💉 US rules out summer COVID boosters to focus on fall campaign

US regulators said Friday they are no longer considering authorizing a second COVID-19 booster shot for all adults under 50 this summer, focusing instead on revamped vaccines for the fall that will target the newest viral subvariants.

Pfizer and Moderna expect to have updated versions of their shots available as early as September, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. That would set the stage for a fall booster campaign to strengthen protection against the latest versions of omicron.

Two omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, are even more contagious than their predecessors and have pushed new daily cases above 125,000 and hospitalizations to 6,300. The government contracts include options to purchase 300 million doses, but reaching that total will require more funding from Congress.

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‼️Trump Says ‘Crazy Nancy’ Involvement With China, Taiwan Will Make Things Worse

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should not get involved in the situation around China and Taiwan because she will only make it worse, former President Donald Trump said in a statement.

"Why is Nancy Pelosi getting involved with China and Taiwan other than to make trouble and more money," Trump said via his Truth Social platform on Friday. "The China mess is the last thing she should be involved in - she will only make it worse. Crazy Nancy just inserts herself and causes great friction and hatred."

Amidst reports that Pelosi will be traveling to Taiwan in August, tensions have risen between China and the US.

Beijing promised to take decisive measures, including military actions, to protect its territorial sovereignty, adding they will hold Washington responsible for any further degradation of the situation and bilateral relations.

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🚫 House passes bill banning certain semi-automatic guns

The House passed legislation Friday to revive a ban on certain semi-automatic guns, the first vote of its kind in years and a direct response to the firearms often used in the crush of mass shootings ripping through communities nationwide. The bill would make it unlawful to import, sell or manufacture a long list of semi-automatic weapons.

The new law also frees up federal funding to the states, including for “red flag” laws that enable authorities to remove guns from those who would harm themselves or others. Pelosi said the House will revisit the public safety bills in August when lawmakers are expected to return briefly to Washington to handle other remaining legislation, including Biden’s priority inflation-fighting package of health care and climate change strategies making its way in the Senate.

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🚇 Passenger rail returns to Vermont city

After a nearly 70-year absence, a passenger train running from Vermont’s revitalized Burlington train station to New York City headed south Friday as part of a nationwide renewal of interest in rail travel.

Last November, President Joe Biden, who famously rode Amtrak between Washington and his Delaware home during his 36 years in the Senate, signed legislation that includes $102 billion for passenger and freight rail investment that will help Amtrak improve and expand its services over time.

Vermont’s new Burlington rail expansion caps a nearly 30-year-long effort that saw about $117 million spent on rail infrastructure and comes a year after Amtrak announced a $75 billion, 15-year-plan to expand passenger rail around the country.

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📺 Roku plunges 27% as the streaming service flags 'recessionary fears' alongside shortfall in quarterly results and weak outlook

Roku shares lost nearly a third of their value on Friday after the entertainment streaming service warned of weaker-than-expected revenue as consumers and advertisers alike pull back on spending. 

"We are in an economic environment defined by recessionary fears, inflationary pressures, rising interest rates, and ongoing supply chain disruptions," Roku's CEO Anthony Wood and CFO Steve Louden said.

The company said it experienced a "significant slowdown" in TV advertising spending in the second quarter that pressured its platform revenue growth. Platform revenue increased 26% to $673 million from a year ago, but Roku said that growth was lower than expected. 

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LIVE UPDATES: Gazprom Cuts Off All Gas Supplies to Latvia For Non-Payment in Rubles

Photos of Ivana Trump's final resting place appeared online for the first time after she was buried next to the first hole on a private lawn on the Trump family plot at a golf club in New Jersey.

There is nothing whimsical about Ivana's burial place: former President Trump has wanted to build a cemetery for himself and his family on the golf course since 2007. New Jersey state officials finally approved the cemetery's license in 2014

⚡️⚡️Iraqi protesters storm parliament building for second time in 72 hours

⚡️⚡️ All political, criminal and moral responsibility for the carnage against Ukrainians falls on Zelensky personally, his criminal regime and Washington that supports them, the Russian MoD has said in a statement on the missile attack on the pre-trial detention center with Ukrainian prisoners near Elenovka in Donbass

📹 Watch footage of tanks belonging to the LPR People's militia in action

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📌 The Russian Ministry of Defense’s latest statements on the missile strike by Ukrainian forces using US-made HIMARS MLRS on Friday:

▪️Most of the 193 Ukrainian prisoners who were at the pre-trial detention center in Elenovka were killed or maimed;

▪️According to updated data, 50 Ukrainians were killed as a result of the missile strike;

▪️The remains of 48 Ukrainian prisoners were recovered from the rubble, while two more died of severe wounds on the way to a medical facility;

▪️73 Ukrainian prisoners were brought to a medical institution with severe wounds, and all necessary assistance was provided to them;

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⚡️ Ukrainian forces hit vehicles with humanitarian aid for residents of Energodar, also damaging houses and a store. No one was injured

🍫 It looks like US schoolchildren have been tricked out of one of their all-American treats, as not all of them will get products from Hershey's. The ingredients for the confections, whose wrappers can be found in every school locker in the country, are now in short supply because of disruptions to the global supply chain.

Swiss competitor Nestle, which produces delights such as KitKat and Smarties, has experienced similar problems because of rising costs

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📹 The Russian MoD has published footage showing Russian forces in combat during the special military operation

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📹 The Russian MoD has shown footage of Su-35S fighters and Ka-52 helicopters destroying Ukrainian strongholds and equipment

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A video allegedly showing China’s People’s Liberation Army using heavy rocket artillery during a military exercise in the South China Sea has appeared on social media

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⚡️ US State Dep: Blinken, Kuleba discuss talks with Lavrov, grain deal

A Ukrainian prisoner who was held at the pre-trial detention center in Elenovka describes what happened during the Ukrainian missile strikes

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😳 While a reporter wants to know how nervous the White House is about recent polls showing that a majority of Democrats don't want Joe Biden to run for a new term, the White House Press Secretary claims Biden intends to run in 2024

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⚠️WARNING: the following video is disturbing and may offend sensibilities

Footage of brutal crimes against Ukrainian prisoners committed by Ukrainian forces using US-made HIMARS MLRS

Bronze statues of the characters Walter White and Jesse Pinkman from the TV series "Breaking Bad" have been installed in the city of Albuquerque, where the main events in the series take place. The opening ceremony was attended by local politicians and actors from the show, including Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, who played the main roles

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