U.S. Judge Finds China Liable for Covid Missteps, Imposes $24 Billion Penalty
The New York Times
The judgment was issued in a case brought by the Missouri attorney general. The Chinese government did not respond to the claims in court.
A federal judge in Missouri found the Chinese government responsible for covering up the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and hoarding protective equipment in a ruling on Friday. He entered a judgment of more than $24 billion that Missouri officials vowed to enforce by seizing Chinese assets.
The lawsuit, filed by the Missouri attorney general’s office in April 2020, during the early months of the pandemic, accused the Chinese government of withholding information about the existence and spread of the virus and then of cutting off the supply of personal protective equipment, or P.P.E., from the rest of the world. Chinese officials said Friday that they did not accept the judge’s decision.
In his ruling, Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. wrote that “China was misleading the world about the dangers and scope of the Covid-19 pandemic” and had “engaged in monopolistic actions to hoard P.P.E.” Those actions, he said, hampered the early response to the pandemic in the United States and made it impossible to purchase enough equipment for medical providers responding to the virus.
Judge Limbaugh, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, imposed the judgment against China, its governing Communist Party, local governments in China, as well as a health agency and a laboratory in the country.
Missouri’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey, said in a statement that the ruling held China accountable for its actions.
“China refused to show up to court, but that doesn’t mean they get away with causing untold suffering and economic devastation,” said Mr. Bailey, a Republican. “We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland.”
People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.
And the feeling isn’t good. Aaron Renn has gained a following by warning that the U.S. is currently a “negative world” for Christianity.
Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has taken few concrete steps to launch a serious re-election campaign, even as he faces a growing field of prominent challengers.
The idea that every student should aim for a four-year college motivated a bipartisan movement for decades. Now even enthusiastic promoters of the idea are reconsidering it.
Uncertainty about how much money colleges and universities stand to lose has led some schools to reduce the number of doctoral students, in some cases reneging on offers.
Mr. Myrie, a Democratic state senator, would offer free seats to public school students from 3-K to 12th grade in a plan to make New York City more affordable for families.
Ms. Adams, the New York City Council speaker, is trying to position herself as a principled alternative to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams.
Officials have suggested that the pause in weapons shipments and intelligence sharing could be relatively short-lived if Ukraine’s president bends to White House demands.
The Police Department said several demonstrators were taken into custody during the sit-in at the college’s main library.
A third dog that was found dead last week with the couple was an Australian Kelpie mix named Zinna, the boarder said.
In tense political times, can “The Great One” be both a Trump supporter and a beloved hero in Canada? Some want him to pick a side. (Preferably the one to the north.)
The city didn’t actually spread more salt than usual. But it may have seemed that way, according to the Sanitation Department, because there was less snow and rain.
As the Trump administration trims the federal work force, students and educators at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas fear for the future of a school that was already facing troubles.