Moderna Suing Pfizer for COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Infringement

Moderna is filing patent infringement lawsuits against Pfizer and BioNTech in U.S. district court and German regional court Friday in connection with the two companies’ COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna announced.

Moderna alleges Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty vaccine breaches its mRNA technology patents submitted between 2010 and 2016. It claims they developed their vaccine by copying the technology Moderna used to make its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax.

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Some ‘Underrepresented’ Students Exempt from Prestigious Medical School’s Entrance Exam

Minority students are exempt from taking the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) when applying for Penn’s medical school if they participate in a summer research program, according to a press release.

The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (PSOM) partnered with five historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to offer a summer research program for “underrepresented” groups, according to the May 24 press release. Students who are selected for Penn Access Summer Scholars (PASS) are exempted from taking the MCAT if they apply to the Ivy League school’s medical program.

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Feds: Food Prices Continued to Surge in July, but Overall Inflation Held Steady

Consumer prices remained high in July but showed only a slight increase from June, a pause from months of surging prices.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis Friday released the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index data, a key marker of inflation closely watched by the U.S. Federal Reserve when it makes its interest rate decisions.

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World’s Youngest Trans Model Is Child of Two Trans Parents Who Plan His Gender Surgery at Age 16

The 10-year-old boy acclaimed as the world’s youngest trans model is the child of two transgender parents who say they plan to start him on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones before gender surgery at age 16.

“Noella” McMaher, who was “socially transitioned” at age 4, represented the Trans* Clothing Company brand during New York Fashion Week in February, but has now been signed on for continued modeling jobs until November, reported Metro UK.

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Commentary: Republicans Don’t Get It

When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) looks around his adopted hometown of Washington, D.C.—a city shamelessly and aggressively using every lever of federal power to destroy Donald Trump and the 76 million Americans who dared to vote for him in 2020—he sees only one menace to the well-being of the nation:

January 6 protesters.

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FBI’s Former Intel Chief on Raid of Trump Home: ‘I Think They Are Going to Regret This’

The FBI’s former intelligence chief declared Friday his former agency should not have criminalized the records dispute between Donald Trump and the National Archives and that the bureau appears to have failed to meet the probable cause standard for the invasive search of the former president’s Florida estate.

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Commentary: Pope Francis Set to Add 20 New Names to College of Cardinals

As most Italians are enjoying the last days of summer, Pope Francis has called the College of Cardinals to the Vatican.  From August 27-30, the Holy Father will preside over three consistories and a pastoral visit.  

On August 27, Pope Francis will convene two consistories, on August 28, he will make a pastoral visit to L’Aquila, and on August 29 and 30, he will preside over a third consistory. 

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Zuckerberg Claims FBI Pressured Him to Censor Hunter Biden Laptop Story

In a stunning admission, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that his social media platform only censored the New York Post’s bombshell story about Hunter Biden’s laptop after the FBI came to them and advised them to do so.

As reported by the Daily Caller, Zuckerberg made the claim during an interview with Joe Rogan on his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” on Thursday. Rogan had asked Zuckerberg about how his platform would handle censorship going forward, after multiple Big Tech platforms were widely criticized for deliberately suppressing the story, which was later confirmed to be true.

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Minnesota Public Schools Continue to Fall Behind in Student Proficiency

Nearly 400 public schools throughout Minnesota are set to receive additional support from the state education department as student proficiency scores continue to lag or fall further behind.

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) announced on Thursday an expansion of its relatively new COMPASS program (Collaborative Minnesota Partnerships to Advance Student Success) to render “various levels of support” to 371 public schools, including “15 entire school districts.”

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