Hard Numbers: Danes spare minks, Brazil vax trials resume, offshore cash for Venezuelans,Trump grift exposed
15: The Danish government has scrapped plans to cull all of the country's nearly 15 million minks, which are believed to carry a mutation of the novel coronavirus. The massive undertaking — which would have required military assistance and a mass mink burial — triggered a political scandal and failed to win sufficient backing in parliament.
2: Two days after Brazil paused a Chinese company's COVID-19 vaccine trial because of a "severe adverse incident," authorities have allowed the trial to resume, revealing that the death of a trial volunteer was not in fact linked to the vaccine. The drug, made by Sinovac Biotech, is one of China's most advanced COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
62,700: Around 62,700 Venezuelan health care workers will receive additional compensation for their heroic efforts to treat COVID-19 patients amid a crippling economic crisis. But the payments aren't coming from the government. Instead, they are being arranged by opposition leader Juan Guaidó who, because he is recognized by the US as president, has gained access to Venezuelan offshore funds in the United States that were seized under sanctions against the regime of strongman president Nicolas Maduro.
8,000: The Trump campaign has been flooding supporters with calls to contribute to its legal fund, as part of its efforts to overturn election results in key states like Michigan and Pennsylvania. But an investigation shows that only donations over $8,000 are in fact going towards the legal fund, while most of the money is in fact being funneled elsewhere, including the Republic National Committee, and a Trump leadership PAC which doles out cash to cover other Republican races, as well as staff travel expenses.