In Brief: May 15, 2020

Virus tests hospitals in pockets of US as some states reopen

SILVER SPRING, Md. — From a hospital on the edge of the Navajo Nation to the suburbs of the nation’s capital, front-line medical workers in coronavirus hot spots are struggling to keep up with a crushing load of patients while lockdown restrictions are lifting in many other parts of the U.S.

Governors are starting to slowly reopen some segments of their local economies, pointing to evidence that COVID-19 deaths and new hospitalizations are peaking or starting to recede in their states. But a government whistleblower warned Thursday that the U.S. faces its “darkest winter in modern history” unless leaders act decisively to prevent a rebound of the virus.

While many state and local officials see modest signs of progress in the pandemic fight, coronavirus outbreaks are testing public health networks in pockets of the U.S.

Among them is a suburb of Washington, D.C. The head of a hospital system in Maryland’s Prince George’s County, a majority black community bordering the city, said the area’s intensive care units “are bursting at the seams.” Meanwhile, a civil rights group’s lawsuit claimed the county’s jail failed to stop an “uncontrolled” coronavirus outbreak and isolated infected prisoners in cells with walls covered in feces, mucus and blood.

“I would say we are the epicenter of the epicenter,” said Dr. Joseph Wright, interim CEO of University of Maryland Capital Region Health.

Whistleblower: US still lacks virus plan, Americans at risk

WASHINGTON — Despite White House claims, the U.S. still lacks a comprehensive battle plan against the coronavirus in critical areas including masks, testing, treatments and vaccines, whistleblower Rick Bright warned Thursday in testimony before a House committee. “Our window of opportunity is closing,” he declared.

The nation could face “the darkest winter in modern history” if the virus rebounds, the government vaccine scientist told lawmakers. Bright’s appearance came after his ouster last month as head of a Health and Human Services biodefense agency, an action he alleges was retaliation by the Trump administration.

“We need still a comprehensive plan, and everyone across the government and everyone in America needs to know what that plan is, and what role they play,” he told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “There are critical steps that we need to do to prepare … we do not still have enough personal protective equipment to manage our health care workers … we still do not have the supply chains ramped up for the drugs and vaccines, and we still don’t have plans in place for how we distribute those drugs and vaccines. We still do not have a comprehensive testing strategy.”

At the White House, President Donald Trump said Bright looked like an “angry, disgruntled employee,” and Bright’s boss, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, said, “Everything he is complaining about was achieved.”

“So this is like somebody who was in a choir and is now trying to say he was a soloist back then,” Azar added.

Senate votes to renew federal surveillance powers

WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed legislation that would extend a set of expired federal surveillance tools designed to help law enforcement officials track suspected terrorists and spies, moving one step closer to reviving them.

The legislation passed the Senate 80-16 on Thursday. The bill is a bipartisan compromise that has the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Justice Department, which had been part of the negotiations, said it appreciated that the expired authorities had been reauthorized but expressed disappointment with the tweaked version of the bill that ultimately passed.

It’s unclear how quickly the legislation can become law. The House passed the bill in March, but will have to pass it again due to a change in the Senate. The House has been holding votes on a limited basis due to the coronavirus pandemic.

President Donald Trump has said he will support the compromise, but GOP senators who are longtime skeptics of federal surveillance have tried to change his mind. They want him to veto it.

The bill would renew the expired surveillance authorities and impose new restrictions to try to appease civil liberties advocates in both parties.

From wire sources

Burr steps aside as Senate intelligence chair amid FBI probe

WASHINGTON — A Republican senator with access to some of the nation’s top secrets became further entangled in a deepening FBI investigation as agents examining a well-timed sale of stocks during the coronavirus outbreak showed up at his home with a warrant to search his cellphone.

Hours later, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina stepped aside Thursday as chairman of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, calling it the “best thing to do.” Burr has denied wrongdoing.

“This is a distraction to the hard work of the committee and the members, and I think that the security of the country is too important to have a distraction,” Burr said. He said he would serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2023. He is not running for reelection.

The search warrant marked a dramatic escalation in the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Burr exploited advance information when he unloaded as much as $1.7 million in stocks in the days before the coronavirus caused markets to plummet. Such warrants require investigators to establish to a judge that probable cause exists to believe a crime has occurred.

The warrant was confirmed by two people familiar with the matter, including a senior department official. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.

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Wisconsin governor warns of ‘massive confusion’ after ruling

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers warned Thursday of “massive confusion” after the state Supreme Court tossed out the Democrat’s stay-at-home order and Republicans said they may leave it up to local governments to enact their own rules for combating the coronavirus pandemic.

The court’s order threw communities into chaos, with some bars opening immediately while local leaders in other areas moved to keep strict restrictions in place to prevent further spread of the virus.

If Wisconsin is to have a statewide plan, Evers will have to work with the same Republicans whose lawsuit resulted in Wednesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling. After a Thursday meeting with Evers, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the two sides may not be able to reach agreement and that a statewide policy might not be needed.

“Apparently they believe that different rules are OK,” Evers said of Republicans. “I can’t imagine another state that is in this predicament.”

Vos downplayed the concern.

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‘It’s impossible’: NY nursing homes fret about testing order

NEW YORK — As calls grow nationwide for mandatory coronavirus testing in nursing homes, New York facilities are sounding alarms about the state’s ambitious new demand to test roughly 185,000 workers twice a week.

Administrators worry there won’t be enough kits for an estimated 370,000 tests a week on workers at nursing homes and other adult care facilities, nearly double the total of tests done statewide now on people in all walks of life. The homes also have questioned who will cover an expense estimated around $100 to $150 per test, though the state suggested Thursday the homes could send workers to free state testing sites.

“It’s the right thing to do, it’s a good idea, we support it, but the logistics of it and the cost of it need to get thorough consideration,” said Neil Heyman, who heads the Southern New York Association of about 60 New York City-area nursing homes. He and the heads of four other nursing home umbrella groups told Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a letter Wednesday that “there are a myriad of practical problems that will make it impossible to comply.”

Cuomo, a Democrat, says the testing requirement may be “a pain in the neck,” but it’s necessary.

“We have to be able to say … when this is over, that we did everything we could to protect people,” he said Thursday on WAMC-AM radio.

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Officials release edited coronavirus reopening guidance

NEW YORK — U.S. health officials on Thursday released some of their long-delayed guidance that schools, businesses and other organizations can use as states reopen from coronavirus shutdowns.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted six one-page “decision tool” documents that use traffic signs and other graphics to tell organizations what they should consider before reopening.

The tools are for schools, workplaces, camps, childcare centers, mass transit systems, and bars and restaurants. The CDC originally also authored a document for churches and other religious facilities, but that wasn’t posted Thursday. The agency declined to say why.

Early versions of the documents included detailed information for churches wanting to restart in-person services, with suggestions including maintaining distance between parishioners and limiting the size of gatherings. The faith-related guidance was taken out after the White House raised concerns about the recommended restrictions, according to government emails obtained by The Associated Press and a person inside the agency who didn’t have permission to talk with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Thursday, a Trump administration official also speaking on condition of anonymity said there were concerns about the propriety of the government making specific dictates to places of worship.

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Had enough of ‘Contagion’? Here are some warm blanket movies

When many were rushing to rewatch “Contagion,” the eerily prophetic 2011 Steven Soderbergh film about the outbreak of an easily transmitted virus, I was searching for more comforting escapes. I reached for “North by Northwest” the way a baby grasps for a pacifier.

Even in a pandemic, it’s incredibly hard to watch “North by Northwest” without a perpetual grin on your face. Its jauntiness, buoyed by Bernard Herrmann’s score, can outlast any calamity. The one we find ourselves in now doesn’t feel so dissimilar to the blindsiding, why-me mystery Cary Grant stumbles into. We were just standing there, minding our own business, when suddenly a crop duster on the horizon turned and headed straight for us.

What to watch has been one of the most common quandaries of quarantine. For me, even “Groundhog Day” hits too close to home right now. But less obvious movies can also take on surprising relevancy.

I had forgotten, for example, that “Hud,” Martin Ritt’s 1963 black-and-white western, involves an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease. Just when you’re agog at Patricia Neal or swooning at Paul Newman (both refuges unto themselves), the film suddenly steps out of 1960s Texas and into today. Newman’s Hud, standing over dead livestock, decries a larger injustice: “This country is run on epidemics, where you been?”

The Depression spawned some of the most effervescent movies ever made. Moviegoers, yearning for escape, flocked to lavish musicals, delirious screwball comedies and shadowy film noirs.

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NFL players accused of armed robbery at South Florida party

MIAMI — Police in South Florida are trying to find New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar after multiple witnesses accused them of an armed robbery at a party, authorities said Thursday.

Miramar police issued arrest warrants for both men Thursday on four counts each of armed robbery with a firearm. Baker faces an additional four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. The residential community is located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Baker, 22, and Dunbar, 27, were attending a cookout at a Miramar home Wednesday night when a fight broke out, and Baker pulled out a handgun, the warrant said. Baker, Dunbar and two other men began robbing other people at the party of thousands of dollars in cash, watches and other valuables, witnesses told investigators.

Police said the four men then fled the home in three vehicles: a Mercedes Benz, a Lamborghini and a BMW. Witnesses said the vehicles were parked in a way that would make it easy to leave quickly, leading detectives to believe the robbery was planned. No injuries were reported.

Baker and Dunbar are both from Miami.