Pompeo visits Kabul for peace; Human Rights Watch slams Egyptian forces; Mexico allows some Central American migrants; Dr. Li Wenliang exonerated; Corporations make, donate medical supplies
NewsHero - March 23, 2020 - Issue 60
Welcome to today’s edition of NewsHero for March 23, 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.
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
People staying home (those who can) and those reminding them to do so - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Check out this GIF posted in a tweet that shows what impact just one person can have on the spreading of germs. Sobering indeed. (GIF credit to @SiouxsieW and @XTOTL working at @TheSpinoffTV)
Judge Richard Jones - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Judge Richard Jones, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, is making it more difficult for the Trump administration to ease restrictions on 3-D gun blueprints.
Afternoon Brief
Mike Pompeo - 🦸♀️
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left Afghanistan today without saying whether he was able to broker an agreement between the country’s squabbling political leaders.
Pompeo was in Kabul on an urgent visit to try to move forward a U.S. peace deal signed last month with the Taliban. He’d traveled thousands of miles despite a near-global travel shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, at a time when world leaders and statesmen are curtailing official travel.
But as his plane took off from Kabul, there was still no announcement on whether he’d worked out a solution to Afghanistan’s political impasse between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah. There were reports in the Afghan capital that Pompeo had given Ghani and Abdullah until Tuesday to come up with a compromise, but there was no indication either side had offered to step aside.
Human Rights Watch - 🦸♀️🦸♀️🦸♀️
Human Rights Watch is calling on the U.S., France and other European Union countries to halt their support to Egyptian security forces until authorities take measurable steps to end abuses and hold accountable those responsible.
Egyptian security forces under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi have arbitrarily arrested, forcibly disappeared and tortured children as young as 12 while prosecutors and judges do nothing, the group said today.
“Children are describing being waterboarded and electrocuted on their tongues and genitals, and yet Egypt’s security forces are facing no consequences,” said Bill Van Esveld, associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch.
In a 43-page report, the New York-based group said it documented abuses against 20 children who were between the age of 12 and 17 at the time of arrest. Fifteen of them said they were tortured in pretrial detention, usually during interrogation while held incommunicado, Human Rights Watch said.
Mexico’s foreign ministry - 🦸♀️🦸♀️
Mexico’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that it will allow a limited number of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the United States to legally enter Mexico in order to minimize the number of people at U.S. border stations.
The ministry said Mexican immigration authorities would evaluate who is allowed into Mexico on a case by case basis and said the measure will exclusively apply to people from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
“We’re evaluating the regular admission of some nationals from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala who are presented to the Mexican immigration authorities, in order to minimize crowding at U.S. Border Patrol stations,” the ministry said in a statement.
Dr. Li Wenliang Exonerated By China
Heroes emerge from all areas to fight virus crisis
In this Feb. 7, 2020, file photo, people wearing masks attend a vigil for Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, who was reprimanded for warning about the outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Hong Kong. China has taken the highly unusual move of exonerating the doctor who was reprimanded for warning about the coronavirus outbreak and later died of the disease. An official media report said police in Wuhan had revoked its admonishment of Dr. Li that had included a threat of arrest and issued a “solemn apology” to his family. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Fi)
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.
China has exonerated Dr. Li Wenliang, who was officially reprimanded for warning about the coronavirus outbreak and later died of the disease, a rare admission of error by the ruling Communist Party.
The party’s top disciplinary body said the police force in Wuhan had revoked its admonishment of Li that had included a threat of arrest.
It also said a “solemn apology” had been issued to Li’s family and that two police officers had been issued “disciplinary punishments” for the original handling of the matter.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says he can’t jump in front of the microphone to stop President Donald Trump from speaking at daily White House briefings on the coronavirus outbreak.
The nation’s top infectious disease expert tells Science magazine in an interview that Trump listens “even though we disagree on some things.”
“He goes his own way. He has his own style,” Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in the telephone interview with the magazine on Sunday. “But on substantive issues, he does listen to what I say.”
U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat, The Washington Post reports.
Medical experts for the Department of Homeland Security are warning Congress that the department should release all immigrant detainees who don't pose a risk to public safety, CNN reports. There's an “imminent risk to the health and safety of immigrant detainees” and to the general public if the novel coronavirus spreads in ICE detention, Dr. Scott Allen and Dr. Josiah Rich wrote in a letter sent to lawmakers Friday.
Scores of companies are coming forward with donations of medical supplies, with some organizations manufacturing supplies themselves. Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted Saturday that the company was donating “millions of masks for health professionals in the US and Europe,” to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Hanes clothing company is retrofitting factories to make masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus, partnering with the U.S. government to make N95 masks for health care workers fighting the disease.
The New York Times reports that Los Angeles Apparel is making surgical masks and hospital gowns—potentially 300,000 masks and 50,000 gowns in a week—and that fashion designer Christian Siriano has reassigned his ten seamstresses in New York to make masks—hopefully, a few thousand a week.
The 3M Company will send 500,000 respirators to New York and Seattle as the cities combat the COVID-19 outbreak, its CEO and Chairman Mike Roman announced in a statement Sunday.
An article from CleanTechnica reports that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has his company providing masks and ventilators.
A first planeload of protective and medical equipment donated to Africa by Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma to help it fight the coronavirus arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Sunday.
“The flight carried 5.4 million face masks, kits for 1.08 million detection tests, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000 sets of protective face shields,” Ma’s foundation said in a statement. “The faster we move, the earlier we can help.”
Officials from Tennessee’s Corsair Artisan Distillery said they are now going to donate homemade hand sanitizer to hospitals. Corsair Distillery said they used byproducts, like ethanol and Gin, to make bulk sanitizer and gave it out to the public for free.
CNN reports that General Motors in partnership with Ventec Life Systems are collaborating to produce respiratory care products, including ventilators. “We are working closely with Ventec to rapidly scale up production of their critically important respiratory products to support our country’s fight again the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO. “We will continue to explore ways to help in this time of crisis.”
Truck drivers across the country say they've seen no slowdown in factory or food production, and are busily delivering to stores nationwide amid demand for goods during the virus crisis, reports USA Today.
Netflix has created a $100 million relief fund to help members of the creative community who have been left unemployed and without a way to earn an income during the coronavirus crisis. The company said the bulk of the funds will go toward supporting laid-off crew members.
Starbucks announced Friday that for the next two weeks it will temporarily close all of its cafe-only stores and only operate drive-thru and delivery services, adding that all workers will be paid for the next 30 days regardless of whether they choose to go to work or stay home.
Amazon said on Saturday it is raising overtime pay for associates working in its U.S. warehouses as the world’s largest online retailer tries to meet the rapidly growing demand for online shopping from consumers stuck at home.
Lyft on Friday told drivers they could sign up for work driving deliveries under a new service as ride-hailing demand plummets in the U.S.
HEROIC doctors and NHS staff have posted powerful pictures of their bruised faces after hours wearing protective gear to treat desperately ill coronavirus patients.
CNN shined a spotlight on doctors, nurses and other health care workers around the globe fighting coronavirus. “While the world collectively shelters in place to protect against coronavirus, medical professionals flock to the front lines to work long hours tending to a burgeoning number of infected people.”
The U.S. government is moving to lift restrictions on telemedicine services and expand coverage to all Americans, even as many providers say they’re struggling to meet existing demand. The expansion covers roughly 62 million Medicare beneficiaries who are among the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus, reports TechCrunch.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first rapid coronavirus diagnostic test, with a detection time of about 45 minutes, as the United States struggles to meet the demand for coronavirus testing.
The test’s developer, California-based molecular diagnostics company Cepheid, said on Saturday it had received an emergency use authorization from the FDA for the test, which will be used primarily in hospitals and emergency rooms. The company plans to begin shipping it to hospitals next week, it said.
Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed a new coronavirus test that produces results around three times faster than the current fastest testing methods, and that requires only relatively simple technical instrumentation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has offered tips for living under coronavirus quarantine: don’t drink, smoke or watch too much news.
An article from Wired discusses Larry Brilliant, an epidemiologist who helped defeat smallpox. He says we can beat the novel coronavirus, but we’ll first need lots more testing.
Extra! Extra!
What’s that saying? Fool me once, shame on you? Fool me twice…um…Seamus… Whatever it is we think it’s got something to do with learning—or not learning—your lesson. A recent headline grabbed our attention: “Florida man jailed twice in 2 days for impersonating cop.” Durp. Really?
Yep, really. It seems a 60-year-old man was arrested on March 9 on charges of impersonating an officer and shoplifting, then on March 11 he was charged with felony violation of pre-trial release and impersonating an officer. On March 11 he was busted flashing a badge to avoid paying a $2 toll at a bridge. Twice.
“This guy clearly has not learned his lesson and has no respect for the law,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Two days after his release and he is already up to his old tricks. We know already that he thinks he can get out of shoplifting and paying tolls with his fake badge.”
Once, twice, whatever. Some people are just foolish and have no shame.
Sources:
How much harm can one person really do? - Twitter
Judge Enjoins Trump Administration's Easing of Restrictions on 3-D Gun Blueprints - Lawfare
Pompeo leaves Kabul, no word on political power-sharing deal - AP News
Pompeo Arrives in Kabul on a Diplomatic Rescue Mission - Wall Street Journal
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits Kabul as peace deal faces uncertain future - CNN
Witness: Beaten, Electrocuted, Tortured – Life for Boys in Egypt’s Prisons - Human Rights Watch
Group: Egypt's security forces ‘disappear, torture’ children - ABC News
Rights group: Children in Egypt tortured in detention - Al Jazeera
Some Central Americans awaiting U.S. asylum to be allowed legal entry to Mexico - Reuters
U.S. notes stricter policies at border - NWA
China exonerates doctor reprimanded for warning of virus - AP News
Fauci says he can’t stop Trump from talking at briefings - AP News
‘I know, but what do you want me to do?’: Fauci’s strikingly honest review of Trump’s coronavirus response - Washington Post
U.S. intelligence reports from January and February warned about a likely pandemic - Washington Post
Doctors warn of 'tinderbox scenario' if coronavirus spreads in ICE detention - CNN
Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company is donating “millions” of masks to healthcare workers - The Verge
Hanes will start making masks for health care professionals treating coronavirus - ABC News
Christian Siriano and Dov Charney Are Making Masks and Medical Supplies Now - The New York Times
3M to send 500,000 respirators to New York, Seattle - The Hill
Elon Musk: Should Have 1000 Ventilators Next Week, + 250,000 N95 Masks For Hospitals Tomorrow - CleanTechnica
Coronavirus supplies donated by Alibaba's Ma arrive in Africa - Reuters
Tennessee distillery turns spirits into hand sanitizer, donates to hospitals - WKRN
Communities help collect medical supplies as coronavirus threatens shortages - Nightline
Truckers brave coronavirus outbreak to deliver goods: 'If we stop, the world stops' - USA Today
Netflix Creates $100 Million Coronavirus Relief Fund - Variety
Starbucks closes nearly all cafes during coronavirus outbreak, will pay staff 30 days - The Hill
Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers - Reuters
Lyft drivers can join new delivery service, founders donate salaries - Reuters
Administration expands telemedicine for Medicare and encourages health plans to boost offerings - TechCrunch
U.S. FDA approves first rapid coronavirus test with 45 minutes detection time - Reuters
Oxford scientists develop new coronavirus test that provides results in just 30 minutes - TechCrunch
World Health Organization offers tips for living under coronavirus quarantine: Don’t drink, smoke or watch too much news - CNBC
Coronavirus Treatment: Hundreds of Scientists Scramble to Find One - The New York Times
The Doctor Who Helped Defeat Smallpox Explains What's Coming - Wired
The many faces of health workers around the globe fighting coronavirus - CNN
Florida man jailed twice in 2 days for impersonating cop - AP News