On today's BradCast, the news remains largely grim --- we'd expect no less during a global pandemic --- but there continue to be signs of light, way, way...way down at the end of the tunnel. For many in the journalism industry, however, the tunnel may be far too long and dark to make it out to the other side. [Audio link to show follows below.]

First up, thanks to an entirely dysfunctional, entirely failed Presidential Administration, things that should already be getting better --- the easy stuff, like testing, personal protective equipment and ventilator shortages --- shamefully, do not appear to be getting better in many parts of the country. The death toll in the U.S. has now officially surpassed both China's and our own on 9/11.

But we see more and more signs each day that at least physical distancing appears to be working as hoped --- slowly, but with unmistakable progress in locations where it is being dutifully practiced. But there remains a long way to go, and a dark tunnel to get through until we see that full light.

With nobody on the federal level leading the way, states and cities continue to do so as best as they can. But it is difficult if not impossible for them, or the news media, to know what to even expect on a macro level as the economy heads into completely unknown territory. According to at least one new economic analysis from the St. Louis Fed, unemployment rates could end up dwarfing even the highest levels of the Great Depression, much less the Great Recession.

And with that cheery news, we're joined today by longtime media industry expert CRAIG SILVERMAN, BuzzFeed News' Media Editor, to discuss the troubling outlook for independent local media as well corporate media amid the coronavirus pandemic. The industry is one of the first to feel the brunt of a nearly national shutdown. Ironically enough, the readership for many news outlets has "skyrocketed across the board" online, he says. "People are hungry for the latest quality information about what's going on with the coronavirus, and they're going to news organizations to get that information."

At the same time, however, ad revenue has collapsed and the same outlets across the country (and world) seeing a spike in readership are being forced to shut down the print sides of their publications, lay off journalists, and otherwise scale back reporting at a time that good local journalism is needed more than ever.

A number of alt-weeklies have already gone under, as their ad revenue is based almost entirely on industries like restaurants, bars, movie theaters, concerts and live events that have all been forced to shut down. "The alternative weeklies are kind of canaries in the coal mine. A lot of alt-weeklies have already gone out of business in Canada and the United States," Silverman warns. "A lot of the very small newspapers, especially that are part of chains, or had debt, they may not be able to come back."

"Now, we've got some of the biggest newspaper chains in the US, like Gannett [publisher of USA Today and more than a dozen other major papers], yesterday they announced they're doing unpaid newsroom furloughs for one week a month. Los Angeles Times is significantly cutting back on its print sections Monday to Friday. Other newspapers are getting rid of print editions," he tells me.

Silverman explains what one journalism industry analyst is describing as a "full extinction event" for many outlets, and the millions of dollars in lost revenue for some of the largest ones, thanks to a bizarre ad blocking scheme that some major brands are instituting on coronavirus related news stories.

We also discuss what you, dear readers and listeners, can do to help. "This is the moment for you to pay for the media that you care about," he says. "It's about people deciding for themselves what media they want to support. It may not be a big national outlet. If you have money right now --- and that is a big 'if', a lot of people are struggling --- but if you have money and you can afford maybe $5, $10, $15 a month, this is the time to stand up and show that support. A lot of people in newsrooms who are getting laid off, furloughed, who are getting pay cuts, this can make a difference if enough people step up and start to do it."

Finally, we're joined by Desi Doyen with our latest Green News Report as Trump's EPA, even in the middle of an unprecedented health crisis, has now officially reversed landmark Obama-era mileage standards for cars that, in addition to combating climate change and lowering gas prices, would have also helped prevent some 1,400 unnecessary American deaths per year. But that's not all the Administration is doing to undermine the planet's climate and the health of Americans while most folks are looking the other way, and as the plastic industry is hoping to find profit in a pandemic...

Download MP3 or listen to complete show online below...

MONTHLY BRAD BLOG SUBSCRIPTION	ONE-TIME DONATION
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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Trump officially replaces Obama's 'clean car' rules with much weaker standards; EPA suspends enforcement of many U.S. pollution laws during coronavirus crisis; Plastics industry sees profit and opportunity in the pandemic; PLUS: Earth Day 2020 goes digital, as teen climate activist warns we must fight the climate crisis and pandemic simultaneously... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): 3 states pass anti-fossil-fuel protest bills in 3 weeks. It’s not coincidental; Revealed: Monsanto predicted crop system would damage US farms; No running water. No electricity. On Navajo Nation, coronavirus creates worry and confusion as cases surge; 4 astonishing signs of coal's declining economic viability; This is what climate change looks like in the Coronavirus Era... PLUS: Now is the time to take care of your lungs. Here's how... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Good news and bad for the energy sector in Senate's coronavirus relief bill; Even COVID-19 can't stop the Trump Administration's environmental rollbacks; PLUS: Victory in federal court for Standing Rock Sioux Tribe over the Dakota Access Pipeline... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Global efforts on ozone help reverse southern jet stream damage; More evidence North Atlantic “cold spot” is human-caused; Goldman Sachs: Prepare for a massive oil demand shock; Trump Admin walks away from ethanol court battle, angers oil refiners; At a critical moment, the Coronavirus threatens to bring offshore wind to a halt; Coronavirus could disrupt normal refueling practices for nuclear facilities as staffing concerns grow... PLUS: Coronavirus holds key lessons on how to fight climate change... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Coronavirus effect: shutdowns lead to dramatic drop in air pollution around the world; Massive locust swarms in Eastern Africa spread to more countries; U.S. Midwest forecast to see major flooding again this spring; PLUS: California's largest utility company pleads guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): How a coronavirus stimulus package could bolster the economy and save the planet; What Covid-19 tells us about tackling the climate crisis; Utilities beginning to see the load impacts of COVID-19; Scientists discover massive new vulnerability in Antarctic ice sheet; Removing 81 dams is transforming a California watershed; Trump taps former attorney of wildlife trophy hunting group for key wildlife job... PLUS: Africa’s mountain gorillas also at risk rrom Coronavirus... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Crashing oil prices have ominous implications for oil companies and oil-producing countries; Melting ice caps put sea level rise on track for scientists' worst-case scenario; Democratic Senators demand corporate climate action in exchange for coronavirus bailout; PLUS: More perverse silver linings, as COVID-19 shutdown reduces water pollution... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Tackling the growing threat of water conflict; Oil and gas companies want to drill within a half-mile of Canyonlands National Park; 'A test of governments.' Oil industry faces worst glut ever; Coronavirus creating a solar industry 'crisis'; Global banks 'failing miserably' on climate crisis by funneling trillions into fossil fuels; Nuclear power startup submits first advanced reactor license application in US as NRC moves to streamline reviews; Coronavirus slows developing nations’ plans to step up climate action in 2020... PLUS: Coronavirus shows us America is broken... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Trump administration moves to shore up oil industry amid crashing oil prices; Coronavirus shutdown clears Italy's air; China's shutdown cuts emissions by a quarter; PLUS: Last men standing --- remaining Democratic Presidential candidates duke it out over climate action... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Scientists warn we may need to live with social distancing for a year or more; Oil Nations Could See Income Crash By Up To 85 Percent In 2020; Greenland, Antarctica Melting Six Times Faster Than in the 1990s; Medical waste companies preparing for potentially elevated volumes as coronavirus concerns accelerate; Military Sees Surge In Sites With 'Forever Chemical' Contamination... PLUS: There's an unlikely beneficiary of coronavirus: The planet... and much, MUCH more! ...

Six more states are voting today (Michigan, Washington, Missouri, Mississippi, Idaho, North Dakota). We'll have results tomorrow, as we're still trying to figure out who actually won and lost, in some cases, last week on Super Tuesday, particularly in Texas and California. Nonetheless, today, like last week, has already revealed more problems with electronic pollbooks that resulted in voters leaving without voting, and there is more likely trouble on the horizon in several states set to vote in the next several weeks. [Audio link to show is posted below.]

Among the stories covered on today's BradCast...

• A fire at Venezuela's National Electoral Council warehouse over the weekend has resulted in the destruction of 50,000 touchscreen voting machines and 582 computers. We swear we didn't do it! The unverifiable voting machines in question have been used during questionable past elections and are made by Venezuelan-based Smartmatic...the same company with a dodgy background of failed elections who also made the new touchscreen voting systems which failed so disastrously in Los Angeles County on Super Tuesday last week. But, again, we didn't do it!;

• Closer to home, voters today in St. Louis County --- Missouri's most populous --- were turned away from the polls for an hour or so this morning from at least 50 of the county's 400 polling places. Though St. Louis has finally moved to hand-marked paper ballots, they are using a print-on-demand system that uses electronic pollbooks (yes, more computers) to instruct the printers which ballot should be printed. Those e-pollbooks, apparently, were failing this morning until the company that makes them issued an update. In the meantime, there is also a manual print mode that pollworkers could have used to print ballots for voters when the e-pollbooks weren't working, but many appear to have not known that or just panicked and forgot. Also, in MO, Kansas City's African-American Mayor was turned away from the polls after his name was not found on the voting rolls. Later in the day, they figured out why;

• Both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden cancelled campaign rallies set for Ohio today (where early voting has already begun for next week's primaries in the Buckeye State), due to coronavirus concerns, in what may foreshadow still more trouble for this year's elections, including how to include enough hand-sanitizer for polling places, especially those which use touchscreens. (People can usually bring their own pens to polling places that use hand-marked paper ballots.) We may end up seeing Vote-by-Mail elections for the entire country this November if the virus continues to spread, despite the steady leadership of stable genius Donald Trump;

• Some good news for voters (finally!) out of Georgia today, as the state has reached a settlement with the Democratic party in federal court that requires voters be immediately notified about absentee ballots that are rejected by county officials due to perceived signature mismatch or some other infirmity, allowing them time to come in and cure the problem so their votes may still be counted;

• But there is also less good news out of Georgia, where last week's "good news story out of Georgia" was the fact that Athens-Clarke County's Board of Elections had voted to ditch the new, state-mandated unverifiable touchscreen voting systems for hand-marked paper ballots instead. The Board found that the touchscreens on the new Dominion ImageCast ballot marking devices (BMDs) were so large and bright that they violate voters constitutionally-mandated right to a secret ballot, as others could see how they were voting from 30 feet across the room, according to a related lawsuit filed in a separate GA county. But now, GA's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has called an emergency hearing in Athens, charging that the County's Board is violating state law by not using the new, unverifiable voting systems. Now why would he want do that?;

• Meanwhile, in Texas, ballot scans stored on 44 thumb-drives from the new Ballot Marking Device systems used for the first time during last week's Super Tuesday primaries in Dallas County apparently were not included in previously reported results. As many as 7,000 ballots could be missing from the current results. The County's Election Director was required to get permission from a court to "recount" the computer-marked ballots scanned in the county to include those previously left out of the count. A Dallas court, on Tuesday, gave permission to do so, but the order is limited to a computer-scan of the computer-marked paper ballots that were previously not included in last week's results;

• Finally, Desi Doyen joins us for our latest Green News Report, with news on the coronavirus and an oil price war, both affecting the stock market (and banks and fossil fuel-reliant communities) this week, a new troubling report on air pollution caused by fossil fuels, and some good news as New York state's disposable plastic bag ban finally kicks in...

Download MP3 or listen to complete show online below...

MONTHLY BRAD BLOG SUBSCRIPTION	ONE-TIME DONATION
Choose monthly amount... $10 : $10.00 USD - monthly$20 : $20.00 USD - monthly$50 : $50.00 USD - monthly$100 : $100.00 USD - monthly	(Snail mail support to "Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028" always welcome too!)

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Oil stocks tank due to coronavirus and a Saudi Arabian price war; Coronavirus economic disruption could infect banks and communities dependent on fossil fuel jobs; Outdoor air pollution takes three years off human lifespans; PLUS: New York State bans single use plastic bags... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Where Biden and Sanders diverge on climate change; The climate movement doesn’t know how to talk with union members about green jobs; 10-month deadline makes Netherlands a ‘test case’ for rapid decarbonization; Paris Agreement requires one coal unit to close every day until 2040; Oil executives tell 2020 Dem candidates that halting fossil fuel production would be 'criminal'; How America's shrinking cities can 'rightsize'; Pro-Trump climate denial group Heartland Institute lays off staff amid financial woes; Your plastic addiction is bankrolling Big Oil... PLUS: Coronavirus could halt the world’s emissions growth. Not that we should feel good about that.... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: CBS News ignores the climate crisis in South Carolina Democratic debate, but candidates don't; JPMorgan economists warn climate change threatens human survival; Colorado River facing 'severe water shortages'; PLUS: Yet another refinery explodes, this time in Southern California... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Tribal nation condemns 'desecration' to build border wall; Trump downplays Coronavirus risk; Dismantling Fred Hiatt's pro-oil, anti-Sanders climate op-ed; Climate change is pushing ocean currents poleward; New Interior rule would limit which scientific studies agency can consider; After Trump mocks proposed sea wall in New York, plan is abruptly shelved; Climate change, soaring flood insurance could trigger a mortgage crisis; Uber and Lyft are convenient and highly carbon-intensive ... PLUS: Brazil is cracking down on climate migrants while worsening the climate crisis... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Yet another state now grappling with extreme rains and floods; Antarctica hits another record high; Trump EPA trying to gut yet another public health pollution standard; PLUS: CNBC investment guru warns the writing is on the wall for fossil fuels... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Anti-pipeline protests shut down Canadian rail networks; Global financial giants swear off funding Alberta's dirty tar sands; Peach grower awarded $265 million from Bayer, BASF in weedkiller lawsuit; Huge locust outbreak in East Africa reaches South Sudan; 211 million gallons of sewage spilled into Fort Lauderdale waterways; Hundreds of thousands of mussels cooked to death on New Zealand beach in heatwave...PLUS: It’s official: Federal judge shuts down the largest oil refinery on the East Coast... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Trump misleads again on U.S. energy in his State of the Union address; Democrats focus on rebuilding the country in their response; Congratulations! You just lived through the hottest January on record!; PLUS: Britain accelerates its ban on gasoline cars... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): New conservative climate plans are neither conservative nor climate plans.They are mainly designed to protect fossil fuels; Benzene emissions of ten refineries exceed EPA limits; U.S. House Democrats propose nationwide EV charging network; Canadian court clears the way for Trans-Mountain pipeline expansion; Japan races to build new coal plants, despite climate; VA lawmakers vote to ban offshore drilling... PLUS: A remedy for toxic algal blooms? Scientist thinks he's found one... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Doomsday Clock inches closer to midnight, thanks to climate change; Trump further weakens pollution standards for streams and wetlands; China announces national ban on single-use plastics; PLUS: Massive locust swarm threatens food security in Eastern Africa... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Gulf shrimpers fight for their livelihoods in a fertilizer-fueled dead zone; Court battles, 2020 election loom over Trump WOTUS rule; New emails reveal the Trump Admin manipulated wildfire science to promote logging; U.S. Southeast struggles with climate change; Bankrupt coal company's environmental violations could cost KY millions to fix; Amazon workers defy rules to protest company's climate failures... PLUS: A Rewilding Triumph: Wolves Help To Reverse Yellowstone Degradation... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: The oil industry is rebranding itself as a leader in climate action (Seriously.); Trump DOJ working with Big Oil to quash climate liability lawsuits; U.S. drinking water more widely contaminated than previously known; PLUS: A dose of climate reality from Greta Thunberg for the elites at the World Economic Forum in Davos... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Trump removes pollution controls on streams and wetlands; America’s radioactive secret: fracking wastewater; Meet America's new superpolluters: Plastic plants; What’s in Republicans’ new climate-change push; California giant sequoias are dying 500 years before they are supposed to... PLUS: The freshwater giants are dying... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: 2020 race loses climate justice warrior; Last year, the U.S. saw 14 weather disasters costing a billion dollars or more each; Australia's catastrophic bushfires cause $2 billion in damages; 2019 was the second hottest year ever recorded globally; PLUS: 150 arrested at Jane Fonda's 'Fire Drill Fridays' climate protest... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): 2019 was a record year for ocean temperatures; Make the fossil fuel industry pay the $2 billion Bushfire Recovery Fund; 3 supertrees can protect us from climate collapse. But can we protect them?; Seeking environmental justice in California’s ‘diesel death zones’; U.S. flood risk model to be made publicly available in boon to homebuyers; Emails reveal Trump DOJ working closely with oil industry to stop climate liability lawsuits... PLUS: SSP3: The nightmare climate scenario that keeps scientists up at night... and much, MUCH more! ...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Trump Administration weakens yet another landmark environmental law; Trump EPA and FEMA not ready to deal with disasters, according to new findings; Shutdown of coal plants has saved 26,000 American lives; PLUS: Disinformation campaign underway to deny role of climate change in Australian bushfires... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): In 2030, we ended the climate emergency. Here’s how; In Australia's burning forests, signs we've passed a global warming tipping point; It's not arson, you absolute f***ing morons; Trump's NEPA ambitions hinge on his reelection; U.S. billion-dollar weather disasters doubled in last decade;
US oil and gas industry's 5-Year Plan is a climate and health nightmare... PLUS: Earth posts second-hottest year on record to close out our warmest decade... and much, MUCH more! ...