Thursday, May 21 coronavirus and top news briefs
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Thursday, May 21. Here are coronavirus and top news briefs. Remember, I’m still “under construction” with a new studio setup over there and I am using a webcam here instead of a higher quality camera.
There are over 5 million people with confirmed Covid-19 infections in the world. The U.S. is the most affected with over 1.5 million infections and 93,000 deaths.
Another 2.4 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance last week. That means almost 39 million people in total claimed they lost their jobs over the past nine weeks.
A former White House butler, Wilson Roosevelt Jerman, died from the coronavirus at 91 years old. He served under 11 U.S. Presidents from 1957 until 2012. His first job in the White House was as a cleaner when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. He was promoted to butler by John F. Kennedy. His last president was Barack Obama. Jerman’s granddaughter said the family is taking it day by day to cope with his death.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a 60-page “road map” on how to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. The CDC said when schools are ready to be reopened when there are deceasing Covid-19 cases in a region, students should stay with the same staff all day for young children and as much as possible for older children. Children over the age of 2 are to wear face masks. Groups should not be mixed. Seating and desks should be at least six feet apart and should face in the same direction. Meals should be served in classrooms instead of a cafeteria. On school buses, children should be seated one child per seat and on every other row when possible.
Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn) said in an interview with Axios that the CDC guidelines are completely unrealistic and that anyone who has ever been in a classroom knows this list will not work.
The CDC document is a guideline — it is not a requirement. It is up to states and regions to decide on what they want to do with schools.
Alabama said today they would allow schools to reopen on June 1.
Although children are considered among those at the lowest risk of becoming severely affected by Covid-19, there are concerning reports of multi system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) that is related to Covid-19. Over 25 states have reported cases.
In South Africa, a premature baby who was only 2 days old died from Covid-19. The baby’s mother was Covid-19 positive. South Africa has over 18,000 cases and 339 deaths.
Now, top news briefs.
Eastern India and Bangladesh was hit by Cyclone Amphan and its 115 mph winds on Wednesday afternoon. News reports say at least 80 people were killed with ages ranging from 5 years old to 75 years old. Some deaths were caused by falling trees or drowning. An Indian official told AFP that almost everything is destroyed in the coastal villages of West Bengal.
How many hurricanes will we have during the 2020 hurricane season? The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is projecting 13 to 19 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), 6 to 10 hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater), and 3 to 6 major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or higher). The NOAA said they are 70% confident about the projections. We already have the first named season — Tropical Storm Arthur.
The U.S. Senate has voted 49-44 to confirm Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) to be the director of national intelligence (DNI). The vote was split along Republicans and Democrats. Ratcliffe will lead the intelligence community, which includes the CIA, FBI, NSA, and military intelligence agencies.
Michael Cohen, who is Donald Trump’s former personal attorney — who was jailed for lying to Congress about Trump Tower in Moscow and for financial crimes related to hush-money payments to women who said they had affairs with Trump before the election — was released from prison and will serve out the rest of his term at his home in Manhattan. He was released early due to concerns with coronavirus. Cohen tweeted today that he was so glad to be home and back with his family and that there is so much he wants to say but that now is not the right time. Two other individuals that are connected with Donald Trump who were jailed, Paul Manafort and Michael Avenatti, were also released early to home confinement because of concerns with coronavirus. CBS News reported that more than 2,900 inmates from the federal prison system have been released due to concerns with coronavirus.
Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli will plead guilty in the college admissions scandal. They will be charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud for paying $500,000 in bribes to a middleman who helped their two daughters get into the University of Southern California as fake crew recruits. Loughlin will serve two months in prison and pay a $150,000 fine. Giannulli will serve five months in prison and pay a $250,000 fine.
That is all the news for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-updates-pandemic-hits-grim-milestone-global-cases/story?id=70804204&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_twopack_hed
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/21/politics/wilson-roosevelt-jerman-trnd/index.html
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/21/senate-confirms-ratcliffe-intelligence-director-273348
https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/busy-atlantic-hurricane-season-predicted-for-2020
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-cohen-released-prison-home-confinement/
https://www.axios.com/cyclone-amphan-india-bangladesh-millions-shelter-aeebce86-8246-47e3-9d2e-c5e224d8704e.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/php/CDC-Activities-Initiatives-for-COVID-19-Response.pdf
https://www.axios.com/corona-jahana-hayes-cdcs-guidance-reopening-schools-unrealistic-99d7ddae-66a2-4682-a625-ceec13244b8b.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/05/21/lori-loughlin-pleads-guilty-charges-college-admissions-scandal/5235033002/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lori-loughlin-mossimo-giannulli-plead-guilty-college-admissions-scam-prison/