Mobsters, killers, rapists seeking prison release because of coronavirus
Thousands of local, state and federal inmates are pushing to get out from behind bars, calling the jails and prisons “petri dishes” for the coronavirus.
Everyone from killers, drug traffickers and gang members to mobsters, fraudsters and accused rapists are making a bid to get out of the clink.
They are aided by defense lawyers suing for their release, usually citing underlying health issues that make them at risk of catching the deadly disease in crowded conditions.
One inmate at the state prison in Sing Sing died and at least eight federal prisoners in different facilities have fallen victim to the virus, prompting US Attorney General William Barr to push officials to increase the use of home confinement.
Defense attorneys argue coronavirus could be a death sentence for inmates like 81-year-old Rosie Baker, who has kidney disease and diabetes and has been incarcerated for nearly 23 years. Baker and her son Vance were convicted in the June 1997 murder-for-hire of her lover, Dr. Daniel Hodge, as the mother and son’s $2 million Medicaid fraud scheme was unraveling in Brooklyn.
Also seeking release is accused killer Ramzidden Trowell, 42, an HIV-positive asthmatic who is being held at Rikers Island on charges he fatally stabbed a straphanger in the Bronx who opened a subway gate for him.
A judge approved 75-year-old businessman Morris Zukerman’s bid to serve out his tax evasion sentence at home. Zukerman, convicted of dodging $45 million in taxes over 15 years, was sentenced in 2017 to nearly six years in prison.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the release of 1,100 parole violators last week, while the city has let 300 inmates out of Rikers and put them up in hotels. Lawyers are seeking the release of at least another 530 from federal facilities, and public defenders are seeking to get approximately 400 more out. While the city’s district attorneys have consented to the release of some inmates — 272 in Manhattan; about 200 in Brooklyn; 80 in Queens and 63 in the Bronx — prosecutors aren’t giving a thumbs up to every prisoner who is seeking home confinement or outright freedom.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Peru enforcing lockdown by gender to curb coronavirus spread
Peru will begin restricting public movement by gender on Friday in an additional effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Following in Panama’s footsteps, the Peruvian government said it will only allow women out Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Men are permitted outside Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Everyone must stay home on Sunday, according to the BBC.
“The (existing) control measures have given good results, but not what was hoped for,” President Martín Vizcarra said, the outlet reported.
By enacting gender-based restrictions, he hopes that the restriction will halve the number of people out on any given day.
“We have to get fewer people on the streets every day,” Vizcarra added.
The new measures will be enforced by authorities, Interior Minister Carlos Morán warned.
“On Sunday everyone has to be at home,” he said, noting that all stores will be closed regardless. “No one has justification for leaving.”
The restrictions extend until April 12, when the original lockdown, imposed on March 16, is set to end. As of Thursday, over 1,400 people had tested positive for coronavirus and 55 people had died, according to the outlet.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/04/03/peru-enforcing-lockdown-by-gender-to-curb-coronavirus-spread/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
French doctors blasted for saying coronavirus vaccines should be tested in Africa
Two French doctors have been blasted for racism after one of them suggested trialing a tuberculosis vaccine in Africa to determine whether it could combat the coronavirus, according to a new report.
The comments came during a debate on the French TV channel LCI, the BBC reported. Camille Locht, head of research at the Inserm health research group, had mentioned conducting a trial of the BCG vaccine in Europe and Australia.
“If I can be provocative,” responded Jean-Paul Mira, head of intensive care at Cochin Hospital in Paris, “shouldn’t we be doing this study in Africa, where there are no masks, no treatments, no resuscitation?”
“A bit like as it is done elsewhere for some studies on AIDS,” the doctor added, according to the report.
“In prostitutes, we try things because we know that they are highly exposed and that they do not protect themselves.”
Mira had earlier suggested that the study might not work as planned on health care workers in Europe and Australia, because they have access to personal protective equipment, guarding them from the contagion.
“You are right,” Locht responded.
“We are in the process of thinking about a study in parallel in Africa,” he said, referencing the studies underway in other continents.
Two former soccer players in Africa blasted the doctors for their comments.
“It is totally inconceivable we keep on cautioning this,” Didier Drogba tweeted. “Africa isn’t a testing lab. I would like to vividly denounce those demeaning, false and most of all deeply racist words.”
“Africa is not your playing ground,” Samuel Eto’o wrote on Instagram.
But in a statement obtained by the BBC, Inserm said the recorded debate was “the subject of erroneous interpretations.”
“Clinical trials to test the efficacy of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19 are… about to be launched in European countries and in Australia,” it said.
“If there is indeed a reflection around a deployment in Africa, it would be done in parallel with these. Africa must not be forgotten or excluded from research because the pandemic is global.”
More than 7,000 coronavirus cases, and 290 deaths have been confirmed in Africa — though there are concerns many more have been infected.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/04/03/doctors-say-coronavirus-vaccines-should-be-tested-in-africa/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Two kids hospitalized after eating pot gummies from Utah food bank
Two children have been hospitalized after eating marijuana gummies they got at a food bank.
“An 11-year-old and a 5-year-old were taken to a hospital Friday night after consuming ‘Medicated Nerds Rope’ candy given to their families as part of a food distribution effort from a church working with the Utah Food Bank,” according to NBC.
And there’s more candy out there — according to the Roy City Police, “more than 60 bags contained three to four servings of the candy rope [were distributed].”
The candy is particularly potent as “labels in the candy indicate that each one contains 400 milligrams of THC. Adults are normally prescribed between 15 to 45 milligrams of the psychoactive marijuana component.”
The “donations” appear to have been made by accident, and Utah Food Bank president and CEO Ginette Bott apologized “to any families who may have received this product,” adding, “we are absolutely horrified that this product went out to any of our partner agencies, and can easily see how volunteers would not have known what to look for,” she told a local NBC affiliate.
Three other children also consumed the candy, but were not taken to a hospital.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/04/04/kids-hospitalized-after-eating-pot-gummies-at-food-bank/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Bill Withers- Still Bill Documentry
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US Postal Service could shut down by June, lawmakers warn
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, postal workers have been on the front lines, considered “essential workers” who must continue to do their jobs as usual while others stay home. But some lawmakers are warning that without more support, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) could completely shut down in the next few months, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Last week, Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney, the chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Gerry Connolly, chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that the COVID-19 crisis is threatening the future of mail service in the U.S.
“The Postal Service is in need of urgent help as a direct result of the coronavirus crisis,” they said. “Based on a number of briefings and warnings this week about a critical fall-off in mail across the country, it has become clear that the Postal Service will not survive the summer without immediate help from Congress and the White House. Every community in America relies on the Postal Service to deliver vital goods and services, including life-saving medications.”
The lawmakers said USPS, which is a quasi-governmental agency that relies on fees rather than taxes, may be forced to shutter as early as June, less than three months from now. They noted that postal workers delivered more than a billion shipments of prescription drugs last year, and ceasing operations during the virus outbreak could have dire consequences for the health of people around the country.
“The Postal Service needs America’s help, and we must answer this call,” they said.
“These negative effects could be even more dire in rural areas, where millions of Americans are sheltering in place and rely on the Postal Service to deliver essential staples,” the lawmakers warned.
Americans are also counting on postal service workers to deliver millions of coronavirus relief checks — a process that won’t start until the end of April and isn’t scheduled to finish until September. However, it’s unclear if it will have the funding needed to do so.
Maloney and Connelly proposed a bill that would provide a $25 billion in emergency funding for the postal service, eliminating its debt with the stipulation that it would prioritize medical deliveries during the crisis. They said the funding would save the jobs of more than 600,000 Americans.
A USPS spokesperson told CBS News on Friday, “The United States Postal Service appreciates the inclusion of limited emergency borrowing authority during this COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Postal Service remains concerned that this measure will be insufficient to enable the Postal Service to withstand the significant downturn in our business that could directly result from the pandemic.”
The statement continued, “Under a worst-case scenario, such downturn could result in the Postal Service having insufficient liquidity to continue operations.”
According to the spokesperson, USPS has experienced a significant loss in needed revenues during the pandemic and subsequent decline in economic activity, but it continues to work with lawmakers to ensure Americans’ access to mail during this time.
However, when President Donald Trump signed into law the $2 trillion coronavirus emergency spending bill, it allowed USPS to borrow just $10 billion from the Treasury Department.
“That is woefully inadequate,” said Fredric V. Rolando, president of the National Associated of Letter Carriers, in a plea for more funding in the next round of legislation. “The administration clearly does not understand the importance of the Postal Service, especially now.”
Democrats are working to put together a fourth coronavirus spending bill that would give USPS more funding, primarily in order to boost the ability to vote by mail in the upcoming election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Post offices have so far remained open throughout the crisis, along with hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets and other essential businesses. According to a New York Times report, at least 20 postal workers had tested positive for the virus by last Friday — a number that has likely increased given the rate of U.S. diagnoses.
With over 266,000 confirmed positive tests, the U.S. now has the most cases of COVID-19 in the world, contributing to the global total of more than 1 million cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. So far, over 6,900 people have died in the U.S. from the virus.
Article via MSN
CDC recommend Americans wear non-medical CLOTH masks
PLEASE PLEASE FOLKS DO NOT HOARD THESE!
Sesame Street why bears smile
Maybe folks need to start looking at this classic PSA from Sesame Street. Why Do Bear Smile. PLEASE if you have children teach them about covering their mouth and nose when they sneeze or cough or both. Our lives depend on it . And you throw the tissue away in the garbage. Or trash. Then go wash your hands. With soap and water. And if you can’t get to sink with soap and water in his hand sanitizer. #COVID19
Detroit bus driver who complained about a coughing passenger dies of coronavirus days later
Jason Hargrove could not hide his outrage at the passenger who he said openly coughed on his bus in the middle of a pandemic.
In between shifts last month, Hargrove, a city bus driver with the Detroit Department of Transportation, recounted in an obscenity-laden Facebook video how a woman onboard had just coughed in front of him and other passengers, even as the novel coronavirus continued to spread across the United States.
“We out here as public workers, doing our job, trying to make an honest living to take care of our families,” he said on March 21, “but for you to get on the bus and stand on the bus and cough several times without covering up your mouth, and you know we’re in the middle of a pandemic, that lets me know that some folks don’t care.”
The 50-year-old bus driver added, “This is real … For us to get through this and get over this, man, y’all need to take this s— serious. There’s folks dying out here.”
On Thursday, the head of the Detroit bus drivers’ union announced that Hargrove had died of covid-19 on Wednesday. Glenn Tolbert, the head of the union, told the Detroit News that Hargrove started to feel ill on March 25, four days after the incident with the coughing passenger. A week later, he was dead.
While there’s no way of knowing whether Hargrove transmitted the illness from the passenger referenced in his video or if he contracted it elsewhere, the bus driver’s death and his foreboding words have rocked Detroit, one of the nation’s covid-19 hot spots.
“I don’t know how you can watch [the video] and not tear up,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) said at a Thursday news conference. “He knew his life was being put in jeopardy … by someone who didn’t take this seriously and now he’s gone.”
His death comes at a time when bus drivers in Detroit have expressed concern over whether the city and state are doing enough to protect public transportation workers from infection. On March 17, a few days before Hargrove’s plea, bus drivers shut down public transportation by calling in sick in fear of an outbreak, the Detroit Free Press reported. The city restarted the service on March 18 only after agreeing to keep the first row of seats empty, to have passengers enter and exit from the rear of the bus, and urging riders to stay 10 feet away from drivers.
But fears among drivers worried about getting infected have intensified with the news of Hargrove’s death, Tolbert told the Detroit News. He told WXYZ that some drivers have suggested a work stoppage.
“They’re obviously scared,” Tolbert, who has also tested positive for the coronavirus, said to the News. “They’re up in arms. It’s the fear of the unknown.”
In the days leading up to the incident, it was apparent that Hargrove understood the severity of the coronavirus, posting to his social media accounts about its effect on Detroit and the rest of the country. On his Facebook page, Hargrove, who was also a love DJ, posted photos of him wearing a mask inside his bus, as well as images of signs on the first row saying, “Please leave vacant.”
Then, on a Saturday afternoon, Hargrove said a passenger openly coughed five times around eight or nine riders on the bus.
“I’m steaming right now,” he said in a Facebook comment.
He’d exit the bus and hop on Facebook Live to vent in an 8½-minute video.
“I’m trying to be the professional,” Hargrove said. “They want me to be and I kept my mouth closed, but it’s at some point in time where you got to draw the line and say enough is enough. I feel violated. I feel violated for the folks that were on the bus when this happened.”
Despite his frustration with the city and its protection of public transit workers, Hargrove insisted that his anger could only be directed at the people not taking the proper precautions to help curb the spread of the virus.
“I ain’t blaming nobody — nobody. Not the city, not the mayor, not the department, not the state of Michigan, not the government, nobody, not the president,” Hargrove said. “It’s her fault. It’s people like her who don’t take [the coronavirus] for real while this still exists and is still spreading.”
On March 23, two days after the incident, he wrote about how he was self-quarantined for two weeks due to exposure to covid-19. He fell ill shortly afterward.
Duggan announced on Thursday that the city is the first in the nation to test first responders, bus drivers and health-care workers with a new rapid testing kit that gets results in 15 minutes or less, The Washington Post reported.
The scramble for the rapid coronavirus tests everybody wants
The mayor, however, still had his mind on Hargrove. At one point, Duggan said “everybody in America” should watch the bus driver’s video.
“It’s something I’m going to think about for a long time,” Duggan said.
Toward the end of the video, Hargrove returned to the bus and said it was time to get back to work. He was concerned, but still had time to mix in some smiles and laughs for friends chatting with him during the live video. He pleaded to his friends to cover up their face and wear gloves if they had to go out.
“If you see somebody coughing and they don’t cover up, bust them in the back of their head,” he said with a hopeful grin. “I’m out of here, y’all. I love, y’all.”
Article via WashingtonPost