8-year-old’s esports contract is turning heads – SVG

When you were eight years old, you might have dreamed of a career that involved getting paid to play video games. While sites like Twitch and YouTube have made those aspirations possible, the dream has evolved thanks to esports teams. Instead of just making a plain old career out of video games, talented gamers can transform into celebrities and receive everything that comes with stardom. That includes legions of cheering fans, merchandise with their faces on it ... and the occasional questionable contract.

Team 33, a relative newcomer to the esports scene, just signed on Joseph Deen who will go by his nom du game of 33 Gosu as part of their exclusive player roster. If you've never heard of Deen before, that's because he's eight years old, which is younger than many of the current teenage esports players. The kid isn't even old enough to learn basic geometry and algebra, but he's already building wooden towers and floss dancing like a pro, and the internet is up in arms over a single question: Is this legal?

Even though Deen received a $33,000 signing bonus and a free gaming setup estimated at over $5000, audiences can't agree on how to react to the news. Many wish him the best; a few don't quite understand it,and some are curious about the contract and whether it flaunts child labor laws. Kotaku, curious about the latter issue, contacted Team 33 founder Tyler Gallagher, who claimed the contract is legally permissible because of one crucial detail: Gaming isn't work (according to him, anyway).

Even though Deen is now a member of an esports team, he won't participate in tournaments, and the contract lets him skip weekend practice sessions. And, Deen's mother can cancel the contract if gaming gets in the way of his schoolwork. The agreement is, as Gallagher described it, a "reverse contract." It is designed to help Team 33 mentor Deen and is essentially an investment to mold him into a future pro esports gamer, rather than an actual contract. All Team 33 asks in return is a cut of his YouTube and merchandise profits, as well as first dibs on signing him when he turns 13.

While Gallagher insisted that all things gaming aren't work, others starkly disagree. Kotaku also contacted esports attorney Ryan Fairchild, and their response was decidedly different. According to Fairchild, if a Commissioner of Labor or a Secretary of Labor were to examine Deen's contract and obligations, they would find a ton of red flags. To add to the legal conundrum, Gallagher claimed that Team 33 has been testing Deen since he was six to see if he was esports material.

This contract might end up being a case for the courts, since nobody can seem to find any common ground.

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8-year-old's esports contract is turning heads - SVG

CD Projekt Red Tells Investors Company Reputation is More Valuable than Cost to Fix Cyberpunk 2077 – mxdwn.com

Cassidy Hidalgo December 16th, 2020 - 7:42 PM

CD Projekt Red heads are saying the cost of their reputation is more valuable than the cost it will take to improve their latest release, Cyberpunk 2077. In a transcribed call to investors, CD Projekt Red addressed the controversy surrounding the highly-anticipated title. This comes after Cyberpunk 2077s launch on last-gen consoles, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, was (to put it nicely) less than favorable to customers. CD Projekt Red Joint-CEO Adam Kicinski, CFO Piotr Nielubowicz, Marcin Iwiski the Joint-CEO and cofounder, and Micha Nowakowski the Board member responsible for publishing were all answering questions during the call.

Kicinski explained to investors how the company displayed only PC or next-gen console gameplay to potential customers and, after the game failed to deliver on less powerful consoles, it generated major distrust among the gaming community. The CEO said on the call, thats why our first steps are solely focused on regaining those two things. We are concentrated on fixing Cyberpunk on last-gen consoles. During the emergency meeting, he also mentioned how fast developers are working to improve the game, with the first set of fixes released last weekend and more coming over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, when asked on the planned Cyberpunk 2077 DLC and separate multiplayer, Kicinski responded to be honest, its too early to judge.

New hotfix to #Cyberpunk2077 is now live on PlayStation consoles and PC. For Xbox systems, we are working to have the update out as soon as possible.

Here is the list of changes: https://t.co/k11sRdeI6g pic.twitter.com/RYDG2pMNRM

Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 11, 2020

After widespread outcry from last-gen console players, the official Twitter account for Cyberpunk 2077 apologized for their underperformance on older consoles and offered refunds to players having problems. Players reported countless glitches that made the game almost impossible to play for some. When asked about refunds, Iwinski told investors they had just started the process and sincerely hope that gamers will prefer to wait for updates since they had waited so long for the game. Since then, developers have been working hard to deliver what was originally promised.

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CD Projekt Red Tells Investors Company Reputation is More Valuable than Cost to Fix Cyberpunk 2077 - mxdwn.com

Officially Licensed 1979 GMC A-Team Van Heads To Auction – GM Authority

Hatching the perfect scheme is one thing, but having the right equipment at your disposal can be just as important. And while the A-Team may have had a group of highly talented ex-special forces ready to dole out justice, some would argue that the GMC Vandura A-Team van was every bit a member of the squad. Now, this 1979 Vandura officially licensed by Universal Studios to promote the A-Team TV series is up for auction.

This particular example is one of six officially licensed GMC A-Team vans in existence, and was used for exhibition purposes and promotional tours throughout the United States and Canada between 1983 and 1987. Although this vehicle was never actually featured in the show, its still a faithful recreation straight from the studio, and is sure to delight fans of the original series.

Instantly recognizable as one of TVs most iconic vehicles, this is a highly entertaining promotional exhibition vehicle that would be welcome at shows and events everywhere, says the seller.

Highlights include a classic gray-and-black two-tone paint treatment, bisected by orange striping. The front end is equipped with a prominent bash bar, while the multi-spoke wheels are done in red. Up top is a large spoiler added to the rear of the van.

The good stuff continues inside, where we find numerous weapon props, including submachine guns, a shotgun, and an assault rifle, as well as a gun turret mounted in the cargo section for use in quick getaways.

The odometer reads 90,298 miles.

Now, this 1979 GMC A-Team van heads to auction in an upcoming Worldwide Auctioneers event at no reserve. Proceeds from the sale will go to benefit the J. Kruse Education Center, a 501(c)(3) organization devoted to providing careers pathway development for students and transitioning veterans.

Subscribe to GM Authority for more GMC news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

Source: Worldwide Auctioneers

Jonathan Lopez

Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Officially Licensed 1979 GMC A-Team Van Heads To Auction - GM Authority

STRAW: Perez must master the delicate art of the F1 wingman – RACER

Dubbing a Formula 1 driver a good number two feels like damning with faint praise. As Valtteri Bottas once famously said when informed of how Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described him after the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2018, wingman hurts.

But while the rarest commodities in F1 or any auto racing category for that matter are the gold-standard drivers the support acts are also highly valued. That Bottas heads into a fifth season as Hamiltons teammate in 2021 is proof of that, as is Red Bulls struggle to find the right partner for Max Verstappen.

Sergio Perez has justifiably been deemed the solution to Red Bulls problem, and he ticks many of the boxes. Hugely experienced, with 10 F1 seasons under his belt, and a consistent force in the ultra-competitive midfield not to mention now a proven winner. Hes also a driver who sits in that tier just below the superstars, which is the well teams must draw from to find the right support act.

Perez has not been signed to fight with Verstappen or to challenge for the title. But he is there to be a regular feature at the front, pick up consistent podiums and ensure Red Bull has a second bullet in the chamber in races. Over the past two years, Red Bull has lacked this, as first Pierre Gasly then Alex Albon proved to be too far behind Verstappen, and too often caught up with the front of the midfield.

So his targets will be clear. His job is to qualify, on average, within 0.3s of Verstappen and to be there in the front pack in the race. But as Gasly and Albon have shown, that isnt as straightforward as it might sound. Its the value of a driver like Bottas who on adjusted qualifying average was within a tenth of Hamilton over the 2020 season. By contrast, Albon only just dipped inside the 0.5s mark behind Verstappen.

Perez can certainly achieve this, although having to measure up to Verstappen in the same team will be the toughest challenge of his career. Yes, he went up against Jenson Button at McLaren in 2013 and did a better job than people remember although his approach and attitude didnt endear him to the team in the first half of the season before improving too late to save his place but this is a new level. The McLaren break should have been his shot in a frontrunning team, but the car wasnt competitive. The Red Bull will be, and in Verstappen, he faces a difficult yardstick.

The pressure will be on Perez to justify his appointment. Hes certainly got the skillset, as hes a decent though not extraordinary qualifier, but he is a driver who executes superb race performances. Not only is he the master tire-manager, with what Racing Point technical director Andy Green has called built-in traction control, but within that ability to pace himself hes also capable of making key passing moves and deploying the pace when its most needed. Theres a touch of the Alain Prost about his Sunday capabilities, which makes him perfect for the style of racing in F1.

The key question is how good the car will be. The Red Bull RB16 had some fundamental limitations in faster corners that led to compromises that caused limitations elsewhere. The car was tricky to drive, and as a result, was at a disadvantage to Mercedes when it came to tire management. The cars are frozen, but enough can change to iron out these weaknesses next season. Perez can also play a part with his set-up philosophy, which has always been to privilege the race over qualifying. But first and foremost, he must be and can be a consistent presence in the lead group in qualifying and the race.

At the same time though, a good support must not be too quick. While there are obvious benefits to having two absolute top-liners, such partnerships are rare in F1. They can also prove fractious, as was most famously showcased by the alliance of Prost and Ayrton Senna at McLaren in 1989-90. There are other examples, such as Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet at Williams in 1986-87 and Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton at McLaren in 2007.

Whats often misunderstood about number two drivers whether they are defined contractually or by performance is that in the long-run the stronger driver always becomes the leader. Performance is at a premium in F1, and teams will only ever contain the perceived number two in a support role for a short time. Thats why every driver goes into a team expecting to assert themselves as the leader. This is exactly what Charles Leclerc has done at Ferrari, ending teammate Sebastian Vettels time at Maranello in the process. It just takes an extraordinary driver to do this given the level that the very best drivers operate at.

But there have been some formidable support players in F1 history. Bottas is the great exponent of the role for this age, with Hamilton and Mercedes winning four titles in his four seasons at the team. That makes him the latest in a long line of strong number twos. As Bottas might say, that hurts, but its a role that requires huge ability.

Rubens Barrichello is statistically the greatest of them, having spent six seasons in his long grand prix career as teammate to that years world champion. It happened five times at Ferrari alongside Michael Schumacher, with history repeating itself at Brawn in 2009. Of course, Barrichellos number two status was clear, with the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, where he had to hand victory to Schumacher, the most famous example.

Before Barrichello came Irvine as Schumachers number two. A surprise choice for Ferrari to recruit for 1996, especially given it had to pay $5million for the privilege, his approach fitted in well with Ferrari. He even had his unsuccessful shot at the title in 1999 after Schumacher broke his leg, but just fell short. But he then translated that into a lucrative three-year stint with Jaguar, just as Barrichello would leave Ferrari to join Honda.

But Schumacher is not the only one to have benefited from the support of number twos. Sebastian Vettel had Mark Webber at Red Bull from 2010-2013, although the Australian came close to taking the title in the first of those years, while a few years before that Fernando Alonso had Giancarlo Fisichella as his Renault wingman. The list goes on David Coulthard to Mika Hakkinen at McLaren, Riccardo Patrese to Nigel Mansell at Williams and Nelson Piquet at Brabham, Gerhard Berger to Ayrton Senna at McLaren, Francois Cevert to Jackie Stewart at Tyrrell. You can even stretch back to 1959-60, when Bruce McLaren was a strong support act for Jack Brabham at Cooper.

Whats remarkable when you look at the list of most frequent title-winning teammates at least, before you get into the 1950s and line-ups become larger and more muddy is how rare it is for these drivers to be championship winners in their own right. Since 1960, only 11 drivers who have won the world championship have been teammates to a title-winner in a season. Considering the top drives are usually monopolized by the best drivers, thats very telling. That list includes Hamilton and Nico Rosberg thanks to the upset of the 2016 season, Prost, Senna, Mansell and Lauda. But beyond that, its mostly a collection of drivers with good, race-winning, reputations but firmly regarded in that second tier of drivers.

Most importantly, they are usually although not exclusively drivers who their former team-mates speak highly of. After all, while the perfect number two is there to rack up points in the constructors championship and take them off rivals of the lead driver, they are also there to be helpful. Hamilton speaks highly of Bottas because the Finn is a very good driver capable of pushing him in qualifying in particular and contributing to the team, but not quite at his level. Ask any driver and that would be the perfect profile for a teammate.

It also requires a good temperament. As Bottas exemplifies, you usually need a driver who sees themselves as a potential world champion to ensure they keep pushing themselves and dont slide into a cruise and collect mode. In order to do that, it requires an admirable robustness of personality. At times in his stint as Hamiltons teammate, Bottas has seemed like a broken man most famously at the end of the 2018 season but every time he picks himself up and goes again. Far from deserving ridicule, he should be given enormous respect for that quality. There are some, such as Irvine at Ferrari, who accepted their lot but they are rarer beasts.

This determination must fall short of ruthlessness, of the willingness to destabilize a team for personal gain. This is recognized as a necessary, if not especially attractive, quality in a star driver, but can be disastrous in a number two who cant back it up with team-leading performances as they attempt to usurp the established order. Thats the tightrope that Perez must walk he cant simply cruise and collect, and you can be sure he will head into 2021 wanting to, probably even expecting to, beat Verstappen. Thats simply the mindset of the competitive animal in elite sport. But he must ensure he channels that drive into maximizing his own performance and certainly ensure he avoids some of the on-track clashes he had with former teammate Esteban Ocon in their days together with Force India/Racing Point.

Perez doesnt quite have the magic that Verstappen does, despite being a superb driver in his own right. If he gets it right, he could set himself up as the ideal partner for Verstappen over the coming years, which will give him the chance to rack up more wins and perhaps, if circumstances allow, even a title bid. If he gets it wrong, theres a whole gaggle of Red Bull juniors in the queue to take his place.

Perez will most likely make it work. Hes no longer the less mature driver he was when he drove for McLaren, understands how the world works and is capable of channeling his competitive drive into maximizing his own performances and racking up the points.

And if he does become the perfect number two to Verstappen, history tells us thats an achievement to be celebrated rather than derided.

After all, plenty of drivers given such a chance have ended up being more of a number three driver in a two-driver team.

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STRAW: Perez must master the delicate art of the F1 wingman - RACER

Foote: Toney’s highly touted Cajuns’ defense ready to do his talking for him – The Advocate

Upon learning ULs opponent for Saturdays 2:30 p.m. First Responder Bowl in Dallas on ABC, the first thought for many around the Ragin Cajuns program was thats where defensive coordinator Patrick Toney came to Cajun Country from a few years ago.

Unfortunately, we won't really know his feelings about how cool this bowl matchup is for him.

The way much of college football works these days, however, assistant coaches are off limits to the media.

Oh, maybe a zoom call once or twice in a year perhaps, but nothing that allows you to dig deep into a coach's psyche at all.

Throughout the season, however, were given glimpses of Toneys value to ULs program by those around him. Statements from coach Billy Napier and his players allow us to know Toney a little more than say UTSAs current defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix or safeties coach Jess Loepp.

One personality trait seems to be his aggressiveness.

As if the UL Ragin Cajuns didnt have enough of a chip on their shoulders, the All-Sun Belt team notably light on Cajuns players was rele

Safety Bralen Trahan hinted at it when he said, We talk about it every week, Get turnovers, Get turnovers, Youre going to turn over the game.

But linebacker Ferrod Gardner peeled back another layer to that general philosophy by detailing the mindset behind Toneys heavy emphasis on that goal.

Coach Toney always preaches to us takeaways, he said. Its not turnovers. Theyre called takeaways because were taking the ball away. Thats something we work on on defense.

Perhaps thats why Toney opened some eyes early in his career at Sam Houston State when he led helped that Bearkats defense force 24 turnovers, including 17 interceptions.

Another part of Toneys approach is being relentless and always reaching for new heights.

In the last game, we had three interceptions, Gardner said earlier this season, but we didnt have any forced fumbles. So Im going to take it upon myself this game to try and get that done.

Perhaps thats why the Southeastern Lions secondary ranked No. 1 nationally in the FCS in pass efficiency defense, second in interceptions and fifth in red zone defense in 2013-14.

On a different note, Napier revealed earlier this season that he can tell how nervous Toney is by how many empty cans of soda are on his desk during long film study sessions.

OK, so aggressive, relentless and perhaps a bit obsessive.

Like most coaches, Toney has his unique saying and motivational tactics to get his players to perform and reach goals.

The UL Ragin Cajuns will be heading to the 10th bowl in school history to face Texas-San Antonio in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in Dalla

Like junior cornerback Eric Garror revealed earlier this season, Toney is big on junction points isolated situations during the course of a game where one of his defenders is essentially put in a one-on-one situation and must win that battle for the good of the team overall.

We take that to heart and we do great with that, Garror said. We do drills in practice to get better at that and we just go into the game and execute.

Perhaps thats why Toney helped UTSAs Roadrunners reach the first bowl in programs history in 2016 while his safeties combined for 282 yards, 15.5 stops for losses and 20 pass break-ups.

No catchy slogan, however, works over the long haul without displaying consistent leadership throughout the year.

Redshirt junior Jalen Johnson gave us a glimpse into Toneys leadership qualities last month.

Its starts from the safety spot, weve got to hold everybody accountable, Johnson said of Toneys actual position group. Were doing a really good job with that this year.

Perhaps thats why the Cajuns defense is only allowing 21.8 points a game with 15 interceptions in 10 games so far this season.

Veteran linebacker Joe Dillon has been around this program since 2015 and has played under multiple defensive coordinators during that time. He knows what UL has in its 30-year-old first-year coordinator.

You just have to know Toney, Dillon said. Hes one of them guys that you would like to play for. You would want to go out on the frontlines for him, because he would do the same for you. The last DC was like that as well, Toney hes more of a relatable type of person in a way.

Perhaps that's why first-year starter at linebacker Lorenzo McCaskill is one of the nation's leaders with 72 tackles in 10 games.

Perhaps we shouldnt have been caught off guard so badly.

Under Toneys leadership, new players on the scene like redshirt sophomore cornerback Mekhi Garner have begun to realize their potential, thanks to a new mindset.

I controlled my opportunity, Garner said of his breakthrough season with 24 tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups. Thats all it was. Im still trying to get better, though. At the end of the App. game, it wasnt my best game. I just need to watch film and do what I can do to be better for my team.

And longtime reserves, like redshirt senior Cameron Solomon, has shined both as a starter when called upon as well as in a safety rotation.

I feel like our whole defense can play, Solomon said. Even the freshmen we brought in. Weve got an outstanding defense and offense to be honest. All of us can play, so when one person goes down, its really no worries. We know the next man will do his job, because all of us can play.

Indeed, from the outside looking in, Toney doesnt appear to be a guy looking for the easy way out. Perhaps thats why the defense has maintained focus despite the coronavirus pandemic shutting down operation just one week after Toney was named as ULs new defensive architect after Ron Roberts left for Baylor.

Its why the defense bailed out the offense's slow starts for much of the season.

As a defense, really as a whole team, we uplift each other, Solomon said. So like the offense comes out and they dont get the job they want, we just like to talk to each other and be like, Its OK. Were going to come out and do this for yall. Keep your heads up.

Were going to get a three-and-out and yall get the ball back and go score.

So when Toney walks on the field at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Saturday, there will be members of both programs that know him better than many of us do.

Most of his talking, though, will be done by ULs defense on the field once the ball is kicked off.

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Foote: Toney's highly touted Cajuns' defense ready to do his talking for him - The Advocate

What could Shore Conference football divisions look like in 2021? Heres a thought – nj.com

What will the Shore Conference football divisional alignments for the 2021 season look like?

That all depends on what the Shore Conference Football Committee deems fact and fiction based on what transpired in 2020. The football committee is schedule to meet later this week and new divisional alignments could be in place before 2021 arrives or shortly thereafter.

With all the not-so-good issues the COVID-19 pandemic created during the fall, it was a season of enlightenment in many ways -- and not just in the Shore Conference.

In Monmouth and Ocean counties it was discovered a four-team playoff to crown a Shore Conference champion would not only be a Hamilton-like smash among players, coaches and fans, but that the title would be coveted -- even in a season with state playoffs.

Next, the six-game, regular-season schedule and plus-two pod pairings were successful giving teams of all ability levels competitive games. We learned competitive games could be created by abandoning the group classification notions that teams from Group 3 cant play against those from Group 5 and Group 1 programs cant compete versus those from Group 3.

Group sizes are about enrollment, not about ability on the football field. We saw when there are honest intentions at work, fair matchups can be created whether teams are 6-0 or 0-6.

NJ.com football writer Joe Zedalis and Steve Falk from the Asbury Park Press collaborated on 2021 divisional football alignments that would take into consideration overall records over the past three seasons (a staple in the building of new divisions by the Shore Conference and other football leagues around the state) and the number of returning All-Divison and All-Shore selections. The All-Division teams were selected by the 43 conference head coaches.

It is believed information on returning players has never been considered by the Shore Conference. It does, however, shed light on which teams will have the strongest nucleuses returning for 2021.

The division alignments listed below were not requested by the Shore Conference and may, or may not, be utilized by the governing body in its division-building process.

Things to consider:

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Joe Zedalis covers Shore Conference football for NJ.com. He may be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephzedalis. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.

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What could Shore Conference football divisions look like in 2021? Heres a thought - nj.com

Red-headed invasive lizard with butterfly appetite spreads in Florida – Tampa Bay Times

When scientists at the University of Florida noticed a recent increase in sightings of a flashy red-headed lizard, they knew it was time to ask the public for help in fighting yet another invader.

A surge of emails to the universitys Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension from people all over South Florida asking for identification of the reptile was a sign that the Peters rock agama lizard, an invasive species from Africa, was multiplying and its range appeared to be expanding, with observation reports from as far south as Big Pine Key.

A big problem is that they love insects, including butterflies. That may spell trouble for South Floridas endangered butterfly species, including some that live in developed areas where the exotic lizard prefers to hang out.

At this point we dont see the agama as a huge threat to local wildlife like the Burmese python or the tegu, but we know that the populations are growing in South Florida, and we know they eat insects and other invertebrates, said Steven Johnson, a UF/IFAS associate professor of wildlife and ecology who just co-authored a new report and fact sheet on the species. " We want to involve citizen scientists to help us understand more about this lizard.

The Agama picticauda lizards are colorful especially when they are breeding and can grow to about a foot. In Florida, adult males have bold orange or red heads, a black or dark gray body, and a tail that often has an orange stripe and black tip.

Scientists are just starting to map out their distribution, but it appears that agamas tend to prefer urbanized areas rather than the Everglades, though they have been spotted surrounding the national park. South Florida residents have probably seen at least one of these colorful lizards perched on a light post or strolling around a parking lot.

Although their diet in Florida hasnt been studied yet, evidence from their native range shows that agamas feed on a variety of bugs and small invertebrates. Unlike invasive iguanas, which are much more numerous and eat plants, the agama prefers insects.

We have seen video footage of a large male attempting to eat a monarch butterfly. Though the butterfly escaped, it lost a wing and likely died shortly thereafter, said the report. The agama may also eat other invaders like the Cuban brown anole, and in their native range of East Africa they have been observed eating small mammals, birds, small reptiles, fruits and vegetation such as flowers and grass.

Though there is no evidence to suggest that the agamas are eating local butterflies on a consistent basis, they may eventually share the same habitat as the endangered Florida Leafwing and the gray Bartrams Hairstreak, which live in pine rockland forests in Miami-Dade, Johnson said.

And because the agamas are also in the Keys, scientists are concerned they may decide to have a taste of one of the rarest insects in the United States, the Miami blue butterfly. But the risk is low because the last pockets of the little bug are in undisturbed areas like Long Key and Bahia Honda state parks, too wild for the apparently city-loving agama, Johnson said. In the Keys, multiple sightings have been registered in Key Largo, Marathon and Big Pine Key.

The agama was first introduced to Florida in 1976 through the pet trade. After escaping or being released or both, sub-populations started growing in Homestead and several areas in Miami-Dade County. South Florida offered the perfect spot for resettlement: a hospitable subtropical climate and large areas of disturbed habitat.

We are the global epicenter of reptile invasive species introduction, Johnson said.

The lizards hitched rides on trucks and even trains and spread north, being recently spotted in locations from Martin County to Brevard County and as far north as Jacksonville, according to information from sightings by the public reported on a multi-agency website managed by the University of Georgia.

Florida is home to more non-native species of reptiles and amphibians than anywhere else in the world. South Florida is especially at risk because of its thriving trade in exotic pets. Although pythons have become the symbol of the states losing battle against invasives, non-native lizards also pose a significant threat to native wildlife and ecosystems. Tegu lizards, for example, are happy in many different environments including the Everglades and will eat almost everything, including small mammals, bird eggs, fruit, insects and even pet food.

Johnson said the public can engage in citizen science by reporting Peterss rock agama sightings using the EDDMapS website.

Link:

Red-headed invasive lizard with butterfly appetite spreads in Florida - Tampa Bay Times

Another invasive lizard species has landed in Florida: The red-headed butterfly eating, agama lizard – Florida Insider

Peters Rock Agama spotted in Florida. Courtesy: Sean McKnight, UF/IFAS Wildlife Ecology student.

Florida is no stranger to invasive species of any kind: bugs, insects, reptiles, plants, you name it, weve got it.

Earlier this year, Florida had a new character on the block, the Argentine Black and White Tegu, but this time, its the red-headed Agama picticauda lizard.

While not yet considered to be as serious of a threat to local species as the tegu or the Burmese python, scientists are still on their toes about their potential effects on Floridas animal kingdom.

At this point we dont see the agama as a huge threat to local wildlife like the Burmese python or the tegu, but we know that the populations are growing in South Florida, and we know they eat insects and other invertebrates, said Steven Johnson, a UF/IFAS associate professor of wildlife and ecology and co-author of a new species report and fact sheet on the reptile We want to involve citizen scientists to help us understand more about this lizard.

The Peters rock agama lizard is native to sub-Saharan Africa and loves insects. However, that poses a threat to some rare, protected, and endangered species of insects, such as the Miami blue butterfly.

Scientists at the University of Florida were bombarded with emails from residents all over South Florida asking to help identify the lizard, and was a major sign indicating an invasive trend in the state with sightings reaching as far south as Big Pine Key.

The red-headed species is quite hard to missespecially during their breeding cycle. According to the species report, the lizard can grow upwards of a foot in length, and males can be recognized by their prominently marked orange or red heads, black-grayish body, and a black-tipped tail with orange striations.

Scientists have not yet been able to identify the Florida diet of the species but are aware that it faces no real competition in the wild and will likely maintain its native range diet of small bugs and invertebrates.

We have seen video footage of a large male attempting to eat a monarch butterfly. Though the butterfly escaped, it lost a wing and likely died shortly thereafter, said the report. At times, the agama has been observed eating small mammals and birds as well.

While the video is a sample of what the lizards diet may evolve to in Florida, a butterfly killer diet has no consistent trend yet. Sadly for other endangered butterflies in the region, they may soon be sharing the same habitat.

Scientists have not located a specific region that the lizards may be occupying and are working on mapping out their distribution throughout the state. Still, according to more recent sightings, they seem to gravitate and hang out in more city-like and urban areas than the wild. In other words, Florida residents are more likely to spot the lizard at their local park than at the Everglades.

We are the global epicenter of reptile invasive species introduction, Johnson said. The Sunshine State is home to the worlds largest population of non-native species of reptiles and amphibians, largely due to South Floridas active exotic trade market.

The species was first introduced to Florida in 1976 via the pet trade and likely grew via escape methods or being released by its ownermuch like any other invasive species. The agama likely began its spread in the Homestead area, the ideal subtropical climate for a spreading.

So far, the lizards are not expected to pose a threat to humans, or their domestic pets, and residents are encouraged to report any sighting via the EDDMapS reporting system.

Are you interested in Floridas nature? For stories like this and much more: Florida Insider is dedicated to educating, entertaining and informing its readers about everything Florida. Easy to read content at the palm of your hands and covering the stories that matter.

William is a South Florida native with professional experience writing at the collegiate and national news outlet level. He loves fishing, playing soccer and watching sports in his spare time and is a fan of all South Florida teams.

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Another invasive lizard species has landed in Florida: The red-headed butterfly eating, agama lizard - Florida Insider

Red List 2020: Andean Condor heads list of raptors in steep decline – BirdLife International

Donate to our Red List appeal and help us continue to identify and protect birds that most need our help

The Andean Condor Vultur gryphus the national bird of Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia is now globally threatened with extinction. This year, the emblematic species had its threat level raised to Vulnerable in our annual update to the IUCN Red List of threatened species (for which BirdLife is the authority for birds). With a wingspan of over three metres, the Andean Condor is one of the worlds largest flying birds, making an unmistakable silhouette as it soars above the Andes mountains at altitudes of up to 6,500 metres. It is also one of the longest-lived bird species, with a natural lifespan of up to 70 years.

However, this majestic scavenger has seen rapid population declines in recent years due to persecution and poisoning. The bird is deliberately shot or targeted using poisoned bait in retaliation to extremely infrequent attacks on livestock. It is also impacted by illegal use in folkloric events and trade, and can die from ingesting lead shot left in carrion.

The Andean Condor is built to last. But humans are ruining its natural live slow, die old life strategy, causing high death rates from which it is hard to recover, says Ian Davidson, Regional Director, BirdLife in the Americas. This iconic raptor has been found in Andean folklore since 2,500 BC. To lose it now would be a tragedy for South American culture and ecosystems alike.

Thankfully, captive breeding, community education and habitat restoration programmes are underway across the condors range. In 2014, Antisanilla Biological Reserve was set up in central Ecuador to safeguard one of the most important Andean Condor nesting sites. Researchers across the Americas are surveying and satellite-tracking wild populations to gain further insights into its movements. However, the species reclassification as globally Vulnerable underlines the need to scale up conservation work and collaborate with governments to strengthen anti-poisoning laws.

The Andean Condors plight is sparking fears that the crisis that brought many Asian and African vultures to the edge of extinction has spread to South America. Across Africa, work is underway to halt the catastrophic decline of vultures but new information reveals that other African savanna raptors are experiencing similarly alarming rates of decline.

The Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius, a striking species famed for its method of stomping on prey such as mice and snakes to kill them, is one of three species reclassified as Endangered and now considered to face a very high risk of extinction, along with Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus and Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus. Habitat loss and degradation, poisoning, poaching and disturbance are all likely factors in these declines, but more research is needed to identify the root causes and the most efficient way to address them.

While any species being listed as threatened is obviously bad news, it doesnt have to be a tragedy, says Ian Burfield, Global Science Coordinator (Species), BirdLife International. For many, the road to recovery begins here, as listing brings visibility to their plight and helps to raise their conservation priority. The issues flagged by the Red List should form the focus of further research and action.

The Red Kite is a shining example of the benefits that such conservation action can bring. This graceful raptor was previously considered Near Threatened, owing to declines in its core European range due to poisoning from pesticides, persecution and land-use change. Legal protection under the EU Birds Directive led to an action plan and targeted conservation actions across its range, including large-scale reintroduction projects and community education. The success of these measures has seen it recover from earlier declines, and it continues to increase and expand. This year, it was reclassified as Least Concern the lowest category of extinction risk.

Poisoning and persecution are still obstacles to the Red Kites full recovery in some areas, so there is still much work to be done. Nevertheless, its revival provides an inspiring model for large-scale raptor conservation around the world and encouraging proof of the impact conservation can have when given enough investment and resources.

To keep up with all the news coming out of this years Red List update, visitour hub page.

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Red List 2020: Andean Condor heads list of raptors in steep decline - BirdLife International

A Greener 2021 Audi Q5 Line-Up Allows the SQ5 to get More Red – Autoweek

Hybrid, or electrified, vehicle propulsion continues its relentless march towards ubiquity. And weve crossed another small milestone. For the 2021 model year, Audi only offers one non-hybrid engine for the Q5, which slots in the very popular small premium SUV segment. The updated model comes with three powertrains.

The base Q5 45 gets power from a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four-cylinder engine that makes 261 horsepower, 13 more than last year, and 273 lb-ft of torque. It has a 12-volt mild hybrid system that uses a belt driven alternator/starter to improve automatic start/stop functionality and ekes out a bit more fuel economy, which is now 23 mpg city, 28 highway, 25 combined. Compared to 2020, city and combined mpg improves by one, highway is unchanged. Drivetrain duties are still handled by a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and Quattro AWD. Audi claims 0-60 mph takes but 5.7-seconds.

The Q5 55 is a plug-in hybrid model. It also uses the 2.0-liter engine, but with the aid of a separate electric motor. Total system horsepower peaks at a very healthy 362 and torque at 369 lb-ft. You still get the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission as well as Quattro AWD. But with the aid of electricity, 0-60 times drop to 5.0 seconds. Fuel economy is 50 mpge combined and 27 combined when you run out of charge. Speaking of, the 14.1 KWh battery takes less than two and a half hours to recharge on a level 2, 240-volt system.

To ditch the electric motor and see displacement and the number of cylinders go up, you add an S to the Q5 name. Powered by a 3.0-liter V6, peak output of the SQ5 comes to 349 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque with no help from electricity whatsoever! Okay, thats not true, the SQ5 does still have spark plugs. The seven-speed dual-clutch box is also ditched in favor of an eight-speed automatic transmission, power still heads to all-four wheels.

With the plug-in hybrid Q5 now taking the lead in peak output, Audi tweaked the gear ratios of the gearbox to ensure the SQ5 is the quickest. First gear is now six percent more aggressive, giving the SQ5 a bit more torque to pull off the line, while second through fifth gears are between two and three percent more aggressive to keep the acceleration party going. These changes drop 0-60 mph time to 4.7 seconds, a 0.4-second improvement over last year.

Sixth gear remains the same direct-drive gear as before and seventh and eighth gears become more extreme overdrive gears. As a result, highway fuel economy actually improves by one to 24 mpg, while city and combined fuel economy stay the same at 18 and 20, respectively. This being the sporty version, know that if you keep your right foot firmly planted, youll eventually reach a governed 155 mph.

Its not all powertrain thats new for the Q5, of course. Audi updated the styling, front and rear, and adorned the interior with more technology and screens. The grille is now a single-piece octagonal shape with a diamond pattern, for example. Headlights are standard LED and taillights have the option of OLED.

Inside, Audi now offers standard wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto. You can have an instrument cluster screen, which Audi calls virtual cockpit, in full 1080P HD resolution if you get go premium plus or higher trim and the center console touchscreen increased in size to a full 10.1-inches. Furthermore, the Q5 has LTE WiFi connectivity.

Getting a little seat time in a SQ5, with the top-level prestige trim, I came away quite impressed with its refinement, comfort and poise. First off, its a very pleasant place to while away the hours with supportive seats that offer good upper and lower bolstering, as well as plenty of adjustable lumbar support. Being early December during the drive, I also quite enjoyed the heated seats and steering wheel. And this is a small, but important detail: it was warm, but not hot. Thats a common too much of a good thing kind of problem that is blissfully absent here. Speaking of warm and cold, I also appreciated the heated and cooled cup holder and I used it both ways, my iced tea stayed iced and my hot tea hot.

In general, Audis center console system is intuitive and easy to use. I spent most of the time on wirelessly connected Apple CarPlay as my phone wirelessly charged on a pad just behind the cupholders, which are right behind the shifter. The one issue I had with the system is the Hey Audi voice command works just as well as the other Hey, Manufacturer systems, which is to say, not very. No matter, I could get most everything done with holding down the voice command prompt button on the steering wheel and use Siri. It must be noted, though, that the Google system on Polestar 2 still has all the others beat.

Fortunately, the creature comforts are but icing on a great to drive cake. The SQ5 is fantastic fun, given the segment. The changes Audi made to the gear ratios to give just a little more oomph off the line work brilliantly. While always smooth, the SQ5 is immensely quick. It makes me quite curious to drive the PHEV with similar power, electric torque, and a heavier curb weight: Plug-in weighs 4,619 lbs and the SQ5 4,288.

For the twisty bits, steering weight was spot-on with a nice feeling of precision as well. The rack felt the perfect speed for a small SUV like this. Its also nice to have standard adjustable shocks and different drive modes. That said, I would like it more if the sport setting were comfort and sport went a step stiffer. Regardless, body control was well managed in both modes and in sport it was quite lively. Turn-in was much sharper than I expected, closer to Porsche Macan GTS levels.

Audi

And chassis balance was shockingly neutral, a touch loose even. Thats for two reasons. First, the SQ5 has a very effective, torque vectoring rear differential. Second, this particular SQ5 had very low grip winter tires mounted during a relatively warm and perfectly dry day. Low grip tires tend to induce a bit looser behavior in cars built tuned for more sporting rubber. It was all very controllable and drama free, but I highly suspect the SQ5s rear to feel more planted on summer rubber.

When its time to calm things down, cruising on the interstate is fantastic. The exhaust lets out a pleasing muted tone and the front side acoustic glass, which is thicker glass installed on the Prestige trim Q5, helps make both wind and road noise minimally intrusive. I would take a brushed aluminum trim interior over carbon fiber, but find the look generally tasteful. The diamond stitching in the seats is a plus. And even through its on the smaller side, the SQ5 feels plenty spacious inside. This SQ5 is a fantastic road trip car.

Audi is very good at understated elegance, looking clean and purposeful without being flashy. And the Ingolstadt brand continues to refine its models with impressive detail. The slowest Q5 you can buy takes less than six seconds to reach 60 mph and starts at $44,395. Getting the plug-in raises the price to $52,995 and the SQ5 I drove starts one grand higher than that.

For the money you get a small SUV that will give you near sports sedan level thrills when you want them and luxury serenity when you need it. If you think about it, thats a lot of value for your dollar.

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Oil up a 4th straight session to settle at highest price in over 9 months – MarketWatch

Oil futures on Thursday stretched their gains to a fourth straight session, as signs of progress toward another round of economic relief by U.S. lawmakers helped to keep prices at their highest levels in more than nine months.

Crude prices have been unstoppable the last several weeks as vaccine rollouts begin, oil inventories are starting to come down, Asian demand remains robust, and the dollar slide propels commodities higher across the board, Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a market update.

If Congress can get a virus relief bill done this week, that might be the last catalyst needed to help WTI crude make a run towards the $50 level, he said.

West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery CL.1, +0.10% CLF21, +0.10% rose 54 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $48.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, for the highest front-month contract settlement since Feb. 26, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

February Brent crude BRN00, BRNG21, , the global benchmark, added 42 cents, or 0.8%, to $51.50 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe to log the highest finish since March 3.

Read: How a weaker dollar could help fuel a commodities boom in 2021

Sentiment has shrugged off slightly bearish monthly updates from OPEC, the EIA, and the IEA this week, said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi, in a note.

While all-clear signals point to gradual demand recovery throughout 2021, however, I worry about the red lockdown flags on the ground, whether too much vaccine optimism is in the price, and if stretched longs canweather any near-term headwinds, he said.

Crude was lifted Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported thatU.S. crude inventoriesfell by a larger-than-expected 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 11.

Meanwhile, Washington lawmakers were seen making progress toward a $900 billion package of economic relief.

The U.S. reported a record 247,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There were 113,090 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals on Wednesday, according to theCOVID Tracking Project, up from 112,816 on Tuesday, as hospitalizations reached a record for an 11th-straight day.

An advisory panel was widely expected on Thursday to recommend the Food and Drug Administration authorize a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. MRNA, +5.09%. If the FDA does so, it would be the second vaccine authorized by the FDA, joining the drug developed by Pfizer Inc. PFE, +0.50% and BioNTech SE BNTX, +0.61%, which saw rollout begin this week.

The only thing that could get in the way of oils rally is if any problems emerge with the coronavirus vaccine rollouts, Moya said.Transportation issues and some slowness in getting people vaccinated may start to raise doubts that a return to pre-pandemic life will happen by mid-fall.

Read: Why a COVID-19 relief package and vaccine wont be enough to boost U.S. gasoline demand

Back on Nymex, natural-gas futures finished lower after the Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas declined by 122 billion cubic feet for the week ended Dec. 11.

On average, the data were expected to show a drop of 127 billion cubic feet for the week, according to analysts polled by S&P Global Platts.

January natural gas NGF21, +1.44% lost 1.5% to $2.636 per million British thermal units.

Rounding out action on Nymex, January gasoline RBF21, +0.06% added 2.6% to $1.3881 a gallon and January heating oil HOF21, -0.12% edged up by 1.2% to $1.4952 a gallon.

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The Ten Best Photography Books of 2020 | Arts & Culture – Smithsonian Magazine

This year brought heartbreak and sacrifice never before experienced to people all over the world. As we reminisce about 2020, it may be hard to determine exactly what we might look tofor a moment of solace. If there is a silver lining, it would be that we were able to slow down and take a closer gaze at things we usually overlook. Smithsonian magazine's photo team has gathered the following ten photography books that weve appreciated from the year.

Photographer Diana Markosian is at her best when shes delving into her family history and heritage, and her recent ambitious project, Santa Barbara, is no exception. In this book and short film, she recreatesand casts and directsher familys harrowing journey to America from post-Soviet Russia in the 1990s. Her mother was a Russian mail-order bride, bringing two young children with her to build a family with a man she had never met in Santa Barbara, California. Coincidentally, the city was already well-known in Russia, as the 1980s soap opera of that name was the first American television show to be broadcast there in 1992, and had gained a large following. Now as an adult, Markosian has begun to look back on this period of her childhood with a new sense of perspective and empathy for her mother, and with greater appreciation for her struggles and sacrifices. Incorporating casted re-enactments, stills from the film version of Santa Barbara, as well as archival images, Markosian has created a world that is cinematic yet still gleams with moments of intimacy.

Readers, meet Bob. Bob lives on Curaao, a tiny island nation in the southern Caribbean Sea, just north of the Venezuelan coast. Bob just happens to be an American flamingo. A concussive run-in with a hotel window in 2016 left him in the care of Odette Doest, a local exotic pet veterinarian and the head of a non-profit wildlife rehab center and conservation foundation. While caring for Bob, Doest determined he was suffering from bumblefoota common malady in captive birds that would make it difficult for him to catch food in the wildand that he had previously been domesticated. So Bob, who was quite fond of humans, stayed on with Odette as an educational ambassador for the foundation. He began accompanying her on her community speaking engagements and cutting a striking figure. That was where leading conservation photographer Jasper Doest came in. While visiting his cousin Odette, Jasper found Bob irresistible, and he began documenting Bobs life on and off for the next three years. Those photos have turned into Meet Bob. Shes using him to tell a bigger story, Jasper told National Geographic. He by himself would just be a flamingo, and without Bob, she would not have that emblematic animal that gives her the attention to do her educational work.

Redheads of the world, unite! At least, they have on paper in Gingers, Scottish photographer Kieran Dodds aptly-titled book. Its full of beautifully lit portraits of redheads from around the world photographed on black backgrounds, allowing their features and hair to radiate off the page. Pale and ginger (just ask him!) with two redhead girls, Dodds resides in Scotland, the global ginger capital, with 13 percent of its population possessing those fiery locks. Social media served as Dodds Bat Signal for locating redheads across the world, as the book transects 11 time zones, with subjects from the Americas and Europe, to the Middle East and Asia. The book connects us across political and cultural boundaries, using a rare golden thread, Dodds told Bored Panda. I want people to compare the portraits and delight in our variety. We are made of the same stuff but we are uniquely tuned. The November issue of Smithsonian showcased another of Dodds series, titled Border Patrol, on the mighty hedges that have defined the British landscape since the Bronze Age.

The photographs in Secreto Sarayaku have a surreal, transformative feeling. Like youve been swiftly whisked away by Ecuadorian photographer Misha Vallejo and dropped among the Kichwa people of Sarayaku. These residents of the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest have a special connection to the jungle and believe it is a living, conscious entity, with all parts interconnected. Vallejo has been documenting their everyday lives for this project, a collection of beautiful visual details of the mundane, dramatic portraiture and jungle landscapes. The Kichwa have been incorporating technology, from solar panels on their house to satellite Internet access, into their lives to their advantage. When confronted by the interests of Big Oil, they have used social media to advocate for their environmental message and to gain supporters worldwide. Vallejo attempts to reflect their worldview on camera: that protecting their home is fundamental not only to their own survival, but to that of humanity.

The Permian Panthers of Odessa, Texas, are forever stamped in the American consciousness when it comes to small-town football, thanks to Buzz Bissinger's 1990 book Friday Night Lights chronicling the team's dramatic 1988 season. Photographer Robert Clark was there as well, capturing all the action on gritty black and white film. Twenty of those photographs accompany Bissinger's original book. However, Clark shot 137 rolls of film as he documented the Panthers in all their trials and tribulations, making a run towards the Texas state championship. Now 30 years later, Clarks Friday Night Lives reveals the never-before-seen photographs. Through Clark's time capsule, viewers can hear the cheers of the crowd, the sounds of the locker room, the music played by the pep band, and feel the hot West Texas sun beating down on the football players during drills. Its apparent that the town's hopes and dreams are beholden to the high school's football team's success. Clark brings us to the present day with poignant portraits of key characters of the storied season, including Mike Winchell, the star quarterback; Boobie Miles, who injured his leg that year; and head coach Gary Gaines.

Necessary Fictions is a continuation of conceptual documentary artist Debi Cornwall's dark-humored approach shown in her award-winning exploration of Guantnamo Bay in Welcome to Camp America. Only this time, the location is unknown, if only at first. Throughout the book of photographs, clues are given, such as coordinates and a quote attributed to Karl Rove, the one-time chief political strategist to President George W. Bush. As a former soldier who's been to Kuwait and Iraq, things at first look familiar to me. However, there is something off-putting. Clothes seem too clean for the environment, too pristine for any battlefield. As I move forward, it becomes obvious. It's a simulation, a staged role-playing game in a place I've never been. The players are paid to play themselves; Iraqis and Afghans who fled war and young soldiers play dead and wounded in graphic detail as if walking off the set of a horror movie. The country is called "Atropia," and its location is played out across the United States on military bases. Twenty years after 9/11 and the start of the War on Terror, Necessary Fictions takes a good look at how far we've come in filling the needs of the military-industrial complex as efficiently as possible.

Over a two-year period, photographer Joni Sternbach documented historic surfboards from the Surfing Heritage and CultureCanter Center (SHACC) collection in San Clemente, California. The photographs from these efforts are shown in her latest self-published monograph titled Surfboard. Sternbach used an ultra large-format camera and collodion-coated glass plate negatives to capture each board. (See her magical methods on the Smithsonian magazines Instagram account.) The artistry in both Sternbach's photographs and the boards themselves, one of which was used by the legendary surf icon and Native Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, is impressive. The book captures the evolution of surfboard making methods and the art depicted on them. One board from the 1930s depicts a swastika long before the symbol was stolen during the period of Nazi Germany.

Tyler Mitchell's distinctive vision of a black utopia is on full display in his book I Can Make You Feel Good, which is already in its second edition. The imagesa mix of documentary, fine art, and portraiture, among other photo genresare full of energy and life and show a freshness rarely seen in a debut photo book. The photographs run full bleed to the pages' edges as if the beauty seen in each image is too bold to be contained by any book. "I Can Make You Feel Good is simply a declaration. And one that I feel is gut-punching in its optimism. It feels important at a time like this to declare such a thing," Mitchell explains in his opening statement. One striking image of a young black man holding a plastic toy gun recalls 12-year-old Tamir Rice's tragic death, who was himself playing with a toy gun as a police officer shot and killed him. In I Can Make You Feel Good, Mitchell imagines a place where his community can play and thrive without deadly consequences. "I aim to visualize what a Black utopia looks like or could look like. People say utopia is never achievable, but I love photography's possibility of allowing me to dream and make that dream become very real," he says.

American artist Imogen Cunningham (18831976) enjoyed a long career as a photographer, creating an extensive and distinct oeuvre that underscored her unique vision, versatility and ardent commitment to the medium. An early feminist and inspiration to future generations of men and women practitioners, Cunningham intensely engaged with Pictorialism and Modernism; genres of portraiture, landscape, the nude, still life and street photography; and a multitude of themes, such as flora, dancers, music, hands and the elderly.

Beginning with Cunninghams childhood in Seattle where she started developing and printing her own photographs in 1905 in a darkroom built by her father, and spanning the entirety of her illustrious 75-year career, Imogen Cunningham: A Retrospective contains nearly 200 color images of her elegant, poignant and groundbreaking photographs. The book features both renowned masterpieces and rarely seen pictures, including several that have never been published.

Underappreciated during her time, Cunningham was an inventive, inspired and prolific photographer who tirelessly explored her chosen medium until her death at age 93. Imogen Cunningham: A Retrospective recognizes Cunninghams enormous achievements and raises her stature to the same level as her male counterparts in 20th-century photography.

David Benjamin Sherry: American Monuments is a landscape photography project that captures the spirit and intrinsic value of Americas threatened system of national monuments. In April 2017, an executive order called for the review of the 27 national monuments created since January 1996. In December 2017, the final report called on the president to shrink four national monuments and change the management of six others, recommending that areas in Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans be offered for sale, specifically for oil drilling and coal and uranium mining. American Monuments focuses on the areas under review, with special emphasis on those that have already been decimated. Sherry documents these pristine, sacred and wildly diverse areas using the traditional, historic 810 large format. The resulting photographs not only convey the beauty of these important and ecologically diverse sites, but also shed light upon the plight of the perennially exploited landscape of the American West.

For more recommendations, check out The Best Books of 2020.

By buying a product through some of these links, Smithsonian magazine may earn a commission. 100 percent of our proceeds go to supporting the Smithsonian Institution.

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Abu Dhabi FP3: Verstappen heads Red Bull one-two – Grand Prix 247

Max Verstappen led Alexander Albon in a Red Bull one-two in the final practice session of the Formula One season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday, as dominant Mercedes found themselves in unfamiliar territory.

Max lapped the Yas Marina track in one minute, 36.251 seconds, 0.501 seconds clear of his British-born Thai team mate Albon.

Daniel Ricciardo was third for Renault with his teammate Esteban Ocon in fourth.

World champion Lewis Hamilton, back in action after missing last weeks Sakhir Grand Prix due to COVID-19, was the lead Mercedes in sixth, 0.761 seconds slower than Verstappen.

Team mate Valtteri Bottas, who had set the fastest time on Friday, was ninth.

Mercedes, running a special livery with the names of about 2,000 team personnel on their cars, have taken pole in Abu Dhabi every year since 2014. They have started every race but one this season from the front of the grid.

Hamilton indicated on Friday that the Brackley-based team, who this year wrapped up a record seventh straight title double, could use Saturdays hour-long session to run their cars on higher fuel loads, suggesting normal order could be restored come qualifying.

Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren ahead of Hamilton, who has wrapped up a record-equalling seventh title.

Lance Stroll was seventh for Racing Point ahead of Carlos Sainz in the other McLaren.

Sergio Perez, winner in Sakhir last week who is set to start Sundays race from the back of the grid thanks to engine-related penalties, rounded out the top 10 for Racing Point.

George Russell, who stood in for Hamilton in Sakhir and nearly won the race, was 15th on his Williams return behind Sebastian Vettel who took part in his final practice session for Ferrari.

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Abu Dhabi FP3: Verstappen heads Red Bull one-two - Grand Prix 247

GAIL DRAKE: The red kettle of compassion | Local News – The Albany Herald

That cheerful bell is one of the most familiar sounds of Christmas. What shopper hasnt enjoyed the ringing, tinkling as they rush home with their treasures? Sometimes the bells are accompanied by singing and occasionally by trumpets, trombones and sometimes a tuba.

And so many community leaders and famous folks get into the act, cheerfully ringing and waving, Merry Christmas! Bells have been rung by comedian Bob Hope, Mr. Bean, and even Snoopy. Famous movie scenes of bell-ringers and bands include "Its a Wonderful Life," "The Grinch," "A Christmas Story" and "Maid in Manhattan," to name a few.

All graciously inviting us, the blessed, to give to those who suffer hunger by tossing coins into the ubiquitous Red Kettle. This year a 32-foot-tall red kettle structure lights up Times Square. 2020 marks the 24th year the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Kettle Kickoff Halftime Show during their Thanksgiving football game. Country star Kane Brown brought a star-studded performance, expressing his appreciation for the Army because there were times growing up when my family did not have enough to eat or a roof over our heads, and today there are so many people in need.

So where did all these red kettles come from and why is this cheerful job detail so important?

It was December in San Francisco. The famed red light district known as the Barbary Coast was a hotbed of gambling, prostitution and kidnapping for forced labor on ships. The citys population had exploded with the promise of jobs, stressing the famous infrastructure that included novel cable cars that traversed the steep hills. The city was rife with political corruption and poverty.

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Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee walked the streets of the city, troubled that so many homeless were going hungry. He resolved that he would provide free Christmas dinner for the destitute and impoverished. There was only the small obstacle of funding the dinner.

As he prayed and pondered, McFees mind drifted back to his days as a sailor in Liverpool, England. Then he remembered Stage Landing, the dock where ships came in, that featured a large iron kettle the locals called Simpsons Pot. Travelers would drop coins to help the poor. So the next day, McFee placed a pot at Oakland Ferry Landing near Market Street with a sign that read Keep the Pot Boiling. Soon he had enough to feed Christmas dinner to 1,000 of the citys poorest.

Six years later, in 1897, the kettle idea migrated from west to east, with Boston and San Francisco jointly feeding 15,000 Christmas dinners to the hungry. In 1901, kettle donations in New York City funded a sit-down dinner in mammoth Madison Square Garden. Today, the Salvation Army feeds more than 4.5 million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The annual Red Kettle Campaign is the most significant part of the organizations funding.

Every year, the Albany Salvation Army Corp quietly feeds and provides safe shelter to our communitys most vulnerable. The Albany Army feeds 19,000 hot meals a year, and during the early COVID months handed out an additional 20,000 boxed meals. The Lodge provides approximately 7,000 night beds each year in addition to assistance with utilities and clothing. Albany is blessed with the competent and compassionate leadership of Capts. James and Rebecca Sullivan. And theres the assurance that what is given in the kettles in Albany stays in Albany.

With all the stresses of COVID, many with little now have even less. The 2020 Red Kettle campaign is suffering the biggest shortfall in decades. Times are hard, but those among us who still have a home and job have an opportunity to give and bring Christmas at this critical time. Lets all make this years Red Kettle Campaign a year of compassion for Albany.

Gail Drake serves on the Albany Salvation Army Advisory Board. She practices probate, adoption, mediation and childrens law in Albany and is a frequent contributor to The Albany Herald.

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Vandals Tear Heads and Wings Off Memorial Angels – Evanston RoundTable

St. Nicholas Church, 806Ridge Ave., was one of many sites across the country where memorials to victimsof gun violence were remembered this past weekend. Dec. 14 was the eighthanniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,Conn.

People for a Safer Society plantedflags in the lawn, red to remember the more than 700 victims of gun violence locally this year, and26 white angels representing the Sandy Hook victims. Within a few days, vandalssavaged the angels.

We were very appalled onSunday to see that some cruel fools had torn the heads and wings off the angels,Eileen Soderstrom, Vice President of People for a Safer Society, wrote in anemail. How much hate are we seeing in our community?

Commander Brian Henry of the Evanston Police Department told the RoundTable the case has been assigned to a detective. He added there is no video surveillance footage of the area.

On Dec. 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother and thendrove to the school, where he shot 20 and killed children and six staff membersand shortly afterward, himself.

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"Tottenham is so good in the Air" : Watch Tim Sherwood Left Red Skinned After His Prediction Goes… – The Sportsrush

Tim Sherwood Left Red Skinned After His Prediction Goes Haywire: The Tottenham manager was left biting his words after Liverpool raced into a 2-1 lead

How Tim Sherwood continues to be employed as an expert of the game is something which has left many scratching their heads. Ever since being asked to air his views on the game, his clear prejudice for Tottenham and the players he managed has reeked.

Tim Sherwood has been more interested in promoting himself and his time as Tottenhams manager rather than providing an in-depth analysis on the nitty gritties of the game. Its resulted in his making some bemusing comments across the last couple of years, ones all top eagerly highlighted by ardent supporters of the game.

And he was at it again during Liverpool and Tottenhams showdown on Wednesday. Speaking right before Andrew Robertson took a corner, Tim Sherwood went onto claim how he was least perturbed about the corner with Tottenham set to get to the ball first owing to their height.

He was left looking silly as a goose midway through his comments as Roberto Firmino eased his way off Toby Alderweireld to thump home a scorching header. It saw Liverpool race into a 2-1 lead on the day, one enough to give the home side the three points from the encounter.

The goal left Tim Sherwood embarrassed as his counterparts broke into fits of laughter around him. This isnt the first time hes become the subject of ridicule though with his inept acumen of the game coming to the fore on a multitude of occasions previously as well.

The topsy-turvy clash which finally nestled Liverpools way meanwhile saw Liverpool displace Tottenham from top spot. Both the clubs who were only kept apart by goal difference previously now see daylight between them with Liverpool holding a three point atop of the points tally.

With Leicester City slipping to a 2-0 defeat on the day as well, Liverpool are now clearly outright favourites for the glistening title.

Also Read: Inter Milan Vs Napoli Dream11 Team

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"Tottenham is so good in the Air" : Watch Tim Sherwood Left Red Skinned After His Prediction Goes... - The Sportsrush

I Met the Real Santa in Oswego, New York – Oswego Daily News

Santa Bob McManus

Written by: Jim Farfaglia

Are you finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year? Worried about spending time in busy shopping centers? Mourning the loss of joyful concerts at schools and churches? It sure doesnt feel like a typical holiday season to me, which if why Ive been thinking about a December from years ago, when I learned to believe in the magic of Christmas no matter what else is going on in the world.

It was a cold winter evening in 1988 and our family had just moved to Oswego. After living out of state for a number of years, we decided to move back home and be closer to family. I left behind a teaching job and was, as yet, unable to find work here, while my wife, Mary, had secured a job as a nurse. We were renting a tiny, 2nd floor apartment that she and I nicknamed the hellhole, because it was so small that whenever our two kids, Carly, age four and a half, and Nick, two and a half, cried, talked loudly or played with their toys, sounds echoed through the apartment like a train speeding through a tunnel. Stress was highvery high.

On this night Mary and I decided to venture out into the cold to watch the annual tree lighting ceremony in downtown Oswego. The promise of Santa Claus appearing at the nearby Armory seemed like the perfect bit of joy to offer to Carly, who was just getting the hang of this believing in Santa thing. Nick was too young to understand, but he imitated everything Carly did and big red things caught his eye. Hopeful, we headed out into the night.

The tree lighting was nice, the carols sung by the high school chorus were beautiful and the hot cocoa served by a local service club soothed our chilly attitudes. With thoughts of our echoing apartment fading, we headed over to the Armory to wait for the advertised arrival of Santa and for some one-on-one time with good old St. Nick.

When we got there, Santa hadnt arrived and we were shocked at the long line of parents holding the anxious hands of five-year-olds or carrying younger ones like squirming packages of excitement. We had no choice but to get in line and play the waiting game. We sure could have used those carolers here and maybe another cup of cocoa, to bide the time.

Our patience was running thin as minutes added up to a half hour and still no Santa. His cutely-dressed elves had no explanation for Santas no show. Carly just couldnt understand and to make this night stink even worse, Nick had deposited something in his Christmas diaper. People around us were starting to stare.

Having waited as long as we could, we decided to go back to the apartment. Carly burst into tears, unable to understand why there was no Santa, and Mary and I were sure we were the worst parents ever: denying our child any chance of believing in Santas goodness. Nick, the imitator, decided to join the chorus of his sisters song of woe.

We started walking to our car, promising Carly a Christmas movie when we got home to at least show her Santa on TV. We thought about hanging a few more decorations, putting on some Christmas musicanything that would stop the crying, anything that would keep their sobs from ricocheting off the walls of that cold apartment. Then we saw him.

Heading straight for us, ringing a bell, that red suit filled out just right, and walking at a quick pacein a hurry, I was sure, to make it to the Armory. We knew we had to walk right past him and we were a little bit embarrassed by our two crying children, not to mention the stench of Nicks diaper. And we didnt want to delay Santas arrival for the children any longer. We proceeded to keep our heads down, trying to divert Carlys attention from the approaching merry sight. But how can you miss Santa when hes big as life?

Whats wrong, little girl? Santa inquired.

Carly turned her face from my tear-stained coat, widened her ready-to-believe eyes and hushed her sobbing. She was waiting for you, Santa, at the Armory, but it was time to go home, Mary said.

I think she was afraid you werent real, I added.

Oh, Santa exclaimed, No, no, my dear. I am real. You mustnt ever stop believing that. Santa just got a little hung up back at the Toy Shop. As he held out his arms to offer her a hug, he said, Now, tell me your name. And right there, in the middle of windy downtown Oswego, as dozens of other kids waited for their moment to believe, for Carly Santa became real.

That moment made our familys Christmas special, and continued into the rest of that season and on into the new year. I was sure this moment with Santa had been unique, but it turns out that was far from the truth. I learned that this Santa was really a man named Bob McManus, a lifelong Oswegonian whod been portraying our red-suited friend for 43 years. A few years later I also learned that the evening we crossed paths was Bobs last Christmas as our favorite Santa. The following December, just days before he was to appear again at Oswegos holiday tree lighting, McManus died suddenly. Upon his passing, many suggested there will never be a Santa as real as Bob McManus.

Which makes my memory of our meeting him even more important. Santa Bob knew just what to say to a child who wanted to believe in Christmas. But the thing he may not have known is that two parents also needed to believe. His time with us on that cold night lasted about three minutes; not a lot of time, you might say. But for a young family in transition, and for all the seasons since then, Santa Bob McManus has made my Christmas bright.

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I Met the Real Santa in Oswego, New York - Oswego Daily News

BBCs Pandemonium and Covid-19: Are We Ready to Laugh About the Virus? – The New York Times

By then, it felt like this huge political and social issue that we had to tackle, he said in a recent interview. We just needed to find a way to do it that was both cathartic and inoffensive.

Business & Economy

Dec. 17, 2020, 4:35 p.m. ET

Selling Mr. Basden on a Covid rewrite was easy.

I realized that there was a version of the story, which is about a California holiday not being taken because of coronavirus, that felt interesting to me, Mr. Basden said. I felt it had the potential to sum up the year for a lot of families in terms of what their experience has been, with all of the various disappointments along the way.

Whether Britons need a cov-com, as Mr. Allen dubbed the show, remains to be seen. Viewers may prefer to watch anything but a reflection of what they have just lived through. If youre looking for pure escapism, a show in which a doctor on television is heard intoning, Stay inside, wash your hands, follow the guidelines, isnt for you. Alternatively, the show could turn the ordeals imposed by Covid into bittersweet entertainment by demonstrating just how universal their effect has been.

The show starts at a moment that now feels like eight years ago namely, early 2020. The Jessups are booking their flights to California and Paul decides not to spend another $30 or so per ticket for refundable fares.

Were not going to cancel, he tells his wife. Thats just a scam to make idiots pay more money.

The upbeat mood evaporates as the virus arrives. It shuts down Pauls archery club, rendering him jobless. Robin, Mr. Basdens character, is jilted by a woman who leaves him for her personal trainer. Now-familiar tensions and debates surface. At first, Pauls mother, Sue, wont take the virus seriously, exasperating her son. She also refuses to join in nationwide applause for National Health Service workers on Thursday nights.

Clapping? she asks Paul, outraged at the thought. After they cancel my hip replacement? Are you mad? Im the only one on my street booing.

There are jokes that would fly over the heads of an American audience, like a reference to Dominic Cummings, the since-dismissed adviser to Boris Johnson, who made headlines by flouting lockdown rules. Other bits suggest that the United States still has substantial cultural heft here. When Paul tries to convince his daughter, Amy (Freya Parks), that he is woke, he proves it by noting that he read and loved Michelle Obamas book.

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BBCs Pandemonium and Covid-19: Are We Ready to Laugh About the Virus? - The New York Times

Two Weeks. Three Lost. One Florida Family Ravaged by the Coronavirus. – FRONTLINE

ST. PETERSBURG The family took their seats under the green cemetery tent and passed hand sanitizer row to row. Yes, Lord, my life is yours drifted from the speakers. Boyzell Hosey prayed in front, facing the bone-white casket and the empty space beside it.

A man from the funeral home passed out two memorial cards.

In Loving Memory: Amos Hosey.

Forever in our hearts: Roy Hosey.

Boyzell wiped his glasses and nodded as the bishop talked of trusting the hand of God. It was Nov. 21. His elderly father had died on the 5th. His older brother had passed on the 15th. Soon there would be a memorial for his brother-in-law, Bob, who had died in between. Boyzell himself had fought COVID-19 and was only a week out of the hospital, where his sister had gone for treatment, too.

The Hoseys bowed their heads.

Boyzells wife, Andrida, walked the grass in a white robe overlaid in gold. She picked up her long skirt and spread it like wings. A piped-in electric organ wailed, and Beau Williams crooned: One of these mornings it wont be very long youre going to look for me, and Ill be gone

In face shields, Andrida and fellow dancers spun, shimmered, lifted their hands. With the music came the soft pop of umbrellas. The mornings pale sky had darkened, and a mist began to fall.

Boyzell swayed. At 56, he found himself the sudden patriarch, the man everybody was looking to. He watched his wife lay her hands upon his fathers casket and shout her grief. Roys body waited to be cremated.

Family members packed their chairs closer to escape the rain as the Rev. Frank Peterman echoed the words Boyzell had been clinging to all month.

In times of trouble, stand, the reverend said. When youve done all the standing, stand some more.

Andrida cried, Hallelujah!

After scripture and tributes, mourners fist-bumped and waved goodbye. As the funeral home crew packed up folding chairs, cemetery workers approached the gravesite. Without ceremony, they lowered the casket.

Boyzell stood at its foot, holding one red rose. His shoulders briefly heaved. He kissed the rose and, gently, tossed it into the earth. For a moment, he let his hand hang there, empty.

***

By fall, the Hoseys, like so many, had eased up on some early-pandemic anxieties. The compulsive hand-washers of spring were still wearing masks and scrubbing their palms but also reconnecting with a few friends theyd missed.

On Sundays, Boyzell and Andrida pulled up for drive-in church, where honking the horn meant Preach! For Andridas birthday month, they planned a couple of Doc Fords double dates on the breezy Pier. And theyd begun in-person work once more. For Andrida, that meant teaching drama at John Hopkins Middle School. Boyzell picked up a shoot here and there for the Tampa Bay Times.

He and Andrida had been married for 28 years, best friends even longer. As deputy editor of photography at the Times, Boyzell brought a sensitive hand and an artful eye. Andrida, 63, brought the big heart and legendary hugs to the couples many deep friendships. They were community fixtures involved in their church, local festivals, volunteer work and more and a family with much to be thankful for. Andrida had recently made it through a knee replacement surgery, and Boyzell was on the mend with a new hip. Their kids were grown: Jacquay, 34, in Pittsburgh, and Kiashi, 35, here in town, teaching at their churchs school.

Are we really safe? Boyzell sometimes wondered. When friends went to hug Andrida at Walmart, he teased, Honey, you cannot do that anymore. Bombarded with pandemic news, Boyzell leaned toward caution. The isolation was harder on his wife. But after a September dinner party, Boyzell told her, We have to slow down, because this thing is real, and its kicking up.

Four houses down from Boyzell and Andridas green bungalow lived Papa Hosey, or Amos. At 91, with a lung tumor, he was in declining health. Boyzells brother Roy had moved in there a couple of years ago to become his dads caregiver. At 67, Roy was mending family ties after years of being estranged.

Two days before Halloween, sister Kathy moved in to help, too. She had just retired from criminal investigations with the federal government and at 63, she looked forward to the Florida life.

Kiashi picked her aunt up from the airport. At first, Kathy worried her niece wrangled kids all day and wasnt wearing a mask. But she knew that likely didnt matter, since the two houses blended so much. Soon, shed see that Roy went to Save A Lot nearly every day, popping into the 7-Eleven for lottery tickets. Sometimes, his nose peeked out from his mask. Others at the grocery store, Kathy would see, neglected to wear one at all.

It was a jolt, coming from Los Angeles, where she had kept isolated, following all the guidelines. Because of her multiple sclerosis, she knew she was at risk.

Up the road, that same night, Boyzell roasted salmon and cooked up a pot of his famous collard greens. Andrida brought home a key lime pie and a mango version to indulge a different guest at a small dinner. It was her brother Bob McCalls 61st birthday.

She and Bob were tight, each others only sibling. He was social like her, a motivational speaker visiting from North Carolina for a conference. Around the table, the family split cornbread and talked, and kept talking as Thursday Night Football rumbled in the background. Bob, a former vice president for Duke Energy, a collector of Corvettes, was grateful for a home-cooked meal.

After dinner, the back of Boyzells head began to ache. After a while, sluggishness hit. He checked his temperature: 99.9. An hour later, Bob headed back to his hotel.

On that Friday, Oct. 30th, Andrida went to work. Home alone, Boyzell tracked his fever as it climbed: 100, 101. Tylenol helped knock it down. He developed a dry cough.

On Halloween, stomach cramping, fever rising, wracked by chills, Boyzell needed to know. The waiting room at AFC Urgent Care near Tyrone Mall was packed. Four hours, $85 and an antibiotic prescription later: Positive.

His doctor said to call if he had breathing issues. Otherwise, Boyzell would have to endure.

***

Roy insisted he was fine. He could smell and taste, he said, whereas Boyzell had lost his sense of smell. But Kathy found him, some days, shivering under the covers. She saw him using his nebulizer more and more. After years of homelessness and addiction, he struggled with weight gain and health issues, like chronic asthma. Kathy wondered. Did you get a test? she asked.

Normally, Roy handled the meals and most of Amoss needs. He was good at caregiving, and usually energetic he liked to bust into Boyzells house blasting his 70s R&B, like a 2020 Radio Raheem. But Halloween weekend, Roy didnt get up to cook breakfast. He asked, Can you take care of Dad?

One day, Amos tried to get out of bed by himself and fell. As Roy pried Amos from the floor, Kathy saw how hard he was working.

I dont need to get the test, Roy finally said. I know I have it.

***

Boyzell camped out in the family room, Andrida the office, and Kiashi her bedroom. Boyzell let Bob know he should get tested and alerted a friend whod come over for a World Series pizza.

Flung apart in the house, the family called each other to coordinate bathroom trips and snacks from the kitchen. They left mists of Lysol in their wake.

Kiashi had no symptoms, but a rapid test soon came back positive. Andrida let co-workers know shed be quarantining, though her test had been negative.

In between Star Wars movies and episodes of The Incredible Hulk, Boyzell could hear Andrida and Kiashi teaching classes online. He ate the homemade chicken noodle soup Roy sent over. He chugged water. He felt helpless.

Normally, come Election Day, he would be dispatching Times photojournalists and editing their frames. But the human resources director told him, We dont want you trying to work.

Then, on Nov. 4th, Kathy called to say, I dont think Dads doing too well.

The family had been preparing for the inevitable. But Amos was still lucid, glad for a barbershop outing. Hed been a stern father, but a giving one, too, who built the familys red-brick home frame by frame. In old age, after decades of stoking the blast furnace in a steel mill, Amos finally relaxed. Kiashi sometimes heard him singing in his room.

Kathy phoned again the next day. Amos hadnt been eating.

Hes calling for you, she told Boyzell.

Boyzell managed to walk over. His sister raised a window so the men could see each other through the screen. Hey, Pops, how you doing? Boyzell said. Amos raised up from bed, smiling and waving, saying nothing. Im sorry I cant come see you right now, Boyzell said. Amos soon fell asleep.

An hour and a half later, Kathy called. I think Dad passed away.

Boyzell walked back over. He touched his dads face, still warm. He was saying bye to me, he thought.

Roy had finally gone to get a test, but, ever stubborn, turned back, because the line was too long and because, he said, he had a feeling something was wrong. He pulled up at the house as his father was being taken away.

***

The day after their father passed, Roy and Kathy tidied Amoss room. It was stuffy. Roy got on the stepstool to open up the air conditioning vents. He could hardly lift his hands over his head.

He fell. He hit his head on a dresser and couldnt get up.

Kathy watched her brother being put into the ambulance, unsteady and straining to breathe.

Roy called Boyzell from the hospital the next day. Boyzell said, Just worry about getting better.

***

A week into November, Andrida could hear Boyzells coughs across the house. On video calls, his eyes seemed sunken in. He stared at the tube he was given to exercise his breathing, willing himself to try, but each effort zapped his energy. His fever wouldnt break. He used a pulse oximeter to measure his blood oxygen levels, which dropped to 88, 87 percent. He tried to trick it by sitting still: 92.

Andrida often checked in with her friend Sharon Irving, a nurse practitioner and Ivy League professor. They had been college roommates, and by 2020, were more like sisters. Andrida told her she, too, had started feeling strange. A fever had set in. Then, chills.

Sharon, in Philadelphia, told Andrida, Dont play with this. To Boyzell, she said, I dont like how youre sounding. She asked both: Did you eat? Did you drink? Anger flared as she thought of how the virus had kept Boyzell from his fathers side: We didnt have to be here.

Sharon feared for Roy, too. He ticked too many boxes where the virus had proven lethal: a Black man, with chronic asthma, on the overweight side.

That Sunday night, after Andrida got back from taking another test, Bayfront called. Roy was in critical condition. He was going on a ventilator. What? Boyzell and Andrida thought. Didnt we just talk to him?

The next day, Boyzell paced in the yard, pumping his arms and chanting to himself: Just keep, just keep, just keep breathing. But he knew he was going downhill.

His doctor wanted a chest X-ray. That meant the emergency room.

***

Boyzell took a shower and ate a bowl of oatmeal, some yogurt. He readied himself. Andrida watched him walk into the crowded lobby of St. Anthonys. Five steps after he was given an intake clipboard, staff called, Mr. Hosey!

A nurse led him down a lonely hallway cold as a meat locker. Hours passed there, until he was taken to a temporary room, alone.

Doctors ran tests, hooked him to an IV. His potassium was low. A lot of things were low. They wanted to keep him.

At home, taking antibiotics and contending with a 102-degree fever, Andrida called her brother, who was back in Charlotte. They talked about Boyzell and Roy. Are you doing OK? she asked. Bob sniffled a bit.

***

About 24 hours after checking in, Boyzell settled into a room in the COVID-19 unit. It was immaculate, quiet. He learned that pneumonia had taken root in his lungs.

The hours passed in his hospital bed, where, between nebulizer and steroid treatments, he worked to plan his fathers memorial. Hed been told that Amos died of natural causes, but Boyzell thought maybe it was the virus. His father had complained of a headache just days before he died.

He tried to write his dads obituary but thinking through the exhaustion was too difficult. He dozed. Though he was an asthmatic with a worrisome case, he fixated only on his family:

Roy was sedated, vitals waning. Bayfront doctors went looking for a rotating bed big enough to fit him, so they could ease the weight on his lungs.

Andrida called to say her latest test came back positive and that Bob doesnt sound good. Called again, saying, no, Bob sounded like death.

Whats going on? Andrida thought. Bob had gotten antibiotics, and he told her, Well, they said give it a day. She insisted, But youre not breathing right! By the 12th, her fever on the edge of breaking, she was begging Bobs wife to take him to the hospital.

Before her class the next morning, Bob said he felt better. Hed gotten a negative test. Still, she could hear his ragged breathing.

At 5 p.m., Bobs wife called. She had pulled up after work and found Bob in the drivers seat of his car, his eyes rolling back in his head. She had tried to pull him out, but he collapsed to the ground.

Not only was he positive for COVID-19, the hospital said, but it was full-blown.

This cant be happening, Andrida thought.

This is Bob , Boyzell thought. Bob, all muscles and work ethic and made-for-TV smile. Bob, the former bodybuilder who went to the gym at 5 a.m.

Mom, its Uncle Bob, itll be OK, Kiashi said.

At 10 p.m., they learned that doctors couldnt regulate Bobs blood pressure. He was going on a ventilator.

Andrida called her friend, asking about intubation.

Sharon took a deep breath. I dont know if Bobbys as sick as Roy, but in terms of putting him on a machine to breathe, thats the same, she said.

When she hung up, Sharon repeated to herself, Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.

Andrida and Kiashi couldnt take the separation anymore. They burrowed under the covers of the master bed, praying, holding on to each other as they cried. They left a laptop open so Boyzell could see them.

At 4 a.m., Bobs wife called. Bob was going into cardiac arrest.

Andrida watched on a video call as her brother lay with tubes blanketing his face. His wife rubbed his smooth, bald head. Hes gone, she repeated, and Andrida took a picture because she couldnt believe it. While Kiashi cried, she screamed and begged, God, please, let him breathe.

It was dark outside Boyzells hospital window. He could only listen to the womens keening through the screen, and he couldnt bear it. He tried to push himself up from the bed and pull out his IV but Kiashi began to pray, pleading with him to wait, to stay.

Boyzell breathed deep, in through his nose, out through his mouth.

They stayed on FaceTime for a long time like that, just breathing.

***

How could this be happening? Kiashi held her mother, numb, on the red loveseat in the living room.

In the hospital, Boyzell felt suspended in a nightmare. Just stand, he told himself, called back to that Bible passage. Calls flooded in from Bayfront. Roys health was cratering.

He could be flown to Tampa General Hospital across the bay. Doctors there could drill into his lungs and, with tubes, release the viral toxins.

But the doctors explained that Roy likely wouldnt survive such a flight, that trauma would take its toll on his brain. They said it was rare for someone to last so long with the ventilator so high. They asked that Boyzell consider classifying Roy as do not resuscitate.

Ive got to give him a fighting chance, Boyzell told Sharon. I want my brother back.

You want the brother that you sent to the hospital, Sharon said. Im not sure thats the brother youre going to get back.

Boyzell was quiet.

They ran through more scenarios, more questions.

It was late when Boyzell agreed. But it felt like signing Roys death warrant.

As Boyzell waited to be discharged the next morning, he tuned into Bethel Churchs livestream as leaders prayed over the Hoseys. His phone lit up with Bayfronts number. He cut off the stream.

Excerpt from:

Two Weeks. Three Lost. One Florida Family Ravaged by the Coronavirus. - FRONTLINE

‘We do stupid things’: anxiety stalks Arsenal as their troubles mount – The Guardian

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could feel a moment of respite. Every Arsenal player could. There were 71 minutes on the clock in Wednesdays home game against Southampton, they were down to 10 men again and the walls were closing in. But Kieran Tierney had the ball in the left-back position and there was clear space in front of him, the opportunity to make ground.

What Tierney did next was to leather the ball towards the Southampton goal. Although he was inside his own half, the fact that the visiting goalkeeper, Alex McCarthy, was a long way off his line made it appear that Tierney had taken on the shot. In which case it was a ridiculous decision. Southampton accepted the return of possession and continued to push for the winning goal.

In the technical area, Mikel Arteta shouted for calm. The Arsenal manager made the internationally recognised gesture with his hands, moving them slowly up and down, in an attempt to reinforce the point. But nobody is calm at Arsenal.

Tierneys mistake was a small example of what happens when anxiety overruns a player. There were bigger ones. Danny Murphy made the point on Match of the Day, which was also clear to everybody inside the stadium, about how Arsenal started the game dropping deep, failing to put any pressure on the ball. It was not only in the first series of actions but for the first 30 minutes or so. Theo Walcott, Southamptons former Arsenal winger, said he could feel the fear in his old side.

Dani Ceballos had a close-range shooting chance on 37 minutes only to try (and fail) to buy a penalty and then there was Gabriel, who has been arguably Arsenals best player during a traumatic season. Not here. He struggled to suppress the Southampton striker Che Adams and he lost his head in the 62nd minute, pulling back Walcott to collect a cheap second yellow card.

It was Arsenals third sending-off in five Premier League games, following Nicolas Pps headbutt at Leeds and Granit Xhakas neck throttle against Burnley two other instances of players failing to channel their competitive desires correctly, being overwhelmed by the high stakes.

Aubameyang was honest in his appraisal. At the moment I think sometimes we are a bit nervous because we need points, the captain said. Maybe sometimes we do stupid things but I can understand. We have to stay cool in the head and try to be a little more intelligent in that case and try to stay with 11 on the pitch because we need it at the moment.

There were some good things for Arsenal to promote. They were able to hold on for the 1-1 with 10 men and they did raise the tempo and rally after that lacklustre opening period. Aubameyang scored the equaliser only his third goal of the league campaign which he badly needed and Bukayo Saka showed courage on the ball. They even almost nicked a last-minute winner when Rob Holdings header hit the woodwork. That would have represented the ultimate smash-and-grab.

The numbers, though, continue to feel like a charge sheet. Arsenal lag 15th in the table. They have taken five points from nine games and have scored only three times during the period.

Where is the creativity in central attacking midfield? There was a time when Arsne Wenger had so many No 10s he seemed ready to name a team of them. Now Artetas midfielders are deep-sitters or box-to-box types and they are not providing the needed incision. One side-effect is to funnel the play wide but Arsenal have struggled to connect with their crosses.

The schedule does not get any easier. Next up is a visit to Everton on Saturday tea-time followed by a home derby with Chelsea on Boxing Day. Aubameyang wants to build on the small steps taken against Southampton and, like Arteta, he has called for cool heads, for clarity.

I think at the moment we try to play simple and thats what we have to do because of course it is not easy when things go wrong, Aubameyang said. It is always difficult to play good football. So we have to be patient and play football and have confidence because we have great players.

We go to Everton and we are going to go there with belief. We have to win the game. Thats it. Hopefully yes [it can kickstart our season]. We have to take this point against Southampton and keep believing.

In different circumstances, it would be easy to imagine a packed Emirates seething with frustration at a draw with Southampton. The truth on Wednesday was it felt as if it was a decent result. This is where Arsenal are; minds scrambled, desperately seeking stability. Everybody is saying the right things. It is not getting through.

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'We do stupid things': anxiety stalks Arsenal as their troubles mount - The Guardian