Sunday News: “Global concert raises more than $127M for WHO emergency response fund”; “Trump’s Saturday coronavirus briefing was littered with false claims, old and new”; “COVID-19 testing, the key to lifting public restrictions, stalls in Virginia”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (particularly COVID-19 these days), for Sunday, April 19.

• Spain Has Fewest Deaths in Month; Russia Case Rise: Virus Update
• German Virus Cases Rise by Least in Four Days Before Curbs Eased
• U.S. sent millions of face masks to China early this year, ignoring pandemic warning signs
• Trump Suggests China May Be ‘Knowingly Responsible’ for Virus
• Global concert raises more than $127M for WHO emergency response fund
• Dozens of Performers Join Global Concert to Benefit Coronavirus Relief (“‘One World: Together at Home,’ which kicked off with a six-hour preshow on Saturday, featured Lizzo, Celine Dion, Elton John, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, the Rolling Stones and more on prime time.”)
• ‘One World’ Concert Review: Rolling Stones & Beyoncé Hit High Notes At Multi-Network Show For COVID-19 Frontline Workers
• UK not thinking of easing virus lockdown measures yet: minister
• The Global Struggle to Control the Coronavirus
• Russia reports record daily rise in coronavirus cases
• The Fight To Stop Fossil Fuel Financing Is Poised To Get Some Powerful New Allies
• As U.S. surpasses 700,000 confirmed cases, conservatives protest coronavirus restrictions
• Trump Is Asking Us to Play Russian Roulette With Our Lives (“Are we really going to bet that we can go back to life as normal without proper coronavirus tracking in place?”)
• What to Expect From the Race to Develop Coronavirus Vaccines
• Record government and corporate debt risks ‘tipping point’ after pandemic passes
• The Coronavirus in America: The Year Ahead (“There will be no quick return to our previous lives, according to nearly two dozen experts. But there is hope for managing the scourge now and in the long term”)
• An Overlooked, Possibly Fatal Coronavirus Crisis: A Dire Need for Kidney Dialysis
• Fact check: Trump’s Saturday coronavirus briefing was littered with false claims, old and new
• In COVID Briefings, Trump Again Relies On Both Shock And Strategic Retreat
• Experts warn ‘normal’ is still far off (“While some officials talk about reopening the country, there is still so much that needs to be done”)
• Parties race to break deadlock over funds for desperate businesses
• Pelosi signals bipartisan deal ‘very close’ for relief on small business fund
• Small-business loan program ran out of money within minutes, some banks say
• The Return of Barack Obama (“Many young progressives, conflicted about the former president’s legacy, welcomed his re-emergence this week.”)
• This Is How A Group Linked To Betsy DeVos Is Organizing Protests To End Social Distancing, Now With Trump’s Support
• Trump’s unspoken factor on reopening the economy: Politics (“Many Trump aides and allies say an earlier restart could help the president in his reelection campaign — and they’re telling the president that.”)
• U.S. Not Testing Enough to Allow States to Reopen, Experts Say
• Trump lashes out at governors over testing shortfalls (Yep, sure sign that it’s Trump’s fault!)
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans think Trump acted too slowly to fight coronavirus (And the other third are either in the Fox “News” echo chamber and/or the Trump cult.)
• Trump Has Begun His Corona Campaign. We Don’t Have to Play Along.
• Some states are taking small steps to reopen. Here’s what they’re doing. (“Nonessential surgeries, golfing and limited office work are have been authorized in various places.”)
• Trump and Fauci: America’s future hangs on this delicate relationship (“The coronavirus pandemic has created an unlikely pairing as a fearful nation looks to the two men to save it from further disaster”)
• Judge blocks Twitter’s bid to reveal government surveillance requests
• The US won’t run out of food during the coronavirus pandemic (“Why shoppers don’t need to panic-buy at the supermarket.”)
• Trump claims U.S. coronavirus cases have peaked. Not so fast, doctors say. (“Trump, eager to restart the economy, has suggested that the worst has passed. But there’s no way to know without mass testing, one expert said.”)
• Generation C Has Nowhere to Turn (“Recent history suggests young people could see their careers derailed, finances shattered, and social lives upended.”)
• Trump’s attack on the VOA reeks of McCarthyism
• Young Americans, Still Catching Up From the Last Recession, Now Face a New One
• Conservative news mogul Matt Drudge fires back at Trump, says his web traffic is at record levels
• Hundreds swarm Florida beaches following reopening amid pandemic (Brilliant, eh?)
• Trump campaign concludes there is more to be gained by attacking Biden than trying to promote president’s pandemic response
• Biden Campaign Slams Trump On China And Coronavirus In New Battleground Ad
• Local Governments Are Hard to Find as Coronavirus Ends Public Meetings
• Fox & Friends advertises protests against social distancing (Evil.)
• Fascinating Discussion on “What’s the Metric” for Reopening the Economy, Getting Back to (New) Normal (“We risk being right back where we were a month ago if people just show up and aren’t tested.”)
• Saturday (4/18) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +562 Confirmed Cases (to 8,053), +75 Hospitalizations (to 1,296), +27 Deaths (to 258) From Yesterday
• COVID-19 testing, the key to lifting public restrictions, stalls in Virginia
• 25 Kids Test Positive For Coronavirus At Virginia Juvenile Detention Center (“Children’s rights advocates and health experts have warned state officials for weeks that it was just a matter of time before the virus took off inside juvenile facilities.”)
• Head and McNamara: Northam should stop auditioning for VP (WTF? First of all, Biden has aleady said he’s picking a woman as his running mate. Second, even if that weren’t the case, there is literally ZERO chance Northam would be Biden’s VP. Third…Delegates Chris Head and Joe McNamara are, obviously, dumber than dirt.)
• Stephen Cobb, Paul Reagan, Ashley Taylor and Sarah E. Hunt column: Virginia’s elections must adapt to a COVID-19 world to maintain our democracy
• Editorial: COVID-19 and epidemiology — A Q&A with Dr. Lilian Peake
• Editorial: Will the General Assembly really vote to throw out ballots already cast?
• VA House GOP’s Latest “Self Own”: ActBlue Edition (They blame their woes on an online fundraising software organization/small-$ donors…not on their own unpopularity, backlash to Trump, etc.)
• Peckman: The pipeline should be stopped
• In Chesapeake, some jailed inmates can’t get a new bond hearing despite coronavirus pandemic
• Long-term care facilities make up 74 of Virginia’s 129 COVID-19 outbreaks. But some facilities choose not to be publicly named
• Fredericksburg-area officials look for ‘things to celebrate’ amid pandemic
• Video: Arlington County Board Members Remember Their Friend and Colleague, Former Vice Chair Erik Gutshall, Who Died This Week of Brain Cancer at Age 49
• Outbreak causes rise in need for mental health services in Fredericksburg area
• Somewhat warmer today, showers possible in some areas tonight into early tomorrow (“Temperatures remain mostly on the cooler side through midweek.”)