BLOGONITY

Reports of rising cases of a flu-like illness in China, where COVID-19 was first detected five years ago, sparked international concerns about the potential for another worldwide pandemic. But medical experts say the human metapneumovirus, known as HMPV, is no COVID-19. “That’s a routine virus that commonly causes upper respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis that might cause cough and sinuses,” says Dr. Paul Auwaerter, clinical director of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s division of infectious diseases. “I don’t feel we should be especially worried about it. It is not nearly as serious as influenza or COVID disease.” HMPV is a common virus that has been around at least since 2001. Children under five, particularly infants, and adults over 65 — especially those with health problems — can sometimes become seriously ill from HMPV. However, for most other people, the symptoms are generally mild. “Almost everyone has been infected with this virus by the age of five,” Auwaerter says. “HMPV has been here for, you know, a long time [and] has infected millions of people that already have immunity. It’s not as though this is a brand-new virus that might cause devastating problems.” On Sunday, China said cases of HMPV had declined among residents in its northern provinces, where the respiratory infections were rising. Chinese health officials say the number of patients seeking medical help remains lower compared to the same period last year. Still, some health experts are calling for more transparency in order to reduce the spread of rumors and misunderstandings. “International scholars are calling on China to disclose pathogen information and conduct genetic research to confirm that it is not a new virus. Even if it is an old virus, it could still be a new variant,” Dr. Ho Mei-Shang, a research fellow emeritus at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences in Taipei, told VOA’s Mandarin Service. Ho said China’s COVID-19 prevention measures during the pandemic curbed the spread of diseases, which led to a decline in herd immunity, potentially causing the current surge in cases over a short time period. Auwaerter agrees. “They stayed home, refrained from work, wore masks,” he says. “So, the usual cycles of acquiring an infection, for example, during the respiratory season of winter, people didn’t get infected. So, their specific immunity, they weren’t boosted, and so there was a larger population that might be more susceptible.” There is no real … “Despite international concerns, doctors say China flu-like virus is no COVID-19” →

— U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order Tuesday directing the development of artificial intelligence data centers on six federal land sites, with a special focus on powering them with clean energy and upholding high labor standards.  Biden said in a statement that the United States is the world leader in AI, but cannot take that lead for granted.  “We will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future, nor should we sacrifice critical environmental standards and our shared efforts to protect clean air and clean water,” Biden said.  The order calls for the Department of Defense and Department of Energy to each identify three suitable sites where private companies will lease the land, pay for the construction and operation of the data centers and ensure the supply of enough clean energy to fully power the sites.  The developers will also have to buy “an appropriate share” of semiconductors produced in the United States to help ensure there is a “robust domestic semiconductor supply chain,” the White House said.  In addition to identifying the sites, the federal government will also commit under the order to expedite the permitting process for the data center construction.  Senior administration officials, in a phone call with journalists previewing the order, highlighted the national security need for the United States to have its own powerful AI infrastructure, both to protect it for its own use but also to prevent adversaries such as China from possessing those capabilities.  “From the national security standpoint, it’s really critical to find a pathway for building the data centers and power infrastructure to support frontier AI operations here in the United States to ensure that the most powerful AI models continue to be trained and stored securely here in the United States,” an official said.  A senior administration official cited the priority of making sure the AI industry had an anchor in the United States to avoid repeating the history of other technologies that moved offshore to areas with lower labor and environmental standards as well.  AI chip restrictions  Tuesday’s order comes a day after the Biden administration announced new restrictions on the export of the most advanced artificial intelligence chips and proprietary parameters used to govern the interactions of users with AI systems.     The rule, which will undergo a 120-day period for public comments, comes in response to what administration officials … “Biden issues executive order for building AI data centers on federal land “ →

WASHINGTON — With 48 km of tall black temporary fencing, 25,000 law enforcement officers and security checkpoints set up to process hundreds of thousands of spectators, Washington is braced for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week. The Monday swearing-in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and parade to the White House will follow a weekend featuring protests by Trump’s opponents and parties and rallies by the Republican’s supporters. The inauguration follows a campaign marked by two attempts on Trump’s life — including one from a would-be assassin who nicked his ear with a bullet — and a pair of New Year’s Day attacks on ordinary Americans. In one, 14 people were killed and dozens injured when a U.S. Army veteran rammed a truck into a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans. The same day, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier detonated a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump-branded hotel in Las Vegas, killing himself. “We are in a higher-threat environment,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool at a Monday press briefing. The inauguration itself, when Trump formally takes the oath of office with members of Congress, the Supreme Court, his incoming administration and tens of thousands of others looking on, will take place on the Capitol steps, facing the Washington Monument. That is the same spot where, on Jan. 6, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters smashed windows, fought with police and sent lawmakers running for their lives in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump’s 2024 election rival, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, conceded her defeat in the Nov. 5 contest, unlike Trump who continues to falsely maintain that his loss was the result of fraud. Fear of lone wolf Security officials said they were not aware of any specific, coordinated threats to the inauguration. What they are worried about is lone wolves, such as the New Orleans attacker, or two separate incidents last week. In one, a man was arrested for trying to bring a machete into the Capitol. In the other, a man was arrested for trying to ignite a fire near the Capitol, according to U.S. Capitol Police. “That threat of the lone actor remains the biggest justification for us being at this heightened state of alert throughout the next week,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told the security briefing. The FBI and Department … “Washington braces for Trump inauguration with fortress-like fencing, extra police “ →

DES MOINES, Iowa — More than 150 recipients of the Nobel and World Food prizes released an open letter Tuesday calling for a dramatic increase in research and a commitment to new food distribution efforts with a goal of producing more crops and avoiding a global hunger crisis in coming decades. The letter notes that an estimated 700 million people now are “food insecure and desperately poor” but that without a “moonshot” effort to grow more and different kinds of food, far more people will be in dire need of food because of climate change and population growth. “As difficult and as uncomfortable as it might be to imagine, humanity is headed towards an even more food insecure, unstable world by mid-century than exists today, worsened by a vicious cycle of conflict and food insecurity,” states the letter, signed by 153 recipients of the two prizes. “Climate change is projected to decrease the productivity of most major staples when substantial increases are needed to feed a world which will add another 1.5 billion people to its population by 2050.” Corn production in Africa is expected to decline and much of the world could see more soil degradation and water shortages, the letter says. “We are not on track to meet future food needs. Not even close,” it adds. The letter grew from a meeting of food accessibility experts last fall. Despite the potential gloom, it holds out hope for an optimistic vision of the future if people take needed actions. The letter says that a dramatic increase in research funding coupled with more effective ways to share information and distribute food could prevent a hunger crisis. Brian Schmidt, who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 2011, said the need to dramatically increase food production in the coming decades is a huge challenge. He calls it a “destination with destiny,” but one that can be achieved with proper funding to enhance existing knowledge as well as global leadership. “It is an imminently solvable problem. It is a problem that will affect billions of people in 25 years. It is a problem that to solve it, there are no losers, only winners,” Schmidt said in an interview. “All we have to do is do it.” Schmidt said he hopes governments in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere can commit to solving the problem, but he thinks private groups like the Gates Foundation may … “153 winners of Nobel and World Food prizes seek new ways to grow food” →

In a report to Congress released early Tuesday, special counsel Jack Smith said his office had sufficient evidence to “obtain and sustain” a trial conviction of President-elect Donald Trump for efforts to overturn Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Smith said Trump “resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power” after it became clear that he had lost and that legal ways to challenge the results had failed. “This included attempts to induce state officials to ignore true vote counts; to manufacture fraudulent slates of presidential electors in seven states that he had lost; to force Justice Department officials and his own Vice President, Michael R. Pence, to act in contravention of their oaths and to instead advance Mr. Trump’s personal interests; and, on January 6 , 2021, to direct an angry mob to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification of the presidential election and then leverage rioters,” Smith said in his report. Smith said Trump acted both in his private capacity as an election candidate, as well as with the help of multiple co-conspirators, and that Trump tried to use “the power and authority of the United States Government in furtherance of his scheme.” The report further says that Trump’s false claims, such as votes being cast by large numbers of dead people or ineligible voters, or that voting machines had changed votes for Trump into votes for Biden, were “demonstrably and, in many cases, obviously false.” Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and attacked the special counsel’s work as politically motivated. He responded to the report’s release early Tuesday with a post on his Truth Social platform calling Smith “a lamebrain prosecutor.” “Deranged Jack Smith was unable to successfully prosecute the Political Opponent of his ‘boss,’ Crooked Joe Biden, so he ends up writing yet another ‘Report’ based on information that the Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs ILLEGALLY DESTROYED AND DELETED, because it showed how totally innocent I was, and how completely guilty Nancy Pelosi, and others, were,” Trump said. Trump is set to be inaugurated for a new term next week after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. During the 2024 campaign, Trump denied he lost the 2020 vote, including in a September debate with Harris.  Tuesday’s report release came a day after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon cleared the Justice Department to make … “US special counsel report says prosecutors had enough evidence to convict Trump in 2020 election case” →

The public could learn as early as Tuesday new details about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. A federal judge has cleared the U.S. Department of Justice to release special counsel Jack Smith’s report about Trump’s efforts to cling to power as he falsely claimed he won the election and a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, had earlier blocked the release of Smith’s full report, which also includes a section about accusations that Trump illegally retained classified documents after he left office. Judge Cannon on Monday ruled the Justice Department can release the election interference portion, but not the classified documents section. Smith sought to prosecute Trump on both matters, while Trump denied wrongdoing. Judge Cannon dismissed the classified documents case in July, ruling that Smith was illegally appointed. The Supreme Court also ruled in July that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution for official acts, which blunted Smith’s efforts in the election interference case. After Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, the Justice Department dropped both cases against Trump, citing longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting U.S. leader. Trump is set to be inaugurated for a new term on Jan. 20. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters …

California firefighters backed by fresh reinforcements of manpower and equipment prepared for the potential of new or worsening wildfires in southern California on Tuesday amid warnings of high winds and dry conditions. The National Weather Service said wind gusts Tuesday could exceed 100 kph, putting large areas of southern California under extreme fire danger warnings. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Monday that firefighters were “absolutely better prepared” than when a series of wildfires rapidly emerged last week, but that the wind gusts could force authorities to ground the aircraft critical to the firefighting effort. Such restrictions were in place for part of last week as four major fires burned. Together, those blazes have scorched more than 160 square kilometers. Firefighters have brought one fire fully under control, while another north of Los Angeles was 97% percent contained. Danger remained from the two largest fires, including the Palisades Fire on the western side of Los Angeles that has burned 96 square kilometers and was 14% contained as of late Monday, according to the California Department of Foresty and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The other major fire was the Eaton Fire in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on the east side of the city. That fire was 33% contained and has burned 57 square kilometers, Cal Fire said. The fires have killed at least 24 people, while authorities continue to search for dozens of people who have been reported missing. About 100,000 people in the region remained under evacuation orders. U.S. President Joe Biden pledged additional federal support on Monday and said during a briefing at the White House, “We’re going to keep doing everything possible to help you get through this.” “It was a heartbreaking weekend for a lot of people in Los Angeles,” Biden said. “Ash was raining down like snow, homes burned to the ground. Thousands of those homes are gone. And we learned we lost more of our fellow Americans. So, let’s say again to the people of Los Angeles, we’re with you.” The president also praised the work of emergency responders. “Los Angeles is the City of Angels, and you’re now the angels,” Biden said. “You’re the angels literally saving people’s lives, and we owe you.” Biden said the federal government was providing aid to help with overtime pay for firefighters, debris removal and temporary shelters. He said the region will need … “California firefighters ‘better prepared’ amid wind-fueled extreme fire threat” →

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin will try again to launch its massive new rocket as early as Tuesday after calling off the debut launch because of ice buildup in critical plumbing. The 98-meter New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn Monday with a prototype satellite. But ice formed in a purge line for a unit powering some of the rocket’s hydraulic systems and launch controllers ran out of time to clear it, according to the company. Founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin said Tuesday’s poor weather forecast could cause more delay. Thick clouds and stiff wind were expected at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The test flight already had been delayed by rough seas that posed a risk to the company’s plan to land the first-stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic. New Glenn is named after the first American to orbit Earth, John Glenn. It is five times taller than Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket that carries paying customers to the edge of space from Texas. Bezos founded the company 25 years ago. He took part in Monday’s countdown from Mission Control, located at the rocket factory just outside the gates of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. No matter what happens, Bezos said this weekend, “We’re going to pick ourselves up and keep going.” …

A massive relief effort is underway in Los Angeles to help the tens of thousands of people who have lost their homes or have been evacuated from the paths of fires that have ravaged the area since last week. Genia Dulot reports from the Pasadena Convention Center, which is now an emergency shelter for evacuees. …

The California fires have affected tens of thousands of residents in the Los Angeles area, including many Thai Americans, including Bui Simon, 1988’s Miss Universe. She posted on Instagram about the damage the fires caused to her residence in Malibu. The fires also have hurt businesses in the diaspora community. Click here for the full story in Thai. …

Raging wildfires in Los Angeles, fueled by strong winds, have destroyed homes and businesses, including those owned by Indonesian diaspora in the area. The Indonesian Consulate in Los Angeles has urged vigilance and is offering emergency assistance for those impacted.    Click here for the full story in Indonesian. …

WASHINGTON — Despite failing to deliver his promise for broad student loan forgiveness, President Joe Biden has now overseen the cancellation of student loans for more than 5 million Americans — more than any other president in U.S. history. In a last-minute action on Monday, the Education Department canceled loans for 150,000 borrowers through programs that existed before Biden took office. His administration expanded those programs and used them to their fullest extent, pressing on with cancellation even after the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s plan for a new forgiveness policy. “My Administration has taken historic action to reduce the burden of student debt, hold bad actors accountable, and fight on behalf of students across the country,” Biden said in a written statement. In total, the administration says it has waived $183.6 billion in student loans. The wave of cancellations could dry up when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump hasn’t detailed his student loan policies but previously called cancellation “vile” and illegal. Republicans have fought relentlessly against Biden’s plans, saying cancellation is ultimately shouldered by taxpayers who never attended college or already repaid their loans. Biden loosened rules for debt forgiveness The latest round of relief mostly comes through a program known as borrower defense, which allows students to get their loans canceled if they’re cheated or misled by their colleges. It was created in 1994 but rarely used until a wave of high-profile for-profit college scandals during the Obama administration. A smaller share of the relief came through a program for borrowers with disabilities and through Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which was created in 2007 and offers to erase all remaining debt for borrowers in a government or nonprofit job who make 10 years of monthly payments. Most of Monday’s borrower defense cancellations were for students who attended several defunct colleges owned by Center for Excellence in Higher Education, including CollegeAmerica, Stevens-Henager College, and Independence University. They are based on past findings that the schools lied to prospective students about their employment prospects and the terms of private loans. Before Biden took office, those programs were criticized by advocates who said complex rules made it difficult for borrowers to get relief. The Biden administration loosened some of the rules using its regulatory power, a maneuver that expanded eligibility without going through Congress. As an example, just 7,000 borrowers had gotten their loans canceled through Public Service Loan Forgiveness before the … “Millions have had student loans canceled under Biden, despite collapse of his forgiveness plan” →

Elon Musk said a third person has received an implant from his brain-computer interface company Neuralink, one of many groups working to connect the nervous system to machines. “We’ve got … three humans with Neuralinks and all are working well,” he said during a recent wide-ranging interview at a Las Vegas event streamed on his social media platform X. Since the first brain implant about a year ago, Musk said the company has upgraded the devices with more electrodes, higher bandwidth and longer battery life. Musk also said Neuralink hopes to implant the experimental devices in 20 to 30 more people this year. Musk didn’t provide any details about the latest patient, but there are updates on the previous ones. The second recipient — who has a spinal cord injury and got the implant last summer — was playing video games with the help of the device and learning how to use computer-aided design software to create 3-D objects. The first patient, also paralyzed after a spinal cord injury, described how it helped him play video games and chess. But while such developments at Neuralink often attract notice, many other companies and research groups are working on similar projects. Two studies last year in the New England Journal of Medicine described how brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, helped people with ALS communicate better. Who’s working on brain-computer interface technology? More than 45 trials involving brain-computer interfaces are underway, according to a U.S. database of studies. The efforts are aimed at helping treat brain disorders, overcoming brain injuries and other uses. Many research labs have already shown that humans can accurately control computer cursors using BCIs, said Rajesh Rao, co-director of the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington. Rao said Neuralink may be unique in two ways: The surgery to implant the device is the first time a robot has been used to implant flexible electrode threads into a human brain to record neural activity and control devices. And those threads may record from more neurons than other interfaces. Still, he said, the advantages of Neuralink’s approach have yet to be shown, and some competitors have eclipsed the company in other ways. For example, Rao said companies such as Synchron, Blackrock Neurotech and Onward Medical are already conducting BCI trials on people “using either less invasive methods or more versatile approaches” that combine neural recording with stimulation. What are the … “Elon Musk says third patient got Neuralink brain implant” →

WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on an extreme right-wing online network, designating the “Terrorgram” collective a terrorist group and accusing it of promoting violent white supremacy.  The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it had designated the group, which primarily operates on the Telegram social media site, and three of its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.  The State Department said the group has motivated and facilitated attacks and attempted attacks by users, including a 2022 shooting outside an LGBTQ bar in Slovakia, a planned attack in 2024 on energy facilities in New Jersey and an August knife attack at a mosque in Turkey.  “The group promotes violent white supremacism, solicits attacks on perceived adversaries, and provides guidance and instructional materials on tactics, methods, and targets for attacks, including on critical infrastructure and government officials,” the State Department said.  The action freezes any of the group’s U.S. assets and bars Americans from dealing with it.  The leaders targeted on Monday with sanctions were based in Brazil, Croatia and South Africa, according to the statement.  In September, U.S. prosecutors unveiled criminal charges against two alleged leaders of the group, saying they used Telegram to solicit attacks on Black, Jewish, LGBTQ people and immigrants with the aim of inciting a race war.  Britain in April said it would proscribe the Terrorgram collective as a terrorist organization, meaning it would become a criminal offense in the country to belong to or promote the group.  U.S. President Joe Biden has railed against white supremacy while in office.  In 2021, Biden launched the first-ever U.S. National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, which included resources to identify and prosecute threats and new deterrents to prevent Americans from joining dangerous groups. …