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The stigma of variant names

Coronavirus variants will now be referred to by letters of the Greek alphabet instead of where they were first discovered, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday, in a bid to prevent the stigmatization of entire communities. For example, instead of the “UK variant” (B.1.1.7), the WHO will now say “Alpha;” the “South African variant”

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As China’s Communist Party turns 100, its members’ ‘red genes’ matter more than ever to Beijing

For a decidedly atheist political organization, China’s ruling Communist Party is fond of talking about its origins in religious terms. In party literature and state media, former revolutionary bases are labeled “holy sites,” and the almost obligatory visits to such locations by the rank and file are meant to “baptize” members in the Communist “faith.”

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Vaccinated Americans are celebrating the 1st big holiday safely without masks. But for some, returning to normal is not so easy

For the first time in over a year, millions of Americans are gathering for a major holiday without masks or physical distancing — safely. But the majority of Americans still aren’t fully vaccinated, leading to the possibility of yet another post-holiday spike of coronavirus infections. “To people who are traveling and people who have been

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France and Germany ‘seeking full clarity’ from US and Denmark on spying report

France and Germany are “seeking full clarity” on a report claiming that one of Denmark’s intelligence agencies helped the United States spy on several senior European officials, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday. “If the information is true,” Macron said during a statement to the press following a virtual Franco-German

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A missing hiker has been found dead after an apparent fall near Telluride, Colorado

Rescuers searching for a missing hiker in Colorado found him dead after an apparent fall Monday, officials said. The San Miguel County Sheriff’s office discovered Patrick Eells, 29, dead from traumatic injuries sustained from an apparent fall, a news release from the sheriff’s office said. Eells, an experienced mountaineer, told his girlfriend Sunday he was

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