World News
Trudeau govt to work with China in testing new COVID-19 vaccine from aborted babies
Life Site – Canada’s largest federal research and development organization announced that it will be teaming up with a Chinese vaccine company with the hopes of testing a new trial coronavirus vaccine in Canada, which, one watchdog is warning, is made from aborted fetal cell lines.
In a press release sent out on May 12, the National Research Council (NRC) announced a collaboration with the Chinese firm CanSino Biologics Inc. (CanSinoBIO), to test its trial coronavirus vaccine, known as Ad5-nCoV, in Canada.
Alan Moy M.D., founder and scientific director of the John Paul II Medical Research Institute and CEO of Cellular Engineering Technologies, confirmed for LifeSiteNews that Ad5-nCoV was indeed developed unethically. It uses the NRC’s HEK293 cell line, which was developed by the NRC and was made from fetal cells harvested from an aborted baby decades ago.
Iran says it will continue nuclear work despite US sanctions
AP – Iran said Friday its experts would continue nuclear development activities, despite sanctions imposed earlier this week on their fellow scientists by the United States.
State TV cited a statement from the country’s nuclear department saying the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on two Iranian nuclear scientists indicate continuation of a “hostile” attitude. It said the sanctions would make them “determined to continue their nonstop efforts more than before.”
The statement said the sanctions violate international law.
Beijing Urges Foreign Nations to Cease Attempts at Meddling in Hong Kong Affairs
Sputnik – The day before, China’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution to draft a law on national security in Hong Kong that would outlaw secessionism in the territory and hefty fines or jail terms for those ridiculing China’s anthem among other things.
China is calling on the United States to immediately cease political intrigues around the proposed Hong Kong security bill since this is seen as meddling in the country’s domestic affairs, Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said on Friday.
“Requesting a discussion on the matter in the UN Security Council, the US grossly interferes in China’s domestic affairs … We are calling on the US to immediately cease these political manipulations,” Zhao said at a briefing.
“If the US continues to insist on meddling, China is ready to implement necessary countermeasures,” Zhao added.
The day before the UK joined Australia, Canada and the US in criticising China’s decision to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong.
A resolution to draft a law on national security in Hong Kong was passed on 28 May with 2,878 lawmakers supporting it, while one voted against and six others abstained.
Under this resolution, the National People’s Congress Committee has been charged with writing a bill on Hong Kong’s security.
According to the media reports, the new legislation would require Hong Kong’s regional government to set up new institutions that would guarantee the safety of civilians.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
Trump says coronavirus vaccine will be voluntary: ‘Not everyone is going to want to get it’
The new vaccine will be for those ‘who want to get it,’ President Trump said Friday
Life Site – President Trump has stated that a future coronavirus vaccine will be voluntary.
On Friday, the president introduced “Operation Warp Speed,” an ambitious Manhattan Project-style initiative to fast-track the development and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine by January 2021, tapping experts and resources in science, medicine, the military, and the private sector.
Experts have warned that the plan raises serious ethical and safety questions which are of grave importance not only to pro-life citizens, but to everyone.
However, President Trump did allay concerns about a mandatory vaccine on Friday, saying that the new vaccine would be for those “who want to get it,” adding, “Not everyone is going to want to get it.”
Regardless of the President’s assurances, the public remains gravely concerned. In just one week, nearly 440,000 people have signed a LifeSiteNews petition addressed to world leaders opposing a mandatory coronavirus vaccination.
And while none of the experts LifeSiteNews has spoken to in recent days have expressed concern about forced vaccinations for U.S. citizens, there is still cause for concern in some jurisdictions, such as Canada.
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked by reporters April 28 whether a coronavirus would be mandatory, he said, “As to what sort of vaccination protocols will be in place, we still have a fair bit of time to reflect on that in order to get it right.”
Not Wanting to Get Left Behind, Merck Nabs $38 MILLION from U.S. Government to Develop COVID Vaccine
Health Impact News – Despite the fact that they are currently embattled in two federal lawsuits for fraud regarding the development of their MMR and Gardasil vaccines, Merck jumped into the COVID-19 race and nabbed $38 MILLION of American taxpayer funds to develop COVID products, including vaccines, it was announced today.
The transfer of American wealth to the criminal pharmaceutical industry continues as millions are out of work and non-pharmaceutical businesses go bankrupt.
Trailing Big Pharma peers, Merck inks deals to advance COVID-19 drugs, vaccines
Ian Prior: Trump right to order fed investigation of Floyd death in Minneapolis – here’s what could happen now
Fox – President Trump was absolutely right to direct the Justice Department and FBI Thursday to conduct an expedited investigation of the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police Monday.
President Trump was absolutely right to direct the Justice Department and FBI Thursday to conduct an expedited investigation of the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police Monday.
500 National Guard troops deployed in Minneapolis
Bangkok Post – Five hundred National Guard soldiers and airmen have been deployed in the northern US cities of Minnesota and St Paul after three nights of violent protests over the police killing of a black man, the force said early Friday.
“Our troops are trained to protect life, preserve property and ensure people’s right to peacefully demonstrate,” said Major General Jon Jensen of the Minnesota National Guard.
The deployment began overnight as rioters looted and burned dozens of buildings across the Twin Cities amid anger of police brutality against African Americans.
CNN reporter, crew arrested on live TV
The Hill – Minnesota state police on Friday arrested CNN reporter Omar Jimenez and his camera crew during a live report on the network’s morning program “New Day.”
The incident prompted immediate criticism and questions about why Jimenez and the crew faced arrest, especially as other crews from CNN and other networks were not arrested. Jimenez is black and Hispanic.
The CNN crew were released about an hour later after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) got involved. Walz also reportedly apologized over the incident.
The arrest itself was captured on camera and broadcast live by CNN, which had sent reporters to cover protests in the city in response to the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man.
“You’re under arrest,” one officer said in the middle of the report on the protests that have erupted in Minneapolis.
“OK, do you mind telling me why I’m under arrest? Why am I under arrest, sir?” Jimenez responded.
At that point another member of the CNN crew could be heard speaking off camera.
“You’re arresting him live on CNN. We told you before we’re with CNN,” the crew member stated as footage of the arrest rolled.
CNN reported that police said the Jimenez crew were arrested “because they were told to move and didn’t.”
Donald Trump: Rioting ‘Thugs’ Dishonor George Floyd; ‘When the Looting Starts the Shooting Starts’
Breitbart – President Donald Trump reacted angrily to the third night of rioting and looting in Minneapolis on Thursday in reaction to the death of George Floyd.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The president criticized Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as a “very weak Radical Left Mayor” who was failing the city of Minneapolis.
“I can’t stand back and watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis,” he wrote. “A total lack of leadership.”
Multiple businesses were set on fire as rioters attacked the 3rd Precinct headquarters. Frey said it was his decision for police to abandon the precinct, citing the danger to both police and protesters.
“The symbolism of a building cannot outweigh the importance of lives of our officers or the public, we could not risk serious injury to anyone,” he said defending his decision in an early morning press conference, adding that, “brick and mortar is not as important as life.”
Black Business Owner Who Invested Life Savings Into Looted Bar: “I Don’t Know What I’m Gonna Do”
Infowars – A black business owner who invested his life savings into what is now a looted and destroyed sports bar cried on camera as he lamented, “I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
A news report describes how the Minneapolis bar owner was attempting to clean up when thugs tried to break in again during filming and loot his safe.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do, I worked so hard to get here, so hard,” the owner says as he cries.
The clip once again emphasizes how rioters are burning down their own community and destroying the lives of other black people, supposedly in pursuit of justice.
In reality, they’ve trashed their own neighborhood and made it highly unlikely that any new businesses will want to set up shop to serve the community there ever again.
Some business owners placed signs that said “minority owned” in an attempt to deter looters, but that obviously didn’t work for this bar owner.
House Democrats demand probes of police killings of black Americans
Reuters – The Democratic-controlled U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Thursday asked the Justice Department to investigate systemic police misconduct following a spate of high-profile police killings of African Americans.
The killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who died when a white officer pinned him down with a knee to the neck, and Breonna Taylor, shot in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment, raise questions as to whether police were engaged in a “pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler and the other Democratic members told Attorney General William Barr in a letter.
The letter also asks the department to probe the local law enforcement authorities who were responsible for investigating the death of Ahmaud Arbery, another unarmed black man who was gunned down by a former police officer and his son while jogging in his Georgia neighborhood.
“Public trust in the blind administration of justice is being seriously tested by recent high-profile killings of African-Americans,” Nadler wrote.
Economy & Business
U.S. Incomes Soared 10.5% in April and Saving Rate Hit Highest Level Ever
Breitbart – The government’s efforts to support the U.S. economy by sending checks to taxpayers and enhancing unemployment benefits led to soaring income but most of that money was saved as American consumers pulled back on spending in April.
Personal income rose 10.5 percent in April, Commerce Department data showed Friday. Economists had forecast a six percent decline in income due to rising joblessness and a shrinking economy.
Larry Kudlow says US economy could see up to 20 percent growth as states reopen
Fox – White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday that though the coronavirus pandemic is not over, as the curve of infection cases flatten and businesses reopen, an economic boom in the second half of the year is in the making.
“I call them glimmers of hope and growth,” Kudlow told “Fox & Friends.”
“Cars are driving more, gasoline prices are up,” Kudlow said. He continued, “We’re even seeing unemployment claims, which is a terrible number close to 40 million. But it is slowing in its increase.”
Kudlow went on to say, “So, there is some hope that, I think, we’re going to move strongly into the second half of the year with perhaps as much as 20 percent economic growth. We’ll talk about this with the business leaders.”
Kudlow said the White House is set to host an economic roundtable with business leaders and CEOs to discuss the transition into reopening the economy.
Science & Technology
TRUMP TO STRIP “LIABILITY SHIELD” FROM BIG TECH GIANTS OVER SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP
Infowars – President Trump is peeling away the “liability shield” social media companies enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which was intended to protect Internet platforms from liability of third-party content as long as they act as neutral platforms for free speech and not as editors of content.
Joined by Attorney General William Barr, Trump also announced on Thursday that the Justice Dept. will work with state attorney generals to make sure they also enforce laws on deceptive business practices as they pertain to Big Tech.
“What they chose to promote or ignore is nothing short of political activism,” Trump told reporters. “This censorship is a threat to freedom itself – imagine if your phone company edited your text messages or blocked your phone calls.”
By “fact checking” and censoring content, social media platforms are acting as editors of content instead of neutral platforms which are protected from liability of third-party content under Section 230, both the president and attorney general stated.
According to AG Barr:
One of the things I’ve found that has the broadest bipartisan support these days is the feeling that this provision, Section 230, has been stretched way beyond its initial intention, and people feel that on both sides of the aisle. [Section 230] was adopted 25 years ago to protect the fledgling industry and its purpose was to allow web sites that were serving essentially as bulletin boards for diverse, third-party content to say that they’re not responsible for the content of that third-party information. It also encouraged these companies to take down things like child pornography, human trafficking advertising by stating ‘if you act to remove this kind of objectionable material, you won’t be liable for taking it down.’
Now it’s [Section 230] been completely stretched to allow what has become really behemoths who control a lot of the flow of information in our society to engage in censorship of that information and to act as editors and publishers of the material.
So when they put on their own content like ‘fact check’ on top of other people’s content, and when they curate their collection [of content available] and start censoring particular content, including in many cases under the direction of foreign governments like communist China, they become publishers and shouldn’t be entitled to the same kind of shield that was set up earlier [for neutral parties under Section 230].
The attorney general also believes the executive order will bring back Section 230’s original intent and that Big Tech companies gained dominance by acting as free speech platforms before pulling a “bait-and-switch.”
“These companies grew because they held themselves out as free public [neutral] forums where a variety of diverse voices can come on and be heard,” Barr added. “That’s how they grew. That’s how they attracted the eyeballs. That’s why people joined them.”
“But now because they’ve become this very powerful networks… they’ve now switched and are now using that market power to force particular viewpoints [as publishers and editors of content], and that’s wrong.”
Twitter blocks WHITE HOUSE tweet for ‘glorifying violence’ after it reposts Trump warning from official government account
RT – Twitter has hidden a warning from US President Donald Trump to the Minnesota governor behind a censorship notice, as well as the tweet from the official White House account reposting the president’s message.
The social media platform warned that the president’s message to Democratic governor Tim Walz about sending in the National Guard “violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence.”
The tweet, posted from the @WhiteHouse account, repeated the content of an earlier tweet Trump had posted from his personal account (which was also covered by the censorship message about “glorifying violence”).
The White House account responded to the censorship by slamming Twitter’s “biased, bad-faith ‘fact-checkers’,” arguing that Trump had not glorified violence but condemned it. Hinting at further enforcement to be leveled against the social media behemoth, it observed that such censorship was the act of “a publisher, not a platform” – i.e. a site that doesn’t qualify for the protection from legal liability Twitter currently enjoys.
Drone deliveries soar in rural Scotland during coronavirus outbreak
Guardian – Ten weeks on from the peak of the coronavirus pandemic there are still acute shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and Covid-19 testing kits across the UK, particularly in rural and isolated locations.
On the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, however, the vital supplies arrive up to four times a day. They are flown in from the mainland by drone in a trial that could lead to the NHS regularly using drones to fly equipment and medical samples to many of Scotland’s roughly 90 inhabited islands.
The unmanned aircraft industry hopes that showing the public drones can help in the fight against Covid-19, perhaps even save lives by speeding up test time turnarounds, could pave the way for wider adoption of drone technology.
Presence of ‘one of the most interesting planets’ Proxima b confirmed
Fox – Scientists have confirmed the existence of the exoplanet Proxima b, a planet just 4.2 light-years from Earth. Given how close it is to its star, Proxima Centauri, it could have liquid water, and “therefore, harbor life.”
Researchers said the confirmation of the planet’s existence is an “important task,” and were accurately able to indicate its mass – 1.17 times that of Earth – and its orbit, at 11.2 days around its host star.
“Confirming the existence of Proxima b was an important task, and it’s one of the most interesting planets known in the solar neighborhood,” Alejandro Suarez Mascareño, the study’s lead author, said in a statement.
The astronomers were able to accurately measure the exoplanet’s mass and orbit thanks to ESPRESSO, a Swiss-made spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope in Chile.
Proxima b was first detected in 2016 using an older spectograph known as HARPS, but ESPRESSO’s precision has proved invaluable, researchers note.
“We were already very happy with the performance of HARPS, which has been responsible for discovering hundreds of exoplanets over the last 17 years,” Francesco Pepe, a professor in the Astronomy Department in UNIGE’s Faculty of Science and the leader of ESPRESSO, added in the statement. “We’re really pleased that ESPRESSO can produce even better measurements, and it’s gratifying and just reward for the teamwork lasting nearly 10 years.”
In January, researchers discovered the presence of a possible second exoplanet, a “Super-Earth,” also orbiting Proxima Centauri, known as Proxima c.
Health
WHO guidance: Healthy people should wear masks only when ‘taking care of’ coronavirus patients
Fox – The World Health Organization is recommending healthy people, including those who don’t exhibit COVID-19 symptoms, only wear masks when taking care of someone infected with the contagion, a sharp contrast from the advice given by American public health officials who recommend everyone wear a mask in public.
“If you do not have any respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough or runny nose, you do not need to wear a mask,” Dr. April Baller, a public health specialist for the WHO, says in a video on the world health body’s website posted in March. “Masks should only be used by health care workers, caretakers or by people who are sick with symptoms of fever and cough.”
The recommendation has not changed and differs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which urges individuals to wear a mask or face-covering in public settings, regardless of infection or not, to limit the spread of the virus.
France Turns on Hydroxychloroquine
Newsmax – France’s public health agency has issued an advisory warning against the use of hydroxychloroquine outside of clinical trials just after the country’s medicines regulator suspended clinical trials that use the drug, Politico reports.
The French High Council for Public Health now recommends that the drug not be prescribed outside of clinical trials, but French drugs regulator ANSM also announced on Tuesday that new patients should not be enrolled in clinical trials involving hydroxychloroquine, which is usually used as a treatment for lupus and to prevent malaria.
The decision to crack down on the use of hydroxychloroquine comes just days after the Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals, published a report that cast doubt on its effectiveness at treating the coronavirus.
Long coronavirus lockdowns causing people’s mental health to rapidly DETERIORATE
NaturalNews – Both adults and children are experiencing mental health problems for the first time as a result of being cooped up inside due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Fears and worries over job insecurity, bereavement over COVID-19 deaths, the breakdown of relationships and the long periods of isolation are causing people to have psychotic episodes, mania, anxiety and depression. Some even have to be taken to the hospital because of how difficult staying in lockdown has been for people’s mental well-being.
“Lockdown anxiety” affecting millions of people under stay-at-home orders
All of this is according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the U.K., who surveyed psychiatrists across Great Britain. They found that four in 10 psychiatrists in the country are reporting an increase in the number of people and new patients seeking urgent and emergency mental health support during the lockdown.
The CEO of one mental health trust said that they are seeing a lot of young men aged 18 to 25 seeking mental health care and requiring admission. He stated that one of the issues raised is that people are no longer working.
“One woman rang us recently and said her partner was walking around their house like a zombie because he wasn’t working and couldn’t provide for the family and had just snapped,” he said. Previous research has suggested that men aged 18 to 25 years old are the most affected by the lockdowns – and are also the most likely to break quarantine. (Related: The stigma around mental health is KILLING men: How to care for someone who is struggling with mental illness and addiction.)
The royal college is warning that, after eight weeks of lockdown, the country’s mental health services could become overwhelmed by “a tsunami of mental illness.” The United Nations has broadcast similar warnings, stating that governments should prepare for “a coming surge in mental health problems.”
Prescriptions for Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia Spike Amid Pandemic
Newsmax – More people are taking medication for anxiety and insomnia amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The rise in prescriptions for anti-anxiety, depression and sleep aids have some doctors concerned about the possibility of addiction and long-term abuse of the drugs, the newspaper reports.
Prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications, such as Klonopin and Ativan, rose 10.2% in the U.S. to 9.7 million in March 2020 from 8.8 million in March 2019, according to data from health-research firm IQVIA. Prescriptions for antidepressants, including Prozac and Lexapro, rose 9.2% to 29.7 million from 27.2 million in the same period.
“Many physicians have a low threshold for prescribing them. It’s very problematic,” Bruce J. Schwartz, deputy chair and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Montefiore Medical Center in New York told the newspaper. “Many people do develop a dependency on these medications.”
Some drug companies have reported even higher spikes. Express Scripts reported prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications rose 34.1% between mid-February and mid-March, while prescriptions for antidepressants and sleep medications increased 18.6% and 14.8%, respectively.
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Why Choline Is the Missing Link in Preventing Dementia
Mercola – Proton pump inhibitors selectively inhibit the production of acetylcholine necessary for long-term cognitive function
A mounting body of evidence points to cholinergic dysfunction associated with the development of dementia; choline is key to the system
Choline may play a central role in the development of nonalcoholic liver disease (NAFLD), one of the most common forms of liver disease in the U.S.
Choline is required for optimal health, yet up to 90% of the population is deficient; at high risk are pregnant women, vegans, endurance athletes and those who consume high amounts of alcohol
Seek out natural sources first: Choline is found in eggs, grass fed beef liver, organic pastured chicken and krill oil
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