ACLU sues on behalf of Black Voters Matter; Senators want explanation for IG removal; Cease-fire announced in Yemen; OPCW says Syria responsible for chemical attacks; WHO defends virus response
NewsHero - April 9, 2020 - Issue 73
Photo: MSF Yemen
Welcome to today’s edition of NewsHero for April 9, 2020.
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NewsHero Notes
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Georgia filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of Black Voters Matter challenging the constitutionality of requiring voters to buy postage stamps when submitting mail-in absentee ballots and mailing in absentee ballot applications. This is tantamount to a poll tax, the ACLU says.
International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
New data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) reveals that nearly three-quarters of new electricity generation capacity built in 2019 uses renewable energy—an all-time record. Solar, wind and other green technologies reportedly now provide more than one-third of the world’s power—that’s another record.
Afternoon Brief
Senators following up on Atkinson firing - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Senators from both sides are pushing Donald Trump for clarification on his firing on Friday of Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community who deemed the Ukraine whistleblower complaint an “urgent concern.”
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said Wednesday he's assembled a bipartisan group of senators calling on Trump to give a “detailed written explanation” for his actions.
Grassley sent a letter to Trump on Wednesday saying that the law requires the president to notify Congress of reasons for removal 30 days in advance, pointing out that Atkinson had already been placed on administrative leave, essentially skipping the requirement.
Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, and Democratic Sens. Gary Peters of Michigan, Mark Warner of Virginia, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Dianne Feinstein of California and Jon Tester of Montana also signed the letter.
U.N., participants in call for global cease-fire - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen announced Wednesday that its forces would begin a cease-fire starting Thursday, a step that could pave the way for the first direct peace talks between the two sides that have been at war for more than five years.
Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said that the ceasefire would last two weeks and that it comes in response to U.N. calls to halt hostilities amid the coronavirus pandemic. He said the ceasefire could be extended to pave the way for all the parties “to discuss proposals, steps, and mechanisms for sustainable ceasefire in Yemen ... for a comprehensive political solution in Yemen.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called for a cease-fire in all global conflicts on March 23 to tackle the virus and specifically called two days later for a cessation in Yemen, welcomed the announcement, saying: “This can help to advance efforts towards peace as well as the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
A report from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' (OPCW) Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) found that Syrian government forces were responsible for a series of chemical attacks on a Syrian town, said CNN.
On Wednesday, the watchdog group blamed the Syrian government for the toxic attacks, saying President Bashar al-Assad's air force used the nerve gas sarin and chlorine three times in 2017, reports Human Rights Watch.
“As the investigation progressed, and various hypotheses were considered, the IIT gradually came to these conclusions as the only ones that could reasonably be reached from the information obtained, taken as a whole,” the report said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “The United States shares the OPCW’s conclusions and assesses that the Syrian regime retains sufficient chemicals—specifically sarin and chlorine—and expertise from its traditional chemical weapons (CW) program to use sarin, to produce and deploy chlorine munitions, and to develop new CW.”
WHO Defends Its Response To Pandemic
Test shortages leave health workers treating patients while potentially infected
Photo: MSF, Yemen
NewsHero is continuing to offer a compilation of stories and resources that best represent the current state of the coronavirus pandemic, centered on those individuals, institutions, and organizations stepping up to end this crisis as quickly and effectively as possible. The public, too, has a duty. This includes staying responsibly informed and taking the situation seriously, while remaining as cool-headed and as isolated as possible. These are strange and difficult times, but we will endure.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday defended the organization's response to the coronavirus pandemic, and responded to Donald Trump’s criticisms. “Please don't politicize this virus. It exploits the differences you have at the national level. If you want to be exploited and if you want to have many more body bags, then you do it,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget is at work on a potential plan to slash U.S. aid to the WHO, administration officials said Wednesday, as Trump attempts to deflect blame for his handling of the coronavirus crisis, reports NBC News.
A story from Salon says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday discreetly removed odd guidelines for using the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine—promoted by Trump (despite warnings from Dr. Anthony Fauci) though unproven as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
Officials have reportedly been warned not to contradict Donald Trump’s assumptions on untested medications amid a search for treatments for the novel coronavirus, says MSNBC.
Lockdowns imposed to curb the coronavirus’ spread have put millions of women in Africa, Asia and elsewhere out of reach of birth control and other sexual and reproductive health needs. Confined to their homes with their husbands and others, they face unwanted pregnancies and little idea of when they can reach the outside world again.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging Republicans to continue talks on additional aid for small businesses, considering more relief to minority-owned companies and those having difficulty securing loans, reports The Washington Post.
Americans will get direct deposits from the government beginning next week as part of the coronavirus stimulus package, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told House lawmakers Wednesday, reports Forbes.
Governor Phil Murphy on Twitter: Received this message on a shipment of ventilators from Governor Gavin Newsom and the people of California. Have faith – we will beat this if we all work together.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will review cases for release nationwide as the coronavirus spreads at San Diego’s Otay Mesa Detention Center, reports the Los Angeles Times. There are at least six ICE detainees who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a filing Tuesday from U.S. attorneys in a federal court case in San Diego.
Attorneys representing Planned Parenthood’s Texas affiliate said they would ask the Supreme Court this week to intervene after a federal appeals court on Tuesday affirmed Texas' right to ban nearly all abortions during the coronavirus pandemic. The attorneys argue that “patients will suffer irreparable harm” by being forced to travel long distances during the COVID-19 crisis.
Doctors Without Borders continues its COVID-19 response across the globe. Here’s some of what they’re doing.
More than a month after the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., persistent test shortages mean that health workers are treating patients while experiencing mild symptoms that could signal they are infected themselves, according to Reuters interviews with 13 nurses and 2 doctors who described testing shortages at their hospitals.
Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary in the health department for the Government of Bihar, India tweeted thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: “#BiharFightsCorona our sincere thanks to #BMGF for providing the state 15000 testing kits for covid-19.they airlifted it specially for bihar from http://singapore.it shall be made available to our labs on requirement. indeed a great gesture.”
The White House coronavirus taskforce said on Wednesday that social distancing and other mitigation efforts are working, lifting hopes that the U.S. can defy projected death tolls, reports The Guardian.
NPR delivered a story from Naples, Italy on the “solidarity baskets” that are helping feed the homeless during the coronavirus pandemic.
Extra! Extra!
The terms Orwellian and Shakespearian get tossed around a lot. Is there a Kingian? Kingish? Kingesque? Uh, Kingon? Whatever you want to call it, comparisons are being made between living amid the coronavirus crisis and the writing of legendary author Stephen King.
“I keep having people say, ‘Gee, it's like we're living in a Stephen King story,’” he says. “And my only response to that is, ‘I'm sorry.’”
King recently spoke to Terry Gross for NPR’s Fresh Air, discussing his new story collection, If It Bleeds, and, among other things, his work in relation to our current situation.
In his 1978 novel The Stand, King wrote about a viral pandemic that ravaged the world's population. “And he gets it when fans say experiencing the COVID-19 outbreak feels like stepping into one of his horror stories,” NPR said.
King doesn’t take credit for predicting the future. A pandemic like the novel coronavirus was “bound to happen,” King says. “There was never any question that in our society, where travel is a staple of daily life, that sooner or later, there was going to be a virus that was going to communicate to the public at large.”
Still though, if we’re “living in a Stephen King story,” imagine if it were Pet Sematary. Or Cujo. Or Christine. Or It. Wait a minute, Stephen King has a lot of great books! Thankfully we have a lot of time to read.
Our heroes are identified as follows:
🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️ - the hero, hands down. - Meaning that it wasn’t even a close call.
🦸♀️🦸♀️ - the hero, but… - Meaning that in this situation the call needed to be looked at in a little more detail. For example, in this case, they did the right thing but there have been some questionable calls in the past.
🦸♀️ - the hero, but only here, and it was a close call. - Meaning that in this instance they did the right thing but it was either out of character or a maddeningly close call.
Sources:
Headline - Source/Link (Style Heading 6)
ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Georgia Poll Tax - ACLU
New renewable energy capacity hit record levels in 2019 - The Guardian
Republican, Democratic senators press Trump for more on IG's firing - NBC News
Trump’s coronavirus purge - Vox
Trump’s Purge of Inspectors General Deepens His Ability to Corrupt the Government - The Bulwark
Why Trump was totally right to fire the intel inspector-general - NY Post
Saudi officials announce Yemen cease-fire amid pandemic - AP News
Saudi Arabia Declares Cease-Fire in Yemen, Citing Fears of Coronavirus - The New York Times
Saudi Arabia declares ceasefire in Yemen over coronavirus - CNN
Syrian Military "at the Highest Level" Responsible for Chemical Attacks - Human Rights Watch
Report finds Syrian government forces responsible for 2017 chemical attacks - CNN
U.N. Inquiry Into Syria Bombings Is Silent on Russia’s Role - The New York Times
WHO defends coronavirus response after Trump criticism - CNN WHO head warns not to 'politicize' COVID-19 - Reuters Video
White House working on plan to cut aid to WHO - NBC News
CDC quietly deletes hydroxychloroquine guidance as study hyped by Trump comes into question - Salon
Officials reportedly warned not to contradict Trump on untested meds - MSNBC
Lockdowns mean millions of women can’t reach birth control - AP News
Pelosi urges GOP to ‘come to the table’ and continue talks on small-business funds - The Washington Post
Coronavirus Stimulus Payments Will Hit Direct Deposit Accounts Next Week, Mnuchin Says - Forbes
ICE says it will review cases for release nationwide as the coronavirus spreads at San Diego detention center - Los Angeles Times
Court backs Texas pandemic abortion ban, citing emergency powers - Politico
What the Pandemic Means for UN Peacekeeping Work - PassBlue
The response to COVID-19 continues - MSF
Sanjay Kumar - Twitter
US says mitigation efforts are working, raising hopes of defying worst case scenario - The Guardian
In Naples, Pandemic 'Solidarity Baskets' Help Feed The Homeless - NPR
Stephen King Is Sorry You Feel Like You're Stuck In A Stephen King Novel - NPR
