Names and faces
■ CNN’s Chris Cuomo announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus but promised to continue doing his prime-time show from the basement of his home. Cuomo, who looked a little pale while doing his 9 p.m.
EDT show remotely Monday, said he’s had fever, chills and shortness of breath.
“I just hope I didn’t give it to the kids and Cristina,” the 49-year-old newsman tweeted, in a reference to his wife. Cuomo’s older brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has been one of the most visible political figures during the pandemic, and appeared on his brother’s show via remote link on Monday. The governor discussed his younger brother during his daily news briefing Tuesday morning, using it as a cautionary tale. He noted that he had scolded Chris for having their 88-year-old mother, Matilda, visiting Chris’ home two weeks ago. “It’s my family, it’s your family, it’s all of our families,” he said. “This virus is so insidious, and we have to keep that in mind.” Chris Cuomo noted that he’d been exposed in recent days to people who subsequently tested positive. Some competitors, including Joy Reid and Ali Velshi of MSNBC, quickly sent along best wishes to Cuomo through social media. Andrew, 62, and Chris are both sons of the late New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. The governor said that he expects his younger brother will recover. “He’s young, in good shape, strong — not as strong as he thinks he is, but he will be fine.”
■ It might be the biggest diversion from the pandemic: binge-watching the luridly fascinating Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
Now a Florida sheriff is asking the public for tips regarding one of the lingering mysteries raised in the recently released show: What happened to Carole Baskin’s husband? Carole Baskin is the owner of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla. Tiger King, the documentary, is about Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as “Joe Exotic,” a former Oklahoma zookeeper who loves guns, younger men, and big cats. Earlier this year, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison after being convicted of trying to hire someone to kill Baskin, who accused the Oklahoma zoo of abusing animals and selling big cat cubs. In retaliation, Maldonado-Passage raised questions about Baskin’s former husband, Jack “Don” Lewis, who disappeared in 1997. The documentary extensively covered Maldonado-Passage’s repeated accusations that Baskin killed her husband and possibly fed him to her tigers. Baskin has never been charged with any crime and released a statement refuting the accusations. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister wants to take advantage of the attention. “Everyone’s home. They’re watching Netflix and they’re home,” Chronister said, adding that he has recently assigned a detective supervisor to handle new leads.