January 1, COVID-19: 70K Cases in US by End of Next Week

This Day in History | 1952

Cleveland radio disk jockey Alan Freed hosts the “Moondog Coronation Ball” – the first rock and roll concert in America.

Good morning Middle Americans, 

We hope you are not going insane locked down in your house. And we hope this information that comes to you each day in this newsletter is informative, because we have no intention of shocking you with scary stats.  But there is no way to sugar coat this. It’s bad and it’s getting worse. The director of the National Institutes of Health says we could see up to 70,000 news cases by the end of next week. And there’s now sign of it slowing down, at least not for a couple more weeks. 

This, while the economy sinks deeper, and deeper in a economic hole. Many economists still don’t have an answer to the question we all want to know; “how much money is it going to take to stop the bleeding. 

The Federal Government is working on all kinds of ways to help out the average American. Congress continues to bicker over a massive trillion dollar aide package. But the IRS has extended the tax deadline from April 15th to July 15th. 

And finally today, we say goodbye to the gambler. Kenny Rogers passed away at his home in Georgia last night. 

Read all about it. 

-Fraser Dixon

NIH director: Up to 70K Coronavirus Cases Could be Confirmed in US by Next Week

(ABC News) -As many as 70,000 Americans could be confirmed as infected with coronavirus by the end of next week, marking a “pretty dramatic” increase in the number of confirmed cases, the director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, told his employees in an agency-wide conference call on Friday.

But, Collins cautioned, “that doesn’t mean necessarily that the outbreak has exploded at an even more rapid rate.”

“It just means we’re now able to find out who’s out there, who is infected,” because “testing is now going to be much more available across the country,” he said.

As director of NIH, Collins oversees the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, whose own director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has become a trusted authority during the coronavirus crisis.

Read more here

U.S. Economy Deteriorating Faster than Anticipated

(Washington Post) – The U.S. economy is deteriorating more quickly than was expected just days ago, as extraordinary measures designed to curb the coronavirus keep 84 million Americans penned in their homes and cause the near-total shutdown of most businesses.

In a single 24-hour period, the governors of three of the largest states – California, New York and Illinois – ordered residents to stay home, except to buy food and medicine, while the governor of Pennsylvania ordered the closure of nonessential businesses. Across the globe, health officials are struggling to cope with the growing number of patients, with the World Health Organization noting that while it required three months to reach 100,000 cases, it took only 12 days to hit another 100,000.

Find out more here

Income tax filing deadline moved to July 15 from April 15

(AP) – The income tax filing date has been pushed back from April 15, to July 15, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

Mnuchin announced the decision in a tweet Friday saying that at President Donald Trump’s direction “we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties.”

At a White House briefing, Trump said the delay on filing and paying taxes until July 15 was done to give taxpayers more time and “hopefully by that time, people will be getting back to their lives.”

Trump said that if people are expecting refunds, they should go ahead and file now so that they can get their refunds from the IRS more quickly.

Get the latest info here

Country music legend Kenny Rogers dies at age of 81

(NBC News) – Kenny Rogers, the country musician behind such hits as “The Gambler” and “Lady” over a six-decade career, has died at the age of 81, his family announced early Saturday.

“Rogers passed away peacefully at home from natural causes under the care of hospice and surrounded by his family,” according to a statement from his management firm, SKH Music.

His family plans a small private service due to the coronavirus outbreak, the statement said.

Read more here