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December 16, 2021

Roger Goodell doesn’t foresee postponing games

LAS COLINAS, Texas — NFL leaders gathered Tuesday and Wednesday in North Texas for owners meetings and labor summit discussions. A substantial focus of their discussions: the sharp spike in COVID-19 cases across the league this week.

Roughly 100 NFL players have tested positive for COVID-19 since Monday, the league’s most significant outbreak since the coronavirus pandemic began in spring 2020. NFL staff members have also contracted COVID-19, including Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who the Browns announced is both vaccinated and boosted. Eighteen Cleveland players, including those on practice squad, are in COVID-19 protocol. The Washington Football Team also has 18 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Nonetheless, the league does not anticipate postponing Saturday’s Las Vegas Raiders-Cleveland Browns contest.

“There has not been any discussion about that,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday afternoon in a briefing as league meetings concluded. “We feel confident that with continuing changes and adaptations through our protocols that we can (play).”

Game postponement is not the goal, Goodell said. The league plans to instead continue leaning on roster-management flexibility and has not outlined a threshold for rescheduling a game.

“I don’t think we have something we’ve set as a specific,” Goodell said. “We’ve given our clubs a lot more flexibility with respect to the ability to remove players off that practice squad and also off the injured reserve. Those things have allowed clubs to be sure they’re maintaining the best competitive product out there.”

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The NFL postponed games in 2020 when it felt playing could further expand an outbreak, but believes the current vaccination state of the league has changed the parameters.

“We can’t apply 2020 solutions to the 2021 problems we’re having,” NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills said, adding the league does not expect to return to the 2020 policy dictating daily testing for the virus.

“Testing is one of the tools that we have at our disposal, and it’s a very useful tool in certain areas,” Sills said. “But what testing doesn’t do is prevent transmission, and we’ve known that always. … What we’re trying to do is prevent spread within the facility and keep people from testing positive.”

The NFL Players Association has lobbied the league for daily testing protocols. NFLPA president JC Tretter advocated for daily testing before the season began but the league only instituted it for unvaccinated players, vaccinated players previously subject to biweekly testing and now weekly testing. The players association tweeted Wednesday that the league took away “a critical weapon in our fight against the transmission of COVID-19” when countering the advent of daily testing and the union is discussing “potential changes to the protocol so we can complete the season.”

Sills argued that healthcare facilities are not undergoing “surveillance testing of asymptomatic people” because it “hasn’t been found to be effective as a preventive strategy.” Protocol changes would be more effective, he said, if they emphasize masking, social distancing and restructuring exposure in meal and meeting times. Sills also said the league has no plans to expedite the return process for vaccinated players who test positive. The decision remains based on when “they are no longer a risk to themselves or to others,” which does not dictate a more expedited timeline.

The NFL is strongly encouraging league members to receive a COVID-19 booster shot, which the majority of the league is eligible for as they are more than six months removed from their final dose toward full vaccination. Sills said the booster shot will decrease their likelihood of contracting COVID-19, decrease the likelihood they develop severe illness and “we think there’s reasonable data they’re less likely to spread their illness as well.”

Sills said this week’s cases, which have included the detection of the Omicron variant, have trended two-thirds asymptomatic while the other third of individuals have mild cases. But recent cases have proven more infectious and prompted greater rates of transmission among members of clubs.

Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones declined to say what policy changes he would recommend, but did endorse the NFL adapting in response to the recent surge.

“In order to be good at anything, you’ve got to be willing to change policy as needed,” Jones said. “We have to play option quarterback as a league.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.

December 16, 2021

Omicron ‘most significant threat’ since pandemic began, U.K. health authority warns

LONDON — Omicron is “the most significant threat” to public health in the U.K., authorities warned Wednesday, as the World Health Organization cautioned that the highly contagious Covid-19 variant was spreading at an unprecedented rate.

The number of Covid-19 infections over the coming days will be “quite staggering” compared to previous variants, said Jenny Harries, the head of the U.K. Health Security Agency.

Hours after her warning, government data showed that 78,610 new cases had been recorded in the U.K. as of 9 a.m. local (5 a.m. ET) on Wednesday morning — the highest daily number of laboratory confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

Despite the advisories from domestic and international experts, there has been growing resistance to the British government’s new Covid-19 measures — notably from members of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party.

New regulations intended to help slow the spread of omicron, including masks in public places and the use of Covid-19 passes for some venues, passed in Parliament on Tuesday evening. However, scores of Conservative lawmakers refused to back the new measures.

People wait for a booster vaccine in London on Tuesday. Hannah McKay / Reuters

Some called the new measures too severe and questioned the introduction of a certificate of vaccination or proof of a negative Covid test to enter some venues.

“We are not a ‘papers, please’ society. This is not Nazi Germany,” Conservative lawmaker Marcus Fysh told BBC radio on Monday.

The comment led to pushback both in Parliament and on social media, where the term Nazi Germany trended, and Fysh later apologized for the comparison in a piece he wrote for London’s Jewish Chronicle newspaper.

Omicron’s quick spread

Just over two weeks after the first cases were detected in the U.K., omicron is now the dominant variant in London, the city’s public health chief Kevin Fenton said in a tweet Tuesday.

Since the start of the pandemic, more than 170,000 people have died in the U.K. with Covid-19, one of the highest death tolls in Europe. However, it was the first country to roll out a clinically approved Covid vaccine, and more than 68 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. That’s ahead of the U.S., where just over 60 percent have been fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.

Omicron’s quick spread in Britain, with cases doubling in less than two days in most regions, came as the head of the WHO warned that measures, including masks, social distancing and ventilation, were needed alongside vaccines.

“Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote Tuesday on Twitter. “I need to be very clear: Vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis.”

In the U.S., rising cases and the fear that omicron could spark a new wave of infections led California to reimpose its indoor mask mandate for at least a month.

Europe, meanwhile, is facing a “double challenge,” with high numbers of Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths driven by the delta variant, as well as the spread of omicron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the European Parliament. By mid-January, omicron is expected to be the dominant variant in Europe, she said.

More than 5,300 cases of omicron have been recorded in the U.K., with 10 people hospitalized. One person died after contracting the variant.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the Health at the Stowe vaccination center in London on Monday.Jeremy Selwyn / AFP – Getty Images

Johnson, who warned Sunday that “there is a tidal wave of omicron coming,” ramped up the country’s booster program, saying that he wants to offer all residents 18 and older a third dose to by the end of the month.

His push for boosters led to long lines at walk-in vaccination centers, with people reporting on social media that vaccines had run out before their turn came. The health service, which provides U.K. residents with free rapid Covid-19 test kits, has faced shortages on its website since Johnson’s televised address Sunday.

The U.K. administered more than 513,000 booster vaccines on Monday, its third highest rate since October.

The push for the third doses also came as the first real-world study of the variant in South Africa showed that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offered reduced protection against omicron. However, the variant also appeared to cause less severe illness in South Africa, where it was first discovered last month.

The analysis, released Tuesday by South Africa’s largest health care administrator, found that on average 29 percent fewer people were being admitted to a hospital than previously with the delta variant. However, the study also found that two Pfizer jabs gave 70 percent protection against hospitalization from the new variant, compared with 90 percent seen in the delta wave.

December 16, 2021

Lolo entrepreneur makes mark on sustainable fashion

LOLO — People in the United States throw away more than 60 million plastic water bottles each day, filling landfills and leaving a significant burden on the environment.

While the excess of non-biodegradable waste won’t be solved overnight, one Lolo resident is tapping away at a solution in her own, stylish way.

“I think it’s just our responsibility to do business in a sustainable way,” explained Lolo entrepreneur Mallory Ottariano.

Every clothing choice and business decision has been uniquely hers for nearly a decade and it’s one that’s making a mark on today’s fashion industry.

Ottariano created her sustainable clothing brand nearly ten years ago, and with her passion for individuality, it only made sense to name the brand something completely unique, something like “Youer.”

Mallory Ottariano Clothing — Mallory Ottariano’s Youer brand showcases whimsical designs with an array of colors.

“Youer is the ultimate expression of individuality,” Ottariano told MTN News, “Sort of this idea of you-ER, being more you because no one is youER than you.”

In understanding Youer, you have to know the woman behind the brand, and her story began long before the title of entrepreneur was added to the resume.

“I learned how to sew when I was a kid. My mom and my grandmother sewed a lot growing up, and style was always my thing. I was always wearing very quirky clothes, going out of my way to dress in something I wasn’t seeing anywhere else. I hated matching, and so to accomplish that personal style, I was often making a lot of my own stuff,” – Mallory Ottariano

Mismatched and inspired, Ottariano’s love for clothing never faded, so after graduating from college, tucked away in a corner of her parent’s Massachusetts basement, she made a life changing purchase in the form of a $100 sewing machine from Ebay.

One move to Montana and many sewing stints later, Ottariano now mismatches clothes for a living and her brand, Youer showcases whimsical designs with an array of colors. According to Ottariano, the clothing is made for the every day adventure, whether that be working, parenting, hiking, or grabbing a beer.

Missoulians latched onto the clothing and the meaning behind it early on and now, the brand is reaching far beyond the 406. “I started going to art shows and doing pop up shops and selling in local stores and my websites really took off. In 2015 I quit my day job,” said Ottariano.

Sometimes it’s the Bitterroot River that inspires a pattern, or a ski slope that sparks a color scheme. And as for the fabric — that inspiration comes from the landfill. Combing through a rack of colorful clothing, Ottariano reached for her bestselling dress, explaining that the piece is made with 30 water bottles.

Mallory Ottariano Sewing — “I just hope that I can affect change in enough people to make a difference.” – Mallory Ottariano.

Water bottles are turned to flakes, flakes to pellets, pellets extruded and stretched into a fine fiber that’s knit into fabric. A water bottle’s journey to becoming a piece of clothing may be just as remarkable as Ottariano’s journey to entrepreneurship.

“I just hope that I can affect change in enough people to make a difference,” said Ottariano.

From the recycled fabric to the plastic-free packaging, sustainability will always be at the forefront of fashion for Ottariano, even more so as she looks to expand and move operations into a new apparel factory in western Montana – proof that sometimes mismatched makes perfect sense.

December 16, 2021

NFL funding ‘defund the police’ groups through ‘Inspire Change’ program

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The National Football League’s “Inspire Change” partners, which receive financial backing from the multibillion-dollar league, include multiple groups that have openly advocated for defunding the police, a Fox News Digital review of the program found.

Groups who have received funds as part of “Inspire Change,” the NFL’s social justice initiative, include the Vera Institute of Justice, the Oregon Justice Resource Center and the Community Justice Exchange. All three of those groups support defunding or abolishing the police, a review of their public statements shows.

While the NFL’s general support of social justice causes is widely known, the fact that the league is propping up groups trying to defund police departments has not been previously reported.

An Inspire Change banner is seen before an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Football Team at FedExField

The NFL’s “Inspire Change” program includes funding for groups trying to defund or abolish police departments. A banner promoting the “Inspire Change” initiative is seen at an October 2020 game between the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Football Tea (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The NFL gave $300,000 to the Oregon Justice Resource Center (OJRC), the group disclosed to local media. It’s unclear how much the NFL gave to the Vera Institute of Justice and Community Justice Exchange, though the NFL has donated tens of millions of dollars as part of the “Inspire Change” program, according to the league.

Vera and the Community Justice Exchange have been NFL grantees since 2020, while the OJRC first received funding from the NFL this year, according to the league.

The Community Justice Exchange, which didn’t provide a comment by press time, aims to get rid of not only policing and prisons, but also immigration enforcement, according to its public statements.

“The Community Justice Exchange is working towards a world without prisons, policing, prosecution, surveillance or any form of detention or supervision,” the group states on its website. Its work includes publishing a roadmap to “prison abolition.”

The group also runs the National Bail Fund Network, whose chapters include the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a group that gained notoriety for bailing out rioters and alleged domestic abusers, among others, during the summer 2020 riots. Vice President Kamala Harris was among the high-profile figures who promoted the Minnesota Freedom Fund last year.

The NFL’s support for the group includes supporting “75+ local community-based bail and bond funds, working to end money bail and pre-trial detention at the local level and immigration detention at the national level,” according to the NFL’s “Inspire Change” website.

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The OJRC is similarly open in its support for defunding the police.

“The brutality of LE [law enforcement] & cruelty of our prisons are connected by the same malignant tumor: white supremacy,” the OJRC tweeted in June 2020. “We must dismantle/defund it all.”

In August, when Portland’s mayor called for restoring previously slashed police funding amid a crime spike, the OJRC criticized the move.

“Portland leaders from the Mayor down or anyone else advocating for more $ for police either don’t get it or don’t want to get it,” the group tweeted. It added: “We need to defund the police and build up communities.”

A demonstrator in New York holds a "defund the police" sign

A demonstrator holds a “Defund the police” sign in Brooklyn, New York. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The NFL’s funding of the OJRC supports its Women’s Justice Project, Youth Justice Project and “[s]ustaining current capacity and enabling the OJRC to expand,” according to the league. The OJRC declined to comment.

Like the OJRC, the New York-based Vera Institute of Justice is unapologetic in its support for defunding the police.

“Vera is committed to dismantling the current culture of policing and working toward solutions that defund police and shift power to communities,” the group’s president, Nicholas Turner, wrote in June 2020. He also touted Minneapolis leaders’ pledge to “dismantle” the city’s police department – a move ultimately rejected by voters in a ballot measure last month – as one of several “victories” notched by activists.

Vera’s backing of the defund the police movement came amid nationwide protests – many of which devolved into riots that caused nearly $2 billion in damage – following the death of George Floyd.

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wears a protective face covering due to the Covid-19 pandemic before the Las Vegas Raiders play against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on October 4, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before the Las Vegas Raiders-Los Angeles Chargers game at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 4, 2021. (Harry How/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The NFL’s funding of the group supports “Vera’s In Our Backyards initiative and its work to end the catastrophic rise of incarceration in small cities and rural counties, advance racial equity, and reinvest in supports and resources that build truly healthy and vibrant communities through policy advocacy, narrative-changing campaigns and research in partnership with community members and system stakeholders,” according to the league.

The NFL’s money also supports “Vera’s Policing Program and its work to advance crisis response programs, policies, and resources that connect people experiencing behavioral health crises to community-based services while minimizing involvement with police and the criminal justice system.”

The NFL declined to specifically answer several questions from Fox News Digital but provided a statement from a spokesperson defending the program.

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“Our 33 social justice grant partners have been selected based on the critical work that they have done surrounding Inspire Change’s four pillars – education, economic advancement, criminal justice reform, and police & community relations – to break down barriers to opportunity, end systemic racism, and bridge the gap between members of law enforcement and the communities they serve,” the spokesperson said.

“We stand by the work our grant partners have done and the lasting positive impact made in communities across the country.”

December 15, 2021

Tesla taxi in Paris fatal crash had no technical fault, gov’t told

PARIS — Tesla has told the French government there is no indication that a technical fault may have caused a fatal accident in Paris involving a Tesla Model 3 taxi, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Paris taxi company G7 has suspended the use of the 37 Model 3 cars in its fleet after an accident on Saturday involving one of its drivers in which one person was killed and 20 injured.

Three people are in serious condition, according to a person close to the investigation.

“We have been in contact, of course, with Tesla’s management and they tell us that there is no technical problem to flag on their vehicles,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters.

He added that the government was waiting for the outcome of the ongoing judicial investigation.

Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari told RMC radio that he had spoken with the chief executive of Tesla Europe, who told him there had been no safety alerts about the Model 3.

He added that the automaker, which collects detailed data from the sensors and cameras on its vehicles, notified him that it had provided the relevant technical data to investigators.

Tesla, which is at the forefront of the electrical and self-driving vehicle revolution and has a market value of nearly $1 trillion, has not responded to requests for comment.

G7 Deputy Chief Executive Yann Ricordel told Reuters the accident occurred while an off-duty taxi driver was taking his family to a restaurant. The driver tried to brake but the car accelerated instead, Ricordel said.

A police source told Reuters that the car, which had stopped at a red traffic light, suddenly sped forward, hitting and dragging with it a cyclist who later died.

The driver tried to stop the vehicle by steering into surrounding obstacles, including trash bins, causing further damage, the police source said, citing the driver’s own version of events, witnesses and video surveillance.

It was not clear whether the car was operating in Tesla’s Autopilot mode, which handles some driving tasks. The driver tested negative in a alcohol test, the police source said.

A judicial source said that an investigation into involuntary homicide by the driver had been opened.

Video of the scene obtained by Reuters showed the wreckage of a black Tesla and debris strewn across the street. The vehicle’s left-hand side was crumpled, the front left wheel collapsed and the windscreen shattered.

The car appeared to have collided with a white van, which suffered front-end damage. Other footage circulating on social media showed members of the public tending to the wounded and shocked bystanders in the aftermath of the accident.

Tesla boss Elon Musk was named 2021 “person of the year” by both Time and the Financial Times for triggering a historic shift in the auto industry towards electric vehicles, and also sending rockets into orbit with his space company.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. auto safety regulator, said in August it had sent teams to review 31 Tesla crashes involving 10 deaths since 2016 where it suspected advanced driver assistance systems use.

It ruled out Autopilot in three of the crashes.

Musk has repeatedly defended Autopilot and in April tweeted that “Tesla with Autopilot engaged now approaching 10 times lower chance of accident than average vehicle.”

Tesla advises drivers they must keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention while using Autopilot.

December 15, 2021

NFL announces international home marketing area teams and markets

Following ratification by the International Committee today, the NFL announced that 18 teams have been granted access to 26 International Home Marketing Areas (IHMA) across eight different countries. This ground-breaking, new initiative grants clubs access to international territories for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization as part of an important, long-term, strategic effort to enable clubs to build their global brands while driving NFL fan growth internationally.

“NFL fandom begins with our clubs,” said Christopher Halpin, NFL Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer. “This important initiative enables NFL teams to develop meaningful, direct relationships with NFL fans abroad, driving fan growth and avidity globally. We were very pleased with the number, creativity and level of commitment of club proposals across the board in this initial application period and look forward to teams launching their efforts early next year.”

As part of the International HMA program, clubs will have access to international markets for at least a five-year term, during which a club will have rights to pursue activities in that international market that are consistent with what they can do in their domestic HMA. This includes in-person and digital marketing, corporate sponsorship sales, fan events and activations, youth football activities, merchandise sales and co-marketing relationships with other sports and entertainment properties in the market.

Clubs can begin to activate in their awarded market(s) on January 1, 2022.

“Today’s announcement is a significant milestone in our efforts to broaden the NFL’s global reach by building long-term relationships with these international markets that will play a large role in the continued growth and expansion of our sport for years to come,” said Joel Glazer, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Owner/Co-Chairman and NFL International Committee Chairman.

“Much of our league success is rooted in the strong connection that our individual teams have built with their fans, and this initiative creates many more avenues for engaging and energizing our international fanbase.”

Coupled with the League’s commitment to International Games – all 32 clubs will play at least one international game in the next eight seasons – the League will use its best efforts to ensure clubs play their international games in their International HMAs, where possible.

Following the launch of this initiative, clubs may submit future proposals for International Committee review annually each spring.

Clubs Granted International Home Marketing Areas, by Market:

Australia: Los Angeles Rams

Canada: Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks

Germany: Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mexico: Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers

Spain: Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins

United Kingdom: Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers