Confirmed cases of coronavirus globally surged past the 1 million mark this week, and now stand at more than 1,066,000, with more than 56,000 deaths. Confirmed cases in the U.S. passed 257,000, with more than 6,600 deaths.
President Trump—backtracking on his professed desire to open the country in time for Easter—announced that the administration’s social distancing guidelines would be extended for another 30 days, through the end of April.
Global leader: The United States now has more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other country. As of mid-day Friday, there were more than 566,000 confirmed cases worldwide, and over 25,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for COVID-19, but said his symptoms are mild. Confirmed…
With the numbers soaring as more people get tested, there were more than 46,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., and about 600 deaths by mid-day Tuesday, mostly in New York, Washington and California. Even so, President Trump said he is considering easing social distancing guidelines to help the economy.
In response to a report from researchers in London, which estimates that, without drastic measures, 2.2 million people in the U.S. could die, the White House advised avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people. That is significantly stricter than a previous recommendation to avoid gatherings of 50 or more people, and shows how quickly the virus scourge and related public health measures are evolving.
A one-year study commissioned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found traces of asbestos in nine samples of talc-based cosmetics products; 43 samples came back negative. “There is general agreement among U.S. federal agencies and the World Health Organization that there is no known safe level of asbestos exposure,” said Susan Mayne, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
The average ride-hailing trip with Uber or Lyft results in 69% more pollution than the alternative transportation methods it displaces, such as mass transit, biking, walking and operating a personal car, according to a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3 billion to settle criminal and civil charges stemming from employees fraudulently opening fake accounts without the knowledge of customers
A federal court jury in Missouri has ordered chemical manufacturers Bayer and BASF to pay $265 million in compensatory and punitive damages for crop losses stemming from the drift of the herbicide dicamba from fields planted with dicamba-resistant seeds to neighboring fields.
Thousands of oil and gas wells have been abandoned across California, creating risks to the environment and the pocketbooks of taxpayers who could be stuck with huge cleanup bills. The bonds posted by the industry for well closures and cleanup are billions of dollars short of what will be needed.
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Standing Up for Free Speech and Open Government
By Sue Cross">Sue Cross on August 16, 2018
Today, the Institute for Nonprofit News joins journalists across the country in asking you, the public, to stand up for your rights to free speech and an open government.
This started as a campaign by The Boston Globe to ask the President of the United States to knock off attacking the news media. But the President’s attacks on the press aren’t ultimately about the press.
Posted in Commentary | Tagged Government accountability | Leave a comment