<p><strong>London:</strong> Embattled UK Cabinet minister Matt Hancock on Saturday resigned as Health Secretary after he admitted to breaching Covid-19 lockdown rules with a kiss involving a close female aide.</p> <p>Controversy erupted for the minister after CCTV images of the 42-year-old married Conservative Party MP were leaked where he was seen kissing Gina Coladangelo, 43, in his Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) office. </p> <p>The visuals were recorded on May 6 much before the social distancing rules were eased on May 17 over close contact indoors for people from separate households. The pictures were published by The Sun newspaper on Friday along with the footage on its website.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ | <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" title="" href="https://ift.tt/3qrnf86" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true" data-original-title="Story ID: 1465939">Zydus Cadila's Covid Vaccine For Children Likely To Be Available In Near Future, Centre Tells SC</a></span></strong></p> <p>In a letter to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Hancock said the government "owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down". He once again apologised for breaking the government guidance on social distancing from people outside a close household bubble.</p> <p>In a video posted on Twitter, Hancock said: "I have been to see the Prime Minister to resign as secretary of state for health and social care. I understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made, that you have made, and those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that's why I have got to resign."</p> <p>In his letter of resignation, Hancock wrote: "The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.</p> <p>"I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need (to) be with my children at this time," he added.</p> <p>This step is followed by mounting pressure on him from the Opposition as well as within his own Tory party to resign from his post for undermining people's trust in the Covid lockdown guidance.</p> <p>Campaign group "Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice" had dubbed Boris Johnson accepting his apology and declaring the "matter closed" on Friday, as a "slap in the face" for families who had lost loved ones to the pandemic.</p> <p>On the other hand, Hancock is married to osteopath wife Martha for 15 years and they have three children together.</p> <p>The CCTV footage of Hancock also revealed him to be having an extra-marital affair with married Gina Coladangelo who he hired as an advisor in an official capacity. The pair were reported to have been close as students since their days at Oxford University.</p> <p>Hancock was appointed health secretary by former British Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018 and has held the post for nearly three years.</p> <p>Meanwhile, former UK Chancellor Sajid Javid, Pakistani-origin Conservative Party MP, is set to replace him as Health Secretary, Downing Street informed.</p> <p><em>(With Agency Inputs)</em></p>
<p><strong>Covid In India:</strong> The country witnessed a marginal rise in cases as India reports 50,040 new cases in the last 24 hours, active cases decline to 5,86,403. The country's rate recovery rate rises to 96.75%. Active cases now constitute 1.94% of total cases. 2,92,51,029 total Recoveries across the country so far. 57,944 patients have recovered during the last 24 hours. </p> <p>The daily recoveries continue to outnumber the daily new cases for the 45th consecutive day. The weekly positivity rate remains below 5%, currently at 2.91%. The daily positivity rate at 2.82%, less than 5% for 20 consecutive days.</p> <p><span style="color: #e03e2d;"><strong><a style="color: #e03e2d;" title="Also Read|Zydus Cadila's COVID Vaccine For Children Likely To Be Available In Near Future, Centre Tells SC" href="https://ift.tt/3qrnf86" target="">Also Read|Zydus Cadila's COVID Vaccine For Children Likely To Be Available In Near Future, Centre Tells SC</a></strong></span></p> <p>India has reported 1,258 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry. The total death toll in the country is now at 3,95,751.</p> <h3><strong><strong class="uk-margin-bottom uk-display-block">Kerala sees no respite as daily Covid cases keep soaring</strong></strong></h3> <p>The Covid-19 situation continued to be grim in Kerala on Saturday, with 12,118 people testing positive in the last 24 hours, health officials said.<br /><br />The test positivity rate (TPR) in the state continued to hover over 10 per cent, the officials added.<br /><br />Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement that the TPR for the day was 10.66 after 12,118 tested positive in the last 24 hours, while the active cases in the state climbed to 1,01,102.<br /><br />Meanwhile, 118 more patients have succumbed to Covid, pushing the toll to 12,817.<br /><br />Across the state there were 3,96,863 people under observation at various places which includes 26,298 at hospitals.</p> <h3><strong><strong class="uk-margin-bottom uk-display-block">Delhi reports 85 new Covid cases, lowest since April 19 last year</strong></strong></h3> <p>The national capital on Saturday reported 85 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest since April 19 last year, with a positivity rate of 0.12 per cent, while nine people fell prey to the virus in the last 24 hours.<br /><br />This is the second time in the last one week that Delhi's single-day tally fell below the 100-mark after June 21, when the national capital had reported 89 cases.<br /><br />With nine more deaths getting reported in the last 24 hours, Delhi's overall Covid death toll has gone up to 24,961.<br /><br />During the same time period, 158 people recovered from the disease, taking the national capital's total number of recoveries to 14,07,116 till date.<br /><br />Delhi presently has 1,598 active cases, with the number of patients under home isolation dropping below the 500-mark.</p> <h3><strong>Covid Vaccination in India</strong></h3> <p>The Centre on Saturday told the Supreme Court that till June 25 more than 31 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered across the country which includes over 1.73 crore doses to Health Care Workers (HCWs).<br /><br />Over 2.66 crore doses have been administered to Frontline Workers (FLWs), over 9.93 crores doses to persons between 45 to 59 years of age and over 8.96 crore doses to persons above the age of 60 years, it said.<br /><br />The government said besides these, over 7.84 crore doses have been administered to persons between 18 to 44 years of age.<br /><br />"Total 44.2 per cent of the priority population of persons above 45 years of age and 13 per cent of the population group of 18-44 years of age have received the first vaccine dose," the Centre said in its affidavit filed in the top court in the suo motu matter on COVID-19 management.<br /><br />The Centre which gave the status of COVID-19 vaccines administered from January to June 25 said that a total of 27.3 per cent of the eligible population (18 years and above) have received one dose of vaccine.</p> <p><em>(with inputs from agencies)</em></p>
<p><strong>New Delhi: </strong>The Central government on Saturday told the Supreme Court that Zydus Cadila, which is developing DNA vaccines, has concluded its clinical trial for beneficiaries in the age group of 12 to 18 years and, subject to the statutory permissions, it may be available in near future.</p> <p>Besides this, a total of 51.6 crore COVID vaccine doses would be made available by July 31 of which 35.6 crore have already been provided, the union government stated.</p> <p>Providing the details on availability of COVID vaccines for children, the Centre told the top court in an affidavit that the Drugs Controller General of India on May 12 permitted Bharat Biotech to conduct clinical trials of Covaxin on volunteers between 2 to 18 years of age, and the enrolment process for this trial has also begun.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ | <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" title="" href="https://ift.tt/3jj9lmS" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true" data-original-title="Story ID: 1465919" aria-describedby="tooltip778686">Delhi Covid Curbs Relaxed Further; Gyms To Open With 50% Capacity From Monday, Weddings Can Have 50 Guests</a></span></strong></p> <p>"It is humbly submitted that as of now, the companies' manufacturing COVID-19 vaccination in India have only been given Emergency Use Authorization' for vaccinating people of 18 years age and above. Therefore, COVID-19 vaccines are not recommended for persons/children less than 18 years of age and due to the fact that the clinical trial cohort during Phase 1, 2, and 3 did not cover the children below 18 years of age," it informed.</p> <p>The government assured the top court that enough vaccine doses would be available to inoculate the entire eligible population.</p> <p>It said the "biggest vaccination drive in history" is going on in full swing, reaching even remotest areas of the country by a constructive and cooperative collaboration of the Central Government, State/UT Governments, local authorities, human resources in medical sectors and the citizens of the country.</p> <p>Giving the break-up of various COVID vaccines being administered till the date of filing of the affidavit i.e. June 26, the Centre stated that a total of 35.6 crore doses were made available - 26.6 crore Covishield, 8 crore Covaxin, and additional 1 crore doses as commodity assistance under COVAX facility.</p> <p>Apart from these supplies, it is expected that around 16 crore doses will also be available during the period of May and July across the country, it said.</p> <p>31.5 lakh doses of the first component and 60,000 doses of the second component of Sputnik V has been received, the centre informed.</p> <p>The government said, "In addition, some other domestic vaccines such as those from Biological E and Zydus Cadila are in the late stages of clinical trials and subject to the regulatory approvals, will further increase the availability of vaccines."</p> <p>As per the projected mid-year population for 2020, an estimated 186 to 188 crore vaccine doses would be required for giving both shots to the total population of the country aged 18 years and above which is approximately 93-94 crore.</p> <p>"Out of this requirement, 51.6 crore doses will be made available for administration by July 31, 2021, leaving a requirement of approximately 135 crore vaccine doses for complete vaccination to the eligible population," it said.</p> <p>Elaborating on the vaccines quantity that is likely to be received from all sources, the Centre informed that a total of 135 crore doses will be procured: Covishield (50 crores), Covaxin (40 crores), Bio E Subunit vaccine (30 crores), Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine (5 crores) and Sputnik V (10 crores).</p> <p>It said that the procurement of the Bio E Subunit vaccine and Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine will be subject to approval that will be decided on in the near future.</p> <p>"It is submitted that the vaccination drive would obviously get a boost if the Government of India succeeds in its attempts to procure vaccines available outside India such as vaccines of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, etc," affidavit read.</p> <p>The Centre stressed that to be able to procure vaccines from abroad, efforts are undertaken at the level of the highest political executive in the country and also at the highest diplomatic level.</p> <p>"It is submitted that since these efforts are at a very advanced stage, it is neither desirable nor possible to give comprehensive details of these facts. As and when these efforts materialise, the speed of vaccination will be further augmented and enhanced," it said.</p> <p>The government revealed these details in a 380-page affidavit filed in the suo motu matter on COVID-19 management in Supreme Court.</p> <p><em>(With Agency Inputs)</em></p>
Almost all of the COVID-19 deaths in the US are among those who are unvaccinated, an Associated Press analysis found.
While over 853,000 were hospitalized for COVID-19 in May, less than 1,200 of them or about 0.1% were people who were fully vaccinated, the AP found using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of the 18,000 COVID-19 deaths, only 150 were people who were fully vaccinated or only 0.8%.
"They are [vaccines] nearly 100 percent effective against severe disease and death, meaning nearly every death due to COVID-19 is particularly tragic because nearly every death, especially among adults, due to COVID-19 is, at this point, entirely preventable," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
More than 45% of all Americans are fully vaccinated against, CDC data shows, but The Washington Post reported vaccination rates have been on the decline, with fewer Americans signing up to get the shot.
This comes at a time when top health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated as the more transmissible Delta variant - which originated in India - becomes a growing concern. It may also be able to evade protection from existing vaccines, as Insider's Aria Bendix reported.
Walensky told NBC News that data so far shows that two doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should work really well against the Delta variant, and she is encouraging people to get their second doses if they haven't.
She is however concerned about pockets across the country that are less vaccinated than others. There's a stark vaccine rate disparity amongst counties across the US with some at only 0.1% and others near 100%.
Those that have lower vaccine rates are at a higher risk of an outbreak as a result of the variant. Experts told Insider's Aria Bendix and Joanna Lin Su that they ideally want a community to have at least a 75% vaccination rate so the virus is less able to pass from person to person.
"Some places are above 60%, so there are some pockets that are pretty protected," Lisa Lee, an epidemiologist at Virginia Tech, recently told Insider. "We have to understand, though, that it just takes a couple of cases, a couple of people coming into a community, to pass this along."
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Mumbai</strong>: Reality TV star Varun Sood, who recently returned from South Africa after wrapping up the shoot of ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi 11’, is currently observing home quarantine. While other contestants have been asked to stay in institutional quarantine, Varun and Rahul Vaidya were exempted from it as they received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. They were instructed to stay under home quarantine and not step outside. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Varun was snapped on a bike by the paparazzi, which captured the attention of the BMC officials. A BMC official, while talking to ETimes TV, stressed that Sood was not supposed to leave his house.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><strong>IN PICS: <a title="Khatron Ke Khiladi 11 Contestants- Shweta Tiwari, Arjun Bijlani, Rahul Vaidya, Vishal Aditya Singh & Varun Sood Back From Cape Town After Completing Shoot!" href="https://ift.tt/3qidp8m" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khatron Ke Khiladi 11 Contestants- Shweta Tiwari, Arjun Bijlani, Rahul Vaidya, Vishal Aditya Singh & Varun Sood Back From Cape Town After Completing Shoot!</a></strong></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">The MTV ‘Ace of Space’ contestant refuted the rumours of him going to a gym while observing home quarantine. He told the entertainment portal that he stepped out to purchase some medicines as his ankle was ‘hurting badly’. Sood added that the medical shop is located outside his building and he went them buy the medicines. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Varun suffered an injury while performing a stunt in ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi 11’. He is yet to reveal the details about his injury. Sood is currently dating Divya Agarwal, who gave a special surprise to him upon his arrival at the Mumbai airport.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><strong>Also READ:<a href="https://ift.tt/2U2lORi Ke Khiladi 11's Varun Sood Injured While Performing Risky Stunt; Rushed To Hospital</a></strong></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">‘Khatron Ke Khiladi 11’ will also feature several popular TV celebs including Divyank Tripathi, Shweta Tiwari, Arjun Bijlani, Anushka Sen, Vishal Aditya Singh and Sourabh Raaj Jain. ‘Bigg Boss 14’ contestants including Nikki Tamboli, Rahul Vaidya and Abhinav Shukla are also participating in the stunt-based show.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Last month, the contestants jetted off to Cape Town to commence the shoot for ‘KKK 11’. The new season of ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi 11’ is expected to replace Madhuri Dixit’s ’Dance Deewane 3’ on Colors channel during the weekends.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}">[insta]https://www.instagram.com/p/CPF4QYEFUd5/[/insta]</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">The makers have released four promos featuring Nikki Tamboli, Arjun Bijlani, Shweta Tiwari and Divyanka Tripathi. Rohit Shetty will continue to host the show, which enjoys a significant fan following across different age groups.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p> <p><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"><strong>Also READ: <a href="https://ift.tt/3dhOcWx Ke Khiladi 11: Meet The TOP 3 Contestants Of Rohit Shetty’s Show</a></strong></span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Watch this space for more updates!</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}"> </span></p>
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a COVID-19 testing site, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. First responders and people over 65 years-old began receiving the COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday during a trial run of the site which will open to seniors at a later date.
Wilfredo Lee/The Associated Press
DeSantis signed a law mandating public universities survey students and faculty on their political beliefs.
Scholars and advocates said the law is "disgraceful" and could lead to bizarre classroom instruction.
For instance, "intellectual diversity" could be used to mandate professors teach creationism alongside the science of evolution.
Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a new bill into law on Tuesday that requires the state's public universities to survey faculty, students, and staff on their political beliefs to measure "viewpoint diversity" and fight student "indoctrination."
The Republican-passed law aims to determine "the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented" in classrooms and whether students "feel free to express beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom," according to the bill's text. And it mandates that students "be shown diverse ideas and opinions, including those that they may disagree with or find uncomfortable."
It remains unclear how the state will use the information it gathers, but free speech scholars and advocates are concerned DeSantis and the legislature will retaliate against universities and their faculty for political reasons. The governor, who's built a national profile with his Trumpian politics, suggested on Wednesday that the state will cut funding for schools it deems "hotbeds for stale ideology."
First Amendment experts say the Florida law is unconstitutional and will do the opposite of what it purports to. Instead of promoting free speech, they fear it will both suppress certain viewpoints and undermine academic freedom, as well as force professors to waste time introducing discredited science and theories. And the effort comes amid DeSantis' broader crackdown on free speech, including Black Lives Matter protests and the teaching of critical race theory in public schools.
Undermining free speech and academic freedom
Critics of Florida's new law fear DeSantis and the GOP-run state legislature will intimidate universities and chill speech on campus. Micah Kubic, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the law is unconstitutional because there is no "overwhelmingly compelling government interest" to warrant suppressing the speech of professors and students.
"This is a really disgraceful move that undermines the First Amendment, that will chill speech on campuses, and I think that trying to brand it as somehow a defense of free speech is an ultimate 'up is down' moment," Kubic told Insider. "Everything about it is designed to chill and intimidate, not to actually cultivate an environment of free speech or dissent."
He added, "Ron DeSantis disapproving of what you think is not a compelling government interest."
The ACLU is waiting for more clarity on what the survey will look like and how it will be implemented before making decisions about its legal strategy. Kubic said "all options remain on the table."
While all public universities are already required to respect the First Amendment, the values of freedom of speech are inconsistent with academic freedom, said Robert Post, a constitutional law professor at Yale and former dean of the school. Professors differentiate between good and bad ideas, and truth and falsehoods, in ways that are inconsistent with promoting "intellectual diversity." While the government must protect all speech equally, universities regularly grant tenure to faculty, grade students, and award grants - all actions that involve discriminating between ideas.
"We train students to become competent in their disciplines and that, of course, means it's not a marketplace of ideas, it's an educational ground for the creation of competence," Post told Insider. "All ideas are not equal, if you care about competence."
Requiring "intellectual diversity" in the classroom is akin to mandating a discredited theory like creationism be taught alongside the established science of evolution, Post said. Political science departments shouldn't hire liberal and conservative professors, they should hire good political scientists, regardless of their personal political beliefs. He fears that the law will empower politicians "who think politics should override truth" and compared the phenomenon to Joseph Stalin's partnership with the Soviet biologist Trofim Lysenko, who pushed Marxist-approved agricultural pseudoscience that helped drive the country's deadly famines.
Black Lives Matter protest in Miami, Florida on June 7, 2020.
Mo Grossi/MediaPunch /IPX
A broader effort to suppress speech
The new law is one of a series of measures DeSantis and his GOP allies have taken to crack down on free speech and regulate education. This spring, DeSantis signed a law that dramatically heightened criminal punishments for protesters. Last week, he preemptively barred Florida schools from teaching about systemic racism and the history of slavery through the lens of critical race theory and The New York Times Magazine's "1619 Project."
There are a slew of reasons why classrooms are increasingly a battleground for political culture wars. Education polarization in electoral politics has deepened in recent years. College-educated voters were key to President Joe Biden's 2020 victory and the gap between how college-educated and non-college-educated Americans vote widened last year and is particularly pronounced among white voters. In the 2020 election, Biden won 54% of college-educated white voters, while former President Donald Trump won 63% of non-college white educated voters, according to an analysis of the election results by the Democratic data firm Catalist.
As the country becomes more educated, this widening polarization could present an ongoing challenge for the Republican party across the country. Asserting more control over what is taught in public schools might be one way for the GOP to reverse this trend.
But Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, said this particular effort may well backfire. He thinks faculty and students alike will largely reject the survey and simply refuse to participate in the state's efforts. The media headlines are the point, he argued, and the GOP's effort will fail on a practical level.
"Professors are going to boycott it purely because this is a state messing with the education of young people," he told Insider. "I just know as a dean, trying to get my faculty to respond to any survey - you know, professors are very busy people and they also do not take to authority well."
<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong> As the national capital recorded less than 100 new cases of Coronavirus in the last 24 hours, Delhi government on Saturday decided to further ease curbs imposed in the city. </p> <p>The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has issued fresh guidelines for phase 5 of Unlock in Delhi. </p> <p><strong>ALSO READ | <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" href="https://ift.tt/3w3cNom Modi Chairs Meeting To Review Vaccination Drive, Asks Officials To Speed Up Testing</a></span></strong></p> <p>According to the announcement, gymnasiums and yoga institutes are now allowed to operate in the national capital, but with 50 per cent capacity. The authorities have also increase number of guests permitted during a wedding ceremony.</p> <p>As per the new guidelines, marriage halls, banquet halls and hotels have also been allowed to hold wedding ceremonies with a maximum of 50 guests.</p> <p>However, the number of people allowed to attend marriage ceremonies held at home or in the court still remains 20. </p> <p>DDMA also said that owners of banquet halls, marriage halls and hotels will be responsible for ensuring strict compliance of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour like wearing of face masks and social distancing.<br /><br />"In case, any violation is found strict penal/criminal action will be taken against the owner of the premises as well as against the individual and the premises will be sealed forthwith," the DDMA warned.</p> <p>Gymnasiums and yoga institutes in the city will be permitted to open with up to 50 per cent capacity, and owners of these facilities will be responsible for ensuring compliance of Covid-appropriate behaviour on the premises.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ | <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" href="https://ift.tt/3dfzHSS Report, Oxygen Needs Change Daily: AIIMS Chief On Delhi Audit By SC Panel</a></span></strong></p> <p>"In case, any violation is found strict penal /criminal action shall be taken against the owner of the gymnasium and yoga institute as well as against the individual and the premises shall be sealed forthwith," it said.</p> <p>The aforementioned relaxations will come into force from Monday (June 28). The DDMA, in its order, also said that the prohibited and restricted activities will continue till 5 am on July 5.</p> <p>The Delhi government has already allowed bars and pubs to operate in the city from noon till 10 pm and timings of restaurants have been extended by two hours from June 20.</p> <p>Even salons were allowed to reopen in the national capital from June 14.</p>
<p><strong>Chennai:</strong> Chief Minister MK Stalin yesterday ordered an extension of the curfew in Tamil Nadu till July 5 with some relaxations. </p> <p>The Tamil Nadu government has granted permission to bus services in 23 districts including the 4 districts where the service is already operational, to resume services with 50 percent of seating capacity with effect from June 28. Transportation services are allowed in Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Kanyakumari, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Ranipettai, Sivagangai, Theni, Thenkasi, Tirunelveli, Tirupati, Thiruvannamalai, Thoothukudi, Tiruchirappalli, Villupuram, Chennai, and Vellore, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu districts. Long-distance buses will be operated in these in 27 districts. </p> <p>Guidelines advise passengers to wear a face mask and adhere to social distancing.</p> <p>Relaxations granted to 23 districts:</p> <p>* Utensil shops, beauty cosmetics, photo / video, laundry, Xerox shops will be allowed to operate from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm.<br />* Shops selling mobile phones and related products will be allowed to operate from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm.</p> <p>* Shops selling computer hardware, software and spare parts for electronic hardware components will be allowed to operate from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm.</p> <p>* Parcel service only will be allowed at roadside food stalls from 6.00 am to 7.00 pm.</p> <p><a title="Also Read | Tokyo Olympics 2021: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin Announces Rs 3 Cr Prize Money For Gold Medal Winners" href="https://ift.tt/2UHuRaI" target=""><strong>Also Read | Tokyo Olympics 2021: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin Announces Rs 3 Cr Prize Money For Gold Medal Winners</strong></a></p> <p>* All private companies will be allowed to operate with 50% of the employees. The offices of construction companies will be allowed to operate with 50 percent of the staff.</p> <p>* Public bus services within the district will follow standard guidelines and will allow passengers to travel in only 50% of seating capacity without air-conditioning.</p>
Carl Douglas McMillon was born in 1966 in Memphis, Tennessee. When he was 16, his family moved to 'the birthplace of Walmart' - Bentonville, Arkansas. During the summer, McMillon worked at the Walmart distribution center unloading trucks.
Bentonville, Arkansas, the birthplace of Walmart.
Gilles Mingasson /Getty Images
After graduating from the local public high school, McMillon set off for The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. His Instagram bio "Husband. Father. Razorback. Gadget geek. Retail lifer. Proud Walmart associate," nods to the university's mascot, a razorback hog known as "Big Red."
Doug McMillon University of Arkansas '89 yearbook picture
University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections
The next year, McMillon enrolled in The University of Tulsa's MBA program. While completing his studies, he started working in the athletic department of a local Walmart as a buyer trainee. Soon after, McMillon made the move to the Walmart headquarters back in his Arkansas hometown.
McMillon has worked across food, apparel, home furnishing, baby food, and more, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. He worked as a general merchandise manager at Sam's Club (Walmart's wholesale store) and climbed to a senior VP at Walmart overseeing toys, electronics, and sporting goods.
In 2006, McMillon got his first truly high-profile job in the company, as CEO of Sam's Club. According to The Wall Street Journal, that's where he made his reputation by focusing on small-business owners.
Under McMillon, Walmart brought its "everyday low prices" mantra to the rest of the world. International sales outpaced US sales, growing to 29% of the company's total. This was just one accomplishment that led to his promotion to CEO in 2014.
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
As CEO, McMillon has used his leadership skills beyond retail, seeking to make a positive impact on other social issues. He has been called one of the most 'woke' CEOs in the country and was determined 'the most connected CEO' by the Brunswick Group's Connected Leaders Survey.
Gareth Patterson / AP Images
In 2019, Walmart announced it would stop selling e-cigarettes after vaping-related lung injuries reached a total of 530 hospitalizations and eight deaths. That year, Walmart also announced it would limit the sales of guns and ammunition in the wake of two deadly shootings at Walmart stores in El Paso, Texas, and Southaven, Mississippi.
Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, during an interview with CNBC.
CNBC Contributor/ Getty Images
As chairman of Business Roundtable, a nonprofit that promotes business through public policy, McMillon hopes to make an impact on businesses beyond Walmart. The group made headlines in 2019 after announcing that ethics - not shareholders - is the driving force of successful business.
Doug McMillon participates in a Business Roundtable discussion on the"Future of Work in an Era of Automation and Artificial Intelligence", during a 2018 CEO Innovation Summit.
Mark Wilson/ Getty Images
Following the murder of George Floyd, McMillon condemned racial violence and pledged that Walmart would provide mentorship and funding to help advance racial equity. The company donated a total of $14 million to 16 different nonprofit organizations and set a goal to donate $100 million over five years to fight systemic racism.
Mark Lennihan/AP Images
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Walmart provided essential goods to low-income shoppers and helped strengthen vaccination efforts throughout the country. In 2020, McMillon also oversaw the launch of Walmart+, Walmart Connect, express delivery, and curbside pickup at Sam's Club. This past February, McMillon urged Congress to pass another stimulus check, referencing Walmart spending data as proof that families need more money to buy essentials like groceries.
Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, April 27, 2020, in Washington.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
"My optimism is higher than it was at the beginning of the year," McMillon said on a post-earnings call last month. "In the US, economic stimulus is clearly having an impact." McMillon's optimism has the numbers to back it, with fiscal 2022 earnings expected to increase by high single digits.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.
A group of Republican senators led by Ted Cruz on Friday announced a bill seeking an end to federal mask mandates for vaccinated travelers on planes, trains, and other public transport.
Mask requirements from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have outlasted their purpose, the lawmakers said.
The CDC in February recommended that travellers stayed home until they were fully vaccinated, but still required everyone to wear a mask while on public transport. The same was true for the TSA, which extended its requirement until September. Airlines have their own requirements, too.
"Americans should be able to travel to celebrate Independence Day with their friends and loved ones without having to follow an outdated and unnecessary mandate," Sen. Ted Cruz said in a statement accompanying the bill.
In addition to Cruz, the GOP effort involved Susan Collins, Jerry Moran, Roger Wicker, Cynthia Lummis, and Marsha Blackburn. It came as states across the country continued loosening restrictions on daily life.
TSA mask mandates have led to altercations in airports and on flights, where cabin crews have had to deal with unruly passengers. Flight attendants have described "unprecedented" violence. The TSA in July will restart its self-defense training for flight crews.
Masked travelers at Denver International Airport.
David Zalubowski/AP Photo
A frequent flier last week sued seven airlines, saying vaccinated travelers should be able to fly without masks.
The resolution, introduced in the Senate on Thursday, said the CDC could incentivize more people to get vaccines by dropping the mask requirement.
The three-page text said that getting rid of the mask mandate "would be instrumental in helping the economic recovery of the United States by boosting travel and benefitting the travel and tourism industries without sacrificing public health."
In late May, the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, said the mask requirement on public transit was a "matter of safety, but it's also a matter of respect" for flight crews.
Collins in a statement said she'd spoken with flight attendants about the mandate. The senator said she'd heard about "horrendous and unthinkable violence" on recent flights.
If vaccinated people on the ground no longer need masks indoors, then fliers don't need them either, Collins said.
"It makes no sense that someone can go to a restaurant without wearing a mask, but they cannot fly on an airplane without one, even though it has a far better ventilation system," she said.
The CEO of Carnival Corp, the world's biggest cruise company, said that demand across its nine cruise lines is soaring and that Americans are raring to get back on the water.
"Honestly, people are champing at the bit to cruise again," Donald Arnold told Fox Business Friday.
Its first US cruise, the Vista, by Carnival Cruise Line, its biggest brand, is setting sail from Galveston to the western Caribbean on July 3.
Arnold said that people were confident in the safety of cruises as the vaccine rollout continues across the US, and that the shots were a "huge game-changer."
Bookings were "robust" and among the highest in the company's history, according to Arnold.
He said: "We do not have an issue with being able to fill the ships. People are ready to sail. In fact, we have far more demand than we have ships available to supply right now."
In a second-quarter business update Thursday, the company said that booking volumes for future cruises were 45% higher than during the first quarter. It added that advance bookings for 2022 were already higher than in 2019, thanks to pent-up demand.
Arnold told Fox Business that some of Carnival's cruise lines, including Costa, had been sailing out of Europe during the pandemic. Many of these passengers were unvaccinated, but the company implemented universal testing, social distancing, mask-wearing, and enhanced medical screenings, he said.
There were less than 50 reported coronavirus cases out of around 400,000 guests on board, according to Arnold, who added that guest satisfaction scores were "sky high."
Arnold said that there would be some unvaccinated guests on its cruises in the US, but that these passengers would have to take regular COVID-19 tests and wear masks.
Celebrity Cruises last week unveiled new regulations subjecting unvaccinated passengers - or those unwilling to show proof of the vaccine - to onboard restrictions, extra COVID-19 tests, and additional costs.
"If the virus is in the community on land ... then of course you can get it on board despite all the things we do," Arnold told Fox Business.
"We can't guarantee there will never be a case on board, but the chance of an outbreak is very low," he added.
And on a "fully vaccinated" Royal Caribbean cruise sailing from the Bahamas, two passengers aboard tested positive for COVID-19. Both were under the age of 16, meaning they were exempted from the vaccine mandate.
Carnival said that at least 52% of its ship capacity would be sailing by the end of November, and expected to have its full fleet back in operation by spring 2022.
Arnold told Fox Business that Carnival was selling or had sold 19 ships during the pandemic, reducing its total capacity by 13%, but that the company was buying more ships and would grow its capacity by around 2.5% through 2025.
He added that its newest ship, the Mardi Gras, was setting sail from Port Canaveral to the eastern and western Caribbean on July 31. Carnvial Corp said that the ship is the first in the world to have a rollercoaster on board, as well as the first in North America to be powered by liquefied natural gas.
Goldman's private wealth arm helps clients save on taxes by advising on estate and asset sales. Tax proposals from the Biden Administration and Democratic Senate would cost the wealthy millions.
Financial companies, from big banks to startups, are increasingly embracing the public cloud. Preferred partnerships are cropping up between these companies and the industry's four main cloud providers.
