Trump Administration Declares Coronavirus a Public Health Emergency, Imposes Travel Restrictions, Mandatory Quarantines
The Trump administration on Friday declared coronavirus a public health emergency, and announced that people who poser a risk of transmitting the disease will be temporarily barred from entering the U.S.
CNBC reports: The risk to the American public is “low” at this time, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a Friday briefing at the White House. Yet, officials said they wanted to ensure it would remain a low risk to Americans.The briefing came as markets fell on fears about the fast-spreading virus’ potential economic impact. Earlier Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quarantined 195 Americans who have been evacuated from Wuhan, China. As of Friday afternoon, the coronavirus had infected roughly 10,000 people across the globe. In China, the virus is responsible for at least 213 deaths.
Earlier Friday, Delta, American and United announced they are cancelling all of their mainland China flights in response to the outbreak.
Congratulations to Yasmin and Jordan from Washington!
Yasmin and Jordan might have grown up in different countries, but that didn’t stop Zoosk from connecting them! They celebrated their wedding day last year and are now enjoying their journey together. She writes: “The first time I downloaded Zoosk I was just wanting to prove myself right on believing that online dating didn’t work and
Man charged with stabbing gaymen across Los Angeles
The Office of the Los Angeles District Attorney has charged a man in a series of attacks on queer people that occurred over the holidays.
30-year-old Joshua Ebow stands accused of the attacks, which began on Christmas Day 2019 and continued for the next eight days. Law enforcement officials have charged him with two felony counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and battery, two counts of exhibiting a deadly weapon, as well as committing a hate crime.
The attacks began December 25 in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Inglewood. Police say Ebow attacked a man with a knife in a pizza restaurant, stabbing him in the hand. A few days later, the attacker struck again, stabbing a man inside a Five Guys restaurant. Another stabbing occurred New Year’s Day in West LA, followed by another stabbing outside a Culver City mall.
Police arrested Ebow on January 3 in connection with the attacks. They also say he subsequently confessed to the crimes, and suspect Ebow targeted men based on suspecting they identified as LGBTQ.
Should he be convicted, Ebow faces up to 14 years in prison.
Twitter Blasts Murkowski, Portman, Rubio for Opposing Witnesses: ‘A Bunch of Craven Cowards’
Moderate GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida issued statements Friday saying they will vote against allowing witnesses and additional documents in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
Murkowski’s announcement, which came first, likely dealt the “fatal blow” to Democrats’ effort to compel new evidence, according to the New York Times.
Reactions from Twitter below.
You can tell they all know Trump is guilty as hell and they’re a bunch of craven cowards, because their attempted rationalizations are just absolutely ludicrous. t.co/p0ncajcapg
Portman wants to get back to work for the American people. Can’t wait to see all the great stuff @GOP will do once Senate Rs dispose of this trial. More tax cuts for the 1%? Killing pre-existing condition coverage?? Options are endless. t.co/NrlBcLBsVY
Murkowski issues pathetic nonsense statement and will be the decisive vote for the cover-up, because Republicans don’t know if they can count on Roberts to complete the cover-up for them. t.co/hhsf98u4tu
Susan Collins gets to tell Maine she didn’t assist in the rigging of a sham trial. Lisa Murkowski gets to tell Alaska voters she stood up for Trump’s kingly right to commit crimes & get away with it without a real trial.
Another stunningly illogical rationale. Murkowski says there is not going to be a fair trial in the Senate and therefore will vote against witnesses. Generally, witnesses are a key element of a fair trial. t.co/6xIZSKtwkH
A senator from Alaska — a state with something like 750,000 souls in it — gets to decide one of the most monumental things in Senate history. That is insanity, and @lisamurkowski is not only a terrible senator, she’s also a terrible person with no principles. Folded to McConnell.
An absurdly hypocritical statement from @lisamurkowski in which she laments the “partisan nature of this impeachment” and that “there will be no fair trial in the Senate” while declaring that she’ll vote against witnesses. Senator, you’re now a party to this cover-up. It’s yours. t.co/HJhFX0avLQ
It’s disheartening to hear “LOL Nothing Matters” from anyone these days, but especially from a US senator whose decisions clearly could matter if she only tried. t.co/2GFSJNAiqg
“Just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interest of the country to remove a President from office.” OMG you’re such a coward.
The GOP has abandoned the entire history of the party to keep this momentary hold on power. There is no “back to normal” after this. You have chosen Trump as the hill that you want the words Republican & GOP will die on. The Trump Party is what you are now. Shameful.
If it were the House, I’d impeach him on Monday for bribery. When the Senate kicked that, I’d impeach him the next day for treason. When the Senate kicked that, I’d impeach him the next day for emoluments. Impeachment now, impeachment tomorrow, impeachment forever.
LGBTQ Issues Shine during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at Davos with GLAAD, the Ariadne Getty Foundation, and the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality
The Annual Meeting welcomes the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. The mission of the World Economic Forum is simple: “improve the state of the world.”
Acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a member of WEF’s Board of Trustees, closed the week with an unforgettable performance at the Ariadne Getty Foundation’s LGBTQ dinner.
“Visibility of LGBTQ issues at a convening like Davos is a huge opportunity not only for LGBTQ people around the world, but for the global leaders in politics and business who attend the annual meeting,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “So many prominent leaders in attendance have locked arms with LGBTQ advocates and it’s clear that the time is right for the World Economic Forum and the Davos community to tackle LGBTQ issues throughout the year. The door is open to join together and create real change around striking down existing anti-LGBTQ laws and growing acceptance worldwide.”
GLAAD and the Ariadne Getty Foundation hosted a panel entitled ‘Leading on LGBTQ Acceptance,’ featuring some of the biggest names in media, advertising, and business to share best practices for including LGBTQ people in internal policies as well as public communication.
GLAAD’s Sarah Kate Ellis opened the standing-room-only event by speaking about the power of representation and called on companies in attendance to showcase LGBTQ people and families in advertising and other public communications.
The crowd became emotional after an impassioned speech on the power of representation by P&G’s Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard. As a company that reaches 5 billion people every day with their brands, P&G is choosing to use their voice in advertising to promote equality and inclusion. He shared how P&G is building LGBTQ marketing into the fabric of P&G’s brand building. During his remarks, Pritchard played an ad released by Gillette featuring a young Black transgender man shaving with this dad; shining the light on the power of a first shave and reinforcing a shared bond between all men, transgender and cisgender alike. He also showed an ad released in Europe by Pantene reinforcing the power of hair as the most visible way for trans people to represent themselves to the world. Overall, Pritchard’s message was simple and inspiring for the corporate leaders in the room: “P&G supports all people. All families. We do not define families, love defines families.”
CNN International’s Richard Quest, a LGBTQ champion and leader in business journalism, moderated the panel discussion which included:
Dan Bross, Executive Director, Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality (a project of the World Economic Forum)
Mark Getty, Co-Founder & Chairman, Getty Images
Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, P&G
Ellyn Shook, Chief Leadership & Human Resources Officer, Accenture
Following the panel, Geena Rocero, a producer, model, and trans advocate, spoke with Ariadne Getty, President and Executive Director of the Ariadne Getty Foundation. Rocero opened up about the state of trans rights around the world and spoke with Getty about her daughter Nats’ recent wedding to trans author and advocate Gigi Gorgeous, who were also in attendance.
“Businesses need to help us eliminate discrimination that LGBTQ people face,” said Ariadne Getty. “It is a human right to be safe, have equal rights and opportunities, and not be discriminated against. The world leaders and business leaders at Davos are the ones that have the power and access to really make that happen and the Ariadne Getty Foundation will continue to provide the roadmap to do it.”
There were several other LGBTQ-inclusive events during Davos, including five official panels put on by the World Economic Forum.
Earlier in the week, the Female Quotient also hosted a LGBTQ-themed panel which featured GLAAD’s Sarah Kate Ellis, as well as Gigi Gorgeous, Nats Getty, and Ariadne Getty. The panel, moderated by Politico’s Ryan Heath, also featured Wanuri Kahiu, a filmmaker from Kenya behind the powerful film ‘Rafiki,’ which is nominated for a GLAAD Media Award this year. The film was selected to premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, a first for a Kenyan film, but was banned in Kahiu’s home country, because of the LGBTQ content. Kahiu won a lawsuit around the film and it was able to play for seven days.
GLAAD’s Sarah Kate Ellis also participated in a session hosted by the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality (PLGE), which launched during Davos 2019. PGLE is a coalition of organizations committed to leveraging their individual and collective advocacy to accelerate LGBTI equality and inclusion globally. The Partnership is supported by UN Human Rights and is operated in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The founding members were leading multinational companies Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, CISCO, the Coca-Cola Company, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, EY, Edelman, Mastercard, Microsoft, P&G, PepsiCo, PwC, Salesforce, and Scotiabank.
Last week during Davos, PGLE’s session featured executives from Human Rights Watch, HRC, Deloitte, Salesforce, Open for Business and UN Human Rights to discuss best practices for global LGBTQ inclusion. CNN International’s Julia Chatterley moderated the session which also included an interview with Ellis about GLAAD’s work to hold global brands accountable on LGBTQ issues.
There were other key LGBTQ highlights during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting too:
Jin Xing, a transgender woman and TV host from China received the Crystal Award, WEF’s highest honor.
The World Economic Forum hosted five official panels on LGBTQ issues including a conversation with Wanuri Kahiu on artistic freedom and a discussion on being out in the workplace moderated by Geena Rocero.
It fills my heart with such joy to share a special moment to chat with a trailblazing trans sister #JinXing . She’s been called the “Oprah of China”. Founder of Jin Xing Dance Theatre Shanghai, the country’s first independent dance company. Prima ballerina, decorated colonel in the People’s Liberation Army, choreographer, actress, wife, mother of three and China’s most popular TV hostess. Beyond Inspiring! @worldeconomicforum #WEF20
Gigi Gorgeous and her wife Nats Getty participated in a Facebook Live with designer August Getty about LGBTQ youth today.
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Ellis participated in a Facebook Live entitled ‘Return on Equity’ alongside Jim Fitterling CEO, Dow Inc.; Dame Vivian Hunt Managing Partner UK & Ireland, McKinsey & Company; Nicola Mendelsohn CBE Vice President EMEA, Facebook; and Christiana Riley CEO, Deutsche Bank USA. Krishna Omkar, a London-based lawyer at King & Spalding moderated.
