3 years ago / 8:16 AM EST

London police tell anti-lockdown protesters to stay home

Police officers take away a protester ahead of an anti-lockdown protest against government restrictions in London on Saturday.TOLGA AKMEN / AFP - Getty Images

Police in London have warned thousands planning to attend an anti-lockdown protest in the city that the gathering will be unlawful due to national coronavirus restrictions.

The United Kingdom, which has recorded 1.5 million Covid-19 cases and more than 57,000 related deaths, is on a month-long lockdown until Dec. 2 when a system of regional restrictions comes into force.

“The Met has a proud history of facilitating protest. However, our city is in a critical fight against Covid-19 and we cannot allow gatherings to jeopardize the progress and sacrifices our communities have made in fighting this virus," Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell said in a statement.

3 years ago / 5:50 AM EST

'A big safety net': Affordable Care Act filled need, fended off dismantling in 2020

Since March, more than 250,000 people infected by the coronavirus have died and millions more have lost their health insurance in the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

During the presidential campaign, both President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden promised much to address these health and economic issues, sparring on how best to provide Americans access to health care.

Central to both of their arguments remained a decade-old law: the Affordable Care Act — landmark health care legislation that showed its continued significance during this particularly difficult year.

Read the full article here

3 years ago / 5:47 AM EST

Europe's Christmas dilemma: risk empty chairs next year?

The Associated Press

BRUSSELS — Please leave a chair empty at this year's family Christmas dinner as a precaution, or face the possibility of having that chair empty forever.

That's the stark dilemma Belgium's prime minister has set to urge smaller festive family gatherings, as Europeans battle with containing the surging COVID-19 pandemic over the holiday season.

Read the full article here.

3 years ago / 5:46 AM EST

NFL orders all facilities to close next Monday and Tuesday

NBC News

In anticipation of the expected spike in COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving weekend, the NFL has issued a mandate for next week: All facilities will close on Monday and Tuesday.

“In response to the continuous increase in positivity rates throughout the country, as well as our understanding that a number of players and staff celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with out-of-town guests, all in-person team activities on Monday, November 30 and Tuesday, December 1 will be prohibited,” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to all teams in a Friday memo, a copy of which PFT has obtained.

Read the full article here. 

3 years ago / 5:43 AM EST

Los Angeles County adopts new stay-at-home order as Covid-19 cases rise

Health officials in Los Angeles County, the nation's most populous, announced a new Covid-19 stay-at-home order Friday that will ban most public and private gatherings.

The new restrictions, to take effect Monday and to stay in place at least until Dec. 20, will prohibit public and private gatherings except for those people already living together. Religious services and protests will be exempted.

Read the full article here