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Showing posts from April 17, 2020

I waited in line for more than 2 hours to take the coronavirus antibody test and got my results in 10 minutes — here's what it was like

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The drive-thru antibody test for coronavirus took Jon Rettinger of California just 10 minutes from start to finish. His test came back negative. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2xsrQjn via Latest News

Disgraced Trump aide Roger Stone is denied new trial as judge rejects jury bias claims

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Donald Trump’s longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone has been denied a new trial after a failed attempt to claim jury bias during a previous trial.Amy Berman Jackson, a US District Court Judge in Washington DC, rejected Mr Stone’s claim that a jury forewoman with strong opinions on the US president had been biased against him. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2xCeEbE via Latest News

Beijing Admits to Undercounting Coronavirus Deaths, Raises Wuhan Death Toll by 50 Percent

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The Chinese Communist Party has revised its reported death count in Wuhan by exactly 50 percent, an attempt to improve the “credibility of the government” as residents and experts have warned the actual count is far higher that what's been previously reported.In an interview Friday with the Xinhua state news agency, officials pointed to unreported deaths at homes as the reason for the revision, to show "accountability to history, to the people and the victims," and to promote "open and transparent disclosure of information and data accuracy." Deaths rose 1,290 to 3,869 in the revised number.But Wuhan residents have warned that the death count is at least 40,000, pointing to increased demands on funeral homes and cremation numbers, which the government has censored  reporting on. U.S. intelligence has also told the White House that mid-level bureaucrats in Wuhan have been lying about the number of cases, with some experts estimating that the total caseload in Chi...

Still reeling from pig disease, China pork output drops for 6th quarter

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China's pork output dropped for a sixth straight quarter, as the world's top producer continued to reel from the impact of the African swine fever disease that decimated its hog herd. A sharp 29% plunge in first-quarter output underlines the extent of the impact from the disease and the huge task the sector faces in trying to rebuild after African swine fever killed millions of pigs since August 2018. It slashed China's pork output to a 16-year low of 42.6 million tonnes in 2019, while some experts estimate the sow herd shrank by at least 60% last year after the disease spread throughout the country, largely unreported. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3ahXtcH via Latest News

Stephen Colbert Brutally Mocks Pro-Trump Coronavirus Protesters

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“With the economy plummeting, people are understandably eager to open things up again,” Stephen Colbert said near the end of his Late Show monologue Thursday night. But some are more eager than others. The host proceeded to take on the pro-Trump protesters who have been gathering in large numbers this week to pressure state governments into ending stay-at-home orders, including a group in Ohio who attempted to storm the statehouse in Columbus. “Well, I’m sure that convinced the legislators,” Colbert said sarcastically. “You know, the medical data doesn’t back up an early reopen, but I did hear some sound policy ideas from lady flag-screamer and guy-in-a-Purge-mask.” And then there were the “angry Trump supporters” in Michigan who blocked traffic, honked their horns and waved Confederate flags. “Because nothing says ‘never surrender’ like a Confederate flag,” Colbert joked. John Oliver and Countess Luann: The Comedy Duo We Need Right NowTrevor Noah Mocks ‘Idiot’ Kellyanne Conway’s ‘COVI...

US says probing if coronavirus came from Chinese lab

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President Donald Trump's administration is investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it doesn't rule out that it came from a laboratory researching bats in Wuhan, China. Chinese scientists have said the virus, which has killed more than 138,700 people worldwide, was likely transmitted to humans late last year at a Wuhan "wet market" that slaughtered exotic animals -- a longtime focus of concern for public health experts. "We're doing a full investigation of everything we can to learn how it is the case that this virus got away, got out into the world and now has created so much tragedy -- so much death -- here in the United States and all around the world," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2z9i5Hg via Latest News

There's a free alternative to Zoom, but it has a catch - TechRadar

There's a free alternative to Zoom, but it has a catch    TechRadar View Full Coverage on Google News from Technology - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/34LaIRX via Technology

Coronavirus: AI steps up in battle against Covid-19

How machine learning is crunching data to search for drugs that could alleviate or cure Covid-19. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/3buRPWd via Online Shopping in Pakistan

Biden putting together post-election transition team, talks Cabinet makeup

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The apparent Democratic presidential nominee did not rule out announcing some Cabinet member selections before November's election. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3aglelw via Latest News

Pompeo tells Russia's Lavrov any new arms control talks must include China

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Russian counterpart on Friday that any future arms control talks must focus on an American proposal for a new arms control accord that includes Russia and China, the State Department said. Pompeo emphasized in a telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that "any future arms control talks must be based on President (Donald) Trump's vision for a trilateral arms control agreement that includes both Russia and China," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VAObTU via Latest News

Pentagon chief pours cold water on theory that coronavirus was released from a Wuhan lab, despite Trump admin investigation

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Defense Secretary Mark Esper said most theories view the coronavirus as having emerged naturally, despite a government probe into a Wuhan lab. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3bkfV5H via Latest News

In U-Turn, Venezuela’s Maduro Allows Brazil to Repatriate Staff

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(Bloomberg) -- Brazil airlifted its diplomatic staff from Venezuela following tense negotiations with President Nicolas Maduro, who had initially denied authorization for a Brazilian air force plane to land in Caracas.A Hercules C-130 cargo aircraft took off from the Venezuelan capital on Friday and is on its way to Brasilia with 50 people on board, mostly embassy and consulate employees and their families, Brazil’s Defense and Foreign Affairs ministries said in a joint statement. A dozen Brazilian citizens stuck in Venezuela are also being brought home as part of repatriation efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.The airlifting had been agreed between Brasilia and Caracas earlier this week, but on Wednesday Venezuelan military officials told the Brazilian embassy a permit to land would no longer be provided, without providing a reason. A solution was eventually brokered by senior military officials from both countries, according to two people familiar with the discussions.The coming...

Chinese and Malaysian ships in South China Sea standoff: Sources

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A Chinese government survey ship is tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia's state oil company, Petronas, in disputed waters in the South China Sea, three regional security sources said on Friday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34LaDxw via Latest News

Trump's guidelines for reopening country show it could take a while

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President Trump announced new federal guidelines on Thursday for the easing of social distancing orders put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus, leaving their implementation and timing up to state governors. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2zaRnOB via Latest News

10 nurses were suspended from a California hospital for refusing to treat coronavirus patients without N95 masks

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The nurses at Providence St. John's Medical Center in Santa Monica started to make the demands after a colleague tested positive for the coronavirus. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34LH7HW via Latest News

China says there has never been a cover-up on coronavirus outbreak

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Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday there has never been a cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak in China and the government does not allow any cover-ups. Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing that the revision of the case toll in Wuhan, where the epidemic first emerged in late 2019, was the result of a statistical verification to ensure accuracy and that revision is a common international practice. Wuhan's health authority earlier on Thursday revised up its cumulative death toll by 50% to 3,869 to rectify what it called incorrect reporting, delays and omissions. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3ct9cq6 via Latest News

Ilhan Omar unveils bill to cancel rent and mortgage payments amid pandemic

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Landlords and mortgage holders would be able to have losses covered by the federal government under the legislation * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageThe Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar has unveiled a bill that would cancel rent and mortgage payments for millions of Americans struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic.Under the legislation announced on Friday, landlords and mortgage holders would be able to have losses covered by the federal government. The program would extend for a month beyond the end of the national emergency, which was declared on 13 March, and would be made retroactive to cover April payments.The proposal comes amid an unprecedented housing crisis: 31% of Americans in rental accommodation could not pay rent at the beginning of this month. Millions have lost their jobs since.Federal answers have been limited. The Cares Act stimulus package included $12bn for Department of Housing and Urban Development programs...

This Trump campaign ad is extremely confused by his coronavirus response

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The Trump campaign is actually not bragging in this campaign ad -- at least not as much as it could be.On Thursday, President Trump's re-election campaign started running a Facebook ad that boasted he's "protecting small businesses and their employees during the coronavirus crisis." It then claims over 17,500 loans had been granted to those small business owners, but then inexplicably understates just how much they received.Instead of the $350 billion in loans the Paycheck Protection Program doled out until it was drained on Thursday, the Trump ad says he's given out "over $5.4 million to those who need it." $5.4 million divided among 17,500 businesses would only be a little more than $300 for each business, leaving the "over" to do a whole lot of work here. > Trump has a new Facebook ad bragging that he's distributed $5.4 MILLION in loans to 17,500 small businesses struggling to cope with the pandemic> > That would be about $300 p...

Jeff Bezos reportedly buys 4th condo in NYC for $16 million and now owns nearly $100 million in property in one building alone

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The latest purchase would be on top of the $80 million worth of real estate Jeff Bezos already owns in the same New York City building. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2xuZuFf via Latest News

Africa may see millions of coronavirus cases, tentative WHO forecast shows

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Coronavirus cases in Africa could shoot up from thousands now to 10 million within three to six months according to very provisional modelling, a regional World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Thursday. The world's poorest continent has seen more than 17,000 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease and about 900 deaths so far - relatively little compared to some other regions. "We are concerned that the virus continues to spread geographically, within countries," said Matshidiso Moeti, director for WHO's Africa region, which comprises 46 sub-Saharan nations and Algeria. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VEZR7W via Latest News

Defense chief says Navy captain who raised coronavirus concerns could return

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Capt. Brett Crozier was removed after a strongly worded letter to Navy leadership detailed his concerns about the spread of the coronavirus on the USS Roosevelt. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VxPtyZ via Latest News

Coronavirus at Smithfield pork plant: The untold story of America's biggest outbreak

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Infections spread like wildfire through a pork factory in South Dakota. Here's how it happened. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3aeMdh9 via Latest News

Democratic super PAC: We will fight Trump in court over ads

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A leading Democratic super PAC has promised it will tangle in court with President Donald Trump's reelection campaign to keep airing television ads the Republican president is trying to keep off the airwaves. Priorities USA Action chief Guy Cecil said Thursday that his group will intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit that Trump's campaign filed in Wisconsin state court to block a local NBC affiliate from airing one of the super PAC's ads that blasts the president's response to the coronavirus pandemic. “The Trump campaign is trying to railroad a TV station into censorship of ads critical of the president, and we will not let that stand," Cecil said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3ewvyJa via Latest News