News Burst 27 April 2020 – Live Feed

News Burst 27 April 2020

• An archived episode of CNN’s “Larry King Live” featuring a call from an anonymous caller later identified as the mother of Biden accuser Tara Reid appears to have been scrubbed from the Google Play catalog.

• The “potentially hazardous” Apollo category space rocks, dubbed 2009 XO or 438908, are believed to be the most dangerous intruders as they intersect our planet’s orbit with theirs, prompting NASA’s tracking system to closely monitor their movements. An almost 500-metre asteroid is currently hurling towards our planet, and will come particularly close on 7 May. [2016 HP6 2020-May-07 Passage at 4.3 Lunar Distance (1 LD = 384,401 km) Velocity 5.7 km/s Diameter 31 m. — 388945 2020-May-10 7.3 LD 8.8 km/s Diameter 295 m. — 438908 (2009 XO) 2020-May-07 8.8 LD 13 km/s Diameter 350 m.]

• US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need to reform the World Health Organization, White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said after the phone call of the presidents. The two leaders expressed hopes to convene the five permanent members of the UN Security Council soon to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Besides, Trump and Macron talked about “critical regional and bilateral issues”, Deer noted. The sides also discussed “positive developments in combating the coronavirus pandemic and progress toward reopening world economies”.

• A medical team sent from a prestigious hospital in China to North Korea has raised questions over the reason for the visit, as speculation simmers over the health of leader Kim Jong Un. The Chinese Communist Party dispatched the team of about 50 experts on or before April 23, but it is unclear if it is related to Kim’s health, sources in the party said on April 25.

• Hong Kong riot police armed with shields dispersed a crowd of 300 pro-democracy activists holding a singing protest in an upmarket shopping mall on Sunday, despite a ban on public gatherings of more than four people. Chanting popular protest slogans, mostly young activists clad in black swarmed the Cityplaza mall shouting “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times!” while others called for the release of pro-democracy activists. The protest was the first sizable gathering since the government imposed the ban on public meetings at the end of March to curb a spike in coronavirus infections.

• Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump have released a rare joint statement, marking the 75th anniversary of the historic meeting between Soviet and American troops on the Elbe River. The meeting that occurred on April 25, 1945 “heralded the decisive defeat of the Nazi regime,” which was ultimately destroyed a couple weeks after. But most importantly, it clearly showed how the two nations can cooperate, the statement reads. “The ‘Spirit of the Elbe’ is an example of how our countries can put aside differences, build trust, and cooperate in pursuit of a greater cause.”

• Anime News! Gundam fans brace for impact. Japan’s very first official cafe devoted to the anime is about to get a whole lot bigger. Ten years after it debuted in the capital’s sanctuary for anime fans, Gundam Cafe Akihabara is undergoing a major facelift that will leave it four times larger when it reopens in July.

• All the latest talk is centered on testing. Besides this being another obstacle to getting the country open, what testing are these pundits talking about? Are we testing people who we believe currently have the virus or administering the antibody test to find out who has had the virus? The more antibody tests we do, the lower the mortality rate will decline towards levels usually seen during a severe flu season. Dr. Anthony Fauci was publishing a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine dated Mar. 26, 2020 that suggested this would be the case. However at the same time he was telling Trump to shut down the US economy. For instance, in New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that a 3,000 person study showed 14% had tested positive for antibodies with higher levels in New York City. This study translates to a mortality rate of 0.5%, which is much lower than previously believed. Another important point on the antibody test results. Who is receiving these results? Are the test results anonymous or are they tied to you personally? What will happen a year from now when insurance companies use this antibody test data to say you are uninsurable because its discovered that a certain percentage of the infected have long-term organ damage? I would like to hear that the social tracing programs will comply with Hipaa laws. However by using social tracing tools like your smartphone, it appears many agencies will need your identity to track the spread of the Covid-19 virus. This is uncharted territory and safeguards should be put in to protect people against future harm.

• Ukrainian police have raided a private reproductive clinic that has been allegedly “selling babies” to China. While the suspects are accused of “human trafficking,” surrogate motherhood is a legal gray area in Ukraine. The scandalous case was brought to light by the country’s interior ministry late on Saturday. The police broke up a “human-trafficking” ring that was centered at a private reproductive clinic in Kiev. Further details on the case were shared by the Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashenko on his Facebook page. The ring involved the head of the clinic, her son, as well as two other Ukrainian and three Chinese nationals. They were charged with human trafficking that may lead to 12 years in prison with property confiscation.

• Airlines are turning to governments for rescue money – but bailing out the massive capitalist ventures makes about as much sense as leaving the middle row empty to avoid the virus. With the world in a tailspin from the China Virus, airlines are in for a bumpy ride – and some of them are inevitably going to crash and burn. Everything may be up in the air but one thing is for certain: flying will never be the same again. Air travel will be a much different beast when this lockdown nightmare is over. Some airlines and EU states now want to introduce in-flight social distancing with the middle seats left vacant, as part of a set of new rules to be announced next month. There’s also talk about airlines cancelling or reducing their in-flight food and beverages service to reduce interaction.

Sun Activity

Just south of the sun’s equator, a sunspot is growing: AR2760. Its magnetic polarity identifies it as a member of old Solar Cycle 24. This is probably one of the last old-cycle sunspots we will see as the sun continues tipping toward Solar Cycle 25.

Active Weather

• The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical
  Depression One-E, located over the central portion of the eastern North Pacific basin. Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.

Strongest EQ in Europe M4.3 Crete, Greece
Strongest EQ in North America M3.2 Oklahoma
Strongest EQ on the Planet 5.2 Papua New Guinea
Deepest EQ M4.6 616 km Ndoi Island, Fiji