Orlando City (6-1-3, 21 pts), winner of three in a row and five of its last six, will look to keep its place near the top of the league table as the Lions welcome in the New York Red Bulls (4-5-1, 13 pts) to Exploria Stadium this Saturday night. The game, presented by Rasmussen University, is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, with television coverage beginning at 7 p.m. on FOX35 PLUS and streaming on LionNation TV through the LionNation app. Local radio coverage will be available from 7 p.m. on FM 96.9 the Game in English and Acción 97.9 FM and 810 AM in Spanish.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Red Bulls:
Key Transactions and Player News
Key Additions - CF Patryk Klimala (Celtic), CM Frankie Amaya (FC Cincinnati), CF Fábio (Oeste), GK Carlos Miguel Coronel (Red Bull Salzburg, loan), RB Tom Edwards (Stoke City, loan), CB Andrés Reyes (Inter Miami), LB Andrew Gutman (Atlanta United), CM Wikelman Carmona (Academia Dynamo)
Key Departures - CB Tim Parker (Houston Dynamo), RW Jared Stroud (Austin FC), CF Samuel Tetteh (Red Bull Salzburg), CF Mathias Jørgensen (AGF)
Player News - 17 year-old phenom Caden Clark, who scored the first goal for the Red Bulls in their 2-1 victory over Orlando City back on May 29, has officially been sold to Red Bull Leipzig of the Bundesliga. Clark will finish out 2021 in MLS before joining up with Leipzig in the winter. Leipzig have finished in the top three in Germany in each of the past three seasons and are now coached by former New York Red Bulls manager Jesse Marsch.
It’s been a largely up-and-down year for the Red Bulls, who have stayed right around the playoff line for most of the year so far. New York has been sharing the love offensively, as each of their past six goals have been scored by a different player. New DP forward Patryk Klimala opened his MLS account on June 23 in a 3-2 loss at the New England Revolution. Most recently, New York picked up its fourth clean sheet of the season this past Sunday in Atlanta, drawing the Five Stripes 0-0.
Head-to-Head
Orlando City’s only loss of the 2021 season came at the hands of the Red Bulls on May 29, when the Lions fell 2-1. With Nani suspended, Daryl Dike still on loan and several other key players injured, the Lions played an unorthodox 3-5-1-1 formation before switching to a 4-3-3 at halftime. Clark and Cristian Cásseres Jr. had the goals for the Red Bulls while Silvester van der Water scored for Orlando. Overall, City is 5-7-2 against New York.
Rasmussen University Fact
Red Bulls’ draw against Atlanta United FC this past weekend was their first of the season, making them the last Eastern Conference team to split points this season. LA Galaxy is the only team left in MLS without a draw in 2021.
This morning’s news cycle ain’t big enough for two Big Red things. There’s already a heinous Clifford the Big Red Dog trailer to contend with. Now we learn that Big Red Machine is releasing its second album, titled How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? You mean to tell us that today — the very same morning we learn that the precocious Spotify child from Big Little Lies will act opposite a Big Red Dog — Aaron Dessner of the National and Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver) have announced that they will release a new album under their Big Red Machine moniker, and it will apparently have nothing to do with Clifford? The matrix glitches in mysterious ways.
According to a press release, the 15-track album will feature “guest vocals and writing contributions” from the likes of Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Ben Howard, Sharon Van Etten, Lisa Hannigan, and Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift. Who is rerecording Red because she left Big Machine. Will collab with Big Red Machine. We give up. How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? is out August 27, and you can already watch the lyric video for the track “Latter Days,” featuring Anaïs Mitchell. Y’all need to learn more words to name your bands and record labels and albums and giant dogs with. Seriously.
Disclaimer: Early release articles are not considered as final versions. Any changes will be reflected in the online version in the month the article is officially released.
Author affiliations:Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Section of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland (G. Ghielmetti, U. Friedel, R. Stephan); Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Germany (A.M. Kupca, J.M. Riehm); Institute for Veterinary Disease Control, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Innsbruck and Mödling, Austria (H. Weinberger, S. Revilla-Fernández, E. Hofer, W. Glawischnig)
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most prevalent zoonotic diseases worldwide and remains the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent (1). The causative pathogens of TB in humans and animals are a group of closely related acid-fast bacilli commonly known as the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). One animal-adapted sublineage within the complex, M. microti, was first isolated from field voles (Microtus agrestis) that had granulomatous tuberculosis-like lesions (2). Although wild rodents, such as bank voles (Myodes glareolus), wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), and shrews (Sorex araneus), are considered to be primary reservoirs for M. microti, several other hosts have been identified, including domestic and wild animals (3,4). Overall, cats (5,6), New World camelids (7), and free-ranging wild boar (8–10) seem to be prone to M. microti infections; humans (11–14) and other animal species, including pigs (15), goats (16), cattle (17,18), dogs (19), captive meerkats (20), squirrel monkeys (21), and ferrets (14), are most likely incidental hosts.
This broad host range, however, highlights the pathogenic potential of M. microti and the need to reveal its virulence mechanisms. Comparative genomics studies have identified >100 genes whose presence are facultative and differ among members of MTBC. Many of these genes occur in chromosomal regions of difference (RD) that have been deleted from certain species and that may confer differences in phenotype, host range, and virulence (22). Isolates of the animal-adapted ecotype defined as M. microti are characterized by the deletion of the RD1mic in the RD1 region, which includes open reading frame coding for well-known virulence factors, such as early secreted antigenic target (ESAT) 6, locus tag Rv3875, and CFP-10, a culture filtrate protein encoded by the neighboring gene Rv3874 (23). Strains lacking RD1 are likely to be less virulent or pathogenic than other members of the MTBC possessing an intact locus (22). However, pulmonary and disseminated M. microti infections have been described in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent human patients in different countries in Europe (11,12,14,24). Until recently, reports of M. microti infections were geographically restricted to continental Europe and the United Kingdom. However, a recent study from South Africa revealed the presence of this Mycobacterium species in 1.9% of local human tuberculosis cases (25). These findings highlight the potential of M. microti to cause clinical illness in immunocompetent patients and suggest that the pathogenicity of certain strains is higher than previously estimated. Therefore, it is crucial to identify clinical MTBC isolates at the species level, and the zoonotic risk posed by M. microti should be further evaluated.
The mode of infection of M. microti can only be speculated for humans, animals, and in particular herbivores, such as free-ranging red deer. Similar to that for M. caprae, transmission of M. microti is likely to occur indirectly through a contaminated environment. Wounds in the oral cavity may play an important role as entry ports for M. microti; involvement of the lungs, heart, and eventually additional organs is most likely a consequence of bacteremia, as it was in other animal species (3,5). The first confirmed M. caprae TB case in deer in western Austria was recorded in 1998. Subsequent infections in cattle, deer, and humans were reported in the same area (26). As a consequence, an ongoing wildlife surveillance program monitoring M. caprae in deer was started in 2008 (27). Furthermore, Germany in 2007 and Switzerland in 2013 reported anecdotal outbreaks in cattle (28,29). During 2011–2013, a monitoring program coordinated by the EMIDA ERA-Net (Coordination of European Research on Emerging and Major Infectious Diseases of Livestock European Research Area Networks) partnership and including specific regions of Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy was conducted with the aim of investigating the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in red deer and additional wildlife species such as wild boar, chamois, and roe deer (30,31). We report 3 TB cases in red deer identified within the framework of these monitoring programs.
Study Material and Methods
Cases
Three cases of natural M. microti infections in red deer were identified (Table 1). The deer in case 1, a highly emaciated 9-year-old stag from the province of Vorarlberg, Austria, was humanely killed by a local game warden, who submitted the lungs, heart, and lymphatic tissues (including medial retropharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and mediastinal lymph nodes) fresh for pathoanatomic inspection. Thereafter, histologic examination and mycobacterial analysis of the lungs were performed. The deer in case 2 was a stag 1–3 years of age and in case 3 a hind >2 years of age, both in the province of Miesbach, Germany, where deer are regularly hunted. The heads, lungs, intestines, and associated lymph nodes were macroscopically inspected; subsequently, a histopathologic and bacteriologic examination of the lungs and lymph nodes were performed.
Mycobacterial Analyses and Histologic Examination
We isolated mycobacteria following a standardized protocol as described elsewhere (32). In brief, 2–3 g of minced tissue samples were homogenized in 5 mL 0.9% NaCl solution by using a rotating-blade macerator system (Ultra-Turrax IKA, https://www.ika.com). The suspension was decontaminated by using 1% N-acetyl-L-cystein-NaOH solution and neutralized with 20 mL phosphate buffer (pH 6.8). We centrifuged the solution for 20 min at 3300 × g and plated the obtained pellet on 2 growth media: Löwenstein-Jensen medium with glycerin and PACT (polymyxin B, amphotericin B, carbenicillin, and trimethoprim) and Stonebrink medium with pyruvate and PACT (BD, https://www.bd.com). Cultures of lung and lymph node specimens on solid Stonebrink medium yielded growth of suspicious mycobacterial colonies after 4–6 wk of incubation at 37°C. The isolates were identified by using GenoType MTBC reversed line blotting (Hain Lifescience, https://www.hain-lifescience.de). For histologic examination, we fixed tissue samples in 10% nonbuffered formalin for ≈48 h, then trimmed and routinely embedded them in paraffin wax. Sections of 3–4 μm were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) or modified ZN (33).
Investigation of Phylogenetic Relationships
DVR spoligotyping (direct variable repeat spacer oligonucleotide typing) was performed using a commercial microarray system (Alere Technologies, https://www.globalpointofcare.abbott) with integrated data analysis as described elsewhere (29). Multilocus variable-number tandem repeats analysis (MLVA) was conducted based on the 24-loci panel standardized for M. tuberculosis typing (34). We amplified the single markers by endpoint PCR and subsequently analyzed them by using a capillary electrophoresis device (29). To investigate the phylogenetic relationships between the 3 isolates from red deer, we analyzed 8 additional strains isolated from different wild and domestic hosts that originated from the regions bordering Germany, Austria, and Switzerland by MLVA (Table 2). We calculated a neighbor-joining phylogenic tree based on the copy numbers of the tested loci using the MIRU-VNTRplus (https://www.miru-vntrplus.org/MIRU) server and exported it using MEGAX version 10.11 (35).
Results
Case 1
Figure 1
Figure 1. Macroscopic and histopathologic features in the red deer in case 1 in study of tuberculosis caused by M. microtiin red deer, Austria and Germany. A) Gross picture of...
Postmortem examination of the stag revealed multiple enlarged lymph nodes exhibiting a whitish cut surface. The lung tissue showed severe pyogranulomatous pleuropneumonia with multifocal to confluent cavernous granulomas of 2–10 mm diameter (Figure 1, panel A). Multifocal to coalescing granulomas of 4–25 mm diameter were observed on the surface of the epicardium (Figure 1, panel B). Histopathologic examination of the lung revealed a severe chronic multifocal to coalescing pyogranulomatous pneumonia with focal areas of fibrosis, central areas of necrosis and mineralization, surrounded by numerous epithelioid macrophages and a few multinucleated Langhans giant cells. Lymphocytes, plasma cells and occasionally well-differentiated fibroblasts surrounded the granulomas (Figure 1, panel C). Few extracellular and intracellular acid-fast bacilli were identified in the pulmonary lesions by using ZN staining (Figure 1, panel D).
Case 2
Figure 2
Figure 2. Histopathologic features in red deer in case 2 in study of tuberculosis caused by M. microtiin red deer, Austria and Germany. Lung tissue highly infiltrated by round cells,...
Macroscopically, a single yellowish, pinhead-sized focus in the left dorsal main lobe of the lung of this stag was observed. Lymph nodes and intestines did not display any abnormalities. Histologically, the pulmonary focus consisted of macrophages and lymphocytes with single multinucleated Langhans-type giant cells in the lesion, surrounded by eosinophilic lymphocytes (Figure 2). Numerous eosinophilic granulocytes were seen in the pulmonary lymph node. These findings were compatible with a parasitic infestation. Intracellular acid-fast bacilli could not be identify by using modified ZN staining.
Case 3
Figure 3
Figure 3. Histopathologic features in red deer in case 3 in study of tuberculosis caused by M. microtiin red deer, Austria and Germany. Lung tissue with granulocytic infiltration and some...
The caudal part of the main lobes of the lung of this hind showed multiple whitish foci <0.5 cm in size. Enlarged pulmonary lymph nodes and multifocal fibroblastic pleuritis were observed. The histologic examination revealed moderate purulent bronchitis and bronchiolitis with several intraluminal stages of lungworms and infiltration of numerous eosinophilic granulocytes. We observed very few multinucleated Langhans-type giant cells (Figure 3) and could identify no intracellular acid-fast bacilli in the lesions using modified ZN staining.
Investigation of Phylogenetic Relationships
Figure 4
Figure 4. Neighbor-joining tree based on the copy numbers of 24-loci mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit variable-number tandem-repeat analysis derived from 11 Mycobacterium microti clinical isolates and type strain ...
Figure 5
Figure 5. Geographic distribution of tuberculosis cases caused by Mycobacterium microti in different animal species over 8 years from study of tuberculosis caused by M. microtiin red deer,...
The isolates from 11 animals (3 wild boars, 3 cats, 1 alpaca, and 1 red fox), integrated for further comparative genotyping, exhibited the same spoligotype signature, SB0118, characterized by the presence of spacers 37–38 (https://www.mbovis.org). The same signature is also registered in the international spoligotyping database SpolDB4 as ST 539 and is characteristic of M. microti (36). MLVA showed 2 distinct genotypes (Figure 4; Appendix), 1 for the 2 identical isolates from the red deer from Germany and 1 for the red deer isolate from Austria. Of interest, the isolates from Germany were closely related to isolates from Switzerland, whereas 2 isolates from Austria, originating from a red deer (case 1) and a red fox, were genetically more distant despite their geographic proximity (Figure 5).
Discussion
Case 1 in this study reported a tuberculosis-positive stag killed in the alpine region in western Austria manifesting clinical signs of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis caused by M. caprae has been described several times in domestic animals and wildlife in this area (26,30). Specifically, red deer represent a reservoir and a possible source of infection with M. caprae for cattle in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland (26,28,29,37). M. microti has been isolated only once in Austria, from a red fox without visible lesions (Table 2). This fox was located at a distance of ≈30 km from the site in Germany where the M. microti–positive stag in case 1 was found. Clear evidence proving transmission of M. microti between individual animals of the same species or between species is missing. Human-to-human transmission regarding this pathogen has previously been investigated and the possibility cannot be dismissed (14). However, ingesting feed or water from contaminated sources, for example, might play an important role in transmitting mycobacteria to wildlife. In fact, recent reports suggest that M. microti infections might often occur through oral ingestion and that direct transmission between animals is less likely (9,20).
The presence of MTBC in wild red deer seems to depend on multiple factors, such as population density, TB prevalence in nearby cattle or other wildlife species, and the morphologic structure of the habitat. Observations made from infected wild deer in New Zealand showed that M. bovis prevalence decreased substantially after control of TB-infected possums, suggesting that wild deer may be spillover hosts that can be regularly reinfected by possums (38). In fact, considering the high levels (>50%) of bTB in cattle in Europe before eradication campaigns, sporadic transmissions to wildlife populations might have occurred. It is however surprising to note that by successfully lowering the prevalence in cattle, the disease has been eradicated from wild deer populations, such as in Switzerland (38). The situation is considerably different for deer in captivity or in high-density populations, which could be the origin of TB dissemination to other species (39). Of interest, the virulence of M. microti seems to vary greatly both between host species and within the same species. Most visible lesions compatible with TB diagnosed in M. bovis– and M. caprae–infected red deer are located in the lymph nodes, particularly the medial retropharyngeal and mesenteric lymph nodes, suggesting oral rather than aerosol transmission. The respiratory tract, including the lungs and associated lymph nodes, seems to be affected by MTBC in a secondary phase of the infection, which is also likely for M. microti infections in red deer (30).
DVR spoligotyping analysis is a popular technique worldwide for molecular characterization of MTBC of animal origin with excellent resolution and cost-benefit ratio (40,41), but the discriminatory power is too low to prove any link on an epidemiologic level or even minute transmission patterns among M. microti lineages. The molecular background of M. microti seems highly conserved, and traceback analyses are delicate. The 11 isolates included in this study were collected over an 8-year period from regions bordering Austria, Germany, and Switzerland (Table 2). These strains originated from 5 different wild and domestic animal species, and most of the animals in these cases showed severe TB lesions. Although the number of isolates investigated was small, in accordance with previous studies, no correlation between host species and M. microti genotypes was observed (4,42). Moreover, even though the isolates from Switzerland were genetically close, genetic variation determined by MLVA did not correlate with the relative geographic distance of their origin. In fact, the isolates from red deer in Germany were genetically closer to the strains from Switzerland, whereas the 2 isolates from Austria, originating in the border region shared with Switzerland, were genetically more distant (Figures 4, 5), which suggests that the circulation of host-adapted M. microti genetic lineages is unlikely. MLVA has been successfully used worldwide as an ancillary tool for animal TB epidemiologic surveillance and outbreak investigations in multihost scenarios (27,43–45). However, the discriminatory capacity of whole-genome sequencing has elsewhere been shown to be superior for identifying MTBC strains belonging to the same regional clonal complex, which may apply to M. microti as well (39,46). Under certain specific circumstances, such as for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples or extremely fastidious strains, MLVA represents a valid alternative to whole-genome sequencing.
These findings highlight the wide host range of M. microti and suggest that it might be an opportunistic pathogen rather than a host-adapted MTBC member, such as M. tuberculosis. In the past, similar to Mycobacterium bovis BCG strains, certain vole strains of M. microti have been used to develop live attenuated human TB vaccines in the United Kingdom and the former Czechoslovakia (47–49). Therefore, marked virulence differences between M. microti strains are likely to exist (50).
Some seemingly feasible theories about the natural transmission route of M. microti suggest that the natural foci and reservoirs of this animal-adapted lineage are small rodents and that the pathogen subsequently infects predators, such as cats or foxes, through ingestion; the mode of infection for herbivores, such as red deer or alpacas, remains ill defined. The lesions we observed in the lungs of the deer in case 1, however, provide strong evidence of bacterial shedding, which might occur either as a consequence of inflammatory processes that break into the airways or by infection of alveolar macrophages that are part of the exudate (5), which result in environmental contamination and further transmission of the pathogen (3). It is therefore alarming that animal species, such as red deer, that can cover long distances in short periods of time might contribute to the spread of M. microti, an MTBC agent.
Because of the potential zoonotic risk related to MTBC members, rapidly and accurately identifying the mycobacterial species causing disease in animals hunted for human consumption is crucial. Once MTBC is detected, determining whether M. bovis or M. caprae is present is of primary importance for veterinary and public health authorities. To date, molecular testing of cultured bacteria remains the preferred method for differentiating MTBC species. Because of the fastidious nature of M. microti and the extremely slow growth rate of specific animal strains, this differentiation can take several months or remain incomplete in cases where the mycobacterium cannot be cultured. On the basis of published data, it can be assumed that a large proportion of M. microti infections remain culture negative, even if the incubation time is prolonged to 18 weeks (8). Therefore, identifying species using molecular methods on native samples is recommended.
These findings show the morphologic versatility of lesions induced by M. microti in red deer. Given the absence of typical pulmonary lesions in some cases, such as in the red deer in cases 2 and 3, diagnostic pathologists must remain highly alert. Incidence of this pathogen should be monitored within the framework of bTB surveillance programs and suspicious cases differentiated from classical bTB caused by M. bovis and M. caprae. The actual occurrence of M. microti in wildlife may be underestimated, and personnel involved in bTB monitoring programs should be aware of its pathogenicity and zoonotic potential. Therefore, molecular methods to differentiate this member of the MTBC should be included in the diagnostic workflow of bTB reference laboratories.
Dr. Ghielmetti is a researcher at the Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Section of Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Zurich, Switzerland. His research interests include the molecular characterization and epidemiology of zoonotic pathogens.
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
Preparation time: 10 minutes; Freezing time: about 30 minutes
Cooking time: 18 minutes; Cooling time: 3 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Red gel food color
Blue gel food color
Clear cake sparkles
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on rimmed baking sheet.
Beat butter and sugar until blended and fluffy. Add flour and vanilla and beat until well combined. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and color one piece red and another piece blue with food color gel.
Shape each piece of dough (red, white and blue) into 2 logs, each 8 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide and about 1/4 inch thick. Place blue dough on flat surface. Top with white dough, then red dough.
Roll in waxed paper or parchment paper and freeze 30 minutes or until dough is firm enough to slice. Repeat with remaining refrigerated cookie dough. Slice each chilled cookie dough log into 18 cookies.
Arrange on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with cake sparkles. Bake 15 minutes or until bottoms are golden.
Cool 3 minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with remaining chilled cookie dough log.
Per serving: 86 calories, 1 gram protein, 5 grams fat (53% calories from fat), 3.3 grams saturated fat, 9 grams carbohydrate, 14 milligrams cholesterol, 45 milligrams sodium, no fiber.
Carb choices: 1/2.
Black beans and rice
Makes 5 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: about 20 minutes plus rice
INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown rice
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium chopped onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
4 ounces diced ham
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon each cumin and dried oregano
2 (15-ounce) cans undrained reduced-sodium black beans
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges and diced red onion for garnish
Cook rice according to directions; set aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium. Add onions and bell pepper; cook, stirring 8 minutes or until softened. Add ham; cook 2 minutes or until browned. Add garlic, cumin and oregano; cook, stirring 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in beans and water; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar and cilantro. Serve over rice. Garnish with lime wedges and onion.
Cook pasta according to directions; add peas the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain and return to pot. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium. Add onion; cook 4 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning; cook 1 minute. Add shrimp; cook 2 minutes. Set aside. Cover and microwave Alfredo sauce and remaining Cajun seasoning 2 minutes on 30% power; stir and cook 2 more minutes or until heated throughout. To pasta in pot, stir in shrimp mixture and Alfredo sauce mixture. Toss to mix and coat. Serve immediately.
In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup red wine vinaigrette and 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice; let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, soak 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion in hot water to cover for 10 minutes; drain and pat dry. To vinaigrette mixture, add onion, 2 romaine lettuce hearts (chopped), an 8- to 12-ounce package grilled chicken breast (chopped), 1 1/2 cups cubed cantaloupe, 1 1/2 cups seeded and cubed watermelon, 2/3 cup crumbled Greek feta cheese and 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil; toss to coat and combine. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds. Serve immediately. Serve with chilled vegetable juice and crackers
Linguine caponata
Add a 7.5-ounce can caponata (eggplant appetizer) to no-salt-added or regular marinara sauce. Heat; toss with cooked linguine. Top each serving with a dollop of part-skim ricotta. Serve it with a spinach salad and garlic bread. Enjoy some cantaloupe for dessert.
Turkey tostadas
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Coat 8 corn tortillas with cooking spray. Bake, turning once, until crisp. Mix 2 cups diced deli turkey and 1/2 cup each reduced-fat sour cream and salsa. Spoon over tortillas and sprinkle with shredded Jack cheese. Heat until cheese is melted. Serve with corn on the cob.. Fresh cherries make a great summer dessert.
Stuffed peppers
Use your favorite bell peppers, hollow them, turn upside-down in a baking dish, cover and microwave on high 1 minute per pepper. Stuff them with heated beans and rice (moisten with a little unsalted chicken broth) and top with some crumbled Greek feta cheese. Serve with fresh broccoli spears and whole-grain rolls. Plums are good for dessert.
June 29, 2021 at 05:00PM
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/6/29/22537970/july-4-cookies-linguini-caponata-black-beans-rice-shrimp-alfredo-spicy-chicken-melon-recipes
Red, white and blue cookies, just in time for 4th of July - Chicago Sun-Times
JAKARTA, June 29 (Reuters) - Indonesia’s COVID-19 surge is on the edge of a “catastrophe” as the more infectious Delta variant dominates transmission and chokes hospitals in Southeast Asia’s worst epidemic, the Red Cross said on Tuesday.
Indonesia has reported record daily COVID-19 infections of more than 20,000 in recent days, in a new wave of infections fueled by the emergence of highly transmissible virus variants and increased mobility after the Muslim fasting month.
“Every day we are seeing this Delta variant driving Indonesia closer to the edge of a COVID-19 catastrophe,” said Jan Gelfand, head of the Indonesian delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), urging better vaccine access globally.
Hospitals in several designated “red zone” areas have reported overcapacity, including the capital Jakarta, with its isolation beds 93% occupied as of Sunday.
“Hospitals are full because of the case surge caused by mobility and loosening health protocol adherence, worsened also by the Delta variant,” said senior health ministry official Siti Nadia Tarmizi, when asked about the IFRC’s assessment.
The Delta variant was first identified in India and has been blamed for big spikes in infections in many countries.
Indonesia is banking on mass vaccinations as a means of tackling the virus, but only 13.3 million of the 181.5 million targeted for inoculation have received the required two doses since January.
Indonesia’s health minister is leading a push for stricter controls as infections surge to unprecedented levels, sources familiar with government discussions have told Reuters.
Citing unnamed sources, The Straits Times newspaper on Tuesday reported the government will tighten restrictions starting on Wednesday, prohibiting restaurant dining and requiring negative polymerase chain reaction tests for domestic air travel.
Asked for confirmation of that, Nadia of the health ministry said: “Wait for the official announcement.” (Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Martin Petty)
June 29, 2021 at 12:47PM
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-indonesia/indonesias-covid-19-situation-nears-catastrophe-red-cross-idUSL3N2OB13H
Indonesia's COVID-19 situation nears 'catastrophe' - Red Cross - Reuters
Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions are developing the feature film treatment Red Onewith Amazon Studios. Amazon won the project after a highly competitive bidding war. Johnson will star in four-quadrant holiday action adventure comedy project conceived by Hiram Garcia, President of Production at Seven Bucks.
The movie will film in 2022 for a 2023 holiday release. Amazon will look to exploit the property across multiple ancillaries in addition to being a tentpole film.
Chris Morgan will write the screenplay and produce. Morgan has been a frequent collaborator with Seven Bucks, including Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, The Fate of the Furious, Furious 7, Fast & Furious 6, and Fast Five. In all, Morgan has authored seven installments in the franchise, his association beginning with the third film, Tokyo Drift.
Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia will produce on behalf of Seven Bucks Productions.
Watch on Deadline
“Seven Bucks Productions is a leader in creating unique and compelling entertainment for the entire family, and we know Red One will continue that tradition,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. “Hiram’s concept and the world he’s envisioned are uniquely original and we are so excited to team with Seven Bucks Productions and Chris Morgan to help bring it to life. Red One is just the first step in what we know will be a successful, collaborative venture.”
“Hold my Mana, because this is exciting,” said Johnson. “Our Seven Bucks is very bullish on our partnership with Amazon Studios; underpinned with some innovation, some pioneering and a lot of positive energy and passion. I’ve been very impressed with Jen Salke and her team’s vision and ambition to create an enormous, fun and unique Red One holiday universe for families around the world to enjoy.”
“This partnership, a long time in the making, is exactly the way we envisioned teaming up with Jennifer and Amazon,” said Dany Garcia, co-Founder of Seven Bucks Productions. “A studio with such depth and synergy fits so seamlessly with the types of authentic, inclusive and dynamic stories we are committed to telling within our Seven Bucks’ slate. This incredible story from Hiram is special to all of us and bringing it home to Amazon, where we share tremendous vision and forward-thinking, is perfect alignment across the board.”
“Red One is incredibly special to me and a story I’ve wanted to tell for years,” added Hiram Garcia. “An epic, edge-of- your seat, action adventure that takes beloved holiday mythology and turns it on its head. I’m thrilled to have our Seven Bucks team join forces with Amazon to bring this fun Holiday tale to life for a global audience.”
Amazon has the Skydance Chris Pratt movie The Tomorrow War streaming on July 2. They had a recent hit in Skydance/Paramount’s Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse and posted their most-watched weekend reportedly with Paramount’s Coming 2 America.
Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Seven Bucks are represented by WME.
Jeff Blashill on Detroit Red Wings 2021 season: Lot of character
Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, May 8, 2021.
Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press
Whether the Detroit Red Wings’ 2021-22 schedule will include a break for the Winter Olympics remains uncertain. But it will include helmet advertisements.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday evening that “we have real concerns about whether it’s sensible for us to participate,” for the league to break for the Beijing Games — and with the event only seven months away, that’s causing problems.
“We don’t know as of right now, and that is causing us, in addition to consternation, a fair number of issues relative to getting next season up and running,” Bettman said. “It’s reaching the point that we are getting concerned about the impact on the season, because of the uncertainty.”
Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly addressed the topic during their annual availability with media prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Final. Daly touched on the role of COVID-19, saying that, “with the continued uncertainty with the virus and the games being halfway around the world — not necessarily an ideal Games to elect to go to.”
Daly said the NHL is negotiating “in good faith” with the Players Association and the International Olympic Committee regarding participation. Both men alluded to time running short. The NHL expects to release the 2021-22 schedule within a few weeks.
“We’re already past the time the we hoped this would be resolved,” Bettman said. “We’ll deal with it, just as we’ve managed to be agile and flexible over the last 15 months. But we’re getting to be on a rather short time frame. This can’t go on indefinitely.”
In other topics, Bettman said the NHL does not plan to allow for any compliance buyouts this offseason, even though the flat salary cap has caused issues for some teams. The Wings have a prime buyout candidate in veteran Frans Nielsen, and without a compliance buyout, he will count against the salary cap.
Bettman also said the NHL plans to keep the helmet sponsors that teams took to using this past season as a source of revenue to offset the impact of not having fans in the stands when the season began. The Wings wore a decal advertising United Wholesale Mortgage on their helmets, a move endorsed by general manager Steve Yzerman.
“We have to be creative,” he said in January. “Our revenues have taken a significant hit and you’re always, regardless, looking at ways to grow revenue.
“You see it in Europe, you see it at international events. I don’t really have too big of an issue with it. I think it’s a good opportunity to see if we can’t generate revenue from it. It’s the norm outside of North America.”
There are no plans to change the NHL’s longstanding policy not to disclose injuries. Wings coach Jeff Blashill limits information to lower- or upper-body, and rarely discloses a definitive time frame unless a player has suffered a season-ending injury.
“We have to have policies that facilitate the game on the ice, because the game on the ice is what’s most important,” Daly said.
Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs is the latest player in Buffalo to want the team to bust out the throwback red helmets when they can.
On Sunday, Diggs took to his Twitter account and sent out a message. In that, he shared a photoshopped image of himself in an old-school red helmet and blue jersey look.
The idea of potentially changing colors is one that did recently become a reality. New rules starting in 2022 will allow NFL teams to wear an alternate helmet throughout the season.
Previously, the NFL only allowed a team to wear one helmet as a safety precaution. The current base color of Buffalo’s helmet is white, and it allowed the Bills to switch out the decals to wear throwbacks to the standing Buffalo design, which is nice, but those wanting a red look were out of luck.
With the new rule, teams can wear two different helmets in a season, and many like Diggs are calling for that second one to be red. The Bills previously wore red helmets in the ’90s.
The star wide receiver now joins the likes of two other teammates, Reid Ferguson and Jon Feliciano, who have also already taken to social media to request the team wears a red helmet.
On the face of it, things don't look good for Lewis Hamilton's title challenge after eight rounds of the 2021 season. Red Bull has emerged with the faster car of the top two teams after winning the last four races, while Mercedes, which has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in early May, is not planning to bring another major upgrade.
By contrast, Red Bull has been pushing hard with its own development, making steps with both its aerodynamic package and its Honda engine at the last two rounds. The reward was the team's most comprehensive victory of the year at its home circuit on Sunday and an 18-point lead in the drivers' championship for Max Verstappen.
Hamilton, meanwhile, had no answer for Verstappen's performance at the Styrian Grand Prix, and after stepping out of his car, said, "We need an upgrade of some sort, we need to push ... we've got to find some performance from somewhere."
Had Formula One not been forced to find ways to save money as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year would have seen the introduction of a brand new set of regulations and a grid of new-look F1 cars. However, in order to save the teams from themselves during uncertain times, F1 and its governing body, the FIA, decided to delay the new rules to 2022 and effectively allow the teams to continue in 2021 with their 2020 cars.
Form a cost saving point of view, the decision to delay the new rules happily coincided with the introduction of a budget cap for 2021, meaning the spending of every team on the grid is now capped at $145 million for the year. For the top teams that has significantly reduced the amount of resources they can spend, meaning any development of this year's car is directly eating into development of the 2022 car.
In many ways, Mercedes was in the best position to deal with these changes at the start of 2020. When the season finally got underway in July, the world champions immediately had a significant performance advantage, which allowed it to switch development focus to 2021 early in the season. This was a no-brainer as the 2020 car was clearly quick enough to win the championship without a huge amount of development and, as part of the delay in the new rules, teams were forbidden to work on aerodynamic development of the all-new car for 2022.
But during the 2020 season a spanner was thrown in the works that upset Mercedes' three-year plan. Tyre supplier Pirelli was working towards a completely new type of tyre to go with the new regulations initially planned for 2021 but then delayed to 2022, and therefore had not developed the 2020 tyres. The lack of development reared its head as a potential safety issue with three failures during the 2020 British Grand Prix, and so the FIA decided to peg back the development of all teams by tweaking the aero rules for 2021.
The changes for 2021 were relatively crude in their nature, cutting a chunk out of the floor and simplifying complex aerodynamic devices around barge boards and rear brake ducts, and caused a stink during testing earlier this year when it appeared to hit the design philosophies of Mercedes and Aston Martin more than the rest of the field. All of a sudden, the wave of performance that Mercedes had hoped to ride through 2020 and 2021 came crashing down, while Red Bull and Honda made significant gains over the winter of 2020/21.
But Mercedes stuck to its original plan and turned its attention to better understanding why its 2021 car was suddenly struggling rather than work on a major upgrade package, which probably wouldn't have provided a complete fix anyway. To some extent that approach worked and Mercedes won the opening round of the season in Bahrain as well as rounds three and four in Portugal and Spain.
However, Red Bull continued to develop its 2021 car during that same period and even as Mercedes found performance, it became clear that the combination of Verstappen and the RB16-B was the quickest on the grid.
Nevertheless, under no circumstances was Mercedes willing to sacrifice the development of its 2022 project for short-term gains in 2021. Next year's car will carry the hopes of the team into a new era of Formula One, and sacrificing a head start in that new era just to win one more title in 2021 simply isn't justifiable.
"It would make no sense to put a week or two or months [of development time] back on the current car as the gains wouldn't be anywhere near of the gains you're making on the 2022 car," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said on Sunday.
"It is a very rational decision -- the upgrades you bring [this year] wouldn't close the aerodynamic deficit of the magnitude the aero regs for 2021 cost us, fact. And at some point Red Bull will stop aero development because it would be too dangerous to lose out on next year's championship, so the fight is still full on.
"The Red Bull Ring wasn't our best circuit in the past, it wasn't today, it doesn't mean we have no weapons in our armoury left."
What's more, F1 introduced a sliding scale of aerodynamic testing time into the regulations this year, which gives a team more development time in the wind tunnel and more time using CFD tools the lower it is down the order. Much like the draft system in American sports, it was designed to give struggling teams a helping hand and stop the biggest teams running away with it.
Mercedes only had a marginally smaller aerodynamic testing allowance than Red Bull in the first half of this year after the two teams finished 2020 first and second, but old rivals Ferrari, which finished a disappointing sixth last year, had significantly more testing time than Mercedes, making them a serious threat for 2022.
However, the sliding scale resets on June 30, meaning Mercedes and Red Bull's allowance will be reversed for the next period as Red Bull is currently leading the constructors', while Ferrari will also have slightly less now that it is fourth in this year's title fight.
Aren't Red Bull in the same position?
As Wolff pointed out, Red Bull will also have to turn its focus entirely to 2022 at some stage this year, but it seems its priorities are slightly different. Red Bull hasn't won a title since 2013 and Verstappen, who joined the team in 2016 from Toro Rosso, has never been given the shot at the title his talent clearly deserves.
As a result, it's easy to see why Red Bull would be willing to put more on the line in 2021, even if it means sacrificing 2022 to some extent. What's more, the tweaks to the 2021 rules played into Red Bull's hands over Mercedes, giving the team a rare opportunity that would be hard not to chase.
"For the first time in quite a while we've come out the blocks this year with a competitive car and we've managed to optimise that and tune it," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said on Sunday.
"But you're at the top of the [development] curve with these cars, you're into marginal gains and obviously when you look at the new car for next year every time it goes through a development cycle it's significant steps, so it's getting that balance right between the marginal gains for this year and the big steps for next year.
"What Mercedes do is very much their business, so we're just focused on ourselves and we know that Toto likes to throw the light somewhere else, so I can't believe that they'll go through the rest of this year without putting a single component on the car.
"But as I say, what we can do is focus on our own job. Of course it is a balancing act between this year and next year, but if that means we've all got to work a bit harder than the other teams, we are fully up for it."
Verstappen added: "I don't know what's going on with other teams but I know that, of course, from our side, we do improve our car almost every race, which I think is very important -- because we have a good opportunity to have a good season.
"I'm confident with the people we have in the team that also the focus for next year is 100 percent. So, I think so far I don't see that compromise -- but of course time will tell next year if it's like that!
"I fully agree with the approach we have for this season."
Can Mercedes still fight back?
Despite Red Bull's four straight victories, the championship is still very close. Mercedes struggled at the street circuits in Monaco and Baku, but one week ago in France the two teams were incredibly close, with Red Bull winning the race on strategy rather than outright performance.
The Red Bull Ring clearly suits the Red Bull car, and the vans of upgrades that were seen arriving outside the Red Bull garage over the weekend suggest the team put extra emphasis on winning the double header at its home circuit. But the following round in Silverstone in three weeks has always been a Mercedes stronghold and engineers within the team remain quietly confident that the performance gap between the two cars will swing back in its favour for the British Grand Prix.
"This is far from over," Wolff said. "We had a very difficult weekend in Austria with no weapons in our armoury to win this race fair and straight, but we will be winning races this year and will be having pole positions and will be fighting as much as we can for every single result."
Hamilton added: "I'm not going to question the team's logic and how they got through with their process. As I said, I would love to have an upgrade, but I don't think it's in the pipeline at the moment.
"We're down on a few areas. It's been close at the beginning of the season and if we were both -- Red Bull and us -- had the same performance as we did in those first four races then perhaps it would be a little more exciting, but as I said, they've taken a decent step forwards but we will work as hard as we can to manoeuvre around it.
"But in terms of baseline performance this is what we've got. I think we did a decent job today, but we're going to keep pushing."
Dwayne Johnson will star in “Red One” for Amazon Studios, the streaming service announced Monday. The film will reunite Johnson with “Fast and Furious” scribe Chris Morgan — the pair recently collaborated on the hit spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw.”
The deal for the film treatment, which comes after a highly competitive bidding situation, is another sign that Amazon is focused on creating more populist fare. Its interest in fielding more broadly entertaining films comes as the streaming wars continue to heat up, with new entrants like HBO Max, Paramount Plus, and Disney Plus elbowing into the space.
The deal is a statement-making moment for Amazon Studios and its chief Jennifer Salke, who has made a big push to acquire splashier properties. Amazon initially focused on awards contenders such as “Manchester by the Sea” and indie fare like “Brad’s Status” and “Wiener-Dog.” After Salke came on board in 2018, the company has augmented those offerings with the likes of “Borat 2,” the Michael B. Jordan thriller “Without Remorse,” and “Coming 2 America,” taking advantage of the pandemic era shutdown of movie theaters to acquire those properties from traditional studios like Paramount and Universal. Partnering with Johnson gives Amazon access to one of the world’s biggest stars, with hits on his resume that include “San Andreas” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.”
“Red One” was conceived by Hiram Garcia, president of production at Seven Bucks Productions, the company that Johnson co-created and founded with Dany Garcia. It’s described as a “globe-trotting, four-quadrant action-adventure comedy” which imagines “a whole new universe to explore within the holiday genre.” The press release announcing the deal moves beyond those exciting, if slightly vague descriptors to say that “this unique concept represents a property that could encompass not only a tentpole film, but could reach beyond entertainment across multiple industries and businesses.” Presumably that translates into a franchise that could complement Amazon’s massive e-commerce business, which is no stranger to holiday season shoppers.
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“Hold my Mana, because this is exciting,” said Dwayne Johnson. “Our Seven Bucks is very bullish on our partnership with Amazon Studios; underpinned with some innovation, some pioneering and a lot of positive energy and passion. I’ve been very impressed with Jen Salke and her team’s vision and ambition to create an enormous, fun and unique ‘Red One’ holiday universe for families around the world to enjoy.”
The film is currently scheduled to shoot in 2022 with a planned 2023 holiday release.
Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia will produce the film on behalf of Seven Bucks Productions. Morgan will produce in addition to overseeing the script.
“Seven Bucks Productions is a leader in creating unique and compelling entertainment for the entire family, and we know Red One will continue that tradition,” said Salke. “Hiram’s concept and the world he’s envisioned are uniquely original and we are so excited to team with Seven Bucks Productions and Chris Morgan to help bring it to life. ‘Red One’ is just the first step in what we know will be a successful, collaborative venture.”
Hiram Garcia, who came up with the original story, added “‘Red One’ is incredibly special to me and a story I’ve wanted to tell for years. An epic, edge-of- your seat, action adventure that takes beloved holiday mythology and turns it on its head. I’m thrilled to have our Seven Bucks team join forces with Amazon to bring this fun Holiday tale to life for a global audience.”
Work crews continue to work on the construction of a freeway overpass in Encinitas, Calif.
Photo: mike blake/Reuters
The more we examine the bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal, the worse its details look. Consider its plan to pay for new spending in part with unemployment-benefit savings from GOP states that are recovering faster economically and ending the $300 federal bonus.
The outline of the deal includes an estimated $25 billion in revenue from unused jobless benefits. In March Democrats extended the $300 bonus into September and expanded enhanced benefits by 53 weeks, plus an additional 13 to 20 weeks in states with persistent high unemployment. Workers in states like California (7.9% in May) and New York (7.8%) can qualify for 99 weeks of benefits.
But the faster economic recovery and early benefit terminations by some states are resulting in lower unemployment spending than the Congressional Budget Office forecasted in March. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, federal spending on unemployment benefits will likely be about $56 billion lower than CBO predicted.
Guess where most of those “savings” will come from? Answer: the 26, mostly GOP-led, states that have announced plans to end the bonus before its planned expiration after Labor Day. Florida, Texas, Georgia, Utah and Oklahoma stopped theirs on Saturday.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget notes that those 26 states have received a little over a quarter of the payments made under the March spending bill. That’s because they have smaller populations and much lower unemployment. The average unemployment rate in the 26 states was 1.4 percentage points lower in April than the national average.
Meanwhile, California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York mopped up 40% of benefit payments during the first quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The budget savings would be much greater if Democratic states ended their bonus, but they want to keep taking federal cash, even though it pays millions of Americans more not to work than to take a job. The Department of Labor says nearly 240,000 workers in Democratic states have collected jobless benefits for more than 79 weeks—that is, since before the first U.S. Covid case was recorded.
All of this means that the bipartisan deal is using money from workers in GOP states that have behaved responsibly during the pandemic in order to finance such Democratic priorities as electric-vehicle charging stations and California’s bullet train to nowhere. This continues the pattern in this Congress of taking from GOP states to bail out Democratic states that keep spending like there was no pandemic.
If Senate Republicans are going to support this red-to-blue income redistribution, the least they can do is insist that Democrats agree to end the $300 federal unemployment benefit bonus everywhere.
Journal Editorial Report: Charles Payne interviews Robert Doar, president of the American Enterprise Institute. Image: Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press
