2020-10-09: News Headlines

Joshua Cho (2020-10-09). Evidence-free 'lab leak' speculation boosts Trump's Xenophobic approach to Coronavirus. mronline.org Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China has been the target of relentless hostile and racist media coverage, depicting the country as a uniquely nefarious source of disease (FAIR.org, 3/24/20, 5/7/20).

Editor (2020-10-09). Shocking Link Found Between Air Pollution and Alzheimer's. scheerpost.com sanpani / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] Environmental Research has published a new study carried out Lilian Calderón-Garcidueña at the University of Montana and a team of international researchers that sheds light on the possible damage dirty air can have on our brains. The researchers found copious amounts of nanoparticles linked to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's… |

Timothy Alexander Guzman (2020-10-09). Video: "Contact Tracing", A Certified Contact Tracer Exposes the Truth. globalresearch.ca On July 2nd, 2008, former US President Barack Obama spoke to an enthusiastic crowd in Colorado Springs, Colorado about expanding a "civilian national security force" to meet national security goals in areas from education, healthcare to saving the environment. | He …

Prof. Bill Willers (2020-10-09). Evidence that the Face Mask does not Impede Viral Transmission. globalresearch.ca Dr. Redfield: | I made it a point to watch you after seeing Wisconsin's Chief Medical Officer and Epidemiologist, Dr. Ryan Westergaard, "Now the science is in. [Because of] recent studies with large numbers …

Yanis Iqbal (2020-10-09). Colombia Covid Lockdown: Collapse of Healthcare, Social Crisis, Poverty. globalresearch.ca As the confirmed Coronavirus cases in Colombia

_____ (2020-10-09). Pandemic Could Push Up To 150 Million Into 'Extreme Poverty' By 2021. popularresistance.org Amid findings that the combined wealth of the planet's billionaires skyrocketed to $10.2 trillion during the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank warned Wednesday that the public health crisis could cause global extreme poverty to rise for the first time in over two decades and push tens of millions of people into that category by next year. | "Between 88 million and 115 million people could fall back into extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic, with an additional increase of between 23 million and 35 million in 2021, potentially bringing the total number of new people living in extreme poverty to between 11…

_____ (2020-10-09). Insulin Copay Caps Fall Short, Fuel Underground Exchanges. popularresistance.org Denver – D.j. Mattern had her Type 1 diabetes under control until COVID's economic upheaval cost her husband his hotel maintenance job and their health coverage. The 42-year-old Denver woman suddenly faced insulin's exorbitant list price — anywhere from $125 to $450 per vial — just as their household income shrank. | She scrounged extra insulin from friends, and her doctor gave her a couple of samples. But as she rationed her supplies, her blood sugar rose so high her glucose monitor couldn't even register a number. In June, she was hospitalized.

Labor Video Project (2020-10-09). Striking AHS SEIU 1021 & CNA Workers Hear Alameda Supervisors Promise To Fire AHS Bosses. indybay.org Hundreds of striking SEIU 1021 & CNA AHS workers rallied at the Alameda County Building to protest the union busting tactics of this group that runs the Alameda public health system. Two County supervisors promised to remove them from running the public healthcare system…

Rosita Zakeri, Rebecca Bendayan, Mark Ashworth, Daniel M. Bean, Hiten Dodhia, Stevo Durbaba, Kevin O'Gallagher, Claire Palmer, Vasa Curcin, Elizabeth Aitken, William Bernal, Richard D. Barker, Sam Norton, Martin Gulliford, James T.H. Teo, James Galloway, Richard J.B. Dobson, Ajay M. Shah (2020-10-09). A case-control and cohort study to determine the relationship between ethnic background and severe COVID-19. thelancet.com Black and Mixed ethnicity are independently associated with greater admission risk with COVID-19 and may be risk factors for development of severe disease, but do not affect in-hospital mortality risk. Comorbidities and socioeconomic factors only partly account for this and additional ethnicity-related factors may play a large role. The impact of COVID-19 may be different in Asians.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-09). Imperial scientists help artists re-imagine 'Albertopolis'. imperial.ac.uk The Imperial led Great Exhibition Road Festival, and Kensington & Chelsea Art Week have launched a new exhibition to mark World Mental Health Day…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-09). Tackling mental health and non-communicable disease to build a healthier society. imperial.ac.uk Imperial researchers are helping policymakers and industry build a healthier society with the support of the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund.

Staff (2020-10-09). Headlines for October 9, 2020. 18.224.45.15 13 Charged in Far-Right Terror Plot to Kidnap Michigan Governor & Attack State Capitol, Sickened with COVID-19, Trump Rejects Remote Debate and Plans New Rallies, Trump's Erratic Behavior Sparks Fears over His Physical and Mental Health, House Speaker Pelosi Questions Trump's Fitness as Vice President Pence Returns to D.C., North Dakota Hospitals Fill to Capacity as Coronavirus Cases Surge Nationwide, White House Superspreader Event May Have Exposed Thousands to Coronavirus, Whistleblowing Vaccine Specialist Calls Out Trump's "Reckless and Deadly" Misinformation, Trump Received COVID-19 Drugs Developed Using Huma…

Binoy Kampmark (2020-10-09). Omnibus Collisions: Coronavirus Policing and Overreach in Victoria. dissidentvoice.org In her September 17 speech to parliament, the Attorney General of the Australian state of Victoria, Jill Hennessy, explained various provisions of the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill. Of most interest was the proposal that would dramatically inflate the scope of public health power in ostensibly preventing a spread of COVID-19. …

Media Lens (2020-10-08). 'None of It Reported': How Corporate Media Buried the Assange Trial. globalresearch.ca One of the most imposing features of state-corporate propaganda is its incessant, repetitive nature. Over and over again, the 'mainstream' media have to convince the public that 'our' government prioritises the health, welfare and livelihoods of the general population, rather …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-10-08). What is Covid-19, SARS-2. How is it Tested? How is It Measured? The Fear Campaign Has No Scientific Basis. globalresearch.ca The data and concepts have been manipulated with a view to sustaining the fear campaign. The estimates are meaningless. The figures have been hyped to justify the closure of the national economy. Covid-19 is a public health concern but it is NOT a dangerous virus.

Staff (2020-10-08). Headlines for October 8, 2020. democracynow.org Kamala Harris and Mike Pence Face Off in VP Debate Separated by Plexiglass Barriers, Contagious with COVID-19, President Trump Returns to Oval Office, Trump Calls COVID-19 Diagnosis a "Blessing from God", Top Security Official "Gravely Ill" with COVID-19 as White House Coronavirus Cluster Grows to 34, White House Quietly Told Gold Star Families They May Have Been Exposed to Coronavirus, Wisconsin Restricts Indoor Gatherings Amid Record Spike in Coronavirus Cases, New England Journal of Medicine Calls on Voters to Vote Against Trump in First-Ever Endorsement, Ex-CDC Director Calls on Robert Redfield to Expose "Col…

Bianca Valle (2020-10-08). 'Poder Popular' builds power with Queens, NY, working class. liberationnews.org PSL members safely provide free direct services to the people of Queens, including: dance and self- defense classes, healthy food, bags of school supplies, personal protective equipment, and also connect participants to political struggles such as the recent fight against unsafe school reopenings.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-10-08). Former CDC head: Trump policy resulted in coronavirus 'slaughter'. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The former head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. William Foege, is telling the current CDC chief, Dr. Robert Redfield, to resign in protest over the GOP Trump regime's politicization of the agency on how to combat the coronavirus pandemic—and tell the country why in an open letter to CDC's workers. …

Whitney Webb (2020-10-08). Secretive HHS AI Platform to Predict US Covid-19 Outbreaks Weeks in Advance. thealtworld.com A new AI-powered module known as HHS Vision has been added to the controversial and secretive HHS Protect system for amassing data related to Covid-19. By year's end, this opaque, yet increasingly influential, system is set to predict Covid-19 outbreaks without traditional testing. | Two weeks ago, on September 24, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

RT (2020-10-08). British health officials voice concerns as UK's Covid cases SURGE to over 17,500 in ONE DAY. rt.com The UK has recorded 17,540 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. The new figure is an increase of 3,300 above those reported on Wednesday, and smashes the country's previous record for cases registered in a single day. | A further 77 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were also reported by UK health officials on Thursday. The latest data means that a total of 561,815 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK since the start of the pandemic, and 42,592 have died within 28 days of a test. | The alarming numbers come just days after it was revealed that almost 16,000 cases of the virus had be…

RT (2020-10-08). 'Sputnik V' worthy of Nobel Prize? Two Russian MPs think developers of world's first Covid-19 vaccine should be recognised in 2021. rt.com The developers of Russia's pioneering vaccine against coronavirus should be nominated for the 2021 Nobel Prize in Science, according to two Russian politicians. Named Sputnik V, it is the first to be registered in the world. | The creators of the formula, from Moscow's Gamaleya Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, were the first to complete a vaccine against the virus that has devastated the globe, and continues to have a dramatic effect on the world economy. Parliamentarian Leonid Ogul believes the discovery will benefit everyone around the world, and they should therefore be rewarded. | "The invention…

WSWS (2020-10-08). Appalachian State University faculty and students demand action after death of healthy student from COVID-19. wsws.org Following the death of 19-year-old Chad Dorrill, students and professors have spoken out against the poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic by the university's administration.

Thomas Magstadt (2020-10-08). An infected president, a disease of the heart, an imperiled republic. nationofchange.org It's a supreme irony that President Trump has chosen to call Covid-19 "the China virus".

news.un (2020-10-08). Universal Health Coverage 'more urgent than ever' — UN chief. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that "our health systems are inadequate", the UN chief told a ministerial meeting on Thursday, citing weak structures and unequal access to healthcare as "major reasons" why the coronavirus has killed one million people and infected more than 30 times that, globally.

Labor Video Project (2020-10-08). SEIU1021 AHS Highland Hospital Workers Strike for PPE/To Stop Contracting Out & Privatization. indybay.org Over 3500 workers from SEIU 1021 and CNA struck the Alameda Heath System on October 7, 2020. This agency set up by the Alameda Board Of Supervisors has been attacking health and safety conditions in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, contracting out and union busting. Workers discussed the destruction of the healthcare system and demanded that this company be removed from management of public health in Alameda County.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-08). COVID-19 infects 4,392, kills 239 people in Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 08 (MNA) — The daily count of COVID-19 infections in Iran reached 4,392 on Thursday, bringing the total cases to 488,236, according to the Health Ministry.

Staff (2020-10-08). Bernie Sanders Says Medicare Should Be Expanded Out of an "Abundance of Caution" truthout.org Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday said the U.S. federal government should expand Medicare to everyone in the nation "out of an abundance of caution" — repurposing a phrase White House officials

WSWS (2020-10-08). Australian inquiry hears Victorian quarantine hotel program plagued by "disorganisation, lack of appropriate staffing" wsws.org Health workers reveal the "shambolic" conditions that have contributed to as many as 768 deaths and 18,000 infections in the state.

Rev. Susan K. Smith (2020-10-08). Amy Coney Barrett Has No Business Ruling on This Election. commondreams.org Barrett will likely provide the final vote to gut the Affordable Care Act, which could throw 20 million Americans off their health insurance. She may also help overturn Roe v. Wade. Both are goals that conservatives have tried to achieve for years. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Heidi Shierholz (2020-10-08). 1.3 Million People Filed Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Last Week. commondreams.org Not providing aid to state and local governments will also cost millions of jobs. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-10-07). COVID-19 Coronavirus: The Crisis. "You Simulate and Then You Go Live" globalresearch.ca On January 30th 2020, the WHO Director General declared a Public Health Emergency (PHEIC) in relation to China's novel coronavirus. This far-reaching decision was taken without the support of expert opinion. There were 150 confirmed cases outside China, when the decision was taken. 6 in the US, 3 in Canada, 2 in the UK, etc.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-10-07). AFL-CIO: Deregulation, lack of health enforcement worsened coronavirus pandemic. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The GOP Trump administration's massive job safety and health deregulation and its lack of enforcement have worsened the toll of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., the AFL-CIO says. In a Zoom press conference on Death On The Job, the Federation's 29th annual report on job safety and health, federation President Richard Trumka blamed GOP …

Roberta Wood (2020-10-07). Trump recibe el mejor tratamiento médico; trabajadores indocumentados pagan impuestos y reciben nada. peoplesworld.org La semana pasada, mientras yo miraba la vuelta de noticias sobre el billonario y magnate de hoteles Donald Trump llevado en helicóptero personal de su residencia al Centro Médico Walter Reed para recibir tratamiento médico, y más adelante en el fin de semana llevado en coche por un diversión por el hospital, no podría parar …

MEE and agencies (2020-10-07). Coronavirus: Iran reports record high death numbers as it grapples with third wave. middleeasteye.net Coronavirus: Iran reports record high death numbers as it grapples with third wave | Health minister says whole country on Covid-19 red alert as cases soar | Wed, 10/07/2020 – 15: 25 | Hospital admissions have reached record levels as entire country struggles with a rise in coronavirus infections (Reuters) | Iran on Wednesday reported 239 Covid-19 deaths, a record number over 24 hours, as…

Laura Nadine (2020-10-07). SEIU Local 73, Illinois Nurses Association reach deals with University of Illinois. liberationnews.org On Oct. 1, INA co-chief steward at UI Health Paul Pater announced that a supermajority of nurses voted to approve the contract, which guarantees safe patient limits.

RT (2020-10-07). Russia's 'Sputnik V' Covid-19 vaccine will cost $13 a pop, officials hope price will quickly go down once production accelerates. rt.com Russia's Covid-19 vaccine, the first in the world, will cost less than 1,000 rubles, or $13, per dose, says the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). Despite a low price by Western standards, FAS believes the current price is steep. | "We understand that the price is quite high," said Igor Artemyev, the head of FAS. "[The vaccine is] produced in relatively small batches, and they need capital to expand production." | According to Artemyev, the cost of a dose will reduce as production increases and the vaccine becomes more readily available. The country will also revisit the price when other countries produce the…

RT (2020-10-07). Wisconsin opens field hospital outside Milwaukee to handle Covid-19 hospitalization spike. rt.com After hospitalizations for Covid-19 nearly tripled over the past month, straining Wisconsin's healthcare system, Governor Tony Evers has announced the state will open a field hospital outside Milwaukee to handle the surge. | Speaking alongside health officials on Wednesday, Evers announced the field hospital would open next week on the state fairgrounds outside Milwaukee. Built months ago, in anticipation of an expected surge in infection, the facility had sat disused until now. | According to the state Department of Health Services, just 16 percent of Wisconsin's hospital beds were available as of Tuesday aft…

RT (2020-10-07). France records all-time daily high in new Covid-19 cases of almost 19,000, as authorities eye new restrictions. rt.com A total of 18,746 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in France over the latest 24-hour recording period, an all-time daily high for the country, the nation's health authorities announced on Wednesday. | The amount of new cases almost doubled compared to Tuesday when 10,489 infections were registered. The overall number of cases in the country since the start of the pandemic has now reached 653,509. | An additional 80 people had succumbed to the disease during the previous day, according to Wednesday's update, putting the cumulative death toll at 32,445. | Meanwhile the number of Covid-19 patients bein…

WSWS (2020-10-07). Nurses and health care workers at three California hospitals begin 5-day strike. wsws.org Health care workers in the East Bay confront chronic understaffing, lack of PPE and attacks on wages while serving on the front line against the pandemic.

Michael T. Hertz (2020-10-07). How the COVID-19 crisis can help fight climate change. nationofchange.org "Just as we need a vaccine for COVID-19, climate change requires urgent solutions that can't wait a generation. But people are moved to modify behavior based on emotion, not on research."

Granma (2020-10-07). Cuba Says: Doctors, Not Bombs. globalresearch.ca In a letter sent to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the World Peace Council formally registered the candidacy of Cuba's Henry Reeve International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics for the Nobel Peace Prize. | Emphasizing the great …

news.un (2020-10-07). UN chief urges greater investment in universal health coverage, starting now. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of strong public health systems and emergency preparedness for communities and economies globally, the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday, calling for greater investments in universal health coverage.

Joshua J. McElwee (2020-10-07). Pope's Post-COVID Encyclical Envisions a Less Populist, Less Capitalist World. zcomm.org "Once this health crisis passes, our worst response would be to plunge even more deeply into feverish consumerism and new forms of egotistic self-preservation"

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-07). Watershed moment to tackle widening health inequalities as a result of COVID-19. imperial.ac.uk The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that there is limited time to address fundamental health inequalities in the UK, said an Imperial expert.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-07). Lockdown not 'a trade-off between health and the economy' says Imperial academic. imperial.ac.uk Consumer concerns over the rise in the UK infection rate is likely to hit social spending regardless of whether a lockdown is put in place.

sputniknews (2020-10-07). Eleven Caribbean Nations Join US, Brazil as 'Intense' COVID-19 Spreaders, Health Agency Says. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Eleven countries and territories in the Caribbean have moved in the past two months from moderate to intense sources of novel coronavirus cases in the Americas, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne said in a press release on Wednesday.

Staff (2020-10-07). Former CDC Chief Urges Current Director to Denounce Trump's Handling of COVID-19. truthout.org In a

Staff (2020-10-07). "Super-Spreader" Trump Returns to Oval Office Despite Being Contagious. truthout.org At every turn, Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have opted to hide information around COVID-19 diagnoses rather than disclose it, despite the enormous health risks this creates for everyone around them. In his latest selfish act of endangerment, Trump, still infected with coronavirus, left isolation Wednesday afternoon and

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-10-07). Laying 'Tens of Thousands of Preventable Deaths' at the Foot of Trump Failures, Top US Health Official Resigns in Protest. commondreams.org "Nine months into the pandemic, the United States continues to grapple with failed White House leadership," writes whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright in public resignation letter. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-10-07). If Trump 'Still Has Covid, We Shouldn't Have a Debate,' Biden Says of Next Week's Town Hall Event. commondreams.org Out of concern for the health of voters planning to attend the next presidential debate on Oct. 15 as well as his own and that of his campaign staff, Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday evening said the event should not go forward as long as President Donald Trump still has Covid-19. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…