JUST IN | NATO Secretary General to hold press conference amid reports US sent written response to Russia's security proposals

⚡️ Justice Breyer to step down from US Supreme Court - reports

❗️NATO about to give written response to Russia's security guarantees proposals, report claims

❗️The US will continue to adhere to NATO's "open door" policy, as confirmed in Washington's response to Russia's security guarantees, Blinken said

❗️The United States will not publish its response to Russia's security proposals and expects Moscow to do the same, Blinken said

⚡️ Biden actively participated in compiling the US response to Russia's security proposals, Blinken said

Here is the gist of what Blinken said:
🔻The US written response sets out a diplomatic path forward should Russia choose it;
🔻includes concerns the US and allies have about Russia’s actions;
🔻outlines areas where common ground can be found, such as placement of offensive missiles in Ukraine, maneuvers in Europe, greater transparency;
🔻highlights principles the US is committed to uphold, including Ukrainian integrity.
🔻Blinken expects to speak to Sergey Lavrov in the coming days after Russia has a chance to study the US response
🔻The US not releasing its response publicly, and hopes Russia will respect this decision
🔻President Joe Biden was involved in preparing the document and “blessed” the final version

❗️NATO has delivered written response to Russian security proposal, Stoltenberg say

❗️NATO strengthens presence in Baltic, Black Sea regions amid negotiations with Russia in hope for ‘de-escalation’, Stoltenberg says

American-Asians were increasingly subjected to hate crimes over the last year, the San Francisco Police Department said.

According to their calculations, the number of such crimes increased by as much as 567%

🇺🇸 The US Federal Reserve has kept interest rates in the range between 0% and 0.25%, but signaled the first pandemic-era hike is around the corner.

Here is what Fed Chief Jerome Powell says:

💰The US economy no longer needs massive monetary support
💰Inflation, which hit a 40-year high of 7% per annum in December, is likely to continue overshooting the 2% target for longer than expected
💰It could pose a significant threat to a strong US labor market over time
💰The Fed is not ruling out raising interest rates monthly once the first pandemic-era hike takes place
💰The US is not making progress addressing supply chain issues, and shortages of semiconductor chips are expected to last beyond 2023

💉 A new study has shown that it doesn't matter if one gets a breakthrough infection or vaccinated after a natural infection. In both cases, the immune response, measured in serum, revealed antibodies that were equally more abundant and potent - at least 10 times stronger than the immunity generated by vaccination alone.

However, the study was completed before the advent of the omicron variant.

Two forms of immunity - breakthrough infections following vaccination or natural infection followed by vaccination - provide approximately the same level of enhanced protection

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🇺🇸 Non-profit organizations supplying vaccines in the United States donated 42 million doses to Pakistan, 28 million to Bangladesh and 24 million to the Philippines.

The US has sent more than 400 million free doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 112 countries in need around the world, the White House said.

🗣 “Today, we will hit a major milestone in our global effort: 400 million vaccine doses shipped to 112 countries … for free, no strings attached,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said at a press conference

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📈 The Federal Reserve announced that it would be appropriate to raise US interest rates soon due to inflation exceeding the central bank's target of 2% per year.

Kyle Shostak, director of Navigator Principal Investors, said the US Federal Reserve's attempt to contain inflation caused by its own money-printing policy was at least six months late

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🦠 In one week, from January 14 to 20, almost 1,151,000 cases of COVID-19 were reported among children. Those numbers are up 17% from the previous reported 981,000 cases on Jan. 13, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a report.

10.6 million children have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic. And of these, 2 million in just the last two weeks. Since the emergence of the omicron virus strain, the number of cases has increased significantly

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👏 👍 Police officer arrested a DoorDash driver who was supposed to deliver food to a customer. So officer Sam Buhr decided to finish the delivery.

😐 The US intelligence community’s system of classifying and withholding information erodes national security because it withholds far too much information from the public, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines said in a letter to lawmakers revealed on Thursday.