To say that Günther Oettinger’s nomination as Germany’s next commissioner was greeted with little enthusiasm would be an understatement.

In Germany, Oettinger’s nomination was swiftly undermined by the discovery that Oettinger was Chancellor Angela Merkel’s third choice for the job behind Norbert Röttgen, now Merkel’s environment minister, and Roland Koch, the top politician in the land of Hesse.

By then, political rivals in Brussels had already pounced. Merkel had not even officially informed European Commission President José Manuel Barroso of her plan to offer a European career to Oettinger, a man who had spent his entire life in his home state of Baden-Württemberg, when a disgruntled fellow member of the European People’s Party passed on a message to Barroso that Merkel was about to dispose of one of her political enemies. A second-rate regional politician would be dumped in Brussels, implied the informant, who had harboured aspirations for the job himself.

Other criticisms came from outside Oettinger’s and Merkel’s camp. “Who is he?”, asked Guy Verhofstadt, a former prime minister of Belgium and now the leader of the Liberal (ALDE) group in the European Parliament, before accusing Germany of having lost interest in Europe. Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats group in the Parliament, bashed Oettinger as a “no-name politician”.

The attacks by rivals were perhaps predictable, but the more general lack of respect for Oettinger might seem peculiar to outsiders. Oettinger is, after all, a man who, as minister-president of Baden-Württemberg since 2005, presided over a land more populous than Sweden and one of Germany’s most economically important Länder, home to Mercedes, Porsche and SAP. Part of the dismissive attitude is regional prejudice. Despite its wealth, the heavy regional accent of Baden-Württemberg, Schwäbish, leaves many struggling to avoid being dismissed as bumpkins – a prejudice reflected by the media coverage given after his nomination to Oettinger’s accent (in both German and English), which is heavy and which compounds the occasional clumsiness of his language and his somewhat awkward manner.

Oettinger is, though, the author of some of his own difficulties. Not the touchy-feely type, he has never looked at ease on occasions that the average regional politician would savour. Meeting his electorate, he preferred to deliver facts and figures rather than find a point of emotional connection. He also emerged looking politically maladroit when he appeared reluctant to apologise, at Merkel’s demand, for a laudatory speech in which he implied that Hans Filbinger, one of his predecessors as minister-president, had been an opponent of the Nazis when he had, in fact, been a judge under the Nazis.

Oettinger did much to dispel the doubts that preceded him to Brussels when he appeared before the European Parliament for his nomination hearing in January. After his three-hour hearing, friends and foes alike conceded that the 56-year-old could have the qualities to succeed as a commissioner.

A trained lawyer, Oettinger showed an impressive command of all questions related to energy, the portfolio he will be in charge of. Initially quite tense, Oettinger even displayed glimpses of humour, something he had previously not been associated with.

Curriculum Vitae

1953: Born, Stuttgart 

1971-82: Law studies, Tübingen

1980-94: Town councillor, Ditzingen

1984-2005: Lawyer

1988: Owner of the law firm Oettinger und Partner in Ditzingen

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1988-now: Member of the Baden- Württemberg parliament

2005-now: Minister-president of Baden-Württemberg

2010: European commissioner-designate for energy

“His curiosity and his quest for learning are his assets,” says Rainer Wieland, a centre-right MEP from a neighbouring town in Swabia, who has been a friend and political ally of Oettinger for 36 years (and a man who, early in Oettinger’s career, told him to slow down his speech so that the audience would have a chance to follow).

It is a fair assessment. Oettinger is an analytical technocrat and the Brussels job may well prove to be tailor-made for a politician who never really won the hearts of his voters in his region.

Oettinger is not new to Brussels or to his portfolio. For years, Oettinger made a point of coming to Brussels every ten weeks and, as minister-president of Baden-Württemberg, Oettinger was well aware of EU regulations in the power sector and followed the evolution of the climate-related policies closely. Before his nomi-nation he had met competition commis-sioner Neelie Kroes to discuss the fate of the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and he has built up enough of a relationship with Siim Kallas, Estonia’s commissioner, to play tennis with him (Oettinger is also a keen skier and footballer).

Still, Oettinger was humble enough to admit that shortly after his nomination he knew about 20% of what he needed to know. He stressed that the months to come will be a period of intense learning. He set about the task and the way he went about the challenge of establishing his private office suggests broader qualities, including a capacity for strategic thinking.

First, he sent two aides from his office in Baden-Württemberg’s capital Stuttgart to interview officials and explore the role of a commissioner’s cabinet. In a second step, he started to form his own cabinet. He declined an offer from his predecessor Günter Verheugen to keep Petra Erler as head of cabinet and instead picked Michael Köhler, previously the head of the cabinet of Joe Borg, the European commissioner for fisheries and maritime affairs. Many an official from Baden-Württemberg had hoped that Oettinger would pick them, but Oettinger looked instead for people who could compensate for his own shortcomings.

Even people with opposing political views commend Oettinger for hiring excellent staff. “He is not someone who would surround himself with dimwits to flatter his ego,” says Reinhard Bütikofer, a Green MEP who knows Oettinger from his stint in the regional parliament of Baden-Württemberg.

As a commissioner, Oettinger will command less public attention than in his present position, which guarantees him an armoured vehicle and three bodyguards. And being beyond the discipline of the German Christian Democrats, a party tightly controlled by Merkel, with whom Oettinger has a rather difficult relationship, Oettinger will have more freedom.

Close aides say he is already enjoying his newly won liberty. But there is one decision that his old Baden-Württemberg audience will watch closely: his choice of car. In Baden-Württemberg, he had no choice but to go for a Mercedes; in Brussels he is free to choose whichever brand takes his fancy.

Chinese scientists say they have found “extremely effective” antibodies in their search for drugs to treat and prevent the novel coronavirus. 

Zhang Linqi at Beijing’s Tsinghua University told Reuters that his team has found antibodies that effectively block the virus from entering human cells. Those antibodies could be used in drugs to more efficiently treat COVID-19, which currently has no proven treatment. 

Zhang said his team began collecting blood samples from recovered patients in early January and isolated 206 monoclonal antibodies with a “strong” ability to connect with the virus’s proteins. He added that four were found in another test to prevent the virus from entering human cells, and two were “exceedingly good” at it.

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The team’s goal is to find the most powerful antibodies and merge them to reduce the chances of the coronavirus mutating, according to Reuters, which noted that the ideal result would produce a drug for at-risk people to prevent them from getting COVID-19. 

The scientists reportedly hope the drug could be mass produced for testing, beginning on animals and then on humans, in six months. Normally, it takes two years for a drug to be approved, but with coronavirus taking over the world spotlight, the process could be sped up, Reuters noted.

Sino-U.S. biotech firm, Brii Biosciences, said in a statement obtained by the news service that it has partnered with the group of scientists.

But some experts warn that it could take time for such a drug to become widely available, with Hong Kong University infectious disease specialist Ben Cowling telling Reuters “a number of steps … will now need to be followed” before it can be used on COVID-19 patients.

The coronavirus has infected more than 873,700 people worldwide, killing 43,288. A total of 185,194 have recovered, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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The Trump administration will not open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) amid the coronavirus pandemic despite calls for a new sign-up period from congressional Democrats and the insurance industry, Politico reported Tuesday.

President TrumpDonald John TrumpIllinois governor says state has gotten 10 percent of medical equipments it’s requested Biden leads Trump by 6 points in national poll Tesla offers ventilators free of cost to hospitals, Musk says MORE and other White House officials had said they were considering a relaunch of HealthCare.gov, but a White House official on Tuesday told the publican that the administration had decided against a special enrollment period and is “exploring other options.”

Despite the decision, the ACA — better known as ObamaCare — provides for a special enrollment period for those who have recently lost their employer-based health plans, meaning some people who have lost their insurance due to the pandemic may still be able to sign up through the portal.

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While the White House oversees enrollment for about two-thirds of states, several Democratic state governments have already reopened enrollment in state-run marketplaces, Politico reported. Trump said last week that he was considering reopening enrollment, but he affirmed that he still supports an ongoing administration lawsuit that would undo the entire law.

Those who have lost their jobs also have the option to extend their employer-based plans through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act — also known as COBRA — but that option frequently proves cost-prohibitive for people who have just lost their main sources of income. About two-thirds of states have also expanded Medicaid under the ACA.

After initial hesitation within the insurance industry about the possibility of reopening enrollment, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the top health insurance lobbyist, endorsed a special enrollment period two weeks ago, Politico reported.

AHIP also called on lawmakers to expand ACA subsidies to middle-income Americans, but the expansion was ultimately not included in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by Trump last week. Insurers reportedly expected Trump to announce an enrollment period based on conversations with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services officials, according to Politico.  

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that Texas can temporarily enforce a ban on abortions as part of its coronavirus response.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay on a ruling from a lower court that had blocked Texas from enforcing the ban. State officials argue the ban is intended to conserve medical supplies for health workers on the front lines of the coronavirus response. But abortion rights advocates say states are using the pandemic as an excuse to block access.

In a 2-1 opinion, the appeals court ruled that the order from the lower court be stayed until an appeal from Texas is considered. The two judges who ruled in favor of a stay were nominated to their posts by President TrumpDonald John TrumpIllinois governor says state has gotten 10 percent of medical equipments it’s requested Biden leads Trump by 6 points in national poll Tesla offers ventilators free of cost to hospitals, Musk says MORE and former President George W. Bush.

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“The temporary stay ordered this afternoon justly prioritizes supplies and personal protective equipment for the medical professionals in need,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Tuesday. 

Circuit Court Judge James Dennis, a Clinton appointee, dissented, writing “a federal judge has already concluded that irreparable harm would flow from allowing the executive order to prohibit abortions during this critical time.” 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued a directive earlier this month suspending nonessential medical procedures in an effort to conserve masks and gloves for health workers on the front lines of the pandemic. 

Several states have issued similar orders, but a divide has emerged between red and blue states about whether abortion is an essential procedure.

Abbott’s order didn’t specifically lay out which procedures are nonessential. But Paxton later said that abortion is a nonessential procedure that should be halted during the outbreak, leading clinics in the state to cancel appointments or face criminal penalties and fines.

Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups filed a lawsuit against Texas last week, and U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, a George W. Bush appointee, on Monday blocked Texas from enforcing the ban, writing that it is likely unconstitutional. 

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“Regarding a woman’s right to a pre-fetal-viability abortion, the Supreme Court has spoken clearly. There can be no outright ban on such a procedure,” he wrote in his order authorizing a temporary restraining order. 

Similar orders were blocked by federal judges in Ohio and Alabama on Monday. 

John Kruzel contributed to this report, which was updated at 3:04 p.m. 

At least two health care workers have been fired after speaking out about the need for more coronavirus tests and protective equipment as hospitals across the country warn doctors and nurses not to publicize pandemic-fueled shortages of medical supplies.

An emergency room doctor in Washington state was fired last week after criticizing working conditions at his hospital where he had worked for 17 years, and a Chicago nurse was fired after warning colleagues their assigned masks offered inadequate protection against coronavirus, according to reports.

“Nurses and other health care workers are being muzzled in an attempt by hospitals to preserve their image,” said Ruth Schubert, a spokesperson for the Washington State Nurses Association. “No health care worker should face being disciplined or fired for speaking the truth.”

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Ming Lin, an emergency room doctor at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Wash., was terminated after he spoke out against what he called a lack of protective measures, while Lauri Mazurkiewicz, a nurse in Chicago, was fired by Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

A similar warning was issued by NYU Langone Health in New York City, according to Bloomberg News.

Mazurkiewicz has sued her former employer for wrongful termination. She was dismissed for warning coworkers that the type of mask they were required to wear was “less safe and less effective” than the N-95 mask, according to the Chicago Tribune.

As the country braces for a spike in cases over the next few weeks, hospitals are warning employees not to speak publicly about working conditions, which could include shortages of N-95 masks and gowns, as well as beds and life-saving ventilators.

Media gag orders have been linked to hospitals across the country.

A doctor who manages two Facebook groups with some 70,000 physicians told Bloomberg News that she’s heard numerous accounts from doctors who have been warned by their hospitals not to draw public attention to problems they are encountering while handling the influx of coronavirus cases.

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“I’m hearing widespread stories from physicians across the country and they are all saying: ‘We have these stories that we think are important to get out, but we are being told by our hospital systems that we are not allowed to speak to the press, and if we do so there will be extreme consequences,” Nisha Mehta, a radiologist in Charlotte, N.C., told Bloomberg, adding that many doctors are receiving “daily emails” about hospital gag orders.

“The public needs to hear these stories and other physicians need to hear them to be warned against what’s coming,” Mehta added. “It’s so important that everyone understands how bad this is going to get.”

Hospital administrators say the measures have been taken to protect patient privacy.

But health care workers like Lin argue that sounding the alarm about unsafe working conditions is part of the doctor’s credo.

“Our oath is to do no harm,” Lin told Bloomberg. “I spoke out for patient safety and as a result I got terminated.”

Updated at 12:07 p.m.

Defense Secretary Mark EsperMark EsperDefense chief says states can use National Guard to enforce stay-at-home orders Overnight Defense: Aircraft carrier captain pleads for help with outbreak | Pentagon shipment of ventilators delayed | Pompeo urges countries to be more ‘transparent’ with virus data Pentagon has not yet sent 2,000 ventilators due to lack of shipment location MORE said Tuesday that states have the option of using the National Guard to enforce stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“[T]hat would be an option for the governors,” Esper said on CBS News. “Again, the guard is active in all 50 states and territories. I’m very proud of what our guardsmen are doing, but we have a whole lot more capacity out there in the guard right now to do more.”

Esper compared having the National Guard deal with the coronavirus to its duties when a hurricane or another natural disaster strikes the country, saying the force would be used to curb the outbreak’s effects.

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“You know, we typically think of National Guard dealing with a hurricane in a state or a series of tornadoes, and this case right now, we have 54 hurricanes out there,” he said. “And every single state and territory, and we know they’re going to grow in size and in their power.”

The remarks come as a growing number of states order their residents to shelter in their homes to try to blunt the spread of COVID-19, which has infected over 189,000 people and killed at least 3,900 in the U.S. Last weekend the National Guard in Rhode Island began going door-to-door to enforce quarantine orders for those leaving New York.

However, not all areas are expected to use heavy-handed tactics to impose their stay-at-home orders. Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said Tuesday that her city is unlikely to make arrests to enforce the rule.

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“We don’t expect that we will have to issue any fines and jail penalties, because we expect the people of the District of Columbia to comply,” Bowser said at a press briefing. “The point is not to arrest anybody, the point is for people to stay at home.”

Russian lawmakers have approved fines of up to $25,000 and sentences of up to five years in prison for spreading misinformation relating to the coronavirus.

The nation’s legislature acted after President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinThe Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Trump blends upbeat virus info and high US death forecast Moscow placed under strict lockdown to stem coronavirus spread Trump says he’ll speak with Putin on Monday MORE called for action against “provocations, stupid gossip and malicious lies” about the outbreak, The Associated Press reported.

Rumors have swirled within Russia for the past month that the government was undercounting the number of cases, prompting the government’s coronavirus task force to establish a “fake news” division. In some cases, law enforcement has targeted news outlets and individual social media users who denied the official data.

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“In crises, those in power try very hard to control the information and push their own agenda. And, of course, it makes sense to suppress alternative points of view,” Valery Solovei, a political analyst who told an opposition radio station he believed the government was lying about the death toll, told the AP.

Solovei also said the Russian death toll since mid-January could be as high as 1,600.

Russia’s media and internet watchdog, Roscomnadzor, reportedly responded by pressuring radio station Echo Moskvy to scrub the interview with Solovei from its website.

One woman is facing a fine as high as $1,200 for a social media post about virus cases in her region, which has not officially reported any cases, the AP reported, while a 26-year-old man was fined $380 for a social media comment on a news report alleging a woman died of the virus in a hospital.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the AP that the penalties were “absolutely justified,” saying the conduct in question “stirs up unwarranted tensions, and in this situation it needs to be punished in accordance with the law.”

Numerous other countries have also cracked down on misinformation about the virus, including India, Germany, Taiwan and Thailand, particularly amid concerns that false rumors will be disseminated on April Fool’s Day.

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Hotel chain Marriott International announced Tuesday that a data breach had compromised the personal information of about 5.2 million guests, the company’s second major breach in as many years.

The latest breach involves names, birthdays, emails, phone numbers and Marriott account numbers, though the company said not all of those personal details were compromised for every guest.

Marriott said it discovered the breach at the end of February, and believes the data was accessed through the login credentials of two employees beginning in mid-January. The credentials were later disabled and the authorities alerted.

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“Although Marriott’s investigation is ongoing, the company currently has no reason to believe that the information involved included Marriott Bonvoy account passwords or PINs, payment card information, passport information, national IDs, or driver’s license numbers,” the company said in a statement.

Notices will start to be sent to all affected guests starting Tuesday, Marriott said, adding that there’s a website and call center to allow customers to access more information on the breach and next steps.

The hotel chain’s previous breach stemmed from a hack of its Starwood guest reservation database in 2018 that exposed the personal information of at least 383 million customers, including passport numbers.

Investigators concluded that Chinese hackers were behind the breach and that it was part of an effort by China to build out a database that includes names and information of U.S. government officials.

The New York attorney general opened an investigation into the first data breach, while the British government fined Marriott $123 million. The breach affected about 7 million British residents.

The new breach comes on the heels of Marriott International announcing it would begin furloughing employees due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company has around 130,000 employees in the United States.

Several House Democrats had harsh words for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following an announcement it would suspend enforcement actions against companies who don’t monitor for pollution during the coronavirus outbreak.

Guidance released by the agency last week informed companies they would not face fines or other enforcement actions from the agency for failing to monitor and report their pollution. 

Companies are expected to “comply with regulatory requirements, where reasonably practicable, and to return to compliance as quickly as possible,” the agency wrote in a release announcing the change, which is temporary, but has no set end date.

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“This suspension of enforcement during the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis is irresponsible and neglects the Agency’s core mission to protect public health,” lawmakers in the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) wrote in a letter spearheaded by Rep. Mike QuigleyMichael (Mike) Bruce QuigleyHouse Democrats blast EPA as agency suspends monitoring amid coronavirus Illinois governor endorses Biden one day before primary Progressive groups push Supreme Court to livestream arguments during coronavirus shutdown MORE (D-Ill.).

Environmentalists have raised concerns that without monitoring, companies may emit a number of air and water pollutants with little consequence.

Lawmakers pointed to air pollution emitted by the oil industry in particular, one of many industries that asked for a suspension of some environmental regulations during the pandemic.  

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“The health impacts of these pollutants are well-established, and exposure is particularly dangerous for those with respiratory conditions. We are currently facing a severe respiratory pandemic, taking lives and hospitalizing thousands—at this moment, communities need more protections from toxic pollution, not less. Waiving environmental enforcement will only add to the severity of the COVID-19 crisis,” lawmakers wrote.

The EPA has pushed back against earlier characterizations of the law as a nationwide waiver of environmental rules.

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“The policy does not say that the COVID-19 pandemic will excuse exceedances of pollutant limitations in permits, regulations, and statutes. EPA expects regulated entities to comply with all obligations and if they do not, the policy says that EPA will consider the pandemic, on a case-by-case basis, when determining an appropriate response,” an EPA official said by email.

“The SEEC claims are false and it is apparent they didn’t even read our guidance. EPA’s enforcement authority and responsibility remains active,” the person added.

Companies are expected to keep records of their own noncompliance, along with identifying how the coronavirus was a factor.

But lawmakers said the pandemic only heightens the need for strong enforcement, especially given that many polluting industries set up shop in the same low-income areas, exacerbating health issues in poor communities and communities of color.

“Your broad suspension of enforcement is unprecedented and dangerous, especially given the pandemic we face. While our doctors and nurses work urgently to keep people healthy and manage hospital overflows, you are granting polluting industries a free pass to contaminate our air and water, likely adding patients to healthcare providers’ already overwhelming caseloads,” they wrote.

The Premier League winner’s contract expires at the end of the season, whenever that might prove to be and he wants to finish the campaign

Christian Fuchs is hoping the footballing authorities find a way to complete the current season amid the coronavirus outbreak which sees football suspended in almost every country across the world.

The Premier League has set an earliest possible return date of April 30 with Her Majesty’s Government leading the fightback against the highly contagious Covid-19 virus.

Before the break in play, Fuchs’ Leicester had earned an important win over Aston Villa in their bid to finish in the top four and qualify for next season’s Champions League.