BA.2 is a strain of the extremely infectious omicron variation that seems to spread 30 percent more readily than the original. The danger is that dissemination will drastically increase in the not-too-distant future.
Thousands of people test positive for the coronavirus in the U.S. daily, and a small but growing fraction of them are for the more contagious omicron variant BA.2. Jon Cherry/Getty Images
BA.2 has already been discovered from coast to coast, accounting for 3.9 percent of all new infections in the United States. Although BA.2 does not seem to make patients worse than the original omicron, it may result in more severe disease and death if the drop in new cases is slowed. According to a new study, one of the remaining COVID-19 antibody therapies may be less efficient against BA.2. This virus seems to be a little better at avoiding the immune system than the last one. Because the virus is still present, we must take every precaution to safeguard ourselves.
The founder of a right-wing organization whose members have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the assault on the United States Capitol spent around six hours on Wednesday, January 6, talking to the committee by Zoom from a prison in Oklahoma to the committee.
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes during an interview session in Eureka, Mont., on June 20, 2016.Jim Urquhart / Reuters file
According to one of his attorneys, the United States Marshals Service holds Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, who is now in custody in the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing. Rhodes appeared virtually before the House committee on the Cimarron Correctional Facility. The detention institution is under contract with the United States Marshals Service, transferring Rhodes to the Federal Detention Center in Washington, D.C. According to his attorney, Jonathan Moseley, Rhodes claimed his Fifth Amendment rights between 20 and 30 times but ended up talking for an extended period about the history of the Oath Keepers instead. Moseley, a Virginia-based attorney whose other clients have included Kelly Meggs, Zach Rehl, a member of the Proud Boys, and other January 6 defendants, said the committee allowed Rhodes to “talk very freely” about the history of the organization. However, his attorneys prevented him from answering questions that could affect his criminal case. Rhodes is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and other crimes. As long as they weren’t particular to November, December 2020, or January 2021, Moseley stated, “A lot of things about what they do and how they do it were discussed, as long as they weren’t specific to November, December 2020, or January 2021,” “He gave examples of how they operate and what they do,” said the author. The ex-wife of the commander of the Oath Keepers claimed that he was “fulfilling his own narrative.” Initially, the committee asked a series of “test questions” to determine what Rhodes would and would not share, according to Moseley. Still, it ended up asking “a lot of questions about the Oath Keepers that he was able to answer,” which Rhodes was able to answer, according to Moseley. Additionally, Kellye SoRelle, who took over as interim leader of the Oath Keepers when Rhodes was jailed last month, appeared before the committee on January 6. According to Moseley, “I’m sure they were most interested in the stuff that criminal lawyers wouldn’t let him answer,” including communications with other groups such as the Proud Boys, contacts with key figures in former President Donald Trump’s orbit, and fundraising for events scheduled for January 6, among other things. A request for comment from a committee representative did not respond instantly. One of the committee’s aides recently said that the panel had heard testimony from more than 475 witnesses and had acquired more than 60,000 pages of documents as part of its probe. Moseley said that Rhodes had previously promised to assist the committee to the extent that he was able before he was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia. Additionally, he claimed that Rhodes talked about his previous work with the Oath Keepers during the interview and that Rhodes became emotional when he told him about how members of the organization helped to secure a shop in Ferguson, Missouri, amid unrest after the killing of Michael Brown in 2014. Federal prosecutors allege that Rhodes is the mastermind of a criminal conspiracy aimed at maintaining Trump in power despite the election of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. In his statement to the other defendants, prosecutors claim, Rhodes said that there was “no standard political or legal way out of this,” and that they should be prepared for the worst-case scenario. The United States Marshals Service is now in the custody of Elmer Stewart Rhodes III. According to his attorney, Jonathan Moseley, he asserted his Fifth Amendment rights between 20 and 30 times. Rhodes was stopped from answering questions that may have impacted his criminal prosecution by his counsel. They questioned him about contact with other organizations, such as the Proud Boys, and funding for the activities on January 6, among other things. In its inquiry, the panel heard testimony from more than 475 witnesses and acquired more than 60,000 pages of documents. Individuals should be aware that everything we do or say on the internet leaves a technical imprint on the world.
The Dantzler Report! 