Atmosphere during the 92nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, on February 9. Lionel Hahn/Abaca/Sipa USA
Film's biggest night is being rescheduled for the first time in 40 years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Monday that the 93rd Oscars will no longer take place on February 28 as planned.
Instead, the board of governors said the show will take place on April 25, 2021.
"For over a century, movies have played an important role in comforting, inspiring, and entertaining us during the darkest of times. They certainly have this year. Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our Awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone's control," said Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson in a joint statement.
In addition to the delay, the Academy agreed to extend the eligibility window for films, which usually corresponds to the calendar year. For the 2021 Oscars, the new window will be extended until February 28, 2021.
2:25 p.m. ET, June 15, 2020
New York AG asks Apple, Google to prohibit contact-tracing apps from abusing people's data
From CNN’s Brian Fung
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks to the press in Washington in November 2019. Stefani Reynold/CNP/Sipa USA
New York Attorney General Letitia James called on Apple and Google today to prohibit third-party contact tracing apps from abusing consumers’ data.
In letters to the two companies, James said that contact tracing apps created by third parties do not appear to be held to the same standard as apps that work in conjunction with Apple and Google’s own Bluetooth-based Exposure Notification protocol, which must be designed under strict specifications.
"It is imperative that apps that use sensitive health information be developed only by public health agencies, to ensure that appropriate protections are in place and to provide accountability,” James wrote to the companies.
James urged the companies to take concrete steps to safeguard the data gathered by third-party contact tracing apps, including by requiring apps to disclose whether they participate in the exposure notification program and barring them from using targeted advertising.
2:19 p.m. ET, June 15, 2020
GOP congressman tests positive for coronavirus
From CNN's Haley Byrd
US Rep. Tom Rice attends a budget hearing in February 2018. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images
South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice announced on Facebook that he is recovering from coronavirus after he and his family contracted it recently.
Rice said his case has been mild, with symptoms including a low fever and mild cough.
"I never stopped eating or drinking or working or moving,” he wrote. "The only bad thing is I have completely lost sense of taste and smell. CAN’T TASTE BACON!!!"
5:00 p.m. ET, June 15, 2020
Kellyanne Conway says she hopes Tulsa rally attendees will adhere to "the reasonable guidelines"
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, on May 7. Stefani Reynolds/Pool/Sipa USA
Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said the campaign will conduct temperature checks and give out face masks and hand sanitizer at the President’s upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as Tulsa health officials express skepticism over whether this is the right time for a large campaign event.
“I saw the campaign tweeted out they’ve got about a million RSVPs, that’s quite extraordinary,” Conway said at the White House Monday. “And that they’re doing temperature checks, giving everybody a face mask, and hand sanitizer.”
“It sounds like the campaign is taking steps that comport with what the CDC has said, and possibly even Tulsa, or state of Oklahoma guidelines,” she continued. “I’d have to look at that, see what phase they’re in. They’re pretty well along there in Oklahoma.”
Conway called those decisions “good,” and “a recognition that there are guidelines in place that should be followed.”
“We certainly hope that the people in Oklahoma will adhere to all the reasonable guidelines,” she added.
Some context: Earlier Monday, Principal Deputy Communications Director for the Trump campaign Erin Perrine told Fox Business that “the campaign takes the safety and health of the American people very seriously,” and would be “taking precautions to make this a safe rally for rallygoers.”
CNN reported Sunday the director of the Tulsa Health Department said he wishes President Trump would postpone his planned campaign rally set to take place there on Saturday, citing concerns about a significant increase in local cases of Covid-19.
In an interview with the local newspaper, Tulsa World, Dr. Bruce Dart said, "I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern as it is today."
The city's health department on Friday said it recorded its highest daily increase of coronavirus cases to date.
Trump on not postponing Tulsa rally: There won't be an empty seat
1:49 p.m. ET, June 15, 2020
2020 US Open of Surfing canceled due to Covid-19 concerns
From CNN's Kevin Dotson
Sage Erickson of the United States competes during the women's final of Vans US Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, California last year, on August 4, 2019. Qian Weizhong/Xinhua/Getty Images
The 2020 US Open of Surfing has been canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, tournament organizers announced Monday.
The annual event was to have taken place in early August at Huntington Beach, California. Tournament organizers vow the event will return in 2021.
"The decision to cancel was made after careful consideration, with the health and safety of fans, athletes, staff, and the local community remaining the top priority," their statement said.
1:54 p.m. ET, June 15, 2020
Report: Several Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans test positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Wayne Sterling
A Dallas Cowboys helmet is seen during a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, on November 17, 2019. Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Several Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans players have tested positive for coronavirus, sources tell NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
According to the report, none of the players were in the teams' facilities and both teams followed proper health protocols.
The Cowboys tell CNN in a statement on Monday, "Due to federal and local privacy laws, we are unable to provide information regarding the personal health of any of our employees."
CNN has reached out to the Texans and the NFL for confirmation.
1:42 p.m. ET, June 15, 2020
WHO continues to review its use of hydroxychloroquine in Solidarity Trial
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
A bottle of hydroxychloroquine and pills sit on a counter at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 20. George Frey/AFP/Getty Images
The World Health Organization is still reviewing the use of hydroxychloroquine in its Solidarity Trial, a multi-country clinical study of Covid-19 treatment options.
Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, said during a briefing in Geneva on Monday that the executive group reviewing the Solidarity Trial is meeting this week.
"We’ll come back to you on Wednesday with an update on those deliberations and where we go from here," Ryan said.
In May, WHO temporarily paused the hydroxychloroquine arms of its Solidarity Trial due to concerns surrounding the drug's safety and in order to review its own data. Then earlier this month, after that review, WHO announced that it would resume studying hydroxychloroquine as a potential Covid-19 treatment in the trial.
Yet in the days following, a separate trial in the United Kingdom, called the Recovery Trial, announced plans to stop using hydroxychloroquine in its study due to there being "no evidence of benefit," according to the researchers. That spurred WHO to conduct another review of the hydroxychloroquine arm in its Solidarity Trial, which is still underway.
1:30 p.m. ET, June 15, 2020
Vermont extends state of emergency to July 15
From CNN’s Pamela Wessmann
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott speaks during a press conference in Montpelier, Vermont, on March 13. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur/The Times Argus/AP
Vermont’s Gov. Phil Scott extended the state’s Covid-19 emergency order to July 15.
Scott explained the order is just a vehicle to manage their response and to help “lift things when the time is right.”
He explained if data continues to show the state is moving in the right direction, the openings will continue.
Vermont’s Commissioner of Health, Dr. Mark Levine, addressed the recent outbreak in Winooski and Burlington. He said he thinks they are doing a nice job with containment, but, “I want to look at targeted testing this week, in both Burlington and Winooski, before I put closure to the outbreak.”
Scott noted that campgrounds will be open today at 100% capacity, up from 50% capacity.
1:03 p.m. ET, June 15, 2020
At least 28 coronavirus cases linked to West Virginia church
From CNN's Shawn Nottingham
Officials in West Virginia are monitoring a Covid-19 cluster tied to a Lewisburg-area church, according to Gov. Jim Justice.
Justice said at least 28 people associated with Graystone Baptist Church have tested positive.
The National Guard arrived to decontaminate the church on Sunday, and additional testing has also been added in the area, according to Justice.
