- BusinessYahoo News
Trump coronavirus task force 'beginning to see glimmers of progress,' but models still show 100,000 U.S. deaths from virus
The Trump administration said Sunday that it was “beginning to see the glimmers of progress” in the fight to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the United States and across the globe. “We are beginning to see the glimmers of progress,” Vice President Mike Pence said during a hastily called briefing of the White House coronavirus task force, adding, “The experts will tell me not to jump to any conclusions, and I'm not.” Dr. Deborah Birx, a leading expert in infectious disease on the task force, said that there were encouraging signs in Spain and Italy, two countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
- HealthYahoo News
Synthetic antibodies might offer a quick coronavirus treatment
Another approach is to harvest antibodies, protective substances produced in response to an infection, from the blood plasma of people who have been infected. Dr. Jacob Glanville, one of the researchers featured in the Netflix documentary “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak,” thinks he has found a shortcut. Glanville is the president of Distributed Bio, a computational immunoengineering group that focuses on making antibody therapeutics and vaccines.
- U.S.Business Insider
'He kind of called us p---ies': Hear the US Navy's top official call a carrier captain 'stupid' to boos from sailors facing a coronavirus outbreak
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly's impassioned 15-minute speech to the sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt on Sunday was met with dismay and anger. In a recording of Modly's speech obtained by Task & Purpose, one person could be heard saying "What the f---?" when Modly said Crozier was "too naive or too stupid to be commanding officer of a ship like this." The acting Navy secretary's impassioned 15-minute speech to the sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt on Sunday was met with anger from some people who supported its former commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, who was removed from command last week amid a coronavirus outbreak on the ship.
- U.S.USA TODAY
Supreme Court won't hear Catholic Church challenge to ban on religious advertising
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear the Catholic Church's challenge to a local ban on religious advertising. The case, brought by the Archdiocese of Washington against the District of Columbia region's mass transit system, would have been the latest example of religious freedom appeals heard by the conservative-leaning court. The justices already are considering four major religion cases, all brought to them by religious organizations after lower court losses: • School choice: Three Montana women challenged a Montana ban on state funds being used to pay for religious education.
- WorldNBC News
U.S. reports 1,200 coronavirus deaths in one day as China lifts lockdown
At the start of what is expected to be the deadliest week of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the White House tried to offer some hope that measures to contain the spread were working. The virus killed 1,264 over 24 hours in the U.S. as of 2:05 am ET on Tuesday, according to NBC New's tracker. Meanwhile in China, where the pandemic broke out, not a single new death was reported, and the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where the new virus was first identified, prepared for lockdown measures to be lifted.
- WorldAssociated Press
US sees coronavirus window to push Taiwan's global status
The Trump administration is seizing the opportunity of the coronavirus pandemic to push a cause that has long been an irritant in U.S. relations with China: Taiwan. The virus has added yet another dimension to U.S.-China tensions that were already wracked by a trade war and heated discussions over intellectual property, human rights and Chinese policies in Hong Kong and the South China Sea. And, while U.S.-China differences over Taiwan have waxed and waned for decades, they have persisted and are reaching new heights as the world grapples with the exponential spread of the COVID-19 virus.
WorldAFPBrazil minister offends China with 'racist' virus tweet
China demanded an explanation from Brazil Monday after the far-right government's education minister linked the coronavirus pandemic to the Asian country's "plan for world domination," in a tweet imitating a Chinese accent. In the latest incident to strain ties between Brasilia and Beijing, Education Minister Abraham Weintraub insinuated China was behind the global health crisis. "Geopolitically, who will come out stronger from this global crisis?" he wrote on Twitter Saturday.
- U.S.The Week
Wisconsin mayors say Tuesday primary will put 'hundreds of thousands of citizens at risk'
Wisconsin's presidential primary remains scheduled for Tuesday with in-person voting even amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, an idea a group of mayors is calling "irresponsible and contrary to public health." Amid calls for Wisconsin to postpone its primary as other states have done in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Tony Evers (D), who previously issued a safer-at-home order, recently called a special session of the GOP-held legislature to consider canceling in-person voting and extending the deadline to mail in ballots. Wisconsin general elections are also set for Tuesday.
- ScienceBBC
Whale sharks: Atomic tests solve age puzzle of world's largest fish
Data from atomic bomb tests conducted during the Cold War have helped scientists accurately age the world's biggest fish. Whale sharks are large, slow moving and docile creatures that mainly inhabit tropical waters. They are long-lived but scientists have struggled to work out the exact ages of these endangered creatures.
WorldYahoo News VideoIran supreme leader approves withdrawal of 1 billion euros from sovereign wealth fund to fight coronavirus
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved the withdrawal of 1 billion euros from the country's sovereign wealth fund to help fight the coronavirus epidemic, President Hassan Rouhani's official website said on Monday.
- WorldCBS News
India drops drug export ban after Trump threatens "retaliation"
Hours after President Donald Trump warned of "retaliation" if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to allow the export of an anti-malarial drug being tested as a possible treatment for the new coronavirus, India said it would supply , with the number of confirmed patients doubling in four days. Nearly 4,800 people have been infected so far and 124 have died despite an ongoing three-week nationwide lockdown set to end on April 14. The lockdown seems to have slowed the spread of the coronavirus to a large extent, given the population densities of the world's second most populous nation, but experts believe the number of cases could still swell to hundreds of thousands.
- PoliticsNational Review
Peter Navarro Claims China Tried to ‘Corner the World Market’ in Masks after They Identified Coronavirus Threat
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said Monday that during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, China attempted to “corner the world market” in personal protective equipment such as face masks and gloves “We know that China knew about the virus as early as mid-December. We know that for a period of about five to six weeks they hid the dangers from the rest of the world even as Chinese citizens were flying around the world seeding the world with the virus,” Navarro said on Fox News. Navarro added that he has not been part of any discussion about suing China regarding this matter.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Austria and Denmark are planning to lift their coronavirus lockdowns. But experts say easing measures too early might bring the virus back worse than before.
Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread around the world at different rates, some countries have begun considering lifting lockdown measures. Several countries that were once hotspots for the disease, including Italy and China, have voiced cautious optimism about slowly lifting restrictions in place. Denmark and Austria have also said they are aiming to begin lifting their lockdowns after Easter, should the number of coronavirus cases continue to decline.
- U.S.NBC News
New York coronavirus deaths 'effectively flat' as U.S. braces for peak cases in hot spots
The mounting number of New York's coronavirus deaths has stayed "effectively flat" over the past two days, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday, offering a glimmer of hope that the state may be at a peak even as the country braces for what the Trump administration is calling the "toughest week" yet in the fight against the pandemic. While the state has recorded 4,758 total deaths, with an additional 599 from the day before, it's only a slight uptick from the 594 added two days ago, Cuomo said, and shows a "possible flattening of the curve" that is "better than the increases we have seen."
- WorldAssociated Press
Bangladesh arrests fugitive killer of independence leader
Police in Bangladesh arrested a fugitive killer of the country's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on Tuesday, nearly 45 years after the brutal assassination, the country's home minister said. Abdul Majed, a former military captain, was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said, adding that the arrest was “the biggest gift” for Bangladesh this year. Majed had publicly announced his involvement in the assassination after the killing and had reportedly been hiding in India for many years.
WorldAFPItaly's virus deaths plunge to lowest since March 19
Italian officials said Sunday they may soon have to consider easing restrictions after seeing the daily coronavirus death toll plunge to its lowest in over two weeks. The 525 official COVID-19 fatalities reported by the civil protection service were the Mediterranean country's lowest since 427 deaths were registered on March 19. "The curve has started its descent and the number of deaths has started to drop," Italy's ISS national health institute director Silvio Brusaferro told reporters.
- U.S.The Week
U.S. Supreme Court sides with GOP on Wisconsin election, apparently rewrites state election law
Wisconsin's local elections and presidential primaries will likely proceed on Tuesday after the conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down an executive order Monday from Gov. Tony Evers (D) to delay the election to June 9 due to the coronavirus outbreak. There are open questions about how many polling places will be open and how many people will be able to vote by absentee ballot. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday night that Wisconsin voters must hand-deliver their absentee ballots by Tuesday evening or have them postmarked April 7, overruling a lower court that had extended absentee voting for six days.
- WorldBBC
Zoom banned by Taiwan's government over China security fears
Zoom has been banned from government business in Taiwan in the latest setback for the hugely popular video-calling app. It follows revelations that some Zoom traffic was "mistakenly" routed through China, which does not recognise Taiwan's independence. Taiwan's government said public bodies should not use products with security concerns "such as Zoom".
- WorldReuters
Spain's coronavirus deaths tick up again to near 14,000
Spain's pace of coronavirus deaths ticked up for the first time in five days on Tuesday, with 743 people succumbing overnight, but there was still hope the national lockdown might be eased soon. Tuesday's toll from the health ministry compared to 637 deaths registered during the previous 24 hours, taking the total to 13,798, the second highest in the world after Italy. Still, the proportional daily increase of 5.7% was about half that reported a week ago.
- PoliticsLos Angeles Times Opinion
Column: Coronavirus has turned Republican politics upside down. Will that last?
To the extent the Democratic primaries are in the news, it's mostly as a public health story, thanks to Wisconsin's debate over whether to carry on with in-person voting Tuesday (ultimately nixed by Gov. Tony Evers) and questions of how to conduct a convention while social distancing. Bernie Sanders — who is still running, by the way — wants to debate the presumptive nominee Joe Biden again, but very few in the party are interested in that. Biden himself is running a pandemic version of a front porch campaign via teleconference from his home office.
- U.S.Time
How the Coronavirus Death Toll Compares to Other Deadly Events From American History
When the White House projected on March 31 that, even with social distancing measures, 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die of COVID-19, the numbers were not necessarily shocking to those who had been paying attention. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had already said he projected between 100,000 to 200,000 U.S. deaths, and estimates by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington are not much different, projecting 81,766 American deaths by Aug. 4, as of Monday afternoon. White House is now setting the goal posts at 100-200K dead as a good job.
- WorldBusiness Insider
Boris Johnson's government reportedly believes the coronavirus may have accidentally leaked from a Chinese laboratory
The UK government reportedly believes the coronavirus outbreak may have started in a Chinese laboratory. Most experts believe the outbreak began when animals passed COVID-19 onto humans in China. UK officials are not ruling out the possibility that a laboratory close to Wuhan accidentally leaked the virus.
- U.S.NBC News
U.S. coronavirus deaths top 10,000 as medical officials warn worst is yet to come
As the number people killed by the coronavirus in the United States topped 10,000 by Monday night, the country's top medical officials warned that the worst was yet to come. The number of cases has ballooned to at least 364,167 — nearly three times higher than in the second-worst hit country, Spain — with 10,772 people killed as of 7:30 p.m. ET, according to NBC News' tracker. At the center of the outbreak in the U.S., New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said critical medical supplies and personnel have been secured but warned that the magnitude of the crisis equals that of the 1918-19 flu and the Great Depression.
- WorldAssociated Press
Mideastern burial traditions clash with fears of contagion
Mohammed al-Dulfi's 67-year-old father died on March 21 after a brief struggle against the new coronavirus, but it would take nine days for his body to find a final resting place in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq. On two occasions, the family rejected remote burial plots proposed by the government outside Baghdad for him and seven other coronavirus victims, al-Dulfi said. A fight broke out between the families and the Health Ministry's team.
- BusinessCBS News
Some hospitals temporarily cutting staff as coronavirus crisis worsens
In Florida, at Miami-Dade County's Jackson Memorial Hospital, executives say they're taking pay cuts, and other employees are being asked to go on temporary furloughs due to the financial strain. "We were required to take time off; we were required to take our personal leave time," said RN case manager Angela Freshly Fairchild, who was surprised to receive an email saying she would be mandated to take a week off – in the middle of the crisis. "I couldn't understand it, because all around the country they are asking for nurses right now," said Fairchild.
