Super Station opens at Del Mar Fairgrounds
A coronavirus vaccine super station has opened at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
Fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week amid falling COVID-19 infections, but the near-term outlook for the labor market is unclear after winter storms wreaked havoc in the South region in the middle of this month. Still, the decline in claims to a three-month low reported by the Labor Department on Thursday suggested the labor market was slowly regaining traction, in line with the broader economy, after hitting a pothole in late 2020. The reports followed on the heels of news last week that retail sales increased by the most in seven months in January, and could prompt economists to further upgrade their growth estimates for the first quarter.
Two counties in Georgia want Donald Trump to pay for the cost of his failed lawsuits alleging voter fraud in the election.
Fraudsters have offered 400 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines worth some 3 billion euros to European Union countries, two officials, showing how criminals seek to capitalise on a botched inoculation campaign weighing on the bloc's economic recovery. Two officials with the bloc's executive European Commission estimated that around 400 million doses of "ghost" vaccine had been offered by fraudsters at a price of up to 3 billion euros ($3.67 billion). The official, who noted that most of the shots offered to EU governments by traders were purportedly the AstraZeneca vaccine, compared the situation to the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 when criminal exploited a shortage of masks and other protective equipment.
Bahrain’s crown prince spoke with the Israeli prime minister on Thursday about the return to nuclear talks with Iran, Bahrain’s state-run news agency reported, as the U.S. administration tries to revive the tattered 2015 nuclear accord. Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, also the country’s prime minister, stressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the importance of the participation of regional countries in any negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file” to support “security and stability in the region,” according to the official Bahrain News Agency.
The first big real-world study of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be independently reviewed shows the shot is highly effective at preventing COVID-19, in a potentially landmark moment for countries desperate to end lockdowns and reopen economies. Up until now, most data on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines has come under controlled conditions in clinical trials, leaving an element of uncertainty over how results would translate into the real world with its unpredictable variables. The research in Israel - two months into one of the world's fastest rollouts, providing a rich source of data - showed two doses of the Pfizer shot cut symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 94% across all age groups, and severe illnesses by nearly as much.
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The actress said she was "in a state of shock" when Jim Parsons said he wanted to leave the series, which ended the popular CBS sitcom.
Israel’s defense minister on Thursday called for an immediate halt in plans to ship surplus coronavirus vaccines to a group of allied nations, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of acting without oversight or transparency. In a letter to the prime minister, Benny Gantz said the decision to share vaccines was taken without “discussions in the relevant forums.” “We are talking about a significant diplomatic and security decision, and in accordance with that, it needs to be approved according to procedures established by law,” Gantz said.
Twitter/@NicoleGoodkindRep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) on Wednesday ludicrously faulted the recent slowdown in post office deliveries on the antifa and Black Lives Matter movements, claiming that the destruction of property during last year’s summer protests was the actual cause of current United States Postal Service issues.The House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to look into the continuing delays in delivering the mail, grilling Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on plans and strategies for reversing the trend. Democrats, meanwhile, have called for the ouster of DeJoy, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump last year.Since DeJoy was made postmaster general, the USPS has been besieged with delivery service shortcomings, something Democrats have suggested was purposeful on DeJoy’s part during last year’s election in an effort to appease Trump, who obsessively railed against mail-in voting throughout the campaign. The former president, in fact, even openly acknowledged last August that he was starving the USPS of cash to make processing the pandemic-related surge of mail-in ballots more difficult.Biggs, a Trump loyalist who was reportedly involved with organizing the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded last month’s Capitol insurrection, used his time on Wednesday to blame the mail delays solely on the racial-justice protests that emerged after the police killing of George Floyd.Here's the video pic.twitter.com/vzhzSZUDTy— Nicole Goodkind (@NicoleGoodkind) February 24, 2021 “I want to discuss some of the 2020 events that affected the postal service’s ability to deliver the mail in a timely fashion,” he noted. “And, no, they don’t have to do with COVID-19.”“Last year, my Democratic colleagues turned a blind eye to nationwide mayhem, destruction, rioting, and looting conducted by Black Lives Matter and antifa activists,” the far-right lawmaker continued. “Many businesses and government agencies—including the postal service—saw their entities burn and operations halted because of the persistent, violent riots.”He went on to cite a handful of instances in which post office locations were damaged or burglarized to make his case that left-wing protesters were apparently the root cause of the ongoing mail delivery delays.Contrary to the congressman’s claims, only two post office buildings were burned down during the George Floyd protests, months before mail slowdowns began, as Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel noted.The postal service delays began after DeJoy implemented a series of sweeping changes ostensibly to cut costs last July. Included among the widely criticized moves he enacted were scheduling mandates on mail trucks, ordering mail handlers to depart routes sooner even if mail hadn’t yet arrived, a crackdown on overtime, and the removal of hundreds of high-speed mail sorting machines.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.
Over the last month, several cruise lines have started requiring crew members or guests to receive the COVID-19 vaccine prior to sailing.
Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Tuesday unveiled a plan to gradually raise the minimum wage to $10, rather than the $15 their Democratic colleagues are targeting. The reaction among conservatives was mixed. Brad Polumbo, writing in The Washington Examiner, called the plan an "abandonment" of fiscal conservatism, likening it to "something out of" Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) office. The plan, Polumbo continues, "ignores everything conservatives are supposed to understand about economics and the perils of big government," asserting that while both Romney and Cotton market themselves as "pro-family social conservatives," their plan "would hurt working families if implemented." At The National Review, however, John McCormack writes that research has shown the plan wouldn't cost any jobs at its median estimates, and high-end estimates point to around 100,000 losses. McCormack's colleague Robert VerBruggen thinks it will "resonate with the public" as a middle ground policy that comes attached to an immigration enforcement measure — in addition to the gradual wage increase, the Romney-Cotton plan would require businesses to use the "E-verify system" to ensure their employees are in the country legally and eligible to work. At Bloomberg, Michael Strain, the director of of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, praised the Romney-Cotton plan for its patience, noting that it would delay the increase until after the coronavirus pandemic "is in the rear-view mirror," whereas the Democratic proposal backed by President Biden would start churning in June. But he doesn't believe it will prevent Democrats from continuing to lobby for further raises, and ultimately doesn't solve the fact that "Republicans would still be on the losing side of a popular issue." He is also skeptical of the immigration enforcement tradeoff. He described it as a "politically interesting pairing," but explained he'd "rather see a modest minimum wage increase paired with policies that would improve employment and skills." More stories from theweek.comIt's been 1 year since Trump infamously tweeted the 'coronavirus is very much under control' in the U.S.The MyPillow guy might be Trump's ultimate chumpBiden nominates postal board slate that could oust Louis DeJoy after DeJoy vows to stay put
Fisher has said being with Cohen is like "winning the lottery" ... even if she has to deal with his many shenanigans.
Former Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa told a Japanese court Wednesday he believed the compensation for his predecessor Carlos Ghosn was too low “by international standards,” and so he supported Ghosn’s retirement packages to prevent him from leaving. “Mr. Ghosn had outstanding abilities and achievements,” Saikawa said, testifying in Tokyo District Court in the criminal trial of Greg Kelly, a former senior executive at Nissan Motor Co.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’s concerned Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to establish a commission to probe the assault on the U.S. Capitol would be overly “partisan.”
When “WandaVision” wraps its initial run next month on the Disney+ streaming service, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda will make her next appearance in the big-screen “Doctor Strange” sequel. It’s storytelling that determines how and when characters from the Marvel Comics universe hopscotch between TV and movies, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige said Wednesday. “All of the crossover between series, between films, will always vary based on the story,” Feige said.
A preliminary study from Israel suggests people vaccinated against COVID-19 have lower viral loads, which are linked to less spread of the virus.
Some Marvel characters are getting their own shows on Disney Plus. Here's when you can expect "Ms. Marvel," "WandaVision," and more.
Most cruises in the US won't be sailing until May at the soonest, and Carnival just delayed its restart until June at the earliest.
"I'm not exactly sure...but perhaps someday," Kevin Feige said of the possibility that Netflix or ABC characters would enter the MCU.
‘She will be running against quality opposition,’ says district’s Democratic party chair