We are a week and a half away from the first live action sporting event in some time, as UFC 249 continues to push forward with a new main event featuring Justin Gaethje against Tony Ferguson and a new location, one that still is yet to be officially revealed.

UFC president Dana White has been insistent on this particular event taking place, even after he begrudgingly suspended three fights due to the COVID-19 pandemic. White recently boasted he was working on securing a private island so they could put on fights long-term, even if the pandemic continues to shut down sports leagues through the summer. However, that’s not the planned locale for UFC 249, as Jeff Sherwood of Sherdog.com and Kevin Draper of the New York Times brings word that fight — and possibly two months of events going forward — will take place at the Tachi Palace Casino on native land outside of Fresno, California.

The location will be the Tachi Palace Casino Resort outside Lemoore, Calif., about 40 miles south of Fresno, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because White had not announced the venue. The casino, which closed the night of March 20 because of the pandemic, is on land belonging to the Tachi-Yokut Tribe, part of the federally recognized Santa Rosa Indian Community.

With the venue being on native land, the events will not have to be sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission, which has refused to be a part of any fights and is backing governor Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order by canceling all fights through May 31. There will surely be plenty of appetite for the fight card given the lack of sports happening right now, but there’s also not a single other entity willing to put their athletes at risk right now amid the continued unknowns of the situation due to the lack of widespread testing.

Navajo Nation — in the “Four Corners” area, with land that covers part of Northeastern Arizona, Southeastern Utah, and Northwestern New Mexico — has been hit hard by COVID-19. So far there are 354 confirmed cases with 15 confirmed deaths. As with much of the nation, the testing picture is incomplete. Navajo Schools stayed open two days longer than non-reservation schools, but the Navajo Nation has taken up strong distancing precautions since then. The Diné have now issued stay-at-home orders and instituted a strict curfew. They’ve also declared a state of emergency.

The seriousness of this response isn’t without precedent. The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1920 was devastating for the Navajo Nation. According to historical records, 12 percent of the population perished, or 3,377 people. So far, COVID-19 has mortality rates anywhere from less than one percent to ten percent or more, depending on a long list of factors. But preparedness seems to be a major determiner and Navajo Nation is woefully ill-equipped to fight off a virus like this. It’s certainly worth noting that 2009’s Swine Flu was four times more deadly in Indian Country than the rest of the U.S.

Why Is The Pandemic Particularly Dangerous For The Navajo?

One of the biggest factors at play is the severe poverty of Indian Country. According to data from the state of Arizona, 38 percent of Diné live in poverty and have an average income of $27,389. That’s half the average income of Arizona in general and twice the poverty rate. This is compounded by the fact that the U.S. government continually underfunds Indian Country year after year.

As we’ve mentioned before, the Navajo Nation only has 170 hospital beds, 13 I.C.U. beds, 52 isolation rooms, and a mere 28 ventilators available for the entire population of 350,000 people. Moreover, the U.S. government underfunded Indian Health Services by $30 billion in 2020 alone. $1 billion has been allocated to (all of) Indian Country to help fight the virus locally, but that money has not come yet. That comes coupled with around $8 billion more in emergency funds in general for communities. It’s been revealed that the White House and Republicans in Congress fought to give the tribes no funding whatsoever from the trillion-dollar bailout.

All of this is compounded by the rural nature of Navajo Nation. 75 percent of all un-electrified houses in the United States are on Navajo land. That equals around 15,000 homes without power. That’s before we even dive into the lack of running water. For many on Navajo land, getting clean water is an all-day ordeal that few can afford. Then are also underlying health issues facing the Diné. Due to a forced Western Diet and massive food insecurity (there are only 13 grocery stores for the whole nation), obesity, hypertension, and diabetes are rampant. Diabetes is so prevalent that one in three Diné is diagnosed as either diabetes or pre-diabetic. Diabetes is on the “high risk” list for severe illness from COVID-19, published by the CDC.

All of this could spell disaster for one of the United States’ most at-risk communities. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham reportedly has called the White House directly and told the president that this virus might “wipe out” Indigenous populations. The governor also noted a higher number of younger people in her state need hospitalization and ventilators. HuffPost reports that Trump responded by directing officials in the room to get started on building an emergency hospital.

What You Can Do To Help, Right Now

It’s important to note that the hospital has not been built yet nor have emergency funds been released. That’s not to say they won’t. It just means that the time is now to help where you can.

Diné attorney and leader Ethel Branch has set up the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund on GoFundMe (she also set up a Relief Fund for the Havasupai). This is the fastest and most direct way you can help people right now.

So far the Relief Fund has 2,000 families seeking assistance. The money is going to packages that are being dispatched throughout Navajo Nation. The Guardian reports that each package is filled with “flour, beans, rice, canned soups, dried meat, fever and cough medicine, as well as fresh vegetables, fruit, and meat when available.” These are crucial lifelines for many Diné.

So far, the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund is at about 50 percent of its goal. You can donate directly right here.

Television may be the least essential of industries impacted by a global pandemic, but as the impact of COVID-19 stretches from early spring to summer and uncertainty looming over when work on shows can resume, traditional networks are looking for creative solutions to give people things to watch.

Sitting in front of the TV and watching shows is pretty much good, solid medical advice at this point as people do their best to practice social distancing and stay out of crowds. Those with streaming subscriptions have strained the internet as they hunker down and start Schitt’s Creek a few years too late, but those tethered to traditional cable and over-the-air antenna for their entertainment are seeing a lot of productions filmed from home or, well, not at all.

Once that backlog of taped episodes runs out, however, networks will be faced with an interesting dilemma. Will Jeopardy! simply run old episodes when those taped before COVID-19 shut down tapings catch up to their usual built-in backlog. And what will networks used to rolling out entire slates of new fall lineups do when they’ve filmed little to no episodes over the summer?

It’s a quandary The Hollywood Reporter explored on Tuesday and revealed some interesting options, including a concept reportedly floated by NBC: raid existing streaming libraries to show “new” content to TV viewers.

Should no returning or new shows be able to launch during September’s annual Premiere Week, ABC, CBS and NBC have also started conversations with their streaming counterparts to see if any originals from Disney+, Hulu, CBS All Access or even upstart Peacock may be available to air on linear networks. Should ABC, for example, look to air content from Disney+ on the linear network, the studio would likely need to ink new deals with profit participants.

CBS is also expected to harness programming from CBS All Access, Showtime and its recently re-acquired brands MTV, VH1 and Paramount Network, say sources, though affiliates could balk. “It doesn’t make affiliates happy when you promote your competition,” notes one exec, while another adds, optimistically: “The trade-off might be getting them better numbers versus standing on principle about where programming came from.”

It’s an interesting proposition, and one that does have some merit: not every consumer has both streaming services and also watches network TV. So there’s a potential to get those watching traditional television new content while also serving as an ad for the platforms on which they are usually available. Still, getting those shows there would require some considerable legal maneuvering and renegotiating some content.

As the story noted, NBC in particular has a huge window to fill with the Tokyo Summer Olympics delayed until 2021. That’s 85 hours of content to fill, and only so many game shows can fill the void. Fox, meanwhile, has a lot of animated shows that will air uninterrupted by the pandemic’s chaos. But as one source told THR’s Lesley Goldberg, it’s only a matter of time before every major network has a much bigger problem on, well, all of our hands.

Of course, if the shutdown carries on for several more months, one exec suggests much of this will be moot. “If that happens,” he says, “it’ll be all news, all the time.”

Whether we’ll see Quibi originals on over-the-air broadcasts come this fall seems uncertain right now, but with TV production essentially halted across the industry there’s a lot of holes to fill and even more uncertainty about when those holes can be filled by more traditional content.

[via THR]

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After enjoying an extended weekend, Tory Lanez and company returned for a highly-anticipated episode of Quarantine Radio on Tuesday. Taking advantage of his status and Instagram’s livestream feature, Tory has entertained fans near and far with out-of-pocket antics from both himself and the many musical guests that join the show.

From twerking contests to enjoyable appearances by Drake, Meg Thee Stallion, Bryson Tiller, 21 Savage and more, Quarantine Radio has become to go-to source for many who are confined to their respective homes. But it looks like fans may have to wait a while for its return after Instagram abruptly suspended the show following Tuesday’s episode.

The show was supported by a packed room of 350,000, surpassing the previous Quarantine Radio viewer-record of over 310,000 attendees set when Drake joined last week’s episode. But after some rather explicit content from a frequent guest of the show, Quarantine Radio came to an unexpected end as the livestream concluded out of the blue.

Sharing the message from Instagram to his fans, Tory revealed that the livestream feature on his account would be suspended until next week April 14. Refusing to go down without a fight, Tory created another account under the name @thequaratineradio in order to keep the show going.

With the new page quickly gaining more than 25,000 followers, Tory began the livestream once again, but with 100,000 viewers in attendance Instagram once again shut the party down.

A frustrated Tory voiced his complaints and retweeted those from fans after getting livestreams on two separate accounts shut down in such a short time. Luckily, Tory will soon have reason to celebrate as he is preparing to share his next project, The New Toronto 3, this Friday, April 10.

Few people are ever able to realistically ask themselves, “Should I become a professional football player or a brain surgeon?” much less actually succeed at doing both. But that’s exactly what Myron Rolle managed to do.

The native Texan, whose parents immigrated here from the Bahamas, completed his Bachelor’s degree at Florida State in less than three years. After college, he spent a year studying at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar, then returned to play as a defensive back in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans for three years. After announcing that he was leaving football in 2013, he entered medical school. He is now in his third year of residency as a neurosurgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

So, you know, a pretty average life.

Now, Rolle has found himself on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the neurosurgery floor of his hospital has been transformed into a COVID-19-only unit. Though he’s still performing emergency brain surgeries, all elective procedures have been postponed. With his schedule freed up, Rolle has volunteered to work in the surge clinic that triages new patients who come in with COVID-19 symptoms.

And interestingly enough, when talking about how he’s making the transition from neurosurgery to treating a respiratory disease, it’s his football experience—not medical training—that he refers back to.

“Obviously, neurosurgery is not directly connected to this upper respiratory illness,” Rolle told The Tennessean. “But just like in football, if you’re called to do something different that you weren’t expecting, you adjust. You adapt. They’re showing us a new formation that we didn’t see on tape? You’ve got to hunker down and get the job done. In my opinion, this novel disease is something like that. A formation, a personnel package that we haven’t seen before. We have to meet the challenge, and I’m happy to be able to join the fight.”

Rolle shared some of his experience in the coronavirus battle in late March on ESPN, as Boston was ramping up its preparedness for a surge in COVID-19 patients:

Well done, Dr. Rolle. You are a true inspiration and role model for us all.

Senior living communities have been hit especially hard by COVID-19. So Matthew McConaughey and his family hosted virtual bingo for senior living residents at The Enclave at Round Rock Senior Living in Round Rock, Texas.

The “Dallas Buyers Club” star was accompanied by his wife, Camila, his mother, Kay, and two of his children for the game. They seemed to have a blast calling out numbers and names with the seniors over ZOOM.

Virtual Bingo with Matthew McConaughey!

Ever play virtual bingo with #MatthewMcConaughey? You’d be a whole lot cooler if you did! The residents at The Enclave at Round Rock Senior Living got to…

“The generosity and kindness Matthew McConaughey and his family showed our residents was beautiful, but more importantly we were gifted with a humble message from his heart,” Spectrum Retirement Communities told Today. “And for that, we will be forever grateful.”

The seniors showed their appreciation after the game by holding up signs that thanked the Oscar-winner and his family.

The Enclave at Round Rock Senior Living on Facebook Watch

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See you on FaceTime, my dudes.

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“Random guy asked for my number at Wingstop. I gave him yours, Mom.”

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