WEATHER ALERT
Brazil's health agents scour junkyards and roofs for mosquitos to fight dengue epidemic
Read full article: Brazil's health agents scour junkyards and roofs for mosquitos to fight dengue epidemicLocal public health officials in Rio de Janeiro have been scouring the city's neighborhoods and even its junkyards for signs of standing water where mosquitoes can lay their eggs.
Never mind the mess, Carnival kicks off in Rio de Janeiro with coronation of King Momo
Read full article: Never mind the mess, Carnival kicks off in Rio de Janeiro with coronation of King MomoTo thunderous applause, Rio de Janeiroโs mayor coronated King Momo, marking the beginning of the symbolic Carnival monarchโs five-day reign over the revelry.
Mardi Gras is coming. Here's what to know about New Orleans' parades and parties
Read full article: Mardi Gras is coming. Here's what to know about New Orleans' parades and partiesCarnival season 2024 is entering its final days in New Orleans with big parades on the city's main thoroughfares and smaller, offbeat walking clubs strolling the old French Quarter.
Rio de Janeiro declares a dengue health emergency days ahead of Carnival
Read full article: Rio de Janeiro declares a dengue health emergency days ahead of CarnivalRio de Janeiro city authorities have declared a public health emergency in the city because of an outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever.
As Mardi Gras nears, a beefed-up police presence and a rain-scrambled parade schedule in New Orleans
Read full article: As Mardi Gras nears, a beefed-up police presence and a rain-scrambled parade schedule in New OrleansNew Orleansโ annual Carnival celebration has entered its high-intensity home stretch with a beefed-up police presence and a weather-scrambled parade schedule.
Fat Tuesday means big business for New Orleans bakers under exploding demand for King Cakes
Read full article: Fat Tuesday means big business for New Orleans bakers under exploding demand for King CakesItโs Carnival season in New Orleans and that means the morning lines outside popular bakeries are long and the pace inside is brisk to meet customer demand for king cake.
New Orleans thief steals 7 king cakes from bakery in a very Mardi Gras way
Read full article: New Orleans thief steals 7 king cakes from bakery in a very Mardi Gras wayWith their purple, gold and green colors and toy babies hidden inside, king cakes are staples of Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans.
Woman gets lifetime ban from Carnival cruise ships over CBD gummies
Read full article: Woman gets lifetime ban from Carnival cruise ships over CBD gummiesA Texas woman is now banned from stepping onboard any Carnival cruise ship for life all because she tried to bring CBD gummies on board to help her sleep.
4 accused of using fraudulent credit cards to spend thousands on Carnival cruise
Read full article: 4 accused of using fraudulent credit cards to spend thousands on Carnival cruiseFour cruise passengers hailing from Tennessee and Georgia didnโt have much to celebrate after the Carnival Celebration returned to PortMiami Sunday; police say they all spent big on the seven-day trip using fraudulent credit cards.
Carnival ruled negligent over cruise where 662 passengers got COVID-19 early in pandemic
Read full article: Carnival ruled negligent over cruise where 662 passengers got COVID-19 early in pandemicA cruise operator that failed to cancel a voyage from Sydney that led to a COVID-19 outbreak has been ruled negligent in an Australian class-action case.
Coast Guard suspends search off Miami for missing Carnival cruise ship passenger
Read full article: Coast Guard suspends search off Miami for missing Carnival cruise ship passengerThe U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Thursday that it has suspended the search for a missing Carnival cruise ship passenger in the waters off Miami.
'I love Mardi Gras': Carnival spirit takes over New Orleans
Read full article: 'I love Mardi Gras': Carnival spirit takes over New OrleansParty-minded people dressed in traditional purple, green and gold filled New Orleans' streets for the city's first full-dress Mardi Gras since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Carnival returns to French Riviera, as virus fears recede
Read full article: Carnival returns to French Riviera, as virus fears recedeArtists, florists, actors, technicians and drivers are putting the final touches on their costumes, lavish flower arrangements and giant floats for the Carnival in the French Riviera city of Nice.
Carnival says it lost $2 billion in 1Q but bookings are up
Read full article: Carnival says it lost $2 billion in 1Q but bookings are upCarnival said Wednesday that it expects nine ships spread across six of its cruising lines to be sailing by this summer, including in Italy, Greece and the United Kingdom.
Germany ekes some fun out of a quiet Carnival
Read full article: Germany ekes some fun out of a quiet CarnivalA reveller stands in front of a political carnival float depicting Russia's President Vladimir Putin fighting with opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the streets of Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the traditional 'Rosenmontag' carnival parade are canceled but eight floats are pulled through the empty streets in Duesseldorf, where normally hundreds of thousands of people would celebrate the street carnival. But organizers in Duesseldorf, one of the German Rhineland's main Carnival strongholds, didn't want to let Rose Monday in 2021 go completely without the traditional caricatures of current events. โIt's a small signal that we're alive,โ float builder Jacques Tilly told the German news agency dpa. Another depicted the brain flying out of the head of an activist against coronavirus restrictions.
Brazil Carnival goes online with street parties banned
Read full article: Brazil Carnival goes online with street parties bannedA woman dressed as a superhero and wearing a mask to curb the spread of the new coronavirus performs in the "Desliga da Justica" street band in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. Their performance was broadcast live on social media for those who were unable to participate in the carnival due to COVID restrictions after the city's government officially suspended Carnival and banned street parades or clandestine parties. โWhen everyone is immunized, we are going to have the biggest Carnival that Brazil has ever seen. One of the biggest street party associations, Blocos da Sebastiana, this year organized workshops on Carnival makeup and instruments and offered playlists of their music. โWe would like to be partying on the street but we canโt.โ said Rita Fernandes, president of Blocos da Sebastian.
A subdued year for Germany's Carnival, thanks to the virus
Read full article: A subdued year for Germany's Carnival, thanks to the virusA carnival reveler is watched by public order guards at the "Alter Markt" where normally tens of thousands of revelers dressed in carnival costumes would celebrate the start of the street carnival in Cologne, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. This year all carnival celebrations are banned due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)BERLIN โ Germanyโs renowned Carnival celebrations got underway Thursday but without any of their usual raucous revelry. One of Germanyโs first superspreader events stemmed from a Carnival celebration in a town west of Cologne last February where many people came in contact with an infected man. Cologne festival committee President Christoph Kuckelkorn told Germanyโs dpa news agency that Carnival could emerge from this year purified, returning closer to its roots from the increasingly commercial, excessive celebration it had become.
With Carnival scrapped, Rioโs Sambadrome hosts vaccinations
Read full article: With Carnival scrapped, Rioโs Sambadrome hosts vaccinationsIn a normal year, Rios Sambadrome would be preparing for its great moment of the year: the worlds most famous Carnival parade. But a week before what should be the start of Carnival, the pandemic has replaced pageantry. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)RIO DE JANEIRO โ In a normal year, Rio de Janeiroโs Sambadrome would be preparing for its great moment of the year: the worldโs most famous Carnival parade. Rioโs hotel occupancy rate normally reaches about 80% in the hot summer months and 100% during Carnival. It's now at roughly 50-60%, according to Alfredo Lopes, the president of Rioโs Hospitality Workers Union.
Carnival says 2022 cruise bookings are strong despite expected loss this year
Read full article: Carnival says 2022 cruise bookings are strong despite expected loss this yearCarnival is projecting a cruising comeback in 2022 based on advance bookings. Carnival Corp. says its 2022 cruise bookings are running ahead of 2019 numbers, a sign that guests will return once the pandemic has eased. Carnival halted sailings in March 2020 after numerous ships reported coronavirus outbreaks on board. The company expects to resume a limited amount of cruising in Europe later this month. The company says it also expects to report a loss its 2021 fiscal year, which ends in November.
Pandemic-era Mardi Gras: No big crowds, but plenty of cake
Read full article: Pandemic-era Mardi Gras: No big crowds, but plenty of cakeFILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, file photo, Mondo Kayo parades down Chartres Street during Mardi Gras, in New Orleans. The Mardi Gras season always starts on Jan. 6 and ends on Fat Tuesday, which this year falls on Feb. 16. The Krewe de Jeanne dโArc is a club that annually pays homage to the fallen French hero with a parade through the French Quarter on the official start of the Carnival season. In Mobile, Alabama, dozens of parades, balls and other events also have been canceled. The city on the Gulf of Mexico calls itself the birthplace of Mardi Gras since celebrations began there a few years earlier than in New Orleans.
S&P 500 ends at another record high as tumultuous 2020 ends
Read full article: S&P 500 ends at another record high as tumultuous 2020 endsThe benchmark S&P 500 index finished with a gain of 16.3% for the year, or a total return of about 18.4%, including dividends. And the S&P 500 rose or fell by at least 1% on twice as many days in 2020 than it did, on average, since 1950. The electric car maker jumped 743.4% in 2020 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. All told, the S&P 500 set 33 record highs in 2020. The S&P 500 rose 24.03 points, or 0.6%, to 3,756.07, an all-time high.
Judge in ocean pollution case wonโt make it easy for Carnival to resume cruise operations
Read full article: Judge in ocean pollution case wonโt make it easy for Carnival to resume cruise operationsJudge Patricia A. Seitz said the cruise line giant has had continuous compliance issues. The company with nine brands and more than 100 cruise ships has also been accused of failing to establish an effective internal investigations operation. When she issues the order, Carnival will have to notify her 60 days before resuming operations. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionโs No Sail Order for cruise ships is in effect through Oct. 31. Carnival announced on Oct. 12 that cruises scheduled for December from Port Miami and Port Canaveral remain in place โwhile Carnival evaluates options.โ
Virus delays Rio's Carnival for first time in a century
Read full article: Virus delays Rio's Carnival for first time in a centuryA "quadra" or court, which this time of year is usually filled with Carnival performers practicing their dance moves, sits empty in the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020. Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, Sept. 24, said it has delayed its annual Carnival parade, saying the global spectacle cannot go ahead in February because of Brazils continued vulnerability to the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Virus delays Rio's Carnival for first time in a century
Read full article: Virus delays Rio's Carnival for first time in a centuryThe samba schools are community institutions, and the parades are just one detail of all that,โ Luiz Antonio Simas, a historian who specializes in Rioโs Carnival, said in an interview. As the number of infections grew, the samba schools that participate in the glitzy annual parade halted preparations for the 2021 event. Nearly all of Rioโs samba schools are closely linked to working class communities. โCarnival is our life.โThe last year Rioโs Carnival was suspended was 1912, following the death of the foreign relations minister. A statement from the agency Thursday provided no further clarity on the fate of the Carnival street parties.
Haiti police exchange fire with troops near national palace
Read full article: Haiti police exchange fire with troops near national palacePORT-AU-PRINCE โ Haitian police officers exchanged gunfire for hours Sunday with soldiers of the newly reconstituted army outside the national palace, in a dangerous escalation of protests over police pay and working conditions. At least three police officers were wounded, fellow officers told The Associated Press. As the afternoon wore on, uniformed officers joined their colleagues in the street outside the palace, firing at the military base with semi-automatic pistols and rifles. Uniformed police officers told an AP journalist that the wounded men were fellow officers. The uniformed officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Man on cruise ship goes overboard
Read full article: Man on cruise ship goes overboardThe Carnival Dream departed Galveston, Texas, Thursday on a four-day cruise when a guest went overboard. GALVESTON, Texas - The Coast Guard is searching for a 26-year-old man who was reported overboard from a Carnival cruise ship Thursday evening. The Carnival Dream departed Galveston, Texas, Thursday on a four-day cruise when the guest went overboard, Carnival said in a statement to CNN. A 22-year-old man with autism was on a cruise to Mexico with a nonprofit organization that works with disabled adults when he climbed over a deck rail and went missing, according to the cruise line. Days earlier, a 26-year-old man went overboard from a ship 35 miles south of the Florida Keys, sparking search and rescue efforts.
Carnival cruise ship fails health inspection, sets worst score in ship's history
Read full article: Carnival cruise ship fails health inspection, sets worst score in ship's historyAssociated PressMOBILE, Ala. - A Carnival cruise ship failed its health inspection after posting the worst score in the ship's 29 year history. The Carnival Fantasy scored a 77 out of 100 during its inspection on July 18. A score below 85 is considered unsatisfactory. Among a number of issues, AL.com reports health inspectors found flies in the food, brown water coming out of shower hoses and improper sneeze guards. In a statement to Cruiseradio.net, the Miami-based company said The results for Fantasy are not reflective of our robust standards and dedicated commitment to our guests health and safety.