A report from the Department of Energy on the origins of COVID-19 has agencies divided about its findings.
A classified intelligence report from the Energy Department alleges, with low confidence, that the virus likely leaked from a lab in China — a theory that was raised during the early days of the pandemic. How the agency went about drawing that conclusion has not been revealed to the public but is reportedly based on new information.
The story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, a World Health Organization's investigation is ongoing, but the organization said that as more time passes, coupled with complications in completing studies in China, that it will be more difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the virus.
In light of the report, the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN that the Department of Energy's findings offer "no definitive answer" about the origins of COVID.
"There is a variety of views in the intelligence community. Some elements in the intelligence community have reached conclusions on one side, some on the other. A number of them have just said they don't have enough information to be sure," he said.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has dismissed the allegations altogether and said, "The origins tracing of SARS-CoV-2 is about science and should not be politicized."
"Certain parties should stop rehashing the 'lab leak' narrative, stop smearing China and stop politicizing origins-tracing," Ning added.
The FBI drew a similar conclusion in 2021, but the CIA is among the U.S. intelligence agencies that have not reached a conclusion.
Fans will be banned from the Tokyo area’s stadiums and arenas when the Olympic Games begin in two weeks.
The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Elsa is strengthening and could became a hurricane before making landfall along Florida’s northern Gulf coast.
Elsa has strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season and it's blowing off roofs and snapping trees in the eastern Caribbean.
The Biden administration says it is hiring more federal firefighters — and immediately raising their pay — as officials ramp up response efforts in the face of a severe drought that's setting the stage for another destructive summer of intense wildfires across the West.
Electronic cigarette giant Juul Labs Inc. will pay $40 million to North Carolina and take more action to prevent underage use and sales.
Danish toymaker Lego has presented its first building bricks made from recycled drinks bottles — an experimental project that if successful could eventually go into production.
Human stampedes have been a chronically understudied topic and there's been an uptick in reported crushes as populations have increased.
The Tokyo Olympics are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes. Not for fans. And not for the Japanese public.
Australia says it will fight against plans to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status due to climate change, while environmentalists are applauding the U.N. World Heritage Committee’s proposal.
A sharply limited number of fans will be allowed to attend the Tokyo Olympics. The decision announced Monday comes as organizers try to save some of the spirit of the Games where even cheering has been banned.
