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COVID-19 was the third-most-common cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, contributing to more than 375,000 deaths, and a 16% increase in the national death rate, according to provisional data published today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All told, more than 3.3 million people in the U.S. died in 2020, for a rate of about 829 deaths per 100,000 people. That’s up from about 715 deaths per 100,000 people in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic is a clear culprit. The weeks ending April 11 and December 26 were the deadliest for the U.S. last year, coinciding with two major COVID-19 surges . The virus was listed as an underlying or contributing cause of death for more than 377,000 people in the U.S. in 2020—which is likely an underestimate, if anything, since testing was hard to come by in the spring of 2020. Only heart disease and cancer killed more Americans in 2020. Meanwhile, suicide was pushed out of the top 10 causes of death; unintentional inj...

It’s the last news anyone wants to hear: one year after the United States was slammed with its first wave of COVID-19—which was followed by even worse second and third waves—public health experts are worried that the country is headed for a fourth major spike. During a White House coronavirus briefing on Monday, Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, begged Americans to keep following public health guidelines amid small but alarming upticks in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. “Right now, I’m scared,” she said. Other scientists tracking the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. agree that there’s plenty to be worried about. Cases are rising in the Northeast, Midwest and elsewhere. At the same time, many governors are relaxing measures intended to limit the spread of the virus, such as mask mandates and caps on restaurant capacity. Furthermore, as vaccinations continue across the country, some people are getting more cavalier ...

This year, lawmakers have thrust trans youth into the center of the culture wars. In the midst of a pandemic, when economic and health concerns are urgent, legislators in at least 28 states have introduced a record number of bills that would restrict the rights of trans people. In March, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi passed bills banning trans girls from women’s sports. Idaho passed a similar law last year, but it was blocked by a federal judge . In South Dakota, Governor Kristi Noem issued two executive orders on March 29 effectively banning trans girls from women’s sports. The same day, Arkansas became the first state to pass a bill prohibiting doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to trans children . Similar bills are being considered in 19 other states , even as trans advocates say such laws could impact the mental health of an already vulnerable population. This new wave of legislation and executive actions arrives in the months after several...

डिजिटल डेस्क, नई दिल्ली। भारत सरकार भारतीय वायुसेना को प्रभावी और मजबूत बनाने जा रही है। आज (बुधवार, 31 मार्च) देर रात करीब 10.30 बजे तीन और राफेल गुजरात के जामनगर में लैंड करेंगे। ये सभी फ्रांस से उड़कर भारत पहुंचेंगे। फ्रांस से रवाना होने के बाद UAE द्वारा एयर-टू-एयर, री-फ्यूलींग करने में मदद की जाएगी।  इसके साथ ही भारतीय वायु सेना के पास राफेल फाइटर जेट की संख्या 14 हो जाएगी। बता दें कि पहले भी भारत में 11 राफेल फ्रांस से आ चुके हैं। न्यूज एजेंसी सुत्रों के मुताबिक अप्रैल के दूसरे हफ्ते में 7 और राफेल भारत आने की संभावना है। बता दें कि राफेल के अलावा इसका ट्रेनर वर्जन भी भारत आएगा। अंबाला में तैनात होंगे तीनों लड़ाकू विमान जानकारी मिली है कि बुधवार को पहुंचने वाले तीनों राफेल विमानों को अंबाला में तैनात किया जाएगा। इससे पश्चिमी सीमा पर पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ तेजी से एक्शन लिया जा सकेगा। रोचक बात यह भी है कि अंबाला एयरबेस चीन सीमा से 200 किमी की ही दुरी पर स्थित है। इससे चीनी सीमा पर नजर रखने में मदद मिलेगी। कब कितने राफेल आए 5 राफेल जेट 29 जुलाई 2020 3 राफेल जेट 4 नवंबर 2020 ...

डिजिटल डेस्क, वॉशिंगटन। अमेरीकी कंपनी फाइजर ने 12 से 15 साल के बच्चों के लिए कोरोना वायरस की वैक्सीन तैयार कर ली है। कंपनी ने दावा किया है कि वैक्सीन बच्चों पर 100 प्रतिशत असरदार है। जानकारी के मुताबिक अमेरिका में 16 वर्ष के बच्चों व युवाओं को भी फाइजर वैक्सीन दी जा रही है। बता दें कि वैक्सीन बनाने वाली अमेरिकी कंपनी फाइजर इंक और बायोनटेक एसई ने हाल ही में 12 वर्ष से कम उम्र के बच्चों पर वैक्सीन के ट्रायल कि शुरुआत की थी। 2022 तक छोटे बच्चों को वैक्सीन लगने की उम्मीद सभी कोरोना वैक्सीन बनाने वाली कंपनियों को उम्मीद है कि साल 2022 तक 12 साल से छोटे बच्चों को भी कोरोना का टीका लगाने की शुरुआत की जा सकती है। जानकारी के अनुसार पिछले हफ्ते कंपनी मॉडर्ना इंक ने एक ट्रायल लॉन्च किया था, जिसमें 6 महीनें के बच्चों को भी टीका लगाया गया था। फिलहाल, संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका (USA) में सिर्फ फाइजर इंक और बायोनटेक SE का उपयोग 16 व 17 साल के बच्चों पर किया जा रहा है। वहीं मॉडर्ना इंक का शॉट 18 व उससे अधिक उम्र वालों को दिया जा रहा है। भारत में अभी तक फ्रंटलाइन वॉरियर्स और 45 साल से अधिक उम्र के लोगों ...

If my memories of 2019 are correct, March tends to be a month of anticipation even in relatively normal times. The snow has melted, but the trees are still bare. The temperature’s rising, but not consistently enough to put your winter coat in storage. All of that nervous early-spring energy is heightened this year, as we wait our turns in the vaccination queue and cross our fingers that the variants won’t halt our progress toward herd immunity. My favorite new TV shows of the month—a detective story set in Northern Ireland, a pulpy Spanish thriller, a mouthwatering kids’ show, a docudrama filled with ecstatic musical numbers and a nostalgic blast from reality TV’s primordial past—probably say a lot about how I’m dealing with that impatience: through the pursuit of big, bright, unapologetically entertaining distractions. Maybe you’d like to do the same? Bloodlands (Acorn TV) Although they officially ended in 1998, the decades of political conflict known as The Troub...

The mere concept of King Kong going up against Godzilla is, as the fancy people say, a false dichotomy. Though many of us may harbor a slight preference for one or the other, there can never be a clear winner or loser because, face it: both are awesome. In fact, the only problem with any enterprise featuring these two most enduring titans is that there is always a necessary but troublesome plot involving people. And humans in these movies—unless being held aloft from a skyscraper-top in a skimpy dress, or trampled beneath a pissed-off reptile’s clumsy, unmanicured toes—are almost always a bore. They certainly are a plot liability in Godzilla vs. Kong, though it’s not exactly the fault of the actors, who are all perfectly attractive and capable: Rebecca Hall plays brilliant person Ilene Andrews, also known as the Kong Whisperer, for obvious reasons. Alexander Skarsgård is Nathan Lind, a hottie masquerading as a slouchy academic—his specialty is a theory involving someth...