 European nations are implementing post-Christmas lockdowns to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases. Several countries, including Spain and the U.K., have seen record highs of daily cases in recent days, and leaders are concerned about the possibility of healthcare systems being overwhelmed. More: - U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there would be no new restrictions before Christmas, but regional leaders in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have all enacted curbs on social mixing.
- France has warned that the number of new daily COVID-19 cases, currently around 70,000, could soon reach 100,000.
- In Germany, new restrictions will begin on Dec. 28. Nightclubs will be closed and people will not be allowed to meet in groups larger than 10.
- Portugal is shutting bars and nightclubs from Dec. 26 and is making working from home obligatory from that date until Jan. 9.
- South Africa's ongoing omicron wave seems to have peaked, indicating that the new variant may cause intense but short-lived surges.
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 A scientist conducting vaccine research at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research - July 2020 The U.S. Army is developing a new type of vaccine designed to protect against all current and future variants of the COVID-19 virus. In the coming weeks, researchers at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research could potentially announce that the vaccine has proven to be effective against the omicron variant in human trials. More: - The vaccine is called the Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine — or the SpFN vaccine.
- Researchers at Walter Reed have been working on the vaccine for almost two years.
- Animal trials were completed successfully earlier this year, and Phase 1 human trials wrapped up this month.
- Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials need to be carried out to determine how effective the vaccine is.
- The director of Walter Reed's infectious diseases branch said:
- "We decided to take a look at the long game rather than just only focusing on the original emergence of SARS, and instead understand that viruses mutate, there will be variants that emerge, future viruses that may emerge in terms of new species. Our platform and approach will equip people to be prepared for that.”
- It is unclear how SpFN vaccination may affect those who have already received another COVID-19 vaccine.
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A federal jury in Boston has convicted Charles Lieber, a nanoscientist who previously chaired Harvard's chemistry department, of making false statements to authorities, filing false tax returns, and failing to report a Chinese bank account. Prosecutors argued that Lieber lied about his relationship with the Wuhan University of Technology in China. More: - Lieber participated in the "Thousands Talent Program," which had foreign researchers collaborate with scientific research institutes in China.
- Prosecutors claimed the program is used by the Chinese government to collect intelligence on research at leading U.S. universities.
- They said Lieber lied about his involvement in the program when he responded to inquiries from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
- Lieber received ~$15M in research grants from the NIH.
- Lieber was paid up to $50,000 per month and $158,000 in living expenses for his involvement in the "Thousand Talents Program," with the money being paid in cash and in deposits into his Chinese bank account.
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 GOOD NEWS: An anonymous donor made a cash donation of $180,000 to help physics and math students at New York's City College. The mysterious donation was sent to the office of Vinod Menon, a physics professor at City College in Harlem. More: - The donation — made in $50 and $100 bills and sent with a letter from an unnamed former student — sat in a cardboard package for more than nine months before Dr. Menon opened it.
- In the letter, the donor said they had benefited from the "excellent educational opportunity" of attending City College before embarking on a "long, productive, immensely rewarding" career in science.
- Dr. Menon said the donation was "a testament to what the physics department has been providing all these years.”
- The donor requested that the money be used to help support junior and senior students majoring in physics and math.
- The department will give out two full-tuition scholarships each year with the donated funds.
- Dr. Menon said that the funds would likely supply a decades-worth of scholarships.
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- 28% of people admitted using their personal device for work more than their work-issued device
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China announced sanctions on four members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as retaliation for American criticism of human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region. The chairwoman and three members of the Commission will be barred from visiting mainland China, and any assets they hold in the country will be frozen. More: - On Dec. 10, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on two Chinese officials accused of involvement in the repression of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
- Over a million Uighurs are believed to have been forced into reeducation camps run by the Chinese government.
- Washington has banned imports from Xinjiang, arguing that products from the region may have been manufactured by forced labor in those camps.
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 Silvio Berlusconi, the 85-year-old politician who was the longest-serving Prime Minister in the history of the Italian Republic, is being considered as a potential candidate for the Italian presidency. In January, Italian parliamentarians and regional representatives will vote to elect Italy's next president. More: - Berlusconi served as Prime Minister and leader of four Italian governments, governing from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011.
- In separate trials in 2013, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and having sex with an underage prostitute. The latter conviction was overturned on appeal a year later.
- Berlusconi is currently a Member of the European Parliament. He was elected in 2019 after a six-year ban from holding public office that followed his 2013 conviction.
- Last month, Berlusconi sent an anthology of his speeches and policies to the ~1,000 Deputies and Senators who make up the Italian parliament.
- With characteristic bravado, Berlusconi said in October: "I think Silvio Berlusconi can be useful to the country."
- Critics in the center-left Democratic Party said Berlusconi is too divisive to serve as president.
- The presidency is the head of state in Italy's governmental system, while the Prime Minister (currently Mario Draghi) is the executive head of government.
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- New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams canceled his inaugural gala due to the omicron-fueled surge in cases. The swearing-in was set to be held at Kings Theater in Brooklyn on Jan. 1. Adams said: "I don’t need an inauguration — all I need is a mattress and a floor to execute being the mayor of the City of New York."
- A British court has ordered Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, to pay £554M ($734M) to his ex-wife and two children following a two-year-long custody court battle.
- Far-right conspiracist Alex Jones filed a lawsuit against the Congressional committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jones was summoned to testify before the committee about his activities in the lead-up to Jan. 6.
- At least 102 migrants died when the wooden boat in which they were traveling capsized off the coast of Libya on Friday. ~1,500 migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year.
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 Wakan-chan-cha-gha (a frame drum) made by a member of Sioux or Dakota tribe. Late 19th C.
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UPCOMING EVENTS - December 29 - Need to Know NoCoder - David Siegel (CEO - Glide) (Register Here)
- January 04 - Venturing in VC with Landon Campbell (Episode #1) (Register Here)
- January 05 - DAOs and the intersection of tech & media with Kinjal Shah (Blockchain Capital) (Register Here)
- January 06 - Augmented and Virtual Reality with Timoni West (VP of AR/VR at Unity) (Register Here)
- January 11 - The Business of Interactive Gambling with Jon Kaplowitz (Penn) (Register Here)
- January 13 - Education within the Metaverse with Steve Grubbs (VictoryXR) (Register Here)
- January 25 - Need To Know NoCoder - Leon Young (Cogniss) (Register Here)
- January 27 - Understanding the Metaverse (Register Here)
- February 03 - Blockchain Gaming & Play-to-Earn Economies (Register Here)
- February 10 - The Business of Wellness (Register Here)
- February 17 - Customer Acquisition in a post iOS 14 world (Register Here)
- February 23 - Need to Know NoCoder: Derya Sousa (Kianda Technologies) (Register Here)
- February 24 - Alternative Investments (Register Here)
- March 03 - The $12B Appetite for Amazon Aggregators (Register Here)
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 |  | Daniel Smith is an Inside Analyst who currently resides in Miami, Florida. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Daniel spent the last four years as a PhD candidate in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. He is fascinated by tech, business, politics, venture capital, and everything in between. When he’s not writing for Inside he can be found kicking a ball on the nearest rugby pitch. Follow him on Twitter @DanSmithInside. |  | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is writing an illustrated book about climate change that will be published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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