wnd--2020-04-29--How close is U.S. to herd immunity for COVID-19? What the numbers show

There has been considerable interest lately in Sweden ’ s response to the COVID-19 pandemic .
According to Sweden ’ s top epidemiologist , Dr. Anders Tegnell , Sweden is expected to achieve herd immunity in several weeks ’ time .
Sweden pursued a much more relaxed mitigation strategy , practicing social distancing while avoiding a national lockdown , and approximately 20 % of Swedes may have been infected and may now be immune to the virus .
Herd immunity is the point at which a large enough percentage of the population is immune to a disease that new cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In other words , it ’ s when there are enough people who are immune to the disease that the disease has nowhere to go and eventually dies off .
Therefore , every person who has been infected and recovered , or infected and remained asymptomatic , will help contribute to herd immunity .
But how close are we to achieving this ?
Although several studies are suggesting that there are far more people with antibodies to the virus than we know of , it ’ s not clear that we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pregnant women found that 29 out of 33 women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were asymptomatic at the time of the test , and 26 of them never developed any symptoms at all .
That finding suggests that for every pregnant woman with symptomatic COVID-19 , there were seven who were infected with the virus , but never developed the disease .
That also suggests that for every woman with symptomatic COVID-19 , there may be up to four other women who were infected , but don ’ t show symptoms .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sample was small and because the study took place in New York City , where incidences are expected to be very high .
Furthermore , women seem to be less susceptible to the COVID-19 disease , which would cause the numbers to overestimate the asymptomatic prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 .
To get a better idea , the state of New York has been conducting antibody tests and announced preliminary results on April 23 , which found that 13.9 % of New York residents had the virus and recovered .
In New York City , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In upstate New York , away from the metropolitan centers , the rate was much lower at 3.6 % .
If those numbers bear out , approximately 2.6 million people have been infected in the state , including 1.7 million people in New York City .
As of this writing , the state ’ s health department is reporting that it has had 288,045 positive test results .
Initial testing has focused on symptomatic patients , so the majority of the positive cases reported by the health department likely indicate a symptomatic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the case , there would be approximately nine asymptomatic infections for every symptomatic case of COVID-19 .
Granted , those are suppositions based on preliminary data that hasn ’ t been released in its entirety .
In one of the first complete antibody studies on prevalence , researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine tested a representative sample of 3,330 people in Santa Clara County , California .
When adjusted by demographics to represent the county , it found that the estimated prevalence of the virus ranged from 2.49 % to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 48,000 and 81,000 people .
If those estimates prove true , the actual prevalence in Santa Clara County would be 50 to 85 times greater than the number of confirmed cases .
However , some have raised issues with this study .
The raw , unadjusted prevalence found in the study was 1.5 % , representing 50 people testing positive for the antibody out of 3,330 study participants .
According to the manufacturer of the test , the false-positive rate for the test is 0.5 % , which would correspond to 17 false-positives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a third of the positive results may in fact be false-positives , which would greatly inflate the estimated prevalence .
Still , the study of Santa Clara County echoes the studies from New York that suggest that actual prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 is likely much higher than the number of confirmed cases would lead us to believe ( albeit likely not 50 to 85 times higher ) .
While Sweden ’ s 20 % immunity corresponds to New York City ’ s estimated 21.2 % immunity , the same is not true for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are nearly 1 million cases in the United States at this time , so even with the greatest estimated prevalence from the Santa Clara County study , there would be 85 million actual cases , each of which would result in a person being immune to the virus .
The obvious problem is that there are approximately 245 million Americans left to be infected .
Given that the Santa Clara County numbers are likely overstated even for the COVID-19 hot spot of Santa Clara , the actual number of Americans left to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than that .
Herd immunity is an unrealistic goal for the United States until there is a vaccine .
Even if the virus proves to spread much faster than previously thought , that would only require a much larger proportion of Americans to get infected and develop immunity .
That ’ s not to say that we should hunker down until a vaccine comes , but rather that we should proceed with the assumption that we will not have herd immunity .
That will require careful planning and deliberate steps , but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's note : This story originally was published by the Daily Signal . ]

By Kevin Pham
Daily Signal
There has been considerable interest lately in Sweden’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Sweden’s top epidemiologist, Dr. Anders Tegnell, Sweden is expected to achieve herd immunity in several weeks’ time.
Sweden pursued a much more relaxed mitigation strategy, practicing social distancing while avoiding a national lockdown, and approximately 20% of Swedes may have been infected and may now be immune to the virus.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Herd immunity is the point at which a large enough percentage of the population is immune to a disease that new cases are not likely to spread to others.
In other words, it’s when there are enough people who are immune to the disease that the disease has nowhere to go and eventually dies off. Therefore, every person who has been infected and recovered, or infected and remained asymptomatic, will help contribute to herd immunity.
But how close are we to achieving this? Although several studies are suggesting that there are far more people with antibodies to the virus than we know of, it’s not clear that we are very close.
An earlier study of pregnant women found that 29 out of 33 women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were asymptomatic at the time of the test, and 26 of them never developed any symptoms at all. That finding suggests that for every pregnant woman with symptomatic COVID-19, there were seven who were infected with the virus, but never developed the disease.
That also suggests that for every woman with symptomatic COVID-19, there may be up to four other women who were infected, but don’t show symptoms.
The study is difficult to generalize because the sample was small and because the study took place in New York City, where incidences are expected to be very high. Furthermore, women seem to be less susceptible to the COVID-19 disease, which would cause the numbers to overestimate the asymptomatic prevalence of SARS-CoV-2.
To get a better idea, the state of New York has been conducting antibody tests and announced preliminary results on April 23, which found that 13.9% of New York residents had the virus and recovered.
In New York City, that rate was up to 21.2%. In upstate New York, away from the metropolitan centers, the rate was much lower at 3.6%.
If those numbers bear out, approximately 2.6 million people have been infected in the state, including 1.7 million people in New York City.
As of this writing, the state’s health department is reporting that it has had 288,045 positive test results. Initial testing has focused on symptomatic patients, so the majority of the positive cases reported by the health department likely indicate a symptomatic case of COVID-19.
If that’s the case, there would be approximately nine asymptomatic infections for every symptomatic case of COVID-19. Granted, those are suppositions based on preliminary data that hasn’t been released in its entirety.
In one of the first complete antibody studies on prevalence, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine tested a representative sample of 3,330 people in Santa Clara County, California.
When adjusted by demographics to represent the county, it found that the estimated prevalence of the virus ranged from 2.49% to 4.16%, which would represent between 48,000 and 81,000 people.
If those estimates prove true, the actual prevalence in Santa Clara County would be 50 to 85 times greater than the number of confirmed cases.
However, some have raised issues with this study. The raw, unadjusted prevalence found in the study was 1.5%, representing 50 people testing positive for the antibody out of 3,330 study participants.
According to the manufacturer of the test, the false-positive rate for the test is 0.5%, which would correspond to 17 false-positives in this study. Based on that, a third of the positive results may in fact be false-positives, which would greatly inflate the estimated prevalence.
Still, the study of Santa Clara County echoes the studies from New York that suggest that actual prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 is likely much higher than the number of confirmed cases would lead us to believe (albeit likely not 50 to 85 times higher).
While Sweden’s 20% immunity corresponds to New York City’s estimated 21.2% immunity, the same is not true for the rest of the country.
There are nearly 1 million cases in the United States at this time, so even with the greatest estimated prevalence from the Santa Clara County study, there would be 85 million actual cases, each of which would result in a person being immune to the virus.
The obvious problem is that there are approximately 245 million Americans left to be infected.
Given that the Santa Clara County numbers are likely overstated even for the COVID-19 hot spot of Santa Clara, the actual number of Americans left to be infected is many tens of millions more than that.
Herd immunity is an unrealistic goal for the United States until there is a vaccine. Even if the virus proves to spread much faster than previously thought, that would only require a much larger proportion of Americans to get infected and develop immunity.
That’s not to say that we should hunker down until a vaccine comes, but rather that we should proceed with the assumption that we will not have herd immunity. That will require careful planning and deliberate steps, but it’s certainly possible.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by the Daily Signal.]


wnd--2020-04-28--Bronx ER doctor on 'front lines': Time to end lockdown

New York City , with about one-third of the coronavirus deaths in the United States , is clearly the nation 's `` front line . ''
But an emergency-room physician in the Bronx says that even there , authorities should end the lockdown and allow people to return to work .
Dr. Daniel G. Murphy , chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Barnabas Hospital , wrote in a guest column for the New York Post that he 's been in the ER every day for the last few weeks , either supervising or providing direct care .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of whom is a nurse , have contracted COVID-19 and recovered .
Murphy acknowledged the pandemic has been the `` worst health care disaster of my 30-year career , because of its intensity , duration and potential for lasting impact . ''
But he said it 's the `` lasting impact '' that worries him the most .
`` And it 's why I now believe we should end the lockdown and rapidly get back to work , '' he writes .
• The number of cases and deaths is on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of critically ill patients that lasted two weeks noticably crested mid-day April 7 , he said .
By 5 p.m. on that day , stretchers became available and the number of arriving COVID-19 patients dropped below the number discharged , transferred or deceased .
Significantly , he said , the way the wave peaked and subsided `` tells me the ebb and flow had more to do with the natural course of the outbreak than it did with the lockdown . ''
Murphy said distancing works , but he 's `` skeptical that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as many think . ''
Meanwhile , an analysis of the impact of lockdowns by T.J. Rodgers , founding CEO of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. , concluded that in most places the data shows the lockdowns not only were economically devasting , they did not save lives .
Two California doctors who contend their testing of patients combined with public data shows the lockdowns should end had their message censored Monday night by YouTube .
Murphy 's second point is that while inpatient units remain busy with sick COVID-19 patients , his hospital 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a week .
Normally , it averages 240 patients a day , but for the last week it 's averaged fewer than 100 .
`` That means our patients in this diverse , low-income community are afraid to come to the ER for non-COVID care , '' he said .
`` The growing numbers dying at home during this crisis must include fatal myocardial infarctions , asthma exacerbations , bacterial infections and strokes , '' Murphy wrote .
The third reason to end the lockdown , he said , is that while COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is being over-amplified . ''
`` The public needs to understand that the vast majority of infected people do quite well , '' he said .
The final reason is that testing shows there are many more coronavirus cases than originally thought , which means the population is developing a significant degree of natural herd immunity .
He contended that even though the testing is imperfect , `` we ca n't wait months to reopen the economy . ''
Testing , he said , `` should happen in parallel to the immediate resuscitation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work . ''
`` We must protect the vulnerable and mitigate without destroying the economy , '' he said .
`` Standing up to this virus ca n't be the job of essential workers only .
We 've been strong , but we 're tired , and we need the rest of you to help us .
By getting back to work . ''

New York City, with about one-third of the coronavirus deaths in the United States, is clearly the nation's "front line." But an emergency-room physician in the Bronx says that even there, authorities should end the lockdown and allow people to return to work.
Dr. Daniel G. Murphy, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Barnabas Hospital, wrote in a guest column for the New York Post that he's been in the ER every day for the last few weeks, either supervising or providing direct care.
He and two of his daughters, one of whom is a nurse, have contracted COVID-19 and recovered.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Murphy acknowledged the pandemic has been the "worst health care disaster of my 30-year career, because of its intensity, duration and potential for lasting impact."
But he said it's the "lasting impact" that worries him the most.
"And it's why I now believe we should end the lockdown and rapidly get back to work," he writes.
Murphy presented four reasons:
Should the coronavirus lockdown be lifted? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 94% (137 Votes) 6% (9 Votes)
The number of cases and deaths is on a downward trend Non-coronavirus health care is suffering Public fears don't match reality Natural herd immunity is developing.
First, an unprecedented wave of critically ill patients that lasted two weeks noticably crested mid-day April 7, he said.
By 5 p.m. on that day, stretchers became available and the number of arriving COVID-19 patients dropped below the number discharged, transferred or deceased.
Significantly, he said, the way the wave peaked and subsided "tells me the ebb and flow had more to do with the natural course of the outbreak than it did with the lockdown."
Murphy said distancing works, but he's "skeptical that it is playing as predominant a role as many think."
Meanwhile, an analysis of the impact of lockdowns by T.J. Rodgers, founding CEO of Cypress Semiconductor Corp., concluded that in most places the data shows the lockdowns not only were economically devasting, they did not save lives.
Two California doctors who contend their testing of patients combined with public data shows the lockdowns should end had their message censored Monday night by YouTube.
'Over-amplified' fear
Murphy's second point is that while inpatient units remain busy with sick COVID-19 patients, his hospital's ER has been quiet for more than a week. Normally, it averages 240 patients a day, but for the last week it's averaged fewer than 100.
"That means our patients in this diverse, low-income community are afraid to come to the ER for non-COVID care," he said.
"The growing numbers dying at home during this crisis must include fatal myocardial infarctions, asthma exacerbations, bacterial infections and strokes," Murphy wrote.
The third reason to end the lockdown, he said, is that while COVID-19 is serious, "fear of it is being over-amplified."
"The public needs to understand that the vast majority of infected people do quite well," he said.
The final reason is that testing shows there are many more coronavirus cases than originally thought, which means the population is developing a significant degree of natural herd immunity.
He contended that even though the testing is imperfect, "we can't wait months to reopen the economy."
Testing, he said, "should happen in parallel to the immediate resuscitation of the economy and getting people back to work."
"We must protect the vulnerable and mitigate without destroying the economy," he said.
"Standing up to this virus can't be the job of essential workers only. We've been strong, but we're tired, and we need the rest of you to help us. By getting back to work."


wnd--2020-04-28--45,500 corpses incinerated in Wuhan in 2 weeks, say U.S. intel sources

The Wuhan coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 3.1 million people worldwide , causing more than 216,000 deaths .
But the true totals probably never will be known , in part because of unreliable information from China , where it originated .
The Chinese Communist Party 's count of about 80,000 infections and 4,000 deaths in the country is not even `` remotely close , '' according to U.S. officials .
Summit News reported U.S. intelligence has estimated that between March 23 and April 4 , at least 45,500 corpses were incinerated in China .
The U.S. believes the total @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China admits .
They say up to 60,000 dead bodies per month could have been processed by funeral homes in Wuhan .
A Trump official told Fox News the numbers already documented by China are `` arithmetically impossible . ''
`` Again , we don ’ t know the real numbers today , but we do know the about 80,000 infections and 4,000 deaths as reported by the Chinese Communist Party propaganda are not even remotely close , '' the official added .
The report said it 's believed that U.S. intelligence has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overwhelmed by dead bodies .
Officials in the United Kingdom also have discounted the reports coming from China , calling the data `` fake . ''
Summit News said a recent estimation of the true death toll , released by the American Enterprise Institute , suggested China has had at least 2.9 million cases outside Hubei province and the total number of deaths is likely well over 100,000 .

The Wuhan coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 3.1 million people worldwide, causing more than 216,000 deaths.
But the true totals probably never will be known, in part because of unreliable information from China, where it originated.
The Chinese Communist Party's count of about 80,000 infections and 4,000 deaths in the country is not even "remotely close," according to U.S. officials.
Summit News reported U.S. intelligence has estimated that between March 23 and April 4, at least 45,500 corpses were incinerated in China.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The U.S. believes the total is at least 50 times worse than China admits.
They say up to 60,000 dead bodies per month could have been processed by funeral homes in Wuhan.
A Trump official told Fox News the numbers already documented by China are "arithmetically impossible."
"Again, we don’t know the real numbers today, but we do know the about 80,000 infections and 4,000 deaths as reported by the Chinese Communist Party propaganda are not even remotely close," the official added.
The report said it's believed that U.S. intelligence has satellite images showing funeral homes in Wuhan overwhelmed by dead bodies.
Officials in the United Kingdom also have discounted the reports coming from China, calling the data "fake."
Summit News said a recent estimation of the true death toll, released by the American Enterprise Institute, suggested China has had at least 2.9 million cases outside Hubei province and the total number of deaths is likely well over 100,000.


wnd--2020-04-28--Communists lied, the people died

Communists lied, the people died

Worldviews have consequences .
The pandemic that grips the whole world is symptomatic of the deadly grip the ungodly leadership in China holds over a wide populous ( including tens of millions of Chinese Christians ) .
The coronavirus did not just come out of nowhere .
The Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) claims that it came out of the wet markets of Wuhan , a city of about 11 million people .
But there is evidence that it may have originated in a biolab , the Wuhan Institute of Virology .
Steven Mosher , the president of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He says corners were being cut , leading to the virus escaping from the lab .
But the CCP tried to hide these things .
As we know now , they allowed flights from Wuhan to the rest of the world , but not flights from Wuhan to other parts of China .
Recently , I interviewed Mosher on my radio show .
He argued , `` This did n't come from nature .
This came from man .
This came from the leadership of the Communist Party , which was putting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Wuhan .
And I think they were putting so much pressure on the research that the researchers cut corners , and this dangerous coronavirus … escaped from the lab . ''
Mosher continued , `` And there the story gets even worse .
Because after it escapes , it could have been contained very , very quickly by using means that we 're all familiar with – contact-tracing , finding out who Patient Zero was , tracing that person 's contacts , putting those people under quarantine .
Instead , the deadly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city of Wuhan .
China hid it .
… Even to this present day , they are still hiding what they know about the virus . ''
And yet millions of Americans are ready to blame President Trump for the virus crisis rather the actual perpetrators .
Furthermore , millions of young Americans want to see America become a socialist nation – which often leads to communism .
They think socialism means sharing and fairness to everybody .
A recent Gallup poll found that the younger you are in America , the higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of Americans aged 18-39 had a high view of capitalism , with 49 % preferring socialism .
At the same time , of those older than 55 , 68 % were positive toward capitalism but only 32 % in favor of socialism .
Gary Bauer of American Values told me in a recent TV interview : `` I think all of us have been disturbed by polling data that shows that young Americans particularly seem to be very open , if not outwardly and completely supportive , of socialism .
… The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ socialism is a good thing have not been educated in any way shape or form about what socialism is . ''
Mosher noted the CCP ( and communism everywhere ) is built on a series of lies : • There is no God .
• Man is not made in the image of God ; instead he 's just a little higher than the apes .
• The Party can create paradise on earth , if you give it all power .
Chairman Mao , who forced communism on China in 1949 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of humanity , exterminating as many as 45 million of his own people .
When he took over the world 's most populated country , one of the goals was to `` dominate wider parts of the world , '' notes Mosher .
And in 1958 , Mao set up the `` Earth Control Committee . ''
Thus , it is possible that the whole world has been upended by a group of atheists who reacted criminally in response to accidents in a lab that was dealing with very dangerous substances .
No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawsuit last week against the government of China .
At least we can say that their irresponsible reaction to the virus once it began to spread has brought misery to many parts of the world .
Many Chinese people themselves would gladly not have the Communists rule over them .
But , amazingly , as noted , we have many in America who want communism or socialism .
I asked Mosher about this trend among young people .
He chalked it up to the naivete of the young and the `` miseducation '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They think socialism can work – if just the right people put it into practice .
But in every communist regime , Mosher observes , those in charge kill at least about 10-15 % of their own people in order to remove the `` counter-revolutionaries . ''
Of all the sins and crimes of communism throughout the last century and a half – and there have been many – the outbreak of the coronavirus and the failure of the CCP to truly cooperate with other agencies to control this before it became @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the greatest of all .
There was an old saying during the Cold War , `` You can trust the communists to act like communists . ''
It is about time naïve Americans woke up to the rotten fruit of communism .

Worldviews have consequences. The pandemic that grips the whole world is symptomatic of the deadly grip the ungodly leadership in China holds over a wide populous (including tens of millions of Chinese Christians).
The coronavirus did not just come out of nowhere. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims that it came out of the wet markets of Wuhan, a city of about 11 million people. But there is evidence that it may have originated in a biolab, the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Steven Mosher, the president of the Population Research Institute, certainly thinks so. He says corners were being cut, leading to the virus escaping from the lab. But the CCP tried to hide these things. As we know now, they allowed flights from Wuhan to the rest of the world, but not flights from Wuhan to other parts of China.
Recently, I interviewed Mosher on my radio show. He argued, "This didn't come from nature. This came from man. This came from the leadership of the Communist Party, which was putting a rush on research in their biolab in Wuhan. And I think they were putting so much pressure on the research that the researchers cut corners, and this dangerous coronavirus … escaped from the lab."
Mosher continued, "And there the story gets even worse. Because after it escapes, it could have been contained very, very quickly by using means that we're all familiar with – contact-tracing, finding out who Patient Zero was, tracing that person's contacts, putting those people under quarantine. Instead, the deadly virus was allowed to spread throughout the city of Wuhan. China hid it. … Even to this present day, they are still hiding what they know about the virus."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
And yet millions of Americans are ready to blame President Trump for the virus crisis rather the actual perpetrators.
Furthermore, millions of young Americans want to see America become a socialist nation – which often leads to communism. They think socialism means sharing and fairness to everybody.
A recent Gallup poll found that the younger you are in America, the higher your view of socialism. Only 51% of Americans aged 18-39 had a high view of capitalism, with 49% preferring socialism. At the same time, of those older than 55, 68% were positive toward capitalism but only 32% in favor of socialism.
Gary Bauer of American Values told me in a recent TV interview: "I think all of us have been disturbed by polling data that shows that young Americans particularly seem to be very open, if not outwardly and completely supportive, of socialism. … The majority of students that are saying that socialism is a good thing have not been educated in any way shape or form about what socialism is."
Mosher noted the CCP (and communism everywhere) is built on a series of lies:
There is no God.
Man is not made in the image of God; instead he's just a little higher than the apes.
The Party can create paradise on earth, if you give it all power.
Chairman Mao, who forced communism on China in 1949, is the greatest mass-murderer in the history of humanity, exterminating as many as 45 million of his own people. When he took over the world's most populated country, one of the goals was to "dominate wider parts of the world," notes Mosher. And in 1958, Mao set up the "Earth Control Committee."
Thus, it is possible that the whole world has been upended by a group of atheists who reacted criminally in response to accidents in a lab that was dealing with very dangerous substances. No wonder the state of Missouri filed a lawsuit last week against the government of China.
At least we can say that their irresponsible reaction to the virus once it began to spread has brought misery to many parts of the world. Many Chinese people themselves would gladly not have the Communists rule over them. But, amazingly, as noted, we have many in America who want communism or socialism.
I asked Mosher about this trend among young people. He chalked it up to the naivete of the young and the "miseducation" many of them receive in the schools.
They think socialism can work – if just the right people put it into practice. But in every communist regime, Mosher observes, those in charge kill at least about 10-15% of their own people in order to remove the "counter-revolutionaries."
Of all the sins and crimes of communism throughout the last century and a half – and there have been many – the outbreak of the coronavirus and the failure of the CCP to truly cooperate with other agencies to control this before it became a pandemic has got to be among the greatest of all.
There was an old saying during the Cold War, "You can trust the communists to act like communists." It is about time naïve Americans woke up to the rotten fruit of communism.


wnd--2020-04-28--Have we learned the lessons of COVID-19?

We 're seeing now what efforts against COVID-19 were supposed to produce : a flattening of the growth curve of new fatalities .
The growth rate of fatalities is dropping .
We entered the dark tunnel , and now we are on the way out .
Rays of light are shining in .
We will survive .
But will we learn ?
It appears that the initial estimates of the scope of the threat were off by some orders of magnitude .
But we started with zero knowledge .
Mistakes are part of living .
The problem is when we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country already had huge , pressing problems before COVID-19 .
The experience with this crisis can and must provide invaluable lessons for coming out a stronger and better nation .
This experience should make it clear that politicians should not be micromanaging our lives .
Can anyone be surprised that when the government dispenses a few trillion dollars in the course of a few weeks , targeting these funds efficiently – the aid being structured properly and funds getting where they need to go – is impossible ?
Funds from the aid bills @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corporations , professional sports teams and rich Ivy League universities while many small businesses that ca n't meet payroll are being shut out should come as no surprise .
That 's not to say we should not shine light where errors have been made , fix those errors and try to get the funds where they are most needed .
But we must stay aware about the fact that government aid is by nature grossly inefficient and we should n't be doing it unless there is absolutely no choice .
The federal government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approaching $ 5 trillion , 75 % of which is transfer payments – that is , entitlements and social expenditures mostly dealing with welfare and poverty .
So we routinely have annual social spending on the order of what we 're spending now to get through this crisis .
Do you believe it is any more efficient ?
We 've also seen in recent months a crisis in the governing structure of the nation .
The founders designed and gave us a very good operating manual for how to run things .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ witnessed chaos through this crisis between mayors , governors and the federal government regarding who is responsible for doing what .
This is the direct result of court decisions over the course of many years obfuscating the clarity of the Constitution as originally drafted regarding the limited powers of the federal government .
The COVID-19 crisis has shined light on a crisis in American government .
We should fix it and appreciate the wisdom and efficiencies of the Constitution as drafted and originally understood for defining and limiting power of the federal government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aware of the mistakes we have made in undermining traditional values , which has led to a collapse of the American family .
We now see the vulnerability of our aged .
The collapse of conjugal marriage and the dramatic drop in births means we are living in a nation growing old , with an increasing number of Americans who will grow old alone .
It 's not right .
And it 's certainly not healthy .
In a recent Pew Research survey , 45 % said it `` makes no difference '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ types of family arrangements .
Fifty-seven percent say it is `` essential '' for men to have a career they enjoy , and 46 % say that is essential for women .
But only 16 % say being married is `` essential '' for men , and 17 % say it is for women .
And only 16 % say having children is `` essential '' for men , and 22 % say it is for women .
Let 's pray that COVID-19 will bring forth a new respect for love and marriage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of children .

We're seeing now what efforts against COVID-19 were supposed to produce: a flattening of the growth curve of new fatalities. The growth rate of fatalities is dropping.
We entered the dark tunnel, and now we are on the way out. Rays of light are shining in.
We will survive. But will we learn?
It appears that the initial estimates of the scope of the threat were off by some orders of magnitude. But we started with zero knowledge.
Mistakes are part of living. The problem is when we don't learn from them.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The country already had huge, pressing problems before COVID-19. The experience with this crisis can and must provide invaluable lessons for coming out a stronger and better nation.
This experience should make it clear that politicians should not be micromanaging our lives.
Can anyone be surprised that when the government dispenses a few trillion dollars in the course of a few weeks, targeting these funds efficiently – the aid being structured properly and funds getting where they need to go – is impossible?
Funds from the aid bills winding up in the hands of big corporations, professional sports teams and rich Ivy League universities while many small businesses that can't meet payroll are being shut out should come as no surprise.
That's not to say we should not shine light where errors have been made, fix those errors and try to get the funds where they are most needed. But we must stay aware about the fact that government aid is by nature grossly inefficient and we shouldn't be doing it unless there is absolutely no choice.
The federal government budget going into this crisis was already approaching $5 trillion, 75% of which is transfer payments – that is, entitlements and social expenditures mostly dealing with welfare and poverty.
So we routinely have annual social spending on the order of what we're spending now to get through this crisis. Do you believe it is any more efficient?
We've also seen in recent months a crisis in the governing structure of the nation.
The founders designed and gave us a very good operating manual for how to run things. It's called the Constitution.
We've witnessed chaos through this crisis between mayors, governors and the federal government regarding who is responsible for doing what. This is the direct result of court decisions over the course of many years obfuscating the clarity of the Constitution as originally drafted regarding the limited powers of the federal government.
The COVID-19 crisis has shined light on a crisis in American government. We should fix it and appreciate the wisdom and efficiencies of the Constitution as drafted and originally understood for defining and limiting power of the federal government.
The crisis should also make us aware of the mistakes we have made in undermining traditional values, which has led to a collapse of the American family.
We now see the vulnerability of our aged.
The collapse of conjugal marriage and the dramatic drop in births means we are living in a nation growing old, with an increasing number of Americans who will grow old alone.
It's not right. And it's certainly not healthy.
In a recent Pew Research survey, 45% said it "makes no difference" that Americans now live in many different types of family arrangements. Fifty-seven percent say it is "essential" for men to have a career they enjoy, and 46% say that is essential for women. But only 16% say being married is "essential" for men, and 17% say it is for women. And only 16% say having children is "essential" for men, and 22% say it is for women.
Let's pray that COVID-19 will bring forth a new respect for love and marriage in America, and produce new waves of children.


wnd--2020-04-28--When Christian leaders walk away from Truth

When serving as president of the National Religious Broadcasters , my greatest concern for Christian broadcasters was not the emerging climate of censorship or even abusive hate-crimes laws .
I worried about timid self-censorship among Christian leaders .
Seven years later , I now see that I was only half-right .
What I did not foresee was the dramatic departure from biblical truth by supposedly evangelical leaders and institutions .
We are now seeing a wide-scale rejection of God 's Word as the authority for faith and practice .
I assure you , it 's no fun writing a column @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in calling out others for biblical infidelity .
Yet , many Christian leaders have clearly lost their way .
Chick-fil-A unjustifiably disparaged the Salvation Army , the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Paul Anderson Youth Home , by making a public spectacle of cutting off its charitable support of these groups for being `` anti-LGBT . ''
These groups are not `` anti '' anything .
They simply subscribe to the historic Christian faith – the same faith Chick-fil-A claims to profess .
The bitter irony here is that Bible-believing Christians stood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their stance on marriage .
Chick-fil-A rewarded that kindness by impersonating the deeply discredited Southern Poverty Law Center , which falsely labels groups holding to biblical views of marriage and family as `` haters . ''
Less surprising is the once-orthodox , but now left-leaning , National Association of Evangelicals , which recently endorsed radical leftist legislation that would overturn religious free speech and free exercise by establishing sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories under federal nondiscrimination law .
According to Dr. Ryan Anderson at the Heritage Foundation , `` these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people to live as LGBT but about coercing everyone else to support , facilitate , and endorse such actions . ''
Even the Southern Baptist Convention seems to be suffering a crisis of orthodoxy .
According to the newly launched Conservative Baptist Network , the Southern Baptists are drifting into political and theological liberalism and away from biblical authority , with its emerging emphasis on `` social justice , Critical Race Theory , Intersectionality , and the redefining of biblical gender roles '' – all of which are little more than leftist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identity politics .
The generally conservative PCA denomination seems not far behind .
There we see the `` Revoice '' movement forging a beachhead for LGBT inclusion within the framework of `` the historic Christian tradition . ''
Revoice says what 's wrong with same-sex attraction is not that it is sinful , but that others are sinfully opposed to it .
And we can only scratch our heads at Christianity Today , which decided that building the kingdom of God includes calling for the impeachment of President Trump .
A false , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Without question , the most astonishing departure from biblical authority comes from Pastor Andy Stanley , who called Christians to `` unhitch '' their faith from the Old Testament .
Stanley argues that the Old Testament is not the Christian 's guide for `` any behavior in the church , '' and he calls church unity more important than biblical fidelity .
At base , he seems confused about the difference between the Levitical code ( which applied to Israel alone ) and the moral law ( which applies to all mankind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stanley where he can find the Ten Commandments – or is lying , stealing , coveting and adultery now `` acceptable behavior '' ?
`` Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets ; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them .
For truly , I say to you , until heaven and earth pass away , not an iota , not a dot , will pass from the Law until all is accomplished '' ( Matthew 5:17-18 ) .
So here we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in need of truth .
While some have joined the sad ranks of the Silent Shepherds , others have charted a new and dangerous course away from the safe harbor of biblical orthodoxy .
We would be far better off if these latter-day skeptics stayed silent also .
The Gospel – whether found in the Old Testament or New – is the only power we have .
Even if some leaders walk away from it , we dare not follow them .
Standing for Truth requires standing on Truth .

By Frank Wright, Ph.D.
When serving as president of the National Religious Broadcasters, my greatest concern for Christian broadcasters was not the emerging climate of censorship or even abusive hate-crimes laws. I worried about timid self-censorship among Christian leaders.
Seven years later, I now see that I was only half-right.
What I did not foresee was the dramatic departure from biblical truth by supposedly evangelical leaders and institutions. We are now seeing a wide-scale rejection of God's Word as the authority for faith and practice.
I assure you, it's no fun writing a column like this. I take no delight in calling out others for biblical infidelity. Yet, many Christian leaders have clearly lost their way.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
CHICK-FIL-A
Chick-fil-A unjustifiably disparaged the Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Paul Anderson Youth Home, by making a public spectacle of cutting off its charitable support of these groups for being "anti-LGBT." These groups are not "anti" anything. They simply subscribe to the historic Christian faith – the same faith Chick-fil-A claims to profess.
The bitter irony here is that Bible-believing Christians stood by Chick-fil-A when they were attacked for their stance on marriage. Chick-fil-A rewarded that kindness by impersonating the deeply discredited Southern Poverty Law Center, which falsely labels groups holding to biblical views of marriage and family as "haters."
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS
Less surprising is the once-orthodox, but now left-leaning, National Association of Evangelicals, which recently endorsed radical leftist legislation that would overturn religious free speech and free exercise by establishing sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories under federal nondiscrimination law. According to Dr. Ryan Anderson at the Heritage Foundation, "these laws are not about protecting the freedom of people to live as LGBT but about coercing everyone else to support, facilitate, and endorse such actions."
SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION
Even the Southern Baptist Convention seems to be suffering a crisis of orthodoxy. According to the newly launched Conservative Baptist Network, the Southern Baptists are drifting into political and theological liberalism and away from biblical authority, with its emerging emphasis on "social justice, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and the redefining of biblical gender roles" – all of which are little more than leftist code words for their victim-based scheme of identity politics.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA (PCA)
The generally conservative PCA denomination seems not far behind. There we see the "Revoice" movement forging a beachhead for LGBT inclusion within the framework of "the historic Christian tradition." Revoice says what's wrong with same-sex attraction is not that it is sinful, but that others are sinfully opposed to it.
CHRISTIANITY TODAY
And we can only scratch our heads at Christianity Today, which decided that building the kingdom of God includes calling for the impeachment of President Trump. A false, virtue-signaling kind of kingdom-building to be sure.
PASTOR ANDY STANLEY
Without question, the most astonishing departure from biblical authority comes from Pastor Andy Stanley, who called Christians to "unhitch" their faith from the Old Testament. Stanley argues that the Old Testament is not the Christian's guide for "any behavior in the church," and he calls church unity more important than biblical fidelity. At base, he seems confused about the difference between the Levitical code (which applied to Israel alone) and the moral law (which applies to all mankind). Perhaps someone will remind Pastor Stanley where he can find the Ten Commandments – or is lying, stealing, coveting and adultery now "acceptable behavior"?
Yet, Jesus was clear:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17-18).
So here we are, living in a culture desperately in need of truth. While some have joined the sad ranks of the Silent Shepherds, others have charted a new and dangerous course away from the safe harbor of biblical orthodoxy. We would be far better off if these latter-day skeptics stayed silent also.
The Gospel – whether found in the Old Testament or New – is the only power we have. Even if some leaders walk away from it, we dare not follow them. Standing for Truth requires standing on Truth.


wnd--2020-04-29--The coming meat shortage

The coming meat shortage

The Great Toilet Paper Scare of 2020 has come to end , but do n't breathe a sigh of relief just yet .
The Spring Meat Stampede is here .
At my local Costco in Colorado Springs on Monday , fresh chicken breast was nowhere to be found .
Nationwide , bacon prices doubled .
Wholesale pork prices for ham , ribs and loins rose between 12 % and 32 % over the last seven days .
COVID-19 outbreaks among the nation 's major meat processing plants have shut down nearly 20 % of the country 's fresh pork production @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facilities so far because of sick and no-show workers ; Tyson Foods warns `` the food supply is breaking '' and `` millions of pounds of meat will disappear '' by May 1 after the mega-corporation idled its largest pork plant in Iowa , a beef plant in Washington state and another meatpacking facility in Indiana .
On Tuesday , President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to compel the nation 's biggest meat processors to stay open and stave off shortages .
How exactly the feds will `` address liability issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about to Trump ) and force union leaders to comply remains unclear .
Whether the order actually heads off mass hysteria is also iffy .
As we saw with the toilet paper rush , Chicken Little-ism is contagious .
Warnings about shortages induce shortages .
Admonitions of `` Do n't hoard the Charmin '' failed in the face of mob behavior .
Same with `` Do n't hoard the hocks . ''
With meat prices rising , the economic landscape looks bleak .
While gas is less than $ 2 a gallon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down and off the streets , out of the cars and in no hurry to get on planes or trains .
The latest Consumer Price Index summary reveals rising rent prices and costs of medical care services on top of spiking meat prices .
With nearly 26 million Americans now out of work , signs of impending stagflation loom .
That `` V-shaped recovery '' is more like a `` P.D . ''
recovery : Pipe Dream .
More candor from all the Beltway `` experts '' about what we face would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we 're at it , this nation must confront the dangers of dependency on the globalized , homogenized methods of producing meat and other key products in our food supply , which is concentrated in the hands of a quarter of giant multinational corporations who press for unlimited alien workers in exchange for low food prices .
An estimated 30 % of America 's meat production employees are foreign-born .
As usual , `` Open Borders Inc. '' reaps all the benefits while we 're left holding an empty grocery bag .
Let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an illegal immigrant smuggling racket two decades ago .
The company has paid Swamp lobbyists like Republican Ed Gillespie millions of dollars to push for illegal-immigrant amnesty .
And Big Meat coordinates with refugee resettlement racketeers to import tens of thousands of cheap laborers from Asia , Africa and Latin America into the heartland .
Just one example : Tyson fundamentally transformed Waterloo , Iowa , by working with faith-based government contractors to ship in thousands of low-wage Burmese refugees to fill jobs at the meat plant now at the center of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9,143 refugees from 37 countries have resettled in Iowa ( which does n't include so-called secondary migration , or friends and relatives moving to Iowa from their primary settlement location ) .
Taxpayer-subsidized Catholic Charities , Lutheran Services and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants have reaped millions dumping them across Central Iowa – and abandoning them in cultural , linguistic and economic ghettos at the mercy of exploitative employers .
As Refugee Resettlement Watch founder and investigator Ann Corcoran reports , `` The dark underbelly of the giant globalist meatpacking industry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large numbers of slaughterhouse workers are creating U.S. hotspots for the spread of the Chinese virus . ''
A decentralized system of meat and poultry production would enhance food security , national security and public health .
Demographic conquest fueled by big business ' insatiable appetite for cheap labor , by contrast , is making us sick to our stomachs in more ways than one .

The Great Toilet Paper Scare of 2020 has come to end, but don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet. The Spring Meat Stampede is here.
At my local Costco in Colorado Springs on Monday, fresh chicken breast was nowhere to be found. Nationwide, bacon prices doubled. Wholesale pork prices for ham, ribs and loins rose between 12% and 32% over the last seven days. COVID-19 outbreaks among the nation's major meat processing plants have shut down nearly 20% of the country's fresh pork production. Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods has shuttered five facilities so far because of sick and no-show workers; Tyson Foods warns "the food supply is breaking" and "millions of pounds of meat will disappear" by May 1 after the mega-corporation idled its largest pork plant in Iowa, a beef plant in Washington state and another meatpacking facility in Indiana.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to compel the nation's biggest meat processors to stay open and stave off shortages. How exactly the feds will "address liability issues" (which Tyson Foods execs complained about to Trump) and force union leaders to comply remains unclear. Whether the order actually heads off mass hysteria is also iffy. As we saw with the toilet paper rush, Chicken Little-ism is contagious. Warnings about shortages induce shortages. Admonitions of "Don't hoard the Charmin" failed in the face of mob behavior. Same with "Don't hoard the hocks."
With meat prices rising, the economic landscape looks bleak. While gas is less than $2 a gallon, much of the nation is still locked down and off the streets, out of the cars and in no hurry to get on planes or trains. The latest Consumer Price Index summary reveals rising rent prices and costs of medical care services on top of spiking meat prices. With nearly 26 million Americans now out of work, signs of impending stagflation loom. That "V-shaped recovery" is more like a "P.D." recovery: Pipe Dream.
More candor from all the Beltway "experts" about what we face would be helpful to our suffering citizenry. While we're at it, this nation must confront the dangers of dependency on the globalized, homogenized methods of producing meat and other key products in our food supply, which is concentrated in the hands of a quarter of giant multinational corporations who press for unlimited alien workers in exchange for low food prices. An estimated 30% of America's meat production employees are foreign-born. As usual, "Open Borders Inc." reaps all the benefits while we're left holding an empty grocery bag.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Let's remember: Tyson Foods was embroiled in an illegal immigrant smuggling racket two decades ago. The company has paid Swamp lobbyists like Republican Ed Gillespie millions of dollars to push for illegal-immigrant amnesty. And Big Meat coordinates with refugee resettlement racketeers to import tens of thousands of cheap laborers from Asia, Africa and Latin America into the heartland.
Just one example: Tyson fundamentally transformed Waterloo, Iowa, by working with faith-based government contractors to ship in thousands of low-wage Burmese refugees to fill jobs at the meat plant now at the center of a coronavirus outbreak. Since 2002, 9,143 refugees from 37 countries have resettled in Iowa (which doesn't include so-called secondary migration, or friends and relatives moving to Iowa from their primary settlement location). Taxpayer-subsidized Catholic Charities, Lutheran Services and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants have reaped millions dumping them across Central Iowa – and abandoning them in cultural, linguistic and economic ghettos at the mercy of exploitative employers.
As Refugee Resettlement Watch founder and investigator Ann Corcoran reports, "The dark underbelly of the giant globalist meatpacking industry in the U.S. is being exposed as large numbers of slaughterhouse workers are creating U.S. hotspots for the spread of the Chinese virus."
A decentralized system of meat and poultry production would enhance food security, national security and public health. Demographic conquest fueled by big business' insatiable appetite for cheap labor, by contrast, is making us sick to our stomachs in more ways than one.


wnd--2020-04-29--The media's pathetic Biden double standard

This week , new evidence emerged in the sexual assault allegation by former Joe Biden staffer Tara Reade against the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee .
According to Business Insider , four people have stated that Reade told them contemporaneously about her accusation that Biden forcibly penetrated her with his fingers in 1993 .
Meanwhile , the Media Research Center uncovered a clip , purportedly of Reade 's mother , calling into `` Larry King Live '' back in 1993 to obliquely refer to the allegation .
While such evidence does not speak to the actual event at issue , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talking about the alleged incident since it occurred .
The media ignored the original allegation for weeks .
Now , even while reporting on the new developments , they 've found ways to downplay their importance .
Thus , The Washington Post – democracy dies in darkness !
– wrote an article headlined `` Trump allies highlight new claims regarding allegations against Biden . ''
Normally , headlines are designed to convey information about the underlying story .
This headline was apparently written in English , translated to Swahili and then to Punjabi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ English before printing .
Other news outlets skipped the revelations altogether .
The New York Times , which ran a comprehensive piece two weeks ago attempting to debunk Reade 's case , completely ignored the new information .
NBC News did n't bother covering the information either .
Meanwhile , NBC News and MSNBC Chairman Andy Lack printed a piece on the network website celebrating its journalistic performance .
`` Humbled by the responsibility we bear , we try our damnedest to serve our audience , '' he said .
It 's a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trying desperately to pat himself on the back .
As of this writing , Biden has not been asked a single direct question about Reade by a television reporter .
Meanwhile , members of the media cheer their audacity in asking President Donald Trump questions like , `` If an American president loses more Americans over the course of six weeks than died in the entirety of the Vietnam War , does he deserve to be reelected ? ''
So .
Much .
Journalisming .
Why does any of this matter ?
Not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court of public opinion without evidence .
He should n't .
The standards of due process should apply evenly , regardless of partisanship .
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh should not have been subjected to thousands of hit pieces , magazine covers and twisted accusations that his anger at rape accusations he disputed was mere evidence of his privilege .
Christine Blasey Ford should not have been celebrated nationwide as a symbol of truth telling without any corroborative evidence .
# BelieveAllWomen was always an idiotic slogan .
Only now are members of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why this matters .
Biden 's candidacy will survive Tara Reade : Democrats are n't dumping Biden overboard based on a 27-year-old accusation of questionable veracity , and they certainly wo n't do so when running against Trump , who has his own checkered history .
But the media 's pathetically hypocritical standard on due process and sexual assault allegations wo n't survive .
Neither will their credibility .
President Trump spends an inordinate amount of time bashing the media for their lack of seriousness .
The same media who laureled Democrats for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studiously avoiding any talk about Tara Reade deserve every ounce of skepticism the American people can muster .
There 's a serio-comic tenor to this whole situation .
We 're living in a time when we must trust the media more than ever – to bring us unbiased , factual information about a global pandemic , to warn us of dangers and to be reasonable about risk assessment .
Yet the media have spent so many years burning through their credibility that they have little left .
That 's their own fault .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they could start by apologizing for their Kavanaugh coverage – and by providing some fact-checking about their own political motivations .

This week, new evidence emerged in the sexual assault allegation by former Joe Biden staffer Tara Reade against the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. According to Business Insider, four people have stated that Reade told them contemporaneously about her accusation that Biden forcibly penetrated her with his fingers in 1993. Meanwhile, the Media Research Center uncovered a clip, purportedly of Reade's mother, calling into "Larry King Live" back in 1993 to obliquely refer to the allegation. While such evidence does not speak to the actual event at issue, it does demonstrate that Reade has been talking about the alleged incident since it occurred.
The media ignored the original allegation for weeks. Now, even while reporting on the new developments, they've found ways to downplay their importance. Thus, The Washington Post – democracy dies in darkness! – wrote an article headlined "Trump allies highlight new claims regarding allegations against Biden." Normally, headlines are designed to convey information about the underlying story. This headline was apparently written in English, translated to Swahili and then to Punjabi via Google Translate and then back to English before printing.
Other news outlets skipped the revelations altogether. The New York Times, which ran a comprehensive piece two weeks ago attempting to debunk Reade's case, completely ignored the new information. NBC News didn't bother covering the information either. Meanwhile, NBC News and MSNBC Chairman Andy Lack printed a piece on the network website celebrating its journalistic performance. "Humbled by the responsibility we bear, we try our damnedest to serve our audience," he said. It's a wonder Lack didn't dislocate both arms trying desperately to pat himself on the back.
As of this writing, Biden has not been asked a single direct question about Reade by a television reporter. Meanwhile, members of the media cheer their audacity in asking President Donald Trump questions like, "If an American president loses more Americans over the course of six weeks than died in the entirety of the Vietnam War, does he deserve to be reelected?" So. Much. Journalisming.
Why does any of this matter? Not because Biden should be convicted in the court of public opinion without evidence. He shouldn't. The standards of due process should apply evenly, regardless of partisanship. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh should not have been subjected to thousands of hit pieces, magazine covers and twisted accusations that his anger at rape accusations he disputed was mere evidence of his privilege. Christine Blasey Ford should not have been celebrated nationwide as a symbol of truth telling without any corroborative evidence. #BelieveAllWomen was always an idiotic slogan. Only now are members of the media admitting it.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
That's why this matters. Biden's candidacy will survive Tara Reade: Democrats aren't dumping Biden overboard based on a 27-year-old accusation of questionable veracity, and they certainly won't do so when running against Trump, who has his own checkered history. But the media's pathetically hypocritical standard on due process and sexual assault allegations won't survive. Neither will their credibility. President Trump spends an inordinate amount of time bashing the media for their lack of seriousness. The same media who laureled Democrats for cashiering Kavanaugh and now spend their days studiously avoiding any talk about Tara Reade deserve every ounce of skepticism the American people can muster.
There's a serio-comic tenor to this whole situation. We're living in a time when we must trust the media more than ever – to bring us unbiased, factual information about a global pandemic, to warn us of dangers and to be reasonable about risk assessment. Yet the media have spent so many years burning through their credibility that they have little left. That's their own fault. If they wish to restore their credibility, they could start by apologizing for their Kavanaugh coverage – and by providing some fact-checking about their own political motivations.


wnd--2020-04-29--U.S. Navy ship asserts international navigation, angering China

( JUST THE NEWS ) -- A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer sailed through international waters Tuesday in the South @ @ @ @ @ restrictions imposed by China , Taiwan and Vietnam , the Navy told Just the News @ @ @ @ @ , the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the Paracel Islands @ @ @ @ @ , ” Lt. j.g .
Rachel McMarr , a Pacific Fleet spokesperson , wrote in @ @ @ @ @ freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights , freedoms and lawful uses of the sea @ @ @ @ @ challenging the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China , Taiwan and Vietnam and also @ @ @ @ @ claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands.
” The transit drew swift rebuke from @ @ @ @ @ United States of `` provocative acts , '' and of trespassing into Chinese territorial waters @

(JUST THE NEWS) -- A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer sailed through international waters Tuesday in the South China Sea to challenge unlawful restrictions imposed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam, the Navy told Just the News.
“On April 28, the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law,” Lt. j.g. Rachel McMarr, a Pacific Fleet spokesperson, wrote in an email. “This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and also by challenging China’s claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands.”
The transit drew swift rebuke from Beijing, which accused the United States of "provocative acts," and of trespassing into Chinese territorial waters.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-04-30--FBI discussed interviewing Flynn 'to get him to lie' and 'get him fired'

( FOX NEWS ) -- Explosive new internal FBI documents unsealed Wednesday show that top bureau officials discussed their motivations @ @ @ @ @ Michael Flynn in the White House in January 2017 -- and openly questioned if their @ @ @ @ @ to get him to lie , so we can prosecute him or get him fired @ @ @ @ @ -- written by the FBI 's former head of counterintelligence Bill Priestap after a meeting @ @ @ @ @ and then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe , Fox News is told -- further suggested that @ @ @ @ @ to get Flynn `` to admit to breaking the Logan Act . ''
The Logan @ @ @ @ @ that has never been used in a criminal prosecution ; enacted in 1799 , it @ @ @ @ @ from falsely claiming to represent the United States abroad in an era before telephones .

(FOX NEWS) -- Explosive new internal FBI documents unsealed Wednesday show that top bureau officials discussed their motivations for interviewing then-national security adviser Michael Flynn in the White House in January 2017 -- and openly questioned if their "goal" was "to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired."
The handwritten notes -- written by the FBI's former head of counterintelligence Bill Priestap after a meeting with then-FBI Director James Comey and then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Fox News is told -- further suggested that agents planned in the alternative to get Flynn "to admit to breaking the Logan Act."
The Logan Act is an obscure statute that has never been used in a criminal prosecution; enacted in 1799, it was intended to prevent individuals from falsely claiming to represent the United States abroad in an era before telephones.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-04-30--Facebook fails to get 'sex trafficking' allegations dismissed

Facebook has failed to get dismissed several lawsuits in Texas that claim the website is a breeding ground for sex traffickers .
Courthouse News reported the cases were brought against the social media giant in 2018 and 2019 by three minors who allegedly connected on Facebook or its subsidiary Instagram with individuals `` who forced them into human trafficking . ''
But the 14th Court of Appeals rejected Facebook 's motion to dismiss .
Facebook contends its immunity from such suits is based on the Communications Decency Act that then-President Bill Clinton signed in 1996 .
It states : `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ computer of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider . ''
Facebook told Courthouse News it 's the first time in more than a dozen cases that a court has not granted such a demand for immunity .
The plaintiffs claimed gross negligence , product liability and other Texas law violations .
One plaintiff that when she was 15 in 2012 , `` a man with whom she had mutual Facebook friends reached out to her on the website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He told her she was 'pretty enough to be a model ' and promised to help her make a living as a model .
She says she met him in person and he turned out to be a vicious pimp , '' Courthouse News reported .
`` Within hours of meeting the Facebook friend , photos were taken of Jane Doe and were posted on Backpage , and then she was raped , beaten , and forced into further sex trafficking , '' her complaint states .
The plaintiffs claim Facebook does n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can charge advertisers more the more users it has .
Houston lawyer Annie McAdams , for the plaintiffs , told Courthouse News the case should advance in Texas .
`` Houston is the backyard of where these children were harmed , '' she said .
`` Houston has long been recognized as a hub of human trafficking so it is a perfect the city to address the harms that have been created by online sex trafficking . ''
The Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act makes it illegal to knowingly assist , facilitate or @ @ @ @

Facebook has failed to get dismissed several lawsuits in Texas that claim the website is a breeding ground for sex traffickers.
Courthouse News reported the cases were brought against the social media giant in 2018 and 2019 by three minors who allegedly connected on Facebook or its subsidiary Instagram with individuals "who forced them into human trafficking."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
But the 14th Court of Appeals rejected Facebook's motion to dismiss.
Facebook contends its immunity from such suits is based on the Communications Decency Act that then-President Bill Clinton signed in 1996.
It states: "No provider or user of an interactive computer of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."
Facebook told Courthouse News it's the first time in more than a dozen cases that a court has not granted such a demand for immunity.
The plaintiffs claimed gross negligence, product liability and other Texas law violations.
One plaintiff that when she was 15 in 2012, "a man with whom she had mutual Facebook friends reached out to her on the website and she accepted his friend request. He told her she was 'pretty enough to be a model' and promised to help her make a living as a model. She says she met him in person and he turned out to be a vicious pimp," Courthouse News reported.
"Within hours of meeting the Facebook friend, photos were taken of Jane Doe and were posted on Backpage, and then she was raped, beaten, and forced into further sex trafficking," her complaint states.
The plaintiffs claim Facebook doesn't crack down on such behaviors because it can charge advertisers more the more users it has.
Houston lawyer Annie McAdams, for the plaintiffs, told Courthouse News the case should advance in Texas.
"Houston is the backyard of where these children were harmed," she said. "Houston has long been recognized as a hub of human trafficking so it is a perfect the city to address the harms that have been created by online sex trafficking."
The Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act makes it illegal to knowingly assist, facilitate or support sex trafficking.


wnd--2020-04-30--Swiss grandparents told it's OK to hug kids under 10

Swiss public health officials have relaxed restrictions after scientists in the European nation concluded children under 10 do n't have the `` receptors '' targeted by the coronavirus .
That means grandparents are free to hug their young grandchildren , DailyMail.com reported .
`` Children are very rarely infected and do not pass on the virus , '' said Dr. Daniel Koch , head of Switzerland 's infectious diseases unit at the Federal Office of Public Health .
`` That is why small children pose no risk to high-risk patients or grandparents . ''
The Swiss government is still advising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ older grandchildren .
The Swiss scientists cited a study in France earlier this month of a British boy who had unknowingly contracted the disease on a skiing vacation .
He was among 11 people struck with the disease who were staying at the same chalet in the French Alps .
The boy later come in contact with 172 people at three different ski schools before being quarantined , but nobody was infected .
The Daily Telegraph of London reported some members of Britain 's Government 's Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies believe that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The conclusion has prompted calls for schools to reopen in June .
However , British experts have questioned Switzerland 's relaxation of restrictions , insisting there 's insufficient scientific evidence .
Russell Viner , president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health , said that his organization has advised against children and grandparents hugging .
`` We think that children probably transmit Covid-19 less than adults , but we need to be absolutely sure and we would need to have a lot more data on that particularly because elderly grandparents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .

Swiss public health officials have relaxed restrictions after scientists in the European nation concluded children under 10 don't have the "receptors" targeted by the coronavirus.
That means grandparents are free to hug their young grandchildren, DailyMail.com reported.
"Children are very rarely infected and do not pass on the virus," said Dr. Daniel Koch, head of Switzerland's infectious diseases unit at the Federal Office of Public Health. "That is why small children pose no risk to high-risk patients or grandparents."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The Swiss government is still advising grandparents to practice social distancing with their older grandchildren.
The Swiss scientists cited a study in France earlier this month of a British boy who had unknowingly contracted the disease on a skiing vacation. He was among 11 people struck with the disease who were staying at the same chalet in the French Alps.
The boy later come in contact with 172 people at three different ski schools before being quarantined, but nobody was infected.
The Daily Telegraph of London reported some members of Britain's Government's Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies believe that children don't pass on the virus.
The conclusion has prompted calls for schools to reopen in June.
However, British experts have questioned Switzerland's relaxation of restrictions, insisting there's insufficient scientific evidence.
Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said that his organization has advised against children and grandparents hugging.
"We think that children probably transmit Covid-19 less than adults, but we need to be absolutely sure and we would need to have a lot more data on that particularly because elderly grandparents are in the vulnerable group" he said.


wnd--2020-04-30--Dr. Fauci touts another treatment for coronavirus

Amid `` positive data '' emerging from a clinical trial , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorized emergency use of the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients .
Studies have shown it helped patients go from relying on oxygen to leaving the hospital in two weeks , reported the New York Times .
Dr. Anthony Fauci , the top White House infectious-disease expert , called the results of another study of the drug conducted by the National Institutes of Health results `` very optimistic . ''
It would be the third drug approved for emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine .
The Dow spiked 550 points on news of the treatment .
The study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , which Fauci has directed since 1984 , has reached its primary conclusion , according to Gilead , which means it was found to be effective in the trial .
The Hill noted remdesivir , produced by California-based Gilead Sciences , originally was developed as a potential treatment for Ebola but was found to be ineffective .
Scott Gottlieb , former Food and Drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a note of caution in an interview with CNBC .
`` It ’ s not going to be a cure , but it is going to be a drug potentially that if you use it particularly early in the course of a disease — you hang it in the emergency room when someone comes in with COVID , especially someone with risk factors that predict they ’ ll have a worse outcome from the disease — it could reduce their chances of having a really bad outcome , ” he said .
Gottlieb @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antivirals used to treat the flu .
Fauci said the trial showed `` that a drug can block this virus . ''
He compared the finding to the arrival of the first antiretrovirals shown to be effective against HIV in the 1980s .
But he said there 's no timeline of when the FDA might approve remdesivir .
Meanwhile , a study by the Italian Society for Rheumatology indicated hydroxychloroquine is effective as a preventative for the coronavirus .
Among 65,000 patients on longterm hydroxychloroquine for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus , only 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went to the ICU and there were not deaths .
The study found it was a 90 % reduction in the infection rate compared to the rest of Italy .
In addition , tests for a possible vaccine by Oxford University have proved effective on rhesus macaque monkeys , which remained healthy for a full month despite repeated exposure to the virus , the New York Times reported .

Amid "positive data" emerging from a clinical trial, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorized emergency use of the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients.
Studies have shown it helped patients go from relying on oxygen to leaving the hospital in two weeks, reported the New York Times.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top White House infectious-disease expert, called the results of another study of the drug conducted by the National Institutes of Health results "very optimistic."
It would be the third drug approved for emergency use by the FDA after it approved the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
The Dow spiked 550 points on news of the treatment.
The study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which Fauci has directed since 1984, has reached its primary conclusion, according to Gilead, which means it was found to be effective in the trial.
The Hill noted remdesivir, produced by California-based Gilead Sciences, originally was developed as a potential treatment for Ebola but was found to be ineffective.
Scott Gottlieb, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner under President Trump, expressed a note of caution in an interview with CNBC.
"It’s not going to be a cure, but it is going to be a drug potentially that if you use it particularly early in the course of a disease — you hang it in the emergency room when someone comes in with COVID, especially someone with risk factors that predict they’ll have a worse outcome from the disease — it could reduce their chances of having a really bad outcome,” he said.
Gottlieb said that's the case with other antivirals used to treat the flu.
Fauci said the trial showed "that a drug can block this virus."
He compared the finding to the arrival of the first antiretrovirals shown to be effective against HIV in the 1980s.
But he said there's no timeline of when the FDA might approve remdesivir.
Meanwhile, a study by the Italian Society for Rheumatology indicated hydroxychloroquine is effective as a preventative for the coronavirus.
Among 65,000 patients on longterm hydroxychloroquine for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, only 20 patients tested positive for COVID-19.
None went to the ICU and there were not deaths.
The study found it was a 90% reduction in the infection rate compared to the rest of Italy.
In addition, tests for a possible vaccine by Oxford University have proved effective on rhesus macaque monkeys, which remained healthy for a full month despite repeated exposure to the virus, the New York Times reported.


wnd--2020-04-30--Student forced to sleep in car after confrontation with school employee

A college student was forced to sleep in his car following a verbal confrontation with a school employee , and now the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is warning officials at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence , Kansas , to address the potential constitutional violations .
On April 8 , student Russell Parker was chipping golf balls on the campus , which was nearly deserted because of the coronavirus lockdown .
`` He was a student-athlete on the golf team and among the students the university allowed to remain on campus during the pandemic , '' FIRE explained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campus incident report , a facilities employee spotted Parker 's car in a no-parking area and questioned him about his student status , asking for identification and telling Parker to play golf elsewhere .
Parker , packing up his equipment , asked whether the employee was on 'some kind of power trip . '
As the employee drove off , he threatened to have Parker 's car ticketed and towed ; Parker responded that he was 'being an a -- -- . ''
The employee then dispatched Haskell 's lead security officer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at that location , but must move his car .
Parker left after the brief interactions , '' FIRE said .
Then , however , the university told Parker he was on `` emergency suspension '' over an `` incident report for violence indicating threats to one or more federal employees , '' FIRE said .
The suspension came with the loss of his on-campus housing , forcing him to retreat to his car to sleep , FIRE said .
Now he 's in temporary housing 800 miles away after the school refused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hearing on the dispute .
`` Haskell already took away Russell ’ s student housing , and now they 're taking away his right to a fair hearing , '' said Zach Greenberg , who wrote FIRE 's letter to Haskell .
`` What Haskell did is wrong at any time , but it ’ s unconscionable during a global pandemic .
Haskell must provide Russell an opportunity to clear his name , '' he said .
Notified of the suspension , Parker replied immediately with a request for an appeal .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and did n't respond , FIRE reported .
`` I have faced discrimination in my life , but I never thought it would happen at a place like Haskell , '' said Parker .
`` I would very much like to tell the university my side of the story , but I can not do so until Haskell gives me that opportunity — an opportunity I ’ ve repeatedly requested yet the university has refused to provide after they evicted me . ''
Noting Haskell 's institution is run by the federal government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uphold student due process rights .
`` According to Haskell ’ s own student code of conduct , all students are 'entitled to due process and appeal in every instance of disciplinary action for alleged violation of Haskell expectations . '
'' FIRE urged the school to schedule a hearing immediately , but instead of responding , an administrator `` accidentally included a FIRE representative in an email to other university leaders about FIRE 's letter just 8 minutes after it was sent , predicting that the story would go public and suggesting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` It 's shameful that Haskell 's first thoughts were about public relations , and not about the safety of the student they kicked off campus during a pandemic , '' said Greenberg .
`` If universities take the extraordinary step of punishing students without a hearing , that hearing must be scheduled as soon as practicable .
It ’ s been over two weeks — Haskell must immediately give Russell a full and fair chance to defend himself . ''
The university originally was a trade school for Native Americans .
During @ @ @ @ @ @ @ college curriculum and in 1992 it became Haskell Indian Nations University .
It serves about 1,000 students each semester , offering baccalaureate-related programs in teacher education , business administration , environmental science and other disciplines .
FIRE pointed out : `` None of the allegations of Parker 's behavior cited by HINU constituted an emergency . ''
And since his version of events `` contradicted '' the school 's , it creates the possibility `` that HINU has punished Parker without a hearing for expression protected under the First Amendment . ''
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` irritated '' with a `` golf club in his hand . ''
He explains he was annoyed but `` was simply complying with [ an ] order to pack up his golf equipment and leave . ''
Further , the removal of his housing rights could appear punitive , since he still was allowed to attend classes , eat lunches and use the library , which would n't have been allowedd had he been a true danger , the letter explained .

A college student was forced to sleep in his car following a verbal confrontation with a school employee, and now the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is warning officials at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, to address the potential constitutional violations.
On April 8, student Russell Parker was chipping golf balls on the campus, which was nearly deserted because of the coronavirus lockdown.
"He was a student-athlete on the golf team and among the students the university allowed to remain on campus during the pandemic," FIRE explained.
"According to Parker and the campus incident report, a facilities employee spotted Parker's car in a no-parking area and questioned him about his student status, asking for identification and telling Parker to play golf elsewhere. Parker, packing up his equipment, asked whether the employee was on 'some kind of power trip.' As the employee drove off, he threatened to have Parker's car ticketed and towed; Parker responded that he was 'being an a----." The employee then dispatched Haskell's lead security officer, who told him he could continue golfing at that location, but must move his car. Parker left after the brief interactions," FIRE said.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Then, however, the university told Parker he was on "emergency suspension" over an "incident report for violence indicating threats to one or more federal employees," FIRE said.
The suspension came with the loss of his on-campus housing, forcing him to retreat to his car to sleep, FIRE said.
Now he's in temporary housing 800 miles away after the school refused to meet its own deadline for a hearing on the dispute.
"Haskell already took away Russell’s student housing, and now they're taking away his right to a fair hearing," said Zach Greenberg, who wrote FIRE's letter to Haskell.
"What Haskell did is wrong at any time, but it’s unconscionable during a global pandemic. Haskell must provide Russell an opportunity to clear his name," he said.
Notified of the suspension, Parker replied immediately with a request for an appeal. The university then missed its own appeal deadline and didn't respond, FIRE reported.
"I have faced discrimination in my life, but I never thought it would happen at a place like Haskell," said Parker. "I would very much like to tell the university my side of the story, but I cannot do so until Haskell gives me that opportunity — an opportunity I’ve repeatedly requested yet the university has refused to provide after they evicted me."
Noting Haskell's institution is run by the federal government, FIRE argued he is bound to uphold student due process rights.
"According to Haskell’s own student code of conduct, all students are 'entitled to due process and appeal in every instance of disciplinary action for alleged violation of Haskell expectations.'"
FIRE urged the school to schedule a hearing immediately, but instead of responding, an administrator "accidentally included a FIRE representative in an email to other university leaders about FIRE's letter just 8 minutes after it was sent, predicting that the story would go public and suggesting that the university not respond."
"It's shameful that Haskell's first thoughts were about public relations, and not about the safety of the student they kicked off campus during a pandemic," said Greenberg. "If universities take the extraordinary step of punishing students without a hearing, that hearing must be scheduled as soon as practicable. It’s been over two weeks — Haskell must immediately give Russell a full and fair chance to defend himself."
The university originally was a trade school for Native Americans. During the 1970s ,it began offering junior college curriculum and in 1992 it became Haskell Indian Nations University.
It serves about 1,000 students each semester, offering baccalaureate-related programs in teacher education, business administration, environmental science and other disciplines.
FIRE pointed out: "None of the allegations of Parker's behavior cited by HINU constituted an emergency." And since his version of events "contradicted" the school's, it creates the possibility "that HINU has punished Parker without a hearing for expression protected under the First Amendment."
For example, school workers claimed he was "irritated" with a "golf club in his hand." He explains he was annoyed but "was simply complying with [an] order to pack up his golf equipment and leave."
Further, the removal of his housing rights could appear punitive, since he still was allowed to attend classes, eat lunches and use the library, which wouldn't have been allowedd had he been a true danger, the letter explained.
The university's telephone system didn't permit WND to leave a message requesting comment.


wnd--2020-04-30--Government report: Wuhan lab 'most likely' source of COVID-19

A federal government analysis concludes the `` most likely '' source of the coronavirus pandemic is a laboratory in Wuhan , China .
The analysis of evidence from open sources , which is still in progress , found all other possible places of origin have been proven to be highly unlikely , the Washington Times reported .
The preliminary report said there appears to be no smoking gun that would blame the virus on either the Wuhan Institute of Virology or the Wuhan branch of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention .
However , there is circumstantial evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initial explanation was that that outbreak originated from animals sold at a market for exotic meat in Wuhan .
The disease was in bats , then jumped to animals sold at the market , then to humans , China proposed .
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley has said the virus appears to be from a natural origin but the possibility of a lab leak is still being investigated .
`` We do n't know for certain , '' he said .
The government analysis obtained by the Times said the animal theory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of COVID-19 had no connection to the wet market .
According to reports from China , no bats were sold at the market .
And further , China is clamping down on efforts to investigate whether the virus got loose from one of its labs , the report said .
The communist regime has issued a `` gag order '' and put a military microbiologist in charge of the Wuhan Institute of Virology .
Both labs have done research on bat coronaviruses .
`` Among the most significant circumstantial evidence identified in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a leader in bat coronavirus research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology , China ’ s only high-security , level four research laboratory , '' the Times said .
`` The document also points to a 2015 academic report in Nature Medicine by Ms. Shi and 14 other scientists who said that while researching the potential for bat coronaviruses to infect humans , 'we built a chimeric virus encoding a novel , zoonotic [ animal-origin ] spike protein … that was isolated from Chinese horseshoe bats , ' '' the Times said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ animals had been `` sold as pets , dead laboratory animals were not properly disposed of , and lab workers were known to boil and eat laboratory-used eggs . ''
Chinese officials later changed their story about the origin of the virus , charging the U.S. Army or the CIA developed it and took it to China .
French officials , who helped China create its virology lab , said there 's no evidence of a link to the lab .

A federal government analysis concludes the "most likely" source of the coronavirus pandemic is a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
The analysis of evidence from open sources, which is still in progress, found all other possible places of origin have been proven to be highly unlikely, the Washington Times reported.
The preliminary report said there appears to be no smoking gun that would blame the virus on either the Wuhan Institute of Virology or the Wuhan branch of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
However, there is circumstantial evidence pointing to that conclusion.
China's initial explanation was that that outbreak originated from animals sold at a market for exotic meat in Wuhan.
The disease was in bats, then jumped to animals sold at the market, then to humans, China proposed.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley has said the virus appears to be from a natural origin but the possibility of a lab leak is still being investigated.
"We don't know for certain," he said.
The government analysis obtained by the Times said the animal theory largely fails because the first human diagnosis of COVID-19 had no connection to the wet market. According to reports from China, no bats were sold at the market.
And further, China is clamping down on efforts to investigate whether the virus got loose from one of its labs, the report said. The communist regime has issued a "gag order" and put a military microbiologist in charge of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Both labs have done research on bat coronaviruses.
"Among the most significant circumstantial evidence identified in the report are the activities of Shi Zhengli, a leader in bat coronavirus research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, China’s only high-security, level four research laboratory," the Times said.
"The document also points to a 2015 academic report in Nature Medicine by Ms. Shi and 14 other scientists who said that while researching the potential for bat coronaviruses to infect humans, 'we built a chimeric virus encoding a novel, zoonotic [animal-origin] spike protein … that was isolated from Chinese horseshoe bats,'" the Times said.
The U.S. government analysis found virus-carrying animals had been "sold as pets, dead laboratory animals were not properly disposed of, and lab workers were known to boil and eat laboratory-used eggs."
Chinese officials later changed their story about the origin of the virus, charging the U.S. Army or the CIA developed it and took it to China.
French officials, who helped China create its virology lab, said there's no evidence of a link to the lab.


wnd--2020-04-29--Christopher Steele: Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice were aware of my Trump probe

Former British spy Christopher Steele testified to a British court he believes both Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice were aware of his research on the bogus anti-Trump `` dossier '' while it was underway in 2016 .
Just the News reported Steele testified in a defamation case brought by three international businessmen from Russia he named in his dossier .
Clinton was the Democratic Party presidential nominee at the time and Rice was President Obama 's national security adviser .
Just the News investigative reporter John Solomon said Steele 's testimony `` makes his most direct link yet between his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Clinton campaign and Obama White House . ''
Steele testified he was hired by Fusion GPS through the law firm retained by the Democratic National Committee , Perkins Coie , to help the Clinton campaign .
According to a transcript , Steele said : `` I presumed it was the Clinton campaign , and Glenn Simpson had indicated that .
But I was not aware of the technicality of it being the DNC that was actually the client of Perkins Coie . ''
He said he believed that Hillary Clinton herself was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steele was confronted with what lawyers said were notes he took at a meeting with the FBI in 2016 .
At that meeting , Steele purportedly told agents that Clinton was aware of his research .
The lawyers read from those notes during the court proceedings .
The notes said : `` We explained that Glenn Simpson/GPS Fusion was our commissioner but the ultimate client were the leadership of the Clinton presidential campaign and that we understood the candidate herself was aware of the reporting at least , if not us . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Hillary Clinton were not returned .
Solomon also reported the debunked claim that Trump had a secret communication channel with the Kremlin through a Russian bank came from a Perkins Coie lawyer .

Former British spy Christopher Steele testified to a British court he believes both Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice were aware of his research on the bogus anti-Trump "dossier" while it was underway in 2016.
Just the News reported Steele testified in a defamation case brought by three international businessmen from Russia he named in his dossier.
Clinton was the Democratic Party presidential nominee at the time and Rice was President Obama's national security adviser.
Just the News investigative reporter John Solomon said Steele's testimony "makes his most direct link yet between his Russia collusion research and the top of the Clinton campaign and Obama White House."
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Steele testified he was hired by Fusion GPS through the law firm retained by the Democratic National Committee, Perkins Coie, to help the Clinton campaign.
According to a transcript, Steele said: "I presumed it was the Clinton campaign, and Glenn Simpson had indicated that. But I was not aware of the technicality of it being the DNC that was actually the client of Perkins Coie."
He said he believed that Hillary Clinton herself was aware of his work.
Solomon reported Steele was confronted with what lawyers said were notes he took at a meeting with the FBI in 2016.
Is Hillary Clinton connected to the phony, anti-Trump dossier? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 100% (498 Votes) 0% (1 Votes)
At that meeting, Steele purportedly told agents that Clinton was aware of his research.
The lawyers read from those notes during the court proceedings.
The notes said: "We explained that Glenn Simpson/GPS Fusion was our commissioner but the ultimate client were the leadership of the Clinton presidential campaign and that we understood the candidate herself was aware of the reporting at least, if not us."
Just the News reported messages seeking comment from Hillary Clinton were not returned.
Solomon also reported the debunked claim that Trump had a secret communication channel with the Kremlin through a Russian bank came from a Perkins Coie lawyer.