Amazon reportedly wants to take over JCPenney and Sears stores to turn malls into giant fulfillment centers

AKA A WAREHOUSE BY ANY OTHER NAME....

Aaron Holmes

JCPenney has filed for bankruptcy and closed dozens of stores. Robert Barnes/Getty Images

Amazon is in talks with the biggest mall owner in the US to turn retail space into Amazon fulfillment centers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The deal could involve Amazon taking over spaces formerly occupied by Sears and JCPenney, both of which have filed for bankruptcy and closed dozens of stores.

Amazon would benefit by gaining well-located warehouse space in cities and could decrease delivery time on orders. But fulfillment centers wouldn't attract much clientele to ailing malls.

Department stores in malls across the US — struggling to stay in business as shoppers increasingly turn to e-commerce — could soon be transformed into Amazon fulfillment centers.

Amazon is in talks with Simon Property Group, America's biggest mall owner, to turn empty retail space into Amazon warehouses that process and ship online orders, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

As part of the deal, Amazon could take over anchor department-store spaces previously occupied by Sears and JCPenney, both of which have filed for bankruptcy and closed dozens of stores in recent months. Simon is pursuing an acquisition of JCPenney, which would grant it more control over how those store spaces are used, The Journal reported.

The deal could benefit Amazon by providing well-located warehouse space in cities across the US and by allowing the online retailer to decrease its delivery times on shipments. Some of Amazon's fulfillment centers already occupy spaces in old strip malls that have gone out of business.

An Amazon representative, Rachael Lighty, told Business Insider that the company would not comment on "rumors or speculation."

Mall landlords typically prioritize finding tenants that will bring in new customers, like stores and gyms. Amazon fulfillment centers wouldn't draw people other than its own employees. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional retail stores have seen wavering revenue while Amazon's sales have surged.

The White House reportedly quashed part of an intelligence report that said Russia is helping the Trump campaign

Aaron Holmes

Aug 9, 2020,

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting with President Donald Trump. Reuters

The Trump administration last year pressured the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to delete part of a report concluding that Russia was aiming to help Donald Trump win reelection in 2020, an investigation by The New York Times Magazine found.

When Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, refused to delete that conclusion from the report, Trump forced him to retire early, the Times report said.
Previous reports from the FBI, the CIA, and the National Security Agency concluded that Russia attempted to help Trump win in 2016 — and President Vladimir Putin said publicly that he wanted Trump to win — but Trump has denied those reports' accuracy.

Last year, President Donald Trump's administration tried to pressure intelligence agencies to delete part of a classified report that found that Russia was trying to help him win the 2020 election, an investigation by The New York Times Magazine found.

The report, known as a National Intelligence Estimate, was compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in July 2019 and made several "key judgments" about matters of national security. "Key Judgement 2" concluded that Russia aimed to interfere in the 2020 election to help Trump, unnamed national security sources told the Times reporter Robert Draper.

Trump was reportedly unhappy with that finding. He has repeatedly denied the assertion that Russia tried to help his campaign in 2016, despite reports from the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Justice Department, and the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee that supported that conclusion. Russian President Vladimir Putin has similarly denied that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, though he has also said he wanted Trump to win.

When the ODNI was finalizing last year's report, Trump administration staffers requested that it remove language in "Key Judgement 2" that detailed Russia's attempts to help Trump in 2020, Dan Coats, the former director of national intelligence, told The Times.

"I can affirm that one of my staffers who was aware of the controversy requested that I modify that assessment," Coats said. "But I said, 'No, we need to stick to what the analysts have said.'"

Shortly after that exchange, Coats learned through a tweet that Trump was forcing him into early retirement. Trump tweeted on July 28, 2019, that Coats' last day would be August 15 — months before Coats planned to retire.

—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2019

After Coats' departure, the National Intelligence Estimate was published with softer language describing Russia's potential motivation for interfering in the 2020 election. Instead of directly concluding that Russia wanted Trump to win in 2020, the report said that "Russian leaders probably assess that chances to improve relations with the US will diminish under a different US president."

An email reviewed by The Times suggested that the edits were made by Beth Sanner, an ODNI official who presents Trump's daily national intelligence briefings.

The episode is part of a broader conflict between Trump and US intelligence agencies, Draper reported. After a years-long FBI investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, Trump's Republican allies in Congress are pushing an investigation into whether the FBI overstepped its authority.

A Florida teacher wrote her own obituary, calling herself a 'human shield' as schools prepare to reopen

Gabby Landsverk
Aug 9, 2020,

Florida teachers, whose unions are against their members returning to school, hold a car parade protest in front of the Pasco County School district office in Land O' Lakes, Florida, U.S. July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Octavio Jones

A teacher in Jacksonville, Florida wrote her own obituary to protest schools reopening August 20.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has incited controversy by pushing for schools to reopen in August, drawing a comparison to retail businesses like Wal-mart and Home Depot. 

Teachers nationwide have protested the risks of reopening too soon, and schools that already resumed classes have begun to report coronavirus cases among staff and students.

As the debate about how to safely reopen schools continues, a 33-year-old teacher in Florida has spread awareness about her coronavirus concerns by writing her own obituary.

Whitney Reddick, who teaches special education at Duval County Public Schools, told Newsweek it was difficult to write about her own imagined passing in the third person, but that she did it to raise awareness and protest potentially unsafe conditions as schools reopen on August 20.

"Whitney never took the easy path, she was assertive, strong-willed, and bossy, she loved that word because, to her, it meant female leadership," the obituary reads. "She fought with vigor for things she believed in. She stood up to injustice, embraced those who differed from her, and truly listened when spoken to."

Reddick posted the premature obituary in a Facebook group of people advocating for coronavirus safety measures at Duval County Public Schools prior to a school board meeting on August 4.

The post describes Reddick as taking on the role of not just an educator, but "COVID-security guard, human shield, firefighter, social worker, nurse, and caregiver" as well.

"Even though she shouted from the rooftops, attempted to be unemotional, and educated herself in facts and science, she succumbed to the ignorance of those in power," it reads.
Educators nationwide have voiced concerns about returning to classrooms

Reddick isn't the first educator to prepare an obituary as a form of protest — teachers in Iowa also drafted their own obituaries to send to Gov. Kim Reynolds, NBC reported.

Teachers nationwide have protested the potential health risks of a return to in-person learning. Elsewhere in Florida, attorneys have offered free and discounted will services to educators.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has advocated for schools to reopen in August, but his comparison to retail business incited widespread backlash online, Business Insider previously reported.

"But I'm confident if you can do Home Depot, if you can do Walmart, if you can do these things, we absolutely can do the schools," he said.

Critics have pointed out that few people spend eight hours a day, five days a week in most retail businesses, and that crowded classrooms, hallways, and buses could present additional risks of infection.

Cases of COVID-19 among staff, teachers, and students have already been reported in states where schools reopened in early August, including Mississippi, Georgia, and Indiana.

The Georgia school that punished students for posting photos of a packed hallway says it will close for 2 days after multiple students and staff got COVID-19.

Palmerston, the British"FOREIGN OFFICE CAT" announced his retirement on Twitter Foreign Office's famous cat and "Chief Mouser

Haven Orecchio-Egresitz

Palmerston, the British Foreign Office cat, is retiring this month. Sir Simon McDonald wishes him well. Sir Simon McDonald Twitter

Palmerston, the cat assigned to the British Foreign Office, has retired from his post as "Chief Mouser." 

The cat was adopted four years ago and has helped mitigate a rodent problem and is also very cute.
Now he's headed to live in the countryside, the office announced last week.

Palmerston, the British Foreign Office's resident cat, is leaving his post for a life of leisure in the countryside.

The "Chief Mouser" announced his retirement by posting his resignation letter to Simon McDonald, the office's permanent under-secretary, on Twitter.

In it, he said that he enjoyed working from home so much he's decided to make the move to his country residence permanent at the end of August.

"I have found life away from the front line relaxed, quieter, and easier," the letter said.

It was signed with two paw prints.
—Palmerston (@DiploMog) August 7, 2020

Palmerston — named after longest-serving British Foreign Secretary — arrived at the office in 2016 as a rescue.

Palmerston was beloved among government officials, except for Larry, the cat-in-residence at nearby 10 Downing Street, who he would sometimes fight with in the street outside the British prime minister's home, according to The Associated Press.
—Sir Simon McDonald (@SMcDonaldFCO) August 7, 2020

In the resignation letter, Palmerston was a tad less than humble, touting his successes at work.


In addition to building a network of "diplocats and diplodogs," he noted his expertise at building relationships, catching mice, and essentially working as a spy.

"My signature move: pretending to be asleep while overhearing all the foreign dignitaries' conversations, will be a major loss for our intelligence gathering," Palmerston said. "But as I grow older, I must take a step back from diplomatic duties and enjoy some me-time."
—Foreign Office 🇬🇧 (@foreignoffice) August 7, 2020

The announcement prompted congratulatory notes from UK officials.

Jon Benjamin, director of the department's Diplomatic Academy, wished him a "very happy retirement.″


"He left us a slightly chewed dead mouse next to my desk in @UKDipAcademy once,″ he tweeted, adding "we were of course not very grateful."
—(((Jon Benjamin))) ⚒🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇨🇱🇬🇭✡️ (@JonBenjamin19) August 7, 2020

Louisville police said protesters, who have been marching against Breonna Taylor's death for more than 70 days, can no longer use public roads

Ashley Collman

A protester is seen being arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on August 9, 2020, after the public road ban went into effect. WHAS 11

The Louisville Metro Police Department said Sunday that protesters would no longer be allowed to march on public streets, and must stick to the sidewalks. 

A police spokesperson said the restrictions were in response to increasingly "aggressive behavior" by protesters over the past week. 

Protests have taken place in the Kentucky city every night for more than 70 days, in response to the police killing of Breonna Taylor in her home.

A handful of people were taken into custody for disorderly conduct and obstructing the roadway Sunday night after the new restrictions went into place.

Protesters said the police are trying to intimidate them into stopping their demonstrations, but said they would not stop until the three officers involved in Taylor's death are charged.
Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.


Police in Louisville, Kentucky, have banned protesters from demonstrating in the streets, after more than 70 nights of consecutive protests over the police killing of local Black woman Breonna Taylor.

The Louisville Metro Police Department said Sunday that protesters would no longer be allowed to demonstrate in public streets, and must stick to the sidewalks.

Police spokesperson Jessie Halladay said this was because of "an increase in aggressive behavior over the past week," including the arrests of 12 protesters on Saturday who flipped tables and chairs while marching through the Fourth Street Live entertainment district, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
—Ben Tobin (@TobinBen) August 10, 2020

Some activists told the newspaper on Sunday that the new rules were meant as an "intimidation factor" against the movement.

They added they would continue to protest until the three officers involved in Taylor's killing were charged.

The ACLU of Kentucky told the Courier Journal that it has "serious concerns" about the police's "sudden decision to restrict protest activity" and would be keeping tabs on the LMPD's actions.

"Over the past months, we have seen a pattern of overblown and inappropriate reactions to a community that is rightfully upset with its government's delay in holding the police accountable," spokeswoman Amber Duke told the newspaper.

The protesters held a nightly demonstration as usual on Sunday night, after the new rules were announced.

—Senait Gebregiorgis (@SenaitTV) August 10, 2020
—Senait Gebregiorgis (@SenaitTV) August 9, 2020

They met at the Muhammad Ali Center and made their way to Jefferson Square Park.

This weekend's protests in Louisville was also attended by the father of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old Black man who was shot to death by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

According to WHAS 11, police used a bullhorn to warn protesters to keep off the streets and a handful of people were arrested and issued with citations for disorderly conduct and obstructing the roadway.

Trump denied asking to have his face carved on Mount Rushmore, but said it 'sounds like a good idea to me!'
Ashley Collman

President Donald Trump poses in front of Mount Rushmore on July 3, 2020. 

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty

In a Sunday night tweet, President Donald Trump denied a New York Times report over the weekend that a White House official had inquired about adding a carving of another president to Mount Rushmore.

However, Trump said it "sounds like a good idea" based "on all of the many things accomplished during" his first term. 

While adding another president to Mount Rushmore is a frequent question, the National Parks Service says there's actually no room for an additional sculpture.
President Donald Trump has said that adding his face to Mount Rushmore "sounds like a good idea" based on what he's accomplished in his first term in office.

The president made the comment on Twitter Sunday night, when he also denied a Saturday New York Times report that a Trump administration official had asked about adding presidents to the national monument last year.

The report also said that Trump was presented with a miniature Mount Rushmore with his face added to it by the governor of South Dakota when he held a Fourth of July celebration at the monument this year.

Retweeting a CNN story about the Times report, Trump wrote: "This is Fake News by the failing @nytimes & bad ratings @CNN. Never suggested it although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency, sounds like a good idea to me!"

—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2020
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2020

Trump also tweeted a picture of himself in front of the national monument from his Fourth of July celebration there this year.

While adding presidents to the monument is a frequent question, the National Parks Service has said that it's not possible.

Maureen McGee-Ballinger, Mount Rushmore National Monument chief of interpretation and education, told the Black Hills Pioneer in June that there are two reasons why additional presidents won't be added to the sculpture.

The first is that there's no more space. While there appears to be space to the left of George Washington, the rock isn't stable. In fact, the sculpture's artist, Gutzon Borglum, intended to use that space for Jefferson's sculpture, but had to wedge the nation's third president between Presidents Washington and Teddy Roosevelt when he discovered the original rock wasn't usable.

There also appears to be extra space to the right of Abraham Lincoln, but McGee-Ballinger said in a previous interview with the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that that rock is actually "beyond the sculpture" and it's only an "optical illusion" that it looks close.

The second reason why a fifth president's face wouldn't be added is that it would defeat the artist's intention for the piece, which was "to represent the first 150 years of the history of the United States."

"It is one man's artistic interpretation, and a tribute to that period of our nation's history," McGee-Ballinger said. "The National Park Service takes the position that death stayed the hand of the artist and the work is complete in its present form."

"Thus, to maintain both the integrity of the structure and the artist's concept, there is no procedure for adding another likeness, the sculpture is complete."

The deadly explosion in Beirut highlights a danger potentially lurking in some of the world's ports

Ryan Pickrell and Christopher Woody
Aug 7, 2020,

A view of the aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Beirut suffered a devastating explosion on Tuesday that killed more than 100 people and left thousands injured.

Now authorities are investigating why thousands of tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate was stored improperly for years at a warehouse.

The devastating explosion has called attention to a danger that lurks at some ports where resources are limited and regulations are lax.

The tragedy that struck Beirut this week called into focus a danger potentially lurking in ports around the world, one that has more than once led to disaster.

A massive explosion at a port in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday caused extensive damage and destruction, killed at least 100 people, and injured thousands more.

The exact cause of the blast is unclear, but a focus of the investigation is a warehouse where roughly 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate confiscated years earlier was improperly stored. A fire is suspected of igniting the stored material.

"Ammonium nitrate is a perfectly safe material," Richard John Smythe, a chemist with extensive knowledge of explosive materials, told Insider. It's used in mining operations and fertilizer. But "if it is heated to the temperature of a wood fire, it will detonate," he said, adding that "it's got an extreme punch for an explosive."

It has happened before

A man reacts at the scene of an explosion at the port in Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

What appears to have happened in Beirut has been seen in other port disasters. In August 2015, for instance, several explosions at the Port of Tianjin in China killed at least 173 people and injured nearly 800 others. The largest blast was caused by the detonation of 800 metric tons of ammonium nitrate.

The US has also seen ammonium nitrate catastrophes.

In 2013, there was an ammonium nitrate explosion at a fertilizer storage facility in West, Texas, that killed 15 people and injured over 160 others. In 1995, domestic terrorists used ammonium nitrate to build a vehicle bomb that killed 168 people and wounded at least 680 others in Oklahoma City.

And in 1947, a cargo ship carrying 2,100 metric tons of ammonium nitrate caught fire and exploded in the Port of Texas City, setting off additional fires and explosions that killed 581 people and injured many others.


While the US has seen tragic ammonium nitrate explosions, experts told Insider that it is unlikely the US would see a Beirut-style disaster now given regulations put in place after previous incidents.

A Chinese soldier in protection suit sprays liquid on the debris at the site of blasts in Binhai new district of Tianjin, China, August 21, 2015. Thomson Reuters

Ammonium nitrate is regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Department of Homeland Security; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Among the regulations, of particular importance are the Maritime Security Act, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, and the Ammonium Nitrate Proposed Rule. The first guides maritime transfer, the second governs storage, and the third puts restrictions on sales.

What happened in Beirut "technically should be impossible in the US," Sim Tack, global security analyst for Stratfor, a Risk Assessment and Exchange company, told Insider, pointing not only to storage and quantity regulations and restrictions but also US requirements that ammonium nitrate be kept away from inhabited areas.

Unusual, but not impossible

A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images


Jimmie Oxley, an explosives expert at the University of Rhode Island, agreed, saying the risk is very low in the US today.

"You will find it is very hard to buy ammonium nitrate in this country," Oxley said.

In addition to requirements to report certain quantities of ammonium nitrate to federal agencies and regulations on proper storage, the US also has various restrictions on the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate, which are strengthened by accepted know-your-customer practices among manufacturers.

If a US port had to deal with the rather unusual situation that Beirut did and bring in a vessel carrying thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate, it "would still have to fulfill all requirements," Tack said. Those requirements include providing suitable storage with adequate fire protection systems, among other things.


While taking those steps does not "entirely remove the risk if something goes wrong," doing so "severely limits the potential" for disaster, Tack said.

A picture shows the scene of an explosion at the port in the Lebanese capital Beirut on August 4, 2020 Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images

The circumstances that brought the ammonium nitrate to Beirut reflect what Rockford Weitz, director of maritime studies at Tufts University's Fletcher School, called "the low end" of global shipping, with an aging vessel carrying a potentially dangerous cargo between two countries under the flag of a third country.

But Americans shouldn't worry that something similar might happen in the US.

"Because it's been going through political turmoil and economic turmoil and a series of civil wars, Lebanon's regulatory agencies and coast guard and port authorities are like night and day from the United States," Weitz added.


"I don't fear any of this stuff happening in the United States," Weitz said. "It would happen only in a country that has an under-resourced and essentially ... an incapable regulatory framework."

Across the Middle East, where regulations are often not adequately enforced, materials like ammonium nitrate are transferred more easily and are commonly used to make improvised explosive devices.

Oxley and Tack said that what happened in Beirut is a lingering risk at unregulated ports in developing countries.

"The fact that it did not raise any questions among any of the people working at the port or authorities governing the port, the fact that they had nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate in bags in the back of an unsecured hanger, that would be insane in the US" today, Tack said.


NOW WATCH: Lebanon was already in financial crisis before the explosion in Beirut — and now experts are predicting devastating consequences
https://www.businessinsider.com/beirut-blast-highlights-port-dangers-2020-8?jwsource=cl

Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the US could experience 300,000 coronavirus deaths by the end of 2020

Taylor Ardrey

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 06: FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb speaks about teen vaping during a discussion about overcoming obstacles, at the Newseum on March 6, 2019 in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, predicted that the US coronavirus death toll could hit 300,000 by the end of 2020.

In an interview with "Face the Nation" on CBS, Gottlieb said, "We're definitely going to be somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000. Whether we're closer to 200,000 or closer to 300,000 depends on what we do and how this evolves."

Gottlieb also predicts the country will possibly experience a third wave of the virus that will be more difficult to control.

"The concern now is that this has become so pervasive across the country that it could start to infect more rural communities that have largely been untouched to date and probably are a little bit more complacent because they have been untouched, but are still very vulnerable because the infection hasn't been there," he said.

Gottlieb also said children "are not immune to this virus."

"We have seen bad outcomes. The CDC recently documented 570 cases of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children," he said.

"There's more cases that are occurring. We've seen children die. There's 86 kids who died from this and thousands that have been hospitalized. And so this is a risk in children."

According to John Hopkins University data, the US has so far reported more than 162,000 deaths and over 5 million cases of the coronavirus.

USA/WALLST
Fed's Kashkari warns that unless a stricter US lockdown is imposed, the last few months could feel just like a 'warm-up to a greater catastrophe'

Shalini Nagarajan Aug. 10, 2020

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari warned that the US coronavirus case count can only be controlled under a stricter lockdown, without which the last few months could feel like "a warm-up to a greater catastrophe." 

"If we aren't willing to take this action, millions more cases with many more deaths are likely before a vaccine might be available," Kashkari wrote in a New York Times op-ed co-written with American epidemiologist, Michael Osterholm.

Both emphasised the need for further government stimulus to aid economic recovery.

In a separate interview, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans also suggested that another support package is "incredibly important" for citizens to sustain costs of living.

The Fed's Neel Kashkari warned in a New York Times op-ed that unless a stricter lockdown is imposed in the US, the last few months could feel just like "a warm-up to a greater catastrophe."

The op-ed, dated August 7, was co-written with Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

To drive down the coronavirus case rate to less than one per 100,000 people, "the lockdown has to be as comprehensive and strict as possible," they wrote.

"If we aren't willing to take this action, millions more cases with many more deaths are likely before a vaccine might be available."

Kashkari is a voter on this year's Federal Open Market Committee, which sets US monetary policy and is one of its more dovish members.

He and Osterholm warned that in the absence of effective measures, the economy would face slow recovery, with failed businesses and high unemployment lasting into the next couple of years.

Both argued that the COVID-19 containment response by the US government had failed in comparison to other nations in Asia and Europe.

"Simply, we gave up on our lockdown efforts to control virus transmission well before the virus was under control," they wrote, and added that the US reopened "too quickly," leading to around 50,000 new cases a day.

The US coronavirus case count passed 5 million on Sunday, following a collapse in stimulus negotiations between the White House and top congressional Democrats.

Over the last 16 weeks, nearly 50 million people have filed for first-time unemployment benefits, surpassing the 37 million unemployment claims filed during the 18-month Great Depression.

The two said that stimulus efforts must be reinforced to stem a worse economic downturn.

"If people can't pay their bills, it will ripple through the economy and make the downturn much worse, with many more bankruptcies, and the national recovery much slower."

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans agreed with this opinion, suggesting that another support package should be executed to ensure people can stay home and sustain costs of living, especially vulnerable populations.

"I think that public confidence is really important and another support package is really incredibly important," Evans, who will be a voting member of the FOMC next year, said in a CBS interview.

FREE OUR SEAFARERS
More than 12,000 crew members remain on cruise ships months after industry halted in March

Taylor Ardrey

A woman wearing a face mask runs with cruise ships docked in the background due to a no-sail order at the port of Long Beach, California, on April 11, 2020. APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images

More than 12,000 cruise crew members are still aboard ships since the coronavirus halted the industry in March, according to USA TODAY.

Many cruise workers are uncertain when they will return home. A Celebrity Cruise stateroom attendant told USA TODAY that he has been on ships for months.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the no-sail order to the end of September.

More than 12,000 cruise ship crew members are still at sea months after the novel coronavirus pandemic disrupted the industry and halted US cruise lines, USA TODAY reported.

The number is a dramatic decrease from reports in April that up to 80,000 crew members were stuck on 120 cruise ships on US waters as the country saw rapid climbs in outbreaks.

Brittany Panetta, a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard, told the outlet that they are "tracking 57 cruise ships moored, at anchor, or underway in vicinity of a US port, or with potential to arrive in a US port, with approximately 12,084 crew members."

According to the report, the Coast Guard estimated 209 Americans on 37 ships while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted 53 people on 22 cruise ships in the US.

The numbers don't clearly indicate how many of the cruise staff are working or just simply stuck aboard and CDC spokesperson Jason McDonald told USA TODAY that they are unsure about how many workers on these ships are "essential." He also told the outlet that it is not clear if the 53 crew members aboard are working with the "cruise lines to be repatriated."

McDonald told USA TODAY that the need for the workers is up to the cruise lines and that they "must complete response plans and meet certain criteria to determine whether crew members can use commercial or noncommercial transportation."

A crew member of Celebrity Cruises from Mauritius told the outlet that he has been on cruise ships for months and is uncertain when he will be able to return home.

"The more time passes by and the more (stressful) it gets," Akash Dookhun told USA TODAY.

Insider previously reported that the CDC extended its no-sail order through September 30.

"On cruise ships, passengers and crew share spaces that are more crowded than most urban settings," the agency said in the order displayed on its website. "Even when only essential crew are on board, ongoing spread of COVID-19 still occurs."