Researchers say ‘very low’-quality research led to outdated guidelines on who got the best PPE, leaving those most at risk exposed

Judiciary committee authorized to look into sexual misconduct allegations against governor by six womenThe New York state assembly has authorized its judiciary committee to start an “impeachment investigation” into sexual misconduct allegations brought by six women against Andrew Cuomo.The panel’s investigation into the New York governor, which would run parallel to one being led by the state attorney general, Letitia James, would be authorized to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and evaluate evidence, said Carl Heastie, the speaker of the state assembly. Continue reading...

At 4.56pm on a spring afternoon, countless women in the UK were being harassed on the street. It turns out I was one of themI don’t know why I’m writing about this really, because nothing happened. Compared to what happens, nothing really happened. And in the five minutes it took to not happen – between 4.55pm and 5pm yesterday – he was never closer to me than three feet. What a respectful distance from which to be called a “dirty cunt”, my ha-di-ha-ha brain is saying. I was merely verbally aggressed by a stranger in a socially distanced way.Plus it all feels a bit convenient for a columnist, right? And I agree – being followed and simultaneously screamed at by some guy I’d never clapped eyes on before yesterday afternoon was nothing if not convenient. Look, I’m writing a column about it today. But before this outbreak of convenience, this column honestly was going to be a fictional imagining of the royal family attending implicit bias training. I don’t want you to conclude I didn’t have other wares for this space if it hadn’t been for the convenient nothing that happened. Continue reading...

President says all US adults will be able to get a vaccination or join waiting list by 1 May, with hopes that gatherings can take place for 4 July. Plus, New York authorises ‘impeachment investigation’ into Cuomo sexual misconduct allegationsGood morning.Joe Biden has instructed states to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by 1 May, and touted the 4 July holiday as a time when families and friends could reunite to celebrate. Speaking at his first primetime TV address as president, Biden said the expansion of the vaccine rollout would not ensure every adult receives a vaccine by 1 May, but mean they could at least join a waiting list. He said the 4 July holiday would “not only mark our independence as a nation, but … begin to mark our independence from this virus.” Continue reading...

A recent study found that 30% of Covid patients surveyed still had persistent symptoms nine months later

The pandemic has shown us that a life with just the basics of food and healthcare isn’t enough – we are craving cultureIn a year that has been almost devoid of in-real-life cultural experiences, one evening stands out. It was just after Christmas got cancelled, shortly before lockdown 3.0. I’d bought tickets for the family to visit Glow Wild, a winter lantern trail on the Wakehurst estate in Sussex. In line with the season of disappointments, I had been fully expecting an email telling me that it would not be going ahead, but somehow – because it was an outdoor, socially distanced event – it opened as planned.On an ordinary year, this would have been one in a whole array of Christmas outings, to the panto, to grownup theatre, exhibitions, maybe a gig. But this year it was the only one, and as a result the lanterns we saw that evening glow brightly in my memory. The trail is put together every year by the local community arts group Same Sky, and involves thousands of paper lights hung from the trees, light and sound installations, and projections on to the walls of the stately home. Continue reading...

As the administration tackles Trump’s legacy February saw more minors arriving alone at the southern border than since May 2019Joe Biden’s promise of a more “fair, safe and orderly” immigration system is facing an early test as the number of children seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border has increased this year.Related: Surge in migrants seeking to cross Mexico border poses challenge for Biden Continue reading...

After Chico police killed a Black man in a mental health crisis, activists set the stage for change. But reform efforts only gave police more powerFor 61-year-old David Phillips, the small northern California city of Chico is the ideal place to live – except for the racism and the police, two things he says are inseparable.Founded an hour and a half drive north of Sacramento, Chico is stained with a violent past; like many of the state’s cities in the 19th century, it was a sundown town, and early in the 20th, the Ku Klux Klan had a float in the local parade. It has stayed mostly white for more than a century, including 82% of the population today. Continue reading...

Children need to feel pride in their racial background, not a sense of shame and denial. Colour-blind parenting can be cruelWhat constitutes your personal identity? It’s a question you might not have considered before. Perhaps it’s never bothered you. The topic of what makes us who we are, and our sense of self, has been discussed since the origins of western philosophy. The central theme in some of the world’s most famous novels, such as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter is one of identity and the search for self. Yet defining who we are proves notoriously tricky.Some may think identity as being forged through seminal moments – the birth of a child; perhaps a marriage. Many people see a personal identity as correlating with their ethnicity, nationality, or racial background. Continue reading...

A video shot by an FPV drone flying through a Minnesota bowling alley in one take has gone viral. The one-and-a-half-minute-long clip titled Right Up Our Valley was filmed in a single shot, albeit after 10-12 attempts. "I think there's some scepticism there of it being a true one-take. It is a true one-take. There's no CGI," said the video's director, Anthony Jaska. The sound was added in post-production as the buzzing from the drone's four blades make it impractical to use natural audio. The filmmakers said the goal of the video was to remind people of local businesses such as the bowling alley as public health measures from the coronavirus pandemic ease Continue reading...

The NBA’s best young player was slow off the mark for what many had forecasted as an MVP season, but he’s responded to heightened scrutiny in a way that’s only laid his greatness bareDeep into the third quarter of a game against Orlando Magic earlier this month, the Dallas Mavericks were defending with a 13-point lead when they snatched the ball and quickly transitioned. Four blue shirts flitted forward downcourt, outnumbering Orlando’s lone defender, until Luka Dončić collected the ball inches from the rim. The best young baller in the world had a simple lay-up before him, but passed it up for the spectacular play: attempting a backwards, no-look bounce pass to where he thought Maximillian Kleber would be arriving. Kleber, however, had stopped running and the pass found no one at all. Within 30 seconds, the lead would shrink to seven points.For some athletes, the indignity of such an elementary mistake might make them think twice before attempting the same thing again. But that is not how Luka Dončić plays basketball. In his short time in the NBA, one of his shining qualities is his audacity. He goes about his work with joy and deep conviction in his ability, which translates to him being unafraid of expressing his talent to the fullest with the most difficult, outrageous passes and shot attempts. A few minutes into the fourth quarter, he rectified his mistake with an identical pass, this time with the added difficulty of being airbound. “You’re constantly talking to players about not jumping in the air and trying to make decisions,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards, laughing. “I mean, this guy defies a lot of logic when it comes to conventional coaching theories. Continue reading...

As Republicans continue to pass bills that would restrict voting rights for many, and as the Democrats try to fight back on the federal level, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund about the importance of the battle for minority voters across the countryAs Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to pass laws that would lead to voter suppression, Jonathan and Janai discuss the long struggle for voting rights for millions of voters since the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Continue reading...

The only good thing about all of this is getting to say fungible a lot it is a funny word. What does it even mean?

President warns Americans ‘this is not the time to let up’ in first prime-time address on pandemic anniversaryJoe Biden has directed states to make all American adults eligible for coronavirus vaccines by 1 May and set an audacious goal of 4 July for gatherings to celebrate “independence” from the deadly pandemic.But in his first prime-time address, which marked the anniversary of America’s shutdown, the president warned that restrictions could be reinstated if the nation lets down its guard against the virus. Continue reading...

Joe Biden has pledged all US adults will be eligible for coronavirus vaccines by 1 May as he addressed the nation on the one year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden outlined plans to speed up vaccinations around the country and hoped for a return to normalcy by 4 July. The president condemned the hate crimes against Asian Americans, and repeated his calls for unity, as he urged Americans to continue to wear masks

Democrat? Republican? Actor’s political party is not clear but his comments on gun violence and defunding the police shed light on his viewsMatthew McConaughey has announced he is “seriously considering” a run for Texas governor, a year before the state election.The actor revealed his intention on a recent episode of Crime Stoppers of Houston’s The Balanced Voice podcast on Wednesday. He told the host, Rania Mankarious, that running for governor was a “true consideration”. Continue reading...

Review commissioned by the city council found that poor planning led to chaos and mass arrestsThe Los Angeles police department has been criticised over its handling of the widespread protests that broke out over the summer after the death of George Floyd, with an independent review finding that poor planning led to chaos and mass arrests. Continue reading...

Reinstated count against ex-officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck gives jury another means of finding him guilty of murder, experts sayA judge has granted prosecutors’ request to add a third-degree murder count against a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, offering jurors an additional option for conviction and resolving an issue that might have delayed his trial for months.The Hennepin county judge Peter Cahill reinstated the charge on Thursday after the former officer, Derek Chauvin, failed to get appellate courts to block it. Cahill had earlier rejected the charge as not warranted by the circumstances of Floyd’s death, but an appellate court ruling in an unrelated case established new grounds. Continue reading...

Scientists say residents should expect to see more intense rainstorms more frequently as the planet warmsHeavy rains triggered flooding on multiple Hawaiian islands this week, destroying homes and bridges and setting off mass evacuations. The downpour, officials and climate scientists say, is an example of the more intense rainstorms that are occurring more frequently as the planet warms. Continue reading...

Joe Biden has signed into law a $1.9tn coronavirus relief package, cementing the first major legislative victory of his presidency. 'This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,' Biden said about the American Rescue Plan. Touting the bill’s broad public support, he said the plan’s passage by the House of Representatives on Wednesday ensured that 'their voices were heard'

President will mark one year since coronavirus triggered shutdowns across US in televised speech on Thursday night

International Women’s Day has coincided with a terrible reminder of our vulnerabilitySometimes you don’t forget a face. And all this week, it has been Sarah Everard’s. When she went missing, any woman who has ever walked home alone at night felt that grim, instinctive sense of recognition. Footsteps on a dark street. Keys gripped between your fingers. There but for the grace of God. She was a perfect stranger, someone I have never met nor had any connection with. But half the women I knew were sharing her image on social media feeds, willing her to make it home. Even though we know that home is where women are statistically most at risk.Women who vanish stick in our heads precisely because they are rare. It’s men who are more likely to be killed in public places, invariably by other men; meanwhile two women a week die at the hands of their own partners on average, and mostly nobody hears their names. The Labour MP Jess Phillips, who reads those names out in parliament every year, said on Thursday that by her count, six women and a little girl had been murdered in the days since Sarah Everard had vanished. That doesn’t make one form of violence against women any more or less shocking than another. It just means that misogyny takes many forms; and that our primal fear of it bleeds into everything. It turns what may sometimes seem to men relatively trivial street encounters into something darker. It’s why we’re instinctively frightened of feeling trapped, dependent, with no way out. Continue reading...

More than 20 major cities have reduced police budgets in some form, and activists are fighting to ensure that is only the startAfter “defund the police” became the rallying cry of protests last summer, Democratic leaders spent months criticizing the slogan and worrying about its impact on elections. While party infighting was dominating headlines, local activists were campaigning to make the catchphrase a reality in cities across the US.Since the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor prompted unprecedented uprisings, some racial justice groups have successfully pressured municipal lawmakers to cut police funds and reinvest the money in services. And with reformed 2021 budgets coming into effect, cities are slowly beginning to redistribute law enforcement money to housing, mental health programs, food access and other programs. Continue reading...

Former first lady, 57, says the pivot will allow more time for her and her husband, Barack, to ‘be with each other’Michelle Obama, the former first lady, hinted at plans for a graceful step out of the limelight and towards retirement, in a recent interview with People Magazine. She shared that the pivot would allow more time for her and husband, Barack, to “be with each other”.Since leaving the White House, the pair has taken on multiple, selective projects, from campaigning for Joe Biden to securing deals with Netflix and Spotify. Continue reading...

Sarah Everard’s disappearance has crystallised the fears that many women experience as a background humThe disappearance of Sarah Everard while she walked through Clapham, south London, at 9pm on 3 March gives horrific shape to the hum of fear that women constantly feel in public spaces. My social media timelines are full of women who are distressed by Sarah’s disappearance, and terrified that it could have been them. Men have asked what they can do to help women feel safer. But what’s needed beyond the education of individuals are urgent political solutions to counter men’s attempts to claim public spaces as their exclusive domain.The fear that we feel in public places is so common that many women consider it a fact of life. In a 2008 US survey of 811 women, 99% reported having experienced street harassment, of which men are overwhelmingly the perpetrators. While out running, I’ve been chased by men, and it’s rare that a week passes without random male passersby shouting derogatory comments or making noises at me. The joy I find in running is diminished by fear. Continue reading...

Republicans in the state legislature voted to make mail-in voting harder while the leading Democrat in the US House warned senators to find a way to pass voting rights legislationHappy Thursday, Continue reading...

Evanston city council to vote on the issue on 22 March for an initial disbursement of about $400,000 for housing needsA suburb of Chicago is set to become the first place in the US to provide reparations to its Black residents for housing through a tax on marijuana sales, with a plan to distribute $10m over the coming decade.Evanston, which sits on the shores of Lake Michigan north of downtown Chicago, is set for an initial disbursement of about $400,000 for housing needs, with a vote on the issue set to take place at the city council on 22 March. Continue reading...

State will become first to enact such a ban, saying ‘push for kids to adopt transgenderism is just wrong’Tate Reeves, the Republican governor of Mississippi, is set to sign a bill on Thursday that will ban transgender athletes from competing on girls’ or women’s sports teams.Mississippi will become the first state this year to enact such a ban, after a federal court blocked a similar Idaho law last year. Mississippi’s senate bill 2536 is set to become law on 1 July, although a legal challenge is possible. Continue reading...

Governor Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate on 2 March but not everyone in the state is ready to embrace the changeThe parking lot was packed at The Shops at La Cantera, a partially outdoor mall in north-west San Antonio, on the day that Texas officially ended mandatory mask wearing. But it was clear not everyone was ready to embrace the change, with most people who wandered in and out of stores still donning face coverings, and many shops requiring customers to wear one before entering.Related: Texans scramble to get vaccinated after Republican governor says no more masks Continue reading...

Palm Beach county election marks the third instance of the former president voting by mail since 2019Donald Trump requested a mail-in ballot for Palm Beach county’s municipal election in Florida earlier this week, despite a long record of attacks against what he has labeled a “fraudulent” voting method. Continue reading...

The party risks a dead end with its ‘Little Britain’ thinking, in marked contrast to the bolder path taken by Joe BidenWhat a difference power makes.The past 18 months saw political defeats for the left on both sides of the Atlantic. Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour party came to an end after a resounding Conservative victory. The Bernie Sanders campaign went down at the hands of the Democrat establishment. And yet the bitter irony of 2020 was that just as the political hopes of the left were dashed, the strategic analysis of the Green New Deal – the centrepiece of its policy vision – was spectacularly vindicated. Continue reading...

The trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed Floyd, has begun - and Minneapolis looks like a police state

Almost 6,000 Amazon employees are about to decide whether to unionize their warehouse. This could change everything

Workers struggle to keep up with surge in imports brought on by a pandemic-induced buying boom while parts of their workforce are recovering from the coronavirusThere were 48 ships laden with goods destined for store shelves across the United States sitting at anchor in southern California’s San Pedro Bay on Wednesday.In normal times, these massive cargo ships would have made their way from factories in China and other Asian nations directly to a dock at the ports of Los Angeles or Long Beach, the busiest seaport complex in the US. Continue reading...

US president’s first major legislative victory will see up to 85% of households receive $1,400 stimulus payments. Plus, a serious sixth allegation has been made against Andrew Cuomo

This week’s roundup includes big six-hitting from Kieron Pollard and a desperate last-ditch challenge1) It’s the north London derby this weekend and no one has a clue which Arsenal or Tottenham will turn up at the Emirates. What is known is that there will be no fans, meaning there will be no atmosphere. Hopefully there will be some of this sort of thing, a bit of this and potentially even plenty of this. Either way, it’s definitely worth a quick reminder of Paul Gascoigne’s genius.2) Trying to skate on ice at high speed, while an opponent waves a stick in your face would result in mere mortals hitting the deck. Mat Barzal, however, kept his balance, before bamboozling the netminder and flicking the ball into the net with his stick reversed between his legs. For those who are not NHL fans, there is plenty more Barzal to witness. Continue reading...

HistoryMiami’s collection includes Grim Reaper costume worn by attorney protesting Ron DeSantis’s refusal to close beachesFrom months of lockdown to seemingly endless mask wearing, homeschooling and the tedium of Zoom meetings, there are few aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic that those living through it will want to remember.But in Miami, at least, it is going to be impossible to forget. Artifacts and memories of the deadliest global pandemic in a century are on display at what is probably the nation’s first comprehensive coronavirus museum exhibition, forming an enduring testament to an unprecedented era. Continue reading...

The quarterback believes the team he has been a part of for his entire career is holding him back. If he wants out, now is the time to strikeRussell Wilson is the latest franchise star to put himself forward for this offseason’s game of quarterback musical chairs.Wilson, his agent has been at pains to point out, has not officially demanded a trade from Seattle, but he has – in a delightfully passive-aggressive, Wilson-esque way – made it clear to the team’s decision-makers that he is unhappy with the direction of the franchise and that he would prefer to leave. Continue reading...

When photographer Pascal Greco discovered neon, he became fascinated with how they brought poetry and magic to the city’s architecture. But now they’re fading away Continue reading...

The US president has pledged surplus vaccines will be shared with the rest of the world, after he announced the purchase of an additional 100m Johnson & Johnson doses. ‘If we have a surplus, we’re going to share it with the rest of the world,’ he said. ‘This is not something that can be stopped by a fence no matter how high you build a fence or a wall. So we’re not going to be safe until the world is safe. And so, we’re going to start off making sure Americans are taken care of first, but we’re then going to try and help the rest of the world.’ The president reiterated plans to have all American adults vaccinated by the end of May and revealed the country hit a record of 2.9m vaccinations in one day on Saturday

Xavier Becerra’s justice department has denied access to data used to evaluate firearms laws and policiesFor decades, America’s gun violence researchers fought an uphill battle against the National Rifle Association to obtain the data and funding they need to study the effects of US gun laws. But researchers in California say they are now facing a different, unexpected hurdle: the state’s outgoing Democratic attorney general.Under Xavier Becerra, who has been nominated to serve as Joe Biden’s health secretary, California’s department of justice started to deny researchers access to firearms data used to evaluate a wide range of gun laws and policies. Continue reading...

11 March 1933: As well as reopening banks, a proposed “peace-time army” of 500,000 unemployed will help rebuild the countryNew York, March 10

New York Democrat has been accused of harassment by five other women and is under investigation by state attorney generalAn aide to Andrew Cuomo says the New York governor groped her in the governor’s residence, marking the most serious allegation among those made by a series of women against the embattled Democrat, according to a report published in a newspaper Wednesday.The Times Union of Albany reported that the woman, who was not identified, was alone with Cuomo when he closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her. The newspaper’s reporting is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the woman’s accusation. The governor had summoned her to the Executive Mansion in Albany, saying he needed help with his cellphone, the newspaper reported. Continue reading...

The Ohio congresswoman will lead the housing agency while Regan, North Carolina’s top environmental regulator, will head the EPAThe Senate on Wednesday confirmed Marcia Fudge to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Michael Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, picking up the pace for confirmations in Joe Biden’s cabinet.Related: Merrick Garland confirmed as attorney general, turning page on Trump era Continue reading...