| Pence suggests coronavirus social distancing won’t end soon Posted: 09 Apr 2020 07:07 PM PDT  At the daily briefing of the White House coronavirus task force on Thursday evening, Vice President Mike Pence indicated that the end to those restrictions might not come anytime soon.
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| Wuhan is open and infections are down, but China's coronavirus numbers can't be trusted Posted: 10 Apr 2020 12:14 PM PDT  China this week reopened Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected, claiming that new infections were in the single digits. But in recent days Beijing has been accused of reporting inaccurate counts of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
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| The one data point that suggests both New York and California are getting coronavirus under control Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:02 AM PDT  Good news about the coronavirus is in short supply. The United States' confirmed case count is approaching half a million — more than triple any other country's. But if it's good news you're after, pay attention to the hospitalization data in New York and California.
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| U.S. Navy destroyer transits Taiwan Strait on same day as Chinese drills Posted: 10 Apr 2020 07:15 PM PDT |
| NYC mayor says schools will stay closed rest of year, Cuomo says not so fast Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:39 AM PDT  "He didn't close them, and he can't reopen," Cuomo said of the the vast school district that serves over 1.1 million students in 1,800 schools.
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| Iran's virus, sanctions-hit economy slowly reopens Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:58 AM PDT  Iran allowed small businesses outside the capital to reopen Saturday, arguing the sanctions-hit economy in the country with the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East cannot stay in lockdown. Iranians in several provinces reported a significant increase in cars on the roads as people went back to work, as some said the government's relaxation of measures was sending mixed messages.
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| Cruise workers on Holland America's Rotterdam ship say they were forced into a perilous rescue mission of the COVID-19 stricken Zaandam, and now hundreds of crew members are stranded onboard wondering what's next. Posted: 11 Apr 2020 08:27 AM PDT  "The Rotterdam was told it was on a humanitarian mission to bring supplies to the Zaandam," one crew member said.
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| African nations, U.S. condemn racism against blacks in China Posted: 11 Apr 2020 09:09 AM PDT  African officials are condemning China publicly and in private over the mistreatment of Africans in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, and the U.S. says African-Americans have been targeted too.
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| A 44-year-old marathon runner says he now has to sit on a plastic stool in the shower, unable to stand for long after being on a ventilator for a severe case of COVID-19 Posted: 09 Apr 2020 11:42 PM PDT  "My physician father had warned me: 'You better not get put on a ventilator. People don't come back from that,'" David Lat wrote in an op-ed.
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| Latest on the spread of the coronavirus around the world Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:39 AM PDT  * British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making very good progress in his recovery from COVID-19, his office said on Saturday, as his health minister said the peak of the outbreak in Britain had not yet been reached. * The number of coronavirus deaths in Spain fell for a third consecutive day, with 510 fatalities reported in the past 24 hours -- the smallest overnight increase since March 23. * Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extended a nationwide lockdown until May 3, though he said a few types of shops would be allowed to re-open next week.
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| Check your balance: Coronavirus stimulus money starts to flow into bank accounts Posted: 11 Apr 2020 03:26 PM PDT  The IRS tweeted Saturday that payments to qualifying Americans with direct deposit accounts set up had begun to receive their coronavirus relief payment.
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| Faulty masks. Flawed tests. China's quality control problem in leading global COVID-19 fight Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:18 AM PDT  Chinese companies producing faulty testing kits and masks are marring Beijing's attempts to assert leadership in the fight against the coronavirus.
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| Boeing's Washington facilities closed indefinitely due to COVID-19. Take a look at the greatest successes and failures which were built there. Posted: 11 Apr 2020 05:58 AM PDT  Boeing has been building iconic passenger aircraft at three production facilities in the Seattle area since World War II.
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| Ecuador buckles under virus, broken oil lines and old debt Posted: 10 Apr 2020 02:55 PM PDT  Ecuador's President Lenín Moreno unveiled an emergency economic plan Friday aimed at rescuing the South American nation hard hit by the new coronavirus and then dealt a second blow when two large pipelines broke, halting critical crude exports. Moreno in a nationwide broadcast urged the nation to come together, saying that Ecuador's massive foreign debt he inherited from past governments will have to be renegotiated, while large businesses earnings over $1 million annually will have to contribute 5% of their profits. "This economic emergency is unprecedented in the recent history of this country," Moreno said.
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| The Secret Weapon Giving Mexico Power in the Oil Price War Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:22 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- As Mexico and Saudi Arabia fight over a deal to bring the oil-price war to an end, Mexico has a powerful defense: a massive Wall Street hedge shielding it from low prices.With talks well into their third day, the Mexican sovereign oil hedge, which insures the Latin American country against low prices and is considered a state secret, is a factor that may make the country less inclined to accept the OPEC+ agreement.For the last two decades, Mexico has bought so-called Asian style put options from a small group of investment banks and oil companies, in what's considered Wall Street's largest -- and most closely guarded -- annual oil deal.The options give Mexico the right to sell its oil at a predetermined price. They are the equivalent of an insurance policy: the country banks all gains from higher prices but enjoys the security of a minimum floor. So if oil prices remain weak or plunge even further, Mexico will still book higher prices.The hedge isn't the only reason Mexico is holding out. But it strengthens the country's hand and makes it less desperate for a deal than countries whose budgets have been ravaged by the collapse in oil prices since the start of the year -- first because of the coronavirus and then because of the price war launched by Saudi Arabia.The main reason driving President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a left-wing populist, to resist the deal is his pledge to revive oil production via state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos. Slashing 400,000 barrels a day to comply with the OPEC+ deal, rather than the 100,000 barrels a day that Mexico has counter-offered to Saudi Arabia, would put on hold his ambitious plan to return Pemex to its former glory.The hedge has shielded Mexico in every downturn over the last 20 years: it made $5.1 billion when prices crashed in 2009 during the global financial crisis, and it received $6.4 billion in 2015 and another $2.7 billion in 2016 after Saudi Arabia waged another price war.The operation comes at a cost. In recent years, Mexico has spent about $1 billion annually buying the options."The insurance policy isn't cheap," Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera told broadcaster Televisa on March 10. "But it's insurance for times like now. Our fiscal budget isn't going to be hit."Pemex, the state-owned company, has its own separate, smaller oil hedge. This year, Pemex hedged 234,000 barrels a day at an average of $49 a barrel.State SecretMexico has disclosed very few details about its insurance for 2020 after it declared the sovereign hedge a state secret. However, based on limited public information, alongside historical data about previous years, it's possible to make a rough estimate of the potential payout if prices remain low.The government told lawmakers it has guaranteed revenues to support the assumptions for oil prices made in the country's budget -- of $49 a barrel for the Mexican oil export basket, equivalent to about $60-$65 a barrel for Brent crude.It locks in that revenue via two elements: the hedge, and the country's oil stabilization fund. The fund historically has only provided $2-$5 a barrel, so it's realistic to assume that Mexico hedged at $45 a barrel at least for its crude. In the past, Mexico has hedged around 250 million barrels, equal to nearly all its net oil exports in an operation that runs from Dec. 1 to Nov. 30.Using all those elements, a rough calculation suggests that if the Mexican oil export basket were to remain at current levels, the country would receive a multi-billion dollar payout. Since December, the Mexican oil basket has averaged $42 a barrel.If current low prices for Mexican oil continue until the end of November, the average would drop to just above $20 a barrel, and the hedge would pay out close to $6 billion, according to Bloomberg News calculations.Representatives of the Finance Ministry and Energy Ministry declined to comment.(Updates tenth paragraph with Pemex hedge volume and final paragraph with Finance Ministry and Energy Ministry comments.)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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| Report: Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen moved to solitary confinement Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:45 AM PDT  President Trump's former personal attorney has reportedly been placed in solitary confinement at a federal prison.
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| Exclusive: Russia collecting intelligence on U.S. supply line failures amid coronavirus crisis, DHS warns Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:05 PM PDT  Russian spies are using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to collect intelligence on U.S. supply lines, which have struggled to provide sufficient medical equipment, according to an intelligence report issued earlier this week by the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by Yahoo News.
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| 'Got my blood boiling': Florida nursing homes ask governor for immunity from coronavirus lawsuits Posted: 11 Apr 2020 03:35 PM PDT  Florida is reporting more than 18,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state.
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| India decides to extend nationwide coronavirus lockdown - state chief minister Posted: 11 Apr 2020 03:42 AM PDT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to extend a nationwide lockdown to tackle the spread of the coronavirus, the Delhi state's chief minister said on Saturday, without saying how long the extension would be for. Modi earlier in the day held a video conference call with several state ministers. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Modi had "taken (a) correct decision to extend (the) lockdown", without sharing further details.
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| 'There are two pandemics': Chicago's gun violence persists amid lockdown Posted: 11 Apr 2020 06:05 AM PDT  Shootings and murders have remained fairly consistent during shelter-in-place, with the city registering more shootings in March than the previous year * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageThe coronavirus pandemic has forced Chicago into lockdown, closing restaurants, bars, stores and even its celebrated lakefront. But the crisis hasn't slowed the city's devastating gun violence epidemic.While crime overall has ticked down slightly amid shelter-in-place orders from local leaders, shootings and murders have remained fairly consistent so far, with the city registering more shootings in March this year than the previous year.During the first weekend of April, two were killed and 18 were wounded, mostly on the city's predominantly black and brown South and West Sides. On Tuesday, as unseasonably warm temperatures in Chicago rose into the 80sF (27C), the city endured its most violent day of 2020, with at least 21 shot – including a five-year-old girl – and six killed."Violence of any kind is never acceptable," the mayor, Lori Lightfoot, said at a news conference this week decrying the violence. "But the fact that this is especially urgent right now as our ability to treat all Chicagoans is being stretched to the breaking point, we cannot allow this to happen and we will not allow this to happen."The ongoing violence in America's third-largest city puts additional strain to a healthcare system struggling to combat the novel coronavirus – and could be exacerbated by the pandemic that has dramatically altered life in the city for the foreseeable future.default "Anger, frustration and depression doesn't get put on hold while there's a pandemic going on," said Pastor Michael Pfleger of St Sabina, on the city's South Side. "It's still there, and it's heightened right now. All it does is heighten the reality of the neglect."The coronavirus has brought to the fore the existing racial disparities in Chicago, with black residents representing a majority of Covid-19 deaths in the city and Cook county. Experts fear that the health and economic impacts of the pandemic may worsen the structural conditions that feed the violence issues, compounding the city's already pronounced race and class inequalities."I think there's going to be a lasting impact on this, even beyond the direct public health impact of Covid," said Max Kapustin, senior researcher at the University of Chicago Crime Lab.The continued violence comes as hospitals in Chicago, like New York and other communities across the US that have been hit hard so far by the outbreak, grapple with a pandemic that has stretched their limited resources.Illinois's governor, JB Pritzker, has warned that intensive care unit beds are filling up quickly and that the state needs more ventilators, as the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases here rises above 15,000 and its death toll nears 500."Every one of those beds, every one of those ER beds, taken up by a gunshot victim could be somebody's grandmother, somebody with pre-existing conditions, somebody that is in danger of losing their lives because of the pandemic," Charlie Beck, the city's interim police chief, said in a news conference with Lightfoot."There are two pandemics in Chicago," Beck said, "and only one is virus-induced."> Anger, frustration and depression doesn't get put on hold while there's a pandemic going on> > Pastor Michael PflegerAt Mount Sinai hospital in Douglas Park on Chicago's West Side, one of the busiest trauma centers in the country, the dueling crises of Covid-19 and gun violence have stretched staff and resources.Even for longtime medical professionals at the facility on the frontline of the city's violence epidemic, the coronavirus pandemic has been shocking."I'm amazed by it," said Michele Mazurek, chief nurse officer and vice-president of patient care services. "We're used to trauma patients here. Covid is almost like its own trauma itself."The continued gun violence has forced the hospital to put into place its surge plan, with educators, nurse practitioners and Mazurek herself providing patient care at the hospital."The influx sometimes is incredible," Mazurek said. "It is stressing on our emergency room."Mount Sinai officials said it has been able to maintain a high level of care despite the obstacles, thanks to the efforts of staff. But, they said, the situation has already taken a toll on healthcare workers."I've been a nurse since 1993," Mazurek said. "This has been the hardest experience I've ever lived through."As of Wednesday, Chicago had seen a reported 550 shootings in 2020 – up 64 from last year. That number will probably continue to grow, particularly as the weather warms into the summer months, when violence in the city tends to spike."Unfortunately, the epidemic of gun violence continues to plague us every day, every hour of the day," Lightfoot said on Wednesday. "This level of violence is never acceptable. Never, ever."
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| 100 more sailors from the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for coronavirus, making up 75% of the Navy's total cases worldwide Posted: 11 Apr 2020 11:54 AM PDT  A total of 550 cases have now been linked to the ship, which is harbored in Guam with sailors being taken ashore.
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| Yemen's Houthi rebels sentence 4 reporters to death Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:26 AM PDT  A court run by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday sentenced four journalists to death after their conviction on spying charges, their defense lawyer said. The four were among a group of 10 journalists who were detained by the Iran-backed rebels and accused of "collaborating with the enemy," in reference to the Saudi-led coalition that has been at war with the Houthis since 2015, lawyer Abdel-Majeed Sabra said. Sabra identified the four who were sentenced to death as Abdel-Khaleq Amran, Akram al-Walidi, Hareth Hamid and Tawfiq al-Mansouri.
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| Alaska Dems says they received twice as many ballots than in 2016 Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:28 PM PDT  Joe BIden is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee after Sanders suspended his campaign earlier this week, although Sanders remained on the ballot in Alaska.
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| Coronavirus stimulus checks: IRS releases new 'simple tax return' to help Americans get theirs Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:02 AM PDT The form is intended assist the federal government in knowing where to send the cash for those who don't normally file.
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| Texas governor vows to issue an executive order to end state's lockdown and help residents 'get back into the workforce' Posted: 11 Apr 2020 11:56 AM PDT  "One thing about Texans, they enjoy working and they want to get back into the workforce," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
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| A federal program promised small businesses up to $2 million in loans. Now it's maxing out at $15,000. Posted: 10 Apr 2020 08:03 AM PDT  A federal disaster loan program offering up to $2 million in relief is now capping out at $15,000 — and is leaving some borrowers wondering if they'll even get that.The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, an offshoot of the Small Business Administration's emergency funds system, has faced an unprecedented number of requests amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and is having trouble keeping up and following through with promised loan amounts, The New York Times reports.Several applicants reportedly said SBA representatives told them funding for the program was running out. Deb Wood-Schade, a chiropractic wellness business owner, told the Times she had been approved for a nearly $25,000 loan, but was given documents on Wednesday telling her the loan had been cut to less than a third of that amount.As part of the $2 trillion relief bill signed by President Trump last month, applicants to the program were also supposed to be made eligible for a $10,000 advance in the form of a grant that would not have to be repaid, and the money was reportedly supposed to be distributed within three days of applying. According to the Times, that money has yet to be dispensed."I'm afraid I won't see a penny," Virginia Warnken Kelsey, an opera singer who applied on March 29, told the Times.The sudden onslaught of requests caused by the virus has handed the SBA a "historic influx of loan applications," The Washington Post reports, leading to a major applicant backlog. The $10 billion in federal funding provided by the CARES act would cover the $10,000 advances of around one million businesses. But in three days, the program reportedly received more than three million applicants.Lawmakers in Washington are still negotiating over a bill that would inject more money to small businesses, with Democrats blocking the latest attempt by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and demanding double the amount.More stories from theweek.com Trump's obsession with hydroxychloroquine is an encapsulation of his presidency Sting, Jimmy Fallon, and the Roots perform 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' remotely, creatively South Korea's coronavirus success
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| 10 Cosmic Close Calls That Changed Spaceflight Posted: 11 Apr 2020 06:46 AM PDT |
| Using his own 'metrics,' Trump says ending U.S. shutdown is biggest decision yet Posted: 10 Apr 2020 11:28 AM PDT  President Donald Trump said on Friday he faced his biggest decision yet with regard to when to re-open the U.S. economy from its coronavirus shutdown and pledged to listen to health experts when making that determination. Speaking at a White House coronavirus briefing, Trump said he would unveil a new advisory group next week that would focus on the process of economic opening. The president, who faced criticism for playing down the threat from the virus in its early stages, has chafed at the devastating economic impact of the strict social distancing measures his administration has recommended.
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| African community targeted in China virus crackdown Posted: 10 Apr 2020 11:00 PM PDT  Africans in southern China's largest city say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing as the country steps up its fight against imported infections. China says it has largely curbed its COVID-19 outbreak but a recent cluster of cases linked to the Nigerian community in Guangzhou sparked the alleged discrimination by locals and virus prevention officials. Local authorities in the industrial centre of 15 million said at least eight people diagnosed with the illness had spent time in the city's Yuexiu district, known as "Little Africa".
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| Thousands of US nursing home patients have died of coronavirus — far higher than the federal government has reported Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:50 AM PDT  In New York, the epicenter of the outbreak, some nursing homes have been forced to convert spare rooms to makeshift morgues.
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| 20,000: US death toll overtakes Italy's as Midwest braces Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:09 PM PDT  The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed Italy's for the highest in the world Saturday, surpassing 20,000, as Chicago and other cities across the Midwest braced for a potential surge in victims and moved to snuff out smoldering hot spots of contagion before they erupt. Chicago's Cook County has set up a temporary morgue that can take more than 2,000 bodies. In Europe, countries used roadblocks, drones, helicopters, mounted patrols and the threat of fines to keep people from traveling over Easter weekend.
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| Footnotes indicate FBI knew of risk of disinformation in Steele dossier Posted: 10 Apr 2020 08:23 PM PDT  The FBI was warned sections of the controversial Steele dossier could have been part of a "Russian disinformation campaign to denigrate U.S. foreign relations," according to the footnotes.
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| Man accused of scamming pizza restaurants with fake large orders for police Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:58 AM PDT  "I will not tolerate someone trying to take advantage of our community in these difficult days," a police chief said. The suspect also allegedly said he wished Italians would get the coronavirus.
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| Coronavirus has killed scores of Mexicans in New York. Their families are fighting to bring them home Posted: 11 Apr 2020 03:00 AM PDT  At least 150 Mexican citizens in the New York City area infected with the coronavirus have died. The crisis has made it nearly impossible to send home their bodies.
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| Businessman Bails Michael Avenatti Out of Jail After He’s Granted Temporary Release Due to COVID-19 Posted: 11 Apr 2020 06:08 AM PDT  Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels who is serving time for trying to extort Nike, has been granted temporary release from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City amid fears he might contract COVID-19, according to a court order signed by a California judge late Friday. Avenatti will have to spend 14 days in quarantine at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to make sure he is not infected with the coronavirus before he can return to Los Angeles for 90 days. His $1 million bail was paid by banker Hubert Bromma, author of the book How to Invest in Offshore Real Estate and Pay Little or No Taxes and self-described "pioneer in the field of alternative investments in tax-free and tax-deferred environments." He will be confined to the personal residence of his childhood friend, Jay Manheimer, in Venice, California.Michael Avenatti Guilty on All Counts in Nike Extortion CaseAvenatti first petitioned the court for his release so he could avoid "disastrous health consequence" in early April, saying he had suffered from pneumonia six months earlier, which made him susceptible to COVID-19. Coronavirus has spread rapidly through New York's prison system, prompting a judge to release at least one other high-profile inmate, rapper Tekashi69.Judge James V. Selna of U.S. District Court in Santa Ana initially said Avenatti posed "a danger to the community" and could not be released unless he could post $1 million bond secured by at least half a million in real estate or hard assets.At the time, Avenatti's lawyer, H. Dean Steward, told the judge, "Frankly, your honor, we can't meet this." It is unclear what obligation Avenatti now has to the author Bromma, who secured the bond. Among the stipulations of his release laid out in the court order, seen by The Daily Beast, are his need to secure advance permission to travel and to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet. He is not allowed to leave Manheimer's house and he is prohibited from using the internet, from opening any bank or credit card accounts, or from engaging in any transaction worth more than $500.In an email to The Daily Beast on Saturday, Steward said he expected Avenatti would be released next week."Our goal has been to prepare for the two upcoming trials," he said. "The release of Mr. Avenatti will help us complete that preparation."Avenatti represented Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Donald Trump. He was later found guilty of wire fraud, extortion and transmitting a threat in interstate communications in his failed attempt to extort sportswear company Nike. He was due to be sentenced on June 17.He faces two other pending criminal cases in New York and California, where he's charged with stealing money from several of his clients—including Daniels, who claims he swiped $300,000 from her book advance. Federal prosecutors had opposed Avenatti's release, arguing that the celebrity lawyer had shown disregard for the court by trying to hastily organize a release without securing a bond, arranging a self-quarantine or allowing the government to properly vet Bromma and Manheimer."Defendant and his counsel continue to demonstrate that they are either unable or unwilling to follow this Court's directions, thereby wasting valuable judicial and government resources during a time when such resources are already stretched thin," prosecutors wrote in their court filing.A spokesman for the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, Los Angeles declined comment to The Daily Beast on Saturday.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Vietnam reports thousands of people linked to COVID-19 hot spot tested negative Posted: 10 Apr 2020 01:11 PM PDT  More than 1,000 health care workers and 14,400 others linked to a COVID-19 outbreak at a hospital in Hanoi have tested negative for the coronavirus, the Vietnamese capital's ruling body said on Thursday.
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| Kremlin says Moscow hospitals flooded as coronavirus death toll passes 100 Posted: 11 Apr 2020 09:43 AM PDT |
| Michigan is forcing Walmart, Costco, Target and others to shut down parts of their stores and stop selling 'nonessential' items Posted: 10 Apr 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Stores must close areas dedicated to carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries, and paint.
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| Virus sends Holocaust survivors behind doors, back in time Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:34 AM PDT  For Olga Weiss, the order to stay at home is about much more than simply locking her door to the coronavirus. Close to 400,000 survivors of the Holocaust are believed to be alive worldwide, and for many elderly Jews the coronavirus pandemic has dredged up feelings of fear, uncertainty and helplesness not felt since they were children during that dark period. While the fast-spreading virus has caused fear and the reliving of trauma for many in the general public, Yael Danieli, a psychologist and director of the Group Project for Holocaust Survivors and their Children, said the emotional toll can be particularly acute for survivors of the Nazi genocide.
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| Why Africa's coronavirus outbreak appears slower than anticipated Posted: 11 Apr 2020 09:40 AM PDT  When Africa's first case of coronavirus was detected in Egypt in February, the rest of the continent prepared for the brunt of a pandemic that has engulfed Europe and spread to the United States, infecting more than 1.6 million worldwide. Health experts warned of the devastation the deadly virus could cause in Africa, where most hospitals are desperately short of equipment and trained staff. Coronavirus has since spread to 52 African countries, but despite a steady rise in the number of confirmed cases, the continent continues to lag behind the global curve for infections and deaths.
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| U.S. now leads world in deaths, day after Trump announces 'opening our country' task force Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:18 PM PDT  As the president mulls when restrictive coronavirus measures might start to be lifted, the U.S. passed a grim milestone of leading the world in deaths from the virus.
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| 'God will shield us from all harm and sickness:' Louisiana pastor expects 2,000 to attend his Easter service Posted: 11 Apr 2020 12:44 PM PDT  Rev. Tony Spell announced he would hold his largest in-person church service as Louisiana reported an increase of 970 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours.
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| Scott Gottlieb: Coronavirus Would Have Been ‘Far More Deadly than Spanish Flu’ If It Appeared in 1918 Posted: 10 Apr 2020 02:31 PM PDT  Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Friday warned that the coronavirus would have been more deadly than the Spanish flu if it had appeared in 1918."I think [that] given the profile of this virus, it's likely it would have been far more deadly than the Spanish flu" if the coronavirus had originated in 1918 with the medical capacities of that time, Gottlieb said in an interview on National Review's The Editors podcast."I think it's reasonable to surmise that anyone who gets admitted to a prolonged I.C.U. stay with COVID-19 who ends up getting intubated, [or] ends up getting prolonged critical care-that's probably someone who would have died from the Spanish flu," Gottlieb continued. "And if you do accept that assumption…if you say, some large proportion of people who are surviving COVID-19…would have died from Spanish flu, then COVID-19 not only looks like Spanish flu in terms of its distribution across the age range, but looks far more fearsome."The coronavirus has spread from Wuhan, China, to infect over 1,600,000 people and kill over 101,000 as of Friday. U.S. officials and lawmakers have criticized China for initially covering up the extent of the outbreak in Wuhan, as well as for failing to contain the outbreak when it first appeared."China was not being forthcoming with information that could have helped us prepare," Gottlieb said. "This virus has changed the course of history…The gravity of what this virus is going to mean to society for the next two years can't be overstated, in my view, and this is the consequence of something that came out of China."Gottlieb went on, "Had China been more aggressive sometime in November, and certainly in December, in trying to contain the spread of this…then they might have been able to fully contain this."
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| Coronavirus: Congressman wants Zoom meetings banned after being ‘Zoom-bombed’ multiple times Posted: 11 Apr 2020 12:48 PM PDT  Ohio congressman Jim Jordan has called for an end to Zoom video conference meetings citing potential security concerns.The House Oversight and Reform Committee, of which Mr Jordan is the top Republican member, has been conducting business using the remote meeting software to comply with social distancing rules to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
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