A-League championship contenders Wellington Phoenix believe the competition should be suspended because of coronavirus as they prepare to go into self-isolation in Australia.

While major events are being cancelled and postponed around the world, those behind the Tokyo Olympics say they don't have to make a decision about the games with just four months to go.

It was welcomed by athletes around the world, but the decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics until 2021 was easy in comparison to what comes next, writes Tracey Holmes.

Steve Smith is now free to captain Australia again if called upon, with the leadership ban arising from the ball-tampering scandal expiring quietly over the weekend.

The IOC and Olympics organisers have reset the clock on the Tokyo games for a year-long delay from the intended opening — but they warn there is no blueprint for getting to the new start line.

It would be a short-sighted and costly move for Australia's sporting bodies to abandon women's leagues to help them cope with the financial fallout caused by coronavirus, writes Richard Hinds.

When he went surfing with his old school buddy Nat Fyfe in Margaret River last week, Kookaburras co-captain Aran Zalewski had no idea he'd be thrust into the media spotlight — and it has made him appreciate his anonymity.

South Sydney and the NRL breathe a sigh of relief as three Rabbitohs players — including Latrell Mitchell, fresh from being fined for breaching social distancing on a camping trip — return negative results to coronavirus tests.

The Corrie favourite has stunned fans with his new look after taking up running

In light of Covid-19, Smithers Thermoplastic and Silicone Elastomers US Summits will now take place in a virtual format.

The new company called PlastiKCs, was founded by injection moulding expert Kurt Callewaert, together with Thiele & Kor Plastics Machinery, a long-standing representative of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag.

Mitsubishi Chemical America has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Gelest Intermediate Holdings, the parent of Gelest, and a portfolio company of New Mountain Capital.

The closing of the acquisition remains subject to other customary closing conditions

Energy and Commerce Committee members held a bipartisan teleconference forum with Admiral Brett P. Giroir, M.D., Assistant Secretary of Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, on the Administration’s COVID-19 testing efforts. Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) released a joint statement following the call: “The Committee continued its discussions with federal health leaders today on the Administration’s ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic.  During the call, members received an update on federal efforts to increase COVID-19 testing and encouraged the Administration to continue working to get more testing supplies to communities in need. “The members asked for more specifics on the testing needs that states have identified, how the federal government is going to increase capacity and what level of testing is necessary to reopen the economy. “Testing is an essential tool in reducing the spread of this horrible virus, and we thank Admiral Giroir for providing the Committee an update today.” ###

Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) today announced that the Full Committee will hold a teleconference forum on Friday, May 8, at 12 pm (EDT) on COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and surveillance. “Our nation cannot effectively combat this terrible pandemic in the weeks and months ahead without significant testing, contact tracing and surveillance,” Pallone and Walden said.  “We look forward to hearing from health experts about what actions they believe are necessary to ensure our communities have the resources they need to fight this pandemic and to confidently reopen their local economies.” During the forum, the Committee will hear from three health experts:  Andy Slavitt, former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from 2015-2017.  Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., former Administrator of CMS from 2004-2006 and former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2002-2004.  Avik Roy,Co-founder and President of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. This forum is open to the press.  Credentialed reporters interested in listening to the forum live should RSVP to cj.young@mail.house.gov by 4 pm today, Thursday, May 7. ###

Washington, D.C. – Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a teleconference forum on Monday, May 11, at 12 p.m. (EDT) with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph J. Simons to discuss critical consumer protection issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant consumer protection concerns that fall under the purview of the FTC, including COVID-19 related scams, price gouging, privacy and data security issues, and more,” Schakowsky and McMorris Rodgers said.  “We look forward to hearing from Chairman Simons about the steps FTC is taking to ensure consumers are protected during this pandemic.”      This forum is open to the press.  Credentialed reporters interested in listening to the forum live should RSVP to Evan.Gilbert@mail.house.gov by 5 pm on Friday, May 8.   ###

The companies are committing to find ways to use their businesses to help patients with cancer.

Events with extreme temperatures and humidity are occurring twice as often now as they were 40 years ago

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

Click to view a price quote on AGN.

Jorge De Castro Font, 45, a former senator in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today to 20 counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion.

A former lobbyist pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to commit honest services fraud. Todd A. Boulanger, 37, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts in the District of Columbia. According to court documents, Boulanger worked as a lobbyist from 1999 through 2004 with Jack Abramoff and others.

A former official of the U.S. Tax Court was sentenced today in connection with a bribery conspiracy involving contracts at the U.S. Tax Court in the District of Columbia. Fred Fernando Timbol Jr., 43, of Mount Airy, Md., was sentenced by Judge Ricardo M. Urbina of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

A former congressional staffer pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to commit honest services fraud. Ann Copland, 52, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts in the District of Columbia.

A securities attorney pleaded guilty today to defrauding investors in stock manipulation schemes involving 19 different publicly traded companies. David B. Stocker, 49, of Phoenix pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., for his participation in a stock manipulation conspiracy known as a “pump-and-dump” scheme.

"Community policing in the United States is built on two partnerships: first, and fundamentally, the partnership between state, local and tribal law enforcement and the communities they serve. And second, the partnership between these law enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice."

The former head securities trader for Lancer Group hedge funds pleaded guilty on April 28, 2009, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud. Eric Hauser, 65, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan in Miami. Hauser admitted to participating in a scheme to manipulate trading of stocks owned by the Lancer Group hedge funds.

Todd Gongwer of Dublin, Ohio; Lance Parker of Dublin, Ohio; and Joel Lee, of Galena, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Gongwer, a licensed real estate agent, also pleaded guilty to tax evasion in the hearing before Judge Michael H. Watson in Columbus, Ohio. Parker also pleaded guilty to illegally structuring cash transactions.

"If our partnership with state, local and tribal law enforcement is to endure, federal financial support cannot be a one time occurrence. This country is facing prolonged problems that require steadfast commitment and long-term cooperation."

Melissa Thomas, 34, pleaded guilty today to one count of forgery in connection with a scheme to embezzle more than $17,000 from a political action committee (PAC), which was a client of her employer.

"Keeping guns out of the hands of the Mexican drug warlords is a top priority for the Department. It is a priority that the President and the Attorney General have promised to address quickly and aggressively."

Fleet Management Ltd., a Hong Kong-based ship management firm, pleaded guilty today to a criminal violation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 for its role in negligently causing the discharge of more than 50,000 gallons of fuel oil into San Francisco Bay from the Cosco Busan when the vessel struck the San Francisco Bay Bridge in dense fog on Nov. 7, 2007.

Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota B. Todd Jones to chair the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) of U.S. Attorneys.

A Liberian-incorporated shipping company pleaded guilty today in federal court in Trenton, N.J., to failing to keep accurate oily water discharge records and using falsified records to conceal the discharge at sea of untreated bilge from one of its cargo ships.

The Department advised the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that while it should not accept the class action settlement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc. as proposed due to concerns of the United States regarding class action, copyright and antitrust law, the parties should be encouraged to continue their productive discussions to address those concerns.

Beverly Masek was sentenced today to six months in prison.

Three Ohio residents, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 29, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, 46, and Wassim I. Mazloum, 28, have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from more than 8 years to 20 years for conspiring to commit terrorist acts against Americans overseas, including U.S. military personnel in Iraq, and other terrorism-related violations.

“This is a critical and exciting time for the Department of Justice and I will rely heavily on these U.S. Attorneys as we work to further the Department’s efforts to reduce violent crime and gang violence, promote civil rights, ensure fairness in the marketplace and above all, preserve our national security,” said Attorney General Holder.

Bill J. Allen and Richard L. Smith were each sentenced in separate hearings today for their participation in a corruption scheme in which they provided approximately $395,000 in corrupt payments to public officials from the state of Alaska.

"The challenges facing law enforcement in tribal communities are enormous. The basic level of police protection that most Americans take for granted simply does not exist in many parts of Indian Country. We have a duty to change that."

Paul Schlesselman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, one count of threatening to kill and inflict bodily harm upon a presidential candidate, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The position was established as part of the Department’s ongoing efforts, initiated last year at the direction of the Attorney General, to review and improve its criminal discovery and case management policies and procedures.

Manual Deluna has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with his role in Memorial Medical Supply, a Houston durable medical equipment company.

The settlement requires the companies to pay a total of $900,000 in civil penalties for violating premerger waiting period requirements.

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty today to submitting nearly $1 million in false claims to Medicare.

“Health care fraud affects all Americans and demands a coordinated, national response,” said Attorney General Holder.

"Today’s summit marks a critical step forward in the work being done by HEAT, our Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team," said Attorney General Holder.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of three new U.S. Attorneys to serve on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC): Sanford Coats of the Western District of Oklahoma; Steven M. Dettelbach of the Northern District of Ohio; and Jim Letten of the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The Department said that despite the substantial progress reflected in the proposed amended settlement agreement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc., class certification, copyright and antitrust issues remain.

Eon Labs Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $3.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations relating to the company's drug Nitroglycerin Sustained Release (SR) capsules.