U.S adults usually catch one or two common colds a year. They’re usually little more than an annoyance, but new research suggests they may offer some protection from a virus that’s much more dangerous. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are headed Tuesday to the southern state of Georgia to promote voting rights legislation that would greatly expand federal purview over elections but has stalled in the Senate. A White House official said Biden would use an address to advocate for the right to vote in…
read moreAmid the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have forgotten about that age-old winter sickness: the flu. But it is flu season, and some unlucky people are getting hit with both illnesses. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera – Vazgen Varzhabetian. …
read moreU.S. cybersecurity officials are still sounding an alarm about the so-called Log4j software vulnerability more than a month after it was first discovered, warning some criminals and nation state adversaries may be waiting to make use of their newfound access to critical systems. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said Monday that the…
read moreA snowy owl apparently touring iconic buildings of the nation’s capital is captivating birdwatchers who manage to get a glimpse of the rare, resplendent visitor from the Arctic. Far from its summer breeding grounds in Canada, the snowy owl was first seen on January 3, the day a winter storm dumped eight inches of snow…
read moreStarting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover as many as eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under the new policy, first detailed to…
read moreSatellite measurements show that 2021 was one of the warmest years on record, with the past seven years being the hottest period recorded globally. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said Monday that last year was the fifth-warmest year according to records dating back to 1850. It said average global temperatures in 2021…
read moreDespite having the highest number of COVID infections in Africa, nearly two years into the pandemic, fewer than half of South African adults have been vaccinated. The government has been reluctant to order vaccine mandates, but private companies are to encouraging people to get the jab. Linda Givetash reports from Johannesburg. …
read moreIndia began administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable groups on Monday, as infections surge to their highest levels in seven months fueled by the omicron variant and crowded cities like New Delhi and Mumbai reimpose restrictions to battle the third wave of the pandemic. Health care and frontline workers and senior citizens with…
read moreInternational business groups are urging Hong Kong to restart international flights after a ratings group warned the travel restrictions, imposed last week because of COVID-19 outbreaks, could have dire effects on the territory’s economy. Fitch Ratings said, “A new wave of restrictions on various social activities within Hong Kong and a further tightening of controls…
read moreWith the fate of Ukraine and potentially broader post-Cold War European stability at stake, the United States and Russia are holding critical strategic talks that could shape the future of not only their relationship but the relationship between the U.S. and its NATO allies. Prospects are bleak. Though the immediacy of the threat of a…
read moreAt the start of 2022 most measures show the U.S. economy is booming, with an unemployment rate that is approaching record lows and a demand for goods that has imports from the rest of the world surging. On Friday, the Labor Department announced that the unemployment rate had fallen to 3.9% in December, even as…
read moreThe European Union is under increasing pressure to further ease rules on airport take-off and landing slots to cut the number of “ghost flights” airlines are running to retain them. Carriers say the requirement for them to use 50% of their slots — down from 80% in pre-pandemic days — or lose them is forcing…
read moreNASA’s new space telescope opened its huge, gold-plated, flower-shaped mirror Saturday, the final step in the observatory’s dramatic unfurling. The last portion of the 6.5-meter (21-foot) mirror swung into place at flight controllers’ command, completing the unfolding of the James Webb Space Telescope. “I’m emotional about it. What an amazing milestone. We see that…
read moreNovak Djokovic’s legal challenge to the Australian government’s decision to cancel his visa on arrival this week says a certified COVID-19 infection in December meant he qualified for a medical exemption to the county’s vaccination requirements. A 35-page document lodged in the Federal Circuit and Family Court by his legal team Saturday outlines the Serbian’s…
read moreThe life of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who rose from childhood poverty and deprivation in Nevada to become one of the nation’s most powerful elected officials, will be celebrated by two American presidents and other Democratic leaders on Saturday, a testament to his impact on some of the most consequential legislation of the…
read moreSix months ago, pilot Hana Khan saw her picture on an app that appeared to be auctioning scores of Muslim women in India. The app was quickly taken down, no one was charged, and the issue shelved – until a similar app popped up on New Year’s Day. Khan was not on the new app…
read moreThe top men’s tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, spent Orthodox Christmas in an immigration detention hotel in Australia on Friday as he sought to fend off deportation over the country’s COVID-19 rules and compete in the Australian Open. Djokovic received calls from his native Serbia, including from his parents and the president, who…
read moreThe U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled Friday to hear oral arguments against two of President Joe Biden’s administration’s COVID-19 vaccine policies issued by government agencies to combat the deadly coronavirus. The policies “are critical to our nation’s COVID-19 response,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. The mandates coming under review were…
read moreMidday queues snake out to the street in an upmarket Shanghai neighborhood, but it’s not lunch at the city’s hottest restaurant that people are lining up for — it’s cosmetic “micro-procedures”, which are surging in popularity in China. The “lunchtime facelift” and other “medical aesthetics” procedures are booming as a new generation of Chinese consumers…
read moreThe one-year anniversary of the first attack on the U.S. Capitol in two centuries passed in silence Thursday as differences between congressional Democrats and Republicans about the deadly riot were on stark display. Over the past year, the events of January 6 have furthered the divide between Democrats who see the day as an attempted…
read moreNearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, six former health advisers for U.S. President Joe Biden are urging a different approach to fighting it. Writing Thursday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, the advisers wrote three articles urging Americans to learn to live with the virus in a “new normal” as opposed to…
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