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Thursday, April 30, 2020

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

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

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

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

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Axios Returns $5 Million Government Loan After ‘Backlash’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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[AMC Theatres is a Chinese-owned company.]

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

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

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

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

The sexual assault allegation never came up.

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

Juanita Broaddrick is having déjà vu.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Another Good Local Coronavirus Website

Flag Status Alert: Maryland Flag is at Half-Staff

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

Code of Virginia

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

It shall be unlawful for any person over 16 years of age to, with the intent to conceal his identity, wear any mask, hood or other device whereby a substantial portion of the face is hidden or covered so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, to be or appear in any public place, or upon any private property in this Commonwealth without first having obtained from the owner or tenant thereof consent to do so in writing. However, the provisions of this section shall not apply to persons (i) wearing traditional holiday costumes; (ii) engaged in professions, trades, employment or other activities and wearing protective masks which are deemed necessary for the physical safety of the wearer or other persons; (iii) engaged in any bona fide theatrical production or masquerade ball; or (iv) wearing a mask, hood or other device for bona fide medical reasons upon (a) the advice of a licensed physician or osteopath and carrying on his person an affidavit from the physician or osteopath specifying the medical necessity for wearing the device and the date on which the wearing of the device will no longer be necessary and providing a brief description of the device, or (b) the declaration of a disaster or state of emergency by the Governor in response to a public health emergency where the emergency declaration expressly waives this section, defines the mask appropriate for the emergency, and provides for the duration of the waiver. The violation of any provisions of this section is a Class 6 felony.
Code 1950, §§ 18.1-364, 18.1-367; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1986, c. 19; 2010, cc. 262420; 2014, c. 167.
The chapters of the acts of assembly referenced in the historical citation at the end of this section may not constitute a comprehensive list of such chapters and may exclude chapters whose provisions have expired.

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

This article was originally published by Informed Choice Maryland – a 501c4 nonprofit that lobbies on matters of informed consent, personal choice in healthcare, and in favor of upholding the Constitutional rights of all Marylanders. You can join the Informed Choice Maryland Facebook group here.
The Covid-19 pandemic has inspired numerous public officialscorporate entities, and media outlets to call for increasing restrictions on civil liberties which deeply concern many Americans. Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently called for a “national tracking system similar to South Korea,” Forbes reports.
Gates, considered the founder of the microcomputer revolution, has always been plagued by accusations of anti-competitive business practices. The launch of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 has served to overhaul Gates’ public image as a philanthropist while forging inroads into multiple sectors of the pharmaceutical industry; in particular, providing a platform from which Gates has leveraged his vast influence to implement mass vaccination in developing countries. The Gates Foundation is the world’s largest private foundation, controlling $46.8 billion in assets. They launched their international vaccine program in 1998 with a $100 million gift to the “Program for Appropriate Technology and Health” and have since spearheaded mass-vaccination programs around the world, some of which have come under intense scrutiny and criticism for alleged misconduct.
Most recently, Gates has predictably shifted the focus of his foundation toward all aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic, announcing the donation of $50 million to a dozen pharmaceutical companies in an effort to accelerate the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. It was Gates who offered Gates Foundation funds to initially incentivize the development of technology which tracks individual vaccination status through subcutaneously injected particles readable by smart phone technology. In fact, numerous international vaccine projects spearheaded by the Gates Foundation over the past several decades have ended with public scandal, legal retaliation from both governments and private institutions, and the injury and deaths of intended beneficiaries of those programs.
Gates Foundation vaccine projects which ended in tragedy include the following:

Despite the dubious history of Gates Foundation projects, Gates has been lauded as an expert by major media outlets in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, regardless of his lack of training or experience in epidemiology. The Gates Foundation has funneled millions into coronavirus vaccine development via pharmaceutical companies working to fast-track new coronavirus vaccines, bypassing critical steps in testing for safety and efficacy.
Gates has explicitly expressed support for fast-tracking coronavirus vaccines and implementation of national tracking systems to enforce compulsory vaccination of all citizens before life “returns to normal.” More worrying is the fact that numerous public officials, including Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, have begun to echo this intent.
Many Americans may consider the possibility of centrally tracked, mandatory vaccination with an untested product rushed to market to be remote. However, a Maryland law was already enacted in early 2019 which requires physicians to document and track patient vaccination records in ImmuNet, Maryland’s government tracking database system.

Life After COVID: A Look At The New Economy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

The After-COVID economy for individuals

A Viewer Writes: This will really cripple the economic recovery

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

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

They receive their regular unemployment, plus that extra $600/week from the CARES Act that the federal government gives them through the end of July. That amounts to about $24./hr.
Most members of Congress knew they were messing up when they rushed to pass this bill.

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

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

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

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

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

More here

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

Death Investigation Ruled a Homicide-Harrington

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

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

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

The investigation continues to remain active and ongoing.

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

Mnuchin Says No Bailout for States With Badly Managed Budgets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Gov. Cuomo plays blame game for coronavirus’ American invasion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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