President Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday
President Joe Biden signed a bill Thursday afternoon making Juneteenth a federal holiday, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, just in time for Saturday's June 19 anniversary.
A jubilant Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation's first Black vice president, who co-sponsored the legislation when she served in the Senate, spoke about the significance of the moment, noting slaves helped build the White House.
“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names: Jubilee Day. Freedom Day. Liberation Day. Emancipation Day. And today, a national holiday,” Harris said, to cheers and applause in the White House East Room filled with about 80 lawmakers and other guests.
Biden then spoke, calling Juneteenth a day of "profound weight and profound power….in which we remember the moral stain that the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take, what I have long called America's original sin.”
The federal government said most employees will be off this Friday to mark the occasion.
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 to mark the day in 1865 when Black slaves in Galveston, Texas, were among the last to be told they had been freed -- a full two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the Civil War officially ended.
Though advocates have worked for decades to make Juneteenth a national holiday, even succeeding at the state level everywhere but South Dakota, it took Congress only two days to pass the legislation once one Republican senator, Sen. Ron Johnson, who blocked the move last year, dropped his opposition.
The bill then passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Tuesday before passing the House Wednesday night in a 415-14 vote, with all opposition coming from GOP members.
Juneteenth is the first new holiday created by Congress in nearly 40 years, when lawmakers in 1983 designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day as the third Monday in January to memorialize the assassinated civil rights leader.
Source-ABC
Supreme Court upholds Obamacare for a third time
The Supreme Court on Thursday, in a long-anticipated decision, upheld the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, in a case challenging whether the individual mandate can be severed from the rest of the law, or whether the entire law must be struck down.
The mandate initially required that people must buy health insurance or pay a penalty. That provision was upheld in 2012 by a 5-to-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts casting the decisive fifth vote, on the grounds that the provision was covered by the taxing power of Congress. A further challenge in 2017, brought after Congress eliminated the penalty from the ACA individual mandate, was similarly rebuffed by the Court.
In Thursday's decision, the conservative majority court ruled 7-2 to uphold the ACA as it currently stands, with Justice Stephen Breyer writing for the majority, striking down a lower court ruling and saying the plaintiffs -- including Texas and other GOP-led states -- did not have standing to bring the suit.
"We conclude that the plaintiffs in this suit failed to show a concrete, particularized injury fairly traceable to the defendants’ conduct in enforcing the specific statutory provision they attack as unconstitutional. They have failed to show that they have standing to attack as unconstitutional the Act’s minimum essential coverage provision. Therefore, we reverse the Fifth Circuit’s judgment in respect to standing, vacate the judgment, and remand the case with instructions to dismiss," Breyer wrote.
Trump appointees Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the majority decision. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, the latter also a Trump appointee, dissented, with Alito penning the dissent.
The fate of Obamacare will likely have far-reaching political consequences for President Joe Biden and potentially for an estimated 21 million Americans currently covered by the landmark healthcare law, including many with preexisting conditions.
Source-ABC
Nipsey Hussle to receive posthumous star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Nipsey Hussle is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The two-time Grammy-winning artist is among 38 honorees who make up the Walk's Class of 2022.
Other honorees in the category of Recording include DJ Khaled, Ashanti, Black Eyed Peas, funk legend George Clinton, and Motown legend Martha Reeves of Martha & the Vandellas.
Other celebrities receiving stars include Francis Ford Coppola, Macaulay Culkin, Ewan McGregor, Jason Momoa, Tracee Ellis Ross, Norman Reedus, Jean Smart, Ricky Gervais, and the late Carrie Fisher.
The dates of the individual ceremonies have yet to be announced.
Source-ABC
Facebook tests ads in virtual reality headsets
Facebook has begun displaying ads in its Oculus virtual reality headsets, despite the founder of the platform saying it would never do so.
In what the social network described as an experiment, ads will begin to appear in a game called Balston with other developers rolling out similar ads.
It said it would listen to feedback before launching virtual reality ads more widely.
It also revealed it is testing new ad formats "that are unique to VR".
In 2017, shortly after Facebook bought Oculus, creator Palmer Luckey told the Next Web: "We are not going to track you, flash ads at you, or do anything invasive."
But in a blog on Oculus's website, the firm said: "We're exploring new ways for developers to generate revenue - this is a key part of ensuring we're creating a self-sustaining platform that can support a variety of business models that unlock new types of content and audiences."
Users will be able to hide specific ads or those from a certain advertiser and Facebook promised that its privacy policy would remain the same.
"Facebook will get new information, like whether you interacted with an ad, and if so, how... for example, if you clicked on the ad for more information or if you hid the ad."
Source-BBC
UK could be left behind in the electric car race
The UK risks being left in the slow lane when it comes to building electric cars, according to a new report.
Influential green group Transport and Environment (T&E) says as recently as 2018, the UK produced roughly half of all electric cars built in Europe.
But it claims a lack of investment by UK manufacturers means that by the end of the decade that figure will have fallen to just 4%.
This comes at a time when the market is expanding rapidly.
As a result, the Brussels-based campaign group says that, despite being one of the first countries to outlaw the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, the UK will be almost wholly reliant on electric vehicles imported from abroad.
The market for electric cars remains relatively small, but it is growing rapidly, largely due to increasingly stringent emissions limits.
A number of European governments have already set targets for phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered vehicles, in their efforts to meet climate change targets.
The UK, which plans to ban the sale of most new cars with internal combustion engines by 2030, is among the most ambitious.
But according to the study by T&E, manufacturers based here are among the worst prepared for the change.
T&E's report is based on information compiled by industry data specialist IHS Markit, including the carmakers' own market and production forecasts.
It concludes that by 2030, battery-powered electric cars will account for 48% of production across the 27 countries of the EU and the UK. Plug-in hybrids will make up 11%.
Germany is expected to remain the dominant car producer in Europe. By 2030, its output is expected to increase from 4.5 million cars a year to 5.1 million - with half of them being electric.
But the UK, it says, will see output fall from its pre-Covid level of 1.3 million cars a year to just 1 million - and only 24% are expected to be battery-powered electric vehicles.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which represents the automobile industry, strongly refutes T&E's conclusions.
Source-BBC
Hyundai Motor reportedly pushing a project to localize auto chips
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group is out to localize automotive chips to ensure undisrupted supplies by teaming up with foundries at home.
According to industry sources on Monday, Hyundai Mobis responsible for parts for Hyundai and Kia vehicles has proposed a joint project with DB HiTek Co. and Key Foundry Co. to establish automotive chip value chain.
The project will involve power management integrated circuits (PMICs) and microcontroller units (MCUs) that are needed in large quantity to power latest cars of connectivity and electronics functions, sources said.
Hyundai Mobis officially denies the project or having discussions with local foundries. But multiple sources claim the auto conglomerate has already moved on with the vision to localize auto chips.
Hyundai Mobis would design the necessary chips and consign the production at the foundries. The group also could consider taking over a fabless company to design its chips on its behalf.
Car productions have been disrupted at the group’s manufacturing lines at home and the United States due to chip shortage. Its Alabama plant is suspended maximum three weeks from this week for chip adjustment and maintenance.
Chip shortage is expected to affect production of about 4-6 million cars globally, according to Boston Consulting Group. “Auto and auto parts makers much be prepared for the chip crisis for a year from now and thus, close cooperation with chip makers is inevitable,” said Kim Min-ji, a consultant at Boston Consulting Group.
Source- Pulse News
Windows 10 to be retired in 2025
Microsoft says it will stop supporting Windows 10 in 2025, as it prepares to unveil a major revamp of its Windows operating system later this month.
When Windows 10 was launched, Microsoft said it was intended to be the final version of the operating system.
But from 14 October 2025, there will be no new updates or security fixes for either the Home or Pro versions.
And Microsoft says its successor will represent one of the "most significant updates" to the OS in the past decade.
Windows 10 was released in July 2015 and dubbed "Windows as a service", which meant the software was gradually updated at no extra charge, rather than the company releasing a new version of its OS every few years.
At the time, chief executive Satya Nadella said it marked a "new era" for personal computing.
Developer evangelist and Microsoft employee Jerry Nixon went further, describing it as "the last version of Windows".
And Mr Nadella added he was particularly "excited" by features such as digital personal assistant Cortana, which was intended to compete with Apple's Siri.
But Cortana never really took off and in April this year it was retired on mobile, focusing instead on productivity help in Windows 10, Outlook and Teams.
Mr Nadella and chief product officer Panos Panay will launch the new OS at a virtual event on 24 June, with Microsoft now facing stiff competition not just from Apple but also from Google.
Source-BBC
The MOH provides an update on COVID-19 variants in the TCI
The Ministry of Health and Human Services through the National Public Health Laboratory, sends samples meeting the Caribbean Public Health Agencies (CARPHA) sampling criteria, for genomic sequencing. To date, the B.1.1.7 variant has been identified in a number of samples sent for sequencing from the TCI.
On June 10 2021, additional results from CARPHA were received from ten (10) samples which were submitted for sequencing. Of these samples six (6) were identified as variants of concern (VOC). Five samples were reported as the B.1.1.7 variant (Alpha variant) and one sample was positive for the P.1 or Gamma variant.
The World Health Organisation recently renamed the variants with Greek letters. The UK or B.1.1.7. variant is now known as the Alpha variant. The P.1. variant which has now been identified for the first time in the TCI, was previously known as the Brazilian variant and is now called the Gamma variant.
Additionally, 2 cases of the B.1.429 and one of the B.1526 variants were identified which are classified as variants of interest by the World Health Organisation as these may be associated with increased transmissibility.
Genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been emerging and circulating around the world throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Variants of concern are variants for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (e.g., increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.
The vaccines in use in the TCI are effective against the variants identified locally thus far, however the efficacy may be somewhat reduced.
The fact that a number of the variants of concern which are in circulation globally can spread more easily from person to person and may be associated with a higher risk of hospitalization, reinforces the need for more persons to become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the TCI. The vaccine continues to be offered free of cost to all TCI residents throughout the country. Persons are encouraged to register to get vaccinated on https://covidvaccineregistration.gov.tc/.
Barbados reviewing options to tackle fuel prices
Barbados Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Kerrie Symmonds is standing firmly behind his ministry’s regulation of the petroleum sector, in the face of tremendous concern about a sharp climb in the price of the important commodity.
On Monday, the outspoken minister described the fledgling ‘$3.88’ protest movement as “a nonsense”, as he blamed a 61 per cent increase on the import cost of fuel between January and June for the market instability.
And, as stakeholders desperately attempt to tackle the problem, Symmonds is advising consumers to reduce their driving as a worthwhile cost-saving measure.
“I appreciate that people would want to express their own individual concern as it hits them in the pocket. I caution them to apply the best possible analyses and prudence in their decision-making,” Minister Symmonds told Barbados TODAY.
“Frankly, I will not spend my time driving from gas station to gas station just to replace a litre of fuel. That is a nonsense. There is truth to the fact that prices have surged. The Government is conscious of it and looking at all options, but you will make a bad situation worse for yourselves if you only go and buy a litre of gas. If I can make a suggestion, it is wiser wherever possible to limit the amount of driving you do,” he further suggested.
Minister Symmonds was referring to increasing pressure from accountant Olujimi Clarke who has been encouraging citizens to fill their vehicles with one litre of petrol until the government addresses the surging cost of fuel.
Because the current price stands at 3.88 per gallon, the movement has become synonymous with this number.
While acknowledging that he “understands what the young man is trying to do”, Symmonds declared the “emotionally provocative” issue is one that requires more careful analysis.
The minister recalled that at the height of the pandemic when air and ground transportation ground to a halt, waning demand resulted in plummeting oil prices. He explained that as countries rebound and demand suddenly increases, the price of oil has skyrocketed.
“We have looked at all of the price movements between January and June of this year and the imported price of petroleum into this country has gone up by 61 per cent,” contended Symmonds.
“Now that is the price of petroleum without the government taxes being applied so that the fuel tax applied to the litre is still 40 per cent; the excise tax applied to the litre of petroleum products is still at 99 cents on the litre so that the issue that we are dealing with once again is the substantial increase in product,” he added.
Minister Symmonds further defended the relatively high taxes on fuel products contending that it was necessary to fund much-needed improvements to the country’s crumbling road network.
Source-Barbados Today
The Bucks ties the series against the Nets
First they lost James Harden, then Kyrie Irving, and finally the Brooklyn Nets lost their lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Though the series is tied, the Milwaukee Bucks are way ahead in the health category as Sports Watch host Amin McCartney said last week, indicating the Bucks has the pieces to wrap up the nets.
It's down to Kevin Durant as their lone healthy superstar, the Nets limp home to host Game 5 on today Tuesday, a team that once piled up points with ease suddenly struggling to cobble together much offence at all.
The Nets were bitten by the injury bug all season, with long absences for Durant and Harden in the second half. Their three stars played together only eight times in the regular season and they may not have another chance until October.
Coach Nash said Irving won't play tonight Tuesday because of the sprained right ankle he sustained in Game 4. Harden hasn't played since the opening minute of Game 1 because of right hamstring tightness. When he returned from the same injury in April, he promptly strained it minutes into his return and missed the next 18 games, so the Nets are being cautious with him at the moment.
Will the Bucks close out the series or will Durant shoulder it all the way? Time is ticking as we inch closer to game 5.
Here are the results from Monday nights games, Atlanta 103, Philadelphia 100 (Series tied 2-2) and LA Clippers 118, Utah 104 (Series tied 2-2).