"Flying without astronauts on a demonstration flight in Earth orbit, a test model of a next-generation Chinese crew capsule lifted off Tuesday on top of a heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket, the same launcher configuration that will loft segments of China’s planned space station."
"The White House has blocked members of its coronavirus task force from appearing before congressional lawmakers this month without the express approval of President Donald Trump’s top deputy, according to several media reports." But they can make daily appearances in press briefings.
"Doctors around the world have reported more cases of a rare but potentially lethal inflammatory syndrome in children that appears to be linked to coronavirus infections… Nearly 100 cases of the unusual illness have emerged in at least six countries, with doctors in Britain, the US, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland now reported to be investigating the condition." This is a very tricky and destructive virus.
"A hospital near Paris says a recently performed test of a patient admitted for pneumonia in December 2019 has come back positive for the coronavirus, indicating that the virus spread farther, faster than previously known." Jazz hands.
"The Trump administration on Monday pushed back against an internal government report, obtained by The New York Times, that predicts the daily coronavirus death toll could nearly double in the United States by early June."
"In Flint, Mich., a security guard at a Family Dollar store was fatally shot on Friday afternoon after an altercation that the guard’s wife told The New York Times had occurred over a customer refusing to wear a face covering, which is required in Michigan in any enclosed public space." Put on the goddamn mask. Is it uncomfortable? Yes it is. If you think a cloth mask is bad, try an N95 for a few minutes. Then try being intubated. Put on the goddamn mask.
"Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California will allow some retail businesses to reopen with modifications as early as Friday, amid encouraging coronavirus benchmarks."
"About 4.5 million Italians are returning to work Monday as Italy — one of the countries hardest hit by COVID-19 — begins lifting some restrictions meant to stop the spread of the disease."
A real fight begins. "Big businesses and powerful Democrats are aligning around a proposal to bail out employer health plans in the wake of staggering losses to the insurance industry, as some worry that a surge in uninsured Americans could give new life to a stalled push for 'Medicare for All.'"
"Three frontline health care workers have mysteriously fallen out of hospital windows in Russia over the past two weeks, heightening public attention to the working conditions for doctors and medical professionals amid the coronavirus pandemic… All three incidents, which are being investigated by Russian law enforcement authorities, have prompted intense discussion in the Russian press and on social media." Seems like "falling out of windows" is reaching epidemic levels in Russia. Stay safe my Russian friends. You never know when it'll be you next.
"Intelligence shared among Five Eyes nations indicates it is 'highly unlikely' that the coronavirus outbreak was spread as a result of an accident in a laboratory but rather originated in a Chinese market, according to two Western officials who cited an intelligence assessment that appears to contradict claims by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo."
"World leaders held an online summit Monday aimed at galvanizing global efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine. At the end of the three-hour meeting, billions of dollars had been pledged to fund the efforts… Notably absent from the meeting were any officials from the Trump administration in the U.S., the country with the highest confirmed death toll from the new disease by far. Russia also declined to join the meeting." Leading the world by (checks notes) staying home and not talking with anyone.
"Pfizer said Tuesday it has begun testing an experimental vaccine to combat the coronavirus in the United States… The U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant, which is working alongside German drugmaker BioNTech, said the first human participants in the United States have been dosed with the potential vaccine, BNT162. They began human trials of the experimental vaccine late last month in Germany."
"Donald Trump is effectively abandoning a public health strategy for the coronavirus pandemic and showing 'clear willingness to trade lives for the Dow Jones', critics say… A leaked internal White House report predicts the daily death toll from the virus will reach about 3,000 on 1 June, almost double the current tally of about 1,750, the New York Times revealed on Monday."
"Tim Bray, a well known senior engineer and Vice President at Amazon has 'quit in dismay' because Amazon has been 'firing whistleblowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of Covid-19.' In an open letter on his website, Bray, who has worked at the company for nearly six years, called the company 'chickenshit' for firing and disparaging employees who have organized protests. He also said the firings are 'designed to create a climate of fear.'" Yeah, we all get that, Tim. Thanks.
"If there was an Olympics of Logical Fallacies, Donald Trump would win gold in the Begging the Question luge." Jim Wright's latest post.
Good news, everybody. "'Telework is proving a great boon to the service Social Security provides to the American people,' says Ralph deJuliis, who works at the SSA's office in Tulsa, Okla. 'We are getting the checks to people faster and quicker.'… According to deJuliis, the SSA has found that its backlog of pending cases has fallen by 11% since March 23, when the agency instituted wide-scale telework, and that calls from recipients are answered more quickly."
On why you don't tolerate mercenaries. "Venezuelan authorities have detained two US citizens allegedly working with a US military veteran who has claimed responsibility for a failed armed incursion into the oil-producing country, President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday." They supposedly had US passports on them. Fucking amateurs.
"President Donald Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence, Rep. John Ratcliffe, pledged to deliver unbiased intelligence to the President and Congress amid questions about the Texas Republican's loyalty to a President deeply skeptical of the intelligence community… Ratcliffe is appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee after he was selected by the President a second time to be the nation's spy chief. Ratcliffe withdrew from consideration when he was first tapped for the role last summer amid concerns from even some Republicans about exaggerations to his national security resume, but Trump picked him again in February for the role."
From the Daily Beast, but… "Ratcliffe’s official, verified campaign Twitter account follows several accounts on the political fringe, including a 9/11 truther account with just one follower besides himself and four promoting the outlandish QAnon conspiracy theory, which posits that the world is run by a cabal of Democratic pedophile-cannibals—and has been ruled a potential source of domestic terrorism by the FBI."
"On a private call with members Monday afternoon, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her deputies sketched the outline of a trillion-dollar-plus package that would deliver aid to state and local governments — some on the brink of public service cuts — while shoring up safety-net programs for the nation’s most vulnerable."
"A lawyer for CNN's parent company WarnerMedia has written a cease-and-desist letter to President Trump's re-election campaign over the misleading contents of a new campaign ad… WarnerMedia says the Trump ad is misusing CNN news coverage in a way that's 'false, misleading and deceptive.'" They have no defense if they can't lie.
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