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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
April 3, 2020
An outbreak of incompetence
By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
April 3, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. EDT
White House adviser Jared Kushner broke the irony meter as he — not someone qualified, such as Anthony S. Fauci — took over the daily coronavirus briefing on Thursday to inform us: “What a lot of the voters are seeing now is that when you elect somebody ... think about who will be a competent manager during the time of crisis.”
Yes, President Trump’s voters, along with those who elected the similarly ignorant and slothful Republican governors in Florida and Georgia who failed to act promptly to stem the coronavirus, should remember that next time. Better to elect someone like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) or Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) rather than someone continually pandering to Trump, resisting readily available scientific advice and attacking the media.
One has the sinking feeling that things are going from bad to worse. Trump and the feds declined to act swiftly, in particular failing to get widespread testing up and running. Now they are failing to remedy the dire medical crisis that their negligence brought on. Kushner said the federal stockpile of medical equipment is for the feds to use, not the states. His father-in-law seems allergic to implementing fully the Defense Production Act, so the bidding war among the states for critical equipment continues.
Republican governors in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama declined to issue prompt stay-at-home orders. Now? Trump refuses to issue one nationally despite Fauci’s advice. “I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” he said in a CNN interview. “As you said, the tension between federally mandated vs. states’ rights to do what they want is something I don’t want to get into. But if you look at what is going on in this country, I do not understand why we are not doing that. We really should be.” The answer: We have a total lack of federal leadership and competence.
snip//
The chaos, confusion and incompetence at the federal level magnify our daily anxiety and uncertainty. We have lost control of our lives, and those supposed to lead us through this ordeal are deepening our national trauma. Years of contempt for expertise, for competent government and for truth itself on the right now haunt us all. God help us.
An outbreak of incompetence
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/03/pandemic-incompetence/?fbclid=IwAR19YCcrXMsFwnFo68B5jXC1D3YZgSFSJGpBtwX1HK3VjNRAqxVFxIAyfAgAn outbreak of incompetence
By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
April 3, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. EDT
White House adviser Jared Kushner broke the irony meter as he — not someone qualified, such as Anthony S. Fauci — took over the daily coronavirus briefing on Thursday to inform us: “What a lot of the voters are seeing now is that when you elect somebody ... think about who will be a competent manager during the time of crisis.”
Yes, President Trump’s voters, along with those who elected the similarly ignorant and slothful Republican governors in Florida and Georgia who failed to act promptly to stem the coronavirus, should remember that next time. Better to elect someone like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) or Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) rather than someone continually pandering to Trump, resisting readily available scientific advice and attacking the media.
One has the sinking feeling that things are going from bad to worse. Trump and the feds declined to act swiftly, in particular failing to get widespread testing up and running. Now they are failing to remedy the dire medical crisis that their negligence brought on. Kushner said the federal stockpile of medical equipment is for the feds to use, not the states. His father-in-law seems allergic to implementing fully the Defense Production Act, so the bidding war among the states for critical equipment continues.
Republican governors in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama declined to issue prompt stay-at-home orders. Now? Trump refuses to issue one nationally despite Fauci’s advice. “I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” he said in a CNN interview. “As you said, the tension between federally mandated vs. states’ rights to do what they want is something I don’t want to get into. But if you look at what is going on in this country, I do not understand why we are not doing that. We really should be.” The answer: We have a total lack of federal leadership and competence.
snip//
The chaos, confusion and incompetence at the federal level magnify our daily anxiety and uncertainty. We have lost control of our lives, and those supposed to lead us through this ordeal are deepening our national trauma. Years of contempt for expertise, for competent government and for truth itself on the right now haunt us all. God help us.
April 3, 2020
Researchers have identified at least eight strains of the novel coronavirus that has infected more than one million people across the globe, and say the mutations are useful in determining just how the virus is spreading.
Thousands of genetic sequences of the virus have been uploaded to the open database NextStrain, which shows how the virus is migrating and splitting into new but similar subtypes. Researchers said the data show the virus is mutating on average every 15 days, according to National Geographic.
NexStrain co-founder Trevor Bedford said, however, the mutations are so small that no one strain of the virus is more deadly than another. Researchers also say it does not appear the strains will grow more lethal as they evolve.
Bedford said the different strains make it possible for researchers to see whether community transmission is widespread in a region, which can show whether stay-at-home measures are working.
“We’ll be able to tell how much less transmission we’re seeing and answer the question, ‘Can we take our foot off the gas?” Bedford said.
The database also shows how the coronavirus is spreading throughout the U.S.
more...
https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/medical-advances/491056-at-least-8-strains-of-the-coronavirus-have-been?fbclid=IwAR3fP6M7-qQxLGZRlPXKKgnprwDVk0rtboLHd3kw25kxYHR6kQB-5Lwk_cI&fbclid=IwAR2CIgNI7uEpkGQL7-2-MUU13JmTqGv6Kn0ITO4QTzkQOJeyyGZF13HARC8
At least 8 strains of the coronavirus have been identified
Color me concerned anyway.
At least 8 strains of the coronavirus have been identified
Researchers say the small mutations are useful in showing how the virus is spreading around the world, and aren’t cause for concern.
By Joseph Guzman
Thousands of genetic sequences of the virus have been uploaded to the open database NextStrain.
The database shows how the virus is spreading and splitting into new but similar subtypes.
Researchers say the mutations are slight and it does not appear the strains will grow more lethal as they evolve.
The database shows how the virus is spreading and splitting into new but similar subtypes.
Researchers say the mutations are slight and it does not appear the strains will grow more lethal as they evolve.
Researchers have identified at least eight strains of the novel coronavirus that has infected more than one million people across the globe, and say the mutations are useful in determining just how the virus is spreading.
Thousands of genetic sequences of the virus have been uploaded to the open database NextStrain, which shows how the virus is migrating and splitting into new but similar subtypes. Researchers said the data show the virus is mutating on average every 15 days, according to National Geographic.
NexStrain co-founder Trevor Bedford said, however, the mutations are so small that no one strain of the virus is more deadly than another. Researchers also say it does not appear the strains will grow more lethal as they evolve.
“These mutations are completely benign and useful as a puzzle piece to uncover how the virus is spreading,” Bedford told National Geographic.
Bedford said the different strains make it possible for researchers to see whether community transmission is widespread in a region, which can show whether stay-at-home measures are working.
“We’ll be able to tell how much less transmission we’re seeing and answer the question, ‘Can we take our foot off the gas?” Bedford said.
The database also shows how the coronavirus is spreading throughout the U.S.
more...
https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/medical-advances/491056-at-least-8-strains-of-the-coronavirus-have-been?fbclid=IwAR3fP6M7-qQxLGZRlPXKKgnprwDVk0rtboLHd3kw25kxYHR6kQB-5Lwk_cI&fbclid=IwAR2CIgNI7uEpkGQL7-2-MUU13JmTqGv6Kn0ITO4QTzkQOJeyyGZF13HARC8
April 3, 2020
Robert F. Kennedy's Granddaughter and Her Son Missing in Canoe Accident
4/3/2020 11:49 AM PT
Breaking News
Two members of the Kennedy family are missing after a canoeing accident on the Chesapeake Bay, and after 24 hours, Maryland's Governor says the search continues for them.
Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, and her 8-year-old son, Gideon, were reported missing Thursday after paddling out near Annapolis, MD ... according to the Washington Post.
The Kennedys are reportedly gathered at a waterfront house and children were playing with a ball in the yard Thursday afternoon when it was kicked into the bay. Maeve and her son hopped in a canoe to track down the ball, but they were unable to paddle back to shore.
Maryland authorities said an overturned canoe matching the description of the Kennedy's had been recovered. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan held a news conference Friday and announced the search for Maeve and Gideon continues.
Maeve's mother is former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.
The Coast Guard says Maeve and her son were "seen struggling to return to shore in a canoe" before disappearing. Thursday was an extremely windy day on the bay, with gusts of up to 40 MPH in the D.C. area.
Helicopters and boat rescue crews have been searching the area for 24 hours, but still nothing.
Robert F. Kennedy's Granddaughter and Her Son Missing in Canoe Accident
https://www.tmz.com/2020/04/03/maeve-kennedy-son-drown-canoe-boating-rfk-chesapeake-bay-rfk-granddaughter/?fbclid=IwAR2SjYgM-cfa9gauWNO1TWsHHTb48ji7sTIUXLc-Z4N8hkVuJrPaezWOsGARobert F. Kennedy's Granddaughter and Her Son Missing in Canoe Accident
4/3/2020 11:49 AM PT
Breaking News
Two members of the Kennedy family are missing after a canoeing accident on the Chesapeake Bay, and after 24 hours, Maryland's Governor says the search continues for them.
Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, and her 8-year-old son, Gideon, were reported missing Thursday after paddling out near Annapolis, MD ... according to the Washington Post.
The Kennedys are reportedly gathered at a waterfront house and children were playing with a ball in the yard Thursday afternoon when it was kicked into the bay. Maeve and her son hopped in a canoe to track down the ball, but they were unable to paddle back to shore.
Maryland authorities said an overturned canoe matching the description of the Kennedy's had been recovered. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan held a news conference Friday and announced the search for Maeve and Gideon continues.
Maeve's mother is former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.
The Coast Guard says Maeve and her son were "seen struggling to return to shore in a canoe" before disappearing. Thursday was an extremely windy day on the bay, with gusts of up to 40 MPH in the D.C. area.
Helicopters and boat rescue crews have been searching the area for 24 hours, but still nothing.
April 3, 2020
Veterans Denounce 'Unforgivable' Decision to Remove U.S. Navy Captain Brett Crozier, Who Asked for Help With Ship's COVID-19 Outbreak
By Ewan Palmer On 4/3/20 at 5:59 AM EDT
Veterans have spoken out against the decision to relieve the captain of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt after he sent a letter to the Navy pleading for help after his ship was stricken with the coronavirus.
snip//
Malcolm Nance, former Navy senior chief petty officer, accused officials of "abject stupidity" for relieving Crozier.
"You had better drop your anchors on this one. This 'sailors first' admiral may be Secretary of the Navy next Jan. He should be because he cares more about my beloved Navy than you do."
snip//
New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim issued a statement calling for the immediate reinstatement of Crozier, calling the decision "shameful."
more...
https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-navy-ship-captain-brett-crozier-1495923?fbclid=IwAR02ncodowt4ADGvT8e9VI8kK8M7z25pTyhpUmVemwxi_tYSZmWKoPdHIo4
Veterans Denounce 'Unforgivable' Decision to Remove U.S. Navy Captain Brett Crozier...
Veterans Denounce 'Unforgivable' Decision to Remove U.S. Navy Captain Brett Crozier, Who Asked for Help With Ship's COVID-19 Outbreak
By Ewan Palmer On 4/3/20 at 5:59 AM EDT
Veterans have spoken out against the decision to relieve the captain of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt after he sent a letter to the Navy pleading for help after his ship was stricken with the coronavirus.
snip//
"I understand the 'trust & confidence' argument. It's sacrosanct in the Navy," John Kirby, a retired rear admiral who served as the State Department's head spokesman from 2015 to 2017, wrote on Twitter.
"But based on justification put forth by acting SECNAV for why he lost trust & confidence in the TR CO, hard to see it as anything other than an over-reaction & unwarranted at a vital time for the ship."
"But based on justification put forth by acting SECNAV for why he lost trust & confidence in the TR CO, hard to see it as anything other than an over-reaction & unwarranted at a vital time for the ship."
Malcolm Nance, former Navy senior chief petty officer, accused officials of "abject stupidity" for relieving Crozier.
"You had better drop your anchors on this one. This 'sailors first' admiral may be Secretary of the Navy next Jan. He should be because he cares more about my beloved Navy than you do."
snip//
New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim issued a statement calling for the immediate reinstatement of Crozier, calling the decision "shameful."
"Our servicemen and women sign up and put themselves in harm's way for the defense of our country, they shouldn't be put in harm's way because of indecision by leadership at the Pentagon to address a crisis that endangered thousands who wear the uniform," Kim said. "Dismissing him sends a dangerous message to our leaders across the military."
more...
https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-navy-ship-captain-brett-crozier-1495923?fbclid=IwAR02ncodowt4ADGvT8e9VI8kK8M7z25pTyhpUmVemwxi_tYSZmWKoPdHIo4
April 3, 2020
This Brooklyn Landlord Just Canceled Rent for Hundreds of Tenants
Mario Salerno, who has 18 apartment buildings, said he did not want renters to stress about their payment during the coronavirus pandemic.
By Matthew Haag
April 3, 2020, 10:13 a.m. ET
A few days after losing his job in March, Paul Gentile was throwing away trash outside his Brooklyn apartment building when he noticed a new sign hanging near the front door.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought life to a near standstill in New York City and caused an untold number of people to lose their jobs, tenants in the building did not need to pay April rent, it read.
“STAY SAFE, HELP YOUR NEIGHBORS & WASH YOUR HANDS!!!” the landlord, Mario Salerno, wrote on the signs, which he posted at all of his 18 residential buildings in the borough.
More than any large city in the United States, New York is made up of millions of renters, many of whom survive paycheck to paycheck and pay a large portion of their monthly income for a place to live.
The sudden collapse of the economy has left many New Yorkers stressing about how they can pay their bills, especially rent.
more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc-landlord-mario-salerno.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR2_5Uf8jDA_dE4pNiibIYpncrGVUeudXOo6AnwZkIr6cPsvRppGwvOKegM&fbclid=IwAR34981DRaQRJ7jByn7ziCMTVTVB324y-4N6PK-3TZIzyoTtxKEyvCWmWvw
This Brooklyn Landlord Just Canceled Rent for Hundreds of Tenants
This Brooklyn Landlord Just Canceled Rent for Hundreds of Tenants
Mario Salerno, who has 18 apartment buildings, said he did not want renters to stress about their payment during the coronavirus pandemic.
By Matthew Haag
April 3, 2020, 10:13 a.m. ET
A few days after losing his job in March, Paul Gentile was throwing away trash outside his Brooklyn apartment building when he noticed a new sign hanging near the front door.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought life to a near standstill in New York City and caused an untold number of people to lose their jobs, tenants in the building did not need to pay April rent, it read.
“STAY SAFE, HELP YOUR NEIGHBORS & WASH YOUR HANDS!!!” the landlord, Mario Salerno, wrote on the signs, which he posted at all of his 18 residential buildings in the borough.
More than any large city in the United States, New York is made up of millions of renters, many of whom survive paycheck to paycheck and pay a large portion of their monthly income for a place to live.
The sudden collapse of the economy has left many New Yorkers stressing about how they can pay their bills, especially rent.
more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc-landlord-mario-salerno.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR2_5Uf8jDA_dE4pNiibIYpncrGVUeudXOo6AnwZkIr6cPsvRppGwvOKegM&fbclid=IwAR34981DRaQRJ7jByn7ziCMTVTVB324y-4N6PK-3TZIzyoTtxKEyvCWmWvw
April 3, 2020
Washington State Group Is 1st to Sue Fox News for Calling Coronavirus a ‘Hoax’
Posted by Ken Stone on April 2, 2020 in Business | 28220 Views
An obscure Washington state group has become the first in the nation to sue Fox News over its coronavirus coverage, asking a state court to keep the cable network from airing false information about the pandemic.
The 10-page complaint — filed Thursday in King County — also names as defendants Fox News Corp., owner Rupert Murdoch, AT&T TV and COMCAST.
It seeks an injunction to prohibit the conservative-leaning outlet from “interfering with reasonable and necessary measures to contain the virus by publishing further false and deceptive content.”
Reacting in a statement, Lily Fu Claffee, general counsel for FOX News Media, told Times of San Diego: “Wrong on the facts, frivolous on the law. We will defend vigorously and seek sanctions as appropriate.”
Arthur West, leader of the 3-year-old Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics, or WASHLITE, the plaintiff, said in a phone interview that its members have run into people who still believe earlier Fox News reports that the pandemic was a hoax.
more...
https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2020/04/02/washington-state-group-is-1st-to-sue-fox-news-for-calling-coronavirus-a-hoax/?fbclid=IwAR0iKug2kyXUwL201cpVR3d4F5Wl-QJi4ptJoJ5PFcC5LVkRp45uPLKI3p8
Washington State Group Is 1st to Sue Fox News for Calling Coronavirus a 'Hoax'
Washington State Group Is 1st to Sue Fox News for Calling Coronavirus a ‘Hoax’
Posted by Ken Stone on April 2, 2020 in Business | 28220 Views
An obscure Washington state group has become the first in the nation to sue Fox News over its coronavirus coverage, asking a state court to keep the cable network from airing false information about the pandemic.
The 10-page complaint — filed Thursday in King County — also names as defendants Fox News Corp., owner Rupert Murdoch, AT&T TV and COMCAST.
It seeks an injunction to prohibit the conservative-leaning outlet from “interfering with reasonable and necessary measures to contain the virus by publishing further false and deceptive content.”
Reacting in a statement, Lily Fu Claffee, general counsel for FOX News Media, told Times of San Diego: “Wrong on the facts, frivolous on the law. We will defend vigorously and seek sanctions as appropriate.”
Arthur West, leader of the 3-year-old Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics, or WASHLITE, the plaintiff, said in a phone interview that its members have run into people who still believe earlier Fox News reports that the pandemic was a hoax.
more...
https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2020/04/02/washington-state-group-is-1st-to-sue-fox-news-for-calling-coronavirus-a-hoax/?fbclid=IwAR0iKug2kyXUwL201cpVR3d4F5Wl-QJi4ptJoJ5PFcC5LVkRp45uPLKI3p8
April 3, 2020
"Don't let us die": Women in ICE custody plead for release amid coronavirus pandemic
By Camilo Montoya-Galvez
April 3, 2020 / 6:00 AM / CBS News
The women detained at the for-profit jail in the small, rural town of Jena, Louisiana, hail from all corners of Latin America. Some are asylum-seekers who fled repressive regimes. Others are lawful U.S. permanent residents who were picked up by immigration authorities after serving time in prison. Some are mothers and even grandmothers.
Right now, they're all terrified.
Like many of the more than 35,000 immigrants currently in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, the women held at the LaSalle detention center in Jena feel powerless to shield themselves from the highly contagious coronavirus, which has killed more than 53,000 people worldwide, including more than 6,000 in the U.S. At least 310 people have died in Louisiana alone, where a recent surge in cases has threatened to overwhelm the state's health care system.
With at least six confirmed cases among detainees nationwide and five among detention center employees, ICE has come under intense pressure to drastically downsize its detainee population to mitigate the risk of outbreaks.
But detainees and their advocates fear ICE isn't acting quickly enough. Despite some releases, many of them compelled by a flurry of lawsuits, the agency has resisted calls to implement a nationwide policy of releasing some categories of detainees, including older immigrants, those with chronic medical conditions and asylum-seekers who don't pose a threat to the public.
Desperation among detainees has mounted. Last week, officials at the Jena facility pepper sprayed women detainees who tried to leave a housing area during a briefing on coronavirus preparations. But seven women who were there said the jail staff failed to address their concerns about lax social distancing and hygiene practices, prompting a small group to start protesting. ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said the four women who were pepper sprayed "became disruptive and confrontational," and "attempted to physically force their way out."
snip//
"Give us an opportunity to be with our families. We're mothers," Ana, a 46-year-old Dominican immigrant, told CBS News in Spanish during a phone call from the Jena facility. "Don't let us die like this, as if we were animals. We're human beings."
more...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-women-ice-custody-louisiana-release-covid-19/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab6a&linkId=85742165&fbclid=IwAR2lKDdmiInMtfTcVeEzsleMFBSH-uvlFt2roK9k2vPXKzJxjLqqVHvHFTw
"Don't let us die": Women in ICE custody plead for release amid coronavirus pandemic
"Don't let us die": Women in ICE custody plead for release amid coronavirus pandemic
By Camilo Montoya-Galvez
April 3, 2020 / 6:00 AM / CBS News
The women detained at the for-profit jail in the small, rural town of Jena, Louisiana, hail from all corners of Latin America. Some are asylum-seekers who fled repressive regimes. Others are lawful U.S. permanent residents who were picked up by immigration authorities after serving time in prison. Some are mothers and even grandmothers.
Right now, they're all terrified.
Like many of the more than 35,000 immigrants currently in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, the women held at the LaSalle detention center in Jena feel powerless to shield themselves from the highly contagious coronavirus, which has killed more than 53,000 people worldwide, including more than 6,000 in the U.S. At least 310 people have died in Louisiana alone, where a recent surge in cases has threatened to overwhelm the state's health care system.
With at least six confirmed cases among detainees nationwide and five among detention center employees, ICE has come under intense pressure to drastically downsize its detainee population to mitigate the risk of outbreaks.
But detainees and their advocates fear ICE isn't acting quickly enough. Despite some releases, many of them compelled by a flurry of lawsuits, the agency has resisted calls to implement a nationwide policy of releasing some categories of detainees, including older immigrants, those with chronic medical conditions and asylum-seekers who don't pose a threat to the public.
Desperation among detainees has mounted. Last week, officials at the Jena facility pepper sprayed women detainees who tried to leave a housing area during a briefing on coronavirus preparations. But seven women who were there said the jail staff failed to address their concerns about lax social distancing and hygiene practices, prompting a small group to start protesting. ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said the four women who were pepper sprayed "became disruptive and confrontational," and "attempted to physically force their way out."
snip//
"Give us an opportunity to be with our families. We're mothers," Ana, a 46-year-old Dominican immigrant, told CBS News in Spanish during a phone call from the Jena facility. "Don't let us die like this, as if we were animals. We're human beings."
more...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-women-ice-custody-louisiana-release-covid-19/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab6a&linkId=85742165&fbclid=IwAR2lKDdmiInMtfTcVeEzsleMFBSH-uvlFt2roK9k2vPXKzJxjLqqVHvHFTw
April 3, 2020
Trump Congratulates Businesses for Helping Fight Coronavirus. But His Own Company Has Been Absent.
We checked in on the Trump Organization’s properties and couldn’t find any sign they were joining the effort to fight the coronavirus, even as the president urges other companies to do so.
by Peter Elkind April 2, 2 p.m. EDT
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
As America’s coronavirus crisis has mushroomed, President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the efforts of businesses to meet a desperate nation’s needs. “It’s been really amazing to see these big, strong, powerful — in some cases, very small companies, family-owned companies — step up and make a lot of great product for what we’re going through and what we will continue to be going through for a while,” Trump declared on March 24.
His press conferences have sometimes seemed like a parade of CEOs, from the leaders of retail and pharmaceutical giants like Walmart and Roche to chiefs of relative mites like MyPillow. Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump have chimed in, too, lauding one hotel chain for offering free rooms to doctors, nurses and medical first responders.
“America’s Private Sector is stepping up to help us be STRONG!” President Trump tweeted around the same time.
As for the president’s own private business? It doesn’t appear to be “stepping up.”
ProPublica examined the seven hotel properties and dozen U.S. country clubs owned by the Trump Organization and could find no sign that any are taking the sorts of civic-minded steps the president has urged.
One example is New York. As coronavirus cases multiplied, Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked hotel owners to donate their properties (already shuttered or largely empty) for emergency use by medical personnel or noncritical patients requiring isolation. By March 26, according to a list of “significant donations” posted on the governor’s website, six had agreed to do so, including the high-end Four Seasons, St. Regis and Plaza hotels. “Proud to see NY’s hotels stepping up!” the governor tweeted on March 26.
The Trump International Hotel and Tower, with 176 rooms and suites overlooking Central Park, is not among them. Instead, at a moment when New York City, enduring the nation’s worst pandemic onslaught, is under a shelter-in-place order, the Trumps’ Manhattan hotel remains open for paying guests. (Rooms, according to the hotel’s website, start at $525 a night.)
more...
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-congratulates-businesses-for-helping-fight-coronavirus-but-his-own-company-has-been-absent
Trump Congratulates Businesses for Helping Fight Coronavirus. But His Own Company Has Been Absent.
Trump Congratulates Businesses for Helping Fight Coronavirus. But His Own Company Has Been Absent.
We checked in on the Trump Organization’s properties and couldn’t find any sign they were joining the effort to fight the coronavirus, even as the president urges other companies to do so.
by Peter Elkind April 2, 2 p.m. EDT
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
As America’s coronavirus crisis has mushroomed, President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the efforts of businesses to meet a desperate nation’s needs. “It’s been really amazing to see these big, strong, powerful — in some cases, very small companies, family-owned companies — step up and make a lot of great product for what we’re going through and what we will continue to be going through for a while,” Trump declared on March 24.
His press conferences have sometimes seemed like a parade of CEOs, from the leaders of retail and pharmaceutical giants like Walmart and Roche to chiefs of relative mites like MyPillow. Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump have chimed in, too, lauding one hotel chain for offering free rooms to doctors, nurses and medical first responders.
“America’s Private Sector is stepping up to help us be STRONG!” President Trump tweeted around the same time.
As for the president’s own private business? It doesn’t appear to be “stepping up.”
ProPublica examined the seven hotel properties and dozen U.S. country clubs owned by the Trump Organization and could find no sign that any are taking the sorts of civic-minded steps the president has urged.
One example is New York. As coronavirus cases multiplied, Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked hotel owners to donate their properties (already shuttered or largely empty) for emergency use by medical personnel or noncritical patients requiring isolation. By March 26, according to a list of “significant donations” posted on the governor’s website, six had agreed to do so, including the high-end Four Seasons, St. Regis and Plaza hotels. “Proud to see NY’s hotels stepping up!” the governor tweeted on March 26.
The Trump International Hotel and Tower, with 176 rooms and suites overlooking Central Park, is not among them. Instead, at a moment when New York City, enduring the nation’s worst pandemic onslaught, is under a shelter-in-place order, the Trumps’ Manhattan hotel remains open for paying guests. (Rooms, according to the hotel’s website, start at $525 a night.)
more...
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-congratulates-businesses-for-helping-fight-coronavirus-but-his-own-company-has-been-absent
April 3, 2020
https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/04/03/its-a-sh-sandwich-republicans-rage-as-florida-becomes-a-nightmare-for-trump-1271172
‘It's a sh-- sandwich': Republicans rage as Florida becomes a nightmare for Trump
By GARY FINEOUT and MARC CAPUTO
04/03/2020 05:02 AM EDT
TALLAHASSEE — The staggering unemployment exploding on President Donald Trump’s watch would worry any incumbent running for reelection, but troubles in Florida are injecting an added dose of fear into a jittery GOP.
Already anxious about Trump’s chances in the nation’s biggest swing state, Republicans now are dealing with thousands of unemployed workers unable to navigate the Florida system to apply for help. And the blowback is directed straight at Trump’s top allies in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.
Privately, Republicans admit that the $77.9 million system that is now failing Florida workers is doing exactly what Scott designed it to do — lower the state’s reported number of jobless claims after the great recession.
Republican Party of Florida chairman Joe Gruters was more succinct: “$77 million? Someone should go to jail over that.”
snip//
Republicans in the Legislature share the blame, said Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, a Miami Democrat.
'It's a sh-- sandwich': Republicans rage as Florida becomes a nightmare for Trump
https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/04/03/its-a-sh-sandwich-republicans-rage-as-florida-becomes-a-nightmare-for-trump-1271172
‘It's a sh-- sandwich': Republicans rage as Florida becomes a nightmare for Trump
By GARY FINEOUT and MARC CAPUTO
04/03/2020 05:02 AM EDT
TALLAHASSEE — The staggering unemployment exploding on President Donald Trump’s watch would worry any incumbent running for reelection, but troubles in Florida are injecting an added dose of fear into a jittery GOP.
Already anxious about Trump’s chances in the nation’s biggest swing state, Republicans now are dealing with thousands of unemployed workers unable to navigate the Florida system to apply for help. And the blowback is directed straight at Trump’s top allies in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.
Privately, Republicans admit that the $77.9 million system that is now failing Florida workers is doing exactly what Scott designed it to do — lower the state’s reported number of jobless claims after the great recession.
“It’s a sh-- sandwich, and it was designed that way by Scott,” said one DeSantis advisor. “It wasn’t about saving money. It was about making it harder for people to get benefits or keep benefits so that the unemployment numbers were low to give the governor something to brag about.”
Republican Party of Florida chairman Joe Gruters was more succinct: “$77 million? Someone should go to jail over that.”
snip//
Republicans in the Legislature share the blame, said Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, a Miami Democrat.
“Rick Scott is the most culpable human being when we look at who’s responsible for the failed system,” Rodriguez said. “But I don’t know of any Republican who resisted these efforts to make Florida the most Scrooge-like state in the nation.”
April 3, 2020
Typically, Fauci, who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 under six different administrations, is known for his 16-hour work days and his habit (as a former marathoner) of squeezing in a seven-mile run at lunchtime.
more...
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/02/white-house-advisor-anthony-faucis-wife-on-his-hectic-schedule.html
...Dr. Fauci works 20-hour days and his wife reminds him to eat, sleep and drink water
White House advisor Dr. Fauci works 20-hour days and his wife reminds him to eat, sleep and drink water
Published Thu, Apr 2 20201:29 PM EDTUpdated Thu, Apr 2 20203:49 PM EDT
Jade Scipioni
Director of the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health Anthony Fauci and his wife Christine Grady arrive at the White House for a state dinner October 18, 2016 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting a state dinner for Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi and his wife Agnese Landini. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Most people know immunologist Anthony Fauci as the doctor at the forefront of the White House’s response to the coronavirus pandemic — the grey-haired, bespectacled man who stands alongside President Donald Trump at pandemic press conferences.
The job has reportedly earned him a personal security detail due to threats of violence. He takes it seriously, but also in stride.
?[T]his is the life I’ve chosen,” Fauci told CBS’s Gayle King. “It’s my job.”
And what a job it is: Over Fauci’s 36-year career as an infectious disease expert, he has handled outbreaks and pandemics including HIV, SARS, MERS and Ebola.
Now, at 79, Fauci is working 19- to 20-hour days thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s Fauci’s wife of 35 years, Christine Grady, a nurse bioethicist, who is there at the end of those very long days to remind him to take care of himself too.
“I try to get him to rest, to drink water, to eat well, to sleep, and to be selective about what he agrees to and say no to some things,” Grady tells CNBC Make It.
Typically, Fauci, who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 under six different administrations, is known for his 16-hour work days and his habit (as a former marathoner) of squeezing in a seven-mile run at lunchtime.
more...
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/02/white-house-advisor-anthony-faucis-wife-on-his-hectic-schedule.html
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