Five Minute News 12/30/21: President Biden Contracts For COVID-19 Testing Materials; Ghislaine Maxwell Convicted; Special Envoy Named For Afghan Women
Five Minute News is the daily podcast to get the morning started with a few of the top global news stories in the realms of politics, health, economy, and inequality, without spending a lot of time wading through opinions, ads, and the other side trips that can make morning news shows drag out.
Thursday’s episode covers President Joe Biden’s new contract to provide materials to boost production of COVID-19 testing kits; Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction in a case tied to Jeffrey Epstein and child sex trafficking; and Antony Blinken naming a special envoy for Afghan women.
You can view the full episode below, or find it on your preferred podcast app.
Biden has agreed to a $137 million contract with medical supply company Millipore Signma to build a new facility that will produce nitrocellulose membranes, the paper product that displays test results in COVID-19 at-home testing kits. This should allow the production of 85 million more tests per month, as shortages rage.
The trial of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell has ended in conviction on all but one count. She was accused of enticing teenage girls for Epstein and others to sexually abuse. Four women stood as witnesses to describe their own treatment at the hands of Maxwell and the men she was connected to. The recommended sentence lengths for her five convictions range from 5 to 40 years per count.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has named Rina Amiri, a former U.S. government advisor who openly criticized the nation’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, as a Special Envoy for Afghan women, a role in which she will advocate for the rights of women and girls, who have lost much freedom under Taliban rule.
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