Here's what the first year of Zika looks like

The Zika virus came seemingly out of nowhere and broke all the rules. Here’s a look at the plot twists during the first year of the virus – and where it’s going next.

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  • Giuliani suspended from YouTube over election conspiracies again, days after returning to platform

    Giuliani is facing a $2.7 billion lawsuit from a voting technology company for spreading election conspiracies

  • MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has mic muted at CPAC for spouting vaccine and election conspiracies

    Lindell equates getting coronavirus vaccine to receiving ‘mark of the beast’ pledging allegiance to the devil

  • FBI investigating if Capitol officer Brian Sicknick was sprayed with chemical irritant

    Medical examiner is ‘awaiting toxicology results’ before releasing a report on the death

  • Biden calls Mexican president an ‘equal’ partner amid surge in border crossings

    President’s warm tone towards Mexico has translated to substantial policy changes

  • Myanmar coup: Aung San Suu Kyi appears in court to face fresh charges

    Ms Suu Kyi's appearance comes a day after the deadliest day of protests, when 18 people were killed.

  • Merrick Garland could be confirmed as Biden’s attorney general this week

    Biden AG pick passes out of committee by bipartisan 15-7 vote

  • Klarna triples valuation to $31 billion

    Set to be the most valuable European startup...Swedish payments firm Klarna has nearly tripled its valuation to $31 billion in less than six months.The company, which counts U.S. store Macy's as an investor, on Monday (March 1) said it's the result of a new $1 billion private fundraising round.The latest round for the "buy now pay later" firm was oversubscribed four times.That puts the fintech on par with many of Europe's biggest listed financial houses.At $31 billion, the company's value is comparable to the likes of Barclays and Credit Suisse.And makes it larger than Germany's biggest lender, Deutsche Bank.But questions remain over the "buy now pay later" business model.Particularly during the health crisis, with countries keen to prevent consumers from over-extending themselves.But investors seem undeterred, and the latest deal caps a meteoric rise in value for Klarna.Sources say more than 30 new and existing investors took part in the latest funding round.Klarna has been widely rumoured to be among a number of tech companies mulling a public listing.With some industry experts expecting a New York IPO in the near future.

  • GOP Senators Grill FBI Director over Use of Geolocation Data to Track Capitol Rioters

    Senators Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) on Tuesday pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray on the procedures federal law enforcement officials have used to track down those who participated in the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. “I’m anxious to see those who committed unlawful, violent acts on January 6 brought to justice,” Lee said during a Senate Judiciary Hearing on Tuesday. “I also believe that … with this circumstance, like every other circumstance, we have to make sure that the civil liberties of the American people are protected.” The Utah Republican explained that he had “heard a number of accounts” of people who were in Washington, D.C. on January 6 who never went near the Capitol but were “inexplicably” contacted by FBI agents who knew of their presence in the district that day “with no other explanation, perhaps, other than the use of geolocation data.” “Are you geolocating people, through the FBI, based on where they were on January 6?” Lee asked Wray. “I think there may be some instances in which geolocation has been an investigative tool, but I can’t speak to any specific situation,” Wray responded. “But what are you using to do that?” Lee asked. “What’s your basis for authority? Are you using national security letters?” Wray said, “I don’t believe in any instance we’re using national security letters for investigation of the Capitol—” Lee interrupted to ask the FBI director if he had gone to the FISA court, to which Wray responded he did not “remotely believe FISA is remotely implicated in our investigation.” The senator continued pressing Wray, asking if the FBI is “using warrants predicated on probable cause.” “We certainly have executed a number of warrants in the course of the investigation of January 6,” Wray said. “All of our investigative work in response to the Capitol [riot] has been under the legal authorities that we have in consultation with the [Department of Justice] and the prosecutors.” Later, Hawley continued Lee’s line of questioning regarding geolocation data, asking Wray if his position is that he doesn’t know “whether the bureau has scooped up geolocation data, metadata cell phone records from cell phone towers.” “Do you not know, or are you saying maybe it has or maybe it hasn’t? Tell me what you know about this,” Hawley said. “So when it comes to geolocation data specifically—again, not in a specific instance, but just even the use of geolocation data—I would not be surprised to learn—but I do not know for a fact—that we were using geolocation data under any situation with connection with the investigation of [January 6],” Wray said. “But again, we do use geolocation data under different authorities and specific instances.” The FBI, Department of Justice and local police in Washington, D.C. are investigating the origins and execution of the January rioting at the Capitol, with the probe resulting in hundreds of arrests so far. Republicans have expressed concern that the methods law enforcement has used to track down rioters could infringe upon personal liberty. Last month Bank of America sparked outcry after it said it would hand over banking information to the federal authorities for people suspected of having involvement in the riots. In the days after the riot, Bank of America handed over data to the FBI on thousands of customers who traveled to Washington, D.C. around January 6, Fox News reported.

  • Former MLB executive says Albert Pujols was lying about his age when he signed a $240 million contract with the Angels

    "Not one person in baseball believes Albert Pujols is the age he says he is," former Miami Marlins President David Samson.

  • Cuomo under pressure in harassment probe

    New York's top prosecutor rejected a proposal by Governor Andrew Cuomo for her to pick a lawyer to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against him, after Cuomo's office backtracked on Sunday on a plan to choose its own investigator. State Attorney General Letitia James said it was essential that Cuomo instead formally refer the matter to her office for investigation, which would give her subpoena power and ensure an impartial probe. Cuomo has been accused of sexual harassment by two former aides, which he has denied. On Saturday, his administration said it had selected a former federal judge, Barbara Jones, to lead an investigation into the claims. But that failed to satisfy leading Democratic figures, including U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who tweeted that "There must be an independent investigation - not one led by an individual selected by the Governor." By Sunday, Cuomo’s office had asked the state's AG and Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals to pick the investigator, saying it wanted to avoid "even the perception of a lack of independence or inference of politics." But James responded by saying that the governor needs to make an official referral to her office under the state's executive law. Only a referral could enable "an investigation with real teeth," a spokesman for James said. The latest accusation against the governor came on Saturday when a former aide told the New York Times that Cuomo had asked her questions about her sex life, including whether she had ever had sex with older men. That claim came just days after another former aide alleged the governor made several "inappropriate gestures" toward her. Cuomo, one of the nation's most well-known Democratic politicians whose popularity soared during the early months of the pandemic, has faced a string of controversies in recent weeks, including how his administration handled high numbers of COVID-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes.

  • 'What any good human would do': Louisiana man helped save infant abandoned along highway

    "I looked back and he took off leaving the child there, so I flipped a U-turn in the grass to get to the baby,” Louisiana man Luke Dufrene said.

  • NBC Asian America Piece Has Readers Split Over 'Hate Crime' Statement

    A recent piece by NBC Asian America reporter Kimmy Yam has readers divided for how it framed the recent attacks Asians are facing in the U.S. According to Yam, the 2,800 hate incidents collected by watchdog Stop AAPI Hate over five months last year “weren't necessarily hate crimes” as they included “less severe, yet insidious, forms of discrimination.”

  • Serena Williams stars with daughter Olympia, 3, in new campaign: ‘My mini-me’

    See the mother-daughter duo serve up a sweet message in their first shared fashion campaign.

  • The Trump administration reportedly quietly funded Operation Warp Speed with money set aside for hospitals

    By late summer last year, Operation Warp Speed accounts were running dry, so the Trump administration appears to have used a financial maneuver allowing Department of Health and Human Services officials to divert $10 billion from a fund meant to help hospitals and health care providers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Stat News reports. Congress granted the HHS permission to move pandemic-related money between accounts, though the agreement stipulated the agency had to give lawmakers a heads up. In this case, it appears the HHS siphoned the funds quietly, albeit with permission from its top lawyer. Other attorneys told Stat that the agency likely did have the wiggle room to carry out the action. Former Office of Management and Director Russ Vought defended the decision and said "we would do it again," telling Stat that not only did the administration have the authority, it was also "the right thing to do in order to move as quickly as possible because lives were on the line." Other Trump officials seemed to agree, per Stat, arguing that successful vaccines would reduce hospitalizations, making Warp Speed the more consequential outlet. It's still unclear whether the decision has resulted in less money for health care providers, as the Biden administration remains mum on the subject, Stat reports. Read more at Stat News. More stories from theweek.comWill COVID-19 wind up saving lives?John Boehner rips Ted Cruz as a 'reckless a--hole' on book's back coverArizona GOP lawyer tells Supreme Court the party needs certain voting restrictions to compete with Democrats

  • Woman arrested after being linked to crime via Cheetos residue on teeth

    An Oklahoma woman was literally caught red-handed on first-degree burglary complaint charges thanks to Cheetos snack dust. Sharon Carr was arrested on Feb. 26 after police reported an attempted home burglary. While she did not take anything, officers claim she left behind a Cheetos bag.

  • 10 hours in Cancún hurt Ted Cruz's job approval more than when he tried to flip the presidential election

    New polling from Morning Consult shows Ted Cruz's job approval fell more after traveling to Mexico than when he objected to the election results.

  • Police: 13 killed when big rig hits SUV carrying 25 people

    Thirteen people were killed Tuesday when an SUV carrying 25 people and a big rig collided on a Southern California highway near the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said. Twelve people were found dead when first responders reached the highway, which winds through fields in the agricultural southeastern corner of California. Another person died at a hospital, California Highway Patrol Chief Omar Watson said.

  • For Andrew Cuomo, there can be no sexual harassment double standard. He should resign.

    If Democrats are to hold the moral high ground on issues of gender equity, they cannot apply standards just to those on the opposite side of the aisle.

  • I received my first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in New York City and had to battle a flawed booking system

    An Insider reporter struggled to book an appointment and had to wait in line for hours to get the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.

  • Arizona GOP lawyer tells Supreme Court the party needs certain voting restrictions to compete with Democrats

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments by Arizona Republicans in defense of two voting restrictions they are looking to keep intact. At one point, Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Michael Carvin, a lawyer representing the Arizona GOP, what the party's interest in maintaining the policy of discarding ballots cast at the wrong precinct was. Carvin answered, without hesitation, that removing the rule would prevent Republicans from competing in the state. "It puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats," he told Barrett. "Politics is a zero sum game. Every extra vote that they get through unlawful interpretations of Section 2 hurts us. It's the difference between winning an election 50-49 and losing an election." In key voting rights case, Justice Amy Coney Barrett asks GOP lawyer Michael Carvin “what’s the interest” to Republicans in keeping voting restrictions in Arizona. Carvin: “Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats. Politics is a zero-sum game.” pic.twitter.com/In7GULkSUb — The Recount (@therecount) March 2, 2021 Critics argued Carvin was essentially admitting some Republicans believe "it is okay to manipulate elections to gain partisan advantage." Per Reuters, part of the reason voting rights activists have targeted the precinct rule is that voters sometimes inadvertently cast their ballots at the wrong polling station because their assigned location is not always the closest one to their homes. However, Reuters reports the high court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, is likely to uphold the restriction, as well as another that makes it a crime to hand over someone else's ballot to election officials during early voting. More stories from theweek.comWill COVID-19 wind up saving lives?The Trump administration reportedly quietly funded Operation Warp Speed with money set aside for hospitalsJohn Boehner rips Ted Cruz as a 'reckless a--hole' on book's back cover