Openly gay woman running for sheriff in Ohio wins primary against Trump-supporting Democrat with 70%

An openly gay woman has decisively won a race against her opponent — and former boss — in an election to decide the Democratic candidate who will run for Hamilton County Sheriff in November.

Charmaine McGuffey, 62, defeated Hamilton’s County current sheriff, Jim Neil, 61, and will now face Republican Bruce Hoffbauer in the general election.

In the stunning victory against a two-time incumbent, McGuffey received about 70% of the votes, according to unofficial results.

The county Democratic Party endorsed McGuffey over Neil, who angered many Democrats after attending a Donald Trump political rally in 2016.

At: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-charmaine-mcguffey-hamilton-county-sheriff-ohio-wins-primary-20200430-i3o6eqw5fvhqtcgunzuefiwo6y-story.html

Democratic candidate for Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey.

She was endorsed by the county Democratic Party over incumbent Sheriff Jim Neil (a fellow Democrat), who had supported Trump in 2016.

Captain Tom Moore, veteran who raised $37m for NHS, turns 100

War veteran Tom Moore, who has raised more than £30 million ($37.4 million) for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) by walking laps of his garden, celebrates his 100th birthday Thursday.

Moore, who rose to the rank of Captain during his military career, was also promoted to honorary Colonel in recognition for his efforts to raise money for the UK's health service.

Moore's latest mission began on April 6, with the target of raising £1,000 for NHS charities as a thank you for the treatment he received while suffering from cancer and a broken hip.

But the generosity of the public far exceeded his hopes, and he received millions within days.

Moore's unlikely ascent to the top of the pop charts came with a charity version of musical classic and popular football chant "You'll Never Walk Alone", in which he sings along with British stage star Michael Ball and the NHS choir.

Separately, the army announced it was making Moore an honorary colonel, an appointment approved by Queen Elizabeth II, calling him an "inspirational role model to generations young and old."

At: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/captain-tom-moore-veteran-who-raised-dollar37m-for-nhs-turns-100/ar-BB13pxiI

Britain's centenarian Capt. Tom Moore: You'll never walk alone.

Argentine court sentences 35 for Dirty War-era human rights abuses

An Argentine federal court sentenced 35 former military and police officers yesterday for their roles in human rights atrocities committed in the seaside city of Mar del Plata during the country's Dirty War against dissidents in 1976-77.

A total of 28 defendants were sentenced to life in prison - the harshest penalty possible under under Argentine law. Another 7 defendants received sentences of 7 to 20 years, and five were acquitted.

The landmark "Subzone-15" case, one of the most significant since former President Néstor Kirchner signed a bill in 2003 rescinding amnesty for Dirty War perpetrators, involved 40 defendants (another three have died) and 272 identified victims - of which 161 were killed or remain missing.

Of the 111 survivors, 97 testified at the trial. Over 300 witnesses testified in the two-year trial.

Ten of the former defendants had already been sentenced to prison terms in past trials - which since 2006 have resulted in prison sentences for over 900 Dirty War defendants, out of some 3,000 investigated thus far.

Dictatorship documents indicate that 22,000 were "disappeared" between 1975 and 1978; human rights activists estimate the number to be as high as 30,000.

Among those newly sentenced was Gonzalo Gómez Centurión, a former Air Force and airline pilot who was earlier alleged to have taken part in the infamous "death flights" - in which up to 8,000 victims were thrown alive, though drugged, into the Río de la Plata estuary.

Gómez Centurión, who was sentenced to 12 years, belongs to a politically connected family - including Juan José Gómez Centurión, a former Army major who took part in two coup attempts in 1987 and 1988.

The latter later held high-ranking posts in the right-wing Mauricio Macri administration (2015-19). He ran for president last year on a fringe ticket, the right-wing "Us" Front.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.loquepasa.net%2F2020%2F04%2F27%2Fmegajuicio-subzona-15-en-mar-del-plata-condenaron-a-prision-perpetua-a-28-acusados%2F

Witnesses gather last year outside the Federal Criminal Court in seaside Mar del Plata, where the "Subzone-15" trial took place.

The trial - with 40 defendants, 272 recorded victims, and over 300 witnesses - was one of the most significant since amnesty was lifted for 1970s Dirty War-era perpetrators in 2003.

Colorado, Nevada join Western States Pact to fight coronavirus outbreak

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Colorado and Nevada are joining Washington, Oregon and California in fighting COVID-19 through the Western States Pact, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday.

Under the Western States Pact, which was originally announced on April 13 and is composed of all Democratic governors, the states will use a shared approach to reopening their economies during the pandemic.

"In Washington state, our decisions are guided by public health data and science and this is a principle we share up and down the West Coast.

Governor Polis and Governor Sisolak are taking that approach as well, and the addition of their states will strengthen this regional partnership and save lives," Inslee said, according to a press release issued Monday by his office.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2020-04-27/colorado-nevada-join-western-states-pact-to-fight-covid-19

Colorado Governor Jared Polis during his state of emergency declaration last month.

Polis, with Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, agreed to join the Western States Pact today - a coronavirus response agreement that now includes five states (all with Democratic governors) with 60 million people and 21% of the nation's GDP.

Meet Ana del Valle, 107, who survived a bout with the Spanish Flu - and Covid-19

A 107-year-old Spanish woman, Ana del Valle, became famous after learning that she managed to overcome two pandemics: the Coronavirus and the Spanish Flu of 1918.

According to her daughter-in-law, Paqui Sánchez, del Valle had tested positive for Covid-19 after contracting the disease in the nursing home where she lives in Alcalá del Valle, in southern Spain's Andalusia region.

Testing positive on March 20, she became seriously ill, was hospitalized in an intensive care unit and sedated.

Her symptoms subsided and a third test recently came back negative - indicating a recovery that doctors called "incredible."

del Valle had also contracted the Spanish Flu as a child in 1918.

Raised in rural Spain, she was only a few years old when she had to go out looking for food. Hours later her mother found her under an oak tree with a very high fever, Sánchez explained.

The Spanish Flu caused tens of millions of deaths worldwide. But Ana, then 5, recovered.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tab=wT&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagina12.com.ar%2F261702-una-mujer-de-107-anos-sobrevivio-a-dos-pandemias

One tough cookie: Ana del Valle, 107, is the only individual in Spain known to have recovered from bouts of both the 1918 Spanish Flu and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Rick Bright: Federal official ousted after clash has long history of working on vaccine preparedness

The Trump administration official who oversaw the production and purchase of vaccines before being abruptly dismissed Tuesday after clashing with the administration on coronavirus treatments is an international expert on vaccines with a lengthy work history in the field.

Dr. Rick Bright had led the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which has been central to the response to the coronavirus outbreak, since 2016.

But his departure Tuesday, he believes, stems in part from his resistance to efforts to widen the availability of a coronavirus treatment pushed by President Donald Trump.

Bright will now lead a public-private partnership on vaccine development and treatment, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told CNN.

At: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/rick-bright-federal-official-ousted-after-coronavirus-treatment-clash-has-long-history-of-working-on-vaccine-preparedness/ar-BB133t0w

Dr. Rick Bright, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority head ousted over his reservations on the effectiveness of Trump's preferred remedy (in which the president is invested).

Oil plunges below zero for first time in unprecedented wipeout

Of all the wild, unprecedented swings in financial markets since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, none has been more jaw-dropping than Monday’s collapse in a key segment of U.S. oil trading.

The price on the futures contract for West Texas crude that is due to expire Tuesday fell into negative territory -- minus $37.63 a barrel.

That’s right, sellers were actually paying buyers to take the stuff off their hands.

The reason: with the pandemic bringing the economy to a standstill, there is so much unused oil sloshing around that American energy companies have run out of room to store it.

And if there’s no place to put the oil, no one wants a crude contract that is about to come due.

At: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-19/oil-drops-to-18-year-low-on-global-demand-crunch-storage-woes

A little something from 1982, when crude oil traded at around $32 - over $85 at today's prices.

Argentina makes opening move in debt talks

Argentina unveiled a proposal for a new debt restructuring today on some $70 billion in sovereign bonds.

The proposal, announced by Economy Minister Martín Guzmán, includes a three-year moratorium on debt service, a 62% reduction in interest payments, and a 5.4% cut in the value of the principal.

Final details were scheduled to be divulged Friday, effectively marking the beginning of what stands to be a contentious negotiation process between the two sides.

The recovery value implied by the proposal is about 30 cents on the dollar. That would be in line with the 70-75% "haircut" investors accepted in the last major restructuring in 2005 - after its then-record 2001 default.

Investors, Guzmán said, will have 20 days from the formal offer to accept the terms. Some, he revealed, expect 60 cents on the dollar from the center-left government of President Alberto Fernández.

Fernández, who took office in December, inherited twin economic and debt crises from his right-wing predecessor, Mauricio Macri.

The country's foreign currency-denominated public debt rose 141% in Macri's four-year tenure to $209 billion - with $34 billion owed to private and foreign creditors this year alone.

Argentina's GDP likewise fell a total of 6.6% since the "Macrisis" began in early 2018, as inflation more than doubled to 54%.

The ongoing Covid pandemic prompted Fernández to enact a nationwide stay-at-home order for non-essential staff on March 20, which has deepened the recession.

Even with stimulus - worth $11 billion thus far - the IMF estimated that Argentina's GDP may fall by another 5.7% this year.

At: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-16/argentina-asking-for-62-haircut-on-interest-payments

Economy Minister Martín Guzmán announces Argentina's preliminary debt restructuring proposal as Vice President Cristina Kirchner, President Alberto Fernández, Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, and House Speaker Sergio Massa look on.

The mayor's use of a face mask dramatizes the ongoing Covid pandemic - which has hit Argentina's economy hard since a national stay-at-home order was issued on March 20.

Guzmán's restructuring proposal, the most far-reaching since a historic 2005 restructuring, is supported by the IMF - which agrees that Argentina's foreign debt is "unsustainable."

All 50 states under disaster declaration for first time in US history

Source: The Hill

All 50 states are under a major disaster declaration for the first time in U.S. history, after President Trump approved Wyoming’s declaration Saturday.

Within 22 days, Trump declared a major emergency in all 50 states and most territories through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The final disaster declaration occurred on the same day the U.S.’s death toll surpassed Italy’s to become the country with the most deaths from the virus.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/492433-all-50-states-under-disaster-declaration-for-first

Confirmed coronavirus cases hit 1 million worldwide

Source: Los Angeles Times

The number of coronavirus infections worldwide has hit 1 million, with more than 50,000 deaths, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The figures were another bleak milestone in the pandemic that has forced the lockdown of entire countries and brought economies to a shuddering halt.

Still, the true numbers of deaths and infections are believed to be much higher, in part because of differences in counting practices, many mild cases that have gone unreported, testing shortages, and suspicions of a cover-up in some countries.

The coronavirus outbreak has thrown 10 million Americans out of work in just two weeks, the swiftest, most stunning collapse the U.S. job market has ever witnessed, and economists warn unemployment could reach levels not seen since the Depression, as the economic damage piles up around the world.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-02/coronavirus-one-million-cases

Italian police patrol an empty Piazza di Spagna in Rome.

The Covid-19 crisis has hit the Mediterranean nation especially hard.