Monday, November 29 top stories
It is Monday, November 29. On Friday I posted a breaking news video about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, so you can check that out if you haven’t. Here are today’s top stories.
On Sunday, Canadian government officials said there were two cases of the omicron variant in Ontario. Canadian officials said two people who were recently in Nigeria tested positive for omicron. Now officials are doing contact tracing to see if others also test positive.
Japan, Israel, and Morocco are now barring all foreign travelers because of concerns with omicron.
Japan had already barred foreign travelers ever since early in the pandemic, but the country recently started allowing business travelers or international students in. Now it’s a total ban for all foreign travelers again.
The U.S., U.K., Canada, and the European Union are barring travelers only from South Africa and its surrounding countries because that’s where the omicron variant was first detected.
News reports say there were many stranded tourists in Johannesburg. The tourism industry in South Africa is now taking a hit, and it hurts more because they were just getting back on their feet from the pandemic.
There is controversy over the ban on South African travelers. A South African scientist and vaccinologist named Shabir Madhi explained to Al Jazeera news that the country has one of the world’s best technologies in analyzing diseases because of its experience with treating HIV and TB. With that technology in place, South African scientists were able to discover and identify the omicron variant, and now many feel like they are being punished for their success.
South Africa does have a low vaccination rate — Al Jazeera reported that only 24 percent of the population is vaccinated. Other countries in the African continent have a much lower rate with an average of 7 percent vaccinated.
Today President Joe Biden said in an address from the White House that the omicron variant should be a cause of concern, not a cause for panic. Biden said Americans should get the Covid-19 vaccine and boosters because it offers the best protection. Biden said he would not impose new shutdowns or lockdowns but encourage more widespread vaccinations and testing.
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Jack Dorsey, the CEO and co-founder of Twitter, announced today he would step down as CEO effective immediately. Twitter’s chief technology officer Parag Agrawal will take over as CEO. Dorsey said he believes the company is ready to move on from its founders. Dorsey is also the founder and CEO of Square/CashApp, the online payments company, and he will continue in that role.
The trial of Ghislanie Maxwell, who is accused of helping the late Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and groom young, underage girls for sexual abuse, is starting today with opening arguments in federal court in New York City. Twelve jurors and six alternates were selected from a pool of 40 to 60 potential jurors. Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 and has been in custody in Brooklyn all this time. She has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The trial won’t be televised — usually federal cases are not televised. The trial may last six weeks. One of the lead prosecutors is Maurene Comey, who is the daughter of the former FBI director James Comey.
U.K. scientists who tracked almost 90,000 people in their 40’s to 70’s for sleep time, lifestyle habits, and physical ability found that those who went to sleep between 10 pm and 11 pm had a lower risk of developing heart disease compared with earlier or later bedtimes. For those who went to bed at midnight or later, there was a 25% higher risk of heart disease, and for those who went to bed before 10 pm, there was a 24% increased risk of heart disease. There are many other factors that affect heart health, but it’s interesting to see that the 10 pm to 11 pm is the “sweet spot” for good health.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/omicron-variant-now-north-america-canadian-officials-say-rcna6881
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/world/middleeast/israel-morocco-travel-bans-omicron.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/29/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-is-expected-to-step-down-sources-say.html
https://apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-nyc-trial-starts-17f7c28591c1f32c802f3b7bc413bfe0
https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2021/11/29/scientists-bedtime-10-11pm