East | Common News Update

Feb22021 by adminNo Comments

Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson East tests positive for COVID-19

Sports

Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson East announced she has tested positive for COVID-19, just weeks after revealing she is pregnant. Johnson East and her husband, former Washington Football Team long snapper Andrew East, are expecting their second child later this year. Advertisement "Got my results back [Sunday] and they came back positive for COVID," the former Olympic gymnast wrote on her Instagram story Sunday night. "Not going to lie ... I'm nervous knowing I'm positive. It's been a long two weeks of RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] with Drew and now this ... my body is exhausted." Johnson, who has dealt with asthma for most of her life, said she is experiencing a cough, sore throat, fatigue and a headache. She also noted that she had a close family member "fight for...

Dec222020 by adminNo Comments

Submarine USS Georgia transits Strait of Hormuz as Middle East tensions rise

Business

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The guided-missile submarine USS Georgia passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said Monday in a rare disclosure. The submarine, which can carry up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, was escorted by the guided missile cruisers USS Port Royal and USS Philippine Sea through the strait as it entered the Persian Gulf. Advertisement The U.S. military rarely announces the movements of its submarines, and the disclosure comes as U.S. officials are on alert for heightened tensions in the Middle East. Jan. 3 marks the first anniversary of the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who died in a U. S. drone strike in Iraq. "We are prepared to defend ourselves, our friends and partners in the region, and we're prepared to react, if necessar...

Dec212020 by adminNo Comments

U.S. troops to leave Somalia but remain in East Africa

Business

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Although U.S. troops are leaving Somalia, they will be deployed elsewhere in East Africa, the U.S. Africa Command leader said. The Pentagon announced Dec. 4 that, under orders from President Donald Trump, U.S. personnel and assets will be removed from Somalia by early 2021. Advertisement The troops are involved in combating the Islamist terrorist group al-Shabab, training local forces and protecting Baledogle Airfield in southern Somalia. The U.S. forces will likely go to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti or Manda Bay in Kenya, two countries that are adjacent to Somalia, but AFRICOM commander Gen. Stephen Townsend did not mention locations in his statement. "I directed the activation of a joint task force, JTF-Quartz, built around the headquarters of Special Operations Command-A...

Sep132020 by adminNo Comments

Officials say east Libya government resigns amid protests

World

Libyan officials say the interim government of eastern Libya has resigned amid street protests that erupted across the divided country over dire living conditionsBy BY SAMY MAGDY Associated PressSeptember 13, 2020, 9:14 PM• 3 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleCAIRO -- An interim government in eastern Libya resigned on Sunday amid street protests that erupted across the divided country over dire living conditions, officials said.Prime Minister Abdallah al-Thani submitted the resignation of his government to Aguila Saleh, speaker of the eastern-based House of Representatives, said the government's spokesman, Ezzel-Deen al-Falih.Abdallah Abaihig, a spokesman for the parliament, confirmed the government's resignation, saying lawmakers would review it in their next meet...

Sep82020 by adminNo Comments

Jaylen Brown dominates Raptors, Celtics take 3-2 lead in East semifinals

Sports

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 111-89 win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 an Eastern Conference semifinals series Monday in Orlando, Fla. The Celtics now lead the series 3-2. "Our guys came out ready to fight tonight and we have to come out ready to fight in the next game," Brown told reporters. Advertisement The Celtics led by as many as 30 points in the blowout and are now one win away from a spot in the Eastern Conference finals. Boston never trailed Toronto in Game 5 and ended the Raptors' two-game winning streak in the series at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside the Walt Disney World Resort. "We were really active and trying to play as hard as we could," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "We were playing with g...