigating the Capitol attack is a 'bizarre partisan concept'
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’s concerned Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to establish a commission to probe the assault on the U.S. Capitol would be overly “partisan.”
- Reuters
Russia beefs up fines for protest violations after Navalny rallies
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved legislation on Wednesday beefing up fines for offences committed during street protests after thousands were detained at unsanctioned rallies in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The amended law also introduces fines of up to 20,000 roubles for protest organisers who violate funding regulations. Russian authorities have accused foreign countries of supporting the protests calling for Navalny's release.
- INSIDER
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry never intended to leave the royal family
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they will continue to support their royal patronages despite not being allowed to do so as royals.
- Time
NASA Hid an Inspiring Message on the Parachute of the Mars Rover Perseverance
Here's how a computer science student and his father cracked the secret code
- Business Insider
Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Liz Cheney clash over support for Trump at a press conference
"I don't believe [Trump] should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country," Cheney said.
- Business Insider
A judge dismissed claims by a Capitol riot suspect that he shouldn't be held responsible because Trump put him up to it
Lawyers for William Chrestman, a Proud Boys member, argued that the group believed it had Trump's "official endorsement."
- The Independent
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s race for reelection in 2022 will be a ‘bloodbath’
‘She will be running against quality opposition,’ says district’s Democratic party chair
- INSIDER
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher are one of Hollywood's most private couples. Here's a timeline of their 20-year relationship.
Fisher has said being with Cohen is like "winning the lottery" ... even if she has to deal with his many shenanigans.
- The Telegraph
Germany to give AstraZeneca jab to civil servants in bid to win over public
The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is to be offered to key civil servants in Germany in a bid by Angela Merkel’s government to win public support for the jab, it has emerged. While the AstraZeneca jab has been a vital component in the UK’s successful vaccination roll-out, health authorities in Germany have been struggling to get people to take it amid public perceptions it is less effective than its rivals and causes more severe side effects. In stark contrast to the EU's accusations last month that AstraZeneca failed to deliver promised vaccines, Germany is struggling to use its stocks of the jab, and has administered only 211,000 of the 1.4m doses AstraZeneca has delivered so far. In a bid to counter this the health ministry is planning to use the AstraZeneca jab exclusively when the vaccination roll-out extends to key workers at government departments next month, according to details leaked to Spiegel magazine. “If our own people don't get the AstraZeneca jab it's even harder for us to convince the general public,” the magazine quoted an unnamed official as saying. German health authorities report many people refuse the vaccine when they learn they have been assigned the AstraZeneca jab, or simply fail to turn up to their appointments.
- Yahoo News
Adam Kinzinger says the battle with Trumpism has to be fought in public
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., has been the most outspoken Republican critic of former President Trump over the past few months because he believes that in the modern political age, open confrontation is the primary way political parties are steered in one direction or another.
- Business Insider
Here's what Trump's tax returns could mean for the investigations into his finances
Donald Trump has fought hard to keep his personal tax returns, and the Trump Organization's a secret. The Supreme Court just let prosecutors get them.
- Reuters
China's Xi trumpets 'victory' in campaign to end rural poverty
Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated "complete victory" in the effort to eradicate rural poverty at a ceremony in Beijing on Thursday to mark a signature initiative of his eight-year tenure. State media credit Xi's leadership with lifting nearly 100 million people from poverty, a milestone he declared in December and framed as a birthday gift for this year's 100th anniversary of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In an hour-long speech, Xi hailed what he called a testament to the party's leadership and the advantages of China's political system.
- Associated Press
Pakistani, Indian militaries agree to stop firing in Kashmir
Rival neighbors Pakistan and India have pledged to stop firing weapons across the border in disputed Kashmir, promising to adhere to a 2003 accord that has been largely ignored, officials from both sides said on Thursday. Both sides often exchange fire in Kashmir and civilians are caught in the crossfire whenever such violence erupts.