LOS ANGELES — On a hot summer evening, Miles Villalon lined up outside the New Beverly Cinema, hours before showtime. The 36-year-old already had tickets to the Watergate-themed double feature of 1976’s “All the President’s Men” and 1999’s “Dick.” But Villalon braved Los Angeles’ infamous rush-hour traffic to snag front-row seats at Quentin Tarantino’s historic … Read more
NEW YORK — A former New York City official who helped coordinate the city’s response to the pandemic was fired from his private-sector job after a recording showed him talking about attending a sex party and other private gatherings when the city was urging people to practice social distancing. Dr. Jay Varma was terminated from … Read more
From the looks of it, the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert hasn’t done too much with the $24 million it received in federal pandemic aid. The site where it plans to spend most of the money for a crime victims center remains an empty plot of dirt. And just one-quarter of its funds are obligated for … Read more
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced blistering criticism in an often combative congressional subcommittee hearing Tuesday over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during the time when the virus was spreading through nursing homes. Republicans who questioned the Democrat zeroed in on a controversial directive his administration issued in March of 2020 that initially … Read more
PHOENIX — As schools reopen for another year, they are focused on improving student attendance. But back-to-school is hitting just as COVID-19 cases are increasing, raising the question: When is a child too sick for school? School absences surged during the pandemic and have yet to recover. Nearly 1 in 4 students remains chronically absent, … Read more
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — With its reindeer sleigh rides, camel racing and stunning landscapes with room to roam, Mongolia is hoping to woo visitors who are truly looking to get away from it all. Like most countries, its tourism industry was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has launched a “Welcome to MonGOlia” campaign to … Read more
Lauren Bell was stressed out and just starting her first job post-college in New York City when she realized a bout of food poisoning wasn’t going away after weeks. A doctor’s appointment revealed she had irritable bowel syndrome, a surprising diagnosis — until she learned more about the connection between mental health and gut health, … Read more
PARIS — PARIS (AP) — Celine Dion made a triumphant return Friday with a very public performance: closing out the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony from the Eiffel Tower. Nearly two years after revealing her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, Dion belted Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour” (“Hymn to Love”) as the finale of the roughly four-hour … Read more
Fruit bats seen hanging on tree branches in daylight. Bats are believed to be one of the carriers of Nipah virus, a zoonotic disease that spreads from animals to humans. Eyepix Group | Future Publishing | Getty Images Health authorities in the southern Indian state of Kerala are on high alert following the latest flare-up of the … Read more
LONDON — The U.K. government was ill-prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and serious errors in planning failed its citizens, an inquiry found Thursday. Retired judge Heather Hallett, who is leading the ongoing inquiry, said the government wrongly believed in 2019 that it was one of the best-prepared countries in the world for an outbreak and … Read more
