| Trump sees 'hard days' ahead in coronavirus fight, with as many as 240,000 Americans dead Posted: 31 Mar 2020 08:05 PM PDT  Nearly a quarter million people in the United States could die as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Trump administration officials said Tuesday.
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| Liberty University students choose sides after fallout from coronavirus reporting Posted: 31 Mar 2020 03:30 PM PDT  The New York Times reported this week that almost a dozen Liberty University students have come down with COVID-19 symptoms since the school reopened last week. But Liberty University officials have since pushed back on these claims, calling the Times story "fake news". Now, students are choosing sides in who they believe is telling the truth.
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| The US intelligence community has reportedly concluded that China intentionally misrepresented its coronavirus numbers Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:39 AM PDT  US officials have accused China of spreading disinformation, and even some Chinese residents have expressed skepticism about the numbers.
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| Netanyahu reportedly mistook a Hallmark series clip for proof of an Iranian coronavirus coverup Posted: 01 Apr 2020 02:49 PM PDT  Everyone gets duped now and then. That goes for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well.Netanyahu recently showed his cabinet a video he claimed was evidence Iran was engineering a novel coronavirus coverup, Axios reports. Tehran has reported more than 47,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,000 deaths, but those figures have been eyed with suspicion by much of the rest of the world, including Israel, which, to put it gently, does not get along with Iran.The video showed people dumping bodies into garbage dumps, two cabinet ministers told Axios. They said Netanyahu's national security adviser, Meir Ben Shabbat, showed him the video, but he probably should've checked his source. Upon further review the clip turned out to be a scene from the 2007 Hallmark Channel miniseries, Pandemic. The Israeli government certainly did a bad job of vetting the clip, but the fact it made its way up the flagpole wasn't completely random. Iranians were reportedly sharing the footage on social media last week. Read more at Axios.More stories from theweek.com Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like China is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus How the coronavirus fight might end up at the Supreme Court
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| 28 University of Texas students test positive for coronavirus after Mexico spring break trip, officials say Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:50 AM PDT  Officials said a group of about 70 people in their 20s departed on a chartered plane to Cabo San Lucas about a week and a half ago.
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| U.S. is swiftly deporting migrant children at the border Posted: 31 Mar 2020 07:05 PM PDT  "Despite everything I experienced along the way, they deported me the next day," one indigenous teenager from Guatemala told CBS News.
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| Global virus cases near million as US records youngest death Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:42 PM PDT  A six-week-old baby died of COVID-19 and global agencies warned of food shortages as coronavirus infections around the world neared one million Wednesday. Governments expanded lockdowns to affect about half of the planet, with funeral parties banned in the Democratic Republic of Congo, New York locking up its famed street basketball courts, and hard-hit Italy extending its economically-crippling lockdown until April 13. More than 900,000 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and nearly 46,000 have died since it first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, according to an AFP tally.
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| China Concealed Extent of Virus Outbreak, U.S. Intelligence Says Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:21 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- China has concealed the extent of the coronavirus outbreak in its country, under-reporting both total cases and deaths it's suffered from the disease, the U.S. intelligence community concluded in a classified report to the White House, according to three U.S. officials.The officials asked not to be identified because the report is secret, and they declined to detail its contents. But the thrust, they said, is that China's public reporting on cases and deaths is intentionally incomplete. Two of the officials said the report concludes that China's numbers are fake.The report was received by the White House last week, one of the officials said.The outbreak began in China's Hubei province in late 2019, but the country has publicly reported only about 82,000 cases and 3,300 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That compares to more than 189,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths in the U.S., which has the largest publicly reported outbreak in the world.Communications staff at the White House and the Chinese embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to requests for comment."The reality is that we could have been better off if China had been more forthcoming," Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday on CNN. "What appears evident now is that long before the world learned in December that China was dealing with this, and maybe as much as a month earlier than that, that the outbreak was real in China.While China eventually imposed a strict lockdown beyond those of less autocratic nations, there has been considerable skepticism toward China's reported numbers, both outside and within the country. The Chinese government has repeatedly revised its methodology for counting cases, for weeks excluding people without symptoms entirely, and only on Tuesday added more than 1,500 asymptomatic cases to its total.Stacks of thousands of urns outside funeral homes in Hubei province have driven public doubt in Beijing's reporting.Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have been particularly harsh about China's role in the outbreak. Enhancing Beijing's role in the pandemic could be politically helpful to President Donald Trump, who has sought to shift blame for the U.S. outbreak away from his administration's delays in achieving widespread testing for the virus and mobilizing greater production of supplies such as face masks and hospital ventilators."The claim that the United States has more coronavirus deaths than China is false," Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, said in a statement after Bloomberg News published its report. "Without commenting on any classified information, this much is painfully obvious: The Chinese Communist Party has lied, is lying, and will continue to lie about coronavirus to protect the regime."Deborah Birx, the State Department immunologist advising the White House on its response to the outbreak, said Tuesday that China's public reporting influenced assumptions elsewhere in the world about the nature of the virus."The medical community made -- interpreted the Chinese data as: This was serious, but smaller than anyone expected," she said at a news conference on Tuesday. "Because I think probably we were missing a significant amount of the data, now that what we see happened to Italy and see what happened to Spain."China isn't the only country with suspect public reporting. Western officials have pointed to Iran, Russia, Indonesia and especially North Korea, which has not reported a single case of the disease, as probable under-counts. Others including Saudi Arabia and Egypt may also be playing down their numbers.U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has publicly urged China and other nations to be transparent about their outbreaks. He has repeatedly accused China of covering up the extent of the problem and being slow to share information, especially in the weeks after the virus first emerged, and blocking offers of help from American experts."This data set matters," he said at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday. The development of medical therapies and public-health measures to combat the virus "so that we can save lives depends on the ability to have confidence and information about what has actually transpired," he said."I would urge every nation: Do your best to collect the data. Do your best to share that information," he said. "We're doing that."(Updates with Pence's comment in sixth 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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| Great Recession showed countries can’t fight the coronavirus economic crisis alone Posted: 01 Apr 2020 03:02 PM PDT  Trade represents close to 60% of world GDP, and national economies can't thrive in isolation. We needed a global response in 2008 and we need one now.
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| 'We are on the verge of a massive collapse': Ex-Energy Secretary Perry says COVID-19 will ravage oil industry Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:53 PM PDT  "I'm telling you, we are on the verge of a massive collapse," Perry said of the impact the plunge in oil prices could have on U.S. operators.
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| Lindsey Graham Calls on IG Horowitz to Testify in Further FISA Hearings after Scathing New Report Posted: 31 Mar 2020 12:50 PM PDT  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) plans to call DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz to testify before congress regarding his office's audit of the FBI's FISA application process, which was released Tuesday and revealed potentially systematic abuses of the transparency measures required of the Bureau when agents interact with the FISA court."I have just been briefed on Inspector General Horowitz's audit of FISA applications involving American citizens. This random audit shows discrepancies regarding verification of the information under the Woods Procedures," Graham said in a press release. "I intend to have Inspector General Horowitz come to the Committee to explain his findings and receive his recommendations about how to change the program."Horowitz's latest report revealed that the FBI included "apparent errors or inadequately supported facts" in all 29 FISA surveillance applications filed between 2014 and 2019 and reviewed as part of the audit.The Woods Procedure dictates that the Justice Department verify the accuracy of and provide evidentiary support for all facts stated in its FISA application. The FBI is required to share with the FISA Court all relevant information compiled in a Woods file when applying for a surveillance warrant.Four of the 29 applications lacked Woods files entirely, while the other 25 had "an average of about 20 issues per application reviewed, with a high of approximately 65 issues in one application and less than 5 issues in another application.""FBI and NSD officials we interviewed indicated to us that there were no efforts by the FBI to use existing FBI and NSD oversight mechanisms to perform comprehensive, strategic assessments of the efficacy of the Woods Procedures or FISA accuracy, to include identifying the need for enhancements to training and improvements in the process, or increased accountability measures," the report states.Horowitz recommended that the FBI begin to "systematically and regularly examine" its Woods reviews to uncover abuse, beginning with a "physical inventory to ensure that Woods Files exist for every FISA application submitted to the FISC in all pending investigations."In a statement after the audit's release, the DOJ said that it is "committed to putting the Inspector General's recommendations into practice and to implementing reforms that will ensure all FISA applications are complete and accurate."> DOJ statement on today's report from IG Horowitz identifying concerns with the FBI's handling of procedures related to FISA applications. pic.twitter.com/DAiB61IoSk> > -- KerriKupecDOJ (@KerriKupecDOJ) March 31, 2020The findings are the latest in a growing trail of FBI abuses involving the FISA Court. Horowitz appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in December after finding "basic and fundamental errors" in the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign, and blamed the FBI chain of command for lacking oversight in the FISA applications used to surveil Trump-campaign adviser Carter Page."The circumstances reflect a failure, as we outline in the report, not just by those who prepared the applications, but also by the managers and supervisors in the Crossfire Hurricane chain of command, including FBI senior officials who were briefed as the investigation progressed," Horowitz said in his statement to Graham and the other senators.Later in the hearing, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) said Horowitz's findings showed how the "the FBI effectively meddled in an ongoing presidential campaign," while other Republicans acknowledged that they had not realized FISA abuse was a serious threat."As a national security hawk, I've argued with Mike Lee in the four-and-a-half or five years that I've been in the Senate that stuff just like this couldn't possibly happen at the FBI and at the Department of Justice," Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) said. " . . . Mike Lee has warned me for four-and-a-half years the potential for abuse in this space is terrible and I constantly defended the integrity and the professionalism of the bureau and of the department that you couldn't have something like this happen."Senator Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) echoed Sasse in recognizing Mike Lee's past criticisms of FISA."Because we've now seen the abuses we were warned about, you can smirk again, you were right," Tillis told the Utah Republican.
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| U.S. records 700 coronavirus deaths in a single day for first time Posted: 31 Mar 2020 02:01 PM PDT  The U.S. government raced to build hundreds of makeshift hospitals to ease the strain on overwhelmed healthcare systems as the United States marked 700 deaths in a single day from COVID-19 for the first time on Tuesday. Nearly half those deaths were in New York state, still the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded for reinforcements from the Trump administration, saying the worst may still be weeks away. De Blasio, a Democrat, said he had asked the White House for an additional 1,000 nurses, 300 respiratory therapists and 150 doctors by April 5 but had yet to receive an answer from the Trump administration.
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| Joe Biden says he'd be happy to talk coronavirus with Trump — and suggests he call Obama too Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:21 PM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden isn't afraid to reach across the aisle during this national crisis.In a press gaggle on Wednesday, Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to President Trump, snapped at Biden's apparent "criticism" of the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus. "Why doesn't Vice President Biden call the White House today and offer some support?" Conway questioned — and so Biden offered to do so."I think it's really disappointing to have President Obama's number two ... out there, criticizing, instead of saying 'hey, here is what we did that we thought was effective,' Conway said Wednesday. She repeated the criticism on Fox News and in a tweet, even though Biden had offered up both his and former President Barack Obama's advice on MSNBC Tuesday night.Biden's deputy campaign manager fired back with another statement on Wednesday, saying Biden "has been extending his advice for months" — Fox News agreed that was true. "The Obama-Biden administration even wrote a literal playbook for pandemic response, but unfortunately Trump's administration left it on the shelf," the statement continued.> Biden campaign confirms @FoxNews report that @JoeBiden is offering to call President Trump to discuss a strategy to combat the coronavirus> > Full stmt below from @KBeds pic.twitter.com/6EE0RLu0VD> > — Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) April 1, 2020Now, the ball is in Trump's court.More stories from theweek.com Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like China is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus Netanyahu reportedly mistook a Hallmark series clip for proof of an Iranian coronavirus coverup
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| Trump: US to deploy anti-drug Navy ships near Venezuela Posted: 01 Apr 2020 11:55 AM PDT  President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Navy ships are being moved toward Venezuela as his administration beefs up counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean following a U.S. drug indictment against Nicolás Maduro. "The Venezuelan people continue to suffer tremendously due to Maduro and his criminal control over the country, and drug traffickers are seizing on this lawlessness," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said after the president's announcement. The deployment is one of the largest U.S. military operations in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama to remove Gen. Manuel Noriega from power and bring him to the U.S. to face drug charges.
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| How the coronavirus death toll compares to other pandemics, including SARS, HIV, and the Black Death Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:14 AM PDT  So far, COVID-19 has killed four times as many people as the Ebola outbreak of 2014, but far fewer than the swine flu pandemic in 2009.
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| April to treat stargazers to 1st meteor shower in months and these other celestial events Posted: 31 Mar 2020 11:32 AM PDT  Springtime stargazers will have plenty to look for throughout April, ranging from a meteor shower to the rare opportunity to see a comet.The wide variety of astronomy events this month will be great for people looking to spend some time outside under the night sky, including families with young children, as they will not require any special equipment apart from a blanket, warm clothes and a clear sky.Here are the top three astronomy events to look for in April:1\. Super Pink Moon When: April 7-8 The moon will be the main feature in the night sky during the first full week of April as it will be the biggest and brightest supermoon of 2020.The supermoon will rise on the night of April 7, glowing all night long, and will be bright enough to cast shadows on the ground. Although it will appear slightly bigger and brighter than normal, the difference will be subtle and may be difficult for the average observer to notice.April's full moon is also known as the Pink Moon, but contrary to its name, the moon will not appear pink. Instead, it has been given this nickname due to the phlox, a perennial plant that blooms in April with pink flowers. A view of the full pink moon, in Lakatamia, a suburb of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, April 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) 2\. Lyrid meteor shower When: April 21-22April 22 is known around the world as Earth Day, and the global event will kick off with a light show from Mother Nature as the Lyrid meteor shower reaches its peak.This is the first major meteor shower since January and will bring 15 to 20 shooting stars per hour on the night of April 21 into the early hours of April 22. This year will be a particularly good year for the "Earth Day meteor shower" as it occurs on a moonless night, meaning darker skies for onlookers.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP"These meteors are best seen from the Northern Hemisphere where the radiant is high in the sky at dawn," the American Meteor Society explained on their website. "Activity from this shower can be seen from the Southern Hemisphere, but at a lower rate." Folks that miss the Lyrids will only have to wait about two weeks for the next chance to see a meteor shower, with the Eta Aquarids set to peak during the first full week of May.3\. Comet ATLAS When: Late AprilA newly discovered comet will soon make a splash in the night sky as it grows brighter throughout April, potentially becoming bright enough to see with the naked eye by the end of the month.Comet ATLAS, also known as Comet C/2019 Y4, was discovered on Dec. 28, 2019, by astronomers using the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii. It is still too dim to see without a telescope, but it is expected to get much brighter in the coming weeks. Animation of a comet. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) "If predictions are correct, Comet ATLAS might reach a visual magnitude of +5 around May 1, 2020. That is theoretically bright enough to be seen with the eye, but the fuzziness of faint comets can make them harder to spot than comparably bright stars," Earthsky explained on their website."To spot the comet, look in the northern sky. It is not far from the Big and Little Dippers," AccuWeather Astronomy Blogger Dave Samuhel said.Comet ATLAS is projected to make its closest approach to Earth on May 23, followed by its closest approach to the sun on May 31.On March 19 at 11:50 p.m., winter transitioned to spring across the Northern Hemisphere during the earliest March equinox since 1896.Hours later, just before sunrise, early risers were treated to a celestial alignment as the crescent moon fell in line with Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Mercury in the morning sky.Around the same time, a newly released photo revealed a stunning view of Jupiter like we've never seen it before. The image was captured by the Juno spacecraft which is orbiting the solar system's largest planet.At the beginning of March, NASA announced that it was accepting applications for the astronaut program that would fly on future trips to space. This includes the possibility of being on one of the upcoming trips to the moon in the 2020s.A few days later, the space agency announced the name of the next visitor being sent to the Red Planet. The Mars 2020 rover was officially given the name Perseverance, chosen from a nationwide student competition. Perseverance was once of 28,000 name entries and was proposed by an elementary school student from Virginia.The first mission of the U.S. Space Force launched from Earth on March 26 as an Atlas V rocket blasted into space. The rocket launched a $1.1 billion communications satellite that will be used by the military.Meanwhile, NASA was forced to suspend work on the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket due to the coronavirus. The rocket is still in development and was preparing for a major test at the Stennis Space Center, but the test has been delayed "due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the community around the center," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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| Woodworking Can Bring Solace in Times of Uncertainty Posted: 01 Apr 2020 12:00 PM PDT |
| Coronavirus live updates: US has its deadliest day yet; Florida, 3 others to issue stay-at-home orders; New York state death toll near 2,000 Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:20 PM PDT  Florida announced a stay-at-home order, and officials weighed recommending more Americans wear masks. Here are the latest coronavirus updates.
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| Top Marine ‘signaling’ to industry that F-35 cuts are on the table Posted: 01 Apr 2020 02:28 PM PDT  "I'm signaling to the industry, we have to be prepared to adjust as the operating environment adjusts," said Marine Commandant David Berger.
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| Coronavirus: Millions will be left in poverty, World Bank warns Posted: 31 Mar 2020 04:30 AM PDT  "Significant economic pain seems unavoidable in all countries", the World Bank warns.
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| France passes 4,000 coronavirus deaths, no end of lockdown in sight Posted: 01 Apr 2020 11:30 AM PDT  France became the fourth country to pass the 4,000 coronavirus deaths threshold on Wednesday, after Italy, Spain and the United States, as the government scrambles to stay ahead of the curve regarding ventilator-equipped beds that are quickly filling up. French health authorities reported 509 new deaths from the disease, taking the total to 4,032. Speaking by videoconference in front of a parliament committee created to hold the government accountable for the way it handles the crisis, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the lockdown would likely be unwound gradually rather than in one go.
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| U.S., South Korea Near Tentative Troop-Funding Deal, Yonhap Says Posted: 31 Mar 2020 08:06 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and South Korea have tentatively reached a military cost-sharing agreement, the Yonhap News Agency reported, potentially ending months of bickering over the Trump administration's demands for a massive increase.The announcement could come as early as Wednesday, the Seoul-based news service reported, citing a South Korean government official it didn't identify. The two sides agreed to sign a multiple-year contract rather than another stopgap one-year deal, it said.The seven-decades-old military alliance was dealt a blow Wednesday when the U.S. military put almost half of its 8,500 South Korean civilian workers on furlough due to the funding dispute. General Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, called the furloughs "heartbreaking" and "unfortunate," saying in a statement the move was "not what we envisioned or hoped what would happen."The furlough was a first of its kind for the American security partnership that serves as a check on China, as well as North Korea. It also unsettled operations at military facilities in South Korea, where about 28,000 U.S. service personnel are stationed.The two sides are putting the finishing touches on the deal, the person told Yonhap on the condition of anonymity, adding various possibilities still remained open. The report did not mention how the two sides bridged a gap after President Donald Trump asked for as much as a five-fold increase and South Korea showed no signs of paying anywhere near that much.South Korea's foreign ministry and the U.S. State Department declined to comment on the Yonhap report.The two sides have been deadlocked over what's known as the Special Measures Agreement, with Trump initially demanding about $5 billion a year from South Korea to pay for U.S. security. South Korean President Moon Jae-in's administration has indicated that it wouldn't pay much more than the almost $1 billion it agreed to in a one-year deal in 2019.The tensions over funding comes as the U.S. military struggles to keep coronavirus outbreaks from disrupting operations in South Korea and elsewhere and the allies watch for fresh provocations from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.While the U.S. and South Korea have been bargaining, North Korea has been busy testing new types of solid-fuel, nuclear-capable ballistic missiles designed to strike anywhere on the peninsula and evade U.S. interceptors. It has fired off nine in March alone, a record for a month.More MoneyNegotiators from the U.S. and South Korea met in March in Los Angeles but a wide gap remained between the two sides, according to a State Department spokesman who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.Trump has repeatedly insisted that the U.S. gets a raw deal from partners who host American troops around the world, and he's focused particular ire on the South Korean agreement. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told his counterpart, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, in February that "as a global economic powerhouse and an equal partner in the preservation of peace on the peninsula, South Korea can and should contribute more to its defense."South Korea's National Assembly must sign off on any deal and Trump's demands have brought about a rare moment of unity from progressives and conservatives in the country who see them as unreasonable. With parliamentary elections set for April 15, siding with Washington could lead to defeat at the ballot box.The negotiations in South Korea could affect other U.S. allies hosting troops, such as Japan, with Esper saying the Trump administration wants them to pay more, too. Japanese officials are watching the South Korea negotiations closely with the approach of talks set to begin later this year for a U.S-Japan cost-sharing deal.(Adds comment from U.S. general)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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| Kellyanne Conway Keeps Attacking Joe Biden for Staying Inside Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:48 PM PDT  While leaders across the country are urging Americans to stay in their homes to stop the spread of the coronavirus, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is openly mocking former Vice President Joe Biden for setting that example. "Why doesn't Vice President Biden call the White House today and offer some support? He's in his bunker in Wilmington," Conway said Wednesday morning on Fox & Friends. In her next breath she added, "I have to tell you, we're not talking about politics here at the White House at all. We're talking about ventilators and vaccines, not Biden and Bernie."And yet Conway continued to attack Biden for criticizing President Donald Trump's response to the crisis from inside his home later in the day.During a press gaggle outside the White House, Conway called it "completely unhelpful" to have the former vice president "in his bunker in Wilmington just lobbing criticisms" at the current president. She called Biden's interviews "painful to watch" before adding, "He's got a lot of fans out there that can't get enough of Joe Biden in the bunker in Delaware."At that point, a reporter asked her, "When you say he's 'in his bunker,' are you suggesting Vice President Biden should be disregarding federal guidelines and be out there mixing with people?""You know I'm not," Conway shot back. "Let's not be silly. Let's not be silly about it." When the reporter said she just wanted to know what Conway was "implying" with her repetition of the "bunker" line, she replied, "I'm not implying anything. In fact, I'm not implying a single thing. I wonder what you're implying.""I'm not implying anything," she added again later. "He can stay in the bunker all he wants. He can cough into or sneeze into his hand all he wants. He can read from prepared notes all he wants. I'm yet to hear a single idea from Vice President Biden that would be helpful to the American people or is different from what we're doing." In a statement responding to Conway, Biden deputy communications director Kate Bedingfield said, "Vice President Biden has been extending his advice for months, and he did so again on the air last night." But as the presumptive 2020 nominee told MSNBC on Tuesday night, "I don't get a sense that the president wants to hear from anybody. It's all about, like, asking governors to thank him for what he's doing as president."Biden has repeatedly stated that he does not believe the coronavirus pandemic is Trump's "fault" but has pointed out that his lack of speed in trying to contain it within the United States has made the situation far worse than it needed to be. One of his biggest suggestions has been to let the medical experts handle the daily briefings and take the microphone away from the president. 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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| Russian plane makes its way to U.S. with coronavirus medical equipment Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:12 PM PDT  A Russian military transport plane was headed to the United States on Wednesday carrying tons of medical equipment and masks to help Washington fight the coronavirus outbreak, Russian state TV reported and a U.S. official said.
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| Fauci suggests U.S. would broaden mask recommendations if it had enough Posted: 31 Mar 2020 08:02 AM PDT  Dr. Anthony Fauci sees some positive news finally coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.Fauci, the U.S.'s top infectious disease doctor who's leading its coronavirus response, spoke to CNN's Jim Sciutto on Tuesday about the ongoing crisis. While COVID-19 case numbers are still expanding every day, Fauci suggested "we're starting to see glimmers" of social distancing having its intended "dampening effect.""You're starting to see that the daily increases are not in that steep incline, they're starting to be able to possibly flatten out," Fauci said of case numbers across the country. But he was cautious and showed no sign he would recommend lifting stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines, saying "I don't want to put too much stock on it, because you don't want to get overconfident, you just want to keep pushing in what you're doing."Fauci also acknowledged America's mass shortage of medical supplies, particularly protective masks. While there aren't enough masks to go around right now, once they are in better supply, "I believe there will be some very serious consideration about more broadening this recommendation of using masks," he said. That topic will be on the table for the White House's coronavirus task force on Tuesday.And as for chloroquine, the drug that has been used for decades to treat malaria that President Trump touted as a possible treatment, Fauci said there hasn't yet been any "definitive evidence that this works" for treating COVID-19.More stories from theweek.com Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like Biden says it's 'hard to envision' Democratic convention happening as planned in July Stephen Colbert airs a 2016 duet with John Prine he'd kept in reserve in case 'we have to cheer up the world'
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| FDA wants heartburn meds off the market due to contamination Posted: 01 Apr 2020 09:49 AM PDT  U.S. health regulators are telling drugmakers to immediately pull their popular heartburn drugs off the market after determining that a contamination issue with the medications poses a greater risk than previously thought. The move from the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday applies to all prescription and over-the-counter versions of ranitidine, best known by the brand name Zantac. Patients should stop taking any of the medications they currently have and throw them away, the FDA said.
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| I followed New York City 'deathcare' workers as they collected the bodies of people killed by the coronavirus, and I saw a growing, chaotic, and risky battle Posted: 31 Mar 2020 11:31 AM PDT  As hospitals and morgues fill with the bodies of coronavirus patients, mortuary professionals face a growing struggle in putting the dead to rest.
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| Another US-Mexico border tunnel has been discovered – with nearly $30 million worth of drugs, officials say Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:40 AM PDT  Federal agents uncovered a tunnel used to smuggle drugs between warehouses in San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico.
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| China under-reported coronavirus cases and deaths, U.S. intelligence reportedly concludes Posted: 01 Apr 2020 09:06 AM PDT  There has been some skepticism about China's reporting on the novel COVID-19 coronavirus for some time, especially as smaller countries like Italy surged past the world's most populous nation in both overall cases and deaths. On Wednesday, U.S. intelligence officials told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity that the skepticism is valid.Per Bloomberg, the U.S. intelligence community reportedly concluded in a classified document that China, where the pandemic originated, has under-reported its totals. The officials didn't reveal any of the reports contents, but said the gist of it is China intentionally left death and cases reports incomplete — two officials reportedly said the numbers out of China are fake.Officially, China has tallied more than 82,000 cases and 3,300 deaths, whereas the U.S. already has more than 189,000 cases and 4,000 deaths. Beijing somewhat acknowledged their stats were skewed after they changed their methodology to include some asymptomatic cases, but it's unclear how many more asymptomatic infections were discounted overall. Thousands of urns outside funeral homes have reportedly led people to doubt the Chinese government's death total, as well. Read more at Bloomberg.More stories from theweek.com Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like China is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus Netanyahu reportedly mistook a Hallmark series clip for proof of an Iranian coronavirus coverup
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| Serbian state secretary dies from coronavirus Posted: 01 Apr 2020 08:25 AM PDT |
| US asks Juan Guaido to renounce claim to Venezuela leadership – for the time being Posted: 31 Mar 2020 01:46 PM PDT  The United States has called on Venezuela's Juan Guaido to temporarily renounce his claim to the presidency as it recalibrates its strategy to oust leader Nicolas Maduro.The shift came after more than a year of faltering US-led efforts to oust the leftist Mr Maduro.
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| Pence says Italy is probably best comparison to U.S. now Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:38 PM PDT  The comparison comes after the White House on Tuesday projected at least 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S.
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| Sweden's 'free will' coronavirus strategy alarms some scientists Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:09 AM PDT  "The material presented by the public health authorities is weak, even embarrassing," said one professor who is critical of Sweden's strategy.
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| Trump responds to questions about whether impeachment diverted his attention from the coronavirus outbreak Posted: 31 Mar 2020 04:56 PM PDT  President Trump on Tuesday responded to the idea that the impeachment trial kept his attention away from the growing coronavirus outbreak around the world.
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| Too little too late? Experts decry Mexico virus policy delay Posted: 31 Mar 2020 02:57 PM PDT  Mexico has started taking tougher measures against the coronavirus after weeks of its president hugging followers and saying religious medals would protect him. Some experts warn the sprawling country of 129 million is acting too late and testing too little to prevent the type of crisis unfolding across the border in the United States. Last week Mexico banned non-essential government work as confirmed cases climbed, but took until late Monday to extend that to other business sectors and to bar gatherings of more than 50 people.
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| Travel demand won't return to normal until mid-2021, even in the best-case scenario, an analyst warns Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:25 PM PDT  Under the best-case scenario, with slowing case growth, a Stifel analyst says air travel demand could return in 2021. But airlines may suffer longer.
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| New Zealand, a country of about 5 million, has 18 million masks in its reserves, with 80,000 being made every day Posted: 30 Mar 2020 09:30 PM PDT  New Zealand's prime minister posted a video of masks being made in a factory and said, "I'll admit, I have watched this video more than once."
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| COVID-19 cases and deaths rising, debt relief needed for poorest nations: WHO Posted: 01 Apr 2020 11:11 AM PDT  The head of the World Health Organization voiced deep concern on Wednesday about the rapid escalation and global spread of COVID-19 cases from the new coronavirus, which has now reached 205 countries and territories. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that his agency, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund backed debt relief to help developing countries cope with the pandemic's social and economic consequences. "In the past five weeks there has been a near-exponential growth in the number of new cases and the number of deaths has more than doubled in the past week," Tedros told a virtual news conference at the organisation's Geneva headquarters.
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| Iran warns US after Patriot deployment to Iraq Posted: 01 Apr 2020 03:06 AM PDT  Iran warned the US Wednesday that it was leading the Middle East to disaster in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic after it deployed Patriot air defence missiles to Iraq. Washington had been in talks with Baghdad about the proposed deployment since January but it was not immediately clear whether it had secured its approval or not. Iran, which wields huge influence in its western neighbour, said that it had not.
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| Coronavirus threat reportedly 'hit home' for Trump after a close friend was hospitalized Posted: 01 Apr 2020 11:22 AM PDT  President Trump reportedly disengaged from his plan to re-open the United States economy by April 12 in part because he was shaken by a personal connection to the novel COVID-19 coronavirus, Vanity Fair reports.In March, Trump learned that his friend, 78-year-old real estate mogul Stan Chera, was in a coma at a New York hospital after falling ill with COVID-19. "Boy, did that hit home," prominent New York Trump donor Bill White told Vanity Fair. "Stan is like one of his best friends."That wasn't the only reason for the change of heart, however. Trump's re-election campaign was also concerned by their polling numbers in red states, which reportedly "sucked." A former White House official said the campaign "panicked" after realizing they couldn't win states "getting blown to pieces" by the virus. The president himself reportedly said the campaign "doesn't matter anymore" because "what I do now will determine if I get re-elected." Read more at Vanity Fair.More stories from theweek.com Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like China is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus Netanyahu reportedly mistook a Hallmark series clip for proof of an Iranian coronavirus coverup
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| 'Reckless': Louisiana pastor arrested for holding services with up to 1,000 attendees Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT  Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran called Spell's decision to hold service despite the social distancing orders "reckless and irresponsible."
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| Black, Asian and Hispanic House caucus chairs unite in 'no tolerance' for coronavirus racism Posted: 31 Mar 2020 03:08 PM PDT  Rep. Judy Chu, head of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said about 100 hate incidents a day have been directed at Asian Americans.
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| Do I Have to Pay My Rent or Mortgage During the Pandemic? Posted: 31 Mar 2020 01:44 AM PDT  As March winds down, at least 250 million Americans have been told to stay home or "shelter in place" to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Problem is, many can't help wondering if they can still afford a place to shelter in—if they ever could.Long before the coronavirus pandemic, generous swaths of the United States faced an affordable housing crisis. With millions of Americans losing their jobs and millions more facing unemployment in the near future thanks to a concerted economic shutdown geared at reining in the disease, talk of rent strikes and freezes are in the air.The Trump administration recently nodded to the problem by ordering a foreclosure moratorium on single-family home mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration or obtained through government-owned lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie and Freddie have also offered forbearance for borrowers experiencing hardship. And the finance giants have dangled payment relief to indebted apartment building owners who grant respite to renters, a move the Federal Housing Finance Agency estimates could affect 43 percent of the market in multifamily leases. Then there's the $2 trillion stimulus bill that passed last week, which contains language forbidding evictions and late charges on any property receiving virtually any federal aid. It also permits those owing money to Fannie or Freddie to request up to six months of forbearance, though it leaves the onus on borrowers to do so.If your home doesn't fall under one of these categories or programs, and you're wondering if you owe money to your landlord or lender, the answer is probably yes—at least for now. Still, some state and local governments have moved to stem evictions and foreclosures for everyone, and a few are even freezing rent and mortgage payments entirely. Here's a breakdown of COVID-19 rules on housing across every state and many large metropolitan areas. This story will be updated as events warrant.Will the U.S. Run Out of Groceries Under Lockdown?Alabama: No specific government measures to prevent evictions or foreclosures, but local Regions Bank is offering a mortgage payment reprieve and the state Supreme Court has cancelled in-person proceedings until April 16, which may stem new removal proceedings. Individual judges may conduct business via phone or video, however.Alaska: Gov. Mike Dunleavy has forestalled evictions and foreclosures of any tenant or homeowner covered by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, while the state Supreme Court has halted eviction hearings until May 1 and barred enforcement of outstanding ejectment orders against quarantined people.Arizona: Gov. Doug Ducey has ordered a 120-day stay on eviction orders against anybody quarantined or experiencing hardship because of COVID-19, starting March 24, and has launched a $5 million rental assistance fund. The state's "Save Our Home AZ Program" is offering principal reduction assistance, monthly mortgage subsidy assistance, and second lien elimination assistance.Arkansas: No special COVID-19 programs in place as of this writing.California: Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered a statewide ban on evictions through the end of May, so long as tenants provide notice in writing within one week of their rent coming due that they cannot pay due to the disease. He has also cut a deal with Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, and 200 smaller lending institutions to defer mortgage payments for up to 90 days from borrowers who can show they've lost income during the crisis. Bank of America has assented to a 30-day grace period for mortgage payments. The City of Glendale has banned rent increases through at least April 30 (though not rent payments). Philanthropists in San Diego have established a COVID-19 Community Response Fund to provide rent, mortgage, and utility assistance to struggling locals. Colorado: Gov. Jared Polis has issued non-binding guidance to state-chartered banks discouraging foreclosures, and Denver has reassigned deputies away from eviction enforcement.Connecticut: James W. Abrams, Chief Judge for Civil Matters, has issued a stay of all evictions and ejectments through May 1, and postponed all foreclosure sales until June 6.Delaware: The Justice of the Peace Court has postponed all eviction proceedings until after May 1, while Gov. John Carney has put off all residential mortgage foreclosures until 31 days after he lifts his order of emergency. Late fees or excess interest are forbidden.Florida: No state programs in place as of this writing, but the Orange County Sheriff's Office has put off eviction enforcement "until further notice," as have police in Miami-Dade. The latter county has also called off evictions in its public housing.Georgia: No state programs in place as of this writing. But on March 17, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order imposing an eviction moratorium on the Atlanta Housing Authority, Atlanta Beltline Inc., the Fulton County/City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority, Invest Atlanta, Partners for Home, and the city Department of Grants and Community Development.Hawaii: The Hawaii Department of Public Safety Sheriff Division has indefinitely suspended evictions.Idaho: No state programs in place as of this writing, but Boise public housing has waived rent and ended removals, and a judge has called off eviction hearings in Blaine County.Illinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker has barred evictions through April 7 by executive order. Courts have ordered longer cessations of evictions, including in Cook County (April 15) and in Peoria, Tazewell, Marshall, Putnam, and Stark Counties (April 17). A court covering Kendall and DeKalb Counties has barred new eviction and foreclosure proceedings for 30 days beginning March 18. Chicago is providing 2,000 residents with $1,000 grants to help cover rent and mortgage payments.Indiana: Gov. Eric Holcomb has decreed an end to evictions or foreclosures until the end of his declared state of emergency.Iowa: Gov. Kim Reynolds has halted foreclosures and evictions for the duration of a declared state of emergency, except in cases involving squatters.Kansas: Gov. Laura Kelly has stayed evictions and foreclosures until May 1.Kentucky: Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order March 25 suspending all evictions for the term of a declared emergency, while the Kentucky Supreme Court suspended all evictions until April 10.Louisiana: Gov. John Bel Edwards has halted evictions and foreclosures.Maine: Maine courts are closed for eviction proceedings through May 1.Maryland: Gov. Larry Hogan has forbidden the eviction of any tenant who can demonstrate loss of income related to the crisis.Massachusetts: Trial courts are closed through April 21 under order of the State Supreme Judicial Court, preventing evictions from advancing. Gov. Charlie Baker has announced $5 million in rental assistance, while the mayor of Boston has called off evictions by the city housing authority.Michigan: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has banned evictions until April 17, and the state Department of Health and Human Services is offering up to $2,000 in emergency assistance to prevent foreclosures.Minnesota: Gov. Tim Walz has suspended evictions and foreclosures during a declared state of emergency.Mississippi: No programs in place as of this writing.Missouri: No state programs in place as of this writing, but evictions are suspended in Jackson County until at least April 18, in Boone and Callaway Counties until April 17, and indefinitely in St. Louis County.Montana: No programs in place as of this writing.Nebraska: Gov. Ed Ricketts' executive order has postponed all eviction proceedings for anybody impacted by the virus until May 31. The Omaha Housing Authority has called off evictions, while the Metro Omaha Property Owners Association—a landlord group—has requested its members reduce rents by 10 percent in the month of April.Nevada: Gov. Steve Sisolak has blocked all eviction notices, executions, and tenant lockouts via emergency order for the entire length of the pandemic. State Treasurer Zach Conine has announced that lenders have agreed to a 90-day grace period for borrowers, although each mortgagee must reach an individual payment arrangement with their bank.New Hampshire: Gov. Chris Sununu has barred evictions and foreclosures via executive order during the emergency.New Jersey: Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order March 19 placing a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures for at least 60 days. On March 28, he instated a 90-day grace period for late mortgage payments, forbidding banks from charging hard-up borrowers late fees or making negative reports on them to credit agencies.New Mexico: The State Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended evictions of tenants who can furnish evidence the crisis has left them unable to pay rent. Albuquerque has suspended evictions for public housing tenants, while Santa Fe has halted removal of those who can prove hardship.New York: Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks has suspended all evictions until further notice, while Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered banks to waive mortgage payments in hardship cases for 90 days. There is no state policy in place on rent payments, despite the governor's claim that he "took care" of the issue.North Carolina: State Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley on March 13 ordered courts to postpone eviction and foreclosure cases for at least 30 days.North Dakota: The State Supreme Court has placed a hold on all eviction proceedings "until further order."Ohio: Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor has requested, but not obligated, that lower courts stay eviction and foreclosure proceedings. Huntington, PNC, Fifth Third, Citizens, Third Federal, Chase, and Key Banks are all offering mortgage assistance to struggling borrowers.Oklahoma: No state policy in place as of this writing, but Tulsa County has halted evictions and foreclosures until April 15, while the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office has suspended enforcement of housing ejectments until "appropriate."Oregon: Gov. Kate Brown has suspended eviction for nonpayment of rent for 90 days beginning March 22.This Is What a Coronavirus Lockdown Means in Each StatePennsylvania: The state Supreme Court decreed March 18 that neither evictions nor foreclosures could go forward for at least two weeks.Puerto Rico: U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí has suspended all eviction orders and foreclosure proceedings until May 30. The island's Public Housing Administration announced it will not collect rent from tenants until the expiration of Gov. Wanda Vasquez's order of social isolation—an order she recently extended to April 12. Residents of the government-owned developments will be liable for the payments after the governor's decree lifts, although they may apply for reductions based on loss of income.Rhode Island: Gov. Gina Raimondo ordered courts not to process evictions for 30 days starting March 19.South Carolina: Chief Justice Don Beatty has ordered a halt to all evictions until May 1.South Dakota: No state policies in place as of this writing, but Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken has established a fund to provide financial assistance to those facing eviction.Tennessee: The Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered judges not to proceed with eviction cases until April 30, unless "exceptional circumstances" prevail.Texas: The Texas Supreme Court halted all evictions until April 19, subject to an extension by the chief justice. A Dallas County judge has put a stop to new removal cases and landlord recoveries until May 17. The city of Austin passed an ordinance March 26 granting renters a 60-day grace period and preventing landlords from initiating evictions. Nonetheless, renters who can pay rent are encouraged to do so.Utah: No state policies in place as of this writing, but the Utah Apartment Association—a trade group— has generated a proposed "rent deferral agreement" for impacted tenants.Vermont: The Vermont Supreme Court has suspended non-emergency hearings such as evictions until April 15, but individual courts may hold such proceedings remotely. Burlington-based affordable housing operators Champlain Housing Trust, Burlington Housing Authority, and Cathedral Square have all committed to suspending evictions.Virginia: The Virginia Supreme Court has suspended non-essential, non-emergency proceedings such as evictions and foreclosures until April 6.Washington State: Gov. Jay Inslee inked a 30-day eviction moratorium on March 18. Seattle has imposed a 60-day moratorium on evictions beginning March 3, with no late fees, and the King County Sheriff has suspended evictions "until further notice."Washington, D.C.: The D.C. Superior Court has suspended evictions and foreclosures.West Virginia: The State Supreme Court has suspended all non-emergency proceedings, including housing-related matters, until April 10, and left open the possibility of extension.Wisconsin: Gov. Tony Evers ordered the suspension of evictions and foreclosures until May 26. Judges in Dane and Milwaukee counties have forbidden sheriffs from executing outstanding eviction orders, and the Milwaukee Housing Authority has said it will not evict anybody during the crisis.Wyoming: State Supreme Court Justice Michael K. Davis has ordered all in-person proceedings suspended, and recommended civil trials be rescheduled, which could serve to delay evictions or foreclosures. But local judges have some discretion on whether to conduct trials via video or teleconference.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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