Big Time News Blog: 04/17/20

Friday, April 17, 2020

Trump didn't bail out trucking, but he did give 4 truck drivers a mysterious gold key at White House ceremony. Nobody knows why.

"We have a little special award," President Donald Trump said. Unfortunately for truck drivers, it was not a bailout.

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

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Michael Loftus welcomes Fox Nation into his home for quarantined comedy. 'Fox Nation Presents Friday Night Live with Michael Lof

04/17/20 4:59 PM

Nigerian president's chief of staff dies from coronavirus: presidency spokesman

The Nigerian president's chief of staff, Abba Kyari, died on Friday after contracting the new coronavirus, two presidency spokesmen said on Twitter.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2wR8unG

Mexico registers 578 new cases of coronavirus, 60 new deaths

Mexican health officials reported on Friday 578 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 60 new deaths, bringing the country's total to 6,875 cases and 546 deaths.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/34JOuzO

After dozens of deportees are positive for coronavirus, U.S. deploys CDC to Guatemala to 'validate' its tests

After Guatemalan officials reported more than half of deportees on two flights from the U.S. tested positive for COVID-19, the Trump administration deploys the CDC to 'review' the country's results.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2z9Bp7h

Jeff Bezos reportedly buys 4th condo in NYC for $16 million and now owns nearly $100 million in property in one building alone

The latest purchase would be on top of the $80 million worth of real estate Jeff Bezos already owns in the same New York City building.

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

Africa may see millions of coronavirus cases, tentative WHO forecast shows

Coronavirus cases in Africa could shoot up from thousands now to 10 million within three to six months according to very provisional modelling, a regional World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Thursday. The world's poorest continent has seen more than 17,000 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease and about 900 deaths so far - relatively little compared to some other regions. "We are concerned that the virus continues to spread geographically, within countries," said Matshidiso Moeti, director for WHO's Africa region, which comprises 46 sub-Saharan nations and Algeria.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VEZR7W

I waited in line for more than 2 hours to take the coronavirus antibody test and got my results in 10 minutes — here's what it was like

The drive-thru antibody test for coronavirus took Jon Rettinger of California just 10 minutes from start to finish. His test came back negative.

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

Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen to serve out prison sentence at home

President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and longtime fixer Michael Cohen will be released from federal prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cohen is currently locked up at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress. After he is released, Cohen will serve the remainder of his sentence at home, according to a Justice Department official and another person familiar with the matter.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3ezn6Jx

Michigan Gov. Whitmer says she hopes to have 'some relaxing' of stay-at-home order by May 1

The Democratic governor did not elaborate Friday on which part of the order she might be willing to lift.

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

American Shipments of Coronavirus Supplies Stranded in China Under Export Restrictions

American companies have seen their shipments of coronavirus medical equipment, such as face masks and test kits, stranded in China after the country implemented new export restrictions this month.The shipments of personal protective equipment and other medical equipment currently remain in warehouses in China, unable to obtain the new clearances required to be shipped out of the country.About 1.4 million coronavirus test kits made by Massachusetts-based PerkinElmer are not able to leave the company's Suzhou factory under the new restrictions, according to a State Department document obtained by the Wall Street Journal.The document also noted that Minnesota-based 3M was told by a Shanghai vice mayor that Shanghai “relies on 3M’s locally produced N-95 respirators for its Covid-19 prevention efforts and lacks viable alternatives.” Lifting the restrictions would require permission from the upper echelons of the Chinese government, the mayor indicated, according to the State Department.General Electric was able to extract its shipment of parts needed to make ventilators after days of negotiations. Other companies, however, have not been able to do the same. Healthcare logistics company Owens & Minor, hospital operator Emory Healthcare, and biotech company Cellex have been unable to ship their medical equipment, which includes N95 face masks, isolation gowns, and coronavirus antibody tests.China's rules governing exports “disrupted established supply chains for medical products just as these products were most needed for the global response to Covid-19,” one of the State Department documents said. Beijing has said the rules were meant to ensure quality control of medical products and to prevent necessary items from leaving China“Countries across the world are all hunting for medical supplies, causing a big challenge for China’s efforts of quality control and regulation of export,” the Chinese Embassy in Washington said.U.S. ambassador to China Terry Branstad said Wednesday that he does not believe China is intentionally blocking exports to the U.S. of medical supplies required to fight the pandemic."Yes, they want to enforce their laws and regulations," the ambassador said. "We’re trying to say let’s use some common sense in doing this, and if it’s Food and Drug Administration approved and companies like 3M have already been shipping these things to the United States, it doesn’t make sense to hold them up when we feel confident that it meets the quality requirements that we have."U.S. officials have criticized U.S. dependence on Chinese supply chains for medical products as the coronavirus outbreak has caused shortages of desperately needed medical equipment in hospitals across the country.“Unfortunately, like others, we are learning in this crisis that over-dependence on other countries as a source of cheap medical products and supplies has created a strategic vulnerability to our economy,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said early this month.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2yYkx35

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.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34KO9gq

Mexican president says Trump promised 1,000 ventilators

Mexico’s president said Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump has promised Mexico will be able to buy 1,000 ventilators and other intensive-therapy equipment used in treating severe cases of COVID-19. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he spoke with Trump Friday about Mexico’s request to purchase the machines, relatively few of which are available in Mexico. López Obrador wrote in his Twitter account that Trump “guaranteed me that by the end of this month we would 1,000, and we can acquire more.”