10 things you need to know today: April 28, 2020

1. Trump addresses new coronavirus testing guidance

President Trump spoke in the Rose Garden on Monday evening to address new coronavirus testing guidance. White House task force member Dr. Deborah Birx unveiled new plans to work with state and local governments to test and trace coronavirus cases. The plan calls on the private sector to develop further testing and depends heavily on state governors to develop their own plans for rolling out more widespread testing seen as crucial to containing the virus. "The testing is not going to be a problem at all," Trump said. The United States now has recorded nearly 1 million coronavirus cases, and more than 55,000 deaths. Trump predicted an increased total death toll of 60,000 to 70,000, but said there would have been many more if he hadn't blocked many travelers from China in the early days of the outbreak there.

CBS News The Washington Post

2. New York cancels its Democratic presidential primary

New York election officials on Monday canceled the state's Democratic presidential primary, saying it wasn't worth the risk during the coronavirus crisis to hold what would be "essentially a beauty contest." The move came after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suspended his campaign and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, now the Democrats' presumptive nominee. Sanders had hoped to continue picking up delegates in the remaining contests to give him more influence over the party's platform. Sanders harshly criticized the decision to make New York the first state to cancel its primary, calling it an "outrage" and a "blow to American democracy." Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) had already delayed the primary from April to June due to the pandemic.

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The New York Times

3. U.S. excess deaths soared early in coronavirus crisis

The United States recorded about 15,400 more deaths than normal during the early weeks of the coronavirus epidemic, according to an analysis of federal data conducted by Yale School of Public Health researchers for The Washington Post. The excess deaths were nearly double the 8,128 coronavirus deaths reported during March and through April 4. The research did not conclude that the deaths were all directly attributable to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Some could have been people who died because they were reluctant to seek medical care for other illnesses due to the coronavirus outbreak. But the Post said that the high number of deaths compared to typical figures for the same period provided a better picture of the overall impact of the pandemic.

The Washington Post

4. White House suspends daily coronavirus briefings

The White House on Monday suspended the coronavirus task force's daily briefings, although it said they would resume later in the week with a new focus on plans for carefully ramping up the economy again after weeks of lockdowns. "But I would not read into that anything that said we see them as negative because in fact we think that they have been a very positive, helpful opportunity for the president to speak to the American people," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said. The decision came after a flurry of criticism over President Trump's musings during a Thursday briefing about whether COVID-19 could be treated with disinfectant injections. The next day he said the comments were sarcastic. In a White House news conference Monday, Trump brushed off responsibility for anyone who may ingest disinfectant as a result of his comments.

Reuters

5. 2 people partially corroborate Biden accuser's allegations

A former neighbor told Business Insider that Tara Reade, who says former Vice President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked for him as a Senate aide in 1993, told her about the allegation in 1995 or 1996. "She was crying," the former neighbor, Lynda LaCasse, said. "She was upset. And the more she talked about it, the more she started crying. I remember saying that she needed to file a police report." A former colleague who worked with Reade in the California state Senate said Reade complained to her about mistreatment by her former employer, although the woman, Lorraine Sanchez, said she didn't recall if Reade revealed details. Biden's communications director, Kate Bedingfield, said women have a right to "tell their story," but "these allegations are false."

Business Insider

6. More states ease stay-at-home orders to let some businesses open

Governors in a handful of states from Mississippi to Montana allowed some non-essential businesses to reopen for the first time in weeks on Monday despite warnings from experts that there wasn't enough testing to contain the coronavirus yet. Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Hawaii, and Alaska were among the states that have allowed some businesses to resume operations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said his state was still weeks away from easing its stay-at-home order. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said his state would let stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and malls reopen with limited capacity on May 1. Some health experts warned that some states were easing restrictions too early, saying that could extend the crisis and push up the death toll.

CNN Reuters

7. Routine medical tests plummet during coronavirus crisis

Routine medical tests critical for cancer and other conditions dropped sharply across the United States over the last five weeks under stay-at-home orders imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, according to a report released Monday by data firm Komodo Health. Diagnostic panels and cancer screenings typically done during annual checkups have fallen by as much as 68 percent since mid-March. Such tests and checkups, and the medical care related to them, provide key revenue for health-care systems, and help catch disease in early stages when it's more treatable, reported Komodo, which has one of the largest medical claims databases in the country.

Reuters

8. Report: Trump received numerous coronavirus warnings in classified briefings

President Trump received more than a dozen classified briefings from U.S. intelligence agencies warning about potentially devastating political and economic fallout from the COVID-19 coronavirus in January and February, The Washington Post reported Monday, citing current and former U.S. officials. The information about the spread of the virus was presented in the President's Daily Brief, a sensitive roundup produced to alert the president to the most significant global security threats. The warnings "appear to have failed to register with the president, who routinely skips reading the PDB" and downplayed the virus threat into late February, the Post reported. A White House spokesman disputed the suggestion that Trump responded slowly, saying he "rose to fight this crisis head-on by taking early, aggressive historic action."

The Washington Post

9. Trump says he knows Kim Jong Un's health status

President Trump on Monday said he knew North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's health status, which has been the subject of rampant speculation recently. Trump said the world would find out more "in the not too distant future," although he declined to provide details. "I can't talk about it now," he said. "I just wish him well." Media outlets, starting with the South Korea-based news site Daily NK, started reporting on April 20 that Kim was in critical condition following cardiovascular surgery. The speculation came after Kim disappeared from public view, missing a key holiday on April 15. South Korea's minister for North Korean affairs said Tuesday that Kim might have entered isolation to avoid coronavirus infection.

Bloomberg CNBC

10. Netflix releasing surprise documentary about Michelle Obama

Becoming, a surprise documentary film revolving around Michelle Obama and the book tour for her 2018 memoir, is dropping next week, Netflix has revealed. The film was directed by Nadia Hallgren, and Netflix called it an "intimate look into the life of former First Lady Michelle Obama during a moment of profound change." A first look at Becoming released on Monday focused on a discussion Obama held at a community event in Philadelphia. The Hollywood Reporter writes that the film was kept "top-secret for months." Barack and Michelle Obama in 2018 signed a production deal with Netflix. Becoming will begin streaming on Netflix on May 6.

The New York Times The Hollywood Reporter