ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

May 25, 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.

• Poll: 1 in 5 teachers say they're unlikely to return to schools if they reopen in fall (10 News)
• From Camping To Dining Out: Here’s How Experts Rate The Risks Of 14 Summer Activities (NPR)
• How the coronavirus spreads in those everyday places we visit (Salt Lake City Tribune)
• Hairstylist with coronavirus worked while symptomatic, exposing as many as 91 people (CBS)
• Trump just declared houses of worship essential. Mounting evidence shows they're super-spreader hotspots. (Yahoo News)
• Trump Ousts State Department Watchdog (Time)
• Navajo Nation surpasses New York state for highest COVID-19 infection rate in U.S. (CNN)
• How arts and crafts can help keep the mind active during coronavirus lockdown (CNBC)
• Here are the newsroom layoffs, furloughs and closures caused by the coronavirus (Poynter)
• Starving The Watchdogs: Who Foots The Bill When Newspapers Disappear? (NPR)
• Saudi pilot who killed US Navy sailors on FL base was Al Qaeda terrorist and spent years planning (American Military News)

WORLD

• Mexico City has emitted 8,072 more death certificates this year than it did during the average of the previous four years. (Bloomberg)
• From pandemic to famine: Can world meet food crisis fast enough? (Christian Science Monitor)
• In the developing world, the coronavirus is killing far more young people (Washington Post)
• After three elections, Israel swears in new government (Washington Post)
• China has been trying to avoid fallout from coronavirus. Now 100 countries are pushing for an investigation (CNN)
• Coronavirus: How masks are becoming fashionable (BBC)

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

U.S.

Poll: 1 in 5 teachers say they're unlikely to return to schools if they reopen in fall (10 News)

… USA Today and Ipsos conducted a poll of teachers and 1 in 5 of those surveyed said they are unlikely to return to their classrooms if they are reopened… A separate poll of parents with at least one child in grade school found that 6 in 10 say they would be likely to pursue at-home learning options instead of sending their kids back in the fall.

From Camping To Dining Out: Here’s How Experts Rate The Risks Of 14 Summer Activities (NPR)

It has been around two months of quarantine for many of us. The urge to get out and enjoy the summer is real. But what's safe? We asked a panel of infectious disease and public health experts to rate the risk of summer activities, from backyard gatherings to a day at the pool to sharing a vacation house with another household. One big warning: Your personal risk depends on your age and health, the prevalence of the virus in your area and the precautions you take during any of these activities. Also, many areas continue to restrict the activities described here, so check your local laws.

How the coronavirus spreads in those everyday places we visit (Salt Lake City Tribune)

It hasn’t even been five months since health officials in Wuhan, China, reported unusual pneumonia cases to the World Health Organization. But those five months have been the most active in the history of epidemiology. Since that report, we’ve learned so much about the coronavirus. One of the most important lessons? How the disease is spread. In particular, so-called superspreading events seem to be a major cause of infections. One London School of Hygiene analysis suggested that 80% of the secondary transmissions were caused by just 10% of infected people. In other words, if you want to avoid getting COVID-19, one of your major focuses should be avoiding a superspreading event.

Hairstylist with coronavirus worked while symptomatic, exposing as many as 91 people (CBS)

A hairstylist in Missouri saw dozens of clients this month while sick with coronavirus. Despite showing symptoms, the stylist went to work for over a week in May, exposing as many as 91 people to COVID-19...All of the individuals exposed are being notified and offered testing, and the Great Clips location is temporarily closed. 

Trump just declared houses of worship essential. Mounting evidence shows they're super-spreader hotspots. (Yahoo News)

President Trump designated churches and other houses of worship as essential services on Friday. There have been multiple reports of super-spreader events at US churches and synagogues, as well as a South Korean temple.

Trump Ousts State Department Watchdog (Time)

Inspector General Steve Linick's ousting is the latest in a series of moves against federal watchdogs

Navajo Nation surpasses New York state for highest COVID-19 infection rate in U.S. (CNN)

The Navajo Nation has surpassed New York and New Jersey for the highest per-capita coronavirus infection rate in the US — another sign of Covid-19's disproportionate impact on minority communities.

How arts and crafts can help keep the mind active during coronavirus lockdown (CNBC)

Anxious thoughts can be more difficult to escape in sustained isolation, such as the widespread lockdown measures due to the coronavirus pandemic, but arts and crafts have been shown to help distract from these feelings. 

Here are the newsroom layoffs, furloughs and closures caused by the coronavirus (Poynter)

It’s getting hard to keep track of the bad news about the news right now. But we have to. Here’s our attempt to collect the layoffs, furloughs, and closures caused by the coronavirus’ critical blow to the economy and journalism in the United States. Please send tips. We’ll try to keep up.

Starving The Watchdogs: Who Foots The Bill When Newspapers Disappear? (NPR)

The value of local newspapers can hardly be overstated right now. We read our local papers to track the spread of COVID-19 in our states, and the availability of ICU beds at nearby hospitals. We read to get a sense of how nearby businesses are faring, and what nursing homes are doing to keep residents safe. … But at the same time that readership is soaring, advertising revenue—which keeps newspapers financially afloat—is plummeting. As a result, a number of newspapers across the country are laying off workers, even shuttering. For many newspapers, the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic is merely the final nail in the coffin. 

Saudi pilot who killed US Navy sailors on FL base was Al Qaeda terrorist and spent years planning (American Military News)

The Royal Saudi Air Force member behind the December 2019 shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola had “significant ties” to the terror group Al Qaeda for years before conducting the deadly attack that killed three victims and injured eight others.

WORLD

Mexico City has emitted 8,072 more death certificates this year than it did during the average of the previous four years. (Bloomberg)

In a search across the city’s 52 civil registries, investigators Mario Romero and Laurianne Despeghel found the excess deaths amid the coronavirus pandemic. They published their findings in Nexos Magazine on Monday.  With one of the lowest testing rates in the region, experts have doubted that the government’s official numbers are accurately reflecting the full scale of the health crisis

From pandemic to famine: Can world meet food crisis fast enough? (Christian Science Monitor)

Growing hunger in wealthy nations doesn’t compare to the famine expected in the developing world, the United Nations’ top food official warns. Wealthier nations are chipping in to help – but a strategic coming together on a global level will be crucial.

In the developing world, the coronavirus is killing far more young people (Washington Post)

…As the coronavirus escalates its assault on the developing world, the victim profile is beginning to change. The young are dying of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, at rates unseen in wealthier countries — a development that further illustrates the unpredictable nature of the … In Brazil, 15 percent of deaths have been people under 50 — a rate more than 10 times greater than in Italy or Spain. In Mexico, the trend is even more stark: Nearly one-fourth of the dead have been between 25 and 49.

After three elections, Israel swears in new government (Washington Post)

Israel will have a rotating leadership headed first by Benjamin Netanyahu and then Benny Gantz.

China has been trying to avoid fallout from coronavirus. Now 100 countries are pushing for an investigation (CNN)

Russia has joined about 100 countries in backing a resolution at the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), calling for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic.



Coronavirus: How masks are becoming fashionable (BBC)

Face masks have become a necessity during the coronavirus outbreak and now the fashion world is ensuring that they become trendy. And with masks advised for the foreseeable future, people are finding ways to incorporate them into their outfits.