US intel digging through genetic data to uncover virus origins

It’s unclear exactly how or when US intelligence agencies gained access to the information, but the machines involved in creating and processing this kind of genetic data from viruses are typically connected to external cloud-based servers — leaving open the possibility they were hacked, sources said.

Exclusive: Intel agencies scour reams of genetic data from Wuhan lab in Covid origins hunt
US intelligence agencies are digging through a treasure trove of genetic data that could be key to uncovering the origins of the coronavirus — as soon as they can decipher it.
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Editorial denounces the De Blasio vaccine passport

It is common to hear that the ‘selfish’ are inflicting negative externalities on the ‘selfless’ during the pandemic. But the ‘selfless’ also impose negative externalities on everyone else. This happens because nothing is free. Striking the right balance is a matter of cost-benefit estimates and calculated risk. Anyone who promises ‘free’ and totally safe is less than truthful.

Resist De Blasio’s Vaccine Passport
De Blasio’s dataless call to create a class of citizens barred from civic life is an intolerable imposition on New Yorkers’ liberties.

Lockdowns create vision problems for kids

An analysis of eye test data from nearly 2,000 Hong Kong school-age children revealed that the rate of nearsightedness that developed during the pandemic more than doubled what was found in a pre-pandemic study of children the same age, according to the report in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. …

The researchers also found “significant changes” in the children’s lifestyles during Covid restrictions; outdoor time decreased by 68 percent, and screen time increased 2.8-fold.

An unexpected side effect of the pandemic — nearsightedness in kids
Hong Kong researchers analyzed eye test data from nearly 2,000 children, ages 6 to 8.

Seniors wasting away under pandemic curbs

More than a third of the 2,074 U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 who took part in the online survey in January reported a decline in physical activity in the first 10 months of the pandemic, and 27% said their physical conditioning — flexibility, muscle strength and endurance — had worsened.

Seniors at risk for more falls due to less physical activity during pandemic
Older Americans already face a higher risk of falls, but the decline in physical activity during the pandemic may have made matters worse, a new survey suggests.

Does new delta plus variant mean life imprisonment?

South Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Tuesday that it had recorded at least two cases of the new coronavirus delta-plus variant, which some experts believe to be more transmissible than the original delta variant that was first detected in India and has since thwarted plans for returning to life before the pandemic.

But what do we know about “delta plus,” yet another new variant causing alarm among governments and health officials? First identified in Europe in March, the variant is also known as B. 1.617.2.1 or AY.1.

It has been detected in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and India.

Here’s what we know about the delta-plus variant
South Korea has detected its first two cases of a virus variant known as “delta plus.” Health officials are on alert.

North Korea Is Willing to Talk, but First It Wants Fuel, Suits and Liquor

SEOUL—North Korea has a few demands to restart nuclear talks with the U.S., according to South Korea’s spy agency. Kim Jong Un’s regime wants sanctions restrictions relaxed to allow exporting minerals and importing more refined fuel.

Also on the must-have list: fine suits and premium liquor.

North Korea Is Willing to Talk, but First It Wants Fuel, Suits and Liquor
North Korea wants sanctions restrictions relaxed to allow exporting minerals and importing more refined fuel, South Korea’s spy agency said, before it would consider restarting nuclear talks with the U.S.

How unbiased is CNN?

The attorney general’s report on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo includes communications from his brother, Chris.

New details on Chris Cuomo’s advising Gov. Andrew Cuomo on harassment scandal
The attorney general’s report on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo includes communications from his brother, Chris.

Infected but not feeling it

Some of the cases were asymptomatic, most involved mild to moderate symptoms and only two required hospitalization, officials said. The infections were determined to be Delta-related because most samples in San Francisco were tested for the variant, which is now dominant in the city.

More than 200 staff members at 2 San Francisco hospitals have tested positive, most in breakthrough Delta infections.
Vaccinations warded off severe Covid for most of the workers, who tested positive this month; two required hospitalization.
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The “law of necessity”

In a late-night public address on Wednesday, Mr. Duterte argued that the coronavirus emergency trumped laws guaranteeing freedom of movement, calling his order “the law of necessity.”

“If they don’t want to be vaccinated, they should not be allowed to go out of their homes,” Mr. Duterte said. “They may say there is no law, but should I wait for a law knowing that many will die?”

Duterte says vaccine refusers in the Philippines should be detained at home.
It was not clear whether President Rodrigo Duterte intended to try to enforce such a rule, which legal experts said would be unconstitutional.