TRIPOLI, Libya 

The CNN network said Friday that a satellite detected a kilometers-long trench dug by Russian-backed Wagner mercenaries between Sirte and al-Jafra in central Libya.

"The trench, which extends dozens of kilometers south from the populated coastal areas around Sirte towards the Wagner-controlled stronghold of al-Jufra, can be seen on satellite imagery and is bolstered by a series of elaborate fortifications,” it said.

The network cited a US official who said construction indicates that Wagner fighters have long-term goals, will not withdraw from the country and plan to stay for a long time.

Warring Libyan parties reached a cease-fire deal Oct. 23, with UN mediation, to withdraw foreign mercenaries within 3 months. That deadline ends Saturday.

The government, however, has documented regular breaches by militias affiliated with warlord Khalifa Haftar. /aa

The coronavirus will kill "well over" 600,000 Americans before the pandemic is done, US President Joe Biden warned Friday. 

"We're in a national emergency. We need to act like we're in a national emergency," Biden said at the White House. "We've got to move with everything we've got. We've got to do it together. I don't believe Democrats or Republicans are going hungry and losing jobs. I believe Americans are going hungry and losing their jobs. We have the tools to fix it. We have the tools to get through this".

Biden inherited a pandemic raging out of control when he took office Wednesday with the US tallying an excess of 140,000 daily cases since December. Daily deaths meanwhile hit a near all-time high on Wednesday when 4,377 fatalities were recorded by Johns Hopkins University.

The only other time that number was surpassed was about a week ago when 4,462 deaths were tallied Jan. 12. To date, 412,780 COVID-19 fatalities have been recorded in the US since the outbreak began in the country about a year ago.

Biden has issued about a dozen COVID-related executive orders since he assumed office with effects ranging from efforts to build community confidence in vaccination to expanding mask mandates on interstate travel and on all federal property. He is also pushing Congress to act on a $1.9 trillion stimulus package to gird the US economy with unemployment standing around 6.7%./aa

The White House's top adviser on Covid-19 has said he feels liberated now that Donald Trump has left office – because now he can finally tell Americans the truth about the virus.

In extraordinary remarks to reporters at a briefing on the virus, Anthony Fauci said that President Joe Biden's administration would be "completely transparent, open and honest" with the public rather than "point fingers", like his predecessor.

Dr Fauci, who often clashed publicly with Mr Trump, also said he felt "really uncomfortable" about things said by the White House as it dealt with the virus that has now killed more than 400,000 Americans, including announcements on hydroxychloroquine – and he said he feared "repercussions" from Mr Trump if he misspoke.

Speaking at his first White House briefing as President Biden's top Covid adviser, Dr Fauci was asked to compare his experience under the previous administration to the new one. The 80-year-old initially said he wasn't sure he could "extrapolate" based on first impressions.

But then he said: "One of the things that was very clear as recently as about 15 minutes ago, when I was with the president, is that one of the things that we're going to do is to be completely transparent, open and honest.

"If things go wrong, not point fingers but to correct them and to make everything we do be based on science and evidence."

Dr Fauci was asked by another reporter to expand on his "jokes" about the differences in approaches between the two leaders.

Laughing, he said: "I was very serious about it, I wasn't joking."

"Obviously I don't want to be going back over history, but it was very clear that there were things that were said, be it regarding things like hydroxychloroquine and other things like that - that really was uncomfortable because they were not based on scientific fact."

Dr Fauci added that he took no pleasure in having to contradict the president and said he was relieved he could now stick to the science.

"It was really something that you didn't feel that you could actually say something, and there wouldn't be any repercussions about it," said Dr Fauci, whom Mr Trump had publicly threatened to sack.

"The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know. What the evidence, what the science is, and know that's it - let the science speak - it is somewhat of a liberating feeling."

Dr Fauci's public statements brought him into conflict with Mr Trump, who repeatedly declared premature victory over the virus, refused to wear a mask, denied the need for lockdowns, and pushed unfounded miracle cures.

Mr Trump once referred to Dr Fauci as a "disaster", criticised his TV appearances and even mocked his opening pitch for Washington DC’s baseball team./The Telegraph

•          Elon Musk said Thursday he'll give $100 million as a prize for the "best carbon capture technology."

•          Musk recently asked for tips on where to donate his wealth, of which he has promised to give away half.

•          Carbon capture is likely to play a major role in Biden's plans for addressing climate change.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk teased his latest philanthropic endeavor on Thursday: a contest aimed at encouraging more innovative carbon capture technologies.

"Am donating $100M towards a prize for best carbon capture technology," Musk tweeted, adding that he would provide "details next week."

Musk, who briefly passed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos as the world's richest man before a slide in Tesla's stock price dropped him back a spot, recently asked his Twitter followers for advice on how to best give away his money.

"Critical feedback is always super appreciated, as well as ways to donate money that really make a difference (way harder than it seems)," Musk tweeted earlier this month.

In 2012, Musk signed the Giving Pledge, an initiative launched by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett that asks signatories to donate at least half of their wealth within their lifetimes, and has primarily donated toward science and engineering education, renewable energy research, pediatric research, and human space exploration research.

But an estimate by Forbes in September found that Musk has donated just $100 million so far - less than 1% of his net worth.

Still, Musk's proposed carbon capture contest would go toward a cause that is likely to play a major role in fighting climate change moving forward, espcially under the Biden administration.

A study published Scientific Reports in November concluded that companies and governments urgently need to "start developing the technologies for large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere," a process known as carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Earth's temperatures are already on track to blow past levels that the Paris climate agreement - which President Joe Biden rejoined Wednesday - set as goals for 2100.

But even if all greenhouse-gas emissions stopped by then, according to the study, at least 33 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide would need to be sucked out of the atmosphere each year using carbon capture - roughly the total amount of carbon dioxide the global fossil-fuel industry emitted in 2018 (36 gigatonnes).

The technology is becoming widely accepted as a safe and potentially effective form of geoengineering compared to other approaches, and Biden voiced support for it in his campaign platform, stating that his administration would take steps to "accelerate the development and deployment of carbon capture sequestration technology."

Specifically, Biden wants to make carbon capture more widely available, cheaper, and scalable, and plans to increase federal investments and tax incentives for developing the technology.

Business Insider

When former President Donald Trump occupied the Oval Office, he quite literally had a button on his desk that ordered a Diet Coke to the room whenever it was pressed. But as a glimpse at President Biden's desk just hours after his inauguration shows, the soda-summoning button is gone.

While it may have sounded just too weird to be true, Trump's Diet Coke obsession and his button to match were absolutely real. No word on if Biden will install some kind of ice cream-ordering alternative.

THE WEEK

Police are investigating a camera hidden in a bathroom at a Tennessee gym that had recorded dozens of videos of underage girls.

A GoPro camera was found inside a bathroom and changing area at a Premier Athletics facility, which trains young cheerleaders, gymnasts and dancers, police in Franklin said Thursday. Videos of 60 females in various states of undress, most of whom were minors, were found on the camera.

"Detectives believe that the suspect had been intermittently staging the camera to capture video in the restroom since September," police said. 

It does not appear that any other restrooms or private areas at the facility had hidden cameras, police said. Authorities have identified 47 of those who were secretly recorded and are notifying parents, police said.

Police have not identified any suspects, but they expect to release more information once charges are filed.

An email sent to an address advertised on the Premier Athletics website was marked undeliverable. The corporate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment./NBC