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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suggesting that he fired the inspector general for the intelligence community in retaliation for impeachment, saying the official was wrong to provide an anonymous whistleblower complaint to Congress as the law requires. In remarks to reporters on Saturday, Trump called Michael Atkinson a “disgrace" and accused him of passing along to Congress a “fake report.” Atkinson had determined the complaint was urgent and credible and therefore was required by law to disclose it to Congress. His ouster, announced late Friday, came under immediate fire from Democrats and a handful of Republicans.
UNDATED (AP) — Asian Americans are using social media to organize and fight back against racially motivated attacks during the coronavirus pandemic. A string of racist run-ins in the last two weeks has given rise to hashtags and online forums to report hate. FBI predicts attacks will increase as infections grow. Critics say President Donald Trump made things worse by calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus.” He later said Asian Americans shouldn't be blamed. For a group with a history of being scapegoated, there’s urgency to drown out both bigotry and apathy. Advocacy groups set up a hate reporting center that's received more than 1,000 reports from across the U.S.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Tens of thousands of U.S. medical workers are suddenly out of work as casualties of measures to prioritize coronavirus patients at hospitals and of the economic troubles the crisis is creating. Hospitals are plucking professionals from the industry to treat the burgeoning numbers of people with COVID-19, but others are being left behind. Many nurse anesthetists in Pennsylvania have been laid off, though they are particularly critical to the coronavirus response. Big-city specialist groups, tiny hospitals and big multistate systems are seeing big revenue dropoffs. Minnesota reported that over 13,600 practitioners or technicians filed unemployment claims in the last half of March.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the Chinese government is facilitating a shipment of 1,000 donated ventilators to his state. The move highlights the extreme measures leaders are taking as they try to independently secure enough of the lifesaving devices. Cuomo says the U.S. government’s stockpile of medical supplies will fall short. But President Donald Trump said Saturday that his administration is assessing which areas have the most need, and that every decision is meant to save lives. The number of people infected in the U.S. has now exceeded 300,000, with the death toll climbing past 8,400.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden Gate Park turns 150 years old on Saturday, and the huge party to celebrate San Francisco’s beloved treasure will, for the time being, take place online. Originally, city officials planned to include free museum admission, concerts and the participation of more than 150 cultural institutions and community groups in the yearlong celebration. A giant Ferris wheel that lifts passengers 150 feet into the sky was brought in for the occasion. But the spread of the coronavirus forced them to postpone the event. Instead, they launched an online concert series featuring musical sets performed in the park over the years.
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