May 18 coronavirus & top news briefs
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Monday, May 18. What’s up with this different look? It’s darker behind me. I’ve moved to a new home here in Michigan over the weekend. This is my permanent home in Michigan and I’m excited and my family is happy. I’m setting up a studio here and moving things around. I am now “under construction.” Just like when you see a “pardon our dust” and have to walk around the zone. I’m now using a webcam, not a high quality camera. So it might look fuzzy. Pardon our dust. I promise you I’ll figure out something that looks good and deliver the top quality you expect from “The Daily Moth.” This week will be so-so.
Now, here are top news briefs and coronavirus updates.
The U.S. has reached a grim milestone — 90,000 deaths from Covid-19. There are about 1.5 million confirmed cases in the U.S. and about 275,000 recoveries.
In positive news, Moderna, a pharmaceutical company based in Massachusetts, said they injected eight volunteers with an experimental coronavirus vaccine and that the individuals developed antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the Covid-19 disease. The antibodies are naturally present in those who became infected with Covid-19, but the 8 volunteers were not exposed to Covid-19 but had antibodies from the vaccine. The antibodies were tested in a lab and they were able to stop the virus from producing copies of itself. It’s big news. Moderna said if the upcoming trials go well, a vaccine could be available for everyone by the end of 2020 or early 2021. Moderna is working in collaboration with Dr. Anthony Fauci and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The news about the vaccine helped to send stocks upwards.
In California there is a program led by state officials to provide undocumented immigrants with $500 per person or $1,000 per household to support them if they were economically impacted by Covid-19. The program has $75 million in cash assistance. Private donors and organizations said they would contribute another $50 million. To receive the money, one must call a hotline and the money is given out on a first-come, first serve basis. The New York Times said hotlines were overwhelmed with calls and many said they couldn’t get through. California has shown they support undocumented immigrants.
The Florida Keys will reopen on June 1 to visitors. It has been closed off to all people, including those in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, except for residents or those who work in the islands. Now they will tourists in.
[Sponsored Video from Convo: https://bit.ly/2RyMogR ]
A man from New York City who visited Hawaii and posted pictures of himself at the beach on Instagram was arrested because he did not quarantine himself for 14 days. He was allegedly in violation of a Hawaii directive that say visitors are to quarantine themselves in hotel rooms or rented accommodations.
A 32-year-old man in Detroit has been arrested a few weeks ago and charged with making a terrorist threat for posting on social media that he would kill Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state attorney general. If convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison.
In British Columbia, Canada, an aircraft with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds team crashed shortly after takeoff. The Snowbirds are a group of military jets flying in formations, similar to the U.S.’s Blue Angels. Videos showed two Snowbirds plane taking off from an airport. One jet suddenly climbs upwards and then spirals downwards. Two crew members ejected out. One died while another landed on the roof of a house and was seriously injured. The plane crashed into a neighborhood, damaging several homes. From what I read, there are no reports of injuries or deaths among the homes. It is not known what caused the crash. The person who died was identified as Jennifer Casey, who is a public affairs officer.
JCPenney filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday. They plan to close about 200 stories this year and another 50 next year. They currently have 846 stores and 85,000 employees. JCPenney said the Covid-19 pandemic hurt their company with more than 95% of their stores closed over the past few months.
We have the first named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane storm — Tropical Storm Arthur. It is now spinning off the North Carolina coast and is expected to hit the Outer Banks tonight with 45 mph winds and heavy rainfall.
That is all the top news and coronavirus updates for today. Thank you for bearing with the “dust.” See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/coronavirus-government-response-updates-top-trump-officials-clash/story?id=70741532&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_hero_hed
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/18/australia-wins-international-support-for-independent-coronavirus-inquiry
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/us/coronavirus-updates.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-city-man-arrested-hawaii-posting-photos-beach-photos-instagram/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/us/virus-michigan-whitmer-threats.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/18/snowbirds-crew-member-killed-after-jet-crashes-into-houses-in-canada
https://globalnews.ca/news/6954775/cf-snowbird-crashes-near-kamloops-during-b-c-stop-of-cross-canada-tour/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/18/business/jcpenney-store-closings/index.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/saudi-arms-sale-was-second-area-investigation-fired-state-department-n1209521
https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/tropical-storm-warnings-issued-for-north-carolina-as-arthur-nears-coast/740998