| Mitch McConnell could yet pay price for 'tone deaf' coronavirus response Posted: 04 May 2020 12:00 AM PDT  The Senate majority leader oversaw a huge handout to big business and drew bipartisan ire for suggesting struggling states should go bankrupt * Coronavirus – latest US updates * Coronavirus – latest global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageIt was, New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo observed, "one of the really dumb ideas of all time". Larry Hogan, his counterpart in Maryland, called it "complete nonsense". Congressman Pete King of New York said it was the work of the "Marie Antoinette of the Senate".It would be an understatement to say Mitch McConnell's suggestion that state and local governments should declare bankruptcy rather than seek more federal funding went down like a lead balloon. It was a rare instance of the Senate majority leader overplaying his hand.It also showed that Donald Trump is not the only figure embodying liberal nightmares in the time of coronavirus. When historians contemplate a death toll in the tens of thousands and an economy fallen off a cliff, they will pay close attention to the president's most important ally."I think Mitch McConnell is the guy to be watching and focusing on in terms of what's going on," said Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. "His messaging around the coronavirus has been tone deaf."It's not just the fact that McConnell was remarkably brutal in pairing Americans into red and blue states at a time of national crisis – that is pretty shameless – but I think it was also politically inept because he's got his colleagues in tough races in blue states."McConnell's role in the pandemic drama has been criticised. On 12 March, just before Trump declared a national emergency, the senator flew back to Kentucky for a celebration for Justin Walker, a young rightwing judge nominated to America's second highest court. The ill-timed absence was noted. "WheresMitch?" trended on Twitter.With the economy in a tailspin, Senate Republicans came up with emergency funding. But it was skewed in favour of corporate executives and shareholders. Democrats refused it. A New York Times editorial was headlined: "The Coronavirus Bailout Stalled. And It's Mitch McConnell's Fault."Democrats forced concessions in a record $2.2tn bill that increased support to workers and reduced handouts to business, though these still amounted to what critics called a $500bn "corporate slush fund".Trump was earning global opprobrium for his bungling of the pandemic, but it was apparently too late for McConnell to untether himself from the president, even if he so desired. Instead, he blamed Democrats for impeaching Trump."[The coronavirus] came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial," McConnell told the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. "And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment."Opponents saw that as a feeble attempt to excuse the inexcusable.Moe Vela, a former senior adviser to Joe Biden, said: "Almost any good Mitch McConnell did by cooperating and collaborating on the legislative side is undone by his enabling of the president at a time when he could have been a real leader and called out the president on his lack of responsiveness and leadership."It's disappointing because he had the chance to redeem himself from all the negative and enabling and divisiveness of the past several years as the majority leader and he didn't take it.Vela, a board director of TransparentBusiness, added: "Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are battling for who is the greatest hypocrite in our nation – it's like they're competing for the hypocrisy trophy. It's not about unity, it's not about bringing the American people together at a time of crisis. For McConnell and Trump, it's all about politics and power."Last week McConnell retreated from his much-derided position on "blue state bailouts" and bankruptcy, indicating he would consider funds in the next relief bill for state and local governments struggling to pay police and firefighters."There's no question all governors, regardless of party, would like to have more money, I'm open to discussing that," he said on Fox News Radio.But he sailed into fresh controversy by insisting that senators, unlike their counterparts in the House, return to work on Monday. Washington DC remains a virus hotspot. At least one senator, eight Capitol police officers and 11 workers have tested positive. Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland warned that "without effective safeguards in place, Mitch McConnell is endangering the lives of the staff".Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, condemned McConnell for priorities that include confirming Walker and demanded oversight hearings into the White House's "dreadful response to this public health crisis".Schumer said: "The American people are demanding answers and solutions – Senator McConnell ought to focus the Senate's work on the crises caused by Covid-19, not rightwing judges or fulfilling his 'pre-existing partisan wishlist' of protecting big business from any harm done to the American people."Another confrontation is looming, over the next stimulus package. McConnell is insisting on protections for businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits as states reopen. Democrats warn workers' health could be jeopardised.Public Citizen, a corporate and government watchdog, tweeted: "McConnell is now refusing to pass ANY stimulus bill that doesn't include TOTAL LEGAL IMMUNITY for corporations that get people sick [with] the coronavirus. It's abhorrent. It's also totally impractical. How can we reopen the economy if companies have no incentive to keep us safe?"Trump and McConnell appear bound together. Should the president lose in November, he could bring down Senate Republicans – perhaps even McConnell in Kentucky. Challenger Amy McGrath, a fighter pilot, outraised McConnell in the first three months of this year.Defeat would be an ignominious end to a divisive career. Kurt Bardella, a former senior adviser for the House oversight committee, said: "History will not look back on Mitch McConnell kindly. He has been the most effective enabler of Donald Trump."Everything Trump has inflicted on the American people has been done with the blessing of McConnell. Through this entire coronavirus pandemic, McConnell has displayed he is a soulless person who is willing to let people suffer so he can continue to wield power."
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| Ministers 'fully aware' China was covering up extent of coronavirus outbreak in early weeks of crisis Posted: 03 May 2020 09:33 AM PDT  Ministers were made "fully aware" by intelligence agencies that China had covered up the true scale of the coronavirus outbreak, it was claimed on Sunday night, raising questions over Britain's decision to delay the lockdown. The UK Government was told "not to believe Beijing's claims" from the outset and to treat information coming out of China with scepticism, The Telegraph understands. A senior former MI6 official said the intelligence agencies knew what was "really happening" in China and passed that information to ministers. Doubts are also being expressed over China's insistence that the outbreak began in a so-called "wet market" in Wuhan, where live animals were being sold. The spotlight is being turned on the nearby Wuhan Institute of Virology amid claims that lax biosecurity may have allowed the disease, being examined in the lab, to somehow escape. A Chinese television news report dating from two years ago shows scientists in the institute's "emerging viruses group" wearing only lab coats and latex gloves but no other form of protective personal equipment. The latest studies suggest the true number of people infected in China in the first wave, dating back to mid-February, was close to a quarter of a million – four times higher than the official figure. China has also since revised its death toll up by 50 per cent. Downing Street continued to use China's official figures in comparative graphs on the scale of the outbreak until just over a week ago, but then dropped the country from the charts over concerns about the accuracy of the data.
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| Russia is rapidly becoming one of the world's coronavirus hotspots, and it just reported a record 10,000 new cases in a day Posted: 03 May 2020 08:40 AM PDT  A total of 134,687 people are now confirmed to have had coronavirus in Russia, making it the seventh most-infected country on the planet.
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| For nearly two months, Italians rarely left their homes. Now they lead Europe's reopening. Posted: 04 May 2020 07:35 AM PDT  "A new page is beginning, and we will have to write it together with faith and responsibility," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
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| The Chinese government is worried global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since Tiananmen Square Posted: 04 May 2020 02:33 PM PDT  The mounting global backlash against China stemming from the country's handling the early days of the coronavirus pandemic has apparently registered with Beijing's political leaders, Reuters reports.An internal report drawn up by the China Institutes of Contemporary International found that anti-China sentiment around the world is at its highest point since 1989 following the Tiananmen Square student demonstrations, which Beijing cracked down on by declaring martial law and sending the military to occupy parts of the capital.The think tank's research was reportedly presented in early April to top Chinese Communist Party officials, including President Xi Jinping. Reuters' report is based off sources who have direct knowledge of the findings, though the news outlet has not seen the briefing itself. If reports of its contents are accurate, it would at least confirm Beijing is taking the backlash seriously, though Reuters notes it's unclear if those concerns will ultimately influence policy.The paper reportedly concluded the rising anti-China sentiment is in part a result of American efforts to undermine public confidence in Beijing amid the crisis. Relations between the two super powers are fragile at the moment, and the White House has been ramping up its criticism of China's coronavirus response, accusing the CCP of covering up information about the virus' severity and origin. Read more at Reuters.More stories from theweek.com How George W. Bush exposed Trump's biggest failure Trump was the disaster we should have seen coming Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like
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| Security guard, father of 9, shot and killed in Michigan after telling customer to put on face mask Posted: 04 May 2020 03:41 PM PDT  Calvin James Munerlyn was fatally shot after an argument with a customer who refused to put a face mask on her daughter before entering the store.
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| Black robes or bathrobes? Virus alters high court traditions Posted: 04 May 2020 05:15 PM PDT  The coronavirus pandemic is forcing big changes at the tradition-bound Supreme Court. On Monday, the justices heard arguments by telephone for the first time since Alexander Graham Bell patented his invention in 1876. This is just the second time that the justices are meeting outside the court since the Supreme Court building opened in 1935.
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| UK among European states not yet on COVID-19 downward slope: EU says Posted: 04 May 2020 03:20 AM PDT  The head of the European Union agency for disease control said on Monday Britain was one of five European countries yet to begin a downward trend in its coronavirus outbreak, contradicting the British government's line. As of May 4, Britain had recorded nearly 190,000 coronavirus cases and almost 28,500 deaths. Only Italy in Europe has so far counted more deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
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| A New York City landlord made a viral TikTok about taking her tenant's packages 'until they pay up' in rent Posted: 04 May 2020 12:26 PM PDT  The landlord said the video was a joke, but told Buzzfeed, "I wished I could do this to them because they were blatantly ignoring me."
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| Venezuela: anti-Maduro battle isn't over as ex-US soldier says he launched raid Posted: 04 May 2020 07:19 AM PDT  Jordan Goudreau, who was linked to plot to topple Maduro, said his troops are still in action as government said it foiled 'invasion' A former US special forces soldier linked to a murky and apparently bungled attempt to topple Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, has insisted his troops are still in action after launching "a daring amphibious raid" into the country.In a video released late on Sunday – hours after Maduro's government claimed it had foiled a United States-backed sea "invasion" near Venezuela's main international airport – Jordan Goudreau claimed the battle was not over."Our men are continuing to fight right now," claimed the 43-year-old American citizen, who was last week linked to what was described as an audacious but half-baked plot to invade Venezuela and remove its leader. "Our units have been activated in the south, west and east of Venezuela."The former US special forces medic, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, offered no evidence for those claims and it was unclear where the video had been recorded. There were no reports of fighting in the capital, Caracas.But earlier on Sunday Venezuela's leaders claimed they had frustrated what they called a US-backed assault near the port city of La Guaira, 20 miles north of Caracas, killing eight alleged assailants.Venezuela's interior minister, Néstor Reverol, claimed a platoon of "terrorist mercenaries" had tried to make landfall using speedboats but been repelled by security forces."Some were shot down and others detained," Reverol said in a televised statement, accusing the group of plotting to assassinate the leaders of Venezuela's "revolutionary government".Reverol said "a meticulous land, sea and air search" was under way to capture any remaining invaders, vowing: "We will remain in permanent state of alert and resistance."In a telephone interview with the Washington Post on Sunday night, Goudreau claimed the operation had involved "60 troops", including two former US special forces members, who had arrived in Venezuela by land and sea.Speaking to the Associated Press on Monday, Goudreau claimed 52 of those fighters – including two US veterans – had infiltrated Venezuelan territory and were "in the first stage of a mission to recruit members of the security forces to join their cause"."I don't care about politics," he said. "I care about my men on the ground right now who are in the most dangerous phase of the operation."Venezuela's defense minister, who was last year accused of plotting against Maduro, appeared on state television flanked by armoured vehicles and heavily armed troops clutching assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade."A group of mercenaries has attempted to trample our sacred soils and has received an emphatic response from our the weapons of our republic," Vladimir Padrino López said, denouncing what he called a "crass" imperialist incursion. Padrino López said Maduro had ordered troops to scour the country's Caribbean coastline for accomplices.The commotion comes almost a year to the day after a botched attempt to remove Hugo Chávez's authoritarian successor from power.On 30 April 2019 opposition leader Juan Guaidó – who dozens of countries, including the US and UK, recognize as Venezuela's legitimate interim leader – sought to spark a pre-dawn military uprising dubbed "Operation Freedom".But those efforts fizzled and Maduro remains in power, albeit facing massive challenges as a result of Venezuela's continued social and economic meltdown and now, the Covid-19 crisis, which doctors fear could bring the country's crippled health system to its knees.Guaidó denied any involvement in the alleged invasion on Monday although Goudreau provided a Miami-based journalist with an eight-page services contract supposedly signed by Guaidó and two political advisers in October for $213m.Sunday's supposed invasion is the latest chapter in the bizarre and shady tale of an apparently ongoing plot to overthrow Maduro that is being partly led by Goudreau, a sharpshooting, muscle-bound mixed martial arts enthusiast from Florida.In a lengthy report on Goudreau's travails last week, the Associated Press claimed he had founded a private security company called Silvercorp USA in 2018 and last year decided to capitalize on Donald Trump's obsession with overthrowing Maduro.The report said Goudreau subsequently came into contact with Clíver Alcalá, a retired Venezuelan army major general who has admitted to plotting against Maduro and handed himself over to US authorities in late March after being indicted in the US on drug trafficking charges.Alcalá reportedly told Goudreau he had three camps of willing combatants waiting near Colombia's border with Venezuela and the American offered to train them for "a rapid-strike operation" to take out Maduro.Goudreau reportedly boasted of high-level contacts in the Trump administration but the news agency said it had found no evidence of US support for his actions.
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| Ten times more people may be immune to coronavirus in Germany than predicted Posted: 04 May 2020 08:55 AM PDT  Ten times more people than previously thought may have already acquired immunity to the coronavirus, according to a groundbreaking study in Germany. Scientists from the University of Bonn on Monday claimed their findings show that 1.8m people across Germany have already been infected with the virus. That is more than ten times as many as have tested positive so far, and would mean more than 1.6m may have been infected and recovered without knowing it. The findings are based on the first comprehensive study of the effects of the virus on a single community in Gangelt, the town at the epicentre of Germany's first major outbreak. As reported by the Telegraph, the study's initial findings last month suggested the fatality rate in Gangelt was much lower than previously thought, at just 0.37 per cent. The study's authors now believe this is the general fatality rate for the virus and that it can be used to extrapolate the total number of undetected infections from the death toll. "Because our research allows us to determine exactly how many individuals are infected, we can also determine the percentage of deaths among all those infected with great accuracy," Prof Hendrik Streeck, the study's leader, said as he announced the study's final findings on Monday. "The infection fatality rate is a property of the virus. It can to a degree be applied to all of Germany — corrected for demography, of course."
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| The Best Outdoor Patio Furniture for Every Budget Posted: 04 May 2020 03:04 PM PDT |
| U.K.'s Johnson says doctors prepared to announce his death as he fought COVID-19 Posted: 03 May 2020 03:03 AM PDT  Johnson said he was "in denial" and he initially brushed off the seriousness of the situation when he tested positive for the virus in late March.
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| Night burials amid Tanzania's coronavirus defiance Posted: 04 May 2020 01:17 AM PDT  Some fear the East African nation is downplaying the pandemic as it seeks to protect its economy.
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| NYC Police Union Claims ‘City Will Fall Apart’ Unless Cops Taken Off Social Distancing Enforcement Posted: 04 May 2020 11:08 AM PDT  The New York City Police Benevolent Association, the city's largest police union, released a statement Monday arguing that officers should not be tasked with enforcing social distancing ordinances."The NYPD needs to get cops out of the social distancing enforcement business altogether," PBA president Patrick Lynch said in a statement. "As the weather heats up & the pandemic continues to unravel our social fabric, police officers should be allowed to focus on our core public safety mission. If we don't, the city will fall apart before our eyes."The city's police force has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with over 4,000 officers testing positive for the illness and 30 dead over the course of the outbreak. In early April, almost 20 percent of the entire 36,000-strong police force was on sick leave for coronavirus or other illnesses.Enforcing social distancing in the city is made exceedingly difficult by the city's density and residents' reliance on public transport. NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea said Monday that police issued about 70 summonses over the weekend for violations of social distancing regulations."This is a great experiment we're living through here," Shea told reporters at a press conference. "Really never seen this before in a city of 8.6 million people trying to keep everyone inside."The NYPD on Saturday arrested three people in a group violating social distancing measures, and video of the altercation was shared in local media. The force also faced criticism after allowing mourners to gather at the funeral of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi in Brooklyn. After more mourners gathered than were initially predicted, police were forced to break up the funeral.
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| When will US reach 100,000 deaths? After a horrific April, grim milestone could hit in May Posted: 04 May 2020 03:01 PM PDT  After the U.S. suffered nearly 60,000 deaths because of the coronavirus in April, the prospect looms of reaching the grim milestone of 100,000.
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| Nigeria reopens main cities Lagos and Abuja as lockdowns phased out Posted: 04 May 2020 08:57 AM PDT  Nigeria began easing restrictions on Monday in its capital Abuja and in largest city Lagos, heralding the reopening of Africa's biggest economy after more than four weeks of lockdowns imposed to contain the new coronavirus. The government has said a 24-hour, stay-at-home order in place since March 30 in Abuja and the states of Lagos and Ogun - with exceptions only for food shopping and health-related trips - will be lifted gradually over a six-week period.
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| The US Navy sent surface ships deep into the Arctic, and close to Russia, for the first time in over 30 years Posted: 04 May 2020 04:09 AM PDT  The Barents Sea is above northwest Russia, and the US-British operation there comes amid heightened tensions between NATO and Moscow.
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| AP Was There: National Guard kills 4 students at Kent State Posted: 03 May 2020 09:47 PM PDT  The Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed college students during a war protest at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. Four students were killed, and nine others were injured. Not all of those hurt or killed were involved in the demonstration, which opposed the U.S. bombing of neutral Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
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| 'You could literally kill someone': Masks become a new COVID-19 battleground Posted: 04 May 2020 03:05 PM PDT  As more states reopen their economies, officials say fighting the coronavirus outbreak means wearing a face covering. But some are balking at restrictions.
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| For nearly two months, Italians rarely left their homes. Now they lead Europe's reopening. Posted: 04 May 2020 07:35 AM PDT "A new page is beginning, and we will have to write it together with faith and responsibility," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
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| Coronavirus: 'Missing link' species may never be found Posted: 04 May 2020 06:18 AM PDT  The "intermediate host" animal that passed the coronavirus from bats to humans may never be found, say scientists.
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| Twins who got in to 5 Ivy League schools make their choice Posted: 04 May 2020 10:31 AM PDT  The Alexander sisters will be the first generation of their family to attend college.
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| Off-duty Los Angeles police officer arrested, charged with attempted murder after camping trip shooting Posted: 03 May 2020 05:19 PM PDT |
| Uber ends Eats delivery in seven markets in strategic pullback Posted: 04 May 2020 06:43 AM PDT  Uber said Monday it would discontinue its Uber Eats restaurant delivery service in seven markets next month as part of a strategic shift for the ride-hailing service, which is struggling with a new economic landscape. Food delivery will end in the Czech Republic, Egypt, Honduras, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Uruguay by June 4, according to a regulatory filing. The changes do not affect Uber Rides operations in those countries.
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| New York to allow construction and manufacturing to reopen first - governor Posted: 04 May 2020 09:56 AM PDT  Cuomo did not give a timeline, but the state's stay-at-home order is due to expire on May 15 and the governor has said before that the areas with fewer infections could consider reopening after that date. While short on specifics, the outline disclosed by Cuomo at a daily briefing was the most detailed sketch so far on how the state - the epicenter of the crisis in the United States - would start to loosen restrictions on businesses and daily life. Cuomo said he understood the feelings of protesters pushing for a faster reopening but also warned that moving too quickly could spark a resurgence of the virus, which has killed nearly 20,000 people across the Northeastern state.
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| The Trump administration is privately predicting the daily coronavirus death toll will almost double over the next month, with new infections increasing from 25,000 per day to 200,000 Posted: 04 May 2020 09:44 AM PDT  The administration predicted that the number of new infections per day would jump to 200,000 from 25,000 — an eightfold increase — by June 1.
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| 5 Indian troops, 2 rebels killed in Kashmir fighting Posted: 03 May 2020 12:46 AM PDT  Five Indian troops and two militants were killed in fighting in disputed Kashmir when the army and police stormed a house where rebels were holding hostages, officials said Sunday. A five-member counterinsurgency team entered the house in the northwestern Handwara area late Saturday and "successfully extricated the civilians," an Indian army statement said. The government forces came under heavy gunfire from militants, and in the ensuing firefight, two militants and all the team members died, the statement said.
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| Coronavirus implodes family of three last month Posted: 04 May 2020 11:26 AM PDT  For most of her life, Maranda Lender, 32, has lived with her parents in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania. But the family-of-three configuration imploded last month. Her mother, Becky Lender, 61, died April 4. Her father, Brad Lender, 60, died three days later. Both had tested positive for the coronavirus.
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| A mother and daughter shared a hospital room, fighting coronavirus until the end Posted: 03 May 2020 02:00 AM PDT  A woman faces the "bittersweet blessing" of being hospitalized with their mother when they both fell ill with COVID-19.
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| Brazil may have more coronavirus cases than the U.S., study suggests Posted: 04 May 2020 09:51 AM PDT  Brazil, not the United States, may have the most coronavirus cases in the world, a University of São Paolo study suggests, per The Wall Street Journal.The study concluded that, through May 3, the number of infections since the pandemic began in Brazil could be as high as 1.6 million, more than the U.S.'s officially world-leading 1.1 million-plus cases. "Brazil is already the global epicenter of the coronavirus," said Dr. Domingo Alves from Ribeirão Preto Medical School, who worked on the study.The research points to minimal testing in the country as the reason the recorded figures aren't nearly that high — Johns Hopkins University has Brazil's official cases count just under 102,000. But the most populous country in the Southern hemisphere has tested only about 1,600 per million people. The U.S., which many experts believe is not testing nearly enough, administers 20,200 per million, while some European countries are conducting 30,000.Of course, those countries are also likely missing cases, but the testing gap is significant, either way. Subsequently concerns are growing for the country, especially as its President Jair Bolsonaro remains a coronavirus skeptic. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.More stories from theweek.com How George W. Bush exposed Trump's biggest failure Trump was the disaster we should have seen coming The Chinese government is worried global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since Tiananmen Square
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| Man, dog and five camels rescued from fall in Australian bush Posted: 03 May 2020 07:14 PM PDT  The convoy was pulled down a steep embankment in Australia after one of the camels slipped.
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| Tennessee funeral home offers drive-thru viewing amid coronavirus lockdowns Posted: 04 May 2020 07:09 AM PDT  COVID-19 has hampered the grieving process as gatherings are limited to 10 or less. But one funeral home has a unique solution.
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| Germany starts to reopen, but arguments rage over pace Posted: 04 May 2020 05:01 AM PDT  Germany took a further step on the long road back to post-coronavirus normality on Monday, with museums and hairdressers reopening under strict conditions, churches opening their doors for worshippers, and more car factories resuming work. Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that reopening too swiftly risks triggering a second wave of infections, but many regions are already going alone. The reopening of some border crossings with France, which has scrapped quarantine requirements for EU citizens, lent further impetus to calls for accelerated reopening.
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| Australia and New Zealand are reportedly considering a 'travel bubble' between the two countries as they begin to lift lockdown measures Posted: 03 May 2020 11:57 PM PDT  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a travel agreement would offer "huge advantages" to both Australia and New Zealand.
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| Race for COVID-19 vaccine heats up as researchers try to end the pandemic Posted: 04 May 2020 03:22 AM PDT  The global race to create a vaccine for the coronavirus is heating up as hundreds of researchers try to find a way to end the pandemic.
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| DHS report: China hid virus' severity to hoard supplies Posted: 03 May 2020 12:42 PM PDT  U.S. officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak — and how contagious the disease is — to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, intelligence documents show. Chinese leaders "intentionally concealed the severity" of the pandemic from the world in early January, according to a four-page Department of Homeland Security intelligence report dated May 1 and obtained by The Associated Press. The revelation comes as the Trump administration has intensified its criticism of China, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that that country was responsible for the spread of disease and must be held accountable.
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| California eases Covid-19 restrictions, allowing some businesses to reopen Posted: 04 May 2020 04:48 PM PDT  Shops selling anything that a customer can purchase through curbside pickup will be able operate again, with modifications * Coronavirus – latest US updates * Coronavirus – latest global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageSome California retailers will be allowed to reopen their businesses starting on Friday, the state's governor said on Monday.More than six weeks after Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order, shops selling books, clothing, sporting goods, flowers or anything else that a customer can purchase through curbside pickup will be able to open again, if they implement certain modifications."We are entering into the next phase this week," Newsom said. "End of the week, with modifications, we will allow retail to start operating across the spectrum.""This is a very positive sign and it has only happened for one reason: the data says it can happen," he added.The easing in restrictions came after groups of protesters had gathered across the state in defiance of the lockdown last week. Demonstrations took place from the capital, Sacramento, to San Francisco and San Diego. Large crowds turned out in Orange county's Huntington Beach, a recent flashpoint after the governor had ordered beaches there to close over the weekend.Newsom acknowledged that some California regions would still require stricter guidelines than the state guidelines in the weeks to come.The six Bay Area counties that were the first in the country to issue a stay-at-home order, for example, have experienced a much higher rate of infection than more rural areas of the state, with more than 8,100 cases. Los Angeles, meanwhile, has seen more than 26,000 cases.Last week, rural Yuba and Sutter counties, located north of Sacramento, issued a measure that defied the state's order and reopened businesses starting Monday. Modoc county, located on the Nevada border, was the first to begin pushing for a reopening. "Our rural lifestyle and the fact that many of our residents have been abiding by the guidelines has kept us at zero," said Tex Dowdy, the Modoc county sheriff, in a statement. "We are the perfect choice to pilot a reopening in the state."As of Monday, California was reporting 53,616 positive cases and 2,215 deaths. Newsom has been adamant that any modification to the stay-at-home order be based on science and the state meeting certain criteria such as having capacity to meet a surge in healthcare needs, having enough personal protective equipment and having testing and trace-contacting capacity.Nearly 3,000 protested at Huntington Beach in southern California after Newsom closed the beaches in Orange county following a weekend heatwave that packed the coastline.Thousands more still flocked to the beaches this past weekend, some in protest and some for fun. In Carlsbad in San Diego county, where a red tide algae bloom is creating its annual blue bioluminescence at night, more than 1,000 people crowded along the coastline – even though the beaches were closed, said Bryan Hargett, a Carlsbad police lieutenant. Police stopped and reminded the nighttime beachgoers of the rules, and issued parking citations for those who didn't listen – around 20 to 30 total, Hargett said."We get it, we understand people probably want to get outside and enjoy the beaches and see this, but we're all trying to follow the rules and do the right thing to get us back to normal," he said.In Newport Beach, where seven miles of beaches are closed by state order, about 8,500 people still took to the shore on Saturday, and 4,500 on Sunday, said John Pope, a city spokesman. "It sounds like a big number, but it's a small fraction of what we would typically see on weekends when the beaches were still open," he said.The beachgoers came even as officials worked to abide by the governor's order, conducting sweeps during the busiest parts of the days and clearing people off the beaches, using announcements from a police helicopter and bullhorns as well as talking directly to individuals."Some of them said they hadn't heard [about the beach closures] and in some cases, they were being deliberately defiant," Pope said. "Some said they were coming down to the beach to stage a protest."Pope said the city was "cautiously optimistic" that Newsom's announcement on businesses meant there may soon be movement on beaches. The city has filed a plan with the state on how to reopen the beaches safely, Pope said, and "we're confident we can manage the beaches effectively, maintain social distancing and minimize the public health risks".Newsom acknowledged the Orange county beach plan in his briefing on Monday, which he called an "outstanding plan" that he "enthusiastically embraced". "Those beaches will be reopened," he said."That's the spirit of the moment, the spirit of the time," Newsom said. "A sense of cooperation, recognizing the frustration that we all have and recognizing that we are all in this together and go a lot further together in that collaborative spirit."
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| Some in Tennessee could be without power for weeks after strong storms hit Posted: 04 May 2020 11:30 AM PDT  Nashville Electric said in a statement that some people could be without power for a week or two, as challenges related to coronavirus complicated crews' responses and more storms were expected.
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| Coronavirus: Disease meets deforestation at heart of Brazil's Amazon Posted: 03 May 2020 06:24 PM PDT  Coronavirus has overwhelmed Manaus, the Amazon's biggest city, and the worst is yet to come.
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| Kentucky police find dead dogs and cats in shelter's freezer Posted: 04 May 2020 07:13 AM PDT  Police seized 90 dogs from a no-kill animal shelter in Kentucky due to its allegedly poor conditions.
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| LA riots: Rioter in infamous footage of trucker being pulled from vehicle says ‘nothing has changed’ since 1992 Posted: 03 May 2020 03:22 PM PDT  Most people who got to hear about Henry "Kiki" Watson was when they watched aerial footage of the Los Angeles riots showing a white van driver being pulled from his construction vehicle and attacked.Or else it was when the former marine, then aged 27, was arrested and mug-shotted, along with five other young black men and agreed a plea deal to only a modest charge. Or when he appeared with that driver, Reginald Denny, on The Phil Donahue Show after being released from jail, shook his hand and apologised "for my participation in the injuries you suffered".
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| World leaders pledge $8 billion to fight COVID-19 but U.S. steers clear Posted: 04 May 2020 01:10 AM PDT  World leaders and organisations pledged $8 billion to research, manufacture and distribute a possible vaccine and treatments for COVID-19 on Monday, but the United States refused to contribute to the global effort. Organisers included the European Union and non-EU countries Britain, Norway and Saudi Arabia. Leaders from Japan, Canada, South Africa and dozens of other countries joined the virtual event, while China, where the virus is believed to have originated, was only represented by its ambassador to the European Union.
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| Airlines warn that quarantining all arrivals to the UK for 14 days would 'completely shut off the country from the rest of the world' Posted: 04 May 2020 09:32 AM PDT  The UK government is considering quarantining every person who arrives in the country for a period of 14 days.
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| Sidelined by pandemic, Trump campaign turns to digital shows Posted: 03 May 2020 05:19 AM PDT  The streaming video began and, within minutes, the president's eldest son was musing that Osama bin Laden had endorsed Joe Biden. Seven nights a week, President Donald Trump's reelection team is airing live programming online to replace his trademark rallies made impossible for now by the coronavirus pandemic. Hosted by top campaign officials, prominent Republicans and "Make America Great Again" luminaries, the freewheeling shows offer reality according to Trump.
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| 'Put on a mask and shut up': China's new 'Wolf Warriors' spread hoaxes and attack a world of critics Posted: 04 May 2020 11:29 AM PDT  The aggressive nationalism of China's diplomats matches the swagger of Xi Jinping's China, which is determined to deflect blame for the coronavirus.
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| Higher fares, longer waits, no booze: How coronavirus will change the way we fly Posted: 04 May 2020 12:17 PM PDT  One airline is encouraging customers to bring their own food in order to "reduce physical touch points between customers and employees."
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