“A striking new report from CapRadio and NPR’s California Newsroom alleges that Gov. Gavin Newsom made false and misleading statements related to wildfire prevention efforts in the state of California. CapRadio, which is the NPR affiliate in Sacramento, obtained data that shows Newsom has dramatically overstated the level of preventative work that has been done in advance of what is widely expected to be a challenging fire season.” (06/23/21)
“Argentina’s Economy Minister Martin Guzman Tuesday announced that the Paris Club had agreed to give his country until March 31, 2022, to pay the US $ 430 million in instalments while the rest of the debt is renegotiated. Guzman explained the understanding to extend payment terms saved Argentina from another default. ‘A default situation would have been a blow to the economy that would have done particular damage,’ he said. … The minister insisted the Government was making progress in international negotiations to ‘create conditions of predictability that are conducive to enabling Argentina to sustain economic recovery and aim at the objectives of job creation, inflation reduction, poverty reduction and economic growth.'” (06/23/21)
“Rare cases of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults is likely linked to vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 shots, a group of doctors advising the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a presentation released on Wednesday. The COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical (VaST) Work Group said in their report that the risk of myocarditis or pericarditis following vaccination with the mRNA-based shots in adolescents and young adults is notably higher after the second dose and in males. The CDC said in another report that the patients with heart inflammation following vaccination generally recover from the symptoms and do well. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is meeting on Wednesday to assess the possibility of a link between the heart condition and the mRNA vaccines. VaST is a sub-group of ACIP.” (06/23/21)
“President Joe Biden plans to announce on Wednesday a range of actions targeting rising gun [ownership], according to the White House, as homicide rates jump heading into the summer months — and Republicans blame him for it. The president will lay out a ‘comprehensive strategy’ that will target law-breaking [sic] gun dealers, provide federal resources to police departments for gun-crime [sic] enforcement and allow communities to repurpose millions of dollars of federal coronavirus relief funding for programs proven to [harass gun owners while not noticeably affecting crime], according to the White House.” (06/23/21)
“Gov. John Bel Edwards’ rejection of legislation banning transgender athletes from participating on school sports teams is spurring talk that Republican lawmakers may try to hold Louisiana’s first veto session under the decades-old constitution. Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder announced Tuesday night that he wants such a mid-July session, giving the possibility of the historic gathering some momentum. But GOP Senate President Page Cortez hasn’t taken a public position, which could put the chances in doubt. It only takes a majority written vote of lawmakers in either the House or Senate to scrap a veto session in Louisiana. Plus, it’s unclear if lawmakers could hold the bipartisan coalition of votes together that would be needed to overturn the Democratic governor’s spurning of the transgender sports ban bill if the veto session were held.” (06/23/21)
“Mauritania’s former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has been jailed after a judge in charge of a corruption probe ordered his incarceration. The ex-leader says he is being persecuted in a bid to keep him out of politics but has vowed he would not go into exile. A prosecutor speaking on condition of anonymity and the spokesman of the former president’s party, Djibril Ould Bilal, confirmed his detention on Tuesday without citing the reason. Aziz has twice gone before a magistrate investigating the case since the charges, including money laundering, were brought in March. The move comes days after the former leader refused to continue reporting to police after being put under house arrest.” (06/23/21)
“Jim Bakker and his southwestern Missouri church will pay restitution of $156,000 to settle a lawsuit that accuses the TV pastor of falsely claiming that a health supplement could cure the coronavirus. Missouri court records show that a settlement agreement was filed Tuesday. It calls for refunds to people who paid money or gave contributions to obtain a product known as Silver Solution in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The settlement also prohibits Bakker and Morningside Church Productions Inc. from advertising or selling Silver Solution ‘to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure any disease or illness.’ Bakker, in the agreement, does not admit wrongdoing.” (06/23/21)
“The Starlink satellite internet service may have the capability to provide users in far-flung regions around the world with high-speed connections before the year ends. SpaceX has deployed 1,800 or so satellites for the Starlink constellation so far. While that number’s just a fraction of the 12,000 satellites regulators already approved for the constellation, it’s enough to enable worldwide coverage. … That doesn’t mean the company can automatically offer everyone around the world access to broadband-speed internet services, though. As Shotwell explained during the event, SpaceX will first have to secure regulatory approval to provide telecommunications services in every country where it wants to offer Starlink’s internet. At the moment, Starlink is available as a beta service in only a handful of countries, including the US, the UK and Canada.” (06/23/21)
“Eric Adams rode an anti-crime message to a commanding lead in the crowded race to replace outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, ousting former presidential contender Andrew Yang and holding off nearly a dozen other Democrats. But under New York’s new ranked-choice voting system, the election now heads into an instant runoff that could last for weeks …. his margin Tuesday night was wider than many surveys conducted in the race so far. More than 31 percent of voters listed him as their first choice to be mayor. Attorney Maya Wiley, who won a late surge of support on the left, took 22 percent of first-place votes, and former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia won 20 percent of first-place ballots as of midnight. Adams, a former NYPD captain, all but declared victory Tuesday night. … Yang, who took in just under 12 percent of the first-choice votes, conceded two hours after polls closed.” (06/22/21)
“Operating a website with a US-based domain name is starting to seem a little less secure Tuesday, with the news that the Justice Department seized multiple Iran-linked media websites’ US domains. Among those seized were PressTV.com, Alalamtv.net, and AlMasirah.net. Paltoday.tv was also taken. Details are scant, as the Justice Department has neither confirmed the seizures nor made any effort to explain them. The notice suggested it was done under laws that allow forfeiture of property involved in trafficking nuclear technology or material. … PressTV and AlamTV are both state media outlets run by IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting), in English and Arabic, respectively. al-Masirah is a satellite TV station operating in Yemen, aligned closely with the Houthi movement. Palestine Today is a news outlet linked with the Gaza Strip.” (06/22/21)
