Good Afternoon. It's Wednesday, December 23st, and you're listening to Ausum's Afternoon News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about. Today we bring you the top headlines from the top publications.

The New York Times reports that Omicron Drives U.S. Virus Cases and more than Past Delta's Peak. Yet, according to the BBC, while Omicron is more contingent, it is almost 70% less likely to need hospital care.

The Washington Post covers the topic as well and reports that Israel is now betting on a fourth booster shot after it saw the success of the third dose with dealing with the delta variant. That decision, though, is not based on new scientific data about the drug's effectiveness.

On a different subject, the Former police officer Kim Potter will go to jail after jury convicts her on ALL charges in shooting death Daunte Wright, according to Fox News.

The Guardian reports that Vladimir Putin has accused the west of “coming with its missiles to our doorstep” as he reiterated demands for no further NATO expansion in Europe.

The Wall Street Journal's top headline reports that Amazon Reaches Federal Settlement Allowing Workers More Leeway to Organize, according to an email sent by the company to more than a million of its employees.

Lastly, Business Insider states that China isn't the only nation nixing crypto currencies. In fact, 50 other countries have placed bans on digital currencies to date. That's more than twice as many as three years ago when the last report was published.

That's all for today. Be sure to download the Ausum app to get the full Ausum experience. Catch you next time for the Ausum News Briefing every weekday, morning, and afternoon.

Good Morning, it’s Thursday, December 23rd. And You’re listening to Ausum’s Morning News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

We will start off by focusing on Hong Kong. Yesterday, The Guardian reported that Hong Kong’s oldest university has removed a statue mourning those killed in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 triggering outcry and criticism. Guards have been posted at the site where the statue had stood for 20 years. Critics have said that this is an attempt to “rewrite history”.

Moving on, regarding the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the New York Times states that three separate research teams have all reached the conclusion that the new variant is not as severe as those earlier. This offers hope that this surge may not have as big of an impact as those prior. Further good news was noted within The Washington Post. This news source explained that despite the surge of Omicron within South Africa, the new variant appears to be clearing as quickly as it grew.

Within the US, The Washington Examiner described the Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments over Biden's COVID-19 vaccine-or-test measure for companies employing 100 or more workers. Furthermore, a case will be heard for challenging vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. Forbes reports that Biden said that he wished he had chosen to offer 500 million free at-home Covid-19 tests to Americans “two months ago”. Instead, Biden waited until this week. Now amid the surging cases, testing sites are dealing with long lines and limited testing supplies.

After a tornado killed 162 people in Joplin, Missouri, safety experts and cement manufacturers devised a method to save lives. The New York Times states that this required most new apartments, commercial structures and other large buildings in tornado-prone areas to include safe rooms. However, this proposal was blocked by a little known building organization that sets the building codes widely used across the nation. It is claimed by Jason Thompson, vice president of engineering at the National Concrete Masonry Association, that this is a product of groups trying to keep the cost of construction as low as possible.

Finally, The Guardian has reported that days after 160 people died off the coast in Libya, dozens of refugees are believed dead after a boat sank in Greek waters. The boat could have been carrying up to 50 people. This follows the EU strategy to deter migrants which meant in Greece a 25 mile-long (40km) steel wall along the land frontier was erected and a sound cannon capable of firing bursts of deafening noise was deployed.

That’s all for today. For the full Ausum experience, make sure to download the Ausum app. Catch us, every weekday, morning and afternoon.

Good Afternoon. It's Wednesday, December 22nd, and you’re listening to Ausum’s Afternoon News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

Kicking off today's brief with some good news on COVID.

The Washington Post reported data showing that the massive omicron outbreak in South Africa looks to be dissipating as rapidly as it arose. According to South Africa's leading infectious-disease scientist, the country has passed the peak of new cases. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa has published a study on omicron coronavirus, according to its findings, this variation is 80% less likely to result in hospitalization than the delta variant.

The Wall Street Journal covered two other studies, one in Scotland and another in England. Those infected with the Omicron variation of coronavirus have a two-thirds lower chance of hospitalization than those infected with earlier variants of the virus. The probability of hospitalization with Omicron is only about 10% to 11% lower than for someone who hasn't been vaccinated and has never been sick. And there is encouraging evidence that immunizations are still effective in preventing serious illness caused by the rapidly spreading strain. In Scotland, 83.6 percent of people aged 12 and up have had two doses of vaccination, with 56.6 percent receiving a third.

BBC explains that the reason Omicron is deemed milder is due to a combination of the fundamental features of the Omicron variation as well as high levels of immunity from immunizations and previous infections.

On top of that, Business Insider reported that Paxlovid, an antiviral pill produced by Pfizer to treat COVID-19, has been licensed by the FDA. Paxlovid will first be distributed to high-risk individuals over the age of 12. People must begin treatment within five days of exhibiting symptoms and is administered in the form of a five-day regimen consisting of 30 pills. Great news for doctors, since they will now have an easy-to-use option for treating the condition before hospitalization. Analysts predict that it will become one of the industry's best-selling drugs in 2022. Pfizer intends to boost the total production of the medicine from 80 million to 120 million treatment sessions.

The Hill explains that Paxlovid is regarded as a significant advance in the fight against the virus, with trials demonstrating that it lowered the chance of hospitalization or death by 89 percent in high-risk patients. And, Reuters added that recent lab data suggests the drug retains its effectiveness against Omicron.

While this is all good news, in the US it may take some time to look up.

CNN reports that Omicron has now been detected in every US state, including Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. It's been 22 days since the United States discovered its first case of Omicron, the last state Omicron was discovered in is South Dakota.

On the flip side, according to Forbes, the Biden Administration understands the severity of the situation and said in a statement on Wednesday that there will be an extension for the approximately 41 million Americans who receive federal student loans and he advised borrowers to be "vaccinated and boosted when eligible." Borrowers will not face additional interest, collections, or be required to make payments on federally backed student loans until the new deadline.

On the topic of spending, Fox News reports that The Congressional Progressive Caucus is urging President Biden to use his executive authority to put sections of the "Build Back Better" program into action. The White House has not ruled out taking executive action on the bill but has not discussed it.

But, The Guardian explains that the failure of the Build Back Better legislation would have terrible ramifications for the global climate catastrophe, making it nearly impossible for the United States to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals under the Paris Agreement. To recap, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin declared his opposition to the $1.75 trillion spending bill, which includes the country's largest-ever climate-crisis investment, allocating $555 billion to address the US's two largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions – energy and transportation – through a variety of grants, tax breaks, and other policies. It is by far the greatest portion of federal cash for Biden's climate crisis efforts, and experts say it will be hard to fulfill the administration's aim of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% without it.

That’s all for today. Be sure to download the Ausum app to get the full Ausum experience. Catch you next time for the Ausum News Briefing every weekday, morning, and afternoon.

Good Morning, it’s Wednesday, December 22nd. And You’re listening to Ausum’s Morning News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

Forbes reported on the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Within the US, last year Coronavirus claimed 350,000 lives and has led to the steepest decline in health expectancy since the second world war. Despite this, The Washington Post notes that within Biden’s speech he announced that, despite the Omicron surge, the US would not need to close schools or lockdown. The president argued that since there were high levels of vaccinations most would be protected from severe illness. Furthermore, The Washington Examiner states that California is now requiring a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot for healthcare workers, following the state’s daily average of new cases reaching 5,289.

Forbes further explained that Israel has approved its fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose and will begin administering it to older adults and healthcare workers. Regarding the pandemic’s economic impact, The Guardian states that America’s busiest ports have become clogged with containers as a result of climbing consumer sales, worker shortages and a slowdown of transportation hubs created a supply chain crisis.

Moving on, Harvard University professor Charles Lieber was convicted yesterday for lying to U.S. federal authorities about his ties to China. Axios explains that Leiber could face up to five years in jail for false statements about a Chinese government recruitment program.

Regarding US and Russian tensions, The Washington Post reported that even space is feeling the impact. Their International Space Station partnership has become more complicated with the two countries being at odds over issues like Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine.

After a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit California on Monday, The Guardian described the vital warning that reached phones in the state seconds before the earthquake. However, officials have said that even though alerts are improving, earthquake proofing homes is still important.

That’s all for today. For the full Ausum experience, make sure to download the Ausum app. Catch us, every weekday, morning and afternoon.

Good Morning, it’s Tuesday, December 21st. And You’re listening to Ausum’s Morning News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

The new highly infectious Covid-19 variant, Omicron, is reported by Forbes to have become the dominant variant within the United States with 73% of cases. However, Omicron has not distributed itself evenly over the US, the highest proportion of the variant lies within states such as Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Forbes adds that this has triggered Washington, D.C. into restoring it’s mask requirement for the state’s indoor public spaces. This will go into effect from Tuesday morning. Furthermore, Fox News notes that, within Housten, an unvaccinated man in his 50s with underlying health conditions is believed to be the first US death from the Omicron Variant. The Washington Examiner notified us that Biden has tested negative after coming into close contact with a staff member on Air Force One who tested positive for COVID-19. It is important to add that today at 2:30pm Biden will deliver a speech on how he plans to tackle Covid-19 over winter.

The Washington Post states that the Pentagon is updating its personnel policies. These changes aim to combat fears of extremism arising within the military. This follows the January 6th Capitol riot which military personnel and veterans took part in.

Last week senator Joe Manchin made the White House a concrete counter offer to Joe Biden’s spending bill. The Washington Post explains that Manchin’s offer included universal prekindergarten for 10 years, the expansion of Obamacare and hundreds of billions of dollars spent on combating climate change. However, the extension of the expanded child tax credit was left out.

Business Insider updated us on the extent of destruction and damage left behind by Typhoon Rai. It is stated that 375 people within the Philippines have been killed as a result and approximately 90-95% of houses and buildings in the province of Surigao del Norte were damaged.

That’s all for today. For the full Ausum experience, make sure to download the Ausum app. Catch us, every weekday, morning and afternoon.

Good Afternoon. It's Tuesday, December 21st, and you're listening to Ausum's Afternoon News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

BBC reports that due to the spread of Omicron, the World Health Organization has issued a warning of a Covid storm in Europe. And indeed Europ is preparing: Germany limits gathering during New Year's Eve parties and announced new, post-Christmas, restrictions. Portugal will close its nightclub and pubs; Scotland cancels all public celebrations for new year's eve; On the other hand, the UK is determined to keep the country's Christmas celebrations as planned.

And in the US, President Biden Biden announced 500 Million stimuli for at-home tests as part of a plan to ramp up the country's response to the surge of Omicron and urge Americans to meet their "patriotic duties" and get vaccinated.

But while the White House pushes for more tests, The Washington Post reports that demand for covid tests is already skyrocketing, with Walgreens and CVS struggling to keep home-kit tests stocked.

And speaking of shortage, the Guardian reports that the increase in consumption led by the holiday season, coupled with employee shortages and a slowdown of transportation hubs, had created a supply chain crisis, leading to container-clogged dockyards. Experts predict shortages of bicycles, toys, and personal electronics and long delays for home appliances.

In its front-page article, The Wall Street Journal argues that the "American Workers Are Burned Out, and Bosses Are Struggling to Respond." Americans are rethinking their relationship with work after the recession and the global pandemic that left millions working from home. And nearly 39 million Americans made up their mind and quit their jobs, with employers struggling to give their employees good reasons to stay. Business Insider, which also dedicates its top story to the topic, lists some of the main drivers of the situation:

Dissatisfaction - Employees are betting that they can find another job that offers higher compensation and a better work-life balance.

Lack of childcare - Parents want to stay at home and care for their children for lack of other care options.

Health concerns - employees are reluctant to be in a work environment where others are unvaccinated.

Lastly, in the stock market, The Wall Street Journal reports that US stocks rose today, resuming the volatile movement that has characterized markets since the emergence of Omicron. The S&P 500 advanced 0.9%, Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9%. Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.2%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 2.1% and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.9%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4%.

That’s all for today. Be sure to download the Ausum app to get the full Ausum experience. Catch you next time for the Ausum News Briefing every weekday, morning, and afternoon.

Good Morning, it’s Tuesday, December 21st. And You’re listening to Ausum’s Morning News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

The new highly infectious Covid-19 variant, Omicron, is reported by Forbes to have become the dominant variant within the United States with 73% of cases. However, Omicron has not distributed itself evenly over the US, the highest proportion of the variant lies within states such as Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Forbes adds that this has triggered Washington, D.C. into restoring it’s mask requirement for the state’s indoor public spaces. This will go into effect from Tuesday morning. Furthermore, Fox News notes that, within Housten, an unvaccinated man in his 50s with underlying health conditions is believed to be the first US death from the Omicron Variant. The Washington Examiner notified us that Biden has tested negative after coming into close contact with a staff member on Air Force One who tested positive for COVID-19. It is important to add that today at 2:30pm Biden will deliver a speech on how he plans to tackle Covid-19 over winter.

The Washington Post states that the Pentagon is updating its personnel policies. These changes aim to combat fears of extremism arising within the military. This follows the January 6th Capitol riot which military personnel and veterans took part in.

Last week senator Joe Manchin made the White House a concrete counter offer to Joe Biden’s spending bill. The Washington Post explains that Manchin’s offer included universal prekindergarten for 10 years, the expansion of Obamacare and hundreds of billions of dollars spent on combating climate change. However, the extension of the expanded child tax credit was left out.

Business Insider updated us on the extent of destruction and damage left behind by Typhoon Rai. It is stated that 375 people within the Philippines have been killed as a result and approximately 90-95% of houses and buildings in the province of Surigao del Norte were damaged.

That’s all for today. For the full Ausum experience, make sure to download the Ausum app. Catch us, every weekday, morning and afternoon.

Good Afternoon. It's Monday, December 20th, and you’re listening to Ausum’s Afternoon News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

Kicking off today's brief with updates on COVID.

Reuters reported that according to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Soumya Swaminathan on Monday, Omicron is spreading quicker than the Delta variant and infecting people who have already been vaccinated or who have recovered from the COVID-19. While some acts have weakened antibody defenses, there is hope that T-cells, the second pillar of an immune response, can avoid serious disease by targeting contaminated human cells.

According to BBC, since the World Health Organization issued that remark, and as the holidays approach, Dr. Fauci has stated that the variation is now "raging around the world." As the significantly modified variety spreads, countries are strengthening security measures. France and Germany have enforced travel restrictions, while the Netherlands has imposed a rigorous lockdown over Christmas. Governments are also scaling up Covid booster vaccination programs after researchers reported that the extra dose could provide up to 85% protection against serious illness.

CNN adds that there will be a "stark contrast" in experience between those who have been vaccinated and those who have not been vaccinated. Getting vaccinated and boosted is the greatest approach to protect oneself, according to Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States.

And, for those thinking about getting the booster, Business Insider just reported that Moderna's third dose, which is half the dose of the previous two vaccine shots, resulted in a 37-fold boost in antibody protection against the fast-spreading Omicron strain.

AP News reported that cases are increasing in several parts of the United States, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest. Boston is to cancel its New Year's Eve celebration and will start requiring proof of vaccination to enter certain indoor spaces. On Monday, Rhode Island ordered masks for indoor facilities that can contain 250 people or more.

According to the Washington Post, Washington DC reimposed the same and announced that D.C. government workers must be vaccinated. In New York, Mayor de Blasio stated that the city is headed toward a “fast and temporary” surge, and in response will be adding 23 additional testing sites.

AP News adds that tomorrow, President Joe Biden will address the public on the COVID-19 version.

The Guardian provides an update on the House Select Committee's inquiry, adding that as time passes, Donald Trump becomes increasingly upset. Even though he protests his innocence, he is concerned that he might be ensnared in the vast investigation into the insurgency. Trump has become more vocal about the inquiry in recent weeks, wanting to know why his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, gave so much information about 6 January with the select committee, and why hundreds of other staffers have likewise cooperated. Trump has been cursing the unfavorable coverage and bemoaning the lack of Republican members on the committee to protect him.

When it comes to the spending bill, Machin is also getting increasingly agitated with the pressure of the White House. According to the Hill, he spoke out during a radio interview with West Virginia MetroNew after he did not vote on the $2 trillion climate and spending bill. The senator's remarks elicited immediate condemnation from his Democratic colleagues, as well as a rare on-the-record censure from the White House. The reason why Democrats were so upset was that they thought that Manchin would eventually support the bill, the Washington Examiner explains.

The Daily Wire adds that in an interview with Fox News, the moderate senator noted that one of his major concerns involved the effect that the bill would have on inflation, which has seen consumer prices rising at historic rates.

That’s all for today. Be sure to download the Ausum app to get the full Ausum experience. Catch you next time for the Ausum News Briefing every weekday, morning, and afternoon.

Good Morning, it’s Monday, December 20th. And You’re listening to Ausum’s Morning News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

As a result of the recent covid-19 surge, The New York Times reports that Americans are put on edge about travelling. Millions are going ahead with their plans however uncertainty is creeping in.

Within Chile, The Guardian states that a left wing candidate has become the country’s youngest ever president. The former student leader Gabriel Boric defeated his far right rival.

The Washington Post notes that US President Joe Biden has installed the highest number of federal judges in his first year of presidency in four decades. Many of these judges come from diverse backgrounds.

White House has accused Senator Joe Manchin of betraying them. Axios states that Manchin was criticised for his appearance on “Fox News Sunday" where he announced his decision to try and torpedo Biden’s agenda.

Forbes reports that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, says he will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year. Scrutiny over Musk’s taxes ensued after his criticism of Democrats’ plan to raise taxes for wealthy Americans.

That’s all for today. For the full Ausum experience, make sure to download the Ausum app. Catch us, every weekday, morning and afternoon.

Good Afternoon. It's Friday, December 17th, and you’re listening to Ausum’s Afternoon News Briefing, where we round up the top latest articles that everyone is talking about.

Kicking off today's brief with updates on COVID. AP News reported that as we approach the holidays, Omicron is threatening to wipe out a second holiday season. Christmas revelers across Europe are hunkering down, while U.S. officials are stepping up pleas for unvaccinated Americans to get thier shot.

The New York Times gives us some COVID stats, stating that every day, over 1,300 Americans are killed by the coronavirus. The national case, mortality, and hospitalization rates remain far lower than those reported last winter, before the widespread availability of vaccinations. With coronavirus hospitalizations increasing by 20% in the last two weeks to 68,000 people, doctors and nurses are expressing heightened concern about the situation and urging people to be vaccinated. While COVID rates keep going up, according to the CDC, Omicron accounted for 2.9 percent of cases across the country last week, up from 0.4% percent the prior week.

So, in contrast to Delta, how bad is Omicron? Forbes explains that hospitalizations caused by omicron are declining quicker than those caused by the delta wave. South Africa's health minister said the country’s hospital admission rate of Covid-19 patients during the second week of infections driven by omicron is down by 90% compared to data from the second week of a delta-fueled surge in the country. Other nations, including the UK and the US, are experiencing a surge in new cases. The UK set a new record for the third consecutive day, with 93,045 cases registered in 24 hours ending Friday, according to government data. In response, 626,000 people in England received a booster shot dose in the 24 hours ending Thursday, setting a new single-day record for the country. According to WHO, the omicron variation has been detected in at least 77 nations.

While the Omicron variant is seemingly less catastrophic than Delta, Reuters adds that a new study by AstraZeneca and Pzifer vaccines showed that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is more than five times higher, and it has shown no sign of being milder than Delta. Depending on the estimations for vaccine efficiency against symptomatic infection from the Delta variety, this equates to vaccination effectiveness ranging from 0% to 20% after two doses, and between 55% and 80% with a booster dose.

To protect us all against the Omicron variant, CNN reported that Pfizer revealed today that it will test a three-microgram third dose in children under the age of five and that it expects to test a 10-microgram third dose in children aged five to eleven. The addition to the COVID-19 vaccine trials is because two doses of vaccine did not provide the desired results.

The Washington Post studies how COVID is affecting business as we head into the holiday season, by pointing out that American consumers and business owners have become accustomed to making snap decisions to abandon their plans, while others remain undeterred despite such a long period of setbacks and delays. The Wall Street Journal adds that S&P 500 edged down 0.3%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.7%.

We spoke yesterday about the tensions rising with the BBB deal, The Guardian updates us by explaining that since Manchin is still not on board, President Biden has come to terms with the fact that the BBB deal won't pass this year.

The Hill updates us on the Jan 6 insurrection, explaining that as the U.S. House of Representatives debated a resolution to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress this week, Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) issued a warning: Republicans had their own list of witnesses to call. Including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, current White House chief of staff Ron Klain, the president’s son Hunter Biden — and Marc Elias.

Axios adds that a Capitol rioter from Florida, 54-year-old Robert Palmer, admitted to assaulting police with a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher on Jan. 6. Palmer has been sentenced in federal court to more than five years in prison, the longest given for any Capitol riot defendant so far.

Lastly, BBC updates us on Russia and Ukraine pressure, by explaining that Russia has requested severe limits on the movements of the US-drove Nato military alliance in nations in Eastern Europe. The requests, improbable to be met, come in Western feelings of fears that Russia intends to attack Ukraine. Russia denies this, yet needs Nato to preclude Ukraine and others from ever joining the collusion. Russia has requested binding discussions with the United States, the response was that the US is available to talk but would put its own interests on the table.

That’s all for today. Be sure to download the Ausum app to get the full Ausum experience. Catch you next time for the Ausum News Briefing every weekday, morning, and afternoon.