Yahoo Movies
Why Bills-Colts is the Wild Card game of the week
Buffalo's riding a scorching-hot Josh Allen into the playoffs, but the Colts' defense keeps the door open for a stunning first-round upset.
Buffalo's riding a scorching-hot Josh Allen into the playoffs, but the Colts' defense keeps the door open for a stunning first-round upset.
Compare the Market said councils are charging more than £850,000 in parking fines a year on average, with some gathering more than ten times that amount.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Capitol complex temporarily locked down Monday during a rehearsal for President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration after a fire in a homeless encampment roughly a mile away sent a plume of smoke into the air and caused security concerns. But law enforcement officials said there was no threat to the public and the fire was not believed to be a threat to the inauguration. Local firefighters put out the blaze quickly. The evacuation of some participants and the lockdown were ordered by the acting chief of Capitol Police in an abundance of caution, officials said. Biden was not participating in the rehearsal, nor were other VIPs who will attend Wednesday's ceremony. But the fast decision to lock down underscores the fear that has gripped Washington since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters and prompted extraordinary measures ahead of the inauguration. Armed protests planned for this past weekend around the country were mostly a bust, but anxiety is still skyrocketing. U.S. Secret Service tightened security in and around the Capitol a week early in preparation, and the city centre is essentially on lockdown with streets blocked, high fencing installed and tens of thousands of National Guard and other law enforcement officers stationed around the area. But U.S. defence officials, worried about a potential insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing the event, pushed the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into the area. President Donald Trump has refused to attend the inauguration, the first time a sitting president has not attended since Andrew Jackson, though Vice-President Mike Pence will be there as well as other former presidents. Capitol police spokeswoman Eva Malecki said there were currently no fires on or within the campus. “Members and staff were advised to shelter in place while the incident is being investigated,” she said in a statement. Participants were ushered from the West Front of the Capitol. Those who had gathered for a walk-through, including a military band, were directed to head indoors and moved in the direction of a secure location inside the Capitol complex. People involved in the rehearsal said security officials yelled “this is not a drill.” The lockdown was lifted about an hour later. Five people died in the Jan. 6 riot, including a police officer. ___ Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Michael Balsamo contributed to this report. Andrew Taylor, Colleen Long And Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
Vital new satellite capacity will be delivered to Canada’s north, including all 25 communities of Nunavut, following a partnership signed between SSi Canada, the developer-operator of QINIQ broadband and SSi Mobile services in Nunavut, and SES Networks, the leader in global content connectivity solutions.
WARSAW, Poland — Poland coach Jerzy Brzeczek was fired Monday, five months before the European Championship and two months before the start of World Cup qualifying. The Polish soccer federation did not give a reason for its decision or announce a replacement. Federation president Zbigniew Boniek is scheduled to hold a news conference on Thursday. Brzeczek is a former international midfielder who was appointed after Poland finished last in its group at the 2018 World Cup. Brzeczek guided Poland to qualification for Euro 2020 by finishing at the top of its qualifying group. However, the Poles failed to beat Italy and the Netherlands at home and away in Nations League games last year. Poland will face Spain, Slovakia and Sweden at Euro 2020 in a group being played in Dublin and Bilbao, Spain. In World Cup qualifying, Poland was drawn into a six-team group that includes England and Hungary. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Hernán Losada was hired Monday as coach of Major League Soccer's D.C. United. Losada had been manager of Belgium's Beerschot since the middle of the 2018-19 season. Ben Olson was D.C. United's coach from August 2010 until he was fired Nov. 8 and Chad Ashton followed as interim coach. Losada, a 38-year-old Argentine, will be MLS's youngest active head coach. He was an attacking midfielder in Argentina for Independiente (2003-05) and Universidad de Chile (2005-06), then in Belgium for Beerschot (2006-08, 2011-13, 2015-18), Anderlecht (2008-11), Charleroi (2010-11) and Lierse (2013-15) and in the Netherlands for Heerenveen (2009-10). He became an assistant coach at Beerschot for the 2018-19 season and led the under-21 team before taking over the first team and guiding it to promotion from the second division to the first tier. Beerschot currently is 10th among 18 teams, with nine wins, nine losses and three draws. “We believe wholeheartedly in Herna´n’s approach to the game and his desire to play high-energy soccer with and without the ball," D.C. general manager Dave Kasper said in a statement. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
More than 150,000 people in the UK along are said to enduring lingering coronavirus complications.
Swearing-in ceremony traditionally takes place on third Wednesday in January
The government is monitoring the COVID-19 situation carefully and considering if more measures are necessary, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong.
Groups nationwide are taking to grassroots efforts to ensure vaccine access for people of color, as early roll out shows disparities and inequities.
Staffers attending President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration rehearsals evacuated to Capitol visitor center amid reports of nearby fire
The British government has called for construction to ‘cease immediately’
Pennsylvania woman Riley June Williams "intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service," an informant told the FBI.
The 45th president’s one-term administration saw higher staff turnover than a season of The Apprentice
The impact of greenhouse gas emissions on global temperatures would have been even larger if were not for the cooling impact of air pollution, study finds
No fewer than 19 Chinese players currently inhabit the world’s top 100.
BEIJING — China eked out 2.3% economic growth in 2020, likely becoming the only major economy to expand as shops and factories reopened relatively early from a shutdown to fight the coronavirus while the United States, Japan and Europe struggled with rising infections. Growth in the three months ending in December rose to 6.5% over a year earlier as consumers returned to shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas, official data showed Monday. That was up from the previous quarter’s 4.9% and stronger than many forecasters expected. In early 2020, activity contracted by 6.8% in the first quarter as the ruling Communist Party took the then-unprecedented step of shutting down most of its economy to fight the virus. The following quarter, China became the first major country to grow again with a 3.2% expansion after the party declared victory over the virus in March and allowed factories, shops and offices to reopen. Restaurants are filling up while cinemas and retailers struggle to lure customers back. Crowds are thin at shopping malls, where guards check visitors for signs of the disease's tell-tale fever. Domestic tourism is reviving, though authorities have urged the public to stay home during the Lunar New Year holiday in February, normally the busiest travel season, in response to a spate of new infections in some Chinese cities. Exports have been boosted by demand for Chinese-made masks and other medical goods. The growing momentum “reflected improving private consumption expenditure as well as buoyant net exports,” said Rajiv Biswas of IHS Markit in a report. He said China is likely to be the only major economy to grow in 2020 while developed countries and most major emerging markets were in recession. The economy “recovered steadily” and “living standards were ensured forcefully,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. It said the ruling party’s development goals were “accomplished better than expectation” but gave no details. 2020 was China’s weakest growth in decades and below 1990's 3.9% following the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement, which led to China's international isolation. Despite growth for the year, "it is too early to conclude that this is a full recovery,” said Iris Pang of ING in a report. “External demand has not yet fully recovered. This is a big hurdle.” Exporters and high-tech manufacturers face uncertainty about how President-elect Joseph Biden will handle conflicts with Beijing over trade, technology and security. His predecessor, Donald Trump, hurt exporters by hiking tariffs on Chinese goods and manufacturers including telecom equipment giant Huawei by imposing curbs on access to U.S. components and technology. “We expect the newly elected U.S. government will continue most of the current policies on China, at least for the first quarter,” Pang said. The International Monetary Fund and private sector forecasters expect economic growth to rise further this year to above 8%. China's quick recovery brought it closer to matching the United States in economic output. Total activity in 2020 was 102 trillion yuan ($15.6 trillion), according to the government. That is about 75% the size of the $20.8 trillion forecast by the IMF for the U.S. economy, which is expected to shrink by 4.3% from 2019. The IMF estimates China will be about 90% of the size of the U.S. economy by 2025, though with more than four times as many people average income will be lower. Exports rose 3.6% last year despite the tariff war with Washington. Exporters took market share from foreign competitors that still faced anti-virus restrictions. Retail spending contracted by 3.9% over 2019 but gained 4.6% in December over a year earlier as demand revived. Consumer spending recovered to above the previous year’s levels in the quarter ending in September. Online sales of consumer goods rose 14.8% as millions of families who were ordered to stay home shifted to buying groceries and clothing on the internet. Factory output rose 2.8% over 2019. Activity accelerated toward the end of the year. Production rose 7.3% in December. Despite travel controls imposed for some areas after new cases flared this month most of the country is unaffected. Still, the government's appeal to the public to avoid traditional Lunar New Year gatherings and travel might dent spending on tourism, gifts and restaurants. Other activity might increase, however, if farms, factories and traders keep operating over the holiday, said Chaoping Zhu of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report. “Unusually high growth rates in this quarter are likely to be seen,” said Zhu. ___ National Bureau of Statistics (in Chinese): www.stats.gov.cn Joe McDonald, The Associated Press
Locked down and living alone for the first time in 30 years, following the death of her husband Andy Gill, Catherine Meyer has slowly rediscovered the joys of writing, activism and dancing on one’s own
UK launches inquiry into alleged corruption in British Virgin IslandsBritish government takes extraordinary step amid claims of a climate of fear in overseas territory
PARIS — France's Michelin Guide, which has long served as a bible for foodies, is adapting its awards ceremony in Paris for the year that was like no other - 2020. It is handing out its stars for the shuttered industry at a virtual ceremony to a virtual public. From the panoramic splendor of the Jules Verne restaurant on the the Eiffel Tower's second floor, judges are giving out this year’s stars for their 2021 France guide — based on reviews of eateries that have for large periods of time been completely closed nationwide. The country famed for its cuisine saw restaurants shut for large parts of last year during what was one of Europe's harshest lockdowns, while strict curfews disrupted the dinner service. Michelin France told the AP that it squeezed its anonymous reviews into a reduced six-month period, from May to October, when restrictions on restaurants were eased. And it called for help from overseas for its secretive inspections, bringing in twice as many foreign inspectors as usual. France had two lockdowns last year, one in spring and the other starting in the fall. The Michelin guide has 28 issues covering 25 countries, though awards in other countries are handed out at different dates. Thomas Adamson, The Associated Press
The River City star was ‘much loved’ by those who knew him.