Raphael Stevens

In this articleTRobert Aramayo portrays a young Ned Stark in “Game of Thrones.”Source: HBOGeorge R.R. Martin is lending his talents to Broadway.The author behind the mega-hit “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, which was the basis for HBO’s Emmy Award-winning series “Game of Thrones,” is now writing a script for a play based in the fantasy world of Westeros.The Hollywood Reporter said Tuesday that the play will center around the Great Tourney at Harrenhal and debut in New York, London and Australia in 2023. Martin will work with playwright Duncan Macmillan (“1984”) and theater director Dominic Cooke on the project.The Great Tourney at Harrenhal is an important historical event in the world of Westeros. Occurring 16 years before the events of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” the contest took place over 10 days and included tournaments of jousting, archery and combat. It is also the place where Prince Rhaegar Targaryen created a nationwide scandal for dedicating his victory to Lyanna Stark instead of his wife. This decision led to Robert’s Rebellion and the Targaryens being overthrown.While no characters have been officially announced and the play has not been titled, it’s expected that young iterations of Ned Stark, Lyanna Stark, Jaime Lannister, Robert Baratheon, Rhaegar Targaryen, Oberyn Martell and Barristan Selmy will likely be among them.”The seeds of war are often planted in times of peace,” Martin said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Few in Westeros knew the carnage to come when highborn and smallfolk alike gathered at Harrenhal to watch the finest knights of the realm compete in a great tourney, during the Year of the False Spring. It is a tourney oft referred during HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ and in my novels, A Song of Ice & Fire … and now, at last, we can tell the whole story … on the stage.”Representatives for Martin were not immediately available to comment.The news comes just days after Martin struck a five-year deal with HBO to create content for the network. WarnerMedia, which owns HBO, has already begun working on a “Game of Thrones” prequel called “House of the Dragon,” which is expected to premiere sometime in 2022. The company has at least five other series in development for HBO and streaming service HBO Max.Broadway, which has been closed for more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, could reopen in September. Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio detailed a vaccine rollout in the theater district that would inoculate members of the industry, with the hope of getting shows up and running in the fall. More

In this articleAZN-GBBNTXPFEMRNABethany Smith administers a COVID-19 vaccination to a member of the public at a mass vaccination hub for the Aneurin Bevan Health Trust on March 14, 2021 in Newbridge, Wales.Huw Fairclough | Getty ImagesMutations of the coronavirus could render current vaccines ineffective within a year, according to a majority of epidemiologists, virologists and infectious disease specialists surveyed by the People’s Vaccine Alliance.The survey of 77 experts from some of the world’s leading academic institutions across 28 countries found that almost a third gave a time frame of nine months or less. Fewer than 1 in 8 said they believed that mutations would never render the current vaccines ineffective.Two-thirds thought that we had “a year or less before the virus mutates to the extent that the majority of first-generation vaccines are rendered ineffective and new or modified vaccines are required.” The survey, published Tuesday, was carried out by the People’s Vaccine Alliance — a coalition of over 50 organizations including African Alliance, Oxfam and UNAIDS — that campaigns for equal global access to Covid vaccines. The overwhelming majority of the experts — 88% — said that persistent low vaccine coverage in many countries would make it more likely for resistant mutations to appear. The People’s Vaccine Alliance warned that, at the current rate of global vaccination programs, only 10% of people in the majority of poor countries would likely be vaccinated in the next year. Shots and boostersA number of Covid vaccines have been developed, tested and authorized for emergency use in the past year. The three vaccines currently in use in the West — from Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech, and AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford — are being made predominantly in the U.S., U.K. or EU, while China and Russia have developed their own vaccines.Time is of the essence when it comes to life-saving immunization; the coronavirus pandemic has led to over 127 million Covid infections worldwide and over 2.7 million deaths. The U.S., Brazil, India, France, Russia and the U.K. have been the hardest hit, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.The spread of more infectious (and in some cases, potentially more deadly) variants of the virus in the latter half of 2020 has made the race to vaccinate as many people as possible a highly charged event. Vaccine developers have already announced that they are developing booster shots to deal with Covid variants that have become more dominant, particularly those first discovered in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil.CNBC Health & ScienceRead CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:One dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines was 80% effective in preventing Covid in CDC study of health workersCDC chief warns U.S. headed for ‘impending doom’ as Covid cases rise again: ‘Right now I’m scared’Biden says 90% of U.S. adults will be eligible for Covid shots by April 19New York expands Covid vaccine eligibility to all adults starting April 6, Cuomo says The University of Oxford-AstraZeneca shot was hailed as a “game changer” for global immunization as it is cheaper to produce and easier to store and transport than the Moderna and Pfizer shots, although it has hit various stumbling blocks that have damaged public confidence, despite large amounts of clinical data showing that it’s safe and effective at preventing Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths.AstraZeneca said it will provide access to its vaccine at no profit for the “duration of the pandemic” and has committed to provide the vaccine on a nonprofit basis in perpetuity to low- and middle-income countries.Where vaccines are goingThe countries where the shots have been developed or manufactured have prioritized the vaccination of their own populations over exporting doses elsewhere, to varying degrees.Vaccine distribution has already become a source of heightened tensions, even among those with access to millions of doses already, such as the EU and U.K., although both sides have now said they will work toward a “win-win” solution on supplies.The World Health Organization has led calls for wealthier nations that have been accused of “stockpiling” vaccines to donate doses to its COVAX initiative, which aims to distribute vaccine fairly among poorer nations that are quickly being left behind in the race to protect their populations. The WHO said in January that the world was on the brink of a “catastrophic moral failure” due to the unfair vaccine rollouts.The People’s Vaccine Alliance survey found that almost three-quarters of those questioned — which included experts from Johns Hopkins University, Yale, Imperial College, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Cambridge University and The University of Cape Town — said that the open sharing of technology and intellectual property could increase global vaccine coverage.The alliance said it was calling for “the lifting of pharmaceutical monopolies and the sharing of technology to urgently boost vaccine supply.” More

[This livestream is expected to begin shortly. Please refresh the page if you do not see the video player above.]Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing to launch the latest prototype of its next-generation Starship rocket on Tuesday, in the second high-altitude flight test of the system this month.Starship prototype rocket Serial Number 11, or SN11, will aim to launch and fly as high as 10 kilometers, or about 32,800 feet in altitude. The rocket is built of stainless steel, representing the early versions of the rocket that Musk unveiled in 2019.Starship prototype rocket SN11 stands on the launchpad at the company’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas.SpaceXThe company is developing Starship with the goal of launching cargo and people on missions to the moon and Mars.The SN11 flight will be similar to the ones SpaceX has conducted in the past four months, with the test flights of prototypes SN8, SN9, and SN10. While each of the prior rockets launched successfully and completed multiple development objectives, all three prototypes were explosively destroyed – SN8 and SN9 on impact during landing attempts, and SN10 a few minutes after landing.The FAA opened an investigation after the SN10 explosion, saying in a statement to CNBC “that issues related to the FAA mishap had no effect on public safety.” The FAA approved modifications to SpaceX’s launch license for SN11, with the company then authorized to conduct its next flight test.Like its predecessors’ flights, the goal of the SN11 launch is not necessarily to reach the maximum altitude, but rather to test several key parts of the Starship system. The Starship prototype stands at about 150 feet tall, or about the size of a 15-story building, and is powered by three Raptor rocket engines. SpaceX will fire all three engines for liftoff and then shut them down one at a time in sequence as it nears the top of the flight’s intended altitude.SN11 will aim to transfer propellant from its main tanks to the header tanks, and then flip itself for the “belly flop” reentry maneuver so it can control its descent through the air with the rocket’s four flaps. Then, in the final moments of descent, SpaceX will flip return the rocket to a vertical orientation and fire the Raptor engines to slow itself down for a landing attempt.Notably, SN11 launching on Friday would mark 24 days since SN10 flew, cutting nearly a week off the previous turnaround time as SpaceX ramps up manufacturing in Texas.Starship is one of two “Manhattan Projects” that SpaceX is simultaneously developing, with the other being its Starlink satellite internet program. Musk has previously estimated that it will cost about $5 billion to fully develop Starship, although SpaceX has not disclosed how much it has spent on the program to date.The company last month brought in $850 million in its latest capital fundraise at a $74 billion valuation.Musk remains “highly confident” that Starship “will be safe enough for human transport by 2023″ – an ambitious goal given the company began the rocket’s development and testing in earnest in early 2019. More

In this articlePFEMRNAAmid growing fears of a fourth wave of U.S. Covid-19 cases, government officials urged Americans to continue taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.During a press conference on Monday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said she had a feeling of “impending doom” and urged Americans to “just hold on a little longer.” Later in the day, President Joe Biden said the “war against Covid-19 is far from won.” He condemned behavior likely to spread infections and said some states should pause their reopening plans.At the same time, a new CDC study of vaccinated health-care workers showed that one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was 80% effective in preventing coronavirus infections, and 90% two weeks after the second dose. The pace of daily vaccinations is nearing 3 million shots per day.U.S. Covid casesAbout 66,000 new Covid cases are being reported in the U.S. each day, based on a seven-day average of Johns Hopkins University data that has been ticking upward. That figure is far below January’s peak of about 250,000 daily cases but more in line with the summer surge, when daily cases peaked near 70,000 in late July.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsCases are increasing by 5% or more, based on the change in the seven-day average of daily cases from a week ago, in more than half of U.S. states.U.S. Covid deathsThe U.S. is reporting a weekly average of 990 Covid deaths per day, according to Hopkins data. Overall, more than 550,000 total U.S. coronavirus deaths have been reported.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsU.S. vaccine shots administeredNearly 2.4 million vaccine shots were reported administered on Monday, bringing the seven-day average of daily vaccinations to 2.8 million, a record level.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsBiden said Monday that 90% of adults in the U.S. will be eligible for Covid shots by April 19.”For the vast, vast majority of adults, you won’t have to wait until May 1. You’ll be eligible for your shot on April 19,” Biden saidU.S. share of the population vaccinatedCDC data shows that 95 million people, nearly 30% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. Some 53 million are fully vaccinated with two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one shot of Johnson & Johnson’s.About half of those 65 and older are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsCNBC’s Noah Higgins-Dunn and Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report. More

Two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning hasn’t let up in retirement.The former New York Giants quarterback says he’s busier than ever coaching his kids’ sports teams, doing broadcasting work with ESPN and working on his portfolio. From his home in New Jersey, Manning spoke with CNBC about life after football, the bitcoin craze and his thoughts on the Giants’ offseason acquisitions.”I’m finding new ways to stay busy and continue to learn a little bit more about different things that interest me,” Manning told CNBC.One of those things is business. Manning announced Tuesday, he has extended his relationship with leading e-commerce grilling retailer BBQGuys to become a brand ambassador and to launch a national marketing campaign. As part of the deal, the self-proclaimed grill master will serve as “Chief Commercial Makin’ Guy” along with his father, Archie. The former Giants star is part of a private equity group that purchased BBQGuys last year.”They’re about making great quality, but also about outdoor living, being with family, being with friends and that’s what you know, I think are most important to me,” said the 40-year-old New Orleans native.The record-breaking quarterback says he’s taking the year to figure out exactly what his future will look like — whether that’s in television, business or even a return to football (from the sidelines).”I’ve had some talks with the Giants to possibly get back in with the organization doing different things,” Manning said.Click on the video below for the full conversation: More

In this articleEXPEvalentinrussanov | E+ | Getty ImagesMany Americans are thinking of travel again.And who can blame them? After all, it’s been more than a year of seesawing coronavirus infection rates, on-again, off-again lockdown restrictions, and simple quarantine fatigue.As anti-Covid-19 vaccination efforts gather steam nationwide, tourism suppliers are tracking increased interest, and even business, in vacations departing as early as this spring. Many aspects of the travel experience, however, have changed and may become permanent — for better or worse.”We’re increasingly seeing people optimistic about traveling, either as soon as this spring or into the summer,” Jeff Hurst, president of online vacation home rental site Vrbo in Austin, Texas, and marketing co-lead at parent company Expedia Group.”What’s encouraging is that people are essentially putting their money where their mouth is and booking that trip,” he said.More from Personal Finance:How travelers could benefit from hotel industry strugglesVaccines could spur travel but some changes are here to stayMen more willing to take travel risks than women, study findsA recent Vrbo survey of 8,000-plus people found that 65% of Americans plan on traveling more than they did pre-Covid in 2021.A March survey of 535 adults by website The Vacationer, meanwhile, found that, once the pandemic is “officially” over, a quarter of people plan to travel more, while just over 58% will return to pre-Covid travel habits. The same study found that 67.72% of respondents plan to travel this summer.Expedia Group’s 2021 Travel Trends Report, conducted back in December, found that 46% of people said they’d be more likely to travel when a Covid vaccine became widely available. By Wednesday, nine states will offer all their residents vaccinations, and President Joe Biden wants to make every U.S. adult eligible for vaccination by May 1.Jon Grutzner, president of Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold — two high-end guided vacation brands owned by Cypress, California-based The Travel Corporation — said that “as the vaccine rollout continues to evolve, we’ve seen a dramatic uptick in our bookings.”Reservations are now coming in for Q3 and Q4 of this year. “But it’s 2022 that is going to be a record year, I think, for all folks,” Grutzner said.Air travel is surging, CNBC has reported, and both short- and long-term hotel bookings are beginning to recover, according to Nicholas Ward, president and co-founder of Koddi, a Fort Worth, Texas-based travel booking technology company.Ward said he sees increased vaccination rates, more travel demand and good travel sentiment data as pointing to “the possibility of a great summer period, even if we don’t fully recover in 2021.”While demand for traditional hotel accommodations remains down about 13% compared to last year, and 20% vs. 2019, “that’s the least it’s been down for in some time,” he said. “We’re seeing things generally going in the right direction from a travel demand perspective and continuing to improve week on week.”For all that, industry executives don’t see a return to the pre-pandemic status quo. There’s a new travel normal, they say, for better or worse.”I don’t think there will be a future year that feels normal in the context of the past,” said Vrbo’s Hurst. “I’m not really not planning that way, and I’m not sure consumers are, either.”I can tell you that everyone should add travel insurance to every transaction.James Ferraraco-founder and president of InteleTravelJames Ferrara, co-founder and president of Delray Beach, Florida-based InteleTravel — a network of some 60,000 home-based travel advisors — agreed.”We’ll never return to what the industry looked like pre-pandemic, nor should we,” he said. “We have grown through the last year, we’ve learned some stuff — and so have consumers.Ferrara said some changes, such as continued masking or cruise ships sailing at half capacity, will only be temporary, while others — like enhanced sanitation protocols and relaxed cancellation and rebooking policies from airlines and other travel suppliers — are here to stay. “This looks like a long-term change to me, and I think that’s excellent business for everyone.”Koddi’s Ward agreed and also predicted that the safe and “frictionless” check-in protocols that hotels, resorts and other accommodations instituted during the pandemic represent a sea change, with suppliers focused on upgrading technology such as smartphone apps.”We’re seeing contactless check-in, mobile check-ins, really pick up quite significantly,” he said. “It’s a net win for consumers and really can for hotels, as well.”They’re looking to operate — and in many cases have to operate — much more efficiently,” said Ward, noting it will take some time for accommodation staffing levels to rebound, so tech shortcuts are crucial.Interest in travel advice is upIgor Emmerich | Cultura | Getty ImagesSpeaking of staff, Ferrara said the silver lining to the pandemic for travel advisors — or travel agents, as they were once more commonly known — was that it proved their worth to consumers. A profession that’s suffered repeated blows, from commission cuts to the rise of online booking engines, since the turn of the century finally got to prove it has the right stuff when Covid hit and vacations were scrubbed en masse.”Here we are a year later, and we’re seeing some customers still struggle to get their refunds,” said Ferrara. “A professional travel advisor would do all that work for you and often at no cost.”When he founded InteleTravel in the early 1990s, the credibility of travel advisors “fell somewhere around used car salesmen,” Ferrara said. But “consumers have learned the value of a professional travel advisor, particularly when things don’t go the way they want them to go.””In my career, which is over 30 years now, I’ve never seen interest and confidence in travel agents as high as it is now,” he added, noting he seen surveys showing that two-thirds of prospective travelers plan to use a travel advisor for future trips.Where are they headed?Vrbo’s Top 5 Drivable U.S. Destinations for 2021Broken Bow, OklahomaBoone, North CarolinaNaples, FloridaMiramar & Rosemary Beach, FloridaGatlinburg & Pigeon Forge, TennesseeSource: The 2021 Vrbo Trend ReportLook for continued interest in domestic travel, beach vacations, vacation home rentals and “bleisure” trips mixing business travel and vacations — all trends that took hold or took off during the pandemic. Another is the road trip.Vrbo’s Hurst says local, drive-to travel is here to stay. “The wanderlust to explore what’s close by, you know, has, in particular for the younger generations, potentially durable benefits,” he said.  “You’re not going to be in the air as much.”It is a different type of economically sustainable travel, and that you can invest more in local communities and things you might feel a different type of connectiveness to.”For his part, Grutzner at Insight Vacations agreed that “travel with a purpose” is in. “We’re getting more questions now about what our company does to give back.” (All 40 The Travel Corporation brands collectively founded TreadRight Foundation, which supports 50 projects worldwide dedicated to sustainable tourism and community and environmental support.)Grutzner also expects a resurgence of interest in escorted vacations, or group tours, although travelers may now prefer smaller contingents.”We’re careful and very selective about hotels we stay in, the restaurants where we eat and the places that we go, so that we’re not putting our guests in danger,” he said, adding that Insight’s average tour includes fewer than 24 participants and Luxury Gold’s, under 20. “I do believe this will be more and more something that people will seek out.”Something they’ll also look for — or be required to have — is travel insurance, especially for medical care outside U.S. borders. Grutzner said 85% of clients now buy insurance, compared to 40% to 45% pre-Covid.”I can tell you that everyone should add travel insurance to every transaction,” said InteleTravel’s Ferrara, noting that travel suppliers relaxing change penalties does not mean vacationers don’t have to worry. “You do have to worry about being airlifted somewhere you trust the medical services,” he said. “And those bills — I’ve seen people put through claims for a quarter of a million dollars.”While today’s travelers will largely be vaccinated and insured, the travel sector itself will end up healthier than it was pre-pandemic, Hurst said.”We’ll have a new muscle as it relates to … how … we deal with hopefully a much more minor version of this in the future,” he said. “I think we’re all more prepared … so I’m optimistic that future such events are both smaller and less disruptive.” More

In this articleETH.CM=BTC.CM=The buyer of the $69 million NFT by the artist Beeple said he was prepared to bid even higher, since it will be seen by history as the starting point of a new age of digital art.In his first television interview, Vignesh Sundaresan, also known as MetaKovan, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he has no regrets paying $69 million for what many say is simply a JPEG and an hyperlink. He said the rise of non-fungible-tokens, or NFTs, herald a new era where technology has allowed artists and collectors around the world to buy and sell art more easily and democratically.”This NFT is a significant piece of art history,” Sundaresan said. “Sometimes these things take some time for everyone to recognize and realize. I’m ok with that. I had the opportunity to be part of this very important shift in how art has been perceived for centuries.”NFTs have exploded in recent months, as NBA video highlights, memes, digital art and even a tweet sell for six or seven figures. While proponents say NFTs, which assign ownership of any digital asset on the blockchain, will not only change the art world but could be applied to physical goods like homes and property. Sales of NFTs have now topped $500 million, according to many estimates.”There are going to be hundreds of thousands of people from around the world who are going to adopt this medium, a digitally native medium to monetize art,” Sundaresan said. “There is going to be an economy around it. “He said that while the art world has been the exclusive purview of wealthy, largely white Western collectors and artists for centuries, NFTs have allowed “artists in the Philippines, Thailand, or India now to make their first $1,000 or $500 on the internet.”Sundaresan declined to say exactly how much he was prepared to pay for the work. He said that he knew going into the Christie’s auction that “it would be competitive” and had a ceiling price in mind that was higher than the $69.3 million he paid.”We did have a higher limit,” he said. “I was very motivated and ready to go beyond even what we paid for it.”Sundaresan said he has been investing in crypto currencies and crypto companies since 2013. He said he started “with no money” and began working for crypto companies and was able to invest early in fast-growth companies that have grown up around the crypto economy. He declined to say how much he’s worth on paper “since it depends on the crypto market.”He said he’s invested in not just bitcoin and Ethereum, but also blockchain network Polka Dot and Flow. He said he’s doesn’t think crypto will face a ban from regulators or central banks.”If regulators were tighter in previous years, that would have stifled innovation. I think we’re at a point where they see the positive impacts of crypto around the world.”When asked what his $69 million Beeple could be worth in a year or even 10 years, Sundaresan said he had no plans to sell it. But he hinted he may find ways to “monetize it” by either offering pieces of it or displaying it in a virtual museum.”The piece is going to take on a life of its own, that’s what makes NFTs really interesting,” he said. “It may not just be a piece of art, it can become thousands of other things. But I won’t be selling it anytime soon.” More