| Flight attendants see a very different future for airplane travel in the age of coronavirus Posted: 09 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  "Recognize that there are going to be social distancing practices at the airport. So there's no running to the gate at the last minute," said Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA in an interview with Yahoo News.
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| Amazon whistleblowers call Bezos 'out of touch,' say they were fired for trying to protect warehouse workers from coronavirus Posted: 09 May 2020 08:53 AM PDT  Two web designers say they were fired by Amazon for organizing a virtual town hall to hear from the company's low-paid warehouse staff.
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| Trump White House adviser says unemployment rate could pass 20% during coronavirus pandemic Posted: 10 May 2020 12:46 PM PDT  White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Sunday he thinks the USA will reach the 20% unemployment mark "by next month."
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| Germany's infection rate rises above one after they ease lockdown Posted: 10 May 2020 09:37 AM PDT  Germany's coronavirus reproduction rate – the crucial measure shows how widely the virus is spreading in the community – has risen to 1.1, giving rise to fears that a second wave of infections may be imminent. The findings come just days after the country begun the first phase of relaxing its coronavirus lockdown measures, while anti-lockdown protests have been building across the country. Germany has been lauded internationally for its coordinated response to the virus and its corresponding low death rate, with 7,549 having fallen victim to the disease there until Saturday, compared with 31,587 in the UK, which has a much smaller population. But the rise in infections suggests that the lockdown relaxations may have been premature, and is a headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel who has limits on her powers in Germany's decentralised system. Britain will be watching the developments closely as it begins to move towards easing lockdown. When she announced a relaxation of lockdown measures on Wednesday, Germany's reproduction rate was at 0.65, before rising to 0.81 on Friday and 1.1 on Saturday. A rate of 1 or more means that each carrier of the virus infects at least one more person, ensuring it continues to spread. Germany's Robert Koch Institute which compiled the figures, said it that while the rate has been increasing rapidly since Wednesday, at this stage it cannot be determined whether the relaxed lockdowns were responsible. It said: "The increase in the estimated (reproduction) value makes it necessary to watch the development very carefully over the next few days.|" The findings come from data compiled on Saturday, and show that the infection rate has now effectively doubled in the three days since the relaxation of lockdown restrictions. On Saturday, outbreaks at several meatpacking plants in North Rhine-Westphalia – the country's most populous state - prompted the state leadership to promise to test each of the estimated 18-20,000 meatworkers in the state. In the western town of Coesfeld, where 151 of 200 slaughterhouse workers tested positive for the virus, authorities decided to suspend lockdown relaxations. Despite the outbreaks, Armin Laschet, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, called for the country's border with France to be reopened in order to foster European solidarity. Merkel struck a different tone when announcing the first phase of relaxations midweek, reminding the German public "we still have a long fight against the virus ahead of us". It was a rare example of contradicting sentiments between the German leader and the man favoured to succeed her as leader of the Christian Democrats when she steps down next year. Despite the continued danger posed by Covid-19, protesters took to the streets across Germany at the weekend to criticise the lockdown measures. Thousands gathered in Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and other German cities, saying their rights were being infringed and complaining that the government and medical workers were spreading panic. In Munich, more than 3,000 people – many without masks and not respecting social distancing rules - gathered in the city's central Marienplatz, with signs critical of "health fascism" and proclaiming: "We want our lives back". Although there have been consistent protests against the measures since they were first put in place in March, the weekend's demonstrations were the biggest seen so far since the outbreak of the virus. The German Press Agency reports that although the group was well over the maximum of 50 people allowed to attend demonstrations under the government's coronavirus restrictions, police decided not to break up the largely peaceful demonstration in the interests of "proportionality". Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter was heavily critical of the protesters on Sunday. Despite saying he empathised with their desire "to return to a certain normality", Reiter told German media "I have absolutely no understanding of actions or demonstrations that, due to the lack of distance and mouth / nose protection, counteract any positive developments in the infection and more likely to jeopardise further loosening than to enable it." Reiter also said he found it "absolutely unbearable" that the protests had a heavy presence from known far-right groups.
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| Armed 'mob' allegedly tried to enter black family's North Carolina home, white deputy charged Posted: 10 May 2020 08:27 AM PDT  Among the people demanding to enter the home was a person carrying an assault weapon and another with a shotgun, according to local reports.
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| Shutdown of tribal casinos deals blow to Indian Country Posted: 10 May 2020 08:11 AM PDT  When the Kalispel Tribe of Indians closed its casino as the coronavirus took hold in Washington state, it essentially shut down its economy. "We can't fund any programs without the casino" — no health care, education, law enforcement or fire protection, said Phil Haugen, chief operating officer of the Kalispel Tribal Economic Authority. Its Northern Quest Casino near Spokane closed for nearly two months, costing the tribe millions of dollars.
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| New York City will test children for coronavirus antibodies after 38 developed a mysterious inflammatory illness Posted: 10 May 2020 02:30 PM PDT  Three young New Yorkers have been killed by the rare multi-system "inflammatory syndrome," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday.
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| Indian and Chinese troops 'clash on border' in Sikkim Posted: 10 May 2020 04:41 AM PDT  Four Indian soldiers and seven Chinese soldiers are reportedly injured in a border fist fight.
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| South Dakota Governor Demands Tribe Leaders Remove Checkpoints Set Up to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Posted: 09 May 2020 03:07 PM PDT  One leader says there's only one positive case of coronavirus on his reservation because of the checkpoints
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| China's Wuhan reports first virus infection in over a month Posted: 10 May 2020 05:41 AM PDT  China on Sunday reported the first case of coronavirus in over a month in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak first started in December last year. China's National Health Commission also reported the first double-digit increase in countrywide cases in nearly 10 days, saying 14 new infections had been confirmed. The virus first emerged in Wuhan, a major industrial and transport city in central China, in December.
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| Venezuela says troops seize abandoned Colombian combat boats, weapons Posted: 09 May 2020 11:08 AM PDT  Venezuela's military said it seized three abandoned Colombian light combat vessels that soldiers found on Saturday while patrolling the Orinoco river, several days after the government accused its neighbor of aiding a failed invasion. In a statement, the Defense Ministry said the boats were equipped with machine guns and ammunition, but had no crew, adding they were discovered as part of a nationwide operation to guarantee Venezuela's "freedom and sovereignty." According to a preliminary investigation the boats were dragged away by strong river currents, Colombia's Navy said in a statement.
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| Two special elections are latest test of voting amid coronavirus Posted: 09 May 2020 03:15 PM PDT  The two special elections on May 12 will be held in California and Wisconsin.
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| FDA authorizes emergency use for quicker, but less reliable coronavirus antigen test Posted: 09 May 2020 07:37 AM PDT  With the United States struggling to meet the recommended quota of coronavirus tests per day, the Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization Friday for a COVID-19 antigen test.The test, produced by San Diego-based manufacturer Quidel, can diagnose COVID-19 by detecting fragments of protein found on or within the virus present in samples collected from the naval cavity using swabs. The test produces results within minutes — much more quickly than many other tests on the market, which are more complex to conduct and analyze — but the technology is also more liable to result in false negatives, so an additional PCR test may be necessary to confirm.But once production ramps up, so will the country's ability to test millions of Americans per day. Douglas Bryant, Quidel's chief executive, told The Wall Street Journal, they hope to have 200,000 tests available as soon as next week. Read more at CNBC and The Wall Street Journal.More stories from theweek.com The dark decade ahead 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's coronavirus strategy 7 scathing cartoons about America's rush to reopen
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| Historic unemployment rate damages Trump's reelection bid Posted: 09 May 2020 09:43 AM PDT  The record unemployment rate reported Friday showed that tens of millions of jobs vanished, devastating the economy and forcing President Trump to overcome historic headwinds to win a second term.
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| Brother of Lori Vallow died of natural causes, medical examiner says Posted: 09 May 2020 01:25 PM PDT  An attorney for Vallow's niece said the medical examiner's report proves Alex Cox's death "had no sinister aspect."
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| More than 50% of Spain's population will enter the first phase of the country's reopening plan after seeing the lowest daily coronavirus death toll since March Posted: 10 May 2020 08:13 AM PDT  While specific provinces will see restrictions ease, urban cities like Madrid and Barcelona will remain under strict lockdown.
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| 'Fear kills:' WWII vets recall war, reject panic over virus Posted: 08 May 2020 11:39 PM PDT  On the 75th anniversary of the allied victory in the World War II, The Associated Press spoke to veterans in ex-Soviet countries and discovered that lessons they learned during the war are helping them cope with a new major challenge — the coronavirus pandemic. As they recalled the horrors of the war, they also talked about how strength and tenacity were key to survival both then and now. For Russian World War II veteran Valentina Efremova, the coronavirus pandemic is like going through the war all over again.
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| South Dakota governor demands tribes remove travel checkpoints on Indian reservations Posted: 09 May 2020 02:34 PM PDT  South Dakota Indian tribes have set up checkpoints on reservations restricting travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| Outcry in Afghanistan after Iran border guards accused of forcing drowned migrants into river Posted: 10 May 2020 09:08 AM PDT  The drowning of at least 18 young Afghans allegedly forced at gunpoint into a river by Iranian border guards has caused a diplomatic strain between Kabul and Tehran and international calls for an investigation. Hanif Atmar, Afghan foreign minister, has pledged to use "all diplomatic affords to bring justice and investigate this unforgivable crime" and said he had held "tense" meetings with Iranian officials. Accounts of the incident and video of the bodies laid out in desert have provoked outcry across Afghanistan. The US State department said: "Iran's cruel treatment and abuse of Afghan migrants alleged in these reports is horrifying. We support calls for a thorough investigation. Those found guilty of such abuse must be held accountable." Tehran has denied its border guards had any involvement in the deaths, but has agreed to cooperate in any investigation. Survivors told the Telegraph that a party of more than 50 young men were caught north of the Western city of Herat as they tried to smuggle themselves into Iran earlier this month. Iranian guards beat them, then forced them into the Harirod river.
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| Letters to the Editor: Newsom's O.C. beach closure isn't an abuse of power. It's science-based leadership Posted: 10 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Gov. Gavin Newsom is basing his decision to close Orange County beaches on a century's worth of experience with past pandemics.
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| A senior Trump adviser said White House employees are going to work in a 'relatively cramped' West Wing out of love for their country: 'We've all been exposing ourselves to risks' Posted: 10 May 2020 09:17 AM PDT  At least a dozen people with potential access to the president and vice president tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
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| NYC hospital staff gifted free vacations Posted: 10 May 2020 02:02 PM PDT  The hospital's workers, from doctors and nurses to the facilities and food service teams, will receive round trip flights and three-night hotel stays.
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| Barack Obama calls Trump administration’s coronavirus response a ‘chaotic disaster’ in leaked recording Posted: 09 May 2020 08:38 AM PDT  Former President Barack Obama has issued a stern critique of the Trump administration's coronavirus response, calling it a "chaotic disaster".The comments were made on a 30-minute private phone call between the former president and members of the Obama Alumni Association, according to Yahoo News, which obtained audio from the conversation.
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| For a Georgia Police Force, a Bungled Shooting Case Follows a Trail of Woes Posted: 09 May 2020 07:44 AM PDT  BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- When the Glynn County Police Department arrived at the scene of a fatal shooting in February in southeastern Georgia, officers encountered a former colleague with the victim's blood on his hands.They took down his version of events and let him and his adult son, who had fired the shots, go home.Later that day, Wanda Cooper, the mother of the 25-year-old victim, Ahmaud Arbery, received a call from a police investigator. She recounted later that the investigator said her son had been involved in a burglary and was killed by "the homeowner," an inaccurate version of what had happened.More than two months after that fatal confrontation, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which took over the case this week, arrested the former officer, Gregory McMichael, and his son, Travis McMichael, on charges of murder and aggravated assault.The charges -- which came after the release of a graphic video showing the killing as the two white men confront Arbery, who was African American -- made clear the depths of the local department's bungling of the case, which was just the latest in a series of troubling episodes involving its officers.And it was one element of the broader potential breakdown of the justice system in South Georgia. Attorney General Chris Carr, through a spokeswoman, said Friday that he planned to start a review of all of the relevant players in that system.Carr's office has already determined that George E. Barnhill, a district attorney who was assigned the case in February but recused himself late last month, should have never taken it on. Among his many conflicts: His son once worked alongside one of the suspects at the local prosecutor's office.S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing Arbery's family, has called for a federal civil rights investigation focused not only on the men who pursued Arbery but also the broader justice system."It's small-town America," Merritt said in an interview Thursday. "Those counties, the law enforcement community there, they know each other well; they recycle officers in between themselves -- it's a very tight-knit community."Over the years, Glynn County police officers have been accused of covering up allegations of misconduct, tampering with a crime scene, interfering in an investigation of a police shooting and retaliating against fellow officers who cooperated with outside investigators.The police chief was indicted days after Arbery's killing on charges related to an alleged cover-up of an officer's sexual relationship with an informant. The chief, John Powell, had been hired to clean up the department, which the Glynn County manager described last fall as suffering from poor training, outdated policies and "a culture of cronyism."The Glynn County force was the sort of department where disciplinary records went missing and where evidence room standards were not maintained, leading the state to strip it of its accreditation.Arbery was killed after the McMichaels confronted him while he was running in the Satilla Shores neighborhood just outside of Brunswick, the Glynn County seat. But neither of the McMichaels was arrested immediately after the slaying, which occurred Feb. 23 about 1 p.m.According to a police report, Gregory McMichael said that he saw Arbery running through his neighborhood and thought that he looked like the suspect in a rash of recent break-ins. McMichael, 64, told authorities that he and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, armed themselves and began chasing him in a truck.Gregory McMichael had been a Glynn County police officer from 1982 to 1989 and later worked as an investigator in the local prosecutor's office, before retiring last year.Darren W. Penn, a lawyer and a department critic, said the Ahmaud Arbery case was "another symptom or sign of a police department that appears willing to protect those that they know."Penn is representing a woman who is suing the department over claims that it failed to intervene with her estranged son-in-law, a Glynn County officer, who killed her daughter, a friend and himself in 2018.County officials and a police spokesman could not be reached Friday for comment.From the start, McMichael's connections to the police department and the prosecutor's office presented other challenges.The first district attorney assigned to the case, Jackie Johnson, recused herself because she had worked with McMichael. The second prosecutor, Barnhill, advised Glynn County police that there was "insufficient probable cause" to issue arrest warrants, according to an internal document.Finally, the case moved to Tom Durden, the district attorney in Georgia's Atlantic Judicial Circuit in Hinesville, who this week formally asked the state bureau of investigation to get involved, according to a GBI statement. A Justice Department spokesperson said this week that the FBI was assisting in the investigation.Bob Coleman, a county commissioner at large, was critical of Johnson, saying she should have given the case to the state attorney general, not Barnhill. After the Georgia Bureau of Investigation made arrests this week, Coleman said, "That's what should have happened a long time ago before the sun went down. They killed a person in the bright sunlight."Glynn County is a marshy coastal corner of Georgia about 300 miles southeast of Atlanta with about 85,000 residents, and is known mostly for its mellow barrier islands and its rich African American coastal culture.Like many Southern communities, its history is studded with racial violence, including three late 19th-century lynchings. Today, the county is about 70% white and 27% black, according to census figures.On Friday, hundreds gathered under the moss-draped trees outside the Glynn County courthouse to protest, arguing that the handling of the case had been botched as months went by without charges."I will never call the Glynn County police to my house!" one of Arbery's aunts said.Mario Baggs, a lifelong resident of Brunswick, said he believed that race was a factor in Arbery's killing, given the unfair treatment black men have long received."The black man is an endangered species," Baggs, 46, said. "We need justice; we need relief; we need the world to pay attention."Yet he also believed that Arbery's case fit into a larger pattern of dysfunction.Over the last decade, the Glynn County Police Department, which has 122 officers, has faced at least 17 lawsuits, including allegations of illegal search and seizure.One suit accused the department of wrongfully killing an unarmed white woman after officers fired through her car windshield. An investigation into that shooting found that Glynn County officers had tried to interfere with the inquiry to protect the officers involved.One of the officers in that shooting later killed his estranged wife and a friend. The wife's mother accused police of ignoring several alarming encounters in the months before the killings.Powell, the police chief, was arrested this year along with three other department officials after an investigation into a disbanded narcotics task force. The inquiry found that Powell had actively tried to shield wrongdoing by the task force. That led to his indictment on charges including violating the oath of office, criminal attempt to commit a felony and influencing a witness.As details of Arbery's death slowly emerged and were reported in The Brunswick News, Arbery's mother, increasingly distraught, called the department. She said that she had been told one thing but that the newspaper had reported something else entirely.Cooper's faith was shaken. "It's hard when you can't really believe what authority tells you, you know?" she said. "When you just cannot believe the people that's supposed to look out for all people. And when you question that, it's not a good feeling."Attempts to reach Gregory McMichael late last month were unsuccessful. In a brief phone conversation late last month, Travis McMichael, who runs a company that gives custom boat tours, declined to comment, citing the continuing investigation.The two men made a brief appearance in Glynn County Magistrate Court on Friday afternoon, but court officials said they did not enter a plea. No information about their lawyers was immediately available.Questions about the handling of Arbery's case extend beyond the police department and to Barnhill, the prosecutor who told police that there was insufficient probable cause to arrest the McMichaels.In an email Barnhill wrote to the state attorney general's office April 7, he asked to be taken off the case, stating that his son, an assistant district attorney in the Brunswick prosecutor's office, had handled a felony probation revocation case involving Arbery. He also said Gregory McMichael had helped with "a previous prosecution of Arbery."Court records show that Arbery was convicted of shoplifting and of violating probation in 2018; according to local news reports, he was indicted five years earlier for taking a handgun to a basketball game.Barnhill's office most recently drew attention beyond south Georgia for its prosecution of a black woman in rural Coffee County who had helped a first-time voter use a voting machine in the 2012 election. In 2018, a jury found the woman not guilty of multiple felonies. Her lawyers called the case "a racially motivated targeted prosecution."J. Peter Murphy, a Glynn County commissioner, on Friday defended the Police Department's decision to make no arrests in the shooting of Arbery. Murphy said the agency had been advised not to make arrests by both Barnhill and officials at the office of Johnson, the district attorney in Brunswick who formally asked to be taken off the case four days after the shooting. Neither prosecutor could be reached for comment."Tell me what the agency did wrong when its men and women were told several times not to arrest anyone?" Murphy said, referring to police. "What were they supposed to do? Cuff these guys and walk them into the jail and have no one prosecute them?"This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| India to 'gradually' restart rail operations in lockdown easing Posted: 10 May 2020 05:01 PM PDT  One of the world's largest train networks will "gradually" restart operations from Tuesday as India eases its coronavirus lockdown, as the number of cases passed 60,000 with more than 2,000 deaths. "Indian Railways plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020... Thereafter, Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes," the railways ministry added in a statement. The vast train network, which had carried more than 20 million passengers daily, was halted in late March as India imposed a strict lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus.
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| Italian woman returns home after 18-month African kidnapping Posted: 10 May 2020 07:31 AM PDT  Wearing a surgical mask, disposable gloves and booties to guard against COVID-19, a young Italian woman returned to her homeland Sunday after 18 months as a hostage in eastern Africa. Silvia Romano lowered her mask briefly to display a broad smile after she stepped off an Italian government plane at Rome-Ciampino International Airport. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has thanked the Italian intelligence agents who worked for her release, which took place Friday in Somalia.
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| Italian aid worker kidnapped in Kenya in 2018 returns home Posted: 10 May 2020 09:38 AM PDT  Silvia Romano, 25, was freed on Saturday in Somalia, in an operation by Italy's secret services.
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| California surfer dies in shark attack Posted: 09 May 2020 08:45 PM PDT |
| Airline middle seats won't stay empty forever in the name of social distancing. Here's why Posted: 10 May 2020 12:14 PM PDT  Permanently blocking middle seats and limiting the number of passengers per flight is a costly move for airlines and would increase ticket prices.
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| Trump says he turned out the way that he did because he 'couldn't do any wrong' in his mother's eyes Posted: 09 May 2020 05:46 AM PDT  The president has frequently praised his mother as being a key influence on his life decisions. She died in 2000 aged 88.
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| Canada posts one of its smallest daily increases in coronavirus deaths Posted: 10 May 2020 09:25 AM PDT  The total number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada rose by 2.2% to 4,728 on Sunday, one of the lowest daily increases since the outbreak started, official public health agency data showed. "We have come a long way in a short time since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and our efforts have undoubtedly prevented wider spread of the virus across the country," chief public health officer Theresa Tam said in a statement. The figure for those diagnosed with the coronavirus rose to 67,996.
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| Decision to shelve CDC report came from top White House officials, documents show Posted: 09 May 2020 10:52 AM PDT  The decision to shelve the CDC's advice for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House.
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| Warning, graphic: Las Vegas man threatens to kill officers with sword before deadly shooting Posted: 10 May 2020 12:02 PM PDT  Raw video: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police released footage from a deadly shooting after a man wielding a Samurai sword approached officers and threatened to kill them.
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| Emirates predicts 18-month lull in air demand Posted: 10 May 2020 01:43 AM PDT  Gulf aviation giant Emirates said Sunday it would take at least 18 months for travel demand to return to "a semblance of normality", despite reporting bumper pre-pandemic profits. The Dubai carrier, the largest in the Middle East, posted 1.1 billion dirhams ($288 million) in net profit for the financial year ending March, up from $237 million the previous year. Emirates Group chief Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said the airline had performed strongly in the first 11 months of the fiscal year.
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| 2 arrested in slaying of Michigan guard over face mask order Posted: 08 May 2020 08:19 PM PDT  Two men were arrested Friday in the fatal shooting of a security guard who demanded a woman wear a mask while shopping at a store. Genesee County authorities said Ramonyea Bishop, 23, was taken into custody at an apartment in Bay City. The men and Sharmel Teague, the wife of Larry Teague, are charged with first degree murder in the May 1 shooting of Calvin Munerlyn at a Family Dollar store in Flint.
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| California governor says community spread started at nail salon Posted: 10 May 2020 04:27 PM PDT  He said he couldn't provide more information because of health and privacy concerns.
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| Challenges abound for students forced to take classes remotely Posted: 10 May 2020 06:34 AM PDT  How are educators, students and their families adjusting to the current reality of online classes and distance learning, and is it compromising personal, one-on-one instruction, especially for students who are struggling?
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| 'F--- Elon Musk': California assemblywoman responds to Tesla CEO's threats to move the company's main factory Posted: 10 May 2020 08:49 AM PDT  The comment comes after Musk announced that he would file a lawsuit against Almeda County, which has ordered Tesla's main factory to remain closed.
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| South Korean president says epidemic isn't over 'until it's over' after cases rise Posted: 10 May 2020 07:30 AM PDT  South Korean President Moon Jae-in channeled Yogi Berra on Sunday, though the circumstances were much more grim.After the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday reported 34 new coronavirus infections — the country's highest daily rise since April 9 — Moon warned about the risk of a second wave of COVID-19 later this year. "It's not over until it's over," he said of the coronavirus epidemic.Moon said the new cluster, which emerged after a man who eventually tested positive visited multiple recently reopened night clubs in Seoul, shows how quickly the disease can spread. South Korea has drawn praise for how it has largely curbed the outbreak, but the latest development shows how difficult reopening can be, and Seoul's bars and clubs were quickly ordered shut once again.South Korea isn't alone — new infections continued to accelerate in Germany, which has also started to open things up slowly after responding to the initial outbreak relatively successfully, and China, where the virus originated, has reported what could be the beginning of a second wave of cases in the country's northeastern Jilin province.Despite the rise in cases, South Korea has been able to trace most of them to the specific night clubs, highlighting its ability to track new infections, which could prove crucial in keeping a second wave far below the first one. Read more at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.More stories from theweek.com 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's coronavirus strategy The dark decade ahead White House reportedly rejected 'ludicrous' coronavirus relief plan that would have curbed retirement benefits
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| Under Trump, American exceptionalism means poverty, misery and death Posted: 09 May 2020 10:00 PM PDT  No other advanced nation denies healthcare and work protections, or loosens lockdown while fatalities mountNo other nation has endured as much death from Covid-19 nor nearly as a high a death rate as has the United States.With 4.25% of the world population, America has the tragic distinction of accounting for about 30% of pandemic deaths so far.And it is the only advanced nation where the death rate is still climbing. Three thousand deaths per day are anticipated by 1 June.No other nation has loosened lockdowns and other social-distancing measures while deaths are increasing, as the US is now doing.No other advanced nation was as unprepared for the pandemic as was the US.We now know Donald Trump and his administration were told by public health experts in mid-January that immediate action was required to stop the spread of Covid-19. But according to Dr Anthony Fauci, "there was a lot of pushback". Trump didn't act until 16 March.> Around the world, governments are providing generous income support. Not in the USEpidemiologists estimate 90% of the deaths in the US from the first wave of Covid-19 might have been prevented had social distancing policies been put into effect two weeks earlier, on 2 March.No nation other than the US has left it to subordinate units of government – states and cities – to buy ventilators and personal protective equipment. In no other nation have such sub-governments been forced to bid against each another.In no other nation have experts in public health and emergency preparedness been pushed aside and replaced by political cronies like Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who in turn has been advised by Trump donors and Fox News celebrities.In no other advanced nation has Covid-19 forced so many average citizens into poverty so quickly. The Urban Institute reports that more than 30% of American adults have had to reduce their spending on food.Elsewhere around the world, governments are providing generous income support. Not in the US.At best, Americans have received one-time checks for $1,200, about a week's worth of rent, groceries and utilities. Few are collecting unemployment benefits because unemployment offices are overwhelmed with claims.Congress's "payroll protection program" has been a mess. Because funds have been distributed through financial institutions, banks have raked off money for themselves and rewarded their favored customers. Of the $350bn originally intended for small businesses, $243.4m has gone to large, publicly held companies.Meanwhile, the treasury and the Fed are bailing out big corporations from the debts they accumulated in recent years to buy back their shares of stock.Why is America so different from other advanced nations facing the same coronavirus threat? Why has everything gone so tragically wrong?Some of it is due to Trump and his hapless and corrupt collection of grifters, buffoons, sycophants, lobbyists and relatives.But there are also deeper roots.> American workers are far less unionized than workers in other advanced economiesThe coronavirus has been especially potent in the US because America is the only industrialized nation lacking universal healthcare. Many families have been reluctant to see doctors or check into emergency rooms for fear of racking up large bills.America is also the only one of 22 advanced nations failing to give all workers some form of paid sick leave. As a result, many American workers have remained on the job when they should have been home.Adding to this is the skimpiness of unemployment benefits in America – providing less support in the first year of unemployment than those in any other advanced country.American workplaces are also more dangerous. Even before Covid-19 ripped through meatpackers and warehouses, fatality rates were higher among American workers than European.Even before the pandemic robbed Americans of their jobs and incomes, average wage growth in the US had lagged behind average wage growth in most other advanced countries. Since 1980, American workers' share of total national income has declined more than in any other rich nation.In other nations, unions have long pushed for safer working conditions and higher wages. But American workers are far less unionized than workers in other advanced economies. Only 6.4% of private-sector workers in America belong to a union, compared with more than 26% in Canada, 37% in Italy, 67% in Sweden, and 25% in Britain.So who and what's to blame for the worst avoidable loss of life in American history?Partly, Donald Trump's malfeasance.But the calamity is also due to America's longer-term failure to provide its people the basic support they need. * Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His new book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a columnist for Guardian US
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| Trey Gowdy reacts to DOJ dropping criminal case against Flynn Posted: 10 May 2020 08:56 AM PDT  Fox News contributor Trey Gowdy joins 'Sunday Morning Futures.'
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| Killing of rare river dolphins sparks poaching fears in Bangladesh lockdown Posted: 10 May 2020 08:37 AM PDT  The gutted carcass of a freshwater dolphin has been found in a river sanctuary in Bangladesh, officials said Sunday, sparking fears fishermen are taking advantage of the virus lockdown to poach the endangered creatures. Locals in the southeastern town of Raojan found the remains of the 62-inch (157-centimetre) long Ganges river dolphin on the banks of the Halda River, fishery department official Abdullah al Mamun told AFP. The dolphin is the second to be found dead in the same sanctuary since Bangladesh imposed its lockdown to tackle the coronavirus, said Manzoorul Kibria, coordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory (HRRL).
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| Man who recorded Ahmaud Arbery's shooting on video was just a witness, his lawyer says Posted: 09 May 2020 03:17 PM PDT  The lawyer for William "Roddie" Bryan, the Georgia man who recorded video of two white men shooting Ahmaud Arbery, says his client is not a vigilante.
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| Indonesia condemns abuse of its fishermen on Chinese boats Posted: 10 May 2020 08:39 AM PDT |
| World Health Organisation denies China influence allegations Posted: 10 May 2020 08:30 AM PDT  The World Health Organization on Sunday denied allegations that the president of China asked it to delay issuing a global warning about the Covid-19 virus amid an intensifying war of words between Beijing and Washington over the handling of the pandemic. Der Speigel on Friday cited sources in Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) saying that Xi Jinping, China's head of state, had asked Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organisation, to withhold information about human-to-human transmission and delay sounding a global alarm. The WHO said in a statement that the report was "unfounded and untrue." "Dr Tedros and President Xi did not speak on 21 January and they have never spoken by telephone. Such inaccurate reports distract and detract from WHO's and the world's efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic," it said in a statement. China publicly confirmed human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus on 20 January. Der Speigel did not explain why president Xi would ask Dr Tedros to suppress information China had already released. The WHO declared the outbreak had become a pandemic on March 12. The same report said the BND believed Donald Trump had fabricated a claim that the virus escaped from a Wuhan research laboratory as a "diversion." Mr Trump and Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, have claimed to have seen intelligence and "enormous evidence" that the Wuhan lab was responsible for the pandemic. They have not made the alleged evidence public. Most scientists believe the virus jumped from bats to humans via an animal host at a food market in Wuhan. No Western intelligence agency has said there is evidence that the virus escaped from a lab, although they have expressed concern over a lack of transparency in China's response. China on Sunday issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 "preposterous allegations" by some leading U.S. politicians over its handling of the new coronavirus outbreak. The document included references to media reports that there were infections in America before the outbreak in Wuhan, a claim for which there is no evidence. China has also been accused of pressuring the European Union to delay and change a report that accused China or spreading disinformation about the virus. Donald Trump suspended US funding for the WHO on April 15 over what he called its "mismanagement" of the epidemic and alleged influence by China.
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| Australia's biggest states hold off on easing COVID-19 restrictions for businesses Posted: 08 May 2020 08:49 PM PDT  Australia's most populous states held back from relaxing coronavirus restrictions on Saturday although other states began allowing small gatherings and were preparing to open restaurants and shops. Prime Minister Scott Morrison outlined a three-stage plan a day earlier to remove most curbs by July and get nearly 1 million people back to work, given that new confirmed coronavirus infections have fallen to less than 20 a day due to strict lockdowns. In the nation's capital, Canberra, and some states people can visit each other again, with indoor and outdoor gatherings, including weddings, of up to 10 people allowed.
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| The accusation against Joe Biden has Democrats rediscovering the value of due process Posted: 09 May 2020 05:37 AM PDT  Some Democrats took "Believe Women" literally until Joe Biden was accused. Now they're relearning that guilt-by-accusation doesn't serve justice.
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| Letters to the Editor: Risking death to eat out isn't 'resistance,' it's recklessness Posted: 10 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Pictures of restaurant employees and patrons gleefully violating California's social-distancing rules do no favors to businesses that behave responsibly.
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| 'It is scary to go to work': Top White House official reacts to staffers with coronavirus Posted: 10 May 2020 08:24 AM PDT  "I think everybody knows that going to work" in the White House is "a little bit risky," Kevin Hassett said.
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