Fired IG 'disappointed,' Critics say WI blocking voters; UN sounds alarm amid domestic violence ‘surge;’ NY gets help from China, other US states; Fauci silenced; Hilton donates 1 million hotel rooms
NewsHero - April 6, 2020 - Issue 70 g
Welcome to today’s edition of NewsHero for April 6, 2020.
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NewsHero Notes
Cancer awareness advocates and educators - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
According to the National Cancer Institute, fewer women in the U.S. are dying of breast cancer, the second most common cancer among women in America. The improved numbers are attributed to earlier screening, growing awareness of symptoms, better understanding of genetic susceptibility, and safer medications, reports Beautiful News.
Firefighters - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Ukrainian firefighters worked into Sunday night trying to put out two forest fires in the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power station. Yehor Firsov, head of the state ecological inspection service, said the fires had spread to about 250 acres and that radiation levels there were substantially higher than normal.
Afternoon Brief
Michael Atkinson - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Michael Atkinson, the inspector general fired by Donald Trump Friday, issued a statement Sunday in which he says he feels he was let go for doing the right thing when it came to handling the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment trial.
“I am disappointed and saddened that President Trump has decided to remove me as the inspector general of the intelligence community because I did not have his ‘fullest confidence,’ ” Atkinson said. “It is hard not to think that the president’s loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations as an independent and impartial inspector general.”
Trump’s removal of Atkinson drew criticism from Democrats and former intelligence officials who have served in Republican administrations, The Washington Post reported. Michael Horowitz, the chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and the Justice Department inspector general, said in a statement Saturday that Atkinson is known for his “integrity, professionalism and commitment to the rule of law and independent oversight.”
Opponents of voter suppression - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Democrats and liberal groups on Sunday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let stand an extended absentee voting period for Wisconsin’s spring primary, an election unfolding amid public health fears due to the coronavirus.
The groups argued that a federal judge’s order this week extending absentee voting from Tuesday to April 13 is critical for a fair election and to protect public health. They said the crush of absentee ballot requests—more than 1.1 million, far more than any previous election—has made it impossible for clerks to get them out to voters and get them back in time to beat what had been an 8 p.m. election night deadline.
“These backlogs and delays will disenfranchise voters, in the absence of any emergency extension of the deadlines for mailing and receiving absentee ballots,” they argued. “The City Clerks for Milwaukee and Madison have concluded there is ‘no practical way’ that scores of thousands of voters from these two municipalities alone who have not yet received their absentee ballots will be able to vote and return their ballots by the deadline.”
Wisconsin’s presidential primary election will proceed Tuesday however, under an order from the state Supreme Court that came just hours after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tried to the postpone voting. The court ruled 4-2 today that Evers lacked the authority to move the election on his own.
Antonio Guterres - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday night that there has been “a horrifying global surge in domestic violence” as fear of the coronavirus has grown along with its social and economic consequences.
The U.N. chief, who appealed on March 23 for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the pandemic, said in statement it is time to appeal for an end to all violence, “everywhere, now.”
“For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest—in their own homes,” Gutteres said. “And so I make a new appeal today for peace at home—and in homes—around the world.”
He said that in some countries, which he didn’t name, “the number of women calling support services has doubled.”
At the same time, he said, health care providers and police are overwhelmed and understaffed, local support groups are paralyzed or short of funds, and some domestic violence shelters are closed while others are full.
“I urge all governments to make the prevention and redress of violence against women a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19,” Guterres said.
NY Gets Help With Medical Supplies From China, Other US States
Fauci silenced by Trump at press briefing when asked about effectiveness of drug
A U.S. National Guard soldier informs patients at a coronavirus testing center at Lehman College on March 28, 2020, in the Bronx, New York City. The center, opened March 23 at Lehman College, can test up to 500 people per day for COVID-19. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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.
New York secured a planeload of ventilators from China on Saturday, and Oregon was sending a shipment of its own to battle the coronavirus pandemic at its U.S. core, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Sunday that the state will return more than 400 ventilators of the 500 it has received from the federal government so they can go to New York and other states hit harder by the coronavirus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was silenced by Donald Trump at a news conference when asked about medical evidence regarding the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, reports The Washington Post.
Journalists around the world are being threatened and detained as many countries clamp down on coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
United Nations Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis Mark Cutts tweeted on Sunday: “UN humanitarian leaders call on all parties in Syria to prevent further interruptions to water & other essential services as efforts are made to ramp up COVID-19 preparedness & response”
Filippo Grandi, representing the official Twitter account of the UN High Commissioner for @refugees tweeted Sunday: In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, @BRACworld and @UNHCR_BGD are working day and night to support the authorities and build an isolation and treatment centre for Rohingya refugees and the local community, should the #Covid_19 pandemic affect the area.”
Vanderbilt Medical Center nurse practitioners took on the challenge of creating COVID-19 testing sites out of thin air in a hospital parking deck and a tent in south Nashville. Photographed Thursday, March 26, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/The Tennessean)
Raul Romero, a New York City taxi driver who continued to work amid the COVID-19 outbreak in order to pay his bills, has contracted the coronavirus, as has his wife and another member of his family. The Washington Post delivers Romero’s story, as one of the many essential workers risking their lives on the front lines.
Mausi Segun, Human Rights Watch Africa Director, analyzed examples (both good and bad) of how African governments have responded to the coronavirus.
Europe saw further signs of hope Sunday as Italy’s daily death toll was at its lowest in more than two weeks and its infection curve was finally on a downward slope. In Spain, new deaths dropped for the third straight day. But the optimism was tempered by Britain’s jump in virus deaths that outpaced the daily toll in Italy.
Hilton and American Express today announced that the companies, in partnership with Hilton’s ownership community, will donate up to 1 million hotel room nights across the United States to frontline medical professionals leading the fight against COVID-19. Beginning next week, Hilton and American Express will make rooms available without charge to doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics and other frontline medical staff who need a place to sleep, recharge or isolate from their families through the end of May.
Oprah Winfrey announced that she donated $10 million “to help Americans during this pandemic in cities across the country.” Of her total donation, $1 million will go toward America's Food Fund to alleviate food insecurity. The rest will be donated to other groups helping Americans during the pandemic, reports CNN.
Lastly, we’re including the latest edition of the Corona Daily newsletter, which includes some essential reading within the seemingly endless field of COVID-19 updates and stats.
Extra! Extra!
Here’s one for all you movers and shakers out there. As if anyone had any doubts that our staying home was doing the world good, it seems that all this lockdown business is doing the actual world good. Fox News ran a story that said with the streets of so many cities emptied out the earth has essentially stopped vibrating.
The earth vibrated? According to an article in the scientific journal Nature, “Researchers who study Earth’s movement are reporting a drop in seismic noise—the hum of vibrations in the planet’s crust—that could be the result of transport networks and other human activities being shut down.”
And this is a good thing? Yep. Fox News reports, “Researchers say the drop in activity, usually only seen to this magnitude around Christmas, could help experts find smaller earthquakes and monitor volcanic activity more effectively.”
Well there it is. Not only are you helping stop the spread of the coronavirus and protecting the safety of loved ones and strangers by staying home, you’re giving the planet a break and offering scientists a chance to further their work.
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:
Fewer US Women Are Dying Of Breast Cancer - Beautiful News
Ukraine battles forest fires near Chernobyl - ABC News
Adam Schiff Denounces Trump's Firing of Inspector General: 'Gutting the Independence of the Intelligence Community' - Newsweek
Trump suggests firing watchdog was payback for impeachment - AP News
Ousted US intelligence inspector general urges whistleblowers not to be 'silenced' by Trump - The Guardian
'He's a total disgrace': Trump defends firing U.S. intel watchdog - Reuters
Inspector general who handled Ukraine whistleblower complaint says ‘it is hard not to think’ Trump fired him for doing his job - The Washington Post
Top Wisconsin court blocks governor’s move to delay election - AP News
Liberal groups: Allow extended voting in Wisconsin election - AP News
Citing coronavirus, Wisconsin mayors urge postponement of Tuesday's election - Reuters
Wisconsin governor asks Legislature to delay primary election - CNN
RNC and Wisconsin Republicans file emergency petition in voting dispute - CNN
UN chief urges end to domestic violence, citing global surge - AP News
Global surge of domestic violence since coronavirus lockdowns - Al Jazeera
Global Lockdowns Resulting In 'Horrifying Surge' In Domestic Violence, U.N. Warns - NPR
NY gets 1,100 ventilators with help from China, Oregon - AP News
Washington state returns hundreds of federal ventilators for use in New York - NY Post
Trump suggests hydroxychloroquine may protect against Covid-19. Researchers say there's no evidence of that - CNN
Ignoring Expert Opinion, Trump Again Promotes Use of Hydroxychloroquine - The New York Times
Trump blocks Fauci from answering question about drug Trump is touting - The Washington Post
Journalists threatened and detained as countries on multiple continents restrict coronavirus coverage - The Washington Post
Mark Cutts - Twitter
Filippo Grandi - Twitter
A New York City taxi driver kept working to pay bills. Now he and his family are sick - The Washington Post
Coronavirus Could Ravage Africa: Daily Brief - Human Rights Watch
Hilton and American Express to Donate Up to 1 Million Rooms to Frontline Medical Professionals During COVID-19 Crisis - Hilton
Oprah Winfrey donates $10 million to coronavirus relief - CNN
Europe sees more signs of hope as Italy’s virus curve falls - AP News
A tough week ahead - Corona Daily
Coronavirus lockdowns have caused the Earth to effectively stop shaking - Fox News