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A century of Boston’s cultural history in the course of a changing Kenmore Square has come to an end with the closing of one of the city’s most storied hotels due to Covid-19. In a post on its Facebook page, the Boston Hotel Buckminster on Beacon Street announced that it suspended all operations as of March 20 to protect the well-being of its guests and staff in response to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and state officials. Hotel Manager Trina Nolan said: “We will be cancelling all existing reservations moving forward. We do not have plans of reopening...

This was awkward. Sleepy Joe Biden said Tuesday during an interview from his home in Delaware that he is locked in his basement. This is the best the Democrats have. “…and I know I’m locked in a basement..” said Joe. “Are they worried he will wander off and get lost?” Trump’s campaign said trolling Biden. Joe Biden says they are keeping him locked in the basement … are they worried he will wander off and get lost? pic.twitter.com/F3nz7OrYKe — Trump War Room – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) April 8, 2020 Biden also forgot the name of his own plan,...

President Trump recently fired Intel Community IG Michael Atkinson and he’s reportedly gearing up to fire several more Deep State IGs in one fell swoop. The IGs Trump is looking to fire were appointed by Barack Obama or beforehand. “President Trump wants his own people in those positions now.” Breaking: Trump is firing 7 IGs in one fell swoop, sources confirm to @RealClearNews. Most likely will be the IGs that were appointed by Pres. Obama or beforehand. He wants his own people in those positions now. Trump during his briefing said he has “put in 7 names” for IGs. —...

Former Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview televised Tuesday that November’s general election “cannot” be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. And the all-but-certain Democratic presidential nominee insisted in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show that he also wants primary rival Sen. Bernie Sanders “to be part of the journey” going forward -- just not as his running mate. With the coronavirus outbreak forcing social distancing and keeping most Americans in their homes in hopes of preventing a spread of the virus, the Democratic presidential nomination calendar has been upended, with many states delaying their remaining contests or...

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After reading the paper, https://archive.is/ONUmi, about the way COVID-19 makes people ill, it strikes me that there may be a quicker, and cheaper, way to screen for infected people. It may not be 100%, but it may be a start.

PING LIST Some of you have asked to be placed on the COVID-19 Update Ping List. Those who give me a request, will be placed on the list before the next Update is posted. If a person has expressed an appreciation for the data I'm presenting, I may add that person to the Ping List. Some folks don't like to be on ping lists, and I won't mind if you would rather I remove your name from the list. COVID-19 Update As of 04/07/2020 23:17 PDST (taken at 23:59) Good morning everyone. Thank you for stopping by to check out...

The use of face masks on healthy people during the coronavirus pandemic has been a major point of contention and confusion among scientists and the public. On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all Americans wear face masks when they are in public. But new guidance from the World Health Organization released on Monday says healthy people don't need to wear face masks and that doing so won't provide added protection from the coronavirus. WHO also said community masking could lead to a "false sense of security" and cause people to ignore other evidence-based measures...

Originally performed and live streamed in 2014 on The Guardian website, this unique recording of Wonderland returns as part of the Hampstead Theatre At Home series. Thank you to the whole company for kindly allowing us to share this incredible play again. Wonderland is available to watch on demand from Monday 6 April until Sunday 12 April.

COVID-19 projections assuming full social distancing through May 2020

Today’s Cryptogram SOUGCPO ZLBG TYBWOAUGP YP QBSO YP ZLBG PLRP YRT AUYSO AOUQ DLAO AL PAYRT BI VLG XOYA CP GCWOA. —GBAO DYTUG WCRPDBGW

The 11-year-old brindle boxer trotted out of the winery, bottles tucked into each pocket of his harness-like vest. Outside in the parking lot, a white Hyundai SUV was waiting. Its driver crouched down on the pavement, coaxing the dog to come closer. When the furry delivery boy reached the passenger-side door, the customer bent over and collected her purchase from his pack. While plenty of businesses are turning to curbside pickup or contactless delivery, Stone House Urban Winery may be the first to enlist a dog to help with social distancing. In mid-March, as fears about the novel coronavirus intensified,...

As far back as late November, U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China’s Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population, according to four sources briefed on the secret reporting. Concerns about what is now known to be the novel coronavirus pandemic were detailed in a November intelligence report by the military's National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), according to two officials familiar with the document’s contents. The report was the result of analysis of wire and computer intercepts, coupled with satellite images. It raised alarms because...

How false-negatives in diagnostic testing lead to the release of infected people, motivate extreme containment measures have been implemented, explain why official figures are too low. The COVID-19 outbreak, explained with Bayes’ Rule.

It's not entirely Joe Biden's fault that he'll likely be the Democratic Party's next loser in a presidential race but it's a fate that, like many of us, he may have already accepted. There's a pandemic going on that has placed an indefinite hold on normal campaign activity, so the former vice president is at an unusual disadvantage. Still, in an interview Tuesday with Chris Cuomo on CNN, he was particularly rudderless. Asked about that anticlimactic phone call he had with President Trump this week, he said he had nothing new to offer because he had agreed to keep the...

Suspected slavery surges in the U.K. with a record 10,000 reports in one year "We need to think about how the system is working in practice for the people it was set up to identify and help," said Kate Roberts. The National Crime Agency building in Westminster, London.Dan Kitwood / Getty Images April 2, 2020 By Thomson Reuters Foundation The U.K. has seen a surge in suspected slavery cases https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/actor-ashton-kutcher-trying-end-modern-day-slavery-n721356 with more than 10,000 people referred to the British government for help in 2019, official data showed Thursday - a record rise of 52 percent in year. Amid fears coronavirus will worsen abuse, anti-slavery...

President Trump has fired a Pentagon official who was supposed to oversee the implementation of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package......A panel of inspectors general tapped Glenn Fine, the acting Pentagon watchdog, to lead the group responsible for overseeing the coronavirus funds, but Trump removed Fine from his post on Monday, Politico reported. Trump named an inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency to serve as the temporary watchdog at the Pentagon.

Officers recovered nearly 200 rolls of toilet paper from a vehicle that had been reported stolen, the Beverly Hills Police Department said Tuesday. A photo posted to the agency’s social media accounts showed that police pulled over the white SUV near the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Rexford Drive, right in front of the police station. When officers searched the vehicle, they found 192 rolls of toilet paper inside, according to police. “Gives ‘They saw me rollin’…’ a whole new meaning,” the department wrote on Twitter. Toilet paper has been a hot commodity amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the...

Those who watch the press briefings from the White House Coronavirus Task Force are familiar with response coordinator Deborah Birx. Often the only woman on the stage, Birx was assigned to the task force on February 26 and draws on years of experience fighting HIV/AIDS globally. In fact, she served as the Ambassador-at-Large and US Global AIDS Coordinator from 2014 to 2020. From time to time, Birx discusses her personal life on stage, with references to her husband of many years, former Clinton advance man, Paige Reffe. https://heavy.com/news/2020/04/deborah-birx-husband-paige-reffe/

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - If Wisconsin was a test case for voting in the age of coronavirus, it did not go well for many voters. Thousands were forced to congregate for hours in long lines on Tuesday with no protective gear. Thousands more stayed home, unwilling to risk their health and unable to be counted because requested absentee ballots never arrived. Voters reported being afraid, angry and embarrassed by the state’s unwillingness to postpone their presidential primary elections as more than a dozen other states have already done. Neither Joe Biden nor Bernie Sanders will be declared a winner at...