Sen. Kamala Harris calls on McConnell to bring back Senate amid unemployment surge
As businesses have been forced to shutter during the pandemic, a stunning 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, after 3.3 million filed the week before that. NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE SUFFERS $600M DEFICIT YEAR-OVER-YEAR CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: REPORT"Mitch McConnell must call the Senate back into session," she said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is now calling on Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia to make sure that people can quickly collect their unemployment benefits. "You must move heaven and earth to make sure that Americans are able to receive their unemployment benefits ASAP," Schumer said. "His signature ensures access to incentives for businesses to retain workers and continue paying them, as well as enhanced unemployment benefits.
Source:Fox News
April 02, 2020 14:48 UTC
For Putin, coronavirus offers a diplomatic opening and outsized PR dividends
(CNN) Russian President Vladimir Putin knows how to make a very small investment for an outsized public-relations gain, and the Covid-19 pandemic has been no exception. "Trump gratefully accepted this humanitarian aid," Peskov said, according to RIA. But in a statement, US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus emphasized that the shipment was a purchase, not a donation. Leave aside for a moment the controversy in Russia around the shipment: Internationally, it's a relatively inexpensive way for Putin to build goodwill with President Donald Trump. For both a Russian and international audience, then, the aid shipments send a powerful visual signal: Putin, once again, is playing the decisive man of action.
Source:CNN
April 02, 2020 14:48 UTC
What to do when the coronavirus crisis delays your wedding
“We’ve never seen such major sweeping postponements in the wedding industry,” says Renée Dalo, owner and lead wedding planner of Moxie Bright Events in Los Angeles. Some may lose deposits with vendors; others are suddenly without jobs and are juggling wedding payments with other bills. If your wedding is several weeks or months away, you may have time to get wedding insurance. RELATED LINKS:NerdWallet: Coronavirus Stimulus Checks, Debt Relief and Your Finances https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-coronavirus-guideNerdWallet: Laid Off Due to Coronavirus? Take These 6 Steps https://bit.ly/laid-off-coronavirusNerdWallet: How Expanded Coronavirus Unemployment Benefits Work https://bit.ly/coronavirus-unemployment-benefitsNerdWallet: Wedding Insurance: What’s Covered, Who Sells It and Prices https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-explains-wedding-insurance
Source:ABC News
April 02, 2020 14:45 UTC
Wash. nursing home faces $611,000 fine over lapses during fatal coronavirus outbreak
Officials said 129 residents, staff and visitors were infected with the coronavirus, which causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people but can prove fatal to the sick and elderly. Life Care has said it also left a voice message with county officials the day before. State law and county regulations required Life Care to report any suspected flu outbreak within 24 hours. Some relatives of residents who were at Life Care during the outbreak said they were shocked by the inspectors’ findings. Campbell’s father, 89, was admitted to Life Care on Feb. 21 after a brief hospital stay for a stroke, and later tested positive for covid-19.
Source:Washington Post
April 02, 2020 14:38 UTC
Feds distribute thousands of masks, other supplies seized from hoarders during coronavirus pandemic
Fox News has learned that the FBI discovered the supplies last week in New Jersey during an enforcement operation by the Justice Department’s COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force and alerted HHS. HHS IMPLEMENTS ANTI-PRICE GOUGING ORDER AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAKUnder the Defense Production Act, HHS ordered that the supplies be immediately given to the government. In addition to the 192,000 N95 respirator masks, the FBI found 598,000 medical-grade gloves and 130,000 surgical masks, procedure masks, N100 masks, surgical gowns, disinfectant towels, particulate filters, bottles of hand sanitizer and bottles of spray disinfectant. After inspecting the supplies, HHS arranged for the delivery of the PPE (personal protective equipment) to the New Jersey Department of Health, the New York State Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. As of Thursday morning, the U.S. reported more than 216,722 positive cases of COVID-19 and more than 5,137 deaths.
Source:Fox News
April 02, 2020 14:37 UTC
Virus spreads through South Dakota family's close ties
Virus spreads through South Dakota family's close ties Infectious disease experts say that while the coronavirus spreads fast in cities, rural communities are also vulnerable because of strong family tiesSIOUX FALLS, S.D. Within days of the 74-year-old Glanzer announcing he has the coronavirus, his wife, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law also tested positive. South Dakota health officials reported on Thursday that 36 more people have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the the state's total to 165. That's why health care workers in South Dakota are emphasizing that family members should help each other by staying apart. ———This story has been corrected to show that Glanzer’s brother-in-law tested positive for COVID-19, not his brother.
Source:ABC News
April 02, 2020 14:30 UTC
Escapes: Remember, travel is the payoff for patience
Explore California, the West and beyond with the weekly Escapes newsletter from travel editor Catharine Hamm. Sign Me Up You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Crankypants, and I’m the travel editor for the Los Angeles Times. OK, practicing the 4-7-8 breathing method (breathe in to four counts, hold for seven counts, exhale for eight counts). Looking aheadIn this week’s queue of reading material are stories that will help you plan now for that day when you can travel.
Source:Los Angeles Times
April 02, 2020 14:26 UTC
New England Patriots team plane flying 1.2 million N95 masks from China to help ease coronavirus shortages
(CNN) A New England Patriots team plane loaded with 1.2 million N95 protective masks is on its way back to Boston after picking up the vital supplies in China. He worked with New England Patriots ' owner Robert Kraft and the Patriots to get these supplies brought over from China. Thanks to some serious teamwork, Massachusetts is set to receive over 1 million N95 masks for our front-line workers. Thanks to some serious teamwork, Massachusetts is set to receive over 1 million N95 masks for our front-line workers. pic.twitter.com/ieV6XMC5Ow — Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) April 2, 2020Robert Kraft and Patriots president Jonathan Kraft partnered with the state to purchase 1.4 million N95 masks for Massachusetts, according to the team.
Source:CNN
April 02, 2020 14:26 UTC
Amid Coronavirus, New York Fed Paper Sees Value in Holding Back Bank Data in a Crisis
As banks around the world come under stress from the coronavirus crisis, a New York Fed paper says there is a benefit of limiting disclosure of information on the soundness of banks in times of stress. In a crisis, “theory predicts that undesirable outcomes can occur if the publication of balance sheet information induces runs on solvent banks,” write Haelim Anderson of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Adam Copeland of the New York Fed, in a blog post Thursday. “As a result, it may be desirable for regulators to...
Source:Wall Street Journal
April 02, 2020 14:26 UTC
We’re All Baking Bread Now (And Many of Us Are Failing at It)
Andrew Bush, a civil defense attorney in Chicago, said he had seen a lot of people posting about pandemic-inspired homemade bread on social media. Share Your Thoughts Have you tried baking bread in the last few weeks? To decide which type of bread to make, Mr. Bardha painted a square of cardboard and affixed a spinning arrow to the center. “The outside looked beautiful,” Ms. Grana said, but the inside was “a little sad.” She turned the bread into croutons. For others, bread baking is less of a game and more of a coping mechanism.
Source:Wall Street Journal
April 02, 2020 14:24 UTC
How to train yourself not to touch your face
"Do wash your hands, do stand 2 meters apart -- but don't touch your face? We touch our face for many reasons: to groom, to gesture (like with the classic face palm) and to scratch. To overcome these ingrained habits, Michie recommends making a conscious effort to keep your hands below shoulder level at all times and train yourself to resist the urge to touch your face. Floating Doctors, a US medical relief group, has launched a "Don't Touch Your Face" campaign to implore people to break the physical and psychological habit of touching their face. It's almost silly, and it just doesn't feel right that stopping face touching could make much of a difference.
Source:CNN
April 02, 2020 14:15 UTC
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who resisted strict coronavirus measures, says he just learned it transmits asymptomatically
That’s when health officials started emphasizing that asymptomatic people are transmitting the coronavirus. ADADAnthony S. Fauci, a lead member of the White House coronavirus task force, was talking about asymptomatic transmission more than two months ago. Now we know for sure that there are,” Fauci said at a Jan. 31 task force briefing. By March 22, Fauci was more directly warning young people that they could transmit the virus asymptomatically. Kemp isn’t the first top official to make comments suggesting that they weren’t exactly up to speed on the particulars here.
Source:Washington Post
April 02, 2020 14:04 UTC
'Slay the Dragon' connects the dots on the political battle over gerrymandering
(CNN) "Slay the Dragon" does an extraordinarily good job of taking a complex issue and connecting the dots, which seems particularly appropriate for a documentary about gerrymandering. For those who might not be entirely clear on the process, gerrymandering refers to political parties drawing district lines in ways that are most advantageous to their election. The result is often comically shaped boundaries, allowing the party in power to essentially lock in statehouse majorities. Dale Schultz, a former Republican member of the Wisconsin Legislature who has spoken out against the practice, notes that the effect is to have "legislators picking voters rather than voters picking legislators." As a related consequence, grouping conservatives within safely drawn Republican districts has served to insulate elected officials.
Source:CNN
April 02, 2020 14:03 UTC
Actress Tracee Ellis Ross on Relieving Stress During the Coronavirus Pandemic
In a series called How I Cope, we speak to people across the country about the things they’re doing to relieve stress in these uncertain times due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s our conversation with Tracee Ellis Ross, a Golden Globe-winning actress best-known for her roles in the comedy series “Girlfriends” and “Black-ish.” She is the creator and narrator of “Mixed-ish” (a “Black-ish” spinoff) and the founder and CEO of Pattern Beauty, a haircare line for people with curls. Ms. Ellis Ross lives in Los Angeles.
Source:Wall Street Journal
April 02, 2020 14:03 UTC