Month: May 2021

Categories
Politics

FBI opens civil rights probe into police taking pictures

FBI opens civil rights probe into police shooting

Protesters march the evening after family members were shown body camera footage of an assistant sheriff who shot and killed black suspect Andrew Brown Jr. on April 26, 2021 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Jonathan Drake | Reuters

The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed Tuesday that it will investigate the murder of Andrew Brown Jr., a black man who died after police shot him while being arrested in North Carolina last week.

The announcement comes a day after Brown’s family lawyers, who were shown a 20-second video of his arrest, said the 42-year-old was shot in the back of the head while his hands were on the wheel.

According to an autopsy performed at his family’s request, Brown was shot a total of five times, including four times in the right arm.

Brown was killed by Elizabeth City Sheriff’s MPs while trying to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants. Seven of the MPs involved in the arrest have been given paid leave, the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office said.

“The FBI Charlotte Field Office has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the police death of Andrew Brown Jr.,” an FBI spokesman said. “The agents will work closely with the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to determine if federal law has been violated.”

The spokesman declined to comment further, saying the investigation was still ongoing.

Brown was killed Wednesday, the day after a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd.

Floyd’s death in custody reinvigorated the movement against police brutality against blacks. The Justice Department is conducting a civil rights investigation into Floyd’s murder, in addition to a sample or exercise investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Wednesday an investigation into the pattern or practice. On Monday, Garland said the DOJ would conduct a similar investigation by the Louisville Metro Police Department in Kentucky, which was criticized for the death of Breonna Taylor. Taylor was killed in her apartment last year after police entered with an arrest warrant and fired 32 bullets.

Attorneys for Brown’s family have condemned his murder and called for more footage to be released. Authorities have stated that they have asked a judge to allow the video to be published.

Based on what they’ve seen, Brown’s family has said that the police seem lacking a justification for using lethal force.

“There was no time in the 20 seconds we saw him threaten officers in any way,” Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, a lawyer, told a press conference after watching the video, Associated Press reported.

Khalil Ferebee, Brown’s son, told reporters after watching the video that his father was “executed” while trying to save his own life.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten has asked for patience while the investigation continues.

“This tragic incident was quick and over in less than 30 seconds, and body cameras are shaky and sometimes difficult to read,” Wooten said Monday, according to NBC News.

It’s not clear how long the FBI’s investigation into Brown’s death will continue. William Barr, the attorney general under former President Donald Trump, announced the civil rights investigation into Floyd’s assassination in May 2020. Garland said the investigation was still ongoing last week but did not provide any further updates.

The civil rights investigation into Brown and Floyd’s murders will investigate whether federal law was violated during these particular arrests. In contrast, sample or practice examinations examine whether police authorities routinely violate civil rights laws.

Under Trump, sample or exercise exams have been largely curtailed, although Garland has shown some willingness to revise them.

While the Congressional Research Service found that the Justice Department has opened three such investigations per year in the past, Garland opened two this month. The research service found that around a third of sample or practical studies lead to significant reforms.

In addition to the FBI investigation, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is also investigating Brown’s murder.

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Categories
World News

Eire’s banking panorama is present process drastic change

Ireland's banking landscape is undergoing drastic change

A woman walks past the Bank of Ireland ATMs in Dublin city center.

NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty Images

DUBLIN – The look of Irish banking has changed dramatically.

Within a few weeks, NatWest-owned Ulster Bank announced it would cease operations, while KBC Ireland opened talks to sell its loan book and exit.

The moves could eventually result in only three banks in the Irish market – the two main players, the Bank of Ireland and AIB and the permanent TSB – ringing alarm bells about the state of banking competition in the country.

Meanwhile, fintech (financial technology), which is well-positioned with venture capital financings like Revolut and N26, has gained momentum in the market. Revolut has around 1.3 million users in Ireland while N26 has around 200,000 users.

Adrienne Gormley, Chief Operating Officer of the German N26, which is itself a fully regulated bank, is aware of the drastically changed market.

“Number one, we see it as an opportunity. While the Ulster Bank news was probably on the agenda for some time, the KBC announcement surprised people,” she told CNBC.

It may offer opportunities, but it also begs the question of what challenges and problems are so prevalent in the Irish market that two big banks would wash their hands and leave.

“While we are assessing what is happening and why others are leaving, we still need to look at our customers with very clear eyes and focus on customer needs in the market. Of course we need to look well and see why others are leaving? Is it because they have to hold too much capital? “

The emergence and popularity of digital banking have been instrumental in changing this landscape. Earlier this year, the Bank of Ireland announced plans to close 103 branches in the country. CEO Francesca McDonagh said the move to online services was a key driver of this decision.

Digital banking and the arrival of fintech competitors have changed the dynamics of the Irish banking market, but serious questions remain about the state of competition and what this means for consumers.

Banks in sync

Fintech operators or neo-banks have taken the baton for instant payments, leaving many of the incumbents behind to regain market share.

A consortium of Irish banks – at least AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB and KBC – are trying to win back some of this customer base with their own app.

The app, tentatively titled Synch, enables instant payments between accounts at any bank.

The banks involved were excited about the project, but Michael Dowling, a professor of finance at Dublin City University, told CNBC that the prospect raises some warnings about the competition.

According to Dowling, the Synch app looks like a closed shop where the banks want to “set up a system in which they can essentially exclude others from this payment network”.

He added that mechanisms such as SEPA Instant are already in place for banks in Europe to make instant payments.

The banks’ synchronization proposal is currently with the Irish Watchdog, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. An initial submission by the banks was rejected by the supervisory authority due to missing details. A second registration took place shortly afterwards.

The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland, an industry group that coordinates synchronization efforts with banks, declined to comment, citing the CCPC process.

Future of competition

Instant payments may be one thing that has cornered fintech companies, but question marks still hover over the future of long-term loans and mortgages in the country.

N26 is committed to lending in other markets but has not brought these services to Ireland.

“We are a fully licensed bank so it is obviously interesting for us to understand what suite of products in this area could work in the Irish market,” said Gormley.

“Given the news from Ulster Bank and KBC and the very dramatic shift in Irish banking, we obviously need to consider how and what we would offer to the Irish market.”

Dowling said the outlook for competition in the Irish banking sector is bleak amid the dwindling number of banks – but Starling Bank, another relative newcomer to the fintech scene, has long promised to enter the market and is aiming for its banking license the Central Bank to Bank of Ireland.

“I don’t think there’s a real possibility that another bank is popping up right now,” Dowling said, adding that other European banks are unlikely to be drawn to the market.

He added that regulation was needed to prevent monopoly behavior by the remaining banks.

“It’s this longer-term borrowing that we’re getting stuck with, there is no competition. There are three banks and it really is. This is where regulation needs to be put in place and we need to think creatively about how to fix this,” he said .

“This is the change we need because there won’t be an outside savior. Maybe some of the fintech firms will develop in due course, but we really need forced competition.”

Categories
Business

Indonesia’s Gojek needs all autos on its app to be electrical by 2030

Indonesia's Gojek wants all vehicles on its app to be electric by 2030

Indonesian ride hail app Gojek has announced plans to turn every car and motorcycle on its platform into an electric vehicle (EV) by 2030 in an ambitious tripartite sustainability strategy.

The company, dubbed the “Three Zeros” agenda, aims to achieve zero emissions, zero waste and no socio-economic barriers by the end of the decade, co-founder and co-CEO Kevin Aluwi told CNBC.

The 11-year-old company will invest in a number of EV pilot programs in Southeast Asia and introduce a “world’s first” in-app carbon offsetting feature. However, Aluwi said the plans would also require outside assistance.

“We will definitely use our money where our mouth is,” said Aluwi. “But it goes without saying that it is impossible for us to do this alone,” he continued, emphasizing the need for public and private collaboration to build the supporting infrastructure.

We will definitely put our money where our mouth is. But it goes without saying that it is impossible for us to drive this alone.

Kevin Aluwi

Co-founder and Co-CEO, Gojek

Gojek has already seen great interest from battery manufacturers, nickel suppliers and Indonesian authorities interested in supporting the transition to green energy in the world’s fourth largest country and the surrounding region, said Aluwi.

“Indonesia is one of the largest motorcycle haulage countries so there is a lot of interest from all types of parties and we see ourselves primarily as a facilitator to make this happen.”

The company also announced a number of social mobility initiatives, including the establishment of an employee-led council to advance corporate diversity, equality and inclusion programs and support the digitization of micro and small businesses. It also promised to only attend gender-specific panels for lecture events.

Aluwi said the plans would help Gojek remove some of the barriers to inclusivity that exist both within the company and in Indonesia as a whole.

“We’re very, very far from where we need to be if I can be brutally honest with ourselves. But I think our commitments are the first step in correcting that,” he said. “Indonesia is a very diverse and complex country when it comes to these issues.”

An Indonesian driver from the Gojek hail service and his passenger commute in Jakarta on March 5, 2021.

NurPhoto | Getty Images

The plans were announced on Friday in the company’s first sustainability report, which outlines the company’s environmental, social and government goals (ESG). The goals are to be announced and reviewed annually.

“It’s no longer about whether companies should report their sustainability impact,” said Allinettes Adigue, head of ASEAN at the Global Reporting Initiative, which benchmarks corporate and government ESG commitments, in the report’s press release .

“The issue now is whether the reports reported by companies are accurate, relevant and clearly communicate their economic, environmental and social impact,” he added.

The announcement follows news that Gojek will merge with Indonesian e-commerce company Tokopedia to form the multifunctional GoTo app.

An IPO is definitely an area, an activity, a milestone that we know is on the agenda at some point.

Kevin Aluwi

Co-founder and Co-CEO, Gojek

Under the combined company, the country’s two most valuable startups will reportedly aim for a valuation of up to $ 40 billion if they compete in the public markets against Southeast Asian hail giant Grab.

“An IPO is definitely an area, an activity, a milestone that we know will be on the agenda at some point,” said Aluwi, although it would not be limited in time.

Last month, SoftBank-Backed Grab announced that through a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp. will go public. The company is valued at $ 39.6 billion – the largest blank check merger to date.

Categories
Health

Covid vaccine is steady at refrigerated temps for three months

Covid vaccine is stable at refrigerated temps for 3 months

Boxes of vials containing the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine will be stored at the Kedren Community Health Center in Los Angeles, California on January 25, 2021.

Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Moderna said Thursday that its Covid-19 vaccine can remain stable for three months at temperatures in refrigerators, citing new data.

The mRNA vaccine may be stored in the refrigerator between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 30 days and up to seven months at minus 4 Fahrenheit.

However, Moderna said it had data that could support a three-month refrigerator shelf life for the vaccine.

If the new storage temperature is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it could “make it easier to distribute to doctor’s offices and other smaller facilities,” the company said.

It also said it is working on new formulations of its vaccine that could extend the refrigerated shelf life of the shots even further.

Moderna’s Covid vaccine is one of three vaccines approved in the United States. Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine can be stored in refrigerated temperatures for up to five days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored in a normal refrigerator for up to three months.

For officials, J & J’s approval of the shot has been a boon as it can be used in hard-to-reach places where reliable cooling may not be available, such as in the city. B. in tribal areas, in poorer areas as well as in rural and border communities.

Moderna’s update comes weeks after the FDA announced that it approved the company to expedite the delivery of its Covid vaccine by filling a single vial with up to 15 doses. It was previously allowed for 10 doses, enough to vaccinate five people as the vaccine requires two shots a month apart.

Separately, the company announced on Thursday that it was increasing its minimum target for Covid vaccine production for 2021 from 700 million to 800 million doses.

Categories
Entertainment

Maskless and Sweaty: Clubbing Returns to Britain for a Weekend

Maskless and Sweaty: Clubbing Returns to Britain for a Weekend

On April 29, French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped to lift most of the country’s restrictions on June 30, but nightclubs would remain closed.

Many DJs wanted the clubs to reopen as soon as possible, and not just because of their work. Clubbing wasn’t just about music, said Marea Stamper, a DJ better known as Blessed Madonna, after playing a set at the Liverpool event. “We come to raves to dance, drink, fall in love, meet our friends,” she said. Nightclubs create communities, she added, “and cutting that off is horrible.”

“It’s not just a party,” she added. “It’s never just a party.”

This sense of community was evident in Liverpool at 7:30 p.m. when Yousef Zahar, DJ and co-owner of Circus, the organizer of the event, took the stage. For his first track, he put on an emotional house tune called “When We Were Free” that he played in the middle of Britain’s third lockdown last year.

It seemed like an odd choice for an event celebrating the club’s return, but as it came to an end he began to rehearse a rehearsal of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to play “I Have a Dream”. “Finally free, finally free; Thank God Almighty, we are finally free, ”said Dr. King and his voice boomed through the warehouse.

Then, as green lights flashed over the crowd, Zahar dropped Ultra Naté’s “Free,” a 90s dance hit. As soon as it reached its euphoric chorus – “You are free to do what you want” – confetti cannons went off and sprayed paper all over the crowd, and the ravers began to sing along. For the rest of the night they would follow the advice of the song.

Categories
Business

Sotheby’s and Phillips Announce Departures and Arrivals

Sotheby’s and Phillips Announce Departures and Arrivals

On Wednesday, two of the three major auction houses announced changes to the composition of their leadership teams.

Phillips announced that Stephen Brooks would become the company’s next chief executive as its former director, Edward Dolman, took on a new role as chairman of the board. Separately, Sotheby’s said the visual arts director Amy Cappellazzo would leave the company after more than five years to lead it to billionaire clients and big sales. Her duties will be split between three different employees when she leaves the auction house this summer.

Changes in the upper echelons of the auction world show how companies are trying to reposition themselves for growth during the pandemic, said Natasha Degen, chair of art market studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

“This is a moment when in-store sales have plummeted,” said Degen, citing the 26 percent decline in global auction sales last year. “So auction houses spun online quickly. They really got into new categories like NFTs, sneakers, and streetwear. There is also more cooperation between auction houses and luxury brands. “

Recognition…about Phillips

Earlier this week, Phillips launched a new advisory service designed to help clients find artwork in the primary market, which consists of galleries and artist studios. The initiative showed how auction houses have taken the year to diversify their offerings and penetrate areas of business that were once tightly controlled by art galleries.

“Our ambition is considerable,” said Brooks, who views the advisory service as part of a larger plan to accelerate growth for the auction house. Brooks, 56, and a key board member of Christie’s and its senior management for over 11 years, also plans to expand Phillips’ presence in Asia and the 20th century art market. He added that he would like the company to double the size of its overall business over the next five years.

At Sotheby’s, change means a triumvirate of new positions. Brooke Lampley will oversee auctions and private sales for categories such as old masters and contemporary art. Mari-Claudia Jiménez will lead the company’s global business development activities. and Gregoire Billault is promoted to Chair of Contemporary Art.

“We are trying to position ourselves for the future,” said Charles F. Stewart, Managing Director of Sotheby’s, recognizing the role that Cappellazzo played in increasing sales. “We are in a phase of adjustment, adjustment and transformation.”

Cappellazzo first became known in the 1990s as director of the Rubell Collection in Miami. She later helped set up Art Basel Miami Beach. She started working at Christie’s in 2001 until starting her own consultancy Art Agency, Partners in 2014. Two years later, Sotheby’s acquired the company for $ 85 million and signed a five-year deal that ended in January.

Her tenure at Sotheby’s helped cement her reputation as the rainmaker in the industry. In 2016, she organized an auction of musician David Bowie’s artwork, and a year later oversaw the sale of a $ 110.5 million Basquiat painting. Earlier this year, she also helped secure philanthropist Anne Marion’s $ 150 million collection, which will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s this spring.

“They kind of know when the time is right to leave,” Cappellazzo said in an interview, declining to talk about her next business other than saying it wouldn’t be in direct competition with Sotheby’s. “The real story is what I do next, but first I want this chapter to end.”

Categories
Politics

How the A.T.F., Key to Biden’s Gun Plan, Turned an N.R.A. ‘Whipping Boy’

How the A.T.F., Key to Biden’s Gun Plan, Became an N.R.A. ‘Whipping Boy’

The mere presence of a permanent leader like Mr Chipman has the potential to be transformative, former agency officials said.

“I’ve never been the president’s man, and being the president’s person means people are less likely to push back against you,” said Mr. Brandon, the former interim director. “It gives you a lot more road credit.”

Mr. Chipman served as a special agent during a 22-year ATF career that ended in 2010, first in the hectic Detroit office, then in stations on the Interstate 95 corridor, the country’s largest illegal firearms canal, and in the headquarters of the office. There, he told The Trace website, he observed “the disastrous drawbacks of the gun lobby’s efforts to prevent the ATF from modernizing”.

Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona Congressman who became a gun control activist after being seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, pushed for Mr. Chipman’s hiring along with other gun security groups in mid-November, shortly after Biden was elected, according to several people with knowledge the situation.

But for weeks after the inauguration, the White House and its Senate allies paused, in part to save gun-friendly Democrats like West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin III from a tough vote as they focused on the pandemic and spending.

The shootings that killed 18 people in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado in mid-March changed that.

Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Giffords wrote to Mr. Biden asking him to meet with her to discuss Mr. Chipman. By this point, Mr. Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain had thrown his support behind Mr. Chipman, and Mr. Biden later said to Ms. Giffords that he was ready to fight for the nomination, according to an administrative officer with knowledge of the exchange.

Almost immediately, the NRA announced plans to spend $ 2 million to defeat Mr. Chipman and cut a complaint against Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine.

Categories
Health

Get pleasure from an On-line Live performance – The New York Occasions

Enjoy an Online Concert - The New York Times

As many cities across the country open up, the state of entertainment remains divided. Socially distant indoor shows have returned to live music venues like the City Winery in New York and the Nutty Brown Amphitheater in Austin, while NY PopsUp has a range of indoor and outdoor performances in locations across New York state that lead to the reopening of Broadway. (As part of the deal, Nathan Lane and Savion Glover were the first artists to grace a Broadway stage since last March, while Amy Schumer, Chris Rock and Hugh Jackman are slated for future events.)

But until vaccination numbers rise, livestream shows will continue. And as the traditional concert season approaches, the scope increases. For example, the Glastonbury Festival (which won’t happen in person until 2022) is hosting a concert with usual high profile performers. But while there might be signs of recovery in the air in some places, Covid stays very much on your mind. Selena Gomez will host a Global Citizen concert to promote vaccination while famous indie artists come together to honor songwriter Adam Schlesinger, who died of Covid-19 in 2020. Cross-continental shows.

“Adam Schlesinger: A Musical Celebration”

The music, film and TV community mourned Adam Schlesinger, founding member of Fountains of Wayne and Emmy and Grammy winner, who wrote songs for films like “Shallow Hal” and “That Thing You Do!”. Artists such as Courtney Love, Sean Ono Lennon, Michelle Branch and Micky Dolenz will perform his songs at a memorial concert that will benefit MusiCares, the non-profit organization for musicians in need, and the venue Bowery Electric. May 5, 8 p.m. EST, tickets are $ 20; RollingLivestudios.com/pages/box-office

Van Morrison

The day after the release of his latest album “Latest Record Project: Number 1”, the Northern Irish artist will perform songs from it as well as some of the most famous hits in his first virtual concert. Morrison has made waves in the past few months with his anti-lockdown stance that included a threat to sue the Northern Irish Department of Health and recently released three songs dealing with the shutdown, including “No More Lockdown.” None of the three will appear on the new album. May 8, 3 p.m. EST, tickets start at $ 14.99; nugs.net

Categories
Business

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, to launch Mambacita clothes line

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's widow, to launch Mambacita clothing line

Just weeks after announcing that Kobe Bryant’s estate had parted ways with Nike, the late NBA star’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, announced the launch of her Mambacita clothing line on Friday.

Bryant said on her Instagram account that she will post the collection on May 1, the 15th birthday of Gianna or “Gigi”, Kobe and Vanessa’s daughter, who died with Kobe in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.

Bryant said 100% of the proceeds will go to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, the nonprofit created in memory of Kobe and Gigi to help underserved youth in sports.

Gigi’s nickname was Mambacita.

It’s unclear if this is the start of a bigger launch, but Bryant said unisex and kid sizes will be available. The website on which the collection was offered was down on Friday afternoon and said “internal error”.

According to Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Intellectual Property, the Kobe Bryant property has filed more than a dozen trademark applications since May 2020. “Last year, Vanessa Bryant filed trademark filings on behalf of Kobe through a corporate entity indicating a desire to build a brand around the legacy of Kobe and Gianna,” he said.

Gerben said three trademarks are used in the images she posted, which include the word Mambacita, the M logo and the 2-heart logo. “Because of the trademark filing activity … I would also expect more products to hit the market soon,” he said.

Ultimately, creating a clothing and footwear brand without a large corporate partner will be challenging. This is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, but there are challenges on the corporate side that make partnering with an established company still a strong opportunity “Said Gerben.

Vanessa Bryant and Nike were at odds, according to sources. She was dissatisfied with the unavailability of its products, a strategy shoe companies often use to drive demand. On April 20, Bryant told fans that despite leaving Nike, she would hope that Kobe’s fans can wear his products for years to come.

“I will continue to fight for it,” she said in the post. “Kobe’s products sell out in seconds. That says it all.”

Categories
World News

The virus is surging in Alaska’s inside, straining a Fairbanks hospital.

The virus is surging in Alaska’s interior, straining a Fairbanks hospital.

Dr. Angelique Ramirez, the chief medical officer of the main health system in Fairbanks, Alaska, began the monthly coronavirus briefing in April by saying that the March meeting would be the last. But amid a new spate of cases in the state, one of the worst waves in the country, Dr. Ramirez openly about her earlier assessment.

“I was wrong,” she said.

With nearly 100,000 residents, the Fairbanks metropolitan area is Alaska’s second largest and largest inland. According to a New York Times database, the number of new coronavirus cases that Fairbanks is based in is North Star is up 253 percent in the past two weeks. The positivity rate has doubled from 5 percent to about 10 percent since March, and hospitalizations at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, the region’s only hospital, have reached a record high.

“This place is on fire with Covid,” said Dr. Barb Creighton, an internist at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, at the meeting.

Experts aren’t sure what’s driving the surge, although low vaccination rates certainly play a role. Thirty-six percent of Alaskans are fully vaccinated, and in some counties that number is over 50 percent, but in the Fairbanks area only 29 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

“There isn’t a big outbreak or two big outbreaks that really drive this,” said Dr. Joe McLaughlin, the state epidemiologist for Alaska. “We have cases and clusters that are associated with a variety of different attitudes.”

With two-thirds of the elderly population in Fairbanks receiving at least one dose of vaccine, those recently hospitalized in Fairbanks are younger than Covid patients in the winter when the number of cases peaked. Dr. Creighton said that people who were hospitalized in April were typically in their forties and fifties and hadn’t been vaccinated while waiting to see what side effects of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine could have.

“We see that they are staying longer because they are not dying,” said Dr. Creighton. “We give them non-invasive ventilation and they stay two or three weeks and turn around, something I’ve never been so proud of.”

While these elderly patients were largely grateful to have been cared for during the Winter Summit, hospital patients now feel differently.

“Some of these people are people who are anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, and they don’t think they have Covid or are sick because of it, and our staff get pretty angry,” said Shelley Ebenal, executive director of The Health System, Foundation Health Partners said, pleading with the system’s trustees to share their appreciation for the hospital staff.

She warned bleakly: “We are not outside of Covid, and our employees in particular are not outside of Covid. Our morale is really low. “