In an executive order signed yesterday, President Trump officially declared that Hong Kong “is no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify differential treatment in relation to the People’s Republic of China”. This designation has been expected, and is in retaliation to China’s recently passed national security legislation on Hong Kong. Hong Kong…
Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Yields Promising Results in Trial
July 14, 2020
In clinical trials, Biotech company Moderna’s vaccine candidate against COVID-19 has effectively produced antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. 45 of the 45 people (or 100%) injected with the vaccine candidate yielded an amount of antibodies exceeding the antibody levels of patients who’ve recovered from COVID-19. Moderna says the…
Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty; Man Executed for First Time in 17 Years
July 14, 2020
Four death row inmates had their scheduled executions halted at the last minute by a Federal Court “on the ground that the [execution method] likely constitutes cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment”. This morning, however, the Supreme Court disagreed, arguing that methods like the lethal injection arranged…
$511 Billion in Taxes Left Unpaid to IRS in 2018
July 13, 2020
In 2018, United States taxpayers owed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about $511 billion in delinquent tax debt. Delinquent tax debt arises “when taxpayers file a return without paying taxes owed in full”. Since 2010, over $400 billion of the taxes owed annually were left unpaid. “Most of the unpaid taxes…