From the official site of the White House gift shop: COVID-19 , WE FOUGHT THE UNSEEN ENEMY, Everyday Heroes, President Donald J, Trump, Vice President Michael R. Pence, Secretary S. Mnuuchin, Drs. Jerome Adams, Deborah Birx, Anthony Fauci. Pre-Order Special Price $100. 20% of Proceeds Donated Each Day to U.S. Hospitals including Johns Hopkins for its COVID-19 Coordination and Trackins. …

NBC News reports: As a handful of states begin to ease stay-at-home restrictions, no state that has opted to reopen has come close to the federally recommended 14 consecutive days of declining cases. Even as the U.S. hit the grim milestone of more than 1 million cases Tuesday — one-third of the world’s total — Georgia, Minnesota and other states …

The Associated Press reports: A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that a Kansas law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote is unconstitutional, upholding a judge’s injunction that had banned its use. A 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Salt Lake City found in two consolidated appeals challenging the Kansas statute that the state law violates the …

Reuters reports: Amazon.com Inc has bought cameras to take temperatures of workers during the coronavirus pandemic from a firm the United States blacklisted over allegations it helped China detain and monitor the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. China’s Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co Ltd shipped 1,500 cameras to Amazon this month in a …

Former Rep. Joe Walsh writes for the Washington Post: I get how disgusted Amash is with both major political parties. I get that you don’t go, overnight, from being a conservative Republican to becoming a progressive Democrat. I get that he’s probably the only lower-case-L libertarian with enough name recognition to make the Libertarian Party even remotely relevant right now. …

Via press release from hate group leader Tony Perkins: With Democrats trying to use the coronavirus to push America toward its endgame of universal mail-in ballots, voters need to wake up to the gamble they’d be taking with democracy. Already, two liberal senators, Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.), are trying to capitalize on people’s fears with what they …

The Christian Post reports: Two days after bishops in Italy’s Roman Catholic Church complained that government officials did not include the resumption of in-person masses as part of a reopening plan for the country starting May 4, Pope Francis on Tuesday urged “prudence and obedience” to prevent the coronavirus from surging in the country again. Speaking to the faithful during …

The Huffington Post reports: Conservative pundit Dennis Prager made an outlandish statement against the coronavirus lockdown that came back to bite him, drawing considerable mockery and scorn on social media from both sides of the aisle. PragerU, a website that Prager himself founded, tweeted a quote card Tuesday featuring a quote from the controversial commentator: “The lockdown is the greatest …

Via press release from the Justice Department: In response to a civil complaint and accompanying court papers filed on April 27, 2020, in Salt Lake City, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah issued a temporary restraining order against defendants Gordon Pedersen of Cedar Hills, Utah, and his companies, My Doctor Suggests LLC and GP Silver LLC. The …

MarketWatch reports: The collapse in the U.S. economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic triggered the biggest drop in gross domestic product in the first quarter since 2008 in a prelude to an even more massive decline in the spring. GDP, the official scorecard for economic growth, shrank at a 4.8% annualized pace. GDP, the official scorecard for the economy, shrank …

The Washington Examiner reports: White House senior adviser Jared Kushner on Wednesday expressed optimism that much of the country could be “back to normal” by June as several states prepare to lift restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “I think what you’ll see in May as the states are reopening now is May will be a transition …

The New Jersey Advance reports: Some 17 hours later, and hours after a ruptured 36-inch water main was repaired, there are many in Jersey City with no water or low pressure, residents are saying. In a 7:50 a.m. update, Suez Water officials say the company that services the city’s water is investigating outages at locations across the city. The 3-foot …

The Hill reports: Tesla CEO Elon Musk is urging states across the country to put an end to lockdowns aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. In a series of tweets early Wednesday, Musk posted phrases like “FREE AMERICA NOW” and “Give people their freedom back” in response to the lockdowns, which have been in place throughout much of the …

NPR reports: Half the country has been personally economically impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and overwhelming numbers of Americans do not think schools, restaurants or sporting events with large crowds should reopen until there is further testing, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. President Trump does not fare very well as far as his handling of the pandemic goes. …

The Washington Post reports: Results from coronavirus antibody tests have started to trickle in, and they bolster the consensus among disease experts that the virus is significantly more lethal than seasonal flu and has seeded the most disruptive pandemic in the past century. “I think it is the worst pandemic since 1918,” said Cecile Viboud, an epidemiologist at the National …

CNBC reports: Quest Diagnostics announced Tuesday that individuals can now skip a doctor’s visit and order a coronavirus antibody test online in a push to broaden Covid-19 screening. An antibody test shows whether someone has been exposed to or potentially had the coronavirus and developed the antibodies to fight the infection. It doesn’t guarantee immunity, but physicians say a positive …

The Associated Press reports: Weeks after Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel in the Russia investigation, Roger Stone, a confidant of President Donald Trump, reassured WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a Twitter message that if prosecutors came after him, “I will bring down the entire house of cards,” according to FBI documents made public Tuesday. The records reveal the extent …

The New York Post reports: The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Tuesday that a new coronavirus vaccine could be tested as early as next week — with the potential for emergency use by fall, a report said Tuesday. “This is a crisis right now, and a solution is desperately needed by all,” Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla told the Wall Street …

Reuters reports: The United States has reported more than a million coronavirus infections only because of its testing, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, hailing the effort as being “much better than any other country in the world.” The Twitter comments came amid warnings from state public health officials that shortages of trained workers and materials have limited testing capacity. …

The New York Times reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio lashed out at Hasidic residents of the Williamsburg section in Brooklyn late Tuesday night after personally overseeing the dispersal of a crowd of hundreds of mourners who had gathered for the funeral of a rabbi who died of the coronavirus. In a series of tweets, Mr. de Blasio denounced the gathering, …