Baltimore County Schools Marking Valentine's Day As Student Appreciation Day

Baltimore County Schools Marking Valentine's Day As Student Appreciation Day

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  • Exclusive: Oxford study indicates AstraZeneca effective against Brazil variant, source says

    Preliminary data from a study conducted at the University of Oxford indicates that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca PLC is effective against the P1, or Brazilian, variant, a source with knowledge of the study told Reuters on Friday. The data indicates that the vaccine will not need to be modified in order to protect against the variant, which is believed to have originated in the Amazonian city of Manaus, said the source, who requested anonymity as the results have not yet been made public. The source did not provide the exact efficacy of the vaccine against the variant.

  • Meghan Markle Tells Oprah Winfrey She Wasn’t ‘Allowed’ to Make Her Own Choices as a Royal

    Rosa Woods - Pool/Getty ImagesMeghan Markle has said she was not allowed to make her own choices when she was a member of the royal family.The comments were made in a new preview clip from Oprah Winfrey’s eagerly-awaited interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, which dropped Friday morning on CBS This Morning.In the new clip, Meghan said that she had not been “allowed” to give an interview before.In the clip, Oprah told Meghan that she recalled calling her before her wedding and asking for an interview.Meghan said: “I recall that conversation very well. I wasn’t even allowed to have that conversation with you personally. Right? There had to be people from the [communications team] sitting there…”Oprah then said: “You turned me down nicely…What is right about this time?”Meghan replied: “Well, so many things. That we are on the other side of a lot of life experience that’s happened. And also that we have the ability to make our own choices in way that I couldn’t have said yes to you then. That wasn’t my choice to make. So, as an adult who lived a really independent life, to then go into this construct, that is, um, different, than I think what people imagine it to be, it’s really liberating to be able to have the right and the privilege in some ways to be able to say, ‘Yes, I am ready to talk.’ To say it for yourself…. To be able to just make a choice on your own, to be able to speak for yourself.”Meghan’s new comments appear to reiterate a frequent complaint of hers that she was denied her voice and agency when she was a member of the royal family.The new clip came as tensions between Meghan and Harry and Buckingham Palace boiled over into all-out war, with reports in the British media suggesting multiple witnesses were ready to come forward and give evidence to a hastily-announced inquiry into alleged bullying by Meghan of her staff at Buckingham Palace.Meghan’s friends responded to the bullying claims by launching a social media fightback against Buckingham Palace today calling her a “warm, kind, caring person.”In a previous clip Meghan accused the palace of “perpetuating falsehoods” about them.An emotional Meghan said: “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Imran Khan faces crunch confidence vote after senate race defeat

    Imran Khan on Saturday faces the biggest test yet of his nearly three-year premiership in a crunch confidence vote after losing a senate race. The former cricket star has told his ruling coalition to back him or he will return to opposition, after the surprise defeat of his party's key candidate in upper house elections. His Movement for Justice party on Friday said the cabinet would be dismissed and a new prime minister elected if the 68-year-old prime minister lost the vote. The surprise election of former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ahead of Mr Khan's finance minister, Abdul Hafiz Sheikh, precipitated Mr Khan's biggest crisis since he won power in 2018. Mr Khan accused his own parliamentarians of succumbing to the very corruption he has vowed to stamp out, claiming 15 or 16 "sold" their vote for opposition bribes. A court ruling before the vote that the election would be a secret ballot has meant the rebels could not be identified. "This is your democratic right ... just raise your hands that you don't have confidence and I will go into the opposition [benches]," the prime minister told supporters during a televised speech to the nation. Though Mr Khan improved his standing in the 100-member Senate, the defeat of a key ally and an apparent rebellion by his own party has energised the opposition. Maryam Nawaz Sharif, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said Mr Khan had “suffered a humiliating defeat [and] his members expressed a lack of confidence in him and voted against him". Mr Khan swept to power in July 2018 on an anti-corruption platform vowing to stamp out the political graft of leaders like Mr Sharif. His opponents alleged his victory was orchestrated by the country's generals, who have ruled the country directly or behind the scenes for much of Pakistan's history. Mr Khan met with the Army chief and the military spy agency on Thursday. Pakistan’s spy agency has been asked to monitor the movements of Mr Khan's lawmakers to secure their votes, officials told Bloomberg. An alliance of opposition parties has threatened to mobilise a mass march on the capital later this month the try to force Mr Khan's resignation.

  • FBI: Trump appointee arrested in connection with Capitol riot

    Federico Klein, a former State Department aide who worked on former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, was arrested Thursday on charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the FBI announced Thursday night. This is the first known instance of a Trump appointee facing prosecution in connection with the attack, Politico reports. An FBI Washington Field Office spokeswoman told Politico that Klein, 42, was taken into custody in Virginia, but did not release any information on the charges against him. Federal Election Commission records show Klein worked as a tech analyst for the 2016 Trump campaign, Politico says, and after the election he was hired at the State Department. A federal directory from last summer lists Klein as a special assistant in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, making him a "Schedule C" political appointee, Politico reports. On Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Biden's victory. Klein's mother, Cecilia, told Politico on Thursday night that he told her he was in Washington, D.C., on the day of the riot, and "as far as I know, he was on the Mall." She is a retired economist and trade official, and told Politico because of their different views, she rarely spoke about Trump or politics with her son. "Fred's politics burn a little hot," she said. "But I've never known him to violate the law." More stories from theweek.comWhy the Dr. Seuss 'cancellation' is chillingWhat Republicans talk about when they talk about the 'working class'7 scathingly funny cartoons about Trump's CPAC appearance

  • Report: Ten Aides Ready to Testify in Meghan Markle Bullying Investigation

    Charles McQuillan/Getty ImagesAt least ten former staffers who worked for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are “queuing up” to cooperate with an investigation ordered by the queen into allegations that Meghan bullied her staff, it was claimed Thursday evening.The claim was made in the British newspaper the Mirror and is likely to be taken seriously as it was made by well-sourced royal reporter Russell Myers.Sources connected to the group, who have been assured of confidentiality as the investigation continues, said the staffers were considered to be “hugely professional and proud of their efforts” while working at Kensington Palace.One source told The Mirror, “A group of people are queuing up to be involved. They have been silent for too long and there is much to talk about.”Meghan Markle Dismisses Bullying Allegations as Pre-Oprah ‘Calculated Smear Campaign’It came after a report in the Daily Mail said that some alleged victims of workplace bullying by Meghan dub themselves the “Sussex Survivors Club” and are believed to be suffering a form of post-traumatic stress.The paper’s royal reporter Rebecca English said that during a royal tour in Fiji, “I witnessed Meghan turn and ‘hiss’ at a member of her entourage, clearly incandescent with rage about something, and demand to leave. I later saw that same—female—highly distressed member of staff sitting in an official car, with tears running down her face. Our eyes met and she lowered hers, humiliation etched on her features.”A bombshell report in The London Times Tuesday said that Meghan systematically bullied members of the staff and that her head of communications, Jason Knauf, was so appalled by Meghan’s behavior that he put his concerns in writing to his superiors. That email was leaked to The Times.Buckingham Palace responded by ordering a full investigation into the bullying claims.Meghan’s camp has been keen to point out that the complaints raised by Knauf were dropped. However, the Mirror’s source said, “The complaint was considered and those members of staff were spoken to and given the option of taking it further. For whatever reason, they decided not to, possibly because they were still in their job and they were worried about the implications.”A source close to the Sussexes told the Mirror of the palace probe: “The first we heard about this was via the press—this is a whole tit-for-tat scenario... it’s very hard to know what the process is. If this was a private company, we’ve effectively already been fired and I’m not entirely sure what any process could be.”A spokesperson for Meghan and Harry declined to comment to The Daily Beast.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Pakistan health workers hesitate over Sinopharm vaccine, poll says

    Just over a half of Pakistan's health workers have received a COVID-19 shot since inoculations began last month, while a poll released on Friday suggested nearly half had concerns over China's Sinopharm, the only vaccine available so far. Pakistan had distributed 504,400 Sinopharm vaccine doses to provincial authorities by Feb. 20, and 230,000 frontline health workers had received a shot by Friday, according to health minister Faisal Sultan. In January, Sultan said 400,000 health workers had been registered to get the vaccine.

  • I flew business class for 9 hours, and it made me wish I saved my money and bought an economy ticket

    The writer reviewed how safe she felt, which perks she got, and the food she had during an international British Airways flight from Texas to London.

  • Rudy Giuliani, who helped lead Trump's bogus election-fraud conspiracy theory, is being mocked after warning of the dangers of misinformation

    After spending months pushing Trump's election fraud conspiracy theory, Giuliani unexpectedly warned of the dangers of misinformation.

  • 16 of the most controversial celebrity interviews of all time

    While some celebrity interviews sparked immediate backlash, others resurfaced years later and were called out for being inappropriate.

  • House impeachment manager sues Trump, allies over riot

    Rep. Eric Swalwell, who served as a House manager in Donald Trump’s last impeachment trial, filed a lawsuit Friday against the former president, his son, lawyer and a Republican congressman whose actions he charges led to January’s insurrection. The California Democrat’s suit, filed in federal court in Washington, alleges a conspiracy to violate civil rights, along with negligence, inciting a riot and inflicting emotional distress. It follows a similar suit filed by Rep. Bennie Thompson last month in an attempt to hold the former president accountable in some way for his actions Jan. 6, following his Senate acquittal.

  • Australia appeals to EU over Italy's vaccine block

    After Italy blocked a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines to Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has appealed to the European Commission to intervene.Italy barred the planned export of around 250,000 doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine, after the drug manufacturer failed to meet its European Union contract commitments.Italy's decision was given the approval of the Commission, as anger simmers in Europe over the slow supply of vaccine doses.Italian leader Mario Draghi has told fellow EU leaders they must take a tougher approach to drug companies.Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he could understand the reasons for Italy's objection."In Italy people are dying at the rate of 300 a day. And so I can certainly understand the high level of anxiety that would exist in Italy and in many countries across Europe, as is regularly conveyed to me. And so they have some real difficulties there. They are in an unbridled crisis situation. That is not the situation in Australia. But, nevertheless, we have been able to secure our supplies."EU countries began inoculations at the end of December, but are moving at a far slower pace than many other nations.Australia started its vaccination program two weeks ago, but is under less pressure than Europe, having recorded just under 29,000 COVID-19 cases and 909 deaths.

  • Wanda just got a badass new Scarlet Witch costume in 'WandaVision' and fans are 'obsessed'

    Scarlet Witch's costume is her coolest yet, but fans may have to wait until "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" in 2022 to see it again.

  • THEN AND NOW: The cast of 'Coming to America' 32 years later

    With "Coming 2 America" hitting Amazon Prime today, Insider took a look back at the cast of the original "Coming to America."

  • Teacher vaccinations go untracked amid school reopening push

    The national rush to vaccinate teachers in hopes of soon reopening pandemic-shuttered schools is running into one basic problem: Almost no one knows how many are getting the shots, or refusing to get them. States and many districts have not been keeping track of school employee vaccinations, even as the U.S. prioritizes teachers nationwide. Vaccines are not required for educators to return to school buildings, but the absence of data complicates efforts to address parents' concerns about health risk levels and some teachers unions' calls for widespread vaccinations as a condition of reopening schools.

  • Lord Patten : China is 'obliterating' Hong Kong freedom with new election rules

    Lord Patten of Barnes last night warned that China's Communist Party had taken its most significant step yet towards tearing up the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong after Beijing announced an overhaul of the city's electoral system. China on Friday moved to bar pro-democracy candidates from standing for election in Hong Kong and hinted at expanding the legislative to include more Beijing-appointed members. “China's communist parliament has taken the biggest step so far to obliterate Hong Kong's freedoms and aspirations for greater democracy under the rule of law," said Lord Patten, the last colonial governor of Hong Kong. "The Chinese Communist Party has ordained that in order to be a Chinese patriot you must swear allegiance to the Communist Party. This completely destroys the pledge of one-country, two-systems." Mr Patten went on to say the CCP was "a continuing and brutal danger to all who believe in free and open societies.” China announced the new plans at the annual meeting of its ‘rubber-stamp’ parliament. The Communist Party said it wanted to “to safeguard national security", amid mounting criticism from the UK and other Western nations for Beijing’s suppression of the territory. “We will resolutely guard against and deter external forces’ interference in the affairs of Hong Kong,” Li Keqiang, the country’s premier, said in an opening speech to the National People's Congress in Beijing. About 3,000 delegates from across the country descended in Beijing, under increased security and coronavirus controls to ensure the most high-profile political event of the year goes off without a hitch. The annual two-week meeting is heavy on political spectacle and light on actual lawmaking, as delegates have no choice but to approve proposals put forward by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

  • Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle's wedding-dress embroiderer says she hasn't heard from the royal family since revealing she's on the brink of homelessness

    "It just makes me feel like I don't exist," Chloe Savage, who worked on Kate Middleton's and Meghan Markle's wedding dresses, told Insider.

  • Trump's fake inauguration on March 4 was QAnon's latest vision that flopped. A new date is now being peddled to perpetuate the mind games.

    QAnon followers were expecting "the storm" in January. And then on March 4. Unfazed by the failure, many are seeking redemption on a new day.

  • 16 Best Poufs, Ottomans, and Footstools for Your Every Need

    Footrest, coffee table, laptop stand, bar cart—these tiny but mighty multipurpose pieces get it all doneOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • Everything we know about 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'

    "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" has a March 25, 2022, release date and ties into "WandaVision," "Loki," and "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

  • Hegseth: Biden's 'Neanderthal' remark a badge of honor for conservatives

    'Fox and Friends Weekend' co-host Pete Hegseth reacts on 'America Reports' to President Biden's remark that it's 'Neanderthal' thinking to reopen states as coronavirus cases abate.