The Rundown: CDC Predicts Big Increase In Cases, Deaths

As nearly half of U.S. states are beginning to ease their coronavirus restrictions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is projecting a big increase in the number of new cases of the virus and deaths from it over the next month. The New York Times reported yesterday that it obtained a chart created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that incorporates the modeling from the CDC. It projects 200,000 new cases of the virus daily by the end of this month, and 3,000 daily deaths. Currently, there are about 1,750 deaths each day and 25,000 new cases. 

The White House distanced itself from the projection, saying, "This data is not reflective of any of the modeling done by the task force or data that the task force has analyzed." Meanwhile, an influential model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington that has been cited by the White House is nearly doubling its death toll prediction. It's now forecasting 134,000 people will die in the U.S., up from 72,433, with its new estimate also based in large part on the relaxing of social distancing that's beginning in many states. As of last night, more than 68,900 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and there were more than 1,180,000 confirmed cases.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state will move to Stage 2 of its reopening plan by the end of the week, which will allow for the reopening of retail, manufacturing and other "low-risk" businesses. The businesses can start reopening Friday if new social distancing measures are put in place. Meanwhile, Italy on Monday began to ease its two-month lockdown, the longest in Europe, allowing 4.4 million Italians to return to work. However, things were far from normal, with continued restrictions and requirements. Italy has had one of the world's highest death tolls.

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday pulled back from its decision in March allowing tests for coronavirus antibodies to stream onto the market without showing proof they worked. The FDA said it was doing so because some sellers had made false claims about the tests and their accuracy. The tests will now have to be shown to work. Officials had said the original decision was made to allow the flexibility needed to quickly speed up production of the blood tests. There has been criticism for weeks over the policy.

In other developments:

• Intelligence Says Lab Escape 'Highly Unlikely': Intelligence shared among U.S. allies indicates that it's, quote, "highly unlikely" the coronavirus emerged from a Chinese lab, but rather started at a "wet market" in the country where wild animals are sold, according to CNN. That wet market scenario had been the widespread understanding, but President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been in recent days citing an unproven theory that the virus accidentally got out of a lab in Wuhan. U.S. intelligence is still investigating.
• Some Meat Shortages Here: Meat shortages that have been predicted because of the temporary shutdown of some meat processing plants due to coronavirus outbreaks among their workers appear to have already started, but it looks like it's due to people hoarding. Costco said Monday that it will be limiting customers to three packages of meat per shopper, and Kroger said on its website that it may have limited inventory due to high demand. 

➤CHINA CONCERNED ABOUT ANTI-CHINA SENTIMENT DUE TO CORONAVIRUS: Beijing is reportedly concerned about global anti-China sentiment because of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in the country. Reuters says an internal report by the China Institutes of Contemporary International found that anti-China sentiment around the world is at its highest point since after the Tiananmen Square student demonstrations and China's deadly crackdown on them in 1989. The think tank's report also contended the growing anti-China sentiment is due in part to efforts by the U.S. to undermine public confidence in Beijing amid the crisis. The research was reportedly presented to President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese officials in early April.

➤AMAZON VP RESIGNS OVER 'CHICKENS**T' FIRING OF CORONAVIRUS WHISTLEBLOWERS: An Amazon.com vice president has resigned in protest over what he called the "chickens**t" firing of whistleblowers who raised coronavirus concerns over conditions at Amazon warehouses. Tim Bray, who was an Amazon Web Services senior engineer and vice president for five years, said the firings were, quote, "designed to create a climate of fear," and accused Amazon of treating the people who work in the warehouses as "fungible units of pick-and-pack potential." Amazon has fired several employees in recent weeks who spoke out charging the company hadn't provide enough protection from the virus for warehouse workers. However, it claimed other reasons for firing them, saying, "we respect the rights of employees to protest."

➤PULITZER WINNERS ANNOUNCED, 'N.Y. TIMES' LEADS WITH THREE: The winners of the 2020 Pulitzer Prizes were announced yesterday, two weeks later than originally scheduled because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The New York Times led with three Pulitzers: the investigative reporting award for an expose of predatory lending in the New York City taxi industry; the international reporting award for stories about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government; and the commentary award for an essay by Nikole Hannah-Jones that was part of the paper's 1619 Project on slavery in America's history.

The public service Pulitzer was awarded to The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica for their story on the sparse policing of remote Alaska villages. Winning the breaking news award was the The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, for its reporting on racial disparities and other issues in pardons issued by the governor. The Washington Post won the explanatory reporting prize for its stories on global warming.

Among the arts Pulitzers, Colson Whitehead, who won the fiction prize in 2017 for The Underground Railroad, won another fiction Pulitzer for The Nickel Boys. Michael R. Jackson’s musical A Strange Loop won the drama prize. A special citation was issued to African American journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells, who worked in the late 1800s, noting her, quote, "outstanding and courageous reporting" on lynchings. Wells later helped found civil rights and women’s suffrage groups.

➤NFL RELEASING SCHEDULE THURSDAY, MOVING LONDON, MEXICO GAMES TO U.S.: The NFL announced Monday (May 4th) that it will release its 2020 schedule on Thursday, unveiling it in a three-hour program at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network that will include analysis of the top matchups and primetime games. What the schedule won't include are games in London or Mexico City, with the NFL saying it's moving the four regular-season games scheduled for London and the one in Mexico City back to the U.S. because of the coronavirus pandemic. The NFL has played regular-season games in London every year since 2007, and Mexico City hosted a regular-season game in 2016, 2017 and 2019.