From Jenna Orkin

GM heralded this plant as a model for its electric car future. Then its batteries started exploding.

One tree has stood here for 500 years. Will it be sold for $17,500?

Despite a higher-than-expected 2020 population count, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates Illinoisans moving away was the sole reason for the state’s record loss of the equivalent of nearly everyone in Springfield.
Israel Faces a Severe Blow to Wildlife Amid Outbreak of Avian Flu

US Spy Planes Fly Over Ukraine To 'gather Intelligence' On Ground Amid Tension With Russia

1. 1 in 5 adults couldn't pay an energy bill last year. It's a vicious cycle of climate crisis and companies raising prices.

   Nearly a fifth of all NYC COVID-19 cases were recorded in December 2021 amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant

   Haunting photos show the deserted streets of Xi'an, a city of 13 million that's been under strict lockdown for a week, leaving many residents starving at home

   Woman tests COVID positive mid-flight, isolates in plane bathroom
2. 30% of NYC emergency medical workers sick amid Omicron

 

From Jenna Orkin

Agents with Homeland Security Investigations push to break away from ICE, saying negative reputation hurts their work Paris wants to make the Seine swimmable for the Olympics

Record snowfall and heavy rains lash west coast from Oregon to southern California

China hoards over half the world's grain, pushing up global prices

Testy ties with U.S. and Australia could be prodding China to boost food reserves

Japan and China agree to deploy a military hotlineUS displaying dangerous trend of lowering threshold for use of nukes, warns diplomat

How China Got Sri Lanka to Cough Up a Port

1. 3 planes are flying potatoes into Japan to help tackle the country's shortage of fries, which has caused McDonald's to ration servings

   Elon Musk reveals who bitcoin's mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto might be

   China's small Beijing-3 satellite can take high resolution images of US cities within seconds, a speed its American counterparts can't match, scientists say

   Harry Reid, former Senate majority leader, dead at 82
2. How I escaped a Chinese internment camp

Rapid COVID tests are worse at detecting Omicron, FDA says, citing new lab data

 

From Jenna Orkin

Chinese residents ‘starving’ as world’s strictest COVID lockdown bans them leaving home

“You’re feeding America and going broke doing it”: After years of consolidation, four companies dominate the meatpacking industry, while many ranchers are barely hanging on.

Death toll from Brazil flooding rises in Bahia's 'worst disaster' ever

Chinese scientists develop AI ‘prosecutor’ that can press its own charges

A stealth bomber in flight caught on Google maps - 39 01 18.5N. 93 35 40.5W

Pfizer antiviral pills may be risky with other medications

1. Elon Musk is the person of the year largely because of his effect on the world of finance. Here are his top 12 tweets that moved markets

   Musk's Twitter poll from February 5 that read, "Dogecoin to the Moooonn," sent the cryptocurrency soaring 35%.

   Candle's Amazon reviews with claims that the candles have no scent, but the surge in Omicron cases may be to blame

   52% of Republicans disapprove of Mitch McConnell: poll

Widespread flight cancellations continued for a 5th consecutive day amid a surge in COVID-19 infections, bringing the total to around 13,000 since Friday

 

From Jenna Orkin

Study suggests coronavirus lingers in organs for months

What modern drone warfare means for both civilians and soldiers

Scientists discover hidden passageway beneath Panama through which wind from Earth's middle layer blows

Profiles Dan Bongino and the Big Business of Returning Trump to Power

Hong Kong is clinging to ‘zero covid’ and extreme quarantine. Talent is leaving in droves

Men across America are getting vasectomies ‘as an act of love’

Bambi: cute, lovable, vulnerable ... or a dark parable of antisemitic terror?

FDNY assistant chief is 264th member to die of World Trade Center-related cancer

Canada's public health agency admits it tracked 33 million mobile devices during lockdown

LNG shipping’s wild ride: Record, plunge, new record, new plunge

China's local COVID case count driven to 21-month high by Xian outbreak

New York City subway services are set to run less frequently this week as COVID-19 cases soar 

From Jenna Orkin

Don’t Look Up is an absurdist mirror of our reality — before it just becomes a regular mirror

Nuclear Hollywood! Secret Government Film Studio Exposed! – NH #548

Killings by police are undercounted by more than half, new study says

Lancet editor who published letter slamming Covid lab leak theory as 'conspiracy' admits he knew about lead author's links to Chinese lab at centre of cover-up for a YEAR before acknowledging conflict of interests

Justin Trudeau suggests China is 'playing' Western nations and trying to pit them against each other

A COVID-19 testing lab in Australia accidentally told 400 people they tested negative when they were actually positive

Inside Amazon's secretive real-estate arm, which has built the retailer's behemoth footprint over 22 years and whose decisions make or break entire neighborhoods

Airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Monday as rising Omicron cases wreak havoc on the travel industry

1. Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who successfully argued Roe v. Wade, has died at 76

   France reports record 100,000 daily COVID-19 cases

 

From Jenna Orkin

Canada secretly tracked 33 million phones during COVID-19 lockdown: report

Russia Says Molotov Cocktail Thrown at Consulate in Ukraine, Protests to Ukraine Authorities

US Navy Says it Seized Arms From Iran Likely Bound for Yemen

Germany's Surrender to the Greens Forced a Second Surrender to Russia

Economic growth above all.

Solomon Islands accepts Chinese offer for riot police help

Judge rules The New York Times must destroy documents and not publish reporting on conservative group

The New York Times has appealed the ruling, saying the judge's decision should "raise alarms" about press freedoms and government overreach.

Changing the way data is stored could reduce CO2 emissions by 95%

China's 'social credit' system ranks citizens and punishes them with throttled internet speeds and flight bans if the Communist Party deems them untrustworthy

A Connecticut man received a fake COVID-19 vaccine card when he ordered a passport holder on Amazon, attorney general says

Amazon tried to bar state officials from entering warehouses to investigate workplace safety complaints, officials say

A Japanese professor has created a lickable TV screen that can imitate the flavors of the food it displays

Rapid tests don't always spot Omicron: How to know you can trust result

From Jenna Orkin

South Africa relaxes COVID rules as 80% of population gains immunity

Russia fines Google $100 million, and Meta $27 million, over ‘failure to remove banned content’

Joan Didion on Bob Woodward 

Read the last line.

China Locks Down 13 Million People in Xi’an Following COVID-19 Spike

Netherlands Goes Nuclear In Massive Atomic Humanist Victory!

Dutch government will keep existing nuclear plant operating AND build two more full-sized water-cooled plants

US stock exchanges seek new listings as Chinese companies retreat

NYSE and Nasdaq explore IPO pipelines in India and south-east Asia to replace lost business

Everything Going Great

Kosovo Power Cuts 

A top virologist on how to protect yourself from the Omicron variant

Booster shots protect against symptomatic Omicron infection for about 10 weeks, study finds — which could mean more doses for some in 2022

From Jenna Orkin

Uncounted: Inaccurate death certificates across the country hide the true toll of COVID-19‘

Burn it all down’: How Myanmar’s military razed villages to crush a growing resistance

Pregnancy apps have become a battleground of vaccine misinformation

Trump’s newest business partner: A Chinese firm with a history of SEC investigation

Exclusive: U.N. proposing paying nearly $6 million to Taliban for securit

a prolonged period of unbearably high energy prices could lead to severe losses, relocation of European companies and an increase of carbon leakage. Furthermore, the crisis endangers the future of carbon-free investments and jeopardises the existing low-carbon projects in Europe. Swift action is needed to secure the energy-intensive industries’ investments to meet the decarbonisation challenge. Should appropriate funding not be granted, decarbonisation may become an even bigger challenge.

Putin refused to rule out invading Ukraine, suggesting the US has been trying to destroy Russia since 1918

China threatened to send Lithuania to the 'garbage bin of history' after it stood up to Beijing by strengthening ties with Taiwan

Hong Kong's 'Pillar of Shame' statue, which commemorates the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, was removed in the middle of the night

A Swedish company has created a microchip that allows users to carry their COVID vaccine passport under their skin

Surprised? 

From Jenna Orkin

China Cannot Silence Me

Global oil and gas discoveries in 2021 are on track to hit their lowest full-year level in 75 years should the remainder of December fail to yield any significant finds, Rystad Energy analysis shows. As of the end of November, total global discovered volumes this year are calculated at 4.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and, with no major finds announced so far this month, the industry is on course for its worst discoveries toll since 1946. This would also represent a considerable drop from the 12.5 billion boe unearthed in 2020.

‘JFK’ at 30: Oliver Stone and the lasting impact of America’s most dangerous movie

While omicron explodes around the world, covid cases in Japan keep plummeting and no one knows exactly why

Mexico’s wheat fields help feed the world. They’re also releasing a dangerous greenhouse gas.

Estimates Show Slowest Growth on Record for the Nation’s Population

EXCLUSIVE-IMF, 10 countries simulate cyber attack on global financial system

Former military intelligence chief acknowledges Israel's involvement in Soleimani killing

NJ, NY CityMD locations temporarily close while demand for testing grows

The US government just opened an official investigation into Tesla letting people play video games while driving

1. China locks down city of 200,000 people over 1 COVID case
3. 4 reasons your rapid COVID test may show a false result

 

From Jenna Orkin

Before Roe v. Wade: How to Get a “Therapeutic Abortion”

Oxford Invited an AI to Debate Its Own Ethics—What It Said Was Startling

WHO urges people to nix holiday plans amid Omicron

A UAE agency put Pegasus spyware on phone of Jamal Khashoggi’s wife months before his murder, new forensics show

Crickets Are Human Food, EU Says

Hong Kong sees record low voter turnout in first 'China patriots only' election

New Zealand links 26-year-old man's death to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

1. 

   The first American to die of the Omicron variant was an unvaccinated Texas man who had previously caught COVID-19

   DC Police officer beaten by Capitol rioters joins CNN

CDC chart shows how Omicron went from 0.7% to 73% of US COVID-19 cases in just 2 weeks

 

From Jenna Orkin

Namibia Promises Green Energy

The ‘Cowboy Cocktail’: How Wyoming became one of the world’s top tax havens

A patient at a care facility was in cardiac arrest. Paramedics refused to enter, citing covid restrictions.

DC declares state of emergency, prompting indoor mask, booster mandates

New York Area Bears the Brunt of Omicron on Top of Delta

Lieber Told FBI He ‘Wasn’t Completely Transparent’ in Prior Interview with Federal Investigators

Special Report: Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm

Oklahoma is looking to hire 18- and 19-year-olds to work in prisons to help tackle a shortage of 500 workers

1. Taiwan's 'SEALs' would be on the frontline of a war with China. Here's how they'd try to hold off an invasion.

   China's military is technologically and numerically superior, but as the defenders, Taiwan's military would still have some advantages.
2. British army considering Gurkha-style unit with Afghan special forces
3. Chile elects 35-year-old leftist to presidency

 

From Jenna Orkin

Many science fans were freaking out this week when NASA confirmed that its Parker Solar Probe had become the first spacecraft ever to 'touch the Sun' back in April.

Scientists Say the Laws of Physics May Be Changing

How a Kennedy built an anti-vaccine juggernaut amid COVID-19

Fauci warns omicron variant will cause record-high coronavirus hospitalizations, deaths in U.S.

DC Police Tried to Fire 24 Current Officers for ‘Criminal Offenses.’ A Powerful Panel Blocked Nearly Every One, Documents Show.

Citizens must refrain from shopping, recreation, even laughing as country remembers Kim Jong Il.

South Africa Virology Labs: Hunting for Next Variant

1. Student-loan borrowers with disabilities could be paying extra taxes because of 'false and misleading' information on debt forgiveness, advocates say

   Student-loan borrowers with disabilities may not know their debt forgiveness isn't taxable. Student Defense wants the Education Dept. to change that.

   The Netherlands has just gone into a month-long nationwide lockdown in response to the Omicron surge

   Retired US generals warn of insurrection or civil war in 2024