Friday, Aug. 7th, 2020

State Department lifts global coronavirus travel advisory The State Department on Thursday lifted its Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory, issued on March 19 in order to encourage Americans against traveling overseas amid the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of a blanket travel advisory, the State Department said it will release country-specific guidelines “in order to give travelers detailed and actionable information to make informed travel decisions. This will also provide U.S. citizens more detailed information about the current status in each country. We continue to recommend U.S. citizens exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against non-essential travel to 200 specific locations, CNN reports, and there are still travel restrictions in other countries affecting Americans; the European Union, for example, has blocked entry to tourists from the United States. Source: CNN

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive for COVID-19 Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on Thursday took a COVID-19 test “as part of the standard protocol” to meet with President Trump at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, as the president visits the state, and the result came back positive, the governor’s office said. DeWine, who will return home to quarantine for two weeks, said he isn’t showing any symptoms. DeWine is the second governor in the United States to test positive for COVID-19 after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R). Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) previously tested positive for COVID-19 at the White House shortly before he was scheduled to travel with Trump to Texas. Source: Axios

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The economy falls into recession for the first time in 29 years after the economy shrank by 16.5% in the April to June quarter from the same period last year, which is the biggest slump in the government’s quarterly GDP data dating back to 1981. (CNA)

A court in China sentences a Canadian man to death on drug charges. His alleged accomplice receives life imprisonment. Police had confiscated 120 kilograms (266 pounds) of ketamine from the defendant’s home. He is the third Canadian citizen to be sentenced to death in China since Canadian authorities arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in late 2018 on an extradition request from the United States. (AP)

Twitter says it will label state media, official government accounts and their stafff. State-funded media outlets with “editorial independence”, such as the National Public Radio in the U.S., or BBC in the UK, will not be among those labelled, according to a spokesman for the social media site. (Twitter)

The End 

Thursday,  Aug. 6th, 2020

The Robert Koch Institute reports 1,045 new cases in Germany during the last 24 hours. It is the first time since May 7 that new COVID-19 cases in the country surpass 1,000. (The New Indian Express)

Poland reports record 726 new cases during the last 24 hours as the government will impose limits on restaurants, sporting events, public transport and weddings in 19 of its 380 counties as of Saturday, August 8. (Bloomberg)

Melbourne enters stage 4 lockdown, which is Australia’s toughest lockdown yet after spike of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, mainly in the city. (France 24)

Google shuts down 2,500 channels on its video sharing platform YouTube that were linked to Chinese disinformation. The channels generally posted “spammy, non-political content”, but a small subset touched on politics, the company said. (Reuters)

The Indonesian economy contracts 5.32% in second quarter of 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the worst economic contraction in the country since the first quarter of 1999. (Kompas)

SpaceX Starship prototype SN5 successfully carries out a 150-meter (490 ft) flight test at the SpaceX South Texas Launch Site. (BBC)

The End 

1890 – At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.

1914 – World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.

1945 – World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb “Little Boy” is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.

1991 – Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet.

 

Joe Rogan – April 26th, 2020

https://youtu.be/6Z9sVpMm76I

Joe Rogan – April 19th, 2020

https://youtu.be/FTiX_eKvT0g

Joe Rogan – April 12th, 2020

https://youtu.be/Bt0nVl1Nlj4

Wednesday,  Aug. 5th, 2020

Early vaccine trial produces strong antibody response with minimal side effects  Maryland-based Novavax released released a preliminary study Tuesday showing all 130-some recipients of its coronavirus vaccine trial produced COVID-19 antibodies that could reduce their chance of infection. Of them, 56 produced a high level of antibodies without any dangerous side effects. More than 60 percent of recipients had minor side effects, and eight people had to be hospitalized, though not for life threatening reasons. John Moore, a virologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, said these were some of the most promising vaccine results he has seen yet. Bipartisan state attorneys general are meanwhile seeking to use a federal patent law to increase the supply of the drug remdesivir and lower its price, as it has proven to be a promising coronavirus treatment but is only made by the biopharmaceutical company Gilead. Source:  USA Today

Officials say deadly Beirut explosion caused by 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate  Lebanese officials believe Tuesday’s enormous explosion in Beirut’s port was likely caused by 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse, and Prime Minister Hassan Diab vowed that those “responsible for this catastrophe will pay the price.” The blast killed at least 78 people and injured nearly 4,000, Lebanon’s health ministry said, with many people still missing. The explosion leveled buildings, flipped cars, and blew out windows, and was so strong that it registered as a 3.3 magnitude earthquake. Beirut’s hospitals, already under stress due to the coronavirus pandemic, are now overwhelmed by patients, and medical facilities are asking for blood donations and generators. The city’s governor, Marwan Abboud, told reporters he has “never in my life seen damage this enormous … this is a national catastrophe. This is a disaster for Lebanon.” Source: The Guardian

 

UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic declares itself bankrupt and files for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Protection in New York amid a decline in international flights during the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Guardian)

The Philippines posts a single-day Southeast Asian record, with 6,352 new coronavirus cases reported in the last 24 hours, as well as 11 deaths. More than 66,000 people have recovered. (The Straits Times) 

Poland reports a single-day record of 680 new cases in the last 24 hours, as well as six deaths. More than a third are in the southern Silesia region, largely amongst coal miners. (Voice of America)

The Congress of the Republic of Peru votes 54–37 no confidence against Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano, forcing all 19 government ministers to resign. President Martín Vizcarra has 48 hours to form a new cabinet. (Reuters)

Newly leaked bodycam footage shows George Floyd pleading with police officers not to lock him up in a police vehicle, as well as saying that he is claustrophobic. (NBC News)

President Donald Trump vows to sue Nevada over legislation signed by Governor Steve Sisolak that, amid the coronavirus pandemic, requires election officials to send all active, registered voters a mail-in ballot ahead of the November election. This also would apply to any others that happen in the wake of a statewide emergency or disaster directive. (Reuters)

The End