Coronavirus
Gareth Bale: Real Madrid blocked my return to Premier League
Gareth Bale has accused Real Madrid of making it “very difficult” to leave the Spanish club as the Wales forward looks to end his Bernabeu exile. Bale is out of favour with Real manager Zinedine Zidane and played just 48 minutes of Madrid’s 12 games when the Spanish season resumed after the coronavirus lockdown. Zidane, who has feuded with Bale throughout his two spells in charge, said the winger did not want to play in last season’s Champions League last-16 second-leg tie at Manchester City. Bale has two years left on his Real contract, but there appears little chance he will force his way into the manager’s plans. The 31-year-old almost joined Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning in 2019 before Real pulled the plug on the deal, a decision that still irks Bale. “I think the club needs...
The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy Shares New Song “Slint, Spiderland”: Stream
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists has shared the new solo song “Slint, Spiderland”. The Decemberists have been in hibernation since 2018, when the band released I’ll Be Your Girl and the Traveling On EP. Currently, Meloy is writing his fifth book, having published four children’s titles since 2011. But in April, as the reality of quarantine settled in, he had a bizarre experience that caused him to set the prose aside. As Meloy told NPR, he watched a documentary about the making of the Slint album Spiderland, when the normalcy of what he was doing suddenly struck him as bizarre. He said, “I don’t know that it particularly spoke to the current moment in any way other than it felt completely disconnected from it. Thing is about the lockdown and the quarantin...
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Family Test Positive for Coronavirus
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, his wife, and their two children have tested positive for the coronavirus. The blockbuster star confirmed the news in a candid video posted to his Instagram account on Wednesday evening. “I can tell you that this has been one of the emotional and challenging things that we’ve ever had to endure as a family — and for me personally too as well ,” Johnson explained, adding some levity: “And I’ve gone through some doozies in the past. I’ve gotten knocked about and got my ass kicked with some challenges…” Johnson went on to stress the importance of protecting his family and says the whole experience has been a “kick in the gut.” The good news is that they’re reportedly on the mend. “But I’m happy to tell you guys that we, as a family, are good. We are on the other end...
First COVID-19 Death Linked to Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Reported in Minnesota
A bar patron receives a jello shot with whipped cream at One Eyed Jacks Saloon during the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, in Sturgis, S.D. (Amy Harris) A Minneapolis man who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle month has died of COVID-19, according to NBC News. It’s the first death linked to 10-day biker festival, which drew more than 460,000 attendees to Sturgis, South Dakota last month. The man, said to be in his 60s, was hospitalized and placed in intensive care upon his return from Sturgis, according to the Minnesota Department of Health, which confirmed his passing on Wednesday. An additional 260 positive cases across 11 states have been directly linked to Sturgis, though epidemiologists believe the true number is much higher. They cite the resistance of some...
Finneas Honors Those Who’ve Lost Someone to COVID-19 With ‘What They’ll Say About Us’
As the global pandemic continues around the world with lives lost every day, Finneas has released “What They’ll Say About Us,” a song that aims to offer comfort to those who have lost someone due to COVID-19. Finneas said in a statement about “What They’ll Say About You”: “I wrote this song in June after spending the day at a protest in Downtown LA, filled with hope with the prospect that millions of people were coming together from all over the world to fight against institutionalized racism and inequality. During that time, I’d also been following Amanda Kloots as she documented her husband Nick Cordero’s time in the ICU while in a coma after being admitted for COVID-19. Imagining her sitting by his side, waiting, hopeful for him to wake up, it got me thinking about all the millions of p...
Nashville’s Famed Ryman Auditorium to Reopen for Limited Capacity Concerts Beginning This Week
In lieu of traditional shows, Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium has been regularly livestreaming a concert series called Live at the Ryman. Today, the venue announced that it will reopen its doors for the first time since March to allow a limited audience to physically attend these events. The exciting news comes as Music City continues to ease its coronavirus restrictions. Per Mayor John Cooper’s four-phase reopening plan, event spaces can now operate at a third of their capacity or 125 people maximum, as long as social distancing and mask-wearing are enforced. For the Ryman, that means it will be able to host 125 ticketed guests at each of its Live at the Ryman indoor showing, with concertgoers seated safely apart from another. Other health guidelines, including masks for attendee...
WHO harps on virus prevention plans
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has emphasised the need for effective COVID-19 prevention plans as countries reopen their economies and borders. Its Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, gave the advice during a news briefing from Geneva on Monday. Ghebreyesus said he had observed the eagerness of countries to “get their economies going again”, eight months into the coronavirus pandemic. According to him, if countries are serious about opening, they must prioritise the suppression of transmission and safety of lives. He warned that opening up without efficient and effective prevention measures in place was “a recipe for disaster”. Ghebreyesus said this might seem an impossible balance, but it could be done if countries were in control of the transmission. “The more control they have...
Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh Details His Brutal COVID-19 Recovery in New Interview
Last week, word leaked that Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh was rushed to the ICU in June due to a severe bout with COVID-19. Thankfully, he has since recovered. But in a new interview with The Los Angeles Times, Mothersbaugh has recounted the brutal 18 days he spent at Cedar-Sinai Hospital battling coronavirus in hopes that it may convince others to approach the pandemic, and the dark reality of its life-threatening effects, more cautiously. Mothersbaugh avoided in-person recording sessions after news of the pandemic spread, but he believes he contracted the virus in May after unintentionally coming into contact with a group of people who were at his music production company Mutato Musika. He dismissed his initial symptoms as being unrelated issues until a nurse of three decades informed ...
Toots and the Maytals Singer Toots Hibbert Hospitalized in Intensive Care Unit
Toots Hibbert, leader of Toots and the Maytals, is in the intensive care unit at a Jamaican hospital. Hibbert’s family confirmed his hospitalization in a statement, noting that he is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. Fortunately, they say Hibbert “is making positive progress” and “is showing signs of improvement by the hour.” While reports of Mr. Hibbert being in an intensive care unit at a private facility in the Corporate Area are true, the family would like to assure those concerned that he is making positive progress and is receiving the best possible treatment, while he awaits the results on his COVID-19 test. He is resting and in good spirits, and is showing signs of improvement by the hour. His family has asked everyone to hold him in their prayers, and would like to thank th...
Kwara records three new virus cases
Three new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kwara, Mr Rafiu Ajakaye, the Spokesman of the state’s Technical Committee on COVID-19, made this known in a statement on Monday in Ilorin. Ajakaye, also the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said that this was the situation as at 9.30 p.m. on Sunday. Newsmen report that the state now has a total of 954 confirmed cases of the virus. According to Ajakaye, out of the 954 confirmed cases, 778 patients have been discharged, leaving 151 active cases in the state. He stated that 5,087 tests were conducted, while 5,103 tested negative with 25 deaths recorded so far in the state, and 30 tests were pending. Newsmen report that the virus has spread to 12 local government areas of the state. The local governments are;...
COVID-19 Still Here: Governor Cuomo Slaps 6 More NY, NYC Bars With Liquor License Suspensions
Source: Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is dead serious about keeping NY as COVID-19 free as he possibly can. Bars out here breaking the rules he has put in place to curb the spread are finding that out the hard way. On Saturday (Aug.29), Governor Cuomo announced that 6 more NY, NYC bars will be having their wigs pushed back in the form of their liquor licenses being suspended ABC News reports. New York, which was one of the hardest-hit states in the country when COVID-19 first arrived, has now seen 24 days straight the infection rate staying below 1 percent despite mass testing, which debunks President Donald Trump’s dumb theory. Today’s update on the numbers: Of the 66,241 tests reported yesterday, 656 were positive (0.99% of total). Total hospitalizations fe...
Björk’s Icelandic Concert Series Pushed Back to 2021
Coronavirus cases have begun to creep back up in Iceland, forcing Björk to push back her planned live concert series. Via Stereogum, the performances at Reykjavík’s Harpa Hall will now take place in January and February of 2021. The original concert announcements were born of unbridled optimism and national pride. Early in the pandemic, Iceland drew rave reviews for their aggressive response to the threat of COVID-19. Through intense social cooperation, and with the protection of their island home, it seemed as if the Scandinavian country had found a recipe for coronavirus success. As the government eased restrictions, the Icelandic Queen herself announced a four-concert run at Harpa Hall, originally set to begin on August 9th. But by the end of July, coronavirus c...
