May 9, 2019

Venezuelan police arrest National Assembly's VP

Juan Guaidó (left) with Edgar Zambrano (right). Photo: Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images

The vice president of Venezuela's National assembly, Edgar Zambrano, was arrested by state police in Caracas on Wednesday evening, reports the Washington Post.

The state of play: Zambrano was leaving the Democratic Action party's headquarters when a SEBIN intelligence unit surrounded his car. Zambrano tweeted: "We democrats we will keep fighting!" as he was towed away while still inside his car. This comes after he stood with opposition leader Juan Guaidó on April 30 to encourage the military to rise against President Nicolas Maduro, reports the AP. Zambrano has been charged with treason, conspiracy and rebellion per the Washington Post.

Why it matters: Government supporters have advocated for Maduro to order arrests following last week's failed uprising. But experts suggest an attempt to arrest Guaidó risks a strong U.S. response. Already, the U.S. already cautioned against "grave consequences."

Go deeper: Venezuela's crisis continues 10 weeks after U.S. recognizes Juan Guaidó

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Ina Fried

Pandemic forces startups to shift gears

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Spaces CEO Brad Herman had an early warning about COVID-19 because his startup supplies VR attractions to a number of theme parks in China. Realizing that the business he spent the last few years building was going to evaporate, Herman quickly found a new way to apply his team's know-how: helping companies host Zoom teleconferences in VR.

Why it matters: Many startups are rethinking the viability of their core businesses in the wake of the coronavirus. Spaces' move is one of many such pivots likely to crop up in the coming months.

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Eileen Drage O'Reilly

International coronavirus treatment trial uses AI to speed results

Hydroxychloroquine is one of the drugs that will be included in the trial. Photo: John Philips/Getty Images

The first hospital network in the U.S. has joined an international clinical trial using artificial intelligence to help determine which treatments for patients with the novel coronavirus are most effective on an on-going basis.

Why it matters: In the midst of a pandemic, scientists face dueling needs: to find treatments quickly and to ensure they are safe and effective. By using this new type of adaptive platform, doctors hope to collect clinical data that will help more quickly determine what actually works.

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Sam Baker

We can't just flip the switch on the coronavirus

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

It feels like some big, terrible switch got flipped when the coronavirus upended our lives — so it’s natural to want to simply flip it back. But that is not how the return to normalcy will go.

The big picture: Even as the number of illnesses and deaths in the U.S. start to fall, and we start to think about leaving the house again, the way forward will likely be slow and uneven. This may feel like it all happened suddenly, but it won't end that way.

Go deeper1 hour ago - Health