Monthly Archives: March 2020

Saints QB Pledges $5M To New Orleans Virus Relief

ESPN reports: Drew Brees and his wife, Brittany, announced a $5 million commitment to the state of Louisiana in 2020 to help “our communities get through this tough time.” The New Orleans Saints quarterback said via Twitter last week that assessing the need in New Orleans is “a daunting task” in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak because of how …

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San Francisco To Cease Muni Rail Service On Monday

Curbed San Francisco reports: Beginning Monday, March 30, all Muni metro and light-rail routes will be replaced by buses during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order. This means that all light-rail trains, which service underground and above ground routes, will cease operating until further notice. Passengers can take bus substitutions for the J, KT, L, M, and N lines using the same …

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REPORT: US To Take Stake In Airlines With Bailout Deal

The Wall Street Journal reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated that the U.S. government would take stakes in airline carriers in exchange for billions of dollars in direct grants to the companies, as part of a $2 trillion economic rescue package, according to people familiar with the matter. He detailed his plans during last-minute negotiations when the aid to airlines …

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China Bans Entry By Foreign Nationals Effective Today

Via press release from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs: In view of the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world, China has decided to temporarily suspend the entry into China by foreign nationals holding visas or residence permits still valid to the time of this announcement, effective from 0 a.m., 28 march 2020. Entry by foreign nationals with APEC Business …

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DOJ Okays Home Confinement For Elderly Prisoners

Bloomberg News reports: The Justice Department will allow more older, nonviolent federal inmates to be placed in home confinement in order to cope with rising coronavirus cases affecting the federal prison population, Attorney General William Barr said. Barr told reporters Thursday that he’s directed the Bureau of Prisons to increase the use of home confinement for elderly prisoners following infections …

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Mnuchin On Record Jobless Claims: Amazon Is Hiring

“To be honest with you, I just think these numbers right now are not relevant whether they’re bigger or smaller in the short term. Obviously, there people who have jobless claims, and, again, the good thing about the bill is the president is protecting those people. “They had no choice, now with this bill passed by Congress, there are protections, …

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Gay Ex-NBA Player Jason Collins Reports Positive Test

Metro Weekly reports: Former NBA star Jason Collins, the first openly gay professional basketball player in the United States, has tested positive for COVID-19. The 41-year-old former center believes he contracted the virus earlier this month during a trip to New York City for the Brooklyn Nets’ pride night game on March 4. Seven days later, Collins developed a “terrible …

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Libertarian GOP Rep Will Seek To Block Stimulus Bill

The Lexington Courier-Journal reports: A Congressman from Kentucky plans to vote “no” on the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, which the Senate passed 96-0 Wednesday evening. U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican who represents Kentucky’s 4th District, also hinted that he might object to a voice vote in the House of Representatives, which would force all members to return to …

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MARYLAND: State Does Away With In-Person Voting

The Baltimore Sun reports: The Maryland Board of Elections is planning to do away with polling stations for the state’s already delayed primary. Voters would instead be required to mail in or drop off their ballots in an effort to limit coronavirus infections. If approved, the move would eliminate any need for Maryland’s more than 4 million registered voters to …

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NPR Station Will No Longer Carry Trump’s Briefings Over “Pattern Of False Information And Exaggeration”

The Washington Post reports: Seattle NPR member station KUOW has issued a statement to explain its editorial decision to refrain from broadcasting live daily briefings hosted by President Trump and including members of the White House coronavirus task force. “After airing the White House briefings live for two weeks, a pattern of false information and exaggeration increasingly had many at …

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Pastor Jazz Hands: God Won’t Deliver Us By Easter As Trump Wants Unless LGBT People Stop All That Fucking

“God wants to deliver the USA from coronavirus by Easter as President Trump hopes, but this is dependent on people following Jesus Christ. “We know the Bible says people lose their souls by following false gods and from LGBT sin, and that disobeying God can cause sickness and plagues (Exodus 15:26, John 5:14). “Man and government cannot fix the coronavirus …

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Stimulus Bill Grants $500M To CDC For Virus Tracking

Business Insider reports: Of the funding allocated to the CDC, the bill sets aside at least $500 million for public health data surveillance and modernizing the analytics infrastructure. The CDC must report on the development of a “surveillance and data collection system” within the next 30 days. While it’s not clear what form that surveillance system will take, the federal …

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AMA Denounces Doctors For Hoarding Malaria Drug

The New York Times reports: Doctors are hoarding medications touted as possible coronavirus treatments by writing prescriptions for themselves and family members, according to pharmacy boards in states across the country. The stockpiling has become so worrisome in Idaho, Kentucky, Ohio, Nevada, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Texas that the boards in those states have issued emergency restrictions on how the …

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CALIFORNIA: Banks Agree To 90-Day Mortgage Freeze

Courthouse News reports: California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a dose of good news for homeowners on Wednesday, announcing the nation’s largest banks will voluntarily freeze mortgage payments for 90 days on families mired in the Covid-19 crisis. Newsom said the agreement is the result of weeks of negotiations with the heads of banks like Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, JPMorgan Chase …

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D’Souza: Blue States Have Called Trump A Racist For Four Years And Now They Expect His Help [VIDEO]

“Remember that a few weeks ago, Jennifer Rubin, the Never Trumper, and others were all putting out the idea that there was so much misinformation being put out by the president, and by Fox News, that we would see spreads of the coronavirus in the red states — Republicans would die. “But in fact, interestingly, these spreads are mainly in …

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G7 Response Stalled Over Pompeo’s “Wuhan” Wording

The Hill reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed Group of Seven (G-7) leaders to refer to the novel coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus,” according to a report by the German magazine Der Spiegel. The G-7 leaders have thus far not been able to agree on a joint statement because of Pompeo’s insistence that the group should refer to the …

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Trump Threatens To Sue TV Stations Over “Virus” Ad

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is threatening to file lawsuits against local news outlets in several battleground states if they continue to air a political ad full of his attempts to downplay the coronavirus. Priorities USA, a liberal super PAC, crafted the ad entitled “Exponential Threat,” and it splices audio of Trump from recent weeks as he made …

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Labor Dept Reports Record 3.28 Million Jobless Claims

NPR reports: A record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country. The Labor Department’s report Thursday was one of the first official indicators of how many people have suddenly been forced out of work nationally. The staggering claims figure was well above the levels seen during the darkest …

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US Virus Deaths Top 1000 As New Cases Skyrocket

NBC News reports: The United States has reached a grim milestone as the number of deaths linked to coronavirus passed 1,000 in the country on Thursday, according to a count by NBC News. The number of reported deaths associated with the disease in the U.S. was at least 1,001 as of Thursday morning, according to that count, and there have …

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New Zealand Mass Shooter Changes To Guilty Plea

The BBC reports: A man accused of deadly attacks on mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch a year ago has pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder. Brenton Tarrant, 29, also admitted the attempted murder of another 40 people, and one terrorism charge. He had previously denied the charges and was due to go on trial in June. …

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