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Fired ‘9-1-1’ Actor Sues Disney Over Vaccine Religious Exemption Denial
Actor Rockmond Dunbar is suing Disney and its production company 20th Television, alleging he was denied a religious exemption against the COVID-19 vaccine that led to him exiting the hit Fox show 9-1-1.
At the time of his exit, Dunbar told Deadline he was dismissed from the show following alleged instances of discrimination because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 jab. The updated protocols on the series required that all actors on 9-1-1 be fully vaccinated.
Dunbar applied for both a medical and religious exemption, the medical exemption reportedly being due to an undisclosed disability. However, he claimed that he was forced off of the show after Disney denied these exemptions.
U.S. Military Has Approved Religious Exemptions to Vaccine Mandate for 15 Service Members out of 16,000 Requests
The U.S. military has approved religious exemptions to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for 15 service members out of approximately 16,000 requests, according to the latest data from the services.
The Marine Corps has approved religious exemptions for six Marines and the Air Force has approved nine requests for exemptions. The Navy has given conditional approval for a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, but that member would have to be fully vaccinated before returning to service.
The military’s vaccine mandate, instituted shortly after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, has faced legal challenges, despite the high vaccination rate of service members.
Unexplained Injuries Similar to Previous ‘Havana Syndrome’ Cases Afflicted U.S. Officials on White House Grounds
High-ranking Homeland Security officials in the Trump administration say they were overcome with feelings of vertigo, confusion and memory loss while on White House grounds and in their Washington, DC-area homes. The incidents and symptoms they describe are similar to the “Havana Syndrome” that has been reported by American diplomats in foreign countries since 2016.
The officials spoke to 60 Minutes for a new report airing Sunday. Other stories of officials being stricken were corroborated by former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who fears there is a threat to the highest levels of the U.S. government.
Judge Ordered to Reconsider United Airlines Employees’ Bid to Put Vaccine Policy on Hold
United Airlines employees who object to the airline putting employees exempt from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate on unpaid leave will have another shot at asking a judge to block the practice.
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a judge who had initially denied their request must reconsider. The ruling from a divided Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals marks the latest step in an ongoing legal battle over Chicago-based United Airlines’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Canada Turns Authoritarian to Shut Down the ‘Freedom Convoy’
Trudeau has not only threatened to arrest the truckers, he has also declared he will take away their licenses — and thus their livelihoods — if they don’t stop protesting.
The prime minister is also threatening, without a court order, to suppress the free speech of Canadians by seizing the bank accounts of anyone who donates to the protesters — actions that would be blatantly unconstitutional here in the United States.
And he is doing all this using an emergency law that is only supposed to be invoked to deal with threats to “sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” of Canada. I’m sorry, but the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada are not under threat.
What is under threat are the basic freedoms of the Canadian people.
Banks Have Begun Freezing Accounts Linked to Trucker Protest
Canadian banks have begun freezing the accounts of people linked to the trucker protests in Canada and the federal government is promising to take more accounts offline in coming days in an attempt to clear demonstrators from Ottawa, which has been occupied for nearly a month.
The powers granted by the Emergencies Act, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked earlier this week, would allow banks to target the accounts of people who have donated to crowdfunding platforms, like the fundraising campaigns on GoFundMe and GiveSendGo, that have fueled the ongoing protests, but Freeland said she would not give “specifics of whose accounts are being frozen.”
Donor information that was leaked from the GiveSendGo campaign — which has raised more than $9.5 million — revealed that more than half the donations going to protest organizers have come from the U.S. An analysis of the data by Newsweek found that California, Texas, Florida, New York and Michigan topped the list of the highest number of U.S. donations by state.
Texas Mom Runs for Judge Seat, Says COVID School Mandates Have ‘Turned Educators Into Enforcers’
A Texas mother of three explained to Fox News Friday why she is running on a “freedom to decide” platform for Dallas County judge. Davis said that her children have been treated differently than other children because they did not wear masks in school.
“They showed up on the first day of school in defiance of the unlawful mandates without a mask, and they were the only two out of 604 kids in the school. And the school in the district made our family a political enemy and treated my kids as though they were the virus themselves,” Davis told host Ainsley Earhardt.
Austin, Dallas and Houston defied Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order banning mask mandates by local governments and other entities.
College of the Desert to Spend $1 Million of COVID Aid on Amazon Gift Cards to Incentivize COVID Vaccines
In March 2021, the U.S. Congress approved $39.6 billion in support to institutions of higher education to serve students and ensure learning continues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Almost a year later, College of the Desert plans to spend $1 million of federal relief aid to purchase Amazon gift cards for students to incentivize them to get COVID-19 vaccines.
The college had announced in January that COD students would receive $100 Amazon gift cards if they provide certification to the college that they have received two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Boosters are not required.
But the college had not said how much it intended to spend on the program. Buying $1 million in gift cards would cover 10,000 students.
Senate Averts Government Shutdown After Amendments to Repeal COVID Mandates Fail
Senators narrowly avoided a government shutdown Thursday evening, passing a short-term funding bill one day before funds were set to lapse.
The bill, which continues funding at current levels, will keep the federal government operating until March 11. Congressional leaders are hopeful that by that time, negotiators will have ironed out an agreement on a yearlong package of funding bills.
Neither of the two COVID-19 mandate amendments ultimately passed, but they did receive support from nearly every Republican in the chamber.
Oscars to Require Guests to Show Proof of Vaccination
The 94th Oscars will require guests to show proof of vaccination, while performers and presenters will be regularly tested but are not required to show vaccination proof, The New York Times first reported Thursday.
The Oscars, which will take place March 27 in Los Angeles, will have a total attendance of 2,500 people, all of whom will need a minimum of two negative PCR tests to attend.
Performers and presenters will reportedly not be required to present proof of vaccination, although they will be required to provide COVID-19 test results.
EU State Sets up Commission on Legality of COVID Jab Mandates
An expert commission of doctors and lawyers has been established and met for the first time on Friday to determine whether Austria’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is legal, according to Austrian media.
The commission is expected to make its first report available by March 8, a week before Austria’s compulsory vaccination law — the first in Europe — is set to come into full effect on March 16.
The law has technically been in force since the beginning of February, but authorities have not yet begun checking citizens’ vaccination status.
Spotify’s Deal With Joe Rogan Is Reportedly Worth ‘at Least’ $200 Million ‘With the Possibility of More’
Joe Rogan’s deal with Spotify is reportedly worth double the amount as previously reported.
According to earlier reports, the streaming service allegedly paid $100 million to exclusively host the 54-year-old’s podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” But on Thursday, two people who are familiar with the transaction told The New York Times that the true value of the deal is “at least” $200 million “with the possibility of more.”
According to the outlet, “The Joe Rogan Experience” is Spotify’s biggest podcast in the United States, as well as 92 other markets. In financial reports, Spotify cited podcasts, and Rogan’s show in particular, as a factor “in the long-sought growth of its advertising businesses.” This is crucial in terms of Spotify’s competition with tech giants, such as Apple and Google.
Meta, Formerly Facebook, Is No Longer One of the World’s Top 10 Most-Valuable Companies
After its stock rout this year, Meta is no longer one of the world’s 10 most-valuable companies.
Meta’s share price is down about 40% year-to-date after the company reported two weeks ago that Facebook’s daily active user base shrank for the first time ever. The social media platform lost about one million users from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2021.
The announcement sent Meta shares plunging 26.4% in just one day on Feb. 3, wiping out $240 billion in market capitalization. It was the largest one-day loss in U.S. corporate history.
Since then, Meta’s share price has extended losses, losing another 13% to date. This has sent the company tumbling down the list of the world’s most-valuable companies by market cap.
China’s Race Towards AI Research Dominance
Since taking its first steps teaching computers board game strategies in the 1950s, research on artificial intelligence has come a long way.
As Statista’s Florian Zandt points out below, in the 21st century in particular, machine learning and its promise for real-time improvements of algorithms through experience and providing access to more data has become the single biggest research focus in the field.
As Zandt shows in the chart below, based on data provided by the OECD.AI project, China is well on its way to surpassing traditional artificial intelligence research powerhouses in the upcoming years.
