SEATTLE RED

Be frank on what to expect

Apr 11, 2020, 9:35 AM

Health experts, press briefings, coronavirus...

Dr. Anthony Fauci at a White House press briefing. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

According to scientific experts, there’s good news and bad news on the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The good news is that social distancing measures will succeed in “flattening the curve”, allowing a return to most aspects of normal life – probably some time this summer.

Passover in a pandemic

The bad news is that the coronavirus may come roaring back: based on the deadly pattern of the 1918 Spanish Flu, we’re likely to face another upsurge in deadly infections as summer turns to fall –an upsurge that would hit just weeks before the presidential election.

Public health officials will surely demand new school and business closures, but second-round restrictions might prove enormously unpopular—placing the president and other leaders in a perilous, painful position. The best way to avoid the dilemma is to be frank with the public about what lies ahead—making it clear that some relaxation over the summer won’t mean total, final victory over the pandemic.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico talks with volunteers at a food dr...

Associated Press

Talarico works to reach Black voters in his bid to win a US Senate seat as a Democrat in Texas

HOUSTON (AP) — Juli McShay had a few pointed questions for James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, when she stood up during a town hall in Houston. Black audiences like this one are key to Talarico’s effort to defeat Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton and become the first Democrat […]

4 minutes ago

President Donald Trump signs a security agreement with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen a...

Associated Press

What to know about the agreement signed by President Trump and the leaders of Denmark and Greenland

U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Denmark and Greenland signed an agreement about the status of the Arctic island after months of threats by Trump to seize the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally. The deal was officially signed Tuesday in New York, after U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials had quietly negotiated for […]

25 minutes ago

Asunta Washington, 38, poses for a photo in New Braunfels, Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Ph...

Associated Press

Takeaways: What a new AP-KFF survey reveals about rural American voters

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll from The Associated Press in partnership with KFF finds that about half of rural American voters believe the economy is worse off now than when President Donald Trump returned to office, pointing to economic frustration among a key group that has backed Trump and other Republicans in recent elections. […]

56 minutes ago

Ed Westrick, 59, adjusts a roof on a small building at his rural home near Commerce, Texas, Friday,...

Associated Press

Economic frustration tests Trump’s standing with rural voters, new AP-KFF poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — About half of rural American voters believe the economy is worse off now than when President Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new survey that points to economic frustration among a key group that has backed Trump and other Republicans in recent elections. The Associated Press, in partnership with KFF, […]

1 hour ago

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., walks onto the stage during a Get Out the Vote campaign event supportin...

Associated Press

Sen. Bernie Sanders unveils bill to ban artificial superintelligence and create Department of AI

Washington (AP) — Two leading progressive lawmakers, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar, are unveiling legislation Wednesday that would ban artificial superintelligence and create a federal agency to oversee advanced AI as some of the industry’s own leaders urge Congress to impose guardrails on the advancing technology. The bill, provided first to The Associated […]

2 hours ago

Deoujahne Darc performs during Skid Row's first annual talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturda...

Associated Press

At a talent show on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, the performers are all part of the homeless community

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wearing shiny heels, a thrifted dress and a red rose in her hair, Deoujahne Darc belted out an original song on a small, makeshift stage in the heart of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. “I saw the Lord in the face of a homeless man,” she sang, as the crowd swayed along. […]

3 hours ago

Be frank on what to expect