News August 4, 2021

News Stories

• Louisiana has a higher rate of COVID-19 infections than any country in the world

  SPEAKER: Michael Osterholm

  (Business Insider) – Fortunately, vaccination rates have started to tick up.

• Dr. Scott Gottlieb sees Covid vaccine boosters for vulnerable people in U.S. as early as September

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday he believes booster shots for the coronavirus vaccine will be given to older and immunocompromised people by September or October.

• Transcript: Dr. Scott Gottlieb on “Face the Nation,” August 1, 2021

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CBS) – “It’s still a very small percentage of people who are becoming infected after vaccination and who then are going on to spread the infection to others.”

• Private equity firm TPG raises $5.4 billion for climate fund

  SPEAKER: Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

  (Yahoo ! Finance) – Hank Paulson, a former U.S. Treasury Secretary, is the executive chairman of the fund.

• Dr. Scott Gottlieb says U.S. delta-driven Covid spike could peak in 3 weeks, following U.K. pattern

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday he believes Covid cases in the U.K. have “peaked” after a delta variant-related rise.

• Transcript: Dr. Scott Gottlieb on “Face the Nation,” July 25, 2021

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CBS) – And so we know the vaccines are very effective at preventing hospitalization in Florida, which is really the epicenter of the epidemic, right now.

• The World’s Cascade of Disasters Is Not a Coincidence

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg) – A pandemic, fires, floods, popular unrest — it’s an intertwined pattern seen throughout history and even in the Bible.

• Critical Race Theory Can Only Hurt the Military — and the Country

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – Critical race theory has now taken hold in the U.S. military.

• Former FDA Commissioner Blasts CDC Delta-Variant Modeling

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (National Review) – “We lack an organized infrastructure to mobilize a response to public health crisis,” lamented Gottlieb.

• The Olympics’ pandemic playbook is put to the test

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – At least the athletes get to come and live out their dream, even if family and other members of their delegation have to sit out the games at home.

• Podcast: How human history is shaped by disaster, according to Niall Ferguson

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (GZERO) – Stanford historian Niall Ferguson joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast to talk about the geopolitics of disaster.

• Vaccinated America Has Had Enough

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – In the United States, this pandemic could be almost over by now. The reasons it’s still going are pretty clear.

• [Podcast] Newt’s World Episode 282: Facing America’s Greatest Threat – China

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – Newt is joined by Claire Christensen, his co-author of the New York Times best seller, Trump vs. China.

• It’s Time to Balance the Budget

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – The average American is intuitively more worried about inflation than the Biden administration.

• [Podcast] Newt’s World Episode 281: Where are the Big City Reformers?

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – With crime increasing, inadequate educational systems, and corruption, many American cities need reform. But where are the big city reformers today?

• ‘Sense of Urgency’ to Confront China Has Never Been Greater

  SPEAKER: Gregory Slavonic

  (The Defense Post) – The era of “great power competition” is real and here to stay, and now is the time for action.

• The Mind of a Writer

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – As Hunter explained to me this week on my podcast, “Newt’s World,” writing has become a part of his normal life, like brushing his teeth.

• [Podcast] Newt’s World Episode 280: Stephen Hunter on The Master Sniper

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – Newt is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, essayist, and best-selling novelist, Stephen Hunter.

• [Podcast] Newt’s World Episode 279: Newt Answers Your Questions

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – Newt is joined by members of his Inner Circle membership club and answers their questions in a town hall style meeting.

• Universal Masking to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Transmission—The Time Is Now

  SPEAKER: Robert Redfield

  (JAMA) – In this issue of JAMA, Wang et al present evidence that universal masking of health care workers (HCWs) and patients can help reduce transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections.

• Former FDA chief: We might not need COVID-19 boosters forever

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Washington Times) – Debate on third shots unfolding amid a push to give first doses.

• Pence Calls on Biden to Get Tougher on China, Virus Origins

  SPEAKER: Mike Pence

  (Bloomberg) – Former Vice President Mike Pence is calling on President Joe Biden to toughen his stance on China, including delisting Chinese companies that don’t meet U.S. accounting standards.

• 5 Ways to Prevent Alzheimer’s, Says Dr. Sanjay Gupta

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (Yahoo!) – For Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent, the fight against Alzheimer’s disease is personal.

• Dr. Sanjay Gupta: The importance of being vaccinated

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – We’ve all heard it said over and over again: We’re now in the phase of the pandemic when it’s a race between vaccinations and the variants.

• Former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb warns of a Delta-driven virus peak at the end of September

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Business Insider) – Former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb warned of a COVID-19 peak at the end of September.

• Mike Pence to give a speech on U.S.-China relations

  SPEAKER: Mike Pence

  (Washington Post) – Former Vice President’s third major address on Indo-Pacific.

• [Podcast] Newt’s World Episode 278: Jeff Shesol on Mercury Rising

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – Newt’s guest is Jeff Shesol, author of Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War.

• Afghanistan: Overcoming Defeat and Denial

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – We need to serious rethinking in our defense system at a level we have not seen in our lifetime.

• Former CDC director: Scientists modified coronavirus before it leaked out of Wuhan lab

  SPEAKER: Robert Redfield

  (Natural News) – Virologist Dr. Robert Redfield said he thinks the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) was modified by Chinese scientists before it leaked out of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China’s central Hubei province.

• Amazing New Medical Breakthroughs Giving Cancer Patients Newfound Hope

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – The breakthroughs in cancer research and therapeutics in recent years have led to dramatically better outcomes.

• [Podcast] Newt’s World Episode 277: Michael Knowles on Speechless

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – Newt’s guest is Michael Knowles, author of Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds.

• Transcript: Scott Gottlieb on “Face the Nation,” July 11, 2021

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CBS) – The following is a transcript of an interview with Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, that aired on Sunday, July 11, 2021, on “Face the Nation.”

• Harper urges global powers not to negotiate with incoming Iranian regime

  SPEAKER: Stephen Harper

  (Canadian Press) – Governments around the world should shun Iran’s incoming president based on his long-standing record of human rights abuses, a former Canadian prime minister argued Saturday.

• Harper rings the alarm bell

  SPEAKER: Stephen Harper

  (The Western Producer) – Former prime minister Stephen Harper says inflation won’t be easy to stop because it is generated by monetary expansion to accommodate extraordinary government borrowing and spending.

• Haiti and the Trump Illusion

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – The U.S. cannot wall itself off from the troubles facing its neighbors.

• Season 4 of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer launches July 9 on US public television

  SPEAKER: Ian Bremmer

  (GZERO) – Season 4 of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, GZERO’s award-winning weekly global affairs series, launches on US public television nationwide beginning Friday, July 9 (check local listings).

• Dr. Scott Gottlieb says people who had Covid get ‘best of both worlds’ if they get vaccinated

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Dr. Scott Gottlieb believes people who have previously been infected with the coronavirus would still benefit from receiving Covid vaccines.

• Newt Gingrich says U.S. support for Taiwan hinges on maintaining status quo

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Washington Times) – “The United States would lose and lose badly if it tried to fight China,” Mr. Gingrich said.

• Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Taking America’s pulse on its birthday

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – Going forward the patient must do better; we must do better. Because as I keep on saying, we’re still all in this together.

• Delta Variant Could Push U.S. Covid Immunity To 85%, Says Former FDA Head

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Forbes) – “I wouldn’t be declaring mission accomplished. I think this is going to be a long fight,” Gottlieb said Sunday.

• Transcript: Scott Gottlieb on “Face the Nation,” July 4, 2021

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CBS) – I think we’re going to have to think differently. That also means improving air quality in workplaces.

• Protecting Olympic Participants from Covid-19 — The Urgent Need for a Risk-Management Approach

  SPEAKER: Michael Osterholm

  (New England Journal of Medicine) – Pfizer and BioNTech have offered to donate vaccines for all Olympic athletes, but this offer does not ensure that all athletes will receive vaccines before the Olympics, since vaccine authorization and availability are lacking in more than 100 countries.

• Jill Biden on the new cover of Vogue magazine

  SPEAKER: Annie Leibovitz

  (CNN) – It is back en vogue for the first lady to be back in Vogue.

• Fannie Mae chair warns against cash-out refinancing

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (Realty Biz) – ….”entering into a long-term mortgage and building equity requires care and diligence.”

• (Podcast) The Exchange: Niall Ferguson on human error

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Reuters) – Ferguson joins Pete Sweeney to discuss his latest book on disasters, natural and man-made, and why so many governments got Covid-19 so wrong.

• Dr. Sanjay Gupta: The secrets of a ‘Jeopardy!’ guest host

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – It made me realize that just because a show is full of facts and knowledge doesn’t mean it has been stripped of intensity and humanity. “Jeopardy!” is all those things.

• Dr. Scott Gottlieb says daily new Covid cases in the U.S. won’t ever go to zero

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Daily new coronavirus cases in the U.S. are unlikely to ever drop to zero, Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday.

• The Delta variant will cause ‘very dense outbreaks’ in these five states, expert says

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNN) – “It’s going to hyper-regionalized. There’s certain pockets of the country where you’re going to have very dense outbreaks.”

• Critical Race Theory Is on the March — and a Winning Issue for Conservatives

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – Parents don’t want their children learning CRT — and are increasingly willing to say so publicly. 

• The Tragic Truth: Organ Harvesting in China

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Gingrich 360) – The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act will expose the cruelties of forced organ harvesting and hold perpetrators accountable.