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NRA lays off more than 60 employees as gun sales climb
2 p.m.
The National Rifle Association, defenseless against the economic impact of the coronavirus, has fired upward of 60 employees, according to Politico. The mass layoffs by the pro-gun lobbying organization occurred in the last couple of weeks.
The layoffs happened while gun sales in the U.S. climbed to near record levels in March and worried Americans flocked to stores to stockpile toilet paper, water and hand sanitizer.
The NRA’s head of public affairs, Andrew Arulanandam, said the association announced on March 22 “a number of permanent and temporary staff reductions along with other cost-cutting measures, just like many other corporations and nonprofits as a result of the extraordinary impacts from the COVID-19 crisis.”
Employees who kept their jobs, like CEO Wayne LaPierre, will see a cut in their salaries, Politico reported.
The NRA had to cancel its annual gathering — which typically earns the organization millions of dollars in fees from supporters — because of the coronavirus outbreak. It’s also spending millions on legal fees for two expensive lawsuits; one with its former advertising agency and the other with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The association has supported a Department of Homeland Security decision to allow gun stores to remain open as essential business while Americans are asked to work from home and keep the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social distancing standards.
Music great John Prine has died from coronavirus complications
10:45 a.m.
Folk and Americana musician John Prine died Tuesday after a long fight with complications from the coronavirus, Rolling Stone reported. The Grammy-award winning lyrical genius — whose career spanned five decades — was 73 when he died in a Nashville hospital Tuesday.
Prine was famous and adored for his tales of struggle and sang with the voice of the every-man and -woman. His hits include “Angel from Montgomery,” about a woman dreaming of escaping a loveless marriage, and “Sam Stone,” the heartbreaking tale of a veteran struggling with mental health and drug abuse.
Prominent musicians like Bruce Springsteen and Jason Isbell posted memories and eulogies to the late great singer-songwriter on Twitter Tuesday evening.
The Boss called Prine “the (loveliest) guy in the world” and “a true national treasure and songwriter for the ages.”
“We love you John,” said Isbell, who had performed with the icon late in Prine’s career.
Isbell later posted a 2018 video of Prine dancing with joy while performing. “Watch him go. Never saw anybody happier to be onstage,” Isbell wrote.
Another of Prine’s most famous song, “Hello In There,” is about an elderly couple forgotten by loved ones and society, a familiar story for much of America’s aging population.
The end of the song could be applied to millions of Americans stranded during the global coronavirus pandemic, especially those less fortunate:
So if you’re walking down the street sometime,
And spot some hollow ancient eyes.
Please don’t just pass ’em by and stare.
As if you didn’t care, say, “Hello in there, hello.”
Pope Francis rails against the mob and the ‘hypocrisy’ of political leaders
9 a.m.
Pope Francis began mass on Wednesday by praying for profiteers who have taken advantage of those in need during the global coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.
“May the Lord touch their hearts and convert them,” the pope said. He directed the plea toward opportunists, like “the mafiosi, the loan sharks and many others.”
In Italy, anti-mafia officials are concerned that organized criminal syndicates may use the outbreak to influence small businesses and families by promising support now in return for favors to the mafia at a later time.
The pope also criticized political leaders he said lack integrity in responding to the pandemic while ignoring broader humanitarian issues, in an interview published Wednesday by The Tablet — a British Catholic newspaper.
“I am worried by the hypocrisy of certain political personalities who speak of facing up to the crisis, of the problem of hunger in the world, but who in the meantime manufacture weapons,” said Francis.
The pope encouraged governments to creature structural economic changes in the wake of the pandemic to protect societies’ most needy, like the homeless.