DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Ocean City Officials Discuss What Reopening Resort Might Look Like When State Allows
OCEAN CITY — When Ocean City should start planning to reopen to some degree and just what that might look like was the subject of lively debate during an impromptu Mayor and Council meeting on Thursday.
The Mayor and Council met on Thursday to continue discussions on the town’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief agenda included continuing to meet the needs of the town’s at-risk residents in terms of food and medicine and healthcare, the continued “stay at home” messaging and new messaging for welcoming back visitors when the time is right and ultimately certain benchmarks for relaxing some of the restrictions in terms of the beach and Boardwalk closure, lodging rental restrictions and a gradual plan to reopen the resort incrementally. It didn’t take long for the conversation to move toward the latter.
In his weekly update on Wednesday, Gov. Larry Hogan sent mixed messages including a report on the two deadliest days for Maryland thus far during the COVID-19 pandemic and a new order mandating face masks in publicly accessible businesses such as grocery stores and convenience stores, for example. Hogan’s midweek update also mixed in signs of hope, including tentative plans to begin relaxing some of the restrictions in the near future and reopening the state’s economy to some degree.
Those hopeful messages set the tone for Thursday’s impromptu Mayor and Council special meeting and set the stage for a lively debate. All involved appeared to agree it was time to start planning on reopening Ocean City to some degree and start returning to some semblance of a new normal, whatever that might look like.
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The Mayor and Council met on Thursday to continue discussions on the town’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief agenda included continuing to meet the needs of the town’s at-risk residents in terms of food and medicine and healthcare, the continued “stay at home” messaging and new messaging for welcoming back visitors when the time is right and ultimately certain benchmarks for relaxing some of the restrictions in terms of the beach and Boardwalk closure, lodging rental restrictions and a gradual plan to reopen the resort incrementally. It didn’t take long for the conversation to move toward the latter.
In his weekly update on Wednesday, Gov. Larry Hogan sent mixed messages including a report on the two deadliest days for Maryland thus far during the COVID-19 pandemic and a new order mandating face masks in publicly accessible businesses such as grocery stores and convenience stores, for example. Hogan’s midweek update also mixed in signs of hope, including tentative plans to begin relaxing some of the restrictions in the near future and reopening the state’s economy to some degree.
Those hopeful messages set the tone for Thursday’s impromptu Mayor and Council special meeting and set the stage for a lively debate. All involved appeared to agree it was time to start planning on reopening Ocean City to some degree and start returning to some semblance of a new normal, whatever that might look like.
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More BS From Salisbury University
City of Salisbury Maryland Circus
A Viewer Writes: Salisbury Mayor Jake Day
A Viewer Writes: CRISIS AT PRMC
The crisis at PRMC is getting worse! PRMC is putting their staff at risk. Nurses are only issued 1 mask a week, and they are now telling nurses and CNAs to wipe down/spray down disposable isolation gowns. Those gowns are supposed to be 1 time use only.
Steve Leonard, CEO, just doesn’t care. Why would PRMC acquire 2 new hospitals if they can’t even properly manage the first one?
Steve Leonard, CEO, just doesn’t care. Why would PRMC acquire 2 new hospitals if they can’t even properly manage the first one?
A Viewer Writes: PRMC INSTALLS OUTSIDE MORGUE
Ruth’s Chris Steak House Gets $20 Million From Coronavirus Aid Program
Restaurant chain is among first to disclose SBA funds received under federal rescue package
The owner of the high-end Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain is among the first public companies to disclose it has received a government-backed loan to keep people on its payroll.
Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc., a company with more than 5,000 workers, received $20 million in forgivable loans on April 7, according to a securities filing. That is four days after the Small Business Administration opened the application window on its $350 billion Payroll Protection Program....
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The owner of the high-end Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain is among the first public companies to disclose it has received a government-backed loan to keep people on its payroll.
Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc., a company with more than 5,000 workers, received $20 million in forgivable loans on April 7, according to a securities filing. That is four days after the Small Business Administration opened the application window on its $350 billion Payroll Protection Program....
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CDC expert issues chilling warning that U.S. coronavirus death toll of 34,846 is just 'the tip of the iceberg' as 'untold numbers' of people who haven't been tested are dying at home
As the COVID-19 death toll neared 34,800 in the US on Thursday, an advisory panel expert from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) has issued a chilling warning that the alarming number is just the 'tip of the iceberg'.
Mark Hayward, a sociology professor at the University of Texas-Austin who is an expert on mortality statistics for the CDC, believes the country's coronavirus death count is being severely underestimated.
The purported inaccuracy of the figures could be caused by a number of factors. Staff shortages in certain states may be causing delays in reporting the latest figures to the CDC,and an 'untold' number of people potentially infected by the disease have also been also dying at home before they could be tested. Medical examiners do not test people after death.
'The biggest challenge in obtaining an accurate tally of COVID-19 deaths is to [be able to] implement widespread testing,' Hayward explained to Newsweek.
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Mark Hayward, a sociology professor at the University of Texas-Austin who is an expert on mortality statistics for the CDC, believes the country's coronavirus death count is being severely underestimated.
The purported inaccuracy of the figures could be caused by a number of factors. Staff shortages in certain states may be causing delays in reporting the latest figures to the CDC,and an 'untold' number of people potentially infected by the disease have also been also dying at home before they could be tested. Medical examiners do not test people after death.
'The biggest challenge in obtaining an accurate tally of COVID-19 deaths is to [be able to] implement widespread testing,' Hayward explained to Newsweek.
More
National Association of Letter Carriers: Postal Service on verge of shutting down due to pandemic
The United States Postal Service may soon shut down without more emergency fundingfrom the government, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers warned Friday.
Appearing on "America's Newsroom" with host Sandra Smith, Fredric Rolando said that the Postal Service is projected to lose about 50 percent of their revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic by the end of the fiscal year in September.
"And so, my message is: It's really vitally important to the American people that the next stimulus package provides funding to the Postal Service so that they can maintain their revenue stream to continue their operation through the pandemic crisis," he stated.
Democratic lawmakers were on the same page. New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in late March urging the Senate to pass a stimulus package with emergency funds to help save the Postal Service from bankruptcy.
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Appearing on "America's Newsroom" with host Sandra Smith, Fredric Rolando said that the Postal Service is projected to lose about 50 percent of their revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic by the end of the fiscal year in September.
"And so, my message is: It's really vitally important to the American people that the next stimulus package provides funding to the Postal Service so that they can maintain their revenue stream to continue their operation through the pandemic crisis," he stated.
Democratic lawmakers were on the same page. New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in late March urging the Senate to pass a stimulus package with emergency funds to help save the Postal Service from bankruptcy.
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https://www.foxnews.com/media/postal-service-on-verge-of-shutting-down-without-funding
Now that you've received your economic impact payment, how should you spend it?
BALTIMORE — According to the Treasury Department, millions of Americans should've received their economic impact payments from the IRS.
The payments were issued to eligible 2019 or 2018 federal tax return filers who received a refund using direct deposit.
Payments are capped at $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples, and are based on income.
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The payments were issued to eligible 2019 or 2018 federal tax return filers who received a refund using direct deposit.
Payments are capped at $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples, and are based on income.
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Why Are We Paying So Much For Gas On The Eastern Shore?
Governor Hogan to Unveil ‘Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery’ Next Week
School Closures Extended to May 15; State Board Will Examine Options for Remainder of the School Year and Summer Labor to Launch Online Application for Independent Contractors, Self-Employed Marylanders to Receive Unemployment BenefitsState Commits Additional $4 Million to Maryland Food Bank and Capital Area Food BankRenews Governors’ Bipartisan Request for Federal Stimulus to Address State Revenue Shortfalls
ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today provided updates on Maryland’s COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery efforts, and announced that he will unveil the state’s roadmap to recovery next week. State Superintendent of Schools Karen Salmon announced that she has extended school closures to May 15.
“We are beginning to see some hopeful and encouraging signs which have allowed us to begin laying the groundwork to reopen, to rebuild, and to recover as soon as it is safe to do so,” said Governor Hogan. “The recovery plan we have been developing over many weeks has four building blocks that must be solidly in place before the lifting of restrictions: expanding our testing capacity, increasing hospital surge capacity, increased supply of PPE, and a robust contact tracing operation.”
“MARYLAND STRONG: ROADMAP TO RECOVERY.” Earlier this week, Governor Hogan announced the four building blocks that will be necessary to begin the state’s recovery process. The state continues to make significant progress in all four of the following critical areas:
- Expanding testing capacity
- Increasing hospital surge capacity
- Ramping up supply of PPE
- Building a robust contact tracing operation
Further updates will be provided throughout the coming days, and later next week Governor Hogan plans to introduce the “Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery."
SCHOOL CLOSURE EXTENDED TO MAY 15. State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Salmon announced the extension of school closures through May 15 after extensive consultation with the State Board of Education and leading public health officials. School systems are in the process of developing plans for additional digital learning and the recovery of any lost instructional time in the form of expanding summer school programs. Additionally, state and local school officials are actively preparing for a number of scenarios depending on when educators and students will be able to re-enter school buildings.
UNEMPLOYMENT SYSTEM. The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program is officially launching today on Friday, April 17. This program provides unemployment insurance benefit recipients with an additional $600 per week payment on top of their current regular benefits. On April 24, the Maryland Department of Labor is launching a new one-stop shop comprehensive online application for independent contractors, self-employed Marylanders, and all other types of claims, including federal employees, multi-state wage claims, and members of the military. This will ensure that every Maryland applicant, whether they are a W2 employee or not, will have the option of filing online, which will dramatically decrease call wait times, and it will also help more Marylanders get their checks faster and more efficiently. Read the Department of Labor’s release.
$8 MILLION FOR FOOD BANKS. In order to bolster the efforts of food banks around the state, the State of Maryland is investing an additional $4 million dollars to Maryland Food Bank and the Capital Area Food Bank. Additionally, the state has worked with local jurisdictions to match that investment bringing that total to $8 million dollars for these food banks. The Maryland Department of Human Services is also working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to dramatically accelerate the implementation of the state’s online Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) pilot initiative, which will enable families to purchase meals online for free delivery.
FEDERAL STIMULUS. Governor Hogan announced that he has asked President Trump to weigh in and help break the logjam in the U.S. Senate in order to secure an additional $500 billion in relief to help address revenue shortfalls in the states. Last week, the governor announced that Maryland is instituting a budget and hiring freeze amid estimates that the state is facing a projected $2.8 billion shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE. The governor announced that $8 million dollars of Maryland’s COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Fund, which is a critical pillar in Maryland’s $175 million relief package, has already been provided to 410 small businesses across the state, helping more than 9,000 Marylanders keep their jobs. To date, the Maryland Department of Commerce has received more than 9,100 applications for the state’s $50 million COVID-19 relief loan fund and more than 20,200 applications for its $75 million COVID-19 relief grant fund.
GRANTS FOR CRITICAL MANUFACTURING. The state created a $5 million fund to incentivize Maryland businesses to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies to meet the current needs of the healthcare industry. The state awarded grants to three Maryland small businesses: DVF Corporation in Washington County, Awesome Ninja Labs in Baltimore City, and NRL & Associates, a Queen Anne’s County manufacturer. The state will award grants to dozens of additional Maryland companies in the days to come.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Kobach: California Shouldn’t Demand Money from Us Only to Give it to Illegal Aliens
Once again, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has gone to extraordinary lengths to reward illegal immigration and encourage illegal aliens to stay in the United States. On Wednesday, he announced that—due to the coronavirus pandemic—California will give $500 checks to 150,000 low-income illegal aliens. The cost to taxpayers will be $125 million.
This came a day after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that illegal aliens will be eligible to receive $1,500 checks that the city will be handing out to its residents.
What Newsom and Garcetti are doing is illegal under federal law. In 1996 Congress passed a major welfare reform act. A crucial section of that law prohibits states and localities from giving public benefits to illegal aliens. And it remains in federal law today at 8 U.S.C. 1621: an illegal alien “is not eligible for any State or local public benefit.” Public benefit includes “any … benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of a State or local government….”
California officials are hoping that the federal government will reimburse 75% of the state’s coronavirus expenditures.
And Democrats in Congress are demanding that we federal taxpayers cough up the money.
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This came a day after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that illegal aliens will be eligible to receive $1,500 checks that the city will be handing out to its residents.
What Newsom and Garcetti are doing is illegal under federal law. In 1996 Congress passed a major welfare reform act. A crucial section of that law prohibits states and localities from giving public benefits to illegal aliens. And it remains in federal law today at 8 U.S.C. 1621: an illegal alien “is not eligible for any State or local public benefit.” Public benefit includes “any … benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of a State or local government….”
California officials are hoping that the federal government will reimburse 75% of the state’s coronavirus expenditures.
And Democrats in Congress are demanding that we federal taxpayers cough up the money.
More
A Viewer Writes: Wal-Mart Price Gouging
Joe, my wife just returned from the Berlin Wal-Mart. She picked up a 12oz plastic container of hand sanitizer from the shelf marked at $2.97. She then went to one of their price checking machines and it listed the product at $4.97. I believe that much of a mark up is taking advantage of a situation. I hear about people who want to praise Wal-Mart for the great job they're doing. I don't believe they are doing such a bang up job. Shelves that have been empty for a month are still empty. Their problem seems to be in their management. They're using the same ordering periodicity as they were before all this started. Wal-Mart , like China, is not a friend of ours. Wal-Mart is China!
Summer 2020 U.S. Temperature Outlook: Warmer-Than-Average Conditions Expected for Most of Lower 48
A hotter-than-average summer is anticipated across most of the contiguous United States, according to the latest outlook issued by The Weather Company, an IBM Business.
The Northeast and mid-Atlantic can generally expect above-average temperatures from June through August. Above-average temperatures will also extend from Central Texas into the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures will be much above average from eastern Washington and eastern Oregon into Idaho, western Montana, western Wyoming, northern Utah and northeastern Nevada this summer.
Areas from the Gulf Coast into the Midwest and upper Mississippi Valley, as well as in Southern California, southern Nevada and southwestern Arizona, may have temperatures near average or slightly warmer during the summer months.
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The Northeast and mid-Atlantic can generally expect above-average temperatures from June through August. Above-average temperatures will also extend from Central Texas into the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures will be much above average from eastern Washington and eastern Oregon into Idaho, western Montana, western Wyoming, northern Utah and northeastern Nevada this summer.
Areas from the Gulf Coast into the Midwest and upper Mississippi Valley, as well as in Southern California, southern Nevada and southwestern Arizona, may have temperatures near average or slightly warmer during the summer months.
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Coronavirus testing must double or triple before U.S. can safely reopen, experts say
"We are an order of magnitude off right now from where we should be," said an expert in infectious disease modeling who advised the Obama administration.
Testing for the coronavirus would have to be at least doubled or tripled from its current levels to allow for even a partial reopening of America's economy, public health experts say, but it is unclear how soon such an ambitious goal could be reached amid persistent shortages of testing supplies and a lack of coordination from the Trump administration.
Without diagnostic testing on a massive scale, federal and state officials and private companies will lack a clear picture of who has been infected, who can safely return to work, how the virus is spreading and when stay-at-home orders can be eased, public health experts say.
"We are an order of magnitude off right now from where we should be," said Dylan George, an expert in infectious disease modeling who advised the administration of President Barack Obama in combating the Ebola epidemic. "Testing is the perpetual problem here."
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Testing for the coronavirus would have to be at least doubled or tripled from its current levels to allow for even a partial reopening of America's economy, public health experts say, but it is unclear how soon such an ambitious goal could be reached amid persistent shortages of testing supplies and a lack of coordination from the Trump administration.
Without diagnostic testing on a massive scale, federal and state officials and private companies will lack a clear picture of who has been infected, who can safely return to work, how the virus is spreading and when stay-at-home orders can be eased, public health experts say.
"We are an order of magnitude off right now from where we should be," said Dylan George, an expert in infectious disease modeling who advised the administration of President Barack Obama in combating the Ebola epidemic. "Testing is the perpetual problem here."
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Massie Was Right: Delaware Chicken Plant Forcing Growers to 'Depopulate' Up to 2 Million Birds
Republican Kentucky Rep Thomas Massie warned just days ago that struggling farmers faced with economic Armageddon could soon be forced to start euthanizing their livestock even though the US is facing potential food shortages.
It's already happening.
As restaurants, bars remain closed in several states Meat Purveyors CEO, Pat LaFrieda, tells 'Fox & Friends' the supply system is not broken and there is plenty of meat available.
Allen Harim Foods, a Delaware-based chicken company, is reportedly being forced to kill up to 2 million chickens before they can be slaughtered and packaged for consumers.
In a letter received by the company’s livestock growers, Allen Harim said the chickens were being “depopulated” due to coronavirus-related staffing shortages at its processing plant, which is making it impossible to “harvest the amount of birds” they were previously able to handle.
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It's already happening.
As restaurants, bars remain closed in several states Meat Purveyors CEO, Pat LaFrieda, tells 'Fox & Friends' the supply system is not broken and there is plenty of meat available.
Allen Harim Foods, a Delaware-based chicken company, is reportedly being forced to kill up to 2 million chickens before they can be slaughtered and packaged for consumers.
In a letter received by the company’s livestock growers, Allen Harim said the chickens were being “depopulated” due to coronavirus-related staffing shortages at its processing plant, which is making it impossible to “harvest the amount of birds” they were previously able to handle.
More
One third of participants in Massachusetts study tested positive for coronavirus
Around a third of participants in a Massachusetts study tested positive for coronavirus, according to researchers.
The Mass. General study took samples from 200 residents on the street in Chelsea, MA. Participants remained anonymous and provided a drop of blood to researchers, who were able to produce a result in ten minutes with a rapid test.
Sixty-four of the participants tested positive – a “sobering” result, according to Thomas Ambrosino, Chelsea’s city manager.
“We've long thought that the reported numbers are vastly under-counting what the actual infection is," Ambrosino told the Boston Globe. “Those reported numbers are based on positive COVID-19 tests, and we're all aware that a very, very small percentage of people in Chelsea and everywhere are getting COVID-19 tests."
He added: “Still, it's kind of sobering that 30 percent of a random group of 200 people that are showing no symptoms are, in fact, infected. It's all the more reason for everyone to be practicing physical distancing."
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The Mass. General study took samples from 200 residents on the street in Chelsea, MA. Participants remained anonymous and provided a drop of blood to researchers, who were able to produce a result in ten minutes with a rapid test.
Sixty-four of the participants tested positive – a “sobering” result, according to Thomas Ambrosino, Chelsea’s city manager.
“We've long thought that the reported numbers are vastly under-counting what the actual infection is," Ambrosino told the Boston Globe. “Those reported numbers are based on positive COVID-19 tests, and we're all aware that a very, very small percentage of people in Chelsea and everywhere are getting COVID-19 tests."
He added: “Still, it's kind of sobering that 30 percent of a random group of 200 people that are showing no symptoms are, in fact, infected. It's all the more reason for everyone to be practicing physical distancing."
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Trump: Democrats Must End ‘Endless Vacation’ and Get Back to Work
President Donald Trump on Friday berated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for failing to return to Washington and get back to work.
“End your ENDLESS VACATION!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The House and Senate remain away from Washington during the coronavirus crisis, but Democrats are blocking swift passage of additional funding for the paycheck protection program run by the Treasury Department.
“Today people started losing their jobs because of Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and the Radical Left,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Do Nothing Democrats, who should immediately come back to Washington and approve legislation to help families in America.”
The funds for the program ran out on Thursday, grinding it to a halt.
“They are killing American small businesses,” Trump wrote. “Stop playing politics Dems! Support Refilling PPP NOW – it is out of funds!”
More here
“End your ENDLESS VACATION!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The House and Senate remain away from Washington during the coronavirus crisis, but Democrats are blocking swift passage of additional funding for the paycheck protection program run by the Treasury Department.
“Today people started losing their jobs because of Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and the Radical Left,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Do Nothing Democrats, who should immediately come back to Washington and approve legislation to help families in America.”
The funds for the program ran out on Thursday, grinding it to a halt.
“They are killing American small businesses,” Trump wrote. “Stop playing politics Dems! Support Refilling PPP NOW – it is out of funds!”
More here
'Secret' National Guard Unit Ready To Enforce 'Martial Law' In Washington DC
Ever since governors started calling up national guard units last month, the Pentagon has insisted that the soldiers remain firmly under the command of the governors that called them up, and that the Pentagon isn't using the troops to plan for any federal 'secret missions' or 'martial law', should the crisis spiral out of control and threaten 'continuity of government'.
Now, a report in Newsweek purports to prove that the Pentagon lied. In reality, a 10,000 soldier strong national guard unit has been deployed to the capital area with a 'secret' assignment to enforce martial law in Washington DC and help evacuate lawmakers and top government officials if things go south.
In reality, the joint task force is already 10k strong, and is already on 24/7 alert.
And yet the activation of Joint Task Force National Capital Region, including almost 10,000 uniformed personnel to carry out its special orders, contradicts those assurances. JTF-NCR is not only real and operating, reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense for some of its mission, but some of its units are already on 24/7 alert, specially sequestered on military bases and kept out of coronavirus support duties to ensure their readiness.
Members of the Illinois 106th Aviation Battalion was called up under a federal statute placing them directly under the control of the Secretary of Defense. The soldiers, along with several Black Hawk helicopters, shipped out of Decatur, Illinois armory last month.
The first hints about this "secret mission" were included in a local Illinois newspaper's report about the call-up of Illinois National Guard forces who were being deployed at Fort Belvoir outside Washington. In addition to their normal mission objectives, the report noted that the unit had also been assigned a bevy of unfamiliar tasks, including: evacuating officials, lawmakers and members of the judiciary aboard 106th Aviation Regiment helicopters.
Here are more details courtesy of Newsweek, including information about the Major General who would effectively be in charge of securing the capital district if martial law were imposed.
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Now, a report in Newsweek purports to prove that the Pentagon lied. In reality, a 10,000 soldier strong national guard unit has been deployed to the capital area with a 'secret' assignment to enforce martial law in Washington DC and help evacuate lawmakers and top government officials if things go south.
In reality, the joint task force is already 10k strong, and is already on 24/7 alert.
And yet the activation of Joint Task Force National Capital Region, including almost 10,000 uniformed personnel to carry out its special orders, contradicts those assurances. JTF-NCR is not only real and operating, reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense for some of its mission, but some of its units are already on 24/7 alert, specially sequestered on military bases and kept out of coronavirus support duties to ensure their readiness.
Members of the Illinois 106th Aviation Battalion was called up under a federal statute placing them directly under the control of the Secretary of Defense. The soldiers, along with several Black Hawk helicopters, shipped out of Decatur, Illinois armory last month.
The first hints about this "secret mission" were included in a local Illinois newspaper's report about the call-up of Illinois National Guard forces who were being deployed at Fort Belvoir outside Washington. In addition to their normal mission objectives, the report noted that the unit had also been assigned a bevy of unfamiliar tasks, including: evacuating officials, lawmakers and members of the judiciary aboard 106th Aviation Regiment helicopters.
Here are more details courtesy of Newsweek, including information about the Major General who would effectively be in charge of securing the capital district if martial law were imposed.
More
Blue State Blues: Media Would Destroy Republicans for What Nancy Pelosi Is Doing to Block Funding for PPP
On Thursday, the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ran out of money, having disbursed all of its funds to small businesses across the country.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) sat in her mansion in San Francisco, refusing to call the House back into session to replenish the fund — and enjoying gourmet ice cream from her $24,000 freezer.
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Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) sat in her mansion in San Francisco, refusing to call the House back into session to replenish the fund — and enjoying gourmet ice cream from her $24,000 freezer.
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Mitt Romney Only GOP Senator Not Included on New White House Task Force
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) was the only Republican senator not selected to be a part of a new congressional coronavirus task force created by the White House to study the reopening of different parts of America’s economy.
The White House released a list Thursday evening titled, “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group,” which included almost 70 senators and all 52 of Romney’s GOP chamber colleagues.
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The White House released a list Thursday evening titled, “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group,” which included almost 70 senators and all 52 of Romney’s GOP chamber colleagues.
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Remdesivir anti-viral trial reports 'rapid recoveries' for severe hospitalised coronavirus patients with 'nearly all' discharged within a week and only two deaths out of 125
Coronavirus hopes were today raised after the anti-viral remdesivir was found to help critically-ill patients recover within a week.
University of Chicago Medicine recruited 125 people with COVID-19 as part of global clinical trials. Of those people, 113 had severe disease.
All the patients were treated with daily infusions of remdesivir, an experimental drug first touted to treat Ebola which has been in the making for ten years.
Most of the patients have been discharged after their symptoms eased over a week, and only two patients have died.
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University of Chicago Medicine recruited 125 people with COVID-19 as part of global clinical trials. Of those people, 113 had severe disease.
All the patients were treated with daily infusions of remdesivir, an experimental drug first touted to treat Ebola which has been in the making for ten years.
Most of the patients have been discharged after their symptoms eased over a week, and only two patients have died.
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Six mourners all die from coronavirus in South Carolina after attending a funeral with a 'super-spreader who didn't realize they were infected'
Six people have died from the coronavirus after attending a funeral in South Carolina.
Officials announced the tragic news Thursday, but did not release the names of the victims, who were all African Americans over the age of 60.
The group attended the funeral, which was held in Kershaw County, in the first week of March - before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for restrictions on mass gatherings.
A county coroner told The State that it was likely all of the victims contracted COVID-19 from a 'super-spreader' at the event, who did not realize they were infected.
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Officials announced the tragic news Thursday, but did not release the names of the victims, who were all African Americans over the age of 60.
The group attended the funeral, which was held in Kershaw County, in the first week of March - before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for restrictions on mass gatherings.
A county coroner told The State that it was likely all of the victims contracted COVID-19 from a 'super-spreader' at the event, who did not realize they were infected.
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Senator Tom Cotton claims that China 'deliberately' allowed coronavirus to wreak havoc on the rest of the world as he calls for the Chinese Communist Party to be 'held responsible'
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton has claimed that China 'deliberately' allowed the rest of the world to become infected with the novel coronavirus.
He made the comments during an interview on Fox's Outnumbered Overtime after it emerged that US intelligence officials are investigating whether the virus could have leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.
Cotton said that even if there was a lack of 'conclusive evidence' on where the virus originated, the cover up in the weeks following the outbreak allowed the disease to spread beyond China to wreak havoc on the rest of the world.
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He made the comments during an interview on Fox's Outnumbered Overtime after it emerged that US intelligence officials are investigating whether the virus could have leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.
Cotton said that even if there was a lack of 'conclusive evidence' on where the virus originated, the cover up in the weeks following the outbreak allowed the disease to spread beyond China to wreak havoc on the rest of the world.
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Cracks in the Wall: CBS, PBS Finally Cover Joe Biden Sexual Assault Accuser
Journalists and networks are finally, reluctantly, being forced to cover the claims of Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer for Joe Biden who accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of sexual assault. CBS got to it on Thursday and PBS’s Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday night.
On PBS, Amanpour talked to Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez, reluctantly wondering, “I need to ask you this, obviously, because it’s a story in newspapers, on the AP, allegations by a woman called Tara Reade who accused the Vice President of sexual assault in the '90s when she worked in the Senate office. Obviously, the campaign is denying it. What and how are you going to deal with these allegations? Particularly in our Me Too World.”
“How are you going to deal with these allegations” is about the lamest way a journalist can press a Democrat on something awkward and difficult. The Perez interview went on for 13 and a half minutes, but the sexual assault discussion was disposed of in 1 minute and 26 seconds.
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On PBS, Amanpour talked to Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez, reluctantly wondering, “I need to ask you this, obviously, because it’s a story in newspapers, on the AP, allegations by a woman called Tara Reade who accused the Vice President of sexual assault in the '90s when she worked in the Senate office. Obviously, the campaign is denying it. What and how are you going to deal with these allegations? Particularly in our Me Too World.”
“How are you going to deal with these allegations” is about the lamest way a journalist can press a Democrat on something awkward and difficult. The Perez interview went on for 13 and a half minutes, but the sexual assault discussion was disposed of in 1 minute and 26 seconds.
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Scarborough: GOP Doesn’t Care if Elderly Veterans Die of COVID-19!
In a truly disgusting display on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday, co-host Joe Scarborough repeatedly accused Republicans of being in favor of elderly people – including World War II and Vietnam veterans – of dying from coronavirus. To back up his vile assertion, he repeatedly invented fake quotes, imagining GOP lawmakers saying: “Yeah, sure, senior citizens are going to die, but what the hell? We really got to get Wall Street moving again.”
The show began with a soundbite of Louisiana Senator John Kennedy on Wednesday’s Tucker Carlson Tonightexpressing genuine concern over the devastating impact the prolonged national shutdown was having on the economy and millions of unemployed workers across the country. “We’ve got to open this economy. If we don’t, it’s going to collapse....When we end the shutdown, the virus is going to spread faster, that’s just a fact. And the American people understand that,” Kennedy explained.
For that, Scarborough sneered: “It’s just one of the dumbest things I’ve actually heard him say and he’s said so many stupid things over the past year, it’s hard to count.”
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The show began with a soundbite of Louisiana Senator John Kennedy on Wednesday’s Tucker Carlson Tonightexpressing genuine concern over the devastating impact the prolonged national shutdown was having on the economy and millions of unemployed workers across the country. “We’ve got to open this economy. If we don’t, it’s going to collapse....When we end the shutdown, the virus is going to spread faster, that’s just a fact. And the American people understand that,” Kennedy explained.
For that, Scarborough sneered: “It’s just one of the dumbest things I’ve actually heard him say and he’s said so many stupid things over the past year, it’s hard to count.”
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Jeff Sessions: Halt Foreign Worker Visas Now
When the worst of the pandemic ends, tens of millions of Americans will be out of work. While the fundamentals of the Trump economy are strong, the rebound will take some time. As the economy comes back to life, we must put Americans, not foreign workers, first.
Americans deserve every opportunity to find good-paying jobs, especially in tough times. I am proposing that the federal government end all employment-based immigration until we recover. We must pause new work-based immigration visas until the economy reaches its pre-pandemic unemployment rate of 3.5 percent.
Our guest worker programs can make sense when there is a real shortage of workers to do temporary work. But the government’s primary duty is to our citizens, not foreign nationals. This crisis is not the time to import more foreigners when millions of Americans are itching to get back to work. Indeed, in a very real sense, there are no available jobs in America. More than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past few weeks.
When we bring in foreigners to work, we are really offering them the right to take one of a limited number of jobs in a recovering economy, taking jobs that would otherwise go to unemployed Americans.
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Americans deserve every opportunity to find good-paying jobs, especially in tough times. I am proposing that the federal government end all employment-based immigration until we recover. We must pause new work-based immigration visas until the economy reaches its pre-pandemic unemployment rate of 3.5 percent.
Our guest worker programs can make sense when there is a real shortage of workers to do temporary work. But the government’s primary duty is to our citizens, not foreign nationals. This crisis is not the time to import more foreigners when millions of Americans are itching to get back to work. Indeed, in a very real sense, there are no available jobs in America. More than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past few weeks.
When we bring in foreigners to work, we are really offering them the right to take one of a limited number of jobs in a recovering economy, taking jobs that would otherwise go to unemployed Americans.
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Acting DNI Grenell Is Succeeding, Angering Susan Rice and Adam Schiff
After two months as acting director of National Intelligence, Richard Grenell has more than made his mark by carrying out President Trump’s directions to make American intelligence more efficient and less political.
Director Grenell’s success has infuriated President Trump’s political opponents who want U.S. intelligence agencies to continue to violate its mandate by meddling in domestic politics to undermine the president.
Grenell hit the ground running his first week on the job by removing a top Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) official and requesting the intelligence behind a discredited January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election
He later replaced the head of the bloated ODNI National Counter-terrorism Center (NCTC), announcing plans for staffing reductions, a move that will reduce the NCTC’s overlap with the more capable CIA Counter-terrorism Center.
Grenell also re-opened proposals under consideration for the past two years on how to streamline and reduce the huge ODNI staff, now in the thousands.
In addition, Director Grenell set the groundwork for President Trump's decision to fire ODNI Inspector General Michael Atkinson who helped instigate the Democrats impeachment effort last September when he informed Congress of a complaint against President Trump by a supposed CIA whistleblower.
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Director Grenell’s success has infuriated President Trump’s political opponents who want U.S. intelligence agencies to continue to violate its mandate by meddling in domestic politics to undermine the president.
Grenell hit the ground running his first week on the job by removing a top Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) official and requesting the intelligence behind a discredited January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election
He later replaced the head of the bloated ODNI National Counter-terrorism Center (NCTC), announcing plans for staffing reductions, a move that will reduce the NCTC’s overlap with the more capable CIA Counter-terrorism Center.
Grenell also re-opened proposals under consideration for the past two years on how to streamline and reduce the huge ODNI staff, now in the thousands.
In addition, Director Grenell set the groundwork for President Trump's decision to fire ODNI Inspector General Michael Atkinson who helped instigate the Democrats impeachment effort last September when he informed Congress of a complaint against President Trump by a supposed CIA whistleblower.
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NO Major Network Has Asked Biden About Sexual Assault Allegations
Former Vice President Joe Biden has yet to be asked about the sexual assault allegation made by one of his former staffers in 10 interviews with major networks since late March, Fox News reported.
Tara Reade, a former Senate aide, on April 12 said Biden assaulted her in 1993 and says she told others about it. A Biden spokeswoman said the allegation is false, and former Senate office staff members told The New York Times they do not recall any incident.
The Washington Post has reported on the accusation, but hosts on major networks have not asked Biden about it in on-air interviews, including Anderson Cooper and Brooke Baldwin on CNN, George Stephanopoulos on ABC, Yasmine Vossoughian, Joe Scarborough, Nicolle Wallace and Brian Williams on MSNBC, and Chuck Todd and Craig Melvin on NBC.
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Tara Reade, a former Senate aide, on April 12 said Biden assaulted her in 1993 and says she told others about it. A Biden spokeswoman said the allegation is false, and former Senate office staff members told The New York Times they do not recall any incident.
The Washington Post has reported on the accusation, but hosts on major networks have not asked Biden about it in on-air interviews, including Anderson Cooper and Brooke Baldwin on CNN, George Stephanopoulos on ABC, Yasmine Vossoughian, Joe Scarborough, Nicolle Wallace and Brian Williams on MSNBC, and Chuck Todd and Craig Melvin on NBC.
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Coronavirus at Smithfield pork plant: The untold story of America's biggest outbreak
How did the biggest cluster in the US emerge in a corner of South Dakota? Infections spread like wildfire through a pork factory and questions remain about what the company did to protect staff.
On the afternoon of 25 March, Julia sat down at her laptop and logged into a phony Facebook account. She'd opened it in middle school, to surreptitiously monitor boys she had crushes on. But now, many years later, it was about to serve a much more serious purpose.
"Can you please look into Smithfield," she typed in a message to an account called Argus911, the Facebook-based tip line for the local newspaper, the Argus Leader. "They do have a positive [Covid-19] case and are planning to stay open." By "Smithfield", she was referring to the Smithfield Foods pork-processing plant located in her town of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The factory - a massive, eight-story white box perched on the banks of the Big Sioux River - is the ninth-largest hog-processing facility in the US. When running at full capacity, it processes 19,500 freshly-slaughtered hogs per day, slicing, grinding and smoking them into millions of pounds of bacon, hot dogs and spiral-cut hams. With 3,700 workers, it is also the fourth-largest employer in the city.
"Thank you for the tip," the Argus911 account responded. "What job did the worker who tested positive have?"
"We are not exactly sure," Julia wrote back.
"OK, thanks," Argus911 replied. "We'll be in touch."
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On the afternoon of 25 March, Julia sat down at her laptop and logged into a phony Facebook account. She'd opened it in middle school, to surreptitiously monitor boys she had crushes on. But now, many years later, it was about to serve a much more serious purpose.
"Can you please look into Smithfield," she typed in a message to an account called Argus911, the Facebook-based tip line for the local newspaper, the Argus Leader. "They do have a positive [Covid-19] case and are planning to stay open." By "Smithfield", she was referring to the Smithfield Foods pork-processing plant located in her town of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The factory - a massive, eight-story white box perched on the banks of the Big Sioux River - is the ninth-largest hog-processing facility in the US. When running at full capacity, it processes 19,500 freshly-slaughtered hogs per day, slicing, grinding and smoking them into millions of pounds of bacon, hot dogs and spiral-cut hams. With 3,700 workers, it is also the fourth-largest employer in the city.
"Thank you for the tip," the Argus911 account responded. "What job did the worker who tested positive have?"
"We are not exactly sure," Julia wrote back.
"OK, thanks," Argus911 replied. "We'll be in touch."
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Michigan Democrat Gov. Whitmer: Abortions Are ‘Life-Sustaining’
Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer said during an interview on Thursday that abortion services needed to be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic because they are “life-sustaining.”
Whitmer made the remarks on David Axelrod’s “Axe Files” podcast while discussing other states that have sought to shut down abortions during the shutdown.
“As we speak, in Texas and a couple of other states, I think Ohio may be another, the state has asked to suspend abortion services as part of this COVID-19 protocol,” Axelrod said. “This is probably gonna go to the Supreme Court. What is your reaction to that?”
“You know, a woman’s health care, her whole future, her ability to decide if and when she starts a family is not an election, it is a fundamental to her life,” Whitmer responded.
“It is life-sustaining, and it’s something that government should not be getting in the middle of.”
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Whitmer made the remarks on David Axelrod’s “Axe Files” podcast while discussing other states that have sought to shut down abortions during the shutdown.
“As we speak, in Texas and a couple of other states, I think Ohio may be another, the state has asked to suspend abortion services as part of this COVID-19 protocol,” Axelrod said. “This is probably gonna go to the Supreme Court. What is your reaction to that?”
“You know, a woman’s health care, her whole future, her ability to decide if and when she starts a family is not an election, it is a fundamental to her life,” Whitmer responded.
“It is life-sustaining, and it’s something that government should not be getting in the middle of.”
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Nolte: Joe Biden Exposes #MeToo Movement as Total BS
The #MeToo movement has been exposed as a steaming pile of bullsh!t thanks to Joe Biden’s credible sexual assault accuser, Tara Reade.
Using the dark art of personal destruction by way of a ludicrous misconduct allegation hurled by a woman with an obvious political agenda, Democrats and their media allies sought to stop a good and qualified man from becoming a Supreme Court justice.
Thankfully, but only after an agonizing public trial, the allegation was eventually debunked, and the good man took his place on the Court.
Even in defeat, though, Democrats and the media promised the world would never be the same, that the era of powerful men getting away with abusing women was over, that it was time to believe all women and hold their abusers accountable.
How long did that promise last?
Well, right up until the Democrat presidential nominee was hit with a credible accusation of sexual misconduct.
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Using the dark art of personal destruction by way of a ludicrous misconduct allegation hurled by a woman with an obvious political agenda, Democrats and their media allies sought to stop a good and qualified man from becoming a Supreme Court justice.
Thankfully, but only after an agonizing public trial, the allegation was eventually debunked, and the good man took his place on the Court.
Even in defeat, though, Democrats and the media promised the world would never be the same, that the era of powerful men getting away with abusing women was over, that it was time to believe all women and hold their abusers accountable.
How long did that promise last?
Well, right up until the Democrat presidential nominee was hit with a credible accusation of sexual misconduct.
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McConnell as small business loan funds run dry: 'This should be above politics'
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed Democrats Thursday as they continue to hold out on a deal to extend an additional $251 billion for emergency small business loans.
Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, lamented that there has been “no progress” toward a solution as the unemployment numbers continue to climb.
“Even now, Senate Democrats are still blocking funding. Every Senate Republican was ready to act today, but Democrats would not let us reopen the program,” Mr. McConnell said. “This should be above politics.”
Senate Republicans attempted to pass an additional $250 billion last Thursday, but they were blocked by Senate Democrats.
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Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, lamented that there has been “no progress” toward a solution as the unemployment numbers continue to climb.
“Even now, Senate Democrats are still blocking funding. Every Senate Republican was ready to act today, but Democrats would not let us reopen the program,” Mr. McConnell said. “This should be above politics.”
Senate Republicans attempted to pass an additional $250 billion last Thursday, but they were blocked by Senate Democrats.
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Shockingly lethal outbreaks are killing far more people at nursing homes than previously known
More than six weeks after the first coronavirus deaths in a nursing home, outbreaks unfold across the country. About a fifth of U.S. virus deaths are linked to nursing facilities.
The first warning of the devastation that the coronavirus could wreak inside American nursing homes came in late February, when residents of a facility in suburban Seattle perished, one by one, as families waited helplessly outside.
In the ensuing six weeks, large and shockingly lethal outbreaks have continued to ravage nursing homes across the nation, undeterred by urgent new safety requirements. Now a nationwide tally by The New York Times has found the number of people living in or connected to nursing homes who have died of the coronavirus to be at least 7,000, far higher than previously known.
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The first warning of the devastation that the coronavirus could wreak inside American nursing homes came in late February, when residents of a facility in suburban Seattle perished, one by one, as families waited helplessly outside.
In the ensuing six weeks, large and shockingly lethal outbreaks have continued to ravage nursing homes across the nation, undeterred by urgent new safety requirements. Now a nationwide tally by The New York Times has found the number of people living in or connected to nursing homes who have died of the coronavirus to be at least 7,000, far higher than previously known.
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Heartland hotspots: A sudden rise in coronavirus cases is hitting rural states without stay-at-home orders
Washington (CNN)The test results came back on Easter Sunday. Tammy had been feeling "kind of crappy" when she went to her doctor in rural southeastern Oklahoma last week. A sign of possible pneumonia prompted her to get a coronavirus test later that day at the McCurtain County Health Department in Idabel.
When it came back positive, Tammy, who spoke on the condition that CNN not use her last name to protect her privacy, had already quarantined herself. Isolated, she decided to write her governor, Kevin Stitt, the first-term Republican and one of just 8 governors in the US to resistissuing a statewide stay-at-home-order. Tammy had voted for Stitt but she didn't agree with his decision.
Her message to him was simple: "Shut this mess down."
Just as cases are starting to plateau in some big cities and along the coasts, the coronavirus is catching fire in rural states across the American heartland, where there has been a small but significant spike this week in cases. Playing out amid these outbreaks is a clash between a frontier culture that values individual freedom and personal responsibility, and the onerous but necessary restrictions to contain a novel biological threat.
When it came back positive, Tammy, who spoke on the condition that CNN not use her last name to protect her privacy, had already quarantined herself. Isolated, she decided to write her governor, Kevin Stitt, the first-term Republican and one of just 8 governors in the US to resistissuing a statewide stay-at-home-order. Tammy had voted for Stitt but she didn't agree with his decision.
Her message to him was simple: "Shut this mess down."
Just as cases are starting to plateau in some big cities and along the coasts, the coronavirus is catching fire in rural states across the American heartland, where there has been a small but significant spike this week in cases. Playing out amid these outbreaks is a clash between a frontier culture that values individual freedom and personal responsibility, and the onerous but necessary restrictions to contain a novel biological threat.
Wuhan officials have revised the city's coronavirus death toll up by 50%
China has revised its official death toll from the novel coronavirus, raising the number of fatalities attributed to the pandemic by more than a third.
Officials in Wuhan, where the virus was first reported late last year, on Friday added 1,290 coronavirus deaths to the city's toll. They also added 325 confirmed cases to the city tally.
The total number of cases recorded in the city now stands at 50,333, with 3,869 deaths. Theprevious reported death toll for Wuhan was 2,579 -- so the revised figure marks a 50% increase in the number of deaths in the city from coronavirus.
As of April 17, China's National Health Commission had reported 3,342 deaths nationally, before the revised Wuhan figures were published.
Officials explained that the deaths had initially gone uncounted because in the early stages of the pandemic some people died at home, overwhelmed medics were focused on treating cases rather than reporting deaths and due to a delay in collecting figures from various government and private organizations.
They added that the figures had been revised to show "accountability to history, to the people and the victims," as well as to ensure "open and transparent disclosure of information and data accuracy."
Officials in Wuhan, where the virus was first reported late last year, on Friday added 1,290 coronavirus deaths to the city's toll. They also added 325 confirmed cases to the city tally.
The total number of cases recorded in the city now stands at 50,333, with 3,869 deaths. Theprevious reported death toll for Wuhan was 2,579 -- so the revised figure marks a 50% increase in the number of deaths in the city from coronavirus.
As of April 17, China's National Health Commission had reported 3,342 deaths nationally, before the revised Wuhan figures were published.
Officials explained that the deaths had initially gone uncounted because in the early stages of the pandemic some people died at home, overwhelmed medics were focused on treating cases rather than reporting deaths and due to a delay in collecting figures from various government and private organizations.
They added that the figures had been revised to show "accountability to history, to the people and the victims," as well as to ensure "open and transparent disclosure of information and data accuracy."
Coronavirus antibody testing finds Bay Area infections may be 85 times higher than reported: researchers
A team of researchers in California found that the number of coronaviruses cases in one county may actually be up to 85 times higher than the what health officials have tallied, and say their data may help better estimate the virus’ true fatality rate.
Earlier this month, Stanford University-led researchers tested 3,330 adults and children in Santa Clara County, who were recruited using Facebook ads, for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and found that the population prevalence of COVID-19 in Santa Clara ranged from 2.49 percent to 4.16 percent.
“The most important implication of these findings is that the number of infections is much greater than the reported number of cases,” the researchers wrote, in a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study. “Our data imply that, by April 1 (three days prior to the end of our survey) between 48,000 and 81,000 people had been infected in Santa Clara County. The reported number of confirmed positive cases in the county on April 1 was 956, 50-85-fold lower than the number of infectious predicted by this study.”
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Earlier this month, Stanford University-led researchers tested 3,330 adults and children in Santa Clara County, who were recruited using Facebook ads, for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and found that the population prevalence of COVID-19 in Santa Clara ranged from 2.49 percent to 4.16 percent.
“The most important implication of these findings is that the number of infections is much greater than the reported number of cases,” the researchers wrote, in a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study. “Our data imply that, by April 1 (three days prior to the end of our survey) between 48,000 and 81,000 people had been infected in Santa Clara County. The reported number of confirmed positive cases in the county on April 1 was 956, 50-85-fold lower than the number of infectious predicted by this study.”
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic 4-18-20
Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Maryland cases
Updated Apr 18 at 12:08 PM local
Confirmed
12,308
+736
Deaths
463
+38
Recovered
771
+35
Thousands Of Swedes Are Inserting Microchips Under Their Skin
Technology continues to get closer and closer to our bodies, from the phones in our pockets to the smartwatches on our wrists. Now, for some people, it's getting under their skin.
In Sweden, a country rich with technological advancement, thousands have had microchips inserted into their hands.
The chips are designed to speed up users' daily routines and make their lives more convenient — accessing their homes, offices and gyms is as easy as swiping their hands against digital readers.
They also can be used to store emergency contact details, social media profiles or e-tickets for events and rail journeys within Sweden.
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In Sweden, a country rich with technological advancement, thousands have had microchips inserted into their hands.
The chips are designed to speed up users' daily routines and make their lives more convenient — accessing their homes, offices and gyms is as easy as swiping their hands against digital readers.
They also can be used to store emergency contact details, social media profiles or e-tickets for events and rail journeys within Sweden.
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The Left Is Calling for Mail-In Voting. Here’s Why It’s a Bad Idea
Political figures on the left, ranging from former first lady Michelle Obama to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are calling for the presidential election on Nov. 3 to take place through mail-in voting due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, joins the podcast to explain why mail-in voting could result in voter fraud. Listen to the podcast below or read the lightly edited transcript.
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Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, joins the podcast to explain why mail-in voting could result in voter fraud. Listen to the podcast below or read the lightly edited transcript.
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4 Keys to Understanding Sweden’s Controversial COVID-19 Policy
But don’t let that fool you because Sweden is still a different place from what it used to be, said Johan Norberg, an economics writer who lives in Stockholm and most recently the author of the award-winning book “Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future.”
“Most people stay at home, don’t travel, rarely go to restaurants, and don’t meet with the older generation. And people keep the distance when they meet on the street,” Norberg said in an email interview with The Daily Signal.
“You have probably seen pictures of a crowded Stockholm restaurant. Well, that is … the one time it was crowded, and if they had turned the camera in the opposite direction they would have found an empty square.”
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Ignore ‘Mrs. America.’ Here’s the True Story of Phyllis Schlafly.
Phyllis Schlafly was one of the most influential women of the second half of the 20th century, playing a key role in the 1964 Republican presidential nomination of Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, helping to found the powerful pro-family movement in the early 1970s, and heading STOP ERA, which defeated the liberal establishment’s all-out effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
I’m reminded of all this by “Mrs. America,” a nine-part miniseries set to begin streaming April 15 on Hulu. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett stars as Schlafly in the drama about the fight over the ERA.
As a young woman during World War II, Schlafly worked as a ballistics gunner and technician at the largest ammunition plant in the world.
She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University and received a master’s degree from Radcliffe. She obtained her law degree while in her 50s, and wrote more than 20 books on politics, nuclear weapons, U.S. foreign policy, and the Constitution.
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I’m reminded of all this by “Mrs. America,” a nine-part miniseries set to begin streaming April 15 on Hulu. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett stars as Schlafly in the drama about the fight over the ERA.
As a young woman during World War II, Schlafly worked as a ballistics gunner and technician at the largest ammunition plant in the world.
She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University and received a master’s degree from Radcliffe. She obtained her law degree while in her 50s, and wrote more than 20 books on politics, nuclear weapons, U.S. foreign policy, and the Constitution.
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Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods shutters two more meat processing plants
Chinese-owned meat packing giant Smithfield Foods has closed two additional plants in the U.S. after coronavirus outbreaks, raising concerns about the American food supply chain.
Smithfield announced the closures of packing plants in Cudahy, Wisconsin and Martin City, Missouri on Wednesday, days after its Sioux Falls, South Dakota plant was indefinitely shuttered.
The Sioux Falls plant, where 518 employees and 120 of their family members have tested positive for coronavirus, is now the largest single source of cases in the U.S., and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has dispatched a critical response team to the scene.
Smithfield said in a statement that a 'small number of employees' at both the Cudahy and the Martin City plants had tested positive for the virus, without offering further details.
Union members at the Cudahy plant criticized the company last month for continuing to operate after the union said two employees tested positive for coronavirus.
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Smithfield announced the closures of packing plants in Cudahy, Wisconsin and Martin City, Missouri on Wednesday, days after its Sioux Falls, South Dakota plant was indefinitely shuttered.
The Sioux Falls plant, where 518 employees and 120 of their family members have tested positive for coronavirus, is now the largest single source of cases in the U.S., and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has dispatched a critical response team to the scene.
Smithfield said in a statement that a 'small number of employees' at both the Cudahy and the Martin City plants had tested positive for the virus, without offering further details.
Union members at the Cudahy plant criticized the company last month for continuing to operate after the union said two employees tested positive for coronavirus.
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Judicial Watch Subpoenas Google in Hillary Clinton Email Lawsuit
Judicial Watch has served a subpoena, authorized by a DC federal court, on Google to produce all Clinton emails from a Google account believed to contain former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Platte River Networks’ IT specialist Paul Combetta reportedly used the Google account to transfer Clinton’s emails from a laptop to a Platte River server, then used BleachBit to remove any traces of the emails from the laptop. Judicial Watch’s subpoena seeks all Clinton emails from her time at State, January 21, 2009, to February 1, 2013. Google is requested to produce the emails by May 13.
The Google subpoena comes in a Judicial Watch’s lawsuit that seeks records concerning “talking points or updates on the Benghazi attack”. Judicial Watch famously uncovered in 2014 that the “talking points” that provided the basis for Susan Rice’s false statements were created by the Obama White House. This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit led directly to the disclosure of the Clinton email system in 2015.
During an August 2019 federal court hearing, U.S District Court Judge Royce Lamberth raised concerns about Clinton’s Gmail cache and ordered Judicial Watch to “shake this tree” on the issue.
Judge Lamberth noted that Senator Grassley released:
"... a report in which he had some very troubling information about a guy named Combetta who had been one of the contract employees on the Clinton emails, and he and the Senator who Chairs the Homeland Security Committee released in the Senate this report Friday, and the gist of it was that Combetta had said, I guess, that he had created a dummy email account with all of the Hillary Clinton emails in it in a different name, and the FBI had investigated that to see whether or not the Chinese had ever hacked into it.
"They have determined that the Chinese hadn’t, but that the FBI never told the State Department about that account and that the emails that were not given over to State could have been obtained from that account, but the FBI never told State about it. So it leaves out in the open whether there are these other emails that State could have obtained but nobody ever bothered to tell State about them."
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Platte River Networks’ IT specialist Paul Combetta reportedly used the Google account to transfer Clinton’s emails from a laptop to a Platte River server, then used BleachBit to remove any traces of the emails from the laptop. Judicial Watch’s subpoena seeks all Clinton emails from her time at State, January 21, 2009, to February 1, 2013. Google is requested to produce the emails by May 13.
The Google subpoena comes in a Judicial Watch’s lawsuit that seeks records concerning “talking points or updates on the Benghazi attack”. Judicial Watch famously uncovered in 2014 that the “talking points” that provided the basis for Susan Rice’s false statements were created by the Obama White House. This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit led directly to the disclosure of the Clinton email system in 2015.
During an August 2019 federal court hearing, U.S District Court Judge Royce Lamberth raised concerns about Clinton’s Gmail cache and ordered Judicial Watch to “shake this tree” on the issue.
Judge Lamberth noted that Senator Grassley released:
"... a report in which he had some very troubling information about a guy named Combetta who had been one of the contract employees on the Clinton emails, and he and the Senator who Chairs the Homeland Security Committee released in the Senate this report Friday, and the gist of it was that Combetta had said, I guess, that he had created a dummy email account with all of the Hillary Clinton emails in it in a different name, and the FBI had investigated that to see whether or not the Chinese had ever hacked into it.
"They have determined that the Chinese hadn’t, but that the FBI never told the State Department about that account and that the emails that were not given over to State could have been obtained from that account, but the FBI never told State about it. So it leaves out in the open whether there are these other emails that State could have obtained but nobody ever bothered to tell State about them."
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Keep as New Reply Reply All Forward Delete Spam More The Pelosi Recession
Democrat obstruction will cause untold economic damage
As another five million people flood the unemployment system, the country faces a classic whodunit: Who killed the U.S. economy?
The novel coronavirus must bear some of the blame. Social distancing has pushed millions of consumers and producers into their homes. A temporary societal shutdown means a temporary economic contraction.
But the length of the recession—whether the economy bounces back post-shutdown, or whether we lose another decade of growth—is as much about government as the conditions on the ground. Unlike the 2008 crisis, the current contraction is not a correction for mal-investment but the product of a nationwide decision to combat a deadly disease. That effort is led, and in many cases imposed, by government; it makes sense for the feds to pick up the tab.
With a few exceptions, congressional Republicans have agreed with this analysis, working swiftly and aggressively to staunch the bleeding. Not an economic conservative to begin with, President Donald Trump has been particularly gung-ho, calling for another $2 trillion in stimulus spending before the ink on the first $2 trillion bill had dried.
If you want to know how congressional Democrats are thinking about the crisis, though, just ask House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (S.C.). Brainstorming with over 200 members of the Democrat caucus, Clyburn admonished his colleagues with a line we suspect will become infamous:
"This is a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision."
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As another five million people flood the unemployment system, the country faces a classic whodunit: Who killed the U.S. economy?
The novel coronavirus must bear some of the blame. Social distancing has pushed millions of consumers and producers into their homes. A temporary societal shutdown means a temporary economic contraction.
But the length of the recession—whether the economy bounces back post-shutdown, or whether we lose another decade of growth—is as much about government as the conditions on the ground. Unlike the 2008 crisis, the current contraction is not a correction for mal-investment but the product of a nationwide decision to combat a deadly disease. That effort is led, and in many cases imposed, by government; it makes sense for the feds to pick up the tab.
With a few exceptions, congressional Republicans have agreed with this analysis, working swiftly and aggressively to staunch the bleeding. Not an economic conservative to begin with, President Donald Trump has been particularly gung-ho, calling for another $2 trillion in stimulus spending before the ink on the first $2 trillion bill had dried.
If you want to know how congressional Democrats are thinking about the crisis, though, just ask House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (S.C.). Brainstorming with over 200 members of the Democrat caucus, Clyburn admonished his colleagues with a line we suspect will become infamous:
"This is a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision."
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George W. Bush Center: More Globalization Is the Answer to Coronavirus Crisis
Executives with the George W. Bush Presidential Center say more globalization of the American economy is the answer to the Chinese coronavirus crisis, not the problem.
In an op-ed published in Real Clear World, Managing Director of the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative Matthew Rooney writes that the policies of free trade, mass immigration, and globalization must be embraced further by the U.S. after the crisis is over.
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In an op-ed published in Real Clear World, Managing Director of the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative Matthew Rooney writes that the policies of free trade, mass immigration, and globalization must be embraced further by the U.S. after the crisis is over.
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China decimated US intelligence apparatus years ago, posing steep challenge during coronavirus cover-up
A glaring spotlight has been cast on U.S. intelligence operations in China in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and how exactly the novel pathogen originated in the city of Wuhan.
While China's official narrative is that the disease was born out of a wet market in the city, sources within the U.S. intelligence community are now examining the theory that the origin of the pandemic stemmed from a laboratory — not out of malicious intent, but from an accident while undertaking dangerous virus research to keep up with the United States. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Fox News' Jennifer Griffin U.S. intel is investigating the origins.
Intelligence experts stress that the attempt to usurp the U.S. as the global superpower is at the heart of their brutal dismantling of intelligence operations within the country. But American intel has been working from a disadvantage ever since several operatives' covers were blown over the last decade, leading to a purge by Beijing.
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Tom Cotton, Dan Crenshaw Introduce Bill to Allow Americans to Sue China for Coronavirus Damages
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow Americans to sue China in federal court for “death, injury, and economic harm caused by the Wuhan Virus.”
“By silencing doctors and journalists who tried to warn the world about the coronavirus, the Chinese Communist Party allowed the virus to spread quickly around the globe,” Cotton, an Army veteran, said in a statement.
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“By silencing doctors and journalists who tried to warn the world about the coronavirus, the Chinese Communist Party allowed the virus to spread quickly around the globe,” Cotton, an Army veteran, said in a statement.
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Joe Biden: Coronavirus Crisis an ‘Opportunity’ to Enact Green New Deal Policies
Former Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday on CNN the Chinese coronavirus crisis was an “opportunity” to enact major climate change programs found in the Green New Deal.
“We have an opportunity now to take, in a recovery act, a real recovery,” Biden said. “We can fundamentally change the science relating to global warming.”
The former vice president hosted a question and answer special about the virus, spending most of his time talking about the way America could use the crisis to enact their leftist energy policies.
Biden recalled the Great Depression, noting former President Franklin Roosevelt used that crisis to enact dramatic government programs, something he also wanted to do.
“It’s like the New Deal,” he said. “Think of every great act that — every great change that has taken place. It’s come out of a crisis.”
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“We have an opportunity now to take, in a recovery act, a real recovery,” Biden said. “We can fundamentally change the science relating to global warming.”
The former vice president hosted a question and answer special about the virus, spending most of his time talking about the way America could use the crisis to enact their leftist energy policies.
Biden recalled the Great Depression, noting former President Franklin Roosevelt used that crisis to enact dramatic government programs, something he also wanted to do.
“It’s like the New Deal,” he said. “Think of every great act that — every great change that has taken place. It’s come out of a crisis.”
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Scientists claim to have CURED Crohn's disease after a treatment of antibiotics and faecal transplants sparks long-lasting 'profound remissions'
Scientists claim to have cured Crohn's disease after a treatment of antibiotics and faecal transplants sparked long-lasting 'profound remissions' in ten patients.
Previously thought incurable, Crohn's is a debilitating gut disease that affects around 115,000 people in the United Kingdom and almost 3 million globally.
It is thought to occur when the body's immune system attacks its own gastrointestinal tract, often causing pain, diarrhoea, fever and weight loss.
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Previously thought incurable, Crohn's is a debilitating gut disease that affects around 115,000 people in the United Kingdom and almost 3 million globally.
It is thought to occur when the body's immune system attacks its own gastrointestinal tract, often causing pain, diarrhoea, fever and weight loss.
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