Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Panama extends curfew due to coronavirus, requires full-day quarantine
from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2QIJztb
As Bolsonaro flouts warnings, coronavirus spreads in Brazil
from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2wByR0y
Factbox: Brazil moves to shield people, economy, markets from coronavirus
from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/3aiilBq
Fauci on working with Trump: 'I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down'
How Anti-Abortion Activists Are Taking Advantage of the Coronavirus Crisis
'Absolutely irresponsible': Rand Paul's colleagues are calling him out after he reportedly went to the gym after testing for coronavirus
Former CDC director: China travel ban 'made a difference' but US didn't prepare enough for coronavirus
This is how South Korea flattened its coronavirus curve
Biden consults Obama on running mate as vetting process begins
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema calls Rand Paul's behavior prior to receiving coronavirus results 'irresponsible'
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Sunday tweeted that she has "never commented about a fellow senator's choices/actions," but Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) recent behavior has forced her to speak out.On Sunday, Paul's office announced that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Not long after, CNN's Seung Min Kim reported that two people briefed on the matter told her that during the Senate Republican lunch on Sunday, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) shared with colleagues "that Rand was at the gym this morning ... and that he was swimming in the pool."Paul's office tweeted in response that "Paul left the Senate IMMEDIATELY upon learning of his diagnosis. He had zero contact with anyone and went into quarantine." His office did not address Paul visiting the Senate gym and pool before receiving the results of his test, which is what outraged Sinema. "This, America, is absolutely irresponsible," she said. "You cannot be near other people while waiting for coronavirus test results. It endangers others and likely increases the spread of the virus."More stories from theweek.com Trump, whose hotel business is losing millions, says 'I'll be the oversight' of $500 billion coronavirus 'slush fund' People are dying after self-medicating with unproven COVID-19 drug promoted by Trump Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick thinks grandparents should be willing to sacrifice their lives to save the economy
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Wz8dA2
Prison shelled in Libyan capital despite ceasefire pleas to focus on coronavirus
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2wrxbad
Fact check: Could taking vitamin C cure — or prevent — COVID-19?
Pelosi $2.5 Trillion Plan Has Mortgage Reprieve: Congress Update
(Bloomberg) -- Republicans and Democrats in Congress are negotiating with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Monday in an attempt to reach a compromise on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s bill worth as much as $2 trillion to help soften the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic.Here are the latest developments:Pelosi $2.5 Trillion Plan Has Mortgage Reprieve (8:26 p.m.)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a $2.5 trillion, 1,400-page virus stimulus bill in a bid to shape talks on a rival Senate GOP bill that remained stalled on Monday.The Pelosi bill has broad implications for the financial sector. It would force lenders to grant a temporary reprieve from mortgage and car payments and credit card bills, and order the Federal Reserve to provide loan servicers with liquidity to give borrowers to stop paying their mortgages for up to 360 days.Public housing residents would also temporarily not have to pay their rent, and student loan borrowers would also have $10,000 of debt forgiven.Negative consumer credit reporting would be halted and foreclosures and evictions would be banned.There are currently no plans for House members to return to Washington to vote on the bill, which appears to be a list of demands Democrats want to see included in the Senate measure. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have been negotiating behind closed doors all day Monday searching for a compromise. Trump Urges Senate to ‘Make a Deal’ on Stimulus (6:27 p.m.)President Donald Trump urged the Senate to put partisan differences aside and pass McConnell’s nearly $2 trillion virus economic stimulus plan “as written.”Opening the daily White House briefing on the virus response, the president said senators have no choice and “have to make a deal.”“We are going to save American workers and we are going to save them quickly,” Trump said.Hotels, Restaurants Seek More Stimulus Aid (5:37 p.m.)Trade groups representing restaurants, travel destinations and hotels are calling on Congress to increase the loan amount offered to small businesses in an economic stimulus package.The U.S. Travel Association supports increasing the maximum loan amount offered to small businesses to four times the borrowers’ monthly operating costs from 2.5 times the borrowers’ monthly payroll expenses, according to Tori Emerson Barnes, who heads public affairs and policy for the group. The American Hotel & Lodging Association also supports that position, according to a person familiar with the matter. The draft includes about $350 billion in loans for small businesses that would convert to grants if the companies retain their employees.Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of public affairs of the National Restaurant Association, which also supports a higher loan amount, said the draft bill “is a great first step but there is certainly need for access to credit to be expanded for restaurants.” -- Naomi Nix, Ben BrodyPelosi to Release $2.5 Trillion Counteroffer (4:24 p.m.)House Democrats are preparing to release a $2.5 trillion virus stimulus measure in a bid to influence ongoing talks on the Senate bill.The bill from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is more costly than the $1.8 trillion measure being negotiated by Republican and Democratic senators, which has twice fallen short of the votes needed on a procedural move to advance the bill.According to an official summary of the House bill, individuals including the retired and the unemployed would receive $1,500, compared with $1,200 in the Senate bill. The House proposal would also create a $600 per week payment for any worker laid off or for self-employed people who have lost contracts due to the pandemic.The legislation would also authorize the Federal Reserve to purchase state and local government bonds intended to fight the coronavirus outbreak, would send $60 billion to schools and universities, and would relieve student debt.The bill would create a national requirement for states to allow early voting and voting by mail in cases of national emergency.There are currently no plans for House members to return to Washington to vote on the bill, expected to be released later Monday. At this point, it appears to be a list of demands Democrats want to see included in the Senate bill. -- Erik WassonPelosi Hopes for House Vote on Counterproposal (3:01 p.m.)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she is hoping to bring House members back to Washington to vote on Democrats’ version of the coronavirus stimulus bill. Most House members left town on March 14, while the Senate has been in session, negotiating changes to a Republican version of the stimulus bill.“We’ll see what we’re going to do -- that’s our hope yes,” Pelosi said when asked if House members will return to vote on the Democratic version. “And we’ll see what the Senate is going to do.”But multiple Democratic officials familiar with the House plans said there’s no set day for lawmakers to come back to Washington, and they’re are not expected to return until after Wednesday.House Democrats are scheduled to have a caucus-wide call on Tuesday afternoon. If the House and Senate pass different versions of the stimulus bill, it will take more time to reconcile the differences and get the bill to President Donald Trump for his signature.Democrats Again Block Stimulus as Talks Proceed (2:07 p.m.)Senate Democrats again refused to advance McConnell’s $2 trillion stimulus plan Monday as the coronavirus continued spreading amid dire predictions of a deep economic recession.The 49-46 vote with 60 needed, following a similar vote late Sunday, blocked McConnell’s latest version of the plan, which had been the product of frenzied bipartisan negotiations over the weekend.“Why are the American people still waiting?” McConnell said on the Senate floor before the vote. “The markets are not doing well today.”He accused Democrats of pushing unrelated “wish-list items” such as solar energy tax credits and new emission standards for airlines. “This is the moment to debate new regulations that have nothing whatsoever to do with this crisis?” McConnell said.Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he has had “almost continuous negotiations” with Mnuchin. He said they are close to reaching a deal and his goal is to do so Monday.The Democratic leader said Monday’s vote was essentially “irrelevant” because his party will be ready to move ahead “once we have an agreement that everybody can get behind.”Pelosi to Introduce House Counterproposal (12:54 p.m.)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats will introduce their version of the stimulus package to respond to the coronavirus, offering an alternative to the bill currently under discussion in the Senate.“The Senate Republicans’ bill, as presented, put corporations first, not workers and families,” Pelosi said in a statement. “We urge the Senate to move closer to the values in the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act.”She said the House bill would boost unemployment insurance and prevent companies that receive federal help from firing workers, increasing executive pay or buying back stock.The House measure would fund hospitals’ virus response and would call for the president to use the Defense Production Act to shore up critical supplies. It would also increase funds for schools, food assistance and to help states expand early and absentee voting, according to a statement from Pelosi’s office.The House and Senate must pass the same version of the legislation before sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature.Plan Could Fund Accountability Panel for Aid (11:20 a.m.)There is now funding in the stimulus plan to operate an accountability board for the $500 billion bailout fund, Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said on Bloomberg TV Monday.A demand for greater oversight of the fund to assist companies and state and local governments has been a key sticking point for Democrats. Coons said the details were still being worked out and put into the legislation.“I don’t see that there is yet final agreement on the language of what is the scope of that accountability board,” he said.Coons said the most recent draft version he saw still granted the Treasury secretary “very broad discretion.” For example, he said, if a company takes a multibillion-dollar loan and simply uses it for bailouts and executive compensation, there is “no clear mechanism” for that to be resolved.Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a separate Bloomberg Television Interview that she wants an oversight panel with “real teeth” to monitor that the money is spent according to the law and according to the promises that companies made when they took the funds.Coons, Barrasso Both Say Senate Will Make a Deal (8:02 a.m.)U.S. senators in both political parties expressed confidence the Senate will approve a broad economic stimulus measure to address the coronavirus crisis later Monday, despite Sunday’s failed procedural vote on a Senate GOP measure that would have begun debate while talks on a bipartisan replacement bill continued.Speaking in separate TV appearances, Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming and Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware said they expect lawmakers in both parties will resolve differences and advance legislation to the House.“Relief is on the way,” Barrasso said on Fox Business. “We want to get this passed today.”Coons said both parties were able to agree easily on major parts of the bill, including $350 billion in aid for smaller businesses. Outstanding disputes, including how many strings should be attached for airlines and other big businesses getting help, can be resolved, he said.“I think we will get this done,” he said on “Fox and Friends.” He added that “there is a sense of urgency.”Mnuchin, Schumer Keep Negotiating on Bill (6 a.m.)Negotiations continued Sunday night between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer after Democrats blocked the economic stimulus measure in a Senate procedural vote.McConnell has been aiming for a final Senate vote Monday, but leaders of both parties continue to differ on key sections, including a $500 billion chunk that could be used to help corporations, including airlines, or state and local governments.Catch Up on Washington’s Virus ResponseDemocrats Block Senate Economic Stimulus Bill as Talks FalterTrump, Congressional Leaders Say Deal on Virus Stimulus CloseMnuchin Sees Emergency Aid Package on Track for Monday PassageHouse Democrats Want Trump Team’s Answers on Supply ShortagesTrump Pushes an Unproven Coronavirus Drug, and Patients Stock UpFed Going All In to Save Economy. Here’s What Could Come NextFor 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.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2WEZrR1
Fourteen inmates escaped from jail, 6 still on the loose
West Virginia governor rambles, mixes messages on virus
As the coronavirus raged across the nation, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice wondered why people were looking to him for answers. Justice, a billionaire Republican with no previous political experience leading a particularly high-risk state, has rambled through mixed messages on the virus, diminishing his credibility with some West Virginians who have said it's been a struggle to discern exactly what he wants them to do.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2wprk5c
Russia Swore It Whipped the Virus, and Fox and CNN Bought It
As the world reels from the novel coronavirus pandemic, Russia is doing its best to turn global turmoil into propaganda fodder. To date, a country of 146 million people straddling Europe and Asia and that has a great deal of commerce with those two great epicenters of the disease reports only 438 confirmed coronavirus cases and no deaths. One previously disclosed fatality has been dismissed by authorities as attributable to other causes. But according to official statistics from Russian state media, over 52,000 people remain under medical supervision “in connection with suspected coronavirus infection.” Perhaps the real number of Russia’s coronavirus patients lies somewhere in between. Garry Kasparov, a world-renowned former world chess champion and the chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative, told The Daily Beast why the Kremlin’s dubious claims shouldn’t be taken at face value: “Of course Russia is lying about their coronavirus stats and I can say that confidently because they lie about everything,” said Kasparov. “Dictatorships lie when they have to—and when they don’t; it’s about control. Control of information, shaping reality, and, most importantly, appearing all-powerful and all-knowing. If the regime can be surprised or overwhelmed by a virus, maybe it’s not so powerful after all, a dangerous line of thought for a repressed population to have. Until there is truly independent testing—and the stories we’re hearing out of Russia are not encouraging—we just don’t know what’s going on.” Even so, Western media outlets have disregarded the Kremlin’s less-than-sterling reputation for honesty and transparency, and lauded Russia’s self-proclaimed success in controlling the deadly virus.In January, Fox News reported Russia’s decision to close its border with China and in early February uncritically repeated the claim that “Russia has only two confirmed cases of the virus, but authorities have taken measures to prevent its spread by hospitalizing people returning from China as a precaution.” In late February, Fox News stated that “Russia only has three confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus,” without questioning the probability of such fantastic statistics in light of a pandemic raging in neighboring China. Last Sunday, showcasing Russia’s coronavirus aid to Italy, Fox News posted photographs released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, with the doors of Russian military trucks adorned with heart-shaped flags that read: “From Russia with love.” Apparently accepting Russia’s claims as ironclad facts, Fox News fawned: “Russia has so far reported very few confirmed coronavirus cases, noting just 306 infections and one death. As the U.S. and Europe struggle to contain the virus, nations once viewed as rivals are stepping up in the global coronavirus response.” CNN wrote on Saturday that, “According to information released by Russian officials, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's strategy seems to have worked. The number of confirmed Russian coronavirus cases is surprisingly low, despite Russia sharing a lengthy border with China and recording its first case back in January.” Kasparov, a persistent critic of Putin, wonders why anyone would believe this stuff, much less report it. “Repeating Russia’s numbers is ridiculous. Trust must be earned, and Putin lies about everything from his invasion of Ukraine to the more directly comparable epidemic of HIV in Russia that officially doesn’t exist. Why should western governments and media treat Putin’s dictatorship in good faith when it’s not returned, and in fact is exploited?” Putin Worries Coronavirus Could Screw Up His Constitutional ‘Coronation’Russia’s alleged triumph over the coronavirus coincides with Putin’s maneuvers to become the country’s president for life, a role all but assured through pending constitutional changes. Amendments in question have already been approved by both houses of parliament and are now pending a nationwide vote on April 22, which will take place come rain or shine—coronavirus notwithstanding. The possibility of conducting the vote by mail is currently under consideration. In the meantime, the Kremlin-controlled Russian state media are reminding citizens that the country’s very survival depends on Putin’s leadership. Dmitry Kiselyov, the host of Russia's most popular Sunday news program, Vesti Nedeli, is leading the way. “Let’s be honest,” he insisted earlier this month: “Russia without Putin is non-viable.” But there is ample evidence the regime’s information war is being disregarded by Russians in the trenches trying to deal with the reality of the disease. On Monday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin gave the authorities five days to develop a system that would track and notify people who have come in contact with any known carriers of coronavirus. The system would simultaneously notify special regional headquarters set up to fight the pandemic.Authorities have begun building a 500-person hospital to house coronavirus patients near Moscow and Russian doctors reportedly are alarmed that some cases are being ascribed to pneumonia and seasonal flu without testing. The same state media TV shows that would have you believe everything is under control are being filmed without audiences. Everyday Russians are stocking up on astronomical quantities of toilet paper and buckwheat, disregarding the government’s assurances that coronavirus is being contained. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state media outlets RT and Sputnik, launched a Twitter initiative designed to prove that Russian grocery stores show no signs of panic buying. Simonyan’s idea backfired, as multiple citizens responded with photographs of emptied store shelves.Lingering memories of Soviet-era cover-ups are exacerbated by more recent denials, such as Russia’s covert warfare in Ukraine, its role in the downing of the Malaysian aircraft MH-17, clumsy denials of the Skripal poisonings and obfuscation of crucial details about a radioactive explosion involving a nuclear-powered missile in northern Russia last year. But the Kremlin’s persistent aim to keep the coronavirus numbers down is paying off thus far, since Russia’s international flights are unimpeded by worldwide bans. While U.S. President Donald J. Trump barred travelers from China, its largest neighbor continues to receive the benefit of the doubt.“Just as China’s information crackdown led directly to the massive outbreak now threatening the world,” says Kasparov, “Putin’s will also have an impact across the Russian border. The radioactive cloud from Chernobyl poisoned much of Europe. The flights still coming out of Russia—not on the banned list because of the low official numbers—could spread disease all over the globe.” Painting a rosy picture of Russia’s future, the Kremlin-controlled state media predicted doom and gloom for everybody but the motherland, especially the hated United States.Last week, experts on The Evening with Vladimir Soloviev were crowing about economic troubles for the West. Russian economist Mikhail Khazin opined that Russia is the only region that can grow and prosper economically during the challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic. Other experts on the show suggested that America is withering as a superpower, while a new age is dawning for Russia and China. They concurred that “Soviet-like regimes are winning” and the new world will be more authoritarian. Host Vladimir Soloviev concluded: “Enough talk about individual freedoms.” With angry animus, Soloviev argued that history would disprove the premise of Francis Fukuyama’s book, The End of History and the Last Man and would lead to the uprooting of liberal democracies.As he has in the past, Soloviev referred to President Trump as “Donald Ivanovych” and marveled at the statements and actions of the American leader who is himself in the risk group for contracting coronavirus. The Russian Models Instagramming From China’s Coronavirus CapitalStill, Russian state TV pundits kept their usually sharp ridicule to the minimum. Their exchanges revealed the hope that Western sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea and other Putin abuses of international law would soon be lifted, with the coronavirus pandemic overshadowing all prior concerns. Dmitry Kiselyov argued during this Sunday’s episode of Vesti Nedeli that multiple Western governments will be undergoing deep changes and the sanctions against Russia will soon become obsolete. As for the short-term propaganda goals, the Kremlin still anticipates the arrival later this spring of U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien for Moscow’s big 75th anniversary celebration of victory over the Nazis. President Donald J. Trump reportedly “wanted to go but faced pressure from advisers not to embark on such a journey.” The parade is scheduled for May 9—the very month the coronavirus epidemic is expected to have reached a peak in Russia.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.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/33LnSy2
US Surgeon General warns Americans to follow the coronavirus guidelines to stay home: 'This week it's going to get bad'
Shattered by years of war, Syria braces for coronavirus spread
The spread of coronavirus to Syria brings the prospect of a deadly outbreak to a population devastated by nine years of war, with ravaged hospitals and tightly-packed camps likely to accelerate infection, doctors and aid workers said on Monday. The Syrian government announced on Sunday its first case after unconfirmed reports suggested the virus had been detected but covered up, a charge officials denied while rolling out tight measures as the disease swarmed neighboring countries. In the rebel-held northwest, no cases have been confirmed, but patients have been showing possible symptoms for weeks and 300 test kits should arrive in the next two days, the World Health Organization and a medics group said.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3bm2LEO
The US is confronting coronavirus without the CDC. It's 'like fighting with one hand tied behind your back,' ex-director says.
‘Taking Hostages’: Sasse Slams Pelosi for Adding ‘Liberal Wish List’ to Coronavirus Bill
Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) took aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) for hijacking Senate negotiations over a phase-three economic relief package with an “ideologically-driven wish list” of Democratic policies unrelated to coronavirus.Pelosi’s 1,404 page bill, introduced Monday after the House Speaker returned to Washington D.C. on Sunday, includes numerous provisions that Sasse labeled “a ton of crap that has absolutely nothing to do with the public health emergency that we face at this moment.”“Instead of taking that legislation — urgent, necessary legislation — and passing it quickly, Democrats have now decided to allow Speaker Pelosi to block it through proxies here in the Senate so that she can rewrite the bill with a ton of crap that has absolutely nothing to do with the public health emergency that we face at this moment,” Sasse stated in a speech on the Senate floor Monday night.Republicans have accused Pelosi of ruining days of productive negotiations in the Senate over the trillion-dollar package that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) introduced last week, after Majority Whip James Clyburn (D., S.C.) told House Democrats last week that the bill was “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.”On Monday, McConnell stated that “Democrats won’t let us fund hospitals or save small businesses unless they get to dust off the green New Deal,” while Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) called the tactics “disgraceful” and “dangerous to the lives of our people and their economic well-being.”In making the case that Democrats are more concerned about unrelated legislative priorities than the health of the economy, Sasse pointed to Pelosi’s “liberal wish list,” which includes mandatory diversity reports on corporate boards, requiring same-day voter registration in all 50 states, a bailout of the U.S. Postal Service, establishing a $15-an-hour minimum wage, and new environmental regulations for airlines.“We've got families that are suffering,” Sasse said. “We've got small businesses that are closing literally by the hour. We have doctors fighting to prevent their hospitals from being overwhelmed. And what does Speaker Pelosi try to do? She's trying to take hostages about her dream legislation, all sorts of dream legislative provisions that have nothing to do with this moment and say the American public can't get access to the public health piece of legislation or the economic relief pieces of legislation unless she gets hostages that are entirely unrelated to this moment.”Sasse slammed Pelosi for trying to smuggle pro-choice funding into the House's phase-two coronavirus stimulus package earlier this month. “We need to be ramping up our diagnostic testing, not waging culture wars at the behest of Planned Parenthood. Good grief," Sasse said at the time.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2UtT3tk
Spring breaker who said, ‘If I get corona, I get corona,’ apologizes.
By BY AIMEE ORTIZ from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2vRMEA0
Mets’ Noah Syndergaard Will Have Tommy John Surgery
By BY KEVIN ARMSTRONG from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2UgBttV
Streaming the Seattle Symphony became a source of connection.
By BY BROOKE JARVIS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2WFXlk7
Guardian identified for small child found wandering Sunday morning by Fort Myers police
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3F80gok
-
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3sgC2n4
-
The disappearance comes just a few weeks after an American female scientist was killed on the Greek island of Crete. from Yahoo News - L...
-
Iran started counting down Sunday to the launch of a new scientific observation satellite scheduled within hours, the country's telecomm...
-
By BY MANNY FERNANDEZ AND SARAH MERVOSH from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/34W4JcC
-
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3qmMN4J
-
The United States is placing a leading Chinese oil importer on its sanctions blacklist for trading in Iranian crude, Secretary of State Mike...
-
The demonstration gained national attention after a news report from Salt Lake City TV station KTVX-TV was shared on Twitter and TikTok this...
-
Hugging her brother who clasps a protective arm tightly around her shoulder, Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein appears eager to ensure the flag ...
-
U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed by his top national security advisers on Sunday on U.S. airstrikes against what U.S. officials said ...
-
The man suspected of a shooting at a mosque in Norway may also have killed a relative before launching the attack, police said late on Satur...