Ban will not help
BEWARE...SOME DAYS ARE NOT VERY PRETTY. I GET CRABBY LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO. AND I DO SPEAK MY MIND. DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO TRUE, REAL, EVERYDAY FEELINGS LIKE MINE.(But I think you would enjoy it) DON'T FORGET...FREEDOM OF SPEECH !
Bryan Adams has tested positive for Covid-19, the Canadian rock star wrote on Instagram Thursday.
“Here I am, just arrived in Milano, and I’ve tested positive for the second time in a month for Covid. So it’s off to the hospital for me. Thanks for all your support,” he said next to pictures of him at the Milan Malpensa airport and in an ambulance. His condition is unknown.
More from Deadline
Jon Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams Pull Out Of Events After Testing Positive For Covid-19
France Re-Introduces Mask Mandate For Venues Including Cinemas After Covid Spike
International Insider: BBC & Channel 4 Futures; Chinese Box Office Record; International Emmys
Adams also tested positive Oct. 30 when he had to pull out from his scheduled appearance at Tina Turner’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony where he was to perform a medley of songs including “It’s Only Love,” which is a duet between Adams and Turner from his 1984 album.
A rep for Adams at the time said that the musician is fully vaccinated and showed no symptoms.
It is unclear whether the latest positive test is a result of so-called shedding of the coronavirus, which results in those affected continuing to test positive for a long time beyond the period when they are contagious.
Adams, who is also a photographer, is in Italy to promote Pirelli’s 2022 calendar, for which he shot fellow musicians Cher, Grimes, Jennifer Hudson, Normani, Rita Ora, Bohan Phoenix, Iggy Pop, St. Vincent, Kali Uchis, and Saweetie.
Adams was scheduled to appear at in-person press events Sunday and Monday. It is unclear whether he would be able to attend.
Best of Deadline
https://www.newsmax.com/us/covid-uk/2021/11/25/id/1046222/
Thursday, 25 November 2021 06:44 PM
Britain on Thursday said it was concerned by a newly identified coronavirus variant spreading in South Africa that might make vaccines less effective and imperil progress made across the world in fighting the pandemic.
The UK Health Security Agency said that the variant - called B.1.1.529 - has a spike protein that was dramatically different to the one in the original coronavirus that COVID-19 vaccines are based on.
Officials characterize the variant, which has double the number of mutations as the currently dominant Delta variant, as the "worst one yet."
It was only first identified at the start of the week but Britain rushed to introduce travel restrictions on South Africa and five neighboring countries, acting much more swiftly than with previous variants.
"What we do know is there's a significant number of mutations, perhaps double the number of mutations that we have seen in the Delta variant," Health Secretary Sajid Javid told broadcasters.
"And that would suggest that it may well be more transmissible and the current vaccines that we have may well be less effective."
Britain announced it was temporarily banning flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini from 1200 GMT on Friday and returning British travelers from those destinations would have to quarantine.
Javid said that more data was needed but the travel restrictions were necessary as a precaution, as scientists said lab studies were needed to assess the likelihood of the mutations resulting in greatly reduced vaccine efficacy.
Officials have advised the government on the need to act swiftly and pre-emptively in case the concerns over the impact of variant are borne out, even though it could take weeks to generate all the information needed about its characteristics.
Earlier on Thursday, South African scientists said they had detected the new COVID-19 variant in small numbers and were working to understand its potential implications.
The variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong, but the UK Health Security Agency said that no cases of the variant had been detected in Britain.
“Early evidence from genomic surveillance in South Africa suggests that B.1.1.529 is a serious cause for concern," Ewan Birney, Deputy Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, said.
"We know that early action is far better than late action. It may turn out that this variant is not as large a threat as Alpha and Delta, but the potential consequences of not acting on the possibility it could be are serious."
© 2021 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
Friday, 26 November 2021 05:52 AM
Britain banned flights from South Africa and neighboring countries and asked British travelers returning from there to quarantine, while European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU also aimed to halt air travel from the region.
Scientists are still learning about the variant, identified this week, but the news pummeled global stocks and oil amid fears what new travel bans would do to already shaky economies across southern Africa.
The variant has a spike protein that is dramatically different to the one in the original coronavirus that COVID-19 vaccines are based on, the UK Health Security Agency said, raising fears about how current vaccines, successful against the more familiar delta variant, will fare.
"As scientists have described, (this is) the most significant variant they've encountered to date," British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is to hold a meeting in Geneva at 1100 GMT. Experts will discuss the risks it presents and if it should be designated as a variant of interest or variant of concern, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.
Nearly 100 sequences of the variant have been reported, and early analysis shows it has "a large number of mutations" requiring further study, Lindmeier said.
One epidemiologist said it may be too late to tighten travel curbs.
"I think we have to recognize that most likely this virus is already in other places. And so if we shut the door now, it’s going to be probably too late," said Ben Cowling of the University of Hong Kong.
South Africa will speak to British authorities to try to get them to reconsider their ban, the foreign ministry in Pretoria said. "Our immediate concern is the damage that this decision will cause to both the tourism industries and businesses of both countries," Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in a statement.
'ACT STRONG, FAST AND NOW'
The variant, called B.1.1.529, has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong, according to the UK Health Security Agency. Israel said it was barring its citizens from traveling to southern Africa after one case of the new strain was found in a traveler returning from Malawi.
"We are currently on the verge of a state of emergency, " Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, according to a statement from his office.
"Our main principle is to act fast, strong and now."
European countries had already been expanding booster vaccinations and tightening curbs as the continent battles a fourth wave of the coronavirus, led by the delta variant, with many reporting record daily rises in cases.
The new wave and discovery of the new variant come as Europe and the United States enter winter, with more people gathering indoors in the run-up to Christmas, providing a breeding ground for infection.
Italy imposed an entry ban on people who have visited southern African states in the last 14 days, and Germany will declare South Africa a virus variant area, a health ministry source said.
India issued an advisory to all states to test and screen international travelers from South Africa and other "at risk" countries after easing some of its travel restrictions earlier this month.
Singapore's health ministry said it would also restrict arrivals from the region, and Japan tightened border controls for visitors from South Africa and five other African countries.
The coronavirus has swept the world in the two years since it was first identified in central China, infecting almost 260 million people and killing 5.4 million.
© 2021 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
https://www.foxnews.com/health/who-meets-to-discuss-new-heavily-mutated-covid-19-variant
Joe Phaahla, South Africa’s minister of health, identified the new variant as B.1.1.529, and said it seems highly contagious among young people.
The BBC reported that the new variant seems to be the most heavily mutated so far in the outbreak. James Gallagher, the health correspondent, wrote that one scientist described the variant as "horrific." He said the meeting of the WHO will likely result in the variant receiving a Greek code-name, like the delta variant.
Aris Katzourakis, an expert at virus evolution at the University of Oxford, said, "A burning question is does it reduce vaccine effectiveness because it has so many changes."
The British government announced that it was banning flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries effective at noon (1200GMT) on Friday, and that anyone who had recently arrived from those countries would be asked to take a coronavirus test.
U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there were concerns the new variant "may be more transmissible" than the dominant delta strain, and "the vaccines that we currently have may be less effective" against it.
Grant Shapps, the British transportation secretary, called the move essential, according to Reuters. He said the spike protein was "dramatically different" from the virus that the vaccines were designed to counter.
The Israeli Health Ministry says it has detected the country's first case of a new coronavirus variant in a traveler who returned from Malawi. Naftali Bennett, the prime minister, said the country is close to declaring a state of emergency over the variant.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
https://www.yahoo.com/news/jacksonville-men-charged-falsifying-voter-230541961.html
The discovery of at least 60 voter registration applications for people who were dead or did not authorize them has led to the arrest of two Jacksonville men, the State Attorney's Office said.
Devin Deangelo King was arrested on Nov. 3 and Jordan Rayeshaun Daniels on Nov. 17 on charges of criminal use of personal identification information, jail records show. Both are 33.
Both the State Attorney's Office and Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan said the motive doesn't appear to be political but for financial gain.
"This was a group working with what we call a third-party organization," Hogan said. "... We did not see anything political about it. It was, I think, people who were greedy. There's an incentive there to get as many as you can in."
Voting access: Activists call on Duval elections supervisor to expand access to early voting sites
Legislative elections: Statehouse races heat up during changing of guard in Duval County
The discovery also does not indicate any problem with Duval County's voting system, he said. His staff noticed the forms — some of the thousands submitted by many groups that do voter registration, change of party affiliation or addresses — did not look right.
"It just shows the diligence of the people who are working through this process to make sure that everything is right, not just the accuracy of the vote count, but the validity of our voter roll," Hogan said. "You have to be diligent to make sure you keep accurate records, and this is proof that we can find and eliminate it."
The arrests follow a joint investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney’s Office into identity theft.
Investigators initially met Aug. 19 with the elections office to review inconsistencies on a large number of recently turned-in voter registration applications, the State Attorney's Office said. Such forms contain personal identification information such as name, date of birth and driver’s license numbers.
The inconsistencies included signatures that did not match, plus personal identification information that was not correct. A review showed they had been initialed by two men, the State Attorney's Office said.
The investigators contacted numerous people listed on the forms. They determined several applications associated with Daniels and King were falsified, the State Attorney's Office said.
Hogan did not know which database might have been used to find the names inscribed on the registration forms, saying there are "so many" out there that can contain that information.
Guest Column: Citizens have the right to expect that elections will be conducted fairly
Campaign coffers: First reports show thousands already raised by Jacksonville sheriff's candidates for 2023
Hogan is advising registered voters to check the status of their registration to ensure all information is up to date and accurate, saying the security of voter registration and elections is a serious matter, and voters must be able to trust the process.
Registered voters who find irregularities with their registration information should contact the Supervisor of Elections Office at (904) 255-8683.
The arrests were announced just days before a Dec. 7 special election to fill the City Council At-Large Group 3 seat left vacant by the recent death of Tommy Hazouri.
If convicted, King and Daniels would each face a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison, the State Attorney's Office said.
dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville men charged in voter registration fraud scheme
Waukesha Christmas Parade mass murderer Darrell Brooks appeared in court for the first time this week after slaughtering 6 people and injuring over 60 others in a Christmas Parade attack.
Brooks is a black racist, a Trump-hater, an anti-white radical who barreled through a Christmas Parade on Sunday in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Advertisement - story continues below
CNN posted his photo on their website following his arraignment.
They lightened his skin.
Is cnn embarrassed about black people?... Racist if you ask me