BusinessThe Guardian'Thousands are in jeopardy': freelance theatre-makers count cost of crisis
'Thousands are in jeopardy': freelance theatre-makers count cost of crisisWhen Chester Storyhouse asked how freelancers were faring under Covid lockdown, it was left ‘shocked and enraged’ at how perilous their finances are. Now it is calling for national action
CelebrityMarie ClaireChrissy Teigen Responded to Coronavirus Test Criticism on Twitter
Teigen revealed she got tested before getting surgery.
NewsThe GuardianWhich European countries are easing travel restrictions?
Which European countries are easing travel restrictions?As some countries in Europe restart tourism, and shops, bars and attractions reopen, we round up lockdown-easing measures and restrictions country-by-country
NewsThe GuardianForced Out by Kevin Maxwell review – prejudice between police
Forced Out by Kevin Maxwell review – prejudice between policeA former detective recounts in shocking detail how he was abused by fellow officers for his race and sexuality and the dangers he faced in fighting for justice
CelebrityInStyleJustin and Hailey Bieber Threatened to Sue a Plastic Surgeon Over a TikTok Video
Justin and Hailey Bieber sent a cease and desist letter to Dr. Barrett on TikTok. The doctor accused her of have plastic surgery.
CelebrityMarie ClaireCole Sprouse Transformed His Look After Splitting From Lili Reinhart
Is that even you, Cole?!
LifestyleWoman's Day7 Ways to Set and Achieve Your Goals, According To Experts
7 is absolutely clutch.
HealthEat This, Not That!The Length of This Finger Makes You Less Likely to Die From Coronavirus
Glancing at a man's ring finger, you can usually figure out whether they are married or single. Interestingly enough, the very same finger on their left hand might help determine how their body will react to a COVID-19 infection—and even whether they live or die. According to a new study published in the journal Early Human Development, men who have longer ring fingers have a reduced chance of death from a coronavirus infection, and are more likely to face mild symptoms. While it has already been established that gender is a risk factor when it comes to the highly infectious and contagious virus, with men more likely to get seriously ill than women, this study delves deeper into what makes one man more prone to getting severely sick, while others may show no symptoms. Researchers analyzed data from 103,482 men and 83,366 women in 41 countries, measuring ring fingers in relation to index fingers. They found that a smaller "digit ratio," meaning the ring finger is longer than the index—translated to a lower fatality rate. While they did also look at the lengths of women's fingers, they found no correlation. Testosterone Plays a RoleResearchers believe this has to do with why some men have longer ring fingers than others. According to science, it all has to do with how much testosterone men are exposed to in utero—the greater the hormones, the the longer the ring finger. Testosterone is also thought to increase the concentration of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the body, which helps fight against severe coronavirus-related illnesses. "The theory is that someone with high prenatal testosterone—and a long ring finger—has greater levels of ACE2," explained one of the study's authors, John Manning of Swansea University, to The Sun. "These concentrations are large enough to oppose the virus." A Potential Worldwide BiomarkerInterestingly, researchers found this trait in countries such as Malaysia, Russia and Mexico, where the coronavirus fatality rate was lower. Men proved to have a higher digit ratio in the United Kingdom, Spain and Bulgaria—countries with a higher fatality rate. Men in countries with longer ring fingers have an average death rate of 2.7 per 100,000, while in countries where finger length is shorter, the average is significantly higher, at 4.9 per 100,000.Researchers hope their findings "may provide a biomarker for male COVID-19 susceptibility," helping "identify those for whom it would be advisable to exercise social distancing."As for you: To get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these Things You Should Never Do During the Coronavirus Pandemic.
EntertainmentThe GuardianHottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance to watch online
Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance to watch online. From live-streams of new plays to classics from the archive, here are some of the top shows online now or coming soon – this page is updated daily
EntertainmentThe GuardianClaire Foy and Matt Smith reunite to live-stream Lungs in bid to save Old Vic
Claire Foy and Matt Smith reunite to live-stream Lungs in bid to save Old Vic. Tickets will soon go on sale for a ‘socially distanced’ version of 2019 sellout to shore up theatre’s ‘seriously perilous’ finances due to the coronavirus pandemic
EntertainmentThe GuardianPaper Stages review – a theatrical DIY kit to act out at home
Paper Stages review – a theatrical DIY kit to act out at homeAvailable online Forest Fringe release a jolly bunch of downloadable plays, games and diversions to inject some performance into lockdown life
EntertainmentThe GuardianSorry for Your Trouble by Richard Ford review – stories of discontent
Sorry for Your Trouble by Richard Ford review – stories of discontentAn uneven collection about marital discord and middle-aged disappointment from one of the grand figures of contemporary American fiction
NewsThe Daily BeastDaughter of Serial ‘Witch Killer’: If He Goes Free, ‘Someone Else Will Be Dead’
One of the so-called San Francisco “witch killers”—a husband and wife accused in a murderous spree in the 1980s—is up for parole today.Michael Bear Carson, now 69 and incarcerated at California’s Mule Creek State Prison, will have the chance to face the parole board for the first time. (His spouse and fellow convicted murderer, 77-year-old Suzan Carson, was denied early release in 2015.)But even Michael Carson’s estranged daughter is joining victims’ families in demanding the deranged killer stays locked behind penitentiary walls.“I truly believe that just because he’s old does not make him safe,” Jenn Carson, Michael’s only child, told The Daily Beast. “With his lack of regret and his views and the hate he’s filled with and his demented mind—I think in a year or less someone else will be dead.”Witch-Killers’ Family: Keep Them in JailMichael canceled a parole hearing scheduled for June 2015, according to one Orange County Register report, telling prison officials: “I know this is absurd. No one is going to parole me because I will not and have not renounced my beliefs.”Those “beliefs” included the couple’s own warped, drug-addled version of Islam. At one point, they claimed they were Muslim vegetarian “religious warriors involved in a holy war against witches” and created a hit list that included former President Ronald Reagan, ex-California Gov. Jerry Brown and TV personality Johnny Carson. In 1983, they even held a jail-house press conference, wherein Michael claimed his victims were murdered for “religious reasons” to protect America’s future. He said “witchcraft, homosexuality and abortion are causes for death.”Michael described Susan, who allegedly ordered each murder, as “a yogi and a mystic with knowledge of past, present and future events.”As part of their sickening crusade, the publicity-hungry pair murdered at least three people, including 23-year-old aspiring actress Karen Barnes (who went by “Keryn” and is of no relation to Suzan), 26-year-old cannabis farmer Clark Stephens, and a 30-year-old hippie named Jon Hellyar, who’d given the couple a ride. Michael and Suzan were each sentenced to a total of 75 years to life behind bars for the three killings. Relatives of the victims say, at the time, police believed the couple were involved in at least nine other slayings.The Carsons’ latest parole hearings stem from a 2014 federal court order aimed at combating overcrowding in California prisons by permitting hearings for prisoners age 60 and older who’ve served 25 consecutive years.Lisa Long, Karen’s sister, told The Daily Beast she plans to speak out at Michael’s hearing, which will be conducted via Skype due to COVID-19.“I’m just going to say what I have to say: how dangerous these people are and that they have promised to kill more people when they get out,” Long said. “They’re extremely dangerous, it doesn’t matter how old they get.“They show no remorse,” added Long, who lives in Georgia and traveled to the Golden State five years ago for Suzan’s parole hearing. “Neither one has done anything in prison to better themselves.”Long said it’s unfair for victims’ families to have to go through these hearings. “They’ve killed several other people in other states and over in Europe,” Long claimed, adding that authorities elsewhere didn’t pursue charges back then, believing the couple would spend life in prison anyway.“Now California is reneging on the decisions they made,” Long fumed.In a statement to The Daily Beast, Jenn Carson added, “You don’t address mass incarceration by releasing the less than 1 percent of prisoners who are serial killers. My father, Michael Bear Carson, hunted humans—young beautiful innocent victims. He is a predator who will kill again. I oppose my father’s parole.”Maggie Fleming, district attorney for Humboldt County, where Stephens was killed, said in an email: “We treat all parole hearings very seriously—we cannot assume particular outcomes in advance.” She added, “In this case, the Deputy District Attorney will argue that [Michael] Carson’s release would pose an unreasonable risk to society and of course we hope the parole board agrees.”Michael was a pot-dealing, stay-at-home dad when he met Susan Thornell Barnes, an older divorcée with two kids, at a party in the late 1970s. “He was gasoline, she was a match,” Jenn Carson said.Born James Clifford Carson, the future killer got his moniker from Susan, who called him “Michael” in homage to the biblical archangel who defeated Satan. Susan, meanwhile, had replaced one “s” in her name with a “z.” (Jenn Carson previously told The Daily Beast that Susan, the daughter of a publishing executive, had schizophrenia and “was living this posh, country club lifestyle before she started using LSD and got involved with my father.”)They abandoned their families, adopted the surname Bear, and traveled Europe before they settled in San Francisco, in the Haight-Ashbury district. It was there, in 1981, that Michael and Suzan met Karen at a party and later bunked at her apartment.“Karen was a beautiful person, inside and outside,” Long told The Daily Beast. “She would help anybody she could, and that’s how she met these people. They didn’t have a place to stay and she allowed them to stay with her for two weeks. They were not her roommates.”After their sojourn, the duo broke into Karen’s apartment, bludgeoned her with a frying pan and stabbed her 13 times. Suzan had claimed the victim was a “psychic vampire” who was draining her of her health, beauty and powers.Long says her sister—as well as her mother, another sibling, and herself—have psychic abilities and ESP, or extrasensory perception.She recited a 1980 letter she received from Karen, who said she was studying under theater director Lee Sankowich. “He has an enlightened mind which makes him clearer to see through,” Karen wrote, in what Long says is a reference to her ESP.A 1984 San Francisco Examiner article underscored Karen’s “psychic powers” and quoted Karen’s mother, Barbara Miller, who claimed her daughter had predicted she’d die before the age of 30. Karen wasn’t a witch, Miller said, but a psychic. “She could dream something, and it happened. It never failed,” Miller stated.A friend of the victim told the newspaper that the Carsons “mesmerized” Karen, who “always went for the underdog.”The Carsons’ killing spree continued in 1982 with the slaying of Clark Stephens, who was shot to death before being burned and buried in chicken manure. The couple had been working on his Humboldt County marijuana farm, which was mentioned in the Netflix true-crime documentary series Murder Mountain. Michael and Suzan told cops that Clark was a “demon” and “petty witch” who “wanted to live off [Suzan’s] life.” At trial, defense lawyers unsuccessfully argued that Michael shot Clark because he sexually attacked Suzan. Netflix’s ‘Murder Mountain’: Where Marijuana Can KillIn 1983, the killers attacked 30-year-old Jon Hellyar of San Diego, who’d spotted the couple hitchhiking near Bakersfield, California. The victim had been driving north to Santa Rosa to visit friends, according to press reports at the time.“He had always hitchhiked ever since he was 16,” Hellyar’s brother, Danny, told The Daily Beast in an interview. “Anytime he saw a hitchhiker he felt compelled to give them a ride, because he always did it.”Danny Hellyar said his brother left home to join the movement of “free-loving hippies,” rejecting authority and the establishment. Jon was turning his life around and had gotten off drugs when the Carsons killed him, Danny Hellyar added.“It’s a travesty they even have a parole hearing given the nature of the murders,” he said.The fiendish pair spent the night with Jon and his pals, and Jon drove them outside of town the following day so they could continue their journey. Before they parted ways, Michael shot Jon twice in the head and fled in his pickup truck. A 1985 article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat indicated the couple claimed they “plotted the death of Hellyar because he was a witch, triple Scorpio who was making sexual advances toward Suzan Carson, punishable by death under their faith.”While Jenn Carson has recirculated a petition demanding the California parole board deny her father’s release, Long bristled at her involvement. “We family members of the actual victims are tired of Jenn Carson capitalizing off of the murders her daddy committed,” Long said.Carson, who runs a suicide-prevention program, said she was hurt by Long’s claims. The two have appeared on TV shows together, including the canceled Crime Watch Daily, to discuss the serial killings. “It’s a shame she’s angry with me,” Carson said. “I’ll respect her space and grieving.”“I just want pressure on the parole board,” Carson said. “His last letters scared me shitless.”Carson said her father has bragged about his murders and “talked about himself as though he was a political prisoner.”Her childhood memories of Michael and Suzan include her stepmother feverishly clawing her and drawing blood when she asked for a back rub.“She tried to kill me,” Carson said of Suzan. “She wanted me dead.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
LifestyleThe GuardianFrench dressing: how cooking became the new couture
French dressing: how cooking became the new couture. Lockdown has seen the fashion world pivot from frocks to food, with models and designers sharing their favourite recipes online
TechnologyThe GuardianDark Mirror by Barton Gellman review – the rise of today's surveillance state
Dark Mirror by Barton Gellman review – the rise of today's surveillance state. The author’s account of his interactions with Edward Snowden drive this deeply considered portrait of the 21st-century US-dominated surveillance operation
EntertainmentThe GuardianI watched nothing but Louis Theroux films for a whole, weird weekend – and here's what I learned
I watched nothing but Louis Theroux films for a whole, weird weekend – and here's what I learned. From documentaries about neo-Nazis to soul-searching mea culpas, you can gain a lot from concentrated time with a master
LifestyleThe Guardian'I prefer being physically distant. What happens if I don't want to return to normal life?'
'I prefer being physically distant. What happens if I don't want to return to normal life?'. Some of us are discovering benefits to life during Covid-19, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith, but that suggests you need to change what ‘normal life’ means for you
CelebrityInStyleKate Middleton Reportedly Feels "Exhausted and Trapped" in the Wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Exit
A source is coming forward and explaining that Kate Middleton feels "exhausted and trapped" now that Harry and Meghan Markle have decamped to Los Angeles and stepped away from their roles as senior royals.
CelebrityInStyleChrissy Teigen Explained Her Mystery Surgery
When Chrissy Teigen posted herself getting a COVID-19 test on Twitter, people had questions.
StyleInStyleHeidi Klum Just Called This $37 Anti-Aging Product Her “Greatest Beauty Discovery”
Heidi Klum and Kelly Ripa both use La Roche-Posay Anthelios Tinted Sunscreen, a lightweight mineral sunscreen with SPF 50.
CelebrityInStyleLady Gaga and Ariana Grande Released a Second "Rain on Me" Video
Just a few days after Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande blessed us all with the music video for "Rain on Me," the two are back at it — with a major dose of comic relief.
StyleGood Housekeeping15 Things People With Amazing Skin Do Every Day
Waking up with flawless skin is easier than you think.
CelebrityGood HousekeepingJoe Manganiello Admits Sofía Vergara Was Really Hesitant About Dating Him
"Our first date was her giving me every reason why it would never work out."
StyleInStyleThe Quarantine Hair Trend No One Saw Coming
Celebrities are fighting off boredom while quarantining by dyeing their hair pastel pink, along with other bright colors including blue and orange. See the best celebrity pastel hair colors, plus the products you need to recreate the looks at home.
CelebrityTown & CountryMeghan Markle Has "No Plans" to Return to Acting
Friends of the Sussexes address the rumors regarding Markle's career.
