R. Kelly cites coronavirus in seeking release from jail pending trial
R&B singer R. Kelly cited the novel coronavirus in asking a federal judge Thursday to free him from a federal jail in Chicago as he awaits trial on child pornography and other charges, a court filing by his lawyers saying scant precautions to stem the spread of the disease behind bars are putting Kelly’s life at risk.
Sanitizer and even soap are hard to come by in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, with most of its 700 inmates held in small, two-man cells that make the kind of social distancing called for to thwart the transmission of COVID-19 impossible, the filing in U.S. District Court in Chicago says.
Kelly, 53, faces several dozen counts of state and federal sexual misconduct charges in Illinois, Minnesota and New York, from sexual assault to heading a racketeering scheme aimed at supplying him with girls. The Grammy Award-winning singer has denied ever abusing anyone.
–Associated Press
Japanese PM blasted after wife photographed partying under cherry blossoms
At the height of Japan’s cherry blossom season, as Tokyo residents were being asked to give up their cherished annual rite of picnicking under the cherry trees, another headache for Prime Minister Abe was a-bloomin’. A photo on the NEWS Post Seven website showed wife Akie Abe right smack where her fellow citizens would love to be — partying with friends under a lush bower of pink blossoms.
In parliament today, the prime minister was sharply questioned over the actions of Mrs. Abe, who, to add insult to injury, was described as enjoying an evening with a model, a pop star and other celebrities.
“This did not constitute hanami in a public park, but a photo snapped in the garden of a restaurant,” the prime minister said, arguing the activity did not flout the no-hanami rule.
“Do you really feel this behavior is appropriate,” an opposition member retorted, “when citizens are being asked to exercise restraint?”
While some online commentors sympathized with Mrs. Abe, many said it appeared not only tone-deaf, but that it undercut the government’s exhortations to avoid poorly ventilated rooms. “Isn’t it safer to party outdoors, at a park, than in an enclosed space like a restaurant?” one said.
Trump says he spoke with China’s president about the pandemic
President Trump tweeted early Friday that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the coronavirus.
Mr. Trump wrote, “Just finished a very good conversation with President Xi of China. Discussed in great detail the CoronaVirus that is ravaging large parts of our Planet. China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the Virus. We are working closely together. Much respect!”
Chinese State TV said Xi told Mr. Trump that Beijing is willing to work with all parties on stopping the disease’s spread, including the U.S., according to the Reuters news service.
Mr. Trump has been criticized for referring to COVID-19 as “the Chinese virus,” which some see as racist. When pressed by reporters on his use of the term, he’s countered by pointing out that China is where COVID-19 originated.
Relations between the two nations have been strained in recent months over numerous issues, including the pandemic.
JetBlue to fly medical volunteers to New York for free
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commended JetBlue on Thursday for donating flights to medical volunteers heading to New York to help combat the coronavirus pandemic. “So grateful for the help,” Cuomo said in a tweet.
The airline told CBS News it “remains committed to meeting travel needs, some of which are critical.”
“JetBlue is currently working with many of our community non-profit partners and government agencies to help get medical professionals and much-needed supplies to the places where they are needed most,” the airline said.
Cuomo said Wednesday that more than 40,000 doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and other medical professionals have signed on to join a surge health care force to help battle the outbreak.
Trump questions New York’s need for 30,000 more ventilators
Calling ventilators “very expensive” and comparing buying them to purchasing a car, President Trump has questioned New York’s need for thousands more of the devices to handle a surge in coronavirus cases.
“I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Sean Hannity Thursday night.
“You know, you go into major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘can we order 30,000 ventilators?'”
“Think of this, you know you go to hospitals that have one in a hospital and now all of a sudden everyone’s asking for these vast numbers,” Mr. Trump continued.
Mr. Trump also slammed the governors of Michigan and Washington, claiming they should be doing more for their states. He mocked Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s failed presidential bid and criticized Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for “[sitting] there and [blaming] the federal government.”
Dr. Fauci calls Trump’s plan to reopen the country by Easter an “aspirational projection”
The country’s top infectious disease doctor on Thursday night called President Trump’s desire to reopen the country for business by Easter “aspirational.”
“I think what the president was trying to do, he was making an aspirational projection to give people some hope. But he’s listening to us when we say we’ve got to reevaluate in real time and any decision we have to make has to be based on the data,” Fauci said on CNN.
He noted that with cases increasing in areas like New York City and New Orleans, lifting the national restrictions on businesses wasn’t necessarily the best plan to combat COVID-19, at least not everywhere.
After issuing an earlier caution this week that Mr. Trump’s suggested Easter timeline would be tempered by medical data and the spread of the virus, Fauci told Fox News that the president was remaining “flexible” and listening to his coronavirus task force.
Mr. Trump, in a briefing this week, said while he would like to see life return to normal by Easter, “we’ll only do it if it’s good.” He said the administration was “very in touch” with medical experts and would follow “whatever they would do.”
