| 'It is an existential threat': As coronavirus spreads to Africa, health experts warn of catastrophe Posted: 07 Apr 2020 01:31 PM PDT  So far, African countries have been spared the high death tolls seen in Italy, Spain, and the U.S., but officials are bracing for the worst in the coming weeks.
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| Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown blasts Trump but praises Republican governor's response to coronavirus Posted: 07 Apr 2020 11:59 AM PDT  Sen. Sherrod Brown defeated Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in 2006, but now praises his old political foe's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Photos show thousands packing into cars, planes, and trains in a rush to get out of Wuhan as China lifts the coronavirus lockdown Posted: 08 Apr 2020 12:12 PM PDT  China ended the near-11-week lockdown of the city of Wuhan at midnight on Wednesday, sending floods of people out of the city.
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| Azul Rojas Marín: Peru found responsible for torture of LGBT person Posted: 08 Apr 2020 05:40 AM PDT  Azul Rojas Marín was beaten and raped in custody in Peru, a top human rights court rules.
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| Iran says US oil production must be known before OPEC+ call Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:21 AM PDT  Iran demanded on Wednesday that U.S. oil production levels must be known before an upcoming OPEC meeting with Russia and others seeking to boost global energy prices. The meeting of the so-called OPEC+ is scheduled to be held Thursday after officials delayed it following Saudi Arabia criticizing Russia over its comments about the price collapse. A meeting in March saw OPEC and other nations led by Russia fail to agree to a production cut as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has drastically cut demand for oil.
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| Bernie drops out, as Democrats pick pragmatism over consistency Posted: 08 Apr 2020 10:09 AM PDT  In many ways, Bernie Sanders is the anti-Trump. And, in important ways, he ran his campaign as the anti-Biden.Sanders bowed out of the Democratic nomination race on April 8, repeating his runner-up status from four years earlier. His two runs at the White House have cemented his legacy as a consistent standard-bearer for progressive policies. The veteran democratic socialist possessed a rare quality for a political candidate in this age of Trumpian fickleness. He is a politician whose actions and beliefs have remained steadfast over time and across campaigns. But in the current political moment, it appears the Democratic electorate longs less for a politician who is consistent from day to day than one who can provide pragmatic leadership to unseat the vacillating Trump. Same ol' SandersSanders ran his campaign as the antithesis of a political showman, who says one thing today and another tomorrow with little regard for facts and consistency. He has exhibited throughout his career what anthropologist Alessandro Duranti calls "existential coherence" – he is a political figure "whose past, present, and future actions, beliefs, and evaluations follow some clear basic principles, none of which contradicts another." As a linguistic anthropologist who studies language and politics, I know that traditionally, candidates have worried about how to project a consistent political persona, and they have often gone to great pains to do so. But Trump shattered that expectation, excelling in self-contradictions and inconsistencies – often within a single sitting.Sanders, instead, has put forth a consistent vision that has remained more or less the same since his early days in politics as mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Rather than moving toward the electorate and shifting positions based on perceptions of what the electorate desired, the electorate has moved toward Sanders to join his vision for universal health care and other progressive causes. A CNBC survey in 2019 found that a majority of Americans supported progressive policies, including a higher minimum wage and Medicare for All – key issues that Sanders has been advocating throughout his decades-long political career. In an episode of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" last year, host Trevor Noah unearthed footage from 1987 of Sanders discussing politics on a local public access channel in his hometown of Burlington. The Bernie Sanders of 1987 talked of the unfair tax system that placed a large burden on working people and the need for universal health care. "We are one of two nations in the industrialized world that does not have a national health care system," declared Sanders in 1987. Three decades later, in both his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, Sanders continued with that theme. In 2016, he released his Medicare for All plan by declaring, "It is time for our country to join every other major industrialized nation on Earth and guarantee health care to all citizens as a right, not a privilege." His 2020 campaign website further echoed this sentiment, stating that "the United States will join every other major country on Earth and guarantee health care to all people as a right." A consistent candidate often comes across as a more authentic candidate – someone who is staying true to his core self rather than pandering to the latest polling data or saying whatever will attract the most dramatic news coverage. Sanders' authenticity as a candidate who has fought for working people and progressive ideals his entire life made him appealing to many liberals. He attracted an unshakable following of core supporters because of it. 'Results, not revolution'Biden's pragmatic approach, however, trumped Sanders' often dogmatic consistency. In their debates, Sanders hammered Biden over what he saw as shifting stances on Social Security, Medicare and veterans' programs. And then there was Biden's 2003 vote for the Iraq war before he turned against it.But this is not the 2004 presidential election, where accusations of flip-flopping can sink a candidate, like it did John Kerry in his race against George W. Bush. Perhaps Donald Trump's fickleness has changed what voters look for in a candidate. Maybe it's simply that nobody cares about Biden's apparent lack of judgment in 2003, which occurred well before he spent eight years as vice president in arguably one of the most popular Democratic administrations in U.S. history.Biden easily parried Sanders' accusations of inconsistency by pointing to an underlying consistency of principles that have guided his varying positions over time. Voters ultimately decided to support someone who exhibits a practical sense of how to govern in a way that gets things done. As Biden said in his last debate with Sanders, "People are looking for results, not revolution."On health care, one might have expected Sanders to have an advantage with his Medicare for All proposal, a consistent theme across his time as mayor, congressman, senator and presidential candidate. Polling done by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that for the first time a majority of Americans began to support a single government plan for health care in 2016, corresponding to the Sanders campaign push for Medicare for All.But in the same Kaiser poll, more Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they would prefer a candidate who would build on the Affordable Care Act rather than replace it. Biden's campaign argued precisely for this more pragmatic approach, and he positioned himself as the right person to get the job done in a contentious political environment. An overtureAfter sweeping the primaries in Florida, Illinois and Arizona in March – putting the wheels in motion for the eventual withdrawal of Sanders from the race – Biden then struck the right chord in his speech after the Florida primary by making an appeal to Sanders voters. "I hear you," he said. "I know what's at stake. I know what we have to do. Our goal as a campaign and my goal as a candidate for president is to unify this party and then to unify the nation." Biden's appeal to Sanders voters suggests he may be willing to absorb some of the best ideas from Sanders – and other candidates. It's a pragmatic approach, rather than a dogmatic consistency, that may bring along their supporters, too. That may be exactly what he will need to do to beat Trump in November.[You're smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation's authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to The Conversation's newsletter.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Biden's big night with moderates, African Americans and baby boomers * Biden's resurrection was unprecedented – and well-timedAdam Hodges does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Fauci once dismissed concerns about 'silent carriers' of coronavirus. Not anymore. Posted: 07 Apr 2020 09:17 AM PDT  The nation's top infectious disease expert says half of the people spreading coronavirus may never feel sick. That's more than anyone thought.
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| New York state reports more coronavirus cases than any country except the U.S.: Reuters tally Posted: 08 Apr 2020 10:44 AM PDT  The U.S. state has 149,316 reported cases compared with Spain at 146,690. Italy is now in third place with 139,422 cases reported on Wednesday. In total, the United States has recorded over 417,000 cases and 14,100 deaths, according to the Reuters tally.
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| Trump adviser warned of millions of virus deaths in January. Trump says he saw the memo only this week. Posted: 07 Apr 2020 05:53 PM PDT  President Trump said Tuesday that he did not learn of two memos written in January and February by his own economic adviser warning that a COVID-19 pandemic could kill as many as 2 million Americans until "maybe a day ago."
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| Wuhan Is Returning to Life. So Are Its Disputed Wet Markets Posted: 08 Apr 2020 02:00 PM PDT |
| One chart shows how long the coronavirus lives on surfaces like cardboard, plastic, wood, and steel Posted: 07 Apr 2020 01:58 PM PDT  Recent research shows that the coronavirus lives longest on glass, paper money, and the outside of surgical masks.
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| Why black Americans appear to be more affected by COVID-19 Posted: 08 Apr 2020 06:35 AM PDT  African-Americans are more affected by the coronavirus than other groups, according to data emerging from some states.
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| Coronavirus complicates journeys home from Antarctica Posted: 07 Apr 2020 03:34 AM PDT  The British Antarctic Survey is juggling planes and ships to get its people off the White Continent.
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| Philippines backs Vietnam after China sinks fishing boat Posted: 08 Apr 2020 03:51 AM PDT  The Philippines on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Vietnam after Hanoi protested what it said was the ramming and sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a Chinese coast guard ship in the disputed South China Sea. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila expressed deep concern over the reported April 3 sinking of the boat carrying eight fishermen off the Paracel Islands. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has built several islands equipped with military installations in the area, one of world's busiest shipping lanes.
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| As coronavirus spreads, mentally ill Americans are left scrambling for options Posted: 07 Apr 2020 09:51 AM PDT  The rapid spread of the coronavirus has dramatically affected the one in five Americans who deal with mental health in any given year, as well as those who work tirelessly to keep those individuals well.
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| In El Salvador, gangs are enforcing the coronavirus lockdown with baseball bats Posted: 07 Apr 2020 02:38 PM PDT  Street gangs in El Salvador have turned from extortion and killing to enforcing social distancing restrictions, often with threats and baseball bats.
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| Pelosi, Schumer introduce $500 billion follow-up coronavirus relief package Posted: 08 Apr 2020 09:04 AM PDT  Top congressional Democrats are all for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) next coronavirus relief bill — with a few additions.On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced their party was asking for an additional $250 billion in a so-called "CARES 2" act, doubling the size of the package McConnell had introduced. Their proposal would allocate more money to local and state governments and health care facilities, and ensure at least half McConnell's proposed funding goes toward "community-based financial institutions."Pelosi and Schumer repeated McConnell's call for $250 billion in small business assistance in their Wednesday proposal, but wanted to make sure $125 billion of it will "serve farmers, family, women, and minority and veteran-owned small businesses and nonprofits in rural, tribal, suburban, and urban communities." In addition, they'd like $100 billion for hospitals, community health centers, and health systems; $150 billion for state and local governments; and an additional 15 percent support added to SNAP food stamp benefits.> Pelosi/Schumer demands in Phase 4> > — $250B for small biz > — $100B for hospitals, health centers > — $150B for state/local gov'ts > — 15% boost in SNAP benefits pic.twitter.com/prUYYXOgfd> > — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 8, 2020McConnell hoped to pass his $250 billion plan with a unanimous voice vote on Thursday, as that's the only way for Congress to vote right now without returning to Washington.More stories from theweek.com Dr. Anthony Fauci cautiously predicts kids will return to school next fall, 'but it's going to be different' The coming backlash against the public health experts Body of Robert Kennedy's 8-year-old great-grandson recovered from Chesapeake Bay
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| Mattis rebukes Trump over removal of Pentagon inspector general Posted: 07 Apr 2020 01:13 PM PDT  In Donald Trump's latest salvo in an ongoing bid to reshape government oversight of his administration, the president fired the Pentagon inspector general charged with overseeing implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package.
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| Korean Air puts 70 percent of staff on leave Posted: 07 Apr 2020 07:17 PM PDT  Korean Air is the flagship of the Hanjin group, one of the multifaceted, family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebols that dominate business in South Korea and played a key part in its rise to become the world's 12th-largest economy. Most of its staff will go on leave from April 16 for six months in response to "deteriorating business circumstances", Korean Air said in a statement. Korean Air's labour union agreed to participate as part of a "burden-sharing" initiative, the company said -- executives have also agreed to take pay cuts.
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| 'NOT NOW': US's leading experts on coronavirus shoot down conspiracy theories about inflated death rates Posted: 08 Apr 2020 05:36 PM PDT  "You will always have conspiracy theories when you have a very challenging public health crisis," Dr. Fauci said. "They are nothing but distractions."
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| Tour More of the Toronto Home of Superstar Recording Artist Drake Posted: 08 Apr 2020 05:00 AM PDT |
| Coronavirus wreaks havoc in African American neighbourhoods Posted: 07 Apr 2020 02:32 PM PDT  Black Chicagoans account for 70% of coronavirus deaths, despite making up 30% of the population.
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| Coronavirus: 16-year-old pilot selflessly flies medical supplies to hospitals in need Posted: 07 Apr 2020 03:59 PM PDT  A 16-year-old is using his skills as a budding pilot to bring desperately needed medical equipment to rural hospitals.TJ Kim carries a variety of supplies including gloves, masks and gowns to small hospitals during his flying lessons, The Associated Press reported.
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| Obesity is major COVID-19 risk factor, says French chief epidemiologist Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:15 AM PDT  Being overweight is a major risk for people infected with the new coronavirus and the United States is particularly vulnerable because of high obesity levels there, France's chief epidemiologist said on Wednesday. Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, who heads the scientific council that advises the government on the epidemic, said as many as 17 million of France's 67 million citizens were seriously at risk from the coronavirus because of age, pre-existing illness or obesity. "That is why we're worried about our friends in America, where the problem of obesity is well known and where they will probably have the most problems because of obesity."
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| Texas teen accused of threatening to spread coronavirus is charged Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:58 PM PDT  Maradiaga claimed in a series of Snapchat videos to have tested positive and threatened to willfully spread COVID-19, according to police.
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| VP talk could intensify with Harris fundraising moves Posted: 08 Apr 2020 09:28 AM PDT  California Sen. Kamala Harris made two notable fundraising moves Wednesday that are sure to fuel speculation about her prospects to be Joe Biden's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket. Harris, who dropped out of the White House race in December, set up a joint fundraising operation with the Democratic National Committee, an arrangement that is typically reserved for nominees trying to attract large donations from the party's biggest boosters. Hours later, she made a surprise appearance on a virtual fundraiser, introducing Biden to donors.
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| Chinese Official Tries to Walk Back Claim U.S. Military Brought Virus to Wuhan Posted: 07 Apr 2020 02:59 PM PDT  China Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian held his first press conference in several weeks on Tuesday, attempting to walk back his earlier claim that the U.S. military had brought the novel coronavirus to the city of Wuhan."The virus [is] a scientific question that requires scientific opinions," Zhao told reporters. He was then asked if he stood behind a March 12 tweet in which he wrote that, "It might be the U.S. Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.""The questions raised on my personal Twitter account are a response to U.S. politicians' stigmatization of China, which also reflects the righteous anger of many Chinese people over these stigmatizing acts," Zhao responded.China blocks Twitter within its borders, although certain citizens and companies may use the app with government approval. Twitter has said that using the platform to claim that the U.S. brought coronavirus to Wuhan does not violate its rules and terms of service.The Chinese government and state-owned media outlets have repeatedly tried to portray President Trump's use of the term "Chinese virus" as stigmatizing. On March 17, Trump was asked during a White House press conference whether he thought calling the coronavirus the "Chinese virus" created a "stigma.""No, I don't think so. I think saying that our military gave it to them creates a stigma," Trump replied.The coronavirus pandemic that began in Wuhan has now claimed over 81,000 lives and seen 1,400,000 people infected.
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| In South Africa, a government minister lost her salary for eating lunch in the wrong place Posted: 08 Apr 2020 09:54 AM PDT  "Unmoved" by her excuses for the outing, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa put the minister on two months' leave, one of which will be unpaid.
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| Democrat Amy McGrath raises more money than Mitch McConnell in 1st quarter Posted: 07 Apr 2020 11:11 PM PDT  Democrat Amy McGrath is hoping she'll be the one to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in November, and when it comes to campaign cash, she's already ahead.McGrath, a retired Marine fighter pilot who narrowly lost a 2018 congressional race, is the favorite to win the Democratic primary, which was moved to June because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, McGrath's campaign reported bringing in $12.8 million over the first three months of 2020, while McConnell's campaign reported raising close to $7.5 million over the same time period.This was McConnell's most successful fundraising haul since becoming a senator in the mid-1980s, his campaign said. "Kentuckians know that at a time of great consequence, there is no substitute for the proven leadership of Mitch McConnell," campaign manager Kevin Golden told The Associated Press. McGrath entered the Democratic primary race last summer, and has so far received $29.8 million in contributions for the 2020 election cycle, with McConnell raising $25.6 million; she has $14.7 million on hand, while McConnell has almost $14.9 million. McGrath campaign spokesman Terry Sebastian told AP her numbers show "voters are fed up with Mitch McConnell continually putting corporate handouts ahead of working people" and "working Americans don't trust his leadership and are demanding new leaders like Amy McGrath who they know will have their back."More stories from theweek.com Dr. Anthony Fauci cautiously predicts kids will return to school next fall, 'but it's going to be different' The coming backlash against the public health experts Body of Robert Kennedy's 8-year-old great-grandson recovered from Chesapeake Bay
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| Will we ever take cruise holidays again? Posted: 08 Apr 2020 04:10 PM PDT  The cruise line industry faces a long journey back from the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Speed of coronavirus deaths shocks doctors as New York toll hits new high Posted: 08 Apr 2020 06:46 AM PDT  New York, the hardest-hit state in America, on Wednesday reported its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in a single day with even veteran doctors and nurses expressing shock at the speed with which patients were declining and dying. The number of coronavirus cases in New York state alone approached 150,000 on Wednesday, even as authorities warned the state's official death tally may understate the true number. "Every number is a face, " said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ordered flags flown at half-staff across New York in recognition of the toll.
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| EU Nations Upgrade Trade Arsenal to Offset U.S. Attack on WTO Posted: 08 Apr 2020 01:20 AM PDT |
| Outcry over racial data grows as virus slams black Americans Posted: 08 Apr 2020 12:54 PM PDT  As the coronavirus tightens its grip across the country, it is cutting a particularly devastating swath through an already vulnerable population — black Americans. Democratic lawmakers and community leaders in cities hard-hit by the pandemic have been sounding the alarm over what they see as a disturbing trend of the virus killing African Americans at a higher rate, along with a lack of overall information about the race of victims as the nation's death toll mounts. Among the cities where black residents have been hard-hit: New York, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago and Milwaukee.
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| Italy commune bans mixed-sex shopping to stem virus Posted: 08 Apr 2020 10:49 AM PDT  Canonica d'Adda (Italie) (AFP) - Men and women have the same rights in the small municipality of Canonica d'Adda in Italy's north - except when it comes to shopping for food. To lower the number of people in supermarkets and reduce the risk of coronavirus contagion, the mayor has decreed that men and women will not shop together. Canonica d'Adda is not far from Bergamo, considered the most affected area in the region of Lombardy, where more than 9,000 people have died of coronavirus -- more than half of the total deaths in the country.
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| Trump news: Bernie Sanders ends campaign as president slams Democrats and says coronavirus must be 'quickly forgotten' Posted: 08 Apr 2020 11:38 AM PDT  The World Health Organisation (WHO) has hit back at Donald Trump after he threatened to stop US funding to the body as he seeks a scapegoat for the disaster wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, saying the WHO had "missed the call" -- despite himself ignoring a memo from trade adviser Peter Navarro in February warning of the coming storm.Mr Trump doubled down on his attacks of the WHO during the White House press briefing on Wednesday, saying his administering would "study" if it should pull funding from the group. The US is the largest contributor to the WHO's budget.
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| Surgeon General says he's 'optimistic' the coronavirus impact can be slowed if US keeps up social distancing for 30 days Posted: 07 Apr 2020 11:04 AM PDT  The US is not in the clear: More than 378,200 coronavirus cases and 11,800 deaths have been reported as of Tuesday.
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| Time to put China on lockdown for its dishonesty amid coronavirus crisis Posted: 06 Apr 2020 09:01 PM PDT  China's response was inept, dishonest and utterly inconsiderate of the world. We need to teach the Chinese government a lesson.
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| White House coronavirus coordinator warns people of second wave if they start going out Posted: 08 Apr 2020 05:14 AM PDT  "What's really important is that people don't turn these early signs of hope into releasing from the 30 days to stop the spread — it's really critical," the White House coronavirus coordinator warned.
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| Special Report: Johnson listened to his scientists about coronavirus - but they were slow to sound the alarm Posted: 07 Apr 2020 06:04 AM PDT  It was early spring when British scientists laid out the bald truth to their government. It was "highly likely," they said, that there was now "sustained transmission" of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. If unconstrained and if the virus behaved as in China, up to four-fifths of Britons could be infected and one in a hundred might die, wrote the scientists, members of an official committee set up to model the spread of pandemic flu, on March 2.
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| Maeve Kennedy McKean's body is recovered after canoe search Posted: 07 Apr 2020 06:19 AM PDT  Maeve Kennedy McKean and her son were last seen in a canoe off Chesapeake Bay in Maryland last week.
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| 'A lot of pain.' NY has biggest 1-day jump in virus deaths Posted: 07 Apr 2020 06:19 AM PDT  New York state reported 731 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, its biggest jump since the start of the outbreak, dampening some of the cautious optimism officials have expressed about efforts to stop the spread of the virus. Cuomo said the death tally is a "lagging indicator" that reflects the loss of critically ill people hospitalized earlier. While Cuomo said New York could be reaching a "plateau" in hospitalizations, he warned that gains are dependent on people continuing to practice social distancing.
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| Trump’s Fox News Cabinet Tells Him the Coronavirus Crisis Is Over Posted: 08 Apr 2020 11:31 AM PDT  Throughout the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump's decisions and stances have seemingly been influenced by the unofficial advisers he treasures most: Fox News primetime hosts.After downplaying for weeks the threat of the virus, just as many on Fox News did the same, the president began taking it seriously last month after Tucker Carlson personally confronted him before delivering an on-air monologue calling for action. Elsewhere, Fox stars have been the primary driving force behind Trump's incessant promotion of an unproven anti-malarial drug as the miracle COVID-19 cure.And in recent days, it seems, the president has been receiving his newest coronavirus intel briefing from Fox News. This time, they say, the pandemic is over and it's time to move on.Throughout Tuesday night's primetime stretch, Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham were in lockstep in telegraphing to Trump a message that the pandemic's threat has been overstated, death counts have been inflated, and the U.S. is already on the downside of the curve.Carlson, who received mainstream plaudits for his "admirable" early coronavirus coverage, kicked off his show by declaring that the crisis "may have passed," noting that health-care systems across the country haven't come close to collapsing—"except in a handful of places.""Patients are not dying alone in the hallways of emergency rooms with physicians too overwhelmed to treat them," he asserted. "That was the concern. It happens in other countries, it's not happening here. Thank God for that."There have been numerous reports and testimonials from health-care workers expressing horror over the conditions of overcrowded hospitals and the stress it has placed on both medical staffers and patients. Much reporting has also been done on how many patients are dying alone and away from family members and friends from the disease.But despite nearly 13,000 U.S. deaths and at least 400,000 confirmed cases, with portions of the country having yet to suffer the worst effects of the outbreak, Carlson called for a quick reversal of social-distancing restrictions in order to jumpstart the economy, citing downward revisions of coronavirus models as the key reason."Before we go ahead and alter our lives and our country forever, it is fair to ask about the numbers, their numbers, the ones we acted on the first time, that turned out to be completely wrong," the Fox star fumed. "How did they screw that up so thoroughly? That is a fair question."Adjustments of expected death tolls in some models—which, weeks ago, showed as many as 240,000 American deaths—have largely occurred due to the widespread adoption of social-distancing guidelines and the assumption that school and business closures will stay in place through the summer. Even factoring all that in, the models still project roughly 80,000 deaths.Nevertheless, over the past few days, Carlson has been pushing the president to ignore medical expertise and quickly move forward with economic activity. "Is there a single person who sincerely expects the coronavirus itself will hurt more people in the end than the damage we're causing in our response to it? Probably not," he said on Monday night. "Mass unemployment is almost certain to cause far more harm, including physical harm, to the average family than this disease."Carlson has also railed against top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has urged Americans to embrace social distancing in order to flatten the curve. Calling it "bewildering" that the U.S. is allowing medical "experts" to make policy decisions, Carlson claimed last week that Fauci is proposing "national suicide" by pushing aggressive social distancing. "We should never let someone like that run this country," he said.Fox News senior analyst Brit Hume, who has recently been at the forefront of right-wing media's questioning of coronavirus deaths, has also joined the chorus of Fox stars agitating against medical expertise. The official COVID-19 death count has been inflated, he declared Carlson on Tuesday evening."Dr. Birx said tonight during the briefing at the White House that all deaths from anyone who died with coronavirus is counted as if the person died from coronavirus," Hume said. "Now, we all know that isn't true.""And if everybody is being automatically classified, if they're found to have COVID-19, as a COVID-19 death, we're going to get a very large number of deaths that way and we're probably not going to have an accurate count of what the real death total is," he added.Besides the fact that flu deaths—which Trump and Fox figures have constantly used as a comparison point to downplay the pandemic—are tracked the exact same way, and coronavirus disproportionately impacts people with pre-conditions, it is actually far more likely that the COVID-19 death count has been understated so far.Hannity, meanwhile, kicked off his Tuesday evening broadcast by claiming there is a "ton of good news" surrounding the pandemic, touting revised downward estimates of the death count to suggest that regular economic activity should restart very soon.In a phone interview with the president, Hannity—who has served as an unofficial Trump adviser and confidant—noted that the "cure can't be worse than the problem" and nudged the president to reveal when he'd roll back social-distancing policies."I'd love to open with a big bang, one beautiful country and just open," Trump declared, adding, "We're looking at two concepts. We're looking at the concept where you open up sections and we're also looking at the concept where you open up everything."In a Wednesday morning tweet, Trump further hinted that he is looking to end restrictions "sooner rather than later," adding that the "horror" of coronavirus "must be quickly forgotten" and predicting that the economy "will BOOM" going forward.Laura Ingraham, however, may have been the most aggressive among her primetime colleagues in openly pushing Trump to view the pandemic threat as completely neutralized.Claiming the experts were "wrong" with their modeling and that it caused undue panic for Americans, Ingraham echoed Carlson by railing against medical officials, claiming this pandemic should "make us less willing to rely on the same experts to help determine when and how we should reopen our economy.""We didn't vote for doctors," exclaimed Ingraham, who recently sat with the president to tout the unproven coronavirus cure hydroxychloroquine. "We voted for political leadership that sees the big picture. That means the whole picture of America."She continued to hammer away at that message Wednesday on her Twitter account.Tucker Carlson Wants to Have It Both Ways on Coronavirus"At some point, the president is going to have to look at Drs. Fauci and Birx and say, we're opening on May 1," she wrote on Wednesday morning. "Give me your best guidance on protocols, but we cannot deny our people their basic freedoms any longer.""America must get back to work," Ingraham blared in another tweet. "'Experts' were wrong on fatalities by a factor of 30 now want to dictate when we reopen."While Trump's Fox News cabinet is declaring the crisis over, the network's brass is still taking the pandemic seriously, implementing strict social-distancing policies for its employees. In a memo sent last week, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott announced the company would distribute thermometers to all essential workers and suggested the use of face masks for anyone who had to come into one of Fox's offices. Additionally, Scott said that Fox was targeting May 4 as a possible return date for employees currently telecommuting.And as Fox News' biggest stars tried to convince the president to ditch social distancing altogether, one of Trump's own health officials rebuked the network's faux-populist manipulation of the expert data and projections."Physical distancing is incredibly important—remember the projections," Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said Wednesday on Fox & Friends. "I have seen people twist that like this was not going to be that bad after all and we didn't need to do it. That's a complete misinterpretation. The estimate of deaths going down is the result of the fact that we have listened to the president and vice president and task force.""I do want to emphasize the point, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but don't keep your foot—don't take your foot off the gas," Giroir continued. "Because we really need to continue these efforts because we could see another peak, a second peak, a third peak if people don't do the physical distancing or they think it's all over."It's not over yet."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Ethiopia declares state of emergency to fight coronavirus Posted: 08 Apr 2020 04:13 AM PDT  Ethiopia on Wednesday declared a state of emergency to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected 55 people and resulted in two deaths there. It is the first state of emergency announced under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018 and won last year's Nobel Peace Prize in part for expanding political freedoms in the authoritarian nation. "Because the coronavirus pandemic is getting worse, the Ethiopian government has decided to declare a state of emergency under Article 93 of the constitution," Abiy said in a statement.
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| San Francisco will shelter more of the city's homeless in hotels after backlash over turning its mega-conference venue Moscone Center into a mass 'camp-like' shelter Posted: 07 Apr 2020 11:10 AM PDT  Officials now need to scrounge up 1,000 more hotel rooms after the city changed plans to use Moscone Center and the Palace of Fine Arts as shelters.
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