Soon after, the FDA authorized a booster dose for all adults who completed their initial COVID-19 vaccine series. The agency then expanded eligibility for the Pfizer booster to children and adolescents ages 5 to 17. According to the CDC, eligible adults are able to choose any authorized COVID-19 booster. However, it is now recommended that individuals get the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, following concerns about blood-clotting side effects....

Sadly, the more than 1 million American deaths directly caused by this deadly virus doesn’t tell the whole story. New research I conducted along with my colleagues at University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine paints a grim picture of rising alcohol-associated liver disease, known as ALD. It’s a disorder that steadily increased over the past two decades, but which dangerously accelerated once the pandemic hit in early 2020....

Johnson said the change “shows that the hard work of the British people is paying off.” This move would put an end to all domestic COVID restrictions as the United Kingdom sees a drop in both new COVID infections and hospitalizations. “Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions – including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive – a full month early,” Johnson told Parliament Wednesday....

Even while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains paused due to an investigation surrounding rare and severe side effects, COVID-19 vaccination rates are holding steady in the United States. As of April 20, over a quarter of the U.S. population is fully immunized against COVID-19, and 40% have received at least one dose. Eighty percent of available vaccines are making it into arms for the third week in a row—a high level of efficiency compared to the 50% rate we observed when this tracker launched in January....

Just ask Black parents. According to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, whereas only 3 percent of Black households homeschooled their children in April of 2020, by October of the same year the number sprang up to a mind-boggling 16 percent. It doesn’t take a doctorate to figure out why; anyone who’s had even a brief glimpse into what passes for education these days realizes the most viable solution is to take kids out of school first and worry about alternatives later....

“The Senate will have a busy week ahead of it. Today and tomorrow, the Senate will confirm two more members of President Biden’s Cabinet,” said Schumer. “As we continue the fight against the pandemic on all fronts, in particular the damage it has caused our schools and our economy, these nominees will have a difficult and important task ahead of them. It will be very good news once we have them confirmed and on the job....

The airline said the kits, which can be exchanged for 14,000 frequent flier miles, will able available for a limited time. The move comes as COVID-19 cases continue to surge throughout the country at a record pace, with over 100,000 new cases recorded every day since November 4. “We remain dedicated to making testing for our guests as convenient and accessible as possible, so we’re incredibly pleased to extend our partnership with Vault Health to allow our HawaiianMiles members to purchase their at-home test kit with miles,” Avi Mannis, senior vice president of marketing at Hawaiian Airlines, said in a statement....

Coaches have informed Weeden that the team will start Matt Cassel at quarterback Week 7 against the Giants following the team’s bye week, ESPN.com reported Tuesday. MORE: 10 times a quarterback injury ruined a team’s season | New Super Bowl 50 odds Since taking over for an injured Tony Romo, Weeden has completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 739 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing two interceptions in just over three games of work....

The Line: Dallas -6, Total: 51 Line movement: Dallas opened as 5.5-point favorites in Las Vegas in April. The spread moved up to -6 earlier this week, with some books up to -6.5. The total has also moved up after an open of 50. Check our odds page for current spreads and totals . Trends that matter: Dallas was 5-4 SU and 3-6 ATS at home last year, 8-1 SU and ATS away…New York is 0-4 SU and ATS in its last four openers…The OVER is 5-0 in the last five meetings between the teams…The UNDER is 4-0-1 in Dallas’ last five home games…The OVER is 4-1 in New York’s last five road games....

Young Pharaoh—an online commenter and cultural critic who has over 90,000 Facebook followers and nearly 60,000 Twitter followers—has made past comments denying the existence of Jewish people and Judaism. In a July 16, 2020 Twitter post, Pharaoh wrote that Judaism was “COMPLETELY MADE UP FOR #POLITICAL GAIN.” In a July 29, 2020 post, he claimed that Jews are responsible for all of the censorship and pedophilia on social media. In a January 4, 2021 post, he referred to the religion’s followers as “THIEVING #FAKE #JEWS”....

Google could also help solve YouTube’s “Napster” problem. Much of the copyrighted material on YouTube is posted without the permission of TV networks and music studios. Google has existing relationships with many of those companies and the engineering muscle to figure out a way to screen YouTube for infringing content. Still, both firms decline to comment on the acquisition rumor, and Microsoft, Yahoo and Viacom have also spoken to execs of the 60-employee start-up over the past three months....

Because, really, after this group of playoff newbies erased a four-run, eighth-inning deficit against an A’s team that had its ace on the mound and one of the best closers in the game rested and ready to go, what was there to fear? “I think that game definitely did a lot for us,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said after Kansas City’s Game 3 win against the Orioles in the ALCS....

McDermott is the nation's leading scorer at 26.9 points a game. The senior is joined on the team Monday by freshman Jabari Parker of Duke and seniors Russ Smith of Louisville, Shabazz Napier of Connecticut and Sean Kilpatrick of Cincinnati. Smith, Napier and Kilpatrick all played in the first-year American Athletic Conference, the first time a conference had three players on the first team since the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2000-01....

The caning is no joke. A former director of prisons in Singapore once said, “The officer uses the whole of his body weight and not just the strength of his arm … He pivots on his feet to deliver the stroke … After three strokes, the buttocks will be covered in blood.” A retired prison officer says that each stroke of the cane splits the skin-“It happens every time” -and, yes, the scars last for life....

On Tuesday, Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, was held at the Sacramento County Jail for allegedly setting fires in Lassen National Forest and Shasta Trinity National Forest starting on July 20. After appearing in court, assistant U.S. attorney Michael Anderson made a request for Maynard to not be released from police custody, saying that there was no way to release him “that could ensure the safety of the public.” “Over the course of the last several weeks, Maynard has set a series of fires in the vicinity of the Lassen National Forest and Shasta Trinity National Forest,” Anderson told Judge Kendall J....

Madrid had won their previous 13 matches away from home to set a new record in the Primera Division and all of their games on the road this season had ended in victories. Not this time, however, as promoted club Girona came from behind to seal a wonderful win in the teams’ first-ever competitive meeting. Madrid win and BTTS v Spurs 11/5 Real have had their issues already in 2017-18, but those had come at home via back-to-back draws against Valencia and Levante, followed by defeat to Betis and a 1-1 tie with Tottenham....

The Real Madrid star now sits joint-ninth in the historic rankings alongside Miroslav Klose, Kiatisuk Senamuang and Majed Abdullah, though he does have the lowest goals-per-game rate of the quartet. Ronaldo moves into top 10 international scorers At 32, Ronaldo has a legitimate chance of becoming the top international goalscorer in European football history by surpassing Ferenc Puskas’ total of 84 for Hungary, although the worldwide record may be beyond him....

The Serie A side confirmed the news on Friday in a statement on its official website. “Cristiano Ronaldo carried out a check with a diagnostic test (swab) for COVID-19,” the statement read. “The exam provided a negative result. The player has, therefore, recovered after 19 days and is no longer subjected to home isolation.” Ronaldo is set to take another test Saturday and will train individually. Should that test come back negative, Ronaldo will be called in for Juve’s Serie A clash against Spezia on Sunday...

Ronaldo stormed off the pitch following his side’s defeat in the Premier League clash and appeared to lash out at one of the home team’s supporters, allegedly smashing one fan’s mobile phone in the process. The 37-year-old took to social media to apologize for his behavior and wants to invite the fan to a United match. But the mother of the Everton fan has since told her family’s side of the story to the media, claiming Ronaldo’s actions were an “assault” on her teenage son....

The Portugal international sent shockwaves through Old Trafford, following his TV interview with Piers Morgan, as the 37-year-old slammed the club’s lack of ambition and openly claimed his lack of respect for head coach Erik ten Hag. The interview was released as the World Cup break began, and just days later, United and Ronaldo announced a mutual separation with Ronaldo in Portugal camp preparing for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar....