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Cyclone wreaks deadly havoc in India and Bangladesh

Bonnie J. Daniels
A woman cycles through heavy rain as Cyclone Amphan approaches Kolkata.
A woman cycles through heavy rain as Cyclone Amphan approaches Kolkata.

Cyclone Amphan has made landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, killing at least 15 people as it lashed coastal areas with ferocious wind and rain.

Trees were uprooted and homes toppled in both countries, including in the Indian city of Kolkata in West Bengal.

Nearly three million people were evacuated – most of them in Bangladesh – before the severe storm hit.

Coronavirus restrictions have been hampering emergency and relief efforts.

Covid-19 and social-distancing measures have made mass evacuations more difficult for authorities, with shelters unable to be used to full capacity.

The storm is the first super cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal since 1999. Though its winds have now weakened, it is still classified as a very severe cyclone.

People rushed for shelter in Kolkata as the cyclone approached
People rushed for shelter in Kolkata as the cyclone approached

“Our estimate is that some areas

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Movie theaters are still closed, but you can watch these new flicks at home

Bonnie J. Daniels

Movie theaters are still mostly shuttered. A handful of cinemas in places like Texas and Georgia are trying out socially-distanced moviegoing as states reopen. But it’s hard to imagine people flocking to spend a couple hours in a confined space shared with strangers anytime soon.

Plus, it’s not like theaters have any new movies to screen. When the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe, studios postponed their major releases or otherwise pushed movies that’d normally be in theaters right now straight to premium video-on-demand.

Universal Pictures led the charge in mid-March, making new releases like The Invisible Man available as at-home rentals for $20 a pop. This proved to be a pretty fruitful quarantine business strategy; Universal’s Trolls World Tour, which bypassed theaters altogether and went straight to PVOD in early April, raked in an estimated $100 million in its first three weeks.

Now, AMC Theaters

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HGTV’s The Property Brothers To Talk TV And Design With Paley Center For Media

Bonnie J. Daniels

Click here to read the full article.

HGTV’s popular Property Brothers, aka twins Drew and Jonathan Scott, will kick off a new series on the center’s Facebook page.

The series, HGTV’s Property Brothers: A Conversation with Drew and Jonathan Scott, will begin airing on Friday, July 10 at noon ET/9 AM PT.

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“Drew and Jonathan Scott have changed the lives of families across the country with their stunning home makeovers, and captured the hearts of a global audience along the way,” said Paley Center President and CEO Maureen J. Reidy. “We’re thrilled that fans from all corners of the world will be able to enjoy this program courtesy of our Paley Center Facebook page.”

Drew and Jonathan Scott have been omnipresent on HGTV for nearly a decade. They kindly help families and couples renovate, remodel, and find their dream homes. The brothers have expanded

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Psychiatric effects ‘could last a decade’ as NHS fears impact of lockdown on children

Bonnie J. Daniels

Children are suffering poor mental health as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, a senior NHS director has warned, as experts revealed the virus could infect the brain and lead to psychiatric conditions lasting more than a decade.

Professor Tim Kendall, NHS England‘s national clinical director for mental health, told a Royal Society of Medicine webinar that “there’s no doubt” children were being hit hard by the impact of the lockdown, and he added that NHS trusts had been told to “be more assertive and go out and find children” who were in difficulty.

His comments follow similar warnings from psychiatrists and charities of a “tsunami” of poor mental health as thousands of patients recover after needing intensive care treatment, as well as from the effects of the lockdown and the impact on the economy.

Professor Ed Bullmore, a neuroscientist at Cambridge University, said there was enough evidence now

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News from around our 50 states

Bonnie J. Daniels

Alabama

Montgomery: The capital is now the heart of the state’s pandemic crisis after a two-week surge in new coronavirus cases rocketed Montgomery County past Alabama’s larger counties. The city’s 2,791 COVID-19 cases are the most in the state, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. More than 1,000 new cases have been confirmed over the past 14 days in Montgomery County, which at about 225,000 people is only the state’s fourth most populous. Fewer people have been tested in Montgomery County than Mobile County, the second hardest-hit, but the rate of positives is significantly higher around the capital. In a news release, the ADPH cited outbreaks at workplaces and long-term care facilities, although it noted that large gatherings during the Memorial Day holiday may have contributed to the surge. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed had proposed making mask-wearing mandatory but withdrew the idea earlier this month when it

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