#social-distancing

#social-distancing

Disease detectives with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating a cluster of rare and serious brain abscesses in kids in and around Las Vegas, Nevada, and doctors from other parts of the country say they may be seeing a rise in cases, too.In 2022, the number of brain abscesses in kids tripled in Nevada, rising from an average of four to five a year to 18.

Consultation is not a new concept.Neither is the wisdom and insight that comes from listening.Lived experience counts.Most people would agree.Yet when it comes to a simple request from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a voice, suddenly these things are open to debate.Show us the evidence, critics say.

Having missed her last moments due to Covid restrictions, Mick Yates stood two metres apart from his brothers as his mother's coffin was lowered into her grave on 26 June 2020.A week before, Boris Johnson had been photographed in a room full of at least 30 people celebrating his birthday at a time of strict lockdown rules.

Rachel Hall Good morning, Today there's one thing everyone is talking about in Westminster: is this the death knell for Boris Johnson's political career?His face this morning is splashed across the newspaper front pages, where he is variously described as agile, defiant and rattled.Johnson appeared before the privileges committee to defend attending parties as an essential pandemic activity, in the hope that MPs might agree that he did not mislead parliament.

The Boston Globe Just over three years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, masks are becoming a rarity on the T and in crowded public spaces, floor stickers once meant to enforce social distancing are peeling away, and some vaccine mandates are being dropped.Still, more than 1,800 Americans are dying of COVID each week and nearly 2,800 are being hospitalized - though those figures haven fallendramatically since their peaks.

With federal data showing a surge in deaths among pregnant women during the pandemic, California advocates say it is furthering their resolve to continue trying to prevent as many of those deaths as possible.The National Center for Health Statistics reported Thursday that 1,205 pregnant women died in the United States in 2021, a 40% increase over 2020, when 861 deaths occurred.

Boris Johnson has endured a tense showdown with MPs who are investigating whether he intentionally misled Parliament over parties held at Downing Street during the Covid lockdown.Mr Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, this week admitted that he did mislead MPs, but has denied doing so intentionally or recklessly, saying he relied on advice from aides during the events at No 10 that took place between May 2020 and April 2021.

Former Prime Minster Boris Johnson is asked why photographs show a lack of social distancing between his colleagues at a leaving-do event he attended.A second national lockdown was in force at the time, and rules prohibited indoor gatherings of two or more people.Mr Johnson strongly defended certain events.

Boris Johnson was questioned about events in Downing Street during the Covid lockdown and his subsequent statements to MPs, for around three hours on Wednesday.But in the marathon session, there were several key moments cut straight to the heart of the committee's remit to find out whether the former prime minister deliberately misled the House of Commons.

After 16 months, Boris Johnson was finally forensically cross-examined over Partygate live on TV and for nearly four hours.Previous attempts to do so in brief media interviews or through questions posed in the Commons chamber allowed him to obfuscate or run down the clock.But in front of the cross-party privileges committee on Wednesday, there was nowhere to hide.

Boris Johnson faces being formally reprimanded for recklessly misleading parliament after MPs investigating the Partygate scandal denounced his flimsy explanations and suggested he had wrongly interpreted Covid guidance.The former prime minister was left fighting for his political career after a tetchy three-and-a-half-hour evidence session in which he repeatedly claimed No 10 parties, with alcohol and little social distancing, were necessary for work purposes.

Boris Johnson has endured a tense showdown with MPs who are investigating whether he intentionally misled Parliament over parties held at Downing Street during the Covid lockdown.Mr Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, this week admitted that he did mislead MPs, but has denied doing so intentionally or recklessly, saying he relied on advice from aides during the events at No 10 that took place between May 2020 and April 2021.

Boris Johnson has repeatedly insisted he did not intentionally mislead Parliament over Partygate in a three hour grilling by a committee of MPs.The former prime minister began the session with a Bible in his hands, as he swore: "Hand on heart, I did not lie to the House."He admitted social distancing had not been "perfect" at gatherings in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns.

Political correspondent, BBC News

Boris Johnson has set out his defence against claims he misled MPs over parties in Downing Street during lockdown.The former prime minister has accepted that he did indeed mislead Parliament when he said the guidance and rules were followed at all times - but he insists this was not on purpose.

Boris Johnson admitted misleading MPs but denied doing so intentionally or recklessly as he published a defence dossier apportioning blame to advisers and criticising Parliament's inquiry.The former prime minister rejected accusations of a cover-up and insisted his partygate assurances were made in good faith based on what he believed at the time, as he fights to avoid a possible suspension from the Commons.

Boris Johnson has accepted that he misled MPs but insisted his Partygate denials were made in good faith based on what he honestly knew at the time.The former prime minister insisted in his written evidence to the Privileges Committee inquiry that he did not intentionally or recklessly mislead the House.

(Image credit: McDonald's/Future)
McDonald's is known for the quality of its print advertising, with its creative campaigns often playing with our expectations of a billboard or poster.We've seen the company ditch its branding, create type-only ads and even create a fully functioning sundial.But here's an ad that proved subversive for all the wrong reasons.

The cultural sector is seeking alternatives to business-as-usual.This article is the second in the series, "Remember the Future: Culture and Systems Change," co-produced by Art.coop and NPQ.In this series, queer, trans, and BIPOC artists and cultural bearers reflect upon the unique role that culture has played and can play in activating and enacting structural change-and in building a solidarity economy.

In a recent NFL game, the Indianapolis Colts led the Minnesota Vikings 33-0 at halftime.At that point, Las Vegas was offering odds better than 100-1 the Colts would win, but the Vikings staged a furious second-half rally and won on a field goal in overtime.It was one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history and proved once again that it is not always possible to predict the outcome of an event before it ends.