AstraZeneca is engaged on vaccines with Russian Gamaleya

A laboratory technician oversees the filling and packaging tests for the large-scale manufacture and delivery of the Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate AZD1222, which was conducted on a high-capacity aseptic vial filling line in Catalent, Anagni, Italy on September 11, 2020.

Vincenzo Pinto | AFP | Getty Images

LONDON – British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Friday it would soon be working with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute to investigate whether the two coronavirus vaccine candidates could be successfully combined.

The announcement comes shortly after developers of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine reached out to AstraZeneca on Twitter late last month to ask if they should try combining the two cold virus-based vaccines to increase effectiveness.

The Russian direct investment fund, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund that financed the development of Sputnik V, said clinical trials of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, combined with its own, would begin by the end of the month.

“The ability to combine different COVID-19 vaccines can be helpful to improve protection and / or accessibility of vaccines. Therefore, it is important to study different vaccine combinations to make vaccination programs more flexible and to allow doctors more choice at the time of vaccine administration, “AstraZeneca said in a statement Friday.

“It is also likely that combining vaccines over a longer period of time will result in improved immunity,” he added.

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, made in partnership with Oxford University, is one of several looking to seek drug regulatory approval as hopes of a mass vaccination campaign to end the pandemic grow.

To date, more than 69 million people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus, with 1.58 million deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Data published this week in The Lancet Medical Journal showed AstraZeneca’s vaccine had an average efficacy of 70.4%, based on the summary of interim data from late-stage clinical trials. The vaccine was also found to be safe and effective.

Russia has claimed Sputnik V is over 90% effective in preventing people from contracting the virus, citing preliminary results from ongoing studies.

“New level of cooperation”

The collaboration between AstraZeneca and Russia’s state-sponsored science research institute should be seen as a vote of confidence in Moscow’s Sputnik-V vaccine.

In August, Russia became the first country to register an emergency vaccine, despite warnings from global authorities of cuts. It is now being offered to Russians as part of a mass vaccination campaign.

“AstraZeneca’s decision to conduct clinical trials with one of two Sputnik V vectors to increase the effectiveness of its own vaccine is an important step in uniting efforts to combat the pandemic,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian direct investment fund said in a statement.

“We welcome the start of this new phase of collaboration between vaccine manufacturers. We are determined to expand this partnership in the future and begin joint production after the new vaccine has proven its effectiveness in clinical trials,” said Dmitriev.

AstraZeneca’s shares were barely changed for Friday’s session.

The Editor in Chief of The Lancet, Dr. Richard Horton told CNBC on Wednesday that AstraZeneca’s vaccine had “a marked comparative advantage” over other leading candidates. He also claimed it was the one who could immunize the world “more effectively” and “faster” than their counterparts.

This is because the AstraZeneca vaccine is believed to be easier to store and distribute than some of the other potential coronavirus vaccines. It’s also cheaper than those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.

AstraZeneca was previously criticized for some of the methods used in their phase three vaccine studies and for the age groups tested. Most of the participants tested in AstraZeneca’s study were younger than 55 years old and asked questions about whether the vaccine would be effective in older adults, among those most at risk in the pandemic.

In a peer-reviewed article published Wednesday, the researchers said that older adults would need more reviews.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is a viral vector vaccine based on a weakened version of the common cold virus (adenovirus), which causes infections in chimpanzees. It is designed to prepare the immune system to attack the coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 when it later infects the body.

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a human adenoviral vector-based platform.

Dr. Fauci says Covid vaccine trials on pregnant girls and younger youngsters may start in January

Drug makers and U.S. regulators plan to start clinical trials in January testing the safety of Covid-19 vaccines in pregnant women and young children, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

These two groups were excluded from the initial clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines until researchers were able to determine that the vaccine was relatively safe in healthy adults before testing in more susceptible populations.

Fauci noted on Thursday in a discussion sponsored by Columbia University on Thursday that pregnant women have not been included in clinical trials of Covid vaccines. It is not clear whether the omission means that pregnant women cannot receive an approved vaccine until further safety data are collected.

Studies on pregnant women will be done in later studies, he said.

“It won’t necessarily concern efficacy, but we will be investigating safety and immunogenicity to bridge efficacy in the adult non-pregnant population,” he said at Columbia University’s Grand Rounds 2020 event. “The same goes for the pediatric population. These studies are expected to begin in mid-to-late January.”

Doctors have noted an increased risk of complications in pregnant women who contract Covid-19, said Aron Hall, chief of Covid at the CDC.

“The first indication is that there may be a higher risk of premature delivery,” he said Thursday on the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products.

While young children are less likely to die of Covid-19 when they get it, there is an increased risk of developing what is known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, researchers have found. It is an inflammatory disease that can affect several organ systems throughout the body, including the heart, lungs, and brain.

Fauci’s comments came as the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Board is weighing whether to recommend Pfizer’s emergency approval of the Covid vaccine.

Data on Pfizer’s vaccine has shown it to be remarkably effective in preventing disease among study participants, and the FDA is expected to approve emergency use as early as Friday.

The UK drug and health products regulator, which last week approved Pfizer’s vaccine for wide use in adults, warned against giving it to pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Dr. Doran Fink, associate director of the FDA’s vaccines and related products division, said Thursday there was “very limited data on use in pregnancy”.

“We recognize that among the groups first prioritized for vaccine use under an EEA, there will be many women of childbearing potential, including women who are knowingly or unknowingly pregnant,” he said on the Meet on Thursday afternoon. “We really do not have any data that suggest any specific risks to pregnant women or the fetus, but neither do we have any data that would justify a contraindication to use in pregnancy at this time.”

He added that pregnant women and women of childbearing age are “free to make their own choice” under what is known as an emergency permit.

The FDA advised manufacturers, including Pfizer, to conduct DART studies or developmental and reproductive toxicity studies before including pregnant women and “women of childbearing potential who do not actively avoid pregnancy” in vaccine studies, Pfizer said – Speaker Jerica Pitts CNBC. DART studies are done in animals to assess the potential risks of a vaccine to a developing fetus.

“Pfizer recognizes that the development of a potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for wide use is critical to halting the pandemic, including potential use in pregnant women,” Pitts said in a statement. “Pfizer is currently conducting DART studies and plans to provide available data to the agency.”

Pfizer admitted at the FDA’s vaccine meeting Thursday that according to a presentation there was no information about the effects of the vaccine on pregnant women. Company officials told the advisory board that they expected preliminary results from its DART studies by mid-December.

The company also noted that there is also a lack of information on the effects of the vaccine in children and adolescents under the age of 16. The FDA advisory panel will vote on its non-binding recommendation later Thursday, and the FDA is expected to do so soon.

– CNBC’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

Kim Kardashian Says She Is “Confused” After Brandon Bernard Is Executed

Kim Kardashian shares her passionate thoughts on the convicted murderer Brandon Bernard was executed on Thursday December 10th.

The 40-year-old reality star and criminal justice activist posted a spate of tweets on Thursday. Her thread began less than an hour after the prisoner was killed by lethal injection after the Supreme Court rejected a final motion to delay the tweet’s execution. Brandon, 40, was sentenced to death in 2000 for his involvement in the 1999 murders Todd and Stacie Bagley. The accomplice Christopher Vialva was killed in September while three other co-defendants were sentenced less.

“I’m so confused right now,” wrote Kim after Brandon became the ninth person to be executed in the United States this year. “You killed Brandon. He was such a Reformed person. So hopeful and positive to the end. More importantly, he is sorry, so sorry for the hurt and pain he has caused others.”

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star announced that Brandon’s attorney called her shortly before the execution to relay the news that Brandon loved her and wanted to thank her again for her efforts. Kim had contributed to a social media campaign in the past few weeks to convince the president Donald Trump Commute the sentence for Brandon, who had been on death row for 20 years.

The monetary outlook for the Hispanic small enterprise group in 2021

Latino entrepreneurs operate in sectors hit hard by Covid-19 and are less likely to receive PPP loans than white entrepreneurs. However, Hispanic business startups and revenues grew before the pandemic and can rebound with the right public policy and financial support.

Getty Images

The Latino community was often celebrated for above-average entrepreneurship and business start-ups and was particularly hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis.

The Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative reported in May that 86% of Latino entrepreneurs had felt the immediate negative effects of Covid, a higher rate than other races. It was also harder to get help for Latino entrepreneurs who had less cash when they requested Covid assistance in the form of PPP loans and were only half as likely as their white counterparts to get the federal loans.

Still, the pandemic only tells half the story of where Hispanic companies are today, as before the crisis, Latin American entrepreneurs made great strides – they increased their funding, improved their credit, and grew their sales. That means the Latino business community has a fundamental strength that can help it emerge from the ravages of Covid-19.

The 2019-2020 period was in some ways a record year for Latino entrepreneurs, buoyed by the strength of the general economy. The average annual revenue of Hispanic owned companies grew 10% to over $ 525,000 per year. The creditworthiness of Latino entrepreneurs rose from an average of 588 to 618. However, that expansion was also tempered by the reality of the cost of growth. Average operating costs accounted for 67% of sales in 2020 compared to 45% in 2019. Despite improving sales, the average Latino business revenue was still $ 96,000 below that of white companies, underscoring the challenges ahead .

The effects of Covid and the way forward

Construction, housing, and retail services, retail, and transportation and storage continue to represent the multitude of Latin American owned businesses. Unfortunately, these are also among the sectors hardest hit by Cpvod. Industries like finance and information, which are among the least affected by the Covid crisis, are led by Latinos or employ some of the lowest percentages. This partly explains why unemployment in Latino exceeded the national average during the crisis.

Lower access to capital – whether in the form of PPP aid loans or private capital – has also slowed the recovery of Latino entrepreneurs. This is reflected in the growth and recovery statistics. Only 6.7% of Hispanic business owners say they are profitable and growing, compared to over 14% of the general business owner population. This is in part because a significant percentage of PPP funding has been distributed through large banks and financial institutions that have less presence and less established relationships with Latino communities.

The path for Latino entrepreneurs is based on a variety of factors, some of which involve public policy, government intervention, and social forces. Social forces include higher rates of Covid infection within the Latino community (impacting the natural consumer base of many Hispanic owned businesses); less access to quality childcare during the crisis; and less established business stories.

In order for Latino companies to grow and prosper after this crisis, some think tanks like the Brookings Institution have called for PPP funds to cover more business costs than employee salaries. (Hispanic companies tend to have fewer employees but have to cover more operating costs.) Credit unions, smaller local financial institutions, and nontraditional lenders in color communities should also play a bigger role in distributing those funds, experts argue.

However, the shape of the economic recovery and its impact on Hispanic businesses after Covid will depend in large part on how businesses adapt to the new climate and demand. Companies that can easily adapt to changing demand patterns such as virtual offers or provisioning offers have a more sustainable operation with higher reliability. And those who can evolve over time as we emerge from this crisis will be better equipped to benefit as Covid is tamed and we return to a semblance of “normal”.

In a way, the community-based, close relationships of many Hispanic companies are among their greatest strengths. As demand returns across industries in 2021, those with relationships that weather the crisis will benefit. For the Latino business community, working with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce or its local departments can pay off as networking within the community translates into valuable connections, more support with fundraising, and access to federal or local programs for Business support can lead.

The “New Normal” will be both a great test and a great opportunity. For the Latino business world, which has fully embraced the entrepreneurship despite a few drawbacks, their resilience may be the winning ticket.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.

Asia Pacific markets are blended, Kospi up 1.2%

The Japan Exchange Group logo is displayed on a glass door at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan.

Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday as investors watched negotiations over additional fiscal stimulus in the US

The South Korean Kospi index rose 1.21% while the Kosdaq rose 0.64%. Government data released on Friday showed the country’s exports rose 26.9% year over year in the first 10 days of December, thanks to a surge in sales of key products like semiconductors, Reuters reported.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.51% while the Topix index was down 0.1%.

The Australian benchmark index ASX 200 fell 0.26% with most sectors in the red. The heavily weighted financials sub-index fell 0.37% as three of the country’s so-called Big Four banks battled for profits. The Westpac share, however, gained 0.13%.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 0.86%. Mainland Chinese stocks fell, with the Shanghai Composite falling 0.13%, the Shenzhen Composite falling 0.67% and the Shenzhen Component falling 0.6%.

Friday’s session followed a mixed end on Wall Street, where the S&P posted 500 consecutive losses – US futures traded flat.

Markets will have to “weigh a weak short-term picture against a much brighter medium-term picture as vaccines roll out,” Tapas Strickland, director of economics and markets at National Australia Bank, said in a morning note. “In this environment, stocks have largely held up recent gains.”

Currencies and oil

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of its peers, fell 0.17% to 90.672 from levels above 90.800 in the previous session.

The Japanese yen changed hands at 103.99 the dollar, up 104.27 from previous levels. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar rose 0.28% to $ 0.7554.

Oil prices rose during Friday’s Asian trading hours, with US crude oil futures rising 0.36% to $ 46.95 a barrel. The global benchmark Brent rose 0.24% to $ 50.37.

Disney Investor Day 2020 bulletins

Bob Chapek, CEO of the Walt Disney Company and former head of Walt Disney Parks and Experiences, speaks during a media preview of the 2019 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California on August 22, 2019.

Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Disney is doing everything possible to use its streaming services.

On Thursday, the company unveiled a series of impressive Disney + announcements with over 100 films and shows affiliated with franchises including Star Wars, Marvel, FX, and National Geographic.

The company’s reimagined strategy, which is heavily focused on the longstanding streaming service Disney +, is all about “quality over volume,” said Disney’s chairman and former CEO Bob Iger during his investor day presentation. Iger, who left the company nine months ago to focus on content, said “quality has value.”

During the presentation, Disney provided insights and updates on its three streaming services as well as its theatrical release schedule. It has also raised estimates for its Disney + subscriber numbers, announced increased investments in original content, and reiterated that it will be profitable in 2024.

New shows in the Star Wars universe, including one featuring fan favorite characters, Ahsoka Tano, were welcomed by fans on social media during the announcement. Three more Marvel series were unveiled, as well as a vacation special starring The Guardians of the Galaxy.

Disney typed pop culture icons in front of and behind the camera for these projects and for theatrical releases. In particular, Lucasfilm has hired Patty Jenkins to direct “Rogue Squadron,” a new Star Wars film due out in 2023.

The company has a number of films planned for theaters in the coming years, which shows its continued commitment to theaters. This includes two new Pixar movies released in 2022, a huge selection of Marvel movies, and even non-franchise films like “Jungle Cruise”.

CEO Bob Chapek admitted that Disney had raised around $ 13 billion at the global box office in 2019, calling that success “no reason to sneeze”. In fact, Disney had seven films that year with a total volume of more than $ 1 billion.

According to Chapek, Disney’s content strategy is about “balance” and satisfying consumer demand. Of the 100 or so projects that Disney made available to the public on Thursday, around 80% will go directly to Disney +.

Because of this additional content, the company expects 230 to 260 million subscribers to Disney + by 2024. In addition, Disney plans to increase the cost of the service to $ 7.99, which is an increase of $ 1.

Disney executives also said the company will experience peak losses in fiscal 2021 and profitability through fiscal 2024. Additionally, the company plans to spend between $ 8 billion and $ 9 billion in 2024 as more will be spent on its five core brands.

Here’s a breakdown of the updates Disney shared on Thursday:

Disney +

Disney + now has 86.8 million subscribers. That’s more than the 73 million the company reported at the end of its fourth fiscal quarter.

Kareem Daniel, head of the company’s new media and entertainment sales group, announced that Disney + has had 10 Marvel series, 10 Star Wars series, 15 Disney live action, Disney animation and Pixar series, and 15 Disney live action and Disney animated series will be featured, and Pixar films.

In the world of Star Wars, Disney + will add two new series from Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, the masterminds of “The Mandalorian” – “The Rangers of the New Republic” and “Ahsoka”.

There will also be a series called “Lando” which follows the smooth Lando Calrissian from the original film trilogy, as well as a series called “The Acolyte” which takes place in the last days of the High Republic. It has been referred to as a “mystery thriller”.

These shows will be part of the previously announced series “Andor”, “Kenobi” and the animated series “The Bad Batch”.

Lucasfilm director Kathleen Kennedy teased fans that Hayden Christensen would repeat his role as Darth Vader in “Kenobi” with Ewan McGregor in the title role. She also clarified that, under the direction of Deborah Chow, the series would take place 10 years after the events of “Revenge of the Sith”.

The Mandalorian and the Child in Disney + “The Mandalorian”.

Disney

Outside of the Star Wars universe, Lucasfilm is also creating a series based on the Jim Henson film “Willow”.

Marvel Studios already had a number of TV shows on the streaming platform, but Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige was happy to reveal a few more on Thursday. “Secret Invasion” follows Nick Fury and the Skrull Talos, “Ironheart” is about teenage genius Riri Williams and “Armor Wars” is about War Machine.

Disney + will feature a number of new original series and films based on older Disney items, including “The Mighty Ducks” and “Turner and Hooch”. Live-action versions of “Pinocchio” and “Peter Pan and Wendy” will also be available exclusively for the streaming service.

“Disenchanted,” a sequel to the hit movie “Enchanted,” is also streamed exclusively on Disney +, with Amy Adams returning as Giselle.

Disney Animation has produced a series with Baymax from “Big Hero Six” and a series based on characters from “Zootopia”. There will also be musical comedy series based on “Princess and the Frog” and “Moana”.

Pixar will have series based on “Up” and “Cars” as well as new original series called “Win or Lose”.

The content of Disney + is impressive and extensive, but the company’s executives reiterated as the presentation progressed that its strategy is not about volume, but about quality. It’s also about opening up new markets.

Rebecca Campbell, Disney’s director of international operations and direct customers, said the launch in Latin America was a huge success for the company, and Disney + will be rolled out in Eastern Europe, South Korea and Hong Kong in 2021.

In Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, Star will be integrated into the Disney + app from February 23, 2021. In Europe, Disney is increasing the price to 8.99 euros and the local equivalent in other markets.

Disney + is also adding a “Mature Content Opt-In” feature that allows older viewers to sign up and watch titles such as Logan, Modern Family and Atlanta.

The company announced that it has signed a contract with Comcast to bring Disney + and ESPN + to the cable company’s set-top boxes and platforms, reaching more than 20 million Comcast cable and internet customers.

At the box office

After rival Warner Bros. announced that it would release 17 films the same day on HBO Max and in theaters the next day, analysts and investors are excited to see how Disney will maneuver through the uncertainty still looming from a global pandemic is.

Daniel said that theatrical releases help build franchises, which Disney has done well with blockbusters from Marvel and Star Wars over the past decade. Chapek repeated the same feeling.

While the company will be releasing the Raya and the Last Dragon animated feature on-demand via Disney + and in theaters simultaneously on premium video, it has no plans to make this a permanent box office strategy.

Disney executives said they will remain flexible about future releases, but made sure that titles like “Black Widow” and “Jungle Cruise” hit theaters as planned.

The company unveiled a number of new projects. Specifically, Patty Jenkins will direct the previously unnamed Star Wars film for Christmas 2023. The film is called “Rogue Squadron”.

This makes Jenkins the first woman to direct a Star Wars feature film. Victoria Mahoney became the first woman on a Star Wars directorial team after directing the second unit on “The Rise of Skywalker”. Deborah Chow, who directs the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, was also the director and episode of “The Mandalorian”.

Marvel added a few more titles to its list, including a “Fantastic Four” movie.

Pixar will have two new films in 2022. The first is Turning Red, a film about a young teenager who turns into a giant red panda every time she gets excited. The second is “Lightyear”, the story of Buzz Lightyear, the character who inspired the toy from “Toy Story”. Chris Evans is playing this new Buzz Lightyear.

Hulu

As of December 2, the company said it had 38.8 million Hulu subscribers, and Hulu + Live TV has 4 million paying subscribers, the fifth largest pay-TV provider overall. The company recently raised the price of the platform from $ 55 to $ 65.

Following the success of films such as Palm Springs, Run and Bad Hair, Disney will use 20th Century Studios and Searchlight to create original films exclusively for Hulu.

The platform will also feature a show called “Only Murders in the Building,” starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, and “The Dropout,” a show about Elizabeth Holmes with Kate McKinnon.

There is also a limited series called “Dopesick” starring Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson and Peter Sarsgaard.

David E. Kelley, the writer of “Big Little Lies” and “Ally McBeal,” directs a show for Hulu called “Nine Perfect Strangers,” starring Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy and Regina Hall.

The streaming platform will also have new seasons of “Ramy”, “The Great” and “The Handmaid’s Tale”.

The Kardashian family, which will end their show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” after Season 20 in 2021, will join the platform, the company said. Kris, Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie will create global content that will be streamed exclusively on Hulu in the United States. This content is expected to be published at the end of 2021.

The FX channel, which has original content on Hulu, has granted “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, has another four seasons and will have new shows called “The Old Man” starring Jeff Bridges and “Reservation Dogs” by Taika Waititi.

FX will be showing an “Alien” series based on the world of the “Alien” movie franchise. The platform will also have a show called “Shogun” based on the best-selling novel by James Clavell.

The company expects Hulu to have between 50 and 60 million subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024. Disney also expects Hulu to be profitable in fiscal 2023.

ESPN +

On Thursday, the company announced it had 11.5 million ESPN + subscribers.

Disney has signed a contract with the SEC to add the Southeastern Conference to ESPN + from the 2024 season. ABC will also be the home of the Saturday afternoon games in 2024.

The company will also rely on sports betting to target younger audiences.

The platform has also given Steve A. Smith his own ESPN + show and is bringing back “Peyton’s Places” for a third season.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of CNBC.

Max Lux speaks to Brandi Boyd once more after the current incident and assures everybody that he’s not abusing her or her kids

Earlier this week, former LHHH cast members Max Lux and Brandi Boyd caught everyone’s attention when Brandi went live on their Instagram during an argument. This led many to believe that there was physical abuse in their relationship.

Brandi spoke about the matter and denied the alleged abuse allegations, and Max did the same.

Now he’s back with one more message, duplicating his previous message while reassuring everyone that he didn’t physically abuse Brandi or her children. He admitted that things between them were verbal before, but they are working on their relationship.

In a video posted on his Instagram Thursday, he said, “Verbal abuse has been on both sides of my relationship and it’s wrong, but I don’t hit my wife, I don’t hit my kids. My kids are all happy and healthy and spoiled because I don’t even discipline my kids, and everyone who knows me knows that. “

He continued, “People who have been through this know what I am saying, they know how difficult it is to tell the truth when there is a world of physical, verbal, spiritual, and mental abuse, and we are all suffering. I realize that I recognize the climate we live in that overlooks people with color and women with color, and I don’t support that. “

As we reported earlier, Max covered the incident for the first time earlier this week in a post that has now been deleted.

At the time he had said, “You are worried about my family, you are all left behind !!! You don’t worry about my children. People who I take care of my family and my wife can do what they want. So f ** k off-world. Just take care of me, my family. Eat ad ** k. Fake news, I was crazy, I stumbled on but nobody hit s ** t. Everything you fake a ** nick as it goes! My children will stay with me. Remember, I said your comments will be wasted. “

Brandi also denied the physical abuse allegations, showing that she had no scars or injuries.

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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @ Jade_Ashley94

Why the introduction of the Covid vaccine will probably be “a Herculean operation”

The elected President of Joe Biden’s Covid Advisory Board, Dr. Atul Gawande told CNBC that the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine was “a Herculean operation” with potential problems on the way as Pfizer’s Covid vaccine had just taken a big step towards FDA emergency approval.

“The greatest challenge will be to embrace both production and the people,” said Gawande. “The whole chain to get it out on that truck, but then the whole chain to get it to hospitals.”

One group of scientists recommended that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks with a 17 to 4 vote during the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Committee meeting Thursday evening. The FDA will now give the final OK to the emergency clearance, which can be in either a few hours or a few days. As soon as this happens, however, the rollout shifts into high gear.

Operation Warp Speed ​​says it will take 24 hours of prep crates of the vaccines to be loaded into trucks and 2.9 million doses to be delivered to 636 distribution locations across the country. Hospitals will get it first, then government agencies and pharmacy distribution centers, and finally health clinics and drug stores.

Mark Levine, chairman of the NYC Council Health Committee, told WNBC that the first recipients of the vaccine will likely be next Wednesday or Thursday.

Minister of Health and Human Services Alex Azar estimated that 20 million Americans could be “vaccinated” by the end of December and another 50 million could be “vaccinated” by the end of January. He added that “we expect” a total of 100 million vaccinations by the end of February.

Former FDA commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan stressed that Congress will play a huge role in the efficient distribution of Covid vaccines.

“Congress is considering another bill to help distribute vaccines, conduct tests, and help businesses affected by this recent surge,” McClellan said in a Thursday evening interview on “The News with Shepard Smith” When the Distribution gets better, they help us reduce the surge faster in cases, which means a much faster recovery, return to normal, and return to normal business operations. “

Gawande noted that the federal government will also play a key role in spreading the vaccine in less populated areas across the country.

“Rural hospitals in smaller settings, these come in packages of 975 doses, and these have to go to places where larger distributions are possible. We have to work to get them to the rural areas as soon as possible and I hope that the [Trump] The administration is ready to do so soon, “said Gawande.

The vaccine news comes after the United States suffered its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, killing more than 3,000 Americans. More than 21,000 Americans have died this month alone, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data.

Gawande said that while the vaccine’s effectiveness makes him hopeful, it doesn’t mean Americans can automatically go back to “normal” and people can immediately stop wearing masks.

“We know the vaccine prevents people from getting symptoms. This is great if you get vaccinated, but we don’t know it stops you from having an asymptomatic infection that could infect others,” said Gawande. “People receiving the vaccine will still need to wear a mask and that will be a challenge to convince them that they need to keep doing it for the benefit of others.”

Congress fights for assist legislation

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from central Kentucky, wears a protective mask when he returns to his office in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Few signs of progress toward a coronavirus relief deal emerged Thursday as Congress moved closer to putting millions of Americans in deeper financial danger.

They have to wait longer for Washington to find out how to help them. After the votes on Thursday, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Informed the representatives that the chamber would be postponed until at least Tuesday, until an agreement on pandemic aid and state funding for the whole year had been reached.

The House move to quit for this week came when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell staff notified Congressional leadership offices that Senate Republicans had proposed a bipartisan US $ 908 billion proposal, according to NBC News – Dollars probably wouldn’t support. Politico first reported on the Kentucky Republican’s plan to put aside the plan that members of his caucus had helped create.

Congressional leaders continue to stress the importance of approving a bailout in the coming days to prevent about 12 million Americans from losing unemployment benefits and to prevent families across the country from being thrown out of their homes.

Despite numerous activities aimed at reaching an agreement, lawmakers have still not resolved disputes that left it unresponsive to a one-off health and economic crisis for months. It remains unclear what kind of package could get support from both the GOP-controlled Senate and the Democratic House.

On Thursday, the Democrats again approved the bipartisan talks. However, these discussions have still not resulted in legislation as lawmakers finalize provisions regarding state and local government facilitation and corporate immunity backed by the GOP. NBC News reported that the group agreed on Thursday afternoon how to distribute $ 160 billion in state and local funds but failed to resolve issues related to legal immunity.

Minority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., called Thursday’s bipartisan Senate negotiations “the only real game in town” to work out a bill that could come through a divided Congress. He claimed McConnell was trying to spark these talks in favor of a plan that included only political support for Republicans.

McConnell targeted Democrats on Thursday to delay new relief. He has endorsed tighter legislation of approximately $ 500 billion that would be based on small business loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. It would not include additional unemployment benefits or federal direct payments.

McConnell this week offered to remove liability coverage and state and local aid from talks. Democrats opposed the compromise because they feared states or cities would have to fire first responders and teachers without further federal help. Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Have also turned down a $ 916 billion Trump administration offer because it did not include a federal unemployment benefit allowance.

McConnell said Thursday he hoped “our colleagues will let Congress provide more aid soon.”

“A lot of Americans just can’t afford to wait,” he said.

The Capitol Hill dispute over how much money to send to desperate Americans followed more troubling business news. Initial jobless claims rose to 853,000 last week, the highest since September. Approximately 19 million people are still receiving some form of unemployment benefit as millions of people line up at food banks across the country.

The surge in people seeking job help follows new state and city economic restraints designed to slow the spread of a virus that is killing Americans at unprecedented rates. The U.S. recorded 3,124 new Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday, the deadliest day of the pandemic in America.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, the United States, on December 10, 2020.

Erin Scott | Reuters

Flanked on Thursday by a poster highlighting that the roughly 290,000 American deaths from Covid-19 nearly surpassed US fighting deaths in World War II, Pelosi supported the evolving bipartisan relief plan as an “emergency” bridge to the city Biden government and vaccine use.

“We can’t leave here without a law,” she told reporters to send pandemic aid and fund the government. The House has passed a week-long extension of federal spending to avoid a closure until December 18, and the Senate is expected to approve it as early as Thursday.

Legislators are hoping to buy more time to reach an agreement on a pandemic rescue plan and government funding. Pelosi reiterated that she hopes to combine both measures into one piece of legislation.

She suggested that Congress could stay longer if it doesn’t get a deal by the 18th.

“We were here after Christmas, you know,” she said.

Earlier Thursday, House minority chairman Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Told CNBC that he believed Congress could reach an agreement by next week.

“It will have been late,” he added.

Mnuchin briefed both McCarthy and McConnell of the White House’s latest relief plan before presenting it to Pelosi this week. It would include corporate liability protection as well as state and local support. The proposal would temporarily extend pandemic programs to expand unemployment insurance eligibility, which expire at the end of the month.

However, it would send Americans a one-time payment of $ 600 and not offer a state unemployment allowance. Democrats have endorsed both a $ 1,200 stimulus check and improved unemployment benefits.

The evolving bipartisan plan would increase unemployment benefits by $ 300 per week for four months. However, direct payment would not be included.

The lack of an immediate cash injection has led many progressives and some Republicans in Congress to criticize the proposal as insufficient to meet the needs of struggling Americans. Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Tabled a bill Thursday to provide for another round of $ 1,200 stimulus payments.

“Families are lining up at food banks for miles and millions could soon be evicted,” tweeted Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Thursday. “Every package has to put money in people’s pockets.”

The proposal would also allocate around $ 300 billion for small business aid and $ 160 billion for state and local aid. It includes money for Covid-19 tests and the distribution of vaccines, schools and the transport sector, among other things.

Critics have also targeted the plan as it does not include hospitality-specific aids or an extension of paid family and sick leave related to coronavirus.

The proposal has yet to become the legal text. Due to persistent disagreements, the legislature was unable to write a bill.

Pelosi called on bipartisan negotiators Thursday not to accept McConnell’s proposal on immunity, which she called an “attack on American workers”.

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NYC road distributors obtain $ 2 million from Morgan Stanley, Robin Hood

The pandemic has ravaged small businesses in New York City, and among the fighters are nearly 20,000 street vendors who have lost 70% to 90% of their income, according to a survey conducted in June and September.

With these small businesses that are such an important part of New York City barely surviving, Morgan Stanley and the Robin Hood Foundation have partnered with the Street Vendor Project (SVP) at the Urban Justice Center (all headquartered in New York) to help millions of businesses distribute dollars to thousands of local vendors.

Street vendors selling groceries, coffee and merchandise in the five boroughs “have defined New York in many ways,” said Raj Borsellino, program director at Robin Hood, a nonprofit that helps New Yorkers out of poverty, told CNBC Make It.

“It’s people we recognize. It’s people we’ve met and who we really need to get through our days and give New York City the vibe it has.”

Although the $ 2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) bill was passed in March and small business support was distributed through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), “many street vendors have turned out not qualified for it, also because of immigration status or for other reasons, “says Borsellino.

“These providers live every day,” says Mohamed Attia, director of SVP at the Urban Justice Center.

And many of the street vendors – according to Borsellino disproportionately immigrants, blacks, Latinos and in some cases also without papers – are also among the “most severely affected by Covid”. Borsellino notes that one in four street vendors either had Covid-19 themselves or a close family member who did.

Because of the role street vendors play in the daily life of the community, Morgan Stanley employees who work at their Times Square headquarters in Manhattan were “concerned about their vendors and the coffee carts,” said Joan Steinberg, president of Morgan Stanley Foundation. (Many people who work in town become regulars with certain vendors.)

To help, Morgan Stanley, Robin Hood, and SVP are offering assistance to more than 2,000 New York City providers up to $ 1,000. Morgan Stanley has pledged $ 2 million and Robin Hood has donated an additional $ 375,000 to fund the initiative.

“This entire population is in such great trouble,” says Steinberg. “This is a personal deal for those who have worked and lived in New York City. These vendors are on every corner. They are your neighborhood.”

One seller who received assistance is MD Alam, a Bangladeshi immigrant who has been a street vendor in New York City since 2000. He and his wife Hira run his business with Bangladeshi kitchen carts on 44th Street and 6th Avenue.

But these days “it’s like a ghost town,” Alam says of Manhattan’s Times Square. “I’ve never seen [this] in my 20 years. “

MD Alam works in his Bangladeshi kitchen in Times Square.

Courtesy Scott Peterman, LLC

Alam, who like other street vendors relies on office workers for customers, says ahead of the pandemic, “Business was so good.”

But in March, when dozens of offices closed for home orders, his business hit a wall.

“How are we supposed to sell groceries? There are no people. There are no office workers. Offices are closed,” he says. “I haven’t been in business for five months.”

Even now that Alam’s business is open again, many office workers are still working from home. “Not even 10 customers come [a day],” he says.

Although Alam had some savings, he also has expenses such as a permit fee of $ 300 per day, plus groceries, supplies, and utilities.

“It’s very hard. We don’t make much money, but whatever you make, it’s about costs. Nothing goes in your pocket.”

“We have no more savings,” says Alam.

Funding or government support “would be very helpful for providers,” says Alam. “It’s very difficult for our family.”

Although the nearly $ 2.4 million that will be distributed will help this community, “we are still looking for a longer-term solution here regarding Covid aid that extends to all populations in the city,” says Borsellino.

“Most of these street vendors are immigrants who came to the US in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Many of them truly embody what we have come to know as the ‘American Dream’,” he says.

And “while many of us had the luxury of working remotely in the pandemic … we were still trying to make a living. They worked extremely hard day in and day out, and did so many times – an enormous risk to themselves himself, “says Borsellino.

Steinberg hopes for further support for street vendors.

“We have to help them in the short term in order to reach them in the longer term,” she says. “We need to think about creating just bouts so everyone can relax. We don’t want them to be left behind when the rest of the economy rebuilds.”

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