Weekly Update: 3/23/20
Coronavirus
California:
President Donald Trump agreed last night, 3/22, to unlock more federal funding for food stamps, mental health care and unemployment insurance by declaring a major disaster for California at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom...
Gov. Newsom confirmed on Saturday, 3/21, that he'd enlisted some captains of tech to provide masks and manufacture ventilators, part of what Newsom called an outpouring of offers to help — from the private sector to colleges offering space (Politico).
Local governments were nervously eyeing a weekend influx of confined Californians escaping to beaches and parks...
Newsom's office released some guidance about how to comply with the new orders, including more info about what businesses count as essential and an explanation that the statewide order does not override stricter local rules….
Newsom said Saturday, 3/21: “If you need to go outside to get some exercise, do that, but don’t do that in a group setting. If you see a busy street, don’t run down that street. Again, use common sense. You want to take a walk with your dog, take a walk with your dog — just don’t do it with five or six neighbors.” (LA Times)
Newsom wrote in a letter to the state Senate and Assembly budget committee chairs that $30 million is being spent to secure Seton Medical Center in the San Francisco area and St. Vincent Medical Center in the Los Angeles area for three months…
Officials confirmed the first coronavirus case in California’s prison system last night, involving an inmate and said at least five employees have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19….
“President Trump suggested that he might lift restrictions intended to prevent the spread of coronavirus if the economic pain from the measures becomes too great, tweeting at midnight that ‘we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself’…
President Trump announced Friday, 3/21, that the U.S. and Mexico have agreed to temporarily close the border to nonessential travel to curb the spread of the coronavirus...
Senator Schumer (D-NY) said today, 3/23, that congressional leaders and Secretary Mnuchin would reach a deal on a massive coronavirus stimulus package sometime today, after Democrats late last night and again around noon today blocked the stimulus package from moving forward in the Senate….
Speaker Pelosi said that House Democrats would forge ahead with previous plans to introduce their own stimulus legislation, although the next COVID-19 package is most likely to come from the Senate since they are in DC….
Sen. Rand Paul is under quarantine and will miss votes after testing positive for the new coronavirus but is “feeling fine,” the Kentucky Republican’s office announced yesterday, 3/22, on Twitter….
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced today, 3/23, that her husband has tested positive for coronavirus and is being treated at the hospital….
A growing number of lawmakers are pleading for Congress to start working — and voting — from home as millions of Americans are ordered to shelter in place to halt the spread of the coronavirus...
The U.S. Census Bureau is delaying the deadline for counting everyone in the U.S. by two weeks because of the spreading novel coronavirus, officials said Friday, 3/20….
House Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) are pushing congressional negotiators to cancel student debt to help borrowers adversely affected by the coronavirus, or COVID-19….
The Federal Reserve today, 3/23, announced new emergency measures to support the economy and ensure that credit flows to households and businesses as the country faces the prospect of a deep downturn from the coronavirus pandemic….
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy Devos announced the Department has released new information clarifying that federal law should not be used to prevent schools from offering distance learning opportunities to all students, including students with disabilities….
The Education Testing Service unveiled today a GRE and a TOEFEL that can be taken at home. These at-home solutions are identical in content, format, on-screen experience, scoring and pricing(Inside Higher Ed).
Colleges and universities have their hands full dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, as they transition to online classes, close campuses and worrying about the health and housing of their students. But many are worried they may soon have to implement a controversial rule by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos that will change how institutions handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment, including a requirement the accused be able to cross-examine their accusers in a live hearing….
The child care industry called on Congress to include $50 billion in relief in its stimulus package to keep the sector afloat after the coronavirus pandemic has impacted daily attendance at facilities...
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo this summer were thrown into further question on Sunday as Canada and Australia announced that it would not send its athletes to the games if they are not postponed for a full year….
Anheuser-Busch, which has been making beer for 165 years, is now going to produce bottles of hand sanitizer at its Van Nuys and Baldwinsville, N.Y. facilities in addition to suds, in response to shortages spurred by the novel coronavirus pandemic….
Congress
California Democratic Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) is in critical condition after being hospitalized for pneumonia, his office announced Saturday, 3/21….
2020 Elections
Bernie Sanders has won the Democrats Abroad Primary, netting a handful of delegates. Sanders won 58 percent of the vote, which included 40,000 Americans living abroad, which will also award Sanders nine delegates to the national convention over the summer (Politico).
North Carolina election officials are postponing the May 12 Republican primary runoff in retiring GOP Rep. Mark Meadows’ district until June 23, citing concerns about the new coronavirus….