(2020-05-14). Trump v. birth control case heard by Supreme Court. workers.org 
A March 2016 demonstration in support of birth control coverage in the Affordable Care Act in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, D.C. Health care is the most pressing issue in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. So it's in keeping with the Trump administration's overall right-wing agenda to . . . |
(2020-05-14). India Is Intensifying Its U.S. Backed Hybrid War on China. globalresearch.ca Whether it's India's latest clashes with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), its selective embrace of "economic nationalism" to "poach" foreign companies from the People's Republic, or its forthcoming leadership of the World Health Assembly (WHA) where it …
(2020-05-14). 'Unlawful & invalid': Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down state's stay-at-home order. rt.com 
Measures purportedly enacted to stop the spread of coronavirus in Wisconsin have been overturned by the state's Supreme Court, which ruled that the orders violate the law and cannot be enforced. | The state's highest court issued a 4-3 ruling describing the restrictions as "unlawful, invalid, and unenforceable." The decision comes after Republican lawmakers sued Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm, after she unilaterally extended the state's "Safer at Home" emergency order in mid-April. The measures were first implemented in March and were set to expire on May 26. | Wisconsin has alrea…
(2020-05-14). Massachusetts Contact Tracing Program Handed to Clinton-Linked NGO with Questionable Past. mintpressnews.com 
A new contact tracing program was recently unveiled in Massachusetts in partnership with Partners in Health, an NGO with links to US regime change operations, big pharma and the Clinton Foundation.
(2020-05-14). Coronavirus Pandemic Prompts Global Mental Health Crisis as Millions Feel Alone, Anxious & Depressed. democracynow.org 
Is the coronavirus pandemic generating a mental illness crisis? Millions face isolation, poverty and anxiety. We speak with psychology professor and author Andrew Solomon, as the United Nations calls on governments to put mental health "front and center" in their response to the crisis.
(2020-05-14). Headlines for May 14, 2020. democracynow.org World Health Organization Says Novel Coronavirus "May Never Go Away", Whistleblower Warns U.S. Faces "Darkest Winter" Without Urgent Action on COVID-19, Trump Calls Dr. Anthony Fauci's Warning on COVID-19 and Schools "Not an Acceptable Answer", Wisconsin Stay-at-Home Orders Struck Down, Threatening New Wave of COVID-19 Deaths, Fed Reserve Chair Warns of Long Recession as Unemployment Claims Hit 36 Million, Trump Calls Democrats' Coronavirus Relief Bill "Dead on Arrival", Native Americans Make Up Half of New Mexico Coronavirus Deaths; New Orleans Sanitation Workers Strike, China to Test 11 Million Wuhan Residents…
(2020-05-14). When Patients Die Alone, How Do Families and Health Workers Cope, Relieve Suffering? democracynow.org 
We look at the tremendous emotional toll the coronavirus is taking on families when loved ones are forced to battle COVID alone in hospitals or at home, with Dr. Diane Meier, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care and a professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She helped start a 24-hour palliative care hotline for COVID-19 patients in New York City that served nearly 900 people in a four-week period.
(2020-05-14). China's politburo: Task to prevent rebound in local coronavirus cases 'remains arduous'. rt.com 
China's task to prevent rebound in local coronavirus cases remains arduous, the Communist Party's politburo said on Thursday. | The government should step up targeted prevention and control measures for clusters coronavirus cases in northeastern Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, a state television report said, citing the politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping. | China will also take more flexible measures to prevent imported coronavirus cases, the statement added. | The country will step up Covid-19 testing and screening to prevent a rebound of the coronavirus epidemic, the National Health Commissio…
(2020-05-14). It will 'take months for EU travel to return to normal,' says Irish PM Varadkar. rt.com 
It will be a matter of months, not weeks, before Covid-19 restrictions are lifted and travel around the European Union returns to normal, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday. | Ireland is part of a Common Travel Area with the United Kingdom but is not a member of the European Union's Schengen free travel area. The country is considering strengthening public health requirements for visitors from abroad, Varadkar told parliament. | "While it is our policy to resume normal travel for business, leisure, study and visits to friends and relatives (around the EU) as soon as it is safe to do so… it wi…
(2020-05-14). 'Don't give 2 rats' a**es about your cops': NYC police unions call on health commissioner to resign after refusal to provide masks. rt.com 
Unions representing New York City police officers have demanded the dismissal of the city's health commissioner after she scoffed at a request to provide the force with surgical masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. | Dr. Oxiris Barbot refused to provide the city's police with 500,000 masks as Covid-19 began to spread in March, telling a high-ranking law enforcement official, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan: "I don't give two rats' asses about your cops." The conversation, first reported by the New York Post, was confirmed to the media by the NYC Health Department. Barbot has since apologized to Monaha…
(2020-05-14). Health leaders say it will take months for NHS services to fully resume. thecanary.co 
It will be months before the NHS is able to fully restart services in the face of coronavirus (Covid-19), health leaders say. | Experts from the Health Foundation, the King's Fund and the Nuffield Trust will tell MPs on 14 May of the significant challenges facing the health service as it tries to create a "new normal". | It comes as NHS waiting list data is due to be published which is expected to show the number of people waiting for treatment has swollen during the pandemic. | The waiting list for planned treatment stood at around 4.4 million before the coronavirus outbreak but is now expected to be much higher…
(2020-05-14). British journo branded 'vile' after saying teachers should 'step up' & show 'same bravery' as health workers amid Covid-19 crisis. rt.com 
British journalist Isabel Oakeshott has provoked a fiery backlash after claiming teachers must "step up" and show the "same bravery" as health workers by returning to school to educate kids as Covid-19 lockdown measures are eased. | Oakeshott — who famously co-authored 'Call Me Dave', the unauthorised biography of former British PM David Cameron — took to Twitter on Thursday. She urged teachers who may take part in the weekly 'clap for our carers' to return to their schools as "millions of children" need them, claiming: "The risk in schools is nothing like the risk in hospitals." | Tonight thousands…
(2020-05-14). WHO warns Covid-19 may 'never go away' as Trump clashes with Fauci over US reopening. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump has pushed for reopening schools, against the advice of his chief epidemiologist. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has warned that the coronavirus may become endemic and never really disappear. | After meeting with governors of Colorado and North Dakota in the White House on Wednesday, Trump said he won't consider any state fully open until the schools are back up and running. | "I think you should absolutely open the schools. Our country has got to get back and it's got to get back as soon as possible, and I don't consider our country coming back if the schools are closed," T…
(2020-05-14). Your money, your right? France disputes PRIVILEGED ACCESS to Covid-19 vaccine for US. rt.com 
Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi should not give the US first access to its Covid-19 vaccine, Secretary of State for Economy Agnes Pannier-Runacher has said, urging that the firm make the treatment available to all countries. | Headquartered in Paris, Sanofi received funding from the US government to develop a vaccine for Covid-19. As a result, the United States has "the right to the largest pre-order because it's invested in taking the risk," the company's CEO, Paul Hudson, told Bloomberg News. | The French government has disputed this line of reasoning, insisting that no nation should be given priority once the v…
(2020-05-14). Beijing opposes 'US slander' after it says 'China-linked hackers breaking into Covid-19 research'. rt.com 
China's Foreign Ministry, asked about alleged China-linked hackers breaking into US Covid-19 research, said Beijing opposed what it called slander from the US. | Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian added on Thursday that any action online to sabotage efforts against the disease should be condemned. | In a joint statement on Wednesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security said China-linked hackers are breaking into US organizations carrying out such research. | The FBI is investigating digital break-ins at US organizations by China-linked 'cyber actors' that it had monitored "a…
(2020-05-14). US Government Fails to Prevent a Worsening Economic Downturn. globalresearch.ca As leaders of the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives in the United States attempt to pass new legislation introduced on May 12 costing $3 trillion which is aimed at providing assistance to state and local governments, households and healthcare workers, the …
(2020-05-14). COVID-19 Response Fund: Cutting-edge technologies advance coronavirus fight. imperial.ac.uk Imperial researchers are driving forward the fight against coronavirus with new healthcare innovations and data insights.
(2020-05-14). A World Health Crisis? So Ramp Up Confrontation and Deploy Nuclear Bombers against China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. globalresearch.ca The Pentagon is excelling itself in its enthusiastic march to war. There are countless thousands suffering from the effects of the Covid-19 virus, including hundreds of members of the U.S. armed services, while the world's despots are relishing their freedom …
(2020-05-14). The Other Americans: Trump is Spreading the Virus. progressive.org Deportations of migrants are exacerbating already weakened health care systems in Latin America.
(2020-05-14). Southeast Asia Witnesses Significant Rise in COVID-19 Cases. telesurenglish.net The Southeast Asia region has reported a significant rise in COVID-19 related cases, as several countries, including many densely populated nations, have announced several infections among its people. | RELATED: | Bangladesh reported 1,041 new COVID-19 cases, dipping slightly from Wednesday's high of 1,162, bringing the total number of the cases in the country to nearly 19,000. | The Afghan health authorities recorded 413 new COVID-19 cases across the country, the…
(2020-05-14). Over 90,000 health care workers worldwide have been infected with COVID-19. wsws.org The International Council of Nurses estimates that over 260 health care workers have died from the virus, while acknowledging that the figures are a severe underestimate due to the refusal of governments worldwide to adequately track this data.
(2020-05-14). Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump's Increased Water Exports Plan. indybay.org In a statement, Mike Conroy, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), said, "This is a big victory for west coast salmon fishing families and the communities which are dependent upon healthy salmon stocks throughout the State."
(2020-05-14). Local county officials in California bow before billionaire's demand to reopen Tesla factory. wsws.org Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reopened his 10,000-employee factory in defiance of the orders of Alameda County health officials.
(2020-05-14). Cuban Interferon Proven Effective Against COVID-19. globalresearch.ca Since the appearance, March 11, of the first cases of COVID-19 in Cuba, the country's Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) has reported that the inclusion of Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha 2b in treatment protocols for these patients has shown positive …
(2020-05-14). Colombia's economic reactivation accelerated coronavirus infections. colombiareports.com The gradual reactivation of the economy has accelerated the spread of the coronavirus in Colombia, according to the country's National Health Institute (INS). Since April 27, the number of confirmed…
(2020-05-14). Depite delay, consignment of Iranian-made COVID-19 test kits sent to Turkey: Jahanpour. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 14 (MNA) — In a tweet on Thursday, Kianoush Jahanpour, spokesman for the Iranian Health Ministry, reiterated that a consignment of 40,000 Iranian-made COVID-19 test kits has been sent to Turkey, although with a delay caused by transportation restrictions amid the pandemic, days after Turkish sources denied that the delivery had been made.
(2020-05-14). Ethical Human Rights: China criticizes New Zealand for supporting Taiwan. indybay.org If my book was less suppressed the UN may well take a more positive view of Taiwan's wish to gain formal recognition in the World Health Organization. The UN seems to be following China's 'One-China policy' by excluding Taiwan.
(2020-05-14). Covid-19 infects 114,533 in Iran: health min. spox. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 14 (MNA) — Iran's Health Ministry Spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Thursday that the number of coronavirus cases has hit 114,533 in the country, while 90,539 have recovered from the disease.
(2020-05-14). Is COVID-19 Killing Democracy? globalresearch.ca Global media are so consumed by the public-health and economic consequences of COVID-19 that they have failed to pay adequate attention to growing political and institutional risks. In fact, if we are not careful, the biggest casualty of COVID-19 could …
(2020-05-14). Africa: Lesotho Reports First COVID-19 Case. telesurenglish.net Lesotho Health Minister Nkaku Kabi announced on May 13 the first COVID-19 positive case in his nation. Lesotho is the latest African country to report the virus outbreak. | RELATED: | According to Kabi, 81 people were tested given their recent traveling chart. The positive patient is a Lesothan student who returned from Saudi Arabia via South Africa, with no visible symptoms. The health authorities decided to isolate…
(2020-05-14). In criminal pursuit of profits, Tesla CEO Elon Musk restarts production. indybay.org In open defiance of local public health authorities, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unilaterally restarted production Monday at the company's sole US assembly facility in Fremont, California, which employs roughly 10,000 workers.
(2020-05-14). Imperial MBBS medics deliver action plans for London GPs and local communities. imperial.ac.uk Third-year medical students have partnered with community, voluntary, health & social care leaders to respond to local needs in the era of COVID-19.
(2020-05-14). Political Fantasies Versus Economic and Health Realities. counterpunch.org Late last week in an article titled "When are the jobs coming back?" Joseph Brusuelas, the chief economist at consulting firm RSM, blew up the blather of election-year politicians, saying: "We have to be utterly realistic about this because there is political fantasy out there and then there is economic reality. It is going to
(2020-05-14). The Timeliness of Albert Camus' "The Plague" counterpunch.org We live in dangerous times! The number of people who have been infected and died from the Coronavirus Pandemic proves it. Our America is running at half-speed at the moment. As of today, over 80,000 deaths, and 1.3 million inflections have been reported by the authorities. The comments about the lethal virus have run from
(2020-05-14). Ousted Vaccine Agency Director Will Testify That Our "Darkest Winter" Is Ahead. truthout.org Rick Bright, the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), is testifying before Congress today, and it's going to be 40 miles of bad road for Donald Trump. It is also going to be the hard, unvarnished truth the entire country needs to hear. | Earlier in the week, Trump had to suffer through the congressional testimony of his hostage, Anthony Fauci, who contradicted Trump's lethal happy talk about reopening the country while the COVID pandemic still…
(2020-05-13). Trump Administration Won't Guarantee Universal Access to COVID-19 Vaccine. truthout.org Despite hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars flowing to private drug companies for vaccine development, top health officials coordinating the Trump administration's COVID-19 response indicated to Congress on Wednesday that they cannot guarantee universal access to vaccines for the highly contagious disease once they are developed. | Speaking remotely over videoconference during a widely anticipated Senate health committee hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) pressed the officials to guara…
(2020-05-13). We Need a Centralized Medical System Too. counterpunch.org 
The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare two fundamental flaws in the American healthcare system. Number one: There's a reason that other rich countries treat healthcare as a taxpayer-financed social program. Employer-based health insurance was stupid pre-COVID-19 because our economy was already steadily transitioning from traditional full-time W-2 jobs to self-employment, freelance and gig work. The virus has
(2020-05-13). Naomi Klein: Healthcare Industry Sees "Potential Bonanza" of Profits in COVID-19 Crisis. democracynow.org 
As the top infectious disease expert testifies to the Senate that needless death and suffering could result from reopening too quickly, author and journalist Naomi Klein says a "pandemic shock doctrine" is beginning to emerge. "The fact that a large sector of the economy, the healthcare industry, sees a potential bonanza here … that's a win for them."
(2020-05-13). Headlines for May 13, 2020. democracynow.org Dr. Anthony Fauci Warns Senators Reopening Too Soon Will Cause "Suffering and Death", House Democratic Leaders Unveil New $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package, Tesla CEO Elon Musk Defies Lockdown Order, Reopens California Auto Plant, L.A. Extends Lockdown for 3 Months as Cal State Cancels In-Person Fall Classes, CDC Estimates 5,000+ More New York City Coronavirus Deaths Than Officially Reported, Progressive Lawmakers Call on World Bank, IMF to Cancel Poor Countries' Debts, Brazil Records Its Highest Daily COVID-19 Death Toll, London Transit Worker Dies After Man Claiming to Have COVID-19 Spits on Her, Aide to R…
(2020-05-13). The Health Care Industry Could Profit From the COVID-19 Crisis. truthout.org As the top infectious disease expert testifies to the Senate that needless death and suffering could result from reopening too quickly, author and journalist Naomi Klein says a "pandemic shock doctrine" is beginning to emerge. "The fact that a large sector of the economy, the healthcare industry, sees a potential bonanza here … that's a win for them." | TRANSCRIPT | : | This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. | AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quaranti…
(2020-05-13). If we must die, don't let it be from COVID-19. peoplesworld.org 
Not much has changed in the Black community. The strategy of controlling wealth, access to healthcare, and the demise of African Americans is still as calculated as ever. The mainstream media reports daily on the death rate in Black communities, stemming from crime, police brutality, or COVID-19. As April arrived, the cruel face of reality …
(2020-05-13). Lifting lockdowns may cause new Covad-19 spike, but now we know how to respond — WHO envoy to RT. rt.com 
Countries should be able to swiftly identify and quarantine coronavirus hotspots instead of putting their whole societies on lockdown, but people must accept this 'new reality' for it to work, said WHO's envoy to Russia. | "I do believe that there might be a surge [in Covid-19 cases], but we'll be able to respond to it much quicker, having all the experience that we've got, unfortunately, over the last four months," Dr Melita Vujnovic, who represents the World Health Organization in Russia, told RT when asked about the impact of the gradual lifting of lockdowns — that has begun in many countries — on…
(2020-05-13). Beijing denounces 'immoral' US Senate bill threatening China with sanctions over Covid-19. rt.com 
Beijing has lashed out at US legislation which seeks to impose sanctions on China if it fails to cooperate with Washington's investigation into the coronavirus pandemic. | The bill would require the president to notify Congress within 60 days that China had "provided a full and complete accounting" to any US-led probe into the coronavirus outbreak. The rule would also apply to investigations carried out by American allies and UN agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO). | The legislation also demands that China shutter all "wet markets" which can pose a risk to human health. It also calls for the i…
(2020-05-13). UK's Health Ministry says confirmed Covid-19 death toll has risen by 494 to 33,186. rt.com 
A total of 33,186 people who tested positive for the new coronavirus have died in the United Kingdom, a rise of 494 in a 24-hour period, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. | Those figures reflect the situation as of 5pm (1600 GMT) on May 12. Including deaths due to suspected cases, Britain's fatality count is over 40,000, according to Reuters. | Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that increasing rates of infection in other countries which have relaxed some rules to tackle the coronavirus outbreak were a warning to Britain not to move too fast. | "It is very notable that in some other countries…
(2020-05-13). Russia BANS usage of ventilators suspected of causing deadly fires killing six Covid-19 patients. rt.com 
Russia has indefinitely suspended the usage of Aventa-M artificial lung ventilation machines. The recently produced ventilators are suspected of causing two deadly fires in the past week, killing six people. | The ventilators, made in Ural's Instrument Making Plant, have been manufactured since April 1, 2020, in response to Russia's ever-growing number of Covid-19 patients. | According to Russia's health watchdog Roszdravnadzor, the ventilators were used to provide medical care to patients at the S. I. Spasokukotsky City Clinical Hospital in Moscow and St. George's Hospital in St. Petersburg, where fires occur…
(2020-05-13). Lifting lockdowns may cause new Covid-19 spike, but now we know how to respond — WHO envoy to RT. rt.com Countries should be able to swiftly identify and quarantine coronavirus hotspots instead of putting their whole societies on lockdown, but people must accept this 'new reality' for it to work, said WHO's envoy to Russia. | "I do believe that there might be a surge [in Covid-19 cases], but we'll be able to respond to it much quicker, having all the experience that we've got, unfortunately, over the last four months," Dr Melita Vujnovic, who represents the World Health Organization in Russia, told RT when asked about the impact of the gradual lifting of lockdowns — that has begun in many countries — on…
(2020-05-13). The Strangling of the Economy Does Threaten the NHS, Life and Health — According to the Government That Strangled It. anti-empire.com 
For more than six weeks I have been abused and smeared as someone who cares more about money than life, because I have warned that the smashing of the economy by the government was a major threat to the NHS which it claims to be protecting, as well as a general danger to lives and health. | Now, in Paragraph 1.1 of the government's new document on 'rebuilding ' the country after smashing it up, you may find the government's own admission that I was and am in fact absolutely right: 'The longer the virus affects the economy, the greater the risks of long-term scarring and permanently lower economic activity, with…
(2020-05-13). Row erupts between BoJo and Labour, as Covid-19 guidance saying care homes 'unlikely' to become infected re-emerges. rt.com 
Downing Street and the Labour Party have become embroiled in a spat over official UK government guidance issued in February over the risk Covid-19 poses to care homes, with each side accusing the other of misleading the public. | During PMQs in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Labour leader Keir Starmer quoted from the Public Health England (PHE)
(2020-05-13). 'Summer cancelled': Los Angeles County to extend stay-at-home order another 3 MONTHS, stoking fears of civil unrest. rt.com 
LA County will likely extend its Covid-19 containment measures until the end of July, a top public health official said, triggering a wave of outrage as residents declare "summer cancelled" and even predict riots in the streets. | The three-month extension to the county's "safer at home" order was announced by Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Tuesday. Though she stopped short of issuing an official order, Ferrer said the timetable would not shift until officials see a "dramatic change to the virus and tools at hand," stressing the need for increased testing capacity. | Our hope is that by using the dat…
(2020-05-13). Pennsylvania Health Sec under fire after moving own mum OUT of nursing home while sending sick Covid-19 patients INTO them. rt.com 
As Pennsylvania's health secretary faces harsh criticism and calls to resign over her policy ordering Covid-19 patients to return to nursing homes after leaving hospital, she has admitted to moving her own mum out of a care home. | Dr Rachel Levine revealed when asked by reporters that her mother was moved out of her personal care home when the pandemic began — though she defended herself by saying that she was simply following the wishes of the 95-year-old woman, who wanted to move. | WATCH: PA Secretary of Heath admits own mother left senior facility while coronavirus swept nursing homes. Gov Wolf nowhe…