Man, 64, jumps to his death from the 16th floor of luxury Manhattan apartment building as neighbors worry coronavirus isolation could be to blame

A man has been killed after jumping from a luxury Manhattan apartment block.

The 64-year-old who has yet to have been identified jumped from the 16th-floor of the Tribeca Park building on Chambers Street at around 11pm on Friday.

The man died instantly after landing in the building's courtyard, authorities said.

Some neighbors have said the apparent suicide could have been related to the state's regulations regarding coronavirus, self-isolation and the current pandemic.

'I came out to smoke a cigarette, and they told me someone jumped,' one resident told the New York Post.

She added: 'You have to be mentally strong to take on isolation. The uncertainty of what’s going to happen is scary.'

Police have not linked the death to the coronavirus outbreak, or New York's lockdown.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced sweeping orders Friday that will severely restrict gatherings of any size for the state's more than 19 million residents and will require workers in nonessential businesses to stay home.

Under the rules, nonessential gatherings of people of any size or for any reason are canceled or postponed, including parties and celebrations.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2020/03/man-64-jumps-to-his-death-from-16th.html

Fort Worth Hospital Sees Spike in Severe Child Abuse Cases Over Last Week

Doctors at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth say stress from the coronavirus pandemic may be linked to the six cases of child abuse they saw this week, one resulting in death.

Dr. Jayme Coffman, medical director of the CARE team at Cook Children’s, said all six cases were related to physical abuse.

They typically consult about eight a month.

“Thursday night, we had one child admitted with unfortunately, life-threatening injuries, which they succumbed to, as well as four other children in the emergency department at the same time who were treated and released,” Coffman said. “It was like, we have to reach out to the community.”

Coffman said all of the children were 6 years old or younger. Though she said they could not say with full certainty the impacts of COVID-19 motivated the abuse, “it’s hard to think that it’s just coincidental”.

“There’s no way for us to directly link that, but that’s the concern – are these families under more stress related to financial issues, whether it’s lost jobs or concerns for their jobs?” she said. “We also saw similar types of things happen during the recession where, in our trauma department, the most common cause of trauma death in children was motor vehicle collisions. During the recession, that changed to abusive head trauma, and I don’t want to see that again.”

Shellie McMillon, chief program officer at the Alliance For Children, described the spike in cases at Cook Children’s as heartbreaking.

“One thing we know is that educators, our school professionals are the largest group of people who report suspected child abuse and that makes sense. They’re usually with kids a good portion of the day,” McMillon said. “Now that kids are not in school, they’re at home – a lot of times, they don’t have that, what we call a trusted adult, to maybe tell about what’s going on.”

McMillon said one of the crucial things parents or caretakers should keep in mind if they are stressed is to not hesitate to ask for help.

“I think, too, if you’re feeling really stressed and really feeling anger towards your kids – it’s OK, as long as they’re in a safe place, right? Kind of a safe spot in the house walk away and calm down,” she said. “It’s OK to leave your child if they’re crying or something, if you feel like you’re at wit’s end.”

http://www.hideoutnow.com/2020/03/fort-worth-hospital-sees-spike-in.html

Nancy Pelosi Nixes Bipartisan Talks on Coronavirus Package

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on Sunday that she has decided to move forward with her own emergency coronavirus relief package.

Pelosi spokes just hours before the Senate was scheduled to take a procedural vote that would lead towards a final vote on a bipartisan economic relief package. The bill would provide economic relief after the coronavirus epidemic ravaged the country’s economy.

“From my standpoint, we’re apart,” she said.

Subsequently, Senate leaders decided to delay a planned vote to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on the Senate floor on Sunday that he intended for the legislation to be bipartisan and aimed at helping the American people.

“What we have is a compromise product which contains ideas, contributions, and priorities on both sides and which could become law as soon as tomorrow,” he said. “In other words, it’s just about time to take yes for an answer.”

Pelosi and McConnell met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday to compromise on the third phase of the congressional coronavirus response package.

Pelosi said that Republicans and Democrats are still “talking” but that there is no need to meet McConnell’s Monday deadline for a Senate vote on the coronavirus package.

Senate Republicans and the White House have insisted that they will continue to push for the $1.6 trillion economic relief package, which would include $350 billion in support for small businesses and $250 billion for unemployment insurance. The package would also include direct cash payments to individuals around $1,200 per individual, with additional funds going to families with children.

Politico reported Sunday that “it’s not clear how Pelosi’s plan would work — committee chairs have been frenetically compiling ideas for a legislative package, but are not yet ready for legislative text.”

Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) said this weekend, “The Democrats are getting some of the things they’ve asked for. They’re getting what they wanted on unemployment insurance.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/22/nancy-pelosi-nixes-bipartisan-talks-on-coronavirus-package/

Italian Police Deploy Drones to Track and Arrest Lockdown Violators

Italian police have begun using drones to spot gatherings of people who may be trying to avoid the nationwide quarantine, arresting those who violate government orders.

Police have begun enforcing the quarantine, as many Italians have not obeyed lockdown orders. The Italian Interior Ministry reported earlier in the week that over 200,000 people had been controlled by the police and over 8,000 reported for violating movement restrictions.

A total of 116,712 commercial enterprises were also inspected by police, with 195 business operators reported for violations and 29 businesses forced to suspend their activities, Italian newspaper Il Giornale reports.

Drones have seen use in several regions of Italy, including Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, which has seen the largest surge in both cases and deaths in the country.

Police are said to be asking Italians various questions to prove they were outside for essential reasons, such as purchasing food, by asking for purchase receipts or the address of the supermarket or doctor they were travelling to.

Some Italian prosecutors have also ordered immediate payment of fines for breaking the quarantine, while others have called for arrests.

To help police with the lockdown, Italy called in the armed forces on Friday, according to Lombardy governor Attilio Fontana, who had proposed the idea to Italian president Sergio Mattarella.

“I repeated to President Mattarella the need to use the Army to support the police in order to [enforce] compliance with the rules,” he said, adding: “I can say that President Mattarella shared my request for the good and protection of the health of the community.”

Italy, which has been hardest hit by the Wuhan coronavirus in Europe and has surpassed China for the number of officially confirmed fatalities, is not the only country to see the deployment of the armed forces to help with the crisis.

Members so the Austrian armed forces have also been deployed in warehouses for supermarket chains in order to help maintain a steady supply, as many people stockpile food and other essential goods.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/22/italian-police-deploy-drones-to-track-and-arrest-lockdown-violators/