This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
The Trump administration has now twice authorized the use of the Defense Production Act but has stubbornly refused to use its powers and tools on a systemic basis to address the COVID-19 crisis. This is not only head-scratching, but self-defeating.
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus climbed past 3,500 Tuesday, eclipsing China’s official count, as hard-hit New York City rushed to bring in more medical professionals and ambulances and parked refrigerated morgue trucks on the streets to collect the dead.
Continue reading “US Death Toll Eclipses China’s As Reinforcements Head To NYC”
MIAMI (AP) — Passengers from an ill-fated South American cruise are anxious to disembark once they reach Florida, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state’s health care resources are already stretched too thin to take on another ship’s coronavirus caseload. The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday that the decision would be punted to Washington if authorities can’t agree.
Continue reading “Decision On Docking Ill-Fated Cruise Ships In FL Could Be Punted To Washington”
BOSTON (AP) — At school, Rose Hayes, 8, works with a team of teachers and therapists trained to help with her genetic condition. They set goals for her reading, give her physical therapy to improve her balance and make sure she stays on track. But for the last two weeks, her only connection to school has been through a computer screen.
Continue reading “COVID-19 Remote Learning Poses Hurdles For Students With Disabilities”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The captain of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier facing a growing outbreak of the coronavirus is asking for permission to isolate the bulk of his roughly 5,000 crew members on shore, which would take the warship out of duty in an effort to save lives.
Continue reading “Navy Captain Begs To Isolate Crew As COVID Spreads: ‘Sailors Do Not Need To Die’”
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — It might be the biggest diversion from the pandemic: binge-watching the luridly fascinating Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.”
As I explained to TPM Reader JG, who wrote the email below, when I’m writing about or describing something where my knowledge is very limited I try to keep it vague and refer people to the source. I’m sharing JG’s follow up on the “rosy scenarios” post because he gets into a, probably the key element about why these models have a major uncertainty contained in them.
A comment on your “Rosy Scenarios” post. I read Carl Berstrom’s Twitter threads about the IHME study and think you’re understating just how rosy the estimates from that study are. Outside of the assumptions on the biological side – that there is “Wuhan-style” social distancing for the duration of the epidemic – the main problem is that the study is an exercise in mathematical curve fitting, not biology.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) got candid on Tuesday when asked about President Donald Trump’s claim that there haven’t been issues with the chaotic testing system during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Yesterday I shared with you that modeling site from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which is based at the University of Washington School of Medicine. This is the one that models the course and intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic both nationwide and in individual states. It’s clearly getting a lot of attention. Apparently it’s now being cited by the White House and just moments ago I was watching a CNN interview with Dr. Chris Murray, one of the researchers behind the modeling.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) offered a sobering message regarding the ongoing spread of coronavirus cases in the state during a press conference Tuesday. Continue reading “NY Gov. Cuomo: ‘Nobody Knows’ When This Will Be Over, But It Won’t Be Soon”
