HealthYahoo NewsWhy Black Americans aren't being vaccinated for COVID-19 at the same rate as whites
Early data on the rollout of the vaccines for COVID-19 shows that minority populations in the United States already disproportionately affected by the pandemic are not being immunized at the same rate as white Americans. Yahoo News Medical Contributor Dr. Uché Blackstock believes there are multiple factors contributing to this disparity. “One of the problems that I saw very early on is that if you're going to have mostly hospitals and pharmacies dispensing the vaccine, we're going to miss a lot of people,” Blackstock said.
PoliticsBBCJoe Biden: America's second Catholic president
Joe Biden has been back in Washington for six days, and already he has attended Catholic Mass twice. Then, on the first Sunday of his presidency, he took in morning services at Holy Trinity Church, in the Georgetown neighbourhood of northwest DC. The Jesuit-affiliated Holy Trinity is the same church to which John F Kennedy, the nation's first Catholic president, belonged.
PoliticsThe WeekThe Senate is effectively deadlocked over McConnell's filibuster demand
Senate Democrats are drawing a line at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) demand that a power-sharing agreement in the 50-50 Senate include a pledge to retain the legislative filibuster. "If we gave him that, then the filibuster would be on everything, every day," Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) told NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday's Meet the Press.
WorldReutersU.S. carrier group enters South China Sea amid Taiwan tensions
A U.S. aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has entered the South China Sea to promote "freedom of the seas", the U.S. military said on Sunday, at a time when tensions between China and Taiwan have raised concern in Washington. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement the strike group entered the South China Sea on Saturday, the same day Taiwan reported a large incursion of Chinese bombers and fighter jets into its air defence identification zone in the vicinity of the Pratas Islands.
HealthAssociated PressAsia Today: Taiwan quarantines 5,000 after hospital cluster
Health authorities in Taiwan are quarantining 5,000 people while looking for the source of two new coronavirus cases linked to a hospital. Officials said on Monday that they have not been able to identify how the husband and wife became infected after a brief hospital stay in the Taoyuan General Hospital, located in the city of Taoyuan just outside Taiwan's capital city. The man had stayed at the hospital for three days for health problems unrelated to COVID-19, while his wife looked after him.
WorldThe TelegraphIndian and Chinese troops involved in new border clash in eastern Himalayas
Indian and Chinese soldiers armed with sticks and stones have brawled again along their disputed frontier, Delhi said, as the neighbours' months-long border stand-off continued. Indian security officials said there were clashes after at least 18 Chinese soldiers tried to cross into Indian-claimed territory at Naku La in Sikkim on January 20. A senior Indian Army official told the Telegraph that four Indian soldiers were wounded after they challenged the Chinese PLA soldiers.
PoliticsAssociated PressPets are back: Biden's 2 dogs settle in at White House
The patter of paws is being heard in the White House again following the arrival of President Joe Biden's dogs Champ and Major. The two German shepherds are the first pets to live at the executive mansion since the Obama administration. Major burst onto the national scene last year after Biden, then president-elect, broke his right foot while playing with the dog at their home in Wilmington, Delaware.
BusinessReutersNissan flips the switch on electric reboot in China
Nissan Motor is accelerating the rollout of electric vehicles in China under its main brand and its local, no-frills Venucia marque as it overhauls its strategy in the world's biggest auto market, four sources told Reuters. Besides the focus on green vehicles, the plan involves using more locally made parts and technologies to reduce costs and help the struggling Japanese carmaker compete better with lower-cost Chinese firms and major global rivals, the sources said. The China strategy is a key pillar of Nissan's turnaround, which involves focusing on producing profitable cars for China, Japan and the United States, rather than chasing all-out global growth as it did under disgraced former boss Carlos Ghosn.
WorldReutersEU states no longer recognise Guaido as Venezuela's interim president
Venezuela's Juan Guaido is a "privileged interlocutor" but no longer considered interim president, European Union states said in a statement on Monday, sticking by their decision to downgrade his status. The EU's 27 states had said on Jan. 6 they could no longer legally recognise Guaido as after he lost his position as head of parliament following legislative elections in Venezuela in December, despite the EU not recognising that vote. Following the disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro in 2018, Guaido, as head of parliament, became interim president.
CelebrityBBCShyamala Gopalan: The woman who inspired Kamala Harris
What Kamala Harris did on her first day Howard students' joy as Kamala Harris makes history The oldest of the four children of a civil servant father and a homemaker mother, Ms Gopalan wanted to study biochemistry. But hard sciences were not on offer at Delhi's Lady Irwin College for women, founded by India's British colonial rulers, and she had to settle for an undergraduate degree in home science, where she would have studied subjects like nutrition and homemaking skills. "My father and I would tease her about it," Gopalan Balachandran, her brother, told the BBC.
U.S.Associated PressCalifornia reverses stay-at-home order as conditions improve
Business owners hailed Gov. Gavin Newsom's decision to lift stay-at-home orders across California in response to improving coronavirus conditions, but local health officials expressed concern that it may cause residents to let down their guard. California is experiencing a “flattening of the curve,” Newsom said during a virtual news conference on Monday. The metrics are markedly improved since last month, when some Southern California hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients were crafting emergency plans for rationing care.
PoliticsUSA TODAYFact check: National Guard members didn't turn away from Biden's Inauguration Day motorcade in dissent
The claim: Video shows National Guard members turned away from Biden's motorcade History will remember President Joe Biden's inauguration for its many irregularities, including the 26,000 National Guard members who descended upon Washington to provide additional security after pro-Trump rioters breached the U.S. Capitol two weeks earlier. While tensions were high on Inauguration Day, a viral video does not show guard members insulting Biden, as online opponents claim. A 21-second video titled “Troops Turn Backs on Biden as Motorcade Drives By” shows guard members standing along a road, with some backs turned from the presidential motorcade.
U.S.ReutersTrump lawyer Giuliani faces $1.3 billion lawsuit over 'big lie' election fraud claims
A U.S. voting machine company filed a $1.3 billion lawsuit against former President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, accusing him of defamation in what it called his "big lie" campaign about widespread fraud in the presidential election, court documents on Monday showed. The Denver-based company, Dominion Voting Systems Inc, filed an earlier lawsuit against pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, whom the company also accused of spreading false conspiracy theories about the election that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. A senior Dominion employee, Eric Coomer, also filed a defamation lawsuit against the Trump campaign, saying he had been driven into hiding because of death threats from Trump supporters.
WorldAssociated PressChina tackles pandemic with mass construction once again
A sprawling quarantine center with more than 4,000 rooms is being thrown up in northern China in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Shijiazhuang, a city of more than 10 million people in Hebei province. Satellite images from the European Space Agency show dramatic changes over 10 days in an area where there had been only flat land before construction started on Jan. 13. It's common practice for China to mobilize resources nationwide to tackle natural disasters and other crises.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderSome senators oppose the direct-payment part of Biden's stimulus plan because they think it gives too much money to the wealthy, report says
President Joe Biden's stimulus plan is facing criticism that it'd give too much to the wealthy. A bipartisan group of 16 senators spoke with the Biden administration during a call Sunday. The group also expressed support for increasing funding for vaccine distribution.
HealthReutersWhat you need to know about the coronavirus right now
Indonesia has been criticised for having among the lowest testing and contact-tracing rates globally, and for focusing on securing vaccines at the expense of trying to enforce health protocols. Scarce niche syringes thwart U.S. plan to maximise vaccine shots The U.S. government's effort to squeeze more doses from Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine vials is spurring unanticipated demand for specialized syringes that the world's largest syringe supplier Becton Dickinson says exceeds existing capacity. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, one of two authorized for U.S. emergency use, is shipped in vials initially indicated to hold five doses.
PoliticsThe IndependentCindy McCain says censure by Arizona GOP is ‘badge of honour’
The wife of the late Republican Senator John McCain has said she counts being censured by the Arizona GOP as a “badge of honour”. Cindy McCain was among three people censured by the state party for openly disparaging former president Donald Trump. Former Sen. Jeff Flake and Gov. Doug Ducey were also censured following a vote by the Arizona GOP, although their censure is largely symbolic.
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Female student athletes speak out against Biden executive order on transgender competition
Three Connecticut female student athletes who filed a discrimination complaint over transgender competition argue that the president's new executive order is not fair.
U.S.Business InsiderA New York Times editor lost her job after she tweeted about having 'chills' about Biden's inauguration
New York Times editor Lauren Wolfe tweeted about having "chills" seeing Biden arrive for his inauguration. Many criticized her for appearing to show political bias, and The Times later fired Wolfe. A New York Times editor lost her job after receiving criticism for tweeting about her excitement for President Joe Biden's inauguration.
U.S.The IndependentNew threats of a second attack on the US Capitol loom over lawmakers ahead of Trump’s second impeachment trial
A surge in threats against lawmakers and the US Capitol have forced National Guard troops to remain in Washington ahead of former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. The troops will remain on Capitol Hill as the US Senate trial begins on 8 February, marking the first time in American history in which a former president has faced an impeachment trial after leaving office. The House voted to impeach Mr Trump for fomenting a deadly insurrection at the Capitol as Congress convened to certify his electoral defeat in the 2020 elections, citing his speech held just before the deadly attacks and conduct during the riots, which left at least five people dead, including United States Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
WorldINSIDERChina is spreading conspiracy theories that the coronavirus was created in an American lab and that a US-created vaccine is killing the elderly
Chinese state media is spreading a conspiracy theory that a US Army base created the coronavirus. The disinformation push comes as WHO scientists arrive in Wuhan to study the virus' origins. Chinese state media is playing up a conspiracy theory about the novel coronavirus' origins while also questioning the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine's safety in older people.
PoliticsAssociated PressJill Biden signals she'll be more active as first lady
Five days into her new role, Jill Biden signaled Monday that she'll be a more active first lady, with a trio of virtual appearances before governors' spouses, young Latinos and library officials. She also used the meetings to promote President Joe Biden's call for national unity and his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief proposal, which is facing resistance from some Republicans lawmakers. Jill Biden's early moves seemed designed to signal that she intends to be more active than her predecessor, Melania Trump.
PoliticsThe IndependentSeth Rogen says Ted Cruz ‘deserves ridicule’ after branding senator a ‘fascist’
Seth Rogen has said that Ted Cruz “deserves ridicule” amid calls for an investigation into the Republican senator over comments he made before the deadly Capitol Hill riots. Hollywood actor and producer Rogen has been embroiled in an exchange with Cruz over the past week, calling him a “fascist” on multiple occasions and telling him to “f*** off” during others. Cruz, meanwhile, has branded Rogen a “moron” and “an angry Hollywood celebrity”.
U.S.The Daily BeastFormer Marine Charged in Riots Hurled ‘Sharpened Pole’ at Capitol Police: Feds
A former Marine charged with assaulting police officers during the Capitol riots with a hockey stick also launched a massive, “sharpened pole” at cops during his attack, authorities revealed. Michael Joseph Foy, a 30-year-old from Westland, Michigan, was charged Friday with several crimes, including obstruction of law enforcement and forcibly assaulting an officer, after striking cops with a hockey stick “at least 10 times” during the Jan. 6 riots. In a detention memo filed Sunday evening, federal prosecutors also revealed that at one point during the melee, Foy “threw what appears to be a sharpened pole at the officers.”
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Dr. Birx: Trump presented graphs 'I never made'
"I saw the president presenting graphs that I never made...." Dr. Deborah Birx, the former coronavirus response coordinator under former President Donald Trump, revealed on Sunday that the White House used data and graphs she didn't prepare. "So, I know that someone out there or someone inside was creating a parallel set of data and graphics that were shown to the president.
“By encouraging this act of terror on our capital, Trump’s legacy is destroyed.”
“Both backers and critics of Trump agreed that he remade the federal judiciary — a change that will impact America for decades.”
“He was largely responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who did not need to die.”
“I do know what the future should hold for this country. That is to say, a policy of Trumpism without Trump.”
“It will be decades before the consequences of his tenure are fully known.”