Tuesday, May 23 — 6 significant news stories

Today ChatGPT read 1063 top news stories and gave 8 of them a significance score over 6.5.

After removing duplicates and repeats, here is today’s significant news:

[7.1] Pfizer and Moderna plan next-generation Covid vaccines and combination shots. - CNBC

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna are planning new versions of their Covid vaccines to enhance immunity and simplify vaccination efforts. They aim to transition to annual Covid shots, similar to flu shots, updated to target the latest variant. Messenger RNA technology allows them to adapt quickly. Pfizer plans to develop a "next-generation" vaccine that boosts antibodies and T-cell response, extending protection up to a year. Moderna aims to create a refrigerator-stable vaccine for easier storage and administration. Both companies are also working on combination vaccines to protect against Covid and other respiratory diseases in a single dose, simplifying the vaccination process and increasing compliance.

[7.0] Ukrainian army accused of entering Russian territory in Belgorod region. - Reuters

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region has claimed that a Ukrainian army "sabotage group" has entered Russian territory in the Graivoron district, which borders Ukraine. Russia is taking measures to repel the incursion. The Ukrainian military has not yet commented on the reports. A group calling itself the Liberty of Russia Legion, which claims to be planning attacks inside Russia, said on Twitter it had "completely liberated" the border town of Kozinka and its forward units had reached the district centre of Graivoron further east.

[6.8] Meta fined record 1.2 billion euro by EU privacy regulator for data handling. - ABC News

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has been fined a record €1.2bn ($1.9bn) by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) for its handling of user data and given five months to stop transferring users' data to the US. The fine, which is the largest ever imposed by the EU for privacy violations, comes after Meta continued to transfer data beyond a 2020 EU court ruling that invalidated an EU-US data transfer pact. The social media giant said it would appeal the ruling, including the "unjustified and unnecessary" fine that "sets a dangerous precedent for countless other companies".

[6.6] Iran building nuclear facility deep underground beyond range of US weapons. - The Associated Press

Iran is building a nuclear facility deep underground near the Natanz nuclear site, which is likely beyond the range of US weapons designed to destroy such sites, according to experts and satellite imagery analysed by The Associated Press. The construction comes five years after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear accord.Since the demise of the nuclear accord, Iran has said it is enriching uranium up to 60%, though inspectors recently discovered the country had produced uranium particles that were 83.7% pure. That is just a short step from reaching the 90% threshold of weapons-grade uranium. The new facility is likely to be even deeper underground than Iran’s Fordo facility, another enrichment site that was exposed in 2009 by US and other world leaders.

[6.5] Ford secures lithium supply deals to meet EV production targets. - Reuters

Ford has signed deals with Albemarle, Nemaska Lithium, EnergySource Minerals and Compass Minerals for the supply of lithium, a key component in most modern electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The agreements will help the US automaker meet its target of producing two million EVs by 2026 and close the gap on market leader Tesla. The deals also come as doubts linger on Wall Street about legacy automakers' ability to hit the lofty targets set for EV production.

[6.5] California, Arizona and Nevada agree to cut water use from Colorado River to prevent dwindling. - The Guardian US

The Biden administration has brokered a deal with California, Arizona and Nevada to reduce their water usage from the drought-hit Colorado River, in an effort to prevent the river from dwindling further and threatening water supplies for millions of people and vast areas of agricultural land in the US west. The agreement will involve a historic reduction of around 13% of the total water use in the lower Colorado basin, with 3 million acre-feet of water expected to be conserved over the next three years. The deal averts the prospect of the Biden administration imposing unilateral water cuts on the seven states that rely on the river.

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