New mural of Tony Hsieh in downtown Las Vegas
There's a brand new mural of former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh in the lobby of Art Houz Theaters in downtown Las Vegas. The artist, Miguel Hernandez, worked on it ahead of First Friday.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo is facing calls to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct
Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) announced Tuesday local time that they've completed the first test flight of a pilotless fighter-like jet devised to operate alongside crewed aircraft.Why it matters: The "Loyal Wingman" combat drone is serving as the foundation for the Boeing Airpower Teaming System being developed for the company's global defense customers. It has the potential to "revolutionize the RAAF's air combat tactics playbook," per The Drive.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.#LoyalWingman has flown into the history books! Together with @AusAirForce, we’ve completed the first test flight for this smart, human-machine team aircraft. pic.twitter.com/oV5qz6AJIu— The Boeing Company (@Boeing) March 2, 2021 The big picture: A Boeing test pilot was monitoring from a ground control station in South Australia's outback during the autonomous plane's flight, according to a joint statement from Boeing and the RAAF.The Australian government has invested US$31 million in the product, which Boeing said previously has drawn interest from countries including the U.S., Reuters notes. It's the first military plane designed and made in Australia in over 50 years.What they're saying: Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts, RAAF Head of Air Force Capability, said in a statement, "The Loyal Wingman project is a pathfinder for the integration of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence to create smart human-machine teams."Flashback: Boeing's pilotless vehicle flies for first timeLike this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Former President Donald Trump never ended up getting his COVID-19 vaccine publicly before he left office — but he reportedly did so off camera. At the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, Trump encouraged supporters to get their COVID-19 vaccine, renewing questions over whether the former president has done so himself. Numerous officials, including former Vice President Mike Pence, got vaccinated on live television as part of an effort to demonstrate to Americans that it's safe. Trump never did so. But The New York Times' Maggie Haberman on Monday reported that according to an adviser, Trump actually did get vaccinated at the White House in January, as did former first lady Melania Trump, even though they didn't say so publicly at the time. The report was confirmed by CNN and Axios. The Los Angeles Times' Chris Megerian noted it was "noteworthy that the former president didn't do this publicly to boost public confidence in the vaccine." Trump yesterday, at CPAC, said for the first time that "everyone" should get the coronavirus vaccine developed while he was in office. An adviser tells me both Trump and Melania Trump got vaccinated at the White House in January. — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 1, 2021 In December, then-Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Trump had a "medical reason" for not getting the vaccine yet, as he "received monoclonal antibodies" when he had COVID-19, "and that is actually one scenario where we tell people, 'Maybe you should hold off on getting the vaccine, talk to your health provider to find out the right time.'" CNN's Betsy Klein notes the White House had repeatedly declined to comment when asked if Trump had gotten the vaccine or intended to do so, even "as recently as January 18." After Trump's CPAC speech, The Washington Post's Aaron Blake flagged his comments encouraging his supporters to get vaccinated as "perhaps the most significant thing he said," noting this was "something he avoided forcefully advocating for when he actually commanded the most powerful office in the world." More stories from theweek.comManhattan DA investigators are reportedly focusing on the Trump Organization's chief financial officerHistorian: Biden's support for Amazon workers voting to unionize is 'almost unprecedented'Trump is back. Did anyone miss him?
A U.N. human rights investigator said on Monday that it was "extremely dangerous" for the United States to have named Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler as having approved an operation to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi but not to have taken action against him. Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on summary executions who led a U.N. investigation into Khashoggi's 2018 murder, reiterated her call for sanctions targeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's assets and his international engagements. He approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, according to a declassified U.S. intelligence released on Friday as the United States imposed sanctions on some of those involved but spared the crown prince himself in an effort to preserve relations with the kingdom.
"It appears Texas was just a layover stop for him between Cancun and Orlando to drop a pack of water into someone's trunk," Ocasio-Cortez said.
European Union plans for a coronavirus vaccine passport could be opened up to British tourists and other non-EU holidaymakers, Brussels said on Monday. Ursula von der Leyen said the EU-wide “Digital Green Pass” would be proposed this month and that it could be a first step towards a virus passport for travel from outside the bloc. "The Digital Green Pass should facilitate Europeans‘ lives. The aim is to gradually enable them to move safely in the EU or abroad - for work or tourism,” the European Commission president said. The chief spokesman for the European Commission said the process would be done "step by step". “We work on a European solution now, this is where we start and then anything else would need to come after,” he said. "We’re of the view that in collaboration with the World Health Organisation there should be a way to scale this up globally." The UK said it was looking into the idea. “The Department for Transport will work and speak to countries across the world in terms of how they may look to introduce passports," the Prime Minister’s spokesman said in London. The Green Pass will include information such as whether the carrier has ever had coronavirus, been tested or vaccinated and is aimed at “facilitating safe free movement in the European Union.” The legislation will be put forward on March 17. Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said that work should be speeded up to save the summer season and enable safe travel from the UK. “It is important to have the tools ready to start mobility and make Europe a safe travel destination again as soon as the virus incidence data allows for this,” Ms Maroto said at a meeting of EU tourism ministers in Lisbon.
Britain, France and Germany are pressing ahead with a U.S.-backed plan for a resolution by the U.N. nuclear watchdog's board criticising Iran for curbing cooperation with the agency, despite Russian and Iranian warnings of serious consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors is holding a quarterly meeting this week against the backdrop of faltering efforts to revive Iran's nuclear deal with major powers now that U.S. President Joe Biden is in office. Iran has recently accelerated its violations of the 2015 deal in an apparent bid to raise pressure on Biden, as each side insists the other must move first.
The eldest Kardashian was getting her makeup done by sister Kylie Jenner, who asked her about the vicious argument she and Kim had in 2018.
The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago’s airport in late January, and Chile’s president, Sebastián Piñera, was beaming. The source of that hope: China – a country that Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccine to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press.
Medical examiner is ‘awaiting toxicology results’ before releasing a report on the death
The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. government watchdog. The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of buildings and vehicles “were maintained in good condition,” said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which oversees American taxpayer money spent on the protracted conflict.
Dr Mary Trump thinks her uncle’s ego is too fragile to risk losing again - though he has much to gain by pretending he’ll run.
Foods that have vitamin D include salmon, rainbow trout, mushrooms, and egg yolks.
The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago’s airport in late January, and Chile’s president, Sebastián Piñera, was beaming. The source of that hope: China – a country that Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccines to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press.
When she first arrived in Albany to work as a legislative aide in 2013, New York Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou had lawmakers grab her buttocks, suggest she and her boss were “a hot duo” who should have sex, and peer into her office to check her out for a “hot or not” list. Niou, then a chief of staff in her late 20s, never reported it. “When is it a joke to say ‘Do you have sex with older men?'” said Niou, now 38, who became a lawmaker herself in 2017, and now represents lower Manhattan.
These looks are so good they're worth repeating.
Democratic efforts to salvage the wage increase with a new tax plan collapsed over the weekend as Senate Democrats gear up to pass the stimulus bill.
Carl Court/GettyBy William G. Bain, Georgios D. Kitsios, and Tomeka L. SuberA year ago, when U.S. health authorities issued their first warning that COVID-19 would cause severe “disruption to everyday life,” doctors had no effective treatments to offer beyond supportive care.There is still no cure, but thanks to an unprecedented global research effort, several treatments are helping patients survive COVID-19 and stay out of the hospital altogether.COVID-19 treatments target two broad problems: the coronavirus’s ability to spread through the body, and the damage caused by the body’s immune system response. When the virus enters the body, it takes over cells and uses them to replicate itself. In response, the body sends inflammatory signals and immune cells to fight the virus. In some patients, that inflammatory response can continue even after the virus is under control, leading to damage in the lungs and other organs.The best tool is prevention, including using face masks and vaccines. Vaccines train the immune system to fight off attackers. With less risk of an uncontrolled infection, they can cut the risk of death from COVID-19 to near zero. But vaccine supplies are limited, even with a third vaccine now authorized for U.S. use, so treatments for infected patients remain crucial.This Drug Is a Staple of COVID Treatment. Should It Be?As doctors who work with COVID-19 patients, we have been following the drug trials and success stories. Here are six treatments commonly used today for COVID-19. As you’ll see, timing matters.Keeping you out of the hospitalTwo promising types of treatments involve injecting antiviral antibodies into high-risk COVID-19 patients before the person becomes severely ill.Our bodies naturally create antibodies to recognize foreign invaders and help fight them off. But natural antibody production takes several days, and SARS-CoV-2—the coronavirus that causes COVID-19—replicates fast. Studies show that injecting patients with antibodies soon after symptoms begin can help protect patients against serious infection.Monoclonal antibodies: These lab-engineered antibodies can bind to SARS-CoV-2 and prevent the virus from entering cells and infecting them. They include Bamlanivimab and the combined therapy casirivimab/imdevimab developed by Regeneron. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for these therapies because they have been found to protect high-risk patients from hospitalization and death. Once patients are sick enough to need hospitalization, however, studies haven’t found a proven benefit from them.Convalescent plasma: Another way to deliver antibodies involves blood drawn from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Convalescent plasma is primarily given in research settings because the clinical evidence so far is mixed. Some trials show benefits early in the disease. Other studies have not shown any benefit in hospitalized patients.There may be a role for convalescent plasma as a supplemental therapy for some patients because of the growing threat of mutated SARS-CoV-2 variants, which may evade monoclonal antibody therapy. However, careful research is necessary.If you are hospitalizedOnce patients become so sick that they have to be hospitalized, treatments change.Most hospitalized patients have difficulty breathing and low oxygen levels. Low oxygen occurs when the virus and corresponding immune response injure the lungs, resulting in swelling in lung air sacs that restricts the amount of oxygen getting into the blood. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 usually need supplemental medical oxygen to help them breathe. Doctors frequently treat patients on oxygen with the antiviral agent remdesivir and anti-inflammatory corticosteroids.Remdesivir: Remdesivir, originally designed to treat hepatitis C, stops the coronavirus from replicating itself by interfering with its genetic building blocks. It has been shown to shorten the length of hospital stays, and doctors may prescribe it to patients on oxygen shortly after arrival in the hospital.Chris Christie Says He’s Out of the Hospital After Week-Long Stay for COVID-19Corticosteroids: Steroids calm the body’s immune response and have been used for decades to treat inflammatory disorders. They are also widely available, cheap and well-studied medications, so they were among the first therapies to enter clinical trials for COVID-19. Several studies have shown that low-dose steroids reduce deaths in hospitalized patients who are on oxygen, including the sickest patients in the intensive care unit, or ICU. Following the findings of the landmark RECOVERY and REMAP-CAP COVID-19 studies, steroids are now the standard of care for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are treated with oxygen.Blood thinners: Inflammation during COVID-19 and other viral infections can also increase the risk of blood clots, which can cause heart attacks, strokes and dangerous clots in the lungs. Many patients with COVID-19 are given the blood thinners heparin or enoxaparin to prevent clots before they occur. Early data from a large trial of COVID-19 patients suggests that hospitalized patients benefit from higher doses of blood thinners.Some patients with COVID-19 become so sick that they need an ICU for high levels of oxygen support or a ventilator to help them breathe. There are several therapies available for ICU patients, but ICU patients have not been found to benefit from high doses of blood thinners.Treating the sickest patientsICU patients with COVID-19 are more likely to survive if they receive steroids, studies have found. However, low-dose steroids alone may not be enough to curb excessive inflammation.Tocilizumab: Tocilizumab is a lab-generated antibody that blocks the interleukin-6 pathway, which can cause inflammation during COVID-19 and other diseases. New results from the REMAP-CAP trial that have not yet been peer-reviewed suggest that a single dose of tocilizumab given within one to two days after being placed on respiratory support reduced the risk of death in patients already receiving low-dose steroids. Tocilizumab has also been shown to benefit patients with high levels of inflammation in early results from another trial.These innovative therapies can help, but careful supportive care in the ICU is also crucial. Decades of extensive research have defined core management principles for helping patients with severe lung infections who need ventilators. These include avoiding underinflation and overinflation of the lung by the ventilator, treating pain and anxiety with low levels of sedative medications, and periodically placing certain patients with low oxygen levels on their belly, among many other interventions. The same key principles likely apply to patients with COVID-19 to help them survive and recover from a critical illness that can last weeks or months.Medical progress since the start of the pandemic has been awe-inspiring. Doctors now have vaccines, antiviral antibodies for high-risk outpatients and several treatments for hospitalized patients. Continued research will be crucial to improve our ability to fight a disease that has already claimed more than 2.5 million lives worldwide.William G. Bain, Georgios D. Kitsios, and Tomeka L. Suber are assistant professors of medicine at the University of PittsburghRead 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.
The storms may have abated, but the financial fallout is just beginning
The Philippine president has dismissed his former ambassador to Brazil after she was seen on video physically abusing a Filipino member of her household staff. President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday night he had approved a recommendation to fire Marichu Mauro, revoke her retirement benefits and disqualify her from public office for life. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said at the time that the unidentified victim had returned to Philippines and that it was trying to reach her amid an investigation.