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Tuesday, April 14, 2020

'She has lied since Day 1': Over 155,000 sign petition to recall Democrat governor

'She's gone too far. I didn't sign up to like be in a communist state'
Momentum is growing for the recall of the Democrat governor whose recent actions during the coronavirus pandemic preclude many people from traveling between residences, and who insists the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy are "essential workers."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is the subject of a Change.org online petition to recall her from office, and as of Monday morning, there were more than 155,000 signatures pushing for her ouster.

Though it has some misspellings, the petition reads:

"Recall Governor Whitmer. Her failure’s during the Covid-19 Corona Virus is causing more Michiganders to get sick. Closing and banning various non essential business’s and activities while leaving others open. Further promoting the pandemic. She has lied since day one with her #Fixthedamnroads which she has failed to do anything in this regards. The response to #PFAS was negligence and completely removing funding for #PureMichigan clearly shows her lack of anything positive for the State of Michigan."

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Recovered coronavirus patients in South Korea test positive again

South Korea reported today that at least 116 people initially cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again.

It came as officials suggested they would soon look at easing strict recommendations aimed at preventing new outbreaks - and the number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed two million on Monday.

South Korea reported only 25 new cases overall on Monday, but the rise in 'reactivated' patients has raised concerns as the country seeks to stamp out infections.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the apparent relapses. But Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), has said the virus may have been reactivated rather than the patients being re-infected.

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The Air Force Might Be Getting a Mach 3 SR-72 Bomber

There's no certainty here, but the SR-72 would build on the successful SR-71. It would be the fastest plane ever in service if made.

Like a bolt out of the blue, Lockheed Martin’s renown Skunk Works publicly teased one of aviation’s great snark hunts—revealing plans for a successor to the SR-71, the legendary Mach-3 reconnaissance plane designed with slide rules and retired when the millennials were born.

That 59-year old aircraft, originally developed as an uber-interceptor, still holds the record for fastest sustained supersonic flight at 2,100 miles per hour—much faster than a .50-caliber bullet.

But the new plane just announced, the SR-72, will fly twice as fast—so fast that at top speed the very air entering its engines will be moving as fast as an SR-71. Keeping combustion and thrust going under such conditions has been likened to lighting a cigar in a hurricane. The SR-72’s planned ability to go from a standing start to Mach 6 and back again is a hat trick no one has been able to pull off.

More here

Timeline: Dr. Anthony Fauci Repeatedly Downplayed Coronavirus Threat

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has not always shared the opinions he gave to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, when he insisted President Donald Trump ignored mitigation efforts and could have saved lives.

“I mean, obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives,” Fauci said on State of the Union when asked if social distancing and stay-at-home measures could have prevented deaths if they had been implemented earlier.

“Obviously, no one is going to deny that. But what goes into those decisions is complicated,” Fauci added.

In contrast to his previous remarks, Fauci has a history of downplaying the severity of the coronavirus and insisting that the American people did not need to drastically alter their lifestyles earlier this year.

January 21, 2020: Fauci claimed the coronavirus was “not a major threat to the people of the United States.”

Fauci Ok'd Campaign Rallies, Cruise Ships for Health on March 9

On March 9, Dr. Anthony Fauci told the country it was perfectly safe for healthy Americans to take a cruise and to hold campaign rallies.

Speaking at a White House briefing on March 9, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, told the world — on March 9! — that “if you are a healthy young person, there is no reason if you want to go on a cruise ship, to not go on a cruise ship.”

He went on to say that “if you have … an individual who has an underlying condition, particularly an elderly person who has an underlying condition, I would recommend strongly that they do not go on a cruise ship.”

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The Context of What Dr. Fauci Said About Early Intervention

As late as February 29, Dr. Anthony Fauci was telling America it was safe to go to the mall, the movies, and the gym.

During a Saturday, February 29 appearance on the NBC’s far-left Today Show, Fauci was asked point blank if Americans should stop enjoying their daily routines. Fauci answered point blank, “No.”

Fauci, who’s the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and on President Trump’s coronavirus task force, sounded very different this past Sunday during an appearance on far-left CNN.

CNN: The New York Times reported yesterday that you and other top officials wanted to recommend social and physical distancing guidelines to President Trump as far back as the third week of February, but the administration didn’t announce such guidelines to the American public until March 16th, almost a month later. Why?

FAUCI: As I’ve said many times, we look at it from a pure health standpoint. We make a recommendation. Often the recommendation is taken. Sometimes it’s not. But it is what it is. We are where we are right now.

CNN: Do you think lives could have been saved if social distancing, physical distancing, stay-at-home measures, had started the third week of February instead of mid-March?

FAUCI: You know, Jake, again, it’s the what would have, what could have. It’s very difficult to go back and say that. I mean, obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives. Obviously, no one is going to deny that. But what goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated. But you’re right, I mean, obviously, if we had right from the very beginning shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different. But there was a lot of pushback about shutting things down back then.

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Fauci: Trump DID Listen to Official Recommendations for Mitigation

Dr. Anthony Fauci asserted Monday at the White House that President Donald Trump listened to his recommendation to institute mitigation policies to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

He said:

The first and only time that Dr. Birx and I went in and formally made a recommendation, to the president, to actually have a ‘shutdown’ in the sense of not really shut down, but to really have strong mitigations, obviously there would be some concern by some that in fact that might have some negative consequences. Nonetheless, the president listened to the recommendation. The next second time that I went in with Dr. Birx in to the president and said 15 days are not enough, we need to go 30 days, obviously people had a problem with that, because of the potential secondary effects. Nonetheless, at that time, the president went with the health recommendations.

Fauci walked back and clarified comments he made on CNN during an interview with Jake Tapper on Sunday..

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WALSH: We Have Been Placed Under Mass House Arrest, Not Quarantine.

This was the most historic Easter that any of us have ever lived through, but for all the wrong reasons. For the first time in our history, the majority of Americans were legally barred from worshipping. Governors across the country have discovered that the word “non-essential” is a magical elixir that grants them unlimited power. All they need to do is declare a thing “non-essential,” and they will have the authority to shut it down indefinitely, upon penalty of imprisonment. It’s as simple and easy as that, apparently.

One Mississippi cop was rather blunt about it as he broke up a drive-in Easter service in Greenville. To be clear, these were people who gathered in a parking lot, in their cars, with the windows up, to celebrate the holiday. There was no plausible chance of any contagion being spread. But the gathering was descended upon by law enforcement in any case because, as the cop explained to an understandably infuriated pastor, “your rights are suspended” by “order of the governor.” Who knew that “governor” was another word for “emperor”?

The Emperor of Kentucky took things a step further.

The word “quarantine” does not mean what the media and certain governors want us to think it means.

Baltimore Streets Flooded With Methadone And Suboxone During Pandemic

Methadone clinics across Baltimore City are flooding neighborhoods with "a lot" of addiction-treatment medicines after federal regulators relaxed take-home restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, reported The Baltimore Sun.

In pre-corona times, addiction treatment medicines, such as methadone or Suboxone, were limited by clinics to avoid abuse or resold on the streets. Now because of relaxed federal rules, addicts can receive up to a month's supply in one visit.

The Rev. Milton Emanuel Williams Jr., the pastor of New Life Evangelical Baptist Church, also the operator of Turning Point Clinic, said his facility usually doses out a day's worth of methadone or Suboxone from his East Baltimore clinic to addicts. Now he's sending them home with a massive 28-day supply.

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Inmate Dies as COVID-19 Cases in MD Correctional Facilities Rise; Mosby Writes Hogan

BALTIMORE (WBFF) The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) reports the death of an inmate as cases in facilities in Maryland reach 93, numbers last week were reported at 57.

As of yesterday evening (April 12, 2020), reports a total of 93 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including one inmate death, within its system:

-18 inmates

-47 correctional officers

-3 Division of Parole and Probation employees

-22 contractual staff

-1 clinical health employee

-2 administrative employees

The Department recorded its first death related to the COVID-19 virus on Saturday. The inmate was in his 60s and had serious underlying medical conditions. He had been hospitalized for several weeks. Due to privacy laws the Department cannot identify the man who died.

DPSCS said in a release that it extends its deepest sympathy to the loved ones of the inmate who succumbed to the disease.

The following is a summary of the confirmed COVID-19 cases for correctional facilities:

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STUDY: MARYLAND’S SMALL BUSINESSES ARE FARING BETTER THAN THOSE IN MOST STATES

Maryland ranks near the bottom among states whose small businesses are most affected by the coronavirus, according to a study released on Monday.

The WalletHub study found that Maryland ranked 40th among 51 jurisdictions in terms of small businesses most affected due to the virus. Hawaii ranked first and the District of Columbia ranked last. Maryland ranked 48th among states with the highest average annual federal small-business funding per GDP. Mississippi had the lowest annual federal small-business funding per GDP.

The study based its findings on three criteria: “Impact & Access to Resources,” “Small-Business Financial Conditions” and “Business Environment & Workforce Support.” The three criteria are evaluated across 12 metrics. Each metric is weighted on a scale of 0-100. WalletHub used data from U.S. government agencies such as the Census Bureau, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Science Foundation.

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Chicken Sale In Salisbury This Saturday!

Hey Salisbury, MD! It's your turn to get some delicious chicken at a discounted price. We've teamed up with Oak Ridge Baptist Church this Saturday! It's a drive thru sale so you don't even have to get out of your vehicle

NYU scientists: Largest US study of COVID-19 finds obesity the single biggest 'chronic' factor in New York City's hospitalizations

For months, scientists have been poring over data about cases and deaths to understand why it is that COVID-19 manifests itself in different ways around the world, with certain factors such as the age of the population repeatedly popping up as among the most significant determinants.

Now, one of the largest studies conducted of COVID-19 infection in the United States has found that obesity of patients was the single biggest factor, after age, in whether those with COVID-19 had to be admitted to a hospital.

"The chronic condition with the strongest association with critical illness was obesity, with a substantially higher odds ratio than any cardiovascular or pulmonary disease," write lead author Christopher M. Petrilli of the NYU Grossman School and colleagues in a paper, "Factors associated with hospitalization and critical illness among 4,103 patients with Covid-19 disease in New York City," which was posted April 11th on the medRxiv pre-print server. The paper has not been peer-reviewed, which should be kept in mind in considering its conclusions.

Among other things, the presence of obesity in the study points to a potentially important role of heightened inflammation in patients.

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THE LIST: Fauci’s Many Mistakes and Lies: NIH Director Said One Thing Weeks-Months Ago but Today Tries to Blame President Trump (Video)

NIH Director Dr. Anthony Fauci went on CNN on Easter Sunday and suggested that President Trump should have shut down the country in February!

Dr. Fauci later went on with Al Sharpton on MSNBC and and told Al Sharpton that he warned President Trump that “we were in real trouble” from the coronavirus.

It is clear at this point that Dr. Anthony Fauci has a problem with the truth.
Here is a list of several contradictory statements by the good doctor.

1.) Dr. Fauci says he warned Trump in January that the US was in real trouble but that is not what he said publicly.

In January Dr. Anthony Fauci told Newsmax TV that the United States “did not have to worry”about the coronavirus and that it was “not a major threat.”

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MSNBC Medical Correspondent Campbell on U.S. Economy: ‘We’re Not Reopening Anytime Soon’

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” chief medical correspondent Dr. Dave Campbell on Monday rejected President Donald Trump’s overtures to make a May 1 target date for reopening the American economy.

Campbell, sounding a different tune than the president, declared the economy was “not reopening anytime soon,” adding normalcy will not be reached for an even longer amount of time due to slowly rolling everything out.

“We … know that this hope, that this is going away in the summer and will resurge in the fall, is false hope,” Campbell stated. “We’re already in mid-April. The people who are sick today and going in the hospital will be there for several weeks. We do not have adequate testing, certainly not in Palm Beach County, and absolutely not across the country. We don’t have adequate viral testing. We don’t have adequate antibody testing.”

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DEEP ECONOMIC SUFFERING HAS ERUPTED ALL OVER AMERICA, BUT GUESS WHO THE FEDERAL RESERVE IS HELPING?

A day of reckoning has finally arrived, and a lot more pain is on the way

As millions upon millions of Americans lose their jobs in the greatest wave of unemployment in U.S. history, the Federal Reserve has decided that now is the time to spend trillions of newly created dollars in a desperate attempt to protect financial asset values.

In other words, as much of the country suddenly plunges into poverty, the Federal Reserve is working exceedingly hard to protect the wealth of the elite.

Approximately fifty percent of all stock market wealth is owned by the wealthiest one percent of all Americans, and the amount of stock market wealth owned by the poorest 50 percent of all Americans is so small that it really doesn’t matter.

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Morgan Stanley Publishes Full Timeline Of Upcoming Coronavirus Milestones; Sees Second Coronavirus Peak In December

Now that it has become clear that every day that the US economic shutdown continues as a result of the coronavirus pandemic means billions in economic losses and untold damages to the social fabric of the United States where over 20 million people will soon be unemployed, what all analysts - and frankly everyone else - want to know is i) when will the US reach the peak of the coronavirus curve and ii) when will the US start reopening.

Addressing the first, we showed some good news yesterday when the latest JPMorgan coronavirus "curve" showed the US fast approaching the peak of the curve, i.e., the end of the "late accumulation" phase, and sliding into recovery.

Yet while the first wave of the pandemic appears to be approaching its zenith, the big concern is that a second, even more powerful wave may emerge afterwards if the Spanish flu pandemic is any indication.

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Doctors Fear Coronavirus Survivors May Have Lasting Damage To Multiple Organs

Doctors treating coronavirus patients have begun to worry that survivors may sustain lasting damage to several organs - not just the lungs, according to the Los Angeles Times.

For the sickest patients, infection with the new coronavirus is proving to be a full-body assault, causing damage well beyond the lungs. And even after patients who become severely ill have recovered and cleared the virus, physicians have begun seeing evidence of the infection’s lingering effects.

In a study posted this week, scientists in China examined the blood test results of 34 COVID-19 patients over the course of their hospitalization. In those who survived mild and severe disease alike, the researchers found that many of the biological measures had “failed to return to normal.” -Los Angeles Times

One alarming observation have been test results indicating that recovered patients continue to have impaired liver function after patients had been cleared for discharge.

Another concern from cardiologists are the immediate effects of COVID-19 on the heart, raising questions over how long the damage may last. As the Times notes, "In an early study of COVID-19 patients in China, heart failure was seen in nearly 12% of those who survived, including in some who had shown no signs of respiratory distress."

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Bridgeville’s Evans Farms offers bargain-priced chicken through partnership

BRIDGEVILLE — The early bird gets the worm.

Early risers Friday morning at Evans Farms outside of Bridgeville got first dibs on bargain-price Amick Farms bulk chicken through partnership arrangement with Evans Farms/The Frozen Farmer.

The first wave of customers began arriving several hours before the scheduled 10 a.m. start of Amick’s truckload chicken sale, which featured boneless skinless chicken breasts, wings and tenders in 5-pound bags and 40-pound case options at prices too good to pass up.

“By 8 o’clock there were probably 15 to 20 cars in the parking lot,” said Kevin Evans, owner of the third-generation Evans Farms family operation that includes wife Katey Evans and The Frozen Farmer.

“They (Amick) contacted us to do the chicken truckload sale today. It’s something that they are offering the community, a price savings and we were able to pass that along as well,” said Ms. Evans. “It’s a really good bargain. I mean we’re not getting it wholesale for that cheap. It is an awesome thing that they were able to do to extend that price savings while so many people are out of work right now.”

The combined chicken sale coupled with Evans Farms/The Frozen Farmer’s popular drive-thru pickup produced quite a turnout and noticeable traffic congestion along Seashore Highway just east of Bridgeville. Delaware State Police were on hand along with Delaware’s Department of Transportation to monitor traffic flow.

Saturday morning, it was a similar scene in Clarksville as a Mountaire chicken sale at Hocker’s Super Center drew scores of takers, creating long lines and traffic backups on SR 17.

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MD Gov. Hogan: Not ‘Accurate’ When Trump Said States Have the Medical Equipment They Need

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) said it is “not quite accurate” when President Donald Trump said that states have all the medical supplies they need.

Guest host Martha Raddatz said, “You and many other states are in dire need to more supplies. Listen to what the president said on Friday about the needs of governors.”

In a clip, Trump said, “We’re in great shape with ventilators. We’re in great shape with protective clothing. We have additional planeloads coming in, but we’re not getting any calls from governors at this moment. We’re getting very few calls from governors or anybody else needing anything.”

Raddatz asked, “You are the chair of the national governors association, is that true?”

Hogan said, “Well, I get calls from governors every single day. We have had 12 calls now with every single governor in America, eight of which the president and/or vice president was on the call with us. I can tell you nearly every single governor — I had a call with a FEMA administrator just yesterday afternoon —look, I think we certainly have seen an improvement over the past week, from the week before.”

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MILLIONS of mail-in ballots went missing in 2018

More than a million mail-in ballots were sent to the wrong addresses by elections officials in 2018, according to a new analysis Monday that challenged state and local officials’ rush to embrace mail-in voting amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation, a conservative election watchdog, compiled data from the Election Assistance Commission and said 1.1 million ballots were deemed undeliverable in the most recent federal election, out of 42.4 million ballots mailed.

More than 430,000 others were rejected by elections officials, and more than 10 million — about a quarter of those sent — “unaccounted for,” according to the data.

PILF said that should be a warning to officials rushing to figure out if they can move to mail-in voting as one way to ease chances of COVID-19 infections spreading by voters massing at polling places.

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World’s largest pork processor shuts down plant, warns of meat shortages during pandemic

CHICAGO — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, said Sunday it will shut a US plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the country was moving “perilously close to the edge” in supplies for grocers.

Slaughterhouse shutdowns are disrupting the US food supply chain, crimping availability of meat at retail stores and leaving farmers without outlets for their livestock.

Smithfield extended the closure of its Sioux Falls, South Dakota, plant after initially saying it would idle temporarily for cleaning. The facility is one of the nation’s largest pork processing facilities, representing 4% to 5% of US pork production, according to the company.

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Maryland Hospital Association: 'I think we're going to be ready'

BALTIMORE (WBFF) - Officials estimate Maryland is two to three weeks away from its peak in COVID-19 patients.

Hospitals across the state have been preparing for this anticipated surge for the past month.

The Maryland Hospital Association estimates about 10,000 beds are ready to treat patients with COVID-10 throughout Maryland.

“I think we’re going to be ready,” said Bob Atlas, CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association. “We’re getting more ventilators. We’re getting more ICU capacity.”

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New signs suggest coronavirus was in California far earlier than anyone knew

A man found dead in his house in early March. A woman who fell sick in mid-February and later died.

These early COVID-19 deaths in the San Francisco Bay Area suggest that the novel coronavirus had established itself in the community long before health officials started looking for it. The lag time has had dire consequences, allowing the virus to spread unchecked before social distancing rules went into effect.

“The virus was freewheeling in our community and probably has been here for quite some time,” Dr. Jeff Smith, a physician who is the chief executive of Santa Clara County government, told county leaders in a recent briefing.

How long? A study out of Stanford suggests a dramatic viral surge in February.

But Smith on Friday said data collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local health departments and others suggest it was “a lot longer than we first believed” — most likely since “back in December.”

Just as New York has strong ties to travelers from Europe, who are believed to have brought the coronavirus there from Italy, the Bay Area is a natural hub for those traveling to and from China.

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Coronavirus may have spread from dead body

A forensic medicine professional who died from the coronavirus in Thailand is believed to be the first reported person to catch COVID-19 from a dead body, according to a report on Tuesday.

A letter published in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine back on March 20 detailed how a forensic practitioner working in Bangkok and a nurse assistant were the only two COVID-19 infections involving medical professionals in Thailand at the time.

Won Sriwijitalai of Bangkok's RVT Medical Center and Viroj Wiwanitkit of DY Patil University wrote in the letter that at the time most cases in Thailand were imported and local community spread was limited.

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https://www.foxnews.com/health/coronvirus-could-spread-dead-body-following-report

Senator Cotton: ‘China Is Going to Pay for This Pandemic’

One of the more hawkish voices with regards to Mainland China throughout the coronavirus pandemic has been Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).

Cotton has insisted the Chinese communist government has not been an honest broker throughout the ordeal and could have prevented some of the hardship with more transparency.

During an appearance on Fox News Channel on Monday, the Arkansas Republican U.S. Senator argued there were ways to extract compensation from China for the suffering caused by coronavirus. Those methods included manufacturing to opening up the courts to allow China to be sued, much like the ability that 9/11 victims were granted.

“Let’s remember that the China virus could have been a local health problem in Wuhan,” he said. “If the Chinese Communist Party had been transparent and honest and not been so corrupt from the very beginning, instead, they unleashed a global pandemic. So, there are many ways in which China is going to pay for this pandemic. One will be the basic removal of fundamental manufacturing capacity from China. What they’ve used to get rich in recent decades, like bringing pharmaceutical and medical device, medical supply manufacturing back to the United States.”

“China should also face economic consequences beyond the loss of their manufacturing capacity, such as opening the court system up for victims of the virus, much like we did for the victims of the 9/11 attacks,” Cotton continued.

More here

Why New Orleans Pushed Ahead With Mardi Gras, Even as It Planned for Coronavirus

A cache of internal emails reveals city officials believed chances were “low” that the festivities would help spread the virus, a prediction that proved tragically off base.

ATLANTA —
Twelve days before New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras Day, the citywide pre-Lenten bash that would pack thousands of visitors onto the streets, Sarah A. Babcock, the director of policy and emergency preparedness for the city health department, prepared a list of bullet points about the troubling disease that had already sickened thousands in China but had only infected 13 known patients in the United States.

“The chance of us getting someone with coronavirus is low,” Ms. Babcock advised community health providers, according to internal emails obtained by Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation and reviewed by The New York Times.

The projection proved to be terribly off base, as New Orleans would soon erupt into one of the largest hot spots for the coronavirus in the U.S., with one of the nation’s highest death rates. Experts now believe that the multiweek Mardi Gras festivities likely served to accelerate the spread of the highly contagious disease in the New Orleans area.

Dems Take Relief Money for Small Businesses Hostage

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday tried to add $250 billion to the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the part of the recently passed $2.2 trillion CARES Act that provides forgivable loans to small businesses. Following higher-than-expected demand, less than a week after the PPP was instituted, only $98 billion remained. McConnell sought to pass simple and clean additional funding to the program via a two page bill. “We’re not talking about making any policy changes,” McConnell explained. “We’re literally changing the number $350 [billion] to $600 [billion].”

However, McConnell’s aim of getting unanimous consent to ensure that small businesses are able to obtain needed loans for payroll was scuttled by the Democrats. The reason? They want to load up any additional PPP spending with more funding and regulations to benefit their constituencies. Democrats want at least $45 billion in additional funding specifically delineated for “small community-based lenders” like “minority depository institutions, certified development corporations, [and] micro-lenders.” They’re calling for an additional $100 billion to healthcare workers, plus another $150 billion to states and localities to backfill tax revenue. And of course they want more money for food stamps while removing any work-requirements for the next two years.

As The Wall Street Journal editorial board notes, the additional demands are totally unnecessary. “PPP money is already going to banks large and small, through a network that includes any existing Small Business Administration lender and any federally insured bank or credit union,” the editors write.

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XFL suspends operations, fires all employees

One month after cancelling the remainder of its return season, the XFL has reportedly fired nearly all of its employees and suspended league operations.

The XFL held a conference call Friday morning where all employees were told about the league suspending operations, according to NFL Network and ESPN.

The NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported one employee described "the word they used was 'shut down.'" Reporter Mike Garafolo added that XFL employees are being paid through Sunday and a source on the call told him there was no discussion regarding when operations could restart.

The XFL has yet to confirm Friday's developments, but several XFL employees have shared the news on Twitter saying that they've been laid off.

In a letter to fans on March 20, league officials said they planned to return for a full season in 2021. But ESPN reported Friday that the league now has no plans to return in 2021.

The league played just five games of a 10-game regular season in eight cities. It was a revival of the XFL that played one season in 2001.

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Michelle Obama Backs Absentee Voting for 2020 Election

Former first lady Michelle Obama is getting behind efforts to expand vote-by-mail options amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Her support for federal legislation, which would make it easier for people to cast their ballots during the presidential election, was made through a voter initiative she leads, When We All Vote.

Celebrity-backed When We All Vote is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on increasing voter participation.

The group says Americans should have more access to voting by mail, early in-person voting and online voter registration.

More here

GOP Activist: Suspend All Work Visas Until U.S. Graduates Get Jobs

GOP and Democrat politicians can win massive support from millions of young graduates by just opposing the inflow of foreign visa workers into the good jobs that American graduates need to pay their college debts, says Charlie Kirk, founder ofTurning Point USA.

“You’ve got 5 million kids that are scheduled to graduate, with no ceremony, in the next three to four weeks [and] they’re going to be entering the worst job market in American history,” he said in an April 9 tweet:

You want to win the youth vote? Suspend all visas. That’s right: Every single visa so every single one of those college kids can get a job.

Foreign nationals should not be getting the jobs that our college kids went into debt to go get. Every single one of those kids should be given preference and precedence over some foreign national that might be able to take advantage of our visa process, and that’s why I called for a total and completemoratorium on all visas till we get to pre-pandemic unemployment levels, and even after that, we should pass the RAISE Act by Sen. Tom Cotton which cuts our visas dramatically.

Turning Point USA has built many groups on many U.S. campuses, where many students are rising up against their universities’ growing and profitable participation in the visa worker economy. The wave of activism has gained strength as the coronavirus crash has destroyed 2020 job opportunities for many soon-to-be graduates.

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Governor Hogan Statement Regarding Fiscal Relief for the States

Nation’s Governors Urge Congress to Take Action to Support States’ COVID-19 Response on the Front Lines

ANNAPOLIS, MD —
Governor Larry Hogan, Chair of the National Governors Association, today issued the following statement:

“Today, on behalf of the nation’s governors, I led another teleconference with the Vice President and the White House regarding our coordinated response to COVID-19.

“Governors are on the front lines of the on-the-ground response, implementing aggressive measures that are beginning to successfully flatten the curve of the spread of the virus. The COVID-19 response is resulting in catastrophic damage to state economies, and fiscal assistance is critical now so that we can continue leading this fight.

"The nation’s governors are urging Congress to act immediately and appropriate $500 billion specifically for the states and territories to meet our budgetary shortfalls that have resulted from this crisis.

“Without sufficient federal relief, states will have to confront the prospect of significant reductions to essential services, which will in turn devastate the economic recovery and our efforts to get people back to work.

“As I have said from the very beginning, this is not a time for politics. I have spoken to the leaders of Congress in both parties about the need for this relief. We have asked the administration to weigh in so that we can break this logjam in the Senate and get this done for the American people.”

Pollak: New York Shows No Government Was Fully Prepared for Coronavirus

The assessments of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak have already begun.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) — who was holding his doomed impeachment trial as coronavirus arrived in the U.S. — has proposed a bill to create a 9/11-style commission.

That bill is likely dead on arrival, but some kind of examination is inevitable.

When it happens, it should note that no government — federal, state, or local — was fully prepared to meet the challenge of the new pandemic.

Take New York, for example. The New York Times — which is determined to scapegoat President Donald Trump, and conservative media, for the outbreak — nonetheless reported last week that New York State had been slow to respond.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio encouraged residents to go on with life as normal, well into mid-March.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic 4-14-20

Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Maryland cases
Updated Apr 14 at 10:03 AM local
Confirmed
9,472
+1,247
Deaths
302
+67
Recovered
603
+147
Data is collected from multiple sources that update at different times and may not always align. Some states may not provide complete county-level info.
CONFIRMED
DEATHS
RECOVERED
Prince George's
2,356
72
0
Montgomery
1,883
54
3
Baltimore
1,377
41
0
Baltimore City
962
29
0
Anne Arundel
783
32
0
Frederick
441
14
20
Howard
403
9
36
Charles
292
12
0
Carroll
259
29
12
Harford
147
0
0
Calvert
99
1
0
St. Mary's
98
3
0
Washington
96
1
0
Cecil
85
2
0
Wicomico
63
1
0
Worcester
21
0
0
Caroline
21
0
0
Queen Anne's
19
0
0
Allegany
17
0
0
Talbot
16
1
0
Dorchester
14
1
0
Kent
11
0
0
Somerset
6
1
0
Garrett
5
0
0

REHOBOTH POLICE BEGIN ENFORCING STATE OF EMERGENCY COMPLIANCE

Rehoboth Beach Police continue the initiative started on April 3rd, 2020 to closely monitorout-of-state travelers within city limits, as well as, the closures of the beach and Boardwalk. The main goal of this on-going initiative is to take action to monitor, inform, and enforce the beach and Boardwalk closures and the 14-day self-quarantine mandate imposed upon out-of-state travelers.

As a result of the continuing efforts of the men and women of our agency, 217 individuals have been safely monitored since April 3rd. Of those 217 individuals, 169 were safely contacted. Of those contacted, 66 were out-of-state motorists and 103 were individuals attempting to use the beach and/or Boardwalk. Twenty-eight of the individuals contacted were found to be in violation of one or more mandates established by the current State of Emergency.

Since April 11th, 2020, officers have arrested 8 individuals for blatant non-compliance with the closure of the beach and/or Boardwalk. In all cases, the offenders drove into the city past the large electronic signs located at each entrance which clearly state that the beach and Boardwalk are closed to all activities to include exercising and dog walking. The offenders, both male, and female ranged in age from 26 to 53 and were from Virginia, Washington D.C., and Delaware. All but one were issued a criminal summons for disorderly conduct, while the remaining individual was cited for disrobing in public as he urinated on the Boardwalk.

The Rehoboth Beach Police will continue to be vigilant in monitoring citizens and visitors to our city. In cases of blatant disregard, we will enforce compliance.

As always, we appreciate the efforts of our dedicated employees and all those like them that risk their own safety and the safety of their loved ones to protect our community. We continue to express our gratitude to anyone doing their part to end this pandemic and our appreciation to our community for their understanding during this time of concern and change. We remain steadfast in knowing that this is only temporary.

Preschoolers Should Avoid Screen Time Of Any Kind, Study Suggests

With millions of children stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak, digital learning has become the new normal. Although televisions and mobile devices might help students pass the time off from class, new research says parents should be keeping screens away from their toddlers.

According to researchers at the University of California, Davis, children who are exposed to screen media at an early age have a harder time controlling their behavior. Amanda C. Lawrence, the study’s lead author, says using screen media devices too early results in a lower ability to self-regulate.

More than 50 children, between 32 and 47 months-old, were observed during the two-and-a-half-year study. Preschoolers who started using devices early on struggled with the skills needed to plan and monitor their thoughts and feelings. The researchers add self-regulating skills can predict academic success, physical and mental health, and even in criminal behavior later in life.

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Disney World - Furlough 43,000 employees during COVID-19 pandemic

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) - Walt Disney World announced that they will furlough 43,000 of their employees amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The park's resort will temporarily furlough employees starting April 19, according to President of Unite Here Union Eric Clinton.

“This is a decision that the union doesn’t like, however, it’s within the company’s right to lay-off and furlough employees in this situation,” said Clinton.

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Where Are Your Vitamins and Supplements Made?

Chuckle, chortle, snicker… Those are the responses of the “progressives” who keep defending all things globalist, including the disgustingly corrupt behavior of the Communist Chinese, who covered up the spread of COVID19 that originated in Wuhan.

But it’s not just the highly contagious novel virus that’s invaded the United States, destroying the lives of Americans. The ruthless operations of a totalitarian government trusted with critical functions, like producing medicines, dietary supplements, and vitamins consumed by individuals pursuing health are also now under the microscope.

How vulnerable are Americans given Chinese control over the items we ingest for the sake of health? Take a moment to look at your over-the-counter medicines for gastric reflux and mild arthritis, or dietary supplements like vitamin C and calcium. Where are these products made?

You might see listed a point of distribution, especially if it’s an OTC brand or generic of a franchise like Walmart, Walgreens, or large big-box store. But what is the site of origin? Don’t bother; it’s not listed.

Our dietary supplements and vitamins are almost exclusively imports from China. The Alliance for American Manufacturing reported that as much as 90% of the vitamin C sold in America comes from the same nation that was producing dog treats that poisoned thousands of our pets and has been proven to hold great responsibility in this coronavirus pandemic.

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Cuomo will meet w NJ, Conn. Gov. to help reopen as soon as possible

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he wants residents of his state to be able to resume their normal lives “as soon as possible,” and that he will be coordinating with neighboring governors to figure out how to do just that.

“People want to get on with their lives, people want to get out of the house, cabin fever, we need the economy working, people need a paycheck, life has to function. When do we reopen?” Cuomo said at a Sunday press conference. “Look, the answer is we want to reopen as soon as possible.”

The governor recognized the personal and societal stresses of the shutdown, but made clear that it has to be a smart decision that does not jeopardize people’s health or the economy.

“Nobody wants to pick between a public health strategy and an economic strategy,” Cuomo said. “And as governor of this state I’m not going to pick one over the other. We need a public health strategy that is safe, that is consistent with an economic strategy.”

Cuomo said the keys for reopening are coordination between businesses, schools, transportation, and the workforce; additional testing; and increased federal assistance. He said he plans on speaking with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to come up with a regional reopening plan.

More
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cuomo-says-he-will-meet-with-nj-conn-govs-to-help-reopen-as-soon-as-possible

Surgeon General: We’re Working with Real Coronavirus Data Now, Not Models

Surgeon General Jerome Adams emphasized in an interview on Monday with Sirius XM’s Breitbart News Daily host Alex Marlow that the Coronavirus Task Force is working with real data from the United States, instead of predictive models.

“What the American people need to know now is we actually have data, and so we’re tracking that data,” Adams said during the interview.

Previously, the task force was working with predictive models, frequently criticized because of their tendency to exaggerate the possible effect of the virus on the United States. Models predicting the deaths of millions and hundreds of thousands in America appear to be overblown, as the real-time data is showing the death count much lower.

“We’re following this data every single day, and we’re giving that data to communities so that they can make informed and intelligent decisions about when and where to reopen,” he said.

“I feel confident that some places will start to reopen in May and June. Other places won’t; it will be piece by piece, bit by bit, but will be data-driven,” he said.

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Trump talks about reopening US amid coronavirus fight after virus takes toll on economy, way of life

President Trump, who previously warned on Twitter that the country's efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus cannot “be worse than the problem itself," appears poised to begin reopening parts of the economy as unemployment soars to Depression-era levels and residents of several states chafe under orders to stay in their homes.

The unusual and dramatic restrictions put in place by federal, state and local governments relying on projections from epidemiologists have caused the economy to grind to a halt and prompted many Americans to claim that their civil liberties are another casualty of the disease. People have been barred from going to church, visiting relatives and holding weddings and funerals. But Trump's main concern appears to be the economy, which has shed more than 16 million jobs in just three weeks.

“If it were up to the doctors, they may say, ’Let’s keep it shut down ― let’s shut down the entire world,” Trump told reporters last month. “You can’t do that with a country ― especially the No. 1 economy anywhere in the world, by far … you can’t do that. It causes bigger problems than the original.”

More
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-talks-about-reopening-uss-amid-coronavirus-fight-after-virus-takes-toll-on-economy-way-of-life

Surgeon General Jerome Adams Challenges ‘Big Momma’ Political Media Firestorm

Surgeon General Jerome Adams expressed the frustration of trying to communicate the principles of health during the coronavirus crisis in a partisan politicized media environment.

In an interview with SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily host Alex Marlow, Adams said it was “shocking” his words were wilfully “mis-portrayed” and “mis-characterized” by many in the establishment media.

“It’s the challenge of communicating in a highly partisan and political environment,” Adams said. “And I just want to talk about health and medicine … unfortunately, we’re having to deal with the fact that everything is viewed through a political lens.”

White House reporter Yamiche Alcindor challenged Adams for using the terms “Big Momma” and “Granddaddy” and “Abuela” on Friday while speaking to the black and Hispanic communities about fighting the spread of the coronavirus.

“We need you to do this,” Adams said. “If not for yourself, then for your Abuela. Do it for your granddaddy. Do it for your Big Momma. Do it for your Pop-Pop.”

Adams said he was speaking from his own experience as a black man and having a Puerto Rician niece, who referred to her grandmother as “Abuela.”

More here

Too many bodies: Detroit's Sinai-Grace runs out of space to store dead

The grim and chaotic scene unfolding at Detroit Medical Center's Sinai-Grace Hospital may have just been summed up in two photos.

Shared among staff and obtained by CNN, one image shows more than a dozen bagged bodies lying in what's reportedly a refrigerator storage unit. Another shows bagged bodies in a room typically reserved for sleep studies.

Sinai-Grace, the only hospital on Detroit's northwest side, has been grappling with an onslaught of COVID-19 patients and a shortage of staff and resources to deal with them.

Staff tell CNN the rooms were repurposed to hold corpses because there was nowhere else to put them.

The two sources tell CNN that at least one room ... was used to store bodies because morgue staff did not work at night, and the morgue was full.

"All I know is we ran out of beds to keep our patients on so we couldn't spare any for the bodies," said one ER worker, who witnessed the bodies in the room.

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Rand Paul on His Coronavirus Experience: ‘No Symptoms’

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), fresh off of his bout with coronavirus, told Fox News Channel on Monday he had what he deemed to be an “extraordinarily mild case.”

According to Paul, who is now serving as a volunteer at his local hospital, he did not show the symptoms others had because of the virus.

“Well, you know, in my case, I had an extraordinarily mild case,” he said. “I had no symptoms. Never had a headache. Never had a body ache. Never had a fever. Never had a cough. I didn’t really have any symptoms. In fact, I would not have even gone to the doctor’s office had I not known this was about and that I had been traveling so much.”

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Woman Shoots Intrusion Suspect Dead After Attack on Her Fiance

An intrusion suspect in Fredericksburg, Texas, was shot dead by a homeowner’s fiance Saturday morning after he allegedly choked the homeowner unconscious.

The woman was the homeowner’s fiancee.

KVUE reports the incident began when the 73-year-old homeowner hold noises in the night and went to investigate. The homeowner, Curtis Roys, discovered that an individual, 19-year-old Cleto Neri Solorzano, was allegedly trying to break through the patio door.

Roys confronted Solorzano, only to have Solorzano allegedly force his way through the door.

Solorzano then allegedly attacked Roys, and began choking him. Roys’ 65-year-old fiancee was in the room at this point and she ran back to the bedroom and retrieved a handgun. She then returned to her fiance’s side and fired a warning shot, demanding Solorzano stop his attack.

When he did not relent she shot him in the head.

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United States Naval Academy

After closely and carefully monitoring the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 virus nationally, we have regretfully made the difficult decision to cancel our much-anticipated residential summer programs, Summer Seminar and STEM Camp, scheduled for late May and June 2020.

This decision was made in order to protect the health and welfare of our summer program attendees, as well as our midshipmen, faculty and staff who were selected to lead each program. It was also necessary to cancel these programs in order for the U.S. Naval Academy to safely induct the Class of 2024 and conduct summer training for our current midshipmen, keeping them on track to become commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

We are deeply disappointed, as many of you are, with this news. However, our Office of Admissions staff is working diligently to create new and additional outreach opportunities, including residential programs, as soon as it is safe to do so. We ask you to stay connected in the meantime through our Admissions website at www.usna.edu/admissionand social media sites on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates. Additionally, our staff is available daily via live chat from the “Contact Us” chat widget on our Admissions website.

We all look forward to talking with you in the near future. Please stay safe and healthy during this unprecedented time.

After 20 + Years Dave Ryan Is Still Worthless, Yet Keeps His Job?

A conversation with a member of Salisbury/Wicomico Economic Development Team.
Joe/Editor,
Take this for what it is worth. Mr. Ryan skated around almost every question, and this mission for the City of Salisbury is not much of a plan.
Regards,
Wayne King

David Ryan
You're friends on Facebook
Works at Salisbury Wicomico Economic Development
Studied at Salisbury University
1:28 PM
David, what's going on with our torn up town? In the aftermath of this virus, I doubt Jake will be able to procure more grants to continue construction downtown. BTW, how can the people on this economic dev team accept this constant construction? And if you don't, why has no one spoken up in the media? From my point of view, and many others, the entire economic development team should be replaced. What say you?
And what are the plans? The Empire State Building was built in less than a year. Why the he'll is the construction moving so slow? Jake should have the roads sealed up and have the downtown ready for business. No more construction. The way this city is being ran, it looks like no one knows what the hell they are doing. Wouldn't you agree? Present company excluded, of course.
Another question, what's going on with the Ross building? And do you agree with the construction of this future section 8 destination?
Also, Jake has increased the city deficit by over 23%. Did you know that? If yes, is that a concern? Who has the biggest voice, not necessarily in charge, on this team?
4:48 PM
Hi Wayne, we’re going to continue our effort to promote more jobs. BTW, I spent some time playing tennis in Huntington Station with a teammate of mine (a long, long time ago). Not sure if the center is still there or not. Stay safe!
9:15 PM
Why didn't you answer any of my questions or concerns? Please do not act like a politician. Explain why the construction is taking so long and please tell me how you plan on promoting new business or jobs with a ripped up city? So far, everything you guys have been doing downtown has been an utter failure. Please explain. Businesses are leaving, not coming. The citizens need to know what the heck is going on. You need to address the spending too.
Sorry but I’m focusing on our mission and I’m just not involved enough to know those answers. I suspect you’ve reached out to the City? Stay safe!
Stop with the stay safe BS. I am reaching out to YOU. You know the answers to these questions. Why do you fear answering them?
Okay fine. Please copy and paste the mission right here. You must have it written down. I hope you are not talking about the construction - like the Greenway, etc... Thanks.



Per request sir. Still, I wish you well.  ‘Mission is to enhance the socio-economic environment of Salisbury, Wicomico County and region through the preservation and creation of productive employment opportunities’.
That's everyone's mission. Thanks...