| Trump touts chloroquine for 'immediate' use treating coronavirus, but FDA wants to see the data first Posted: 19 Mar 2020 11:17 AM PDT  President Trump said Thursday that the antimalarial drug chloroquine had shown "very encouraging early results" treating COVID-19 and will be rolled out "almost immediately" to help fight the growing coronavirus outbreak. But FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn cautioned that chloroquine had not yet been approved for treating COVID-19.
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| The past 2 decades saw the number of major airlines in the US cut in half. See how consolidation in the 2000s left customers with fewer options as profits soared. Posted: 21 Mar 2020 06:52 AM PDT  The airline sector has evolved from a diverse industry of numerous small carriers to a handful of dominant carriers, reducing consumer options.
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| ‘There is hope’: 90-year-old grandmother is recovering from COVID-19 Posted: 20 Mar 2020 01:48 PM PDT  The family all said their goodbyes to Geneva Wood in what seemed like her last days. But the 90-year-old kept fighting.
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| U.S. to Iran: Coronavirus won't save you from sanctions Posted: 20 Mar 2020 02:08 AM PDT  WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States sent Iran a blunt message this week: the spread of the coronavirus will not save it from U.S. sanctions that are choking off its oil revenues and isolating its economy. Iran is the Middle Eastern nation worst hit by coronavirus, with its death toll climbing to 1,284 and one person dying from it every 10 minutes and 50 becoming infected every hour, the health ministry said. The United States, which argues that its "maximum pressure" campaign to curb Iran's nuclear, missile and regional activities does not stop the flow of humanitarian goods, imposed new sanctions this week.
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| Remains of missing Colorado boy, 11, found in Florida Posted: 20 Mar 2020 05:50 PM PDT  Investigators want to know if anyone saw suspect Leticia Staunch in the Panhandle in early February
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| Why Italy? The factors behind a coronavirus disaster Posted: 21 Mar 2020 07:34 AM PDT  Experts list a range of reasons -- from Italy's relatively high age to its strained healthcare system to some old fashioned bad luck -- that add up to a disaster not seen in generations. More than 4,000 people have died in Italy in the month since a 78-year-old builder from the Lombardy region of Milan became the first known European fatality of COVID-19.
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| Amid growing coronavirus threat, Mexico's president says he's putting trust in good-luck charms Posted: 19 Mar 2020 03:06 PM PDT  Mexico has not restricted travel or performed widespread testing for the coronavirus. Epidemiologists are worried that a major outbreak is on the way.
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| Coronavirus: Has America ever been this humbled? Posted: 20 Mar 2020 11:41 AM PDT  The outbreak has exposed US weaknesses and shaken its bravado - but its entrepreneurial spirit gives hope.
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| When schools close or go online, what happens to students with disabilities? Posted: 21 Mar 2020 02:00 AM PDT  Special education children miss on not only academic studies but also therapies, and their families will be at their breaking point very quickly.
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| It's the 'coronavirus,' not the 'Chinese virus,' but Trump is right: China made it worse Posted: 19 Mar 2020 03:42 PM PDT  President Trump has taken pains over the past week to link the coronavirus outbreak to China, calling it the "Chinese virus" at daily briefings over objections that doing so unfairly stigmatizes an entire nation, and might encourage hostility toward Asian-Americans.
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| National Guard chief says 'tens of thousands' of Guardsmen expected to be called up to fight the coronavirus Posted: 19 Mar 2020 09:54 AM PDT  There are more than 2,000 National Guard troops responding to the coronavirus, and that number is expected to double by the weekend.
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| McConnell Drops Phase-Three Coronavirus Relief Plan, Includes Cash Payments for Americans Posted: 19 Mar 2020 03:32 PM PDT  Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and Senate Republicans released the text for their massive phase-three coronavirus relief package Thursday, outlining a trillion-dollar plan that includes direct payments of $1,200 per person and $2,400 for couples to help offset economic losses amid the growing pandemic.McConnell said the "Coronavirus Aid, Relief, & Economic Security Act" is focused on "four urgent priorities": directly assisting Americans, providing relief for small businesses, stabilizing the economy, and supporting America's healthcare professionals and patients during the outbreak."The Senate is not going anywhere until we act. Senate Republicans are here and ready to work with our Democratic colleagues and the Administration to get results as soon as possible. Let's get this done for the country," McConnell tweeted to announce the bill.> The Senate is not going anywhere until we act. Senate Republicans are here and ready to work with our Democratic colleagues and the Administration to get results as soon as possible.> > Let's get this done for the country. https://t.co/E8ZSyDrISN> > -- Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) March 19, 2020Earlier Thursday, he said in a speech on the Senate floor that "Senate Republicans want to put cash in the hands of the American people.McConnell and the White House warmed to the idea of cash payments after proposals from Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) — who called for monthly payments to working families below a certain income bracket — and Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) and Mitt Romney (R., Utah), who both proposed direct cash payments of a fixed amount."Americans need cash now and the president wants to get cash now," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who recently has been involved heavily in negotiations on the Hill, said at a White House press conference on Tuesday."We're going to get out of this quickly," Mnuchin told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo on Thursday. He revealed the goal was to get the money out in three weeks, with another round of checks coming in six weeks if the crisis is still ongoing.Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) had been opposed to the measure, but told reporters he could support "a check as a gap-filler."The bill reveals that the size of the checks, which will be based on 2018 tax returns, gradually diminishes for those earning more than $75,000, and phase out completely for those earning over $99,000.Individuals with no federal income tax liability, would see smaller benefits of a minimum of $600 for individuals and $1,200 for married couples, which the Senate Finance Committee said "ensures relief gets to low-income seniors and disabled veterans."McConnell's plan also creates $208 billion in loans and loan guarantees to at-risk industries, including $50 billion for commercial airlines and $8 billion for air cargo carriers, as well as $150 billion for other eligible businesses.
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| Iran furloughs imprisoned U.S. Navy vet amid coronavirus concerns Posted: 19 Mar 2020 04:40 PM PDT  Iran has granted a medical furlough to a U.S. Navy veteran who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday.
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| South Korea says detected North Korea missile fire 'inapproriate' amid coronavirus Posted: 20 Mar 2020 03:26 PM PDT  North Korea fired two projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea's military said, calling the action "highly inappropriate" given the global coronavirus pandemic. The suspected missiles were fired around 6:45-50 a.m. KST into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula from around Sonchon, North Pyongan province, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. Sonchon is above Pyongyang, near the northwest corner of the Korean peninsula.
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| Thousands defy Iraq's coronavirus curfew to visit martyred imam's shrine Posted: 21 Mar 2020 02:40 AM PDT  "We believe that the number of infected people will increase next week because of this visit," security source tells NBC News.
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| America's extreme neoliberal healthcare system is putting the country at risk Posted: 21 Mar 2020 03:32 AM PDT  Single-payer healthcare can't prevent a novel virus like Covid-19 but it could help us plan, coordinate and save lives * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverageAt the final debate of the Democratic presidential primary on Sunday, Senator Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden clashed on the coronavirus. Sanders contended the pandemic laid bare "the incredible weakness and dysfunctionality" of the US healthcare system, and called for single-payer reform. Biden countered that Italy's universal system had failed to protect the Mediterranean nation, and asserted that Covid-19 "has nothing to do with Bernie's Medicare for All". At first glance, the ex-vice-president seems right: of course single-payer can't close the door to a novel virus, any more than it can forestall a deadly earthquake or fend off a zombie apocalypse. Nonetheless, a national health program with unified financing and governance – basically the opposite of what we have in America today – is a powerful tool in a health crisis.The debate over Medicare for All in the age of Covid-19 is complicated by the fact that it is our public health agencies – and not the medical care system – that serve as our first line of defense against novel epidemics. In that regard, we've shot ourselves in the foot with a 12-gauge shotgun: year after year of underfunding of our federal, state and local public health agencies has left us ill-prepared for the Covid-19 challenge (as evidenced by the testing fiasco). How we finance medical care, however, is also critical. On the most basic level, containing the coronavirus will require those infected to seek medical care, so that they can be diagnosed and isolated. Fear of devastating ER or hospital bills, however, could keep some home – or at work. As a Taiwan government spokeswoman, lauding her country's single-payer system for its successful containment of Covid-19, told NBC News, "Taiwan's health insurance lets everyone not be afraid to go to the hospital. If you suspect you have coronavirus, you won't have to worry that you can't afford the hospital visit to get tested."On Wednesday, Trump signed into law a bill that would make Covid-19 testing – but not treatment – free. It's hence inadequate, given the predicted looming surge in hospitalizations from Covid-19 pneumonia. After all, 30 million Americans are uninsured – a number that will surely grow as the economy tanks and millions or tens of millions of Americans lose their jobs. Even more are underinsured, and for these individuals, co-pays and deductibles will only become more unaffordable as disposable income falls and savings dwindle. For both groups, medical bills for an intensive care unit (ICU) stay for Covid-19 could be devastating. People, of course, will also not stop having heart attacks, cancer or traffic accidents during this outbreak – on the contrary, medical needs are likely to rise in the face of a recession, as unemployment and misery takes its toll on the nation's health. Financial ruin from medical costs – whether it stems from Covid-19 pneumonia or the looming Covid-19 recession – is financial ruin all the same, and will compound the harm of the epidemic.But there's more to it than that. We need single-payer not only to protect us from healthcare costs, but to transform our healthcare infrastructure. In recent weeks, you may have heard that the US, despite our high healthcare spending, has fewer hospital beds per capita than many other wealthy nations. You may have also heard in recent years about an epidemic of hospital closures in poorly served rural areas, or the 2019 closure of a major academic safety-net hospital in Philadelphia. These hospitals closed not because they are unneeded, but because they are unprofitable. For the American hospital landscape is shaped by market forces, which largely determine where hospitals grow and where they wane.> Healthcare in America is uncoordinated – and ungovernedAt the same time, while our hospital bed supply is relatively low, our ICU bed supply per capita is among the highest in the world. Yet those beds aren't necessarily where they need to be: a 2010 study in the Journal of American Medical Association, for instance, found large regional disparities in the distribution of ICU beds; the researchers concluded that in the face of a major epidemic, some areas might have empty beds, while others would have too few. Again, this distribution, far too often, is driven by market logic – not health needs.Finally, healthcare in America is uncoordinated – and ungoverned. Since the epidemic's onset, hospital and city and state governments have waged "bidding wars" over crucial supplies and ventilators, the New York Times noted. It's every hospital for itself: some are resorting to pleas to the community for donations of masks; presumably, others are well-stocked – but who knows? "Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment – try getting it yourselves," Trump suggested to state governors on Monday, quoted by the New York Times. This is not a healthcare system – it is atomized chaos. For again, in the American way of paying for healthcare, our hospitals (or increasingly, our multi-hospital systems) are silos, some rich and some poor, each fending for themselves, locked in market competition.This is neither necessary nor rational, leading both to excess and shortfalls, to generous overall health system funding yet care that remains unaffordable for many. A single-payer national health program would allow us to move past the market-driven status quo to remake this chaotic healthcare landscape of simultaneous healthcare plenty and poverty. It would, in short, allow us to begin to plan – not merely for this epidemic, but for the one that follows. * Adam Gaffney is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a pulmonary and critical care doctor at the Cambridge Health Alliance. He is President of the advocacy organization Physicians for a National Health Program. He blogs at theprogressivephysician.org
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| India hangs four over 'Nirbhaya' 2012 gang rape in Delhi Posted: 19 Mar 2020 08:24 PM PDT  Four men convicted of the gang-rape and murder of a student on a moving bus in Delhi were hung on Friday morning, seven years after the attack that shocked India. The brutal attack on Jyoti Singh and her male friend, by six men in December 2012, led to nationwide protests and more severe anti-rape laws in the country. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, tweeted 'justice has prevailed' after the executions, and said he hoped to 'build a nation where the focus is on women's empowerment.' In 2018, Thomson Reuters named India as the most dangerous nation in the world to be a woman. A mob gathered outside the high-security Tihar prison after the executions of Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh, chanting 'death to rapists.' Another of the student's attackers committed suicide while in jail, and another - a minor - controversially spent just three years in a reform facility, the maximum sentence available for his age. Public opinion has largely been in favour of capital punishment in the widely-publicised case, with activists hoping it will act as a deterrent. "The horrific gang rape has shocked the entire nation, the crime was so brutal that an entire country was outraged," said Swati Maliwal, the Chairperson at the Delhi Commission for Women. "We welcome the hanging of the rapists and believe that the country needs to now work on stricter laws to ensure no-one ever dares to commit such crimes again." The execution was the first use of capital punishment in India since 2015.
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| Trump news: President rages at reporter during coronavirus press conference and insists there will be no national lockdown Posted: 20 Mar 2020 09:38 AM PDT  Donald Trump has closed the US-Mexico border, put a hold on student loan repayments, suspended elementary school testing, extended the deadline for Americans to file their tax returns and cancelled June's G7 summit with world leaders as part of his administration's bid to make up for lost time following the coronavirus outbreak.A number of US senators, notably Republicans Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler, are meanwhile facing calls to resign after being accused of "insider trading" after it emerged they dumped stock options in response to a briefing on the outbreak on 24 January, with even Fox News host Tucker Carlson joining in the outrage and demanding Burr step down.
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| Mask diplomacy: China tries to rewrite virus narrative Posted: 20 Mar 2020 03:29 AM PDT  With millions of face masks, low interest loans and teams of medical experts, China is trying to paint itself as a Good Samaritan while deflecting criticism over its initial missteps in handling the coronavirus. Beijing has showered struggling European nations with aid as part of a diplomatic charm offensive. In recent weeks, it has also donated hundreds of thousands of surgical masks and test kits to the Philippines and Pakistan, sent teams of medics to Iran and Iraq, and extended a $500 million loan to help Sri Lanka combat the virus.
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| Trump responds to question on coronavirus fears: 'I say that you're a terrible reporter' Posted: 20 Mar 2020 11:02 AM PDT  When a reporter asked President Trump "what do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?" he responded by saying "I say that you're a terrible reporter."
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| Why did coronavirus hit hard in Italy and Spain? Some blame a lack of social distancing — and a lot of social kissing. Posted: 20 Mar 2020 02:00 AM PDT  A seeming lack of urgency marks the coronavirus in Spain, where cases began climbing three weeks ago, and where concepts like social distancing didn't enter the discussion until this week.
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| `Accept it': 3 states lock down 70 million against the virus Posted: 19 Mar 2020 11:52 PM PDT  Illinois and New York state joined California on Friday in ordering all residents to stay in their homes unless they have vital reasons to go out, restricting the movement of more than 70 million Americans in the most sweeping measures undertaken yet in the U.S. to contain the coronavirus. The states' governors acted in a bid to fend off the kind of onslaught that has caused the health system in southern Europe to buckle. The lockdowns encompass the three biggest cities in America — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — as well as No. 8 San Diego and No. 14 San Francisco.
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| Gov. Andrew Cuomo: New York just boosted its total number of coronavirus tests by almost 50% in the past day. Here's how the state is doing compared to other countries. Posted: 20 Mar 2020 01:29 PM PDT  Cuomo said at a Friday press conference that New York was testing at a similar rate as South Korea or China. The state still has a long way to go.
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| 'This system is doomed': Doctors, nurses sound off in NBC News coronavirus survey Posted: 20 Mar 2020 02:34 PM PDT  More than 250 health care workers responded to a social media survey seeking first-person accounts from those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Top coronavirus doctor puts head in hands when Trump mentions 'Deep State Department' at briefing Posted: 20 Mar 2020 10:45 AM PDT  President Trump is busy conspiracy theorizing during a international crisis.In a press conference Friday outlining several new actions the U.S. government is taking during the new coronavirus spread, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the leader of the State Department, took the lectern. "Or as they like to call it, the Deep State Department," Trump said before Pompeo stepped up.Pompeo, who tends to agree with Trump's far-right tendencies, seemed to take no issue with the term that connotes the U.S. government is actually run by shady political forces behind the scenes. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trump's top coronavirus adviser, rejected his own advice and put his head in his hand after the president threw out the comment.> The president's apparent anger on display as he used the derogatory term "Deep State Department" and Dr Fauci reacted by putting his hand over his face. Watch. pic.twitter.com/Ks7j4WciVt> > — Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) March 20, 2020No matter how wild Trump's eccentricities get, Fauci should probably avoid touching his face — though the crowded press briefing room wasn't exactly up to CDC standards either.More stories from theweek.com Government officials reportedly 'just couldn't get' Trump to do anything about coronavirus early on America has one of the world's worst coronavirus responses Senate GOP stimulus plan would exclude up to 64 million tax filers from full rebate, economist says
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| China Orders Local Staff to Leave U.S. News Outlets in Beijing Posted: 21 Mar 2020 05:22 AM PDT |
| Amsterdam-Delhi flight turned back amid corona confusion Posted: 21 Mar 2020 02:57 AM PDT  A KLM flight from Amsterdam to New Delhi was turned around midair, an official and a passenger told AFP on Saturday, after apparent confusion about India's coronavirus regulations. Because of the pandemic, India has imposed a bar on flights from Europe and from Sunday a one-week complete ban on all incoming international commercial flights comes into force. Passengers on the KLM flight, which had been due to arrive in the Indian capital early Saturday, included a pregnant woman who needed medical treatment on returning to Amsterdam.
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| Iran's coronavirus deaths rise to 1,556, infections exceed 20,000: health ministry Posted: 21 Mar 2020 01:09 AM PDT  Iran's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose by more than 100 to 1,556 on Saturday and the total number of people infected now exceeds 20,000, a health ministry official said. Iran, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic outside China, had on Friday reported a death toll of 1,433 and a total number of confirmed infections of 19,644. The total number of people diagnosed with the disease stood at 20,610 on Saturday, health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on state TV.
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| Delta, United, and other airlines are sending their largest planes to the desert for storage as they drastically reduce operations due to coronavirus Posted: 19 Mar 2020 01:29 PM PDT  Marana, Arizona is where aircraft go to retire but some airlines are sending their jets there to ride out the COVID-19 crisis affecting the industry.
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| "A generation has died": Italy passes China in coronavirus deaths Posted: 19 Mar 2020 12:36 PM PDT  A day ago, Italy announced a record number of coronavirus deaths in a single day for one country.
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| As deliveries soar, UPS drivers say company's coronavirus precautions may not keep them or customers safe Posted: 20 Mar 2020 09:04 PM PDT  "I got 160 stops, 300 packages," one UPS driver said. "I deliver to doctors' offices, urgent cares. The potential for bad things to happen is crazy."
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| Lindsey Graham is reportedly trying to talk Trump out of coronavirus relief checks for Americans Posted: 19 Mar 2020 01:31 PM PDT  The freedom dividend's resurgence may be over before it even began.During a Senate GOP lunch on Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told his colleagues he was trying to talk President Trump out of supporting individual coronavirus relief checks for Americans, Politico reports. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was also trying to get Trump on Graham's side, per Politico.Mandatory quarantines in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak have already left many Americans without jobs, at least until the businesses they work for reopen. And the economic effects of the new coronavirus' spread may leave some people more permanently unemployed. That's led to bipartisan lawmakers proposing issuing individual checks to all Americans; some proposals have limited them by income bracket, but others are universal. Even Trump has said he'd support individual payments, but Graham has publicly come out against issuing them to every American indiscriminately.Still, just after the meeting, Graham tweeted a clip of his Thursday appearance on Fox News, during which he said the phase three package would provide people "income to get through this." He'd support supplementing traditional unemployment payments by providing "75 percent of people's income up to $80,000."Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was among the first congressmembers to propose issuing $1,000 checks to every American to support them during the COVID-19-induced economic turmoil — an idea that looked an awful lot like former 2020 candidate Andrew Yang's signature policy proposal.More stories from theweek.com America has one of the world's worst coronavirus responses Top coronavirus doctor puts head in hands when Trump mentions 'Deep State Department' at briefing Bloomberg's last FEC filing shows he spent nearly $1 billion on his failed presidential run
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| Baltimore's mayor urges residents to stop shooting each other because hospitals need beds for coronavirus patients Posted: 20 Mar 2020 10:22 AM PDT  "We cannot clog up our hospitals and their beds with people that are being shot senselessly because we're going to need those beds," the mayor said.
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| Hong Kong Records Its Biggest Rise in Coronavirus Cases as New Wave of Infections Crashes Into Asia Posted: 20 Mar 2020 04:08 AM PDT  Hong Kong saw a dramatic rise of 48 new coronavirus cases Friday, majority of whom were travelers returning from abroad
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| Kremlin says Putin does not need a coronavirus test as he has no symptoms Posted: 20 Mar 2020 03:15 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been tested for the new coronavirus and does not need to undergo such a test because he is healthy and has no symptoms, the Kremlin said on Friday. Russia has reported 199 coronavirus cases so far, fewer than in many other European countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that everyone involved in events with Putin, 67, is tested in advance for the virus and that people in Crimea who received state awards from him this week were screened.
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| China says admonishing doctor and coronavirus whistleblower Li Wenliang was 'improper,' calls for punishing local officials Posted: 19 Mar 2020 10:29 AM PDT  An investigation into the death of the doctor found that local authorities mishandled the case and followed "improper" law-enforcement procedures.
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| Fact check: Were elderly Italians left to die? And is socialized health care to blame? Posted: 21 Mar 2020 08:31 AM PDT  Claims have surfaced that Italy, ravaged by coronavirus, would leave its elderly to die. And blame falls on Italy's socialized health care system.
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| Trump would agree to block executives from using stimulus funds for stock buybacks and bonuses Posted: 19 Mar 2020 10:25 AM PDT  During a coronavirus task force briefing on Thursday, President Trump said he would agree to provisions that would prohibit companies from using stimulus funds for executive bonuses or stock buybacks.
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| Fauci predicts Americans will likely need to stay home for at least several more weeks Posted: 20 Mar 2020 06:26 AM PDT  "I cannot see that all of a sudden, next week or two weeks from now it's going to be over. I don't think there's a chance of that," he said.
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| Who wins in the Senate GOP's big bailout Posted: 19 Mar 2020 06:25 PM PDT  Individual taxpayers and families would get checks of up to $1,200 or $2,400, depending on income.
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| Some of Mexico's wealthiest residents went to Colorado to ski. They brought home coronavirus Posted: 20 Mar 2020 05:12 PM PDT  Several Mexicans who visited Vail have tested positive for coronavirus, raising fears of an outbreak that could devastate the nation's poor.
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| Coronavirus: Elon Musk 'child immunity' tweet will stay online Posted: 20 Mar 2020 09:07 AM PDT  The entrepreneur falsely claimed that children were "essentially immune" to the virus.
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| Illinois governor orders residents to 'shelter-in-place' starting Saturday Posted: 20 Mar 2020 02:42 PM PDT |
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