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Cut through the clutter to today's top news
April 14, 2020
Good morning
Leading the News . . .
States begin planing to reopen their economies . . . Ten U.S. governors on the east and west coasts banded together on Monday in two regional pacts to coordinate gradual economic reopenings as the coronavirus crisis finally appeared to be ebbing. Announcements from the New York-led group of Northeastern governors, and a similar compact formed by California, Oregon and Washington state, came as President Donald Trump declared any decision on
restarting the U.S. economy was up to him. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he was teaming up with five counterparts in adjacent New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island to devise the best strategies for easing stay-at-home orders imposed last month to curb coronavirus transmissions. Reuters
Food supply strained, but the main problem may be a lack of variety . . . Industry leaders and observers acknowledge the shortages could increase, but they insist it is more of an inconvenience than a major problem. People will have enough to eat; they just may not have the usual variety. The food supply remains robust, they say, with hundreds of millions of pounds of meat in cold storage. There is no evidence that the coronavirus can be
transmitted through food or its packaging, according to the Department of Agriculture. Still, the illnesses have the potential to cause shortages lasting weeks for a few products, creating further anxiety for Americans already shaken by how difficult it can be to find high-demand staples like flour and eggs. New York Times
Trump to unveil $15.5B in farm aid to ensure food supply . . . The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend up to $15.5 billion in the initial phase of its plan to bolster the nation’s food supply chain against the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The plan, which could be announced this week, marks the Trump administration’s first big push to ensure the pandemic
doesn’t trigger consumer food shortages as meat packers shutter, dairy producers dump milk, and farmers struggle to find workers to harvest, plant and deliver crops. The initial plan will include direct payments to farmers and ranchers, along with other support measures, using a portion of the $23.5 billion approved by Congress. Reuters
CIA warns employees against hydrochloroquine . . . CIA employees have been privately warned against taking an anti-malaria drug hailed by Donald Trump as a 'game changer' in the war on coronavirus. Sudden death is one of the suspected side effects of hydroxychloroquine, according to the intelligence agency in a memo to its workforce posted online. Despite a lack of medical evidence, the President has heavily promoted the
drug as a possible treatment for Covid-19, which has killed 23,675 and infected 588,421 in the United States. But amid positive noises surrounding the drug emerging from the daily White House press briefings, Langley made its concern clear. Daily Mail
Jarring photos show bodies piled in closet, slumped in chair at Detroit hospital . . . A Detroit hospital is so overwhelmed with dead coronavirus patients that it is stashing the bodies on top of each other in a closet — and even sitting one upright in a chair in a hotel-like room usually reserved for sleep studies, jarring photos show. “All I know is we ran out of beds to keep our patients on, so we couldn’t spare any for the bodies,” an
emergency-room worker at Sinai-Grace Hospital – Detroit Medical Center told CNN, which obtained the snapshots, according to network reporter Marshall Cohen on Twitter on Monday. New York Post
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Trump goes on offense against press during briefing . . . President Trump returned from the holiday weekend to deliver an angry broadside against critics in the media during a briefing that included a campaign-style video defending his handling of the coronavirus crisis. He attacked a reporter as “fake” and played clips of governors praising his actions. Not for the first time, it meant updates on the
disease's progress and economic relief came lower down the bill. “I would love to be able to say that we have a very honest press … and I don’t mind being criticized, but not when they’re wrong,” he said. “Not when people have done such a great job.” Washington Examiner
Fauci says he did not mean to say Trump was at fault for coronavirus deaths . . . Dr. Anthony Fauci got himself into a world of hurt when he said on CNN Sunday that if social distancing had begun earlier, then there would be fewer deaths. He repeated the assertion during Monday’s coronavirus task force, but noted that the question was hypothetical and that early discussions included pros and cons of opening up the economy. Fauci said that
President Trump had agreed with Fauci and his health advisors every time they made a formal request, including to ask for social distancing for two weeks and the for thirty days. White House Dossier
"US Doesn't have a king": Cuomo rebuts Trump claim of "total authority" on shutdowns . . . New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has rebuked President Trump's claims that he has blanket authority to order a reopening of the country and cease stay-at-home orders, saying Monday night that the last time he checked the US had 'a constitution...not a king'. In a heated press conference inside the White House on Monday evening, Trump claimed that
his office holds 'absolute power' over the shutdowns prompted by the novel coronavirus outbreak - hours after Cuomo and eight other Democratic governors unveiled a pact to work together to co-ordinate the reopenings of their respective states. Cuomo slammed president for what he perceived
to be an 'abrogation of the Constitution'. 'Mr Trump offered no legal or constitutional basis to back up his claim to exclusive authority to reopen society,' Cuomo told MSNBC. Daily Mail
Sanders endorses Biden, but his aides aren't too happy . . . Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden for president on Monday, but any illusions that the move would bring an end to long-simmering tensions between the Democratic Party's
liberal and moderate wings quickly evaporated in a matter of minutes. Briahna Joy Gray, who served as Sanders' national press secretary, and prominent Sanders surrogate Shaun King immediately took aim at Biden -- and they made it clear just how much the former vice president's platform differed from
Sanders' longstanding policy goals. "With the utmost respect for Bernie Sanders, who is an incredible human being & a genuine inspiration, I don't endorse Joe Biden," Gray wrote. "I supported Bernie Sanders because he backed ideas like #MedicareForAll, cancelling ALL student debt, & a wealth tax. Biden supports none of those." Fox News
Mnuchin and Schumer expected to reach deal on small business funding . . . Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are expected to reach a deal this week on an interim coronavirus relief bill that would provide money to businesses, hospitals and state governments. The deal could lead to legislation being passed quickly through the Senate on Thursday, and through the House no
later than early next week. The House has said it will not return to Washington until at least the week of May 4 given the danger of the coronavirus, which has sent lawmakers in both chambers home. The Hill
Economic meltdown has Dems smelling opportunity in Texas . . . Republicans who'd been running on a familiar platform of gangbusters job growth and small government suddenly find themselves without a clear message as unemployment skyrockets and plummeting oil prices ravage the state budget. Their fealty to limited government is under threat with Congress’ massive stimulus spending — and they likely will have to defend even more government
spending or slash state spending on core services like education and health care. “This pandemic has put Republicans in a tough position,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican strategist based in Austin. “You are having to swallow bitter pills.” Politico
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China aircraft carrier sails past Taiwan as US Navy struggle with coronavirus . . . A Chinese aircraft carrier sailed past Taiwan over the weekend in a show of strength as the U.S. Navy struggles with corona virus. Japan’s ministry of defense said Monday that the aircraft carrier Liaoning and its strike group, including five warships, passed through the 155-mile wide Miyako Strait between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako on Saturday, before turning south and passing east of Taiwan on Sunday. The strait is an international waterway.
Taiwan’s navy also sent ships to monitor the strike group as it passed on Sunday, according to Taiwan’s ministry of defense, per the South China Morning Post. Fox News
Chinese PR war for post-coronavirus influence backfiring in the West . . . In Britain, a parliamentary committee on foreign relations urged the government to fight a surge in Chinese disinformation. Officials in Germany and at least one U.S. state — Wisconsin — exposed quiet outreach attempts from Chinese officials hoping to persuade them to publicly praise China. In Spain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, governments
announced recalls of Chinese masks and testing kits after large batches were found to be defective, undercutting what China sought to portray as goodwill gestures. In Nigeria, the country’s professional medical association slammed a government decision to invite a team of Chinese doctors, going as far as claiming that they might carry the disease with them. Washington Post
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Pro-China WHO is also anti-Israel . . . The organization's bias against Israel could factor in to any decision made this week by the Trump administration, which has often criticized the U.N. and its decision-making bodies for unjust bias against the Jewish state. For years, WHO's World Health Assembly has had just one country-specific issue on its agenda: "Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east
Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan." This includes the most recent agenda, which is dated April 6 and slated for consideration at its upcoming meeting scheduled to take place from May 17 to 21. Washington Free Beacon
WHO echoed China though it was warned of human-to-human transmission . . . A World Health Organization official said Monday that she suspected human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus “right from the start,” beginning on Dec. 31, 2019. But WHO officials echoed Chinese authorities and denied any suggestion of human-to-human transmission for weeks after Dec. 31. Chinese doctors, meanwhile, were reported to have known for
weeks prior that the virus could be transmitted between humans. Daily Caller
Saudi Arabia races to contain epidemic in Mecca . . . Saudi authorities are racing to contain an outbreak of coronavirus in the Islamic holy city of Mecca, where crowded slums and labor camps have accelerated the spread even with much of the country under a 24-hour curfew. The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Mecca, home to 2 million people, reached 1,050 on Monday compared to 1,422 in the capital of Riyadh, a city more than three
times the size. Mecca’s large number of undocumented immigrants and cramped housing for migrant workers have made it more difficult to slow the infection rate. Bloomberg
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Pandemic fules rapid rise in missed mortgage payments . . . About two million homeowners are skipping their monthly mortgage payments, according to industry data released on Monday, a number that is forecast to rise further as more Americans lose their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Approximately 3.74% of home loans are in forbearance as of April 5, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data, up from about
2.73% the prior week. “The number of borrowers asking for forbearance will likely continue to rise at a rapid pace,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist. Wall Street Journal.
Businesses lobby furiously to get Trump "essential" label . . .
Pet stores are considered essential. So are landscapers. Hair salons aren’t. Neither are shops that sell books or clothes. The Trump administration’s labeling of industries considered “essential” is quickly creating winners and losers as coronavirus shuts down swaths of the economy. It’s also setting off a lobbying frenzy among industries -- from battery
makers to poultry producers -- angling to join the ranks of hospitals, supermarkets, and other businesses whose continued operation has been deemed necessary. “There has been a flurry of lobbying as this crisis is almost an existential threat to just about every single business in the country in a way we haven’t seen,” said Dan Auble, a senior researcher with the Center for Responsive Politics, which has been tracking efforts to influence the process. “If you know the right people to
call and argument to make you can get on that list.” Bloomberg
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New York Times editor admits changing article after Biden campaign complained . . . Dean Baquet, in an interview with Times media columnist Ben Smith, explained why edits were made to the
following sentence, which appeared as follows in the print edition of the paper, on page A20: "The Times found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden, beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable." Baquet said the Times decided to delete the second half of the sentence, without explanation in the form of an editor's note, because "the [Biden] campaign thought that the phrasing was awkward and made it
look like there were other instances in which he had been accused of sexual misconduct." Washington Free Beacon
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Chris Cuomo has post-Covid meltodown . . .
Chris Cuomo’s coronavirus-induced fever may have subsided but the CNN anchor was red hot on Monday.
The longtime cable host, 49, had a mini-existential crisis on his SiriusXM show, lashing out at his lucrative primetime gig and blasting President Trump as being “full of s–t.” “I don’t want to spend my time doing things that I don’t think are valuable enough to me personally,” Cuomo said. “I don’t value indulging irrationality,
hyper-partisanship.” Cuomo said his battle with COVID-19 has made him rethink his values and question his position as a public figure. “I don’t like what I do professionally,” he said. “I don’t think it’s worth my time.” New York Post
Government accidentally deposits $8.2M into firefighters' bank account . . . A volunteer firefighter in Indiana recently had the surprise
of a lifetime. Charles Calvin, of New Chicago, Ind., told WGN 9 he withdrew $200 from his checking account at an ATM last weekend. He glanced down on his receipt and noticed a few more zeroes than usual. He told the station his bank account balance was $8.2 million. Charles Calvin, of New Chicago, Ind., told WGN 9 he withdrew $200 from his checking account at an ATM last weekend only to find a few more zeroes than usual on his receipt. Calvin was supposed to receive
$1,700 from the stimulus payments going out to Americans to help assist those impacted by the coronavirus. Fox News
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Have a great day.
Keith
Keith Koffler
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