WHAT'S BREWING
ANIMAL HOSPITALS, VETS, DONATE VENTILATORS Veterinary hospitals and colleges and even zoos around the country are offering critically needed ventilators to hospitals struggling to treat coronavirus patients. Hospitals in areas hard-hit by the outbreak face dire shortages as the number of cases of COVID-19 quickly climb. As resources are stretched thin, loans of the breathing machines could save hundreds of lives. [HuffPost]
DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS NEED MORE HELP As millions of Americans are forced to shelter in place amid the coronavirus crisis, some of the most vulnerable are those confined to isolation with their abusers. Two dozen senators urged the Department of Health and Human Services asking it to ensure anti-domestic violence and anti-sexual violence organizations have the “flexiblity, resources and information needed to continue to provide these critical services during the pandemic.” [HuffPost]
GOP SENATORS: CASH WILL MAKE AMERICANS LAZY Some Republican lawmakers have a big problem with the Senate’s emergency coronavirus legislation, which improves unemployment benefits for millions of people being laid off during the pandemic. “Unless this bill is fixed, there is a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work,” four GOP senators complained in a statament. [HuffPost]
EX-FBI AGENT DIED IN IRANIAN CUSTODY The U.S. government has concluded that retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished more than a decade ago, died while in the custody of Iran, his family and administration officials said. The circumstances and timing of Levinson’s death was unclear, but White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said he U.S. believes Levinson “may have passed away some time ago.” [AP]
BILLIONAIRES WANT PEOPLE AT WORK, EVEN IF IT KILLS THEM As President Donald Trump pushes for an end to the nationwide social distancing practices that health professionals say are essential to saving lives, incredibly wealthy Americans are eager to get employees back to work ― and some say they’re OK with people dying. A number of the country’s richest businesspeople spoke frankly about the matter for a Bloomberg story published Wednesday. [HuffPost]
JUDGE ORDERS REVIEW OF DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE A federal judge ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a full environmental review of the Dakota Access pipeline, nearly three years after it began carrying oil despite protests by people who gathered in North Dakota for more than a year. Standing Rock Chairman Mike Faith called it a “significant legal win” and said it’s humbling that the protests continue to “inspire national conversations” about the environment. [AP] |