On the morning of Sept. 27, 2021, Josh Hargis opened a private video-chat link for what the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee billed as an open dialogue about its newly implemented mandate. Everyone on Team USA would need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by Nov. 1, unless they could obtain a medical exemption — or a religious one. The executive order to jump the scientific starting gun on the 2022 Winter Games was a harrowing decision, senior Olympic officials acknowledge, not least because they knew the anti-vaxxer crowd — emboldened by an emerging class of brazenly unvaccinated superstar athletes — would come at them with fake news. “From the start of the pandemic, we have made science-based, data-driven decisions,” the USOPC’s CEO wrote in a memo to all American athletes, which was attached to an invitation for the meeting and obtained by Rolling Stone . “There is strong support for this requirement from our community.” Among two-dozen or so … [Read more...] about ‘Get Vaccinated or Else’: The Anti-Vaxxers of the Winter Games Fought the Olympic Mandate. Did the Mandate Win?
Long reads
‘Belfast’ Writer-Director Kenneth Branagh On Revisiting Childhood Trauma And How “Humor Becomes Not Just Valuable, But A Necessity”
In his deeply personal story Belfast , writer-director Kenneth Branagh a child’s view of conflict. When he was nine years old, the Troubles in Northern Ireland began and Branagh had to leave his hometown. Belfast follows Buddy, a fictionalized version of Branagh’s childhood self, played by Jude Hill, as he deals with the loss of the peaceful city he has known. While the subject matter is dark, Branagh chose to focus on how a boy and his family cope with the traumatic experience in true Irish fashion, with humor, dancing and music. Hill stars alongside Judi Dench, Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds. DEADLINE: This was something of a departure for you, so what made you want to tell this story now? KENNETH BRANAGH : Well, it was definitely enhanced by the idea of the lockdown. There was much more introspection, I think, at the beginning of this period. But the desire to write something about Belfast had been with me really ever since I left the … [Read more...] about ‘Belfast’ Writer-Director Kenneth Branagh On Revisiting Childhood Trauma And How “Humor Becomes Not Just Valuable, But A Necessity”
Priyanka Chopra And Nick Jonas’ Child Arrived 12 Weeks Prior The Given Due Date
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas have become parents and their loved ones and fans are overjoyed for this new phase in their lives. The couple had taken to their social media handle yesterday (January 21) night to announce the same. Even though they did not divulge the gender of their baby, it has been reported that they have welcomed a baby girl. Now the latest reports suggest that Nick and Priyanka's baby arrived 12 weeks prior to the given due date. According to a news report in the Daily Mail , the due date for the arrival of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas' baby was in April but the surrogate gave birth to the child in a premature delivery in Southern California. The report further added that the baby and the surrogate are still at the hospital and the couple is waiting for their child to be healthy enough to be brought to their home in Los Angeles. A source close to The Sky Is Pink actress revealed to the publication, "Priyanka had been trying to get her filming … [Read more...] about Priyanka Chopra And Nick Jonas’ Child Arrived 12 Weeks Prior The Given Due Date
The NBA’s War on Omicron Christmas: Behind Closed Doors with Kyrie Irving and the Anti-Swabber Superstars
The freezer-truck drivers had finally hauled off the last of the body bags by early autumn, from a makeshift Covid morgue in the city’s parking lot across the street. And by the time Kyrie Irving turned the corner last Friday evening to the Brooklyn Nets ’ riverside practice facility in the neighborhood of Sunset Park, he was let right in. But Omicron had grinched into town for the holidays, and the NBA ’s rigorous testing once again provided early indicators of an unrelenting virus. On the 17th day of December, the league had sent its who’s-who to quarantine: eight Nets a-swabbing, seven Bulls secluding, six Sacramento Kings, five sick Knicks, four Lakers stars, three Boston forwards, two head coaches… and then came a pseudo-pardon for Kyrie. The basketball superstar-turned-superhero of the anti-vaxxers entered a lab set up by the Nets a few steps from the private players’ garage. Two months after banishing him in response to his boycott of a New York City vaccine mandate … [Read more...] about The NBA’s War on Omicron Christmas: Behind Closed Doors with Kyrie Irving and the Anti-Swabber Superstars