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At long last, National Institutes of Health (NIH) principal deputy director Lawrence Tabak admitted to Congress Thursday that US taxpayers funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China in the months and years before the COVID-19 pandemic. “Dr. Tabak,” asked Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, “did NIH fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through [Manhattan-based nonprofit] EcoHealth [Alliance]?” “It depends on your definition of gain-of-function research,” Tabak answered. “If you’re speaking about the generic term, yes, we did.”

Menendez’s statement about his wife was released just after opening statements were completed and the presentation of evidence began at his trial in Manhattan federal court. The trial’s first witness was an FBI agent, Aristotelis Kougemitros, who described leading a June 2022 raid on the couple’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home. He testified that two 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) gold bars, 11 1-ounce gold bars and $486,461 in cash were among valuables found in the home, along with cellphones and jewelry. In all, 52 items were seized. At first, Kougemitros said, the FBI had directed agents to photograph any cash that was...

Sir Keir Starmer has set out what Labour would do first if it wins this year's general election. The Labour leader unveiled a pledge card with six key policies, including delivering "economic stability" and providing 40,000 more hospital appointments each week. Some of the pledges are more modest in scale than the five "national missions" Sir Keir announced last year. But he said they were the "first steps" towards Labour's bigger plans. Sir Keir's five missions include making the UK the fastest-growing major economy by the end of a first Labour term in government and achieving net zero carbon emissions...

The World Health Organization has accused Nigel Farage of spreading misinformation after he launched a campaign to block an international treaty designed to improve global pandemic preparedness. WHO member states are negotiating a deal to shore up cooperation against new pathogens. If adopted, the legally binding treaty would commit countries to helping each other in the event of a pandemic, increase research and sharing of data, and promote fair access to vaccines. But populist figures including Farage and a number of Tory MPs are lobbying the UK government to block the deal, claiming that it will give the WHO power...

BANSKA BYSTRICA - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is no longer in a life-threatening condition after he was shot in an assassination attempt when leaving a government meeting on May 15, a government minister said.The gunman shot Mr Fico, 59, five times, initially leaving the prime minister in critical condition and undergoing surgery hours later on the evening of May 15.“I was very shocked ... fortunately as far as I know the operation went well - and I guess in the end he will survive ... he’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment,” Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and...

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have both accepted an invitation from CNN to debate on June 27, a historically early showdown that will set the tone for the final months of the 2024 campaign.

"Today, based on evidence uncovered in @COVIDSelect's recent report, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services commenced formal debarment proceedings against EcoHealth Alliance. EcoHealth will now face an immediate, government-wide suspension of taxpayer funds — including a hold on all active grants," read a tweet issued by the Subcommittee on May 15. Senator @RandPaul (R, KY), who has been the most ardent member of Congress demanding answers for the pandemic since its outbreak, celebrated the news with a tweet of his own. Paul wrote, "Finally, the Biden Admin. agrees to ban Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance, who financed the...

Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in San Jose, California arrested Filippo Molinari, an Italian immigrant who sold subscriptions to L’Italia, a popular newspaper in his Italian American community. While held in custody, Molinari asked why he was being detained, only to be told that his arrest was “by order of the President.” A few days later, FBI agents forced Molinari and approximately 500 other “enemy aliens”—including more Italian nationals as well as Japanese and German immigrants from California—onto a train bound for an internment center in Missoula, Montana. Later, Molinari recalled how cold...

Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) surprise appearance at a Manhattan courthouse to support former President Trump, and his qualified answer about supporting the results of the 2024 election, show he’s challenging Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) as the Senate front-runner to be Trump’s running mate in the fall. GOP senators and strategists say it’s hard to predict whom Trump will choose, but they say Scott and Vance are viewed as the two most likely choices within the Senate GOP conference. Vance and Scott are stepping up their efforts to grab Trump’s attention by staying close to his orbit and showing off their...

Opening statements in Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) federal bribery and obstruction trial are set to begin Wednesday in Manhattan. Federal prosecutors have alleged Menendez and his wife Nadine accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes in exchange for the senator’s political power, which they said enriched several New Jersey businessmen, as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar. The bribes were allegedly paid in the form of cash, gold bars, mortgage payments, a Mercedes-Benz convertible and other lavish gifts. Jury selection began in the case Tuesday. Judge Sidney H. Stein said seemed optimistic that it could wrap up...

In London, 'Nura' from Eritrea, has been warned she could be sent to Rwanda. She said she wouldn't have come to the UK if she had known.

Brexiteer Nigel Farage said he has a “firm job offer” on the table related to Donald Trump’s U.S. re-election campaign. In an interview with U.K. broadcaster Talk, former Brexit Party leader Farage — who has repeatedly flirted with a new gig stateside — said he’s been offered the chance to “indirectly” help the Republican candidate’s fresh bid for the White House. “I do actually have a very firm job offer on the table from America, which is very, very tempting,” Farage told Talk presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer. “It’s a confidential offer, obviously, but it would be very heavily involved with the...

Google unleashes AI in search, raising hopes for better results and fears about less web traffic, a shift promising to quicken the quest for information while also potentially disrupting the flow of money-making internet traffic.

King Charles III marked another first in his reign this week, unveiling the first official portrait of himself since his coronation last year. Charles and his wife Queen Camilla were on hand Tuesday as the king's portrait was unveiled at Buckingham Palace. The portrait, which stands over 6 feet tall, was painted over the course of three years by Jonathan Yeo, a U.K.-based artist, according to the palace. The painting features a striking red background and shows Charles wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975, according to the palace.

President Joe Biden’s mediocre polling numbers and a difficult Senate map contribute to a somber mood for Democrats less than six months before Election Day. But there’s reason for Democratic optimism in one key Senate race, even as legal issues make one House member look more vulnerable while a GOP member’s status is in flux. With the complexities of a potential independent run for reelection by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Arizona emerging as one of the country’s top battlegrounds, the Arizona Senate race had been rated as a Toss-up for months. But Inside Elections has now changed the rating of...

One of Europe’s most notorious people-smugglers has been arrested in Iraq following a BBC investigation. Barzan Majeed was arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday morning, a senior government official said. For several years, he and his gang were heavily involved in the people-smuggling trade - in boats and lorries - across the English Channel. The BBC tracked down Majeed - also known as Scorpion - to the city of Sulaymaniya, where he said he had transported thousands of migrants across the channel. “Maybe a thousand, maybe 10,000. I don’t know, I didn’t count,” he said. A senior member of the...

Sen. Bob Menendez is set to stand trial in Manhattan federal court starting Monday in a sprawling corruption case brought by prosecutors who say the New Jersey Democrat accepted bribes, acted as a foreign agent and obstructed justice. The onetime chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee vowed to defend himself since an initial indictment alleged he and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, which included cash, gold bars and a luxury vehicle. Attorneys for Menendez have previewed in court filings possible defenses the senator could lean on, including potentially putting the blame on his wife....

The news of a contentious and allegedly stolen diary of the US President's daughter has surfaced time and again online. Latest reports have emerged stating that Ashley Biden has sent a letter to a New York Judge acknowledging the diary is true. However, these reports are not confirmed at the moment. Wading into the controversy, a fact-checking website named Snopes has claimed that the contents written by the First Daughter in her journal are true. The 'leaked diary' which was sold to a Conservative self-claimed media outlet Project Veritas mentioned the sexual trauma the author faced at a very young...

A Washington, D.C., judge who released on bail a teenager accused of firing over two dozen rounds at a car full of people along a busy street has a social media presence filled with progressive activism and a financial link to progressive mega donor George Soros. Lloyd U. Nolan, Jr., a magistrate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, is in the spotlight this week after he ordered that 18-year-old Amonte Moody be released from custody before his trial despite accusations he sprayed a D.C. neighborhood with shots from an AR-15 while targeting a car carrying four...

Howard University has canceled their nursing graduation ceremony after family members began smashing windows and pounding on doors after being locked out due to the venue reaching full capacity. Parents and family members of College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences students crammed into the Cramton Auditorium in Washington, DC, on Thursday; however, some did not enter the building before the keynote speech abruptly ended the ceremony.