ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

April 16, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• President announces plan to reopen economy, small biz stimulus fund goes bust - but optimism from New York (USA Today)
• Trump’s Claim of Total Authority in Crisis Is Rejected Across Ideological Lines (New York Times)
• The Tornadoes That Rocked the South Show How Much More Dangerous Natural Disasters Will Be in the Coronavirus Era (Time)
• Getting Bored? Here's A List Of Free Things That Weren't Free Before Coronavirus (NPR)
• 5 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home (Playbill)
• Hospitals say feds are seizing masks and other coronavirus supplies without a word (Los Angeles Times)
• How a stockpile of 39 million masks was exposed as fake (Los Angeles Times)
• Trump removes inspector general overseeing $2.3 trillion coronavirus response (Reuters)
• Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden for president (New York Times)
• Checkpoints, curfews, airlifts: virus rips through Navajo nation (New York Times)
•  Joe Biden rolls out new policies in effort to court Sanders supporters (Axios)
• Evidence Casts Doubt on Tara Reade’s Sexual Assault Allegations of Joe Biden (Medium)

WORLD

• The attraction of peace to end COVID-19 (Christian Science Monitor)
• UN urges religious leaders to work for peace, fight virus (ABC News)
• New, larger wave of locusts threatens millions in Africa (NBC)
• With Coronavirus Lockdown, India's Cities See Clear Blue Skies As Air Pollution Drops (NPR)
• Saudi Arabia declares cease fire in Yemen over coronavirus (CNN)
• China signals end to dog meat consumption by humans (Guardian)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

President announces plan to reopen economy, small biz stimulus fund goes bust - but optimism from New York (USA Today)

President Trump announced guidelines for states to start opening their economies that have been largely shut down by the coronavirus pandemic. The "Opening up America Again'' plan includes three phases and will give governors the authority to make decisions about how their states proceed.The Labor Department reported more than 5 million new unemployment claims and a stimulus plan to help small businesses ran out of cash Thursday as the nation's economy staggered under weeks of severe coronavirus restrictions.

 Trump’s Claim of Total Authority in Crisis Is Rejected Across Ideological Lines (New York Times)

Trading barbs with governors about their powers over when to ease restrictions on society, the president made an assertion that lacks a basis in the Constitution or federal law…When somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total,” Mr. Trump asserted at a raucous press briefing on Monday evening. “And that’s the way it’s got to be.” But neither the Constitution nor any federal law bestows that power upon Mr. Trump, a range of legal scholars and government officials said.

The Tornadoes That Rocked the South Show How Much More Dangerous Natural Disasters Will Be in the Coronavirus Era (Time)

…In the aftermath, officials from Texas to South Carolina were left to grapple with an urgent question: How do we respond to natural disasters during a pandemic without exposing even more people to a deadly virus?

Getting Bored? Here's A List Of Free Things That Weren't Free Before Coronavirus (NPR)

The coronavirus pandemic is rapidly changing the daily routines of millions of Americans as many settle into their new self-isolation realities.  Some are finding ways to pass the time by streaming television shows, movies and classic … Other companies — outside the traditional streaming sites such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon — are making content available during the era of social distancing. But some companies, musicians and others are lending their services and talents for free in an effort to help all of us make it through these uncertain times with a bit more ease.

5 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home (Playbill)

From Newsies to Sweeney Todd, we’re running down some of the best filmed Broadway shows—and where to find them.

Hospitals say feds are seizing masks and other coronavirus supplies without a word (Los Angeles Times)

Although President Trump has directed states and hospitals to secure what supplies they can, the federal government is quietly seizing orders, leaving medical providers across the country in the dark about where the material is going and how they can get what they need to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

How a stockpile of 39 million masks was exposed as fake (Los Angeles Times)

A powerful California union that claimed to have discovered 39 million masks for healthcare workers fighting the novel coronavirus was duped in an elaborate scam uncovered by FBI investigators, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday. U.S. Atty. Scott Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania said FBI agents and prosecutors stumbled onto the arrangement while looking into whether they could intercept the masks for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Defense Production Act.

Trump removes inspector general overseeing $2.3 trillion coronavirus response (Reuters)

 U.S. President Donald Trump has removed the inspector general tasked with overseeing the government’s coronavirus response, including $2.3 trillion in economic relief, the spokeswoman for that inspector general’s office said on Tuesday.

Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden for president (New York Times)

Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the Democratic nominee for president on Monday, adding the weight of his left-wing support to Mr. Biden’s candidacy and taking a major step toward bringing unity to the party’s effort to unseat President Trump in November.

Checkpoints, curfews, airlifts: virus rips through Navajo nation (New York Times)

 When Chad Yazzie joined the Navajo Police Department just a few months ago, he expected to issue speeding tickets or break up the occasional fistfight.

But the coronavirus is now tearing across the largest Indian reservation in the United States. The Navajo Nation’s casualty count is eclipsing that of states with much larger populations, placing the rookie cop on the front lines.

Joe Biden rolls out new policies in effort to court Sanders supporters (Axios)

The Biden campaign announced two new policies on Thursday on health care and student debt that are squarely aimed at appealing to supporters of Bernie Sanders…1. Lower the Medicare age from 65 to 60. Under Biden's plan, Americans would be able to choose whether to access Medicare benefits when they turn 60. If not, they would be permitted to remain on their employer's insurance, Biden's "public option" or other plans they can access through an Affordable Care Act marketplace. 2. Forgive student debt for low-income and middle-class individuals who have attended public colleges and universities.

Evidence Casts Doubt on Tara Reade’s Sexual Assault Allegations of Joe Biden (Medium)

Alexandra Tara Reade’s accusations of sexual assault against Joe Biden appear very questionable once the story is fully investigated.

WORLD

The attraction of peace to end COVID-19 (Christian Science Monitor)

The U.N.’s success in asking for cease-fires in world conflicts can help push the Security Council to finally act against the coronavirus….On March 23, Secretary-General António Guterres called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in all the world’s violent conflicts in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and to be able to deal with the humanitarian consequences. It turns out his call for peace was a powerful attraction. Since then, cease-fires have been endorsed by warring parties in 12 countries, from the Philippines to Colombia.

UN urges religious leaders to work for peace, fight virus (ABC News)

U_N_ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is appealing to religious leaders of all faiths “to join forces to work for peace around the world and focus on our common battle to defeat COVID-19.”

New, larger wave of locusts threatens millions in Africa (NBC)

Billions of the young desert locusts are winging in from breeding grounds in Somalia in search of fresh vegetation springing up with seasonal rains.

With Coronavirus Lockdown, India's Cities See Clear Blue Skies As Air Pollution Drops (NPR)

In India, the coronavirus cloud has a silver lining: clear blue skies.

Saudi Arabia declares cease fire in Yemen over coronavirus (CNN)

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen has declared a two-week ceasefire in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the war-torn country, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

China signals end to dog meat consumption by humans (Guardian)

Draft policy released by agriculture ministry cites concern over animal welfare and prevention of disease transmission as factors behind move