Cựu Dân Biểu VNCH, Giáo sư NGUYỄN LÝ TƯỞNG ra mắt Hồi Ký "THÁC LŨ MƯA NGUỒN"

VietPress USA (Nov. 10, 2022):  Vào chiều Chủ Nhật 13/11/2022 từ 12:30PM đến 4:00PM, Giáo sư Sử học NGUYỄN LÝ TƯỞNG là cựu Dân Biểu Quốc Hội VNCH thuộc đơn vị Thừa Thiên - Huế vào các năm 1967-1971, sẽ tổ chức Buổi Ra Mắt Bộ Hồi Ký "THÁC LŨ MƯA NGUỒN" của ông gồm 2 Quyển 1 và 2 tại Thư Viện Tully, số 880 Tully Road, San Jose, CA 95111, USA.

Giáo sư Nguyễn Lý Tưởng đã viết và xuất bản bốn truyện ngắn, ba tập thơ và 5 bài nghiên cứu lịch sử. 

Năm 2016 ông xuất bản Quyển 1 Hồi Ký "THÁC LŨ MƯA NGUỒN". Năm 2021 ông cho tái bản Quyển 1 và xuất bản Quyển 2 Hồi Ký "THÁC LŨ MƯA NGUỒN" mỗi Quyển dầy 600 trang in trên giấy trắng, khổ chữ vừa đọc và trình bày thật trang nhã. 

Trong tâm thư gửi bà con và thân hữu, GS Nguyễn Lý Tưởng cho biết, ông viết Hồi Ký này với mục đích để lại cho gia đình và bạn bè cùng chia sẻ với ông cuộc đời tranh đấu cho tự do, dân chủ và nhân quyền của dân tộc Việt Nam, đặc biệt là tự do tôn giáo mà ông là nhân chứng qua các biến cố lịch sử của đất nước.

Gs Nguyễn Lý Tưởng sinh năm Kỷ Mão (1939) trong một gia đình nông dân, cha mẹ sống nghề làm ruộng tại làng Dương Lộc, Tổng An Giạ, Phủ Triệu Phong, tỉnh Quảng Trị. Ông thi đậu bằng Tiểu Học khi mới tròn 11 tuổi. Ông rời làng quê vào Huế học Trường Pellerin và Providence (Thiên Hựu) và sau đó là sinh viên Viện Hán Học, Đại Học Văn Khoa và Đại Học Sư Phạm Huế. 

Sau khi tốt nghiệp Đại Học Sư Phạm Huế, ông được bổ nhiệm làm giáo sư dạy sử học tại trường Duy Tân, Phan Rang rồi biệt phái về Văn Phòng Công Cán Ủy Viên Đặc Trách Thanh Niên Bộ Giáo Dục VNCH. 

Gs Nguyễn Lý Tưởng viết văn, viết kịch, làm thơ từ năm 1957 và làm Chủ nhiệm Nhật báo DA VÀNG tại Sài-gòn vào năm 1970.

Ông là Tổng Ủy Viên Thông Tin Báo Chí Ban Chấp Hành Trung Ương Đại Việt Cách Mạng Đảng và đắc cử Dân Biểu VNCH đại diện Tỉnh Thừa Thiên - Huế trong nhiệm kỳ 1967-1971 khi ông mới 27 tuổi.

Dân biểu Nguyễn Lý Tưởng yết kiến Đức Giáo Hoàng Phaolo VI tại Vatican ngày 18-3-1970.

Dân biểu Nguyễn Lý Tưởng được cử làm phát ngôn viên của phái đoàn Dân Biểu Hạ Nghị Viện VNCH sang yết kiến Đức Giáo Hoàng Phaolo VI tại Vatican ngày 18-3-1970 để vận động cho miền Nam Việt Nam một nền hòa bình công chính không bị nô lệ Cộng Sản Bắc Việt. 

Sau khi Cộng sản Bắc Việt chiếm Sàigon vào ngày 30-4-1975, cựu Dân biểu Nguyễn Lý Tưởng đã bị bắt đưa vào các trại tù từ Nam ra Bắc và chịu cảnh lao động khổ sai suốt 13 năm trong đó ba lần bị cùm một chân trong nhà kỷ luật. 

Sau khi ra khỏi nhà tù Cộng Sản tại miền Bắc được 4 năm, ngày 6 tháng 7 năm 1992, ông đã bị bắt lại và bị buộc tội “Hoạt động lật đổ chính quyền”. Ông đã bị biệt giam 13 tháng tại số 4 Phan Đăng Lưu, Gia Định, rồi 3-C Bến Bạch Đằng (nay là đường Tôn Đức Thắng),Saigon, và cuối cùng bị giam tại Khu Kiên Giam Lao xá Chí Hòa (Saigon).

Nhờ sự can thiệp của Bộ Ngoại Gia Hoa Kỳ và các tổ chức nhân quyền khắp thế giới, ngày 04 tháng 7 năm 1993 ông đã được trả tự do. Tổng cộng hai lần tù là 14 năm. 

Ngày 25-7-1994 ông và gia đình đã được định cư tại Orange County, nam California. Từ đây, ông quyết định dành tất cả thì giờ còn lại để tiếp tục tranh đấu cho tự do tôn giáo, dân chủ và nhân quyền cho Việt Nam, với hy vọng sẽ có ngày được thấy chế độ Cộng Sản độc tài không còn ngự trị trên quê hương đất nước và đồng bào của mình sẽ được hưởng cuộc sống tự do, ấm no hạnh phúc.

Chương trình ra mắt Hồi Ký "THÁC LŨ MƯA NGUỒN" Quyển 1 và Quyển 2 tại Thư viện Tully San Jose  sẽ do nữ Thi sĩ NGỌC AN làm MC với một số nam nữ ca sĩ địa phương giúp vui.

Âm thanh và nhạc đệm do Nhạc sĩ Trần Việt Cường đảm trách. Trần Việt Cường cũng sẽ hát 2 nhạc phẩm phổ theo Thơ của Gs Nguyễn Lý Tưởng.

Nữ ca sĩ LỆ HẰNG sẽ hát bài "Gởi Người Giới Tuyến" của Nhật Lệ theo yêu cầu của Gs Nguyễn Lý Tưởng. Nữ ca sĩ MARY LÊ hát bài "Anh Không Chết Đâu Anh" của Nhật Trường Trần Thiện Thanh. Nam ca sĩ HOÀNG TÂM trình bày nhạc phẩm "Hãy Cho Tôi" của Nguyễn Hưng. Ca sĩ QUANG LÂM giới thiệu bài "Nếu Em Đừng Hẹn" của Dạ Cầm sáng tác.

Chương trình sẽ giới thiệu đặc biệt giọng ca trẻ nhưng rất mượt mà của hai chị em ruột Ca sĩ mầm non thường xuất hiện trong các sự kiện cộng đồng và được mọi người dành nhiều cảm tình, ái mộ; đó là Samantha QUỲNH HƯƠNG TRẦN và em là Katherine ANH THƠ TRẦN.

Samantha Quỳnh Hương Trần

Samantha Quỳnh Hương Trần là nữ sinh mới vào High-school, nhưng em được mời hát tại rất nhiều sự kiện âm nhạc khắp vùng Vịnh và tại Orange County ở Nam California trong 8 năm qua. Em bắt đầu học Piano và luyện giọng từ lúc 5 tuổi và đam mên học thêm các môn nhạc cụ khác như Violon, guitar, đàn Zither. Em được làm thành viên thường trực của Nhà Hát Âm Nhạc Nhi Đồng San Francisco (San Francisco Children’s Musical Theater - SFCMT). Tiếng hát của em được phát hình trên các kênh Truyền Hình Satelite và YouTube. Em có tài năng hội họa vẽ tranh sơn dầu và tham gia phong trào chống kỳ thị người Á Châu.

Katherine Anh Thơ Trần

Ca sĩ nhí em ruột là Katherine Anh Thơ Trần học sinh lớp 5 Tiểu học, say mê về luyện giọng, Guitar và Piano đã 5 năm qua. Bé rất thương thú vật và bảo vệ môi trường. Bé rât vui khi được các tổ chức cộng đồng mời hát phục vụ trong các sự kiện hay những chương trình Truyền Hình. Bé Katherine chiếm giải nhất trong cuộc thi ca nhạc dịp Tết Nguyên Đán. Bé thường đi hát và vận động bảo vệ môi trường và cùng 2 bạn học lập nhóm nhặt rác tại Trường từ lúc Lớp 2 mang tên “Thee Little Angels” (Ba Thiên thần nhỏ).

Câp bài trùng ca sỉ THIÊN Ý và ca sĩ KIM YẾN

Và rất bất ngờ Chương trình ra mắt Hồi Ký "THÁC LŨ MƯA NGUỒN" Quyển 1 và Quyển 2 của Gs NGUYỄN LÝ TƯỞNG được cặp bài trùng 2 nữ ca sĩ THIÊN Ý và KIM YẾN nhận lời đến trình diễn. 

Nhóm ca sĩ của Thiên Ý gồm 6 giọng ca nữ hát hay và duyên dáng thường được các tổ chức Cộng đồng, Đoàn thể người Việt mời hát. Phong cách trình diễn, tính tình vui nhộn nhưng hiền hòa của họ rất được mến mộ. Vì chương trình có hạn nên chỉ có ca sĩ Thiên Ý và ca sĩ Kim Yến của nhóm được xem là cặp bài trùng đến giúp vui mà thôi.

Ngoài ra, nữ Thi sĩ kiêm MC NGỌC AN cho biết cô sẽ hát nhạc phẩm nỗi tiếng của Huyền Anh là "TẤM THẺ BÀI" để tặng mọi người hiện diện. Cô nói đây là Nhạc phẩm bất hũ mà cô thần tượng nhiều năm qua. Nhạc phẩm nầy do nữ Danh ca Thanh Thúy hát đã làm hằng triệu người rơi lệ (  Tấm Thẻ Bài - Thanh Thúy | Live Show ASIA 21 - YouTube ).

Vì Gs Nguyễn Lý Tưởng là gốc người quê Quảng Trị nên Nhạc sĩ HUYỀN ANH sẽ xuát hiện và hát tặng nhạc phẩm "QẢNG TRỊ DẤU YÊU" do anh sáng tác khi quân Bắc Việt tân công chiếm Cổ thành Quảng Trị và tàn phá thị xã Quảng Trị khiến người dân Quảng Trị bồng bế nhau chạy băng Đại lộ Kinh hoàng bị quân Bấc Việt pháo kích giết chết cả chục nghìn người vào Mùa Hè năm 1972.

Gs Nguyễn Lý Tưởng kính mời quý đồng hương, Bao chí Truyền thông, thân hữu và bà con đến tham dự Buổi ra mắt Hồi ký "THÁC LŨ MƯA NGUỒN" Quyển 1 và Quyển 2 của ông vào chiều Chủ Nhật 13/11/2022 từ 12:30PM đến 4:00PM tại Thư Viện TULLY, số 880 Tully Road, San Jose, CA 95122. Có ẩm thực nhẹ và giải khát.

Ở xa muốn có Hồi ký "THÁC LŨ MƯA NGUỒN" Quyển 1 và Quyển 2, xin liên lạc Gs Nguyễn Lý Tưởng, 8952 Champion Ave, Westminster, CA 92683. . Tels (Home) 714-897-8187 Cell (714) 653-5125. Email: lytuongnguyen@yahoo.com.

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VietPress USA (Aug. 14m 2020): Former President Barack Obama condemned President Donald Trump in a new interview over his efforts to “actively kneecap” the United States Postal Service in order to frustrate mail-in voting ahead of the November election — casting the maneuvers by his White House successor as “unique to modern political history.”

The criticism from Obama came in response to Trump’s admission Thursday that he opposes additional funding for the federal agency and election security grants because those provisions would help facilitate voting by mail amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

Read this news from Politico on Yahoo News at:

https://news.yahoo.com/obama-trump-trying-kneecap-postal-165642163.html

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Obama: Trump is trying to ‘kneecap’ Postal Service

Quint Forgey, 

Politico•August 14, 2020

Former President Barack Obama condemned President Donald Trump in a new interview over his efforts to “actively kneecap” the United States Postal Service in order to frustrate mail-in voting ahead of the November election — casting the maneuvers by his White House successor as “unique to modern political history.”

The criticism from Obama came in response to Trump’s admission Thursday that he opposes additional funding for the federal agency and election security grants because those provisions would help facilitate voting by mail amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

“What we’ve never seen before is a president say, ‘I’m going to try to actively kneecap the Postal Service to [discourage] voting, and I will be explicit about the reason I’m doing it.’ That’s sort of unheard of,” Obama told David Plouffe, his 2008 campaign manager and longtime adviser, in an interview on Cadence13’s Campaign HQ podcast released Friday.

Obama went on to praise congressional Democratic leaders, who since last Friday have remained at an impasse with White House negotiators over the next stimulus measure. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have “been very clear, and they want to do what’s right by the American people,” he said.

In May, Pelosi and the Democrat-controlled House passed the HEROES Act — their opening offer for relief talks with the Republican-led Senate — which allocated $3.6 billion in grants that election administrators could use to prepare for an influx of mail-in ballots, to protect in-person voting and to buy personal protective equipment for poll workers.

The House bill also included a $25 billion payment to the cash-strapped Postal Service “for revenue forgone due to coronavirus.” Trump, who has claimed mail-in voting leads to widespread election fraud, referred to those funding figures Thursday in an interview with Fox Business network’s Maria Bartiromo.

“[Democrats] want 3 ½ billion dollars for something that will turn out to be fraudulent. That’s election money, basically. They want 3 ½ billion dollars for the mail-in votes, OK? Universal mail-in ballots. They want 25 billion dollars — billion — for the Post Office,” Trump said.

“Now, they need that money in order to have the Post Office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” he added. “By the way, those are just two items. But if they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.”

Several states have moved to expand mail-in voting as Covid-19 caseloads continue to spike across the country, with physical polling places posing increased risks of infection. But Trump has stated that mail-in voting “doesn’t work out well for Republicans,” and has urged Americans to cast their ballots in-person.

A recent study found that voting by mail does not benefit one party over another, and cases of election fraud in the U.S. are exceedingly rare. Experts acknowledge there are some slightly higher fraud risks associated with mail-in balloting, but only when proper security measures are not in place.

On Friday, Obama admonished Republican lawmakers and argued that the Postal Service “is not simply a delivery system for mail-in ballots,” but also “sends out critical benefits” and acts as a “lifeline” for senior citizens and those who cannot afford the fees charged by delivery services companies.

“What are Republicans doing where you are so scared of people voting, that you are now willing to undermine what is part of the basic infrastructure of American life?” he said, adding that “there have to be some basic shared assumptions that bind us together. And one of those is that we don’t actively hurt people or undermine key parts of our lives just for partisan advantage.”

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Police are seen shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground in Buffalo, New York, on June 4 (AFP Photo/Mike Desmond)

A protester holds up a portrait of George Floyd during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in front of the Brooklyn Library and Grand Army Plaza on June 5 in Brooklyn, New York (AFP Photo/Angela Weiss)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (C) takes part in a Black Lives Matter protest on Parliament Hill on June 5 in Ottawa (AFP Photo/Dave Chan)

VietPress USA (June 5, 2020): Yesterday a video captured in Buffalo shows that two cops pushed a white old man, Martin Gugino, 75 year-old, to the ground and caused his head bleeding. Graphic video from WBFO shows the two officers pushing Gugino down as he approached them in a public square around an 8 p.m. curfew Thursday. Gugino stumbles back and falls, and the video shows him motionless and bleeding from his head.

During a press briefing Friday, Governor Cuomo played video of the incident, watching it wide-eyed before questioning the officers’ actions. "You see that video and it disturbs your basic sense of decency and humanity," Cuomo said.

Cuomo also urged the Mayor and district attorney in Buffalo to investigate the incident and move expeditiously towards potentially bringing criminal charges against and firing the officers involved.

Two police officers were suspended without pay and an internal affairs investigation was underway. 

Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement that he and the city's police commissioner were "deeply disturbed by the vi.deo." Brown also confirmed the officers' suspension and internal affairs investigation.

For this incident, today the entire unit of the Buffalo Police Department has resigned from their assignments Friday after two officers were suspended.

All 57 of the members of the department's Emergency Response Team resigned from the unit, which responds to riots and other crowd control situations, according to the outlets. The Emergency Response Team members have not quit the police department, but have stepped down from the tactical unit, the Buffalo News reported.

Read this report from USA TODAY on Yahoo News at:

https://news.yahoo.com/anger-police-abuse-videos-us-protests-eye-weekend-171902840.html

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Buffalo cops resign from unit in protest after two of their own are suspended for injuring 75-year-old

Ryan W. Miller, Jordan Culver and David Robinson, USA TODAY

,USA TODAY•June 5, 2020

ALBANY, N.Y. – An entire unit of the Buffalo Police Department resigned from their assignments Friday after two officers were suspended amid outcry over video showing officers shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground, according to the Buffalo News and other media outlets.

All 57 of the members of the department's Emergency Response Team resigned from the unit, which responds to riots and other crowd control situations, according to the outlets. The Emergency Response Team members have not quit the police department, but have stepped down from the tactical unit, the Buffalo News reported.

Attorney Kelly V. Zarcone issued a statement from Martin Gugino, the man who was pushed to the ground, saying Gugino is "a longtime peaceful protester, human rights advocate, and overall fan of the US Constitution."

Gugino is in "serious but stable condition. He is alert and oriented," Zarcone said in the emailed statement. He requests privacy and that future protests remain peaceful.

Graphic video from WBFO shows the two officers pushing Gugino down as he approached them in a public square around an 8 p.m. curfew Thursday. Gugino stumbles back and falls, and the video shows him motionless and bleeding from his head.

"Our position is these officers were simply following orders from Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia to clear the square," said Buffalo Police Benevolent Association President John Evans. "It doesn't specify clear the square of men, 50 and under or 15 to 40. They were simply doing their job. I don't know how much contact was made. He did slip in my estimation. He fell backwards."

Asked about the resigning officers at a press conference that afternoon, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz he would be "disappointed" if they had in fact resigned.

"If they resigned, I'm exceptionally disappointed by it because it indicates to me that they did not see anything wrong with the actions last night," Poloncarz said.

The Erie County District Attorney's Office tweeted Friday that it was continuing its investigation of the incident and that the man was unable to provide a statement to investigators Thursday night.

The officer's actions quickly drew condemnation from around the state, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo who said the "incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful."

During a press briefing Friday, Cuomo played video of the incident, watching it wide-eyed before questioning the officers’ actions.

"You see that video and it disturbs your basic sense of decency and humanity," Cuomo said.

"Why? Why? Why was that necessary? Where was the threat? It was an older gentleman. Where was the threat? And then you just walk by the person when you see blood coming from his head," he said, describing the scene.

Cuomo also urged the mayor and district attorney in Buffalo to investigate the incident and move expeditiously towards potentially bringing criminal charges against and firing the officers involved.

Cuomo highlighted the incidents before pushing a police reform agenda being considered in the state legislature.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer called for an investigation, according to a statement reported by WIVB-TV.

"The casual cruelty demonstrated by Buffalo police officers tonight is gut-wrenching and unacceptable," John Curr, the Buffalo chapter director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement, adding that it should be a "wake-up call" for city leaders to address police violence. 

In its initial statement on the incident, the Buffalo Police Department said a person "was injured when he tripped & fell," WIVB-TV reported. A later statement posted on the department's Facebook page said two officers had been suspended without pay and an internal affairs investigation was underway. 

Mayor Byron Brown said in a statement that he and the city's police commissioner were "deeply disturbed by the video." Brown also confirmed the officers' suspension and internal affairs investigation.

"After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonight's event is disheartening," Brown said.

Brown released a statement Friday saying that the city was aware of "developments related to the work assignments of certain members of the Buffalo police force."

Contingency plans were in place to ensure public safety, Brown said.

Five protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct, according to NBC affiliate WGRZ-TV. None of the police officers seen in the video has been criminally charged.

The Buffalo Police Department and the New York State Police did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment on Thursday.

“I can assure you, Martin is a peaceable person,” said Vicki Ross, executive director of Western New York Peace Center and Latin American Solidarity Committee, an organization Gugino was involved with.

“There is no way that he was doing anything to accost or hurt. He made a judgment to stay out after the curfew because he feels that our civil liberties are so in danger, which they most certainly are.”

Ross said Gugino has been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

The incident comes after more than a week of protests against police brutality following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. Floyd, who is black, died after now-fired police officer, who is white, pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as other officers stood by.

Since Floyd's death, which has been ruled a homicide, protesters nationwide have decried police brutality and racial inequality. Some protests have been marred by violence and looting, and police have been caught on camera multiple times using force against protesters – including peaceful ones.

Sarah Taddeo

✔@sjtaddeo

Group getting larger in Niagara Square in Buffalo - probably close to 75-100 people now.

26

1:16 PM - Jun 5, 2020

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In Buffalo, protesters gathered Friday morning outside City Hall, where Gugino was pushed, to call for change. The crowd grew throughout the day and made its way across the street.

"I hope to continue to build on the progress we have achieved as we work together to address racial injustice and inequity in the City of Buffalo," Brown said. "My thoughts are with the victim tonight."

Contributing: Sarah Taddeo and Grace Hauck, USA TODAY; Marcia Greenwood, Democrat and Chronicle; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Buffalo, New York police officers suspended for shoving man to ground

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VietPress USA (Apr. 24, 2020): End of Friday, Apr. 24, the Coronavirus killed at least 51,341 Americans, infected more than 908,347 other citizens, recovered 90,338 people (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/). In this hardest situation of pandemic, there are several States around the country announce plans to lift off the shelter-in-place order and to ease the social distancing.                    

Despite warnings from national health leaders that the country could face a second wave of the virus in late 2020, states and cities are drafting or implementing plans to get people out of their homes and back into mainstream life.

"We will have coronavirus in the fall," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the White House's Coronavirus Task force. "I am convinced of that because of the degree of transmissibility that it has, the global nature. What happens with that will depend on how we’re able to contain it when it occurs."

Read full report from USA TODAY on Yahoo News at: https://news.yahoo.com/u-hits-50-000-deaths-145730647.html

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U.S. hits 50,000 deaths from coronavirus - just as many states announce plans to ease social distancing

Michael James, USA TODAY ,

USA TODAY•April 24, 2020

The U.S. passed 50,000 coronavirus deaths on Friday and is closing in on nearly 1 million infections as several states around the nation begin implementing plans for reopening businesses and easing social distancing.

On Friday the Johns Hopkins coronavirus database listed 50,114 U.S. deaths and more than 870,000 infections. Due to a lack of testing, the actual number of infections is likely to be much higher.

Despite warnings from national health leaders that the country could face a second wave of the virus in late 2020, states and cities are drafting or implementing plans to get people out of their homes and back into mainstream life.

"We will have coronavirus in the fall," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the White House's Coronavirus Task force. "I am convinced of that because of the degree of transmissibility that it has, the global nature. What happens with that will depend on how we’re able to contain it when it occurs."

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Meanwhile the death toll continues to rise and drop at sporadic rates. On Thursday, for instance, the U.S. followed up four days of decreased death totals with one of its deadliest days yet, with over 3,000 deaths.

The latest milestone comes at an incongruous time when many states, under intense pressure from not only the White House but also their own citizens, announce plans to allow people back to work.

Governors of more than a dozen states in the past 10 days — including California, Florida, Alaska, Tennessee, Colorado and Georgia — have detailed their hope to slowly phase out lockdowns and restrictions on businesses. 

The Paterson fire department COVID-19 EMS unit responds to a call for a person under investigation of having the coronavirus on April 16, 2020. Paterson has one of the highest coronavirus caseloads in New Jersey, with about 3,000 residents testing positive, according to state health officials.

Some are only allowing minor reopenings. Gov. Gavin Newsom said that California was not prepared "to open up large sectors of our society" but made the first modification to the state's stay-at-home order with the resumption of "essential" surgeries.

“Tumors, heart valves, the need for people to get the kind of care they deserve," Newsom said. "If it’s delayed, it becomes acute. This fundamentally is a health issue.”

Others are more aggressive. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he was allowing certain businesses to reopen on April 24, including gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, barbers, cosmetologists and massage therapists. Georgia’s timetable is one of the most aggressive in the nation.

“Each of these entities will subject to specific restrictions, including adherence to the basic minimum operations, social distancing and regular sanitation,” Kemp said.

Much of the push is economic. Even beyond the death tally, the virus has taken unprecedented toll on American life.

Unemployment in the U.S. is swelling to levels last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of a job by the coronavirus, according to new data released Thursday. In response to the deepening economic crisis, the House passed a nearly $500 billion spending package to help buckled businesses and hospitals.

More than 4.4 million laid-off Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, the government reported. In all, roughly 26 million people — the population of the 10 biggest U.S. cities combined — have filed for jobless aid in five weeks, an epic collapse that has raised the stakes in the debate over how and when to ease the shutdowns of factories and other businesses.

State Highway 1 in Wellington, New Zealand is nearly empty due to Level 4 lockdown on April 21, 2020. New Zealand will partially relax nationwide lockdown restrictions in a week as the decline in new coronavirus cases indicates its strategy of elimination is working.

Janet Simon, laid off as a waitress at a Miami IHOP restaurant, said she has just $200 and is getting panic attacks because of uncertainty over how she will care for her three children. Simon, 33, filed for unemployment a month ago, and her application is still listed as “pending.”

“I’m doing everything to keep my family safe, my children safe, but everything else around me is falling apart,” Simon said. “But they see it, no matter how much I try to hide my despair.”

In northern Colorado, a major meatpacking plant that closed because of an outbreak that claimed the lives of four workers was set to reopen Friday after a two-week disinfection, even as some questioned how employees can maintain social distancing inside the facility.

In the hardest-hit corner of the U.S., evidence emerged that perhaps 2.7 million New York state residents have been infected by the virus – 10 times the number confirmed by lab tests.

Abroad, there was mixed news about the epidemic. Some countries, including Greece, Bangladesh and Malaysia, announced extensions of their lockdowns. Vietnam, New Zealand and Croatia were among those moving to end or ease such measures.

Teenagers in New York wear hazmat suits playing basketball during the coronavirus lockdown

In Africa, COVID-19 cases surged 43% in the past week to 26,000, according to John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figures underscored a recent warning from the World Health Organization that the virus could kill more than 300,000 people in Africa and push 30 million into desperate poverty.

Brazil’s health ministry confirmed 407 deaths due to the outbreak in the last 24 hours, a daily high for the country.

While the health crisis has eased in places like Italy, Spain and France, experts say it is far from over, and the threat of new outbreaks looms large.

“The question is not whether there will be a second wave,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, the head of the WHO’s Europe office. “The question is whether we will take into account the biggest lessons so far."

Contributing: Jorge Ortiz; Lorenzo Reyes, Grace Hauck, USA TODAY; Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus death toll in United States hits 50,000 as states reopen

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