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Trump nominates Indian-American advocate for Associate Judge

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Trump nominates Indian-American advocate for Associate Judge

Washington: US President Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American advocate Vijay Shanker for the position of Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

In a communique to the Senate on Sunday, Trump said the nomination of Shanker is for a period of 15 years.

If confirmed by the Senate, Shanker will replace John R Fisher, who has now retired. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court for Washington DC.

Trump had first announced Shaker’s nomination last June. Currently, he serves as Senior Litigation Counsel in the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, and as Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section.

Before joining the Department of Justice in 2012, Shanker was in private practice with the Washington, DC, offices of Mayer Brown, LLC and Covington and Burling, LLP.

Upon graduation from law school, Shanker served as a law clerk to Judge Chester J Straub on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Shanker completed his bachelors, cum laude, from Duke University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as a Notes Editor for the Virginia Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.

Tech billionaire Jack Ma ‘missing’ after criticising China in October 2020: Reports

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Tech billionaire Jack Ma 'missing' after criticising China in October 2020: Reports

Beijing: Over two months after Chinese Tech Billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma gave a controversial speech in October 2020, he is yet to make a public appearance, fueling speculations of him being “missing” across social media platforms.

Jack Ma, in a speech on October 24, criticized China’s “pawnshop financial regulators and state-owned banks.” He also called for a reform of China’s regulation system for stifling business innovation and likened global banking regulations to an ‘old people’s club’.

Jack Ma also did not appear for the final episode of his own talent show, Africa’s Business Heroes in November and was replaced by Lucy Peng, an Alibaba executive to judge the show. An Alibaba spokesperson had told Financial Times that Jack was unable to attend the final episode of the show as a judge due to the conflict in schedule time.

“Today’s financial system is the legacy of the Industrial Age. We must set up a new one for the next generation and young people. We must reform the current system,” Ma said in the speech. According to The Wall Street Journal, officials in Beijing dressed down Ma and suspended the $37billion initial public offering of his Ant Group on the direct order of President Xi in November.

Bloomberg noted that Ma was advised to remain in China after which an anti-monopoly investigation was launched into Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding on Christmas Eve. Beijing also ordered Ma’s financial tech company Ant Group to scale back its operations. The anti-monopoly investigation caused Alibaba’s shares to drop by a quarter since their peak shortly after the October speech, wiping more than $10billion from Ma’s fortune, Daily Mail UK reported. This resulted in Jack Ma landing in third place on the list of China’s richest people, behind Pinduoduo chief executive Colin Huang and Tencent Holdings’ Pony Ma Huateng. Ma now has an estimated current net worth of $63.1billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Reports speculate that Ma’s speech angered the Chinese government, which viewed his criticisms as an attack on the authority of the Communist Party. Ma’s business empire, Ant Group, has been under scrutiny by Beijing ever since the speech. Jack Ma was involved in charity work and has donated millions of face masks to Europe, the US, and the World Health Organisation in the backdrop of coronavirus. He also donated 2000 ventilators to New York hospitals.

‘That was easy!’: US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris receives coronavirus vaccine

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According to a media report, Vice-President-elect received a dose of the Moderna vaccine from clinical nurse Patricia Cummings at United Medical Center, which is located in Southeast Washington DC.

'That was easy!' Harris said after receiving her first dose of the Moderna vaccine at the United Medical Center (UMC) in Washington DC. (Photo | AFP)

WASHINGTON: US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Tuesday received on live television the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, making her the latest high-level official to do so as the incoming Trump administration seeks to instil confidence in the vaccination process.

“That was easy!” Harris said after receiving her first dose of the Moderna vaccine at the United Medical Center (UMC) in Washington DC.

“I want to thank the United Medical Center for the work that you do in southeast DC, serving our community that is often overlooked,” Harris said. “So, it is good to be here and I’ve now been vaccinated,” she said.

“There is a big difference between the vaccine and vaccination. I want to encourage everyone to get the vaccine. It is relatively painless. It happens really quickly. It is safe,” Harris, wearing a black face mask, said in brief remarks after receiving the vaccine, encouraging Americans to get it, as reported by The Hill.

“I want to encourage everyone to get the vaccine. Literally, this is about saving lives,” she continued. “I trust the scientists, and it is the scientists who created and approved this vaccine. I look forward to getting the second dose,” she added

The Hill further reported that the Vice-President-elect received a dose of the Moderna vaccine from clinical nurse Patricia Cummings at United Medical Center, which is located in Southeast Washington, D.C.

Her husband, Doug Emhoff, also received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday, she said.

Vice President Mike Pence received the vaccine publicly a week after it received approval and President-elect Joe Biden did so the following week, as did top health officials like Anthony Fauci and Health and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

Last Monday, US President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, also on live television, to assure Americans of its safety. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are both administered in two shots with a required interval of several weeks between them, Sputnik reported.

Man with no travel history becomes US’ first reported case of new COVID-19 variant

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The Colorado State Laboratory confirmed the virus variant, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was notified.

DENVER: The first reported U.S. case of the COVID-19 variant that’s been seen in the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis announced Tuesday, adding urgency to efforts to vaccinate Americans.

The variant was found in a man in his 20s who is in isolation southeast of Denver in Elbert County and has no travel history, state health officials said.

Elbert County is a mainly rural area of rolling plains at the far edge of the Denver metro area that includes a portion of Interstate 70, the state’s main east-west highway.

Colorado Politics reported there is a second suspected case of the variant in the state according to Dwayne Smith, director of public health for Elbert County. Both of the people were working in the Elbert County community of Simla. Neither of them are residents of that county — expanding the possibility of the variant’s spread throughout the state.

The Colorado State Laboratory confirmed the virus variant, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was notified.

Scientists in the U.K. believe the variant is more contagious than previously identified strains. The vaccines being given now are thought to be effective against the variant, Colorado health officials said in a news release.

For the moment, the variant is likely still rare in the U.S., but the lack of travel history in the first case means it is spreading, probably seeded by travelers from Britain in November or December, said scientist Trevor Bedford, who studies the spread of COVID-19 at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

“Now I’m worried there will be another spring wave due to the variant,” Bedford said. “It’s a race with the vaccine, but now the virus has just gotten a little bit faster.”

Public health officials are investigating other potential cases and performing contact tracing to determine the spread of the variant throughout the state.

“There is a lot we don’t know about this new COVID-19 variant, but scientists in the United Kingdom are warning the world that it is significantly more contagious. The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority, and we will closely monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely,” Polis said.

Polis and state health officials are expected hold a news conference Wednesday.

The discovery of the new variant led the CDC to issue new rules on Christmas Day for travelers arriving to the U.S. from the U.K., requiring they show proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

Worry has been growing about the variant since the weekend before Christmas, when Britain’s prime minister said a new strain of the coronavirus seemed to spread more easily than earlier ones and was moving rapidly through England. The nation’s first variant case was identified in southeast England.

Dozens of countries barred flights from the U.K., and southern England was placed under strict lockdown measures. Scientists say there is reason for concern but the new strains should not cause alarm.

Japan announced Monday it would bar entry of all nonresident foreign nationals as a precaution against the new strain.

New variants of the coronavirus have been seen almost since the virus was first detected in China nearly a year ago. It is common for viruses to undergo minor changes as they reproduce and move through a population. The slight modifications are how scientists track the spread of a virus from one place to another.

But if the virus has significant mutations, one concern is that current vaccines might no longer offer the same protections. Although that’s a possibility to watch for over time with the coronavirus, experts say they don’t believe it will be the case with the latest variant.

The U.K. variant, known as B.1.1.7, has also been found in Canada, Italy, India and the United Arab Emirates.

South Africa has also discovered a highly contagious COVID-19 variant that is driving the country’s latest spike of confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The variant, known as 501.V2, is dominant among the newly confirmed infections in South Africa, according to health officials and scientists leading the country’s virus strategy.

Israel on cusp of fourth national elections in two years, after budget vote fails

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Israel on cusp of fourth national elections in two years, after budget vote fails

Jerusalem, Dec 22: Israel appeared headed to its fourth election in two years on Tuesday after a last-ditch effort to keep the government afloat and push off the automatic dissolution of parliament failed.

Negotiations meant to bring about a budget compromise between the government’s two main parties broke down early Tuesday and in a late-night Knesset session, members of the Likud and Blue and White parties voted against a proposal to postpone Tuesday’s budget deadline for another two weeks. The measure failed by 49 votes to 47.

If the government does not pass a budget by midnight Tuesday, Israeli law stipulates that the Knesset dissolve and triggers snap elections in 90 days. Most avenues to evade that deadline have been closed off.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party have been at loggerheads over the national budget issue since forming a unity government in May.

Netanyahu and Gantz had proposed pushing off Tuesday’s deadline by two more weeks in an effort to reach a compromise on the 2020 budget. But members of their own parties voted against the motion in a late-night, 11th hour break from party ranks.

We do not want elections and we voted against them this evening, but we are not afraid of elections because we will win! the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

Once parliament dissolves, Israelis will head to the polls in March for a fourth time since early 2019, this time in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, a major economic recession, and while Netanyahu is on trial for a series of corruption charges.

Netanyahu also faces a challenger from within his own camp, Gideon Saar, who broke from the Likud party earlier this month and has called for the long-ruling prime minister’s ouster. Several members of Netanyahu’s party who shot down Tuesday’s proposal are expected to join ranks with Saar.

‘My second life’: California nurse walks out of hospital after 8-month COVID-19 ordeal

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Last spring in a tragic role reversal, Pambuan became one of those patients – admitted to the intensive care unit of St. Mary Medical Center, her workplace for the past 40 years, where she was rendered unconscious by paralysis-inducing sedation and placed on a ventilator to breathe. A feeding tube was later added.

She came close to death on several occasions, her doctors later revealed. So dire was her condition at one point that end-of-life options were discussed with her family.

By the time she awoke and could breathe on her own again, she was too weak to stand. But she fought back and struggled through weeks of painful therapy to regain her strength and mobility, celebrating her 66th birthday in St. Mary’s acute rehabilitation ward in late October.

On Monday Pambuan beat the odds of her eight-month ordeal by walking out the front door of the hospital, drawing cheers, applause and exhilaration from colleagues lining the lobby to rejoice in her discharge.

“This is my second life,” Pambuan said moments earlier, as she prepared to leave her hospital room, accompanied by her husband, Daniel, 63, and their daughter, Shantell, 33, an aspiring social worker who spent months at her mother’s bedside as her patient advocate and personal cheerleader.

The spectacle of Pambuan striding slowly but confidently through the hospital lobby – she had insisted on making her exit without assistance of a wheelchair or walker, although was still connected to supplementary oxygen – marked a transformative victory for the diminutive but tough ICU nurse.

The outpouring of affection she received from colleagues – including many of the physicians, fellow nurses and therapists who took part in her care – also reflected a rare moment of communal triumph for the pandemic-weary hospital staff.

“This is what we live for … seeing our patients going home alive and in good condition,” said Dr. Maged Tanios, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at St. Mary. He said Pambuan’s recovery was especially rewarding since she is part of the hospital’s extended “family.”

Tanios said he was not aware of other St. Mary medical staff being admitted to the ICU for COVID. However, studies show frontline healthcare workers’ frequent, close contact with coronavirus patients puts them at higher risk of contracting the disease, hence the decision to give them top priority in getting immunized.

Pambuan’s discharge, ironically, coincided with the recent rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to medical workers, as well as a crushing surge in coronavirus infections that have overwhelmed hospitals, and ICUs in particular, across California.

Pambuan said she has no recollection of the four months she spent hooked to a breathing machine – from early May to early September – but recalls first waking up from deep sedation unable to move her extremities.

With encouragement from nursing staff and her daughter Pambuan said she grew determined to regain her mobility and her life.

“I said, ‘No, I’m going to fight this COVID,’” she recounted. “I start moving my hand (and) a physical therapist come and say, ‘Oh, you’re moving your hands,’ and I said, ‘Oh, I’m going to fight, I’m going to fight. I’m trying to wiggle my toes. I’m going to fight it.’”

Pambuan spent the last few months of her hospital stay undergoing physical and respiratory rehabilitation and will continue recuperation from home, while making peace, she said, with a change in pace.

“It’s going to be very difficult for me,” she said. “But I have to accept it, that I’m going to be on oxygen for a while and slow down a little bit.”

When or if she will return to work in the ICU remains an open question, she said.

In the meantime, Pambuan said she feels indebted to her co-workers for their “really professional” care, grateful for the support of loved ones and newly convinced of the power of optimism.

Her message to others in her shoes – “Don’t lose hope. Just fight. Fight, because look at me, you know. I’m going home and I’m walking.”

Donald Trump refuses to sign COVID-19 relief bill, seeks USD 2,000 stimulus payment

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Washington, Dec 23: US President Donald Trump has refused to sign the COVID-19 relief bill, saying the USD 600 stimulus payment to most Americans was not enough as he asked Congress to increase the amount to USD 2,000.

Trump, in a video posted on Twitter on Tuesday night, said that the bill delivered too much money to foreign countries, but not enough to Americans.

A few months ago, Congress started negotiations on a new package to get urgently needed help to the American people. It’s taken forever. However, the bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated. It really is a disgrace, he said.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was part of the negotiations.

Despite all of this wasteful spending and much more, the USD 900 billion package provides hardworking taxpayers with only USD 600 each in relief payments, and not enough money is given to small businesses and in particular restaurants whose owners have suffered so grievously,” said the president in his video.

“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low USD 600 dollars to USD 2,000, or USD 4,000 for a couple,” he said.

Congress passed the USD 900 billion pandemic relief bill on Monday night to provide cash to businesses and individuals, and resources for vaccination amidst the raging COVID-19 pandemic. The bill went to President Trump for his signature.

However, Trump said: “I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items in this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package. And maybe that administration will be me, and we will get it done”.

Trump’s proposal was immediately supported by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it! Pelosi said in a tweet soon thereafter.

Congressman Brendan Boyle, who had initially moved a legislation for USD 2,000 cheque, welcomed the demand of President Trump.

I am the co-sponsor of legislation for USD 2,000 stimulus cheques. So, I welcome the sudden support of Trump, he said in a tweet.

With so many Americans suffering, Congress had one job. To help Americans and small businesses get through this crisis, not help every other country and every other pork project out there. Just once, don’t spend for the sake of spending. Know your priorities, Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley said.

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has also been seeking an increase in stimulus cheques.

One USD 600 check isn’t enough. A weekly USD 300 of enhanced unemployment assistance isn’t enough. We’re putting money in people’s pockets, but in a crisis of this scale, people need and deserve so much more. I’ll keep fighting to deliver that, she said in a tweet on Monday.

Bhutan announces seven-day nationwide lock down amid new COVID-19 cases

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While only designated shops within the zones and essential services will be available, all schools, institutions, offices and business establishments should remain closed

Lotay Tshering

THIMPHU: Bhutan will go on lockdown for seven days starting from Tuesday amid rising case of Covid-19 cases, announced Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering.

In a statement, Tshering announced that a nationwide lockdown will be enforced for seven days, starting December 23, adding that the lockdown will enable the government to control the spread of the disease and also discern the extent of transmission in the communities.

“In continuation to the inter-district movement restriction imposed this morning, the national COVID-19 Taskforce decided the need for a more stringent action after detection of sporadic cases in flu clinics in Thimphu and Paro, and also in Lhamoizingkha, which is evident of local transmission,” the statement read.

As per a bulletin by Ministry of Health of the Himalayan Kingdom on December 22, the total number of COVID-19 cases stood at 479 out of which 430 have recovered. Bhutan is yet to record a COVID-19 fatality.

While only designated shops within the zones and essential services will be available, all schools, institutions, offices and business establishments should remain closed.

Similarly, movement of individuals with the card within the zones and delivery of essentials will start in Thimphu tomorrow, as it completes the third day of lockdown. However, zone relaxation will not apply to houses under isolation, the statement noted.

US President-elect Joe Biden publicly receives first course of Pfizer-Biotech COVID-19 vaccine

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Dr Jill Biden, having already received the first course of the vaccine earlier in the day, was also present on the occasion.

US President-elect Joe Biden receives his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at ChristianaCare Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., Monday, Dec. 21. (Photo | AP)

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday publicly received the COVID-19 vaccine and said he was doing this to demonstrate that people should be ready to take the vaccine when it is available.

Biden received the first course of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at ChristianaCare Hospital.

“I am doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it’s available to take the vaccine. There’s nothing to worry about,” he said.

Tabe Masa, Nurse Practitioner and Head of Employee Health Services at ChristianaCare Hospital, administered the vaccine.

Dr Jill Biden, having already received the first course of the vaccine earlier in the day, was also present on the occasion.

“Today, I received the COVID-19 vaccine. To the scientists and researchers who worked tirelessly to make this possible – thank you. We owe you an awful lot,” Biden said in a tweet.

“And to the American people know there is nothing to worry about. When the vaccine is available, I urge you to take it,” he said.

“This is what leadership looks like,” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said in a tweet.

She will publicly receive the vaccine next week.

38 states file anti-trust lawsuit against Google

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Denver, Dec 17: A group of 38 states filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google on Thursday, alleging that the search giant has an illegal monopoly over the online search market that hurts consumers and advertisers.

The lawsuit, announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, was filed in federal court in Washington, DC by states represented by bipartisan attorneys general.

Consumers are denied the benefits of competition, including the possibility of higher quality services and better privacy protections. Advertisers are harmed through lower quality and higher prices that are, in turn, passed along to consumers, Weiser said in press release.

The lawsuit was joined by the attorneys general of dozens of states including Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

The case is the third antitrust salvo to slam Google during the past two months as the Department of Justice and attorneys general from across the US weigh in with their different variations on how they believe the company is abusing its immense power to do bad things that harm other businesses, innovation and even consumers who find its services to be indispensable.

In many ways, the flurry of US antitrust suits represent an attempt to catch up with European regulators who have spent the past several years trying to crack down on Google, mostly with huge fines, to little noticeable effect so far.

On Wednesday, 10 states led by Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google accusing it of anti-competitive conduct in the online advertising industry, including a deal to manipulate sales with rival Facebook.

It targeted the heart of Google’s business the digital ads that generate nearly all of its revenue, as well as all the money that its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., depends upon to help finance a range of far-flung technology projects.

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