THE INTENSIFIED REPORT

The United States now has more than one million coronavirus cases across the country - accounting for a third of the global tally - as the death toll rises to more than 56,000. Infections across the US increased by more than 27,000 on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to just over one million. More than 1,300 Americans died overnight, bringing the total to just over 56,000. The number of confirmed coronavirus infections across the world surpassed three million on Monday with the global death toll now standing at more than 205,000. As the number of infections continues to rise, several US states are reopening in a bid to revive economies that have been ravaged by coronavirus lockdowns. It comes despite warnings from health experts that increasing human interactions and economic activity too soon may spark a new surge of infections.

Donald Trump is adamant China could have prevented the  coronavirus  outbreak before it became a pandemic and says he will demand a "very substantial figure" as compensation for the deadly bug. The US President revealed his administration is conducting "serious investigations" into actions they can take against the Chinese government, and is looking into how the outbreak was handled in Wuhan. On Monday at a press conference, the president said: "We are not happy with China. "We believe it could have been stopped at the source. "It could have been stopped quickly and it wouldn't have spread all over the world." Responding to a question about reports in Germany that a lawsuit worth billions could be lodged against China, Trump said: "We have ways of doing things a lot easier than that. "Germany's looking at things, and we're looking at things, and we're talking about a lot more money than Ge

Wanna own real live dirt  The Undertaker   used to bury  A.J. Styles  at Wrestlemania 36??? Better act fast because the WWE has collected the soil and put it up for sale -- and we're told it's already in super-high demand!! If ya missed it ... 55-year-old Undertaker beat Styles in an epic "Boneyard Match" at Mania back on April 4 -- which featured the two wrestling stars fighting it out in a cemetery. The memorabilia features a plaque with photos from the evening as well as a capsule full of the historic Earth that Styles was ultimately buried under. WWE is listing the items for $74.99 a pop ... and is limiting quantities to just 536 total. One source tells us ... "Demand is strong and it's already a top-selling item" on the official WWE online shop. Of course, while it is just dirt ... WWE mementos tend to age pretty well -- some of the game-used items from iconic wrestlers in the past have sold for thousands!! So, happy buying!!

"I hope both of you get the coronavirus! I hope you both die a long, painful death!" A woman went nuclear on students playing football in a closed park Thursday in New Jersey -- wishing death upon them -- and school officials are now investigating over reports the woman is a high school math teacher. The woman screaming at the kids has been identified by  The Trentonian  as  Nicole Griggs , a math instructor at Steinert High School. The paper cites multiple sources who confirmed her identity -- and public records which show she lives right next to the park where the incident went down. The video is crazy ... the woman tells the kids they could be arrested for breaking the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders ... and when one of the students asked, "Wait, can we go over there?” she melted down. "Park's closed," the woman can be heard yelling. "The whole area. Get it through your thick head. You are the reason we are in this situation. You are the pr

Another major American college is being sued by students claiming they're not getting their money's worth with the campus shutdown, and this time it's all about the U. The University of Miami's been hit with a new class-action suit filed by an architecture major who claims in legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- that she, and all others enrolled at the school, "lost the benefit of the education for which they paid" due to the coronavirus pandemic. The student says in-person classes haven't been held since March 17, and claims online learning options offered "are subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty." She says online classes are especially ineffective for an architecture student like herself because she's "unable to participate in model making" and "unable to receive in-person feedback from instructors." The student says in addition to tuition, she and oth

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is pushing the Pentagon to end the use of live animals during an annual survival training in Thailand that has involved U.S. troops drinking cobra blood. In a  letter Monday  to Defense Secretary  Mark Esper , the animal rights group argued that the use of live animals at what's known as the Cobra Gold exercise puts troops at risk of contracting zoonotic diseases like the coronavirus. “Considering the danger zoonotic diseases pose to the troops — and indeed to all humanity — it is imperative that you end the use of live animals in Cobra Gold and instead use more effective and ethical non-animal training methods,” wrote Shalin Gala, PETA’s vice president of international laboratory methods. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cobra Gold is a multinational military exercise and the largest in the Indo-Pacific region. It has several stages, including live fire training, landmine destruction a

This is the terrifying moment a small plane falls from the sky as it performs an aerial stunt in western  Mexico . Four occupants miraculously survived when the plane crashed in the Culiacán town of Villa Adolfo López Mateos last Friday. A bystander recorded the moment the Cessna XB-PLV ascended and made a sharp right turn, before suddenly nosediving and crashing in a farm field.  The small plane ended up on its roof with its landing gear in the air and its engine and nose gear torn away. According to newspaper  El Sol de Sinaloa , residents rushed to the aid of the three passengers and pilot and rushed them in a vehicle to a local hospital.  They were identified as Jesús Ramón, 18; Sergio David, 22; Sergio Alberto, 23, and  Cecilio Humberto. It is unknown which of the four occupants was piloting the aircraft when it crashed.  The Culiacán Municipal Police said authorities were looking into what caused the a

A WOMAN shot and killed her two young children before turning the gun on her own mother and finally herself, cops say. The body of a 38-year-old woman was discovered at an apartment in San Antonio, Texas Monday morning, along with the bodies of a three-year-old, five-year-old and a 68-year-old woman, all with bullet wounds. According to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus the woman shot and killed her son, five, and daughter, three, before turning the gun on her own mom. She then shot herself. “It’s tragic beyond words,” the chief told reporters outside the apartment complex. The woman and victim's names have not yet been released. The horrific discovery was made by the children's dad who spotted the bodies of his children through a window at the Sedona Ranch Apartments on Henderson Pass. Their father had been trying to get in contact with the mother for an "unspecified" amount of time. The 38-year-old is understood to have recently lost a custody bat

Nigeria, on Monday (April 27) reported 64 new cases of COVID-19, taking the country's total to 1,337, with 255 discharged and 40 deaths. Lagos recorded 34 new cases, 15 new cases was recorded in the FCT, 11 in Borno, while Taraba and Gombe recorded 2 cases each.

Raymond Dokpesi Jnr., chairman of DAAR Communications, has tested positive for coronavirus. He disclosed this in a short message to his staff in Abuja,  AIT, a subsidiary of DAAR Communications , reported Monday evening. A senior AIT official also confirmed the report to PREMIUM TIMES, adding that Mr Dokpesi’s wife and children tested negative for the infection. The younger Dokpesi was said to have been on self-quarantine for about a week, during which he began to show symptoms of malaria, nausea and then cough. He reportedly contacted the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, whose tests showed he had contracted the virus. It is unclear how Mr Dokpesi got the virus, but AIT said he has not had a recent travel history. “I got a call this morning confirming the result is COVID-19 positive. I am leaving now to the Gwagwalada Isolation Centre for treatment and hope to be back in two weeks,” AIT quoted him as saying. “Many of you may have interacted with me during our various mee

Wellington: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday claimed New Zealand had scored a significant victory against the spread of the coronavirus, as the country began a phased exit from lockdown. “There is no widespread, undetected community transmission in New Zealand,” Ardern declared. “We have won that battle.” After nearly five weeks at the maximum Level Four restrictions - with only essential services operating - the country will move to Level Three late on Monday. That will allow some businesses, takeaway food outlets and schools to reopen. But Ardern warned there was no certainty about when all transmission can be eliminated, allowing a return to normal life. Everyone wants to “bring back the social contact that we all miss”, she said, “but to do it confidently we need to move slowly and we need to move cautiously.” “I will not risk the gains we’ve made in the health of New Zealanders. So if we need to remain at Level Three, we will.” The easing of restrictions came as

LAUSANNE: FIFA president Gianni Infantino is suspected of having intervened with Switzerland's attorney general to try to get an investigation dropped, a Swiss newspaper alleged on Monday. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) launched an investigation in early 2016, shortly after Infantino was elected president of world football's governing body, about his awarding of a television rights contract to an offshore company in his previous role as UEFA's legal affairs director. According to the Tribune de Geneve newspaper, Infantino was "worried" about this investigation and wrote to his childhood friend, Rinaldo Arnold, who had become a senior prosecutor in Switzerland's Haut-Valais region where they grew up. "I will try to explain to the OAG that it is in my interests that everything should be cleared up as soon as possible, that it be clearly stated that I have nothing to do with this matter," he wrote in an email cited by the newspaper

A first class Borno monarch, His Highness, the Shehu of Bama, Kyari Ibn Umar Elkanemi, is dead.   The monarch died today Monday April 27 at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). He was in his mid-60s.   Borno State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Babakura Abba Jato confirmed the death to journalists during a routine media briefing usually held daily by Borno’s high powered response team on prevention and control of COVID-19.   Jato said the Shehu was known to have been battling with protracted illness as many people of his age, often deal with. The Commissioner said the Shehu’s palace will announce funeral arrangements that will be communicated to members of the public.   The deceased monarch ascended the throne in 1990.

President Muhammadu Buhari has eased the lockdown imposed on Ogun, Lagos States as well as the Federal Capital Territory due to widespread of coronavirus in the country. This was contained in the full text of his national broadcast on Monday. The full text of his speech below. 1. Fellow Nigerians 2. I will start by commending you all for the resilience and patriotism that you have shown in our collective fight against the biggest health challenge of our generation. 3. As at yesterday, 26th April 2020, some 3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded globally with about 900,000 recoveries. Unfortunately, some 200,000 people have passed away as a result of this pandemic. 4. The health systems and economies of many nations continue to struggle as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 5. Nigeria continues to adapt to these new global realities on a daily basis. Today, I will present the facts as they are and explain our plans for the

Mohammed, one of the son's of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has recovered from COVID-19 after testing negative twice for the novel virus.   Atiku had his confirmatory negative test result released this afternoon and says he will be discharged from the Abuja Isolation center soon.   Mohammed was confirmed to have contracted the virus on March 19th and was subsequently transferred to an isolation centre on the outskirts Abuja.  

Inmates have reportedly set the Sapele Correctional Service Centre on fire on Monday. It was also learnt that the inmates set the Sapele correctional Centre on fire because 25 inmates were granted amnesty by the state government, but only three persons have been released. The PUNCH  gathered that the inmates had around 8 am protested over poor welfare situation in the correctional centre. It was gathered that it took the efforts of security agencies to ensure that none of the inmates escaped. A source said, “No inmate escaped, but the inmates are angry because they are not taken care of adequately. “The Sapele Correctional service has been set on fire by prisoners who said they lack food and water. “They also said 25 inmates were granted amnesty by the state government, but only three persons have been released, why others are yet to be released.” The Senior Special Adviser on Security Matters to the Governor and Chairman of the LG, Hon Eugene Inoaghan, are at the centre to

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has directed all senior government appointees in the state including Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Special Advisers and Heads of Agencies to each donate N500,000 in April 2020 as their contribution in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. According to a statement issued by his media Adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye , El-Rufai says that the extension of the quarantine conditions by another 30 days imposes an obligation to make provision for the low income, poor and vulnerable persons that would be adversely affected, as they may be unable to earn any income while the lockdown persists The governor further directed that the political appointees will subsequently donate 50% of their salaries until the quarantine ends. He also notes that other categories of political appointees will also be making monthly donations to support the provision of relief to the low income, poor and vulnerable residents of the state.