Texas Attorney General: Jailing Salon Owner Was a ‘Shameful Abuse’

Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton called the jailing of a Dallas salon owner “excessive” and a “shameful abuse” as they called for her release. A district court judge ordered the salon owner and mother jailed for seven days for re-opening her salon during the Coronavirus lockdown imposed by Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

“I find it outrageous and out of touch that during this national pandemic, a judge, in a county that actually released hardened criminals for fear of contracting COVID-19, would jail a mother for operating her hair salon in an attempt to put food on her family’s table,” Attorney General Paxton said in a written statement on Wednesday. “The trial judge did not need to lock up Shelley Luther. His order is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion, which seems like another political stunt in Dallas. He should release Ms. Luther immediately.”

Texas District Court Judge Eric Moyé ordered Luther to jail for seven days beginning on Tuesday evening for contempt of court, Breitbart Texas reported. During a contempt hearing held on Zoom, the judge offered Luther the opportunity to apologize to elected officials “she disrespected” in order to stay out of jail.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz expressed his concern over the Dallas judge’s action. “7 days in jail for cutting hair??? This is NUTS,” the junior senator from Texas tweeted. “And government officials don’t get to order citizens to apologize to them for daring to earn a living.”

A spokesperson for Luther’s attorney’s office said they have not been allowed to speak with Luther and do not know her current condition or situation in the jail.

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Democrat Lawmakers Demand Vote-by-Mail for ‘Remainder of the 2020 Election Cycle and Beyond’

Democrat Reps. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) in an op-ed on Tuesday called for implementation of vote-by-mail for the “remainder of the 2020 election cycle — and beyond.”

The Democrat lawmakers laid out a bleak view, casting the Trump administration as dropping the ball on coronavirus crisis, resulting in tens of thousands of U.S. deaths.

“Inexcusable delays and denials at the highest level of our government made the pain and suffering of this crisis worse than it ever should have been,” theyclaimed, citing the shortages of masks and financial strain on small business assistance — assistance members of their own party initially blocked when it first came time to replenish the fund.

“And our president gets on TV every day without a word of comfort for a grieving nation. We’re angry, too,” they wrote, attempting to hit a positive note by assuring readers that they can “make our fury known” at the ballot box.

The safety of doing so, they contend, remains a major point concern. Following an ever-growing list of colleagues using the Chinese coronavirus as a means to push party agenda items, both Kennedy and Pocan stated that “COVID-19 threatens to erect unprecedented roadblocks to participation” and pitched universal vote-by-mail as a solution.

“How can we ask voters to risk their heath to show up in person and cast a vote?” they asked.

“We can’t. Which is why Congress and state leaders across the country must move immediately to implement vote by mail for the remainder of the 2020 election cycle — and beyond,” they said, affirming the GOP’s growing suspicion that Democrats intend to use the crisis to implement mail-in voting for elections beyond the crisis.

They said:

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"Biblical" Wave Of Bankruptcies Is About To Flood The US

One of the silver linings of the coronacrisis to date is that despite the unprecedented collapse in the broader economy and the 30 or so million unemployed, the pace of bankruptcy filings has been relatively steady compared to the pre-covid levels, as the following Goldman chart shows.

Unfortunately the relative calm is not meant to last, because as we observed last month, Moody's recently expanded its "B3 Negative and lower list" which soared to its highest tally ever — 311 companies. That tops a former peak of 291 companies, reached during the credit crisis of 2009 and the commodity-related downturn in April 2016. At 20.7% of the total rated spec-grade population, the list also shot up above its long-term average of 14.8%, and closing in on its all-time high of 26.1%. This spike is the result of the confluence of a coronavirus outbreak, plunging oil prices, and mounting recessionary conditions, which created severe and extensive credit shocks across many sectors, regions and markets, the effects of which are unprecedented.

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Bill Bennett states there's 'an almost 50 percent chance' Biden won't be Democratic nominee

Former Education Secretary and current Fox News contributor Bill Bennett told "Special Report" Wednesday that he believes there is "an almost 50 percent chance" that former Vice President Joe Biden will not lead the Democratic ticket in November's election.

"I don't think it's a done deal," Bennett said. " ... He's [Biden's] in the basement, he's not performing very well; maybe he's better off there than going out and making these flubs he's been making -- but the election is still six, eight months away."

Biden, 77, has been forced to campaign from his Delaware home due to the coronavirus pandemic in deference to Gov. John Carney's stay-at-home order.

"[In November] he'll be older, and I think there's trouble on this Tara Reade thing," Bennett added, noting that the onetime Senate staffer who has accused Biden of sexual assault is working with Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow on an article for the New Yorker magazine.

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https://www.foxnews.com/media/bill-bennett-50-percent-biden-not-nominee

Michigan barber, 77, vows to keep shop open despite violating orders

An elderly barber in Michigan has vowed to keep his doors open despite being ticketed by police for violating shutdown orders issued in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dramatic pictures show cops arriving at 77-year-old Karl Manke's barbershop in Ossowo on Wednesday, where they handed him the citation in front of a crowd of customers waiting for a haircut.

Manke now faces a $1,000 fine and possible license sanctions, but the defiant barber says he will continue to cut hair.

'I'm not going to close up unless they handcuff and carry me out of here,' he told The Associated Press.

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Top Trade Negotiators From US, China To Meet As Trump Threatens To Scrap Deal

As we noted earlier, Secretary Mnuchin was clearly dealing with some serious stress last night as President Trump stormed about the possibility of cancelling the US-China trade pact, fuming about the uncertainty surrounding whether China plans to honor the agreement.

As the bilateral relationship deteriorates to its most caustic point since Nixon met Mao, Bloomberg reports that Chinese and US trade negotiators will speak as soon as next week on progress in implementing a phase-one deal after Trump threatened to "terminate" the agreement if Beijing didn't move to swiftly adhere to its terms.

The news was broken at around 330ameT, overnight in the US, but mid-afternoon in China. It comes as Beijing once again threatens to dump its Treasury holdings, a threat that carries added weight as US borrowing soars.

The 'virtual' meeting will feature all the key players: Chinese Vice Premier Liu and Robert Lighthizer - the respective head negotiators for their countries - will both be on the call.

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Texas Governor And Attorney General Call For Immediate Release Of Jailed Salon Owner, Rip Judge For ‘Political Stunt’

Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have each released statements calling for the immediate release of Shelley Luther, the Dallas salon owner who had the audacity to open her business. In the statement, Paxton heavily criticizes the judge, Obama devotee Eric Moye, who sentenced Luther to seven days in jail and ordered her to pay thousands in fines.

Paxton said he believes the judge is abusing his authority and that her arrest seems like a “political stunt.” In a full statement, Paxton said:

“I find it outrageous and out of touch that during this national pandemic, a judge, in a county that actually released hardened criminals for fear of contracting COVID-19, would jail a mother for operating her hair salon in an attempt to put food on her family’s table,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The trial judge did not need to lock up Shelley Luther. His order is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion, which seems like another political stunt in Dallas. He should release Ms. Luther immediately.”

The attorney general sent a letter to Moye, saying her sentencing was “significantly overbroad.” He mentioned that Abbott’s new executive order will allow her to operate business starting on Friday.

Paxton said jailing Luther for seven days, which overlaps with her being able to operate her business, is “unjustifiable.”

Abbott also released a statement, saying he agrees with Paxton in asking for her release.

“I join the Attorney General in disagreeing with the excessive action by the Dallas Judge, putting Shelley Luther in jail for seven days. As I have made clear through prior pronouncements, jailing Texans for non-compliance with executive orders should always be the last available option. Compliance with executive orders during this pandemic is important to ensure public safety; however, surely there are less restrictive means to achieving that goal than jailing a Texas mother.”

Luther received a cease-and-desist letter last week from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins to close her salon, but she publicly ripped it up.

Luther and her salon were also fined $500 for each day it was open, which was seven in total as of Tuesday. Moye said her salon would continue to be fined every day it was open until the new order would allow it to reopen on Friday.

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Dumb And Corrupt Cops Risk Losing Our Support

As conservatives, we pride ourselves on our unwavering support of the Thin Blue Line, on backing our cops against leftist slander, and yet stupid and evil people in law enforcement are putting that default thumbs-up from normal Americans at risk. It’s bad enough when we watch the ridiculous spectacle of Deputy Karren and Deputy Man-Karen yelling at some mom for committing felony play-dating, but then we see how the FBI has flat-out framed political enemies and it’s too much. If the LEO community does not police its own ranks and stamp out this nonsense, it might as well take all the goodwill it has earned over the years, douse it in cheap gasoline, and set it on fire.

A big chunk of society, mostly on the left, detests the police. It would be a really poor idea to convert the right to that point of view too. But that’s where these trends lead.

Here’s the thing – we normals respect our police not merely because they have badges and funny hats but because they take personal risks to protect us from those who would violate our rights. Usually, these violators are criminals. But the category of “People who violate our rights” also includes political hacks and bureaucratic petty fascists. And we reasonably expect to be protected from those creeps too.

“But we might get suspended or fired!” is the response. Well, yeah. That’s correct. And that’s immaterial.

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Biden Has Become an Albatross for the Democrats

Joe Biden is the apparent Democratic presidential nominee. After all, he had a seemingly insurmountable lead in delegates going into the rescheduled August convention in the postponed Democratic primary race.

Biden was winning the nomination largely because he was not the socialist Bernie Sanders, who terrified the Democratic establishment.

Biden was also not Michael Bloomberg. The multibillionaire former New York City mayor who jumped into the race when Biden faltered and Sanders seemed unstoppable. But Bloomberg spent $1 billion only to confirm that he was haughty, a poor debater and an even worse campaigner. He often appeared to be an apologist for China and seemed clueless about the interior of the United States.

The least offensive candidate left standing was Biden. Many Democratic primary voters initially had written him off as an inept retread, a blowhard and an impediment to the leftward, identity-politics trajectory of the newly progressive Democratic Party.

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Donald Trump says coronavirus is an ATTACK on America worse than Pearl Harbor or 9/11 as the death toll climbs to more than 74,000

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the coronavirus pandemic was the worst 'attack' the U.S. has ever seen.

Speaking in the Oval Office, the president said it was worse than some of biggest attacks in American history: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II and the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.

'We went through the worst attack we've ever had in our country. This is really the worst attack we've ever had. This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. There's never been an attack like this,' he said.

There were 2,403 people killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and 2,996 died in the September 11th attacks. Deaths from the coronavirus have now been more than 74,000.

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Facebook names first content oversight board members

Facebook on Wednesday announced the first members of its independent oversight board, which will have the power to decide what content should be removed from the company's platforms.

The company named four co-chairs and 16 other members. The total strength of the board will eventually be expanded to 40, the company said in a statement.

The co-chairs are former Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Stanford Law School Professor and former U.S. Circuit Judge Michael McConnell, Columbia Law School Professor Jamal Greene, and former Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur Catalina Botero Marino.

The other members include journalists, digital rights activists, judges, and former government officials and advisers from around the globe.

The panel will initially only review content in cases where users have exhausted Facebook’s normal appeals process and still feel content has been wrongfully removed. Later, it will also look at appeals from users who want Facebook to remove content.

Content will include posts, videos, photos and comments on Facebook or Instagram and could involve violence, hate speech, and nudity. The board's domain will later expand to include ads, profiles, events, groups, and pages. Facebook did not say when the board's remit would be expanded.

The panel will also review content directly referred to it by Facebook, which will adjust its policies based on its decisions.

The board’s decisions must be made and implemented within 90 days, although Facebook can ask for an additional 30-day review for exceptional cases. It will not deal with direct messages on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Oculus virtual reality products.

Facebook said the board will initially take up “dozens” of cases out of the thousands that will eventually reach it. In 2019, over 10 million pieces of removed content were appealed.

Positive Facebook will become more neutral lens
Michael McConnell, said he hoped that the board would bring a "higher degree of political neutrality" to the platform. One of its main goals would be that Facebook "not decide elections," he said. But he added that the board would not be "the internet police."

Negative Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg decides lens
Dr. Bernie Hogan, from the Oxford Internet Institute, said, "Fundamentally, Facebook is a corporation. Its veneer of governance is admirable and thorough, but the buck does not stop with a constitution, citizenship or human rights. It stops with Mark Zuckerberg and his vision for the future."

Atheists Settle Lawsuit Seeking Information on Ben Carson’s Bible Studies

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has settled a lawsuit launched by left-wing and atheist groups that sought information about HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s participation in Bible studies.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington announced last week that the federal agency will pay $17,800 to settle the suit, which revolved around a Freedom of Information Act request designed to hold government accountable but not intended to infringe on individual privacy.

According to the federal government, there are nine exemptions for gaining information through a FOIA, including when providing that information “could reasonable be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”

But the left-wing atheist groups believe differently, citing its right to have information about private and voluntary Bible studies:

FFRF and CREW filed suit in January 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging HUD’s pattern and practice of denying fee waivers on FOIA requests where disclosure of the documents was “likely to cast the agency or HUD secretary in a negative light.”

FFRF and CREW have subsequently received the desired documents. In the settlement, HUD has agreed to address the remaining issues by offering two sessions of in-person mandatory fee waiver training for the FOIA office, issuing updated fee waiver guidance for employees, and paying costs and attorneys fees to the plaintiffs ($14,400 to CREW and $3,400 to FFRF).

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[These are not fines or punitive damages, they are 'fees'. A shakedown. --Editor]

Baltimore Ravens star Earl Thomas was 'held at gunpoint by his WIFE after she found him naked in bed at an Airbnb with several women and his brother after a night out'

NFL star Earl Thomas was held at gunpoint by his wife Nina after she discovered him naked in bed with several other women, TMZ reports.

The shocking incident allegedly occurred in the early hours of April 13, when the Baltimore Ravens safety, 31, was confronted by his spouse at an Airbnb rental in Austin, Texas.

An enraged Nina allegedly pointed a 9mm Berreta at Earl's head, before he managed to wrestle the weapon away from her.

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Republican senator Richard Burr's brother-in-law dumped shares on the SAME DAY as the politician - who had just received a secret coronavirus briefing

Senator Richard Burr was not the only member of his family to sell off a significant portion of his stock holdings in February, ahead of the market crash spurred bycoronavirus fears, an investigation by ProPublica has revealed.

On the same day Burr sold, his brother-in-law also dumped tens of thousands of dollars worth of shares.

The market fell by more than 30% in the subsequent month.

Burr's brother-in-law, Gerald Fauth, who has a post on the National Mediation Board,sold between $97,000 and $280,000 worth of shares in six companies — including several that have been hit particularly hard in the market swoon and economic downturn.

A person who picked up Fauth's phone on Wednesday hung up when asked if Fauth and Burr had discussed the sales in advance. Fauth's sister Brooke is Burr's wife of more than 35 years.

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ACCORDING TO A SHOCKING NEW SURVEY, 52% OF SMALL BUSINESSES “EXPECT TO BE OUT OF BUSINESS WITHIN SIX MONTHS”

Anyone that was hoping for a “quick recovery” for the U.S. economy can forget about that right now.

Yes, many states are attempting to “reopen”, but in most cases it will be a multi-stage process that takes many months to complete. Meanwhile, fear of COVID-19 is going to keep many Americans from conducting business as usual even after all of the restrictions have been finally lifted.

Even now, many of the stores, restaurants and movie theaters that have reopened are seeing very, very few customers.

Unfortunately, millions of small businesses are not going to be able to survive in such a depressed economic environment for very long.


Barnes digs into the seen and unseen effects of a Shutdown that shouldn’t have happened

In America today, the rules of the game are slanted very heavily in favor of huge corporations and are slanted very heavily against small businesses.

It has been this way for years, but millions of small business owners just kept soldiering on because they wanted to work for themselves and not some corporate behemoth.

But for most small businesses things have never been easy. For most of them, it is usually such a struggle to try to eke out a very meager profit at the end of the month after covering expenses and payroll. But now COVID-19

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Finally, the world is catching on to China’s coronavirus lies

China’s government engaged in an “assault on international transparency” to the “endangerment of other countries,” concludes a report by the Five Eyes intelligence consortium of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

In other words, it’s not just the Trump administration making that case, as much of the US media would have you believe: It’s the intelligence pros of this country and some of its closest allies, some of them led by left-of-center politicians.

Australia’s Telegraph got the 15-page document detailing Beijing’s deliberate suppression of evidence, including: “disap­pearing” doctors and scientists who tried to sound the alarm; destroying proof at genomic-studies labs; and “bleaching of wildlife market stalls.” It also notes the regime’s “deadly denial of human-to-human trans­mission” when it knew the disease was spreading between people.

And China’s still stonewalling: It’s denying repeated international requests for a live virus sample from the first coronavirus cases. That would help researchers working on a vaccine — and maybe shed light on where and how the virus originated. Nor will it let in foreign experts to examine those origins.

Want more? An investigation by Canada’s Global News found that China secretly told embassies around the world to buy all personal protective equipment possible — in mid-January, when it knew the virus would likely go global.

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Governor Hogan Announces Legislative Actions

Given Unprecedented Fiscal and Economic Situation, Legislation Mandating Increased Spending and Taxes Is Vetoed

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today announced actions on legislation passed by the General Assembly during the 2020 legislative session:

“The General Assembly passed a number of bills worthy of consideration, but COVID-19 has caused sudden and unprecedented economic turmoil. The impact from COVID-19 on state and local budgets, on small businesses, and on struggling Marylanders is devastating and is potentially worse than anything since the Great Depression.

“As I made clear last month, given these challenges, it would be irresponsible to allow legislation that requires increasing spending to become law. I am committed to working with legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle as we confront these difficult budget choices on the road to economic recovery.”

Increased Spending

• “The economic fallout from this pandemic simply makes it impossible to fund any new programs, impose any new tax hikes, nor adopt any legislation having any significant fiscal impact, regardless of the merits of the legislation.” Read the governor’s veto letter here.

Higher Taxes and Fees

• “With our state in the midst of a global pandemic and economic crash, and just beginning on our road to recovery, it would be unconscionable to raise taxes and fees now.” Read the governor’s veto letter here.

Failure to Address Violent Crime

• “Since before the start of the legislative session, I made it very clear that my highest priority was to hold violent criminals accountable and stop the shootings and the murders in Baltimore City...While the Senate approved the package by a wide margin, the House failed to act upon it, and thus failed to meaningfully address violent crime.” Read the governor’s veto letter here.

JUST IN: DOJ drops case against Michael Flynn, in wake of internal memo release

The Justice Department on Thursday moved to drop its case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, in a stunning development that comes after internal memos were released raising serious questions about the nature of the investigation that led to Flynn’s late 2017 guilty plea of lying to the FBI.

The announcement came in a court filing "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information," as the department put it. DOJ officials said they concluded that Flynn's interview by the FBI was "untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn" and that the interview was "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis."

The federal judge overseeing the case would have to make the final determination to dismiss it.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/drops-doj-case-against-michael-flynn-in-wake-of-internal-memo-release

Obama Ambassador to China Max Baucus Says Trump Like Hitler for Criticizing China Over Coronavirus; Baucus on Advisory Boards of Alibaba and CIA

Max Baucus, former Ambassador to China under President Barack Obama and a former U.S. Senator from Montana, compared President Donald Trump to the 20th century Nazi leader Adolph Hitler for his rhetoric against China for the communist government’s unleashing of the COVID-19 Chinese coronavirus on the U.S. and the world. Baucus also warned the U.S. will “pay a price” for criticizing China.

Baucus was U.S. ambassador to China from 2014 until 2017. A Democrat, Baucus served in the Senate from 1978 until his appointment as ambassador in 2014 by Obama. Baucus currently sits on advisory boards to the Chinese company Alibaba Group and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Baucus made his comments in an interview Wednesday with CNN International anchor Hala Gorani who appeared stunned by Baucus comparing Trump to Hitler and stammered her way through her follow-up question.

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ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVE AMERICA! THE SWINE FLU FRAUD OF ’76

Will Americans learn from history?

The CBS 60 Minutes report the mainstream news media wants you to forget.

This version, edited by Darrin McBreen, includes classic public service announcements (PSAs) funded by our government to persuade the American people to accept the jab.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Source

WATCH: Biden Recalls Campaigning in 1918

Even from his basement, Joe Biden is a gaffe a minute. There may be an underlying medical condition to explain the former VP's blunders, but Democrats aren't telling. If the Democrats don't know what's going on with Biden, they certainly don't seem all that interested in finding out. All we can do is keep track of all the candidate's bizarre statements so voters can make an informed decision in November should Democrats hand the nomination over to Biden, which they appear poised to do.

During one of his recent virtual appearances, Biden told Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, that he remembers campaigning for the Democrats in 1918. Biden may be old, but he's not that old.

"In 1918, excuse me, 2018, I campaigned for, over in 24 states, for over 65 candidates," Biden said.

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Former AIDS Scientist Judy Mikovits PhD EXPOSES Anthony Fauci,Dr Birx & UNCOVERS Medical

Sources say Russia probe transcripts affirm officials came up empty on collusion: 'Schiff is in panic mode'

EXCLUSIVE: Transcripts of House Intelligence Committee interviews that have been cleared for release show top law enforcement and intelligence officials affirming they had no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, senior administration and intelligence community officials told Fox News on Wednesday.

This would align with the results of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation — which found no evidence of illegal or criminal coordination between President Trump, the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016 — but the numerous transcribed interviews could raise further questions about committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s past statements saying that there was “direct evidence” of collusion.

“Schiff is in panic mode,” a senior administration official told Fox News.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/russia-transcripts-collusion-schiff-panic-mode-sources

Joe Biden's Affair with the Word 'Intercourse' Should End...Now.

Former Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t know what office he’s running for, can’t follow President Trump’s timeline on his response to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, forgets what state he’s campaigning in, and now needs his wife, Jill, to hold his hand in an attempt to avoid more senior moments. Biden already needs Post It notes that remind him to put on pants and it doesn’t help that the man simply cannot pick the right words when it comes to communication.

Biden has never been articulate, but this obsession with using the word “intercourse” needs to stop. The man already has diarrhea of the mouth that has landed him in trouble before. Now, he can’t remember what he’s doing half the time and it doesn’t help or make him look presidential by using words that are just inappropriate, especially during a national crisis. It all started when Biden called for more “economic intercourse” internationally (via Fox News):

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Florida Isn’t the Problem. Georgia Isn’t the Problem. Hell, Even California Isn’t the Problem for Once. New York Is the Problem.

Two weeks ago I told you about the Democratic Party hack in Florida who’s dressing up as the Grim Reaper to hang out on public beaches. He’s warning people about COVID-19 the Chinese virus, and coincidentally he’s also raising money for the Democrats.

Well, he’s not hurting anybody. If he wants to make a fool of himself, that’s his business.

As of last count, the entire state of Florida has recorded 1,399 deaths from the virus. Just by way of comparison, how do things look up in New York?

New York state is reporting more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities as the state faces scrutiny over how it’s protected vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

At least 4,813 people have died from COVID-19 in the state’s nursing homes since March 1, according to a tally released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration…

This is six weeks after the state of New York mandated that nursing homes must accept virus patients discharged from hospitals. That happened, and now people are dying.

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Maybe It's Time for a Revolt in This Country so We Can Get Back to the Lifestyles We've Worked so Hard to Achieve

A Kroger spokesperson said that “there is plenty of protein in the supply chain. However, some processors are experiencing challenges.” Some meat plants have faced temporary closures due to outbreaks of the Wuhan virus, but Kroger reassured people, saying, “We feel good about our ability to maintain a broad assortment of meat and seafood for our customers because we purchase protein from a diverse network of suppliers.”

CNN reported that “meat sales are up around 40% in recent weeks, according to data shared by grocery industry trade group FMI.” Add that to the occasional disruption to the supply chains, and you have an unfamiliar sight in America’s grocery stores: Shelves that aren’t always brimming with fresh product.

President Trump signed an executive order last Tuesday requiring meat plants to stay open during the crisis, but that doesn’t mean we won’t suffer future disruptions. The day before, Tyson Meats had taken out an ad in the Washington Post warning that “the food chain is breaking.” Our managing editor Paula Bolyard told me this morning that her Cleveland-area son is “scrambling to find beef for his Jersey Mike’s store,” because “their supplier is closed due to COVID-19.” She wonders if the situation at Jersey Mike’s is just “the tip of the iceberg.”

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BROADENING OF PERMITTED OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES: Governor Hogan has amended his Stay at Home order to broaden the list of permitted outdoor activities

BROADENING OF PERMITTED OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES: Governor Hogan has amended his Stay at Home order to broaden the list of permitted outdoor activities to now include individual and small group sports such as golfing, tennis, and similar activities; outdoor fitness instruction; recreational fishing and hunting; recreational boating; and horseback riding. Closed functions at state parks will be reopened, including all state beaches for walking and exercise, as well as playgrounds. Local governments will have the flexibility to take similar actions at their discretion. It will remain critical, however, that Marylanders continue to follow public health guidance and practice physical distancing. These changes take effect tomorrow, Thursday, May 7, at 7:00 a.m. 

• Read the governor’s amended Stay at Home order.
• Read guidance for outdoor activities.
• Read guidance for reopening golf courses.
• Read guidance for reopening marinas.

SCHOOLS. State Superintendent Dr. Karen Salmon announced that following extensive discussions with the Maryland Department of Education (MSDE), the State Board of Education, MDH, and public health experts advising the governor, schools will be closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year. While online and distance learning opportunities will continue, the department will release 'Maryland Together: Recovery Plan for Education,' a comprehensive plan for long-term recovery. At this point, MSDE does not envision that the reopening of schools would be included in Stage One of the governor’s plan, however, different methods of returning to school could be included in both Stage Two and Three. Additional updates include:  

• Child care. MSDE has distributed $34 million in payments to over 3,700 child care providers serving children of essential personnel, and all payments are now up-to-date.
• Meal program. Since the beginning of school closures in March, MSDE has served nearly 8 million meals at 715 sites to school-aged children in Maryland with the support of local food directors and the Maryland National Guard. To find a meal distribution site, please click here.
• Graduation. Decisions regarding graduation will be made by each local school system superintendent. MSDE has been assured by each superintendent that they are collaborating with the local community to be certain that recognition is moving forward and that seniors will have the opportunity to be recognized for their exceptional accomplishments. 

RECOVERY PLAN UPDATE. On Tuesday, Governor Hogan convened another call with the Maryland Coronavirus Recovery Team, which unanimously endorsed today’s actions. The governor also received reports from 15 industry-specific business advisory groups, including small businesses, along with churches and nonprofits. Each of these task forces has collaborated on proposed recommendations and guidelines to help determine how they can prepare to reopen in ways that can keep their employees, their customers, and members of their congregations safe. The state will continue to work very closely with these communities as they prepare for their phased, safe, and gradual reopenings.

REMDESIVIR. Governor Hogan announced that Gilead has donated 1,600 doses of remdesivir to the State of Maryland. This is the only drug proven in a clinical study to help treat COVID-19. These initial doses will be deployed to Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, where there is the highest concentration of cases.

BLUE FLAME. Last week, Governor Hogan took action to cancel the state’s order of masks and ventilators from Blue Flame Medical, and referred the company to Attorney General Brian Frosh for investigation. It was reported today that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched a federal investigation into Blue Flame’s business dealings with multiple states, including California. “It is unconscionable that anyone would try to exploit this pandemic for profit or personal gain, which is exactly why we acted so swiftly to uncover Blue Flame’s potential wrongdoings,” said Governor Hogan.

BUILDING BLOCKS UPDATE. Governor Hogan provided Marylanders with an update on the four building blocks for ‘Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery’:

• Testing. Maryland has expanded testing capacity to cover outbreaks and hotspots, including universal testing for nursing home residents and staff and workers at Maryland’s two poultry processing plants. The state is also expanding testing for health care workers and first responders at local fire and EMS departments, and for health care workers at MDH, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSCS), and the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS).
• Hospital Surge Capacity. The governor announced that the state has exceeded its original surge capacity goal of an additional 6,000 beds. Currently, 8,100 surge beds, including 2,400 ICU beds, are available across the state. The recently reopened Laurel Medical Center is adding a new wing and new rooms are being added at Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park.
• PPE. The State of Maryland recently acquired 4.5 million KN95 masks, 600,000 N95 masks, 150,000 medical gowns, 1.1 million face shields, and 3.5 million surgical gloves. The week, Maryland launched the ‘Maryland Manufacturing Network Supplier Portal,’ an online platform that helps connect Maryland suppliers with buyers who are looking to source PPE and other critical supplies.
• Contact Tracing. The State of Maryland recently executed a contract with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), the nation’s oldest and largest university-based research firm, to quadruple the state’s disease investigation capability. Hiring is underway with more than 900 applicants across 20 of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions.

Wrecking the Economy with Discredited Computer Models

By Ellen Sauerbrey

Neil Ferguson, a mathematical epidemiologist at Imperial College London, panicked policy makers around the world when he released his computer model projecting that the coronavirus pandemic would result in 500,000 deaths in the UK and 2.2 million in the U.S.

It is hard to understand why his pronouncement was accepted so uncritically when he has a history of being wrong. Very wrong. .

According to The Spectator, in 2005, Ferguson said that up to 200 million people could be killed from bird flu. The actual number was several hundred.

In 2009 he gave an estimate of 65,000 deaths from the Swine Flu in the UK. UK Deaths actually numbered less than 500.

Ferguson’s dangerously inflated computer models have led to policies that are wrecking the American economy.

The frightening specter Ferguson predicted, created understandable fear that a flood of COVID 19 patients would quickly overwhelm the medical system. In order to prevent an influx into the hospitals, we were told it was critical to “flatten the curve”; in other words slow the spread of disease and space out the cases needing hospitalization over a longer period of time.

President Trump announced guidelines he called “Fifteen Days to Slow the Spread”. Notice it said to slow the spread, not thwart infections. This was extended an additional 30 days to the end of April. Because Americans have taken the social distancing and stay at home recommendations to heart, flattening the curve has been very successful.

Thankfully the projected deaths Ferguson forecast were incredibly inflated and it is now possible that the death rate may be no greater than that experienced in some years with the annual flu. In 2018 the CDC reported that 80,000 Americas died of flu the previous winter.

All deaths are tragic, but no government policy is capable of preventing death. It is now clear that most COVID 19 deaths involve persons with underlying medical conditions and nearly half are occurring in nursing homes. Researchers now believe that more than 80 percent of the population has little or nothing to fear from the coronavirus. Public policy should focus on protecting those at high risk and allowing the rest of us to get on with a normal life.

Many hospital beds remain unused, doctors and nurses have been laid off and hospitals are in financial trouble because they are not allowed to provide non-COVID “elective” care. As the shutdown and isolation continues it will be costing lives lost to depression, alcohol, drugs, suicide and people who are not being treated for necessary medical needs.

Md. nursing home with most virus deaths fined $10K a day for failure to protect residents

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (ABC7) — A Charles County nursing home with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home facilities in Maryland is being fined $10,000 a day for failing to protect residents and staff from the spread of the coronavirus, according to a letter from Maryland's Office of Health Care Quality.

The Office of Health Care Quality conducted a survey at Sagepoint Senior Living Services between April 21 and May 6 and it was determined that the facility didn't comply with state regulations including failure to obtain critical lab results on time, failure to use appropriate hygiene, failure to appropriately use personal protection equipment, and failure to cohort residents with suspected or known COVID-19, according to the Maryland State Department of Health.

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Report: 60 percent of Maryland's COVID-19 fatalities are linked to eldercare facilities

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (ABC7) — To date, Maryland has recorded 804 COVID-19 deaths linked to eldercare facilities. That accounts for 60 percent of the fatalities statewide.

Montgomery County has more COVID-19 deaths linked to eldercare facilities than any other jurisdiction in Maryland. Baltimore County, Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Baltimore City have the second, third, fourth and fifth-highest numbers, respectively.

COVID CASES LINKED TO ELDERCARE FACILITIES

Counties are listed in order by the number of deaths.

• Montgomery County: 217 deaths (1,512 cases)
• Baltimore County: 124 deaths (1,090 cases)
• Prince George's County: 120 deaths (787 cases)
• Anne Arundel County: 74 deaths (506 cases)
• Baltimore City: 61 deaths (744 cases)
• Frederick County: 55 deaths (397 cases)
• Carroll County: 46 deaths (305 cases)
• Charles County: 41 deaths (185 cases)
• Howard County: 16 deaths (180 cases)
• Kent County: 15 deaths (74 cases)
• Harford County: 12 deaths (176 cases)
• Cecil County: 12 deaths (76 cases)
• Allegany County: four deaths (89 cases)
• Wicomico County: three deaths (35 cases)
• Washington County: two deaths (16 cases)
• St. Mary's County: one death (23 cases)
• Worcester County: one death (15 cases)
• Queen Anne's County: zero deaths (four cases)
• Calvert County: zero deaths (three cases)
• Dorchester County: zero deaths (one case)

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Charles Ortel is CLOSING IN – Silence of the Medical Scams with special Guest Dr. Judy Mikovits

This Video Will NOT Be Removed From This Site

1

Police Are Complicit In Politicians' Disregard For The Rule Of Law

People of a certain age might remember the old John Birch Society slogan "Support your local police!" The idea here is that your local policeman is a liberty-loving buddy of yours who would only ever support just laws and constitutional mandates. Only those bad guys in the FBI or BATF would ever consider violating your rights.

Now, obviously that has always been a rather naïve fantasy, but the notion certainly has a long history of support among American conservatives. The idea that unionized, well-paid government employees sympathize with the common man instead of with the government that signs the cops' checks apparently has long made sense (for some reason) to conservatives and many others.

But thanks to the ongoing "state of emergency" and the fact that state governors, mayors, and health officials now rule by decree, we're witnessing more and more how local law enforcement officers have no particular interest in the rule of law, the Bill of Rights, or basic human rights of any sort. Police have been at the forefront of arresting business owners for the "crime" of using their own private property, using city parks, and engaging in other peaceful activities.

As Judge Napolitano has noted, these "stay-at-home orders" - and the penalties that accompany them - aren't even real laws since they were never passed by a legislature or brought into being by any process other than on the authority of a single person who is usually a state governor or municipal official. By no definition of "rule of law" do these measures meet basic moral requirements for their imposition on peaceful citizens.

But the police are enthusiastically enforcing these edicts nonetheless, and using them as an excuse to harass the taxpayers.

Here are just a few examples from around the United States.

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Errors on Student Sex Offender Registry Prompt Concern

A Project Baltimore investigation has found errors on the sex offender registry page of a Baltimore County man who was attending a public high school.

Project Baltimore captured a screenshot of the sex offender registry page of Santino Sudano from December of 2019, shortly before he was arrested a second time for the alleged second-degree rape of an underage girl.

When we began investigating, we found several issues with the page. First, Sudano’s birth date is not September of 1999, as listed. It’s actually October of 1998. And when the 21-year-old was arrested in December, he had been taking classes at Parkville High School for a year and a half. Yet, the registry said nothing about his enrollment in a public school.

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Maryland COVID-19 Data 5-7-2020

COVID-19 Statistics in Maryland
Number of confirmed cases : 29,374
Number of negative test results : 119,226
Number of confirmed deaths : 1,401
Number of probable deaths : 102
Currently hospitalized : 1,683
Acute care : 1,099
Intensive care : 584
Ever hospitalized : 5,663
Released from isolation : 2,029

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    143    (12)   
Anne Arundel    2,194    (102)    9*
Baltimore City    2,856    (140)    9*
Baltimore County    3,662    (155)    14*
Calvert    188    (10)    1*
Caroline    105       
Carroll    534    (54)   
Cecil    208    (13)   
Charles    698    (48)    3*
Dorchester    85    (2)   
Frederick    1,151    (63)    7*
Garrett    4       
Harford    552    (18)    4*
Howard    1,098    (26)    1*
Kent    98    (8)   
Montgomery    6,032    (315)    30*
Prince George's    8,516    (309)    15*
Queen Anne's    68    (8)   
St. Mary's    193    (8)   
Somerset    40       
Talbot    52    (1)   
Washington    260    (7)   
Wicomico    541    (13)   
Worcester    96    (2)    1*
Data not available        (87)    8*

By Age Range and Gender
Age/Gender    Cases    Deaths
0-9    435       
10-19    898       
20-29    3,681    (9)   
30-39    5,161    (17)    1*
40-49    5,269    (35)    3*
50-59    5,161    (89)    9*
60-69    3,860    (215)    12*
70-79    2,592    (336)    14*
80+    2,317    (610)    55*
Data not available        (90)    8*
Female    15,472    (679)    55*
Male    13,902    (722)    47*

By Race and Ethnicity
Race/Ethnicity    Cases    Deaths
African-American (NH)    9,892    (567)    34*
Asian (NH)    603    (48)    3*
White (NH)    6,468    (580)    52*
Hispanic    5,726    (96)    5*
Other (NH)    1,032    (17)   
Data not available    5,653    (93)    8*

Yesterday & So Far Today At 10 AM

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Baltimore's public works department faces questions about years of lost revenue

BALTIMORE (WBFF) - Baltimore’s Department of Public Works is under fire for failing to deposit thousands of dollars worth of checks.

A report issued by the city’s inspector general found $48,000 in checks, payable to the city of Baltimore, sitting in a box on a employee's desk.

Investigators say some of the checks were more than five years old. None of them had been deposited.

“It wasn’t a priority to the person whose job it was. He wears a lot of hats and it just wasn’t a priority to him at the time,” said Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming.

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Americans Must Understand the Consequences of Restoring Our Economy

What is it Republican governors should be making clear to their respective constituents — but aren't?

President Donald Trump and Republican governors are making a serious political mistake by not disclosing some critical facts about their important effort to jump-start our economy.

As I wrote six weeks ago, Americans nationwide were in dire need of an exit strategy for the economic slowdown. The administration finally announced that strategy two weeks ago, when the White House CV19 Task Force issued its guidance for re-starting our economy. And not a minute too soon, given that the current state and local policies have created job losses at near Great Depression levels.

Fortunately, President Trump last week discontinued his disastrous daily press briefings that, while initially helpful, had devolved into sniping contests between the president and the Leftmedia. That had the predictable consequence (from our perspective outside the Beltway) of making him the poster child for CV19 misery. That unfortunate outcome plays right into the Pelosi/Schumer Demo tag team’s congressional pandemic inquisition, the “hearings” for which will provide a constant flow of layups for the Democrat Party’s effort to hang Trump with the human and economic costs between now and the November election.

That is inevitable, even though the president rightly, in accordance with federalist principles, left to the nation’s governors the decision as to what measures to take beyond CDC guidelines.

Republican governors’ biggest mistake when launching their respective state economic restoration protocols is failing to tell their constituents that re-opening will result in additional infections and deaths.

More here

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

This represents Our View As Bar Owners In Ocean City, Maryland. Reopen Our State Governor Hogan!

DNI Grenell demands Schiff release transcripts of Russia investigation -- or vows to do it for him

Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell is calling on Rep. Adam Schiff to honor his pledge upon taking control of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to release transcripts of investigations.

Mr. Schiff hasn’t met that pledge. He has declined so far to release any of 53 transcripts of testimony in the committee’s 2017-18 investigation into Russia election interference and any Trump campaign involvement.

Mr. Grenell, in a letter sent to Mr. Schiff this week, said the transcripts have been cleared for release, most months ago, and that if the chairman did not release them the intelligence director would.

The committee’s Republicans and Democrats in 2018 voted to release all transcripts

The list of those who appeared behind closed doors include Donald Trump Jr., an active defender of his president father, and Andrew McCabe, the former deputy FBI director.

Mr. McCabe’s words back then would add to the body of evidence in the ongoing court case of Michael Flynn, the retired Army lieutenant general and former Trump national security adviser. He pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, but has since renounced the plea. His lawyer, Sidney Powell, is asking a judge to dismiss the case.

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If You Missed This Viral Video Yesterday, Click On Link And Watch It Before They Pull It Again

https://www.facebook.com/SBYNews/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARDfyCPxFm3Omw5afIzhEVD8xlla7Sjb6_0o4dq8F82FI_3LrE9SAUMKC8LgoYtnKpVNZby2ObLnYG4L&hc_ref=ARRjqDBZ1flAWezahQadHveV5t1ypSfLRmlluMyGv7bpYCxgUWkjVzUSunzbMhqeYCA&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARDTi0h8aJcODPV7ymIolgBOCFDOitcO89cUXMS3vxIKoAqJwxKeroCrbQ7xgVQ1pNSMrf3nkPD6jE1XVBCDcv4yUcMDIaJXFpE2_Ybh-6n0sUWkGqn3nLpcanJXLz8XEmbljkGoi5L0yptU1ZUzqauW9teRwK8niec9BcEBf0SmXu7seynY_oZhOFRsvdHZvzlp98QLnQ2K39MTz5xrlFq8rdBO89zqTSHwOY4-WotpzWUwvwYqLrcV7VbzP-hxsXt6DyKSmY6WJAZPxKXj7ZSz_75U3YiNEaZRIb_PNaAwPqK3K6GiZXxxrg6vngcPdsxpDbeIQ0eVcU89M6xRvYvCnCksfLuRu74jjqCdGnxqzXLq3U42vuGEYzolahTZ5HY

How Many "Likes" Can I Get...

One Post Goes Viral Yesterday On SBYNews

Dr. Anthony Fauci's ex-employee, was jailed, final...

May 6, 2020, 86 comments 

65,530 Hits

YOUNG DEFENDS BALTIMORE’S RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Baltimore Mayor Jack Young (D) defended the city’s response to the coronavirus pandemic after mayoral candidate Mary Miller said Young and his administration did not act quick enough to try and contain the spread of the virus.

“We partially activated our incident commander center in early January after the first case of COVID was announced in December in China. And I don’t know why she [Miller] doesn’t understand that even though you don’t see anything happening publicly-prep work was happening all the time,” Young told MarylandReporter.com in a phone interview on Wednesday.

“We were one of the first jurisdictions in the country to develop a 911 screening protocol. And we started meeting with our health, our office of emergency management, and our fire department, about this, back in early January.”

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Sen. Tom Cotton: China 'Criminally Negligent'

China's response to the coronavirus pandemic was "criminally negligent," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Newsmax TV.

"No matter what the origins of this virus were, China's response to it was criminally negligent," Cotton told Wednesday's "Spicer & Co." "So they knew probably by early December, mid-December at the very latest this virus was both highly contagious and very deadly for some people."

Cotton continued, "Yet they continued to tell the world and pressure the WHO [World Health Organization] to say that it was not transmissible between humans, they continued to say that it was under control, and they continued to allow air travel from mainland China to the rest of the world."

Cotton said Democrats have not shown much outrage toward China's irresponsible behavior, which makes it harder to crack down on the Asian superpower for its role in causing the pandemic.

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Video That Went Viral On SBYNews Gets Yanked From YouTube And Facebook

This is the kind of thing you'd expect in a communist country, not America. However, we have our mainstream media covering up incredibly informative information like I provided yesterday, (this video) because they are paid off by special interests and advertisers.

This is why SBYNews is so successful, we never gave up the fight. Oh sure, I'm disliked by some but 79,000,000 hits proves we are the strongest powerhouse when it comes to news and information on the Shore.

Yesterday this video truly went viral on a local level and in the very least I was able to educate tens of thousands of people before these communists, (Facebook/YouTube) groups removed it. 

So the big question is, how much more of this bullshit are we Americans going to take?

NORTHAM SAYS TESTING RESULTS FROM PERDUE AND TYSON “COMING SOON”

Northam says results from widescale testing from Accomack County’s two large chicken plants, Perdue and Tyson, are expected soon. Multiple people at the plants, the county’s largest employers, have tested positive for COVID-19. Federal workers have been deployed to help the situation, but workers’ advocates said Wednesday they’d like to see “enforceable regulations.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Northam says he’ll provide more details on the specifics of Virginia’s “phase 1” reopening plan this Friday, as Virginia looks to start “phase 1” next Friday, May 15. While Virginia may be loosening restrictions statewide, Northam says if local government want to impose additional restrictions, the state will allow that. He says the state’s guidance is the “floor.”

“A week ago, I said we needed 2 weeks of declining numbers [to move forward],” Northam says. “We’re seeing that, and I hope we can move into phase one on May 15.”

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Every Single One Of You Should Watch This Video!

Beaches and Parks set to reopen in Maryland

BALTIMORE (WBFF)---Governor Larry Hogan announced on Wednesday that Maryland's beaches and parks will be allowed to reopen at 7 a.m Thursday.

Golf courses, tennis courts, recreational boating, and fishing will also resume as the Governor takes small steps towards reopening the state.

Ocean City had planned to open the beach and boardwalk Saturday prior to the governor's announcement.

Governor Hogan is hoping everyone continues to follow social distancing guidelines.

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Top Adviser to Joe Biden Admitted Obama and Biden Botched the H1N1 Response

In the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, Joe Biden has tried to present himself as the candidate best equipped to manage a crisis, but, as history has shown, he is perhaps the worst.

You only need to go back 11 years to see how the Obama-Biden administration handled the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic to see that. Biden himself was responsible for sending mixed messages, particularly during an appearance on the “Today” show on NBC when he said he’d tell his family not to fly on planes or ride the subway.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places right now,” Biden explained. “It’s not that it’s going to Mexico, it’s that you are in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes everywhere through the aircraft.” As Politico noted, the Obama administration was forced to “clean up the mess Biden made” because he’d contradicted Obama’s reassurances that there was no need to panic. Biden was actually probably right, though. According to the CDC, the H1N1 virus would go on to infect nearly 61 million Americans, and Ron Klain, who was Biden’s chief of staff at the time and is currently advising his campaign, says it was mere luck that H1N1 wasn’t more deadly.

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