PREPARATIONS to give out millions of coronavirus vaccines must start now or Scotland risks compounding the economic damage caused by the pandemic, a leading expert has warned.

The Herald is bringing live coronavirus updates and breaking news from Scotland, the UK and the world.

Source: www.mprnews.org - Saturday, May 09, 2020
A barber cuts a woman's hair at a salon amid the coronavirus pandemic in Round Rock, Texas, on May 8, following a slow reopening of the Texas economy. Sergio Flores | AFP via Getty Images As of Friday, in Texas you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Meanwhile places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work — while many public health experts warn that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at the Rollins School of public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. COVID-19 in Minnesota Full coverage from MPR News Tracking the spread Minnesota and the Upper Midwest COVID-19 How it compares with other diseases in 5 charts But then because of that success many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. Cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later, the island was back on lockdown . "That's the concern that we have right now," he said.

Source: www.businessinsider.com - Friday, May 08, 2020
The US Navy sent two ships into the middle of a South China Sea dispute on Thursday as the commander of US Pacific Fleet warned China to stop "bullying" other countries in the region. A US Navy littoral combat ship and a cargo vessel conducted "presence operations" near the West Capella, a Malaysia-contracted drillship at the heart of a standoff with China and, to some extent, Vietnam. Adm. John Aquilino, commander of US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement Thursday that China "must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . The US Navy warned China to stop "bullying" other countries in the South China Sea as two Navy ships sailed into the middle of a dispute in the contested waterway. The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery and the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez conducted "presence operations" near the West Capella, showing apparent support for the Malaysia-contracted drillship that has been hassled by Chinese ships in recent months. Adm. John Aquilino, commander of US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement Thursday that the US is "committed to a rules-based order in the South China Sea and we will continue to champion freedom of the seas and the rule of law." He continued: "The Chinese Communist Party must end its pattern of bullying Southeast Asians out of offshore oil, gas, and fisheries. Mi

Source: www.businessinsider.com - Saturday, May 09, 2020
Mother's Day is the single most important holiday for flower shops, with many businesses relying on strong holiday sales to survive the summertime slowdown in demand for flowers. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, spring 2020 got off to an ominous start for florists across the United States. 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. CEO Chris McCann and BloomNation CEO and cofounder Farbod Shoraka told Business Insider that their florist partners are seeing a major uptick in spending in the run-up to Mother's Day. The National Retail Federation is projecting that flower sales on Mother's Day will increase from $2.01 billion to $2.1 billion in 2020. Despite the good news, there remain major challenges to florists and the flower industry as a whole during COVID-19, including a major downturn for growers and wholesalers, reduced staffing, and even figuring out distribution capabilities. But Society of American Florists CEO Kate Penn told Busines Insider that florists are some of the "resourceful" and scrappy business owners out there: "Come rain, sleet, or social distancing they'll figure out how to get it delivered." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . For flower shops across the United States, Mother's Day is the most important date on the calendar. Millions of Americans setting out to make their moms feel special with a bright bouquet consistently ensure that the second Sunday of May is the biggest holiday in the flower business

Source: api-internal.usatoday.com.akadns.net - Friday, May 08, 2020
Vice President Pence's trip to Iowa shows how the Trump administration's aims to move past coronavirus are sometimes complicated by the virus itself.            

Source: www.vox.com - Friday, May 08, 2020
Trump gestures during an event with House Republicans on Friday. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images The president wants you to believe the US response is the envy of the world. It isn’t. The United States has endured over 78,000 coronavirus deaths as of May 8, far more than double the second hardest-hit country. Unlike most comparable countries, the trajectory of the per-day death toll has not yet meaningfully bent down here nor has the number of new cases diagnosed each day. By contrast, Germany and Japan combined have had just over 9,000 confirmed Covid-related deaths. Though Japan didn’t get off to a great start , the number of new cases per day has been hovering around 200 there. In Germany, it’s around 1,000 . In either case, the new case numbers are far below the nearly 15,000 identified in the US on Thursday. Put succinctly, while both countries continue to grapple with the virus and life is far from normal for people there, the pandemic has been somewhat brought under control to an extent Americans can only dream of. Here, by contrast, things aren’t really improving — and there’s no indication our federal government is capable of meeting the challenge. In fact, it’s quite the opposite . And yet to hear President Donald Trump tell it, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are enamored by his fantastic response to the novel coronavirus, and they’re following his lead. They’ve even told him as m

Source: hyperallergic.com - Friday, May 08, 2020
It’s an era of masks, but Ýrúrarí Jóhannsdóttir’s knitted versions are the fantastical creations we need to see right now. Not sure if they are exactly ideal for a pandemic, but they make us smile amidst the zaniness. More knitted masks and info on Colossal . (via Colossal ) I’ve been thinking about this article since I read it earlier this week and I highly suggest you read it too. Immunoprivilege is a thing and there’s a long US history around it, according to Kathryn Olivarius: Yellow fever, a mosquito-borne flavivirus, was inescapable in the 19th-century Deep South and a point of near-constant terror in New Orleans, the region’s hub. In the six decades between the Louisiana Purchase and the Civil War, New Orleans experienced 22 full-blown epidemics, cumulatively killing over 150,000 people. (Perhaps another 150,000 died in nearby American cities.) The virus killed about half of all those it infected and it killed them horribly, with many victims vomiting thick black blood, the consistency and color of coffee grounds. The lucky survivors became “acclimated,” or immune for life. I can’t stop laughing at this: A wall slashes right thru the the heart of Midtown Manhattan, courtesy of ????????????????, A Real Estate developer, sometimes a museum and NY Times is concerned about a hypothetical wall on the Far West Side of the Town. https://t.co/e2B9HmOczh pic.twitter.com/nBLUPDGT0Y — Garo Gumusyan (@GaroGumusyan) January 21, 2020 Bhakti Sh

No method is infallible when trying to reduce Bible poverty among the least reached, an OM worker discovers as he distributed Bibles.

In Arctic Russia, reindeer are the Nenets' life. Living among these people, ES longs for the Nenets to know Jesus, the true source of life.

African women who never went to school were unable to read the Bible upon becoming Christ followers. A new opportunity is giving them access to God's Word firsthand.

Jude, project coordinator of OM's Refugee Relief Serbia describes her busy role, and how OM’s service can be a powerful practical witness of the love of Jesus to hundreds of refugees.

Prayer and fasting have been part of the Algerian Church's lifestyle since its beginning. Unity among believers has contributed to ongoing spiritual strength amidst persecution.

A short-term creative outreach team helps long-term workers connect with several young men in a least-reached area.

Small outreach teams will share the life-changing message of the gospel with hundreds of women in brothels and on the street this Easter.

The leader said: "This is a secret; if we started to teach about Jesus in our mosques then we might as well open churches."

“As I watched the ending scene (that lasted about three minutes) I thought about the “happy ending” notion,” says Ava. “Is it real or is it a fairy tale? A utopia created by Hollywood to give their viewers a false sense of hope in the reality of a broken world? And so, I said to myself: I believe in happy endings.”

The Bailie family serve with their local church as part of OM in Ireland's Philippian Project.

"[The village] didn’t know about the cyclone." OM worker Macdonald tells how his village experienced Cyclone Idai.

Santa Cruz, Bolivia :: God surprises a Logos Hope crewmember with birthday treats and new perspectives as she serves with a team on shore.

Montevideo, Uruguay :: Logos Hope returns to the water after annual maintenance and her crew prepares to resume the floating ministry.

Jose, an Argentinian worker serving in Southeast Asia, tells of how he entered overseas service and what he has seen God do through his not-so-typical ministry.

Rosario, Argentina :: When their programme for the day gets cancelled, crew take to the streets to share their faith with those they meet.

CDC head Robert Redfield and FDA chief Stephen Hahn are also quarantining.

College sports won't begin until schools reopen, NCAA president says

Officials in Italy say an Italian aid worker who was kidnapped in Kenya in late 2018 has been freed in Somalia

He was surfing off Manresa State Beach on the northern end of Monterey Bay.

A married Maryland couple in their 80s were the victims in a shooting at a veterans cemetery in Delaware

Scores of nature lovers from dozens of states crowded trails, blocked-off areas.

Images show man lunging toward an officer who had tried to calm him down.

Trump’s taped message was played during a broadcast of the UFC 249 undercard.

More U.S. employers seem to be recognizing a growing possibility.

Penn State Altoona has announced the spring 2020 commencement student marshals, chosen to represent their academic division based on outstanding academic achievement.

Courtney Kantoski has created a line of T-shirts and tank tops which she is selling to benefit the United Way of Blair County’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.

Penn State Altoona's Alumni Society is mailing "graduation goodie" packages to each of the college's 200 graduating seniors.

Penn State Altoona this spring recognized outstanding employee contributions with the 2020 faculty and staff awards.

Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has published an article written about Carolyn Mahan's newest research grant.

The North Central PA LaunchBox is driving collaborative relationships with and between local, regional and state organizations, as well as government, to drive economic development in the region.

Professionals at the North Central PA LaunchBox have made it their top priority to help business and industry navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, LaunchBox staff members are already looking ahead to the end of quarantine, when they’ll help businesses in the region return to normal. To help meet that end, business owners and industry leaders are being asked to participate in a short survey to help identify their needs and concerns during this trying time, and into the future.

Penn State DuBois is teaming up with Penn State York to offer a remote learning opportunity for those seeking the Assisted Living Administrator, 15-hour training. This training prepares those who are planning on taking the licensing test, or qualifies as the required 15 hours of Continuing Medical Education for those completing training to maintain their current license.

The Penn State DuBois Delta Mu Sigma Honor Society has announced award winners for the 2019-20 academic year.

With the digital business landscape ever-changing due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the North Central PA LaunchBox is teaming up with the Altoona LaunchBox to offer the webinar “Cyber Security for Business” from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 6.

The Penn State DuBois Student Government Association (SGA) has announced award winners for the 2019-20 academic year. The SGA Awards Banquet originally scheduled for May 1 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but student leaders still wish to recognize award winners for their success in serving the campus and their community.

In addition to Penn State’s virtual spring 2020 commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. on May 9, individual campuses and colleges across the University will be offering special recognition and events to their graduates.

James Dillard, distinguished professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State, describes strategies to help regulate emotions during the stress and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.

Erin Brown and William McCarter were Penn State’s 2020 nominees for the Truman Scholarship, which rewards students for commitments to public service.

As part of Penn State’s 2020 spring commencement activities, Panini Pandya will represent international studies as its student marshal. Pandya, a Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar, will graduate with bachelor of arts degrees in international politics, Spanish and history, with a minor in geography.

As part of Penn State’s 2020 spring commencement activities, Andrew Bernstein will represent the Department of Political Science in the College of the Liberal Arts as the department’s student marshal. Bernstein, a Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar, will graduate with bachelor of arts degrees in political science and Spanish, with a minor in economics.

There are still lots of questions about how response-to-intervention is used, and whether it's being used correctly, considering that federal rules about identifying students with disabilities haven't changed.