Sean Hannity Has Full-On Meltdown Over Criticism of Fox News Coronavirus Coverage

Sean Hannity on Wednesday night flipped out at the growing criticism of the way that he and other Fox News personalities have covered the coronavirus pandemic.

The “Hannity” host, who is a staunch ally of Donald Trump, in the lengthy rant said he was thinking of suing “the media mob” and again accused journalists of “playing politics” and of using the public health crisis “to bludgeon” the president politically.

Hannity, who initially downplayed the threat of the virus for weeks, reserved particular scorn for The New York Times opinion writer Kara Swisher, describing her as a “far-left media mob maniac” after she blamed the network’s reporting for her elderly mother’s apparent lack of concern about the outbreak.

“Well, it sometimes feels like Fox News is eating my mother’s brain,” Swisher wrote this week in a searing column she directed at Hannity that drew his ire.

Hannity continued his meltdown by attacking The Washington Post’s media critic Erik Wemple, calling him “Eric Pimple” over an opinion piece in which he called for Hannity to be fired.

Hannity also claimed he’d “reported without fear from the very beginning,” despite only last month describing the public health crisis as “this new hoax,” and said he was “proud of the work we’ve done.”

Check out the clip here:

Spain's 2020 budget deficit to widen significantly but temporarily

MADRID, April 2 (Reuters) – Spain’s 2020 budget deficit will widen “significantly but temporarily” as a result of the measures taken to halt the spread of coronavirus, Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva said at a news conference on Thursday.

Speaking at the same conference, Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said 2.3 million people are currently receiving unemployment benefits, costing the state around 1.22 billion euros ($1.33 billion) a month. ($1 = 0.9146 euros) (Reporting by Inti Landauro and Belen Carreno; Writing by Nathan Allen; Editing by Sonya Dowsett)

Williams Advanced Engineering to produce 5,000 ventilators for UK

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) – Williams Advanced Engineering said it will produce an initial batch of 5,000 ventilators for Britain’s National Health Service.

“Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) is playing a significant role in an Aerospace consortium to produce medical ventilators for use by the NHS,” the company said.

“The aim is to quickly produce an initial batch of 5,000 Smiths ParaPAC300 ventilators; utilising speed of response and rapid processes derived from a motorsport background.” (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge Editing by William Schomberg)

Honda discontinues BR-V in India

Honda has pulled the plug on its slow-selling midsize SUV, the BR-V, with the uptake of the more stringent BS6 emission norms. The BR-V was introduced in India in May 2016 as a rival to the Hyundai Creta and sought to carve a niche for itself with its crossover-like styling cues and seating for seven.

However, buyers found the BR-V too similar to its platform-mate, the Mobilio, and this MPV connect didn’t do it any favours in a market where SUVs are popular. Also, despite its practical cabin, the BR-V missed out on some essential features at the time of launch, and while Honda updated the model with more equipment, the SUV simply didn’t sell to potential.

Honda sold about 20,000 units of the BR-V in the 2017 financial year, though those numbers dried up to around 1,950 units in the outgoing financial year.

While the BR-V did not do too well in India, it has been a popular choice for buyers in some international markets, with Honda having rolled out a facelift for the model last year.

Honda’s line-up in the Indian market now comprises the CR-V, Civic (both petrol-only models), Amaze, WR-V, Jazz and City — the last of which is due for a full-model change in the weeks to come. Honda is presently accepting bookings for the BS6-compliant WR-V, with the BS6-compliant Jazz expected to arrive soon.

Haemonetics Acquires Privately-Held Enicor, Financial Terms Not Disclosed

Medical technology company Haemonetics Corp. (HAE) announced Thursday that it has acquired enicor GmbH, a privately held manufacturer of a new generation whole blood coagulation testing system (ClotPro), which is based in Munich, Germany. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The ClotPro system is an innovative viscoelastic diagnostic device that offers more assays than any other hemostasis analyzer on the market. Under the terms of the transaction, Haemonetics has acquired all of the outstanding share capital of enicor GmbH.

enicor Founder and CEO Dr. Andreas Calatzis will join Haemonetics as the Vice President, General Manager of enicor where he will work closely with Haemonetics’ research and development and clinical functions.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. Q2 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) announced earnings for second quarter that decreased from the same period last year.

The company’s profit came in at $0.95B, or $1.07 per share. This compares with $1.16 billion, or $1.24 per share, in last year’s second quarter.

Excluding items, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $1.34 billion or $1.52 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.46 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 3.7% to $35.82 billion from $34.53 billion last year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q2): $1.34 Bln. vs. $1.52 Bln. last year.
-EPS (Q2): $1.52 vs. $1.64 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $1.46
-Revenue (Q2): $35.82 Bln vs. $34.53 Bln last year.