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Expert report predicts up to two more years of coronavirus pandemic misery

Expert report predicts up to two more years of coronavirus pandemic misery

CNN reports: The new coronavirus is likely to keep spreading for at least another 18 months to two years—until 60% to 70% of the population has been infected, a team of longstanding pandemic experts predicted in a report released Thursday. They recommended that the US prepare for a worst-case scenario that includes a second big wave of coronavirus infections in the fall and winter. Even in a best-case scenario, people will continue to die from the virus, they predicted. “This…

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Coronavirus was ‘not manmade or genetically modified’ says lead U.S. intelligence agency

Coronavirus was ‘not manmade or genetically modified’ says lead U.S. intelligence agency

CNBC reports: The top U.S. spy agency said for the first time on Thursday that the nation’s collective intelligence community does not believe that the coronavirus was manmade or genetically modified. “The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified,” the Office of Director of National Intelligence said in a rare statement. “The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began…

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The only way to get back to normal this summer is to test everyone in the U.S., says leading economist

The only way to get back to normal this summer is to test everyone in the U.S., says leading economist

The Washington Post reports: Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer says a return to nearly normal life is possible this summer if the United States does wide-scale testing for the coronavirus. Romer is calling on the U.S. government to test everyone in the nation once every two weeks and isolate people who test positive for the deadly coronavirus. He estimates that doing so would cost $100 billion, a hefty sum but far less than the $2 trillion Congress has spent so…

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Biden denies he sexually assaulted former Senate aide, calls on National Archives to release complaint if it exists

Biden denies he sexually assaulted former Senate aide, calls on National Archives to release complaint if it exists

The Washington Post reports: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Friday denied that he sexually assaulted a former Senate aide, addressing the accusations publicly for the first time under increasing pressure from his party to speak about it. “I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago,” Biden said in a statement released by his campaign. “They aren’t true. This never happened.” Biden echoed his denial on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” shortly…

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Threat to DACA health care workers could thwart America’s pandemic response

Threat to DACA health care workers could thwart America’s pandemic response

Priscilla Chan and Sam Hawgood write: The health care community has a responsibility to anticipate worst-case scenarios and develop response plans for epidemics that may be years or decades away. It should model how outbreaks might cause shortages in medical supplies and devise protocols to compensate for them. It should plan for what would happen if those protocols fail and shortfalls in staff or equipment make it difficult to provide care to each and every patient. Crises like Covid-19 are…

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Should you get an antibody test?

Should you get an antibody test?

James Hamblin writes: The road to ending social distancing is less contentious than it may seem. Many priorities are clear: Invest in comprehensive testing for the coronavirus, in effectively treating the disease, and in vaccine development and production. Invest in research to understand transmission of the virus, and precisely how to prevent it. The fundamental mystery to solve is how people develop immunity, the key to which will be testing for antibodies in the blood. Identifying antibodies will help inform…

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‘A bomb in the center of the climate movement’: Michael Moore damages our most important goal

‘A bomb in the center of the climate movement’: Michael Moore damages our most important goal

Bill McKibben writes: If you’re looking for a little distraction from the news of the pandemic — something a little gossipy, but with a point at the end about how change happens in the world — this essay may soak up a few minutes. I’ll tell the story chronologically, starting a couple of weeks ago on the eve of the 50th Earth Day. I’d already recorded my part for the Earth Day Live webcast, interviewing the great indigenous activists Joye…

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The boom in coronavirus conspiracy theories

The boom in coronavirus conspiracy theories

The Atlantic reports: COVID-19 has created a perfect storm for conspiracy theorists. Here we have a global pandemic, a crashing economy, social isolation, and restrictive government policies: All of these can cause feelings of extreme anxiety, powerlessness, and stress, which in turn encourage conspiracy beliefs. For more than a month, an urban legend that the pandemic was predicted in an early-’80s Dean Koontz thriller has been circulating on social media. Meanwhile, QAnon believers are circulating the “mole children” theory, which…

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U.S. considers punishing China in effort to cover up Trump’s pandemic failure as China sends essential supplies

U.S. considers punishing China in effort to cover up Trump’s pandemic failure as China sends essential supplies

The Washington Post reports: Senior U.S. officials are beginning to explore proposals for punishing or demanding financial compensation from China for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to four senior administration officials with knowledge of internal planning. The move could splinter already strained relations between the two superpowers at a perilous moment for the global economy. Senior officials across multiple government agencies are expected to meet Thursday to begin mapping out a strategy for seeking retaliatory measures against China,…

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Trump officials pressure intelligence agencies to dig for evidence linking Wuhan research labs with pandemic

Trump officials pressure intelligence agencies to dig for evidence linking Wuhan research labs with pandemic

The New York Times reports: Senior Trump administration officials have pushed American spy agencies to hunt for evidence to support an unsubstantiated theory that a government laboratory in Wuhan, China, was the origin of the coronavirus outbreak, according to current and former American officials. The effort comes as President Trump escalates a public campaign to blame China for the pandemic. Some intelligence analysts are concerned that the pressure from administration officials will distort assessments about the virus and that they…

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How long will a coronavirus vaccine really take?

How long will a coronavirus vaccine really take?

The New York Times: A vaccine would be the ultimate weapon against the coronavirus and the best route back to normal life. Officials like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top infectious disease expert on the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, estimate a vaccine could arrive in at least 12 to 18 months. The grim truth behind this rosy forecast is that a vaccine probably won’t arrive any time soon. Clinical trials almost never succeed. We’ve never released a coronavirus vaccine…

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All 50 state governors perform better than Trump in response to Covid-19 crisis, poll indicates

All 50 state governors perform better than Trump in response to Covid-19 crisis, poll indicates

The Hill reports: A sweeping survey of more than 22,000 voters in all 50 states found that most say their governor is doing a better job than President Trump in handling the coronavirus outbreak. The poll, conducted by researchers at Harvard, Northeastern University and Rutgers, found voters are more likely to have high levels of trust in their state and local governments than in the White House or Congress. Overall, 44 percent approve of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak,…

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Tara Reade allegations rattle Joe Biden’s VP search

Tara Reade allegations rattle Joe Biden’s VP search

Politico reports: The job description for Joe Biden’s running mate has suddenly become more complicated: The Democratic vice presidential nominee must now defend him against sexual assault accusations without looking hypocritical. It’s a particularly vexing problem for Biden’s potential picks, many of whom played lead roles in opposing the Senate Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Democrats vigorously applied a “believe all women” standard as they rallied to support his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, leaving a trail of…

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Stories of civilization collapse make for good television but bad archaeology

Stories of civilization collapse make for good television but bad archaeology

Guy D Middleton writes: There’s a common story of how the Maya civilisation was wiped out: they fell foul of unstoppable climate change. Several periods of extreme drought withered their crops and killed off thousands in their overpopulated cities. ‘There was nothing they could do or could have done. In the end, the food and water ran out – and they died,’ wrote Richardson Gill in 2007. The jungle reclaimed the cities with their palaces and pyramids until they were…

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