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STUDY: US death toll halved had it acted 4 days sooner...






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Don Shula, coach who led Dolphins to NFL's only perfect season, dies aged 90

  • Head coach died ‘peacefully at home’ say Dolphins
  • Shula recorded only two losing seasons in long career in Miami

Don Shula, the head coach with the most wins in NFL history, has died at the age of 90.

Shula is most famous for leading the 1972 Miami Dolphins to the only undefeated NFL season in history. The team said in a statement on Monday that Shula had “died peacefully” at home.

Related: Favre says Packers 'burned a bridge' with Aaron Rodgers in NFL draft

The Greatest.

Thank you for everything, Coach Shula. pic.twitter.com/7eXY4ZOKn6

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NFL moves 2020 London games back to US during Covid-19 pandemic

  • Jaguars, Falcons and Dolphins had been set for London
  • Game set for Mexico City will now be played in United States

The NFL has decided to move its international games back to the US for the 2020 season as the sports world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The league had scheduled four games in London and one in Mexico City, but they will now be moved back to the stadiums of the host teams.

Related: Don Shula, coach who led Dolphins to NFL's only perfect season, dies aged 90

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Heavily restricted NBA practices expected to resume on Friday

NBA teams are expected to get the go-ahead to reopen practice facilities for limited use as early as Friday, less than two months after the coronavirus outbreak forced the suspension of the season.

With head and assistant coaches barred and scrimmages forbidden, the workouts are unlikely to resemble business as usual for the NBA but would nonetheless be a step towards normalcy for a league whose season was upended in dramatic fashion in March.

Related: My favourite game: Iverson stuns Kobe's Lakers in the 2001 NBA finals | Bryan Armen Graham

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'One mistake and it's game over': one man's solo trek across Antarctica unaided

Colin O’Brady took on the elements, a relentless rival and weeks of isolation as he walked solo and unassisted across the southernmost continent

Having trekked hundreds of miles into Antarctica in late 2018, American Colin O’Brady reached a memorable landmark: the south pole. It was only a waypoint on the way to O’Brady’s pursuit of a record – the first-ever unaided, unsupported solo crossing of the continent. Yet when he made it to “due south”, it was time for an impromptu celebration. He did a handstand, posing as if he was holding up Earth.

“I was at the south pole, the bottom of the world,” O’Brady tells the Guardian. “It was a moment of riding high. My emotions were on top of me … I’m thankful I let myself experience that positive moment.”

Related: ‘I’m absolutely elated. It’s a miracle we made it,’ says polar hero Louis Rudd

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NFL tells teams to have facility reopening protocols in place by next week

  • Goodell’s memo outlines protocols for reopening team facilities
  • NFL set to release full regular-season schedule on Thursday

The NFL has set protocols for reopening team facilities and has told the 32 teams to have them in place by 15 May.

In a memo sent by league commissioner Roger Goodell and obtained Wednesday night by the Associated Press, several phases of the protocols were laid out. The first phase to deal with the coronavirus pandemic would involve a limited number of non-player personnel, initially 50% of the non-player employees (up to a total of 75) on any single day, being approved to be at the facility. But state or local regulations could require a lower number.

Related: Why is it always the white NFL players who get a second chance?

Related: Eli Manning predicts 'tough' start for Tom Brady with Buccaneers

Local and state government officials must consent to reopening

The team must implement all operational guidelines set by the league to minimize the risk of virus transmission among employees

Each club must acquire adequate amounts of needed supplies as prescribed by the league

An Infection Response Team with a written plan for newly diagnosed coronavirus cases

An Infection Control Officer to oversee all aspects of the implementation of the listed guidelines

Each employee who returns to work at the club facility must receive Covid-19 safety and hygiene training prior to using the facility, and agree to report health information to the ICO

The response team must consist of a local physician with expertise in common infectious disease principles; the team physician can fill that role. Also on the response team will be the infection control officer, the team’s head athletic trainer; the team physician, if he or she is not serving as the local physician; the human resources director; the team’s chief of security; its mental health clinician or someone with equivalent clinical expertise; and a member of the club’s operations staff such as the facility manager

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UFC 249: Ferguson faces Gaethje as Dana White touts only game in town

  • Ferguson meets Gaethje for UFC’s interim lightweight title
  • UFC head Dana White eager to reach sports-starved audience

The main event of Saturday’s UFC 249 card in Florida is billed as being for the interim lightweight title but Tony Ferguson says he should be considered the real champion if he beats opponent Justin Gaethje.

Former collegiate wrestler Ferguson, coming into the bout on a 12-fight win streak, was supposed to fight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in Brooklyn on 18 April but that was postponed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Related: UFC announces three events to be held without fans at Jacksonville arena

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Space Lettuce Is Out of This World Good

Lettuce has key nutrients that give both astronauts and Earth-dwellers alike a physical and psychological boost. And the lettuce grown in space is no less nutritious than the Earth-bound variety.




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The Lyrid Meteor Shower Is Back — Here's What You Need to Know

Every April, the Lyrid meteor shower fills the sky with shooting stars. Here's how to see them.




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Can Mushrooms Actually Help Save the Planet?

Many people think mushrooms have the potential to be environmental game-changers by replacing some plastics, meats and even eating through landfill waste. Could these fungi really help save the planet?




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That Black Stuff on the Road? Technically Not Asphalt

If you think asphalt is what hot tar roads are made of, you'd be wrong. Asphalt is only one ingredient in the recipe that makes up our roads. And it has a very long, very interesting history.




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This Star Survived Being Swallowed by a Black Hole

A new kind of survival story: Scientists discovered a star that came near a black hole and lived to tell the tale – at least temporarily.




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NASA and SpaceX Set to Make History With Manned Space Launch

For the first time since 2011, NASA will launch astronauts into space from U.S. soil. It will also be the first time ever a private company will get them there.




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The Motion of the Body Through Space by Lionel Shriver review – the cult of fitness

Shriver’s contentious views on diversity thread through the story of a couple’s strained relationship with exercise

Lionel Shriver’s scabrously funny 15th novel presents a dyspeptic view of people in thrall to exercise. In 2013 Shriver’s own daily regime involved “130 press-ups, 200 side crunches, 500 sit-ups and 3,000 star jumps … The jumps take 32½ minutes, or three every two seconds”. The Motion Of The Body Through Space was written, she recently revealed, after she realised that she may be more dedicated to her exercise than to her writing.

The protagonist, Serenata Terpsichore (“rhymes with chicory”), is a 60-year-old woman from upstate New York with a beguiling voice and ruined knees. The former she puts to lucrative use as a voiceover artist and narrator of audiobooks. The latter are the result of a lifetime’s adherence to the doctrine of working out; in particular the belief that 10-mile runs are the key to longevity and good health.

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The story of Australia’s pandemic can be told through the beaches | Brigid Delaney

First there was crowded Bondi, then the deserted beaches, cordoned off with police tape. If you look closely, a whole nation can be read on the sand

A country reveals itself in a crisis. Americans are buying a record number of guns, in the UK Boris Johnson was reluctant to implement a full lockdown because he baulked at the idea of closing the pubs. In Australia, it is our beaches that are the metaphorical hills that we are metaphorically dying on.

Yeah, we want to beat this virus, but we also want to get a swim in.

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Early access to superannuation paused as police freeze $120,000 in allegedly stolen funds

‘Sophisticated’ identity theft attack leads to Australian Tax Office stopping early super withdrawals until Monday

Allegations of identity theft involving 150 Australians have forced the government to pause the early release of superannuation, after police froze $120,000 believed to have been ripped off from retirement savings.

On Friday the assistant treasurer, Michael Sukkar, announced the Australian Tax Office would pause requests for early access of superannuation until Monday “out of an abundance of caution” to consider further anti-fraud protection.

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Fit in my 40s: why am I silently arguing with the mindful running coach? | Zoe Williams

Around the 19-minute mark, I noticed something odd; it wasn’t that I felt any less out of breath than normal, but I felt detached

Mindfulness is the last thing I want to practise while running. When I’m really up against a wall (which is to say, after four minutes), the only thing that keeps me going is listening to Maniac and imagining I’m that gorilla in a paddling pool. So I approached this with a closed mind, and discarded a lot of podcasts because they were too woo-hoo, or because you had to listen to them before you run (“no headphones” is a typical mindful runner’s instruction), or because the person had an annoying voice. Finally, I settled on The Milestone Pursuit podcast, by a likable blokey Londoner, Steve Hobbs. He didn’t sound at all spiritual; he sounded like a person who would help you with your bike if your chain came off.

He has one mindful episode that I’ve listened to seven or eight times. Total convert. But full disclosure: I’ve never got to the end. It lasts 36 minutes, and I still don’t run for that long. So it’s partly suspense that keeps me going back.

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The Murdoch media’s China coronavirus conspiracy has one aim: get Trump re-elected | Kevin Rudd

News Corp is campaigning full-bore for the US president, with reports of a Wuhan lab ‘intelligence’ dossier being seeded across its empire

In liberal democracies, the integrity, impartiality and professionalism of intelligence agencies matters. That’s why it is essential that intelligence agencies remain aloof, not only from the political debates of the day, but also from the policy decisions that individual governments may take. The intelligence community’s core task is to provide brutally realistic analysis on the threat environments we face so that governments can then make the best-informed policy decisions possible to preserve our common security.

The failures of the intelligence community before the Iraq war, the gullibility of much of the western media, as well as the cynical manipulation of both by the political class of the day, provide us with a stark reminder of what can go radically wrong. On 8 September 2002 the New York Times published one of this century’s most consequential news articles. The front-page story, supplied by the Bush administration, claimed that Saddam Hussein had stepped up his quest for weapons of mass destruction by acquiring key components for a nuclear weapon. In the UK, the Blair government’s “dodgy dossier” compounded the error. John Howard did the same in Australia. The problem was that it just wasn’t true. These were over-egged stories designed to soften the public up for what would become a disastrous war.

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F1 on track for July resumption after drivers' association backs safety plan

  • Alex Wurz calls measures to deal with coronavirus ‘immaculate’
  • ‘F1 can be pioneer’ for other sports to follow, says GPDA chief

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association is confident the precautions being taken by Formula One mean the sport stands every chance of resuming as planned in Austria on 5 July.

Alex Wurz, chairman of the GPDA, will reassure his members that Formula One has put the safety of everyone involved at the forefront of its plans to return to racing after attending a meeting with F1 and the FIA on Friday.

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Covidsafe app: how to download Australia’s coronavirus contact tracing app, how it works, what it does and problems

The app will ask for your name (or pseudonym), age range, postcode and phone number. Scott Morrison says the Australian government’s covid safe tracking app won’t be mandatory to download and install, but its uptake numbers could play a part in easing Covid-19 restrictions

The Australian government has launched Covidsafe, an app that traces every person running the app who has been in contact with someone else using the app who has tested positive for coronavirus in the previous few weeks, in a bid to automate coronavirus contact tracing, and allow the easing of restrictions.

Here’s what we know about the app so far.

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Pandemic nesters: what it's like to move back with your parents during lockdown

Some people have found returning to the family home a blessing, but for others it has been anything but smooth sailing

Covid-19 has reshaped geographic boundaries. It has left many financially distressed. Expatriates have returned from overseas for indefinite periods of time, and vulnerable people require more help than usual. For all these reasons, and many more, adult children have found themselves doing something that might previously have been unthinkable: moving back in with their parents.

Some are finding the experience transformative. One woman, who left New York for her parent’s rural home, told me that the space and country air have made her reconsider whether she will ever return to the city. But there are also downsides. “I’m craving male attention more than I ever have before,” she confessed. When flirting over apps stopped cutting it, she wound up ordering a vibrator in an unmarked box, and fended off her younger siblings in order to retrieve it from the mailbox.

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Queensland deputy premier Jackie Trad stands down over corruption investigation

Trad says she will cooperate with investigation into allegation she interfered in appointment of school principal

Queensland’s deputy premier and treasurer, Jackie Trad, has stood down from ministerial duties over an investigation into the appointment of a Brisbane principal.

The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) is investigating the recruitment and selection process for the principal of the Inner City South Secondary College.

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European Space Agency: Human urine could help make concrete on Moon

The European Space Agency said Friday that human urine could one day become a useful ingredient in making concrete to build on the moon.




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Experts agree this hurricane season will be above-average, maybe even extremely active

Hurricane season is fast approaching and it is likely to be active -- maybe even an extremely active -- season.




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Tim Brooke-Taylor dead: Goodies co-stars lead tributes as actor dies aged 79 after contracting coronavirus

Bill Oddie hails Brooke-Taylor as 'true visual comic' Stephen Fry, Rob Brydon and Jack Dee also pay tribute Brooke-Taylor joins public figures to have died after contracting Covid-19 Read our live coronavirus updates HERE




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Joe Wicks wins Guinness World Record for YouTube views as 'nation's PE teacher'




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Amy Schumer reveals she changed her son's name after accidentally giving him a rude moniker

The comedian and her husband Chris Fischer welcomed their first child in May last year




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Ben Fogle's idea for the Queen's birthday hasn't exactly gone down well

The TV presenter has united the nation – though not in the way he hoped to




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Lazy Town actress who played Stephanie becomes a TikTok sensation after posting videos in *that* pink costume

The actress has resurfaced as a TikTok star




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Who plays Aadi in Coronation Street? Meet new actor Adam Hussain taking over from Zennon Ditchett

Hussain made his debut on Wednesday's show




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Margaret Qualley says environmental activism made her 'not popular' in school

The Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood star has praised teenage activists




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Joe Lycett shares final statement as Hugo Boss before reverting back to old name

The comedian had one last act of defiance before renouncing his new moniker




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Brian Dennehy dead: First Blood actor dies, aged 81

Hollywood actor Brian Dennehy has died at the age of 81, his daughter has said. The star, known for roles in films including First Blood and Cocoon, died on Wednesday due to natural causes. His daughter Elizabeth announced the news on Twitter.




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Jack Savoretti hails teachers as 'unsung heroes' of coronavirus crisis

The musician has been home-schooling his two children




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Hugh Jackman reveals he turned down a part in Cats movie

But which role could he have played?




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Sam Smith responds to backlash over 'quarantine meltdown' photo

The singer said their post had been badly timed




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Sir David Attenborough and Danny Dyer among celebrities teaching new BBC home schooling learning programming

Parents are getting a helping hand from some famous faces




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Nicole Scherzinger takes on TikTok dance challenge - and aces it, naturally

The star gave the Blinding Lights TikTok challenge a go while clad in fluorescent exercise gear




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Dawn O'Porter pays tribute to the late Caroline Flack: 'That laugh, That humour, That loyalty'

O'Porter and Flack were good friends




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Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson welcome baby girl

The baby is the couple's first child




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Shirley Knight death: Oscar-nominated actress dies aged 83

Oscar-nominated actress Shirley Knight has died aged 83.




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Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague accused of 'breaking lockdown rules' after travelling back to Manchester

The pair were previously spending the lockdown period at Hague's family home




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Who is Daisy Edgar-Jones? Meet the Normal People actress starring as Marianne

The long-awaited television adaptation of Sally Rooney's millennial love story has arrived




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Who is Paul Mescal? Meet the Normal People actor playing Connell

Paul Mescal stars in the BBC's adaptation of Sally Rooney's acclaimed novel




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Laurence Fox was dumped by his mixed-race girlfriend after BBC Question time comments about race

Laurence Fox was dumped by his mixed-race girlfriend after his rant about racism on BBC Question earlier this year.




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The Goonies cast reenact movie scene in a virtual reunion 35 years on

Josh Gad hosted a virtual reunion with the cast and filmmakers from the iconic 1985 film




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Irrfan Khan dead: Bollywood and Slumdog Millionaire actor dies, aged 53

The star, who also appeared in Jurassic World, died after being hospitalised with a colon infection




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Priyanka Chopra and Shilpa Shetty lead tributes to Irrfan Khan after actor dies aged 53

The actor was best known for his Bollywood fame and roles in films like Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi