Stranger Than Fiction

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TOP NEWS

• Fauci warns about risks of reopening too soon. Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before a Senate committee saying “If certain areas prematurely open up, my concern is we might see spikes that turn into outbreaks,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told senators on Tuesday. “The consequences could be serious. Even in states that reopen with a deliberate pace…there is no doubt that when you pull back on mitigation, you will see some cases reappear.”

• SCOTUS heard arguments from Trump’s lawyers to block access to his tax returns. Justices asked why Trump should be able to stop the House from accessing his records when Nixon and Clinton were required to comply. Decisions in the cases are expected by summer. 

• China is impeding an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. WHO has made regular requests for updates on the search from the Chinese government, but has received none. Results from samples taken at the wet market where the virus may have originated have yet to be released.

• Manhattan could be hit hard if working from home becomes the norm. Hundreds of thousands of office workers are part of a larger economic ecosystem that could be seriously impacted if most workers never return to work in those buildings. Some companies, such as Twitter, are making work from a home a permanent option.

WHAT I’M READING + WATCHING + LISTENING TO

• Judge in Flynn case will allow outside parties to present arguments about the government’s request to dismiss the case.

• The U.S. government said it canceled a $55.5 million contract for respiratory masks with Panthera, which had no history in the mask business and a parent company in bankruptcy.

• Couple holds wedding at drive-in movie theater.

• Health officials have sought to track down thousands of Seoul nightclub patrons, many of whom fear being outed.

THE COMMENT

“While top-tier facilities serve as a great marketing tool for admissions, colleges should shift their attention to projects that make their institutions a wise investment for potential students. Academic rigor, quality of faculty and departmental funding should be prioritized over cutting-edge add-ons that will contribute nothing to a student’s education.

The purpose of a college is to educate students to prepare them for life and employment after graduation. Students take on tremendous debt to receive this service. If colleges cut spending in academic areas to continue funding vanity projects, that service will lose its value. People will stop paying for it.” - Bill Phillips, Hillsdale College, history

THE STRANGEST

• NYC reports more than 50 children suffering from mysterious illness

THE AV ROOM