The study, which appears on the pre-print website medRxiv.org, has not been peer-reviewed to evaluate the methods and findings. As such, the conclusions should be regarded with caution. However, the findings appear to fit with other research into mutations to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Understanding how the coronavirus might have mutated and if it will do so in the future is important to comprehending how it has spread and will do so in the future, as well as having implications for vaccine development....

The Russian government reported 7,933 new cases Friday, the highest single-day confirmed case number thus far, bringing the case total to 114,431. There were also 96 new deaths reported Friday, which brought the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 to 1,169, according to the Russian government coronavirus tracker. The country has also seen 13,220 total recoveries. Putin said Tuesday that the country could begin a phased easing of the lockdown measures implemented to slow the spread of the virus in two weeks, even while acknowledging that the country has yet to see the virus peak....

The U.S. saw three more deaths, including in Washington state and Florida (marking the first fatality on the country’s east coast), as well as the first cases from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. military in Italy. The virus, which was first reported in China’s Wuhan city in the Hubei province, has spread to at least 102,188 people globally, around 80,651 of whom are in China, and nearly 58,000 patients around the world have recovered from the virus, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University....

The Crypsis Group was hired by the city attorney’s office to evaluate why the texts were not recorded and kept as they should have been in accordance with city and state law to help the city’s defense in multiple lawsuits over how the protests were handled. Spokespeople for the city attorney’s office and Durkan’s office said they had no information to share this week as to when the report could be released, five months after the city attorney’s office said it was planning to share the report, according to The Seattle Times....

Iran’s tit-for-tat seizure in the Strait of Hormuz of a British-flagged tanker in response to the British military’s detention of an Iranian tanker earlier in July, is a symbol of a wider stand-off between Tehran and the west. Just one day into the job, Johnson’s government announced on Thursday that HMS Montrose would provide a Royal Navy escort for any British-flagged ships passing through the body of water, according to Sky News....

The readiest example is 1998, of course, but the Super Eagles did manage a fortunate draw against Greece and a hapless loss against the United States only four years ago. In 2010, the sole victory en route to South Africa was a narrow defeat of North Korea. Yet, this is a nation whose superstition is only bested by its deep pessimism. With the national side, while a great deal of feeling is involved, there is a nod to that famous sentiment from ‘Heat’: never get involved in something you cannot walk away from in 30 seconds....

In a new video, Ye invited Drake to accompany him on stage at an event to “free Larry Hoover.” Drake has yet to reply, instead recently posting a message to the families of those who died in a crowd rush at the Astroworld Festival, where he was performing alongside organizer Travis Scott. What Happened Between Ye and Drake? In Drake’s early days on the scene, he expressed admiration for West, rapping over beats made by West at various points....

Red Bull Leipzig are the emerging force in the Bundesliga after qualifying for the Champions League in their first season in the top flight, while breathing down the neck of eventual champions Bayern Munich for much of the campaign. One of the players at the heart of Die Rotten Bullen’s magnificent campaign was Naby Keita, but is his meteoric rise in recent years in danger of being overshadowed by his disciplinary problems?...

It’s weird. Vizquel won 11 Gold Gloves and has one of the finest reputations of any fielder in baseball history. While he got maligned once in a classic episode of “The Simpsons” when Bart fleeces a distracted Milhouse into trading a dog-eared, Seattle Mariners-years Vizquel card to him for a Carl Yastrzemski rookie, Vizquel soon came to personify defensive excellence in baseball. By sabermetrics, though, Vizquel’s practically a below-average player....

Now, in his second season back at Old Trafford, Pogba has shown signs of his obvious talent, yet there has always been the feeling that there is much more to come from the France international. And there should be. At the age of 24, the player is approaching his best years. However, with tensions rising between the midfielder and United manager Jose Mourinho in recent weeks, there are now concerns over his long-term future at the club....

Bradley gets first Swansea win As if the pressure of reaching the final weren’t enough heading into Sunday, there is also a subplot looming regarding Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni, who is coming to the end of his contract with Colorado. A loss to the Sounders could not only put an end to the Rapids improbable season, but it could signal the end of Mastroeni’s time as head coach....

Owens is never going to get into the Hall of Fame. That sealed it. That really isn’t that extreme a reaction to that chart, slipped into Peter King’s weekly column at The MMQB on Monday, but tweeted out on its own. No time will be wasted deciphering it, putting it into context or even mocking it that much. (In all fairness, Pro Football Talk mocked the entire “drops” debate flawlessly already....

Matt Morley, 31, and his wife Coco, 32, left southwest London in May 2021 to embark on their self-funded year-long cycling trip to Japan. The determined duo set off to raise money for the international development charity Mercy Ships who offer life-saving surgeries in the world’s poorest countries. But the pair, who have already cycled some 5,592 miles through 18 different countries, were recently forced into a last-minute change of plans....

The elaborate hoax was cooked up by Geoffrey and Kaycee Lang, who announced a fake pregnancy and even held a baby shower at a friend’s house. The couple from the town of Somerset said that their baby boy Easton was born on July 3 and posted images of their purported child on social media. However, police say that the images were only of a life-like doll. The couple then faked the child’s death, which they claimed was due to respiratory distress syndrome a few hours after his birth, WPXI reported....

In a video shared on TikTok last Tuesday, the couple, known as Coconuts and Camels, explained that in April 2021, they bought a 17-seater Ford Transit Minibus, and after stripping it out and cleaning it up, they started turning it into their “home on wheels.” The couple took care of every little detail, “from insulation and soundproofing to wiring in lights and building out living space, adding walls and a ceiling, a Maxxair ceiling fan, storage cupboards, seating and our bed to go at the back, and our kitchen of course!...

The adorable ginger cat, whose name is Big Ginge, was last seen by his owners Colin Clayton and Eva Bellamy back in 2011, when they were enjoying their honeymoon on a their boat. The pair were holidaying near their home in Birmingham, United Kingdom, when Big Ginge disappeared, despite them being used to him popping in and out of the vessel. The couple were therefore very surprised to get a call from charity Cats Protection to inform them their lost pet had been found miles away in the town of Lichfield....

Probing Parkinson’s Mysteries As a first-year medical student who was required to take a course in neuroscience last semester, I can honestly say that I loved your article, “The New War on Parkinson’s” (SOCIETY, May 22). The PET scans, diagrams and factual information concerning drugs and symptoms were right on target. God bless Michael J. Fox and everyone else who is working around the clock to solve this horrible degenerative disease....

The Republican Party of Texas filed its suit against Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins late Monday, less than 24 hours before the state’s early voting period began. The lawsuit aimed to limit curbside voting access and end drive-through voting altogether in Harris County. Drive-through voting is a new procedure in Texas, which Hollins announced in early September as a means to reduce risks of COVID-19 transmission at polling sites. Harris—where Houston is located—is the state’s most populous county, and the county hit hardest by COVID-19 relative to others across the state....

Catrice Pittman crashed her car into a tree in June 2016, leaving an adult friend and five children, ages 2 to 10, with wounds that included internal injuries and broken bones. According to the prosecution, she admitted to using meth that night, The Oregonian reported. Pittman pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants and five counts of second- and third-degree assault. Another charge that the prosecution had been pursuing and hoping to reinforce with evidence from Pittman’s iPhone was that she was allegedly dealing methamphetamine....

On Friday, Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) announced on social media platform Weibo that it will broadcast Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat, which is scheduled for Friday night at 9 p.m. ET. CCTV will reportedly broadcast Game 5 live, with a replay to be shown on Saturday, October 10. The NBA has been subject to a blackout in China since Rockets general manager Daryl Morey shared his support for protesters in Hong Kong 12 months ago....