America faces the “darkest winter in modern history” unless leaders act decisively to prevent a rebound of the coronavirus, says a government whistleblower who alleges he was ousted from his job for warning the Trump administration to prepare for the pandemic. Immunologist Dr. Rick Bright makes his sobering prediction in testimony prepared for his appearance Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Meanwhile, stocks fell for the second day in a row on Wall Street after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Wednesday of the threat of a prolonged recession resulting from the viral outbreak and urged Congress and the White House to act further to prevent long-lasting economic damage.
The Fed and Congress have taken far-reaching steps to try to counter what is likely to be a severe downturn resulting from the widespread shutdown of the U.S. economy. But Powell cautioned that numerous bankruptcies among small businesses and extended unemployment for many people remain a serious risk.
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- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the $3 trillion price tag on Democrats' pandemic relief package as what is needed to confront the “villainous virus” and economic collapse. Pelosi acknowledged that the proposal is a starting point in negotiations with President Donald Trump and Republicans, who have flatly rejected the coronavirus relief bill headed for a House vote Friday.
- The S&P 500 lost 1.7%. The sharpest losses hit stocks that most need a healthy economy for their profits to grow, like energy companies and banks. The market has been wavering the last few weeks as optimism about reopening the economy collides with worries about the dangers of lifting restrictions too soon.
- The new coronavirus may never go away and may just join the mix of viruses that kill people around the world every year, like HIV, said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization health emergencies program.
- U.S. states are beginning to restart their economies after months of paralyzing coronavirus lockdowns, but it could take weeks until it becomes clear whether those reopenings will cause a spike in COVID-19 cases.
- Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ administration overstepped its authority when it extended the governor’s stay-at-home order through the end of May, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The 4-3 ruling marks a defeat for Evers as Republican legislators, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and with the aid of the conservative-controlled high court, continue to chip away at the Democratic governor’s powers.
- A former chemical industry executive nominated to be the nation’s top consumer safety watchdog was involved in sidelining detailed guidelines to help communities reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, internal government emails show. Now the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is questioning the role played by nominee Nancy Beck in the decision to shelve the guidelines.
- The Trump administration is quickly expelling young migrants and asylum seekers under an emergency declaration citing the coronavirus pandemic, with 600 minors expelled in April alone.
- A majority of Democrats, 58%, say they think in-person religious services should not be allowed at all during the pandemic, compared with 34% of Republicans who say the same.
- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has pledged to begin reopening Mexico starting Monday, even as the country saw its largest one-day jump in coronavirus cases, hospitals are reeling, and testing remains inadequate.
- Experts say the anti-government “boogaloo” movement, whose members have joined protests against stay-at-home orders in the United States, has attracted a dangerous element of far-right extremists. Like other movements that once largely inhabited corners of the internet, it has seized on the social unrest and economic calamity caused by the pandemic to publicize its violent messages.
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Virus spread through eyes?
A study suggests you may want to pay attention to how exposed your eyes are to the coronavirus. Watch the video from Newsy below.
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