China's WHO Cartoons

Trump donates his 2019 fourth-quarter salary to help combat coronavirus Published Tue, Mar 3 2020

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump donated his fourth-quarter 2019 salary to the Department of Health and Human Services, where it will be used to “support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain, and combat Coronavirus,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said.
This is not the first time Trump has donated his salary to an agency facing an urgent problem. Since taking office, Trump has directed his $400,000 annual salary to a different agency each quarter.
Previous donations have gone to, among others, the Office of the Surgeon General to help combat the opioid epidemic, to the Department of Homeland Security to help build a wall on the southern border, and to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, to help combat alcoholism.
Alcoholism contributed to the death of Trump’s older brother, Fred Trump Jr.
Trump’s decision to donate his salary back to the government each quarter fulfills a campaign promise he made in 2016.

Watchdog: Treasury acted appropriately on Trump tax returns

 

President Donald Trump listens as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks during a conference call with banks on efforts to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, at the White House, Tuesday, April 7, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A watchdog has found that the Treasury Department appropriately handled Congress’ request for President Donald Trump’s tax returns, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has refused to provide.

But the acting inspector general for Treasury, Rich Delmar, also said he had no opinion on whether the advice Mnuchin followed — which came from Justice Department attorneys — was itself well-founded. In refusing to hand over the returns, Mnuchin decided he was legally bound to comply with that advice, Delmar noted in a letter Wednesday to senior House lawmakers.

The Justice Department legal opinion backed Mnuchin’s refusal, saying that Neal’s request lacked a legitimate legislative purpose and was an “unprecedented” use of congressional authority.

The argument is the same one Trump has used in refusing other demands from Democrats in Congress for financial records from banks and accountants that have had business with Trump and his family. Lawsuits over those records were filed in federal courts in Washington and New York.

Rep. Richard Neal, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, asked Delmar last fall to probe how Treasury received, assessed and responded to Neal’s earlier request for six years of Trump’s tax returns.

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Delmar found that Treasury processed the request properly, sought legal guidance from the Justice Department, determined that it was bound by that guidance and, based on that advice, decided not to provide the tax information.

Hie letter went to Neal and Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the senior Republican on the tax-writing Ways and Means panel.

In the long-running legal battle over Trump’s records, Neal cited a 1924 law that says the Treasury secretary “shall furnish” tax returns to any of the three congressional officers empowered to obtain them, one of whom is the Ways and Means Committee chairman.

Neal has said the records are needed because the committee is looking into the effectiveness of IRS mandatory audits of all sitting presidents.

The fight between Democrats and Trump dates back to the 2016 election campaign, when Trump claimed that he couldn’t release them because he was under IRS audit. The records hold the promise of information that Trump has carefully guarded from public view, including details of his business entanglements, relations with foreign creditors and governments, and the value of his assets.

White House points to hopeful signs as deaths keep rising

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the end of a week officials had warned would be this generation’s Pearl Harbor, White House officials pointed to hopeful signs that the spread of the coronavirus could be slowing, even as President Donald Trump insisted he would not move to reopen the country until it is safe.

At the same time, Trump said he would be announcing the launch of what he dubbed the “Opening our Country” task force, next Tuesday to work toward that goal.

“I want to get it open as soon as possible,” he said at a Good Friday briefing, while adding: “The facts are going to determine what I do.”

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With the economy reeling and job losses soaring, Trump has been itching to reopen the country, drawing alarm from health experts who warn that doing so too quickly could spark a deadly resurgence that could undermine current distancing efforts.

But Trump, who had once set Easter Sunday as the date he hoped people in certain parts of the country might begin to return to work and pack church pews, said he would continue to listen to health experts like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx as he considers what he described as the “biggest decision I’ve ever had to make.”

While “there are both sides to every argument,” he said, “we’re not doing anything until we know that this country is going be healthy. We don’t want to go back and start doing it over again.”

Trump’s comments came at the end of a week officials had warned would be a devastating one for the country. Hours earlier, Johns Hopkins University announced that the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus had hit a bleak milestone: 100,000 people. That includes about 18,000 in the U.S., where about half-million people have been confirmed infected.

More than 40% of the deaths in the U.S so far have happened in New York state, which reported 777 new deaths on Friday. But there were also signs of hope. State officials reported that the number of people in intensive care dropped for the first time there since mid-March. Hospitalizations are also slowing, with 290 new patients admitted in a single day versus daily increases of more than 1,000 last week.

While bemoaning the death numbers as “so horrible,” Trump said “tremendous progress” is being made.”

“In the midst of grief and pain, we’re seeing clear signs that our aggressive strategy is saving countless lives,” he said, pointing to models that are now forecasting far fewer U.S. deaths than had originally been predicted.

Health experts have warned, however, that if the country rolls back restrictions too quickly, case levels could once again begin to soar, especially without widespread testing to determine who might be a carrier of the virus. While the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. And research has shown that people can be highly infectious even if they are not displaying symptoms.

Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-diseases expert, told CNN that the timeline for reopening the country would be informed by a team that has been reviewing data day-by-day and presenting that information to the president.

“The virus kind of decides whether or not it’s appropriate to open it,” he said. “The one thing you don’t want to do is you don’t want to get out there prematurely and then wind up backtracking.”

Still, he cautioned that there will most certainly be cases when that day comes.

“When we decide, at a proper time, when we’re going to be relaxing some of the restrictions, there’s no doubt you’re going to see cases,” he said. “The question is how you respond to them.”

As a clearer picture of the virus begins to emerge, data has begun to show that it is having a particularly devastating impact on an already vulnerable population — black Americans.

Of the victims whose demographic data was publicly shared by officials — nearly 3,300 of the nation’s 13,000 deaths thus far — about 42% were black, according to an Associated Press analysis. African Americans account for roughly 21% of the total population in those places. Black adults suffer from higher rates of underlying health conditions like obesity, diabetes and asthma, which put them at higher risk for severe complications.

To that end, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Friday made a plea to minority communities to follow social distancing guidelines — if not for themselves, then for their family members.

“Do it for your abuela. Do it for your granddaddy. Do it for your Big Mama. Do it for your Pop Pop,” he said, adding that they should also avoid alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

“We need you to understand, especially in communities of color, we need you to step up and help stop the spread so that we can protect those who are most vulnerable,” he said.

Asked whether his comments could be deemed offensive for viewers, Adams, who is black, said that was not his intention.

“That’s the language that we use and that I use,” he said.

___

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.

Calling Trump: When connections help steer virus supplies

 

FILE - In this March 19, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump attends a teleconference with governors at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Washington. From left, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx and Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health. There’s the standard process for getting urgently needed coronavirus equipment: send a request to FEMA. Then there’s the other way: have a buddy who can pick up the phone and call the Trump White House. Trump’s team has proudly recounted instances where a call to the White House has produced fast results for those who have an in with the president. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Poolm, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was early on a Friday when Jared Kushner said he received a call from his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. Trump was hearing from friends in New York that the city’s public hospital system was running low on critical supplies to fight the new coronavirus — something city officials, nurses and doctors had been saying for weeks.

Kushner, who has taken a lead role in the federal government’s response, called Dr. Mitchell Katz, who runs the city’s hospital system, to ask what was most needed.

And not long after, Trump was on the phone with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be sending a month’s worth of N-95 masks to the city’s front-line workers.

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“The president’s been very, very hands-on in this,” Kushner told reporters. “He’s really instructed us to leave no stone unturned.”

It was a happy ending to one chapter of a dreadful story: Critical supplies went to a place with critical needs.

But the president’s intervention underscored what watchdogs say is a troubling pattern when it comes to how the Trump administration is doling out lifesaving resources. Despite building a data-driven triage system in which FEMA allots supplies based on local needs, those who are politically connected and have the president’s ear have, at times, been able to bypass that process and move to the front of the line.

White House officials reject the notion that the process is being circumvented, stressing that everyone has been working to quickly get supplies to the places that need them most. That includes navigating complicated global supply chain issues and coordinating complementary efforts by private companies like Apple and billionaires including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and Chinese business giant Jack Ma. If state and local leaders need assistance, they said, all they need to do is call.

“It’s outrageous that some would even speculate that the resources being delivered by the federal government to the states is somehow based on politics,” said White House spokesman Judd Deere. “This is about saving lives.”

But sometimes it helps to know those in charge.

It was just after 8 p.m. last Saturday when Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York took to Twitter to sound the alarm about critical needs on Long Island, a coronavirus hotspot with about 25,000 people infected. Suffolk Count’s stockpile had run out of personal protective equipment — PPE — needed by local hospitals, nursing homes and first responders, including masks and gowns.

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“We need fellow Americans who can help to PLEASE send us PPE ASAP!” Zeldin wrote.

Minutes later, his call was answered.

“I posted a tweet and I received a call within minutes — literally within minutes — from Jared Kushner wanting to help,” said Zeldin. A day later, the congressman said, 150,000 surgical masks were delivered by a company he’d been connected with by someone close to the White House who had also seen his message. And 250,000 N-95 masks were delivered by the federal government days later.

“Honestly I couldn’t be happier with how quick the turnaround has been,” Zeldin said earlier this week.

While Zeldin isn’t considered a top Democratic target, Trump has also helped vulnerable Republicans secure supplies, raising concerns from critics that he may be using the shipments to bolster political allies.

The president tweeted Wednesday that he would be “immediately sending 100 Ventilators to Colorado” at the request of Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican who is considered among the party’s most vulnerable senators. To Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat, that looked like “playing politics w/ public health.”

On Friday, another vulnerable GOP senator, Martha McSally, took to Twitter to relay the “huge news” that Arizona would be getting 100 ventilators and to thank “President Trump and @VP for hearing our call.”

Allies of the president have intervened in other ways. Republican fundraiser Ray Washburne helped arrange a call between Trump and high-end restaurateurs including Wolfgang Puck and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, a tenant of Trump International in New York. Trump quickly embraced a proposal to restore the tax break allowing corporations to fully deduct the costs of restaurant meals and entertainment.

“I’ll just get the president on the phone,” Washburne recalls telling the group. “He was fantastic.”

Members of Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club also have contacted the White House, asking for advice about where to send supplies they had privately procured.

Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group, said it’s always problematic when presidents make decisions based on what they’re hearing from friends, business associates and customers.

“But when we’re talking about life and death decisions that will affect the future of not just individuals but whole communities, it’s particularly appalling that these decisions are made based on the whim of the president and the input of the people who happen to have his phone number,” Bookbinder said.

Billionaire philanthropist Ken Langone, namesake of New York’s NYU Langone Medical Center, panned the idea that anyone was receiving special treatment and applauded the administration’s efforts to make sure everyone gets what they need.

“I’m very impressed with the team effort that’s going on,” he said, adding, “I wish my having known Trump had got me special treatment.”

“There is none of that ... otherwise we wouldn’t have shortages.”

As for Zeldin, the congressman said he had been relying on the process set up by the White House, in which states go through FEMA to get supplies. But “when the stockpile gets down to zero,” he said, “then you have to find another way.”

In any case, he said, now isn’t the time to point fingers.

“There will be an after-action report that is done here and part of what will be done here is analyzing the process of how the federal government communicates and works with the states and how the states communicate and work with the counties,” he said. But for now, “Everyone’s in the same foxhole with their rifles pointed in the same direction and that’s the only way to get through this.”

Bill Maher blasts 'PC' uproar over 'Chinese virus' label: 'We SHOULD blame China'

"Real Time" host Bill Maher slammed the "PC police" Friday night for overreacting to the "Chinese virus" labeling controversy.
As the coronavirus outbreak continued spreading across the U.S., President Trump and others sparked a national debate by referring to the disease as the "Chinese coronavirus" or the "Wuhan virus" because it began infecting people in Wuhan, China.
But critics of the labels called them "racist" and "xenophobic," insisting such terms would incite hate crimes against Asian-Amercans.
Maher mocked the complainers, listing several other illnesses that are named after their locations of origin -- such as the West Nile virus, Spanish flu and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).
"You can't yell at someone for breaking a rule you just made up," he said, adding, "So why should China get a pass?"
The HBO star singled out Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., for condemning the term "Wuhan Virus" when he tweeted that the virus "is not constrained by country or race. Be just as stupid to call it the Milan Virus."
"No, that would be way stupider because it didn't come from Milan. And if it did, I guarantee we'd be calling it the Milan Virus," Maher reacted. "Jesus F---ing Christ, can't we even have a pandemic without getting offended?"
"Seriously, it scares me that there are people out there who would rather die from the virus than call it by the wrong name. This isn't about vilifying a culture, this is about facts. This is about life and death."

"There are people out there who would rather die from the virus than call it by the wrong name."
— Bill Maher

The "Real Time" host then blasted the "PC police" for saying it's "racist" to attack another nation's cultural practice, pointing to the wet markets that remain open in China.
"It's not racist to point out that eating bats is bats--- crazy," Maher exclaimed before citing experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci who have sounded the alarm on wet markets and the consumption of exotic animals.
"So when someone says, 'What if people hear Chinese Virus and blame China?' the answer is, 'We should blame China.' Not Chinese-Americans, but we can't stop telling the truth because racists get the wrong idea. There's always going to be idiots out there who want to indulge their prejudices, but this is an emergency! Don't we have bigger tainted fish to fry?"
He continued, "Sorry Americans, we're going to have to ask you to keep two ideas in your head at the same time: This has nothing to do with Asian-Americans and it has everything to do with China. We can't afford the luxury anymore of non-judginess towards a country with habits that kill millions of people everywhere. Because this isn't the first time. SARS came from China. And the bird flu. And the Hong Kong flu. The Asian flu. Viruses come from China just like shortstops come from the Dominican Republic. If they were selling nuclear suitcases at these wet markets, would we be so non-judgmental?"
Maher observed that if the Chinese military had deliberately used the virus as a bioweapon against the U.S., "we'd be at war" and that the virus has had a bigger impact on the U.S. economy than China's alleged "currency manipulation" that politicians have complained about.
"This is a dictatorship that for decades enforced a one-child-per-family policy under penalty of forced sterilization, but you can't close down the Farmer's Market from Hell?" the "Real Time" host told viewers. "Maybe to use that iron fist and pound it down like the whole world depends on it because it kind of does. And I hope that if someone told Americans that eating Hot Pockets could cause a worldwide pandemic that we would have the good sense of stop doing it. Although I wouldn't bet on it."

No Surprise Hospital Bill Cartoons

White House says no ‘surprise’ bills for COVID-19 patients

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hospitals taking money from the $2 trillion stimulus bill will have to agree not to send “surprise” medical bills to patients treated for COVID-19, the White House said Thursday.

Surprise bills typically happen when a patient with health insurance gets treated at an out-of-network emergency room, or when an out-of-network doctor assists with a hospital procedure. They can run from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands. Before the coronavirus outbreak, lawmakers in Congress had pledged to curtail the practice, but prospects for such legislation now seem highly uncertain.

“The Trump administration is committed to ensuring all Americans are not surprised by the cost related to testing and treatment they need for COVID-19,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.

The stimulus bill includes $100 billion for the health care system, to ease the cash crunch created by the mass cancellation of elective procedures in preparation to receive coronavirus patients. Release of the first $30 billion, aimed at hospitals, is expected soon.

The prohibition on surprise billing will protect patients covered by government programs, employer plans or self-purchased insurance.

Hospitals that accept the grants will have to certify that they won’t try to collect more money than the patient would have otherwise owed if the medical attention had been provided in network.

A group that represents large employer plans applauded the White House action.

“In a time when nothing is certain, patients can take solace in knowing that they will not receive outrageous, unavoidable bills weeks and months after they have survived the virus,” Annette Guarisco Fildes, head of the ERISA Industry Committee, said in a statement. ERISA is the name for a federal law that sets terms and conditions for multistate employer plans.

A spokeswoman for the organization said it’s their understanding that the ban on surprise billing will apply to doctors as well as hospitals.

Medical costs for COVID-19 patients could turn into a political issue in the presidential election, particularly since the battle against the disease could take months and years.

So far, the White House has secured a commitment from the health insurance industry that patients won’t face any copays or deductibles for virus testing. Several major insurers have also announced they’re waiving copays for coronavirus treatment provided within their networks.

But it’s still unclear how cost of care will be covered for uninsured people as well as those who lose coverage because of the economic shutdown to contain the virus.

The ban on surprise billing for COVID-19 care was first reported by Politico.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

There are over 460,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S., along with more than 16,000 deaths.