Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced that close contact services like salons and barbershops would be allowed to reopen on May 6 in 89 of the state's 95 counties.

The governor went on to say that he signed an executive order yesterday, which was predominantly about reopening the economy.  

"The situation there is that we had to issue an updated order yesterday in order to allow retail to open today. But as we said in the order, there are some places that we anticipate opening before the end of May. The first example of this, as you may have heard, is close contact services like salons and barbershops," Lee said.

The governor also announced that "in the next several weeks, the Unified Command Group is embarking on widespread testing of all long term facilities in Tennessee."

"We have 700 long-term care facilities in our state, and 70,000 of our Tennessee residents are in long-term care facilities," Lee said. "So for this initial push, we are partnering with the National Healthcare Corporation to test all residents and staff in each of their 38 Tennessee facilities." 

Tennessee today reported a 3.1% increase in its total number of coronavirus cases since yesterday. The state has a total of 10,366 cases, with 195 deaths. 

The researcher behind a key clinical trial for remdesivir – which Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed at the White House – told CNN on Wednesday that the drug is “not the end of the story” when it comes to treatments for Covid-19. 

“We have work to do. We are looking for other therapies, this trial is going to continue,” said Dr. Andre Kalil, the principal investigator for the clinical trial, which was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

“In medicine, it’s never ending. We can always do better. And we want to do better," Kalil said.

President Trump seemingly downplayed the need for testing on Wednesday.

Trump said over the next coming weeks, “you will see some astonishing numbers” on testing before adding, “I don't know that all of that is even necessary.”

He claimed that not all governors feel they need tests to reopen their states.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the company’s Wednesday earnings call by expressing concerns about reopening the economy too soon, striking a sharp contrast with tech billionaires such as Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla.

The remarks come a day after Musk compared state stay-at-home orders to “de facto house arrest” and urged policy makers to “FREE AMERICA NOW." 

And they also show how Facebook has been one of the rare companies to thrive during the global pandemic, as millions of people have turned to the company’s services during lockdown. 

On Wednesday, Facebook reported an average of 1.73 billion daily users for the month of March, an 11% increase compared to the same month a year ago. 

Facebook grew its ad revenue by 17% compared to the year-ago quarter, even as many investors feared an advertising slump driven by the pandemic. 

On the call, Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook expects lower profits this year. But despite that guidance and a quarterly earnings miss, Facebook shares surged roughly 10% after-hours.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state will begin to reopen May 4 but will exclude Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced Wednesday that its Board of Directors has voted unanimously to cancel 2020 Hall of Fame induction weekend events as a result of health and safety concerns associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The class of 2020 – Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker – will be inducted on July 25, 2021, in Cooperstown, alongside any new members elected as part of the Hall of Fame class of 2021.

While speaking to a subcommittee of AccelerateSC this afternoon, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he would not vote to authorize more money for unemployment benefits. 

AccelerateSC serves as the advisory team to consider and recommend economic revitalization plans for South Carolina.

CORRECTION: This post has been updated to reflect that Sen. Lindsey Graham indicated that additional funds for unemployment benefits "will not get reauthorized."

Lawyers for accused murderer Robert Durst, subject of the HBO series “The Jinx,” have filed a motion for a mistrial due to what they call “a prejudicial mid-trial delay resulting from the COVD-19 pandemic.”

In court documents filed Tuesday, lawyers for Durst assert that in the “best case scenario” the jury in the high-profile trial will have been recessed for at least 80 days and “it’s unrealistic for the jury to remember the evidence.”

Durst, 77, has been in and out of the hospital since the suspension of his murder trial, Deguerin said. 

“His health has not been good at all,” the lawyer said. “He’s had urinary tract problems, his brain stent is malfunctioning and he’s got a growth on his lower bowel.”

“We are very concerned for our client’s well-being and ours,” Deguerin continued. “Two members of our team are over 70 years old, another will soon be 65. We’re not able to go into that jail and sit down with Bob [Durst.] We cannot call him. He can call us but only for three minutes and then the phone shuts off. And we’re concerned we are being recorded. It’s extremely difficult for us to communicate with our client right now and it was hard enough before the corona virus outbreak.”

John Lewin, the lead prosecutor in the Durst case, wants four New York area witnesses to have previous video-taped statements played before the jury, instead of them testifying in person. 

A motion filed in court on Wednesday asks that four witnesses, including retired detective Michael Struk, who investigated the disappearance of Durst’s first wife, be declared unavailable due to “existing physical illness and infirmity.” 

The motion points out that all of the witnesses are over 65 years old and at higher risk of developing severe illness during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lewin did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer introduced a new program today that will provide tuition-free post-secondary educational opportunities to essential workers as they fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“Futures for Frontliners" is a path "to opportunity” for Michigan’s essential workers, and similar to the GI Bill offered to returning soldiers after WWII, Whitmer said at a news conference in Lansing on Wednesday.

The program will be geared toward essential workers without college degrees, and ensure “a tuition-free pathway to college,” as well as an opportunity to earn a technical certificate, associate degree or potentially a bachelor’s degree at universities, Whitmer said.

The program will be offered not only to those working in hospitals or nursing homes, but also to grocery store employees, child care workers, sanitation workers and those who deliver supplies, the governor said.

“It will provide tuition-free college opportunities for people who have risked their lives fighting on the frontline of this pandemic,” Whitmer said. “This is the first program of its kind in the United States, and I'm hopeful that other governors across the country will follow our lead to create pathways opportunity for the people who've been on the frontlines protecting our families.”