Germany bans hate group; Watchdog says Israeli settlements boomed; Student proves Darwin theory; Navy ships respond to virus; NY has drive-thru COVID-19 test; National parks waive entry fees
NewsHero - March 19, 2020 - Issue 58
Welcome to today’s edition of NewsHero for March 19, 2020.
For the next two weeks, our newsletter will be made fully accessible to all readers. We hope you’ll take advantage of the resources provided here as we all do our best to absorb the continually developing information on the coronavirus crisis. Also, we hope you enjoy our usual take on happenings from around the globe, and consider joining up with us in the near future.
At NewsHero we put the heroes in the headlines and give them the attention in our coverage that they deserve. Here you’ll find the same high priority news, but you’ll get it without clickbait and it won’t be driven by ad sales. You’ll also get it with the focus on those who are helping, not causing harm.
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.
We love feedback. Whether it’s about our choice of hero or anything else, feel free to let us know what you think here.
As always, thank you for your support as we strive to grow as an independent news source so we can offer more for our readers.
Please share us with anyone you think might like what we do—or might need another perspective.
Wishing you health and safety!
NewsHero Notes
Jesse Wegman - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
In his new book, Let the People Pick the President, New York Times journalist Jesse Wegman makes a case for ditching the Electoral College. “The way the Electoral College operates today is not carved in stone,” he says. “The winner-take-all rule is really just a state invention. There's nothing keeping us from changing it to a different method.”
CRISPR scientists - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
An episode of NPR’s Shortwave discusses a new CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat) treatment that edits a patient's DNA while it’s still inside their body. If it works, it could open up new avenues of treatment for diseases, like a genetic form of blindness, that were previously off limits to CRISPR, explains NPR health correspondent Rob Stein.
Afternoon Brief
German officials banning hate groups - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Authorities conducted raids in ten German states today at places linked to a group accused of pursuing a mix of anti-government and racist ideology. Germany’s top security official, Horst Seehofer, issued a ban on United German Peoples and Tribes, the first time a group associated with the so-called Reichsbuerger movement has been proscribed.
The Interior Ministry said around 400 police officers had seized firearms, propaganda material and small amounts of drugs during the raids on the homes of 21 leading members of the group.
“We are dealing with a group that distributes racist and anti-Semitic writings and in doing so systematically poisons our free society,” Seehofer said in a statement.
Peace Now - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
A watchdog group reported Tuesday that Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank surged ahead in 2019, maintaining a rapid pace that has drawn strength from the friendly policies of the Trump administration.
Peace Now, a monitoring group that opposes the settlements, said that Israel’s average annual construction rate has risen 25% since President Donald Trump took office in 2017.
Perhaps more significantly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government last year approved plans to build thousands of new homes, laying the groundwork for a sharp spike in construction in the coming years.
Laura van Holstein - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
A report from the University of Cambridge on Phys.org says that scientists have proved one of Charles Darwin's theories of evolution for the first time—nearly 140 years after his death.
Laura van Holstein, a Ph.D. student in Biological Anthropology at St John's College, University of Cambridge, and lead author of the research published Tuesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, discovered mammal subspecies play a more important role in evolution than previously thought.
Her research could now be used to predict which species conservationists should focus on protecting to stop them becoming endangered or extinct, the report says.
Navy Sends Hospital Ships Where Patient Influx Anticipated
NY suburb offer state’s first drive-thru COVID-19 testing
A Department of Health employee trains New York Army National Guard soldiers to register people on iPads at a drive-thru coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mobile testing center in Glenn Island Park, New Rochelle. (VIA REUTERS)
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.
A pair of U.S. Navy hospital ships will be deployed to New York and on the West Coast, where medical workers expect a massive influx of patients as the coronavirus spreads, according to NPR.
Today’s episode of The Daily, the New York Times podcast, takes a visit to New Rochelle, NY, a suburb north of NYC that has one of the largest clusters of coronavirus infections in the U.S. and offers the state’s first drive-through COVID-19 testing center.
Tuesday’s The Daily features Dr. Fabiano Di Marco, a professor at the University of Milan, triaging care at the heart of the coronavirus crisis in Italy, discussing what could lie ahead for the U.S.
The U.S. Air Force has flown half a million coronavirus testing swabs from Italy to Tennessee, the branch’s top general revealed Wednesday. Gen. David Goldfein told reporters at the Pentagon that the swabs landed in Memphis on Monday, reports Fox News. They were transported across the Atlantic on an Air Force C-17 cargo plane and now will be distributed around the country, people familiar with the mission told Defense One.
U.S. lawmakers were rushing ahead on Thursday with forging a massive economic stimulus measure to counter the destructive impact of the coronavirus, with the Senate’s leader vowing not to let the chamber adjourn until the mission is accomplished.
Officials are urging the public to keep thinking about the big picture amid coronavirus outbreak worries. More than 82,000 people have recovered after contracting the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University. On Monday, cases outside China surpassed those within China for the first time since the outbreak started, Newsweek reports.
Drive through testing facility. New Rochelle, NY. (EPA)
Live updates from The New York Times today includes news that as China reports zero local infections, a study published Thursday in the journal Nature Medicine finds the death rate in Wuhan was lower than previously thought.
CNN reports that as the U.S. responds to the coronavirus, the Trump administration has made drastic changes to the country's immigration system, altering daily operations and disrupting the lives of thousands. 12 of these changes are broken down here.
An exclusive from Politico says the Trump administration is considering a controversial proposal to bump up the number of visas offered to wealthy immigrants who invest money in the U.S. as it tries to boost the economy.
The northern Italian region of Lombardy, on the frontline of the battle against the coronavirus, asked recently retired health workers on Wednesday to return to work and help colleagues overwhelmed by the crisis.
Hong Kong is using electronic wristbands as part of its effort to enforce quarantines and reduce the spread of the new coronavirus, reports CNBC.
Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt has directed the National Park Service to waive entrance fees at all national parks that remain open during the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to aid public social distancing. “This small step makes it a little easier for the American public to enjoy the outdoors in our incredible National Parks,” Bernhardt said in a news release Wednesday.
New York state lawmakers voted on bills Wednesday in empty chambers following emergency COVID-19 protocols. According to the NY Post, the state Senate and Assembly passed a bill that will expand paid sick leave to all public and private sector workers forced into precautionary or mandatory quarantine due to the coronavirus.
Sources:
Yep. They Injected CRISPR Into An Eyeball - NPR
Electoral College 'Not Carved In Stone:' Author Advocates Rethinking How We Vote - NPR
Germany bans anti-Semitic group, raids homes - AP News
German police in nationwide raids on far-right group - TRT World
Germany Bans Far-Right Group, Raids Leaders' Homes - US News
Watchdog says Israel’s West Bank settlements surged in 2019 - AP News
Israel's West Bank Settlements Surged in 2019, Watchdog Says - VOA
Peace Now: West Bank settlements surged in 2019 - Ynet
One of Darwin's evolution theories finally proved by Cambridge researcher - Phys.org
A PhD student proved one of Darwin's theories of evolution 140 years after his death - CNN
Meet Laura van Holstein, the Cambridge researcher who proved one of Darwin's evolution theories - IBT
U.S. Navy Hospital Ships To Deploy To New York, West Coast - NPR
Trump deploying hospital ships to coronavirus hot zones - Politico
One city’s fight to stop the virus - NYT The Daily
Air Force flew 500,000 coronavirus test swabs from Italy to Tennessee - Fox News
Senate passes coronavirus package as Treasury proposes rescue with emergency checks - Politico
U.S. lawmakers pushing ahead with third coronavirus aid package - Reuters
Over 82,000 People Have Recovered From Coronavirus Around the World, According to Johns Hopkins University - Newsweek
12 changes to the US immigration system during the coronavirus pandemic - CNN
Trump considers increasing visas for foreign investors - Politico
Italy threatens to ban outdoor exercise as coronavirus deaths surge - Reuters
Hong Kong is putting electronic wristbands on arriving passengers to enforce coronavirus quarantine - CNBC
National Park Service to waive entrance fees at open parks to aid social distancing - CNN
New York state lawmakers pass emergency coronavirus paid sick leave bill - NY Post
Graham calls for 'wage replacement' as people lose work over coronavirus - Fox News
Idaho Legislature sends bill prohibiting transgender people from altering birth certificates to governor for approval - CNN
Amid Coronavirus, San Francisco, New York, Deem Marijuana Businesses 'Essential' - NPR
Why there will soon be tons of toilet paper, and what food may be scarce, according to supply chain experts - CNBC ‘It’s Like a War’ - NYT The Daily
Great Reporting! Love it!!