So much of the media has been focused on the coronavirus pandemic in the country’s urban hotspots. We hear a lot of news about the outbreaks in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and elsewhere. But we don’t hear much about what is happening in rural America. How is the pandemic hitting rural counties across the country?
President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in recent days have repeated false information that the coronavirus was created in a Chinese lab in Wuhan. The two have said repeatedly that they have “enormous evidence” and “a significant amount of evidence” that this is the case. But the statements are not true. Pompeo, in an interview with Breitbart yesterday, backed off and said he doesn’t know where the virus originated. But Trump has doubled down, saying falsely that the US had given the lab $7.5 million as part of a 5-year grant and that he “ended it.” KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and he’s a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, joins Brian.
Last week, Senator Richard Burr, a Republican of North Carolina, stepped aside from his role as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee because he was being investigated by the FBI for insider trading. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell named Florida Republican Marco Rubio as the acting chairman of that committee. Rubio, a former presidential candidate is a well-known conservative and war hawk who has advocated the use of US military force around the world, including against Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and other countries. John speaks with Ben Norton, a journalist with The Grayzone and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast.
Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join Brian and John.
Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join Brian on the show.
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