How to donate gifts of any size to the Crosstown Tip-Off Challenge
The Crosstown Tip-Off Challenge continues to wow a city, industry and the country with its generosity.
Tensions were raw ahead of midnight as Republican leader Mitch McConnell rose in the Senate for the purpose of publicly ridiculing Majority Leader Chuck Schumer over the daylong delay as Democrats argued among themselves over the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue package. Senate passage of the sweeping relief bill Saturday puts President Joe Biden’s top priority closer to becoming law, poised to unleash billion for vaccines, $1,400 direct payments and other aid, and shows Schumer, in his first big test as majority leader, can unify the ever-so-slim Democratic majority and deliver the votes.
The World Health Organization said this week that variants of the coronavirus are provoking another uptick in infections across Europe.Why it matters: European countries reported around 1 million new cases last week, around a 9% increase from the week prior. Last week's surge ended a six-week decline in new infections, the WHO said Thursday, according to AP.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.By the numbers: The variant first found in the United Kingdom, which may be more transmissible and more deadly than the original strain of the virus, is spreading in 27 European countries monitored by WHO, according to AP.It's now the dominant strain in at least 10 countries: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal.Meanwhile, the variant first discovered in South Africa has been found in 26 European countries. Vaccine producers Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax have each reported their vaccines, while still effective, offer less protection against the South African variant. The Brazilian variant, detected in 15 European countries, may be able to reinfect people who survived infections with earlier versions of the coronavirus, according to Reuters.The big picture: Italy's government tightened coronavirus restrictions in some of its 20 regions this week in response to the surge.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
It's difficult to tell exactly how many cases of the so-called U.K. variant of the novel coronavirus, or B.1.1.7, are in the United States because the country hasn't conducted enough genomic sequencing yet to get a real read. But data analysis from Helix, a lab testing company, estimates B.1.1.7 accounted for more than 20 percent of new cases in the U.S. this week, The New York Times reports. That's concerning because the variant is highly transmissible, but scientists are fairly encouraged by what they're seeing so far. Take Florida, for instance. The Sunshine State is believed to have the highest share of B.1.1.7 COVID-19 cases at an estimated 30 percent. Yet, Florida has not experienced a resurgence in overall infections. "I am encouraged by the declining case counts in the most heavily affected states," Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins University, told the Times. "I've been watching Florida closely, which has the highest share of B.1.1.7. Case counts have plateaued there in recent days, but are not resurging. The longer we can hold the line, the more time we have to roll out vaccines, which will protect individuals, particularly those at highest risk of severe illness, and slow transmission overall." That doesn't mean the U.S. is in the clear. There's concern that some states are easing their coronavirus restrictions too quickly, and the U.K. variant isn't the only variant in the U.S. (though it's by far the most common), but there is hope that a combination of increased vaccinations, higher levels of natural immunity, and other mitigation efforts will help the country avoid a sharp spike like the U.K. saw at the end of 2020. Read more at The New York Times. More stories from theweek.comRon Johnson's lazy obstruction exposes the reality of the filibusterWhy the Dr. Seuss 'cancellation' is chilling7 spondiferously funny cartoons about the Dr. Seuss controversy
Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who captured hearts at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, posted to social media that she was followed home by a security guard who demanded to know where she lived because she “looked suspicious.” Gorman, the nation's youngest inaugural poet, lives in Los Angeles but did not specify where the encounter occurred. Gorman became an instant sensation Jan. 20 when she recited her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” at Biden's swearing-in.
"The trip was unlike any other I've taken to Disney World. This time, there was no escaping reality - even in the most magical place on Earth."
An anonymous source who is familiar with an FBI cellphone data report says there was communication between the two.
... We can put up all the barriers in the world and imagine that they work, but in the end, it adapts and penetrates them,’’ lamented Bollate Mayor Francesco Vassallo. Bollate was the first city in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the epicenter in each of Italy’s three surges, to be sealed off from neighbors because of virus variants that the World Health Organization says are powering another uptick in infections across Europe.
Perseverance's six-wheel drive leaves quite an imprint in its path. Those wheels are ready to carry the rover over an ancient river delta.
On Friday night, the asteroid Apophis will pass by Earth. When it returns in 2029, its orbit may put it on a collision path with some satellites.
Several officers reportedly crossed the border after refusing to carry out the military junta's orders.
"You know, my friends and my family members, they all voted for him, and it's been hard for me to process it," Scarborough said of support for Trump.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan handily won a vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Saturday, days after the embarrassing defeat of his ruling party’s key candidate in Senate elections. Khan secured the votes of 178 members of the lower house of Parliament, which is comprised of 340 lawmakers. The 11-party opposition alliance — the Pakistan Democratic Movement —boycotted the assembly’s special session.
Roger Federer will face the winner of the match between Jeremy Chardy and Dan Evans in the Qatar Open next week in his first competition in more than a year. The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who underwent two right knee operations last season, is playing in his first tournament since he reached the semifinals at the Australian Open in February 2020. In Saturday's draw, the 39-year-old Federer has a bye and faces a second-round challenge from either Chardy or Evans, who play Monday.
This April should look very different than the last for California’s nearly 40 million residents, with a new plan from the governor that will speed up reopening a year after he imposed the nation’s first statewide coronavirus shutdown. Next month, nearly the entire state could see a return of inside restaurant dining, the reopening of movie theaters and other indoor businesses, far more children back in classrooms and competing in sports — maybe even fans in the stands for Opening Day of Major League Baseball. “It’s important that we start getting back to work and recovery,” said Emilie Cameron, district affairs and development director at the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, which represents businesses in California's capital city.
New statements reflect rising tensions between Trump and establishment Republicans who fear the ex-president will undercut them in future elections.
Kim Kardashian West will stay in the minimalist, beige-filled Hidden Hills, California, home she and Kanye West bought in 2014, TMZ reported.
Republicans have baselessly maintained that the expansion of mailed ballot votes was a major reason why Donald Trump lost the election.
Opponents of Myanmar's military coup face daily threats and violence, and yet defiance continues.
The Saudis are reaching out to local officials from New Orleans to Anchorage. The pitch: Saudi Arabia is a global player transforming on women's rights.
California health officials set new rules on Friday that would allow Disneyland and other theme parks, stadiums and outdoor entertainment venues to reopen as early as April 1, after a closure of nearly a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the return of Mickey Mouse to the "Happiest Place on Earth" and live spectators to the California ball parks of America's favorite pastime still come with major caveats. Theme and amusement parks would be permitted to restart on April 1 with severely limited capacity, but only if the counties where they operate are removed from the "purple" tier of California's color-coded COVID-19 restrictions, the system's most stringent classification.