By Dan McCaleb | The Center Square
(Worthy News) – The COVID-19 virus “more likely” originated from a research lab in China, the CIA now says, though it has “low confidence” in its determination.
Multiple media outlets are reporting the CIA shifted its position from being undecided on the origin to saying it more likely came from the Wuhan lab rather than from human exposure to an infected animal such as a bat.
“CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting,” a CIA spokesperson said in a statement, according to NBC News. “CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible.”
Other federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy and former FBI Director Christopher Wray, have said the Wuhan lab is the likely origin of the COVID-19 virus, but expressed a similar lack of confidence as the CIA.
COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, leading elected officials across the U.S. and the world to issue stay-at-home orders that led to millions of job losses. More than 1 million Americans died from COVID-19.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
The Trump administration has halted shipments of U.S. dollars to Iraq and suspended portions of its security cooperation with Baghdad, escalating pressure on Iraqi leaders to confront powerful Iran-backed militias, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive citing U.S. and Iraqi officials.
Lebanon is seeking to extend a fragile ceasefire with Israel as officials from both nations prepare for a second round of U.S.-brokered talks in Washington, D.C., marking a rare moment of direct engagement after decades of hostility.
The United States has informed Israel that President Donald Trump has extended the ceasefire deadline with Iran until Sunday, according to Israeli officials, even as violence and uncertainty continue to cloud diplomatic efforts.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran is suffering severe financial losses due to ongoing restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, estimating the Islamic Republic is losing roughly $500 million per day.
The European Union moved toward unlocking a 90 billion euro (about $106 billion) loan to Kyiv on Wednesday after officials said Russian oil was again flowing to Hungary and Slovakia following months of disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine.
Hungary’s incoming conservative prime minister Péter Magyar has come under mounting pressure after the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary violated “core values” of the European Union by adopting legislation it says discriminates against LGBTQ+ people.
Communities in Nigeria’s central Plateau state were grieving Tuesday after suspected Islamic gunmen killed at least eight Christians and injured 10 others in a series of coordinated overnight attacks, Christian sources said.