| Trump downplays coronavirus threat again, even as number of cases in U.S. surges Posted: 23 Mar 2020 05:13 PM PDT  President Trump continued to downplay the exponential spread of the coronavirus in the United States on Monday, comparing the rising death toll to the number of Americans killed in car crashes and by the seasonal flu.
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| "I hope to be roaming outside freely and without a face mask very soon," says an American quarantined in Beijing Posted: 23 Mar 2020 04:21 PM PDT  Patrick, who is an American citizen, returned back to his current home in Beijing recently and per law is being quarantined in his apartment for 14 days since his arrival back to China. "Right now, [I'm] keeping my spirits up and enjoying it. I hope to be roaming outside freely and without a face mask very soon."
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| CDC should be leading the US response to coronavirus, former director says Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:42 PM PDT  The United States' response to the COVID-19 epidemic is haphazard, uncoordinated and sorely missing the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control.
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| Hawley, Stefanik Introduce Bill to Investigate China for Coronavirus Coverup Posted: 24 Mar 2020 08:09 AM PDT  Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) and Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) on Tuesday introduced a bicameral resolution to condemn the Chinese Communist Party for its initial handling of the coronavirus outbreak, and called for an international investigation to determine how the coverup hastened the emergence of a global pandemic."Since day one, the Chinese Communist Party intentionally lied to the world about the origin of this pandemic. The CCP was aware of the reality of the virus as early as December but ordered laboratories to destroy samples and forced doctors to keep silent," Hawley, who first called for an investigation last week, said in a press release."There is no doubt that China's unconscionable decision to orchestrate an elaborate coverup of the wide-ranging and deadly implications of coronavirus led to the death of thousands of people, including hundreds of Americans and climbing," Stefanik added. "This Resolution calls for China to provide compensation for the harm, loss, and destruction their arrogance brought upon the rest of the world. Simply put China must, and will, be held accountable."The bill calls the international community to "quantify the harm caused" by China's actions and to "design a mechanism for delivering compensation" from the CCP to those affected.Reports have detailed how Wuhan laboratories in December discovered that coronavirus was related to the deadly SARS virus which broke out in 2002-2003, but were subsequently gagged by government authorities, who ordered them to turn over or destroy evidence.China has also promoted a propaganda campaign to push a conspiracy theory that the virus originated in the U.S., which experts have called "a counteroffensive" and "a kind of blame-shifting."
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| Taiwan says WHO ignored its coronavirus questions at start of outbreak Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:50 AM PDT  Taiwan accused the World Heath Organization of ignoring its questions at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, part of what it has long described as a pattern that puts it at risk because of Chinese pressure to exclude it from international bodies. Taiwan is barred from membership in the WHO under pressure from China, which views it as a province rather than a state. It responded early to the coronavirus outbreak in China, and has had notable success in limiting contagion so far, with just two deaths and 215 cases.
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| Bill Gates said the US missed its chance to avoid a coronavirus shutdown and recommended businesses stay closed for 6 to 10 weeks Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:25 PM PDT  Gates admitted a mandated shutdown could be "disastrous" for the economy, but said the US didn't act fast enough to avoid it.
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| As coronavirus cases increase, Defense Secretary Mark Esper places new restriction on Pentagon Posted: 23 Mar 2020 12:40 PM PDT  Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday he is again raising the protection condition on the Pentagon, which will further restrict access to one of the world's largest office buildings. The Pentagon will now be at Level C, the second highest of the military's five health protection conditions.
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| As New York faces coronavirus 'bullet train,' experts warn of challenges ahead Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:39 PM PDT  Gov. Andrew Cuomo painted a dire forecast of the outbreak Tuesday morning, saying spread of the disease was accelerating and the state was in "desperate" need of ventilators.
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| Why do you lock down 1.3bn people? Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:15 PM PDT  India's intensely crowded public and private spaces make it very vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus.
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| Coronavirus: American children are dying because of quarantine, doctors warn Posted: 24 Mar 2020 12:38 PM PDT  Children kept at home due to the coronavirus pandemic may be putting them at greater risks of harm from both accidents and - tragically - abusive parents, according to a doctor.In Fort Worth, Texas, a sudden surge of child abuse cases has raised red flags for doctors at the facility.
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| Former CDC director: China travel ban 'made a difference' but US didn't prepare enough for coronavirus Posted: 24 Mar 2020 12:08 PM PDT  The former CDC director is lauding America's China travel ban, but says the U.S. didn't do enough to prepare for the COVID-19 outbreak.
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| McConnell Challenges Dems to Explain Why They’re Holding Up Coronavirus Bill Over Special Interest ‘Wish List’ Posted: 23 Mar 2020 10:17 AM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) slammed Democrats on Monday for continuing to hold up a trillion-dollar coronavirus economic relief package in order to secure a number of environmental and other concessions.Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell urged for bipartisanship to get the deal done, and pointed to the passing of the House's phase-two bill, which Republicans would have done "very differently," as a model for emulation."Republicans understand that a national crisis calls for urgency, and it calls for bipartisanship. It's time for that good faith to be reciprocated. It's time for Democrats to stop playing politics and step up to the plate," he added.McConnell accused Democrats of "filibustering programs to keep people on the payroll," in favor of "tax credits for solar energy and wind energy, provisions to force employers to give special new treatment to big labor, and listen to this — new emissions standards for the airlines""Democrats won't let us fund hospitals or save small businesses unless they get to dust off the green New Deal," McConnell said."Are you kidding me? This is the moment to debate new regulations that have nothing, whatsoever to do with this crisis," he barked. "That is what they are up to over there. The American people need to know it!"The majority leader also directed the blame at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), who flew into D.C. over the weekend to join negotiations and begin work on the House's own bill."We were this close. We were this close. Then yesterday, the speaker of the House flew back from San Francisco," McConnell quipped.Senate Democrats blocked McConnell's phase-three package from moving forward on Sunday evening, claiming that it favored corporations over working Americans.But Republicans point to Pelosi's entering the negotiations, after Majority Whip James Clyburn (D., S.C.) told House Democrats last week that the Republican bill was "a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision," as a partisan move aimed at including policy unrelated to coronavirus funding.
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| West Virginia governor rambles, mixes messages on virus Posted: 23 Mar 2020 04:35 PM PDT  As the coronavirus raged across the nation, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice wondered why people were looking to him for answers. Justice, a billionaire Republican with no previous political experience leading a particularly high-risk state, has rambled through mixed messages on the virus, diminishing his credibility with some West Virginians who have said it's been a struggle to discern exactly what he wants them to do.
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| Russian President Putin dons hazmat suit as Moscow mayor says coronavirus outbreak is worse than it looks Posted: 24 Mar 2020 11:33 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin wore a hazmat suit and respirator on Tuesday during a visit to a hospital treating coronavirus patients, and the mayor of Moscow said the outbreak in the Russian capital was much worse than official figures showed.
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| Russia sends ship with military ambulances toward Syria after virus outbreak Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:15 AM PDT  A cargo ship operated by the Russian Navy transited Turkey's Bosphorus strait en route to Syria on Tuesday loaded with ambulances, a Reuters reporter saw. Syria reported its first case of coronavirus on Sunday after weeks of rejecting opposition allegations that the disease had already reached a country with a wrecked health system and thousands of Iranian-backed militias and Shi'ite pilgrims. The Russian Dvinitsa-50 ship, part of Moscow's auxiliary fleet, was carrying at least three military ambulances along with a shipping container on its deck.
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| Toilets on the Navy's newest aircraft carriers clog frequently, and fixing them costs $400,000 a flush Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:43 AM PDT  To tackle "unexpected and frequent clogging," the Navy has to periodically clean the whole toilet system — at $400,000 a flush.
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| Fourteen inmates escaped from jail, 6 still on the loose Posted: 24 Mar 2020 06:48 AM PDT  "Despite the governor's shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order, apparently they didn't want to do that, so they are out and about," said the county sheriff.
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| Fauci on working with Trump: 'I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down' Posted: 23 Mar 2020 06:15 AM PDT  One of the nation's top doctors in the fight against coronavirus expressed frustration and some praise for his experience working with the White House in an interview with Science magazine.
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| Does alcohol weaken the immune system? Yes, if you drink too much Posted: 23 Mar 2020 09:19 AM PDT  Excessive alcohol consumption weakens the immune system and can lead to a range of health problems. Here's what you need to know.
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| Austria prosecutors probe coronavirus outbreak in ski resort Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:25 AM PDT  Austrian prosecutors said Tuesday they were investigating possible negligence during a coronavirus outbreak in a ski resort that led to hundreds of foreigners travelling back to their countries infected. Prosecutors in Innsbruck, the capital of western Tyrol province, said Tuesday that they were investigating a business thought to be a restaurant or bar on suspicion of "recklessly endangering people through infectious disease". The German ZDF news channel had reported that the business in the ski resort of Ischgl had failed to inform authorities that one of its employees had tested positive for the new coronavirus in late February.
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| Coronavirus: Nobel Prize winner predicts US will get through crisis sooner than expected Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:02 PM PDT  A Nobel Prize winning biology professor has provided a bit of good news amidst the coronavirus gloom; the US may see a downturn in new cases sooner than some models have predicted.Michael Levitt, a Stanford University biology professor and a 2013 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, said his models predict the virus is not likely to dwindle on for months or years and – most importantly – is not likely to cause millions of deaths.
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| Mexico calls for halt to business that puts people in street Posted: 24 Mar 2020 07:50 AM PDT  Mexican health officials on Tuesday called on all businesses and organizations to suspend work that requires the movement of people. Deputy health secretary Hugo López-Gatell said at a news conference hosted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that work that requires people to travel between home and work sites or be in public spaces must stop. "The moment has arrived where we can make a greater impact with collective strategies," López-Gatell said, now that the virus is being transmitted within the community rather than just imported.
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| Pentagon leaders indicate coronavirus outbreak could last for months Posted: 24 Mar 2020 08:11 AM PDT  Senior Pentagon leaders said on Tuesday that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak that has hit the United States could continue for months and that the military would continue to support efforts to counter it for as long as needed. The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 660 people in the United States and infected more than 50,000. President Donald Trump said on Monday he is considering how to reopen the U.S. economy when a 15-day shutdown ends next week, even as the highly contagious coronavirus is spreading rapidly and hospitals are bracing for a wave of virus-related deaths.
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| Russia Swore It Whipped the Virus, and Fox and CNN Bought It Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:03 AM PDT  As the world reels from the novel coronavirus pandemic, Russia is doing its best to turn global turmoil into propaganda fodder. To date, a country of 146 million people straddling Europe and Asia and that has a great deal of commerce with those two great epicenters of the disease reports only 438 confirmed coronavirus cases and no deaths. One previously disclosed fatality has been dismissed by authorities as attributable to other causes. But according to official statistics from Russian state media, over 52,000 people remain under medical supervision "in connection with suspected coronavirus infection." Perhaps the real number of Russia's coronavirus patients lies somewhere in between. Garry Kasparov, a world-renowned former world chess champion and the chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative, told The Daily Beast why the Kremlin's dubious claims shouldn't be taken at face value: "Of course Russia is lying about their coronavirus stats and I can say that confidently because they lie about everything," said Kasparov. "Dictatorships lie when they have to—and when they don't; it's about control. Control of information, shaping reality, and, most importantly, appearing all-powerful and all-knowing. If the regime can be surprised or overwhelmed by a virus, maybe it's not so powerful after all, a dangerous line of thought for a repressed population to have. Until there is truly independent testing—and the stories we're hearing out of Russia are not encouraging—we just don't know what's going on." Even so, Western media outlets have disregarded the Kremlin's less-than-sterling reputation for honesty and transparency, and lauded Russia's self-proclaimed success in controlling the deadly virus.In January, Fox News reported Russia's decision to close its border with China and in early February uncritically repeated the claim that "Russia has only two confirmed cases of the virus, but authorities have taken measures to prevent its spread by hospitalizing people returning from China as a precaution." In late February, Fox News stated that "Russia only has three confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus," without questioning the probability of such fantastic statistics in light of a pandemic raging in neighboring China. Last Sunday, showcasing Russia's coronavirus aid to Italy, Fox News posted photographs released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, with the doors of Russian military trucks adorned with heart-shaped flags that read: "From Russia with love." Apparently accepting Russia's claims as ironclad facts, Fox News fawned: "Russia has so far reported very few confirmed coronavirus cases, noting just 306 infections and one death. As the U.S. and Europe struggle to contain the virus, nations once viewed as rivals are stepping up in the global coronavirus response." CNN wrote on Saturday that, "According to information released by Russian officials, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's strategy seems to have worked. The number of confirmed Russian coronavirus cases is surprisingly low, despite Russia sharing a lengthy border with China and recording its first case back in January." Kasparov, a persistent critic of Putin, wonders why anyone would believe this stuff, much less report it. "Repeating Russia's numbers is ridiculous. Trust must be earned, and Putin lies about everything from his invasion of Ukraine to the more directly comparable epidemic of HIV in Russia that officially doesn't exist. Why should western governments and media treat Putin's dictatorship in good faith when it's not returned, and in fact is exploited?" Putin Worries Coronavirus Could Screw Up His Constitutional 'Coronation'Russia's alleged triumph over the coronavirus coincides with Putin's maneuvers to become the country's president for life, a role all but assured through pending constitutional changes. Amendments in question have already been approved by both houses of parliament and are now pending a nationwide vote on April 22, which will take place come rain or shine—coronavirus notwithstanding. The possibility of conducting the vote by mail is currently under consideration. In the meantime, the Kremlin-controlled Russian state media are reminding citizens that the country's very survival depends on Putin's leadership. Dmitry Kiselyov, the host of Russia's most popular Sunday news program, Vesti Nedeli, is leading the way. "Let's be honest," he insisted earlier this month: "Russia without Putin is non-viable." But there is ample evidence the regime's information war is being disregarded by Russians in the trenches trying to deal with the reality of the disease. On Monday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin gave the authorities five days to develop a system that would track and notify people who have come in contact with any known carriers of coronavirus. The system would simultaneously notify special regional headquarters set up to fight the pandemic.Authorities have begun building a 500-person hospital to house coronavirus patients near Moscow and Russian doctors reportedly are alarmed that some cases are being ascribed to pneumonia and seasonal flu without testing. The same state media TV shows that would have you believe everything is under control are being filmed without audiences. Everyday Russians are stocking up on astronomical quantities of toilet paper and buckwheat, disregarding the government's assurances that coronavirus is being contained. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state media outlets RT and Sputnik, launched a Twitter initiative designed to prove that Russian grocery stores show no signs of panic buying. Simonyan's idea backfired, as multiple citizens responded with photographs of emptied store shelves.Lingering memories of Soviet-era cover-ups are exacerbated by more recent denials, such as Russia's covert warfare in Ukraine, its role in the downing of the Malaysian aircraft MH-17, clumsy denials of the Skripal poisonings and obfuscation of crucial details about a radioactive explosion involving a nuclear-powered missile in northern Russia last year. But the Kremlin's persistent aim to keep the coronavirus numbers down is paying off thus far, since Russia's international flights are unimpeded by worldwide bans. While U.S. President Donald J. Trump barred travelers from China, its largest neighbor continues to receive the benefit of the doubt."Just as China's information crackdown led directly to the massive outbreak now threatening the world," says Kasparov, "Putin's will also have an impact across the Russian border. The radioactive cloud from Chernobyl poisoned much of Europe. The flights still coming out of Russia—not on the banned list because of the low official numbers—could spread disease all over the globe." Painting a rosy picture of Russia's future, the Kremlin-controlled state media predicted doom and gloom for everybody but the motherland, especially the hated United States.Last week, experts on The Evening with Vladimir Soloviev were crowing about economic troubles for the West. Russian economist Mikhail Khazin opined that Russia is the only region that can grow and prosper economically during the challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic. Other experts on the show suggested that America is withering as a superpower, while a new age is dawning for Russia and China. They concurred that "Soviet-like regimes are winning" and the new world will be more authoritarian. Host Vladimir Soloviev concluded: "Enough talk about individual freedoms." With angry animus, Soloviev argued that history would disprove the premise of Francis Fukuyama's book, The End of History and the Last Man and would lead to the uprooting of liberal democracies.As he has in the past, Soloviev referred to President Trump as "Donald Ivanovych" and marveled at the statements and actions of the American leader who is himself in the risk group for contracting coronavirus. The Russian Models Instagramming From China's Coronavirus CapitalStill, Russian state TV pundits kept their usually sharp ridicule to the minimum. Their exchanges revealed the hope that Western sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea and other Putin abuses of international law would soon be lifted, with the coronavirus pandemic overshadowing all prior concerns. Dmitry Kiselyov argued during this Sunday's episode of Vesti Nedeli that multiple Western governments will be undergoing deep changes and the sanctions against Russia will soon become obsolete. As for the short-term propaganda goals, the Kremlin still anticipates the arrival later this spring of U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien for Moscow's big 75th anniversary celebration of victory over the Nazis. President Donald J. Trump reportedly "wanted to go but faced pressure from advisers not to embark on such a journey." The parade is scheduled for May 9—the very month the coronavirus epidemic is expected to have reached a peak in Russia.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.
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| Man dies, woman left in critical condition after taking chloroquine phosphate Posted: 24 Mar 2020 04:29 AM PDT  An Arizona woman who was left in critical condition and whose husband died after they {took chloroquine phosphate} said, "Don't believe anything that the president says."
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| Trump boasts of 'great early result' against coronavirus in one Florida man Posted: 23 Mar 2020 12:39 PM PDT  President Trump again touted the promise of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine on Monday for use treating COVID-19, retweeting a story that appeared in the New York Post.
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| Democrats, White House resolve sticking points in coronavirus stimulus bill Posted: 24 Mar 2020 07:38 AM PDT  The nearly $2-trillion deal is expected to include direct cash payments to many Americans, and aid for both large corporations and small businesses
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| US Surgeon General warns Americans to follow the coronavirus guidelines to stay home: 'This week it's going to get bad' Posted: 23 Mar 2020 10:02 AM PDT  Now is no time for leisurely social activity. To stem the pandemic, Americans must stay home, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams says.
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| FDA will allow doctors to treat critically ill coronavirus patients with blood from survivors Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:06 PM PDT  Experts say the treatment might be the best hope for some patients until more sophisticated drugs are developed.
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| Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine is requesting home confinement over coronavirus fears, arguing that his asthma puts him 'at very high risk of death' in prison Posted: 23 Mar 2020 07:45 AM PDT  The rapper, sentenced to two years in prison last December, has asthma, which his lawyer says could put him at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
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| Former DR Congo health minister convicted of embezzling Ebola funds Posted: 23 Mar 2020 08:57 AM PDT |
| Rep. Ben McAdams hospitalized with 'severe shortness of breath' after testing positive for coronavirus Posted: 23 Mar 2020 05:01 AM PDT  Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) has been hospitalized after testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.McAdams last week became the second member of Congress to announce they had tested positive for the novel coronavirus after Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), saying he had cold-like symptoms. On Sunday, McAdams announced he had been hospitalized after he "experienced severe shortness of breath" on Friday."I was admitted and have been receiving oxygen as I struggled to maintain my blood oxygen at appropriate levels," McAdams said. "I am now off oxygen and feeling relatively better and expect to be released as soon as the doctor determines it is appropriate."Since McAdams and Diaz-Balart announced they had the novel coronavirus last week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Sunday became the first senator to test positive.In an interview with CNN on Friday, McAdams said he was "feeling about as sick as I've ever been" with "labored breathing" and "pain every time I cough." He also explained that he's living proof of the fact that the coronavirus must be taken seriously."This is not overblown, this is very serious — I'm 45, I'm in good health, and it has knocked me down," he said. "And so we need to follow these guidelines to slow the spread of this. This is going to be bad."More stories from theweek.com Trump aides say he's starting to lose his patience with Dr. Anthony Fauci Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick thinks grandparents should be willing to sacrifice their lives to save the economy Olympics officially postponed until 2021
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| Texas Lt. Gov: Senior Citizens Willing to Die to Save Economy for Grandkids Posted: 23 Mar 2020 06:36 PM PDT  Piggybacking on President Donald Trump's desire to quickly end social distancing restrictions to restart the U.S. economy, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested Monday that senior citizens would be willing to sacrifice their lives to the new coronavirus in order to save the economy for their kids and grandchildren.With the president and many of his allies (including several Fox News hosts) currently pushing to reject health experts' advice on slowing the spread of the virus so the economy can be restarted in a matter of weeks, Fox News host Tucker Carlson kicked off his Monday night show by hearing from "both sides" of the issue.After hosting a doctor who noted that he couldn't give definitive answers on how long quarantines and social distancing policies needed to stay in effect in order to "flatten the curve," Carlson turned to Patrick, who had recently texted the Fox host to explain why he thought all Americans should quickly get back to work.Fox News Stars Begin Pushing Trump to End Coronavirus Restrictions"I don't pretend to be speaking for everyone 70-plus," Patrick's text read. "But I think there are lots of grandparents out there who would agree with me that I want my grandchildren to live in the America I did.""I want them to have a shot at the American Dream but right now there's a virus which all the experts say that 98 percent of all people will survive... is killing our country in another way," the text continued. "It could bring about a total economic collapse and potentially a collapse of our society. So I say let's give this a few more days or weeks but after that, let's go back to work and go back to living. Those we want to shelter in place can still do so but we can't live with uncertainty."The Texas Republican told Carlson that while at 70 he is in the greatest risk pool for the virus, he's not living in fear of COVID-19 but rather is scared of "what's happening to the country.""No one reached out to me and said as a senior citizen, 'Are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?'" Patrick declared. "And if that is the exchange, I'm all in."Adding that "there are lots of grandparents" who would make the same choice because "they don't want the whole country sacrificed," Patrick said that, as a small businessman, his "heart is lifted" by the president's recent pivot."So my message is that let's get back to work," he continued. "Let's get back to living and be smart about it and those of us who are 70 plus, we will take care of ourselves but don't sacrifice the country. Don't do that."Patrick concluded by insisting that the "biggest gift" grandparents can give their grandkids is "the legacy of our country," all while wondering why we need to "shut down the whole country" since the "mortality rate is so low."As of publication, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center, there were 43,901 coronavirus cases confirmed in the United States, resulting in 557 deaths. Monday was also the first day the U.S. reported more than 100 deaths in a single day. Lou Dobbs Is Still Praising Trump's Coronavirus Response Under Self-QuarantineRead 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.
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| Biden Holds Sizable Edge Over Trump in Swing Counties Posted: 24 Mar 2020 11:02 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden has a substantial lead over President Donald Trump in 300 of the crucial so-called swing counties that could determine the November election, a new poll released Tuesday showed.The poll was taken last week as Americans were just beginning to grapple with staying at home and employment and economic worries because of the coronavirus. Trump was holding daily televised briefings on the coronavirus, while Biden was largely out of the limelight. Both Biden and Trump have put the issue of leadership front and center in the campaign.The Monmouth University poll showed that 50% of voters in crucial swing counties backed Biden, while only 41% backed Trump. Biden is the Democratic front-runner to face off against Trump in the November presidential election, having amassed a near-insurmountable lead in delegates over Bernie Sanders.In 2016, the 300 counties gave a margin of victory to either Trump or Hillary Clinton of less than 10 percentage points, and comprise about one-fifth of the total U.S. electorate.The poll did not yet show much impact from the pandemic's hit on the economy.Sixty-two percent of respondents said their current financial situation was stable, more than the 55% who said their situation was stable in the same poll in April 2019. Only 25% said they were struggling and just 12% said that it was improving.Initial unemployment claims spiked more than 33% in the week ending March 14, three days before the poll began, as the service industry contracted due to increased social-isolation measures and government-ordered shutdowns in some parts of the country."The coronavirus situation is just starting to hit American family finances," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.The swing counties in 2016 included such closely watched areas like Erie County, Pennsylvania, where Trump beat Clinton by 1.6 percentage points, becoming the first Republican to win there since 1984. It also included Muskegon County, Michigan, a Democratic stronghold that Clinton won by just 1,200 votes.Overall, Biden had a negligible lead among voters nationally, with 48% preferring him, 45% backing Trump, 3% backing an independent candidate and 4% undecided. That 3 percentage-point lead was within the margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.Biden has led in head-to-head match-ups against Trump by 2 to 11 points in polls taken since mid-February, shortly before he won the South Carolina primary and took command of the Democratic nominating contest.Murray said that while the national results show a tight race, the Electoral College will ultimately decide the race."The poll results suggest Biden may actually be starting out with an advantage in crucial swing areas of the country," he said.The poll showed a slight uptick in Trump's approval rating, with 46% of respondents viewing him favorably and 49% unfavorably. That was an improvement over last month, when 44% viewed him favorably and 53% unfavorably.Trump has argued that fighting the pandemic has made him a "wartime president," but Murray said he has not seen the kind of rally that George W. Bush received after the Sept. 11 attacks or John F. Kennedy had during the Cuban Missile Crisis."As with everything we've seen over the last two years, partisan tribalism seems to be the primary motivator for how people view President Trump," he said. "Even a crisis like this one doesn't seem to move the needle much."The poll of 754 registered voters across the U.S. was conducted by phone March 18-22, just as the impact of the coronavirus was starting to be felt.(Adds new information on Trump approval in 15th, 16th and 17th paragraphs)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Coronavirus: Fury as world's richest man Jeff Bezos asks public to donate to Amazon relief fund Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:33 AM PDT  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos faces backlash after publicising a relief fund the public can donate to for his contract employees working during the Covid-19 pandemic.The Amazon Relief Fund was created with $25m from the e-commerce company to assist its "employees and partners", specifically those who are responsible for the necessary task of delivering all the products consumers order across the US.
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| Spain's coronavirus death toll has more than doubled in just 3 days with more than 2,000 people now dead Posted: 23 Mar 2020 07:31 AM PDT  Spain is now the worst affected country in Europe, outside of Italy.
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| Russia has no 'clear picture' of extent of virus outbreak: official Posted: 24 Mar 2020 08:29 AM PDT  Russian authorities do not know the full extent of the coronavirus outbreak across the country and should step up measures to stem the pandemic, a top official said Tuesday. Russia, which shares a border with China and has a population of 144 million, has officially reported 495 cases of the coronavirus but no confirmed fatalities. "The problem is that the volume of testing is very low and no one has a clear picture" of the situation in Russia and the world, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told President Vladimir Putin during a meeting.
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| Italy coronavirus deaths rise by 602 in a day, lifting total death toll to 6,077, suggesting downward trend Posted: 23 Mar 2020 03:20 PM PDT  The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Italy has grown by 602 to 6,077, the head of the Civil Protection Agency said on Monday, the smallest rise in numerical terms since Thursday, suggesting a clear downward trend.
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| A 12-year-old coronavirus patient 'fighting for her life' had no preexisting conditions, her family said Posted: 23 Mar 2020 07:07 AM PDT  Emma was diagnosed with pneumonia on March 15. On Saturday, she was hospitalized and put on a ventilator.
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| Vietnam closes Ho Chi Minh City restaurants to curb virus outbreak Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:57 AM PDT  Restaurants in Vietnam's business hub, Ho Chi Minh City, must close until March 31 to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, the city's ruling body said on Tuesday. Ho Chi Minh City has recorded 39 cases of the virus, most of which were imported from Europe, and has already closed cinemas, clubs, bars, massage parlors and karaoke lounges since the virus outbreak began. The move has been taken because some infected people spread the disease at popular restaurants and bars in the city, according to Vietnam's health ministry.
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| Liberty University welcomes students back amid coronavirus pandemic Posted: 24 Mar 2020 11:37 AM PDT  One professor slammed the move in an op-ed, saying, "Falwell's lack of concern does nothing to mitigate these students likely becoming vectors of the pathogen."
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| Chicago woman gets prison for beating death of son in Iowa Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:16 AM PDT  A woman from Chicago has been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison on charges stemming from the beating death of her 5-year-old son in Iowa. Jacqueline Rambert, 26, was sentenced Friday in Davenport, court records said. Under state law, Rambert must serve at least 40%, or 20 years, of the sentence.
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| Trump Obsesses Over Flu Deaths, Attacks Cuomo in Softball Fox News Chat Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:56 AM PDT  In a Tuesday virtual town hall with a deferential Fox News panel, President Donald Trump spent much of his time obsessing over the number of flu deaths America experiences annually in order to downplay the threat of the coronavirus pandemic as he looks to reopen the American economy sooner than expected. The president also took aim at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, who earlier in the day complained about the lack of ventilators received from the federal government."I watched Governor Cuomo and he was very nice," the president said of the New York governor's press conference, which preceded the Fox News town hall, before attacking Cuomo for "complaining" about receiving only 3,000 ventilators from the Federal Emergency Management Agency despite needing, in his estimation, at least 30,000 of the devices."He had a choice. He had a chance," the president continued. "He refused to order 15,000 ventilators," Trump said, pulling out a printout of an article from far-right blog The Gateway Pundit and paraphrasing the headline: "It says that he didn't buy the ventilators in 2015 for a pandemic, established death panels and lotteries instead.""I'm not blaming him or anything else," Trump then pivoted, "but he shouldn't be talking about us. He's supposed to be buying his own ventilators. We are going to help." He suggested Cuomo has not been grateful enough for the president's help: "We are working very, very hard for the people of New York. We are working a lot with him. Then I watch him on this show complaining."Joe Biden Blasts Trump on 'The View': We Can't Just 'Let People Die'Throughout the chat with Fox News hosts Bill Hemmer and Harris Faulkner, Trump repeatedly pivoted to an earlier talking point about the seasonal flu being just as bad or worse than COVID-19. Trump obsessively referenced the annual death count from influenza."We lose thousands and thousands of people a year to the flu. We don't turn the country off. Every year. When I heard the number—you know, we averaged 37,000 people a year. Can you believe that?" the president grumbled at one point. "This year we are having a bad flu season.""But we lose thousands of people a year to the flu," he continued. "We never turn the country off. We lose much more than that to automobile accidents. We didn't call up the automobile companies and say, 'Stop making cars, we don't want cars anymore.'"Moments later, the president circled back to this again, grousing that "we've never closed down the country from the flu" despite the number of deaths it causes each year. (This also prompted Trump to tout his attempts last year to broker peace between the Kurds and Turkey. Such sidetracks were common throughout the town hall.)But the president's obsessive comparison of the novel coronavirus to the seasonal flu was the most common refrain of the town-hall event, in which Trump's key message was his desire to draw back on protective restrictions and get Americans back to work.Pandemic fears have continued across the nation, as stay-at-home orders and more restrictions have been set in place to halt the spread of the virus. But on Tuesday, Trump struck a far more optimistic tone than experts and other public officials. "I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter," Trump declared at one point, drawing Hemmer to giddily respond, "That would be a great American resurrection.""Our country's not built to shut down," Trump later said. He added that he believes Americans can practice social distancing and still go to work, "and you can clean your hands five times more than you used to."The pandemic may mean not having to shake hands with people anymore, which Trump found "might be something good coming out of this." The president also stressed protecting workers, "but you have to protect companies like Boeing." The country can't lose some of these major companies because of the pandemic, the president added. "If we lose those companies we're talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs, millions of jobs," Trump said. "The faster we go back the better it's going to be." The country would lose people to the flu, but more would be lost by "putting the country into a massive recession or depression," the president said. "You're going to lose people," Trump warned. "You're going to have suicides by the thousands, you're going to have all sorts of things happen."The town-hall event was also a surreal showcase of Fox News sycophancy. When Hemmer asked Trump the moment he decided "we got to move on this," the president touted his "instinct" and claimed he knew "early on" about the pandemic's severity. He added that his temporary China travel ban, which was imposed after the United States had already experienced its first positive cases, saved "probably tens of thousands" of lives.The Fox anchor did not push back on the president or note how Trump spent weeks repeatedly downplaying the threat—claiming it was no threat, would eventually go away, was just like the common flu, or that warm weather would kill it—and at one point said that criticism of his dismissiveness of the coronavirus threat was a "new hoax" being pushed by Democrats and the media to undermine his presidency.Underscoring the unmistakably friendly tone of the event, Trump at one point beamed with joy that Faulkner would be asking him a question. "First, I have to say Harris is one of my favorite people. I didn't hear a word she said and I was hoping it wasn't too devastating a question," he said as Fox dealt with some technical issues. (Her question was not remotely "devastating.")While promoting the town hall, Fox News touted that its in-house team of medical experts would participate in the event. Much like the anchors, however, the doctors often served up softball questions or even acted in an overtly obsequious manner. Towards the end of the Q&A, for example, Fox News contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier gushed to Trump how, "as a nation, we are beholden to you for your decisive and swift action."Lou Dobbs Is Still Praising Trump's Coronavirus Response Under Self-QuarantineRead 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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| Indian police clear out anti-government protest citing coronavirus Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:38 AM PDT  Police in India's capital broke up the longest-running protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's citizenship law on Tuesday, citing a ban on public gatherings because of the coronavirus outbreak. Dozens of people, many of them women, have been staging a sit-in protest since early December on a street in the Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood, which has become a focal point for opposition to the law seen as discriminating against Muslims. Hundreds of police in riot gear surrounded the protesters early on Tuesday and told them to leave, said Delhi's joint police commissioner D. C. Srivastava. "It is a dangerous environment, with this coronavirus, we urged them to leave," he told reporters. Some demonstrators resisted the police and at least nine people had been detained, six of them women, Srivastava said, adding there was no violence. Television showed police taking down tents and billboards at the protest site with bulldozers. Delhi is under a lockdown until the end of the month to halt the spread of the virus and public gatherings of more than five people have been banned. The Citizenship Amendment Act, which eases the path for non-Muslims from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries to gain citizenship, triggered weeks of sometimes violent protests against Modi's government after it was passed in December. At least 78 people have been killed in demonstrations triggered by the law across the country, a large number of them in another part of Delhi in clashes between Hindus and Muslims. Critics say the law discriminates against Muslims and it has deepened concern that Modi's administration is undermining India's secular traditions. Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party denies any bias against India's 180 million Muslims. Even before the coronavirus epidemic, the protest at Shaheen Bagh had become a thorn in the government's side, and there had been calls by hardline Hindu groups linked to Modi's alliance and residents in the area to clear it out. India has reported 471 cases of the coronavirus but health experts have warned that a big jump is imminent, which would likely overwhelm the underfunded and crumbling public health infrastructure.
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| 'A mess in America': Why Asia now looks safer than the U.S. in the coronavirus crisis Posted: 23 Mar 2020 07:09 PM PDT  In a clear sign that the U.S. botched its coronavirus response, some Americans are relieved they stayed in countries closest to the outbreak's origin.
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| With China gunning for aircraft carriers, US Navy says it must change how it fights Posted: 24 Mar 2020 07:01 AM PDT  The U.S. Navy can't afford to throw up its hands when it come to the vulnerability of aircraft carriers, its new top officer says.
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