| Senators say leaders from both parties are stopping renewal of small business relief for coronavirus Posted: 16 Apr 2020 03:45 PM PDT  The $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program to aid small businesses is reportedly already used up, and leaders of both parties blame the other for holding up additional funding
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| Trump's guidelines for reopening country show it could take a while Posted: 16 Apr 2020 05:05 PM PDT  President Trump announced new federal guidelines on Thursday for the easing of social distancing orders put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus, leaving their implementation and timing up to state governors.
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| Coronavirus: China outbreak city Wuhan raises death toll by 50% Posted: 17 Apr 2020 01:52 PM PDT  The revision of Wuhan's toll comes amid growing scepticism over the transparency of China's response.
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| Biden Stumbles Through Televised Interview on Coronavirus Response: ‘You know, There’s — During World War II, You Know, Where Roosevelt Came Up With A Thing’ Posted: 17 Apr 2020 12:28 PM PDT  Joe Biden on Friday stumbled through an interview on his proposed response to the coronavirus pandemic.Following a long and disjointed introduction, Biden appeared to suggest policy proposals similar to those Franklin D. Roosevelt employed to coordinate manufacturing for the war effort in the 1940's.> BIDEN: "Um, you know, there's a, uh, during World War II, uh, you know, where Roosevelt came up with a thing, uh, that, uh, you know, was totally different than a- than the- it's called, he called it, the, you know, the World War II, he had the war- the the War Production Board." pic.twitter.com/CwFSW2UITD> > -- Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) April 17, 2020"You know, there's a, uh — during World War II, you know, Roosevelt came up with a thing that uh, you know was totally different than a, than the, you know he called it you know the, World War II, he had the war… the war production board," Biden said.Biden has a history of public speaking gaffes, although the recent frequency of his slip-ups have allegations of cognitive decline from President Trump and his allies. The former vice president's campaign was thrown into further uncertainty with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced various states to implement mail-in voting for their primaries, and has limited campaign events to virtual platforms.During the height of the outbreak in New York, some Democrats speculated on whether Governor Andrew Cuomo might make a better presidential candidate. Cuomo's favorability ratings shot up in his home state as he dealt with the pandemic, however he has denied that he has any intention of challenging Biden.Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) dropped out of the race after weeks of speculation following a string of Biden primary victories and endorsed the former vice president several days later. Barack Obama has also endorsed his former running-mate.
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| Guatemalan suddenly deported under coronavirus 'emergency' measures readmitted to U.S. Posted: 17 Apr 2020 02:32 PM PDT  Gilmer Barrios' case suggests border agents used the new emergency powers to deport an immigrant who had an open case in U.S. courts and no deportation order.
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| Putin, Xi slam attempts to blame China for late virus response Posted: 16 Apr 2020 11:09 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday rejected as counterproductive attempts to blame Beijing for delaying informing the world about the coronavirus, the Kremlin said. Putin and Xi spoke after US President Donald Trump's administration berated China for not sharing data more quickly. Washington is also investigating the origins of the coronavirus -- which has killed more than 140,000 people worldwide -- saying it doesn't rule out that the disease came from a laboratory researching bats in Wuhan, China.
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| 11 Modernist Homes for Sale in the U.S. Posted: 17 Apr 2020 11:35 AM PDT |
| Coronavirus: Doctor claims 9.8 million people dying could be ‘worthwhile payoff’ if schools are reopened Posted: 16 Apr 2020 10:50 AM PDT  Dr Mehmet Oz had called reopening schools amidst the coronavirus outbreak a very "appetising opportunity," accepting there would be a two to three per-cent increase in deaths as a result."I just saw a nice piece in The Lancet arguing that the opening of schools may only cost us two to three per-cent, in terms of total mortality," Dr Oz said in an interview on Fox News.
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| Chinese and Malaysian ships in South China Sea standoff: Sources Posted: 17 Apr 2020 10:57 AM PDT  A Chinese government survey ship is tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia's state oil company, Petronas, in disputed waters in the South China Sea, three regional security sources said on Friday.
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| Jeff Bezos reportedly buys 4th condo in NYC for $16 million and now owns nearly $100 million in property in one building alone Posted: 17 Apr 2020 08:32 AM PDT  The latest purchase would be on top of the $80 million worth of real estate Jeff Bezos already owns in the same New York City building.
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| Trump repeatedly tweets about 'liberating' midwestern states Posted: 17 Apr 2020 09:33 AM PDT  President Trump is endorsing a little bit of anarchy to start the weekend.On Friday, Trump sent out repeated tweets calling to "liberate" some states, seemingly in support of protesters demanding their governors reopen businesses and restart the economy. "Liberate Michigan!", "Liberate Minnesota!," and "Liberate Virginia, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!" Trump said in three separate Friday tweets with liberal all-caps usage. The tweets came just minutes after Fox News covered protests outside the Minnesota governor's office.> Minutes after a Fox News segment on a protest against social distancing measures outside the Minnesota governor's office, by conservative "Liberate Minnesota" group, Trump tweets "LIBERATE MINNESOTA!"> > Left, Fox's America's Newsroom, 11:19 a.m. > Right, Trump, 11:21 a.m. pic.twitter.com/RvFV68oOCb> > — Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) April 17, 2020Trump's tweets seem to support an immediate return to normalcy for those states, but as a recent Pew Research study shows, that's the opposite of what two-thirds of Americans want. According to the study released Wednesday, 66 percent of Americans say they're afraid state governments will lift COVID-19 restrictions too soon, as opposed to 32 percent who worry they won't be lifted soon enough.Experts also warn returning to normalcy without doubling or tripling testing coronavirus capacity would cause a dangerous surge in disease spread and perhaps make previous social distancing efforts worthless.More stories from theweek.com 5 scathing cartoons about Trump's rush to reopen the economy Why can't you go fishing during the pandemic? Cuomo reacts to Trump tweet in real time, slams president for 'sitting home watching TV'
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| Rohingya crisis: UN reports surge of deadly fighting in Myanmar Posted: 17 Apr 2020 01:14 PM PDT  At least 32 civilians are said to have died in fighting between the military and ethnic militants.
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| Coronavirus Deaths in Africa Could Reach 300,000 and Overwhelm Health Systems, Says Report Posted: 17 Apr 2020 07:14 AM PDT  Under the worst-case scenario with no interventions against the virus, Africa could see 3.3 million deaths said a report
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| Beijing Admits to Undercounting Coronavirus Deaths, Raises Wuhan Death Toll by 50 Percent Posted: 17 Apr 2020 07:49 AM PDT  The Chinese Communist Party has revised its reported death count in Wuhan by exactly 50 percent, an attempt to improve the "credibility of the government" as residents and experts have warned the actual count is far higher that what's been previously reported.In an interview Friday with the Xinhua state news agency, officials pointed to unreported deaths at homes as the reason for the revision, to show "accountability to history, to the people and the victims," and to promote "open and transparent disclosure of information and data accuracy." Deaths rose 1,290 to 3,869 in the revised number.But Wuhan residents have warned that the death count is at least 40,000, pointing to increased demands on funeral homes and cremation numbers, which the government has censored reporting on. U.S. intelligence has also told the White House that mid-level bureaucrats in Wuhan have been lying about the number of cases, with some experts estimating that the total caseload in China could be close to three million, way above the official count of over 82,000 officially confirmed cases."The provinces report nonsense, such as Jiangsu with zero deaths in a population of 80 million," Derek Scissors of the American Enterprise Institute told National Review. "The lessons China learned are all wasted, even harmful if decision-makers elsewhere believe China is offering accurate information and represents a model."Wuhan lifted its total lockdown earlier this month, but city doctors have warned that tens of thousands of asymptomatic cases could exist, in comments that were subsequently removed from publication by the government.
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| In U-Turn, Venezuela’s Maduro Allows Brazil to Repatriate Staff Posted: 17 Apr 2020 01:08 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Brazil airlifted its diplomatic staff from Venezuela following tense negotiations with President Nicolas Maduro, who had initially denied authorization for a Brazilian air force plane to land in Caracas.A Hercules C-130 cargo aircraft took off from the Venezuelan capital on Friday and is on its way to Brasilia with 50 people on board, mostly embassy and consulate employees and their families, Brazil's Defense and Foreign Affairs ministries said in a joint statement. A dozen Brazilian citizens stuck in Venezuela are also being brought home as part of repatriation efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.The airlifting had been agreed between Brasilia and Caracas earlier this week, but on Wednesday Venezuelan military officials told the Brazilian embassy a permit to land would no longer be provided, without providing a reason. A solution was eventually brokered by senior military officials from both countries, according to two people familiar with the discussions.The comings and goings on the flight permission reflect conflicting views within the Maduro administration, the people said.Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a U.S. ally, recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and has given Guaido's envoy in Brasilia full ambassador status.Brazil was on track to withdraw its personnel in Venezuela even before the pandemic. In February, the country decided to remove its diplomatic personnel from the country in an attempt to increase Maduro's isolation. But the move was set up as a gradual process in which diplomats and other employees would use then-available commercial flights.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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| Still reeling from pig disease, China pork output drops for 6th quarter Posted: 17 Apr 2020 03:37 AM PDT  China's pork output dropped for a sixth straight quarter, as the world's top producer continued to reel from the impact of the African swine fever disease that decimated its hog herd. A sharp 29% plunge in first-quarter output underlines the extent of the impact from the disease and the huge task the sector faces in trying to rebuild after African swine fever killed millions of pigs since August 2018. It slashed China's pork output to a 16-year low of 42.6 million tonnes in 2019, while some experts estimate the sow herd shrank by at least 60% last year after the disease spread throughout the country, largely unreported.
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| Ilhan Omar unveils bill to cancel rent and mortgage payments amid pandemic Posted: 17 Apr 2020 09:47 AM PDT  Landlords and mortgage holders would be able to have losses covered by the federal government under the legislation * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageThe Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar has unveiled a bill that would cancel rent and mortgage payments for millions of Americans struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic.Under the legislation announced on Friday, landlords and mortgage holders would be able to have losses covered by the federal government. The program would extend for a month beyond the end of the national emergency, which was declared on 13 March, and would be made retroactive to cover April payments.The proposal comes amid an unprecedented housing crisis: 31% of Americans in rental accommodation could not pay rent at the beginning of this month. Millions have lost their jobs since.Federal answers have been limited. The Cares Act stimulus package included $12bn for Department of Housing and Urban Development programs targeting homelessness and rental assistance. But those funds do little to address the needs of millions of Americans who now find themselves on the edge of acute housing insecurity.National housing groups have called for more funding for rental relief. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates it would cost about $76.1bn over 12 months to provide relief to the 11.5 million people who are already or soon will become severely housing cost-burdened. The group is demanding $100bn in emergency solutions grants towards short-term rental assistance.But many housing advocates are concerned that such assistance would fail to provide the long-term protection needed to prevent mass evictions. A federal eviction moratorium established through the Cares Act extends only through mid-May, prohibiting evictions within properties with federally backed mortgages.Without an enforcement mechanism, or a clear way for tenants to find out if their property is covered, evictions have continued.Omar's bill seeks to tie federal funding to clear renter protections. In order to receive funds, landlords and lenders would be required to follow a set of fair renting and lending practices for five years. These terms would prohibit rent increases, evictions without just cause, discrimination against voucher holders and more. Any owner or mortgagee who breaks the terms would be subject to a fine.Perhaps most ambitiously, the legislation seeks to establish a fund to finance the purchase of private rental properties by not-for-profits, public housing authorities, community land trusts and state and local governments.The legislation was developed with grassroots organizations including People's Action, the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) and PolicyLink. Such groups hope to introduce the kind of solutions they wanted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.Dianne Enriquez, CPD housing campaign coordinator, said the 2008 crisis wiped out "millions of dollars in generational wealth", particularly in black and brown communities, when people lost their homes."It created a devastation that we have not recovered from in the 12 years since," she said, adding that as a result, "we are now a majority renter nation".In New York, statewide tenant coalition Housing Justice for All is aiming to organize a million renters to withhold rent and compel the governor, Andrew Cuomo, to cancel rent and mortgage payments. Tenants are also organizing in Philadelphia and California, where thousands have pledged to withhold rent on 1 May.Omar's bill proposes "an amazing way to use the federal stimulus package to not just provide direct relief but the long-term transformation of a real-estate market that's based on speculation and private profit to a housing situation that prioritizes homes", said Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator at Housing Justice for All."It provides a pathway to a different ownership structure that doesn't rely on eviction and rent hikes to make money."
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| Two felons escape Wisconsin prison, residents told 'lock your doors' Posted: 16 Apr 2020 01:23 PM PDT  "Please lock your doors, and stay home. See anyone suspicious call 911," the Columbia County Sheriff's Office said in a statement..
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| People are slamming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for appearing to suggest the $1,200 coronavirus stimulus payments could last people 10 weeks Posted: 16 Apr 2020 10:15 AM PDT  The Trump appointee likely referred to the entire $2 trillion relief package passed in March, but other lawmakers were quick to pile on.
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| Cuomo reacts to Trump tweet in real time, slams president for 'sitting home watching TV' Posted: 17 Apr 2020 10:35 AM PDT  During his daily coronavirus press conference on Friday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo let loose some his harshest criticism yet of President Trump. Cuomo's rant came after Trump tweeted during the briefing that Cuomo should spend "more time 'doing' and less time 'complaining.'""If he's sitting home watching TV, maybe he should get up and go to work," Cuomo shot back. The governor went on to address Trump's criticism that the federal government had built the state "thousands of hospital beds that you didn't need or use," noting that the estimates New York had relied on in the first place were from the White House."He should read the reports he issues … They're your projections, Mr. President," Cuomo slammed. "So, were we foolish for relying on your projections?"> Gov. Andrew Cuomo responds to tweets from Pres. Trump: "For him to say to anyone, well, you relied on projections and the projections were wrong—They're your projections, Mr. President! So were we foolish for relying on your projections, Mr. President?" https://t.co/imu5k1sE1D pic.twitter.com/5eSfpyRtXS> > — ABC News (@ABC) April 17, 2020But Cuomo wasn't finished. He went on to blast Trump for continually seeking praise for "doing your job as president," asking, "what am I supposed to do, send a bouquet of flowers?" He also criticized Trump for announcing this week that governors could decide when to reopen the economy, nothing that such a power is enshrined in the 10th Amendment of the Constitution. "It was always up to the states," Cuomo scoffed, adding: "What, are you going to grant me what the Constitution gave me before you were born?""He's doing nothing," Cuomo said of the president. "All he's doing is walking in front of the parade."More stories from theweek.com 5 scathing cartoons about Trump's rush to reopen the economy Why can't you go fishing during the pandemic? Dr. Phil begrudgingly apologizes for comparing coronavirus to swimming pool deaths
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| Coronavirus at Smithfield pork plant: The untold story of America's biggest outbreak Posted: 17 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT  Infections spread like wildfire through a pork factory in South Dakota. Here's how it happened.
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| Alarms ring as Greenland ice loss causes 40% of 2019 sea level rise Posted: 16 Apr 2020 11:20 AM PDT  The kilometres-thick icesheet that covers Greenland saw a near-record imbalance last year between new snowfall and the discharge of meltwater and ice into the ocean, scientists have reported. A net loss of 600 billion tonnes was enough to raise the global watermark 1.5 millimetres, about 40 percent of total sea level rise in 2019. The Greenland icesheet -- which, until the end of the 20th century accumulated as much mass as it shed -- holds enough frozen water to lift the world's oceans by seven metres.
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| McConnell on Additional SBA Funding: ‘Senate Democrats Blocked It’ Posted: 16 Apr 2020 01:21 PM PDT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) took aim at Democrats for stifling efforts to replenish the popular small business lending program whose $349 billion budget ran out on Thursday."One week ago, Mr. President, I warned that the Paycheck Protection Program was running out of money. I tried to pass a clean funding bill. Senate Democrats blocked it," McConnell said during a Senate "pro forma" session on Thursday afternoon, after the Small Business Administration announced Thursday morning that the initiative, having approved more than 1.6 million loans."Here's where we are, a week later, with absolutely no progress. This morning, the program ran out of money and shut down, just as I warned a week ago," McConnell continued.> One week ago, I warned that the Paycheck Protection Program was running out of money and tried to a pass clean funding bill. Senate Democrats blocked it.> > Here we are, a week later, with no progress. This morning, the PPP ran out of money and shut down, just as we'd warned. pic.twitter.com/L8EGPHMfrn> > -- Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) April 16, 2020The Senate majority leader warned last week that the program, designed by Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and others, needed more funding after the White House Office of Management and Budget said that the program was outpacing expected demand."It is quickly becoming clear that Congress will need to provide more funding or this crucial program may run dry," McConnell said on April 7. "That cannot happen. Nearly 10 million Americans filed for unemployment in just the last two weeks. This is already a record-shattering tragedy, and every day counts."But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) countered with their own proposal, which demanded 50 percent of the additional cash for farmers, women, minorities, and veteran-owned businesses, as well as an additional $100 billion in hospital funding and $150 billion more for state and local governments.Schumer (D., N.Y.) tried to discuss a last-minute deal with Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin on Wednesday, but the efforts failed. Rubio called the decision by Democrats not to accept a straight renewal of funding "absurd" and "ridiculous," with Congress not due back in session until May 4.
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| Mexico Downgraded to Baa1 by Moody’s on Weak Growth Outlook Posted: 17 Apr 2020 02:35 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Mexico received a long-anticipated downgrade by Moody's Investors Service after a year of economic contraction and persistent uncertainty.The nation's sovereign debt was downgraded one notch to Baa1 with a negative outlook, the rating firm said in a statement. Mexico has held a solid A3 investment-grade rating since 2017, but Moody's lowered the country's outlook from stable to negative in June 2019."Mexico's medium term economic growth prospects have materially weakened," analyst Ariane Ortiz-Bollin wrote in the decision. "The continued deterioration in Pemex's financial and operational standing is eroding the sovereign's fiscal strength."Moody's also cut Pemex's rating two notches to Ba2, well into junk levels, fueling concerns that the state oil company's bonds could be in line for a forced sell-off. The outlook on Pemex's rating remains negative.The decision follows a downgrade by Fitch Ratings Inc. on Wednesday to BBB-, the lowest investment grade score, and a downgrade by S&P Global Ratings on March 26 to BBB.Mexico has been in a precarious position since the election of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2018. He canceled an airport project in Mexico City before even assuming office, buffeting markets and ushering in a year and a half of persistent uncertainty that has weighed on the country's economic prospects. In 2019, Mexico's gross domestic product contracted 0.1%, the product of a dismal investment climate domestically and global trade uncertainties.Mexico's Finance Ministry sought to downplay the rating cut."The institutional and economic foundations of our country are solid," the ministry said in a statement. "In their evaluations, the rating agencies reiterate that the country has a highly credible and prudent fiscal policy record."Additional pressure was put on the sovereign rating by state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, better known as Pemex. While the company doesn't have an official government debt guarantee, investors worried that an effort to support the firm with continuous capital injections could undermine Mexico's fiscal position.Still, Lopez Obrador's government staved off a downgrade by defying market expectations and maintaining fiscal prudence. The government posted a primary budget surplus in 2019, only the third time Mexico has done so in a decade.But in the lead up to the downgrade, Mexican markets got hammered by a slide in global oil prices and fears of a continued spread of the coronavirus.(Updates with Finance Ministry comments 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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| Coronavirus clue? Most cases aboard U.S. aircraft carrier are symptom-free Posted: 16 Apr 2020 08:24 AM PDT  Sweeping testing of the entire crew of the coronavirus-stricken U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt may have revealed a clue about the pandemic: The majority of the positive cases so far are among sailors who are asymptomatic, officials say. The possibility that the coronavirus spreads in a mostly stealthy mode among a population of largely young, healthy people showing no symptoms could have major implications for U.S. policy-makers, who are considering how and when to reopen the economy. It also renews questions about the extent to which U.S. testing of just the people suspected of being infected is actually capturing the spread of the virus in the United States and around the world.
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| 'No blacks': Evicted, harassed and targeted in China for their race amid coronavirus Posted: 16 Apr 2020 12:09 PM PDT  After five Nigerians living in Guangzhou, China, test positive for the coronavirus, a campaign targets all Africans in the city.
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| Saudi Arabia executes man who attacked Spanish dance troupe Posted: 16 Apr 2020 06:33 AM PDT  Emad Abdelqawi al-Mansouri stormed the stage and stabbed dancers and a security guard, a court in Riyadh found.
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| Essential Gifts for Bakers That Go Beyond the Kitchen Posted: 17 Apr 2020 09:00 AM PDT |
| Pentagon chief pours cold water on theory that coronavirus was released from a Wuhan lab, despite Trump admin investigation Posted: 17 Apr 2020 05:55 AM PDT  Defense Secretary Mark Esper said most theories view the coronavirus as having emerged naturally, despite a government probe into a Wuhan lab.
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| Coronavirus: Japan declares nationwide state of emergency Posted: 16 Apr 2020 06:55 AM PDT  Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been facing criticism for his response to the coronavirus outbreak.
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| US says probing if coronavirus came from Chinese lab Posted: 16 Apr 2020 09:16 AM PDT  President Donald Trump's administration is investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it doesn't rule out that it came from a laboratory researching bats in Wuhan, China. Chinese scientists have said the virus, which has killed more than 138,700 people worldwide, was likely transmitted to humans late last year at a Wuhan "wet market" that slaughtered exotic animals -- a longtime focus of concern for public health experts. "We're doing a full investigation of everything we can to learn how it is the case that this virus got away, got out into the world and now has created so much tragedy -- so much death -- here in the United States and all around the world," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News.
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| Biden Embraces Endorsement of Liberal Jewish Group J Street Posted: 17 Apr 2020 05:03 AM PDT  In a sign of how the ground has shifted domestically when it comes to Israeli politics, the progressive-minded Israel advocacy group J Street announced its first ever presidential endorsement on Friday. And its recipient, former Vice President Joe Biden, eagerly embraced it."I'm honored to have earned J Street's first-ever presidential endorsement," Biden said in a statement sent to The Daily Beast. "J Street has been a powerful voice to advance social justice here at home, and to advocate for a two-state solution that advances Middle East Peace. I share with J Street's membership an unyielding dedication to the survival and security of Israel, and an equal commitment to creating a future of peace and opportunity for Israeli and Palestinian children alike. That's what we have to keep working toward—and what I'll do as President with J Street's support."Founded in 2007 as a philosophical counterweight to more reflexively pro-Israeli government advocacy organizations like AIPAC, J Street was, for a time, treated as a creature of the liberal foreign policy diaspora—an institution that intellectuals were fine embracing but mainstream Democratic politicians kept at a safe distance. That has changed in recent years as public opinion among Democrats has turned more sour on Benjamin Netanyahu's government, particularly as it trashed Barack Obama's Iran nuclear deal and cozied up to Donald Trump. Today, J Street finds itself to the ideological right of a good chunk of the current Jewish left.Biden, more a traditionalist on U.S.-Israel relations, has resisted some of those tectonic shifts. He was one of the few presidential candidates this year who declined to skip addressing AIPAC's forum. He's criticized the BDS movement and has said he would not move the U.S. Embassy back to Tel Aviv after Trump relocated it to Jerusalem. But his embrace of the J Street's endorsement is being hailed by the group as evidence of its own growth on the domestic political landscape. "The alignment in the Democratic Party and the shift of the conversation on our issues allows us to feel really great about lining up behind someone like Joe Biden," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street's president. Asked if he felt that shift had occurred even within the last four years, since J Street passed on endorsing Hillary Clinton, Ben-Ami conceded that "it probably" had. "Whether or not it is the moment or the candidates, there has been a shift," he said. "Politics is different in 2020 than it was in 2016, and this issue is no exception. The way the politics in Israel has moved so far right and the way Trump has embraced what's going on there has created a lot more space for Democratic candidates."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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| Black Americans are dying of COVID-19 at a higher rate than anyone else. Why, and can anything be done? Posted: 16 Apr 2020 01:41 PM PDT  The story of the coronavirus in the U.S. shows discrepancies by geography, age, sex and other factors, but one stands out above all: Black Americans are infected with the virus and die from it at disproportionately higher rates than any other group in the country. But it's not enough to admit the problem. There are short-term and long-term solutions to level the field.
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| Italy's coronavirus death toll rises by 525, new cases push higher Posted: 16 Apr 2020 09:21 AM PDT  Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy increased by 525 on Thursday, down from 578 the day before, but the number of new cases accelerated sharply to 3,786 from a previous 2,667. The daily death toll was the lowest since Sunday, while the tally of new infections was the highest since Sunday. The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 rose to 22,170, the Civil Protection Agency said, the second highest in the world after that of the United States.
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| Mexico Central Bank Rebuffs AMLO Request for Surplus Fund Posted: 16 Apr 2020 03:17 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met central bank Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon to ask for an advance on the bank's exchange-rate surplus. He returned empty-handed, for now.In a statement, Banxico said that both Lopez Obrador and Diaz de Leon discussed the importance of following the existing procedure and timing regarding the surplus as laid out in the central bank's own regulations.The surplus -- which is scheduled to be paid out in April next year -- may eventually represent a windfall for Mexico's government as it tries to hold its fiscal position amid shocks from an oil slump and the coronavirus."Banxico won't know how much is left over until the end of the year," said New York-based Bank of America economist Carlos Capistran. "It seems appropriate to me that Banxico respects the timing established by the law."Lopez Obrador had said that he would ask about a possible advance payment on that funding in a morning press conference on Thursday. In a tweet after the meeting, the president said that discussions were cordial and that he had reiterated his absolute respect for the central bank's independence.(Adds Capistran quote in fourth 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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| Tornado threats in Southeast, snow and cold from Midwest to Northeast Posted: 17 Apr 2020 07:26 AM PDT  Some of the same areas hit by Easter weekend's deadly tornado outbreak could get hit again with both severe storms and flash flooding.
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| Coronavirus nightmare in Ecuador's main city Guayaquil - pictures Posted: 17 Apr 2020 02:00 PM PDT  Guayaquil is one of the worst-hit places in Latin America in the pandemic.
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| The 10 Most Challenging Puzzles To Try While You Stay Home Posted: 17 Apr 2020 11:58 AM PDT |
| NKorea flouts sanctions through China shipping: UN report Posted: 17 Apr 2020 03:36 PM PDT  The annual report to the UN Security Council by sanctions experts went online and inexplicably disappeared later in the day, with the text itself noting China's reservations about the findings. Publishing photographs, shipping logs and submissions from member-states, the panel said that North Korea had violated the total UN prohibition on exporting coal as well as restrictions on imports of refined petroleum.
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| Trump Calls For Reopening America’s Gyms Day After Call With SoulCycle’s Owner Posted: 17 Apr 2020 01:07 PM PDT  President Donald Trump unveiled a proposal this week to reopen America's gyms in spite of the coronavirus outbreak after a phone call that included the head of the company that owns luxury fitness brands Equinox and SoulCycle, who also happens to be a high-profile Trump supporter.In a memo issued on Thursday titled "Guidelines for Opening Up America Again," the White House included gyms among the businesses that would reopen to the general public during "phase one" of its plan to jump-start the American economy, which has cratered amid nationwide stay-at-home orders and business closures. Though the document said gyms could open "if they adhere to strict physical distancing and sanitation protocols," their inclusion nevertheless struck public health experts as bizarre. "Gyms are like a petri dish," said Laurence Gostin, the director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. "People are close to one another, they're sweating, they're coughing and sneezing, they're touching multiple surfaces, they're sharing equipment, they're indoors. Literally all of the heightened risk factors for COVID transmission are all entwined together in a gym."The White House's guidance included mitigation measures that would ostensibly minimize the risk of transmission at gyms that opt to reopen, including "strict physical distancing and sanitation protocols." But Gostin said he's not convinced that the risks of transmission could be sufficiently minimized."It's very hard to socially distance. Machines are right next to each other. It's also very hard to disinfect. You'd have to do it continuously, not just every hour," he said. "There was certainly no attempt to put in any scientific evidence as to why they're safe or how they could possibly be made safe."The decision on gyms came a day after Trump's phone call with 16 business leaders including Bahram Akradi, chief executive of health club chain Life Time, and Stephen Ross, the founder and chairman of the Related Companies. That firm's broad portfolio includes a vast swath of commercial and residential real estate properties, as well as Equinox Holdings, which owns its own eponymous chain of luxury gyms as well as fitness brands SoulCycle, Blink Fitness, and Pure Yoga.Trevor Noah Drags Equinox Owner for Ignoring Trump's RacismThose businesses, like the larger fitness industry, have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus. SoulCycle has slashed payroll and furloughed employees. Equinox and Blink have both frozen membership charges.Arkadi has donated to prominent Republicans in the past, though not to Trump. He warned in an appearance on Laura Ingraham's primetime Fox News show late last month that he might be forced to lay off up to 90 percent of his employees unless American businesses began to reopen.The White House readout of Wednesday's phone call said industry representatives—which included Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Jimmy John Liautaud, the eponymous owner of the Jimmy John's restaurant chain, and Phil Ruffin of Treasure Island Hotels—"shared ideas for ways their industries can safely return." The White House declined to comment on whether ideas presented by Ross informed its phase one guidelines. In an emailed statement, a Related spokesperson told The Daily Beast, "Stephen Ross never discussed gyms, exercise clubs or anything like that with the President and this story is factually incorrect garbage.""Equinox is an independent company, with multiple investors and Related doesn't make strategic or operational decisions for them," the spokesperson added.Ross was one of more than 200 people named to the White House's economic recovery task forces this week, which will advise the Trump administration on policies to reverse the economic damage done by the coronavirus. He was one of 27 high-dollar donors to pro-Trump groups who made the list. Since the 2016 presidential campaign, he's donated about $300,000 to the Republican National Committee.Ross also hosted a fundraiser for Trump's reelection campaign last year at his home in the Hamptons. The move drew criticism from Trump critics and calls to boycott his fitness businesses, which are among the nation's largest by revenue. That fundraiser, combined with one other, helped the president and affiliated campaign groups raise $12 million. As Ross endured criticism for hosting the event, Trump rushed to his defense. "He's a great friend of mine; he's a very successful guy. We were competitors but friends in real estate in New York in the old days," he told reporters. "He's probably more inclined to be a liberal if you want to know the truth, but he likes me, he respects me."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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| UK tells doctors to treat COVID-19 patients without full-length gowns due to shortage: report Posted: 17 Apr 2020 10:33 AM PDT  British healthcare staff have been advised to treat COVID-19 patients without full-length protective gowns due to shortages of equipment, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday. Health minister Matt Hancock told a committee of lawmakers earlier that Britain was "tight on gowns" but had 55,000 more arriving on Friday and was aiming to get the right equipment where it was needed by the end of this weekend. The Guardian reported that with hospitals across England set to run out of supplies within hours, Public Health England had changed guidelines which stipulated full-length, waterproof surgical gowns should be worn for high-risk hospital procedures.
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| Fact check: Black people being targeted in Guangzhou, China, over COVID-19 fears Posted: 16 Apr 2020 07:50 AM PDT  Discrimination against blacks in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, including an incident at McDonald's, has sparked outrage.
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| 'Welcome aboard, Bob:' Lone passenger on U.S. flight gets VIP treatment Posted: 17 Apr 2020 11:58 AM PDT  "Hi Bob," the pilot said with a wave to the jet's sole passenger, who filmed the experience. "I'm just making a video," Bob Pitts said. "Talking to myself. There's nobody to talk to."
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| The major iPhone 12 redesign Apple is reportedly planning may have just leaked in a new video Posted: 17 Apr 2020 05:44 AM PDT  Recent leaks have indicated that Apple is planning to give the iPhone 12 Pro Max a new look, with flat metal edges and a smaller notch.
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| Climate change: US megadrought 'already under way' Posted: 17 Apr 2020 05:05 AM PDT  A drought as bad as any in recorded history may be under way in the US.
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| Why Amy Klobuchar Is the Front-runner in the Democratic Veepstakes Posted: 17 Apr 2020 12:32 PM PDT  In normal times, the vice presidency is not supposed to be worth a warm bucket of, um, spit. But these are not normal times.A global plague has shut down much of American society. The virus is particularly deadly to the elderly, and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee will turn 78 later this year. In November, voters will want more than anything a VP who is ready on a moment's notice to lead the country out of a crisis. So the Democratic veepstakes is suddenly much more important than it otherwise would be.Joe Biden has pledged to name a woman as his running mate, and he has indicated that he would very much like that woman to be an African American. Stacey Abrams checks both boxes, and she is auditioning for the job. But while she might excite the Democratic base, a failed gubernatorial candidate who has never held a public office more powerful than state legislator obviously has no chance of getting the nod during the present pandemic. Maybe the coronavirus will, against all odds, abate in the coming months. But it would be an act of political insanity for a geriatric presidential nominee to select a former state legislator as his running mate under the current circumstances.If Biden wants his VP to be a black woman, then, he is left with only one real choice: Kamala Harris. While the California senator has three years of experience as a senator and six years more as her state's attorney general, her presidential campaign was a disaster, doomed by vacillation and equivocation on important matters of policy. She proved herself capable of delivering scripted attacks during debates, but her most famous such attack came at Biden's expense: She hit him on his past opposition to forced busing, practically calling him a racist. That would be difficult, to say the least, for her to explain away were Biden to choose her. It shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle, and she still makes sense on paper. But her primary performance failed to generate much enthusiasm among Democrats, and her indecisiveness made her seem unready to step up in a crisis.What about Elizabeth Warren? If Biden wants ideological balance on the ticket, the senator from Massachusetts makes the most sense. But does he really need ideological balance?For most of the left, Biden's pledges to lower the Medicare-eligibility age to 60, establish a public option for health care, and defeat Donald Trump will be enough. Bernie Sanders's most alienated, angry, hardcore supporters are not going to turn out because of Warren; they hate her just as much as they hate Biden. The greater number of 2016 Sanders voters who didn't turn out for Hillary Clinton in key Midwestern states could be swayed by Warren, but my hunch is that they were turned off more by Clinton's persona than her ideology, and it's hard to see how Warren would connect with them on a cultural level. More importantly, Warren's pledges to radically transform the nation's economy could scare away the moderate suburbanites who powered Democrats' successful 2018 effort to retake the House — and Biden really can't afford to lose those voters in 2020.All of which suggests that a relatively moderate woman from the Midwest would make much more sense as Biden's VP.Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer has gotten a lot of attention in recent weeks, but a fair amount of it has been negative. Whitmer only has one year of experience as governor, and voters may come to view Michigan's especially stringent lockdown restrictions as arbitrary and excessive in the coming months. She seems like a long-shot for the second spot on the national ticket.The darkhorse VP nominee from the Midwest is Tammy Baldwin, who has been a senator from the potentially decisive, perpetually polarized swing state of Wisconsin for the last seven years, and won re-election in 2018 by eleven points even as GOP governor Scott Walker lost his bid for a fourth term by just one point. The existence of Baldwin–Walker voters, plus the fact that Baldwin was the first openly gay women in Congress, must be attractive to Democrats. The major drawback is that Baldwin has never endured the national spotlight.That leaves just one name: Amy Klobuchar, the Minnesota senator who is still the leading contender for the job. She won't scare away crucial suburban voters the way that Warren would and Harris might. She is serving her 14th year in the Senate, so she has experience, and having run for the presidency this cycle, she has survived the scrutiny of a national campaign.There are other senators Biden could select, of course: Tammy Duckworth of Illinois is a veteran and a Purple Heart recipient. Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada makes a fair amount of sense if Biden decides his path to victory depends more on the Southwest than on Wisconsin.But neither Duckworth, Cortez-Masto, nor Baldwin has been tested on a national stage the way Klobuchar was. The Minnesota senator was far from flawless during the primaries, and she had some (literally) shaky performances. But she also proved herself more than capable of knifing an earnest and smooth-talking Indiana politician on the debate stage when it counted, a skill that might come in handy this fall.Biden has four months to make a final decision, but at the moment Klobuchar remains his most logical pick.
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