| As coronavirus cases increase, Defense Secretary Mark Esper places new restriction on Pentagon Posted: 23 Mar 2020 12:40 PM PDT  Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday he is again raising the protection condition on the Pentagon, which will further restrict access to one of the world's largest office buildings. The Pentagon will now be at Level C, the second highest of the military's five health protection conditions.
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| As New York faces coronavirus 'bullet train,' experts warn of challenges ahead Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:39 PM PDT  Gov. Andrew Cuomo painted a dire forecast of the outbreak Tuesday morning, saying spread of the disease was accelerating and the state was in "desperate" need of ventilators.
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| CDC should be leading the US response to coronavirus, former director says Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:42 PM PDT  The United States' response to the COVID-19 epidemic is haphazard, uncoordinated and sorely missing the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control.
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| "I hope to be roaming outside freely and without a face mask very soon," says an American quarantined in Beijing Posted: 23 Mar 2020 04:21 PM PDT  Patrick, who is an American citizen, returned back to his current home in Beijing recently and per law is being quarantined in his apartment for 14 days since his arrival back to China. "Right now, [I'm] keeping my spirits up and enjoying it. I hope to be roaming outside freely and without a face mask very soon."
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| Hawley, Stefanik Introduce Bill to Investigate China for Coronavirus Coverup Posted: 24 Mar 2020 08:09 AM PDT  Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) and Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) on Tuesday introduced a bicameral resolution to condemn the Chinese Communist Party for its initial handling of the coronavirus outbreak, and called for an international investigation to determine how the coverup hastened the emergence of a global pandemic."Since day one, the Chinese Communist Party intentionally lied to the world about the origin of this pandemic. The CCP was aware of the reality of the virus as early as December but ordered laboratories to destroy samples and forced doctors to keep silent," Hawley, who first called for an investigation last week, said in a press release."There is no doubt that China's unconscionable decision to orchestrate an elaborate coverup of the wide-ranging and deadly implications of coronavirus led to the death of thousands of people, including hundreds of Americans and climbing," Stefanik added. "This Resolution calls for China to provide compensation for the harm, loss, and destruction their arrogance brought upon the rest of the world. Simply put China must, and will, be held accountable."The bill calls the international community to "quantify the harm caused" by China's actions and to "design a mechanism for delivering compensation" from the CCP to those affected.Reports have detailed how Wuhan laboratories in December discovered that coronavirus was related to the deadly SARS virus which broke out in 2002-2003, but were subsequently gagged by government authorities, who ordered them to turn over or destroy evidence.China has also promoted a propaganda campaign to push a conspiracy theory that the virus originated in the U.S., which experts have called "a counteroffensive" and "a kind of blame-shifting."
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| Taiwan says WHO ignored its coronavirus questions at start of outbreak Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:50 AM PDT  Taiwan accused the World Heath Organization of ignoring its questions at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, part of what it has long described as a pattern that puts it at risk because of Chinese pressure to exclude it from international bodies. Taiwan is barred from membership in the WHO under pressure from China, which views it as a province rather than a state. It responded early to the coronavirus outbreak in China, and has had notable success in limiting contagion so far, with just two deaths and 215 cases.
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| Toilets on the Navy's newest aircraft carriers clog frequently, and fixing them costs $400,000 a flush Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:43 AM PDT  To tackle "unexpected and frequent clogging," the Navy has to periodically clean the whole toilet system — at $400,000 a flush.
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| Coronavirus: Trump says he wants quarantine over by 12 April because it could ‘destroy’ the country Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:16 AM PDT  Donald Trump doubled down on his pledge to end a national shutdown over the coronavirus, arguing on Tuesday that a prolonged economic lapse could "destroy" the United States as he vowed to open the country by Easter."We lose thousands and thousands of people a year to the flu, we don't turn the country off," Mr Trump said during a Fox News virtual town hall from the White House. "We lose thousands of people a year to the flu. We have to get back to work. ... The faster we go back, the better."
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| Indian police clear out anti-government protest citing coronavirus Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:38 AM PDT  Police in India's capital broke up the longest-running protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's citizenship law on Tuesday, citing a ban on public gatherings because of the coronavirus outbreak. Dozens of people, many of them women, have been staging a sit-in protest since early December on a street in the Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood, which has become a focal point for opposition to the law seen as discriminating against Muslims. Hundreds of police in riot gear surrounded the protesters early on Tuesday and told them to leave, said Delhi's joint police commissioner D. C. Srivastava. "It is a dangerous environment, with this coronavirus, we urged them to leave," he told reporters. Some demonstrators resisted the police and at least nine people had been detained, six of them women, Srivastava said, adding there was no violence. Television showed police taking down tents and billboards at the protest site with bulldozers. Delhi is under a lockdown until the end of the month to halt the spread of the virus and public gatherings of more than five people have been banned. The Citizenship Amendment Act, which eases the path for non-Muslims from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries to gain citizenship, triggered weeks of sometimes violent protests against Modi's government after it was passed in December. At least 78 people have been killed in demonstrations triggered by the law across the country, a large number of them in another part of Delhi in clashes between Hindus and Muslims. Critics say the law discriminates against Muslims and it has deepened concern that Modi's administration is undermining India's secular traditions. Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party denies any bias against India's 180 million Muslims. Even before the coronavirus epidemic, the protest at Shaheen Bagh had become a thorn in the government's side, and there had been calls by hardline Hindu groups linked to Modi's alliance and residents in the area to clear it out. India has reported 471 cases of the coronavirus but health experts have warned that a big jump is imminent, which would likely overwhelm the underfunded and crumbling public health infrastructure.
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| Americans are still confident the U.S. will limit the coronavirus outbreak within a few weeks, poll shows Posted: 23 Mar 2020 11:45 AM PDT  There's no doubt Americans are worried about the novel coronavirus pandemic. A new poll from Monmouth University released Monday reveals that 57 percent of those surveyed consider it their biggest concern right now, well ahead of related things like job security and health care costs, indicating that health in and of itself is the top priority. But, at the same time, many people still believe the U.S. can limit the scale of the outbreak before too long.Of those polled, 25 percent said they were "very confident" the country will achieve some of its goals in the next few weeks, while 37 percent said they were somewhat confident. That means 36 percent are either "not too" confident, or not confident at all. Still, it seems optimism is winning out, as cities and states around the country impose restrictive measures in the hopes of turning the tide, but the numbers are also split along party lines with Republicans predicting a rosier outlook than Democrats.It looks like a lot of that hope stems from a positive opinion of the country's governors, who have a 72 percent approval rating for how they've dealt with the crisis. Per the poll, though, people are less satisfied with how their peers are handling things — only 38 percent of those surveyed gave a thumbs up to the American public's response.> Per Monmouth poll, Coronavirus job performance > > Your state governor 72% good/ 18% bad > Federal health agencies 65/24% > Trump 50/45% > Congress 42/37% > Media 45/43% > American public 38/45%> > — Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) March 23, 2020The Monmouth University poll was conducted via telephone between March 18 to 22, surveying 851 adults in the United States. The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points. See the full results of the poll here.More stories from theweek.com Britney Spears calls for wealth redistribution, general strike on Instagram Coronavirus task force doctor declines to back up Trump's timeline for easing social distancing guidelines Trump's false choice about coronavirus
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| FDA will allow doctors to treat critically ill coronavirus patients with blood from survivors Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:06 PM PDT  Experts say the treatment might be the best hope for some patients until more sophisticated drugs are developed.
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| Former CDC director: China travel ban 'made a difference' but US didn't prepare enough for coronavirus Posted: 24 Mar 2020 12:08 PM PDT  The former CDC director is lauding America's China travel ban, but says the U.S. didn't do enough to prepare for the COVID-19 outbreak.
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| ‘Taking Hostages’: Sasse Slams Pelosi for Adding ‘Liberal Wish List’ to Coronavirus Bill Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:16 AM PDT  Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) took aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) for hijacking Senate negotiations over a phase-three economic relief package with an "ideologically-driven wish list" of Democratic policies unrelated to coronavirus.Pelosi's 1,404 page bill, introduced Monday after the House Speaker returned to Washington D.C. on Sunday, includes numerous provisions that Sasse labeled "a ton of crap that has absolutely nothing to do with the public health emergency that we face at this moment.""Instead of taking that legislation — urgent, necessary legislation — and passing it quickly, Democrats have now decided to allow Speaker Pelosi to block it through proxies here in the Senate so that she can rewrite the bill with a ton of crap that has absolutely nothing to do with the public health emergency that we face at this moment," Sasse stated in a speech on the Senate floor Monday night.Republicans have accused Pelosi of ruining days of productive negotiations in the Senate over the trillion-dollar package that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) introduced last week, after Majority Whip James Clyburn (D., S.C.) told House Democrats last week that the bill was "a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision."On Monday, McConnell stated that "Democrats won't let us fund hospitals or save small businesses unless they get to dust off the green New Deal," while Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) called the tactics "disgraceful" and "dangerous to the lives of our people and their economic well-being."In making the case that Democrats are more concerned about unrelated legislative priorities than the health of the economy, Sasse pointed to Pelosi's "liberal wish list," which includes mandatory diversity reports on corporate boards, requiring same-day voter registration in all 50 states, a bailout of the U.S. Postal Service, establishing a $15-an-hour minimum wage, and new environmental regulations for airlines."We've got families that are suffering," Sasse said. "We've got small businesses that are closing literally by the hour. We have doctors fighting to prevent their hospitals from being overwhelmed. And what does Speaker Pelosi try to do? She's trying to take hostages about her dream legislation, all sorts of dream legislative provisions that have nothing to do with this moment and say the American public can't get access to the public health piece of legislation or the economic relief pieces of legislation unless she gets hostages that are entirely unrelated to this moment."Sasse slammed Pelosi for trying to smuggle pro-choice funding into the House's phase-two coronavirus stimulus package earlier this month. "We need to be ramping up our diagnostic testing, not waging culture wars at the behest of Planned Parenthood. Good grief," Sasse said at the time.
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| Falwell Misled Me on Reopening Liberty University, City Manager Says Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:16 PM PDT  When Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. announced on Monday that he was reopening the school's residence halls to students amid the coronavirus pandemic, he implied that he had received the blessing of officials in Lynchburg, Virginia, to do so. "They thanked us for making that decision," Falwell told the Liberty University News Service, describing a call to move classes online but also, in his words, to get his students "back as soon as we can—the ones who want to come back."In fact, Lynchburg city manager Bonnie Svrcek says that while she did thank Falwell for moving to online classrooms, she was led to believe that the school was also abandoning plans to invite students back into residence halls following spring break. Neither she nor Lynchburg Mayor Treney Tweedy said they signed off on Falwell's decision to re-open Liberty's dorms. On Tuesday, Svrcek told The Daily Beast that Falwell was not "totally transparent" with her or Tweedy during an exchange on March 16 in which, according to Svrcek, Falwell told the two leaders that his school would "move to an online platform.""He added that some food services would remain open for on-campus international students who have not gone home and some lab classes and the school of aviation will continue," Svrcek told The Daily Beast. "The mayor and I thanked him for this shift that we believed meant that students would be told to not come back to campus with a few exceptions."Jerry Falwell Jr. Suggests to 'Fox & Friends' That North Korea Created the CoronavirusThat Falwell chose to go forward without the blessing of the city officials wasn't surprising. He is perhaps Donald Trump's most unapologetic ally in evangelical circles, and the president himself is eager for schools, businesses, and public establishments to reopen and get the country past its coronavirus-induced economic slump. But for some students at Liberty, the notion that they will now be coming back from various parts of the country to mix and mingle in one shared campus was less than appealing, and yet another sign that their college president was putting loyalty to Trump over other considerations. "It seems like [Falwell] wants everything to be open pretty quickly, following Trump. I saw this morning that [Trump] wants businesses to reopen," said one Liberty senior, who asked to remain anonymous due to fears of retaliation by Liberty administrators. "Jerry literally follows anything that Trump says."Falwell has consistently downplayed the severity of the coronavirus crisis, even suggesting that nationwide efforts to control its spread represent a plot to undermine the Trump presidency. Last week, however, he did move the school to online classes while keeping it open for students who wished to return to campus or who, in the cases of some international students, simply had nowhere else to go. Student: Jerry Falwell Jr. Axed Anti-Trump Story from Liberty University's School NewspaperSvrcek said that she had implored Falwell to keep students away until the public health crisis abated. And, initially, it looked like the school would stay open but would encourage students not to return. "While students are currently allowed to return to live in the residence halls, we are encouraging you to consider staying home," Liberty's office of residential life wrote in a March 17 campus-wide email.But three days later, the office walked back that pronouncement. "The intent of encouraging students to consider remaining at home was to simply advise students to think carefully about their choice and discuss the matter with their parents," the school wrote, according to the emails, which were obtained by The Daily Beast. "It was not an endorsement or recommendation of that particular course of action."It's that vagueness towards the threat posed by the coronavirus that has some students frustrated and concerned. "It's the constant overemphasis of the effectiveness of the university's mitigation measures and a constant downplaying of the dangers posed by this virus," said Liberty senior Calum Best in an interview with The Daily Beast. "I don't envy [Falwell's] decision, it's a tough one to make and ultimately he's going to be criticized no matter what he does. But he can work through that decision without being misleading."Liberty's plan currently is to reopen the school's dormitories to incoming students, but classes and other campus gatherings will be held online or canceled altogether. Nonetheless, experts told The Daily Beast that clustering students in on-campus housing poses extreme and unnecessary risks and will almost surely lead to more cases of the virus among the student body."If Liberty University reopens, people will die," said Dr. Max Cooper, an emergency room doctor at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Pennsylvania who served in the U.S. Navy and is now leading his area's Emergency COVID-19 Task Force. "To say nothing of the many educators and university support staff whose age and mortality likely skews older and higher. It's imperative that Liberty and other universities stay closed."Lawrence Gostin, who directs the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University and the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law, called Liberty's decision to reopen "utterly irresponsible."Some faculty at Liberty, which just last year received a federal research grant from the National Institutes of Health, have gone further than to downplay the dangers of the virus. One professor even suggested that students disregard state government measures designed to limit the virus' spread."There is no evidence that quarantine works, just ask Italy or Spain right now about that," Liberty University history professor Benjamin Esswein told his class on Tuesday morning, according to a copy of digital classroom chat logs obtained by The Daily Beast. The statement came in response to a student who said she wouldn't be able to complete an assignment requiring her to visit a museum due to the mandated closure of non-essential businesses in both Virginia and her home state. "We're not even supposed to leave our houses," she said.Asked whether students could "visit" a virtual museum to satisfy the requirement, Esswein denied the request. "Be safe about it, but remaining active is the best way to fight off the virus, you should try to go to a park or other area that might have a free-standing exhibit," Esswein told his class. "You should leave your house, it's unhealthy to stay inside for the rest of the semester."Esswein did not return a request for comment. But shown a copy of that exchange, Gostin scoffed. The "discussion just isn't fact-based," he said. "Quarantines do work and for every student that is infected, he or she will infect two others, and so forth. The rise in cases could be exponential."That's to say nothing of the faculty and staff who could be exposed to the virus and then return to their off-campus homes, potentially exposing individuals who never even set foot on campus, noted Dr. Adrian Hyzler, the chief medical officer for Healix International, which provides medical information to organizations whose clients travel internationally. Hyzler called Falwell's decision to reopen the school "nuts.""We have seen how gatherings to people at conventions, prisons, religious meetings, and teaching facilities can be breeding grounds for transmission and this could well become another of those epicenters," said Hyzler.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| West Virginia governor rambles, mixes messages on virus Posted: 23 Mar 2020 04:35 PM PDT  As the coronavirus raged across the nation, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice wondered why people were looking to him for answers. Justice, a billionaire Republican with no previous political experience leading a particularly high-risk state, has rambled through mixed messages on the virus, diminishing his credibility with some West Virginians who have said it's been a struggle to discern exactly what he wants them to do.
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| Trump boasts of 'great early result' against coronavirus in one Florida man Posted: 23 Mar 2020 12:39 PM PDT  President Trump again touted the promise of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine on Monday for use treating COVID-19, retweeting a story that appeared in the New York Post.
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| ‘Bernie has a real decision to make’: Labor throws in with Biden Posted: 24 Mar 2020 04:07 PM PDT  The March 17 primary election results spurred several unions to act.
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| Rand Paul says he did the right thing by not following coronavirus testing guidelines Posted: 23 Mar 2020 05:16 PM PDT  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is defending getting a coronavirus test despite not showing any symptoms, saying that if he hadn't been tested, he never would have known he contracted the virus and could have spread it to his colleagues.Paul announced on Sunday afternoon that he tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. His office said Paul is feeling fine, and thought he should receive a test because he travels often and in recent weeks attended several events. Republican senators told CNN that on Sunday morning, Paul was at the Senate gym, a move deemed "irresponsible" by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). He also sat very close to other senators during lunches last week, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who has decided to self-quarantine.In addition to receiving blowback for gallivanting around prior to finding out his test results, Paul is also under fire for getting a test despite not showing any symptoms, which goes against Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. This, he said, is unfair."For those who want to criticize me for lack of quarantine, realize that if rules on testing had been followed to a tee, I would never have been tested and would still be walking around the halls of the Capitol," Paul said in a statement Monday. "The current guidelines would not have called for me to get tested nor quarantined. It was my extra precaution, out of concern for my damaged lung, that led me to get tested."More stories from theweek.com Britney Spears calls for wealth redistribution, general strike on Instagram Greta Thunberg says she's recovering from what she believes was 'very likely' a mild case of COVID-19 Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally is now 'the most notable victim' of COVID-19
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| Fourteen inmates escaped from jail, 6 still on the loose Posted: 24 Mar 2020 06:48 AM PDT  "Despite the governor's shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order, apparently they didn't want to do that, so they are out and about," said the county sheriff.
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| 'Every part of me hopes it doesn’t come to that': What if Italy's coronavirus lockdowns don't work? Posted: 24 Mar 2020 06:34 AM PDT  Italy could soon receive some sustained good news about the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the country – or it may need to do more to protect lives.
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| New York state plans to treat severe coronavirus patients with a 100-year-old blood therapy, which uses the plasma of recovered patients Posted: 24 Mar 2020 03:50 AM PDT  The state will treat critically ill patients with convalescent plasma to lessen their symptoms. The therapy dates back to the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic.
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| Vietnam closes Ho Chi Minh City restaurants to curb virus outbreak Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:57 AM PDT  Restaurants in Vietnam's business hub, Ho Chi Minh City, must close until March 31 to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, the city's ruling body said on Tuesday. Ho Chi Minh City has recorded 39 cases of the virus, most of which were imported from Europe, and has already closed cinemas, clubs, bars, massage parlors and karaoke lounges since the virus outbreak began. The move has been taken because some infected people spread the disease at popular restaurants and bars in the city, according to Vietnam's health ministry.
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| Russia Swore It Whipped the Virus, and Fox and CNN Bought It Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:03 AM PDT  As the world reels from the novel coronavirus pandemic, Russia is doing its best to turn global turmoil into propaganda fodder. To date, a country of 146 million people straddling Europe and Asia and that has a great deal of commerce with those two great epicenters of the disease reports only 438 confirmed coronavirus cases and no deaths. One previously disclosed fatality has been dismissed by authorities as attributable to other causes. But according to official statistics from Russian state media, over 52,000 people remain under medical supervision "in connection with suspected coronavirus infection." Perhaps the real number of Russia's coronavirus patients lies somewhere in between. Garry Kasparov, a world-renowned former world chess champion and the chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative, told The Daily Beast why the Kremlin's dubious claims shouldn't be taken at face value: "Of course Russia is lying about their coronavirus stats and I can say that confidently because they lie about everything," said Kasparov. "Dictatorships lie when they have to—and when they don't; it's about control. Control of information, shaping reality, and, most importantly, appearing all-powerful and all-knowing. If the regime can be surprised or overwhelmed by a virus, maybe it's not so powerful after all, a dangerous line of thought for a repressed population to have. Until there is truly independent testing—and the stories we're hearing out of Russia are not encouraging—we just don't know what's going on." Even so, Western media outlets have disregarded the Kremlin's less-than-sterling reputation for honesty and transparency, and lauded Russia's self-proclaimed success in controlling the deadly virus.In January, Fox News reported Russia's decision to close its border with China and in early February uncritically repeated the claim that "Russia has only two confirmed cases of the virus, but authorities have taken measures to prevent its spread by hospitalizing people returning from China as a precaution." In late February, Fox News stated that "Russia only has three confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus," without questioning the probability of such fantastic statistics in light of a pandemic raging in neighboring China. Last Sunday, showcasing Russia's coronavirus aid to Italy, Fox News posted photographs released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, with the doors of Russian military trucks adorned with heart-shaped flags that read: "From Russia with love." Apparently accepting Russia's claims as ironclad facts, Fox News fawned: "Russia has so far reported very few confirmed coronavirus cases, noting just 306 infections and one death. As the U.S. and Europe struggle to contain the virus, nations once viewed as rivals are stepping up in the global coronavirus response." CNN wrote on Saturday that, "According to information released by Russian officials, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's strategy seems to have worked. The number of confirmed Russian coronavirus cases is surprisingly low, despite Russia sharing a lengthy border with China and recording its first case back in January." Kasparov, a persistent critic of Putin, wonders why anyone would believe this stuff, much less report it. "Repeating Russia's numbers is ridiculous. Trust must be earned, and Putin lies about everything from his invasion of Ukraine to the more directly comparable epidemic of HIV in Russia that officially doesn't exist. Why should western governments and media treat Putin's dictatorship in good faith when it's not returned, and in fact is exploited?" Putin Worries Coronavirus Could Screw Up His Constitutional 'Coronation'Russia's alleged triumph over the coronavirus coincides with Putin's maneuvers to become the country's president for life, a role all but assured through pending constitutional changes. Amendments in question have already been approved by both houses of parliament and are now pending a nationwide vote on April 22, which will take place come rain or shine—coronavirus notwithstanding. The possibility of conducting the vote by mail is currently under consideration. In the meantime, the Kremlin-controlled Russian state media are reminding citizens that the country's very survival depends on Putin's leadership. Dmitry Kiselyov, the host of Russia's most popular Sunday news program, Vesti Nedeli, is leading the way. "Let's be honest," he insisted earlier this month: "Russia without Putin is non-viable." But there is ample evidence the regime's information war is being disregarded by Russians in the trenches trying to deal with the reality of the disease. On Monday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin gave the authorities five days to develop a system that would track and notify people who have come in contact with any known carriers of coronavirus. The system would simultaneously notify special regional headquarters set up to fight the pandemic.Authorities have begun building a 500-person hospital to house coronavirus patients near Moscow and Russian doctors reportedly are alarmed that some cases are being ascribed to pneumonia and seasonal flu without testing. The same state media TV shows that would have you believe everything is under control are being filmed without audiences. Everyday Russians are stocking up on astronomical quantities of toilet paper and buckwheat, disregarding the government's assurances that coronavirus is being contained. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state media outlets RT and Sputnik, launched a Twitter initiative designed to prove that Russian grocery stores show no signs of panic buying. Simonyan's idea backfired, as multiple citizens responded with photographs of emptied store shelves.Lingering memories of Soviet-era cover-ups are exacerbated by more recent denials, such as Russia's covert warfare in Ukraine, its role in the downing of the Malaysian aircraft MH-17, clumsy denials of the Skripal poisonings and obfuscation of crucial details about a radioactive explosion involving a nuclear-powered missile in northern Russia last year. But the Kremlin's persistent aim to keep the coronavirus numbers down is paying off thus far, since Russia's international flights are unimpeded by worldwide bans. While U.S. President Donald J. Trump barred travelers from China, its largest neighbor continues to receive the benefit of the doubt."Just as China's information crackdown led directly to the massive outbreak now threatening the world," says Kasparov, "Putin's will also have an impact across the Russian border. The radioactive cloud from Chernobyl poisoned much of Europe. The flights still coming out of Russia—not on the banned list because of the low official numbers—could spread disease all over the globe." Painting a rosy picture of Russia's future, the Kremlin-controlled state media predicted doom and gloom for everybody but the motherland, especially the hated United States.Last week, experts on The Evening with Vladimir Soloviev were crowing about economic troubles for the West. Russian economist Mikhail Khazin opined that Russia is the only region that can grow and prosper economically during the challenging times of the coronavirus pandemic. Other experts on the show suggested that America is withering as a superpower, while a new age is dawning for Russia and China. They concurred that "Soviet-like regimes are winning" and the new world will be more authoritarian. Host Vladimir Soloviev concluded: "Enough talk about individual freedoms." With angry animus, Soloviev argued that history would disprove the premise of Francis Fukuyama's book, The End of History and the Last Man and would lead to the uprooting of liberal democracies.As he has in the past, Soloviev referred to President Trump as "Donald Ivanovych" and marveled at the statements and actions of the American leader who is himself in the risk group for contracting coronavirus. The Russian Models Instagramming From China's Coronavirus CapitalStill, Russian state TV pundits kept their usually sharp ridicule to the minimum. Their exchanges revealed the hope that Western sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea and other Putin abuses of international law would soon be lifted, with the coronavirus pandemic overshadowing all prior concerns. Dmitry Kiselyov argued during this Sunday's episode of Vesti Nedeli that multiple Western governments will be undergoing deep changes and the sanctions against Russia will soon become obsolete. As for the short-term propaganda goals, the Kremlin still anticipates the arrival later this spring of U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien for Moscow's big 75th anniversary celebration of victory over the Nazis. President Donald J. Trump reportedly "wanted to go but faced pressure from advisers not to embark on such a journey." The parade is scheduled for May 9—the very month the coronavirus epidemic is expected to have reached a peak in Russia.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Russian President Putin dons hazmat suit as Moscow mayor says coronavirus outbreak is worse than it looks Posted: 24 Mar 2020 11:33 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin wore a hazmat suit and respirator on Tuesday during a visit to a hospital treating coronavirus patients, and the mayor of Moscow said the outbreak in the Russian capital was much worse than official figures showed.
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| Rare Spat Between Chinese Diplomats Signals Split Over Trump Posted: 23 Mar 2020 06:03 PM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- An unusual public spat between two top Chinese diplomats points to an internal split in Beijing over how to handle rising tensions with a combative U.S. president.The differences spilled into public view Monday after China's ambassador to the U.S. reaffirmed his opposition to promoting theories that the virus that causes Covid-19 originated in an American military lab. Ambassador Cui Tiankai said in an interview with "Axios on HBO" that he stood by his Feb. 9 statement that it would be "crazy" to spread such theories, even though a foreign ministry spokesman has repeatedly floated the idea on Twitter in recent weeks."Such speculation will help nobody. It's very harmful," Cui told Axios. "Eventually, we must have an answer to where the virus originally came from. But this is the job for the scientists to do, not for diplomats."Cui's comments represent a sharp public rebuke to foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who has publicly questioned whether the virus originated in China and even touted the idea that it may have been introduced by U.S. Army athletes. Such public differences are rare among Chinese officials who are famous for their ability to stick closely to the Communist Party's official line.Read the latest coronavirus updatesThe developments suggest that China's foreign ministry may be having second thoughts about taking a more confrontational approach toward President Donald Trump. The foreign ministry later Monday posted a Chinese-language transcript of Cui's remarks on its website and another spokesman, Geng Shuang, told reporters "the virus should not be linked to a specific country or region to avoid stigmatization.""Ambassador Cui is a professional and an adult. His Axios comments should be taken as authoritative," said James Green, a senior adviser for geopolitical consulting firm McLarty Associates who was previously a U.S. trade official in Beijing. "Having an MFA spokesman engage in such rumor-mongering is a new low for Chinese foreign policy, and I suspect for now such behavior will be curbed."'Dangerous' RemarksTrump's blunt, Twitter-focused communication style has posed a diplomatic challenge for President Xi Jinping since the Republican began attacking China on the U.S. campaign trail four years ago. While Xi's government initially embraced a strategy of "strategic composure" that sought to avoid escalating disputes with Trump, Chinese diplomats such as Zhao began taking a more combative tone during the trade war -- often on Twitter -- and later got promoted.While serving as deputy chief of mission at China's Islamabad embassy last year, Zhao criticized American racial divides in a string of tweets, prompting former U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice to call him a "racist disgrace." In recent weeks, Zhao has promoted theories that the coronavirus roiling the world was present in the U.S. before the outbreak in China, a narrative that also circulated on state media.Such rhetoric has prompted a debate among Chinese diplomats. One official said that Zhao's approach had been vocally welcomed by many inside the foreign ministry. Another expressed relief that Cui had disowned Zhao's "dangerous" remarks.Later Monday, Zhao struck a more conciliatory tone, posting a tweet with photos of cherry blossoms and a plea to "unite to deal with the epidemic." Meanwhile, Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the party's Global Times newspaper, wrote that "whoever stirs up conflict between China and the US will be condemned by history."The comments have also caused anger in Washington, with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo urging China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in a phone call earlier this month to stop trying to "shift blame." Trump has taken to calling the pathogen the "Chinese virus" and has blamed the U.S.'s outbreak on China's early failures to control the disease."As you know China tried to say at one point -- maybe they stopped now -- that it was caused by American soldiers," Trump told reporters March 18. "That can't happen. It's not going to happen, not as long as I'm president. It comes from China."Tamping DownZhao had continued to perpetuate the theory at recently as Sunday, retweeting speculation from a Twitter user who goes by the name "the lizard king" that Covid-19 has been around in America "for a while." The user described themselves as a "fl transplant to the desert," a "mama" and "not an expert."Asked by Axios about Zhao's comments, Cui referred the question back to the spokesman. Cui is appointed directly by Xi and holds a vice-ministerial rank in China's political hierarchy, two levels senior to Zhao."Maybe you could go and ask him," Cui said. "I'm here representing my head of the state and my government."China's foreign ministry has long faced accusations of weakness during periods of heightened nationalism. In the 1990s and 2000s, Chinese diplomats regularly received calcium tablets in the mail from citizens who wanted them to strengthen their backbones, according to people familiar with the matter. Others nicknamed the agency Maiguobu, or "ministry of traitors."On Monday, the foreign ministry sought to tamp down the controversy."The origin of the coronavirus is a matter of science that requires scientific and professional assessment," said Geng, the other spokesman. "All countries need to work together to fight the disease. Trying to shift the blame at this particular time will not help in combating the epidemic at home or help the international response."(Updates with Zhao Lijian tweet under 'Dangerous' Remarks subheadline.)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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| Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine is requesting home confinement over coronavirus fears, arguing that his asthma puts him 'at very high risk of death' in prison Posted: 23 Mar 2020 07:45 AM PDT  The rapper, sentenced to two years in prison last December, has asthma, which his lawyer says could put him at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
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| Rep. Ben McAdams hospitalized with 'severe shortness of breath' after testing positive for coronavirus Posted: 23 Mar 2020 05:01 AM PDT  Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) has been hospitalized after testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.McAdams last week became the second member of Congress to announce they had tested positive for the novel coronavirus after Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), saying he had cold-like symptoms. On Sunday, McAdams announced he had been hospitalized after he "experienced severe shortness of breath" on Friday."I was admitted and have been receiving oxygen as I struggled to maintain my blood oxygen at appropriate levels," McAdams said. "I am now off oxygen and feeling relatively better and expect to be released as soon as the doctor determines it is appropriate."Since McAdams and Diaz-Balart announced they had the novel coronavirus last week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Sunday became the first senator to test positive.In an interview with CNN on Friday, McAdams said he was "feeling about as sick as I've ever been" with "labored breathing" and "pain every time I cough." He also explained that he's living proof of the fact that the coronavirus must be taken seriously."This is not overblown, this is very serious — I'm 45, I'm in good health, and it has knocked me down," he said. "And so we need to follow these guidelines to slow the spread of this. This is going to be bad."More stories from theweek.com Trump aides say he's starting to lose his patience with Dr. Anthony Fauci Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick thinks grandparents should be willing to sacrifice their lives to save the economy Olympics officially postponed until 2021
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| U.S. shames squabbling Afghan leaders' obstinance as pandemic looms Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:23 AM PDT  Rift between President Ashraf Ghani and former Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah — both linked to warlords — put a pall over the deal since its signing.
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| Spain's coronavirus crisis is so uncontrollable that some care-home residents have been abandoned or left dead in their beds and Madrid is using an ice rink as a makeshift morgue Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:46 AM PDT  Spain, the second-worst-affected country in Europe, is struggling to contain the coronavirus outbreak and deal with new deaths.
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| How Anti-Abortion Activists Are Taking Advantage of the Coronavirus Crisis Posted: 24 Mar 2020 06:56 AM PDT  In just two weeks the novel coronavirus managed exactly what anti-abortion activists struggled for nearly five decades to accomplish: it is the biggest threat to…
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| Mexico calls for halt to business that puts people in street Posted: 24 Mar 2020 07:50 AM PDT  Mexican health officials on Tuesday called on all businesses and organizations to suspend work that requires the movement of people. Deputy health secretary Hugo López-Gatell said at a news conference hosted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that work that requires people to travel between home and work sites or be in public spaces must stop. "The moment has arrived where we can make a greater impact with collective strategies," López-Gatell said, now that the virus is being transmitted within the community rather than just imported.
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| 'Friend of coronavirus': Police in north India shame those defying lockdown Posted: 24 Mar 2020 06:43 AM PDT  Police in India's northern city of Meerut are making citizens who break its lockdown hold up signs reading, "I am a friend of coronavirus," or "I am the enemy of society," before posting their pictures on Twitter. Most of India, which had 482 infections and nine deaths by Tuesday, is under lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, including Meerut, in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. Meerut police tweeted a picture of Alim holding a sign that read "I am a friend of coronavirus" with the caption, "Some people do not care about society's safety."
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| Man dies, woman left in critical condition after taking chloroquine phosphate Posted: 24 Mar 2020 04:29 AM PDT  An Arizona woman who was left in critical condition and whose husband died after they {took chloroquine phosphate} said, "Don't believe anything that the president says."
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| Cuomo Blasts Feds: ‘My Mother Is Not Expendable’ Posted: 24 Mar 2020 11:38 AM PDT  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded a dire alarm for his state on Tuesday, saying coronavirus cases are increasing exponentially and options for flattening the curve have already been exhausted.As New York continued to be the epicenter of the crisis, with more than half of all national cases, Cuomo said he didn't agree with suggestions from President Donald Trump and conservative commentators on Monday that the economy might need to be prioritized over the lives of those vulnerable to the flu-like virus."My mother is not expendable and your mother is not expendable and our brothers and sisters are not expendable and we're not going to accept a premise that human life is disposable and we're not going to put a dollar figure on human life," he said, adding that the "stay-at-home" order he passed for New York last week was named after his mother, Matilda.He said he understood Trump's argument that the economy can't be shut down indefinitely but a public health strategy could be synonymous with an economic strategy if people were rigorously tested and then recovered individuals and low-risk people were allowed to return to work. "You can do both but not in a clumsy, ham-handed way. 'Well, we'll just sacrifice old people, they're old people anyway and the old get left behind.' What is this? Some modern Darwinian theory of natural selection? You can't keep up so the band is going to leave you behind?" He said he thought most Americans would not choose the economy over public health. "No American is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life. Because no American is going to say how much a life is worth. Job One has to be 'save lives.'"More than 90,000 tests had been done in New York by Tuesday, resulting in 25,665 positive cases, of which 3,234 were hospitalized. A quarter of those in hospital were in ICUs.The rate of new infections were increasing two-fold every three days, with an apex predicted to hit in 14 to 21 days, Cuomo said on Tuesday. The predicted apex is both higher and sooner than previously thought."That is a dramatic increase," Cuomo said in a somber briefing, adding that the increases were no longer akin to a freight train but "a bullet train.""Those are troubling and astronomical numbers," he said. "We haven't flattened the curve, and the curve is actually increasing."The governor said every option for flattening the curve—like shutting down non-essential businesses and increasing testing—had been exhausted and the most promising option left was to increase hospital beds.Despite four temporary hospitals being set up in convention centers and university halls, and existing hospitals being asked to increase capacity by 100 percent, the state would not meet the 140,000 new hospital beds required, he said—a huge increase on the 53,000 current beds. New York is looking at converting SUNY and CUNY dorms and New York hotels into hospitals, too. "I will turn this state upside down to get the number of beds we need but we need the staff for those beds."The governor appeared furious as he accused the federal government of keeping much-needed medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) in the federal stockpile at the expense of New Yorkers' lives."How can you have New Yorkers possibly dying because they can't get a ventilator but a federal agency saying I'm going to leave the ventilators in a stockpile?" he said. "I mean, have we really come to that point?"Governors Like Cuomo Must Save Us From Trump's Coronavirus MadnessNew York had procured 7,000 ventilators but needed 30,000, he said. There were no more available on international markets and FEMA had offered to send just 400 out of 20,000 held in the Strategic National Stockpile—a repository of pharmaceuticals and medical products for use in a public-health emergency. Vice President Mike Pence responded about an hour later on Fox News, saying another 2,000 ventilators had been deployed to New York from the national stockpile on Tuesday morning, and another 2,000 would be deployed on Wednesday."We have a ways to go yet," he said. "It's the reason why we are marshaling all the resources, not just from the national stockpile but from our existing supply in hospitals, and the equipment that can be converted."Trump punched back at Cuomo during a Fox News interview on Tuesday, appearing to reference a report on right-wing opinion site Gateway Pundit that cited claims by former New York Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey that Cuomo declined to buy 16,000 ventilators in 2015. "He shouldn't be talking about us. He's supposed to buying his own ventilators," Trump said. "We're gonna help... we're building him four hospitals, we're building him four medical centers, we're working very, very hard for the people of New York... and then I watch him complaining." New York hospitals were hooking two people up to one ventilator, which was difficult and experimental, Cuomo said Tuesday, adding that it made sense for ventilators to be sent to the epicenter first, then recycled and sent to other cities as their cases begin to spike."New York is the canary in the coalmine," he said. "What happens to New York is going to wind up happening to California and Washington state and Illinois, it's just a matter of time... Deal with the issue here first."He said hospitals in New York were starting to test the use of hydroxychloroquine and zithromax on Tuesday, an anti-malaria drug touted by Trump as a possible treatment for COVID-19 symptoms.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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| Trump administration threatens to cut funding to Afghanistan — report Posted: 24 Mar 2020 07:22 AM PDT  Amid fears the coronavirus outbreak soon could ravage Afghanistan, the Trump administration is threatening to shut off US aid as talks towards a power-sharing pact sputter.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Kabul for meetings on Monday, making clear that the White House is prepared to slash $1bn in assistance funding this year and next unless the two sides can broker a deal.
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| This is how South Korea flattened its coronavirus curve Posted: 24 Mar 2020 08:31 AM PDT  South Korea's COVID-19 infection rates have been falling for two weeks thanks to a rigorous testing regime and clear public information.
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| Does alcohol weaken the immune system? Yes, if you drink too much Posted: 23 Mar 2020 09:19 AM PDT  Excessive alcohol consumption weakens the immune system and can lead to a range of health problems. Here's what you need to know.
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| Iran rejects 'foreign' help as virus death toll nears 2,000 Posted: 24 Mar 2020 11:36 AM PDT  A senior Iranian official Tuesday ruled out "foreign" help on the ground to deal with the coronavirus epidemic after an offer from a France-based medical charity, as the country's death toll from the illness neared 2,000. "Due to Iran's national mobilisation against the virus and the full use of the medical capacity of the armed forces, it is not necessary for now for hospital beds to be set up by foreign forces, and their presence is ruled out," Alireza Vahabzadeh, advisor to Iran's health minister, said on Twitter. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour earlier said a record 1,762 new cases have been confirmed in Iran over the past 24 hours and 24,811 people are now known to have been infected with the new coronavirus.
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| India implements most extensive stay-at-home order in the world with 3-week lockdown Posted: 24 Mar 2020 08:52 AM PDT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the world's most extensive national lockdown amid the novel coronavirus pandemic Tuesday. India's 1.3 billion — who account for nearly one-fifth of the world's population — will be ordered to remain in their homes for the next three weeks as the country, like the rest of the world, looks to curb the virus' spread."To save India and every Indian, there will be a total ban on venturing out of your homes," he said.The measures aren't necessarily stricter than those imposed in other countries — people will still be able to leave their homes for essential services like groceries and medicine — but the scope is unprecedented because of the massive population.Modi also pledged $2 billion to aid the country's health care system and increase testing. So far, India's confirmed COVID-19 cases remain relatively low at just over 500, but there's a sense that a lack of testing is behind the figure, and there are fears that without protective measures the number could increase rapidly. Read more at CNBC.More stories from theweek.com Britney Spears calls for wealth redistribution, general strike on Instagram Greta Thunberg says she's recovering from what she believes was 'very likely' a mild case of COVID-19 Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally is now 'the most notable victim' of COVID-19
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| Russia sends ship with military ambulances toward Syria after virus outbreak Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:15 AM PDT  A cargo ship operated by the Russian Navy transited Turkey's Bosphorus strait en route to Syria on Tuesday loaded with ambulances, a Reuters reporter saw. Syria reported its first case of coronavirus on Sunday after weeks of rejecting opposition allegations that the disease had already reached a country with a wrecked health system and thousands of Iranian-backed militias and Shi'ite pilgrims. The Russian Dvinitsa-50 ship, part of Moscow's auxiliary fleet, was carrying at least three military ambulances along with a shipping container on its deck.
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| Former Trump Fixer Michael Cohen Denied Coronavirus Prison Break Posted: 24 Mar 2020 09:40 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- A federal judge brutally shot down a request by Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, to be let out early from a three-year prison sentence due in part to his fears of contracting the coronavirus.Cohen's "raising the specter" of the virus in a court filing last week was just "another attempt to inject himself into the news cycle," U.S. District Judge William Pauley ruled Tuesday in New York.In a March 17 letter to the judge, Cohen, 53, asked to be allowed to finish his sentence at home due to his fears of contracting Covid-19 at a minimum-security federal prison camp in Otisville, New York. He already requested early release or home confinement in December based on his cooperation with authorities.Pauley rejected both of Cohen's requests, saying the former lawyer had not shown he was in any danger at the prison camp and that he had exaggerated his role in assisting prosecutors, who also opposed letting him out.The judge said it was time for Cohen to "accept the consequences of his criminal convictions for serious crimes that had far-reaching institutional harms."Once one of the president's closest associates, Cohen pleaded guilty in August 2018 to campaign finance violations related to his arrangement of hush-money payments to women claiming to have had affairs with Trump, including adult-film star Stormy Daniels. After he was charged, Cohen turned on his old boss, calling Trump a racist, a con man and a cheat at a congressional hearing.Cohen began serving his sentence in May.The case is U.S. v. Cohen, 18-cr-00602, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).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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| COVID-19 closures could hit historically black colleges particularly hard Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:16 AM PDT  As the COVID-19 crisis forces many schools to close their campuses and move all courses online, some worry that the pandemic could have a bigger negative impact on the nation's historically black colleges and universities, than for other campuses. Here, The Conversation US has assembled a panel of experts to forecast what's in store for HBCUs. How is the outbreak is affecting HBCUs?Marybeth Gasman, professor of education at Rutgers University: I am worried about the technology demands on HBCUs, given how few IT specialists many smaller HBCUs have as well as the costs of managing online classes. I'm also worried about students not having access to Wi-Fi at home or laptops – 75% of HBCU students are eligible for Pell Grants for students from low- to middle-income families. I'm happy to see some HBCUs – Paul Quinn College, in Dallas, Texas, for example – lending students laptops for the rest of the semester.HBCUs rely a lot on tuition and have smaller endowments than other schools. If these HBCUs get into financial trouble, they risk losing their accreditation since financial stability is one part of what it takes to remain accredited. Without accreditation, it is nearly impossible to recruit students.Ivory Toldson, professor of counseling psychology at Howard University: In 2008, during the Great Recession, The New York Times published an article that mentioned an old saying: "When America catches a cold, African-Americans catch the flu." This applies to HBCUs. Disruptions in enrollment and fundraising efforts, as well as closed dorms, prorated rebates, and lost revenue from food services and university bookstores will short-circuit normal streams of revenue for all universities. But HBCUs might see worse effects because they have less money to begin with.The challenge of abruptly moving to a virtual learning environment may adversely impact HBCUs more than other schools. Most do not have the technical capacity to deliver quality online classes. Even those with the technical capacity will have challenges if their students do not have adequate computers and broadband at home.Gregory Price, professor of economics, University of New Orleans: To the extent that HBCUs, relative to other schools, owe more debt tied to their dorms, the absence of students in residential on-campus housing could constitute a severe revenue shock. Perhaps an extreme example of this is the case of Bethune Cookman. The private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida is obligated to spend about US$306 million to pay off debt it took on to build a new dorm. If the outbreak continues, many of Bethune Cookman's dorm rooms could wind up empty, as enrollment was already declining before this pandemic began. If that happens, it would reduce revenues to pay off the debt on the housing.In general, I believe that prolonged closures could make it harder to pay off debt for new student housing at many HBCUs, which could move them closer to the financial brink. Do HBCUs have rainy day funds?Gasman: No. Because HBCUs have small or relatively small endowments and because they educate some of the most socioeconomically vulnerable students, they face a disproportionately high level of risk right now. HBCUs are similar to families without substantial savings. HBCUs are funded heavily by tuition. Any drop in enrollment, which could happen by way of students not returning next year or not enrolling next year, will be devastating. Keep in mind that, with few exceptions, HBCUs have rarely gotten large donations. When institutions have a long history of being underfunded, they can't build the same foundations as those that do. What, if anything, should the federal government do to help HBCUs now?Gasman: HBCUs are vitally important to African Americans and other students as well. Their outsized contributions in STEM, in the preparation of students for graduate school and in medicine are essential to the representation of African Americans across these areas. Without HBCUs, we would see an immediate drop in the number of new black scientists, black professors and black doctors.In my view, the federal government could and should support a stimulus package for HBCUs to help them through this dire time. Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat from North Carolina, is already working with input from the United Negro College Fund and Thurgood Marshall College Fund, two organizations that support students at HBCUs, on an initiative along these lines.I'd like to see the federal government invest in HBCU infrastructure, technology and institutional aid so that HBCUs can attract more students.Toldson: I think the federal government should provide emergency relief for revenue loss from unexpected closures, including the cost of having to reschedule commencements. The government should also provide support to students who had to spend money to relocate once their campuses closed.Price: A coronavirus stimulus package could include giving $1,000 for every enrolled student at an HBCU per academic year. For a private institution like Bennett College, in Greensboro, North Carolina – with approximately 500 students – this would translate into approximately $500,000 to offset declines in housing revenue. Can HBCUs rely on private philanthropy during this emergency?Gasman: No. Some big donors and foundations give to HBCUs but not in a way that will help them survive this crisis. In addition, HBCU alumni – for the most part – can't afford to give in the ways that are needed. The average African American family has roughly $5,888 in assets compared to the average white family's $88,000. Being wealthier makes people feel more free to give.Price: Probably not, as philanthropy targeted at HBCUs continues to lag significantly behind other schools. In 2019, the top seven predominantly or historically white colleges landed $2.94 billion in donations, versus just $43 million for the nation's 100 or so HBCUs. Are any HBCUs in danger of permanently closing?Gasman: Yes, but only those that were already in dire straits. And I'm not even convinced that they will close in those cases. I began doing research related to HBCUs in 1994, and I have listened to people say over and over that HBCUs are going to close. Someone will predict the imminent closure of 30-40 about every five years. They are always wrong. A few have closed but not many. Many colleges are closing and so yes, some HBCUs are in danger, but most HBCUs are incredibly resilient.Toldson: In my opinion, only the HBCUs that had – to borrow a phrase commonly used throughout this pandemic – preexisting conditions. HBCUs that are under-enrolled or financially impaired, with infrastructural issues, such as unfilled leadership positions, accreditation issues and subpar facilities, could have serious problems rebounding.Price: Yes, private HBCUs who are unable to withstand the declines in enrollment and the associated revenue similar to those that led to the closure of St. Paul's College, in Lawrenceville, Virginia, in 2013. Currently, several HBCUs have been placed on probation by their regional accreditor for financial instability reasons. If the coronavirus continues to keep their dorms empty, the revenue shock from the pandemic could conceivably cause those in a financial situation similar to St. Paul's College to close their doors.[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read our newsletter.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Historically black colleges give graduates a wage boost * Why historically black colleges and universities matter in today's AmericaIvory A. Toldson is affiliated with Howard University. Marybeth Gasman is a member of the board of trustees at Paul Quinn College. Gregory N. Price 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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| 'A mess in America': Why Asia now looks safer than the U.S. in the coronavirus crisis Posted: 23 Mar 2020 07:09 PM PDT  In a clear sign that the U.S. botched its coronavirus response, some Americans are relieved they stayed in countries closest to the outbreak's origin.
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| Puerto Ricans are vigilant as coronavirus response, hurricane recovery coincide Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:23 PM PDT  "This is the third, and newest, threat or crisis that Puerto Rico faces. So, in my opinion, all options have to be on the table," Erica González of Power 4 Puerto Rico said.
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