A pedestrian walks past a mural which reads "Stay at Home, Life is Beautiful" Thursday, April 2, 2020, in Los Angeles. California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
While warning residents not to take the information as a trend, California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state's number of ICU hospitalizations had fallen nearly two percent over the past 24 hours
However, Newsom also revealed that cases now total 18,309, with 492 deaths up by 50, in the same period, and the number of people hospitalized up to 2,825, slightly more than a four percent increase from yesterday.
"These are not statistics, behind every stat is a real person, real lives that have been torn apart," he said.
Despite the casualties and nearly three weeks after ordering the entire state to begin social distancing, the Golden State governor said “stay-at-home is working in the state of California.
"I caution anybody to read too much into that one point of data, but nonetheless, it is encouraging and it just again reinforces all of the incredible work that all of you are doing to practice physical distancing," Newsom said, warning against complacency. The state now expects the peak of cases to extend into May.
“The curve has been bent in this state, but it also, again, has been stretched. We continue to be vigilant," and California needs to do more to take care of the “deeply stressed out, deeply stretched” healthcare workforce, including psychological support, according to the governor.
Newsom announced a program to fund lodging for those "stretched" healthcare and frontline workers. He said the state will provide vouchers and stipends for workers who need to stay closer to patients or away from their own families. For low-wage workers, he said the state will provide 100 percent reimbursable cost at hotels. The voucher program will be funded with help from FEMA.
The governor also said 350 people should receive letters today to begin work in California's Health Corps and will be considered part-time state employees.
Meanwhile, in the past few days, California sent 500 ventilators across the country to help other states struggling to keep up with the coronavirus pandemic. In response to criticism he sent ventilators out-of-state, Newsom said those states have committed to returning them when California has its own needs and said there are more than 8,000 ventilators not in use currently within its hospital system. Newsom said this does not include the number of ventilators in the state's storage or those that have been sent out.
“We can’t just sit on assets when we can save lives and help our fellow Americans,” he said, stating it was the moral and ethical decision to lend aid.
After premiering at the 2022 Sundance Festival, Showtime is slated to drop the four-part docuseries "We Need to Talk About Bill Cosby" this Sunday. Director W. Kamau Bell joined Cheddar to discuss the sensitive project and about coming to grips with the reality of who Bill Cosby is following the numerous allegations of sexual assault. Bell said the biggest takeaway from the project is that survivors are not only looking for the 84-year-old comedian to be held accountable, they also want to prevent future assaults. "Maybe the key thing to learn is how do we create a society that is more supportive and accepting particularly women in this case who are survivors of sexual assault," Bell said.
Tax season is now underway, and it's going to be a bit different than in years past. For starters, the deadline is April 18, instead of the typical April 15th, and many Americans will need to account for advance child tax credit payments, the return of the recovery rebate credit, and a special break for charitable contributions, among other things. Brent Weiss, Co-Founder and certified financial planner at Facet Wealth, tells us what we need to know about filing our taxes this year, and when we can expect to receive our returns.
College enrollment has been on a steady decline for years, and the pandemic hasn't helped. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a 6.6% — more than 1 million students — drop in undergraduate enrollment, according to a recent report. Douglas Belkin, higher education reporter at the Wall Street Journal, joined Cheddar to discuss the long-term implications of students sitting out of college, and what institutions can do about it.
As the midterm election looms, things aren't looking too promising for President Joe Biden. One year into his term as president, Biden is facing one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern-day president, threatening his party's control of the House in 2022. Brian Bennett, Senior White House Correspondent for TIME, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
A full one year into his term as President of The United States, President Biden addressed the nation on Wednesday, facing questions on everything from inflation to chip shortages and covid-19. As Biden enters his second year in office, he is facing one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern-day president. Kate Davidson, Reporter, POLITICO joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
San Diego has just implemented a new law that could set the stage for how the country deals with food waste. This new law hopes to make a dent in that. Businesses and groceries stores out in San Diego will need to put a plan in place to *donate edible food rather than toss it straight to the trash. Food Rescue Manager at Feeding San Diego, Kate Garret
The streaming giant Netflix posted its latest earnings from its fourth quarter after the close on Thursday. The company's stock plummeted shortly after the company warned that its rate of subscription additions are slowing down. Senior Reporter at MarketWatch Jon Swartz, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
