California Launches Portal for Reporting Alleged Misconduct by Federal Immigration Agents 
Israel Receives Body of Deceased Hostage as Rafah Crossing Reopening Hinges on Final Returns 
China Urged to Prioritize Economy Over Territorial Ambitions, Says Taiwan’s President Lai 
Trump’s Name Appears on U.S. Institute of Peace Ahead of Rwanda–Congo Deal Signing 
U.S. Repatriation Flight Carrying 266 Venezuelan Migrants Lands in Caracas 
Maduro Confirms “Respectful” Call With Trump, Signals Openness to Diplomatic Dialogue 
Trump Claims He Will Void Biden Documents Signed with Autopen 
Australia Progresses AUKUS Review as U.S. Affirms Strong Support 
Pentagon Probe Finds Hegseth’s Use of Signal Risked Exposing Sensitive Yemen Strike Details 
IMF Deputy Dan Katz Visits China as Key Economic Review Nears 
Hong Kong Faces Low Turnout in “Patriots-Only” Election Amid Public Grief After Deadly Fire 
U.S. Justice Department Orders Intensified Probe Into Antifa and Domestic Extremist Groups 
Taiwan Signals Openness to Renew Ties with Honduras as Election Unfolds 
UN General Assembly Demands Russia Return Ukrainian Children Amid Ongoing Conflict 
Cuba Reaffirms Anti-Drug Cooperation as Tensions Rise in the Caribbean 
U.S. Expected to Expand Travel Ban to More Than 30 Countries 
Former President Donald Trump’s administration was highly criticized for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic with reports surfacing of conflicts between experts and administration officials behind the scenes.
A new report reveals the Trump administration had given $1.3 billion to a company producing syringes for the vaccines, but no syringes were produced.
Despite having millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses already administered recently, a report has surfaced that the Trump administration gave a $1.3 billion contract to ApiJect Systems Corp. to make the syringes needed to administer the vaccines. However, no syringes have been made, and the company’s supposed plans to establish a factory with 650 jobs open remains to be seen. The syringes also have yet to gain approval from the federal government before it could be produced as well.
Nevertheless, the need for ApiJect’s syringes has now declined especially as millions of Americans have already been vaccinated. This now leaves the contracts and federal loans in the air.
In a statement to NBC News, ApiJect said it “is working with several vaccine pharmaceutical companies to conduct the testing and regulatory reviews of the COVID-19 vaccines in the ApiJect syringe.”
A spokesperson for Pfizer, however, said that even if the ApiJect syringes received all the approvals from the federal government, it would not affect their output or their process. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson did not comment.
In other news, Trump has touted the wall closing off the southern border and keeping migrants from crossing as one of his campaign pledges, an effort that Joe Biden shut down as soon as he took office. However, as the Biden administration tackles the influx of migrants seeking to make it to the US, US Border Patrol officials have often discovered ladders left alongside the wall. The officials have also had to call for assistance in Hidalgo, Texas, to clear out the discarded ladders that migrants used to scale the wall.
According to local artist and activist Scott Lowry, the use of ladders to climb the wall and cross the border proves the uselessness of the wall that Trump had planned. “Unlike the wall, these ladders are functional,” said Lowry.
