Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has lost his bid to have the Illinois Supreme Court to throw out the new charges against him and to remove the special prosecutor that filed themMarch 7, 2020, 12:40 AM2 min readCHICAGO —
The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday refused to throw out charges against former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett that accuse him of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself and rejected his effort to remove the special prosecutor in the case.
Smollett’s lawyers argued in an emergency petition that Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin overstepped his authority and misinterpreted the law when he ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor. The court did not explain its decision to reject the arguments by Smollett’s lawyers.
Smollett. 37, was initially accused by Cook County prosecutors of falsely reporting to police that the alleged phony attack was real. Sixteen counts of disorderly conduct originally filed against him were dismissed and Toomin found Smollett’s first prosecution was invalid.
After another investigation by special prosecutor Dan Webb, six counts of the same charges we filed against Smollett, to which he pleaded not guilty last week.
Smollett, who is black and gay, told police that two masked men attacked him as he was walking home in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2019. He said they made racist and homophobic insults, beat him and looped a noose around his neck before fleeing, and that at least one of his attackers was a white man who told him he was in “MAGA country,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Weeks later, police alleged Smollett paid two black friends to help stage the attack because he was unhappy with his salary as an actor on “Empire,” a Fox series filmed in Chicago that follows a black family as they navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.
The friends, brothers Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo, would be the state’s star witnesses if Smollett’s case makes it to trial. The brothers are bodybuilders and aspiring actors whom Smollett knew from the “Empire” set and the gym.
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The Spaniard revealed he sought out his former boss before taking the role in London
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta says he spoke to West Ham boss David Moyes on several occasions before he accepted the role at the Emirates.
Arteta spent seven years as a player at Everton under Moyes and believes his former boss is changing with the times during his second stint at West Ham.
Ahead of the Gunners’ clash against the Hammers on Saturday, Arteta also revealed the conversations he had with Moyes prior to becoming Arsenal’s leader.
Editors’ Picks
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- ‘Nobody knows him, how can he give orders to Messi?’ – Setien’s raging assistant Sarabia under the spotlight
- Arsenal eye £17.5m Jonathan David as potential Aubameyang replacement
- Man Utd still searching for Rooney replacement
“From what I know about David, and the people he has around him, he is always trying to evolve, always trying to get the latest thing to his players and his club,” Arteta said.
“And he is not someone who sits down and says: ‘I used to do things like this 20 years ago and I am still going to do things like this’.
“I really enjoyed playing for him. I spoke with him a few times before I took the job. He’s always been very supportive.”
Despite a win against Southampton last weekend, West Ham only sit outside the relegation zone on goal difference as they gear up for a battle against the drop.
Arteta feels Moyes will set his West Ham side up to be physical against the Gunners and believes the Scotsman is creating a quality culture at the club.
“I worked with David for seven years. He will put a team out there that’s physical and organised,” Arteta said.
“The thing I admire most is the person, the values, how well he treats people and deals with creating a culture and a chemistry. He’s extremely demanding.”
Arsenal are currently 10th in the Premier League table, and despite having a game in hand, they are five points behind fifth-placed Manchester United.
Their battle to qualify for European football is looking tough at this stage and Arteta says the team know what missing out will mean.
“When we were in December nobody talked about Champions League. It was an impossible thing. It is not in our hands,” he said.
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“If we don’t reach any European competition we know what the meaning of that is so they don’t need any more pressure.
“They don’t think too much about the Champions League or the Europa League – or the relegation zone when we were talking about that, which is a much worse pressure I believe as well.
“They are dealing with the situation. We try to help them to focus just on what they have to do on that pitch and the rest will come naturally.”
Tottenham must buy players to balance squad amid injury troubles – Mourinho
The Premier League outfit have struggled with injuries this season and the coach hopes they can fix the issue this summer
Jose Mourinho says Tottenham must be active in the transfer market to ensure the squad is capable of dealing with injuries.
The north London outfit have been hindered by fitness issues this season, with star forwards Harry Kane and Son Heung-min still unavailable for selection.
Spurs have lost each of their last four games as they crashed out of the FA Cup and trail RB Leipzig heading into the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie next week.
Editors’ Picks
- Deco’s guidance, Ferguson’s confidence and living in Ronaldo’s house helped Nani reach the top
- ‘Nobody knows him, how can he give orders to Messi?’ – Setien’s raging assistant Sarabia under the spotlight
- Arsenal eye £17.5m Jonathan David as potential Aubameyang replacement
- Man Utd still searching for Rooney replacement
And Mourinho hopes they can address the imbalance in the team by bringing in new players this summer.
“We know that the players are tired, that the players injured, we know that we have to build a squad more balanced for next season because we don’t believe that the same situation is going to happen,” Mourinho told reporters ahead of Saturday’s trip to Turf Moor.
“But in football anything is possible and you have to be ready to cope with these unpredictable things.
“So we know everything. We need to give a different shape to the squad to be ready for these unexpected things that happen to us but we all know that we have to try to win against Burnley and we have to try to win on Tuesday.
“If we don’t then we leave, like we did in the last match against Norwich, we leave, we sleep, in peace, sad, but we sleep in peace and then the next day, [smacks his hands] here we go again.”
The former Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid coach says his previous teams were better suited to dealing with such issues due to the depth of the squads, but he does not have that luxury at Spurs.
“But a Jose statistic is also based on when you change players you change and you improve your team,” he continued. “Do you want an example? Arjen Robben on the bench. And [Damien] Duff and Joe Cole playing. Or vice-versa. Minute 70 and one goes out, the other one goes in.
“You know what the defenders of the opposition they do? [Bows head] ‘oh [he swears] It’s exactly that. It’s [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Karim] Benzema and [Angel] Di Maria and then minute 70 you bring [Gonzalo] Higuain, [Jose] Callejon, you know?
“We have the squad for that. Imagine my team playing – Lucas [Moura], Kane and Son. And Lucas and Son, minute 70 they are tired. Let’s go. [Erik] Lamela and [Steven] Bergwijn. We have the squad for that. Midfield players – you are feeling the team is going a little bit down. You feel the players are a little bit in trouble – change one and get another one.
“We have a squad for that. It’s not like I’m saying our squad is not good. The squad is good. In this moment we are in trouble. It’s so simple as that.
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“So we are winning and in the moment we are winning, the moment when you kill the game with fresh players, is the moment when our team is going down.
“So I have an answer for everything. For ethical reasons I cannot say much more. I would love to sit and to speak about football and to try and explain everything that I can explain. But there are things that I cannot say much more than this.
“But, I repeat, when I see my team next season, pre-season: Bergwijn, Lamela, Kane, Son, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Dele, Lucas…[we have the squad].”
The Italian led the Blues to the 2009-10 Premier League title and their current coach expects the Italian to get a warm welcome this weekend.
Frank Lampard lauded Carlo Ancelotti as a “fantastic manager” ahead of Everton’s trip to Chelsea on Sunday, insisting the Italian will be warmly received at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues boss will again come up against a former coach of his, having got the better of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham two weeks ago.
With Chelsea buoyed by their midweek FA Cup win over Liverpool, their bid for a top-four finish in the Premier League continues with the visit of Ancelotti’s side.
Editors’ Picks
- Deco’s guidance, Ferguson’s confidence and living in Ronaldo’s house helped Nani reach the top
- ‘Nobody knows him, how can he give orders to Messi?’ – Setien’s raging assistant Sarabia under the spotlight
- Arsenal eye £17.5m Jonathan David as potential Aubameyang replacement
- Man Utd still searching for Rooney replacement
Asked what sort of reception Ancelotti will get on returning to the club where he won the 2009-10 league and FA Cup double, Lampard said: “A very good one. He is very well respected in-house and by the fans.
“He is a gentleman, a fantastic manager. It was a good season under him.
“He is a great man-manager. On a personal level, he’s great at striking up relationships. He’s good tactically and has a great manner.
“I kept in touch with him now and again.”
Lampard’s injury worries have showed few signs of easing, with the likes of Tammy Abraham, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic, N’Golo Kante and Callum Hudson-Odoi – the latter of whom suffered a fresh setback on his return to training – definitely sidelined.
Willian will be assessed after suffering an Achilles injury against Liverpool, having opened the scoring in that game.
On the setback for Hudson-Odoi, who will undergo a scan on Friday, Lampard said: “It’s tough, he wasn’t rushed back, we had all the signs that he was fit to train. Then he re-injured it on his first training session with us.
“So it’s frustrating for him definitely, a young boy who’s keen to play, as you’d expect, and it’s frustrating because it’s another injury to us.
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“It hasn’t been spoken about that much, but we’ve had probably the worst injury list of certainly the top group of the table I think, lots of numbers injured, important players injured, Kante, Loftus-Cheek etcetera.
“We started the season that way and it’s happened again in the middle of the season, and we’re working against that to try to get the best results.”
Fourth-placed Chelsea, who are three points clear of Manchester United and Wolves, were beaten 3-1 at Goodison Park in December, when Duncan Ferguson was in charge of the Toffees on a temporary basis.
The teenager has been a revelation for the Gunners, and his performances have predictably sparked a conversation about his international future
By no means is Alexandre Lacazette the absolute authority on the pedigree of young players in the Premier League.
However, his glowing praise of youngster Bukayo Saka – he referred to the 18-year-old as the best young player in the English top flight – did not ring hollow at all. While it can be disputed, it is not preposterous.
The winger has shone in his repurposing as a marauding left-back, and has assisted more goals than any other player in the Arsenal squad so far this season. Put simply, while this has been an underwhelming campaign for the Gunners, it could have been so much worse without their new wing wizard.
Editors’ Picks
- Deco’s guidance, Ferguson’s confidence and living in Ronaldo’s house helped Nani reach the top
- ‘Nobody knows him, how can he give orders to Messi?’ – Setien’s raging assistant Sarabia under the spotlight
- Arsenal eye £17.5m Jonathan David as potential Aubameyang replacement
- Man Utd still searching for Rooney replacement
His form, especially with the Euros looming in the summer, has pushed the conversation around his international allegiance to the front burner.
England’s left-back options all have question marks over them: Ben Chilwell has struggled to find his best form since December, the utility of Danny Rose’s move to Newcastle United remains to be seen, Luke Shaw has only just begun to look serviceable as the left-sided centre-back in a back three at Manchester United, and Ashley Young is a little long in the tooth just now.
Tough luck for Nigeria then, who would have been hoping to snag another gem of the British production line undetected. It now appears that, if the Nigeria Football Federation wish to have the West London-born Saka turn out for the Super Eagles, it will come down to a protracted battle.
Herein lies a paradox: the very performances that have made him worth pursuing for Nigeria are also making him less attainable. With each passing game, it will only get more onerous.
So much so, in fact, that it is worth considering: does Nigeria actually need to be involved in this tussle at all?
The first layer of difficulty is the fact that Saka has played for England up to U-19 level, and so would require more than a little paperwork to switch his international allegiance.
This is even presupposing his amenability to the idea; he has been keen to embrace his Nigerian heritage at every opportunity, but that is not to say he would be willing to lay down all the perks that come with being a full England international. It is not a coincidence that, within weeks of committing to the Three Lions, both Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham inked new contracts at Chelsea. As it happens, Saka is presently in contract talks with Arsenal.
However, there is a more fundamental concern: do Nigeria actually need him?
It may seem preposterous to suggest, but there is a case to be made he is not exactly essential, especially in his current guise. There is no denying his profile is attractive – he is unnervingly calm in possession, has courage, and possesses a telling final ball.
That said, the recent comments credited to Arsenal’s head of youth development Marcel Lucassen – he referred to Saka as having “the potential to become one of the best three wing-backs in the world” – revealed the perception and expectation of him at the club. Far from being a short-term fix, his deployment at left-back might very well be permanent.
No disrespect at all to the position – full-backs are of the utmost importance in modern football – but do the Super Eagles have a pressing need in that area?
Consider this: his peculiar deployment within Mikel Arteta’s system at Arsenal liberates him to be a force in the final third, with Granit Xhaka filling in for him further back.
It is not the sort of tactical adaptation that would be made for him at international level for Nigeria, where there’s already a functioning system in place and he would be required to sink or swim—hardly ideal conditions for a teenager.
There is of course the option of simply utilizing him further forward for Nigeria, in a role the player himself has stated a preference for.
This is hardly unusual: in recent times, the likes of Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel have been pressed into service for the national team in roles that were different from those they played at club level.
Both, unsurprisingly, relished their heightened prominence in the final third when in green and white.
The results have been decidedly mixed though, which will come as a surprise to no one. The more time a player spends in one role at club level, the less suited he becomes to another, even while retaining a basic level of competence still.
As such, getting Saka and fielding him further afield would arguably not be the best use of his skillset, especially if he continues on the path to fulfilling Lucassen’s prophecy
While there can be no denying Saka is a marvellous talent either England or Nigeria would be glad to have, it remains unclear at this time just how best that ability can be harnessed on the international stage.
Ahead of a vital Champions League match with Atletico Madrid, the German has admitted that he would like more options in goal
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he is “uncomfortable” with the club’s current goalkeeping position.
Alisson faces around a week on the sidelines that will see him miss at least two fixtures, including the vital Champions League last-16 second-leg clash on Wednesday against Atletico Madrid, a tie in which they trail 1-0 in.
Adrian is likely to keep goal in that encounter, despite an unconvincing FA Cup display against Chelsea on Tuesday, in which he was culpable for Willian’s opener in a 2-0 loss.
Editors’ Picks
- Deco’s guidance, Ferguson’s confidence and living in Ronaldo’s house helped Nani reach the top
- ‘Nobody knows him, how can he give orders to Messi?’ – Setien’s raging assistant Sarabia under the spotlight
- Arsenal eye £17.5m Jonathan David as potential Aubameyang replacement
- Man Utd still searching for Rooney replacement
With the Reds having suffered three defeats in their last four in all competitions, Klopp has confessed that he is not content with his options.
“The goalkeeper situation is not comfortable, of course, but we have Adrian and we have Andy Lonergan,” he said.
“So Caoimhin Kelleher is also injured [but] Adrian has made some super performances for us in the season, so while it’s not good when a player of the quality of Ali is not available it is good we have a replacement.”
Klopp has refused to be too downbeat about his side’s recent run of results but has backed them to turn around their fortunes in Saturday’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth.
“We speak about losing a football game as the worst thing that can happen to a football team,” he said. “That is not why you meet, play and train, but it is still a possible result. That we lost three in three different competitions – we feel that. I cannot ignore or deny we do not feel it. It is there.
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“The reaction is always possible and that is what we have always showed and we should show this time as well. And with all respect to Bournemouth – real respect – this is our game.
“We have to show that. With the situations they have in the game we should not be surprised if they have shots, crosses and set-pieces, but in the most decisive parts of the game we have to be dominant.”
Despite their recent struggles, Liverpool still boast a 22-point lead at the summit of the English top flight with just 10 matches to play. As Manchester City have a game in hand, Klopp’s men must win four more games to secure the title.
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‘People say it’s s***, but I love Iraq’ – Whitecaps defender Adnan fighting to help his homeland
The fullback has been a trailblazer on the field, but hopes to do more while pushing his nation through World Cup qualifiers
For most professional athletes, the offseason is a time to relax and unwind. It’s a time to reflect on the season that just ended and look ahead to the one that lies ahead. For the first time in quite a long time, players are given a much-needed opportunity to rest.
But Vancouver Whitecaps defender Ali Adnan didn’t relax or unwind this winter. Instead, the 26-year-old spent his offseason back in Iraq, working alongside protesters while trying to give a better life to those in his home country.
The Iraqi international’s offseason trip home wasn’t his first. He’s been active in his home country throughout his career, which has taken him through Italy with Udinese and Atalanta as well as Turkey with Caykur Rizespor. Soccer is Adnan’s passion, but his life goal is to help those in a country that he believes is so often overlooked and miscast.
Editors’ Picks
- Deco’s guidance, Ferguson’s confidence and living in Ronaldo’s house helped Nani reach the top
- ‘Nobody knows him, how can he give orders to Messi?’ – Setien’s raging assistant Sarabia under the spotlight
- Arsenal eye £17.5m Jonathan David as potential Aubameyang replacement
- Man Utd still searching for Rooney replacement
“Everyone loves this country, but I feel like I’m a different person,” Adnan told Goal. “If somebody loves his country 90 percent, I love my country 200 percent. Really, I love my country so much. That’s why this means for me a lot. When I see people, they fight for a better life. The people there, they look forward to having a good country, better life, but they don’t have it. We have everything in this country. We have people living without a war, we have people without food problems.
“Now is the moment for everyone to support Iraq, because I think Iraq as a country is very important for everyone in the world. I hope to help my country. After I finished my season here, I can have a vacation, but I didn’t go to vacation. I prefer to go to Iraq. Everyone told me, ‘It’s very dangerous.’ Also, the team here, the staff, they called me, ‘What are you doing there? It’s dangerous.’ I said, ‘No. For me, this is nothing. It’s not dangerous, because I’ve always been with the people and it’s never been a problem for me.’
“People from the outside look at Iraq and they think of it as the country they only see on TV. When you look on the TV, they say, ‘F*** this s*** country’, you know? That’s normal, but when you’re there, and you’re inside, you see the people, how much they love each other, how much they help each other. If you’re coming from a different country and you go there, and if you have no food, you have no money, they gonna give you everything you want and they’ll let you be there for as long as you want. Everything is nice there. I love to help my country. I hope this year, we can have a better life.”
Before his trip to Iraq, Adnan spent 2019 adapting to life in Canada in what was his first season in MLS. He originally joined the Vancouver Whitecaps in March 2019 on loan, and that loan was turned into a permanent move in July.
In total, Adnan started 28 matches in his first season in MLS, although the Whitecaps as a club struggled in a season where the team failed to make the playoffs. For Adnan, it was a season of adjustments, especially when it comes to travel. The Iraqi international, who has 73 caps to his name, says he would sometimes spend 25 to 30 hours travelling back to his home country for national team games. That takes a toll, especially for a player that wasn’t fully sure what to expect from this new league.
“When I [first] came here, let’s be honest, I didn’t feel like MLS was a big enough league for me [since] I was coming from Italy, but after I came here, it was actually a surprise,” Adnan said. “Everything was beautiful here. People, stadiums, fans and the teams here actually have a lot of good players, like big teams here have many [good] players. I found it difficult to play here.
“When I was first coming here, I thought this would be an easy league, but I didn’t know it was gonna be this hard for me. I actually love this league so much now. I felt like there would be a big difference between here and Europe, but when I came here, it really wasn’t that different. The only major difference is the time. It takes more than 10 hours sometimes just to travel. MLS is gonna be one of the best leagues in the world soon.”
Throughout his career, the 26-year-old has already made his mark on Iraqi soccer. He became the first Iraqi player to move to Italy’s Serie A and is the only Iraqi-born player to ply his trade in MLS. He is joined in MLS by one of his Iraqi teammates, though, in Justin Meram, a first-generation American who represents his parents’ homeland on the international stage. And players like Meram are a part of a shift in Iraqi soccer, as the team has welcomed a number of new faces with dual-citizenship in recent years.
The aim? A spot in the 2022 World Cup. Iraq has only been in the competition one time in 1986. As things stand, the Lions of Mesopotamia sit atop their group through five matches with a two-point lead on second-place Bahrain. That is despite FIFA’s decision that Iraq couldn’t host its most recent qualifiers due to unrest in the country, forcing the matches to be played in Jordan instead.
But Adnan believes a trip to Qatar in 2022 is still possible, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make Iraq better in the process, on and off the field.
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“If you look at the players, like we have Justin [Meram], who was born here in America,” he said. “We have two who were born in Sweden. One in England, too many players who were born outside of our country. But I’m gonna tell you something. That’s because they’re the best players. We have awesome players.
“When we play for the national team, in the first meeting, we say, if there’s any new young player, we say, ‘We’re playing for the country.’ No one here plays for himself. No one plays for something different. If you’re like this, you’ll be here for two weeks and after that, you’re not gonna be here anymore.
“The people they understand very well, when you play for your country, nothing is about yourself. The players there, when they come for the national team, they only have one thing on their mind. We just fight to win the game and to make the country happy. That’s it.”
The former Manchester United star is currently impressing during a season long loan with Roma in Serie A
Henrikh Mkhitaryan could still have a future at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal’s head coach says it is a ‘possibility’ that the Armenia international will return and bolster his options in attacking midfield next season following his loan spell in Italy.
Mkhitaryan, who arrived at Arsenal in January 2018 as part of the swap deal that saw Alexis Sanchez move to Manchester United, started the campaign in north London and featured in three of the club’s first four Premier League games.
Editors’ Picks
- Deco’s guidance, Ferguson’s confidence and living in Ronaldo’s house helped Nani reach the top
- ‘Nobody knows him, how can he give orders to Messi?’ – Setien’s raging assistant Sarabia under the spotlight
- Arsenal eye £17.5m Jonathan David as potential Aubameyang replacement
- Man Utd still searching for Rooney replacement
But just 24 hours after coming off the bench during the 2-2 draw with Spurs in August, Arsenal agreed to let the 31-year-old join Roma until the end of the season.
And Mkhitaryan has gone on to be a big success in the Italian capital, scoring six goals and registering three assists in just 17 appearances in all competitions.
Meanwhile Arsenal have struggled for goals and creativity from attacking midfield positions, especially in the central areas where Mesut Ozil and Dani Ceballos have scored just two goals between them this season.
And so Arteta has not ruled out using Mkhitaryan once his spell in Italy has come to an end.
“I always liked him,” said Arsenal’s head coach. “He is the kind of player who can fit in any team when he is at his best, he needs to do it consistently and that’s what we need to assess.
“It’s a possibility that we have and will consider.”
Since leaving Arsenal, Mkhitaryan has openly admitted his disappointment at the way he was treated by the Gunners prior to his move to Roma.
The former Borussia Dortmund star claimed assurances he had been given in the summer about his role in the side had not come to fruition.
“I knew I would be more appreciated by Roma than by Arsenal at the time,” Mkhitaryan told Vivaro News.
“At the beginning of the season they made promises to me, but after two or three weeks everything was different. They treated me differently.”
But Unai Emery was in charge while Mkhitaryan was still at the club and Arteta has shown since he arrived in December that players who had been frozen out by the previous coach, would be given an opportunity to impress under him.
Shkodran Mustafi has benefited from that, while Mesut Ozil has also now regained his place as a near ever present under the 37-year-old.
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And Arteta has now opened the door to Mkhitaryan – who has a contract until 2021 – also being given another chance.
“We monitor all the players we have on loan,” said the Spaniard. “It’s our responsibility.
“Miki is doing really well in recent games. We know the player he’s been, we know his past, and we need to have all the information to make the right decision.”
Lampard believes footballers deserve credit for resisting fan hatred in light of Dier incident
The Blues manager has sympathy with the Spurs midfielder, who opened the debate about abuse of footballers after confronting his own fans
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard feels players deserve more credit for not reacting to hateful comments coming from the crowd after Tottenham’s Eric Dier was involved in an altercation during his side’s FA Cup defeat to Norwich.
The FA and Spurs are investigating after Dier confronted a supporter in the Tottenham Hotspur stadium stands, who was involved in a row with his brother – with the England international likely to face a ban.
Lampard admits he faced similar abuse as a player and thinks that it isn’t easy for players to keep their emotions in check.
Editors’ Picks
- Deco’s guidance, Ferguson’s confidence and living in Ronaldo’s house helped Nani reach the top
- ‘Nobody knows him, how can he give orders to Messi?’ – Setien’s raging assistant Sarabia under the spotlight
- Arsenal eye £17.5m Jonathan David as potential Aubameyang replacement
- Man Utd still searching for Rooney replacement
“I thought it was a pretty natural reaction from Eric Dier, I think you if you asked the man or woman in the street, if one of your family members needed protection, your natural reaction would be to go there,” Lampard told reporters at Cobham Training Centre.
“Because we are in the sport that we are in, I thought Jose Mourinho said it pretty well afterwards, you are not supposed to, not allowed to as such, but when you talk about natural reactions, I understand it, particularly with a family member.
“I didn’t see anything go beyond slightly heated, which is good thing, so we will see how it is dealt with, but I think it should be understood that if Dier saw his brother in a situation, then I understand his thought process.
“I think its what it was, I took some abuse over the years, I have seen teammates take abuse, I know some of my family members and friends that have been in earshot of abuse, so I don’t think it has changed.
“I think players should be given a lot of credit sometimes that they hold themselves in certain moments, I think they could be. We talk about certain types of hate in the game, and we analyse them, and then other types of hate seemingly are ok to say something to you or about your family.
“I have heard all of that and sometimes you don’t pick up on it and its all ok because of the pantomime nature of football. You walk into the stadium, and you don’ live by the same rules you would Iive by in the street.
“I think that has not changes, maybe social media has made it worse around, day to day, minute to minute, off the pitch, some people sit and watch a game at home and spend 89 mins of the 90 tweeting, or posting their thoughts on the game rather than watching it. It is unfortunate.”
Chelsea go into their league match with Everton this weekend following a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup.
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Kepa Arrizabalaga returned to the starting line up after missing the last five matches due to poor form. Lampard admits he has a decision to make in goal after using Willy Caballero in recent weeks.
“Yeah, it’s given me thoughts. He did very well, it’s exactly what I wanted from him and I understand that that’s not easy because everyone looks to the goalkeeper more than an outfield player,” Lampard said.
“All eyes are on and I’ve mentioned in the weeks before that he’s been professional in how he’s handled it when has been out of the team. He came in and did exactly what I want so he’s given me good thinking.”
Tennessee man did not spread coronavirus to other people in his home, health officials say – Tennessean
President Donald Trump: Coronavirus ‘came out of nowhere but we’re are taking care of it.’Correction: This story has been updated to correct a quote of President Donald Trump that was provided incorrectly in a White House pool report.
Several people who have had close contact with the Williamson County man who is the first case of the coronavirus in Tennessee have tested negative for the virus, state officials announced Friday morning.President Donald Trump also briefly spoke about the coronavirus while touring Tennessee tornado damage on Friday.The Tennessee Department of Health said Friday that “household contacts” for the first case of the coronavirus were tested Thursday and cleared. Two other unrelated people were also tested and determined to be negative for the virus, a news release stated.Tennessee still has only one known case of the coronavirus. That case, revealed on Thursday morning, is a 44-year-old Williamson County man who is currently quarantined at home with mild symptoms.Health officials believe the man may have contracted the virus while traveling to Boston in late February. State Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, has said he believed the man attended a conference while traveling out of state.The man, who has not been publicly identified, is the father of a student at Battle Ground Academy, a private school in Franklin, but his child is asymptomatic and being kept out of classes as a precaution, according to a news release from the school. The school closed on Friday and is still assessing if it will reopen on Monday.Expert: Coronavirus response was ‘by the book’Heath officials have credited the infected man with taking key steps to prevent the spread of his own infections.Officials said the man isolated himself when he got sick after returning from Boston, then alerted Williamson Medical Center, where staff in protective gear met him outside the hospital building to collect samples of phlegm and mucus for testing.Ultimately, this caution could make a huge difference in preventing the spread of the virus, said Dr. William Schaffner, a renowned infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt.“This one was by the book: by the patient, by Williamson Medical Center and by the health department,” Schaffner said. “It shows the containment strategy can work. It’s not going to be absolute — there will be other cases and there may be spread — but it can work.”The coronavirus, or COVID-19, is a fast-spreading virus that originated in Wuhan, China, but has since become a worldwide epidemic. As of Friday, the virus had infected about 95,000 people and killed nearly 3,300, according to the World Health Organization.Medical experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have urged the public to take commonplace precautions similar to how they would prevent the spread of flu: Wash your hands, avoid touching your face as much as possible, and stay home if you feel sick.Schaffner, who has said previously the spread of the coronavirus to Tennessee was all but inevitable, said he believed the first case in the state might trigger the public to finally plan for an outbreak. He recommended a “calm discussion around the dinner table” about caring for the elderly and children, especially if schools close for an extended period of time.Schaffner also recommends that those most vulnerable to the coronavirus — the elderly, immunosuppressed and anyone with diabetes or lung or heart disease — begin practicing “social distancing” now. People in this group should avoid crowds, travel, concerts, restaurants and movie theaters, he said.“Think very seriously about minimizing, and nearly eliminating, your contact with groups of people,” Schaffner said. “If you are a religious person, perhaps you should be reverent at home instead of joining the congregation.”Trump: Coronavirus ‘came out of nowhere’The coronavirus bracketed Trump’s visit to Middle Tennessee on Friday.The president signed an $8.3 billion funding bill to fight the coronavirus before flying to the Nashville area midmorning to tour tornado damage, then was scheduled to travel to the CDC in Atlanta to learn more about the virus.“We’re doing very well,” Trump said as he signed the coronavirus spending bill, according to a White House pool report. “But it’s an unforeseen problem. What a problem. Came out of nowhere, but we’re taking care of it.”While touring storm damage in Cookeville, Trump was asked if he was considering deferring taxes for airlines and cruise ship companies in light of the economic impact of the coronavirus. The president said the idea was under consideration, then briefly praised new statistics showing the nation had gained more than 270,000 jobs in February.“We’re looking at different options, different options,” Trump said. “We did get tremendous job numbers this morning … but right now that’s not something we want to be talking about.”PLAZAS: On coronavirus in Tennessee, preparation and prevention, not panic, are essentialCORONAVIRUS PREPAREDNESS: Williamson County, Franklin Special cancel school after coronavirus case confirmedBrett Kelman is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 615-259-8287 or at brett.kelman@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @brettkelman.Read or Share this story: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2020/03/06/tennessee-coronavirus-case-williamson-county-man-did-not-spread-virus-to-household-contacts/4974470002/
Emergency physician Brad Younggren, in the emergency department at EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland, Wash., where he’s been caring for patients with likely cases of COVID-19.
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Emergency physician Brad Younggren, in the emergency department at EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland, Wash., where he’s been caring for patients with likely cases of COVID-19.
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As the coronavirus spreads in the U.S., public health agencies are starting to worry about hospital capacity. Overseas, China was forced to build two new hospitals on an emergency basis, and in South Korea earlier this week, the government said over two thousand people were waiting for hospital care. The potential numbers in the U.S. are daunting. Richard Waldhorn is a pulmonary critical care physician who’s studied hospital preparedness for the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Last week, he co-wrote an article arguing that American hospitals should prepare for the possibility of too many patients. “The arithmetic suggests that we will outstrip hospital resources, particularly instensive care resources, in waves as the pandemic spreads,” he says.
Entrance to EvergreenHealth, in Kirland, Wash., which treated the first known COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S.
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Entrance to EvergreenHealth, in Kirland, Wash., which treated the first known COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S.
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He says government planning assumptions based on past flu pandemics suggest a surge in demand for intensive care that could range somewhere between 200,000 thousand and 2.9 million patients. The American Hospital Association says the total number of Intensive Care Unit beds is about 65,000. Waldhorn says hospitals can make more ICU beds available in a crisis, perhaps doubling the capacity, but there’s still a chance it won’t be enough. “We’re going to have to face the problem of how do we allocate limited health care resources in some sort of rational and ethical and organized way with the goal of doing the greatest good for the greatest number,” he says. He gives the example of “extracorporeal membrane oxygenation,” a technique for oxygenating blood outside the body, in cases of respiratory failure. Chinese doctors reported some success using the procedure to keep COVID-19 patients alive, but it’s not something that could be easily provided to hundreds or thousands of patients. In Washington State, things have not yet reached the stage of tough choices. EvergreenHealth hospital in Kirkland identified the country’s first fatal case of COVID-19 last Friday, and since then it’s borne the brunt of the most serious cases — and most of the country’s deaths. Many stem from the outbreak at the nearby Life Care nursing facility. One week later, the hospital has made plans to house even more of the patients, by taking steps such as converting more sections of its buildings into “negative pressure wards,” in which HVAC systems keep germs from spreading. Still, they’re feeling the strain. “Right now I know for certain, we have one critical care bed left,” the CEO, Jeff Tomlin, said on Thursday night. “We’re right now already talking to the other facilities to see what their capacity is.” Other hospitals in the region are preparing for the possibility of that overflow by designating floors or wings to be used for “cohorts” of COVID-19 patients, which would allow more efficiency in caring for groups of them, especially given the cumbersome protective suits that medical workers have to wear when treating them. Some nurses in the Seattle area and California have complained about a shortage of protective gear, especially N95 masks. The union representing nurses at EvergreenHealth said many of them didn’t have sufficient supplies of protective gear, and didn’t have enough orientation for how to safely handle suspected coronavirus cases. In Washington State, officials say they’ve received more masks and other protective gear from the federal government, to help alleviate the shortage. A complicating factor is that even without COVID-19, this has been a bad flu season. Many American hospitals have been running close to capacity, says Mahshid Abir, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and an emergency physician at the University of Michigan. “We in the last few weeks, in our health care system, have gotten multiple notifications of the hosptial being at full capacity. And I would say this is not unusual for most academic centers across the U.S.,” Abir says. She blames this in part on the fact that many Americans with poor access to health care don’t come in until they’re very sick, which adds to the burden for emergency departments and ICU’s. Now, as coronavirus fears spread, she predicts an even bigger load on hospitals.
Francis Riedo, the infectious disease doctor at EvergreenHealth who ordered the lab tests that identified the first COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S.
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Francis Riedo, the infectious disease doctor at EvergreenHealth who ordered the lab tests that identified the first COVID-19 fatalities in the U.S.
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“I think we’re going to see a lot of anxiety, and it will be not all coronavirus, necessary. It could be a lot of people who are the ‘worried well,'” she says. While most people who get the virus suffer only mild symptoms, there’s a subset that will need critical care. If the overall infection rate is large, that subset could be very numerous. In anticipation, hospitals in the Seattle area are trying to clear more beds. “We should not have people in the hospitals who do not need hospital care and there’s a lot of them,” says Cassie Sauer, CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association. The association has long argued that too many people take up beds after treatment because there’s no place for them to go — such as long-term care. Sauer says the COVID-19 crisis has focused minds on moving those patients out. “We are working very closely with the state and with the health insurers to say, ‘Those people need to be moved out,'” she says. “That’s the number one way to create capacity.” In the meantime, public health officials in Washington State are implementing a strategy of trying to flatten the anticipated wave of patients. King County, site of the biggest known American outbreak of COVID-19, is setting up modular housing and repurposing a motel to house patients with milder symptoms. The goal is to keep them from swamping the hospitals, while still keeping them isolated, to slow the rate of infection in the general population. At EvergreenHealth, Francis Riedo is a big believer in the “flatten the wave” strategy. He’s the infectious disease specialist who last week made the call to test two patients suffering from unexplained severe respiratory disease, which ended up identifying the country’s first COVID-19 death. Since then, he’s been emailing colleagues around the country, advising them to do the same. “Start looking now,” he says. “Go out and find your high-risk, critically-ill patients with unexplained, undiagnosed infections, and start testing them.” He says it’ll be better — and the wave of patients will be flatter — if hospitals act sooner. “You may have another two weeks, you may have another four weeks,” he says. “Be ready now.”
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control has been advising us to wash our hands with purpose, doing so for at least 20 seconds. For many of us who can’t let go of our phones (which, by the way, you should also clean with an antibacterial wipe ’cause they’re really dirty), 20 seconds is an eternity. So we’re here to help.
While many recommend singing the song “Happy Birthday” for the entirety of your hand-washing routine, EW has compiled of list of songs that will also help you get the job done and won’t leave you with that traditional tune stuck in your head. Not only will adopting one of these help make the world a cleaner, safer space, but you’ll also get to elude the dark void of staring into a sink.
From Schitt’s Creek: “A Little Bit Alexis”
Annie Murphy’s audition on an episode of PopTV’s Schitt’s Creek was a little bit extra, but it is just enough for a step-by-step infographic for accurate handwashing (see above).
If you want to really go all out, there’s a 3 and a half minute version of the song available to stream.
“No Coronavirus,” to the tune of Parks and Recreation’s “Don’t Be Suspicious”
What could also double as a song in next season’s Cheer, “Don’t Be Suspicious” is a short earworm by Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa Saperstein. We can’t confirm whether they ever wash their hands, but their song will get you lathering (cue Jean-Ralphio singing voice) in nooooo time!
“Wash Your Hands!” from the Saskatchewan Health Authority
Let’s go a little international with our offerings. Canada has given us Lorne Michaels, Justin Bieber, and now the catchiest song to wash your hands to.
Here’s a little sampling if you don’t want it stuck in your head for the rest of the day: “Wash, wash, wash your hands / You can do it, you know that you can / Fight off germs, they’re everywhere / on everything and things that we share.”
The chorus of “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
Let’s say you only want to listen to what’s on the radio. Fine. We give in. You are also welcome to sing 20 seconds of the chorus to your favorite song, including the one illustrated above and the two below. We’re far from corona now.
Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts”
Freelance journalist Jen Monnier recently posted a viral thread of famous songs to wash your hands to. The initial tweet has more than 400,000 favorites and 200,000 retweets, so we’re going to take her up on it. First up, Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts.”
The corona chorus: “Why men great ‘til they gotta be great? / Don’t text me, tell it straight to my face / Best friend sat me down in the salon chair / Shampoo press, get you out of my hair / Fresh photos with the bomb lighting / New man on the Minnesota Vikings / Truth hurts, needed something more exciting / Bom bom bi dom bi dum bum bay”
Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”
Eminem didn’t grow his facial hair for you to chill on your washing habits. At the 2020 Oscars, Eminem performed his classic, Academy Award-winning track, a song that’s led gym bros to sound off the Planet Fitness Lunk Alarm at least once or twice.
The corona chorus: “You better lose yourself in the music, the moment / You own it, you better never let it go / You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow / This opportunity comes once in a lifetime / You better lose yourself in the music, the moment / You own it, you better never let it go / You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow / This opportunity comes once in a lifetime”
Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”
We don’t want to forget about the classics. Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” is simple enough (it’s literally one person’s name) to get you from lather to rinse.
The corona chorus: “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene / I’m begging of you please don’t take my man / Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene / Please don’t take him just because you can”
“I Wash,” an Ilana Wexler/Broad City remix
If you’d rather keep it simple and do a little a capella, Ilana from the Comedy Central series Broad City has the perfect way to pass your time: literally sing whatever you’re doing. Ilana did it with “I bike.” There was “I rich.” There was even “I s—.” Why not just do the same a few steps away?
The CDC’s version of the classic “Happy Birthday” song
Before you @ us in the comments, this isn’t actually “Happy Birthday.” Yes, it is set to the tune of the celebratory song, but the CDC got creative and rewrote it specific to handwashing.
Here are their updated lyrics: “Wash hands well each day / to keep germs away / Scrub with soap and water / and be on your way”
Lady Macbeth’s “Out, Damned Spot!”
Okay, it’s probably not at the top of your Spotify playlist, but if you’re feeling a little Shakespearean at the sink, just raise your voice to the words of Lady Macbeth. Save your local theater kid, people.
The lyrics: “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky!—Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?—Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.”
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Biden builds on moderate coalition, collecting endorsements from former 2020 candidates
Eight previous contenders have backed him thus far, the latest is Deval Patrick.March 7, 2020, 12:02 AM8 min read
Following a commanding string of victories on Super Tuesday, former Vice President Joe Biden is continuing to build a coalition within the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, as he gears up for what is now essentially a two-person race between himself and liberal stalwart, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who entered the 2020 contest in November, far later than the rest of the field, became Biden’s latest high-profile endorsement, announcing Friday afternoon that he is backing the former vice president.
“This is a moment of profound consequence in America. At a time when our democracy is at risk, our economy is not working for many Americans, and our role in the world is unsteady, America needs a unifying and experienced leader, who can and wants to make life better for everyone everywhere,” Patrick wrote in a statement released Friday. “Joe Biden is that leader. I am today proud to endorse him for the Democratic nomination for President.”
Patrick, who also has deep ties to former President Barack Obama, will head to Mississippi this weekend to campaign alongside Biden, ahead of the state’s primary on Tuesday — where Biden is again expected to show his strength among African-American voters. In 2016, just over 70% of Mississippi’s electorate was African-American, according to ABC News exit polls.
While his bid was short-lived, Patrick was seen as a fast-rising star in the Democratic Party that could potentially challenge Biden’s support within the African-American community. However, he was unable to gain traction in a crowded field and his late entry prevented him from amassing the resources necessary to break through in a congested media landscape.
Patrick’s endorsement comes just days after Biden emerged victorious in at least 10 states on Super Tuesday, re-shaping the Democratic primary contest and pushing two of his fellow rivals, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to end their candidacies after disappointing showings.
Bloomberg endorsed Biden the same day he suspended his campaign, while Warren said she’s taking time to assess whether or not she will throw her weight behind any of the remaining candidates.
“I want to take a little time to think a little more. I’ve been spending a lot of time right now on the question of suspending and making sure this works the best we can for our staff, our team and our volunteers,” Warren said at a press conference on Thursday in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she announced her decision to suspend her campaign.
Just prior to Super Tuesday’s critical slate of primary contests, Biden got a critical and historic boost from two of the races most prominent moderates: Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Within a span of 48 hours, both candidates suspended their campaigns and flew to Dallas, Texas on Monday to publicly announce their support for Biden, a show of force that further solidified his position as the de facto moderate alternative to Sanders.
“I’m looking for a president, who will draw out what is best in each of us,” Buttigieg said standing next to Biden at a barbecue restaurant in Dallas. “And I’m encouraging everybody who was part of my campaign to join me, because we have found that leader in vice president, soon to be president, Joe Biden.”
Klobuchar weighed in as well, standing alongside Biden at a rally later Monday evening and further aiding in the coalescing of moderates around the former his candidacy.
“If you are tired of the extremes, you have a home with me, and I think you know you have a home with Joe Biden,” Klobuchar said.
Following their lead, former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke — another former 2020 rival — made a surprise appearance at the Dallas rally, telling the crowd he too was endorsing Biden just hours before the state of Texas began its primary.
Sanders, now looking for a path to re-take the delegate lead from Biden, has sought to paint the endorsements as the Democratic “establishment,” uniting behind the former vice president to blunt his momentum, a charge Biden pushed back against on Wednesday.
“The establishment are all those hard working middle class people, those African Americans, the single women in suburbia,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday in Los Angeles, after delivering a press statement urging party unity. “They’re the establishment.”
ABC News’ Zohreen Shah and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
The U.S. is in the midst of a harsh flu season for children.At least 34 million Americans have been sickened with the flu so far this season and an estimated 20,000 people have died from it, with the illness taking a higher-than-expected toll on children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.As of Feb. 29, there also were 136 flu-related deaths in children reported this season. That total is higher than every season since reporting began in 2004-2005 with the exception of the 2009 pandemic, the CDC said.Overall, hospitalization rates in the population are similar at this point in time to prior recent seasons, with an estimated 350,000 hospitalizations so far.But hospitalization rates among school children and young adults are higher than in recent seasons, and rates among kids ages 4 or younger are the highest on record at this point in the season — even higher than during the second wave of the 2009 flu pandemic.“The influenza virus is causing significant morbidity and mortality across the country,” said Dr. Henry Bernstein, a professor of pediatrics at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in Hempstead, NY, and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. “Activity is still widespread, and it’s been particularly harsh on children.”Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.Bernstein said it’s not entirely clear why the flu is hitting children so hard this year, but he noted that the influenza B strain is historically more severe in kids and was the most common strain at the beginning of the season. The influenza A strain is more common now, he said, but the effects are lingering.“It’s the influenza B predominance at the beginning of the season for the first several months, that’s always problematic for children and that may have raised the morbidity and mortality, and it’s just continuing at this point,” he said.Common flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle aches, headache and fatigue.The CDC said key indicators that track flu activity across the nation remain high but decreased for the third straight week. Bernstein said the new CDC figures suggest that overall flu activity may be slowing down somewhat nationwide, which typically happens this time of year, although that doesn’t seem to be happening yet in children.“In general 80 percent of influenza activity each season tends to occur in January, February and March,” he said. “However, this flu season began early and certainly can continue well into April and even into May.”As a result, it’s not too late to get your flu shot and Bernstein encouraged people to get one if they haven’t yet. Among kids who die from the flu, most have not been vaccinated, he said.“I know coronavirus seems to have everyone’s attention, but I would encourage people to remember that season flu happens every year and we are in the midst of a flu season that’s been quite problematic for children,” he said.Thankfully, coronavirus has largely been sparing children, for reasons that aren’t clear.But the same precautions that people are taking against coronavirus can help protect them against the flu as well, such as good hand hygiene, coughing into the elbow, and staying home when sick.Read coverage of the coronavirus outbreakJacqueline StensonNBC News contributor Jacqueline Stenson is a health and fitness journalist who has written for the Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Health, Self and Shape, among others. She also teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
Coronavirus News: CT hospital employee who is NY state resident tests positive for coronavirus, governor reports – WABC-TV
BREAKING NEWS5 boys charged in brutal gang attack in BrooklynBREAKING NEWS1 dead, 1 wounded in Bronx subway stabbingEyewitness News Weekend MorningsWATCH LIVEWelcome, Your AccountLog OutDANBURY, Connecticut (WABC) — A Connecticut hospital employee and resident of New York State, has tested positive for COVID-19, Governor Lamont announced Friday.RELATED: 44 confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York, officials sayThe employee is from Danbury and Norwalk Hospital. She was notified that she may have come in contact with someone who already had coronavirus.Connecticut has 42 cases that have tested negative, with 11 cases pending.Right now, the state only has one kit to test with, which is good for 600 tests. They are requesting more kits, which should arrive early next week.INTERACTIVE: What we know about COVID-19 – US map, prevention, casesLatest Coronavirus NewsLatest news on coronavirus in New York and New York CityLatest news on the New Jersey coronavirus casesMore Coronavirus StoriesInside look at New York lab conducting coronavirus COVID-19 testingConnecticut hospitals could set up virus testing sites7 On Your Side gets viewer complaints about price gouging related to coronavirusRelated InformationCenters for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirusConnecticut Department of HealthJohn Hopkins’ coronavirus tracking dashboardRELATED: All coronavirus coverage from Eyewitness News———-* More Connecticut news* Send us a news tip* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Follow us on YouTubeCopyright © 2020 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.
A lawsuit alleges that a teenager accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Texas high school in 2018 was able to buy more than 100 rounds of ammunition online because his age was not verifiedMarch 6, 2020, 11:58 PM3 min readSANTA FE, Texas —
A teenager accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Texas high school in 2018 was able to buy more than 100 rounds of ammunition online because his age was not verified, according to a lawsuit alleging that the website involved broke federal law.
Dimitrios Pagourtzis was a 17-year-old junior at the time of the May 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School. Federal law prohibits minors from purchasing handgun ammunition, and bars licensed gun companies from selling handgun or shotgun ammunition to minors or anyone they have reason to believe is under the age of 21.
According to an amended lawsuit filed Thursday, Pagourtzis initially ordered 50 rounds of hollow-point handgun ammunition and 105 rounds of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition, the Houston Chronicle reported. Two weeks later, he purchased an additional 35 rounds of shotgun ammunition — both times from the website Luckygunner.com that did not require him to make an account, submit proof of age or set-up a secure two-step authorization, the filing said.
Among those killed at the school was a Pakistani exchange student whose parents filed the amended petition. It’s part of a lawsuit filed against the suspect’s parents, Rose Marie Kosmetatos and Antonios Pagourtzis, alleging they knew their son was exhibiting extreme behavior and yet failed to prevent him from accessing their firearms, which authorities believe were used in the shooting.
Luckygunner.com, along with its owners, Red Stag, have been listed as additional defendants in the amended lawsuit, which claims Red Stag mailed the ammunition via FedEx without requiring an adult to sign for the package. Neither Luckygunner.com nor Red Stag responded to requests from the Houston Chronicle for comment.
Everytown Law, the legal arm for Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, a nationwide group, filed the petition on behalf of Abdul Aziz Sheikh and Farah Naz, the parents of Sabika Sheikh, who arrived as an exchange student last August.
In a statement, Sheikh’s parents said they are committed to fighting for accountability and for a safer future.
“People need to know just how easy it was for the shooter to buy ammunition from a website that failed to take even basic steps to protect the public,” the statement said.
Pagourtzis was charged with capital murder and faces life in prison. He is being held at a maximum-security mental health facility.
Coronavirus: More than 100,000 infections around world, as UK sees second death and dramatic rise in cases
The global tally of people diagnosed with coronavirus passed 100,000 on Friday, while the number of cases in the UK saw its biggest jump to date.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, confirmed a second person with Covid-19 had now died in Britain, as the number of patients in the country rose to 164 – up from 116 the day before. In other developments:
- More than 4,000 people have been placed in quarantine across New York state, where 33 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19, according to governor Andrew Cuomo
- Italy’s death toll rose by nearly 50 on Friday to 197, while the number of confirmed cases surpassed 4,000
- Boris Johnson announced £46m extra funding for research into developing a coronavirus vaccine, saying he hopes one would be ready to use in around a year
- Facebook shut its London offices over coronavirus after an employee tested positive
- Two teenagers were arrested over an attack on a Singaporean man in London, during which they allegedly shouted “I don’t want your coronavirus in my country”
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At least 3,400 people have died across the world after being infected with Covid-19, figures showed on Friday.
The US saw its death toll rise to 15, after another person who had tested positive for the virus died in Washington – bringing the total number of fatalities in the state up to 12. Donald Trump has signed an $8.3bn (£6.4bn) emergency funding bill to combat the disease – but also claimed erroneously that its spread had been “stopped” and that cases were “very few because we have been very strong at the borders”.
Two people have now died in the UK who were both suffering from underlying health conditions, according to the health secretary. An elderly man died at Milton Keynes Hospital on Thursday after testing positive, it was announced on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, Downing Street said it was “accelerating work” on the next phase of its response to the virus, saying it was upping efforts to delay its spread. The decision followed warnings from the chief medical officer that it is “highly likely that the infection will spread in a significant way”, according to a No 10 spokesperson.
Multiple countries announced their first confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Friday, including Colombia, Togo and Serbia.
The Vatican also revealed its first positive diagnosis, saying that a patient was being treated within its walls after attending a three-day conference nearby. Pope Francis – who has cancelled several public events in recent weeks after suffering from a slight cold – tested negative for coronavirus on Tuesday.
The Netherlands reported its first death from the infection on Friday, after a 86-year-old man died at Rotterdam hospital.
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The growing number of cases and deaths in new countries came as the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged nations to make containing the deadly virus their top priority.
The UN agency stressed that slowing down the epidemic allowed hospitals to prepare and saves lives, while warning that there was no evidence that spread would wane as the northern hemisphere gets warmer.
“It is a false hope to say yes it will just disappear in summertime, like influenza virus,” the executive director of WHO’s emergencies programme, Dr Mike Ryan, said. “There is no evidence right now to suggest that that will happen.”
Some countries announced stricter measures to combat the virus’ spread, with France saying it would close schools in badly-hit areas for two weeks. The country counted more than 600 cases of coronavirus on Friday, jumping by 190 compared to the day before, according to the head of the public health service, Jerome Salomon.
Meanwhile in Italy – the worst-hit European country – cases soared to 4,636 compared to 3,858 on Thursday. Its death toll rose by 49 to reach 197, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
China’s Hubei province, where the outbreak started, reported zero new cases over 24 hours for the first time during the outbreak, excluding its capital Wuhan, where the first cases of Covid-19 were reported last year.
Companies also announced infections among their staff, with Facebook shutting its London office for deep-cleaning after an employee was diagnosed with the virus and British Airways saying two baggage handlers had tested positive.
The UN also took action amid Covid-19’s spread, saying that key meetings in the run-up to its climate summit in Glasgow would be cancelled.
The number of cases rose to 164 in the UK on the same day that the PM announced extra funding to develop a vaccine to fight the infection, saying he hoped a vaccine could be developed in about a year.
The announcement followed the UK’s chief scientific adviser telling BBC Radio 4’s Today that he did not believe one will be discovered in time for the current outbreak.
“It is not unreasonable to assume that we will end up with a vaccine and we may do so in a year or 18 months,” Sir Patrick Vallance said, “which is remarkable when you consider just a few years ago it would have taken 20 years to do that.”
The UK government has attempted to reassure the public that they will continue to have necessary food and other supplies amid shortage fears driven by Covid-19.
George Eustice, the environment secretary, held talks with supermarket and trade body bosses over food supply contingencies on Friday and said he was reassured retailers were taking “all the necessary steps” to keep shelves well-stocked.
Meanwhile in the UK, two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a Singaporean student, allegedly shouting about coronavirus as they launched their attack.
Additional reporting by agencies
New York City Asks CDC for More Coronavirus Test Kits – Wall Street Journal
New York City officials asked federal health authorities Friday to send more kits for testing people suspected of having the novel coronavirus, saying the country’s largest city urgently needed additional resources to fight its spread. State officials, however, said the state has enough test kits for the moment. A spokesman for the state Department of Health said it had about 3,000 test kits available, which it considered to be an ample supply. Roughly 300 tests have been conducted at the state’s Wadsworth Center lab since…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has re-arraigned Uyiekpen Giwa-Osagie, a lawyer to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, for allegedly laundering the sum of $2million during the 2019 general elections.
He was re-arraigned at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday, alongside his younger brother, Erhunse Giwa-Osagie on three counts.
Their re-arraignment follows the transfer of the case file from Justice Nicholas Oweibo to Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke.
In one of the counts, the Giwa-Osagie’s were both alleged to have conspired among themselves on February 12, 2019, to make cash payment of the sum of $2 million (USD), without going through financial institutions.
When the counts were read to the defendants, they both pleaded not guilty. The court then permitted them to continue on the bail earlier granted by the previous judge.
Justice Aneke also fixed Monday, March 9 to rule on Atiku’s lawyers application seeking permission to travel abroad for his medicals.
Nurse union issues grave warning on COVID-19: “The nation’s hospitals are unprepared” – Salon
As novel coronavirus cases continue to grow in the United States, thousands of unionized nurses say that they find the lack of preparedness among their employers and hospitals alarming — and fear that they may be at risk for COVID-19 as a result.
On Thursday, at a press conference in Oakland, Calif., the National Nurses United (NNU) gave the result of a survey sent out to union members asking if they felt their employers were prepared for the ongoing outbreak. Pulling from recent responses from more than 6,500 nurses in 48 states, NNU said only an estimated 29 percent of nurses reported their employer had a plan in place to isolate a patient with a possible COVID-19 infection. Twenty-three percent said they “didn’t know” if there was a plan in place at their hospital.
While 63 percent of the nurses surveyed said they had access to N95 respirators at their units, many said they haven’t been fitted or trained on how to properly use them.
“The results of our national survey of more than 6,500 nurses is truly disturbing,” Jane Thomason, an industrial hygienist for the union, said on Thursday. “They show that large percentages of the nation’s hospitals are unprepared to safely handle COVID-19.”
Health care workers are one of the groups at a higher risk of contracting the virus. Advertisement:
Deborah Burger, RN, and one of the union’s presidents who works at a Northern California Kaiser facility, read a letter from an anonymous nurse, who works at a Northern California Kaiser facility, who is currently in quarantine. The letter read:
“As a nurse I’m very concerned that not enough is being done to stop the spread of the coronavirus. I know because I’m currently sick in quarantine after caring for a patient who tested positive. I am awaiting permission from the federal government to allow for my testing, even after my physician and county health professional ordered the test. I volunteered to be on the care team for this patient who we knew was positive. I did this because of all the recommended protective gear and training from the employer I thought was being provided. I did this assuming that if something happened to me, of course I would be cared for. Then, what was a small concern, after a few days for caring for this patient became my reality. I started getting sick.”
Ultimately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not allow her to be tested. According to the letter: “They said they would not test me because if I were wearing the recommended protective equipment, then I wouldn’t have the coronavirus.”
“What kind of science based answer is that?” the nurse wrote in her letter. “What a ridiculous and uneducated response from the department that is in charge of the health of this country.”
The CDC ultimately contacted Burger, upon which she ran into another issue with “something called the ‘identifier number.'” The CDC claims to be prioritizing running samples “by illness severity.”
“This is not a ticket dispenser at the deli counter,” the nurse’s letter stated. “It’s a public health emergency; I’m a registered nurse and I need to know if I’m positive before going back to care for patients.”
Salon contacted the CDC for comment; they responded with an emailed statement:
CDC is not aware of this individual case and can’t respond to specifics. However, CDC would most definitely recommend a health care worker who had contact with a confirmed case and then became ill be tested. At all times, clinicians have discretion to test patients based on their individual assessment of that patient’s illness and risk of exposure. Our clinical team working with state and local health departments to assess Persons Under investigation has not said no to any request for testing.
In a separate emailed statement, Kaiser Permanente said: “The safety of our patients, employees, physicians, and community is our top priority; We, along with all other health care providers and hospitals in California, have been working closely with local, state, and federal officials on the screening, testing, and care for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.”
“Our teams have been trained and are properly equipped and prepared to safely care for patients with any suspected or confirmed case, as well as any complications that arise from the virus,” the statement continued. “We are following all current CDC and State public health guidance, including protective equipment and protocols, for screening, testing, isolation, and treatment, and have been meeting with union leaders to get their input and address their concerns.”
On Wednesday, the NNU petitioned the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to adopt an emergency temporary standard to protect health care workers, and the public.
The NNU isn’t the only union to be speaking out about institutional ill-preparedness for COVID-19. In a press conference hosted by Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), a healthcare justice union, one healthcare worker said San Francisco hospitals are understaffed and unprepared.
Moreover, in an SEIU-UHW press release, the union said that over the last couple weeks, 50 caregivers were sent home after coming into contact with infected patients. At least 10 of them were caregivers at Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center in Riverside, California, where a patient with related symptoms was not put in isolation until the next day.
“Workers were allowed to come in contact for too many hours without wearing proper safety equipment, and as a result a large number of workers had to be sent home, putting us and our families at risk,” John Richardson, a pathology assistant at Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center, said in a press statement. Richardson was sent home, but returned to work a day after it was determined that he wasn’t exposed. “If hospitals hope to get this crisis under control, they will need to immediately consult with and train their employees so the proper precautions are in place to protect workers, patients and the public,” Richardson continued.
The CDC’s decision to change its testing guidelines has been attributed to the silent spread of novel coronavirus in the state of Washington. Some officials and health experts suspect the same be happening in California. On Thursday, San Francisco city officials announced on Thursday that that two residents are presumed to have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, TechCrunch reported that Lyft sent home its office worker employees in San Francisco after learning that one staff member was in contact with someone exposed to COVID-19.
“We are basing every step of our response process on CDC guidance, and out of an abundance of caution are encouraging our San Francisco headquarters employees to work from home for the remainder of this week,” the company said in a statement to TechCrunch.
In the state of New York, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the largest union and association of registered nurses in the state, is demanding for more preparations, as currently there are no enforceable OSHA infectious diseases standards to protect health care workers from novel coronavirus.
“Our nurses are prepared to protect and care for patients infected with COVID-19,” Pat Kane, RN, NYSNA’s executive director, said in a statement. “But we need the appropriate level of nurse staffing and the protective equipment to get the job done. We urge government authorities and hospital management to start listening.”
Hungry, a catering marketplace that connects businesses with independent chefs, announced this week that it has raised $20 million in Series B funding. Hungry tells me that the funding valued the company at more than $100 million (pre-money).
The investors were also pretty impressive: The round was led by Evolution VC Partners and former Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb, who’s joining the startup’s board. Kevin Hart, Jay-Z, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley, former Obama aide Reggie Love and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner also participated.
CEO Jeff Grass said that he and his co-founders Eman Pahlavani (COO) and Shy Pahlevani (president) got the idea for the company while working at their previous startup LiveSafe.
“LiveSafe was in a food desert, where the best options were Subway and Ruby Tuesday,” Grass said. “We wanted more authentic food and we started thinking about, ‘Is there a better way that taps into local chefs?’ ”
That eventually led to Hungry, which has built up a network of independent chefs in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, New York and Atlanta, providing catering to companies including Amazon, E-Trade, Microsoft and BCG. The chefs are all screened by Hungry, they cook out of “ghost kitchens” (commercial kitchens that aren’t attached to a restaurant) and then the food is delivered by the Hungry team.
“The food is produced at a much lower cost structure than at a restaurant with a retail location,” Grass said. “And yet you’re not sacrificing on quality. These are top chefs cooking their best dishes — you get higher than restaurant-quality food, but produced at a much lower cost.”
He added that this lower cost also allows the startup to be generous. Specifically, for every two meals sold, Hungry is supposed to donate one meal to end hunger in the U.S., and it has donated nearly 500,000 meals already.
As for the funding, Grass and his team will use it to expand into new markets — he hopes to be in 23 cities by the end of 2021.
Presentation: US hospitals preparing for millions of hospitalizations – Business Insider
Hospitals are confronting the rising threat of the novel coronavirus in the US. The spread of the coronavirus outbreak in the US could push the healthcare system to its limits. In a February webinar presentation hosted by the American Hospital Association, an expert laid out “best guess” estimates about how many Americans could be impacted. He projected that there could be as many as 96 million cases in the US, 4.8 million hospitalizations, and 480,000 deaths associated with the novel coronavirus.Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Hospitals are bracing for millions of Americans to be hospitalized as part of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The American Hospital Association, which represents thousands of hospitals and health systems, hosted a webinar in February with its member hospitals and health systems. Business Insider obtained a copy of the slides presented. The presentation, titled “What healthcare leaders need to know: Preparing for the COVID-19” happened February 26, with representatives from the National Ebola Training and Education Center. As part of the presentation to hospitals, Dr. James Lawler, a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center gave his “best guess” estimates of how much the virus might spread in the US.Lawler’s estimates include:
4.8 million hospitalizations associated with the novel coronavirus96 million cases overall in the US480,000 deathsOverall, the slide points out that hospitals should prepare for an impact to the system that’s 10 times a severe flu season. Here’s the slide:
AHA webinar
The slide does not give a particular time frame.The slide represents “his interpretation of the data available. It’s possible that forecast will change as more information becomes available,” a spokesman for Nebraska Medicine told Business Insider in an email. The American Hospital Association said the webinar reflects the views of the experts who spoke on it, not its own.
“The AHA regularly hosts webinars and conference calls that include a variety of voices and opinions that seek to provide relevant information to professionals at hospitals and health systems that are on the front lines of preparing for and protecting their patients and communities,” a spokeswoman for the AHA told Business Insider in an emailed statement. “The slides you shared reflect the various perspectives of field experts and should not be attributed to the AHA.”In particular, the slide points out that hospitals should prepare for an impact to the system that’s 10 times a severe flu season. Lawler isn’t alone in anticipating widespread infections. Marc Lipsitch an epidemiology professor at Harvard University told The Atlantic he predicts anywhere from 40-70% of people globally will be infected with the novel coronavirus within the next year. See the presentation hospitals are using to prepare for a major coronavirus outbreak in the US.
Tenacious bacteria flourish on space station, but they’re no more dangerous than Earth bugs – Space.com
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Burkholderia cepacia, one of the bacterial species found on the potable water dispenser on the International Space Station.
(Image: © Janice Haney Carr USCDCP)
It turns out that bacteria contaminating the drinking water on the International Space Station aren’t any more dangerous than bacteria here on Earth. Bacteria have flourished in space, growing in the potable water dispenser on the space station. But the two species of bacteria thriving in this dispenser aren’t any more harmful than closely related microbes here on Earth, a new study has found. In 2009, NASA installed the water dispenser on the space station, but soon after, samples taken from the device showed that bacteria had taken up residence in the water. The two strains of bacteria — Burkholderia cepacia and Burkholderia contaminans — contaminated not only the dispenser, but the drinking water itself. Related: Astronauts Identify Mystery Microbes in Space for the 1st TimeThese space microbes are part of a group of related Burkholderia bacteria species which, on Earth, have caused lung infections and have been particularly difficult to kill using traditional techniques. While astronauts on the space station have regularly flushed the dispenser with an extra-strength cleaning solution, bacteria have remained on the device, according to a statement. Researchers in this new study, who sequenced the genomes of bacterial strains collected from the dispenser from 2010 to 2014, found that all of the B. cepacia and B. contaminans bacterial strains were very similar and most likely came from bacteria that were on the device before it launched to space. In the study, the researchers found that the bacteria living on the space station were no more dangerous than similar microbes on Earth, and if an astronaut were to get a bacterial infection from these microbes on the dispenser, it would be treatable with antibiotics, according to the statement. “Based on the information presented here, it seems likely that the two populations of Burkholderia present in the ISS PWS are not more virulent than those that might be encountered on planet,” the researchers said in the study. The work was detailed in a study published Feb. 19 in the journal PLOS ONE. Super Space Germs Could Threaten AstronautsMoon Microbe Mystery Finally SolvedHow to Keep Spacesuits Germ-Free on MarsFollow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
Inside the race to find a coronavirus vaccine and treatment – Washington Post
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Published on Mar 6, 2020Across the U.S. and the globe, scientists are racing to develop a vaccine and a treatment to contain the novel coronavirus, even if it means it won’t be ready for this outbreak. Read more: https://wapo.st/32WZKYU. Subscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube: https://wapo.st/2QOdcqKFollow us:Twitter: https://twitter.com/washingtonpostInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/washingtonp…Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/washingtonpost/
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Coronavirus: Walmart tells truckers to buy supplies with company cards – Business Insider
Walmart confirmed to Business Insider that it sent an audio message to its truck drivers on March 4 with advice on how to conduct business amid coronavirus concerns. Joe Metzger, who is senior vice president of supply chain at Walmart, advised truckers to purchase any needed sanitary supplies with their company cards, along with other preventative measures communicated in a February 28 memo to all Walmart US employees.The Walmart executive contacted drivers in the days after Business Insider reported that Walmart truckers, as well as contract and company drivers at Amazon, said they had not received information on how to navigate coronavirus on the road. Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A Walmart executive sent an audio message to the mega-retailer’s trucking fleet on March 4 about how to navigate coronavirus, the company confirmed to Business Insider. In the audio recording, Joe Metzger, who is senior vice president of supply chain at Walmart, repeated the points mentioned in a February 28 memo that all of Walmart’s 1.5 million US employees received. “Stay home when you are sick,” the memo said. “Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.”Despite the distribution of that memo, Walmart truck drivers told Business Insider this week that their employer had not communicated with them about coronavirus.”We haven’t heard anything from anybody,” one truck driver for Walmart, who did not want his name published for fear of retribution, told Business Insider on March 2.
“I’m not too concerned about it,” the driver added. “I police myself with washing my hands, not shaking as many hands, using hand sanitizer.” Days after that story was published, truck drivers said they received the voice memo from Metzger. He advised truckers to buy any necessary cleaning supplies using their company cards. “This is one way we share information with our drivers,” a Walmart spokesperson told Business Insider. “This audio message included information from the last week’s memo that was sent to all US associates, including our truck drivers.”One truck driver noted that he received Lysol wipes on Tuesday morning. The Walmart spokesperson said these wipes have long been part of the standard cleaning kit in the tractors. “We are working to ensure drivers continue to have access to their cleaning wipes,” the spokesperson added.Walmart truck drivers are among the best-paid in the industry. The retailer employs 9,000 truck drivers in the US, and their median salary is $90,000 — nearly twice the national median.
It’s also notoriously difficult to become a Walmart trucker; some have compared the training process to getting into Harvard. Walmart has been adding more and more truckers to its “Elite Fleet” in recent years. Greg Smith, executive vice president of supply chain for Walmart US, told Business Insider last year that relying more on its well-paid, in-house fleet helps avoid issues that using outside trucking companies bring — like high turnover. “Based on some of the efficiency that our teams have driven in our fleet, our fleet is now more competitive, and it has a better level of service in a lot of cases than we have with third parties,” Smith said.
Hat-trick hero Matt Smith sorry for denying Jayson Molumby first senior goal
Millwall’s hat-trick hero Matt Smith has apologised to Jayson Molumby for denying the 20-year-old the first senior goal of his career.
Smith’s trio of strikes in a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest came during a rampant 13-minute first-half spell at the City Ground that has lifted Lions boss Gary Rowett’s side to within two points of the Sky Bet Championship play-off places.
A stooping 20th-minute header was followed six minutes later by Smith getting a touch to a fine side-footed finish from Molumby, on loan from Brighton, with the midfielder celebrating as if he had netted his first goal in 34 appearances.
But after a far-post poacher’s header in the 33rd minute to complete his first league hat-trick, and only the second of his nine-season career, Smith said: “I’ve apologised to Jayson. I said sorry.
“I said to him that his celebration probably merited the goal. But it came so quickly, I just stuck a leg out and it’s just hit the top of my foot.
“I knew instantly it had come off me, and also I knew Sky were watching and they were going to see it in close up, so I didn’t have any concern in my head it was mine.”
Smith’s only other hat-trick came just over five years ago when he scored all four goals in a 4-2 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win at Gillingham while with Bristol City.
“I’ve been in the division long enough, so it was about time one came along,” added Smith. “I’ve had plenty of twos over the years but to get a three is no easy feat. I’m happy to see it happen.”
The win was Millwall’s largest away from home in the Championship since a 4-1 triumph in November 2012, with Forest again the victims.
Rowett said: “I’m really pleased after the last couple of performances in which we’ve maybe not done enough to win the game.
“I spoke to the players about it, that if they wanted any sort of opportunity in pushing for the top six then we had to grasp the game, be a little braver than we have been, and we were.
“And defensively I thought we were absolutely superb, as we have been all season, and conceding the least number of goals since I’ve come in (in October).”
Forest had the chance to move to within five points of the top two with a win, but their own promotion hopes are faltering after claiming just six points from the last 18 on offer.
Boss Sabri Lamouchi blamed the loss on tiredness. He said: “We gave them the opportunity to kill us, and they killed us.
“It was a classic plan to play on the counter-attack and we suffered a lot. It’s a bad moment for us and we showed our limits physically and mentally. It was the wrong performance and a bad result.”
Marseille were stunned by a late Amiens double to drop Ligue 1 points in a 2-2 draw at the Orange Velodrome.
Second-placed Marseille, who are now 12 points behind runaway leaders Paris St Germain, seemed to be cruising when Morgan Sanson and Dimitri Payet scored either side of half-time.
But Serhou Guirassy’s 83rd-minute penalty gave Amiens a lifeline, and substitute Saman Ghoddos equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
⚽️ LAST MINUTE EQUALISER! GHODDOS FOR @AmiensSC!#OMASC pic.twitter.com/NH51jx00cT
— Ligue1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) March 6, 2020
Relegation-threatened Amiens frustrated Andre Villas-Boas’ side during a first half in which Guirassy had the best early opening.
But Marseille took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Amiens goalkeeper Regis Gurtner allowed Sanson’s drive from the edge of the box to evade his grasp.
Payet was out-of-sorts in the first period but he sliced through the Amiens defence after 57 minutes, just moments after Guirassy had a close-range effort disallowed for offside.
The France forward’s ninth goal of the season arrived with a cruel deflection off Aurelien Chedjou.
Marseille’s Dario Benedetto wore a swimming cap to protect a cut ear (Daniel Cole/AP)
Amiens kept pushing, however, and Guirassy won and converted a penalty before heading against the crossbar two minutes later.
Marseille looked as if they would hold on for a fifth win in six league games until Ghoddos pounced from close range with virtually the last kick of the match.
Valencia drew 1-1 at Alaves to miss out on a top-six spot in Spain’s LaLiga.
Los Che might have been given a penalty after 25 minutes when Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pachecho appeared to bring down Denis Cheryshev.
Spot the difference… 🧐
🎯 This wasn’t the first time @DaniParejo has scored a spectacular free-kick at Mendizorroza! 🦇#AlavesValencia pic.twitter.com/eRR4OQmUvq
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) March 6, 2020
But Daniel Parejo put Valencia ahead with a brilliant 34th-minute free-kick.
Alaves pressed for an equaliser after the break and were rewarded when Edgar Mendez punished sloppy Valencia defending after 73 minutes.
In Germany, Cologne piled the misery on the Bundesliga’s bottom club Paderborn with a 2-1 away win.
Pick that out!
Jonas Hector with a beautiful strike curling away from the keeper 👌
Absolute precision 🎯 pic.twitter.com/dGK8ql14XV
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 6, 2020
Paderborn, with only one point from five games, went close in the early stages through Dennis Srbeny.
But Cologne took a 28th-minute lead when Mark Uth flicked on Florian Kainz’s corner and Jorge Mere slid home at the far post.
Cologne skipper Jonas Hector doubled the lead eight minutes later with his fourth goal of the season, superbly sweeping home Uth’s pass from 20 yards.
Paderborn halved the deficit when Srbeny headed home Kai Proger’s cross after 73 minutes, but impressive Cologne held on for an eighth win in 10 games.
5:59 PM ETMike TriplettESPN Staff Writer CloseCovered Saints for eight years at New Orleans Times-Picayune
Previously covered LSU football, San Francisco 49ers
Iowa native and University of Iowa graduateMETAIRIE, La. — The New Orleans Saints plan to place a first-round tender on restricted free-agent quarterback Taysom Hill, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday, meaning another team would have to give up a first-round draft pick to sign him away.The Saints also will have the right to match any offer that Hill might sign with another team after making him the qualifying offer, which is for one year and worth $4.67 million, according to Over the Cap.New Orleans also still plans to re-sign Hill before free agency officially begins March 18, which if it did, would make the first-round tender moot.The 29-year-old Hill has become one of the NFL’s most intriguing players in recent years due to his Swiss Army knife role as a read-option quarterback/running back/receiver/tight end/fullback/kickoff returner/special-teams coverage specialist.The 6-foot-2, 221-pounder has become even more fascinating this offseason, with Saints coach Sean Payton talking him up as a possible successor to Drew Brees.”I think there’s a process of being a restricted free agent. My agent and I are going through that process, and we’ll see what happens. But I’m in no hurry to leave New Orleans,” Hill said on The Adam Schefter Podcast earlier this offseason. “As I look at my career, I have goals and I have a vision for myself as to what I can be in the NFL. And there has been nothing that has been said, or I’ve never been treated in any way, that would lead me to believe that the vision I have for myself is not the same vision that Coach Payton has for me, as well as the other guys on staff.”So I’m in no hurry, but I also think that there’s an important element of being a free agent. You finally have the opportunity to sit down and say, ‘What are my goals? What are my visions for myself?’ And then see who shares those same thoughts as you do.”Hill has attempted only 15 passes in his three-year NFL career — including a 50-yard completion in New Orleans’ playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings in January. He is 7-of-15 passing for 169 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception.But, including the playoffs, he has run for 410 yards and three touchdowns and caught 25 passes for 265 yards and eight touchdowns.Hill will presumably become New Orleans’ primary backup, with veteran Teddy Bridgewater expected to leave in free agency. But the Saints also will likely make it a priority to add another experienced quarterback to the roster so they can keep using Hill in his versatile offensive role.Hill’s best game was arguably his most recent one — that playoff loss to the Vikings, when he completed the 50-yard pass, ran the ball four times for 50 yards and caught two passes for 25 yards, including a touchdown.Hill got a late start to his NFL career. He went on a two-year LDS church mission to Australia after high school and then spent five years at BYU, where he suffered four season-ending injuries.But he was impressive enough as a dual-threat quarterback at BYU to finish his career with 6,929 passing yards, 43 touchdown passes, 2,815 rushing yards and 32 rushing touchdowns. He began his NFL career as an undrafted rookie with the Green Bay Packers in 2017 before the Saints claimed him off waivers on cut-down day.”I still have that same vision, I still have that same goal: to have the opportunity to be that guy for a franchise,” Hill told Schefter. “At the end of the day, I believe in myself. That’s never changed, that’s what I’ve always been. Obviously, with Coach Payton and his creativity, the first few years of my career has gone down a different path. But the vision for myself has never changed.”