Here's why women report more side effects from COVID vaccine than men . . . Among nearly 7,000 reports processed through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System from Dec. 14 to Jan. 13, more than 79% of them came from women. The most frequently reported side effects were headache, fatigue and dizziness. Women also are more likely than men to experience some of the vaccine’s more unusual side effects, such as an itchy red rash that appears at the injection site commonly known as COVID arm or Moderna arm, because about 95% of the reactions occur with the Moderna vaccine. Overall, women account for 77% of the Moderna vaccine’s reported side effects. These side effects – even if unusual – are a good sign the vaccine is working to arm the body’s immune system against the coronavirus. But why are women more likely to experience them than men? Health experts say it may be the result of biological differences, inconsistent reporting by men and gender bias in clinical trials. USA Today

Pentagon insists vaccine rollout a success despite spotty data . . . The Pentagon is touting its rollout of coronavirus vaccines even as it is unable to say how many service members have actually received COVID-19 vaccinations.  Defense Department officials say they have delivered more than 2 million shots, but a lack of hard numbers has made it difficult to determine how many of those have gone into the arms of troops versus military families and civilian employees. The uncertainty was apparent on Friday when the Navy's 7th Fleet claimed 96 percent of its personnel were fully vaccinated, only to pull back that assertion after it appeared it had overstated the results.  And on Saturday, reports emerged that nearly 40 percent of active duty and reserve Marines declined the vaccine. The Hill

Zuckerberg group gave Detroit $7.4 million to 'dramatically' expand vote in city key to Biden win . . .The Center for Tech and Civic Life's donations to blue strongholds are attracting increased attention, controversy. The Center for Tech and Civil Life (CTCL), a voter advocacy group funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, donated $7.4 million last year to Detroit to, among other things, "dramatically expand strategic voter education and outreach" in a blue city key to Joe Biden's 2020 election win, according to memos obtained by Just the News under an open records request.  Detroit received three grants in 2020 from CTCL for $200,000, $3,512,000, and $3,724,450, according to the records released under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Just the News

Progressives fight for leverage amid ever-slimming majority . . . Progressives are ascendant in the Democratic-controlled Congress, but they may not have the political leverage to dramatically shape legislative priorities like President Biden’s infrastructure and jobs package as they return to Washington this week with an even slimmer majority. Democrats will need near-total cooperation among everyone in their House and Senate caucuses to pass any bills on their own without GOP support. And while it means only a handful of Democrats can hold up a bill, it also means that they will all be under more pressure than ever to stick together. The Hill

 

After BLM Protests, Police Lethal Force Decreases . . . Places where Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests occurred from 2014 to 2019 experienced a decrease in lethal use of force by police but an overall increase in murders, according to an upcoming soon-to-be peer-reviewed academic study. The study from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst may bolster the so-called Ferguson Effect hypothesis, which holds that police officers are reluctant to do their jobs and follow proper police procedure when dealing with blacks because they fear their actions will be characterized as examples of race-driven police brutality. After violent protests in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, police reforms followed, including the U.S. Department of Justice distributing 21,000 police body cameras to law enforcement. The study came as Patrisse Khan-Cullors, a self-described Marxist and co-founder of the well-funded, influential Black Lives Matter movement provoked a headline-grabbing backlash by purchasing a $1.4 million home in Topanga Canyon, an exclusive, overwhelmingly white suburb of Los Angeles. The movement took in at least $90 million last year and led nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in police custody in May 2020.  Epoch Times

 

Major DC insurance provider hacked by 'foreign cybercriminals' . . . CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield’s Community Health Plan District of Columbia (CHPDC) suffered a data breach carried out by what it described as a “foreign cybercriminal” group in January that potentially impacted sensitive data. The company wrote that the breach had taken place Jan. 28, and that the company had notified both the FBI and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, and was working with cybersecurity group CrowdStrike in responding to the security incident. After analysis, CHPDC assessed the attack was likely carried out by a “sophisticated, foreign cybercriminal enterprise.” The Hill

SECSTATE Blinken to return to Brussels to discuss Russia, Ukraine tensions . . . Secretary of State Antony Blinken will join Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for discussions at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, regarding Iran, Russia and Afghanistan, a top U.S. official said on Saturday. The official told Reuters that Blinken's discussions would focus on Iran, Afghanistan, and the ongoing buildup of Russian military forces near its border with Ukraine.  Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of committing “dangerous provocative actions” in the contested Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, further raising fears that Russia could send troops in to support pro-Russian separatists in the region. Russia has amassed more troops in the region than at any time since it annexed Crimea in 2014. The Hill

All eyes on Taiwan as US-China tensions heat up . . .  Secretary of State Blinken sends shot across Beijing's bow, warning it would be a 'mistake' to invade Taiwan. Chinese and U.S. aircraft carriers are patrolling near the Taiwan Strait. Taipei is running military drills and increasing emergency defense spending. And America's top diplomat is upping the ante, starkly warning Beijing not to invade.

“It would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force," Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared Sunday. This spring as Communist China takes an increasingly aggressive posture to its neighbor Taiwan that it has long wanted to annex and reunify with. Just the News

England reopens with pints pulled, shopping sprees and hair cuts . . . People queued up outside retailers across England on Monday to release their pent-up shopping fever and some grabbed a midnight pint or even an early haircut as England’s shops, pubs, gyms and hairdressers reopened after three months of lockdown. After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain’s peacetime history, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening was a “major step” towards freedom but urged people to behave responsibly as the coronavirus was still a threat. Reuters

 

Prince Philip thought Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview was ‘madness’ . . .Prince Philip reportedly thought that his grandson Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive Oprah Winfrey interview was “madness.” Philip, who died Friday at age 99, also felt that “no good would come of” the early March tell-all, his biographer Gyles Brandreth wrote Sunday in the Daily Mail. Markle sent shockwaves through the Royal household when she claimed during the interview that undisclosed members of the family expressed concern of the color of son Archie’s skin. “I know from someone close to him that he thought Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey was ‘madness’ and ‘no good would come of it,’ ” Brandreth wrote, referring to The Duke of Edinburgh. New York Post

 

BLM activist charged with hate crimes against Asian Americans . . .A Black Lives Matter protester who was charged with hate crimes against Asian Americans spent time in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone last summer. Hamner was arrested last month and charged with hate crimes for "violent, anti-Asian behavior” stemming from multiple occurrences. One woman, Pamela Cole, said he threatened her and her children during a traffic incident. Hamner frequently protested with Black Lives Matter last summer and had posts on social media showing him within Seattle’s CHOP zone, which was established as a police-free zone that saw multiple shootings, deaths, reports of sexual assault, vandalism, and theft. Washington Examiner

Law enforcement knows it really is Hunter Biden’s laptop — not Russian disinformation: Ratcliffe . . . Former President Donald Trump’s top spy chief claims law enforcement knows the laptop purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden is indeed the laptop of President Joe Biden’s son, blasting the former intelligence officials, politicians, and members of the media who suggested the laptop story was a Russian disinformation operation. Last week, Hunter Biden falsely claimed the intelligence community publicly concluded that his laptop saga is “Russian disinformation." During the media blitz to promote his memoir, Beautiful Things, he admitted that the laptop allegedly dropped off for repairs at a Delaware repair shop in 2019 "certainly" could be his and suggested it could have been stolen, could have been hacked, or Russian intelligence services could have been involved. He provided no evidence. Washington Examiner

Ecuador shuns socialism with surprise election . . .Ecuadorean banker Guillermo Lasso unexpectedly won the nation’s presidency on promises to revive an economy battered by coronavirus as his rival’s vows of a return to socialist largesse failed to win over a skeptical electorate. Lasso took 52% of the vote in the runoff following a campaign that pitted free market economics against the social welfare plans of economist Andres Arauz, a win likely helped by a ballot spoiling campaign that left one in six ballots void.  “A third of Ecuadoreans live in poverty, and just three in 10 have access to employment,” Lasso said at a campaign rally last week.

Lasso’s third campaign for the presidency centered on bringing in foreign investment to create jobs and on expanding investments in the agricultural sector. It differed sharply from Arauz’s promises of handing out $1,000 to a million poor families and returning the country to the social welfare programs of former President Rafael Correa, Arauz’s mentor. Reuters

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made pioneering spaceflight 60 years ago . . . Crushed into the pilot’s seat by heavy G-forces, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin saw flames outside his spacecraft and prepared to die. His voice broke the tense silence at ground control: “I’m burning. Goodbye, comrades.” Gagarin didn’t know that the blazing inferno he observed through a porthole was a cloud of plasma engulfing Vostok 1 during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, and he was still on track to return safely. It was his quiet composure under pressure that helped make him the first human in space 60 years ago. Gagarin’s steely self-control was a key factor behind the success of his pioneering 108-minute flight. The April 12, 1961, mission encountered glitches and emergencies — from a capsule hatch failing to shut properly just before blastoff to parachute problems in the final moments before touchdown. Associated Press

United by Division? Lives at stake when a major airline promises to count by race when hiring pilots . . . Don’t miss the almost hilariously bad irony that an airline called “United” is now going to start dividing by race when it comes to hiring pilots. This “woke” HR department run amok is what taxpayers get for last year’s $5 billion federal bailout. The title of the company’s press release is “United Sets New Diversity Goal: 50% of Students at New Pilot Training Academy To Be Women and People of Color.” Out of a planned 5,000 pilots to be trained, United says its “plan is for half of them to be women and people of color.” The company’s current percentages are 7% women and 13% minorities. It should go without saying that no one is clamoring to block women or minorities from becoming pilots. Nor is anyone insisting that 50% of pilots ought to be Republican so as to represent the nation’s political divide. The ultimate measure for any number of career choices, including pilots, is (or should be) qualification and expertise. Patriot Post