Recommended Stories
- BBC
Covid: Canada sounds the alarm as cases overtake US
Infections in the largest province could increase sixfold without tougher measures, experts warn.
- Associated Press
Browns release veteran DT Richardson in salary-cap move
This off-season remodeling of the Browns' defense includes a surprising removal. Veteran tackle Sheldon Richardson's contract was terminated on Friday, a head-scratching move that creates more salary-cap space but also a hole in the middle of Cleveland's defensive line. Days after adding free agent end Jadeveon Clowney, the Browns parted with Richardson, who started 16 games last season and played well for the team since signing a three-year, $37 million contract with Cleveland in 2019.
- The Independent
North Carolina teacher killed in shoot-out after trying to rob Mexican drug cartel
Barney Harris shot and killed despite wearing bulletproof vest to rob drugs and cash
- Business Insider
Russia is expelling 10 US diplomats in retaliation to Biden's latest sanctions and amid Ukraine tensions
The US slapped new sanctions on over 30 Russian entities on Thursday over Russian election interference and the SolarWinds hack.
- The Independent
Babies dying from Covid in Brazil as ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ hits country
Médecins Sans Frontières says country has been plunged into ‘permanent state of mourning’
- The Independent
Coronavirus: Brazilians told to delay having children ‘until a better moment’ as variant spreads
Country’s health system is buckling under pressure of highly contagious P1 variant
- LA Times
L.A., you slay: Meet the local queens taking 'RuPaul's Drag Race' by storm
As they vie for the top prize on VH1's Emmy-winning reality show, Gottmik and Symone discuss what makes L.A. — and its drag scene — so distinctive.
- The Independent
Jeffree Star and friend Daniel Lucas involved in ‘severe’ car accident
YouTube star’s Rolls Royce flipped three times after reportedly hitting black ice
- The Daily Beast
Brazil’s COVID Patients Tied to Beds and Ventilated Without Sedatives
MIGUEL SCHINCARIOLDoctors in hard-hit Brazil have resorted to tying COVID-19 patients to their hospital beds before ramming ventilators down their throats since they no longer have enough sedatives, according to doctors in Rio de Janeiro. “I never thought that I would be living through something like this after 20 years working in intensive care,” Aureo do Carmo Filho told Reuters. “Using mechanical restraints without sedatives is bad practice... the patient is submitted to a form of torture.”In hospitals where they do still have sedatives, health workers have resorted to diluting them to make supplies go further or using muscle relaxants to calm patients down while they are intubated. “They are awake, without sedatives, and they pop up, with their hands tied to the bed and begging us not to let them die,” one nurse said.The horrific admissions come on the heels of Doctors Without Borders naming Brazil’s response to the pandemic a “humanitarian catastrophe” that is likely to only get worse in the coming weeks. “I have to be very clear in this: the Brazilian authorities’ negligence is costing lives,” MSF international president Christos Christou said Thursday after Brazil’s death toll rose to 362,000.MSF general director Meinie Nicolai directly blamed Brazil’s right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro, who, like former U.S. president Donald Trump, downplayed the pandemic and his own bout with COVID-19, causing many to take deadly risks by not believing the virus is as dangerous or as contagious as science proves it is.“There is no coordination in the response. There is no real acknowledgment of the severity of the disease. Science is put aside. Fake news is being distributed and health care workers are left on their own,” Nicolai said. “The government is failing the Brazilian people. All Brazilians can tell you that they have people around them that have been buried or intubated in places where there are no drugs and no oxygen. That is unacceptable.”The lack of medical supplies is coupled with resistance by government officials to even recognize the severity of the problem. The P1 variant first identified in Brazil has caused international concern and is now thought to be mutating. France blocked all flights from the country and other countries are now advising against all but essential travel to the beleaguered South American nation.The lack of proper medical supplies is now coupled with a disastrous vaccine rollout built on both denial and corruption. Just 12 percent of Brazil’s population has received a first dose of the Chinese vaccine Coronavac, which Chinese officials recently admitted is not very effective against stopping people from becoming severely sick.Earlier in the week, federal prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Roraima opened an investigation after reports emerged that rogue health workers were exchanging doses of the less-than-effective Chinese vaccine, which is primarily what is currently being offered in the country, for illegally mined gold. An advocate for the indigenous tribes that own the land where the gold is mined said health workers were vaccinating clandestine miners under the cover of nightfall, according to Reuters. “The Yanomami have long complained that materials and medicines intended for indigenous health are being diverted to wildcat miners,” the local leader said in a letter seen by Reuters.More Brazilians are dying every day than anywhere else in the world, with the country logging 3,560 deaths on Thursday alone. Brazil’s health ministry is currently in talks with Spain and other countries to try to get needed supplies to the overwhelmed hospitals. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro continues to fight against regional governments that have tried to mandate masks or institute lockdowns.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.
- BBC
George Floyd: Timeline of black deaths and protests
A look back at the deaths of black Americans since the emergence of Black Lives Matter.
- Reuters
Canada's immigration initiative for Hong Kong residents receives over 500 applications early on
In November, the Canadian government said it would make it easier for Hong Kong youth to study and work in Canada in response to new security rules imposed by China on the former British colony. "In the first three weeks that the program was open (Feb. 8 to Feb. 28), IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) received 503 applications for work permits and 10 applications for work permit extensions," press secretary Alexander Cohen said in an emailed statement.
- The Independent
MyPillow guy’s social network launch falls flat
‘Huge letdown’: Telegram users on Lindell’s verified channel express frustration at signing up for VIP access to new social media network that still hasn’t opened despite announcement
- Reuters Videos
'Forgot-astan': Vets and Afghans on the withdraw
The United States' plan to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by fall is drawing mixed emotions, from both its war veterans and those who live there.The move would end America's longest conflict - which has cost the lives of 2,448 American service members, and cost an estimated $2 trillion.Tom Porter served there for a year, as a Navy public affairs officer. He says he had hoped for more progress."There's a common term that we use, because… The term is "Forgot-astan" because the American public has largely forgotten that we've been over there. So, it's hard to keep engaged in a war when the American public don't even realize what our mission is, what our goals are and what we're doing over there.""So, so much of our treasure and lives have been sacrificed over there and so many veterans have, have come back with, with various wounds of war. So, I just naturally, like a lot of folks, envisioned some greater level of success before we, we withdrew."There are just 2,500 troops left in Afghanistan - compared to a peak of 100,000 back in 2011.PresidentJoeBiden has set a September 11th deadline for withdrawing, exactly 20 years after al Qaeda's attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that triggered the war.Withdrawing is a risk Biden is prepared to take at the start of his presidency, one that proved too great for his predecessors.There's a chance al Qaeda could return, or that the Taliban insurgency could topple the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.Locals are scared of that possible outcome, and aren't convinced Afghanistan can cope without foreign support."It's a worrying situation and people believe that if foreign troops leave the country, there will be a civil war.""I don't think foreigners will leave our country, but if they do, I'm sure Afghanistan doesn't have the capability to stand on its own feet."Biden says the U.S. will begin the withdrawal from Afghanistan on May 1.Until then, Afghans will wait with uncertainty, for whether peace is possible in their country.
- The Independent
Justin Trudeau claims UK is facing ‘very serious’ third Covid wave amid Canada’s slow vaccine rollout
Downing Street says UK’s case data ‘speaks for itself’ as infections continue to fall
- Associated Press
Chen edges Hanyu at World Team Trophy in Japan
Three-time world champion Nathan Chen beat two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu in the men’s short program at the figure skating World Team Trophy on Thursday. Chen, winner of the past five U.S. titles, opened with a quadruple flip and added a triple axel and a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination for a total of 109.65 points. Local favorite Hanyu of Japan landed a quadruple salchow, a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination and a triple axel for 107.12 points.
- The Independent
Elon Musk’s SpaceX will build spacecraft to land Nasa astronauts on moon, report says
Artemis will land the first woman and person of colour on the moon
- Reuters
Hundreds protest Chicago police killing of 13-year-old boy
CHICAGO (Reuters) -Hundreds marched through the streets of Chicago on Friday to protest the police shooting of Adam Toledo, a day after the city released a graphic video of a police officer shooting and killing the 13-year-old Latino boy in an alley two weeks ago. Demonstrators chanted "Hands up, don't shoot!" and "No justice, no peace!" while hoisting signs with messages such as "Justice for Adam Toledo" and "Stop Racist Police Terror!" in a march that remained peaceful as night fell. The nine-minute video, recorded by Eric Stillman's body camera, shows showed the 34-year-old officer chasing and shooting Toledo on March 29 at 2:30 a.m. in Little Village, a working-class neighborhood on the city's West Side with a large population of Mexican Americans.
- The Independent
BLM activist arrested for anti-Asian hate crime in Seattle
‘Thank God the light finally changed and I was able to drive off’, said victim after abuse
- The Independent
From Asian hate crime to a minimum wage: 25 things Ted Cruz has voted against this year
All the votes the Texas senator opposed in 2021 – including not one confirmation of a woman to the position of Cabinet secretary
- USA TODAY
Biden to lift Trump-era refugee cap in May amid pushback from Democrats, advocates
President Joe Biden signed an emergency determination Friday that keeps refugees admissions to the U.S. at a Trump-era cap of 15,000.