Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
May 7, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
More than half of small businesses predict failure . . . Covid-19 could shutter most American small businesses.That’s according to a new survey from the Society for Human Resource Management which found that 52% expect to be out of business within six months. The survey of 375 firms was conducted between April 15-21 and doesn’t account for improved business conditions as some U.S. states reopen this month. This could mean roughly 14 million businesses might fail. Just over a third of small firms expect that they can continue to operate more that 6 months, while 14% are
uncertain, according to the survey. About one quarter of firms have seen revenues rise or remain unchanged in recent months. Bloomberg
Evidence mounts that you are safer outside . . . Health experts say people are significantly less likely to get the coronavirus while outside, a fact that could add momentum to calls to reopen beaches and parks closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being outside shouldn’t be seen as completely safe, health experts say. People should continue to avoid crowds and maintain six feet of distance from others to keep away
from the virus. The Hill
"Reinfected" people likely just false positives . . . South Korean health authorities raised new concerns about the novel coronavirus after reporting last month that dozens of patients who had recovered from the illness later tested positive again. The findings suggested that some people who survived COVID-19 could become reinfected with the virus that causes it, potentially complicating efforts to lift quarantine restrictions and to produce a
vaccine. But after weeks of research, they now say that such test results appear to be “false positives” caused by lingering - but likely not infectious - bits of the virus. Reuters
Black, Pakistani peple more likely to die froim COVID-19 . . . Black people and those of Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity have a significantly higher chance of dying from COVID-19 than white people, even when adjusting for deprivation, the British statistics office said on Thursday. Using models that adjusted for a range of socio-economic factors, the statistics office said it was clear that there were significant differences in the risk of
COVID-19 among different ethnic groups. “The risk of death involving the coronavirus among some ethnic groups is significantly higher than that of those of white ethnicity,” the Office for National Statistics said. Reuters
How a Belgian Llama could save humanity . . . A llama in Belgium could help scientists create a treatment for COVID-19, according to a study published Tuesday. The star of the show is named Winter, one of about 130 llamas and alpacas living on a research farm in
Belgium.
Winter the llama. In response to such invasive viruses, llamas create tiny antibodies, known as nanobodies. In 2016, Winter produced nanobodies shown to neutralize both SARS and MERS.The group found that the new antibody neutralized the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. That new treatment is now being tested on
hamsters in Belgium, the Post reported. Human clinical trials would then be the next step. New York Daily News
Trump rebukes nurse on National Nurses day . . . Trump signed a proclamation marking the national holiday. The nurse, Sophia Thomas, said colleagues around the country have reported a problematic lack of personal protective equipment at their overburdened hospitals. Speaking from
personal experience, Thomas said she’s had to use the same N95 mask for “a few weeks now" because of dwindling supplies at her hospital in Louisiana.
“PPE has been sporadic,” she said, “but it’s been manageable and we do what we have to do." Trump was not pleased. “Sporadic for you, but not sporadic for a lot of other people,” Trump grumbled at her. NY Daily News
Trump reverses course and says conroanvirus task force will stay . . . It’s a good idea, not to let the economic people force the health aides back to their cubicles in the agencies before the virus is better under control. And it helps Trump remove an easy political target for
Democrats, who would have reveled in the end of the task force as deaths continue. I like that Trump is able to quickly reverse a mistake. It’s basically an admission of error, though he wouldn’t say so publicly. Other presidents less confident of themselves would take a year to change a position. Trump is not indecisive. Therefore, sometimes, he can afford to be. White House Dossier
Trump: Coronavirus worse than Pearl Harbor, 9/11 . . . President Trump said Wednesday that the coronavirus outranked the two of the worst calamities of the past 100 years. “We went through the worst attack we’ve ever had in our country. This is really the worst attack we’ve ever
had. This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. There’s never been an attack like this,” he said. “It could have been stopped in China.” White House Dossier
Not sure we need to be comparing these things
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Transcripts show no evidence of collusion, despite Schiff statements . . . Transcripts of House Intelligence Committee interviews that have been cleared for release show top law enforcement
and intelligence officials affirming they had no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, senior administration and intelligence community officials told Fox News on Wednesday. This would align with the results of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation — which found no evidence of illegal or criminal coordination between President Trump, the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016 — but the numerous transcribed interviews could
raise further questions about committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s past statements saying that there was “direct evidence” of collusion. Fox News
Biden promises to restore funds to Palestinians Trump cut due to terror . . . Former Vice President Joe Biden promised Tuesday to reverse several measures taken by President Donald Trump against the Palestinian Authority due in part to its support for terrorism and rejection of negotiations. In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Biden said: “I will reopen the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem, find a way to re-open the PLO’s diplomatic mission in Washington, and resume the decades-long economic and security assistance efforts to the Palestinians
that the Trump Administration stopped.” Biden apparently did not provide any concessions he would expect from the Palestinians in return. Breitbart
Biden would end due process rule for college students accused of sexual assault . . . Biden said if he’s elected president, he will reverse a rule issued by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos aimed at bolstering protections for students who are accused of sexual assault on university campuses. He said the new rule was an effort by the Trump administration to “shame and silence” survivors of sexual assault. “It’s
wrong,” Biden said. "As president, I’ll be right where I always have been throughout my career — on the side of survivors.” The new rule issued Wednesday narrows the definition of sexual harassment and requires schools to produce evidence and allow for the cross-examination of students who say they were assaulted. The rule is meant to ensure that those accused of sexual assault receive due process. The Hill
Okay, get that disappointed look off your face
Amash could hand the election to Trump . . . Joe Biden has widened his lead over President Trump in the 2020 race for the White House, according to a new Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday. The poll shows Biden
with 50 percent support among those surveyed, 9 points ahead of Trump, who notched 41 percent. That marks a 2-point gain for Biden and a 3-point loss for Trump since the last Monmouth poll released in April. But the poll also suggests that Biden may have more to lose than Trump if Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) formally enters the presidential race. When Amash was included in the lineup of candidates in the survey, Biden’s support shrank to 47 percent, while Trump’s decreased only to 40
percent. The Hill
Trump donor to lead the Post Office . . . Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman, will take over after repeated complaints from the president that the U.S. Postal Service is hemorrhaging money. The Postal Service requested up to $75 million in federal assistance to keep operating, and though the Trump administration has signaled that it is willing to help, the president has continued to accuse it of being too cozy with Amazon.
Politico
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Trump vetoes resolution to prevent military action against Iran . . . In a statement Wednesday, Trump said he vetoed the Iran war powers resolution that “purported to direct me to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran. “This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party,” Trump added. “The few
Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands.” Congress is not expected to have the two-thirds majority needed to override Trump’s veto. The Hill
US aims to close missile gap with China . . . As Washington and Beijing trade barbs over the coronavirus pandemic, a longer-term struggle between the two Pacific powers is at a turning point, as the United States rolls out new weapons and strategy in a bid to close a wide missile gap with China. The United States has largely stood by in recent decades as China dramatically expanded its military firepower. Now, having shed the constraints of a
Cold War-era arms control treaty, the Trump administration is planning to deploy long-range, ground-launched cruise missiles in the Asia-Pacific region. Reuters
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Death toll is "horrifyingly large" in relatively open Sweden . . . Sweden is nearing the 'horrifying' death toll of 3,000 from coronavirus, with 87 new fatalities, including a child under ten. The Scandinavian country, which has taken a softer approach to containing the virus, reported another 87 deaths, compared to 85 fatalities the day before. There were another 702 cases, compared to 495 on Tuesday, taking its total
to 23,918. 'We are starting to near 3,000 deceased, a horrifyingly large number,' state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told a press conference. Daily Mail
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Layoffs could crest this month . . . The number of U.S. workers filing for unemployment benefits weekly during the coronavirus pandemic has remained in record territory, but in recent weeks has dropped to about half the peak of 6.9
million touched in late March. Weekly jobless claims—though still numbering in the millions, well above the prior weekly record of 695,000, set in 1982—suggest the wave of unemployment caused by the pandemic could crest as soon as this month. Still, the layoffs that already occurred are likely to cause the unemployment rate, at a 50-year low as recently as February, to jump to a record high with April’s number, due out Friday. The figures go back to 1948. Wall Street Journal
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Tired of Zoom, churches consider reopening . . . After being closed for in-person worship for nearly two months, churches across the country, like many businesses, are wondering how to operate in the longer term. It is a practical, political and spiritual question, all rolled into one. As government officials across the country announce a range of plans to reopen parts of the economy, church leaders are reacting in a similarly
patchwork fashion, sometimes in concert with official guidance, sometimes in opposition to it. The issue of in-person religious gatherings is politically charged in many places. Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to meet with faith leaders in Des Moines on Friday to discuss reopening religious services, another sign that the administration sees churches as allies in its efforts to reopen the country. Some conservative Christians argue that stay-at-home restrictions have limited their religious freedoms. New York Times
Family of the black jogger shot and killed by two white men demands justice . . . The family of an unarmed black man who was shot dead by two white men in Georgia have described his death as a 'lynching'. Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed February 23 after he became embroiled in an altercation with Gregory and Trevor McMichael while out jogging in the city of Brunswick. The McMichaels - who are father and son - allegedly followed Abery in their
pick-up truck, believing that he was a suspect in two recent burglaries that occurred in the area. Shocking video footage released Tuesday shows the men shooting at Arbery as it appears he tries to flee from them. Neither of the McMichaels have been arrested or charged over the incident. Daily Mail
Coronavirus researcher was shot in love triangle feud . . . A married coronavirus researcher who died in an apparent-murder suicide may have been involved in a long-term love triangle with his alleged killer, police say. Dr Bing Liu, 37, was found dead with gunshot wounds to the head, neck and torso at his home in the suburb of Ross Township on Saturday afternoon. Ross Township police said another man, identified as 46-year-old software engineer
Hao Gu, entered Liu's home through an unlocked door and opened fire before going back to his car parked 100 yards away and turning the gun on himself. On Wednesday investigators revealed that they believe the attack was motivated by a 'lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner'. Daily
Mail
Midieval longbow victims suffered injuries similar to gunshot wounds . . . Medieval arrows caused injuries similar to modern gunshot wounds, according to archaeologists analysing newly-discovered human remains. The bones, recovered from a Dominican friary in Exeter, show arrows fired from longbows could penetrate right through the human skull, creating small entry and large exit wounds. The human skeletons examined as part of the study, who
had possibly died in battle, had been moved from an original burial location elsewhere to this consecrated holy ground later. Daily Mail
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Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Axl Rose in vicious Twitter war . . . Many high-profile clashes erupt on Twitter but perhaps none have appeared out of nowhere like the one between musician Axl Rose and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Rose, who doesn't appears to be a frequent Twitter user, made his fourth original tweet of the year to go after the top Trump official. "It’s official! Whatever anyone may have previously
thought of Steve Mnuchin he’s officially an a------," the former Guns N' Roses frontman tweeted. It is unclear what provoked Rose's tweet. Regardless, the viral attack did not go unnoticed by the treasury secretary. "What have you done for the country lately?" Mnuchin reacted. Fox News
Welcome to the jungle, Mnuchin!
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Keith
Keith Koffler
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