OUR PICKSMonitoring Social Media Platforms | More “Lab-Made Covid” Controversy | Rising Illegal Border Crossings, and more
··Why Biden’s Block on Chips to China Is a Big Deal
U.S. export controls will hurt Chinese industries
··Math Scores Fell in Nearly Every State, and Reading Dipped on National Exam
The pandemic had a devastating impact on students
··Scientists in Furious Row Over “Lab-Made Covid” Claims
Researchers behind lab-made-Covid article accused of “fixing” their results
··Illegal Border Crossings to US From Mexico Hit Annual High
A surge in migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in September
··Which COVID Studies Pose a Biohazard?
Questions about modifying SARS-CoV-2
··QAnon Is Backing These Sec. of State Candidates in 2024 Master Plan
Election deniers could control future elections
··Monitoring Social Media Platforms: How Intertemporal Dynamics Affect Radicalization Research
Extremism as phenomena emerges from the process of radicalization over time
··DOD, Intelligence Community Unprepared for Biological Threats
U.S. needs to be better prepared to respond to biological threats
Why Biden’s Block on Chips to China Is a Big Deal (Michael Schuman, The Atlantic)
The new U.S. export controls on semiconductor technology will hurt Chinese industries. Xi Jinping has only himself to blame.
Math Scores Fell in Nearly Every State, and Reading Dipped on National Exam (Sarah Mervosh and Ashley Wu, New York Times)
The results, from what is known as the nation’s report card, offer the most definitive picture yet of the pandemic’s devastating impact on students.
Scientists in Furious Row Over “Lab-Made Covid” Claims (Joe Pinkstone and Sarah Newey, The Telegraph)
Study purporting to have found evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was the result of human intervention has been branded ‘confected nonsense’.
Illegal Border Crossings to US From Mexico Hit Annual High (AP / VOA News)
A surge in migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in September brought the number of illegal crossings to the highest level ever recorded in a fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The year-end numbers reflect deteriorating economic and political conditions in some countries, the relative strength of the U.S. economy and uneven enforcement of Trump-era asylum restrictions.
Migrants were stopped 227,547 times in September at the U.S. border with Mexico, the third-highest month of Joe Biden’s presidency. It was up 11.5% from 204,087 times in August and 18.5% from 192,001 times in September 2021.
In the fiscal year that ended September 30, migrants were stopped 2.38 million times, up 37% from 1.73 million times the year before, according to figures released late Friday night. The annual total surpassed 2 million for the first time in August and is more than twice the highest level during Donald Trump’s presidency in 2019.
Nearly 78,000 migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua were stopped in September, compared to about 58,000 from Mexico and three countries of northern Central America that have historically accounted for most of the flow.
The remarkable geographic shift is at least partly a result of Title 42, a public health rule that suspends rights to see asylum under U.S. and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
