Light News Sat/Sun

Infected people without symptoms (asymptomatic) might be driving the spread of coronavirus more than we realized

Trump Administration Is Relaxing Oversight of Nursing Homes - A proposal would loosen federal rules meant to control infections, just as the coronavirus rips through nursing homes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/business/trump-administration-nursing-homes.html

Kentucky Man Diagnosed With Covid-19 Forced Into House Arrest After He Refuses to Self- Quarantine.
https://www.whas11.com/mobile/article/news/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-kentucky-louisville-emergency-facts-not-fear/417-95c9f011-5c32-4387-b258-862e3bceb28f

Trump announced at a press briefing at the White House that he has been tested for coronavirus
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/14/politics/trump-press-conference-coronavirus/index.html

Internet companies won't disconnect people for unpaid bills for 60 days, FCC says; companies also agreed to waive late fees and open Wi-Fi hot spots to Americans who need them.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/internet-companies-won-t-disconnect-people-unpaid-bills-60-days-n1158321

Governor cancels Illinois schools statewide until March 30 to slow the spread of coronavirus
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-chicago-illinois-school-closings-20200313-day6c3ez3vb7thpqhptuayuwh4-story.html

The bill that the House passed last night only guarantees paid coronavirus sick leave to 20% percent of American workers. I repeat: Most workers still aren't guaranteed paid sick leave. Republicans insisted on an exemption for companies with more than 500 employees, and Democrats caved. McDonald’s, Amazon, and pretty much any other company that you’ve ever heard of — THEY ARE EXEMPTED. And that loophole includes 54%t of all workers (the 80% of business with 500+ people employ 54% of the total workforce). The bill also lets the Trump administration provide exemptions to employers with less than 50 workers. That’s another 26% of the workforce who could be forced to not work for 14-30 days and do so without compensation. That means 80% (54%+26%) of the entire workforce will not receive paychecks if they are forced to quarantine for 14-30 days. That means 80% of workers will never self-qarantine if sick because none of the 80% can afford to miss 2-4 paychecks. Pelosi said workers will now get sick leave and Pence said, “If you are sick, stay home. You’re not going to miss a pay check.” But that’s not true. And with all the things in the US closing down, millions of workers are already forced into not working and will be missing paychecks for as long as things stay closed down. Paying sick workers to stay home is one of the most important things the government can do to slow the spread of the coronavirus. This bill is being sold as meeting that need. Democrats and Republicans are saying it. And they are not telling the truth.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/opinion/coronavirus-pelosi-sick-leave.html

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who tested positive for COVID-19 after being at an event w/ an aide to Brazil’s president, says on @MSNBC that he feels fine though he is “achy” and has a bit of a runny nose. He’s been told he will likely need be tested two more times.
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1238883031164821505

@JoeBiden's campaign confirms that he has reviewed @ewarren’s bankruptcy plan closely, and is endorsing her proposal, as he said in his IL town hall. That's a significant shift, as the proposal would largely undo the 2005 bankruptcy bill the two clashed over in Congress.
https://twitter.com/MollyNagle3/status/1238881953534918662

Biden endorses Warren's bankruptcy plan, calling it 'one of the things that I think Bernie and I will agree on'
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/14/politics/joe-biden-elizabeth-warren-bankruptcy-plan/

The Trump administration on Saturday expanded travel restrictions from Europe to include the United Kingdom and Ireland as it works to slow the spread of coronavirus.
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1238882274747322368

RNC chair Ronna McDaniel gets tested for coronavirus after fever, flu-like symptoms
https://www.axios.com/rnc-chair-ronna-mcdaniel-test-coronavirus-d0e8e4e8-e22c-4348-9a14-2a02e14f78a4.html

I have been very surprised to see people in DC - mostly young people -- going out to bars and restaurants as usual! It's not about catching it yourself, it's about being a carrier. and this is NOT a generational issue -- whom do you know has asthma? an auto-immune disease?
https://twitter.com/SlaughterAM/status/1238933448238104576

Please, Don’t Go Out to the Bars Tonight | Gathering in groups right now is selfish and puts the lives of others at risk.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/opinion/coronavirus-bars-lockdown.html

You know who played an awfully big role in our government and our people not being prepared? Fox News.
https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1238837291260547073

The Italian airforce gives a big emotional lift to their nation with Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma (let no one sleep)and where lyrics say venceremos(we will overcome)they have their planes dramatically facing and overpowering the single plane (virus) with their National Flag!
https://twitter.com/SisKathleen/status/1238395121663643648

People in Spain are banned from leaving their houses with the exception of going to work, buying food or essential supplies, going to a hospital, or supporting an elderly person or a minor under their care, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez announced today...
https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1238932429727043585

People need to STOP GOING TO BARS right now. Deliberately going to crowded enclosed spaces (let alone for the sole purpose of consuming a substance that weakens your immune system) is dangerous for everyone. Your social life will survive. Others might not.
https://twitter.com/Bencjacobs/status/1238931541465731073

CBS News is experiencing the coronavirus crisis at home while covering it around the world. Four employees have tested positive & others have self-quarantined.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/14/media/cbs-broadcast-cornavirus-staff/index.html

Here are the number of estimated workers without paid sick leave on the front lines right now. McDonald's – 517,000
Walmart – 347,000
Subway – 180,000
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-paid-sick-leave.html

Most American restaurants do not offer paid sick leave. Workers who fall sick face a simple choice: Work and get paid or stay home and get stiffed. Not surprisingly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2014 that fully 20 percent of food service workers had come to work at least once in the previous year “while sick with vomiting or diarrhea.” As the new coronavirus spreads across the United States, the time has come for restaurants, retailers and other industries that rely on low-wage labor to abandon their parsimonious resistance to paid sick leave. Companies that do not pay sick workers to stay home are endangering their workers, their customers and the health of the broader public. Studies show that paying for sick employees to stay home significantly reduces the spread of the seasonal flu. There’s every reason to think it would help to check the new coronavirus, too.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-paid-sick-leave.html

Here’s something that’s absolutely terrifying: a comparison of the age distributions of Covid-19 cases in Italy, where they are only testing people who show symptoms, and S. Korea, which has broad testing. A whole lot of 20-29yos out there who feel just fine but are v contagious.

A close-up look at a Korean-style drive-up testing site that’s been set up in Redwood City, Calif. Start to finish: no more than five minutes.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-14/kaiser-doing-semi-secret-drive-by-coronavirus-tests-bay-area

A shout out to Kevin, Giannis, Zion, Blake, Steph and all the players, owners and organizations who are setting a good example during a challenging time. A reminder that we’re a community, and that each of us has an obligation to look out for each other.
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1238830014432522240

Jazz announce Rudy Gobert has will donate $500K total to arena employee relief fund and local COVID-19 relief efforts.
https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/1238918272977960962

Toronto Raptors release an update, saying all members of teams have tested negative for the coronavirus.
http://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1238900280751583233

Playlist  with over 1,000 basketball games. NBA games from the 80s 90s 2000s. 2010s. March Madness games throughout the years and some Olympic games.
here is the link to the playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHgYPnOorp_-xYa7vq1-n8EcoxU0ffaKS

Trump tests negative for coronavirus
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/03/14/trump-tests-negative-for-coronavirus-white-house-doctor-says.html

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. says in-person classes to continue, claims Coronavirus response 'their next attempt to get Trump'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/liberty-university-president-jerry-falwell-jr-says-in-person-classes-to-continue/2020/03/13/70b23a58-654e-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html

60% of Republicans See Coronavirus Scare As Tool to Get Trump
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/disease/60_of_republicans_see_coronavirus_scare_as_tool_to_get_trump

White House "doctor" claims Trump tested negative for covid-19 but nobody has a reason to believe him, Trump is no doubt infected

U.S. government allegedly attempts to secure COVID-19 vaccine exclusively and "only for the U.S." by offering large sums of money to a company in Germany that develops it. The creator of the Polio vaccine never patented it so others could use it freely. We need more action like this, for the betterment of humanity.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1879190/us-germany-battle-for-virus-vaccine-surpremacy

'Don't do what we did - people are needlessly dying': Italian journalist urges UK and US to lockdown now amid coronavirus pandemicCOVID-19 (dailymail.co.uk)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8112777/Italian-urges-UK-lockdown-amid-coronavirus-pandemic.html

YEP: Rhodes: Obama left Trump a 'global health infrastructure' and Trump and Republicans happily defunded and dismantled it
https://www.msnbc.com/david-gura/watch/rhodes-obama-left-trump-a-global-health-infrastructure-80672325529

Coronavirus in China kept me under quarantine. I felt safer there than back in the U.S. | Our laissez-faire attitude, prioritization of personal freedom and utter lack of government leadership have left Americans confused and exposed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/coronavirus-china-kept-me-under-quarantine-i-felt-safer-there-ncna1158756

Drive-thru coronavirus testing site in Denver closes early as Colorado tops 100 cases
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/14/colorado-coronavirus-new-cases-drive-thru-high-volume/

France orders non essential public places to close
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51892477

The Chinese Red Cross arrived in Rome with a load of 31 tons of: lung fans, respirators, monitors, tens of thousands of suits and masks: "You have helped us in the past,now it's up to us to reciprocate"
https://www.news1.news/u/2020/03/chinese-researchers-bring-wuhans-anti-viral-to-rome.html

Hey @BernieSanders, the government isn’t giving bankers a penny. The Fed’s repo facility is, admittedly, complicated, so lemme explain: The Fed is *lending* $1.5 trillion to banks. Those banks put up collateral, so even if they don’t repay their loans, the govt won’t lose a cent
https://twitter.com/JustinWolfers/status/1238288579765440513?s=09

There is Now Community Spread of COVID-19 in Iowa
http://whotv.com/news/coronavirus/governor-there-is-now-community-spread-of-covid-19-in-iowa/

Coronavirus Screening Causes 7-Hour Waits in Crowded Lines at U.S. Airports
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/us/coronavirus-ohare-airport-delays.html

National Education Association, nation’s largest union, endorses Joe Biden for president
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/03/15/national-education-association-nations-largest-union-endorses-joe-biden-president/?outputType=amp

__________________________

Why Bernie Didn't (and never will) Get the Black Vote

Bernie marched with MLK and even got arrested protesting for civil rights.

These are the two statements heard most often as proof that Bernie should be a recipient of massive black support; ironically, they're also the two that have the least amount of impact. If you have to go back this many years to prove dedication to an issue (whether that issue is economic or racial), then you've immediately lost your target audience. For white folks who care about increasing the minimum wage, for example, if I told you that in 1967 Joe Biden supported raising the federal minimum wage - would that be valid evidence for you now that Joe Biden actually wants to raise the federal minimum wage if he becomes POTUS? No, you would expect to see a successive amount of evidence throughout Joe's career of him supporting this position in order to accept that he's been consistent on it. In this case, you would be holding Joe to a higher standard on the FMW than you hold Bernie to on race relations. Think about why that is.

Secondly, there were actual Republicans at these rallies and marches. Mitch McConnell was at the '63 I Have a Dream speech. He was mentored by John Cooper who was the first white politician from Kentucky to actively cultivate the black vote. McConnell was elected as a moderate Republican in 1984 and was pro-women's rights and pro-union; he won his first election on the back of support from the African American community in Kentucky. Just because Mitch was that person back then doesn't mean Mitch is that person now - and there isn't a single person in Congress who better protects Trump's white supremacist administration than Mitch McConnell. Fred Phelps (the bigot who founded the Westboro Baptist Church) was a civil rights attorney who used his license to litigate for both white and black activists. I could go on, but I won't. You should get the point.

What matters to black folks is whether there's a consistent history of Bernie's civil rights activism, and bottom line there just isn't. After he graduated college, Bernie basically tucked tail and ran to one of the whitest states in the US. While there, he focused almost entirely on advocating for the "working class" which, to many black folks, has historically been code for "white people who don't make as much money as rich white people." Bernie has been sparse throughout the movement for most of his life; he hasn't built any relationships with current or older activists and prioritizes class based matters over racial matters. He's made excuses for Trump's supporters; excuses for Trump himself; excuses for white people not voting for black candidates; excuses for the "white working class." Black people hear these things and none of it makes them believe he'll actually prioritize racial matters over class matters.

[Insert Bernie policy] will help black folks more than white folks!

Very, very few policies have ever been passed that helped black folks more than white folks. And for every policy that benefited black folks over white folks, it's the black folks who have paid the highest social and economic price for it. Want an example? Affirmative Action. Consider the number of people who think that a black person only got a job or entry to college because of their skin color rather than their abilities and merits; consider how these people were treated at their jobs or in their schools by racist white trash who just assumed the black dude got the job because of his skin color. There are other examples that I can touch on, but this should illustrate my point.

Every single policy in a white majority country that's passed for everyone with no consideration for minority grievances will necessarily benefit white people more. Free college? White people have the majority of the wealth so they'll benefit from it more. M4A? White people already have access to the best hospitals and doctors so they'll gain the largest benefit from it. Twenty-million+ jobs from the Green New Deal? Guess which folks have a privileged education and therefore access to networking for those in the upper echelons of the hiring process? All white folks. Bernie has proven that he's consistently in the tank for class issues over all other issues (and that consistency is what many of you love about him), so black folks have no reason to think he'll ever make any of their issues a focus.

It's all just a class struggle!

It's never always a class struggle. With enough confidence you can hide being poor, but no amount of confidence can hide blackness. White people didn't suffer through slavery, or Jim Crow economics, or segregation. If you're a white person in a white majority country who's struggling to make it despite your government being made up of people exactly like you with your concerns in mind - you're failing in spite of your privilege. If you're a black person in America and you make it, you make it in spite of your persecution. Obama succeeded in spite of his skin color but still had to make multiple concessions about his blackness throughout his entire career. How do some of Bernie's supporters talk about Obama? Well, West said he was a Republican in blackface. Kyle, Cenk, and Chapo have basically called him a token Republican or argued he wasn't black enough. BLACK PEOPLE HEAR THIS.

But WHY would black people support [candidate who isn't Bernie] who has supported [insert racist policy]?

Any policy that's focused on something like crime is going to be racist. Black folks are keenly aware of this fact and it's incredible to me that so many 20-something white dudes think they're enlightened because they figured it out in 2016. None of Bernie supporters were old enough to remember what the 180's to mid-1990's were really like. Elderly black women were being raped in their homes by 15-year-old kids hooked on crack. It wasn't the 15-year-old kid's fault that he was put on crack by his dealer, but it wasn't the elderly rape victim's fault either and we needed to do SOMETHING and that's what everyone decided was the best course of action given the circumstances. The CBC supported the crime bill and so did a lot of community leaders. The fact that it unnecessarily incarcerated black folks wasn't the intention and I don't think anybody believes Clinton, Biden, or even Bernie (he voted in favor of it) were trying to focus on locking up black folks. White majority countries pass laws that always negatively impact minority populations and that's just the way it is, but sometimes having something is better than nothing.

They support Joe because he built relationships for decades and decades, he began as a lawyer representing African-Americans. He took the lead behind the first black president and not only didn't buck him but actively supported him. Joe was very public about how much he loved Barack and his family. Here's an old white politician from a largely white state like Delaware who accepted the VP offer with grace and humility and then did everything he could to openly support Obama. Joe worked his ass off prepping for that debate with Ryan because of how poorly the first Obama/Romney debate went for his best friend. Black people remember this. Instead of giving up Joe dug in and did everything in his power to not only support Obama but also protect him. What did Bernie do? He threatened to primary him. Here was a guy digging America out of the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression and you have some weird socialist from a white pro-gun libertarian racist state threatening to primary the first black president because he wasn't "woke" enough? But he cares about civil rights and black people? Nah. Joe wins their support every single time and twice on Sundays.

Problem is that black people have explained this to white Bernie supporters multiple times but many of you still just don't get it. Bernie doesn't have black support because when it came time to stand up for the first black president your savior decided to go negative on him and threaten to primary him. He's given more cover for "white working class" racists than he's given support for black candidates. He's openly dismissed the South as basically being "low information" while ignoring the fact that he wins states like North Dakota which are filled with white rednecks. He only shows up in the South when he wants to run for president and doesn't give a sh!t about building bridges or creating relationships, and black people aren't oblivious to this because they've seen random white politicians from northern states do this kind of thing for years. Bernie is just another basic white dude who won't be remembered for doing anything other than helping Trump get elected and riding on the back of ideas that weren't his (some of which he also stole from black folks, by the way).
__________________________

Phil Ehr is a retired U.S. Navy commander and Democratic candidate challenging Trump sycophant Matt Gaetz (Likes to wave AR-15s at Beto & Make fun of COVID-19) for Florida’s 1st District. Phil is a U.S. Navy veteran who rose from Seaman to Commander in a 26-year active duty career.
https://www.ehrforcongress.com/

Bernie Sanders is NOT an anti-establishment politician. He's been in Washington for over 30 years and accomplished nothing. They very definition of a career politician. He is an activist masquerading as a politician. For cctivists, it's all about making a statement.

Natanuahu's trial is suspended for two months due after limiting of court activity by Justice Ministry due to coronavirus
https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-trial-delayed-by-over-2-months-as-court-activity-limited-over-virus/

Wife of Spain’s prime minister tests positive for virus
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/wife-spains-prime-minister-tests-positive-virus-69600935

Queen Elizabeth flees Buckingham Palace to escape coronavirus
https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/queen-elizabeth-flees-buckingham-palace-to-escape-coronavirus-c-745760

Cats and dogs abandoned at the start of the coronavirus outbreak are now starving or being killed | Vshine Animal Protection Association, a China-based animal welfare and environmental organization which partners with Humane Society International, estimated that the number of dogs and cats left behind in apartments in Hubei cities are in the tens of thousands. | In a notice that Fang shared with CNN, a group that listed its name as the Urban Construction Administration stated it would start to kill cats and dogs that were outside of homes in order to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus disease.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/15/asia/coronavirus-animals-pets-trnd/index.html

The first one-on-one faceoff of the Democratic primary season arrives Sunday amid a dramatically transformed campaign landscape.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/5-things-watch-biden-sanders-debate-amid-coronavirus-crisis-n1159081

Another significant olive branch to Bernie Sanders supporters from Joe Biden. Free public college for families who make under $125k: First: Bernie has put forward a plan that would make public colleges and universities free for families whose income is below $125,000. It's a good idea, and after consideration, I am proud to add it to my platform.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1239280176594288643
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/college-for-all-act-introduced

Second: Few people in the country understand how bankruptcy hurts working families more than Elizabeth Warren. Today, I am fully endorsing and adopting her bankruptcy plan, which she called "Fixing Our Bankruptcy System to Give People a Second Chance."
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1239280177324134404

This primary has brought out our party's best ideas, and our nation is better for it. If I'm President, I'll continue to bring the best ideas from all corners of the country and fight to make them reality. To see these plans, you can go to my website:
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1239280178091692032
https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/bankruptcy-reform

https://joebiden.com/strongermiddleclass/
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/college-for-all-act-introduced
https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/bankruptcy-reform

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will order all restaurants across the state to be closed to dine-in customers in a further attempt to curb the coronavirus. Delivery and drive up will remain open. This’ll be effective end of business tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1239279621847355394

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is ordering all restaurants/bars in the state of Ohio to close at 9 p.m. tonight.
https://twitter.com/Tylerjoelb/status/1239275813528371201

Nashville Mayor John Cooper asks for closures of all bars on Lower Broadway, limits on restaurant capacity
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2020/03/15/coronavirus-nashville-mayor-john-cooper-closes-bars-lower-broadway/5054917002/

New York officials are discussing moving the state's April 28 presidential primary to June 23
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/us/politics/ny-voting-coronavirus.html

“One pastor said half of his church is ready to lick the floor, to prove there’s no actual virus,” an Arkansas pastor told me. “In your more politically conservative regions, closing is not interpreted as caring for you. It’s interpreted as liberalism.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/without-guidance-from-the-top-americans-have-been-left-to-figure-out-their-own-coronavirus-solutions/2020/03/15/9875aa64-6550-11ea-845d-e35b0234b136_story.html

Trump says he is "strongly considering" a "full pardon" of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/1239280851936055298

There is no indication from those who passed through these airports yesterday that they were given a 'very precise Medical Screening.' They were given questionnaire and temperature check after being held for hours in overcrowded lines with people who may have been infected.
https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1239240603914903552

Most dangerous NBCNews/WSJ poll finding: 61% of Democrats but just 30% of Republicans say they've "stopped or plan to stop attending large public gatherings." This is what happens when public officials refuse to be on the same page as top health experts.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/sixty-percent-believe-worst-yet-come-u-s-coronavirus-pandemic-n1159106

This crisis os really exposing how many people do not listen to experts and scientists. They're waiting for the government to tell them what to do. Meanwhile, officials at every level are not taking the steps experts say we must: New York -- the entire STATE -- has only 3,186 ICU beds. We have over 600 documented cases in New York as of today. Stay home. Stay home. Stay home.
https://twitter.com/hunterw/status/1239275147665838081

School attendance this week in New York will be a tale of two cities, with kids from affluent zip codes at home while economically challenged families risk exposure, unless options are organized by leadership: Teachers are increasing pressure on de Blasio to close the city’s public schools to stop Coronavirus spread.
https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1238928065591488512

Watching the responses of state Governors and notice the delay of action/dismissive attitude from some of the red states. Just like Medicare expansion. Except for COVID19, given the doubling time, they’re NEVER going to be able get ahead.
https://twitter.com/dpatil/status/1239237430730846208

Despite a positive COVID-19 test from a passenger who had disembarked days earlier, thousands of people were allowed to leave a cruise ship in Miami Sunday without undergoing medical screening.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHerald/status/1239269458495049735

But instead of holding the ship off the Florida coast and testing people on board for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, MSC said U.S. health authorities cleared it to dock Sunday and disembark passengers as normal.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241209366.html

Italy just announced 368 coronavirus deaths in ONE DAY. This is not a developing nation, this is a modern country with hospitals that are equal if not superior to many of those in the US.
https://twitter.com/EzraNBC/status/1239239580248760321

The president is literally tweeting about Hillary’s emails.
https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1239271611133562886

Two-thirds of Trump's circuit appointees failed to win 60 votes in the Senate, meaning they would have been rejected had Democrats not changed the filibuster rules to allow confirmation of such judges on a majority vote.
https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1239272087585505282

Two thirds of Trump's circuit appointees are white men, more than under Obama, Bush 43 or Clinton, while 33% of them are under 45 years old, the youngest average of any recent president (just 5% of Obama's were that young, 19% of Bush's and 9% of Clinton's).
https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1239271335530020864

Some really interesting analysis of Trump's circuit court appointees, one of his biggest accomplishments, and how they are transforming America's judiciary
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/us/trump-appeals-court-judges.html

State officials making a point of keeping their distance from each other at this presser. VDEM Director Jeff Stern is there after the news hit that someone in his agency tested positive
https://twitter.com/gmoomaw/status/1239268178561314817

Unbelievable. An archbishop tells his diocese not to refrain from using holy water as “Christ does not spread germs and viruses”.
https://twitter.com/BDStanley/status/1239269791191498753

Trump ‘didn’t know’ about cutting pandemic office, but Sherrod Brown letter shows otherwise
https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200315/capitol-insider--trump-didnt-know-about-cutting-pandemic-office-but-sherrod-brown-letter-shows-otherwise

House impeachment lawyer Daniel Goldman reportedly tested positive for coronavirus after raising alarms
https://www.businessinsider.com/daniel-goldman-trump-impeachment-attorney-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-2020-3

Coronavirus Fears Lead to 21 Bullfighting Events Being Canceled Saving 120 Bulls
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/coronavirus-fears-lead-to-21-bullfighting-events-being-canceled-saving-120-bulls/

300 People with Coronavirus Are in Intensive Care in France. Most of Them Are Under 60.
https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/03/300-people-with-coronavirus-are-in-intensive-care-in-france-most-of-them-are-under-60/

The Senate has not yet scheduled a vote for the coronavirus relief bill already passed by the House
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/15/the-senate-has-not-yet-scheduled-a-vote-for-the-coronavirus-relief-bill-already-passed-by-the-house.html

The canals of Venice have become as clear as streams thanks to the absence of tourists and much-reduced traffic due to Italy's quarantine measures to tackle the Coronavirus outbreak
https://www.wantedinmilan.com/news/in-a-deserted-venice-the-canals-become-crystal-clear.html

In 2009 Bernie Sanders voted to block Obama from closing the detention facility at Guantanomo Bay.
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00196

That’s why, when Sen. Bernie Sanders, his surrogates and assorted pundits say the “Democratic establishment” has banded together to stop him from winning the party’s presidential nomination and united around former vice president Joe Biden, I wonder: Which Democratic establishment? For black Americans, particularly Southerners, it is not the Democratic National Committee, or the corporate donor base, or even, as the political strategist Mark McKinnon defined it during the anti-establishment presidential race of 2016: “The measles. A disease. A political disease.” The Democratic establishment is, quite simply, their community. Those who vilify it are, by proxy, impugning the people who voice their concerns and protect their families. | Each Wednesday when I was young, I would journey deep into that establishment, to the Douglas family’s beautiful home for an hour-long piano lesson. It always lasted more than an hour. Patricia Douglas gave piano lessons to subsidize her career as the music teacher rotating among our black elementary schools. Her husband, Charles, was a science teacher, a middle school basketball coach and a city housing commissioner. They were what anyone would call pillars of our community. Many days, I would wade through the overcrowded Douglas living room filled with preachers, educators, politicians and various other neighborhood luminaries who were gathered to solve one problem or another. Sometimes it was a local business that discriminated against black residents. Other times, they coordinated their schedules for staffing the neighborhood polling stations. They raised money to send local kids to college or discussed how to address the city zoning board’s plan to allow a pollution-producing factory in a black neighborhood. It was a melting pot of community activists. They were all members of the NAACP. They all belonged to local churches or mosques. As I awaited my piano lessons, I would eavesdrop on these meetings as if I were an undercover agent. I learned that most black men with mustaches talked loudly and drank Miller Lite, and that the black women really ran everything. I discovered that they were not fighting for equality. I found out that living in a black community was an unceasing struggle just for survival. I also managed to glean one other bit of information about this loose local conglomerate of behind-the-scenes leaders: They were all “Democrats.” | Some see as a liability Sanders’s record of not compromising — an intractability that has prevented him from passing a single significant piece of legislation. And, like any other part of the electorate, the black body politic includes moderate and socially conservative members. | They all took note, however, when they saw Sanders repeatedly distance himself from the Democratic Party. They watched him tell Rachel Maddow that the politics of Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the influential African American House majority whip who endorsed Biden on the eve of the South Carolina primary, “are not my politics.” They noted the conspicuous absence of Sanders’s progressive, overwhelmingly white coalition when black communities were going it alone on issues of race and discrimination. When Sanders and his supporters echo the right wing’s accusations about a conspiratorial “deep state” plot by casting aspersions on the “Democratic establishment,” many black voters I spoke to in my home state of South Carolina, and in Alabama, where I now live and work, offered one strikingly similar criticism: “Sanders ain’t no Democrat.” | While covering protests over the Michael Brown Jr. shooting in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, I helped unload a truck filled with food, water and diapers for local residents. The protests had caused several school closings, which meant that children might miss a meal they would have received at school. The drive was organized, in part, by a local mosque and a Democratic committeewoman. During a Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality in Birmingham, Ala., officers from two jurisdictions crouched over me in the street, whispering threats to arrest me and set my bail so high that I would spend Christmas in jail. Unbeknown to them, minutes before the protest, Shelia Smoot, a local media personality, had notified protesters that a group of lawyers was ready to bail out anyone who was arrested. Smoot had served on the Jefferson County Commission — as a Democrat. | Sanders may have bested Biden in fundraising, organizing and the number of volunteers with TikTok accounts, but four decades with a D beside Biden’s name gives him a distinct advantage in communities largely ignored by the revolution of the newly woke. He represents a party that finally gave them health care by the millions. He was the second-in-charge in an administration that fought housing segregation, warned schools about disproportionately punishing their children and sued banks for discriminatory lending practices. It is notable that the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and Michael Brown Jr. decided to address the issues that contributed to their sons’ deaths by seeking office under the banner of that same Democratic establishment. When Sanders besmirches that establishment, he essentially attacks the home that has provided them shelter for more than a half-century. Those people will never vote for him.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/black-voters-democratic-establishment/2020/03/12/59390058-6460-11ea-845d-e35b0234b136_story.html

An Italian hospital ran out of ICU valves. A local biz brought a 3D printer to the hospital, redesigned & produced the valves in a few hours. “At the time of writing, 10 patients are accompanied in breathing by a machine that uses a 3D printed valve.”
https://twitter.com/michalnaka/status/1239316241984049152

Apparently the hospitals ICU valve supplier was not happy about this & refused to supply blueprints. Insane.
https://twitter.com/manyskills1701/status/1239205830794317824?s=21