Coronavirus in a nursing home can be like fire through dry grass," New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo said last month. Now that very "fire" is sweeping through US nursing homes and long-term facilities for seniors. More than 3,600 deaths and tens of thousands of confirmed cases have been reported by media, and health officials say those numbers are likely undercounted. The Associated Press said on Monday that by its count, based on media reports and state health departments, 3,621 deaths nationwide have been linked to COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The latest count is up…

Pandemic strikes mean physical illness for many and trauma for all. The 2003 SARS outbreak led to terrifying increases in depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among caregivers, those quarantined and people affected in other ways. How can we prepare for the mental health impact of the coronavirus pandemic? To address the inevitable spike of mental illnesses, we must hasten the approval of new evidence-based medications for depression and PTSD. These include the psychedelic compounds MDMA and psilocybin. Twenty years of trials for psilocybin, and 10 years for MDMA, show that they outperform currently approved medications for depression and PTSD. A recent…

 The Middle East is facing an unexpected turning point. The region will not look the same after COVID-19 as it did before it. Prior to the outbreak, the Middle East had managed to normalize the geostrategic implications of the Arab Spring. Tunisia transitioned to a fully functioning democracy, Egypt ended up with a strongman, Syria became a catastrophe, Jordan and Morocco enacted some reforms, while Algeria and Sudan are still struggling with transitions and Lebanon stands on the brink of economic collapse.  In direct response to the Arab Spring, the Gulf states used their oil wealth to finance stimulus packages…

How do world leaders limit the spread of the coronavirus while keeping the global economy from tanking? “National policies alone, adopted government by government, will not be enough to forestall a global catastrophe,” Ian Goldin writes in the Op-Ed article “Just How Bad Could a Coronavirus Recession Get?”e gave readers the opportunity to ask Mr. Goldin their own questions about the effects of the virus on the economy. An edited selection of their queries and his responses follows. — Rachel L. Harris and Lisa Tarchak, senior editorial assistants Pamela Porter, Bakersfield, Calif.: With the pandemic at hand worldwide, should we, as…

September 17, 2019 was a significant day in American economic history. On that day, the New York Federal Reserve began emergency cash infusions into the repurchasing (repo) market. This is the market banks use to make short-term loans to each other. The New York Fed acted after interest rates in the repo market rose to almost 10 percent, well above the Fed’s target rate.The New York Fed claimed its intervention was a temporary measure, but it has not stopped pumping money into the repo market since September. Also, the Federal Reserve has been expanding its balance sheet since September. Investment…