A bubble was captured icing over in Waterford, Michigan, slowly freezing and creating a snow globe effect.
Footage captured by Facebook user Traveling With Jesus shows ice forming over the bubble. Credit: Traveling With Jesus via Storyful
In a blow to Democrats, the Senate parliamentarian ruled the chamber cannot include President Joe Biden's proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage in a $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill the party aims to pass without Republican votes, lawmakers said on Thursday. Democrats and progressives had hoped to include the minimum wage increase in the legislation to help cushion the economic blow of the coronavirus pandemic and better compensate low-wage workers who have spent months on the front lines of the health crisis as essential workers. Biden is "disappointed in the decision," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement, and "will work with leaders in Congress to determine the best path forward because no one in this country should work full time and live in poverty."
Britain's 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth, who last month had her first COVID-19 vaccination dose, has encouraged the public to follow suit, saying it did not hurt and those who were wary should think of others. The monarch and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip, who is currently in hospital with a non-COVID infection, received their shots from a household doctor at the queen’s Windsor Castle residence, with their age putting them in the priority group for England’s coronavirus vaccine rollout. "Once you've had a vaccine you have a feeling of you know, you're protected which I think is very important and as far as I could make out it was quite harmless," the queen said in a video call with health officials overseeing inoculations across the four nations of the United Kingdom.
A British man who snuck out of the hotel room where he was serving his Stay-Home Notice (SHN) twice last September to meet his then-fiancee was on Friday (26 February) jailed for two weeks and fined $1,000.
Romania's Orthodox Church will continue immersing infants in water during baptism ceremonies, it said on Thursday, rejecting calls across the country to change the ritual after a six-week-old baby died after being baptised earlier this month. Prosecutors are investigating the case, which has divided Church officials and believers, with tens of thousands of Romanians petitioning the Church to sprinkle water on the babies' heads instead. The majority of Romania's 20 million people are Orthodox Christians and the Church has considerable influence.
Kidnappers have abducted schoolchildren in northwest Nigeria's Zamfara state, a spokesman for the state governor said on Friday, but declined to say how many people were taken or provide further details. A police spokesman for the state did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. This is the second such kidnapping in a little over a week in Nigeria's north, where a surge in armed militancy in the northwest has led to a widespread and worsening breakdown of security.
A British citizen was sentenced to two weeks in jail and fined 1,000 Singapore dollars ($753) on Friday for breaking a coronavirus quarantine order in Singapore. Nigel Skea is the first Briton to be jailed for flouting coronavirus rules in the city-state. Skea left his room at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore on three occasions last September, according to charge sheets.
Asian shares skidded Friday, with Tokyo's benchmark dropping 4% after rising bond yields triggered a broad sell-off on Wall Street that handed the Nasdaq composite index its steepest one-day loss since October. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney all fell 2% or more in early trading Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 3.5% on Thursday while the S&P 500 dropped 2.4%, led lower by heavy selling in technology and communications companies.
Spinners claimed 28 of the 30 wickets that fell in five sessions in the shortest completed test match since 1935. Joe Root's decision to welcome back a fit-again Jofra Archer and a rested James Anderson in a four-pronged pace attack, while retaining Jack Leach as their only specialist spinner, backfired spectacularly.
Hungary could consider tightening some lockdown restrictions as coronavirus infections are expected to rise "drastically" in the next two weeks, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday. Orban also said all the 2.5 million to 2.6 million Hungarians who have registered for COVID-19 vaccinations so far would receive at least one dose by Easter, in early April. Orban said he hoped to get vaccinated with a shot developed by China's Sinopharm early next week.
The Ministry of Health confirmed 13 new cases of COVID-19 in Singapore on Friday (26 February), taking the country's total case count to 59,913.
An attempted robbery attempt in San Francisco, California, was foiled when the victim wrestled his belongings back from the perpetrators on February 24, video shows.This footage captured by witness Forrest Lanning shows a man grabbing a backpack from a parked vehicle in Martin Luther King Jr Drive near Golden Gate Park, before running toward an awaiting getaway car. The victim then chased after the man, forcing him to drop the snatched bag.According to local media, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) had no record of the incident.Storyful has reached out to police for comment. Credit: Forrest Lanning via Storyful
Kidnappers have abducted schoolchildren in northwest Nigeria's Zamfara state, a spokesman for the state governor said on Friday, but declined to say how many people were taken or provide further details. A police spokesman for the state did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. This is the second such kidnapping in a little over a week in Nigeria's north, where a surge in armed militancy in the northwest has led to a widespread and worsening breakdown of security.
Israel has administered at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose to 50% of its 9.3 million population, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Friday. Israel counts East Jerusalem Palestinians, who have been included in the vaccine campaign that began on Dec 19, as part of its population. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip are not part of the Israeli campaign.
United Nations human rights investigators will issue their findings on the case of Kremlin critic Andrei Navalny on Monday, a U.N. statement said on Friday. The opposition politician was arrested in Moscow in January upon returning from Germany following treatment for poisoning with what many Western countries say was a military-grade nerve agent. Agnes Callamard, U.N. expert on killings, and Irene Khan, U.N. expert on freedom of opinion and expression, will issue their findings on their investigation at a Geneva press conference on Monday (1500 GMT), the U.N. said in a statement revealing the investigation.
The worsening travel outlook and tighter restrictions brought in by countries over the last two months have threatened to ruin Europe's critical summer season and leave some carriers in need of another round of funding support, analysts warn. IAG said that the ongoing uncertainty and duration of COVID-19 meant that it could not provide a future profit forecast, illustrating the scale of the challenge for IAG's new boss Luis Gallego, who is six months into the job. UK-focused airlines were buoyed earlier this week when Britain laid out plans for travel markets to possibly reopen from mid-May, prompting a flood of bookings, but uncertainty remains over whether it will include IAG's long-haul routes.
The Court of Arbitration for Sports has reduced the ban on international cricketer Umar Akmal to 12 months and fined him 4.25 million rupees ($27,000) for breaching the Pakistan Cricket Board’s anti-corruption code. Akmal was suspended in February 2020 for failing to report details of corrupt approaches made to him just before the start of the fifth Pakistan Super League. The PCB’s disciplinary panel last April found Akmal guilty on two charges of separate breaches and handed him a three-year suspension — with the periods of ineligibility to run concurrently.
Grealish, who has seven goals and 12 assists for Villa in all competitions this season, missed last week's home defeat by Leicester City due to a minor leg injury. "He is a great player who can unbalance (teams)," Bielsa said. Leeds midfielder Kalvin Philips (calf) and forward Rodrigo (groin) will miss the game at Elland Road, but midfielder Mateusz Klich could be available after being forced off with an injury in their last game.
Videos obtained by Reuters showed streaks and bright sparks where the apparent space debris had burnt up. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the debris was from a Chinese Long March rocket. Reuters could not immediately independently confirm the reports."I thought it was a meteorite at first but later as it split, my mate and I began thinking it was space junk," said Jasper Nash, who filmed one of the videos. "It was very fascinating."A growing amount of broken satellites and spent rocket parts has raised concerns over congestion, which increases the risk of collisions in space that can cause serious damage to spacecraft.
Brexit, COVID-19 and overseas competition are challenging fintech's future, and Britain should act to stay competitive for the sector, a government-backed review said on Friday. Britain's departure from the European Union has cut the sector's access to the world's biggest single market, making the UK less attractive for fintechs wanting to expand cross-border. The review headed by Ron Kalifa, former CEO of payments fintech Worldpay, sets out a "strategy and delivery model" that includes a new billion pound start-up fund and fast-tracking work visas for hiring the best talent globally.
Aaron Finch's prolonged form slump has not changed the Australia captain's demeanour around the team in New Zealand and he deserves a "massive tick" for being able to put his struggles aside, fast bowler Kane Richardson said. Australia's white ball captain Finch is under huge pressure to produce a score after bringing his poor form from the Big Bash League into the Twenty20 series. He scored one run in the opener in Christchurch and 12 in Dunedin on Thursday as Australia fell 2-0 behind in the five-match series.
