Study: No leaking radiation from Alaska island nuclear site

FROM THE ARCHIVES
THE AMCHITKA ISLAND NUKE BLAST IN 1971 WAS THE BASIS OF A MASS PROTEST ACROSS CANADA LED BY THE NEWLY FORMED ORG. GREENPEACE, AND VARIOUS ANTI WAR AND LEFT WING GROUPS. I WAS INVOLVED WITH ORGANIZING PROTESTS IN EDMONTON.
PHOTO ESSAY
Study: No leaking radiation from Alaska island nuclear site

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 12 February 2019

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The latest round of testing on Alaska's remote Amchitka Island found no radioactive material has leaked from locations where the federal government conducted underground nuclear tests there decades ago, a federal official said Tuesday.

Environmental samples tested in 2016 show no subsurface migration of radioactive material, said Jason Nguyen with the U.S. Department of Energy. Samples tested in 2011 also showed no "excessive risk" was found, he said. The department funds sample testing conducted on the island every five years.

"Our preliminary results for 2016 are showing that that conclusion still holds," Nguyen said as he moderated a panel discussion Tuesday at an environmental forum in Anchorage. A final report on that study is expected later this year.

Nguyen, the department's site manager for Amchitka work, also said a 2014 earthquake with a magnitude 7.9 damaged the caps of three drilling mud pits on the now-uninhabited island. But he said none of the diesel-fuel filled mud was exposed. The damage has not yet been repaired.

Three nuclear tests were conducted between 1965 and 1971 on Amchitka, located in the Aleutian Islands chain 1,340 miles southwest of Anchorage. The island was occupied by Aleuts for thousands of years. But they were long gone by the time the U.S. military built a base there during World War II as a strategic defense post, said Bruce Wright, the science adviser for the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, a tribal organization for Alaska's Aleuts including those on the closest occupied location, Adak Island, 200 miles east of Amchitka. Wright was among the speakers at Tuesday's gathering.


Wright's group is a partner with the Department of Energy in the periodic sampling tests, including the latest studies.



FILE - This file photo from June of 1971 shows the exterior of a fallout shelter built for 200 people on Amchitka Island, Alaska, the site of nuclear bomb testing in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. government conducted three underground nuclear tests on the island, located in Alaska's Aluetian chain, in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Energy department is responsible for long-term stewardship and monitoring of the sites. (AP Photo, file)

"And so far, we're not seeing any leakage," he said. "That's good news."

The 2011 sampling report said tests indicated that seafood harvested near the now-unoccupied island is safe to eat. The report also said radioactive material from the nuclear tests has remained in the subsurface of each blast location, with the exception of small concentrations of radioactive material detected in several places in subsurface water after the first nuclear test.

The first of the nuclear blasts, dubbed Long Shot, was launched in 1965 with a goal of improving detections of underground nuclear explosions. The second test, called Milrow, was conducted in 1969 to assess detonations of much larger bombs.

The final blast, called Cannikin, the largest underground nuclear test in U.S. history, was launched in 1971 as a weapons-related test. That detonation lifted the ground 20 feet and was equal to the 400 times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, according to information on the National Park Service website. Between 700 and 2,000 sea otters were killed by pressure changes caused by the explosion.

Amchitka, which became part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge in 1980, was part of another refuge when it was chosen for the nuclear tests, given the island's remoteness and existing infrastructure from the former military base. Other projects that followed at Amchitka include the construction and operation of a radar station. The island is now uninhabited.

Radiation-related cancers were far more common among scores of people who worked on Amchitka than among the general population, according to health screenings done through a federal government program. The program compensated hundreds of workers for medical costs.


Others, like Hayden McClure of Palmer, Alaska, received no compensation because he worked there many years after the nuclear blasts. The 71-year-old retired heavy equipment operator is convinced his blood cancer, lymph disease, bone lesions and other health problems stemmed from the 75 days he spend digging trenches on the island in 1988. A fellow worker developed leukemia and died the following year, he said.

"I didn't have any medical problems until I went there," he said of his time on Amchitka.

McClure said he is now free of cancer after undergoing stem-cell therapy


The eighth paragraph of this story corrects the date of the sampling report to 2011 instead of 2001. The date of the final underground nuclear test was in 1971, not 1972.

Follow Rachel D'Oro at https://twitter.com/rdoro

FILE - This file photo from June of 1971 shows a buckled cement pad that was damaged from the 1 megaton nuclear blast "Milrow", detonated 4,000 feet underground in 1969, Amchitka Island, Alaska the site of nuclear bomb testing in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. government conducted three underground nuclear tests on the island, located in Alaska's Aluetian chain, in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Energy department is responsible for long-term stewardship and monitoring of the sites. (AP Photo, file)

Jason Nguyen, with the Office of Legacy Management for the U.S. Department of Energy, addresses earthquake damage to some mud disposal sites and sampling results from radiologic monitoring on Amchitka Island during a forum Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska. Officials say the latest round of testing on Alaska's Amchitka Island found no radioactive material has leaked from locations where the federal government conducted underground nuclear tests there decades ago. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE - In this file photo from June 1971, a general view of the site where the Atomic Energy Commission plans to detonate a 5-megaton nuclear bomb nearly 6,000 feet underground, sometime in the fall of 1971, is shown on Amchitka Island, Alaska. The U.S. government conducted three underground nuclear tests on the island, located in Alaska's Aluetian chain, in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Energy department is responsible for long-term stewardship and monitoring of the sites. (AP Photo, file)



Anne M. Jess, of The Doodle Biz of Seattle, creates a graphic representation of a U.S. Department of Energy presentation addressing earthquake damage to some mud disposal sites and sampling results from radiologic monitoring on Amchitka Island during a forum Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska. Officials say the latest round of testing on Alaska's Amchitka Island found no radioactive material has leaked from locations where the federal government conducted underground nuclear tests there decades ago. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE - This file photo from June of 1971 shows a derelict World War II cargo plane resting with other junk by the side of a road in Amchitka Island, Alaska, the site of nuclear bomb testing in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. government conducted three underground nuclear tests on the island, located in Alaska's Aluetian chain, in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Energy department is responsible for long-term stewardship and monitoring of the sites. (AP Photo, file)

FILE - This file photo from June of 1971 shows a general view of the facility and cement pad at ground zero where a 1 megaton nuclear blast was detonated about 4,000 feet underground in 1969 on Amchitka Island, Alaska. The U.S. government conducted three underground nuclear tests on the island, located in Alaska's Aluetian chain, in the 1960s and 1970s, and the Energy department is responsible for long-term stewardship and monitoring of the sites. (AP Photo, file)

Men are more likely to die from coronavirus than women, scientists say

THE INDEPENDENT MARCH 9, 2020

PA

Men have had a pretty good run of luck for the last few thousand years, given the patriarchal system of world domination that they've presided over.

But apparently that might be about to change with the news that women and children are less likely to die from coronavirus.

The findings

A Chinese study found that 2.4 per cent of 44,672 people infected with the coronavirus had died. That’s pretty low but obviously higher than the ideal figure of 0 per cent. The amount of men and women catching the disease is roughly the same but men are more likely to develop such a serious case of Covid-19 that they get so ill they ultimately die.

The study covers late 2019 when the virus was first discovered all the way up to 11 February and found the death rate was 2.8 per cent for men compared to 1.7 per cent for women.

The explanation

While experts are not entirely sure about the reasons for this discrepancy, Professor Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia did have this to say to the BBC:

Women are more likely to suffer from auto-immune diseases, and there is good evidence that women produce better antibodies to vaccines against flu.

Apparently men are more likely to damage their health in myriad other ways such as smoking thereby making them susceptible to a fatal case of coronavirus.

What about the children?

The good news is that, unlike ordinary flu, coronavirus does not appear to stimulate children’s immune system into overdrive so they are not at risk like the elderly. Professor Nathalie McDermott from King’s College London said:

There must be something this virus does that is not as readily stimulating the immune system in children, but what that is unclear.

The scientists don’t fully understand it but it’s good news. Hopefully they’ll understand more to combat the bad news in the not too distant future.

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Yet again, men of the internet are completely missing the point of International Women's Day

Sirena Bergman in news THE INDEPENDENT

iStock/Canva/indy100

Sometimes it feels as though International Women's Day should just be renamed to International Male Fragility Day, and 2020 is no exception.

Once again, and as always, men across the globe are having meltdowns because for ONE DAY women's issues are at the centre of the media narrative.

According to stats from digital marketing company SEM Rush, global searches for "International Women’s Day" and related terms decreased by 41 per cent between March 2016 to March 2019, meanwhile searches for "International Men’s Day" and related terms have increased by 1002 per cent between November 2016 to November 2019. Yes, you read that right. One thousand and two per cent.

Meanwhile, "When is International Men's Day" is trending on Twitter, in large part due to comedian Rickard K Herring, who takes 8 March every year to reply to every such tweet, reminding men that yes, there is an International Men's Day, and it's on 19 November (coincidentally the same day as World Toilet Day, which provides no end of amusement).

To be fair to Herring, the slightly obnoxious choice of once-a-year hobby is for a good cause: he tweets out every response alongside a link to raise money for Refuge, a charity which supports women who have experienced intimate partner violence. At the time of writing, barely a third of the way through IWD (depending on your timezone), he's already raised over £30,000.

Asked about why he does this every year, Herring said in 2019:

I do this so that everyone else can get on with celebrating International Women's Day and using it to raise awareness of the issues that affect women. And trying to achieve equality.

But having performed this service for the last few years, I’m assuming that everyone will know when International Men’s Day is by now (it’s November 19 by the way), so I’m hoping to have a relatively quiet day.

By the looks of his timeline today, this is clearly not the case.

Are we here for men trying to make IWD all about themselves? No. Are we here for turning fragile masculinity into cold hard cash for some of the most vulnerable women? Yes.

Last year, a graph compiled by a Reddit user showed that since 2010, more people google "International Men's Day" in March than they do in November, when it actually falls.

(Reddit)

Interestingly, it seems no one is really searching for International Women's Day on International Men's Day.
(Google Trends)


It's almost as if women have enough to worry about living in a patriarchal society which systematically demeans and degrades their value on a daily basis, and don't feel the need to come for days that raise awareness of issues that may not affect them.

In case any men have made it this far, here's your annual reminder that really International Men's Day is every other day of the year, when men's needs, points of view and interest are protected and elevated by the vast majority of the world's output. You're welcome.


MORE: On International Women's Day, let's consider these overlooked issues facing women for the other 364 days of the year

This artist put Donald Trump quotes on sexist 1950s advertising posters

Posted Wednesday 22 March 2017 14:15 by Narjas Zatat in news

Saint Hoax is a Syrian artist whose satirical, political visual manipulations provide a snapshot controversial current issues. 

In the latest manifestation of social criticism, the artist took vintage posters from the 1950s and printed things that Donald Trump was reported to have said about women in the past. 

indy100 spoke to Saint Hoax about the series.

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1

Last year on International Women’s Day, I published my ‘Once Upon A War’ campaign which featured Syrian refugees dressed up as Disney princesses.

2

For 2017, Saint Hoax was working on a project inspired by 1950s misogynistic advertisements, and noticed the growing similarities between the posters’ sentiments and Donald Trump’s comments about women. 

As I was researching those ads, I couldn't stop comparing them to Trump's sexist remarks about women. 

3

I decided to match the visuals with sexist Trump quotes and turn them into an awareness/art project that would be published on International Women's Day. 

4

 

5

The vintage advertisements work well with Donald Trump’s sourced quotes, and Saint Hoax agrees, calling misogyny “the common factor”.

 The way women are represented in the media has shifted drastically since these advertisements were initially published. Sadly, Donald Trump is trying to take America back to the "Mad Men" era. 

6

I'm hoping that these posters would make people realize that Trump's ‘locker room talk’ is extremely dangerous especially now since he is the president of the United States and he's ‘supposed’ to be representing one of the most feminist countries in the world. 

7

 

What does Saint Hoax make of the next four years in the US? 

Putting his sexism and racism aside, my biggest problem with Trump is how ego-driven he is. This is an extremely dangerous trait. Putting a man like him in a position of power could lead to tragic consequences.  

8

There's a lot of talk about impeachment, but I'm not sure how long this process would take. I'm hoping not too long though.

9

 

10

 

11

And who would Saint Hoax vote for, if they could choose anyone? 

Michelle Obama. 

You can view Saint Hoax' other works, which have been exhibited in galleries in New York, Bangkok, Florida, Singapore and Beirut, here.

Why self-quarantine from coronavirus is a privilege only for the rich

Image: Getty

Are you one of the two million people who are too poor to self-isolate?

There are currently 51 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, up from 39 confirmed yesterday, so there's inevitably been a lot of discussion about the best ways to stop the virus from spreading any further.

In a plan that was released this morning, Britons were warned that up to one in five people could be off work sick at the peak of a coronavirus epidemic. This could have a huge impact on workplaces, and entire industries, across the country.

People are starting to worry about the potential effect two weeks off work could have on their bank balance.

Self-isolation is important.

Something as simple as a trip to the shop by a person with the COVID-19 virus to pick up toilet paper could pass on the virus to elderly people and those with weakened immune systems.To properly self isolate, you should stay at home, ask delivery drivers to leave packages outside the front door, use separate towels to others in the house, and basically stay in your bedroom. And, whatever you do, DON'T go to work.

Some companies offer their employees sick-pay schemes, which is great for them. But what about everyone else?

Some employers don't offer anything more generous than the legal minimum statutory sick pay. This basic pay pack amounts to just £94.25 per week. And you don’t get anything for the first three days off, either.

With the period for self isolation set at 14 days, that could mean a budget of £188.50 to eat, pay bills, pay prescription fees, care for children or other dependents, entertain... And that's assuming that a person on statatuory sick pay doesn't have any dependants.

We’re predicting a lot of overdue rent and, in the worst cases, people might even struggle to feed themselves or buy basic necessities. Once again, poverty has more potential than any disease to kill.

But for some it could be even worse.

While Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) must be paid by employers to their sick employees, not everyone qualifies. Workers must have earned on average at least £118 per week (before tax) in the past 8 weeks before their sick leave to qualify.

With minimum wage for people aged 18 to 21 at just £6.15, a university student would have had to work on average 19 hours per week, for the last 8 weeks, to qualify.

A young mum in her early twenties earning minimum wage at £7.70, would have had to have worked 15 hours per week, and a cafe worker in their mid twenties or above waiting tables as a side hustle – 14 hours on average.

For those working in the gig economy, the situation is similarly bleak. In gig economy jobs, such as food delivery, pay is given per task.

So if you’re too sick to do the gigs, there won't be any pay for you.

Kimberly Hurd from Collective Benefits, an organisation working to extend benefits such as sick pay to self-employed people, told indy100:

Statistics on self-employment are sobering – with over 6M self-employed workers in the UK – 96 per cent without income protection and 93 per cent without critical injury or health cover and often with less than £500 in savings.

Gig and flexible working is here to stay and will account for more than 25 per cent of the workforce in the next five years. While it comes with a large amount of needed flexibility, it also leaves many vulnerable.

Issues like Coronavirus highlight this real and growing issue and a lack of protection. Often we see if a gig worker is out sick for a week or more and can’t work, this causes real financial difficulty for them and their families and the result is a reliance on the welfare state.

For millions of people, two weeks off work is simply not an option, meaning they will be forced to put themselves at risk of infection.

Trade Union Congress (TUC) highlighted this on Twitter in a post that has been shared 1500 times.

Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress, told indy100:

The threat of coronavirus shows why sick pay should be a day one right for everybody. It’s not right that millions of UK workers miss out on this protection. The government must ensure everyone gets statutory sick pay regardless of how they earn.
Employers who aren’t paying sick pay from day one risk having staff coming in – especially if they don’t have symptoms.

The TUC are calling on people to sign a petition calling on the UK government to “guarantee sick pay for every worker from day one” which has so far gained over 11,000 signatures.

In this age of austerity and continuous cuts to public services, it’s the poor that suffer the most.

How unsurprising.

THE INDEPENDENT 

Trump supporters brand Bernie Sanders a 'communist bum' and a 'loser' for calling for a free coronavirus vaccine

Picture: Getty Images/Twitter

Bernie Sanders is a big fan of free healthcare.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last four years, you’ll know that universal healthcare is Sanders' biggest passion. He lives for it.

So it’s little surprise that the Vermont senator and presidential candidate went on Twitter to make clear that, in the event that a coronavirus vaccine is made available, it should be free to all.

You’d think that most people would believe that healthcare is a human right and the idea of a free vaccine would be completely uncontroversial.

But of course, this is America we’re talking about. (You know, the land “of the free” where absolutely nothing is actually free).

Depressingly, Sanders has inundated replies by angry Americans who think that the vaccine shouldn’t be free. This seems pretty suspect seeing as we already know around 20 million Americans don’t have health insurance. 

Sanders was called a "communist" for insisting that any future vaccine should be free.

Wow, nothing riles MAGA Twitter up quite like the suggestion that something should be free.

THE INDEPENDENT

Komodo dragon shocks zookeepers by giving birth to babies conceived without a male

Posted by Louis Staples in offbeat

Picture: iStock/Getty Images

Last year Chattanooga Zoo in Tennessee welcomed three Komodo dragons.

But now the endangered species have thrown something of a curveball in the zoo’s direction. One of the dragons has given birth without any involvement from a male dragon.

The process of giving birth without a male is called parthenogenesis and it doesn't happen in mammals. (Though we appreciate the Bible begs to differ).

Birth without male involvement is still very rare, but this isn’t the first time zoo animals have surprised us in this way. Last year a water dragon at the Smithsonian National Zoo that had been isolated from males shocked zookeepers by laying a bunch of eggs. We have no choice but to stan these independent women.

So how does this happen?

IFL Science reports that female komodos carry both W and Z chromosomes. This is what makes the process possible. The zoo explained:

When parthenogenesis occurs, the mother can only create WW or ZZ eggs. Eggs with the sex chromosomes of WW are not viable, leaving only ZZ eggs to produce all-male hatchlings.

So, potentially, these dragons have rendered men useless – what a shame.

Komodos aren’t known for being the friendliest of creatures, which is why the female in this case might have just decided to go it alone. The zoo's Facebook page writes:

In the wild, Komodo dragons mainly live isolated and often become violent when approached, which has allowed these animals to evolve to reproduce both sexually and parthenogenetically.

But the opposite can also happen, where a strong bond forms and komodos form long-term monogamous relationships.

So maybe they’re more like us that you’d think?

ALTERNATE HEADLINE

Komodo dragon shocks zoo by giving birth to babies without a man


THAT WOULD BE BESTIALITY 


H/T: IFL Science

Trump claims he had no idea people die of influenza despite his grandfather dying from the virus

Danielle Zoellner, The Independent•March 7, 2020

AP

President Donald Trump made the claim when speaking about the flu that he had no clue people could die from the virus - despite it taking the life of his grandfather.

Mr Trump's claim came while he was in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday to visit the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters and meet with health officials about the coronavirus.

During a press conference, the president spoke about the number of people getting infected by the coronavirus and how it compared to influenza.

"Over the last long period of time, you have an average of 36,000 people dying (per year)," he said about the flu.

Mr Trump continued: "I never heard those numbers. I would've been shocked. I would've said, 'Does anybody die from the flu? I didn't know people died from the flu.' ... And again, you had a couple of years where it was over a 100,000 people died from the flu."

In recent years, about 12,000 to 61,000 people in America have died from the flu in the course of one season, according to data from the CDC. An estimated 34,000 died from the flu last season.

So the president was correct on his figures when attempting to calm fears of the coronavirus. But he was incorrect, or misinformed, about not knowing anyone who has ever died from the virus, the Daily Beast reported.

Friedrich Trump, the president's grandfather, became one of the first people to die during the first wave of the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 while living in Queens, New York.

Donald Trump's grandfather Fredrich Trump died from the Spanish flu in 1918. The flue killed more than 675,000 people in the US (Wikimedia Commons)

One day in May he was taking a walk with his son when he suddenly felt ill. He went home and died the next day.

A second wave hit the US later that year following Fredrich's death, and an estimated 675,000 people died in the country from the flu in total. Globally, the Spanish flu killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people.

Fredrich's son, also named Fredrich, was only 12 years old when his father died. He would go on to welcome his fourth child, a son named Donald, with his wife in 1946.

The amount of people who died during the Spanish flu was worsened by President Woodrow Wilson and his administration talking down about the health crisis. Experts have now criticised Trump and his own administration over how its handling the current coronavirus outbreak.

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Trump was warned of a pandemic ‘that could lead to massive rates of death’ by the intel director he fired



March 8, 2020 By Sarah K. Burris



The United States was warned last year that a pandemic could lead to serious problems if President Donald Trump and his administration didn’t take public health readiness more seriously.

Stanford lecturer Brett McGurk cited a document from the office the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats’ 2019 “Worldwide Threat Assessment,” which specifically warns of a disease like the coronavirus.

In the section Human Security, Coates explained: “the United States and the world will remain vulnerable to the next flu pandemic or large-scale outbreak of a contagious disease that could lead to massive rates of death and disability, severely affect the world economy, drain international resources, and increase calls on the United States for support.”
Defend democracy. Click to invest in courageous progressive journalism today.

It has become clear that neither Trump nor his administration took the warning seriously.

Trump got rid of Coats last year after reports surfaced that Trump had been “eager” to fire him.

See the excerpt below via Mr. McGurk.
Trump says the coronavirus came “out of nowhere.” But last year, the DNI WARNED that we were vulnerable to a pandemic “that could lead to massive rates of death and disability, severely affect the world economy, strain international resources…” https://t.co/D6uUabE2s2 pic.twitter.com/dAiCpFhp93

— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) March 8, 2020

‘There is genuine panic’: Fears of global financial meltdown as human toll of coronavirus grows
Published March 9, 2020 By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams

President Donald Trump described as “the worst person to be in charge in this moment” as coronavirus cases in the U.S. topped 500 over the weekend.

Fears of a financial meltdown at least on the scale of the 2008 crisis intensified Monday as global markets were gripped by panic resulting from the spread of the coronavirus across the globe and the ensuing oil price war launched by Saudi Arabia over the weekend.

“The fear today is about a global recession,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman of management firm Great Hill Capital, as markets headed for their worst day since the 2008 crash.

“Trump won’t let people infected off of a cruise ship and into quarantine because he likes ‘the numbers being where they are.’ He’d rather keep the numbers down than help these folks. This is literally the worst person to be in charge in this moment.”
—Jamil Smith, Rolling Stone

As the Washington Post reported: “U.S. futures pointed to heavy losses on Wall Street on Monday. Overseas, London’s FTSE 100 fell more than 8 percent to its lowest in three years; Japan’s Nikkei index slumped more than 5 percent and Australia’s benchmark shed more than 7 percent. Oil prices suffered the sharpest plunge since the 1991 Gulf War, while 10-year U.S. bond yields dropped to a record low as investors sought safety.”

While some urged caution in interpreting the meaning of daily market fluctuations, analysts said there is reason to fear that destructive economic crisis is on the horizon. Chris Weston, head of research at the Melbourne-based web trading platform Pepperstone, told The Guardian that “there is genuine panic” in the market, noting that he hasn’t “seen anything like this for years.”

Escalating market turbulence and warnings of a worldwide economic fallout came as the human toll of the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, continued to grow. In the United States, the number of cases surpassed 500 across 34 states and deaths rose to 22 as the Trump administration’s lack of preparedness was on full display Sunday morning.

Asked about the White House’s plan for the 3,500 passengers and crew members aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship—which is set to dock Monday at the Port of Oakland after 21 people on the vessel tested positive for COVID-19—U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson insisted that “the plan will be in place.”

Pressed to elaborate, Carson admitted the plan “hasn’t been fully formulated.”

STEPHANOPOULOS: The Grand Princess is docking tomorrow. What’s the plan for the 3,500 people on board?

BEN CARSON: They’re coming up with one

S: It docks tomorrow

C: The plan will be in place

S: Shouldn’t you be able to say what it is?

C: It hasn’t been fully formulated pic.twitter.com/J717Q7q0DG

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 8, 2020


U.S. President Donald Trump, for his part, told reporters Friday that he would prefer that the passengers remain aboard the Grand Princess because he doesn’t want “to have the numbers double because of one ship,” referring to the number of known coronaviruses cases in the United States.

“This is 25th Amendment stuff,” tweeted Jamil Smith, senior writer for Rolling Stone. “Trump won’t let people infected off of a cruise ship and into quarantine because he likes ‘the numbers being where they are.’ He’d rather keep the numbers down than help these folks. This is literally the worst person to be in charge in this moment.”

Trump’s remarks came just hours after the president falsely claimed that his administration “stopped” the spread of coronavirus in the U.S.

“The [coronavirus] tests are all perfect. Like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. This was not a perfect as that, but pretty good.” — is Trump referring to the transcript of his phone call with the Ukrainian president here? pic.twitter.com/FU5XxPTu7Z
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 6, 2020

Meanwhile, Italy on Sunday ordered what the New York Times described as “an unprecedented peacetime lockdown of its wealthiest region,” restricting movement for as much as a quarter of the country’s population as the country struggled to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

“The Italian outbreak—the worst outside Asia—has inflicted serious damage on one of Europe’s most fragile economies and prompted the closing of Italy’s schools,” the Times reported. “The country’s cases nearly tripled from about 2,500 infections on Wednesday to more than 7,375 on Sunday. Deaths rose to 366.”

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