| Republicans block most aid to help states plan for presidential election amid coronavirus pandemic Posted: 25 Mar 2020 03:31 PM PDT  Voting reforms that would make it much easier to cast ballots by mail in the fall presidential election were left out of the $2 trillion rescue package that was unveiled Wednesday.
|
| In coronavirus pandemic, Trump allies say they're ready to die for the economy Posted: 25 Mar 2020 08:54 AM PDT  Some conservatives are urging Americans to ignore the advice of public health experts and get back to work in order to avoid an extended market downturn.
|
| A Georgia healthcare worker was found dead in her home, and a posthumous test found she was infected with the new coronavirus Posted: 25 Mar 2020 11:58 PM PDT  Healthcare workers in the US are contracting the novel coronavirus and few have already died from COVID-19.
|
| Stimulus checks are coming — here's how to make sure you get yours quickly Posted: 26 Mar 2020 01:50 PM PDT  Spoiler alert: If you haven't filed your taxes since 2017, now is a good time to get that done.
|
| Who should wear a face mask, and do they stop the coronavirus? Posted: 25 Mar 2020 09:40 AM PDT  Many people across Asia wear face masks to try and protect themselves against COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. * Masks work by capturing droplets that are dispersed in coughs, sneezes and breath - these are the main transmission route of the new coronavirus. * There are two main types of mask: surgical masks, which are strips of fabric worn across the nose and mouth and closer-fitting ones sometimes called respirators.
|
| A Louisiana pastor defied state orders and held a service for hundreds of people. He says he has no plans of stopping. Posted: 25 Mar 2020 12:42 PM PDT  Pastor Tony Spell, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, held a service for 400 people on Tuesday. On Sunday, there were more than 1,000.
|
| Student loan stimulus: Suspended payments, plus coronavirus relief from collections Posted: 25 Mar 2020 02:34 PM PDT  The coronavirus stimulus package suspends student loan payments, but does not have loan forgiveness. The feds also have stopped collections efforts.
|
| Coronavirus: Mexicans demand crackdown on Americans crossing the border Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:48 AM PDT  Wearing face masks, protesters blocked the US southern border, telling Americans to 'stay home'
|
| Putin calls for sanctions 'moratorium' at G20 summit Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:35 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for sanctions relief during the coronavirus pandemic, telling G20 leaders it was a matter "of life and death". "Ideally we should introduce a... joint moratorium on restrictions on essential goods as well as on financial transactions for their purchase," Putin said at a virtual meeting of G20 leaders Thursday. "These matters should be freed of any politics," Putin added.
|
| European Leaders Head for Showdown Over Response to Virus Crisis Posted: 26 Mar 2020 07:06 AM PDT |
| Sanders, AOC Threaten Delays on $2 Trillion Economic Stimulus Posted: 25 Mar 2020 02:10 PM PDT  Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Wednesday both threatened a possible delay in voting on the massive $2 trillion economic-stimulus package working its way through Congress.Sanders objected to an amendment proposed on Wednesday afternoon by Senators Ben Sasse (R., Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), and Tim Scott (R., S.C.) that would cap unemployment benefits at a worker's previous salary level."I cannot at the last minute allow some right-wing senators [to] try to undermine the needs of workers and think they are going to get away with that," Sanders told the New York Times. He added that he would vote for the stimulus if the group of Republicans dropped their proposed amendment, and called the current draft of the bill "far superior" to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell's (R., Ky.) original draft."The reason I know I'm right is that Bernie Sanders has just threatened me," Graham countered in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "This is Bernie Sanders on steroids. . . . He could not win at the ballot box, but he's winning in this bill."Sasse told National Review that the Republican senators worry the text of the bill allows workers to make more money "by being unemployed than if the employer-employee relationship were maintained."Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez said she may request a "recorded vote" on the stimulus in the House, which would force House members currently not in Washington, D.C., to return to vote in person. She has said she is worried the stimulus will favor large corporations at the expense of workers."With the health risks of travel, there is no easy choice here," Ocasio-Cortez told CNN. "But essential workers are showing up and putting their health at risk every day, and if the final text of a bill is set up to hurt them, [a recorded vote] may be something we have to do."House speaker Nancy Pelosi favors holding a vote by unanimous consent, in which case one House member could block the bill's passage by voting against.
|
| The US government has a stockpile of 16,000 extra ventilators in case of an emergency like COVID-19. It isn't enough. Posted: 25 Mar 2020 01:37 PM PDT  Already, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says his state needs 30,000 more ventilators for the projected cases in the next two weeks.
|
| Exclusive: U.S. military to withhold some infection data over concern of adversary use Posted: 26 Mar 2020 07:23 AM PDT  The U.S. military has decided it will stop providing some of the more granular data about coronavirus infections within its ranks out of concern that the information might be used by adversaries as the virus spreads.
|
| The Best New Teapots, According to AD's Market Editor Posted: 25 Mar 2020 05:00 AM PDT |
| Accused New Zealand mosque shooter shocks with switch to guilty plea Posted: 25 Mar 2020 04:13 PM PDT  An Australian man accused of killing 51 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand's worst mass shooting changed his plea to guilty in a surprise move on Thursday. Brenton Tarrant, who appeared by video link, admitted to 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act in a hastily called Christchurch High Court hearing. "The entry of guilty pleas represents a very significant step towards bringing finality to this criminal proceeding."
|
| Entire senior home in New Jersey, 94 people, presumed to have coronavirus Posted: 25 Mar 2020 05:15 PM PDT  St. Joseph's Senior Nursing Home in Woodbridge already has 24 people who tested positive, with 70 more expected to also test positive.
|
| More than 1,000 US coronavirus deaths, near 70,000 cases: tracker Posted: 25 Mar 2020 11:06 PM PDT  The number of deaths caused by the novel coronavirus rose to 1,031 in the United States on Wednesday, with 68,572 confirmed cases nationwide, a tracker run by the Johns Hopkins University showed. The United States has the third highest number of confirmed cases behind China and Italy, and the US death rate is now 1.5 percent, based on reported cases. A projection shared with Congress earlier this month said that between 70 to 150 million people could eventually be infected in the United States.
|
| Coronavirus: Trump's health team was not 'well informed' about his Easter goal to 'open' US Posted: 25 Mar 2020 06:31 AM PDT  Donald Trump appears to have announced he wants all or large swaths of the United States reopened by Easter without first informing his top public health officials.The president appears in public with Anthony Fauci, his infectious disease official, and Deborah Birx, a State Department infectious disease expert, daily. Mr Fauci told reporters he had a candid conversation with Mr Trump in the Oval Office just before the two, along with Ms Birx and other officials, appeared in the briefing room for a coronavirus update.
|
| Fact check: A Bill Gates-backed pandemic simulation in October did not predict COVID-19 Posted: 26 Mar 2020 10:48 AM PDT  An Instagram post claims Bill Gates hosted an event that is tied to the coronavirus outbreak, which started weeks later. We rate that claim false.
|
| Busch will give you a '3-month supply' of free beer if you adopt or foster a pup as shelters close Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:41 AM PDT  Busch and Midwest Animal Rescue & Services have partnered to entice perspective dog owners to adopt or foster during the pandemic with free beer.
|
| The coronavirus mutates more slowly than the flu — which means a vaccine will likely be effective long-term Posted: 25 Mar 2020 06:18 PM PDT  The mutation rate of the new coronavirus suggests a one-time vaccine would be sufficient to confer long-term immunity, according to experts.
|
| Dyson Goes From Vacuums to Ventilators In Just 10 Days Posted: 26 Mar 2020 02:43 PM PDT  The company is one in a growing list that's joining COVID-19 relief efforts.
|
| China cuts international flights, bars foreign residents Posted: 26 Mar 2020 05:06 PM PDT  China will drastically cut its international flight routes and bar entry to returning foreigners based in the country to stem the spread of the coronavirus, authorities said Thursday. Foreigners living in China with valid visas and resident permits will be blocked from returning to the country after midnight Saturday, the foreign ministry said in a statement. "The suspension is a temporary measure that China is compelled to take in light of the outbreak situation," it added.
|
| Russia thanks 'real friend' Jack Ma for gift of a million masks Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:27 AM PDT  Russia has received more than a million masks and 200,000 coronavirus testing kits as a gift from Chinese billionaire businessman Jack Ma, its Defence Ministry said on Thursday. Calling Ma "a real friend", the ministry said in a statement that the co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba had spoken by telephone to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and told him how touched he had been by Moscow's own help for China. The foundations of Alibaba and Ma said on Wednesday they had sent medical equipment to Russia.
|
| Missouri man charged with licking items at Walmart to mock coronavirus fears Posted: 25 Mar 2020 01:34 PM PDT  Authorities say Cody Lee Pfister, 26, posted a video on social media of himself licking deodorants at a Walmart in Warrenton. He was charged with making a terrorist threat.
|
| Biden Suggests Dems Push for ‘Green New Deal’ Provisions in Next Coronavirus Stimulus Bill Posted: 25 Mar 2020 12:37 PM PDT  Former vice president Joe Biden on Wednesday suggested passing climate-change legislation as part of economic aid packages amid the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic."We're going to have an opportunity, I believe, in the next round [of economic aid] here to use…my Green Deal to be able to generate both economic growth as consistent with the kind of infusion of monies we need into the system to keep it going," Biden said in a live-streamed briefing on the coronavirus crisis.Biden then advocated for investment in infrastructure-related jobs to offset the economic impact of the pandemic."We're going to need new infrastructure going down the road here, and it's a way to generate economic growth. That's going to be, I think, the next round we have to be looking at."Biden in January released a climate-change plan based in part on the "Green New Deal" floated in 2019 by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) and Senator Ed Markey (D., Mass.).Democrats have already attempted to add environmental legislation to the massive $2 trillion economic stimulus meant to offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation included measures requiring airlines receiving assistance to fully offset carbon emissions by 2025, as well as requiring airlines to report greenhouse gas emissions in order to display the results in a public database.On Monday, President Trump criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and congressional Democrats for the attempt to add the legislation."Nancy Pelosi came and put a lot of things in the deal that had nothing to do with workers -- that had to do with an agenda that they have been trying to get passed for 10 years," Trump said during a Fox News virtual town hall. "[The Democrats said] 'We want green energy, let's stop drilling oil' -- they had things in there that were terrible…Windmills all over the place and all sorts of credits for windmills -- they kill the birds and ruin the real estate. A lot of problems."
|
| US couple, adopted daughter, caught in India virus lockdown Posted: 26 Mar 2020 03:23 PM PDT  A Georgia couple who traveled to India to adopt a child have had to delay bringing their new daughter back to the United States after Indian authorities locked down the country because of the coronavirus. India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday announced a three-week lockdown in the country of 1.3 billion people, meaning that citizens and visitors alike may only leave their homes or hotels for food, medicine or other essential needs. The order is meant to keep the virus from surging and overwhelming an already strained health care system, but it has also left Mike and Whitney Saville of Auburn, Georgia, with little hope of getting back home with their daughter Grace anytime soon.
|
| Two Grand Princess cruise passengers with coronavirus die; 103 have tested positive for COVID-19 Posted: 25 Mar 2020 06:03 PM PDT  Two passengers who had been on Princess Cruises' Grand Princess, which docked in California, have died due to complications from the coronavirus.
|
| The college student who licked an airplane toilet said she'd 'pull up' and cough on Dr. Phil, who called her 'spoiled and entitled' Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:04 AM PDT  Ava Louise, who said she'd "rather die hot than live ugly" and who posted a TikTok of herself licking an airplane toilet, also criticized boomers.
|
| Why companies like Goldman Sachs, Apple, and Facebook had all of those N95 masks to donate in the first place Posted: 24 Mar 2020 09:36 PM PDT  Some companies began stockpiling masks after the avian flu 15 years ago because they believed it would protect people from respiratory illnesses.
|
| Pressure Builds on Boris Johnson Over the U.K.’s Lag in Virus Testing Posted: 25 Mar 2020 12:39 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson's top medical adviser said the U.K. must learn from other countries' experience of coronavirus testing as he warned the National Health Service may be overwhelmed by the pandemic.The admission came after days of criticism from politicians and the media that Britain's test regime is lagging behind other nations', including Germany and South Korea. Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said the U.K. is being hobbled by global supply chain bottlenecks, and he dampened optimism that home test kits could be available within days. "What we need to do is look at those countries that have actually got more testing than us and work out how to do it the way they're doing it as best we can in our own system, using our own testing systems," Whitty said at a joint press conference with Johnson on Wednesday.The issue carries significant political risk for Prime Minister Johnson because testing is seen by medical experts, the World Health Organization and even his own advisers as crucial in the absence of a vaccine. Without knowing how many people have been infected it's impossible to know how best to tackle the outbreak -- or to judge when to end an economy-sapping lockdown.The admission that the U.K. needs to learn from other countries is also potentially damaging for the government, which has faced repeated criticism for acting more slowly than other countries to curb movement of people, close schools, and ban gatherings in public. 'Extraordinary Speed'Standing next to Johnson and Whitty at a press conference in London, the U.K.'s Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance acknowledged the government has no idea how widely the virus has spread in the population. "The scale of this is something which has obviously occurred at extraordinary speed," Whitty said, when asked why the U.K. was not able to match other countries' rate of testing. "That's just a practical reality."The lack of testing capacity is having an immediate impact on the state-run NHS's capacity to cope, because many front-line workers showing symptoms -- or in households with other people who are -- are self-isolating to avoid the risk of infecting their patients. But not all of these medical workers would have to stay at home if they could be tested and given the all-clear.The U.K. had conducted just over 90,000 tests as of March 24, typically at a rate of 5,000-6,000 day. That's still well short of the immediate goal of 10,000 daily tests and far from the 25,000 target it wants to hit in the coming weeks.U.K. Says 3.5 Million Coronavirus Home Tests Coming SoonClose Run"This is going to be a close-run thing, we all know that," Whitty said, when asked if the NHS will be overwhelmed in the next three weeks. If people adhere to the lock down rules, the outbreak will "probably be manageable, but we can't guarantee that," he said.Johnson decided to stop widespread testing, instead choosing to limit tests to patients who were taken to hospital showing likely symptoms.That policy was driven by the pursuit of so-called herd immunity -- the point at which enough people have had an illness, and gained protection from it, that it won't be transmitted to those who haven't been infected. Vallance said at the time that 60% of the U.K. population would need to catch the disease for it to work.The government abandoned that strategy when scientific modeling made clear the NHS didn't have enough critical care beds to cope with the expected numbers needing treatment.It is now in a phase of trying to suppress the outbreak with intensifying measures aimed at reducing social interactions. On Monday, Johnson said the country would be in a lock down for at least three weeks.The strategy had many critics including Jeremy Hunt, the U.K.'s longest-serving health secretary from 2012 to 2018, who told the BBC on Wednesday the decision to stop testing in the community was "very worrying.""When the view was that you were happy for 60% of the population to get this, then testing becomes less important," he said. "The key -- if we want to avoid long periods of lock down -- is to have very, very comprehensive testing so that we actually track down and break the chain of transmission."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.
|
| Top scientist: Coronavirus could be seasonal Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:29 AM PDT  Anthony Fauci, who leads research into infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said there is a strong chance the new coronavirus could return seasonally.
|
| New York sees glimmer of progress against coronavirus, New Orleans worsens Posted: 25 Mar 2020 05:32 AM PDT  The rate of hospitalizations in New York has slowed in recent days, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, with numbers he called "almost too good to be true." In an ominous sign he and other governors are preparing for the worst, the states of New York, North Carolina and Hawaii requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency send special mortuary teams that can be deployed for mass casualties, FEMA said on Wednesday. New Orleans, where large crowds celebrated Mardi Gras a month ago, was on track to become the next U.S. epicenter, as Louisiana's Gulf Coast metropolis recorded the world's highest growth rate in coronavirus cases.
|
| Pelosi says she doesn't think 'we've seen the end of direct payments,' calls for fourth coronavirus bill Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:53 AM PDT  Pelosi said that House Democrats plan to take the lead on the fourth installment of economic and health care relief.
|
| Cho Ju-bin: South Korea chatroom sex abuse suspect named after outcry Posted: 25 Mar 2020 03:58 AM PDT  At least 10,000 people used the chatrooms, with some paying up to $1,200 (£1,000) for access.
|
| Chinese State Media Falsely Claim U.S. Army Athlete Brought Coronavirus to China Posted: 26 Mar 2020 07:43 AM PDT  Chinese state-run media are citing an American conspiracy theorist to push claims that coronavirus was brought to China by a U.S. military athlete.The Global Times claimed in an article Wednesday that the coronavirus, which was first discovered in Wuhan, was in fact manufactured in a U.S. military lab and brought to China by a cyclist who took part in the World Military Games in Wuhan in October.The CCP-run paper cites known U.S. conspiracy theorist George Webb as the source for the claim, which it admits lacks "strong evidence" but still raises questions about the U.S. athletes who traveled to Wuhan.The Global Times also quotes Li Haidong, a professor of U.S. studies at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, who challenges the U.S. to release "relevant information regarding the athlete's health status and infection records to clear public doubts and help with the scientific study on the virus' origin."China has pushed propaganda to distance itself from blame for the spread of COVID-19, after suppressing initial reports of human-to-human transmission and silencing labs that discovered the novel virus resembled the deadly SARS virus of 2002-2003.On February 27, Zhong Nanshan, a primary pulmonologist said at a press conference, that "the coronavirus first appeared in China but may not have originated in China."The efforts have led to scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers, who have proposed holding China accountable for the coverup."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," Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) said in the release of a resolution calling for an international investigation to determine how the Chinese Communist Party directly contributed to the emerging global pandemic.Multiple mainstream outlets have been complicit in serving the interests of Chinese state media.The Global Times also used footage this week from U.S. mainstream media criticizing President Trump's use of the term "Chinese virus" to suggest any scrutiny of China's handling of the coronavirus is racist.> The US President's rhetoric in using "Chinese virus" to describe COVID19, has sparked fierce public criticism from all walks of life in the US. pic.twitter.com/RMljngN7P3> > -- Global Times (@globaltimesnews) March 23, 2020The Daily Caller reported Wednesday that The Daily Mail, the popular British tabloid, has also been pushing Chinese propaganda by publishing dozens of coronavirus-related stories originating from People's Daily, the communist party's official newspaper.The Economist is running advertorials — ads designed to look like news stories — from the state-backed Beijing Review in its print issues, The Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday.
|
| FBI: Soldiers set up deadly robbery to fund foreign fighting Posted: 26 Mar 2020 07:19 AM PDT |
| Rockets hit Iraq's Green Zone, US-led coalition leaves base Posted: 26 Mar 2020 08:57 AM PDT  Two rockets slammed into the Iraqi capital's high-security Green Zone early Thursday, hours before US-led forces were set to pull out of a second base in the country. Some 7,500 foreign troops are in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition helping local troops fight jihadist remnants, but those numbers are being significantly drawn down this month. Before dawn on Thursday, two rockets punched into an empty square near an Iraqi security headquarters in the Green Zone, where government buildings and foreign embassies are based, Iraqi security forces said in a statement.
|
| 6 Amazon warehouses have been hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with employees saying the company isn't doing enough to protect their safety Posted: 25 Mar 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Amazon workers say the company hasn't been doing enough to promote social distancing at its warehouses.
|
| Why are so few Germans dying from the coronavirus? Experts wonder Posted: 25 Mar 2020 09:06 AM PDT  "I would be happy if we can come back in two months' time and still be able to talk about what Germany did right," one expert said.
|
| California scrambles to avoid Covid-19's worst-case scenario: 'It will take a heroic effort' Posted: 24 Mar 2020 06:33 PM PDT  State has more than 2,500 cases and faces a shortage of protective equipment and hospital beds * Coronavirus – latest US updates * Coronavirus – latest global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageLeaders in California are scrambling to prepare the state amid a shortage of hospital beds, limited access to masks and ventilators and a patchwork approach to testing, as a surge of cases in New York provides a warning of how quickly the coronavirus crisis could spiral out of control.The number of cases in New York state had soared by Tuesday morning, with 25,665 confirmed infected and 210 deaths. "We are now, in New York City, the epicenter of this crisis in the United States of America," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday. "The worst is yet to come."Three thousand miles west in California, where a statewide stay-at-home order took effect Friday, California's governor, Gavin Newsom, was readying the state for a 90-day surge in cases, a demand that would require adding 50,000 hospital beds to the state's portfolio. Tuesday saw the death of a patient under the age of 18 in Los Angeles, who is believed to be the nation's first child to have died from the virus.Newsom has projected a growing need for hospital beds over the past week as the governor has used Facebook Live to hold near-nightly press conferences. Newsom said on Monday night the state was also hoping to secure 1,000 beds in hotels to shelter the unhoused during the outbreak.The number of coronavirus cases in California surged had surpassed 2,500 by Tuesday afternoon, with 50 deaths reported statewide, according to tracking by the San Francisco Chronicle.The Bay Area remains the hardest hit so far, with more than 800 confirmed cases across four counties. But Los Angeles is climbing the list, with 662 cases and 11 deaths, including the patient under 18. An LA health official said it was "a devastating reminder that Covid-19 infects people of all ages"."It underscores the enormity of the challenge in front of us and how it can impact anybody," Newsom said about the teenager's death. Half of all positive cases in California fell in the 18-to-49 age range, Newsom said in a news conference Tuesday evening. "Young people can and will be impacted by this virus," he said.> California Gov. Newsom says 50% of the state's current confirmed coronavirus cases are people between the age of 18 to 49. "This disease impacts everybody," Newsom said.> > — Jon Passantino (@passantino) March 25, 2020The governor hopes a navy hospital ship bound for Los Angeles and two army field hospitals opening in Riverside and Santa Clara counties will help meet the need for hospital beds.The state also faces a scarcity of protective equipment that has forced state officials to turn to leaders in private industry, including Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook, to assist in production.California is sprinting to get hold of about 1bn sets of gloves and hundreds of millions of gowns, surgical masks and face shields, he said at a press conference late Monday."It's going to take an heroic effort" to obtain enough personal protective equipment to deal with a sudden surge in coronavirus cases, Newsom said.A steep rise in hospitalizations related to the coronavirus in Los Angeles county may be an early warning sign of what's to come. As of 6 March, five people in the county had been hospitalized with the coronavirus at some point, according to the Los Angeles Times. By Monday, two weeks later, that number had climbed to 90, with officials reporting that 536 people in Los Angeles county have tested positive for the virus.Doctors and hospital administrators are hurrying to draft policies on how to handle decisions on triage and hospital beds in the coming weeks."We don't have much time," a Los Angeles emergency room physician, Dr Marc Futernick, told the LA Times. "These are decisions that we need to make really soon before we are in the throes of the tsunami."California's patchwork response to testing has also left it struggling to keep pace with the virus, and the state is now looking to establish a coordinated approach. At least 22 state laboratories, seven hospitals and two private outfits are conducting tests in California, but it remains hazy how testing at those sites is being tracked."We are cobbling together various approaches," Susan Butler-Wu, an associate professor of clinical pathology at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, told the LA Times. "The whole thing is badly discombobulated ... I think 100% that the system is broken."About 26,400 tests in California had been conducted by Monday afternoon. New York, which has half as many residents and the nation's largest number of cases, had conducted 91,200 tests, according to the Covid Tracking Project, an independent group.Numbers from that group put California below the national average of about 90 tests performed for every 100,000 residents.When asked by reporters about the state's lack of testing, Newsom said that states had different ways of counting the figures, adding that some test protocols in California were under way but not reflected in the total numbers.Newsom has implored residents to observe restrictions and stay at home to curb the spread of the virus. After beaches and state parks over the weekend saw an expected crush of visitors hiking and jogging – activities still permitted under the California lockdown – Newsom yesterday closed parking lots at dozens of such areas."Normally that would light up my heart to see tens of thousands of people congregating down in Malibu and other parts of our beautiful state," Newsom said. "One cannot condemn that, but one can criticize it. We need to practice common sense and socially distance."Local officials had already moved to close parking at popular beaches in Malibu, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Parks in scenic Marin county, north of San Francisco, were closed and access was restricted to many of the trails in the Santa Monica Mountains that run through Los Angeles county.As Donald Trump voiced his desire to get Americans back to normality by Easter, Newsom had a more sober outlook on the shutdown situation in California on Tuesday. "We're trying to bend that curve but we haven't bent it," he said. "Early April, that would be misleading to represent, at least for California."If the state continues to follow the current protocols for the next six to eight, or even the next eight to 12 weeks, "we'll be in a very different place than we are today", he said. "But I think April for California will be sooner than any of the experts that I talk to would believe is possible."Vivian Ho and agencies contributed reporting
|
| Tehran says missing former U.S. agent left Iran years ago Posted: 26 Mar 2020 01:54 AM PDT  Tehran said on Thursday that a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran 13 years ago had left the country a long time ago, despite his family saying a day earlier that he had died in Iranian custody. Robert Levinson went missing on Iran's Kish Island in the Gulf in March 2007. The case is another irritant in the already hostile relationship between Washington and Tehran.
|
| Biden: ‘I think we’ve had enough debates’ Posted: 25 Mar 2020 12:13 PM PDT  When former Vice President Joe Biden was asked if he believes there should be more Democratic primary debates, he said he believes that there have been enough.
|
| Man who said he had coronavirus coughed on Wegmans worker, charged with making terroristic threat Posted: 25 Mar 2020 03:33 PM PDT  A customer coughed and then said he had coronavirus to an employee at a Wegmans in Manalapan, according to Gov. Phil Murphy.
|
| Senate Virus Stimulus Deal Drops Airline Carbon Emissions Limits Posted: 25 Mar 2020 08:55 AM PDT |
| India's 1.3 billion locked down as US reaches virus aid deal Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:28 PM PDT  The world's largest democracy went under the world's biggest lockdown Wednesday, with India's 1.3 billion people ordered to stay home in a bid to stop the coronavirus pandemic, while in the U.S., lawmakers and the White House agreed on a massive $2 trillion domestic aid package to help those impacted by the outbreak. India's unprecedented move was aimed at keeping the virus from spreading and overwhelming its fragile health care system as it has done in parts of Europe, where infections were still surging. New York, meanwhile, scrambled to set up thousands of new hospital beds, and organizers delayed this summer's Tokyo Olympics until next year.
|
| Immigration chief on thin ice for adopting Obama’s stance during crisis Posted: 26 Mar 2020 11:40 AM PDT |
| North Korea is secretly asking for coronavirus aid from other countries while publicly denying that it has any cases Posted: 26 Mar 2020 04:09 AM PDT  Officials in the isolated country have been privately asking other countries and aid groups for supplies like masks and test kits, reports say.
|
| Fauci: Italy ‘Hit Very Badly’ By Coronavirus Due to Prevalence of Chinese Tourists Posted: 26 Mar 2020 10:59 AM PDT  Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the Trump administration's coronavirus task force, said Thursday that Italy has been impacted particularly badly by the coronavirus pandemic because the country hosted a high number of Chinese tourists in recent months."When you look at the different patterns of what happened in different countries, China versus South Korea versus what we're seeing in northern Italy, it really gives you some interesting insight into certain things, not only in the explosive nature in certain places versus others, but as you get to your peak, how do you know when you're turning the corner," Fauci said on CNN."It's when the new infections each day start to level off to be the same and then start going down, then you see the curve go down," Fauci said, adding that Italy is "not there yet."Italy has reported declining numbers of new infections but still added more than 3,400 new cases on Tuesday. More than 57,500 people are currently infected with the coronavirus in Italy, and the country's death toll passed 7,500 on Wednesday."Italy got hit very badly because they had a large number of importations from China by Chinese tourists," Fauci said."Before they even knew what was going on, there was enough baseline people spreading that it essentially got out of hand, and it became difficult for them, as good as they are, and they're very good, to be able to contain it in a way that is contact-tracing. It was more mitigation," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases continued.Fauci also noted that the outbreak of the virus in Washington state differs from the outbreak in New York City, which is "getting hit terribly hard.""We're a big country, and there are different patterns," he explained.Washington state's outbreak involved the coronavirus spreading in several elder care homes, while New York City is a travel hub that experiences an "influx of travelers," Fauci said.New York City reported 100 new deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 385 as the number of infections topped 37,200.
|
| This state rejected Medicaid expansion. Its uninsured residents now stare down a pandemic. Posted: 26 Mar 2020 07:13 AM PDT  "This outbreak is going to bring to light and highlight really strongly the types of disparities and the gaps in our health care system that leave people vulnerable," one expert said.
|
