HEADS UP: Taal Volcano is Acting Up, Here's What You Need to Know (July 2)

Here’s a Heads Up from reportr on news that you need to know today, July 2:

VOLCANO ALERT

• Taal belched a one-kilometer high steam column yesterday, as Phivolcs raised the alert one notch higher to Level 3.
• Here's what to expect and how to prepare as Taal acts up. It last erupted in January 2020, before the pandemic.

CULTURE EXPLAINED

• Jake Zyrus opened up about his struggles over breaking free from Charice Pempengo, one that drove him to suicide thrice. Now, he is learning that he can build a relationship with God as a trans man.

PIXEL WORLD

• The source code or seed of the World Wide Web as we know it was sold for $5.4 million as an NFT.
• TikTok took down 62 million videos for violation of community guidelines.
• Seoul, South Korea is using AI and CCTV to prevent suicide attempts on bridges.

VACCINE NEWS

• Jabs on wheels. Check out the Philippine Red Cross’ vaccine bus.
• Fully vaccinated senior Makatizens are entitled to a P1,000 gift certificate, among many perks to encourage immunization against COVID.
• Jobs recovered in May as quarantines eased and further recovery rests on a swift vaccine rollout, say President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• The President has signed a law extending for two years until 2023 the amnesty for estate taxes.

NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• “My Win is Our Win,” said Kataluna Enriquez, a Pinay beauty queen who made history as the first transwoman to compete for Miss USA.
• Challenged by Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Health Sec. Francisco Duque said his agency was open to a corruption investigation. Malacanang said the senator should name specific agencies.
• Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, accused of red-tagging actresses and opposition figures, resigned as spokesman of the anti-insurgency task force NTF-ELCAC.
• Parlade is retiring this month and will be replaced by a Medal of Valor recipient as head of the Southern Luzon Command, Maj. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro.
• The outspoken Archbishop Broderick Pabillo was assigned to Palawan after serving as caretaker of the Archdiocese of Manila.
• For a quarantine-free beach escape, Phuket in Thailand reopened yesterday to vaccinated tourists.
• A portion of Marcos Highway will be closed for the inauguration of the LRT-2 Anbtipolo Station.
• On the 100th anniversary of China’s Communist Party, President Xi Jinping pledged to work for “reunification” with Taiwan. Xi also said Beijing will not be bullied by the West.
• The first high-profile celebrity tagged in #MeToo, U.S. comedian Bill Cosby, was released from jail after the Supreme Court overturned his conviction for one of many rape cases.