Shake Shack announced Monday morning that it’s returning the $10 million loan it received from the Paycheck Protection Program as part of the $349 billion coronavirus relief package. Continue reading “Shake Shack Hands Back $10 Million Loan After Small Biz Program Runs Out Of Funds”
Conway Defends Protesters, Says Governors Have ‘Physically Distanced From Common Sense’
White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway on Monday jabbed at the governors overseeing stay-at-home orders that have sparked Trump-approved protests.
Coronavirus-Related Elections Litigation Kicks Up Into High Gear
This piece is part of our weekly Prime series on voting rights, but it has been moved outside of the paywall while we cover COVID-19.
As states prepare for the primary elections they initially postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak, voting rights advocates are heading to the courtroom to make sure the new election policies being put in place due to the pandemic are fair. The map of active pandemic-related elections litigation is quickly expanding. Here’s a look at the states that had big legal developments on this front in recent days.
Continue reading “Coronavirus-Related Elections Litigation Kicks Up Into High Gear”
Federal Judge Delivers Blow To Kansas Governor’s Church Gathering Ban
A federal judge delivered a blow to Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s (D) ban on church gathering Saturday, allowing two local churches to conduct in-person, though socially-distanced, services.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Delivers Blow To Kansas Governor’s Church Gathering Ban”
Denmark Will Test Everyone With COVID-19 Symptoms
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark will now test every person with symptoms of the new coronavirus.
Denmark’s Health Minister Magnus Heunicke says the nation has gotten control of the epidemic, but he says if a person has a dry cough, fever or respiratory problems, they should call the doctor to be tested.
Continue reading “Denmark Will Test Everyone With COVID-19 Symptoms”
Demonstrators Protest Lockdown Measures In Southern Russia
MOSCOW — Several hundred demonstrators in southern Russia have protested a strict lockdown amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
The protesters rallied Monday outside the regional government’s headquarters in Vladikavkaz, the regional capital of the province of North Ossetia in the North Caucasus mountains.
Continue reading “Demonstrators Protest Lockdown Measures In Southern Russia”
Voting Rights Advocates Raise Alarm About Curtailed In-Person Voting Options
ATLANTA (AP) — Scrambling to address voting concerns during a pandemic, election officials across the country are eliminating polling places or scaling back opportunities for people to cast ballots in person — a move raising concerns among voting rights groups and some Democrats who say some voters could be disenfranchised.
In Nevada, election officials will open only one polling place per county for its June primary. In Florida, county officials warn they may have to consolidate polling places across the state. In Ohio’s primary next week, only the disabled and the homeless will be allowed to vote in person.
Continue reading “Voting Rights Advocates Raise Alarm About Curtailed In-Person Voting Options”
Fauci Warns Protesters That Ignoring Stay At Home Orders Is ‘Going To Backfire’
On Monday morning, White House COVID-19 task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci warned the right-wing protesters defying their governors’ stay at home orders that the economic relief they’re seeking won’t come if they flout the orders.
Continue reading “Fauci Warns Protesters That Ignoring Stay At Home Orders Is ‘Going To Backfire’”
Japanese Scientist Is ‘Very Pessimistic’ Olympics Will Happen Next Year
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese professor of infectious disease says he is “very pessimistic” the postponed Tokyo Olympics can open in 15 months.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think the Olympics is likely to be held next year,” Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious disease at Kobe University, said Monday speaking in English on a teleconference. “Holding the Olympics needs two conditions; one, controlling COVID-19 in Japan, and controlling COVID-19 everywhere.”
Continue reading “Japanese Scientist Is ‘Very Pessimistic’ Olympics Will Happen Next Year”
‘It’s A Lie’: Experts Cast Serious Doubt On North Korea’s Claim Of No COVID-19 Cases
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As a doctor in North Korea during the SARS outbreak and flu pandemic, Choi Jung Hun didn’t have much more than a thermometer to decide who should be quarantined.
Barely paid, with no test kits and working with antiquated equipment, if anything, he and his fellow doctors in the northeastern city of Chongjin were often unable to determine who had the disease, even after patients died, said Choi, who fled to South Korea in 2012.
Local health officials weren’t asked to confirm cases or submit them to the central government in Pyongyang, Choi said in an interview with The Associated Press.