Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Emily’s List REFUSE To Comment On Biden Allegations

Womens groups that came out in force to support Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in leveling her unsubstantiated sexual assault allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, are nowhere to be seen now that a sexual assault allegation has been leveled at former Vice President — and presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee — Joe Biden.

The Daily Beast attempted to contact 10 women’s rights organizations, including Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Emily’s List, the National Organization for Women, and others to get their comments on Tara Reade’s claim that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her while she worked as an aide in his Senate office in the early 1990s. Reade made the claim several years ago and repeated it on a progressive podcast earlier in April.

Reade has little to prove her allegations, but does have some evidence that she gave contemporaneous accounts of the attack to her brother, coworker, and neighbor, all of whom seem to substantiate Reade’s story.

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Axios Returns $5 Million Government Loan After ‘Backlash’

Political news site Axios announced Tuesday evening that it would return a federal pandemic loan, becoming the latest company to return funds amid controversy around big companies hoarding bailouts.

In a post to the site, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei cited a "public backlash against a variety of companies for taking" money from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), "including us." He also explained that a "new alternative source" of capital had emerged, giving the news site the "confidence" to return the PPP funds.

VandeHei did not disclose in Tuesday's post what the "new alternative source" of capital is. Axios has received generous financial support in past, including from NBC News and liberal activist and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs who had an estimated net worth of over $20 billion.

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Cruz Bill Would Halt Government Cooperation With China-Subordinate Movie Studios

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) introduced legislation Tuesday that would cut off cooperation between the Pentagon and movie studios that alter their films to appease Chinese censors.

The bill, referred to as the "SCRIPT Act," limits or prohibits the use of Defense Department resources for films that self-censor in order to be screened in China.

"From buying media outlets to broadcast propaganda into America to coercing Hollywood studios and sports leagues to self-censor by threatening to cut off access to one of the biggest markets for sports and entertainment in the world, the Chinese Communist Party spends billions and billions of dollars to mislead Americans about China and shape what our citizens see, hear, and think," Cruz said in a statement.

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Universal Pictures Reveals New Streaming Plans. AMC Theatres Responds With Boycott.

After Universal Pictures decided to send “Trolls World Tour” directly to pay-per-view streaming instead of postponing its April 10 release, theaters got nervous about the implications for the movie-going industry. They may have been justified.

As of Tuesday, the “Trolls World Tour” movie has raised nearly $100 million after direct-streaming for only three weeks, a mere fraction of the time it took the original movie to raise an equal amount, reports The Wall Street Journal.

And, in response to the movie’s smashing success, Universal Pictures now says that it will look into releasing future movies in theaters, and through on-demand services simultaneously.

The “Trolls World Tour” revelations, coupled with the presumptive new direction of Universal Studios, has prompted AMC Theatres to say it will boycott the film studio’s current and future projects, reports The Los Angeles Times.

“Effectively immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theatres in the United States, Europe or the Middle East,” said Adam Aron, chief executive of AMC, in a statement addressed to Universal Pictures. “This policy affects any and all Universal movies per se, goes into effect today and as our theatres re-open, and is not some hollow or ill-considered threat.”

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[AMC Theatres is a Chinese-owned company.]

Joe Biden (Still) Hasn’t Faced A Single Question on Sexual Assault Allegations

Joe Biden has now done 19 interviews spanning nearly 4 hours in the 5 weeks since March 24, the day a former staffer in his U.S. Senate office came forward to accuse him of sexual assault. None of the 142 questions asked by his interviewers have been on the allegations.

Biden, from a studio in the basement of his Delaware home, has been interviewed by reporters from major networks including CNN and MSNBC, as well as local stations across the country since Tara Reade's allegation was reported by the Intercept in March. Biden has still not publicly commented on the accusation from Reade, who says the then-senator pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers in 1993 when she was a staff assistant in his office.

In the past two weeks alone, Biden has sat for at least an additional 97 minutes and 16 seconds of taped interviews, according to a Free Beacon analysis.

The sexual assault allegation never came up.

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Tara Reade’s Joe Biden assault claim gives Juanita Broaddrick déjà vu: 'I believe her'

Juanita Broaddrick is having déjà vu.

Broaddrick, who has long said Bill Clinton raped her in 1978, sees remarkable similarities with Tara Reade’s claims against Joe Biden. Both women accused powerful Democrats of sexual misconduct only to see their claims largely ignored or downplayed by the mainstream media -- so Broaddrick reached out to Reade a few weeks ago, she said.

“I just told her, any time she needed anything or wanted to talk, to call me and she almost immediately called me,” Broaddrick told Fox News. “I believe her. I spoke with her on the phone, we spoke at length… this is a very, very believable woman.”

Broaddrick said she plans to keep in touch with Reade and they “text every few days,” but seeing her story on television brings back “too many bad memories” about her own history.

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https://www.foxnews.com/media/tara-reade-joe-biden-juanita-broaddrick-deja-vu-i-believe-her

Vermont records zero new coronavirus cases for first time in nearly 7 weeks

The coronavirus tally in the Green Mountain State remained the same Wednesday asVermont health officials said there were zero new COVID-19 cases from the day before.

It was the first day without a newly reported case since March 13.

The Vermont Department of Health website also showed that there were no deaths.

Gov. Phil Scott said it was “great news” but cautioned that “one day doesn’t create a trend, and we have to look at the trend lines to see where we’re going.”

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Marriage rates in the US plunge to the LOWEST on record with only 6.5 unions formed for every 1,000 people as couples opt to cohabitate and save money instead

The marriage rate in the United States has plunged to its lowest level in recorded history as couples decide to forgo officially tying the knot and opt to live together to avoid financial stress instead.

The US marriage rate fell six percent in 2018, according to government figures released Wednesday.

In 2018 there were 6.5 new unions formed for every 1,000 people, the lowest rate since the general government started to record data in 1867, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

'Millennials are in peak marriage years, their 20s and 30s, and it’s still dropping,' Sally Curtin, the lead author of the report. 'This is historic.'

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Another Good Local Coronavirus Website

GO HERE

Flag Status Alert: Maryland Flag is at Half-Staff

This is to advise that Governor Larry Hogan has ordered the Maryland State Flag lowered to half-staff at sunrise, Friday, May 1, 2020 and returned to full-staff at sunset, Friday, May 1, 2020 for Fallen Heroes Day. This day honors Fallen Heroes who have lost their lives in service to our State during the last year.

Code of Virginia

§ 18.2-422. Prohibition of wearing of masks in certain places; exceptions.

It shall be unlawful for any person over 16 years of age to, with the intent to conceal his identity, wear any mask, hood or other device whereby a substantial portion of the face is hidden or covered so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, to be or appear in any public place, or upon any private property in this Commonwealth without first having obtained from the owner or tenant thereof consent to do so in writing. However, the provisions of this section shall not apply to persons (i) wearing traditional holiday costumes; (ii) engaged in professions, trades, employment or other activities and wearing protective masks which are deemed necessary for the physical safety of the wearer or other persons; (iii) engaged in any bona fide theatrical production or masquerade ball; or (iv) wearing a mask, hood or other device for bona fide medical reasons upon (a) the advice of a licensed physician or osteopath and carrying on his person an affidavit from the physician or osteopath specifying the medical necessity for wearing the device and the date on which the wearing of the device will no longer be necessary and providing a brief description of the device, or (b) the declaration of a disaster or state of emergency by the Governor in response to a public health emergency where the emergency declaration expressly waives this section, defines the mask appropriate for the emergency, and provides for the duration of the waiver. The violation of any provisions of this section is a Class 6 felony.

Code 1950, §§ 18.1-364, 18.1-367; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1986, c. 19; 2010, cc. 262, 420; 2014, c. 167.

The chapters of the acts of assembly referenced in the historical citation at the end of this section may not constitute a comprehensive list of such chapters and may exclude chapters whose provisions have expired.

MARYLAND’S GOVERNOR HOGAN QUIETLY ENACTS LAW MANDATING TRACKING MARYLANDERS IN GOVERNMENT DATABASE

This article was originally published by Informed Choice Maryland – a 501c4 nonprofit that lobbies on matters of informed consent, personal choice in healthcare, and in favor of upholding the Constitutional rights of all Marylanders. You can join the Informed Choice Maryland Facebook group here.

The Covid-19 pandemic has inspired numerous public officials, corporate entities, and media outlets to call for increasing restrictions on civil liberties which deeply concern many Americans. Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently called for a “national tracking system similar to South Korea,” Forbes reports.

Gates, considered the founder of the microcomputer revolution, has always been plagued by accusations of anti-competitive business practices. The launch of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 has served to overhaul Gates’ public image as a philanthropist while forging inroads into multiple sectors of the pharmaceutical industry; in particular, providing a platform from which Gates has leveraged his vast influence to implement mass vaccination in developing countries. The Gates Foundation is the world’s largest private foundation, controlling $46.8 billion in assets. They launched their international vaccine program in 1998 with a $100 million gift to the “Program for Appropriate Technology and Health” and have since spearheaded mass-vaccination programs around the world, some of which have come under intense scrutiny and criticism for alleged misconduct.

Most recently, Gates has predictably shifted the focus of his foundation toward all aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic, announcing the donation of $50 million to a dozen pharmaceutical companies in an effort to accelerate the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. It was Gates who offered Gates Foundation funds to initially incentivize the development of technology which tracks individual vaccination status through subcutaneously injected particles readable by smart phone technology. In fact, numerous international vaccine projects spearheaded by the Gates Foundation over the past several decades have ended with public scandal, legal retaliation from both governments and private institutions, and the injury and deaths of intended beneficiaries of those programs.

Gates Foundation vaccine projects which ended in tragedy include the following:

• A polio mass-vaccination program in India that led to 490,000 children developing non-polio acute flaccid paralysis
• An experimental HPV vaccine trial on girls and women in India which caused over 1,200 documented cases of severe adverse effects and 7 deaths
• An experimental malaria vaccine trial in Africa which caused severe side effects including seizures and paralysis in 1,048 children, as well as the death of 151 infants

Despite the dubious history of Gates Foundation projects, Gates has been lauded as an expert by major media outlets in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, regardless of his lack of training or experience in epidemiology. The Gates Foundation has funneled millions into coronavirus vaccine development via pharmaceutical companies working to fast-track new coronavirus vaccines, bypassing critical steps in testing for safety and efficacy.

Gates has explicitly expressed support for fast-tracking coronavirus vaccines and implementation of national tracking systems to enforce compulsory vaccination of all citizens before life “returns to normal.” More worrying is the fact that numerous public officials, including Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, have begun to echo this intent.

Many Americans may consider the possibility of centrally tracked, mandatory vaccination with an untested product rushed to market to be remote. However, a Maryland law was already enacted in early 2019 which requires physicians to document and track patient vaccination records in ImmuNet, Maryland’s government tracking database system.

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Life After COVID: A Look At The New Economy

Many Americans have been locked down in their homes for more than a month now, and they’re anxiously awaiting the day when things “get back to normal.”

I regret to inform you, as I wrote previously, that we’re never going “back to normal.”

The world After COVID will not be like the world Before COVID.

It’s very important to understand what lies ahead so we can prepare for it.

Two reasons that the world After COVID will be so different are problems with the economy and the supply chain. Let’s take a look at both and see where we’re headed.

The After-COVID economy for businesses

The government stepped in fairly quickly after lockdowns began to approve a massive number of small business loans. These loans were to be distributed by the institution with which the small business does their banking.

Unfortunately, the outcome would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic.



Here’s an example: Chase Bank gaveRuth’s Chris Steak House a $20 million forgivable loan meant for small businesses by dividing it up by locations instead of treating the company like the large corporation that it is. Incidentally, Chase “earned” $100K for processing the loan. After everyone rightly lost their marbles over this, Ruth’s Chris is returning the 20 mill. Chase and Ruth’s Chris aren’t the only culprits. There were all sorts of shenanigans that meant the fund ran out of money before the legitimate small businesses could even complete their applications. For example, big banks earned ten billion dollars in fees for processing the loans and here’s a list of big companies that played around with this system and drained it of millions.

Another round of small business loans has been approved by Congress but I’m not really holding my breath that any of this will happen in the way we’ve been told it will.

So to summarize, a lot of the small businesses who need the money to survive haven’t gotten it yet and may never get it, but big banks and big businesses are sitting pretty with the help of their cronies in Congress. It isn’t a stretch of the imagination to say that the longer a small business stays closed, paying their expenses and holding inventory while not being able to earn income, the less likely they are to reopen successfully (or at all) once the all-clear is given.

And if they can’t reopen? All those folks they used to employ will be out of a job.

The After-COVID economy for individuals

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A Viewer Writes: This will really cripple the economic recovery

I have some friends in the local restaurant industry (in Ohio), and they are talking about re-opening their dining room at about 50% capacity about May 14th.

BUT-- the manager said she was calling employees about scheduling, and a lot of them don"t want to come back to work yet because they're making so much better money on UNEMPLOYMENT. She said she may have a very hard time staffing the place.

They receive their regular unemployment, plus that extra $600/week from the CARES Act that the federal government gives them through the end of July. That amounts to about $24./hr.

Most members of Congress knew they were messing up when they rushed to pass this bill.

Boy, were they right. This will really cripple the economic recovery.

Who stands to benefit from that (with an election at hand)?

Tara Reade calls for release of Biden's Senate records: 'Why are they under seal?'

Tara Reade, the woman who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, is calling on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to release the records from his 36 years as a senator, which are currently inaccessible to the public and are kept at the University of Delaware. Biden's campaign has denied that he sexually assaulted Reade.

"I'm calling for the release of the documents being held by the University of Delaware that contain Biden's staff personnel records because I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," Reade told Fox News on Tuesday. "Maybe if other staffers that have tried to file complaints would come to light -- why are they under seal? And why won't they be released to the public?"

More here

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tara-reade-calls-on-biden-release-senate-records

Death Investigation Ruled a Homicide-Harrington

Harrington - The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit is continuing to investigate the death that has been ruled a homicide, of a male victim after he was found lying unresponsive in the roadway.

The incident occurred on April 24, 2020 at approximately 1:10 a.m., when Troopers were dispatched to Killens Pond Road, between Sandbox Road and Bloomfield Road, Harrington, when a passerby reported a subject lying in the roadway. Upon arrival a 40-year-old male was located unresponsive in the roadway and transported to the Sussex Bayhealth Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The victim, identified as John W. Groff, 40, of Lincoln, DE was turned over to the Delaware Division of Forensic Science where an autopsy was performed and the cause and manner of death was determined to be a homicide sustained from two gunshot wounds to the upper body.

The investigation continues to remain active and ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Detective J. King at 302-741-2821. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or via the internet at http://delaware.crimestoppersweb.com

Mnuchin Says No Bailout for States With Badly Managed Budgets

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said states that had poorly managed budgets before the Covid-19 outbreak sent their economies reeling should not be rescued by the federal government.

“This isn’t just going to be a federal bailout of the states,” Mnuchin said early Tuesday on CNBC. “States that had specifically large expenses because of the coronavirus, like New York and New Jersey, it was the right thing that the federal government gave them money.”

He said he approves of local governments using coronavirus funding to enforce public safety through law enforcement, but not for revenue lost because of the economic shutdown or “states that were mismanaged” before the pandemic hit.

President Donald Trump on Monday appeared to align himself with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said Congress shouldn’t debate relief to cash-strapped states until lawmakers reconvene next week.

The Kentucky Republican has suggested states with large pension obligations under union contracts use bankruptcy as a way to manage shortfalls instead of receiving federal aid.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday continued to press for a large package of aid to states and local governments in the next pandemic relief measure, warning of a big potential reduction in public-sector jobs that could further hamper the economy.

“There’s going to be massive layoffs at the state and local level unless we get them money quickly,” Schumer said on MSNBC.

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Gov. Cuomo plays blame game for coronavirus’ American invasion

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday played the blame game for the coronavirus’ invasion of American soil, calling out public health agencies, the intelligence community and the media — as another 335 New Yorkers died from the disease.

“The virus was in China last November and December,” said Cuomo in a press briefing at the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. “Why didn’t someone suspect, ‘Well maybe the virus gets on a plane … and lands in the United States the next day’?

“All you need is one person to get on a plane. As it happened, one person got on a plane, and went from China to Europe, and then it went from Europe to New York.”

Cuomo first took aim at international and national health agencies, namely the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Man is charged with murder after body is found in trunk of car when he was stopped for speeding

A man has been charged with murder after he was stopped for speeding and police discovered a body in the trunk of his car.

Lance Gordon, 32, was stopped by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol in Edgecombe County just before 4pm on Friday.

He was driving a car owned by his alleged victim, Angela Lee, 47. When asked by police, he claimed to be an acquaintance of Lee.

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Report: Biden Campaign ‘Circulated Talking Points’ About Tara Reade Allegations

The Joe Biden campaign is circulating talking points regarding the sexual assault allegations made by Tara Reade, Buzzfeedreported on Tuesday.

While Joe Biden has remained publicly silent about a sexual assault allegation made against him, his presidential campaign has sought to coordinate and unify Democratic messaging on the matter, advising surrogates earlier this month to say that the allegation “did not happen.” …

But the messaging shows that while Biden has stayed quiet on the allegations on the eve of his nomination, aides were taking the claims seriously enough behind the scenes to coordinate messaging among other Democrats to try to cast the matter as one that’s been thoroughly vetted and determined to be unfounded.

“Biden believes that all women have the right to be heard and to have their claims thoroughly reviewed,” the talking points read, according to Buzzfeed. “In this case, a thorough review by the New York Times has led to the truth: this incident did not happen.”

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Abrams: NYT Found Reade’s Accusation ‘Not Credible’ – ‘I Believe Joe Biden’

On Tuesday’s “CNN Tonight,” former Georgia state Representative Stacey Abrams stated that she believes the sexual assault allegations against 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden by Tara Reade are untrue and that she believes Biden.

Abrams said, “I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe that they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources. The New York Times did a deep investigation, and they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden. I believe that he is a person who has demonstrated that his love of family, his love of our community has been made perfectly clear through his work as a congressional leader and as an American leader. I know Joe Biden, and I think that he is telling the truth and that this did not happen.”

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US doctors claim that Trump's controversial hydroxychloroquine drug DOES help 91% of coronavirus patients and argue we should not wait for 'controlled trials'

The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has improved the survival and recovery odds for about 90 percent of patients treated with the controversial medication, a physicians group claims.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) presented data on 2,333 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine - including two supervised by Dr Oz - across the globe that shows 91.6 percent of those who got the drug fared better after treatment.

In a letter to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, the group urged that doctors should not wait for results of gold standard tests of the drug to start using it in coronaviruspatients and should instead base their use of it on reasonable interpretations of limited available data.

AAPS's endorsement of the drug comes after a Veteran Affairs study of hydroxychloroquine found that those who took the drug were more likely to die, casting doubt over the potential treatment that President Trump has hailed a 'game changer.'

The group of doctors dismissed those preliminary results, claiming that the 52 people who died were very sick, meaning their outcomes are 'not indicative' of hydroxychloroquine's effects and that the drug would work better if used in patients with less critical illness.

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White House's Social Distancing Guidelines Will Be 'Fading Out,' Trump Says

President Trump said the existing coronavirus social distancing guidelines that are set to expire with the end of April on Thursday will not be extended further, as more governors begin steps to lift restrictions and reopen their economies.

The administration said the existing social distancing recommendations are being incorporated by governors into their new future plans.

"They'll be fading out, because now the governors are doing it," Trump said.

During a White House meeting with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Wednesday, Trump commended governors for taking steps to reopen their economies.

The original two-week guidelines that were extended 30 more days called for Americans to work from home, limit travel and avoid large gatherings.

Vice President Pence said the existing guidelines were being applied to the new guidance issued by the White House on how states can reopen safely.

"Every state in America has embraced those guidelines at a minimum, or even done more, and now our focus is working with states," Pence said. "The current guidelines, I think you can say, are very much incorporated in the guidance that we're giving states to open up America again."

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Virginia AG waives witness signatures for some absentee voters

Some Virginians submitting absentee ballots in the June primary will not be required to have a witness sign the envelope, the state’s attorney general announced Tuesday.

Officials will accept absentee ballots without a witness signature “for voters who believe they may not safely have a witness present while completing their ballot,” the Office of the Attorney General said in a statement, citing the order submitted to a federal court.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, said the agreement would protect voting rights and public health amid the coronavirus pandemic by not forcing voters to break social distancing orders to seek out a witness.

State law mandates voters who send an absentee ballot through the mail open the envelope in front of another person and ask the witness to sign it before the ballot is returned.

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Wicomico County Covid-19 4-30-2020 **56 new cases**

Maryland Covid-19 4-30-2020

COVID-19 Statistics in Maryland
Number of confirmed cases: 21,742
Number of negative test results: 92,617 
Number of confirmed deaths: 1,047
Number of probable deaths: 93
Currently hospitalized: 1711
Acute care: 1,121
Intensive care: 590
Ever hospitalized: 4,559
Released from isolation: 1,432
Cases and Deaths Data Breakdown:
Parenthesis = Confirmed death, laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 test result
Asterisk = Probable death, death certificate lists COVID-19 as the cause of death but not yet confirmed by a laboratory test
NH = Non-Hispanic

By County

County    Cases Deaths   
Allegany    118    (7)   
Anne Arundel    1,725    (83)    8*
Baltimore City    2,068    (104)    8*
Baltimore County    2,831    (110)    13*
Calvert    150 (8)   
Caroline    71
Carroll    436    (46)   
Cecil    167 (8)   
Charles    564 (43)    1*
Dorchester    51    (2)   
Frederick    918 (49)    7*
Garrett    4
Harford    414 (6)    7*
Howard    867 (18)    1*
Kent    79    (5)   
Montgomery    4,300 (229)    26*
Prince George's    6,043 (229)    11*
Queen Anne's    52    (6)       
St. Mary's    150    (7)    1*
Somerset    26
Talbot    35 (1)   
Washington    206 (4)
Wicomico    406 (7)   
Worcester    61 (2)
Data Not Available (73)    10*

By Age Range and Gender

Age/Gender    Cases Deaths   
0-9    294
10-19    573
20-29    2,525 (8)   
30-39    3,684 (14)    1*
40-49    3,871    (26)    2*
50-59    3,939    (68)    7*
60-69    3,010 (161)    11*
70-79    2,083    (251)    15*
80+    1,763    (444)    49*
Age Data Not Available    (75)    8*

Female:    11,595    (509)    52*
Male:    10,147 (538)    41*
Gender Data Not Available:      

By Race and Ethnicity
Race/Ethnicity    Cases Deaths   
African-American (NH)    7,821    (431)    30*
Asian (NH)    459 (37)    3*
White (NH) 4,935    (420)    49*
Hispanic 3,651    (67)    3*
Other (NH)    793    (17)   
Data Not Available    4,083 (75)    8*

House cancels plan to return next week

The news comes just five days after The House passed a $484 billion coronavirus phase 3.5 package Thursday to help people and businesses struggling across the country. (RELATED: House Passes $484 Billion Coronavirus Phase 3.5 Bill)

The bill previously passed the Senate on a voice vote Tuesday. Congress and the White House reached an agreement earlier Tuesday. The legislation includes $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which White House officials told the Daily Caller will feature $60 billion carved out for institutions with less than $50 billion in total assets. The House passed the bill on a 388-5 vote.

Lawmakers were planning to return Monday to continue to work on legislation to help combat the disease, but for now, that is on hold.

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California Wants LGBT Pedophiles Exempt From Sex Offender Registry

Study: Majority of Americans Don’t Want or Can’t Use Google and Apple’s Coronavirus Tracing App

According to a recent study, nearly 3 in 5 Americans say that they would be unable or unwilling to use the infection-alert apps being developed by Apple and Google to trace Wuhan coronavirus infections.

The Washington Post reports that according to a Washington Post–University of Maryland poll, almost 3 in 5 Americans say that they are either unable or unwilling to use the new infection-alert apps being developed by Apple and Google in an attempt to trace Wuhan coronavirus infections.

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Amazon Purchases Cameras From Blacklisted Chinese Company

Amazon has purchased cameras designed to measure the temperature of its workers from a Chinese company that was blacklisted by the United States for helping China commit human rights violations against the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, according to Reuters.

China-based Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co Ltd sent 1,500 cameras to Amazon in April in a deal worth nearly $10 million, according to sources.

"It's troubling to learn that well-known American companies are continuing to turn a blind eye to companies that are fueling the Chinese Communist party's brutal treatment of so many of their own people," Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who works on the House foreign affairs committee, told Reuters.

Amazon declined to confirm whether it bought cameras from Dahua but said the company's product complied with local, state, and national laws.

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HOGAN ACTS TO CURB DELMARVA COVID OUTBREAKS

The outbreak of COVID-19 infections among Delmarva poultry workers could threaten not only the tri-state area but also the nation’s food supply chain, Gov. Larry Hogan said Wednesday.

There are at least 262 confirmed cases of COVID-19 associated with poultry workers in Maryland, Hogan said. He said those infections are partly the reason why “the case rate per 100,000 [people] in Wicomico County is now the fifth-highest in the state, nearly equal to Baltimore City and higher than Baltimore County.

“These outbreaks are not only a serious public health concern; they’re also a potential threat to Maryland’s leading agricultural industry and to our nation’s essential food-supply chain,” Hogan said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference at the State House in Annapolis.

The governor said that after he learned of the outbreaks, he alerted Vice President Mike Pence in a phone call on Friday. Pence agreed to have Dr. Robert Redfield of the Centers for Disease Control and Infection follow up, Hogan said.

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North Carolina County to Defy Governor’s Stay-at-Home Orders, Reopen Businesses

Officials in North Carolina’s Gaston County announced on Wednesday their intention to sign an order allowing businesses in the county to reopen, effective April 29 at 5:00 p.m., despite Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) extended stay-at-home orders.

Commission Chairman Tracy Philbeck made the announcement Wednesday morning, stating that county leaders are “letting our folks know we support them going back to work.”

“We’re going to put our people to work and we’re going to do it in a health-minded way,” Philbeck said.

“We have learned that social distancing works. We’ve learned that with strict sanitation, strict hygiene, it works,” he continued, adding that county leaders believe Gaston County “can do both,” noting that the state’s one size fits all approach does not make sense, particularly for his county.

Per the Charlotte Observer:

The order says vulnerable people should continue to stay home. Other people should keep their distance from others, it says, and avoid gatherings of 10 or more where social distancing isn’t practical. Employers should continue to encourage telework.

Schools and youth activities that are now closed should stay closed, the order says, and bars remain closed. But the order allows theaters, restaurants, churches, sporting venues and gyms to operate with social distancing and elective surgeries to resume.

“If you don’t wanna open your business, you don’t have to,” Philbeck said. “We can protect the health of our citizens while at the same time putting our citizens back at work”:

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A Viewer Writes: DAY SUPPORTER PROPOSES SHOOTING PROTESTERS

I couldn’t help but notice that during his daily briefing, his supporters proposed shooting the protesters planning to come to Salisbury on Saturday.

Coronavirus Relief Often Pays Workers More Than Work

When combined with state benefits, weekly government payouts create incentives that employers say complicate efforts to re-open businesses

Roughly half of all U.S. workers stand to earn more in unemployment benefits than they did at their jobs before the coronavirus pandemic shut down swaths of the U.S. economy, a result of government relief that employers say is complicating plans to re-open businesses.

The package of coronavirus stimulus laws Congress passed and President Trump signed in March included a $600 boost to weekly unemployment benefits through July 31. As that support is added to state benefits over the coming weeks, the average weekly payment to a laid-off worker should rise to about $978 from the nearly $378 the Labor Department said was paid on average late last year.

Qualified workers will receive the government payout every week through July, and in most cases, the combined $978 weekly payout amounts to better pay than what many workers received before the crisis hit. Labor Department statistics show half of full-time workers earned $957 or less each week in the first quarter of 2020.

The stimulus measure means that in coming months many low-wage workers will avoid both significant harm to their finances and the potential health risks—and further virus spread—of returning to crowded workplaces. That money in consumers’ pockets in turn puts the U.S. economy on firmer footing to rebound once authorities allow businesses to re-open.

But enhanced benefits also create disincentives that might hamper efforts by employers to recall workers when some states are trying to re-open their economies. It is possible that Workers could ask their bosses to leave them on furlough so they can collect the larger payments while avoiding health risks.

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A Comment Worthy Of A Post 4-30-20

Steve Kraushaar Over the last 30 or 40 years ( made longer ) our government has operated on a very delicate system of " checks and balances " ....ie ....they write the checks and WE pay the balances......and THEY have become very wealthy under this system .....and they have been able to accomplish this using 2 very simple methods ...(1) they have " CONVINCED / BRAINWASHED just about every American citizen into believing " that its the other s sides fault ( democrats blame the republicans and the republicans blame the democrats) so we the American people continue to vote for the same ole F ing idiots every time because we are " loyal " to our party and method (2) they have never met a president they couldn't " BUY " .......so now along comes Mr Trump...already a billionaire ....so he s not able to be " bought " ( or at least not able to be bought for what they are offering lol ) and now their whole house of cards system is seriously threatened and they must do whatever is necessary to get rid of president Trump and get a president they can CONTROL ......want more proof consider this...the democrats are actually expecting Biden to win ......why because they know they can CONTROL Biden .......and you can't tell me that out of the ENTIRE Democratic party they can't find a better candidate than Biden , come on seriously there s not some young stud politician somewhere in your party that maybe could be a better representative of your party ....of course someone like that may not be able to be CONTROLLED ......so let's stick with sleepy Joe and ugly Hilary .....because they can be CONTROLLED

Survey Finds 50 Million Americans Have Lost Their Job In Past 6 Weeks

When Thursday's initial claims report is published at 830am on Thursday, the Dept of Labor will confirm that the current depression is unlike any seen before, with approximately 30 million Americans losing their jobs in the past 6 weeks alone. That, however, may be underestimating the full number of Americans who have lost their jobs by as much as 50%.

According to an online poll by the left-wing Economic Policy Institute, millions of Americans who have been thrown out of work during the coronavirus pandemic have been unable to register for unemployment benefits. The poll found that for every 10 people who have successfully filed unemployment claims, three or four people have been unable to register and another two people have not tried to apply at a time of acute economic crisis.

Official statistics show that 26.5 million people have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March, wiping out all of the jobs gained during the longest employment boom in U.S. history, and another 3.5 million initial claims are expected to be filed this week.

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A Nation of Karens: She IS The Boss of You

Hillary Clinton: Coronavirus ‘Would Be a Terrible Crisis to Waste’; Need ‘Universal Health Care’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic “would be a terrible crisis to waste” by not creating “universal health care.”

Clinton, the Democratic Party nominee in the 2016 presidential election, was speaking to former Vice President Joe Biden in a virtual women’s “town hall” meeting, during which she endorsed him for president.

Biden nodded in agreement as Clinton spoke about exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to bring about the left’s dream of “universal health care”:

This is a high-stakes time, because of the pandemic. But this is also a really high-stakes election. And every form of health care should continue to be available, including reproductive health care for every woman in this country. And then it needs to be part of a much larger system that eventually — and quickly, I hope — gets us to universal health care. [Biden nods] So I can only say, “Amen,” to everything you’re saying, but also to, again, enlist people that this would be a terrible crisis to waste, as the old saying goes. [Biden nods] We’ve learned a lot about what our absolute frailties are in our country when it comes to health justice and economic justice.

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Former AIDS Scientist Exposes Dr. Fauci’s Medical Corruption

WATCH THIS VIDEO: Re-Open for Business as Un-Usual: How Tell If It's Going Well...or Not

Government Should Stop Promoting Unemployment During COVID-19

American prosperity always has relied on the fact that we are the most productive people in human history.

Unfortunately, some short-term Band-Aids for the widespread economic distress caused by the coronavirus lockdowns may have substantial negative effects that make it harder for Americans to get back on their feet.

While much of what is in the CARES Act passed by Congress will be important in mitigating the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic, some provisions already are creating bad, unintended consequences.

One problem has been the federal unemployment insurance that gives unemployed Americans $600 a week no matter what they were making before they lost their jobs.

A coffee shop owner in Harlan, Kentucky, explained why it’s hard for small businesses to retain staff right now.

“The very people we hired have now asked us to be laid off,” wrote Sky Marietta, who owns the shop with her husband, Greg, according to NPR. “Not because they did not like their jobs or because they did not want to work, but because it would cost them literally hundreds of dollars per week to be employed.”

The federal government is offering $600 a week on top of state unemployment benefits, which means that for many, being unemployed is more lucrative than staying at work.

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WaPo Poll: 65 Percent of Americans Want All Immigration to U.S. Halted

A majority of Americans want all immigration to the United States halted in the midst of the Chinese coronavirus crisis, a new poll reveals.

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order slowing green card processing for less than ten percent of the 1.2 million legal immigrants annually admitted to the U.S.

In addition to these annual legal immigrant admissions are millions of foreign nationals who can still arrive on foreign visa worker programs, student visas, tourist visas, and special immigrant visas — all of which have continued despite more than 26 million Americans now unemployed.

The latest Washington Post/University of Maryland poll finds that Americans, by a majority, want all immigration to the U.S. halted.

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Salisbury News Ranked #1 News Site

Hi Joe,

My name is Anuj Agarwal, I'm the Founder of Feedspot.

I would like to personally congratulate you as your website Salisbury News has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 5 Salisbury News Websites on the web.
1. Salisbury News

Salisbury, Maryland, United StatesAbout Website DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, and Analysis, and Human Interest. Frequency 17 posts / day Since Nov 2004 Website sbynews.blogspot.com+ Follow 

Facebook fans 8.4K ⋅ Domain Authority 47ⓘ ⋅ Alexa Ranked

2. Salisbury Independent

Salisbury, Maryland, United StatesAbout Website The Salisbury Independent serves the city and the surrounding community of Wicomico County by providing real coverage of the area's schools, churches, civic clubs and organizations. Frequency 8 posts / week Website salisburyindependent.net+ Follow
Facebook fans 2.8K ⋅ Twitter followers 1.5K ⋅ Social Engagement 
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Publishers Notes: The results are based on numbers. Clearly SBYNews out ranks everyone else in the field by a long shot. We've been trying to tell everyone this for years and the numbers do not lie. However, it is rewarding for an outside source to come forward and confirm reality. So when and if you are looking for the best place to advertise your business, know that we have not only the best numbers/viewers, we also have the best rates. $100.00 a month for over ten years now and we have never increased our price. 

Conservative Leaders Press Trump to ‘Hold the Chinese Communist Party Responsible’ for Coronavirus

A group of top conservative movement leaders are calling on President Donald Trump to hold the Chinese Community Party responsible for the coronavirus pandemic plaguing the United States and the world.

In a letter and a formal White House petition, the conservative leaders are pushing Trump to escalate tensions with Beijing as the United States slowly re-opens nationwide after the coronavirus crisis rocked the country with more than a month’s worth of lockdowns.

The conservative leaders wrote in a letter to the president:

[Accompanying the broader letter is a formal White House petition. The petition would need 100,000 signatures by May 28. Those interested in signing the petition can do so on the White House website.]

Chincoteague Pastor sues Va. Gov. after facing fine, jail for holding 16-person church service

A Virginia pastor, who was served a summons for holding a service for 16 people on Palm Sunday, and his church have filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Ralph Northam for issuing executive orders banning religious gatherings with more than 10 people, saying it violated the Virginia Constitution.

Liberty Counsel, which is representing Pastor Kevin Wilson and Lighthouse Fellowship Church on Chincoteague Island, filed the lawsuit Friday against Northam, whose COVID Order 55 provides for a penalty of up to a year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine.

Police served a summons to Wilson for holding a church service on April 5 for 16 people spaced far apart in a sanctuary that is rated for 293 people, Liberty Counsel said in a statement.

A police officer entered the church without identifying himself and “abruptly” told the congregation “they could not have more than 10 people spaced six feet apart,” the law firm said.

“Then, after the service, two police officers entered the church in full mask and gloves and asked to speak with the pastor. They issued him a summons and informed him that if he had service on Easter, all attending would get the same summons.”

Liberty Counsel said the parking lots of multiple commercial establishments were filled with hundreds of cars Thursday. “Yet, Gov. Northam criminalizes religious worship that exceeds 10 people.”

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Trump suggests coronavirus aid to states could depend on sanctuary city policies

President Trump on Tuesday suggested that new federal payments to help states deal with the coronavirus pandemic could depend on whether or not they were home to sanctuary cities.

“If it is COVID related, we can talk about it. We want things including sanctuary city adjustments,” the president said during an event in the East Room of the White House.

“I don’t even think they are popular even by radical left, because people are being protected that shouldn’t be protected and bad things are happening with sanctuary cities,” Trump continued at the event, which also showcased small business owners who’d benefited from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

“It is one of the things we think about. If we are going to do something for states, they will want something having to do with sanctuary cities and other different points that we can discuss a little later on.”

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My Apologies For Breaking The Rules

Biden: "I Can Hardly Wait" To Debate Trump, "I Am Looking Forward To It"

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks to CNN's Anderson Cooper ahead of Super Tuesday voting. Biden criticized Bloomberg as not a real Democrat and said he can spend a billion dollars but can't move away from his record.

COOPER: Michael Bloomberg spoke to CNN's Don Lemon about you. And I wanted to play just a bit of what he said so you can respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is a legislator. And the job requires a manager, an executive. And I feel very strongly about that.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: He was the vice president. Obama thought he was ready. You don't think he's ready?

BLOOMBERG: Obama thought he was ready for what?

LEMON: He was his vice president. He was ready to be president. That's the next job.

BLOOMBERG: I don't know, you'd have to talk to President Obama about that. All I know is we keep putting legislators in the job that requires a manager.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Is he right? Is this a job that requires a manager and are you manager?

BIDEN: It requires somebody who has gotten things done. It requires someone who understands how to bring people together. It requires a Democrat, by the way, to be a Democratic president. And it requires someone who has a track record. And the president handed me significant responsibility and presidential authority when I was the vice president.

I'm the guy that managed the $900 billion Recovery Act. I got the votes for it and I got it passed as well as then I managed it day-to-day. I did the same thing on a number of foreign policy issues. It needs someone who knows something about foreign policy.

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Watch "Dr. Fauci's DARKEST SECRET Surfaces As His Predictive Model Crushes Trump Economy

NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE WHO HIJACKED A PLANE SAYS HE'S DIFFERENT NOW

On the Election Day ballot next month, New Yorkers will get the normal choices: the Democratic incumbent, his Republican challenger, an insurgent or two and, oh yeah, a guy who hijacked a plane at gunpoint 17 years ago.

Meet Aaron Commey, the Libertarian Party challenger to Mayor Bill de Blasio. Sure, he used a handgun to commandeer a Boeing 757 flight headed to Las Vegas on July 27, 2000, then served more than a decade in a federal mental ward, but he says he is cured and New Yorkers can trust him.

"I am of sound mind and open to discuss things," Commey told Newsweek. "I will be open and let them know who I was is not who I am today."

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DOZENS OF HIPPIES STUCK AT FESTIVAL IN PANAMA DUE TO CORONAVIRUS REALIZE COLLECTIVIST UTOPIA IS ACTUALLY “HELL”

Dozens of hippies who got stuck at a festival in Panama due to coronavirus realized that the collectivist utopia they sought after is actually “hell” as they bicker over food and territory.

One doesn’t want to laugh too much at their misfortune, but dear God, this is funny.

The Tribal Gathering Festival, billed as “paradise on earth,” was supposed to end on March 15, but 40 western hippies remain trapped at the site because Panama announced a national emergency due to COVID-19 and placed them under quarantine.

A subsequent ban on all entry and departure flights now means the hippies are likely to be stuck in “paradise” until the end of May.

A VICE documentary short about their plight shows attendees complaining about how they are “stuck in hell” as they struggle with bad weather and major sewage issues at the campsite.

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Ingraham: Are Americans starting to tune out blue state politicians?

AG Barr orders DOJ to start investigations into states violating constitutional rights, civil liberties

According to US Attorney General Bill Barr, some states might be in for more than just a slap on the wrist for their over-reaching policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cristina Laila of The Gateway Pundit reported:

“US Attorney General Bill Barr on Monday issued a 2-page memo ordering US Attorneys to be on the ‘lookout’ for state and local directives that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens amid the Coronavirus pandemic.”

She further said that it is believed that state and local officials have overstepped their bounds of authority by issuing “lockdown” orders that not only surpass their position’s ability to issue such orders, but violate the constitutional rights of their citizens.

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Kimberly Guilfoyle: Nobody Is Excited for Sleepy Joe, and the Proof Is in the Numbers

If it seems like people aren’t exactly ecstatic about Joe Biden, the latest fundraising numbers should remove all doubt.

Biden has always been a lackluster fundraiser whose campaign has had money woes throughout the Democratic primaries. Only the reluctant support of the Party establishment allowed him to prevail in the race against Senator Bernie Sanders and his army of enthusiastic small-dollar donors.

After the carefully timed withdrawals of Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg, and Pete Buttigieg handed Biden the presumptive nomination, the Democrat establishment clearly hoped that Sleepy Joe would finally start amassing a serious war chest. Initially, it seemed as though Biden might actually come through. Now that the final figures for March are in, however, it’s obvious that the enthusiasm just isn’t there.

The Democrat Party bosses got the candidate they wanted, but it’s not a candidate who inspires the kind of support necessary to defeat Donald Trump.

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Southern Poverty Law Center Now Has $162 Million Stashed in Offshore Accounts

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which last year faced accusations of racism among its highest ranks, reported $162 million stashed in offshore investments and paid its disgraced former leaders over $1 million.

The controversial group has continued to build its massive war chest by tens of millions of dollars even after employees claimed that the group's leadership allowed sexual harassment and racial discrimination against its minority staffers. The ensuing media firestorm ultimately led to the ousting of cofounder Morris Dees, longtime president Richard Cohen, and legal director Rhonda Brownstein from the group in March 2019. New forms, covering a period beginning Nov. 1, 2018, and ending on Oct. 31, 2019, show that Cohen and Brownstein each received six-figure severance packages.

Critics of the SPLC in recent years have characterized the group as a money racket that labels conservative organizations as "hate groups" to fundraise, and its most recent financial forms may fuel that criticism.

More here

Loading a New Database of Defensive Gun Use

For well over a year, The Daily Signal has published a monthly series highlighting lawful gun owners who used their firearms to protect their liberties, lives, or livelihoods.

Although these articles recount just a dozen or so stories each month, the incidents are selected from hundreds of other, similar examples.

Those defensive gun uses are worth highlighting, too. That’s why The Heritage Foundation is introducing its Defensive Gun Use Database, an interactive map featuring all of the news accounts from police reports that we couldn’t fit into installments of the monthly series.

What’s the Defensive Gun Use Database?

The database features an interactive map that allows users to locate instances of defensive gun use in their own states and cities.

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Is Jill Biden Running For President? Jill Delivers Joe’s 2020 Campaign Message as He Stands Next to Her Blinking (VIDEO)

Is Jill Biden running for President now?

Jill Biden delivered Sleepy Joe’s 2020 campaign message as her husband stood next to her and blinked.

77-year-old Joe can hardly string a sentence together without stumbling so now his wife is talking for him.

“This moment reminds us that the presidency is about true leadership — having the forethought to prepare for the worst, the backbone to lead through chaos, the character to move beyond politics,” Jill Biden said as Joe stared into space.

Old Joe’s handlers should tell him to at least smile instead of scowling next time his wife speaks for him.

WATCH:

Rudy Giuliani Goes There: Did Obama Approve Dr. Fauci’s $3.7 Million NIH Grant to Wuhan Lab in 2015?

Back in 2015 the NIH under the direction of Dr. Tony Fauci gave a $3.7 million grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology is now the main suspect in leaking the coronavirus that has killed more than 50,000 Americans and, thanks to Dr. Fauci again, destroyed the US economy.

As early as 2018 US State Department officials warned about safety risks at the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab on scientists conducting risky tests with the bat coronavirus.

US officials made several trips to the Wuhan laboratory.

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Subject: OpenSecrets to offer free online classes on money in politics throughout coronavirus crisis

To assist faculty who will be teaching students online for the foreseeable future, the Center for Responsive Politics will offer free 30-60 minute demonstrations via Zoom, Skype or GoToMeeting of OpenSecrets.org with a special emphasis on connecting money in politics data to issues related to campaign finance, lobbying, or political influence. We can customize these presentations to home in on a specific topic and will include time for questions from students if requested.

Topics which can be covered include:
Campaign finance at the federal level
Dark money, grey money and outside groups
Lobbying by political interest groups from the U.S. and foreign countries
Money in politics in the post-Citizens United era
Political action committees and whether money can buy influence
And more…

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A doctor speaks out on the shutdown

The opinions expressed are my own.

As many people in my community and followers of my social media accounts know, I am the cardiologist who was placed on leave by my employer after I attended a rally a week ago. The rally was held to send a message to our governor encouraging him to reconsider his extension of the Safer at Home order for another month past the original date of April 24th. The governor’s decree is currently being challenged in court by the Legislature.

There is much misinformation and speculation regarding my involvement in the event, why I attended the event, what I believe, what I believe should be done, and even my work schedule. The individuals spreading such misinformation have judged me despite knowing very little about me. These misguided attacks appear to be guided by political ideology rather than knowledge of the facts regarding the danger of COVID-19 in our area or the impact of the lockdown on our community’s healthcare services and local economy.

I have listed my main points below and a more in-depth discussion follows for those who may be interested.

1. I was in FULL agreement with the governor’s first Safer at Home order scheduled to end on April 24th, and I still believe it was an appropriate action. During this period we prepared for the impact of COVID and, as time progressed, we were able to assess how prevalent it was in our community of North Central Wisconsin.
2. Fortunately, we have not seen nearly as many COVID cases as we had expected and were prepared to treat. As of today, there have been only 17 confirmed cases of COVID in Marathon County and only one mortality since the beginning of the pandemic. Those numbers have not changed for several days.
3. According to John Hopkins daily tracking data, in nearby counties--including Price, Taylor, Langlade, Lincoln, and Oneida--only a single instance of COVID has been recorded. Thus, large areas of Wisconsin have had minimal contact with COVID.
4. The forced lockdown has caused severe adverse health consequences locally, as it has prevented people from getting the care they need. This is likely to get worse as many health care organizations are facing financial collapse.
5. The forced lockdown has caused severe economic damage, and economists are already projecting that unemployment rates will be higher than in the Great Depression. If we don’t allow portions of the country to open, I fear that many jobs will be lost forever as businesses are forced to close.
6. There are many areas throughout the country where COVID is very active, and continued aggressive mitigation efforts in those areas are appropriate and necessary.
7. There are areas in the country like North Central Wisconsin where the prevalence of COVID is very low.
8. We need to start assessing our response to COVID on a regional basis. We should consider population density, the prevalence of the virus, capabilities of the health care system to treat COVID, and the ability of local businesses to take reasonable precautions to protect their employees and patrons.
9. Lower-risk areas and businesses need to make plans to open the economy soon. Businesses and health care providers need to cooperate in this endeavor and be prepared to adjust their responses according to close monitoring of viral activity in their area.
10. I am deeply disappointed that this has become a political issue. The virus doesn’t care what party you may favor. The politicization of this has greatly impeded our ability to address the pandemic.
11. The consensus medical view is that this virus is here to stay. In other words, this virus cannot be defeated simply by staying inside for a couple of months. The world will likely see periodic outbreaks, and we need to accept that and be prepared to deal with COVID long term. Like it or not, this virus is here to stay, and we need to be prepared for this reality.
12. I placed no patient in any more jeopardy from the virus by attending the rally than that encountered in my daily living, for reasons outlined further below.
13. Finally, despite the way it was perceived throughout the country, I was not fired by my employer for attending the rally. I was placed on an unpaid, one-week leave for violating the hospital’s policy, and I voluntarily extended my time off by another week by taking vacation time. During this time, I have been assessing my future plans, together with my wife and family.

Donald Trump takes aim at Fox News during anti-media tirade

President Donald Trump took aim at Fox News over the weekend, saying he wants an 'alternative' to his former favorite cable news network and blasting board member Paul Ryan.

The president's rant came amid a larger diatribe against the media and its coverage, a wave of fury that resulted from Thursday's White House press briefing where Trump suggested officials look into injecting disinfectant into people to combat thecoronavirus, advice medical experts were quick to debunk.

In fact, the advice was so unsound even Fox News hosts like Steve Doocy, the 'Fox & Friends' morning show host who is Trump supporter, disregarded it.

Injecting disinfectants 'is poisonous,' he said Friday morning. Fox News' anchor Chris Wallace warned: 'The answer is no, it’s not safe. A lot of the major manufacturers say it isn’t.'

Trump has had a love-hate relationship with Fox in recent weeks as he touts One American News, a small conservative news outlet that is becoming his new favorite.

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Western Spy Agencies Investigating Wuhan Scientist Highlighted By Zero Hedge In January

Western intelligence agencies are "looking closely at the work of a senior scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Peng Zhou," as part of a joint international investigation into the origins of COVID-19, according to the Daily Telegraph.

In a stunning expose, the Australian newspaper reports that "the Five Eyes intelligence agencies of Australia, Canada, NZ, UK and US, are understood to be looking closely at the work of a senior scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Peng Zhou, as they examine whether COVID-19 originated from a wet market or whether the naturally-­occurring virus may have been released from the level four laboratory in Wuhan that was studying deadly coronavirus pathogens from bats."

Of course, the name of Peng has been long familiar to our readers, and would have been familiar to far more people had Twitter not decided to arbitrarily suspend the Zero Hedge account over a report exposing Mr. Zhou.

As we reported in January - posting publicly available professional contact information and suggesting people ask him about the outbreak near his lab - Peng, head of the Bat Virus Infection and Immunization Group, sought to hire two post-doc fellows last November, who would be tasked with using bats "to research the molecular mechanism that allows Ebola and SARS-associated coronaviruses to lie dormant for a long time without causing diseases."

One press release from his lab was titled: "How bats carry viruses without getting sick." Via the Telegraph:

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