| The promise of COVID-19 antibody testing Posted: 11 Apr 2020 01:58 PM PDT  We do not yet know if all COVID-19 patients are able to mount effective immunity and prevent reinfection.
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| Parts of the country could see coronavirus social distancing restrictions begin to ease by late May, say public health experts Posted: 11 Apr 2020 09:44 AM PDT  Much of the country is likely to see some social distancing restrictions ease by late May or early June, a top public health expert told Yahoo News on Friday.
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| A man who stayed in the same ICU as Boris Johnson said his experience there was 'absolutely horrible' Posted: 12 Apr 2020 12:29 PM PDT  London resident Dave Hunt told Sky News that he was placed on a ventilator and thought he would die.
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| 6 hospitalized after shooting breaks out at California party Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:55 AM PDT |
| El Salvador president threatens drivers violating coronavirus rules Posted: 12 Apr 2020 04:02 PM PDT  President Nayib Bukele said anyone driving cars in El Salvador without having justification for being out of their homes would be stripped of their driving license, doubling down on attempts to enforce rules to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Bukele and other Central American leaders have implemented swift and strict measures after the first cases of the novel coronavirus were registered but in recent weeks thousands of people in the region were detained for violating the rules. At his request, El Salvador's Congress on March 14 approved an emergency regime, which temporarily suspended the right to free movement and free association.
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| Sri Lanka Catholic church 'forgives' 2019 Easter suicide bombers Posted: 12 Apr 2020 12:50 AM PDT  Sri Lanka's Roman Catholic Church said Sunday it had forgiven the suicide bombers behind the attacks that killed at least 279 people last Easter. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told an Easter mass -- broadcast from a TV studio because of the coronavirus pandemic -- that "we offered love to the enemies who tried to destroy us". The April 21 Easter Sunday bombers targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing at least 279 people and wounding 593.
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| Mayors, governor call out racial health disparities highlighted by coronavirus Posted: 12 Apr 2020 08:25 AM PDT  Preliminary data suggest Covid-19 is hitting black and brown Americans particularly hard.
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| Former FDA commissioner doesn't think Trump should pull WHO funding, but says president has some valid concerns Posted: 12 Apr 2020 09:31 AM PDT  President Trump has said he's reviewing whether to pull funding from the World Health Organization because he believes it allowed China to get away with hiding the truth about the novel COVID-19 coronavirus within its borders. Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb doesn't believe now is the time to make a decision like that, especially because he's concerned about the virus taking off in the Southern Hemisphere where several countries lack the necessary health infrastructure. But he does think the president raises some valid concerns."China was not truthful with the world at the outset of this," Gottlieb told CBS' Margaret Brennan on Sunday's edition of Face the Nation, adding that if Beijing had been upfront about things, they may have been able to contain the virus entirely.And he doesn't think the WHO is blameless, either, since it was validating Chinese claims as late as Jan. 14 that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. The organization, he said, also didn't compel Beijing to share the viral strains, which would have allowed diagnostic tests to be produced earlier around the world.Instead of getting stripped of major U.S. funding, though, Gottlieb thinks the WHO needs to launch a report into how China handled things. He also echoed an ever-more popular talking point among analysts that the organization needs to "embrace Taiwan's role and allow them to attend the World Health Assembly." As things stand, the WHO has "frozen" Taiwan out, at "the behest of China," Gottlieb said. Tim O'Donnell> NEWS: @ScottGottliebMD says the @WHO should commission an after-action report to study "what China did or didn't tell the world" as well as the organization's response. pic.twitter.com/qC9ID87pJE> > — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 12, 2020More stories from theweek.com 5 radically funny cartoons about the end of Bernie 2020 Coronavirus and the mystery of St. Mark's Easter story Sting, Jimmy Fallon, and the Roots perform 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' remotely, creatively
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| Thousands of US nursing home patients have died of coronavirus — far higher than the federal government has reported Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:50 AM PDT  In New York, the epicenter of the outbreak, some nursing homes have been forced to convert spare rooms to makeshift morgues.
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| Push-ups to fake guests: Curious African coronavirus moments Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:52 PM PDT  Free buses, a mock wedding, hands-free taps and round-robin poetry are part of life under lockdown.
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| Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins the Alaska primary by post Posted: 11 Apr 2020 08:51 PM PDT  Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has been declared the winner of the Alaska primary after the state shifted to postal voting due to the coronavirus pandemic. The state's ballots were sent out before Mr Biden's rival Bernie Sanders pulled out of the race last week, meaning the Vermont senator also took a proportion of the vote.
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| Guam worries as sailors from virus-hit ship take over hotels Posted: 12 Apr 2020 08:34 AM PDT  People in Guam are used to a constant U.S. military presence on the strategic Pacific island, but some are nervous as hundreds of sailors from a coronavirus-stricken Navy aircraft carrier flood into hotels for quarantine. An outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt began in late March and has thrust the Navy into a leadership crisis after the ship's commander distributed a letter urging faster action to protect his sailors. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly fired Capt. Brett E. Crozier and then assailed him during a speech on the ship in Guam, saying Crozier was either "too naive or too stupid" to be in charge of an aircraft carrier.
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| Another 103 sailors from U.S. carrier test positive for coronavirus Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:01 PM PDT  Another 103 crew members on the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Navy said on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases from the ship to 550. The outbreak aboard the nuclear-powered carrier led to the resignation on Tuesday of Thomas Modly as acting Navy secretary following a mounting backlash for his firing and ridiculing of the ship's commander, who had pleaded for help stemming a coronavirus outbreak onboard.
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| 'We're Catching It Double.' Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns, Gun Violence Continues to Plague Chicago Posted: 11 Apr 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Since Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a stay-at-home order for the state that went into effect on March 21, there have been over 80 shootings and at least 70 shooting victims, according to the Chicago Police Department (CPD). In the same period at least 12 people have died.
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| North Korea calls for stronger coronavirus measures Posted: 11 Apr 2020 07:44 PM PDT  North Korea called for stronger measures against the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic at a meeting presided by leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported Sunday, without acknowledging whether the country had reported any infections. Officials in Pyongyang and its state media have repeatedly insisted that the North remains totally free of the virus, but Sunday's report did not make that assertion. The coronavirus epidemic -- which has infected more than 1.7 million worldwide -- had become "a great disaster threatening the whole mankind, regardless of borders and continents", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
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| U.S. now leads world in deaths, day after Trump announces 'Opening our Country' task force Posted: 11 Apr 2020 10:38 AM PDT  As the president mulls when restrictive coronavirus measures might start to be lifted, the U.S. passed a grim milestone of leading the world in deaths from the virus.
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| When will we reopen the country? Antibody testing may help officials decide, experts say Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:58 AM PDT  Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Friday that "most of the country" will not be able to open by May 1. How can antibody testing help?
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| 'We're on the edge of the precipice': How the pandemic could shatter college dreams Posted: 12 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT  Some high school seniors are dropping their first-choice schools in favor of colleges that are cheaper. Others are taking a year off so they can help bail out their families.
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| Yemen's Houthi rebels sentence 4 reporters to death Posted: 11 Apr 2020 04:26 AM PDT  A court run by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday sentenced four journalists to death after their conviction on spying charges, their defense lawyer said. The four were among a group of 10 journalists who were detained by the Iran-backed rebels and accused of "collaborating with the enemy," in reference to the Saudi-led coalition that has been at war with the Houthis since 2015, lawyer Abdel-Majeed Sabra said. Sabra identified the four who were sentenced to death as Abdel-Khaleq Amran, Akram al-Walidi, Hareth Hamid and Tawfiq al-Mansouri.
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| Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: Army officer hanged for murder of Bangladesh's founding president Posted: 12 Apr 2020 02:56 AM PDT  Abdul Majed spent 25 years on the run after he was found guilty of murdering Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
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| Italy's daily coronavirus death tally lowest since March 19 Posted: 12 Apr 2020 09:41 AM PDT  Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 431 on Sunday, down from 619 the day before, and the number of new cases slowed to 4,092 from a previous 4,694. The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 rose to 19,899, the Civil Protection Agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.
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| Empty churches and the empty tomb Posted: 12 Apr 2020 03:30 AM PDT  One year ago on Monday, hundreds of millions of people the world round reacted with horror to images of the cathedral church of Our Lady of Paris burning. She did not collapse, as some feared she would. But it was announced with regret that throughout Holy Week and on Easter Sunday, Notre Dame would be empty for the first time since the days of the Revolution.Now nearly all of our churches appear empty. I say "appear" because in many of them there will in fact be priests offering the one acceptable sacrifice, in union with the angels and saints. But it is almost certainly the case that fewer people will attend Mass on Sunday than on any Easter in more than a thousand years.It is difficult to say exactly when the present reality no longer seemed shocking. I cannot be the only person who feels as if the last few months have been mostly indistinguishable. In January and February, a single day did not pass upon which all five members of our family were in good health. Then on my birthday, February 22, our daughter, Winifred Flosshilde, was stillborn. On Ash Wednesday she received Catholic burial at the diocesan cemetery. The following Sunday my wife was still recovering from Winifred's delivery and we did not attend Mass. The next week we entered our parish church and found it somewhat barer than usual; the following Sunday, by which time the obligation to attend Mass had been waived in our diocese, the church looked only somewhat emptier. Our bishop was the last in the United States to suspend public Masses. After that, the church doors remained unlocked. Opening them in order to confess my sins was an experience I shall never forget: a handful of masked women and teenagers hiding in corners like suspicious criminals, all of us praying before the exposed Body of Christ. Beneath the statue of St. Joseph, a handmade system of green and red light bulbs indicated whether the adjacent storage room was empty for the next penitent. It was of a piece with empty streets and empty parks, miserable weather, an atmosphere of relentless dread that many of us will no doubt refer to as "the long Lent." These have been the strangest and most miserable three months of my life.Why then do I now find myself resisting the urge to be giddy? I am tempted to say it is because I know that sooner or later all of this will come to an end, that out of the darkness we will emerge with our own candles, from the digital cold to the warmth of human affection and communion. But the eventual end of the pandemic and the return of normal human social relations, including the resumed public celebration of Mass, is only a proximate cause. The joy I find building in myself, quietly but undeniably, transcends the gloom of recent days.It does not, however, transcend bodies. The significance of this fact cannot be overstated. It is the supreme truth of the Christian religion that our faith is grounded not in anagogic speculations but in the reality of flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of a victim who won a victory, total and final, over the forces of sin and darkness, a human sacrifice who was Himself a sacrificing high priest, a non-citizen peasant who was king of all worlds.Christianity is not a matter of privately affirming certain propositions. The Church is herself a society, both natural and supernatural, a society of human believers whose shared joy is the affirmation of a truth. This truth is, reduced to its barest essence, that a certain body which ought to have been in a tomb was sought and found elsewhere. What this meant was a riddle to which only a few clever women guessed the answer immediately.We too must stand, like St. Mary Magdalene and her companions, before an emptiness and see beyond it a great light and a body, one both like and radically unlike that for which they had been seeking. This is the Resurrection, the hope of Easter, which must be commemorated with empty churches in spite of, nay because of, the fact that it is founded upon the realization that emptiness means not an absence but the presence of something for which we have longed without knowing it our entire lives.More stories from theweek.com 5 radically funny cartoons about the end of Bernie 2020 Coronavirus and the mystery of St. Mark's Easter story Sting, Jimmy Fallon, and the Roots perform 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' remotely, creatively
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| Virus cases, deaths rise in India's biggest slum Posted: 12 Apr 2020 06:27 AM PDT  Coronavirus cases in Mumbai's densely populated Dharavi slum -- one of Asia's biggest -- have risen to 43 including four deaths, officials said Sunday, as they ramp up testing in a race to contain its spread. Since the first virus death in early April, Indian authorities have stepped up measures to close off areas where cases have emerged in Dharavi, which is home to around a million people. Testing sites have also been set up in recent days to pick up asymptomatic carriers of the virus, Khabale-Patil said, adding that "as a result more positive cases have emerged".
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| U.S. now leads world in deaths, day after Trump announces 'opening our country' task force Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:18 PM PDT As the president mulls when restrictive coronavirus measures might start to be lifted, the U.S. passed a grim milestone of leading the world in deaths from the virus.
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| Spain to keep social distancing on beaches to fight virus Posted: 12 Apr 2020 04:13 AM PDT  Spain, one of Europe's top sunshine destinations, said Sunday it will maintain social distancing rules to curb the spread of the coronavirus once a nationwide lockdown ends, even on the beaches. The government on March 14 imposed a strict nationwide lockdown to fight the pandemic, and two days later it closed its land borders, with only Spanish citizens and residents able to enter the country. In an interview published Sunday in top-selling daily newspaper El Pais, Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said the government did not know when the borders would be reopened, saying it will depend on how "the health crisis evolves".
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| All but three people who died from COVID-19 in a major US city were black Posted: 12 Apr 2020 01:40 PM PDT  Emerging data has laid bare the glaring racial disparities and social inequities faced by those heavily impacted by COVID-19.
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| Op-Ed: Biden's choice of running mate matters, but not for the reasons you may think Posted: 12 Apr 2020 03:01 AM PDT  Joe Biden's choice of a running mate will help voters envision what a Biden presidency would look like — and help them decide whether he deserves to be president.
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| India, Pakistan troops trade heavy fire in Kashmir; 3 killed Posted: 12 Apr 2020 07:52 AM PDT |
| Cuomo on virus deaths: ‘Every one is a face and a name and a family that is suffering’ Posted: 12 Apr 2020 09:48 AM PDT  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed coronavirus deaths that occurred around the Easter holiday across New York state.
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| Saudi Arabia extends coronavirus curfew, UAE warns on worker repatriation Posted: 11 Apr 2020 03:51 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia indefinitely extended a curfew due to the coronavirus on Sunday amid a surge of new infections, and the United Arab Emirates warned of possible action against countries refusing to allow migrant workers to be repatriated. Since placing the capital Riyadh and other big cities under 24-hour curfew on Monday, Saudi Arabia has reported more than 300 new cases per day. For both this and the 24-hour curfew, residents may go out only for essential needs.
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| Kentucky Cops Take Down License Plates at Easter Church Service Defying Lockdown Posted: 12 Apr 2020 12:50 PM PDT  Kentucky police officers on Sunday wrote down the license plate numbers of roughly 50 cars parked outside a church where an in-person Easter service took place in defiance of the state's lockdown orders to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on Friday that residents who flout the stay-at-home order must self-quarantine for 14 days, warning that authorities would record the license plates of those who attend in-person Easter services or other mass gatherings and follow up with them. Shortly before Maryville Baptist Church's Easter service, piles of nails appeared to be intentionally dumped in the parking lot of the church, the Courier-Journal reported.As Pastors Make Unusual Easter Plans, One Vows 'Satan and Virus' Won't Stop 2000-Person Service The church's pastor, Rev. Jack Roberts, has previously disregarded the state ban on gatherings, saying that he "believed in the spiritual necessity of church before COVID-19. After COVID-19, we don't have fewer spiritual crises; we have more." He also asserted that he has a constitutional right to hold services and accused the governor of "infringing on the church's rights." Roberts covered his license plate on Sunday, as did several members of his congregation, but state troopers took down their vehicle identification numbers instead, the Journal reported.Sgt. Josh Lawson of the Kentucky State Police said that there have been no additional violations of the statewide order, noting that several drive-in services that took place around the state "were specifically mentioned by the governor as being allowed." "This is a time and weekend, a whole week for multiple faiths, that is about faith. It's about knowing we have faced as people—as Christians, as Jews, as members of many faiths—many difficult, dark times, and we have prevailed," Gov. Beshear said on Friday. "We know that the weeks or the months ahead will be difficult. We know that there are going to be tougher days before there are easier days."Beshear also said that anyone who holds in-person Easter services would be charged with a misdemeanor violation of the governor's statewide order. With at least 316 million Americans under orders to stay at home to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, governors have been at odds with some religious leaders who were defiant in their determination to celebrate Easter with their congregations.Reverend Tony Spell, a pastor of the evangelical Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana, told Reuters that "Satan and a virus will not stop us," and vowed to hold his service on Sunday despite Gov. John Bel Edwards' statewide stay-at-home order. The pastor said he expected over 2,000 worshippers to attend. "We are not afraid. We are called by God to stand against the Antichrist creeping into America's borders. We will spread the Gospel," Spell told Reuters. Central Police Department Chief Roger Corcoran told The Washington Post that he waited outside the megachurch and said that roughly 330 people attended Spell's Sunday service. "No one has advised him he couldn't hold church," Corcoran reportedly said. "It's been suggested he do it a different way, just like every other church in the nation, by social media and live stream."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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| Record deal to cut oil output ends price war Posted: 12 Apr 2020 02:42 PM PDT  Oil producing nations agree a deal that will see output reduced by nearly 10 million barrels a day.
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| U.K.'s Boris Johnson leaves hospital after personal COVID-19 battle Posted: 12 Apr 2020 02:36 PM PDT  "On the advice of his medical team, the PM will not be immediately returning to work," a spokesperson said.
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| 3M is suing a company accused of trying to re-sell fake N95 masks at a 600% markup Posted: 12 Apr 2020 06:46 AM PDT  In a lawsuit filed in federal court, 3M accused a company of fraudulently presenting itself as an official re-seller of N95 masks to New York officials.
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| One year after transgender military ban, Ohio man is undaunted: He wants to serve his country Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:20 AM PDT  Sunday marks one year since the Pentagon enacted its policy restricting the service of transgender troops. Nic Talbott is still determined to enlist.
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| Largest Arctic ozone hole ever recorded opens up over the North Pole Posted: 11 Apr 2020 01:09 PM PDT  A hole in the ozone opens up every year above Antarctica — but scientists were surprised to find one on the other side of the planet.
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| French sees effects of lockdown even as coronavirus death toll rises to 14,393 Posted: 12 Apr 2020 10:18 AM PDT  The death toll in France from the coronavirus outbreak rose at a slightly slower pace on Sunday than a day earlier, the French public health authority said, adding that the lockdown was producing its first effects. "This data confirms that the epidemic keeps going on in our country in a dynamic way and it continues to hit us hard," the health authority said in a statement. The death toll, which includes data from hospitals and nursing homes, rose by 561 to 14,393 as of Sunday.
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| Pope urges solidarity on an Easter of both joy, virus sorrow Posted: 12 Apr 2020 01:09 AM PDT  Pope Francis called for solidarity the world over to confront the "epochal challenge" posed by the coronavirus pandemic, as Christians celebrated a solitary Easter Sunday, blending the joyful feast day with sorrow over the toll the virus has already taken. Families that normally would attend morning Mass wearing their Easter best and later join friends for celebratory lunches hunkered down at home. Police checkpoints in Europe and closed churches around the globe forced the faithful to watch Easter services online or on TV.
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| Lawyer says Assange fathered two kids with her while in Ecuador embassy Posted: 11 Apr 2020 05:19 PM PDT  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange fathered two children with one of his lawyers while holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London for much of the past decade, according to a report Sunday confirmed by the mother. The 48-year-old Australian is the dad of two boys, aged two and one, with lawyer Stella Morris, to whom he is engaged, she confirmed following a Mail on Sunday report. Assange is currently being held in London's high security Belmarsh prison as he fights an extradition request by the United States to stand trial there on espionage charges.
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| The Historic Oil Price Truce Won’t Last Posted: 12 Apr 2020 02:00 PM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- After four days of high drama, low farce and long periods of tedium, the OPEC+ group of countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, finally agreed to a record cut in their oil production in response to the coronavirus-triggered collapse in demand. But the deal will come under pressure when the world becomes a more normal place again.The drama was provided by Mexico refusing to accept its allotted cut. The farce followed when the country's oil minister left the virtual OPEC+ meeting to hold separate talks with her U.S. and Canadian counterparts, while the other energy ministers agonized for hours, and then for days, over how to respond. The tedium? Well, that was just the bits in between.Mexico was asked to cut 400,000 barrels a day of production in the first phase of an OPEC+ deal that would run for an unprecedented two years. It offered one-quarter of that, and from a slightly higher baseline than what was asked for.An unlikely white knight appeared to ride to the group's rescue on Friday in the form of U.S. President Donald Trump. He proposed an arrangement with Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (known as AMLO) in which 250,000 barrels a day of the "market-driven" decline in U.S. output would be rebranded as "Mexican."But don't be fooled: That wouldn't have taken a single additional barrel of oil off the market beyond those that would disappear anyway because of the Covid-19-prompted collapse in demand. Eventually, after nearly four days of trying to persuade the Mexican government to budge, the Saudis and the Russians finally decided to cut their losses and swallow Mexico's lack of genuine commitment. The alternative would have been to allow the commodity markets to open on Monday morning with the group still in disarray and to risk another big price slump.In fairness, the OPEC+ deal is historically grand in its scope, given the size of the cuts and their duration, although it's questionable how much value there is in setting targets two years hence, when so much remains uncertain. The 20 producers taking part will initially cut output by 9.7 million barrels a day, with all but Mexico reducing production by 23% for two months — May and June. As it stands now, Mexico's cuts will end with the first phase of the deal, when it will presumably have to leave the OPEC+ group. The reduction for the remaining 19 countries will taper to 7.7 million barrels a day until the end of the year, and then to 5.8 million barrels for another 16 months, until April 2022.Don't be surprised if the headline numbers published by OPEC+ are even bigger than these. There has been some suggestion that the official figure could be closer to 12.5 million barrels a day, but that would be achieved by raising the starting production numbers for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, who have all boosted production this month, leaving their real targets unchanged. This is smoke and mirrors to try to make the cuts look even more substantial.The deal raises some even bigger questions than Mexico. Russia, for example, is to cut its output by 2.5 million barrels a day over the next three weeks. Really? Igor Sechin, head of state-controlled oil company Rosneft, was a fierce critic of Russia's modest contribution to previous reductions. I can imagine how he'll react when he's told his company has to cut output by almost 1 million barrels a day by May 1.The contribution from Friday's meeting of G-20 energy ministers — which followed Thursday's marathon OPEC+ call — was, to put it mildly, underwhelming. India's minister mentioned filling the country's strategic oil reserve, but there were no concrete new offers from the group. With oil prices on the floor, building up reserves makes sense anyway, and China and India have already started. But storage space is limited.The U.S. has room for another 77 million barrels in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but Congress refused last month to approve the budget for an initial 30-million-barrel purchase. Oil traders and analysts estimate that China could buy an extra 80 million to 100 million barrels this year. Meanwhile, the Indian government is asking state-run refiners to buy 15 million barrels of crude from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq to fill its tanks. Beyond those three countries, there's little storage capacity elsewhere.U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told the G-20 meeting that the oil market collapse will impose some 2 million barrels a day of American output cuts by the end of the year without any government intervention. Some predictive models, he added, see the drop as big as 3 million barrels. Russia previously rejected such "free market" cuts, arguing that production falling in response to a lack of demand is not an output reduction. But in the end it capitulated, along with the other OPEC+ countries. There was no mention in the OPEC+ communique of the deal being dependent on the actions of anyone else outside the group. Other non-OPEC+ producers, including Canada, Brazil and Norway have also contributed "market-driven" output cuts.This is the second time in less than five years that Saudi Arabia's attempt to pursue a pump-at-will policy has collapsed. After just one month, this one has lasted an even shorter time than the previous effort, brought to an end by the OPEC+ deal with Russia and other countries toward the end of 2016.But these are quite clearly extraordinary times, with an unprecedented demand collapse. Don't be surprised if the war over market share between the Saudis, the Russians and the Americans resumes once the lockdowns ease and people want oil again. This is a temporary truce rather than lasting peace between the three biggest producers.(This column was updated with confirmation of the Opec+ deal.)This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Julian Lee is an oil strategist for Bloomberg. Previously he worked as a senior analyst at the Centre for Global Energy Studies.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| A 'nightmare' scenario on the rise with coronavirus: Dying alone Posted: 11 Apr 2020 02:44 AM PDT  Deborah Mastromano's mom was alone in a Long Island nursing home, cut off from visitors. All Mastromano wanted was to hold her hand before she died.
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| Black people account for 72% of COVID-19 deaths in Chicago while making up less than a third of city's population, mayor says Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:56 AM PDT  "The answer that we believe is right is because of the underlying conditions that people of color, and particularly black folks, suffer from."
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| Fauci confirms New York Times report Trump rebuffed social distancing advice Posted: 12 Apr 2020 02:18 PM PDT  Health adviser says on CNN 'you could logically say if you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives' * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageProminent US public health adviser Dr Anthony Fauci appeared on Sunday to confirm a bombshell New York Times report which said he and other Trump administration officials recommended the implementation of physical distancing to combat the coronavirus in February, but were rebuffed for almost a month.Asked on CNN's State of the Union why the administration did not act when he and other officials advised, Fauci said: "You know … as I have said many times, we look at it from a pure health standpoint. We make a recommendation. Often, the recommendation is taken. Sometimes, it's not."…It is what it is. We are where we are right now."More than 530,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the US, with almost 21,000 deaths. Officials currently expect a death toll of about 60,000 by August.CNN host Jake Tapper asked if Fauci thought "lives could have been saved if social distancing, physical distancing, stay-at-home measures had started [in the] third week of February, instead of mid-March".> There was a lot of pushback about shutting things down back then> > Dr Anthony Fauci"It's very difficult to go back and say that," Fauci said. "I mean, obviously, you could logically say, that if you had a process that was ongoing, and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives. Obviously, no one is going to deny that."But what goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated. But you're right. I mean, obviously, if we had, right from the very beginning, shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different. But there was a lot of pushback about shutting things down back then."Since the White House issued physical distancing guidelines on 16 March, much of the US has gone into lockdown, shuttering the economy and leading to unprecedented and potentially ruinous unemployment.Chafing against such conditions in an election year, Donald Trump has voiced an eagerness to reopen the economy as early as 1 May. The president has also said he will listen to advisers if they counsel against such a move.On Sunday, Fauci, other experts and governors of hard-hit states were skeptical. Phil Murphy, governor of New Jersey, the state with the highest death toll after New York, told CBS's Face the Nation: "If we start to get back on our feet too soon … we could be throwing gasoline on the fire."No White House briefing was scheduled on Sunday but Trump continued to attack the Times and its article, in one tweet appearing inadvertently to confirm it, writing: "the Fake News Opposition Party is pushing, with all their might, the fact that President Trump 'ignored early warnings about the threat'."Trump also claimed vindication regarding his "travel ban" on China. One of his most vocal supporters in the US media, Fox News host Sean Hannity, followed suit."Hey [Maggie Haberman]," Hannity tweeted, to one of six reporters on the byline of Saturday's report. "…You should Thank [Trump] for the Travel Ban(s) put in place while you and [the New York Times] were fixated on impeachment and advising people to travel to China. NYTimesEpicFail."Trump restricted travel from China before travel from Europe. The Times has reported that scientists believe most of the first Covid-19 cases in New York came from Europe, reporting which has prompted presidential tweets.In reply to Hannity, Haberman wrote: "Weird. Six bylines on our story about how the president handled the growing threat of the coronavirus but just one he's focused on. Something there but I can't put my finger on it..."The only female reporter on the Times article also tweeted footage of Fauci's remarks."This is confirmation of our story," she wrote, "which focused on various moments the president had to take the threat more seriously and didn't, in no small part due to the culture of government he's created."Trump has also complained about the Times' use of anonymous sources. On Sunday, the paper's executive editor responded.Dean Baquet told CNN's Reliable Sources there were some anonymous sources but the story was "based on many on-the-record interviews, documents. There is a tremendous email chain among scientists inside and outside the government where they talk about the growing crisis."So, I would suggest that people read it, rather than take the president's tweet at its word. It is a very well-documented, powerful chapter in understanding why the government was so slow in dealing with this pandemic."Baquet also said: "I would hope that the president reads it, because I think his tweet maybe indicates that he had not read it. And I think he will see a very important historic portrait of a government that was slow to deal with crisis."The editor was asked about his previous comparison of the coronavirus outbreak and the US government response with the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. In New York, more than three times as many people have died of Covid-19 as died on 9/11.Baquet said he did not know if the government's failure regarding the pandemic was of the same magnitude as failing to prevent the attacks on New York, Washington and an airliner which crashed in Pennsylvania."I think we have a lot more reporting to do," he said. "It's clearly a failure."
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| Were we mislead by the W.H.O and China? Posted: 11 Apr 2020 03:28 PM PDT  Dr. Fauci joins Jesse Watters to discuss the World Health Organization and China's handling of COVID-19 information.
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| Businessman Bails Michael Avenatti Out of Jail After He’s Granted Temporary Release Due to COVID-19 Posted: 11 Apr 2020 06:08 AM PDT  Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels who is serving time for trying to extort Nike, has been granted temporary release from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City amid fears he might contract COVID-19, according to a court order signed by a California judge late Friday. Avenatti will have to spend 14 days in quarantine at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to make sure he is not infected with the coronavirus before he can return to Los Angeles for 90 days. His $1 million bail was paid by banker Hubert Bromma, author of the book How to Invest in Offshore Real Estate and Pay Little or No Taxes and self-described "pioneer in the field of alternative investments in tax-free and tax-deferred environments." He will be confined to the personal residence of his childhood friend, Jay Manheimer, in Venice, California.Michael Avenatti Guilty on All Counts in Nike Extortion CaseAvenatti first petitioned the court for his release so he could avoid "disastrous health consequence" in early April, saying he had suffered from pneumonia six months earlier, which made him susceptible to COVID-19. Coronavirus has spread rapidly through New York's prison system, prompting a judge to release at least one other high-profile inmate, rapper Tekashi69.Judge James V. Selna of U.S. District Court in Santa Ana initially said Avenatti posed "a danger to the community" and could not be released unless he could post $1 million bond secured by at least half a million in real estate or hard assets.At the time, Avenatti's lawyer, H. Dean Steward, told the judge, "Frankly, your honor, we can't meet this." It is unclear what obligation Avenatti now has to the author Bromma, who secured the bond. Among the stipulations of his release laid out in the court order, seen by The Daily Beast, are his need to secure advance permission to travel and to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet. He is not allowed to leave Manheimer's house and he is prohibited from using the internet, from opening any bank or credit card accounts, or from engaging in any transaction worth more than $500.In an email to The Daily Beast on Saturday, Steward said he expected Avenatti would be released next week."Our goal has been to prepare for the two upcoming trials," he said. "The release of Mr. Avenatti will help us complete that preparation."Avenatti represented Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Donald Trump. He was later found guilty of wire fraud, extortion and transmitting a threat in interstate communications in his failed attempt to extort sportswear company Nike. He was due to be sentenced on June 17.He faces two other pending criminal cases in New York and California, where he's charged with stealing money from several of his clients—including Daniels, who claims he swiped $300,000 from her book advance. Federal prosecutors had opposed Avenatti's release, arguing that the celebrity lawyer had shown disregard for the court by trying to hastily organize a release without securing a bond, arranging a self-quarantine or allowing the government to properly vet Bromma and Manheimer."Defendant and his counsel continue to demonstrate that they are either unable or unwilling to follow this Court's directions, thereby wasting valuable judicial and government resources during a time when such resources are already stretched thin," prosecutors wrote in their court filing.A spokesman for the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, Los Angeles declined comment to The Daily Beast on Saturday.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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