Navy ships arrive to aid US; NYC Dr. shares family Zoom call; AP photographs health workers in Italy; Warren campaign gets 'open-sourced;' Whistleblower says Saudi Arabia tracking via cell phones
NewsHero - March 30, 2020 - Issue 65
Welcome to today’s edition of NewsHero for March 30, 2020.
For the foreseeable future, 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.
We love feedback. Whether it’s about our choice of hero or anything else, feel free to let us know what you think here.
We are a subscription-based outfit and would love for you to think about making us a permanent part of your daily routine. 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!
(wearestillin.com via Beautiful News Daily)
NewsHero Notes
Members of We Are Still In - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
After Donald Trump announced in 2017 the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, a group of mayors, governors and business leaders formed a coalition: We Are Still In. It now includes 3,500 representatives committed to fighting the climate crisis on a local level—switching to clean energy, reducing emissions, and helping to fulfill America’s original promise.
Ignaz Semmelweis - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Over at Literary Hub, take a moment to “Meet the Unacknowledged Hero Who Discovered That Handwashing Saves Lives,” a 19th-century doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis.
Afternoon Brief
Whistleblower; The Guardian - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
According to a whistleblower who showed The Guardian millions of alleged secret tracking requests, Saudi Arabia has been following the movements of its citizens in the U.S. via mobile phone data.
“The whistleblower said they were unable to find any legitimate reason for the high volume of the requests for location information,” reports The Guardian. “‘There is no other explanation, no other technical reason to do this. Saudi Arabia is weaponizing mobile technologies,’ the whistleblower claimed.”
John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto, said the data seen by The Guardian appeared to show foreign agents “flagrantly abusing” the U.S. cellular network to track people moving around the country.
South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff, Japan Defense Ministry - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and Japan’s Defense Ministry said North Korea on Sunday fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea, continuing a streak of weapons launches that suggests leader Kim Jong Un is trying to strengthen domestic support amid worries about a possible coronavirus outbreak in the country.
South Korea’s military described the launches as “very inappropriate” at a time when the world is battling the coronavirus outbreak. It urged North Korea to stop such military action.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, “Recent repeated firings of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a serious problem to the entire international community including Japan.”
Some experts say the latest North Korean launches were likely designed to shore up unity and show that leader Kim Jong Un is in control in the face of U.S.-led sanctions and the global pandemic.
Elizabeth Warren and campaign staff - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Though Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren has ended her presidential run, members of her staff have announced that technology used in developing her campaign will be made public.
“In our work, we leaned heavily on open source technology—and want to contribute back to that community…[by] open-sourcing some of the most important projects of the Elizabeth Warren campaign for anyone to use,” the Warren for President Tech Team said.
In a post on Medium, members of the team—including chief technology strategist Mike Conlow and chief technology officer Nikki Sutton—previewed what would be available.
“Our hope is that other Democratic candidates and progressive causes will use the ideas and code we developed to run stronger campaigns and help Democrats win,” the post said.
NYC Dr. Shares Family ‘Zoom’ Call On COVID-19 Protection
Two Navy ships arrive in NYC and LA to assist with hospital overcrowding
(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
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.
Associated Press photographers on Friday photographed healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy during rare breaks from hospital intensive care units in the Lombardy region. In each case, doctors, nurses and paramedics posed in front of green surgical drapes, the bland backdrop of their sterile wards.
Health workers racing to save lives as France contends with one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks have received a huge show of gratitude with the help of the Eiffel Tower. Lights spelled out “Merci,” French for ’Thank you,” and “Stay at home” in English on Friday night along with the tower’s famous sparkling illuminations.
In what we consider a “must watch” when it comes to understanding facts on COVID-19, Dr. David Price of Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City shared information in a Mar. 22 Zoom call with family and friends on empowering and protecting families.
The Atlantic presented last week “The Four Possible Timelines for Life Returning to Normal” as the world considers how and when we’ll bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. The editors noted that “The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here.”
Sailors aboard USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) admit the first patient from Los Angeles medical facilities, March 29, 2020. (U.S. Navy/MC2 AErwin Jacob Miciano)
Two Navy ships—the USNS Comfort and Mercy—are aiding the fight against the coronavirus in New York and Los Angeles, serving as floating hospitals now deployed for the first time to deal with a pandemic. Also the first federal airlift to the New York tri-state area landed on Sunday with millions of gloves and masks and other medical supplies needed in the fight against the coronavirus.
A feature in Wired focuses on non-profits and companies that during this time of crisis are “providing direct services, offering special grocery shopping hours for seniors, and donating supplies.”
Tents went up Sunday in Central Park to create a 68-bed hospital—run by Mount Sinai Health System and Samaritan’s Purse—to treat coronavirus patients as New York City hospitals overflow their capacity, reports the NY Daily News. The field hospital will start taking patients Tuesday.
Undocumented immigrants who work as health care providers are asking for their work fighting the coronavirus to be taken into consideration as the Supreme Court considers the Trump administration’s bid to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, reports CNN.
Twitter has reportedly removed two tweets by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in which he questioned quarantine measures designed to help contain the coronavirus.
Actor John Krasinski has put together a very funny, yet informative, video featuring some good news in the worldwide virus battle. Also, over at Music Ally, you can read about some positive news happening right now in the music industry.
Lastly, here’s the recent edition of the Corona Daily newsletter: “In this for the long haul.”
Extra! Extra!
Many people might offer other suggestions for what truly is “man’s best friend,” though everyone knows it’s a dog. That said, there’ve been many times when we might say that one’s “best friend” was a can of cold beer. We’re likely not alone on that one.
A story we saw on CNN was especially appealing to us because it features dogs and beer, and not just any beer—the one that was our go-to brew in high school: Busch.
With a picture of a cute pup sitting in an empty beer box, Busch took to Twitter with an announcement: “Foster a dog, get beer.” According to the story, “Busch Beer is offering a three months’ supply of its beer to 500 people who adopt or foster a dog from Midwest Animal Rescue in Minnesota.”
“Animal shelters across the U.S. are closing their doors to the public and canceling adoption events to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But nothing is stopping newly abandoned animals from coming in, so shelters are trying to place as many animals in homes as quickly as possible.”
During this time of isolation amid the coronavirus outbreak, a loyal companion—plus a load of free beer—could arguably come in very handy.
In all seriousness though, if this applies to you or someone you know, think it over. Spread the word. Busch is taking the opportunity to bring attention to an important issue, while donating a ton of its product to make good things happen. Just please remember to drink responsibly and curb your dog!
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:
We Are Still In - Beautiful News
Meet the Unacknowledged Hero Who Discovered That Handwashing Saves Lives - Literary Hub
North Korea test fires missiles amid worries about outbreak - AP News
North Korea tests missiles - Politico
North Korea Launches Two Short-Range Ballistic Missiles - The New York Times
Saudi spies tracked phones using flaws the FCC failed to fix for years- TechCrunch
Revealed: Saudis suspected of phone spying campaign in US - The Guardian
Saudi Arabia 'is using mobile phone data to track its citizens' movements in the US' - Daily Mail
Elizabeth Warren campaign open sources its organizing tools - Engadget
Elizabeth Warren for President open-sources its 2020 campaign tech - TechCrunch
The Warren Campaign Is Gone—but Its Tech May Live On - Wired
Dr. David Price of Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City - Vimeo
AP PHOTOS: Italy's front-line medical heroes, in portraits - AP News
Eiffel Tower says “Merci” to health workers fighting virus - AP News
The Four Possible Timelines for Life Returning to Normal - The Atlantic
In this for the long haul - Coronadaily
Two Navy Ships Steam to New York and Los Angeles to Help With Pandemic - Wall Street Journal
USNS Mercy accepting first patients - Los Angeles Times
The Nonprofits and Companies Helping to Fight the Pandemic - Wired
DACA recipients ask Supreme Court to consider their work in fight against coronavirus - CNN
Field hospital to fight coronavirus goes up in Central Park - NY Daily News
Some Good News with John Krasinski - YouTube
Positive coronavirus-related music industry news - Music Ally
Twitter Removes Brazilian President's Posts Questioning Coronavirus Quarantine - NDTV
First federal airlift to NY tri-state area includes millions of gloves, masks - The Hill
Busch is giving 3 months' worth of beer to people who adopt or foster a dog during coronavirus crisis - CNN