Cuomo faces political disaster over the Covid loss of life investigation harassing allegations

Governor Andrew Cuomo holds a daily press conference at the base of the Mario Cuomo Bridge in Tarrytown, New York on June 15, 2020.

Lev Radin | Pacific Press | LightRocket via Getty Images

What a difference a few months have made for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo – and not in a good way.

Cuomo was hailed last year by many who viewed him as a competent, scientifically respectful, no-nonsense, fatherly counterpoint to Donald Trump’s direct, expertly despicable, and often confusing approach to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuomo’s daily press conferences, detailing the gritty Covid-19 stats in New York and urging citizens to take precautions against infection, became a must-see TV for weeks, as did his towel joke in interviews with the CNN presenter Chris Cuomo – his own brother.

As a result, it was discussed again that Cuomo, whose father Mario worried about running for president, earned him the sobriety of “Hamlet on the Hudson,” being a candidate for the Democratic White House nomination in 2024 would, or some position in the federal government before that.

Cuomo even landed a contract to write a book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic, which was published in October – even as the crisis continued to threaten his own state and elsewhere.

But it is Cuomo’s management approach to the health crisis that has created a political crisis in his administration that threatens his electoral future.

Thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers died in nursing homes during the pandemic. Your loved ones and the public deserve responses and transparency from their elected leadership.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez MP

DN.Y.

The U.S. Department of Justice is currently conducting a criminal investigation into nursing home deaths in New York related to the coronavirus. This was announced this week. The disclosure of this probe came weeks after New York attorney general Letitia James said deaths related to these hires were underreported by the Cuomo administration by up to 50%.

And Cuomo is also facing an effort in the state legislature to deprive him of his emergency powers, a push fueled by resentment at the governor’s verbal armament against lawmakers who stand in his way.

There is even talk of indicting Cuomo.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive Democrat whose district includes parts of Queens and the Bronx in New York, issued a statement Friday approving requests from other elected officials for a “full investigation into government’s dealings with.” Nursing Homes During the Pandemic “joined. “

Ocasio-Cortez also said she supports “our state’s return to equal governance,” an indication of Cuomo’s years of dominance in the legislature.

“Thousands of New Yorkers at risk were killed in nursing homes during the pandemic,” she said. “Your loved ones and the public deserve answers and transparency from their elected leadership.”

An excuse, a probe

The contrast between Cuomo’s current situation and last fall was vividly illustrated last week when he left the White House without speaking to reporters after speaking to President Joe Biden and other governors and others at the White House about fighting pandemics and vaccinations had spoken to Mayor.

If that meeting had happened last summer, it would be unlikely that Cuomo would have missed the opportunity to share his thoughts on the seat with journalists.

That meeting, however, followed a report in the New York Post that Cuomo’s top adviser Melissa DeRosa recently apologized to Democratic lawmakers for holding back the Covid death count in government nursing homes last year while Trump was still president fear that the statistics will be “used against us” by federal prosecutors.

That excuse apparently raised the prosecutors’ antennas itself.

On Thursday evening, the Wall Street Journal reported that prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York had requested data on deaths in nursing homes related to Covid.

The request is “part of a broader investigation into how the state is dealing with the pandemic in these care facilities,” according to sources speaking to The Journal.

A source for the article said the data request came after DeRosa’s apology was reported.

Families of Covid victims and Republican lawmakers in New York last year criticized Cuomo for an order from the state Department of Health requiring nursing homes to withdraw their residents even if they were discharged from a hospital with Covid.

These critics accuse these policies of accelerating the spread of the virus in nursing homes.

Cuomo, whose press office did not immediately respond to a request from CNBC for comment, said this week, “My health experts do not believe it was wrong and we have gone through all the facts multiple times.”

The governor also said he had followed instructions from two leading federal agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“If we believed it was wrong we would say we believe it is wrong and we made a mistake by following the CDC and CMS guidelines and then I would be the federal government because of Sue for misconduct related to their CDC and CMS policies, “Cuomo said.

“Classic Andrew Cuomo”

On Tuesday, nine Democratic members of the State Assembly sent their colleagues a letter accusing Cuomo of deliberately obstructing the judiciary in violation of federal criminal law. That letter called on the gathering to withdraw the government’s emergency powers granted it last year as the pandemic spread.

“This is a necessary first step in correcting the criminal injustice of this governor and his government,” said the letter, which was signed by Honorable Ron Kim from Queens.

Kim said this week, after being quoted in a New York Post article for criticizing the withholding of data from nursing homes, he received an angry phone call from Cuomo on Feb.11.

“You didn’t see my anger,” Cuomo Kim warned, according to lawmakers. “They will be destroyed,” said the governor, according to Kim.

Kim also told the Post that the governor said, “I can tell the whole world what a bad person you are and you will be done.”

In an interview with NBC New York, Kim said, “He spent 10 minutes calling me names, yelling at me, threatening me and my career, my livelihood.”

Kim’s wife, who allegedly overheard Cuomo for cursing MPs so loudly, was so shocked by the governor’s threats that she “didn’t sleep that night,” said Kim.

Cuomo’s spokesman Rich Azzopardi told The Post that Kim “lied about his conversation with Governor Cuomo”.

“I know because I was one of three other people in the room when the call came,” Azzopardi said, according to The Post.

“At no point did anyone threaten to ‘destroy’ someone with their ‘anger’ or to engage in a ‘cover-up’.” “

Kim had not backed off with his claims.

Kim appeared on ABC’s “The View” on Friday and said, “Cuomo is an abuser.”

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who often has a whipping boy for Cuomo, told MNBC’s “Morning Joe” show that the call to Kim was “classic Andrew Cuomo”.

“A lot of people in New York State got these calls, you know, bullying is nothing new,” said de Blasio.

“I believe Ron Kim, and it’s very, very sad – no officer, no person telling the truth should be treated like that.”

The New York well being chief defends the state’s choice to get nursing houses to simply accept Covid sufferers

New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker on Friday defended the state’s decision in March to force nursing homes to admit hospital residents with the coronavirus, blaming staff for spreading the virus.

The guideline, enacted on March 25, banned nursing homes from refusing admission or readmission to residents infected with Covid-19. The policy also banned nursing homes from testing patients prior to entry, NBC News reported. The policy was reversed later in May.

Zucker said Friday that at the time, the coronavirus hospitalization rate in New York was increasing “at an astounding rate” and capacity in the state’s intensive care units was running low. By allowing residents to return to the nursing homes, it helped protect the health system from collapse, he said.

“You can only verify a decision based on the facts you had at the time,” Zucker said during a press conference next to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. “And with the facts we had at the time, it was the right decision from a public health perspective.”

Zucker said the decision was based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued at the time, that nursing homes should accept all residents who would normally accept them, including those diagnosed with Covid-19, for as long Precautions have been taken.

A CDC spokesman was not immediately available to comment on Zucker’s remarks.

“What if we hadn’t done it on March 25? Hospital beds, which ultimately saved lives, would not have been available because they would have been occupied by someone who could have been discharged,” Zucker said. “We made the right public health decision then and, given the same facts, we would make the same decisions again.”

The Covid-19 patients who returned to the nursing homes were likely not contagious according to the CDC’s guidelines at the time and were separated from other residents. Zucker added that state law requires nursing homes to refuse residents if they are unable to properly care for them.

“We simply said that you cannot refuse admission because of the Covid status,” he said. “We never said you had to accept, we said you couldn’t deny.”

The state’s top health official comes as the Cuomo government faces bipartisan criticism of the treatment of Covid-19 deaths in the nursing home. An investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James published in late January found that the New York Department of Health signed up to 50% of deaths from Covid-19 in nursing homes.

On Friday, Cuomo and Zucker said most of the spread of the virus was not due to the Covid-positive resident, but from the staff who look after them.

“Covid came from the staff in the nursing homes. They got it at home, they got it at the supermarket, they went to work and they brought Covid with them,” Cuomo said.

However, Cuomo has aggressively defended the state’s census, stating that these deaths were counted as part of hospital deaths rather than nursing homes. The Democratic governor has apologized for “creating a void” by not providing enough information quickly enough and by not fighting against misinformation.

“Twitter, false reports, will eventually become a reality,” said Cuomo. “Social media, 24-hour news network, if you don’t correct it, it’ll repeat … and then people will think it’s true.”

In August, prosecutors under the Trump administration requested information about the deaths in New York nursing homes that Cuomo has criticized as politically motivated. The state legislature also asked for similar information, but the Cuomo government postponed that request to focus on that of the Justice Department, the governor said.

One of Cuomo’s top advisors, Melissa DeRosa, reportedly told Democratic lawmakers that the governor’s administration was “frozen” at their request because they feared the data would be used against them by the Justice Department, Associated Press reported.

DeRosa has since tried to clarify her comments, stating in a statement last week that she was trying to tell lawmakers that they need to focus on the Justice Department’s request first.

“We were comprehensive and transparent in our responses to the DOJ and had to immediately focus our resources on the introduction of the second wave and the vaccine,” DeRosa said in the statement. “As I said when I called the legislature, we weren’t able to respond to your request as quickly as anyone would have liked.”

Biden says the US and Europe should struggle again in opposition to China’s financial abuse

President Joe Biden said Friday that the US and its international partners must hold China accountable for explaining its economic practices.

“We must defend ourselves against the abuses and coercions of the Chinese government, which undermine the foundations of the international economic system,” said Biden in a speech at the Munich Security Conference, which was practically delivered by the White House.

“Everyone has to play by the same rules,” he said at the annual international policy meeting.

Biden’s appearance, his debut to an international audience since taking office as president, came as his administration tried to maintain a tough stance on China as it moved away from former President Donald Trump’s militant relationship with Beijing.

The Trump administration sought to reshape trade relations between the US and China, with an emphasis on encouraging Beijing to buy US goods while addressing issues such as intellectual property protection and forced technology transfers.

After reaching the first “phase” of a deal, Trump canceled an additional round of trade talks with China in 2020, to which he attributed the full spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump’s “America First” policies also alienated some European leaders long allied with the United States. Biden has made it clear that he intends to improve relations with America’s international partners.

“I know that the last few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship. But the United States is determined to reconnect with Europe,” said Biden at the beginning of his speech on Friday.

Before making his presentation, Biden met with leaders of the G7, the group of nations that includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US, to develop a global response to the Covid pandemic discuss.

In a joint statement following that meeting, the G7 vowed to “work together and work with others to make 2021 a turning point for multilateralism”.

The G7 statement also announced that member states would allocate US $ 7.5 billion to COVAX, an international initiative aimed at improving access to Covid vaccines. The White House said Thursday that the US would pledge $ 4 billion to global vaccination efforts through 2022.

According to the statement, the G7 meeting also touched China. “With the aim of promoting a fair and mutually beneficial global economic system for all people, we will work with others, especially with G20 countries, including large economies like China,” it said.

Biden went on in his speech.

“US and European companies are required to publicly announce corporate governance structures … and to adhere to rules to prevent corruption and monopoly practices. Chinese companies should adhere to the same standard,” said the president.

“We have to stand up for the democratic values ​​that make it possible to achieve all of this and defend ourselves against those who would monopolize and normalize oppression,” said Biden.

The Chinese embassy in the United States did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request to comment on Biden’s speech.

The President noted that “in this way we too can counter the threat from Russia”, which seeks to “weaken the European project and our NATO alliance”.

“The challenges with Russia may be different from those with China, but they are just as real,” said Biden.

“It’s not about playing East against West. It’s not about we want a conflict. We want a future in which all nations can freely determine their own path without the threat of violence or coercion,” said Biden. “We cannot and must not return to the reflexive opposition and rigid blocks of the Cold War.”

Read the full G7 joint statement:

“We, the leaders of the Group of Seven, met today and decided to work together to beat and rebuild COVID-19 better. Because of our strengths and values ​​as democratic, open economies and societies, we will work together and work with others. ” Make 2021 a turning point for multilateralism and create a recovery that promotes the health and prosperity of our people and our planet.

“We will step up collaboration on the health response to COVID-19. The dedication of key workers everywhere represents the best of humankind, while the rapid discovery of vaccines shows the power of human ingenuity. Working with and collaboratively strengthening the World Health Organization (WHO ) and support their leading and coordinating role, we will: Accelerate the global development and use of vaccines, work with industry to increase production capacity, including through voluntary licensing, improve the exchange of information, for example in the sequencing of new variants, and promote transparent and responsible practices and trust in vaccines. We reaffirm our support for all pillars of access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), its COVAX facility and affordable and equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics a and diagnostics, reflecting the role of comprehensive vaccination as a global public good. Today, with increased financial commitments of over $ 4 billion for ACT-A and COVAX, co. G7 support comes to $ 7.5 billion. We invite all partners, including the G20 and international financial institutions, to join us in increasing support for ACT-A, including providing developing countries with access to WHO-approved vaccines through the COVAX facility.

“COVID-19 shows that the world needs stronger defense against future risks to global health security. We will work with the WHO, the G20 and others, particularly at the Global Health Summit in Rome, on the global health and health security architecture pandemic preparedness, including through health funding and rapid response mechanisms, strengthening the One Health approach and universal health coverage, and exploring the potential value of a global health contract.

“We have provided more than $ 6 trillion in unprecedented support to our economies in the G7 over the past year. We will continue to support our economies in protecting jobs and supporting a strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive recovery. We reaffirm our support for high-risk countries, our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and our partnership with Africa, including support for a stable recovery, and we will work together through the G20 and the international financial institutions to increase support for countries’ responses by examining all available tools, including through full and transparent implementation of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and Common Framework.

“The recovery from COVID-19 needs to get better for everyone. With UNFCCC COP26 and CBD COP15 in mind, we will focus our plans on our global ambitions for climate change and reversing biodiversity loss. We will make progress in containment, adaptation and funding in line with the Paris Agreement and providing a green transformation and clean energy transition that will reduce emissions and create good jobs on the way to net zero by no later than 2050. We strive to align our economies in this way that no geographic region or person, regardless of gender or ethnicity, will be left behind. We will: Promote open economies and societies that promote global economic resilience, Use the free flow digital economy with confidence, participate in a modernized, freer and g More honest rules-based multilateral trade system that reflects our values ​​and delivers balanced growth with a reformed World Trade Organization at its center and a consensus-based international solution that seeks taxation by mid-2021 under the OECD. With the aim of supporting a fair and mutually beneficial global economic system for all people, we will work with others, especially G20 countries, including large economies like China. As leaders, we will deliberate on collective approaches to address non-market strategies and practices, and we will work with others to address important global issues that affect all countries.

“We resolve to agree concrete actions on these priorities at the G7 UK summit in June, and we support Japan’s commitment to safely host the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer as a symbol of world unity Overcoming COVID-19. “

Twitter reacts to meek grinder about Kobe Bryant in a brand new track

Meek Mill faces copyright infringement charges for allegedly stealing two songs from his 2018 year

Meek Mill is back on Twitter as a topic of discussion after a preview of the song “Kobe” starring Lil Baby surfaced. In the song, Meek referred to Kobe’s death and said, “And if I ever miss it I’ll go out with my Choppa, it will be another Kobe.” The next voice you hear a moment later is Lil Baby’s saying, “I almost want to have a son so I can call him Kobe.” Fans didn’t seem to have a problem with Baby’s line, but they were vocal about Meek’s disrespectful reference to Kobe’s death.

One commented, “Meek Mill really said,” I’m going to go out with my choppa, it’s going to be another Kobe. “He really decided to stay in the studio and say that line so that no one from his crew told him that was wrong?” Another commented, “Are we mad at Meek for the Kobe line or close? I think it was hella disgusting, but I hurt worse. Lil Yachty and the Columbine line were kind of bad too, but it’s music. “

This isn’t the first time Meek has released or released a controversial song. It was only last week after his interaction with Tekashi 69 that Meek dropped a song talking about sniffing and flexing on social media. Lots of people had a lot to say about Meek, including Wack 100. He did a few posts on Instagram and even went live regarding the situation. He exclaimed Meek for not fighting Tekashi and brought up the 2017 incident with Meek’s entourage who allegedly attacked Safaree. Throughout life, Wack says, “Anything you suck and cowards that make excuses, f ** k that. The rat is one. Microphones are zero. Rappers are zero. Everyone sees what happened. This is really s ** t. Anything you want, your texts, how to carry yourself, you pop when the ball is in your field but when it’s time it’s time to go. ”

So far, Meek Mill has not responded to the outrage.

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CDC says these are the commonest

Carolyn Fowler of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will receive her Covid-19 vaccination at a location opened today by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for LAUSD employees on February 17, 2021 in Los Angeles.

Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data on Friday listing the most common side effects Americans have reported after receiving shots of Pfizers or Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines.

The data is based on transmissions to the agency’s v-safe text messaging system and to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a national program for monitoring vaccination safety. The analysis used data from the first month of vaccination between December 14 and January 13, when more than 13.7 million doses were administered.

The CDC said there were 6,994 reports of so-called post-vaccination adverse events, including 6,354 classified as “not serious” and 640 as “serious”, including 113 deaths. The mean age of vaccine recipients, according to VAERS data, was 42 years and the majority of adverse events occurred in women.

The most common side effects after receiving the vaccines were headache, tiredness, and dizziness, followed by chills and nausea. The CDC said people also reported muscle pain, fever, joint pain, and pain at the injection site.

For the Pfizer vaccine, responses were more frequent after the second dose according to the v-safe data than after the first. The CDC said the reported rate of fever and chills was more than four times higher after the second dose than after the first.

Most commonly reported side effects (VAERS)

  • a headache
  • Fatigue
  • dizziness
  • chills
  • nausea

There have been 46 reports of anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, from those given Pfizer’s vaccine and 16 cases for those given Modernas, according to the CDC. The agency said the incidence of the response is within the range reported for the influenza vaccine.

Of the 113 reported deaths, two-thirds occurred in long-term care facilities, the agency said.

Medical experts say vaccine side effects are common and are actually an indication that the shots are working as intended. Many doctors advise the public to prepare for some more than usual side effects from the Covid-19 shots, especially after the second dose.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have recognized that their vaccines can produce side effects similar to symptoms associated with mild Covid-19, such as muscle pain, chills, and headaches. While the side effects can be uncomfortable, doctors say the vaccines are safe.

The CDC recommends talking to a doctor about taking over-the-counter medicines if you experience pain or discomfort after the recordings.

Bitcoin hits $ 1 trillion in market worth as cryptocurrency continues to surge

Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images

Bitcoin price passed another major milestone on Friday as the cryptocurrency’s market value surpassed $ 1 trillion, according to Coindesk.

The digital currency was trading at just under $ 54,000 per coin on Friday when it hit the new level and rose to a high of $ 54,880 later in the session, according to Coin Metrics. The price of Bitcoin has increased by around 350% in the past six months. Before its recent surge, the digital asset never traded above $ 20,000.

The move was driven in part by the increased adoption of Bitcoin by major investors and corporations. The oldest bank in the United States, the Bank of New York Mellon, announced earlier this month that it would be moving into space. Elon Musk’s Tesla converted part of its balance sheet money into Bitcoin earlier this year and announced that it would accept the digital tokens as a means of payment.

Bitcoin “has started to get so big that it is arguably creating its own demand as companies and institutions begin to move into an area they would not have touched a few months earlier,” said Deutsche Bank research strategist Jim Reid , in a note. “Ironically, it is turning into a credible asset class for many by rebounding so much lately and also increasing institutional buy-in.”

The market value is calculated by multiplying the Bitcoin price by the number created. While this is not a perfect comparison, its market value of $ 1 trillion would make Bitcoin’s value higher than all but a handful of stocks in the world. For example, Tesla has a market capitalization of around $ 700 billion, while Apple is valued at more than $ 2 trillion.

Pro-Bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs celebrated the milestone on social media.

“From the white paper to $ 1 trillion. #Bitcoin eats gold alive,” Gemini’s Cameron Winklevoss said on Twitter.

“RIP bears,” tweeted Anthony Pompliano, co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital Assets.

Of course, not everyone on Wall Street was convinced of Bitcoin’s future prospects. Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin said Friday he was not interested in cryptocurrency while researchers at JPMorgan said Bitcoin’s rally was unsustainable.

Tyson Meals begins vaccinating staff however is struggling to search out cans

A worker leaves the Tyson Foods facility in Waterloo, Iowa this Friday, May 1, 2020.

Charlie Neibergall | AP

When looking for access to Covid vaccines, large employers like Tyson Foods are no better off than many individual Americans. Tight supplies usually keep them waiting.

The meat processing company received its largest vaccine allocation this week and is vaccinating workers at its plants in Missouri, Illinois and Virginia. But there are only 1,000 cans in the three states.

So far this month they have received 25 to 50 doses at a time to vaccinate their occupational health workers and workers over 65.

“We are not turning down opportunities to obtain vaccines for our team members,” said Tom Brower, Tyson senior vice president of health and safety.

However, the options were limited. With 120,000 workers in two dozen states, they couldn’t get nearly enough care to keep vaccination clinics on a large scale.

“We’re coming into these jurisdictions and asking for 1,000 or 1,500 doses,” said Dr. Daniel Castillo, Chief Medical Officer of Matrix Medical Network, Tyson’s healthcare provider, who conducted on-site testing for the meat packer.

Even in states that are now providing access to vaccines for key workers, the uncertainty of vaccine supplies is hanging over large employers. The local health authorities cannot give them a schedule of when to get access.

“They don’t know how much they actually have to give us. That’s part of the challenge of really not having that line of sight,” said Dr. Castillo.

Tyson and rival meat packers JBS and Smithfield Foods came under fire at their facilities at the start of the pandemic due to widespread Covid outbreaks. At Tyson’s pork processing plant in Iowa, managers were laid off after a probe found they had bet how many workers would get sick. Congress has launched an investigation into security vulnerabilities in meat packers. Tyson and the other companies are working with the probe.

According to the Food Environmental Reporting Network monitoring group, more than 12,500 Tyson employees have been infected with coronavirus since the pandemic began. Tyson won’t confirm the numbers, but says the Covid-19 protocols he has been running have kept workers safe.

The company has partnered with Matrix Medical on-site testing to contain potential outbreaks and put in place safety measures such as plastic partitions to reduce potential exposure on production lines. Last year, they also expanded the on-site health clinics and, as part of a longer-term initiative to improve the general health of workers, launched a pilot program to stop copay basic care.

While a number of companies are offering cash rewards to motivate workers to get the vaccine, Tyson has chosen to persuade its mostly Latin American and African American meat packers through an awareness campaign against the hesitation of the vaccine.

“We didn’t want to take the approach of contracting the vaccine. We really want to help team members make informed decisions about their own health care and safety,” said Brower.

They’re not the only big employers left empty-handed in the competition for vaccine doses. Amazon, Walmart, and others are calling on federal and state officials to provide access to on-site vaccinations and even contact vaccine manufacturers to secure supplies, which has had little success so far.

“If every road leads to the same place, which is a rare vaccine, it will be a challenge regardless of the road,” said Dr. Castillo.

Companies don’t want to be seen as an attempt to cross the line – they argue that they can unburden the system for individuals by vaccinating their large employee populations. In the meantime, Tyson is giving employees four hours of paid time off to get a vaccine elsewhere if they can get an appointment.

The right way to watch the 2021 Golden Globes on TV and on-line

The 2021 Golden Globes are just around the corner!

The 78th annual ceremony will honor the best in film and television and open an unparalleled season of awards. To make sure you’re prepared, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the show, including how to watch, who’s showcasing, which projects got the most nominations, and more.

Details are still being ironed out, but here’s what we know so far:

Who is hosting the Golden Globes?

Tina Fey and Amy Poehlerwho emit the Golden Globes in 2013, 2014 and 2015, return to host the star-studded awards show.

When is the 2021 Golden Globes and when do they start?

Sunday February 28 is the big day and E! starts reporting at 4 p.m. EST / 1 p.m. PST with Countdown to Live From E! at the Golden Globes, followed by Live From E! at the Golden Globes at 6 p.m. EST / 3 p.m. PST. The 2021 Golden Globe Awards will then begin punctually at 8:00 p.m. EST / 5:00 p.m. PST on NBC.

5 issues you must know earlier than the change opens on February 19, 2021

Here are the top news, trends, and analysis investors need to get their trading day started:

1. Dow futures bounce back from biggest one-day loss in February

The Wall Street sign can be seen in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on February 16, 2021.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

US stock futures rose on Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq suffered their biggest one-day losses in the blistering month of February. The Dow, which broke a three-day winning streak and fell from a record high, stayed on track for a positive week that would mark its third straight. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq, both losing for three days, have been on pace for the past three weeks. The last record for these two stock benchmarks closed last Friday.

Bitcoin, which topped $ 50,000, $ 51,000 and $ 52,000 this week, hit all-time highs of $ 53,000 per unit early Friday. After Tesla and other companies recently showed support for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, big financial firms also seemed to be getting involved. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CNBC on Thursday that she considered Bitcoin a “highly speculative asset”.

2. Finance Minister Yellen urges important incentives from Covid

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks to attendees from the local Black Chambers of Commerce during a virtual roundtable event on February 5, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images

As the House intends to pass its version of President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill by the end of next week, Yellen said on CNBC that a major stimulus package is still needed to get the economy back on its feet bring. She added, “The price of too little is much higher than the price of something big. We believe the benefits will far outweigh the costs in the long run.” Democrats hope to get their bill through Congress before March 14th, when a federal unemployment allowance and key unemployment benefit programs expire.

3. Biden to Pledge Billions in Global Covid Vaccination Aid

President Joe Biden speaks about coronavirus relief during a meeting with union leaders in the Oval Office on Wednesday, February 17, 2021.

Pete Marovich | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Biden is expected to announce on Friday that the U.S. will be spending $ 4 billion on international Covid vaccination efforts. He will make the pledge during his first virtual meeting as President with G7 leaders. Biden will also urge other nations to put more money into the global fight against the pandemic.

Later in the day, Biden travels to Michigan to visit Pfizer’s vaccine factory in Kalamazoo. This trip was supposed to be on Thursday but has been postponed due to the winter weather. Biden made his first domestic trip as president on Tuesday, traveling to Wisconsin to visit a CNN city hall about the coronavirus.

4. Uber has dealt a heavy blow as the UK top court rules drivers are workers

A driver uses the Uber app to drop a passenger in London.

Chris J. Ratcliffe | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Uber’s shares fell another 3% in the pre-market after the UK Supreme Court ruled Friday that the company’s drivers there should be classified as workers rather than independent contractors. The expulsion from the UK ends a nearly five-year legal battle between Uber and a group of former drivers. Uber insists that its drivers are self-employed and act more like an “agency” connecting them to passengers through an app. The company had overcome a challenge in its California home market in November when voters backed an election proposal that cemented app-based grocery delivery and the status of drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.

5. Citadel’s Ken Griffin defends controversial Wall Street practice

Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel

Mike Blake | Reuters

During Thursday’s GameStop hearing, Citadel’s Ken Griffin defended a controversial way brokers make money, saying his firm would adjust if new regulations ban the practice. Members of Congress spent much of their time thinking about “paying for the order flow,” a practice in which a broker receives payment from a market maker such as Citadel, known as a trader, to route the order to them. This model enables Robinhood and other brokers to offer commission-free trading. “I believe paying for order flow has been a major source of innovation in the industry,” added Griffin.

– Reuters contributed to this report. Follow all developments on Wall Street in real time with CNBC Pro’s live market blog. Find out about the latest pandemics on our coronavirus blog.

Athletes Limitless provides Gatorade, Hyperice as sponsors

Team Piancastelli’s Haylie McCleney # 28 celebrates with her teammates after beating Team Ocasio on the final weekend of the Athletes Unlimited softball league at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex on September 28, 2020 in Rosemont, Illinois.

Quinn Harris | Getty Images

Jon Patricof, co-founder of Athletes Unlimited (AU), told CNBC this week that Hyperice and Gatorade will be sponsoring their volleyball season, which begins February 27 in Dallas, Texas.

Athletes Unlimited is a sports company that establishes and operates women’s sports leagues. CNBC recently spoke to Patricof about the league’s new sponsors and the future of Athletes Unlimited.

Patricof said AU’s model, which focuses on women’s sports like volleyball, has gained momentum after its softball season that kicked off last August. Brand partners get more access to a unique fan base outside of traditional sport and access to global markets through AU’s media distribution agreements.

“We will be able to offer partners sports opportunities in different regions all year round,” Patricof said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday. “And this is how we will scale. And for a partner like Gatorade, who is so leading in the world of sports marketing, it is another great signal for a certain dynamic to come on board as well.”

Patricof founded AU in 2019 with Jonathan Soros, CEO of the investment firm JS Capital Management and son of billionaire George Soros. The company has top athletes on its advisory board, including Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant and US women’s football icon Abby Wambach.

AU operates a professional softball, volleyball and soon a lacrosse league. Athletes earn a base salary and bonuses based on their team’s success and a points system. At the end of each season, the leading player will receive the highest money from a prize pool.

For the softball season, AU’s stated that 57 players who also shared a $ 300,000 pool had paid out a $ 1 million salary. The champion, Cat Osterman, a former University of Texas softball star, took home just over $ 35,000 (including base salary and bonuses).

The players are not committed to one team, but change teams every week in a season. Drafts are kept on Facebook. Patricof said the AU model allows players to profile for possible branding opportunities. AU’s model is designed so that fans can follow players rather than teams during a season.

“We want to model the success of leagues like the NBA with the ability to improve player profiles and personalities,” said Patricof, former president of NYCFC’s Major League Soccer organization. “I think that is becoming more and more important for the fans.”

Does the model work?

Patricof added that players will receive royal compensation if the league is successful. Women participating in a league receive a 20-year pact to share AU profits based on cost and expenditure. According to Patricof, AU offers players health benefits and covers the costs of accommodation, transport and food.

Although Patricof sees an “upside” opportunity in AU’s business model, start-up sports leagues often struggle to make sustained profits and typically have significant cash flow problems.

Smaller sports companies, including the Alliance of American Football, the Arena Football League, and the beach volleyball-powered AVP League, have had financial problems in the past, including multiple bankruptcies.

Patricof confirmed that AU will not make a profit during its 2020 softball season. He would not discuss Soros’ financial support and declined to provide other key metrics such as subscriptions to the “Unlimited Club” ($ 19.99) that give consumers additional access and virtual engagement for players and teams.

He defended AU’s business model by noting that the company is cost effective as it avoids expensive investments that often hurt start-up sports leagues. These expenses include stadium rentals, large rosters (payroll), and constant travel throughout a season.

AU leagues play in one place. Chicago will host softball again in 2021, and the lacrosse league will most likely be in a mid-Atlantic area.

“We have built a very rational and sustainable cost structure, which in my opinion was the biggest failure of AAF and XFL,” said Patricof.

Alyssa Naeher # 1 of Chicago Red Stars hits a loose ball during an NWSL soccer game between the Chicago Red Stars and the Orlando Pride at Orlando City Stadium on September 11, 2019 in Orlando, Florida.

Alex Menendez | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images

Show optimism

AU volleyball league has a media agreement with CBS Sports Network and Fox Sports. Eight games will be shown on social media platforms including YouTube, Twitter and Twitch. The softball season had Disney-owned properties ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU as media partners. The media deals are usually structured as one-year contracts.

A sports banker who spoke to CNBC on condition of anonymity said the network agreements are most likely to be shared-revenue agreements with AU. This means that networks offer free airtime in exchange for a breakdown of advertising profits. The bet here is that if the leagues should grow, AU can increase audience numbers to get more favorable terms with partners.

Patricof declined to discuss viewership, but said an independent auditor had set AU’s media value for its softball league at $ 25.9 million. The company did not provide the auditor’s name.

“It’s not the value of the commercial,” said Patricof. “It’s the value of integrated marketing, signage and everything else we’ve done on social media.”

He used the Olympics and the NCAA as models that AU can emulate with its own company, particularly in relation to storytelling. AU wants the content around women to help build audiences.

“Every four years when the Olympics are held, people are intrigued by the personal stories and NBC Sports tells the stories about the players in amazing ways,” said Patricof. “That’s an essential part of what we want to do at Athletes Unlimited.”

Despite the challenges ahead, AU remains optimistic about women’s sports leagues.

Patricof said that free play games around his softball league through DraftKings have piqued interest in AU. He also used the announcement of Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush Hager’s investment in the National Women’s Soccer League on Wednesday as a sign of positive growth in the women’s leagues.

Patricof said he was more optimistic about AU’s future than in 2019 when he built the model with Soros.

“You keep working on innovations,” said Patricof. “They continue to question the status quo and keep looking for opportunities where other people don’t see them.” The momentum is strong, “he continued.” I think this is a good time to get into professional sport for women to become. “”