A Texas doctor has been fired from his job and is now facing charges after stealing doses of the coronavirus vaccine to administer to his friends and family, prosecutors say. Hasan Gokal, who worked with Harris County Public Health, could be sentenced to up to a year in prison and receive a $4,000 fine if convicted on a theft by a public servant charge, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. “He abused his position to place his friends and family in line in front of people who had gone through the lawful process to be there,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said... Read More

Rebekah Jones, the former Florida Department of Health data analyst who helped build the state’s coronavirus case tracker — only to be fired last year for alleged insubordination — said she tested positive for the virus after turning herself in to authorities over the weekend. Rebekah Jones surrendered to the Leon County detention facility on Sunday after law enforcement officials issued a warrant for her arrest on allegations that she illegally accessed a Florida Department of Health (FDOH) computer system.”To protect my family from continued police violence, and to... Read More

As refrigerated trucks arrive at states across the country, funeral homes say they are turning families away. As of mid-January, Los Angeles County had nearly 1 million cases of COVID-19 and of those, more than 13,000 had died. The deaths are taking a toll on the healthcare system and funeral homes that are at capacity and unable to take on new cases.”A grieving family’s first question when they call a funeral home shouldn’t be ‘do you guys have room,’ ” Hugo Sanchez with Optima Funeral Home said. CALIFORNIA PROBING SEPARATE CORONAVIRUS VARIANT LINKED TO LARGE COUNTY... Read More

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is teaming up with a number of major businesses, like Starbucks, to help streamline its coronavirus vaccine rollout as a means to significantly increase the rate at which it can vaccinate residents.On Monday, Inslee announced a statewide public-private partnership to build up the state’s infrastructure so that it is able to eventually able to vaccinate 45,000 residents per day.Each stakeholder in the group has a different responsibility.Starbucks is expected to commit employees to help optimize vaccination sites, with a focus on patient experience, the company said.... Read More

Ending the confusion over the fate of Paris Fashion Week, French fashion’s regulatory body has said that this month’s Paris men’s and haute couture shows will be strictly audience-free over coronavirus fears.The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode has told luxury houses they won’t be allowed to invite guests this season, after instruction by police.In a statement to The Associated Press, the federation said Monday that “we confirm that there can be no public gatherings” at Paris Fashion Week, adding that “houses can still organize ‘real’ runway... Read More

Vanessa Kirby stood by her “Mission: Impossible” co-star, Tom Cruise, after he made headlines in December for going on a tirade against crew members for breaking COVID-19 protocols on set.The actress, who plays White Widow in the movie franchise, said she believes Cruise’s main message was about just trying to keep people safe in the middle of a global pandemic. “I think being safe is the message for everybody, really,” Kirby, 32, told Extra. Her sister is also a director’s assistant on the film.”For me, seeing my sister doing it on the ground and every... Read More

In an effort to speed California’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, dentists in the state have been given the green light to administer the jab. On Monday, the California Department of Consumer Affairs approved a public health emergency waiver that will officially allow dentists to administer the vaccines to patients 16 years of age or older. “Dentists acting within the scope of this Order may independently initiate and administer to persons 16 years of age or older any COVID-19 vaccines that are approved or authorized by the FDA, as specified, and may also initiate and administer epinephrine... Read More

Upstate New York restaurant owner Paul Santora said Thursday he is suing Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo regarding the indoor dining ban amid the coronavirus pandemic because “for us, it’s all about equality in being open.” “It’s losing a holiday season,” the owner of Santora’s Pizza Pub and Grill in Erie County said on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday, stressing that restaurants in Western New York, which consists of eight counties, are only closed in Erie County. “Everywhere else in our district and everywhere around us basically are operating... Read More

Actor and Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson spoke exclusively with “The Ingraham Angle” on Tuesday, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his acclaimed film “Braveheart,” his newest project, “Fatman” — and commenting on how the coronavirus has affected Hollywood.Gibson, who stars as “Chris Cringle” in the fantasy-thriller “Fatman,” told substitute host Raymond Arroyo that his character in the 2020 film “kind of revealed the humanity of who Santa Claus might be.””He was just a regular guy who lost his faith in... Read More

Researchers at Colorado’s state lab are working to confirm a second “highly suspicious” case of the coronavirus variant.Both the confirmed case, which was announced on Tuesday and the suspected case involve members of the National Guard who were deployed to a nursing home in Simla to help with an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Researchers said it does not appear that the variant has spread throughout the nursing home. FAST FACTSColorado investigating second possible coronavirus variant caseBoth the confirmed and suspected case involve members of National GuardOfficials do not believe... Read More