A mysterious blood-clotting complication is killing coronavirus patients

Source: Washington Post

Craig Coopersmith was up early that morning as usual and typed his daily inquiry into his phone. “Good morning, Team Covid,” he wrote, asking for updates from the ICU team leaders working across 10 hospitals in the Emory University health system in Atlanta.

One doctor replied that one of his patients had a strange blood problem. Despite receiving anticoagulants, the patient was still developing clots in various parts of his body. A second said she’d seen something similar. And a third. Soon, every person on the text chat had reported the same thing.

“That’s when we knew we had a huge problem,” said Coopersmith, a critical-care surgeon. As he checked with his counterparts at other medical centers, he became increasingly alarmed: “It was in as many as 20, 30 or 40 percent of their patients.”

One month ago, as the country went into lockdown to prepare for the first wave of coronavirus cases, many doctors felt confident that they knew what they were dealing with. Based on early reports, covid-19 appeared to be a standard variety respiratory virus, albeit a very contagious and lethal one with no vaccine and no treatment. But they’ve since become increasingly convinced that covid-19 attacks not only the lungs, but also the kidneys, heart, intestines, liver and brain.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/22/coronavirus-blood-clots/

Trump aides explore ways to get a 'frustrated' president out of Washington

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — With a “frustrated” President Donald Trump growing restless after a month of nationwide shutdowns, his top aides and campaign officials are exploring ways to start venturing outside of Washington for events in the coming weeks.

Though national guidelines still advise Americans against taking nonessential trips and health experts warn against easing social distancing practices too soon, senior advisers are actively considering plans for the president to visit health care workers, first responders and Americans whose jobs have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to two sources familiar with the preparations.

The timing of any travel remains unclear but the White House sees the week of May 4 as a target for the president to start leaving Washington “in a safe and responsible way,” modeling day trips after those of Vice President Mike Pence, who traveled to both Colorado and Wisconsin this week.

While Pence’s footprint is much smaller than that of the president’s, aides acknowledge that next month will be a good time to experiment with a few quick presidential excursions. Trump is already scheduled to speak at the U.S. Military Academy’s graduation in West Point, New York, in mid-June.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-aides-explore-ways-get-frustrated-president-out-washington-n1189591

Biden to announce VP selection panel by May 1

Source: The Hill

Former Vice President Joe Biden said he plans to announce the members of a selection committee who will help choose his running mate by May 1 as speculation continues to mount over his vice presidential pick.

“We’re going to probably be announcing the setting up of that committee, which we’re doing now, between the people who have agreed to serve on it, and we will be announcing the formation of that I assume by May 1 we’ll have that done,” he said on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” early Wednesday morning.

Biden added that the committee will likely take until July to narrow the hunt for a vice president down to the top three contenders.

Announcing his selection committee would officially launch Biden’s search for a running mate, though speculation has already exploded as to who he could pick after he vowed to select a woman for the role.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/494056-biden-to-announce-selection-panel-for-vp-pick-by-may-1

Nobel-winner Stiglitz: Poor coronavirus response leaves US on course toward another Great Depression

Source: The Hill

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is ripping the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, cautioning that the U.S. could be headed towards a second Great Depression as a result.

“The numbers turning to food banks are just enormous and beyond the capacity of them to supply," Stiglitz told The Guardian in an interview. "It is like a third world country. The public social safety net is not working.”

He added: "The inequality in the U.S. is so large. This disease has targeted those with the poorest health. In the advanced world, the US is one of the countries with the poorest health overall and the greatest health inequality

Stiglitz, a long-time critic of the president, said that 14 percent of Americans relied on food stamps and that due to the country's mediocre social infrastructure, the unemployment rate, which has already ballooned during the pandemic, could hit 30 percent.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/494058-top-economist-poor-coronavirus-response-leaves-us-on-course-toward

Gretchen Whitmer: I Have Made Gut-Wrenching Choices to Keep People Safe

Scoop: Biden's "four Cs" of Trump coronavirus criticism

Source: Axios

Watch for Joe Biden and his surrogates to stand up a disciplined criticism of President Trump's coronavirus response around "the four Cs," per a campaign memo obtained by Axios: "Coverup." "Chaos." "Corporate favoritism." And "caving" to lobbyists.

Why it matters: The memo signals the presumptive Democratic nominee's intention to make Trump's handling of the pandemic a central attack and provides the first detailed look at how his campaign intends to do it.

It was sent Tuesday to Democratic strategists and elected officials by deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield.

She wrote that many of its recipients have sought guidance from the campaign on how to talk about Trump and the virus.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/joe-biden-trump-coronavirus-memo-e467bc02-c212-4eda-95e4-9132420fa37a.html

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Leadership During Crisis: A Conversation with Governors Gretchen Whitmer and J.B. Pritzker

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