Almost two and a half years since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the most infectious and transmissible variant has yet to arrive. The latest version of
shape-shifting BA.5 variantan offshoot of Omicron, is driving a global surge in cases, illustrating how the
the virus has evolved and can evade the immunity provided by previous Covid-19 vaccines. In the US, BA.5 accounted for 65% of new infections last week, according to the CDC. The variant is also underway in China, raising fears that major cities there may soon
reinstate strict lockdown measures that were recently raised. As for how to handle the new wave, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s Covid-19 response coordinator, urged Americans over 50 to get a second booster shot. US health officials are urgently working on a plan to allow
second Covid-19 boosters for all adultsa senior White House official confirmed to CNN on Monday.
2Biden in Israel
President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday for the start of his
four-day visit to the middle east. It is his first visit to the region since he was elected president. Biden was received at the airport by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whom he
hold meetings today. In the run-up to the trip, US officials have been working to deepen Arab-Israeli security coordination and negotiate agreements that will bring Israel and Saudi Arabia, which do not have diplomatic relations, closer to normalization. Meanwhile, many Palestinians are
pessimistic about the president’s visit due to a perceived unwillingness to pressure Israel on continued West Bank settlement expansion and other key issues.
january 3 6
Former President Donald Trump
tried to call a witness that he was speaking with the House select committee investigating the
January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The witness, a White House support staff member, was not someone who regularly communicated with the former president and “refused to pick up or respond” to his call and instead alerted his attorney. “We will take any effort to influence witness testimony very seriously,” Vice Chair Liz Cheney said during the committee’s hearing on Tuesday, adding that the information was provided to the
Justice Department. This is not the first time the committee has raised concerns about a pattern of
possible witness tampering and witness the intimidation of Trump and other allies in his camp.
4.Virginia
Search efforts will continue today for more than
40 people still missing after severe flooding inundated a rural Virginia county, ripping homes off their foundations and damaging roads and bridges throughout the region. Buchanan County in western Virginia was drenched with more than 6 inches of water in a matter of hours Wednesday, leading to widespread flooding and road closures. To help in the response, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency to help with recovery efforts. The storm was one of several that lingered over the county and surrounding region, including Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia, on Tuesday night.
5 Sri Lankan
Sri Lanka has
plunged into chaos and its president has fled to Singapore as anger grows in his home country over his refusal to formally resign. President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa had been in the Maldives after fleeing Sri Lanka on Wednesday, the same day he had
he said he would resign. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed interim president during his absence. But to this day, the speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament has not received any formal letter of resignation, raising questions about the intentions of the apparently self-exiled leader.
Last weekend’s protests were among the most dramatic seen so far, with people setting Wickremesinghe’s residence on fire and swimming in Rajapaksa’s private pool. Many protesters have vowed to continue demonstrating until both men resign.
BREAKFAST SAIL
NASA published more images of stars, galaxies and an exoplanet
After decades of waiting, the world can finally see the
deepest and sharpest images of our universe taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Netflix arrives with advertising
Nobody likes the “L” word… but if you can tolerate a few ads, a
lowest priced Netflix tier is currently in the works.
Chris Hemsworth stopped eating meat before filming a kiss with his vegan co-star
this kind gesture helped vegan actress Natalie Portman
Romaine lettuce calm while filming a kiss scene for “Thor: Love and Thunder”.
Ryan Gosling Is Bringing Big ‘Ken-ergy’ To The Next ‘Barbie’ Movie
the long awaited
Movie “Barbie” It won’t be released until next year, but fans are already swooning over Gosling’s “Ken doll” character.
World’s Best Airlines for 2022 Ranked by AirlineRatings.com
We may be in the midst of a chaotic travel season, but some airlines are overcoming industry challenges.
Check the new list here.
TODAY’S ISSUE
$114 billion
That’s Bill Gates’ estimated net worth, making him the fourth richest person in the world, but he doesn’t intend to rank that high forever. On Wednesday, the Microsoft co-founder said he wants to “move down and eventually get off the list of the world’s richest people” because he feels “obligated to give his resources back to society.” On the same day, Gates transferred $20 billion of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world. The foundation plans to increase its payments from nearly $6 billion to $9 billion each year by 2026.
TODAY’S APPOINTMENT
“Today, (Joshua) Schulte has been convicted of one of the most brazen and damaging acts of espionage in American history.“
— US Attorney Damian Williams, after former CIA employee Joshua Schulte was convicted Wednesday of carrying out the largest leak of classified data in the agency’s history. Schulte, who had worked as a computer engineer at the CIA, stole cyber tools in 2016 and transferred the classified data to WikiLeaks, according to court records. Schulte had access to “some of the most valuable intelligence-gathering cyber tools in the country that are used to fight terrorist organizations,” Willams said, adding that those tools are now essentially useless.
TODAY’S WEATHER
AND FINALLY
Did someone say free fries?
National French Fries Day (which is apparently real) was Wednesday, but some of America’s biggest fast-food chains are
giving away fries the rest of the week! To celebrate, here’s a video of the different ways French fries are enjoyed around the world. (
Click here to see)
