January 1, ‘Russian Agent’ Audio of Biden Thrives Online

This Day in HIstory | 1953

Senator John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island. Seven years later, the couple would become the youngest president and first lady in American history.

Good morning Middle Americans,

Are you sure you are getting accurate information from the internet? If you are reading this, you can feel confident about at least one news source, but what about the rest? We ask because an old clip of former Vice President Biden that was first dropped by a Ukrainian businessman has been circulated by a lot of people including the current president. We understand the desire to win at all costs, but we also know that there’s a price to be paid for capitalizing on information one knows to be false, but uses said information anyway. No debt in the universe goes unpaid. 

Also today, The Atlantic magazine raised eyebrows on Friday when it published a piece calling for the abolition of the Nobel Peace Prize after President Trump was nominated for the prestigious honor. A Chinese virologist who has reportedly been in hiding for fear of her safety has stepped out into the public eye again to make the explosive claim that she has the scientific evidence to prove COVID-19 was man-made in a lab in China. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday afternoon to reform California’s inmate firefighter program.

Read all about it. 

-Fraser Dixon

Biden Audio First Shared by ‘Russian Agent’ Thrives Online

(AP) –  The leaked recordings were hardly a political bombshell: The apparent conversations between Joe Biden and Ukraine’s then-president largely confirm Biden’s account of his dealings in Ukraine. 

But the choppy audio, disclosed by a Ukrainian lawmaker whom U.S. officials described Thursday as an “active Russian agent” who has sought to spread online misinformation about Biden, was nonetheless seized on by President Donald Trump as well as his supporters to promote conspiracy theories about the Democratic nominee. Social media posts and videos about the recordings have been viewed millions of times, according to an Associated Press analysis, even though Trump’s own administration says they rely on “false and unsubstantiated narratives.”

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The Atlantic Calls to ‘End the Nobel Peace Prize’ Following Trump Nominations

(Fox News) – The Atlantic magazine raised eyebrows on Friday when it published a piece calling for the abolition of the Nobel Peace Prize after President Trump was nominated for the prestigious honor.

The president’s name was submitted for the 2021 prize by Norwegian lawmaker Christian Tybring-Gjedde, who cited Trump’s role in brokering a peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Trump has since earned a second nomination from Swedish lawmaker Magnus Jacobsson for overseeing an economic deal between Kosovo and Serbia.

The nominations, however, apparently didn’t sit well with the liberal magazine, which declared Friday that “peace had its chance, and blew it.”

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Chinese Virologist Claims She Has Proof COVID-19 was Made in Wuhan Lab

(NY Post) – A Chinese virologist who has reportedly been in hiding for fear of her safety has stepped out into the public eye again to make the explosive claim that she has the scientific evidence to prove COVID-19 was man-made in a lab in China.

Dr. Li-Meng Yan, a scientist who says she did some of the earliest research into COVID-19 last year, made the comments Friday during an interview on British talk show “Loose Women.”

When asked where the deadly virus that has killed more than 900,000 around the globe comes from, Yan — speaking via video chat from a secret location — replied, “It comes from the lab — the lab in Wuhan and the lab is controlled by China’s government.”

She insisted that widespread reports that the virus originated last year from a wet market in Wuhan, China, are “a smokescreen.”

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Fire Emergency: CA Gov. Signs Bill Allowing Inmates to Fight FIres  

(ABC 7) – Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday afternoon to reform California’s inmate firefighter program.

“Inmates who have stood on the frontlines, battling historic fires should not be denied the right to later become a professional firefighter,” Gov. Newsom said on Twitter after signing the assembly bill into law.

The bill paves the way for California inmates who’ve worked on the frontlines of wildfires to work professionally as a firefighter once they’ve successfully completed their prison time.

CAL FIRE trains minimum security prison inmates and pays them $1 per hour while in the field and $2 per day when they’re not on duty.

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