The Brave News

by Timothy Levine, Executive Editor

Following the conclusion of Super Tuesday, nine more states have held their Democratic Primaries. All but one of these states went to Joe Biden, who now takes a nearly insurmountable lead in delegates that seems to secure his spot as the inevitable nominee.

It seemed that Biden had all the momentum following a surprisingly dominant performance on Super Tuesday, one that saw him win ten of the 14 states available off the endorsements of Klobuchar and Buttigieg. This momentum did not slow down in any way, as he won big the following week with victories in key states such as Michigan, Missouri, and Washington. These states were key for Bernie Sanders to make a comeback and build momentum for upcoming races, however, he performed worse than poll-predictions in these states and suffered from low youth-voter turnout.

Biden did not stop there, as he continued to widen his lead to his almost assured victory, sweeping the three primary races held on March 17. These states were Arizona, Florida, and Illinois, three big delegate states with 440 delegates combined of which Biden won 295 off, nearly 70 percent. This huge delegate victory comes from the margin that Biden is winning by, as he dominated in Florida with 62 percent of the vote, well above poll projections. Biden now has 1217 delegates, a 303 delegate lead over Sanders, virtually guaranteeing his victory. He will almost certainly win the delegate lead, it is now just a matter of if he wins the nomination outright or at the convention.

Sanders still can remain in the race and push for a contested convention, which is what he intends to do according to his campaign. He may also benefit from postponements in 14 states due to the Coronavirus. The postponement of states such as New York and Pennslyvania to as late as June, with New York’s being postponed to June 23, could help halt Biden’s momentum. Many states have also decided to switch to voting by mail with extended deadlines as well. Sanders has also gained some momentum himself for his criticism of the Coronavirus relief bill that was pushed in the Senate, which could help him, as the issue becomes more pressing and of concern to voters.

However, Sanders would have to dominantly win the remaining states to stay competitive and just push for a contested convention, which would not favor Sanders as many superdelegates have stated their intent to block a Sanders nomination. So this momentum is too little and too late, and Sanders’s choice remaining in the race can hurt the democratic party in its general election campaign. Similar to 2016, Sanders’s plan to remain in race hurts unification plans, which could lead to many distraught Bernie supporters staying at home rather than supporting who they view as corporate and status-quo.

With the Convention getting even closer, it appears that the race is nearing its conclusion, as Biden will work to expand his support and bring the party together for the general election. His Vice President pick will also be essential and it appears that it will be coming soon, as he is reported to have a shortlist of 10-12 women that he is deciding between according to CNN.

by Joshua Lucero

Due to the unexpected rise of COVID-19 (the CoronaVirus), the majority of schools all over California have made the preemptive decision to physically shut down for an indefinite amount of time. Students were given an alternate version of school from home, online education.

The main reason behind this difficult decision is the number of cases that have steadily risen in California. “The number has surpassed 31,000 and is continually on the rise”, said the LA Times. To attempt to ‘reach the curve’ and decrease the spread of this pandemic, entire local areas are being shut down, including schools, restaurants, malls, and many other commonplace areas. The governmental response to COVID-19 has received a widespread amount of different reactions all over the state of California.

Many families all around the state and the nation are beginning to see the true nature of the effects of the virus, as most people have been overbuying products and supplies for their homes. An active request has been in effect for social distancing, but it seems to be easier said than done and it shows through the people’s response toward this request by the government. 

There has been a shut down of malls, bars, roller coaster parks, gyms, and anything else that the public actively uses that is considered “non-essential”. This is all because of the request by California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration that advises people to stay indoors and out of public spaces.

As a result of many of these spaces shutting down, there has been an influx of people in public parks and around the neighborhoods. In addition to this “common fad”, many teens and young adults have looked towards social media as a way to cope with the concept of being cooped up in one’s house and looking at the same four walls every day. 

The increase of social media awareness to COVID-19 has created trends that bring life to these “locked up” teens. For example, there have been many challenges such as “see 10 do 10”, which means someone would post a video of themselves doing 10 push-ups and nominate several different people to do the same. This is what is keeping teens occupied with all their free time of being indoors during this extremely challenging time. Another challenge that was going on was “#LetTheKidsPlay”. This is a trend that evolved around the student-athletes who had to sacrifice their season because of this pandemic plaguing the US as a whole. 

Especially in high school and college students who are a part of the senior class of 2020, there is definitely a change in their mindsets over what school meant to them. Senioritis is seemingly no more, many seniors are at the point where they actually miss school.

The rising class reaction to this pandemic seems to be even more depressing every day that physical school is shut down. Social media has covered this anxiety by having a platform for people to publish photos and videos on how the class of 2020 will most likely not be able to participate in events such as grad night, prom and even potentially, graduation.

When Governor Newsom says, “Please stay indoors”, it is for the right reason, not to be selfish but to protect the entire population of 40 million or more Californians who are at risk. 

It is for good reason that California is on lockdown, it is to help achieve the curve in the growing numbers of people afflicted by COVID-19 and to end the spread. 

“Citing a model that state planners have been using, Mr. Newsom said that the coronavirus could infect 56 percent of Californians, or more than 25 million people, over eight weeks.” said the New York Times. 

Personal feelings aside, and no matter what the reaction of the individual person is towards this pandemic, it is crucial for the livelihood of every human being living in America, to stay indoors as much as possible and listen to those who are trying their best to help stop the spread of this pandemic. 

by Emilio Ceja and Ma’A Gaoteote

The recent pandemic outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19, has spread across nations. Over 400,000 people worldwide have tested positive for the virus, which started in Wuhan, China and spread quickly since reaching Europe, namely Italy. The virus has reached the United States, which now has the 3rd most cases of any country with over 600 fatalities. 

The Coronavirus although an easily spread virus can be slowed down through simple steps that can be done by everyone. If more people take these simple measures seriously during this time of California state as well as national “lockdown,” Californians and Americans at large can do their little part to help avoid a further spike in new cases, which has led to a death toll that just yesterday increased by more than 100, according to reporting from CNN.

Of course, the most important thing that one can do is avoid contact with those who have been infected with the virus or been around others who have. Beyond that though, it’s important at this stage that we follow the Governor’s and the Presidential Task Force’s recommendations to “stay at home” and practice at least six feet of social distancing.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth because the virus can easily spread through these sinual areas. Make sure to consistently clean and disinfect surfaces that are often touched by you and others, such as desks and countertops, with disinfecting wipes. Do these things whether you’re symptomatic or not. In order to minimize the possibility of getting the virus, it is strongly recommended to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds multiple times a day.

The contagious virus can be spread through the air, along with being able to spread through touch. This has led to the statewide and nationwide “lockdown” period to help prevent the spread of the virus. This recommended quarantine has been established primarily to prevent large crowds of more than ten, and schools have been cancelled as well.

The spread of COVID-19 can become a more serious issue if the proper steps are not taken to prevent it. Be sure to practice social distancing to the best of your ability, wash your hands, don’t touch your face and clean surfaces that are often touched. Stay safe Braves!

by R.J. Johnson

How serious is the “Coronavirus” or “COVID-19”? With COVID-19 being a new disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are still in the works of finding out how severe the illness might be and what causes it. 

So far, one of the most important things that we know about COVID-19 is how easily it spreads from person-to-person. The main way that the virus has spread is through close proximity with other people through respiratory issues like coughing or sneezing. Droplets admitted from the mouth or nose can make its way onto people nearby, possibly being inhaled into the lungs. 

According to the CDC, people are most contagious when they are most symptomatic. Although people mainly spread the virus through being visibly sick, the CDC believes that some spread might be possible before visible symptoms are shown. A recent example of this would be an NBA player from the Utah Jazz in Rudy Gobert. 

“I have gone through so many emotions since learning of my diagnosis…mostly fear, anxiety, and embarrassment,” Gobert wrote.

Having recently been diagnosed in the past few days, Gobert appeared to be perfectly healthy before his diagnostics. Shortly after Gobert was diagnosed with Coronavirus, his teammate Donovan Mitchell was too.  In an interview, he jokingly had touched all off the microphones with his hands before concluding. This contamination of surfaces and objects has been found to spread Covid-19 according to the CDC.

“The first and most important thing is I would like to apologize to the people that I may have endangered. At the time, I had no idea I was even infected,” wrote Gobert.

Since the Coronavirus outbreak has taken off, we have seen an obvious shift in everyday life that has not been quite welcoming. There have been travel bans, leaving people stranded in countries that are not their own all over the world. Professional leagues such as the NHL, MLS, and NBA have all shut down due to the Coronavirus. There have also been colleges across America that have shut down such as Georgetown University, University of Florida, Michigan State University, and University of California, Los Angeles. 

After seeing plenty of universities temporarily close down the school, each state’s respective elementary, middle, and high schools all began to shut down as well. For many schools, online instruction is being offered to students to keep everyone up to speed with their work. 

Should we be missing out on school, work, and sports? As of right now, America is the 8th leading country in total Covid-19 cases and wants to continue to keep that number as low as possible. There are 135,837 confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide. Even with 70,427 people recovered and 4,990 deaths, there are still 60,420 currently infected patients worldwide according to Worldometer which is keeping track of the virus spread in real-time. 

The goal for scientists across the world is to slow down the spread of the virus so that they could study it more in-depth and develop a cure for it. There is currently no vaccination for the Coronavirus, but researchers in the U.S. National Institutes of Health are in the early stages of development. The first phase of the clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine is set to come within the next couple of months. 

The world moves fast and is ever-changing, waiting months for a vaccination like this might take an even larger toll on certain countries’ trade economies than expected. There is always room for the world to recover from this virus, it is just a matter of how and when. 

Until we find a vaccination, the best ways to try and avoid obtaining the virus are by not sharing food items, keeping your hands away from your face, refraining from unnecessary physical contact with items or people, and washing your hands as frequently as possible for twenty seconds at a time with soap and water!

by Timothy Levine, Executive Editor

With the majority of Super Tuesday results being accounted for, Joe Biden had the biggest night with a dominant performance that saw him win ten of the 14 states, Bernie Sanders won the delegate prize of California and Bloomberg disappointed winning zero states and suspending his campaign.

Following the suspension of both Buttigieg and Klobuchar’s campaigns and their endorsements of Joe Biden, it appeared that Biden would get a strong boost from moderate supporters who would rally behind him. This prediction turned out to be true, as Biden exceeded polling expectations and dominated in the states he won, winning big in the south and stealing Minnesota and Maine that went to Bernie in 2016.

Biden’s victories were not only significant in vote percentage but delegates as well. Many of the states he won, he swept in delegates and now has the delegate lead with 564 delegates. This comes from a huge surge of votes in the south and a big surprise victory in Texas, a state that polls had leaning towards Sanders before Super Tuesday. Following his rocky start, it appears that the party has found a new frontrunner in Biden and one that will have a lot of momentum heading into the final parts of this nomination race.

While Biden was the winner of the night, it was not the worst possible performance for Sanders. Coming into Super Tuesday, Sanders appeared to be unstoppable, looking to seal the nomination with dominant showings throughout the states except for the south. However, Sanders was left with just four wins in the states of Colorado, Utah, Vermont, and the biggest delegate state of California. California was still a big win for Sanders, but the race was closer than anticipated and one that Sanders needed an immense lead to garner a large majority of the delegates.

Elizabeth Warren had a very poor performance, winning zero states include Massachusets where she is a Senator for. Warren will have to reassess her campaign and suspension seems imminent as there is no clear path forward to a nomination. If Warren was to suspend her campaign, Bernie Sanders may get a boost in support, as they both share the progressive wing of the party. However, some of the older voters may rally behind Biden when considering electability and defeating Trump.

Bloomberg had the worst night of the candidates and suspended his campaign as well this morning. Spending over 200 million dollars on his campaign, Bloomberg is left in fourth place with only 53 delegates. His suspension will most likely give Biden another surge and lead to an insurmountable lead that pushes him to the nomination.

With the majority of the states still without their primary election, anything could happen, however with the momentum that Biden has and the rallying of the moderate lane behind him, it is now Biden’s race to loose heading to the convention.