ActRight

All my life, I have known this rule about people: Those who don't fight the greatest evils will fight lesser evils or make-believe evils.

Thousands of lives may be at risk this summer in Los Angeles and politicians could be to blame, according to one famous TV doctor.

A lawsuit in Seattle alleges that would-be protesters are prevented from demonstrating by the cost of protecting themselves from police.

Biden administration’s plans to repeal Title 42 without an alternate plan could lead to chaos at America’s southern border.

The new issue of the satiric French magazine Charlie Hebdo, the same magazine that published a number of Muhammad cartoons that triggered murderous attacks by Islamic terrorists, seems to mock t

Little more than half of Americans know the true meaning of Memorial Day, according to a survey.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has expanded her mask mandate to include young children at child-care centers and camps, citing "outbreaks" at the facilities

On 30 December 2019, the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases notified the world about a pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China ([ 1 ][1]). Since then, scientists have made remarkable progress in understanding the causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), its transmission, pathogenesis, and mitigation by vaccines, therapeutics, and non-pharmaceutical interventions. Yet more investigation is still needed to determine the origin of the pandemic. Theories of accidental release from a lab and zoonotic spillover both remain viable. Knowing how COVID-19 emerged is critical for informing global strategies to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks. In May 2020, the World Health Assembly requested that the World Health Organization (WHO) director-general work closely with partners to determine the origins of SARS-CoV-2 ([ 2 ][2]). In November, the Terms of Reference for a China–WHO joint study were released ([ 3 ][3]). The information, data, and samples for the study's first phase were collected and summarized by the Chinese half of the team; the rest of the team built on this analysis. Although there were no findings in clear support of either a natural spillover or a lab accident, the team assessed a zoonotic spillover from an intermediate host as “likely to very likely,” and a laboratory incident as “extremely unlikely” [([ 4 ][4]), p. 9]. Furthermore, the two theories were not given balanced consideration. Only 4 of the 313 pages of the report and its annexes addressed the possibility of a laboratory accident ([ 4 ][4]). Notably, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus commented that the report's consideration of evidence supporting a laboratory accident was insufficient and offered to provide additional resources to fully evaluate the possibility ([ 5 ][5]). As scientists with relevant expertise, we agree with the WHO director-general ([ 5 ][5]), the United States and 13 other countries ([ 6 ][6]), and the European Union ([ 7 ][7]) that greater clarity about the origins of this pandemic is necessary and feasible to achieve. We must take hypotheses about both natural and laboratory spillovers seriously until we have sufficient data. A proper investigation should be transparent, objective, data-driven, inclusive of broad expertise, subject to independent oversight, and responsibly managed to minimize the impact of conflicts of interest. Public health agencies and research laboratories alike need to open their records to the public. Investigators should document the veracity and provenance of data from which analyses are conducted and conclusions drawn, so that analyses are reproducible by independent experts. Finally, in this time of unfortunate anti-Asian sentiment in some countries, we note that at the beginning of the pandemic, it was Chinese doctors, scientists, journalists, and citizens who shared with the world crucial information about the spread of the virus—often at great personal cost ([ 8 ][8], [ 9 ][9]). We should show the same determination in promoting a dispassionate science-based discourse on this difficult but important issue. 1. [↵][10]“Undiagnosed pneumonia—China (Hubei): Request for information,” ProMED post (2019); . 2. [↵][11]World Health Assembly Resolution 73.1: COVID-19 response (2020); [https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf\_files/WHA73/A73\_R1-en.pdf][12]. 3. [↵][13]WHO, “WHO-convened global study of the origins of SARS-CoV-2” (2020); [www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-convened-global-study-of-the-origins-of-sars-cov-2][14]. 4. [↵][15]WHO, “WHO-convened global study of origins of SARS-CoV-2: China part” (2021); [www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-convened-global-study-of-origins-of-sars-cov-2-china-part][16]. 5. [↵][17]WHO, “WHO director-general's remarks at the Member State Briefing on the report of the international team studying the origins of SARS-CoV-2” (2021); [www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-member-state-briefing-on-the-report-of-the-international-team-studying-the-origins-of-sars-cov-2][18]. 6. [↵][19]US Department of State, “Joint statement on the WHO-Convened COVID-19 origins study” (2021); [www.state.gov/joint-statement-on-the-who-convened-covid-19-origins-study/][20]. 7. [↵][21]Delegation of the European Union to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva “EU statement on the WHO-led COVID-19 origins study” (2021); . 8. [↵][22]1. J. Hollingsworth, 2. Y. Xiong , “The truthtellers: China created a story of the pandemic. These people revealed details Beijing left out,” CNN( 2021). 9. [↵][23]1. A. Green, 2. L. Wenliang , Lancet 395, 682 (2020). [OpenUrl][24] [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #ref-4 [5]: #ref-5 [6]: #ref-6 [7]: #ref-7 [8]: #ref-8 [9]: #ref-9 [10]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [11]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [12]: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA73/A73_R1-en.pdf [13]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text" [14]: http://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-convened-global-study-of-the-origins-of-sars-cov-2 [15]: #xref-ref-4-1 "View reference 4 in text" [16]: http://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-convened-global-study-of-origins-of-sars-cov-2-china-part [17]: #xref-ref-5-1 "View reference 5 in text" [18]: http://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-member-state-briefing-on-the-report-of-the-international-team-studying-the-origins-of-sars-cov-2 [19]: #xref-ref-6-1 "View reference 6 in text" [20]: http://www.state.gov/joint-statement-on-the-who-convened-covid-19-origins-study/ [21]: #xref-ref-7-1 "View reference 7 in text" [22]: #xref-ref-8-1 "View reference 8 in text" [23]: #xref-ref-9-1 "View reference 9 in text" [24]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DLancet%26rft.volume%253D395%26rft.spage%253D682%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx

The Biden administration clearly needs to invest much more money to prevent and prepare for another pandemic, according to Daszak.

Republican Carlos Reyes kicked off his campaign last week against Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the District 23 Congressional race. The Republican crowd chanted “Lock her up!” after Wasserman Schultz was mentioned by name. Crowd responds to mentions of @DWStweets at Republican Carlos Reyes' campaign kickoff with chants of "lock her up." pic.twitter.com/kcVvZU8JQG — Broward Politics …

Maybe you shouldn’t post that selfie.

Israel cannot hope to deter this terrorist organisation by negotiation alone

The study, which is based both on desk research and multiple waves of qualitative primary research,

The politicians filed briefs asking the justices to protect democracy by declaring unconstitutional the practice involving the drawing of voting districts.

On Wednesday evening, actor John Cleese, most famous for his work with the comedy troupe Monty Python, which he co-founded, and his work on “Fawlty Towers,” which he co-wrote, suggested on Twitter that his opinion expressed years ago that London was not English anymore was even more true now, con

Decadence in societies begins at a moment when there is no longer any discernable meaning within society. Where has Hollywood led America?

The private jet MI Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said she chartered for her secret trip to Florida in March is not approved to be chartered.

"...they're prohibiting the display of *all* flags that represent political and social causes, which is entirely reasonable."

With the Mexican government unlikely to send a check to Uncle Sam to pay for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall, an Alabama congressman proposes

"...His presence and public statements will boost anti-democratic and rightwing populist elements here."

AG William Barr on Sunday told Fox News that Black Lives Matter protesters have created urban guerrilla warfare' in cities across the United States because of a 'lust for power.'

A short but “shocking” phone call between the Israeli Defense Forces and a Palestinian in Gaza reveals “the entire conflict in a nutshell,” according to Ben Shapiro. In the recording, the

Since Inauguration Day (January 20), Media Research Center analysts have reviewed every mention of President Trump and top administration officials on ABC’s World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News, including weekends. As of August 31, coverage of the administration has totaled nearly 74 hours (4,418 minutes) of airtime, or about 39 percent of all evening news coverage. Analyzing the networks’ spin makes it clear that the goal of all of this heavy coverage is not to promote the President, but to punish him.

A transcript in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report was selectively edited to artificiall...

Robert Senkewicz on understanding Junípero Serra within his historical context.