Archives for May 2021

Cyprus says people under 50 should use mRNA-based vaccines

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriot health authorities on Wednesday advised people aged under 50 to use the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines that are based on the newer, mRNA technology.

The Health Ministry said the decision came after a majority recommendation by its panel of scientific advisers on COVID-19, following “reports of serious incidents concerning blood clots.”

It didn’t provide further details. Cypriot media have reported extensively on the death of a 39-year-old woman — allegedly from a brain hemorrhage — about two weeks after she received an AstraZeneca shot, although it wasn’t clear whether the jab was actually linked with her death.

The ministry’s advisory body also decided unanimously that people who have already got their first AstraZeneca shot and didn’t suffer serious side-effects such as blood clots must receive their follow-up jab, which the ministry said “is particularly significant for their protection from COVID-19 and its variants.”

Advisory body member Zoe Pana told private TV station ALPHA that the possibility of a person suffering a blood clot or other serious side-effect on their second AstraZeneca shot is minimal.

Earlier Wednesday, advisory body chief Constantinos Tsioutis told state broadcaster CyBC that some scientists had suggested sidelining the AstraZeneca vaccine altogether.

The Health Ministry has already sought guidance from the European Medicines Agency on whether the death of the 39-year-old British woman this week was definitively linked to the AstraZeneca jab. A small number of other incidents have been reported of blood clots developing in individuals who had earlier received an AstraZeneca shot.

Health officials say the rate of infection on the east Mediterranean island nation of approximately 900,000 has decreased largely because of the government’s hastened vaccination program. Some 50.4% of the population has so far received at least one vaccine shot while 23.7% have been fully vaccinated.

Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said Cyprus expects delivery next month of 201,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, 24,000 doses of Moderna, 35,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson and 90,000 doses of AstraZeneca.

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Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Zidane quits again as Madrid coach after winless season

MADRID (AP) — Zinedine Zidane is stepping down as Real Madrid coach, again.

The club said Thursday the Frenchman is leaving his job, a few days after a season in which Madrid failed to win a title for the first time in more than a decade.

“(Zidane) decided to bring an end to his current spell,” the club said in a statement. “We must now respect his decision and express our gratitude for his professionalism, dedication and passion over the years and what he means to Real Madrid.”

Zidane had a contract through June 2022.

“Zidane is one of Real Madrid’s great icons and his legacy extends beyond what he has achieved as a coach and player at our club,” Madrid said. “He is aware that he has a place in the hearts of the Real Madrid fans and that he will always have a home at Real Madrid.”

Zidane left the club for the first time after leading Madrid to one of its most successful runs from 2016-2018, with three consecutive Champions League titles. In his two years and five months in charge, Madrid won a total of nine trophies, including two Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, one Spanish league and one Spanish Super Cup.

He only won the league title once and a Spanish Super Cup in his second stint.

He quit the first time less than a week after leading the team to its third straight Champions League title, saying it was time for a change and that he didn’t see it clearly that the club would keep winning with him in charge.

Zidane had been dismissing talks about his future recently, saying that he would discuss it with the club. He said he believed that Madrid could do well without him as coach.

Madrid president Florentino Pérez had said sometime ago he was pleased with Zidane and hoped the would stay with the club.

Among the possible candidates being talked about to replace Zidane were Massimiliano Allegri, Antonio Conte, Xabi Alonso, and former Madrid great Raúl González, who has been coaching Madrid’s “B” team — just like Zidane was before taking over the over the main squad for the first time in 2016.

Zidane, who was yet to speak publicly after Thursday’s announcement, left as the second-most successful coach at Madrid, trailing the 14 titles won by Miguel Muñoz in his 14 seasons at the club in the 1960s and 70s. Zidane was at the club’s helm for 263 matches, with 174 victories, 53 draws and 36 loses.

Zidane’s second stint as coach began in March 2019, less than a year after he left for the first time. The team was in crisis after a disastrous season that included losses to rival Barcelona and elimination to Ajax in the round of 16 of the Champions League.

But his second run ended with Madrid enduring its least successful season since 2009-10, which was the last time it didn’t win a title.

Madrid fought for the Spanish league title until the final round but finished two points behind city rival Atlético Madrid, failing to defend its title and lift back-to-back league trophies for the first time since 2007-08.

In the Champions League, Zidane led the team to the semifinals, eventually eliminated by Chelsea. In the Copa del Rey, Madrid lost to third-division club Alcoyano in the round of 32.

Zidane had to deal with a series of setbacks in his squad because of injuries. It was without captain Sergio Ramos for nearly the entire second half of the season, and he also couldn’t count much on Eden Hazard. Other key players who were not available for extended periods included Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vázquez and Marco Asensio.

Zidane struggled to put together a consistent starting lineup, and he often tried to switch schemes between matches. A move to a 3-5-2 formation worked well in some games but failed miserably in others, giving him little confidence to set up his teams.

In addition to Zidane’s departure, there’s also doubt about whether Ramos will return, and major signings are not likely as the club continues to struggle financially amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ramos was among several players who posted messages thanking Zidane. Others included Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Marcelo, Lucas Vázquez, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Raphael Varane.

“I wish you all the best. You deserve it,” Ramos said on Instagram. “Enjoy life, enjoy family.”

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni

GM’s newest vehicle: Off-road, self-driving rover for moon

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — General Motors is teaming up with Lockheed Martin to produce the ultimate off-road, self-driving, electric vehicles — for the moon.

The project announced Wednesday is still in the early stages and has yet to score any NASA money. But the goal is to design light yet rugged vehicles that will travel farther and faster than the lunar rovers that carried NASA’s Apollo astronauts in the early 1970s, the companies said.

“Mobility is really going to open up the moon for us,” said Kirk Shireman, a former NASA manager who is now Lockheed Martin’s vice president for lunar exploration.

The rovers used by the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 moonwalkers ventured no more than 4 1/2 miles (7.6 kilometers) from their landers. GM also helped design those vehicles.

NASA last year put out a call for industry ideas on lunar rovers. The space agency aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2024, a deadline set by the previous White House.

Their initial rovers will be designed to carry two astronauts at a time, according to company officials. A brief company video showed a large, open rover speeding over lunar slopes, with more headlights in the distance.

This is “just a glimpse of how we see the opportunity playing out,” said Jeff Ryder, a vice president for GM Defense.

By operating autonomously when needed, Shireman noted, the rovers can keep astronauts safely away from dangerous spots like the permanently shadowed craters at the moon’s South Pole. Frozen water gathered from these dark corners could be used for drinking, growing plants and creating rocket fuel.

Autonomy could also improve efficiency, with astronauts focused on collecting rocks as a rover follows behind like a puppy, he said.

In a separate venture begun two years ago, Toyota partnered with the Japanese Space Agency to build a pressurized electric-powered lunar rover for astronauts. They’re calling it the Lunar Cruiser.

GM and Lockheed Martin’s vehicle will be unpressurized, meaning that riders will need to wear spacesuits at all times. There’s room for both models, according to Shireman.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

First quarter GDP unchanged at robust 6.4% annual rate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a robust annual rate of 6.4% in the first three months of this year, unchanged from the government’s initial estimate. The recovery from last year’s deep recession gained steam at the beginning of this year, helped by vaccines to combat the virus and trillions of dollars in government assistance.

The rise in the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, was the same as the government’s first look one month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Upward revisions in spending by consumers, who account for two-thirds of economic activity, were offset by weaker growth in exports.

Economist believe GDP growth could top 10% in the current April-June quarter.

“When provided with the ability to spend in a safe way, consumers have the will and the desire to do so,” said Lydia Boussour, lead U.S. economist for Oxford Economics.

Boussour said she expected GDP in the current April-June period would be around 13% and the gains this quarter will allow the economy to recoup all of the output lost during the recession. With the first quarter advance, GDP is just 0.9% below the level in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the country’s longest economic expansion ended in the first quarter of 2020.

Many economists are forecasting the economy will grow between 6% and 7% this year, which would be the strongest performance since a 7.2% surge in 1984, another year when the economy was recovering from a deep recession. But Oxford Economics is forecasting growth this year of around 7.7%. That would be the strongest annual gain sine 1951.

The 6.4% first quarter performance represented an improvement after GDP growth slowed to a 4.3% rate in the final three months of last year, a time when rising coronavirus cases and waning government support raised fears that the country could tip back into recession.

But passage of nearly $3 trillion in extra government support in December and March, as well as wide-spread introduction of vaccines, has allowed thousands of businesses to reopen and millions of people to go back to work.

Thursday’s report was the government’s second of three looks at GDP performance in the first quarter.

It showed that consumer spending grew at a sizzling annual rate of 11.3%, even better than the 10.7% estimate made a month ago. Business investment spending was also up and residential construction, which has been a standout performer over the past two years, grew at 12.7% annual rate, better than the 10.8% gain first estimated

However, those areas of stronger growth were offset by weakness in U.S. export sales, which fell at an annual rate of 2.9%, larger than the 1.1% rate of decline reported a month ago.

While exports were falling, imports were rising with the U.S. economy is emerging from the pandemic recession more quickly than many other parts of the world.

With strong demand from U.S. consumers, imports rose at a 6.7% annual rate in the first quarter. The trade deficit, the gap between imports and exports, widened in the first quarter and subtracted 1.2 percentage points from overall growth.

Business inventories were also drawn down in the first quarter as companies were not able to keep up with rising demand. The drop in inventories subtracted 2.788 percentage points from first quarter growth. However, that should translate into stronger growth in the second quarter as businesses work to restock empty store shelves.

Amazon to buy MGM, studio behind James Bond and ‘Shark Tank’

NEW YORK (AP) — Online shopping giant Amazon is buying MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, “Legally Blonde” and “Shark Tank,” with the hopes of filling its video streaming service with more stuff to watch.

Amazon is paying $8.45 billion for MGM, making it the company’s second-largest acquisition after it bought grocer Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in 2017.

The deal is the latest in the media industry that’s aimed at boosting streaming services to compete against Netflix and Disney+. AT&T and Discovery announced last week that they would combine media companies, creating a powerhouse that includes HGTV, CNN, Food Network and HBO.

Amazon doesn’t say how many people watch its Prime Video streaming service, but more than 200 million people have access to it because they pay for Prime membership, which gives them faster shipping and other perks.

Amazon said Wednesday that it would use MGM’s vast library, which includes famous characters such as Rocky, RoboCop and Pink Panther, to create new movies and shows.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun work,” said Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, during the company’s shareholder meeting on Wednesday. “People who love stories are going to be the big beneficiaries.”

Sucharita Kodali, an e-commerce analyst at Forrester Research Inc., said streaming companies need shows people can’t watch elsewhere in order to stand out and be competitive.

“There is an arms race to get what you can while the window is open,” she said. Plus, the price tag is just a tiny fraction of Amazon’s valuation, which is nearing $2 trillion.

Known for its roaring lion logo, MGM is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood, founded in 1924 when films were still silent. But its shine has faded considerably over the years. In the mid-1980s, it sold much of its pre-1948 catalog, including “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind,” which is now owned by Warner Bros. And its sprawling California lot was bought by Sony.

For much of the past decade, MGM juggled bankruptcy and a revolving door of owners while its new releases dwindled. Long up for sale, MGM’s desirability was lessened, not just because of its partially auctioned-off library, but because its prized property — James Bond — isn’t owned outright. MGM splits ownership of it with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who have ultimate control over the franchise. The release of the latest James Bond entry, “No Time to Die,” has been on hold through the pandemic, with a fall release now planned.

Its other upcoming movies include Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film, “Soggy Bottom,” starring Bradley Cooper; Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” with Lady Gaga and Adam Driver; and the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” with Jennifer Hudson. Its library still includes more than 4,000 movies, including “Silence of the Lambs” and “Thelma & Louise,” and 17,000 TV shows, such as reality TV staples “Shark Tank” and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” Amazon will also get cable channel Epix out of the deal.

Amazon already has its own studio, but has had mixed results. Two of its shows, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Fleabag,” won best comedy series Emmys. Although it has won several Oscars, including most recently for “Sound of Metal,” many of its films have failed to click with audiences at the box office. Recently, Amazon has been spending on sports and splashy shows. It will stream “Thursday Night Football” next year and is producing a “Lord of the Rings” show, which reportedly cost $450 million for its first season alone.

Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. declined to say when it expects the deal to be finalized. But when it does, it will make Amazon, already one of the most powerful and valuable companies in the world, even bigger. Regulators around the world are scrutinizing Amazon’s business practices, specifically the way it looks at information from businesses that sell goods on its site and uses it to create its own Amazon-branded products.

A report by the House Judiciary Committee in October called for a possible breakup of Amazon and others, making it harder for them to buy other businesses and imposing new rules to safeguard competition. And the deal came a day after the company was hit with an antitrust lawsuit by the District of Columbia, accusing Amazon of creating policies that makes its sellers unable to offer lower prices for their products outside of Amazon.com, pushing up prices for consumers.

On Wednesday, some lawmakers urged regulators to scrutinize the MGM deal closely.

“This is a major acquisition that has the potential to impact millions of consumers,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota. “The Department of Justice must conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that this deal won’t risk harming competition.”

Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, said in a tweet that he is deeply concerned with the deal and that mergers and acquisitions involving monopolies need a greater level of scrutiny.

Amazon, founded in 1995 as an online bookstore, has become a $1.6 trillion behemoth that does a little bit of everything. It has a delivery business network that gets orders to people in two days or sooner; sells inhalers and insulin; has a cloud-computing business that powers the apps of Netflix and McDonald’s; and it has plans to send more than 3,200 satellites into space to beam internet service to Earth.

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AP Film Writer Jake Coyle in New York also contributed to this story.

Archives for May 2021

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