demmiblue
demmiblue's JournalThe Twit tweets: As usual with "this" General Motors, things just never seem to work out. They...
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1243560705082757122
Tomorrow's New York Times front page:
White House Considers $1 Billion Price Tag for Ventilators -- and Has Second Thoughts
Source: NYT
WASHINGTON — The White House had been preparing on Wednesday to announce amid an escalating pandemic that a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems would begin producing as many as 80,000 desperately needed ventilators when word suddenly came down that the announcement was off.
The decision to cancel the announcement, according to government officials, came after the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive — more than $1 billion, with several hundred million dollars to be paid upfront to General Motors to retool the car parts plant in Kokomo, Ind., where the ventilators would be made with Ventec’s technology.
Government officials said the deal may still happen but that they are looking at a dozen or more other proposals. And they contend that an initial promise that the joint venture could turn out 20,000 ventilators in short order had shrunk to 7,500, with even that number in doubt. Longtime emergency managers at FEMA are working with military officials to sort through the competing offers and federal procurement rules while under pressure to give President Trump something to announce.
By early Thursday evening, at the president’s daily news briefing with his coronavirus task force, there was still nothing to announce, and the outcome of the deliberations remained unclear.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/us/politics/coronavirus-ventilators-trump.html
https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1243330672300822531
https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1243330438942404616
Inslee to Trump: "We don't need a backup. We need a Tom Brady."
https://twitter.com/costareports/status/1243269738362535941
After Trump told governors that his administration was ready to be the “backup” for states in crisis, Inslee spoke up and said to the president, “We don’t need a backup. We need a Tom Brady,” a reference to the legendary Super Bowl-winning quarterback who has been friendly with the president, said the people familiar with the exchange with the president who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conference call.
Inslee, they added, also alluded to the Defense Production Act and said Washington state needs businesses to be more than encouraged to produce items such as masks and ventilators — they need a federal mandate to force them to act. He said the Pentagon needed to make immediate moves to prod defense companies to provide materials. And he spoke with urgency about the situation in nursing homes.
Trump was defensive of his efforts, two of the people added, and told Inslee that he and the federal government have done much for Washington and other states in recent days, and ticked off several things his administration has done.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-governors-inslee-coronavirus/2020/03/26/afd25a8c-6f9a-11ea-b148-e4ce3fbd85b5_story.html
My 15 y/o son says I'm wasting time & embarassing him by making videos of toilet paper funerals...
https://twitter.com/iamjakz/status/1242973079808004098
"It honestly felt like I was working in a war zone...I'm already breaking so people please..."
"It honestly felt like I was working in a war zone...I'm already breaking so people please take this seriously"
A HERO
LISTEN TO HER!
https://twitter.com/_SJPeace_/status/1242974555905327104
The power of a squeaky toy!
https://twitter.com/WoofWoof_TV/status/1243150944247873537
Four Seasons Provides Free Rooms to NYC Coronavirus Doctors
The luxury hotel, where rooms typically top $1,000 a night, closed on Friday and is not taking new bookings through April 15, according to its website.
“Many of those working in New York City have to travel long distances to and from their homes after putting in 18-hour days,” said Ty Warner, the founder and chairman of Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts, which owns the property. “They need a place close to work where they can rest and regenerate.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the Four Seasons plan in a tweet on Wednesday. Warner is the billionaire founder of Ty Inc., best known as the maker of Beanie Babies.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-25/four-seasons-to-provide-free-rooms-to-nyc-coronavirus-doctors?utm_source=twitter&utm_content=business&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic
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