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The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome cor- onavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2/2019-nCoV) poses a serious threat to global public health and local economies. As of March 3, 2020, over 80,000 cases have been confirmed in China, including 2946 deaths as well as over 10,566 confirmed cases in 72 other countries. Such huge num- bers of infected and dead people call for an urgent demand of effective, available, and affordable drugs to control and diminish the epidemic. We have recently reported that two drugs, remdesivir (GS-5734) and chloroquine (CQ) phosphate, efficiently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection in...

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CNN editor-at-large Chris Cillizza was widely mocked on social media on Monday while attempting to mock President Trump for his vocal stance on borders amid the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump has long supported strengthening the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico, but as the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, there has been a renewed call to increase border security to crack down on the transmission of the virus on top of the travel ban he had set against China as well as the majority of Europe. On Monday morning, Trump touted his support for strong borders on social media.

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough was slammed on social media for falsely claiming that "no doctors" were present at Monday's White House press briefing on the coronavirus outbreak. Scarborough was among many media personalities on Twitter who quickly noticed that Dr. Anthony Fauci, a prominent figure in the White House's coronavirus task force, was missing from the briefing. The liberal TV personality quickly concluded that the briefing wasn't necessary. "There is no public benefit to this briefing. The networks should all cut away," Scarborough tweeted. "Bland pronouncements, the repeating of catch phrases daily, bad medical advice. No science, no doctors, no...

CNN anchor Don Lemon claimed on Monday night that it's "not my intention to say bad things" about President Trump, despite being known as one of the most outspoken anti-Trump journalists. During his nightly handoff with CNN colleague Chris Cuomo, Lemon complained about the daily White House press briefings on the coronavirus and noted the absence of prominent task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci. And while trashing the president, Lemon praised Cuomo's brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "Here's the thing... as I'm watching, I kept saying 'Why are we even listening to the president?' But he's the president and...

No doubt noticed by the Fed and likely among the reasons for their emergency action this morning, Annaly Capital (NYSE:NLY) attempted to unload more than $400M of MBS this weekend to meet margin calls, reports Bloomberg. Apparently there were a number of mREITs (and other leveraged MBS players) doing the same, but Annaly is the sector giant. According to the story, Annaly was able to sell about $100M in non-agency MBS. Shares were off 10.55% in the regular session today; they're up 5.25% after hours.

House Democrats are being criticized on Monday for allotting expenses in their proposal of an emergency stimulus bill that has nothing to do with the coronavirus outbreak, including $35 million meant for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. Following the Senate Democrats derailing the pursuit of a bipartisan-drafted stimulus bill, the House led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., offered their own version of a bill meant to save the economy as the pandemic has pummelled the stock market. However, buried inside the over 1,100-page emergency proposal is money meant to upkeep a popular destination at the country's...

VP Pence's abilities and experience are political, not managerial.  FEMA personnel can't possibly have the experience to run optimally this major, vital operation.   So Pence and the FEMA head should hire the best talent available in America to carry out the task force assignments. Possibly hire someone like Tim Cook to oversee everything. He would take a leave of absence from Apple to do this. Seasoned, experienced teams should be hired in at least these two vital areas. These teams should probably be hired intact from companies such as Apple, Microsoft and 3M. 1. Supply chain/manufacturing team to manage production/procurement...

The first testing kits from the Centers for Disease Control had a simple fault, and red tape prevented other labs from creating their own. ————————————————————————————- Few health institutions around the world are as renowned as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Which makes it all the more baffling that the CDC could have fumbled the rollout of coronavirus diagnostic tests throughout the country so badly. While other countries have been able to run millions of tests, the CDC has tested only 1,235 patients. Speed is of the essence when dealing with an epidemic early, and the CDC’s mistakes...

March 24 2020 Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Ez 47:1-9, 12 The angel brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the right side. Then when...

New York will start trials for anti-malaria drug Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said The drug, hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria, as well as some non-infectious inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis Several people have come forward saying the drug has helped fight COVID-19 Rio Giardinieri, of Florida, said the drug 'saved his life' after he testes positive Margaret Novins, of New Jersey, also said the medication made her feel better There are currently no approved treatments or preventive vaccines for the virus Researchers are studying existing treatments and working on experimental ones, but current patients receive only supportive care...

Republicans had a deal until Nancy Pelosi rode into town from her extended vacation. The Democrats want the Virus to win? They are asking for things that have nothing to do with our great workers or companies. They want Open Borders & Green New Deal. Republicans shouldn’t agree!

Via senior GOP aide, Schumer/Pelosi now pushing these demands amid pandemic-fueled economic collapse: 1) Unprecedented collective bargaining powers for unions 2) Increased fuel emissions standards for airlines 3) Expansion of wind and solar tax credits

Joe Biden doesn’t occupy a political office, isn’t a great orator and is basically stuck in his house. It’s not much of a platform for projecting leadership during the coronavirus crisis. That was laid bare Monday as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee gave his first coronavirus shadow briefing webcast. Biden’s been outgunned by President Donald Trump and outshone by some of the nation’s governors, among them New York’s Andrew Cuomo, whose crisis response efforts are drawing rave reviews. The former vice president was staid and somber, even as his remarks were marred by a few minor real-time snafus and slip-ups....

The White House coronavirus task force on Sunday dangled new CDC guidance that might suggest some Americans with exposure to the 2019 novel coronavirus could return to work wearing a mask. Vice President Pence on Sunday said the guidance “will make it possible for people that have been exposed to return to work more quickly with—by wearing a mask for a certain period of time.” He suggested it would be spelled out in more detail this week. When asked about the potential guidance on Monday, Pence said it was still in the works, and might be targeted at a small...

Today, Vice President Mike Pence led a discussion with the chief executives of over 50 States, territories, and Washington, DC, to provide an update on the all-of-America approach to respond to, prepare for, and mitigate the effects of COVID-19. The leadership of governors, mayors, county commissioners, and tribal officials is vital for effective emergency management. Emergency management in America is locally-executed, State-managed, and Federally supported, which allows for innovative solutions to be identified at the local and State level for the majority of issues. The Federal government helps scale best practices, coordinates key priorities, and provides regulatory flexibilities and key resources to...

The doctor’s voice was filled with distress. Dr. Suraj Saggar didn’t have much time to talk. At times, he even sounded almost out of breath. Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck is under siege from the coronavirus, and he needed to get back to his patients. But first, he had a desperate message he needed to send. They need help. “It looks likes a war zone,” said Saggar, Holy Name’s chief of infectious disease. The hospital is in such dire need, it took the unprecedented step of pleading to the public for donations to buy critical supplies. Holy Name is...

From being ostracised by the international community as the centre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, China is seeking to reframe itself as a global expert that can help hard-hit regions battle the disease. Beijing is keen to reposition the virus as a global outbreak and not just a China malaise as it sends testing kits and experts overseas and translates treatment manuals into foreign languages. The deputy foreign minister said at a press conference Thursday that China had shared its treatment plan with “many countries”. An expert team has already been sent to Iran, where 92 people have died, along...

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, good afternoon, everyone.  On behalf of President Donald Trump and a grateful nation, I want to say how proud and grateful we are to each and every one of you here at the National Response Coordination Center.  Thank you for stepping up for America.  Thank you for the efforts here at FEMA to bring together this whole-of-government approach.  We couldn’t be more proud of each and every one of you.The American people know FEMA.  They know that when disaster strikes their communities, and they see that FEMA flag flying, they know that we’re bringing our...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an emergency order Monday directing hospitals to increase their capacity by 50% as coronavirus cases across the state surged 38% overnight to 20,875. New York is the hardest-hit state in the country, ahead of New Jersey, California and Washington state, Cuomo said. New York City, alone, accounts for 12,305 confirmed infections, he said. Cuomo estimated up to 80% of the state’s more than 19.4 million residents will get the coronavirus. Last week, Cuomo estimated there are likely “tens of thousands” of COVID-19 cases in the state among residents who didn’t know they had it....