US Intelligence Confirms SolarWinds Hack ‘Likely Russian’

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U.S. intelligence officials investigating last month's massive cybersecurity breach that impacted thousands of companies and dozens of government agencies warn the hack is part of an ongoing intelligence operation, likely being carried out by Russia. The public conclusion, shared Tuesday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the National Security Agency (NSA), is the first formal statement of attribution from U.S. officials, and confirms previous comments by senior officials and lawmakers who said the evidence pointed "pretty clearly" to Moscow. FILE - The sign outside the National Security Agency (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md., June 6, 2013. All fingers are pointing to Russia as author of the worst-ever hack of U.S. government agencies."This work…


WHO Chief ‘Disappointed’ China Hasn’t Allowed Researchers into Wuhan 

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The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed disappointment Tuesday with the failure of Chinese officials to grant final permission to an international team of researchers to enter the country to investigate the origins of the coronavirus.At the agency’s regular COVID-19 briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "very disappointed" that China had not authorized entry of the team, some of whom had begun their travels to Wuhan. The news forced other members of the team to cancel their travel at the last minute.Tedros said plans for the trip had been arranged jointly among WHO officials, the Chinese government and the countries for which the team was meant to travel through on their way to Wuhan. He said the agency just learned Tuesday "that Chinese officials…


Trump Bans Transactions with 8 Chinese Apps Including Alipay

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U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group's Alipay, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month. The order, first reported by Reuters, tasks the Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned under the directive and targets Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay as well. The move is aimed at curbing the threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications, which have large user bases and access to sensitive data, a senior official told Reuters. A U.S. Tencent spokeswoman did not immediately comment. FILE - WeChat has an average of 19 million daily active users in the United States.The order signed by Trump also names CamScanner, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate…


French Health Minister Details Plan to Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccinations

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French Health Minister Olivier Veran said Tuesday the nation was going to “amplify, accelerate and simplify” its COVID-19 vaccination program after coming under fire for the initial slow roll out of the program.In an interview with French radio, Veran said more than 2,000 doctors, nurses and other health care workers have received vaccinations. He also announced that firefighters and home aid workers age 50 and older would also be prioritized “because they are also professionals who are in contact with fragile people and who may have to work with the sick."The faster-paced vaccination campaign comes after the government was criticized for its slow rollout of the vaccine, delivering just over 500 inoculations in the first week, compared to hundreds of thousands delivered by Germany in the same period.The criticism prompted…


A COVID-19 shot for $150? Online Scams Surge as Slow Vaccine Rollout Frustrates

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As millions of people await their turn to get a COVID-19 vaccine that could be months away, scammers online, in emails and on messaging apps are luring victims with claims they can deliver shots within days for as little as $150.   COVID-19 vaccine scams are on the rise, according to European and U.S. government officials who are warning the public of fraudsters out for money and personal data.   A Reuters search online, in dark web forums and on messaging app Telegram found seven different offers for alleged COVID-19 vaccines.   Scams include emails promising entry to supposedly secret lists for early vaccine access and robocallers impersonating government agencies. Message boards on the so-called dark web have added COVID-19 vaccines to more traditional illicit goods for sale.   The…


Public Frustration Grows as France’s Vaccination Campaign Lags 

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In France, public frustration with the government is growing as the nation’s coronavirus immunization campaign gets off to a slow start. In response, officials say they will speed up and widen the vaccine rollout.As of Monday, only 2,500 people had received the vaccine against COVID-19 in France — most of them nursing home residents and their nurses.  It is too small a number, critics say,  for a rollout that began, as in other EU countries, on December 27. A doctor administers a dose of Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine to an old woman on Jan. 4, 2020 at the Antonin Balmes gerontology center in Montpellier in the south of France.Critics describe the pace as ridiculously low compared with neighboring Germany, where at least 264,000 people have been vaccinated so far. French President Emmanuel…


Mexico Grants Emergency Approval to AstraZeneca-Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine

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Mexico has become the latest nation to approve the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University.Foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard announced the “very good news” that the government had granted emergency approval for the vaccine Monday on Twitter, adding that “production will start very soon in Mexico.”  The AstraZeneca vaccine joins the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as the only ones so far approved by Mexico City.Late-stage clinical trials of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine revealed it to be 70% effective against COVID-19. The vaccine had a 62% efficacy rate for participants given a full two doses, but separate tests revealed it to be 90% effective when given a half-dose followed by a full dose weeks later.Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which needs to be stored in super-cold refrigerators at temperatures below…


Study: Warming Already Baked in Will Blow Past Climate Goals

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The amount of baked-in global warming, from carbon pollution already in the air, is enough to blow past internationally agreed upon goals to limit climate change, a new study finds. But it's not game over because, while that amount of warming may be inevitable, it can be delayed for centuries if the world quickly stops emitting extra greenhouse gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, the study's authors say. For decades, scientists have talked about so-called "committed warming," or the increase in future temperature based on past carbon dioxide emissions that stay in the atmosphere for well over a century. It's like the distance a speeding car travels after the brakes are applied.  But Monday's study in the journal Nature Climate Change calculates that a bit differently and now…


Online Collaboration Tool Slack Suffers Global Outage

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Online communication and collaboration service Slack reported a global outage Monday, as millions returned to work after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays."Our team is currently investigating, and we're sorry for any troubles this may be causing," Slack said in a statement.Slack has seen its popularity grow as many people work and study from home during the coronavirus pandemic. When it last reported, the company said it had 12 million daily users. Slack shares have surged by 80% over the past year.According to The Associated Press, the outage began around 10 a.m. Eastern time, with outages reported in the United States, Germany, India, Britain, Japan and other countries.The disruption in service was the latest in a string of tech outages, which have seen Google services, Zoom and some Microsoft products…


New COVID-19 Lockdowns in Britain; New Variant Found in New York

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Britain’s prime minister announced a fresh round of lockdowns Monday, closing schools and nonessential shops, as the country begins vaccinating health care workers and the elderly.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people must stay at home until at least mid-February, noting that British hospitals are under more strain now than they have been at any point during the pandemic.“If the rollout of the vaccine program continues to be successful. If deaths start to fall as the vaccine takes effect. And critically, if everyone plays their part by following the rules, then I hope we can steadily move out of lockdown,” Johnson said in a televised address Monday.Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Chase Farm Hospital in north London, Jan. 4, 2021, part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.The announcement…


Moderna Plans to Ramp Up COVID-19 Vaccine Production by 20%

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Drug maker Moderna says it plans to ramp up production of its COVID-19 vaccine by 100 million more doses than what it originally forecast.The Massachusetts-based company said Monday it would produce 600 million doses in 2021.So far, the company says it has supplied 18 million doses of a promised 200 million to the U.S. government.U.S. states have been administering both the Moderna vaccine and a vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech since late last month.Both vaccines are reportedly highly effective in preventing coronavirus infection.According to MarketWatch, Moderna's stock is up 453.0% over the past year.   ...


Google Employees Form Workers’ Union in United States

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More than 200 Google employees in the United States have formed a workers' union, the elected leaders of the union wrote in a New York Times opinion piece on Monday.   The "Alphabet Workers Union" aims to ensure that employees work at a fair wage, without fear of abuse, retaliation or discrimination, the union heads wrote.   Google has been under fire from the U.S. labor regulator, which has accused the company of unlawfully questioning several workers who were then terminated for protesting against company policies and trying to organize a union. Google has said it was confident it acted legally.   "We're building on years of organizing efforts at Google to create a formal structure for workers," the union leaders wrote, adding that so far 226 employees had signed…


British Health Secretary Doesn’t Rule Out New Restrictions as Coronavirus Continues to Spread

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British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Monday the government is not ruling out new restrictions as the coronavirus continues to spread even in areas with the strictest constraints.In television interviews, Hancock said a new variant spreads more easily than the original strains of the virus and Britain’s three-tiered system of restrictions is proving less effective at controlling it.Hancock said that while new restrictions might be necessary, ultimately it is up to people’s behavior. He said people should act as if they already have the virus and take greater care around others.“Yes, it's about the government rules, and absolutely we're prepared to bring in, unfortunately, tougher rules if they are needed on the public health advice. But it's on all of us," Hancock said.The health secretary praised the National Health Service…


Fauci Suggests Slow Pace of US Coronavirus Vaccinations to Pick Up

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Vaccinations against the coronavirus are off to a slow and chaotic start in the United States, but the country’s top infectious disease expert held out hope Sunday that the pace will soon pick up. “We are not where we want to be, no doubt about it,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News’ “This Week” show. “We need to catch up.” So far, the U.S. has distributed 13 million doses of two vaccines produced by drug makers Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna throughout the country but only 4.2 million shots have ended up in the arms of Americans. “The vaccines are being delivered to the states by the federal government far faster than they can be administered!” President Donald Trump said on Twitter. But Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to President-elect Joe Biden, said that the pace of…


Britain Warns of New Lockdowns Amid Coronavirus Surge, Variant

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Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday of new lockdowns to be issued across the country as cases of the coronavirus surge, particularly with a new variant spreading.Britain has been seeing upwards of 50,000 new cases daily as health experts note that the variant is up to 70 percent more contagious.“We are entirely reconciled to do what it takes to get the virus under control that may involve tougher measures in the weeks ahead,” Johnson told the BBC.A health worker engages in a COVID-19 vaccine delivery system trial in New Delhi, India, Jan. 2, 2021.Also, on Sunday, Travellers walk with their luggage at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, Jan. 2, 2021.Ban on US travelers, tighter lockdowns The Philippines said it would prohibit the entry of foreign travelers from the U.S. until…


India Approves AstraZeneca and Locally Developed Vaccine

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India has granted emergency approval to two vaccines for COVID- 19, setting the stage for what could be the world’s largest immunization program. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, this raises hopes of bringing the pandemic under control in a country where the daily count of new infections has been declining in recent weeks. ...


Israel Plans 2 Million Vaccinated by End of January

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Israel said Sunday two million people will have received a two-dose Covid-19 vaccination by the end of January, a pace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasts is the world's fastest.Starting on December 19, when Netanyahu got his first jab, Israel launched an aggressive push to administer the vaccine made by U.S.-German pharma alliance Pfizer-BioNTech.Health Ministry Director General Hezi Levy said that because of the enthusiastic takeup, Israel would be easing the speed of vaccination to eke out stocks.The vaccine must be given in two separate jabs, administered three weeks apart."We are slowing the pace of vaccinations of the first dose, so that we can keep reserved stock for a second dose for all those who got a first shot," Levy told public broadcaster KAN.But he added that around a fifth of…


In Somalia, COVID-19 Vaccines Are Distant as Virus Spreads

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As richer countries race to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, Somalia remains the rare place where much of the population hasn't taken the coronavirus seriously. Some fear that’s proven to be deadlier than anyone knows.“Certainly, our people don’t use any form of protective measures, neither masks nor social distancing,” Abdirizak Yusuf Hirabeh, the government’s COVID-19 incident manager, said in an interview. “If you move around the city (of Mogadishu) or countrywide, nobody even talks about it.” And yet infections are rising, he said.It is places like Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation torn apart by three decades of conflict, that will be last to see COVID-19 vaccines in any significant quantity. With part of the country still held by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, the risk of the virus becoming endemic in…


CDC: 14 Million Vaccines Distributed, 4 Million Inoculated 

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The U.S. continues its run at the top of the list as the country with the most COVID-19 infections, the disease caused by the coronavirus.  Early Sunday, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported the U.S. has 20.4 million of the world’s 84.3 million COVID infections.  India, the country with the second-largest number of cases has about half as many cases as the U.S. with 10.3 million.  Public health officials warn, however, that India’s caseload may be undercounted. The U.S. has recorded more than 350,000 deaths related to the coronavirus. Funeral homes across the country are finding it difficult to keep up with the demand for their services.   A surge of cases in the coming weeks is expected, following the holiday season, public health officials say. The CDC Data Tracker says more…


Fast Rollout of Virus Vaccine Trials in US Reveals Tribal Distrust

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The news came during a hopeful time on the largest Native American reservation.Daily coronavirus cases were in the single digits, down from a springtime peak of 238 that made the Navajo Nation a U.S. hot spot. The tribe, wanting to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine would be effective for its people, said it would welcome Pfizer clinical trials on its reservation spanning Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.Right away, tribal members accused their government of allowing them to be guinea pigs, pointing to painful times in the past when Native Americans didn’t consent to medical testing or weren’t fully informed about procedures.A Navajo Nation review board gave the study quicker approval than normal after researchers with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for American Indian Health made the case for diversity. Without Native volunteers,…


India Approves 2 Coronavirus Vaccines for Emergency Use

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India said Sunday it has given final approval for the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines. One of the vaccines was developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. Bharat Biotech, an Indian company, developed the other vaccine. Both vaccines are being produced in India.“It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India!” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on Twitter.The news of the approvals comes as India is poised to launch one of the world’s largest coronavirus vaccination programs. Nationwide drills, ahead of the launch, were staged Saturday.India’s approval of the British-developed vaccine follows Britain’s recent approval of the vaccine.India’s Drugs Controller General V.G. Somani said Sunday that the efficacy of the British-developed AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine is 70.42%.Somani, however, described…


US Passes 350,000 COVID-19 Deaths

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The United States has passed the milestone of 350,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data, even as vaccinations against the coronavirus-caused disease get off to a slow start.As countries around the world tighten lockdowns, impose curfews, ban large get-togethers and even halt alcohol sales to tackle a surge in coronavirus cases, officials in India and the U.S. announced some progress toward expanded immunization campaigns as infections rates continued to climb on multiple continents.New Delhi staged nationwide drills Saturday to launch one of the world's biggest coronavirus vaccination programs as the country's drug regulator approved two vaccines — one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, the other by Bharat Biotech and the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research — for emergency use.India, the world's second most populous country, has…


2021 Begins with Expanded Coronavirus Restrictions — and Glimmers of Hope

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As countries around the world tighten lockdowns, impose curfews, ban large get-togethers and even halt alcohol sales to tackle a surge in coronavirus cases, officials in India and the U.S. announced some progress toward expanded immunization campaigns as infections rates continued to climb on multiple continents.New Delhi staged nationwide drills Saturday to launch one of the world's biggest coronavirus vaccination programs as the country's drug regulator approved two vaccines — one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, the other by Bharat Biotech and the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research — for emergency use.India, the world's second most populous country, has more than 10.3 million confirmed COVID-19 infections, second only to the United States. Reuters reported Friday that little was known about the clinical trials that informed the emergency use…


California Funeral Homes Run Out of Space as COVID-19 Rages

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As communities across the U.S. feel the pain of a surge in coronavirus cases, funeral homes in the hot spot of Southern California say they must turn away grieving families as they run out of space for bodies.The head of the state funeral directors association says mortuaries are being inundated as the United States nears a grim tally of 350,000 COVID-19 deaths. More than 20 million people in the country have been infected, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University."I've been in the funeral industry for 40 years and never in my life did I think that this could happen, that I'd have to tell a family, 'No, we can't take your family member,'" said Magda Maldonado, owner of Continental Funeral Home in Los Angeles.Continental is averaging about 30…


In Graying Italy, the Old Defy Biases Laid Bare by Pandemic

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From his newsstand at the bottom of two hilly streets in Rome, Armando Alviti has been dispensing newspapers, magazines and good cheer to locals from before dawn till after dusk nearly every day for more than a half-century.“Ciao, Armando,” his customers greet him as part of their daily routine. “Ciao, amore (love)” he calls back. Alviti chuckled as he recalled how, when he was a young boy, newspaper deliverers would drop off the day’s stacks at his parents’ newsstand, sit him in the emptied baskets of their motorbikes and take him for a spin.Since he turned 18, Alviti has operated the newsstand seven days a week, with a wool tweed cap to protect him from the Italian capital’s winter dampness and a tabletop fan to cool him during its torrid…


US Tops 20 Million Coronavirus Cases

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The United States topped 20 million coronavirus cases Friday as it began the New Year, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.The United States continued to surpass other countries in COVID-19 cases and accounts for nearly a quarter of the worldwide total, which now stands at more than 83.8 million. The country also leads the world in coronavirus deaths, totaling more than 347,000.The increasing numbers come as U.S. health officials struggle to vaccinate the population. The outgoing administration of President Donald Trump predicted in December that 20 million people would be inoculated by year’s end. However, health officials say only 2.8 million Americans have received their first dose of the vaccine.As of Wednesday, just 12.4 million doses had been distributed nationally, according to the country’s Centers for…


Trump Vetoes California Fishing Bill, Cites Seafood Trade Deficit

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President Donald Trump vetoed a bill Friday that would have gradually ended the use of large-mesh drift gillnets deployed exclusively in federal waters off the coast of California, saying such legislation would increase reliance on imported seafood and worsen a multibillion-dollar seafood trade deficit. FILE - Democratic Senator from California Dianne Feinstein, June 3, 2020.Trump also said in his veto message to the Senate that the legislation sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., "will not achieve its purported conservation benefits."The fishing bill's sponsors said large-mesh drift gillnets, which measure between 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) and 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long and can extend 200 feet (60.9 meters) below the surface of the ocean, are left in the waters overnight to catch swordfish and thresher sharks.FILE -…