Dr. Oz thinks it's about time we reconsider how much good social distancing is actually doing.Mehmet Oz, the talk show host known for his sometimes sub-par medical advice, made a Fox News appearance on Wednesday night to tell host Sean Hannity "we might be able to open" schools again "without getting into a lot of trouble." He then cited a study from medical journal The Lancet, saying "the opening of schools may only cost us 2 to 3 percent in terms of total mortality." "Any life is a life lost," Oz continued, but getting kids back in schools where they're "safe" and "fed ... might be a tradeoff some folks would consider."> DR OZ: "Schools are a very appetizing opportunity. I just saw a nice piece in The Lancet arguing the opening of schools may only cost us 2 to 3%, in terms of total mortality. Any, you know, any life is a life lost, but ... that might be a tradeoff some folks would consider." pic.twitter.com/aifMeKTsIv> > — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 16, 2020Oz made a similar argument on Thursday to Fox & Friends, saying it "really bothered" him that Boston University had already canceled its fall semester.The study in The Lancet maintains that "Recent modeling studies of COVID-19 predict that school closures alone would prevent only two to four percent of deaths, much less than other social distancing interventions." It does not explicitly argue for reopening schools immediately, though, and instead maintains "combinations of social distancing measures should be considered."More stories from theweek.com Why can't you go fishing during the pandemic? Lindsey Graham keeps breaking fundraising records. His Democratic challenger still outraised him. Legal scholar who defended Trump during impeachment objects to his idea of adjourning Congress

(Bloomberg) -- The coronavirus pandemic sharply cut into fund-raising for two committees that support President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, filings at the Federal Election Commission show, although he still holds a significant advantage over Democrat Joe Biden.At $63 million, the March haul for Trump’s re-election effort was down 27% from February, and the two key groups also saw double-digit drops. Still, Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again brought in $136 million in the first quarter.Social distancing and stay-at-home orders may have slowed his fundraising juggernaut, which started kicking into high gear in January as the Senate considered and ultimately acquitted Trump in the impeachment trial.With the contributions for the two committees, the president and the Republican National Committee brought in $212 million in the first quarter.Trump’s re-election effort ended the quarter with $240 million cash on hand. That far outstrips the $26.2 million that the Democratic National Committee and Biden had at the end of February. The Democrats will report their first-quarter totals to the FEC on Monday.In the first three months of the year, Trump Victory, which courts wealthy donors at events attended by the president or his top surrogates, took in $64 million, significantly more than the $31.7 million it raised in the previous quarter. But it took in about $10 million less in March than it did in February after it canceled scheduled fundraisers in March because of the pandemic.Donors who’ve been hard-hit by coronavirus were among the group’s big givers. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, each contributed $580,600 in February. Adelson’s seen a 26.6% decline in his net worth this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, whose net worth has dropped 23.4%, gave $500,000, while his wife, Marlene, gave $355,000. Billionaire Steve Wynn, who stepped down from his casino business in 2018 amid sexual harassment allegations in 2018, gave $468,500. He’s down 11.9% this year. Phil Ruffin, who co-owns Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, gave $500,000.Robert Mercer, former co-chief executive officer of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, gave $355,200. In 2016, two key Trump campaign officials, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon, had worked for a super-PAC Mercer funded. He was also an investor in Cambridge Analytica, the controversial data-mining and political consulting firm that harvested personal information of users of Facebook to use in its advocacy campaigns.Other big donors include former Anheuser-Busch Chairman August Busch III, who gave $500,000, billionaire Ira Rennert, chariman and chief executive officer of Renco Metals, who gave $450,000, and U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler and her husband Jeffrey Sprecher, who each gave $290,300. The Loefflers’ quick sales of millions of dollars worth of stocks as the markets crashed when the pandemic began has become an issue for the Georgia Republican in her re-election campaign.Trump Make America Great Again, the campaign’s digital fundraising arm, brought in $72.9 million in the first quarter after raising $54.6 million in the last three months of 2019. The committee targets grassroots contributors with frequent emails and texts as well as promoting Trump merchandise, including the iconic “Make America Great Again” caps.Small-dollar donors, those whose aggregate contributions to the committee amount to $200 or less, supplied $50.8 million, or 70%, of the total. Contributions made through WinRed, the Republican version of ActBlue, dropped about 11% from February to March.America First Action, Trump’s designated super-PAC, reported raising $9.4 million in the first quarter, with about a third of that, $3 million, coming from Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Group Inc. Los Angeles-based developer Geoffrey Palmer gave $2 million and investment banker Warren Stephens gave $1 million.(Updates totals in second paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

In his pursuit of a fourth term representing South Carolina, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has been outraised for the first time by his Democratic challenger, in a record-breaking quarterly period that sets up a competitive multimillion-dollar campaign leading into the general election. Democrat Jaime Harrison took in $7.36 million in the first three months of 2020, his campaign announced late Wednesday. Graham took in $5.6 million during the same period, a total his campaign said was achieved despite holding no fundraisers during the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, as well as during the first two weeks of the quarter, due to the new coronavirus outbreak.

President Trump is expected to announce new guidelines Thursday encouraging some states to lift social distancing rules quickly, perhaps even before his May 1 aspirational goal post. Trump's health advisers and many of the business leaders on his new "Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups" agree the U.S. won't be ready to reopen on that schedule, The Wall Street Journal reports.There seems to be a growing consensus about what needs to happen before the lockdowns are eased: A lot more testing, ample personal protective equipment (PPE), and effective contact tracing, for starters. "We can't move into the next phase of response before we are able to understand where this virus is, who has it, and to make sure to isolate cases," Crystal Watson at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security tells USA Today. The U.S. has conducted about 3 million tests, total, while some experts say tens of millions will be needed each week to safely manage a post-lockdown workforce.Trump's conference calls Wednesday with business leaders — many of whom only learned they were on Trump's economic revival councils when he read their names on TV — produced little of substance, and no follow-up calls were scheduled, the Journal reports. One top executive described the call to Politico as a "s--t show," while another CEO said Trump needs to "stop talking about turning the economy back on and start talking about making people feel safe, things that are happening around testing and the health care system."Even if the U.S. procures enough coronavirus tests, lifting restriction is up to individual governors, who are making their own gradual plans. "The notion that there's a control room in the West Wing and this group will gather around the president and say 'Go ahead press the button, sir, we're going to restart' — that's not how the U.S. economy works," Douglas Holtz-Eakin, chief economist for President George W. Bush, tells the Journal.More stories from theweek.com Why can't you go fishing during the pandemic? Lindsey Graham keeps breaking fundraising records. His Democratic challenger still outraised him. Legal scholar who defended Trump during impeachment objects to his idea of adjourning Congress

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s ruling coalition scored the largest parliamentary election victory since the end of military-backed rule more than three decades ago, signaling to global leaders that a strong pandemic response can win votes.The ruling Democratic Party of Korea and its satellite group won 180 places in the 300-seat National Assembly, according to data from South Korea’s election commission. Voter turnout was at about 66%, the highest in 28 years, and the results were seen as a show of support for Moon’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak.“This is a reminder that people respond to steady, trustworthy leadership in times of crisis,” said Mintaro Oba, a former American diplomat who worked on Korean Peninsula issues. “Moon Jae-in showed you can win elections on a cult of competence instead of a cult of personality.”The result gives Moon’s progressive camp a three-fifths supermajority, allowing it to push through legislation without opposition votes, including a supplemental stimulus budget announced Thursday. The victory adds momentum to the bloc’s key goals to reduce income inequality by prioritizing wages, reforming chaebol conglomerates and tightening rules on expensive housing development.Shares of companies in South Korea’s nuclear power industry fell in early trade Thursday on worries that Moon victory’s would add to his push to cut back on nuclear power.“Policies that have met with opposition will now be passed more swiftly, and that’s going to reduce policy uncertainties,” said Nam Chang-woo, an economist at the Korea Development Institute. “Given the economy is falling into doldrums, it won’t be easy to implement chaebol reforms right away, but they could come when the economy starts to recover.”Still, Moon fell short of the necessary two-thirds majority needed to enact more significant changes requiring constitutional amendments, such as allowing future presidents to serve more than one term. That term limit will increase attention on potential successors led by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, who defeated opposition leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, in one of the election’s most closely watched races.Hwang said he would step down from his post in the United Future Party. The conservative group picked up seats to reach a total of 103, but mostly at the expense of smaller groups in parliament and not the ruling party.“What the people showed through the election was their earnest desire, a desire that supports the government’s efforts to overcome the nationwide crisis,” Moon said in a statement. “The government will consider this a heavy responsibility, not be arrogant, and listen to the voices of the people in a modest manner.”Early StumblesLike other world leaders, Moon stumbled in his early response to the pandemic, having predicted that the virus would be terminated “before long” only to see cases spike days later. But the government’s focus on mass testing and isolation of the sick to corral coronavirus clusters has been credited with a sharp slowdown in the spread, with new cases now at their lowest levels since February.His approval rating shot up to 57% from 42% during the crisis as South Korea won global praise for its response to the outbreak.South Korea’s decision to hold the election contrasts with some U.S. states that have delayed presidential primaries and France, which suspended some local elections after cases began to multiply. Poland plans to conduct its May 10 presidential election by mail-in ballot.U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo congratulated South Korea on successfully holding an election, saying its “dedication to democratic values in the face of a global pandemic is a hallmark of a truly free, open, and transparent society -- qualities that are necessary in facing the current crisis.” He called it “a model for others around the world.”South Korea took precautions to keep voters safe: They were required to stand at least one meter (3 feet) apart, cover their faces, wear disposable gloves and be ready to submit to temperature checks, while voting booths were frequently disinfected.The virus provided an opportunity for Moon to rebuild support battered by an economic slowdown, corruption scandals involving presidential aides and resurgent tensions with North Korea, which fired missile barrages on the eve of the election in a show of force. The vote came about halfway through Moon’s single, five-year term, a point when an electoral defeat made his predecessor, former President Park Geun-hye, a lame duck and ultimately paved the way for her impeachment and removal.Before the results were released, South Korea unveiled a second extra budget worth 7.6 trillion won ($6.2 billion) to pay for emergency cash handouts to people as the virus threatens jobs and wages.“We’ve seen more defeats of a ruling party in interim elections in Korean history, so this is a rare case that a sitting president wins,” said Lee Jae-mook, who teaches political science at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul.Postponing the election would have been a worrisome precedent, with many Moon supporters being among those who took to the streets in the 1980s to end autocratic rule.“South Koreans have been traumatized by living under the authoritarian regimes of the past and see elections as essential,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior adviser on Northeast Asia and nuclear policy at the International Crisis Group.(Updates with comments from Moon)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

An anonymous person called the police department in Andover, New Jersey, on Monday to report that a corpse was being stored in a shed outside the largest licensed nursing home in the state. When officers arrived, they discovered the body was gone, but found 17 others inside the facility's tiny morgue.The Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I and II has 700 beds in two buildings, The New York Times reports. There have been 68 recent deaths of residents and nurses, with at least 26 testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. As of Wednesday, 76 patients and 41 staffers have also tested positive for the virus. Andover Police Chief Eric Danielson told the Times the facility was "just overwhelmed by the amount of people who were expiring." He added, "I don't know if I'm shocked by any means."Most long-term care facilities in New Jersey have reported at least one case of the coronavirus to state authorities. As of Wednesday, 6,815 patients in New Jersey have been infected by the virus, and at least 45 of the day's 351 deaths related to COVID-19 took place at a nursing home."The challenge we're having with all of these nursing homes is once it spreads, it's like a wildfire," Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D) told the Times. "It's very hard to stop it." His office has been receiving calls from worried nurses and family members of residents, and "it's scary for everybody," Gottheimer said. "What is surprising to me is how many are dying in house, versus the hospital."Local health officials were told by Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation I and II staffers that sick patients were separated from other residents, and placed on the same floors or wings. Prior to the pandemic, Medicare gave the facility a one-star rating, or "much below average," based on staffing levels, patient care, and inspections. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Why can't you go fishing during the pandemic? Lindsey Graham keeps breaking fundraising records. His Democratic challenger still outraised him. Legal scholar who defended Trump during impeachment objects to his idea of adjourning Congress

Demonstrators gathered in front of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Wednesday — some staying in their cars, others getting out and standing shoulder-to-shoulder — to protest against the stay-at-home policy enacted by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) as a way to fight the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.The protest, called "Operation Gridlock," was organized by conservative groups arguing that Whitmer's order, which bans travel between homes and closes down non-essential businesses, is too strict. As of Wednesday night, Michigan had more than 28,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the death toll stands at 1,921. The stay-at-home rules were enacted to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak from overwhelming the state's hospitalsSome demonstrators wore masks to cover their faces, but those who didn't posed a major health risk to those around them, Whitmer told reporters. "We know that this demonstration is going to come at a cost to people's health," she said. "The sad irony of the protest is that they don't like to be in this stay-at-home order, but they might have just created a need to lengthen it."Whitmer also said that while she understands their frustrations, she was disappointed to learn that an ambulance was stuck in the gridlock caused by the protest. "I know that people are angry, and that's okay, and if you want to, take it out and send it my way," she told the protesters. "I urge you, don't put yourself at risk and don't put others at risk, either."More stories from theweek.com Why can't you go fishing during the pandemic? Lindsey Graham keeps breaking fundraising records. His Democratic challenger still outraised him. Legal scholar who defended Trump during impeachment objects to his idea of adjourning Congress

Two days after claiming he had “total” authority over governors to order states to reopen, Donald Trump is threatening to adjourn both houses of Congress if they don’t bow before him. “The current practice of leaving town while conducting phony pro-forma sessions is a dereliction of duty that the American people cannot afford during this crisis,” Trump said during Wednesday’s coronavirus task force briefing, in a move reminiscent of Boris Johnson suspending parliament. He complained that the “phony” sessions, as the House and Senate try to figure out how to meet going forward in a time of social distancing, prevented him from installing more acting officials to posts otherwise requiring senatorial advice and consent. “It is a scam that they do. It's a scam and everybody knows it, and it's been that way for a long time."When one move to exercise unchecked power is blocked (remember his talk about quarantining New York?), Trump just moves on to another one. This time, he’s taking aim at the power of the Senate itself, and the president is doing so over an almost absurdly low-stakes position.Trump Uses Coronavirus Briefing to Try and Bully Congress Into Approving His NomineesAccording to Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution, presidents may, "on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper."Regardless of the constitutionality of his claim (for example, the House and Senate do not currently have a “disagreement… with respect to the time of adjournment”), Trump has, once again, found a new way to stress our institutions, upset precedent, and push a maximalist version of his position.“This is the ultimate example of an untested power,” Jonathan Turley, a constitutional expert who served as an anti-impeachment witness (arguing the constitutional case for Trump’s acquittal), emailed me on Wednesday evening. “It is baffling that the President would take such an unprecedented action for such stated reasons as filling a slot on the Voice of America.”Indeed, the appointment Trump was most vocal about expediting was the nomination of documentary filmmaker Michael Pack to head the agency that oversees the Voice of America, a government-funded news service designed to spread the values of freedom and democracy around the world. That’s right. This latest power grab has little to do with fighting the deadly pandemic and everything to do with installing loyalists. While some initially feared Trump would turn Voice of America into a house organ pro-Trump propaganda outlet, the service has maintained its independence and continues to draw the ire of Trump and his team—most recently, when they claimed VOA promoted Chinese propaganda. "If you heard what's coming out of the Voice of America, it's disgusting—what things they say are disgusting toward our country," Trump said on Wednesday.Regardless of his motives, Trump’s latest threat illustrates how, in a crisis, an executive can unilaterally act (or threaten to act) while everyone else has to react.“Even if successful, these appointees would serve under a considerable [amount] of controversy.” said Turley, who previously testified that President Obama's recess appointment of Richard Cordray was unconstitutional. Facing a global pandemic where he was caught flat-footed, does Trump really need to invent a new crisis? “There are a host of potential challenges here including whether there is truly a disagreement between the houses as members work remotely through a pandemic,” Turley said. Trump’s complaint now is that the Senate has moved into pro forma sessions to avoid technically adjourning during a pandemic crisis (thus preventing any recess appointments).  Article One of the Constitution says that "neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days." When the same thing happened a couple years ago, a spokesman for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell explained that "to meet our constitutional requirement of meeting every few days, we’re doing pro formas. We didn’t do it to block Trump.”  Regardless, it’s not clear if McConnell, who has spearheaded the confirmation of numerous conservative judicial appointments, (really) wants all of these Trump lingering appointments approved, or whether he has tacitly approved of some of the stonewalling. But he would have to buy in to Trump’s plan for this to work. In order to force this gambit, “Trump would need to get the Senate to adjourn to trigger a disagreement with the House,” Turley says. “Such a disagreement would then trigger his Article II authority which is needed to create a basis for a recess appointment.”Does McConnell want his legacy to be as the Majority Leader who presided over the erosion of the Senate’s independence and the separation of powers? In a sense, allowing Trump to adjourn Congress would be the logical conclusion after allowing him to declare a bogus “emergency” to bypass Congress’ power-of-the-purse authority and fund construction of a border wall with Mexico.  “As usual, the President is playing poker with his cards facing outward,” Turley says. “This will test Republican members and their fealty to their own institution. This is as unprecedented as it is unnecessary.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor who was a Republican witness during the impeachment inquiry of President Trump, took issue with Trump accusing Congress of "obstructing" his ability to appoint judges and threatening to close both chambers.Trump said Wednesday evening he was considering exercising "my constitutional authority to adjourn both chambers" so he could make recess appointments, adding, "it's something I'd prefer not doing, but which I should do and I will do if I have to." The president can adjourn the House and Senate when the chambers are unable to agree on when to adjourn, but this constitutional power has not been used before by any president.Turley tweeted that Trump appeared to be referencing Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution, "which gives a president 'in extraordinary occasions' [authority] to convene or adjourn the Houses. This power has never been used and should not be used now. The power to adjourn only applies 'in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment.'"Democrats and Republicans have used pro forma sessions to prevent recess appointments. Turley said he has "long been a critic of such recess appointments. Senators of both parties should vote to support the congressional control over adjournment. Absent a 'disagreement' there is no presidential power to adjourn under Article II. A pandemic should not be an invitation for pandemonium. Indeed, we need regular order now more than ever."More stories from theweek.com Airline conducts COVID-19 blood tests on passengers Michigan governor says protesters against stay-at-home order 'might have just created a need to lengthen it' Trump's performance against Biden reportedly improves after voters watch 90 seconds of a coronavirus briefing

President Trump's daily briefings on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic are apparently working to his political benefit, The Atlantic reports.A Democratic strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a private research initiative in which voters were shown a 90-second clip of a recent briefing. Trump's general election performance against his likely Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, reportedly improved by more than two percentage points after voters watched the clip. Considering most polls are indicating a tight contest, that's quite a shift after such a small amount of footage.Per The Atlantic, part of the briefings' purpose is to serve as a platform for Trump to reclaim the narrative about his initial response to the coronavirus, and push the idea that the president acted swiftly. Trump initially downplayed the threat of the virus and suggested further response efforts were unnecessary. Similarly, The Atlantic notes, the National Republican Congressional Committee sent robocalls to more than 120,000 numbers over a three-day period in late March, during which people were polled about Trump's press coverage, followed by a "sympathetic female voice" expressing frustration with the media coverage of Trump's handling of the pandemic. Read more at The Atlantic.More stories from theweek.com Why can't you go fishing during the pandemic? Lindsey Graham keeps breaking fundraising records. His Democratic challenger still outraised him. Legal scholar who defended Trump during impeachment objects to his idea of adjourning Congress