Daily Archives: May 3, 2021


US Appeals Court to Consider Idaho Transgender Athletes Ban

An appeals court on Monday will consider the constitutionality of the first law in the nation banning transgender women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams.  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case that will likely have far-ranging consequences as more states follow conservative Idaho’s lead. Idaho passed its law last year, and more than 20 states have considered such proposals this year. Bans have been enacted in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia. Florida lawmakers passed a bill, and South Dakota’s governor …


Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Announce ‘Decision to End’ Marriage

Billionaire Bill Gates and Melinda Gates said in a joint statement on Monday that they have made the decision to end their marriage. “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the two said in a statement posted by Bill Gates’ Twitter account. “We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new …


Spreading Joy: Collection of Photos Features Babies Born During Pandemic

While the pandemic has been a source of grief, it has not stopped joyful events from happening – including thousands of babies being born in this difficult time. Photographer Annе Geddes, creator of the Joy project, is encouraging women from around the world to send her pictures of their newborns for publication – and a pick-me-up. Anna Nelson has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.Camera: Natalia Latukhina, Max Avloshenko, Dmitrii Vershinin      …


WHO: Small Ebola Outbreak Contained in DR Congo

The World Health Organization says a small outbreak of the Ebola virus has been contained in an eastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).According to Congo’s Ministry of Health, the outbreak inflected 12 people and killed six in North Kivu province.The WHO congratulated the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s health authorities and the heath workers “on the ground for their swift response which built on the country’s previous experience in tackling Ebola outbreaks,” said the U.N. agency in a statement Monday.According to its statement, the WHO had …


Moderna to Provide Tens of Millions of Doses of COVID vaccine to COVAX

Moderna announced Monday it will supply the COVAX vaccine sharing program with up to 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2022. The news comes simultaneously as Sweden announced it would send one million doses of the AstraZeneca shot as well.     Under the deal, Moderna will work with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to supply 34 million doses later this year to COVAX, a program created by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to provide vaccines for low- and …


Facebook Oversight Board to Announce Ruling on Trump May 5

Facebook’s oversight board will soon be announcing its decision about whether to uphold the company’s ban on former President Donald Trump’s account.The quasi-independent body said the announcement will be made May 5 in a Twitter post.The Oversight Board will announce its decision on the case concerning former US President Trump on its website at https://t.co/NNQ9YCrcrh on May 5, 2021 at approximately 9:00 a.m. EDT. — Oversight Board (@OversightBoard) May 3, 2021Facebook banned Trump’s account in the wake of the Jan. 6 violent pro-Trump protests at the U.S. Capitol.The board says it has received over 9,000 public …


Internet Trailblazers Yahoo and AOL Sold, Again, for $5B

AOL and Yahoo are being sold again, this time to a private equity firm.   Verizon will sell Verizon Media, which consists of the pioneering tech platforms, to Apollo Global Management in a $5 billion deal. Verizon said Monday that it will keep a 10% stake in the new company, which will be called Yahoo. Yahoo at the end of the last century was the face of the internet, preceding the behemoth tech platforms to follow, such as Google and Facebook.   And AOL was the portal, bringing almost everyone …


Prince Harry, Jennifer Lopez Make Voices Heard at Vax Live

President Joe Biden spoke about the COVID-19 vaccination being safe, Prince Harry urged for the vaccine distribution everywhere and Jennifer Lopez embraced her fully-vaccinated mother on stage during one of the largest concert gatherings in Southern California since the pandemic rocked the world more than a year ago. Celebrities and political leaders gathered Sunday night to talk about the importance of vaccine equity at Global Citizen’s “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World” at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The taped fundraising event will air May 8 on ABC, …


US Noncommittal on Vaccine Patents Waiver

Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in India and other parts of the world, the Biden administration remains noncommittal on a proposal to loosen patent restrictions so that countries can manufacture generic versions of the coronavirus vaccines. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …


ICRC: Healthcare Systems, Workers, Patients Are Under Attack

Murder, rape and physical abuse are among the attacks that healthcare workers, the wounded and the sick have been subjected to in the five years since the United Nations Security Council adopted its first resolution on the protection of health care in conflict zones and demanded an end to impunity for such attacks.  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement Monday that “health-care providers and patients have suffered through thousands of attacks on health care systems” since the resolution was adopted. Medical facilities and medical transport vehicles have been looted and destroyed and health care services, such as vaccine campaigns, have also come under attack, the ICRC added.  The ICRC counted 3,780 attacks per …


Culture of Abuse in Australian Gymnastics, Inquiry Finds

An inquiry into Australian gymnastics has found evidence of widespread abuse, sexism, racism and authoritarian coaching practices, according to a damning report published Monday.   Amid a “global reckoning” for the sport, the Australian Human Rights Commission said it found a culture that tolerated emotional, verbal, physical and sexual abuse, as well as medical negligence and body-shaming directed at young athletes over decades.    The commission recommended an independent investigation into specific abuse allegations and a formal apology from gymnastics authorities, as well as stricter screening and a national register of coaches, who often have an outsized …


Pakistan Tightens Border to Stem Influx of New Coronavirus Variants  

Pakistan decided Sunday to temporarily suspend incoming pedestrian movement at overland border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran to “restrain import of any new mutation” of the coronavirus.    The restriction will take effect Tuesday night and remain in place until May 20, said the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s response to the outbreak.    Pakistani nationals in Afghanistan and Iran, as well as Afghans seeking extreme emergency medical treatment in Pakistan will, however, be allowed to enter the country. All outbound pedestrian movement will be permissible, …


Cuban Government Ends Leading Dissident’s Hunger Strike

Cuba’s government put an end Sunday to a weeklong hunger strike staged by a leading dissident, the head of a group that has protested state censorship of artistic works. He was reported by authorities to be in stable condition.   A note published by the Havana Department of Public Health said Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara was “referred” to a local hospital early Sunday for “self-imposed food deprivation” and arrived by ambulance “and walking without difficulty.” He had spent seven days without food or fluids.   The San Isidro Movement led …


Apple Faces Trial Over Its App Store as Gatekeeper

On Monday, Apple faces one of its most serious legal threats in recent years: A trial that threatens to upend its iron control over its app store, which brings in billions of dollars each year while feeding more than 1.6 billion iPhones, iPads, and other devices.The federal court case is being brought by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite. Epic wants to topple the so-called “walled garden” of the app store, which Apple started building 13 years ago as part of a strategy masterminded by co-founder Steve …