thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--I Thought I Totally Understood Gender And Sexuality. Then My Son Asked For Pink Shoes

HuffPost UK Getty Images
When my son was three, I made a mistake.
We were at a shoe store in New York City, picking out new sneakers for his rapidly growing tiny feet. He was insistent: The next pair of shoes he was going to wear had to be bright pink. I steered him toward red. He pressed for pink, ignoring the usual varieties of blue for little boys. I am ashamed to admit that I eventually lied and told him that pink wasn’t available in his size. We compromised on orange.
On the subway ride home, I couldn’t help but wonder what guided me to do what I had just done. Does the boundless love that I feel for my son depend on who he is or whom he likes – and is any of that dependent upon or determined by what colour shoes he wants? The answer to all of those questions was a resounding “No, of course not!”
Advertisement
The truth is, I was mostly guided by fear. I was afraid that somehow if he were to show up at our uptown playground wearing pink sneakers, he would be teased mercilessly. I was afraid that he would be hurt – because he was different.
On that same subway ride, he told me that he wanted pink sneakers so that girls would come up to him and say, “Wow! Cool sneakers,” and so he could have even more friends.
Still, the figurative train – my train of thought – had left the station. How much did I really know about gender?
I took sex education in high school in the 90s, and we were taught that a person can be male or female or, in some cases, ‘transsexual’, and that sexual orientation is limited to gay, straight or bisexual. There were no other possibilities. There were no other options. But things had changed and with those changes, I wondered: Was it time to update what I thought I knew about the world? It seemed so.
Advertisement
The unlikely source to aid me in my quest for new knowledge – my Yoda, if you will – was a 12-year-old friend. (Not that I befriend preteens, mind you – she happens to be the daughter of my friends, but our relationship is a true friendship that stands on its own.) As she got closer to becoming a teenager, she began casually dropping words like ‘nonbinary’ and ‘demisexual’ and ‘intersex’ and ‘fluid’ into our conversations. I quietly Googled for them. I suddenly realised that these words have been around for some time – outside of my very small world – and that I did not know them because I had never heard them (or I never knew that I was hearing them).
I also learned that gender and sexual orientation exist on a continuum. There are many, many different genders – not just “male” or “female” – and some people feel they were assigned the wrong gender at birth and others feel they are both genders or neither gender. The same goes for sexual orientation: There are all kinds of ways of being, from heterosexual to homosexual to bisexual to pansexual to asexual ― and everything in between. What’s more, just because you like something that’s associated with one gender doesn’t mean that you are that gender or want to identify as that gender, and it certainly doesn’t mean anything about your sexual orientation. Basically, I learned there are so many more ways to be in the world than I was ever taught or ever knew.
Courtesy of Kat Rossi A post-pedicure photo of the author, Kat Rossi (left), and her son
After that, I never said no to pink again. I bought the pink bedding my son and I both liked and the pink sunglasses he asked for and the pink toys he picked out. He loved his toy kitchen but couldn’t care less for the baby doll he was given.
It was our own little revolution, and pink was for everyone. Later that year, my son asked me, “Mama, pink is not just for girls, right?”
Advertisement
“Of course not,” I reassured him, disappointed that even though I have changed, the world had yet to catch up.
The following year, my son saw a drag queen on the subway. His jaw dropped, his eyes bulged and he just could not stop staring, making the queen ― and everyone in that train car, me especially ― extremely nervous. He asked me about what he was seeing, and this time, I was able to explain, as one can to a little kid, about all the different kinds of people who exist in the world.
“But... a boy or a girl?” my son insisted. So much for trying to keep up with the times, I thought, frozen, terrified of offending another human.
“Well, actually, both,” the drag queen replied with a smile. I looked at them with all the gratitude in the world for not taking offence at the question.
My son analysed this quietly. It felt like an A train car had never been this quiet before.
“That’s so cool!” my son finally concluded and went about his business ― which was announcing the next stop. The other passengers sighed with relief. The passenger who was briefly the centre of everyone’s attention smirked. My son smiled at his new friend.
Advertisement
But then, it got worse. My son entered preschool in our new home in Barcelona, Spain, and suddenly there were things girls do and things boys do. Girls dance, and boys play soccer ― or at least that’s what we were being told and shown. I took him to a ballet class where he was the only boy, and he took two days to make the decision of whether he wanted to keep going. No, he told me, because ballet is for girls. No number of Alvin Ailey or Fred Astaire videos, although agreeably cool, could convince him otherwise. Another mom at the school told me that her daughter had dropped soccer for the same reason ― it was for boys, she said.
Now it was no longer me, but the other influences in his life ― his classmates, teachers, the images he saw around us ― that told him you’re either A or B, girl or boy, and you’re expected to behave accordingly. Despite my attempts to keep the gender stereotypes out of his life, at age five, he clearly drew a line in his head: On one side were the boys, and on the other, the girls.
“While I can’t control everything that influences my son ― be it society, school or advertising ― I know that I must do my best so that his world is inclusive of everyone who lives in it and so he grows up to be whomever he feels he truly is inside.”
Aside from continuing to talk to my son and challenge stereotypes whenever we encounter them, I plan to take whatever steps I can to counteract the limiting and potentially damaging messages our culture broadcasts to him ― and all of us. For instance, on the holiday of Sant Jordi, the local equivalent of Valentine’s Day, boys give girls roses and girls give boys books. (As a side note, I think the exchange is extremely unfair. I would much prefer a book!) This year, I plan to give him both a rose and a book. Next year, I hope that he can choose on his own ― hopefully based on what he wants, not based on what he’s told by others.
I have much to learn. I am trying to do better because I want my son to grow up in a new reality, without the much-outdated “pink is for girls” and “boys don’t cry” mentality. Children don’t follow or really have much use for stereotypes – unless we instil them in them. They accept what they see and hear unless we challenge or champion it – like challenging the idea that boys don’t do ballet or championing a drag queen on a subway. And while I can’t control everything that influences my son – be it society, school or advertising – I know that I must do my best so that his world is inclusive of everyone who lives in it and so he grows up to be whomever he feels he truly is inside.
Advertisement
Since the day my son was born, I have wanted two things: for him to be a good person, and for him to be happy. I am adding a third: to be unapologetically, unequivocally him. In pink sneakers or not.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--I Teach At Oxford, But I Don’t Want It To Win The Coronavirus Vaccine Race

HuffPost is part of Verizon Media .
Click ' I agree ' to allow Verizon Media and our partners to @ @ @ @ @ to access your device and use your data ( including location ) to understand your @ @ @ @ @ measure personalised ads .
We will also provide you with personalised ads on partner products @ @ @ @ @ we use your data in our Privacy Centre .
Once you confirm your privacy choices @ @ @ @ @ changes at any time by visiting your Privacy dashboard .
Click 'Learn more ' to @ @ @ @ @ Media and our partners collect and use data .

The race to find a vaccine for Covid-19 is on. Reuters
In need of a question for your next Zoom pub quiz? Here’s one: “We’re getting used to seeing either Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Matt Hancock, Robert Jenrick, Rishi Sunak or Michael Gove wheeled out on to our screens at 5pm. But why is Jenrick the odd one out?”
The answer: he’s the only one that didn’t go to Oxford. (He went to Cambridge.)
Oxford, that symbol of British excellence. Producing the finest minds in the world and, if this week’s news is anything to go by, leading the race to develop a vaccine against Coronavirus.
Advertisement
Surely I should be proud that the institution I have spent a decade studying and subsequently teaching at, could be the first to develop the vaccine?
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
Not only proud, but hopeful and excited. My 72-year old Dad is usually a highly social and active man. However, he lives on his own in a very rural village and is becoming increasingly worried that he won’t be able to return to his usual ways for years – until such a vaccine is developed.
“If my university is the first to develop the vaccine, I’m worried it will be used to fulfil its political, patriotic function as proof of British excellence.”
Advertisement
So why was my initial relief at hearing Oxford and Imperial are racing away to develop the vaccine followed by worry?
Let’s suppose that Oxford does develop the first vaccine. What happens next?
David Heymann, an infectious disease specialist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who heads a panel that advises the World Health Organization (WHO) on Coronavirus, says that there could be a production shortage. Researchers have also warned that this will lead to rich countries hoarding supplies. We were too late when it came to stockpiling PPE, but we won’t be caught out again. The vaccine, developed by our finest brains, is ours. And it will be Britons who are prioritised for protection.
If there is enough vaccine to go round, the UK will be the world’s saviour. We’ll quickly forget the devastating delay of the UK government to take action, as Boris Johnson proudly safeguarded British institutions like individual liberty, and the pub, over lives.
We’ll forget the lessons that the pandemic has taught us so far: that the UK and the US are in fact not exceptions at the global stage. That we are not only vulnerable but can also afford to learn lessons from countries, regardless of whether we have a special relationship with them – such as South Korea. That being white, male and Oxford-educated may not be the only criteria for effective leadership (the countries whose responses have been most widely praised, Germany and New Zealand among others, are all led by women).
The developments made by researchers at Oxford have been enabled by international co-operation among the research community. Whilst China has faced lots of questions about it’s sharing of information politically, according to Laura Spinney: “The unprecedented speed of virus development so far is thanks in large part to early Chinese efforts to sequence the genetic material of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. China shared that sequence in early January, allowing research groups around the world to grow the live virus and study how it invades human cells and makes people sick.”
Advertisement
Dr Claas Kirchhelle, fellow of the Research and Policy Unit at the Oxford Martin School, confirms that “there has been a radical sharing of information and a very rapid sequencing of the pathogen’s genetic code.” It is clear, then, that international co-operation saves lives.
But do our Oxford-educated leaders think like this? Coronavirus is a global epidemic. Yet, rather than motivating the UK to take a proud role at the global stage, as leaders like Macron have urged, the UK is increasingly resorting to patriotism in response.
This war-time rhetoric is useful in instilling a sense that this is a moment when individuals need to make sacrifices and put the country first. But this time, the enemy is not a nation. It is a microbe. So why do our collective solidarities end at the border?
The race is on and researchers at Oxford are doing vital, life-saving work. But races have winners and losers. If my university is the first to develop the vaccine, I’m worried that it will be used as it has been in the past, to fulfil its political, patriotic function as proof of British excellence.
The story will be clear: China, once again, has unleashed a threat to civilisation. But the best brains of the UK have saved the world.
Advertisement
Whilst I’m hopeful that I will be able to visit my Dad soon, this must not overshadow the key lesson of coronavirus: international cooperation saves lives. The research community knows this. Let’s hope our politicians do too.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--At This Time Of National Crisis, Public Service Television Has Never Been More Important

Public service television has never been more important Getty Creative
In among all the tragedies of recent weeks, so many stories of kindness, resilience and hope have emerged.
The millions of people volunteering to look out for their neighbours and help those most in need. The cheers which resound around the country each week to express our collective gratitude to the NHS. The way the nation has been moved to support Captain Tom Moore’s incredible fundraising effort for NHS workers to the tune of over £27 million.
Advertisement
We might be separated by lockdown but in some ways stories like these make us feel closer together than ever. They show that even as people face huge personal pressures and challenges they are ready to help others through a sense of community and generosity.
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
This is the spirit we want to celebrate with tonight’s Big Night In.
The Big Night In is a special, one-off live event on BBC One which will see our biggest charitable partners – BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief – joining forces for the very first time. It will be a star-studded evening of entertainment, but it will also celebrate and reward those going the extra mile to support their communities in troubled times.
Those who feel able to donate will have the opportunity to help people of all ages and backgrounds across the UK who will be significantly impacted by the crisis. Funds raised will provide timely and essential support to local charities, projects and programmes to help those who are most vulnerable and most in need.
The Big Night In is a sign of how determined we are to pull out all the stops to do our bit. We recognise the BBC has a special role for the UK and therefore a special responsibility at this time of national crisis.
Advertisement
Over the past few weeks we have been working hard to respond to the most urgent needs of the nation at this critical time. That meant reorganising our news output to keep audiences up-to-date with the latest, reliable information on the Coronavirus crisis.
Our national and regional news bulletins are regularly seeing huge audiences tuning in. Our online Coronavirus features and explainers have been viewed tens of millions of times. Over 300,000 people have now contacted our BBC local radio Make A Difference helpline, as part of a campaign that connects those who need help with those who can provide it at community level.
We have also transformed our educational offer. This week, on the day schools would normally be returning after the Easter break, we launched our Bitesize Daily service. It means we can now support every child and every parent with curriculum-based learning every day.
Three million children took Bitesize Daily lessons in its first day. We’re working closely with trusted education providers, teachers and partners to help minimise disruption to children’s education and provide rhythm and routine through these challenging times.
But as well as informing and educating, we’re also working hard to keep audiences entertained. We know it’s important. We all need distraction and escapism.
Advertisement
It’s why shows such as Masterchef, The Repair Shop and Race Across the World are recording their highest-ever ratings. It’s why we launched Culture in Quarantine as a virtual festival of the arts. It’s why we’ve adapted programmes like Have I Got News For You, The Graham Norton Show and The Mash Report to lockdown and why we’ve brought some of the nation’s favourite, most familiar shows back to iPlayer – which this week experienced its biggest-ever day.
I hope the Big Night In will bring the country together for a special night of television. Bringing the country together has always been part of the responsibility of the BBC. It’s our job to be the place everyone can come to share in the most important national moments – of celebration, commiseration or commemoration.
The whole country remains focused on getting through this crisis, while supporting each other and those workers on the front line to whom we owe so much. But this feels like the right moment to celebrate how the British public are pulling together with a remarkable spirit of hope, kindness and community.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-22--Home Testing: Thousands Offered Kits To Help Track Coronavirus Spread

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
The government wants up to around 300,000 people to take part in a new study tracking coronavirus in the population to try to understand the current rate of infection and how many have developed antibodies to the virus.
Advertisement
Some 20,000 households in England are being contacted to take part in the first-wave of the research, with initial findings expected in early May.
All participants will provide a nose and throat swab to test for whether or not they currently have the virus, while adults in some 1,000 of the households will provide a blood sample to find out what proportion of the population has developed antibodies to Covid-19.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), leading the study with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said participants will form a representative sample of the UK population by age and geography.
Those selected will provide samples taken from self-administered nose and throat swabs and answer a few short questions during a home visit by a trained healthcare professional.
Advertisement
Swab tests will show whether or not participants currently have the virus.
They will be asked to take further tests every week for the first five weeks, then every month for a year.
In total, the government says some 25,000 people will take part in the pilot phase with plans to extend it to up to around 300,000 over the next 12 months.
Scientists will also analyse blood samples from adults in around 1,000 households to determine how many people have developed antibodies to the virus.
Antibody testing is considered crucial in providing an exit pathway from the current lockdown, and also providing data to those developing a vaccine.
England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said at Wednesday’s daily Downing Street briefing that there is currently not a test available that Public Health England (PHE) has enough confidence in.
Advertisement
Participants in the antibody test will be asked to give further samples monthly for the next 12 months.
PA
The government says nose and throat swabs will be taken from all participating households, whether their members are reporting symptoms or not.
Blood for antibody tests will not be taken in any households where someone has symptoms of Covid-19 or is currently self-isolating or shielding.
The study will involve the University of Oxford, data science company IQVIA UK and the National Biosample Centre in Milton Keynes.
Advertisement
DHSC said healthcare workers will use recommended precautions to protect themselves and everyone in the household from getting the virus, and tests will be undertaken by the IQVIA nurse in the participant’s own home.
Although swab test results will be given to participants via their GP, a letter seen by the PA news agency says that those participating in the antibody test will not receive their results.
The de-identified blood samples will be sent to Oxford University to be tested for antibodies, while infection testing swabs are to be sent to UK Biocentre.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “This survey will help to track the current extent of transmission and infection in the UK, while also answering crucial questions about immunity as we continue to build up our understanding of this new virus.
“Together, these results will help us better understand the spread of the virus to date, predict the future trajectory and inform future action we take, including crucially the development of ground-breaking new tests and treatments.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-22--Coronavirus: 'Wholly Unrealistic' To Expect Life To Return To Normal Soon, Chief Medical Officer Say

Coronavirus: 'Wholly Unrealistic' To Expect Life To Return To Normal Soon, Chief Medical Officer Says

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
It is “wholly unrealistic” to expect life to return to normal in 2020 as the UK cannot defeat the coronavirus until it has a vaccine or treatment, England’s chief medical officer has suggested.
Advertisement
Chris Whitty said the chances of either a vaccine or effective treatment being available in this “calendar year” were “incredibly small”.
And so the government’s effort must be focused on keeping the infection, or R, rate below one so that each person infected with Covid-19 passes it on to less than one other person on average.
A failure to do this could see the NHS overwhelmed and so there is only a “narrow” range of options available to ministers when considering how to ease the current lockdown, which will be reviewed again on May 7.
These include measures to balance Covid-19 deaths against deaths from other causes because the NHS is focusing on the virus, as well as analysing whether lockdowns can damage people’s mental and physical health, and whether the economic impact can also shorten lives.
Advertisement
Whitty told the daily Downing Street briefing: “This disease is not going to be eradicated, it is not going to disappear.
“We have to accept that we are working with a disease that we are going to be with globally for the foreseeable future.”
He added: “If people are hoping it’s going to suddenly move from where we are now in lockdown suddenly into everything’s gone, that is a wholly unrealistic expectation.
“We are going to have to do a lot of things for really quite a long period of time, the question is what is the best package.”
Dominic Raab meanwhile refused to say whether some lockdown restrictions could be eased when it is reviewed on May 7, while admitting there was now a “glimmer” of hope as the UK passes the peak of infections.
Advertisement
He suggested there are reasons to be optimistic with daily death rates and new cases slowly falling, and hospitalisations falling in London and flattening in the rest of the country.
“There is certainly light at the end of the tunnel, there is a glimmer, but we are not there yet,” Raab told the Downing Street daily press briefing.
Raab has set five tests before the lockdown can be lifted, including:
The NHS maintaining the capacity to cope with Covid-19 cases
A sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rate
Reliable data from SAGE showing the rate of infection is decreasing to “manageable levels across the board”
Supply of tests and personal protective equipment (PPE) meeting demand
No risk of a second peak in the epidemic which overwhelms the NHS.
Whitty said the public should not expect the number of Covid-19 deaths to “fall away” suddenly.
He told the briefing: “It is important for people to fully understand that… even in those countries which started their epidemic curve earlier than in the UK, and which are still ahead, the downward slope from the point which we change is a relatively slow one.
“We should anticipate the same situation in the UK. We should not expect this to be a sudden fall away of cases.”
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-22--Should We Be Wearing Homemade Face Masks?

It found the surgical mask was best at keeping germs under wraps, followed by the two-layer covering. The researchers concluded: “Guidelines on home-made cloth masks should stipulate multiple layers.” If in doubt, three is best.
Mechanical engineer Taher Saif, professor at the University of Illinois, examined the effectiveness of common household fabrics in blocking droplets. His team tested the breathability and droplet-blocking ability of 11 common household fabrics, using a medical mask as a benchmark. The fabrics selected ranged from new and used garments, quilted cloths, bedsheets and dishcloth material. The researchers then characterised the fabrics in terms of their construction, fibre content, weight, thread count, porosity and water-absorption rate.
“We found that all of the fabrics tested are considerably effective at blocking the 100 nanometer particles carried by high-velocity droplets similar to those that may be released by speaking, coughing and sneezing, even as a single layer,” he said. “With two or three layers, even the more permeable fabrics, such as T-shirt cloth, achieve droplet-blocking efficiency that is similar to that of a medical mask, while still maintaining comparable or better breathability.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Will The UK Government Match Sturgeon’s Candour On Covid-19?

LOADING ERROR LOADING
You’re reading The Waugh Zone, our daily politics briefing. Sign up now to get it by email in the evening.
Don’t mention the dour
“It’s the biggest challenge since World War Two, for the life and health of our people”. Dramatic, sweeping, rousing, and hark back to a conflict of 75 years ago. Those words on the coronavirus crisis sounded typically British, the sort of thing Boris Johnson would say to rally the nation.
Advertisement
In fact, they were uttered by German chancellor Angela Merkel as she addressed her parliament remotely today. This, in a country with 5,000 deaths, not nearly 20,000 like the UK’s. The two nations are once more united in suffering, but divided by a different history (the more recent history of having a network of laboratories ready to test its population early and often).
The war is never far away from Britain’s sense of its identity. As other European countries ease out of lockdown, it will be a bitter irony that as we mark VE Day with a special bank holiday on May 8, the first real sense of ‘victory’ over Covid-19 will be over the Channel, not over here.
Still, if chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance is right, we could see the end of the beginning. At the No.10 press conference today, Vallance said that the UK deaths from Covid-19 were starting to ‘plateau’ and within a couple of weeks (yes, around that VE Day) they would start to slowly drop.
Some government insiders hope Johnson will be back at the helm soon after that. Few expect any big call on when to start easing the lockdown until he’s fully recovered and in a position to make such a massive decision. In the meantime, other ministers will do their own bit to offer hope, yet all the while dodging the question of what the exit would look like.
Advertisement
Today, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon once again outflanked London by publishing her own plan for a way out. There was no timetable, but there was at least a blueprint for the kinds of phases needed in a ‘managed transition’ to the ‘new normal’ (that phrase was actually in the document).
Crucially, her plan was centred on the four key values of “kindness, compassion, openness and transparency”. The last two are the ones several critics down here believe are lacking from No.10’s approach. When Sturgeon said she wanted to ‘treat people like grown-ups’, and be ‘frank with you every step of the way’, quite a few Tory as well as Labour MPs would probably have agreed.
Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon. PA
Senior Tories are increasingly uneasy about the lack of a routemap for the economy (one grandee told us they wanted to see by “early May” a “path to phased release”). Today’s ONS statistics - a quarter of firms may have halted trading since the lockdown - underlined their concerns starkly. Rishi Sunak has given us at least one date, extending his furlough scheme last week by an extra month to the end of June. But many expect him to have to extend it again.
It’s true of course that the public is still hugely supportive of the government’s approach. Some 70% back the lockdown, figures which continue to surprise pollsters who have spent decades never seeing 70% support for any policy, let alone one this difficult. Not coincidentally however, 70% is also the consistent number for those who think the NHS is the most important institution in the UK. ‘Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives’, is undoubtedly effective.
Advertisement
Matt Hancock today dismissed calls to follow Scotland’s lead, saying it would dilute the clarity of the messaging so far. Yet one could argue that the message has been so successful that most members of the public are now so used to social distancing that they won’t suddenly abandon it if ministers start talking about ways forward.
Schools and parents, for example, will need some clarity over whether the summer term is going to be a write-off. The sooner the options are laid out, the sooner ministers can persuade the public their solutions are the best ones. Some fascinating new evidence on just how immune under-10s are from coronavirus (see this paediatrician’s Twitter thread) may point to primary schools at least opening up first.
Hancock at least had a new plan today to get 10 million key workers tested, starting from Friday. As I’ve written before this week, his 100,000/day target is smarter than his critics think, particularly as testing capacity increased by 10,000 in 24 hours to 51,000 today.
The problem with Hancock’s sunny optimism is that it doesn’t match the medics’ downbeat forecasts of many months of tough measures to come (contrast his puppyish enthusiasm that vaccine trials will start today, but Chris Whitty’s warning that no mass vaccine will be ready until 2021).
It was Merkel today who told her people “we’ll have to live with this virus for a long time”. Sturgeon warned that opening pubs and mass gatherings will have to wait for ‘some time to come’. British ministers may think that’s all too dour, but a similarly frank engagement with the English public can’t be avoided for much longer.
Advertisement
Quote Of The Day
“Our ultimate goal is that everyone who could benefit from a test gets a test”.
Matt Hancock
Thursday Cheat Sheet
The number of people who have died in UK hospitals from coronavirus rose by 616 in 24 hours. It brings the total to 18,738.
Matt Hancock said the government was recruiting 18,000 people to work on coronavirus contract tracing.
The New Zealand nurse credited with helping to save the prime minister’s life described him as just “another patient we were trying to do our best for”.
The Royal Navy has begun an investigation after the crew of the submarine HMS Trenchant were filmed having a party at the Devonport base, in Plymouth, during the coronavirus lockdown.
The earliest “realistic” point at which schools in England could start reopening would be 1 June, teaching union chief Geoff Barton said.
Advertisement
Home secretary Priti Patel is “missing in action” during the coronavirus crisis and the government has “dropped the ball” on domestic violence, Jess Phillips told our Commons People podcast.
Commons Petitions Committee chair Cat McKinnell revealed that online petitions for MPs have amassed more than three million signatures in total during the coronavirus crisis. The most popular, with 696,682 signatures, calls on the government to extend statutory sick pay to people who are self-employed.
What I’m Reading
New Evidence Of The Blood Clot Terror Of Covid-19 - Washington Post
Got A Tip?
Send tips, stories, quotes, pics, plugs or gossip to waugh.zone@huffpost.com.
Subscribe To Commons People
Each week, the HuffPost UK Politics team unpack the biggest stories from Westminster and beyond.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--This Is The List Of Essential Workers In England Who Can Book A Free Coronavirus Test Online From To

This Is The List Of Essential Workers In England Who Can Book A Free Coronavirus Test Online From Tomorrow

LOADING ERROR LOADING
NHS staff carry out coronavirus tests at a testing facility in Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln PA
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
Advertisement
The government has published a list of essential workers in England who will be able to book a free coronavirus test online from Friday.
On Thursday, health secretary Matt Hancock said workers in essential roles showing symptoms of the virus would be able to book a Covid-19 test on the gov.uk website as part of the government’s strategy to get “Britain back on her feet”.
People who live with essential workers will also be use the service.
Under the government’s current social distancing rules, anyone with coronavirus symptoms must remain at home for a week.
Meanwhile, anyone living with a symptomatic person must quarantine at home for a fortnight, unless they develop symptoms themselves.
Advertisement
It is hoped the new scheme will allow essential workers who test negative – or whose symptomatic family members test negative – for the virus to be able to return to work immediately.
How will the new system work?
After inputting their details into the new portal, essential workers and their families will get a text or email on the same day inviting them to book a test at a drive-through testing site, or will receive a home-testing kit.
Test results from the drive-through sites will be sent out by text within 48 hours, the Department of Health said, and within 72 hours of collection of the home delivery tests.
The aim is that most people should not have to drive for more than 45 minutes to get to a regional testing site.
On Thursday, the government also launched a scheme to allow employers of essential workers to refer them for a coronavirus test.
Advertisement
Which essential workers will be able to use the service?
Each country in the UK defines ‘essential workers’ slightly differently. The list of workers eligible for the new testing system published by the department of health on Thursday applies to England.
The list includes:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Independent Probe Into Leaked Labour Anti-Semitism Dossier To Report 'By Mid-July'

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, London. PA
An independent inquiry ordered by Keir Starmer into a leaked Labour report on anti-Semitism will aim to complete its work by this summer, the party’s ruling body has agreed.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) endorsed the Labour leader’s call for an external probe into the “circumstances, contents and release” of the controversial internal report.
Advertisement
The leaked anti-Semitism report sparked a furore earlier this month when SkyNews published some of its contents, with many Jeremy Corbyn supporters seizing on suggestions that former party staffers had actively undermined him during the 2017 election.
Starmer and deputy Angela Rayner used their new majority on the NEC to see off attempts to change the remit of the probe after some of its left-wing members demanded that the issue of how the report ended up being made public was not relevant.
The 38-member ruling body also refused to adopt a proposal from Unite to abandon plans to look into just how the secret report - intended for submission to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission - was commissioned in the first place.
It rejected calls for the NEC Officers group - a nine-strong inner core where the Left still has a majority - to approve the new independent panel members, preferring instead for the whole NEC to do so.
Advertisement
The NEC did however toughen up the language in the inquiry’s remit, to focus on alleged “misogyny and racism” of former staffers and to confirm that the party conference had a key role in the affair.
Leftwing members, who warned that those who leaked the report should not be “targeted”, also succeeded in their bid to include reference to protections for ‘whistleblowers’.
The new independent figures heading up the new inquiry will be chosen “in due course”, probably at next month’s NEC meeting, but it is understood that their work is expected to be concluded by mid-July.
The leaked report, which was based on a trawl of 10,000 emails and thousands of WhatsApp messages from former party HQ staff, has led to calls by several MPs for their immediate suspension for alleged racism and sexism and rule breaking.
Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer PA
Advertisement
The 851-page report, which has been seen by HuffPost UK, also concluded that factional hostility towards Corbyn amongst ex-staff contributed to “a litany of mistakes” that hindered the effective handling of anti-Semitism complaints.
It claimed there was “no evidence” of anti-Semitism complaints being treated differently to other forms of complaint and talked of the need to “question the validity of the personal testimonies” of former members of staff who had complained that anti-Semitism was institutional within the party.
But much controversy centred on private WhatsApp messages that the dossier contained, with some showing staffers making derogatory remarks about Diane Abbott, Dawn Butler and others. Corbyn and fellow ‘Trots’ were repeatedly singled out for criticism by ex-staffers too.
Several former officials have in turn now joined forces in threatening legal action, claiming breach of data protection, privacy and libel and arguing their words were taken out of context. The party faces a possible multi-million pound lawsuit over the way private information was included.
The Labour leader has pledged to crackdown hard on anti-Jewish racism, declaring on his first day in the job that he would “tear out this poison at its roots”.
Advertisement
However, the row over the report threatens to overshadow his first few months in post, testing to the limit his bid to unite the party and bring together its different wings.
Starmer and Rayner have made clear they will not tolerate any racism or misogyny. During the NEC meeting Starmer stressed that there would be “consequences” for anyone who broke party rules.
Labour MPs like John McDonnell, Richard Burgon and other members of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs have demanded disciplinary action against former staff members.
In a letter issued ahead of the meeting, the Campaign Group urged the NEC to focus on the allegations against senior staff “rather than on the targeting of whistleblowers who have brought the revelations to light”.
Shadow Treasury minister Dan Carden signed the letter, which said the report had “shocked and caused hurt to large numbers of Labour members and supporters”. It demanded the independent probe should not be “kicked into the long grass”.
Advertisement
But several members of the NEC told HuffPost UK that it was right to look into exactly how the report had entered the public domain and how such an important document was commissioned without the NEC being aware of its existence.
One NEC member said it was the leadership’s “first victory”. “Keir and Angela got what they wanted on their terms of reference and pretty much on the timescale they wanted,” they said.
Another added the Left were “roundly defeated” during the four-hour meeting. “All their main amendments were defeated including the attempt to limit the investigation to the culture and practices of the staff and not to look at how the report was commissioned and the leak.”
But one member of the NEC stressed that Starmer himself worked hard to get compromise and made clear that following the rules and due process was the key.
A Left member added they were “very happy with the result”. “It’s fair. Toughening up on whistleblower protections, specific mentions of racism and discrimination included.”
Advertisement
A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The National Executive Committee has today agreed the terms of reference for the independent investigation into the circumstances, contents and release of an internal report.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--How Musicians Survive Without Gigs In Lockdown

How Musicians Survive Without Gigs In Lockdown
Declining record sales and increased streaming have forced musicians to rely on live gigs to survive. But the global pandemic has forced high-profile music events like Glastonbury and Coachella to cancel. So musicians like New-York based Marc Rebillet are using live streaming services to connect with fans in alternative ways, while trying to make a living at the same time.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Here's What You'll Never See On The Simpsons, According To A Former Writer

LOADING ERROR LOADING
“D’oh!” isn’t just Homer Simpson’s catchphrase. It’s also what TV writers likely say when they realise The Simpsons has already done basically every story there is. (South Park even did a whole episode on it.) But there are a few things you’ll never see on the show, according to Josh Weinstein, a former Simpsons writer.
Weinstein, who’s a frequent collaborator with Simpsons creator Matt Groening, recently shared an excerpt from an early Simpsons style guide, showing how tiny alterations could have made the show a bit disturbing.
Advertisement
The “No-No’s” for characters include cross-eyes, square teeth and big, pointed smiles.
What you will never see on the Simpsons (from a delightful, nearly 500 page early style guide, circa 1990) pic.twitter.com/0Gyv36UOqW — Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) April 22, 2020
So if you’re wondering how the Simpsons animation seems to avoid creeping you out, now you know.
Weinstein added that the show could have become “Bizarro Simpsons with any of these choices.”
A live look at Simpsons fans after seeing the drawings above:
For those who want more behind-the-scenes Simpsons facts, don’t have a cow, man – Weinstein also shared some preliminary episode titles from drafts of the scripts.
You can try to guess the episodes they belong to, if you ever get those bizarre Simpsons faces out of your mind...
Advertisement
Episode titles aren't really important until the show airs.
Here are some Simpsons preliminary titles from first drafts, outlines & pitches. It's pretty easy to see what episodes they are. Can you? pic.twitter.com/LfJfC5XNyH — Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) April 22, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Live Stream Replay: How To Work From Home With Kids

Live Stream Replay: How To Work From Home With Kids
Presented by Verizon Media and HuffPost Canada, Balancing WFH With Kids explores practical tips and advice, including how to set expectations for yourself and the children, and involve them in the day to day, from acclaimed parenting expert Alyson Schafer. Schafer is a psychotherapist and author who empowers families by sharing her principles, rules & tools for raising kids.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Why Coronavirus Testing Could Be A Lockdown Game Changer

As the coronavirus pandemic has forced nations around the world to go into lockdown, Germany and South Korea have made headlines for their early responses to the crisis. In each country, officials moved swiftly to implement widespread testing and contact-tracing programs to identify individuals who had contracted the virus.
Those actions have helped both countries avoid the high death tolls that others have suffered. While there have been 150,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany, to date just over 5,000 people have died, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. By comparison, neighbouring France has a similar number of confirmed cases, but over four times as many deaths. South Korea, meanwhile, has recorded nearly 11,000 cases, but only 240 deaths.
Advertisement
Now, the two nations are beginning to contemplate what life looks like after the immediate crisis has passed. Schools and small shops started to reopen in some parts of Germany this week, and the country has launched Europe’s first large-scale study to test for coronavirus antibodies — the results of which could shed light on how deadly the virus truly is, and whether people develop some form of immunity, information that could prove crucial to any long-term exit strategy. Initial results are expected next month.
Last week, millions of South Koreans wearing masks and disposable gloves, and standing a safe distance apart, lined up at polling stations to vote in national assembly elections — something that seems almost inconceivable in countries where residents remain under strict lockdown.
“We were very nervous. We believed that it could develop into a pandemic,” Lee Sang-won, an expert on infectious diseases at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Reuters, about the country’s swift moves to develop a coronavirus test. “We acted like an army.”
A health care worker in Germany tests a patient for coronavirus at a drive-thru testing center on April 17. picture alliance via Getty Images
Advertisement
South Korean health officials identified the country’s first positive coronavirus case on Jan. 20. Within days, they called a meeting with representatives from more than 20 medical companies, and urged them to develop a test for Covid-19. The country’s first diagnostic tests were approved in early February, and by the end of the month hundreds of testing sites were open around the country, including pioneering drive-thru testing centres. Currently there are 613 testing centres across Korea, including 71 drive-thru sites.
Germany moved quickly as well. A team of researchers at Berlin’s Charité hospital developed the world’s first diagnostic test for the coronavirus in mid-January. It was then rolled out to labs at universities, hospitals, government agencies and private firms across the country.
“We have a culture here in Germany that is actually not supporting a centralised diagnostic system,” Christian Drosten, the leader of the Charité hospital team, told NPR. “So Germany does not have a public health laboratory that would restrict other labs from doing the tests. So we had an open market from the beginning.”
That system allowed Germany to scale up its testing capacity quickly. “By the beginning or middle of February, testing was already in place, broadly,” Drosten said.
Officials in other countries have looked to Germany and South Korea’s testing prowess with envy.
“We all know that Germany got ahead in terms of its ability to do testing for the virus, and there’s a lot to learn from that,” Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said earlier this month.
Advertisement
The UK is working to ramp up its testing capacity, with the goal of being able to conduct 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, but it is likely to fall well short of that target.
The UK initially adopted a centralised approach to testing using government labs, before switching to a “Dunkirk”-style strategy involving smaller private labs across the country. Scientists have criticised the government for failing to enlist smaller labs earlier on, saying that “precious time has been wasted.”
The United Kingdom has been slow to ramp up its testing capacity, but testing has become a central part of the government's strategy to ease the country's lockdown. TOLGA AKMEN via Getty Images
In the United States, which recorded its first positive case of the coronavirus in January, on the same day that South Korea did, testing has also lagged behind. The initial test kits developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were faulty, and labs across the country struggled to navigate the federal bureaucracy, severely delaying the US response to the crisis.
“The idea of anybody getting [tested] easily the way people in other countries are doing it, we’re not set up for that,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a congressional committee last month. “That is a failing. Let’s admit it.”
Advertisement
More comprehensive testing early on in the pandemic might have allowed countries to avoid imposing paralyzing restrictions on social and economic activity. South Korea’s aggressive testing and contact-tracing program, for example, helped it avoid a nationwide lockdown.
Having failed to control the spread of the coronavirus in the pandemic’s early days, however, officials in other countries have acknowledged that increased testing is a key condition for reopening society.
“This is how we will defeat Covid-19 in the end,” Boris Johnson has said.
Mass community testing “is part of the strategy,” UK health secretary Matt Hancock said last week. “We will be introducing it when we can.”
Researchers at Harvard University recently estimated that US testing capacity would have to triple over the next month in order for the country to reopen safely.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaking at a press conference on April 22. Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Advertisement
Even as countries are working to increase their diagnostic testing capacity, many are following Germany’s lead by conducting antibody tests, in the hopes that these studies will help chart a path out of the crisis.
Boris Johnson has hailed antibody tests as a potential “game changer” in the battle against the coronavirus. This week, the UK launched a large-scale study to track the spread of the virus in the country and test whether previously infected people have developed antibodies. Around 1,000 people will have blood samples taken every month to test for antibodies.
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration approved a coronavirus antibody test earlier this month, and this week, New York launched an ambitious antibody testing study involving 3,000 people.
“Any plan to start to reopen the economy has to be based on data and testing, and we have to make sure our antibody and diagnostic testing is up to the scale we need so we can safely get people back to work,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement, citing Germany’s own antibody testing study.
New York’s antibody testing would be done “in the most aggressive way in the nation,” Cuomo said.
“This will be the first true snapshot of exactly how many people were infected by Covid-19 and where we are as a population, and will help us to reopen and rebuild without jeopardising what we’ve already accomplished.”
Advertisement
It is believed that people who have recovered from COVID-19 are likely to have developed some degree of immunity to it, but scientists remain uncertain about how widespread infections have been, how much protection antibodies may confer, and how long any immunity might last.
“There are a lot of countries that are suggesting using rapid diagnostic serological tests to be able to capture what they think will be a measure of immunity,” Maria Van Kerkhove, an American infectious diseases expert who is the World Health Organisation’s technical lead on Covid-19, told The Guardian. “Right now, we have no evidence that the use of a serological test can show that an individual has immunity or is protected from reinfection.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--What It's Like To Be A Priest At The London NHS Nightingale Hospital

What It's Like To Be A Priest At The London NHS Nightingale Hospital
Father James Mackay is helping coronavirus patients at their bedside in London's Nightingale Hospital. James has set up a 24-hour chaplaincy service for the seriously ill and their families and says the virus is taking its toll on everyone involved – including his fellow priests.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Home Office 'Dropped The Ball' On Domestic Violence During Coronavirus, Says Jess Phillips

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Home secretary Priti Patel is “missing in action” during the coronavirus crisis and the government has “dropped the ball” on domestic violence, Jess Phillips has said.
Advertisement
Phillips, Labour’s shadow domestic violence minister, told HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast the Home Office should have built a strategic plan for victims before the Covid-19 lockdown.
Since Boris Johnson put in place restrictions a month ago, the UK has seen a sharp rise in domestic violence as victims face being trapped inside their homes with abusers.
The domestic violence murder rate has doubled and frontline services, such as Women’s Aid, are now reporting record levels of demand for help.
Patel has announced a £2m package of support for domestic abuse services to bolster helplines and online support.
Advertisement
But Phillips says it does not go far enough and that the department was distracted by rows with the civil service when the coronavirus crisis hit.
She also fears not enough is being done by government to collect data on women and vulnerable children.
“We will be entering week six of this crisis, and the murder rate has doubled, before we even know they can get extra funding,” she said.
“I don’t know whether it is do with the fact that Priti Patel largely seems to be to me missing in action across the board in this crisis.”
When the threat of the outbreak was becoming clear, the Home Office’s top civil servant Sir Philip Rutnam had resigned.
Advertisement
The home secretary faces multiple claims of bullying – which she denies – that are being investigated by the Cabinet Office. Rutnam, meanwhile, has launched a claim of constructive dismissal and whistleblowing.
Labour's shadow domestic violence minister Jess Phillips NurPhoto via Getty Images
Phillips believes it meant the department’s ministerial team was distracted at a vital time.
She added: “Just two weeks before the crisis, the Home Office were having an almighty row with their civil servants raging on.
“It just feels like the Home Office has dropped the ball in co-ordinating this [domestic violence response] for the country.”
She went on: “It isn’t just that people can’t go to work or that people can’t go to school.” Phillips cited coffee mornings or lunch breaks that potential victims may have been able to spend with support workers.
Advertisement
“There was no way we could have ever eliminated the risk of the lockdown. It was always going to be a risk – but we could have had a proper strategic plan to mitigate it for both adult victims of abuse but also child abuse victims.”
A total of £1.6bn has been handed to English councils to help them deal with coronavirus, and chancellor Rishi Sunak has given the charity sector a £750m bailout.
But Phillips said there is no overall plan that supports domestic abuse victims after they have made their first disclosure.
She said: “So far, the government has failed to come up with any joined-up solution for that.
“They keep pointing to the money that will go to councils or charities more broadly.”
She went on: “It is absolutely not enough. It’s welcomed, of course, because we need to increase capacity for people to make that first phone call if they need help – but it does nothing for what happens after the first phone call.”
Phillips also said that as shadow minister she had received anecdotal data about A&E attendances after domestic violence going up, and that she believes the suicide rate of women had also been climbing.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, only 5% to 10% of vulnerable children are thought to be attending school during the lockdown – even though they all remain able to do so.
“It shouldn’t be me going to all of the A&Es, it shouldn’t be me going to local authorities gathering this data – I feel that there needs to be better co-ordination of this in the country.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Amanda Holden Has Now Taken To Naked Trampolining In Lockdown – And She's Encouraging You To Have A

Amanda Holden Has Now Taken To Naked Trampolining In Lockdown – And She's Encouraging You To Have A 'Cheeky Bounce'

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Having fast become the queen of lockdown content with her hilarious posts, Amanda Holden has come up with another way of keeping herself entertained amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Two words: naked trampolining.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge has revealed she’s been stripping off for a “cheeky bounce” on her daughters’ trampoline – and she’s now encouraging you to do the same.
Advertisement
Speaking on her Heart Radio Breakfast Show, Amanda said she discovered the activity after being dared by her husband, Chris Hughes.
She told co-host Jamie Theakston: “I probably wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t a dare let me tell you.
“But my hubby dared me to strip off butt naked and jump on the trampoline in our garden.
“I was already wearing a bikini in the garden and he dared me to strip off, so I did. And I jumped on my child’s trampoline totally naked.
Advertisement
She continued: “Do you know what? It was totally liberating, and so much fun.
“I would encourage anyone at home to strip off and have a cheeky bounce.
“Maybe this can be the new TikTok challenge”.
So far, Mandy has kept evidence of her nude bouncing off the internet, but given the ridiculousness of some of her most recent posts, who knows if that will change.
She pulled off a hilarious April Fool’s prank on her daughters by convincing them all weekends and school holidays would be cancelled when kids to eventually return to school after the coronavirus outbreak.
Advertisement
Earlier this week, Mandy also posted a make-up tutorial on Instagram – but with one big difference.
Amanda is continuing to present her Heart Breakfast Show during the lockdown, travelling from her Richmond home to central London most days to wake up her listeners.
She is also back on our screens in the latest series of Britain’s Got Talent, appearing in auditions that were pre-recorded earlier this year.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Essential Workers Can Book Free Coronavirus Test Online From Tomorrow

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
All essential workers can book a free coronavirus test online from Friday, Matt Hancock has said.
And employers can go online and ask for a test for critical staff from today, the health secretary also announced, as he pledged to get “Britain back on her feet”.
Advertisement
The news means that millions of workers can now apply for a test online at gov.uk/coronavirus.
Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, he said: “From today, employers of essential workers will be able to go on gov.uk to get a test for any of their staff.
“From tomorrow, any essential workers who need a test will be able to book an appointment on gov.uk themselves, directly.
“This all applies for people in essential workers’ households too who need a test.
“It’s all part of getting Britain back on her feet.”
Critical workers or anyone from their household can go to gov.uk/coronavirus to book an appointment. The testing “routes” include: NHS hospitals
Regional test centres
Satellite centres
Home test kits
Mobile testing units
Health chiefs announced on Thursday that the number of people who have died in UK hospitals after contracting coronavirus had risen by 616, bringing the total to 18,738.
Advertisement
But ministers said that the UK was this week reaching the peak of the outbreak.
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, who appeared alongside Hancock, said he expected the plateauing of the death figures to “continue for another couple of weeks, and we will then see a faster decline thereafter”.
Hancock also said capacity for carrying out tests had significantly increased, with the government now able to carry out more than 50,000 tests a day.
The health secretary has promised to ensure 100,000 tests will be carried out every day by the end of April.
The government puts the huge number of unused tests down to the fact some of the testing sites are inaccessible to people, something it says it is working on by setting up facilities like drive-through testing centres.
Professor John Newton, who is the government’s Covid-19 testing co-ordinator, said the government was “on track” to reach the target.
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Do The Lockdown’s Hidden Victims Need An Exit Plan? With Jess Phillips

Do The Lockdown’s Hidden Victims Need An Exit Plan? With Jess Phillips
The government seems unable to give a straight answer on a range of questions as problems with PPE persist and no sign of an exit strategy being presented to the public. Is no one able to make decisions during Boris Johnson’s absence? As the country continues to strive through the lockdown, worries about the economy are being joined by the affects it is having one the public, particularly for school children and women with abusive partners. Shadow minister for domestic violence Jess Phillips joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to discuss what needs to be done to limit the effects of the pandemic lockdown.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Brothers Who Hoarded 17,000 Hand Sanitiser Bottles Avoid Punishment

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Two Tennessee brothers will avoid paying a fine after settling state price gouging charges for stockpiling 17,700 bottles of hand sanitiser purchased from regional stores for online resale as the coronavirus pandemic was taking off.
Matt and Noah Colvin settled misdemeanour charges with the Tennessee attorney general’s office on Tuesday after they agreed to donate their supplies to a Tennessee nonprofit and officials in Kentucky and said they would refrain from such activity in the future. The donation was ultimately considered restitution enough, the attorney general’s office said.
Advertisement
“Disrupting necessary supplies during an unprecedented pandemic is a serious offence,” said Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III in Nashville. “It became clear during our investigation that the Colvins realised this, and their prompt cooperation and donation led to an outcome that actually benefited some consumers.”
The settlement is subject to court approval.
In Tennessee, it is illegal for vendors to charge too much for essential goods or services in direct response to a disaster.
The two brothers became the object of nationwide fury after they admitted to driving to various stores in Tennessee and Kentucky to purchase hand sanitiser for resale on Amazon and eBay. They sold 300 of the bottles for $8 to $70 each, Matt Colvin told The New York Times last month.
When the brothers’ online stores were shut down over price gouging complaints, Matt Colvin told the Times that he was suddenly stuck with 17,700 bottles of hand sanitiser and no one to sell them to.
Advertisement
“From being in a situation where what I’ve got coming and going could potentially put my family in a really good place financially to, ‘What the heck am I going to do with all of this?’” he said.
Local authorities then came knocking on their door.
In a later interview with the Times, Matt Colvin expressed remorse, saying he didn’t realise how bad the coronavirus outbreak would get.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Watch Live: Matt Hancock Gives The Latest Coronavirus Update

Watch Live: Matt Hancock Gives The Latest Coronavirus Update
Health Secretary Matt Hancock provides an update on the country’s response to the coronavirus outbreak at daily press briefing. It comes after government’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said yesterday that return to normal life in the short term was “wholly unrealistic”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Tory MPs Push Government To Reveal How And When It Will Ease Lockdown

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Ministers are facing growing pressure from Tory MPs to explain how they will ease the coronavirus lockdown amid fears the economy could effectively collapse.
Advertisement
Senior Tory Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown was the first to break cover to call for an exit strategy to give businesses facing potential disaster “hope”.
Meanwhile, a senior Tory told HuffPost UK they wanted to see a “path to phased release by early May”.
MPs have spent much of the Commons Easter recess fielding calls from businesses in their constituencies warning that they face potential administration.
There are now growing concerns there may be “no economy, no country to govern, and no money to pay for the NHS if we don’t get out of this,” the senior Tory said.
Advertisement
And pressure for an exit strategy is growing after scientists including Oxford academic Carl Heneghan suggested the UK passed the peak of the peak of the epidemic earlier this month.
Health secretary Matt Hancock acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that the UK was “at the peak”, while chief medical officer Chris Whitty set out in the most detail yet how decisions will be taken on the lockdown.
Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the influential 1922 committee of backbench Tories, has spoken out following a reportedly “tense” meeting of its executive on Wednesday evening in which members voiced fears about what could happen to the economy if the lockdown continues for many more weeks.
Other MPs are known to be privately scathing of the government’s handling of the crisis and bristling at Downing Street’s attempt through whips to ban MPs from the media unless No.10 agrees and briefs them first.
With some social measures expected to remain for the rest of the year, the MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown says "on behalf of the businesses" govt must "give them a little bit of hope as to when we may be able to get back to normality." #R4Today podcasthttps://t.co/YPaahjuSru — BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) April 23, 2020
Advertisement
Clifton-Brown told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “We need to start this discussion about how we get back to normality.
“Whatever we do needs to be done gradually, but I think that we could, when the figures start to stabilise a bit more [...] we could begin to think about what are the next steps on a step-by-step basis to begin to get back to normality.
“We’ve got to think about the number of businesses, particularly small businesses, that – unless they get some form of indication when they might be able to get back into business – are actually likely to cease trading.
“Every business that ceases trading is a job, or more than one, lost.
“And therefore I think we are in a very, very difficult balance at the moment between that step-by-step opening up and inevitably when we open up it will expose more people to the virus.”
He added: “We have to, on behalf of the businesses of this country, begin to give them a little bit of hope as to when we might be able to get back to normality.”
Advertisement
The senior Tory acknowledged that his colleagues are divided between those who back a continuation of the lockdown to further suppress the virus and those who want a “significant shift” in the coming weeks.
A “graphic” Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) report that suggested the UK’s economy could shrink by 35% during a three-month lockdown has concentrated minds.
“But the most graphic thing for MPs is what’s happening to their constituencies,” they said.
“It will be messages from businesses saying: ‘We were a very successful company employing 200 people and if we don’t have some business by whatever date we’re going to have to go into administration.’


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--Reporter Talks Back To Donald Trump For 'Bad Reporting' Remark

Trump trashes the media regularly at the briefings, but Karl’s forceful defence made this one a little different.
The testy moment touched off when Trump railed against what he claimed was the media’s negativity.
“You people aren’t satisfied,” he said. “So let’s say we had 350 million people in the United States. Let’s say you gave every one of those people a test. So you give 350 million people a test 10 times. The fake news media would say, ‘Where’s the 11th time? He didn’t do his job. Trump didn’t do his job.’ Because you have a lot of bad reporting out there. It is very sad.”
That’s when Karl attempted to correct him. “That’s not true,” Karl interrupted. “That’s not true.”
“You are one of the leaders of the bad reporting,” Trump responded.
“No, but it’s not true,” Karl replied.
Trump then criticised Karl’s reporting on the production of ventilators, claiming the “fake news was unhappy that it was done.”
“Who’s unhappy?” Karl snapped back.
The journalist later explained his outburst, saying he “couldn’t frankly help myself.”
“I felt it was entirely appropriate. ... You can’t just say stuff that is completely and totally false,” Karl said in a Politics and Prose interview promoting his book, “Front Row At The Trump Show.”
Karl previously called Trump’s repeated attacks on the media “among the fakest things right now.”
“He praises me to his friends and then he’ll come out right after and blast me in front of the cameras,” Karl said earlier this month.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-23--UK Records 616 Coronavirus Hospital Deaths In 24 Hours, Bringing Total To 18,738

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
The number of people who have died in UK hospitals after contracting coronavirus has risen by 616 in 24 hours.
Advertisement
It brings the total to 18,738.
Earlier today, England, Scotland and Wales had reported increases of 514, 58 and 17 further deaths respectively. Here’s a quick primer on why the nations’ devolved authorities don’t match the UK total, and how to understand them.
Live samples are held in a container during the opening of the new Covid-19 testing lab at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow. PA
Of the deaths recorded in England, 111 took place yesterday, with the remainder occurring earlier this week – 216 of them on Tuesday. A handful went back as far as March 25.
NHS England said the people who died were aged 31 to 100, with 16 having no known underlying health conditions.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, a further 4,583 people tested positive, with 23,560 tests carried out – even though the Department of Health and Social Care revealed on Thursday that testing capacity had reached 48,273.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-24--The Best Type Of Stretching To Relieve Stress And Anxiety

LOADING ERROR LOADING
The world is currently very scary and weird. We’re all acutely aware that exercise can help us get out of a mental funk during the coronavirus pandemic, but sometimes nothing sounds worse than a home workout.
But know this: However much or little you are moving, you are doing just fine. There is no guidebook for coping with this endless bombardment of headlines, bad news, sluggishness and disruption in your routine. You are no less worthy if you’re not exercising.
Advertisement
So how can you reap the mental benefit of exercise when you just can’t fathom working up a sweat? There is one move you can do that requires very little effort ― stretching.
Stretching — not even yoga, just stretching — can be a really simple and successful way to move your body and incrementally improve your mood (plus your body aches) while isolating at home.
“Stretching can keep you balanced,” Kelvin Gary, a fitness expert and founder and head coach at Body Space Fitness, told HuffPost, adding that being inside all day and having to look at a computer screen can negatively affect your physical and mental health.
Stretching, he said, “can help you keep better posture and alignment in your spine. It helps you feel physically better, which, in turn, keeps you from getting into a degraded mental space.”
Advertisement
Your mind and your body are intimately connected; there’s evidence that while the brain is in charge of telling the body how and when to move, the body’s movements can affect the way the brain thinks and feels.
“You can definitely hold emotional stress in your [muscle] tissues,” said Karena Wu, a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopaedic physical therapy who practices at ActiveCare Physical Therapy.
valentinrussanov via Getty Images Being inside all day and having to look at a computer screen can negatively affect your physical and mental health.
The Best Kind Of Stretch For Your Body And Mind
Wu said static stretches in particular — the kind where you “take a muscle to its end of available motion and hold it there for a prolonged period of time so you can increase the length of the soft tissue” — can alleviate emotional stresses that often manifest in physical pain.
This exercise can also have a calming effect on your mind. “You’re focusing on a stretching activity and on yourself — you’re living in the present, and you’re not thinking about all the other things you have to do,” Wu said.
Advertisement
Gary also emphasised the benefits of these longer-held stretches, adding that they can have meditative effects, even if you’re not meditating in the traditional sense. With static stretches, he said, it’s crucial to breathe continuously, and especially through those points of tension.
“Having the focus on the breath gets your nervous system to chill out and become focused,” Gary said, adding that the process can relax your entire system.
Rather than holding a stretch for 30 seconds, Gary advises his clients to perform five long inhales and exhales while holding the stretch. He suggests slowly counting up to five with every inhale and slowly counting down to one with every exhale.
“This deepens the stretch and works the component of meditation that helps with focus,” he said — the exact type of “present moment” exercise that Wu described.
When you hit an especially tough point in a stretch, the breathing component will also help by relaxing the body even further, Gary added.
Advertisement
Willie B. Thomas via Getty Images Rather than holding a stretch for 30 seconds, perform five long inhales and exhales while holding the stretch.
Put Stretching On The Calendar
Gary, who was formerly in corporate finance, learned the painful effects of a sedentary lifestyle firsthand. When he first committed to moving more throughout his day, he set up calendar reminders for every two hours.
If you’re struggling to get your movements in, he suggests giving scheduling a try. Stretching can be possible no matter how your day looks, especially because you don’t have to break a sweat to reap its benefits.
“You can talk on the phone and still be stretching, you can turn the camera off on Zoom for a second and stretch, too,” he said.
There’s plenty of evidence that taking breaks throughout the day actually improves your productivity and sense of well-being. Making those breaks stretch breaks only increases those benefits.
Advertisement
Other Stretching Exercises To Try
In addition to a static stretch, there are a few other moves you can attempt. Try some of these below — remembering to breathe and be gentle with yourself — and figure out which ones you like best. Soon enough, you’ll see that incorporating just a few of these movements into your day can work wonders.
Scalene Stretch
This neck-relief stretch is especially helpful for anyone who looks at screens all day (read: most of us). “We hold a lot of tension in our head muscles and our neck,” Wu said. This neck side-bend can help relieve much of that, and you don’t even have to leave your desk to perform it.
Pectoralis Major Doorway Stretch
If you’ve got a doorway, you’ve got a stretching studio. Maybe it’s not obvious that your pec muscles need relief. But according to Gary, the tightness in these muscles often results in back and shoulder pain, and this type of stretch can help.
Advertisement
Seated Piriformis Figure 4 Stretch
Another stretch you can do without getting up from your chair, this move helps relieve tension all over. The more you sit, the tighter your hip flexors will be, Wu said, so consider prioritizing this one if you find yourself seated often. You might also try this stretch while lying on your back (here’s a tutorial).
Quad Stretch
Both experts recommend this one as well. You can really do this stretch anywhere; if you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, soothe some of your body’s stiffness, being sure to trade off between sides.
Leg Swings
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-24--Donald Trump Will 'Somehow' Try To Delay Election, Joe Biden Warns

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday warned that Donald Trump may try to delay the 2020 election.
“Mark my words I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can’t be held,” the former vice president told donors during a virtual fundraiser, according to a pool report cited by multiple outlets.
Advertisement
Biden also suggested Trump is doing “all he can to make it very hard for people to vote” in the ballot with his attempts to use an emergency federal loan to the Postal Service as leverage to bring it further under his administration’s control.
“Imagine threatening not to fund the post office,” Biden said at the “A Fabulous Evening With Vice President Joe Biden” online event.
“Now what in God’s name is that about?” he asked. “Other than trying to let the word out that he’s going to do all he can to make it very hard for people to vote. That’s the only way he thinks he can possibly win.”
To be clear, Trump himself cannot cancel or delay the election. The power to change the election date falls to Congress. And should the vote be postponed, then Trump’s term in office would automatically end on Jan. 20, 2021 anyway, notes Slate.
Advertisement
Biden also warned of Russian interference in the election and said the controversial primary that Republicans pushed ahead with in Wisconsin earlier this month (which forced thousands to the polls amid a statewide stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic) had sent a “giant warning flare to the nation.”
“Republicans were trying to force in-person voting no matter the health cost,” said Biden. “We have to figure out how we are going to conduct a full and fair and safe election in November and no one should have to risk their lives to cast a ballot.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-24--Does Sex Really Boost Your Immune System?

LOADING ERROR LOADING
You’ve got a lot of free time on your hands while social distancing. Your partner has a lot of free time on their hands, too — especially if the two of you don’t have kids. If you’re cooped up together, why not use that extra time to get busy?
That’s the pitch psychologist and sex therapist Janet Brito is making to her clients, especially those who are stressed from reading Covid-19 update after Covid-19 update.
Advertisement
“I have been encouraging my clients who live with their partners to limit their media intake and consider engaging in solo or partnered mindful sex activities,” said Brito, who lives and works in Honolulu.
Mindful sex ― the kind where you’re focused on experiencing pleasure and less concerned about performance or meeting an end goal (orgasming, for instance) ― is the perfect pandemic activity for many reasons, she said.
“At its core, mindful sex is about unwinding and being in the moment with your partner,” she said. “With some soothing music, mindful sex during Covid-19 could be a great solution to managing pandemic stress.”
The connection between sex and feeling good psychologically and physically goes deeper than that, though. Brito and other sex-perts explain how sex can boost your mood and potentially help your immune system during lockdown.
Advertisement
Good sex naturally puts you in a good mood.
Ah, that afterglow. You’re generally in a better mood after sex (or solo play!) thanks to a flood of endorphins and other feel-good hormones released post-climax.
Here’s how that works: Getting it on reduces levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, according to research published in The Journal of Health and Social Behaviour. All the while, it stimulates the production of endorphins, which are neuro-chemicals that naturally trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to a morphine high.
Oxytocin, sometimes called the “love” hormone, is also released during sex and other intimate gestures, such as hugging or holding hands. Scientists say it strengthens social bonds in mammals.
Sex once or twice a week may fend off illness.
According to a study put out by Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, there may be a link between having sex a few times a week and a strong immune system.
The researchers found students who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), which are illness-fighting antibodies found in the mucous membranes of the lungs, sinuses, the stomach and intestines. (They’re also found in the fluids these membranes produce: saliva, tears and blood.)
Advertisement
People who had sex once or twice a week had the highest levels of IgA, which helped them stave off colds. The group had 30% more IgA than the two groups who had less frequent sex and the group that had sex more than twice a week. (Apparently, doing it all the time has its drawbacks.)
“Immunoglobulin basically fights against viruses and boosts your immunity,” said Shannon Chavez, a psychologist and sex therapist in Los Angeles. “Plus, regular sexual activity is good for your heart rate, blood pressure and circulation. These processes keep your body healthy and release toxins and pent up tension in the body.”
filadendron via Getty Images Cuddling also has health benefits, experts say.
Cuddling and simply kissing has health benefits, too.
It’s not just getting down and dirty that’s good for your mental and physical health. A good cuddle or make-out session has its health perks, too. (That kind of intimacy and affection is something we all crave, coupled up or not; in a study conducted by the Kinsey Institute, researchers found that more than half of participants want to cuddle or even spend the whole night cuddling with their casual sex partners.)
Affectionate partners report lower stress, have a lower susceptibility to depression and lower anxiety, said Amanda Gesselman, the associate director for research at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University.
Advertisement
“Kissing also contributes to heart health, affecting cholesterol and risk for heart disease through improved blood lipids,” Gesselman said. “Some studies have even shown that kissing for about 30 minutes reduces people’s responses to allergens. Kissing produces a physiological change inside us that can reduce the immune system’s inflammatory responses.”
Single? Masturbation comes with a lot of the same benefits.
You don’t have to be partnered up to use sex as an antidote to a lot of your stress right now.
“If you’re single, you have more time to engage in erotic fantasy, to masturbate, to sext, to share nudes and sexual content, thus nurturing your erotic self and increasing sexual desire,” Brito said.
If you’re currently self-quarantining away from your partner and feel a lot more horny than usual, you’re not alone, Brito said.
“It’s a stress response, triggered by a fear that you won’t be able to have sex with your partner again due to the current situation,” she said. “Masturbating may offer comfort during distressing times.”
Yet it’s totally understandable if you aren’t in the mood.
Of course, not everyone’s sex drive is through the roof right now ― we all respond to stress differently. In a study Gesselman is conducting with her Kinsey colleagues, many people say their sex drives have declined since the beginning of the pandemic.
Advertisement
“Certainly that’s because many people are physically separated from their partners or potential partners now, but overall, stress has been shown to have a large impact on sexual desire,” she said. “Some people feel a shutting down of their sexual desire. They’re too stressed to want sex or to even think about sex, and that may add even more stress because a part of their life that they may have really enjoyed is now inaccessible.”
For those who look at sex as a form of stress relief, having more sex with their partners is an obvious way to bide their time. And if you’re not in the mood and need some sort of incentive to do it, knowing that it can relieve stress could make it extra enticing.
“[Sex] can give you distraction from the feeling of impending doom we’re all dealing with right now, and can provide a way to feel emotionally close to their partner, which provides comfort and assurance,” Gesselman said.
Bottom line? Do what feels right to you sexually during quarantine, whether it’s abstaining, solo play or getting it on with your partner at home.
“Most of us have more time to think, to seek out entertainment or pleasure right now,” Gesselman said. “It makes sense that for some, this idle time would be an environment to explore their sexual selves.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-24--We're Shopping A Whole Lot More In Lockdown. There's A Reason Why

LOADING ERROR LOADING
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus lockdown. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
There’s a reason shopping is often referred to as retail therapy. Buying yourself something that’s non-essential – be it a book or a new top – feels like a treat. And at a time when we’re being denied so many of our usual comforts, we’re craving all the pick-me-ups we can get.
Advertisement
We’re also spending more time than ever on our devices, meaning those targeted ads are that much more alluring. Earlier this month, Amazon announced it would be hiring 75,000 more workers to cope with demand.
But is all this online shopping during lockdown actually helping us?
Numerous studies have suggested that shopping for non-essential items does boost your mood. One 2011 paper published in the journal Psychology and Marketing even found that, for most of us, “feelings of regret and guilt are not associated with the unplanned purchases made to repair a bad mood”.
XiaoYun Li via Getty Images
Professor Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist at University College London, explains that many of us enjoy shopping because it promotes the surge of feel-good hormones in the body.
Advertisement
“You get a dopamine hit with shopping, and in fact, the dopamine hit seems to be associated with the contemplation of buying something new, so the act of doing it, rather than the thing turning up,” she tells HuffPost UK.
That’s not to say you won’t get another kick from that knock on the door in quarantine, opening it to a parcel left on the doorstep – and giving a wave to your hero postman or woman from a safe social distance.
Lucie Blay, 29, from Battersea, London, has been buying home furnishings and kitchen equipment throughout lockdown, partly because she recently moved, also because it’s making her feel good. “I don’t think I would have spent that much if it wasn’t for the pandemic,” she tells HuffPost UK. “I’m investing in my space, because it’s all I see so it needs to make me happy.”
Hannah Vettese, 26, from north west London has also been keeping her debit card busy, buying beauty and gardening supplies, a frilly shirt, some cheery lemon earrings and presents for loved ones. “I’ve definitely relied on retail therapy and then feel awful for people packing and delivering it,” she says.
Because it’s the browsing that rewards the brain when shopping, rather than the product itself, we might feel compelled to repeat the cycle for the same stimulation. “That’s possibly why it gets a bit more addictive,” says Prof. Scott.
Advertisement
In Birmingham, Jo-Anne Stevens, 40, says she “may as well be burning money right now”.
“I’m literally buying anything – drums, crystals, art, makeup online courses,” she admits. “I have a habit that comes out to play when my anxiety acts up.”
XiaoYun Li via Getty Images
Time (and future studies) will show the true extent of an upsurge in online spend during lockdown, but Scott says not surprised to hear people are using retail therapy to cope with the crisis.
“With anything that people find relaxing, calming and a piece of normal routine, you’re going to get more of it if people can do it,” she says. “Picking up the computer and being able to shop online is an extremely easy way for people to do that, so it would make a lot of sense for it to have gone up in frequency.”
Researchers are already collecting data to determine exactly how consumption is changing due to the pandemic, says Professor Fleura Bardhi, who’s based at City, University of London.
Advertisement
Her research covers “life transitions and consumption”, which means observing how the patterns of our buying habits shift as we manage challenges, from divorce to relocation. She anticipates a shift in the sort of products we are buying during the pandemic.
“Many people will have shifted to shopping for consuming more at home, for example, cooking all their meals rather than eating out and conducting all their entertainment activities, exercise, and work from home,” she says. “So, [we’d expect] a surge in shopping for things and services related to these activities.”
The shopping we’re now indulging seems a far cry from the early pandemic days of toilet paper stockpiling, which therapists suggested was driven by a need for control. Anecdotal evidence suggests we’ve moved on to buying items to entertain us or provide a form of self-care.
Our definitions of what counts as “essential” appear to be changing. Stay-at-home shoppers told HuffPost they’ve been purchasing activewear and equipment, craft supplies, candles, beauty products, games, gardening supplies, posh PJs and so much more to make lockdown more bearable.
Not everyone will be splashing the cash, of course. Financial uncertainty is a reality for many during the pandemic and those preparing for an uncertain future may be trying to save more, or instead “investing in things and services that may provide a sense of personal or health security”, says Prof Bardhi. Some of us are also concerned about the ethics and safety of online shopping right now, and whether it’s fair to place demand on factory workers and delivery drivers.
Advertisement
Ann Gallagher, professor of Ethics and Care at the University of Surrey, previously told HuffPost UK that thinking about who you’re purchasing from and how they’re operating might mitigate some of these concerns.
If in doubt, shop from small, local businesses and ask them what safety measures they have in place for customers and employees.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-24--Loved Tiger King? Circus Of Books' Surreal Tale Of One Couple's Secret Gay Porn Empire Is Your New N

Loved Tiger King? Circus Of Books' Surreal Tale Of One Couple's Secret Gay Porn Empire Is Your New Netflix Obsession

LOADING ERROR LOADING
If you’d told us three months ago that a show about tiger keepers would have been the most talked-about of the year, we probably wouldn’t have believed you.
Advertisement
Then again, it’s far to say that 2020 has chucked us its fair share of curveballs so far.
Picking up where the surreal world of Tiger King left off comes Netflix’s latest real-life offering Circus Of Books, focussing on conservative Jewish-American couple Barry and Karen Mason.
They may look ordinary enough, but their story is every bit as surprising as the tale of Joe Exotic, Carol Baskin and co.
Netflix/HuffPost/Getty
That’s because the for more than 30 years, they secretly owned and operated Circus Of Books, a gay adult book and porn shop that became an institution for the queer community in West Hollywood.
Advertisement
The Masons led somewhat of a double life, keeping their gay porn empire a secret from their family, friends and acquaintances.
“I never felt free to let anybody know what we did... It was like a knife over our heads all the time,” Karen says in the documentary.
Their children only discovered what the nature of their parents’ book store was when they were in high school. Now adults, their daughter Rachel, is telling their story in Circus Of Books.
Originally debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2019, the documentary charts how the couple – who both had strict, religious upbringings – came to buy the gay porn store in the 1980s after falling on hard times.
Karen and Barry Mason ran the Circus Of Books Netflix
Advertisement
In addition to literature, Circus of Books specialised in X-rated videos and sex toys, and according to Karen, they were “probably the biggest distributor of hardcore gay films in the United States”.
“In the 80s, if you could sell adult material, you could make a lot of money,” she says.
The couple fought against various legal attempts aimed at trying to put them out of business and Barry even faced criminal charges over the store when he was caught in an FBI sting.
But for Karen and Barry, it was more than just a business, as it opened their hearts and minds to a community that was taboo in their religious upbringings.
Circus Of Books was “probably the biggest distributor of hardcore gay films in the United States” Netflix
They became advocates for LGBTQ rights, joining rallies and demonstrations, with Karen even becoming a leading member of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), after her son Josh came out as gay.
Advertisement
The documentary examines just what a vital safe space Barry and Karen were guarding for young queer people, many of whom were struggling to come to terms with their sexuality.
Not only was it a place for people to explore themselves, it also became a one of Hollywood’s most famous cruising spots, enabling people to meet for sex long before apps and dating sites like Grindr and Gaydar.
Circus Of Books also lays bare the devastating effect the HIV and AIDS crisis had on the LGBTQ community during the 1980s, and charts the progress of the gay rights movement in the ensuing years
It features contributions from many former Circus Of Books customers and employees who share their gratitude to the couple for what they did for them personally, and the wider community.
One of those contributors is RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Alaska, who used to work at the store before becoming one of the biggest names in the drag world.
Advertisement
RuPaul's Drag Race star Alaska used to work at the shop John Fleenor via Getty Images
Karen and Barry’s daughter Rachel worked with screenwriter and producer Ryan Murphy on the documentary, who has been prolific in telling the stories of LGBTQ people in a number of dramas, including Pose, The Politician and The Assassination Of Gianni Versace.
It is also his first of two Netflix documentaries to be released in as many weeks, having overseen the upcoming A Secret Love, which tells the story of two elderly women moving into a care home and how they had to conduct their relationship privately for many years.
While the Circus Of Books closed its doors in 2019 as the population’s porn habits moved online, this story is as surreal as it is emotional and demonstrates why the LGBTQ community needs more allies like the colourful Karen and Barry Mason.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-04-24--Dettol Manufacturer Warns People Not To Inject Bleach After Trump Suggests It As Coronavirus Treatme

Dettol Manufacturer Warns People Not To Inject Bleach After Trump Suggests It As Coronavirus Treatment

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
The company that makes Dettol has urged people not to try injecting disinfectants to treat coronavirus after US president Donald Trump said it “would be interesting to check that”.
Advertisement
Manufacturer RB was forced to issue the extraordinary statement a day after the leader of the free world was accused of “actively endangering the public’s health” in his latest press briefing.
Referring to research that found isopropyl alcohol is more effective than bleach at killing the virus, Trump said: “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute.
“One minute! And is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning? Is there a way we can do something like that by injection, inside, or almost a cleaning?”
RB, the company behind the Dettol and Lysol brands, issued a statement on Friday saying: “Due to recent speculation and social media activity, RB has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus.
Advertisement
“As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body through injection, ingestion or any other route.”
Senior US officials have already had to clarify that there were no plans to inject disinfectant into Americans, and in the UK Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said, “in relation to disinfectant”, the government is “certainly not aware that is anything that is being recommended”.
They added: “Our approach is driven by UK science and medical advice.”
Trump's briefings are actively endangering the public's health.
Boycott the propaganda. Listen to the experts. And please don't drink disinfectant. https://t.co/gRRn3sQ04T — Robert Reich (@RBReich) April 23, 2020
The White House was also pitching “emerging” research on the benefits of sunlight and humidity in diminishing the threat of coronavirus which Trump said had a powerful effect in killing the virus on surfaces and in the air.
When asked if it was dangerous to make people think they would be safe by going outside in the heat, considering so many people have died in Florida, the president said he was “here to present ideas, because we want ideas to get rid of this thing”.
Advertisement
He added: “And if heat is good, and if sunlight is good, that’s a great thing as far as I’m concerned.”