| In coronavirus, the 'stable genius' confronts a 'brilliant enemy' Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:05 AM PDT  President Trump tries to explain antibiotic resistance on the part of coronavirus, "a brilliant enemy."
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| Coronavirus may give President Trump a long-sought chance to privatize the Postal Service Posted: 12 Apr 2020 10:32 AM PDT  Amid a cash crunch threatening to put the postal service out of business, President Trump is being accused of blocking bipartisan efforts to fund the agency as part of an effort to privatize mail delivery.
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| 6 people were shot at a 'large party' held in California despite the state's social distancing order Posted: 12 Apr 2020 06:55 AM PDT  Police said they have not made any arrests in the case. All victims were treated at a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
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| U.S. sailor from coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier dies after contracting virus Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:42 AM PDT  A U.S. Navy sailor died on Monday after contracting the coronavirus aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, whose captain was fired after warning his crew would die unnecessarily unless strong action was taken. The sailor, the first active-duty U.S. servicemember to die from coronavirus complications, was admitted to intensive care on April 9 after being found unresponsive in his quarters. The sailor had tested positive exactly two weeks ago on March 30, the Navy said.
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| 7 Great Online Learning Platforms to Develop New Skills Posted: 13 Apr 2020 01:31 PM PDT |
| 'Got my blood boiling': Florida nursing homes ask governor for immunity from coronavirus lawsuits Posted: 12 Apr 2020 12:06 PM PDT  The Florida Health Care Association sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis seeking immunity under certain conditions for nursing homes, other facilities.
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| Coronavirus could 'decimate' Latino wealth, hammered by the Great Recession Posted: 12 Apr 2020 02:22 PM PDT  The crisis has either erased or is threatening to erase Latinos' decade-long climb back to financial stability.
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| AMLO Scores Win After Mexico Resists Demands from Oil Titans Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:33 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador scored a political victory on Sunday by convincing oil nations to let him cut production far less than other OPEC+ members, reinforcing his nationalist project to revive state-owned producer Pemex.Mexico will only cut 100,000 barrels -- just a quarter of its pro-rated share of the 9.7 million barrels a day reduction agreed by the oil-producing nations forming OPEC+. After three days of resistance by the Latin American country, the group abandoned the initial proposal of cutting 10 million barrels per day as the most seasoned oil countries including Saudi Arabia couldn't convince Lopez Obrador to implement a deeper cut.The U.S., Brazil and Canada, the other larger oil producers in the Americas, will instead contribute with a combined 3.7 million barrels as their production declines.The outcome is a win for a president who showed once again that his domestic goals rise above all else, particularly when it comes to the energy industry. Reversing 15 years of oil production declines at state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, has been one of the main goals of the Lopez Obrador administration, which explains the president's reluctance to accept bigger voluntary reductions even if it meant angering other nations and risking the failure of a historic oil deal.The victory comes at a time when Mexico is facing a significant economic contraction and increasing discontent from the country's business elite over a lack of significant stimulus measures to combat the devastating impact of the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic. It's a cautionary tale for companies and lobby groups calling for a strategy change by a leader who has stubbornly gone his own way, including an initial refusal to enact stringent actions to combat the disease."This confirms that even in an international negotiation, the president continues to be very focused on his agenda, his priorities, including Pemex," Eurasia Group analyst Carlos Petersen said by phone on Sunday. "His beliefs come before any other analysis or forecast of the economy, and room for change or adjustment in the near term seems very slim."Read More: The Unexpected Holdout to a Global Oil Production DealGovernment officials in Mexico City didn't wait to celebrate the outcome. In a tweet, Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard congratulated Energy Minister Rocio Nahle for "defending the interests of Mexico" by refusing to accept a bigger oil production cut as part of the OPEC+ pact. "The strategy designed by Lopez Obrador worked. Good news!!!""It went very well for us, super well" AMLO said about the agreement at his daily press conference on Monday morning. "Mexico had special treatment. It was respected by the group of oil producing nations."Legendary ObstinacyAMLO, a grassroots populist who spent decades decrying Mexico's crony capitalism, has relied frequently on his reputation as a president who advocates for his people, especially poorer workers, and who says he came to power to fundamentally change government-business relations. He's yet to leave the country since his inauguration in December 2018, having missed all multilateral meetings including the United Nations General Assembly.His legendary obstinacy, as demonstrated during the exhausting OPEC+ negotiations, is likely to play well with voters who like his "Mexican people first" message in a country where displays of patriotism are frequent.Read More: Mexico's Low-Key Stimulus Plan Criticized by Business GroupsYet some analysts argue that AMLO's fierce defense of his nationalistic energy policy -- which is at the heart of his ambitions to upend Mexico's public life in the model of the country's revolutionary past-- came at a huge cost: by refusing to cut production, Pemex may continue operating unprofitable fields. And by holding out on a key global negotiation, Mexico could face reprimands from other nations in the months to come."There are no reasons to celebrate," Carlos Elizondo, a former Pemex independent board member, wrote in an opinion piece published by Reforma newspaper Sunday. "The cost of getting away with it in front of the international community will be high, particularly at this moment of crisis."Mexico's own future inside OPEC+ is uncertain now, as it's expected to decide over the next two months whether to leave the alliance, delegates said. A representative of Mexico's energy ministry did not respond to a request for comment.Pemex RiskAMLO already said he is aiming to export less crude, instead sending it to the country's refineries as part as his big plan to rid Mexico of dependence on foreign energy markets. His longer-term bid to revive production at Pemex, whose debt is the highest of any oil major at more than $100 billion, could result in even bigger losses.The company is building an $8 billion refinery in AMLO's home state of Tabasco to reduce fuel imports that have soared to account for as much as 65% of Mexico's demand. This, even as the country's six existing refineries are operating at less than 30% of their capacity and lose more money as they increase production because of a lack of investment in maintenance and refurbishments.Pemex will have a negative cash flow this year of $20 billion if Mexican oil trades at $30 a barrel, according to Anne Milne, a strategist at Bank of America.Investors fear that Moody's Investors Service could downgrade Pemex's bonds to junk after Fitch Ratings Inc. cut Pemex bonds even deeper into junk earlier this month. S&P Global cut its rating in March.At the same time, the government has canceled oil and gas auctions and joint-venture contracts with Pemex that enabled the state driller to share in the financial and technical burden of developing Mexico's vast, mostly unexplored deep-water oil territory.While AMLO prioritizes his energy strategy, some analysts say his refusal to follow the OPEC+ general agreement could come at a cost. AMLO "has put Mexico in an internationally awkward position with other players, said Eurasia's Petersen. "We don't know what the unintended consequences of this might be."(Updates with comment by AMLO in eighth 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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| South Korea to ship coronavirus tests to US this week: report Posted: 13 Apr 2020 01:40 AM PDT  In contrast South Korea was once the hardest-hit country outside China, but appears to have brought its outbreak under control with a huge "trace, test and treat" strategy. It has tested more than half a million people in a process free to anyone referred by doctors or those who have links to a confirmed case. After a phone conversation with him last month, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Trump had asked for test kits.
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| 'Rice ATM' feeds Vietnam's most vulnerable population during virus lockdown Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:55 AM PDT  A Vietnamese entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City has invented a 24/7 automatic dispensing machine providing free rice for people out of work following an ongoing nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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| Coronavirus upends Putin’s political agenda in Russia Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:44 PM PDT  Spring is not turning out the way Russian President Vladimir Putin might have planned it. A nationwide vote on April 22 was supposed to finalize sweeping constitutional reforms that would allow him to stay in power until 2036, if he wished. The holiday has become the most important on Russia's calendar, and this year is the 75th anniversary, with world leaders invited to a celebration highlighting the country's exceptional role in history.
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| I will vote for Joe Biden in November. And it will kill me Posted: 13 Apr 2020 02:11 PM PDT  Against all internal resistance, I will vote for creepy Joe Biden, a man who both should be and does not deserve to be president.
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| Widow of 25-year-old NHL player Colby Cave mourns his death in heartbreaking post Posted: 13 Apr 2020 05:02 AM PDT  "You are and will always be my person, my hero," Emily Cave wrote. Her husband, Edmonton Oilers player Colby Cave, died on Saturday.
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| New Delta Air Lines boarding procedures aimed at preventing spread of coronavirus Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:38 AM PDT  The carrier boards flights from back to front. Passengers are asked to stay seated in the waiting area until their row is announced.
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| At least six dead after tornadoes, severe storms sweep South Posted: 12 Apr 2020 05:38 PM PDT  The deaths occurred in three Mississippi counties, the state's emergency management agency said Sunday.
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| Two men arrested for murder of Miami girl over Adidas Yeezy shoes Posted: 13 Apr 2020 10:30 AM PDT  The captain of her school dance team was murdered last week during a botched shoe robbery.
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| Fauci says US could see a 'rolling' reopen starting next month but warns of a 'rebound' in outbreaks later this year Posted: 12 Apr 2020 07:29 AM PDT  There are some indications that the outbreak was "starting to turn the corner," but reopening normal life would be "gradual," Dr. Fauci said Sunday.
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| Michelle Obama group backs expanding voting options for 2020 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 03:46 AM PDT  A voter initiative led by Michelle Obama announced support Monday for making it easier for people to register to vote and cast ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. When We All Vote, a nonpartisan voting initiative, says Americans should have greater access to voting by mail, early in-person voting and online voter registration. The announcement follows last week's primary election in Wisconsin, where thousands of people waited hours in line — without protective gear and in defiance of orders to stay home — after the state Supreme Court overturned the governor's order to postpone the vote as more than a dozen other states have done because of the pandemic.
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| China's new tax incentives encourage wild animal exports Posted: 12 Apr 2020 07:51 AM PDT  Nobody is certain how the novel COVID-19 coronavirus first infected humans, but the most frequent theory points to a wet market in Wuhan, China, and, more specifically, to the wild animals sold in it. It's widely believed the virus originated in bats and possibly jumped to another host — some have pointed to the endangered pangolins, others believe it may have been snakes — in the market before leaping again to humans, sparking a pandemic.Regardless of the specific species, Beijing imposed a ban on the sale and consumption of wild animals, practices which were heavily criticized by animal rights activists long before the virus. But The Wall Street Journal reports a government document from March showed China set up tax incentives for the export of animal products including edible snakes and turtles, primate meat, beaver and civet (the animal believed to have transferred the SARS virus to humans in 2003) musk, and rhino horns, the trade of which varies legally around the globe.The wild animal exports make up a small percentage of the goods tied to the new incentives, but a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service found that encouraging the sale of such products, even if it's just a small amount, could "spread the risk" of future viral infections to the global market, possibly rendering the in-country ban ineffective in the long run. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.More stories from theweek.com Trump adviser Peter Navarro made a bad bet 60 Minutes didn't cover pandemic preparedness under Obama Trump might fire the one person in the White House who knows what he's doing Bats probably aren't more likely to spread viruses to humans than other animals, study suggests
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| Putin says Russia may need the army to help battle coronavirus Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:57 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin said on Monday Russia might need to call in the army to help tackle the coronavirus crisis and warned the contagion was getting worse after the number of confirmed cases rose by a record daily amount. Russia reported 2,558 new cases on Monday, bringing the overall nationwide tally to 18,328. Moscow, the worst-hit area, and several other regions have imposed a lockdown, ordering residents to stay at home except to buy food, seek urgent medical treatment, take out the rubbish, or go to work if absolutely necessary.
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| Scientists have found oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout in fishes' livers and on the deep ocean floor Posted: 13 Apr 2020 05:16 AM PDT  Over the decade since the Deepwater Horizon spill, thousands of scientists have analyzed its impact on the Gulf of Mexico. The spill affected many different parts of the Gulf, from coastal marshes to the deep sea.At the Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of the Gulf Ecosystem, or C-IMAGE at the University of South Florida, marine scientists have been analyzing these effects since 2011. C-IMAGE has received funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative – a broad, independent research program initially funded by a US$500 million grant from BP, the company held principally responsible for the spill.Our findings and those of many other academic, government and industry researchers have filled two books. These works seek to quantify the past and future impacts of oil spills, and to help prevent such accidents from ever happening again. Here are some important findings on how the Deepwater Horizon disaster affected Gulf of Mexico ecosystems. Oil in fish and sedimentsBefore the spill, baseline data on oil contamination in fishes and sediments in the Gulf of Mexico did not exist. This kind of information is critical for assessing impacts from a spill and calculating how quickly the ecosystem can return to its previous, pre-spill state. Oil was already present in the Gulf from past spills and natural seeps, but the Deepwater Horizon was the largest accidental spill in the ocean anywhere in the world. C-IMAGE researchers developed the first comprehensive baseline of oil contamination in the Gulf's fishes and sediments, including all waters off the United States, Mexico and Cuba. Researchers spent almost 250 days at sea, sampling over 15,000 fishes and taking over 2,500 sediment cores. Repeated sampling from 2011 through 2018 of the region around the spill site has produced estimates of how quickly various species are able to overcome oil pollution; impacts on the health of various species, from microbes to whales; and how fast oil stranded on the bottom has become buried in sediments. Importantly, no fish yet sampled anywhere in the Gulf has been free of hydrocarbons – a telling sign of chronic and ongoing pollution in the Gulf. It is not known if similar findings would result from ecosystem-wide studies elsewhere because such surveys are rare.Many commercially important fish species were affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Researchers found skin lesions on red snapper from the northern Gulf in the months after the spill, but the lesions became less frequent and severe by 2012. There is other evidence of ongoing and increasing exposures to hydrocarbons over time in economically and environmentally important species like golden tilefish, grouper and hake as well as red snapper. Increasing concentrations of hydrocarbons in liver tissues of some species, such as groupers, suggest these fish have experienced long-term exposure to oil. Chronic exposures have been associated with the decline of health indices in tilefish and grouper. To complement field studies, scientists created an oil exposure test facility at Florida's Mote Aquaculture Research Park to assess how contact with oil affected adult fishes. For example, southern flounder that were exposed to oiled sediments for 35 days showed evidence of oxidative stress, a cellular imbalance that can cause decreased fertility, increased cellular aging and premature death. Fishes that live in deeper waters, from depths of about 650 to 3,300 feet (200 to 1,000 meters) were also affected. These fish are especially important because they are a food source for larger commercially relevant fish, marine mammals and birds. Researchers found increased concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – chemicals that occur naturally in crude oil – in fish tissues after the spill. In 2015-2016, PAH levels were still higher than pre-spill levels. Evidence indicates that the main sources of this contamination are through fishes' diets and transfers from female fish to their eggs. Oil on the sea floorMuch of the oil released in the spill created huge slicks at the water's surface. But significant quantities of crude oil also were deposited at the bottom of the deep sea. It was carried there by marine snow – clumps of plankton, fecal pellets, biominerals and soil particles washed into the Gulf from land. In a process that occurs throughout the world's oceans, these particles sink through the water column, transporting large quantities of material to the sea floor. In the Gulf, they attached to oil droplets as they descended. During the spill, responders set parts of the massive surface slick on fire in an effort to prevent it from reaching beaches and marshes. Crude oil contains thousands of different carbon compounds that become more toxic after they are burned. Post-spill studies showed that these compounds can be trapped in marine snow, covering the seabed and harming organisms that live there.Researchers coined the term MOSSFA (marine oil snow sedimentation and flocculent accumulation) to describe this mechanism for deposition of significant oil on the seabed. Thanks to this research, MOSSFA has been incorporated into models that U.S. government agencies use for oil spill response. C-IMAGE researchers have also developed methods to predict the intensity of MOSSFA if a similar-sized oil spill occurs anywhere in the world.Post-spill studies found that levels of oil compounds on the seafloor in the area affected by the spill were two to three times higher than background levels elsewhere in the Gulf. Sediment cores taken from around the wellhead showed that the density of minute single-celled organisms called foraminifera, which are abundant throughout the world's oceans and are a food source for other fishes, squids and marine mammals, declined by 80% to 90% over 10 months following the event, and their species diversity declined by 30% to 40%.Oxygen levels in these sediments also decreased in the three years following the spill, degrading conditions for organisms living at the sea floor. As a result of changes like these, researchers project that it will take perhaps 50 to 100 years for the deep ocean ecosystem to recover. More transparency from the oil industryScientists are still assessing key questions about the Gulf's ecological health, such as how long it will take for deep ecosystems to recover and what the lasting impacts are of episodic pollution events on top of chronic exposure. But here are some steps that would make it easier to measure both chronic effects of oil pollution and impacts from large-scale spills. Today, the only discharge that offshore oil and gas producers are required to measure is from "produced water" – natural water that comes up from beneath the sea floor along with oil and gas. And they are only required to report its hydrocarbon concentrations, even though the water can contain metals and radioactive material. In our view, they should also be required to routinely monitor oil contaminants in water, sediments and marine life near each platform, just as wastewater treatment plants periodically gather data on what they are discharging. This would provide a baseline for analyzing impacts from future spills and for detecting leaks hidden from the surface. Researchers would also like to see more transparency in data sharing about the industry – including routine equipment failures, other discharges such as drilling muds and other operational details – and greater U.S. engagement with Mexico and Cuba on oil exploration and spill response. As oil and gas production moves into ever-deeper waters, the goal should be to respond faster, more effectively and with a better understanding of what's happening in real time.[You're smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation's authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * A decade after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, offshore drilling is still unsafe * Fish larvae float across national borders, binding the world's oceans in a single networkSteven Murawski receives funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Tampa Bay Estuary programSherryl Gilbert receives funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program through the University of South Florida.
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| Police take license numbers, issue notices as Kentucky church holds in-person Easter service Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:17 AM PDT  Outside an Easter Sunday service at Maryville Baptist Church in Kentucky, state troopers placed quarantine notices on parishioners' cars.
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| US storms: At least 30 dead and half a million without power in locked-down south Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:31 AM PDT  At least 30 people have died throughout the southern United States after severe storms and tornadoes ravaged entire communities and left half a million Americans without power amid the global coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.At least eleven people died in Mississippi, and six more were killed in northwest Georgia. Two other bodies were pulled from damaged homes in Arkansas and South Carolina.
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| Governors respond to President Trump’s assertion that it’s up to him to decide when to loosen coronavirus restrictions Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:45 PM PDT  At a press conference on Monday, six governors announced a council of states to coordinate the loosening of stay-at-home orders and other restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded to questions about President Trump's assertion that it is up to him to decide when those orders are to be rolled back.
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| Biden is botching his response to the coronavirus and struggling to convince Americans they can trust him Posted: 13 Apr 2020 10:25 AM PDT  Confined to an in-home TV studio, Biden scored poorly even among Democrats in Insider's latest poll.
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| British PM's praise for health service could boost its cause Posted: 13 Apr 2020 11:16 AM PDT  Jenny McGee from New Zealand and Luis Pitarma from Portugal, he said, embodied the caring and sacrifice of National Health Service staff on the front lines of the pandemic, which has already killed 11,329 people in Britain. Johnson's statement could mean the NHS has a powerful new advocate as it seeks to reverse a decade of austerity that has left Britain's doctors and nurses struggling to treat the flood of coronavirus patients with inadequate supplies of protective gear.
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| China vows improvements for Africans after virus discrimination claims Posted: 12 Apr 2020 05:32 PM PDT  Under strong international pressure, China on Sunday vowed to improve the treatment of Africans in the southern city of Guangzhou following accusations of discrimination linked to the coronavirus pandemic, and said it rejected all "racist and discriminatory" remarks. Africans in the industrial centre of 15 million say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing, particularly as Beijing steps up its fight against imported infections. The African Union expressed its "extreme concern" about the situation on Saturday, calling on Beijing to take immediate corrective measures.
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| Israel closes off Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox areas to stem coronavirus spread Posted: 12 Apr 2020 07:08 AM PDT  Israel locked down mainly ultra-Orthodox Jewish areas of Jerusalem on Sunday to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus from the densely populated neighbourhoods where the infection rate is high. Residents of the restricted neighbourhoods in Jerusalem can still shop close to home for essentials. The neighbourhoods are home to large families living in close quarters.
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| Starving, angry and cannibalistic: America's rats are getting desperate amid coronavirus pandemic Posted: 13 Apr 2020 04:14 AM PDT  "A new 'army' of rats come in, and whichever army has the strongest rats is going to conquer that area," said Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist.
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| Not everyone is getting a $1,200 coronavirus stimulus check. Here's who will be left out. Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:37 AM PDT  Millions of Americans will be left out when the Internal Revenue Service starts distributing $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks next week.
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| New York medical workers ended an overnight shift treating COVID-19 patients only to find their tires had been slashed Posted: 12 Apr 2020 08:40 AM PDT  The suspect was found with PCP, a mind-altering drug, in his possession at the time of his arrest, local authorities said.
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| Alaska Dems says they received twice as many ballots than in 2016 Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:47 PM PDT  Joe Biden is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee after Sanders suspended his campaign earlier this week, although Sanders remained on the ballot in Alaska.
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| Top US Navy official who resigned under pressure was reportedly angry at an aircraft-carrier crew's emotional send-off of the captain he had fired Posted: 12 Apr 2020 06:00 PM PDT  The carrier's captain was removed after his letter pleading for Navy leaders to help with a coronavirus outbreak was leaked to the press.
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| AP PHOTOS: India's virus lockdown slows the usual bustle Posted: 13 Apr 2020 02:28 AM PDT  Big cities normally filled with dense crowds are wide open, with public spaces out of bounds. India, a bustling country of 1.3 billion people, has slowed to an uncharacteristic crawl, transforming ordinary scenes of daily life into a surreal landscape. The nation is now under what has been described as the world's biggest lockdown, aimed at keeping the coronavirus from spreading and overwhelming India's enfeebled health care system.
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| At least six dead as tornadoes hit Mississippi Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:38 PM PDT  At least six people were killed when tornadoes ripped through Mississippi on Sunday, officials said, prompting the southern US state to declare an emergency. The tornadoes caused "catastrophic" damage, according to US media, and prompted the National Weather Service to issue its highest level of tornado alert. Governor Tate Reeves tweeted that he had declared a state of emergency "to protect the health and safety of Mississippians in response to the severe tornadoes and storms hitting across the state."
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| Russian border becomes China's frontline in fight against second virus wave Posted: 12 Apr 2020 08:44 PM PDT  China's northeastern border with Russia has become a frontline in the fight against a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic as new daily cases rose to the highest in nearly six weeks - with more than 90% involving people coming from abroad. Having largely stamped out domestic transmission of the disease, China has been slowly easing curbs on movement as it tries to get its economy back on track, but there are fears that a rise in imported cases could spark a second wave of COVID-19. A total of 108 new coronavirus cases were reported in mainland China on Sunday, up from 99 a day earlier, marking the highest daily tally since March 5.
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| Pelosi, Schumer say they're not backing down on coronavirus relief demands Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:30 AM PDT  Schumer and Pelosi said in their statement Monday that Republicans must stop their "political posturing" in offering legislation that they know won't pass either chamber.
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| Michelle Obama initiative backs expanding vote-by-mail for 2020 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:30 AM PDT  An initiative co-chaired by Michelle Obama has announced support for expanding access to vote-by-mail during the coronavirus pandemic.
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| 'It would cripple us completely': Coronavirus takes toll on rural police agencies Posted: 12 Apr 2020 05:38 PM PDT  In rural police departments, even a few coronavirus cases could pack a wallop. Small agencies don't have budgets to fill in for sick patrol officers.
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| An Indian TikToker who said to trust God over face masks is reportedly the first person in his district to test positive for COVID-19 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 11:30 AM PDT  Local reports say the man, aged 25, was the first person from the Sagar district to test positive for the coronavirus, and had his phone confiscated.
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| Coronavirus: Food delivery driver paying back doctors who saved him Posted: 12 Apr 2020 07:48 PM PDT  Having survived cancer, one delivery rider in China is helping keep medical staff fed during the pandemic.
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| 'The way down is much slower than the way up': WHO announces 6 criteria countries need to meet before lifting lockdown restrictions Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:30 AM PDT  During a press briefing April 13, the World Health Organization laid out six criteria countries should use as they consider lifting control measures.
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| Child sex abuse in Pakistan's religious schools is endemic Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:06 PM PDT  Muhimman proudly writes his name slowly, carefully, one letter at a time, grinning broadly as he finishes. Earlier this year, a cleric at the religious school he faithfully attended in the southern Punjab town of Pakpattan took him into a washroom and tried to rape him. Muhimman's aunt, Shazia, who wanted only her first name used, said she believes the abuse of young children is endemic in Pakistan's religious schools.
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| Libya unity government seizes strategic cities from rival Haftar Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:26 PM PDT  Forces backing Libya's unity government captured two coastal cities west of Tripoli on Monday in a new blow to military commander Khalifa Haftar a year after he launched an offensive on the capital. "Our forces took control of Sorman and Sabratha and are pursuing(Haftar's forces)," said a statement by Mohammed Gnunu, spokesman for the forces of the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord. An AFP video journalist saw pro-GNA forces in pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns celebrating in central Sabratha, around halfway between Tripoli and the Tunisian border.
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| Italy's daily coronavirus cases decline, deaths rise Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:29 AM PDT  Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 566 on Monday, up from 431 the day before, but the number of new cases slowed to 3,153 from a previous 4,092. The number of new cases was the lowest since April 7. The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 rose to 20,465, the Civil Protection Agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.
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