COVID-19 news: Trump suggests 100,000 U.S. deaths would be a victory; CNN defends airing Trump live

COVID-19 news: Trump suggests 100,000 U.S. deaths would be a victory; CNN defends airing Trump live
NewsColony

• In a Monday morning Fox & Friends call, Trump dismissed calls for vote-by-mail during the pandemic, suggesting the calls for easier voting were partisan. “The things they had in [the bill] were crazy. They had levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.”

• Trump claimed, in a call with state governors desperate for medical supplies and test kits, that he “hasn’t heard anything about testing in weeks.”

• General Electric workers protested today to demand GE rapidly retool its jet engine manufacturing plants to produce desperately needed ventilators. GE is already one of the nation’s largest ventilator manufacturers, but has announced layoffs of 2,600 aviation workers due to the pandemic’s industry effects.

• After legislation to provide Americans with one-time payments of $1,200 to offset the economic collapse caused by the ongoing pandemic, Republican lawmakers are playing down the need for Congress to provide additional economic aid. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is seeking to take credit for the legislation already passed—despite hampering those efforts throughout.

• Republican state and local officials are, of necessity, more keenly aware of the gap between Trump’s statements and pandemic conditions on the ground.

• Republican attorneys general, however, confirm that the ongoing pandemic has not changed their plans to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which set minimum standards for health insurance, expanded coverage, and barred denial of coverage for preexisting conditions.

• CNN head Jeff Zucker continues to defend the network’s decision to air Trump’s daily briefings live, despite rampant misinformation being spread by Trump during those appearances. At least one American is dead after Trump recommended an unproven drug “cocktail” to fight the virus, something he has continued to do in multiple appearances.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to dismiss calls for the House of Representative to allow remote voting in an attempt to protect members from the virus’ spread.

• A union representative warns that the “situation is just going to get worse and worse” as more inmates and prison staff are infected with the virus.

• Citing “unprecedented threats” due to the virus, a federal judge is urging the Trump administration to “make continuous efforts” to release migrant children held in federal facilities.

• Immigration and Customs officials “suddenly cancelled” an order for 45,000 face masks for “enforcement and removal operations,” after backlash from the public and lawmakers. The masks are in short supply in hospitals nationwide.

• “I thought I was going to die,” said an ICE detainee describing his battle with COVID-19 while being held in poor conditions at New Jersey’s Bergen County Jail.

• CNN reports the FBI is now looking into suspicious stock trades made by Republican senators just before the pandemic worsened and U.S. markets crashed. Whether the Trump-held Department of Justice will pursue the investigation vigorously remains to be seen, as there are considerable implications for the next election.

• The weekly jobs report will be out on Friday, but will likely show little of the pandemic’s new employment realities because the surveys used to generate it extend only to the first half of March.

• Senior citizens continue to support Trump and his handling of the pandemic, despite being most at risk.

• In Oklahoma, an exotic animal park featured on the Netflix documentary Tiger King is looking to the Republican governor to help it remain open while “somehow controlling crowds.” The attraction is seeing the “busiest days this park has ever seen” despite an urgent need for nationwide stay-at-home measures.

• Liberty University head Jerry Falwell Jr. is receiving fierce—if mostly anonymous—criticism for re-opening the campus to students after spring break, even as Virginia urges residents to stay at home.

• A Florida megachurch pastor was arrested today after encouraging worshipers to ignore a county “safer at home” order, resulting in a packed (and, of course, televised) crowd at the megachurch on Sunday.

• Sesame Street has produced multiple public service announcements seeking to comfort children affected by the pandemic. The segments encourage self-care, hand-washing, and other good health habits.

• Fighting to contain the coronavirus around the world … with music and dance.

Source: Daily Kos NewsColony: Politics

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