2020-04-01: News Headlines

RT (2020-04-01). 'Ask the government': Former Celtics star claims NBA season could resume at classified US Air Force site Area 51. rt.com Having held the 2019 Summer League at the University of Nevada, NBA chiefs could find a novel solution to ending the season at a less conventional base in the state — with Area 51 suggested by former champion Paul Pierce. | Area 51, the US Air Force base which is notorious among conspiracy theorists and UFO enthusiasts, could become the home of the NBA as a makeshift setting for the conclusion of the season, former All-Star Paul Pierce has suggested. | Responding to a proposal by former rival Jay Williams that the remainder of the campaign could be played on cruise ships, Boston Celtics icon Pierce named…

WSWS (2020-04-01). COVID-19 pandemic leads to mass sackings in Australia. wsws.org Unemployment is likely to rise above 15 percent as hundreds of thousands of workers lose their jobs.

WSWS (2020-04-01). Hundreds wait in mile-long line at Pittsburgh area food bank. wsws.org The situation in Pittsburgh is being repeated throughout the US as more than 3.5 million workers filed for unemployment last week and millions more are expected to do so this week.

Shuja Haider (2020-04-01). Covid-19 Shows America's Class Divide Is Untenable. thenation.com Covid-19 Shows America's Class Divide Is Untenable…

The Commonwealth Club (2020-04-01). Livestream: COVID-19 and Climate Implications for Public Health. indybay.org Onlin via livestream…

Staff (2020-03-31). Dr. Abdul El-Sayed: Communities Enduring Racism & Poverty Will Suffer Most Due to COVID-19. democracynow.org As the number of coronavirus deaths in the United States tops 3,100, states are demanding ventilators and medical supplies. Michigan is a growing hot spot and struggling to prepare for a surge in cases, but President Trump has repeatedly attacked Michigan's governor, calling her "that woman." We speak with the former director of the Detroit Health Department, Abdul El-Sayed. He's a physician and epidemiologist, and his new book is just out today, "Healing Politics: A Doctor's Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic." His recent piece for The Guardian is headlined "Coronavirus is exploiting an underlying…

teleSUR (2020-03-31). US Unemployment Rate Could Soon Reach 32%: Fed Economists Warn. telesurenglish.net United States economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis RELATED: | The projections are even worse than St. Louis Fed Pres…

news.un (2020-03-31). First Person: Humankind's 'modern mentality to tame' the environment: A volcanologist's view. news.un.org The 17 goals agreed by the global community to reduce poverty and create a sustainable planet are the responsibility of all people, wherever they are in the world, according to the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs represent a boundary-pushing blueprint for the future of the Earth and it's anticipated they will be realized by 2030. UN News joined the International Labour Organization on a visit to Hawaii where many people are already living or studying aspects of the goals in their everyday work.

Matt Gardner (2020-03-31). Congress "CARES" for Wealthy With COVID-19 Tax Giveaways. commondreams.org Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attend a meeting in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 20, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/mcconnell_mnuchin_coronavirus.jpg

John Nichols (2020-03-31). On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times. thenation.com On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times…

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-03-31). "Pelosi's Terrible Idea": Critics Denounce Proposal to Give Wealthy a Tax Cut in Next Stimulus Package. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/pelosi_progressives_1_1_0.jpg

Staff (2020-03-30). We Need a Public Health New Deal: Neoliberal Austerity & Private Healthcare Worsened U.S. Pandemic. democracynow.org It's been described as the public health failure of the century. As the United States leads the world in coronavirus infections, a record number of Americans file for unemployment. Gasping for air, gasping for care; what does global health justice look like? We speak with two Yale professors who say decades of neoliberal austerity make it harder to fight the pandemic. They propose a New Deal for public health. Gregg Gonsalves is assistant professor in epidemiology of microbial diseases at Yale School of Public Health; Amy Kapczynski is professor of law at Yale Law School and co-founder of the Law and Political Ec…

Staff (2020-03-30). Neoliberal Austerity and Private Health Care Has Worsened US Pandemic. truthout.org It's been described as the public health failure of the century. As the United States leads the world in coronavirus infections, a record number of Americans file for unemployment. Gasping for air, gasping for care; what does global health justice look like? We speak with two Yale professors who say decades of neoliberal austerity make it harder to fight the pandemic. They propose a New Deal for public health. Gregg Gonsalves is assistant professor in epidemiology of microbial diseases at Yale Schoo…

splcenter (2020-03-30). The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery played key role in launching SPLC's legal battle against Ku Klux Klan. splcenter.org The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who died on Friday at 98 years old, was a longtime friend of the Southern Poverty Law Center and played a leading role in the SPLC's first lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan in 1980.

Fight Back (2020-03-29). U.S. Imperialism Pulls Desperate Move in Venezuela. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC). | For years, the criminal government of the United States has attempted to remove the democratically elected president of Venezuela and discredit the peoples' movement in that country that has been so successful in lifting millions of Venezuelans out of extreme poverty. Under the corrupt Trump administration alone, the United States has conducted multiple illegal attacks against President Nicolas Maduro and the people of Venezuela, including: failed assassination attempts by drone, poorly orchestrated mi…

news.un (2020-03-29). First Person: Hawaii's 'silver tsunami': the challenge of caring for kupuna elders. news.un.org The 17 goals agreed by the global community to reduce poverty and create a sustainable planet are the responsibility of all people, wherever they are in the world, according to the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs represent a boundary-pushing blueprint for the future of the Earth and it's anticipated they will be realized by 2030. UN News joined the International Labour Organization on a visit to Hawaii where many people are already living aspects of the goals in their everyday work.

Andrew Green (2020-03-28). [Obituary] Aron Goldhirsch. thelancet.com Medical oncologist specialising in breast cancer. Born on April 25, 1946, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany, he died on Feb 26, 2020, in Lugano, Switzerland, aged 73 years.

Shawgi Tell (2020-03-28). Education Cannot Solve Poverty and Inequality. dissidentvoice.org One of the long-standing stubborn myths about education in American culture is that education is "the great equalizer" and that education is the way to overcome poverty and inequality at the individual and societal levels. The facts show, however, that poverty and inequality are generally increasing every year despite the fact that there are more …

Staff (2020-03-27). U.S. Is #1 in Pandemic: Rep. Omar Blasts Trump for "Wrong Kind of American Exceptionalism" democracynow.org As much of the United States is under lockdown, the House votes today on a $2 trillion emergency relief package to address the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. It will generate payments to most Americans and includes protections for workers, but it is also a massive bailout for a number of industries and corporations, and the vote comes as a record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. We speak with Congressmember Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the first Somali American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and one of the first Muslim women in Congress, about the bill, Trump's response t…

Fight Back (2020-03-27). New Yorkers demand rent suspension. fightbacknews.org New York, NY – Due to the rising unemployment rate, New Yorkers are struggling financially. Some measures have been taken to help homeowners, as well as those going through eviction proceedings. An indefinite moratorium has been placed on evictions, and Governor Andrew Cuomo enacted a 90-day suspension on mortgages. The governor has even gone on to say that through these actions, he has "taken care of the rent issue." | However, this does not go far enough in helping the working class and poor hit hardest by the crisis. A recent survey by Property Nest found that 39% of New Yorkers won't be able to pay rent if pu…

Staff (2020-03-26). Bernie Sanders Fights for Laid-off Worker Protections in $2 Trillion Stimulus with Corporate Bailout. democracynow.org The Senate unanimously approved a historic $2.2 trillion emergency relief package late Wednesday night to battle the unprecedented economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic. ‚Ä®‚Ä®The House will consider the bill Friday before it goes to President Trump's desk to be signed into law. ‚Ä®‚Ä®The bill would massively expand unemployment benefits, providing laid-off workers up to 100% of their salary and health insurance benefits for four months. Vermont senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders successfully fought to strengthen the bill's assistance…