- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump demands appreciation from governors for coronavirus response
President Trump used his daily coronavirus briefing to attack Democratic governors who in his estimation had shown insufficient gratitude for his administration's response to the pandemic. “I want them to be appreciative,” Trump said, arguing that failing to show appreciation was insulting not just to him but to the Army Corps of Engineers, which has been part of the federal response to the pandemic. The president said he has told Vice President Mike Pence not to call governors who haven't shown proper deference to his administration.
- BusinessYahoo News
In the coronavirus pandemic, carbon emissions have fallen, but climate change remains an existential threat
In a world desperate for good news about the coronavirus, a dip in global carbon emissions caused by the outbreak's economic downturn might be seen as a silver lining. As expected, March data compiled by San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography appears to show the rate of rise of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has slowed. “This isn't the way we want to reduce emissions,” Rob Jackson, professor of Earth system science at Stanford University and one of the world's leading experts on climate change, told Yahoo News.
- WorldReuters
Spain toughens restrictions as coronavirus death toll surges
Spain prepared to enter its third week under near-total lockdown on Sunday, as the government approved a strengthening of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus and the death toll rose by 838 cases overnight to 6,528. Second only to Italy in fatalities, Spain also saw infections rise to 78,797 from 72,248 the day before. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in a televised address to the nation on Saturday night, announced that all non-essential workers must stay at home for two weeks, the latest government measure in the fight against coronavirus.
WorldAFPVenezuelan ex-general surrenders to US on drug trafficking charges
A retired Venezuelan general who was charged by the United States with "narco-terrorism" along with President Nicolas Maduro and other officials has surrendered in Colombia to US authorities, prosecutors said Saturday. "The national Attorney General learned that Mr Cliver Alcala surrendered to US authorities," the Colombian prosecutor said in a statement, adding there was no arrest warrant when he gave himself up. Alcala turned himself in on Friday to the Colombians, who in turn handed him over to US authorities, the El Tiempo de Bogota newspaper said.
- WorldAssociated Press
Off to the cafe: Sweden is outlier in virus restrictions
After a long, dark Scandinavian winter, the coronavirus pandemic is not keeping Swedes at home even while citizens in many parts of the world are sheltering in place and won't find shops or restaurants open on the few occasions they are permitted to venture out. Swedish authorities have advised the public to practice social distancing and to work from home, if possible, and urged those over age 70 to self-isolate as a precaution. Yet compared to the lockdowns imposed elsewhere in the world, the government's response to the virus allows a liberal amount of personal freedom.
- WorldThe Daily Beast
Coronavirus Comes to the Kremlin
Russian media reported that two Kremlin officials may have tested positive for the coronavirus. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed he was aware of one of those cases, but claimed no knowledge of the second. State media outlet TASS speculated that one of the infected persons may have been a staffer responsible for awards, who traveled to Spain and later attended Putin's presidential awards ceremony in occupied Crimea.
- U.S.NBC News
Inmate dies after contracting coronavirus at Louisiana federal prison
A 47-year-old inmate died Saturday after contracting the coronavirus at a Louisiana federal prison where at least five prisoners have tested positive for the virus, officials said. The death of Patrick Jones marks the first COVID-19 related death of an inmate in the federal prison system, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said. Jones was locked up on drug charges at a minimum-security prison in Oakdale facing a surge in Covid-19 cases, according to the Bureau of Prisons and union leaders.
- HealthUSA TODAY
Fact check: Is the coronavirus being spread 'quickly' via gas pumps?
The claim: Coronavirus is spreading quickly from gas pumps A March 17 Facebook post warned users to be careful when going to the gas station. The post, by user Brent McDonald, claimed gas pump handles are helping to spread coronavirus. "I just spoke with a friend who got called into an emergency meeting at his hospital," McDonald wrote.
- WorldLA Times
Mexico's president shifts tone on coronavirus, urges people to stay home, warns of dire consequences
As the coronavirus pandemic spread globally, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been criticized at home and abroad for what many called a lackadaisical posture — urging people to hug, shaking hands and kissing well-wishers as he stumped and extolling his personal good-luck charms such as Catholic scapulars, a shamrock and $2 bill. “Continue bringing the family to eat in restaurants,” López Obrador advised compatriots, arguing that such activity bolsters “the popular economy.” “Don't go out into the street unless it is for something absolutely necessary,” López Obrador told the nation in a sober YouTube address Friday evening from the northern border city of Tijuana.
- U.S.Yahoo News
In reversal, Trump uses Defense Production Act to force GM to make ventilators
President Trump on Friday ended nine days of equivocating over whether to deploy the Defense Production Act, announcing that he would use his presidential powers under the legislation to compel General Motors to produce ventilators for the U.S. medical system. The White House released a statement by Trump saying he had signed a memorandum instructing the Department of Health and Human Services to “use any and all authority available under the Defense Production Act to require General Motors to accept, perform, and prioritize Federal contracts for ventilators.” In invoking the act, Trump blamed GM for the delays.
- WorldBBC
Coronavirus: India's PM Modi seeks 'forgiveness' over lockdown
India's prime minister has asked for his country's forgiveness after imposing a sweeping lockdown that he said had hurt millions of poor people. Criticism has mounted over the lack of planning ahead of the coronavirus shutdown, which was introduced with less than four hours' notice. Many of India's 1.3 billion citizens have been left jobless and hungry.
- WorldReuters
Iran extends prison furloughs as coronavirus death toll rises
Iran's coronavirus death toll has risen to 2,640, a health ministry official said on Sunday, as the Middle East's worst-hit country grapples with the fast-spreading outbreak. "In the past 24 hours we had 123 deaths and 2,901 people have been infected, bringing the total number of infected people to 38,309," Alireza Vahabzadeh, an adviser to the health minister, said in a tweet. Health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV that 3,467 of those infected were in "critical condition".
WorldAFPItaly's toll tops 10,000 despite long lockdown
The coronavirus toll in Italy shot past 10,000 on Saturday and showed little sign of slowing despite a 16-day lockdown. The 889 new fatalities reported in the world's worst-hit nation came a day after it registered 969 deaths on Friday -- the highest single toll since the COVID-19 virus emerged last year. Italy now looks certain to extend its economically debilitating -- and emotionally stressful -- business closures and the ban on public gatherings past their April 3 deadline.
- WorldAssociated Press
Specter of 100K-plus virus deaths as Trump seeks reopening
As President Donald Trump looks for ways to restore normalcy in parts of the U.S., his foremost infection disease expert says the country could experience more than 100,000 deaths and millions of infections from the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking on CNN's “State of the Union” on Sunday, offered his prognosis as the federal government weighs rolling back guidelines on social distancing in areas that have not been as hard-hit by the outbreak at the conclusion of the nationwide 15-day effort to slow the spread of the virus. “I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 cases,” he said, correcting himself to say he meant deaths.
- U.S.INSIDER
A 90-year-old woman in Washington state recovered from the coronavirus, and she credits family, God, and potato soup
The Family of Geneva Wood Geneva Wood had a stroke in December that left her recovering in a Washington state nursing home. Last month, Life Care Center at Kirkland went on lockdown after several of its residents were diagnosed with the new coronavirus. Wood, who was one of them, was hospitalized and declined ventilation.
- U.S.NBC News
Tornado tears through Arkansas city, prompting curfew and National Guard response
A tornado tore through a small city in Arkansas on Saturday evening, ripping roofs off buildings, flipping cars and prompting a curfew for residents. The twister slammed into Jonesboro, about two hours north of Little Rock, around 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, which tweeted a video of the storm as it intensified. 5:20 PM-Here is a look at the tornado that intensified and moved through Jonesboro, AR this evening around 5 PM. @NWSMemphis continues to monitor this storm as it moves northeast, very dangerous!
- LifestylePopular Mechanics
Stay In the Lines With These Neat Science Coloring Pages
No money required—all you need is a printer and some colored pencils. From Popular Mechanics
- PoliticsYahoo News Video
Pelosi on virus: ‘As the president fiddles, people are dying’
As the president fiddles, people are dying,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during an interview on Sunday morning.
- U.S.Yahoo News
Senator says White House turned down emergency coronavirus funding in early February
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, says that Trump administration officials declined an offer of early congressional funding assistance that he and other senators made on Feb. 5 during a meeting to discuss the coronavirus. The officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, said they “didn't need emergency funding, that they would be able to handle it within existing appropriations,” Murphy recalled in an interview with Yahoo News' “Skullduggery” podcast. “What an awful, horrible catastrophic mistake that was,” Murphy said.
- U.S.Time
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Says Federal Government Sent '170 Broken Ventilators'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday that the federal government had sent the state “170 broken ventilators” amid national concerns about a shortage of the life-saving machines, which can be key to treating the respiratory distress caused by COVID-19. Newsom said at a press conference that “170 ventilators that came from the national stockpile directly” to Los Angeles county were “not working. But, he added, “rather than pointing fingers,” authorities in California transported the ventilators to a facility to get them fixed by San Jose-based Bloom Energy.
- WorldReuters
South Korean coronavirus test kit makers win U.S. FDA pre-approval
Three Korean coronavirus test-kit makers have won preliminary approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), paving the way for kits to be exported to the United States to help it battle the largest outbreak of the virus. South Korea's foreign ministry said that winning the preliminary approval under emergency use authorization will allow the products to be sold in the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump this week asked his Korean counterpart to supply the medical devices and promised to help Korean firms gain U.S. regulator approval.
- WorldBusiness Insider
A Wuhan seafood vendor believed to be one of the first coronavirus patients says 'a lot fewer people would have died' if the Chinese government acted sooner
STR/AFP via Getty Images Wei Guixian, a 57-year-old seafood vendor in Wuhan, China, was among the first 27 people to be diagnosed with the coronavirus, which originated from the wet market where she worked. Wei first began exhibiting coronavirus symptoms on December 10 and was admitted to the hospital less than a week later, with doctors describing her illness as "very serious" and "ruthless." Other vendors from the same market began to check into the hospital soon after.
- WorldAssociated Press
China sends medical aid to Pakistan to combat virus outbreak
China sent a plane loaded with medical personnel and supplies Saturday to help Pakistan fight the spread of the coronavirus in one of the world's most populous nations. Across the Middle East and elsewhere, the outbreak has raised concerns that health systems strapped by multiple wars, refugee crises and unstable economies won't be able to handle the growing number of cases. In Iran, which is battling the worst outbreak in the region, state TV said Saturday another 139 people had died from the virus.
- WorldBBC
Coronavirus: India defiant as millions struggle under lockdown
The Indian government has defended its handling of the coronavirus outbreak after a strict lockdown - introduced with little warning - left millions stranded and without food. The country's response had been "pre-emptive, pro-active and graded", it said in a statement. India's population of 1.3 billion was given less than four hours' notice of the three-week lockdown on Tuesday.
- HealthThe Daily Beast
Russia Claimed It Created a Coronavirus Cure, but It’s an American Malaria Drug
The headline of the Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti read, “Russia Created the Treatment for Coronavirus. The article went on to boast about the remedy based on the drug mefloquine, an antimalarial drug created in fact at the U.S. Army's Walter Reed Medical Center shortly after the Vietnam War and widely known as Lariam. Mefloquine was created to replace chloroquine, another anti-malarial, which was President Donald Trump's recent drug of choice in his dubious battle against COVID-19.
“Voting may simply be too difficult.”
“Though many young people want to vote, they are much more likely to be derailed by the obstacles that get in their way.”
“Many of the people I talked to were very dismissive of the idea that politics mattered in their lives.”
“From the very founding of the United States, elites have worked to disenfranchise and suppress voters.”
“Trump’s party knows all too well that the numbers are against them, that they cannot win nationally without cheating. So they do.”
