Pupils told to stay home for rest of term after surge in Covid cases at school

EXCLUSIVE: Apple Studios’ runaway-slave thriller Emancipation starring Will Smith is suspending filming following a small number of positive Covid tests among the hundreds of crew working on the movie in Louisiana, I have learned.

health data released Saturday.The state has become the new national epicenter for the virus, accounting for around a fifth of all new cases in the U.S.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has resisted mandatory mask mandates and vaccine requirements, and along with the Florida Legislature, has limited local officials’ ability to impose measures meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.The figures from the U.S.

California tallied 10,356 newly-reported confirmed cases on Friday. That number had skyrocketed up from just 7,457 reported on Thursday, a 39% jump in one day. It’s the biggest 24-hour jump in cases the region has seen this year, according to the state Covid data dashboard.

There are 18 million unvaccinated people in California, according to the state’s vaccination dashboard. State health officials say it’s those residents who are driving the new surge in Covid-19 cases across the state.

Bruce Springsteen is refusing the offer to have a rest stop named after him.

Asked earlier this week if there is a Covid-19 data point that would push the state to reimplement restrictions, Newsom said, “We’re not looking at physical distancing or closing anything down.” He then emphasized, “The answer to the Delta variant is vaccination,” said Newsom. “We don’t need masking. Just get vaccinated.”

For the second day in a row, California Gov. Newsom was asked on Tuesday if the state’s mask mandate is returning. At first, Newsom sidestepped, as he had Monday with, “We’ll see. At the end of the day, the epidemiology on the variants will make that determination.” Newsom also said that July numbers show the Delta variant present in over 60% of the state’s Covid tests genomically sequenced. Nationally, it’s 83%.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorMegan Fox has pulled out of tonight’s Los Angeles premiere of her new movie “Midnight in the Switchgrass” because of the ongoing concern over COVID in Los Angeles.“Due to the recent California mask mandate and rise of COVID cases, Megan Fox will no longer be attending the premiere tonight,” a rep for the premiere wrote in an email to press covering the event just a couple of hours before the red carpet.

“In two weeks, we can end this pandemic in the United States of America,” said an upbeat Governor Gavin Newsom at a news conference on Monday. That California is “roaring back” has become Newsom’s mantra as he announces programs funded by the state’s record budget surplus. Ironically, nowhere was that assertion more true on Monday than in the state’s skyrocketing Covid-19 numbers.

South Korea’s Olympic committee said it has removed flags at its Olympic village in Tokyo after they raised bad memories about a past military conflict between Japan and Korea.

You can’t take the honky-tonk out of the girl! Sweet Home Alabama became a classic rom-com almost as soon as it hit theaters in 2002, thanks to the charm — and chemistry — of leads Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas.

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Reese Witherspoon and Dakota Fanning are giving us more hope for a Sweet Home Alabama sequel!

You can’t take the honky tonk out of the girl! Reese Witherspoon and Dakota Fanning reminisced over their 2002 movie, Sweet Home Alabama, amid renewed discussion about a potential sequel.

Josh Lucas is holding out hope for , but doesn't think it's in the cards for at least a few years. While promoting his new film, , the 50-year-old actor opened up about a possible sequel to the 2002 romcom he starred in alongside Reese Witherspoon.«Look, I would love to do the sequel,» he admitted on SiriusXM’s with Jessica Shaw.

Some conservative groups are trying to block a long-awaited Hate Crimes Bill, which has been urgently called for by LGBTIQ+ communities