New James Bond film release postponed again due to Covid
James Bond fans will have to wait another six months for the latest film in the British spy series after producers pushed the release date of “No Time to Die” to Oct. 8.
The film’s debut was set to take place in April, after the film was already postponed due to the pandemic. The new release date was shared on the James Bond twitter feed. The news comes as another blow to the movie theater industry, which has struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic.
The film will mark Daniel Craig’s final appearance as Bond, after making his debut in Casino Royale, 2006.
Dave Chappelle tests positive for Covid-19
LOS ANGELES — Dave Chappelle has tested positive for Covid-19 in the midst of a residency in Austin, Texas, a rep for the comedian confirmed to Variety on Thursday.
Chappelle performed the first of a planned five shows on Wednesday night at the Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater, and was scheduled to perform subsequent sets on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The remaining shows have been canceled, and a statement from Chappelle’s rep says “ticket holders should contact their point of purchase for refunds.”
“Chappelle has safely conducted socially distanced shows in Ohio since June 2020 and he moved those shows to Austin during the winter,” the statement reads. “Chappelle implemented Covid-19 protocols which included rapid testing for the audience and daily testing for himself and his team. His diligent testing enabled him to immediately respond by quarantining, thus mitigating the spread of the virus.”
The statement adds that Chappelle is quarantining and asymptomatic. TMZ first reported the news.
A Covid-19 peak? Variants muddy forecasts for coming months
Hospitalizations for Covid-19 in the United States are falling after having hit record levels this month — a welcome sign that the winter surge may finally be leveling off. But as new, potentially more contagious variants of the virus circulate, coronavirus modelers warn that the U.S. is by no means out of the woods yet.
The emergence of new variants isn’t altogether surprising, but experts say that without a better understanding of how these strains affect things like transmissibility and the effectiveness of existing vaccines, it’s difficult to know how the pandemic may play out.
“There’s so much up in the air, and the new variants have thrown a huge monkey wrench into our ability to model things,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, a professor of medicine and director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “All of those things make the crystal ball very cloudy.”
Biden to sign two executive orders on Covid economic relief, worker protections
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans to sign two executive orders Friday to address the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic, including expanding food stamps and beginning the process to require that everyone working for the federal government get a minimum wage of $15 an hour.
National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said the orders, which add to a slew Biden has already approved, are “not a substitute” for the massive $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill that Biden hopes Congress will pass, but rather a “critical lifeline” for millions of Americans who need assistance now.
“The American people can’t afford to wait. So many are hanging on by a thread,” he said.
As national death toll tops 50,000, Germany vows to vaccinate entire population by summer
Germany passed 50,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Friday, according to the country’s disease control center.
Despite infection beginning to decline in the country of 83 million people, 859 deaths in the last 24 hours were reported by the Robert…