Russia can’t allow attempts to force RT’s 24-hour German-language channel off air in Europe to proceed “without consequences,” the Kremlin said on Wednesday, arguing that the European Union is now betraying its own stated values. Read Full Article at RT.com

Russia can’t allow attempts to force RT’s 24-hour German-language channel off air in Europe to proceed “without consequences,” the Kremlin said on Wednesday, arguing that the European Union is now betraying its own stated values. Read Full Article at RT.com

On Wednesday, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for Pfizer’s antiviral drug treatment Paxlovid for use against COVID-19. Data from clinical trials indicated that when taken within five days after the onset of symptoms, the pill is 88% effective in reducing the chance of severe illness resulting in hospitalization. And, because the drug is available as a pill which is taken twice a day for five days, it’s not just a treatment that can be administered in a clinical setting. This EUA extends to at-home care. Pfizer says that it is “ready to start immediate delivery in the U.S.” That includes delivery of the 10 million doses that have been pre-purchased by the U.S. government. The drug is authorized for the use by those age 12 and older who are suffering mild to moderate symptoms, and who have tested positive for COVID-19. As the drug becomes available, the focus will be getting the drug to those most in danger of severe illness, but if the record of effectiveness and safety from the trials holds up in real-world tests against omicron and other variants, Paxlovid could easily become the standard of treatment. Pfizer reports that it has ramped up production and hopes to have enough for 80 million to 120 million courses of treatment in 2022. The timing of this release could have been better—because earlier availability is always better. But it certainly could have been worse. As the U.S. is facing a surge of omicron cases, an at-home pill that cuts the rate of hospitalization to one-tenth of what it might have been could be just the medical miracle the nation needed.

Amazon has announced a limit to the number of at-home Covid test kits per customer as demand surges amid a rise in cases since the discovery of the Omicron variant. Walgreens and CVS also introduced purchase limits. Read Full Article at RT.com

Efforts by Western nations to shut Russia out of the global defense arena are failing to materialize, the country’s defense minister has said, arguing that Moscow boasts an array of partners worldwide for military cooperation. Read Full Article at RT.com

With three weeks left to go in open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) for most states, the Biden administration has already achieved record enrollments. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Wednesday that the “Open Enrollment Period is outpacing all previous years, a historic high of more than 13.6 million people already enrolled in health insurance coverage for 2022 through HealthCare.gov and State-based Marketplaces (SBMs).” What’s more, 92% of the people enrolling in the states using the federal exchange have received premium tax credits for their plans, thanks to the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which expanded premium eligibility. That’s more than 400,000 people so far who would not have qualified for the credits before the ARP. Since President Joe Biden took office, more than 4.6 million previously uninsured people got coverage through Obamacare.

The 2022 Andrey Stenin International Press Photo Contest began accepting submissions on Wednesday, marking the birthday of the slain Russian reporter whose memory it honors. Andrey was killed in 2014 in eastern Ukraine. Read Full Article at RT.com

President Joe Biden will make a public statement on the anniversary of the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, the White House said. This comes after former President Donald Trump said he would hold a public event on that day. Read Full Article at RT.com

Brazil's Ian Matos, who represented his country at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, has died from a lung infection which he had battled for two months in hospital. Read Full Article at RT.com

Tensions are flaring between Russia and a number of Western nations, but there is hope that newly-announced talks with the US could reduce the risk of escalation and boost stability in Europe, Moscow's Foreign Minister has said. Read Full Article at RT.com

The Department of Justice (DOJ) made a decision today that can only be considered one thing to thousands of people… a Christmas miracle.  In a stunning reversal, the DOJ‘s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) ruled to allow inmates released from prison at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to remain free even after the federal CARES Act, a coronavirus health emergency, concludes.  The OLC determined that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has the “discretion to permit prisoners in extended home confinement to remain there."

Roman Abramovich, a Russian businessman and owner of the Chelsea Football Club, in London, has settled a lawsuit with HarperCollins over unsubstantiated claims that he purchased the club at the behest of President Vladimir Putin. Read Full Article at RT.com

The move forcing a European satellite operator to take RT’s 24-hour German-language channel off air is a sign of unhealthy competition, RT CEO Alexey Nikolov has said, adding that it would defend its broadcasting rights in court. Read Full Article at RT.com

It should come as no surprise that energy companies are threatened by climate change mitigation. Saving the planet but offsetting profits apparently sounds so unappealing that companies like Florida Power & Light (FPL) will do anything to keep shareholders happy and their pockets lined. A recent investigation from the Miami Herald and Floodlight found that FPL would rather splurge on candidates willing to do the company’s bidding than look toward a greener future. FPL donated $10,000 to the political committee of Jennifer Bradley to get the Republicans to push a bill targeting net metering. Net metering allows customers with solar panels (or any other renewable energy source) to offset their utility bills by selling excess energy back to a power company. FPL sent a lobbyist to hand-deliver Bradley a company-drafted bill that she turned around and filed in November. Bradley wasn’t the only lawmaker that appears to have been targeted by FPL: An identical bill was filed by Rep. Lawrence McClure in the Florida House. McClure has, of course, benefitted from FPL’s generosity to candidates the company can manipulate. According to filings detailing campaign donations from the 2020 election cycle, McClure racked up thousands from PACs and CCEs affiliated with FPL, including donations from its parent company’s PAC. NextEra, which owns FPL, spent $2,000 on the candidate alone through its Florida PAC. And McClure’s Conservative Florida political committee received $10,000 from Voice of Florida Business PAC, which pushes FPL’s agenda. FPL is notorious for throwing money at lawmakers in an effort to get its way, especially when it comes to solar panels. In 2016, FPL backed a failed ballot measure that would make installing rooftop solar panels costlier and more hassle.

Pfizer’s Paxlovid tablets against Covid have been given emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The first pill treatment of this kind, it can be prescribed to high-risk patients aged 12 and older. Read Full Article at RT.com

After a female Twitch streamer posted a clip where she encountered rude ‘Halo’ players telling her to quit the game, Xbox co-creator Jonathan Blackley has called for more regulation to combat toxicity in online games. Read Full Article at RT.com

It should come as no surprise that energy companies are threatened by climate change mitigation. Saving the planet but offsetting profits apparently sounds so unappealing that companies like Florida Power & Light (FPL) will do anything to keep shareholders happy and their pockets lined. A recent investigation from the Miami Herald and Floodlight found that FPL would rather splurge on candidates willing to do the company’s bidding than look toward a greener future. FPL donated $10,000 to the political committee of Jennifer Bradley to get the Republicans to push a bill targeting net metering. Net metering allows customers with solar panels (or any other renewable energy source) to offset their utility bills by selling excess energy back to a power company. FPL sent a lobbyist to hand-deliver Bradley a company-drafted bill that she turned around and filed in November. Bradley wasn’t the only lawmaker that appears to have been targeted by FPL: An identical bill was filed by Rep. Lawrence McClure in the Florida House. McClure has, of course, benefitted from FPL’s generosity to candidates the company can manipulate. According to filings detailing campaign donations from the 2020 election cycle, McClure racked up thousands from PACs and CCEs affiliated with FPL, including donations from its parent company’s PAC. NextEra, which owns FPL, spent $2,000 on the candidate alone through its Florida PAC. And McClure’s Conservative Florida political committee received $10,000 from Voice of Florida Business PAC, which pushes FPL’s agenda. FPL is notorious for throwing money at lawmakers in an effort to get its way, especially when it comes to solar panels. In 2016, FPL backed a failed ballot measure that would make installing rooftop solar panels costlier and more hassle.

Former New York Times reporter and outspoken critic of the US response to the Covid pandemic Alex Berenson is suing Twitter for suspending his account, claiming the platform “acted on behalf of the federal government. Read Full Article at RT.com

Senate Democrats held a “Zoom caucus” Tuesday night, and the big question was whether Sen. Joe Manchin would attend. He did, but little progress seemed to be made, according to various sources to CNN and Politico. Manchin continued his specious claims about inflation and the deficit. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stuck to his intent to force votes on both President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better (BBB) Plan and on voting rights and elections reform, setting up a possible filibuster reform fight with Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. "I know we are all frustrated at this outcome,” Schumer said of their failure to pass the bill by his Christmas deadline and Manchin’s announcement on Fox News Sunday that he couldn’t support BBB. “However, we are not giving up on BBB. Period. We won't stop working on it until we pass a bill,” he said, according to CNN’s sources. Those sources said Manchin stuck to his ill-informed guns. “Inflation is a serious issue. These programs will cost more than they are saying. I can't add to the debt,” he reported said. CNN’s sources “added that Democrats spoke up and took issue with Manchin's characterizations.” Because that has worked so well.

One of Ukraine’s top politicians has alleged that signals coming from Russia indicate that Moscow could be plotting a full-blown nuclear attack against its Eastern European neighbor in a new sensational intervention. Read Full Article at RT.com

Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi is set to stand trial on charges linked to an incident in which he is alleged to have detonated a large firework at the office of his brother-in-law ,causing significant damage to the building. Read Full Article at RT.com

The NHL has officially pulled the plug on its players competing in next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing after a surge in Covid-19 infections in the sports league which had previously heralded its own mass vaccination drive. Read Full Article at RT.com

Senate Democrats held a “Zoom caucus” Tuesday night, and the big question was whether Sen. Joe Manchin would attend. He did, but little progress seemed to be made, according to various sources to CNN and Politico. Manchin continued his specious claims about inflation and the deficit. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stuck to his intent to force votes on both President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better (BBB) Plan and on voting rights and elections reform, setting up a possible filibuster reform fight with Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. "I know we are all frustrated at this outcome,” Schumer said of their failure to pass the bill by his Christmas deadline and Manchin’s announcement on Fox News Sunday that he couldn’t support BBB. “However, we are not giving up on BBB. Period. We won't stop working on it until we pass a bill,” he said, according to CNN’s sources. Those sources said Manchin stuck to his ill-informed guns. “Inflation is a serious issue. These programs will cost more than they are saying. I can't add to the debt,” he reported said. CNN’s sources “added that Democrats spoke up and took issue with Manchin's characterizations.” Because that has worked so well.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a formal probe into certain Tesla vehicles on Wednesday, after reports emerged that drivers can play video games on the car's touchscreen while in motion. Read Full Article at RT.com

One of Ukraine’s top politicians has alleged that signals coming from Russia indicate that Moscow could be plotting a full-blown nuclear attack against its Eastern European neighbor in a new sensational intervention. Read Full Article at RT.com