Choir rehearsals can now happen in Maine schools

Choir rehearsals can now happen in Maine schools

Recommended Stories

  • Nearly 40 people killed in Myanmar's protests

    "Today was the bloodiest day since the coup happened on the 1st of February."Christine Schraner Burgener, The United Nation's special envoy for Myanmar, confirmed 38 people were killed in protests on Wednesday.It was the country's most violent day since demonstrations broke out against last month's military coup.Police and soldiers opened fire with live rounds in several towns and cities, witnesses said.Four children were among those killed, according to aid agency Save the Children and local media reported hundreds have been arrested.A 19-year-old woman, Kyal Sin, also known as 'Angel' was one of two shot in the second largest city Mandalay.Images showed her in the protests wearing a T-shirt that read 'Everything will be Ok.'One youth activist described in a message to Reuters that it was " horrific, it's a massacre."Wednesday's bloodletting more than doubled the death toll since protests began.A spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to requests for comment.In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was "appalled" by the increase in violence."We call on all countries to speak with one voice to condemn brutal violence by the Burmese military against its own people and to promote accountability for the military's actions that have led to the life loss of life of so many people in Burma."Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council is due on Friday to hold a closed session on Myanmar.

  • Republicans ‘increasingly irritated’ by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s repeated efforts to disrupt work of Congress, report says

    Reps Cheney, Issa, and Kinzinger were among GOP who voted against adjournment

  • Capitol rioter who ‘hit cops with fire extinguisher’ bused to DC by Turning Points USA

    Conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk promoted buses in now-deleted tweet two days before storming of Congress

  • The care home workers who refuse to be vaccinated

    There is a very large number of frontline workers in care homes, in France, who are refusing to be vaccinated against coronavirus.The number could be as high as almost half of them, according to the government, and it's raising concern that nurses and other workers could be passing the disease on to those in their care.Marie-France Boudret is one of them. She's a nurse at a home for the elderly. She personally watched a patient suffocate and die in front of her because of the pandemic. But when she was offered to receive a vaccination, she declined."I hear some vaccines are only for people of a certain age group, others for people of another age group. Then I think, logically, a vaccine is normally is for everybody, not just for a certain age group. I thought it was quite strange, quite mysterious.""Based on what I hear on the news and on social media, it's true that it doesn't seem reassuring at all. It is very scary. So, I would rather wait a little longer and see how it goes."The skepticism isn't shared by care home residents themselves, where only 20% haven't been inoculated yet.The skepticism is also more nuanced than a general distrust of vaccines. Boudret and others Reuters spoke with say they've been scarred by what they perceive as lack of support as frontline workers, under-pay, and other working conditions. They blame the national government for much of it.Malika Belarbi is with a union representing health workers."It's not that we want to say, 'We don't want to get the vaccine. We don't want to protect ourselves or the residents.' It's just that we have completely lost trust."The number of workers refusing the vaccine has halved since December, the government says, although the phenomenon isn't limited to France. Similar polls in Germany and Switzerland have seen high numbers as well.Public health agencies and vaccine developers around the world have repeatedly said that they are not cutting corners during the rollout.And, that the unprecedented speed of development has been fostered by the unprecedented urgency of a global disaster - and unprecedented resources pouring in to stop it.

  • Myanmar U.N. envoy, junta make rival claims to U.N. representation

    Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations in New York has formally staked his claim as the country's legitimate representative while the junta seeks to replace him in a dispute that will likely have to be settled by the world body's 193 member states. Myanmar state television announced on Saturday that Kyaw Moe Tun had been fired for betraying the country, a day after he urged countries to use "any means necessary" to reverse a Feb. 1 coup that ousted the nation's elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But in letters to the U.N. General Assembly president Volkan Bozkir and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken - seen by Reuters on Tuesday - Kyaw Moe Tun said he remains Myanmar's U.N. ambassador.

  • Former CIA chief says he is ‘increasingly embarrassed’ to be a white man

    John Brennan says ‘there are so few Republicans in Congress who value truth, honesty, and integrity’

  • Kuwait swears in new government amid mounting crises

    Kuwait’s new Cabinet was sworn in Wednesday, state-run media reported, weeks after the government quit amid a deepening deadlock with parliament that has blocked badly needed reforms in the tiny oil-rich Gulf Arab state. Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah swapped out four ministers whose selections had angered various lawmakers for less contentious, veteran politicians, an apparent gesture to appease parliament. The worsening rift between Kuwait’s emir-appointed government and elected parliament presents the first significant challenge to Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who ascended the throne last fall.

  • ‘Textbook voter suppression’: How Trump’s stolen election lies are shaping the future of democracy

    Republicans in 43 states have introduced more than 250 bills restricting voting rights, underscoring urgency in Congress to pass sweeping elections legislation, Alex Woodward reports

  • What is Biden doing differently at US border?

    Democrat Joe Biden has promised to undo the 'cruelty' of Donald Trump's immigration policies.

  • 5,000 National Guard troops remain in DC amid QAnon frenzy that Trump will be inaugurated again this week

    QAnon followers believe that on 4 March, which was once the inauguration date of US presidents, Donald Trump will become president again

  • The Cuomo allegations matter

    Andrew Cuomo accused of sexual harassment. Texas, Mississippi end statewide mask mandate. It's Tuesday's news.

  • Timelapse shows multiple eruptions of Indonesia's volcano

    No casualties were reported, but an official had earlier urged people to stay at least 3 km from the crater, Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre said.Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country. Sinabung had been inactive for centuries before it erupted again in 2010.

  • 10 Senate Democrats tell Biden to implement recurring stimulus checks after $1.9 trillion bill is passed

    A group of senators thinks direct payments should be sent out regularly as the US economy gets back on its feet.

  • Biden plan to distribute virus aid irks some governors

    The Biden administration's plan to funnel more coronavirus aid into states with greater unemployment has irked governors with lower jobless rates, even though many have economies that weren't hit as hard by the pandemic. The $1.9 trillion relief bill working its way through Congress allocates extra money to larger, mostly Democratic-run states with higher unemployment rates, while rural Midwestern and Southern states that tend to have Republican governors and better jobless numbers would benefit less. “You're penalizing people who have done the right thing," said Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican whose state has reported the nation's lowest unemployment rate over the last several months.

  • Scottish leader fights back in row with ex-mentor that threatens independence drive

    Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday defended her handling of sexual harassment complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond in high-stakes testimony on an issue that threatens to scupper her dream of leading Scotland to independence. Describing the feud with Salmond as "one of the most invidious political and personal situations" she had ever faced, Sturgeon denied Salmond's accusations that she had plotted against him and misled the Scottish parliament. The feud between the pair, once close friends and powerful allies in the cause of Scottish independence, has reached fever pitch in recent weeks, threatening the electoral prospects of the Scottish National Party (SNP) at a crucial time.

  • Israel says it will vaccinate Palestinian workers

    Israel has approved plans to offer COVID-19 vaccines to Palestinians, but only those with Israeli work permits.The Palestinians have received relatively few doses to date and lag far behind Israel, which has vaccinated over one-third of its population in one of the world's fastest roll-outs.Now Israel says it will offer Moderna vaccines to the roughly 130,000 Palestinians who work in Israel or its West Bank settlements.The workers have mixed feelings:“The whole world is taking the vaccine. This a new and good step from the Israelis to vaccinate the Palestinian workers, because there is daily contact between us and the Israeli workers. So according to me, this is a very good thing, and they should take it.""It would be preferable if everyone got vaccinated, it would be preferable if everyone got vaccinated because on our side, there is a vaccine, there will be a vaccine. Without the vaccine, it will be impossible to go through checkpoints."Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, said that Israel was bound by international law to vaccinate Palestinians living under its effective control."Vaccinating only Palestinians that come in contact with Israelis, and not all Palestinians living under effective Israel rule under occupation reinforces that, to Israeli authorities, Palestinian lives only matter to the extent they impact Jewish lives."Israel captured the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war.It counts East Jerusalem Palestinians as part of its population and has offered them vaccines. But it argues that under the Oslo peace accords, the Palestinian Authority is responsible for vaccination in Gaza and parts of the West Bank where it has limited self-rule.

  • Live updates: Kyle Larson feeling “fresh as ever” upon NASCAR return

    Looking ahead to this weekend’s Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Kurt Busch, William Byron and Michael McDowell

  • Prince Philip health update: Duke of Edinburgh undergoes successful procedure for pre-existing heart condition

    The Duke of Edinburgh has undergone surgery for a pre-existing heart condition and will remain in hospital for several more days, Buckingham Palace has announced. Prince Philip, 99, was transferred from the private King Edward VII hospital to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, a leading cardiac unit, on Monday. The palace said in a statement: “The Duke of Edinburgh yesterday underwent a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. “His Royal Highness will remain in hospital for treatment, rest and recuperation for a number of days.” The Duke was admitted to the King Edward VII in central London on February 16 for "rest and observation" after feeling unwell. It was not an emergency admission and he walked in unaided, with aides revealing they expected him to be released within days and that doctors were simply acting with “an abundance of caution.” But the palace later revealed he was being treated for an infection and would remain in hospital for several more days than expected. The Duke, who in 2011 received treatment for a blocked coronary artery, was subsequently transferred to St Bartholomew’s by ambulance, pictured below.

  • A wealthy Florida Keys community received vaccines before the rest of the state. A month later, one resident sent $250,000 to the governor.

    The Miami Herald report came amid criticism of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who has been accused of playing favorites with vaccine distribution.

  • UN: 38 died on deadliest day yet for Myanmar coup opposition

    Myanmar security forces were seen firing slingshots at protesters, chasing them down and even brutally beating an ambulance crew in video showing a dramatic escalation of violence against opponents of last month’s military coup. A U.N. official speaking from Switzerland said 38 people had been killed Wednesday, a figure consistent with other reports though accounts are difficult to confirm inside the country. The increasingly deadly violence could galvanize the international community, which has responded fitfully so far.