JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
DEATHS OR LIFE INJURIES FROM THESE SCAM VACCINES PFIZAR AND MODERNA
DISEASES-ANIMAL TO HUMAN
REVELATION 6:7-8 (500 MILLION DEAD EACH FROM THE 4 JUDGEMENTS)(2 BILLION TOT DEAD HERE)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).
VACCINES STARTED IN CANADA DEC 15,20
WORLD COVID-19 TOTALS-CASES 83,806,857-DEATHS 1,825,709 AS OF DEC 31,2020
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021-ALL THE BEST IS YET TO COME.
Farewell 2020: Israel rings in New Year under lockdown-Celebrations largely muted as police deploy in force throughout country to prevent partygoers from congregating-By TOI staff-DEC 31,20-Today, 12:09 am
Israel at midnight Thursday-Friday bid adieu to 2020 and rang in the New Year amid a renewed national lockdown to curb rising coronavirus infections.Celebrations were largely muted, with Israelis barred from traveling more than a kilometer from home unless for essential reasons, or visiting other people’s homes. Gatherings are also limited to 10 people indoors and 20 outside.Nevertheless, police deployed thousands of officers across the country to break up New Year’s Eve festivities.To prevent mass gatherings, police called on people to report their neighbors to the authorities if they were hosting events in violation of the rules.Police were also using helicopters and drones to locate prohibited gatherings, and set up checkpoints on roads to enforce restrictions on movement and check for drunk drivers.Like in Israel, concerns over the pandemic limited New Year’s Eve events in major cities across the globe, though others carried on like any other year.Unlike the Jewish New Year on Rosh Hashanah, in the fall, New Year’s Day is not an official holiday in Israel, with schools open and business as usual in the workplace.Israelis call New Year’s Eve “Sylvester” — a term also used in some European countries, which refers to fourth-century Pope Sylvester I who died on December 31.Although many Israelis mark the arrival of the New Year, it is a much lower-key event than in Western countries and there is no local equivalent to the dropping of the ball at Times Square or the fantastic fireworks displays in capitals around the world.Agencies contributed to this report.
New Year’s festivities worldwide muted by COVID as curtain falls on 2020-Some major cities cancel or scale-back revelries due to pandemic, while others push on with celebrations as if it were any other year-By Rod McGuirk and Frank Jordans-DERC 31,20-Today, 8:05 pm
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — This New Year’s Eve is being celebrated like no other in most of the world, with pandemic restrictions limiting crowds and many people bidding farewell to a year they’d prefer to forget.New Year’s experiences in Asia and the South Pacific varied greatly depending on the country, just like the coronavirus itself. Some major cities canceled or scaled-back their traditional celebrations, while a handful of places without active outbreaks carried on like any other year.Australia was among the first nations to ring in 2021 because of its proximity to the international date line. In past years, 1 million people crowded Sydney’s harbor to watch fireworks. Instead, most watched on television as authorities urged residents to stay home Thursday and the country’s most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, battled new COVID-19 outbreaks.Locations on the harbor were fenced off, popular parks closed and famous night spots eerily deserted. A 9 p.m. fireworks display was scrapped but the seven minutes of pyrotechnics that lit up the Sydney Harbor Bridge and its surroundings starting at midnight brought momentary cheer.Fireworks explode over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge as New Year celebrations begin in Sydney, Australia, December 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)-Melbourne, Australia’s second-most populated city, called off its annual fireworks show.“We did that because we know that it attracts up to 450,000 people into the city for one moment at midnight to enjoy a spectacular display and music,” Mayor Sally Capp said. “We are not doing that this year.”In South Korea, Seoul’s city government canceled its annual New Year’s Eve bell-ringing ceremony in the Jongno neighborhood for the first time since the event was first held in 1953, months after the end of the Korean War. The ceremony normally draws an estimated 100,000 people and is broadcast live.Authorities in coastal areas of eastern South Korea closed beaches and other spots where hundreds of thousands of people typically gather on New Year’s Day to watch the sunrise.Cities and countries that have managed to control the coronavirus got to celebrate. New Zealand, which is two hours ahead of Sydney, and several of its South Pacific island neighbors that also have no active COVID-19 cases held their usual New Year’s celebrations.Taiwan hosted its usual New Year’s celebration, a fireworks display by its capital city’s iconic Taipei 101 tower. A flag-raising ceremony in front of the Presidential Office Building on New Year’s morning was planned. The island has registered only seven deaths and 700 confirmed cases.In Chinese societies, the Lunar New Year, which in 2021 will fall in February, generally takes precedence over the January 1 solar New Year. The coronavirus ensured more muted celebrations of the Western holiday. Beijing scheduled a countdown ceremony with just a few invited guests, while other planned events were canceled.Much of Japan welcomed 2021 quietly at home, alarmed after Tokyo reported a record daily number of confirmed coronavirus cases. The capital reported about 1,300 Thursday, topping 1,000 for the first time.Many people skipped what is customarily a chance to return to ancestral homes for the holidays, hoping to lessen health risks for extended families. Train services that usually carry people on shrine visits overnight were canceled. Emperor Naruhito is delivering a video message for the new year, instead of waving to cheering crowds from a balcony outside the palace.Millions of Indians planned to usher in the new year with subdued celebrations at home because of night curfews, a ban on beach parties and restrictions on movement in major cities and towns after the new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus reached the country.In New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, hotels and bars were ordered to shut at 11 p.m. The three cities have been the worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Drones were keeping watch on people’s movements in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital. Large gatherings were banned, but there were no restrictions on visiting friends, relatives and public places in groups of not more than four people, police said.Despite a surge in infections, the Gulf hub of Dubai pressed ahead with its mass New Year’s Eve celebrations, including the annual fireworks show around the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.In many European countries, authorities warned they were ready to clamp down on revelers who breach public health rules. In the Czech capital of Prague, a popular New Year’s destination for people from across the continent, police prepared to enforce a night-time curfew starting at 9 p.m.Organizers of the annual New Year’s Eve show at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate that regularly draws hundreds of thousands of spectators are this year putting on a virtual event for people to watch at home. Public gatherings and fireworks are banned in much of the German capital.Italy’s interior minister has ordered 70,000 law enforcement officers to be on patrol for New Year’s Eve and said this year’s celebrations will be “more sober” than usual. Fireworks will go on as scheduled at midnight over the Colosseum in Rome, but viewing will be from balconies only due to a nationwide 10 p.m. curfew.A few families gathered in Madrid’s sunny central Puerta de Sol square early on Thursday to listen to the rehearsal of the traditional ringing of the bells that is held at midnight to greet each new year. They followed the Spanish custom of eating 12 grapes with each stroke of the bells before police clear the area.The British government ran ads imploring the public to “see in the New Year safely at home.” Most of England’s population is under lockdown measures in an attempt to slow the spread of the new, easily transmissible coronavirus variant.London’s annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display, which usually draws thousands of people to the banks of the River Thames, has been canceled. But one tradition will continue: Big Ben’s bell is set to sound 12 bongs at midnight to herald the end of 2020.
Trump returns to White House early, releases year-end message touting vaccine-No reason given for US president’s decision to cut short his stay at Mar-a-Lago, but it comes amid escalating tensions with Iran-By DARLENE SUPERVILLE-1 January 2021, 12:33 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Donald Trump delivered a year-end video message Thursday after returning early from vacation, highlighting his administration’s work to rapidly develop a vaccine against COVID-19 and rebuild the economy.As the end of his presidency neared, Trump cut short his stay at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and got back to the White House a day ahead of schedule.Upon his return, Trump released a video message over Twitter to underscore his administration’s work on the vaccine, economic stimulus checks and America’s “grit, strength and tenacity” in the face of challenges.He called the vaccine, which is rolling out nationwide, a “truly unprecedented medical miracle” and said it would be available to every American early this coming year. “We have to be remembered for what’s been done,” Trump said in the nearly five-minute message. pic. twitter.com/ 7Ae7PbVH3A— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 31, 2020-The White House didn’t give a reason for Trump’s early return, and the schedule change means Trump will miss the glitzy New Year’s Eve party held annually at his Palm Beach club.But it comes as tensions escalate between the United States and Iran in the final weeks of his administration. There is concern in Washington that Iran could order further military retaliation for the US killing last Jan. 3 of top Iranian military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran’s initial response, five days after that deadly US drone strike, was a ballistic missile attack on a military base in Iraq that caused brain concussion injuries to about 100 US troops.Iranian-supported Shiite militia groups launched a rocket attack on the US Embassy compound in Baghdad on Dec. 20. No one was killed, but Trump said days later that Iran was on notice.“Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over,” Trump tweeted on December 23. He added, ”We hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq.”The White House announced the abrupt change in the president’s schedule late Wednesday, hours after Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said he would raise objections next week when Congress meets to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the November election.It’s the latest futile attempt by Trump and his allies to fight his election defeat and overturn the will of the voters, and scores of previous challenges have failed, including at the Supreme Court. Former Attorney General William Barr and other administration officials have said they saw no evidence of mass voter fraud, as Trump has claimed.US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, December 31, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)-Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, arrived at Mar-a-Lago after dark on December 23 and spent practically the entire vacation focused on subverting the election results. That includes an effort to get Republican lawmakers to challenge the vote when Congress meets January 6 to affirm Biden’s 306-232 win in the Electoral College.A group of Republicans in the Democratic-controlled House already had said they will object on Trump’s behalf. They needed at least one senator to join them to force votes in both chambers, and Hawley stepped up.The GOP objections, however, will not prevent Biden from being sworn in as president on January 20, and Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California, a Black woman of South Asian descent, from becoming vice president.During his vacation, Trump also took near daily swipes on Twitter at Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp and other state elections officials over his loss to Biden in that state.While he has remained focused on the effort to stay in power, Trump has stayed mum on major developments during the holiday break, including a Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, Tennessee, the discovery of a new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus in the United States and the death of Republican Representative-elect Luke Letlow of Louisiana from COVID-19 complications.Since losing the election, the usually chatty Trump has avoided engaging with reporters, even those who accompanied him to Florida. He went as far as barring them from his Christmas Day remarks to the troops, the type of event the White House typically opens for news coverage.US President Donald Trump rides in a motorcade vehicle as he departs Trump International Golf Club, December 28, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)-Before he left Washington, Trump stunned Capitol Hill by objecting to spending in a government funding bill that had been paired with a fresh round of needed coronavirus relief that included $600 payments to most Americans. Much of that spending had been sought by his own administration.Trump jeopardized the financial aid and flirted with a government shutdown by implying that he wouldn’t sign the sweeping legislation unless lawmakers increased the payments to $2,000, a sum sought by most Democrats and some Republicans.Trump eventually signed the bill Sunday night after several days of uncertainty in exchange for congressional votes on his demands. He also wants Congress to lift certain protections for social media companies and investigate his unfounded claims of fraud in the election.The House voted this week in favor of increasing the payments, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all but shut the door Wednesday when he declared that Congress had provided enough pandemic aid. McConnell blocked attempts by Democrats to force a vote in that chamber on the higher payments sought by Trump.
As it welcomes in 2021, Israel’s population rises to 9,291,000-Statistics show increase of 151,000 people since last year; 176,000 babies born, 20,000 people immigrate, 50,000 people die; 1 in 15 deaths in 2020 were from COVID-19-By TOI staff-31 December 2020, 5:09
Israel’s population now numbers nearly 9.3 million, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) announced Thursday, hours before the end of 2020 and the start of the new year.According to the CBS, Israel’s population grew by 151,000 people, or 1.7 percent, since last year and now stands at 2.91 million people.There are currently 6.870 million Jews, accounting for 74% of the population, while the 1.956 million Arabs in Israel make up 21% of the population. Another 456,000 people defined as “others” make the remaining 5%.Over the course of the past year, 176,000 babies were born and 20,000 people immigrated from Jewish Diaspora. Some 11,000 others moved to the country, including returning citizens, while some 6,000 residents left.Some 50,000 people died this year. One in 15 deaths was coronavirus-related.The CBS said that the pandemic played a part in raising the number of deaths by some 6,000 relative to the number for 2019“In the first months after the coronavirus pandemic reached Israel, the number of deaths from COVID-19 was relatively low, as was the percentage of deaths from the virus out of the total number of deaths. This percentage was on an upward trend since the middle of July, though at the end of October there was a decrease in the percentage of deaths from the virus out of the total number of deaths,” the annual report said.The CBS noted the drop in immigration figures compared to last year.The 20,000 people who came to Israel in 2020 constitute a 40% drop from the 33,247 new immigrants who arrived last year, according to the figures.
Ultra-Orthodox community set to double in 16 years-Haredi population growing twice as fast as overall Israeli population — report-Israel Democracy Institute study finds community suffered worse employment setback due to coronavirus than rest of workforce, wage-earners moving from jobs in education to commerce-By Stuart Winer-31 December 2020, 5:34 pm
Israel’s rapidly growing ultra-Orthodox community is expected to double within 16 years, less than half the time it will take for the rest of the population to increase by the same proportion, the Israel Democracy Institute said in a report released Thursday.In its fifth annual statistical assessment of ultra-Orthodox society, the IDI examined developments in such areas as standard of living, education, employment, social mobility, leisure, and lifestyle.Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, government ministries and agencies, and the National Insurance Institute, it found ultra-Orthodox households on average earn less than half of the income of other Jewish households, while identifying trends showing more community members entering higher education and shifting toward higher paying jobs.The study found that the ultra-Orthodox, also known as Haredi, population in Israel numbers around 1.175 million, showing an annual growth rate of 4.2 percent over the past decade, over twice the 1.9% shown by the rest of the Israeli population and over three times that of the rest of the Israeli Jewish population (excluding the Haredi population), 1.2%.At those rates, the community will double in size every 16 years while the rest of the population is expected to double in size every 37 years. The non-Haredi Jewish population is predicted to double every 50 years at current rates.The Haredi community’s portion of the general population has grown from 10% in 2009 to 12.6% in 2020, the report said.However, the report said, “it is highly probable that the future will bring a decline in the ultra-Orthodox growth rate, due to lower fertility rates and rising age of first marriage.” It noted that the fertility rate in the Haredi population is at 6.5 live births per woman, down from approximately 7.5 in 2003.A group of ultra-Orthodox men wear protective face masks following government measures to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, as they walk in Jerusalem’s Old City, July 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)-The ongong coronavirus pandemic has dealt a bigger blow to ultra-Orthodox employment than to that of the rest of the country’s Jewish population, the IDI found, impacting women more during the first wave, while men suffered worse during the second wave. Overall, in contrast with the rest of the population, women had greater employment stability than men.Citing Finance Ministry figures, the report said that from March to May 2020 there was an average 35% decline in employment rates among the ultra-Orthodox (34% for men and 37% for women) compared to the same months last year. For the rest of the Jewish population, the figures were 19% for men and 27% for women.In contrast, from September to October 2020, during the second wave of virus infections, there was a 20.5% drop for men and 15% drop for women compared to the same months in 2019. Among the rest of the country’s Jewish population, the figure for men (10%) was lower but among women (16%) similar to their ultra-Orthodox peers.Employment among Haredi women has generally risen while remaining at a standstill for men in recent years.Though between 2003 and 2015 there was a marked increase in employment among men, it leveled off over the past five years. In 2019 it was 52.5%, compared to 52% in 2015. However, among ultra-Orthodox women, employment rose between 2015 and 2019 from 71% to 77%.“A major reason for this trend may be the cutback of incentives for ultra-Orthodox men to join the workforce and, at the same time, the increase in financial support and subsidies to kollel students,” the IDI said, referring to married men who receive scholarships to study in Talmudic seminaries.There was also a shift in the type of employment away from education roles and, among men, toward better paid jobs in commerce. From 2009 to 2018 the percentage of men working in education slid from 31% to 27%, while those working in commerce increased their share from 11% to 14%. During the same period, the percentage of ultra-Orthodox women in education dropped from 57% to 39.5%.“As these trends increase and more and more among the ultra-Orthodox are employed in better-paying occupations, in the long term, we are likely to see a rise in per capita income and, as a result – an enhanced standard of living among ultra-Orthodox households,” the IDI said.Ultra-Orthodox women work on their computers in the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Beitar Illit, August 19, 2009. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)-The average gross monthly income for ultra-Orthodox households in 2018 was NIS 14,745 ($4,587), 58% lower than for other Jewish households, where it was NIS 23,235 ($7,229). The main sources of income were employment (66%) along with stipends and welfare payments (24%). Among other Jewish households the figures were 78% and 9%, respectively.The per capita income for ultra-Orthodox households is NIS 3,917, less than half that for other Jewish households, where the figure is NIS 7,531. The discrepancy was due to the larger ultra-Orthodox households, a lower average number of income earners, and lower overall income.“At the same time, the gaps in income may be smaller than would appear, due to higher levels of unreported income in the ultra-Orthodox sector,” the report noted.Despite have larger families, the average monthly expenditure for a Haredi household in 2018, at NIS 14,651, was 16% lower than for other Jewish households, which averaged NIS 16,936. Also, the average monthly tax expenditure for Haredi households was only around a third of that for other Jewish households, NIS 1,524 compared to NIS 4,461.Though a breakdown of expenditures showed no substantial differences in the general makeup of where money is spent, there was a significant difference in transportation and communication expenses, which are an average of just 11% in Haredi home compared to 21% in other Jewish homes.“A possible explanation for this difference is that ultra-Orthodox Israelis rely more on public transport than do other Jews, and are less frequent consumers of internet services, television, and smartphones,” the statement said.The last decade saw a significant rise in the number of ultra-Orthodox girls taking matriculation exams, growing from 31% to 55%. During the same period there has been a drop among boys in the community taking the exams from 16% to 13%.“Many young members of the ultra-Orthodox community are discovering the value of academic education and high-quality technological training programs in finding employment,” the IDI said.In the five years from 2014 to 2019 there was a 38% increase in ultra-Orthodox students in technical training programs, mostly driven by women, whose participation increased by 44%, while among men it went up by 26%.From 2010 to 2019 the number of Haredi students who obtained an academic degree increased threefold, so that in 2018-2019 there were around 13,100 ultra-Orthodox students in higher education institutions. Women made up a clear majority, representing 67.5% of the total.There was an even larger jump in advanced degree programs, which in 2019 had 1,630 student, five times as many as in 2010, the IDI said. Just in 2019-2020 there was a 17% increase over the previous year.Ultra-Orthodox undergraduate students are drawn to study subjects that enable work within their communities, such as education and teaching, which are pursued by 31% of Haredi students compared to just 15% among the general population.In 2019 there were 140,614 students in ultra-Orthodox yeshivas and kollels, including students from abroad, the IDI said.Ultra-Orthodox Israelis have conservative views on family member roles and the division of domestic tasks, the study found.Less than half, 46%, believe that in a family where both spouses are employed there should be an equal sharing of home chores. This was compared with 81% of other Jews who agree with the statement.“In practice, ultra-Orthodox women indeed bear most of the responsibility for the majority of household chores, such as laundry (71%), cooking (67%), and cleaning (45%),” the IDI said.Regarding the success of relationships, only 31% of Haredi respondents agree that love is an important factor, compared to 44% among other Jewish respondents.Sex also ranks low on the priorities for the ultra-Orthodox in maintaining a successful relationship (6%), while among other Jews 12% feel it is important, the IDI said.
Associated Press-US to move aircraft carrier out of Mideast amid Iran tension-ROBERT BURNS-December 31, 2020, 1:32 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has decided to send home the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, a move that will reduce American firepower in the region amid heightened tensions with Iran.The decision, announced Thursday by the acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller, came one day after Air Force B-52 bombers flew nonstop from the United States to the Persian Gulf in a show of force that military officials said was intended to caution Iran against carrying out attacks against U.S. forces or interests.Sending the aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, home to the U.S. West Coast would seem at odds with the idea that a show of force is needed to deter Iran. This might reflect a split within the defense establishment on whether Iran poses a heightened threat to strike in the waning days of the Trump administration.In announcing the decision to send the Nimitz home, Miller made no mention of Iran.Earlier this week, an American military officer close to the situation told reporters that the U.S. had detected signs that Iran had made preparations for possible attacks on U.S. or allied targets in Iraq or elsewhere in the Mideast. This was the reason for dispatching two B-52 bombers from the U.S. to briefly overfly the Gulf on Wednesday, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments.President Donald Trump recently cited “chatter” that Iran might strike. Days after a Dec. 20 rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad by Iranian-supported Shiite militia groups, Trump tweeted that Iran was on notice.“Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over,” Trump wrote on Dec. 23. He added, ”We hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq.”U.S. concerns have been tied to the approach of the Jan. 3 anniversary of the American airstrike that killed Iran's top commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran initially retaliated with a ballistic missile strike on a military base in neighboring Iraq that caused dozens of brain concussion injuries but no deaths among U.S. troops. But U.S. officials are concerned that Iran might be planning further retaliation.Because of the potential for escalation that could lead to a wider war, the U.S. has sought to deter Iran from additional attacks. Strategic calculations on both sides are further complicated by the political transition in Washington to a Biden administration that may seek new paths to dealing with Iran. President-elect Joe Biden has said, for example, that he hopes to return the U.S. to a 2015 agreement with world powers in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.The U.S. has maintained a near-continuous aircraft carrier presence in the Persian Gulf region since the USS Abraham Lincoln was sent in May 2019 amid concerns that Iran was considering attacking U.S. interests in the region. The U.S. also sent additional land-based attack planes and reestablished a troop presence in Saudi Arabia.The Nimitz deployed from the U.S. in April and was due to return before the end of the year. In early December, its planned return was postponed, in part out of concerns about potential Iranian threats, and more recently it was ordered to provide support off the coast of Somalia for the movement of American forces out of the country.
The Telegraph-Pentagon sends B-52s to deter Iranian attacks on US troops ahead of Soleimani anniversary-Rozina Sabur-Thu, December 31, 2020, 1:02 PM EST
The US has increased security over its military personnel in the Middle East as it braces for a potential attack ahead of the anniversary of an American drone strike that killed a senior Iranian general.Two American B-52 bombers flew over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday in the latest effort to show off the country's military force in the region and deter Iran.Pentagon officials said they were braced for the possibility that Iran could order military retaliation for the US assassination of Qassim Soleimani, the country's most powerful military commander, on January 3 last year.It follows rising tensions between Washington and Tehran as Donald Trump enters his final days in the White House before Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20.Ahead of the anniversary, the US embassy in Baghdad announced that it was sending 30 armoured vehicles to help the Iraqi army secure the Green Zone.Instead of fighting Covid in US, @realDonaldTrump & cohorts waste billions to fly B52s & send armadas to OUR region.Intelligence from Iraq indicate plot to FABRICATE pretext for war.Iran doesn't seek war but will OPENLY & DIRECTLY defend its people, security & vital interests. — Javad Zarif (@JZarif) December 31, 2020-In the weeks leading up to the anniversary of the assassination, several rockets have been fired at Baghdad's Green Zone, although they have not caused any casualties.Mr Trump has warned against "additional attacks against Americans in Iraq", saying he would "hold Iran responsible" for any casualties.US intelligence officials believe there are indications that Iran is planning a fresh attack on American interests and allies in Iraq to coincide with the one year anniversary of the killing of Soleimani.“The United States continues to deploy combat-ready capabilities into the US Central Command area of responsibility to deter any potential adversary, and make clear that we are ready and able to respond to any aggression directed at Americans or our interests,” said Marine General Frank McKenzie, chief of US Central Command.“We do not seek conflict, but no one should underestimate our ability to defend our forces or to act decisively in response to any attack.”The comments came as the Pentagon disclosed that two American B-52 bombers completed a 30-hour mission from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to the Middle East on Wednesday.It was the third time in six weeks that US bombers flew long-range flights about 60 miles off the Iranian coast. Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister said Thursday that Iran is not looking for a war with the US, but will defend itself if necessary."Instead of fighting Covid in US, Donald Trump and cohorts waste billions to fly B52s and send armadas to our region. Intelligence from Iraq indicate plot to fabricate pretext for war (sic),” he said in a tweet.“Iran doesn't seek war but will OPENLY & DIRECTLY defend its people, security & vital interests,” he added.
ABC News-42 people in West Virginia mistakenly given Regeneron antibody treatment instead of the coronavirus vaccine-ARIELLE MITROPOULOS-Thu, December 31, 2020, 3:40 PM EST
Over three dozen people were mistakenly given the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment instead of the Moderna vaccine, the West Virginia National Guard announced on Thursday.Forty-two people received the antibody product, intramuscularly, at a vaccination clinic hosted by staff at the Boone County Health Department. The treatment, which was given Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization in November, is normally given as an intravenous infusion."It has been determined that this was an isolated incident," Julie Miller, an administrator for the Boone County Health Department, told ABC News.Medical experts with the Joint Interagency Task Force do not believe there is any risk of harm to these 42 individuals, and all individuals who received the monoclonal antibody have been contacted or are in the process of being contacted, according to the West Virginia National Guard.Regeneron is a drug cocktail consisting of antibodies designed to fight COVID-19. The drug was administered to President Donald Trump when he became ill with the virus."The moment that we were notified of what happened, we acted right away to correct it, and we immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to enhance our distribution process to prevent this from happening again," Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, said in a press release.Because there is currently no data on the safety and efficacy of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in persons who received monoclonal antibodies as part of COVID-19 treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that "vaccination should be deferred for at least 90 days, as a precautionary measure until additional information becomes available, to avoid interference of the antibody treatment with vaccine-induced immune responses.However, despite the CDC's recommendation, the West Virginia National Guard told ABC News that "there are no concerns that this will set individuals back 90 days," and that "all 42 individuals are being offered the vaccine today."Miller said the Boone Health Department will continue to work closely with the state National Guard and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to review all internal policies and procedures."While this injection is not harmful, it was substituted for the vaccine. But this occurrence provides our leadership team an important opportunity to review and improve the safety and process of vaccination for each West Virginian," Dr. Clay Marsh, the state's COVID-19 czar, said.ABC News' Sony Salzman and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.42 people in West Virginia mistakenly given Regeneron antibody treatment instead of the coronavirus vaccine originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
