Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Apple urging retail staff to wear masks again even if they’re vaccinated | AppleInsider

Source: Apple urging retail staff to wear masks again even if they’re vaccinated | AppleInsider

Are locally produced solar modules the future? | Environment| All topics from climate change to conservation | DW | 19.07.2021

Up until now, most solar panels have come from China. But shipping costs are making domestic production increasingly lucrative, even in Germany. Is this the start of a global trend? Source: Are locally produced solar modules the future? | Environment| All topics from climate change to conservation | DW | 19.07.2021

Arepas de Choclo With Avocado Salad Recipe – NYT Cooking

Arepas de Choclo With Avocado Salad Arepas, corn cakes that are a cornerstone of Colombian and Venezuelan cuisines, come in many guises, depending on the region, the season and the available ingredients. This slightly sweet, cheese-filled version, called arepas de choclo, is adapted from “Colombiana” (HarperCollins, 2021), a cookbook by the Colombian food stylist Mariana Velásquez.  Source: Arepas de Choclo With Avocado Salad Recipe – NYT Cooking

What’s next for DACA: Court battles and pressure on Congress – Roll Call

Pressure has intensified on Congress to find a legislative solution for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants after a Texas federal judge struck down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that shielded them against deportation and provided other protections.

Liberal lawmakers who spent weeks pushing for the inclusion of immigration provisions in the upcoming budget reconciliation bill said the need to enshrine permanent legal protections for immigrants into law is greater than ever following Friday’s ruling that affected the Obama-era program.

“DACA empowered undocumented youth to come out of the shadows and contribute to our communities in immeasurable ways — from serving in our military to being on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said in a statement.

“The U.S. is the only home that Dreamers have ever known, and they should not be forced to live in fear of deportation,” she added, using the popular term for DACA recipients.

Source: What’s next for DACA: Court battles and pressure on Congress – Roll Call

NYC Offers To Help Families Apply For The Federal Child Tax Credit – Gothamist

New York City families who were not automatically enrolled in the Biden administration’s expanded monthly child tax credit can call 311 to make an appointment for one-on-one help, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

Under an agreement reached under the federal stimulus deal, eligible U.S. families can receive monthly payments of $250 to $300 per child. The program, which has been touted as President Biden’s “biggest anti-poverty plan,” covers all but the richest families—single parents who earn up to $112,500 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 are eligible for the full benefit. The benefit phases out for high-income households making over $480,000.

All told, New York City families could get an estimated $3 billion through the program, which has been projected as having the potential to cut child poverty in half. 

Source: NYC Offers To Help Families Apply For The Federal Child Tax Credit – Gothamist

Coronavirus: ‘Hong Kong delays plan to ease rules on vaccinated arrivals, fears move will jeopardise cross-border travel with mainland China’ | South China Morning Post

  • The government was last week preparing to allow arrivals from high-risk places to enter the city, provided they had reliable proof of vaccination
  • But officials have postponed the idea, which critics had warned could undermine talks with Beijing on resuming quarantine-free cross-border travel

Source: Coronavirus: ‘Hong Kong delays plan to ease rules on vaccinated arrivals, fears move will jeopardise cross-border travel with mainland China’ | South China Morning Post

Third wave of COVID-19 is waiting at your doorstep. But don’t let it in!

Beyond The Lines

The third wave has already arrived, claims Dr. Vipin Paul (physicist) pro-vice-chancellor, University of Hyderabad. Dr. Paul said July 4 recorded a similar trend like the beginning of the 2nd wave saw. While the data may be true there’s a lack of evidence to back the declaration.

AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleriahas said that the third wave can be more severe than the second wave“If an immuno-escape variant of the virus emerges and all restrictions are eased”.

On the other hand Dr Samiran Panda, Head of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research has said“that while the third wave is inevitable, it may hit the nation by August-end, but will be of less intensity than the second wave”.He however added that if the virus mutates further, India could see almost 1 lakh cases every single day with the onset of the third…

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Tom Barrack, Trump inaugural committee head, accused of being UAE agent – Chicago Tribune

The chair of former President Donald Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee was arrested Tuesday on charges alleging he secretly conspired to influence U.S. policy to benefit the United Arab Emirates, even while he was seeking a position as an American diplomat.

Tom Barrack, 74, of Santa Monica, California, was among three men charged in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, with acting as unregistered foreign agents as they tried to influence U.S. policy on the UAE’s behalf while Trump was running in 2016 and later while he was president.

Besides conspiracy, Barrack was charged with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during a June 2019 interview with federal agents. Also charged in a seven-count indictment were Matthew Grimes, 27, of Aspen, Colorado, who is a former executive at Barrack’s company, and Rashid al Malik, 43, a businessman from the United Arab Emirates who prosecutors said acted as a conduit to that nation’s rulers.

Prosecutors said the crimes struck at “the very heart of our democracy.”

Source: Tom Barrack, Trump inaugural committee head, accused of being UAE agent – Chicago Tribune