Last year, Barbara Thigpen had a difficult choice to make: close her salon of 10 years, or dip into her son’s college fund. The salon had been closed for much of the year by California’s state mandate due to the pandemic. Then the government said it was offering a third round of Paycheck Protection Program
Continue ReadingFor the past year, countries around the world have shared data on Covid-19 cases and deaths with the World Health Organization (WHO) — information that is crucial in informing the global fight against the disease. However, three countries stand out as appearing either less than transparent or in denial about the scale of the problem.
Continue ReadingNew York Attorney General Letitia James was only a few months into her second term as New York City’s public advocate when, over a few hours during a dinner party with friends, a stunning twist of fate put her on a collision course with the state’s most powerful man, Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In a report
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has vowed to be “as honest as possible” with his players after a 1-0 loss against Chelsea — his side’s fifth consecutive home defeat. Mason Mount’s strike was the difference between the two sides, moving Chelsea up to fourth in the Premier League table while Liverpool remains seventh. The Reds struggled
Continue ReadingCovid-19 testing numbers are dropping in the US. And that’s bad news. Without testing, there’s no way to keep track of where the pandemic is headed and whether vaccines are working. And there’s no way to make use of one of the most important tools for fighting infectious diseases: contact tracing. “While the public may
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When the coronavirus pandemic was declared nearly a year ago, the future for state and local government finances looked grim. Millions of people had lost their jobs, the stock market tanked and governors ordered nonessential businesses to close — all of which threatened to pummel many of the tax revenue streams states and municipalities rely
Continue Reading The political organization founded by NBA superstar LeBron James and a host of other Black athletes and artists will kick off its post-2020 work with a focus on the wave of Republican-backed legislation aimed at restricting voter access in the wake of the latest presidential election. More Than A Vote will use the 2021 NBA
Continue ReadingAn inspector general report detailing allegations of “sexual and denigrating” comments made by former White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson, along with accounts of drinking and taking prescription sleep aids on the job while overseas, come after a lengthy tenure across three administrations. The Texas Republican’s role in the White House orbit evolved over time,
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Leaders and businesses across the US are pushing back against states lifting mask mandates by doubling down on their commitment to enforcing Covid-19 precautions as variants continue to cause concern. This week, Texas and Mississippi joined the list of states expanding business capacity and lifting the mandates for residents to wear masks. A representative for
Continue ReadingThe finale of “WandaVision” premiered Friday, bringing to an end a successful season for Disney+’s first Marvel Studios series — and with it, a parallel drama that has been unfolding on TikTok. For weeks, fans have taken to the short-form video app to theorize about the show’s many mysteries, creating countless videos of themselves talking,
Continue ReadingTesla is starting to lose market share among US buyers of electric vehicles, and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E appears to be the beneficiary. Analysis by Morgan Stanley shows that Tesla’s share of the US EV market fell to 69% in February, down from 81% a year ago. Tesla’s US sales are still climbing, according to this
Continue ReadingUS stocks tumbled Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell predicted an increase in consumer prices this summer — something investors fear will force interest rates up sooner than expected. Powell, speaking at a conference Thursday, predicted strong job growth and increases in consumer prices as the vaccine rollout allows the economy to reopen fully.
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It’s not your imagination. Robocalls really are ramping up again after a pandemic lull. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.) 1. Coronavirus Trouble is brewing over
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It was a tiny error in judgement, but within seconds he realized that the consequences could be potentially life threatening. “That wave sucked me up into the mouth of it and slammed me onto a rock and just absolutely destroyed me,” American surfer Billy Kemper tells CNN Sport. “Knocked me out unconscious. Collapsed my lung.
Continue ReadingWhen Tiger Woods crashed his car in Southern California last week, he told sheriff’s deputies that he had no recollection of driving or how the accident happened, according to a Los Angeles County affidavit for a search warrant of the vehicle’s black box. Woods was driving February 23 in Rancho Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles,
Continue Reading Cristiano Ronaldo reached another scoring landmark on the occasion of his 600th league game. When he netted Juventus’ third goal in a 3-0 victory against Spezia on Tuesday, Ronaldo became the first player to score at least 20 goals over each of the last 12 consecutive seasons across more than one of Europe’s top five
Continue ReadingNew Zealand has downgraded its tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake struck the Kermadec Islands region early Friday, sparking fears of a tsunami. The 8.1-magnitude quake was the third to strike the area on Friday morning local time, according to the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency. Residents in some areas received emergency alerts on
Continue ReadingAttending to the Baghdad church where he works as a caretaker, Natiq Anwar relives the most horrific experience of his life each and every day. Near the pew where the 66-year-old sits, a scattering of crimson tiles marks the places where churchgoers and clergy died 10 years ago. The sacristy, a tiny room next to
Continue ReadingThe risk of death from Covid-19 is about 10 times higher in countries where most of the population is overweight, according to a report released Wednesday by the World Obesity Federation. Researchers found that by the end of 2020, global Covid-19 death rates were more than 10 times higher in countries where more than half
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As members of China’s political elite prepared for an annual summit in Beijing this week, state-run news agency Xinhua noted “there is no perfect democracy, only democracy that fits best.” Hong Kong may be about to find out the democracy that fits best, at least in Beijing’s opinion, is no democracy at all. At the
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