The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Tuesday announced an end to certain restrictions on international arrivals posed by the country’s “zero-COVID” policies that have been in place since 2020. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin outlined a six-part set of procedures that will be effective starting January 8. Inbound travelers will [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Monday affirmed a preliminary injunction from the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana blocking the White House’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors. The ruling results from a 2-1 decision from the three-judge panel. Circuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt authored the opinion of the court, [...]
The US House of Representatives Thursday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which sets appropriations for the defense budget for fiscal year 2023. In total, the 3,854-page NDAA authorizes $857.9 billion in expenditures. Controversially, the bill would lift the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the armed services. The Biden administration implemented the mandate [...]
US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Thursday rejected a bid to prevent New York City from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for teachers, firefighters and police officers. Sotomayor was unwilling to grant the emergency request, received on November 4, to block the policy. Petitioners brought the emergency request alongside their ongoing appeal of a lower [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Thursday released a statement announcing “good progress” following meetings with Ghana representatives discussing a new IMF program for the African nation. The parties also held talks on the subject in Ghana this fall. Ghana received previous financial assistance from the IMF through an extended credit facility arrangement from 2015 to [...]
The emergence of E-Commerce has made ground-breaking changes around the world. With the passage of time, individuals have the alternative of online platforms at their disposal for procuring myriad articles. A similar convenience is being experienced regarding medicines with the advent of E-Pharmacy. E-Pharmacies are virtual platforms that take an order of medicines over the [...]
The Kansas Board of Regents recently voted to endorse a policy making it easier to terminate tenured faculty members. Under existing policy, a Kansas state university first must recognize a “financial exigency.” If implemented, under the new policy a university could reduce tenured faculty positions without that declaration. This would make termination of a tenured [...]
With the continuing pandemic – and expiring housing and unemployment benefits across the country – millions of people may have their utilities cut off soon. Meanwhile, at least 13 states currently have expired moratoriums on water shut-offs. Many notable COVID-19 hotspot states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma) never implemented any moratorium on utility shut-offs. For those facing [...]
The U.S. Supreme Court last week issued its first ruling against coronavirus containment measures, invoking the First Amendment’s guarantee of free exercise of religion to enjoin an executive order by New York’s governor limiting attendance at religious services to 10 or 25 persons in areas classified as having a high risk for infections. The Court’s [...]
Nationwide protests in response to the brutal murder of George Floyd have put a spotlight on the profound injustices of the criminal legal system. Much of the criticism has rightly focused on the abuses in policing and incarceration. But along with abusive policing, another urgent threat that impoverished communities face under this system is the [...]
