| Trump touts chloroquine for 'immediate' use treating coronavirus, but FDA wants to see the data first Posted: 19 Mar 2020 11:17 AM PDT  President Trump said Thursday that the antimalarial drug chloroquine had shown "very encouraging early results" treating COVID-19 and will be rolled out "almost immediately" to help fight the growing coronavirus outbreak. But FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn cautioned that chloroquine had not yet been approved for treating COVID-19.
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| Army Corp of Engineers races to provide 10,000 hospital rooms for coronavirus response Posted: 20 Mar 2020 03:30 PM PDT  The Army Corps of Engineers is planning to create more than 10,000 ICU-type hospital rooms in hotels, dormitories and other available buildings in New York City over the next few weeks, its commander said Friday.
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| Hundreds of U.S. flights canceled after air traffic coronavirus cases Posted: 20 Mar 2020 07:26 AM PDT  U.S. airlines have canceled hundreds of flights at three major U.S. airports this week after a series of coronavirus cases involving air traffic control personnel. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily closed the air traffic control tower at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York early Friday before reopening it around 11:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT). The FAA also shuttered part of the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center for cleaning after workers tested positive for the coronavirus.
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| Coronavirus ended any last hopes of a Bernie Sanders comeback Posted: 19 Mar 2020 06:53 AM PDT  It's been real, hasn't it? After 13 months of campaigning, during which time he was briefly but almost unanimously considered the frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, it looks as if Bernie Sanders is finally calling it quits. On Wednesday afternoon his staff shot down an erroneous report that he had formally dropped out; it looks as if he'll wait to make that announcement sometime before the next primaries three weeks from now. To many observers it has been unclear why the junior senator from Vermont remained in the race after losing Michigan and Washington state two weeks ago, a defeat he followed with kind words about his fellow candidates and half-hearted conciliatory gestures towards the DNC.The math for Sanders has looked all but impossible for a long time. The only hope that remained was some kind of mythical 1920s barnstorming campaign across the country — a final quixotic assault on the fortresses of the Democratic establishment. With this now out of the question and his only opportunities for shoring up his base and attempting to poach uneasy Biden supporters limited to YouTube, it is easy to understand why would finally give up. It is impossible to imagine terms more favorable to Sanders' only remaining opponent than a nation-wide ban on public appearances coupled with the directive that persons over the age of 60 keep to themselves.Plenty of words (though almost certainly not as many as there might have been if the de facto end of the primary season had not coincided with the coronavirus pandemic) will be written about Sanders's brief rise and more or less instantaneous fall. Some observers will insist that Sanders lost largely because party insiders conspired against him, something that is belied by his poor showing even in states that he won, in some cases handily, in 2016. Others will give the credit to coronavirus, even though Biden's post-Nevada comeback had been secured long before this disease had established itself at the forefront of the American public imagination.This is not to suggest that at the margins the DNC did not do everything in its power to prevent a Sanders nomination. The virtually unprecedented speed with which the remains of the largest field of technically plausible candidates in the history of these contests dropped out and endorsed Biden tells us everything we need to know about whom the party wanted at the top of the ticket. But this consolidation would not have taken place if the will of core Democratic primary voters, not just in the South but in states as far ranging as Massachusetts and Idaho, had not already been made clear.What will become of Sanders' movement now that his presidential aspirations have been forestalled once again? Does he really represent the future of the Democratic party? A somewhat lesser-noticed contest on Tuesday hints at an answer. Whatever her objections to the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-all, there is one issue that matters more to Nancy Pelosi than anything else: abortion. This was made clear on Tuesday when Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois, an eight-term socially conservative Democratic incumbent and product of the old Chicago political machine, lost his primary race to Marie Newman, a progressive challenger endorsed by Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and numerous other high-profile left-wing politicians. There may not be much room for radical economic views in the Democratic Party, but in the coming realignment there is none at all for folks like Lipinski, who received virtually no support from his party's establishment. If progressives want to make inroads with the DNC, they must do what Sanders did not in 2016 (and did only half-heartedly in 2020) and put social issues at the forefront of their messaging.This brings us to the other question about Sanders and his supporters: whether they will turn out for Biden in the fall. Here it is worth remembering that in some states (including Michigan) in 2016, the Green Party candidate Jill Stein won a share of the vote wider than Trump's eventual margin of victory. Sanders himself will almost certainly endorse Biden, just as he endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016. Will this make a difference? Who knows.November seems very remote, longer away, indeed, than it felt two months ago. While it is possible at this stage to talk about how the general election might go — the actual range of possibilities is not unlimited — there are more pressing questions to be answered. If the most pessimistic forecasts prove correct, it is likely that the political conventions scheduled by both of our major political parties for this summer will have to be canceled, postponed, or held in what would almost certainly be the largest, most feedback-laden video calls in the history of Google Hangouts. For this small unhoped-for mercy, Sanders' supporters should be grateful. The reality of Biden's victory will not be setting in for a while.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com America has one of the world's worst coronavirus responses FDA clarifies that no drugs are approved to treat COVID-19 after Trump names 2 contenders Lindsey Graham is reportedly trying to talk Trump out of coronavirus relief checks for Americans
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| A US Navy special warfare operator has tested positive for the coronavirus Posted: 20 Mar 2020 02:57 PM PDT  Fellow service members who were in contact with the sailor have been quarantined at the base "out of an abundance of caution."
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| Father takes his own life in ICE family detention centre Posted: 19 Mar 2020 07:06 AM PDT  A 27-year-old Honduran father has taken his own life while being held in a family detention centre by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Texas.According to RAICES, a Texas nonprofit organisation providing legal services to immigrants, the man had been fighting for his family's freedom from custody. He had been detained at the Karnes detention centre, which has been through a series of chaotic changes since the Trump administration ramped up its programme of family detentions.
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| Sen. Kelly Loeffler Dumped Millions in Stock After Coronavirus Briefing Posted: 19 Mar 2020 05:49 PM PDT  The Senate's newest member sold off seven figures' worth of stock holdings in the days and weeks after a private, all-senators meeting on the novel coronavirus that subsequently hammered U.S. equities.Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) reported the first sale of stock jointly owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the very day that her committee, the Senate Health Committee, hosted a private, all-senators briefing from administration officials, including the CDC director and Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on the coronavirus. "Appreciate today's briefing from the President's top health officials on the novel coronavirus outbreak," she tweeted about the briefing at the time.That first transaction was a sale of stock in the company Resideo Technologies valued at between $50,001 and $100,000. The company's stock price has fallen by more than half since then, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average overall has shed approximately 10,000 points, dropping about a third of its value.It was the first of 29 stock transactions that Loeffler and her husband made through mid-February, all but two of which were sales. One of Loeffler's two purchases was stock worth between $100,000 and $250,000 in Citrix, a technology company that offers teleworking software and which has seen a small bump in its stock price since Loeffler bought in as a result of coronavirus-induced market turmoil.Loeffler's office did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast on the transactions and whether they were prompted or informed by information shared at that late January briefing. It's illegal for members of Congress to trade on non-public information gleaned through their official duties. Late Thursday night, she did offer a statement, tweeting: "This is a ridiculous and baseless attack. I do not make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband's knowledge or involvement."As confirmed in the periodic transaction report to Senate Ethics, I was informed of these purchases and sales on February 16, 2020—three weeks after they were made."In the weeks after her spate of stock trades, Loeffler sought to downplay the public-health and financial threats posed by the coronavirus. "Democrats have dangerously and intentionally misled the American people on Coronavirus readiness," she tweeted on Feb. 28. "Here's the truth: @realDonaldTrump & his administration are doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.""Concerned about coronavirus?" she tweeted on March 10. "Remember this: The consumer is strong, the economy is strong, & jobs are growing, which puts us in the best economic position to tackle COVID19 & keep Americans safe."Loeffler is the second known senator to sell off large stock holdings between that Jan. 24 briefing and the dramatic drop in stock-market indices over the last week. The Center for Responsive Politics reported on Thursday that Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, sold between $500,000 and $1.5 million in stock in February, shortly before markets tanked—and before Burr privately warned of the havoc that coronavirus was poised to wreak.Burr lashed out at National Public Radio on Thursday over its report revealing those private comments in a series of tweets that did not mention his stock trades. Burr was one of just one of three senators who voted against legislation in 2012 banning so-called congressional insider trading.As it happens, Burr and Loeffler sat next to each other on the Senate floor during the chamber's impeachment trial in January.Loeffler assumed office on Jan. 6 after having been appointed to the seat vacated by retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson. Between then and Jan. 23, she did not report a single stock transaction from accounts owned by her individually or by her and her husband jointly.Between Jan. 24 and Feb. 14, by contrast, Loeffler reported selling stock jointly owned with her husband worth between $1,275,000 and $3,100,000, according to transaction reports filed with Senate ethics officials. On Feb. 14, she also purchased the Citrix stock and another $100,000 to $250,000 in technology company Oracle, which has seen its share price decline by more than 18 percent since then.The 15 stocks that Loeffler reported selling have lost more than a third of their value, on average, since she reported offloading them. She initially reported many of the transactions as sales of stock owned by her husband. Last week she amended the filing to note that most of them were jointly owned.The full scope of Loeffler's portfolio and its particular holdings is not yet known. Senators are required to regularly disclose that information, but in January she requested an extension from Senate ethics officials. A full accounting of her finances will not be public until May.When Loeffler assumed office, she immediately became the wealthiest member of Congress. The Atlanta businesswoman, whose husband is the chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, has a fortune estimated at $500 million.From the beginning of her tenure, she has faced scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest. Her position on a Senate subcommittee that oversees futures markets "gives Kelly Loeffler a direct position in overseeing her and her husband's financial enterprises," Craig Holman, lobbyist for the ethics group Public Citizen, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution in February. "I find it utterly irresponsible the Senate would choose to put Loeffler on that committee, given her conflicts of interest." Unlike other senators, Loeffler's finances are directly tied to her electoral fate. She has pledged to spend $20 million on her bid to hold on to her seat when she faces voters for the first time this November. For more exclusive stories, sharp analysis, and insider interviews, become a Beast Inside member here.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Iran judicial authority says liaising with France over prisoner swap Posted: 20 Mar 2020 03:07 PM PDT  Iran's judicial authority said Friday Tehran was liaising with Paris over the release of a French prisoner held in the Islamic republic after France released an Iranian threatened with extradition to the US. The Iranian, Jallal Rohollahnejad, "has been freed today", the Iranian judiciary's news agency Mizan Online reported, without disclosing the identity of the French detainee. Iranian state TV later Friday said he was already on a flight back to Tehran.
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| World Feared China Over Coronavirus. Now the Tables Are Turned. Posted: 19 Mar 2020 11:52 AM PDT  The fear and suspicion directed at China in the devastating early days of the coronavirus outbreak have made a 180-degree turn: It is the West that now frightens Asia and the rest of the world.With Italy, Spain and the United States surging in contagion, many countries in Asia that suffered through the pandemic first seem to have wrestled it into submission, particularly China, and are now fighting to protect against a new wave of infection from outside.Across Asia, travelers from Europe and the United States are being barred or forced into quarantine. Gyms, private clinics and restaurants in Hong Kong warn them to stay away. Even Chinese parents who proudly sent their children to study in New York or London are now mailing them masks and sanitizer or rushing them home on flights that can cost $25,000."We came back because we think going back to China is safer than staying in New York," said Farrah Lyu, a 24-year-old recent college graduate who flew home to eastern China with her roommate this month.The reversal of fortune would have been unimaginable a few weeks ago. At the time, China was the outbreak's global epicenter, with people dying by the hundreds each day.But Thursday, it reported no new local cases for the first time since the outbreak began. Its uncompromising response -- locking down cities, shutting factories, testing thousands -- seems to have brought China's contagion under control.Now the pandemic that originated in China is migrating and starting to recirculate. Across Asia, where Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea successfully grappled with the virus early, alongside China, there is a growing sense of fear and dismay. Much of the region looks west and asks: We're getting it right -- why can't you?For President Donald Trump, the answer has been deflection. Facing a torrent of criticism for playing down the epidemic in its crucial early stages, he has been trying to push blame back to China, worsening existing tensions between the two superpowers. Despite warnings that he is encouraging xenophobia, Trump has repeatedly used the term "China virus" in what critics see as an effort to distance himself from the problem.Beijing has retaliated by falsely suggesting that the virus started with U.S. troops, while portraying itself as a heroic warrior against the contagion and a model for the world.Especially in China and the Chinese diaspora, there is a growing demand for recognition of the hard work and sacrifices that tamed the outbreak, and a desire to tell the world what has gone right and wrong, and why."People in Western countries said China's response was too authoritarian, didn't respect people's democracy and freedom enough," said Yin Choi Lam, a Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant owner in Melbourne, Australia. "Now compare it to places like Italy, where the death rate is so high, or America, where no one knows how many people are sick. Would you rather have freedom or keep your life?"Similar arguments are flooding Chinese social media. One popular comic shows China sick as the world watches behind a glass barrier, followed by a panel with an angry, healthy China behind the glass as other countries play and tussle without masks like unruly children.Some of the heaviest scorn, however, has been saved for those who return to China and question the country's harsh approach. A video that went viral this week showed a Chinese-Australian woman being confronted by police in Beijing after she evaded quarantine in order to exercise.Users of the microblogging platform Weibo called for her to be sent back to Australia.Critics both inside and outside China note that the country's authoritarian response is not the only or the best way to fight an epidemic. Officials kept the virus secret for weeks, allowing it to spread uncontrolled in central China, then forced people to remain in overwhelmed cities.By contrast, South Korea, a vibrant capitalist democracy, along with Taiwan and Singapore, have managed the virus with transparency, efficiency and solidarity, while preserving freedom of movement.Part of what has set some Asian countries apart is experience, said Leighanne Yuh, a historian at Korea University."From the outset of the epidemic, South Koreans took the situation very seriously, perhaps because of their previous experiences with SARS and MERS," she said. "Wearing masks, washing our hands, social distancing -- these were all familiar actions."In the United States and Europe, there was more hesitation. And now they are hubs of infection sending disease across the globe. In Australia, the United States is now the leading source of coronavirus cases, followed by Italy, then China.Infections in China are also coming from outside. Officials said Thursday that 34 new cases had been confirmed among people who had arrived from elsewhere.Many people in China now want their government to completely block access from the United States and other hot spots in the same way other countries suspended arrivals from China."I hope China can tighten its national borders and significantly reduce the number of people entering the country," said Tang Xiaozhao, a plastic surgery manager in Shanghai. "Governments and people of most countries disappoint me."In Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese territory has often acted as a bridge between China and the West, the shifting sense of angst can be seen in warnings from businesses where people gather.One online warning, posted by a pub called Hemingway's DB, tells expats that they will be reported to the police if they violate a new official requirement for 14 days of self-isolation upon returning from overseas. And a large fitness chain emailed customers to tell anyone who has returned from abroad since March 10, or lives with someone who did: "Kindly do not visit."For those with family members in the United States or Europe, there is also a frantic rush to help. On Wednesday at Hong Kong's main post office, people lined up to send boxes of masks and alcohol wipes."During SARS, my mother drove from Canada to the United States to buy masks, so I had to send some back to her," said Eric Chan, 45, a financier.He was down to his last box in Hong Kong but had gone from pharmacy to pharmacy until he snagged a few boxes for his mother and siblings at inflated prices.His own face was covered -- most people in Hong Kong are still wearing masks.The city, with a population of 7 million, has avoided total shutdowns, even as the virus peaked in mainland China. But this week Hong Kong moved to tighten its borders as it recorded a significant uptick in infections, most of them imported. Authorities are investigating five cases linked to Lan Kwai Fong, a night life area that is thronged with expatriates on weekends.Many of those who recently returned to China might have predicted just such a cluster. They see in the United States and Europe a greater urge to go it alone -- and studies have found that Americans and Europeans tend to focus on the individual rather than what's interconnected.Lyu, 24, and her roommate in New York, Tianran Qian, 23 -- who flew back to their homes in Hangzhou, in eastern China -- said they found the U.S. response disorienting. They had both been reading about outbreak clusters around the world for weeks, and for a time they stayed inside and wore masks as they would have at home.But their American friends continued to socialize, describing the virus as little more than the flu."On your phone, you see what's happening around the world, in Japan and Korea, and when you go into real life, people act as if it's a normal day," Lyu said, describing what it was like in New York before she left."They either don't get it or they just ignore it," Qian said. "People were so indifferent."At home in China, they said, they felt safer. They self-quarantined in their rooms, with their parents leaving food and novels at their bedroom doors.Their groceries were delivered and even their trash was collected and treated by hospital employees in hazmat suits."Everything was planned," Lyu said. "We don't have to worry about everything."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Migrants fear getting stuck in Mexico as Trump hints at border restrictions Posted: 19 Mar 2020 10:16 AM PDT  The threat of shutting down access to the U.S. asylum process for thousands of migrants waiting in Mexico stoked anxiety in border communities.
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| 'This system is doomed': Doctors, nurses sound off in NBC News coronavirus survey Posted: 20 Mar 2020 02:34 PM PDT  More than 250 health care workers responded to a social media survey seeking first-person accounts from those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Brazil coronavirus cases top 600, diplomatic spat with China bubbles Posted: 19 Mar 2020 09:38 AM PDT  Confirmed coronavirus cases in Brazil surged past 600 on Thursday, more than doubling in two days, as a diplomatic spat over the disease's origins between President Jair Bolsonaro's son and the Chinese ambassador threatened relations with Brazil's top trading partner. The president sidestepped this and other controversies in his weekly Facebook broadcast on Thursday evening, saying that the coronavirus outbreak in Brazil should peak in three to four months, and the country will return to normal in six to seven months. After blaming the global spread of the virus on China, the son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, attempted to defuse the situation on Thursday, saying he stood by his criticism of the government in Beijing but did not intend to offend the Chinese people.
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| Lebanon FM summons US envoy over American being flown out Posted: 20 Mar 2020 09:01 AM PDT  Lebanon's foreign minister summoned the U.S. ambassador Friday after an American on trial in Beirut was taken out of the country by a U.S. warplane — a move that the powerful militant group Hezbollah called a "blatant violation" of Lebanese sovereignty and laws. The Lebanese-American man, Amer Fakhoury, was ordered released Monday by a judge in Lebanon because more than 10 years had passed since he allegedly tortured prisoners at a jail run by an Israel-backed Lebanese militia. Fakhoury has denied the charges.
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| Trump would agree to block executives from using stimulus funds for stock buybacks and bonuses Posted: 19 Mar 2020 10:25 AM PDT  During a coronavirus task force briefing on Thursday, President Trump said he would agree to provisions that would prohibit companies from using stimulus funds for executive bonuses or stock buybacks.
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| COVID-19 hit South Korea and the U.S. on the same day. Here's what Korea did right. Posted: 18 Mar 2020 10:25 PM PDT  The U.S. and South Korea both confirmed their first cases of new coronavirus on Jan. 21. South Korea's epidemic seems to have already peaked, while the U.S. is girding for public health, financial, and social crises. The key to South Korea's relative success is testing, and South Korea's aggressive testing regime — "South Korea as of Tuesday was testing up to 20,000 patients a day, more than half the total of U.S. patients who have been tested since the outbreak began," The Wall Street Journal notes — was not an accident.On Jan. 27, with four confirmed cases in the country, "South Korean health officials summoned representatives from more than 20 medical companies from their lunar New Year celebrations to a conference room tucked inside Seoul's busy train station," where a top infectious disease official "delivered an urgent message: South Korea needed an effective test immediately to detect the novel coronavirus," Reuters reports. "He promised the companies swift regulatory approval." A week later, South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved one company's diagnostic test and gave the green light to another company's test on Feb. 12.South Korea has tested more than 290,000 people; the U.S., with about 321 million more people, has tested just 71,000, according to the COVID Tracking Project. "South Korea took a risk, releasing briskly vetted tests, then circling back later to spot check their effectiveness," Reuters reports. "With many more tests in hand, health officials were well armed to attack a fast-moving virus and aggressively track down people who may have been exposed. This testing-backed offensive helped South Korea reduce the number of new cases over a matter of weeks, serving as a model for other countries grappling with the pandemic."In the U.S., the CDC had the only tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration until the FDA loosened its criteria on Feb. 29, and the CDC's first test was faulty. The FDA is now considering approving the South Korean tests as the U.S. struggles to meet demand.South Korea's response is a testament to leadership and foresight, but it was hard-won. South Korea was hit badly by MERS in 2015 — 186 cases, more than anywhere outside the Middle East — and the government was criticized for its slow, secretive response. "We can't ever forget the incident," Lee Sang-won at South Korea's CDC told Reuters. "It is engraved in our mind."More stories from theweek.com Lindsey Graham is reportedly trying to talk Trump out of coronavirus relief checks for Americans FDA clarifies that no drugs are approved to treat COVID-19 after Trump names 2 contenders Trump administration asks states to delay releasing unemployment numbers
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| Delhi Nirbhaya rape death penalty: What do hangings mean for India's women? Posted: 19 Mar 2020 06:24 PM PDT  The victim was dubbed Nirbhaya, 'the fearless one', but that's not how most women really feel.
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| Coronavirus: CDC advises health workers to use homemade masks or bandanas amid shortages as ‘last resort’ Posted: 19 Mar 2020 02:59 PM PDT  As healthcare workers and hospitals face shortages across the United States amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has released new guidelines for using face masks.Shortages in surgical and respirator masks started after citizens panic bought boxes in stores and online so they could wear when out. But this decision has since left hospitals short of the necessary facial guard.
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| McConnell Drops Phase-Three Coronavirus Relief Plan, Includes Cash Payments for Americans Posted: 19 Mar 2020 03:32 PM PDT  Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and Senate Republicans released the text for their massive phase-three coronavirus relief package Thursday, outlining a trillion-dollar plan that includes direct payments of $1,200 per person and $2,400 for couples to help offset economic losses amid the growing pandemic.McConnell said the "Coronavirus Aid, Relief, & Economic Security Act" is focused on "four urgent priorities": directly assisting Americans, providing relief for small businesses, stabilizing the economy, and supporting America's healthcare professionals and patients during the outbreak."The Senate is not going anywhere until we act. Senate Republicans are here and ready to work with our Democratic colleagues and the Administration to get results as soon as possible. Let's get this done for the country," McConnell tweeted to announce the bill.> The Senate is not going anywhere until we act. Senate Republicans are here and ready to work with our Democratic colleagues and the Administration to get results as soon as possible.> > Let's get this done for the country. https://t.co/E8ZSyDrISN> > -- Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) March 19, 2020Earlier Thursday, he said in a speech on the Senate floor that "Senate Republicans want to put cash in the hands of the American people.McConnell and the White House warmed to the idea of cash payments after proposals from Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) — who called for monthly payments to working families below a certain income bracket — and Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) and Mitt Romney (R., Utah), who both proposed direct cash payments of a fixed amount."Americans need cash now and the president wants to get cash now," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who recently has been involved heavily in negotiations on the Hill, said at a White House press conference on Tuesday."We're going to get out of this quickly," Mnuchin told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo on Thursday. He revealed the goal was to get the money out in three weeks, with another round of checks coming in six weeks if the crisis is still ongoing.Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) had been opposed to the measure, but told reporters he could support "a check as a gap-filler."The bill reveals that the size of the checks, which will be based on 2018 tax returns, gradually diminishes for those earning more than $75,000, and phase out completely for those earning over $99,000.Individuals with no federal income tax liability, would see smaller benefits of a minimum of $600 for individuals and $1,200 for married couples, which the Senate Finance Committee said "ensures relief gets to low-income seniors and disabled veterans."McConnell's plan also creates $208 billion in loans and loan guarantees to at-risk industries, including $50 billion for commercial airlines and $8 billion for air cargo carriers, as well as $150 billion for other eligible businesses.
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| Behind the urge to stockpile: First masks, then toilet paper, now cash? Posted: 19 Mar 2020 09:07 AM PDT  Experts say your savings should be in an insured, well-secured bank vault, not under a mattress.
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| Exhausted Dutch minister leading coronavirus fight quits Posted: 19 Mar 2020 09:33 AM PDT  Medical Care Minister Bruno Bruins, 56, fell to the floor in parliament on Wednesday while taking questions. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Bruins had quit because it was unclear how long it would take for him to recover. "The nature of the crisis is such that it demands a minister who can be ready to go full throttle immediately," Rutte said during a televised news conference.
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| Trump announces U.S.-Mexico border closure to stem spread of coronavirus Posted: 20 Mar 2020 11:00 AM PDT  The U.S.-Mexico border will be closed to nonessential travel to further help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, President Donald Trump announced Friday.
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| Mexico's deadly toll of environment and land defenders catalogued in report Posted: 20 Mar 2020 03:00 AM PDT  At least 83 murdered in 2012-2019, with a third of attacks targeting opponents of energy mega-projectsAt least 83 Mexican land and environment defenders were murdered between 2012 and 2019, while hundreds more were threatened, beaten and criminalized, according to a new report.Latin America is the most dangerous continent in the world to defend environmental, land and human rights, with Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala ranking worst.In Mexico, this targeted violence has taken hold in the context of widespread impunity and escalating generalized violence since the ill-fated war on drugs was launched in 2006.Calderón sends in the armyMexico's "war on drugs" began in late 2006 when the president at the time, Felipe Calderón, ordered thousands of troops onto the streets in response to an explosion of horrific violence in his native state of Michoacán.Calderón hoped to smash the drug cartels with his heavily militarized onslaught but the approach was counter-productive and exacted a catastrophic human toll. As Mexico's military went on the offensive, the body count sky-rocketed to new heights and tens of thousands were forced from their homes, disappeared or killed.Kingpin strategySimultaneously Calderón also began pursuing the so-called "kingpin strategy" by which authorities sought to decapitate the cartels by targeting their leaders.That policy resulted in some high-profile scalps – notably Arturo Beltrán Leyva who was gunned down by Mexican marines in 2009 – but also did little to bring peace. In fact, many believe such tactics served only to pulverize the world of organized crime, creating even more violence as new, less predictable factions squabbled for their piece of the pie.Under Calderón's successor, Enrique Peña Nieto, the government's rhetoric on crime softened as Mexico sought to shed its reputation as the headquarters of some the world's most murderous mafia groups.But Calderón's policies largely survived, with authorities targeting prominent cartel leaders such as Sinaloa's Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.When "El Chapo" was arrested in early 2016, Mexico's president bragged: "Mission accomplished". But the violence went on. By the time Peña Nieto left office in 2018, Mexico had suffered another record year of murders, with nearly 36,000 people slain."Hugs not bullets"The leftwing populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador took power in December, promising a dramatic change in tactics. López Obrador, or Amlo as most call him, vowed to attack the social roots of crime, offering vocational training to more than 2.3 million disadvantaged young people at risk of being ensnared by the cartels. "It will be virtually impossible to achieve peace without justice and [social] welfare," Amlo said, promising to slash the murder rate from an average of 89 killings per day with his "hugs not bullets" doctrine.Amlo also pledged to chair daily 6am security meetings and create a 60,000 strong "National Guard". But those measures have yet to pay off, with the new security force used mostly to hunt Central American migrants.Mexico now suffers an average of about 96 murders per day, with nearly 29,000 people killed since Amlo took office.The situation for defenders was exacerbated by energy reforms in 2013, since when scores of renewable energy mega-projects have been imposed on rural and indigenous communities without adequate consultation or compensation.Almost one in three attacks since 2012 targeted defenders opposing energy projects, especially wind and hydroelectric power, according to the Mexican Centre for Environmental Rights (known by its Spanish acronym, Cemed)."The data shows persistent structural violence against defenders of environmental rights in our country, which prevents them having the freedom and security to exercise their right to defend human rights," said a spokesperson for Cemed, which tracks attacks against communities opposing projects threatening forests, water sources and land rights.The violence is spread across the country, but defenders in the southern state of Oaxaca have faced most attacks over the past eight years.Oaxaca, one of the country's poorest states with the highest proportion of indigenous peoples, is rich in natural resources such as minerals, rivers, forests and natural gas. The violence has been particularly marked in the biodiverse isthmus of Tehuantepec – a narrow land mass between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean where 28 mega wind farms now generate electricity.The overall number of attacks in 2019 was the lowest since 2012. Nevertheless, 15 defenders were murdered and at least 25 others were threatened, harassed or subjected to smear campaigns.This included the double murder of the indigenous Tarahumara defender Otilia Martínez Cruz and his son Chaparro Cruz, who were shot dead on 1 May 2019 – a year after another family member, Julián Carrillo, was killed.More than a dozen Tarahumara defenders have been killed in recent years for trying to stop the illegal deforestation of their ancestral land in the Sierra Madre, a biodiverse mountain range in northern Mexico. They include Isidro Baldenegro López, winner of the prestigious Goldman environmental prize, who was shot dead in 2017. The forests have long been targeted by illegal loggers abetted by corrupt officials and landowners.In 2019, state officials such as police officers, national guard and local prosecutors, were responsible for 40% of incidents registered by Cemed.
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| Top coronavirus doctor puts head in hands when Trump mentions 'Deep State Department' at briefing Posted: 20 Mar 2020 10:45 AM PDT  President Trump is busy conspiracy theorizing during a international crisis.In a press conference Friday outlining several new actions the U.S. government is taking during the new coronavirus spread, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the leader of the State Department, took the lectern. "Or as they like to call it, the Deep State Department," Trump said before Pompeo stepped up.Pompeo, who tends to agree with Trump's far-right tendencies, seemed to take no issue with the term that connotes the U.S. government is actually run by shady political forces behind the scenes. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trump's top coronavirus adviser, rejected his own advice and put his head in his hand after the president threw out the comment.> The president's apparent anger on display as he used the derogatory term "Deep State Department" and Dr Fauci reacted by putting his hand over his face. Watch. pic.twitter.com/Ks7j4WciVt> > — Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) March 20, 2020No matter how wild Trump's eccentricities get, Fauci should probably avoid touching his face — though the crowded press briefing room wasn't exactly up to CDC standards either.More stories from theweek.com America has one of the world's worst coronavirus responses Bloomberg's last FEC filing shows he spent nearly $1 billion on his failed presidential run Senate GOP stimulus plan would exclude up to 64 million tax filers from full rebate, economist says
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| The impact of the new coronavirus could lead to the longest flu season in decades Posted: 20 Mar 2020 11:50 AM PDT  Wes Thrift, with Roper St. Francis Healthcare, is reflected in a car window wearing a protective mask as he talks to a possible coronavirus patient at the hospital's North Charleston office Monday, March 16, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith) The new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has created a third spike in influenza-like illness (ILI) activity across the United States, as researchers working with AccuWeather predicted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)."The COVID-19 outbreak unfolding in the United States may affect healthcare-seeking behavior, which, in turn, would impact [CDC flu] data," the CDC noted in its weekly update.COVID-19 has now spread to more than 160 countries or regions with more than 240,000 confirmed cases and at least 10,000 deaths. In the U.S., there have been more than 14,500 confirmed cases - up from 3,770 just last week - and at least 175 deaths.Visits to health care providers for ILI increased for the second straight week to 5.8 percent after it was 5.2 percent last week, according to the CDC. For comparison, the highest peak during all of last year's difficult flu season was just 5.1 percent. Source: CDC This season is on track to be the longest above-baseline flu season in at least 20 years of CDC records; it's the 18th straight week flu activity is above baseline normal (2.4 percent). ILI activity has had longer stretches just twice since 1999-2000, according to CDC records, and this season's third spike is just starting to ascend. The other years were 2018-19 (20 weeks) and 2014-15 (19 weeks); this year is now tied with the flu pandemic season of 2009-10.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPThe CDC estimates there have been at least 38 million flu illnesses, 390,000 hospitalizations and 23,000 deaths from the flu during the 2019-20 season. Laboratory-confirmed flu-related hospitalization rates overall for the U.S. remain moderate compared to recent seasons, but rates for children 0-4 and adults 18-49 are now the highest the CDC has on record for these age groups, surpassing rates reported during the 2009-10 pandemic.The quarantining and social-distancing efforts enacted throughout the U.S. should help reduce both ILI activity and COVID-19 transmission."We know with the flu that people can release viruses into the air just by breathing and talking, so it doesn't necessarily have to be coughing and sneezing," Linsey Marr, an air pollution and environmental engineering professor at Virginia Tech, told AccuWeather's Monica Danielle."But the reason for social distancing is because even for the [germs] floating around, they're much more concentrated when you're close to the person," Marr added. "So, if you imagine someone who is smoking and you're closer to them, you're right in that puff of smoke, but if you're farther away, the air is much more diluted." The number of jurisdictions experiencing high ILI activity decreased from 43 last week to 40 this week. (Source: CDC; bright red represents the highest level of ILI activity on a scale that goes from bright red, then to orange, yellow, light green and dark green reflects the least activity.) Despite those efforts, researchers point out that the major interruptions to daily life could last for several months."I think if anybody thinks we'll be doing this for two weeks and then we're done ... I don't think that's going to work out. We'll go right back where we started," Madhav Marathe, a director and distinguished professor of biocomplexity, told AccuWeather's Bill Waddell. "I strongly believe that all the state governments in the U.S. should actively start building temporary medical facilities. I think it's centrally important."Flu season typically begins in October, peaks between December and February and lasts well into March, although activity can last as late as May. Flu viruses are more stable in cold air and the low humidity allows the virus particles to remain in the air, according to Peter Palese, who was the lead author on a key flu study in 2007.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios
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| Fox News Grills Sen. Kelly Loeffler on Her Stock Dump: How Was This Not Insider Trading? Posted: 20 Mar 2020 09:31 AM PDT  Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) insisted during a Friday morning Fox News appearance that it was "absolutely false" that she engaged in insider trading after she dumped millions in stocks following a Senate coronavirus briefing, prompting Fox News anchor Ed Henry to skeptically push back.Following a Daily Beast report revealing that she sold up to $3.1 million worth of stocks between the Jan. 24 briefing and mid-February—right before the market began to plummet amid coronavirus fears—Loeffler was asked about a tweet she sent the day of the briefing preaching calm to the public."Did you leave that briefing with calm?" Henry wondered, causing the Georgia senator to say she believed the government was prepared while praising President Donald Trump's early actions, such as a China travel ban."Senator, you thought the government was prepared," the Fox anchor followed up. "After that tweet, you sold over $1 million in stocks before the market went down. Were you trading on inside information about what was coming?"Loeffler denied that she did anything wrong, claiming that it was "absolutely false" that she engaged in violating the STOCK Act, which prevents lawmakers from trading on inside information."If you actually look at the personal transaction reports that were filed, it notices at the bottom I'm only informed after by transactions after they occurred, several weeks," she added. "Those transactions, on my behalf at least, were a mix of buys and sells. Very routine for my portfolio."Henry, however, didn't appear to buy what the senator was attempting to sell, noting that while her sales were before the stock market began its decline, her advisers also purchased shares in a teleconference company just before the time when more workers would soon need work-from-home technology."Who are these third-party advisers?" Henry pressed. "They seem to have a pretty good idea about where the market was headed."The Republican senator once again claimed ignorance, placing all the responsibility on her financial advisers while asserting she is "not involved in the decisions around buying and selling."After Loeffler boasted about her lengthy career in the financial services industry as a way to assure Fox viewers she would have complied with ethics rules, Henry pointed out that her husband is CEO of the New York Stock Exchange."Is there a conflict here since there were purchases that suggested you did well with some stocks while we have Americans across the country who have seen their 401Ks plummet?" Henry pushed back.The Georgia lawmaker, meanwhile, tripled-down and said the transactions were "outsourced to third-parties" before pivoting to all the "around-the-clock" work she's doing for the people of Georgia.Loeffler was the second GOP senator found to have engaged in questionable stock sales and purchases after being briefed on the potential severity of the upcoming coronavirus pandemic. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) dumped up to $1.7 million in shares, including in hotels and resorts, just before the crash. While both senators dumped their stocks, they publicly downplayed the threats posed by the coronavirus outbreak.The financial industry veteran, meanwhile, was not the preferred choice of Fox News opinion hosts to be Georgia senator. When Gov. Brian Kemp chose Loeffler as the replacement for the retiring Sen. Johnny Isaakson late last year, Sean Hannity directed his listeners to call Kemp and complain as he wanted Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to get the seat. Collins, who has already announced a primary challenge to Loeffler, took to Twitter on Friday morning to blast both Loeffler and Burr."People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their retirements, and even their lives and Kelly Loeffler is profiting off their pain?" Collins tweeted. "I'm sickened just thinking about it."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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| Trump responds to question on coronavirus fears: 'I say that you're a terrible reporter' Posted: 20 Mar 2020 11:02 AM PDT  When a reporter asked President Trump "what do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?" he responded by saying "I say that you're a terrible reporter."
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| What's Happening: Hope in Wuhan, unequal access to US tests Posted: 19 Mar 2020 05:34 AM PDT  The Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the new coronavirus, reported no new homegrown infections on Thursday, in what was a sign of hope for the world and a lesson in the strict measures needed to halt its spread. The two milestones were a dramatic illustration of how much the global outbreak has pivoted toward Europe and the United States. Factories in China, struggling to reopen after the coronavirus shut down the economy, face a new threat from U.S. anti-disease controls that might disrupt the flow of microchips and other components they need.
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| Delta, United, and other airlines are sending their largest planes to the desert for storage as they drastically reduce operations due to coronavirus Posted: 19 Mar 2020 01:29 PM PDT  Marana, Arizona is where aircraft go to retire but some airlines are sending their jets there to ride out the COVID-19 crisis affecting the industry.
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| Shredded T-shirts used as toilet paper clogged California city's sewer, officials believe Posted: 19 Mar 2020 05:55 PM PDT  A Redding, California, wastewater crew responded and removed the cut-up T-shirts to unblock a clogged line.
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| India hangs 4 men convicted for fatal New Delhi gang rape Posted: 20 Mar 2020 04:06 AM PDT  "I could not protect her but I was able to fight for her," said mother of victim, whose gruesome case exposed the scope of sexual violence in the country.
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| South Korea discusses coronavirus with China, Japan; plans to quarantine Europe entries Posted: 19 Mar 2020 06:29 PM PDT  The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan held a video conference on Friday to discuss cooperation on the coronavirus pandemic amid growing concern over the number of infected people arriving in their countries from overseas. The number of cases in Japan has been far smaller, but Tokyo has the extra worry of whether to press ahead with hosting the Olympics this summer.
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| Iran furloughs imprisoned U.S. Navy vet amid coronavirus concerns Posted: 19 Mar 2020 04:40 PM PDT  Iran has granted a medical furlough to a U.S. Navy veteran who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday.
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| Trump Rejected Strikes on Iran-Backed Militias Due to Iran’s Coronavirus Epidemic: Report Posted: 20 Mar 2020 06:14 AM PDT  President Trump last week rejected an aggressive response to attacks by Iran-backed militias on U.S. forces in Iraq, because he thought an attack on Iranian forces would look bad while the country and the world are fighting the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, NBC reported on Thursday.On March 11, Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah killed two American service members and a British military medic in a rocket attack on Camp Taji, an Iraqi military base. On Friday the U.S. responded with airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah positions, but on Saturday the militia responded with further rocket attacks on Camp Taji, seriously wounding three American troops and two Iraqi troops. The U.S. has not struck back since."We recognize that there's an ongoing threat," a senior Trump administration official told NBC. "We don't always have to be counter-punching."Iran has the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East with 18,407 confirmed cases and 1,284 deaths according to the New York Times. However, U.S. officials believe the number may be much higher, and Iranian parliament members have accused the government of hiding the true extent of the crisis.Tensions with Iran ratcheted up in early January after Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. Before the latest attacks on Americans by Kataib Hezbollah, the U.S. began removing a limited number of troops from the Middle East, deeming the threat from Iran reduced due to the spread of coronavirus in the country.
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| Senate GOP prioritizes business tax cuts in coronavirus stimulus package Posted: 19 Mar 2020 02:47 PM PDT  Senate Republicans released their "phase three" coronavirus economic stimulus package on Thursday in a follow-up to Wednesday's package.The Senate passed an initial package on Wednesday, which originated in the Democrat-led House and included paid sick leave, unemployment benefits, free COVID-19 testing, and other food and medical aid. But Thursday's proposal walks back some of those actions by putting stricter limits on who can use that paid leave. It also includes loans for small businesses of up to $10 million, a lift on excise taxes for airlines, and a variety of tax cuts and adjustments for businesses.The bill promises up to $1,200 in "recovery rebates" to individual Americans who made no more than $75,000 and $2,400 to joint filers who made no more than $150,000 as of their 2018 tax return. For every $100 a person makes over those limits, $5 will be deducted from that amount. GOP negotiators, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), had held firm on the $75,000 threshold as of Thursday.> GOP bill on immediate checks:> > \-- $1,200 per person ($2,400 if filing jointly) > \-- $500 per kid > \-- Begins to phase out above $75K > \-- Phases out completely above $99K > \-- Much smaller benefit, of $600, for millions w/o federal tax liability pic.twitter.com/mPggn8eepS> > — Jeffrey Stein (@JStein_WaPo) March 19, 2020Democrats will still have a chance to negotiate to modify the deal, but it'll likely have President Trump's support. By the end of Thursday, the U.S. had reported 11,200 cases of coronavirus and at least 166 deaths, ABC News reports.More stories from theweek.com Top coronavirus doctor puts head in hands when Trump mentions 'Deep State Department' at briefing America has one of the world's worst coronavirus responses Bloomberg's last FEC filing shows he spent nearly $1 billion on his failed presidential run
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| Here's what a 90-day 'stay home' order means for New Yorkers Posted: 20 Mar 2020 02:23 PM PDT  Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down and for people to remain indoorsGovernor Andrew Cuomo of New York has ordered the shutdown of all non-essential businesses in the state, as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases surged above 7,000. Except for essential services, all New Yorkers are now ordered to stay indoors for up to 90 days from 8pm Sunday evening.Cuomo called the new measures the "ultimate step" to curb the outbreak. "These provisions will be enforced. These are not helpful hints. This is not if you really want to be a great citizen. These are legal provisions," he said at a briefing on Friday morning in Albany, the state's capital. "We need everyone to be safe; otherwise, no one can be safe."> BREAKING: New York will implement a 90-day moratorium on evictions for residential and commercial tenants. > > We will do all we can to help those financially suffering because of the COVID19 pandemic.> > — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 20, 2020What does a 90-day quarantine mean for New York state's 19.5 million residents?Can New Yorkers go outside? Yes. Although New Yorkers are strongly encouraged to stay indoors and public gatherings are limited, they can still go to the grocery store, hospital or doctor's office, walk their dogs or even head to the laundromat. That's simply because state officials have determined these activities are essential.Although residents are still allowed to enjoy the outdoors, the governor reminded them to use common sense in maintaining social distance."Outdoor recreation is a solitary recreational exercise. It's running. It's hiking," he said. "It's not playing basketball with five other people."Only professionals in industries also deemed essential during the outbreak will be permitted to go back and forth from their jobs. Residents working in healthcare, sanitation, food services, law enforcement as well as gas stations and laundry mats won't see specific limitations on their movement.All non-essential businesses have been ordered closed, however, after state officials increasingly demanded staff reductions. Previously capped at groups of 50, non-essential gatherings of New Yorkers of any size, for any reason, are now banned.What happens if residents don't comply? Cuomo announced that the mandate applies to all individuals and business in the state. But it's important to note the measure stops short of being a so-called shelter-in-place order, which is intended for mass shootings.In contrast, California's governor, Gavin Newsom, issued an order mandating residents shelter-in-place earlier this week, although Cuomo on Friday said California was no longer officially using that term.However, unlike New York's regulations, California's mandate is enforceable as a misdemeanor crime, and demands sheriffs and police chiefs "ensure compliance with and enforce this order".In New York "the violation of any provision of its order constitutes an imminent threat and creates an immediate menace to public health", the mandate states.Any businesses violating the order would be fined and forced to close. However, Cuomo insisted the state does not plan to fine individuals who violate the regulations.What about transit? New York is home to the county's largest, and oldest, transportation system of subway trains and buses – the MTA in New York City. According to the order, mass transit will stay operational, but residents are strongly discouraged from using public transit unless it's absolutely necessary.Roads, gas stations and some auto repair services will stay open.In New York City, the mayor, Bill de Blasio, had pushed for a shelter-in-place order to limit even non-essential travel, such as by foot, bicycle or scooter. However, the state governor had repeatedly dismissed the idea, insisting New Yorkers would not be confined to their homes under a quarantine. The governor is the only official with the executive power to order a city or the entire state to, in effect, lock down. Donald Trump reiterated on Friday that the federal government was not ready to order a nationwide stay-at-home order.The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus soared by more than 1,000 in the city in just a matter of hours on Thursday. Under Cuomo's order announced on Friday, essential travel is categorized as traveling for necessary supplies, accessing healthcare or going to provide aid to family or friends. Air travel and taxis are still permitted, as is ride-sharing on a personal basis, excluding group rides.The new provisions will take effect on Sunday night.
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| Italy once again reported the highest single-day death toll for any country since the coronavirus outbreak started: 627 deaths Posted: 20 Mar 2020 01:05 PM PDT  Italy has overtaken China as the country with the most coronavirus deaths. By Friday, COVID-19 had killed 4,032 people in Italy and 3,253 in China.
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| U.S. senators defend selling shares before coronavirus crash Posted: 20 Mar 2020 03:10 AM PDT  Two Republican senators defended themselves on Friday against heavy criticism, including calls that they resign, for selling substantial amounts of stocks before the coronavirus-induced market meltdown and after closed-door briefings on the outbreak. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr sold up to $1.7 million worth of stock on Feb. 13 in 33 separate transactions after offering public assurances the government was ready to battle the virus. Senator Kelly Loeffler also sold millions of dollars in shares in the weeks after lawmakers were first briefed on the virus, according to public filings.
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| As deliveries soar, UPS drivers say company's coronavirus precautions may not keep them or customers safe Posted: 20 Mar 2020 06:59 AM PDT  "I got 160 stops, 300 packages," one UPS driver said. "I deliver to doctors' offices, urgent cares. The potential for bad things to happen is crazy."
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| It's the 'coronavirus,' not the 'Chinese virus,' but Trump is right: China made it worse Posted: 19 Mar 2020 03:42 PM PDT  President Trump has taken pains over the past week to link the coronavirus outbreak to China, calling it the "Chinese virus" at daily briefings over objections that doing so unfairly stigmatizes an entire nation, and might encourage hostility toward Asian-Americans.
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| State Department will reportedly tell Americans abroad to immediately return home Posted: 19 Mar 2020 08:17 AM PDT  The State Department reportedly wants every American out of the country to return home.As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the world and the U.S., the State Department is preparing to issue the strongest travel advisory it can, two individuals familiar with the decision told Politico Thursday. It'll tell Americans abroad to either return to the states or prepare to shelter in place — a Level 4 advisory, those sources said.China and Mongolia are currently the only countries subject to a State Department level 4 travel advisory due to spread of the new coronavirus. The rest of the world is under a level 3 global health advisory, which suggests travelers reconsider their plans. The escalated level would instruct Americans to halt all travel out of the country; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has approved the measure, Politico reported.A State Department official confirmed the forthcoming announcement, but the department's press office didn't respond to Politico's request for comment.More stories from theweek.com America has one of the world's worst coronavirus responses Goldman Sachs has a devastating revision for its GDP growth predictions Coronavirus is causing an overlooked crisis in assisted living care
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| Coronavirus, allergies or flu? Here's the difference between COVID-19 and other illnesses Posted: 20 Mar 2020 06:19 AM PDT  A doctor explains the difference between allergies, colds, flu, strep and coronavirus, all of which are spreading right now.
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| Coronavirus: California orders its 40 million residents to 'stay-at-home' as national guard mobilised Posted: 20 Mar 2020 12:35 AM PDT  California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered the state's 40 million residents to stay at home, restricting non-essential movements to control the spread of the coronavirus that threatens to overwhelm the state's medical system."This is a moment we need to make tough decisions," Newsom said. "We need to recognize reality."
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