Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

9 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

10 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

13 hours ago

Elon Musk Says Senate Bill Would Destroy Jobs and Harm US

13 hours ago

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

15 hours ago

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

15 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

3 days ago
Sen. Rubio Fingers Journalists for 'Glee' in Virus Deaths
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
March 31, 2020

Share

NEW YORK — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, pressed to identify media figures that he said expressed “glee” at Americans getting coronavirus, has cited an editorial cartoonist, a magazine writer, an online tech publication and an online editor.

“Our story is anything but gleeful, and calls the administration’s failure to act a ‘dark lesson.’ Marco Rubio should spend his time worrying about the people of Florida.” Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge
The Republican senator took heat for a tweet over the weekend that said some media members “can’t contain their delight” at reports that the United States had surpassed China in the number of coronavirus cases.
He was criticized for using the vague term “some in the media,” and ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, president of the White House Correspondents Association, called on Rubio to apologize. He didn’t, but late Monday pointed to examples of what he was talking about.
One came from the Twitter account of the tech publication The Verge that had tweeted a picture of President Donald Trump hugging the American flag with the message, “The coronavirus is now the American virus.”
Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge, said his publication’s team is based primarily in New York and San Francisco and is devastated by the disease’s impact on those communities.

‘Marco Rubio Should Spend His Time Worrying About the People of Florida’

“Our story is anything but gleeful, and calls the administration’s failure to act a ‘dark lesson,’” he said on Tuesday. “Marco Rubio should spend his time worrying about the people of Florida.”
Rubio also cited a tweet by Benjamin Wittes, founder of the Lawfare blog, who tweeted a link to a story about the milestone with the message, “We’re Number One!” The senator also criticized a profane tweet by GQ magazine writer Julia Ioffe.
Cartoonist Bill Bramhall of the New York Daily News drew Rubio’s ire for a weekend drawing that showed a graph of U.S. coronavirus cases rising while a man in a red MAGA hat chants, “USA, USA, USA.”
Rubio also criticized Paul Krugman, columnist at The New York Times, for using figures on coronavirus provided by the Chinese government. The senator has said he doesn’t believe those numbers are accurate.
In calling out Rubio for his vagueness and requesting an apology, Karl said journalists at CBS and NBC News had died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and two members of the White House press corps are suspected of having contracted the virus. On Tuesday, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo announced that he had the virus.
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

7 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

7 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

8 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

8 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

8 hours ago

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

8 hours ago

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

8 hours ago

DOJ Announces Arrest, Indictments in North Korean IT Worker Scheme

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Clovis for Sex-Related Crimes Against Minor

8 hours ago

Dyer’s Lobbying Works. Fresno Gets $100M for Downtown From State

9 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

The Clovis Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk missing adult last seen on Thursday. Pathmani Goonawarde...

6 hours ago

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
6 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

fresno
6 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

7 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

Bryan Koberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, listens during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., October 26, 2023. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

The Blanca Fire, burning 12 acres northwest of Lake Madera Country Estates in Madera County, remains active with 0% containment and no reported injuries or structural damage as the cause is under investigation as of Monday, June 30, 2025. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

Fresno County CHP arrested two on Interstate 5 after finding about one kilogram of suspected cocaine, a loaded ghost gun, and counterfeit money during a vehicle search on Sunday, June 29, 2025. (CHP)
8 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

Gov. Newsom warns Californians to celebrate the Fourth of July safely, emphasizing zero tolerance for illegal fireworks which have surged to over 600,000 pounds seized this year. (Shutterstock)
8 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend