Friday morning news - December 17, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Senate approves China forced labor import ban » Lawmakers in the Senate have approved a bill that bans any product made in China’s Xinjiang region unless the manufacturer can prove it did not use forced labor.

GOP Senator Marco Rubio:

RUBIO: It’s already illegal, by the way, to bring goods made with slave labor. It’s been that way since the 1930s, and yet it’s happening. And we know it’s still happening at an alarming, horrific rate with the genocide we now witness being carried out by the Chinese government in the Xinjiang region.

The measure passed with bipartisan support after passing in the House earlier this week. President Biden is expected to sign it into law very soon.

The Commerce Department also blacklisted China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and nearly a dozen research institutes. The U.S. government accuses them of using technology “to support Chinese military end uses” including—quote—“purported brain-control weaponry.”

China denies any abuses are taking place. But an independent U.K. tribunal ruled last week that China is carrying out genocide, crimes against humanity, and torture of ethnic minorities.

CDC panel recommends Pfizer, Moderna vaccines over J&J shot » A panel of vaccine experts advising the CDC says most Americans should get the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The advisory panel cited a strange clotting problem that has caused nine confirmed deaths after J&J vaccinations.

The panel said the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines do not come with that risk and they appear to be more effective.

Complications with the J&J shot are rare, affecting roughly one out of every 100,000 people to get the shot. Officials have confirmed 54 cases of blood clotting.

Until now the government has treated all three vaccines as an equal choice. But the CDC’s advisers said it’s time to recognize a lot has changed since vaccines rolled out a year ago.

More than 200 million Americans are considered fully vaccinated, including about 16 million who got the J&J shot.

The panel’s recommendation is not binding. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will make the final call.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

At least 5 dead as Midwest rocked by hurricane-force winds » At least five people died after hurricane-force winds swept across the Great Plains and Midwest.

Corey Mead with the National Weather Service said warm temperatures helped to spawn the powerful winds and possible tornadoes.

MEAD: We had temperatures in the lower to mid 70s in Lincoln and Omaha, and that’s quite a departure from what we normally see here in mid-December.

The wind storm slammed Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota, including Lillie Nielsen’s hometown of Hartland.

NIELSEN: It was crazy. My mom went upstairs to get a flashlight and it sounded like a train was going through, but it didn’t last very long.

A falling tree killed a man in Minnesota. Three people died in Kansas when blinding dust kicked up by the storms led to car crashes. And in Iowa, violent winds toppled a tractor trailer, killing the driver.

Meantime, the death toll from a weekend tornado outbreak in Kentucky rose to 75 on Thursday with more than a dozen people still unaccounted for.

Haitian gang frees kidnapped missionaries » The 12 remaining missionaries that were kidnapped by a gang in Haiti are now free.

A spokesman for the Haiti National Police confirmed on Thursday that the 400 Mawozo gang released the remaining hostages.

And Christian Aid Ministries confirmed the report, saying—quote—“Join us in praising God that all seventeen of our loved ones are now safe.”

White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to the reports…

PIERRE: We are thankful for the FBI, the State Department and Hatian law enforcement officials who have been working tirelessly to get these missionaries safely home.

Gang members abducted 16 American missionaries, one Canadian, and their Haitian driver two months ago, as they were driving to an orphanage near Port-au-Prince.

The gang then demanded millions in ransom money. The group included 12 adults and five children. Five hostages were released earlier.

Officials have not said whether anyone paid a ransom to the kidnappers.

Springsteen sells entire song catalog » “The Boss” just sold his entire song catalog for big bucks.

MUSIC: [Born to Run]

Sony reportedly just paid a half-billion dollars for the rights to all of Bruce Springsteen’s music. That’s the largest known price that anyone has paid so far for a music catalog.

That catalog includes the 15-times platinum album Born In The U.S.A. and hits like “Born to Run,” “Glory Days,” and “Hungry Heart.”

Springsteen has sold about 65-million albums in the United States over his 50-year career.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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