| In shadow of coronavirus, Congress contemplates 'one of the biggest rule changes in the last century' Posted: 26 Mar 2020 03:43 PM PDT  The pandemic has left multiple members of Congress in quarantine and led to restrictions on movement that could prevent the House from voting.
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| Florida man whose 'game changer' coronavirus treatment was touted by Trump is a believer, but warns: Don't try this at home Posted: 26 Mar 2020 06:44 AM PDT  Despite warnings from experts that existing evidence of hydroxychloroquine's effect on coronavirus symptoms is limited and largely anecdotal, President Trump's promotion of the prospective treatment has prompted stockpiling and fatally misinformed attempts to self-medicate.
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| The UK government claims it failed to take part in an EU scheme for coronavirus ventilators because it didn't see the email asking it to take part Posted: 27 Mar 2020 07:57 AM PDT  The UK government is accused of putting "Brexit before breathing" after failing to sign up to an EU scheme for coronavirus ventilators.
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| What you need to know about the coronavirus Posted: 27 Mar 2020 03:58 AM PDT  There are now more than half a million coronavirus cases across 202 countries and territories globally, with the United States overtaking China as the country with the most infections. Infection rates are starting to pick up in Africa, Latin America and parts of the Middle East. The United States contributed roughly one-third of newly reported cases, as testing in the country expanded, with over 17,000 cases in the past 24 hours, and 281 deaths, the highest single-day case load of any country since the outbreak began.
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| India's coronavirus heroes come under attack Posted: 26 Mar 2020 10:07 PM PDT  Some e-commerce giants have even halted deliveries partly due to the harassment of staff, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi said abuse of hospital workers had become a "huge issue". Reports of attacks and abuse have come from across India, increasing with the imposition this week of a 21-day nationwide lockdown. Sanjibani Panigrahi, a doctor in the western city of Surat, described how she was accosted as she returned home from a long day at a hospital that is treating COVID-19 patients.
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| Coronavirus outbreak diverts Navy aircraft carrier to Guam, all 5,000 aboard to be tested Posted: 26 Mar 2020 12:31 PM PDT  The number of infected sailors has risen sharply — from initial reports of three to "dozens" as of Thursday, officials said.
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| Coronavirus: Mexicans demand crackdown on Americans crossing the border Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:48 AM PDT  Wearing face masks, protesters blocked the US southern border, telling Americans to 'stay home'
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| Coalition Out of Crisis: Why Gantz Threw in with Netanyahu Posted: 27 Mar 2020 01:28 PM PDT  After more than a year of bitter political dispute and maneuvering, Israel is about to have a coalition government. It took three elections and an unprecedented public-health crisis to get the country to this point.Benny Gantz, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and the leader of the opposition Blue and White Party, was faced with a choice this week. He could join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or he could stick to the commitment he'd made to his supporters to bring Bibi down. As the country dealt with the coronavirus pandemic, Gantz's continued refusal to join a coalition would likely have plunged it into the agony of a fourth election in less than two years. He chose to throw in with Netanyahu.The price of that decision, which Gantz described as a patriotic duty at a time of national distress, was the destruction of the Blue and White. The year-old political alliance had presented the most potent challenge to Netanyahu's grip on power in more than a decade, propelling Gantz to the brink of becoming his successor.In the new coalition, Gantz will reportedly serve as foreign minister, with Netanyahu continuing as prime minister. The agreement calls for him to switch places with Netanyahu after 18 months, ending the latter's run as the country's longest-serving prime minister. But this will not be a broad unity coalition with Netanyahu's Likud and its right-wing and religious-party allies; rather, Gantz will take only part of his faction into the new government.Gantz took his decision in the midst of a tense and complicated squabble. The Knesset that was elected earlier this month struggled to organize itself in the absence of a governing majority for either Netanyahu or Gantz. Netanyahu and his bloc had 58 seats in the 120-seat parliament, leaving him three short of the votes he needed to continue in power. Gantz had the endorsement of 61 members, but that included the 15 seats held by the Arab Joint List, an alliance of four parties comprising Islamists, Palestinian nationalists, and Communists. A number of Knesset members from the Blue and White refused to serve in a government that depended on the votes of an alliance with the declared intent of ending Israel's status as a Jewish state. Thus Gantz, too, lacked the votes to create a government.A similar impasse after the two previous elections, held in April and September 2019, had led to the March 2 general election. On both sides of the political divide, there were some who were prepared to take their chances a fourth time in order to get a decisive result. But fate in the form of the coronavirus pandemic intervened.Netanyahu, as the head of a caretaker government, embraced the crisis as only an experienced policymaker and wartime leader could. Some of his leftist critics decried the emergency measures he ordered to contain the coronavirus contagion, charging him with exploiting the crisis to bolster his political standing and to distract the country from the fact that he is still facing trial on three corruption charges. Indeed, some regarded his decision to close the courts, one result of which was to postpone the start of his trial, as an assault on democracy. But polls show that most Israelis believe he is once again demonstrating his competence in dealing with an emergency.The incumbent prime minister knew that, though his opponent couldn't form a government, Gantz did have the votes to effectively prevent Netanyahu from remaining in power. The critical factor was the position of Speaker of the Knesset, which has been held by a Netanyahu loyalist. A coalition of the Blue and White, smaller leftist parties, and the Joint List could have elected a new Speaker, and the Knesset could then have passed a law banning anyone under indictment from serving as prime minister. To members of the opposition, this was Gantz's golden opportunity to take Netanyahu down. Indeed, the Blue and White — a diverse alliance including former members of the once-dominant Labor Party, a right-wing faction led by former general and Likud defense minister Moshe Ya'alon, the left-leaning Yesh Atid Party, and Gantz's own centrist faction — was united by only one common purpose: pushing Netanyahu out the door.Though Gantz entered politics as a much-needed fresh face a year ago, after three bruising election campaigns he is now widely seen as lacking the energy and political skills that Netanyahu possesses. Moreover, Gantz had campaigned on a promise not to form a government that would be dependent on the anti-Zionists of the Joint List, and his flirtation with that alliance in the weeks since the last election had soured voters on the Blue and White. Going to a fourth election was therefore a big risk for the party, with polls suggesting not a big or even a narrow win but in fact a decisive defeat. The electorate leans right to begin with, on top of which it was most likely to want a familiar steady hand to lead the country through the pandemic crisis. Thus Gantz came to the conclusion that joining the prime minister was the only reasonable choice.But if he thought he could bring all of his party with him into Netanyahu's cabinet, he was dead wrong. Leaders of the factions within the opposition regarded Gantz's decision as a betrayal, not only of them personally but of the million Israelis who voted for them. Much of Israel's left-leaning mainstream media, especially columnists in Haaretz, the newspaper that dubs itself Israel's version of the New York Times, echoed this sentiment, lambasting Gantz for his cowardice and for just being too exhausted to carry on the fight.So what becomes of the Blue and White? Some factions will stay in the opposition, and since they will have more Knesset seats than Gantz's own faction, they will likely retain the Blue and White label. But in effect, this split spells the end of the party that had presented the most formidable challenge that Netanyahu has faced since 2009. Moreover, given that the factions disagree on most policy questions, the ability of the party, or what's left of it, to serve as an effective opposition is questionable.The exact terms of Gantz's deal with Netanyahu have yet to be formalized. Gantz signaled his deal with the prime minister by having himself elected Speaker of the Knesset with Likud support — presumably only until the final bargain is sealed. In doing so, he prevented the Blue and White from wielding any remaining leverage to block the coalition. The arrangement hinges on a rotation of the office of prime minister after 18 months and on allowing Gantz's allies to lead the ministries of defense and justice. Having one of Gantz's allies in the latter post will ensure that, once the national coronavirus lockdown has been lifted and the courts reopened, Netanyahu's trial will go forward.As things stand, it appears that Netanyahu's rule will end either with a conviction or with the prime minister's scheduled handing over of the office to Gantz — whichever comes first. Still, many in the Likud as well as Blue and White believe that if Netanyahu is acquitted, he will find a way to renege on his deal with Gantz. Indeed, it may be that Gantz suspects the same thing.Gantz has gone from the savior of Israel's left-wing opposition to its bête noire. But he understood that the political stalemate could not go on: It was preventing the country from passing a budget that was needed, most urgently, to provide relief to citizens in the face of the pandemic and to shore up the economy. Dragging out the stalemate was neither rational policy nor good politics. Deciding to end it may have cost Gantz a political future, since it's unlikely he will be able to reassemble another formidable coalition. Whether or not he really does become prime minister in September 2021, Gantz decided that destroying his party was not too high a price to pay for saving his country from further chaos in the midst of a pandemic.
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| Stacks of Urns in Wuhan Prompt New Questions of Virus’s Toll Posted: 26 Mar 2020 10:06 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- The long lines and stacks of ash urns greeting family members of the dead at funeral homes in Wuhan are spurring questions about the true scale of coronavirus casualties at the epicenter of the outbreak, renewing pressure on a Chinese government struggling to control its containment narrative.The families of those who succumbed to the virus in the central Chinese city, where the disease first emerged in December, were allowed to pick up their cremated ashes at eight local funeral homes starting this week. As they did, photos circulated on Chinese social media of thousands of urns being ferried in.Outside one funeral home, trucks shipped in about 2,500 urns on both Wednesday and Thursday, according to Chinese media outlet Caixin. Another picture published by Caixin showed 3,500 urns stacked on the ground inside. It's unclear how many of the urns had been filled.People who answered the phone at six of the eight funeral homes in Wuhan said they either did not have data on how many urns were waiting to be collected, or were not authorized to disclose the numbers. Calls were not answered at the other two.Some families said they had been forced to wait for several hours to pick up the ashes. The photos circulated as mass deaths from the virus spiked in cities across the west, including Milan, Madrid and New York, where hospitals were erecting tents to handle the overflow as global infections soar past 500,000, with 24,000 dead.According to Chinese government figures, 2,535 people in Wuhan have died of the virus. The announcement that a lockdown in place since January would be lifted came after China said its tally of new cases had hit zero and stepped up diplomatic outreach to other countries hard hit by the virus, sending some of them medical supplies.But some in China have been skeptical of the accuracy of the official tally, particularly given Wuhan's overwhelmed medical system, authorities' attempts to cover up the outbreak in its initial stages, and multiple revisions to the way official cases are counted. Residents on social media have demanded disciplinary action against top Wuhan officials.China's Hidden Symptom-Free Virus Cases Means Epidemic Not OverMany people who died had Covid-19 symptoms, but weren't tested and excluded from the official case tally, Caixin said. There were also patients who died of other diseases due to a lack of proper treatment when hospitals were overwhelmed dealing with those who had the coronavirus.There were 56,007 cremations in Wuhan in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to data from the city's civil affairs agency. The number of cremations was 1,583 higher than those in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 2,231 higher than the fourth quarter of 2017.Mourning RestrictionsThe families of the deceased may not be able to say a proper goodbye to their loved ones just yet. Wuhan's government issued a statement on Thursday prohibiting individuals in the city from tomb-sweeping activities until April 30, meaning they would not be able to observe the traditional April 4 Ching Ming Festival, or tomb sweeping holiday. Other provinces including Guangxi and Zhejiang have also announced similar restrictions.Two locals in Wuhan who have lost family members to the virus said online that they were informed they had to be accompanied by their employers or officials from neighborhood committees when picking up the urns, likely as a measure against public gatherings."I was told by district government to wait until further notice on when I can pick up my father's ashes," one Wuhan resident using the name "Xue Zai Shou Zhong," meaning "snow in hand," posted on Weibo. "There is a staggered arrangement for urn collecting."Another Weibo user using the handle Adagier said she lost her husband to the coronavirus and had since been contacted by police warning her not to be too emotional -- and to stop posting online."I have only one demand," she wrote. "I want to give my husband a proper burial as soon as possible."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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| Sudden spike in new Tokyo virus cases brings dire warning for Japan Posted: 25 Mar 2020 06:53 PM PDT  Tokyo governor asks neighboring regions to help her lock down a region home to about 40 million people, as experts warn "rampant" infections "highly likely" in Japan.
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| Letters to the Editor: The obvious vice presidential pick for Joe Biden is Michelle Obama Posted: 26 Mar 2020 03:00 AM PDT  The former first lady is admired by liberals and conservatives. Putting her on the ticket would make defeating Trump easy.
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| Half the residents who tested positive for the coronavirus in a Washington nursing home did not yet have symptoms, but they were highly contagious Posted: 27 Mar 2020 12:22 PM PDT  Half of COVID-19 cases at a care home were asymptotic. That may mean up to half of contagious patients may not be caught, per a new CDC report.
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| China threatens to strike back after Taiwan deal Posted: 27 Mar 2020 06:37 AM PDT  China has denounced a U.S. act that increases American support for Taiwan internationally.
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| Chinese arrivals to U.S. plummet in February as coronavirus forces travel curbs Posted: 27 Mar 2020 01:26 PM PDT  Arrival data from the International Trade Administration (ITA) also said the number of Chinese travelers in the first two months of 2020 fell 35.4% to 353,911 from a year earlier. U.S. airlines started extending China flight cancellations https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-united/u-s-airlines-extend-china-flight-cancelations-into-late-april-idUSKBN20703W early in February after the government placed restrictions on travelers who had visited China. The total number of overseas arrivals through January and February also fell 3.8% to 5.29 million, with Asia accounting for the steepest decline due to the coronavirus outbreak that began in China.
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| Pope faces coronavirus 'tempest' alone in St Peter's Square Posted: 27 Mar 2020 04:46 PM PDT  Pope Francis stood alone in vast Saint Peter's Square Friday to bless Catholics around the world suffering under the coronavirus pandemic, urging people to ease their fears through faith. In a historic first, the Argentine performed the rarely recited "Urbi et Orbi" blessing from the steps of the basilica to an empty square, addressing those in lockdown across the globe via television, radio and social media.
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| A US aircraft carrier could be stuck in port for almost a month for coronavirus testing, but the Navy is trying to cut that time down Posted: 27 Mar 2020 12:03 PM PDT  At the current pace, testing the entire crew could leave the carrier stuck in port for nearly a month.
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| The stimulus check won't be in the mail for Americans who owe child support Posted: 27 Mar 2020 02:26 PM PDT  But back taxes or late student loan payments don't disqualify people from getting the full amount they're eligible for.
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| Deadliest Day in Italy, Spain Shows Worst of Virus Not Over Posted: 27 Mar 2020 12:45 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Italy and Spain suffered their deadliest days yet from the coronavirus outbreak. The government in Madrid warned citizens that the situation will get worse.Italy reported 969 deaths in 24 hours, and Spain 769. Italy now has 86,498 total cases, roughly the same number as the U.S. and more than China, where the disease's first outbreak occurred. A slowdown in new cases in Italy was the one silver lining.Both countries are in almost complete lockdown, with their governments counting on limited social interactions to help contain the spread of the disease. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez convened an emergency cabinet meeting to try to chart a way out of the crisis rapidly engulfing the nation."We may be entering a phase of stabilization, but we haven't reached the peak yet," Health Minister Salvador Illa said at a news conference in Madrid.With Italy and Spain now reporting the most deaths worldwide, Europe's outbreak is stretching health-care systems and in some cases forcing doctors to choose who should live or die. The head of the World Health Organization tried to rally support for the battle against the disease on Friday, even as some world leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump question the need for extreme measures.U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was criticized for being slow to react to the epidemic, became the first world leader to say he has tested positive and is self-isolating in his Downing Street offices with "mild symptoms." Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, also has the virus.U.K. infections are doubling every three to four days, Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said. Some 14,543 people in Britain have now tested positive for coronavirus, a 2,885 increase on Thursday's tally. Apart from Johnson, Health Secretary Matt Hancock also tested positive and the government's chief medical officer Chris Whitty said he had symptoms and would self-isolate for a week.aIn France, cases rose to 32,964 from 29,155, with a total of 1,696 deaths.European Union leaders have largely recognized the danger but struggled to agree at a virtual summit Thursday on a joint strategy to limit the economic impact. They left key details to be hammered out in the weeks ahead.Italian President Sergio Mattarella said in a video statement that while the ECB and the European Commission have taken "important and positive financial and economic decisions" to counter the coronavirus crisis, heads of state so far have failed to act collectively.'Extraordinary Crisis'In the absence of a shared EU response, national governments have been going it alone. In Germany, the upper house of parliament gave the final green light Friday to a package totaling more than 750 billion euros ($826 billion).While the death toll is still mounting, Italy's health authorities sounded cautiously optimistic in recent days as new cases appear to be slowing. That was confirmed Friday, as new infections in the country slowed to 5,959, compared with 6,153 the previous day, civil protection authorities said at their daily news conference in Rome.Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana, who heads the region with the worst outbreak, said before Friday's death toll was released that a decline in cases may come in days.Even as the spread seems to be slowing, evidence of its impact on the economy is starting to emerge. Confidence among Italian businesses crashed this month across all sectors. Consumer sentiment also deteriorated.Alitalia, Italy's bankrupt state airline, announced it will lay off almost 7,000 workers, while Arcelor Mittal's Taranto steel mill, Europe's largest by capacity, asked to temporarily suspend its whole staff, more than 8,000 people.Italy's gross domestic product may shrink by 6.5% in 2020, according to research group Prometeia. The government has pledged to launch a second stimulus package worth at least 25 billion euros in April, after approving a similar amount this month.(Updates with French figures in eighth 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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| Americans divided on Trump coronavirus response as president's approval rating climbs, polls find Posted: 26 Mar 2020 08:23 AM PDT  Americans are divided on President Trump's response to the coronavirus outbreak, polls have found. Approval and disapproval fell along party lines.
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| U.S. warship passes through the sensitive Taiwan Strait amid heightened tensions Posted: 26 Mar 2020 06:44 AM PDT  A U.S. warship passed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, the U.S. and Taiwan militaries said, following heightened tensions between China and Taiwan that have seen Taiwanese air force jets scramble to intercept Chinese fighters.
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| Pedestrian bridge falls onto Detroit freeway after collision Posted: 27 Mar 2020 08:34 AM PDT  A truck collided with a pedestrian bridge early Friday in Detroit, sending a portion of the span onto a freeway and blocking traffic along part of the heavily traveled thoroughfare, authorities said. No one was injured in the collapse onto westbound Interstate 94, Lt. Mike Shaw, a Michigan State Police spokesman, said in an email. The freeway in both directions was closed after the collapse, which was caused by a truck apparently carrying a large load hitting the bridge at some point after 5 a.m, said Diane Cross, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation.
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| Italy suffers setback to hopes its coronavirus epidemic might be in retreat Posted: 26 Mar 2020 10:27 AM PDT  Hopes that Italy's coronavirus epidemic might be in retreat suffered a setback on Thursday when data showed that both the number of new cases and deaths had ticked higher, underscoring how hard it is to halt the disease. Officials said 712 people died of the illness in the last 24 hours, pushing the total tally to 8,215, well over double that seen in anywhere else in the world, while new infections rose by 6,153 to 80,539. The number of cases is nudging close to the more than 81,000 infections recorded in China where the pandemic began.
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| Why the US is leading the world in confirmed coronavirus cases Posted: 27 Mar 2020 01:58 PM PDT  From the first known patient in late January to now almost 100,000 infected, the United States has earned the unwanted distinction of leading the world in confirmed coronavirus cases. Public health experts say that while we've yet to hit the peak of the US epidemic, there are several reasons why the COVID-19 disease has exploded in America. Early on in the outbreak, President Donald Trump was accused of downplaying its severity, saying that sustained community spread was not "inevitable" even after a senior health official said it was, which could have led to a sense of complacency.
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| North Korea is secretly asking for coronavirus aid from other countries while publicly denying that it has any cases Posted: 26 Mar 2020 04:09 AM PDT  Officials in the isolated country have been privately asking other countries and aid groups for supplies like masks and test kits, reports say.
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| A 90-year-old woman in Washington state recovered from the coronavirus, and she credits family, God, and potato soup Posted: 27 Mar 2020 02:38 PM PDT  Family members of 90-year-old COVID-19 patient Geneva Wood were called to the hospital to say their goodbyes. After seeing them, she recovered.
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| China Supplied Faulty Coronavirus Test Kits to Spain, Czech Republic Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:23 AM PDT  The majority of rapid test coronavirus test kits supplied by China to Spain and the Czech Republic are faulty, local news outlets reported.Up to 80 percent of the 150,000 portable, quick coronavirus test kits China delivered to the Czech Republic earlier this month were faulty, according to local Czech news site Expats.cz. The tests can produce a result in 10 or 15 minutes but are usually less accurate than other tests. Because of the high error rate, the country will continue to rely on conventional laboratory tests, of which they perform about 900 a day.The country's Health Ministry paid $546,000 for 100,000 of the test kits, while the Interior Ministry paid for the other 50,000.Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jan Hamacek downplayed the discovery that many of the tests were faulty, blaming it on a possible wrong methodology and saying the kits can still be used "when the disease has been around for some time," or when "someone returns after quarantine after fourteen days.""In my opinion, this is not about some scandalous revelation that it is not working," Hamacek said.Meanwhile, Spain, which has more than 56,000 infected people and more than 4,000 coronavirus deaths, the second-highest number of fatalities in the world after Italy, found that the rapid coronavirus test kits it purchased from Chinese company Bioeasy only correctly identified 30 percent of virus cases, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.The director Spain's Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies, Fernando Simón, said Spain tested 9,000 of the test kits and will return them based on their high error rate.Studies performed on the tests which discovered the high error rate caused the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology to recommend officially that the tests not be used.The Chinese embassy in Spain claimed the Bioeasy products are not included in the products China has been supplying to countries where the virus has broken out.
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| ‘It's a steep road ahead’: Sanders admits it's going to be tough to beat Biden but he won't stop trying Posted: 27 Mar 2020 02:43 PM PDT  Bernie Sanders is continuing to assess the future of his presidential campaign as he lags behind Joe Biden in delegate count and has to face up to the challenge of running for office during the coronavirus pandemic.Speaking to NPR's Noel King on Morning Edition, Senator Sanders acknowledged that the path ahead would be challenging: "it's going to be a very steep road."
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| U.S. attorney general seeks to expand home confinement option as coronavirus spreads in prisons Posted: 26 Mar 2020 09:16 AM PDT  U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Thursday he has directed the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to expand its use of home confinement for inmates in appropriate cases, as the coronavirus has continued to spread in the federal prison system. A total of six inmates and four prison staffers have tested positive for COVID-19, Barr said, adding that several federal facilities including two in New York City are now on lockdown as a result. The First Step Act, signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump in late 2018, expanded the BOP's powers to maximize the amount of time that lower-risk inmates can spend in home confinement, when possible.
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| Coronavirus: Man planning to bomb Missouri hospital killed, FBI says Posted: 26 Mar 2020 03:49 AM PDT  The suspect wanted to bomb a facility treating coronavirus cases to cause severe harm, the FBI says.
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| The US's coronavirus death rate is currently 1.6% — one of the lowest of any hard-hit country. Here's how it compares to places like China and Italy. Posted: 27 Mar 2020 05:00 PM PDT  The US is one of the hardest-hit countries in the world by the coronavirus pandemic. But its death rate from the COVID-19 illness is low: 1.6%.
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| Catholics allowed to eat meat on Lenten Fridays Posted: 27 Mar 2020 09:18 AM PDT  Some bishops this year are telling parishioners that they've sacrificed enough as the coronavirus pandemic denies people of gatherings, outside entertainment and everyday conveniences.
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| Water shutoffs in sharp focus amid coronavirus outbreak Posted: 27 Mar 2020 11:35 AM PDT  The advice is simple and universal: Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The Rev. Roslyn Bouier remembers when children began to show up at the Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry on Detroit's northwest side, clutching empty pitchers. Through the end of 2019, the city has recorded about 127,500 total service cutoffs, according to the water department, though that figure includes households where the water was turned off repeatedly.
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| 'Printing money': booming mask producers in China meet global demand Posted: 27 Mar 2020 12:00 AM PDT  As the coronavirus pandemic that originated in a central Chinese city has gone global, thousands of factories in China have nimbly turned to a new and very profitable market –- face masks for export. At the height of China's outbreak in early February, Guan Xunze's company created a new mask factory in just eleven days. The factory, with five production lines in northeastern China, made the much-needed N95 face masks which were in huge demand as infection numbers surged.
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| Trump Achieves Net Positive Approval Rating for First Time in Poll Posted: 27 Mar 2020 10:43 AM PDT  President Trump has hit a net positive approval rating for the first time in a Washington Post-ABC News poll, amid a general rise in approval for the president during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.Trump's overall approval rating stands at 48 percent to a 46 percent disapproval, according to the poll. The same survey conducted in February recorded 43 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval.Republican respondents approved of Trump's performance by 86 percent, Independents by 49 percent, and Democrats by 17 percent. The president's net positive approval rating may be due to heightened support among Democrats, just 4 percent of whom approved of Trump in the same survey in February.Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak was also viewed positively, with 51 percent of respondents approving to 45 percent disapproving. However, respondents criticized Trump's early response to the pandemic, with 58 percent saying the president was too slow to take action against the coronavirus and 38 percent saying he acted "with the right amount of speed."President Trump's job approval is up in several other polls as well, with an average 47 percent approval to 49 percent disapproval according to RealClearPolitics.The Trump administration initially struggled to cope with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. Stocks nosedived in mid-March as various states, including New York, announced closures of various non-essential businesses, while Trump faced criticism from congressional Republicans and White House officials for downplaying the outbreak.Since then, Trump has thrown his weight behind a massive $2 trillion economic aid package making its way through Congress. Stocks have surged this week in expectation of economic aid.
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| Fact check: Did Gates Foundation fund, does Pirbright Institute own coronavirus patent? Posted: 27 Mar 2020 12:30 PM PDT  Multiple posts on Facebook claim that Pirbright Institute, with ties to the Gates Foundation, owns the patent on the coronavirus. This is false.
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| The next financial crisis: A collapse of the mortgage system Posted: 27 Mar 2020 01:01 PM PDT  The mortgage finance system could collapse if the Fed doesn't step in with emergency loans to offset a coming wave of missed payments from borrowers crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Russia confirms coronavirus case in Putin's administration, tightens curbs Posted: 27 Mar 2020 02:42 AM PDT  The Kremlin confirmed a coronavirus case in President Vladimir Putin's administration on Friday and the government said measures imposed in Moscow to fight the virus should be extended across Russia. The Kremlin said it was taking measures to stop the virus spreading further after a staff member in the presidential administration contracted the virus. It said the person had not come into contact with Putin, but declined to identify them.
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| Editorial: A 'postponed' abortion? Yeah, that's called having the baby Posted: 27 Mar 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Some states are using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to cut off abortion access. That's unacceptable.
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| Cruise-ship workers say they have so much sex that their ships are like college dorms Posted: 27 Mar 2020 07:37 AM PDT  Sex among cruise ship workers is pervasive, current and former cruise ship employees told Business Insider.
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| Coronavirus: People urged not to move house Posted: 27 Mar 2020 04:46 AM PDT  Buyers and renters should delay moving while emergency measures are in place, the government says.
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| Italy, Spain suffer record virus deaths as British PM tests positive Posted: 27 Mar 2020 02:50 PM PDT  Italy on Friday recorded the most daily deaths of any country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and Spain had its deadliest day, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first major world leader to test positive. Italy reported 969 new deaths, Spain 769 and France 299 as Europe reeled from a crisis that led the United States on Friday to finalise an unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus package.
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| U.S. Treasury imposes fresh Iran-related sanctions despite coronavirus Posted: 26 Mar 2020 04:25 PM PDT  The United States blacklisted five Iran- and Iraq-based companies and 15 individuals on Thursday for supporting terrorist groups, its third round of sanctions on Iranian targets in the last two weeks even as Tehran battles the coronavirus outbreak.
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| Trump: I Don’t Think Governors ‘Need’ the Medical Equipment They’re Begging For Posted: 26 Mar 2020 08:01 PM PDT  As medical professionals and local authorities across the country sound the alarm over shortages of life-saving equipment due to a surge in coronavirus patients, President Donald Trump on Thursday shrugged off their warnings because, as he put it, "a lot of equipment is being asked for that I don't think they will need." Calling into Fox News host and unofficial presidential adviser Sean Hannity's show on Thursday, Trump boasted about his administration's response to the crippling pandemic, despite the fact that the United States now has the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the world.Asked by Hannity about his general refusal to enforce the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of needed supplies like masks and ventilators, the president insisted it hadn't been necessary because there's been "tremendous spirit" from corporations that he says have stepped up. This prompted him to then take some pointed shots at Democratic governors who've criticized the federal response."Remember, we are a second line of attack," he exclaimed. "The first line of attack is supposed to be the hospitals and the local government and the states."The president first took aim at Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, calling him a "failed presidential candidate" who is "always complaining" and "should be doing more" for his state. He then proceeded to attack Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who he said was "not stepping up" and "has not been pleasant."Claiming he gets along well with most of the other governors, the president then suggested they are asking for unnecessary supplies from the federal government while also insisting that the states should take on the majority of the burden."I think that a lot of things are being said that are more," Trump said. "I don't think certain things will materialize, a lot of equipment is being asked for that I don't think they'll need.""But we are building four medical centers and many other things we have developed and sent thousands of ventilators and hopefully, they're going to do well but you have to know, this has to be managed by local government and by the governors," Trump added. "Can't be managed by the federal government."Hannity, who began his program by blasting New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for desperately declaring his state's need for 30,000 ventilators, went on to say the governor's request annoyed him. Moments later, Trump suggested the state didn't need nearly that much equipment."I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they are going to be," he asserted. "I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You know, you go to major hospitals, sometimes they have two ventilators. "As of publication, the death toll from COVID-19 in New York City alone has topped 365. The city's entire health-care system, meanwhile, is on the brink as more and more patients flood the hospitals. At its current pace, FEMA estimates that the city's intensive care units will be filled by Friday.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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| Biden reportedly says Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is in his 'top three' picks for VP Posted: 26 Mar 2020 02:58 PM PDT  While reportedly setting up video equipment in Delaware over four days, former Vice President Joe Biden was apparently mulling over possible running mates.Biden told former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is one of his "top three" choices should he win the Democratic presidential nomination, Mediaite reported Thursday.Reid, who was also a longtime senator representing Nevada, is reportedly nudging Biden toward choosing Cortez Masto as his VP, and Biden's campaign apparently feels she would be a strong choice and could help expand Biden's popularity among Latinx voters. Biden publicly committed to choosing a woman as his vice president if nominated over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), sparking endless speculation over who that woman might be. CNBC says Biden's "business allies" are hoping for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) or Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), two former presidential candidates themselves. The Washington Post, meanwhile, said Biden's shortlist probably included Cortez Masto, but also named more well-known Democrats like former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Biden's campaign declined to dispute Mediaite's reporting, simply saying he would vigorously vet candidates.New York magazine wrote that Biden is spending his "coronavirus bunker" time "thinking a lot" about a potential VP, and taking lots of calls from supporters and Democratic strategists who are pushing Biden to pick their candidate of choice. None of those calls, however, resulted in much reported information on whether Biden had narrowed his list.Biden told The View on Tuesday his "short" list was between "12 and 15" names, but if his reported statement to Reid is to be believed, he's done a lot of whittling in the past few days. Read more at Mediaite and New York.More stories from theweek.com Trump has never been worse — but his approval is surging. Why? Social distancing is about to get a whole lot harder Trump invokes Defense Protection Act to force GM to make ventilators
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| Iran urges U.S. to free Iranian prisoners amid coronavirus Posted: 27 Mar 2020 02:56 AM PDT  The Tehran government urged the United States on Friday to release Iranians held in U.S. jails on sanctions-related issues due to fears about the coronavirus epidemic. The death toll in Iran, one of the countries worst hit by the disease, meanwhile rose to 2,378 on Friday, a jump of 144, while its number of cases rose to 32,332, according to Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States of holding a number of Iranians in its prisons and said that under the circumstances they should be set free.
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