Viral News: With new variants circulating and a significant portion of the population reluctant to get vaccinated, it’s unlikely the US will reach herd immunity to Covid-19 any time soon, if at all, The NY Times reports.

   Apoorva Mandavilli writes that scientists are coming to the conclusion that “the virus will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the United States for years to come, still causing hospitalizations and deaths but in much smaller numbers.”

  At this point, a least 147 million Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine, 55 percent of the eligible population 16 and older, and just 44.3 percent of the total population.

Human Smuggling: Four people drowned and dozens needed to be rescued yesterday when a cabin cruiser loaded with migrants hit rocks near San Diego yesterday and broke apart. 

  The number of survivors varies according to several agencies, but it seems to be at least 25. Authorities say some people may have been swept away in a rip current. 

Nuketalk: North Korea warned that the US will face grave trouble if it continues to pursue its “hostile policy” toward their nuclear program. 

  The statement said President Biden made a “big blunder” when he called North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear programs a security threat during his speech before a joint session of Congress last week. Biden described the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea as serious threats to American security and the security of the world and he said he would work with allies to address the threats with “diplomacy and stern deterrence.”

  The North Korean statement warned that they could respond with “corresponding measures.”

  On Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration’s goal is aimed at completely de-nuking the Korean Peninsula. She said the administration will not rely on strategic patience.

Sorry ‘Bout That: The right wing news outlet Newsmax formally apologized for spreading unfounded claims that an employee of Dominion Voting Systems had rigged voting machines as part of an effort to deny President Donald Trump a second term.

  A formal statement on their website said, “Newsmax would like to clarify its coverage.” Retract their coverage is what they did. The statement said Newsmax found “no evidence” for the conspiracy theories pushed by Trump’s lawyers, supporters, and others that the employee, Eric Coomer, manipulated Dominion voting machines, software, and the final vote count. 

  Coomer, the director of product strategy and security for Dominion, sued Newsmax and several pro-Trump mouthpieces for damaging his reputation and causing him emotional distress.  “On behalf of Newsmax, we would like to apologize for any harm that our reporting of the allegations against Dr. Coomer may have caused to Dr. Coomer and his family,” the statement said.

Holy Moly: The archbishop of San Francisco, one of the country’s most conservative Catholics who rules over the territory represented by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said in a 17-page missive that Catholic political leaders who support abortion should be denied holy communion.

  Pelosi is Catholic, and supports the right to an abortion. So does President Biden, but the document doesn’t name any particular politicians.

  The Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone wrote that, “There is a great difference between struggling to live according to the teachings of the Church and rejecting those teachings.  And he said, “Anyone who actively works to promote abortion shares some of the guilt for the abortions performed because of their actions. 

The Sports Page: Famous transexual woman Caitlyn Jenner, who as Bruce Jenner won gold in the decathlon in the 1976 Olympics, said it’s unfair for transgender women to compete in women’s athletics.

  “This is a question of fairness,” Jenner said in a quick ambush interview with the tabloid outlet TMZ coming out of a Starbucks. “That’s why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls’ sports in school. It just isn’t fair. And we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”

  This is a big issue. There are at least 36 bills in state legislatures that would bar transgender kids from playing on teams matching their gender identity rather than their birth gender.

The Obit Page: Olympia Dukakis, who won an Oscar playing the world-weary and wise mother to Cher Bono in the 1989 movie “Moonstruck,” has died at age 89.

  She was a theater actress often in demand for movies in which she tended to play women older than she was. 

The Spin Rack: Sen. Mitt Romney, the Utah Republican who once ran for president and is an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, was booed and heckled by thousands of members of his own party as he spoke at the Utah Republican Party convention on Saturday. — Fire over the weekend ripped through a Covid-19 ward in the city of Bharuch, India, killing 16 of them patients and two health care workers. — Three NASA astronauts and one Japanese returned from the International Space Station overnight Saturday on the first night-time splash down  in 53 years. 

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