January, 2020

...the full Nature article... strongly hints, without evidence for now, that the coronavirus epidemic may well have been a weaponized virus which "accidentally" escaped the Wuhan biohazard facility. [...] "But worries surround the Chinese lab, too. The SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times.", notes Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist...

A Father confronts @SenWarren

Father : My daughter is in school, I saved all my money just to pay student loans Can I have my money back?

Warren: of course not

Father: so you want to help those who don't save any money and the ones that do the right thing get screwed? pic.twitter.com/EY8M57tj9F

— JiveBunny (@JiveBunnyMuzik) January 21, 2020

... while 80 percent of American registered voters remain optimistic about how 5G can improve their lives, 84 percent contend the country must win the 5G race for the country.
[...]
Federal Breau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said in 2019 whoever controls the 5G networks could allow for foreign governments, such as China, to surveil Americans. Wray said Chinese control over America’s 5G infrastructure could allow the country “to maliciously modify or steal information [and] conduct undetected espionage.”

Everything I tried to tell the press last March is now coming out, and more. I will now start to reveal the evidence directly to you, the People. The Biden Family Enterprise made millions by selling public office. Then when Joe was Obama’s Point Man, they ALL made millions.

— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) January 23, 2020

"This rule establishes that travel to the United States with the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States is an impermissible basis for the issuance of a B nonimmigrant visa," the statute reads. "Consequently, a consular officer shall deny a B nonimmigrant visa to an alien who(m) he or she has reason to believe intends to travel for this primary purpose," it continues.

It may not sound like much, but the audio clip below is the first reconstruction of an ancient human voice—one belonging to a 3000-year-old Egyptian mummy named Nesyamun. To recover this echo from the past, scientists placed the mummy in a computerized tomography scanner. This allowed them to create a 3D model of his vocal tract, the dimensions of which shape the unique sound of a person’s voice.

Fair Isaac Corp., creator of FICO scores, will soon start scoring consumers with rising debt levels and those who fall behind on loan payments more harshly. It will also flag certain consumers who sign up for personal loans, a category of unsecured debt that has surged in recent years. The changes will create a bigger gap between consumers deemed to be good and bad credit risks, the company says. Consumers with already-high FICO scores of about 680 or higher who continue to manage loans well will likely get a higher score than under previous FICO versions.

On Thursday afternoon, the neighbouring city of Huanggang also announced a lockdown, starting at midnight, halting its public transport and trains out of the city. People were ordered not to leave unless in exceptional circumstances. Two other cities in Hubei province, Ezhou and Chibi, later announced that they would also be locked down, starting at 4pm and midnight respectively.

In #Wuhan，people are collapsing on streets due to the deadly #WuhanPneumonia .
so helpless.#WuhanCoronavirus #WuhanOutbreak pic.twitter.com/X5ho3Llpcm

— 巴丢草 Badiucao (@badiucao) January 23, 2020

The EU Bill, which paves the way for the country to leave the bloc on 31 January, is now awaiting royal assent. The PM said the UK could now "move forwards as one" and put "years of rancour and division behind it". The EU's top officials are expected to sign the agreement in the coming days, while MEPs will vote on it next week.

A jury of seven men and five women are hearing the case. Proseuctors call the former movie mogul a predator. The defense says all encounters were consensual. Dozens of women have accused of the disgraced movie producer of sexual misconduct, but his trial will focus on just two allegations...

The policy will ban the production and sale of disposable plastic tableware and cotton swabs by the end of 2020. Production of household products containing microbeads will be banned by the end of 2020 and sales of such products will be banned two years after that. Single-use and non-degradable plastic bags will be banned in major Chinese cities by the end of 2020 and across the country by 2022. In addition, single-use straws will be banned by the end of 2020.

The scam pretends to be Citibank replete with an authentic-looking website... The fake Citibank domain, or website address, is a convincing fake: "update-citi .com." That's a big first step in potentially fooling Citibank customers since scams often use domain addresses that are easily identifiable as fake. The scam also uses a so-called Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate and other security measures that “could easily cause people to believe they are submitting their personal information on a legitimate page”...

In new regulations published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said Iranians and their families are no longer eligible to apply for or extend what are known as E-1 and E-2 visas. The ban will take effect on Thursday, according to the notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Those visas allow foreign “traders” and “substantial investors” in U.S. companies to live and work in the United States.

• Lawyers for the British socialite revealed the hack while discussing what should remain sealed in the defamation case brought against her by Virginia Guiffre
• The hack means the 58-year-old's emails could be sold or leaked to the public and potentially reveal more details about individuals connected to Epstein
• It may also have implications for Prince Andrew after it was revealed in December he exchanged emails with Maxwell in 2015 about Giuffre

The witness, Randy Credico, a left-wing activist, comedian and radio talk show host, and a one-time friend of Stone whose testimony was crucial to the government’s case, told U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson that he had testimony that might have helped Stone’s defense, but he wasn’t asked about it at the trial....

[Mason Trever] Toney had stabbed 28-year-old William Steven Knight to death after an argument. An affidavit retrieved by the Orlando Sentinel says the murder weapon was an on-site trowel. The victim was reportedly an open supporter of President Donald Trump, while Toney was “anti-government and very outspoken” regarding delusions that “the government is bad and out to get him,” according to the arrest affidavit. Responding officers found Knight’s body next to an excavator on the job site with an American flag thrown over his body.