| Trump says the measure of his success against coronavirus will be the final death toll. How's he doing? Posted: 21 Apr 2020 01:41 PM PDT  For the past several weeks, a fixture of President Trump's daily coronavirus task force press briefings has been his insistence that the ultimate measure of his administration's handling of the pandemic will be the number of Americans killed by COVID-19.
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| 'That makes no sense': Anderson Cooper stunned by Las Vegas mayor during wild CNN interview Posted: 22 Apr 2020 12:40 PM PDT  At one point, Anderson Cooper had to remove his glasses, rub his eyes, and take a breath before continuing.
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| Asia virus latest: China sued by US state; northeast China tightens curbs Posted: 22 Apr 2020 04:27 AM PDT  The US state of Missouri has sued China's leadership over the coronavirus crisis, prompting an angry rebuke from Beijing over the "absurd" claim. Missouri is seeking damages over what it described as deliberate deception and insufficient action to stop the pandemic. New clusters of coronavirus infections in northeast China near the Russian border led officials to tighten restrictions on movement as they seek to prevent another outbreak.
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| Hong Kong teens charged with murder over protest death Posted: 22 Apr 2020 03:55 AM PDT  Luo Chang-qing died in November when pro-democracy supporters and government loyalists started hurling bricks at each other in the border town of Sheung Shui. Luo, 70, died from a blow to the head. Hong Kong's protests were sparked by an attempt to allow extradition to China's opaque justice system but soon morphed into a popular revolt against Beijing's rule.
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| What you need to know today about the virus outbreak Posted: 22 Apr 2020 06:19 AM PDT  Congress is sprinting to approve a $483 billion coronavirus aid package this week, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says it's time to "push the pause button" on federal spending. Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the virus and health officials in California discovered that two people died from COVID-19 in Santa Clara County weeks before the first death in the state was initially was reported. Meanwhile, Tyson Foods shut down a pork plant in Iowa.
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| Few ventilators, little cash: Sudan braces for coronavirus test Posted: 22 Apr 2020 07:05 AM PDT  With just a few hundred ventilators and international aid slow to materialise, Sudan's fledgling government knows it has an uphill battle against a coronavirus pandemic that has brought far richer countries to a standstill. The number of cases of the novel coronavirus is still small and doctors say they are able to cope so far, but they are concerned that a healthcare system that has been underfunded for decades will not be able to cope if numbers spike.
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| American among tourists found living in Indian cave during lockdown Posted: 22 Apr 2020 08:13 AM PDT  Local police said the six spent nearly four weeks in the cave after running out of money for a hotel.
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| Head of Coronavirus Vaccine Research Says He Was Demoted for Questioning Drug Favored by Trump Posted: 22 Apr 2020 02:15 PM PDT  The doctor in charge of the federal agency overseeing research into a coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday he was forced out of the job after questioning the efficacy of an anti-malarial drug favored by the president.Dr. Rick Bright was "involuntarily transferred" last week from the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to a role with fewer responsibilities at the National Institutes of Health after advocating for more stringent study of hydroxychloroquine, according to a statement from his lawyer, as first reported by The New York Times."Science—not politics or cronyism—has to lead the way," Bright said in the statement. "Science, in service to the health and safety of the American people, must always trump politics."Bright has served as head of BARDA since 2016. Prior to running the agency, he led its Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases Division, according to the medical publication STAT, and worked at private sector biotechnology companies. During Wednesday's White House coronavirus briefing, President Donald Trump said of Bright, "Never heard of him." Asked whether Bright was pushed out, Trump said, "Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. I don't know who he is."You've Never Heard of the Agency That May Rescue You From CoronavirusBright has hired whistleblower lawyer Debra Katz and her firm, which represented Christine Blasey Ford and other women who have accused government officials of sexual misconduct. He said on Wednesday he would request that the inspector general of HHS investigate his dismissal."Dr. Bright has not been given any information about his new role at NIH," a source familiar with the ousted doctor told The Daily Beast. "He will fight to return to his position leading BARDA, where he can continue to use his vast experience and skills to work to end this pandemic."Another source who works with Bright told The Daily Beast that Bright would comply with any congressional efforts to investigate his removal from his post.Although the president and his allies touted hydroxychloroquine as a potential cure for the coronavirus, studies now show that it has little effect and can even worsen outcomes and increase the risk of death. Bright painted a grim picture of his efforts to fund vaccine research, describing clashes with HHS leadership and others in government who wished to "fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections." Congress tripled BARDA's budget as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed last month.He called advice from the president to use chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus symptoms "misguided directives.""I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit," he wrote.He said he was prepared to think "outside the box" when it came to potential treatments but resisted efforts "to provide an unproven drug on demand to the American public" and instead insisted that such drugs only be provided to hospitalized patients with the coronavirus who could be supervised by a physician."Specifically, and contrary to misguided directives, I limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which clearly lack scientific merit," he wrote.STAT reported on Tuesday that Bright had recently clashed with Bob Kadlec, the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, which has oversight over BARDA.In a statement accompanying Bright's comments, his lawyers called the demotion "retaliation plain and simple." They said they would ask the Office of Special Counsel to seek a stay of his termination, adding that Bright should be able to stay in his position until investigations are complete.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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| Almost 25,000 email addresses and passwords reportedly for groups like WHO and the Gates Foundation were dumped on the internet Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:55 PM PDT  Cybersecurity expert Robert Potter told The Washington Post that WHO's password system was "appalling" — saying 48 people had "password" as their password.
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| Trump Is Urged to Pressure China on Its Promise to Buy U.S. Oil Posted: 21 Apr 2020 09:54 AM PDT |
| Beijing names islands in disputed South China Sea Posted: 21 Apr 2020 03:45 AM PDT  China on Tuesday defended its naming of 80 islands and other geographical features in the South China Sea in a move likely to anger neighbours as the country asserts its territorial claims. A joint announcement of the names on Sunday from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Civil Affairs came a day after China established new administrative districts for the contested Spratly and Paracel island chains. China last released such a list in 1983 when it named 287 geographical features across the disputed waterway.
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| Exclusive: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, ‘China, you had the information, you lied. You need to be held to account for this.’ Posted: 21 Apr 2020 12:53 PM PDT  Senator Marsha Blackburn spoke with Fox News about the Stop COVID Act and how the legislation will allow Americans to file lawsuits against China for its role in the origin and spread of the coronavirus.
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| Israeli forces kill Palestinian attacker near Jerusalem: police Posted: 21 Apr 2020 11:33 PM PDT |
| Coronavirus Kills More Americans in One Month Than the Flu Kills in One Year Posted: 21 Apr 2020 09:25 AM PDT  Although there is still much we don't know about the coronavirus, we know enough to say that it is far more dangerous and deadly than the flu. It took twelve months and 61 million infections for the H1N1 swine flu to kill 12,500 Americans in 2009–10. The Centers for Disease Control estimated that the seasonal flu killed 34,200 Americans during the 2018–19 flu season. In 2019, car crashes killed 38,800 Americans.As for the new coronavirus? On March 20, the death toll in the United States was 225. By April 20, the coronavirus had killed more than 42,000 Americans.Last week The New Atlantis produced a chart that starkly portrays just how quickly COVID-19 became one of the leading causes of death in the United States:> Why "it's not as bad as flu" — or car crashes or the 1957 pandemic — is not credible.> > New from the @tnajournal team: https://t.co/SVNscTHZrQ> > -- Ari Schulman (@AriSchulman) April 13, 2020Despite the rapidity with which the coronavirus has killed tens of thousands of Americans, some on the right have continued to argue that the pandemic will end up being no more serious than a bad flu season. On Fox News last week, Bill Bennett said that "we're going to have fewer fatalities from this than from the flu." He pointed to the fact that the IMHE model from the University of Washington estimated that COVID-19 would most likely kill about 60,000 Americans and that the seasonal flu killed 61,000 Americans in 2017–18, a particularly bad flu season.But as Rich Lowry pointed out last week, "if we are going to have 60,000 deaths with people not leaving their homes for more than a month, the number of deaths obviously would have been higher — much higher — if everyone had gone about business as usual." Indeed, the IMHE model is making an estimate of the death toll only for a first wave of infections, and most of the country will still be vulnerable to infection after the first wave passes.While there are 800,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States — that's 0.24 percent of the U.S. population — former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb has noted that anywhere between 1 percent and 5 percent of Americans may have actually already been infected with the virus. But that's far short of the 50 percent to 70 percent required to achieve herd immunity. The seasonal flu, by contrast, infected 12 percent of the American population last year because we have a flu vaccine and some more immunity from previous infections.Not only does the new coronavirus have the potential to infect many more people than the seasonal flu does, it appears to kill a greater percentage of those infected. You don't need to rely on various statistical models to come to that conclusion. You just have to look at the reality of what has already happened around the world and in our own country.The seasonal flu kills 0.1 percent of people infected, but the new coronavirus has already killed 0.1 percent of the entire population of the state of New York. That may seem like a small percentage. But imagine the entire country getting hit as badly as New York state: 0.1 percent of the U.S. population is 330,000 people. And there's no reason to believe that New York's current death toll marks the upper limit of the virus's lethality.The Wall Street Journal reported that confirmed coronavirus cases in the Italian province of Bergamo (population 1.1 million) had killed 0.2 percent of the entire population in one month. The true percentage may be higher: There were 4,000 more deaths in Bergamo in March 2020 than the average number of deaths in March in recent years, but only 2,000 of those deaths were attributed to confirmed COVID-19 cases.We are talking not about statistical models of what might happen in the future but about the reality of what has already happened. The virus has killed 100 Italian doctors. That doesn't happen during a bad flu season. The virus has killed 30 employees of the New York City Police Department. That doesn't happen during a bad flu season.And then there's the experience of China, where the official death toll in Wuhan is 2,500, according to the Communist regime. But there are reports that the true death toll in Wuhan (a city of 10 million) was more than 40,000 people. That's 0.4 percent of the city's entire population.Almost all conservatives are skeptical of Communist China's official coronavirus death toll. Why, then, do some think that the coronavirus is not much more deadly than the flu? Did Communist China, a regime not known for valuing human life, shut down much of its economy for a couple of months because of a bad flu? Or did Communist leaders fear that without the costly shutdown the virus would inflict much greater harm on their nation and threaten their grip on power?You don't have to have a Ph.D. in epidemiology to answer those questions.No nation can afford to endure a lockdown until a vaccine is developed for the new coronavirus. But having a proper understanding of the virus's past and present danger matters. Knowing that it is extremely unlikely that the threat will be gone once the first wave passes will help guide the government, businesses, and individuals to take precautions that will limit the virus's death toll in the months to come.
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| Man dies after being denied coronavirus tests at three emergency rooms because of racism, family alleges Posted: 22 Apr 2020 09:42 AM PDT  A man who died in Michigan was denied coronavirus testing at three different emergency rooms because he was black, his family has alleged, as state officials said a "medical bias" may exist in Covid-19 testing.Gary Fowler, 56, was reportedly not tested for the novel virus at the three Detroit-area emergency rooms despite having many symptoms associated with the disease, according to his stepson, Keith Gambrell.
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| Trump says he 'disagrees strongly' with Georgia governor's decision to reopen state Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:01 PM PDT  President Trump said Wednesday that he opposes Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's controversial decision to allow some non-essential businesses to reopen despite a high number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state.
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| California says a person who died February 6 had COVID-19, suggesting the first US coronavirus death happened at least 3 weeks earlier than previously thought Posted: 21 Apr 2020 09:14 PM PDT  The US recorded its first coronavirus death on February 28, but new data indicates at least one person died of COVID-19 three weeks prior.
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| Europe’s Call-to-Arms Moment May Disappoint Investors, Again Posted: 21 Apr 2020 05:52 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- A video call between European Union leaders on Thursday may fall short of giving investors clarity over how the bloc will finance economic recovery efforts, risking a prolonged paralysis that has pushed borrowing costs higher across peripheral euro-area countries.EU institutions are focusing on a proposal to boost the bloc's common budget, largely shunning demands by Italy and Spain for joint debt issuance to share the costs of cushioning a pandemic-induced recession. The plan being prepared would instead see the European Commission use the multi-annual budget to borrow from financial markets and then channel cheap loans to the worst-hit nations, according to two diplomats briefed on the ongoing preparations.The bulk of the leverage created in the so-called recovery instrument of the new EU budget would take place over the next two years and the loans would be repaid after 2027, according to one of the diplomats, who asked not to be named as negotiations are ongoing. Even though the use of the budget is a more palatable solution to countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, the plans have so far failed to sway Southern nations, which demand more solidarity and concessions from their richer peers, in the form of joint debt sales."We're pulling in the same direction as Germany, the Netherlands and other hard currency countries," Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said about the upcoming summit. "We want to show solidarity, we want to support other states, but what we reject is a mutualization of debt. I hope that at the end of the day we'll have a solution that's as good as possible and that we can work on it together."Europe is entering what is projected to be the steepest recession in living memory, while the timing of recovery depends on factors largely outside the control of policymakers, such as the availability of a vaccine or an antiviral cure for the lethal coronavirus. The drop in economic output and the massive funds needed to keep businesses and households afloat has investors doubting whether highly indebted European countries can foot the bill.The Commission told EU government envoys that the bloc's economic output will contract between 7.5% and 10% this year, according to an official familiar with Monday's briefing.Bonds FallItalian bonds fell again on Tuesday, with yields on 10-year notes rising by 5 basis points to 1.99%. That's more than double the borrowing costs from mid-February, as a package of economic measures adopted so far by EU finance ministers has left loose ends to be sorted out and is seen by many economists as insufficient.One of the officials familiar with the matter said that Thursday's video call between leaders will have to be followed by others until a concrete solution is reached. Failure to come up with a convincing plan would put more pressure on the European Central Bank to boost its bond purchases to prevent spreads between German and peripheral yields from widening.A French official concurred that an agreement at Thursday's call was unlikely, and that a few more weeks of negotiations was needed. The official also said that the size of the fund would have to be around 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) and that it probably wouldn't be available for at least six months.The plan to be presented on Thursday by EU institutions revolves around four pillars, according to the officials briefed: mobilizing massive investment, repairing the bloc's single market after border closures, supply chain breakdowns and export restrictions disrupted the flow of goods, global action to fight the pandemic, and better communication between Brussels and national capitals.(Updates with Austrian Chancellor comments in fourth paragraph)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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| Taiwan president apologises for virus infections on navy ship Posted: 21 Apr 2020 05:01 PM PDT  Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen apologised Wednesday for "major shortcomings" within the military after a cluster of coronavirus infections emerged on a navy vessel recently returned from a goodwill mission to Palau. "I am the Commander-in-Chief, the military's business is my business and my responsibility," Tsai said in a speech broadcast live.
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| Las Vegas mayor wants COVID-19 restrictions lifted, faces widespread national criticism Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:19 PM PDT  As mayor, Goodman has no power or jurisdiction over the Las Vegas Strip, which lies outside city limits in Clark County.
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| Fallen leader? Report: Kim Jong Un seriously ill following procedure Posted: 21 Apr 2020 04:48 PM PDT  U.S. officials say they are monitoring North Korea for any signs about the health of Kim Jong Un; State Department correspondent Rich Edson reports.
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| Vietnam to ease nationwide coronavirus lockdown Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:22 AM PDT  Vietnam, which has reported under 300 cases of coronavirus and no deaths since the first infections were detected in January, said on Wednesday it would start lifting tough movement restrictions as most of Southeast Asia remained in lockdown. No provinces in Vietnam were now seen as "highly prone" to the pandemic, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a statement, although some non-essential businesses will remain closed. Vietnam has won plaudits for appearing to contain the virus despite being less wealthy than other places seen as relatively successful such as South Korea and Taiwan.
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| Kentucky lawmaker who ran for governor faces assault charge Posted: 21 Apr 2020 07:30 AM PDT  A Republican lawmaker who ran for Kentucky governor last year was arrested Tuesday after a woman accused him of choking her with an ethernet cable and trying to "hog tie" her during a domestic dispute. State Rep. Robert Goforth was arrested by the Laurel County sheriff's office on charges of strangulation, fourth-degree assault and terroristic threatening, Sheriff John Root said. Goforth, 44, was released after posting bond pending an initial court hearing set for Wednesday.
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| Speeding car filmed flying from road and crashing into side of family home in California Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:48 AM PDT  Shocking CCTV footage has shown the dramatic moment a speeding car crashed through the wall of a family's home in California.In the video, a Toyota Camry soars from the pavement into the side of a house, and two men can be seen running away from the crash moments later.
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| Trump signs executive order limiting immigration Wednesday Posted: 22 Apr 2020 04:23 PM PDT  Trump said the order would "pause" issuing green cards for 60 days, and the policy would then be revisited.
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| How Singapore went from being applauded for its coronavirus response to facing an alarming second wave with thousands of new cases Posted: 22 Apr 2020 06:59 AM PDT  Singapore appeared to contain its outbreak until a cluster of new infections in poorly-kept migrant dorms forced the country to clamp down harder.
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| Spain Reports Fewest New Coronavirus Cases in Three Days Posted: 21 Apr 2020 02:47 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Spain reported the smallest increase in the number of coronavirus cases in three days as the nation considers a cautious easing of restrictions on public life.There were 3,968 new infections in the 24 hours through Tuesday, taking the total to 204,178, according to Health Ministry data. The number of fatalities rose by 430, compared to Monday's increase of 399, to 21,282. More than 80,000 have recovered from the disease in the world's most extensive outbreak behind the U.S.The numbers of new cases and deaths have dropped to about half their levels at the start of April, prompting the government to shift focus to a possible easing of lockdown measures. Still, gains are fragile and ending the lockdown will be a gradual process, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said at the weekend.A first step will be easing confinement rules for children, who will be let out of their homes from April 27. The cabinet, holding its weekly meeting Tuesday, and scientific advisory teams are expected to outline the new regulations this week.While Sanchez hasn't given details on how they will work, he signaled they will probably apply to children up to the age of 12. The government plans to extend the lockdown until May 9, but requires parliamentary backing. Sanchez has also said that the end of the confinement will likely happen in phases, with certain areas of the country exiting before others.On Tuesday, Spanish Equality Minister Irene Montero announced that she has recovered from the virus. She was one of three cabinet members to test positive, and all three have recovered.The administration is also focusing on ways to deal with the country's economic collapse. It's pushing a proposal to form a European fund that would grant financial assistance to nations hit by the virus without creating more debt for individual countries. Sanchez is expected to present the plan to his European counterparts at Thursday's virtual summit.On Monday, the Bank of Spain said gross domestic product could shrink as much as 12.4% this year, in a worse-case scenario. Enagas SA, the country's gas transporter, said Tuesday that industrial gas demand has dropped 2% every week since the start of a state of emergency.(Updates with lockdown plans in fifth paragraph. A previous version of this story corrected the scope of the increase in cases and the date children will be allowed out.)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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| How to identify and remove a skin tag Posted: 22 Apr 2020 01:58 PM PDT  Skin tags are benign skin growths that you may find annoying and unsightly. Though you don't have to remove a skin tag, a doctor can get rid of it.
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| Americans overwhelmingly disagree with restarting the economy at the expense of public health Posted: 22 Apr 2020 11:49 AM PDT  Some people are protesting ongoing social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most Americans aren't on board.Just 14 percent of Americans believe the country "should stop social distancing to stimulate the economy even if it means increasing the spread of coronavirus," a Morning Consult/Politico poll released Wednesday found. A massive 76 percent meanwhile say social distancing should continue "even if it means continued damage to the economy," the poll taken just days ago found.Protesters have gathered in state capitols and, with prodding from President Trump, demanded businesses reopen and social distancing requirements be lifted even though medical experts warn against it. This poll reflects how small that movement is, despite its continued news coverage and the fact that it seems to have prompted some governors to buck federal guidelines and move to let businesses reopen before the pandemic has even peaked. The Morning Consult poll mirrors a recent survey from Pew Research, which found 66 percent of Americans were more concerned that social distancing guidelines would be lifted too soon than last too long.Morning Consult/Politico surveyed 1991 registered voters online from April 18-19, and the poll had a two percent margin of error.More stories from theweek.com How close are we to herd immunity? The Navajo Nation outbreak reveals an ugly truth behind America's coronavirus experience Trump administration allegedly removed doctor developing COVID-19 vaccine for refusing to back hydroxychloroquine
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| Pakistani doctors urge government to reimpose mosque restrictions Posted: 22 Apr 2020 11:06 AM PDT  Leading Pakistani doctors on Wednesday urged the government and clerics to reverse a decision to allow prayer congregations at mosques during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, warning that the spread of coronavirus could spiral out of control. Pakistan on Saturday lifted precautionary restrictions on congregational prayers. Congregations increase in size during Ramadan, which is expected to begin on Friday in Pakistan.
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| Argentina doesn't make payment, starting default countdown Posted: 22 Apr 2020 04:52 PM PDT  Argentina said it didn't make $500 million in debt payments due Wednesday, starting a 30-day countdown to a possible default unless the government and bondholders can reach a deal on restructuring its massive foreign debt. The failure to pay came a week after the government of President Alberto Fernández presented a proposal to restructure roughly $70 billion in debt involving the suspension of its debt obligations for three years and a 62% reduction for interest payments. Argentina will use the period to seek creditor acceptance of its proposal, which it has said will remain in force until May 8 and aims at "restoring the sustainability of public debt in foreign currency."
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| China dismisses Missouri's 'absurd' virus lawsuit Posted: 22 Apr 2020 04:28 AM PDT 
"Such abuse of litigation is not conducive to the epidemic response at home in the United States and also runs counter to international cooperation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a daily briefing, adding that China's response is not under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts and it has provided updates on the outbreak to the United States since January 3. Missouri became the first U.S. state on Tuesday (April 21) to sue the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus, saying that China's response to the outbreak that originated in the city of Wuhan brought devastating economic losses to the state. The civil lawsuit filed in federal court alleges negligence, among other claims.
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| Iran says it launched military satellite as Trump threatens ships Posted: 22 Apr 2020 02:21 PM PDT  Iran said it put its first military satellite into orbit Wednesday, making it an emerging "world power", as the US issued new threats amid rising naval tensions in the Gulf. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hailed the launch as a milestone, in the face of intense US pressure and Washington's allegations that the space programme is a cover to develop ballistic missiles. Tensions between the United States and Iran escalated again last week with Washington accusing its arch-foe of harassing its ships in the Gulf.
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| N.J. Governor Calls McConnell Bankruptcy Comment ‘Irresponsible’ Posted: 22 Apr 2020 12:49 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for saying he favors allowing states struggling with high pension costs amid the burdens of the pandemic response to declare bankruptcy rather than giving them a federal bailout."I'm taken aback -- my breath is taken away -- I have almost nothing to say to what Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said -- that it wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea for states to go bankrupt. It's actually worked out pretty well for some cities over time. Really?" Murphy said Wednesday at a press briefing."Encouraging, engendering, explicitly almost hoping" for bankruptcy "is completely and utterly irresponsible," he said, in a rare display of anger for the generally even-tempered governor."You have my word we won't go bankrupt," Murphy said.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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| Child sex trafficking survivor supported by Kim Kardashian West freed from jail Posted: 22 Apr 2020 11:57 AM PDT  "She will be sent to an appropriate group home and she will be under supervision for an extensive period of time," Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.
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| Coronavirus: WHO worker killed in Myanmar collecting samples Posted: 21 Apr 2020 08:34 AM PDT  The 28-year-old was caught up in gunfire in Myanmar's conflict-riven Rakhine State, the UN says.
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| 'Like the horror of war': mayor of virus-ravaged Ecuador city calls for drastic response Posted: 22 Apr 2020 03:40 AM PDT  Cynthia Viteri, leader of Latin America's hardest-hit city, says Guayaquil offers a lesson to other governments * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverageThe mayor of the Latin American city hardest hit by the coronavirus has urged regional governments to take drastic steps to slow its spread and avoid the devastation she said had left Guayaquil looking like a war zone.Cynthia Viteri told the Guardian she believed thousands had probably lost their lives in the Ecuadorian port city in recent weeks and compared Covid-19's deadly impact there to "an unexpected bomb falling on a peaceful town"."It was as if we were attacked from the air like in Hiroshima," said Viteri, a 54-year-old lawyer and former presidential candidate who sent desperate tweets as the scale of the dystopia unfolding there became clear."It was the horror of a war – there were dead in the streets, dead in homes, there were dead outside the hospitals," remembered Viteri, who was infected and placed in quarantine but has recovered.The precise scale of Guayaquil's tragedy remains unclear although few doubt the number of deaths far exceeds Ecuador's official nationwide death toll of 507.Viteri said independently gathered figures from cemeteries and graveyards suggested the death toll in Guayaquil alone could be more than 8,000.She claimed the figures showed that in the first two weeks of April alone, more than 5,000 people had died of Covid-19 in Ecuador's main commercial hub, which has close to 3 million inhabitants.Last week, official data suggested the number of deaths in Guayas province – of which Guayaquil is the capital – leapt from a normal average of 3,000 to nearly 11,000 in the six weeks between the beginning of March and mid-April.Viteri said she hoped the political leaders of other Latin American countries and cities could learn from Guayaquil's calamity.Last week, Brazil's former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told the Guardian he feared some parts of his country could witness similar scenes to the "horrific, monstrous images we saw in Guayaquil" in the coming weeks and months.Lula accused Brazil's current leader, Jair Bolsonaro, of leading Brazilians "to the slaughterhouse" by deliberately undermining social distancing measures and efforts to lock down major cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, which have been partially paralysed by their governors.Viteri said such shutdowns were essential."If we have learned a lesson that Guayaquil can leave for the world, and it's a painful lesson, it is: 'Don't run from the disease; pursue it, knock on doors and save people before [the virus] gets in their lungs,'" she said.Viteri said any country that had so far failed to lock down should "look in our mirror and apply preventive measures straight away".Three weeks after the collapse of Guayaquil's health and mortuary services shocked the world, Viteri claimed authorities were regaining control and said officials had "resisted [the virus] like Spartans".Soldiers and police have cordoned off often poorer virus-hit neighbourhoods, enforcing strict lockdowns, and a municipal taskforce made up of medics, firefighters and city workers has gone house to house looking for potential cases while sanitary workers have disinfected and fumigated public areas.Authorities have also created a corpse-collecting taskforce and distributed cardboard coffins to bereaved families.Viteri said Guayaquil was building two cemeteries for victims in addition to two others being built by the central government but she admitted hospitals continued to be overwhelmed by the number of coronavirus patients.Experts say one possible reason for the number of cases in Guayaquil is the high level of air traffic between Ecuador and Spain, which has the world's third-highest number of deaths, after the United States and Italy.Spain, where more than 21,000 people have died, is home to more than 400,000 Ecuadorian migrants and the first Covid-19 case recorded in Ecuador was of a 71-year-old woman who flew into Guayaquil from Madrid in mid-February. She died there on 13 March.A failure to properly enforce social distancing in the weeks after coronavirus arrived is also suspected to have played a role.
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| Germany sees future need to learn lessons of corona outbreak Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:08 AM PDT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to her Australian counterpart on Tuesday about the coronavirus pandemic, her spokesman said on Wednesday, adding that establishing facts about the outbreak would help to learn lessons for the future. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has sought support for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the coronavirus pandemic and the response of the World Health Organization (WHO). "At an appropriate time, it will be necessary to analyse every phase of the pandemic," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters.
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| 26 Cheap, Neutral Rugs That Actually Look Good Posted: 21 Apr 2020 10:10 AM PDT |
| Maryland's GOP governor wryly thanks Trump for offering the use of federal testing labs Posted: 20 Apr 2020 08:42 PM PDT  President Trump has repeatedly insisted the U.S. has plenty of coronavirus tests for everyone who needs one, though it is up to states to procure them. One of the glaring holes in Trump's assertion is that state officials are publicly and privately confirming what people trying to get coronavirus tests have long known: There are not enough tests.So when Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Monday that his state had purchased 500,000 COVID-19 tests from testing powerhouse South Korea, thanks to Hogan's Korean-speaking wife, Trump suggested Hogan was just ill-informed about labs available in Maryland. Vice President Mike Pence later stepped up to announce that the federal government would now let governors utilize the federal labs Hogan says he's been "desperately been trying to get help" from. Hogan took to Twitter on Monday night to thank Trump, kind of.> I'm grateful to President Trump for sending us a list of federal labs and generously offering Maryland use of them for COVID19 testing. Accessing these federal labs will be critical for utilizing the 500,000 tests we have acquired from South Korea.> > — Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) April 21, 2020The U.S. has conducted just over 4 million tests, according to the COVID Tracking Project. That is far short of the number of tests that many governors and nearly all public health experts say is needed to manage the outbreak after coronavirus lockdowns are lifted.More stories from theweek.com The Navajo Nation outbreak reveals an ugly truth behind America's coronavirus experience Georgia's dangerous coronavirus experiment Michigan governor says Trump's coronavirus messages 'put people in greater danger'
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| DeVos Has Deep Ties to Michigan Protest Group, But Is Quiet On Tactics Posted: 21 Apr 2020 01:49 AM PDT  When hundreds of protesters congregated on the steps of the Michigan state capitol building last week, snarling local ambulances in traffic and handing out candy to children with ungloved hands, it was with the organizational assistance of a dark money group with close ties with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.Now, the governor is calling on the cabinet official and fellow Michigander to condemn the group's open violation of social distancing guidelines during a pandemic."This group is funded in large part by the DeVos family," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, told reporters in a press briefing last week. "And I think it's really inappropriate for a sitting member of the United States president's cabinet to be waging political attacks on any governor."But DeVos, so far, is staying mum—despite having made public statements urging Americans to follow stay-at-home guidelines for the sake of public safety, and being directly named by the governor at the center of the group's ire.Protest movements against statewide stay-at-home orders—and in support of President Donald Trump—are growing more prominent across the country as the coronavirus outbreak in the United States enters its third month, even though an increasing majority of Americans say that the orders are necessary and that Trump's handling of the pandemic has been both slow and bungled.For Some on the Right, No Rumor Is Too Outlandish About Michigan Gov. Gretcher WhitmerMost of the protests can be traced back to "Operation Gridlock," a protest in Lansing, Michigan, that urged conservatives frustrated with the aggressive social-distancing executive order signed by Whitmer to circle the complex in their cars and cause an intentional traffic jam. Michigan, which is the epicenter of the outbreak in the Midwest and has lost nearly 2,400 people to the virus, has implemented stiff stay-at-home orders to prevent the further spread of the novel coronavirus that banned interstate travel, closed garden stores and halted motor boating.The protest—which ultimately violated the president's own social distancing guidelines and, according to Whitmer, blocked access to a level-one trauma center—was organized last week by the Michigan Conservative Coalition and the Michigan Freedom Fund, the latter of which has long-established connections with the wealthy DeVos family. The group, styles itself as the "premiere conservative advocacy organization in Michigan" and which had previously advocated for "right-to-work" legislation, was founded by Greg McNeilly, a former executive director of the state Republican party and currently the chief operating officer of the Windquest Group, the family office that manages a portion of DeVos' personal fortune and that of her husband.As a 501(c)(4), the Michigan Freedom Fund is not obligated to disclose its donors or the amount of money they contribute, but has deep pockets and a willingness to dig in on conservative pet projects in the state. In 2018, the group spent more than $1.2 million advocating against Proposal 2, which would have changed the state constitution to allow for an independent commission to draw congressional districts in the state. Whitmer, citing those connections, called on DeVos to disavow the group's actions and to encourage participants in future actions to "stay home and be safe."As secretary of education, DeVos has encouraged Americans to follow social distancing guidelines against leaving home, unnecessary interstate travel and congregating in large groups—guidelines that have been increasingly flouted by those participating in protests like the one organized by the Michigan Freedom Fund.The Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment regarding whether DeVos had any guidance for parents thinking of including their school-aged children in their protest plans, but a family spokesperson told The Daily Beast that while the DeVos' have not provided any funds for the protest, they understand the frustration that prompted the event."As elements of the governor's top-down approach appear to go beyond public safety, Michigan deserves competent governance—not baseless attacks," the spokesperson said in a statement.Another wealthy conservative backer of the Michigan Freedom Fund told The Daily Beast that the amount of money spent on advertising the event—$250 for sponsored Facebook posts, according to the group—is "infinitesimal" in the grand scheme of dark money in politics."There were thousands of cars there, according to state police—there were a few hundred people who disregarded the organizers' directions and were not necessarily social distancing," said Ron Weiser, a Michigan philanthropist and former chair of the state Republican Party who has supported the Michigan Freedom Fund in the past.In the scheme of things, Weiser added—with the fund having spent millions in past campaigns—a $250 sponsored post on Facebook is, he felt, barely worth mentioning."I mean, why not talk to me about picking up change next to a parking meter?" Weiser said.Weiser, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia under President George W. Bush, told The Daily Beast that any government official would be barred from being involved with funding or organizing an event like "Operation Gridlock," and said that Whitmer's criticism was clearly political."Governor Whitmer said what she should because it's political and, as you well know, she's auditioning to become vice president," Weiser said, referring to Whitmer's inclusion on former Vice President Joe Biden's short list of potential running mates in the 2020 general election. "So she would attack anybody in the administration, if she has the opportunity.Whitmer's office has deflected that speculation, saying that she is "flattered" by Biden's consideration but that she is currently focused on slowing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Michigan.The protest's organizers have echoed that dismissal. McNeilly, who is extremely active online, tweeted in response that "clearly she remains misinformed and disconnected with reality. Sad and beneath her....well, maybe not."Tony Daunt, executive director of the Michigan Freedom Fund, told a local Fox affiliate that Whitmer's "wild claim" was false."I think the Conservative Coalition and the thousands of people who have signed on to that group are offended by that," Daunt said, "as they should be."The governor's office, which pointed out that it had received more requests for comment about the protest than the number of people who showed up on the Capitol's footsteps, said that the governor understands the frustration of those protesting—within limits."We recognize that some people are angry and frustrated, and that's okay," said Bobby Leddy, the governor's spokesperson. "We just ask those who choose to protest these orders to do so in a manner that doesn't put their health or the health of our first responders at risk."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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| Coronavirus FAQ and What You Really Need to Know Posted: 22 Apr 2020 12:28 PM PDT  The virus has been deemed a global health emergency as it continues to spread.
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| After US oil prices dropped below $0 for the first time in history, people made memes about becoming oil barons Posted: 22 Apr 2020 11:38 AM PDT  As oil prices plummeted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, people made memes on Twitter about becoming oil barons for mere pennies.
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| ‘I’d take her in a heartbeat’: Joe Biden says he would love to have Michelle Obama as his running mate Posted: 21 Apr 2020 06:15 AM PDT  Joe Biden says he would secure Michelle Obama as his running mate "in a heartbeat" but doubts that the former first lady is interested in returning to the White House.Mr Biden, the presumptive nominee for the Democratic presidential nomination to face Donald Trump in November's general election, called Ms Obama "brilliant" and said she "knows the way around".
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