“Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, father of Prince Charles and patriarch of a turbulent royal family that he sought to ensure would not be Britain’s last, died on Friday at Windsor Castle in England. He was 99.
His death was announced by Buckingham Palace, which said he passed away peacefully.” Read more at New York Times
“In the United States, the good vaccine news keeps coming. For much of the world, things look bleak.
As of Thursday, just short of 20 percent of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated, giving some 66 million people a strong measure of protection against a disease that has already killed more than 500,000 Americans.
By contrast, Covax — a World Health Organization-backed push for equitable distribution — aims to secure enough doses to cover up to 20 percent of the people in participating countries by the end of 2021, but it may not meet that relatively modest goal, experts warn.
The gap between the vaccine ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ is widening, fueling frustration and potentially extending the pandemic.” Read more at Washington Post
“The C.D.C. advised that there was very little chance of contracting Covid from surfaces, putting to rest an early misconception. ‘This is a virus you get by breathing,’ one scientist said.” Read more at New York Times
“Tens of thousands of vaccine appointments remain unclaimed in Mississippi, a sign the state is already encountering hesitancy.” Read more at New York Times
The Covid-19 pandemic has deepened global inequality, fueled political polarization in many countries and handed authoritarian regimes a pretext to crack down on domestic political opposition, according to a new U.S. intelligence report that says the virus’s impacts could linger for many years.
‘The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political and security implications that will ripple for years to come,’ says the report by the National Intelligence Council, which charts likely global trends over the next 20 years.
‘The response to the pandemic has fueled partisanship and polarization in many countries as groups argue over the best way to respond and seek scapegoats to blame for spreading the virus and for slow responses,’ while contributing to low levels of trust in political institutions, the report says.
Meanwhile, the pandemic ‘is slowing and possibly reversing some longstanding trends in human development,’ such as gains in poverty reduction and gender equality, it says.
The report, Global Trends 2040, envisions a rough ride ahead for the planet, with accelerating contests over resources, governments struggling to meet citizens’ aspirations, and increased fragmentation of communities where ‘people are likely to gravitate to information silos of people who share similar views, reinforcing beliefs and understanding of the truth.’
It sees some bright spots. Population growth in Latin American and South Asia could spur economic expansion, the report says, even as China, Japan and South Korea deal with aging populations. The advent of artificial intelligence, by boosting productivity, could help governments deliver more services and tackle rising national debts, it says.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Brazil's Senate is opening an inquiry into the country’s handling of the pandemic as President Jair Bolsonaro continues to defy public health advice and refuse lockdown measures. March was Brazil's deadliest month since the pandemic began. More than 345,000 Brazilians have died of Covid-19, a toll second only to the US. Meanwhile, countries around the world have announced changes to their vaccination programs after UK and EU regulators found a ‘possible link’ between AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine and ‘very rare’ blood clot cases. Both regulators stressed the vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh the risks. About 1 in 4 US adults are now fully vaccinated, and more than a third have had a first shot.” Read more at CNN
“The state of Florida, a hub of cruise operations, has sued U.S. health authorities to force the restart of cruise sailings, which haven’t been allowed out of the U.S. for more than a year since the coronavirus pandemic brought voyages to a halt.
The move is the latest escalation in the clash between the cruise industry as well as its allies and the government over how to resume voyages. As authorities ease broad travel guidelines, large cruise operators in the U.S. remain dormant. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, their leaders and the U.S. government.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“As a small but growing number of colleges announce that they’ll require students to get a Covid-19 vaccine, two state governments have prohibited their public colleges from doing so.
Utah legislators enacted a law forbidding government agencies — including public colleges — to require people to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. Private businesses and colleges may still have vaccine mandates. The law drew nearly unanimous approval from legislators, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. Gov. Spencer Cox signed it in March.
Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed an executive order that also prevents public colleges from requiring a Covid shot.
Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, issued an executive order that banned businesses from ‘requiring patrons or customers’ to show proof of immunization on the same day that Nova Southeastern University, a private institution in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., announced it would require Covid-19 shots, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Nova Southeastern’s president, George Hanbury, told The New York Times that the order had caught the university off guard and administrators were reviewing it.
Abbott, Cox, and DeSantis are all Republicans.” Read more at Chronicle of Higher Education
“President Joe Biden on Thursday announced six executive actions aimed at curtailing gun violence in America. Chief among them: new regulations on ‘ghost guns’ and the nomination of a new director to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).” [Vox] Read more at Washington Post / Seung Min Kim and Tyler Pager
“Two bills have passed through the House in recent months that would significantly change how guns are acquired in America. One would force private sellers to conduct background checks on every purchase. Another would close a loophole that allows buyers to complete their purchases without a background check if the FBI doesn't complete it quickly. The shooter who killed nine people in 2015 at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, acquired his weapon that way.” Read more at Vox / Sean Collins
“But those bills are likely to stall in the Senate; not even all Democrats support them. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has opposed HR 8, saying he does not favor background checks on private gun sales. Instead, Manchin endorses a more conservative background check bill he co-authored with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) in 2012.” [Vox] Read more at Associated Press / Mary Clare Jalonick
“As Congress continues its standstill, people continue to die in mass shootings. On Wednesday, five people, including a local doctor, his wife, and their grandchildren, were killed in a shooting at their home in Rock Hill, South Carolina.” [Vox] Read more at CNN / Jason Hanna, Dianne Gallagher and Christina Maxouris
“A medical expert testified that George Floyd died of a lack of oxygen, after being pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck — a rejection of the defense theory that Floyd was killed by drug use and underlying health problems.” Read more at Axios
“Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, acting on a grand jury subpoena, took possession of financial records Thursday morning from the apartment of Jennifer Weisselberg, the former daughter-in-law of a top Trump Organization officer.
Jennifer Weisselberg was married to Barry Weisselberg — the son of Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg — from 2004 to 2018. She has previously said that she had seven boxes of financial records from both her ex-husband and his father, some of which were obtained through divorce litigation. On Thursday, she loaded three boxes and a laptop computer onto a valet cart and wheeled them from her building to a black Jeep with dark-tinted windows that was waiting outside.
In Trump probe, Manhattan district attorney puts pressure on his longtime chief financial officer
The move by District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. appears to be the latest sign that Allen Weisselberg, the company’s highest-ranking corporate officer who is not a member of the Trump family, is a key focus of the ongoing criminal probe into former president Donald Trump’s financial dealings.” Read more at Washington Post
“A new report by the US Capitol Police watchdog reveals there were even more security failures leading up to the January 6 Capitol riots than previously assumed. Capitol Police officers had expired ammunition and ineffective shields, the USCP Inspector General found. Capitol Police also received and did not appear to take advantage of a warning about a map of the tunnel system under the Capitol weeks before the insurrection, according to the findings. The inspector general is expected to testify on Capitol Hill next week about the report and his findings. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have gotten the green light from the Justice Department to start cutting guilty plea deals with Capitol riot defendants, which could start bringing some of the hundreds of cases to a close.” Read more at CNN
“The union trying to organize workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., sounded a pessimistic note Thursday as a partial tally showed votes against the union with an early and widening lead.
With roughly half the 3,215 ballots counted, no votes hit 1,100 while yes votes totaled 463. The count was scheduled to resume on Friday.
‘Our system is broken,’ Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union president Stuart Appelbaum said in a statement Thursday night that seemed to anticipate defeat. ‘Amazon took full advantage of that, and we will be calling on the labor board to hold Amazon accountable for its illegal and egregious behavior during the campaign.’
One area on which the union will likely focus:Emails among U.S. Postal Service employees in January and February show that Amazon pressed the agency to install a mailbox outside the warehouse, a move the union contends is a violation of labor laws.
The union is fighting to represent 5,805 workers at the facility in one of the most high-profile labor battles in years, and the National Labor Relations Board is expected tobegin counting votes today.
The union has complained about the mailbox, which the Postal Service installed just before the start of mail-in balloting for the union election in early February. It has argued that the mailbox could lead workers to think Amazon has some role in collecting and counting ballots, which could influence their votes.
The emails, obtained by the union through Freedom of Information Act requests, could extend that battle if the union loses the vote, providing fodder for unfair labor practices charges that provide grounds to overturn the results. The emails show that Amazon pressed the Postal Service to install a mailbox urgently just as the seven-week mail-in balloting began.” Read more at Washington Post
“A Florida politician at the center of an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz is negotiating with federal prosecutors to resolve his own sex-trafficking and other charges, a potentially ominous sign for Gaetz if his associate decides to cooperate in a bid for leniency.
Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector for Seminole County, Fla., was initially charged last summer in a bare-bones indictment that prosecutors have since superseded, adding charges of sex trafficking of a minor, stealing from the tax office and even trying to use fraud to get coronavirus relief money while out on bond. In the course of the investigation into his conduct, people familiar with the matter have said, federal authorities came across evidence that Gaetz (R-Fla.) might have committed a crime and launched a separate investigation into him.
At a status conference in Greenberg’s case on Thursday, federal prosecutor Roger Handberg told a judge that he expected a plea, though negotiations are ongoing. Fritz Scheller, an attorney for Greenberg, asked the judge to set a deadline of May 15 for the two sides to either reach a deal or move toward a trial in the summer.
It was not immediately clear how far the negotiations had gotten, or to what extent a plea agreement would require Greenberg to cooperate with investigators, though Greenberg’s attorney hinted he was willing to share information. If prosecutors were to get Greenberg on their side as a cooperator, it is possible he could help bolster the case against Gaetz, a higher-profile target. A person who pleads guilty in a criminal case can often lessen their potential penalty by providing information that might be helpful to investigators in other matters.” Read more at Washington Post
“Myanmar’s Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun is trying to justify the military’s bloody takeover of the country, saying the ousting of elected government officials in February was ‘not a coup.’ Zaw Min Tun also said the junta is not responsible for more than 600 people who have died in protests and clashes with police and military in the streets. In a wide-ranging interview with CNN, Zaw Min Tun said the generals are merely ‘safeguarding’ the country while they investigate a ‘fraudulent’ election. After seizing control of the government, the country’s military declared a yearlong state of emergency, after which new elections would be held. Now, Zaw Min Tun says that state of emergency could be extended, postponing elections indefinitely.” Read more at CNN
“Housing Secretary Marcia L. Fudge on Thursday unveiled nearly $5 billion in new grants to states and local governments across the country for rental assistance, the development of affordable housing and other services to help people experiencing or on the verge of homelessness.
The infusion of money to reduce homelessness, part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirusrelief package that President Biden signed last month, is the latest example of how the administration is using the American Rescue Plan to enact a sweeping anti-poverty agenda amid the pandemic.” Read more at Washington Post
“Violence erupted in Belfast Wednesday, as crowds of Protestant unionists clashed with Catholic Irish nationalists, throwing bricks and petroleum bombs at each other and at police. It was an inflection point in a week of violence across the capital of Northern Ireland, whose position in the UK has become more fraught because of Brexit.” [Vox] Read more at Associated Press / Peter Morrison and Jill Lawless
Justin Rose is congratulated by his caddie David Clark on the 18th green after an opening 65. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock
“Step aside Bryson DeChambeau. Should Justin Rose press home the strong advantage claimed late in the first day of this, the 85th Masters, the Englishman could start quite the golfing trend. In contrast to DeChambeau, this relates to psychology rather than gadgets and gouging.
Rose chose not to return to the PGA Tour in the five weeks before the first major of the year, despite a back problem having recovered sufficiently for him to do so. Instead, Rose spent hour upon hour sitting in the trophy room of his home ‘playing’ Augusta National in his mind.
Rose visualised every shot and every outcome, later joking that the process could be dangerous for someone whose brain won’t let them score better than 74. Rose has no such worries; this 65 – beating his previous Augusta best by two - opened up a four-shot lead over Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama. This marks the sixth time Rose has led or co-led at the conclusion of a Masters round. And yet, thus far, a Green Jacket has eluded him.” Read more at The Guardian
“GM idles plants as chip shortage worsens. Scant supplies of in-demand semiconductors prompted the auto giant to halt production at several North American factories and extend shutdowns at others.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“McDonald’s is closing hundreds of its Walmart restaurants. The closures will leave around 150 McDonald’s stores at U.S. Walmart locations, down from roughly 1,000 at the peak of the 30-year partnership between the two companies.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Taylor Swift released a rerecording of her 2008 album ‘Fearless.’ The new release comes two years after she failed to acquire the rights to her early albums from her former label, and is the first salvo in a campaign to gain more control over her legacy.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“744,000 — The number of new jobless claims filed in the U.S. last week, an increase of approximately 16,000 compared with the week before. Despite the rise interrupting a downward trend, new claims remain close to the lowest point since mid-March of last year.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“3,215 — The number of ballots cast and processed in the labor union vote at an Amazon facility in Bessemer, Ala., where ballots were mailed to about 6,000 employees. Federal labor officials have begun counting the votes, with an outcome possible this week. The National Labor Relations Board will recognize the union if a majority of voters expressed support, but it could take years for workers to negotiate a contract with Amazon, which has long opposed labor organizing.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“$1 billion — The amount in compensation that the Suez Canal Authority has said it would demand from the owners of the Ever Given, the ship that blocked the waterway for nearly a week last month. The sum is expected to cover the operation to free the vessel, the loss of transit fees during the 400-plus-ship traffic jam and other expenses related to the blockage. Egyptian authorities said they won't release the ship until compensation is paid.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Hours on Zoom calls, your spine fusing into the chair. Leftovers beckoning from the fridge for a 10:30 a.m. lunch. Your fitness tracker nagging you to move — just 9,819 more steps till your goal.
The pandemic has upended nearly every part of life over the past year, and for many it has taken a physical toll, a consequence of a more sedentary lifestyle, lost exercise routines, and, above all, extreme stress.
While plenty of people have relied on exercise to cope during a year filled with fear and loss, a recent survey found a startling level of weight gain, particularly among millennials and Gen Z.
The American Psychological Association’s ‘Stress in America’ poll, conducted in late February, found that 42 percent of people reported they had become heavier than they intended during the previous year. Those people gained an average of 29 pounds, with 10 percent gaining more than 50.
Some of the most surprising figures came from the youngest demographics. Forty-eight percent of millennials, roughly ages 25 to 40,reported undesired weight gain, with an average of 41 pounds, while half of Gen Z put on pounds they didn’t want, with an average of 28.” Read more at Boston Globe
“The discovery of a ‘lost city’ under the sands in Luxor, home to the famed Valley of the Kings, could help Egypt revive its tourism industry. Known as ‘The Rise of Aten,’ it dates to the reign of Amenhotep III which began around 1,390 BC, and offers ‘a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time where the empire was at its wealthiest,’ said Betsy Bryan, a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
The discovered city known as “The Rise of Aten”
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