Coronavirus

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump still won’t wear a mask in public, but he did take one conspicuous precaution when he recoiled from a handshake while disembarking from Marine One on his way to board Air Force One. On Saturday, Trump traveled to Cape Canaveral for the latest attempt at a joint Spacex Nasa launch, but it was the first …

The Sacramento Bee reports: The Supreme Court late Friday rejected a California church’s challenge of the state’s new pandemic-related rules on worship services, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining the court’s liberals in the 5-to-4 vote. Roberts wrote that state officials such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) had leeway to impose restrictions to prevent the spread of …

“I disagree with the president’s decision. Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mistakes the World Health Organization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been dealt with, not in the middle of it. “Withdrawing U.S. membership could, among other things, interfere with clinical trials that …

The Associated Press reports: Hawaii Gov. David Ige on Thursday said he would extend the state’s 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers arriving in the state beyond June 30. The state mandated the quarantine beginning on March 26 to control the spread of the coronavirus. The governor told a joint online press conference held with the state’s four county mayors that …

Sky News reports: A gang of monkeys attacked a laboratory assistant and escaped with a batch of coronavirus blood test samples, it has been reported. The bizarre incident saw the troop of primates launch their assault near Meerut Medical College in Delhi, India. According to local media, the animals then snatched COVID-19 blood test samples that had been taken from …

ESPN reports: Organizers canceled the Boston Marathon on Thursday for the first time in its history, bowing to the social distancing requirements of the coronavirus outbreak and ending a 124-year run that had persisted through two World Wars, a volcanic eruption and even another pandemic. The race, which draws a field of 30,000 and already had been postponed from April …

The New York Times reports: The New York City Council introduced legislation Thursday afternoon, backed by the restaurant industry, requiring the mayor to find a way to open streets, sidewalks and public plazas to outdoor dining. Corey Johnson [photo], the Council speaker, and Councilman Antonio Reynoso of Brooklyn are spearheading the effort. “The restaurant and the food industry has been …

ABC News reports: Wading into a politically charged issue, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday preached the importance of wearing masks in public as the nation’s economy reopens from the “cataclysmic” damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. During a tour of hospitals this week in his home state of Kentucky, the Republican leader has stressed wearing masks in public …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is extending the federal deployment of over 40,000 National Guard troops aiding coronavirus relief efforts, reversing plans for an earlier cutoff following bipartisan backlash and pressure from top defense officials. The federal government will now keep funding National Guard troops in nearly the entire country through mid-August, President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday. The administration was …

Axios reports: Twitter slapped a fact-check label on a pair of months-old tweets from a Chinese government spokesperson that falsely suggested that the coronavirus originated in the U.S. and was brought to Wuhan by the U.S. military, directing users to “get the facts about COVID-19.” The labels were added after criticism that Twitter had fact-checked tweets from President Trump about …

NBC News reports: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that he is signing an executive order authorizing businesses to deny entry to people who do not wear a mask or face covering. “That store owner has a right to protect himself,” the governor said at his daily coronavirus briefing. “That store owner has a right to protect the other …

The Hill reports: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said on Thursday that he and his wife tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, an indication that they have previously been infected with the disease. “We each tested positive for coronavirus antibodies this month. While those antibodies could make us less likely to be re-infected or infect others, there is still too much uncertainty …

The Associated Press reports: U.S. President Donald Trump marked the coronavirus pandemic milestone of 100,000 U.S. deaths in a Twitter post on Thursday, a day after the threshold was reached and his silence noted. “We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000. To all of the families & friends of those who have …

USA Today reports: About 2.1 million Americans filed initial unemployment benefit claims last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. In just ten weeks, 40.7 million have sought jobless benefits that represent the nation’s most reliable gauge of layoffs. A record 20.5 million jobs were lost in April, according to the Labor Department, spiking the unemployment rate to 14.7%, the highest …

From the Federalist piece just retweeted by Trump: Implementing mandatory mask policies across a society of 300 million because it makes some people feel better is absurd on its face. But the policy makes a lot of sense if you understand its purpose and usefulness to shift the American mindset. Mandatory masks are a critical predicate conditioning us to accept …

Axios reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines on Wednesday detailing how office buildings can reopen following months of social distancing amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. That includes proper ventilation systems, increasing the flow of outdoor air and ensuring no hazards emerged during the shutdown. Sick employees should be sent home and “enhanced” cleaning and disinfection …

Spotlight Pennsylvania reports: A Republican state lawmaker from Central Pennsylvania confirmed Wednesday that he tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month, leading at least one of his House colleagues to self-quarantine. The admission immediately ignited outrage among Democrats in the chamber who said they were recklessly left in the dark for nearly a week about the lawmaker’s condition. State …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday that he’ll continue to roll back coronavirus restrictions as long as residents abide by safety guidelines, adding that his decision to allow more businesses to reopen is “reinvigorating” the state’s stalled economy. During a visit to a Macon hospital, Kemp said Georgia’s data “continue to look really good,” and he downplayed …

“Once you’ve seen your son raised from the dead — my son was dead for 4-5 hours, without oxygen, and actually pronounced dead, and put in a morgue in a cooler, stripped naked with a toe tag on — and once you see your son raised from the dead, nearly five hours without oxygen and there’s no brain damage. And …

The New York Times reports: Just over four months after the government confirmed the first known case, more than 100,000 people who had the coronavirus have died in the United States, according to a New York Times tally. The death toll is far higher than in any other nation in the world. The toll exceeds the number of U.S. military …