PARIS — He was raised in a small village in Haiti and came of age as a novelist in Montreal, working nights as a janitor after fleeing the Haitian dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier, a.k.a. Baby Doc, in 1976. Now, Dany Laferrière has become one of the few non-French citizens inducted into the Académie Française, the inner sanctum of French letters and august protector of the language. His induction on Thursday, before an audience including President François Hollande and political leaders of Quebec and Haiti, was seen not only as a great achievement for the writer, whose friends and family filled the atrium of the academy’s home at the Institut de France with a standing ovation, but also for the wider French-speaking world. It also pointed to the academy’s efforts to allow some fresh air into la langue. “Dany Laferrière embodies the opening up of the French language,” said Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, the permanent secretary of the academy. His induction, she said, was an important … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Soaring hospitalizations of mostly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients are putting medical staffs in Louisiana under stress for a fourth time, as state officials continue the plea for people to get the shots that can prevent the disease. Hospitalizations were nearing the 1,000 mark Friday as Gov. John Bel Edwards prepared to talk about the latest surge and the need for vaccinations at a Friday afternoon news conference. Louisiana has among the nation's lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates. “Our staff is feeling stretched. Our staff is also as you can imagine disheartened that we are going through this not one, two, three, but four times," said Dr. Katherine Baumgarten, Medical Director of Infection Prevention for the 40-hospital Ochsner Health system. “This time it is even harder because we know that this is largely preventable.” In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued an advisory this week “strongly recommending” that people wear masks indoors, regardless of … [Read more...]

First lady Jill Biden Jill Biden The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by Goldman Sachs — House temperature rises over Jan. 6 select committee The Hill's Morning Report - Infrastructure vote fails; partisan feud erupts over Jan. 6 panel Jill Biden takes starring role at difficult Olympics MORE on Friday led the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremony in Tokyo to kick off a highly anticipated and unique Olympics. It is Biden’s first solo international trip as first lady. Biden was spotted in the audience of the opening ceremony, wearing a black mask. The opening ceremony paid homage to the athletes who trained in isolation during the global pandemic, showing videos of athletes practicing at home. It also honored those who have died from COVID-19 around the world. ADVERTISEMENT . @FLOTUS stands to cheer as #TeamUSA enters the arena. pic.twitter.com/XM0xiSzqxb — Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) July 23, 2021 Biden penned an open letter in … [Read more...]

21 CANNES, France (AP) — “Matt! Matt! Look over here, over your shoulder, Matt Damon!” The moment he turned with a big smile on his face, we made direct eye contact as chills ran down my spine. Bam! I captured it. As an Atlanta-based photographer who’s covered major sports, breaking news, national politics throughout the United States, I thought all my previous experience would have prepared me for the Cannes Film Festival. But I was wrong. This assignment was completely different. It’s completely opposite of what I normally do, screaming and shouting people’s names to look at me, is strange. My piercing high pitched voice breaks through the crowd of deeper voices and for only a second a celebrity looks at me. Communication with the locals can be difficult because I don’t speak the language, but gestures of where to stand, where to look and … [Read more...]

The most eagerly anticipated study on the effect of antimalarial drugs — the drugs assiduously promoted by President Trump — on COVID-19 finds that they’re worthless against the disease caused by the coronavirus. The results from a trial of 821 non-hospitalized subjects who had been exposed to the virus by someone living in their household or as a healthcare worker or first responder were released Wednesday by researchers at the University of Minnesota who led the trial. The results are due to be published later Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. While we are disappointed that this did not prevent COVID-19, we are pleased that we were able to provide a conclusive answer. David Boulware, University of Minnesota Advertisement The key finding is that hydroxychloroquine, the most common preparation of drugs typically used to prevent malaria and to help those with autoimmune conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, “was not able to … [Read more...]

SPAC man. Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images Bill Ackman isn’t known for always being right. He is, however, known for influencing large numbers of other investors, selling them on his ideas, and sometimes making them lots and lots of money — but also sometimes being disastrously wrong, failing to deliver on his promises, and losing lots of everyone’s money in the process. Early last year, Ackman made billions of dollars betting the markets would fall as COVID spread around the globe. A few years prior to that, he lost a fortune on a high-profile bet that he could get supplements-maker Herbalife declared a pyramid scheme by regulators (who declined to do so). The impressive portion of his record allowed Ackman, the billionaire founder and CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, to raise $4 billion for his own SPAC a year ago. SPACs — or “special purpose acquisition companies” — are blank-check entities designed to provide a speedy and simple way for private … [Read more...]