Big Time News Blog: 03/31/20

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Russia's top coronavirus doctor who met Putin tests positive

The head of Moscow's main coronavirus hospital who met with President Vladimir Putin a week ago has tested positive, he said Tuesday, as the Kremlin announced the Russian leader's health was fine. Last Tuesday Denis Protsenko met with the Russian leader who inspected the Kommunarka hospital while wearing a bright yellow hazmat suit. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov swiftly told Russian news agencies that Putin took regular tests and there was no reason to worry about his health.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3ateFwG

Mexico president ramps up rich vs poor rhetoric in coronavirus fight

As the outlook for Mexico's economy gets gloomier during the coronavirus crisis, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has driven home the message that his government is ready to help the poor to weather the storm - but that the rich can forget it.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2wT7uiH

Australian authorities take cluster approach to contain coronavirus

Australian authorities will open a pop-up coronavirus testing clinic next to Sydney's Bondi Beach on Wednesday as health workers try to contain clusters of infections across the country.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2ymlXEh

Paris Club creditors agree to cancel $1.4 billion of Somali debt

The Paris Club of creditor nations agreed on Tuesday to restructure Somalia's debt, including immediately canceling $1.4 billion owed by the impoverished Horn of Africa country.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2QXBLDN

Tokyo may keep city-run schools closed through early May: media

Tokyo is considering keeping city-operated schools closed through early May, public broadcaster NHK and other local media reported on Wednesday, a day after coronavirus infections in the Japanese capital hit a daily record of 78.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2QYL8TK

‘Never Thought I Would Need It’: Americans Put Pride Aside to Seek Aid

By BY CARA BUCKLEY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Uygm6p

Human Rights Group Says Two U.S. Strikes Killed Somali Civilians

By BY CHARLIE SAVAGE AND HELENE COOPER from NYT World https://ift.tt/3dFYDSa

Hellmut Stern, 91, Dies; Violinist Returned to Germany After Fleeing

By BY KATHARINE Q. SEELYE from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2R0fBku

Coronavirus Spreads in Veterans’ Home, Leaving ‘Shuddering Loss for Us All’

By BY ELLEN BARRY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3dLIbQg

Before You Adopt: Planning a Lifelong Commitment to Your Pet’s Health

By BY SASSAFRAS LOWREY from NYT Smarter Living https://ift.tt/2UvKNdC

How to Touch Up Your Roots at Home

By BY CRYSTAL MARTIN from NYT Style https://ift.tt/3bE2NIq

Coronavirus May Kill 100,000 to 240,000 in U.S. Despite Actions, Officials Say

By BY MICHAEL D. SHEAR AND JAMES GLANZ from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2JwnJVP

¿Quién iba a decir que ir al supermercado sería tan estresante?

By BY TARA PARKER-POPE from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2WVd9Q5

Liberty University students choose sides after fallout from coronavirus reporting

The New York Times reported this week that almost a dozen Liberty University students have come down with COVID-19 symptoms since the school reopened last week. But Liberty University officials have since pushed back on these claims, calling the Times story “fake news”. Now, students are choosing sides in who they believe is telling the truth.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3dLYdtl

U.S. records 700 coronavirus deaths in a single day for first time

The U.S. government raced to build hundreds of makeshift hospitals to ease the strain on overwhelmed healthcare systems as the United States marked 700 deaths in a single day from COVID-19 for the first time on Tuesday. Nearly half those deaths were in New York state, still the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded for reinforcements from the Trump administration, saying the worst may still be weeks away. De Blasio, a Democrat, said he had asked the White House for an additional 1,000 nurses, 300 respiratory therapists and 150 doctors by April 5 but had yet to receive an answer from the Trump administration.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Ju1W0Q

Fact check: Did NY pass on buying ventilators to fund tuition for undocumented immigrants?

We rate as false a Facebook user's claim about New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, ventilator stockpiling and tuition for undocumented immigrants.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2w6NCsc

U.S. House Speaker Pelosi will not take coronavirus test

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday she does not plan to be tested for coronavirus despite her proximity to the latest lawmaker diagnosed with the illness. U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat from New York, said on Monday that she had been diagnosed with a presumed case of coronavirus after developing symptoms of the ailment on Sunday, although she had not been tested. Velazquez was in the Capitol on Friday and attended a ceremony at which Pelosi signed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus response plan.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/340NVS0

Coronavirus: Number of Louisiana patients on ventilators doubles in five days

Louisiana's patients hospitalised for coronavirus and the number of patients on life-saving ventilators have doubled within the last five days, the state's governor has announced.The state also saw a one-day surge in more than 1,200 confirmed cases of Covid-19, a 30 per cent increase that brings the statewide total to more than 5,200.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Uy5B4j

Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews in fight over virus rules

Israeli police with face masks and batons and backed by surveillance helicopters have stepped up patrols of ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhoods that have become coronavirus hotspots. This week has seen tense altercations, and some rabbis have admitted that their communities, where prayer and scripture study are traditionally communal, are not observing new social distancing regulations. A few days ago in Bnei Brak, a city near Tel Aviv with a largely ultra-Orthodox population, hundreds of faithful crowded together to attend the funeral of prominent rabbi Tzi Shenkar.