| In coronavirus, the 'stable genius' confronts a 'brilliant enemy' Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:05 AM PDT  President Trump tries to explain antibiotic resistance on the part of coronavirus, "a brilliant enemy."
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| Coronavirus may give President Trump a long-sought chance to privatize the Postal Service Posted: 12 Apr 2020 10:32 AM PDT  Amid a cash crunch threatening to put the postal service out of business, President Trump is being accused of blocking bipartisan efforts to fund the agency as part of an effort to privatize mail delivery.
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| Cuomo on virus pandemic: "The worst is over" but "it's not over" Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:44 AM PDT  Cuomo gave an update on the state's response after New York endured its deadliest week since becoming the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
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| New York medical workers ended an overnight shift treating COVID-19 patients only to find their tires had been slashed Posted: 12 Apr 2020 08:40 AM PDT  The suspect was found with PCP, a mind-altering drug, in his possession at the time of his arrest, local authorities said.
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| At least 6 dead after tornadoes, severe storms batter South Posted: 12 Apr 2020 10:46 PM PDT  The deaths occurred in three Mississippi counties, the state's emergency management agency said Sunday.
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| Widow of 25-year-old NHL player Colby Cave mourns his death in heartbreaking post Posted: 13 Apr 2020 05:02 AM PDT  "You are and will always be my person, my hero," Emily Cave wrote. Her husband, Edmonton Oilers player Colby Cave, died on Saturday.
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| Putin says Russia may need the army to help battle coronavirus Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:57 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin said on Monday Russia might need to call in the army to help tackle the coronavirus crisis and warned the contagion was getting worse after the number of confirmed cases rose by a record daily amount. Russia reported 2,558 new cases on Monday, bringing the overall nationwide tally to 18,328. Moscow, the worst-hit area, and several other regions have imposed a lockdown, ordering residents to stay at home except to buy food, seek urgent medical treatment, take out the rubbish, or go to work if absolutely necessary.
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| Biden wins Wisconsin primary. Sanders continues to collect delegates Posted: 13 Apr 2020 03:11 PM PDT  Joe Biden has beaten Bernie Sanders in the Wisconsin primary, which was held during the COVID-19 pandemic over Democrats' objections.
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| China Vows Equal Treatment for Africans After Reports of Abuse Posted: 13 Apr 2020 03:33 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- China rejected criticism about the alleged mistreatment of Africans by authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou, a dispute that could set back Beijing's diplomatic outreach to help the continent cope with the coronavirus pandemic.The government has treated foreigners equally and attaches great importance to their life and health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a statement posted late Sunday. "We reject differential treatment, and we have zero tolerance for discrimination," Zhao said.African leaders alleged discrimination against their citizens by city authorities in measures to stem the spread of imported coronavirus cases, saying Africans were mistreated, evicted from hotels, and forcefully tested for the virus. Meanwhile, McDonalds China apologized Monday after one of the chain's Guangzhou restaurants refused to serve black customers.African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed "extreme concern" to Chinese Ambassador Liu Yuxi about "allegations of maltreatment of Africans" in Guangzhou. In a tweet Saturday, he said the African Group in Beijing was engaging with the Chinese government.South Africa, the current African Union chair, separately expressed concern about "alleged ill-treatment of African nationals in China, including the forceful testing, quarantining for COVID-19, and other inhuman treatment." The country called for an investigation into the matter, according to a statement from the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation.McDonald's China said that it had closed a restaurant in Guangzhou for a half day of diversity and inclusion training Sunday after an investigation confirmed social media reports that it was barring black customers. "We apologize unreservedly to the individual and our customers. The restaurant has been ordered to stop immediately such actions," McDonald's China said Monday.The episode underscores the complexity of Beijing's challenge to manage the fallout from a disease first discovered in December in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. China has dispatched medical supplies and shared expert advice to assist Africa, where Beijing's fiscal and infrastructure support has long been a source of both praise and criticism.China and Africa are "good friends, partners and brothers," Zhao said in the statement. He added that their relationship was "time-tested" and noted that China had provided medical assistance and essential supplies to help African countries fight Covid-19.Guangdong authorities will improve their health management services, such as designating hotels for medical observations, adjusting prices for those in financial difficulties and setting up effective communication mechanisms, Zhao said.Zhao separately hit back at the U.S. State Department for a statement Saturday saying that the incidents involving Africans in China were "a sad reminder of how hollow" Beijing's ties to the continent were. "The U.S. is immoral and irresponsible to sensationalize the situation and it won't succeed in sabotaging China-Africa relations," Zhao told a regular briefing Monday in Beijing.Guangzhou has confirmed a total of 119 imported cases of Covid-19, with 25 being foreign nationals, Mayor Wen Guohui told a news conference Sunday. Wen said the Guangzhou government has treated all foreigners equally."Guangzhou is an open-minded metropolis," he said. "It's our consistent principle to have zero tolerance for discriminatory comments and behavior."(Updates with details throughout.)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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| 7 Great Online Learning Platforms to Develop New Skills Posted: 13 Apr 2020 01:31 PM PDT |
| South Korea to ship coronavirus tests to US this week: report Posted: 13 Apr 2020 01:40 AM PDT  In contrast South Korea was once the hardest-hit country outside China, but appears to have brought its outbreak under control with a huge "trace, test and treat" strategy. It has tested more than half a million people in a process free to anyone referred by doctors or those who have links to a confirmed case. After a phone conversation with him last month, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Trump had asked for test kits.
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| New Delta Air Lines boarding procedures aimed at preventing spread of coronavirus Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:38 AM PDT  The carrier boards flights from back to front. Passengers are asked to stay seated in the waiting area until their row is announced.
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| 'Rice ATM' feeds Vietnam's most vulnerable population during virus lockdown Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:55 AM PDT  A Vietnamese entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City has invented a 24/7 automatic dispensing machine providing free rice for people out of work following an ongoing nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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| Coronavirus could 'decimate' Latino wealth, hammered by the Great Recession Posted: 12 Apr 2020 02:22 PM PDT  The crisis has either erased or is threatening to erase Latinos' decade-long climb back to financial stability.
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| ‘The Worst Is Over’: Cuomo Looks at Life After Virus as New York Death Toll Tops 10,000 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 10:17 AM PDT  More than 10,000 New Yorkers have died due to the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday as he tried to assure his state that "the worst is over" in the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States. "I believe the worst is over if we continue to be smart. I believe we can start on the path to normalcy," Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany after noting the death toll reflects a "horrific level of pain and grief and sorrow." "The terrible news is as terrible as it gets, and the worst news I've had to deliver to the people of this state as governor of New York, and the worst news I've had to live with on a personal level," he added.On Easter Sunday, 671 more people died from the virus, bringing the total fatalities across the state to 10,056 and the number of infected individuals to 190,288—accounting for almost 35 percent of the total reported cases in the U.S. Cuomo Says Coronavirus Is 'More Dangerous' Than We Thought as N.Y. Cases Jump OvernightDespite the devastating new milestone, Cuomo declared that the most horrific phase of the deadly pandemic has passed in New York. Overnight, the daily number of new deaths had dropped, the number of newly hospitalized patients is at the lowest the Empire State has seen in two weeks, and the number of patients on ventilators has also decreased, the governor said. He added that the continued high death toll is a result of patients succumbing to the virus after falling sick weeks ago, and he praised the "heroic efforts of health-care workers, police officers, transportation workers who showed up to drive those trains and buses every day" in helping the state to flatten the curve so quickly. "The curve continues to flatten," Cuomo said, later warning that "the worst is over, and can be over unless we do something reckless.""You can turn those numbers in two or three days by being reckless," he added. "The number is down because we brought the number down… a lot of pain and suffering did that."Cuomo said officials are already preparing a "gradual phased process" to reopen the state but it will rely on widespread and "aggressive" antibody and diagnostic testing. Comparing re-starting economic activity in the state to "opening a valve," Cuomo said his administration is determined to "do it carefully, do it slowly, and do it intelligently.""None of this has been done before," Cuomo said. "Also, you look around the world, you see warning signs from countries that have reopened."Cuomo: New York Saw 'Deadliest Day' in Coronavirus Pandemic But 'We're Flattening the Curve'The Empire State is also pushing for testing that will ultimately allow residents who have already had the virus—or are immune to it—to return to public life sooner. Ideally, Cuomo said every New Yorker would take an antibody or diagnostic test before returning to work, or entering a nursing home or hospital. The New York State Department of Health has developed a COVID-19 antibody test, and state officials are working with the FDA to get it approved; however, New York currently has the capacity to do only 300 tests per day.In addition to requesting "millions" more tests, Cuomo called on the Trump administration to use the Defense Production Act to compel companies to make tests because he doesn't think the private sector will do it on its own. He added that even with testing, the United States won't be able to move past the virus until a vaccine is developed in the next year to 18 months. "You're going to need federal support and you're going to need legislation that attends to the need," he said, adding that he plans to speak to governors in neighboring states to develop coordinated reopening plans. "This is a time for smart, competent, effective government... the optimum is a geographically coordinated plan."Cuomo and five other governors announced their plans for a coordinated effort in a Monday press conference, stating that New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Delaware—also known as the "COVID corridor"—plan to weigh the public health risks together before allowing companies to resume operations. By working with their neighboring states, Cuomo said, they hope to minimize the resurgence of the virus that easily crosses state boundaries. "I think this regional compact is premised on the idea that you're not going to have a healthy economy if you have an unhealthy population, so we've got to do both," Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said on Monday. The decision to work together came only hours after President Donald Trump tweeted that only he has the power to "open up" the United States. Despite stressing that he is not "interested in political opinions," in regard to opening back up for business, Cuomo did comment during his Monday morning press conference on the possibility that Trump may fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.New York Has Seen Worst of Coronavirus but Testing Is Major Roadblock to Reopening"As you're walking through these uncharted waters, I think he's been extraordinary," Cuomo said after previously stating he is only "interested in what the experts say" about the outbreak. "As crazy as things get in this world... I can't imagine that would ever happen."But before officials can devote their attention to testing, New York still needs to combat the continued surge and relieve hospitals, makeshift morgues, and funeral homes that continue to be overwhelmed by the pandemic's effects.Cuomo said Thursday that "about 2,000 people per day are walking in [to hospitals] and are being diagnosed with COVID," putting already overwhelmed and understaffed hospitals in duress. According to one NYU Langone doctor, while New York state officials are now looking for life after the virus, medical workers on the frontlines of this highly infectious virus are still trying to help patients with limited protective equipment. "New York may be seeing a plateau, but hospitals are still seeing crazy numbers of patients," the doctor told The Daily Beast on Monday after Cuomo's press conference. "We're just struggling to keep out heads above water every day, and while the worst may be over for the state—I can't say health-care workers are anywhere near a reprieve from the madness." Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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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| 'Everything's gone': Tornadoes rip U.S. South, kill at least 26 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:08 AM PDT  Nearly 51 million people from Florida to New England were in the path of the system, with National Weather Service forecasters warning of strong winds, torrential rain and possibly more tornadoes on Monday afternoon. The system had already spawned about 60 reported tornadoes that left a path of destruction from Texas to the Carolinas on Sunday and Monday, the weather service reported. Powerful winds in the upper atmosphere combined with a strong cold front to make the system particularly dangerous, said weather service meteorologist Aaron Tyburski.
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| Coronavirus upends Putin’s political agenda in Russia Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:44 PM PDT  Spring is not turning out the way Russian President Vladimir Putin might have planned it. A nationwide vote on April 22 was supposed to finalize sweeping constitutional reforms that would allow him to stay in power until 2036, if he wished. The holiday has become the most important on Russia's calendar, and this year is the 75th anniversary, with world leaders invited to a celebration highlighting the country's exceptional role in history.
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| AMLO Scores Win After Mexico Resists Demands from Oil Titans Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:33 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador scored a political victory on Sunday by convincing oil nations to let him cut production far less than other OPEC+ members, reinforcing his nationalist project to revive state-owned producer Pemex.Mexico will only cut 100,000 barrels -- just a quarter of its pro-rated share of the 9.7 million barrels a day reduction agreed by the oil-producing nations forming OPEC+. After three days of resistance by the Latin American country, the group abandoned the initial proposal of cutting 10 million barrels per day as the most seasoned oil countries including Saudi Arabia couldn't convince Lopez Obrador to implement a deeper cut.The U.S., Brazil and Canada, the other larger oil producers in the Americas, will instead contribute with a combined 3.7 million barrels as their production declines.The outcome is a win for a president who showed once again that his domestic goals rise above all else, particularly when it comes to the energy industry. Reversing 15 years of oil production declines at state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, has been one of the main goals of the Lopez Obrador administration, which explains the president's reluctance to accept bigger voluntary reductions even if it meant angering other nations and risking the failure of a historic oil deal.The victory comes at a time when Mexico is facing a significant economic contraction and increasing discontent from the country's business elite over a lack of significant stimulus measures to combat the devastating impact of the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic. It's a cautionary tale for companies and lobby groups calling for a strategy change by a leader who has stubbornly gone his own way, including an initial refusal to enact stringent actions to combat the disease."This confirms that even in an international negotiation, the president continues to be very focused on his agenda, his priorities, including Pemex," Eurasia Group analyst Carlos Petersen said by phone on Sunday. "His beliefs come before any other analysis or forecast of the economy, and room for change or adjustment in the near term seems very slim."Read More: The Unexpected Holdout to a Global Oil Production DealGovernment officials in Mexico City didn't wait to celebrate the outcome. In a tweet, Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard congratulated Energy Minister Rocio Nahle for "defending the interests of Mexico" by refusing to accept a bigger oil production cut as part of the OPEC+ pact. "The strategy designed by Lopez Obrador worked. Good news!!!""It went very well for us, super well" AMLO said about the agreement at his daily press conference on Monday morning. "Mexico had special treatment. It was respected by the group of oil producing nations."Legendary ObstinacyAMLO, a grassroots populist who spent decades decrying Mexico's crony capitalism, has relied frequently on his reputation as a president who advocates for his people, especially poorer workers, and who says he came to power to fundamentally change government-business relations. He's yet to leave the country since his inauguration in December 2018, having missed all multilateral meetings including the United Nations General Assembly.His legendary obstinacy, as demonstrated during the exhausting OPEC+ negotiations, is likely to play well with voters who like his "Mexican people first" message in a country where displays of patriotism are frequent.Read More: Mexico's Low-Key Stimulus Plan Criticized by Business GroupsYet some analysts argue that AMLO's fierce defense of his nationalistic energy policy -- which is at the heart of his ambitions to upend Mexico's public life in the model of the country's revolutionary past-- came at a huge cost: by refusing to cut production, Pemex may continue operating unprofitable fields. And by holding out on a key global negotiation, Mexico could face reprimands from other nations in the months to come."There are no reasons to celebrate," Carlos Elizondo, a former Pemex independent board member, wrote in an opinion piece published by Reforma newspaper Sunday. "The cost of getting away with it in front of the international community will be high, particularly at this moment of crisis."Mexico's own future inside OPEC+ is uncertain now, as it's expected to decide over the next two months whether to leave the alliance, delegates said. A representative of Mexico's energy ministry did not respond to a request for comment.Pemex RiskAMLO already said he is aiming to export less crude, instead sending it to the country's refineries as part as his big plan to rid Mexico of dependence on foreign energy markets. His longer-term bid to revive production at Pemex, whose debt is the highest of any oil major at more than $100 billion, could result in even bigger losses.The company is building an $8 billion refinery in AMLO's home state of Tabasco to reduce fuel imports that have soared to account for as much as 65% of Mexico's demand. This, even as the country's six existing refineries are operating at less than 30% of their capacity and lose more money as they increase production because of a lack of investment in maintenance and refurbishments.Pemex will have a negative cash flow this year of $20 billion if Mexican oil trades at $30 a barrel, according to Anne Milne, a strategist at Bank of America.Investors fear that Moody's Investors Service could downgrade Pemex's bonds to junk after Fitch Ratings Inc. cut Pemex bonds even deeper into junk earlier this month. S&P Global cut its rating in March.At the same time, the government has canceled oil and gas auctions and joint-venture contracts with Pemex that enabled the state driller to share in the financial and technical burden of developing Mexico's vast, mostly unexplored deep-water oil territory.While AMLO prioritizes his energy strategy, some analysts say his refusal to follow the OPEC+ general agreement could come at a cost. AMLO "has put Mexico in an internationally awkward position with other players, said Eurasia's Petersen. "We don't know what the unintended consequences of this might be."(Updates with comment by AMLO in eighth paragraph.)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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| 'We're so slammed right now': Texas' abortion ban is sending women scrambling to clinics in other states during a pandemic Posted: 13 Apr 2020 08:08 AM PDT  Texas' suspension of most abortions during the novel coronavirus pandemic has reached the Supreme Court.
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| Two men arrested for murder of Miami girl over Adidas Yeezy shoes Posted: 13 Apr 2020 10:30 AM PDT  The captain of her school dance team was murdered last week during a botched shoe robbery.
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| America's billionaires are giving to charity – but much of it is self-serving rubbish Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:00 PM PDT  Well-publicized philanthropy shows how afraid the super-rich are of a larger social safety net – and higher taxes As millions of jobless Americans line up for food or risk their lives delivering essential services, the nation's billionaires are making conspicuous donations – $100m from Amazon's Jeff Bezos for food banks, billions from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for a coronavirus vaccine, thousands of ventilators and N95 masks from Elon Musk, $25m from the Walton family and its Walmart foundation. The list goes on.On Wednesday, Forbes released its annual billionaires list, happily noting that "the planet's wealthiest are helping the global effort to combat the Covid-19 outbreak".I don't mean to be uncharitable, but much of this is self-serving rubbish.First off, the amounts involved are tiny relative to the fortunes behind them. Bezos's $100m, for example, amounts to about 11 days of his income.Well-publicized philanthropy also conveniently distracts attention from how several of these billionaires are endangering their workers and, by extension, the public.With online sales surging, Amazon is on a hiring binge. But Bezos still doesn't provide sick leave for workers unless they test positive for Covid-19, in which case they get just two weeks. On 20 March, four senators sent him a letter expressing concern that the company wasn't doing enough to protect its warehouse workers.Walmart's booming sales have caused it to hire more than 100,000 workers over the past three weeks. But the firm failed to implement social distancing for two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced guidelines on 16 March. Several workers have died. Most still don't have access to gloves, masks or hand sanitizer. They don't get paid sick leave, not even at stores where employees have contracted the virus.Musk initially dismissed sheltering as "dumb" and defied a sheriff's order to shelter-in-place by keeping open Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, telling employees the factory was an "essential" business.The third way conspicuous philanthropy is self-serving is by suggesting that government shouldn't demand more from the super-rich, even in a national emergency. As Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal editorial page put it, if we had a wealth tax like Elizabeth Warren proposed, "it's unlikely [Bill Gates] would have the capacity to act this boldly."That's absurd. Warren's tax would have cost Gates about $6bn a year, roughly his annual income from his $100bn.> Why should we believe that Gates or any other billionaire's 'boldness' necessarily reflects society's values and needs?Besides, all the billionaire charity combined is a tiny fraction of the trillions the government has already spent on the coronavirus crisis. How does the Journal believe we're going to pay down this added national debt if the wealthiest among us don't pay more taxes? Even when this nightmare is over, most Americans will be hard pressed.And why should we believe that Gates or any other billionaire's "boldness" necessarily reflects society's values and needs? Oligarchies aren't the same as democracies.The worst fear of the billionaire class is that the government's response to the pandemic will lead to a permanently larger social safety net."Once the virus is conquered – and it will be – the biggest risk will be the political campaign to expand government control over far more of American economic life," warns Murdoch's Journal.After all, the Great Depression of the 1930s spawned social security and the minimum wage, as well as a widespread conviction that government should guarantee a minimum standard of living. The second world war yielded the GI Bill and then the National Defense Education Act, enshrining the government's role as a financier of higher education.Even programs that don't enjoy wide popularity when first introduced, such as the Affordable Care Act, enlarge the nation's sense of what is reasonable for the government to do for its citizens. The ACA lives on, more popular than ever, notwithstanding the GOP's determination to repeal it and Donald Trump's efforts to undermine it.As the pandemic challenges the security and safety of all Americans, some conservative politicians are proposing things that would have been unthinkable – certainly unspeakable – only months ago.The Missouri Republican senator Josh Hawley is calling for the federal government to "cover 80% of wages for workers at any US business, up to the national median wage" until the crisis is over."Workers will benefit from the steady paycheck and the knowledge their jobs are safe," he says.Indeed. Hawley's logic would as easily justify national paid sick leave and universal basic income, permanently.If the pandemic has revealed anything, it's that America's current social safety net and healthcare system does not protect the majority of Americans in a national emergency. We are the outlier among the world's advanced nations in subjecting our citizens to perpetual insecurity.We are also the outlier in possessing a billionaire class that, in controlling much of our politics, has kept such proposals off the public agenda.At least until now. * Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His new book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a columnist for Guardian US
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| Vietnamese-owned nail salons donate thousands of masks, gloves, more to hospitals Posted: 12 Apr 2020 02:53 AM PDT  "Fighting this virus is a responsibility for every one of us," one salon owner said.
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| Russian border becomes China's frontline in fight against second virus wave Posted: 12 Apr 2020 08:44 PM PDT  China's northeastern border with Russia has become a frontline in the fight against a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic as new daily cases rose to the highest in nearly six weeks - with more than 90% involving people coming from abroad. Having largely stamped out domestic transmission of the disease, China has been slowly easing curbs on movement as it tries to get its economy back on track, but there are fears that a rise in imported cases could spark a second wave of COVID-19. A total of 108 new coronavirus cases were reported in mainland China on Sunday, up from 99 a day earlier, marking the highest daily tally since March 5.
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| Alaska Dems says they received twice as many ballots than in 2016 Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:47 PM PDT  Joe Biden is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee after Sanders suspended his campaign earlier this week, although Sanders remained on the ballot in Alaska.
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| Not everyone is getting a $1,200 coronavirus stimulus check. Here's who will be left out. Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:37 AM PDT  Millions of Americans will be left out when the Internal Revenue Service starts distributing $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks next week.
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| New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says 'the worst is over' but warns coronavirus infections could spike again if we are 'reckless' Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:50 AM PDT  New York is expected to announce a plan in conjunction with neighboring states about how to reopen select parts of the economy as hospitalizations slow.
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| Michelle Obama initiative backs expanding vote-by-mail for 2020 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:30 AM PDT  An initiative co-chaired by Michelle Obama has announced support for expanding access to vote-by-mail during the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Scientists have found oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout in fishes' livers and on the deep ocean floor Posted: 13 Apr 2020 05:16 AM PDT  Over the decade since the Deepwater Horizon spill, thousands of scientists have analyzed its impact on the Gulf of Mexico. The spill affected many different parts of the Gulf, from coastal marshes to the deep sea.At the Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of the Gulf Ecosystem, or C-IMAGE at the University of South Florida, marine scientists have been analyzing these effects since 2011. C-IMAGE has received funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative – a broad, independent research program initially funded by a US$500 million grant from BP, the company held principally responsible for the spill.Our findings and those of many other academic, government and industry researchers have filled two books. These works seek to quantify the past and future impacts of oil spills, and to help prevent such accidents from ever happening again. Here are some important findings on how the Deepwater Horizon disaster affected Gulf of Mexico ecosystems. Oil in fish and sedimentsBefore the spill, baseline data on oil contamination in fishes and sediments in the Gulf of Mexico did not exist. This kind of information is critical for assessing impacts from a spill and calculating how quickly the ecosystem can return to its previous, pre-spill state. Oil was already present in the Gulf from past spills and natural seeps, but the Deepwater Horizon was the largest accidental spill in the ocean anywhere in the world. C-IMAGE researchers developed the first comprehensive baseline of oil contamination in the Gulf's fishes and sediments, including all waters off the United States, Mexico and Cuba. Researchers spent almost 250 days at sea, sampling over 15,000 fishes and taking over 2,500 sediment cores. Repeated sampling from 2011 through 2018 of the region around the spill site has produced estimates of how quickly various species are able to overcome oil pollution; impacts on the health of various species, from microbes to whales; and how fast oil stranded on the bottom has become buried in sediments. Importantly, no fish yet sampled anywhere in the Gulf has been free of hydrocarbons – a telling sign of chronic and ongoing pollution in the Gulf. It is not known if similar findings would result from ecosystem-wide studies elsewhere because such surveys are rare.Many commercially important fish species were affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Researchers found skin lesions on red snapper from the northern Gulf in the months after the spill, but the lesions became less frequent and severe by 2012. There is other evidence of ongoing and increasing exposures to hydrocarbons over time in economically and environmentally important species like golden tilefish, grouper and hake as well as red snapper. Increasing concentrations of hydrocarbons in liver tissues of some species, such as groupers, suggest these fish have experienced long-term exposure to oil. Chronic exposures have been associated with the decline of health indices in tilefish and grouper. To complement field studies, scientists created an oil exposure test facility at Florida's Mote Aquaculture Research Park to assess how contact with oil affected adult fishes. For example, southern flounder that were exposed to oiled sediments for 35 days showed evidence of oxidative stress, a cellular imbalance that can cause decreased fertility, increased cellular aging and premature death. Fishes that live in deeper waters, from depths of about 650 to 3,300 feet (200 to 1,000 meters) were also affected. These fish are especially important because they are a food source for larger commercially relevant fish, marine mammals and birds. Researchers found increased concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – chemicals that occur naturally in crude oil – in fish tissues after the spill. In 2015-2016, PAH levels were still higher than pre-spill levels. Evidence indicates that the main sources of this contamination are through fishes' diets and transfers from female fish to their eggs. Oil on the sea floorMuch of the oil released in the spill created huge slicks at the water's surface. But significant quantities of crude oil also were deposited at the bottom of the deep sea. It was carried there by marine snow – clumps of plankton, fecal pellets, biominerals and soil particles washed into the Gulf from land. In a process that occurs throughout the world's oceans, these particles sink through the water column, transporting large quantities of material to the sea floor. In the Gulf, they attached to oil droplets as they descended. During the spill, responders set parts of the massive surface slick on fire in an effort to prevent it from reaching beaches and marshes. Crude oil contains thousands of different carbon compounds that become more toxic after they are burned. Post-spill studies showed that these compounds can be trapped in marine snow, covering the seabed and harming organisms that live there.Researchers coined the term MOSSFA (marine oil snow sedimentation and flocculent accumulation) to describe this mechanism for deposition of significant oil on the seabed. Thanks to this research, MOSSFA has been incorporated into models that U.S. government agencies use for oil spill response. C-IMAGE researchers have also developed methods to predict the intensity of MOSSFA if a similar-sized oil spill occurs anywhere in the world.Post-spill studies found that levels of oil compounds on the seafloor in the area affected by the spill were two to three times higher than background levels elsewhere in the Gulf. Sediment cores taken from around the wellhead showed that the density of minute single-celled organisms called foraminifera, which are abundant throughout the world's oceans and are a food source for other fishes, squids and marine mammals, declined by 80% to 90% over 10 months following the event, and their species diversity declined by 30% to 40%.Oxygen levels in these sediments also decreased in the three years following the spill, degrading conditions for organisms living at the sea floor. As a result of changes like these, researchers project that it will take perhaps 50 to 100 years for the deep ocean ecosystem to recover. More transparency from the oil industryScientists are still assessing key questions about the Gulf's ecological health, such as how long it will take for deep ecosystems to recover and what the lasting impacts are of episodic pollution events on top of chronic exposure. But here are some steps that would make it easier to measure both chronic effects of oil pollution and impacts from large-scale spills. Today, the only discharge that offshore oil and gas producers are required to measure is from "produced water" – natural water that comes up from beneath the sea floor along with oil and gas. And they are only required to report its hydrocarbon concentrations, even though the water can contain metals and radioactive material. In our view, they should also be required to routinely monitor oil contaminants in water, sediments and marine life near each platform, just as wastewater treatment plants periodically gather data on what they are discharging. This would provide a baseline for analyzing impacts from future spills and for detecting leaks hidden from the surface. Researchers would also like to see more transparency in data sharing about the industry – including routine equipment failures, other discharges such as drilling muds and other operational details – and greater U.S. engagement with Mexico and Cuba on oil exploration and spill response. As oil and gas production moves into ever-deeper waters, the goal should be to respond faster, more effectively and with a better understanding of what's happening in real time.[You're smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation's authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * A decade after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, offshore drilling is still unsafe * Fish larvae float across national borders, binding the world's oceans in a single networkSteven Murawski receives funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Tampa Bay Estuary programSherryl Gilbert receives funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program through the University of South Florida.
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| Starving, angry and cannibalistic: America's rats are getting desperate amid coronavirus pandemic Posted: 13 Apr 2020 04:14 AM PDT  "A new 'army' of rats come in, and whichever army has the strongest rats is going to conquer that area," said Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist.
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| Nigeria to extend coronavirus lockdowns for 14 more days: President Buhari Posted: 13 Apr 2020 11:34 AM PDT  Initial 14-day lockdowns in the three areas began on March 30. Buhari said it was crucial to extend the lockdown due to an "alarming" increase in positive cases in a number of states. "It is a matter of life and death," Buhari said of the nation's response.
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| Libya unity government seizes strategic cities from rival Haftar Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:26 PM PDT  Forces backing Libya's unity government captured two coastal cities west of Tripoli on Monday in a new blow to military commander Khalifa Haftar a year after he launched an offensive on the capital. "Our forces took control of Sorman and Sabratha and are pursuing(Haftar's forces)," said a statement by Mohammed Gnunu, spokesman for the forces of the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord. An AFP video journalist saw pro-GNA forces in pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns celebrating in central Sabratha, around halfway between Tripoli and the Tunisian border.
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| Child sex abuse in Pakistan's religious schools is endemic Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:06 PM PDT  Muhimman proudly writes his name slowly, carefully, one letter at a time, grinning broadly as he finishes. Earlier this year, a cleric at the religious school he faithfully attended in the southern Punjab town of Pakpattan took him into a washroom and tried to rape him. Muhimman's aunt, Shazia, who wanted only her first name used, said she believes the abuse of young children is endemic in Pakistan's religious schools.
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| At least 7 dead in Mississippi as Easter Sunday tornadoes hit the South; more storms forecast for Monday in the East Posted: 12 Apr 2020 07:44 PM PDT  The governors of Mississippi and Louisiana have declared a state of emergency after violent storms battered the two southern states on Sunday.
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| Why Biden's general election lead is likely narrower than national polls suggest Posted: 13 Apr 2020 07:18 AM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden has a consistent lead over President Trump when it comes to 2020 national polls. But they aren't the best way of predicting what'll actually happen in November.In nearly every 2020 general election poll taken so far, Biden has come out on top, ending up with a six percentage point lead over Trump on average. But national polls fail to take the nuances of the electoral college into account, and once they're factored in, Biden's lead is a lot narrower than it seems, Nate Cohn lays out for The New York Times.When it comes to turning the tides from the 2016 election, Biden has attracted white voters with a college degree, as polling demographics show a similar or greater percentage back him as did Hillary Clinton. But Biden has so far failed among the demographics he needs to win over most: white voters without college degrees. They largely switched from voting for former President Barack Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016, and haven't shown signs of going blue again, Cohn explains.> So far, national polls show virtually no change among white voters with or without college degree over the last four years. But Biden does appear to be doing quite a bit better among older voters and weaker among nonwhite voters pic.twitter.com/R02XRF3dsg> > — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 13, 2020Biden does have an "expected" advantage among non-white voters, Cohn writes. But Trump "appears to retain his relative advantage in the disproportionately white working-class battleground states that decided the 2016 presidential election," Cohn continues, and "it raises the possibility that Democrats could win the most votes and lose the White House for the third time in six presidential elections." Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Trump adviser Peter Navarro made a bad bet 60 Minutes didn't cover pandemic preparedness under Obama Trump might fire the one person in the White House who knows what he's doing Bats probably aren't more likely to spread viruses to humans than other animals, study suggests
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| Top US Navy official who resigned under pressure was reportedly angry at an aircraft-carrier crew's emotional send-off of the captain he had fired Posted: 12 Apr 2020 06:00 PM PDT  The carrier's captain was removed after his letter pleading for Navy leaders to help with a coronavirus outbreak was leaked to the press.
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| Have I already had coronavirus? How would I know and what should I do? Posted: 13 Apr 2020 08:22 AM PDT  Covid-19 symptoms, when they occur, vary widely and undertesting means many people have probably been unwittingly infected * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverageCovid-19 symptoms vary widely, and undertesting in many countries means that many people may have already had the coronavirus without having received a positive diagnosis. Is it possible to find out, and how should you behave if you think you may have been infected? Is there any way to know whether someone has had Covid-19 in the past?Dr William Hillmann: Antibody tests are being developed but are not in widespread clinical use yet. The antibody testing would allow us to check blood samples for antibodies against coronavirus to tell whether somebody has had it. I, and I think many others, are anxiously awaiting for those to become available. Could I have had it and been asymptomatic? Hillmann: Coronavirus is actually quite a significant spectrum of symptoms, from people who are entirely asymptomatic and would have no idea that they have it to people with very mild, cold-like symptoms – runny nose, congestion, sore throat – to people with more flu-like symptoms – high fevers, muscle aches, shortness of breath and cough. Loss of smell and taste are also symptoms. All the way up to people with severe illness, who we're seeing in the hospital with respiratory failure, requiring ICU care.It's impossible right now to say what the true prevalence of the disease in the US is since we are still prioritizing testing for people who are sick or in the hospital or who are healthcare workers. We're not doing widespread testing that South Korea and some European countries have done to get a sense of how many people are asymptomatic or have such minimal symptoms that they attribute it to allergies or something else. Are people who are asymptomatic also contagious? Hillmann: A significant proportion of people who are totally asymptomatic are contagious for some portion of time. We just don't know [for how long] at this point, because we don't have the kind of testing available to screen for asymptomatic infections.When people are symptomatic, they're contagious. A day or two before they become symptomatic, they're likely contagious as well. A virus builds up and starts to shed, and then after symptoms resolve, people can still be contagious for a couple of days. We have some evidence of viral shed even a couple of weeks after symptoms are resolved. It's hard to know if that's actual live virus, which is still able to infect somebody, or if that's just dead virus that the body is shedding. Should someone behave differently if they think, but don't know for certain, that they have already had it?Dr David Buchholz: We all have to be role models. If we're all in it together, we all should be doing social distancing.Hillmann: Since there's no real way to know at this point who might have had it, unless you're symptomatic, you get a swab and are definitively diagnosed with it, I would just act as if you hadn't had it. Keep doing all of those things that we all should be doing at this point: social distancing and hand hygiene. I think universal mask-wearing in public is a reasonable recommendation based on what we know about the wide spectrum of symptoms, and the fact that people can be asymptomatic and still be shedding the virus. If I think I may have had it, do I have an ethical obligation to tell people I came in contact with? Even if it may in fact just have been a cold?Buchholz: I would, absolutely. I'm in New York, and it was definitely in the community before we knew it. So, yeah, any family members and close friends, maybe somebody you work next to, I think I would just alert them, especially if it was in the last 14 days. If it's been more than 14 days, they would have gotten sick by now if they had significant exposure.Hillmann: It's up to every individual about what they feel is right. That being said, with the surge in infections that we're seeing in places like New York, if you were symptomatic at one point but were not tested, and you were in close contact with somebody, I think you should tell them. If I've had it, can I get it again?Buchholz: There's not been any evidence that anyone's gotten it more than once. Someone with a normal immune system that can react to the virus and get better should have immunity for quite some time, at least a year, if not lifelong.There have been reports out of China suggesting people are testing positive for Covid-19 a second time. Most scientists think it is an issue around the inaccuracy of the testing and not that people are having two separate cases of the disease.ExpertsDr David Buchholz, senior founding medical director, primary care, assistant professor of pediatrics, Columbia University Irving medical centerDr William Hillmann, associate inpatient physician director at Massachusetts general hospital * Due to the unprecedented and ongoing nature of the coronavirus outbreak, this article is being regularly updated to ensure that it reflects the current situation at the date of publication. Any significant corrections made to this or previous versions of the article will continue to be footnoted in line with Guardian editorial policy.
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| An Indian TikToker who said to trust God over face masks is reportedly the first person in his district to test positive for COVID-19 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 11:30 AM PDT  Local reports say the man, aged 25, was the first person from the Sagar district to test positive for the coronavirus, and had his phone confiscated.
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| As world turns to China for PPE, U.S. buyers risk knock-offs Posted: 13 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT  In China, PPE factories are popping up overnight and some are faking U.S. government approvals.
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| Tokyo governor Koike, a PM Abe rival, takes tough stance on coronavirus Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:32 PM PDT  With blunt warnings, flip-charts and daily online briefings, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has been delivering a tough message to the Japanese capital's residents and shops: stay home and shut down to avert an explosive outbreak of the coronavirus. Koike, 67, was once floated as a future premier. Japan had 7,411 cases of infection and 138 deaths from the virus as of Monday, public broadcaster NHK said, with more than 2,000 cases in Tokyo, a sharp rise from late March.
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| Tourists forced to write 'sorry' 500 times over India lockdown breach Posted: 12 Apr 2020 07:57 AM PDT  Ten foreigners who broke a coronavirus lockdown in an Indian town made famous by the Beatles, were forced to repent by writing "I am so sorry" -- 500 times, officials said Sunday. The nationwide lockdown was imposed near the end of March, with residents permitted to leave their homes only for essential services such as buying groceries and medicine. The travellers -- from Israel, Mexico, Australia and Austria -- were caught taking a walk in Rishikesh, where the Beatles sought spirituality at an Ashram in 1968.
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| As virus deaths rise, Sweden sticks to 'low-scale' lockdown Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:37 AM PDT  The 63-year-old has become a household name in Sweden, appearing across the media and holding daily briefings outlining the progression of the outbreak with a precise, quiet demeanor. As countries across Europe have restricted the movement of their citizens, Sweden stands out for what Tegnell calls a "low-scale" approach that "is much more sustainable" over a longer period. President Donald Trump has suggested that a rising number of COVID-19 deaths indicate Sweden is paying a heavy price for embracing the idea of herd immunity — that is, letting many individuals get sick to build up immunity in the population.
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| 'It would cripple us completely': Coronavirus takes toll on rural police agencies Posted: 12 Apr 2020 05:38 PM PDT  In rural police departments, even a few coronavirus cases could pack a wallop. Small agencies don't have budgets to fill in for sick patrol officers.
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| Pope Francis says it might be 'time to consider a universal basic wage' in Easter letter Posted: 12 Apr 2020 10:41 AM PDT  "This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out," The Pope said.
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| Governors respond to President Trump’s assertion that it’s up to him to decide when to loosen coronavirus restrictions Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:45 PM PDT  At a press conference on Monday, six governors announced a council of states to coordinate the loosening of stay-at-home orders and other restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded to questions about President Trump's assertion that it is up to him to decide when those orders are to be rolled back.
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