Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

Half Of All U.S. Adults Are Now Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Breakthrough Infections Remain Extremely Rare

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a report on these “breakthrough” cases through the end of April, when 101 million Americans were fully vaccinated. Of those, about 10,300 breakthrough infections were reported — that’s about 1 infection in every 10,000 fully vaccinated people, based on the available data.

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:

Michael Saylor: Mining Council Will ‘Defend’ Bitcoin Against ‘Uninformed’ and ‘Hostile’ Energy Critics

So much FUD, so little honesty: Biden administration is reportedly reviewing ‘gaps’ in crypto regulation

People familiar with the matter informed The Washington Post that White House officials are studying whether digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) can be used to finance terrorist activities. They are also mulling whether retail investors should be protected from the extreme price fluctuations of digital asset markets.

'A regime change in gold': This is why gold price is last to surge on inflation trade – portfolio manager

Inflation & Implosion – Hyperinflation in 2022 – John Williams Yeah, Greg Hunter is a wingnut, but John Williams has a pretty good track record.

Politics:

Grand Jury Convened In Trump Criminal Probe

Manhattan’s district attorney has convened the grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict former president Donald Trump, other executives at his company or the business itself should prosecutors present the panel with criminal charges.
The panel was convened recently and will sit three days a week for six months. It is likely to hear several matters — not just the Trump case ­— during the duration of its term, which is longer than a traditional New York state grand-jury assignment… Generally, special grand juries such as this one are convened to participate in long-term matters rather than to hear evidence of crimes charged routinely.

Trump Claims ‘Absolute Immunity’ for Insurrection

Biden-Putin summit: Awkward conversation looms in Geneva

Court Docs Show Wide Scope of Feds’ Giuliani Probe

Court documents unsealed Tuesday show that the scope of information seized by prosecutors during the investigation of Rudy Giuliani is wider than was previously understood.
By pasting the filing into another document, CNN reporters were able to make redacted portions of the newly public papers readable.

What Should Happen to George Floyd Square?

Belarus Dissident’s ‘Confession’ Suggests Torture

Republicans Have a Brand Problem

But there is another risk beyond nominating fringe or flawed candidates. Republican leaders and other elected officials in Washington and in many state capitals are projecting great confidence that this election will be a referendum on the incumbent president, rather than on their own actions.
Granted, that is the norm, but it doesn’t seem as if many in the Republican Party are concerned about how their brand looks to anyone beyond their most loyal customers.

Unsealed Manafort Docs Shed New Light On Sharing Of 2016 Data With Alleged GRU Officer

John Cena is a wuss.

Serendipity:

Developer Of Aluminum-Ion Battery Claims It Charges 60 Times Faster Than Lithium-Ion, Offering EV Range Breakthrough

ExxonMobil found the real reason for the climate crisis: You

How oil companies used language to make us blame ourselves

^{Badge thanks to @arcange}

^{Meme credit: blackwingdroses (source)}