| Pressure grows on Trump to invoke Defense Production Act for coronavirus response Posted: 17 Mar 2020 05:47 PM PDT  President Trump said Tuesday he was not prepared to invoke the authorities to allow the government to ensure that the private sector can ramp up production of emergency medical supplies, despite a growing chorus of voices urging him to do so.
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| Life under coronavirus lockdown in Italy: ‘Time goes so slowly’ Posted: 18 Mar 2020 09:52 AM PDT  "Time goes so slowly," says Rosa Di Maggio, 30. She's one of 60 million Italians currently on nationwide lockdown, under Italy's strict measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.
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| New York's coronavirus outbreak is projected to peak in about 45 days and overload the local healthcare system: Gov. Cuomo Posted: 17 Mar 2020 10:31 AM PDT  The only way to avoid an untenable "demand on the hospital system" is to reduce social interactions statewide, the governor said.
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| Iran's supreme leader to pardon 10,000 prisoners, including political ones Posted: 18 Mar 2020 01:40 PM PDT  Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will pardon 10,000 prisoners including political ones in honor of the Iranian new year on Friday, state TV reported. "Those who will be pardoned will not return to jail ... almost half of those security-related prisoners will be pardoned as well," judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told state TV on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Esmaili said Iran had temporarily freed about 85,000 people from jail, including political prisoners, in response to the coronavirus epidemic.
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| What to expect if schools close for the rest of the year Posted: 17 Mar 2020 09:39 PM PDT  Parents are already scrambling to cope with kids staying home – for some, it could last the rest of the school year.
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| Coronavirus surging in Southeast Asia, with new cases traced to religious gathering Posted: 17 Mar 2020 10:46 AM PDT  A weekend of prayer at a mosque complex outside Kuala Lumpur is linked to more than 400 coronavirus infections in six countries.
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| Senators are worried Congress will shut down over coronavirus Posted: 17 Mar 2020 06:47 AM PDT  Senators feel like they're in a race against time, Politico reports.Lawmakers from both parties are reportedly discussing the third phase of a coronavirus stimulus package before they've wrapped up phase two. The reason is pretty simple — they don't want to leave anything on the table as the chances increase that they won't be able to reconvene in Washington, D.C., for some time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said they could make the transition as early as this week. "I don't think we can assume that we can keep reconvening the Senate every week like we did this week," Rubio said. "I don't think we can make that assumption. With what might happen to airlines or travel schedules, with individual members having to go into quarantine or being exposed — I don't think we can operate as if we can just bring the Senate and House back whenever we want." Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com The conservatives who would sacrifice the elderly to save the economy About half of France's coronavirus patients in intensive care are under 65, health official says Savannah Guthrie is hosting Today from her basement
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| Coronavirus: You'll have to file taxes by April 15, but White House will delay payments Posted: 17 Mar 2020 12:13 PM PDT  The White House is giving Americans an extra 90 days to pay their tax bills as the coronavirus outbreak affects every aspect of routine life -- but the April 15 filing deadline still stands.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made the announcement Tuesday as he and Donald Trump laid out the administration's latest steps to stifle the spread of the virus and guard against what many experts are warning will be a massive economic slowdown fueled by decreased consumer spending and millions of lost jobs.
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| Israel slaps virus closure on Palestinian-ruled areas of West Bank Posted: 18 Mar 2020 09:33 AM PDT  Israel closed off Palestinian-administered areas of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday to limit the spread of the coronavirus, officials from both sides said. "From today, a closure has taken place in the West Bank," said Yotam Shefer, who heads the international department of COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories. Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Melhim said all Palestinians would be affected, though goods would still be allowed to pass.
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| Hawley Calls for ‘Full, International Investigation’ into China’s Coronavirus Coverup Posted: 18 Mar 2020 08:22 AM PDT  Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) on Wednesday warned the Chinese Communist Party that it would have "to pay" for its attempts to coverup the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, and called for a "full, international investigation" to get to the bottom of the situation."There needs to be a full, international investigation of China Communist Party's actions that helped turn coronavirus COVID19 into a global pandemic," Hawley tweeted Wednesday morning.> There needs to be a full, international investigation of China Communist Party's actions that helped turn coronavirus COVID19 into a global pandemic - and China needs to be prepared to pay other countries for the havoc the CCP has unleashed https://t.co/u1Uo0H0PTj> > -- Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 18, 2020The freshman senator was referencing a story that Beijing has attempted to drown out with a propaganda campaign. China on Tuesday stripped press passes from reporters at the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post who were stationed in China and Hong Kong, its latest action to escape accountability and international censure over its handling the outbreak.In December, genomics laboratories in Wuhan sequenced coronavirus and discovered it closely resembled the deadly SARS virus which broke out in 2002-2003, but were subsequently gagged by authorities, who ordered them to turn over or destroy the samples.Hawley, a China hawk who slammed the regime for its crackdown on Hong Kong protestors in the fall, has been vocal in recent months as the coronavirus pandemic grew. He sent a letter in January to the heads of four government agencies to ask whether the Trump administration was considering any potential Chinese travel ban to prevent an American outbreak of the coronavirus — a move the White House made soon after.Last month, the senator introduced legislation to reorient medical supply chains and to reduce reliance on China for the manufacture of certain prescription drugs and other medical supplies.
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| Trump defends comments on China amid coronavirus outbreak Posted: 18 Mar 2020 10:30 AM PDT  During a White House press conference on Wednesday President Trump defended his comments on China amid the growing coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
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| Editorial: Coronavirus makes jails and prisons potential death traps. That puts us all in danger Posted: 18 Mar 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Soap is restricted and hand sanitizer is contraband at correctional facilities. We need to stop admitting people accused of low-level crimes.
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| NKorea's Kim admits troubled medical system amid virus fears Posted: 17 Mar 2020 09:14 PM PDT  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un acknowledged that his country lacks modern medical facilities and called for urgent improvements, state media said Wednesday, in a rare assessment of the North's health care system that comes amid worries about the coronavirus in the impoverished country. Outside experts say a coronavirus epidemic in the North could be devastating due its chronic lack of medical supplies and outdated health care infrastructure. North Korea has engaged in an intense campaign to guard against the new virus, though it has steadfastly maintained that no one has been sickened, a claim many foreign experts doubt.
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| The Best Gifts Like a Smart Coffee Machine for Mom on Mother’s Day Posted: 17 Mar 2020 12:18 PM PDT |
| California governor tells the state's National Guard to prepare as coronavirus cases in the state hit 740 Posted: 18 Mar 2020 08:10 AM PDT  The action is not a mobilization order but instead directs troops to prepare in case of activation into local communities.
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| Rattled world 'at war' with coronavirus as deaths surge in Italy, France Posted: 18 Mar 2020 05:48 AM PDT  MADRID/BEIJING (Reuters) - Hundreds of millions of people faced a world turned upside down on Wednesday by unprecedented emergency measures against the coronavirus pandemic that is killing the old and vulnerable and threatening prolonged economic misery. "This is a once-in-a-hundred-year type event," said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, warning the crisis could last six months as his nation became the latest to restrict gatherings and overseas travel. The fast-spreading disease that jumped from animals to humans in China has now infected over 212,000 people and caused 8,700 deaths in 164 nations, triggering emergency lockdowns and injections of cash unseen since World War Two.
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| White House eyeing $1 trillion coronavirus stimulus package Posted: 17 Mar 2020 02:30 PM PDT  Senate Democrats have prepared their own package that would cost at least $750 billion.
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| After coronavirus school closings, will states need to hold kids back, institute summer school? Posted: 18 Mar 2020 04:01 PM PDT  Schools are thinking about how to make up for the time students are losing during the coronavirus outbreak, asking if online school will be enough.
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| National Security Council Ties China’s Expulsion of American Reporters to Coronavirus Outbreak Posted: 17 Mar 2020 02:52 PM PDT  The National Security Council on Wednesday slammed China's expulsion of all American reporters working for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post from the country."The Chinese Communist Party's decision to expel journalists from China and Hong Kong is yet another step toward depriving the Chinese people and the world of access to true information about China," read a statement from the NSC posted on Twitter. "The United States calls on China's leaders to refocus their efforts from expelling journalists and spreading disinformation to joining all nations in stopping the Wuhan coronavirus."China's foreign ministry said the expulsion of reporters was in response to the U.S.'s designation of five Chinese government-owened media outlets as foreign missions and its decision to place certain restrictions on those outlets' employees. It comes amid worries that the Chinese Communist Party may be attempting to hide the full extent of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.Chinese premier Xi Jinping is "terrified of a free and independent press because he doesn't want to be challenged when his government regularly spews insane propaganda," Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) said in a statement on Wednesday. "Chairman Xi can expel all the real journalists he wants, but he can't change the fact that his coronavirus cover-up killed thousands of his own people and put the world at risk."Chinese medical authorities reportedly put a gag order on Wuhan labs that discovered the new coronavirus in December, and Wuhan government officials have reprimanded doctors who tried to warn friends and family of the virus. Meanwhile, Chinese propagandists have recently begun pushing a theory that the Wuhan coronavirus may have originated in the U.S.
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| Detroit man convicted in killings of 2 gay men, transgender woman Posted: 18 Mar 2020 10:16 AM PDT  A 19-year-old Detroit man has been convicted of gunning down two gay men and a transgender woman who authorities believe were targeted because of their sexual orientation last year following a house party.
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| As the coronavirus spreads, Catholics are turning to online spiritual practices, from masses live-streamed from the Vatican to a $110 wearable 'eRosary' Posted: 18 Mar 2020 10:30 AM PDT  The Vatican has also started live-streaming the pope's daily mass "to be close to all those who are suffering from the current coronavirus epidemic."
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| A White Nationalist Has Rebranded Himself as Coronavirus Expert. And People Are Flocking to Him. Posted: 18 Mar 2020 01:47 AM PDT  At first glance, Maine resident Tom Kawcyznski seems like just another person talking about the coronavirus pandemic. His daily "Coronavirus Central" podcast has consistently been in the top 20 podcasts on the Apple charts for "Health & Fitness," and at one point earlier this month it hit the fifth spot in the category. But anxious listeners flocking to Kawcyznski's podcast for more information about the disease's spread may not be aware of his background. Before he rebranded himself as a coronavirus expert, Kawcyznski was a notorious white nationalist advocating for a nearly all-white monarchy in New England—with himself as its king. Kawcyznski's surprising reinvention and his success on podcast apps demonstrate the degrees to which concerned Americans are turning to anyone on the internet for coronavirus information, without much consideration of the source. As rumors about coronavirus and the government's response circulate via text message and hoax cures proliferate online, extremist figures like Kawcyznski have seen an opening of their own. "I think the coronavirus is creating a brand new world," Kawcyznski told The Daily Beast, when asked about his new role as a would-be coronavirus expert. Fox Host Trish Regan Goes on Batsh*t Rant Against 'Coronavirus Impeachment Scam'Kawcyznski advocates for the creation of the "Arboreal Kingdom of New Albion," a currently fictional, 95-percent white monarchy he imagines cobbling out of parts of Canada and New England after social collapse. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists his New Albion group as a white nationalist hate group. In 2018, Kawcyznski was fired from his job as the town manager of Jackman, Maine, after the discovery of his posts on fringe social network Gab. In the posts on his now-private account, Kawcyznski wrote that "the average black in America has less intellectual aptitude" and advised white supremacists on how to recast their message in more appealing terms. "I'm putting a happy face on AltRight thinking that brings normies in," Kawcyznski wrote in 2017.Now Kawcyznski has brought the same apocalyptic thinking that turned him into a figure on the racist right to worried coronavirus podcast listeners. He's built an entire coronavirus media empire in the space of two months, including a coronavirus prep book he's selling on Amazon that promises to help people prepare for the disease "on any budget." By publishing a hastily written book on Amazon about the coronavirus, Kawcyznski joined a flood of dubious experts self-publishing coronavirus books on the internet retail giant. In Kawcyznski's book, which he initially published under a pseudonym, he doesn't discuss his background in the white nationalist movement. He also promotes conspiracy theorists like frequent InfoWars guest Mike Adams as reliable sources of information on the disease and envisions a world of societal collapse brought on by the coronavirus, writing that "toilet paper will be more valuable than dollars."Kawcyznski's podcast has drawn more people to him since he started it in February, as cases started to appear in the United States. A Vulture review of coronavirus-related podcasts called the show a "spitting image of caricatures about crackpots and charlatans who vie for attention during crises." But it also noted that his podcast ranks highly in searches on podcast apps for "coronavirus."Kawcyznski claims his daily podcasts, which range from between an hour to two-and-a-half hours, each receive roughly 20,000 listens. It's impossible to independently verify podcast listenership. In his episodes, Kawcyznski positions himself as a sort of guru of the coronavirus era, urging in a Tuesday episode to "refocus your life around the virus." "Stop worrying about what comes after the virus so much, and worry about how you're going to survive it," Kawcyznski said in one. Kawcyznski has also used the coronavirus to gather a community of adherents around himself online. In a chat group on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app popular with extremist right-wing personalities, Coronavirus Central has amassed more than 1,400 members. Kawcyznski claims it's not fair to describe him as a white nationalist, even as he advocates for the creation of a majority-white splinter nation. But as recently as January, Kawcyznski went on a podcast hosted by Chris Cantwell, the neo-Nazi who became infamous in the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" white supremacist rally as the "crying Nazi." Kawcyznski presented Cantwell with a fictional flag for New Albion, describing it as a "blood flag"—a reference to a swastika flag used by Adolf Hitler."It's a sign of my respect to you," Kawcyznski said, as he handed Cantwell the flag.Later that month, Cantwell was arrested on federal interstate threat charges.Kawcyznski, who says he maxed out his credit cards in an attempt to prepare for the coronavirus, has positioned himself for a rebranding in the coronavirus era. In an apparent attempt to distance himself from his white nationalist comments, Kawcyznski said he doesn't "really get into politics" when discussing the coronavirus."I hope people take their opportunities to approach this world with open minds and open hearts," he said. 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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| In Illinois U.S. House primary, liberal Democratic challenger Newman beats Lipinski Posted: 17 Mar 2020 08:00 PM PDT  It was a rematch for Lipinski, a long-time congressman, and Newman, a progressive businesswoman, who first faced off for the Chicago-area seat in a 2018 primary that Lipinski narrowly won. Lipinski, a member and past co-chair of the moderate "Blue Dog" coalition who has served in the U.S. Congress since 2004, has been criticized by abortion rights and gay rights groups for his socially conservative views and faced blowback for voting against former Democratic President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.
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| Senate Passes Virus Relief Bill, Plans for Even Bigger Stimulus Posted: 18 Mar 2020 05:25 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The Senate cleared the second major bill responding to the coronavirus pandemic, with lawmakers rushing to follow up with an additional economic rescue package that President Donald Trump's administration estimates will cost $1.3 trillion.Trump signed the measure hours after the 90-8 Senate vote Wednesday, which followed House passage on Saturday. The bill provides paid sick leave, food assistance for vulnerable populations and financial help for coronavirus testing. As the Senate voted, Republican and Democratic leaders were already working on the next proposal."The Senate's going to stay in session until we finish phase three, the next bill, and send it over to the House," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said immediately after the vote. He said Republicans hope to agree on a plan with the White House and discuss it with Democrats."I would recommend senators stay around, close," McConnell said. He said he couldn't predict when a bill will be ready for a vote, but "we are moving rapidly because the situation demands it."Maine Republican Susan Collins said she expects the Senate to vote on the phase three bill this weekend.Republican Senator Marco Rubio said McConnell asked senators to get their proposals to him by Thursday morning. The Florida senator said Democrats have been included in the talks and added, "I feel good about where we are."As Americans halted much of their daily lives to avoid spreading the virus and markets continued to plunge Wednesday, the White House dramatically scaled up its request to Congress for an additional $1.3 trillion, including $500 billion in direct payments to Americans, $50 billion in loans to the distressed airline sector, and $150 billion to "severely distressed sectors" of the economy from the virus outbreak.The crisis has galvanized Congress to act at a scale not seen since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, against the backdrop of a bitter election-year struggle for control of Congress and the White House this fall.Getting the next package done quickly will be a herculean challenge. McConnell deputized three groups of Senate Republicans to work with the Trump administration to craft a bill, which he would then take to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer for bipartisan negotiations.They'd need House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on board too, before putting the massive legislation to a vote in both chambers. A House Democratic official said Wednesday that Pelosi and her key chairmen viewed the initial outline from the White House to be insufficient.Second-ranking Senate Republican John Thune said GOP senators are working to finalize the third-phase proposal by Thursday with a vote to come as soon as the legislation is ready."There are lots of wheels in motion but hopefully driving in the right direction," Thune said.The initial aid plan passed by Congress early this month provided $8.3 billion for emergency health care needs stemming from the coronavirus.The second plan -- the measure passed by the Senate Wednesday -- seeks to provide economic relief and is the result of intense negotiations between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Trump gave his seal of approval in a tweet late Friday.It was up to McConnell to persuade enough of his Republican members to go along even though he said they might have to "gag" as they voted for it.Paid Sick LeaveThe centerpiece of the bill, H.R. 6201, gives workers at companies with fewer than 500 employees up to 12 weeks of paid family and sick leave to deal with virus-related issues, including staying home to care for children whose schools are closed.That provision divided lawmakers, with some Democrats wanting a more generous package applying to all workers and some Republicans worried that the structure of the benefit would give small businesses an incentive to simply lay off workers rather than deal with the hassle of getting reimbursed by the Internal Revenue Service.The bill also pays for virus testing, bolsters unemployment and food assistance and will send tens of billions in fresh aid to states.For the third phase of legislation to respond to the virus, Schumer is proposing aid aimed at families, such as six months' forbearance on all federally backed loans, including mortgages and student loans, as well as more money for hospitals and other health responses to the virus.There also are varying views on federal aid for industries like airlines. Schumer suggested that any such federal help be accompanied by conditions such as a ban on stock buybacks and perhaps putting employees on the boards of companies that get taxpayer money.The stepped-up action in a divided Congress made it clear that the coronavirus crisis has accelerated faster than Washington's ability to react. Just last month, Trump asked for a mere $2.5 billion package to respond to the virus. By the time Congress sent him the $8.3 billion plan instead, it was clear that much more ambitious measures would be needed."We're talking about costs today versus costs in the future," said Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska. "There are a number of things where if we don't act it will cost a lot more."Trump had been pushing for a sweeping payroll tax holiday, but that idea has gotten little traction in either party because it would be slow to get to taxpayers and do nothing for people who aren't working.Budget DeficitsUnlike the response to the Great Recession in 2008-2009, few lawmakers are expressing concerns about adding to the annual budget deficits, which were already heading well above $1 trillion. Even conservatives who usually pay lip service to fiscal balance noted that millions of people are at risk of losing their jobs, and interest rates for federal debt are hovering near zero.An exception was Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who proposed spending cuts to pay for the House bill. His amendment, however, garnered just three votes.Finishing the next package quickly would let senators return to their states and hunker down with the rest of the country. Several staff members have already tested positive, senators have been going in and out of self-quarantine and many lawmakers are senior citizens, the age group most at risk.(Updates second paragraph with Trump signing bill)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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| What coronavirus? Mexico's president touching people, holding rallies Posted: 17 Mar 2020 06:34 PM PDT  AMLO, as he is called, has been called "irresponsible" and a "source of contagion" as he defied guidelines on social distancing.
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| Commandant directs Marines on how to prepare for coronavirus Posted: 17 Mar 2020 10:59 PM PDT  The letter instructs commanders on the ground to make force preservation and risk mitigation decisions based on new information.
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| Police Are Using Drones to Yell at People for Being Outside Posted: 17 Mar 2020 02:48 PM PDT  It's a harsh—but necessary—way to enforce social distancing.
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| Samoan chief guilty of slavery in New Zealand Posted: 17 Mar 2020 11:53 AM PDT  Joseph Auga Matamata lured victims with promises of a better life but beat them and kept their money.
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| Iran defends response as virus deaths surpass 1,000 Posted: 18 Mar 2020 08:45 AM PDT  Iran said its novel coronavirus death toll surpassed 1,000 on Wednesday as President Hassan Rouhani defended the response of his administration, which has yet to impose a lockdown. The COVID-19 outbreak in sanctions-hit Iran is one of the deadliest for any country outside China, where the disease originated. Rouhani's government reported another 147 deaths -- a record high for a single day in the month since it announced the emergence of the disease.
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| Duncan Hunter, an early Trump supporter who vaped in a Congressional hearing, gets 11 months in prison Posted: 17 Mar 2020 10:53 AM PDT  The former California congressman pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations after a fall from grace forcing him out of his seat.
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| Chinese Authorities Gagged Laboratories in December over Coronavirus-SARS Connection Posted: 17 Mar 2020 07:25 AM PDT  China's top medical authority issued a gag order after Wuhan labs sequencing coronavirus found it resembled the SARS virus that killed nearly 800 people in 2002-2003 back in late December, according to Chinese media.Caixin Global, a respected independent publication, reported that genomics laboratories sequenced the coronavirus by December 27, but were ordered by local and national officials to hand over or destroy the samples and not release their findings.Additionally, Wuhan officials deliberately did not inform a health team from Beijing during a January 8 visit that local medical staff had already been infected by patients, in an attempt to keep its contagiousness under wraps. The city then went ahead with its lunar new year celebration on January, which brought thousands of families to the city to celebrate, without informing people that coronavirus was transmissible between humans.In recent weeks, Chinese state media has stepped up propaganda efforts to shift focus away from Beijing's failures.Zhong Nanshan, a pulmonologist who has made major announcements on Chinese state media, said at a press conference on February 27 that "the coronavirus first appeared in China but may not have originated in China." Other media outlets have repeated or implied the same message.On Sunday, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić asked China to send "everything…even to send us doctors, [because] our doctors are already tired.""We will be begging [Chinese citizens] to come and help us with everything," Vučić said, criticizing the European Union for refusing to export medical equipment to Serbia.Alibaba co-founder and Asia's richest man Jack Ma, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, announced last week that he was donating 500,000 test kits and 1 million masks to the U.S. to help fight the outbreak.
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| Putin is being protected from coronavirus around the clock, says Kremlin Posted: 18 Mar 2020 05:17 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin is being protected from coronavirus around the clock, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, saying all Kremlin staff involved in his events schedule were undergoing mandatory testing for the virus. "Everything needed to protect the president from viruses and other illnesses is being done around the clock," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov has previously declined to say whether Putin has been tested for coronavirus, but has said that the president's medical care is of an exceptionally high level.
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| Coronavirus: Rand Paul holds up Senate vote on rescue package with doomed amendment Posted: 18 Mar 2020 03:32 AM PDT  As the US Senate prepares to pass a bill to help fund and speed up the response to coronavirus epidemic, Kentucky senator Rand Paul has introduced an amendment that will slow down the bill's passage – even though the amendment has no chance of passing.The bill being debated, which would provide free coronavirus testing and provisions for unemployment insurance and paid sick leave, has already been passed by the House of Representatives. While some Senators have voiced misgivings about it, with some saying it does not go far enough, the bill looks very likely to pass without dramatic alterations.
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| Mom accused of killing 9-month-old when she fell asleep with her kids Posted: 17 Mar 2020 09:28 AM PDT  Authorities found that Heather Hall had four types of drugs in her system after she fell asleep with her legs pinning her 9-month-old child face down on the bed.
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| Coronavirus travel restrictions lead to a new record for world's longest flight in distance Posted: 18 Mar 2020 06:25 AM PDT  The coronavirus has resulted in the world's longest flight in distance: Air Tahiti Nui's one-off nonstop flight from Papeete to Paris on Sunday.
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| Warrant issued for Mexico's ex-head of investigations Posted: 18 Mar 2020 03:42 PM PDT  A Mexican judge issued an arrest warrant for the former head of investigations for the Attorney General's Office for alleged violations in the investigation of the case of 43 college students who disappeared in 2014, officials said Wednesday. Tomas Zerón and five other former officials face charges including torture, forced disappearance and judicial misconduct. Three have been arrested and three, including Zerón, are still at large.
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| Venice canals clear as city tourist-free under coronavirus Posted: 18 Mar 2020 12:21 PM PDT  The city of Venice is enjoying crystal clear waters in its world-famous canals due to a lack of debris from tourists and near-zero boat traffic under Italy's ongoing coronavirus lockdown. The clear waters are a tiny bright spot in the beleaguered but beautiful city, whose economy has been virtually wiped out since tourists fled the area beginning last month, spooked by the spread of coronavirus in the country's north. Images of the welcome change were first posted on a Facebook group "Venezia Pulita (Clean Venice)," with residents sharing photos of tiny fish swimming in usually opaque waters, or cormorant, egrets and other birds enjoying the lack of boat traffic in the city's canals.
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| Italy reports 475 coronavirus deaths, the highest single-day death toll for any country since the outbreak began Posted: 18 Mar 2020 10:42 AM PDT  At the peak of its outbreak, China's highest single-day death toll was 150. Iran and Spain, both hit badly, have not recorded more than 200 in a day.
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| 'Americans need cash now': Mnuchin outlines emergency funding amid virus Posted: 17 Mar 2020 10:08 AM PDT  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that the Trump administration recognizes that "Americans need cash now" as he discussed emergency funding amid the coronavirus crisis.
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| Putin Worries Coronavirus Could Screw Up His Constitutional ‘Coronation’ Posted: 17 Mar 2020 09:22 AM PDT  MOSCOW—Around the world, more than 5,000 people have died from COVID-19 and European countries are closing their borders one after another, but authorities in Russia—adjacent to both Europe and China—continue acting as if people here in the motherland have some kind of magical immunity.State officials shake hands at public meetings, go around without masks, and organize big public events, while the number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in Russia has jumped from 63 to 93 overnight. The plague's trolls, styling themselves coronavirus dissidents, spread fake news claiming the epidemic is "a project of the pharmaceutical companies."For three decades, even before the advent of social media, this same kind of conspiratorial misinformation helped HIV/AIDS spread across the country virtually unchecked, at a cost of more than 200,000 lives. Fake News Helped Spread HIV/AIDS in Russia. Has It Stopped?But in this case there's a particular edge to it—an unmistakable political context. Russia's parliament has just paved the way for Vladimir Putin to run in rubber-stamp elections and serve in office until he's in his 80s. And then? Maybe longer. In effect, he'll be president for life. In Russian terms, he'll be the 21st century version of a czar. But there's a hitch.Although the Russian parliament passed the necessary amendments to the constitution on March 11 with a vote of 383 to 0, they are supposed to receive popular approval in a plebiscite scheduled for April 22. And if the coronavirus pandemic takes off in Russia before then—or, rather, can be seen to have taken off—the new czar might have to wait for his quasi-constitutional quasi-coronation. The Kremlin insists that in spite of the growing fear of an outbreak, the plebiscite will take place as scheduled.So what we're hearing from Putin is that there is "nothing critical" happening on the coronavirus front, the main sources of news about sick people in Russia are both fake and foreign: "Their goal is clear, to spread panic among our population," Putin told a governmental conference on March 4. Putin's Now Positioned to Be President for LifeThis does not inspire confidence, especially among those who lived through Soviet times and remember such explanations about the nuclear catastrophe at Chernobyl in 1986, when Soviet leaders delayed telling citizens the truth at the cost of thousands of lives. On Monday, Moscow's city hall confirmed 53 diagnoses of coronavirus. The first one was registered on March 3. With the growing number of cases, there is increasing public suspicion that there are many more carriers than state television will acknowledge, either because they are asymptomatic, or misdiagnosed. There is also a rapidly growing public sentiment that officials will hide the facts deliberately, at least through April 22. Meanwhile, after China carried out the biggest quarantine in recorded history, and as European countries are shutting down cinemas, bars, restaurants, factories, and eventually, as in Italy, emptying the streets, with the United States belatedly preparing to follow suit, Moscow opened a St. Patrick's Day Irish Film Festival at one of its major movie theaters—one of more than 600 here in the capital. More than 160 drama and musical theaters also continue to work. Though the situation is rapidly changing: on Sunday, the Bolshoi Theater, with 1600 seats, presented Swan Lake, but on Monday Russia's major theater made a decision to cancel all its shows. The Vatican may have canceled public services at Easter, but in Saint Petersburg crowds have been lining up all week to kiss the holy relics of Saint John the Baptist at Kazan Cathedral. "The infection cannot be spread in church," priest Aleksander Pashkov told journalists. The coronavirus pandemic is "an anti-church campaign." In the most recent developments, Russian authorities closed the border with Belarus and recommended that all universities switch to distance education online. All sorts of pseudo experts speak their mind on YouTube. Igor Gundarov, presenting himself as a doctor and a medical authority, says he doubts that the pandemic outbreak is taking place at all. "Evil people with capital, they go crazy," he proclaims. "As Karl Marx said, they can kill even their own mother—to sell an idea, they manipulate people's minds." Gundarov racked up more than 800,000 Russian YouTube viewers in January, and his words inspired dozens of conspiracy theorists to push out their dissident messages about an ostensible COVID-19 hoax even as 100,000 people got infected around the globe.Medical workers find refuge in cynicism and in some cases wishful thinking. They know they will be on the front lines and highly vulnerable if the pandemic explodes here as it has elsewhere. Right now, for instance, Moscow has banned mass demonstrations of more than 5,000, and they wonder why that would be the case if there is "nothing critical" happening. Three doctors at First City Hospital were laughing at the new rule on Friday night: So, if there is a gathering of 4,999 people, they wondered, can they cough all over each other and it's okay? "We sign a non-disclosure agreement, so we cannot give journalists' information," one physician told The Daily Beast. Asked about rumors that there are some 6,000 Russians known to have coronavirus symptoms, the doctor did not say that was wrong.Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, however, vehemently denied such stories. "All these rumors we come across, irresponsible declarations about a huge number of infected patients in Moscow, are not true," he said Sunday on the television show A Week in Town. "Some politicians obviously want to inflame this topic, as often happens in difficult times. On the contrary, we are interested in immediately telling our citizens about novel coronavirus cases." Even so, when news broke last week of a teenage girl diagnosed with coronavirus, Moscow started a volunteer quarantine for school children. Unlike most of the rules dictated in Russia's life, this time it is not up to the Kremlin but up to the parents to decide if they want to put their children at risk.All state institutions, including kindergartens, schools, and universities, work without interruption in Nizhny Novgorod, a Russian city on the Volga with a population of more than 1.2 million. A crowd of parents with children filled up the circus on Friday night and fans gathered at Jupiter concert hall to listen to a concert. The first case of coronavirus reported in this city last week did not inspire the local authorities to take serious action, although one municipal deputy, Yevgeny Lazarev, showed up wearing a thin face mask at the city council meeting on Tuesday. "More than 63,000 people live below the poverty line and cannot afford simple things, including gauze masks," Lazarev declared. He called on his fellow deputies to raise the city administration's awareness of the new virus and its danger. But a majority of his colleagues did not support Lazarev. They thought there were other more important things on the city's agenda. After all, the czar-to-be has told them there's no real problem.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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| ‘Gag and Vote For It Anyway’: McConnell Urges Republican Hold Outs to Back House Coronavirus Bill Posted: 17 Mar 2020 12:52 PM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he would push ahead with passing the $100-billion stimulus package negotiated between the White House and House Democrats last week, adding that Senate Republicans with reservations about the bill should "gag" them."We're going to go on and vote as soon as the Senate can get permission to vote on the bill that came over from the House, send it down to the President . . . and reassure the people around the country," McConnell said. He added that "a number of my members think there are considerable shortcomings in the House bill. My counsel to them is to gag and vote for it anyway."The Senate will also move ahead with drafting a phase-three package that would add additional measures to help the economy, following a closed-door lunch with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who negotiated extensively with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on the phase-two bill which McConnell will now bring to the floor.Mnuchin announced on Tuesday that President Trump is considering sending checks to Americans as an alternative to a payroll tax cut in order to provide Americans with immediate assistance in the wake of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.The package could be worth approximately $250 billion, and could be part of a larger package "that would inject $1 trillion into the economy," Mnuchin revealed to reporters. Both the White House and Senate Democrats have proposed additional measures to supplement the House bill, which could range from $750 to $850 billion.Senators Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) and Mitt Romney (R., Utah) have all pushed for direct payments to Americans to offset economic losses.On Monday, Cotton critiqued emergency spending legislation passed by the House as being too complicated, relying on paid sick leave and refundable tax credits when it would be faster to give cash payments directly to Americans. McConnell is now signaling that those criticisms will be considered in new bill set to be drafted by the Senate.> The House bill sets up a complicated relief system that relies on paid sick leave & refundable tax credits. > > That won't move quickly enough & puts undue pressure on businesses to lay off workers. > > We don't want to see layoffs—we need cash in the hands of affected families. pic.twitter.com/64hNtYhfJO> > -- Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 16, 2020
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| Coronavirus justifies moving ex-Trump lawyer Cohen home from prison - letter Posted: 17 Mar 2020 12:20 PM PDT  Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, risks catching coronavirus while serving his three-year prison sentence, justifying his release into home confinement, Cohen's attorney said on Tuesday. In a letter to U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan, Cohen's lawyer Roger Adler accused the Federal Bureau of Prisons of being "demonstrably incapable" of safeguarding inmates who live in close quarters and face an "enhanced risk" of catching coronavirus. Adler urged Pauley "to consider my client's exposure to the coronavirus," and act "thoughtfully and decisively" given the "absence of Presidential leadership" in protecting federal prisoners from COVID-19.
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| Bernie Sanders to ‘assess’ his campaign after suffering yet another bruising defeat to Joe Biden Posted: 18 Mar 2020 08:24 AM PDT  Bernie Sanders has announced he will "assess his campaign" for the Democratic presidential nomination after suffering bruising losses in Tuesday's primaries against former vice-president Joe Biden, who won all three states that cast ballots.The Vermont senator's campaign said in a statement on Wednesday morning that he was "going to be having conversations with supporters" about his bid for the Democratic nomination as Mr Biden appeared to gain a formidable lead in delegates over Mr Sanders.
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| At least 7 members of the same New Jersey family contracted COVID-19 at a family gathering. 2 of them died and 4 are in critical condition. Posted: 18 Mar 2020 07:27 AM PDT  "To imagine a week ago to get a phone call like this — if someone told me this story, I wouldn't believe it," a family member said.
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| Man out on bond in case of missing Alabama woman found dead Posted: 17 Mar 2020 05:38 PM PDT |
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