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What Happened: On Thursday, the Commerce Department released a report showing that the US economy grew a robust 6.5% in the second quarter, another sign that the economy is in a recovery. With the acceleration in the nation's GDP (gross domestic product), the total size of the economy has actually surpassed the pre-pandemic level. The quarterly numbers, although positive, were lower than what analysts had expected, mostly due to supply chain bottlenecks. Consumer spending als

What Happened: On Wednesday, the Senate voted 67-32 in favor of opening debate on a $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill. The bill was put together by a bipartisan group after weeks of negotiating. Over half the bill, $550 Billion, is dedicated to new federal spending, $73 billion to rebuild the electric grid, $66 billion for passenger and freight trains, $65 billion to expand Internet access, $55 billion for water infrastructure, $40 billion for bridges, $39 billion to help moder

What Happened: On Wednesday, Pfizer released data showing that a third dose of its Covid-19 vaccine can "strongly" boost protection against the Delta variant. The data shows that antibody levels in people ages 18-55 who receive a third shot can be up to 5 times greater than people who only received two doses. For people 65-85 years of age, a third dose can increase antibody levels up to 11 times versus who received only two doses. The data has not been peer reviewed or publis

What's Happening: According to sources, on Thursday, President Biden is expected to make an announcement requiring all federal employees and contractors to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or to submit to regular testing. News of the mandate has leaked on the same day that the CDC updated their face mask guidance for fully vaccinated people. The CDC now recommends that fully vaccinated people still use masks indoors when they are in areas with high transmission of Covid-19. Sai

What Happened: On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs became the first major federal agency to require that their health care workers get Covid-19 vaccines. The mandatory vaccinations will cover specific medical personnel including physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, registered nurses, physician assistants and others who work in departmental facilities or provide direct care to veterans. The move comes as the more virulent Delta variant spreads throughout

What's Happening: As massive wildfires continue to burn their way through Northern California, Oregon and Montana, multiple homes were destroyed on Saturday as California's largest wildfire, the Dixie Fire, intensified. Extremely dry conditions have led to the formation of these massive wildfires on the West Coast. The Oregon Bootleg Fire continues to be the nation's largest wildfire with 2,200 crew members actively working to combat it. California Governor Gavin Newsom decla

What's Happening: Several countries in the Asian-Pacific area are experiencing surges of Covid-19 infections, leading to overwhelmed hospitals and record death rates. Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar have been particularly hard hit and are having trouble keeping up with new patients as well as new cremations and burials. All three countries have now surpassed India's per capita death rate during this latest wave of Covid-19 infections. Experts believe that the record number o

What's Happening: Extremely dry conditions have led to massive wildfires on the West Coast, especially in Oregon and California. The Oregon Bootleg Fire has grown to over 606 square miles and the Sierra Nevada region of California has multiple wildfires threatening some of the small communities in the area. At least 2,000 homes have been evacuated at some point and another 5,000 homes are currently threatened. The dry conditions have created a tremendous amount of smoke and a

What Happened: On Tuesday, the chair of former President Donald Trump's inaugural committee, Thomas Barrack, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to influence Trump's foreign policy positions to benefit the United Arab Emirates. Barrack, along with two others, was charged in New York Federal Court with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during an interview with federal agents. The other two charged in the suit are Matthew Grimes and Ra

What Happened: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 726 points on Monday amid escalating concerns over the Covid-19 Delta variant. This is the largest drop of 2021 and the biggest fall since October of last year. The recent upswing in new Covid infections has led to concerns over the post-pandemic economic recovery. Increased inflation numbers also have investors anxious about the stability of the market. Overall, the DOW fell 2.09%, the S&P fell 1.59% and the Nasdaq fell 1.

What Happened: Saturday evening, a shooting outside of Nationals Park in Washington D.C. led to fans and players evacuating the stadium. The shooting, which occurred outside of the stadium, involved two vehicles and resulted in three people being injured. One of the vehicles was recovered and two people are being questioned by police. The other vehicle is still at-large. Fans began to flee their seats and seek shelter as soon as they heard gunfire at the bottom of the 6th inn

What’s Happening: The massive floods that overtook parts of Western Germany and Belgium this week have begun to recede, but the damage is significant. According to officials, the confirmed death toll has now surpassed 160 people. Search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing with up to 1300 people still missing or trapped. The German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia were the hardest hit with 98 and 43 confirmed deaths, respectively. The death toll in Belgium

What’s Happening: On Friday, officials announced that at least 100 people died in the massive floods overtaking parts of Western Germany and Belgium. Rescue operations are ongoing with up to 1300 people still missing or trapped. The German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia were the hardest hit thus far with 50 and 43 confirmed deaths, respectively. The death toll in Belgium rose to 12 on Friday with 5 people still unaccounted for. Flash floods occurr

What Happened: Tuesday evening, Senate Democrats announced that they had agreed on a $3.5 Trillion spending budget for the next decade. If approved, the enormous budget will allow federal spending in several Democrat-supported segments such as climate change, health care and family-service programs. The Democrats goal is to get the agreement approved by the House and Senate before the August recess. Most political experts believe they will face much opposition from the GOP. D

What Happened: On Monday, a massive fire broke out in the coronavirus ward of the Al-Hussein hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, resulting in at least 58 deaths and 100+ people being injured. Officials say the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit, but have not elaborated beyond that. Iraqi Prime Minister al-Kadhimi ordered the arrest of the health director, the hospital director and the city’s civil defense director as the government launches its investigation. This is the

What Happened: On Sunday, North Korea and China celebrated the 60th Anniversary of their countries' defense treaty. The leaders of each country expressed interest in strengthening the relationship between the two countries. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said, North Korea wishes to "ceaselessly develop the friendly and cooperative relations” between the two countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed similar sentiments saying, "I wish to ... lead bilateral relations to

What's Happening: Several countries in the Asian-Pacific area are experiencing surges of Covid-19 infections, in some cases leading to new lockdowns and safety measures. On Friday, Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam all introduced new safety measures to try and slow the sudden surge in new cases. Experts believe that the record number of new cases in the region is, in part, due to the more contagious Delta variant of the disease as well as low local vaccination numbers. Indone

Latest Updates with the Coronavirus: On Thursday, global Covid-19 related deaths surpassed 4 million people. There have been 185 million+ confirmed Covid-19 cases worldwide and over 3.3 billion people have received a vaccine thus far. The US, India and Brazil continue to be the hardest hit countries with over 83 million confirmed cases and over 1.5 million deaths. (Source: Johns Hopkins). Despite the vaccine rollout worldwide, medical experts are concerned about the more cont

What Happened: Wednesday evening, Communications Secretary Frantz Exantus announced that the authorities had captured the "presumed assassins" of former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and that the suspects were detained in Pelerin. Early Wednesday, Haiti’s interim Prime Minister announced that Haitian President Jovenel Moïse had been assassinated by a squad of gunmen during an overnight attack at his home. First Lady Martine Moïse was also hurt during the attack and is curre

What Happened: On Wednesday, Haiti’s interim Prime Minister announced that Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated during an overnight attack at his home. First Lady Martine Moïse was also hurt during the attack and is currently hospitalized. With a suffering economy and runaway inflation, many Haitians were displeased with Moïse’s leadership. Moïse had been ruling as a provisional president for over two years after the country failed to hold presidential elections.