| Trump coronavirus task force 'beginning to see glimmers of progress,' but models still show 100,000 U.S. deaths from virus Posted: 05 Apr 2020 05:33 PM PDT  The Trump administration said Sunday that it was "beginning to see the glimmers of progress" in the fight to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the United States and across the globe.
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| Synthetic antibodies might offer a quick coronavirus treatment Posted: 07 Apr 2020 06:21 AM PDT  This is a bridge to a vaccine."
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| Sweden, which refused to implement a coronavirus lockdown, has so far avoided a mass outbreak. Now it's bracing for a potential surge in deaths. Posted: 07 Apr 2020 05:16 AM PDT  Sweden urged people to practice social distancing but left shops and restaurants open, contrasting with many countries across Europe and the world.
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| DIY T-Shirt Masks and Balaclavas: Military Services Release Face-Covering Guidance Posted: 06 Apr 2020 01:51 PM PDT  The military branches are requiring troops to make their own cloth face masks after the Pentagon's latest policy.
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| U.S. Supreme Court sides with GOP on Wisconsin election, apparently rewrites state election law Posted: 06 Apr 2020 11:12 PM PDT  Wisconsin's local elections and presidential primaries will likely proceed on Tuesday after the conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down an executive order Monday from Gov. Tony Evers (D) to delay the election to June 9 due to the coronavirus outbreak. There are open questions about how many polling places will be open and how many people will be able to vote by absentee ballot. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday night that Wisconsin voters must hand-deliver their absentee ballots by Tuesday evening or have them postmarked April 7, overruling a lower court that had extended absentee voting for six days.The U.S. Supreme Court, like the state court, split along ideological lines, siding with the state and national Republican Party. In the dissent for the four liberals on the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg warned of "massive disenfranchisement" due to the conservative majority's "eleventh hour" intervention "to prevent voters who have timely requested absentee ballots from casting their votes." As of Monday, only 57 percent of the 1.3 million requested absentee ballots had been returned, The Associated Press reports, and "it's unclear how many of the outstanding 539,000 ballots will be in voters' hands by Tuesday to meet the April 7 postmark deadline."The court conservatives said Ginsberg's "entirely misplaced" dissent "completely overlooks" that the court is allowing the absentee ballots to be received by April 13, so long as they are postmarked April 7. But that changes Wisconsin election law, says Matthew DeFour, state politics editor for the Wisconsin State Journal.> There is no postmark requirement in state law. The lower court judge changed the date, but did not add a postmark. The U.S. Supreme Court has just written a new election law in Wisconsin.> > — Matthew DeFour (@WSJMattD4) April 6, 2020The state Supreme Court — one of whose 5 conservative members recused himself because he's on Tuesday's ballot — said Evers lacked the authority to change the election date. Evers had called the GOP-controlled legislature into special session over the weekend to shift the date or switch to all-mail-in-ballots, like Ohio did, but the Republican leaders gaveled in and out of season without taking any action, NPR News reports. Thousands of poll workers have refused to participate in the election over COVID-19 fears; heavily Democratic Milwaukee, for example, will have just five polling sites, not its planned 180. The National Guard has been asked to help.More stories from theweek.com COVID-19 is starting to take a deadly toll on grocery store workers What America needs to do before lockdown can end White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham reportedly out after 9 months and 0 press briefings
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| U.S. reports 1,200 coronavirus deaths in one day as China lifts lockdown Posted: 07 Apr 2020 03:48 AM PDT  Nation's top infectious diseases expert said he is "cautiously optimistic" that worst projections may be avoided "if we keep our foot on the accelerator."
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| US sees coronavirus window to push Taiwan's global status Posted: 05 Apr 2020 09:32 PM PDT  The Trump administration is seizing the opportunity of the coronavirus pandemic to push a cause that has long been an irritant in U.S. relations with China: Taiwan. The virus has added yet another dimension to U.S.-China tensions that were already wracked by a trade war and heated discussions over intellectual property, human rights and Chinese policies in Hong Kong and the South China Sea. As the pandemic has grown, U.S. officials and lawmakers have stepped up alternately bashing China for a lack of transparency over the outbreak and praising Taiwan for its response to the outbreak.
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| Brazil minister offends China with 'racist' virus tweet Posted: 06 Apr 2020 09:33 AM PDT  China demanded an explanation from Brazil Monday after the far-right government's education minister linked the coronavirus pandemic to the Asian country's "plan for world domination," in a tweet imitating a Chinese accent. In the latest incident to strain ties between Brasilia and Beijing, Education Minister Abraham Weintraub insinuated China was behind the global health crisis. "Geopolitically, who will come out stronger from this global crisis?" he wrote on Twitter Saturday.
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| Iran supreme leader approves withdrawal of 1 billion euros from sovereign wealth fund to fight coronavirus Posted: 07 Apr 2020 07:28 AM PDT  Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved the withdrawal of 1 billion euros from the country's sovereign wealth fund to help fight the coronavirus epidemic, President Hassan Rouhani's official website said on Monday.
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| U.S. Eyes Second Coronavirus Outbreak in China Posted: 07 Apr 2020 01:44 AM PDT  As the Trump administration scrambles to get a hand on the spread of the new coronavirus across the U.S., it is keeping one eye on developments in China, the country where the pandemic originated.According to two officials with knowledge of those efforts and cables reviewed by The Daily Beast, the administration is monitoring China's second wave of coronavirus cases, gathering data on the ground on the number of individuals newly infected and the reasons for the recent uptick. Over the past few days Chinese officials have noted an emergence of new cases, particularly in asymptomatic individuals. But U.S. officials say it is difficult to trust Beijing's numbers because of its history of putting out unreliable data.The push for real-time intelligence on China's new outbreak is an attempt by U.S. officials not only to study what factors can lead to a reemergence of the virus but also to get ahead of any attempt by Beijing to—yet again—put a spin on it, those same officials said. The White House is leaning on officials from across several agencies, including the State Department, Centers for Disease Control and the intel community to probe how Beijing is handling the new cases so as to better understand what the U.S. could expect later this year, when medical officials believe a second round of infections may happen as well. Grim Scenes at Chinese Hospitals as Doctors Rush to Treat Deadly CoronavirusThe effort by the U.S. to gather new data in China could rattle an already delicate detente that Washington and Beijing appear to have reached on coronavirus messaging.For weeks following the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, the Trump administration called out Beijing for misleading the world about the reality of the situation on the ground, claiming the lack of information and the silencing of health-care workers helped lead to the global spread of the virus. China relentlessly pushed back on that assertion and demanded that the U.S. stop referring to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus"—as several top Trump officials were doing. Since then, both President Trump and President Xi have toned down the tough talk and the State Department in cables has refrained from referring to the coronavirus as the "Wuhan virus". In public appearances and behind closed doors Trump has changed his tune, calling Xi his good "friend" and an "incredible guy".But officials who spoke to The Daily Beast said they worry that China could again manipulate its numbers, costing the U.S. and countries across the world valuable information needed to fight another wave of coronavirus cases. According to one State Department cable reviewed by The Daily Beast, China's National Health Commission appears to be linking the second wave with an uptick in individuals testing positive who do not show signs of symptoms. The Chinese government began reporting the number of asymptomatic cases on the mainland for the first time on April 1. As of last week China reported that 1,075 people with no signs of symptoms were "under medical observation." About 135 of those individuals had tested positive for COVID-19. "These asymptomatic infections include individuals who do not show any signs of illness but who have a positive laboratory test result for the virus that causes COVID-19," the cable reads. "Asymptomatic infections represented about one-third of current cases [in mainland China] as of March 31." White House Pushes U.S. Officials to Criticize China For Coronavirus 'Cover-Up'The fear of a second wave through asymptomatic individuals is concerning Chinese officials so much that some cities are now requiring individuals scan their QR health codes before riding public transportation. In Wuhan, the local government is reportedly considering "testing all residents to find asymptomatic persons due to fears of a second outbreak," according to that same cable.Like China, the Trump administration is increasingly worried about the spread of the coronavirus from asymptomatic or presymptomatic individuals. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control issued new guidelines advising Americans to wear cloth face covers or masks while around other people even if they did not feel sick.The administration had hesitated on issuing such guidance in part out of concern that a run on medical masks would further hamper American hospitals that are struggling to procure personal protective equipment for their workers. In order to address that shortage, President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner last week announced that he and White House adviser Peter Navarro were working with a team to help buy supplies like masks and gowns internationally, including from China. But the Chinese supplies are a subject of concern as well, after reports of faulty equipment in places such as Spain and the Netherlands.According to a State Department cable, China last week implemented a new policy to ensure all of the medical supplies it planned to export were functioning correctly."The policy regulated exports of medical supplies including detection reagents, medical masks protective clothing, ventilators, and thermometers by requiring exporters to provide documentation that shipments meet China's medical device product registration requirements," the cable reads. As the administration tries to track down accurate data in China on the new asymptomatic cases sweeping the country, it's also looking to keep Chinese disinformation at bay. In the State Department, officials have been tasked with flagging "news" stories and foreign cables that appear to propagate false information. For example, the State Department highlighted in a cable last week the statements made by Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to France. "Following international media reports that the COVID-19 death toll in Wuhan had been dramatically understated (as evidenced by the social media posts, now censored, showing a large number of urns and long lines of residents at government-operated crematoriums)… Shanye told French media that official statistics in Wuhan were accurate," the cable reads. "When asked why the PRC government censored videos and pictures of the long queues of persons waiting to pick up urns, Lu said, 'if they were censored, where did you get those pictures and videos?'" The ambassador was referring to photos that spread on social media last week showing stacks of urns in Wuhan funeral homes. The photos have been deleted but their publishing raised additional questions about the true scale of the coronavirus crisis in China.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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| Coronavirus Model Used by White House Changed to Reflect Decrease in Projected Fatalities Posted: 06 Apr 2020 07:27 AM PDT  A coronavirus projection used by the White House to warn that the country could face between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in a "best case scenario" has dramatically reduced its estimates, cutting the number of hospital beds needed by 58 percent and the death forecast by 12 percent.The IHME model, produced by the University of Washington, updated its numbers overnight to show that projected deaths decreased from 93,531 to 81,766, and the projected total bed shortage fell from 87,674 to 36,654, after projected needed hospital beds fell 45 percent from 262,000 to 141,000 and needed ICU beds decreased 26 percent from almost 39,700 to 29,200. While the model remained unchanged in estimating a peak of April 15, it also moved forward its projected date of fewer than 200 daily deaths from June 3 to May 18.A state-by-state breakdown suggested that a number of the U.S.'s hotspots were gaining ground on the virus, with death projections falling for California, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Washington State, and others. New Jersey's projection rose dramatically from 2,100 to 9,690, while the projection for Illinois remained essentially the same.The University of Washington model, led by Professor Chris Murray, has been widely cited and circulated to illustrate the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak. Its estimates were also used by Dr. Debbie Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, to inform her own models."If you go on [Murray's] website, you can see the concern that we had with the growing number of potential fatalities," Birx told reporters last week.The model also helped inform a projection made by Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the task for and head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, that the country would face "a best case scenario" of 100,000 to 200,000 coronavirus deaths.
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| New York coronavirus deaths 'effectively flat' as U.S. braces for peak cases in hot spots Posted: 06 Apr 2020 02:44 PM PDT  New York state remains at the center of the coronavirus outbreak with more than one-third of all cases in the United States. "Now is not the time to be lax," Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned.
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| Israeli security agency says it arrested alleged Iran spy Posted: 07 Apr 2020 08:49 AM PDT |
| Indian leaders hesitate to end world's biggest lockdown Posted: 07 Apr 2020 01:54 AM PDT  India's 21-day lockdown is set to end next week but several state leaders have called for an extension or only a partial lifting of restrictions, saying is the only way to avoid a coronavirus epidemic that will be difficult to tackle. India has so far escaped a big surge in cases after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked its 1.3 billion people to stay indoors in the world's biggest lockdown last month that authorities have enforced tightly.
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| US braced for historic blow, as virus lands British PM in hospital Posted: 06 Apr 2020 03:54 AM PDT  The coronavirus threatened Americans with their hardest week in memory on Monday and put Britain's prime minister in hospital, despite early signs that some of Europe's hardest-hit countries may be turning a corner. Japan announced an imminent state of emergency and a trillion-dollar stimulus package, after the US surgeon general compared the likely impact of the epidemic in the week ahead to 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. In London, virus-stricken Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent the night in hospital for tests, after Queen Elizabeth II delivered a rare emergency address in a 68-year reign to urge Britain to "remain united and resolute".
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| Trump has a 'small personal financial interest' in hydroxycholorquine drugmaker. Allies have bigger stakes. Posted: 06 Apr 2020 09:31 PM PDT  President Trump has been promoting the malaria and lupus drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 "with all of the enthusiasm of a real estate developer," even as the medical experts on his coronavirus task force have repeatedly "warned against overselling a drug yet to be proved a safe remedy, particularly for heart patients," The New York Times reports. Some hospitals in Sweden stopped using hodroxycholoriquinine to treat the coronavirus due to adverse side effects, and the International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy rejected a positive French study it had published on the drug, cited by Trump.Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease officials, has warned publicly and privately against promoting the drug absent studies showing its effectiveness, and "behind the scenes, career health officials have raised even stronger warnings about the risk to some Americans' heart health and other complications, but been warned not to publicly speak out and potentially contradict Trump," Politico reports. "Trump's focus on the drugs ... has increasingly warped his administration's response. Health officials have been told to prioritize the anti-malaria drugs over other projects that scientists believe have more potential to fight the outbreak." So...> Can someone please explain to me why Trump et al are so hung up on hydroxychloroquine? Because I really don't get it.> > — Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) April 6, 2020"If hydroxychloroquine becomes an accepted treatment, several pharmaceutical companies stand to profit, including shareholders and senior executives with connections to the president," the Times reports. "Trump himself has a small personal financial interest in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine." Other top Trump donors, allies, golf buddies, and Cabinet officials also have various ties to hydroxychlorquine.On the other hand, some hospitals in New York are using the drug to treat COVID-19, with mixed results. Senior administration officials tell Politico that Trump really believes hydroxychloroquine could end the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump has told associates Oracle founder Larry Ellison first pointed him to the drug, and TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, Rudy Giuliani, and trade adviser Peter Navarro have boosted his faith. "He thinks that it's the drug that's going to get everyone back to work," one Republican close to the White House told Politico, joking: "Do you have a supply?"More stories from theweek.com COVID-19 is starting to take a deadly toll on grocery store workers What America needs to do before lockdown can end White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham reportedly out after 9 months and 0 press briefings
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| Coronavirus wreaks havoc in African American neighbourhoods Posted: 07 Apr 2020 07:09 AM PDT  Black Chicagoans account for 70% of coronavirus deaths, despite making up 30% of the population.
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| Peter Navarro Claims China Tried to ‘Corner the World Market’ in Masks after They Identified Coronavirus Threat Posted: 06 Apr 2020 11:23 AM PDT  White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said Monday that during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, China attempted to "corner the world market" in personal protective equipment such as face masks and gloves"We know that China knew about the virus as early as mid-December. We know that for a period of about five to six weeks they hid the dangers from the rest of the world even as Chinese citizens were flying around the world seeding the world with the virus," Navarro said on Fox News.Navarro added that he has not been part of any discussion about suing China regarding this matter.> Enemy of the World> > WH Trade Advisor Peter Navarro: China bought 2.2 billion masks between Jan. 24th thru the end of Feb.> > Peter explains how those statistics show that China tried "to corner the world market in PPE when they knew the dangers & didn't tell the rest of the world." pic.twitter.com/COheVvd7F8> > -- The Columbia Bugle ���� (@ColumbiaBugle) April 6, 2020"It looks like during that interval, China was basically attempting to corner the market in personal protective equipment including masks. So they were buying large quantities of masks, gloves, goggles, respirators from the rest of the world at a time when the world was still sleeping with respect to the dangers of the virus."Navarro pointed out that Chinese customs data shows "one statistic that I think every American should sit up and really stare at," namely that China bought 2.2 billion face masks between January 24 and the end of February."Americans are getting infected because they don't have the masks. Italians are dying because they don't have masks. Health care professionals are going down," the White House trade adviser said. "If those statistics are telling a story about China basically going out and trying to corner the world market in PPE when they knew the dangers and didn't tell the rest of the world, I think that's a significant discussion we need to have, at least after this is all over because that's a serious matter."Health care workers in the U.S. are rationing personal protective equipment as they handle a shortage of supplies to handle the pandemic.
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| Fact check: Would a U.S. House bill ban assault weapons? Posted: 06 Apr 2020 12:08 PM PDT  Gun-rights organizations are raising awareness about a bill pending in the House of Representatives that they say would ban assault weapons. It would.
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| Bangladesh arrests fugitive killer of independence leader Posted: 07 Apr 2020 04:50 AM PDT  Police in Bangladesh arrested a fugitive killer of the country's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on Tuesday, nearly 45 years after the brutal assassination, the country's home minister said. Abdul Majed, a former military captain, was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said, adding that the arrest was "the biggest gift" for Bangladesh this year. Majed had publicly announced his involvement in the assassination after the killing and had reportedly been hiding in India for many years.
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| North Indians turn on to Modi's 'lights off' call, South Indians less swayed Posted: 06 Apr 2020 04:41 AM PDT  Power demand around India shows how many nationwide heeded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to switch off their lights on Sunday and burn candles instead to "challenge the darkness" of the coronavirus, with the north coming out clear winners. Data reviewed by Reuters shows that northern India's power demand fell almost twice as steeply as in the south in response to Modi's lights-off plan, indicating the north - a traditional stronghold for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party - was more enthusiastic in its support. Modi had appealed to Indians to display solidarity amid the coronavirus crisis by turning off their lights for nine minutes at 2100 on Sunday and light candles, lamps and flashlights instead.
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| New York registers record 731 virus deaths in 24 hours Posted: 07 Apr 2020 09:03 AM PDT  New York state has recorded its highest number of COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday, adding though that hospitalizations appeared to be "plateauing." Cuomo said 731 people succumbed to the new coronavirus on Monday, bringing the state's total death toll to 5,489. New York has borne the brunt of America's deadly coronavirus pandemic, accounting for around half the number of deaths across the country.
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| Trump has a distant financial link to a pharma giant that makes the drug he's been pushing to fight COVID-19 — but it's probably worth less than $1,000 Posted: 07 Apr 2020 04:06 AM PDT  Calculations by Business Insider suggest that Trump's interest in the manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine is worth a maximum of $1,305.
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| Coronavirus: Africa will not be testing ground for vaccine, says WHO Posted: 06 Apr 2020 03:52 PM PDT  Two doctors sparked outrage after suggesting a vaccine for coronavirus could be tested in Africa.
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| How the Coronavirus Death Toll Compares to Other Deadly Events From American History Posted: 06 Apr 2020 04:43 PM PDT  Some projections estimate that more American lives could be lost to COVID-19 than to World War I
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| Sanders Campaign Manager, Advisers Urge Him to Drop Out of Presidential Race Posted: 06 Apr 2020 04:47 AM PDT  Senator Bernie Sanders's (I., Vt.) campaign manager and other top advisers are urging him to consider dropping out of the Democratic presidential primary, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.Campaign manager Faiz Shakir and Sanders ally Representative Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) have reportedly come out in favor of exiting the race. Political stragetist Jeff Weaver, a longtime Sanders ally, has also made the case for dropping out, saying an exit now would leave the Vermont senator on friendlier terms with rival Joe Biden and secure more leverage for negotiations over the Democrats' political platform.Sanders said he was taking a "hard look" at the campaign's future in a Friday MSNBC interview. The senator is reportedly waiting to make a decision until after the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, which Sanders won in 2016 but where Biden now has an average 18-point lead according to RealClearPolitics.While Sanders won the popular vote in the first three Democratic primaries, Biden rode to victory in South Carolina and again in most Super Tuesday states, boosted by moderate and African-American voters. Sanders has so far refused to drop out despite Biden's 1,217-914 delegate lead, and several states have rescheduled their primaries and mandated voting by mail during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
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| Illinois man who feared girlfriend had COVID-19 fatally shoots her, himself Posted: 06 Apr 2020 08:11 AM PDT  The sheriff's office said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of service calls involve domestic disputes and crisis intervention.
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| Mideastern burial traditions clash with fears of contagion Posted: 06 Apr 2020 11:05 PM PDT  Mohammed al-Dulfi's 67-year-old father died on March 21 after a brief struggle against the new coronavirus, but it would take nine days for his body to find a final resting place in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq. On two occasions, the family rejected remote burial plots proposed by the government outside Baghdad for him and seven other coronavirus victims, al-Dulfi said. A fight broke out between the families and the Health Ministry's team.
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| China sees rise in asymptomatic coronavirus cases, to tighten controls at land borders Posted: 05 Apr 2020 06:15 PM PDT  Mainland China reported 39 new coronavirus cases as of Sunday, up from 30 a day earlier, and the number of asymptomatic cases also surged as the government vowed tighter controls at land borders. The National Health Commission said on Monday that 78 new asymptomatic cases had been identified as of the end of Sunday, compared with 47 the day before. Imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who show no symptoms but can still pass the virus on, have become China's chief concern after draconian containment measures succeeded in slashing the overall infection rate.
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| Venezuelans stream home from Colombia due to virus pandemic Posted: 05 Apr 2020 09:03 PM PDT  Hundreds of Venezuelans who fled to neighboring Colombia during their country's economic crisis are now returning home, pushed by the deadly novel coronavirus and Colombia's own pandemic woes. Colombian migration officials said Sunday that 600 people -- including 35 children and 167 women -- crossed the main border point at the Simon Bolivar International Bridge in the northeastern city of Cucuta, into Venezuela one day earlier. Although the border is officially closed as a measure taken to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, Colombia has opened a "humanitarian corridor" to allow Venezuelans to return home.
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| India drops drug export ban after Trump threatens "retaliation" Posted: 06 Apr 2020 07:13 PM PDT  As it's tested as a possible treatment for COVID-19, India had barred exports of hydroxychloroquine, until Trump weighed in.
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| An airport fire in Florida destroyed over 3,500 rental cars that were stored in a field Posted: 06 Apr 2020 12:47 PM PDT  The fire at Southwest Florida International Airport spread over 15 acres, destroying over 3,500 rental cars.
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| Inslee: 'Ludicrous' that there hasn't been a nationalized mobilization effort to fight pandemic Posted: 05 Apr 2020 10:56 AM PDT  U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Sunday called the next week of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic the modern era's "Pearl Harbor moment." In other words, it'll be the "hardest moment" of many Americans' lives, and Adams hopes every person in every state does their part to slow the spread.> Surgeon General Jerome Adams: "The next week is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment. It's going to be our 9/11 moment." pic.twitter.com/HoE76Uq1sx> > — Talking Points Memo (@TPM) April 5, 2020But while Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) may agree with most of that assessment, he told NBC's Chuck Todd during Sunday's edition of Meet The Press that he isn't sure why the federal government is so intent on remaining as a backup for the states, especially if the White House believes we're in a war-like moment. > WATCH: @GovInslee says on MTP it is "ludicrous that we do not have a national effort" against the coronavirus. > > Gov. Inslee: "To say we are a backup ... can you imagine if Franklin Roosevelt said, 'I'll be right behind you Connecticut; good luck building those battleships'?" pic.twitter.com/BHqI3YkYxd> > — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 5, 2020"We need a national mobilization of the manufacturing base of the United States as we started on Dec. 8, 1941," Inslee said, calling on President Trump to authorize the Defense Production Act.More stories from theweek.com Stocks rebounded after some hopeful coronavirus news but change 'doesn't necessarily reflect anything fundamental' New York City plans to temporarily bury coronavirus victims in a park Trump's fervor for an unproven COVID-19 drug is reportedly fueled by Rudy Giuliani, Dr. Oz
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| Coronavirus 'could wipe out Brazil's indigenous people' Posted: 05 Apr 2020 04:10 PM PDT  Respiratory illnesses are already the main cause of death for the country's native communities.
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| Revealed: Wisconsin's black and student populations at highest risk of voter purges Posted: 06 Apr 2020 09:58 AM PDT  Guardian analysis finds those expected to vote Democrat nearly twice as likely to be flagged for removal from voting rollsLaquesha Ellis couldn't figure out why her voter registration could be stricken. The 31-year-old has lived with her two sons in the same gray shingled duplex in a majority black neighborhood for years.Yet when the Guardian told her her name was one of one in 14 Wisconsin voters at risk of being removed from the voter rolls for potentially having changed addresses, Ellis was surprised. "I still live here. That's not right," she said. "Every vote is supposed to count."Approximately 232,000 Wisconsin voters are on this list after being identified by a complex matching system. In 2016, Donald Trump won the presidential election in Wisconsin by 22,748 votes, or less than 1%.A new Guardian analysis has found voters in zip codes that were predominantly black or heavily populated by students were nearly twice as likely to be flagged for removal. These populations are also more likely to vote Democrat.The Guardian also interviewed 100 people on the list and found that over a third either hadn't moved at all, or had moved locally. Many were unaware they had to re-register. "The right to vote could be taken away, regardless of who you are or where you live," said Megan Gall, national data director for All Voting is Local, an advocacy group. "Eligible voters should never get kicked off the registration rolls."The Covid-19 pandemic is adding further complications. Wisconsin and other states are now pushing mail-in balloting rather than voting in person. But if voters are erroneously dropped from the rolls, they might never receive those ballots in the first place. DividerIn 2016, Wisconsin joined the Electronic Registration Information Center (Eric), a multi-state partnership that helps its members keep their voter rolls current by comparing data between government sources such as the post office and Department of Motor Vehicles, to see who might have moved home. A year later, Wisconsin deactivated roughly 308,000 registrations, but eventually, the state reinstated approximately 7,000 voters who were erroneously struck off.In 2019, the state decided it wouldn't remove voters from the rolls until 2021, to avoid making the same mistake before this year's presidential election. Yet in November, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (Will), a conservative non-profit law firm, sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission, claiming it violated state law by putting off the cancellations.The removals have so far continued to be blocked, but Will is asking the Wisconsin supreme court to hear the case before the election.Will president Rick Esenberg has argued that the process won't disenfranchise voters because they can register at the polls on election day. But in-person voting may be hampered by the coronavirus outbreak."This Will lawsuit says: let's deactivate these people immediately and get them to register again. But that defeats the whole purpose," said Reid Magney, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Election Commission. "The more people who have to re-register on election day, the longer the lines are."The zip code in Wisconsin where voters had the greatest odds of being put on the list of potential movers was composed entirely of student housing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Here, one in four voters, who are likely to vote Democrat, got a mover letter from the state.College student population vs probability of receiving a voter form a map of parts of Wisconsin that have at least a 10% college-student population compared to where at least 8% of households received voter purge forms"It's not hard to see why college students – who have notoriously unstable addresses while they are in school, often changing one or more times a year – would be flagged," said Kenneth Mayer, a political science professor at UW-Madison.This can lead to confusion. Tommaso Tonelli, a 20-year-old sophomore at the university who was flagged by the Eric system, didn't know how to update his address. "There are certain places I can go on campus, I'm pretty sure," he guessed.Wylie Boelter wasn't sure why he was on the list. "I mean, I moved to a different place, but still in Madison," he said.Having to re-register could prove an obstacle for student voters. Under the state's current law, students can use a school ID to register to vote only if it meets certain criteria. If they use a student ID, they have to provide additional documentation.Tammy Patrick, a senior advisor at the Democracy Fund, a nonpartisan organization focused on election administration, said students are stuck in a residency grey area. "They're often able to register to vote but may not be required to get a driver's license in that state, meaning they may lack the identification necessary to vote."DividerAreas populated by black voters had the second highest rates of voters being flagged for removal, according to the Guardian's analysis. Twelve percent of voters in majority black zip codes were at risk of removal, compared to 7% of voters statewide. But about a third of the 37 voters interviewed in these areas said they hadn't moved.All of these zip codes were in Milwaukee, where African Americans make up nearly 40% of the population. The city plays a critical role in elections: High turnout there helped Barack Obama win the state twice, and low turnout contributed to Trump's success in 2016, said David Canon, a political science professor at UW-Madison.title for map of African-american population vs voter form probability a map of parts of Wisconsin that have at least a 5% African-american population compared to where at least 8% of households received voter purge formsKenneth Dixon, 57, who was also flagged, said he has never moved out of his neighborhood. But he wasn't surprised that those in his predominantly black Milwaukee zip code, were likely to be on the list."So that is how they are trying to win the election for the Republicans?" he said. "Ain't that a coincidence."Kyesha Rembert, whose zip code is 94% black, registered to vote at her cousin's home, where she has lived for three years after losing her job. Yet her mail is sent to her mom's address nearby.When she went to vote in a local election in February, she was told by a poll worker that her name was flagged. Though she was allowed to vote, she was left confused. "I vote in every election, so I don't know why I'm on the strike list," she said.Socioeconomic factors in some of these neighborhoods mean that some residents are more likely to change addresses. Rembert's zipcode has one of the nation's highest incarceration rates and two thirds of children live in poverty, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2018."You are affecting a population that is already, in some cases, a more vulnerable population on so many levels," Canon said. "Making them less likely to be able to vote is just not something that should be tolerated."DividerWhile Wisconsin's method of maintaining voter rolls can be reliable, its margin of error could mean tens of thousands of voter registrations are wrongfully deactivated."The timing of this is the critical thing. You don't want to be doing this in the months leading up to the presidential election," Canon said. "If you do a purge like this on a big scale, you're gonna catch 10,000 to 15,000 people that shouldn't have been removed. "Though the state hasn't deactivated anyone on the list yet, the back-and-forth of the Will lawsuit could still discourage voters.Zina Noel, a student from a majority black community in Milwaukee, said she has had trouble voting and getting absentee ballots from the state for years. Noel, who is pursuing her PhD, has moved between universities such as Harvard, and technically should be allowed to vote from her permanent address at her parents' house.But when she got the letter about losing her registration status, it was the final straw. "It seems fitting that there would be a big purge of voters in mostly Democratic and black areas," Noel said. "That's what happens when you live in the black part of Wisconsin."She registered instead in Minnesota, where she is living for only few months.
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| Monday Sunrise Briefing: Europe’s lockdown flattens the curve Posted: 06 Apr 2020 03:13 AM PDT |
| 'A lot of pain.' NY has biggest 1-day jump in virus deaths Posted: 07 Apr 2020 06:19 AM PDT  New York state recorded 731 new coronavirus deaths Tuesday, marking the biggest one-day jump in the outbreak, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo said the latest death tally reflects critically ill people hospitalized before this week, calling it a "lagging indicator." Looking at New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak, more people have now died from the coronavirus than perished in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.
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| Iran supreme leader approves tapping sovereign wealth fund to fight coronavirus Posted: 06 Apr 2020 08:46 AM PDT  Iran is the Middle Eastern country worst-affected so far by the coronavirus, with 3,739 deaths and 60,500 people infected as of Monday, official data showed. Shut out of international capital markets and facing a further hit to its finances with the collapse in global oil prices coming on top of U.S. sanctions, Iran is struggling to shield its economy from the coronavirus pandemic. Rouhani said in late March that the government was seeking approval for the withdrawal of the money from the sovereign wealth fund.
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| Hundreds of lockdown-hit animals die at Pakistan pet markets Posted: 07 Apr 2020 02:22 AM PDT  Abandoned when Pakistan's largest cities went into lockdown, hundreds of caged cats, dogs and rabbits have been found dead inside pet markets hurriedly shuttered as the coronavirus spread. Survivors from the specialist corner of Karachi's sprawling Empress Market were only rescued after activists appealed to the authorities for access. Two weeks into the shutdown, Ayesha Chundrigar could hear the cries of the pets from outside the shops, which together housed up to 1,000 animals.
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| Trump Claims ‘China-Centric’ WHO ‘Really Blew It’ When Faced With Coronavirus Threat Posted: 07 Apr 2020 08:59 AM PDT  President Trump hammered the World Health Organization on Tuesday over its response to the coronavirus pandemic, accusing it of being partial to China and endangering countries by recommending borders be kept open."The W.H.O. really blew it," Trump wrote on Twitter. "For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?"The WHO recommended in January that countries keep borders and trade open even as it dubbed the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency. In March, the WHO upgraded the outbreak to pandemic status.Several Republican senators have eviscerated the WHO for its handling of the pandemic. Senator Martha McSally last week called on WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to step down. McSally called the director a "communist" and accused him of helping China conceal its underreporting of coronavirus case numbers.Another Republican senator, Rick Scott of Florida, called for a congressional investigation into the WHO and questioned whether the organization should continue to be funded since it engaged in "helping Communist China cover up" the seriousness of the virus and "willfully parroted propaganda" from China's Communist Party.During an interview last month, WHO assistant director-general Dr. Bruce Aylward appeared to dodge a question about whether the WHO will reconsider granting membership to Taiwan, which China claims as a territory. Taiwan, which has reported under 400 cases of the infection and only two deaths, has been widely praised for its containment of the coronavirus.When Chinese researchers discovered the virus in December, local and national officials issued a gag order to labs in Wuhan, ordering the scientists there not to disclose that they had identified a new viral pneumonia.As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. has over 367,800 cases of the coronavirus, a respiratory illness which originated in Wuhan, China, and over 11,000 people have died.
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| 3 countries have started to slow the coronavirus with total lockdowns. Here's how long they took to work. Posted: 06 Apr 2020 03:24 AM PDT  Lockdown measures in Italy, Spain and France appear to be bearing fruit after three weeks, with daily death tolls beginning to decline.
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| Which countries have flattened the curve? Posted: 06 Apr 2020 12:01 AM PDT  The U.S. has been in social-distancing mode for about three weeks — it also has the most coronavirus cases in the world.
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| A Major Outbreak of Coronavirus Will Test India's Healthcare, Governance and Social Cohesion to the Limit Posted: 07 Apr 2020 12:09 AM PDT  Seven decades of poor policy choices have weakened India's ability to deal with a major health crisis
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| Sen. Rick Scott wants congressional probe into World Health Organization's coronavirus response Posted: 06 Apr 2020 06:15 PM PDT  Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Republican member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, joins Tucker Carlson on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'
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