Key questions remain about how quickly B.1.617 variants can spread, their potential to evade immunity and how they might affect the course of the pandemic. Since the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.617 was first reported in India late last year, it has spread to dozens of other countries — including the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom, where it has become dominant in some regions. Researchers have since identified three subtypes, known as B.1.617.1 (the ‘original’ B.1.617), B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3, each with a slightly different genetic make-up. They are now rushing to investigate these variants and work out how…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced talks with US President Joe Biden on relations with Russia. They will see each other at the G7 meeting and at the Nato summit. Berlin (dpa) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has announced negotiations with US President Joe Biden on relations with Russia following the US waiver of sanctions in connection with the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Biden has "now also met us halfway to some extent with respect to the Nord Stream 2 conflict, where we have different views", Merkel said during the WDR-Europaforum on Thursday in an interview with…

I voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 because he was the best candidate. I did not vote for him because he was perfect. If he is the Republican candidate in 2024, I will vote for him again, because it is inconceivable that any Democrat Marxist in the known universe will be acceptable. But I pray that he is not available to receive my vote. And it’s not because, as my brother accurately suggests, he’s damaged goods. Consider the Parable of the Central Park Skating Rink. “Once upon a time there was an ice skating rink in Central Park that could…

Editor's Note:  The co-authors represent a range of attorneys and social scientists who have worked on the intersection of immigration and entrepreneurship, including the former USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez (to whom the 2014 memo was addressed). Co-authors Doug Rand and Lindsay Milliken are researchers at the Federation of American Scientists, focusing on the intersection of immigration policy and artificial intelligence (AI) in advancing the nation’s national security and economic growth. Co-author Kelli Duehning was the former USCIS Western Law Division Chief Counsel and participant in the development of the International Entrepreneur parole rule. And co-authors Berger, Yale-Loehr, Goldman, Serotte and…

Like many Palestinians, I have been attacked and punished for criticizing Israel. Now I’m filing a civil rights complaint against my university for encouraging those attacks. When I call my family in Palestine, my heartbeat pauses as rings go unanswered—only to resume, relieved but shaken, once I hear their voices. Nearly two weeks into the latest explosion of Israeli violence against occupied Palestinians, the world is finally beginning to understand what we have known for decades: Israel’s settler-colonial violence—the forced cleansing of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah, the rampaging mobs in cities throughout the country, the bombs dropped on captive Gazans—has…