| Pence suggests coronavirus social distancing won’t end soon Posted: 09 Apr 2020 07:07 PM PDT  At the daily briefing of the White House coronavirus task force on Thursday evening, Vice President Mike Pence indicated that the end to those restrictions might not come anytime soon.
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| The one data point that suggests both New York and California are getting coronavirus under control Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:02 AM PDT  Good news about the coronavirus is in short supply. The United States' confirmed case count is approaching half a million — more than triple any other country's. But if it's good news you're after, pay attention to the hospitalization data in New York and California.
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| Wuhan is open and infections are down, but China's coronavirus numbers can't be trusted Posted: 10 Apr 2020 12:14 PM PDT  China this week reopened Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus pandemic was first detected, claiming that new infections were in the single digits. But in recent days Beijing has been accused of reporting inaccurate counts of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
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| U.S. Navy destroyer transits Taiwan Strait on same day as Chinese drills Posted: 10 Apr 2020 07:15 PM PDT |
| 'Got my blood boiling': Florida nursing homes ask governor for immunity from coronavirus lawsuits Posted: 11 Apr 2020 03:35 PM PDT  Florida is reporting more than 18,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state.
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| NYC mayor says schools will stay closed rest of year, Cuomo says not so fast Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:39 AM PDT  "He didn't close them, and he can't reopen," Cuomo said of the the vast school district that serves over 1.1 million students in 1,800 schools.
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| Cruise workers on Holland America's Rotterdam ship say they were forced into a perilous rescue mission of the COVID-19 stricken Zaandam, and now hundreds of crew members are stranded onboard wondering what's next. Posted: 11 Apr 2020 08:27 AM PDT  "The Rotterdam was told it was on a humanitarian mission to bring supplies to the Zaandam," one crew member said.
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| Iran's virus, sanctions-hit economy slowly reopens Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:58 AM PDT  Iran allowed small businesses outside the capital to reopen Saturday, arguing the sanctions-hit economy in the country with the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East cannot stay in lockdown. Iranians in several provinces reported a significant increase in cars on the roads as people went back to work, as some said the government's relaxation of measures was sending mixed messages.
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| Trump escalates battle with World Health Organization over coronavirus response Posted: 10 Apr 2020 02:38 PM PDT  Reprising the skeptical tone he has applied to the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, President Trump accused the World Health Organization of helping China to conceal the number of its citizens that have been infected by the coronavirus.
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| Faulty masks. Flawed tests. China's quality control problem in leading global COVID-19 fight Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:18 AM PDT  Chinese companies producing faulty testing kits and masks are marring Beijing's attempts to assert leadership in the fight against the coronavirus.
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| Texas governor vows to issue an executive order to end state's lockdown and help residents 'get back into the workforce' Posted: 11 Apr 2020 11:56 AM PDT  "One thing about Texans, they enjoy working and they want to get back into the workforce," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
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| Global oil output cuts held hostage to standoff Posted: 10 Apr 2020 01:55 AM PDT  Oil producers in the OPEC+ group, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, were expected to pressure Mexico on Friday to seal an accord for a collective cut in output of 10 million barrels per day, before asking other nations for a further 5 million bpd of cuts. The United States has encouraged global cooperation to bolster an oil market that collapsed as the coronavirus pandemic accelerated in March and producers resorted to a price war after failing to agree on how to prop up prices. Oil prices tumbled on Thursday despite OPEC+ nearing agreement as the lockdowns ordered across the world sucked life out of the global economy, and traders reckoned that even a combined reduction of 15 million bpd would be too little to stabilise the market.
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| Cuba, U.S. dispute embargo's role in blocking coronavirus supplies Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:27 AM PDT  The embargo is "the main obstacle to purchase the medicines, equipment and material required to confront the pandemic," Cuba's Foreign Minister tweeted.
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| Boeing's Washington facilities closed indefinitely due to COVID-19. Take a look at the greatest successes and failures which were built there. Posted: 11 Apr 2020 05:58 AM PDT  Boeing has been building iconic passenger aircraft at three production facilities in the Seattle area since World War II.
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| African nations, U.S. condemn racism against blacks in China Posted: 11 Apr 2020 09:09 AM PDT  African officials are condemning China publicly and in private over the mistreatment of Africans in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, and the U.S. says African-Americans have been targeted too.
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| India to extend world's largest pandemic lockdown for two weeks Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:51 AM PDT  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to extend the world's biggest pandemic lockdown for two weeks, state ministers said after talks Saturday on the growing fallout in the country. The three week lockdown is due to end Tuesday. Two states -- Odisha and Punjab -- have already extended the lockdown by around two weeks, but critics say a nationwide lockdown is needed to stop people moving between states and potentially taking the virus with them.
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| Coronavirus: Why Pakistan's doctors are so angry Posted: 10 Apr 2020 07:40 AM PDT  A photograph of the president in PPE has further inflamed tensions during the coronavirus crisis.
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| In a test of faith, Christians mark Good Friday in isolation Posted: 09 Apr 2020 10:53 PM PDT  St. Peter's Square was almost deserted. Inside Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the chanting of a small group of clerics echoed faintly through the heavy wooden doors, as a few people kneeled outside to pray. In St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis presided over a candle-lit procession, with nurses and doctors among those holding a torch.
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| Alaska Dems says they received twice as many ballots than in 2016 Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:28 PM PDT  Joe BIden is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee after Sanders suspended his campaign earlier this week, although Sanders remained on the ballot in Alaska.
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| Italy Extends Lockdown to May in Signal to European Business Posted: 10 Apr 2020 09:02 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Italy extended a national lockdown until May 3, rejecting calls by business leaders to allow a gradual restart of the economy.The decision reflects a pattern playing out in many parts of Europe as health officials and politicians warn against letting up too early on restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus and avoid a second wave of infections.As deaths surpassed 100,000 worldwide on Friday, the absence of public Easter holiday celebrations in Europe underscored the pandemic's decimating impact on public life and business. Italy, Spain, France and the U.K. reported more than 3,000 new virus-linked deaths over the latest 24-hour period."There are clear indications that the restrictive measures are bearing fruit," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said at a news conference. "If we yield now we would risk, as our experts tell us, losing all the positive results we have achieved so far."With a ban on non-essential business crippling Europe's weakest major economy, Conte said he was giving a limited range of business and shops a waiver to resume activity. He held out the prospect of a gradual restart of normal life after May 3, though strict health protocols would remain in force.Conte named Vittorio Colao, former chief executive officer of Vodafone Group Plc, to head a task force that will help map Italy's exit from the lockdown. The country "can't wait for the virus to disappear completely," Conte said.Meanwhile, the U.S. said it will provide medical supplies and help set up field hospitals in Italy, according to a memorandum released by the White House on Friday night.The U.K. reported its biggest daily increase in deaths since the outbreak began as 980 patients succumbed to the coronavirus in the latest period, increasing the death toll to almost 9,000.Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been receiving treatment for coronavirus in a London hospital, has "been able to do short walks, between periods of rest, as part of the care he is receiving to aid his recovery," a spokesman said.Spain, which has Europe's second-highest death toll after Italy, reported the smallest increase in coronavirus fatalities since March 24 on Friday.Pale SunlightPeople in Spain are settling in for at least another two weeks of a lockdown that only allows people out to supermarkets and pharmacies. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the state of emergency, prolonged on Thursday, is likely to be extended again beyond April 25.France reported the most new coronavirus deaths among Europe's four worst-hit countries. After more than three weeks of lockdown, President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on Monday about extending confinement measures.While the number of patients in intensive care in France fell for the second consecutive day, a senior health official cautioned against reading too much into the data."It's a very slight decrease," Director General for Health Jerome Salomon said at a briefing. "It's a pale ray of sunlight."Italy's restrictions ban movement within the country and confine people to their homes except for work, health or emergency reasons. The euro area's third-biggest economy is poised to shrink by 15% this year, according to UniCredit SpA.Conte made limited concessions on Friday, saying bookshops, stationery stores, sellers of baby clothes and companies linked to forestry could reopen.'Insufficient' ResponseHe said he'll continue pressing for common European debt — so-called eurobonds — as the best instrument for the European Union response to the devastating economic impact.Euro-area finance ministers on Thursday agreed on a 540 billion-euro ($590 billion) package of measures, including a temporary fund to spark the recovery. They avoided the most divisive question, mentioning only "innovative financial instruments" rather than an explicit reference to joint debt as demanded by Italy and other countries.Conte rebuffed allegations by the League party's Matteo Salvini and other opposition leaders that his government had signed up to seek the help of the European Stability Mechanism, the euro area's bailout fund.Italy won't tap a credit line worth as much as 240 billion euros for medical spending and will veto any "insufficient" aid package, Conte said.(Adds U.S. offer to help Italy in seventh paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran renews coronavirus warning as 'low risk' activities re-start Posted: 11 Apr 2020 01:32 AM PDT  President Hassan Rouhani urged Iranians to continue to respect measures to guard against the new coronavirus as "low-risk" business activities resumed in most of the country on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported. "Easing restrictions does not mean ignoring health protocols ... Social distancing and other health protocols should be respected seriously by people," Rouhani was quoted saying. In Qom, a city of 1.2 million which was the early epicentre of Iran's coronavirus outbreak, some 24,000 businesses were expected to re-open, state TV said.
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| Exclusive: Russia collecting intelligence on U.S. supply line failures amid coronavirus crisis, DHS warns Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:05 PM PDT  Russian spies are using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to collect intelligence on U.S. supply lines, which have struggled to provide sufficient medical equipment, according to an intelligence report issued earlier this week by the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by Yahoo News.
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| Teams are retrieving up to 280 bodies a day from NYC homes. Not all of them are counted in the official death tally. Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:01 AM PDT  Health officials say the actual number of people dying from COVID-19 in New York City is likely far higher than the official daily death tolls show.
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| NYC mayor says schools will stay closed rest of year, Cuomo says not so fast Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:39 AM PDT "He didn't close them, and he can't reopen," Cuomo said of the the vast school district that serves over 1.1 million students in 1,800 schools.
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| African community targeted in China virus crackdown Posted: 10 Apr 2020 11:00 PM PDT  Africans in southern China's largest city say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing as the country steps up its fight against imported infections. China says it has largely curbed its COVID-19 outbreak but a recent cluster of cases linked to the Nigerian community in Guangzhou sparked the alleged discrimination by locals and virus prevention officials. Local authorities in the industrial centre of 15 million said at least eight people diagnosed with the illness had spent time in the city's Yuexiu district, known as "Little Africa".
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| Will an Antibody Test Allow Us to Go Back to School or Work? Posted: 10 Apr 2020 12:11 PM PDT  When will life return to normal, or at least a new normal?A major answer to the question of when -- and how -- Americans can return to public places like work and school could depend on something called an antibody test, a blood test that determines whether someone has ever been infected with the coronavirus.People who are believed to be immune may be able to safely return to work. It would be especially important to know which health care workers are protected from getting infected and could continue to care for sick people.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that it would begin using antibody tests to see what proportion of the population has already been infected."Within a period of a week or so, we are going to have a relatively large number of tests available," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert in the U.S., said Friday morning on CNN.He said the White House coronavirus task force was discussing the idea of "certificates of immunity," which could be issued to people who had previously been infected."As we get to the point of considering opening the country," Fauci said, "it is very important to understand how much that virus has penetrated society." Immunity certificates, he said, had "some merit under certain circumstances."The idea of providing proof of immunity to allow workers to return to their jobs is being considered in many countries, including Britain and Italy. But as with any test, they are not perfect, and there have been problems with their accuracy.Here's what we know -- and don't know -- about these tests.What exactly is a serology test?A serology test looks for signs of an immune response -- in this case, to the new coronavirus.When your body encounters a virus, it takes some time for it to recognize the invader and begin to scale up an immune response. Immune molecules called antibodies are a crucial part of this response.The first type of antibody to appear is called immunoglobulin M, or IgM, and its levels spike within a few days of infection. But IgM is a generic fighter. To target and destroy a specific virus, the body refines it into a second type of antibody, called immunoglobulin G, or IgG, that can recognize that virus.As IgG levels rise, IgM levels drop; IgG levels peak around 28 days after the onset of infection.There is a third type of antibody, called IgA, that is present in mucosal tissues -- like the inner lining of the lung. IgA is known to be important for fighting respiratory infections such as influenza and is likely to be central in coronavirus infections, too.Many of the tests being developed look for levels of all three antibodies; some look for just IgM and IgG, and still others test for only one type.What can these tests tell us? And what can't they?Let's begin with what they can't tell us. Because the antibodies come up so late, these tests are not helpful for diagnosing an early infection. "For that they are useless," said Dr. Florian Krammer, a virologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.The tests are more effective at detecting the presence of antibody responses across large numbers of people, not just to determine who is immune but how widely the virus has spread in the population.Between 25% to 50% of people who become infected may never develop symptoms, and some may become only mildly ill. Others may have known they were sick but could not get tested. Serology tests would be able to identify these people and help scientists better estimate the death rate of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus."We don't currently have good numbers for the numbers of people who are infected now, much less people who were infected before who were never tested," said Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University in New York. "So it's really important from an epidemiological perspective to do these types of serology assays."Governments around the world are also hopeful that serology tests can tell them which people are protected from reinfection and can safely go back to work. Knowing the full scope of the pandemic would help them decide when to end social isolation measures and allow businesses and schools to reopen.Tracking the rise and fall of antibody levels may also enable scientists to back-calculate the dates of infection and help them predict whether the virus shows seasonal fluctuations.I'm pretty sure I had the coronavirus already. Can I take a test and go back to work?Not yet. Most of the tests being developed offer a simple yes-no answer to the question of who has antibodies and who was exposed to the virus. But simply having antibodies is no guarantee of immunity."Being immune means that if you're exposed to the virus, your immune system will clear the virus out before it can establish a productive infection," Rasmussen said.Some people -- because they had mild or no symptoms, for example -- might have developed antibodies that are too weak to prevent reinfection. Conversely, others who have low levels of IgG may still be protected.That's because antibodies are just one well-understood piece of the immune response. Immune cells called T-cells may also be involved. "A lot less is known about how these different parts of the immune system work together to provide protective immunity," Rasmussen said.Some tests, like one developed by Krammer, offer not just a yes-no answer but a clearer picture of the antibodies' ability to neutralize the virus.Plasma from people who have strong antibodies is being used to treat people who are unable to mount an immune response.When will serology tests be widely available?Some are already available and being used, but it's the early days, and it's unclear how good they are. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization to one such test. But others are being used in research projects and by hospitals.In March, the FDA allowed developers to begin to sell or use antibody tests without first getting the agency's permission, once the companies had done their own evaluations to ensure the tests were accurate and reliable. Since then, more than 70 test developers have notified the agency that they have serological tests available. But the agency said some companies have falsely claimed that their tests were FDA-approved or falsely claimed they could diagnose COVID-19.The CDC's project is one of dozens. The World Health Organization is also planning to test large numbers of people in multiple countries. Some universities, townships and countries have begun testing on their own as well.But "serological tests are plagued with issues," Rasmussen said, and problems are surfacing even as these tests proceed.In the U.K., for example, the tests are plagued with false negatives (not picking up antibodies when they're present) and with false positives (indicating antibodies when there are none). Some of the tests may not be specific enough to the new coronavirus; they may pick up a signal from antibodies made in response to infections with the coronaviruses that cause common colds.False positives in particular are dangerous because they can lull people into believing they are immune when they are not and becoming exposed to the virus. "Certainly if somebody thinks that they're protected and they're not, that would be a problem," Rasmussen said.If someone is immune to the virus, how long will the immunity last?We don't know.This is a new virus, and so we have no way of knowing exactly how long immunity to the virus will last. Our best guess comes from looking at its cousins, the common cold coronaviruses as well as the more dangerous ones that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome. Immunity to these viruses persists anywhere from one to eight years.The best way to find out, Krammer said, is to follow people with and without the antibodies and see when they might become reinfected. "Those are the studies that are now needed," he said. "They will take time."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| 20,000: US death toll overtakes Italy's as Midwest braces Posted: 10 Apr 2020 10:09 PM PDT  The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed Italy's for the highest in the world Saturday, surpassing 20,000, as Chicago and other cities across the Midwest braced for a potential surge in victims and moved to snuff out smoldering hot spots of contagion before they erupt. Chicago's Cook County has set up a temporary morgue that can take more than 2,000 bodies. In Europe, countries used roadblocks, drones, helicopters, mounted patrols and the threat of fines to keep people from traveling over Easter weekend.
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| 10 Cosmic Close Calls That Changed Spaceflight Posted: 11 Apr 2020 06:46 AM PDT |
| UK pledges 200 million pounds in aid to help stop second coronavirus wave Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:04 PM PDT  Britain said on Sunday it was pledging 200 million pounds ($248 million) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and charities to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in vulnerable countries and so help prevent a second wave of infections. More than 1.6 million people are reported to have been infected by the novel coronavirus globally and deaths have topped 100,000 according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in 210 countries since the first cases were identified in China in December last year and British aid minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said assisting the poorest nations now would help prevent the virus returning to the United Kingdom.
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| Footnotes indicate FBI knew of risk of disinformation in Steele dossier Posted: 10 Apr 2020 08:23 PM PDT  The FBI was warned sections of the controversial Steele dossier could have been part of a "Russian disinformation campaign to denigrate U.S. foreign relations," according to the footnotes.
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| The US just became the first country in the world to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:22 AM PDT  The US reported 2,108 deaths on Friday and passed 500,000 confirmed cases, but White House officials say the speed of the outbreak is easing off.
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| Kentucky gov. announces mandatory quarantine for anyone who attends Easter services Posted: 10 Apr 2020 08:08 PM PDT  The Democratic governor said that state officials would record the license plate information of people seen attending mass gatherings.
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| New York City to keep schools closed, mayor says Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:47 PM PDT  New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Saturday that public schools in the largest US city would stay closed until the end of the school year as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage, even as the state's governor stressed that the decision was his to make. "You can't make a decision just within New York City without coordinating that decision with the whole metropolitan region, because it all works together," Cuomo said. "Until the governor actually overrules the mayor either through a contrary order or by a superseding order, the mayor's order stands," said Roderick Hills, a professor at New York University's law school.
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| The Secret Weapon Giving Mexico Power in the Oil Price War Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:22 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- As Mexico and Saudi Arabia fight over a deal to bring the oil-price war to an end, Mexico has a powerful defense: a massive Wall Street hedge shielding it from low prices.With talks well into their third day, the Mexican sovereign oil hedge, which insures the Latin American country against low prices and is considered a state secret, is a factor that may make the country less inclined to accept the OPEC+ agreement.For the last two decades, Mexico has bought so-called Asian style put options from a small group of investment banks and oil companies, in what's considered Wall Street's largest -- and most closely guarded -- annual oil deal.The options give Mexico the right to sell its oil at a predetermined price. They are the equivalent of an insurance policy: the country banks all gains from higher prices but enjoys the security of a minimum floor. So if oil prices remain weak or plunge even further, Mexico will still book higher prices.The hedge isn't the only reason Mexico is holding out. But it strengthens the country's hand and makes it less desperate for a deal than countries whose budgets have been ravaged by the collapse in oil prices since the start of the year -- first because of the coronavirus and then because of the price war launched by Saudi Arabia.The main reason driving President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a left-wing populist, to resist the deal is his pledge to revive oil production via state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos. Slashing 400,000 barrels a day to comply with the OPEC+ deal, rather than the 100,000 barrels a day that Mexico has counter-offered to Saudi Arabia, would put on hold his ambitious plan to return Pemex to its former glory.The hedge has shielded Mexico in every downturn over the last 20 years: it made $5.1 billion when prices crashed in 2009 during the global financial crisis, and it received $6.4 billion in 2015 and another $2.7 billion in 2016 after Saudi Arabia waged another price war.The operation comes at a cost. In recent years, Mexico has spent about $1 billion annually buying the options."The insurance policy isn't cheap," Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera told broadcaster Televisa on March 10. "But it's insurance for times like now. Our fiscal budget isn't going to be hit."Pemex, the state-owned company, has its own separate, smaller oil hedge. This year, Pemex hedged 234,000 barrels a day at an average of $49 a barrel.State SecretMexico has disclosed very few details about its insurance for 2020 after it declared the sovereign hedge a state secret. However, based on limited public information, alongside historical data about previous years, it's possible to make a rough estimate of the potential payout if prices remain low.The government told lawmakers it has guaranteed revenues to support the assumptions for oil prices made in the country's budget -- of $49 a barrel for the Mexican oil export basket, equivalent to about $60-$65 a barrel for Brent crude.It locks in that revenue via two elements: the hedge, and the country's oil stabilization fund. The fund historically has only provided $2-$5 a barrel, so it's realistic to assume that Mexico hedged at $45 a barrel at least for its crude. In the past, Mexico has hedged around 250 million barrels, equal to nearly all its net oil exports in an operation that runs from Dec. 1 to Nov. 30.Using all those elements, a rough calculation suggests that if the Mexican oil export basket were to remain at current levels, the country would receive a multi-billion dollar payout. Since December, the Mexican oil basket has averaged $42 a barrel.If current low prices for Mexican oil continue until the end of November, the average would drop to just above $20 a barrel, and the hedge would pay out close to $6 billion, according to Bloomberg News calculations.Representatives of the Finance Ministry and Energy Ministry declined to comment.(Updates tenth paragraph with Pemex hedge volume and final paragraph with Finance Ministry and Energy Ministry comments.)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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| Iran begins lifting restrictions after brief virus lockdown Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:05 AM PDT  Iran began reopening government offices Saturday after a brief nationwide lockdown to help contain the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, which has killed more than 4,300 people in the country. Authorities had ordered most government agencies and all non-essential businesses to remain closed for a week after the Nowruz holiday ended on April 4. In Egypt, meanwhile, police used tear gas to disperse a group of villagers who tried to stop the burial of a physician who died from the COVID-19 illness caused by the virus.
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| A 44-year-old marathon runner says he now has to sit on a plastic stool in the shower, unable to stand for long after being on a ventilator for a severe case of COVID-19 Posted: 09 Apr 2020 11:42 PM PDT  "My physician father had warned me: 'You better not get put on a ventilator. People don't come back from that,'" David Lat wrote in an op-ed.
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| Laura Ingraham Wants to Give You the Freedom to Die From Coronavirus Posted: 10 Apr 2020 01:44 AM PDT  Laura Ingraham wants you to have the unrestricted freedom to spread or die from the coronavirus.Over the past several months, Fox News has been an important platform for those seeking to mock expert opinions on the virus, downplay the outbreak's lethality, and spread anecdotal claims about how to fight it. All seemingly in the service of either absolving President Trump of any potential responsibility for the pandemic's U.S. toll or to fulfill the network's single-note, decades-long crusade to blame anything and everything on Democrats and "the media."But few personalities have approached the global pandemic with as little concern as Ingraham, the longtime conservative pundit with a coveted primetime Fox News spot and one of the most-viewed shows on the network. In front of an audience of millions every evening, Ingraham has displayed a commitment to dismissing concerns about the virus, mocking advice from doctors she disagrees with, and waving away the importance of coronavirus deaths.As COVID-19 kills thousands across the country each day, the Fox News anchor has demanded a "reopening" of the economy at the start of next month, despite numerous warnings from top public health experts about the risks of leaving quarantine mode too early.Doctor Scolds Fox News: It's 'Irresponsible' to Promote Unproven Coronavirus Drug"At some point, the president is going to have to look at Drs. Fauci and Birx and say, we're opening on May 1," she wrote in a tweet on Wednesday. "Give me your best guidance on protocols, but we cannot deny our people their basic freedoms any longer."Late last month, she railed against doctors, saying they should not dictate government health policy and arguing that opening up the economy was more important than the life-saving measures medical professionals had recommended."You got to imagine the policymakers at some point will hear from the people who are suffering with these job losses in these businesses and say, you know, 'We have lives as well, and we have to somehow preserve them,'" Ingraham said.Ingraham did identify the obvious—the projections and advice from public health officials have occasionally shifted. But rather than approaching the topic cautiously on her show, or evaluate how our own drastic measures have curtailed the spread of the virus, she has impatiently drawn the conclusion that any number of deaths below a catastrophic 100,000 is a sign that experts ought to be ignored in favor of a robust economic return (when that, too, seems highly unlikely). Earlier this month, the Fox News star questioned the social-distancing decisions that have slowed down the economy, noting that "hundreds of thousands of Americans die every year from horrific things." And during one Tuesday evening segment, Ingraham declared that although she believed that "every life matters," the U.S. may be too overzealous in its social-distancing measures. "It is worth asking, is it not, what would our response have been and would our response have been less damaging to the economy, and to the lives of all of you millions of Americans, if we had had more accurate models from the start?" she said. "And shouldn't this experience make us less willing to rely on the same experts to help determine when and how we should reopen our economy?"Indeed, there has been a theme for Ingraham. Loss of life, overcrowded hospitals, and an unnecessarily prolonged pandemic are of seemingly little concern.Instead, the virus has been just another excuse to beat up on the show's recurring punching bags: media and Democrats. In early March, Ingraham compared virus fears from both groups to impeachment and the special investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, saying such concerns were merely attempts to "stoke panic" and undermine Trump. At the time, she didn't have much to say about actual coronavirus deaths, but she did have plenty to say about an imaginary universe in which Hillary Clinton was president and the virus would have been a "nightmare."Perhaps sensing the urgency of the outbreak last month, network brass seemingly attempted to crack down on such outrageous coverage, benching and eventually parting ways with Fox Business Network primetime host Trish Regan after she declared coronavirus fears to be an "impeachment scam." Fox Business Ditches Trish Regan After Coronavirus 'Impeachment Scam' RantBut Regan's bonkers monologue was delivered to a substantially smaller audience than the three-million nightly viewers Ingraham has enjoyed during the crisis. And Ingraham's campaign of disinformation and obfuscation has been far more sustained and, at every step, directly flown in the face of not just public-health expertise but the guidelines set forth by her own bosses.Even after much of the U.S. began to shut down to fight the virus' spread, and Fox News brass advised network staff to work from home and banned non-essential business travel, Ingraham tweeted that it was actually a "great time to fly if not in at-risk population." (She deleted the tweet days later without any explanation).A number of Fox News employees in New York and D.C.—including Fox & Friends Weekend host Jedediah Bila, and one woman whose family said she had to be intubated—have also tested positive for the virus and, according to New York Times media columnist Ben Smith, several of Ingraham's own staffers have been quarantined with suspected COVID-19 cases.And yet, even as the virus hits closer to home, Ingraham's concerns could hardly be less disdainful. Despite a number of journalists having died from the virus, and many more having lost their jobs as a direct result of the resultant economic slowdown, Ingraham has fallen back on one of the laziest tropes of right-wing punditry by claiming the "liberal media" is rooting for death."They like this crisis point and they really don't want things to go back to normal, and that a lot of them seem—as the news comes in that might be slightly better than we thought, they're angrier and grumpier than they should be," Ingraham said earlier this month, with no recognition of the mourning many news organizations have already had for current and former colleagues who've died from the virus. "It's odd."Instead of reflecting on her potentially life-threatening advice, Ingraham has only doubled down and, in recent days, settled on a new bogeyman for her audience: egghead doctors with their cautious statements, models, projections, and warnings about the virus.Despite medical experts like Dr. Fauci urging Fox News hosts to be "careful" when touting hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus cure, Ingraham has taken up the mantle of the drug's most public booster, at one point privately urging the president to promote it. Twitter Deletes Laura Ingraham's 'Misleading' Post Touting Coronavirus CureOn multiple occasions, she misrepresented the credentials of a doctor to boost his anecdotal claim of the drug giving one patient a "Lazarus"-like resurrection at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. The doctor does not actually work at that hospital, and while Fox News quietly buried a digital correction to her claim, Twitter eventually forced her to delete her post on the matter.On Monday afternoon, former Harvard Medical professor and renowned HIV/AIDS researcher Dr. William Haseltine complained to Ingraham's colleague Dana Perino that it is "irresponsible" and "sad to me that people were promoting that drug" which, "at very best… will have a very mild effect on changing the course of the disease, if it has any effect at all." In return, on her Tuesday show, Ingraham mocked the doctor, calling his logic "disgusting." The Fox primetime star further ranted against medical experts who have preached caution on miracle cures, claiming that their objections are "merely partisan attacks in disguise." In Ingraham's mind, any doctor who disagrees with her is merely trying to attack President Trump. "I see right through their motives."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? 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| Russia launches criminal investigation after Prague removes Soviet military statue Posted: 10 Apr 2020 04:26 AM PDT  Russia said on Friday it had opened a criminal investigation after Czech authorities dismantled the statue of a Soviet military commander last week despite Moscow's protests, escalating a rancorous diplomatic row over the issue. The statue to Marshal Ivan Konev, who led Red Army forces during World War Two that drove Nazi troops from Czechoslovakia, is reviled by some in Prague as a symbol of the decades of Communist rule that followed the war. The statue to Konev, who also played a leading role in crushing the 1956 Hungarian uprising and building the Berlin Wall in 1961, was taken down on April 3 by municipal Prague authorities who said they planned to put it in a museum.
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| Muslim women who cover their faces find greater acceptance among coronavirus masks – 'Nobody is giving me dirty looks' Posted: 10 Apr 2020 12:13 PM PDT |
| Michigan is forcing Walmart, Costco, Target and others to shut down parts of their stores and stop selling 'nonessential' items Posted: 10 Apr 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Stores must close areas dedicated to carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries, and paint.
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| "It's been torture": LGBTQ health care suffers amid coronavirus Posted: 10 Apr 2020 03:39 PM PDT  Access to adequate health care has always been a struggle for the transgender community. Coronavirus just made it even worse.
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| Check your balance: Coronavirus stimulus money starts to flow into bank accounts Posted: 11 Apr 2020 03:26 PM PDT  The IRS tweeted Saturday that payments to qualifying Americans with direct deposit accounts set up had begun to receive their coronavirus relief payment.
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| Mark Cuban says he'd be happy to serve on President Trump's 'Opening our Country' task force Posted: 10 Apr 2020 07:40 PM PDT  Any way I can serve my country, I'm all in, says 'Shark Tank' star Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
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| Joe Biden's next big decision: Choosing a running mate Posted: 09 Apr 2020 09:46 PM PDT  Joe Biden faces the most important decision of his five-decade political career: choosing a vice president. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee expects to name a committee to vet potential running mates next week, according to three Democrats with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans. Biden, a former vice president himself, has committed to picking a woman and told donors this week that his team has discussed naming a choice well ahead of the Democratic convention in August.
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| Pentagon May Relocate One of its 2 Navy Hospital Ships Posted: 10 Apr 2020 02:41 PM PDT  It is working with FEMA and the Department of Health and Human Services to determine the next virus hot spots.
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| Coronavirus: US death toll passes 2,000 in a single day Posted: 11 Apr 2020 12:33 AM PDT  America now has half a million confirmed coronavirus cases but the outbreak may soon begin to level off.
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