The TVA Controls Time, Covid Cruising, Foo Fighters Remain Awesome … and More

Italy’s national stadium will be only a quarter full for their opening game against Turkey, and yet the hope is that the 16,000 masked and tested fans in attendance will provide something all too painfully absent in recent months: a sense of gathering and celebration, a country and a continent slowly rediscovering their voice.

There is a noticeable difference in the photos of the world leaders: First, everyone is socially distanced likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also one man, in particular, did not steal the show. In 2017, the US was the lone country not to sign a climate declaration. And when leaders walked 700 yards for the family photo, Trump arranged for a golf cart to shuttle him there on his own.

Royal Caribbean Cruises said Friday it isn’t changing its sailing plans this summer despite reporting two positive Covid-19 cases aboard its Celebrity Millennium cruise ship on Thursday. The two guests who tested positive during end-of-cruise testing were asymptomatic and were placed in isolation. On Friday, Royal Caribbean announced that all those who were in close contact with the two guests tested negative for the virus. Celebrity will be paying for the two guests to be taken home on a private plane, according to a representative for Royal Caribbean Group.

When the Foo Fighters announced they would play a Madison Square Garden show, fans jumped for joy. But when they found out the venue would follow New York City mandates and require proof of vaccination for attendees, some fans stamped their feet. One tweeter called the band "Enemy of the people" and another accused them of "coercion."

The series premiere of Loki not only revived the character who met his demise in the opening minutes of Infinity War, but it quickly reset the power structure of the MCU. Suddenly, Thanos’s coveted Infinity Stones and even the Avengers seem inconsequential when compared to the all-knowing Time-Keepers and the bureaucracy they created in the TVA. Loki finds out the hard way that he has no “glorious purpose” in life, just a set path dictated by the Time Keepers that he’ll inevitably follow over and over again in infinite realities.

Public faith in EU institutions has declined due to their handling of the covid-19 pandemic and vaccine procurement. This effect is strongest in Germany: disappointment with the EU has now spread from the periphery to the centre. However, the European project is not doomed, as citizens still believe in the need for greater cooperation – particularly in strengthening the EU as a global actor.