Bill Shorten draws a rockstar welcome in enemy territory, Scott Morrison argues with Labor over its support for a Coalition policy and Clive Palmer is personally, yet noticeably, absent from the campaign trail.

Women face a number of hurdles when it comes to working in manual trades, but overcoming the barriers as some have done could be the answer to the skills shortage.

With the coronavirus pandemic putting an unprecedented strain on Portland’s finances, Mayor Ted Wheeler proposed a budget Thursday that he pledged would be able to withstand the economic blow.

NICK Bertus and Will ­Affleck fell just three runs short of a century-old record to lead Parramatta to a two-day win over Western Suburbs.

As the United States faces meat shortages in the wake of the coronavirus, exports of pork and other proteins to China have soared.

By Rob Stein, Carmel Wroth, Alyson Hurt

To safely phase out social distancing measures, the U.S. needs more diagnostic testing for the coronavirus, experts say. But how much more?

The Trump administration said on April 27 that the U.S. will soon have enough capacity to conduct double the current amount of testing for active infections. The country has done nearly 248,000 tests daily on average in the past seven days, according to the nonprofit COVID Tracking Project. Doubling that would mean doing about 496,000 a day.

Will that be enough? What benchmark should states try to hit?

One prominent research group, Harvard's Global Health Institute, proposes that the U.S. should be doing more than 900,000 tests per day as a country. This projection, released Thursday, is a big jump from its earlier projection of testing need, which had been between 500,000 and 600,000 daily.

Harvard's testing estimate increased, says Ashish Jha, director of the Global Health Institute, because the latest modeling shows that the outbreak in the United States is worse than projected earlier.

"Just in the last few weeks, all of the models have converged on many more people getting infected and many more people [dying]," he says.

But each state's specific need for testing varies depending on the size of its outbreak, explains Jha. The bigger the outbreak, the more testing is needed.

On Thursday, Jha's group at Harvard published a simulation that estimates the amount of testing needed in each state by May 15. In the graphic below, we compare these estimates with the average numbers of daily tests states are currently doing.

Two ways to assess whether testing is adequate

To make their state-by-state estimates, the Harvard Global Health Institute group started from a model of future case counts. It calculated how much testing would be needed for a state to test all infected people and any close contacts they may have exposed to the virus. (The simulation estimates testing 10 contacts on average.)

"Testing is outbreak control 101, because what testing lets you do is figure out who's infected and who's not," Jha says. "And that lets you separate out the infected people from the noninfected people and bring the disease under control."

This approach is how communities can prevent outbreaks from flaring up. First, test all symptomatic people, then reach out to their close contacts and test them, and finally ask those who are infected or exposed to isolate themselves.

Our chart also shows another testing benchmark for each state: the ratio of tests conducted that come back positive. Communities that see about 10% or fewer positives among their test results are probably testing enough, the World Health Organization advises. If the rate is higher, they're likely missing a lot of active infections.

What is apparent from the data we present below is that many states are far from both the Harvard estimates and the 10% positive benchmark.

Just nine states are near or have exceeded the testing minimums estimated by Harvard; they are mostly larger, less populous states: Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Several states with large outbreaks — New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, among others — are very far from the minimum testing target. Some states that are already relaxing their social distancing restrictions, such as Georgia, Texas and Colorado, are far from the target too.

Jha offers several caveats about his group's estimates.

Estimates are directional, not literal

Researchers at the Global Health Initiative at Harvard considered three different models of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak as a starting point for their testing estimates. They found that while there was significant variation in the projections of outbreak sizes, all of the models tend to point in the same direction, i.e., if one model showed that a state needed significantly more testing, the others generally did too.

The model they used to create these estimates is the Youyang Gu COVID-19 Forecasts, which they say has tracked closely with what's actually happened on the ground. Still, the researchers caution, these numbers are not meant to be taken literally but as a guide.

Can't see this visual? Click here.

If social distancing is relaxed, testing needs may grow

The Harvard testing estimates are built on a model that assumes that states continue social distancing through May 15. And about half of states have already started lifting some of those.

Jha says that without the right measures in place to contain spread, easing up could quickly lead to new cases.

"The moment you relax, the number of cases will start climbing. And therefore, the number of tests you need to keep your society, your state from having large outbreaks will also start climbing," warns Jha.

Testing alone is not enough

A community can't base the decision that it's safe to open up on testing data alone. States should also see a consistent decline in the number of cases, of two weeks at least, according to White House guidance. If their cases are instead increasing, they should assume the number of tests they need will increase too.

And, Jha warns, testing is step one, but it won't contain an outbreak by itself. It needs to be part of "a much broader set of strategies and plans the states need to have in place" when they begin to reopen.

In fact, his group's model is built on the assumption that states are doing contact tracing and have plans to support isolation for infected or exposed people.

"I don't want anybody to just look at the number and say, we meet it and we're good to go," he says. "What this really is, is testing capacity in the context of having a really effective workforce of contact tracers."

The targets are floors, not goals

States that have reached the estimated target should think of that as a starting point.

"We've always built these as the floor, the bare minimum," Jha says. More testing would be even better, allowing states to more rapidly tamp down case surges.

In fact, other experts have proposed that the U.S. do even more testing. Paul Romer, a professor of economics at New York University, proposed in a recent white paper that if the U.S. tested every resident, every two weeks, isolating those who test positive, it could stop the pandemic in its tracks.

Jha warns that without sufficient testing, and the infrastructure in place to trace and isolate contacts, there's a real risk that states — even those with few cases now — will see new large outbreaks. "I think what people have to remember is that the virus isn't gone. The disease isn't gone. And it's going to be with us for a while," he says.

Can't see this visual? Click here.

Daniel Wood contributed to this report.

Even those who have already renewed will receive discounts

Kevin puts in work for his GED.

They've been more divas before Sza.

Critical Issues in Trucking Workforce Development , released by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University

The finalists are:

• Neil Clarke
• Ellen Datlow
• C.C. Finlay
• Jonathan Strahan
• Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
• Sheila Williams

I'm a subscriber to Uncanny Magazine, edited by the Thomases, and a Patreon supporter of Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke. I keep up with neither magazine as much as I'd like, but I generally enjoy both of them. Uncanny Magazine in particular has a very high hit rate for me when I do make time to read it.

(I also had the pleasure of meeting Neil Clarke in his kaffeeklatsch at Dublin Worldcon last year, which I really enjoyed & learned a lot from.)

I have one of Jonathan Strahan's anthologies from last year, Mission:Critical on my to-read pile, and I've also been eyeing the Made to Order: Robots and Revolution anthology published this year.

Ellen Datlow edits a lot of horror, which I'm cautious of, and I happen not to have read any of the Tor.com short fiction she acquired last year, but that could be remedied (in a well-lit room during the day, etc). She also lists a couple of anthologies, and while I'm not touching a Best Horror of the Year anthology, I might risk the ghost stories anthology.

C.C. Finlay and Sheila Williams edit respectively F&SF Magazine and Asimov's Science Fiction, neither of which I subscribe to or read regularly, but because I'm already not keeping up with the things I do subscribe to, not for any stronger or more considered reason.

Wow, the end of February really snuck up on me! I wrote this on the morning of March 1 and backdated it. :(

Aside from some uninteresting work travel and a bit more progress on Pac Tom, the main notable thing from February was work on my SIGBOVIK papers. It is now possible to submit, so you can too! Thank you for your suggestions for my chess paper (see previous post); it's not too late for more ideas there. I also have one non-chess paper, which turned out to be pretty fun. For that I spent a solid chunk of the weekend manually routing this bad boy:

Ariel Martin’s “The iMom” explores the future of A.I. and asks who is to blame when technology turns on us.

A psychopathic hairstylist collects scalps and wears them — in an attempt to escape herself.

Short breaks are among the most fundamental services for supporting families with disabled children. By providing breaks from caring and positive experiences for children and young people, they allow parent carers to focus on relationships with other children, or to have time to themselves or with their partner, leading to lower levels of psychological distress, higher levels of life satisfaction and better health. As a result, fewer parent carers reach ‘breaking point’ and fewer children require access to emergency provision or enter the looked after system. This report, commissioned by Every Disabled Child Matters, looks at the current provision of short breaks to families of disabled children in England.

As part of the implementation of the Equal Partners in Care (EPiC) Highland Carer’s Strategy 2014-2017 it was agreed to undertake a review of respite for Adult Carers of Adults (aged 16+). Independent consultants were commissioned by NHS Highland through Connecting Carers to undertake this work. There are four groups of people – totalling an estimated 200 people - with whom conversations have taken place during the review: Carers and staff from carer support organisations – more than 75 carers have given their views; Health and social care workforce – we have met with just over 50 people who have given their views and shared our initial findings with more than 60 others; Respite providers – we have met with staff from 15 organisations that are providers of respite Those staff responsible for overseeing the commissioning, planning and administration of respite.

In 2006 Mencap produced a comprehensive review of short break provision. Now, 10 years on, they are revisiting the support available for family carers to see whether recent policy initiatives and investment have delivered the much-needed change. A total of 264 family carers responded to their survey on short breaks provision and experiences of caring. They also sent Freedom of Information requests to all 152 local authorities in England that provide social care services. This report looks at short breaks provision in a climate of cuts to central and local government budgets. It examines the extent to which these cuts have impacted on the lives of people with a learning disability and their family carers. It also looks at the state of affairs for family carers of children and young people across the full spectrum of learning disability; from people with mild and moderate learning disabilities, to people with severe and profound disabilities.

The 10th international short break conference took place in Edinburgh from 13 to 15 September 2016. This conference report explores the barriers experienced in accessing short breaks and how these have been overcome.

The judges have now submitted their scores, they have been counted and verified and we can now reveal the 2016 Self Management Shortliste

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, where 79 people died or are presumed dead and many more were injured, serious concerns and questions around flammability of exterior cladding, the lack of fire sprinklers and the notion of “shelter in place,” among other subjects, have been brought to the forefront by the news media and the public at large. Jim Pauley, president and CEO of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), addressed these troubling fire safety issues in the upcoming edition of NFPA Journal, the association’s membership publication, which will be officially released next month.

I can tell you--after seeing them in the bathroom mirror this morning--this shortcrust pastry recipe will give you les poignées d'amour. That's French for "love handles." Même pas peur? Not even scared? Good! Read on and discover a truly delicious and versatile pâte brisée. I should know...I've tested 10 of them in the past week--ever since you asked for the recipe! Today's Word: la pâte brisée : shortcrust pastry, a rich dough for making pie crust Audio: Listen to the words pâte brisée in this soundfile En cuisine, la pâte brisée est une pâte servant de base aux tartes salées ou sucrées. La pâte brisée désigne généralement une pâte composée principalement de farine et de matière grasse sans sucre. In cooking, shortcrust pastry is a dough used as a base for savory or sweet pies. Shortcrust pastry generally refers to a dough composed mainly of flour and fat, without sugar. Jérôme's Pâte Brisée: 4-ingredient Shortcrust Pastry (makes one large or two small tarts!) Ingredients... 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup white wine 1/2 cup sunflower oil Note: ordinary white wine is all you need. Leftover wine will work as long as it hasn't turned to vinegar. For...

By Isaac Cabe  Published: May 06th, 2020 

Photo courtesy of Scott Neader. Found at flea market in Portugal. 

In this anijam, animators depict positive things they have experienced, seen, or thought in the midst of this strange time.

The post Short Pick Of The Day: ‘#FlattenTheCurve, Part 1’ by Studio Desk appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

A music video for John Legend's "When You Can Fly," a song from the vr experience "Crow: The Legend."

The post Short Pick Of The Day: ‘When You Can Fly’ by Eric Darnell appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

An independent film by French filmmaker Kajika Aki Ferrazzini.

The post Short Pick Of The Day: ‘Mom’ by Kajika Aki Ferrazzini appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Marrakesh just the name conjures up images of the exotic. A colorful tapestry weaving together not only the old and the new but an intoxicating blend of cultural influences derived from the continents of Europe Asia and Africa. Marrakesh has been cal

The corona crisis has hit the German economy at full force. Already, 470,000 applications have been filed for a German government subsidy that prevents employees from getting laid off, 20 times more than the previous record during the 2009 financial crisis.

Airbnb was dealt another setback in one of its most important markets Tuesday as voters in a New Jersey city just a few minutes by train from the tourist sights of Manhattan approved restrictions on short-term rental companies in a hard-fought referendum.

For years, state officials have declined to fully fund the Foundation Aid Formula designed to dole out money to New York school districts based on need.

Advocates have long protested the lack of special education pre-K classes for 3- and 4-year-olds, which is federally mandated, even as the city invests millions in universal pre-K.

New York City currently has fewer than 70 special education judges — called impartial hearing officers — to handle the thousands of complaints that special education students lodge every year against the city school system, resulting in more than 10,000 still-open cases.

Advocates predict up to 2,000 city youngsters with disabilities may be unable to find an appropriate preschool this spring because of financial constraints that make it harder to hire and maintain teachers for special needs programs.

As a single parent of five young children with two iPads and no computers at home, she’s had to ration both her own attention, and her kids’ time with the devices.

How to create your own victory garden in the coronavirus era

Nico Mannion scored 20 points, Zeke Nnaji and Josh Green each added 18 and No. 23 Arizona held on for an 85-80 win over USC on Thursday night.

Louise Hansson's swimming career at USC ended when the NCAA canceled its championships over the coronavirus. She's hoping the Olympics still will happen.