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Los Angeles to Require Masks at Massive Out of doors Concert events and Occasions

Los Angeles to Require Masks at Large Outdoor Concerts and Events

With coronavirus cases continuing to surge, Los Angeles County said Tuesday that masks must be worn at large outdoor concerts and sporting events that attract more than 10,000 people.

The new rule, which comes into effect Thursday at 11:59 p.m., means that visitors to the Hollywood Bowl, Dodger Stadium, outdoor music festivals and events designated by the county as “mega-events” must now wear masks. The rule applies to people regardless of their vaccination status.

People are allowed to take off their masks while eating and drinking, but only for a short time.

The order came as cities across the country took steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Chicago joined Los Angeles County, Washington, DC, San Francisco, and other areas to require masks in indoor public spaces. New York City Requires Proof of Vaccination for Indoor Dining and Entertainment Activities; Broadway will require proof of vaccination and masks when it reopens.

The new rules requiring masks at major outdoor events in Los Angeles came when the county reported that cases, hospitalizations, and positivity rates have all increased significantly. According to data collected by the New York Times, Los Angeles County is seeing an average of 3,361 new cases per day, an 18 percent increase from the average two weeks ago.

Los Angeles County has been aggressive in introducing masking requirements amid evidence that the Delta variant of the virus has spread. In the past month, people were forced to wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of their vaccination status.

Covid guidelines at the Hollywood Bowl have changed repeatedly over the year as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which runs the Bowl, tried to adhere to the county’s changing regulations. It has drawn large crowds for the past six weeks. With a few exceptions, the people in the audience were maskless, as allowed by the district rules. But they tend to put on their masks when they join the hustle and bustle of people walking down the crowded sidewalks after the show.

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World News

9/11 households, survivors ask Biden to not attend memorial occasions over Saudi docs

9/11 families, survivors ask Biden not to attend memorial events over Saudi docs

Nearly 1,800 9/11 survivors, victims’ family members and first responders are telling President Joe Biden that he should skip memorial events this year unless he declassifies U.S. documents detailing Saudi Arabia’s role in the deadly attacks. 

Next month will mark 20 years since the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans at the World Trade Center in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

The group argued that Biden has failed to fulfill his campaign promise to release as much information as possible on the attacks and has ignored their numerous letters and requests that called on him to do so. 

“Twenty years later, there is simply no reason — unmerited claims of ‘national security’ or otherwise — to keep this information secret,” the group said in their statement. 

“But if President Biden reneges on his commitment and sides with the Saudi government, we would be compelled to publicly stand in objection to any participation by his administration in any memorial ceremony of 9/11,” the group said.

A White House spokesperson said in a statement that its Office of Public Engagement and National Security Council staff have met with 9/11 victims’ family members to discuss their requests for documents and “hear their thoughts on policy priorities,” NBC News reported Friday.

In his campaign promise, Biden pledged to direct his Department of Justice to examine cases where the disclosure of FBI information related to the 9/11 attacks is recommended. He said that releasing such information would be “narrowly tailored” to protect against the risk of harm to national security. 

“I intend to be a President for all Americans, and will hear all of their voices,” Biden said. “The 9/11 Families are right to seek full truth and accountability.”

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The group said they had “great hopes” that Biden would diverge from previous administrations and said they were disappointed that he did not live up to his words after his inauguration.

They said that since the 9/11 Commission investigation concluded, in 2004, there has been investigative evidence found “implicating Saudi government officials” in supporting the attacks. 

The 9/11 Commission found it likely that Saudi government-funded charities supported the attacks but did not find any evidence of direct funding from the government, according to NBC News. 

The group particularly called for the release of FBI documents from a 2016 investigation of Saudi Arabia. They said they believe the documents would reveal whether any individuals associated with al Qaeda, the group that carried out the terrorist attacks, received assistance or financing from the Saudi Arabian government. 

Fifteen of the 19 attackers in the 9/11 attacks were Saudi citizens, and mastermind Osama Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia, but the country’s government has denied allegations that it was involved.

Multiple presidential administrations have cited “security concerns” in their reasoning for withholding documents related to the terrorist attacks, the group’s statement said. 

Most recently, the Trump administration invoked the state secrets privilege in 2019 to justify keeping documents classified, according to NBC News.

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Entertainment

Juneteenth: 7 Occasions for Celebrating the Vacation in New York

Juneteenth: 7 Events for Celebrating the Holiday in New York

As New York reopens, its cultural rhythms are creeping back in, with museums and music venues filling up and outdoor concerts popping up in parks. The city is emerging just in time for Juneteenth on Saturday.

The holiday — a portmanteau of “June” and “nineteenth” — began on June 19, 1865. Almost two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, union troops arrived in Galveston, Tex., to notify enslaved African Americans there that the Civil War had ended — and that they were free.

On Thursday, President Biden signed legislation that made Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, a federal holiday. This will no doubt please Opal Lee — the 94-year-old Texan activist known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth.”

“So, the 4th of July? Slaves weren’t free. You know that, don’t you?” Lee told The New York Times last year. “I suggest that if we’re going to do some celebrating of freedom, that we have our festival, our educational components, our music, from June the 19th — Juneteenth — to the 4th of July. Now that would be celebrating freedom.”

Here’s a selection of events — both in-person and virtual — for New Yorkers to celebrate that freedom this year.

The hip-hop musician Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson directed the documentary “Summer of Soul (… Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” which releases in theaters on July 2. Part music film, part historical record, the film captures the previously untold story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which took place in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). Stars like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Sly and the Family Stone performed in the six-week festival celebrating Black history, culture and fashion. Thanks to a presentation by SummerStage, New Yorkers can see the award-winning film in the park where much of it was filmed on Saturday at 5 p.m. Free tickets are required for entry.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater emerged in 1958, when its founder, Alvin Ailey, recognized the power of dance as a tool for social change. Ailey described African-American cultural heritage as “sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful,” viewing it as one of America’s richest treasures. On Saturday, 12-1:15 p.m., the choreographer Maguette Camara will host a free, virtual dance class featuring live drumming, teaching the basics of traditional West African dance and rhythms.

It’s not a performance. It’s a service. The composer, director and actor Troy Anthony made sure to clarify the difference for “The Revival: It Is Our Duty,” his commission for the Shed in Manhattan. “Juneteenth is not about Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves. It’s not about Black people finding out that they were free late,” Anthony said. “It’s about the fact that Black people found a path to liberate themselves.” The gospel musical event, includes a community choir and band, is part of The Shed’s “Open Call” series, “The Revival” starts on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are free online.

From MTV star to hip-hop guru to international ambassador, Kevin Powell has seen it all. And he’ll bring that experience to Brower Park in Brooklyn on Saturday, performing an original poetry suite. The rock-jazz-folk band the Soulfolk Experience composed and arranged music to accompany Powell’s performance at 12 p.m. behind the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. The event, presented by the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, is in partnership with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and part of the Friends of Brower Park’s free Juneteenth celebration. Instrument making and other activities will accompany the music, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The event is free.

On the hit Netflix show “High on the Hog,” the food writer Stephen Satterfield traces African American cuisine from Benin to the Deep South. The show is based on a book by the same name by food historian Jessica B. Harris, who will appear at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn on Saturday. The virtual event, “Meals as Collective Memory,” 12:30-4 p.m., explores Black foodways in New York and beyond. The schedule includes learning to make a delicious family dinner at home and a lesson on food deserts; sessions are free online — just be sure to RSVP.

The Bell House in Brooklyn will host its third annual “Emancipation After Party” on Saturday at 6 p.m. — a stacked deck of music and comedy. Hosted by Chinisha S., a self-proclaimed “certified Prince super-fan, nerd/geek-girl, and cheerful nihilist,” the lineup includes DJ Monday Blue; the sketch-comedy team To Karen, With Love; and the comedians Alex English, Aminah Imani, Dave Lester and Jatty Robinson ($18.65 for tickets). Stick around for the after-after party: Brandon Collins and Gordon Baker-Bone will host a Juneteenth edition of their interactive show, “Black Drunk History,” also at the Bell House ($20 for advance tickets).

Come for the jerk chicken and waffles food truck. Stay for the Black beauty bazaar. “Juneteenth in Queens” was planned by Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman, who also sponsored the legislation that made Juneteenth a state holiday in New York. The festival, which includes a virtual panel series this week, culminates with an in-person event on Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., in Roy Wilkins Park in Queens. Start your day with yoga for Black liberation, check out the Black art party and try an African dance master class in the afternoon. Register for the event and activities on Eventbrite.