| Trump tries to ease concerns of a nation increasingly rattled over coronavirus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 04:45 PM PDT  For the third time in three days, President Trump addressed the nation in an effort to address growing fears about the pandemic that has now infected about 3,200 Americans and killed more than 60.
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| Seven family members fatally shot in North Carolina Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:05 AM PDT  The suspect is among the dead, said Lt. Sara Pack, a spokeswoman for the Chatham County Sheriff's Office.
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| Just Let the Patriot Act Die, Rights Groups Tell Senate Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:00 AM PDT  It's Monday morning and three sections of the Patriot Act—or, as most on Capitol Hill prefer to call it, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)—have expired. And now that the provisions are gone, ahead of a vote expected late Monday afternoon, a coalition of some of the most left-leaning privacy groups is urging senators to let them stay gone. As in 2015, the expiration came after the Senate couldn't pass a reauthorization after factionalizing between those who want more safeguards against the government's ability to grab Americans' data and those who don't. In the absence of "meaningful reforms," coming in the way of amendments that several privacy-focused senators of both parties seek to propose, Color of Change, Demand Progress, Indivisible, and Free Press Action want senators, "in particular Democrats," to oppose the cloture bill that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will put on the floor. That's according to a letter the groups are circulating on the Hill, shared with The Daily Beast. "If these authorities can lapse to stop the consideration of any amendments, they can stay lapsed to provide for the consideration of any critical amendments," the groups write. As with all civil-libertarian coalitions on surveillance law, it's an uphill fight. McConnell has the backing of most Republicans and Democrats for the PATRIOT/FISA re-up. He seeks to pass something the House Democratic leadership already has: an extension of the three provisions through 2023. While most of the country is focused on responses to the novel coronavirus, Monday is shaping up to be a low-key important day in the surveillance debate. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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.
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| Military roadblocks, curfews: Latin America tightens coronavirus controls Posted: 16 Mar 2020 11:43 AM PDT  LIMA/ASUNCION/SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Countries around Latin America tightened restrictions on Monday to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, with Peru deploying military personnel on the streets, Costa Rica closing borders and Paraguay imposing a curfew. In Peru, President Martin Vizcarra said leaders from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil spoke via conference call on Monday to analyze the situation and coordinate actions against the pandemic.
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| New coronavirus cluster linked to South Korean church Posted: 15 Mar 2020 08:11 PM PDT  A new coronavirus cluster linked to a South Korean religious group emerged on Monday, with 46 cases at a church near Seoul that defied calls to suspend services. The Grace River Church in Seongnam, south of the capital, finally closed its doors on Sunday after nearly a third of its 135 worshippers tested positive -- including the pastor and his wife. Forty infections had been newly confirmed among the congregation, Seongnam city authorities said, adding to six previously known.
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| 5 dead, including officer and gunman, in Missouri shooting Posted: 16 Mar 2020 04:44 AM PDT  A man fired randomly from his vehicle several times while driving through a southwest Missouri city before eventually crashing into a convenience store, where he walked inside, opened fire and left five people dead, including a police officer and himself, police said Monday. The gunman's motives remain unclear, Springfield police Chief Paul Williams said at a news conference, where his voice broke as he described his officers' actions. Williams said police received reports of "multiple shooting calls throughout the city" late Sunday starting in the south and moving north through the city's east side.
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| 'Dead Sea Scrolls fragments' at Museum of the Bible are all fakes, study says Posted: 15 Mar 2020 10:00 PM PDT  * Washington museum hired experts to examine purchases * Artefacts came from controversial 'Post-2002' collectionWhen Steve Green paid millions of dollars from his family fortune for 16 fragments of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, it seemed the perfect addition to their new Museum of the Bible in Washington DC.But now experts have confirmed what has long been suspected: the artefacts proudly displayed in the nation's capital by the owners of the Hobby Lobby chain of stores are not part of one of the most significant archaeological finds of all time.They are worthless forgeries, probably made from old shoe leather.Confirmation of the hoax came in a report published online by a team of five art fraud investigators, after a two-day conference at the museum focusing on the comprehensive testing of the supposed scroll fragments was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.The experts spent six months analyzing each fragment, concluding a study born from 2017 revelations that the lucrative international trade in Dead Sea Scroll pieces was awash in suspected forgeries and indications that at least five pieces bought by Green, the museum's chairman, for an undisclosed amount ahead of its opening that year, were fake."After an exhaustive review of all the imaging and scientific analysis results, it is evident that none of the textual fragments in [the] Museum of the Bible's Dead Sea Scroll collection are authentic," wrote Colette Loll, the founder and director of Art Fraud Insights, the Washington company contracted to examine them."Moreover, each exhibit's characteristics that suggest they are deliberate forgeries created in the 20th century with the intent to mimic authentic Dead Sea Scroll fragments."The investigators outlined how they believe the deception was perpetrated and a succession of biblical scholars and the museum's curators fooled. The forgers, they suggest, used Roman-era leather, possibly from boots or sandals, to imitate parchment, and attempted to recreate the handwriting of ancient Hebrew scribes.Using microscopes and a variety of other scientific techniques including chemical analysis, the team found inconsistencies such as the presence of a shiny coating suspected to be animal glue, which wouldn't have existed at the time, and clues in the spread, position and pooling of ink.There was also evidence that writing was added after attempts were made to artificially age the surface.The exposure of the fakes does not affect the authenticity of the genuine Dead Sea Scrolls. The oldest known pieces of the original Hebrew bible, dating from about 400BC to 300AD, were discovered rolled in clay pots in caves in Palestine's West Bank in the 1940s.But it casts doubt on almost every piece of the so-called Post-2002 fragments, a collection of about 70 items that entered the market in the early years of this century after William Kando, the son of an antiquities dealer who bought the original scrolls from Bedouin shepherds seven decades ago, claimed to have opened a family vault in Switzerland.According to National Geographic, Green invested heavily between 2009 and 2014 to acquire 16 of those pieces, as he built a collection for the family's showpiece museum.Until this weekend the scrolls were displayed under soft lighting in the museum's Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. They will be removed during its closure for the duration of the coronavirus crisis, beginning on Monday."Notwithstanding the less than favorable results, we have done what no other institution with post-2002 fragments has done," said Dr Jeffrey Kloha, the chief curatorial officer."The sophisticated and costly methods employed to discover the truth about our collection could be used to shed light on other suspicious fragments and perhaps even be effective in uncovering who is responsible for these forgeries."
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| How the Navy's small craft action teams defend US warships at sea Posted: 16 Mar 2020 02:43 PM PDT  Small craft action team members have to know how to use all the ship's mounted guns and when to use them.
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| Sanders says first thing needed in coronavirus pandemic is to 'shut this president up' Posted: 15 Mar 2020 05:28 PM PDT  During the Democratic debate, Sen. Sanders said the first thing needed to help the U.S. with the coronavirus pandemic is to "shut this president up right now."
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| Trump admits coronavirus is looking 'very bad,' economy may be headed toward recession Posted: 16 Mar 2020 01:24 PM PDT  President Trump is starting to sound worried about the coronavirus.During a White House press briefing on the pandemic, the president — who has faced criticism over what many believe to be his casual response to COVID-19 — said "this is a very bad one" because of its "sort of record-setting type contagion," and he's even discussed the severity of it with one of his sons.> Trump says he's actually spoken with his son (didn't say which one) about this, who has asked him "how bad is this," and he has responded, "It's bad. It's bad."> > Very much a change in tone and substance from Trump so far today.> > — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 16, 2020He also sounded more pessimistic about the economy than usual, acknowledging that "it may be" heading toward a recession.Trump also addressed a few other key questions during the briefing — such as why the House coronavirus bill exempts companies with 500 employees or more from the paid sick leave requirement, to which he replied the Senate may address changing that when they vote on the bill.He also said he expects restrictions on daily life, like the government's recommendation people limit gatherings to no more than 10 people, to be the "new normal" until July or August or even later, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stepped in to provide a little clarity that those specific guidelines will be reviewed after a 15 day trial. The July or August timeframe, he said, applies to the effects the virus may have on Americans more generally.More stories from theweek.com Coronavirus is exposing America's shameful selfish streak Hotels and casinos along the Las Vegas Strip are closing their doors due to coronavirus Global airlines likely to be bankrupt by end of May, aviation consultant warns
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| Peter Navarro Snaps When CNN Anchor Asks if Trump to Blame for Stock Losses: ‘Let’s Not Do That’ Posted: 16 Mar 2020 08:40 AM PDT  White House trade adviser Peter Navarro did not react well when confronted by CNN anchor Poppy Harlow on Monday morning over sinking stock markets in the wake of a full-blown coronavirus pandemic, insisting that now wasn't the time to talk about whether the president's response to the crisis was causing markets to plummet.Appearing on CNN just as the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened Monday morning with a 10 percent drop that caused trading to be temporarily halted—something that's been happening more frequently lately—Navarro first attempted to sidestep questions on whether America was now in a recession.After Navarro boasted about everything he and the White House coronavirus task force were doing to try to mitigate the spread of the virus amid mass cancellations and shutdowns, adding that he has the "full force of American business" working with the government, Harlow stopped him short."I hear you, Peter, but the Dow is off 2,200 points, the S&P; is off 8 percent," she exclaimed. "You're a top economist at the White House. Are we headed into a recession? I appreciate the efforts you just outlined, but this is freaking people out, Peter!""Look, here's what's critical now, Poppy," Navarro replied. "It's the policy response, and we have to have four different vectors coming in all at once in a matter of days, not weeks.""But Peter, what can you do? The market's off 2,000 points!" Harlow shot back.The CNN anchor would go on to reiterate that the "market is not responding well at all" to the federal government's recent actions to fight COVID-19, which recently included another Federal Reserve rate cut and insertion of liquidity into the credit markets. Harlow further noted that during their conversation, she couldn't track the market movements because trading had been halted for 15 minutes."Finally for the message from the president over the weekend is that this virus is under tremendous control, but Dr. Fauci leading this effort says the worst is yet to come and the cases have doubled over the weekend, Peter," Harlow eventually stated. "Markets are looking for leadership. Leadership is prescriptive. The markets here are reacting also to the president and his words. Is he doing enough to put confidence in the market by saying something that's not under control is?"Navarro, who has repeatedly credited Trump when the stock markets have surged and has literally said he's "never disappointed in my president," admonished Harlow for her question."Poppy, let's not do that kind of thing right now," he huffed."Peter, it's not doing that kind of thing," she answered. "The market is hanging on his words. You know this."While stocks have been plunging over the past few weeks over fears that the coronavirus will cause a global economic recession or even depression, the president bragged about the one-day Dow rally on Friday, sending off autographed stock graphs to loyalists such as Fox Business host Lou Dobbs.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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.
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| 62 Home Office Ideas That Will Inspire Productivity Posted: 16 Mar 2020 12:01 PM PDT |
| U.S. Senate awaits House coronavirus bill, Schumer proposes $750 billion more in emergency spending Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:29 AM PDT  Even as the U.S. Senate grappled over what to do with a wide-ranging coronavirus economic stimulus bill passed by the House of Representatives, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Monday urged an additional $750 billion to address the crisis. "We will need big, bold, urgent federal action to deal with this crisis," Schumer said in a statement outlining a plan to fund a range of emergency operations, including boosting hospital capacity, expanding jobless benefits, delivering help to small businesses and funding childcare for healthcare workers. At the opposite end of the political spectrum from Schumer, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas also called for a more aggressive response to the outbreak, saying tax breaks in the House-passed bill were not structured in a way to help employees of businesses that have to shut down.
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| Southwest cutting 'at least' 20% of flights as planes half empty from coronavirus Posted: 16 Mar 2020 03:07 PM PDT  Southwest Airlines said it has had several days of more cancellations than bookings and that planes are flying half empty in recent days.
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| Satoshi Uematsu: Japanese man who killed 19 disabled people sentenced to death Posted: 15 Mar 2020 11:23 PM PDT  Satoshi Uematsu said disabled people who were unable to communicate well had no human rights.
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| Joe Biden's pledge to name a woman as running mate fires speculation Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:09 AM PDT  Stacey Abrams and Kamala Harris lead list of veep contenders but Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren not ruled outJoe Biden has long been expected to pick a woman or a minority figure – or someone who is both – as his pick for vice-president, should he win the Democratic nomination to face Donald Trump in November.During his debate with Bernie Sanders in Washington on Sunday, the former vice-president made it official. He would name a woman as his running mate, he said – and also put an African American woman on the supreme court."I'll pick a woman to be vice-president," Biden said. "There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow."The California senator Kamala Harris and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams are two names most commonly mentioned in Democratic circles.Harris ran against Biden in the primary and landed memorable blows on him in an early debate, but endorsed him after dropping out. Neither she nor Abrams has said they would turn down an offer to join a Biden ticket.However, Biden's comments during the debate, and those of senior campaign officials in a post-debate call with reporters, made it clear that the likes of the Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, also former rivals for the nomination, could also be selected. The hard criterion is that the pick will be a woman who both works well with Biden and balances the ticket."He has to balance out who he is," said Steve Phillips, a top party donor and the founder of Democracy in Color. "He's an old white man so logically he should have a young woman of color to balance the ticket out."He will have some strength with some of the white suburban voters but he's going to need turnout with young people, that was the cornerstone of the Obama-Biden ticket. So if there's one thing people are not about Joe Biden, it's enthusiastic. But if he has someone like a Stacey Abrams on his ticket, the level of enthusiasm there would just be dramatically different."Phillips said his organization and a number of others had been discussing sending a letter to Biden and Sanders, urging them to commit to a person of color.Biden advisers, as any advisers would with the nomination still to be won, are loth to go into more detail about their candidate's thinking. But in the post-debate call, Symone Sanders, a senior adviser, said: "He has said that the qualification for vice-president for him would be someone that is simpatico with him, as he would like to say."She added, unequivocally: "It will be a woman."Abrams has arguably been the most open about her willingness to join Biden on the ticket. She met with the former vice-president in the early days of the campaign, as his advisers floated the idea of naming a running mate early."Leader Abrams would be honored to be asked to join the ticket," Seth Bringman, a spokesman for Fair Fight, Abrams' voting rights group, said in a statement after Sunday's debate, referring to her former position in the Georgia state house."For now, she is focused on leading national efforts to stop voter suppression and ensure an accurate census."Biden's comments ignited a new level of speculation. On Monday, the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who is seen as a rising star in the Democratic party, said she did not expect to join Biden in the general election.Biden endorsed Whitmer during her 2018 campaign and on Monday she said she would "help him vet and make sure he's got a great running mate"."It is not going to be me but I'm going to have a hand in helping him make sure that he has got a roundabout ticket that can win," Whitmer said.Picking a woman cuts out contenders including Cory Booker, a senator from New Jersey, and the former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, both of whom mounted their own presidential campaigns.During Sunday's debate, Sanders was also asked about his thinking. The Vermont senator's path to the nomination is increasingly narrow but it has not closed entirely. After digressing, he said he was moving in the direction of picking a woman."In all likelihood, I will," Sanders said. "For me, it's not just nominating a woman, it is making sure that we have a progressive woman and there are progressive women out there. So my very strong tendency is to move in that direction."
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| Virus toll in Iran climbs as lockdowns deepen across Mideast Posted: 15 Mar 2020 11:55 PM PDT  Iran reported another 129 fatalities from the new coronavirus on Monday, the largest one-day rise in deaths since it began battling the Middle East's worst outbreak, which has claimed more than 850 lives and infected a number of senior officials in the country. Businesses in Iran's capital remained open, however, even as other countries in the region grounded planes, sealed their borders and moved toward full lockdowns. The divergent approaches adopted by local authorities reflect continued uncertainty over how to slow the spread of a virus that has infected around 180,000 people worldwide and caused more than 700 deaths.
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| In France, more than half of coronavirus patients in intensive care are under 60, suggesting it's not just the elderly at risk Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:32 AM PDT  The number of seriously ill coronavirus patients under 60 in France is out of kilter with the theory that younger people are less at risk.
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| An influencer filmed herself licking a plane toilet seat for 'clout' on TikTok as part of a 'coronavirus challenge' Posted: 16 Mar 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Ava Louise posted the video on Twitter, and it shows her lick the seat then give the camera a pout and two peace signs.
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| Iran closes key religious sites as virus death toll hits 853 Posted: 16 Mar 2020 11:26 AM PDT  Iran on Monday closed four key Shiite pilgrimage sites to stop a coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 850 people out of nearly 15,000 cases recorded in the Islamic republic. The holy shrines of Imam Reza in Mashhad, Fatima Masumeh in Qom and Shah Abdol-Azim in Tehran were shut until further notice "upon the orders of the anti-coronavirus headquarters and the health minister," state television said. Qom's Jamkaran mosque also said it would close its doors, the official IRNA news agency reported.
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| 368 dead in 24 hours in Italy as Europe shuts down to slow the growing crisis Posted: 16 Mar 2020 11:34 AM PDT  "After the coronavirus, nothing will be as before," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tells the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
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| Former Chinese property exec who criticised Xi over virus handling is missing, friends say Posted: 14 Mar 2020 09:45 PM PDT |
| Lone GOP congressman delays House coronavirus relief bill from moving to Senate Posted: 16 Mar 2020 11:24 AM PDT  The House was expected to make technical corrections to the bipartisan measure, passed by the House early Saturday, on Monday, but Gohmert is insisting on reading them.
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| Past Perfect Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:00 AM PDT |
| ‘No Words’: Seven Family Members Found Dead in Suspected Murder-Suicide Posted: 16 Mar 2020 01:54 PM PDT  A North Carolina man killed six of his family members over the weekend before turning the gun on himself, authorities said Monday.The Chatham County Sheriff's Office said Larry Don Ray, 66, fatally shot six relatives at multiple homes on the same property Sunday afternoon in Moncure.The six family members who died have been identified as Jeanie Ray, 67; Helen Mason, 93; Ellis Mansfield, 73; Lisa Mansfield, 54; John Paul Sanderford, 41; and Nicole Sanderford, 39. Two teenage sons who lost their parents in the shooting survived the slaying, the sheriff's office said. Authorities do not believe the event was random, but are still working to determine a motive behind the grisly incident that occurred in the unincorporated community about 30 minutes outside of Raleigh with a population of just over 700. Mom: Daughter and I Killed Our Family in Murder-Suicide Pact"Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the victims of this terrible tragedy," Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson said in a statement obtained by The Daily Beast. "To lose any family member is devastating, but to lose several at once to unexpected violence is unimaginable. There are no words to describe the sense of loss we feel as a community in the wake of this terrible event."Authorities said deputies responded to a call of "shots fired" shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. The seven people were found shot in multiple homes around the property. Roberson described the community as "quiet" and "close-knit, where violence is out of the norm." "In Chatham County, when one of us hurts, we all hurt, and we pull together," he said. "We can't undo what has happened, but we can surround this family and each other with love and support as we decide where to go from here."'Killing on Demand': German Crossbow Mystery May Be Murder-Suicide PactAccording to The News & Observer, several family members gathered Monday morning across the street from the scene."Right now, they're still in shock, and they don't want to talk to anybody," Mark Childress told the local paper, adding that he was there to support his brother and his brother's family. Childress told the outlet that his brother's son-in-law, mother-in-law, and daughter were among the victims in Sunday's slaying.The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is also assisting with the criminal probe.If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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.
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| A Navy sailor aboard a warship has tested presumptive positive for the coronavirus for the first time Posted: 15 Mar 2020 07:14 PM PDT  In a first for the service, a US Navy sailor aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer has tested 'presumptive positive' for the coronavirus.
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| Biden Promises Zero Deportations in First 100 Days of Office Posted: 16 Mar 2020 06:08 AM PDT  Pressed on his immigration record as vice president, Joe Biden pledged Sunday that "no one will be deported at all" during his first 100 days in office, and that subsequent deportations would only be "commissions of felonies.""The reason is it's about uniting families, it's about making sure that we can both be a nation of immigrants as well as a nation that is decent," Biden explained to Univision anchor Ilia Calderon. He also said the Obama administration's approach to immigration "took much too long to get it right," despite calling Democratic criticisms of Obama's immigration record "bizarre" in August.President Trump's 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale said the Sunday comments made Biden "a train wreck on illegal immigration."> Joe Biden is a train wreck on illegal immigration and would harm national security.> > He'd have ZERO deportations for the first 100 days INCLUDING CRIMINALS and after that deport only felons.> > Trashes the rule of law and makes us less safe.> > Insanity! > pic.twitter.com/MCUSAt83Wo> > -- Brad Parscale - Text TRUMP to 88022 (@parscale) March 16, 2020Biden first floated the 100 days moratorium during a February town hall in Las Vegas."Some of you are going to get mad at me with this, but nobody is going to be deported in my first 100 days until we get through the point we find out the only rationale for deportation will be whether or not, whether or not you have committed a felony while in the country," he said.Biden also told Univision anchor Jorge Ramos in February that the Obama administration had made "a big mistake" with its deportation policy, after defending it previously.The former vice president has tacked to the left in his immigration rhetoric in recent months, saying in January that he would fire any ICE agent who tried to deport an undocumented immigrant not charged with a felony, and added that "I don't count drunk driving as a felony."Ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Biden said that most undocumented immigrants currently protected from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are "more American than most Americans."
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| Ethiopia's missing students: Families' pain and the unsolved mystery Posted: 15 Mar 2020 05:08 PM PDT  The government has been slow to resolve the issue linked to the country's ethnic tensions.
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| Turkey’s TAI sells six Anka-S drones to Tunisia Posted: 16 Mar 2020 06:40 AM PDT  Turkish procurement officials say TAI had been awaiting a deal with the Tunisian government for more than a year to sell its Anka-S drone.
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| Russia builds coronavirus hospital in Moscow as cases rise Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:16 AM PDT |
| With the U.S. economy in trouble, Congress seeks to put coronavirus relief bill on a faster track Posted: 16 Mar 2020 06:13 PM PDT  Amid rising fears about the economy, the House passed some changes to the sweeping coronavirus relief bill. The Senate is poised to take it up.
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| Paid sick leave could be a sticking point as Senate considers coronavirus relief bill Posted: 16 Mar 2020 06:35 AM PDT  The Senate is expected this week to pass a coronavirus relief bill that has President Trump's approval, but it could potentially be held up a bit.The House of Representatives early on Saturday passed an economic relief bill negotiated between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trump said he "fully" supports the bill, which provides free coronavirus testing and requires companies with fewer than 500 employees provide paid sick leave. The Senate is expected to pass the coronavirus bill after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) canceled a planned recess. But Bloomberg reports that action could be delayed "up to several days" as the bill is "running into resistance from some Republicans worried about the impact of a temporary paid sick leave provision on small businesses."Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) is one of those senators objecting paid sick leave provision, saying he hopes the Senate passes a "bill that does more good than harm — or, if it won't, pass nothing at all." Bloomberg notes that "Senate rules allow any one senator to delay a final vote for days." Mnuchin said over the weekend said "we'll work with the Senate on whatever minor changes we need."In addition, Bloomberg reports the House has to "pass technical corrections to the bill, which was drafted on the fly," which "adds another wrinkle that could slow final action in the Senate."More stories from theweek.com Coronavirus is exposing America's shameful selfish streak Hotels and casinos along the Las Vegas Strip are closing their doors due to coronavirus Global airlines likely to be bankrupt by end of May, aviation consultant warns
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| Native American tribes brace for coronavirus: 'It's going to be a test' Posted: 15 Mar 2020 02:56 AM PDT  "We need to do everything we can to make sure that Native Americans don't get left behind," Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said.
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| Philippine leader tells tens of millions to stay home in virus fight Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:21 AM PDT  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered about half the country's population to stay home for the next month in a drastic bid Monday to curb the rising number of new coronavirus cases. If fully enforced, the sweeping order would mean most of the 55 million people on the main island of Luzon, which includes the capital Manila, would be housebound. Duterte said he backed the restrictions because a quarantine imposed Sunday on Manila's 12 million people was riddled with exceptions that had failed to keep people away from one another.
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| The Best Hiking Socks for Summer Treks Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:33 AM PDT |
| Biden wins Washington primary, capturing 5 out of 6 states Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:34 PM PDT  Joe Biden has been declared the winner of last week's Democratic presidential primary in Washington state, giving him victories in five out of six states that voted March 10. After nearly a week of counting votes, the former vice president on Monday held onto a small lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders that turned out to be insurmountable. Washington was a state that Sanders had been hoping to win.
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| Mitt Romney tweets coronavirus advice that would force senators to stay at home Posted: 16 Mar 2020 09:01 AM PDT  As the US Senate prepares to take up a huge coronavirus emergency package, Utah's Mitt Romney has tweeted stringent guidelines for older Americans worried about contracting the virus — advice that would apply to a good many of his colleagues.Credited to "a nurse friend", Mr Romney's advice includes several widely advised recommendations: "practice strict quarantine", "prepare your own meals at home", and working from home where possible.
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| Andrew Gillum enters rehab after depression and alcohol abuse Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:16 AM PDT  Andrew Gillum, a former candidate for Florida governor, has announced he's entering a rehab facility after suffering from depression and alcohol abuse.
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| Crowded, poor South Asia sees steady rise in coronavirus cases Posted: 16 Mar 2020 02:08 AM PDT  ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Reuters) - Health authorities across South Asia reported rising tallies of coronavirus cases on Monday, raising the prospect of rapidly spreading outbreaks overwhelming poor medical facilities in a region that is home to a quarter of the world's people. South Asia has been relatively lightly hit by the virus compared with neighbors to the east, like China and South Korea, and to the west like Iran and parts of Europe. "As compared to developed countries like the United States and China it will be difficult to (enforce) social distancing, especially in slum areas," said Giridhara R Babu, an epidemiologist at the Indian Institute of Public Health in the city of Bengaluru.
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| Fauci: Americans are 'going to have to hunker down significantly more' to fight coronavirus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 08:33 AM PDT  "I think we should really be overly aggressive and get criticized for overreacting," Fauci said.
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| Trump: Avoid 'discretionary travel,' but no restrictions on travel within the United States Posted: 16 Mar 2020 01:42 PM PDT  White House officials have repeatedly said restrictions on travel within the United States are under consideration. When will they come?
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| Hospitals in San Francisco and other cities may ban pregnant people from having visitors during labor because of the coronavirus, including spouses and partners Posted: 16 Mar 2020 01:15 PM PDT  San Francisco's public health department issued a mandate that all visitors were banned from hospitals. Other cities have followed suit.
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| Trump licks his chops as Biden veers left on sanctuary cities, fracking Posted: 16 Mar 2020 03:06 PM PDT  The former VP is trying to straddle the line between pragmatism and progressivism as he closes in on the nomination.
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| 'I literally cried': parents grapple with impact of US school closures Posted: 16 Mar 2020 08:35 AM PDT  New York City schools close until at least 20 April affecting families who desperately need schools for childcare and as a source of foodThe closure of New York City public schools until at least 20 April due to the coronavirus outbreak, announced on Sunday, has underscored difficulties faced by millions of parents across the entire US.While many recognize that Covid-19 needs to be controlled, parents and advocates find themselves not only grappling with daytime childcare challenges but worrying about the welfare of students who rely upon schools for far more than education.Thirty-three states have decided to shutter public schools due to coronavirus concerns, Education Week reported. In addition to district closures, a minimum of 64,000 public schools have shut their doors or plan to close.These closures have impacted a minimum of 32.5 million pupils, Education Week said, out of 50.8 million students at 98,277 public schools in the US. This means more than 60% of students have been affected in some way. Many private schools have also closed.New York City's public school system claims to have 1,126,501 students, making it the largest such district in the US and providing a sense of scale when it comes to the impact on families who desperately need schools for childcare and even a source of food. In addition to free meals, New York City public schools provide crucial services for students with a wide range of needs, among them speech, physical and disability-related therapy programs and counseling."As we learn more about Covid-19 every day, we are keeping every possible option on the table to keep New Yorkers safe," Mayor Bill de Blasio said."That's why we are asking the people of our city to make hard choices as we introduce more restrictive measures to create greater social distancing – including the temporary closure of our school buildings. We all need to change our lives – in ways both big and small – to keep each other safe."New York City public schools will launch remote learning on 23 March. The 300,000 students without internet-connected devices will receive one to complete schoolwork and 25,000 iPads are scheduled to be distributed next week. Students will be able to pick up meals, De Blasio's office said.Advocates for Children of New York, a group defending low-income students' rights, reported last October that 114,085 schoolchildren in the city are homeless, or 10%."While we are not questioning the decision to close schools to address this public health crisis, remote learning is likely to be a struggle for many families, including families with children who need more support to learn successfully," Kim Sweet, the group's executive director, said in a statement."It will be important for schools to make extra effort to ensure that remote learning benefits all students."The United Federation of Teachers, which had slammed De Blasio when he kept schools open, lauded the decision to close."The administration has made the right decision: closing the schools is a critical step to reduce the spread of the virus and to help preserve the health of our students, their families and our staff," the UFT president, Michael Mulgrew, said.Some parents are worried about what will happen to their children now."I literally cried – I was crying all afternoon," said Grisel Cardona, a mother of three and parent advocate in the Bronx, of the news of the closures.Cardona's nine-year-old son has autism, her seven-year-old daughter has special needs and her two-year-old son attends an "early intervention" program where he gets feeding therapy as he cannot chew anything large, she said."I cried because what went through my head was: 'What do I tell my son?' We have a routine, everyday, that we follow. We're not going to get up at six in the morning to get dressed and go on the bus."There's no school, this is why his question to me was: 'What's the coronavirus? [But] I take a bath everyday. Am I going to die?'"We both cried because it's scary. He's like, 'Mommy, this is dangerous. What are we going to do?' It was so emotional, then I kept thinking about his services. What am I going to do?"Children will regress if they don't get the services that they need."The US Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Services, which administers the National School Lunch Program, said it was taking steps to ensure that children affected by school closures still receive meals.The program provides low-cost or free lunches to schoolchildren in public and not-for-profit private schools, as well as residential childcare institutions, on school days.A spokesperson for the USDA said officials there have issued waivers, so meals can be served outside of a "congregate" setting. All 50 states, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico, have received such approvals in response to the public health crisis.One New York City parent who did not want to be named, whose 14-year-old son attends a private school which is now closed, said she supported school closures but understood the difficulties for parents."I think that there's a fine line between both decisions, because on the one hand, you are looking out for health and public safety [and] on the other hand, you want to continue your son, your child's education, so there's two different sides of the argument," the parent said."But, I always believe it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to health, so I'm glad they made that decision."Still, the parent said, "there are a lot of things that public officials have to figure out."
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