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Published by Radar Online Mega Vladimir Putin reportedly suspended, fired or arrested a number of his top military commanders in a devastating move that, if true, would mark one of the largest purges of Russian military command to take place since the nation invaded Ukraine nearly three-months ago. In a frightening show of force illustrating just how furious Putin is over his forces’ failure to take Ukraine, the 69-year-old Russian leader suspended top commander General Valery Gerasimov on Wednesday after a series of military blunders General Gerasimov committed in their nation’s war against Ukraine. Mega That was the shocking claim made Oleksiy Arestovych – a Ukrainian military intelligence veteran and close advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who revealed the suspension of Gerasimov while speaking to the anti-Putin lawyer and politician Mark Feygin Wednesday night. “According to preliminary information, Gerasimov has been de-facto suspended,” Arestovych told Feygin during the discussion that was uploaded to YouTube. “They are deciding whether to give him time to fix things, or not.” “The commander of the first tank army of the western military district Lieutenant General Sergei Kisel has also been arrested and fired after the first tank army was defeated near Kharkiv,” Arestovych added. Making Arestovych’s recent report even more startling is the fact that, besides general Gerasimov and Lieutenant General Kisel, Putin has also allegedly fired or arrested a slew of other Russian commanders whose forces suffered heavy losses and dramatic defeats across the battlefields of Ukraine. Mega “After the failure in Ukraine – repressions and purges in the Russian army,” Kyiv’s interior ministry also revealed Wednesday night, echoing Arestovych claims. “The Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Igor Osipov, was removed from his post and arrested,” Ukrainian’s interior ministry further revealed, before claiming there are ongoing “investigative actions in relation to first deputy commander of the fleet, Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk.” But the reports of Putin’s purge of top military officials did not end there, because the Ukrainian government continued to name nearly five more Russian commanders either fired or arrested for their highly-consequential failures in the war against Ukraine. “Due to the large losses of personnel, weapons and military equipment, [Putin] fired: Commander of the 6th Army, Lieutenant General Vladislav Ershov; Commander of the tank army of the western military district, Lieutenant General Sergei Kisel; and one of the deputy commanders.” Mega Putin also reportedly fired Major General Arkady Marzoev, a commander in charge of the 22nd Army Corps of the Southern Military District – a unit of Russian troops nearly obliterated by resisting Ukrainian soldiers. As Radar reported, Putin’s suspected purge of high-ranking military officials came just days after rumors started swirling suggesting the Russian leader has “no future” in Russia should his forces fail to successfully complete their invasion and taking of Ukraine. “He’s all about staying in power,” former U.S. Army General Jack Keane revealed earlier this month. “That’s his motivation. He will do anything to stay in power.” “The alternative, he knows full well, by a successor who doesn’t agree with him, could mean the end of him – his demise,” General Keane continued. “He’s fighting to stay in power and he’s determined, I think, to still accomplish his goals even though his focus is in the south [of Ukraine].” View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will host a rally for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on the eve of his re-election race, setting up a direct clash with former President Donald Trump as Republicans vie to keep control of the key southern state. The move is a marked split between Trump and his former vice president as Trump continues to air his grievances aimed at re-litigating the 2020 election and repeat his false claims of widespread voter fraud, as Republicans weigh their path forward. “I am proud to offer my full support for four more years of Brian Kemp as governor of the great state of Georgia!” Pence said in a statement released by Kemp’s campaign for the May 23 event. Trump has endorsed former U.S. Senator David Perdue in the Georgia primary race to unseat Kemp and face voters in November. Purdue, who lost his re-election bid in January 2021, has focused his campaign on Trump’s 2020 loss and faulted Kemp for not doing more to reverse the results. “The worst ‘election integrity’ governor in the country,” Trump called Kemp in a statement on Thursday. Trump has also blamed Pence for not helping to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in which he secured the Electoral College and took 81 million popular votes to Trump’s 74 million. The winner of the May 24 Republican primary will face the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, with voting rights activist Stacey Abrams the top candidate, and provide perhaps the clearest assessment yet of Trump’s ability to play kingmaker in the 2022 elections. An April opinion poll commissioned by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution showed Kemp with a substantial lead over Perdue. Georgia has been a conservative stronghold but saw its two U.S. Senate seats go to Democrats early last year following Biden’s presidential victory. It is also the focus of a special grand jury investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to influence the U.S. state’s 2020 election results. Neither Trump nor Pence has formally declared they will seek the White House in the 2024 presidential election. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Mark Heinrich) View the full article

It’s ok we’re very serious — and not about Orlando Bloom’s abs –most of the week View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was taken into custody by Russian authorities in February, has had her pretrial detention extended by one month as calls for the basketball player’s safe return to the United States continue to grow, Radar has learned. In a shocking development that has no doubt left Griner, the WNBA, and the Biden Administration reeling, a Russian court ruled on Friday that the 31-year-old basketball star will remain in Russian custody for at least one more month as she awaits trial. Mega That was the bombshell announcement made by Griner’s lawyer on Friday, who also revealed that despite the setback, the one-month extension suggests the WNBA player’s trial will take place sooner than later. “We did not receive any complaints about the detention conditions from our client,” Alexander Boykov, Griner’s lawyer, told the Associated Press during an interview on Friday after suggesting the “short” one-month extension indicated his client’s case will go to trial soon. Photos obtained by the outlet from Friday’s hearing show Griner handcuffed and dressed in a red hoodie with the hood covering her head and dreadlocks. She also kept her head down throughout the entire hearing, making it so her face could not be seen as the court announced their latest ruling. As RadarOnline.com reported, Griner has been detained in Russian custody for nearly three months after she was arrested around mid-February at a Moscow airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle a marijuana hash oil pen into the country from New York City. BRITTNEY GRINER WAS EARNING $1.5 MILLION PLAYING FOR MOSCOW TEAM PRIOR TO ARREST FOR ALLEGED ‘DRUG SMUGGLING’ Mega Both the WNBA and President Joe Biden’s Administration have condemned Griner’s “wrongful detainment,” and U.S. officials have reportedly been working diligently to see Griner released and returned to the United States swiftly and safely. “The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is among the highest priorities of the U.S government,” the State Department said earlier this month. “The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner.” “The U.S. government will continue to undertake efforts to provide appropriate support to Ms. Griner,” the State Department added. After Biden’s Administration and the State Department designated Griner as being “wrongfully detained,” the WNBA star’s teammates and fans became hopeful that her issues would resolve quickly and she would released from custody and returned home. Mega “It has been 75 days that our friend, teammate, sister, Brittney Griner, has been wrongfully detained in Russia. It is time for her to come home,”, WNBA players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement at the time. “Having learned that the U.S. government has now determined that BG is being wrongfully detained we are hopeful that their efforts will be significant, swift and successful.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Mega Britney Spears is still getting used to pregnancy life, and so far, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. Telling her 41 million Instagram followers about her latest getaway to a “Spanish paradise,” the princess of pop wrote in the caption of several shots seemingly from Spears and fiancé Sam Asghari‘s trip: “Being pregnant my hormones are kinda stupid … but it’s weird I want to jump out of the car and run naked like Will Ferrell in ‘Old School.'” @britneyspears/Instagram “yep pregnant lady running through don’t mind me and I’m hot as f**k here,” Spears continued. And while the pizza topped with pepperoni in her photo swipe looked delicious, the expecting mama, who announced in April she was pregnant, sadly confirmed it was anything but. “thought pizza looked great but it tasted like salami !!! I hated it, but the looks of it can be deceiving … I will say it tasted like s**t … goodnight … it’s pickle time !!!” GOING TO THE CHAPEL! SAM ASGHARI & FIANCÉE BRITNEY SPEARS TEASE WEDDING UPDATES Apart from photos of her disappointing meal, Spears shared a quote from Ernest Hemingway that read: “We would be together and have our books and at night be warm in bed together with the windows open and the stars bright.” Spears also shared a gruesome photo of a nasty cut she got on her knee, which she addressed in her caption, explaining: “my bloody knee sprinkled over to my dog’s paws … security said Sawyer is hurt and I said no it’s me … I think my dog and I became one at that moment like some sort of weird vampire.” Though Spears recently declared she’d be taking a social media hiatus shortly after announcing her third pregnancy, making her bun in the oven the couple’s first child together, the songstress appears to be back to her old ways, posting several random posts within hours. @britneyspears/Instagram Shortly before teasing her latest sweet escape, the “Toxic” performer showed off her toned tummy in several snaps of her “favorite fashion finds,” seemingly taken before she was with child. The blonde babe also offered a glimpse of her and Asghari’s recent trip to Mexico via Instagram sharing a video from one night where they enjoyed a bonfire on the beach while a Mariachi band played as they lovingly danced together. Putting his muscles to good use, the video shows Asghari holding Spears, who wrapped her legs around his waste, as they moved to the music. Prior to sharing the adorable video of the two enjoying their slice of paradise, Spears appeared to comically poke fun at her handsome hunk, who often shows off his stellar muscles and intense workout regimes on his respective Instagram. SPORTY GAL! PREGNANT BRITNEY SPEARS JET SKIS ALONGSIDE SAM ASGHARI IN CANCUN Spears shared a meme of a baby holding up their middle finger alongside the text: “When someone says they enjoy cardio.” Mega Spears’ social media posts are often a hot topic, given she’s taken to the platform countless times to troll her famous family for their alleged roles in her “abusive” near-14-year-long conservatorship, as well as throw shade at her ex-husband and father of her two sons, Kevin Federline. And if her lengthy social media captions are any indication of what she’s going to spill in her upcoming memoir, Spears’ fans are in for quite a treat — though it’ll likely be a nightmare for her family. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega R&B legend Bobby Brown visited the graves of his ex-wife Whitney Houston and their late daughter Bobbi Kristina, and while there, he claimed the singer would still be alive if the couple had remained together. In a leaked clip obtained by Daily Mail from A&E’s upcoming docuseries Bobby Brown: Every Little Step, the 53-year-old music icon spoke at length about his superstar ex-wife, her battle with drug addiction, and her tragic passing at just 48 years old. Mega “I think we could have helped each other out,” he said while visiting the graves of Houston and Bobbi Kristina in Westfield, New Jersey, for the first time ever. “I think she would still be here if we hadn’t divorced.” “I wasn’t there. I beat myself about it because I wasn’t there,” Brown continued. “I wish I could have been there for her.” Houston was found dead in a bathtub on February 11, 2012. The coroner’s report detailing the I Will Always Love You singer’s passing revealed that she died after drowning which was, in part, caused by heart disease and cocaine abuse. Although Brown also spoke about his own battles with drug and substance abuse addiction in the newly-leaked clip, he revealed that his efforts to get clean caused a rift in his marriage with Houston, which ultimately resulted in their divorce. Mega Nearly three years after the death of her mother, Bobbi Kristina was eerily found face down in a bathtub in her Alpharetta, Georgia, home. The 22-year-old was rushed to the hospital and placed into an induced coma after doctors determined her brain function was “significantly diminished.” Brown spoke about this heartbreaking incident in the docuseries clip, revealing that Houston came to him in a dream and instructed him to “let [Bobbi Kristina] go.” “They told me she would not live a normal life,” he said while fighting back tears. “I was prepared to care for her for the rest of my life, being a vegetable. But my daughter would not like to live like that.” Mega “Whitney came to me in dreams [and said] ‘let my baby go!’… And that is what I had to do.” “Being her father meant everything to me. To know how special she was can only be seen through love,” he added after saying he believes Houston and their daughter are watching over him. “My daughter is with me every day. She is one of my angels.” View the full article

Published by DPA A general view of the G7 meeting of Agriculture Ministers at Hohenheim Palace. Bernd Weißbrod/dpa Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky has voiced his fears of “great losses” in the year’s wheat harvest during talks with his G7 counterparts in the German city of Stuttgart on Friday. Russia’s war on Ukraine has prompted fears of global food shortages, as the country is one of the world’s most important producers of wheat as well as a major supplier of corn. “The situation with corn is a bit better,” Solsky noted, before appealing to G7 ministers for support in exporting Ukraine’s grain, with Russia blockading the country’s ports. The war has led to a massive surge in grain prices, with the impact being felt in developing countries in particular. German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir accused Russia of using hunger as a weapon by blocking Ukrainian wheat exports, in comments to German public radio on Friday. Putin’s warfare was “particularly perfidious,” Özdemir argued, as Ukraine is so important to the global food chain, noting that half the wheat used in World Food Programme aid alone came from the country. The shortage and resulting price increase were a deliberate military strategy, the minister argued. An overall 25 million tons of grain are currently stuck in Ukrainian ports, mainly Odessa, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Thursday. The ministers discussed how to export the Ukrainian grain to the rest of the world. Solsky suggested using underutilized ports in the Baltic States. Özdemir mentioned the overland route, the railways or the Danube. “The port of Odessa must be secured, it must not fall,” he said. Germany currently holds the presidency of the G7, which also includes the United States, Canada, France, Britain, Italy and Japan. Ukraine has been invited to attend this year’s meetings. Mykola Solskyj, Ukraine’s Minister of Agriculture, attends the G7 meeting of Agriculture Ministers at Hohenheim Palace. Bernd Weißbrod/dpa Cem Oezdemir (L), Germany’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, welcomes Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture, ahead of the G7 meeting of Agriculture Ministers at Hohenheim Palace. Bernd Weißbrod/dpa Cem Oezdemir (R), Germany’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, greets Julien Denormandie, France’s Minister of Agriculture, ahead of the G7 meeting of Agriculture Ministers at Hohenheim Palace. Bernd Weißbrod/dpa Cem Oezdemir, Germany’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, with his counterparts during the G7 meeting of Agriculture Ministers at Hohenheim Palace. Bernd Weißbrod/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Social media companies including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok must act now to blunt the effect of false information – including Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” that his 2020 defeat was the result of fraud – in this year’s U.S. midterm congressional elections, rights groups said on Thursday. Social media platforms backed away from policies designed to fight election disinformation after the 2020 presidential race won by Democratic President Joe Biden, more than 100 advocacy groups, led by Common Cause, said in a letter to social media executives. A surge of disinformation then led to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Trump and that disinformation continues to multiply, they said, citing research and public reporting. “High-profile disinformation spreaders and other bad actors are continuing to use social media platforms to disseminate messages that undermine trust in elections,” read a letter sent to chief executives and signed by more than 100 groups lead by Common Cause. “Candidates are using the Big Lie as a platform plank to pre-emptively declare voter fraud in order to dispute the results of the 2022 election,” they wrote. “This is damaging American democracy by undermining faith in the integrity of our elections.” The letter, also sent to the CEOs of Google, Instagram LLC and Snap Inc, urged the companies to take steps, including prioritizing fact-checking and providing real-time access of data to external researchers and watchdogs. Priority must be given to fighting the “Big Lie” that voter fraud cost Trump the White House in 2020, the letter said. The groups also sought greater transparency on political advertisements, enforcement practices and algorithmic models. Others that signed include voting rights and election integrity groups as well as the Center for American Progress, the League of Women Voters, Greenpeace, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Arab American Institute. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Scott Malone, Bernard Orr) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Leah Douglas (Reuters) – Top U.S. meatpacking companies drafted the executive order issued by President Donald Trump in 2020 to keep meat plants running and convinced his administration to encourage workers to stay on the job at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/2022.5.12%20-%20SSCC%20report%20on%20Meatpacking%20FINAL.pdf released on Thursday by a U.S. House panel. The report by the House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis details the meat industry’s influence on Trump’s White House as it tried to keep production rolling even as employees fell ill. More than 59,000 meatpacking workers at plants owned by the nation’s top five meatpackers contracted COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic and at least 269 died, according to the first report by the panel, released in October. “The shameful conduct of corporate executives pursuing profit at any cost during a crisis and government officials eager to do their bidding regardless of resulting harm to the public must never be repeated,” committee chair Representative James Clyburn said. The North American Meat Institute, the leading meat industry trade group, said the report “distorts the truth” and “uses 20/20 hindsight and cherry picks data to support a narrative that is completely unrepresentative of the early days of an unprecedented national emergency.” The report – based on thousands of documents and interviews with workers, union officials and experts – found that in April 2020, meatpacking companies led by Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods drafted an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to keep meat plants open. The DPA, which was enacted in 1950, gives the president emergency powers to control the domestic economy. The companies sent the draft to Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials and corresponded extensively with the White House, USDA, and other administration officials before the order https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-05-01/pdf/2020-09536.pdf was finalized and signed on April 28, the report found. Industry executives argued at the time that domestic meat supply was threatened by worker absenteeism. Those concerns were “baseless,” the House report said. USDA data showed meatpackers had 622 million pounds of frozen pork in March 2020 and that top meatpackers’ pork exports grew as much as 370% in the first year of the pandemic. Jim Monroe, Smithfield vice president of corporate affairs, said the company is proud of its pandemic response. “Did we make every effort to share with government officials our perspective on the pandemic and how it was impacting the food production system? Absolutely,” he said. Gary Mickelson, a Tyson spokesperson, said the company’s top priority is worker health and safety and that it has collaborated with federal, state and local officials in its pandemic response in the interest of protecting workers. In April 2020, meat industry executives also lobbied the USDA to encourage workers to report to plants as absenteeism rose, resulting in a public statement to that effect from former Vice President Mike Pence, the report found. The industry worked closely with political appointee Mindy Brashears, the USDA under secretary of food safety, and corresponded with her via her personal email and cell phone, a potential violation of the Federal Records Act, the report found. The former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, also told the House committee that he added softening language, like “if feasible,” to CDC guidance for managing COVID-19 spread in meat plants because he was “persuaded by industry concerns” about the potential impact of the guidance. (Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Leslie Adler and Mark Porter) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Mega Madonna is standing by her art. The pop diva, 63, received a ton of backlash on social media after releasing her new NFT in collaboration with token artist Beeple, which strangely depicted Madonna fully in the nude while giving birth to butterflies, insects and trees. To top off her peculiar art, a 3D model of her vagina was displayed in the NFT. Despite the “Material Girl” singer’s fans and foes calling out the creepy piece of digital art, the hit maker couldn’t care less about what they had to say. Mega Fans were not shy in voicing their opinion on the weird venture with one critic writing on Instagram, “Madonna’s latest NFT. If I saw it, you have to too. NFT should stand for NO FKN TACT.” Another bluntly noted, “Madonna is selling an nft of her WHAT? nah f**k this s**t I’m out.” HOLY REQUEST! MADONNA ASKS POPE FRANCIS TO MEET WITH HER AFTER EXHIBITING ‘BLASPHEMOUS’ BEHAVIOR Upon the shocking artwork’s release, the “Hung Up” vocalist backed her project, noting the vision was “to investigate the concept of creation, not only the way a child enters the world through a woman’s vagina, but also the way an artist gives birth to creativity.” Madonna teased her NFT in an Instagram post on Wednesday, May 11, in which she explained: “I’m doing what women have been doing since the beginning of time, which is giving birth.” “But on a more existential level, I’m giving birth to art and creativity and we would be lost without both,” the Evita actress explained. “I think it’s really important that a lot of thought and conversation went into creating these videos.” “I say we need a forest with creepy crawly bugs coming out of me,” the mother-of-six quipped. “Not often does a robot centipede crawl out of my vagina.” Mega MADONNA’S WILDEST MOMENTS THROUGH HER YEARS OF FAME — SEE THE LEGENDARY PHOTOS “My journey through life as a woman is like that of a tree. Starting with a small seed, always pushing against the resistance of the Earth. The endless weight of gravity,” Madonna noted of the vision she and Beeple had. Never one to shy away from controversy, Madonna wanted to ensure the piece was strange and unique to grab the attention of potential buyers. All proceeds from the NFT — entitled “Mother of Creation” — will be given to the charities National Bail Out, V-Day and Voices of Children. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Pro-choice demonstrators dressed as The Handmaid’s Tale gathered outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett to protest the SCOTUS member’s expected vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, Radar has learned. In a sensational development that finds Justice Barrett the latest Supreme Court member to face the outage of activists looking to uphold the federal court’s landmark 1973 ruling, Handmaid protesters congregated outside her private residence on Wednesday to persuade Barrett not to overturn the Supreme Court’s prior decision to protect a woman’s right to an abortion. Mega Video of the protest obtained by Fox News not only showed a group of protesters dressed up in red-and-white costumes straight out of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel-turned-hit TV show, but it also captured the protesters slamming Justice Barrett over her anti-abortion stance even though the SCOTUS member has 7 children. “It’s also possible that the fact that she’s an adoptive mother is influencing her inability to see what it’s like to carry a pregnancy to term,” one protester said in the video, referencing the fact that two of Barrett’s 7 children were adopted. “Not everybody wants to have five kids or four kids or one kid,” the pro-choice protester added. The Handmaid’s Tale, a novel published in 1985 before being adapted into a Hulu series that premiered in 2017, focused on a dystopian American future in which women are systematically raped and forced to give birth against their will by a radical pro-Christian government — a premise that the protesters outside Justice Barrett’s home said will become reality with the expected overturning of Roe v. Wade. Mega “We have no problem with Catholicism,” another protester outside Barrett’s Falls Church, Virginia, home said while holding up a sign reading, “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries.” “However, in this country, there’s a separation of church and state,” the protester added. “So, somebody’s religion, no matter what that might be, cannot dictate how they carry out their job as a public official.” The pro-choice demonstrators reportedly protested outside Justice Barrett’s Virginia home for nearly 30 minutes before returning to their vehicles and driving away. As RadarOnline.com reported, Justice Barrett wasn’t the only SCOTUS member to have protesters gather outside her property as a result of the recent Supreme Court leak suggesting Roe v. Wade will be overturned. Mega Earlier this week, other pro-choice demonstrators protested outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh,and John Roberts to prevent the expected demise of the monumental 1973 ruling protecting a woman’s right to receive an abortion under the Constitution of the United States. While these demonstrations have so far remained peaceful, others uncomfortable with the protests have questioned whether or not protesting outside a Supreme Court justice’s private residence to influence their vote is against federal law. View the full article

Published by AFP Jospeh Varon recalls nurses crying as they faced never-ending ICU admissions, beds in hallways, one intubation after another Washington (AFP) – Joseph Varon — who is chief of intensive care at United Memorial, a small hospital that mainly treats minority patients in Houston — made headlines when a photo of him hugging an elderly Covid patient during Thanksgiving in 2020 went viral. While that man went on to recover, it was those that did not make it that haunt Varon. “As a doctor, just in the last two years I have signed more death certificates than ever,” he said. As the United States marks the grim milestone of one million Covid deaths, health care workers who have served on the frontlines continue to shoulder a heavy burden, even as the rest of society has moved on. Many are exhausted, traumatized, and still afraid of crowded settings. Varon remembers well his first death, that of an immigrant working in a hotel. “He came into the hospital, and literally within a week he died, at 34 years of age without any pre-existing medical conditions,” he said. From then, until the last big wave at the start of this year, there was little respite. Varon recalls nurses crying as they faced never-ending ICU admissions, beds in hallways, one intubation after another. He also remembers his wife asking him to change his clothes in the garage before entering their home, after 20-hour shifts. The Thanksgiving photograph, said Varon, “became a symbol that we doctors also have feelings.” At that moment, he didn’t care about protecting himself, but wanted to give comfort to a man who didn’t know if he’d make it and couldn’t see his wife, since visits were not permitted. The demands of work also extracted a personal toll. Varon feels far older than his 59 years, hasn’t gone on vacation since the start of the pandemic, and was phoning in prescriptions on the day of his daughter’s wedding. He now sees “light at the end of the tunnel” and isn’t seeing many Covid patients — though he is seeing patients with post-Covid disorders including heart and lung issues. Stressed by crowds – Early on, the disease was a total mystery: how it was transmitted, who was most susceptible, how to treat it. Health workers feared bringing it home to their loved ones, or dying themselves. That fear was heightened for Daniel Brenner, an emergency physician interviewed by AFP at the start of the pandemic, when doctors were scrambling to find the right strategies to deal with severe lung injury caused by serious cases of Covid. Brenner’s wife is also an emergency doctor — and until the vaccine came along, they lived in dread of leaving behind their two young children, now aged five and three. “The thought of dying because of what you do and leaving your children as orphans is terrifying,” the 38-year-old said. Now working in Indianapolis, Brenner says he’s found it hard to re-adjust to crowds, despite far lower levels of Covid in the community, and hardly does things he used to take for granted, like eating inside restaurants. “It’s unfortunate because I’m trying to make sure that I don’t inflict my trauma on my kids,” he said, becoming emotional. “I want to make sure that they have enriching fulfilling things in their lives, but it’s really hard when I’m trying to figure out what’s safe.” The vaccine was a major turning point, says Brenner, greatly reducing the risk of severe disease and lifting a weight off his shoulders. But there are still vaccine holdouts getting sick. “I have a mixture of sadness and frustration because it’s preventable and I see people who are spreading misinformation, and doing themselves and their neighbors and their family a disservice,” he said. On a more hopeful note, Brenner makes a point of talking to all high-risk patients he sees about Covid vaccinations, and finds that the hesitant are generally amenable once he addresses their fears. “The vast majority of my patients, after I have that conversation, ask me where to get vaccinated,” he says. Brenner directs them to a walkup clinic within the same hospital. View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Federal prosecutors have opened a grand jury probe into whether former U.S. President Donald Trump mishandled classified records that ended up at his Florida residence, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing two people briefed on the issue. Prosecutors have issued a subpoena to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to obtain the documents, the report said. Authorities have also made interview requests to people who worked in the White House in Trump’s final days in office, it said. A grand jury probe suggests the Justice Department has advanced in its inquiry, which began after NARA said it had recovered 15 boxes of documents, including classified records, that Trump took to his Mar-a-Lago estate when he left the White House in January 2021. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump has previously confirmed that he agreed to return certain records to the Archives, calling it “an ordinary and routine process.” A federal law called the U.S. Presidential Records Act requires the preservation of memos, letters, notes, emails, faxes and other written communications related to a president’s official duties. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Grant McCool) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, and other lawmakers received subpoenas on Thursday from the House committee investigating last year’s attack on the Capitol by then-President Donald Trump’s supporters. The Jan. 6 House Select Committee issued the subpoenas to try and secure the lawmakers’ testimony after they had rejected voluntary cooperation with the investigation. McCarthy said in a statement in January that he would not cooperate with what he described as an “illegitimate” committee. “As a representative and the leader of the minority party, it is with neither regret nor satisfaction that I have concluded to not participate with this select committee’s abuse of power that stains this institution today and will harm it going forward,” McCarthy said in the statement. On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building, encouraged by the Republican president in a speech outside the White House to protest formal congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in a November 2020 election. The committee is trying to establish what Trump did while thousands of his supporters attacked police, vandalized the Capitol and sent members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence running for their lives. “We also must learn about how the President’s plans for Jan. 6 came together, and all the other ways he attempted to alter the results of the election,” the Select Committee’s chairman, Representative Bennie Thompson, said in a January letter to McCarthy. McCarthy, who has faced criticism from fellow conservatives within his caucus, publicly zigzagged on Trump’s culpability by first saying the former president bore some responsibility for the violence – but finally visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida and posed for a photograph with him. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Chris Reese and Grant McCool) View the full article

Murray Bartlett joins season 2 of Physical. Enjoy[This post contains video, click to play] Let’s Get ‘Physical’ — Season 2 Here’s the trailer for Apple TVS season two of dark comedy series “Physical,” about the rise of an aerobics star established Rose Byrne’s character in the role of ambitious fitness entrepreneur. This season Murray Bartlett joins as a competitor. Available June 3. Other returning cast include Rory Scovel, Dierdre Friel, Della Saba, Lou Taylor Pucci and Paul Sparks The show stars Rose Byrne who is also executive producer. From creator, writer and executive producer Annie Weisman, the 10-episode second season adds Murray Bartlett (“The White Lotus”), launches June 3 with a new episode every Friday. Bartlett joins the sophomore season as ‘Vinnie Green,’ a charismatic fitness instructor, weight-loss guru and pioneer of the late-night infomercial just as Sheila Rubin (Byrne) has successfully launched her first fitness video. She suddenly finds new and bigger obstacles in her path. It comes down to loyalty to her husband (Scovel) and his values and her likely inappropriate attraction to another. Meanwhile there are new competitors with similar ambitions she needs to beat on the way to building a full-fledged Jane Fonda style fitness empire. Extras Lady Gaga video for her official Top Gun: Mavrick Theme ICYMI: Amy Coney Barret on “Doing Your 9” on Weekend Update First Up, Remastered 2022 version of Madonna’s Get Into The Groove is first of her new compilation of 50 favorite remixes of her 50 No. 1 Dance Hits. Fer Real. And, A Good Look At Where We May Be Returning With Roe v. Wade Overturn by Supreme Court View the full article

Published by AFP New York City's Times Square become deserted during the outbreak of the pandemic in spring 2020 New York (AFP) – The United States has crossed the threshold of one million deaths from Covid-19, the White House said on Thursday, as cities like New York try to turn the page on the pandemic despite threats of another surge. “Today, we mark a tragic milestone: one million American lives lost to Covid-19,” President Joe Biden said in a statement that acknowledged the “unrelenting” pain of those who had lost loved ones during the pandemic. He called on residents to “remain vigilant against this pandemic” and said it was “critical” for Congress to fund resources like testing, vaccines and treatments. For many, the toll of more than one million deaths was difficult to comprehend. “It’s unfathomable,” Diana Berrent, one of the first people in New York state to catch Covid-19, said of the toll that far exceeds epidemiologists’ worst predictions made at the outbreak of the crisis in spring 2020. Then, New York City was the virus epicenter. Hospitals and morgues overflowed and the sound of ambulance sirens rang down empty streets as then-president Donald Trump responded chaotically in Washington. Two years on, and life in the Big Apple is largely back to normal as residents attempt to put the collective trauma of the virus that has killed 40,000 New Yorkers behind them. Broadway stage lights are once again illuminated, tourists are back riding horse carriages in Central Park, yellow taxis clog main avenues and bars in business districts hum with post-work chatter. “Without a doubt you feel the energy of the people that are on the streets. It’s been a long time coming,” Alfred Cerullo, president of a business improvement group in Midtown Manhattan, told AFP. New York’s rebound has been aided by its high inoculation numbers — about 88 percent of adults are fully vaccinated, a rate that was boosted by mandates, including for indoor activities like dining. Jeffrey Bank, owner of Carmine’s restaurant near Times Square, says sales at the Italian eatery are better than they were in 2019, as residents and tourists make up for lost time. “People have been sitting at home for two years. They want to celebrate and they’re entitled to,” he told AFP. ‘Disconnect’ But the city has a long way to go. Many stores remain empty and only 38 percent of Manhattan workers are in the office on an average weekday, according to Kastle Systems, a security firm that tracks building occupancy. The Big Apple’s tourism board also doesn’t expect visitor numbers to get back to the 67 million of 2019 people for a few years. And business owners fear another wave of infections. “Obviously we are worried,” Frank Tedesco, who is unsure how he could keep his jewelry business afloat if another shutdown occurred, told AFP. In recent weeks, the United States has seen an uptick in the number of daily virus cases, largely due to the new Omicron subvariant. The rise has coincided with the lifting of mask mandates. “I think we are in a place where psychologically and socially and economically, people are largely done with the pandemic,” said Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert at New York University. “(But) the pandemic is not over. So you have a disconnect between what is happening epidemiologically and what’s happening in terms of how people are responding,” she told AFP. Among the most at-risk are the unvaccinated, lower-income populations, uninsured people and communities of color, she says. America recorded its first Covid-19 death, on the West Coast, in early February 2020. By the next month, the virus was ravaging New York and the White House was predicting up to 240,000 deaths nationwide. But those projections were way off. Mandates Trump was late to back social distancing, repeatedly undermined top scientist Anthony Fauci, peddled unproven medical treatments, and politicized mask-wearing — before eventually being hospitalized with the virus himself. In New York and other northeastern urban centers, hospitals become overwhelmed and morgues failed to keep up with the dead. “There were nurses that said if they closed their eyes at night they could hear the patients struggling to breathe and they couldn’t get it out of their heads,” recalled Boston nurse Janice Maloof-Tomaso. Ideological clashes over curfews and mask and vaccine mandates ensued as America racked up the world’s highest death toll. But Trump did pump billions of dollars into vaccine research and by mid-December 2020, the first vaccines were available for health care workers. Deaths kept soaring, however, amid a slow take-up of shots in conservative areas of the country, and in February 2021 the country counted 500,000 dead. New president Biden and many Democratic governors enforced mandates but Republican-led states like Florida and Texas outright banned them, highlighting America’s patchwork of rules that made forming a unified response to the pandemic difficult. “We went from ‘stay home and save lives’ to let it rip,” recalled 47-year-old Berrent, who, after her illness in 2020, founded the group Survivor Corps for people looking for information about long-haul Covid or a current infection. “The question is no longer, ‘Have you had Covid?’ It’s, ‘How many times have you had Covid, and what symptoms do you still have?'” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Leonardo Benassatto and Alessandra Prentice ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Since Russia invaded Ukraine, doctors at a military hospital in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia have stayed on the job for days at a time as waves of casualties are rushed to them for treatment from nearby frontline areas. On Wednesday, medics at the hospital prepped a wounded man for surgery to remove suspected shrapnel, while in another room nurses lifted a semi-conscious patient from an operating table. Ukraine says thousands of its soldiers have been wounded since the start of the war on Feb. 24, while 3,760 civilians casualties have been recorded, according to the U.N. human rights body. It says the number is likely to be much higher due to the inaccessibility of areas with intense fighting. The crushing workload has not deterred 26-year-old traumatologist Favad Al-Shakh, who said the Zaporizhzhia hospital was so far managing to cope with the influx of patients requiring emergency care. “I, as a doctor, would like to keep working here,” he said with quiet confidence. “And when all of what’s happening will be over, I’m not eager to go anywhere else.” Hospitals like his are under extra strain because the fighting has also damaged or destroyed at least 400 health facilities, putting many of them out of action entirely, according to the Ukrainian authorities. A specially-equipped medical train has been fitted out to serve as a long-distance ambulance, evacuating trauma patients or anyone in need of special medical care from frontline areas in the east or elsewhere to greater safety in western Ukraine. A line of ambulances waited at the main station of the central-eastern city of Dnipro on Tuesday, with paramedics poised to stretcher dozens of wounded people onto the train, which is run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF /Doctors Without Borders). One man with metal pins sticking out of his leg grimaced as his gurney hit a bump when he was rushed aboard the train. Other elderly patients had bandaged heads or sprays of cuts across their faces. The service is intended to relieve the pressure on remaining hospitals and clear beds for the next wave of patients needing urgent care, said MSF medical coordinator Axelle Ronsse, before the train set off on its 20-hour journey to the western city of Lviv. “They do the stabilisation, the first care, and then they send them to the west to be taken care of. Like this they are ready to take some more (patients) the following days. And actually we can see that these last few days, the number has increased,” she said. Russia denies targeting civilians during what it calls its “special military operation”. Around 500 patients have so far been evacuated by train, which has also transferred groups of orphans and elderly people from the east, she said. There is no immediate sign of relief for Ukraine’s health system. On Tuesday, a U.S. intelligence chief warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to be preparing for a prolonged conflict. Ukraine does not provide regular casualty estimates for its armed forces, but in mid-April President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said around 10,000 Ukrainian troops had been wounded. (Writing by Alessandra Prentice, Editing by Angus MacSwan) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Paresh Dave OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) – Facial recognition is making a comeback in the United States as bans to thwart the technology and curb racial bias in policing come under threat amid a surge in crime and increased lobbying from developers. Virginia in July will eliminate its prohibition on local police use of facial recognition a year after approving it, and California and the city of New Orleans as soon as this month could be next to hit the undo button. Homicide reports in New Orleans rose 67% over the last two years compared with the pair before, and police say they need every possible tool. “Technology is needed to solve these crimes and to hold individuals accountable,” police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told reporters as he called on the city council to repeal a ban that went into effect last year https://library.municode.com/la/new_orleans/munidocs/munidocs?nodeId=34716c774a66d. Efforts to get bans in place are meeting resistance in jurisdictions big and small from New York and Colorado http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb22-113 to West Lafayette, Indiana. Even Vermont, the last state left with a near-100% ban against police facial-recognition use, chipped away https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2022/H.195 at its law last year to allow for investigating child sex crimes. From 2019 through 2021, about two dozen U.S. state or local governments https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/map passed laws restricting facial recognition. Studies had found the technology less effective in identifying Black people, and the anti-police Black Lives Matter protests gave the arguments momentum. But ongoing research by the federal government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/face-recognition-vendor-test-frvt-ongoing (NIST) has shown significant industrywide progress in accuracy. And Department of Homeland Security https://mdtf.org/Rally2021/Results2021 testing published last month found little variation in accuracy across skin tone and gender. “There is growing interest in policy approaches that address concerns about the technology while ensuring it is used in a bounded, accurate and nondiscriminatory way that benefits communities,” said Jake Parker, senior director of government relations at the lobbying group Security Industry Association. Shifting sentiment could bring its members, including Clearview AI, Idemia and Motorola Solutions, a greater share of the $124 billion https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/state-and-local-general-expenditures-percentage-distribution that state and local governments spend on policing annually. The portion dedicated to technology is not closely tracked. Gaining new police business is ever more important for Clearview, which this week settled a privacy lawsuit over images it collected from social media by agreeing not to sell its flagship system to the U.S. private sector. Clearview, which helps police find matches in the social media data, said it welcomes “any regulation that helps society get the most benefit from facial recognition technology while limiting potential downsides.” Idemia and Motorola, which provide matches from government databases, declined to comment. Though the recent studies have eased lawmakers’ reservations, debate is ongoing. The General Services Administration https://www.gsa.gov/cdnstatic/GSAEquityPlan_EO13985_2022.pdf, which oversees federal contractors, said in a report released last month that major facial recognition tools disproportionately failed to match African Americans in its tests. The agency did not respond to requests to provide details about the testing. Facial recognition will be reviewed by the president’s new National AI Advisory Committee, which last week began forming a subgroup tasked with studying its use in policing. ‘FIRST IN NATION’ Virginia approved its ban through a process that limited input from facial recognition developers. This year, company lobbyists came prepared to advance legislation that better balanced individual liberties with police investigation needs, said State Senator Scott Surovell. Beginning July 1, police can use facial recognition tools that achieve 98% or higher accuracy in at least one NIST test with minimal variation across demographics. NIST declined to comment, citing practice against discussing legislation. Tech critics said the standard is well-intentioned but imperfect and that warrants should be required for facial recognition use. “Addressing discriminatory policing by double-checking the algorithm is a bit like trying to solve police brutality by checking the gun isn’t racist: strictly speaking it’s better than the alternative, but the real problem is the person holding it,” said Os Keyes, an Ada Lovelace Fellow at University of Washington. Virginia barred real-time surveillance, and face matches cannot serve as probable cause in warrant applications. Misuse can lead to a misdemeanor. Parker, the lobbyist, called the law https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+SB741 “the first in the nation to require the accuracy of facial recognition technology used by law enforcement to be evaluated by the U.S government” and “the nation’s most stringent set of rules for its use.” Former Virginia Delegate Lashrecse Aird, who spearheaded last year’s law, said companies this year wanted a model to defeat bans across the country. “They believe this ensures greater accountability – it’s progress, but I don’t know,” she said. It contrasts with a Washington state law https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.386&full=true that requires agencies to conduct their own tests beforehand “in operational conditions.” ‘MOMENTS OF CRISIS’ California in 2019 banned police from using facial recognition on mobile devices such as body-worn cameras. But the prohibition expires on Jan. 1 because of a provision state senators added. Now, news reports about rising retail theft and smash-and-grab robberies have captured lawmakers’ attention, said Jennifer Jones, a staff attorney for ACLU of Northern California. As a result, ACLU has faced resistance from law enforcement to make the ban permanent https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1038. “Police departments are exploiting people’s fears about that crime to amass more power,” Jones said. “This has been for decades, we see new technologies being pushed in moments of crisis.” Activists in New York are also pressing for a facial recognition ban despite increased crime. Eric Adams, who became mayor in January, said a month later that it could be used safely under existing rules, while his predecessor Bill de Blasio had called for more caution. In West Lafayette, officials have twice failed to enact a ban on facial recognition over the past six months, citing its value in investigations. “To ban it or chip away from its application would be a little short-sighted,” said Mayor John Dennis, a former police officer. David Sanders, the city councilor behind the ban https://www.westlafayette.in.gov/egov/documents/1624628332_29088.pdf proposals, said concern about worsening low morale among officers was “dominating people’s reactions.” After the loss in Virginia, civil liberties groups are escalating in New Orleans. Ten national organizations last week told councilmembers to strengthen, not repeal, its ban, citing the risk of wrongful arrests based on faulty identifications. The local group Eye on Surveillance said New Orleans “cannot afford to go backward.” (Reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing by Kenneth Li and Lisa Shumaker) View the full article

Published by AFP Across Ukraine, lives have been turned upside down, forcing millions to make anguished choices of how to respond Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Finland on Thursday took a step towards fast-track membership of NATO, triggering a blunt warning from the Kremlin, as the war in Ukraine throttled supplies of Russian gas to Europe. “Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced in a statement in Helsinki. “NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security,” they said. “As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance.” But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Russia would “definitely” see Finnish membership as a threat. The Russian foreign ministry said Moscow would be “forced to take reciprocal steps, military-technical and other, to address the resulting threats to its national security.” In launching the invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin cited in part what he called the threat from NATO, which expanded eastwards after the Cold War. The foreign ministry accused NATO of seeking to create “another flank for the military threat to our country”. “Helsinki should be aware of its responsibility and the consequences of such a move,” it said. Finland has been a declared neutral in East-West crises for decades, and as recently as January its leaders ruled out NATO membership of the alliance. But the February 24 invasion shocked the Nordic nation. It shares a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border with Russia and its past is studded with conflict with its giant neighbour. NATO has already declared it will warmly embrace two countries with rich pockets and advanced militaries. Finland’s entry will be “smooth and swift,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg promised on Thursday. A special committee will announce Finland’s formal decision on a membership bid on Sunday. Sweden, another neutral state, is widely expected to follow its neighbour. Russian gas Russia’s flow of gas to Europe gas fell meanwhile, spurring fears for Germany and other heavily-dependent economies. Russian energy giant Gazprom announced it would stop supplying gas via the Polish part of the Yamal-Europe pipeline following retaliatory sanctions that Russia announced against Western companies on Wednesday. Gazprom also said Thursday gas transiting to Europe via Ukraine had dropped by a third — a fall it blamed on Ukraine’s pipeline operator, which the company denies and lays on Russia. Ukraine and Poland are major supply routes for Russian gas to Europe and the two sides have kept flows going despite the conflict. The European Union’s heavy reliance on Russian energy has made it reluctant to add oil and gas imports to sanctions that are inflicting a toll on Russia’s economy. Germany accused Russia of using “energy as a weapon”. “The situation is coming to a head,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said. The EU is struggling to overcome Hungarian resistance for plans to ban Russian oil. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, drew a parallel with the 1930s as he urged the bloc to impose an immediate embargo. “If the leaders had acted decisively in 1938, Europe could have avoided WWII,” he wrote on Twitter. “But politicians acted cowardly and flirted with the aggressor. The result is million tragedies. History won’t forgive us if we make the same mistake again.” Shelling Fighting in Ukraine has been concentrated on the south and east since Russia abandoned attempts to seize the capital Kyiv in the opening weeks of the war. Ukraine’s presidency said shelling continued throughout Lugansk — part of the Donbas region where Ukrainian forces are fiercely opposing Russian armour and Kremlin-backed separatists. Russian troops are trying to take complete control of Rubizhne, block a key highway between Lysychansk and Bakhmut highway and seize Severodonetsk, the office said. In the northeastern region of Chernigiv three people were killed and 12 others wounded early Thursday in a strike on a school in Novgorod-Siversky, the emergency services said. Across Ukraine, lives have been turned upside down, forcing millions to make anguished choices of how to respond. Zhanna Protsenko, a social worker in the frontline town of Orikhiv, spoke to AFP as she was about to head off on her bicycle to visit people who refused or were unable to evacuate. “How can I leave them here?” the 56-year-old asked, standing near a hospital that was hit by a strike in the past week. “We work. We have no time to hide,” she said as contractors repaired rows of the hospital’s blown-out windows and an oil drum-sized hole blasted in its brick facade. War crimes The UN Human Rights Council, in a session snubbed by Russia, was due to vote Thursday on a draft resolution calling for an investigation into war crimes. “These have been 10 weeks of sheer horror to the people of my country,” Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova told the meeting from Kyiv. “Only the world standing strong in solidarity with the Ukrainian people can defeat this pure evil.” The invasion has sparked an exodus of nearly six million civilians, many of whom bear accounts of torture, sexual violence and indiscriminate destruction. The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said it has received reports of more than 10,000 alleged crimes, with 622 suspects identified. On Wednesday, the office said it would launch the first trial for war crimes. Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old Russian soldier, is accused of killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian as he fled with four other soldiers in a stolen car. Mariupol holdouts – In the southern port city of Mariupol, besieged troops in the vast Azovstal steelworks have been holding out against weeks-long bombardment, refusing demands to surrender. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said “negotiations are under way” about the situation there, focusing on a step-by-step operation beginning with the evacuation of the seriously wounded. “There are hundreds of soldiers and officers of the armed forces, the national guard, the national police, security service, the border service and the defence forces,” she said. “The guys need to be rescued. Everyone needs rescue.” View the full article

Published by AFP This handout image released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on May 12, 2022, shows the first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy Paris (AFP) – An international team of astronomers on Thursday unveiled the first image of a supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy — a cosmic body known as Sagittarius A*. The image — produced by a global team of scientists known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration — is the first, direct visual confirmation of the presence of this invisible object, and comes three years after the very first image of a black hole from a distant galaxy. “It’s very exciting to show you today this best-ever image” of Sagittarius A*, EHT project director Huib van Langevelde told a press conference in Garching, Germany. Black holes are regions of space where the pull of gravity is so intense that nothing can escape, including light. The image thus depicts not the black hole itself, because it is completely dark, but the glowing gas that encircles the phenomenon — which is four million times more massive than our Sun — in a bright ring of bending light. “These unprecedented observations have greatly improved our understanding of what happens at the very centre of our galaxy,” said EHT project scientist Geoffrey Bower, of Taiwan’s Academia Sinica. Bower also said in a statement provided by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) that the observations had offered “new insights on how these giant black holes interact with their surroundings”. The results are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Virtual telescope Sagittarius A — abbreviated to Sgr A, which is pronounced “sadge-ay-star” — owes its name to its detection in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. Its existence has been assumed since 1974, with the detection of an unusual radio source at the centre of the galaxy. In the 1990s, astronomers mapped the orbits of the brightest stars near the centre of the Milky Way, confirming the presence of a supermassive compact object there — work that led to the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. Though the presence of a black hole was thought to be the only plausible explanation, the new image provides the first direct visual proof. Because it is 27,000 light years from Earth, it appears the same size in the sky as a donut on the Moon. Capturing images of such a faraway object required linking eight giant radio observatories across the planet to form a single “Earth-sized” virtual telescope called the EHT. These included the Institute for Millimeter Radio Astronomy (IRAM) 30-meter telescope in Spain, the most sensitive single antenna in the EHT network. The EHT gazed at Sgr A* across multiple nights for many hours in a row — a similar idea to long-exposure photography and the same process used to produce the first image of a black hole, released in 2019. That black hole is called M87* because it is in the Messier 87 galaxy. Moving target The two black holes bear striking similarities, despite the fact that Sgr A is 2,000 times smaller than M87. “Close to the edge of these black holes, they look amazingly similar,” said Sera Markoff, co-chair of the EHT Science Council, and a professor at the University of Amsterdam. Both behaved as predicted by Einstein’s 1915 theory of General Relativity, which holds that the force of gravity results from the curvature of space and time, and cosmic objects change this geometry. Despite the fact Sgr A* is much closer to us, imaging it presented unique challenges. Gas in the vicinity of both black holes moves at the same speed, close to the speed of light. But while it took days and weeks to orbit the larger M87, it completed rounds of Sgr A in just minutes. The brightness and pattern of the gas around Sgr A* changed rapidly as the team observed it, “a bit like trying to take a clear picture of a puppy quickly chasing its tail,” said EHT scientist Chi-kwan Chan of the University of Arizona. The researchers had to develop complex new tools to account for the moving targets. The resulting image — the work of more than 300 researchers across 80 countries over a period of five years — is an average of multiple images that revealed the invisible monster lurking at the centre of the galaxy. Scientists are now eager to compare the two black holes to test theories about how gasses behave around them — a poorly understood phenomenon thought to play a role in the formation of new stars and galaxies. Probing black holes — in particular their infinitely small and dense centers known as singularities, where Einstein’s equations break down — could help physicists deepen their understanding of gravity and develop a more advanced theory. View the full article

Published by Reuters UK LIMASSOL, Cyprus (Reuters) -A new dynamic has emerged in protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ communities across Europe, but significant difficulties remain and youngsters are particularly vulnerable, activists said on Thursday. Malta retained its top spot on the “Rainbow Europe” for 2022 for respect of human rights and full equality, while Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia and Armenia were at the bottom of rankings among 49 countries compiled by ILGA-Europe, an umbrella organisation for 600 rights advocacy groups. Denmark, France, Iceland and Montenegro also rose in the rankings, the report, released… Read More View the full article

Published by Miami Herald What do Cuba and Florida have in common? Book-banning, censorship — and, added into the mix this week, state-mandated school indoctrination for political purposes. They’re hallmark practices of the Communist Party-led regime in Cuba, tools used for six decades to keep Cubans isolated and in the dark about information that falls outside of what the ruling party’s ideology commands people to believe. Ironically, after this year’s GOP-dominated legislative session, the same manipulative tactics are now pillars of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ public education system. Math textbooks and literary books are be… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has been an able communicator for the Joe Biden administration Washington (AFP) – She could be playing the charmer, hurling verbal explosives, or just applying spin, but whichever version of Jen Psaki appears at the White House podium, there’s little question her departure Friday strips President Joe Biden of an able ally. Instantly recognizable with her fiery red hair, press secretary Psaki, 43, has been the public face of the Biden administration from the moment the veteran Democrat moved into a White House reluctantly vacated by Donald Trump on January 20, 2021. Psaki, who always said she didn’t expect to keep the high-pressure position more than about a year, is now reportedly on her way to a lucrative host position at MSNBC cable news. She’s leaving just as a brutal midterm elections campaign starts, domestic problems like inflation and illegal immigration pile up around Biden, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine lurches into ever more complex geopolitical territory. No doubt that Psaki’s successor Karine Jean-Pierre — making history as the first Black and openly gay person in the job — can expect a torrid next few months. Jean-Pierre, however, will also inherit a presidential press operation rebuilt after the anti-media rantings of the Trump White House. Under Trump, the famous James S. Brady Briefing Room literally gathered dust while the rapidly changing cast of characters in the administration’s press shop often seemed mostly concerned with attacking reporters. Psaki leaves under a minor ethics cloud, given that she was being headhunted by TV outlets — and negotiating her deal — while continuing in her daily press secretary duties. But that aside, there has been widespread praise for her professionalism. Psaki herself stresses the higher calling she sees in the press secretary role, going on Fox News last weekend — her boss’ biggest antagonist — to laud the importance of a free media. “This is the greatest job I’ve ever had, maybe the greatest job I ever have,” she said. #psakibombs With his zest for self-promotion, Trump made the White House press office redundant, preferring to get his message out directly, often by Twitter. The goal, his aides said, was to bypass a biased media, but Trump’s reliance on chaotic informal press gatherings and sometimes garbled or misspelled tweets fueled perceptions that his main aim was to make the presidency his personal reality show. One press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, never held a single briefing in her nine months on the job. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, did hold some briefings, but these often veered into bad-tempered back-and-forths where McEnany made clear she shared the president’s loathing for the media. On taking over the warren of tiny offices and cubbyholes constituting the White House press shop, Psaki restored the tradition of daily televised Q&As and established a team always available for questions — even if they did not always provide answers. At the podium, Psaki typically fields queries on everything from Biden’s thoughts about abortion to trade tariffs on Canadian lumber, the war in Ukraine, and the ups and downs of the First Family’s pets. Using skills that will transfer well to the TV host’s chair, she comes to briefings so well prepared that it’s rare for any journalist to trip her. “One day, people will learn not to come for Psaki, but it is not this day,” quipped @Angry_Staffer, a popular political commentator on Twitter, posting a clip of the press secretary turning the tables this week on a reporter’s seemingly tough question with a torrent of counter-arguments. Psaki’s self-confidence comes from deep experience as a Democratic party operative and stints under president Barack Obama as State Department spokeswoman, White House communications director, and election campaign press secretary. And while her most stinging briefing room retorts are celebrated by online fans in #psakibomb memes, she relies less on gotcha tactics as much as a willingness to engage politely with hostile questioners. That’s a trait which got a thumb’s up from no less than Peter Doocy, the Fox News White House correspondent, who has taken up the mantle of Psaki’s chief sparring partner. Some of their on-camera exchanges have been tense, but when Psaki announced she was leaving, Doocy thanked her, saying “you’ve always been a good sport” and adding that he was “sorry to see you go.” To which Psaki, triggering laughter through the briefing room, shot back: “Are you?” View the full article

People take part in the annual Gay Pride Parade, under the protection of riot police in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) For Ukrainian LGBTQ+ rights activists, a Russian victory is an existential threat to both the sovereignty of Ukraine and the rights of LGBTQ+ people. In his Feb. 24 speech, President Vladimir Putin used LGBTQ+ rights as a justification for his military operation, arguing that the West sought to destroy Russian “traditional values” with their “false values.” For some LGBTQ+ Ukrainians, the war is a call to arms — both in support of their homeland and in support of their rights. For others, the threat of persecution is prompting them to flee. But because of powers conferred by martial law, some LGBTQ+ refugees have been pushed back at the border while others are taking dangerous routes out. According to Polish LGBTQ+ activists we spoke with in Warsaw in April 2022, one trans man was pushed back at the border by a Ukrainian border guard and told: “if you want to be a real man, prove it — stay and fight.” The imperative for LGBTQ+ people to fight is also reflected in the advocacy of LGBTQ+ rights groups like Kyiv Pride, Ukraine Pride and LGBTIQ Military. They have positioned LGBTQ+ participation in the military as fundamental to Ukraine’s survival. Posts on Instagram introduce audiences to the gay Ukrainian men fighting for their country, while photos show drag artists donning military attire with the caption “Ukrainian drag queens destroy Moscovian [sic] occupiers!.” But for LGBTQ+ Ukrainians who have fled, these posts and messaging can bring feelings of shame. LGBTQ+ rights on the frontline A narrative is emerging in western media that frames the war as a battle for LGBTQ+ rights against a backward, conservative and intolerant Russia. And it’s influencing the politics of the European Union. The European Commission has long criticized Hungary and Poland over their stance on LGBTQ+ rights. In April 2022, it launched disciplinary proceedings against Hungary — which would cut off EU funding — because the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws were violating the rule of law. There’s also growing pressure in the EU Parliament to enact similar steps against Poland. These instances suggest the EU is becoming more robust in its defence of “European values” by standing up to member states that backslide on the democratic standards of the EU. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, centre, watches Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at ‘Stand Up for Ukraine,’ a global campaign for pledging funds for Ukraine. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) Similarly, LGBTQ+ activists we spoke with in Poland described how the war presents opportunities to change hearts and minds in the country. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda won re-election in June 2020 campaigning against “LGBTQ+ ideology.” For LGBTQ+ activists, the parallels between Duda and Putin may be pivotal in their own advocacy efforts — especially if being pro-LGBTQ+ equals being anti-Russian. One LGBTQ+ activist we spoke with said there is now renewed hope: Militarizing the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights The frequency with which LGBTQ+ rights are currently being positioned as a key battleground is problematic. While we are seeing transformation in the LGBTQ+ rights landscape in Europe, and some activists feel a renewed sense of hope, literature on LGBTQ+ rights, migration and conflict offer some stark warnings. In Queer Wars, the authors draw attention to the increasing geopolitical polarization over LGBTQ+ rights. Political leaders, such as those in Russia, Hungary and Poland, have used anti-LGBTQ+ stances and policies to position themselves as defenders of traditional values against western degeneracy. For Russia, once again, this was used as a justification for the war in Ukraine. But as international relations scholar Cai Wilkinson notes, linking LGBTQ+ rights with the rhetoric of war risks oversimplifying the stakes of queer liberation by replacing a complex view of specific, contextual struggles for rights with monolithic narratives of winners and losers. For example, borrowing from philosopher and queer theorist Jasbir Puar’s concept of “homonationalism,” there is a risk that the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights is simplified into a straightforward narrative of European or western values versus the intolerance of the East or “the rest.” In the years following the so-called European refugee crisis, this rhetoric was used to justify hard borders and the framing of refugees as a threat to European values of liberalism and tolerance, underscored by intense Islamophobia. In 2017, German politician Jens Spahn argued that the moral values of refugees differ significantly to those of Germans, citing homophobia and transphobia as examples. Similar rhetoric has been used by the politicians in the United States, pitting LGBTQ+ rights against Muslims, the threat of foreign regimes and terrorism. In 2021, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, tweeted that the EU is an #LGBTIQFreedomZone in response to the introduction of “LGBTQ+ free zones” in approximately 100 Polish municipalities. However, despite such a declaration, LGBTQ+ rights in Europe remain precarious and many are barred from entering Fortress Europe. Implications for Ukraine While the war in Ukraine appears to be emboldening calls for LGBTQ+ rights protections and transforming the advocacy efforts of groups in Ukraine, there are risks that LGBTQ+ rights and liberation could be swallowed by the rhetoric of war or homonationalist narratives. Despite the promises of freedom and safety, LGBTQ+ refugees from Ukraine face substantial protection gaps in accessing services and support — particularly if they are people of colour, or not Ukrainian passport holders. While it is tempting to view the war in Ukraine as a metaphor for some larger struggle between a tolerant West and an intolerant East, the reality is inevitably far more complex. It is worth interrogating these narratives in order to understand the realities facing LGBTQ+ people. Aydan Greatrick, PhD Candidate, Migration Studies, UCL; Tyler Valiquette, PhD Student, Human Geography, UCL, and Yvonne Su, Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies, York University, Canada This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Photo by Miha Rekar on Unsplash View the full article

Published by uSports.org For its ninth annual LGBTQ+ night on June 3, the Los Angeles Dodgers will wear on-field pride caps for the first time. The famous L.A. lettering on the team hat will be filled with the rainbow colors of the pride flag. The Dodgers and their bitter rival Giants will both don pride caps when they battle in San Francisco on June 11. “The Los Angeles Dodgers are proud to stand with and recognize the LGBTQ+ community in Los Angeles and globally,” Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten said. “The Dodgers have a history of breaking barriers and we’re proud to be a part of another chapter in MLB history as the Dodge… Read More View the full article