“Lambada,” a COVID variant of interest, now accounts for the vast majority of COVID cases in Peru, and is spreading throughout South America. The strain is believed to have emerged in South America and has been known since last August. In southeast Asia, one of the highly infectious COVID variants from India has been found …

According to NASA and NOAA, the Earth is now trapping an unprecedented amount of heat, which is contributing to rapidly warming air, water, and land. That helps to explain the heatwave heading to the American West, and some 200 million people are expected to suffer through 90º weather––another 40 million will be sweating through 100º+ weather. …

Vermont has become the first state to reach an 80% vaccination rate, and it is now fully reopening. Anheuser-Busch is going to give away free beer when America reaches its vaccine goal. So far, only a handful of states have reached the goal of a 70% vaccination rate. Fully vaccinated people in several southern California …

There is a heatwave heading to the American West, and some 200 million people are expected to suffer through 90º weather––another 40 million will be sweating through 100º+ weather. Although there has been progress towards addressing climate change (see below), this is a reminder that we are still in––forgive the pun––hot water. The Keystone XL …

The Keystone XL pipeline has been canceled. The nixing of the project has led climate change activists to rejoice, and honestly we should all rejoice with them. If they are right, and the age of fossil fuels is ending, it can’t end quickly enough.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said that the levels …

Six Californian members of the Three Percenters––a right-wing militia––have been brought up on conspiracy charges in the most recent indictments related to the Capitol riots. The infamous “Zip Tie Guy” has been indicted for his role in the Capitol riots. Apparently, had a stash of weapons at his home––including a sniper rifle. Four more Oath Keepers have …

The Chinese government, angered by recent developments between the U.S. and Taiwan, has warned the U.S. State Department to “stop all forms” of official outreach to Taiwan. This might actually signal a warming of tensions, consider a few months ago China was threatening to fly fighter jets over Taiwan if U.S.-Taiwan relations continued to warm. China also …

Thousands of people marched in protest against a potential Chinese University campus in Budapest. Hungary is becoming increasingly vocal in its protests against China.Following the protests, Hungary appeared to back down from its plans to build a campus in Budapest. In a very public criticism of Chinese human rights violations, Budapest has renamed major streets …

The infamous “Zip Tie Guy” has been indicted for his role in the Capitol riots. Apparently, had a stash of weapons at his home––including a sniper rifle. Four more Oath Keepers have been indicted for participating in the Capitol storming. According to the charges, the Oath Keepers were hoping that Antiafa would show up, which …

The niece of a prominent Uighur scholar-in-exile, Abduweli Ayup, has died in an internment camp while being investigated by the state. A coalition made up of Uighurs, Tibetans, residents of Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and others have all called for a total boycott of the Beijing Olympics. Increasing calls for boycotting the Beijing Olympics are ratcheting up …

A new grand jury has been seated to consider new evidence in the ongoing investigation into former President Trump’s business dealings. Scott Brown, an ambassador in the Trump administration, has said that Trump’s presidency was “diminished” because of the riots––riots for which Brown says Trump was “absolutely” responsible. Two police officers are suing Donald Trump …

India’s COVID deaths have officially passed 300,000, although the official count is highly questionable.25 More than 7,000 Indians have been diagnosed with black fungus disease, which has a 50% mortality rate. The disease often follows extended use of antibiotics or steroids, which weaken the immune system. Hundreds of corpses have been found floating in in …