Thursday, April 23, 2020
9:35 pm ET: Trump Presents DHS Research on Virus: 'I Hope People Enjoy the Sun'
The White House on Thursday pitched “emerging” research on the benefits of sunlight and humidity in diminishing the threat of the coronavirus as President Donald Trump encourages states to move to reopen their economies.
Past studies have not found good evidence that the warmer temperatures and higher humidity of spring and summer will help tamp down the spread of the virus.
But William Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security said at a White House briefing that there are “emerging results” from new research that suggest solar light has a powerful effect in killing the virus on surfaces and in the air. Read more...
7:30 pm ET: Somber Congress Delivers Nearly $500B More in Virus Aid
Congress delivered a nearly $500 billion infusion of coronavirus spending Thursday, rushing new relief to employers and hospitals buckling under the strain of a pandemic that has claimed almost 50,000 American lives and one in six U.S. jobs.
The measure passed almost unanimously, but the lopsided tally belies a potentially bumpier path ahead as battle lines are being formed for much more ambitious future legislation that may prove far more difficult to maneuver through Congress. Read more...
— The Associated Press
5:17 pm ET: NY Gov. Cuomo Snaps Back at Majority Leader McConnell
Outspoken New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a press conference Thursday, accusing him of politicizing coronavirus relief efforts and calling his suggestion that states seek bankruptcy relief "dumb."
"As soon as the Senate passed it, this current bill, Sen. Mitch McConnell goes out and he says [that] maybe the states should declare bankruptcy, OK? This is one of the really dumb ideas of all time," Cuomo said Thursday. Read more...
— Chloe Aiello
4:42 pm ET: An Early Market Rally Gets Wiped Out, Leaving Stocks Mixed
The stock market ended another turbulent day more or less where it started after an early rally got washed away. The S&P 500 ended with a tiny loss Thursday, having given up an early gain of 1.6%. The market’s latest bumpy ride shows how fragile hope among investors is that global economies will be able to withstand the carnage being inflicted by the coronavirus. The market stumbled following news reports with discouraging data about a clinical trial for a potential treatment of COVID-19. Energy stocks held on to their gains following another jump in the price of crude, which crashed earlier this week. Read more...
— The Associated Press
3:23 pm ET: Gov. Cuomo: Antibody Survey Shows Wide Exposure to Virus in NY
More evidence is emerging that far more New Yorkers have had the coronavirus than the number confirmed by lab tests, officials said Thursday.
A state survey of about 3,000 people found that nearly 14% had antibodies, suggesting they had been exposed to the virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his daily news briefing.
In New York City, the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., 21% of the people tested had antibodies. Read more...
— The Associated Press
2:59 pm ET: Georgia Small Businesses Torn on Reopening
This Friday, select businesses in Georgia will have the state's blessing to open their doors after a month of coronavirus-related shutdowns. Governor Brian Kemp's order, which covers tattoo parlors, gyms, hair salons, massage therapists, and bowling alleys, has drawn both praise and criticism and even a rebuke from President Donald Trump.
For entrepreneurs, more personal questions loom over the decision. To get a better sense of their thinking, Cheddar spoke with several small business owners across the state to find out which factors went into their decision to either reopen this Friday or stay closed until further notice. Read more...
— Alex Vuocolo
1:47 pm ET: Rep Backs Reopening State: 'We're Trusting the People of Georgia'
Tomorrow, many workers in Georgia will be back on the job after Governor Brian Kemp announced gyms, salons, and tattoo shops will all be allowed to reopen, with restaurants and movie theaters getting the go-ahead for Monday.
The state's Governor Brian Kemp has faced criticism from local officials, and even President Trump, for his decision, but Congressman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga. 11th District) supports the move and says the state is prepared to deal with a possible resurgence. Read more...
— McKenzie Marshall
11:55 am ET: Mass Burials in NYC Jump Amid Pan
With no major sporting events and barely any travel happening due to the coronavirus, The New York Times plans to stop printing hard copies of those sections in the storied newspaper's Sunday edition and replace them with a section focused on life while sheltering in place, according to internal memos and sources.
In a note that will be sent out to employees this week, executive editor Dean Baquet and managing editor Joseph Kahn told employees the Travel section of the newspaper will be replaced with a new section called At Home which will debut on Sunday.
In addition, the Sunday Sports section will no longer be printed separately and will be folded into the front section of the newspaper. Additional travel-related stories could live throughout the paper. Read more...
— Michelle Castillo
11:52 am ET: Mass Burials in NYC Jump Amid Pandemic, Sparking Outcry
As New York City fights to keep up with a surge in deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, its age-old practice of burying the unclaimed dead in mass graves has come under the microscope.
Hart Island is a mile-long patch of land in the Long Island Sound off the coast of the Bronx, which normally slips under the radar for most New Yorkers. In recent weeks, the unassuming island made headlines after drones captured aerial images of workers loading simple caskets three-deep into trenches wide enough to fit over 100 bodies. Read more...
— Chloe Aiello
11:37 am ET: Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Oldest Brother Dies of Coronavirus
The oldest brother of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Donald Reed Herring, has died from the coronavirus, the senator said Thursday.
The former Democratic presidential candidate said her brother died Tuesday evening. He spent his career in the military after joining the U.S. Air Force at the age of 19 and was "charming and funny, a natural leader," Warren tweeted. Read more...
— The Associated Press
11:10 am ET: Just dropping in to say hi...
Today is Take Your Child to Work Day and this year it has a whole new meaning with so many parents home already with their children. Jill Wagner's daughter popped in this morning to get a taste of what it's like to be on air.
10:23 am ET: 26 million Have Sought U.S. Jobless Aid
More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday. Roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the five weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors. About one in six American workers have now lost their jobs since mid-March, by far the worst string of layoffs on record. Economists have forecast that the unemployment rate for April could go as high as 20 percent. Read more...
— The Associated Press
10:00 am ET: Markets Open Higher as Oil Prices Continued Recovery
Markets opened higher Thursday as U.S. oil prices continued their recovery after a historic drop. The latest jobless numbers did not appear to rattle markets, though, as another 4.4 million filed for unemployment last week, bringing the total to 25 million since the coronavirus pandemic hit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 200 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained just under 1 percent. Read more...
— Alex Vuocolo
9:55 am ET: Need2Know: Vaccine Doc Ousted, NFL Virtual Draft & Should Netflix Be Free?
Get your news over easy every morning by listening to the Need 2 Know podcast (Stitcher, iTunes) and signing up for our morning newsletter.
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: More than 800,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and at least 42,000 have died. Most of the leading scientific models suggest that the country is at or near the peak number of deaths, at least for this wave. Experts are warning that could change if states and cities are too quick to reopen; Pres. Trump even publicly came out against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan to begin allowing non-essential businesses to open back up. In New York, where the single-day death toll fell below 500 for a third straight day, Gov. Cuomo announced that Mike Bloomberg has volunteered to help develop a massive regional “tracing army.” Bloomberg will kick in more than $10 million for the effort, which will require tens of thousands of people to find potentially infected patients and get them into isolation. NBC NY
VACCINE DOC DEMOTED: The doctor in charge of the federal agency working on a coronavirus vaccine says he was removed from his job after he resisted the widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug pushed by President Trump as a coronavirus treatment. Dr. Rick Bright says he is speaking out “because to combat this deadly virus, science — not politics or cronyism — has to lead the way.” NY TIMES
HARVARD RETURNS MONEY: Harvard University backtracked and said it will not accept $8.6 million in federal funds allocated to colleges as part of the federal coronavirus relief package after President Trump called on the university to return the money, noting that it boasts a $40 billion endowment. The funds, which were allocated to many institutions without their request, were supposed to be for “fundamental” expenses, like housing and food. Princeton and Stanford are also declining their funding, though Cornell says it will take the money but allocate it entirely for students, including those who need financial aid. HARVARD CRIMSON
THE 'W' RECESSION: In the early days of the pandemic, there was hope among economists that the economic downturn was going to be ‘V’ shaped — a sharp contraction followed by a sharp recovery when the health crisis passed. Now there is growing consensus that we may be in for a ‘W’-shaped recovery: things get better, followed by another sharp downturn that coincides with a new spike in cases later in the year. Even if that doesn’t happen, a wave of bankruptcies, defaults and huge cuts in state and local budgets make the ‘W’ scenario look increasingly likely. WASH POST
THE MIDDLE SEAT: Could one silver lining of coronavirus be the end of the dreaded middle seat in coach? United is the latest airline to say it will start blocking middle seats in aircraft cabins as a way to give the few flying passengers more room apart. One airline seat manufacturer just introduced new economy seating concepts that could become the new way forward in a post-corona world. They include middle seats that are flipped around, staggered seats, and protective glass shields around each headrest. SEE THE PROTOYPES
HELLO MOTO: Motorola is back with its first new flagship smartphone in four years. The Edge+ comes with a super-fast processor and a curved display and a price tag of $1,000 that puts it in competition with the high-end iPhones and Samsung Galaxy lines. Motorola is launching the phone as its competitors pivot to cheaper phones — whether there’s going to be demand for phones that cost more than computers in a deep recession is an open question. The Edge+ launches as a Verizon exclusive on May 14. ARS TECHNICA
NFL VIRTUAL DRAFT: The NFL Draft begins today, though it won’t look like any drafts of the past. Instead of a big flashy event on the Vegas strip, the NFL’s 30 teams will select their picks online, Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce them from his basement and in-home cameras will capture the reactions of players. There are already reports of glitches and technical difficulties in rehearsals. The Cincinnati Bengals, with the top overall pick, are expected to take Joe Burrow of LSU. YAHOO SPORTS
NETFLIX AS 'ESSENTIAL': Is access to Netflix a human right in a pandemic? A Change.org petition asking streaming services to drop their membership fees completely for 60 days is gaining steam, with 40,000 signatures and counting. The petition argues that it’s the duty of services like Netflix to help keep people entertained and occupied as long as they are told to stay at home. The petition has about a zero chance of finding support among those companies; Netflix added another 16 million subscribers last quarter, sending its stock price soaring. The company is now worth more than Disney. EW
'EMPIRE' ENDS WITH A WHIMPER: When Empire’s debut season ended in 2015, 17.6 million people tuned into the finale. Six seasons and one major PR embarrassment by the name of Jussie Smollett later, the show ended Tuesday night with fewer than three million viewers. And those fans weren’t happy with the abrupt finale, taking to social media to complain about how the final episode was thrown together (coronavirus halted production before the planned finale could be shot). SHOWBIZ411
LEFTOVERS: EXTREME SOCIAL DISTANCING: A chef on a research station in Antarctica has been inadvertently practicing the most extreme case of social distancing on Earth, having been stationed since November on the one continent that hasn’t seen any coronavirus cases. Karin Jansdotter says the key to staying sane in isolation: exercise, meditation and sticking to a routine. SCIENCE TIMES
