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Published by Reuters By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Manhattan district attorney has convened another grand jury to weigh possible new charges in a case involving the Trump Organization, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The second grand jury was expected to examine how former President Donald Trump’s company valued its assets, the Washington Post reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The legal woes could complicate the company’s relationships with banks, and could pose a challenge to Trump’s political future as he considers running for another term in 2024. Trump has called the charges politically motivated. The criminal case stems from a probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in collaboration with New York State Attorney General Letitia James. An indictment unsealed in July charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with tax fraud arising from a probe into Trump’s business and its practices. That indictment said the company provided perks and benefits such as rent-free apartments and leased cars to Weisselberg and other officials without proper reporting on tax returns. Both Weisselberg and the company pleaded not guilty. A Republican, Trump himself has not been charged. The new grand jury was seated after the first grand jury’s term expired, said the person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office declined to comment. A lawyer for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mary Mulligan, a lawyer for Weisselberg, declined to comment. Trump’s company operates hotels, golf courses, and resorts around the world. Before entering the White House in January 2017, Trump put it into a trust overseen by his adult sons Donald Jr. and Eric, as well as Weisselberg. The current status of the trust was not immediately clear. Besides Weisselberg, another Trump Organization executive who has come under a glare is chief operating officer Matthew Calamari. Calamari’s lawyer Nicholas Gravante has not yet been informed whether his client will be charged or subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, another person familiar with the probe told Reuters on Thursday. Calamari’s son, Matthew Calamari Jr., testified before a grand jury in September in connection with the case and has immunity from possible prosecution, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. SEVEN SPRINGS James’ probe was initially civil in nature, but in May her office said it was also investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity and had joined forces with Vance. While it was not immediately clear what the second grand jury was focusing on, James’ civil probe has been examining how the Trump organization assessed the value of Seven Springs, a 212-acre estate in New York City’s northern suburbs, and in particular a 2015 agreement not to develop a portion of the property. The attorney general’s office said in a court filing for the probe that an appraiser hired by Trump before the agreement set the property’s value at $56.6 million and the easement’s value at $21.1 million – the amount Trump claimed as an income tax deduction. James has said she is also investigating a Los Angeles golf club owned by the Trump Organization, which gave the company a tax deduction for a conservation easement in 2014, as well as buildings the company owns on Wall Street and in Chicago. She said she opened that investigation after Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, said that Trump’s financial statements were manipulated to obtain better loans or reduce real estate taxes. Vance, a Democrat, will step down at the end of the year. James, also a Democrat, has said she will run for governor of New York in 2022. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Alistair Bell and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Stefica Nicol Bikes SYDNEY (Reuters) – A study released on Friday by an Australian university looking at multiple catastrophes hitting the Great Barrier Reef has found for the first time that only 2% of its area has escaped bleaching since 1998, then the world’s hottest year on record. If global warming is kept to 1.5 degrees, the maximum rise in average global temperature that was the focus of the COP26 United Nations climate conference, the mix of corals on the Barrier Reef will change but it could still thrive, said the study’s lead author Professor Terry Hughes, of the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. “If we can hold global warming to 1.5 degrees global average warming then I think we’ll still have a vibrant Great Barrier Reef,” he said. Bleaching is a stress response by overheated corals during heat waves, where they lose their colour and many struggle to survive. Eighty percent of the World Heritage-listed wonder has been bleached severely at least once since 2016, the study by James Cook University in Australia’s Queensland state found. “Even the most remote, most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef have now bleached severely at least once,” Hughes said. The study found the corals adapted to have a higher heat threshold if they had survived a previous bleaching event, but the gap between bleaching events has shrunk, giving the reefs less time to recover between each episode. Australia, which last week said it would not back a pledge led by the United States and the European Union to cut methane emissions, needs to do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Hughes said. “The government is still issuing permits for new coal mines and for new methane gas deals and it’s simply irresponsible in terms of Australia’s responsibilities to the Great Barrier Reef,” he said. The Great Barrier Reef is comprised of more than 3,000 individual reefs stretching for 2,300km (1,429 miles). The ecosystem supports 65,000 jobs in reef tourism. Globally, hundreds of millions of people depend on the survival of coral reefs for their livelihoods and food security. “If we go to 3, 4 degrees of global average warming which is tragically the trajectory we are currently on, then there won’t be much left of the Great Barrier Reef or any other coral reefs throughout the tropics,” Hughes told Reuters. (Reporting by Stefica Nicol Bikes in Sydney, Writing by Melanie Burton in Melbourne,; Editing by Karishma Singh) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been cast in the big-screen adaptation of Broadway classic ‘Wicked’. Director Jon M. Chu surprised the ‘Thank U, Next’ hitmaker and the 34-year-old actress-and-singer on FaceTime with the news that they will portray Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, respectively, in the upcoming flick. The 28-year-old pop superstar and the Tony Award-winner sent each other flowers to celebrate the casting news. Ariana posted a screenshot of her reaction to the filmmaker’s announcement and a snap of the bouquet Cynthia sent with a note that read: “‘Pink goes good with green.’ Congratulations Miss A, the part was made for you. I look forward to sharing this musical journey with you.” The ‘Widows’ star shared a similar carousel on her page on the social media app and Ariana had written in her note: “Dear Cynthia, Honored doesn’t even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz. All my love, Ari (sic).” The director wrote: “These two witches!! The emotional moment I got to tell @cynthiaerivo and @arianagrande that they were our Elphaba and Galinda in the @WickedMovie for @unistudios wait until you see what they bring!! It is other worldly. Ahhhhh!!! (sic)” And Idina Menzel, the original Elphaba, has led congratulations to the pair. She wrote in the comments: “Congrats to two amazing women. May it change your lives for the better forever and ever as it has for us. So much love.” Original director Stephen Daldry stepped away from the project last fall. Universal had previously removed ‘Wicked’ from its release calendar as part of the COVID-19 pandemic after originally being slated for release on December 22 this year. Marc Platt is producing, while original Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz and musical book writer Winnie Holzman wrote the screenplay. ‘Wicked’ is based on Gregory Maguire’s unauthorized 1995 prequel novel to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and follows the unlikely friendship between Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West. The musical first debuted in San Francisco and Broadway in 2003 and has since become one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, surpassing over $1 billion in total Broadway revenue. The show was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including for stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina, and is well known for iconic anthems like ‘Defying Gravity’. For Jon, the directorial role comes after he received critical acclaim for his 2018 movie ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, and ‘In the Heights’, a musical drama. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Cardi B has offered to officiate Kal Penn’s wedding. The ‘Designated Survivor’ actor – who recently came out and confirmed he is engaged to long-term partner Josh – spotted the ‘WAP’ hitmaker on a flight to Los Angeles and although they didn’t speak on the plane, after he took to Twitter and explained the dream his sighting had sparked, the 29-year-old rapper quickly suggested she oversee his upcoming nuptials. Kal tweeted: “Cardi B was on my flight to LA. I fell asleep and had a dream that she officiated our wedding on the plane and the three of us walked out of LAX holding hands.” Cardi replied: “First, why didn’t you say hi! Second, I’m licensed to do that sooo……..let me know.(sic)” The 44-year-old comic explained he didn’t want to be “disrespectful” and disturb his fellow passenger, but excitedly agreed to her wedding offer. He wrote: “You’re the best. Was gonna say hi but didn’t want to be disrespectful (your do not disturb light was on). But holy s*** let’s do it! We’re down if you’re down!(sic)” Cardi simply replied: “I’m down I’ll get my suit (sic)” The ‘Harold & Kumar’ star detailed his 11-year relationship with Josh in his new memoir, ‘You Can’t Be Serious’, but insisted he never made a conscious effort to conceal his sexuality, he was just aware that the important people in his life value their privacy. He said: “I’ve always been very public with everybody I’ve personally interacted with. Whether it’s somebody that I meet at a bar, if Josh and I are out or we’re talking to friends. “I’m really excited to share our relationship with readers. But Josh, my partner, my parents, and my brother, four people who I’m closest to in the family, are fairly quiet. “They don’t love attention and shy away from the limelight.” And while Kal is only coming out to the world now, he’d already told his Indian parents and close friends and insisted it was “super easy” telling his loved ones, having already dropped the acting career bombshell on them. He said: “I shared things with my parents and close friends first. “I know this sounds jokey, but it’s true: When you’ve already told your Indian parents and the South Asian community that you intend to be an actor for a living, really any conversations that come after that are super easy. “They’re just like, ‘Yeah, okay.’ I felt very supported by everyone. That’s a wonderful thing. I know everybody has different experiences with that and so I definitely feel very fortunate.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tom Ford misses the time when celebrities didn’t have stylists because they took “bigger risks”. The 60-year-old fashion designer has admitted many A-listers these days have agents and stylists dictating what they should wear on the red carpet, and Ford admitted it’s all become “a little bit homogenised”. Speaking to GQ, he said: “Oh my god, my taste in celebrities? Well, I like celebrities in general because they’re unafraid of fashion. They need fashion. They need, when they walk down a red carpet, to get attention, so they’re not afraid. They’ll take much bigger risks. It’s great to see a celebrity wearing your clothes. Did you write down a question about stylists? To which the journalist replied: “Oh yes. The celebrity stylist is one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, at this point. I’m curious what you think about that phenomenon.” And the former Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent creative director responded: “I wish they were a little less powerful, I have to say. There was a time in the seventies, for example, if you look at old Oscar pictures, before celebrities had stylists, and my God, people took even more risks. There were great things going down the red carpet then. I think sometimes there becomes a little bit of homogenisation, because it isn’t even the stylist. Before these men and women hit a red carpet, their agents weigh in on what they’re doing, there’s a stylist who weighs in, and things can become a little bit homogenised. I guess, when you asked my favourite celebrity to dress—it’s the ones who really know themselves. And if they’re working with a stylist, they assert themselves, or the stylist is kind of running around finding things that they asked them to find. There are those celebrities who have their own sense of style.” Ford has dressed the biggest names in Hollywood from Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Anne Hathaway to Daniel Craig, Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, and Ryan Gosling. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Deena Beasley (Reuters) -A trial of Pfizer Inc’s experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 was stopped early after the drug was shown to cut by 89% the chances of hospitalization or death for adults at risk of developing severe disease, the company said on Friday. The results appear to surpass those seen with Merck & Co Inc’s pill, molnupiravir, which was shown last month to halve the likelihood of dying or being hospitalized for COVID-19 patients also at high risk of serious illness. Full trial data is not yet available from either company. Pfizer shares surged 11% to $48.55, while those of Merck fell 8.5% to $82.80. Shares of vaccine makers also took a hit, with Moderna Inc, Pfizer’s German partner BioNTech SE and Novavax all down nearly 7%. Pfizer said it plans to submit interim trial results for its pill, which is given in combination with an older antiviral called ritonavir, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of the emergency use application it opened in October. That filing is expected to be submitted before Thanksgiving, Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in an interview with CNBC. The combination treatment, which will have the brand name Paxlovid, consists of three pills given twice daily. The planned analysis of 1,219 patients in Pfizer’s study looked at hospitalizations or deaths among people diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19 with at least one risk factor for developing severe disease, such as obesity or older age. It found that 0.8% of those given Pfizer’s drug within three days of symptom onset were hospitalized and none had died by 28 days after treatment. That compared with a hospitalization rate of 7% for placebo patients. There were also seven deaths in the placebo group. Rates were similar for patients treated within five days of symptoms – 1% of the treatment group was hospitalized, compared with 6.7% for the placebo group, which included 10 deaths. Bourla said that works out to being 85% effective. The data compared favorably to Merck’s oral antiviral in a similar patient population, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen said in a note. With the virus still circulating widely and current therapeutic options requiring access to a healthcare facility, antiviral treatments that can be taken at home to keep people with COVID-19 out of the hospital are critically needed, Chen said. Antivirals need to be given as early as possible, before an infection takes hold, in order to be most effective. Merck tested its drug within five days of symptom onset. “We saw that we did have high efficacy, even if it was five days after a patient has been treated … people might wait a couple of days before getting a test or something, and this means that we have time to treat people and really provide a benefit from a public health perspective,” Annaliesa Anderson, head of the Pfizer program, told Reuters. The company did not detail side effects of the treatment, but said adverse events happened in about 20% of both treatment and placebo patients. Ritonavir’s possible side effects include nausea and diarrhea. “These data suggest that our oral antiviral candidate, if approved by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients’ lives, reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections, and eliminate up to nine out of ten hospitalizations,” Bourla said in a statement. Pfizer said it was currently expecting to produce more than 180,000 packs by the end of 2021 and at least 50 million packs by the end of 2022, of which 21 million would be produced in the first half. Infectious disease experts stress that preventing COVID-19 through wide use of vaccines remains the best way to control the pandemic, but only 58% of Americans are fully vaccinated and access in many parts of the world is limited. Pfizer’s drug, part of a class known as protease inhibitors, is designed to block an enzyme the coronavirus needs in order to multiply. Merck’s molnupiravir has a different mechanism of action designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus. Merck has already sold millions of courses of the treatment, which was approved this week by U.K. regulators, to the United States, the U.K. and others. Britain said earlier this month it had secured 250,000 courses of Pfizer’s antiviral. Pfizer is also studying whether its pill could be used by people without risk factors for serious COVID-19 as well as to prevent coronavirus infection in people exposed to the virus. (Reporting By Deena Beasley, additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; editing by Grant McCool and Anil D’Silva) View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives was expected to vote Friday on a sweeping, $1.75 trillion social-policy and climate package that accounts for much of Democratic President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda. The package has been scaled back and modified extensively during months of negotiations, and is likely to be modified further in the Senate. Here is what the latest version contains, according to the White House: FAMILY BENEFITS – Free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds – Support for child care costs: Families that earn less than $300,000 per year would pay no more than 7% of their income on child care – Tax credits worth up to $300 per child per month – Bolsters coverage of home-care costs for the elderly and disabled through the Medicaid health program – Expands free school meals and provides $65 per month in grocery money during summer months for 29 million low-income children who are eligible for free lunches at school CLIMATE – Rebates and credits to cut the cost of rooftop solar systems by 30% and American-made, union-made electric vehicles by $12,500 – Incentives to encourage U.S. manufacturing of clean energy technology and shift other industries to reduce carbon emissions – Creates 300,000-strong Civilian Climate Corps to work on environmental and climate projects – Creates a Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to invest in climate-related projects, with at least 40% serving disadvantaged communities – New spending on coastal restoration, forest management and soil conservation HEALTHCARE – Enables the Medicare health plan for seniors to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs that have been on the market for at least nine years – Penalizes drug companies that increase prices faster than inflation – Caps out-of-pocket prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year and lowers insulin prices to $35 per month – Expands Medicare to cover hearing aids – Reduces Affordable Care Act premiums by an average of $600 per person per year – Expands Medicaid coverage to low-income people in the 12 states that have opted not to expand the program on their own HOUSING – Expands affordable housing, public housing and rental assistance programs – Broadens down-payment assistance to bolster home ownership – Expands lead-paint removal efforts – Supports community-led redevelopment in low-income neighborhoods – Encourages local governments to ease zoning restrictions that limit housing density EDUCATION – Increases Pell Grants for college costs – More aid for historically Black colleges and other minority-serving schools – Boosts the Labor Department’s job-training programs by 50% IMMIGRATION – $100 billion in “immigration reform,” which is additional funding beyond the $1.75 trillion – Efforts to reduce backlogs, expand legal services and improve border processing and asylum programs OTHER PROGRAMS – Expands a tax credit for low-income workers to cover those who do not have children – More money for rural projects – Supports community violence intervention TAXES – 15% minimum tax on corporate profits for companies with more than $1 billion in profits – 1% surcharge on stock buybacks – 15% minimum tax on foreign profits of U.S. corporations – 5% surtax on personal income above $10 million – additional 3% surtax on income above $25 million – close loophole to prevent wealthy from avoiding 3.8% Medicare tax – bolster the Internal Revenue Service to improve customer service and focus enforcement on wealthy tax evaders – expands a deduction for state and local taxes that primarily benefits upper-income households in high-tax states. Republicans had reduced that benefit in their 2017 tax-cut package (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

= Buck SlipWith ‘Eternals’ Disney/Marvel Chooses Intersectional Future And Defends Against Censoring LGBTQ Bits Reviews and quotes from NYTimes, WSJ, Variety, and more – Choosing intersectional over one-dimensional, Disney refuses (possibly for the first time ever) to cut Eternals LGBTQ content for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. They will not show Eternals. – Neighboring countries with similar laws will show as planned. – Marvel bros troll and review bomb the Eternals release on IMDb, Reddit, Rotten Tomatoes and elsewhere, messaging “liberal elite brainwashing” and an overly ‘woke’ story. – Legitimate reviews are mixed. (Round up of quotes) Feels weird to not be able to ignore the whole studio, if not the genre. All good things, insights on humanity, attributed to Oscar Winner Chloé Zhao -editor “Eternals”Phastos… Marvel’s First LGBTQ Superhero … and family Marvel Studios’ upcoming film “Eternals” hits American theaters broadly today, but the latest MCU installment has already drawn ire, trolling and praise for its focus on characters and the diversity of the group: three are asian, two black, and a Latina. Of them, one is gay, one non binary and another is deaf. Phastos, portrayed by “Atlanta” star Brian Tyree Henry, is the first out LGBTQ superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe’s (MCU) decade-plus lineage. The character arrives on the big screen as one of comics-icon Jack Kirby’s somewhat niche collection of celestial immortals. But wait, there’s more. He lands with husband Ben, portrayed by Haaz Sleiman, and child, notching another first for the series with a portrayal of an LGBTQ family. Excitement from LGBTQ fans when announced earlier in the year was initially muted in light of of how Disney companies have delivered on previous promises of out characters. Targeted announcements touting ‘firsts’ ended up tangential, morsel-sized moments, easily removed for audiences in nations skittish about LGBTQ people and identities. So far, indication are that “Eternals” depiction of LGBTQ relationships carry through the film, delivering a lot more, with a character essential to the progression of the story, while going so far as to include a passionate kiss between Phastos and Ben. Disney seems in step with the film’s director, Oscar Winner Chloé Zhao who told Variety she addressed the issues with Marvel Studios executives about not altering the film, including producing cuts that diminished Phastos’ identity while describing the character as “an integral part of Marvel Studios’ conception of the character” from the very beginning of development. Brian Tyree Henry as PhastosDisney/Marvel Support Integrity of Storyline, Film Zhao’s Not only is the character difficult to take out while preserving the story, but according to sources consulted by The Hollywood Reporter, “Eternals” has been banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar because Disney refused to make requested edits, likely including the depiction of same-sex relationships. The company itself has been mum on the topic and hasn’t claimed credit for defending the film as created in public. If all true, the media conglomerate’s refusal to meet the demands of these governments, all three of which criminalize homosexuality, punishing same-sex acts with death, physical punishments or imprisonment, represents one of the few times (if not the first) the company has taken a stance to preserve LGBTQ-inclusive content in international cuts of its films when asked to edit or eliminate them.. It was only a few years back that the company drew heavy criticism for promoting LGBTQ inclusion in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” and “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” that in the end were seconds-long bits that could be easily edited and, in fact, were for viewers in a number of countries. According to now-deleted reviews compiled by The Direct, much of the criticism centered on the perceived “wokeness” of the film, bashing the film for ticking “all the Hollywood woke boxes” with little critique of the story and film. The wave of negative comments got so large that IMDB removed a collection of reviews from the film’s page. It will not surprise that most reviews posted prior to the purge were authored by young men 18-44 years old (IMDb’s user review data). The film currently shows a 6.5/10 stars aggregated rating. It’s often hard to divine where ratings are coming form, but with reviews now mostly in it seems Eternals has a much bigger problem with professional reviewers that with trolls posing as regular users, now that the film is getting seen and no doubt, these systems have their own measures against review bombing. Both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic are showing similar rolled up scores for their panels of professional reviewers as well as a similar, quite large separating them from the much higher ratings iof the User/Audience scores to the tune of 25-30 points higher. Rottom Tomatoes . METACRITIC Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics at 51% while their Audience Reviews are up at 86%. So while it’s the first Marvel film to get a “Rotten” rating , it would seem like the audience isn’t having such a bad time at all. IMDB is holding at 6.5 stars; Metacritic tells effectively the same story as the Rotten Tomatoes with their roll up of pro reviewers averaging in at 53% but users rating it 7.7 out of 10. Google reviewers are similar to the User scores and as of now are at 74% Reviewers Amazed By Marvel’s Changes On Return from Semester Abroad Overall, the professional reviewers are not saying that it’s a failure of liberal brainwashed “wokeness”. Not at all. In fact many more credit to the film for its light touch in radically remaking the diversity mix on screen, with many saying some version of the matter-of-fact portrayal is how things should be in the world. Sadly, most of the pros just don’t love Eternals. The movie’s structure , including tons of flashbacks and the length of two hours are both mentioned many times as the reasons viewers lost in interest, lost the thread of the story, lost track of why they should care. But there’s not a good way to get around. some layers of introduction and exposition when introducing 10 new main characters and ton of others. …not to mention the origins of their crew, why they didn’t lift a finger during the big Avenger fight to save the world and much more. Almost every reviewer credits Zhao for building complex characters, a plot that isn’t two dimensional, and for an attention to detail that makes the film a great beauty. Most say she’s done an OK . But most have a hard time going beyond the realm of “OK” to “Pretty good”. It is interesting to see the big reviewers of the Entertainment industrial Complex wrestling with Eternals after basically ignoring the whole universe of 25 or so films over the last decade +. But this is clearly something different. They need to acknowledge it now and most are not quite comfortable with it yet. NPR Takes on the Elephant in the Room Among those gate keepers taking notice, NPR goes straight at film and jilted bros who didn’t see it coming. They go for the jugular devoting most of a review to the easily navigated listicle: “How Eternals engages with the top 10 go-to MCU complaints. ” unpacking why these guys feel so threatened by a new cast that operates differently. The list will be familiar whether you’ve seen all or none of the films. You will have either argued, argued against or presumed to address the ramifications of these films taking over and that they are — or are not — ugly, formulaic, childish, and both predictable and unintelligible by boring story. If only to weigh in on these questions we should see it. The reviewer presents Zhao’s take and worthy execution. Read it yourself, Bottom line, no Avengers movie could ever be described with this loving complexity. And the NYTimes? WSJ, Variety? Meanwhile, the New York Times says “A pleasing cast and the director Chloé Zhao, who won a best picture Oscar for “Nomadland,” give Marvel’s latest a steady heartbeat…works as a war movie, a romance, a family comedy and a family drama…It’s best categorized, though, as a getting-the-band-back-together flick.” The Wall Street Journal acknowledges “Eternals” is a terrible mess structurally, and hasn’t reconciled its conventional sci-fi action with its philosophical speculations about life on Earth and the gods who govern the universe.” But the review is not a pan, telling viewers “Ms. Zhao and her writer colleagues— Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo —draw strength for their production from excellent actors playing an assortment of intriguing eccentrics with widely varying commitments to Homo sapiens, or to themselves.” USA Today lays out the challenge problem Variety devoted an entire post to “How ‘Eternals’ Brought Sex to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: ‘It’s Very Tasteful’” When it was pointed out to Zhao that ‘Eternals’ is the “first Marvel Studios movie to feature two characters having sex on screen,” she showed some pride, “the director broke into a wide grin. “We win!” she said.” Variety’s regular review directly responds to the aforementioned trolls: Audiences will be able to make up their own minds about the film when it releases in theaters on Friday, Nov. 5 Eternals: Previously on Towleroad Wonder Woman’s 1st Trans Amazon; ‘Battlefield’s 1st Non-Binary Specialist; ‘Superman’ Colorist Quits Offended By New Motto. Brian Bell October 26, 2021 Read More Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? No, It’s The First Bisexual Superman Towleroad October 11, 2021 Read More World of Batman Now Even More Queer; Longtime Robin Comes Out as Questioning in DC Comics Anthology Series Brian Bell August 11, 2021 Read More Pride Month Gay Comics Roundup: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Many Others Celebrate Their LGBTQ Characters, Creators Brian Bell June 16, 2021 Read More Brazil’s Largest Newspaper Publishes Massive ‘Avengers’ Gay Kiss in Defiance of Rio Mayor Andy Towle September 9, 2019 Read More Rio De Janeiro Authorities Ban ‘Avengers’ Comic Book Series Over Gay Kiss Andy Towle September 7, 2019 Read More Screenshot via YouTube View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English The #MeToo movement has been “distorted” by Hollywood, according to its founder Tarana Burke. The activist explained how the movement had been founded in 2006 to empower women from black communities who had endured sexual assault before developing into a hashtag used in response to accusations of abuse in Hollywood and the rest of the world. Burke regrets that people have failed to understand the true purpose of the movement. Speaking to ‘Small Axe’ director Sir Steve McQueen at a Guardian Live event, Tarana said: “I’ve seen what Hollywood does, I’ve seen what white people do quite frankly, when they get a hold of black work or work by people of colour.” Tarana, 48, sympathised with the Hollywood stars who came forward but was annoyed that the victims had been forgotten. She said: “I don’t think the woman that came forward necessarily had … malicious intent. “It’s really about survivors and surviving.” Burke was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight after actress Alyssa Milano encouraged social media followers to tweet #MeToo to signal past sexual harassment or assault when the sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein came to light in 2017 and admits that she could never imagine the movement going global. She said: “I could never envision when this all began that a global movement would happen. “That people would take to the streets. I didn’t think people cared enough.” Tarana – who was a victim of sexual assault as a child – admits that it is vital that the “narrative” of the movement does not change. She said: “It’s important that we don’t let other people affect the narrative, or co-opt the movement.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. law enforcement and security agencies believe domestic extremists, notably white supremacists, pose a violent threat in the United States similar to that of Islamic State militants, top U.S. security officials told Congress on Wednesday. Concern about racially motivated domestic extremists had prompted the FBI to elevate the threat to a level equal with that posed by the Islamist militants, said Timothy Langan, the assistant director who heads the counterintelligence division. Langan told a House Intelligence subcommittee the Federal Bureau of Investigation had detected a significant increase in the threat of violence from domestic extremists over the last 18 months. He said the bureau was conducting around 2,700 investigations related to domestic violent extremism, and there had been 18 lethal attacks targeting U.S. religious institutions in which 70 people had died in recent years. The FBI has engaged with tech companies regarding their role in fueling extremism, has successfully disrupted planned acts of violence and will continue to “try to close the gap” on its inability to legally decode encryptions on mobile phones. John Cohen, acting undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis in the Department of Homeland Security, told the subcommittee that racial superiority and “hatred of immigrants” were major threat concerns. He said his department believes the biggest domestic threat is posed by lone offenders and small groups indoctrinated in extremist ideology. The threat is fueled by a blend of extremist beliefs and personal grievances, he said. Cohen noted that domestic extremists conduct so much discussion openly on social media that covert collection of intelligence on the threats they pose may often not be necessary to spot the threats. Some Republican members of the House subcommittee suggested U.S. spy agencies should not be collecting information on U.S. political activity unless there is a connection to foreign actors. (Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe and Helen Coster WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -Voting technology company Smartmatic on Wednesday sued right-wing U.S. television networks One America News and Newsmax, saying they must be held accountable for spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In separate lawsuits, Smartmatic accused OAN and Newsmax of knowingly spreading false claims that the voting technology company rigged the election against then-President Donald Trump. Smartmatic says the networks doubled down on the false claims as part of an effort to win over Trump supporters dissatisfied with Fox News Network’s election coverage. The privately owned company sued San Diego-based OAN in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case against Newsmax, which is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, was filed in state court in Delaware. A Newsmax spokesperson said in a statement: “While Newsmax has yet to receive or review the Smartmatic filing, Newsmax reported accurately on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors and members of Congress, as well as reporting on Smartmatic’s claims in its defense. Smartmatic’s action against Newsmax today is a clear attempt to squelch the rights of a free press.” An OAN representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Smartmatic did not say how much money it is demanding from Newsmax and OAN, but said election conspiracy theories have erased $2 billion in value from the company. Damages owed by each of the defendants will be determined at trial, it said. Smartmatic, whose U.S. headquarters is in Boca Raton, Florida, in February sued New York-based Fox News, its parent Fox Corp and several Fox hosts in a New York state court, alleging they falsely accused the company of helping rig the U.S. presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. In that case, Smartmatic also sued two lawyers aligned with Trump’s Republican re-election campaign, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who pushed the election-rigging conspiracy theory. Smartmatic’s lawsuit in that case stated the defendants should pay a combined $2.7 billion in monetary damages. Fox News and its co-defendants have asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing their commentary on Smartmatic was free speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Powell and Giuliani also face defamation claims https://www.reuters.com/world/us/dominion-sues-newsmax-one-america-news-network-others-over-election-claims-wsj-2021-08-10 brought by Dominion Voting Systems, another privately owned voting technology company that found itself at the center of false conspiracy theories in the weeks after the November 2020 election. Like Smartmatic, Denver-based Dominion is seeking billions of dollars in damages. Dominion has sued other individuals as well, including My Pillow Inc founder Mike Lindell https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-dominion/voting-machine-company-sues-my-pillow-and-its-pro-trump-chief-over-election-claims-idUSKBN2AM1LT. Dominion scored an early victory in August when a judge allowed its defamation claims against Powell, Giuliani, and Lindell to advance toward trial. Fox News has asked a judge to dismiss Dominion’s claims, arguing Dominion’s lawsuit “threatens to stifle the media’s free-speech right to inform the public about newsworthy allegations of paramount public concern.” (Reporting by Jan Wolfe in Washington and Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Stephen Coates) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -A lawyer for the armorer who oversaw weapons used on the “Rust” movie set suggested on Wednesday that someone deliberately put a live round into the gun used by Alec Baldwin when he accidentally shot dead a cinematographer. Jason Bowles said his client, Hannah Gutierrez, had pulled ammunition from a box that she believed contained only dummy rounds that were incapable of firing. He said he thought it was possible that someone purposely placed real bullets, which look similar to dummies, in the box. “We’re afraid that could have been what happened here, that somebody intended to sabotage this set with a live round intentionally placed in a box of dummies,” Bowles said on ABC television’s “Good Morning America.” “We’re not saying anybody had any intent there was going to be a tragedy of homicide,” he added, “but they wanted to do something to cause a safety incident on set. That’s what we believe happened.” A spokeswoman for producers Rust Movie Productions had no comment on Bowles’ remarks. The company has said it is investigating the incident and had received no official complaints about safety on the set in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Authorities are investigating the matter and no charges have been filed against anyone involved. “Never in a million years did Hannah think that live rounds could have been in the ‘dummy’ round box,” Bowles said in a statement later on Wednesday. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on Oct. 21 when a gun Baldwin was holding released a live bullet, police said. Baldwin had been told by assistant director Dave Halls that the gun was “cold”, an industry term meaning it is safe to use. Bowles said Gutierrez had checked the gun before giving it to Halls. She spun the cylinder and showed Halls each of the rounds, which she believed were six dummy rounds, he said. Halls then took the gun into the church where Baldwin was rehearsing a scene. He said that Gutierrez took her job seriously, had given Baldwin and other actors on the film firearms training, and “did everything in her power to ensure a safe set.” Before the shooting, camera operators had quit the film to protest against what they said were long hours and other objectionable working conditions, authorities in Santa Fe have said. Asked who would intentionally place live ammunition with dummy rounds, Bowles said on NBC’s “Today” show that he believed it could be a person who wanted “to prove a point, to say that they’re disgruntled, they’re unhappy”. “And we know that people had already walked off the set the day before,” he said. Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, has said he is heartbroken and is cooperating with authorities https://www.reuters.com/world/us/alec-baldwin-calls-movie-shooting-death-one-trillion-episode-2021-10-30. On Tuesday, he shared a message on social media https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-rust-shooting/alec-baldwin-posts-crew-member-comments-disputing-chaotic-movie-set-idUSKBN2HO01F from a crew member who disputed reports of chaos and a lax attitude toward safety on the set. An attorney for Halls did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. (Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Mark Heinrich, Robert Birsel) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge is set to hear arguments by Donald Trump’s lawyers on Thursday that hundreds of pages of his White House records should be withheld from a House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is due to consider the Republican former president’s arguments that phone call records, visitor logs and other materials requested by the Democratic-led committee should be kept confidential. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET (1500 GMT). Trump on Oct. 18 sued the nine-member select committee, arguing that the requested materials are covered by a legal doctrine known as executive privilege https://www.reuters.com/world/us/can-trump-use-executive-privilege-block-jan-6-attack-probe-2021-09-09 that protects the confidentiality of some White House communications. Trump left office on Jan. 20. “The Committee’s requests are unprecedented in their breadth and scope and are untethered from any legitimate legislative purpose,” Trump’s lawyer Jesse Binnall wrote in the lawsuit. The committee requested the materials from the U.S. National Archives, which holds the records. Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, the committee’s chairman, and Republican Representative Liz Cheney, its vice chair, said in a statement after the filing of the lawsuit that Trump is seeking to “delay and obstruct” the investigation. “It’s hard to imagine a more compelling public interest than trying to get answers about an attack on our democracy and an attempt to overturn the results of an election,” Cheney and Thompson said. Trump gave an incendiary speech before the deadly riot repeating his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud and urging his supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” to “top the steal.” His supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed bid to prevent Congress from formally certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory. The committee has said it needs the requested materials to understand the role that Trump may have played in fomenting the riot. It has said the requests are within its powers and driven by the clear legislative purpose of understanding the facts and causes surrounding the riot and developing legislation to guard against a similar assault in the future. About 700 people face criminal charges stemming from the riot. The House on Oct. 21 voted to hold Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Bannon has refused to comply with committee subpoenas seeking documents and his testimony, citing Trump’s insistence – disputed by some legal scholars – that his communications are protected by executive privilege. The Justice Department must now decide whether to bring criminal charges against Bannon. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by AFP Actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (L) said he will no longer allow real guns to be used on his movie sets, following the October, 2021 on-set accidental shooting death of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin Los Angeles (AFP) – Hollywood star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson pledged to never again use real guns in his films after friend and fellow actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed a cinematographer on a set last month. Johnson said he was “heartbroken” to learn of the death of Halyna Hutchins on Baldwin’s film “Rust,” and that the tragedy made him reassess the use of firearms during the making of films through his company Seven Bucks Productions. “We lost a life,” the popular 49-year-old actor said late Wednesday at the premier of his new Netflix film, the comedy caper “Red Notice,” according to Variety magazine. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can tell you, without an absence of clarity here, that any movie that we have moving forward with Seven Bucks Productions — any movie, any television show, or anything we do or produce — we won’t use real guns at all,” Johnson added. His production company will switch over to rubber guns and add all necessary firearm effects in post-production. “We won’t worry about what it costs,” he said. Hutchins died last month on a New Mexico movie set when the prop gun Baldwin was handling went off, striking her and director Joel Souza, who was hospitalized and released. Baldwin was handed a firearm marked “cold gun,” industry speak for a prop that was deemed cleared and safe to use. Johnson, a long-time Baldwin friend, said he believed it was time for changes in the industry. “As we move forward, I think that there are new protocols and new safety measures that we should take, especially in the wake of what happened,” he said. “It just sucks that it had to happen like this for us… to wake up.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Jojo Siwais opening up about her recent breakup. The 18-year-old had been gushing over her former girlfriend Kylie Prew, also 18, since she introduced her to the world, shortly after coming out earlier this year. However, the young couple’s whirlwind romance came to an abrupt end last month, which the Dance Moms alum confirmed earlier this week. Now, Siwa is divulging some more details about what went wrong in her relationship, and how she has been holding up since the split. MEGA According to Us Weekly, Siwa revealed she and Prew called things off on October 11, the same day she performed in Dancing With the Stars’ “Disney Week.” JOJO SIWA CALLS ‘DWTS’ A ‘ROLLERCOASTER’ AFTER LANDING IN THE BOTTOM TWO FOLLOWING SPLIT FROM KYLIE PREW “We officially broke up the morning that I did the Prince Charming number on Dancing With the Stars,” she told the outlet. “It’s been a few weeks and it’s been tough, but we’re getting through it.” “I would have handled it so much differently [if I wasn’t on DWTS],” she admitted, noting the show kept her so busy that she barely had time to wallow and “be sad” about the breakup. MEGA “And then I got that [time to be sad] and I was like, ‘I’ve been very lucky that I don’t have much of that right now,’” the blonde babe continued, per the outlet. The J-Team actress explained she and her former flame are still on good terms, and working towards being friends in the future. “I realized what was making me sad is I felt like I couldn’t be friends with Ky anymore,” she reportedly confessed. “And then I was like, ‘This is dumb.’ We started being friends by Snapchatting every day. We’re going to go back to being friends.” “It really makes my heart happy though to say that we are still best friends,” she told the outlet. “I was literally just watching videos earlier today, just from the early months of our relationship and just feeling happy.” Siwa also insisted Prew still has her back, recalling a particular “rough night” she had recently, where her ex-girlfriend answered her call at “2:00 a.m. her time” to offer the popstar support, according to the outlet. MEGA “But it just wasn’t right to be in a relationship anymore,” she said without giving any further details about what went down between the young pair. “And that’s OK. We’re both so young, it’s OK to live life and that’s OK ‘for right person, wrong time’ to be a real thing.” JOJO SIWA JUMPS FOR JOY AS SHE’S REUNITED WITH ‘DWTS’ PARTNER JENNA JOHNSON FOLLOWING SPLIT FROM KYLIE PREW: PHOTOS “Life has a way of working out,” she reportedly continued, adding that she wasn’t ruling out a possible reconciliation with Prew in the future. “[If] we grow up and realize like ‘You are the one for me,’ then great. I’m not opposed to it at all.” Siwa explained she’s simply “sitting back” and enjoying the ride of life, whatever it may bring. “I’m literally strapped into a roller-coaster and I’m like, ‘Jesus, take the wheel. You got it, buddy. Let’s go,” she quipped. For now, the “Boomerang” singer is focusing all her energy into her new Peacock series Siwa’s Dance Pop Revolution competition show, which she is working on with her mom Jessalynn Siwa. Siwa also recently revealed she’s been leaning on her DWTS partner Jenna Johnson for support through the difficult time. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jeffrey Dastin and Julia Love (Reuters) – Earlier this year, Amazon.com Inc handily defeated a historic union drive at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. But with the prospect of another vote looming, the online retailer is leaving nothing to chance. Over the past few weeks, Amazon has ramped up its campaign at the warehouse, forcing thousands of employees to attend meetings, posting signs critical of labor groups in bathrooms, and flying in staff from the West Coast, according to interviews and documents seen by Reuters. It is an indication that Amazon is sticking to its aggressive playbook. In August, a U.S. National Labor Relations Board hearing officer said the company’s conduct around the previous vote interfered with the Bessemer union election. An NLRB regional director’s decision on whether to order a new vote is forthcoming. Amazon has denied wrongdoing and said it wanted employees’ voices to be heard. Still, the moves to discourage unionization ahead of any second election, previously unreported, show how Amazon is fighting representation at its U.S. worksites. An uptick in labor activity since workers in April rejected joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), including organizing drives in New York and Canada, has pushed Amazon to react. Other prominent unions like the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are also vowing to organize Amazon. The risk: unions could alter how Amazon manages its vast, finely tuned operation and drive up costs at a time when a labor shortage is taking a toll on its profit. Wilma Liebman, a former NLRB chair, said the stakes are high. “They really, really fear any toe in the door to unionization,” Liebman said. “There’s nothing like a win, and a win can be contagious.” In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said a union “will impact everyone at the site so it’s important all employees understand what that means for them and their day-to-day life working at Amazon.” In the new campaign, Amazon has dedicated a week of mandatory meetings to warn staff that unions will force them to strike and forgo pay, a nod to the recent stoppages roiling workplaces across the country. And like last time, Amazon has said unions are a business taking workers’ money and told staff to consider what it can guarantee and what unions cannot – now in panels in bathroom stalls and above urinals. The panels carry information unrelated to unions as well. “Unions can make a lot of promises, but cannot guarantee you will receive better wages, benefits, or working conditions,” read a photo shared with Reuters. UNION SUPPORTERS PUSH BACK Some staff have challenged Amazon’s claims and posted their own pro-union signs in warehouse bathrooms, according to worker accounts. The RWDSU, meanwhile, has flown in personnel to Bessemer, facilitated nightly chats at a burger joint, and ramped up door-knocking. Home visits are a crucial part of organizing drives because unions have no guaranteed worksite access under U.S. law, said John Logan, a professor at San Francisco State University. Stuart Appelbaum, the RWDSU’s president, said the union has heard from employees who now would change their vote to join. He said he believes door-knocking gives the union a new edge. “We have a greater opportunity to engage with people every day than during the height of the pandemic,” said Appelbaum. Organizers did not conduct home visits last time because of COVID-19 fears. He added that the RWDSU’s effort is about more than Amazon. “It’s about the future of work.” A Teamsters spokeswoman said the union has attended strategy meetings on Amazon with other unions coordinated by the biggest U.S. labor federation, the AFL-CIO. Tim Schlittner of the AFL-CIO said the federation is “bringing the resources of the labor movement” to support Amazon workers. Roadblocks abound, not least that the RWDSU has to reach new staff joining the company without knowing their names until an official election is ordered. Appelbaum estimated that Amazon was hiring 200 people a week in Bessemer. Amazon had no comment on turnover. The warehouse headcount numbers more than 5,800. SCARE TACTIC On Oct. 10, just when Amazon raised hourly wages by 25 cents for more veteran staff, the company re-started mandatory weekly meetings in Bessemer to highlight different messages about unions. Amazon said the pay increase was unrelated to the meetings. For Darryl Richardson, an outspoken union supporter at the facility, strikes were a bigger focus of Amazon’s new campaign. “They’re trying to scare you more now,” Richardson said. “You don’t get paid going on a strike.” According to Richardson, Amazon falsely said a union would force workers to walk off the job and fine them if they crossed a picket line. The 52-year-old said Amazon has treated him differently as well: he was denied transfer requests, and an official walking through the warehouse to ask workers how they felt about unions had little to say after scanning Richardson’s badge … “‘You’re Darryl,’ she said. ‘Your mind is made up.'” Amazon had no comment on Richardson’s remarks. Though the company told employees they can turn away organizers showing up at their doorsteps, Richardson said he and peers have kept knocking, while Amazon is making its case on home turf. In one table-top sign Amazon put up at the warehouse, the company exhorted workers to “FOLLOW THE MONEY,” claiming the RWDSU gave Appelbaum a “$30,000 raise paid for by union dues” and last year spent nearly $100,000 on cars for its officials. Asked for comment, Appelbaum said he has no union car and that transportation is for field representatives whose jobs require travel to workplaces. Amazon is “misrepresenting the information,” he said. (Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin and Julia Love in San Francisco; Editing by Anna Driver and Bernard Orr) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Krisztina Than and Nikolaj Skydsgaard BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Coronavirus infections are hitting record levels in many countries across Europe as winter takes hold, prompting a call for action from the World Health Organization which described the new wave as a “grave concern”. Soaring numbers of cases, especially in Eastern Europe, have prompted debate on whether to reintroduce curbs on movement before the Christmas holiday season and on how to persuade more people to get vaccinated. That conversation comes as some countries in Asia, with the notable exception of China, reopen their tourism sectors to the rest of the world. “The current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European Region is of grave concern,” regional WHO head Hans Kluge said, adding that the spread was exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant. The virus spreads faster in the winter months when people gather indoors. Kluge warned earlier that if Europe followed its current trajectory, there could be 500,000 COVID-related deaths in the region by February. “We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of COVID-19, to preventing them from happening in the first place,” he said. The region saw a 6% increase in new cases last week, with nearly 1.8 million new cases, compared to the week before. The number of deaths rose 12% in the same period. Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, reported 33,949 new infections, the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic last year. Cases in Russia and Ukraine are soaring. Austria’s daily new coronavirus infections surged towards a record set a year ago, making a lockdown for the unvaccinated ever more likely. COVID-19 prevalence in England rose to its highest level on record in October, Imperial College London said, led by a high numbers of cases in children and a surge in the southwest. Slovakia reported 6,713 new cases, also a record, while daily new cases in Hungary more than doubled from last week to 6,268. Poland, Eastern Europe’s biggest economy, reported 15,515 daily cases on Thursday, the highest figure since April. Croatia and Slovenia on Thursday both reported record daily infections. CHINA ON ALERT AHEAD OF OLYMPICS China is also on high alert at ports of entry to reduce the risk of COVID-19 cases entering from abroad, and has stepped up restrictions amid a growing outbreak less than 100 days before the Beijing Winter Olympics. Authorities have also tightened curbs in the capital ahead of a major gathering of the top members of the Communist Party next week. Since mid-October, over 700 locally transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms have been reported in China. While the number is tiny compared with other countries, it has led to a growing wave of restrictions under Beijing’s zero-tolerance policy. In Central Europe, Hungary has trimmed its 2021 GDP growth projection to 6.8% from 7.0-7.5% due to a rise in inflation, energy prices, and the risks stemming from COVID-19, the finance minister said, flagging the possibility of some new restrictions in a country where there are currently hardly any curbs in place. Slovakia’s Finance Ministry cut its forecasts for 2021 and 2022 growth in September, saying a new wave of COVID-19 cases will hit consumer demand and the labour market at the end of the year although the impact will not be as strong as earlier in the pandemic. Poland’s central bank left its projections unchanged. FRESH CURBS The Hungarian government has urged people to take up vaccines and last week announced mandatory vaccinations at state institutions, also empowering private companies to make jabs mandatory for employees if they believe that is necessary. Romania – where hospitals cannot cope with a surge in COVID-19 patients – the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland have all tightened rules on mask wearing and introduced measures to curb infections. The Czech Republic has introduced a requirement for restaurant customers to show proof of vaccination or a test. It also has tough mask regulations and some children are again being tested in schools in areas where cases are higher. In Poland, mask wearing is mandatory in enclosed public spaces while cinemas, theatres and hotels have a 75% capacity limit. The Hungarian government has not replied to Reuters questions on potential measures. (Reporting by Krisztina Than in Budapest and Nicolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen; Additional reporting by Jason Hovet, Alan Charlish and bureaux worldwide; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Frances Kerry) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Britney Spears has a lot to look forward to. A court date is set for November 12 to determine if her 13-year conservatorship should end. “Britney is beside herself and broke down in tears of joy because she now knows with no hesitation that she is getting her life back,” an insider told HollywoodLife. “She will be able to do all of the things she has always wanted to do and with Sam [Asghari] by her side, she feels safe. He won’t let anything ever happen to her and her friends trust him more than anything,” the source explained. MEGA STRONGER THAN YESTERDAY! A DEFINITIVE TIMELINE OF EVENTS THAT LED TO BRITNEY SPEARS’ CONTROVERSIAL CONSERVATORSHIP: PHOTOS As previously reported by OK!, insiders revealed that the singer and her fiancé are holding off on making wedding plans and buying a home together until her future is determined. “Britney has been locked in hell for 13 years and she is not ready to let her dad off the hook just because he is ready to give up,” the HollywoodLife source said. “But at this point, she knows that she is free and that is all she’s wanted and prayed for for over a decade.” Jamie Spears was suspended from the conservatorship in September. “Her friends are all celebrating this and are really emotional too because everyone around her knows what a toll this has taken on her and no one who knows and loves her has ever approved of what was going on,” the source added. NETFLIX DROPS ‘BRITNEY VS SPEARS’ DOCUMENTARY TRAILER ABOUT POP STAR’S BOMBSHELL CONSERVATORSHIP CASE WITH NEW DETAILS — WATCH MEGA “Britney isn’t really doing anything to prepare for her upcoming court date,” another insider told HollywoodLife. “She’s just relaxing, spending time with Sam. She’s praying a lot.” According to the insider, the “Lucky” singer is hoping her conservatorship ends before the year is over so she can have a fresh start in 2022. “She’s feeling as hopeful as she ever has,” the source shared. “She’s excited for the future and she has no real plans if it does come to an end,” the source added. “She continues reading every single comment from her fans and they are really what have gotten her through this hell she’s endured.” ‘I JUST WANT TO HELP’: CHRISTIAN SIRIANO, SARAH JESSICA PARKER, BETTE MIDLER REACT TO BRITNEY SPEARS’ CONSERVATORSHIP AFTER DOCUMENTARY MAKES WAVES MEGA Whether Spears will continue her music career is unclear. The insider said the blonde beauty has told her friends she is “fine” if she doesn’t work again “but she has gone back and forth on that.” “She’s just going to see where life takes her,” the source explained. “She will probably celebrate on a vacation with Sam somewhere to start and spend time with her boys [Sean and Jayden Federline].” View the full article

Published by DPA Pope Francis leads the Mass for Bishops and Cardinals who died in 2021, at St. Peter's Basilica. Us Vatican Media/ANSA via ZUMA Press/dpa Pope Francis has for the first time appointed a woman to a high office in the state administration of Vatican City. Sister Raffaella Petrini was named secretary-general of the governorate of Vatican City, the Holy See announced on Thursday. She is the first woman to hold the second-highest office in governorate, which oversees the Vatican Museums and other Vatican State services such as the mint and stamp office and the motor pool. Previously, the 52-year-old from Rome was with the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which carries out missionary work. Francis has focused on women in his personnel decisions in recent months. Earlier in the year he made theologian Nathalie Becquart the first woman in the history of the Catholic Church to serve as an under-secretary in the Synod of Bishops. Then, in August, Francis named Sister Alessandra Smerilli as interim Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which focusses on migration and poverty issues. She was also named as a delegate of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission. View the full article

Thu NguyenNonbinary Candidates Make History Tuesday’s elections produced multiple victories for LGBTQ candidates in local elections across the nation, including historic wins for nonbinary election candidates. Thu Nguyen became the first nonbinary person ever elected to office in the state of Massachusetts. They claimed a seat on the Worchester City Council with a fourth place finish, garnering 10% of the vote. According to the Washington Blade, Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee, is best known for their work with the Southeast Asian Coalition, which aids communities through small business support, advocacy and addressing food insecurity. “After 38 years of lawmakers ignoring us, we set out to collect and leverage citizen signatures to compel lawmakers to finally come to the table and negotiate – and for that we succeeded,” said Trevor Thomas, Fair and Equal Michigan co-chair. Despite the defeat, there is another case set for arguments at the Michigan Supreme Court where Attorney General Dana Nessel will argue for civil rights protections based on sexual orientation. “While we are disappointed that the court won’t act to recognize legally-valid signatures thrown out by the state, it’s clear the best opportunity to achieve LGBTQ equal rights in Michigan is to place full focus on Attorney General Dana Nessel’s historic case currently before the Michigan Supreme Court,” said Thomas. Nonbinary Election: Previously on Towleroad Two Firsts Among Nonbinary Election Wins; Texas Religious Businesses Step Closer to Legal Discrimination; Michigan Effort Fails To Extend LGBTQ Rights Brian Bell November 3, 2021 Read More Trump Hitler Connections. Report that Trump told Chief of Staff that Hitler ‘did a lot of good things,’ Is One Of Too Many. Towleroad July 13, 2021 Read More 117 LGBTQ Candidates in Mexico Mid-term Elections– 2 Percent of All Running; Gay and Trans Candidates in Key Race Michael Goff June 3, 2021 Read More New California Site Offers Legit Line Skipping For A Few Hours Work At Your Local Vaccine Spot; Schools And Baseball To Open Faster as Newsom Recall Gets Real Michael Goff March 9, 2021 Read More For First Time, SCOTUS Seems Receptive to Imposing Some Limits on Partisan Gerrymanders Towleroad October 3, 2017 Read More Hackers Breach U.S. Voting Machines in 90 Minutes Towleroad July 30, 2017 Read More View the full article

Kristen StewartKristen Stewart Heading Down The Aisle Actress Kristen Stewart announced Tuesday that she and her partner, screenwriter Dylan Meyer, are getting married after Meyer proposed to the “Spencer” star. Stewart dropped the news during an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” explaining that’s Meyer’s proposal was “really cute” and everything she dreamed it would be. “I wanted to be proposed to, so I think I very distinctly carved out what I wanted and she nailed it,” Stewart said. The two have been a couple since 2019 and Stewart has long hinted at her desire to get married, shunning gender roles associated with marriage and engagements along the way. “I wasn’t specific at all. It’s not a given that I would be the one,” Stewart added. “With two girls, you never know like who’s going to fulfill what fucking gender role thing. We don’t do that or think about it in those terms. She just grabbed that bowl and made it happen. It was so fucking cute.” Superman Artists Get Police Protection The revelation of Jon Kent’s bisexuality in the upcoming “Superman: Son of Kal-El” has proven to be a lightning rod moment for LGBTQ comic readers, but it has also engendered a hateful blowback from bigoted members of the fandom as well. The worst of this reactive class resulted in DC Comics and the artists working on the new series receiving death threats simply for the book’s existence. According to TMZ, the threats became so real that DC Comics asked the Los Angeles Police Department to offer protection for its staff and its Los Angeles studio. Police patrolled outside staffers’ homes and the office. The patrols have since stopped for now after the threats weren’t acted upon, but the fact that the LAPD had to be contacted at all speaks to the level of fear the company and its workers felt due to the negative response to the progressive move. Kal Penn Opens Up On Coming Out Actor and former Obama staffer Kal Penn’s coming out announcement ahead of his memoir’s, “You Can’t Be Serious,” release has garnered praise in the last few days. Even Penn’s former boss offered him congratulations. Penn told TMZ that Barack and Michelle Obama reached out to him to congratulate him and his fiance, Josh, on their engagement and having the strength to come out publicly. Penn also detailed that many of his Hollywood friends have offered similar sentiments since he publicly came out as gay over the weekend. The “Designated Survivor” star also spoke to why he felt now was the right time to speak candidly about his life, including his sexuality. “I wanted to write a book for the 20-year-old me … for the person who, like me, was told anything you want to do is crazy,” Penn said. “Just do that thing.” Dan Levy’s “Big Brunch” With “Schitt’s Creek” in the books, Dan Levy is now set to take his fans to brunch in his new cooking competition show “The Big Brunch.” The project will debut on HBO Max in 2022 with Levy hosting a battle between undiscovered culinary artists that also celebrates the universality of cooking within culture. Contestants will compete for a “life-altering prize.” Everybody has a friend, a family member or a co-worker that is extraordinary at what they do, they just need a leg up so that their talents can be appreciated on a larger scale,” Levy, who also created the show, told Variety. “Thanks to an almost obsessive love of food, I’ve been lucky to come across many of those people in the culinary world … special humans who create communities around their cooking, hoping to take their skills to the next level. I created this show for them.” “What we love about this special show is that it serves more than mouth-watering culinary delicacies; it’s about heart, a love of cooking and spotlighting talent whose unique skills elevate the beloved brunch menu,” added HBO Max head of original content Sarah Aubrey. Kristen Stewart: Previously on Towleroad Alec Baldwin’s Daughter Ireland Rips ‘Cancerous’ Candace Owens As ‘Disgusting, Hateful’ Human Being After Shooting Remarks Towleroad October 27, 2021 Read More Alec Baldwin’s Prop Gun That Killed A Cinematographer Allegedly Used For ‘Target Practice’ With Real Bullets By Crew Members Off Set Towleroad October 24, 2021 Read More ‘Chucky’ is Back… This Time With Young Gay Protagonist, Jake; It’s a Horror Cult-Classic Meets Burgeoning Gay Love on USA/SYFY TV Series Brian Bell October 17, 2021 Read More Action Roundup: Gay James Bond Character; Venom’s ‘Coming Out Party;’ ‘Queer Family’ of ‘Marvel’s Eternals’ Brian Bell October 1, 2021 Read More Cassandra Peterson, Horror Icon Elvira, Comes Out, Reveals 19-Year Relationship in New Memoir Brian Bell September 22, 2021 Read More LGBTQ Hollywood Roundup: Bragman Establishes Coming Out Fund; Indya Moore Calls Out Met Gala; Dan Levy Signs Netflix Deal; JoJo Siwa Frustrated With Nickelodeon Brian Bell September 17, 2021 Read More Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kim Cattrall could still star in the second season of ‘And Just Like That…’. The 65-year-old actress played Samantha Jones in ‘Sex and the City’, and the writers are keen to entice Kim to return for the sequel series. A source told DailyMail.com: “We’ll announce eventually that the show will have a second season. This isn’t a one off, this will be a series. “It will be quite a while between the first and second series as Sarah Jessica Parker has a busy schedule and we have a lot of work to do to get Kim Cattrall back. “We all miss Kim and we hope she comes back for the second season – the door will never close on her, she is an important part of the franchise.” The first season of ‘And Just Like That…’ is currently in the “very final stages” of filming. But the enthusiasm of fans in New York has made life challenging for the makers of the show. The insider explained: “We’ve been delighted with the fan response, but it does make filming in New York City difficult because so many people show up on the street to catch a glimpse of the women as they are filming.” Kim previously claimed that she was never friends with her ‘Sex and the City’ co-stars. The actress appeared alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon in the hit TV series – but she was never close friends with any of them. She said in 2017: “We’ve never been friends. We’ve been colleagues and in some ways it’s a very healthy place to be because then you have a clear line between your professional life and relationship and your personal.” View the full article

Wednesday morning count of LGBTQ election winsIt was a hard night for Democrats Tuesday, as candidates for governor in two heavily Democratic states lost enormous support—and at least one of the two seats—to Republicans. But LGBT candidates scored some milestones. LGBTQ Election Wins Deliver Milestones The first openly LGBT Muslim won election in Georgia, winning a seat on the Atlanta City Council. The first black LGBT person won election in the state of Montana, winning a seat on the Bozeman city commission. The first transgender candidate won election in Ohio, to a local school board. And, the first openly LGBT woman won election to the Detroit City Council. The LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national group which promotes and supports campaigns of openly LGBTQ candidates, said it was tracking at least 242 openly LGBT candidates on the November 2 ballot. Although not all the races it was tracking had reported in by Wednesday morning, it reported that, so far, 59 had won, 50 had lost, and 22 had advanced to run-offs. There were more than 80 openly LGBT candidates for city and town council seats Tuesday night, plus 11 openly LGBT candidates for mayor. Only nine LGBT candidates ran for state house seats and only one for state senate. There were also at least seven LGBT candidates for various local court seats, at leave five other races for miscellaneous posts, such as town auditor, and at least 10 LGBT candidates running for school board seats. Big fights in little races Local school boards have in recent weeks become the focus of much attention. They appear to have become part of a political strategy favored by conservative Republicans to stir up controversies over LGBT books, abortions, and anti-racism curricula. Republican candidates in larger races then use those controversies to pull in moderate voters. “Glen Youngkin…was able to play on stories circulating of alleged gay pornography books in public school libraries and alleged sexual assaults by a transgender student” Virginia’s Republican gubernatorial contender, first-time candidate Glenn Youngkin, laser-focused in on “parents” in the final weeks of his successful campaign. He was able to play on stories circulating in the more Democratic northern parts of the state—stories of alleged gay pornography books in public school libraries and alleged sexual assaults by a transgender student. He promised parents he would make sure they were part of the decision-making process for local school curricula. As of This Morning The Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Governor Terry McAuliffe, was drawn into the transgender assault report when, during a September debate, a moderator noted that McAuliffe had had expressed agreement with the state’s policies in support of transgender students and the right of local governments to make their own policies. McAuliffe tried to walk a careful line, saying he likes allowing local governments to have input but that “the state will always issue guidance as we do from the Department of Education.” Youngkin, who was widely praised for running a campaign that kept former President Trump at a studied distance, also walked a narrow political line when asked about the transgender story. He said “we are called on to love everyone” and that not only should local districts make such decisions, but parents should be included in dialogue about such policies, including what books are included in libraries. The bottom line of that controversy and similar ones, noted one commentator Wednesday morning on CNN, was that “it reminds voters that Democrats are too liberal.” McAuliffe has a strong record of supporting equal rights for LGBT people and released a “Bold Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Rights.” In his first term as governor, McAuliffe, in 2017, vetoed a bill seeking to give state-funded charities the right to refuse services to LGBT people. Youngkin, a first-time candidate, said on the campaign trail that he does not personally support same-sex marriage but that, as governor, he would support the fact that same-sex marriage is “acceptable in Virginia.” The Human Rights Campaign endorsed McAuliffe; the Log Cabin Republican group endorsed Youngkin. Log Cabin issued a statement saying Youngkin has “has demonstrated his desire to listen to and work with the LGBT community.” New Jersey Governor Still Close. LGBTQ Used as Wedge In New Jersey, incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murray, who earned the endorsement of Garden State Equality, faced Republican State Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli, who has alienated many with hostile remarks about LGBT people. Like the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, Ciattarelli sought to stoke controversy over LGBT issues in public schools, saying “we’re not teaching sodomy in sixth grade.” Specifically, he vowed to undo efforts to make public school curricula more inclusive of LGBT history. And we’re going to roll back the LGBTQ curriculum.” At deadline, that race was considered too close to call. LGBT race highlights Among the highlights of Tuesday’s races involving openly LGBT candidates were: First Win for Transgender Candidate in Ohio: While the results of the 10 school board races were mostly still unreported at deadline, in a small district in the middle of Ohio, candidate Dion Manley scored the first victory for a transgender candidate for office in the Buckeye State. “Dion shattered a lavender ceiling in Ohio,” said Victory Fund President Annise Parker. She said Manley’s victory “especially significant given efforts by anti-trans activists across the nation to target trans students at school board meetings.”In Virginia, transgender State House Delegate Danica Roem, who made history in 2017 as the first out transgender person to win and serve in a state legislature and the only out transgender state legislator in the U.S., won re-election to a third term. But Roem, who represents part of northern Virginia, defeated her Republican opponent by less than two points, a much smaller margin than in 2019.First Out LGBT Muslim Win in Georgia: Liliana Bakhtiari became the first openly LGBT Muslim to win election in Georgia, succeeding in her second bid to serve on the Atlanta City Council. Although two other openly LGBT candidates lost their bids for the Council, voters elected openly gay Alex Wan to return a seat he previously held.6 Out LGBTQ Winners on NYC City Council; 2 of Them The First Out Black Women: All six openly LGBT candidates for the New York City Council won, including Crystal Hudson and Kristin Richardson Jordan, the first two black LGBT women to be elected to the 50-member body. Two of the six had uncontested general election races, but all six were first-time candidates for their seats.Minneapolis Mayor: In Minneapolis, Sheila Nezhad, a former policy analyst for the Williams Institute, was still in the top two in her bid to become Minneapolis mayor. The city does ranked-choice voting and results were not yet complete at deadlineLoss in Buffalo, New York, India Walton, who identifies as queer, was not able to parlay her stunning primary win of the Democratic nomination into victory in the general election. The incumbent Democratic mayor mounted an aggressive write-in campaign that overwhelmed Walton, a first-time candidate. Local news analysts suggested Walton was “the most progressive of the progressives.”In Atlanta, with a field of more than a dozen candidates for mayor, current openly gay city council member Antonio Brown came in fifth, with only two percent of the vote. The Atlanta Journal Constitution noted that Brown had been saddled with an indictment, charging that he had engaged in bank fraud. He denies the charges but is scheduled for trial next year. Brown was the only openly LGBT mayoral candidate not to earn Victory Fund support in Tuesday’s election.And in Bozeman, Montana, Christopher Coburn won election to the City Commission, becoming the first openly LGBT black person to be elected in the state.© 2021 Keen News Service. All rights reserved. LGBTQ Election Wins on Towleroad COVID-19 Rages, Is Not Contained In Some States Rejecting Federal Funds; Idaho 5th Highest Rate, Say No To Test or Treatment $$ More Ghislaine Maxwell Reportedly Attended Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 1990 Wedding To Kerry Kennedy, New Book Claims More Minneapolis votes ‘no’ on replacing police department after Floyd death More NRA sued for allegedly violating campaign finance laws More Mena Suvari Reflects On Unusual Encounter With Kevin Spacey On ‘American Beauty’ Set, Reveals She Had ‘Been So Used To That Scenario’ More Republicans jolt Biden with win in Virginia, close race in New Jersey More QAnon followers gather in Dallas for JFK Jr ‘reveal’ More Republican candidate in Virginia governor’s race, Glenn Youngkin, opposes marriage equality More Facebook Halting Facial Recognition System Over Privacy Fears; Says will Delete A Billion Faceprints More UK Broadcaster Faults Corruption, Lack of Gay Legal Protections With 2022 World Cup in Qatar; Hopes Cavallo Inspires Others To Come Out More Lourdes Leon Madonna Halloween Cease-fire. Both Feature Sexy Costumes, Even As Kids Leak Concern For Mom’s Legacy More Load More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andy Sullivan (Reuters) – As the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic burns through the rural U.S. state of Idaho, health officials say they don’t have enough tests to track the disease’s spread or sufficient medical workers to help the sick. It’s not for want of funding. The state’s Republican-led legislature this year voted down $40 million in federal aid available for COVID-19 testing in schools. Another $1.8 billion in pandemic-related federal assistance is sitting idle in the state treasury, waiting for lawmakers to deploy it. Some Idaho legislators have accused Washington of overreach and reckless spending. Others see testing as disruptive and unnecessary, particularly in schools, since relatively few children have died from the disease. “If you want your kids in school, you can’t be testing,” said state Representative Ben Adams, a Republican who represents Nampa, a city of about 100,000 people in southwestern Idaho. Meanwhile, the state is reporting the fifth-highest infection rate in the United States, at 369 confirmed cases per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schools in at least 14 of Idaho’s 115 districts, including Nampa, have had to close temporarily due to COVID-19 outbreaks since the start of the year, according to Burbio, a digital platform that tracks U.S. school activity. Idaho’s experience illustrates how political ideology and polarization around the COVID-19 epidemic have played a role in the decision of mostly conservative states to reject some federal funding meant to help locals officials battle the virus and its economic fallout. For example, Idaho was one of 26 Republican-led states that ended enhanced federally funded unemployment benefits before they were due to expire in September. Gov. Brad Little claimed that money was discouraging the jobless from returning to work. At least six studies have found that the extra benefits have had little to no impact on the U.S. labor market. Idaho has also rebuffed $6 million for early-childhood education, as some Republicans in the state said mothers should be the primary caretakers of their children. The state also did not apply for $6 million that would have bolstered two safety-net programs that aid mothers of young children and working families. Little’s administration said it had enough money already for those programs. Idaho has accepted some federal COVID-19 help. In fact, the rejected funds are just a small portion of the nearly $2 billion in federal relief Idaho has spent since March 2020 to fight the virus and shore up businesses and families, state figures show. But hundreds of millions more remain untouched. Idaho has deployed just $780 million, or 30%, of the $2.6 billion it received under the federal American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law in March. Neighboring Washington state, by contrast, has parceled out nearly three-quarters of the $7.8 billion it received under that legislation. Washington has recorded roughly 60% as many cases per capita as Idaho since the start of the pandemic, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some in Idaho are exasperated that a state of just 1.8 million people would turn down a dime of assistance when it’s struggling to tame the pandemic. With no testing in place, nurses in Nampa schools rely mainly on parents to let them know when a child is infected, the district’s top nurse, Rebekah Burley, told the school board in September. She said she needed three or four more staffers to track existing cases and attempt to keep people quarantined. “We’re tired, we are stressed, and something needs to change,” she said. REJECTING FEDERAL MONEY The refusal by red states to accept some types of federal aid that would benefit their constituents isn’t new. For example, a dozen Republican-controlled states have rejected billions of dollars available through the landmark 2010 Affordable Health Care Act to cover more people under the Medicaid health program for the poor, which is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Lawmakers from these places contended their states couldn’t afford to pay their share of an expansion. (Idaho initially was among them, but its voters opted in to the Medicaid expansion through a 2018 ballot referendum, bypassing state leaders.) That same dynamic has played out during the coronavirus crisis. Since March 2020, Congress has approved six aid packages totaling $4.7 trillion under Republican and Democratic administrations, including the bipartisan CARES Act in March 2020 and the Democratic-backed American Rescue Plan Act this year. Florida and Mississippi didn’t apply for benefits that would give more money to low-income mothers of young children. Four states, including Idaho, North Dakota and Oklahoma, opted not to extend a program that provided grocery money to low-income families with school-age kids in summer months. Iowa, like Idaho, turned down federal money for COVID-19 testing in schools. New Hampshire rejected money for vaccinations. Republican lawmakers in Idaho, like those elsewhere, cite concerns about local control, restrictive terms attached to some of the aid, and the skyrocketing national debt. “We are chaining future generations to a lifetime of financial slavery,” said Adams, the Idaho legislator. Yet even before the pandemic, Idaho long relied on Washington for much of its budget. Federal funds account for 36% of state spending in Idaho, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers, above the national average of 32%. State officials say they have enough money to handle the COVID-19 crisis for now. Critics say Idaho’s reluctance to use more federal aid is a symptom of its hands-off approach to COVID-19 safety. Few public schools require masks, and local leaders have refused to impose mask mandates, limits on indoor gatherings and other steps to contain the virus. “There’s a lot of people in our legislature and some local officials who really have not taken this seriously,” said David Pate, the former head of St. Luke’s Health System, the state’s largest hospital network. Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, with only 55% of adults and teens fully immunized, compared to 67% nationally. HOSPITALS FULL COVID-19 is pummeling Idaho even as cases have plunged in much of the nation. Intensive-care units statewide are full, forcing hospitals to turn away non-COVID patients. At least 627 residents died of the disease in October, well above the previous monthly death toll of last winter, records show. Idaho received $18 million through the American Rescue Plan to hire more public-health workers, but lawmakers did nothing with that money this year. Some local public health departments say they do not have enough staff to track the virus. “We have a lot of people doing two or three jobs right now,” said Brianna Bodily, a spokesperson for the public-health agency serving Twin Falls, a southern Idaho city of 50,000. The department is working with a 12% smaller budget than last year. Such staff shortages have contributed to a backlog of test results statewide, which the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says is hurting its ability to provide an up-to-date picture of the disease’s prevalence. With funding bottled up in the state capitol, Little, the governor, announced in August that he would steer $30 million from a previous round of COVID-19 aid to school testing. The Nampa school district has requested some of that money but has yet to set up a testing program, spokeswoman Kathleen Tuck said. Roughly 20% of the district’s students were not attending class regularly in the first weeks of the school year due to outbreaks, according to superintendent Paula Kellerer. Nampa resident Jaci Johnson, a mother of two children, ages 10 and 13, said she and other parents have been torn over whether to send their children to class, due to the potential risk. “Do we feed our kids to the lions, or do we keep them home and make them miserable?” Johnson said. (Corrects spelling of Nampa schools spokeswoman, percentage of students absent) (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Marla Dickerson) View the full article