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  • COVID-19 vaccine confidence grows as side effect worries fade

    Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people's willingness to have the shots increasing as they are rolled out across the world and concerns about possible side effects are fading, a 14-country survey showed on Friday. Co-led by Imperial College London's Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and the polling firm YouGov, the survey found trust in COVID-19 vaccines had risen in nine out of 14 countries covered, including France, Japan and Singapore which had previously had low levels of confidence. This is up from 55% in November, shortly before the first COVID-19 vaccine - co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech - gained regulatory approval for use in Britain.

  • ‘Always up for a fight’: Mike Pompeo refuses to rule out presidential run on Hannity

    ‘I’m always up for a good fight,’ says Trump ally

  • ‘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

  • Biden's relief bill isn't getting bipartisan support like previous stimulus bills. What do Republicans dislike so much?

    All Senate Republicans voted against even starting debate on the $1.9 trillion measure on Thursday.

  • Ex-chief: Dallas cop kept on job to not tip him off to probe

    The Dallas Police Department allowed an officer to continue patrolling for more than a year while investigating whether he ordered two people to be killed because it didn't want to tip him off, the city's former police chief said. Former Police Chief U. Renee Hall, who left the department at the end of 2020, told The Dallas Morning News that the decision not to place Officer Bryan Riser on leave was made in conjunction with federal law enforcement and the Dallas County district attorney's office. Riser, 36, was arrested Thursday on two counts of capital murder and taken to the Dallas County Jail, where he was being held Friday on $5 million bond after a court appearance Thursday night.

  • Spring break crowd storms Fort Lauderdale beach — COVID or not

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Thong bikinis, cold beer and maskless throngs. That’s how spring break looked Thursday on the famous Fort Lauderdale strip, just days into the start of the popular college pasttime that lasts into April. Universities across the country canceled spring break to discourage college coeds from spreading the coronavirus. But judging from the crowds hitting the beach, the ...

  • Detroit's mayor rejected a shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Experts say that's nuts.

    Experts feared the Johnson & Johnson vaccine's slightly lower efficacy rate would lead to an impression of a two-tiered system. That has been exactly the case in Detroit, where the mayor just rejected a shipment of the company's vaccine. CNN reports that Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) declined an allocation of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this week, saying the other available vaccines are better. "Johnson & Johnson is a very good vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are the best," he said. "And I am going to do everything I can to make sure the residents of the City of Detroit get the best." Stat News' Matthew Herper called this a "bad plan." It's true that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine trials showed a 72 percent efficacy rate, while Moderna and Pfizer, the two other approved coronavirus vaccines, have a rate of about 95 percent. But health experts say it's still an excellent option, and has other perks like only requiring a single shot and frequently leading to fewer side effects, reports The New York Times. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, said people shouldn't overthink which one to get, and explained the vaccines can't really be compared head-to-head because of different trial circumstances. Besides, experts note, the raw numbers don't show the full picture. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine prevented all hospitalizations and deaths in its large clinical trial, meaning the slightly lower efficacy rate really only points to mild to moderate disease. Detroit's mayor, however, said the city has been able to meet demand with just its supply of Pfizer and Moderna doses, but CNN notes Duggan's administration only expanded vaccine eligibility to residents ages 50 and older with chronic medical conditions on Thursday. Duggan said he would accept Johnson & Johnson doses later on if all other doses are distributed and there are remaining residents who want a vaccine. 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

  • 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.

  • John Stamos shares cute throwback pic from 'Full House' set with Elizabeth Olsen

    Olsen's famous older sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, starred in the beloved sitcom with Stamos.

  • Mom who saw daughter die in Calif. accident recounts tragic cross-border journey

    Verlyn Jesenia Cardona and her daughter, Yesenia Cardonia, 23, were riding in the Ford Expedition truck that crashed in Southern California, leaving 13 people dead and a dozen others injured.

  • Bernie Sanders is forcing other senators to go on the record about a $15 minimum wage

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Friday blasted the Senate parliamentarian who ruled that raising the minimum wage couldn't be included in Democrats' COVID-19 relief package, as he introduced an amendment looking to do exactly that. The Vermont senator introduced an amendment to the COVID-19 relief bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour over five years, despite Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough previously ruling the increase couldn't be included under budget reconciliation. Some progressives had called for Democrats to overrule the parliamentarian's decision, a move Sanders backed. "Because of an unfortunate and, in my view, misguided decision by the parliamentarian, this reconciliation bill does not include an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour," Sanders said. "In my view, it should have, and I think the parliamentarian is dead wrong." Sanders went on to argue that it's "absurd" that this "unelected staffer" would be able to make this decision about raising the minimum wage, arguing "no parliamentarian should have that power" and that senators shouldn't "shuffle off" the reasonability of voting for or against the increase. The White House previously said that President Biden "respects the parliamentarian's decision" rejecting the minimum wage increase "and the Senate's process." But NBC News' Sahil Kapur noted that while Sanders' amendment "doesn't have 50 votes at this stage and it's subject to being removed under reconciliation rules," it "looks like he intends to put every senator on the record." 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

  • Photos appear to show a ship hovering over the water

    David Morris said he was "stunned" to see a giant vessel seemingly suspended over the surface of the sea. It's a truly "superior mirage."

  • Asians were thought to be the 'model minority.' Then came 'receipt culture.'

    Social media has exposed long-standing hatred — and helped Asian Americans organize against it.

  • Duke helicopter pilot may have shut off wrong engine before fatal crash, NTSB says

    A malfunction of the first engine likely sent “unexpected and confusing” indications to the pilot.

  • Myanmar policemen cross border into India after refusing to carry out orders set by new military junta

    At least 19 Myanmar police officers have crossed the border into India in the latest sign of growing dissent within the security forces and civil service officials who are opposed to the military coup. The first reported case of police fleeing the country came as one of the country’s top diplomats resigned from his post at the United Nations after being promoted to the role of ambassador by the junta. Tin Maung Naing, the deputy envoy, refused to take over from Kyaw Moe Tun, the current ambassador, who was fired last week by the generals after he urged countries at the 193-member UN General Assembly to use “any means necessary” to reverse the coup that ousted the nation’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In Washington, Myanmar’s embassy also signalled a break with the military regime on Thursday, issuing a statement decrying the deaths of civilians protesting the coup and calling on authorities to “fully exercise [the] utmost restraint.” In Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw last month, nine ministry of foreign affairs officials were arrested after they joined a Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) which aims to prevent the military from being able to govern the country by organising nationwide strikes. Thousands have joined the CDM, which was initially started by the medical profession, but has now picked up bankers, civil servants and small pockets of police officers.

  • 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.

  • Live stimulus updates: Senate Democrats reach deal to keep weekly unemployment benefit at $300 per week

    Biden and Democratic leaders are pushing for passage before March 14 when unemployment benefits approved under an earlier relief bill expire.

  • Dems strike new unemployment benefits deal in $1.9T Covid bill

    This legislative endurance run is part of the budget reconciliation process, which Democrats are using to pass Biden’s plan without the need for GOP support.

  • Asians were thought to be the 'model minority.' Then came 'receipt culture.'

    Social media has exposed long-standing hatred — and helped Asian Americans organize against it.

  • 'WandaVision' finally revealed the true identity of Evan Peters' character and it's not what fans were expecting

    The finale of the Marvel show answered a major question about Westview's fake Pietro, but viewers might be left unsatisfied by the explanation.