X factor

On June 14, 1940 , the day the German army invaded and occupied Paris, a small group of scientists marched to the White House with grave news for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. U.S. military technology, they said, was utterly unprepared to take on the Axis powers. They urged the president to create a new agency—a dream team of techies and scientists—to help win the war. In response, Roosevelt assembled an agency that became known as the Office of Scientific Research and Development, or OSRD. Led by Vannevar Bush, the former dean of the MIT School of Engineering, the office ultimately employed more than 1,500 people and directed thousands of projects around the country. By the end of the war, it had spawned military inventions such as the proximity fuse, radar, and—after one of its programs spun off to become the Manhattan Project—the atomic bomb. OSRD’s breakthroughs went far beyond missiles and bombs. It supported the first-ever mass production of penicillin in part by …

[Read more...] about World War II’s Lesson for After the Pandemic

During an interview with Evening Standard , former wife of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith reflected on her time in Pakistan and the struggles she faced due to her inter-faith marriage to the premier. Goldsmith is currently busy with her two upcoming projects - What’s Love Got To Do With It and Impeachment which is about former US President Bill Clinton’s affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. While talking about producing the upcoming shows, she said, “The stories that I choose to explore are always ones that resonate with me on a personal level.” Goldsmith is producing Impeachment with Ryan Murphy, a ten-part drama on Clinton-Lewinsky affair. Earlier in 2017 Goldsmith also produced a documentary on the scandal. Goldsmith said, “Monica was really vulnerable because a famous actor had just said, ‘why did they let you in?’ I don’t think in England we have any real sense of the extent to which she was demonized. That was one of my big motivations for getting the …

[Read more...] about Jemima Goldsmith on religion, dissimilarities and marriage with ex-husband Imran Khan

Mixed messaging and extreme caution from authorities around the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine could hurt immunisation rates across Europe and lead to more deaths from COVID-19, a drug safety expert told Euronews. Concerns over reports of blood clots in a small number of recipients of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine prompted more than a dozen European countries to suspend use of the jab in recent days, even though the company and international health bodies said there was no indication that the vaccine was causing the clotting, and that inoculation should continue. The World Health Organization again backed the AstraZeneca jab on Thursday, saying it saves lives and that its benefits outweigh any risks. AstraZeneca jab pause 'will definitely increase vaccine hesitancy' Anthony Cox, a reader in clinical pharmacy and drug safety at the University of Birmingham, said the authorities' decision to suspend the jab pending a new safety review from the European …

[Read more...] about Halting AstraZeneca vaccine ‘will lead to deaths’ says drug safety expert

A “brilliant” student took her own life after contracting coronavirus and feeling “locked up”, her heartbroken father says. Sinead Bowles' devastated parents Andy and Anita Bowles say she had shown no signs of feeling depressed or having mental health issues. The 21-year-old, who was a team leader at Alton Towers, had been furloughed during the pandemic and just “put her head down” to get on with her university studies, StokeonTrentLive reports. Then, days before her death, she had gone out with friends and contracted Covid. Her father, Andy, said: “I think her feelings came on quickly. She just felt she’d got Covid and was locked up. She had just completed the second year of her degree course at Staffordshire University “Like a lot of parents who are in this position, the common denominator is you never expect your child to take that course of action.” Sinead had just completed the second year of her degree course at Staffordshire University and …

[Read more...] about Student, 21, took her own life after contracting Covid and feeling ‘locked up’

In a world that is ever in need of role models, his emergence alongside his DafriGroup Plc is a positive development for Africa. For someone born into poverty, whose childhood was spent on the dusty streets of Burgersfort, a town in Mpumalanga province of South Africa, Xolane Ndhlovu had his fair share of the hard-knock life, including working as a dishwasher at 17, becoming a DJ with relative success and being convicted for gang activities in 2013. But in eight years, Xolane, son of a Nigerian father and South African mother, changed the story of his life, taking advantage of the circumstances surrounding his life. The most important factor in his metamorphosis is none other than the willpower to chose a path. In this regard, his prison experience was the ultimate catalyst. His worldview changed after reading “Losing My Virginity,” the Richard Branson biography, that set him on the path of entrepreneurship, which he started by investing in Binance, a crypto blockchain …

[Read more...] about Biography of Xolane Ndhlovu: From zero to hero

This week, Brussels negotiators promised to reform the Northern Ireland Protocol with hopes that it could end months of post-Brexit bickering between the bloc and the British Government. Readers took this opportunity to share why they feel the protocol is unnecessary. Elsewhere, the first major report into the Government’s pandemic response concluded that Britain did not lock down sooner due to a ministerial failure to challenge poor scientific advice . In response, our readers offered up how they believe the pandemic should have initially been dealt with.Read on to find out what our readers had to say about these stories and the week’s biggest talking points. Get‌ ‌involved‌ ‌in‌ ‌future‌ ‌round-ups‌ ‌by‌ ‌joining‌ ‌the‌ ‌ Telegraph‌ ‌Community‌ ‌Facebook‌ ‌group.‌ Revealed: EU's four-pronged plan to reform Northern Ireland Protocol and end months of Brexit bickering On Wednesday, negotiators from Brussels travelled to London, with promises to bend and break their …

[Read more...] about ‘All goods must be able to move without restriction’ – Readers on the week’s biggest talking points

The death of a second teen from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the death of the father of a Sandy Hook shooting victim have put a spotlight on suicide and the rippling effects a mass shooting can have on survivors. Jeremy Richman, whose 6-year-old daughter, Avielle Richman, was among the 26 children and educators killed in the Dec. 14, 2012, mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, was found dead Monday morning from an apparent suicide, according to police in Newtown, Connecticut. In Florida, a student currently enrolled at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed on Feb. 14, 2018, was found dead Saturday night in an apparent suicide, according to police in Coral Springs, Florida, a town about 10 miles from Parkland, Florida, where the high school is located. The student, whose name has not been released, was a sophomore at the school, sources told The Miami Herald . (MORE: Olympic track cyclist Kelly Catlin …

[Read more...] about 2 Parkland teens, Sandy Hook dad die from apparent suicides: How to help with suicide prevention

In the House’s first congressional hearing on gun violence prevention in almost a decade, tensions flared between the father of a Parkland high school shooting victim and a Florida lawmaker. During the meeting, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said illegal immigration, not guns, is a major factor behind acts of public violence that have plagued the nation over the past two decades. The hearing took place one week before the one-year anniversary of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida which left 17 people dead and more than a dozen injured. Proposed legislation, currently in committee, would impose universal background checks on gun sales. “As we hear the stories and circumstances for those here, I hope we do not forget the pain and anguish and sense of loss felt by those all over the country who have been the victims of violence at the hands of illegal aliens,” Gaetz said. The proposed legislation "would not have stopped the many of the …

[Read more...] about Parkland victim’s father and congressman have heated exchange at gun-violence hearing

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas surprised many seasoned Court watchers when he asked the first question of the 2021/2022 term earlier this month. Thomas, now the Court's longest-serving member, has developed a reputation for reticence and often does not speak during the rapid-fire questioning period of oral arguments. However, the conservative dove right into questioning counsel in a case dealing with a ground water dispute between Mississippi and Tennessee in what some viewed as a sign of the shifting balance of power on the court. The nation's highest court now has a 6-3 conservative majority and Chief Justice John Roberts' influence has declined as a result. A swing vote, Roberts was previously the decisive factor in close votes and famously sided with the liberals in some key cases but now that there are five other conservative justices, the chief justice appears increasingly sidelined . Thomas may now feel more comfortable in his position as the …

[Read more...] about Clarence Thomas has big shoes to fill to become SCOTUS leading conservative

Andrew Marr quizzes Adam Price on Welsh independence Sign up for FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info With May’s Welsh assembly elections looming, senior Cabinet ministers believe Labour’s Mark Drakeford , the current Welsh First Minister, could be bounced into calling a vote on the issue by Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price . And Mr Price has made it clear he is planning to put the issue at the forefront of his Senedd campaign, claiming there had been “an incredible surge of support for independence”. Related articles French fishermen panic as just 23 allowed in UK waters Boris Johnson announcement: PM to address nation with urgent warning …

[Read more...] about UK crumbling: Wales could demand independence vote in months – Tory insider exposes panic