thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Trump Adviser Stephen Miller Tests Positive For Coronavirus

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Stephen Miller, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, has tested positive for the coronavirus, he confirmed on Tuesday.
He is the latest of several people in Trump’s inner circle who have been confirmed to have Covid-19 in the past week.
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News of Miller’s positive test result come a day after Trump, who also has the viral disease, returned to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre.
Statement from Stephen Miller: “Over the last 5 days I have been working remotely and self-isolating, testing negative every day through yesterday. Today, I tested positive for COVID-19 and am in quarantine." — Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 6, 2020
Miller, one of the longest-serving members of the Trump administration, is among those who helped the president prepare for last week’s debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden.
No one wore masks at any of those debate prep meetings, according to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has also tested positive.
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Miller’s wife, Kate Miller, the communications director for Vice President Mike Pence, had COVID-19 in May and reportedly tested negative for the virus Tuesday morning.
The outbreak appears to have spread beyond the White House. The District of Columbia reported 105 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, marking the highest case count since June 3.
Despite the growing outbreak, a source familiar with the matter told The New York Times that the White House does not plan to do extensive contact tracing for people who attended a large celebration Sept. 26 at the White House Rose Garden for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett. That event is believed to be the source of multiple infections.
Much about Trump’s condition remains shrouded in mystery. Earlier Tuesday, White House physician Sean Conley said the president was doing “extremely well” but provided almost no other details.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Weight Loss Injection Ads Banned For 'Irresponsible' Claims

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Several adverts for three weight loss injection companies have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who called them “irresponsible” for promoting prescription-only obesity medication for commercial gains.
One of the companies, named SkinnyJab Ltd, came under fire for a post on Instagram by Gemma Collins, which the advertising regulator said was not easily identifiable as an advert.
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In April 2020, Gemma shared a video on her Instagram story, where she showed SkinnyJab products and said: “Working on my summer body whilst in isolation …and this really helps me.”
Getty/ASA Getty/ASA
SkinnyJab Ltd and Gemma Collins both claimed their commercial contract had been suspended during lockdown and that no money was exchanged for the post. Gemma’s agent also insisted the video was posted in a “private capacity” and wasn’t an ad.
The ASA were unconvinced by this though, pointing out that Gemma still featured as a brand ambassador on SkinnyJab’s website during this period. ASA ruled that the ad breached advertising rules.
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The regulator also investigated other SkinnyJab ads, plus banned ads for the companies Skinny Revolution Ltd and Skinny Clinic.
SkinnyJab, Skinny Revolution and Skinny Clinic were all told their ads must not appear again in their current form, as companies are banned from promoting prescription-only medicines. They each agreed to remove references to the drugs.
Weight loss injections work by using drugs such as liraglutide (sometimes known by the brand name Saxenda) or semaglutide (brand name Ozempic). These drugs work in a similar to the body’s own GLP-1 hormone.
“GLP-1 is produced when we eat and slows down stomach emptying which makes us feel full for longer. It helps control blood sugar levels in other ways too, by stimulating insulin release from the pancreas and reducing appetite,” Dr Sally Norton, an NHS consultant gastrointestinal surgeon and weight loss expert previously told HuffPost UK.
“Whilst GLP-1 lasts a couple of minutes or so in the blood stream, a few tweaks to the chemical make-up have led to the development of the drug, liraglutide, which lasts for around 13 hours, allowing it to be given in daily injections and still have a prolonged effect.” Medications containing liraglutide or semaglutide are licensed to be prescribed to people with Type 2 diabetes or other obesity-related illnesses, but commercial weight loss companies have been accused of offering the ingredients to people outside of this remit.
ASA A banned post by Skinny Clinic.
An ad by Skinny Revolution was banned for “exploiting people’s insecurities around body image during lockdown”. The ad featured a “before” image of a slim Barbie doll and an “after” image of an overweight Barbie doll, alongside the caption “Me in Quarantine”.
The caption stated, “Don’t let lockdown knock you back! Use this time to keep working toward your weight loss goal and come out the other side looking AMAZING!!! Skinny Revolution is here to help you. Enquire for more information.”
Another ad by the company stated: “Kerry Katona lost over 2 stone with Skinny Revolution in just 2 short months”. The ASA said that those rates of weight loss “were unlikely to be compatible with good medical and nutritional practice”.
Skinny Revolution Ltd said they had removed all social media posts that made reference to the prescription-only medication Saxenda, but did not provide a response to the other concerns raised by ASA.
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ASA A banned post from Skinny Revolution
A third company, Skinny Clinic, had three Instagram ads and a description on its website banned. One of the ads featured the text: “Can’t believe I’ve put on a size 8 pair of jeans today! I am so happy… can’t wait for my next pen to come, it’s a new way of life for me.”
It was banned alongside another ad featuring a glamour model Jema Gilsenan, because ASA said the posts “implied that the product could be used by people who were not overweight”.
Skinny Clinic said they had removed the ads and would ensure future posts complied with guidance. They also agreed to remove ads referring to Saxenda.
Previously speaking to HuffPost UK, Claire Pettitt, a qualified dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetics Association, urged caution to anyone considering weight loss injections.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--McCluskey Warns Starmer Unite Could Slash More Labour Cash

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite the union PA
Unite boss Len McCluskey has warned Keir Starmer his union could further cut its funding to Labour if he takes the party in a “different direction”.
The left-wing general secretary, who remained a staunch ally to Jeremy Corbyn throughout his leadership, fired a shot across the bows after a high-level meeting saw the union slash some of its support to the party.
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Unite’s executive backed a move to reduce its affiliation to Labour by around 50,000 members, meaning financial contributions will fall by around 10% from the union, which gave some £7m in donations to the party last year.
It comes after Starmer emerged victorious over Corbyn’s favoured successor Rebecca Long-Bailey in the Labour leadership contest in April.
Fears have been growing on the left of the party that Starmer is steering the party away from Corbyn’s socialist agenda.
The vote by the Unite executive was close-run - 25 to 23 - with Howard Beckett, one of the favourites to succeed McCluskey as general secretary, backing a larger cut.
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Unite General Secretary, Len McCluskey, explains to #Newsnight why there will be reductions in funding from Unite, Labour's biggest donor, to the Labour Party.
More with @Lewis_Goodall at 22:45 on @BBCTwo@LenMcCluskey | @Lewis_Goodall | #Newsnight pic.twitter.com/LMnIks5CIU — BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) October 6, 2020
Speaking to BBC Two’s Newsnight, McCluskey said: “We give significant amounts of money to the Labour Party. And I well remember when I first took over as general secretary of this union ten years ago, my members everywhere were saying ‘why are we giving the Labour Party so much money?’
“Because they felt that New Labour was letting them down. And there will be that demand again. I have no doubt if things start to move in different directions and ordinary working people start saying, well, I’m not sure what Labour stand for. Then my activists will ask me, why are we giving so much money?”
McCluskey went on to say that there was unlikely to be a “dramatic move to disaffiliate from the Labour Party” entirely by Unite.
He said: “The Labour Party is our party. We created it at the beginning of the last century. It’s our party. And we hope that they will speak on behalf of not only organised labour, but speak on behalf of ordinary working people.”
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Starmer’s critics claim he is preparing to renege on key Corbyn policy pledges such as free tuition fees and the nationalisation, something denied by those close to the leader.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Boris Johnson’s Content-Free Conference Speech Proved Words Are Not Enough

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“You have his words.” Normally, when a political spokesman utters this line in response to reporters’ questions, it’s because their boss has said something so controversial or sensitive that they know it’s more than their job’s worth to expand on it. Go out and just play a straight bat, don’t add anything further and just repeat what the boss has said. Defence is the best offence, etcetera.
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Equally normally, after a prime minister’s party conference speech there will be a briefing in which one-sentence big picture promises are fleshed out with detail, detail that was excluded because it would interrupt the natural narrative flow. We are normally given meat on the bones, the fine brushwork to fill in the sketch, the footnotes to the argument.
But after Boris Johnson’s Big Speech, his first at a party conference since his 2019 election victory, his spokesperson answered almost every single question about policy with – you guessed it – “You have his words.” The briefing was one of the most painful, excruciatingly content-free I’ve ever had to endure in doing 23 years of these things.
Here’s a flavour. What did he mean when he hinted at a social insurance for care homes? “I’m afraid I don’t have much more on that..you’ve got the prime minister’s words”. Yes we have his words, and they told us bugger all beyond a vague citation of Winston Churchill’s “magic of averages” reference to pooling risk.
Can you tell us more about his idea of one-to-one tuition? “You’ve got his words…” Any more detail on his 95% mortgage deposit idea, how long terms would last for example? “You’ve got what he said..” My particular favourite was the answer to a question for more detail on what the PM meant by “digital ID”. “I think that’s a reference to biometric passports,” the spokesman told us. “The passport is obviously a form of digital identity document….” Riiiight, OK.
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The helpless, hapless spokesperson was only his master’s voice, of course, so it was no surprise that he sounded so vacuous. It’s worth remembering too that at his first party conference as Tory leader last year Johnson had not a single new policy and his press team didn’t even bother to hold a briefing afterwards at all.
But the 2019 conference was a pre-election sloganfest, a campaign rally in all but name, not a serious update for the nation in a time of crisis as this year’s should have been. With his own competence on coronavirus the most live issue, it felt as though he wanted to reassure the public he was a big, bold deliverer of new ideas.
Yet promises and competence can only be measured if there’s some substance behind them, rather than quarter-baked items plucked out of the ideas fridge. The sheer lack of any detailed plans may prompt even those who give him the benefit of the doubt to think the Emperor really does have no clothes.
Of course, Johnson is a wordsmith and he can still deploy them to good effect. One of his best lines was how much we miss and rely on ”all the gossipy gregariousness and love of human contact that drives the creativity of our economy”. It would be a huge mistake too not to recognise the deep well of goodwill and sympathy that many of those who voted for him (particularly Labour Brexit voters) still retain.
The passage on his vision for 2030 had a certain upbeat futurism about it and no one should underestimate his skill at political amnesia, socially distancing himself from previous Tory leaders as if they were in a different party. Today, he effectively laid into Cameron and Osborne and May and Hammond on the economy as much as, citing “12 years of relative anaemia” on growth. Ditto his attack on previous governments’ ”failure to tackle the deficit in skills, inadequate transport infrastructure, not enough homes people could afford to buy”.
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Yet just as a half-empty Commons chamber has brutally exposed his blustering rhetoric in the absence of a heaving mass of noisy backbenchers, so too the ethereally silent reception for his conference speech (delivered to a camera in a bare room in Canary Wharf) cruelly exposed the duff applause lines, grinding gear-changes and occasional incoherence of his words.
To take just one example, the PM said “we are working for the day when life will be back to normal”, then said seconds later told us the virus was a “catalyst for change” and “after all we have been through it isn’t enough just to go back to normal”. Just weeks ago he was saying people had to go back to the office to save city centres, now he says “instead of being dragged on big commutes to the city” he wants people to “start a business in their home town”. It’s a laudable sentiment but it jarred with his ‘Save Pret’ lecturing of last month.
Similarly, the PM said he will “ensure” that the next Tory conference would mean people meeting “cheek by jowl” again, which seemed both a hostage to fortune and a reminder to those in the events industry that their industry is currently being lowered into the grave with little state help to pay for the burial.
The irony is that if Johnson had at least tried to expand on his policy ideas, he may have won round even some sceptics. The Sutton Trust has long pushed the idea of one-to-one state tuition to give poorer children a level playing field with those who can afford private tutors. If Johnson had backed up his “we must care for the carers” with a new national carers living wage that could have proved he was serious. If he had set out funding for the billions, not a few hundred million, needed for green energy, he could have sounded credible.
By contrast, what we got was a reheat of his speech just before “unlockdown”, when he talked of coming out of an Alpine tunnel into the sunlit pasture. The problem is that we are now hurling into another tunnel and for jobs and hospitalisations (up sharply again today), the dark is all that lies ahead this winter. Covid and even Brexit were dismissed in a few paragraphs, almost as afterthoughts.
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God loves a trier and so does the British public, but they may sicken of someone who tries their patience with sheer incompetence in handling this disease. What they got in this speech was not even jam tomorrow, but jam in a decade’s time. Many would rather just have a Covid test tomorrow, not in a decade’s time.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Eddie Van Halen Dead: Rock Guitarist Dies Following Battle With Cancer

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Revered rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen has died at the age of 65 following a battle with cancer, his son has said.
Van Halen was part of the classic Van Halen line-up alongside his brother Alex, Michael Anthony on bass and David Lee Roth singing.
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The band was hugely successful and has sold more than 80 million records worldwide.
In a statement shared on Twitter, Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang, said his father died on Tuesday.
Fin Costello via Getty Images
He said: “I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning.
“He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift.
“My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.”
Wolfgang, who became Van Halen’s bassist, added: “I love you so much, Pop.”
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Van Halen, who fought alcoholism, had battled health issues. He first received treatment for tongue cancer in 2000 and the subsequent surgery removed about a third of his tongue.
He was declared cancer-free in 2002. It was reported last year that Van Halen had been privately battling throat cancer for five years.
Tributes were paid to the guitarist following news of his death.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--MPs Back Covid 'Rule Of Six' Despite Small Tory Rebellion

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Boris Johnson’s ‘rule of six’ has won the backing of the Commons, despite a small cluster of Tory MPs mounting a rebellion over the Covid-19 regulation.
The government comfortably won its motion for the strict social distancing rule by 281 votes to 17, on Tuesday night, though backbench frustration with new restrictions appeared to be growing.
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The prime minister last month introduced the rule of six, which makes gatherings of more than six people illegal, indoors and outdoors, amid a spike in the the infection rate.
MPs were offered a retrospective vote, however, after voicing anger that the new rule, which is backed up by hefty fines which can climb to £3,200 for repeat offenders, and others such as the 10pm curfew had been brought in with little parliamentary scrutiny.
Health minister Helen Whately said the ‘rule of six’ was “simple” for voters and drew ire from party colleagues as she suggested the alternative to social distancing would be to allow the disease “let rip” through the population.
Several Tory backbenchers rose to share doubts about more restrictions, however, with many fearing job losses and that the state is encroaching too heavily on individuals’ freedoms amid the pandemic.
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Twelve Tory MPs rebelled and they were: Peter Bone, Graham Brady, Philip Davies, Richard Drax, Philip Hollobone, Esther McVey, Huw Merriman, Henry Smith, Desmond Swayne, Robert Syms, Charles Walker, and William Wragg.
Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, asked whether the government had considered a “rule of eight” instead.
During a Commons debate on Covid-19 regulations, he said: “Can she (health minister Helen Whately) share with us her estimate of the efficacy of the rule of six compared to that of a rule of eight had that been introduced instead.
Helen Whately, health minister Helen Whately, health minister
“Is the rule of six more or less effective than a ban on household mixing?”
He added: “These rules are a massive intrusion into the liberty and private lives of the whole British people, and they’re having a devastating economic effect as well which will result in big job losses and masses of business failures.”
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Former Brexit minister Steve Baker, who is among those who refused to back the rule, said he had “real concerns about the very high cost of these measures” and “absolutely appalling set of costs which people are bearing”.
He added: “This is a devastating social impact on our society and I believe that people would make different choices were they the ones able to take responsibility for themselves.”
MPs also questioned the “rationale” behind children not being exempt from the restriction.
Steve Brine, MP for Winchester, said: “What is the rationale for children under the age of those who would have to wear masks being included in the rule of six – the rationale, not the fact that it is happening, the rationale?”
Bexhill and Battle Tory MP Huw Merriman added he was concerned social distancing was losing public support, telling MPs: “When it comes to the rule of six I do have great concerns because I do not see the evidence in terms of how this will reduce the rates of Covid.
“Nobody is suggesting that we let the virus rip.” - Steve Baker MP
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“My biggest concern which I’d say to the government and to the front bench is this – we are ruling by consent, we need people to come with us.”
A number of backbenchers also took Whately to task over the phrase “let rip”, underlining that they want the government “to be successful” in tackling Covid outbreaks.
Whately also faced criticism from MPs after suggesting the alternative to imposing restrictions would be allowing the virus to “let rip”.
Baker said: “Nobody is suggesting that we let the virus rip. You know, radical as I may be, I quoted some supportive passages in my own remarks.
“But also when she says it’s deadly, I think we all accept that it is deadly for people who have prior risk factors which raise the infection fatality rate, but isn’t it the truth that for a great many people who are younger and without prior conditions, this is not an especially deadly disease?
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“We knew that at the beginning, we know it today. It is deadly for a certain section of our society and it’s them we’re looking after. Can we please be honest about that?”
Whately responded: “The majority of those that have spoken this evening have absolutely supported the fact that we do need to have restrictions in place which is very good to hear.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--My Dad Died From Covid And Donald Trump Just Pissed All Over His Grave

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I believe Donald J. Trump is the most dangerous person in the world. I believe he is also the most callous. What kind of a monster witnesses a pandemic kill over 210,000 people in just over eight months and then, after he himself contracts it from his own brazen carelessness and is given the best medical treatment available, has the gall to claim the rest of us shouldn’t “be afraid” of the disease or “let it dominate our lives”? It’s nothing short of a proverbial pissing on the graves of every American ― including my own father, Mark Urquiza ― who didn’t have the luxury to “Walter Reed and chill” and are now missing from the lives of the people who loved them.
Adding insult to injury, the symptoms Trump is reported to have experienced before his trip to the hospital last weekend ― low-grade fever, fatigue, chills and cough ― are eerily similar to my dad’s own symptoms. But this is all that their stories have in common. Unlike the president, my dad, an essential worker in the manufacturing industry, was not admitted to the hospital out of an “abundance of caution” when he fell ill. Instead, my dad, like tens of thousands of others, was told, “go home and come back if you reach a point when you cannot breathe.” Each person who is sent home loses precious time to get ahead of the virus, rest their lungs and receive life-saving treatment. Each person who is sent home must wait and worry and hope that they do not die or infect their families.
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Trump, on the other hand, was admitted to Walter Reed just a day after testing positive for Covid-19 (that is, if we are to believe the suspicious timeline that the White House has laid out for us), where he received top-notch medical care, including experimental remedies not yet available to the public, as well as 24/7 monitoring from a large team of doctors and nurses. Unsatisfied with merely relishing the fortune of receiving those gifts and concentrating on healing so that he can continue (or perhaps finally start) to lead our country, he decided to leave the hospital for a joyride on Sunday night where he waved his at supporters from his hermetically sealed SUV, while potentially exposing the Secret Service detail with him to the virus. But Trump can do these sorts of things because he’s the president, and so, unlike the rest of us, not only does he get the best of everything, he gets to take the best of everything and then rub our faces in it and tell us that we shouldn’t be afraid of the very thing that is not only attacking and killing us and our families and friends, but has also turned our country upside down and destroyed so many lives — economically and socially too.
Regular people, like my dad, who was a lifelong Republican and believed Trump and other GOP leaders who told him not to worry about Covid-19, didn’t have access to the same medical care that Trump (or the countless others in his administration who have now fallen sick) do. Now he’s dead. And he’s not alone.
“Trump can do these sorts of things because he’s the president, and so, unlike the rest of us, not only does he get the best of everything, he gets to take the best of everything and then rub our faces in it and tell us that we shouldn’t be afraid of the very thing that is not only attacking and killing us and our families and friends but has also turned our country upside down.”
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Take, for example, Fiana Tulip’s mom, Isabelle Papadimitriou, who died on July 4, after battling Covid-19 for just one week. Isabelle was a health care worker and had spent nearly 30 years helping others breathe as a respiratory therapist. When she contracted Covid-19 from a patient she was working with, she didn’t have the luxury of a hospital because Texas’ system was overwhelmed.
The level of care Trump is receiving was not available to Marcos Reyes’ dad, Juan Reyes, either, and he died on Sept. 4, after battling Covid-19 for several weeks. Juan was a Cuban refugee who endured torture in Cuba and escaped to the United States in the 1980s, where he became a citizen and proud member of the Republican Party. Juan, an independent and healthy 84-year-old, started feeling Covid-19 symptoms in August. He went into his Miami clinic for a test and was informed that he would receive his test results in 14 days. A week later, before the results had even returned, Juan was admitted to the hospital because he couldn’t breathe. Shortly thereafter, he was intubated and died.
Isabelle, Juan, and my dad are among the 210,000 people and counting who have died from this virus. How many of them would be alive right now if they would have received even a fraction of the care the president or his cronies are receiving?
What’s more, how many of those 210,000 would have never been infected in the first place if over the last nine months they had received smart, cautious, science-based information from their leaders instead of the sloppy, conflicting reports we’ve all had to try and pick apart in hopes of staying safe ― and alive? How many of those 210,000 would still be with us if this pandemic had not been turned into political fodder for these men and women who we have entrusted with protecting our lives and the lives of our families and friends? How many of those 210,000 would not have died if Trump and those who prop him up hadn’t done whatever they could to pretend that this deadly disease wasn’t a big deal so that they could keep the stock market soaring and could con us into reelecting him and his regime in November?
But now it is clearer than ever before: If we reelect him, we are doomed.
Don’t take my word for it. Scientists at Cornell University last week published a scathing body of research that concluded the single largest spreader of misinformation on Covid was none other than Donald Trump. This man has done whatever he can to downplay the devastation this pandemic can and will continue to cause and he does not seem to care how many of us die as long as he is president for another four years. He will continue to do whatever he can to make us believe that we are safe and shouldn’t worry ― that Covid-19 is “nothing to be afraid of” and shouldn’t “dominate” our lives ― even as he did the exact opposite of what he preached and admitted himself into the hospital for what was supposedly a very mild case of the disease.
The author with her father in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2017. Courtesy of Kristin Urquiza
At this point, there is nothing I will be shocked by. In fact, I’m honestly waiting for the president to insist that my dad and anyone else who died from Covid-19 is “loser” or a “sucker,” in the same way he reportedly spoke about soldiers who went off to fight to protect our country. I mean, that’s really what he’s essentially already said, right? Covid-19 is nothing to be afraid of and so, if you are, you’re a chump and if you can’t beat it like he has, then you’re obviously not as tough as he is.
It’s sick, and after everything we’ve been through ― so much of it at the hands of this madman and this administration ― we deserve so much better. How can someone go through this and come out on the other end with even less compassion than they had before? What is wrong with him and how many more people will die because he refuses to put humanity before party? Because he refuses to put humanity before himself?
And it’s not over! We know that the president is still infectious at this point and should be quarantined for up to 14 more days to protect others from being infected ― just like I’m currently forced to do after being potentially being exposed to Covid-19 last week when I was in the same room as the president and first lady at the presidential debate. But, instead of putting others’ lives ahead of his own and staying put like he’s supposed to do, he took the aforementioned joyride and then, upon returning home from the hospital, took off his mask before entering the White House, thereby endangering anyone who came into contact with him there. I am frightened for the maids, cooks, janitors and maintenance people, most of whom I suspect are Black and people of color, who have no other option than to go to work in this unsafe environment. As I shared in my statement last Friday, this is beyond irresponsible. It is criminal. He knows he is putting lives in danger and he just doesn’t care.
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The Republicans don’t seem to care either. So, since no one else is going to clean up this mess as it continues to spread and defile our country, it’s up to all of us. I have already lost my dad to this disease ― and to the negligence and cruelty of the people who are supposed to care for and protect us ― and I refuse to lose more people that I love. I refuse to lose more of this country that I love. I refuse to lose more years of my life while our leaders play political games instead of following common sense and science.
This disease has dominated my life. And I am scared. But I’m going to take my fear and try and turn it into something even more powerful: hope. And I hope you’ll join me.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Liam Gallagher Brands Rishi Sunak A C*** For Suggesting Covid-Hit Musicians Can Retrain

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Rishi Sunak has sparked a backlash from leading musicians after suggesting people in the arts who cannot work due to coronavirus restrictions can retrain.
The chancellor said the government was providing “fresh and new opportunities” when asked if professional musicians, for example, should retrain in they event that they cannot work due to restrictions which are due to last at least another five months.
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In an interview with ITV news, Sunak claimed it was “probably not quite right” to suggest there is no work available for musicians, actors, artists, freelancers and others, insisting “in all walks of life everyone is having to adapt”.
“I can’t pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job they were doing at the beginning of this crisis,” he added.
What's Rishi Sunak's message to musicians, actors, freelancers in the arts who don't feel govt is supporting them? Should they get a different job?
The Chancellor told me it's "not right that there's no work available...and everyone is having to adapt." @ITVNewsPolitics pic.twitter.com/ewrQixpAne — Daniel Hewitt (@DanielHewittITV) October 6, 2020
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Gallagher argued the UK would be in a poor state without arts, music and football. The former Oasis frontman also described Sunak as a “massive c**t”.
Perkins quipped that she would be “retraining as chancellor of the exchequer” while Burgess suggested “maybe some MPs should retrain, as they aren’t really doing their job anyway”.
If anyone needs to retrain it’s them shower of CUNTZ c’mon you know LG x — Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) October 6, 2020
That’s it. I’m retraining as Chancellor of the Exchequer — Sue Perkins (@sueperkins) October 6, 2020
Without the arts, our lives are impoverished. This is nuts. https://t.co/gWeRfQ2iby — Ian Rankin (@Beathhigh) October 6, 2020
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In an interview with ITV News, Sunak highlighted the government’s £1.5bn “cultural recovery programme”, saying money had gone to independent cinemas and music venues over the last week.
Put to him that the arts and culture industry does not believe it has enough support, Sunak replied: “It’s a very sad time. Three quarters of a million people have already lost their jobs, we know that, and that is likely to increase and many more people will.
“I can’t pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job they were doing at the beginning of this crisis and that’s why we’ve put a lot of our extra resource into trying to create new opportunities for people.
“Our Kickstart scheme, for example, for young people who are most at risk of becoming unemployed, all the way up to the age of 24, are going to benefit from a fully funded job placement.”
Put to the chancellor that he was telling people to “go and get a different job”, Sunak replied: “That fresh and new opportunity for people – that’s exactly what we should be doing.”
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He went on: “In all walks of life everyone is having to adapt. I’m getting emails and seeing how theatre companies are adapting and putting on different kinds of performances. It is possible to do theatrical performances online as well and for people to engage with them that way and for new business models to emerge. Plenty of music lessons are still carrying on – the same thing happens, certainly in my household and elsewhere.
“So, yes, can things happen in exactly the way they did? No. But everyone is having to find ways to adapt and adjust to the new reality, and that’s what we all have to do, and that’s why we are allowing that to happen and also providing new opportunity for people if that’s the right vehicle for them.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Michelle Obama Releases Video Panning 'Tragedy' Of Trump's Coronavirus Response

These countries were hit by the same virus as we were. They had the same kind of resources to contain it as we did. But what they didn’t have to contend with was this president ...
A man who knew how deadly this virus is but who lied to us and told us it would just disappear. Who, in the greatest crisis of our lifetimes, doubled down on division and resentment, railed against measures that could have mitigated the damage and continues to hold massive events without requiring masks or social distancing, knowingly exposing his own supporters to a dangerous virus.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--A Health Minister Has Blamed ‘Extremely Lax’ Parents For The Covid Spike

Dido Harding and Lord Bethell JUSTIN TALLIS via Getty Images
A health minister has blamed coronavirus spikes on families who were “extremely lax” in social distancing at children’s parties in the summer.
Lord Bethell – who is responsible for NHS Test and Trace – said the new “rule of six” restrictions were prompted in part by parents who used social events to “flout the rules” and then created “a huge amount of infection”.
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Speaking in the House of Lords during a debate on the new regulations, Bethell was attempting to defend why children under 12 were not exempt from the rules.
Challenged by former chancellor Lord Lamont as to why England was not following Scotland and Wales, the minister said he understood there was a “huge amount of frustration” but defended the government.
“As a father of four children – three under 12 – I completely hear the point on children and there are many parents and grandparents here who feel it very harshly.
“But the research from the front line was crystal clear. That people were using children’s birthdays, drop-offs, congregations around children to flout the rules and create events where infection was happening.
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“And clarity and preventing those nodes of transmission became a priority and that is why we pursued the route we have.”
He added: “The story that was being told in mid-September is that the public had miscued, that they had during the summer massively relaxed the way in which they were behaving.
“And the key form of transmission, the trigger to a huge amount of infection, were families taking an extremely lax interpretation of what kind of social mixing they could do.
“And the insight that came from the ground – not from the top but from the ground – is we need a much clearer, easily understood and enforceable… instruction to the public that they could easily understand in order to put separation between people.”
Bethell has already gained a reputation for his candid remarks, admitting at the weekend at a Tory conference fringe event that the return of schools “did catch us on the hop” because of the surge in demand for testing for Covid.
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He is the key minister in the Department of Health and Social Care with responsibility for NHS Test and Trace, which is run by Tory peer Dido Harding.
Shadow health minister Alex Norris said: “The British people have missed births, anniversaries and funerals in their efforts to beat the virus.
“It’s sad once again to see a Government criticise them when it’s the Government themselves who’ve lost control of the virus due to the failure of their Test and Trace system.”
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Munira Wilson added: “If anything has been lax, it has been this Government’s attitude to fixing the shambolic test and trace system. It is outrageous for a Minister to try and blame parents, just days after nearly 16,000 coronavirus cases in England went unreported.
“However, the problems with the test and tracing system are not new - for months now there has been one blunder after the next. If we are to truly stop this second spike getting any worse, Conservative Ministers must spend less time pointing fingers and more time ensuring they can effectively isolate the virus.”
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Labour had demanded an apology from Bethell on Sunday after he compared the UK government’s response to Covid-19 to the staging of the Olympics and said it could be “extremely proud” of how it had done.
“I think there have been some outstanding pieces of delivery that have not been fully appreciated,” he told a fringe hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Only 9 Places In The Entire UK Have Covid Levels Below The Quarantine Threshold

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Three islands are now the only areas left in the UK with Covid-19 levels below the government’s own threshold for quarantining overseas travellers.
Brits visiting countries with more than 20 cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day average are required to quarantine for 14 days upon their return.
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Yet only a handful of places across the UK itself have infection numbers that would meet those criteria:
Isle of Wight – 12.0
Shetland Islands – 0
Orkney Islands – 0
At the start of this week, nine areas met the threshold. Since then, regions including Anglesey and Pembrokeshire in Wales, and Herefordshire and Swindon in England, have edged over the 20 mark.
Even the Isle of Wight, which was on 9.9 infections per 100,000 a few days ago, has now reached 12.0.
The areas now below a rate of 20 per 100,000 cover just 0.3% of the entire UK population: about 187,000 out of 66.7m.
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The old docks and parish church In Orkney. ClaudineVM via Getty Images
The official number of cases in parts of England has soared yesterday after a computer glitch in the UK’s Test and Trace system that had been hiding rates in areas such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle upon Tyne – and a week of high daily positive tests, culminating in more than 17,000 on Thursday.
The average number of cases per 100,000 in England is now an eye-watering 123.5.
Nottingham has the highest rate, with 661.2 cases per 100,000 – even though it is not yet in any kind of local lockdown.
Knowsley has the second highest rate, with 621.8 cases per 100,000. Liverpool is on 561.6.
The director of public health for Nottingham, Alison Challenger, said on Tuesday that current restrictions in the city were “no longer enough to stop the spread of the virus”.
The Isle of Wight's Yarmouth coast Sterling750 via Getty Images
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In Scotland (national average 94.3), the worst affected areas are Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with 165.2 cases per 100,000, and Lanarkshire on 154.1.
In Northern Ireland (national average 248.4), the Derry City and Strabane region is on 704.9 cases, making it the most infected place in the UK.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--A Coronavirus Vaccine 'Could Be Ready By The End Of The Year', Says WHO Director-General

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The director-general of the World Health Organisation has said a Covid-19 vaccine could be ready “by the end of this year”.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not elaborate on his words during a meeting of WHO’s executive board on Tuesday.
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Calling for world leaders to commit to ensuring vaccines would be equally distributed when they become available, he said in his closing remarks: “We will need vaccines and there is hope that by the end of this year we may have a vaccine. There is hope.”
In the UK, the vaccine thought to be closest to the finishing line is that being developed by Oxford University, in collaboration with the pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca.
Nine experimental vaccines are in the pipeline of the WHO-led Covax global vaccine facility that aims to distribute two billion doses by the end of 2021.
“Especially for the vaccines and other products which are in the pipeline, the most important tool is political commitment from our leaders especially in the equitable distribution of the vaccines,” the director-general said.
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“We need each other, we need solidarity and we need to use all the energy we have to fight the virus,” he said.
Prime minister Boris Johnson this week said that the most vulnerable would get priority in the UK when a vaccine was available.
He told reporters on Monday: “Obviously, if and when we get a vaccine then the crucial thing would be to ensure that we have sufficient supplies in this country, that we’re able to make it in this country, distribute it fast in this country, and clearly the priority for a vaccine will be those who are the most vulnerable groups.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Jane Fonda Debuts Very Special Workout Video Ahead Of The US Election

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It’s been almost 40 years since Jane Fonda first donned her lycra ensemble for her iconic exercise video, but she’s made a one-off return to the world of home workouts, and roped in a load of celebrity mates to help her get her message across.
This time around, though, the exercise the 82-year-old actor and activist is most concerned about is Americans “exercising” their right to vote.
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You see what she did there?
In a video posted on her Instagram page on Monday evening, a lycra-clad Jane tells viewers: “Hello class… we’re bringing back the movement. We need you to be in shape for the upcoming race.
“I need you to be strong, I need you to be laser-focused. I need you to be fully committed to the task at hand. So, let’s get ready to exercise our right to vote!”
Jane Fonda in her all new home workout clip Instagram
The retro clip also features celebrities like The Masked Singer judge Ken Jeong, actor Kerry Washington and comedian Amy Schumer exercising at home, while encouraging viewers to register to vote in the upcoming US election.
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Singer and new mum Katy Perry is also seen spying on fiancé Orlando Bloom while he lifts weights, later telling people to “get pumped to vote”... while using a breast pump, of course.
“Exercise your glutes, exercise your quads, and most of all, exercise your right to vote,” Jane says towards the end of the clip.
In addition to her acting career, Jane has consistently used her platform to raise awareness of causes that are close to heart.
She’s also been a vocal critic of US leader Donald Trump throughout his presidency, telling CNN last year, during a discussion about climate change: “The sooner that we move beyond him, the better, whether it’s through the elections or through impeachment or whatever.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Rod Stewart Reveals Failed Attempt At Mending Elton John Friendship After 'Big Falling Out'

“The last time I emailed him and said, ‘I have this football pitch, would you like the boys to come up’, because they both love football. ‘You don’t have to come, [but] if they want to come up and play on this, they’re quite welcome’.”
Rod claimed that he never received a response from Elton, which he says he’d found upsetting as they’d previously been “real close”.
HuffPost UK has contacted a representative for Elton John for comment and is awaiting a response.
After Elton announced his farewell tour, Rod called it “dishonest” and “not rock and roll” during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Exclusive: London Bus Drivers Are Being 'Forced' To Breach Covid Capacity Limits

Silvia Michelucci / EyeEm via Getty Images
Bus drivers in London say bosses are “forcing” them to breach Covid regulations by allowing passengers to pack on, HuffPost UK can reveal.
The flouting of rules has led London mayor Sadiq Khan to contact TfL, which oversees the companies responsible, and tell it to lay down the law.
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He told HuffPost UK: “Bus drivers should not be told by their operators to flout the rules.”
Capacity limits have been introduced on all buses by TfL in line with the government’s social distancing guidance.
Double-deckers are supposed to carry 30 passengers, while single-deckers, depending on size, can carry either 11 or 14 people.
But drivers and union Unite have told HuffPost UK that operators are instructing drivers to stop at every stop along their route – even when full.
It has sparked renewed fears from drivers about public safety, following a lack of PPE at the height of the pandemic.
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Unite said the issue of overcrowding is happening across the capital.
One driver, who asked to remain anonymous, said their managers at Abellio have been putting them in the “impossible” predicament to avoid passengers making complaints.
“On any given day, if we drive past bus stops [without stopping] then people can complain to your bosses and you run the risk of getting into trouble,” they said.
“We are only supposed to be driving at half capacity. Yet, when the bus is at capacity, managers tell us that we still have to stop at every bus stop, attempt to explain to passengers if they can’t board the bus, and if they do then carry on anyway [...] while continuing to stop at each bus stop.
“More often than not the passengers don’t listen when we say the bus is too full – particularly during rush hours or when it’s raining. And the managers have not been listening when we flag these complaints. They have been forcing us into that position. The alternative is being penalised at work if complaints come in.”
The driver added that it is “stressful” having to shoulder the responsibility of controlling passenger numbers.
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“I just want to do my job – drive the bus – and go home. I don’t get paid enough for this,” they said.
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Another driver, who works for Go-Ahead, is facing the same predicament and echoed the first driver’s sentiments.
“As we learned at the beginning of the pandemic when bus drivers weren’t being given proper PPE – it is clear that these corporate companies don’t care about us. They’re a set of dog shits,” the driver said.
When the national lockdown was announced in March, transport workers told HuffPost UK they hadn’t been given protective kit and complained about poor cleanliness in their cabs.
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Drivers, who were risking their health to bring vital key workers to hospitals and schools, said they felt cast aside.
It led to widespread coverage and the eventual introduction of safety provisions for drivers.
Alena Kravchenko via Getty Images
Signs on buses clearly mark new passenger limits, and drivers have the discretion to allow more customers on board if they are travelling in household groups. A “one-off, one-on” policy operates on buses at full capacity.
Asked about the matter by HuffPost UK, Khan said: “I spoke with Unite last week and they made the same point to me in relation to bus drivers being told by their bus operators to take more than the maximum number of passengers on board.
“I immediately got onto TfL to speak to all the bus operators to make sure there’s no misunderstanding: the rules are there to be followed and every bus driver is trying to keep his or her passengers safe.
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“By having more than maximum number of passengers on the bus you’re taking a risk with your safety and theirs. The only exceptionalities are school buses where more than the same number of passengers are allowed; for children its different rules because schools have different rules. Other than that bus drivers should not be told by their operators to flout the rules.”
Khan added: “If an operator is flouting the rules then we’ll be taking that up urgently with them.”
Claire Mann, director of buses at TfL, added: “We regularly meet with our bus operators and recently reminded them of the rules around the capacity limits on buses, although we had no specific reports of these rules being broken.”
Three young people wearing masks and social distancing during a bus ride, looking serious. NicolasMcComber via Getty Images
Unite regional officer John Murphy said there had been a “notable increase in London bus usage”, with buses increasingly exceeding capacity limits.
“It is not the role of drivers to enforce capacity limits,” he said. “Their role is to safely drive the bus. The bus operators and TfL need to work together to develop an effective enforcement mechanism to ensure that capacity limits and mask wearing are adhered to and passenger safety is not compromised.”
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But a spokesperson for Go-Ahead London denied outright that drivers were being encouraged to break the rules. “The health, safety and wellbeing of colleagues and passengers remains our top priority,” they said.
“The company is in ongoing, and regular, dialogue with its workforce on a host of coronavirus issues, including TfL guidance on passenger loadings.”
But they added: “The company takes this allegation seriously and will therefore issue reminder guidance on bus capacity to all colleagues.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Rihanna Apologises After Including Islamic Hadith In Savage X Fenty Lingerie Show

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Rihanna has issued an apology after coming under fire over the inclusion of an Islamic Hadith in her recent Savage X Fenty fashion show.
In the last few days, the singer has faced a backlash from some critics over a moment in the show which saw models – including RuPaul’s Drag Race queens Shea Couleé and Gigi Goode – walking the runway in lingerie, accompanied by a remixed recitation of a Hadith, which are texts from the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
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rihanna has used music where a hadith is being used as lyrics for her fenty LINGERIE show. this is very disrespectful and should be apologised for. if this was a bible verse the world would have erupted. please share pic.twitter.com/wAiyLQuNCT — ⚡playboi fardi 💥 (@balaayo4) October 5, 2020
The track was created by British producer Coucou Chloe, with the Hadith in question referring to “the signs of the Judgment Day and the end of times”, according to NME.
On Tuesday, the singer posted an apology on her Instagram story, writing: “I’d like to thank the Muslim community for pointing out a huge oversight that was unintentionally offensive in our Savage X Genty show.
“I would more importantly like to apologise to you for this honest, yet careless, mistake.”
Rihanna Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
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She continued: “We understand that we have hurt many of our Muslim brothes and sisters, and I’m incredibly disheartened by this! I do not play with any kind of disrespect toward God or any religion and therefore the use of the song in our project was completely irresponsible!
“Moving forward we will make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Thank you for your forgiveness and understanding, Rih.”
Rihanna posted her apology on Instagram Instagram
Despite the controversy, Rihanna’s second Savage X Fenty show – which is available to watch on Amazon Prime – largely won praise over its inclusive approach to lingerie modelling.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--This Normal People Blooper Reel Is Just The Tonic You Need Today

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As much as we loved Normal People (and we really did), you have to admit that laughs in the show were a bit thin on the ground.
However, it seems that couldn’t be more in contrast to what was going on behind the scenes.
Daisy Edgar-Jones has shared a hilarious blooper reel from filming, and it’s just the tonic you need today.
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The clip sees Daisy and co-star Paul Mescal in hysterics after fluffing their lines as they tried to shoot a scene in Connell’s car.
Daisy, who played Marianne, posted it on her Instagram account as she marked a year since they finished filming the hit BBC Three drama.
She wrote: “I can’t actually believe it is around a year ago today that we wrapped on NP, and what a year it has been.
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“Thank you to all the lovely fans of our show, your support means so much to us. Thank you to everyone who made this series what it was and for giving me the most wonderful memories and my best friends.”
Turning her attention to her co-star, she added: “Thank you to @paul.mescal for amusing me so much with your Christmas jumper and for being such a brilliant acting partner and best pal.”
N’aww.
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones played Connell and Marianne on Normal People BBC/Element Pictures/Hulu
Normal People debuted on BBC Three to much critical acclaim back in March, going on to break records for the iPlayer.
And while fans are gagging for a second series following the successful adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel, Paul recently said it is “not on the cards”.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Trump And Johnson Are Wrong – It's Vital That We're Afraid Of Coronavirus

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This morning we woke to the news of an intervention by Donald Trump. Even by his standards it was astonishing.
Having just emerged from three days in hospital, where he received a cocktail of steroids and experimental drugs beyond the luck and resources of almost all his compatriots, he made this announcement to the American people: “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.”
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Set aside for a moment the sheer crassness of downplaying a virus which has killed 210,000 Americans. Let us compare it to something closer to home.
On Sunday, the BBC’s Andrew Marr invited Boris Johnson to discuss his own policy on coronavirus. The prime minister said: “What we want is for people to act fearlessly but with common sense.”
So proud of the apparent new slogan, he then repeated it.
Trump at least was plain in his dishonesty, as he has been throughout. Covid is a threat to his re-election and he must either ignore it or attempt to turn it to his political advantage.
Johnson, in contrast, is not trying to win anything, but to save himself. That requires him to cover his bases. And so while the president, as ever, expressed himself more coarsely than his British counterpart, their messages were strikingly familiar: we have nothing to fear.
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“The thing we need most, in Britain and the United States, is leadership. Its total absence may be the most frightening thing of all.”
Except we do. Fear is central not simply to our own experience of the virus, but each government’s strategy to tackle it.
The supremacy of fear is one policy: it requires a full shutdown of society and the economy, or our personal life, until the threat subsides.
Lack of fear is another policy: it dictates that life must be lived virtually as normal, both publicly and privately.
The problem is that you can’t have both.
Johnson’s slogan fails on multiple counts. How can you behave fearlessly and with common sense? The two instincts are often in direct conflict.
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Common sense is about making judgements for oneself. But it also comes from an awareness of risk, which is based on fear. Nobody recommends a “fearless” attitude to stepping out into the road. Indeed a valid purpose of restrictions is to instil fear.
If people are truly fearless then they will host large indoor gatherings, travel regularly and not wear masks. That might once have seemed like common sense too, but not anymore.
The other difficulty is that Johnson’s own policies have removed the option of either fearlessness or common sense. You can’t be fearless and host a large indoor gathering. You can’t use common sense and host six people at a distanced family picnic. Never mind sloganising about fearlessness and common sense: in many cases the government is now criminalising them.
The worst element is the message Johnson sent – in that people will hear whatever they want. Those who wish to live normally will feel more emboldened to do so, and take fewer risks.
Those with anxiety will remember the virus’s lethality and rapid spread and deem it “common sense” to lock down. In other words, Johnson has either confused people or reinforced old behaviour. As public health messaging, it is at best useless and at worst actively harmful.
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We can probably guess what Johnson was trying to say: that we shouldn’t be crippled by fear but should use caution. There is a balancing act between a full lockdown and fully normal life, and every government in the world has tried to find it. But that message was completely garbled.
There are valid and pressing questions for the government. Are people to get on with their lives or aren’t they? Are we going in and out of lockdown or aren’t we? Are ministers pursuing a zero-Covid strategy until we eradicate it or are we going to adapt our lives to accommodate it for the foreseeable future? Johnson, of course, has no idea. In line with his whole political career, the real policy here is that there isn’t one.
And so we come to the real problem behind Johnson’s empty messaging. We have no guidance and no leadership. Nobody seems to be in control. That is partly a question of Johnson’s character and partly one of his deeds.
The government cannot escape the ghosts of the Barnard Castle eye test, compulsory returns to offices, “patriotic” trips to the pub, eating out to help out, the “protective rings around care homes” and constantly changing, contradictory and dishonest communications. I
If people are acting “fearlessly” and endangering lives it is because Johnson gave them tacit licence to do so. If people do what they want it’s because the government led by example.
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Individuals, like governments, can resolve to be “fearless” if they choose. But these are frightening times and the threat is not abating.
A good government would acknowledge that fear even while offering reassurance. It would demonstrate clear strategies and policies to live our lives even as this frightening event continued.
It would, above everything, present clarity, honesty and long-term planning. This is not a good government. We don’t know what we’re doing because they don’t.
The thing we need most, in Britain and the United States, is leadership. Its total absence may be the most frightening thing of all.
Jonathan Lis is deputy director of the pro-EU think tank British Influence, and a political writer and commentator.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--No.10 Reveals 17,000 Contacts Of Missing Covid Cases Still Not Traced

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More than 17,000 contacts of people with coronavirus have still not been traced by NHS Test and Trace after a computer blunder, Downing Street has revealed.
Some 37% of the suspected 48,000 contacts of the nearly 16,000 missing cases remain untraced as of 9am on Tuesday, the prime minister’s official spokesperson announced.
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The figure is down from 49% the previous day, but still represents a substantial number of people who remain unaware that they may need to self-isolate to avoid spreading the virus.
Experts advise that ideally contacts should be tracked down within 48 hours, but tens of thousands may have now gone more than four days without being alerted.
Public Health England (PHE) revealed on Sunday the dramatic news that 15,841 cases between 25 September and 2 October were left out of the UK daily case figures thanks to an IT glitch.
PHE said all those who tested positive had been informed. But it meant that others in close contact with them were not.
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The prime minister’s spokesperson said on Tuesday: “63% of cases have been successfully completed, that includes individuals being contacted and a survey of their contacts being completed.
“They are working through the cases urgently, they are using additional tracers. Over the course of the last 24 hours we have made some progress in that regard.”
With an estimated 47,523 contacts in total originally untraced, the 63% figure suggests that 29,939 of them have been now tracked down, but 17,584 have not.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that the unreported cases in England “should never have happened” and stressed he had moved in August to change the IT systems.
But Labour said the missing results were “putting lives at risk”.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told HuffPost UK: “Days after the event, thousands of people remain blissfully unaware they have been exposed to this deadly virus and ministers are clueless as to when they will be actually traced.
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“This is so much worse than a shambles, it’s putting lives at risk and Boris Johnson urgently needs to get a grip.”
PHE interim chief executive Michael Brodie said at the weekend that a “technical issue” was identified overnight on Friday in the process that transfers Covid-19 positive lab results into reporting dashboards.
The majority of the unreported cases had occurred in the “most recent days”, he said.
When asked in the Commons to provide detailed figures, Hancock suggested it would be difficult to do so quickly.
“We have obviously been continuing to contact both the index cases and the contacts,” he said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Netflix Axes Plans For Final Season Of Glow Due To Covid-19 – And Fans Are Not Happy

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Fans of the cult TV series Glow have been left devastated following the news that Netflix has cut its run short.
The wrestling-based comedy was originally supposed to return to the streaming giant for a fourth and final series, on which production began in February.
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However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, filming was halted, with the creators confirming that it has now been scrapped completely.
Alison Brie in the first series of Glow Erica Parise/Netflix
“Covid has killed actual humans. It’s a national tragedy and should be our focus,” the show’s creators said in a statement to Deadline. “Covid also apparently took down our show.
“Netflix has decided not to finish filming the final season of Glow. We were handed the creative freedom to make a complicated comedy about women and tell their stories. And wrestle. And now that’s gone.
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“There’s a lot of sh*tty things happening in the world that are much bigger than this right now. But it still sucks that we don’t get to see these 15 women in a frame together again.”
They ended their statement with a call for fans of Glow to register to vote.
Fans of the show have been voicing their disappointment on social media since the news broke:
Netflix cancelling GLOW due to covid-19 has got to be the dumbest ideas ever.
Why not just postpone shooting until everything gets better, not wrap it up. Goddammit it's the final season and you're doing a Sense8 all over again. — Clem Fandango (@TheAdzilla) October 6, 2020
I’m genuinely pissed that #GLOW isn’t being allowed to have another season. Dammit, @netflix — Aaron T. Starks 🌊 (@StarkyLuv73) October 6, 2020
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Act of god and all that, but this stinks. The s3 finale is NOT a satisfying ending in any way. And the number of Netflix shows that are now getting their legs cut out from under them mid-story is getting absurdly high. https://t.co/jjD2YoAvQx — Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) October 5, 2020
Omg I’m SO upset. @GlowNetflix is a brilliant show and I’ve already seen seasons 1-3 twice. The acting, music, and characters are truly amazing. And there is so much unresolved in the stories. 😭 Terrible. 😡 Shame on @netflix !! https://t.co/n5xl0mxFza — Wendy M. Christensen, Ph.D. 🏳🌈🦉📚🍺 😷 (@wendyphd) October 6, 2020
Well, this really sucks. I was looking forward to this. https://t.co/huPntjii6t — Stephanie Morgan (@Steph_Morgan_0) October 5, 2020
I can’t believe @netflix had the nerve to cancel #GLOW with all of the garbage they produce. — Hunter R.H. (@huntrhollis) October 6, 2020
this is really devastating. GLOW meant so much to me, and it really deserved the chance to end how it wanted to https://t.co/U8kGTjdRo5 — Nadia "Summons" Shammas (@Nadia_Shammas_) October 5, 2020
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I keep thinking I’m okay then I remember what Netflix have done to #GLOW and the fact that Betty never got the Emmy she deserves. — Kendal (@Kendal_) October 6, 2020
still can’t believe it got cancelled but GLOW is one of the best and most unique netflix originals and everyone should go watch it pic.twitter.com/3CCEjhQtsT — nightmare on aids ☭ street (@cinemaidan) October 5, 2020
Pretty gutted about GLOW being cancelled. Comedy-drama is so difficult to get right but this one was actually funny AND had moments of real poignancy. And the cast was superb. pic.twitter.com/KUpuym2Xng — Nick Levine (@mrnicklevine) October 6, 2020
Hard not to shake the idea that Netflix sees more of a future in consumers hate-watching Emily In Paris (which was all over my timeline this weekend) than sincerely watching something like GLOW — Chris Mandle (@chris_mandle) October 6, 2020
A Netflix spokesperson explained the streaming service’s decision to cut the show short, saying: “We’ve made the difficult decision not to do a fourth season of Glow due to Covid, which makes shooting this physically intimate show with its large ensemble cast especially challenging.”
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Glow launched in 2017, and is based on a group of female wrestlers in the 1980s who dub themselves the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling (hence the name of the series).


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Scotland Set For New Lockdown Restrictions Amid 'Sharply Rising Rate Of Infection'

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Scotland looks set to face more lockdown restrictions after Nicola Sturgeon announced she’s been given “very strong” advice from health experts that more needed to be done to control the pandemic.
The first minister said while no “final decisions” had yet been made, she needed to act to control the “sharply rising rate of infection” across the country.
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An announcement is due to be made on Wednesday on what further measures will be taken.
“In many ways this is is probably the most difficult decision point we have faced so far,” she said.
Scotland is already under stricter restrictions than England, with household mixing having been banned from September 22.
Sturgeon did not reveal what new restrictions would be imposed, but she did list what she would not do.
Speaking at Tuesday’s press briefing, she said schools would remain open and people would not be told to stay in their homes as they were in March.
“We are not proposing another lockdown at this stage, not even on a temporary basis,” she said.
Professor Neil Ferguson, the Imperial College London expert who advised the UK government to impose the first lockdown, said that restrictions including closing bars and restaurants could be needed.
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“If we want to keep schools open we have to reduce contacts in other areas of society by more,” he told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme.
It came as Boris Johnson told the Conservative Party conference there was no alternative to the coronavirus restrictions he has been forced to introduce as he promised to forge a new Britain “in the teeth of this pandemic”.
In his speech, the prime minister promised there would be no social distancing measures in place by this time next year.
Johnson said he had had “more than enough” of coronavirus, which he described as a “plague” and an “alien invader”.
Pool via Getty Images


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Boris Johnson Pledges End To Social Distancing By October 2021

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Boris Johnson has promised there will be no social distancing measures in place by this time next year.
Delivering his Conservative conference speech to a near-empty room due to infection controls, the prime minister said he has had “more than enough” of coronavirus, which he described as a “plague” and an “alien invader”.
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But having previously said he hopes for “normality by November” this year, Johnson told the Tory faithful that at least next year’s autumn conference would be free of social distancing.
“With the help of weekly and almost daily improvements in the medicine and the science, we will ensure that next time we meet it will be face-to-face and cheek-by-jowl,” he said.
"Your goverment is working night and day to repel this virus and we will succeed, just as this country has seen off every alien invader for the last thousand years"
Boris Johnson thanks members for "zooming in" as he delivers his party conference speechhttps://t.co/I4rVU1oOGj pic.twitter.com/eLMBqWVEzV — BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) October 6, 2020
Johnson used his wide-ranging speech to set out a vision for the country in 2030, insisting that coronavirus must be a “trigger” for economic and social change on the scale of the “new Jerusalem” vision of the post-Second World War years.
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More immediately, the PM pledged to turn “generation rent into generation buy” with his plans for 95% mortgages for first-time buyers who would not otherwise be able to afford a deposit.
And he insisted the government would proceed with plans to reform the “sclerotic” planning system, despite widespread Tory concerns about a so-called “mutant” algorithm determining where houses are built.
Johnson said offshore wind would be powering every home in the country within 10 years, helped by a £160m investment to upgrade ports and factories for building turbines, insisting that “as Saudi Arabia is to oil, the UK is to wind”.
The PM also hinted at the introduction of an insurance system to solve the social care crisis, quoting Churchill as he promised to bring “the magic of averages to the rescue of millions”.
“It isn’t enough just to go back to normal, we have lost too much, we have mourned too many, we have been through too much hardship to settle back for the status quo ante, to think life can go on as it did before the plague,” the PM said.
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Amid Tory unease about his performance, Johnson sought again to dispel rumours that he is suffering from “long Covid”, following a bout with the virus that left him in intensive care.
“I've read a lot of nonsense recently about how my own bout of Covid has somehow robbed me of my mojo”
PM Boris Johnson calls the claims “self-evident drivel” and “propaganda you’d expect from people who don’t want the government to succeed” https://t.co/I4rVU1oOGj pic.twitter.com/VhwJmaGqgM — BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) October 6, 2020
“I have read a lot of nonsense recently about how my own bout of Covid has somehow robbed me of my mojo,” he said.
“And, of course this is self-evident drivel.
“The kind of seditious propaganda that you would expect from people who don’t want this government to succeed.
“And I could refute these critics of my athletic abilities in any way that they want, arm wrestling, leg wrestling… you name it.
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“And yet I have to admit that the reason I had such a nasty experience with the disease is that although I was superficially in the pink of health when I caught it I had a very common underlying condition – my friends, I was too fat. And I have since lost 26 pounds.”
Quoting 90s pop band M People, the PM went on: “And I am going to continue that diet because you have got to search for the hero inside yourself and hope that individual is considerably slimmer.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Three-Year-Old Boy And Two Adults Found Dead In Brentford Home

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A three-year-old boy, a woman aged in her 30s and a man in his 40s have been found dead at an address in Brentford, west London.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
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Officers forced entry to the property in Clayponds Lane, Brentford at about 12.50am on Tuesday, following concerns for the welfare of people inside.
The male was suffering from stab injuries. London Ambulance Service attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
It is thought all three people were known to each other.
Anyone who has information that could assist police with their investigation are asked to call 101 ref CAD 7365/6 Oct.
An investigation is underway following the deaths of three people in #Brentford #Hounslow.
The bodies of a woman in her 30s and a 3yo boy were found, along with a man aged in his 40s.
Officers remain at the scene.https://t.co/PMxryjShIP — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 6, 2020
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Furious Stars Tear Into Donald Trump Following Latest Coronavirus Comments: 'Gasping For Air. And Cr

Furious Stars Tear Into Donald Trump Following Latest Coronavirus Comments: 'Gasping For Air. And Credibility'

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A number of furious Hollywood stars have been voicing their anger following US president Donald Trump’s latest comments about the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday night, Trump returned to the White House after three days in hospital, having been diagnosed with Covid-19 at the end of last week.
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After posing for photographs after removing his face covering, Trump posted a video on Twitter in which he urged Americans not to be “afraid” of the virus.
“Don’t let it dominate. Don’t let it take over your lives. Don’t let that happen,” he said.
“We have the greatest country in the world. We’re going back. We’re going back to work. We’re going to be out front. As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there’s danger to it, but I had to do it.”
He also told Americans not to be “afraid” of the virus, saying a vaccine would be “coming momentarily”.
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Trump removes his face covering after returning to the White House Win McNamee via Getty Images
Since the video was posted, a number of Trump’s famous detractors have criticised his message, including Marvel star Chris Evans and showbiz legend Bette Midler.
“Don’t be afraid of Covid?!” Chris questioned. “You’ve been under round-the-clock care by the best doctors using the best drugs. Do you really think everyone has access to that?!”
Don’t be afraid of Covid?!
You’ve been under round-the-clock care by the best doctors using the best drugs. Do you really think everyone has access to that?!
Sadly, I’m sure you’re aware of that disparity, you just don’t care
This is reckless to a shocking degree, even for you https://t.co/H8CGlD9DcZ — Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) October 5, 2020
Bette also blasted the president’s “selfishness”, branding him “idiot in chief”:
The sick #IdiotInChief just tweeted that “I never felt better in 20 years. Don’t be afraid of getting COVID!”
TELL THAT TO THE DEAD! Must be pumped up from steroids & getting medications no one else in the world can get. He shoulda said “#ImHighAsAKite”#Base, go get Covid! — bettemidler (@BetteMidler) October 5, 2020
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Can you believe how selfish this #presidentprick is? As long as he’s fine the rest of US can drop dead. We need to teach Civics again! Too many people don’t know how this democracy is supposed to work! https://t.co/h48LggUDX9 — bettemidler (@BetteMidler) October 5, 2020
Others have shared their thoughts about Trump’s comments, as well as the footage of him removing his face mask upon his return to the White House:
When trump,Or As We Call
Him,”Covid Mary”,Starts 2 Say Insane Shit That Gets AMERICANS KILLED,ITS 2
MUCH🤯.No One But
trump Gets HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF💰IN
PRECIOUS MEDS,IN 1st DAYS OF DISEASE.NONE OF US
CAN GET THEM.HE’S
“LIAR,LIAR👖ON🔥.”Ps HES ALSO JACKED UP ON STEROIDS🤪 pic.twitter.com/VMxh81s5kt — Cher (@cher) October 5, 2020
“Don’t be afraid of Covid” he dares say to those of us who have lost loved ones to Covid. This man is evil. https://t.co/Ap2dlviXz4 — Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 5, 2020
You don’t have covid for the weekend. He either has it and doesn’t give a fuck who gets it from him, or he never had it. — Zach Braff (@zachbraff) October 5, 2020
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The steroids have really kicked in. https://t.co/5bzF2VafLQ — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 5, 2020
The President of the United States, who is carrying a viral contagion, just took his fucking mask off for a photo opp. America, this must end. It simply must end. Vote — Josh Gad (@joshgad) October 5, 2020
“Don’t be afraid of Covid” America! With a helicopter at your disposal and access to treatments only a President can get, you too will get though this just fine in time to get back to your state of the art in-house medical facility with 24 hour care and the best doctors around! https://t.co/PKkhl3qZHu — Josh Gad (@joshgad) October 5, 2020
I like presidents who learn from their experience and don't give the American public dangerous advice. https://t.co/v4tyyn6f0K — Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) October 5, 2020
Gasping for air. And credibility. pic.twitter.com/1pDvaYcAbj — Ken Jeong (@kenjeong) October 6, 2020
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Me when I was a teenager trying not to cough while cyphing blunts https://t.co/02uUYi5Qie — iamcardib (@iamcardib) October 6, 2020
I still have the lung power and I wore less makeup. This revival is closing November 3rd. pic.twitter.com/vRQ4LepACv — Patti LuPone (@PattiLuPone) October 6, 2020
Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway – whose husband has been in intensive care for the last six months due to Covid complications – also shared her view during Tuesday’s show.
“It’s extraordinary isn’t it?” she began. “It is extraordinary. It’s heartbreaking, actually.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--PSA: Face Masks Don't Work Very Well In The Rain

In the centre of the masks is a material that’s better at trapping viruses, he explained, but if that gets wet, damaged or displaced, the mask becomes “useless”.
It’s important to remember your breath alone on the mask will be enough to slowly disintegrate it. A general rule of thumb is that they should be replaced after three hours regardless, said Prof Hunter.
Other masks such as the N95 mask, as well as cloth face coverings, are also more vulnerable in damp weather. Government guidance states a person must change their face covering “if it becomes damp or if you’ve touched it”.
The World Health Organisation’s guidance on face masks also urges people to “replace masks as soon as they become damp with a new clean, dry mask”.
In the UK, face coverings aren’t mandatory outdoors – however some people put them on before leaving the house so they can wash their hands first, as guidance suggests.
People waiting for public transport at bus stops and train station platforms will also wear them, as will those shopping on outdoor high streets.
HuffPost UK asked the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) if there will be a public health campaign to let people know the wet weather can reduce the effectiveness of masks. We will update this piece if and when we hear back.
In the meantime, it’s best to take a few spare masks out with you, just in case.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Glenn Close Thinks On Her Feet With Homemade Cruella De Vil Costume

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Glenn Close is getting in the Halloween spirit a little early this year, returning to one of her most famous characters – Cruella De Vil.
The 73-year-old star played the iconic Disney villain in two different live-action films, and revealed on Instagram that she’s bringing her back in honour of Bette Midler’s virtual Halloween bash this year.
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However, if you’ve noticed Cruella is looking ever so slightly less polished than usual, that’s because Glenn has put the outfit together herself, using mostly items she already had in the house.
Posting a photo of herself striking her best Cruella pose, Glenn revealed that her “cigarette holder” was actually a chopstick she’d painted red, while her iconic ’do is actually a Halloween wig she ordered off the internet.
Her Cruella gloves were also homemade, while the fur she’s seen sporting was actually something she previously wore during her recent Oscar-nominated turn in The Wife.
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And that fashionable leopard print scarf? It’s actually a pair of silk long johns.
Explaining how she did her own make-up, she wrote: “Didn’t have a really pale base so I tried baby powder. Looks weird on the side of my face. Not a rousing success.
“Also needed a liquid eyeliner...next time.”
It was recently revealed that Cruella was getting her own spin-off film, which will be the latest in a long line of live-action remakes featuring classic Disney characters.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Clark Middleton, Twin Peaks And Kill Bill Actor, Dies Aged 63

US actor Clark Middleton has died at the age of 63.
Clark was best known for playing Charlie in the reboot of the hit series Twin Peaks, as well as Ernie in the film Kill Bill: Volume 2 and Schutz in Sin City.
Clark Middleton Jason LaVeris via Getty Images
The star’s wife Elissa confirmed the news of his death in a statement.
She said: “With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of a life eminently worthy of celebration: Clark Tinsley Middleton, 63 — beloved actor, writer, director, teacher, hero, husband, beacon, friend.
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“Clark transitioned on October 4th as a result of West Nile Virus, for which there is no known cure.”
West Nile Virus is the cause of mosquito-borne disease that is most commonly spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito.
Elissa added: “Clark was a beautiful soul who spent a lifetime defying limits and advocating for people with disabilities.”
Clark had lived with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which had affected his hands aged four and caused him to lose movement in his neck at the age of eight.
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Clark as Glen Carter in The Blacklist NBC via Getty Images
The actor was also known for his appearances on the US series The Blacklist, playing DMV boss Glen Carter since 2014.
The Blacklist showrunner Jon Bokenkamp paid tribute to Clark in a statement, which read: “I’m heartbroken. Besides being a truly unique and gifted actor, Clark was simply an incredible guy in every way.
“He was a whip-smart film nut. He loved his work with a passion. And he was insanely generous of spirit… I know his entire family at The Blacklist is devastated by this news.
“Clark was one of the good ones, and we lost him way too soon.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--MPs Will Not Get Chance To Scrap 10pm Curfew Until Next Week

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MPs will not get the chance to scrap the controversial 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants until next week, HuffPost UK understands.
Westminster had been awash with speculation that the government could be defeated and the curfew scrapped amid a major Tory rebellion in a vote on Wednesday.
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But HuffPost UK understands MPs will not vote on the curfew until next week, with the Commons instead expected to consider regulations for the Merseyside local lockdown this Wednesday.
Downing Street later confirmed the vote would come next week.
Disgruntled Tory backbenchers believe they have the numbers to defeat the government if Labour also decides to oppose the curfew.
And they appear to have been emboldened by chancellor Rishi Sunak expressing his “frustration” at the measures, which were never discussed by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
One Tory MP, surveying backbench opinion, said: “I don’t know anyone who defends the policy.”
Labour has so far refused to say how it would vote on the curfew, but questioned how it helps stop the spread of coronavirus when people are being forced onto public transport together at 10pm.
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Responding to questions from leading Tory rebel Steve Baker, the CEO of UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, said the curfew and other restrictions had a “severe and devastating” impact on pubs, restaurants and other venues.
She told the Commons Treasury committee that the sector was facing a “bleak winter”, suggesting drops in revenue from an already low level meant some could slide “into unsustainability very rapidly”.
Nicholls said the sector was facing a “cumulative impact” of the 10pm curfew, table service only rules, work from home advice, and the ban on events and functions.
Noting a third of hospitality revenue is generated between Halloween and New Year, she said high street pub and restaurant sales were down 30-40% year-on-year and 18-24% week-on-week, with suburban and food-led businesses hardest hit.
“Then you’ve got the challenge of everybody out at the same time in the town centre, rather than having a more gradual dispersal as provided for by Northern Ireland, Wales, but also other European countries who have introduced a curfew,” Nicholls said.
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“It has had a severe and devastating impact on our businesses and that’s from a very low level of trade as well.”
Commenting after, Baker told HuffPost UK: “It is not clear what the evidence is to support the 10pm curfew or that it is effective.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Kate Garraway Blasts Donald Trump After 'Heartbreaking' New Comments About Coronavirus

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Kate Garraway has given an impassioned response following US president Donald Trump’s latest comments about the coronavirus crisis.
During Tuesday’s edition of Good Morning Britain, the team discussed Trump’s remarks about the pandemic, which came as he returned to the White House following a three-day hospital stint, having been diagnosed with Covid-19 last week.
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In a video posted on Monday night, Trump said: “Don’t let it dominate. Don’t let it take over your lives. Don’t let that happen.
“We have the greatest country in the world. We’re going back. We’re going back to work. We’re going to be out front. As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there’s danger to it, but I had to do it.”
He also told Americans not to be afraid of the virus, saying a vaccine would be “coming momentarily”.
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Sharing her take on Trump’s video, Kate – whose husband, Derek Draper, has been in intensive care for six months due to complications caused by Covid-19 – said she found his comments “heartbreaking”.
“It’s extraordinary isn’t it?” she began. “It is extraordinary. It’s heartbreaking, actually.
“His attitude, you could argue, sanctioned the behaviour at that event whenever it was in September. Now nine people have been infected, 10 including him, would they have even traced many of the other people?”
Kate Garraway ITV
Addressing his advice not to be “afraid” of Covid-19, Kate added: “It’s terrible because it’s not even just the deaths or the fear of death.
“Those 210,000 people have families that are grieving, so the event isn’t just the illness, but it’s the impact on lives and livelihoods.”
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A day earlier, Kate shared her thoughts on the president being taken on a drive-by to greet supporters outside of the hospital where he was being treated, days after his diagnosis.
“There are children who have died, with their mums and dads not being allowed to see them, so why does he think it’s more important for him to get into that car?” she asked.
“If he showed that he was respecting the people around him and respecting the isolation that would have been a heroic message and that would have absolutely benefited the country.”
Donald Trump removing his face covering as he returns to the White House Win McNamee via Getty Images
“It makes you think he still doesn’t know (about Covid)”, Kate said. “He’s having all sorts of treatments which people who got sick in March, April, May, June didn’t have access to.
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“So he’s lucky that he’s built on the learnings of people like Derek.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--Dancing With The Stars Suffers Huge Live Gaffe As Wrong Bottom Couple Is Announced

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As far as live gaffes go, the US version of Strictly Come Dancing was up there with the best of them on Monday night.
There was chaos as the results were revealed on the most recent episode of Dancing With The Stars, which saw one couple told they were safe, only to later be told they were actually in the bottom two.
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Host Tyra Banks was going through the couples one-by-one revealing whether they were safe, and as she got down to the last three couples, she admitted there had been an error in the control room.
Three couples remained on the Dancing With The Stars stage before the error was realised ABC
After telling Anne Heche and Vernon Davis that they were the bottom two celebrities, Tyra quickly backtracked saying: “There’s actually been an error. We’re looking right now. We need to clarify this.”
She then announced that Anne and her professional partner Keo Motsepe were actually in the bottom two alongside Monica Aldama, with her pro partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy, who’d already been told they were through to the following week of the competition.
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“Please have Monica come back,” Tyra said. “There’s been an error in our control room, but we’re making it happen. This is live TV, right? This is the craziness of live TV.”
Host Tyra Banks was left trying to reconcile the situation ABC
Judges Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba could be seen open-mouthed at the mix-up.
Bruno, who is also a judge on Strictly in the UK, said: “Nobody is infallible. I’m sorry, guys. You know, it happened in the UK.”
Tyra continued: “I’m so sorry. This is live TV. I was reading my cards, but my cards were wrong.”
Monica Aldama and Valentin Chmerkovskiy were actually in the bottom two alongside Anne Heche and Keo Motsepe ABC
Unlike the UK show, where the bottom two couples have to perform again for the judges in the dance-off, the US version goes straight to a judges’ vote, with the trio deciding which couple they want to save.
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Both Carrie Ann and Derek decided to save Monica and Valentin, sending home Anne and Keo.
After the show, Tyra took to Twitter to address the live mix-up.
She tweeted: “Wowzers. Live TV. Wrong name on cards. So challenging to deal with moments like these. But we power through.”
Wowzers. Live TV. Wrong name on cards. So challenging to deal with moments like these. But we power through. — Tyra Banks (@tyrabanks) October 6, 2020
Bruno also praised the way Tyra handled the situation, telling Entertainment Tonight: “Well it’s live television, things like this happen, especially with information coming in from all over the country, voting and calculating in such a small amount of time.
“Tyra was brilliant because she just said, ‘Oh no, wait a second here, this is not working. What I have doesn’t match what I’m getting [fed in].’ She was brilliant, because what she getting in the ear was different than what was printed out.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-10-06--The Virus Behind Covid Can Relieve Pain In The Body. Here's How.

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Part of the virus that causes the illness Covid-19 could be used to help relieve pain, a new study suggests, by blocking the body’s pain pathway at a cellular level.
Scientists believe the finding, initially discovered in rats, could help pave the way for new pain treatments in the future, and might also go some way in explaining why those who are newly infected with the virus don’t initially feel symptoms.
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So, what do you need to know?
How can the virus switch off pain?
Now, this is the science-y bit. Viruses infect your body’s host cells through protein receptors, which are found on the cells’ membranes. Early in the pandemic, scientists established that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein uses an enzyme called ACE2 to enter the body.
But in June, pre-print studies pointed to a protein called neuropilin-1 as another possible way for the virus to enter and then infect the body.
Lots of biological pathways signal the body to feel pain. One is through a protein known as VEGF-A. It plays an essential role in blood vessel growth, but has also been linked to diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and Covid-19.
When the body is negatively affected by external stimuli (for example, a person hurts themselves) or is exposed to an infection, VEGF-A binds to the protein neuropilin in the body – and it initiates a cascade of events which, researchers say, results in you feeling pain.
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Dr_Microbe via Getty Images
Rajesh Khanna, a professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, and his research team found that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds to neuropilin in exactly the same location as VEGF-A.
They performed a series of experiments in the laboratory and in rodents to see whether the spike protein disrupts the VEGF-A/neuropilin pain pathway – and therefore stops pain.
They used VEGF-A as a trigger to induce pain, and then sent in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The spike “completely reversed” the VEGF-induced pain signalling, says Prof Khanna, of the study in rats. “It didn’t matter if we used very high doses of spike or extremely low doses – it reversed the pain completely.”
“It reversed the pain completely.”
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bobmadbob via Getty Images
There are some questions left unanswered by the research, though. For example: what types of pain could this help relieve? “Our data shows reversal of injury induced pain in rats,” Khanna tells HuffPost UK. “This injury models a form of neuropathic (persistent) pain.”
Whether the spike protein can reverse other kinds of pain – such as arthritic, cancer-induced, inflammation or surgical pain – is too early to tell, he adds.
“But we are currently investigating targeting of neuropilin-1, the new target of pain revealed by our current study, for potential utility for developing a new class of anti-pain drugs.”
What has this got to do with the spread of Covid-19?
Prof Khanna says the finding might go some way in explaining why so many people who get Covid experience few or no symptoms – even though they are able to spread the disease. While we don’t know exactly how many people tend to have Covid-19 without symptoms, we do know that the number could range from 20-50% of those who get infected.
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“It made a lot of sense to me that perhaps the reason for the unrelenting spread of Covid-19 is that in the early stages, you’re walking around all fine as if nothing is wrong because your pain has been suppressed,” says Prof Khanna of his theory.
“You have the virus, but you don’t feel bad because your pain is gone. If we can prove that this pain relief is what is causing Covid-19 to spread further, that’s of enormous value.”
But, why do some people still experience pain with Covid-19?
It’s not yet clear. “A limitation in our study is that while we looked at the effect of Spike directly on pain, patients also develop an immune response neutralising the virus,” says Prof Khanna. “We did not test if this happened in our rats.
“We have anecdotal evidence from chronic pain patients emailing us reporting that their pain is gone when they contracted Covid.”
Dr Julian Tang, honorary associate professor and a clinical virologist in the field of Respiratory Sciences at University of Leicester, calls the findings “intriguing”. “We already know some Covid-19 patients can develop neurological and neuropsychiatric complications, demonstrating that SARS-CoV-2 – the virus causing Covid-19 – is also neurotropic [meaning it can infect the brain],” he said.
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“There is some further way to go before this becomes a practical drug intervention for pain control.” - Dr Julian Tang
But there are limitations to the research. “This team has only looked at this in laboratory and rat models so far, so although the enticing video on their website shows possible potential in humans, there is some further way to go before this becomes a practical drug intervention for pain control,” Dr Tang continued.
“Also, given the complexity of the human immune response to the infection, not all patients with Covid-19 are necessarily free of pain, as we have seen.
“But as the team say, this SARS-CoV-2 S protein interaction has stimulated them to look at neuropilin-1 as an alternative pain receptor to block to provide pain relief without the use of potentially addictive opioids, like morphine – which work on a different pathway.
“With Covid-19 causing so much grief and distress globally, it is possible that this finding has offered at least a thin silver lining in this pandemic.”
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Dr Khanna hopes to continue research into the role of neuropilin in the spread of Covid-19 and plans to examine it as a new target for non-opioid pain relief, too.