News Editor’s Roundup: Researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology Hospitalized in November 2019

BY JACK CROWE

May 24, 2021

Good morning and welcome to the News Editor's Roundup, a weekly newsletter that will ensure you're up to date on the developments in politics, business, and culture that will shape the week's news cycle — as well as those that might escape mainstream attention.

Researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology Hospitalized in November 2019

Three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized in November 2019, around the time that coronavirus may have begun spreading in Wuhan, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment obtained by the Wall Street Journal.

The assessment appears to confirm a State Department fact sheet, released by the Trump administration, which said that researchers at the WIV fell sick "with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness."

Current and former intelligence officials differed regarding the strength of the assessment, with one official saying the report needed additional verification. However, another official said the report was significant.

De Blasio: NYC Students to Return to School 'All In-Person' in September

New York mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that all students in city public schools will return for in-person learning in September.

"New York City public schools—1 million kids—will be back in their classroom in September, all in-person, no remote," de Blasio said during an appearance on NBC's Morning Joe on Monday. "That's the news I think parents, kids, everyone's been waiting for: to know we're going to be back strong, ready, [and] safe."

Belarus Forces International Flight to Land, Detains Dissident Journalist

Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday ordered a fighter jet to escort a commercial Ryanair flight to Minsk, where a dissident journalist on board was detained upon landing.

The flight took off from Athens, Greece and was initially scheduled to land in Vilnius, Lithuania. However, Ryanair said that the flight crew was informed of a potential threat of explosives on board while flying in Belarusian airspace, and the plane was diverted to Minsk.

Lukashenko gave an "unequivocal order" to "make the plane do a U-turn and land," according to a press release from his office translated by the New York Times.

Whitmer Apologizes after Picture Surfaces Showing Her Violating Social Distancing Guidelines

Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer apologized on Sunday after apparently violating the state's pandemic restrictions during a gathering at a bar in East Lansing.

A photograph uploaded to social media by one of the attendees, and later deleted, showed Whitmer with over ten other people sitting around three tables that were pushed together. Current Michigan guidelines stipulate that bars and restaurants must limit table capacity to six people, and tables must be distanced by at least six feet.

Patrons vaccinated for coronavirus are still subject to the restrictions.

Senator Roy Blunt Says It's 'Too Early' to Form January 6 Commission

Senator Roy Blunt (R., Mo.) on Sunday claimed it is "too early" to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the events of the Capitol riot on January 6.

"I think it's too early to create a commission, and I believe Republicans in the Senate will decide that it's too early to create that commission," Blunt said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

"Commissions often don't work at all and when they do work, like the Simpson-Bowles commission, produced a good result, nothing happened as part of that result," he added.

Rand Paul Says He Will Not Receive a COVID-19 Vaccine

Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) said Sunday that despite the CDC's guidance, he will not receive a COVID-19 vaccine because he has already had the disease.

Paul, an ophthalmologist, said during an interview on John Catsimatidis' radio show that until he sees evidence that immunity from the vaccine is better than natural immunity, he will not be vaccinated.

Paul, who in March 2020 became the first senator to test positive for COVID-19, said it was a personal decision.

Fauci Says He's 'Not Convinced' COVID-19 Developed Naturally, Calls for Further Investigation

Anthony Fauci said recently that he is "not convinced" COVID-19 developed naturally and called for further investigation into the virus's origins after the lab-leak theory had been dismissed by many as a right-wing conspiracy theory for months.

At an event earlier this month, PolitiFact's Katie Sanders noted that there is still "a lot of cloudiness around the origins of COVID-19" and asked Fauci if he is "still confident that it developed naturally," according to footage of the event which was resurfaced by Fox News on Sunday.

"No actually," Fauci said at the "United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking" event.

Secretary of State Blinken to Visit Israel and West Bank Next Week

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and the West Bank next week for diplomatic discussions, an anonymous source told Reuters on Saturday.

The news of Blinken's travel plans comes after Israel and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas agreed to a ceasefire after over a week of hostilities including rocket fire. Blinken reportedly will try to build on that truce.

The source also mentioned that the secretary will visit Egypt and Jordan. Egypt has served as mediator in negotiating a ceasefire between the two sides, which have both suffered civilian and military casualties.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Calls Critical-Race Theory a 'Dangerous Ideology'

Georgia governor Brian Kemp issued a letter Thursday demanding that public schools in the state refrain from incorporating critical-race theory (CRT) into course curricula.

He insisted the Georgia State Board of Education "take immediate steps to ensure that Critical Race Theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state standards or curriculum." The letter said that parents, students, and faculty are alarmed by the drive for indoctrination programming in the state's education system.

"This divisive, anti-American agenda has no place in Georgia classrooms," Kemp wrote in a tweet with an attachment of the signed letter.