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President Joe Biden’s office has released ambitious plans to vaccinate all eligible children ages 5 to 11 once the Pfizer vaccine is officially approved for the age group in early November. Just weeks before the highly anticipated COP26 climate change conference, leaked documents show attempts by wealthy countries to stop climate scientists from blaming climate change on fossil fuels. The FDA has announced that all vaccinated Americans are now eligible to receive any booster brand, regardless of their original vaccination. Former President Donald Trump has announced plans to create his own social media platform after months of lockdowns on Facebook and Twitter.
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IMPORTANT
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1 – Imminent approval of a vaccine for children
White House plan hopes to vaccinate 28 million children
After months of waiting, American youth could finally be vaccinated. The White House plans to send millions of doses across the country immediately after the FDA and CDC approve the Pfizer vaccine for minors, around November 2. Teenagers over the age of 12 can get the vaccine, but this next round of approvals will finally give access to young people between the ages of 5 and 11. Unlike the vaccine’s initial rollout for adults earlier this year, this rollout ensures sufficient doses for all of the country’s 28 million children. (Source: PA, WaPo)
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2 – The climate report is getting politicized
Leaked documents show lobbying to falsify key climate report
Although evidence of human-induced climate change is widely accepted by the scientific community, that hasn’t stopped governments around the world from trying to contradict a report set to be released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change (IPCC) from the UN. The report recommends an international shift away from fossil fuels and the elimination of all coal plants worldwide. Wealthier countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia, which depend on fossil fuels as a large part of their economy, are pushing furiously for the removal of any language critical of the production of fossil fuels. (Source: BBC)
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3 – Trump announces new ‘unwoke’ venture
The former president hopes to launch TRUTH Social by next year
After the Capitol riot on January 6, when Trump was banned from Facebook and Twitter, he and his team yearned for a social network of their own to rival mainstream social media. On his personal blog, Trump said the new platform would “stand up to the tyranny of big tech.” Starting next month, TRUTH Social will be open to guests only ahead of a nationwide rollout in early 2022. Trump’s platform “will feature ‘unawakened’ entertainment programming, news, podcasts and more.” (Source: BBC)
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4 – Senate Republican Voting Blocking Bill
Leaving her fate in doubt
For the third time this year, Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation aimed at strengthening the franchise. Action maintains deadlock over free suffrage law, which Democrats say is necessary to counter efforts by Republican-controlled states to impose new voting restrictions in the aftermath of the 2020 election. it is to protect our democracy from the forces trying to unravel it from within,” said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The tie left Democrats with few options to move the bill forward other than changing the Senate filibuster rule. (Source: NYT)
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5 – Briefly
Here are some other stories you should know
More than 100 protesters, including employees, gathered outside Netflix seat on Wednesday in favor of trans and LGBT rights, after the launch of Dave Chappelle’s controversial comedy special. (Source: BBC) The FDA says don’t mix! On Wednesday, the FDA offered COVID-19 boosters to anyone who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine, allowing for an additional dose regardless of the initial brand of vaccine received. US regulators had previously reserved recalls for those most at risk. (Source: PA) The death toll rises to more than 150 in floods in Nepal and India. Heavy rains triggered flash floods in two Indian states and Nepal, killing more than 150 people. Experts blame climate change and excessive, often uncontrolled construction for the devastation. (Source: BBC)
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Watch HER talk Oscar Win, Love of Prince and almost form a band with Kehlani and Zendaya
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INTRIGUING
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1 – Bitcoin looks bullish
Cryptocurrency surpassed $66,000 for the first time yesterday
Bitcoin has steadily grown in popularity over the years and now seems poised to gain widespread acceptance in the financial world. After a lackluster summer, the cryptocurrency rebounded to its highest value since its April high of $64,889. Skeptics say Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are too volatile to offer long-term promise, but proponents insist it’s only a matter of time before Bitcoin replaces paper- currency internationally. (Source: PA)
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2 – heart of matter
Can robots bring us closer to God?
Around the world, experiments are underway to test whether artificial intelligence can improve the way we pray and commune with God: from Buddhist temples in Japan, where robots encourage people to pray, to Catholic robots in Poland offering grace and a RoboRabbi in Paris encouraging parishioners to do good. The experiment met with mixed success. While some say anything that brings us closer to God is a good thing, others argue that hiring a soulless AI could be a dangerous thing. Robot “priests” can recite prayers, perform funerals, and even comfort those in spiritual crisis. (Source: BBC)
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3 – Columbia’s solution to toxic masculinity
A new hotline in Bogotá helps men stay calm and control their rage
Calm Line, which aims to protect women from violence, puts men on the spot to teach emotional intelligence and how to control their actions. Nicolás Montero, the head of Bogotá’s culture office, which launched Calm Line in early September, said the hotline seeks to prevent violence and inspire profound cultural change. Namely, to address the root causes of machismo, the ingrained belief that men are dominant. A major priority in Colombia, where a woman is sexually assaulted every 34 minutes. Calm Line was introduced by Claudia López, Bogotá’s first openly gay female mayor, as part of an urgent plan to confront machismo. (Source: NYT)
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4 – Slam! Slam!
Drug cartels in Mexico use video games to recruit young people
Drug cartels in Mexico have found an effective new recruiting tool: online multiplayer video games. A report released on Wednesday identified an apparent recruiter targeting three boys, aged 11 to 14. Officials say these violence-soaked online gaming platforms provide recruiters with a highly targeted group of young people: young men fascinated with guns and impervious to murder on a virtual level. The report found that social media is dramatically increasing access to these children: more than 30,000 young people were recruited by drug gangs in 2019 and officials fear the numbers will only rise. (Source: PA)
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5 – ‘Race-Norming’ removed from NFL deal
Former NFL players agree to end discriminatory practices
Court documents released Wednesday confirm that the NFL and lawyers representing more than 20,000 former players have reached a tentative agreement on how to remove “racial normative” – a controversial practice in neuropsychology that assumes black people obtain scores worse on many cognition tests — from the concussion settlement to the league’s class action lawsuit. The proposed deal is also backed by Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport, the former NFL players who first brought attention to the use of racial normalization in the settlement last year with a lawsuit alleging the practice was discriminatory against black players. (Source: WaPo)
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