News August 5, 2020

News Stories

• Do some people have protection against the coronavirus?

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – We’re now more than seven months into the coronavirus pandemic that has upended the lives of most of Earth’s inhabitants. And while it is true that the scientific community has learned many things about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the disease it causes, Covid-19, there are also many gaps in our understanding.

• Want Schools to Open? Get Serious About Outbreaks

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – The spring decision to open inessential businesses came at the expense of fall classrooms.

• ‘Archaeology Can Cover the Totality of the Human Story’

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – A conversation with David Carballo about the fall of the Aztec empire

• Scott Gottlieb: High rate of COVID-19 spread in schools making it “very hard to open” in fall

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Face The Nation) – The former FDA commissioner suggests that testing delays need to be resolved before widespread reopenings of America’s schools.

• Dr. Gupta explains the science behind push to reopen schools

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says that science is on the side of reopening all schools. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Jake Tapper discuss what that science actually shows.

• Canada Got Better. The United States Got Trump.

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – Two North American nations seemed to be on the same path—and then they diverged.

• Covid Shows the Need for a Diagnostic Stockpile

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Congress can meet the current surge in demand for testing and be ready for the next pandemic.

• Like Nixon, Trump Has the Opportunity to Build a New U.S.-China Framework

  SPEAKER: Michael Pillsbury

  (Newsweek) – It may have come a decade or two late, but the United States is undergoing the most dramatic reappraisal of our relationship with the People’s Republic of China since the famous “opening” pursued by President Richard Nixon nearly 50 years ago.

• Britain has a critical role ‘East of Suez’ in the Indo-Pacific century

  SPEAKER: Stephen Harper

  (The Telegraph) – The UK can act as a bridge between democratic allies in the region, and protect the rules-based order.

• COVID-19 Reminds Us Our Fates Are All Tied Together

  SPEAKER: DeMaurice Smith

  (Sports Illustrated) – DeMaurice Smith reflects on the legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis, and reminds us of how COVID-19 is more proof that we are all in this together.

• Europe’s ‘Hamilton Moment’ Is a Flop. That’s Fine.

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg Opinion) – Federalizing debt was what united the states, but don’t expect the same effect from a European Recovery Fund.

• Behind the HHS-CDC Disagreement

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – An interagency feud over key data demonstrates the inadequacy of U.S. efforts to prepare for a pandemic.

• Back to school or back to square one?

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – Even though the heat of mid-summer is still upon us and the coronvirus pandemic continues, back-to-school season is right around the corner. With the possible exception of mask-wearing, no topic is generating as much debate as the reopening of schools.

• Ivanka Trump’s tone-deaf Tuesday

  SPEAKER: Jen Psaki

  (CNN) – Ivanka Trump had quite a day on Tuesday. She started it as the face of one of the most tone-deaf campaigns the White House has launched yet — and there is no shortage of competition in that category — and ended it by possibly violating a government ethics rule.

• Schools Can Open Safely This Fall

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Wall Street Journal) – Staggered schedules and other precautions would help reduce children’s low but real risk from Covid.

• America and China Are Entering the Dark Forest

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg Opinion) – To know what the Chinese are really up to, read the futuristic novels of Liu Cixin.

• If the United States were my patient: We aren’t ready to celebrate yet

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – Seven weeks later, as we approach the patient’s birthday — July 4th — I thought it would be a good time to check in and see how the patient’s doing.

• Antibodies Can Be the Bridge to a Vaccine

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Drugs that mimic an immune response are in development, but it’s time to ramp up manufacturing.

• China poses serious threat to US in new space race – no issue is more important

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – Whoever dominates space is going to be able to control Earth and dictate the planet’s culture and values.

• Science by press release: When the story gets ahead of the science

  SPEAKER: Sanjay Gupta

  (CNN) – A little more than three months after the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, it has become evident that both the research cycle and the news cycle have accelerated to levels never seen before in our lifetime.

• Reinvent Health Care to Beat Covid-19

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Important surgeries can continue, but doctors need to be paid more for managing outbreaks.

• America Doesn’t Need a New Revolution

  SPEAKER: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  (Wall Street Journal) – Outrage is the natural response to the brutal killing of George Floyd. Yet outrage and clear, critical thinking seldom go hand in hand. An act of police brutality became the catalyst for a revolutionary mood.

• America Is on the Road to Relapse Not Recovery

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg Opinion) – The U.S. isn’t following the example of countries that have shown what a “smart reopening” entails.

• Low interest rates widen the gap between Main Street and Wall Street

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (Yahoo Finance) – Is there no end to the absurdity of our debt culture? For most of the past 12 years, we have lived in an era of zero interest rate policy, or “ZIRP.”

• China’s secret campaign to spy on US and buy influence is exposed

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – For years, China has invested in American universities in various ways, donating millions of dollars, collaborating with academics, and setting up cultural centers.

• Trump’s 3-Point Plan to Win in 2020

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – He will attack the independence and integrity of the legal system, try to benefit from foreign help, and benefit from voting obstacles.

• Rules for Clinical Trials in a Pandemic

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – A study out of Britain shows how to learn more, faster about promising coronavirus treatments.

• Bolton book makes clear the dangers of a second Trump term

  SPEAKER: Jen Psaki

  (CNN) – Former national security adviser John Bolton wrote a forthcoming book detailing, among other things, how President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 election and told him to go ahead with building concentration camps for Uyghur Muslims.

• Trump Is Losing Credit Where He May Soon Need It Most

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – The president is not wrong to feel a personal sting in the Supreme Court’s decision.

• New Rules for Covid Summer: Be Flexible and Vigilant

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – The public is divided. Authorities need to build confidence without wearing out goodwill.

• Testing won’t help fight coronavirus unless we do this

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – One of the biggest advancements we’ve seen during the coronavirus pandemic crisis is the development of rapid, on-site tests for COVID-19. Thanks to this innovation, the turnaround time for such tests has been reduced from one week to one hour or less.

• ‘We Can’t Let Our Guard Down’ On Virus, Says Dr. Gottlieb

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (MSNBC) – Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says the coronavirus epidemic is still spreading but at a slower rate.

• How China’s Hawks Still Exploit the 1989 Tiananmen Protests

  SPEAKER: Michael Pillsbury

  (Newsweek) – In his Friday address on Hong Kong, President Donald Trump mused that we once hoped that “Hong Kong would be a glimpse of China’s future.” What he meant was that, for years, the consensus was that the Chinese government would evolve to resemble Hong Kong’s: democratic, protective of civil liberties, with a free market.

• How Businesses Can Keep Employees Safe From Coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Companies can deploy routine testing and tools like pooling samples to detect outbreaks.

• 2020 Is Not 1968. It May Be Worse.

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Bloomberg) – Social unrest helped doom Lyndon Johnson’s presidency. It may end up saving Trump’s.

• Voter fraud argument a red herring

  SPEAKER: Ray Mabus

  (Clarion Ledger) – On May 18, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson issued a statement on voting in the November election.

• A Fast Coronavirus Vaccine, Without Cutting Corners

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Rigorous testing will ensure that Americans can trust the shot they take will be safe and effective.

• Predictions and punts: A retrospective scoring of this column

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – As these will be my last words in these pages, it’s time to look back and take stock.

• America’s success in space is due to cheerful persistence, despite dangers and challenges

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – This is the moment to remember that cheerful persistence is the key to America’s success in space.

• Save cash and reward shareholders: The case for stock dividends

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (Yahoo Finance) – Dividends. To cut, or not to cut. That is the question confronting companies throughout the globe as they struggle to conserve enough cash to keep themselves going during a deepening economic downturn.

• How Congress can give Americans an extra $11,000 without costing taxpayers a penny

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – But what if there was a way for Congress to provide American families an $11,000 per year increase in their incomes without costing taxpayers a penny?

• David Frum: After Trump, How Do We Rebuild?

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (MSNBC) – Author David Frum joins Morning Joe to discuss his new book ‘Trumpocalypse: Restoring American

• Scott Gottlieb warns of uptick in coronavirus infections after widespread protests

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Face The Nation)  – Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb cautioned against the potential spread of coronavirus as thousands of people take to the streets to demonstrate.

• The Future of the Dollar

  SPEAKER: Henry M. Paulson, Jr.

  (Foreign Affairs) – The dollar’s status will be tested by Washington’s ability to weather the COVID-19 storm and emerge with economic policies that allow the country, over time, to manage its national debt and curb its structural fiscal deficit.

• The U.S. Doesn’t Need a New Cold War

  SPEAKER: Robert Zoellick

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Proponents of heightening the conflict with China understate the diplomatic successes of recent years.

• After coronavirus – College football by September and more. Here’s how

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – The question instead should be: “How will we operate so that all sports – college football, professional baseball, professional football, etc. – can be played safely more than three months from now?”

• Democrats can’t keep ignoring this vital campaign issue

  SPEAKER: Jen Psaki

  (CNN) – Senate Republicans should be careful what they wish for — and that includes South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who this weekend said out loud what many of his fellow Republicans are thinking.

• Trump Is Attacking Global Trade. Would Biden Bring It Back?

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – Donald Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership during his first week in office.

• Dim lights, big city

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – Nothing illustrates with shocking clarity the perils of big city life than the coronavirus pandemic.

• Here’s the Testing Strategy We Need to Safely Reopen America

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (TIME) – Everyone wants to know when we’ll be safe from COVID-19. The answer is we’re probably in for a long fight. We’ll face a persistent risk, maybe until we get a vaccine, or even after. But that risk can be managed, and reduced, if we focus on helping those at the greatest threat of getting the disease.