| Trump floats treating coronavirus patients with light and disinfectants Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:00 PM PDT  At an unusually contentious briefing Thursday of the coronavirus task force, President Trump floated the idea that people infected with COVID-19 might be treated using injections of disinfectant and applications of ultraviolet light.
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| Cuomo rips McConnell's 'blue state bailout' by noting 'your state is living on the money that we generate' Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:03 PM PDT  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) says he doesn't think this is a time for politics. But seeing as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) ventured into that territory first, well, Cuomo has some things to say.McConnell drew bipartisan condemnation on Wednesday when he called federal funding for state and local governments "blue state bailouts," despite senators on both sides of the aisle asking for that funding. Cuomo took McConnell to task in a Thursday press conference, first laying out why he finds state and local government funding to be so important, and then decrying McConnell's "obsessive political bias and anger."> NY Gov. Cuomo calls out Sen. McConnell for his "Stopping blue state bailouts" comment, calling it "vicious," "ugly," "irresponsible and reckless"> > "If there was ever a time for humanity and decency … and a time to stop your obsessive political bias and anger, now is the time" pic.twitter.com/ubq0ohqTIq> > -- CBS News (@CBSNews) April 23, 2020Cuomo then brought up some cold hard numbers. While New York state contributes billions more dollars to the federal government than it gets in return, McConnell's state of Kentucky relies on billions of dollars of federal funding each year, prompting Cuomo to ask, "Sen. McConnell, who's getting bailed out here?" > WATCH: Cuomo criticizes McConnell's remarks on state virus aid:> > "NY puts in to that federal pot $116B more than we take out ... KY takes out $148B more than they put in.> > Sen. McConnell, who's getting bailed out here? It's your state that is living on the money that we generate" pic.twitter.com/0iaBisvju9> > -- NBC News (@NBCNews) April 23, 2020More stories from theweek.com Trump adviser suggests reopening economy by putting 'everybody in a space outfit' Small music venues ask Congress for special consideration in coronavirus aid Trump mega donor and former EU ambassador Gordon Sondland got a PPP loan
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| Virus-hit Iran demands US be held to account for 'cruel' sanctions Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:57 AM PDT  Iran called Thursday for the US to be held accountable for "cruel" sanctions that have hampered its efforts to fight a coronavirus outbreak that it said claimed another 90 lives. It accuses its arch enemy the United States of making the crisis worse through sanctions imposed unilaterally since Washington pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. The latest fatalities given by the health ministry for the past 24 hours took the overall death toll in Iran from the coronavirus to 5,481.
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| Trump attacks Washington Post article, claiming CDC chief Redfield was misquoted. Redfield later said he wasn't. Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:21 PM PDT  At Wednesday's coronavirus task force briefing, President Trump blasted a Washington Post article, claiming that it misquoted CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield about the severity of the coronavirus in the fall. Redfield clarified his remarks but said he was not misquoted.
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| US blasts China at Southeast Asian meeting on coronavirus Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:36 AM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Southeast Asian counterparts on Thursday that China is taking advantage of the world's preoccupation with the coronavirus pandemic to push its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. Pompeo made the accusation in a meeting via video to discuss the outbreak with the foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Beijing's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea conflict with those of ASEAN members Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, and are contested by Washington, which has an active naval presence in the Pacific.
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| HHS chief Alex Azar chose a former labradoodle breeder with minimal public health experience to lead the department's coronavirus response Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:10 AM PDT  Alex Azar picked Brian Harrison to lead the HHS day-to-day coronavirus response. Harrison previously spent six years as a labradoodle breeder.
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| 4 men confine woman in her home to rob her of stimulus check, police say Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:12 PM PDT  The woman whose house was broken into told police the suspects were aware she had received her check and intended to rob her.
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| Op-Ed: I'm an immigrant doctor treating COVID-19 patients. Death isn't my only fear right now Posted: 23 Apr 2020 01:07 PM PDT  In this pandemic, we need an emergency increase in the number of green cards issued to immigrants with critically required skills.
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| Renters still left out in the cold despite temporary coronavirus protection Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:10 AM PDT  Emergency relief for renters across America may protect them from the threat of eviction during the coronavirus crisis – but it won't last for long.The economic shutdown necessitated by COVID-19 has undermined the ability of millions of families and individuals to pay their landlords. But current measures to alleviate their hardship will not last through the summer, leaving the country at risk of a surge of evictions and homelessness within months.The current crisis also hits landlords, small ones especially, who may now struggle to meet mortgage payments, property taxes and other essential expenses. Again, the measures offered by Congress provide only limited relief.As scholars of housing policy, we know that for any measure to have real impact, it will need to address problems facing both tenants and landlords. Such a solution may already exist in the Housing Choice Voucher program, a 40-year-old program which enables low-income households to afford rental housing in the private market. Rental crisisThe coronavirus worsens an already severe housing affordability crisis. The most recent data shows that 10.7 million households, one-quarter of all renters, spend more than half of their income on rent, including 56% of all renters earning less than US$30,000 per year. More than 2.3 million renters are evicted annually. On any given night, more than 500,000 people are homeless, and nearly three times as many went homeless during the course of a single year.More than 20 million people have filed for unemployment benefits since the shutdown began, and this number is likely to climb higher in the weeks ahead.The people most at risk of losing their jobs are those who work in low-paying service industries such as restaurants, hotels, personal services and the retail sector. They are also disproportionately likely to rent their homes.Many of these workers will struggle to pay landlords in the coming months. As of 2019, the Federal Reserve reported that about 40% of all households could not cover an unexpected $400 expense without borrowing funds or selling a possession. In an effort to provide relief to families and business hit by the economic meltdown, President Trump signed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act on March 27. Stay of evictionThe legislation provides considerable support to homeowners but much less to renters. Homeowners with government-supported mortgages such as those that are guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, accounting for 70% of all outstanding mortgages, can skip mortgage payments for up to 12 months without risk of foreclosure. Missed payments will instead by added to their mortgage balances.Renters are afforded some protection. The legislation forbids private and public owners of rental housing financed with government assistance – about 28% of all rentals – from evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent over a period of six months. In addition to the CARES Act, 15 states and 24 cities have temporarily suspended evictions for nearly all renters in their jurisdictions.The CARES Act also provides relief in the shape of expanded unemployment benefits as well as a one-off payment of $1,200 to eligible adults and an extra $500 per child.But rental protection is unlikely to last more than a few months – less if stays on eviction are not enforced, as has been the case in a number of states.Moreover, when renters skip their rent, they still owe it – it will need to be repaid at a later date.These emergency measures do little to help landlords cover their expenses. It does prohibit lenders from foreclosing on landlords with federally backed mortgages, should they fail to make payment. But it does nothing to help them pay employees, utility bills or their property taxes. And when landlords cannot pay property taxes, it becomes even more difficult for hard-pressed cities, towns and school districts to provide essential services. Room for improvement?One alternative would be for the government to pay landlords directly to cover the loss of rental income. Rep. Ilhan Omar, for example, is proposing that all renters have their rents canceled, with landlords applying for compensation from the federal government. A downside of this approach is the potential for providing assistance to landlords and tenants who do not need it. It would also require a new apparatus to administer the program, which could delay implementation.Advocates and policymakers have suggested other ways government could address the looming rental housing crisis.The approach partially adopted by the CARES Act is to compensate displaced workers for their loss of income. This could be expanded through repeated cash payments to households. Alternatively, unemployment benefits could be increased. But there is also no guarantee that recipients will use the funds for housing or that funds would be targeted at low-income households that require assistance.The government could pay employers to keep workers on their payroll and hire back those they have let go. It has already adopted this approach to an extent, but not anywhere close to the scale that would be necessary. Scaling up these efforts would probably take months and may not be politically feasible. Vouchers for successWe believe a more viable option would be expanding the government's Housing Choice Voucher program. Established in 1974, it enables low-income households to rent housing in the private market, paying no more than 30% of their income on rent, with the government paying the rest. It is available to all low-income households and currently serves 2.2 million households – although as many as 10 million were eligible for the program before the COVID crisis.The program already has the administrative apparatus needed to handle an increase in participants: a nationwide network of over 3,300 housing authorities with decades of experience. Many have already demonstrated their capacity to dramatically expand operations to accommodate new households in the event of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods.If expanded to meet the demands of the current crisis, the Housing Choice Voucher program could act as a shock absorber for the rental housing market. For tenants, it would provide some stability where there now is uncertainty and reduce the risk of displacement, eviction and homelessness. For landlords, it would provide a steady stream of income to help pay the mortgage, property taxes and other expenses.[Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.] Este artículo se vuelve a publicar de The Conversation, un medio digital sin fines de lucro dedicado a la diseminación de la experticia académica. Lee mas: The coronavirus pandemic is making the US housing crisis even worse How can the houseless fight the coronavirus? A community organization partners with academics to create a grassroots hand-washing infrastructure Kirk McClure receives funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He is affiliated with HUD through the Multi-Disciplinary Research Team that works with HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research. Alex Schwartz has received research funding from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He is a public member of the New York City Rent Guidelines Board. Alex Schwartz is related to an employee of The Conversation US.
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| Reopening after coronavirus is a 'much bigger' job than most Americans realize, Harvard study finds Posted: 22 Apr 2020 01:22 PM PDT  Despite President Trump's assurances that the U.S. is "winning" its war against the coronavirus, and moves by some governors to end stay-at-home measures, a new Harvard University study paints a stark picture of what will be required for the country to emerge from the pandemic.
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| Marines' Top General Opens Up About Decision to Ban Confederate Flag Displays Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:49 AM PDT  Commandant Gen. David Berger issued a letter to explain his reasons for banning public displays of Confederate paraphernalia.
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| 30 Best Sides for Hamburgers Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:40 PM PDT |
| Mexico coronavirus cases top 10,000 as sickly economy contracts Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:17 PM PDT  Mexico reported on Wednesday it now has over 10,000 cases of coronavirus, the fifth-highest tally in Latin America, as containment measures and rock-bottom crude prices wreak economic havoc on the oil-producing country. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has frequently expressed optimism that Mexicans will overcome the outbreak, arguing that tight-knit families offer the best protection, even as he has balked at more aggressive stimulus measures to help both businesses and individuals. Mexico's economy, Latin America's second biggest and already ailing before the outbreak, is expected to contract by as much as 10% this year.
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| US bars larger firms from SBA loans after uproar Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:10 PM PDT  US agencies tightened the rules on a popular emergency lending program for small businesses Thursday, and gave large chains two weeks to return funds following a public uproar. Companies that inappropriately received funding under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have until May 7 to return the funds to the US Small Business Administration, the Treasury Department said in the updated guidelines. Applicants to the program "must certify in good faith that their PPP loan request is necessary," the guidelines said, but it is up to the companies -- not the banks -- to weigh whether they have access to other funding sources.
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| India Opens Bridge in Himalayas Setting Stage for China Face-Off Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:40 AM PDT |
| California had its deadliest day Wednesday, even as COVID-19 cases start to stabilize Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:54 PM PDT  The governor also announced new programs to help Californians with the financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
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| AOC Only Democrat to Vote Against $484 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:03 PM PDT  The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the $484 billion coronavirus relief package to replenish the depleted small business loan program, with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) being the only Democrat in both the House or Senate to oppose the bill.The House passed the bill, which includes $310 billion for the government's phase-three Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), by a 388-5 margin — sending it to President Trump's desk after the Senate passed the bill on Tuesday. Four House Republicans — Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Jody Hice of Georgia, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — along with former Republican Justin Amash (I., Mich.) joined Ocasio-Cortez in voting against the bill.Speaking to CNN's Manu Raju, Ocasio-Cortez explained that her problem with the bill was "giving Republicans what they want.""McConnell is already talking about the deficit the moment we talk about getting people relief," she said. ". . . That to me is a signal that Republicans are done."> She added: "If they don't want the next stimulus, what leverage do we have to pass" further relief?> > -- Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 23, 2020 The new funding includes $60 billion — $50 billion in loans and $10 billion in grants — for companies with less than $50 billion in total assets, with $30 billion of that for firms with less than $10 billion. The bill also includes $75 billion in additional funding for hospitals and health care providers, and $25 billion to help fund the nationwide effort to expand coronavirus testing.Republicans and Democrats have sparred over the draining of SBA funding, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) saying Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) "delayed the bill," but admitted that Democrats did reject a simple reauthorization proposed by Republicans."Democrats should never have made the Paycheck Protection Program lapse. The House must follow the Senate's lead and vote today to re-open it," McConnell tweeted ahead of the House vote Thursday.Ocasio-Cortez drew criticism earlier this week for tweeting, and then deleting, praise over the U.S. oil market reaching negative territory for the first time ever. Over four million Americans applied for unemployment last week, according to data released Thursday, bringing the number of coronavirus jobless claims to over 26 million since last month.
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| Trump disagrees with Redfield, Fauci on return of coronavirus next fall Posted: 22 Apr 2020 07:17 PM PDT  The coronavirus would be reduced to easily extinguished "embers" by the time next fall's influenza season strikes, President Trump said at Wednesday's briefing of the White House task force, even as his top health experts continued to offer a decidedly more guarded outlook.
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| The CEO of Ryanair, one of the world's biggest airlines, says it won't fly if middle seats have to stay empty for 'idiotic' social-distancing rules Posted: 23 Apr 2020 03:14 AM PDT  Not having passengers in the middle seat is not profitable, and passengers would still be too close anyway, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said.
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| US More Concerned About Iranian Rocket Than New Satellite, General Says Posted: 23 Apr 2020 11:30 AM PDT  The U.S. has long suspected that Iran's efforts to put satellites into orbit are a cover for development of an ICBM.
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| Mexico family hurt by no funeral for father dead of COVID-19 Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:45 PM PDT  The family of Manuel Briseño knows how they would have mourned the 78-year-old, who died Tuesday of the new coronavirus: a big funeral with the extended family, an extended mourning period and a burial at a Mexico City cemetery next to the grave of his wife of 49 years, Consuelo García. The family got literally none of that. Under health guidelines, they rushed to cremate Briseño's remains, and only eight relatives gathered to mourn him in a private ceremony, the family said Thursday.
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| Virus-stricken cruise ship leaves Australia Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:19 AM PDT  A cruise ship linked to hundreds of coronavirus infections and at least 19 deaths in Australia departed Thursday, leaving behind a criminal investigation and public outrage over the handling of the stricken vessel. Crew members waved from the Ruby Princess as it left Port Kembla, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Sydney and where it was docked for more than two weeks, with a large banner hanging from the stern thanking locals. Police are investigating operator Carnival Australia over the circumstances that led to nearly 2,700 passengers -- some showing flu-like symptoms -- disembarking in mid-March and going home.
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| Vietnam says accusations it hacked China for virus information 'baseless' Posted: 23 Apr 2020 01:54 AM PDT  A report which said Vietnamese government-linked hackers had attempted to break into Chinese state organisations at the centre of Beijing's effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak is "baseless", Vietnam's foreign ministry said on Thursday. On Wednesday, U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye said the hackers had tried to compromise the personal and professional email accounts of staff at China's Ministry of Emergency Management and the government of Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the pandemic. "The accusation is baseless," foreign ministry spokesman Ngo Toan Thang told a regular news conference.
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| Months after coronavirus diagnosis, some Wuhan patients test positive again Posted: 22 Apr 2020 03:51 AM PDT  Some of the first patients to suffer from COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, are still bearing the consequences of the disease.
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| Guatemalan wrongly deported amid coronavirus crisis is reunited with family in U.S. Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:50 AM PDT  "I am very happy," Gilmer Barrios said. "It had been almost a month since I saw my wife, and I am going to see my children in a little while."
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| A New Wave of Anti-Muslim Anger Threatens India’s Virus Fight Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The newspaper advertisement placed last week by a cancer hospital in India's most populous state didn't mince words: any Muslim patients seeking treatment must prove they didn't have Covid-19.The privately owned Valentis Cancer Hospital in Uttar Pradesh state apologized a day later "for hurting religious sentiments." But the message written in black and white crystallized for many the increased hostility against India's Muslim minority as coronavirus infections surge across the country.Attacks on Muslims, including farmers driven out of villages and others beaten by angry mobs, have been reported across the country -- from rural hamlets to the cities of New Delhi and Mumbai, prompted by a lethal mix of WhatsApp messages accusing them of deliberately spreading the virus. Hashtags like "corona jihad" and "corona terror" have been trending on social media, prompting a backlash from Gulf states where millions of Indians work.The rising discrimination threatens to hurt India's status in Muslim-majority countries and inflame longstanding religious tensions in the Hindu-dominated nation of 1.3 billion people. Divisions already began to harden last year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government passed a citizenship bill discriminating against Muslims, sparking nationwide protests in recent months that have left scores dead.What's worse, the upswing in discrimination against Muslims now threatens to complicate India's fight against Covid-19. On Thursday, the country reported 21,797 infections and 681 deaths.Frightened MuslimsIn India's business capital Mumbai, where the sprawling Dharavi slum has become the country's worst-hit virus hotspot, authorities say Muslims are afraid to self-report."There is a lot fear in the Muslim community and they are not telling us facts," said Kiran Dighavkar, an assistant commissioner at the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, the main civic authority for the city. "The hate towards the community seems to have increased because other people feel they are spreading the virus. Because of this it has become unsafe for our staff to visit some areas and we have to take police with us."At another hotspot in Noida, a suburb on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi, authorities were taking to social media to flag fake news and rumors."It takes a lot of time," said Ankur Agarwal, a police officer in Noida. "We have to monitor the social media, we need to build our intelligence as compared to totally focusing on Covid operations and ensuring the lockdown."Modi so far hasn't commented directly on the simmering sectarian tensions, but said in a tweet earlier this month that "Covid-19 does not see race, religion, color, caste, language or borders before striking."One of his cabinet members, Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said Tuesday that authorities were working to protect the safety and well-being all citizens. "India is heaven for minorities and Muslims," Naqvi said at a briefing. "Their social, religious and economic rights are secured in India more than any other country."'Deep Concern'Yet the world is expressing alarm. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which has in the past criticized India's treatment of its minorities, on April 14 raised concerns about the "continued scapegoating and attacks on Muslims in India due to false rumors over the spread of coronavirus, often accompanied by dangerous rhetoric by politicians."The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which calls itself "the collective voice of the Muslim world," expressed "deep concern" on Sunday over "rising anti-Muslim sentiments" in India.In the United Arab Emirates some of the more viciously worded posts by Indian migrants prompted some to get fired from their jobs, and also drew the attention of a member of the ruling family. Last week Princess Hend Al Qassimi responded to a now-deleted tweet, saying "your ridicule will not go unnoticed." India's ambassador to the UAE condemned the hate speech.Although Gulf states are condemning the anti-Muslim sentiment in India, falling oil prices and a downturn in the global economy will limit any deeper rift, according to Harsh Pant, professor of international relations at Kings College, London."India retains leverage vis-a-vis these countries as it is one of the largest importers of oil," he said. "Gulf countries are impacted not only by the coronavirus but also by the decline in oil demand."Religious GatheringThe new wave of rumors and anger directed against India's 200 million Muslims started in the last week of March when details began to emerge of thousands, including visitors from Indonesia and Malaysia, gathering at the headquarters of the Tabligh-e-Jamaat -- a conservative Muslim sect -- in the crowded lanes of Delhi's Nizamuddin area.Hundreds of members tested positive for the virus after authorities evacuated the building. Cases sprouted across the nation as many left Delhi and traveled back to their homes. Some 25,000 members and their contacts were traced and quarantined across more than a dozen Indian states.For more than a week, the federal government listed the infections connected to the Muslim gathering separately at their daily media briefings, which fanned the flames further. On April 8, the health ministry issued a statement asking that no community be targeted, but it did little to rein in the anger.Mohammed Shamim and his family were among those targeted. The vitriol built steadily after he began driving minivans full of fresh fruit and vegetables far into the villages of Uttar Pradesh when India announced a strict nationwide lockdown on March 25. Hindu villagers began to heckle them and asked others not to do business with them."Then more people began harassing us saying, 'you Muslims are spreading this illness, we don't want you people coming to this village." he said. 'People who had bought vegetables from us were told to return them."While India has seen a continued marginalization of its Muslim minority since Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, over the past year it's accelerated and become more violent. In the last week of February, before the country began to see a steady uptick in Covid-19 cases, three days of anti-Muslim violence in a part of the Indian capital left more than 50 people dead.Now Shamim and his family are too frightened to go back into the villages."Things are bad enough with this virus," he said over the telephone. "We don't want anything bad to happen to us."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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| Trump says he 'disagrees strongly' with Georgia governor's decision to reopen state Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:01 PM PDT  President Trump said Wednesday that he opposes Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's controversial decision to allow some non-essential businesses to reopen despite a high number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state.
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| Human rights groups are pleading with Mexico's top health official to pressure the release of detained migrants at risk of contracting COVID-19 Posted: 22 Apr 2020 08:13 PM PDT  The majority of Mexico's detained migrant population cannot be repatriated due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Honduras and El Salvador.
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| Chinese Agents Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S., Officials Say Posted: 22 Apr 2020 05:22 AM PDT  WASHINGTON -- The alarming messages came fast and furious in mid-March, popping up on the cellphone screens and social media feeds of millions of Americans grappling with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.Spread the word, the messages said: The Trump administration was about to lock down the entire country."They will announce this as soon as they have troops in place to help prevent looters and rioters," warned one of the messages, which cited a source in the Department of Homeland Security. "He said he got the call last night and was told to pack and be prepared for the call today with his dispatch orders."The messages became so widespread over 48 hours that the White House's National Security Council issued an announcement via Twitter that they were "FAKE."Since that wave of panic, U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Chinese operatives helped push the messages across platforms, according to six U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to publicly discuss intelligence matters. The amplification techniques are alarming to officials because the disinformation showed up as texts on many Americans' cellphones, a tactic that several of the officials said they had not seen before.That has spurred agencies to look at new ways in which China, Russia and other nations are using a range of platforms to spread disinformation during the pandemic, they said.The origin of the messages remains murky. U.S. officials declined to reveal details of the intelligence linking Chinese agents to the dissemination of the disinformation, citing the need to protect their sources and methods for monitoring Beijing's activities.The officials interviewed for this article work in six different agencies. They included both career civil servants and political appointees, and some have spent many years analyzing China. Their broader warnings about China's spread of disinformation are supported by recent findings from outside bipartisan research groups, including the Alliance for Securing Democracy and the Center for a New American Security, which is expected to release a report on the topic next month.Two U.S. officials stressed they did not believe Chinese operatives created the lockdown messages but rather amplified existing ones. Those efforts enabled the messages to catch the attention of enough people that they then spread on their own, with little need for further work by foreign agents. The messages appeared to gain significant traction on Facebook as they were also proliferating through texts, according to an analysis by The New York Times.U.S. officials said the operatives had adopted some of the techniques mastered by Russia-backed trolls, such as creating fake social media accounts to push messages to sympathetic Americans, who in turn unwittingly help spread them.The officials say the Chinese agents also appear to be using texts and encrypted messaging apps, including WhatsApp, as part of their campaigns. It is much harder for researchers and law enforcement officers to track disinformation spread through text messages and encrypted apps than on social media platforms.U.S. intelligence officers are also examining whether spies in China's diplomatic missions in the United States helped spread the fake lockdown messages, a senior U.S. official said. U.S. agencies have recently increased their scrutiny of Chinese diplomats and employees of state-run media organizations. In September, the State Department secretly expelled two employees of the Chinese Embassy in Washington suspected of spying.Other rival powers might have been involved in the dissemination, too. And Americans with prominent online or news media platforms unknowingly helped amplify the messages. Misinformation has proliferated during the pandemic -- in recent weeks, some pro-Trump news outlets have promoted anti-American conspiracy theories, including one that suggests the virus was created in a laboratory in the United States.U.S. officials said China, borrowing from Russia's strategies, has been trying to widen political divisions in the United States. As public dissent simmers over lockdown policies in several states, officials worry it will be easy for China and Russia to amplify the partisan disagreements."It is part of the playbook of spreading division," said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, adding that private individuals have identified some social media bots that helped promote the recent lockdown protests that some fringe conservative groups have nurtured.The propaganda efforts go beyond text messages and social media posts directed at Americans. In China, top officials have issued directives to agencies to engage in a global disinformation campaign around the virus, the U.S. officials said.Some U.S. intelligence officers are especially concerned about disinformation aimed at Europeans that pro-China actors appear to have helped spread. The messages stress the idea of disunity among European nations during the crisis and praise China's "donation diplomacy," U.S. officials said. Left unmentioned are reports of Chinese companies delivering shoddy equipment and European leaders expressing skepticism over China's handling of its outbreak.President Donald Trump himself has shown little concern about China's actions. He has consistently praised the handling of the pandemic by Chinese leaders -- "Much respect!" he wrote on Twitter on March 27. Three days later, he dismissed worries over China's use of disinformation when asked about it on Fox News."They do it and we do it and we call them different things," he said. "Every country does it."Asked about the new accusations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released a statement Tuesday that said, "The relevant statements are complete nonsense and not worth refuting."Zhao Lijian, a ministry spokesman, has separately rebutted persistent accusations by U.S. officials that China has supplied bad information and exhibited a broader lack of transparency during the pandemic."We urge the U.S. to stop political manipulation, get its own house in order and focus more on fighting the epidemic and boosting the economy," Zhao said at a news conference Friday.An Information WarThe United States and China are engaged in a titanic information war over the pandemic, one that has added a new dimension to their global rivalry.Trump and his aides are trying to put the spotlight on China as they face intense criticism over the federal government's widespread failures in responding to the pandemic, which has killed more than 40,000 Americans. President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party are trying to shore up domestic and international support after earlier cover-ups that allowed the virus to spread.As diplomatic tensions rose and Beijing scrambled to control the narrative, the Chinese government last month expelled American journalists for three U.S. news organizations, including The New York Times.The extent to which the United States might be engaging in its own covert information warfare in China is not clear. While the CIA in recent decades has tried to support pro-democracy opposition figures in some countries, Chinese counterintelligence officers eviscerated the agency's network of informants in China about a decade ago, hurting its ability to conduct operations there.Chinese officials accuse Trump and his allies of overtly peddling malicious or bad information, pointing to the president's repeatedly calling the coronavirus a "Chinese virus" or the suggestion by some Republicans that the virus may have originated as a Chinese bioweapon, a theory that U.S. intelligence agencies have since ruled out. (Many Americans have criticized Trump's language as racist.)Republican strategists have decided that bashing China over the virus will shore up support for Trump and other conservative politicians before the November elections.Given the toxic information environment, foreign policy analysts are worried that the Trump administration may politicize intelligence work or make selective leaks to promote an anti-China narrative. Those concerns hover around the speculation over the origin of the virus. U.S. officials in the past have selectively passed intelligence to reporters to shape the domestic political landscape; the most notable instance was under President George W. Bush in the run-up to the Iraq War.But it has been clear for more than a month that the Chinese government is pushing disinformation and anti-American conspiracy theories related to the pandemic. Zhao, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, wrote on Twitter in March that the U.S. Army might have taken the virus to the Chinese city of Wuhan. That message was then amplified by the official Twitter accounts of Chinese embassies and consulates.The state-run China Global Television Network produced a video targeting viewers in the Middle East in which a presenter speaking Arabic asserted that "some new facts" indicated that the pandemic might have originated from American participants in a military sports competition in October in Wuhan. The network has an audience of millions, and the video has had more than 365,000 views on YouTube."What we've seen is the CCP mobilizing its global messaging apparatus, which includes state media as well as Chinese diplomats, to push out selected and localized versions of the same overarching false narratives," Lea Gabrielle, coordinator of the Global Engagement Center in the State Department, said in late March, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.Some analysts say it is core to China's new, aggressive "'Wolf Warrior' diplomacy," a term that refers to a patriotic Chinese military action film series.But Chinese diplomats and operators of official media accounts recently began moving away from overt disinformation, Gabrielle said. That dovetailed with a tentative truce Trump and Xi reached over publicly sniping about the virus.U.S. officials said Chinese agencies are most likely embracing covert propagation of disinformation in its place. Current and former U.S. officials have said they are seeing Chinese operatives adopt online strategies long used by Russian agents -- a phenomenon that also occurred during the Hong Kong protests last year. Some Chinese operatives have promoted disinformation that originated on Russia-aligned websites, they said.And the apparent aim of spreading the fake lockdown messages last month is consistent with a type of disinformation favored by Russian actors -- namely sowing chaos and undermining confidence among Americans in the U.S. government, the officials said."As Beijing and Moscow move to shape the global information environment both independently and jointly through a wide range of digital tools, they have established several diplomatic channels and forums through which they can exchange best practices," said Kristine Lee, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security who researches disinformation from China and Russia."I'd anticipate, as we have seen in recent months, that their mutual learning around these tools will migrate to increasingly cutting-edge capabilities that are difficult to detect but yield maximal payoff in eroding American influence and democratic institutions globally," she added.'There Is No National Lockdown'The amplification of the fake lockdown messages was a notable instance of China's use of covert disinformation messaging, U.S. officials said.A couple of versions of the message circulated widely, according to The Times analysis. The first instance tracked by The Times appeared March 13, as many state officials were enacting social distancing policies. This version said Trump was about to invoke the Stafford Act to shut down the country.The messages generally attributed their contents to a friend in a federal agency -- the Pentagon, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the CIA and so on. Over days, hundreds of identical posts appeared on Facebook and the online message board 4chan, among other places, and spread through texts.Another version appeared March 15, The Times found. This one said Trump was about to deploy the National Guard, military units and emergency responders across the United States while imposing a one-week nationwide quarantine.That same day, the National Security Council announced on Twitter that the messages were fake."There is no national lockdown," it said, adding that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "has and will continue to post the latest guidance."Samantha Vinograd, who was a staff employee at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, replied to the council's tweet, recounting her experience with the disinformation."I received several texts from loved ones about content they received containing various rumors -- they were explicitly asked to share it with their networks," she wrote. "I advised them to do the opposite. Misinfo is not what we need right now -- from any source foreign or domestic."Since January, Americans have shared many other messages that included disinformation: that the virus originated in an Army laboratory at Fort Detrick in Maryland, that it can be killed with garlic water, vitamin C or colloidal silver, that it thrives on ibuprofen. Often the posts are attributed to an unnamed source in the U.S. government or an institution such as Johns Hopkins University or Stanford University.As the messages have sown confusion, it has been difficult to trace their true origins or pin down all the ways in which they have been amplified.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Delaware medical supplier says FEMA seized 400,000 N95 masks; now he's out millions of dollars Posted: 22 Apr 2020 09:32 AM PDT  A Delaware importer says the Federal Emergency Management Agency seized a shipment of N95 masks two weeks ago, accusations FEMA denies.
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| Coronavirus: Why some Nigerians are gloating about Covid-19 Posted: 22 Apr 2020 04:42 PM PDT  Many rich Nigerians, including the political classes, used to go abroad for medical treatment - but no longer.
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| Chinese investors flummoxed by India's new foreign investment rules Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:15 AM PDT  India's plan to screen foreign direct investments from neighbouring countries has Chinese firms concerned that such scrutiny will affect their projects and delay deals in one of Asia's most lucrative investment markets. The tougher rules were not a surprise, as other countries are also on guard against fire sales of corporate assets during the coronavirus outbreak, but that they apply to investments from countries that share a land border with India raised eyebrows. Unlike neighbouring Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan, China has major investments in India.
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| Remdesivir Clinical Trial in China Shows No Benefit for Coronavirus Patients Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:18 PM PDT  A much anticipated clinical trial for remdesivir, an antiviral medicine from Gilead Sciences, showed the drug failed to improve the condition of coronavirus patients, according to preliminary study results accidentally posted online.The drug's trial, which took place in China, indicated that remdesivir did not improve the symptoms of patients or diminish the virus's presence in the bloodstream, according to the early results mistakenly published by the World Health Organization."A draft document was provided by the authors to WHO and inadvertently posted on the website and taken down as soon as the mistake was noticed," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said. "The manuscript is undergoing peer review and we are waiting for a final version before WHO comments."The drug was "not associated with a difference in time to clinical improvement" according to the summary of the study."In this study of hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19 that was terminated prematurely, remdesivir was not associated with clinical or virological benefits," the summary reads.After a month, 13.9 percent of the patients receiving remdesivir infusions had died, while only 12.8 percent of the control patients had died, a difference small enough that it is not statistically significant.The study, which involved daily infusions of remdesivir for 10 days, attempted to demonstrate that patients receiving remdesivir improved more within 28 days than the patients who did not receive it.The California-based biopharmaceutical company has challenged the negative characterization of the study's preliminary data and said there is still room for hope in the benefits of remdesivir for coronavirus patients."The post included inappropriate characterizations of the study," Gilead representative Amy Flood said. The study, she argued, did not observe enough patients and so does not "enable statistically meaningful conclusions."Gilead's study originally planned to observe 453 patients but ended up with only 158 patients receiving remdesivir and 79 control patients."Trends in the data suggest a potential benefit for remdesivir, particularly among patients treated early in disease," Flood insisted.
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| After months of norovirus outbreaks at sea, a smoothie is implicated Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:21 AM PDT  CDC investigators finally traced the norovirus - not coronavirus - illnesses last year back to a smoothie made with frozen raspberries.
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| Trump administration allegedly removed doctor developing COVID-19 vaccine for refusing to back hydroxychloroquine Posted: 22 Apr 2020 02:21 PM PDT  Dr. Rick Bright, the federal official formerly leading coronavirus vaccine development, says he was ousted this week for putting science over "politics and cronyism."Bright was removed from his post as director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Stat News reported earlier this week. Bright confirmed the news on Wednesday with a scathing statement, specifically saying he was ousted for not backing President Trump's preferred yet unproven treatment for COVID-19: hydroxychloroquine.In his statement, Bright said he was transferred to a "less impactful position at the National Institute of Health," and he "believes" it was because he insisted the federal government funnel congressional funding "into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines, and other technologies that lack scientific merit." Specifically, Bright "limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which clearly lack scientific merit" he said in his statement. "Sidelining me ... and putting politics and cronyism ahead of science puts lives at risk," Bright continued.> Here is Dr. Rick Bright's full statement, just emailed out by the law firm Katz, Marshall & Banks which will be representing him as he files a whistleblower complaint. > (First reported by @maggieNYT) pic.twitter.com/oQ3j9Z17SK> > — Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) April 22, 2020Trump has repeatedly touted hydroxychloroquine as a "game changer" in treating COVID-19, even though it has proved ineffective and even deadly for some patients.More stories from theweek.com Trump adviser suggests reopening economy by putting 'everybody in a space outfit' Cuomo rips McConnell's 'blue state bailout' by noting 'your state is living on the money that we generate' Small music venues ask Congress for special consideration in coronavirus aid
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| North Korean Capital Sees ‘Panic Buying’ of Food, NK News Says Posted: 22 Apr 2020 09:03 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Consumers in North Korea's capital this week have been "panic buying" food staples, causing some store shelves to empty, according to a news service that specializes in the country.The purchases may be due to stricter coronavirus measures on the way for Pyongyang and don't appear related to reports this week that leader Kim Jong Un may be seriously ill, NK News reported, citing people who live in Pyongyang and were able to communicate outside the country. Shortages were initially limited to imported fruit and vegetables and then moved on to other goods, it said.Radio Free Asia also reported last week that the prices of food staples in North Korea were rising sharply because of panic buying.North Korea closed its borders in January when coronavirus cases in neighboring China began to skyrocket. Kim's regime has said it has no confirmed infections from the virus but the U.S. is "fairly certain" it has cases because of a noticeable lack of military activity, General Robert Abrams, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, told reporters in a teleconference briefing in March.Food shortages are common in North Korea, which is one of the world's poorest states. In the 1990s, a famine killed as much as 10% of the population, according to some estimates.The virus could make things worse. The United Nations' World Food Program warned this week that economic hardship caused by the pandemic may lead to starvation in the developing world. The WFP, which has operations in North Korea, has said about 40% of the population is undernourished, adding "food insecurity and malnutrition are widespread."Kim was conspicuously absent from birthday celebrations on April 15 of his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung. He has not been seen since a politburo meeting on April 11, raising speculation about his condition.The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim on Wednesday sent a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Letters of this sort are reported frequently.U.S. officials said Monday they were told Kim was in critical condition after undergoing cardiovascular surgery last week and they were unsure of his current health. Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's office said that Kim was conducting "normal activities" in a rural part of the country assisted by close aides and no special movements were detected.The health of North Korea's leader is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the isolated state, known only to a few people in its inner circle. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he doesn't know about Kim's health, adding that he might reach out to check on him.General John Hyten, the vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Washington on Wednesday he couldn't confirm or deny the reports, adding "I assume that Kim Jong-un is still in full control of the Korean nuclear forces and the Korean military forces. I have no reason not to assume that."(Updates with comments from Hyten)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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| Without a single COVID-19 death, Vietnam starts easing its coronavirus lockdown Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:03 AM PDT  With fewer than 300 infections and no deaths, the communist-ruled nation offers an unusual model for containing the coronavirus.
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| When will Disney World and Disneyland reopen? One analyst predicts it may not be until 2021 Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:41 AM PDT  A financial analyst predicted Disney parks won't reopen in 2020 given new health precautions, the lack of travel and crowd aversion.
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| Delta's CEO said he would support an 'immunity passport' program or other steps to jumpstart travel as the airline reports its first quarterly loss in more than 5 years Posted: 22 Apr 2020 12:38 PM PDT  Delta reported a $534 million loss in the first quarter of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and warned of a worse second quarter.
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| UN alarmed by migrants caught in no-man's land at borders Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:48 PM PDT |
| Leaked Data From a Key Remdesivir Study Suggest the Potential Coronavirus Drug Is Not Effective Posted: 23 Apr 2020 03:38 PM PDT  Researchers in China report on their experience with remdesivir, which differs from that of scientists in the US so far
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| Home of 'person of interest' searched in Kristin Smart's 1996 disappearance Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:42 AM PDT  Smart, 19, vanished in May 1996 while returning to her dorm at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
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| India rape: Six-year-old victim's eyes damaged in attack Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:45 AM PDT  Police in Madhya Pradesh say the child was grabbed near her home and subjected to a horrific attack.
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| In win for Trump, U.S. Supreme Court makes deporting immigrants for crimes easier Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:15 AM PDT  The court ruled 5-4 to uphold a lower court decision that found a legal permanent resident from Jamaica named Andre Martello Barton ineligible to have his deportation canceled under a U.S. law that lets some longtime legal residents avoid expulsion. Barton, a 42-year-old car repair shop manager and father of four, was targeted for deportation after criminal convictions in Georgia for drug and gun crimes. The decision could affect thousands of immigrants with criminal convictions - many for minor offenses - who reside legally in the United States.
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| Joe Biden campaign refunds donation from comedian Louis CK Posted: 23 Apr 2020 08:31 AM PDT  Former vice-president Joe Biden has returned a donation from Louis CK.Mr CK's $2,800 donation was not welcome by the Democratic hopeful, with a campaign spokesman saying it has since been refunded and would be reflected in the next report filed to the Federal Election Commission in May.
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| China suspends consular visits to detained Canadian pair over coronavirus Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:15 AM PDT  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, on the 500th day of China's controversial detention of two Canadians, that consular visits had been blocked due to a coronavirus lockdown of prisons. "We have been working extremely diligently on the issue of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who have been detained for 500 days in China," Trudeau told a daily briefing. Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, speaking during a video event hosted by the Montreal International Relations Council (CORIM), described the detention as "500 days too many."
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| Judge suspends ex-Trump campaign aide's prison sentence over coronavirus Posted: 22 Apr 2020 08:01 AM PDT  A lawyer for Gates asked the court to allow him to serve the rest of his sentence under home confinement because of possible exposure to the coronavirus.
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| Members of congress advocate for coronavirus relief on behalf of those who have contracted the virus Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:18 PM PDT  During a speech on the House floor, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., dedicated a coronavirus relief bill to her sister, who she said is "dying in a hospital" of COVID-19. Later Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., advocated for the passage of the legislation on behalf of a 5-year-old who died from the coronavirus.
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