Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders delivered an address on the coronavirus outbreak, rounding out three perspectives from the current president and the two Democratic challengers to his presidency.
Sanders, who trails former Vice President Joe Biden in the delegate race to the nomination, used his speech to contrast with his rivals. He called for the Trump administration to declare a national emergency and appoint an "emergency bipartisan authority of experts" to determine the next steps in the crisis.
Like Biden earlier, Sanders criticized the White House response, calling the administration incompetent and point out that its "incompetence and recklessness have threatened the lives of many, many people in this country."
Sanders and Biden both mentioned the lack of intensive care units and ventilators, an issue raised by health officials but one that the administration has not touched upon. The senator called for mobilizing retired medical professionals and medical students to increase medical care. He implored the nation to protect doctors, medical professionals, and nurses with proper instructions and personal protective equipment both because their safety is important and because "if they go down, then our capacity to respond to this crisis is diminished."
"Our country is at a severe disadvantage," Sanders said, "because we do not guarantee healthcare to people as a right."
During the speech, news came in that France's Emmanuel Macron called coronavirus the worst health crisis in a century, ordered changes to businesses and education and, echoing the very words Sanders was delivering across the Atlantic Ocean, said France will massively increase hospital capacity to deal with the novel coronavirus.
Both Democratic hopefuls today pleaded for an expansion of current practices. Biden called for mobile testing centers and Sanders for an expansion of community health centers.
Sanders also listed proposals to support people from low-income neighborhoods and working-class families, including calling for providing healthcare to immigrants regardless of immigration status, emergency funding for paid medical and family leave and a moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, and utility shutoffs.
Repeatedly, health officials and, now, the Democratic hopefuls, have said a choice between a paycheck and staying home when sick will expedite the spread of a virus in need of slowing down so as not to overwhelm America's health system likely to be overwhelmed in the coming weeks.
"Here is the bottom line and that bottom line is that in the midst of this unprecedented moment, we need to listen to the scientists, to the researchers, to the medical folks — not the politicians," he said of the spread of the virus as "on the scale of major war."
The comedian, known as the 'Egyptian Jon Stewart,' was exiled from his home country and imprisoned after being critical of the government on his political comedy show. But he sees similarities between how those who protest are treated both in Egypt and the U.S.
Mallory Hagan, the 2013 title winner, is running against the 16-year Republican incumbent Mike Rogers. Hagan says she wants to change the stereotypes people have about her home state and to engage young people in the voting process.
President Trump arrived in Singapore Monday morning for a historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. And while the U.S. commander-in-chief may be looking for a lot of credit in arranging the summit, Travis Jeppesen, author of "See You Again in Pyongyang" says Trump's counterpart has been working hard on the issue himself.
Canada's Senate has voted to legalize recreational marijuana. We spoke to cannabis activist Jodie Emery, who thinks this vote is going to send a major message to the rest of the world.
Comedians including Samantha Bee and Michelle Wolf may have caught heat for their controversial comments about President Trump and members of his administration, but Lydic says comedians shouldn't let fear deter them from pursuing a joke.
The comedian Julian McCullough talks about how jokes about President Trump aren't as funny to audiences as they once were. McCullough says liberals and conservatives have tired of the material and "no one wants to hear it."
Facebook admitted this week it shared user data with Chinese phone maker Huawei, which has been flagged as a national security threat. This slow drip of Facebook's data practices will be a difficult PR crisis for the company to overcome, says Former White House Chief Informatoion Officer Theresa Payton.
Democrats are still waiting to see who will take on Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher in a key California district. That seat is one their party needs to flip in November in order to retake control of the House of Representatives.
Facebook is facing more backlash after a New York Times report revealed the social media company shared user data with at least 60 device makers. It turns out Facebook shared information with four Chinese firms, including Huawei. The Chinese company Huawei is the third largest smartphone maker in the world and has also faced intense scrutiny from U.S. government officials.
Tesla shareholders voted to keep Elon Musk on as chairman of the electric carmaker. At the annual shareholder meeting, Musk said the company is on track to deliver 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of this month. Tesla will also open a new gigafactory in Shanghai, its first outside of the U.S.
And we talk to WNBA legend and Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie. She stars in the new film 'Uncle Drew' alongside Kyrie Irving, Chris Webber, Shaq, and other comedy and basketball greats. Leslie also weighs in on the NFL kneeling controversy.
Denying people the right to express their opinions doesn't represent America's democratic values, says Lisa Leslie. Trump "focuses so much on trying to be the dictator of our country," Leslie tells Cheddar.
