Coronavirus United States update

This 7 April 2020 video says about itself:

Mehdi Hasan and Naomi Klein on Coronavirus Capitalism

The Intercept’s Mehdi Hasan speaks with Senior Correspondent Naomi Klein about coronavirus capitalism and the selective use of emergency measures to offload risks onto workers and families, while the people who are relatively more secure get no-strings-attached bailouts.

[ELON] MUSK‘S BILLIONAIRE BROTHER CALLED WORKERS ‘FAMILY.’ THEN CORONAVIRUS HIT. At Next Door, the community-oriented “sustainable” restaurant chain owned by billionaire Kimbal Musk, workers were told they were part of a family. Workers at Next Door had something called the Family Fund, a pool of money they contributed to out of their paychecks that was supposed to be there for them in times of crisis. Then a crisis hit. And the Family Fund wasn’t there for them at all. [HuffPost]

DON DEFENDS DITHERING: ‘I’M A CHEERLEADER’ President Donald Trump rejected assertions that he downplayed the spread of the coronavirus for weeks, saying he maintained a rosy public outlook because he felt the president needed to be a “cheerleader” for the country. “The cases really didn’t build up for a while,” Trump said during a daily coronavirus briefing. His comments followed the revelation that a top adviser had warned him of the extreme dangers of a pandemic in January. [HuffPost]

“It’s a war zone”: A Brooklyn nurse on the front lines of COVID-19.

Who gets a shot at life if hospitals run short of ventilators?

TRUMP GOES FULL CONSPIRACY THEORY ON WISCONSIN Trump fired off a number of conspiracy theories about Wisconsin’s Democratic-backed effort — thwarted by Republicans — to adjust its primary election for the coronavirus pandemic. During his daily COVID-19 briefing, Trump falsely claimed that the state’s Democrats tried to implement an extended mail-ballot-only election in reaction to Trump endorsing a conservative judge for the state Supreme Court. [HuffPost]

GOP FORCED THOUSANDS TO POLLS DURING PANDEMIC Despite a stay-at-home order issued by Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, the state held an election during the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. As voters lined up at the polls, the state health department reported 138 new coronavirus diagnoses and 15 deaths. This election was not a democratic exercise, as it required voters to choose between their health and their right to vote. It is a poor omen for what awaits when November comes. It also shows how Republicans, who have made voter suppression a key feature of their grip on power, are harnessing the coronavirus for next-level disenfranchisement. [HuffPost]

CALL GROWS FOR ABSENTEE AND EARLY VOTING Efforts to make it easier for Americans to vote during the coronavirus pandemic got sidelined in negotiations over the massive $2 trillion rescue package last month. Now, a growing number of Democrats are pushing to expand early in-person voting and no-excuse-required absentee voting by mail to all states ahead of the November election, and they want to attach extra funding for it in the next coronavirus relief bill. [HuffPost]

THE REAL REASON TRUMP IS PITCHING BOGUS CORONA CURES The real estate tycoon’s Trump steaks and Trump vodka flopped, but the Trump COVID-19 cures — regardless of whether the drugs the president has been pushing help people recover from the illness — could wind up overshadowing his blunderous response to the pandemic and winning him reelection. [HuffPost]

TRUMP OUSTS TOP COVID-19 BAILOUT WATCHDOG Trump removed Pentagon inspector general Glenn Fine, who was set to probe corruption and provide oversight of the government’s massive response to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The $2 trillion coronavirus response law, passed last month, set up a panel of 10 inspectors general to serve as watchdogs as the government tries to limit fraud, wrongdoing and mismanagement. [HuffPost]

10 TO 1, AMERICANS SUPPORT STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS By a roughly 10-to-1 margin, Americans say states with stay-at-home orders are making the right call, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov survey. An 81% majority of the public says it’s currently the right decision for states to tell residents to stay at home unless they have an essential reason for going out. Just 8% say it’s the wrong decision. An even broader 89% say they are personally trying to stay home as much as possible, with only 6% saying they’re not making any such effort. [HuffPost]

NAVY SECRETARY QUITS AFTER CALLING OUSTED CAPTAIN ‘STUPID’ Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigned after backlash for calling the ousted captain of a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier “stupid.” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he accepted Modly’s resignation Tuesday morning, stating that Modly has stepped down “on his own accord.” [HuffPost]

FOLK LEGEND JOHN PRINE DIES OF COVID-19 COMPLICATIONS John Prine, the ingenious singer-songwriter who explored the heartbreaks, indignities and absurdities of everyday life in “Angel from Montgomery”, “Sam Stone”, “Hello in There” and scores of other indelible songs, died Tuesday at the age of 73. His family announced his death from complications from the coronavirus. He died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. [AP]

SANDERS ADDRESSES EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON BLACK AMERICA Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke with a panel of experts about the disproportionate effect of coronavirus on Black Americans, which is becoming more apparent as areas hit hard by the pandemic begin to release racial data. Sanders raised issues with the health care system, poverty, and systemic racism, saying: “It has a whole lot to do with who lives and who dies in this pandemic, who gets sick, who doesn’t get sick, who gets treated, who doesn’t get treated.” [HuffPost]

Sikh volunteers are delivering thousands of meals during the pandemic.

A crisis in education: School can’t reach thousands of children.