Month: November 2020

If you were to choose a word that rose above most in 2020, which word would it be?
Ding, ding, ding: Merriam-Webster on Monday announced “pandemic” as its 2020 word of the year.
“That probably isn’t a big shock,” Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster, told The Associated Press.
“Often the big news story has a technical word that’s associated with it and in this case, the word pandemic is not just technical but has become general. It’s probably the word by which we’ll refer to this period in the future,” he said.
The word took on urgent specificity in March, when the coronavirus crisis was designated a pandemic, but it started to trend up on Merriam-Webster.com as early January and again in February when the first U.S. deaths and outbreaks on cruise ships occurred.
On March 11, when the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, lookups on the site for pandemic spiked hugely. Site interest for the word has remained significantly high through the year, Sokolowski said.
By huge, Sokolowski means searches for pandemic on March 11 were 115,806% higher than lookups experienced on the same date last year.
Pandemic, with roots in Latin and Greek, is a combination of “pan,” for all, and “demos,” for people or population. The latter is the same root of “democracy,” Sokolowski noted. The word pandemic dates to the mid-1600s, used broadly for “universal” and more specifically to disease in a medical text in the 1660s, he said.
That was after the plagues of the Middle Ages, Sokolowski said.
He attributes the lookup traffic for pandemic not entirely to searchers who didn’t know what it meant but also to those on the hunt for more detail, or for inspiration or comfort.
“We see that the word love is looked up around Valentine’s Day and the word cornucopia is looked up at Thanksgiving,” Sokolowski said. “We see a word like surreal spiking when a moment of national tragedy or shock occurs. It’s the idea of dictionaries being the beginning of putting your thoughts in order.”
Merriam-Webster acted quickly in March to add and update entries on its site for words related to the pandemic. While “coronavirus” had been in the dictionary for decades, “COVID-19” was coined in February. Thirty-four days later, Merriam-Webster had it up online, along with a couple dozen other entries that were revised to reflect the health emergency.
“That’s the shortest period of time we’ve ever seen a word go from coinage to entry,” Sokolowski said. “The word had this urgency.”
Coronavirus was among runners up for word of the year as it jumped into the mainstream. Quarantine, asymptomatic, mamba, kraken, defund, antebellum, irregardless, icon, schadenfreude and malarkey were also runners up based on lookup spikes around specific events.
Particularly interesting to word nerds like Sokolowski, a lexicographer, is quarantine. With Italian roots, it was used during the Black Death of the 1300s for the period of time a new ship coming into port would have to wait outside a city to prevent disease. The “quar” in quarantine derives from 40, for the 40 days required.
Spikes for mamba occurred after the January death of Kobe Bryant, whose nickname was the Black Mamba. A mass of lookups occurred for kraken in July after Seattle’s new National Hockey League franchise chose the mythical sea monster as its name, urged along by fans.
Country group Lady Antebellum’s name change to Lady A drove dictionary interest in June, while malarkey got a boost from President-elect Joe Biden, who’s fond of using the word. Icon was front and center in headlines after the deaths of U.S. Rep. John Lewis and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
The Merriam-Webster site has about 40 million unique monthly users and about 100 million monthly page views.
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Dave Prowse, the British actor behind the menacing black mask of Star Wars villain Darth Vader, has died, his agent Thomas Bowington said Sunday.”It’s with great sadness that we have to announce that our client Dave Prowse… passed away yesterday morning at the age of 85,” Bowington wrote on Facebook.”May the force be with him, always!” the agent told the BBC.Bowington added that Prowse’s death was “a truly and deeply heart-wrenching loss for us and millions of fans all over the world.”A former bodybuilder turned actor, Prowse’s towering stature at almost two meters clinched him the role of the instantly recognizable antagonist in the original Star Wars trilogy.But while he donned the glossy black armor and cape, the Bristol native’s strong western English accent meant the filmmakers turned to James Earl Jones for the chilling voice that would emerge from behind the mask.Prowse nevertheless remained attached to the character, telling AFP in 2013 that he was “the greatest big-screen villain of all time.”Since the original Star Wars trilogy was released in the late 1970s and early 80s, Prowse had travelled the world meeting hardcore fans.
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COVID cases are exploding across the US and it’s unclear how long the pandemic will last. But in Washington, the Kennedy Center is cautiously working on a comeback, as Karina Bafradzhian reports.
Camera: Andrey Degtyarev
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Sarah Fuller was playing around with a teammate a couple months ago when she kicked a soccer ball through the uprights from 45 yards away. She joked about being able to kick a football with teammates during the Southeastern Conference soccer tournament.On Saturday, she made history.Fuller became the first woman to participate in a major conference football game when she kicked off for Vanderbilt to start the second half at Missouri, a moment that may take some time to soak in for her.”I just think it’s incredible that I am able to do this, and all I want to do is be a good influence to the young girls out there because there were times that I struggled in sports,” Fuller said. “But I am so thankful I stuck with it, and it’s given me so many opportunities. I’ve met so many amazing people through sports, and I just want to say like literally you can do anything you set your mind to.”Fuller kicked with a holder rather than using a tee in a designed squib kick, and the senior sent a low kick to the 35-yard line where it was pounced on by Missouri’s Mason Pack. Fuller didn’t get any other opportunities in Vanderbilt’s 41-0 loss to Missouri.Vanderbilt Commodores place kicker Sarah Fuller is pictured before a game against the Missouri Tigers, Nov. 28, 2020, in Columbia, Mo. (Denny Medley – USA Today/Reuters)Coach Derek Mason made clear that Fuller kicked for the Commodores because of need, not for history or publicity. COVID-19 protocols and restrictions left Mason with very few options, prompting him to reach out to the soccer team for help.Fuller, a 6-foot-2 goalkeeper, decided she was up for the challenge.”I’m not about making statements,” Mason said. “This was out of necessity. You look at our week. Our students had gone home. The ability to have access to students and tryouts was almost nil in terms of like what’s available. … That just happened to be the most viable option.”After Fuller’s kick, she went straight to the sideline, where she high-fived some of her new teammates and swapped some elbow bumps. Fuller’s parents watched and cheered from the stands along with her boyfriend and best friend.Fuller wore “Play Like A Girl” on the back of her helmet. The senior will get to keep the No. 32 jersey she wore Saturday, the same as her number when playing soccer.After her kickoff, reaction poured in on social media. Fuller was the No. 2 trending topic on Twitter, followed by Vandy. Her soccer team wrote on Twitter: “Glass. Everywhere.”As in glass ceiling.Pat McAfee, a former National Football League punter, reviewed Fuller’s squib kick, noting the ball didn’t go out of bounds and there was no chance of a return, setting up the defense.”Congrats to @SarahFuller_27 for being THE FIRST EVER WOMAN TO KICKOFF A POWER 5 GAME,” McAfee wrote. “Incredibly rare to be the ‘1st ever person to do something’ these days..this is really cool.”Fuller also made clear she’d be up for continuing to help the football team if needed. She believes she can refine her timing and technique with more practice.Vanderbilt (0-8) visits No. 13 Georgia next week.”If she wants to kick and she’s available, we’d love to have her,” Mason said.
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Diego Maradona’s tormented private life, with its tangled relationships and paternity suits, suggests distributing his inheritance will be a complex task for lawyers bracing for claims from a slew of children — those he recognized and those he didn’t.”There’s going to be a big fight. He didn’t leave a will,” according to a source close to the family who declined to be named.Maradona made and wasted millions over his years at the pinnacle of his fame with Barcelona, Napoli and Argentina, and he also made some shrewd investments. Some reports circulating since his death estimate his estate at $90 million.Angered over a dispute with his daughter Giannina last year, he threatened to donate all his wealth, including properties, luxury cars and sponsorship contracts, to charity.’I’m going to give it all away'”I know that now, as you get older, people are more concerned about what you leave behind than what you are doing,” he was quoted as saying at the time.”And I tell them all that I’m not going to leave them anything, that I’m going to give it all away. Everything I’ve got in my life, I’m going to give away,” he said.Under Argentine law, however, people can give away only a fifth of their assets. At least two-thirds must be left to the spouse or offspring of the deceased.Giannina, 31, had sparked the row by accusing the former star’s entourage of not taking proper care of him, which seems to have been a recurring theme of their relationship.Father and daughter had reconciled by his 60th birthday in October, with Giannina lauding him in a series of affectionate messages posted on social media with her sister, Dalma.”He is my great example of all the things to do and all the things not to do. I have admired him, yesterday, today and always. He taught me to forgive, to forgive myself,” Gianinna wrote.A fan mourns in front of flowers and posters left in tribute to Diego Maradona at the entrance of the Boca Juniors stadium known as La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 27, 2020. Maradona died Nov. 25 at age 60.Complex tiesClaudia Villafane was Maradona’s childhood sweetheart since age 15. His only wife, they divorced in 2003.Their two daughters, Dalma, 33, and Giannina, were the only children he recognized for many years.But there were others, spawning the joke that Maradona had fathered his own soccer team. It threatens to make the task of distributing his inheritance a complicated one for his lawyer, Matias Morla.The football icon had been forced to acknowledge three other children over the years, including Diego Junior, born a few months before Dalma.Conceived with Italian singer Cristiana Sinagra, and born in 1986, months after he captained Argentina to World Cup glory in Mexico, it took Maradona 29 years to acknowledge his paternity. Ill with COVID-19, Diego Junior was unable to travel from Italy to his father’s funeral.In 2008, the football legend recognized Jana, born in 1996 to Valeria Sabalain, the former girlfriend Maradona was closest to during the last months of his life.Another son, Diego Ojeda, was born in 2013 from his relationship with ex-girlfriend Veronica Ojeda.Other claimsBut others have staked paternity claims against Maradona, including at least three in Cuba where Maradona spent years in a drug rehabilitation program, according to his lawyer.Spats between the ex-partners and Maradona’s children have been a recurring theme of his life and have been given a full airing on social media and Argentine television channels.His eldest daughters and their mother appeared to be the ones in control of the funeral arrangements Thursday.However, the World Cup winner was in a legal dispute with his ex-wife over ownership of hundreds of items of memorabilia from his career.
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This holiday season, the traditional visit with Santa Claus is going digital. Virtual visits with Santa Claus are being offered as a safer way for children to interact with Santa during the pandemic, as Tina Trinh reports.
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Jim, from Taiwan, slipped a face mask inside the greeting card he sent to Santa and marked “I (heart) u.” Alina, 5, asked in her Santa letter written with an adult’s help that he please use the front door when he drops in, because the back door is reserved for Grandma and Grandpa to minimize their risk of contamination.  And spilling out her heavy little heart to “Dear Father Christmas,” 10-year-old Lola wrote that she is wishing “that my aunt never has cancer again and that this virus no longer exists.”  “My mother is a care-giver and sometimes I am scared for her,” Lola explained, signing off her handwritten letter with, “Take care of yourself Father Christmas, and of the Elves.”  The emotional toll wrought by the pandemic is jumping off pages in the deluge of “Dear Santa” letters now pouring into a post office in southwest France that sorts and responds to his mail from around the world.  
 
Arriving by the tens of thousands, the letters, notes and cards — some mere scribbles, other elaborate labors of love in colored pens — are revealing windows into the tender minds of their young authors, and of adult Santa fans also asking for respite and happiness, at the tail end of a year of sickness and tumult.  Like this letter from young Zoe, who limited her requests to a music player and amusement park tickets because “this year has been very different from others because of COVID-19.”  “That’s why I am not asking you for many thing(s) to avoid infection,” Zoe wrote, signing off with “Merci!” and a heart.  In theory, and often in practice, any letter addressed “Pere Noel” — French for Father Christmas — and slipped into any post box around the world is likely to wend its way to the sorting office in France’s Bordeaux region that has been handling his mail since 1962. Toiling out of sight among vineyards, his secretariat of workers (who call themselves “elves”) spends the months of November and December slicing open envelopes decorated with hearts, stickers and colors, and spreading Santa magic by responding on his behalf.  From the first letters opened at the secretariat from Nov. 12, it quickly became apparent how the pandemic is weighing on children, says the chief elf, Jamila Hajji. Along with the usual pleas for toys and gadgets were also requests for vaccines, for visits from grandparents, for life to return to the way it was. One letter in three mentions the pandemic in some way, Hajji says.  “The kids have been very affected by COVID, more than we think. They are very worried. And what they want most of all, apart from presents, is really to be able to have a normal life, the end of COVID, a vaccine,” she says.  “The letters to Father Christmas are a sort of release for them. All this year, they have been in lockdowns, they have been deprived of school, deprived of their grandpas and grandmas. Their parents have been occupied by the health crisis and whatnot. So we, of course, can tell that the children are putting into words everything they have felt during this period.”  “We are like elf therapists,” she adds.  Replying to 12,000 letters per day, the team of 60 elves sets aside some that move them or catch the eye. Lola’s is among those that have stood out so far, with its heartfelt confession to Santa that “this year more than the others, I need magic and to believe in you.” The elves say their sense is that children are confiding worries that they may not have shared with parents.  Emma Barron, a psychiatrist specializing in the mental health of children and adolescents at the Robert Debré pediatric hospital in Paris, says landmark dates, including birthdays and holidays like Christmas, provide structure in childhood. Amid the pandemic’s uncertainty, the Dec. 25 anchor of Christmas is particularly important to kids this year.  “Children are quite surprising in that they can adapt to many things,” Barron says. “But rhythms, rituals and things like that are an integral part of children’s mental stability.”  As the letters flood in, it’s also clear that this goes beyond childhood. Santa is proving a beacon to adults, too, with some writing to him for the first time since they were kids.  One asked for “a pandemic of love.” A 77-year-old lamented that “lockdown is no fun! I live alone.” A grandparent asked Santa to “say ‘Hi’ to my two grandkids that I won’t be able to see this year because of the health situation.”  “Your mission will be hard this year,” wrote Anne-Marie, another adult suppliant. “You will need to sprinkle stars across the entire world, to calm everyone and revive our childhood souls, so we can dream, at last, and let go.”
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Local organizers on Friday announced a series of 18 test events set to begin in March and run into May.The Tokyo Olympics are set to open on July 23, 2021, after being postponed eight months ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic.The announcement in an online news conference came the same day that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported a one-day record of 570 new coronavirus infections in the capital.Although Japan has handled the pandemic better than most countries, cases have been surging recently with about 2,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in a country of 125 million.Officials said at least four of the test events will involve athletes from abroad, including tests in swimming, gymnastics, diving and volleyball.A track and field meet on May 9 at the new National Stadium is listed as test event. It is not clear if athletes from abroad will participate.Hidemasa Nakamura, the games delivery officer, said none of the test events will allow fans from abroad, although some events will permit an unspecified number of fans from Japan.“No, we will not have spectators from abroad,” Nakamura said.Several of the events will not even involve athletes, testing “operations” only as a way to cut back on spending.Japan has held sports events recently with fans. The final game of the Japan Series of professional baseball this week drew about 19,000 fans in a 38,000-seat stadium in Fukuoka. And a few thousand fans were allowed to attend an international gymnastics event earlier this month in Tokyo.“As for the number of spectators, we have to take the guidelines of the Japanese government into consideration,” said Yasuo Mori, who works with Nakamura on games delivery.The announcement by the Tokyo organizing committee is the latest in a campaign over the last several months to convince a global audience, sponsors and the Japanese public that the Olympics and Paralympics will take place despite the COVID-19 pandemic.Organizers are to announce a “toolbox” of preliminary countermeasures next month against COVID-19, although they are likely to be vague and subject to many changes going into next year.International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who was in Tokyo this month to talk up the games, acknowledged much of the planning hinges around the availability of vaccines and rapid testing.He said they were not a “silver bullet” but certainly would be a help along with social distancing, masks and near-quarantine conditions in the Athletes Village.Bach said athletes would not be required to take a vaccine. He said young Olympic athletes were not a priority ahead of millions of health care workers, the elderly and other vulnerable populations.Bach suggested the IOC would cover some of the cost of the vaccine, but he gave no details as the cost continues to climb because of the postponement.Tokyo says it is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, although a government audit last year said it was probably twice that much.Games officials say a full complement of 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympic athletes will be allowed into Japan, accompanied by ten of thousands of officials, judges, VIPs, sponsors, media and broadcasters.
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From Walmart Inc to Best Buy, retailers have overhauled Black Friday shopping, with some assigning clerks in orange vests to serve as traffic cops, taking shoppers’ temperatures and offering “grab-and-go” merchandise, including toys, bikes and kitchen appliances to discourage lingering in store aisles.Most major retailers closed on Thanksgiving this year in a nod to the stress endured by their workers during a global health pandemic. Walmart reopened stores at 5 a.m. on Friday, directing shoppers to turn right upon entering and proceed along main aisles to shop deals before paying at registers surrounded by plastic barriers.Best Buy is opening its doors at 5 a.m. and Target, which introduced contactless self-checkout and doubled the number of parking spots for its contactless “Drive Up” pick-up service this holiday season, set a 7 a.m. opening.Traditionally, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has launched the holiday shopping season in the United States, with retailers offering steep discounts and turning a significant profit.But during this pandemic-ridden year, major retailers from Target Corp to Kohl’s Corp and Walmart rolled out online winter holiday promotions in October to capture any holiday-related spending as early as possible.Overall, the National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts U.S. holiday retail sales will increase between 3.6% and 5.2% over 2019, for a total of $755.3 billion to $766.7 billion. That compares with an average annual increase of 2.5% over the past five years.A Walmart spokeswoman said the world’s largest retailer was not selling traditional “hot-ticket doorbuster” items in stores this Black Friday. But even as health officials around the globe encouraged people to stay home and shop online, Walmart set aside some deals only for shoppers who came into its stores—advertising items including “in-store only” savings on $5 packs of Wonder Nation’s girls’ and boys’ underwear and socks. The spokeswoman declined to comment on the ads.Lindsey Cox, 43, of Thomasville, North Carolina, said she noticed Walmart’s advertised in-store price for Christmas gnomes was much lower than on Amazon.com Inc. But she said she doesn’t plan to visit Walmart stores on Black Friday.”I could not justify going into the store right now,” the stay-at-home mother of three told Reuters. The savings is “not worth the tradeoff” of her or her family potentially being exposed to people who may be infected with coronavirus, she said.On Nov. 19, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deemed “going shopping in crowded stores just before, on, or after Thanksgiving” as a high-risk activity.More than half of U.S. shoppers expect to shop online on Black Friday, despite 75% of consumers taking advantage of seasonal sales, which started earlier this year, an Adobe Analytics survey predicts.However, 55% of consumers reported that sales on the Black Friday weekend feel less special due to promotions in the run up to the event, according to Adobe.Adobe expects Thanksgiving Day to come in below $6 billion in total sales, with Black Friday set to cross $10 billion in sales.The volume of Black Friday payment transactions in Britain as of 0900 GMT was down 13.2% versus last year, initial data from Barclaycard showed, with retailers of non-essential goods still shut and many in the sector spreading out online discounts throughout the month.The end of England’s second national lockdown on Dec. 2 is predicted to see a surge in transactions, surpassing Black Friday, Barclaycard, which processes nearly one pound ($1.33) in every three pounds spent in the United Kingdom, said.
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Football fans around the world are mourning the sudden death Wednesday of Diego Maradona, one of the sport’s greatest players.  In his home country of Argentina, fans gathered to pay tribute to Maradona, who died at age 60 of a heart attack.  Edgar Maciel filed this report.Camera: Edgar Maciel.
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Soccer superstar Diego Maradona was buried Thursday in a private ceremony attended by two dozen people — a stark contrast to earlier in the day when tens of thousands of weeping fans filed past his coffin for hours in an observance that mixed head-of-state-like honors with the chaos of a rowdy stadium.Only family members and close friends were permitted at Jardín Bella Vista cemetery for the final religious ceremony and burial of Maradona next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego.Fans waving Argentine flags had gathered along roads as Maradona’s funeral car drove by under heavy security. Many tried to touch the vehicle whenever it was stopped by traffic.The earlier viewing at the Argentine presidential mansion was halted shortly before 6 p.m., 12 hours after it started, as Maradona’s family wished. The body of the Argentine icon was taken away for burial, frustrating many who were waiting to pay their respects and causing new tensions at the gates of the cemetery.Fans, some draped in the national flag, sang soccer anthems as they formed a line that stretched more than 20 blocks from the Plaza de Mayo, where Argentines gathered to celebrate the Maradona-led triumph in the 1986 World Cup.A sign set up by mourning fans reads in Spanish, “Thank You God for Everything,” as police block their access to the Jardin de Bellavista cemetery during the burial of Diego Maradona in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 26, 2020.But with the time for viewing the coffin at the presidential palace drawing short, police moved to cut off the crowd, enraging fans who hurled rocks and other objects at officers, who responded with rubber bullets.The crowd overwhelmed organizers and the violence resulted in injuries and arrests, which led Maradona’s family to end the public visitation. The casket was placed in a car that carried the former footballer’s name on a paperboard by the window.Desperate to say goodbye, Maradona’s fans climbed on the fences of the presidential mansion as if they were in a soccer stadium, while firefighters worked to clear the ground.’Diego lives in the people'”Diego is not dead, Diego lives in the people,” people chanted as the coffin was taken to a cemetery outside Buenos Aires. The motorcade, accompanied by police, was followed on a local highway by dozens of honking cars and motorcycles.Hundreds of fans blocked entry to the cemetery before the arrival of Maradona’s casket, dancing and chanting as police moved in to open a way. The crowd continued making noise after the final ceremony began.Maradona died Wednesday of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he had been recovering from a brain operation November 3.Mourners embrace as they wait to see football star Diego Maradona lying in state outside the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 26, 2020.While the viewing bore the hallmarks of a state funeral, with Maradona’s casket laid out in the presidential palace, the atmosphere often was that of a soccer stadium — chanting, singing, pushing and the occasional whiff of alcohol.Fans wept and blew kisses as they passed the wooden coffin, some striking their chests with closed fists and shouting, “Let’s go, Diego.”It was draped with the Argentine flag and shirts bearing his famed No. 10 from the national team and the Boca Juniors club, with other jerseys tossed around it by passing admirers.Family, friends firstOpen visitation began at 6:15 a.m. after a few hours of privacy for family and close friends. The first to bid farewell were his daughters and close family members. His former wife, Claudia Villafañe, came with Maradona’s daughters Dalma and Gianinna. Later came Verónica Ojeda, also an ex-wife, with their son, Dieguito Fernando.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Relatives and friends bury the remains of Diego Maradona while police keep fans outside the Jardin de Bellavista cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 26, 2020.In tears, Fernández also laid two handkerchiefs of the human rights organization Mother of the Plaza de Mayo, whose members wore them for years to protest the disappearance of their children under Argentina’s military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. Maradona, an outspoken leftist who had an image of Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara tattooed on one bicep, was a friend of the Madres and other rights groups.The lines started forming outside the Casa Rosada only hours after Maradona’s death was confirmed and grew to several blocks.A huge mural of Maradona’s face was painted on the tiles that cover the Plaza de Mayo, near the Casa Rosada, which was decorated with a giant black ribbon at the entrance.The first fan to visit was Nahuel de Lima, 30, using crutches to move because of a disability.”He made Argentina be recognized all over the world. Who speaks of Maradona also speaks of Argentina,” de Lima told The Associated Press. “Diego is the people. … Today the shirts, the political flags don’t matter. We came to say goodbye to a great that gave us a lot of joy.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 9 MB480p | 12 MB540p | 17 MB720p | 39 MB1080p | 71 MBOriginal | 187 MB Embed” />Copy Download Audio1986 march to gloryMaradona’s soccer genius, personal struggles and plain-spoken personality resonated deeply with Argentines.He led an underdog team to glory in the 1986 World Cup, winning the title after scoring two astonishing goals in a semifinal match against England, thrilling a country that felt humiliated by its loss against the British in the recent Falklands war and that was still recovering from the brutal military dictatorship.Many Argentines deeply sympathized with the struggles of a man who rose from poverty to fame and wealth and fell into abuse of drug, drink and food. He remained idolized in the soccer-mad nation as the “Pibe de Oro” or “Golden Boy.”Many of those in line to enter the Casa Rosada wore masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they struggled to keep social distancing.Social worker Rosa Noemí Monje, 63, said she and others overseeing health protocols understood the emotion of the moment.”It is impossible to ask them to distance. We behave respectfully and offer them sanitizer and face masks,” she said. Monje also paid her last tribute to Maradona.”I told him: To victory always, Diego,” Monje said as she wept.
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Argentines crowded near the presidential mansion Thursday where football star Diego Maradona’s funeral is being held.Thousands of Argentines faced police officers and long lines to pay their respects to the legendary midfielder, who died of a cardiorespiratory issue at the age of 60 a day earlier.EN VIVO | Despedida a Diego Armando Maradona https://t.co/5o3InKTY5D— Casa Rosada (@CasaRosada) November 26, 2020Maradona lay in state, his casket draped in an Argentine flag and his number 10 jersey, at the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires Thursday. Open visitation began at 6:15am local time, after a few private hours for family and close friends.The star’s family was hoping to bury Maradona Thursday evening in the Bella Vista cemetery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires where his parents are also interred, Reuters reported.Tributes to Maradona flooded social media Wednesday and Thursday, with many of his old teams including FC Barcelona posting videos of his old plays with captions like “Thank you for everything, Diego” and “we’ll never forget you”. 💙❤ Always in our memory pic.twitter.com/FM2qPkekuI— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 25, 2020″He was someone who touched the sky with his hands but never took his feet off the ground,” President Alberto Fernandez said on Wednesday.In 1986, Maradona, who came from humble roots, led the Argentine side to a World Cup title in Mexico. During the tournament, he scored what many consider one of the all-time greatest goals against England when he sliced through the English defense. In that same game, he scored the controversial “hand of God” goal when he got away with what appeared to be a handball leading to a score.  Playing for his home country, he scored 34 goals in 91 appearances. He appeared in four World Cups. During the peak of his club career, he played for European powerhouses Barcelona and Napoli, during which he helped the Italian side win two Serie A titles. 
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Impatient fans were confronting police as thousands lined up to say goodbye to Diego Maradona on Thursday at the Argentine presidential mansion staging the funeral of one of football’s greatest stars.  
Fans threw bottles and metal fences at police near the Casa Rosada in the heart of Buenos Aires.
Open visitation started at 6:15 a.m. local time (0915 GMT) after a few hours of privacy for family and close friends.
Maradona’s wooden casket was in the main lobby of the presidential office, covered in an Argentine flag and a No. 10 shirt of the national team. Dozens of other shirts of different soccer teams were thrown in by visitors who passed by in tears.
Maradona died on Wednesday of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he recovered from a brain operation on Nov. 3.  
The first to bid farewell were his daughters and close family members. Then came former teammates of the 1986 World Cup-winning squad including Oscar Ruggeri. Other Argentine footballers, such as Boca Juniors’ Carlos Tévez, showed up, too.
The lines started outside the Casa Rosada only hours after Maradona’s death was confirmed. Among those present were the renowned barrabravas fans of Boca Juniors, one of his former clubs.
The first fan to visit was Nahuel de Lima, using crutches to move because of a disability. At the same time, a wave of people tried to get ahead and confronted police, who used tear gas to contain them.  
Bodyguards were stopping fans from taking pictures and controlling access to the building. Many fans were breaking down as soon as they left.
Fans who walked past the casket blew kisses into the air, struck their chests with closed fists, and shouted “Let’s go Diego.” Most, but not all, wore masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  
A giant black screen in front of the Casa Rosada is showing historic photos of Maradona as fans go.
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The show must go on. This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City will take place but not as we know it. The characteristic crowds of people who line the streets to catch a glimpse of the parade will be missing because of the coronavirus pandemic, organizers said in a statement on Wednesday. Spectators of the annual event will have to view the parade on television. NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker will host Thursday’s event, which is scheduled for broadcast from 9 a.m. until noon in all time zones across the United States. Macy’s also plans to restrict the parade to its storefront on 34th Street in New York City, cutting out its signature 4-kilometer route. Also, this year, high school and college marching bands will be absent. In partnership with the city, Macy’s promised to deliver a safe 94th Thanksgiving Day Parade. This included figuring out which roads to block to prevent people from entering the parade area. Program lineups involving musical performances, balloons, floats and an appearance by Santa Claus will not change. This year, late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon and The Roots band are scheduled to open the program with musical performances from entertainers including Patti LaBelle, Keke Palmer and Dolly Parton.
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Diego Maradona, widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time before drug and alcohol addiction marred his career, died Wednesday at his home in Argentina after suffering a heart attack, his lawyer said. He was 60. Beloved in his homeland after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, and adored in Italy for taking Napoli to two Serie A titles, Maradona was a uniquely gifted player who rose from the tough streets of Buenos Aires to reach the pinnacle of his sport. He died four years to the day after one of his political heroes, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and 15 years to the day after another troubled but talented football folk hero, George Best, whom Maradona cited as one of his boyhood inspirations. FILE – Former Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona poses during the photo call for the documentary “Maradona” during the 61st International film festival in Cannes, southern France, May 20, 2008.Maradona had recently battled health issues and underwent emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma several weeks ago. He suffered a heart attack at his home in the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Wednesday, acquaintances of the former player said. His death was confirmed by his lawyer. In Buenos Aires, people began pouring onto the streets to mourn the nation’s favorite son, gathering in the San Andres neighborhood where he lived, in Boca, the gritty barrio where he first became a star, and in the nearby city of La Plata where he had lately been technical director for local team Gimnasia y Esgrima. The Argentine government declared three days of mourning. President Alberto Fernandez said in a tweet, “You took us to the highest point in the world and made us immensely happy. You were the greatest of all. Thank you for having been with us, Diego. We will miss you all our lives.” At Buenos Aires metro stations, digital billboards replaced messages about trains with the words: “Gracias Diego.” In the suburb of Villa Crespo, the song “La Mano de Dios” by folk singer Rodrigo Bueno rang out from a balcony, a reference to a goal Maradona scored with his hand against England in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In Argentina, Maradona has long been worshipped as “El Dios” — The God. A woman pays her respects to soccer legend Diego Maradona outside the San Paolo Stadium, in Naples, Italy, Nov. 25, 2020.While that goal — and his description of it as divine intervention — was Maradona’s most controversial, his second in that game, where he ran through the England team to score a stunning solo goal, showcased his extraordinary dribbling and control that many consider unmatched. Highs and lows Maradona charmed the world with ball-juggling skills that he first showed off as a 12-year-old ball boy. But a controversial side of him surfaced in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, where he was sent home after failing a doping test. His last goal for Argentina came in that tournament against Greece in Boston, and he celebrated by screaming angrily into a television camera. Pele, the Brazilian footballer who is considered one of the only players to have come close to Maradona’s skill level, was quick to pay tribute to the Argentine. “Certainly, one day we’ll kick a ball together in the sky above,” he said. FILE – Football legends Pele, right, and Diego Maradona attend an advertising soccer event on the eve of the opening of the UEFA 2016 European Championship in Paris, France, June 9, 2016.FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, “What Diego has done for football, for making us fall in love with this beautiful game, is unique. Diego deserves our eternal gratitude for that.” At club level, Maradona broke onto the scene with the Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires before playing in Spain with Barcelona. He was idolized in Italy after leading Napoli to their first-ever Italian league title in 1987. Mayor Luigi de Magistris of Naples called for the team’s stadium to be renamed after the player. “Diego made our people dream. He redeemed Naples with his genius. In 2017, he became our honorary citizen. Diego, Neapolitan and Argentine, you gave us joy and happiness! Naples loves you!” he wrote on Twitter. Maradona-inspired street art and graffiti in the Italian city have long been tourist attractions, but he later faced tax problems in the country. In 2009, police seized his earrings to recover unpaid taxes while he was at a health clinic in northern Italy. FILE – Argentina World Cup soccer player Diego Maradona is the center of media attention at the Sheraton Park Plaza hotel in Dallas, Texas, June 30, 1994.Maradona ended his playing career in Argentina, returning to Boca. He had a brief and controversy-packed spell as Argentine national team coach from 2008 to 2010 before club coaching in the Middle East and Mexico. He had five acknowledged children from relationships with several women, but there have been others who have also claimed he was their father. His daughter Giannina was married for four years to Argentine player Sergio Aguero, who is a striker for the English Premier League club Manchester City. Maradona became friends with Castro while receiving medical treatment in Cuba. The football star had tattoos of the Cuban leader and Che Guevera, Castro’s former comrade. He was also a supporter of ex-Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. ‘Unparalleled magician’Years of drug use, overeating and alcoholism truncated his stellar career and altered his appearance from a lithe athlete who could slalom effortlessly through teams to a bloated addict who nearly died of cocaine-induced heart failure in 2000.  At his peak, he was, said Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, an “unparalleled magician.” “Today, I say goodbye to a friend, and the world says goodbye to an eternal genius,” he said. “One of the best ever. An unparalleled magician. He leaves too soon but leaves a legacy without limits and a void that will never be filled. Rest in peace, ace. You will never be forgotten.” 
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Argentina’s Diego Maradona, one of the greatest football (soccer) players of all time, has died at the age of 60. The attacking midfielder died of a cardiorespiratory issue, according to reports in the Argentine press.  The legend underwent what was described as successful surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain earlier this month, according to the BBC. Maradona had long battled alcohol and drug addiction. In 1986, Maradona, who came from humble roots, led the Argentine side to a World Cup title in Mexico.During the tournament, he scored what many consider one of the all-time greatest goals against England when he sliced through the English defense. In that same game, he scored the controversial “hand of God” goal when he got away with what appeared to be a handball leading to a score. In 1990, he led his team to the final, but lost to West Germany. He was set to captain the Argentine team in the 1994 World Cup, but failed drug tests. Playing for his home country, he scored 34 goals in 91 appearances. He appeared in four World Cups. During the peak of his club career, he played for European powerhouses Barcelona and Napoli, during which he helped the Italian side win two Serie A titles. Maradona retired from professional soccer in 1997 after a stint with Argentine club team Boca Juniors. In 2008, he was named head coach of the Argentine national team but left after the team was beaten in the quarter finals by Germany in the 2010 World Cup.  
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The Duchess of Sussex has revealed that she had a miscarriage in July, giving a personal account of the traumatic experience in hope of helping others.
Meghan described the miscarriage in an opinion piece in the New York Times on Wednesday, writing that “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
The former Meghan Markle and husband Prince Harry have an 18-month-old son, Archie.
The duchess, 39, said she was sharing her story to help break the silence around an all-too-common tragedy. Britain’s National Health Service says about one in eight pregnancies in which a woman is aware she is pregnant ends in miscarriage.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” Meghan wrote.
“In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing.”
In a startlingly intimate account of her experience, the duchess described how tragedy struck on a “morning that began as ordinarily as any other day: Make breakfast. Feed the dogs. Take vitamins. Find that missing sock. Pick up the rogue crayon that rolled under the table. Throw my hair in a ponytail before getting my son from his crib.
“After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right.”
Later, she said, she “lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”
Sophie King, a midwife at U.K. child-loss charity Tommy’s, said miscarriage and stillbirth remained “a real taboo in society, so mothers like Meghan sharing their stories is a vital step in breaking down that stigma and shame.”
“Her honesty and openness today send a powerful message to anyone who loses a baby: this may feel incredibly lonely, but you are not alone,” King said.  
Meghan, an American actress and star of TV legal drama “Suits,” married Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son was born the following year.
Early this year, the couple announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said was the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. They recently bought a house in Santa Barbara, California.
The duchess is currently suing the publisher of Britain’s Mail on Sunday newspaper for invasion of privacy over articles that published parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father after her wedding.
Last month a judge in London agreed to Meghan’s request to postpone the trial from January until fall 2021. The decision followed a hearing held in private, and the judge said the reason for the delay request should be kept confidential.
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In a scene that could have been taken from the science fiction classic “2001: A Space Odyssey,” officials in Utah have discovered a mysterious metallic monolith in the remote southeastern part of the state.Public safety workers spotted the object November 18 from a helicopter while conducting a count of bighorn sheep, according to a Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources crew members walk near a metal monolith they discovered in a remote area of Red Rock Country in Utah, Nov. 18, 2020.So far, there is no indication of who could have placed the 3- to 3.6-meter-tall monolith in that location.“It is illegal to install structures or art without authorization on federally managed public lands, no matter what planet you’re from,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement.“That’s been about the strangest thing that I’ve come across out there in all my years of flying,” pilot Bret Hutchings told KSL-TV.He added that the object appeared to be manmade and probably did not have any scientific purpose, calling it “more of an art form than any kind of alien life form.”For now, officials are not revealing the exact location of the monolith and are trying to determine if further investigation is needed. 
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Beyonce led nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards on Tuesday with nine nods, followed by Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and rapper Roddy Ricch, who got six apiece. Swift and British singer Dua Lipa will compete for the top prize – album of the year – along with R&B singer Post Malone, British band Coldplay, female band Haim, avant-garde British artist Jacob Collier, American soul band Black Pumas and American alternative R&B singer Jhene Aiko. The biggest shutout was Canadian singer The Weeknd, who had been widely expected to rack up several nominations for his critically acclaimed, commercially successful album After Hours. FILE – The Weeknd arrives at the Oscars on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.Bob Dylan was also a no-show despite the acclaim for his first album of new music in eight years, Rough and Rowdy Ways. K-pop sensation BTS got a nod for their single Dynamite in the best pop group performance field but were left out of the top three categories. The Grammys, the highest honors in the music industry, will be handed out January 31 at a ceremony in Los Angeles hosted by Trevor Noah. Beyonce’s nominations came mostly from her song Black Parade, which celebrated Black culture and activism and was released during a summer of nationwide protests over systemic racism and police killings of Black people in the United States. Black Parade will compete in the song and record of the year categories, along with Dua Lipa’s pop hit Don’t Start Now. Swift’s coronavirus lockdown album Folklore is up for album of the year while her single Cardigan was among the song of the year categories. The best new artist field included rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat, as well as alternative artist Phoebe Bridgers. FILE – Billie Eilish accepts the award for top female artist at the Billboard Music Awards on October 14, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.Last year’s big Grammy winner, 18-year-old Billie Eilish, nabbed four nods this time, mostly for her ballad Everything I Wanted. The Recording Academy, whose members select the nominees and vote on the winners, in June announced tighter rules regarding potential conflicts of interest after claims that the selection process was open to rigging. Under the rule, members of the committees that nominate artists for the Grammys must declare in advance whether they have any financial, family or other ties to artists being considered. 
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These days, with a pandemic raging, this is what life can look like:  out the days in loungewear. Wearing minimal makeup because no one sees much of you. Considering an investment in home exercise equipment because gyms are closed or restricted.
The pandemic has forced people to spend more time with themselves than ever. Along the way, it has reshaped and broadened the way many think about and prioritize how they treat themselves — what has come to be called self-care.
The pandemic-era incarnation of self-care isn’t about buying a signature outfit, wearing a trendy shade of lipstick or getting a perfect haircut. It has, for many, put the purpose and meaning of life front and center, reconfiguring priorities and needs as the virus-inflected months drift by. No longer are worries about longevity and fears of mortality mere hypotheticals. They are 2020’s reality.
It is that daunting reality that has skyrocketed the importance of “me” time: stress-baking the latest viral creation, tending to a garden, learning a new skill, getting dressed like you’re going out just to feel some semblance of normalcy.
“People are social beings. And while the social fabric has been torn down, and you can’t be a normal social person, you have been more focused on yourself,” says Rod Little, CEO of Edgewell Personal Care, which makes Schick and Bull Dog products. “It’s beautifying for longevity, as opposed to how I look in the office tomorrow.”
It’s also a way to mitigate the feeling that life is careening forward haphazardly in so many ways. That’s true for Tonya Speaks, a 43-year-old wardrobe coach from Fort Mills, South Carolina. Before the pandemic, she was always zipping to and from business meetings. Now, the mother of two teenagers exercises regularly and opts for luxurious baths at night instead of quick showers in the morning. She’s happier doing so.
“Taking care of myself,” Speaks says, “is one way for me to have control.”Beyond The ‘Lipstick’ Index 
Self-care isn’t a new fad. The difference is that pre-pandemic, it could fall by the wayside if a to-do list got crowded. Now, eight months into the new reality, it is a priority. After all, the thinking goes: If we’re not taking care of ourselves, how can we do jobs, parent children, care for loved ones?
For those who have the means — and that’s no small caveat during this pandemic — feeling good can mean looking good. And the widespread isolation has produced new trends in beauty and clothing.
Companies like Signet Jewelers and Blue Nile are seeing a surge in sales of earrings, which are visible on video calls and when people are out wearing face masks. Department stores like Kohl’s and Macy’s are expanding casual clothing offerings as more people stay close to home.
Pop star Lady Gaga, who has her own beauty line, recently posted a close-up shot in which she wears a cat-eye look with natural, peach-colored lipstick. She did her makeup “to cheer myself up.”
“(S)o many people are going through hard times during this pandemic,” she wrote in the Instagram post. “It is SO IMPORTANT that you celebrate yourself, live colorfully and rejoice in that BRAVE SOUL that is you.”
But when it comes to consumer products, the pandemic is pushing makeup aside as people gravitate towards skin care products. The virus is even turning the “lipstick index” upside down.
Typically, lipstick sales skyrocket when the economy gets rough because it is an inexpensive way to feel good. But during the pandemic, makeup sales have been rocky, and sales of skincare products are up. In fact, 70% of consumers scaled back their use of makeup this year, according to the NPD Group Inc., a market research firm. As a result, skincare has eclipsed makeup as the top category in the beauty industry’s market share from January through August.
“People are being more mindful of what people are putting on their skin and in their bodies because of the pandemic,” says Lauren Yavor, a beauty influencer who recently launched a “clean” nail polish line that sold out in just days. “This really was a turning point for clean beauty.”
— Beauty chains like Ulta and department stores like Macy’s are ramping up offerings in moisturizers and bath and body products. Walmart teamed up with Unilever, maker of Dove and Suave, to launch shops called “Find Your Happy Place” aimed at customers looking to destress. The concept, in the works before the pandemic, was accelerated by one year.
— Companies are also reinventing marketing to cater to the new way of grooming. Little says Edgewell retooled an ad campaign for a multipurpose facial beauty tool to focus on eyebrow-shaping because of the rise in video calls.
— Within makeup, eyeshadow and eyeliner as well as false eyelashes are thriving as people play up the features that are peeping through their masks when they’re out, says Larissa Jensen, NPD’s beauty industry advisor. Hair products saw an 11% sales increase during the third quarter as people take a DIY approach to coloring and styling.
Says Esi Eggleston Bracey, chief operating officer of Unilever North America’s personal care and beauty division: “This is a wellness revolution.”A Deeper Importance 
How deep does this run? Is all the pandemic self-care working, or are people are just going through haphazard motions? One psychologist compares it to a roller coaster — up on some days, down on others.
“Some days, you have a great day when you did all the things you wanted to do. You got up on time, you made a salad. And then the next day, it’s Cheetos for lunch,” says Dr. Vaile Wright, a senior director at the American Psychological Association.
Being kind to one’s self feels especially important during the pandemic, where every aspect of human life has been impacted and there is little control over what’s next. That level of uncertainty is unnerving, Wright says, and further depletes already limited energy levels.
Self-care, of course, is only one dimension of coping during stressful times. Surveys have shown a sharp increase in anxiety disorders. Many therapists are reporting upticks in referrals and increases in caseloads. Virtual mental health services are booming — another form of self-care, in a more medical sense.
“Having a toolbox of coping skills is really critical,” Wright says. She highlights other types of self-care like meditation, journaling and organizing — each of which has its own culture and committed practitioners. “We have a tendency to isolate emotionally,” Wright says. “It is really important that people don’t do that.”
Ultimately, “self-care” contains as many definitions as there are people who take care of themselves — a Google search of the term will show you that. The World Health Organization takes an expansive view, describing it as a “broad concept” that includes hygiene, lifestyle, social habits, income levels and cultural beliefs — and, in the best cases, can “strengthen national institutions” to encourage a society’s overall health.
As the world navigates a web of unknowns that sometimes feels like the Upside Down in “Stranger Things,” there is one thing that people can do something about: themselves. For all the horror the pandemic has brought, it has also revealed things that matter. And from the way people have reacted through this year, it seems clear that, in all the forms it takes, self-care matters — particularly right now, particularly with so many unknowns still ahead.
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