Month: April 2020

A man armed with an assault rifle was arrested after opening fire outside the Cuban Embassy in Washington early Thursday, his bullets tearing holes into the walls and pillars near the front entrance in what authorities suspect was a hate crime.The gunfire broke out around 2 a.m. outside the embassy in northwest Washington. Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to the scene after neighbors reported hearing gunshots, authorities said. No injuries were reported.Officers found the man, Alexander Alazo, 42, of Aubrey, Texas, armed with an assault rifle, and they and took him into custody without incident, police said.A police report obtained by The Associated Press describes the shooting as a “suspected hate crime” and says Alazo “knowingly discharged multiple rounds from an AK-47 rifle into the Cuban Embassy.” But the report also says Alazo’s motivation is unknown.Officers recovered the rifle, ammunition and a white powdery substance that was found in a small baggie after Alazo’s arrest, according to the report.Alazo was arrested on charges of possessing an unregistered firearm and ammunition, assault with intent to kill and possessing a high-capacity magazine, a U.S. Secret Service spokeswoman said.Alazo remained in custody Thursday. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that embassy staff members were “safe and protected” but that the shooting caused “material damage” to the building. Photos showed large holes left in the building’s facade near the front door and in pillars outside the building.The Cuban government didn’t know the suspect’s potential motives, the statement said, adding that the State Department was aware of the incident.”It is the obligation of States to adopt appropriate steps to protect the premises of diplomatic missions accredited to their country against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity,” the statement said.Photos from the scene posted to social media showed a group of police officers outside the embassy after the shooting and investigators searching through an SUV parked there. Other images showed investigators surveying the damage in front of the ornate embassy in Washington’s Adams-Morgan neighborhood, including a bullet hole in a window over the front door and damage to a flagpole and a column flanking a statue of Cuban independence hero José Martí.Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Secret Service were investigating. 
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U.S. intelligence agencies are dismissing at least one theory about the origins of the coronavirus, saying evidence shows the virus was not engineered in a Chinese laboratory.
 
But officials say they are still looking into whether the outbreak, which originated in China, was triggered by human contact with animals or whether it began as the result of some scientific accident.
 
The U.S. intelligence community “concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a rare public statement on an ongoing investigation Thursday.
 
“As we do in all crises, the Community’s experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security,” the statement said. “The IC (intelligence community) will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.”
 
The White House has been demanding a more thorough investigation into the origins of COVID-19. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on statements from both China and the World Health Organization.
 
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters he had already seen some of the findings from the intelligence community’s probe.
 
“It’s coming in, and I’m getting pieces already. And we’re not happy about it,” he said.  “We are by far the largest contributor to WHO, world health, and they misled us.”
 
“Right now, they’re literally a pipe organ for China. That’s the way I view it,” Trump added.
 
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday also questioned China’s transparency, and hinted Beijing may be continuing to put the world at risk.
 
“We don’t know precisely where this virus originated from. There are multiple labs that are continuing to conduct work,” he said. “We don’t know if they are operating at a level of security to prevent this from happening again.”
 
Talk that the COVID-19 virus was created in a Chinese lab, or escaped from a lab, has persisted for weeks, as have other theories, many of which have been discredited as rumors or as part of disinformation campaigns.
 
But Thursday’s statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence would appear to indicate U.S. intelligence officials have come to a better understanding of the pandemic’s origins.
 
Two weeks ago, a U.S. intelligence official told VOA that while agencies were “actively and vigorously tracking down every piece of information,” the community had “not collectively agreed on any one theory.”
 
 
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McDonald’s says it has likely reached the trough of global restaurant closures due to COVID-19, with 25% still shuttered. But business has been slow to return as lockdown orders continue to disrupt consumers’ routines.McDonald’s said Thursday its sales fell 6% to $4.71 billion in the January-March period. Declines have persisted in April.“We’re now operating in a completely different world,” McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a conference call with investors.Worldwide, 75% of the fast food giant’s 39,000 stores are open. Kempczinski said locations are gradually reopening according to local regulations.In China, where 25% of stores were closed in February, nearly all have reopened; 99% of U.S. stores are open as well, offering limited menus and takeout food. But most stores remain closed in some key markets like France, the United Kingdom and Italy.When stores do reopen, business is generally slow, especially at breakfast, McDonald’s said. In China, for example, same-store sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — were down 20% in the first quarter. Those declines narrowed in April, but were still in the mid-teens. U.S. same-store sales were down 20% in April, slightly better than the 25% declines in the last part of March.And even at stores that remained open through the crisis, business has changed. Before the pandemic, drive-thru made up two-thirds of McDonald’s U.S. sales. Now, drive-thru accounts for 90% of sales. In Canada, delivery sales have shot up 40%. In Australia, stores are selling milk, eggs and other grocery items in addition to food.Kempczinski said McDonald’s is well-positioned as business returns, since customers are craving routine, comfort food and value. When one restaurant recently reopened in Austria, there was a two-mile line of customers waiting for food.“There’s a desire to return to familiar favorites,” he said.Kempczinski said there have been no disruptions to food, packaging or equipment supplies despite the coronavirus-related shutdown of some meat processing plants in the U.S.McDonald’s started the year strong. Through February, its same-store sales were up 7.2% worldwide and 8.1% in the U.S. But sales tumbled in March as global lockdowns took hold. McDonald’s ended the quarter with same-store sales down 3.4%.McDonald’s said earlier investments in digital ordering and delivery have helped it weather declines in in-store traffic. Around 25,000 McDonald’s worldwide now offer delivery, while 20,000 let customers order and pay on their mobile phones.The company said it is supporting franchisees by deferring rent and royalties in most markets around the world. That has amounted to $1 billion in assistance, McDonald’s said. The company has also obtained more than 120 million face masks for its employees.Chicago-based McDonald’s said its first-quarter earnings fell 17% to $1.11 billion, or $1.47 per share. That fell short of the $1.57 per share that Wall Street forecast, according to analysts polled by FactSet.The company shored up its finances in March by raising $6.5 billion in debt markets. It also plans to conserve cash by reducing the number of new restaurant openings this year. McDonald’s has withdrawn its 2020 financial guidance and its long-term outlook.McDonald’s shares fell 2% to $183.35 in morning trading.
 
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The Trump administration is not planning to extend federal coronavirus social distancing guidelines that expire Thursday, instead focusing on working with states to reopen the country.Individual state governors are deciding when and at what pace to relax restrictions on non-essential businesses and group gatherings and calls for people to stay home.Trump said Wednesday that the federal guidelines first issued in mid-March will be “fading out,” while his administration consults with governors on their plans.Health officials have cautioned about moving too quickly toward Trump’s desired “return to normal,” saying that doing so risks new waves of infections.Many states are either already starting to allow more businesses to operate with social distancing guidelines such as extra space between restaurant tables, while others have announced plans to begin easing lockdown orders in the coming weeks.California Governor Gavin Newsom is set to order his state’s beaches and parks to close on Friday after tens of thousands of people defied stay-at-home orders last weekend.Newsom has said he will only consider relaxing statewide restrictions when a number of milestones are met, such as declining case numbers for two weeks and the widespread availability of testing so officials can quickly isolate the infected and test those who have been in close contact.Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that the city is expanding its testing sites to welcome anyone who wants a test.”If you think you might have COVID-19, want the reassurance that you don’t, you’ve been around people that you have seen with symptoms, get a test. We can do it,” Garcetti said.Trouble in SyriaDiscussions about relaxing lockdown orders are taking place in many other countries, including Japan, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday his government is consulting experts about whether to extend a state of emergency that is set to expire next week.Japan has about 14,000 confirmed cases, and Abe said the situation remains “severe.”Finland is the latest European country to announce plans to reopen schools.  Beginning May 14, students will return with new rules that include fewer students in a classroom and avoiding groups in communal areas.While parts of the world focus on emerging from the worst of their coronavirus outbreaks, there remains great concern about parts of the world that are just beginning to see worse effects, especially those already hampered by conflict.U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told the Security Council there are 44 confirmed cases and four deaths in Syria, a country he said cannot be expected “to cope with a crisis that is challenging even the wealthiest nations.”In Yemen, health officials reported the country’s first two coronavirus deaths as well as a cluster of new cases in the southern port city of Aden that has been a focal point in a five-year civil war.The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide stood at 3.2 million Thursday with more than 227,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. 
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Millions could face increased risk of acquiring debilitating and life-threatening diseases if the United States permanently withdraws from the World Health Organization, experts contacted by VOA said.U.S. President Donald Trump’s said this month he was suspending U.S. payments to the WHO, accusing it of FILE – A girl shows her ink-marked finger after having a polio vaccine in Lahore, Pakistan, Dec. 16, 2019.The WHO reports that new polio cases worldwide have dropped 99 percent since 1988, but it warns that endemic viral transmissions in Afghanistan and Pakistan still could infect around 200,000 people each year without preventative measures.Jerome Kim, director general of the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute, which collaborates with the WHO on some disease prevention programs, said a U.S. withdrawal from the WHO would create shortfalls across the board, including projects to mitigate infectious diseases that could cause disability.“One of the reasons you use vaccines is to prevent these problems,” Kim said.Kim said that, as a coordinating body, the WHO works with member nations to implement vaccination projects and offers technical expertise that is essential for many small developing countries without adequate health care systems.The organization also advises on treatment for congenital or chronic conditions that cause disability and provides guidance on technology and rehabilitation services.In the case of a U.S. withdrawal, the WHO might need to “prioritize what they can and cannot fund,” which could “increase difficulties for people with disabilities,” Kim said.He added that COVID-19 also has the potential to cause lasting impairments brought on from strokes and lung damage.U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, on April 27, 2020, in Washington, D.C.The Trump administration accuses the WHO of enabling China to cover up the initial outbreak of the new coronavirus, which is believed to have first appeared late last year in Wuhan.The White House says it will suspend funding for up to 90 days while a review of American support for the WHO is underway.According to data available on the WHO’s budget web portal, the U.S. assessed contribution was nearly $237,000 in 2019, the largest membership fee paid of any country. Washington also pledged an additional $73 million to fund projects, including polio eradication, access to health services, and vaccine-preventable diseases.The WHO did not respond to VOA’s request for comment on this story.Adam Kamradt-Scott a global health security expert at the University of Sydney, said that “China will have to answer” for why it waited several weeks to notify the WHO about the first reported coronavirus infections in Wuhan instead of the mandated 24-hour period.“That’s not to say there aren’t problems with the WHO,” he adds.He said because member countries compete for influence and resources within the organization, the WHO is “inherently political” but said that based on its structure, it acted “appropriately and (in a) timely (fashion)” in addressing the emergence of COVID-19.“President Trump’s attacks on the WHO are an attempt to divert attention away from his own administration’s failure to contain the outbreak,” he said.Kamradt-Scott said that if the U.S. withdraws from the WHO, it could lead to the “rapid deescalation and demobilization of several major global health programs.”Without other members stepping in to “fill the gap” left by the United States, he said the deficit could cause an increase in preventable disabilities as well as cost lives mainly in the “most poor and vulnerable” communities.   
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President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he believes China’s handling of the coronavirus is proof that Beijing “will do anything they can” to make him lose his reelection bid in November.In an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office, Trump said he was looking at different options in terms of consequences for China over the virus. “I can do a lot,” he said.Trump has been heaping blame on China for a global pandemic that has killed at least 60,000 people in the United States according to a Reuters tally and thrown the U.S. economy into a deep recession, jeopardizing his hopes for another four-year term.The Republican president, often accused of not acting early enough to prepare the United States for the spread of the virus, said he believed China should have been more active in letting the world know about the coronavirus much sooner.Asked whether he was considering the use of tariffs or even debt write-offs for China, Trump would not offer specifics.”There are many things I can do,” he said. “We’re looking for what happened.””China will do anything they can to have me lose this race,” said Trump. He said he believes Beijing wants his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, to win the race to ease the pressure Trump has placed on China over trade and other issues.Trump went on to say during the interview Wednesday that he does not believe opinion polls that show Biden leading in the 2020 race for the White House.He said he did not expect the election to be a referendum on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and added he was surprised the former vice president was doing well.”I don’t believe the polls,” Trump said. “I believe the people of this country are smart. And I don’t think that they will put a man in who’s incompetent.”Finally, Trump also said South Korea has agreed to pay the United States more money for a defense cooperation agreement but would not be drawn out on how much. 
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The U.S. State Department, the Treasury Department and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico are investigating at least two Mexican firms involved in an oil-for-food pact signed in 2019 with Venezuela’s government, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Mexico-based Libre Abordo and an affiliated company, Schlager Business Group, have since late 2019 taken millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil for resale in Asia in exchange for corn and water trucks provided to Venezuela. The deal has thrown a lifeline to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as Washington tightens punitive measures against his administration as part of a “maximum-pressure” strategy to oust him after critics decried his 2018 re-election as a sham. Because the agreement was signed in mid-2019 after U.S. sanctions were imposed on Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, the United States is asking Mexico’s government for help on the probe, according to the officials. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department, April 29, 2020, in Washington.”We have inquired with the Mexican government. We are hopeful they will work with us,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a call with journalists. The content of the call was first reported by Mexico’s Reforma newspaper. In the same call, the U.S. special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, said Washington had expressed its worry to the Mexican government over the deal as many firms involved in the trade of Venezuelan oil are fake or phantom companies. Pompeo and Abrams did not disclose the companies’ names. But a senior U.S. official told reporters last week the government was looking closely at a program involving Libre Abordo and affiliated firms. “Those companies are clearly shells. … They are surrounded by a veil of shadiness and secrecy,” he said. Libre Abordo told Reuters in a written response on Wednesday that its oil-for-food pact with Venezuela had been revised and supervised by legal experts to make sure it did not violate U.S. sanctions. “We can totally guarantee that the humanitarian aid contract signed with PDVSA fulfills all requirements to avoid any sanctions by the U.S. government,” it said, adding that no cash or financing for the Venezuelan government was involved. “We are open to verification by authorities,” it said. Managed by Mexican nationals Veronica Esparza and Olga Zepeda, Libre Abordo and Schlager Business Group have so far taken 24 million barrels of crude and fuel, according to PDVSA’s export schedules seen by Reuters, becoming the largest intermediaries of Venezuelan oil. The first shipment of water trucks agreed to as part of the exchange arrived in a Venezuelan port earlier this month. 
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An experimental drug has proven effective in treating COVID-19 patients, the head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, announced Wednesday.“Remdesivir has a clear-cut significant positive effect in diminishing the time to recover,” Fauci told reporters in the White House Oval Office. “A drug can block this virus.”An international randomized placebo control trial at his institute started on Feb. 21 with hundreds of hospitalized coronavirus patients, said Fauci. Recovery time was 11 days for those given the drug compared to 15 days for patients given a placebo, according to the NIAID.“Whenever you have clear-cut evidence that a drug works, you have an ethical obligation to immediately let the people who are in the placebo group know so that they can have access and all of the other trials that are taking place now have a new standard of care,” Fauci told reporters.Remdesivir, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, is given intravenously and designed to interfere with an enzyme that reproduces viral genetic material. In animal tests against SARS and MERS, diseases caused by similar coronaviruses, it has helped prevent infection and reduced severity of symptoms. But it is not yet approved anywhere in the world for any use.Lab technicians load vials of investigational coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment drug Remdesivir at a Gilead Sciences facility in La Verne, California, March 18, 2020. (Gilead Sciences Inc/Handout)The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was expected Wednesday to grant emergency use authorization for treatment of COVID-19 patients. Another study of Remdesivir had not reached a positive conclusion, something reporters asked Fauci about in the Oval Office.“It’s an under-powered study,” said Fauci of a study out of China published in The Lancet that found Remdesivir was not effective in treating COVID-19 patients. “That’s not an adequate study.”COVID-19 has killed more than 224,000 people worldwide, including nearly 60,000 in the United States.Total U.S. confirmed infections exceed one million – the most reported by any country in the world.A patient is brought into Wyckoff Heights Medical Center by staff wearing personal protective gear due to COVID-19 concerns, April 7, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.“That’s a tremendous amount,” U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday, calling it an “indication that our testing is so superior.”To think that the United States has more cases than China, “does anybody really believe that?” added Trump.He again blamed China, where the coronavirus was first reported, and the World Health Organization, for the pandemic.“They misled us,” said Trump of the WHO, calling it “literally a pipe organ for China.”“They’re not to be congratulated for what took place and WHO is essentially congratulating them,” Trump told reporters. “And when they start doing that we’ve got problems.”The president earlier this month halted U.S. funding to the organization, which annually totals $400 million to $500 million. The WHO has said it is working with its partners to fill the financial gap from the Trump administration’s decision to withhold the money.The United States is WHO’s largest donor.“We can give it to groups that are very worthy and get much more bang for your buck. We’re going to make a decision in the not-too-distant future,” Trump said.  
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A biotech company says its experimental drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major U.S. government study that put it to a strict test.Gilead Sciences’s remdesivir would be the first treatment to pass such a test against the virus, which has killed more than 218,000 people since it emerged late last year. Having a treatment could have a profound effect on the global pandemic, especially because health officials say any vaccine is likely a year or more away.The study, run by the National Institutes of Health, tested remdesivir versus usual care in about 800 hospitalized coronavirus patients around the world. The main result is how long it takes patients to recover.  Gilead gave no details on results Wednesday, but said an announcement is expected soon. NIH officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Remdesivir is given through an IV and is designed to interfere with an enzyme that reproduces viral genetic material. In animal tests against SARS and MERS, diseases caused by similar coronaviruses, the drug helped prevent infection and reduced the severity of symptoms when given early enough in the course of illness. But it is not yet approved anywhere in the world for any use. 
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The United States will not allow Iran to purchase conventional arms after a U.N. prohibition on this expires in October, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday.”We’re not going to let that happen,” Pompeo told reporters at a news briefing. “We will work with the U.N. Security Council to extend that prohibition on those arms sales and then in the event we can’t get anyone else to act, the United States is evaluating every possibility about how we might do that.”The United States in 2018 withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal that sought to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. As part of that deal, a U.N. arms embargo on Iran expires in October.A U.S.-drafted resolution to extend the embargo has been given to Britain, France and Germany, all parties to the nuclear deal, a U.S. official confirmed, but U.N. diplomats said it has not been shared with the remaining 11 U.N. Security Council members, including Russia and China. Russia and China, which hold vetoes on the council and are parties to the nuclear deal, are believed to be eager to sell armaments to Iran.”The failures of the Iran nuclear deal are legion. One of them is now upon us. … where China, Russia, and other countries from around the world can all sell significant conventional weapon systems to the Iranians in October, Pompeo said.”We are urging our E3 partners to take action. This is within their capacity to do,” he added, referring to Britain, France and Germany, each of which has the ability to force the “snapback” of all U.N. sanctions on Iran – including the conventional arms embargo – lifted under the nuclear deal. 
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In some places, pandemic restrictions are being lifted.
How and when they end may affect the future course of the disease.
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California classrooms could reopen with modifications as soon as late July, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday, bringing a new wave of anxiety for parents, teachers and students. Newsom laid out the possible change, the earliest proposed start date yet, as part of a reopening plan that would allow retailers and manufacturers to restart likely within weeks. Child care and summer schools along with parks, trails and other outdoor spaces may also be allowed to reopen. No decisions have been made about an early school start, Newsom said, noting that the “learning loss is very real.” Almost all schools are closed under California’s statewide stay-at-home order, and educators and students have been struggling to adapt to at-home learning. The state also doesn’t have the power to order districts to reopen; changes will need to be worked out between local districts and teachers unions. Tuesday’s announcement appeared to catch California’s top schools official by surprise, who said in a statement that “we all heard for the first time today the idea of schools reopening as early as July or August.” Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said “some major questions” still need to be answered. “First and foremost: Can this be done in a way that protects the health and safety of our students, teachers, and school staff? At the same time California educators grapple with how to reopen, the state’s more than 1,000 school districts are expected to face budget cuts as tax revenue tumbles due to job losses and business closures. State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond told lawmakers Tuesday that schools need $100 million to purchase 400,000 computers and 290,000 internet hotspots to help “close the divide and maintain access for students.” She said most of California’s 6.2 million students do have access to technology. A lot of questions remain about the timeline and structure for schools that reopen, decisions that will be made district-by-district. Many districts already start the school year in August.  Whatever the timeline, school will likely look radically different, officials say.  Among the scenarios Newsom has previously raised: staggered start times to limit the number of students in a school at one time; changes to recess, lunch and other group gatherings; and a hybrid of classroom and online learning.  One idea would be to keep students with their previous year’s teachers, even temporarily, said Darling-Hammond.  “Teachers can teach more effectively when they know their students well and students learn more effectively in an environment of trust and belonging,” she said. She said some experts have said it could last for a quarter “before passing students on to the next grade level teacher.” It also isn’t clear if an earlier start will mean a longer school year or a school year that ends sooner than usual. California Federation of Teachers President Jeff Freitas said it’s possible the time could be made up if schools need to close again for a break in fall or winter because of a second surge of coronavirus.  The schools announcement was part of a four-phase plan  Newsom discussed Tuesday to gradually reopen the state when hospitalization rates due to coronavirus begin to stabilize. California remains focused for now on obtaining more protective gear for essential workers and increasing testing and tracing of the virus. Unlike some other states that are already allowing hair and nail salons to operate, those would have to wait until a later phase of California’s reopening plan, said Sonia Angell, the state public health director. And concerts and sporting events are even further away, possibly not until there’s a virus treatment.  It wasn’t clear when restaurants may be able to reopen for dine-in services. Many have begun offering takeout and delivery since Newsom issued his statewide stay-at-home order March 19, but thousands of restaurant workers have lost their jobs.  As the state considers reopening, Newsom is juggling a state with a split personality. Officials in some rural counties say they’re ready to reopen while urban centers are wary. Officials from six rural Northern California counties — Sutter, Yuba, Butte, Colusa, Tehama and Glenn — wrote to Newsom Monday asking to implement “a careful and phased reopening of our local economies.” The counties, with a population of about 500,000, have seen fewer than 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases and only a handful of deaths. Rural areas elsewhere in the U.S.  are similarly reopening.  For now, Newsom said local governments can only adopt stricter, not looser, measures than the state’s plan. Without addressing those six counties directly, he pushed back on a quick reopening, saying it can’t be done without better tracking and tracing capabilities. Sutter County Supervisor Mike Ziegenmeyer, who is vice president of a specialized equipment manufacturer, is among those clamoring for shops and restaurants to reopen sooner. “Our tolerance levels are going down, they’re not going up,” said Ziegenmeyer, who attended a news conference outside the Capitol Tuesday urging greater flexibility. For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and death. 
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The Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds stunt squads joined forces Tuesday for a special flyover above New York and other major U.S. cities to honor health care workers and first responders helping fight the novel coronavirus. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb gives us a glimpse of Operation America Strong, and as you’ll soon see, it was a flight to remember.
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Two men have been charged in federal court with price gouging for allegedly looking to resell 1 million face masks that protect against the coronavirus for at least twice what they are worth. Suspects Kent Bulloch and William Young, Sr. were indicted Tuesday in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn charged with conspiring to violate the Defense Protection Act. President Donald Trump issued an executive order March 18 invoking the act, making it illegal to acquire what has been designated as scarce medical supplies and hoard or resell them at hugely inflated prices. “As alleged, the defendants conspired to turn a huge profit from the urgent need for surgical masks in New York during the pandemic,” stated U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said Tuesday. “When the attorney general said that those engaged in price gouging should expect a knock on the door, he meant it – and when we knock with one hand, we usually have a warrant in the other.” According the indictment, Bulloch and Young looked for investors in a scheme to buy respirator masks intended for medical workers and sell them for double or triple the price. They allegedly tried to hide their huge price markup by drawing up an agreement pledging that the selling price would not exceed 10%. One of the would-be investors was an undercover FBI agent.  “It’s hard to believe anyone could take advantage of a situation like this, but this case clearly proves that theory wrong,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney said. “The FBI is proud to work with all of our partners as we confront the threats posed by those who are looking to game the system in this current environment.”   Another New Yorker is also facing federal charges of violating the Defense Production Act. Amardeep Singh of Long Island has been accused of hoarding tons of masks, surgical gowns, and hand sanitizer in a warehouse so he can sell them in his store at highly inflated prices. The complaint alleges Singh sold face masks for $1 apiece that he’d bought for 7 cents each. He also allegedly charged customers $25 for bottles of hand sanitizer, nearly 200% more than what he paid for them. One of Singh’s lawyers calls the charges “mostly fiction” and says his client would be guilty at most of a misdemeanor.  
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Tribes urged the federal government to quickly disburse coronavirus relief funding after a judge handed them an early victory in a case centered on who is eligible for a share of the $8 billion allocated to tribes. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of the tribes late Monday in their bid to keep Alaska Native corporations from getting any of the money — at least for now. The decision clears the U.S. Treasury Department to send payments to 574 federally recognized tribes in response to the coronavirus. At least 18 tribes sued the Treasury Department, alleging that Congress intended the funding to go only to tribal governments. They said the corporations that own most of the Native land in Alaska don’t fit within the definition of “Indian Tribe” in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act signed into law last month. FILE – Then-attorney Amit Mehta speaks in Bronx state Supreme Court in New York, March 28, 2012.Mehta said the tribes easily showed they would suffer irreparable harm unless he limited the funding temporarily to tribal governments while he awaited more argument on the question of eligibility of Alaska Native corporations.  “These are monies that Congress appropriated on an emergency basis to assist tribal governments in providing core public services to battle a pandemic that is ravaging the nation, including in Indian Country,” Mehta said. The U.S. Justice Department, which represented Treasury, declined comment Tuesday. The Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment. Justice Department attorney Jason Lynch had argued that the Treasury Department’s decision to include Alaska Native corporations wasn’t subject to judicial review because the funding is for a public health emergency. Mehta rejected the argument.  The Treasury Department has said it could start sending payments to tribes Tuesday — two days past the deadline in the coronavirus relief bill. But it has not said how it would determine who gets what. Congress set aside $8 billion for tribes in the $2.2 trillion bill. Mehta did not order the Treasury Department to disburse all the money to tribal governments.  Harry Pickernell Sr., chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation in Washington state, said he was pleased with the judge’s decision. “This ruling will help tribal governments to lead in the aid and recovery of their people,” he said in a statement. The tribes that have sued are in Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Washington state. Alaska Native corporations Alaska Native corporations are unique to Alaska and own most of the Native land in the state under a 1971 settlement known as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Mehta said neither the corporations nor the Treasury Department showed the corporations are providing public services comparable to tribal governments to combat the coronavirus. The corporations, which are not parties to the lawsuit, have said they support Alaska Natives economically, socially and culturally.  Two associations that together represent most of the corporations — the ANCSA Regional Association and the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association — said they believe the corporations ultimately will be deemed eligible for funding.  “This will mean a delay in necessary resources and economic assistance for Alaska Native people in our communities and our state,” the groups said. “However, Alaska Native people have a history of resilience and strength. Together we will prevent the spread of COVID-19, care for those who get sick, and repair our economies.” For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and death. The vast majority of people recover. 
 
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During a tour of one of the country’s premier medical facilities, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday made a pitch to the 100,000 Americans who have recovered from COVID-19 to contribute blood plasma to potentially help coronavirus patients.”Some of the doctors are saying that some people that have received the plasma therapy have recovered on respirators more quickly,” said Pence at the Mayo Clinic. “We’re encouraging people across the country if you’ve recovered from the coronavirus” to donate blood if free of the virus for more than 14 days.Doctors at the hospital and research center told the vice president that while there are encouraging reports about plasma therapy for coronavirus patients, as of yet, there are no conclusive studies.Pence, shortly after arriving at the facility, greeted Dennis Nelson, a Mayo Clinic health care technology management project coordinator, who was diagnosed, along with his wife, with COVID-19 at the end of March.Vice President Mike Pence, center, visits Dennis Nelson, a patient who survived the coronavirus and was going to give blood, during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., April 28, 2020.No recovered coronavirus patient who has been asked to donate plasma has refused, Dr. Michael Joyner informed the vice president.”Thanks for being a part of this,” Pence told Nelson, who reclined in a chair at the blood and plasma donation center amid the clacking of medical equipment. “It says a lot about you and your wife and this incredible institution.”Pence’s quick trip to Minnesota amid the coronavirus pandemic was also designed to highlight increased nationwide testing of people for the coronavirus after a disappointing start compared to other countries. It also put the spotlight on research under way for tests to detect an active virus in patients, as well as confirming those who have been infected carry antibodies in their blood that could fight off subsequent exposure.Three or four COVID-19 drug therapies are also “showing great cause for optimism,” Dr. Andrew Badley, an infectious diseases specialist at the Mayo Clinic, said during a roundtable meeting hosted by Pence.Vice President Mike Pence, 2nd right, hosts a roundtable meeting as he tours Mayo Clinic facilities supporting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) research and treatment, in Rochester, Minnesota, April 28, 2020.Approval for such therapeutics could come in less than 10 months, Badley explained after Pence noted every one he has spoken to has predicted a vaccine for COVID-19 is still a year away.In recent days, however, scientists at Oxford University have indicated they may have a vaccine ready for inoculating members of the public by September.”We’re aware of the Oxford vaccine and it’s one of the vaccines that we’re very interested in looking at. We’ve been in discussions with them and that’s ongoing,” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn said when asked by VOA about the vaccine on Tuesday.The vice president faced some criticism on social media for not wearing a face mask inside the facility, where such personal protection is required.At a roundtable discussion, Pence was the only one not wearing a mask. His staff, Secret Service agents and accompanying reporters wore masks.Pence explained to reporters that as vice president, “I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus.”Pence added he follows guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control that such face protection is good for preventing the spread of COVID-19 by those who are infected.As Pence visited the Mayo Clinic, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed one million – about a third of the world’s reported total. More than 59,000 people in the country have died of the disease since February.
 
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday he expects COVID-19 cases to increase when the country reopens from its coronavirus lockdown.In a virtual interview with the Economic Club of Washington, Fauci said that if restrictions are relaxed carefully and we have the capability to identify those who have the virus, isolate them, and trace those that have been in contact with, then the numbers of new cases will be low.Under that scenario, he said models show a “low number” of new cases would be 70,000 to 80,000 nationwide.Fauci said it is inevitable that we will have a return of the virus, or that it never fully goes away.   Fauci says by the end of this year we should know if we will get a safe and effective vaccine. Then, he says, the challenge will be making enough of it and distributing it in the U.S. and throughout the world.Last week, Oxford University in London began human trials on a potential vaccine. The New York Times newspaper reports the Oxford researchers say initial tests of the vaccine on monkeys are very promising. If it proves effective, there could reportedly be several million doses available by September.
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About half of the millions of U.S. workers laid off by the coronavirus pandemic could end up earning more out of work than when they had a job, new analyses of jobless benefits show.As part of the U.S. recovery effort, the government is sending an extra $600 a week to laid-off workers through the end of July to augment widely varying unemployment payments normally paid jobless workers by each of the 50 states.On average, the states pay unemployed workers 45% of what they were earning. But with the extra coronavirus payments, the Labor Department says the payments should increase over the coming weeks from the average $377.97 a week that was paid late last year to $978.While the extra payments will help jobless workers in the short term, the higher pay could end up stalling the U.S. recovery.Laid-off workers who are earning more out of work will have no immediate monetary incentive to return to work if their employers are able to reopen retail stores, restaurants, factories and other businesses before the end of July.The government says that half of U.S. workers earned less than $957 a week in the first quarter of 2020, meaning less than half made $50,000 a year.On the other hand, employers could effectively force workers to return by making job openings for laid-off workers contingent on their return by a certain date, even if it was before the $600-a-week payments expire at the end of July.Workers could ask employers to allow them to remain on furlough through July so they could continue to collect the higher unemployment compensation.To date, 26 million American workers have been laid off, an unemployment devastation not seen in the U.S. since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Millions more have been added to the unemployment rolls each Thursday over the last five weeks when the government announces its tally from the week before.Until the pandemic hit the U.S., the jobless rate for the world’s biggest economy had for months been less than 4%. But when the April figure is announced May 8, it is likely to reach well into the teens. 
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When the coronavirus struck the United States hard last month, 22-year-old entrepreneur David Zamarin knew his company needed a Plan B — fast. As the economy essentially shut down, demand for his stain-resistant coatings was sure to drop.  So Zamarin decided to retool his company, DetraPel, in Framingham, Massachusetts, to start making disinfectants to help fight the virus’s spread. Within weeks, “we completely changed our whole system.”Sales of the DetraPel ecoCleaner & Disinfectant have been strong, he said, and Zamarin expects to produce the cleaner even after the health crisis has passed.  “I don’t want this to be a one-time thing,” he said. “I don’t want to capitalize on this to make short-term money.”A store in Virginia is offering large discounts to customers. (Photo: Diaa Bekheet)The COVID-19 pandemic has been an epic catastrophe for American business. Economic life is all but frozen. Stores are idle. Sales have sunk as people isolate at home, slash spending on autos and appliances and halt shopping trips, restaurant meals and movie outings.Many iconic retailers are reeling. Gap warns it may run out of cash. Neiman Marcus and J.C. Penney could be headed for bankruptcy protection.Yet by dint of circumstance, resourcefulness or just plain luck, some companies have positioned themselves to withstand, even thrive, in the crisis. The most fortunate work in sectors mostly shielded from damage, like pharmacies. Or they can capitalize on the quirks of the times — a spike in demand for groceries, pizza delivery, movie streaming, online packages and cleaning products.  Some companies were prudent enough to have built financial cushions or credit lines to access cash. And then there are nimble ones like DetraPel that somehow find opportunity in the chaos.”This is a once-in-a-lifetime — we hope — event,” said Andrew Corbett of Babson College’s Butler Institute for Free Enterprise through Entrepreneurship. “The people who are used to dealing with ambiguity and trying new things — they’re going to embrace this and run with it.”Corbett pointed to Bauer, a sports equipment maker that has pivoted from making visors for hockey helmets to producing medical visors for health care workers fighting the outbreak. That kind of drastic reversal is beyond the reach of most companies.”It’s hard to change your business model,” said Gregg Lemos-Stein, who studies corporate analytics at S&P Global Ratings. “It’s like trying to change your tires while the car is going 100 miles an hour.”For most companies, the key to survival is maintaining enough cash to stay afloat until the economy begins to grind back to health. Some businesses, Lemos-Stein said, have drained their credit lines to try to withstand a period of plunging revenue.”Cash is king,” Robert Kaplan of Harvard Business School said in a video seminar on the coronavirus’ threat to companies. “Preserve what you have and grab more cash wherever you can to help you get through and survive the crisis.”United Airlines is trying to raise $1 billion by issuing stock. Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden and other chain restaurants, is seeking $400 million in a stock offering.The government has intervened to provide small businesses with loans they don’t have to repay if they use most of the money to keep workers on the payroll. The Federal Reserve poured money into financial markets to ensure that companies can maintain access to vital short-term credit for everyday operations.But government money goes only so far for a company whose business has collapsed.”It doesn’t put people back on planes or back in the malls,” S&P’s Lemos-Stein said.  “I haven’t talked to a CEO yet who thinks the government is going to be their savior,” said Rich Lesser, CEO of the Boston Consulting Group.FILE – The Netflix logo is seen on their office in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 16, 2018.Even while the health crisis has crushed purchases for most goods and services, it’s ignited consumers’ appetite for other offerings. Netflix is capitalizing on a burst of demand for streaming entertainment. Amazon’s stock is up on a surge in online shopping. Clorox is benefiting from panic buying for cleaning supplies. Zoom and other video conference services have filled a rising need of employees working from home.The data firm Womply found that grocery stores enjoyed a 40% increase in revenue earlier this month from a year ago. Also seeing surges: Gun shops (120%) and liquor stores (60%).Still, millions of businesses have at least temporarily closed, Womply found: 71% of shoe stores, 77% of thrift shops and 68% of antique dealers. Forty-two percent of restaurants have shuttered. Those that have a brisk takeout or delivery service have been likelier to remain open: Only 21% of pizza shops and 17% of chicken wings purveyors have stopped doing business.”Businesses are reorganizing around curbside (pickup) and takeout,” said Brad Plothow. Womply’s marketing chief.With widespread shutdowns of malls and stores, the pandemic is putting many clothing retailers further in peril, while increasing the dominance of big box stores that have remained open because they sell essentials like food and household goods. Walmart, Amazon and others are on a hiring spree and doling out bonuses or pay increases.  But even they face pressures. They’re spending more on labor and online operations. Some are seeing profits squeezed because shoppers are turning to low-margin groceries and avoiding higher-margin items like clothing. Amazon has struggled to handle an accelerating demand for essentials, disappointing many of its Prime members, who pay $129 a year and are accustomed to receiving deliveries within two days.The crisis risks intensifying what many regard as a troubling trend: Commerce increasingly concentrated among big companies as smaller firms fail, thereby reducing competition.  The Open Markets Institute, which campaigns against monopolies, has called for a ban on acquisitions by companies with annual revenue above $100 million or by large investment firms. Lynn Barry, the institute’s executive director, notes that many big companies swallowed up smaller rivals in the financial crisis and Great Recession, sometimes in deals brokered by the government.  He’s worried about a repeat:  “You’ve got Apple and Google and Amazon with these massive piles of cash, the Saudis and others with these massive piles of cash, and everyone else is half-bankrupt and paralyzed.”
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Having access to local, organic fruits and vegetables is often a key to a nutritious diet. The following story, reported before the COVID-19 outbreak, tells of one man trying to make getting good food easier.  And a little update – his service is busier than ever due to the pandemic. VOA’s Marsha James has more from Columbia, Maryland.
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Global markets are trading mostly higher Tuesday despite another major reversal in the price of U.S. crude oil. In Asia, the benchmark indexes in Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai were basically flat, while Hong Kong and Seoul enjoyed gains in late afternoon trading.  Over in Europe, London’s FTSE, the CAC-40 in Paris and the DAX index in Frankfurt were all in positive territory in early morning trading. FILE – The sun sets behind an idle pump jack near Karnes City, Texas, April 8, 2020. Demand for oil continues to fall due to the new coronavirus outbreak.In oil futures trading, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, was at $10.23 per barrel, down nearly 20%, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading at $19.25 per barrel, a loss of 3.7%.  The latest selloff in U.S. crude came after the United States Oil Fund, a popular exchange-traded fund, announced it would sell all of its contracts for June.   Oil markets have been struggling since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, with government imposed quarantines choking off demand and causing a massive glut of supplies. U.S. crude prices plunged last week below $0 per barrel  for the first time in history.   Meanwhile, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all trading higher in Tuesday’s futures trading.     
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Iran appears to have shown little public or private support for 12 Iranians accused or convicted of crimes in the U.S., despite pledging to work for the release of such citizens four months ago in another potential prisoner swap with Washington.  The last, rare prisoner exchange between the two longtime foes happened December 7, when Iran freed Chinese American academic Xiyue Wang in return for the U.S. releasing Iranian scientist Masoud Soleimani. The swap happened in Zurich through Swiss mediation.  Two days later, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Tehran was ready for a further “comprehensive prisoner exchange” with Washington. A day after that, his aide Mohsen Baharvand told Iranian state news agency In the four months since then, Hook has said U.S. officials are working continuously for the release of four Americans whom Washington has accused Tehran of unjustly jailing on trumped up charges: Navy veteran Michael R. White and three Iranian-American dual nationals — father and son Siamak and Baquer Namazi and environmentalist Morad Tahbaz.  As Iran’s coronavirus pandemic worsened and spread to its prison system in March, U.S. officials added urgency to their calls for the Americans to be released to safeguard their health. Iranian authorities granted White a prison furlough on March 19 after he exhibited coronavirus symptoms, but they have refused to let him leave the country or free the other Americans.  U.S. officials also have been pressing Iran to resolve the case of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who went missing in Iran on a 2007 visit that U.S. media later revealed was part of a rogue CIA mission. Last month, the Trump administration said it believed that Levinson may have died “some time ago.”  Iran, by contrast, has said nothing publicly since early December about the Iranians whom it wants to be freed from U.S. detention or prosecution. Nor has it named the individuals.  VOA Persian compiled the names of the 12 Iranians who are in U.S. prisons or on conditional release from prison through conversations with lawyers representing some of the individuals and through a review of U.S. Justice Department databases.  They include seven Iranian-American dual nationals and five Iranian citizens, three of them with permanent U.S. residency. The Iranian-Americans include Undated social media image of Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, an Iranian-American sentenced by a U.S. court in January 2020 to 38 months in prison for conducting surveillance on American members of Iranian dissident group MEK.Of the other Iranians, five were on bail with court-ordered restrictions on their movements as they awaited sentencing for various convictions, namely Aazad, Emad-Vaez, Hashemi, Hashemi Nejad and Moshir-Fatemi; while one, Ghorbani, was granted a “compassionate release” from a Washington prison earlier this month because of his ill health and was allowed to relocate to his daughter’s home in Orange County, California, with court-imposed restrictions on his movements until next February.  In addition to its public silence on the cases of the 12 Iranians, Tehran appears to have made little effort to help them using several of the private channels available to it.  Lawyers representing some of the 12 Iranians told VOA Persian they had not heard from officials of any country about including their clients in another U.S.-Iran prisoner swap. “I have heard nothing about Pourghannad being part of any prisoner swap,” his attorney James Neuman wrote in an April 23 email, referencing one of the two Iranian citizens without U.S. legal status who are serving time in U.S. prisons.  Former Kansas Congressman Jim Slatterly, who spent months working with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to support U.S. government efforts to negotiate the December 7 swap, told VOA Persian that he also has not heard from his Iranian contacts regarding the cases of the other Iranian citizens jailed or confined in their movements by U.S. courts.  Slatterly had multiple conversations with Iranian Ambassador to the U.N. Majid Takht-Ravanchi and met Foreign Minister Zarif at the U.N. in New York last September in the lead up to the last deal.  “I’m surprised that when I was dealing with the swap involving Wang and Soleimani, there was no mention of these other people,” Slatterly said in reference to the group of 12 Iranians.  In a statement to VOA Persian, the former New Mexico governor said he and his Richardson Center for Global Engagement have been working for more than a year-and-a-half to bring Michael White home from Iran. But he declined to address questions about Iranians who could be part of another prisoner exchange with the U.S.  The Washington embassy of Switzerland, which represent U.S. interests in Iran, also declined a request for comment on the issue.  Slatterly said he believes Iran is not interested in working for the release of Iranian American dual nationals in the U.S. At least one Iranian American jailed in the U.S. in recent years for a federal crime related to Iran, Zavik Zargarian, chose to remain in the U.S. after he was released earlier this year and had “no interest” in returning to Iran, according to an email sent by his lawyer Victor Sherman to VOA Persian.  “There could be a whole host of reasons why Iran, as is claimed, has not publicly been seeking to return all Iranians who have been charged and detained in the U.S.,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, in an email to VOA. “Their nationality or citizenship status could be a factor, but may not be the determining one.” Taleblu said that whenever Iran chooses to press for further prisoner swaps with the U.S., it may start by seeking the release of those who have less of a legal status in the U.S. “But this is only speculation about Iranian strategy,” he cautioned.    This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. Mehdi Jedinia of VOA’s Extremism Watch Desk contributed.  
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New national guidelines were unveiled Monday by the federal government that place the onus on the 50 states to conduct testing for COVID-19.  “Testing plans and rapid response programs will be federally supported, State managed, and locally executed,” according to a documented titled: In this April 18, 2020 photo provided by the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Gov. Cuomo provides a coronavirus update during a press conference in the Red Room at the State Capitol in Albany.New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, earlier Monday, told reporters that the extent and timing for relaxing guidelines in his state — the hardest hit by the virus — will be made based on rates of hospitalizations, antibody testing, diagnostic testing and data on infection rates. He said officials across the state also need to ensure there are adequate numbers of workers to trace the contacts of infected people, enough places to isolate those who have been infected and enough hospital capacity. The governor of the most populous U.S. state, Gavin Newsom of California, also facing pressure from industry, said Monday he will commence “digital roundtables” with workers, small-business owners and other employers about reopening plans.  “The hope and expectation is that we’ll be in a position in a number of weeks to make meaningful modifications, but again the data will guide that, the indicators will guide that,” Newsom said.FILE – In this March 5, 2019 file photo, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine speaks during the Ohio State of the State address at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.In the Midwestern U.S., Ohio’s Mike DeWine is among the governors in that part of the country moving forward with partial reopening plans. DeWine announced Monday that retail businesses and some service businesses could start reopening from May 12, as long as workers wear face masks and take other precautions. Trump, on Monday in the Rose Garden, also pushed for schools to reopen, “even if it’s for a very short time.” According to Trump, “in terms of what this vicious virus goes after, young people seem to do very well.” While COVID-19 kills the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions in a higher proportion than people in younger age brackets, there have also been cases of children who have died after exposure to the novel coronavirus. Trump again Monday blamed China for the pandemic and said the United States government is “doing very serious investigations” as “we are not happy with China.”  COVID-19 “could have been stopped at the source,” Trump said the U.S. government believed. “It could have been stopped quickly and it wouldn’t have spread all over the world.”  Trump had indicated via Twitter on Saturday that he was done speaking to the media at such briefings, stating they were not “worth the time & effort.”  What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020A scheduled press briefing by the White House coronavirus task force, however, was put on Monday’s White House schedule before being canceled and then re-scheduled as a presidential news conference.  Monday’s event lasted 55 minutes, among the shorter of presidential briefings during the coronavirus crisis.  The president was widely ridiculed last week after he suggested looking into whether inserting light and disinfectants into the human body could fight the coronavirus.  There are more than 3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world — about one-third of them in the United States, the country with the most reported infections.  The number of U.S. fatalities from the coronavirus exceeds 55,000.  Trump on Monday predicted the ultimate U.S. death toll would be between 60,000 and 70,000.  A week ago, the president had predicted the number of fatalities would be between 50,000 and 60,000. Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a challenge to a New York City law restricting the rights of handgun owners to carry their weapons outside the home.The 6-3 decision sends the case back to the lower courts — a move that pleases gun control advocates who were afraid that the conservative-majority court would rule against them.The case centered on the New York City gun licenses that let handgun owners carry their locked and unloaded weapons only from their homes to several shooting ranges within city limits.Attorneys for the city argued that the law was a matter of public safety and did not infringe on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.A group of gun owners, backed by Trump administration lawyers, challenged the law, arguing that it was too restrictive.But after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, New York amended the law to allow people to carry their guns to places outside the city, including second homes, gun clubs, target shooting ranges and where hunting is allowed.The court decided not to hear the case Monday, saying the changes to the law makes the challenge moot, and sent it back to the lower court for any further challenges and arguments.Three conservative justices — Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas — dissented.”Petitioners got most, but not all, of the prospective relief they wanted,” Alito wrote, saying gun owners can still seek damages.Gun control advocates are pleased the court decided not to rule on the case.“Today’s decision rejects the NRA’s invitation to use a moot case to enact its extreme agenda aimed at gutting gun safety laws supported by a majority of Americans,” said Hannah Shearer, litigation director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.But the National Rifle Association, the country’s premier gun rights group, said the court Monday accepted what the NRA calls New York City’s “surrender” and admission of wrongdoing. It calls on the city to reimburse the plaintiffs’ legal fees.Affordable Care Act rulingIn another case, the court ruled 8-1 Monday in favor of health insurance companies seeking $12 billion from provisions in the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” that allows them to collect losses incurred by offering coverage to uninsured Americans.The court threw out a lower court decision that ruled Congress had suspended the payment provision.Writing for the majority, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said denying payment to the insurance companies would be a “bait and switch.”“The government should honor its obligations,” Sotomayor wrote.Alito was the only dissenter, writing that paying off “has the effect of providing a massive bailout for insurance companies that took a calculated risk and lost.”The provision that would reimburse insurance companies for losses was in effect under the Affordable Care Act from 2014 until 2016.
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