McLaren boss Zak Brown insists only one new F1 team in last decade has been ‘credible’
McLaren’s Zak Brown believes there has only been one “credible” bid in the last decade from teams looking to enter the Formula 1 grid - from Guenther Steiner’s Haas team. In January, the FIA officially launched an application process for prospective F1 teams and it has now moved into the formal application stage. Several parties have reportedly declared interest in putting themselves on the grid in the future. The deadline for formal applications was 15 May, with the FIA planning to make a decision on those prospective teams by 30 June. “I think it’s exciting,” Brown said in Miami, of new teams potentially joining the grid. “I remember when I started following Formula 1, you had pre-qualifying, I think there were 30-31 cars trying to show up to make the show. “So, I think an increase in the grid of the right teams that bring the right resources and are additive to what we’re all trying to do and help grow the sport then I’m all for it. “What we can’t have is... really the only credible, sustainable team that I’ve seen in the last decade is Guenther (Steiner’s Haas). “And so, what we do need to make sure is if someone enters that they really have the commitment and can do what it takes. “Because in my experience, I think in a variety of motorsports, you do see a lot of dreamers and what we don’t need with the health of the sport is a team coming in underestimating what it’s going to take and two years later, they’re gone. “So, hats off to Haas for the commitment they’ve made and continue to make to the sport, so we need more teams like that.” The highest-profile prospective new team would be Andretti-Cadillac, while Hitech GP have also expressed an interest in joining the grid. Last week, The Independent interviewed Hong Kong billionaire Calvin Lo - who insisted he was keen on joining forces with a bid from Asia. Under the current rules, a maximum of 12 teams can be on the F1 grid. Additions to the current 10-team grid could be made as soon as 2025. Read More Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are the biggest losers from Imola Grand Prix cancellation F1 Imola Grand Prix cancelled Inspired by Schumacher, meet the Hong Kong billionaire targeting a new Formula 1 team Where are Mercedes and Ferrari? Frankly, you don’t want to hear the answer ‘Nasty piece of work’: Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes slammed by Toto Wolff
2023-05-18 17:24
F1 Grand Prix – live: Lewis Hamilton reacts after Imola race cancelled
Lewis Hamilton said the right decision has been taken to cancel this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix amid severe flooding in the region. Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali took the decision to call off the sixth round of the season in northern Italy following an emergency meeting with local authorities and race officials on Wednesday. COMMENT: Why Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are the biggest losers from Imola cancellation “Hoping everyone in Emilia Romagna is able to stay safe and look out for each other right now,” said Hamilton, who was deeply critical of F1’s decision to travel to Melbourne amid the outbreak of the global pandemic three years ago. “Thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy and the amazing emergency services working on the ground. We were getting ramped up for the weekend and excited to get going but this is definitely the right decision. We wish we could be racing. But I know we all understand that safety comes first. I can’t wait to see you all at the next race.” Read More Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are the biggest losers from Imola Grand Prix cancellation Will Imola Grand Prix be rescheduled? F1 Imola Grand Prix cancelled
2023-05-18 17:18
Sierra Leone leader urges end of Ukraine war for 'sake of humanity'
Sierra Leone's president expressed hope in an AFP interview that a new African mediation mission would help end Russia's war in Ukraine which has hit the "poorest...
2023-05-18 16:23
BT Joins Vodafone in Slashing Jobs: The London Rush
BT’s plans to significantly cut their workforce have been long-signaled, with cost-cutting one of the companies key goals
2023-05-18 15:55
Uganda’s Anti-LGBTQ Bill Threatens Tourism as Well as Lives
Ugandan LGBTQ rights activist Clare Byarugaba was looking forward to showing her country off to her French partner’s
2023-05-18 15:45
Thai Coalition on Course to Form Government, PM Candidate Says
A coalition of Thai pro-democracy parties, which swept Sunday’s election, is on course to form the next government,
2023-05-18 13:29
'It hurts': Internet laughs at Lisa Rinna's 'stupid dancing' as 'RHOBH' alum is labeled fashion's new IT girl
'RHOBH' alum Lisa Rinna is seen making not-so-swift dance moves, swirling her lower body from right to left as she showed off her black dress
2023-05-18 09:45
Montana legislature passes TikTok ban (Update: Ban is now law)
UPDATE: May. 17, 2023, 2:56 p.m. PDT On Wednesday, Governor Greg Gianforte signed this bill,
2023-05-18 06:47
US judges appear skeptical of preserving access to abortion pill
A US federal appeals court panel appeared skeptical on Wednesday of preserving access to a...
2023-05-18 06:28
Republican-appointed federal judges grill FDA in mifepristone hearing
A combative three-judge panel at one of the most conservative courts in the country grilled attorneys for the federal government and a drug manufacturer as anti-abortion activists continue a legal battle to overturn the government’s approval of a widely used abortion drug. On 17 May, the case against mifepristone returned to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, where attorneys for the US Department of Justice and drug manufacturer Danco Laboratories faced skeptical Republican-appointed judges hearing oral arguments in a case that could upend abortion care for millions of Americans. Within seconds of her opening argument, Justice Department attorney Sarah Harrington was interrupted by Judge James Ho, a Donald Trump appointee, who challenged her description of the legal challenge against the drug’s approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. “I don’t think there’s ever been any court that has vacated an FDA determination that a drug is safe to be on the market,” she replied. “FDA can make that determination based on exercising its own scientific expertise, but it’s not a court’s role to come in and second-guess that expertise.” “Why not focus on the facts,” Judge Ho said, “rather than this ‘FDA can do no wrong’ theme.” The judges repeatedly interrupted Ms Harrington and appeared sympathetic to the plaintiffs: an anti-abortion group represented by influential right-wing legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, whose senior counsel Erin Morrow Halley – the wife of Republican senator Josh Hawley – baselessly asserted that medication abortion is “particularly dangerous”. Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, who was appointed by George W Bush, also took a moment to chastise lawyers for their “unusual remarks” in filings objecting to the widely derided lower-court decision from a former right-wing activist attorney who was appointed to the federal bench by Mr Trump. Judge Elrod suggested their criticisms amounted to personal attacks and suggested that the attorney retract the statements and apologise. “Those statements reflect our view that the district court was very outside the bounds,” said Jessica Ellsworth, an attorney for Danco. “I don’t think those remarks, any of them, were intended as any personal attack.” The judges are not expected to rule immediately. But a decision from the panel judges – each with a history of support for abortion restrictions – is likely to return the case to the US Supreme Court, which has paused any action on mifepristone until the legal challenge plays out. In her arguments, Ms Hawley conflated the risk of serious complications from mifepristone – which is less than 1 per cent – with the risk that a medication abortion failed and would then require medical attention. Her arguments suggested that doctors are enduring a moral harm by providing abortion care, without evidence that doctors have been forced to do so, while also claiming that the FDA illegally approved the drug when it was approved more than 20 years ago. The judges repeatedly questioned the FDA’s approval process for mifepristone, which plaintiffs argued was done too hastily through an expedited process that is typically reserved for treating serious or life-threatening illnesses. But the FDA did not do that with mifepristone; it took years of study before the FDA’s approval. The part of that process that the agency invoked for mifepristone’s approval allowed the FDA to add safety restrictions, such as a requirement that physicians be able to diagnose ectopic pregnancies. But judges appeared to argue that because pregnancy is not an illness, mifepristone should not have been approved through that process at all, repeating plaintiffs’ false claim that the FDA called pregnancy a “life-threatening illness.” “When we celebrated Mothers’ Day, were we celebrating illness?” Judge Ho said at one point. “The arguments today demonstrated in detail that the case has no legal or scientific merit and should have been laughed out of court from the very start,” Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the deck is stacked as the judges hearing this case are well known for their extraordinary hostility to abortion,” she added. “The whole point of the case is to prevent anyone in America, no matter where they live, from using a medication that has been safely used in this country for decades and is used in most abortions today.” Major medical groups and research from hundreds of studies over the last two decades have confirmed the overwhelming safety and efficacy of the drug, one of two drugs used in a two-drug protocol for a medication abortion, the most common form of abortion care in the US. Studies show it is as safe to use as common over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and the protocol for medication abortion is used in more than 60 other countries. The drug was first approved by the FDA in 2000 and is approved for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. A vast majority of abortions occur within the first nine weeks of pregnancy. From 2019 through 2020, nearly 93 per cent of all abortions were performed before the 13th week, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mifepristone is also used to treat miscarriages. Roughly 10 per cent of clinically recognised pregnancies end in miscarriages, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association also joined a brief in the challenge opposing arguments from anti-abortion groups. Last year, Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Amarillo, Texas on behalf of a group of anti-abortion activists incorporated as the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which was organised that same month with an address in Amarillo. The Alliance Defending Freedom also led the challenge at the Supreme Court that ultimately struck down Roe v Wade. In April, US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk – a former right-wing activist lawyer who was appointed to the federal judiciary by then-President Trump – issued a ruling to suspend the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, which was immediately challenged by abortion rights advocates, providers, major medical groups, drug manufacturers and the Biden administration. An appeal landed at the Fifth Circuit court, which has jurisdiction over the Amarillo court. A three-judge panel blocked a part of the judge’s ruling, and a subsequent ruling at the Supreme Court paused the lower-court ruling as the legal challenge continues. Read More North Carolina Republicans approve 12-week abortion ban as sweeping restrictions spread across US South Nebraska Republicans approve combined gender-affirming care ban and anti-abortion bill after epic filibuster Anti-abortion laws harm patients facing dangerous and life-threatening complications, report finds A Texas man sued his ex-wife’s friends for allegedly helping her with an abortion. Now they’re suing him Louisiana Republicans refuse rape and incest exceptions to state’s sweeping anti-abortion law What is mifepristone? The widely used pill in the abortion rights battle at the Supreme Court
2023-05-18 06:21
Chef Daniel Boulud Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Restaurant DANIEL
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2023--
2023-05-18 05:27
The Lasting Legacy of Elizabeth Stuart, the ‘Winter Queen’ of Bohemia
The daughter of King James VI and I was Electress Palatine of the Rhine and Queen of Bohemia, and through her grandson, the founder of a new British ruling dynasty.
2023-05-18 05:25