USA - Democratic Senator Tom Carper says ‘dreamer’ illegal immigrants should be hired to replace millions of Americans who supposedly are too unskilled, uneducated, unethical or drugged up to work for companies. “I think the business community is saying that to the administration [and] they are certainly saying that to those of us in the Congress, and we should focus on that,” Carper told MSNBC.
CANADA - Justin Trudeau interrupted a woman complaining about Canada’s restrictive regulations on religious volunteers to tell her to use the term ‘peoplekind’ instead of ‘mankind.’ The Canadian Prime Minister was hosting a Q&A at MacEwan University in Edmonton on Friday as part of his cross-country tour which began last month. Trudeau was listening to a complaint by a woman from a church who wanted him to look at the restrictions Canada has on people who want to volunteer for religious organizations. Which is precisely where Trudeau jumped in to explain that “we like to say peoplekind.” The PM, who is a vocal feminist, advocate for gender equality and responsible for Canada’s first gender-balanced cabinet, was trolled mercilessly on Twitter for the ridiculous correction, leaving many wondering where the politically correct war on the English language will stop.
USA - Billions of viruses fall from the sky every day, according to new research which could explain why genetically identical viruses are often found in very different environments around the world. In a scientific first, a team of international researchers recorded the number of viruses being swept up daily from the Earth’s surface into the free troposphere – the lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which nearly all weather occurs.
USA - Some 43 million Americans take statins. It is a multibillion-dollar business. Pfizer’s Lipitor went on sale in 1997 and became the best-selling drug in the history of prescription pharmaceuticals before its patent expired in 2011. Sales surpassed $125 billion. AstraZeneca’s Crestor was the top-selling statin in 2013, generating $5.2 billion in revenue that year.
SENEGAL - Three weeks after college, I flew to Senegal, West Africa, to run a community center in a rural town. Life was placid, with no danger, except to your health. That danger was considerable, because it was, in the words of the Peace Corps doctor, "a fecalized environment."
USA - The shocking revelations uncovered in yesterday’s release of the FISA memo reveal a pattern of treason among top officials at the FBI and DOJ, warns Congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona. The FISA memo documented how the most powerful law enforcement elements of the United States government were weaponized under President Obama to illegally spy on Republican political targets.
USA - President Donald Trump alluded to the successful Republican effort to release a House Intelligence memo that exposed new details of FBI officials colluding against him. “Did we catch them in the act or what? You know what I’m talking about, oh did we catch them in the act,” Trump said. “They are very embarrassed. They never thought they were going to get caught, we caught ‘em.”
USA - As US Secretary of Defense James Mattis made a case for more military funding to counter countries threatening “America’s experiment in democracy,” some members of the House Armed Services Committee questioned the expense. Representative Walter Jones (Republican for North Carolina) questioned the war in Afghanistan, which has lasted for almost 17 years at the cost of $1 trillion and thousands of lives.
CHINA - China is reportedly moving missile defense batteries and troops closer to its border with North Korea, a potential sign that Beijing anticipates either a large refugee wave north or a military disturbance triggered by the belligerence of communist dictator Kim Jong-un. The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo cited Radio Free Asia (RFA) in a report Monday, stating that RFA had compiled evidence that China had “late last year deployed another missile defense battery at an armored division in Helong, west of Longjing in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.” The “North Korean source in China” speaking to RFA also noted that Pyongyang had observed the movement of 300,000 troops closer to the North Korean border and “missile defense batteries near North Korean reservoirs by the Apnok and Duman rivers.”
USA - Far more US teens than previously thought are transgender or identify themselves using other nontraditional gender terms, with many rejecting the idea that girl and boy are the only options, new research suggests. The study looked at students in ninth and 11th grade and estimated that nearly 3 percent are transgender or gender nonconforming, meaning they don't always self-identify as the sex they were assigned at birth. That includes kids who refer to themselves using neutral pronouns like "them" instead of "he" or "she." "Diverse gender identities are more prevalent than people would expect," said lead author Nic Rider, a University of Minnesota postdoctoral fellow who studies transgender health. The study is an analysis of a 2016 statewide survey of almost 81,000 Minnesota teens.
USA - Dr George Land and Beth Jarman were commissioned by NASA to help the space agency identify and develop creative talent. The two were tasked to research school children in an attempt to identify creative individuals from which the agency could pick to help with their many products. In a recent TED talk, Land described his team’s surprising findings on the education system which are nothing short of shocking.
UK - A new study from advocacy group Tax Justice Network reveals that Switzerland is the world’s most-corrupt country, with a “high secrecy score of 76.” It’s followed by the US and the Cayman Islands. “Switzerland is the grandfather of the world’s tax havens, one of the world’s largest offshore financial centers, and one of the world’s biggest secrecy jurisdictions or tax havens,” said the group’s report ‘Financial Secrecy Index — 2018 Results’.
TAIWAN - A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake has damaged buildings in the Taiwanese city of Hualien, media reports say. The tremor struck at 23:50 (15:50 GMT) about 20km (12 miles) off the island's east coast. Photographs posted on social media showed extensive damage to roads and high-rise buildings. Emergency services are working to free people who are trapped in a hotel that has partially collapsed, the reports say.
USA - Despite its independence, the Federal Reserve may quietly want a bear market that takes down a president that loves tweeting about the stock market. Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, told TheStreet the "[Janet] Yellen put" in the markets could expire under President Trump. "I don't know if the Fed has much love for Trump," he said, adding that the Fed had the markets' back during the Obama Administration.
USA - The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 1,600 points at its lows on Monday, after a period of selling accelerated sharply heading into the close of the session. Amplifying the slump was computer-programmed trade set to dump shares at certain levels. According to traders, the Dow DJIA, -4.60% was set to trigger trades once it fell below 25,000 and 24,000, for example, and 2,700 for the S&P 500 SPX, -4.10% The S&P 500 finished the session off 113 points, or 3.9% at 2,648, the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -3.78% ended down 273 points, or 3.8%, at 6.967. The Dow, meanwhile, shed as much as 1,597 points at its low, and closed out the session 1,175 points, or 4.6%, down at 24,345.
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The views expressed in this section are not our own, unless specifically stated, but are provided to highlight what may prove to be prophetically relevant material appearing in the media.