Category: World News

Cryptocurrencies are notoriously volatile and dogecoin is in absolute break this year. It has grown over 12,000% since January and has gained 800% this month alone.

Dogecoin started out in 2013 as a joke – a nod to the ‘doge’ meme that was all over the internet at the time. But that’s no longer a joke: it’s the fifth largest cryptocurrency in the world, with a market value just south of $ 70 billion, according to Coinbase.

Dogecoin and Tesla had both traded higher in anticipation of Musk’s SNL appearance. Futures contracts on Tesla were not trading on Saturday night during the show.

It is not known what motivated the sale of dogecoin. Maybe investors wanted Musk to say something more cryptocurrency-friendly. But more likely there was a “buy the rumor / sell the news” strategy, trying to capitalize on investors’ predictions coming true by selling high.

Musk was not alone on stage, however. The CEO brought out his mother Maye during her monologue since Sunday is Mother’s Day.

“That’s right,” Musk said with a smile. “Absolutely.”

Musk’s monologue covered a bunch of topics but Musk seemed at ease, which says a lot considering he’s not an actor or comedian.

Musk has spoken a bit about his erratic comments while making jokes to kick off the series.

For example, he shared his vision for the future with the public saying that he believes in a future of renewable energy and that humans must become a multi-planetary civilization.

“These goals sound exciting, don’t they?” he said. “Now think, if I just posted this on Twitter, it’ll be fine.”

Musk added that he knew that sometimes he said or posted strange things, but that was how his brain worked.

“To everyone I’ve offended, I just want to say that I reinvented electric cars and send people to Mars in a rocket,” Musk said. “Did you also think I was going to be a normal cold guy?”

Musk has also starred in skits including one where he played a medic in “Gen Z Hospital,” another where he played the Nintendo character Wario, and also appeared during the show’s “Weekend Update.”

“I don’t know if you’re following the news today, but a space rocket that was spinning out of control just minutes ago crashed into the ocean,” said cast member Colin Jost . “And for once, we know it’s not Elon’s fault.”

Jost added that “a lot of people have wondered, ‘why is he hosting our show?’

“Now we know it’s because he needed an alibi,” Jost said.

Saturday’s “SNL” was also notable because it was the show’s first time to air live internationally. YouTube streamed it live to more than 100 countries, including Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, Russia and the UK, NBC announced on Saturday.

Colonial said it hired a third-party cybersecurity company to launch an investigation into “the nature and scope of this incident” and also contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies.

The US Agency for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security is “engaged with society and our interagency partners to address the situation,” Eric Goldstein, deputy director of CISA’s cybersecurity division, said on Saturday.

“This highlights the threat that ransomware poses to organizations regardless of size or industry,” he said. “We encourage every organization to take steps to strengthen their cybersecurity posture to reduce their exposure to these types of threats.”

President Joe Biden was informed of the shutdown on Saturday morning, a White House spokesman said.

“The federal government is actively working to assess the implications of this incident, avoid supply disruptions and help the company restore pipeline operations as quickly as possible,” the White House spokesman said.

A White House official said analysis is underway to determine if supply could become an issue after the event. The White House is planning a number of scenarios, the official said, and is working with state and local authorities to determine possible steps to take to help mitigate any potential impact on supply, if necessary.

A spokesperson for the Department of Energy said the department “coordinates with Colonial Pipeline Company, the energy industry, states and interagency partners to provide situational awareness and support response efforts to this incident.”

“The DOE also works closely with the energy sector coordination councils and energy information sharing and analysis centers, and monitors any potential impact on the energy supply,” said the spokesperson in a statement to CNN.

Colonial said on Friday that it is “taking steps to understand and resolve this problem.”

“Right now our main focus is on the safe and efficient restoration of our service and our efforts to return to normal operation. This process is already underway, and we are working diligently to resolve this issue and minimize disruption to our customers and those who rely on Colonial Pipeline, ”the company said.

Colonial, founded in 1962, says it hauls about 45% of all fuel consumed on the East Coast. The more than 5,500 mile pipeline system has two main lines: one for gasoline and another for things like diesel and jet fuel.

This story was updated with additional developments on Saturday.

Chauvin was also indicted in a separate indictment relating to an incident in which he allegedly used unreasonable force on a 14-year-old Minneapolis in September 2017, the Department of Justice said in a statement on Friday.

The first count in this indictment states that Chauvin “held the teenager by the throat and hit him several times on the head with a flashlight,” according to the DOJ statement. A second count says he “held his knee to the teenager’s neck and upper back even after the teenager was lying on his stomach, handcuffed and without resistance, also resulting in bodily injury.”

CNN has reached out to lawyers for the four officers for comment. Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson declined to comment, as did Thomas Plunkett, an attorney representing Kueng. CNN has also reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department and the City Police Union for their comment.

Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020 sparked protests across the country against police brutality and racial injustice.

The three former officers appeared with their attorneys in federal court on Friday via video conference, and all three were released on $ 25,000 bail. Chauvin, who awaits his conviction on state convictions in June, remains in detention.

Lawyers representing Floyd’s family said in a statement they were “encouraged by these accusations and anxious to see continued justice in this historic case that will affect black citizens and all Americans for generations to come.”

The statement by civil rights attorneys Ben Crump, Antonio Romanucci and L. Chris Stewart said that “Derek Chauvin’s additional indictment shows a pattern and practice of behavior.”

Stewart told CNN’s Pamela Brown in an interview on Friday that they spoke with Garland after the charges and shared how the family reacted.

“It was emotional,” said Stewart. “They’re thrilled about it. We actually spoke to Attorney General Garland today, and I haven’t heard such passion or sympathy and intention from an Attorney General in a very long time. The first thing he started with was , he said no one is above the law and that meant a lot. “

Stewart added, “He just expressed his sympathy, and you could hear the intention in his voice and the determination to seek family justice. It meant a lot. We were very honored that he did this.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who has led the state’s prosecution of Chauvin, called the charges “entirely appropriate,” saying the federal government has “a responsibility to protect the civil rights of every American. and to pursue justice to the fullest extent of federal law. “

News of the indictments was celebrated by civil rights leaders and activists like Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network, who said in a statement that the charges show that “we have a Justice Department that deals with police crime and does not excuse it “.

“For many years we have tried to get the federal government to make it clear that these crimes are not just state crimes, but violate civil rights at the federal level when the police engage in this type of behavior,” indicates the press release. “What we couldn’t get them to do in the case of Eric Garner, Michael Brown to Ferguson and countless others we are finally seeing them do today and it’s a significant development for those of between us who have been engaged in the struggle. and the police reform movement. “

Asked about the indictments on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said they and Chauvin’s verdict were reminders that “there is still a lot to be done.”

“While this is a moment of righteousness, certainly it is only the beginning,” Psaki said. “And it’s a reminder of the need to bring in police reform through our legislative process and to put those reforms in place across the country.”

The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany appears to be drawing to a close, the German Minister of Health said on Friday.

The country’s social distancing measures as well as the acceleration of the vaccination campaign have contributed to this trend, Spahn added.

The infection rate in Germany fell to less than 126 cases per 100,000 population in seven days, he said.

The incidence rate of coronavirus infections was declining in all age groups, Lothar Wieler, head of the German infectious disease agency Robert Koch Institute.

“The current development with a decrease in the number of infections, a slow decrease in the number of patients with Covid in intensive care units and the acceleration of the vaccination campaign is very positive and gives hope that we will soon control the pandemic, ”he said.

Meanwhile, new legislation in Germany will come into force this weekend, granting more freedoms to fully vaccinated people and those who have recovered from Covid-19.

These groups will no longer need a negative test if they want to go shopping, go to the hairdresser or visit a botanical garden. Those vaccinated will also be allowed to meet in private without restrictions. Quarantine after travel abroad will not be mandatory if fully inoculated, with some regional exceptions.

The government has said it is not about granting privileges but restoring constitutional rights, but opponents of the settlement fear it will create a two-class society.

After a hesitant start, Germany stepped up its vaccination program. Nearly 31% of people have received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine and nearly 9% are fully vaccinated, the Robert Koch Institute said.

Earlier this week, Spahn said the government was working to provide a digital vaccination card to those who have been vaccinated by the end of June at the latest.

India is estimated to surpass the United States in terms of total Covid-19 deaths in September, accounting for 1.4 million deaths, according to the model. Russia’s analysis predicts an even more drastic gap, with the estimated total number of deaths there more than five times higher than reported, placing the country in fifth place for the highest number of deaths in the world .

For its analysis, the IHME compared countries’ excess mortality rates to expected mortality rates.

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Q: Advice on masks is confusing. Who should wear one and when?

A: There are different rules in many parts of the world and it is always a good idea to follow the guidelines of your health authority. The situation is also complicated by the fact that in many countries some people are vaccinated and others are not. A consensus is developing, however, that you can relax using masks if you’re outside and not in a crowded place. This is based on the science of the spread of the coronavirus.

As a general rule, you should always wear a face shield in indoor public places and outdoors if you cannot maintain a safe distance from other people. Of course, people who have been fully immunized can be even more relaxed.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY

India continues with $ 1.8 billion construction plan as hospitals struggle to stay afloat

Modi’s decision to go ahead with the project – which is expected to employ around 46,700 people and could serve as a mass-market event – is the latest in a series of moves that opponents (and a growing section of the public) say the insensitivity of the government’s response to Covid-19.

Last month, as India headed on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, Modi and members of his BJP party continued to organize large-scale election rallies and authorized the month-long Hindu festival, Kumbh Mela – that attracts tens of millions of pilgrims to four hubs – moving forward.

As the country reported 414,188 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday – its highest daily record – critics of the prime minister expressed their frustrations on Twitter, with some comparisons between Modi and Nero, the Roman Emperor who the legend, fiddled with while Rome burned down.

Opinion: With vaccine patent waiver in sight, time to rethink intellectual property rules

The Biden administration backed a plan to waive patents on Covid-19 vaccines on Wednesday. The proposal, first presented by South Africa and India in October 2020, aims to temporarily lift certain intellectual property rights owned by pharmaceutical companies so that other countries can develop generic versions of the drugs.

Germany stands firm against relinquishment of vaccine patents

A German government spokesperson on Thursday said the country had opposed the measure, adding that “intellectual property protection is a source of innovation” and that the Biden administration’s decision would have ” important implications for vaccine production “. Germany argues that the current manufacturing constraints for Covid-19 are due to production capacity and high quality standards, not a patent issue.

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Many people are still hesitant to take a vaccine when offered one, and some people are wary of the new mRNA technology used in Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna injections. So how can you help insure friends and family who are on the fence?

The key is to explain the science. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta points out that mRNA technology is older than some people think. Part of the reason these vaccines came out so quickly is that they were already in development after the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s.

SARS was not as widespread as feared, so researchers halted vaccine development in this area. But that meant that when Covid-19 emerged, much of the preparatory work was already done.

That aside, there are reasons to feel optimistic and trust these vaccines. Clinical trial data and now real world data – with hundreds of millions of people now having these photos taken – shows that they are very effective in preventing serious Covid-19 disease and that side effects are minimal .

Both studies used computerized tomography (CT) scanning technology to scan rock and bones to visualize and model the inner ear, which is located deep within an animal’s skull. This means that it is often well preserved and protected in fossils, but also difficult to access for paleontologists.

Night hunter

Researchers found that a small dinosaur, Shuvuuia deserti, had proportionately larger pupils than any living bird or dinosaur and an inner ear similar to that of a barn owl. These characteristics suggested that it was a highly specialized night hunter, said. Therapod – the same family as T. rex and a lineage that eventually evolved into living birds, the chicken-sized creature is believed to have lived in very dry habitats in what is now Mongolia about 66 million years old.

“It’s a little strange dinosaur”, Schmitz mentionned. “What we are seeing are very large pupils, an elongated internal ear canal. Hypersensitive eyes. It really rivals today’s nocturnal specialists like barn owls and bats.”

“We think he would have stalked his prey – small mammals – at night when the temperatures were cooler.”

The team found that many carnivorous theropods such as the Tyrannosaurus had optimized daytime vision and above-average hearing, likely to help them hunt. Other dinosaurs such as Velociraptor, the predatory carnivore made famous by the “Jurassic Park” movie franchise, may have been active at dusk, Schmitz mentionned.

Dedicated parents?

Using computed tomography technology to determine its three-dimensional shape, Bhullar’s study compared the inner ear of 128 different living and fossilized animals, including Hesperornis, an 85-million-year-old bird species that has teeth. and a beak; the Velociraptor; and the flying pterosaur Anhanguera.

Researchers have found groups of different species with similar inner ear traits. The clusters, the team said, corresponded to different ways the animals moved and viewed the world.

For example, one group included restless or clumsy fliers like modern chickens and ducks, which fly in fast, straight gusts, and seabirds and vultures. The inner ears of the bird-like dinosaurs called troodontids, pterosaurs, flying reptiles, Hesperornis and Archeopteryx “dino-bird” were part of this group, suggesting that they had a simple flight ability but perhaps did not have any. not be flown gracefully through the air.

Bhullar and his team at Yale also identified a group of a large group of species, including all modern birds and crocodiles, known as archosaurs, which had a similar elongation in the lower part of the inner ear – the cochlear system – which has been associated with greater hearing sensitivity, especially at higher locations. The living animals in this group have a very complex vocal repertoire, explained Bhullar, who said the common ancestors of crocodiles and birds probably sang too.

While this could be explained as an evolutionary adaptation to locate prey, avoid predators or communication, the authors said their analysis suggested it was more likely related to parental care – allowing the creatures to respond to their acute calls. offspring to grab their attention (think birds chirping in a nest).

Recent technological advancements, like the CT scans used in these studies, offer scientists more possibilities for future discoveries, Witmer said. “Teeth and limbs will always provide clues to reconstruct evolutionary histories,” he said. “But relatively new anatomical players like the inner ear and the bony eye rings are opening new windows to the past.”

A rare set of nine jewels once belonging to Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden and adopted daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, is auctioned 200 years after the death of the French Emperor.

The sapphire and diamond set includes a tiara, earrings, ring, bracelet and pendants. They will be sold individually at Christie’s in Geneva on May 12, with high estimates ranging from 10,000 to 250,000 Swiss francs ($ 11,000 to $ 275,430) per piece. The tiara and bracelet jewels – which were once part of a belt – have been remodeled by the Grand Duchess’s daughter, Princess Josephine.

The tiara was once a belt but was remodeled by the daughter of the Grand Duchess. Credit: Courtesy of Christie’s

“Under Napoleon’s court, jewelry was a staple of fashion and women wore matching tiaras, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, rings, earrings and belts decorated with precious stones,” Christie specialist Lukas Biehler said in an email. “Fashion dictated that the waist was very high on dresses and court ladies needed a belt, which was placed just below the neckline. High quality sapphires were incredibly rare as it was long before the era of industrial mining. “

Christie’s sale also includes a crown of sapphires and diamonds that once belonged to 19th-century Portuguese monarch Maria II, whose daughter, Infanta Antónia, eventually married Stephanie de Beauharnais’ grandson, Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern. The high Crown estimate is 350,000 Swiss francs ($ 385,602).

The crown of Maria II, whose daughter married Stéphanie de Beauharnais’ grandson, is also part of Christie’s sale. Credit: Courtesy of Christie’s

The Beauharnais set was made in the early 1800s from 38 sapphires originating in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), according to a press release from Christie’s. The earrings are crafted with pear and cushion shaped sapphires, while the necklace is made from octagonal sapphires, all rimmed with diamonds.

A written note found with the jewelry boxes indicated that the cousin of the Grand Duchess of Baden, Hortense de Beauharnais, had given her the set, according to Christie’s.

“It is possible that Stephanie bought her dear cousin’s adornment,” said Biehler, pointing out the close relationship between the two which has been documented through their numerous letters, which reside in the collection of the Fondation Napoléon in Paris.

The nine-piece set, including this brooch, was most likely given to the Grand Duchess by her cousin. Credit: Courtesy of Christie’s

The jewelry is similar in style to an emerald and diamond necklace and earring housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, believed to have been a gift from Napoleon and his wife Josephine to the Grand Duchess. According to the museum’s description, “the large stones and the simplicity of the design are typical of the jewels favored at the court of Napoleon”.

It is believed that the set of Victoria & Albert Museum, which is also part of a larger finery, was a wedding gift for her arranged marriage to the Grand Duke of Baden in 1806. Napoleon himself did not have of direct heirs at the time of his death.

India, on the other hand, has fully immunized just over 2% of its population, or around 30 million people. It has administered more than 160 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine since mid-January, but doses are now scarce for its nearly 1.4 billion people.

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Q: Will waiving vaccine patents help end the pandemic?

“It’s not just a question of intellectual property. It’s also the transfer of know-how,” Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations, told CNN. “I don’t think there is clear evidence that a waiver of intellectual property will be the best way for this transfer of technology to occur.”

That’s because patent waivers won’t work the same for vaccines as they do for drugs, Bollyky said. For example, with anti-HIV drugs, manufacturers were more or less able to reverse-ingest them without much help from the original developer, whereas with vaccines, “it’s really a process. organic as much as a product ”.

The deal between AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India is a successful example of such technology transfer, said Bollyky, where the licensing of intellectual property was done on a voluntary basis. “The question is, what can we do to facilitate more agreements like the one between AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India to achieve this transfer,” he said.

Nonetheless, the waiver of intellectual property rights will contribute to a global effort to ensure a sustainable and long-term supply of vaccines, according to the director general of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, who said in march that it should be part of a global program. holistic approach to the fight against the virus. “We have to do everything,” he said.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY

Data shows Pfizer and Moderna may work with multiple variants

Pfizer / BioNTech: A study from Qatar found an estimated 89.5% efficacy against the British variant of B.1.1.7 two weeks or more after a second dose, the researchers wrote in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. It was 75% effective against B.1.351, the variant first identified in South Africa, which is good news, as the first real data showed that some other vaccines did not work against it. More importantly, the vaccine was over 97% effective in preventing serious illness or death, they said.

Moderna: This vaccine enhances the immune response against B.1.351 and the P.1 variant first identified in Brazil, Moderna said in a statement. The genetic material used as the basis of vaccines is made in a laboratory and the sequence is easily changed. Moderna tested booster doses of its current vaccine or a version designed specifically against B.1.351 in 40 people who had been vaccinated six to eight months previously.

Blood tests showed that half of these volunteers had a weak antibody response against the B.1.351 and P.1 variants before receiving the booster. Two weeks after the booster, their antibody levels had increased against the so-called wild-type coronavirus – the most common variant in the world – as well as B.1.351 and P.1, Moderna said in the statement.

Nepal’s cases are multiplying. There is a concern that this may soon reflect India.

“What is happening in India right now is a horrific glimpse into the future of Nepal if we cannot contain this latest wave of Covid which is claiming more lives per minute,” said the president of the Red Cross Nepalese, Dr. Netra Prasad Timsina.

Daily infections in Nepal started to increase in mid-April, several weeks after the start of the second wave in India. Today, these cases are increasing at an exponential rate, with a seven-fold increase in cases per 100,000 people in just two weeks. Last weekend, 44% of Covid tests in Nepal came back positive, according to government figures, with more than 8,600 new cases on average reported daily. Of particular concern is how Nepal’s fragile health system will cope, given that it has fewer doctors per capita than India and a lower vaccination rate than its neighbor.

Some have predicted a pandemic baby boom. In the United States, it was a baby bust.

December 2020 is the first month signs of a baby boom may have emerged, roughly nine months after the lockdowns went into effect. A more detailed breakdown of government birth data also shows that the largest decline in births occurred in December, writes Catherine E. Shoichet.

The data confirms what some experts predicted earlier – that fewer births would slow population growth in the country, already hit by rising deaths and declining immigration.

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In the United States, researchers evaluated calls and texts to the national Childhelp child abuse hotline from March to May 2020 and compared them to the same time period in 2019. The team found an increase of 13 , 75% of the total number of requests made to the hotline from 2019 to 2020, according to a study published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Everyone should be on the lookout for signs of child abuse, experts say, not just social workers, child care or education. It’s important to report abuse as soon as it’s detected because it can cause permanent damage to the developing brain and can contribute to lifelong health problems, said Dr. Suzanne Haney, Chairman of the Board of the American. Academy of Pediatrics on Child Abuse and Neglect, in an email.