Novak Djokovic Was ‘Ready’ to Leave Tennis if Vaccine Was Mandate to Keep Playing + More
Goran Ivanisevic claims Novak Djokovic was so firm in his personal beliefs that he was ready to walk away from pro tennis if taking a COVID-19 vaccine was a mandate for him to continue playing.
If you remember well, the infamous Australia visa saga in early 2022 mainly occurred because the Serb wasn’t vaccinated.
That same year, the former world No. 1 wasn’t allowed to enter the U.S. for the U.S. Open and the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami.
During that period, Djokovic was heavily scrutinized — not only because of his vaccine stance — but also because some felt he was sending the wrong message. “The world condemned him, criticized him relentlessly, even belittled him for standing firm. Yet he never wavered, standing firm in his conviction with a determination that still resonates.
Now we are talking about those vaccines and they say that some of them caused problems. We were locked up like sheep for three years and we were manipulated,” the Croatian, who worked with the Serb between 2018 and 2024, said on TV Arena Sport’s podcast Neuspjeh Prvaka.
Medical Freedom Group Fails to Get Around California School Vaccine Mandate
Courthouse News Service reported:
A group espousing medical freedom failed on Wednesday in its attempt to have a federal judge force a California school to admit a child who didn’t meet vaccination requirements, with the judge citing a lack of irreparable harm as the reason for the denial.
The Free Now Foundation, which has said it champions medical freedom and parental rights, and Brave and Free Santa Cruz have filed suit against the principal of Foothill Technology High School, Governor Gavin Newsom and others over the state’s school vaccine mandate. They said the suit’s main purpose is to stop all enforcement of state law that requires school children to receive vaccines.
However, the plaintiffs this week filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction seeking to stop the high school from prohibiting a child from attending class based on his immunization status.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Daniel Calabretta denied the motion for a temporary restraining order. He also ordered the plaintiffs to file a new motion for preliminary injunction within two weeks or explain why it shouldn’t be denied as well.
State Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit Over Right to Petition Government
The Tennessee Supreme Court Wednesday rejected the case of a woman who was fired after refusing to follow COVID-19 vaccination requirements and complaining to the legislature about her employer’s mandate. Heather Smith alleged that the firing ultimately violated her right to petition the government.
However, the court held that Tennessee law does not prohibit a private employer from firing an employee for exercising the right to petition the government granted under the Tennessee Constitution. The case began in 2021, during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Smith was employed by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Inc., which is not a government entity.
When BlueCross required its employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine, Smith declined.
She emailed members of the Tennessee legislature, expressing grievances about BlueCross’s vaccination mandate. BlueCross warned Smith that her email violated company policy. When Smith sent a second similar email to legislators, BlueCross terminated her employment.
Nearly 600 Students Still Suspended Over Missing Vaccine Records
The Hamilton Spectator reported:
Hundreds of Hamilton high school students missing vaccination records are still barred from class. Meanwhile, public health is reporting an increase in students with exemptions, as measles continues to circulate across the province.
As of Monday, 578 public and Catholic students in grades nine to 12 who do not have records showing they are immunized against dangerous diseases, including measles, were still suspended from class, down from nearly 3,000 initially suspended on March 7 under the Immunization of School Pupils Act, associate medical officer of health Dr. Brendan Lew said in an email.
The next wave of enforcement is aimed at elementary students at the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board and private schools, and will include those born in 2011, 2012 and 2017 through 2019. Public health sent 4,324 letters to families of students with missing records, which represents 34% of that cohort.
Air New Zealand Employees Take Airline to Court Over Covid-19 Vaccination Mandate
An Air New Zealand Captain and engineer have told an employment court about the impact they felt after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2021, and being forced to take annual leave and leave without pay. The duo are part of 33 Air New Zealand employees who are challenging the company’s COVID-19 vaccination policy in the Employment Court.
Charlotte Parkhill, who is the lawyer representing the 33, said in opening her case that there are two questions the judge needs to determine — whether any employer can lawfully adopt a vaccination policy, and was it lawful and reasonable for the airline to have adopted the policy in the circumstances that existed at the time.
Parkhill said these questions weren’t just important questions of law, but of fundamental importance. “They involve the intersection between basic human rights, health and safety and employment law.” Parkhill said the 33 had a “torrid time” during the pandemic and had been marginalized.
Gmail Upgrade Puts Privacy of Billions at Risk — how to Protect Your Data
Google is launching a new AI-powered search function that could give its Gemini assistant access to personal information. The tech giant announced that the new upgrade will “show you the most relevant results, faster,” but critics warn that it could also be used for AI training if users are not aware of the company’s terms and conditions. Newsweek contacted Google for more information on the role of AI in the upgrade via email.
As one of the biggest tech companies in the world, Google has led the way on integrating artificial intelligence into its tools. Its AI assistant, Gemini, competes with other home assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, and the company has ramped up its AI features as other competitors continue to move ahead in the race for effective AI.
Users will have the option to switch between the current system, which displays search terms by most recent, and the new AI-powered system, which sorts by “most relevant.”
However, the update was met with skepticism from some, with cybersecurity expert Zak Doffman writing inForbes that “this is AI set loose on your personal information.
“There’s no suggestion that your data is being syphoned off to train models or enhance marketing profiles, but it is being analyzed.”
Delete Personal 23andMe Data, Privacy Experts Urge Users
Customers of DNA firm 23andMe (ME) should move quickly to ensure their personal data is deleted following the firm’s filing for bankruptcy in the U.S., cybersecurity experts have said.
Earlier this week, the genetics firm announced it had begun voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. — meaning it intends to reorganise its debts and assets to have a fresh start, while remaining in business, and searching for a buyer.
Cybersecurity experts have now warned it means the genetic and biological data of 23andMe users could end up in the hands of a third party they did not previously authorise to access such information. Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, said the saga was a “stark wake-up call for data privacy.”
Britain’s First Permanent Facial Recognition Cameras Installed to Help Hunt for Criminals
The Metropolitan Police is set to install permanent facial recognition cameras in Croydon, south London, in a U.K. first for high street surveillance technology. The cameras will scan faces of passersby and match them against a database of wanted criminals, including those suspected of serious offences.
The pilot project could be extended across the capital if successful, marking a significant expansion of surveillance capabilities in public spaces.
The permanent installation follows a two-year programme using mobile facial recognition vans that has resulted in hundreds of arrests.
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