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Japan suspended the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, more than a week after the domestic distributor received reports of contaminants in some vials. Both Japan and Moderna said that no safety or efficacy issues had been identified and that the suspension was just a precaution. https://www.theepochtimes.com/japan-suspends-1-63-million-doses-of-moderna-vaccine-after-reports-of-contamination_3966233.html

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials refuse to answer two questions surrounding the August 2015 Gold King Mine spill that would help resolve issues uncovered by a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation. TheDCNF reported numerous contradictions in the EPA’s explanation of how and why it intentionally breached Colorado’s Gold King Mine, releasing 880,000 pounds of dangerous metals and mining waste into drinking water for three states and the Navajo Nation. Yet, the EPA refused to clarify those contradictions and instead disregarded TheDCNF’s findings and clung to its original story. First, the EPA ignored the conflicts of interest surrounding the “independent” investigation...

On Friday, alongside China's announcement that it had bought over 600 tons of gold in "one month", the PBOC released another very important data point: its total foreign exchange reserves, which declined by $17.3 billion to $3,694 billion. We explained all of his on Friday in "China Dumps Record $143 Billion In US Treasurys In Three Months Via Belgium", and frankly we have been surprised that this extremely important topic has not gotten broader attention. Then, to our relief, first JPM noticed. This is what Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, author of Flows and Liquidity had to say on the topic of China's...

When the latest Treasury International Capital data was released yesterday, many were quick to conclude that not only had China's selling of US Treasury ceased, but that with the addition of $7 billion in US government paper, China's latest total holdings of $1270.3 billion were the highest since May of 2014. And if one was merely looking at the "China" line item in the major foreign holders table, that would be correct. However, as we have shown before, when looking at China's Treasury holdings, one also has to add the "Belgian" Treasuries, which is where China had been anonymously engaging...

Politico initially reported in August of 2009 that the Obama administration examined Bush administration 2005 quarantine regulations, which were criticized by civil liberty advocates. In April 2010, Politico reported the administration “quietly dumped quarantine rules that would have required air passengers to submit more information to airlines and strengthened the government's authority to detain travelers suspected of carrying disease.”

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown has never been shy to make bold predictions. But the latest vision to come to "Da Mayor" comes in the form of a political shake up of the highest levels. As President Barack Obama comes to San Francisco on Wednesday, Gothamist reports that the City's former mayor can see a future where Mr. Obama has a new vice president. There has been some scuttlebutt that Obama may replace Biden on the ticket with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton but Brown sees another power politician filling the void. Brown says he is predicting that New...

COLUMBUS, Ga.— Aflac has fired Gilbert Gottfried, the comedian who is the voice of the insurer's quacking duck in the U.S. Gottfried, who has voiced the duck in numerous commercials since 2000, posted a string of mocking jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on Twitter over the weekend. "I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, 'They'll be another one floating by any minute now," he tweeted Saturday.

The demands of the kidnappers were simple: Pay the ransom and the hostages would be freed. But prosecutors said the crew of Russian immigrants killed their hostages anyway - even after collecting $1 million from some of the victims' relatives. More than four years after the five bodies were found in a reservoir north of Yosemite National Park, opening statements are expected this week in the federal trial of two men accused of orchestrating the crimes. It's a rare instance in which federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. "Regardless of whether the ransom money defendants demanded was paid or...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Amazon.com has dropped Google as its search provider in favor of Microsoft, an important victory for the Seattle software maker as its battle with the 400-pound gorilla of search heats up, according to a report Tuesday. Searches on Amazon.com are now powered by Windows Live Search, Microsoft's new search engine that's still in the testing phase, the Washington Post said Tuesday. The news is significant for Microsoft (Research) because moves by Amazon (Research), one of the world's largest Web-based retailers, are closely watched by other Internet shopping sites, according to the article. The battle between Microsoft,...

Hillary dumps Bush's 'mess' in new cartoon commercial Senator shown as pant-suited garbage lady who says she'll need 2 terms to clean up Posted: August 1, 2005 3:45 p.m. Eastern 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Hillary Clinton drives a garbage truck in new ad pushing her for president Even though no formal announcement has been made regarding a bid for the White House, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is starring in an animated commercial pushing for her to be the next president. The 30-second spot, sponsored by HillaryNow.com, shows the former first lady dressed up as a sanitation worker dumping what appears to be...

Blue blue town Published: Nov 12, 2004 Election"s aftermath leaves Democrats down in the dumps and looking for ways to cope with four more years of W. By ANNE BLYTHE AND MATT DEES, STAFF WRITERS TVs have been off. Some of the political commentary is too much to take. Radios are tuned to music, not talk. Newspapers with front-page pictures of President Bush either go straight into recycling bins or get flipped over quickly to hide what die-hard Democrats and Anybody-But-Bush fans commonly refer to as “that smug mug.” Sure, 11 days have passed since 59 million Americans cast ballots...

<p>Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson pulled the plug Friday on contracts with friends, associates and former colleagues who were receiving up to $8,470 per month to provide consulting services to his office.</p> <p>Wesson's decision ended weeks of simmering controversy, inside and outside the Legislature, over open-ended contracts that did not stipulate what work must be done or set deadlines.</p>