| GOP governor: Hundreds asked about ingesting disinfectants after Trump coronavirus briefing Posted: 26 Apr 2020 08:37 AM PDT  Gov. Larry Hogan said he had to put out a warning after a surge in calls asking about the president's off-the-cuff medical advice at a White House briefing.
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| Louisiana officer killed, another wounded; suspect arrested after hourslong standoff Posted: 27 Apr 2020 04:51 AM PDT  Ronnie Kato, 36, was detained after a roughly four-hour standoff in which he barricaded inside a house, police said.
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| Maduro taps US fugitive to revamp Venezuela oil industry Posted: 27 Apr 2020 12:44 PM PDT  President Nicolás Maduro on Monday named a powerful ally sanctioned by the U.S. as a drug kingpin, along with a cousin of the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez, to revamp Venezuela's oil industry amid massive gasoline shortages. Tareck El Aissami was appointed oil minister and Asdrúbal Chávez tapped to head of state-run oil giant PDVSA.
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| China envoy threatens Australia boycott over virus inquest demand Posted: 27 Apr 2020 12:00 AM PDT  China's ambassador in Australia has warned that demands for a probe into the spread of the coronavirus could lead to a consumer boycott of Aussie wine or trips Down Under. Australia has joined the United States in calling for a thorough investigation of how the virus transformed from a localised epidemic in central China into a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 people, forced billions into isolation and torpedoed the global economy. In a thinly veiled threat, ambassador Cheng Jingye warned the push for an independent inquest into the origins of the outbreak was "dangerous".
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| U.S. Supreme Court sidesteps major gun rights ruling but more cases loom Posted: 27 Apr 2020 07:38 AM PDT  The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a National Rifle Association-backed challenge to New York City restrictions on handgun owners transporting their firearms outside the home, avoiding for now the battle over the scope of the right to bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. There are other cases pending that could give the court's conservative majority a chance to widen gun rights including challenges to assault weapon bans in Massachusetts and Cook County, Illinois, and permit requirements to carry firearms outside the home in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland. The justices in an unsigned decision threw out the New York dispute because the measure that was challenged by individual gun owners and the state's affiliate of the influential NRA was rolled back by the city last July, rendering the case moot.
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| A couple returning to New Zealand from overseas documented each day of their government-enforced coronavirus quarantine, which included a 4-star hotel, daily supervised walks, and gourmet meals Posted: 26 Apr 2020 07:33 PM PDT  The two travelers said on their Instagram page that there was "just too much" food being delivered to them while on lockdown at an upscale hotel.
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| Mitch McConnell's state bankruptcy idea may be 'dumb' but it isn't stupid Posted: 27 Apr 2020 05:25 AM PDT  If Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) manages to block aid to state and local governments in the next coronavirus relief bill, one result would be longer and deeper financial pain for the U.S., The Washington Post reports. And McConnell's idea that states should be allowed to declare bankruptcy makes no sense and would hurt everyone, Josh Barro explains at New York. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) described McConnell's bankruptcy idea as "one of the really dumb ideas of all time."State and local governments employ 13 percent of the U.S. workforce. "Without emergency relief as their revenues crater, state and local governments will not be able to run key programs like unemployment insurance, social services, housing assistance, and small business outreach needed to protect people and businesses in this crisis," tweeted Amy Liu, director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. An unidentified local government budget expert told the Post: "If you want to send the country into an extended depression, sending state and local governments into bankruptcy is a great way to do it."But "state bankruptcy is not some passing fancy," writes David Frum at The Atlantic. "Republicans have been advancing the idea for more than a decade." And McConnell is trying to use this fiscal crisis — states are projected to lose at least 25 percent of their revenue even as health care, welfare, and unemployment costs shoot up — to make it a reality while he still can.McConnell doesn't represent Kentucky so much as "the richest people in bigger, richer blue states who find it more economical to invest in less expensive small-state races," Frum writes. These wealthy donors want to gut pension funds and enact other fiscal policies anathema to voters in their states. "A federal bankruptcy process for state finances could thus enable wealthy individuals and interest groups in rich states to leverage their clout in the anti-majoritarian federal system to reverse political defeats in the more majoritarian political systems of big, rich states like California, New York, and Illinois," Frum explains. "McConnell gets it. Now you do, too." If not, read more at The Atlantic.More stories from theweek.com Everybody Loves Raymond creator highlights the people who stand behind Trump, literally and awkwardly American optimism is becoming a problem Oxford researchers have reportedly received promising news about their coronavirus vaccine
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| Italy is set to begin easing its coronavirus restrictions on May 4 after nearly 2 months of lockdown. But some measures may stay in place until there's a vaccine. Posted: 26 Apr 2020 08:46 PM PDT  Despite the easing of restrictions, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told his nation: "If you love Italy, keep your distance."
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| These are the 6 new possible symptoms of the coronavirus the CDC added to its list Posted: 27 Apr 2020 05:16 AM PDT  Chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a loss of taste or smell are the new symptoms added to the CDC list.
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| Trump news: President cancels briefing before quickly changing his mind, as US coronavirus cases approach 1 million Posted: 27 Apr 2020 07:37 AM PDT  Following furious social media posts about media criticism over his dangerous suggestion that disinfectant could treat coronavirus, Donald Trump returned to the White House for the first briefing since making those remarks, though he had signalled over the weekend that they were no longer worth his time.White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also said the briefings would return later in the week in a different form.
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| Home of 'Duck Dynasty' star Willie Robertson struck by gunfire Posted: 26 Apr 2020 06:34 PM PDT  "They were just spraying bullets across my property," Robertson told a local newspaper.
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| Mexico continues tug of war with firms over virus outbreak Posted: 27 Apr 2020 02:00 PM PDT  Mexico's government continued its tug of war with businesses on Monday, pledging to reopen factories vital to the U.S. economy while shaming others that refuse to close under lockdown measures decreed to fight the spread of the coronavirus. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also said he didn't like businessmen going out to seek loans from international lending agencies, further angering the business sector. Under U.S. pressure, Mexico pledged Friday to reopen automotive plants in a "gradual and cautious" process.
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| Pentagon downplays Iran military satellite as 'tumbling webcam' Posted: 27 Apr 2020 06:30 AM PDT  The head of the US Space Command said the Pentagon believes that Iran's first successful launch of a military satellite into space does not pose any intelligence threat. The Nour satellite placed into orbit on April 22 is classified by the US military as a small 3U Cubesat, three adjoined units each no more than a liter in volume and less than 1.3 kilograms (one pound) each, said General Jay Raymond in a tweet late Sunday. "Iran states it has imaging capabilities -- actually, it's a tumbling webcam in space; unlikely providing intel," he wrote.
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| House Speaker Pelosi says may look at guaranteed income, other aid Posted: 27 Apr 2020 06:36 AM PDT  U.S. lawmakers may need to think of different ways to put money in Americans' pockets if coronavirus aid does not reach enough people and may look at providing a minimum guaranteed income, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday. The Democratic House leader was asked if $310 billion in fresh small business aid due to be released by the government on Monday would help enough Americans. "Let's see what works, what is operational and what needs attention," Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC.
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| After sailing into New York less than a month ago, the USNS Comfort is set to discharge its last coronavirus patient Posted: 26 Apr 2020 09:19 AM PDT  According to a report by ABC7, the USNS Comfort will be discharging its last coronavirus patient on Sunday, April 26 and returning to its homeport.
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| US was warned of threat from anti-vaxxers in event of pandemic Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:30 AM PDT  FBI-connected researchers suggested biggest threat in controlling outbreak was from 'those who categorically reject vaccination'America's "anti-vaxxer movement" would pose a threat to national security in the event of a "pandemic with a novel organism", an FBI-connected non-profit research group warned last year, just months before the global coronavirus pandemic began.In a research paper put out by the little-known in-house journal of InfraGard – a national security group affiliated with the FBI – experts warned the US anti-vaccine movement would also be connected with "social media misinformation and propaganda campaigns" orchestrated by the Russian government.Since the virus hit America, anti-vaccination activists and some sympathetic legislators around the country have led or participated in protests against stay-at-home orders designed to slow the spread of the deadly virus. More than 50,000 people have died in the US.On its website, InfraGard says it is an "FBI-affiliated nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening national security" with a mission to protect "United States critical infrastructure". It says it consists of local chapters and that "an FBI special agent from each field office is assigned to serve as a private sector coordinator".The paper, jointly written by a security consultant and a senior doctor in New York State's largest hospital network, warned: "The biggest threat in controlling an outbreak comes from those who categorically reject vaccination."The paper, entitled The Anti-Vaxxers Movement and National Security, was co-written by Dr Mark Jarrett, the chief quality officer, senior vice-president and associate chief medical officer at Northwell Health; and Christine Sublett, a health industry-focused cybersecurity consultant.It lays out a pandemic scenario remarkably similar to the one now afflicting the US along with most of the world, including that "social distancing and isolation have impacts that include loss of manufactured goods, reduced food supply, and other disruptions to the supply chain".The article then turns to the anti-vaccine movement, arguing that sufficient resistance to vaccination would hobble the chances of reaching herd immunity to a highly infectious pathogen.The paper also says that such movements have received a boost in recent years due to their "alignment with other conspiracy movements including the far right … and social media misinformation and propaganda campaigns by many foreign and domestic actors. Included among these actors is the Internet Research Agency, the Russian government–aligned organization."Ben Harris-Roxas at the University of New South Wales, an expert on public health, endorsed the epidemiological reasoning in the paper."Vaccine hesitancy represents a significant threat – not just for any Covid-19 vaccine that might be developed, but also to measures that might assist people and health services now, such as people getting flu vaccinations," he said.Others expressed concerns about the implications of a paper defining a specific group as a national security threat being published under the imprimatur of the FBI.Michael German, a Brennan Center fellow and former FBI agent and whistleblower, said he was worried about the unintended consequences of defining a group as a national security threat based on their beliefs, and how that might feed into both policy and law enforcement decisions."You can imagine some young police officer who's trying to do a good job protecting his or her community. And all of a sudden he's told that anti-vaxxers are Russian agents."German added that "the lack of proper government preparation and stockpiles of medical materials to respond to a pandemic was a much more serious problem than the influence of a relatively small group of anti-vaxxers could ever be, but it is hard to argue with the need for a science-based policy approach".InfraGard has been criticized by civil liberties groups from its origins as a security national entity and links to the FBI. An FBI spokesperson said: "InfraGard is a non-profit organization serving as a public-private partnership among US businesses, individuals, and the FBI."The spokesperson added, "It is important to distinguish among the statements, views, and comments made by official FBI representatives and InfraGard Members", and declined further comment.InfraGard Journal's editor, Dr Ryan Williams, said in a telephone conversation that the journal was peer-reviewed, but received an additional layer of oversight from InfraGard's board, which includes senior FBI officials and representatives from other partner groups.Dr Jarrett said the paper had been inspired by the experience of the measles outbreak of early 2019, and its predictions were being borne out in the current crisis."Take the pandemic now," he said. "If they come out with a vaccine and you have 15% of people saying, 'I don't want to take it, I don't believe in it, it's going to cause harm', you're never going to get up to the level of herd immunity to really shut off the process."
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| Coronavirus is a lurking danger for pregnant women. Congress should act: March of Dimes Posted: 27 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT  COVID-19 calls for studies focused on pregnant women and infants. And ensure that every pregnant woman in the USA has insurance and access to care.
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| Supreme Court seeks additional briefs in disputes over Trump's financial records Posted: 27 Apr 2020 09:07 AM PDT  The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments May 12 in legal battles over the president's efforts to shield his financial records from congressional committees and New York investigators.
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| E.R. doc on COVID-19 'front lines' died by suicide Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:18 PM PDT  Dr. Lorna Breen was a "hero who brought the highest ideals of medicine to the challenging front lines of the emergency department," the hospital said in a statement.
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| US review: Airstrike in Somalia killed, injured civilians Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:04 AM PDT  An American military airstrike in Somalia more than a year ago killed two civilians and injured three others, U.S. Africa Command acknowledged in a new report on Monday. The deaths, confirmed by an internal investigation, mark only the second time Africa Command has determined that civilians were killed in a military strike in Somalia. The decision comes even as U.S. airstrikes against the al-Qaida linked al-Shabab extremist group this year are increasingly outpacing 2019 totals.
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| Erdogan defends Turkey religious chief's anti-gay sermon Posted: 27 Apr 2020 11:55 AM PDT  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday defended a top religious official who claimed homosexuality caused diseases, corrupted people and was condemned in Islamic teaching. Ali Erbas, head of a state-funded agency called the Diyanet, which runs mosques and appoints imams, also claimed during his weekly sermon that homosexuality caused HIV. The Ankara bar association of lawyers accused him of inciting hatred against gay people while ignoring child abuse and misogyny.
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| Mexico all but empties official migrant centers in bid to contain coronavirus Posted: 26 Apr 2020 02:25 PM PDT  Mexico has almost entirely cleared out government migrant centers over the past five weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, returning most of the occupants to their countries of origin, official data showed on Sunday. In a statement, the National Migration Institute (INM) said that since March 21, in order to comply with health and safety guidelines, it had been removing migrants from its 65 migrant facilities, which held 3,759 people last month. In the intervening weeks, Mexico has returned 3,653 migrants to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador by road and air, with the result that only 106 people remain in the centers, it said.
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| A 'nanofiber' mask fabric manufactured in Oklahoma filters 9 times as many tiny, potentially dangerous particles as a bandana, independent tests show. Here's how you can buy it. Posted: 26 Apr 2020 05:35 AM PDT  Here's what you need to know about an Oklahoma company called Filti that's selling material for homemade masks.
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| Coronavirus impact: Meat processing plants weigh risks of prosecution if they're blamed for spreading infection Posted: 27 Apr 2020 10:54 AM PDT  Tyson Foods recently suspended production at its Waterloo, Iowa, pork processing plant due to a growing coronavirus outbreak among employees. The plant was Tyson's largest, employing some 2,800 workers and processing 19,500 pigs a day. At least 180 confirmed infections originated from the plant, about half of all cases in the county.It's not the first meat processing plant to close. In the U.S., at least eight have halted in recent weeks, affecting over 15% of the nation's pork processing capacity. As a result, pig farmers have begun euthanizing hundreds and potentially tens of thousands of animals that can't be processed – raising fears of a meat shortage on grocery shelves. Managers at essential companies like Tyson considering plant shutdowns over coronavirus are weighing a variety of factors, from worker safety and profits to keeping afloat a US$230 billion segment of the U.S. economy that supplies food for hundreds of millions of Americans.As a corporate and white-collar crime scholar, I believe there's another variable they're weighing: criminal liability. Coronavirus crimePut simply, executives at food companies like Tyson face a heightened risk of criminal prosecution for the decisions they make. This is due to a quirk in American law, known as the "responsible corporate officer doctrine," that allows senior executives in certain industries to be held criminally responsible for wrongdoing at their companies – even if they've never set foot in a plant or factory.In the case of the coronavirus pandemic, potential criminal liability stems from a meatpacking facility sending out a contaminated product and knowing there was an outbreak among employees. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not found evidence that COVID-19 has been transmitted through meat or poultry, public health officials have said that coronavirus strains can live at low and freezing temperatures and on food packaging. And so much about the risks of COVID-19 are uncertain and evolving that companies need to be on their toes. In addition, there's the danger that if plants stay in operation without enough workers, there's a greater risk for other types of food contamination, like of E. coli or salmonella. And the Food and Drug Administration has reduced the number of inspections during the outbreak, which doesn't limit the criminal liability of executives if tainted food reaches a consumer. This means food safety procedures are paramount to keeping the public safe. Executives that don't take steps to ensure those procedures are in place – for example, by keeping processing lines going as usual while employee infections spike – are at risk of ignoring their legal duties and becoming a "responsible corporate officer."Normally, criminal law insists that a defendant must be aware that he's doing something wrong to be held liable. But courts have decided that this element of intent can be ignored in limited situations where the public's health and welfare are at stake – namely, in the making of drugs and in food production. 'Strict liability'Although the responsible corporate officer doctrine is an anomaly in the criminal law, it has a lengthy history. In 1943, the Supreme Court in United States v. Dotterweich found that the president and general manager of a pharmaceutical company was liable for the misbranding of the company's drugs that were later distributed across state lines. In upholding his conviction under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the court stated that there need not be a showing that Joseph Dotterweich knew of the illegal activity. The court reasoned that Congress had balanced the relative hardships that came from imposing "strict liability" on corporate executives who had a "responsible share" in the illegal conduct and those imposed on the innocent public "who are wholly helpless." Dotterweich was found guilty by a jury and had to pay a small fine. Thirty years later, in United States v. Park, the Supreme Court again considered the responsible corporate officer doctrine, this time specific to food distribution. John Park, president and CEO of a national food chain, was charged with violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for allowing food to be shipped from company warehouses infested with rats.Although the contamination occurred in locations Park did not personally oversee, the court found him responsible. The court held that the food act imposes not only a positive duty to seek out and remedy violations but also a duty to "implement measures that will insure that violations will not occur." While this standard is demanding, the court conceded, the public has a right to expect executives to assume such a standard when taking positions of authority that affect the health and well-being of the public. He was required to pay a small fine. While the penalties in responsible corporate officer cases have mostly been minor, some have involved months of jail time. For example, in 2016, the Eighth Circuit not only upheld the conviction of two executive owners of a large Iowa egg production company for not preventing a salmonella outbreak, but also their three-month jail sentences. Relying on the previous Supreme Court rulings, the court in United States v. DeCoster brushed aside arguments that jailing the the owner and his son for a strict liability crime violated the Constitution. The punishment was proportionate and reasonable, the court found, for those overseeing "egregious" safety and sanitation procedures that allowed salmonella-contaminated eggs to enter the market and sicken consumers. Executive dutiesSo what does this mean for executives at American food companies today? While it would be easy for those executives with responsibility over our nation's food supply to defer to others, such as governors or the president, that thinking ignores their own duties – legal and ethical – as well as their own criminal risk.The law is clear that even if an executive is not involved in the day-to-day operations of production, he or she could be held criminally responsible for the distribution of contaminated food. That's one more risk to weigh in the decision to keep the plant doors open. Let's see if it tips the balance. [Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.]
Este artículo se vuelve a publicar de The Conversation, un medio digital sin fines de lucro dedicado a la diseminación de la experticia académica. Lee mas:
Todd Haugh 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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| Lives Lost: Virus fells double-lung transplant daredevil Posted: 26 Apr 2020 09:31 PM PDT  Before her double-lung transplant, Joanne Mellady could barely put on a shirt without losing her breath. Mellady, who died of the coronavirus in March, had a bucket list that made her family blush. Before her death, Mellady was talking of a return visit to Alaska this summer and of participating again in the Transplant Games (now postponed).
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| Coronavirus can linger in the air of crowded spaces or toilets for hours, study finds Posted: 27 Apr 2020 11:00 AM PDT  Covid-19 can linger for hours in the air of crowded spaces and rooms such as toilets that lack ventilation, according to a new study by scientists who now recommended wearing masks in public. While the transmission of the coronavirus from direct human contact and through respiratory droplets, such as coughing or sneezing, is clear, the potential for airborne transmission is much less understood. The World Health Organisation has said the risk is limited to very specific circumstances, pointing to an analysis of more than 75,000 cases in China in which no transmission from breathing or talking was recorded. However, a study carried out by scientists from the University of Wuhan and published on Monday in the scientific research journal Nature, suggests the virus can potentially remain in the fair or some time in areas with poor ventilation. The study took samples from 30 sites across Wuhan, China, where the novel virus was first reported, including inside hospitals as well as public areas of the city during the height of its outbreak in February and March. It found levels of airborne virus particles in the majority of public areas was too low to be detectable, except in two areas prone to crowding - including the entrance of a department store.
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| Trump ‘can't imagine why’ there are increased reports of people misusing disinfectants Posted: 27 Apr 2020 04:30 PM PDT  President Trump on Monday said he "can't imagine why" there have been more reports of people misusing disinfectants after his comments on the subject last week.
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| Russia's stranded migrants lose jobs, rely on handouts and peers for food Posted: 27 Apr 2020 02:37 AM PDT  Even before Moscow's coronavirus lockdown, Ibragim Artykov, a builder from Tajikistan, was down on his luck. Now the 32-year-old, one of 10 million labour migrants in Russia, can't find a job at all because of the coronavirus lockdown that is four weeks old. President Vladimir Putin has said the epidemic is yet to peak.
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| Dr. Fauci says testing needs to be doubled before the US reopens the economy, as over a dozen states set to roll back coronavirus restrictions Posted: 26 Apr 2020 08:34 AM PDT  Dr. Fauci said that the US is conducting 1.5 to 2 million tests per week and that it should probably "get up to twice that."
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| COVID-19 and gun violence: Mayors fight double health crisis Posted: 27 Apr 2020 12:21 PM PDT  Everytown for Gun Safety offers new guidelines for mayors struggling with a "perfect storm"
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| Trump cancels daily coronavirus press briefing – then appears unable to resist Posted: 27 Apr 2020 08:17 AM PDT  The White House cancelled a planned Monday afternoon coronavirus task force briefing, the third consecutive day Donald Trump was not scheduled to appear for what had become his daily – and chaotic – Covid-19 press conference. But, later, his press secretary tweeted that Mr Trump would indeed brief the country on Monday evening."UPDATE: The White House has additional testing guidance and other announcements about safely opening up America again. President @realDonaldTrump will brief the nation during a press conference this evening," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted.
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| Detroit health care worker dies after being denied coronavirus test 4 times, daughter says Posted: 27 Apr 2020 05:33 PM PDT  Kaila Corrothers said that when she thinks of her mother, Deborah Gatewood, there is one thought that lingers: "This did not have to happen this way."
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| Joe Manganiello looks like a completely different person without his beard — no, seriously Posted: 27 Apr 2020 09:12 AM PDT  The actor looked unrecognizable without any facial hair in photos that he and Sofia Vergara posted on Instagram on Sunday.
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| Mass virus testing in state prisons reveals hidden asymptomatic infections; feds join effort Posted: 27 Apr 2020 12:04 PM PDT  Increased testing is proving just as crucial in assessing the coronavirus' spread within prisons as it is in the free world.
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| U.S. faces tough U.N. battle if it pushes plan to extend Iran arms embargo Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:22 PM PDT  The United States faces a tough, messy battle if it uses a threat to trigger a return of all United Nations sanctions on Iran as leverage to get the 15-member Security Council to extend and strengthen an arms embargo on Tehran, diplomats said. Washington has shared its strategy, confirmed by a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity, with Britain, France and Germany, who are council members and parties to the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that prevents Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief.
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| A stark photo of a packed American Airlines flight reveals that airlines are ignoring social distancing, even though they say they're blocking seats and spacing out passengers Posted: 27 Apr 2020 11:49 AM PDT  As states lift coronavirus lockdowns and some people resume traveling, it will be harder for airlines to enable social distancing.
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| Anti-vaxxer apologizes after refusing to leave children's playground Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:27 AM PDT  An anti-vaccination activist in Idaho who was arrested for refusing to leave a children's playground has apologized to police.
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| Catholic Church angry after Italian government refuses to lift ban on religious services Posted: 27 Apr 2020 06:29 AM PDT  The Catholic Church in Italy is angry over the government's refusal to allow the faithful to attend religious services, as the country edges towards a cautious relaxation of coronavirus lockdown rules. Under a new decree announced on Sunday night by the prime minister, businesses, factories and building sites will be allowed to restart on May 4 and people will be allowed out of their homes to exercise. Public parks will be reopened and children will be allowed out for fresh air and exercise, Giuseppe Conte said. But the government said churches and cathedrals would remain closed to congregations because there remained a high risk of the virus being spread. Elderly people are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 and make up a high proportion of Italy's dwindling churchgoers. "I understand that freedom of worship is a fundamental people's right," the prime minister said. "I understand your suffering. But we must continue discussing this further with the scientific committee." The Italian Bishops' Conference accused the government of "arbitrarily" compromising religious freedom. The decree also exposed divisions within the government, with some ministers calling for congregations to be allowed to return to churches. "So, we can safely visit a museum but we can't celebrate a religious service? This decision is incomprehensible. It must be changed," tweeted Elena Bonetti, the equal opportunities minister. Catholic leaders said the Church was working hard to alleviate the suffering of the poor and the marginalised during the coronavirus emergency. "It should be clear to all that the commitment to serving the poor, [which is] so significant in this emergency, stems from a faith that must be nourished at its source, especially the sacramental life", the bishops' conference said.
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| South Africa's inequalities exposed by virus, says leader Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:21 AM PDT  The coronavirus is highlighting South Africa's stark inequalities, 26 years after the end of the country's apartheid regime of racial oppression, the president told the nation on Monday. President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Freedom Day, the public holiday marking the country's first democratic elections in 1994, that the fight against COVID-19 is underscoring the lasting disparities between South Africa's rich and poor. "Some people have been able to endure the coronavirus lockdown in a comfortable home with a fully stocked fridge, with private medical care and online learning for their children," said Ramaphosa in the televised address.
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| The White House is reportedly discussing a plan to replace HHS chief Azar Posted: 26 Apr 2020 04:50 AM PDT  It may seem unlikely that the White House would implement any major departmental leadership changes during a global health crisis, especially in the Department of Health and Human Services, but don't count it out just yet.Though they're indeed reluctant to complete any major shakeups during the coronavirus pandemic, White House officials are discussing a plan to replace HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Politico and The Wall Street Journal report. Criticism of Azar's role has reportedly mounted in recent weeks, especially after Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority Rick Bright was moved to a National Institutes of Health position, a transfer which Bright described as a form of retaliation, reportedly rattling some administration officials.President Trump had reportedly expressed frustration with Azar even before the pandemic and ultimately replaced him as the coronavirus task force leader with Vice President Mike Pence. Some names that are being considered as his replacement include coronavirus coordinator Dr. Debora Birx, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, and Deputy HHS Secretary Eric Hargan, Politico reports.Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement Saturday that Azar "continues to lead on a number of the president's priorities" and "any speculation about personnel is irresponsible." Read more at Politico and The Wall Street Journal.More stories from theweek.com Everybody Loves Raymond creator highlights the people who stand behind Trump, literally and awkwardly American optimism is becoming a problem Oxford researchers have reportedly received promising news about their coronavirus vaccine
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| Governors urge Trump to keep briefings 'fact-based' after disinfectant comments Posted: 26 Apr 2020 10:02 AM PDT  "I want to say, unequivocally, no one should be using disinfectant ... to fight COVID-19," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. "Please don't do it."
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| A serious new coronavirus-related condition may be emerging in children, with UK doctors reporting growing numbers requiring intensive care Posted: 27 Apr 2020 04:48 AM PDT  There is 'growing concern' that a serious new coronavirus-related condition may be emerging in children.
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| Nurse dies from COVID-19 days before retirement Posted: 27 Apr 2020 09:07 AM PDT  "Celia didn't have to die if she had the proper PPE, so from now on, we nurses should be fighting for PPE," her coworker said at a candlelight vigil.
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| U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorses Joe Biden for president Posted: 27 Apr 2020 03:03 AM PDT  Pelosi's endorsement of the Democratic presidential candidate follows that of U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Al Gore, who all threw their weight behind Biden earlier this month. In a video statement released on Monday, Pelosi cited Biden's experience in government, including his role in passing the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, as evidence of his leadership qualities.
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