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Desperate search for survivors after hotel explosion in Havana, Cuba; at least 26 dead

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Desperate search for survivors after hotel explosion in Havana, Cuba; at least 26 dead
HAVANA — Family of the lacking in Cuba’s capital desperately searched Saturday for victims of an explosion at considered one of Havana’s most luxurious motels that killed a minimum of 26 folks. They checked the morgue, hospitals and if unsuccessful, they returned to the partially collapsed Resort Saratoga, the place rescuers used canines to hunt for survivors.

A pure gasoline leak was the obvious reason behind Friday’s blast on the 96-room lodge. The Nineteenth-century construction within the Previous Havana neighborhood didn’t have any company on the time as a result of it was present process renovations forward of a deliberate Tuesday reopening after being closed.

Havana metropolis officers raised the dying toll to 26 on Saturday, in line with the official Cubadebate information web site. The lifeless included 4 youngsters and a pregnant girl. Spain’s President Pedro Sánchez stated through Twitter {that a} Spanish vacationer was among the many lifeless and that one other Spaniard was significantly injured.

Cuban authorities confirmed the vacationer’s dying and stated her companion was injured. They weren’t staying on the lodge. Tourism Minister Dalila González stated a Cuban-American vacationer was additionally injured.

Representatives of Grupo de Turismo Gaviota SA, which owns the lodge, stated throughout a information convention Saturday that 51 employees had been contained in the lodge on the time, in addition to two folks engaged on renovations. Of these, 11 have been killed, 13 remained lacking and 6 have been hospitalized.

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González stated the reason for the blast was nonetheless beneath investigation, however a big crane hoisted a charred gasoline tanker from the lodge’s rubble early Saturday.

VIDEO: Obvious gasoline leak causes blast that damages Havana lodge; 8 deaths reported

Search and rescue groups labored via the night time and into Saturday, utilizing ladders to descend via the rubble and twisted steel into the lodge’s basement as heavy equipment gingerly moved away piles of the constructing’s faade to permit entry. Above, chunks of drywall dangled from wires, desks sat seemingly undisturbed inches from the void the place the entrance of the constructing cleaved away.

Not less than one survivor was discovered early Saturday within the shattered ruins, and rescuers utilizing search canines clambered over big chunks of concrete on the lookout for extra. Family of lacking folks remained on the web site whereas others gathered at hospitals the place the injured have been being handled.

A determined Yatmara Cobas stood outdoors the perimeter ready for phrase of her daughter, 27-year-old housekeeper Shaidis Cobas.

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“My daughter is within the Saratoga; she’s been there since 8 a.m. (Friday), and presently I do not know something about her,” Cobas stated. “She’s not on the morgue, she’s not within the hospital.” The mom stated she had gone in all places searching for solutions from authorities, however developing empty.

“I am bored with the lies,” she stated.

Lt. Col. Enrique Peña briefed Comandante Ramiro Valdés, who fought alongside Fidel Castro, on the search efforts on the web site Saturday morning.

Peña stated the presence of individuals had been detected on the primary ground and within the basement and 4 groups of search canines and handlers have been working. He didn’t know if the victims have been alive or lifeless.

“I do not need to transfer from right here,” Cristina Avellar informed The Related Press close to the lodge.

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Avellar was ready for information of Odalys Barrera, a 57-year-old cashier who has labored on the lodge for 5 years. She is the godmother of Barrera’s daughters and considers her like a sister.

Neighbors have been nonetheless in shock a day after the explosion.

“I believed it was a bomb,” stated Guillermo Madan, a 73-year-old retiree, who lives simply meters from the constructing, however was not injured. The three-decade resident of the neighborhood was cooking and watching tv when he heard the blast. “My room moved from right here to there. My neighbor’s window broke, the plates, all the things.”

Katerine Marrero, 31, was buying on the time. “I left the shop, I felt the explosion,” she stated. “Everybody began to run.”

Though no vacationers have been reported injured, the explosion is one other blow to the nation’s essential tourism business.

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Even earlier than the coronavirus pandemic stored vacationers away from Cuba, the nation was battling tightened sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump and stored in place the Biden administration. These restricted visits by U.S. vacationers to the islands and restricted remittances from Cubans within the U.S. to their households in Cuba.

Kansas gasoline explosion injures 2; huge hearth caught on video

Tourism had began to revive considerably early this yr, however the conflict in Ukraine deflated a growth of Russian guests, who accounted for nearly a 3rd of the vacationers arriving in Cuba final yr.

Dr. Julio Guerra Izquierdo, chief of hospital companies on the Ministry of Well being, stated a minimum of 74 folks had been injured. Amongst them have been 14 youngsters, in line with a tweet from the workplace of President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

A 300-student faculty subsequent to the lodge was evacuated. Havana Gov. Reinaldo García Zapata stated 5 of the scholars suffered minor accidents.

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The emblematic lodge had a shocking view of Cuba’s middle, together with the domed Capitol constructing about 110 yards away. The Capitol suffered damaged glass and broken masonry from the explosion.

The lodge was renovated in 2005 as a part of the Cuban authorities’s revival of Previous Havana and is owned by the Cuban army’s tourism enterprise arm, Grupo de Turismo Gaviota SA. The corporate stated it was investigating the reason for the blast and didn’t reply to an e mail from the AP searching for extra particulars in regards to the lodge and the renovation it was present process.

Previously, the Resort Saratoga has been utilized by visiting VIPs and political figures, together with high-ranking U.S. authorities delegations. Beyoncé and Jay-Z stayed there in 2013.

García Zapata stated constructions adjoining to the lodge have been being evaluated, together with two badly broken residence buildings. Díaz-Canel stated households in affected buildings had been transferred to safer places.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was scheduled to reach in Havana for a go to late Saturday and Mexican Overseas Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard stated the go to would nonetheless happen.

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Philadelphia, Pa

FDA authorizes first COVID-19 vaccines for preschoolers, infants; CDC review is next

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FDA authorizes first COVID-19 vaccines for preschoolers, infants; CDC review is next
U.S. regulators on Friday licensed the primary COVID-19 pictures for infants and preschoolers, paving the best way for vaccinations to start subsequent week.

The Meals and Drug Administration’s motion follows its advisory panel’s unanimous suggestion for the pictures from Moderna and Pfizer. Which means U.S. children below 5 — roughly 18 million kids — are eligible for the pictures, about 1 1/2 years after the vaccines first grew to become out there within the U.S. for adults, who’ve been hit the toughest in the course of the pandemic.

The FDA additionally licensed Moderna’s vaccine for school-aged youngsters and youths. Pfizer’s pictures had beforehand been the one ones out there for these ages.

There’s one step left: The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention recommends how you can use vaccines and its vaccine advisers are set to debate the pictures for the youngest children Friday and vote on Saturday. A ultimate signoff would come from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

At a Senate listening to Thursday, Walensky stated her employees was working over the Juneteenth federal vacation weekend “as a result of we perceive the urgency of this for American dad and mom.”

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She stated pediatric deaths from COVID-19 have been larger than what is mostly seen from the flu annually.

“So I really assume we have to shield younger youngsters, in addition to shield everybody with the vaccine and particularly shield elders,” she stated.

For weeks, the Biden administration has been getting ready to roll out the vaccines. States, tribes, group well being facilities and pharmacies preordered tens of millions of doses. FDA’s emergency use authorization permits producers to start transport vaccine throughout the nation. Vaccinations may start as early as Monday or Tuesday.

Some dad and mom have been anxiously awaiting the prospect to guard their little ones.

Whereas younger youngsters usually do not get as sick from COVID-19 as older children and adults, their hospitalizations surged in the course of the omicron wave and FDA’s advisers decided that advantages from vaccination outweighed the minimal dangers. Research from Moderna and Pfizer confirmed unintended effects, together with fever and fatigue, have been largely minor.

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MORE: FDA committee clears the best way for youths 6-17 to get one other COVID vaccine choice in Moderna

The 2 manufacturers use the identical know-how however there are variations.

Pfizer’s vaccine for youths youthful than 5 is one-tenth of the grownup dose. Three pictures are wanted: the primary two given three weeks aside and the final no less than two months later.

Moderna’s is 2 pictures, every 1 / 4 of its grownup dose, given about 4 weeks aside for youths below 6.

The vaccines are for kids as younger as 6 months. Moderna subsequent plans to check its pictures for infants as younger as 3-months-old. Pfizer has not finalized plans for pictures in youthful infants. A dozen nations, together with China, already vaccinate children below 5.

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Dr. Beth Ebel, professor of pediatrics at College of Washington in Seattle, stated the tot-sized vaccines can be particularly welcomed by U.S. dad and mom with youngsters in daycare the place outbreaks can sideline dad and mom from jobs, including to monetary pressure.

“Lots of people are going to be glad and quite a lot of grandparents are going to be glad, too, as a result of we have missed these infants who grew up while you weren’t capable of see them,” Ebel stated.

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AP Medical Writers Laura Ungar and Carla Okay. Johnson contributed.

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The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives assist from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Division of Science Training. The AP is solely liable for all content material.

Copyright © 2022 by The Related Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Philadelphia, Pa

Amazon Prime announces 2022 Prime Day dates

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Amazon Prime announces 2022 Prime Day dates
Amazon’s Prime Day income event will be presented on July 12 plus 13, the company claimed Thursday.

Last year’s income spectacular, which returned to be able to its usual summer set, was the biggest two-day sales period for thirdparty sellers in the carrier’s history.

Online spending over the event surpassed $11 thousand, a 6.1% raise compared to Prime Moment 2020, which was presented in October, as outlined by Flag Analytics.

The event commences at 3 am OU on July 12 plus continues for 48 a long time spanning several countries, which includes for the first time frame Poland and Sweden.

Discounts are offered on electronic devices, toys, home goods plus clothing among other things.

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“With the small corporations and national brands all of our members love and have confidence in, we’re excited to present a few of our best Leading Day deals yet to be able to even more customers all around the world,” Jamil Ghani, vice president connected with Amazon Prime, said throughout a press release.

Amazon holds the event every year to construct loyalty having its Prime subscribers plus hook new shoppers straight into the program.

Prime Moment, which has taken position since 2015, accounts with regard to roughly 1% to 2% of Amazon’s annual income, analysts say.

Sales throughout the Prime Day celebration expand beyond Amazon likewise. Rivals including Walmart, Concentrate on, Best Buy and Macy’s also hold sales connected with their own to utilize on the surge throughout online traffic driven by simply Prime Day shoppers.

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Philadelphia, Pa

Revlon files for bankruptcy protection amid heavy debt load

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Revlon files for bankruptcy protection amid heavy debt load
NEW YORK — Revlon, a cosmetics maker that broke racial limitations and dictated magnificence tendencies for a lot of the final century, has filed for Chapter 11 chapter safety.

The corporate has been a mainstay on retailer cabinets since its founding 90 years in the past in New York Metropolis because it oversaw a steady of family names, from Almay to Elizabeth Arden.

Revlon did not hold tempo with altering tastes, nevertheless, gradual to comply with ladies as they traded flashy purple lipstick for extra muted tones within the Nineties.

Along with shedding market share to massive rivals like Procter & Gamble, newcomer beauty traces from Kylie Jenner and different celebrities efficiently capitalized on the large social media following of the well-known faces that fronted the merchandise.

Already weighed down by rising debt, Revlon’s issues solely intensified with the pandemic as lipstick gave option to a brand new period in style, this one that includes medical-grade masks.

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Gross sales dropped 21% in 2020, the primary 12 months of the pandemic, although these gross sales rebounded 9.2% in its most up-to-date reporting 12 months with vaccines widespread. Within the newest quarter that led to March, gross sales rose practically 8%, however nonetheless lag pre-pandemic ranges in extra of $2.4 billion a 12 months.

The worldwide provide chain disruptions which are hobbling a whole bunch of worldwide corporations in current months had been an excessive amount of for Revlon, which barely escaped chapter in late 2020 by persuading bondholders to increase its maturing debt.

There could also be extra company restructurings within the client merchandise sector forward with the specter of an financial recession and the rising prices of borrowing cash.

Revlon mentioned Thursday that upon courtroom approval, it expects to obtain $575 million in financing from its present lenders, which is able to enable it to maintain its day-to-day operations operating.

“Right now’s submitting will enable Revlon to supply our customers the long-lasting merchandise now we have delivered for many years, whereas offering a clearer path for our future progress,” mentioned Debra Perelman, who was named Revlon president and CEO in 2018.

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Her father, billionaire Ron Perelman, backs the corporate by means of MacAndrews & Forbes, which acquired the enterprise by means of a hostile takeover within the late Nineteen Eighties. Revlon went public in 1996.

Perelman mentioned that demand for its merchandise stay robust, however its “difficult capital construction” provided restricted capacity to navigate.

Throughout its heyday within the twentieth century, Revlon trailed solely Avon in gross sales. It now holds the twenty second spot amongst cosmetics makers, in keeping with a current rating by style commerce journal WWD.

Revlon grew to become the primary magnificence firm to characteristic a Black mannequin in 1970, Naomi Sims. Within the Nineteen Eighties, the corporate energized the cosmetics business by placing each well-known and yet-to-be-discovered fashions like Iman, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington entrance and middle, promising to make all ladies “unforgettable.”

Perelman, in an interview with The Related Press late final 12 months earlier than international provide chains locked up, mentioned she was optimistic in regards to the future. The corporate doubled-down in the course of the pandemic to get extra on-line with companies like one-on-one digital consultations by means of its Elizabeth Arden line, she mentioned.

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Perelman additionally mentioned that the corporate was studying from superstar launches to be extra nimble and that Revlon had regained market share.

None of Revlon’s worldwide working subsidiaries are included within the proceedings, apart from Canada and the UK. The submitting was made within the U.S. Chapter Court docket for the Southern District of New York,

The corporate listed property and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion, in keeping with its chapter submitting.

Copyright © 2022 by The Related Press. All Rights Reserved.

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