Big Time News Blog: 04/16/20

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Coronavirus: Is President Trump right to criticise the WHO?

The World Health Organization "failed in its basic duty" over coronavirus, Donald Trump claims.

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Pompeo urges full transparency on coronavirus in call with top Chinese diplomat, U.S. says

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday pressed China's top diplomat on the need for full transparency and information sharing as Washington ramped up its pressure on Beijing over the coronavirus outbreak. Tensions have increased again between the world's top two economies over the global pandemic, which has now infected more than 2 million people, as President Donald Trump has pulled U.S. funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), accusing it of being "China-centric."

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Sorry, AOC — Democrats Don’t Want Democratic Socialism

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is demanding concessions from Joe Biden. It’s a thought. Why haven’t others hit on this strategy? Perhaps Walter Mondale should have used the results of the 1984 election to influence Ronald Reagan’s agenda, and why didn’t John McCain leverage his strong second-place finish in 2008 as to nudge the Obama administration? Come to think of it, maybe Thanos should get the Avengers to concede that half the people he killed must stay dead.Ocasio-Cortez is still new to this game, so she may not understand the basics of politics yet, but: You don’t get to change stuff when you lose. Especially when you get trounced. The Social Democrat/Democratic Socialist agenda will have to wait for another election cycle. AOC’s pick for the presidency not only lost, he got creamed. Bernie Sanders had every possible advantage going into March -- a string of primary victories, energetic supporters, excellent fund-raising, a perception that he was the favorite, and a lackluster opponent who picked through his sentences like a blind cripple trying to find his way across a minefield -- and then he disintegrated. Far from being the heroic standard-bearer for a bold new era in progressivism, Sanders was such a disastrous candidate he got nuked by a guy who barely has enough energy left to comb his fake hair.Undeterred by total humiliation, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez turned to Politico the other day to lay down the law for Joe Biden. Lowering Medicare's eligibility age to 60 is not “going to be enough for us,” she said, warning that Biden’s Democratic party is “going to have to pursue a much more ambitious health care policy.” Or else what? Like Elizabeth Warren, like Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez has already said she’s going to support Biden in November. Not that the votes of Ocasio-Cortez types figure to be dispositive in an election in which the swing votes everyone is looking to harvest are the ones in the white working class in the upper Midwest. Ocasio-Cortez also declared she wants concessions on climate-change policy, immigration, and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico? She might as well state that Biden has to come through for Queens and Bronx voters if he knows what’s good for him.Ocasio-Cortez’s patent lack of enthusiasm for Biden is illustrative of a real problem, though. During the primary season, Biden’s fundraising was atrocious and the enthusiasm level of his crowds ranged from tepid to somnolent. But charisma is non-transferable, as the last Democratic presidential candidate learned to her chagrin. Proximity to Bill Clinton for 45 years didn’t make Hillary Clinton more appealing. Even if Biden does everything Ocasio-Cortez wants, she won’t be able to transfer her youthful socialist zing to him. With or without AOC beating a drum for him, Biden is not going to excite marginal supporters and young folk the way Barack Obama did. As Biden gets confused about what office he’s running for and puts out campaign videos that have the kind of audience draw of the average middle-school talent show, his campaign certainly needs all the defibrillation it can get. But the candidate has been around long enough to know that when you’re in a general election, you pivot to the center. Maybe voters in Pennsylvania will forget Biden called for no new fracking, maybe he’ll abandon that position as untenable in a COVID-wracked economy. What he seems unlikely to do is announce a major swing left on climate change. Biden’s memory may not be as strong as it used to be, but he probably remembers as far back as last month, when extremist positions were proven unpopular even among Democratic primary voters. Biden is not about to turn into Bernie Sanders, not that he is even capable of turning himself into a mad prophet of socialism.As is typical of a generation that would rather file a formal HR complaint than inform a colleague she has a concern to discuss, Ocasio-Cortez hasn’t even talked to Biden, fancying herself going over his head. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has Never Spoken to Joe Biden. Here’s What She Would Say,” ran a New York Times headline. And what is she saying? In essence, it’s: “Embrace my defeated ideology and my personal unpopularity.” Actual AOC remark: Biden “didn’t win because of policy — I don’t think he won because of his agenda, he won because of different factors. In state after state after state, Democratic voters support a progressive agenda.”So the people want an agenda far to the left of what they actually voted for, in state after state? It’s a shame that Democratic primary voters are holding the country back, but until AOC figures out a way to cut voters out of the equation, she’ll just have to live with their choices. As for Biden, he’s probably too dumb and too afraid of appearing out of touch with young folks to grasp that Ocasio-Cortez is teeing up a Sister Souljah moment for him. But simply ignoring one annoying and unpopular congresswoman is a perfectly valid option.

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China has been told by the UK that it cannot return to 'business as usual' after the coronavirus pandemic

The UK is calling for an investigation into how the coronavirus pandemic started in China.

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What should Democrats do about the sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden?

After the brief but intense drama of the early primaries, things have settled down quite quickly in the contest for the Democratic nomination for president. With former Vice President Joe Biden already the presumptive nominee, it should be a moment of well-earned healing and consolidation for the party. Yet instead it's one marked by anxiety about a sexual assault allegation that threatens to weaken Biden's general election prospects even before the campaign gets started.Biden's bid for the presidency wouldn't have been threatened by the kind of allegations originally brought forth by Tara Reade, a former staff assistant to Biden's Senate office in the early 1990s. Interviewed by The Associated Press last April about Biden's handsiness problem with numerous women down through the decades, she indicated only that Biden had rubbed her shoulders, neck, and hair. That's inappropriate and more than a little creepy by today's standards of professionalism but hardly unusual for a male politician of Biden's age.But then, during an interview on a podcast last month, Reade alleged far more: that back in 1993, Biden shoved her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers. That's sexual assault. An allegation of that seriousness would have rocked a presidential campaign at any point in the past. But it's especially awkward and highly charged now — several years into the MeToo movement that has inspired countless women to speak up forthrightly against sexual abuse in the workplace. At least one predator has been sent to jail, while the careers and reputations of hundreds of men — from powerful politicians to prominent figures in media, entertainment, journalism, finance, sports, and other fields — have been adversely effected by MeToo allegations.Will Democrats now apply the same exacting and often unforgiving standards to the man who's locked down the party's presidential nomination?The problem is real. But it's not quite as bad as some appear to think.That certainly includes Republicans. They insist Democrats accepted the activist slogan and hashtag BelieveWomen and used it as a bludgeon against Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings when psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford accused him of a drunken sexual assault at a high school party three decades in the past. Republicans claim that for Democrats to be consistent, they need to apply precisely the same standard to Reade and Biden: They must believe her without question, drag Biden through the mud, and presumably keep him off the Democratic ticket for his alleged behavior 27 years ago. Anything less would be a blatant double standard.It's pretty rich for Republicans to accuse Democrats of hypocrisy for failing to live up to standards that Republicans themselves show no sign of caring about when it comes to their own party and president. The term bad faith is far too mild to capture the chutzpah of people who carry water for the Trump White House 24/7 feigning outrage at others struggling to live up to moral principles and apply consistent standards. Yet the charge would nonetheless sting if it were true that leading Democrats cared less about accusations against a leading member of their own party than against a Republican Supreme Court nominee.Thankfully, the core of the problem isn't the application of the principle but the principle itself: BelieveWomen should never have been the standard for adjudicating such issues in the first place, in either a court of law or the court of public opinion.Yes, women accusing men of bad behavior have too often and easily been ignored or dismissed. That was wrong, and the proper response is to take allegations more seriously, applying less doubt and suspicion to them, along with less deference to the accused. But that's very different than denying the possibility of doubt altogether. To the extent that some activists, writers, and officeholders favored doing this at the time of Kavanaugh's confirmation battle, they were wrong and should admit it. Female accusers need to be heard, but to treat them as infallible and incapable of lying about or misremembering details decades in the past is to do the opposite. It is to pretend that women are inhumanly perfect and incorruptible.As I wrote at the time of the Kavanaugh hearings, we knew nothing for certain about what, if anything, happened between the nominee and Blasey Ford when they were in high school. I found the latter to be a credible witness. When paired with Kavanaugh's bizarre, unhinged, wildly defensive, and dishonest response to her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I concluded that, on balance, the best option was for his nomination to be withdrawn and for the president to nominate an alternative conservative jurist to the high court in his place. But I never for a moment supposed that I knew for certain that Kavanaugh had done what Blasey Ford accused him of doing.Based on what we know at the moment, Reade's accusation against Biden is flimsier than Blasey Ford's. Democrats would be foolish to BelieveReade over the Biden campaign's blanket denial when her account of events from nearly three decades ago has changed so dramatically in just the past few weeks. As Michelle Goldberg recently pointed out in The New York Times, Reade also has a history of saying … peculiar things about Russia and Vladimir Putin that raise questions about her judgment. That doesn't mean that the events she now describes didn't happen. But in deciding whether to accept her account, we must make our own judgment about her credibility and trustworthiness — and as Cathy Young at Arc Digital has shown with care and skill, there is a lot of reason for doubt, and so ample reason for Democrats to treat her claims with skepticism.If another accuser emerges with more credible claims, or Reade presents additional compelling evidence of her own accusation, that could certainly change my view, just as it likely would that of many rank-and-file Democrats. In that case, Biden would be in serious trouble. (If it's going to happen, let's hope it does before he becomes the official nominee at the party's convention, which is now slated for August.)But short of such developments, the matter should be considered closed — and without too much agonizing about double standards. The standards that some Democrats have latched onto over the past three years have overcompensated for past errors. There's nothing shameful in recognizing a mistake and making a course correction. Now would be an excellent time to do precisely that.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com Michigan governor says protesters against stay-at-home order 'might have just created a need to lengthen it' Late night hosts deconstruct Trump's coronavirus 'buck-passing,' doubt its efficacy Why can't you go fishing during the pandemic?

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Immigrants living illegally in California to receive cash amid coronavirus

California is giving cash payments to immigrants living in the country illegally who are being affected by the coronavirus.

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Starving Rohingya refugees rescued off Bangladesh after two months at sea

The Rohingya Muslims are believed to have been drifting at sea for two months.

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Defense chief says Navy captain who raised coronavirus concerns could return

Capt. Brett Crozier was removed after a strongly worded letter to Navy leadership detailed his concerns about the spread of the coronavirus on the USS Roosevelt.

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Poll: Trump's approval rating drops as coronavirus pandemic, economic crisis continue

The change in Trump's approval since March is the sharpest drop Gallup has recorded since Trump took office.

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An unsubstantiated theory suggests the coronavirus accidentally leaked from a Chinese lab — here are the facts

The coronavirus probably did not jump from animals to people at a wet market in Wuhan as initially thought. But there's no evidence of a lab leak.

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India charges Muslim leader with culpable homicide for coronavirus surge

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Stimulus Payments Are Being Sent to Millions of Americans This Week. Here's How to Get Yours Faster

The IRS will begin sending stimulus payments to millions of Americans this week

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Canada Economy Shrank Most on Record in 1Q, Early Data Show

(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s economy probably contracted by the most on record in the first quarter as social-distancing measures and widespread business closures brought commerce to a standstill.Gross domestic product declined by 2.6% in three-month period from the previous quarter, according to preliminary estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada. The numbers -- which aren’t annualized -- are much worse than many economists have been forecasting, suggesting the recession began with a sharper decline in output than feared.Economists were anticipating a quarter-over-quarter decline of slightly below 1%, according to a Bloomberg News survey earlier this month. If the 2.6% figure were annualized, it would be closer to a 10% decline, which would be the largest quarterly contraction on record.A slowdown of activity in March pulled the overall quarter down, with monthly GDP shrinking 9%. That’s the biggest one-month decline since at least 1961, Statistics Canada said.Half-way through month, the federal and provincial governments implemented lock downs of non-essential businesses. Given that these measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 are likely to continue for weeks, it’s likely April’s GDP figures will look even worse.“Given that social distancing and government mandated shutdowns were really only being heavily utilized during the second half of the month, data on April are almost surely to reveal a further decline in economic activity,” Royce Mendes, an economist at Candian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said in a note.Statistics Canada’s first ever “Nowcast” gives a preliminary look at the damage Covid-19 has inflicted on the Canadian economy, and is being released early to help officials craft policies to respond to the crisis. Official first-quarter GDP data is still set to be released May 29.(A previous version was corrected to show 2.6% decline was for first quarter)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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Carnival is considering cutting passenger capacity on its cruise ships as it looks for ways to improve safety in wake of coronavirus outbreaks, sources say

Carnival Corp. may prevent passengers from booking certain cabins when cruises resume, two sources close to the matter told Business Insider.

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Italy's coronavirus death toll rises by 525, new cases push higher

Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy increased by 525 on Thursday, down from 578 the day before, but the number of new cases accelerated sharply to 3,786 from a previous 2,667. The daily death toll was the lowest since Sunday, while the tally of new infections was the highest since Sunday. The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 rose to 22,170, the Civil Protection Agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.

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Virus hit 'like a bomb' as toll rises in Ecuador's business capital

Ecuador's economic capital Guayaquil is reeling from the most aggressive outbreak of COVID-19 in Latin America after the pandemic hit the city "like a bomb," its mayor said. Cynthia Viteri has emerged from her own bout with the virus to battle the worst crisis the port city of nearly 3 million people has known in modern times. Mortuaries, funeral homes and hospital services are overwhelmed, and Viteri said the actual death toll from the virus is likely much higher than the official national figure of 369.

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Study Disputes Trump’s Mail-In Ballot Claim: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump says mail-in voting hurts Republican candidates because it enables fraud among other unspecified reasons, an assertion widely called false by fact-checkers.Now yet another study disputes Trump’s claim that widespread mail-in voting would mean that “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.”The study by Daniel M. Thompson, Jennifer Wu, Jesse Yoder and Andrew B. Hall of the Democracy & Polarization Lab at Stanford University found that there is no advantage to either Democrats or Republicans to expanded mail-in voting.Looking at states that moved to vote-by-mail county by county, the researchers found that it didn’t affect either party’s share of either turnout or the vote and only modestly boosted average turnout rates.Vote-by-mail “has no discernible effects on either partisan turnout or election outcomes. It is remarkably neutral in its partisan effects,” tweeted Hall.Amash Says He’s Considering a White House Run (12:07 p.m.)Justin Amash, a Michigan representative who left the Republican Party to become an independent, says he’s still considering a bid for the White House.On Monday, after President Donald Trump claimed that a president’s “authority is total,” Amash wrote that “Americans who believe in limited government deserve another option.” When a supporter replied urging him to run, Amash tweeted: “Thanks. I am looking at it closely this week.”On Wednesday, Amash’s campaign told ABC in a statement that he would make a decision “soon.”Amash, a libertarian who is considered one of the more conservative members of Congress, left the GOP in July and voted for Trump’s impeachment. -- Emma KineryAOC Says She’s Not Yet Ready to Endorse Biden (11:11 a.m.)Joe Biden won the backing of progressives Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren this week, but he’ll have to do a little more work to win over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.In an interview with Politico published Wednesday, the freshman representative from New York said she wants the presumptive Democratic nominee to “clarify” his positions on health care and the environment.“We are having conversations with Biden’s team and we will see what some of these policy conversations are looking like,” she said.Specifically, she wants to know more about Biden’s plans to help Puerto Rico, reform immigration and expand health care, calling his recent proposal to expand Medicare to Americans at age 60 inadequate. “I don’t think the vice president has a climate change policy that is sufficient,” she added. -- Erik WassonComing Up:Voting in Wyoming’s mail-in caucuses ends on April 17. Voting in Ohio mail-in primary ends on April 28.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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