| GOP gov: Trump’s ‘LIBERATE’ tweets about coronavirus lockdowns aren’t helpful Posted: 19 Apr 2020 09:36 AM PDT  Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said that Trump contradicting his own federal guidelines just didn't "make any sense."
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| Putin warns Russia's coronavirus crisis yet to peak as cases surpass 47,000 Posted: 20 Apr 2020 04:26 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin said Russia had managed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus but warned the peak of the outbreak still lay ahead after the number of confirmed infections surged past 47,000 nationwide on Monday. Russia reported 4,268 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday, down from more than 6,000 the day before. Forty-four people died overnight, bringing the death toll to 405, Russia's coronavirus task force said.
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| 16 dead, including officer, in Canada shooting, authorities say Posted: 20 Apr 2020 04:51 AM PDT  "The impact of the incident will extend from one end of the province to the other," an officer said.
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| Russian fighter jet executes 'unsafe' intercept of US Navy aircraft, coming within 25 feet of an American plane Posted: 19 Apr 2020 03:08 PM PDT  The intercept was caught on video and marks the second time in four days that a Russian fighter has come dangerously close to a US Navy plane.
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| There are 4 requirements for reopening the U.S. amid COVID-19. Americans won't tolerate all of them. Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:41 AM PDT  The White House has proposed a list of "preparedness responsiblities" for lifting social distancing rules enacted to slow spread the COVID-19 coronavirus. States should be able to test for the coronavirus, contact trace, and ensure hospitals have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and ICU capacity for when the virus flares up again. Individuals should wear face masks when they can't keep six feet apart in public.Testing, tracing and isolating, hospital readiness, and masks are the four main pillars of reopening, dozens of scientists, public health experts, and disease historians told The New York Times and ProPublica, but the White House is seriously lowballing the amount of testing needed and skimming over some difficult choices America must make. Keeping the economy locked down isn't sustainable, but "the White House's 'phased' plan for reopening will surely raise the death toll no matter how carefully it is executed," Donald McNeil Jr. writes at the Times. "The best hope is that fatalities can be held to a minimum."A vaccine — the generally accepted prerequisite for a return toward normalcy — is realistically 18 months away at the earliest. All the experts agreed the U.S. needs to massively ramp up testing for both the virus and, separately, the antibodies that show who has already recovered — and they all agreed the U.S. is nowhere near ready for this. The U.S. also has tens of thousands too few workers trained to trace everybody who came in contact with every infected individual.China, South Korea, and other countries have supplemented the labor-intensive task of contact tracing with smartphone monitoring, a step the U.S. has neither the legal framework nor the civil-liberties culture to embrace. And however the positive cases are identified, the next step is even thornier. "To keep the virus in check, several experts insisted, the country also must start isolating all the ill — including mild cases," McNeil writes. China sent everyone testing positive to make-shift infirmities, while Taiwan paid infected citizens to quarantine in hotels."Separating people from their families for 14 days is a very tough thing to do," and "it would be massively unpopular" in America's "family-centered society," ProPublica notes. But "what we've learned in Italy, Taiwan, and now our country is sobering," and it's that when people self-isolated at home, "the disease spread to the entire family, sometimes sickening multiple generations." Read more about our coronavirus future at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com What do animals think? A parade that killed thousands? The new coronavirus may be mutating to a less deadly form
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| Supreme Court Rules Juries Must Convict by Unanimous Consent in Criminal Trials Posted: 20 Apr 2020 08:26 AM PDT  The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that defendants in criminal trials must be convicted by unanimous consent of the jury, outlawing a practice that has already been prohibited in all states except Oregon.The 6-3 ruling in the case, Ramos v Louisiana, was delivered with an unusual alignment in which conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh joined with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor for the majority opinion. Justices Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, and John Roberts dissented."Wherever we might look to determine what the term 'trial by an impartial jury trial' meant at the time of the Sixth Amendment's adoption—whether it's the common law, state practices in the founding era, or opinions and treatises written soon afterward—the answer is unmistakable," Gorsuch wrote in an opinion for the majority. "A jury must reach a unanimous verdict in order to convict."While unanimous verdicts had previously been required for convictions in federal trials, most states have banned convictions by supermajority of a jury. The ruling applies a unanimous-conviction requirement in the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to state law. Currently, Oregon is the only state which allows conviction of criminal defendants even if up to two jurors dissent. Louisiana outlawed the practice in 2019.The current Supreme Court case was brought by Evangelisto Ramos, who was convicted of murder in Louisiana court in 2016 by a 10-2 jury verdict. The Supreme Court's case could allow Ramos to receive a new trial.
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| Turkey says Syria violating truce in rebel-held north Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:19 AM PDT |
| In Germany, Syrians take their torturers to court Posted: 19 Apr 2020 07:49 PM PDT  When Anwar al-Bunni crossed paths with fellow Syrian Anwar Raslan in a DIY store in Germany five years ago, he recognised him as the man who had thrown him in jail a decade earlier. On Thursday, the two men will face each other in a German court, where Raslan will be one of two alleged former Syrian intelligence officers in the dock accused of crimes against humanity for Bashar al-Assad's regime. In the first legal proceedings worldwide over state-sponsored torture in Syria, Raslan will be tried under the principle of universal jurisdiction -- which allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity.
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| Senators propose a $500 billion rescue package Posted: 20 Apr 2020 01:04 PM PDT  A U.S. Senate Republican and a Democrat proposed a $500 billion rescue package for state and municipal governments on Monday, as it became increasingly clear that the next coronavirus relief bill would not include money for reeling local authorities.
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| Trump’s WHO attacks: Fair criticism or scapegoating? Posted: 20 Apr 2020 08:06 AM PDT  President Trump has called for cutting off funding for the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Are his criticisms fair or is he searching for someone else to blame?
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| Coronavirus to impoverish millions of children in Middle East: UNICEF Posted: 20 Apr 2020 05:57 PM PDT |
| How many people have had coronavirus with no symptoms? Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:01 AM PDT  More mild or asymptomatic cases means the death rate may be lower than initially feared.
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| Palghar lynching: India police arrest more than 100 suspects Posted: 20 Apr 2020 02:24 AM PDT  Three men have been beaten to death in Palghar district despite a strict lockdown across the country.
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| Mike Bloomberg spent over $1 billion running for president — that's $23 million for each delegate he won Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:32 PM PDT  Monday's FEC filings showed Bloomberg's short-lived campaign ended up spending $1,047,623,103 of his own money.
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| Israeli coalition deal keeps Netanyahu in power Posted: 20 Apr 2020 09:22 AM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival announced Monday that they have forged a deal to form a coalition government, ending months of political paralysis and averting what would have been a fourth consecutive election in just over a year. Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, signed the power-sharing agreement after weeks of negotiations for what they termed a "national emergency" government meant to steer the country through the coronavirus outbreak. Although Netanyahu repeatedly came up short in three elections over the past year, the coalition agreement returns the long-serving leader to the premiership, defying critics who predicted his downfall and restoring his reputation as a political wizard.
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| Chinese Oil Refiners Snap Up Bargains as Activity Resumes Posted: 19 Apr 2020 05:38 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Chinese refiners are snapping up low-price oil from all over the world as Asia's largest economy emerges from a virus-driven slump.Varieties such as Alaska North Slope, Canada's Cold Lake and Brazil's Lula have been offered at steep discounts to global benchmark prices over the past week as sellers scrambled to secure buyers. Processors in China -- where throughput is back to pre-virus levels -- are snagging many of the bargains as much of the rest of the world remains in lockdown.See also: Oil Demand Slumps 70% in Third-Biggest Buyer as India ShutsSpot supplies of Cold Lake were sold by a European trader at a discount of between $8 and $9 a barrel to Brent on a delivered basis, while an oil major sold a shipment comprising Alaskan North Slope and Brazilian grades at a $5.50 to $6 discount, said traders who buy and sell crude in Asia. The cargoes were purchased by Chinese independent refiners, known as teapots, which have staged a strong comeback from run-rate cuts and closures in February.As for oil that's produced closer to Asia, Chinese state-owned refiners have been buying Russia's Sokol crude for significantly less than Dubai benchmark prices. The spot purchases were made on top of crude bought via long-term supply contracts with Saudi Arabian, Iraqi and Kuwaiti producers. At least five Chinese processors sought full contracted volumes from Saudi Aramco this week after it slashed official prices for Asian customers for a second month.Major producers are still struggling with a large overhang of physical cargoes despite the agreement this month by OPEC and its allies to curb output by almost 10%. In Nigeria, one of the country's benchmark grades, Bonny Light, fell to about $12 or $13 a barrel as swathes of Europe, the staple market for the West Arican nation, have gone into lockdown to combat the coronavirus.Meanwhile, storage across the world -- both on land and at sea -- is rapidly filling up. Brent crude has remained in a steep contango, a bearish market structure where prompt oil is cheaper than later supplies, even after the OPEC+ deal.(Updates with details on Nigeria's benchmark grade in 5th 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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| Neiman Marcus to reportedly become 1st major U.S. department store to file for bankruptcy in pandemic Posted: 19 Apr 2020 07:20 AM PDT  Once a staple in the retail sector, Neiman Marcus Group is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. It would become the first major U.S. department store operator to do so during the economic fallout of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.The Dallas-based company has been forced to temporarily shutter all 43 of its Neiman Marcus locations, two dozen Last Call stores, and its two Bergdorf Goodman stores in New York. Many of its 14,000 employees have been furloughed, and the company reportedly skipped millions of dollars in debt payments last week, though it's currently negotiating a loan with its creditors that would keep some of its operations afloat during the bankruptcy proceedings.Analysts for credit ratings firm Standard & Poor found Neiman Marcus' chances of mounting a turnaround are "increasingly low," describing its capital structure as "unsustainable."Once the company files for bankruptcy, sources told Reuters, potential suitors could look to buy it or some of its assets on the cheap. Read more at Reuters.More stories from theweek.com What do animals think? A parade that killed thousands? The new coronavirus may be mutating to a less deadly form
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| Trump says he's 'OK' with Las Vegas shutdown after mayor calls it 'total insanity' Posted: 20 Apr 2020 09:38 AM PDT  "I'm OK with it," President Trump said of Gov. Steve Sisolak's closure of nonessential businesses, which has shuttered Las Vegas hotels and casinos.
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| Cuomo says N.Y. will begin aggressive statewide antibody testing Posted: 19 Apr 2020 10:56 AM PDT  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his state will undertake aggressive antibody testing measures over the upcoming week.
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| 20 Weird Facts About Earth To Remind You Why It's The Best Posted: 20 Apr 2020 02:52 PM PDT |
| China may be keeping coronavirus data for commercial gain: Trump adviser Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:52 PM PDT |
| ‘If you don’t work you don’t eat’: Where lockdowns have extra sting Posted: 20 Apr 2020 12:40 PM PDT |
| Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says its handheld device can detect coronavirus, scientists scoff Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:09 AM PDT  Iranian scientists have rejected the claim and other government officials have distanced themselves.
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| Experts: Coronavirus brings spike in anti-Semitic sentiments Posted: 20 Apr 2020 02:04 AM PDT  Israeli researchers reported Monday that the global coronavirus outbreak has sparked a rise in anti-Semitic expression blaming Jews for the spread of the disease and the economic recession it has caused. The findings, which came in an annual report by Tel Aviv University researchers on anti-Semitism, show an 18% spike in attacks against Jews last year. "Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant rise in accusations that Jews, as individuals and as a collective, are behind the spread of the virus or are directly profiting from it," said Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, an umbrella group representing Jewish communities across the continent.
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| Coronavirus nightmare in Ecuador's port city Guayaquil - pictures Posted: 20 Apr 2020 01:13 AM PDT  Guayaquil is one of the worst-hit places in Latin America in the pandemic.
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| Medical detection dogs able to sniff 750 people an hour could help identify coronavirus cases, researchers say Posted: 19 Apr 2020 08:01 AM PDT  Dogs have already been taught to detect diseases such as cancer. UK health experts believe they could be trained to sniff test the coronavirus.
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| Trump says protesters demanding end to coronavirus lockdowns have 'cabin fever' Posted: 19 Apr 2020 06:05 PM PDT  President Trump on Sunday said that people who are calling on state governments to lift coronavirus stay-at-home orders have "cabin fever" and "want their life back."There have been protests in some cities, with demonstrators shouting that they should be able to go back to work despite coronavirus continuing to spread across the country. Trump was asked by a reporter about a series of tweets he wrote on Friday, including one stating, "LIBERATE Virginia, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!"Trump denied that he was inciting violence, and said protesters "learned a lot during this period. They learned to do things differently than they have in the past and they'll do it hopefully until the virus has passed." At some protests, only a few dozen people showed up, and many remained in their cars. Still, Trump said he had "never seen so many American flags at a rally as I've seen at these rallies. These people love our country. They want to get back to work."More stories from theweek.com What do animals think? A parade that killed thousands? The new coronavirus may be mutating to a less deadly form
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| Coronavirus-driven CO2 shortage threatens US food and water supply, officials say Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Washington state emergency planning document points to difficulties obtaining carbon dioxide gas, essential for water treatment * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageAn emerging shortage of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) caused by the coronavirus pandemic may affect food supply chains and drinking water, a Washington state emergency planning document has revealed.The document, a Covid-19 situation report produced by the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), contains a warning from the state's office of drinking water (ODW) about difficulties in obtaining CO2, which is essential for the process of water treatment.The document says that the ODW is "still responding to [that day's] notification of a national shortage of CO2".It continues: "Several [water plants] had received initial notification from their vendors that their supply would be restricted to 33% of normal."It further warns: "So far utilities have been able to make the case that they are considered essential to critical infrastructure and have been returned to full supply. However, we want to ask if CISA [the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] can assess this through their contacts, if this is sustainable given the national shortage."Asked to clarify the nature of this problem, ODW director Mike Means said in an email that his agency had first learned of potential problems when Seattle public utilities were "contacted by their vendor Airgas who supplied a copy of a Force Majeure notice", warning them that their CO2 order would be reduced due to pandemic-related shortages.Force majeure is a contractual defense that allows parties to escape liability for contracts in the case of events – such as a pandemic – that could not be reasonably foreseen.In this case, Means wrote, "Airgas informed in their notice that they would only be able to do 80% of their normal service but subsequent discussions said to expect more like 33%".At this point, he added, "we reached out to understand if this was a WA specific problem or national. We quickly understood it to be a national issue."ODW had then contacted federal agencies such as CISA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) and industry bodies such as the Association of State Drinking Water Authorities (ASDWA).The main reason for national shortages, according to the CEO of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), Rich Gottwald, is a ramping down of ethanol production."Back in the summertime, the [Trump] administration exempted some gasoline manufacturers from using ethanol. Then we had Russia and Saudi Arabia flooding the market with cheap gasoline. All of that led to an oversupply of ethanol," Gottwald said."As ethanol manufacturers were ramping down because there wasn't a market for their product, along comes Covid-19, which meant people weren't driving anywhere", he added.This led to plant closures, including among the 50 specialized plants that collect CO2 for the food and beverage market.Gottwald's association, along with a number of associations representing food and beverage industries, which together use 77% of food-grade CO2, issued a joint warning to the federal government about the shortage.In an open letter to the vice-president, Mike Pence, the coalition warns: "Preliminary data show that production of CO2 has decreased by approximately 20%, and experts predict that CO2 production may be reduced by 50% by mid-April."It continues: "A shortage in CO2 would impact the US availability of fresh food, preserved food and beverages, including beer production."In an email, a Fema spokesperson said: "There is nationwide reduction in CO2 production capacity based on a shutdown of some ethanol plants that produce CO2 as a by-product, but impacts to water sectors would be local"."The ethanol plants are not closed because of Federal government orders related to COVID-19, but rather by market forces".CISA and ASDWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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| Merkel Warns Germany Shouldn’t Move Too Quickly With Easing Posted: 20 Apr 2020 07:58 AM PDT |
| Italy's daily coronavirus death toll hits one-week low Posted: 19 Apr 2020 09:11 AM PDT  Italy said on Sunday that deaths from the coronavirus pandemic rose by 433, the lowest daily tally in a week, and the number of new cases slowed to 3,047 from a previous 3,491. The death toll as reported by Italy's Civil Protection Agency had risen by 482 on Saturday, down from 575 on Friday.
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| 110 arrested over latest deadly lynch mob attack in India Posted: 20 Apr 2020 09:06 AM PDT  2 police officers have also been suspended after viral videos showed them unable or unwilling to control the mob, apparently fuelled by a rumor.
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| 4/20 uncertainty: Marijuana industry tested in virus crisis Posted: 19 Apr 2020 09:06 PM PDT  The unofficial holiday celebrating all things cannabis arrives Monday as the nation's emerging legal marijuana market braces for an economic blow from the coronavirus crisis, with many consumers reducing spending or going underground for deals. It was supposed to be a long weekend of festivals and music culminating on April 20, or 4/20, the code for marijuana's high holiday. Virtual parties and video chats are replacing vast outdoor smoking sessions to mark the rise of legalization and celebrate cannabis culture.
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| Oil prices dive more than 100% to minus $37 as demand collapses during coronavirus pandemic Posted: 20 Apr 2020 10:54 AM PDT  One of the US' crude price futures have plummeted to the lowest level in history and entered into the negatives, as demand for oil continued its decline amid the coronavirus pandemic.Sharp selling heightened on Monday over concerns about the storage of the excess oil.
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| The head of the WHO warns that 'the worst' of the coronavirus is 'ahead of us' Posted: 20 Apr 2020 12:03 PM PDT  The WHO chief compared the virus to the 1918 flu that killed 675,000 people in the US and tens of millions around the world.
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| Biden’s VP prospects break along Dem fault lines Posted: 20 Apr 2020 01:28 AM PDT  Biden understands the critical role he is poised to play in shaping the party's identity for years to come.
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| Top China official for Hong Kong security probed for corruption Posted: 20 Apr 2020 12:09 AM PDT  China's deputy public security minister, who was placed in charge of security affairs for protest-wracked Hong Kong in 2017, is being investigated by the country's anti-graft body for alleged corruption. Sun Lijun was being investigated for "serious violations of discipline and the law" -– a euphemism for corruption -- according to China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Sun, 51, was last seen in public in early March in Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak, the official People's Public Security Daily reported.
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| Mexico City Hospitals at Near Full Capacity as Virus Spreads Posted: 19 Apr 2020 10:05 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Hospitals in Mexico City are nearing saturation point after they received 100 more Covid-19 patients requiring intubation in just two days, newspaper El Norte reported, citing Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.Of the city's 16 municipalities, the most affected is Iztapalapa. The General Hospital there is at capacity and is turning away patients, Sheinbaum said. As more people are redirected to the two other hospitals in the same neighborhood, they're also now full. The city, which is home to 8.8 million people, had 2,299 cases as of yesterday and 178 deaths. The country reported 650 deaths and 7,497 confirmed cases.Mexico was slow to implement measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Less than a month ago, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was posting videos of himself surrounded by children, and urging citizens to go out and visit restaurants. The country has now started to react. While it says it has tested more people, Mexico's ratio of deaths to confirmed cases is the highest in Latin America, suggesting it's not doing enough in identifying cases.While Mexico has fewer confirmed cases per capita than other countries in the region that are at the same stage of the outbreak, its ratio of deaths to population is expanding at a similar rate. U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to send the country another 1,000 ventilators by the end of the month, Lopez Obrador said on his Twitter account on Friday.Hospitals in Mexico City have now intubated 468 patients, El Norte reported. The National Institute for Respiratory Diseases, the main center for Covid-19 treatment, has 70, a record. Sheinbaum urged Mexicans to stay in their homes.Mexico Warns No. 2 TV Network After Anchor Attacks Health CzarFor 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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| U.S. coronavirus death toll rises as cases hit 750,000: Reuters tally Posted: 19 Apr 2020 11:29 AM PDT  It took the United States 38 days after recording its first fatality on Feb. 29 to reach 10,000 deaths on April 6, but only five more days to reach 20,000 dead, according to a Reuters tally. The United States has by far the world's largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 750,000 infections -- a number that has doubled in 13 days. New cases on Saturday rose by nearly 29,000, the lowest increase in three days.
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| Nearly all abortions in Texas must stop, appeals court rules Posted: 20 Apr 2020 02:13 PM PDT  The vast majority of abortion services will again be halted in Texas.
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| Nurses protest coronavirus working conditions, say hospitals aren't protecting them Posted: 20 Apr 2020 12:36 PM PDT  "We know that the CDC policy is built on shortage. It's not built on proven evidence," one expert said.
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| States work to keep meat plants open despite virus outbreaks Posted: 20 Apr 2020 10:32 AM PDT  Governors in the Midwest are working to keep large meatpacking plants operating despite coronavirus outbreaks that have sickened hundreds of workers and threaten to disrupt the nation's supply of pork and beef. In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly sent personal protective equipment and testing supplies to counties with meat processing plants. Gov. Kristi Noem said she didn't think it would be difficult to fulfill federal requirements to reopen a shuttered facility in South Dakota.
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| Tempted to spend that coronavirus IRS check on a vacation? Here's what you should know Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:07 AM PDT  Before thinking about booking your next vacation with those funds, financial advisers caution, make sure you don't have more pressing priorities.
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| Yahoo News/YouGov coronavirus poll: Most Americans reject anti-lockdown protests Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:32 AM PDT  An overwhelming majority of Americans, Republicans included, are rejecting right-wing protests — encouraged by President Trump — to immediately "reopen" the country in the midst of the world's largest and deadliest coronavirus outbreak, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
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| Report: Trump administration received real-time information on coronavirus from Americans working at the WHO Posted: 19 Apr 2020 09:33 PM PDT  As the novel coronavirus first emerged in China late last year, more than a dozen U.S. researchers, doctors, and public health officials were working at the World Health Organization's Geneva headquarters, relaying back real-time information on the virus and its spread to the Trump administration, several U.S. and international officials told The Washington Post. President Trump has accused the United Nations' health agency of not clearly communicating early on how big a threat the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic was, in an attempt to protect China. Last week, he said the U.S. will halt funding to the WHO and conduct a review "to assess the WHO's role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus."Caitlin Oakley, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), confirmed to the Post that in January, 16 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees were at the WHO "working on a variety of programs, including COVID-19 and Ebola." She added that "just because you have Americans embedded in WHO providing technical assistance does not change the information you are getting from WHO leadership. We have learned now that WHO information was incorrect and relied too heavily on China."Officials told the Post that from the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, CDC staffers consulted with their WHO counterparts on the disease, and that CDC Global Disease Detection Operations Center Director Ray Arthur has participated in daily "incident management" calls, sharing information gleaned from WHO officials. That information is sent to HHS via telephone calls and written reports, one official said.Sensitive information, including details on actions the WHO is planning on taking, was shared in a secure facility at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, the official told the Post, with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar among those receiving updates in the early days of the outbreak. Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com What do animals think? A parade that killed thousands? The new coronavirus may be mutating to a less deadly form
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| 30 Dining Chairs That Make a Statement Posted: 20 Apr 2020 06:40 AM PDT |
| Taiwan virus cases jump after ship visit, Palau says not the source Posted: 20 Apr 2020 03:10 AM PDT  Taiwan reported 22 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, almost all of them sailors who were on a navy visit to the small Pacific islands state of Palau, which said there was "little chance" it was the source of the infection. Taiwan's government on Sunday said 700 navy personnel were being quarantined and tested and there were 24 positive cases altogether. Of those, three cadets had been to Palau, one of only 15 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and one of the last states in the world yet to report a coronavirus outbreak.
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| 'Don't shoot him no more!' California police face backlash over killing of man in Walmart Posted: 20 Apr 2020 02:27 PM PDT  Steven Taylor was experiencing mental health crisis when he wielded a baseball bat inside San Leandro store, family lawyer saysThe police shooting of a 33-year-old man in a California Walmart over the weekend has led to intense backlash from civil rights activists, calls for protests and a Facebook video from the local police chief to "dispel some rumors" about the incident.Police in San Leandro in the Bay Area shot Steven Taylor on Saturday afternoon after he wielded a baseball bat inside a local Walmart. A video shot by a bystander captured two officers pointing their weapons at Taylor holding a bat near the doors on the Walmart floor.The footage appears to show one of the officers deploying a Taser after Taylor had dropped the bat on the floor and was lying on the ground. One witness is heard shouting, "Don't shoot him no more!" Police said one of the officers hit Taylor with a bullet in the upper torso, and the officers tried to use their Tasers multiple times during the confrontation.Lee Merritt, an attorney for Taylor's family, said Taylor was going through a mental health crisis on Saturday afternoon, and that he has previously suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar depression. "He was shot after he had become completely helpless and no longer represented a threat," Merritt told the Guardian on Monday.Merritt said he wasn't sure yet whether police shot Taylor with a Taser or bullet after he was already down, and that an autopsy was now underway.Merritt also alleged that the officers provided insufficient care once Taylor was shot. "Their job, according to standard operating procedures, was to get Mr Taylor help. He had been seriously wounded and was suffering from a mental health crisis. They had to treat him quickly. They did the opposite and exacerbated his injuries," Merritt said.The San Leandro police department said Taylor had not complied with officers' commands to drop the bat and had walked toward police. At this point, one officer discharged his Taser "which was not effective", according to the department. Then, police said, the officer fired his gun at Taylor, hitting him in the "front of his upper body". Seconds later, another officer discharged his Taser at the man, according to the department. Taylor died at the scene.Taylor's family is calling for charges against the officers. Merritt, who represents families of those killed by police in federal litigation, said the officers should face homicide charges for targeting Taylor after the threat was "neutralized". He said police should have de-escalated by clearing the Walmart, surrounding Taylor and trying to talk him down, instead of quickly using lethal force.The San Leandro police chief, Jeff Tudor, said in an interview that the "pop" heard on the video after Taylor was already on the ground came from a Taser, and that it was too early to speculate whether that shot had hit Taylor or whether it was justified and in line with department policy. One officer was initially "trying to deescalate the situation and grab the bat", Tudor said, adding, "It's very tragic."On Sunday, Tudor publicly acknowledged that the shooting had upset many. "Our community is hurting right now," Tudor said in a Facebook video. "But protecting the sanctity of life is extremely important. I know there are a lot of questions and concerns."Few details have emerged about Taylor since he was killed. Merritt said Taylor had three children, including an 11-year-old, and that he leaves behind three siblings. "I hope they don't see their father executed like that," Merritt said.He added that Taylor "was best known for trying to make people laugh". The fatal shooting happened just south of Oakland, in a region where residents for years have organized Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and police shootings.Last year, California adopted the strictest law in the US limiting when police can kill, dictating that law enforcement must "reasonably believe … deadly force is necessary to defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury". Typically, courts across the US have long ruled that shootings are justified if officers claimed they feared for their lives and were acting in self defense, a bar that advocates have said was too low and allowed police to kill civilians with impunity, particularly unarmed black Americans.
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