Monthly Archives: May 2020

2020-05-15: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

[Perspectives] Computer vision's potential to improve health care
Arnold Milstein, Eric J Topol | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
Artificial intelligence (AI) research for medical applications has largely focused on image pattern recognition or electronic health record (EHR) data. EHR data inputs include what clinicians order and what they document that they did. But the physical actions that comprise what clinicians actually did for patients can differ: one study showed almost half of physician medical record entries documenting the extent of their physical examinations of emergency room patients were not substantiated by an independent physician observer.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31090-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[Perspectives] Computer vision's potential to improve health care
Arnold Milstein, Eric J Topol | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
Artificial intelligence (AI) research for medical applications has largely focused on image pattern recognition or electronic health record (EHR) data. EHR data inputs include what clinicians order and what they document that they did. But the physical actions that comprise what clinicians actually did for patients can differ: one study showed almost half of physician medical record entries documenting the extent of their physical examinations of emergency room patients were not substantiated by an independent physician observer.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31090-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[World Report] In the aftermath: the legacy of measles in Samoa
Jacqui Thornton | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
As Samoa recovers from a devastating measles outbreak, Jacqui Thornton reports on how the epidemic is having long-lasting effects on the country's health system.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31137-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[World Report] In the aftermath: the legacy of measles in Samoa
Jacqui Thornton | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
As Samoa recovers from a devastating measles outbreak, Jacqui Thornton reports on how the epidemic is having long-lasting effects on the country's health system.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31137-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Editorial] Reviving the US CDC
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen in the USA with 1 ∑3 million cases and an estimated death toll of 80‚Äà684 as of May 12. States that were initially the hardest hit, such as New York and New Jersey, have decelerated the rate of infections and deaths after the implementation of 2 months of lockdown. However, the emergence of new outbreaks in Minnesota, where the stay-at-home order is set to lift in mid-May, and Iowa, which did not enact any restrictions on movement or commerce, has prompted pointed new questions about the inconsistent and incoherent national response to the COVID-19…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31140-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Articles] Adjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab or nivolumab monotherapy versus placebo in patients with resected stage IV melanoma with no evidence of disease (IMMUNED): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial
Lisa Zimmer, Elisabeth Livingstone, Jessica C Hassel, Michael Fluck, Thomas Eigentler, Carmen Loquai, Sebastian Haferkamp, Ralf Gutzmer, Friedegund Meier, Peter Mohr, Axel Hauschild, Bastian Schilling, Christian Menzer, Felix Kieker, Edgar Dippel, Alexander Rà∂sch, Jan-Christoph Simon, Beate Conrad, Silvia Kà∂rner, Christine Windemuth-Kieselbach, Leonora Schwarz, Claus Garbe, Jàºrgen C Becker, Dirk Schadendorf, Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
Adjuvant therapy with nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab increased recurrence-free survival significantly compared with placebo in patients with stage IV melanoma with no evidence of disease. The rates of grade 3–4 treatment-related adverse events in both active treatment groups were higher than the rates reported in previous pivotal trials done in advanced melanoma with measurable disease.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30417-7/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Offline: Don't let COVID-19 divert us completely
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
Dr Robert Spencer, a trustee of Dr Edward Jenner's House, Garden and Museum in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK, wrote to me last week on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox (May 8). He was polite but disappointed: "On this day in 1980 the WHO announced the eradication of smallpox from the world. This infection, which probably caused more deaths than any other disease, was finally condemned to the history books. Sorry to see you had no space in this week's edition of The Lancet to commemorate this milestone, especially at a time of COVID-19 pandemic." Dr Spencer was right to admonish me.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31130-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Offline: Don't let COVID-19 divert us completely
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
Dr Robert Spencer, a trustee of Dr Edward Jenner's House, Garden and Museum in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK, wrote to me last week on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox (May 8). He was polite but disappointed: "On this day in 1980 the WHO announced the eradication of smallpox from the world. This infection, which probably caused more deaths than any other disease, was finally condemned to the history books. Sorry to see you had no space in this week's edition of The Lancet to commemorate this milestone, especially at a time of COVID-19 pandemic." Dr Spencer was right to admonish me.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31130-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Articles] Adjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab or nivolumab monotherapy versus placebo in patients with resected stage IV melanoma with no evidence of disease (IMMUNED): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial
Lisa Zimmer, Elisabeth Livingstone, Jessica C Hassel, Michael Fluck, Thomas Eigentler, Carmen Loquai, Sebastian Haferkamp, Ralf Gutzmer, Friedegund Meier, Peter Mohr, Axel Hauschild, Bastian Schilling, Christian Menzer, Felix Kieker, Edgar Dippel, Alexander Rà∂sch, Jan-Christoph Simon, Beate Conrad, Silvia Kà∂rner, Christine Windemuth-Kieselbach, Leonora Schwarz, Claus Garbe, Jàºrgen C Becker, Dirk Schadendorf, Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group | thelancet.com | 2020-05-16
Adjuvant therapy with nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab increased recurrence-free survival significantly compared with placebo in patients with stage IV melanoma with no evidence of disease. The rates of grade 3–4 treatment-related adverse events in both active treatment groups were higher than the rates reported in previous pivotal trials done in advanced melanoma with measurable disease.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30417-7/fulltext?rss=yes

Trump's "Operation Warp Speed" for Mass Vaxxing. "Big Bucks for Big Pharma"
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-15
Big Pharma is poised to cash in big from mass COVID-19 vaxxing

Video: Coronavirus: Economic and Social Collapse: Mass Unemployment, Bankruptcy, Poverty and Despair
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-15
First published on April 16, 2020 | There is a serious health crisis which must be duly resolved. But there is another important dimension which has to be addressed. | Millions of people have lost their jobs, and their lifelong savings. In …
globalresearch.ca/video-corona-virus-economic-and-social-collapse-bankruptcy-debt-and-poverty/5709883

Dark Winter? Honey Badger Trump Don't Care
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-15
"This coalition of the business elite, right-wing Christian evangelicals, and white nationalists and other white supremacists is very dangerous. Fascism is ultimately a death cult."

Massachusetts Contact Tracing Program Handed to Clinton-Linked NGO with Questionable Past
Raul Diego | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-15
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.
mintpressnews.com/massachusetts-contact-…

Starving Bolivian workers clash with troops deployed by coup regime
wsws.org | 2020-05-15
Amid the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in Bolivia, Jeanine àÅñez's self-proclaimed "interim government" is escalating state repression.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/15/boli…

Massive protests in El Salvador against President Nayib Bukele
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-05-15
Salvadorans are protesting over the lack of food and economic aid to poor and unemployed people, the shortage of personal protection equipment for health workers, and the delay in the return of people stranded abroad…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/05/15/massive-p…

Finland: Schools Reopen Despite Health Situation
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-15
Finland's Education Ministry reopened Thursday schools after a two-month closure period due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Pre-school and elementary school children were the first to return their activities. | RELATED: | Tense Calm in Montenegro After Day of Mass Protests | "Experts affirm schools reopening would have a minimal impact on the pandemic, but grand benefits for children," Education Minister Li Andersson said, adding that her office instructed municipality authorities to enforce p…
telesurenglish.net/news/finland-schools-…

Ecuador: Human Rights Organizations Denounce Police Brutality
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-15
Ecuador's Human Rights organizations Thursday denounced that police force abuse against pacific protesters in Guayaquil. Claimers denounced the negligence of health authorities in corpses counting and handling. | RELATED: | Ecuador Faces Wave of Corruption Amid Pandemic | Protesters gathered at Centenary Park for a sit-in demonstration against both President Lenin Moreno's budget cuts and lack of economic aid for those in need. | "We are mourning and resisting," was their protest's maxim. Cit…
telesurenglish.net/news/ecuador-human-ri…

Puebla Group Discusses Peace in Colombia and Pandemic Crisis
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-15
The Puebla Group today is discussing the peace process in Colombia, the health crisis, and the regional economy, during a new virtual meeting that brings together progressive leaders from Latin America. | RELATED: | Puebla Group to Analyze COVID-19 Crisis in Latin America | Colombia is the host of the new virtual meeting, in the voices of former President Ernesto Samper and former Minister of Labor Clara Lopez Obregon. | "Peace measures are the level of civilization of a country," sa…
telesurenglish.net/news/puebla-group-to-…

No Lockdowns: The Terrifying Polio Pandemic of 1949-52
Jeffrey A. Tucker | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15
World War II had ended four years earlier and the U.S. was trying to return to peace and prosperity. Price controls and rationing were ended. Trade was opening. People were returning to normal life. The economy started humming again. Optimism for the future was growing. Harry Truman became the symbol of a new normacy. From Depression and war, society was on the mend. | As if to serve as a reminder that there were still threats to life and liberty present, an old enemy made its appearance: polio. It's a disease with ancient origins, with its most terrifying effect, the paralysis of the lower extremities. It mai…
anti-empire.com/no-lockdowns-the-terrify…

Brazilian Health Minister Teich resigns after just weeks in job
rt.com | 2020-05-15
Brazilian Health Minister Nelson Teich resigned on Friday after just weeks in the job. President Jair Bolsonaro had criticized Teich as being too timid in the push to reopen the economy and to advocate the use of anti-malarial drugs. | Military members of the Brazilian cabinet are pushing for deputy health minister Eduardo Pazuello, an army general on active duty, to become the new health minister, making permanent his interim role, Reuters reported, citing a government source. | Teich is the second health minister to resign amid the pandemic in Brazil. He replaced Nelson Mandetta, who was fired on April 16 fo…
rt.com/newsline/488802-brazilian-ministe…

China: 5 Five Vaccines to Go Into Large-Scale Testing by July
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-15
China's National Health Commission (NHC) predicts that five coronavirus vaccines that have entered the second phase of clinical trials will pass that phase in July. | RELATED: | Trump Threatens to Break Ties With China Over COVID-19 Issues | "We have registered none serious adverse effects on the volunteers during the tests. If everything goes as planned, the projects would finish the second part of their tests in July," the NHC deputy director Zeng Yixin said. | China has five…
telesurenglish.net/news/China-5-Five-Vac…

Covid-19 changes to NHS services may lead to worsening health inequalities
imperial.ac.uk | 2020-05-15
The decision to suspend non-urgent services at NHS hospitals in response to the Covid-19 pandemic will lead to worsening health inequalities.
imperial.ac.uk/news/197534/covid-19-changes-nhs-services-lead-worsening

Essential Sanitary Workers Strike for Hazard Pay and PPE in New Orleans
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-15
The severe outbreak of COVID-19 in southern Louisiana was the last straw for a group of sanitation workers who pick up trash in eastern New Orleans. Last week, they walked off the job and went on strike, demanding hazard pay and a $15 living wage. | Without "hoppers," as the workers are known, garbage would pile up on the streets and contribute to the spread of disease and other public health problems. However, the group of hoppers in New Orleans say their employers did not provide them with hazar…
truthout.org/articles/essential-sanitary…

Foreign Policy Sees 'Repression' in Vietnam's Fight Against Coronavirus – In the US, government may surveill you, but at least it doesn't protect your health
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-05-15
Foreign Policy ( 5/12/20) illustrates a story on "repression" in Vietnam with a photo of a "propaganda poster" encouraging people to wear masks. | A recent piece in Foreign Policy ( 5/12/20) is headed with a photograph of a placard that features an image of a nurse demonstrating the importance of wearing a face mask as both personal and interpersonal protection against the coronavirus. But reader beware: It's not pu…
fair.org/home/foreign-policy-sees-repres…

Seeking justice for Breonna Taylor: Essential health worker killed by police
Chauncey K. Robinson | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-15
The actual suspect was already in police custody, but that didn't stop officers from allegedly opening fire and shooting Breonna Taylor eight times. It was March 13 in Louisville, Kentucky when the young Black woman Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician (EMT), was shot and killed. The police who raided her home were executing a …
peoplesworld.org/article/seeking-justice…

Burundi Kicks Out WHO Meddlers
AFP | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-15

"Burundians greet each other by shaking hands and often continue holding hands for several minutes after starting a conversation. Figurative or literal references to cattle is an important part of the greetings. For example, both parties might wish each other large cattle herds, a sign of prosperity."

| Burundi has ordered the country's top World Health Organization (WHO) representative and three other experts coordinating the coronavirus response…
anti-empire.com/burundi-kicks-out-who-me…

The 2003 SARS epidemic: How Canada's elite squandered the chance to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-05-15
Canada's disastrous response to the pandemic is all the more criminal given the impact of SARS and the repeated government vows that the country's health system would be well-prepared for any future novel virus.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/15/sars…

My Birth Control Experience Is Why I'm Fighting to Ensure Access for Everyone
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-15
The issue of birth control is particularly important to me as a woman of color from an immigrant community in Pennsylvania. Beyond my own experience, I also understand the difficulties other marginalized communities face in obtaining this essential health care. | The first time I sought birth control, the provider lectured me based on stereotypes she had of people from my "culture." She also insisted repeatedly that I choose a birth control method which I was not comfortable with because it w…
truthout.org/articles/my-birth-control-e…

Video: Bill Gates' and Rockefeller Foundation's Plan to Track Americans
Dr. Joseph Mercola | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-15
Bill Gates

Roaming Charges: Unmasked and Anonymous
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-15
I'm hyped for some ObamaGate action, as long as its about things that matter: health care plan designed by Heritage Foundation, bailing out Wall Street, failing to close Gitmo, droning US citizens, Afghan surge, the jailing of whistleblowers and legal harassment of journalists, the Libyan and Honduran coups, mass surveillance, the funding and arming of proxy wars in Yemen and Syria, record deportations, Deepwater Horizon, new nukes (both power plants and weapons), etc…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/15/roaming-char…

In less than a month, Brazil sees two health ministers leave office
Brasil de Fato | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-05-15
Oncologist Nelson Teich asked to step down from his position as Minister of Health on Friday morning May 15, according to the government. A press conference will be held in the afternoon. | Teich took over the position as Health Minister on April 17, after Luiz Henrique Mandetta was fired from the position. In Teich's speech when assuming the position, he affirmed that he would work to ease social isolation measures, but in a "technical and scientific" way. | As of now, the individual expected to take over the position is General Eduardo Pazuello, the current number two in the ministry. | History: | While…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/05/15/in-less-t…

Czech Republic to allow gatherings of up to 300 people
rt.com | 2020-05-15
The Czech Republic will take major steps to relax its coronavirus lockdown measures from May 25, as the government seeks to jump-start the economy, health officials said on Friday. | The central European country of 10.7 million people has reported fewer than 100 new cases a day throughout May. As of Friday morning, it had recorded a total of 8,352 cases of which 5,249 have recovered. It has reported 293 deaths, Reuters said. | Indoor dining and hotel stays could resume on May 25 under strict hygiene rules, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said. "After May 25, there won't be establishments in retail which would be…
rt.com/newsline/488794-czech-gatherings-…

Whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright testifies winter could be 'darkest in modern history'
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-15
Dr. Rick Bright, the top Health and Human Services official dumped by Trump for blowing the whistle on the administration's disastrous response to the coronavirus pandemic, testified to Congress Thursday that essentially everything the president is saying about his administration's response to the pandemic is a lie. One of the most damaging of those lies, …
peoplesworld.org/article/whistleblower-d…

WHO special envoy sets out what's wrong with Johnson's timetable to end lockdown
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-05-15
The World Health Organisation's coronavirus special envoy has warned the government against releasing lockdown measures until a comprehensive testing, tracking and isolating system is in place. | Dr David Nabarro said rather than giving specific dates for individual measures to be lifted, the government should say they will release the lockdown "when we know that we've got the defence mechanisms in place". | Nabarro added that the test, track and isolate strategy has "been shown in other countries to be the key to living with the virus". | He also stressed that a test, tracking and isolating defence system must b…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2020/05/15/who-special-envoy-sets-out-whats-wrong-with-johnsons-timetable-to-end-lockdown/

Head of the Hydra: The Rise of Robert Kadlec
Raul Diego | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-15
WASHINGTON DC ( The Last American Vagabond)

Still in the Dark in Wisconsin
Bill Lueders | progressive.org | 2020-05-15
Health officials don't have an up-to-date count of people who got COVID-19 after attending a 'large gathering.'…
progressive.org/dispatches/still-in-the-…

One week after promising health supplies to southeast Colombia, government vows aid to bury the dead
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-15
Colombia's government vowed to send cement to build repositories of Covid-19 deaths in the southeastern Amazonas province after promised health supplies never arrived. The situation in Colombia's most remote province…
colombiareports.com/week-after-promising…

Socialism and Collective Responses: Attacking Venezuela in a Pandemic
Macdonald Stainsby | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-15
That feeling of international solidarity. This pandemic has brought terror in daily life to many, including this home where a 79 year old with COPD resides. Global calls of "we are all in this together" have served to blunt the bleakness in the face of unprecedented threats to our collective health. However, the initial rush…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/15/socialism-an…

Malnutrition is leading cause of death and ill-health worldwide
wsws.org | 2020-05-15
A recent report confirms that various forms of malnutrition are the result of inequities in food distribution and health care systems but only hints at the criminal indifference of all national governments to these issues…
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/15/maln…

MILLIONS of Americans dead from Covid-19? 85k jobs lost? What? Joe Biden commits gaffe after gaffe in confusing broadcast
rt.com | 2020-05-15
Joe Biden has once again caught flak for his creative and often confusing oratory, this time after the former VP and presumptive Democratic nominee struggled to relay how many Americans have died from coronavirus. | Speaking during a "virtual round table," Biden argued that playing the "blame game" during the ongoing health crisis would be counterproductive. But when it came time to relaying exactly what politicians might blame each other for, the presidential candidate faltered. | …
rt.com/usa/488756-biden-millions-covid-d…

Rally At Tesla: Jail Musk! Workers Health & Safety First & Lives Over Profit
Workers Solidarity Action Network | indybay.org | 2020-05-15
Tesla North Gate | Industrial Dr & Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538 | www.google.com/maps/place/Tesla+factory/…: 0x86cfbef39088e346!8m2!3d37.5039468!4d-121.9622337?hl=en…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/15/1883304…

Is Universal Basic Income the Way Out of the Current Economic Crisis?
Ellen Brown | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-15
Philip's third interview with Ellen Brown focused on the Universal Basic Income, which Philip believes is the ONLY way out of the current economic crisis. The social distancing forced by the COVID-19 epidemic has shut down the country, and one-time …
globalresearch.ca/universal-basic-income-current-economic-crisis/5712994

War and Plagues: Military Spending During a Pandemic
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-15
Conn HALLINAN"There have been as many plagues as wars in history, yet plagues and wars take people equally by surprise" |

Why Capitalism Can't Cure Global Pandemics
Prabir Purkayastha | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-15
We frequently hear that COVID-19 is the worst pandemic since the influenza of 1918. It is forgotten that another pandemic known as "the third plague" (because it was "the third major bubonic plague outbreak to affect European society") killed millions from the 1890s to the 1950s in Asia's southern, southeastern, and eastern regions, continuing well…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/15/why-capitali…

War and Plagues: Military Spending During a Pandemic
Conn Hallinan | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-15
Welcome to the world of the hypersonic weapons, devices that are not only superfluous, but which will almost certainly not work, They will, however, cost enormous amounts of money. At a time when countries across the globe are facing economic chaos, financial deficits and unemployment at Great Depression levels, arms manufacturers are set to cash in big.
counterpunch.org/2020/05/15/war-and-plag…

Plan Now for Vaccination Decisions to Come
Joe Amon | progressive.org | 2020-05-15
Who should be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine once it is available?
progressive.org/op-eds/plan-for-vaccinat…

Trump Unveils Plan That Would See Big Pharma Reap Massive Profits from COVID-19 Vaccine
Raul Diego | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-15
President Trump has revealed a plan to mobilize the US military to deliver mass vaccinations across the country, coupled with Operation Warp Speed, a "Manhattan project-style" race to produce a COVID-19 vaccine.
mintpressnews.com/trump-plan-big-pharma-…

Define 'distribute'! Trump mobilizing MILITARY to deliver Covid-19 vaccine 'assuming we get it,' sparks conspiracy frenzy
rt.com | 2020-05-15
US President Donald Trump said the military is gearing up to distribute a coronavirus vaccine when one is ready, unleashing a torrent of takes from conspiracy-minded netizens, many sounding alarms over mandatory inoculations. | American GIs are already being mobilized to parcel out a future vaccine to "most of the population," Trump told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo in an interview on Thursday, giving a highly optimistic end-of-the-year time frame even as many experts suggest a remedy won't be ready for mass distribution for another 12 to 18 months. | "We're mobilizing our military on the basis that we do hav…
rt.com/usa/488691-trump-military-distrib…

South Africa To Protect Groundwater From Massive Burials
telesurenglish.net | 2020-05-15
The South African Cemeteries Association (SACA) Friday warned that burial land could not be sufficient given the current spreading rate of the COVID-19. | RELATED: | China: 5 Five Vaccines to Go Into Large-Scale Testing by July | Because of the likely proliferation of makeshift cemeteries, bacteria, decomposition resulting substances, and the virus could seep into underground water reserves. | Sanitary authorities must take into account circumstances such as grave depth, buries…
telesurenglish.net/news/South-Africa-To-…

Trump says govt will work at 'WARP SPEED' to deliver vaccine BEFORE year's end
rt.com | 2020-05-15
President Donald Trump has promised to deliver a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year or earlier, saying that the government will invest in potential candidates. He added that, vaccine or no vaccine, America will reopen. | Speaking to reporters in the White House Rose Garden on Friday, Trump unveiled "Operation Warp Speed," a public-private partnership aimed at accelerating the development of a vaccine for Covid-19, the deadly virus that has infected more than 4.5 million people worldwide and killed more than 300,000. | "This is an endeavor unlike anything our country has seen since the Manhattan Project…
rt.com/usa/488811-trump-vacine-warp-spee…

2020-05-14: News Headlines

Sue Davis (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 . . . |

Andrew Korybko (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 …

RT (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…

Raul Diego (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.

Staff (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.

Staff (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…

Staff (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.

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

The Canary (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

Abayomi Azikiwe (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 …

imperial.ac.uk (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.

Brian Cloughley (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 …

Jeff Abbott (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.

teleSUR (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…

WSWS (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.

Dan Bacher (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."

WSWS (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.

Orfilio Peláez (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 …

Adriaan Alsema (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…

en.mehrnews (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.

Anthony Ravlich (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.

en.mehrnews (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.

Guy Verhofstadt (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 …

teleSUR (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…

WSWS Repost (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.

imperial.ac.uk (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.

George Ochenski (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

William Hughes (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

Staff (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…

Staff (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…

Ted Rall (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

Staff (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."

Staff (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…

Staff (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…

Tanuke Smith (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 …

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

RT (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…

Peter Hitchens (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…

RT (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)

RT (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…

RT (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…