theblaze--2020-05-01--Michigan's health department is sending people free condoms and lubricants during coronavirus lockdo

Michigan's health department is sending people free condoms and lubricants during coronavirus lockdown

Michigan 's health department is sending people free condoms and lubricants during coronavirus lockdown Would you trust a condom made @ @ @ @

If you live in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has already prohibited you from visiting your friends and family who live a few houses down from you, and you were barred from buying vegetable seeds and gardening supplies at a store. But do you know what you can get? Condoms.
Michigan's health department has launched a new service to deliver free condoms and lubricants to people. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services started the service to ensure that residents have access to prophylactics during the coronavirus pandemic when people have been prohibited from leaving their homes because of the governor's stay-at-home orders.
The service is designed to help people protect against sexually transmitted infections and prevent unwanted pregnancies, which is expected when alcohol consumption is through the roof and many couples have more free time on their hands since they already watched everything on Netflix.
"We feel that it is extremely important during this public health crisis to continue to support our communities in protecting themselves against unintended pregnancy, STIs, and HIV," Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for MDHHS, told MLive.
The United Nations Population Fund released a report that found there would be 7 million unintended pregnancies over six months of lockdown due to women losing access to contraceptives. But are you trusting condoms given out by the government?
Condoms are now essential. Michigan has also deemed that lottery tickets, alcohol, and marijuana are essential.
The Michigan government will ship packages that include 10 condoms and 10 packets of lubrication to people. The packages will come right to the home, and the bundle will be discrete and unmarked for privacy.
Most packages will "likely be hand addressed as staff are working from home and shipping these items out," Sutfin said.
Good luck with having people contain their urges for a week during a quarantine as their condoms are being snail-mailed to them.
Michiganians are growing tired of the draconian stay-at-home orders rolled out by Whitmer. Hundreds of cars descended on the Michigan Capitol in Lansing earlier this month to protest the state-mandated lockdown in a demonstration named "operation gridlock."
Over a thousand protesters demonstrated Thursday at the Michigan Capitol building on Thursday to urge politicians to reopen the state.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Diddy says Joe Biden needs to help black community — because the black Democratic vote is not free:

Diddy says Joe Biden needs to help black community — because the black Democratic vote is not free: 'I will hold the vote hostage'

Diddy says Joe Biden needs to help black community — because the black Democratic vote is not free : ' @ @ @ @ @ hostage '

Entertainer and business mogul Diddy — real name Sean Combs — says that former Vice President Joe Biden doesn't automatically get his vote just because he's a Democrat.
Combs also promised to hold the black vote "hostage" if Biden didn't prove himself a worthy Democratic candidate.
What are the details?
Combs, 50, spoke with former supermodel Naomi Campbell during a recent video chat about Biden and his run for Democratic nominee.
"The black vote is not gonna be for free," he said. "We're gonna have to see some promises. We're gonna have to understand what kind of deal we're getting out of, what are we getting in return for our vote?"
Combs added that "nothing has changed in America for black America."
"[I]n order for us to vote for Biden, we can't be taken for granted like we always are because we're supposed to be Democrats," he continued. "Or because people are afraid of Trump."
Combs said that he fully plans to vote for whichever candidate is going to "take care of our community."
"Our vote is not for free," he reiterated. "Whoever wants to make a deal. It's business at this point. We can't trust politicians. So, we wanna know very clearly, just like Trump made it clear that he wanted to build a wall, Biden needs to make it clear that he's gonna change the lives and quality of life of black and brown people. Or else he can't get the vote. And I will hold the vote hostage if I have to."
Combs also tweeted the video, which he captioned, "THE BLACK VOTE WILL NOT BE FREE THIS YEAR."


theblaze--2020-05-01--Madonna says she has COVID-19 antibodies, so, naturally, she's going to go breathe some coronavirus

Madonna says she has COVID-19 antibodies, so, naturally, she's going to go breathe some coronavirus air

Madonna says she has COVID-19 antibodies , so , naturally , she 's going to go breathe some coronavirus air @ @ @ @ @ mean

Entertainer Madonna says that she has tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies — whatever that means — and so she now plans to take a drive to "breathe in the COVID-19 air."
What are the details?
The longtime entertainer shared a decidedly bizarre message in an Instagram video on Thursday.
"Took a test the other day and found out that I have the antibodies," she said. "So, tomorrow, I'm just going to go for a long drive in the car, and I'm gonna roll down the window and I'm gonna breathe in the COVID-19 air. Yup. I hope the sun is shining."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, antibody tests look for antibodies via blood tests to see if a patient was previously exposed to the virus.
The CDC adds, "It's unclear if those antibodies can provide protection (immunity) against getting infected again. This means that we do not know at this time if antibodies make you immune to the virus."
Further, the organization points out, it's "possible you might test positive for antibodies and you might not have or have ever had symptoms of COVID-19."
"This is known as having an asymptomatic infection, or an infection without symptoms," the CDC reports.
What else?
Madonna previously referred to COVID-19 as "the great equalizer," which was naturally met with much criticism.
"That's the thing about COVID-19," she said in another questionable social media video. "It doesn't care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell. It's the great equalizer."
She added that "what's terrible" about the COVID-19 pandemic is exactly "what's great about it."
"[W]hat's terrible about it is that it's made us all equal in many ways," she added. "And what's wonderful about it is that it's made us all equal in many ways."


theblaze--2020-05-01--NYC cops go after large Jewish funeral procession just 2 days after Mayor de Blasio singles out Jews

NYC cops go after large Jewish funeral procession just 2 days after Mayor de Blasio singles out Jews over public gatherings

NYC cops go after large Jewish funeral procession just 2 days after Mayor de Blasio singles out Jews over public @

The New York Police Department was forced to break up an Orthodox Jewish funeral in Brooklyn on Thursday, despite New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's stringent regulations on public gatherings.
On Tuesday, de Blasio issued a warning to the Jewish community after a large funeral gathering on the streets.
What are the details?
Officers broke up the funeral Thursday after the gathering apparently grew too large. The funeral was for Rabbi Cheskel Wagshel.
New York City's current shelter-in-place order prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people at one time.
During the funeral procession, officers also ended up issuing a summons to a 17-year-old boy who reportedly shoved a police official after intentionally crossing a police line. In a viral video, an officer can be seen chasing after a hearse while trying to dispel the large crowd.
In a statement, Sgt. Jessica McRorie said that the NYPD were present on the streets in order to "ensure social distancing rules were being followed."
What else?
The mayor blasted mass gatherings across the city over the last week, and specifically pointed to a Jewish funeral that took place Tuesday night and saw at least hundreds of Hasidic Jews take to the streets to mourn Rabbi Chaim Maertz, who died of the coronavirus.
New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea later said that the crowd grew to include "several thousand people."
After backlash, de Blasio later said that he was sorry for singling out the Jewish community.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Barack Obama spotted playing golf two days before Michelle Obama urged fellow DC residents to 'stay

Barack Obama spotted playing golf two days before Michelle Obama urged fellow DC residents to 'stay home' except for 'essential' reasons

Barack Obama spotted playing golf two days before Michelle Obama urged fellow DC residents to 'stay home ' except for @ @ @ @ @ thee ... but not for me ?

Former President Barack Obama was spotted hitting the links at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, Saturday afternoon, according to Politico Playbook.
He and former first lady Michelle Obama still live in Washington, D.C. — and the city has urged residents to "stay home except if you need essential healthcare, essential food, essential supplies" or to "go to your essential job."
What's more, just two days after her husband's golf outing, Michelle Obama's public service message to fellow D.C. residents urging the same stay-at-home plea was aired:
"Remember, we urge you to stay home except if you need essential healthcare, essential food or supplies, or to go to your essential job," she said in an audio message posted to Mayor Muriel Bowser's Twitter page Monday. "Thank you, and please stay home, D.C."
Is it possible that traveling 40 miles from the nation's capital to swing your 9-iron rises to the level of "essential"?
Pattern here?
The Obamas aren't the only ones living by an apparent double standard amid the coronavirus lockdown.
As TheBlaze has previously reported, Chicago's far-left Mayor Lori Lightfoot got testy last month after she was called out for her private audience with a hairdresser — a no-no under her strict mandate for fellow Chicago residents.
Her reason? "I'm the public face of this city. I'm on national media, and I'm out in the public eye," she replied gruffly to a reporter.
And New York City's far-left Mayor Bill de Blasio appears to be a veteran at this. He and his wife were caught on video over the weekend by an angry New Yorker who accused the couple of "selfish behavior" for allegedly making a nonessential chauffeured trip to take a stroll in a park 11 miles from their home instead of using the park near their mansion.
Hilariously he was even turned in to his own social distancing snitch hotline for violating his own lockdown orders.


theblaze--2020-05-01--President Trump has high degree of confidence coronavirus came from Wuhan lab, WHO is 'public relati

President Trump has high degree of confidence coronavirus came from Wuhan lab, WHO is 'public relations agency for China'

President Trump has high degree of confidence coronavirus came from Wuhan lab , WHO is 'public relations agency for China' @ @ @ @ @ a lot ' to China if it intentionally allowed COVID-19 to spread worldwide .

President Donald Trump said this week that he has a high degree of confidence that the coronavirus originated from a virology lab in Wuhan, China.
During Thursday's White House news conference, Trump was asked: "Have you seen anything at this point that gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus?"
"Yes, I have. Yes, I have," Trump replied, but he did not provide any specifics.
Trump was asked why he has such a high degree of confidence that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and he replied, "I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that."
President Trump said that China might have intentionally allowed the coronavirus to spread.
"They either didn't do it and they couldn't do it from a competent standpoint, or they let it spread," Trump said. "And I would say probably it was, it got out of control. But there's another case that how come they stopped all the planes and all of the traffic from going into China, but they didn't stop the planes and the traffic from coming into the United States and from coming into all over Europe?"
Trump was referencing an April 15 report from Fox News' Bret Baier that stated China shut down domestic air travel from Wuhan due to fears of the coronavirus outbreak, but allowed international flights to continue.
On Wednesday, Trump said that he was examining different options in punishing Beijing over the coronavirus pandemic.
"I can do a lot," he told Reuters. There are reports from anonymous U.S. officials that the Trump administration is considering hitting China with more tariffs.
President Trump also slammed the World Health Organization for being a "public relations agency for China."
"And I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they're like the public relations agency for China," Trump said during the news conference.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was not known if the coronavirus came from the Chinese Biosafety Level 4 lab in Wuhan.
"We don't know if it came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. We don't know if it emanated from the wet market or yet some other place. We don't know those answers," Pompeo said in an interview with KTSA-AM.
"We need partners we can rely on that when they tell us something, it is accurate and that we don't think they're hiding anything," Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday. "The world hasn't gained access to the WIV, the virology institute there. We don't know precisely where this virus originated from."
The U.S. intelligence community issued a statement Thursday about the origin of COVID-19. The intelligence agencies said the coronavirus originated in China, but are still investigating if the virus came from the Wuhan virology lab. The intelligence community said that they agreed with "the widespread scientific consensus" that the coronavirus was "not manmade or genetically modified," dismissing the idea that the virus is an engineered bioweapon.
"The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China. The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated.
"As we do in all crises, the Community's experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security. The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan," the statement read.
Chinese officials have been spreading a conspiracy theory that alleges the U.S. Army brought the coronavirus to China. The unfounded report cites the origin of the coronavirus in Wuhan was from 300 athletes from the U.S. military who attended the 7th Military World Games in Wuhan in October.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Trump admin denies COVID-19 relief funds for Planned Parenthood — the money is for small businesses,

Trump admin denies COVID-19 relief funds for Planned Parenthood — the money is for small businesses, not for 'funding abortion'

Trump admin denies COVID-19 relief funds for Planned Parenthood — the money is for small businesses , not for 'funding @ @

The Trump administration has made sure that no funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, which is designed to aid small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 shutdowns, will go to the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.
A senior administration official confirmed the news to Daily Signal on Wednesday, saying, "President Trump is committed to ensuring Paycheck Protection Program money is used for saving jobs at small businesses, not getting the government into the business of funding abortion."
"While not all Americans share President Trump's pro-life beliefs, there is broad bipartisan support for the idea that American taxpayers should not have to fund abortion," the official added.
Included in the historic $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — also known as the CARES Act — passed late last month, the PPP provided $349 billion in relief for small businesses. Under the fund's guidelines, businesses with fewer than 500 employees could apply for a forgivable loan if they retained their employees. After the fund ran out of money in mid-April, Congress approved an additional $310 billion in new funding.
Due to Planned Parenthood's size, it was already excluded by the Small Business Administration, the organization that oversees the loan program.
"The SB in SBA is for 'small business,'" the official said. "So SBA has regulations called 'affiliation rules' to define when small employers might be so closely affiliated with a parent organization that they should be considered one large employer."
The clarification was necessary, however, because while Planned Parenthood employs over 16,000 people nationwide, the organization operates affiliate networks, each of which has fewer than 500 employees.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Researchers find no evidence of young children passing the coronavirus to adults in contact tracing

Researchers find no evidence of young children passing the coronavirus to adults in contact tracing review Children of medical staff @ @ @ @ @ Saint-Pierre Fourier private school Thursday in Paris during the strict lockdown in France to stop @ @ @ @ @ ( STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images )

Pediatric experts in the United Kingdom studying the impact of COVID-19 on children found no evidence that children can pass the virus on to adults, a finding which could significantly impact decisions about reopening schools and child care facilities, The Age reported.
What did they find? A review of contact tracing data led by Dr. Alasdair Munro with the help of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health found no cases in which a child under the age of 10 transmitted the novel coronavirus.
This finding adds on to the existing belief among public health experts that children are less likely to suffer serious illness when they get COVID-19.
"COVID-19 appears to affect children less often, and with less severity, including frequent asymptomatic or subclinical infection. There is evidence of critical illness, but it is rare," the research concluded. "The role of children in transmission is unclear, but it seems likely they do not play a significant role."
In one example, a 9-year-old boy who had COVID-19 came into contact with more than 170 people, and didn't pass the virus on to any of them — despite also having the cold and the flu, and passing those illnesses to his siblings.
Open the schools? This information is leading some officials to reconsider whether, or how long, schools need to be closed if there is low risk of serious illness among children, and low risk that those children can pass the coronavirus to adult teachers or staff members. From The Age:
Kostas Danis, an epidemiologist at Public Health France who carried out that study, said the fact that children developed a milder form of the diseases may explain why they did not transmit the virus.
While he said that it was possible children could infect others, there had not been a case to date and there was "no evidence that closing schools is an effective measure". Further evidence from China showed when families had contracted the virus, children were "unlikely to be the index case".
Although the findings are encouraging, researchers cautioned that more study and evidence is needed on this issue to make the conclusions more certain.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Biden accuser Tara Reade: I once thought media bias was a Republican talking point. 'But now I'm liv

Biden accuser Tara Reade: I once thought media bias was a Republican talking point. 'But now I'm living it ... I see it for what it is.'

Biden accuser Tara Reade : I once thought media bias was a Republican talking point .
'But now I 'm @ @ @ @ @ it for what it is . '

For decades, conservatives and Republicans have accused the mainstream media of having a liberal bias. And in turn, the left and Democrats have mocked them for it, saying the right is doing nothing but pushing a talking point.
Tara Reade used to be one of those mocking Democrats. That was, until she publicly accused former Vice President Joe Biden of sexual abuse.
Now, the woman who could undo the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's plan to take down President Donald Trump in November is singing a different tune. She says that she has experienced the liberal media bias first hand and that it turns out conservatives were right all along.
What did she say?
In an interview with BuzzFeed posted Thursday night, Reade, a former Biden Senate staffer and a longtime Democrat, shared her experiences since coming out and claiming that Biden sexually abused her in 1993.
Since making her accusations public on March 25 and then filing a report with the D.C. Police on April 9, Reade told BuzzFeed she noticed that the media — who have a record of pursuing and digging into sexual abuse allegations against anyone on the right — seemed to just brush off her claims, and refused to ask Biden about it.
"He was on television twice today. No one asked him. No one's asking the question," Reade said in an interview last month, BuzzFeed reported. "No one's even posing the question."
Things changed Thursday, when Biden finally agreed to address the accusations on MSNBC and announced he would be on "Morning Joe" Friday morning to deny the allegations.
It took weeks for Biden to get an interview question about the claims. Why? Reade thinks she knows the answer. From BuzzFeed:
Reade ... said she is acutely aware that her allegations pose complex terrain for the “mainstream media's" coverage of a Democratic Party that has long viewed both Biden as a beloved figure and President Donald Trump as a man accused of sexism and more than a dozen instances of sexual harassment and assault.
Reade has learned something in all of this that conservatives say they've known all along: The mainstream media have a liberal bias and will do what they can to avoid stories that will cause problems for Democratic allies.
"I used to think that a Republican talking point was to call the mainstream media biased," she told BuzzFeed. "So I used to think, 'Oh, that's just a talking point for them. I don't believe it.' But now I'm living it [in] real time, and I see it — like, I see it for what it is. Because I am a Democrat, or I was. But now I'm not anything, really. I'm politically homeless."
The good news: Now that Biden has addressed the charges, Reade said she has received invitations to come on air from all of the major networks, BuzzFeed reported.


theblaze--2020-05-01--New video shows coalition forces demolishing ISIS tunnel system in Iraq

The United States military released a video Wednesday showing coalition aircraft destroying an Islamic State tunnel system in the Hamrin Mountains in Iraq .
The Hamrin Mountains are known to be an ISIS `` safe heaven , '' according to the report .
`` Intricate tunnel and cave systems '' in the mountains are regularly used by ISIS fighters to smuggle weapons , plot terror attacks , and move senior officials .
By spring 2019 , the ISIS caliphate suffered complete territorial defeat as fighters were ousted from their last remaining land territory in Syria , but the terrorist organization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The presence of Daesh in Iraq continues to diminish , thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of our Iraqi partner forces , '' Maj. Gen. Eric Hill , commanding general of the Special Operations Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve , said in a statement .
`` Strikes like these help our Iraqi partners maintain relentless pressure on the Daesh scourge , no matter where these terrorists hide , '' he added .
The report added that the airstrikes , which are estimated to have killed 5-10 ISIS fighters , were conducted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iraqi security forces were able to recover ISIS documents , electronic devices , and various other equipment in a ground search of the targeted area post-strike .

The United States military released a video Wednesday showing coalition aircraft destroying an Islamic State tunnel system in the Hamrin Mountains in Iraq.
The Hamrin Mountains are known to be an ISIS "safe heaven," according to the report. "Intricate tunnel and cave systems" in the mountains are regularly used by ISIS fighters to smuggle weapons, plot terror attacks, and move senior officials.
By spring 2019, the ISIS caliphate suffered complete territorial defeat as fighters were ousted from their last remaining land territory in Syria, but the terrorist organization continues to operate in covert.
"The presence of Daesh in Iraq continues to diminish, thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of our Iraqi partner forces," Maj. Gen. Eric Hill, commanding general of the Special Operations Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement.
"Strikes like these help our Iraqi partners maintain relentless pressure on the Daesh scourge, no matter where these terrorists hide," he added.
The report added that the airstrikes, which are estimated to have killed 5-10 ISIS fighters, were conducted in coordination with the Iraqi government. Iraqi security forces were able to recover ISIS documents, electronic devices, and various other equipment in a ground search of the targeted area post-strike.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Coronavirus pandemic won't be controlled until two-thirds of the population has immunity: experts

Coronavirus pandemic wo n't be controlled until two-thirds of the population has immunity : experts It 's going to be @ @ @

Government leaders and public health officials need to prepare the public to deal with COVID-19 for the long haul, according to a new report that says the pandemic will likely last two years, Bloomberg reported.
"Risk communication messaging from government officials should incorporate the concept that this pandemic will not be over soon, and that people need to be prepared for possible periodic resurgences of disease over the next two years," the report from the University of Minnesota said.
What's the story? According to a report by experts at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, will not be under control until 60%-70% of the population is immune to it.
"Whichever scenario the pandemic follows (assuming at least some level of ongoing mitigation measures), we must be prepared for at least another 18 to 24 months of significant COVID-19 activity, with hot spots popping up periodically in diverse geographic areas," the report says.
Three scenarios: The researchers anticipate the virus to progress one of three ways over the next two years:
First wave in spring 2020; repetitive smaller waves through the summer that continue over a two-year period (may require some social distancing/isolation policies in some areas)
First wave in spring 2020; larger wave in fall/winter 2020; smaller wave(s) in 2021 (would require reinstitution of mitigation policies in the fall)
First wave spring 2020 followed by continuous slow burn without a distinctive wave pattern (would not require mitigation policies)
There is still uncertainty about COVID-19, including the level and duration of immunity people have after recovering from the virus, and when (or whether) an effective vaccine will be developed. From the report:
This may be complicated by the fact that we don't yet know the duration of immunity to natural SARS-CoV-2 infection (it could be as short as a few months or as long as several years). Based on seasonal coronaviruses, we can anticipate that even if immunity declines after exposure, there may still be some protection against disease severity and reduced contagiousness, but this remains to be assessed for SARS-CoV-2. The course of the pandemic also could be influenced by a vaccine; however, a vaccine will likely not be available until at least sometime in 2021. And we don't know what kinds of challenges could arise during vaccine development that could delay the timeline.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Seven high-risk sex offenders — 'the most dangerous kind of criminal' — released early in California

Seven high-risk sex offenders — 'the most dangerous kind of criminal' — released early in California over coronavirus

Seven high-risk sex offenders — 'the most dangerous kind of criminal ' — released early in California over coronavirus Orange @ @ @ @ @ the move : 'These are not the kind of people who should be getting a @ @

The Orange County District Attorney's Office warned residents that seven high-risk sex offenders have been released months early as part of the efforts in California to slow the spread of the coronavirus in jails, KCBS-TV reported.
"These kinds of high-risk sex offenders are the most dangerous kind of criminal and the most likely to re-offend," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release. "They are doing everything they can to avoid detection by the parole officers assigned to monitor them so they can potentially commit additional sex offenses. These are not the kind of people who should be getting a break."
The sex offenders — convicted of crimes ranging from indecent exposure and sexual battery to child molestation — were released beginning April 7, many of them spending just days behind bars instead of the six months required by law for registered sex offenders who violate parole by removing or disabling GPS monitors.
'Let out the front door of a jail by a court commissioner who refuses to follow the law'
Spitzer blasted appointed Court Commissioner Joseph Dane for the release of the sex offenders.
"It is not the Court's responsibility to control the jail population by releasing these dangerous criminals back into our communities," Spitzer said. "The residents of Orange County deserve to have the peace of mind that registered sex offenders are being held accountable and not just let out the front door of a jail by a court commissioner who refuses to follow the law."
Sheriff Don Barnes reported to the Orange County Board of Supervisors Wednesday that county jail population has been reduced by nearly 45% since March 7 and there is no overcrowding issue. Barnes assured that proper steps, including social distancing, masks, and quarantining of new inmates, are in place.
He also corrected inaccurate media reports saying that his office authorized the sex offenders' release:
KCBS detailed the released sex offenders' criminal histories:
Luis Joel Ramirez, 27, sexual battery, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting a peace officer, burglary possessing a leaded cane
James Franklin Bowling, 50, lewd conduct in a public place, sex offender on school grounds, failing to register as a sex offender, possession of controlled substances and paraphernalia
Rudy William Grajeda Magdaleno, 39, child molestation, indecent exposure, assault, battery, criminal threats, inflicting injury on an elder adult
Calvin Curtis Coleman, 52, lewd conduct in a public place
Kyle Albert Winton, 40, annoying/molesting a child, criminal threats to cause great bodily injury or death, resisting a peace officer, DUI, hit-and-run with property damage
Jose Adrian Oregel, 45, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, oral copulation of a person under 18, great bodily injury
Mario Ernesto Sandoval, 45, sexual battery, touching for sexual arousal, indecent exposure, assault on a peace officer, assault
If this sounds familiar...
In New York State, eight sex offenders — three of whom were convicted of raping children — were released from jail in March as a part of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's statewide initiative to decrease prison populations over fear of spreading the coronavirus.
Other individuals in California recently were charged with committing crimes shortly after their early release from jails due to the coronavirus.
Rocky Lee Music, 32, about a week ago was charged with carjacking a motorist — and Alameda County authorities told the Associated Press the incident took place about 40 minutes after he was released from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in the San Francisco Bay Area.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Neighbor sends nasty ‘stay at home’ note to woman who leaves the house. Turns out woman is a 911 dis

Neighbor sends nasty ‘stay at home’ note to woman who leaves the house. Turns out woman is a 911 dispatcher.

Neighbor sends nasty ‘ stay at home ’ note to woman who leaves the house .
Turns out woman is @ @ @ @

A Colorado 911 dispatcher received a message from one of her neighbors: Stay at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
What are the details?
Jefferson County 911 dispatcher Heather Silchia discovered the message under her vehicle's windshield wiper.
The missive read, "PLEASE STAY HOME. I noticed a few days a week you leave home with your baby and return a short time later without it. Then I see the man of the house arrive with the baby later in the afternoon while your vehicle hasn't moved all day. This leads me to believe that the kid is in daycare."
The letter continued, "Stop. I am assuming that man has an essential job since he is gone all day but if you are home there is no reason for your child to be in daycare at a time like this. I also see you leave shortly after your husband (I assume) gets home. You aren't wearing any sort of uniform and I have never seen you wear a mask. Bars are closed and you couldn't possibly be getting groceries every night (which would also require you to wear a mask) so I again ask you to please stay home."
As if that weren't bad enough, the unidentified neighbor then went on to tell Silchia how to parent her older children.
"Also, do everyone in the neighborhood a favor and keep your older kids inside," the letter demanded. "They are loud. Help do your part in keeping our town safe and STOP LEAVING YOUR HOME."
The letter was signed "all your neighbors."
According to KDVR-TV, Silchia works the graveyard shift for Jefferson County.
She told the station, "If somebody's having a bad day, and they're taking it out on you, just be kind, and that's something I have to do every day in my job. Even though we just answer the phone and we don't respond to the call ourselves, we are the first to respond to people's cry for help."
(H/T: Blue Lives Matter)


theblaze--2020-05-01--Joe Biden publicly denies Tara Reade sexual assault claims for first time, won't release Senate reco

Joe Biden publicly denies Tara Reade sexual assault claims for first time, won't release Senate records

Read Biden 's full statement about the sexual assault claims by Tara Reade .

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden denied the sexual assault allegations against him by former Senate staffer Tara Reade on Friday. This is the first time that the former vice president has addressed the sexual assault accusations since Reade made the allegations public on March 25.
Biden said that the 1993 sexual assault of Reade "never happened."
"I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago," Biden said in a statement released on Friday morning by his campaign. "They aren't true. This never happened."
Biden appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Friday to address the accusations.
"No, it's not true," Biden said. "I'm saying unequivocally, it didn't happen. It never happened. I don't remember any type of complaint she might have made. It's been 27 years."
Biden said he would request that the secretary of the Senate to ask the National Archives to "identify any record of a complaint" by Reade and make it available to the press.
"If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there," Biden said of the personnel records.
When asked by MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski if he would release his Senate records at the University of Delaware or allow a search of "Tara Reade" in the records, Biden said he would not.
"The fact is that there's a lot of things of speeches I've made, positions I've taken, interviews that I did overseas with people, all of those things relating to my job," Biden told Brzezinski. "And the idea that they would all be made public in the fact while I was running for public office, they could be really taken out of context.
"The papers are position papers, they are documents that existed and that when I, for example, when I met with Putin or when I met with whomever," Biden added. "And all of that to be fodder in a campaign at this time and I don't know of anybody who's done anything like that. There are no personnel records "
Brzezinski asked Biden, "Are you certain there was nothing about Tara Reade in those records?"
"I am absolutely certain," Biden responded.
She then asked, "If so, why not approve a search of her name in those records?"
"There is nothing, there's nothing there," Biden responded.
Brzezinski asked, "Why not do it for both sets of records?"
"Because the material in the University of Delaware has no personnel files, but it does have a lot of confidential conversations that I had with the president about a particular issue that I had with the heads of state from other places, but that is not something that would be revealed when while I had a public office or was seeking public office," Biden replied.
The University of Delaware said they have no plans on making Biden's Senate records public. The University of Delaware said the school is still "curating the collection," and the process could continue well into 2021.
Once the curation is complete, the University of Delaware said they would not release the papers until two years after Biden retires from public life.
"The University of Delaware received the Biden Senatorial Papers as a gift from Vice President Biden. We are currently curating the collection, a process that we estimate will carry at least into the spring of 2021," spokeswoman Andrea Boyle said in the statement. "As the curating process is not complete, the papers are not yet available to the public, and we are not able to identify what documents or files can be found within the collection."
Reade accused Biden of pinning her against a wall in 1993 and sexually assaulting her when she was a staff assistant in Biden's Senate office.
On April 9, Reade filed a police report with the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. However, the alleged assault case had been "moved to an inactive status."
"This is an inactive case and there are no additional details to provide," MPD spokesperson Brianna Jordan told Fox News on Wednesday.
Former Vice President Joe Biden issued a statement on Friday morning about the claims by Tara Reade:
April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Every year, at this time, we talk about awareness, prevention, and the importance of women feeling they can step forward, say something, and be heard. That belief – that women should be heard – was the underpinning of a law I wrote over 25 years ago. To this day, I am most proud of the Violence Against Women Act. So, each April we are reminded not only of how far we have come in dealing with sexual assault in this country – but how far we still have to go.
When I wrote the bill, few wanted to talk about the issue. It was considered a private matter, a personal matter, a family matter. I didn't see it that way. To me, freedom from fear, harm, and violence for women was a legal right, a civil right, and a human right. And I knew we had to change not only the law, but the culture.
So, we held hours of hearings and heard from the most incredibly brave women – and we opened the eyes of the Senate and the nation – and passed the law.
In the years that followed, I fought to continually strengthen the law. So, when we took office and President Obama asked me what I wanted, I told him I wanted oversight of the critical appointments in the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice and I wanted a senior White House Advisor appointing directly to me on the issue. Both of those things happened.
As Vice President, we started the "It's on Us" campaign on college campuses to send the message loud and clear that dating violence is violence – and against the law.
We had to get men involved. They had to be part of the solution. That's why I made a point of telling young men this was their problem too – they couldn't turn a blind eye to what was happening around them – they had a responsibility to speak out. Silence is complicity.
In the 26 years since the law passed, the culture and perceptions have changed but we're not done yet.
It's on us, and it's on me as someone who wants to lead this country. I recognize my responsibility to be a voice, an advocate, and a leader for the change in culture that has begun but is nowhere near finished. So I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago.
They aren't true. This never happened.
While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny.
Responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways.
But this much bears emphasizing.
She has said she raised some of these issues with her supervisor and senior staffers from my office at the time. They – both men and a woman – have said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues. News organizations that have talked with literally dozens of former staffers have not found one – not one – who corroborated her allegations in any way. Indeed, many of them spoke to the culture of an office that would not have tolerated harassment in any way – as indeed I would not have.
There is a clear, critical part of this story that can be verified. The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files. It is the practice of Senators to establish a library of personal papers that document their public record: speeches, policy proposals, positions taken, and the writing of bills.
There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be – the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept at what was then called the Office of Fair Employment Practices. I am requesting that the Secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there.
As a Presidential candidate, I'm accountable to the American people. We have lived long enough with a President who doesn't think he is accountable to anyone, and takes responsibility for nothing. That's not me. I believe being accountable means having the difficult conversations, even when they are uncomfortable. People need to hear the truth.
I have spent my career learning from women the ways in which we as individuals and as policy makers need to step up to make their hard jobs easier, with equal pay, equal opportunity, and workplaces and homes free from violence and harassment. I know how critical women's health issues and basic women's rights are. That has been a constant through my career, and as President, that work will continue. And I will continue to learn from women, to listen to women, to support women, and yes, to make sure women's voices are heard.
We have a lot of work to do. From confronting online harassment, abuse, and stalking, to ending the rape kit backlog, to addressing the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence.
We need to protect and empower the most marginalized communities, including immigrant and indigenous women, trans women, and women of color.
We need to make putting an end to gender-based violence in both the United States and around the world a top priority.
I started my work over 25 years ago with the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. As president, I'm committed to finishing the job.


theblaze--2020-05-01--Planned Parenthood gets a nod for their 'courage' from Donald Trump Jr. after issuing statement on

Planned Parenthood gets a nod for their 'courage' from Donald Trump Jr. after issuing statement on Biden sexual assault claim

Planned Parenthood gets a nod for their 'courage ' from Donald Trump Jr. after issuing statement on Biden sexual assault @ @ @ @ @ called out for remaining silent on the allegation against the Democratic presidential candidate

After weeks of prominent women's groups remaining quiet about a sexual assault claim against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Planned Parenthood issued a statement addressing the issue — and Donald Trump Jr. praised them for having the "courage" to do what others did not.
What are the details?
On Wednesday, left-leaning outlet the Daily Beast reported that it reached out to 10 of the top pro-woman (pro-abortion) groups in the nation, requesting comment regarding the allegation that Biden sexually assaulted former Senate aide Tara Reade in 1993.
According to The Beast, most of the "Democrat-aligned" groups "did not respond" to its request, while "others replied and did not provide a statement."
But on Thursday, Planned Parenthood did provide a statement to the outlet. Reporter Hanna Trudo, who wrote the original story, tweeted, "NEW: After we reported silence from nearly a dozen prominent women's groups on Tara Reade's allegation against @JoeBiden, Planned Parenthood's president released a statement: 'we believe survivors—and saying we believe survivors doesn't mean only when it's politically convenient.'"
Trudo added, "@PPact's President @alexismcgill continues: "Our country is hungry for leadership on this issue & now is the time to give it to them. @JoeBiden must address this allegation directly.'"
Donald Trump Jr. reacted to the post on Twitter, writing, "Planned Parenthood just did what the following people didn't have the courage to do: Nancy Pelosi, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, Gretchen Whitmer, Amy Klobuchar & Crooked Hillary."
Every individual named by Trump has been criticized for saying they believe Joe Biden over Tara Reade, despite the fact that Reade has provided more corroborating evidence for her claim against Biden than the accusations thrown at Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation hearings. Each of those women said they believed Kavanaugh's accuser.
Anything else?
Planned Parenthood released its statement Thursday after it was announced that Biden would finally be addressing the sexual assault claim against him on Friday morning.


theblaze--2020-05-02--Trey Gowdy skewers the FBI over revelations about Mike Flynn interview

Trey Gowdy skewers the FBI over revelations about Mike Flynn interview 'This is not the department of let 's see @ @ @ @ @ with it ! '

Former congressman Trey Gowdy skewered the Federal Bureau of Investigation over revelations about the motivations behind the questioning of Mike Flynn that led to his arrest.
Gowdy spoke to Martha MacCallum on Fox News on Friday about the case. He said that the FBI did not treat the questioning of Flynn in the proper manner.
"[I]f it is routine, then why didn't they apply the same standard that they did to Hillary Clinton that they did to Michael Flynn?" he demanded.
Gowdy went through some of the facts of the timeline of the case against Flynn.
"That's the fundamental question. Were you investigating a crime, the Logan Act, which there's never been a prosecution under that act, or were you conducting a counter-intelligence investigation?" Gowdy continued.
"If it's a criminal interview, then why did you treat him so differently from the way you treated Hillary Clinton?" he asked.
"Remember, Martha, she had a medium-sized law firm in the room with her!" he added. "They gave the questions to her lawyers before they interviewed her, and they most assuredly told her there's a consequence for lying, none of which they did for Michael Flynn!"
Gowdy went on to say that he agreed with the conclusion from some that the FBI was seeking to entrap Flynn in order to gain information with which they could damage President Donald Trump.
"I have every expectation they wanted to flip Flynn on the president, the problem was no one with the campaign was colluding with Russia!" he continued.
"Martha, this is not the department of let's see if we can get away with it! And it's not the department of let's see who we can get fired! It is the Department of Justice!" Gowdy concluded.
Gowdy shrunk from saying that he believed there would be prosecution against the FBI agents he was criticizing, but added that perhaps people could begin to refuse to speak to the FBI as a way to avoid possible biased prosecution.
Here are the comments from Gowdy:


theblaze--2020-05-02--Dem state lawmaker facing calls to resign over vulgar tweet about Biden accuser

A Democratic state lawmaker is facing calls from within his own party to step down after posting a vulgar tweet about female anatomy to explain why he does not believe Tara Reade, the woman who claims Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked for him in the Senate.
What are the details?
Reade accused Biden of putting his hands under her skirt and penetrating her against her will when she was a Senate aide in 1993. Biden denied the claim on Friday after weeks of silence, and Democrats — who urged Americans to "believe all women" during the confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh — are now divided over whether Reade's claim against Biden is credible.
New Hampshire state Rep. Richard Komi (D) decided to share his unfiltered opinion on Twitter, writing, "Judging by the position of the female vagina, it will not be easy for anyone to just put their finger into the vagina unless their (sic) is some Cooperation from the female herself. That is why I believe Tara Reade's allegations is false. She is looking for attention."
The post was quickly deleted, but still widely shared by those who snapped a shot of the message before it disappeared. Backlash ensued.
The New Hampshire Union Leader reported that Democratic New Hampshire House Majority Leader Steven Shurtleff asked Komi to resign for his comments, and by Friday evening, the chair of the state's Democratic party joined suit.
Komi issued an apology for his remarks, telling the Washington Examiner, 'I regret the poor choice of words that I used. It kind of portrayed me as someone who doesn't care about women or the victims of sexual assault. That is not the case."
He added, "It's regrettable that I used those words. Those words do not reflect the person I am. I wish that I had chosen my words more carefully and I do apologize."
The lawmaker told The Examiner he has not yet decided whether or not he will give up his seat, but that he will make that decision within the "next couple of days."


theblaze--2020-05-02--Harvard math professor put on administrative leave after report of ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein

Harvard math professor put on administrative leave after report of ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein The disgraced billionaire pedophile gave @ @ @ @ @ professor 's research center

A report of the ties between Harvard University and deceased billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has led to a math professor being placed on administrative leave.
The report was ordered by Harvard's president and found troubling access given to Epstein at the behest of Martin Nowak, a director of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. Epstein gave $6.5 million to help establish the research center in 2003.
According to the Associated Press, the report found that Epstein was allowed to have an office at the office of the program by Nowak, who bent the security rules to give Epstein unfettered access.
Nowak said that the office belonged to Epstein "in name only," but the report found differing accounts from others in the program.
Officials put Nowak on leave on Friday while their investigation into his behavior continued.
"We do not take this step lightly, but the seriousness of the matter leads us to believe it is not appropriate for Professor Nowak to continue in his role," said Claudine Gay, a Harvard dean.
The report found that other faculty members travelled with Epstein and even visited in jail.
The accusations against Epstein gained new life in 2019 as more women went to the press and told their stories of sexual assault by the politically connected billionaire.
He was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 after what appeared to be a suicide. The highly charged circumstances of his death led to many conspiracy theories relating to the powerful people that he might have been able to implicate in his crimes had he continued to live.
Here's more about Epstein's Harvard contributions:


theblaze--2020-05-02--Lawyer dressed as grim reaper haunting Florida beaches to protest their reopening — and raise money

Lawyer dressed as grim reaper haunting Florida beaches to protest their reopening — and raise money for Dems Attorney Daniel @ @ @ @ @ two prominent Republicans over public beach issues

Florida attorney Daniel Uhlfelder has launched a tour of his state's beaches now that they have been reopened by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) after being shut down for several weeks in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.
But Uhlfelder's mission is not to catch some rays. He shows up dressed in a grim reaper costume to send a warning to beachgoers in protest of the reopening — and to raise money for Democrats.
What are the details?
Uhlfelder, an activist for public beach access in Florida, went viral on Friday after he was handed the microphone by a local television station during his "haunting" of Miramar Beach.
The attorney told the viewers of WMBB-TV that the message he is trying to send is that it is too soon to open beaches to the public because they are a draw to people from around the world. He argues that reopening now increases the risk of diminishing the progress Florida has made in fighting COVID-19.
Grim Reaper in Walton County www.youtube.com
As the video of the "grim reaper" made its way through the Twittersphere, a Democratic strategist pointed out that Uhlfelder's campaign was not only a protest of reopening the beaches, but an attempt to raise "$20,000 for Democrats for office in 2020."
CNN reported that Uhlfelder's beach tour is "also an effort to donate to the campaigns of Democratic candidates: Phil Ehr, running against incumbent Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R)...and Christy Smith (D), who's running against former Rep. Katie Hill's seat in California."
Anything else?
Uhlfelder is best known for attacking former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) — who owns a home in Walton County, Florida — online last year during a legal dispute over whether the beach in front of Huckabee's home was public or private. Huckabee filed a bar complaint against Uhlfelder, saying the lawyer crossed the line in his public harassment of Huckabee and his family, as reported by the ABA Journal.
In March of this year, Uhlfelder also sued Florida Gov. De Santis for failing to issue an order closing the state's beaches, which De Santis eventually issued on April 2, the Daily Mail reported.
NBC News reported that this isn't the first time Uhlfelder has pulled a stunt to get people off of beaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the lawyer traveled Florida beaches wearing a paintball costume in an effort to promote social distancing.
He said one woman told him that he was "scaring people," to which he replied, "OK, that's good." He reasoned, "If people are scared, they they'll leave. I want to go back to normal as soon as possible, too, but opening our beaches too early is not the way to do this."


theblaze--2020-05-02--US Women's soccer suffers defeat in court over 'equal pay' lawsuit

US Women 's soccer suffers defeat in court over 'equal pay ' lawsuit A male judge disagreed that the women @ @ @ @

U.S. Women's soccer players suffered a legal defeat when a judge ruled that they were not being unfairly paid in comparison to their male counterparts.
The ruling was handed down by Judge R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California on Friday.
Critics have claimed that female soccer players aren't payed as well as their male counterparts, but Klausner disagreed.
"The WNT (Women's National Team) has been paid more on both a cumulative and an average per-game basis than the MNT (Men's National Team) over the class period," said the court according to a report from Reuters.
Klausner allowed for a separate claim to proceed by the female players arguing that they were receiving disparate compensation in the form of travel, training, housing and other proceeds.
The United States Soccer Federation showed that the female players were paid $8 million more in salaries and bonuses, despite the games of the male players grossing much more game revenue.
Molly Levinson, who represents the female players, said that they plan to appeal the decision.
"We are shocked and disappointed. We will not give up our hard work for equal pay," said Levinson.
"We are confident in our case and steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that girls and women who play this sport will not be valued as lesser just because of their gender," she added.
Here's more about the great soccer gender pay debate:


theblaze--2020-05-02--George W. Bush urges Americans to unite and fight coronavirus together: 'We are not partisan combata

George W. Bush urges Americans to unite and fight coronavirus together: 'We are not partisan combatants'

George W. Bush urges Americans to unite and fight coronavirus together : 'We are not partisan combatants' ‘ We rise @ @ @ @ @ we are determined to rise ’

Former President George W. Bush called for Americans to unite to fight a "remorseless, invisible enemy that threatens the elderly and vulnerable among us" in a heartwarming video that was released on Saturday.
As tens of thousands of innocent people have died and tens of millions have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, there has been partisan bickering as well as finger-pointing from state and federal government. Former President Bush urged Americans to come together to defeat COVID-19.
"We serve our neighbor by separating from them," Bush said. "We cannot allow physical separation to become emotional isolation. This requires us to not only be compassionate but creative in our outreach."
"Let's remember that the suffering we experience as a nation does not fall evenly. In the days to come, it will be especially important to care in practical ways for the elderly, the ill, and the unemployed," Bush said, referring to how coronavirus is much more dangerous for people over 65 and those with preexisting conditions.
The 43rd President of the United States also mentioned the more than 30 million people who filed for unemployment in the last six weeks, most of which filed because the economy has been shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
"In this time of testing, we need to remember a few things: First, let us remember we have faced times of testing before," Bush said. "Following 9/11, I saw a great nation rise as one to honor the brave, grieve with the grieving, and to embrace unavoidable new duties."
"Secondly, let us remember that empathy and simple kindness are essential, powerful tools of national recovery. Even at an appropriate social distance, we can find the way to be present in the lives of others," Bush said in the three-minute video.
"Let us remember how small our differences are in the face of this sheer threat," Bush said. "In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants. We're human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God."
"We rise or fall together, and we are determined to rise," Bush said. "God bless you all."


theblaze--2020-05-02--WHO official says China refused to allow health agency to participate in coronavirus origin investig

WHO official says China refused to allow health agency to participate in coronavirus origin investigation The WHO reporesentative is also @ @ @ @ @ figures

China has refused to allow the World Health Organization to participate in an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, according to a representative with the health agency.
Dr. Gauden Galea, the WHO's representative to China, told Sky News that China refused to allow members from the World Health Organization to partake in an investigation into the origin of COVID-19.
"We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage we have not been invited to join," Galea said on Friday.
"WHO is making requests of the health commission and of the authorities," Galea added. "The origins of the virus are very important, the animal-human interface is extremely important and needs to be studied."
"The priority is we need to know as much as possible to prevent the reoccurrence," he said.
Sky News asked Galea if there was a valid reason to not include the WHO into the investigation, and he replied: "From our point of view, no."
Galea is also suspicious of China's coronavirus figures, especially the Chinese total of 41 COVID-19 cases reported between Jan. 3-16. "Is it likely that there were only 41 cases for that period of time? I would think not," Galea said.
The World Health Organization also weighed in on China not allowing its members to be a part of the study.
"It is our understanding that a number of investigations to better understand the source of the outbreak in China are currently underway or planned... WHO is not currently involved in the studies in China," WHO told NBC News.
"WHO would be keen to work with international partners and at the invitation of the Chinese Government to participate in an investigation around the animal origins," the health agency added.
President Donald Trump questioned China's assertation that COVID-19 came from wet markets in Wuhan. On Thursday, Trump said he has a high degree of confidence that the coronavirus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Trump also said that the WHO is a "public relations agency" for China.
The U.S. intelligence community said it is still investigating the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, and has not ruled out that the deadly virus escaped the Chinese Biosafety Level 4 lab in Wuhan. The intelligence community stated that the coronavirus is not a bioweapon.
The Australian government has called for a public investigation into the origin of the coronavirus outbreak.


theblaze--2020-05-02--Maine retaliates against restaurant owner who re-opened despite state lockdown

The state of Maine has retaliated against a restaurant owner who reopened his establishment in defiance of Gov. Janet Mills's stay-at-home order.
Rick Savage, who owns Sunday River Brewing Co. in Bethel, told Fox News host Tucker Carlson this week that he would reopen his restaurant to dine-in customers one month sooner than Mills's most recent lockdown order allows. He said he did not think the state would do anything to him, and even read on-air what he said was Mills's phone number.
"We've had enough of it," Savage told Carlson.
On Friday, Savage made good on his promise.
According to the Bangor Daily News, Savage reopened his restaurant around noon on Friday, serving roughly 250 people by the early evening. He did implement social distancing guidelines for customers.
Unfortunately, health and liquor license inspectors also showed up and revoked the licenses that Savage needs to legally operate, effectively closing his businesses once again, WCSH-TV reported.
More from WMTW-TV:
The Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages found Rick Savage was not compliant with Gov. Mills' executive order when he reopened the Sunday River Brewing Company Friday afternoon.
The bureau confirmed to WMTW News 8 that the Department of Health and Human Services suspended the restaurant's health license and could take further action if Savage reopens on Saturday without a health license. The suspension automatically suspends that restaurant's liquor license.
Upon learning that his licenses had been revoked, Savage initially said he would continue operating and accept further fines. However, he later shut down the restaurant.
"We will be closed until further notice as of Friday May 1st. Thank you all for support today," Savage posted to Facebook.
Despite having fewer than 1,200 COVID-19 cases, Mills has implemented strict lockdown guidelines in Maine that include not reopening restaurants and much of the hospitality industry until at least June.


theblaze--2020-05-02--Asia's giant 'murder hornet' found in the US for the first time

Asia 's giant 'murder hornet ' found in the US for the first time Maybe quarantining is n't such a @ @ @ @ @

In case you doubted that 2020 couldn't get worse, I have two words for you: "murder hornets." The deadly Asian giant hornet, the largest sized species of hornets in the world, has been discovered in the United States for the first time ever.
The Asian giant hornet is also known as "murder hornets," the "Giant Sparrow Bee," and the "yak killer." The species is native to temperate and tropical Eastern Asia. However, beekeepers in northwestern Washington state and Canada have found hundreds of decapitated honey bees, pointing to the presence of Asian Giant Hornets in North America.
The Asian Giant Hornet preys on larger insects, such as praying mantises, wasps, other hornets, as well as bees. The murder hornets are so lethal that in a matter of hours, they can wipe out entire colonies of eusocial insects, including bees. An individual hornet can kill 40 European honey bees in one minute.
"With queens that can grow to two inches long, Asian giant hornets can use mandibles shaped like spiked shark fins to wipe out a honeybee hive in a matter of hours, decapitating the bees and flying away with the thoraxes to feed their young," the New York Times reported. "For larger targets, the hornet's potent venom and stinger — long enough to puncture a beekeeping suit — make for an excruciating combination that victims have likened to hot metal driving into their skin."
30 Japanese Giant Hornets kill 30,000 Honey Bees www.youtube.com
The sting of an Asian giant hornet can even kill humans. Over the course of three months in 2013, Asian Giant Hornets killed 42 people and injured 1,675 people in China. Japan reports that Asian giant hornets kill 50 people a year. Maybe quarantining is a great idea after all.
The murder hornet's toxic venom destroys red blood cells, which can result in kidney failure and death, explained Justin O. Schmidt, an entomologist at the Southwest Biological Institute in Tucson, Arizona. Some people are more allergic to insect stings than others, which can cause a fatal anaphylactic reaction that closes airways or triggers cardiac arrest.
Researchers want to stop the deadly murder hornets from establishing a home in the U.S. and decimating bee populations.
"This is our window to keep it from establishing," Chris Looney, an entomologist at the Washington State Department of Agriculture, told the Times. "If we can't do it in the next couple of years, it probably can't be done."
The Asian giant hornet was also recently found across the border in Canada.
How long before there is uproar about the name "Asian giant hornet?" Will there be a campaign to change the name to the scientific name of "Vespa mandarinia?" That also links the deadly insects to China, so that won't work. Looks like we have to call them "murder hornets."


theblaze--2020-05-02--Candace Owens suspended by Twitter for encouraging Michigan residents to defy Dem gov's stay-at-home

Candace Owens suspended by Twitter for encouraging Michigan residents to defy Dem gov's stay-at-home order

Candace Owens suspended by Twitter for encouraging Michigan residents to defy Dem gov 's stay-at-home order ' I should be @ @ @ @ @ to resume work '

Candace Owens was suspended from Twitter over the weekend for encouraging Michigan residents to return to work in defiance of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order, the Washington Examiner reported.
"Apparently @GovWhitmer believes she is a duly elected dictator of a socialist country. The people of Michigan need to stand up to her. Open your businesses. Go to work," Owens tweeted. "The police think she's crazy too. They are not going to arrest 10,000,000 people for going to work."
Twitter said the tweet violated its platform guidelines, and it no longer appears on Owens's timeline. Twitter, however, did not specify which rule Owens broke.
Owens told the Washington Examiner:
I unequivocally stand by every single word of my tweet. If Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can use Twitter's platform to encourage workers to walk out and boycott — I should be allowed to encourage lawful citizens to resume work. The only person breaking any laws is governor-turned-dictator Gretchen Whitmer, who is impoverishing millions, ignoring the votes of her state legislature, and as a result, rolling over the constitutionally protected rights of Michigan citizens.
Twitter was unable or unwilling to provide me with any specific rule that I violated, which is why I have appealed their decision. While I am not an expert on Twitter TOS, I cannot see how suggesting people ought to work would be a violation of anything other than socialist reverie
Social media platforms have been increasingly cracking down on people who advocate the defiance of stay-at-home orders.
YouTube has said it will remove content that goes against recommendations from the World Health Organization, while Facebook is re-directing users who interact with what they call "misinformation" to the WHO.
As of Saturday afternoon, Owens's Twitter account was still visible online, but she remained locked out, Mediate reported.


theblaze--2020-05-02--California county defies Newsom's stay-at-home order — allows schools, hair salons, and churches to

California county defies Newsom's stay-at-home order — allows schools, hair salons, and churches to reopen

California county defies Newsom 's stay-at-home order — allows schools , hair salons , and churches to reopen A bar @ @ @ @ @ stop patrons from pulling their stools together because 'they 're adults '

A rural county in California is defying Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders and allowing churches, schools, and non-essential businesses to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.
Modoc County, located in the far northeast corner of California, is open for business. The sparsely populated county of 9,686 residents has allowed bars, restaurants, hair salons, movie theaters, schools, churches, and other non-essential businesses to reopen.
As of Friday, non-essential businesses could reopen as long as employees wash hands and follow proper social distancing guidelines of six feet. Restaurants and bars would have to slash their maximum capacity in half. Large gatherings where social distancing cannot be maintained are not permitted. The Modoc County Sheriff's Office and the county's public health department requires residents who are 65 or older or have underlying health conditions to continue to stay at home.
"Social distancing was the norm here before it became the popular thing in the state," Ned Coe, a cattle rancher and county supervisor, told Sacramento's NBC affiliate KCRA-TV.
"This is simply what we are proposing that is eligible to open if preventative measures are possible," the Modoc County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. "We want the option to be given to business owners so that when they feel the time is right, they can make that decision. Business owners know their staff, they know their customers and they will know when they both feel safe enough to resume services."
Modoc County Board of Supervisors voted to reopen after consulting with health officials. The county has no confirmed COVID-19 cases.
"Just as our physical health is vital for our citizens, so is the mental health and the economic health of our citizens," Coe said.
Coe understands that his county is violating Newsom's lockdown orders, and informed the governor of his plans to reopen Modoc County. Coe said that Newsom had yet to respond.
Newsom was asked about Modoc County reopening, and the Democratic governor responded: "Nothing would please me more than pleasing those local officials … but we're not out of the woods. No part of the state, no part of this country, few parts of the globe have been immune to this virus."
Newsom did not say if he would take actions against Modoc County, which has a total area of 4,203 square miles.
Coe isn't worried about the California governor taking action, and said: "The governor himself has indicated that it is time to start opening in a staged and safe manner, and that will be different for different areas of the state."
"We're not in this at all to defy anything. We align with the plans. We're just at a different phase in this because of where we are and how we live," Heather Hadwick, deputy director of the county's Office of Emergency Services, told Politico.
The plan to reopen the county will be revisited after two weeks, and stricter measures could be reinstated if at least two people test positive for COVID-19.
The Brass Rail, a large Basque restaurant in Modoc County, opened up on Friday, and they do not intend on policing patrons.
"My bar tables are already far apart. But if people pull their stools together, I'm not going to stop them," owner Jodie Larranaga said. "As far as I'm concerned, right or wrong, that's their choice. They are adults."
The reopening of Modoc County comes on the same day that there were lockdown protests all across California, including demonstrations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Huntington Beach, and Sacramento, where 32 people were arrested.
Modoc County is a Republican stronghold in the liberal state of California. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump won 71 percent of the votes. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win a majority in the Modoc County was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.


theblaze--2020-05-02--VIDEO: Trump campaign releases brutal ad exposing Dem Party's double standard on believing women

Democrats once said , 'Believe all women '

The Trump campaign released a new ad on Friday highlighting the Democratic Party's hypocrisy for pushing aside sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden.
The ad depicts how Democrats supported the woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, but have stayed mostly silent now that their presumptive presidential nominee is facing accusations of sexual assault.
Exposed: Democrats' double standard on believing women www.youtube.com
"During Justice Kavanaugh's hearings, Biden made clear that all women should be believed when they come forward with allegations of sexual assault," Trump campaign spokeswoman Erin Perrine said in a statement.
"The double standard exhibited by Biden, prominent liberal women's groups, and Democrat elected officials – some of whom want to be Biden's running mate — is glaring and cannot be allowed to stand," she added.
Biden appeared on MSNBC Friday to address allegations of sexual assault brought by Tara Reade.
Reade claims that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 when she worked as an aide in his U.S. Senate office. Biden vigorously denied those allegations.
Meanwhile, another woman came forward on Friday claiming that Biden sexually harassed her when she was just 14 years old by complimenting the size of her breasts.


theblaze--2020-05-02--Nearly three dozen arrested at California's state capitol during stay-at-home protest

Nearly three dozen arrested at California 's state capitol during stay-at-home protest Governor Gavin Newsom said 'protests will not drive @ @ @ @ @ reopening California

Thousands of Californians congregated at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Friday to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders. Authorities arrested 32 demonstrators for violating the state-mandated lockdown.
The California Highway Patrol said they arrested 32 people for disobeying a lawful order, demonstrating without a permit, and resisting or delaying a police officer during the rally urging state politicians to reopen California.
The protests started at noon on Friday, the same time as Newsom's daily coronavirus news briefing. There were at least 500 cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, and vans that circled the Capitol building to create gridlock. Large crowds assembled on the Capitol grounds.
"I'm passionate about participatory democracy," Newsom said of the protests during his COVID-19 press conference on Friday. "All I ask is, just do it safely."
"As it relates to the protesters, all I ask for is this," the California governor added. "That is take care of yourself, wear a face covering, do justice to physical distancing. You don't want to contract this disease."
A majority of the protesters did not adhere to social distancing guidelines, and most did not wear face masks.
"You don't want to contract this disease," the Democratic governor warned. "This disease doesn't know if you're a protester, a Democrat, a Republican ... so protect yourself, protect your family ... your friends, your neighbors, people that you're protesting with. That's all I would say to them, and thank them for their expression of free speech."
Newsom said that the state is possibly "days, not weeks" away from reopening.
"So, I just want folks to know we're getting very close to making really meaningful augmentations to that stay at home order," Newsom stated. "We are, I want to say many days, not weeks, as long as we continue to be prudent and thoughtful in certain modifications."
Newsom also proclaimed that the shutdown protest would have no bearing on when California would reopen.
"Politics will not drive our decision making. Protests will not drive our decision making. Political pressure will not drive our decision making," Newsom said.
There were at least 11 protests organized in California for Friday, including rallies in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Ventura, and Huntington Beach.
There were thousands of protesters in Huntington Beach demanding Newsom to reopen California a day after the governor ordered all beaches in Orange County to close.
Several of the demonstrations were organized by Facebook groups who demand that the Golden State reopen for business. The largest is "Reopen California," a group of over 135,000 members that advocates the state reopen, and says the lockdown is not sustainable, especially for small businesses.
California has been on a state-mandated lockdown since March 19, when it became the first state to implement stay-at-home orders.
California has over 52,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,134 COVID-19 deaths.


theblaze--2020-05-02--Trump's approval rating hits all-time high, support from independents surges to best-ever figure

President Donald Trump 's approval rating hit an all-time high in a new Gallup survey as support from independents surges despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis .
Gallup released its latest presidential job approval survey on Friday , which showed 47 % of independents endorse Trump 's job performance in the White House .
This was up from 39 % approval on April , and is the highest mark Trump has received from independents during his presidency .
Overall , Trump received a 49 % approval rating from all respondents , which matches his all-time high in mid-March .
Trump 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last Gallup presidential job approval survey from two weeks ago .
There was 47 % who disapproved of Trump .
The poll found that 93 % of Republicans approved of the job Trump has been doing , versus 8 % of Democrats .
Americans are split straight down the middle when asked if Trump is handling the COVID-19 pandemic correctly .
Gallup found that 50 % approve of Trump 's handling of the coronavirus situation , down 10 % from last month 's poll .
Approval from Republicans on Trump 's coronavirus actions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for independents , and 11 % for Democrats .
Trump touted the positive approval rating on Twitter with a Saturday morning tweet .
`` 96 % Approval Rating in the Republican Party .
Thank you !
Also , just out , highest ever Approval Rating overall in the new Gallup Poll , and shows 'Trump beating Sleepy Joe Biden . '
'' Gallup surveyed 1,016 U.S. adults by telephone from April 14 to 28 .
The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points .

President Donald Trump's approval rating hit an all-time high in a new Gallup survey as support from independents surges despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Gallup released its latest presidential job approval survey on Friday, which showed 47% of independents endorse Trump's job performance in the White House. This was up from 39% approval on April, and is the highest mark Trump has received from independents during his presidency.
Overall, Trump received a 49% approval rating from all respondents, which matches his all-time high in mid-March. Trump's approval rating surged six points since the last Gallup presidential job approval survey from two weeks ago. There was 47% who disapproved of Trump.
The poll found that 93% of Republicans approved of the job Trump has been doing, versus 8% of Democrats.
Americans are split straight down the middle when asked if Trump is handling the COVID-19 pandemic correctly. Gallup found that 50% approve of Trump's handling of the coronavirus situation, down 10% from last month's poll. Approval from Republicans on Trump's coronavirus actions is at 91%, 50% for independents, and 11% for Democrats.
Trump touted the positive approval rating on Twitter with a Saturday morning tweet.
"96% Approval Rating in the Republican Party. Thank you! Also, just out, highest ever Approval Rating overall in the new Gallup Poll, and shows 'Trump beating Sleepy Joe Biden.'"
Gallup surveyed 1,016 U.S. adults by telephone from April 14 to 28. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.


theblaze--2020-05-02--Bombshell intel doc reveals how China lied to the world about coronavirus, orchestrated cover-up

Bombshell intel doc reveals how China lied to the world about coronavirus , orchestrated cover-up The document leaked from Five @ @ @ @ @ alliance

An explosive document compiled by the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance details in exhaustive detail how the Chinese communist government lied to the world about coronavirus.
The bombshell 15-page document "lays the foundation for the case of negligence being mounted against China," the Daily Telegraph reported.
The recently leaked document states that the Chinese government deliberately suppressed and destroyed evidence of the virus, covered-up news of the outbreak by "disappearing" doctors and scientists who dared to speak out, lied about human-to-human transmission, and refused to provide international scientists working on a vaccine with a live strain of COVID-19.
"Five Eyes" is an intelligence alliance between the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
According to the document, the Chinese communist government began censoring information about the virus in December, and instituted a travel ban in China despite telling the rest of the world that such bans were unnecessary.
The document also reveals that intelligence analysts are investigating whether COVID-19 originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Dr. Shi Zhengli, a Chinese virologist who studies SARS-CoV viruses at the Wuhan lab, is prominently discussed in the intelligence dossier.
From the Daily Telegraph:
In Wuhan, in China's Hubei province, not far from the now infamous Wuhan wet market, Dr Shi and her team work in high-protective gear in level-three and level-four bio-containment laboratories studying deadly bat-derived coronaviruses.
At least one of the estimated 50 virus samples Dr Shi has in her laboratory is a 96 per cent genetic match to COVID-19. When Dr Shi heard the news about the outbreak of a new pneumonia-like virus, she spoke about the sleepless nights she suffered worrying whether it was her lab that was responsible for the outbreak.
Indeed, Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell confirmed this week that the U.S. Intelligence Community is investigating whether COVID-19 came from the Wuhan lab.
"As we do in all crises, the Community's experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security," Grenell said. "The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."
China, however, claims the virus came from a wet market near the laboratory. Still, that has not stopped China from allowing the infamous wet markets to continue operating.


theblaze--2020-05-02--New woman accuses Joe Biden of sexually harassing her when she was just 14 years old

A second woman went public on Friday with claims that Joe Biden sexually harassed her more than a decade ago when she was just 14 years old.
Eva Murry, who is now 26, told Law&Crime about the alleged incident, which she said occurred in 2008. Murry is the niece of former Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, who challenged Biden for his Senate seat in 2008.
From Law&Crime:
The woman, Eva Murry, told Law&Crime that Biden complimented her on the size of her breasts at the First State Gridiron Dinner & Show in 2008, a long-running roast of and party for politicians, journalists and prominent business figures held each year in Delaware. Murry says she remembers the event occurring sometime around May of that year.
One friend and her sister said that Murry told her details of the alleged incident more or less immediately after it happened. Four other friends of Murry's said they were told about the incident, with the same details, between two and three years after it originally occurred.
"I remember walking into the lobby and being in awe of all the people in such fancy clothes. Our two parties of people gravitated towards each other and everyone started saying their hellos. When it was Biden and my aunt's turn to say hello he quickly turned to me and asked how old I was," Murry told Law&Crime.
"I replied with my age and he replied with the comment 'Fourteen? You're very well endowed for 14!' I was confused but it was definitely weird, he looked me up and down and hovered his eyes on my chest so I had some clue [about] the notion of his comment but didn't fully understand at the time," she explained. "We quickly separated from his area after the encounter."
Murry said she only attended a few other campaign events with her aunt after the alleged incident with Biden, and described feeling anxious or sick upon seeing him.
"I feel his comments were verbal sexual harassment," Murry told Law&Crime. "I think I was too naive to realize exactly what it meant at the time but I vividly remember the uncomfortable feeling I had in the pit of my stomach during the whole encounter. It wasn't Biden's words alone that made me so uncomfortable, it was the look, the tone, the whole general vibe was off."
Murry also said her accusations are not politically motivated.
"No man or woman should get away with acting that way and that is what this boils down to," she said.
The new allegations came just hours after Biden addressed Tara Reade's allegations for the first time. Reade alleges that Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked in his U.S. Senate office in the early 1990s. Biden denies Reade's accusations.
Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to Murry's allegations, Law&Crime reported.


theblaze--2020-05-04--Attempted burglary foiled after armed homeowner subdues suspect, robber lucky to leave with only a s

Attempted burglary foiled after armed homeowner subdues suspect, robber lucky to leave with only a swollen face

Attempted burglary foiled after armed homeowner subdues suspect , robber lucky to leave with only a swollen face A level-headed @ @ @ @ @ worse from happening

A criminal is extremely lucky that he robbed the home of a very level-headed man because things could have ended much worse for him.
At around 2 p.m. Saturday, a burglar attempted to rob a home in Hebron, Kentucky. While attempting to force his way into the house, the homeowner heard the commotion and grabbed his gun. The armed homeowner confronted the robber, later identified by police as David Whitford.
Whitford fled to a riverbank, while the homeowner fired a few warning shots. The homeowner gave chase and the burglar hid in a wooded area. The gun owner fired off more warning shots once he discovered the criminal.
The homeowner grabbed Whitford and the two men started physically fighting. Whitford was on the losing end of the brouhaha as you can see by his mugshot.
Whitford, 29, suffered a swollen face and a bruised ego. The failed home invader was transported to the St. Elizabeth Hospital in Florence. Meanwhile, the triumphant homeowner refused medical treatment.
Whitford was charged with burglary 2nd degree – Class C felony and taken to the Boone County Detention Center, according to the Boone County Sheriff's Office. Whitford is lucky to leave with only a swollen eye after the armed homeowner only fired off warning shots.


theblaze--2020-05-03--Scientists link vitamin D deficiencies to higher COVID-19 mortality rates

Could going outside help fight the coronavirus ?

As the country continues to debate whether beaches and parks should be open during the coronavirus pandemic, a new study could potentially shine a light on how vitamin D might help the human body's immune system in its fight against the coronavirus.
Scientists have known that vitamin D has numerous health benefits, including boosting your immune system. Studies have found that vitamin influences your body's susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and the seasonal flu.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble compound not found in very many foods, but it can be absorbed through supplements. The major natural source of vitamin D is from ultraviolet rays when sunlight hits the skin and triggers vitamin D synthesis.
Researchers from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation Trust and the University of East Anglia in England found links between low levels of vitamin D and COVID-19 mortality rates, according to Science Alert.
"We believe, that we can advise vitamin D supplementation to protect against SARS-CoV2 infection," the paper states.
The researchers analyzed vitamin D levels for 20 European nations. The scientists found that vitamin D levels are "severely low" in aging populations, especially in Spain, Italy, and Switzerland. The scientists point out that these countries also suffered the highest coronavirus mortality rates.
The team of researchers determined that vitamin D levels were "strongly associated" with coronavirus fatality rates. "The most vulnerable group of population for COVID-19 is also the one that has the most deficit in vitamin D," the researchers said.
The preliminary study, which was uploaded to Research Square last month, has yet to be peer-reviewed.
A 2017 study, found that "vitamin D supplementation was safe and it protected against acute respiratory tract infection overall." The authors of the paper said the patients who were "very vitamin D deficient" experienced the most benefits.
A study from Trinity College Dublin found that vitamin D plays a critical role in preventing respiratory infections.
Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Principal Investigator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, said vitamin D reduced the risk of chest infections and could be helpful for the immune system to fight off coronavirus.
We have evidence to support a role for Vitamin D in the prevention of chest infections, particularly in older adults who have low levels. In one study Vitamin D reduced the risk of chest infections to half in people who took supplements. Though we do not know specifically of the role of Vitamin D in COVID infections, given its wider implications for improving immune responses and clear evidence for bone and muscle health, those cocooning and other at-risk cohorts should ensure they have an adequate intake of Vitamin D. Cocooning is a necessity but will reduce physical activity. Muscle deconditioning occurs rapidly in these circumstances and Vitamin D will help to maintain muscle health and strength in the current crisis.


theblaze--2020-05-03--Nobel Prize-winning scientist shares COVID-19 data showing strict lockdowns were an overreaction

' ... the damage done by lockdown will exceed any saving of lives by a huge factor '

Professor Michael Levitt, who teaches structural biology at the Stanford School of Medicine, won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems."
And according to Levitt, coronavirus data show that sweeping lockdown measures were an overreaction that may actually backfire.
Levitt has been analyzing the COVID-19 outbreak from a statistical perspective since January and has been remarkably accurate in his predications. The data show that the outbreak never actually grew exponentially, suggesting harsh lockdown measures, which have drastically impacted the world economy, were probably unnecessary.
According to UnHerd:
His observation is a simple one: that in outbreak after outbreak of this disease, a similar mathematical pattern is observable regardless of government interventions. After around a two week exponential growth of cases (and, subsequently, deaths) some kind of break kicks in, and growth starts slowing down. The curve quickly becomes "sub-exponential".
This may seem like a technical distinction, but its implications are profound. The 'unmitigated' scenarios modelled by (among others) Imperial College, and which tilted governments across the world into drastic action, relied on a presumption of continued exponential growth — that with a consistent R number of significantly above 1 and a consistent death rate, very quickly the majority of the population would be infected and huge numbers of deaths would be recorded. But Professor Levitt's point is that that hasn't actually happened anywhere, even in countries that have been relatively lax in their responses.
Instead of strict lockdown orders, Levitt told UnHerd that developing "herd immunity" is a better strategy to fighting a virus like COVID-19.
"I think the policy of herd immunity is the right policy. I think Britain was on exactly the right track before they were fed wrong numbers. And they made a huge mistake. I see the standout winners as Germany and Sweden. They didn't practise too much lockdown and they got enough people sick to get some herd immunity," Levitt explained.
"I see the standout losers as countries like Austria, Australia and Israel that had very strict lockdown but didn't have many cases," he said. "They have damaged their economies, caused massive social damage, damaged the educational year of their children, but not obtained any herd immunity.
"There is no doubt in my mind, that when we come to look back on this, the damage done by lockdown will exceed any saving of lives by a huge factor," Levitt predicted.
Nobel prize winning scientist Prof Michael Levitt: lockdown is a “huge mistake" www.youtube.com
(H/T: Brit Hume)


theblaze--2020-05-03--With fears of meat shortages on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic, more Americans are hunting

With fears of meat shortages on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic , more Americans are hunting Game and fish @ @ @ @ @ seen an increase in hunting licenses .

As the coronavirus pandemic causes increased risks of the U.S. food supply to breaking down and fears of meat shortages rising, more Americans are turning to hunting to provide their own source of food.
Game and fish agencies across the nation have seen increased interest in hunting licenses. In Vermont, resident fishing license sales are up by more than 50% over this time last year, according to VTDigger.
The turkey hunting season starts this Friday, and turkey hunting licenses are already up 26%. Hunting and fishing license sales have increased by almost a quarter, which is a reversal of recent years that saw a decline in hunting licenses in every county in Vermont. The U.S. saw a 255,000 drop in the number of hunters between 2016 and 2020, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service license data.
As of April 20, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department sold around 17,000 fishing licenses for the year, compared to 11,700 the same time last year.
Chris Saunders, project coordinator for Vermont's Department of Fish and Wildlife, said, "It's never been quite like this."
"For some people, if they're out of work, putting some fish in the freezer or some turkey in the freezer can be valuable," Matt Breton, president of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Conservation Group, said.
In the first week of its turkey hunting season, Indiana experienced a 28% jump in turkey license sales.
Georgia saw a 47% increase in turkey hunters in wildlife management areas this year compared to 2019. In the first 23 days of Georgia's turkey hunting season, there was a 26% increase in turkeys killed despite no rise in the turkey population, according to Reuters.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife received 14,738 more applications for its annual big game draw versus 2019.
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish said they received 220,000 applications for the big-game draw this year, compared to approximately 11,000 in 2019.
"People are starting to consider self-reliance and where their food comes from," said Hank Forester of Quality Deer Management Association.
In Florida, applications for commercial fishing licenses have skyrocketed. However, authorities believe that people are using the fishing licenses as a loophole. In the counties of Palm Beach, Martin, and Broward, there were 532 applications compared to a total of seven commercial fishing license applications in 2019.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Florida closed boat ramps at state-owned facilities except for commercial fishermen. People were trying to use the license as a loophole.
"It is such a substantial increase that it would lead me to believe that people are using it as a loophole," Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said. "They're gaming the system. They're buying these licenses and pretending to be commercial fishermen."