1)
From
ABC News, I am Daria Albinger. More
signs that this is the worst week so far for the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest numbers from Johns Hopkins show
there are almost 420,000 confirmed cases of the virus, the death toll well over
14,000.
New York and New Jersey reporting record
numbers of deaths again in the last 24 hours, and California Governor Gavin
Newsom says the numbers are also increasing in his state; “Sadly we had one of
the highest death rates in the state so far.
Now it’s 68 individuals that passed away over the last 24 hours. We now have 442 individuals that have lost
their lives.”
But there are also signs of hope. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the curve
is flattening; “If the hospitalization rate keeps decreasing the way it is now,
then the system should stabilize.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says
it’s time to double down on social distancing and other guidelines to stop the
spread of the virus; “Don’t let the warm weather or the holidays fool us; we
are in the fight of our lives and we remain in the fight of our lives.”
2)
The markets
rallied on those signs of hope. The Dow
closing up over 700 points.
3)
ABC
News has learned that Intelligence Community tried to warn President Trump
about the pandemic as far back as last November in a report from the National
Center for Medical Intelligence. ABC
News contributor John Cohen, a former Undersecretary of Homeland Security;
“It’s hard to believe that there was a total lack of awareness of this total,
that there was complete surprise when these very clear warning signs came to the
attention of the Intelligence Community and were passed on to the White House.” No comment from the government.
4)
Joe
Biden is now on the presumptive nominee for the Democratic presidential
nomination. Bernie Sanders suspended his
campaign today. You are listening to ABC
News.
5-1) I’m Connell
McShane. This is the Fox Business
report.
“On Wall Street, stocks rallying on various
headlines, signs that spread of the coronavirus could be stabilizing in the
hard-hit locations, Senator Bernie Sanders dropping out of the presidential
race, and also on reports that Russia has retreated to oil production
cuts.
5-2) Among
the gainers; real estates, energy and financials. And stocks pressured by the coronavirus
outbreak, also leading the way higher with cruise line operators and airline surging. The Dow up 780 points, the Nasdaq up 204, the
S&P 500 officially exiting out of bear-market territory and closing up 91
points.
5-3) And
automaker General Motors is making 30,000 ventilators, the national stockpile in
a $489 million contract with the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the deal struck under the Defense
Production Act, GM is expected to deliver over 6100 ventilators by June 1st,
and the remainder by the end of August.
That’s your Fox Business report. I’m Hilarie Barsky, invested in you.”
