Inside New York City, epicenter of U.S. coronavirus outbreak

The death toll in New York City climbs as hospitals struggle to treat the severely ill. During the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, the first case of COVID-19 in New York was confirmed on March 1, 2020. As of April 5, 2020, there have been 122,031 confirmed cases in the state, and of those 4,159 people have died. New York has the highest number of confirmed cases of any state in the United States, with five times as many cases as neighboring New Jersey, the state with the second most confirmed cases. Nearly 45 percent of known national cases are in the state, with one quarter of total known US cases being in New York City. 

March 1 saw the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in New York, a 39-year-old woman health care worker who lived in Manhattan.[8] She had returned from Iran on February 25 and had no symptoms at the time. She went into home isolation with her husband. On March 3, a second case was confirmed, a lawyer in his 50s who lives in New Rochelle, Westchester County, immediately north of New York City, and works in Midtown Manhattan. He had traveled to Miami in February and regularly visited Israel, but had not visited areas known to have widespread transmission of the coronavirus. Two of his four children had recently returned from Israel. After first feeling ill on February 22, he was admitted to a hospital in Westchester on February 27 and diagnosed with pneumonia, and released from isolation after testing negative for the flu. Instances of panic buying in New York were reported after this case was confirmed.

On March 4, the number of cases in New York increased to 11 as nine people linked to the lawyer tested as positive, including his wife, a son, a daughter, a neighbor, and a friend and his family. On March 5, Mayor de Blasio said that coronavirus fears should not keep New Yorkers off the subway, riding from Fulton Street to High Street in a public press attempt to demonstrate the subway’s safety.  On March 6, eleven new cases were reported bringing the state caseload to 33. All the new cases were tied to the first community transmission case, the lawyer. At the end of the day, an additional 11 new cases were reported by the governor, bringing the total caseload to 44, with 8 of the new cases in Westchester County, and 3 in Nassau County on Long Island. Also on March 6, an article appeared in the New York Post stating that while Mayor de Blasio assigned responsibility for the lack of N95 masks and other personal protective equipment to the federal government, the city never ordered the supplies until that date.

On March 7, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in New York after 89 cases had been confirmed in the state, 70 of them in Westchester County, 12 in New York City and 7 elsewhere. On March 8, the state reported 16 new confirmed cases and a total of 106 cases statewide. New York City issued new commuter guidelines amid the current outbreak, asking sick individuals to stay off public transit, encouraging citizens to avoid densely packed buses, subways, or trains. On March 9, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced that there were 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York City. On March 10, Governor Cuomo announced a containment zone in the city of New Rochelle from March 12 to 25.

After trying to purchase 200,000 N95 masks on February 7, the Office of Emergency Management learned that vendors were out of stock. Emergency provisions of masks and hand sanitizers did not arrive until early March. According to The New York Post, one medical supply vendor with standing city contracts said that the initial requests for protective gear from the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) were bogged down by inefficient bureaucratic delays. One vendor said, “We’d send them a list of products we can deliver within 24, 48 hours”, but on average it took 72 hours for the agency to place an order. He added “the city just moves so slow” when there was very high demand coming from hospitals and the private sector. According to the contractor, eight out of 10 supply orders could not be filled because DCAS did not pay on time, which a spokeswoman for NYC denied. The office of the comptroller approved 12 contracts with a total value of $150 million before the mayor’s office took over the process on March 16. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that the city may run out of supplies by April if the federal government does not send 3 million N95 masks, 50 million surgical masks, 15,000 ventilators and 45 million surgical gowns, gloves, and face shields. One EMS worker expressed frustration at being asked to wear the less effective surgical masks. The police union filed a complaint on March 13 due to NYPD officers not being given masks and other protective gear. A spokeswoman called the Police Benevolent Association’s complaint “empty rhetoric”.

Self-quarantines for persons who test positive or are symptomatic are not enforced due to a lack of resources. Several New York City area nurses have expressed concerns that patients are not complying with self-quarantine guidelines due to financial necessity or fear of losing their jobs. A New York State Nurses Association board member has expressed concerns that low-income patients who share rooms with other individuals may not be able to effectively self-isolate at their residences.

Senate acquits Trump in historic vote

President Donald Trump has been found not guilty in his impeachment trial, ending a bid to remove him from office that bitterly divided the US. The Senate, run by the president’s fellow Republicans, voted to acquit him 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and 53-47 on obstruction of Congress. Democrats charged Mr Trump in December with pressuring Ukraine to smear a potential White House rival. He will now become the first impeached president to seek re-election. Impeachment allows Congress – the part of the US government that writes and brings in laws – to put presidents on trial. It is a rare event and a political process, rather than a criminal one.

In its historic vote on Wednesday, the Senate decided not to remove America’s 45th president from office on charges arising from his dealings with Ukraine. If convicted on either charge, Mr Trump would have had to turn over his office to Vice-President Mike Pence. The Democratic-led House of Representatives approved the articles of impeachment on 18 December. Mr Trump, who is seeking a second four-year term in the 3 November election, always denied wrongdoing. His re-election campaign said in a statement: “President Trump has been totally vindicated and it’s now time to get back to the business of the American people. “The do-nothing Democrats know they can’t beat him, so they had to impeach him.” It said “this terrible ordeal” and “nonsense” was merely a Democratic campaign tactic.

Courtesy : BBC News

Inside Trump’s Senate impeachment trial

The impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the 45th and incumbent president of the United States, began in the U.S. Senate on January 16, 2020, and is planned to conclude on February 5. It is a result of the impeachment of President Trump by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 18, 2019, following an inquiry stage that lasted from September to November 2019. The House passed two articles of impeachment, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

 After a partisan standoff over trial terms, on January 21, the Republican majority voted down 11 amendments proposed by Democrats, which among other things, requested subpoena authority to introduce testimony from current and former White House officials, and Trump administration documents which were not provided to House investigators. The prosecution made its opening arguments between January 22–24, and the defense, a team of attorneys selected by Trump, made its arguments between January 25–28. This was followed by a period of questions and answers and debate. On January 31, a Senate majority of 51 Republican senators voted against allowing subpoenas to call witnesses or documents. The Senate plans to conclude the trial on February 5, 2020, with a vote on the verdict, which requires a two-thirds majority to convict the president. The penalty for conviction is the removal from office; a separate vote would be required for disqualification from holding office in the future.

 Under the U.S. Constitution, the House has the sole power of impeachment (Article I, Section 2, Clause 5), and after that action has been taken, the Senate has the sole power to hold the trial for all impeachments (Article I, Section 3, Clause 6). Trump is the third U.S. president to face a Senate impeachment trial, after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. After the emergence of Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, House leadership came to the conclusion that impeachment might be necessary, and began an inquiry. As this was happening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was quietly planning a possible trial. On October 8, 2019, he led a meeting on the subject, advising the Republican Senators to craft their responses according to their own political needs. McConnell proposed two potential avenues: state opposition to the House process, or refuse to comment due to being potential jurors.

 As the articles of impeachment moved to a vote before the full House and referral to the Senate for trial, Mitch McConnell met with White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and congressional liaison Eric Ueland, later stating, “Everything I do during this I’m coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this … I’m going to take my cues from the president’s lawyers.” As part of the “total coordination”, McConnell stated that the president’s lawyers could decide if witnesses would be called for the trial.  McConnell also said there was “no chance” the Senate would convict Trump and remove him from office, while declaring his wish that all Senate Republicans would acquit Trump of both articles of impeachment. On December 14, Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham stated, “I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here … I will do everything I can to make [the impeachment trial] die quickly.” Three days later, McConnell stated, “I’m not an impartial juror. This is a political process. There is not anything judicial about it. Impeachment is a political decision.” The Constitution mandates senators to take an impeachment oath, in which by Senate rules is stated, “I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help me God.

The White House has formally announced its Senate trial counsel as being led by White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow, alongside Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, Pam Bondi, Jane Raskin, Eric Herschmann, and Robert Ray. Additionally, Michael Purpura and Patrick Philbin will participate in the trial. On January 20, the White House named eight House Republicans to serve on Trump’s defense team: Doug Collins, Mike Johnson, Jim Jordan, Debbie Lesko, Mark Meadows, John Ratcliffe, Elise Stefanik, and Lee Zeldin.

Closing arguments were given by the prosecution and defense teams on February 3. That day, Democratic senator Joe Manchin, who was undecided on the trial vote, proposed the Senate censure the president to prevent his behavior to go “unchecked by the Senate,” though there appeared to be little support for it.[169] On February 5, the Senate plans to vote on whether or not to convict the president on the charges and evidence as they have been presented and debated upon. Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution, a two-thirds majority of the Senate (in this case, 67 if all members are present) is required to convict the president. This means at least 20 Republican senators would need to vote with all Democratic (and two independent) senators to convict Trump. Conviction for impeachment cannot be appealed or pardoned; the penalty is removal from office; a separate vote, by simple majority, would be required for disqualification from holding office in the future. If Trump is removed from office, Mike Pence will become president in accordance with the 25th Amendment

Oil tankers attacked in Gulf of Oman

Attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman left one ablaze and both adrift, driving oil prices up over worries about Middle East supplies. Two oil tankers were hit in suspected attacks in the Gulf of Oman and the crews have been evacuated, shipping firms and industry sources said on Thursday, a month after a similar incident in which four tankers in the region were struck. One of the tankers, the Front Altair, carrying a cargo of petrochemical feedstock, was ablaze in waters between Gulf Arab states and Iran. Iran’s state news agency said it had sunk, although the Norwegian owner had said it was afloat and its crew were safe. The other tanker was adrift without any crew. The Bahrain-based United States Navy Fifth Fleet said it was assisting the tankers after receiving distress calls. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, part of Britain’s Royal Navy, said it was investigating with its partners. Details of the incident were not immediately clear, but one operator said it suspected its ship had been hit by a torpedo. Another shipping firm said its vessel was on fire in the Gulf of Oman.

Oil prices surged by 4per cent after the report that has stoked tensions in the region that have already been heightened by attacks last month on Gulf oil assets amid a dispute between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The Gulf of Oman lies at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, a major strategic waterway through which a fifth of global oil consumption passes from Middle East producers. There was no immediate confirmation from authorities in Oman or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in whose territorial waters four tankers were hit last month. An investigation said limpet mines were used. The US and Saudi officials blamed Iran for the May attack, a charge Tehran has denied.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE said the attacks on oil assets in the Gulf posed a risk to global oil supplies and regional security. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the attacks on the two oil tankers, warning that the world cannot afford “a major confrontation in the Gulf region.” “I strongly condemn any attack against civilian vessels. Facts must be established and responsibilities clarified,” he told a meeting of the UN Security Council on cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States.