AI Tools Developed to Predict COVID-19 Case Severity – Research
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-02
An artificial intelligence (AI) model which can predict whether a COVID-19 patient will experience a severe illness has been jointly developed by researchers from China and the US. The research was based on 53 patients from China and its findings were 70 to 80 percent accurate.
sputniknews.com/asia/202004021078801907-ai-tools-developed-to-predict-covid-19-case-severity—research/

Beijing Blasts US 'Politicians Full of Lies' for 'Shameless' Claims About China's COVID-19 Mortality
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-02
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the White House had received a classified intelligence briefing which said that China has attempted to hide the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak, under-reporting both total cases and fatalities. President Trump has described China's coronavirus numbers as "a little bit on the light side".
sputniknews.com/world/202004021078804459-beijing-blasts-us-politicians-full-of-lies-for-shameless-claims-about-chinas-covid-19-mortality/

West Trying to Take Advantage of Venezuela's Coronavirus Woes to Topple Gov't – Moscow
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-02
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that an interim government should be established in Venezuela, accepted by both Caracas and the opposition, to serve until the next presidential and legislative elections.
sputniknews.com/world/202004021078805007-west-trying-to-take-advantage-of-venezuelas-coronavirus-woes-to-topple-govt—moscow/

Pompeo's 'transition' plan tells Venezuela to suffer into submission
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-01
Declaring that "Nicolas Maduro will never again govern Venezuela," Mike Pompeo unveils a so-called "transition" plan that tells Venezuelans to…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/01/pompeos-transition-plan-tells-venezuela-to-suffer-into-submission/

If at first you don't succeed…Impeachment frontman Schiff mulls 9/11-like 'nonpartisan commission' on coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-04-01
House Democrat Adam Schiff has called for a 'nonpartisan' probe modeled after the 9/11 Commission to find out what went wrong with the US response to Covid-19, an inquiry that will no doubt lead to President Donald Trump. | Schiff, who chairs the House intelligence committee, told the Washington Post about his plans in an interview, pledging to introduce a bill that would enact a nonpartisan commission to study "our mistakes" in dealing with the epidemic. The commission's work, he said, would have to wait until after the crisis, but he assured the outlet his committee was already reviewing "intelligence materi…
rt.com/usa/484733-schiff-911-commission-coronavirus-blame/

The Added Importance of the Census, in Light of COVID-19
Steven K. Choi | aclu.org | 2020-04-01
Last year around this time, my biggest worry was how the inclusion of the Trump administration's proposed citizenship question would depress participation in the decennial census. Thankfully, our Supreme Court victory means there is no citizenship question on the census. Now, I have a new worry: a global pandemic and the health of my loved ones. As it turns out, the 2020 Census plays a role here too, as it will have enormous implications on our health care for decades to come. | Specifically, the census will determine the allocation of $300 billion dollars of federal aid for the states' health care

India's Top Court Holds Govt Accountable Over Migrant Crisis
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-01
India's top court on Monday sought a report from the government over the steps taken for tens of thousands of migrant laborers as they try to return home after losing jobs following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak. | RELATED: | Rohingyas in India Abandoned to Fate in Face of Pandemic | The Supreme Court was hearing two petitions through a video-conferencing as the situation turned grim amid reports of more than 20 migrant laborer…
telesurenglish.net/news/Indias-Top-Court-Holds-Govt-Accountable-Over-Migrant-Crisis-20200331-0020.html

COVID-19 proves workers, not bosses, are essential
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-03-31
The Marxist argument that it's the labour of workers, and not the supposed intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit of bosses, that keeps society running, has long been ridiculed by defenders of capitalism. In the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the truth of Marx's claim has been brought into sharp relief.
mronline.org/2020/03/31/covid-19-proves-workers-not-bosses-are-essential/

DOJ audit prompted by FBI spying on Americans finds errors in EVERY sample FISA application
rt.com | 2020-03-31
A review of 29 FBI applications to spy on US citizens or residents found mistakes in every single one, and four cases of proper documentation missing entirely, the Justice Department inspector general has revealed. | From a dataset of more than 700 applications under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) submitted by eight FBI field offices, Inspector General Michael Horowitz and his team selected a sample of 29, made between October 2014 and September 2019, pertaining to US citizens or "green card" holders. | They found an average of 20 errors in each one. | Remember when the newly beloved liberal…
rt.com/usa/484633-doj-fisa-application-errors/

On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2020-03-31
On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times…
thenation.com/article/politics/dissent-debate-massie-aoc/

[Obituary] Aron Goldhirsch
Andrew Green | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
Medical oncologist specialising in breast cancer. Born on April 25, 1946, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany, he died on Feb 26, 2020, in Lugano, Switzerland, aged 73 years.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30642-5/fulltext?rss=yes

Calls Grow for Sen. Burr to Resign After He Sold $1.7 Million in Stocks & Downplayed COVID-19 Risks
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-25
Calls are growing for Republican Senator Richard Burr to resign after he reportedly sold up to $1.7 million worth of stocks after receiving privileged briefings about the coronavirus's threat to the global economy. ProPublica reports Burr, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, unloaded his holdings on February 13 in 33 separate transactions. At the time, he had access to classified information about the coronavirus and was receiving daily intelligence briefings. The stock market began plummeting a week after Burr's sales and has since lost about 30% of its value. We speak with Derek Willis of ProPublica…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/25/senator_richard_burr_stocks_coronavirus

Arbitrary & excessive: Marijuana trafficking sentences in Alabama
Kathryn Casteel and Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2020-03-24
Alabama resident Lee Carroll Brooker garnered national attention in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the marijuana trafficking case that put Brooker, in his 70s at the time, in prison for life.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/28/arbitrary-excessive-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-alabama

Senator Dumped Up to $1.7 Million of Stock After Reassuring Public About Coronavirus Preparedness
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-20
Soon after he offered public assurances that the government was ready to battle the coronavirus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, sold off a significant percentage of his stocks, unloading between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings on Feb. 13 in 33 separate transactions. As the head of the intelligence …
truthdig.com/articles/senator-dumped-up-to-1-7-million-of-stock-after-reassuring-public-about-coronavirus-preparedness/

Extradition of Assange Would Set a Dangerous Precedent
Marjorie Cohn | zcomm.org | 2020-03-02
The Trump administration is seeking extradition of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to the United States for trial on charges carrying 175 years in prison…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/extradition-of-assange-would-set-a-dangerous-precedent/