News Room

The Chinese communist regime has recently signaled that it could leverage its dominance in rare earth minerals, raising alarm bells in the United States. The threat has prompted the Biden administration to take action to reduce U.S. reliance on China for rare earth metals that are used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles to fighter jets. In 1992, Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping predicted the importance of rare earths to China’s future when he famously said, “The Middle East has oil. China has rare earths.” Today, China is the dominant global supplier of rare earths, a group of 17 chemical elements used in the production of critical components of key technologies, which could easily be used as a weapon against other countries in a trade war or a conflict.

Across the country, more than 250 employees at meatpacking plants have died of the coronavirus. Congress has opened an investigation into the outbreaks as the companies try to stem the COVID infections. In North Carolina, one large Tyson Foods poultry plant is making some workplace changes. The Tyson complex is nestled in the center of Wilkesboro. It’s a massive facility, employing around 3,000 people. That’s a lot for this small, rural community. The town manager of Wilkesboro, Ken Noland, says it’s a challenging time for both the region and Tyson. “You put that many people together, you got to have cases. It’s impossible not to and so we all have to realize that," he says. "This community spread right now has really got us very concerned overall.”

Florida adds 150 COVID-19 deaths, 11 in Duval County; cases, tests sharply decline. Both new case and new test numbers plunged to their lowest levels in months across Florida, as the state recorded 150 additional deaths Monday from the coronavirus pandemic. Northeast Florida recorded 13 of these deaths in the state's online dashboard, with 11 in Duval County and one each in Putnam and St. Johns counties. So far, the Florida Department of Health has recorded 1,972 deaths across the six-county region, which is on pace to surpass 2,000 COVID-19 fatalities as soon as this week. 

As of Monday, Nick Muerdter had gotten 2.4 million hits on a page he launched two weeks ago to help people find open COVID-19 vaccine appointments at nearby pharmacies. “I just wanted to simplify it, so you didn’t have to click a dozen times to find out there are no appointments available,” the Colorado programmer said. The nation's vaccine appointment system is broken in many places, leading to a race to find appointments that in many places works best for the lucky, the internet-savvy or the mobile. "I have plenty of neighbors who are driving hours to get to other counties where they can get vaccinated, but not everybody can do that," said Melissa McPheeters, a professor of health policy and biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

People who show up to Maryland's mass coronavirus vaccination clinics will not be turned away for lack of documentation or proof of eligibility - a possible benefit for some of the state's at-risk residents, but also for those exploiting the system, medical ethicists, logistics experts and lawmakers say. Like other states, Maryland relies on an "honor system" at its mass vaccination sites, where those who show up for their shorts without proof of eligibility or photo identification are asked to sign affidavits immunized, according to Dennis R. Schrader, the state's acting health secretary.