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President Biden Talks with the Chinese President
President Biden Talks with the Chinese President
by Zain Mohktar
On Monday, November 15th, President Biden spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping in a 3-hour virtual session. There are very thin relations between the Chinese government and the United States. According to some people, China-America relations deteriorated in the term of the previous President, Donald Trump. They spoke about climate change, trade, the pandemic and arms control, Human rights, and the matter of Taiwan independence. President Biden has stated he does not support Taiwan’s independence. Part of the meeting's progress was to relax visa restrictions on journalists from both countries. They have agreed that increased cooperation between China and the United States is crucial.
President Biden and President Xi Jinping were both vice presidents at the same time and President Biden stated that he spent more time with President Xi Jinping than any other head of state. President Biden talked about his concern about the abuse of the Uyghur minority. The Uyghur minority is of Turkic ethnicity in Northwest China. It was mentioned during the meeting that issues concerning North Korea and Iran would require coordination with China. President Biden was partly disappointed that he could not meet with President Xi Jinping in person.
First Case of New Omicron Variant of Covid-19 in United States
First Case of New Omicron Variant of Covid-19 in United States
by Zain Mohktar
December 1, 2021. U.S officials confirmed the first case of the new Omicron strain of COVID in California. Recently, this has caused a lot of confusion. The first country where the Omicron variant was first identified was in South Africa and it spread in European countries and Canada. The U.S imposed a flight restriction on non-citizens who have traveled to South Africa in the last 14 days. The European Union did the same. The new strain is highly mutable with 50 mutations currently identified.
President Biden said the COVID vaccines currently are believed to provide some protection against the new Omicron variant. The World Health Organization stated that Omicron is in 23 countries. Health officials also warned people to get their booster shots and to do basic health practices such as washing your hands and social distance.
President Biden Hopes to Prevent a Russian Military Invasion of Ukraine
President Biden Hopes to Prevent a Russian Military Invasion of Ukraine
by Zain Mohktar
December 4, 2021. President Biden’s administration said this Friday, December 3 that it was consulting with Congress to discuss options to persuade Russia not to launch its potential second attack on Ukraine in the decade. Both Russia and Ukraine accuse that both countries are building their troops on their borders. The first Russian attack on Ukraine was in 2014 and they annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine secretary of state Anthony Blinken warns Russia to remove its troops from the border with Ukraine many international sanctions have been placed on Russia for the 2014 invasion of Ukraine which is now an ongoing conflict.
Earlier this week NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg stated that any aggression on Ukraine that is by Russia the Russians will face dire consequences. World leaders support Ukrainian sovereignty. The Russian government recently expelled American Diplomats from Moscow.
U.S District Court Stops President Biden Mandate for Federal Contractors
U.S District Court Stops President Biden Mandate for Federal Contractors
by Zain Mohktar
December 8, 2021. The U.S Southern District in Georgia stopped President Biden's Mandate for Federal contractors on December 7 Tuesday. The District Court said the associated Builders and Contractors, a group that represents the construction industry, likely correct that President Biden exceeded his power. The White house press secretary Jen Psaki said The Justice department will ‘’vigorously defend’’ the mandate in court.
President Biden issued a executive order earlier this year on September 9,2021 mandating that contractors be vaccinated against Covid-19 and follow Covid restrictions. The White house gave until December 8 to comply with the mandate but it is now extended to January 4,2022. The court told President BIden to stop the mandate to all covered contractors in any state in the U.S.
Kentucky Tornado Kills More than Fifty People
Kentucky Tornado Kills More than Fifty People
by Zain Mohktar
December 11, 2021. The Governor of Kentucky said that more than Fifty people died in a series of tornadoes on Friday December 10.He also said that four tornadoes went through the state and nearly 60,000 Kentuckians lost electricity. Other Tornadoes happened in some states near Kentucky.Kentucky emergency Management Director Michael Dosset said the tornado is a significant disaster event .
It is stated that closer to one hundred people may have potentially lost their lives in the tornado.
Omicron: The New COVID-19 Variant Hits the States
Omicron: The New COVID-19 Variant Hits the States
By Elly Wu Feng
Do you know what’s the newest COVID-19 variant?
Not the Delta Variant, it’s the Omicron Variant. The new variant Omicron got its name from the World Health Organization (WHO). It was named after the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. The word Omicron means little O in Greek. The World Health Organization (WHO) named it after Greek letters to avoid public confusion and stigmas.
Where was the new variant first discovered?
The new variant was first found in a specimen collected on November 9, 2021 by scientists in Southern Africa. However, based on new investigations and evidence shown, scientists now believe that Omicron was actually already in circulation in other countries before it was discovered by scientists in South Africa. There are a growing number of cases being discovered with no travel connection to the region, suggesting community transmission is taking place. [CNBC] Meaning cases were identified with the patients having no travel record to or from South Africa.
What are the symptoms of the Omicron variant?
According to information provided up to this point, symptoms of the new variant are akin, or similar, to symptoms of the Delta variant and COVID-19. Experts say omicron symptoms appeared to be comparatively mild so far.
Common symptoms include:
Fever
Cough
Shortness of breath
Muscle aches
Fatigue
Congestions
Runny nose
How many countries have detected the Omicron variant so far? How about travel restrictions and bans?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 77 countries have detected the Omicron variant so far. Including the US, the US confirmed its first case of the new variant on December 1, 2021, in a vaccinated traveler who returned to California after a trip to South Africa. Since then, a total of 35 states in the US have detected Omicron.The United States, Japan, Israel, Morocco and several other countries have enacted international travel restrictions in response to the new variant. A good deal of countries have enacted travel restrictions in response to the new variant. Like the US, Japan, Israel, Morocco,
Is it more deadly and contagious than the Delta variant?
Scientists in South Africa said that the new Omicron variant appeared to spread more than twice as fast as the Delta variant. The new variant is considered the most contagious version of Coronavirus yet. Scientists and doctors say that Omicron is fast spreading, but perhaps less severe. As of December 2021, no one worldwide who tested positive has died. That means there’s no death involving the Omicron variant, yet.
What can I do to protect myself and the people around me?
Here's some ways to avoid getting infected with the Omicron variant, according to scientists and doctors.
ALWAYS wear a mask when you’re going out, remind others too!
AVOID crowds!
Get VACCINATED if you’re eligible, adults can also choose to receive the booster shot. It’s a great way to protect yourself and everyone around you!
WATCH OUT for symptoms of the viruses, if you’re feeling sick, stay home and go get tested!
WASH YOUR HANDS before you eat! It’s understandable that when it comes to food it’s hard to resist. But you don’t want to eat foods that contain germs, right? So wash your hands before you begin your meal. It’s also very important to clean your hands after you touch something. You never know how many people touched it before you did, and how many germs the object has.
Practice SOCIAL DISTANCING! Stay at least 6 feet away from other people.
The Dyker Heights Christmas Lights
The Dyker Heights Christmas Lights
By: Jessica Ndregjoni
The Dyker Heights Lights have been an iconic tourist attraction for many years. The Christmas lights start the day after Thanksgiving and they end on New Year’s Eve. The lights are visible everyday of the week starting at around dusk until 10pm at night. People come from all different places just to see the lights shine in the Dyker community.
You can find Christmas lights from 11th Avenue to 13th Avenue and from 83rd to 86th Street. But you can feel free to look around near the other streets and avenues nearby as many homeowners are in the holiday spirit. Dyker Heights Lights are so popular that almost everyone in the nearby neighborhoods come by at some point during the holiday season to support their fellow neighbors and try to find parking at some point. In fact, it is estimated that about one hundred thousand to one hundred fifty thousand people come by to see the Christmas lights annually.
The decorative lights are bright and colorful and fill the surrounding areas with holiday cheer. Some of the homeowners of the nearby houses had designed them to look like gingerbread houses, Santa's workshop, walking through wonderland and many more designs. These elaborate lights can brighten up anyone's day and help them get into the holiday mood. These lights take much work to set up and decorate, but it is all worth it in the end.
They are a very popular tourist attraction because many of the homeowners decorate very elaborate and put in much thought into the different causes that these homeowners decorate their house for. Most of these causes are towards helping children. These homeowners can also give out some little gifts like candy canes, bracelets, and maybe even small toys some people.
This tradition started in the 80s when Lucy Spata started this tradition when she moved into the neighborhood in the 1980s. She did this to remember her mother who had started the tradition of decking out the house to be as festive as possible. They add in a little more decor each year to their houses.
The Dyker Heights Christmas lights just to show that even small family traditions can turn into a huge community tradition. The Dyker Heights Christmas lights are a must see on anyone's bucket list even if you live close by or far away.
THE SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS
THE SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS
Will you be able to get all your holiday gifts?
By Edwin Dong
It’s that time of year again; children merrily writing their wish lists and parents hurriedly buying groceries and gifts for their families. However, that may not be the case this year, due to the pandemic, many companies laid off their workers resulting in slower production and lesser quantities. This then snowballs into many other problems.
The lack of supply has affected many markets including the technology, food, and toy industries. Recently, in many grocery stores, there has been a lack of holiday foods and drinks, so the prices of these items have since skyrocketed and don’t seem to be coming down anytime soon. The technology industry has also taken a blow from the reduced production of microchips as they rely on them for everything from cars to washing machines.
The cause of this crisis? Mass production and delivery of surgical masks. Ever since the pandemic, China and other large countries have been focusing on quarantining their citizens and getting masks to every corner of the world. The production of said masks took priority over the production of random necessities. To add onto the problem, most large companies/factories let go of most of their workers in fear of bankruptcy, further slowing down production of some of these lesser essential items. Due to that, stores all around the world are running out of supplies. Professor George John of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management once said “Availability is going to be varied across places, so check all the usual places and some of the not so usual places.” Additionally, some experts suggest that you buy items as early as you can. However, there doesn’t seem to be any real solution to this problem besides “stop consuming so much” as Raj Patel told Los Angeles Times.
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