thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--This Vegan Banana Bread Recipe Is Perfect To Create With Your Kids

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Cooking With Kids is a weekly recipe series on getting creative in the kitchen with the family.
You might have already made your bodyweight in banana bread this year, but we think you may have room for one more – especially since this delectable treat is vegan.
Daniel Watkins, former head chef at London restaurant St. Leonard’s, who’s currently doing a pop-up residency at London Fields Courtyard, teaches us how to make the ultimate banana bread recipe, but this version uses no dairy, eggs or flour – perfect for ingredient swaps when you don’t have much lying around.
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“Both of my children have autism and after looking into ways in which we as parents could support them, we learnt how food can change and help behaviour and wellbeing,” he explains.
“We made changes to our family diet, eating habits and routine so we could help both our children and ourselves. Keeping to a plant-based, gluten-free diet and staying away from sugars improved things dramatically. The addition of the nuts and seeds in this recipe adds a great nutritional value to the bread plus the crunch texture it adds is very satisfying.”
Aside from teaching them the importance of eating right, this is a great introductory recipe for kids that shows them how to measure everything out so they can begin to see the exact process and importance of accuracy when baking.
“It’s also quite a forgiving recipe if the measurements are off and easy enough for you to make while holding their attention,” Watkins says. “My kids love it for the simple reason that it’s sweet! But they also have the added satisfaction of knowing that most of the ingredients are actually good for you and cuts out most of the rubbish found in other sweet treats.”
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Banana bread, burnt honey and seeds
Serves: 4 – 6 people | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 40-45 mins
Daniel Watkins Banana bread, burnt honey and seeds
Ingredients:
300g oats
3 very ripe bananas
120ml aquafaba (chickpea water)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Good pinch of cinnamon
40g sugar (soft dark brown)
30g coconut oil
Pinch of sea salt
Nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and hazelnuts)
1-2 tbsp of honey
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 170C/360F/Gas Mark 3.
2. In the food processor blend oats until you’re left with a fine powder.
3. Get your kids to help by letting them peel and smash the bananas .
4. Add in the rest of your ingredients to the blender and blend until well combined and creamy. You should have a sticky thick batter.
5. Place into a cast iron dish with baking parchment, or a non-stick baking tin and bake for approx. 30 – 40 minutes or until golden. This usually depends on the size of your dish so make sure to keep an eye on it.
6. While the mix is baking, lightly toast some of the seeds until golden. This can be done in the oven or on the stove.
7. Once your seeds are toasted, add a couple of tablespoons of honey to a thick bottom pan and place over a medium heat. You will see the colour change as the honey starts to caramelise. Set aside ready to pour over the bread.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--What Are Super-Spreader Events – And How Can You Avoid Them?

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Every Monday we’ll answer your questions on Covid-19 and health in a feature published online. You can submit a question here.
This week, HuffPost UK reader Leanne asked: What is a super-spreader event? And how can I avoid them?
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‘Super-spreader’ is a non-scientific term, used to describe people who end up accidentally infecting significantly more people than would be expected – and in this case, we’re talking about people infecting others with Covid-19.
A super-spreader event, then, is the circumstance in which this person spreads the virus around lots of people in one go. While you might expect a person with Covid-19 to pass it on to one or two people, in a super-spreader event they might pass it around to 10 or more.
So far, super-spreader events have occurred in a range of places including meat packing plants, prisons, nightclubs and bars – basically any venue where people are in close proximity of one another, ventilation is poor and the virus gets the opportunity to spread like wildfire.
Scientists want there to be less focus on the people who act as the source of the infection (the super-spreader, you might say) and more on the circumstances the spread has happened – so as not to lay blame. By shifting the focus, they say, this can help prevent situations from happening again.
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DKosig via Getty Images
Household transmission seems to be the most likely way to catch Covid-19, but an analysis by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) found care homes, bars, religious settings and workplaces were associated with more clusters of cases. There have also been some incidences at weddings, sporting events and conferences where large numbers of people became ill.
Quentin Leclerc, a PhD researcher in mathematical modelling of infectious disease, who was involved in the LSHTM analysis, says rather than focusing on the type of venue where the virus spreads (for example, a nightclub or wedding venue), we should focus on the environmental conditions that appear to help fuel such events.
“A lot of people ask: what are the most high-risk settings or how do we rank them?” says Leclerc, “but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to talk about it this way. “What’s interesting is to say this is where we see super-spreading events, these are the characteristics of the settings, [so] these are the factors that facilitate super-spreading events, not the settings.”
Being indoors, having people in close proximity, poor ventilation and environments that are relatively cold (such as food processing plants), seem to facilitate greater transmission of the virus, he points out. This is in comparison to, say, an outdoor venue that’s larger, where people can socially distance.
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This explains why choirs – where the close proximity of singers, act of singing, and close contact activities like hugging and kissing – are thought to have fuelled transmission, as well as factories and meat processing plants – where crowded and cold conditions are very common. Between four food factories in England and Wales, more than 450 workers tested positive for Covid-19 back in June. One plant, based in Anglesey, was responsible for 200 cases alone.
Another factor to consider is if the people in close proximity of the infected person have weakened immune systems or underlying health issues. If so, they may be more susceptible to the effects of the virus. This might go some way in explaining why the virus has had such devastating effects in care homes.
Professor Rowland Kao, an expert in veterinary epidemiology and data science at the University of Edinburgh, says many examples of Covid-19 spreading are due to a person having more contact with others than on average.
This might occur, for example, if an infected person repeatedly visits indoor locations with close proximity to others. “This was the driver behind the notorious super-spreading situation in Seoul in May, which resulted in the contact tracing of thousands of individuals and over a hundred cases,” he says.
The event in question took place when a 29-year-old man went to five clubs and bars in Seoul, South Korea. The man later tested positive for Covid-19 and bars and clubs in Seoul were forced to shut. At least 101 cases were linked to the event and more than 7,000 people were tested to stop it spreading further.
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Prof Kao points out that 10% of people were thought to be responsible for 80% of new cases at the start of the pandemic. When lockdown happened, this curbed such spread, but with restrictions easing and normality returning somewhat, there are concerns this could, again, drive super-spreading events.
So how can you avoid them? Leclerc says there’s a focus on the three Cs in Japan: avoiding closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places with lots of people nearby, and close contact settings such as close-range conversations. This is important to remember for anyone who wants to steer clear of a super-spreading event.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--My Husband’s Autism Diagnosis At 44 Changed Our Family – For The Better

HuffPost UK The author, with her husband and children
Eighteen years ago, I lived in Norwich and worked on Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff as a co-presenter. One day, I received a phone call out of the blue from Kelly, a man I had met years prior. He had seen me on the show and decided to call the station to get back in touch.
I was over the moon to hear from him. It had been five years since we’d been in touch and I had always held a bit of a torch for him. He asked if I was ever in London, I said yes, and we met up and went on a date. We had such a fantastic evening, chatting lots over cocktails. I knew then that this was more than a regular date – it was the start of a relationship.
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Just three weeks later, Kelly broke the news he was going travelling to Australia for a year – and asked if I wanted to go with him. Obviously, I said yes. I remember sitting at the airport, waiting for our flight, literally jumping up and down with excitement. Kelly, on the other hand, didn’t look excited at all. I asked if he was looking forward to travelling and he replied “It should be good”.
I couldn’t help but think that was an unusual reaction for someone going backpacking for a year. I couldn’t stop talking about how great it would be and all of the fantastic places we would visit. Kelly seemed more subdued and didn’t look like he minded if we went travelling or not.
Over the years we had mentioned on and off about Kelly perhaps being autistic. He has always been quite direct and very honest – if I ask him his opinion, I always get a 100% honest answer, even if it’s not what I want to hear, whether I ask him about what he thinks of dinner I’ve cooked or if he’s excited about our plans for the weekend.
“Both our children have sensory processing disorder – they struggle with textures, strong smells, bright lights and things that just don’t feel ‘right’.”
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We married in 2008 and had our first child, India. When our son Hudson followed two years later, Hudson was often sick and would scream and cry at mealtimes. We learned that both he and India have sensory processing disorder – they struggle with textures, strong smells, bright lights and things that just don’t feel ‘right’, hence Hudson struggling so much with food.
Seeing specialists about Hudson’s eating, the word ‘autistic’ came up a few times. During an appointment with a psychologist, she asked questions about Hudson and how he reacts in certain situations. At this point, I realised she was also describing India. As girls can ‘mask’ their autism more than boys, I hadn’t noticed anything unusual. Both were diagnosed with autism (Asperger’s Syndrome).
The more I read about autism, the more we realised Kelly had a lot of ‘typical’ autistic trait: being direct, over-analysing situations, needing routine and structure. I would share traits of autism and Kelly would joke “is that describing me or the children?”
Kelly and I wondered for some time whether he should get diagnosed or not. After all he had gone through life without a diagnosis. We decided to go privately, like we had with the children; the wait on the NHS can be up to two years. Kelly was also officially diagnosed with autism (Asperger’s) last Christmas. Seeing it written down in black and white was reassuring. Kelly realised there was a reason why he felt the way he did.
“With Kelly’s attention to detail and straight-talking honesty, I couldn’t wish for a better business partner, or husband”
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When we would tell friends about Kelly’s diagnosis, their first reaction was usually surprise. Some asked why Kelly decided to get an official diagnosis. At 44, it may seem rather late for him – but for us as a family, the timing is invaluable. The children love knowing their daddy is ‘just like them’ and they don’t feel so alone, knowing that he is autistic too. Kelly draws on his experiences from growing up and his time at school and offers support and advice to India and Hudson. I can’t offer advice, as I don’t know how they see the world around them. Although I try and help them understand why neurotypical people act the way they do.
With our greater understanding of autism, Kelly decided he wants to have more time to spend with the family. Despite building a successful career over 23 years, managing teams, presenting at conferences and hosting events, he chose to leave the corporate world. He wanted to be more flexible with his time, at home more to help with the children and feel more in control of his career and his life.
We’ve set up a consultancy together. It’s called Hudia, named after Hudson and India. We’ve talked for years about working together, ever since we cleaned shoes together at the Melbourne Boat Show. With Kelly’s attention to detail and straight-talking honesty, I couldn’t wish for a better business partner, or husband.
Hester Grainger is a freelance journalist and co-founder of hudia.co.uk. Follow her on Twitter at @HesterGrainger


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--I Was Desperate To Find A Roommate. Now, I'm Marrying Him During A Pandemic.

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Girl meets boy. Girl becomes engaged to boy. The world is overtaken by a deadly virus.
This is not how I thought my love story would go. But here we are, holed up in our apartment with our dog, our health, and a looming wedding date.
I met my future husband in the housing section of Craigslist in San Francisco seven years ago. I was 22 and looking for any bedroom, a dilapidated studio, a dining room with a curtain... whatever would have me.
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An apartment with a friend (the friend who will be marrying us!) had fallen through at the last minute. Jerrod, my fiancé, was 25 and hurriedly leaving New York City for a job in the Bay Area. I’d made the same move three years earlier, but for school. In a competitive rental market, neither of us could find a bedroom that wasn’t snatched up instantly.
In desperation, he responded to my generic ad for a roommate. His was the only email I replied to.
Hi!
So I went into the housing wanted section of craigslist to post a frantic housing request and I saw your ad. I am also looking for move-in by 8/1. This is a long shot. I thought I would email you to see if you would be interested in urgently finding a two bedroom?
Something about those words: This is a long shot. The rest of the email is mine to keep, hidden safely from view like a hermit crab tucked in its shell. But it moved me. He linked to his Facebook and LinkedIn profiles so I could be sure he was who he claimed to be. I liked the look of him with his short, dark hair. His near smile. The email made me laugh. None of the others had.
The next night we met for pizza and beer at a place that no longer exists. I was still wearing one of the only blazers I owned for work — grey, soft, cheap — a caricature of a functional adult with a temp job and only impending student loan debt. He ran late because of the train and texted me politely, racing into the restaurant on his skinny legs, dressed almost entirely in black, save for a well worn band T-shirt that lives on in our closet today.
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We were both escaping doomed relationships, his infinitely more complicated than mine. But when you’re looking for a roommate, all that really matters is that their at-home values match yours and they have good-enough credit. He checked those boxes. He was originally from Ohio, and his voice went down an octave when he said it, like mine does when I say I’m from Long Island.
Courtesy of Jiordan Castle The men in the author's life.
It wasn’t love at first sight. It’s more that I felt relieved. He gave me the familiar feeling of coming home after a long time gone. I figured I was just missing New York. We spent a lot of time together over the next week while we searched for our eventual apartment in the Outer Sunset. Instagram tagged the location as The Edge of the Western World. My bedroom was the “bonus room,” with no fewer than three doors on three of the four walls; his was the street-noisy master bedroom.
Things happen. Your roommate is cuter than you’d expected. Your roommate likes the things you like. Your roommate buys you a Transformer for Christmas because you’ve always wanted one. (Megatron has a special place on one of our bookshelves.)
I don’t think either of us believed we could evolve into something more than an attraction, a too-close friendship, simply because ... we were an accident. But what couple isn’t? Some meet in high school. Others meet in college. Maybe you meet at work. At the bookstore. At a concert. At a bar. On an app. Through friends. At a destination wedding. Whatever it is, that plot point we call fate (if we’re romantics) or coincidence (if we’re skeptics), I think something inside me always knew Jerrod was someone I wanted to keep — in any capacity. We decided to be together, an official first date about six months into living together. He dressed up. I had carnitas.
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We moved from our two-bedroom at the beach to a one-bedroom on a high hill in San Francisco. After a few years, we moved back to New York together. We adopted our dog, also from the internet (though not from Craigslist). Like other couples, we weathered things, like painful dental procedures (mine), back-to-back flus, family deaths and estrangements, student loans (mine), a money pit of a car (his). Jerrod became a fixture in my life as ordinary-extraordinary as a smoke alarm, and as present. For all our days and nights spent together, I was still myself: a product of an especially difficult divorce, unsettled by comfort. But so was Jerrod.
“When he proposed after dinner on our sixth anniversary, in a hotel suite with a view, an antique ring in a bright box, I didn’t cry; I yelled like my team had won the game. My chest felt electric.”
When he proposed after dinner on our sixth anniversary, in a hotel suite with a view, an antique ring in a bright box, I didn’t cry; I yelled like my team had won the game. My chest felt electric. It seems an odd thing to point out, but you have to understand: I always imagined I would cry, hands to my face, all ugly, wonderful sweetness, like a movie. Right? But my favorite movie is ”Moonstruck,” and when Nic Cage proposes to Cher at the breakfast table, she doesn’t cry either. And now I understand.
Love is the best thing we do. It takes on so many shapes throughout the course of our lives. But for most of us, it takes a long time to build a life worth living, and that’s what I was most focused on all those years. Every single person I spoke to after we got engaged assumed I knew it was coming — that night, on our anniversary. But I didn’t. I knew it was coming at all; we’d talked about it in specific terms, not abstract ones. We didn’t have (don’t have!) much money, but we’re fortunate. We have each other, our dog, some savings, our mutual joys. This is a long shot is what I thought about the whole thing, because let’s be honest: Getting married is expensive in general, and especially if you live where we live and you don’t go to City Hall.
Less than two months later, Covid-19 arrived and New York was declared a state of emergency. My mother (who lives in New York City as well) set to work making mask after mask for us, and for everyone she knows. Jerrod started working from home — indefinitely. Our dog was thrilled to have us here, perpetually, competing with him for space on the couch. We crept closer to the date we’d set aside for a summer wedding shower ... and quietly canceled it. Our tasting was canceled. The only thing we booked, before the pandemic was a known threat, was our venue. I envisioned our 2021 winter wedding as a big cocktail party in a bookstore, with my original Craigslist roommate Jessie flying in from California to marry us in a book-backed nook with tealights.
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Courtesy of Jiordan Castle The author (left) with Jerrod (middle) and their friend Jessie (right) in the first photo Jerrod and the author ever took together as roommates in San Francisco.
As we slogged into summer, blessed with only headaches and body aches anyone could call fatigue and anxiety — and not necessarily the virus — I bought a few small, hopeful things: a cake topper, a ring box, and some signs for the party. But I felt it disappearing before me. I couldn’t see a future state with a large group in an enclosed space, even as people told me: January? It’ll all be fine by then. When you get married, you probably want to be able to hug your friends and family without holding your breath.
We’re not planning to have children. (The pandemic didn’t change that ... though it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think it helped cement it.) We’re not saving for a house. We’re two people with two incomes, who’ve been able to get through this pandemic largely unscathed. In New York City, no less! The wedding, the party of it, is the one flashy dream I’d had for us as a couple. Because we were roommates first, we never moved in together in the traditional sense. There were milestones that slipped by unseen simply because they weren’t obvious. But not everyone gets to have a wedding, and even fewer get the wedding of their dreams. There are losses far greater, hardships that cut far deeper, than postponing or cancelling a party.
So we decided that, whatever happens, we’ll get married on our date this winter. The party can wait. Everything else can wait. The one miracle I see when I look into the mostly terrifying, gloom-and-doom future we’ve all been saddled with is this: we’re getting married to each other. We can have our second start. The wedding is not the marriage. I miss everyone, I do, but if I had to captain a boat with only room for one other person, it would be Jerrod (so long as he agrees to bring the dog). All of life is a long shot, and I don’t want to miss any of it.
This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--'Fragile' Back-To-School Plans Could Force Students Home Within Days

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Teachers have warned that the “incredibly fragile” plans put in place by schools in the absence of clear government guidance could see students forced back into remote learning.
The government wants every pupil back in full-time education within days. But while it has urged schools to implement social-distancing measures and bolstered hygiene processes, it has provided very little detail – and no extra funding – to help staff and students return safely.
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Schools have been forced to come up with their own complex plans to keep “bubbles” of students as separate as possible to limit the risk of infection, with senior leadership teams spending their summer designing one-way systems and socially distanced lunch breaks.
Almost every element of the back-to-school period has been changed, with one teacher telling HuffPost UK that teachers still hadn’t received their timetables – which would normally be handed out in May and will mean “chaos” in the first weeks of term.
But even the most carefully-crafted plans could topple within days in the case of a single infection in the school.
The UK’s chief medical officers published a statement on Sunday saying children had an “exceptionally low risk of dying” of Covid-19, adding that schools did not appear to be a “common route of transmission” for the virus – but acknowledged that staff-to-staff transmission could occur and reopening could drive the R rate back up.
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Pupils have been grouped into bubbles to limit the spread of infection – but iin secondary schools, where staff specialise in one subject, teachers are forced to move between classes throughout the day.
One 37-year-old department head, who works in a large south London school, said: “It’s very, very difficult. If a pupil tests positive then their entire bubble has to self-isolate, but teachers need to stay in to teach their other students. We’re already really understaffed as it is.”
The teacher added: “If a teacher tests positive then all of their bubbles will have to self-isolate – at least that’s how we understand it at the moment. The school has had to work all of this out themselves. There’s been very little – if any – practical help from the government or local authority.
“With more than 1,000 students crammed into basically one building, and lots of them going home to families filled with siblings at other schools and parents at work, then it’s very hard to see how positive tests and self-isolation won’t become a weekly occurrence.
“We’re doing our best with what we have but it’s incredibly fragile. It really wouldn’t take much for the entire system to topple.”
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Teachers have said they feel that without a clear set of rules for how to operate in the face of an infection among pupils or teachers, schools had been “thrown to the wolves” by the government and “abandoned” to develop their own plans.
The governments exam results fiasco has also distracted many school staff from detailing the finer points of back-to-school plans, leaving them scrambling in the last days of the summer holidays to meet Department for Education guidance.
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the teacher’s union NASUWT, said: “We believe there is still considerable work for the government to do to set out how it intends to monitor and take action to ensure that all schools have in place the safety measures set out in its guidance.”
He added the government must “provide schools with clear advice on the steps which will be taken to protect staff and students and support the continued provision of education if there is a local outbreak of Covid or a second wave nationally”.
Many state schools – at every level – were struggling to cope financially before Covid-19 hit, leaving them unprepared to buy enough resources to limit the spread of the virus.
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Extra deep-cleaning, PPE for staff, and multiples of toys, books and pens all come at a price – one that can’t easily be afforded by schools already finding it hard to provide the basics, not to mention the resources needed to support the most vulnerable children and their families.
Despite advising that school staff introduce enhanced cleaning, wear PPE as much as possible and minimise contact between pupils, the latest government guidance published on August 7 makes it clear that schools can’t expect any additional funding to make their classrooms safe.
One 31-year-old Year 3 teacher at a school in Haringey told HuffPost UK that school budgets were already stretched, and while the year might start out on the right track it was unclear how long measures like enhanced cleaning could be financed by the school. The only other option left for teachers would be to buy and use extra cleaning materials themselves on top of their usual work.
She said: “When I was back in school in the summer term to work with the children of key workers we were already just using watered-down soap as ‘hand sanitiser’.
“The term might start ok but as the budget lessens I think the responsibility will fall, as usual, to teachers to start picking up the cost, or there will be more pressure on parents to provide cleaning materials.
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“All of this responsibility has been taken away from the government and put onto the individual. Somehow it’s our duty to make sure everyone’s hands are clean, and if we don’t have the right hand soap or sanitiser we have to buy it ourselves.”
Another teacher added: “The money to keep students and staff safe will have to come from somewhere and will mean that the money used will be taken from somewhere else, which could have an impact on curriculum resources or building maintenance.”
Roach said: “The latest research from NASUWT found that three in 10 teachers believe budgetary constraints will affect their schools’ ability to reopen safely.
“We have been calling on the government to provide schools with additional financial resources to meet the costs of practical requirements such as extra cleaning to ensure that schools are able to reopen fully without cutting corners on safety.”
Without a clear plan for what happens when schools are potentially forced to close due to an outbreak, teachers have no idea what to prepare for a return to distance learning.
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One teacher at a secondary in London told HuffPost UK there were multiple pupils in each year group who live with large families in tiny flats, often with only one laptop or tablet to share between five or more school-age children.
Motivation is a problem, as well as access. “It’s really tough to motivate hundreds of teenagers to study, especially when they’re not sure when or if they’ll be returning to school,” another teacher said.
“Kids that age often don’t want to look like they are engaging with their education, and their circumstances at home make it really, really hard to actually do so.
“We’ve tried hundreds of different ways to get pupils to care about learning from home, but you can’t force kids to do the work. We’re really concerned about the impact that another lockdown or even just a school-wide lockdown could have, and it’s likely it would be worse the second time around.”
Roach said the government also needed to explain how schools could minimise the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on pupils from Black, Asian and minority ethnic families.
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Boris Johnson has framed the return to school as a “moral duty”, citing the harm done to children when they’re forced to exist outside the usual supportive routine of a school day.
But the imposition of morality onto an issue as logically difficult as millions of children returning to their often-cramped classrooms has been met with anger by many teachers, who say the need for pupils to return shouldn’t come at the risk of harming teachers, staff and their families.
One Spanish teacher from the north-west, who is returning to school within days despite being pregnant, said: “Whilst I want to get students back, a ‘moral duty’ shouldn’t mean that staff should be expected to sacrifice their own health and the health of their families, which is what it feels like we are being guilt-tripped to do.
“The term ‘moral duty’ also seems to take priority over, and importance away from, the government and each school’s legal duty to keep us safe.
“One look at any union Facebook group shows post after post of teachers whose schools are not fulfilling their legal duties to keep staff safe, either by failing to produce their individual risk assessments in time or insufficient social distancing plans. It also shows how petrified many teachers are of the return to work.”
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She added: “I think it’s rich that someone who has shown absolutely no sense of morality in his time as PM should appeal to teachers’ sense of morality. If he wanted the school return to run more smoothly then more work should have been done to engage positively with school staff and unions.
“It currently feels like teachers are being constantly vilified by both government and the press which takes its toll on a profession which already struggles from low morale, and seems incredibly unfair given that most teachers are in the profession out of a genuine desire to help our young people and contribute positively to society.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “All pupils will return to school for the start of the autumn term – delivering on our national priority to get all pupils back to the classroom, which is the best place for their education, development and wellbeing.
“Throughout the pandemic, schools have continued to receive their core funding, with this year marking the first year of a three-year £14.4 billion total cash boost. Schools have also been able to claim for specific exceptional costs such as additional cleaning required due to confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases, worth up to £75,000 for large secondary schools.
“We recognise that students due to take exams next summer will have experienced disruption to their education, which is why we prioritised bringing Year 10 and Year 12 pupils back for some face-to-face support in school last term. We have also launched a £1 billion Covid catch up package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time over the coming year.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--BBC Announces 'Rule Britannia!' Will Not Be Ditched From Last Night Of Proms Concert

Members of the audience during the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London. PA
‘Rule Britannia!’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ will be performed at the Last Night Of The Proms - despite reports that the BBC was considering ditching the tunes in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.
The broadcaster issued a statement insisting that orchestral versions of the tunes will go ahead.
Coronavirus restrictions on audiences mean the ‘Rule Britannia!’ lyrics - including a reference to “Britons never, never, never shall be slaves” that campaigners have said is racist - will not be sung.
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There will be no live audience, many of whom usually sing the words to the music and wave flags at the end-of-summer concert.
The BBC said the orchestra-only arrangement was how the tunes were first performed at the Proms in 1905 and reported that it would “sound odd and perhaps rather bleak with just a handful of singers spread around an empty hall”.
However, BBC Singers will sing the National Anthem and Jerusalem with lyrics.
The sing-along tradition is intended to be restored once coronavirus restrictions are lifted in future, and live audiences allowed once more.
The statement came just hours after culture secretary Oliver Dowden and Boris Johnson signalled their opposition to any attempt to axe them from the classical music event.
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Dowden had tweeted that he had raised the issue with the BBC on Monday, and No.10 Downing Street made clear that the prime minister felt that “substance” mattered more than “symbols” when tackling racism.
The Sunday Times reported BBC sources claiming that the corporation was considering ditching the flag-waving anthem from the classical music concert, amid concerns about racist and colonial content of the lyrics.
The paper suggested that conductor Dalia Stasevska believed this year’s ceremony without an audience would be “the perfect moment to bring change”.
A statement from the BBC said a new arrangement of Jerusalem will be performed, along with orchestral versions of Land Of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia!
“With much reduced musical forces and no live audience, the Proms will curate a concert that includes familiar, patriotic elements such as Jerusalem and the national anthem, and bring in new moments capturing the mood of this unique time, including You’ll Never Walk Alone, presenting a poignant and inclusive event for 2020.”
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It added: “We very much regret the unjustified personal attacks on Dalia Stasevska, BBC Symphony Orchestra principal guest conductor, made on social media and elsewhere.
“As ever, decisions about the Proms are made by the BBC, in consultation with all artists involved.”
Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory are highlights of the Last Night of the Proms
Share concerns of many about their potential removal and have raised this with @BBC
Confident forward-looking nations don’t erase their history, they add to it — Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) August 24, 2020
Several Twitter users suspected the songs were never seriously considered for the axe and the issue was being used to create a ‘culture war’ issue that would deflect from government failings on coronavirus and the exams chaos.
Earlier, the prime minister’s spokesperson said while scheduling was a matter for the BBC and the Proms organisers, he was clear in his view that “substance” was more important than “symbols” on such issues.
Dowden went even further, revealing he had raised concerns with the BBC and declaring that “confident forward-looking nations don’t erase their history, they add to it”.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--Downing Street Shoots Down Donald Trump's Hopes Of Fast-Tracking Coronavirus Vaccine

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Downing Street has insisted the UK will be first in line for a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University, after reports Donald Trump was considering granting emergency authorisation for it to be deployed in the US.
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The UK government has struck a deal with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to get “first access” to it once approved, a spokesperson for No.10 said on Monday.
According to the Financial Times, the White House was hoping to jump the queue for the vaccine and at a press conference on Sunday night, Trump promised that “you’ll be hearing” about vaccines “very soon”.
But the No.10 spokesman said: “We have been clear that we will only roll out a vaccine once it is deemed safe and effective by our regulators.
“AstraZeneca have entered into a number of agreements with other countries, they have the global licensing agreement with Oxford, but we have been clear: once it has been found to be effective, we have signed a deal for 100 million doses which means that once it is effective the UK will get first access.”
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AstraZeneca also denied it had been consulted by the White House on the matter.
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Commenting on the prospect of the vaccine being fast-tracked in the US, England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said that everyone around the globe should have “fair and safe access to vaccine development”.
She told Sky News: “We have a global crisis… It is really important that everyone around the world has fair and safe access to vaccine development.
“Obviously those countries which are more developed have the facilities to develop the vaccine and get it safely out to their populations. But I think all public health colleagues would be wanting fair distribution.”
Commenting on the reports of the White House plan to fast-track the vaccine ahead of the US election, Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, told PA Media: “It should be incredibly disturbing to the global medical community to see any potential attempts by any politicians, whether in Russia, the USA or elsewhere, to seek to manipulate, short-circuit or exert influence in any way over the agreed scientific protocols that are in place to carefully evaluate comparative safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of vaccines.
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“In decades to come, we won’t remember which politician polled a few more or less votes, but we really won’t forget any failed opportunities to put in place the safest most effective possible global programmes to eradicate this pandemic.”
On Sunday, Trump also announced the emergency authorisation of convalescent plasma for Covid-19 patients in the US.
But NHS officials said that the plasma studies which have emerged from America are “not conclusive”.
The study, led by the Mayo Clinic, indicated that patients treated early – within three days of diagnosis – with convalescent plasma which has high levels of antibodies had an improved chance of survival.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which is supporting the British convalescent plasma research, said that randomised controlled trials are the “gold standard” and the ones published in the US are observational studies.
Research in the UK is assessing whether convalescent plasma donations can be transfused into patients who are struggling to develop their own immune response.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--From Soapland To Hollywood: 17 Soap Stars Who Found Success In The US

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Former EastEnder Alex Ferns has become the latest former soap star to impress fans with his US success, following his role in the new Batman film.
The actor plays Gotham Police Commissioner Pete Savage in the caped crusader’s latest big-screen outing – but he’s far from the first small screen star to go from soapland to Hollywood.
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Over the years, the likes of EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street have developed a proven track record when it comes to helping launch international careers.
And it’s not just British soaps either, as Neighbours and Home & Away have seen more than a few of their young stars jet off to LA and impress movie business bigwigs.
Here are just 17 former soap stars who made a name for themselves across the pond...
Ben Hardy
Jason Mendez via Getty Images
In one pretty impressive career move, former EastEnders star Ben (aka Peter Beale) swapped Walford for Wolverine by nabbing a role in X-Men: Apocalypse, playing Angel.
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He also won acclaim when he was cast as Roger Taylor in the hit Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and has appeared in other films including Only The Brave and 6 Underground.
Nathalie Emmanuel
Gregg DeGuire via Getty Images
Nathalie went from playing Hollyoaks’ Sasha Valentine to starring in one of the world’s biggest shows when she was cast as Missandei in Game Of Thrones in 2013 – a role she played until the series’ conclusion in 2019.
She later voiced Deet in Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, while her big screen credits include her role as Ramsey in the seventh, eighth and ninth Fast And Furious films, as well as the Maze Runner series.
Roxanne McKee
Paul Archuleta via Getty Images
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Roxanne spent three years in Hollyoaks as Louise Summers, before taking a number of small parts in the UK and eventually relocating.
In the US, she reached a new fanbase when she played Doreah in Game Of Thrones from 2011 to 2012, before going on to appear in US TV series Dominion, as well as starring in films including Vendetta and The Legend of Hercules.
Himesh Patel
Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment
Himesh left his role as the loveable Tamwar Masood in 2016 after nine years on the Square and soon made the leap to the big screen.
He made his film debut as Jack Malik in Yesterday, before also appearing in The Aeronauts and the Christopher Nolan film Tenet.
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More recently, you might have seen him in the Netflix disaster movie Don’t Look Up or the HBO Max limited series Station Eleven.
Sam Strike
John Phillips/Invision/AP
EastEnders’ original Johnny Carter actor Sam left Albert Square, and nabbed himself a part in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel Leatherface.
He has also appeared on US TV series Mindhunter, Nightflyers and FBI: Most Wanted.
Ricky Whittle
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis via Getty Images
Ricky set off for LA not long after leaving his role as Calvin Valentine in Hollyoaks in 2011.
After nabbing a number of small roles, he finally got his big US break in 2014, when he began playing Lincoln in the CW Network drama The 100.
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Since then, Ricky has appeared in the US adaptation of BBC drama Mistresses, as well as taking the lead role of Shadow Moon in American Gods. In 2018, he also appeared in Netflix film Nappily Ever After.
Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Rachel, who played Mitzeee Minniver on Hollyoaks, won an Oscar in 2018 for her short film The Silent Child, which told the story of a four-year-old deaf girl, learning to communicate.
She wrote, produced and starred in the film, while her real-life boyfriend Chris, who previously appeared as a cage fighter on Hollyoaks, directed it.
Claire Cooper
SOPA Images via Getty Images
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Claire waved goodbye to Hollyoaks’ Jacqui McQueen in 2013, going on to star in the NBC drama A.D. The Bible Continues.
She has since appeared in TV series Strike Back, Knightfall and 12 Monkeys, as well as In The Club back here in the UK.
Michelle Ryan
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Back in 2007, Michelle became one of EastEnders’ first big international successes when the former Zoe Slater star was cast in a US TV remake of The Bionic Woman.
Anna Friel
Andy Kropa/Invision/AP
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While you’re more likely to recognise Anna from movies, ITV’s Marcella, or perhaps the West End stage, she actually started out in Brookside back in 1993.
She headed out to the US in the late 90s, and appeared in a plethora of films and TV shows, but her breakthrough role came in 2007 when she was cast in the lead role of comedy drama Pushing Daises. The show earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.
Some of Anna’s film credits include Limitless, The Look of Love and I.T, while her role in British crime noir Marcella also won her an International Emmy Award in 2017.
Chris Hemsworth
Jun Sato via Getty Images
Long before Chris was making film fans swoon as Hollywood superhero Thor, he was tearing up the waves of Summer Bay as Home & Away’s Kim Hyde.
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As well as his Marvel Cinematic Universe role, Chris’ film credits include Snow White and the Huntsman, Ghostbusters and Men in Black: International.
Liam Hemsworth
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Chris’ little brother Liam had guest roles in Aussie’s two biggest soaps Neighbours and Home And Away before finding a new level of fame in The Hunger Games film series alongside Jennifer Lawrence in 2012.
His other film credits include Independence Day: Resurgence, The Expendables 2 and Netflix’s Isn’t It Romantic?.
Rob Kazinsky
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images
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Rob’s bad boy character Sean Slater caused plenty of trouble in Walford prior to his exit in 2009, and he went on to stir things up as a vampire in US fantasy horror series True Blood in 2013.
Since then, Rob’s appeared in films including Pacific Rim, Hot Pursuit and Captain Marvel and starred in Fox series Second Chance.
Zaraah Abrahams
Jon Furniss/Invision/AP
Zaraah left her role as Coronation Street’s Joanne Jackson back in 2007, and in 2015 she starred in the US medical drama The Knick, where she played Opal Edwards in the second series.
Samara Weaving
Pascal Le Segretain via Getty Images
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After waving goodbye to Summer Bay in 2013 when she left her role as Home & Away’s Indi Walker, Samara packed off to the US where she was cast in Ash vs Evil Dead in 2015.
She has since appeared in Oscar-winning film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the horror flick Ready Or Not and the comedy Bill & Ted Face the Music in 2020.
Her other US TV credits include SMILF, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Netflix mini-series Hollywood.
Barry Sloane
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Barry, who played Hollyoaks serial killer Niall Rafferty until 2008, and went on to have a regular role in hit US drama Revenge from 2012 to 2014.
He’s also appeared in The Whispers, Longmire, Saints & Strangers, Six, L.A.’s Finest and Bluff City Law.
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Margot Robbie
Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Margot is arguably soapland’s biggest Hollywood export, having gone from Neighbours school girl Donna Friedman to Leonardo DiCaprio’s on-screen wife Naomi Lapaglia in The Wolf Of Wall Street.
Since her international breakthrough role, Margot has starred in films including Focus, The Big Short, The Legend of Tarzan, Suicide Squad, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Mary Queen of Scots and Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--World's First Case Of Covid-19 Reinfection Confirmed In Hong Kong

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The first case of a person being reinfected with coronavirus has been reported by researchers in Hong Kong.
The findings could have significant implications for the development of vaccines and what is known about natural immunity against Covid-19.
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) department of microbiology said that an “apparently young and healthy patient had a second episode of Covid-19 infection which was diagnosed 4.5 months after the first episode”.
They added that the case shows reinfection can occur a few months after recovery from the first infection – casting further doubt over theories about immunity.
The man had no symptoms and was asymptomatic during the second infection, which was picked up by screening tests on returning passengers at Hong Kong airport.
Genetic sequencing of the virus showed he had been infected twice by different strains of Covid-19, the researchers said.
They added that the findings suggest SARS-CoV-2 may persist in the global human population as is the case for other human coronaviruses such as the common cold, even if patients have acquired immunity via natural infection.
It means people with previous Covid-19 infection should comply with control measures like wearing face coverings and social distancing.
One of the researchers, Dr Kelvin Kai-Wang To, clinical associate professor, Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU, said: “This case shows that patients recovered from Covid-19 can get reinfected.
“Therefore, the immunity against Covid-19 is not lifelong.”
He added: “Reinfection is likely occurring elsewhere. Our case was asymptomatic and was diagnosed because of screening at the airport.”
In a statement the university said: “Since the immunity can be short lasting after natural infection, vaccination should also be considered for those with one episode of infection.”
The study has been accepted by medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, but the full research is yet to be published.
Experts in the UK say it is too early to say what it may mean on a global scale.
Brendan Wren, professor of microbial pathogenesis, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “With over three million cases of Covid-19 worldwide, the first reported case of a potential reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 needs to be taken into context.
“It appears that the young and healthy adult has been reinfected with a slight SARS-CoV-2 variant from the initial infection three months previously.
“It is to be expected that the virus will naturally mutate over time. This is a very rare example of reinfection and it should not negate the global drive to develop Covid-19 vaccines.”
Dr Jeffrey Barrett, senior scientific consultant for Covid-19 Genome Project, Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: “This is certainly stronger evidence of reinfection than some of the previous reports because it uses the genome sequence of the virus to separate the two infections.
“It seems much more likely that this patient has two distinct infections than a single infection followed by a relapse.”
But he added that it is “very hard” to make any strong inference from a single observation, and that seeing one case of reinfection is not that surprising.
“This may be very rare, and it may be that second infections, when they do occur, are not serious,” said Barrett
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said: “What I think is really important is that we put this into context. There has been more than 24m cases reported to date and we need to look at something like this on a population level.”
She added: “But I don’t want people to be afraid, we need to ensure that people understand that when they are infected, even if they have a mild infection, they do develop an immune response.
“In this particular case, it’s very important that we look, and I haven’t read the studies so I don’t have an answer to this yet, to see if this individual developed a neutralising antibody response, which is what will protect from reinfection.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--Hinduism Cow Row Erupts Over 'Yoga With Cattle' Sessions

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It was meant to be a quirky fitness activity to encourage people back into physical exercise following the coronavirus lockdown.
But a “yoga with cows” session held by a Lancashire dairy has sparked a transatlantic row over whether the activity is “culturally insensitive” by trivialising serious concepts of Hinduism.
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Lancashire Farm Dairies hosted six people at a farm in Leyland for what it described as the UK’s first cow yoga class. Participants exercised while “enjoying the countryside and roaming with these wonderful animals”, which are thought to help reduce stress levels.
Dairy cows graze in a field as yoga instructor Titannia Wantling (left) leads yogis in the cow yoga session at Paradise Farm in Leyland, Lancashire PA
But it caught the attention of Hindu cleric Rajan Zed in Nevada. Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, criticised the event for trivialising two serious concepts of Hinduism: cows, which are viewed as sacred by Hindus and the ancient discipline of yoga.
Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, who is based in Nevada, US Rajan Zed
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He wrote to the dairy saying the classes should be discontinued before they became a “trendy fad with herds of people flocking to dairy farms to do yoga alongside cows, with many visualising it as an Instagram opportunity”.
“The cow is the seat of many deities and is sacred and has long been venerated in Hinduism,” Zed told HuffPost UK. “They should not be used as a prop for human entertainment.
“Cows were inappropriately used in such events, causing unnecessary disturbance to cows and putting them in stressful situations.
“Cows should be left well alone and accorded the respect they deserve.”
He also said the “frivolity” of the event “seemed to be diluting the profound, sacred and ancient discipline of yoga and that “unpredictable cows could be a distraction in a path of self-discovery that drew the yogi inwards.”
The first ever Cow Yoga session at Paradise Farm in Leyland, Lancashire held by Lancashire Farm Dairies PA
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Zed told HuffPost UK: “We urged Lancashire Farm Dairies to rethink, revisit and reevaluate its yoga classes with cows.”
“The cow is the seat of many deities and is sacred and has long been venerated in Hinduism. They should not be used as a prop for human entertainment.” - Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, based in Nevada, United States
He added: “We suggest that companies [...] should send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they have an understanding of the feelings of customers and communities when introducing new products, organising events or launching advertising.”
Jack Morrison, brand manager at Lancashire Farm Dairies, replied by e-mail to Rajan Zed’s complaint apologising for any offence caused.
“We can only apologise if the recent fitness activity has caused offence. As you can imagine, this wasn’t our intent,” he wrote.
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“The activity itself was in reaction to a recent study saying physical exercise had fallen during the Covid-19 lockdown.
“As a brand which is about health and nutrition, we wanted to encourage people to enjoy the outdoors whilst engaging in some positive exercise in a socially distanced manner.
“We are big promoters of welfare, being the first and only free range yogurt brand.
“The cows weren’t disturbed, nor were they involved with the class itself.
“The event was a one-off exercise for an intimate group of six people and there will not be further events.”
Dairy cows graze in a field as Yoga instructor Titannia Wantling leads yogis in the first ever Cow Yoga session at Paradise Farm in Leyland, Lancashire PA
Zed was happy with the outcome and told HuffPost UK: “We are thankful to Lancashire Farm Dairies for understanding the concerns of the Hindu community, which felt yoga with cows in a Lancashire farm was not a good idea.”
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However, Satya Minhas, a Hindu leader who is also co-chair of the Hindu Council UK, told HuffPost UK he was baffled by the complaint from the US Hindu cleric. After looking at photographs of the yoga with cows session, he says he cannot see anything objectionable.
“There is nothing wrong with these ladies doing yoga with cows in the background,” he said. “This company is selling a very nice yogurt, not beef, so provided the cows are treated well, from a religious point of view, I personally cannot see anything wrong.
“There is nothing to do with meat or Hindu gods and there is no disrespect to Hinduism.”
Satya Minhas, a Hindu leader who is also co-chair of the Hindu Council UK Satya Minhas
Minhas told HuffPost UK that as Zed was writing from the US, he should have made an effort to contact British Hindu organisations for their views before firing off a complaint.
“It is not a sensible idea to seek an apology from innocent people to make a point,” he said. “I think it is about using common sense and there was clearly no disrespect intended and I do not see a problem or anything objectionable.
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“The last thing we want is for people to start jumping up and down and saying there are problems where there aren’t.
“We should be promoting UK dairies as they are doing a good job and this man in the US should not be looking at this negatively.
“Rajan Zed should appreciate the efforts people are making to keep fit.
“Perhaps Lancashire Farm Dairies should contact the Hindu Council UK for the way forward in promoting yoga and their products. They seem like an excellent company and should be encouraged.
“The Hindu Council UK wants to see more companies promoting yoga and wellbeing.”
Zed, who describes himself as a distinguished religious statesman who has taken up Hindu, interfaith, religion and environment causes all over the world, has similarly criticised a dairy in Pennsylvania for a cow yoga session which farm bosses described as “udderly awesome”.
He also complained to New York breweries Pressure Drop Brewing and Big Ditch Brewing Company after they named their collaboration beer “Aqua Shiva” after a Hindu deity, which Zed described as “highly inappropriate”.
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The companies apologised to the Hindu community for their poor choice in beer name and said the drink had been discontinued.
A Lancashire Farm Dairies spokesperson said: “At Lancashire Farm, we take the welfare and happiness of our cows very seriously.
“All our cows are free range and spend as much time outside as they want – just as nature intended.
“We hosted an intimate yoga class for six people at one of our farms as a fun way to encourage UK adults to exercise outdoors and experience the tranquility of the vast 500 acre farm.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--US Talk Show Host John Oliver Shows How Trump Built The Perfect ‘F**king Monument’ To Himself

John Oliver said the latest news about President Donald Trump’s border wall is “stupider than even I thought was possible.”
Last week, Steve Bannon ― Trump’s former chief strategist ― and three others were charged with defrauding investors in a scheme to supposedly build a private section of the border wall. And that’s not even the worst of the news.
“While we predicted the whole thing would be a shambles, the extent to which that’s been true even we didn’t see coming,” the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight said on Sunday night.
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John Oliver on Last Week Tonight HBO
Oliver then went into the history of the wall, from a “beauty pageant” for wall segments to the sections eventually built that are already in danger of falling down.
“This wall is not a functional barrier,” Oliver said. “If it’s anything, it is a fucking monument to Trump ― which actually makes more sense.”
Trump, he said, was obsessed with his legacy to the point where he reportedly asked what it took to be added to Mt. Rushmore. But Oliver said the border wall was a much more fitting legacy.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--Trump 'Could Fast-Track Unproven British Vaccine Before US Election'

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US president Donald Trump is considering bypassing standard testing procedures to push an unproven British coronavirus vaccine in the US in time for the presidential election, the Financial Times has reported.
The vaccine is being developed in partnership between pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University. Trump is considering pressuring the US Food and Drug Administration to issue an “emergency use authorisation” for the British vaccine in October, the FT reported.
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AstraZeneca said it hasn’t discussed such an order with the Trump administration.
Trump, his poll numbers sagging amid his administration’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, has been touting unproven treatments ahead of the election regardless of the possible health risks.
On Sunday, the eve of the Republican National Convention, he announced his Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given emergency approval for blood plasma treatment for Covid-19 patients – a treatment that hasn’t been proven effective in robust clinical trials. Trump announced the order at a news conference, calling it a “great thing”.
He promised that “you’ll be hearing” about vaccines “very soon”.
The vaccine appeared relatively safe in a study of 1,000 patients reported in the Lancet late last month – albeit with several side effects. But it’s still not known if the jab will actually prevent Covid-19 or lessen symptoms.
It could be a number of months before that’s determined in larger Phase 3 clinical trials with several thousand volunteers. Most experts predict a vaccine will be ready next year.
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The FDA’s emergency blood plasma order was issued a day after Trump accused the agency in a tweet of being part of a “deep state conspiracy” to deliberately sabotage his reelection by not shortcutting approval of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
The FDA had initially stalled approving blood plasma as a treatment at the request of top health officials, who cited insufficient evidence that it works.
The FDA must approve drugs or vaccines based on their safety and effectiveness – NOT political pressure from the White House.
The President’s dangerous attempt to inject himself into the scientific decisions of @US_FDA jeopardizes the health & well-being of all Americans. https://t.co/Dt7CBVjX1D — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 22, 2020
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin told top Democrats in a July 30 meeting that Trump is considering fast-tracking the British vaccine, the FT said. House speaker Nancy Pelosi warned at the meeting that there could be no “cutting corners” on a vaccine that risks safety, according to the paper’s source.
A spokesperson for Mnuchin denied that the treasury secretary mentioned AstraZeneca, or is aware of FDA plans regarding an experimental vaccine.
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Michael Caputo, a spokesperson for the US health and human services department – which includes the FDA – told the FT it was “absolutely false” the FDA would issue an emergency use order for a vaccine before the election. He called such speculation a “lurid resistance fantasy”.
Pushing a vaccine before it is supported by scientists at the FDA could trigger a major showdown in the Trump administration. FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn assured physicians in a conference call earlier this month that he won’t be influenced by politics, but that “all of our decisions will continue to be based on good science”.
Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said this month in a call with officials and pharmaceutical representatives that he would resign if the Trump administration approves a vaccine before it’s proven to be safe and effective.
“You have to decide where your red line is, and that’s my red line,” Marks said. “I would feel obligated [to quit] because in doing so, I would indicate to the American public that there’s something wrong.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--Trump Was Asked About Sarah Cooper's Famous Impersonations Of Him

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Sarah Cooper just got the opportunity to impersonate Donald Trump weighing in on ― Sarah Cooper.
The comedian, known best for her viral lip-sync videos of Trump, hit a new milestone in her skyrocket to fame when Fox News host Steve Hilton asked the president in an interview that aired Sunday night whether he’d watched her videos.
″She takes your speeches and she performs them. I was just wondering if you’d seen them?” Hilton asked.
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“I have not,” Trump replied. “I’d like to see them, are they good or bad?”
Hilton told the president he’d find them “very entertaining.”
“If you’re saying they’re positive, I’d like to look. If they’re not positive ...” Trump trailed off.
Hilton noted that Cooper “doesn’t mean it to be positive.”
“I see,” Trump said. “Well, I’ll have to check it out.”
"If you say they're positive, I'd like to look" -- Trump says he's never seen @sarahcpr's videos (who wants to tell him?) pic.twitter.com/NfCSwPMnnq — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 24, 2020
Cooper’s videos have raked in tens of millions of views on TikTok and other social media platforms. She’s generated a massive social media audience since her Trump videos went viral in April. On Twitter alone, she now has more than 2.2 million followers.
Her soaring online presence has even prompted social media jokesters to speculate that she contributed to Trump’s vendetta against TikTok, which he’s moved to ban due to its Chinese ownership and data security concerns.
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Before launching onto the TikTok scene (courtesy of her nephews, according to Cooper), she had written two books, “100 Tricks To Appear Smart In Meetings” and “How To Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings.”
In a guest-hosting appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” earlier this month, Cooper laughed about how she started out 2020 hosting a late night set at a pizza place in Jersey City, New Jersey.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--'Panic Attack' Searches Reached All-Time High During Pandemic

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Covid-19 pandemic has caused anxiety to sky-rocket, if internet searches are anything to go by. Panic attacks are an exaggeration of the body entering “fight or flight” mode – as a person tries to take in more oxygen, their breathing quickens and their body releases hormones like adrenaline which can cause the heart to beat faster and muscles to tense.
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A new study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, finds evidence of a record high in potential anxiety or panic attacks based on Google searches. Researchers analysed search queries that mentioned “panic attack” or “anxiety attack” emerging from the US between January 2004 and May 2020.
These included queries like “am I having a panic attack?,” “signs of anxiety attack” or “anxiety attack symptoms”. After President Donald Trump first declared a national emergency in the US on March 13 this year, the team discovered anxiety related searches reached record highs.
Dr Benjamin Althouse, a principal scientist at the Institute for Disease Modelling, which was involved in the study, says “searches for anxiety and panic attacks were the highest they’ve ever been in over 16 years of historical search data”.
Searches tended to peak when national guidelines were rolled out in the US, the team found. The largest increase in queries occurred between March 16 and April 14, coinciding with the roll out of national social distancing guidelines.
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Google search insights for the UK suggest a similar trend, with searches for “panic attacks” and “anxiety attack symptoms” peaking in March and April respectively, HuffPost UK found.
HuffPost UK Panic attack searches peaked in the UK in March, 2020.
Psychotherapist and author Joshua Fletcher, who runs The Panic Room counselling service in Manchester, tells HuffPost UK he saw a spike in anxiety-related queries from clients as a result of Covid-19.
Referrals tended to increase when lockdown measures were lifted, rather than enforced, he says. This, he believes, is because during the initial lockdown our lives were quite simple, but as the rules became blurred and a bit more confusing, people became more anxious as “they didn’t have the rigid guidelines to fall back on”.
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In a typical week pre-lockdown he would get around five to 10 enquiries, but in April and May this rose to between 30 and 40 a week. The queries aren’t necessarily linked to the virus itself, says Fletcher, but as a result of the changes people are having to make in their personal lives to accommodate it.
He uses the metaphor of a stress jug: “Every time we experience stress it goes into the jug – so that’s money, work, deadlines, relationship issues, past experiences, grief, debt, lack of sleep, not eating properly.” People experience panic attacks when that stress jug overflows, he says, because the brain misinterprets all the stress and thinks you’re in danger. Your body goes into fight or flight – and the adrenaline kicks in. With the virus and subsequent lockdown, “so many people’s jugs have been filled up”, he says.
How to tell if you’ve had a panic attack
There are various physical and mental symptoms of a panic attack, which you can find on the NHS website.
Fletcher talks through three key parts to a panic attack. First of all, there’s the feeling of “terror from nowhere”, he says. All of a sudden you are scared for no real reason and can feel an overwhelming sense of dread that something awful is about to happen.
Secondly, there’s the sensation – you can’t catch your breath, there’s a sense of unreality and feeling detached from yourself. You might also have chest pains, your vision shuts down, you sweat and have an overwhelming urge to run away.
A panic attack is also identifiable by the thoughts that accompany it. “You have a flood of ‘what ifs’,” says Fletcher. These might be: What if I’m about to die? What if I’m about to collapse? What if I’m about to have a heart attack?
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According to the NHS, most panic attacks last between 5 and 20 minutes, but some have been reported to last up to an hour.
If you’re experiencing panic attacks, it helps to identify the things that are currently causing you stress so that you can try to alleviate at least some of them. If you’re having repeated attacks, talking therapies (such as cognitive behavioural therapy) and medicine are the main NHS-advised treatments.
Fletcher urges people who have had more than occasional panic to seek help as it could be a sign of panic disorder – your first port of call should be your GP, but mental health charities can also offer support. You might also find it helpful to seek out a specialised private therapist.
People who are prone to panic attacks have previously shared with HuffPost how breathing techniques have helped them, particularly those prone to hyper-ventilating. Fletcher, who has experienced panic disorder himself, doesn’t use techniques like breathing exercises because “when you use a technique, you’re telling the anxious brain it’s not ok to be anxious,” he says.
The important thing to do, Fletcher says, is to remember “this feeling will always pass”. “Compassionately remind yourself it’s ok to be anxious,” he advises.
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Useful websites and helplines
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--KFC Ditches 'Finger Lickin’ Good' Slogan Because Of, Well, Coronavirus

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It’s no longer ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ at KFC. The fast food chain has ditched its slogan for the first time in 64 years amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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KFC has insisted the slogan will be back “when the time is right”, adding that it is “pressing pause on using it in advertising, for a little while”.
“We find ourselves in a unique situation – having an iconic slogan that doesn’t quite fit in the current environment,” said Catherine Tan-Gillespie, global chief marketing officer at KFC. “While we are pausing the use of It’s Finger Lickin’ Good, rest assured the food craved by so many people around the world isn’t changing one bit.”
Kate Wall, from the brand’s advertising team, said KFC is currently facing a “conundrum” regarding a temporary replacement slogan.
“We know we can do it with a little help from our friends. And you’ll be hearing more from us on this soon...” she said.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--The Government’s Broken Immigration System Risks The Stealth Return Of Child Detention

Protesters carry a placard at a demonstration to highlight conditions inside Brook House immigration removal centre, outside the Home Office in London JUSTIN TALLIS via Getty Images
Last week, the body of a young person from Sudan, named Abdulfatah Hamdallah, washed up on a Sangatte beach in the middle of the night after he drowned while trying to reach safety in the UK.
Priti Patel blamed “criminal gangs,” but this devastating and wholly expected death lies firmly at her door. She has been repeatedly warned that it was only a matter of time before her toxic policy to deny safe and legal routes to the UK would cost lives.
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In a week of abject failures for the government, children and young people seem to be paying the price for ministers’ mistakes. As the exams fiasco continues to deepen, the Home Office’s struggling scheme for protecting unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK finally crumbled after years of ignored warnings.
In response, the Home Office announced that it will be holding unaccompanied asylum seeking children in immigration “processing centres” instead. Make no mistake, this is child detention by any other name, and it must be stopped.
Our government used to lock up thousands of children in immigration detention centres across the UK until it was banned by the coalition government. In 2014, legislation was passed to limit how long an unaccompanied child could be detained to a maximum of 24 hours. In reality, though, the poor safeguards that permeate our entire immigration detention system have led to cases of children being held for longer.
The National Transfer Scheme is not, as its name would suggest, a system for moving cargo around the country, but the scheme set up for protecting and housing unaccompanied children following the detention ban. The aim was to ensure that children are safe and that councils share responsibility so those at ports of entry are not left with all the responsibility. But the scheme has been a disaster, and last week it collapsed.
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Last Monday, Kent County Council asserted that it had reached capacity in its ability to accommodate and safeguard unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
Priti Patel’s Home Office claimed immunity due to the “unprecedented situation” of recent Channel crossings. But the truth is that this is the result of an ill conceived and badly delivered system, and years of unheeded warnings.
Since 2016, just 960 unaccompanied children entering the UK have been through the system designed specifically for this situation. In June of last year, London councils called it a “broken system” and warned that unaccompanied asylum seeking children were in danger of not receiving the care they need due to a breakdown in government plans to support them.
A UNHCR report, also of last year, documented a “lack of planning and assessment built into the NTS” and detailed a case study of two vulnerable teens who were removed from the care of their foster mother under the dysfunctional NTS, only to be locked away in a house. “They just dropped kebabs for them, and closed the door,” she told the UNHCR. “They left them there like animals.”
The centres where it is now proposed that children are held in the care of officers, who are neither qualified or equipped to do so, are known as “Short Term Holding Facilities”. They are the darker, harsher, less regulated and more secretive corner of our immigration detention system.
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This year, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons was able to inspect these facilities for the first time in many years. It found no access to legal advice in any centres, no management oversight of length of detention, and poor physical conditions. The report notes that, “[n]one of the rooms were suitable for overnight stays.”
On the question of children already held in these places, the inspection reported that “[t]here was inadequate oversight of detention practices for children,” and that there was no accurate data on how long children were being detained. It also detailed incidents of children being held for long periods of time and regularly handcuffed. In some cases, unaccompanied children were not even permitted to leave ships on which they were found, were not interviewed with a responsible adult present, and did not have access to legal advice or a telephone call.
These are the places in which Priti Patel’s Home Office wants to keep some of the world’s most vulnerable children. Not on our watch.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--Exclusive: Priti Patel 'Breaking The Law' By 'Detaining' Lone Children Who Cross The Channel

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Priti Patel appears to be “flagrantly” breaking the law by holding lone asylum seeking children who cross the Channel in “effective detention” instead of in care, a charity has said.
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Solicitors acting on behalf of Detention Action have written to the home secretary saying the charity has “significant difficulties identifying what lawful power that you have for holding the children at the Kent Intake Unit”.
The government began holding the vulnerable children at the Border Force facility last week after Kent County Council announced it had reached capacity and could not “safely accommodate any new arrivals” crossing the Channel.
The Home Office has repeatedly failed to reveal how many children are being housed at the facility, which is thought to have capacity for 58 people in a large room, alongside a smaller room for children, families and vulnerable people.
The Home Office claimed Detention Action’s allegations were “inflammatory and misleading” but admitted the children were being held under “detention” laws.
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Detention Action director Bella Sankey said: “Children who have fled the world’s most dangerous situations and made it to the UK without their parents deserve immediate protection and support.
“However, children in this situation now face effective detention by the UK Border Force for an unknown length of time in an apparent flagrant breach of UK law.
“This should be unthinkable in the UK in 2020 and is why Detention Action has written to the Home Office and Kent County Council for urgent clarification about the present situation and we await their responses with interest.”
A Border Force officer carries a young child to its father as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, on a Border Force vessel Gareth Fuller - PA Images via Getty Images
Writing exclusively for HuffPost UK, Detention Action campaigns manager Matthew Leidecker said the situation amounted to “child detention by any other name” and that “it must be stopped”.
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He said the centres where children are now being held are known as “short-term holding facilities” and are a “darker, harsher, less regulated and more secretive corner of our immigration detention system”.
Leidecker blamed the situation on the “collapse” – after “years of warnings” – of the Home Office’s national transfer scheme, which is designed to protect and house unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
Detention Action has questioned the legal basis for holding children at the intake unit, insisting the 2014 Immigration Act banned the detention of unaccompanied children unless they are bound for deportation, and imposing a 24-hour time limit on that detention if strict conditions are met.
But the Home Office cited laws from 1971 which state people “may be detained” by immigration officers pending an examination of whether they are a British citizen, whether they are permitted to enter the UK without leave and whether they should be given leave to remain in the country.
They can also be detained for an examination by a medical inspector.
The Home Office still failed to reveal how many children are being held at the Kent Intake Unit, how many who were held have been placed in the care of local authorities, and how long those held have been there.
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Since June 4, more than 100 children have been transferred outside Kent and more are due for transfer this week under the national transfer scheme, but it is not clear if any of these children have been transferred from the Border Force Intake Unit.
The Home Office also suggested the children had not had access to social workers, saying it was “in discussions with local authorities” to provide these arrangements “imminently”.
They are getting support from the Refugee Council’s children’s advice project, which helps them access legal representation and education, and accompanies them to asylum interviews, appeal hearings and appointments with the health service and social services.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Unaccompanied children arriving in Dover are cared for in the Kent Intake Unit (KIU), where they are prioritised and remain for the shortest possible period whilst the necessary welfare and security checks are undertaken, following which they are collected by a local authority and cared for by social services.
“The Refugee Council is currently providing support to vulnerable children arriving at KIU as part of their Children’s Advice project.
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“Border Force officers do an amazing job and take the welfare of unaccompanied children extremely seriously, and we will continue to work tirelessly to target the people smugglers and organised crime gangs who exploit them.”
But Detention Action has argued that the law does not permit the children’s detention.
In the letter to Patel, solicitors from Duncan Lewis, acting on behalf of Detention Action, said: “So far as Detention Action understands, none of the children who have arrived in the UK by boat are those who are subject to removal, and certainly cannot be subject to removal until basic inquiries are made to ascertain the reason they have come to the UK but not the substantive details of any claim for protection.
“Detention Action therefore has significant difficulties identifying what lawful power that you have for holding the children at the Kent Intake Unit.”
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers Gareth Fuller - PA Images via Getty Images
A Border Force officer carries a young child as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, on a Border Force vessel Gareth Fuller - PA Images via Getty Images
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Detention Action also accused Kent County Council of “unlawfully abdicating” its obligations under the law to provide accommodation for children in the area if they are either lost or abandoned, have no one with parental responsibility with them, or have no one to provide them with suitable care or accommodation.
The charity argued that the council also has additional duties to 16- and 17 year-old children to accommodate them “if not doing so would seriously prejudice their welfare”, as well as a power to accommodate under-16s “if it would safeguard their welfare”.
“These obligations owed by Kent County Council clearly arise in the context of unaccompanied children arriving in the UK,” the letter said.
“On the face of it, it appears to us that in refusing to take the children into its care, Kent is unlawfully abdicating its statutory obligation to care for children in need in their area and further putting the children at risk of harm to their welfare by causing them to be detained and deprived of their liberty in an administrative way without oversight.”
Detention Action said the council also has powers to transfer children to other local authorities if they first take the child in and make a transfer request.
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“We fail to see why this process – directed precisely at dealing with pressures that a local authority in Kent’s position may face – cannot be used and why Kent considers it acceptable and lawful to abdicate non-derogable child safeguarding and protection obligations,” the letter said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-24--PM And Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden Oppose Calls To Ditch 'Rule Britannia' From Last Night Of The

PM And Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden Oppose Calls To Ditch 'Rule Britannia' From Last Night Of The Proms

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boris Johnson and his culture secretary Oliver Dowden have warned the BBC against any moves to drop Rule Britannia from the Last Night of the Proms.
The broadcaster is reportedly considering ditching the flag-waving anthem from the end-of-summer classical music concert, amid concerns that the song’s refrain “Britons never, never, never shall be slaves” is racist.
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But the prime minister’s spokesperson said while scheduling was a matter for the BBC and the Proms organisers, he was clear in his view that “substance” was more important than “symbols” on such issues.
And Dowden went even further, revealing he had raised concerns with the BBC and declaring that “confident forward-looking nations don’t erase their history, they add to it”.
The PM’s spokesperson pointed to the PM’s previous remarks on the toppling of statues of slave owners and colonialists earlier this summer, when Johnson said it was wrong to “censor our past” and claimed protests had been “hijacked by extremists”.
The Sunday Times revealed that the BBC is looking at axeing both Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory from this year’s Proms finale in three weeks’ time.
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Conductor Dalia Stasevska is said to believe this year’s ceremony without an audience is “the perfect moment to bring change”, while academics, musicians and campaigners have said the “racist propaganda” of both songs should be ended.
Dowden tweeted that both songs were “highlights” of the event and he shared the concerns expressed by some about the planned change.
Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory are highlights of the Last Night of the Proms
Share concerns of many about their potential removal and have raised this with @BBC
Confident forward-looking nations don’t erase their history, they add to it — Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) August 24, 2020
Asked directly about the row, the PM’s spokesperson said: “The specific decision on this case is a matter for the organisers of the Proms and the BBC.
“But the PM has set out his views on like issues previously and has been clear while he understands the strong emotion involved in these discussions, we need to tackle the substance of problems, not the symbols.
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“The PM’s words on like issues previously stand.”
Asked whether he was referring to statues, the spokesperson said: “Yes. You have his words on similar issues previously.”
Revelers wave Union Flags at the Last Night of the Proms ASSOCIATED PRESS
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Kehinde Andrews, a black studies professor at Birmingham City University, said it was time the anthems were ditched.
“I don’t think it’s about banning the songs – it’s about saying what songs are appropriate,” he said.
″‘Britons never, never, never shall be slaves’ – that’s racist propaganda at a time when Britain was the leading slave trading nation in the world.”
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Musicians Chi-chi Nwanoku, who founded the first BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) majority orchestra in Europe, and Wasfi Kani, founder of Grange Park Opera in Surrey, have also expressed their opposition to the language in the songs.
When No.10 has been pressed previously on whether the PM would apologise for his own controversial comments on ethnic minorities – such as referring to Black Africans as having “watermelon smiles” – his official spokesperson has said such remarks were “addressed during the election campaign”.
The BBC said in a statement: “We are still finalising arrangements for the Last Night Of Rhe Proms so that we are able to respond to the latest advice in regards to Covid-19 and deliver the best offering possible for audiences.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-25--Selling Sunset: Here's What's Been Happening Since Series 3 Finished Filming

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It’s been more than eight months since filming on the third season of Selling Sunset wrapped, and with coronavirus still making production of TV shows pretty difficult, there’s no news yet on when we’re getting a new series.
However, there’s still plenty of drama going on, despite the cast spending the last few months in lockdown.
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If you’re already missing your fix of the hit Netflix reality series, here’s the tea on what’s been happening since the cameras stopped rolling...
Brett has left the Oppenheim Group
Jason (left) and Brett Oppenheim JC Olivera via Getty Images
Oppenheim brothers Jason and Brett have gone their separate ways, with Brett leaving the brokerage to start his own.
And according to Christine, it could spark a “battle of the brokerages” as it seems as though some agents may be tempted to jump ship.
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In an interview with Glamour, she said: “The girls are fed up with the favouritism of Mary in the office. We don’t know who will move where.”
She then critically teased: “I think season four is going to be the juiciest season ever.”
Chrishell’s ex-husband is reported to be in a new relationship
Chrishell with ex-husband Justin Hartley Rich Fury via Getty Images
Chrishell’s sudden and shock split from husband Justin Hartley was one of the main narratives of season three, but she has faced further heartbreak over the last few months, as he is reported to be in a new relationship.
Justin and fellow actor Sofia Pernas sparked rumours of romance when they were first spotted together in May. They then set tongues wagging again when Sofia posted a picture on her Instagram Stories of a man holding a cigar and some iced drinks, with a Chicago Bears cap in the background, captioning it: “Easy like Sunday mornin’.”
Justin later posted a picture of himself wearing a Chicago Bears cap in a swimming pool with a dog, captioning it: “Paisley like Sunday mornin’.”
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Sofia and Justin posted these respective images on Instagram Instagram
The pair first met when they both appeared on US series The Young And The Restless between 2014 to 2016.
Heather has got engaged
In happier news, Heather is the latest of the Oppenheim crew to get engaged.
The former Playmate is set to marry Tarek El Moussa, who she began dating between the first and second seasons.
Heather and Tarek announced their engagement in July, and while he’s yet to make an appearance on Selling Sunset, he’s no stranger to TV, previously starring in estate agent series Flip Or Flop, in which he renovated and sold homes with now ex-wife Christine Anstead.
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Davina and Chrishell have patched things up, apparently
Chrishell and Davina Netflix
Davina’s treatment of Chrishell following the breakdown of her marriage has been a hot topic of conversation among fans since series three debuted on Netflix.
And while a lot of people aren’t too happy with Davina and her defence of Justin, it seems Chrishell has been more forgiving, as Davina has claimed the pair have patched things up.
She told Metro: “Since I had no information and I was pressed to take a stand. I didn’t mean to defend Justin in any way and not support Chrishell, that was not my intention at all. Just because I’m neutral it does not mean I don’t support her and I absolutely do support her.”
She added: “We’re at a great place. We’re very friendly and we’re texting. There’s no hate, only love. We are a family in the end.”
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Amanza and Heather have been hanging out a lot more
By now, we all know that the Oppenheim Group has divided into two distinct camps, but it would appear Heather’s loyalty to Davina, Christine and Maya is lessening.
Despite previously having a tense relationship with Amanza, the pair bonded when they were charged with making over a house together, and it seems their friendship has continued to grow, with Heather pictured hanging out with Amanza, Chrishell and Mary in recent weeks.
The foursome all shared photos of a day out on a yacht on their respective Instagram accounts, while Heather was also seen in posts from Mary and Chrishell’s joint birthday celebrations.
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Christine and Chrishell have serious beef, again
Chrishell and Christine Netflix
Christine’s and Chrishell’s feud has been reignited, after the latter revealed she’d blocked the former on Instagram.
Joining the BBC’s Reality Tea podcast, Chrishell claimed: “It’s one of those things where I think that does come across very childish and ridiculous. But I have the screenshots. She knows why she’s blocked.
“I’m sure she hopes that I never show you guys why she’s blocked, because it would be embarrassing to her. I’m not going to allow her to do that on my social media. So you’re going to come onto my page and bring toxic insults and toxic energy, block.”
Just weeks later, Chrishell was annoyed when Christine spoke about her split from Justin in an interview, claiming that they’d had “communication problems” for a while and had been in therapy prior to his decision to walk out on their marriage.
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A furious Chrishell tweeted: “I just learned Christine is giving press ‘information’ about my divorce. Let me be VERY clear. She knows absolutely nothing about the situation and is obviously desperate to get attention by doing so.”
Christine then told Women’s Health that she and Chrishell “don’t communicate at all”, adding: “I’ve always been trying to mend our relationship, and she doesn’t really seem to want that, so I will respect that we can coexist.”
There are also fractures between Mary and Christine again
Selling Sunset Netflix
While Mary and Christine used to be the best of friends, it seems their relationship hasn’t improved since filming stopped.
Mary admitted she has barely kept in touch with her former BFF, telling the Behind The Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast: “We’ve grown apart. I mean, I love her, I’ll I always wish her the best, but we’ve just kind of grown apart and it just feels like right now we’re on kind of different paths.
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“And since we had finished filming, I haven’t really seen her. She hasn’t come into the office that much. And then corona has kind of kept everyone out of the office.”
Chrishell has sadly lost her mum
Chrishell revealed some very sad personal news on Instagram in July, after her mother died following a long fight with cancer.
Sharing a tribute to her late mum, Chrishell said she was “in disbelief” she was gone and had been feeling “just about every emotion”.
“But I find comfort knowing Dad is up there taking care of you and showing you the ropes like only he could,” she wrote. “There is a peace knowing you two are together again, free from the pain that plagued your time here.
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“A free spirit and rebel till the very end. My beautiful Mom, in your own words #FuckCancer.”
Maya’s had her baby
Maya gave birth to her second child – a baby girl – on 21 May.
She and her partner have named her Elle Madison, and Maya announced her arrival in a video on Instagram shortly after the show’s second season debuted on Netflix.
“I’m happy to show you my baby girl, Elle,” she said. “We are back home now, and Aiden [her son] is excited, kinda.”
Davina still hasn’t sold the $75m house
Davina Potratz hasn't sold the expensive pad Shutterstock/Oppenheim Group
One of the biggest storylines of the last two series has been Davina’s struggle to sell her $75 million (£57m) listing.
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However, she’s still not had any luck shifting the seven-bed, 10-bathroom Beverly Hills property, which belongs to her client Adnan Sen, confirming to Metro she’s still working on it.