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The national organization of middle and high school leaders is urging the Biden administration to do more to protect its members from “threats and violence” by parents who disagree with COVID-19 restrictions they put in place. In a call for support, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) on Thursday said its members have been faced with “hostile community members” because of their policies on “highly charged issues” involving masks, quarantines, and vaccines. The organization cited the confrontation between Teresa M. Hill, the principal of Walden Grove High School in Arizona, and a group of people who wanted to...

CHINA has claimed Japan is "preparing for war" as it stages its first major military exercised for nearly 30 years.The defence drills stoked already rising tensions between the neighbours as a dispute over a chain of strategic islands threatens to escalate into open conflict.It comes amid rising tensions over the uninhabited Senkaku islandsBeijing's ships and planes have made dozens of incursions this year close to the uninhabited Senkaku islands - known as Diaoyu in China.Now in a surprise move, Tokyo is pushing back at increasing aggression and plans new bases to defend the islands.It has bought new F-35 jets, converted...

China announced on Thursday that it has fully vaccinated more than 1 billion people against COVID-19—over 70 percent of the entire population.Ten months ago, the Chinese Communist Party rolled out the immunization campaign to those aged 12 and older. Nearly 2.2 billion vaccine doses had been administered to date, National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng said at a news conference on Sept. 16.It comes as the country is battling a cluster of cases in the southeastern province of Fujian, where over 200 cases have been confirmed in the past week.However, despite the city of Xiamen seeing a new surge of...

A spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office said that more than half of those who are seeking monoclonal antibody treatment in the south of Florida are “fully vaccinated” individuals amid supply issues.“More than half the patients getting the monoclonal antibody treatment in south Florida are fully vaccinated,” DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw wrote in response to a comment on Twitter that suggested that only unvaccinated people are the reason why there is a significant demand for monoclonal antibodies.Florida, she wrote hours earlier, “is above average in vaccination rate” and that “more than half of the patients in south Florida getting...

Earlier in the week, we were all treated to the announcement of a new and improved trilateral security pact between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia (called AUKUS). The most memorable thing about the announcement (read Sister Toldjah’s post, Watch: Biden Makes International Headlines for Embarrassing Reason After Awkward Moment With Aussie PM) was Joey Soft Serve forgetting the name of the Australian prime minister.Despite the placid, if short-bus-ish ambiance of the announcement, there was drama brewing out of sight.Biden announced that the United States would allow nuclear submarine technology transfer to Australia. This is significant. It would make...

SCHENECTADY – They had no luck with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo but now a pair of Schenectady-area lawmakers are asking Gov. Kathy Hochul for help in restoring pensions for more than 1,000 people who worked at the now-closed St. Clare’s Hospital. “Unfortunately, our previous governor refused to ever meet with or listen to the concerns of the pensioners. We know you have a tremendous amount on your plate, we respectfully ask you to please set aside a few minutes in the near future to meet with us and the leader of the St. Clare’s Pensioners Recovery Alliance so we and...

This link should take you to the relevant spot (4:20:07):FDA: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting"

Facing Kremlin pressure, Apple and Google on Friday removed an opposition-created smartphone app that tells voters which candidates are likely to defeat those backed by Russian authorities, as polls opened for three days of balloting in Russia’s parliamentary election. Unexpectedly long lines formed at some polling places, and independent media suggested this could show that state institutions and companies were forcing employees to vote. The election is widely seen as an important part of President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cement his grip on power ahead of the 2024 presidential polls, in which control of the State Duma, or parliament, will...

In a statement Friday, the Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus says: “Under threat of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue sharing, today Maricopa County settled with the State Senate, in a victory for election integrity and the Arizona taxpayer. The agreement sets up a Special Master paid for by the County, who will get the answers to questions the Senate has had concerning the routers and splunk logs used in the 2020 election. Former Congressman John Shadegg will serve as the Special Master, working with computer technology experts. The Senate will finally get the answers to questions asked...

TThe Biden administration plans on “massive movements” of Haitian migrants in a small Texas border city on flights to Haiti starting Sunday, an official said Friday, representing a swift and dramatic response to thousands who suddenly assembled under and around a bridge. Details are yet to be finalized but will likely involve five to eight flights a day, according to the official with direct knowledge of the plans who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. San Antonio, the nearest major city, may be among the departure cities. U.S....

Brian Laundrie, the tight-lipped boyfriend of missing Long Island native Gabby Petito, is now missing himself, and hasn’t been seen for days. Laundrie’s lawyer said his client’s whereabouts are unknown, and said the FBI is now looking for both Gabby and Brian, Florida police told The Post. “His family has reported that they have not seen Brian as of Tuesday,” Josh Taylor, a public information officer for the North Port Police said.

...In a post and a press release, the chief executive discussed Facebook Inc.’s initiatives to promote vaccines...For more than a month, Facebook researchers warned that comments on vaccine-related posts—often factual posts of the sort Facebook sought to promote—were filled with antivaccine rhetoric aimed at undermining their message, internal documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show. ...Users were seeing comments on vaccine-related posts 775 million times a day, the memo said, and Facebook researchers worried the large proportion of negative comments could influence perceptions of the vaccines’ safety. ...Despite Mr. Zuckerberg’s effort, a cadre of antivaccine activists flooded the network...

QR codes – short for “quick response” – are commonly used in retail, logistics, and other sectors. The technology allows anyone to show proof of vaccination with a digital or printed QR code instead of a paper card, and without the need for an app. As more and more employers and businesses respond to calls by President Biden and Governor Northam to require that employees and customers be vaccinated, QR codes will help improve the consistency and security of vaccination information while protecting individual privacy.

A federal appeals court ruled against Tennessee’s abortion restrictions on Friday, nine days after another pro-life “heartbeat” law went into effect in Texas. In July 2020, Tennessee enacted a law restricting abortions at several stages in pregnancy, including abortions conducted after detection of a fetal heartbeat which can occur as early as six weeks post gestation. The law also prohibited abortions conducted because of the race or sex of the baby, or because of a Down syndrome diagnosis. On Friday, a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit ruled against both provisions, upholding a lower court’s ruling that halted them from...

Philadelphia police released video of four suspects wanted after a man was killed and two others were injured during a massive brawl early Thursday morning at Pat's King of Steaks in South Philadelphia. According to investigators, a large fight erupted outside of the popular Philadelphia cheesesteak location on the 1300 block of East Passyunk Avenue just before 2 a.m. ----SNIP--- The male suspects are described as Latino males, possibly of Mexican American or Central American descent. Two of the men have distinct tattoos on their arms and neck. Police say the men were all dressed in yellow Club América jerseys

On September 11, President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill took part in the ceremony of opening the monument called “Alexander Nevsky with his warriors”, as part of the nationwide celebrations devoted to the 800th anniversary of the Prince Alexander Nevsky. The monumental composition is installed on the shore of lake Chudskoye, in the village of Samolva, Gdovsk region, where the Battle on Ice was fought in 1242, in which the Prince defeated the Livonian Order army. 50 tons in weight, and 20 meters (65 feet) in length, the monument is cast in bronze. It was brought to the site in...

Six California Catholic dioceses, including Fresno which covers Tulare County, settle with 197 victims abused as minorsLOS ANGELES – Six California Catholic dioceses including Fresno, which covers most of the Central Valley, paid $23.9 million to 197 victims abused by clergy members who opted to settle their claims instead of filing lawsuits. The last claim from victims had been processed by the Independent Compensation Program (ICP) for Victims of Sexual Abuse by Diocesan Priests in California on Sept. 2, according to announcement by the Independent Oversight Committee. The dioceses launched the ICP in September 2019 to provide any victim/survivor of...

Actually "She'd Rather Have Rueben Kincaid" if you were to see the music video.. Rueben Kincaid, manager of the Partridge Family, was obviously a lady-killer and got all the nice-looking women on that show. This is a Cashman-West song that got a lot of airplay half a century ago. It was featured on the Partridge Family's blockbuster second album called "Up To Date" and during 1971, you could not turn around without hearing a song from that record. "I'll Meet You Halfway", "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted", and "Umbrella Man" were just a few other standout tracks from that...

Pope Francis has ended his trip to Slovakia by speaking out on abortion and same-sex marriage. During his flight back to Rome he said "abortion is homicide". But he backed away from denying communion to politicians who support abortion rights. He also spoke about marriage and said it is a sacrament between a man and woman, but added that same-sex civil unions are good and helpful to many people. The pontiff said the Catholic Church “doesn’t have the power to change a sacrament as it was instituted by the Lord”, but he supported civil laws that try to help “those...

General Dynamics Corp. has canceled their vaccine mandate after roughly 40% of their employees declined the jab & threatened to quit. https://twitter.com/alwebbj/status/1439025291054264323