Wednesday, July 1 top news briefs

Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth. It is Wednesday, July 1. 

I’ve got the New York Times here with me. Its motto is “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” 

Personal belongings of Covid-19 victims 

The cover story is a sad graphic of six items that were left behind by a 68-year-old man who died in a New York City hospital of the coronavirus. Those are the things he left behind. His name is Rafael Eli. Keys, gloves, tickets, a sweater, his ID, and a book. The article explains that hospitals in NYC are trying to figure out what to do with the thousands of personal left behind by those who died — how to preserve them and pass it along to their next of kin. For the items in the picture, the hospital reached out to Eli’s sister in Florida but she couldn’t make the trip, so she approved for the items to be given to Eli’s best friend and business partner in Long Island. Over 20,000 people in New York have died of the coronavirus. This is a snapshot of the challenges hospitals are facing from an insider’s perspective. It’s profound to see this. 

Covid-19 hotspots in U.S. mostly along Gulf Coast

I want to show you a map of Covid-19 hotspots in the U.S. The darker areas are regions where cases have spiked in over the past two weeks. It seems heavy along the states touching the Gulf of Mexico. Covid-19 is still here and spiking. 

Cells infected with Covid-19 grow tentacles 

I want to bring up an online news article I just read on Fox 11 LA — researchers at the University of California, San Francisco released images of cells infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 growing tentacles. These tentacles branch out to infect other cells. The tentacles are called “filopodia.” Scientists said different types of viruses have shown similar traits of causing infected cells to grow filopodia protrusions and that this finding will help with figuring out an effective treatment against the virus. 

New strain of H1N1 swine flu

Here we see a separate article that says there is a new strain of the H1N1 swine flu. This article explains that there is a new strain of H1N1 swine flu that is spreading among workers on pig farms in China. The workers are infecting one another. People want the virus to be stopped before it turns into another pandemic. The virus is called G4 EA H1N1. The concerns are real because in 2009, there was a swine flu pandemic. It was not as deadly as others, though, as more than 200,000 people died worldwide. But this is a serious concern because it’s a new virus and we are already in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic. Hopefully it doesn’t overlap. There are people trying to stop the virus, somewhere in China, to contain it. 

Updates on Russia-Taliban controversy 

Here’s an update on the Russia-Taliban bounty controversy. This newspaper reported last week that according to sources, a branch of the Russian government had a secret program to pay bounties to the Taliban in Afghanistan to kill U.S. service members. The article said President Trump knew about it since March. This article said “American officials (unnamed) intercepted electronic data showing transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU) to a Taliban-linked account.” That’s how the bounty program was found. This article also said Trump was briefed about the alleged program in February. The White House said this report was unsubstantiated (not supported by evidence). 

Here are three images, let me show you. They are three U.S. soldiers who died in Afghanistan in 2019 from a car bomb. This article said U.S. officials suspect the bomb was a part of the Russia-Taliban bounty program. The NYT did interviews with their families. One mother said it was a nightmare, while a father of another victim said he expects President Trump and the government to show 1,000 percent support behind these warriors. The father is basically saying that if the bounty program is true, he expects President Trump to act to stop Russia. 

President Trump tweeted today that the “Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party.” Trump said it is just another hoax and challenged the New York Times to reveal the anonymous source behind the reports. 

Supreme Court ruling on religious schools 

Here’s another big news story from the front page. It’s about a Supreme Court ruling from yesterday that said states must allow religious schools to be a part of states’ taxpayer-funded scholarship programs for students to attend private schools. Some states have blocked religious schools from being a part of this program. But with this 5-4 decision from the Supreme Court, split along conservative justices, means that religious schools can get public funds and they cannot be blocked by the government. Supporters said this decision would help families have the right to choose schools that match their values and educational goals, while opponents said it would take away resources from public schools and damages the separation of church and state. So this is the Supreme Court decision from yesterday and its impact on religious schools and state-level taxpayer scholarship programs. 

China passes chilling new laws 

Now, another news article. This is about a new law that was recently passed in China that is perceived by many as an act to scare or silence protesters in Hong Kong. The law mentions four offenses: separatism, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign countries. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment. The law applies to Hong Kong and is called the “National Security Law.” Look at this. You can’t read it, but the billboard here reads, “National Security Law.” In the background are apartments and condos in Hong Kong. They are on notice. China will form a new committee that can operate in secret and will be tasked to scrutinize schools, organizations, businesses, news companies, and foreigners who live in Hong Kong and abroad. The law allows the arrest and extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China. The law is perceived as a threat to the “One Country, Two Systems” relationship that China and Hong Kong have. That policy has been in place for a long time and the new law might change that as it enroaches on Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Police Force tweeted today that a man was arrested for carrying a “Hong Kong Independence” flag under the new law. So there is an impact already. 

That is all the top news for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light! 

https://www.foxla.com/news/covid-19-infection-triggers-growth-of-arm-like-tentacles-in-cells-microscope-images-show