Free Republic

Sen. Joe Manchin, the independent-minded West Virginia Democrat who sometimes irks his party by siding with Republicans, intends to back fellow Democat Joe Biden for president, according to a report. Manchin, 72, who has served in the Senate since 2010 after previously serving as West Virginia’s governor, was unequivocal about his plans Thursday in an interview with Politico. “I will, absolutely,” Manchin said when asked if he will support Biden.

The first outbreak of the coronavirus could have happened further south than the central Chinese city of Wuhan as early as September, according to a team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge. Researchers investigating the virus’ origin analysed a large number of strains from around the world and calculated that the initial outbreak occurred in a window between September 13 and December 7. “The virus may have mutated into its final ‘human-efficient’ form months ago, but stayed inside a bat or other animal or even human for several months without infecting other individuals,” University of Cambridge geneticist Peter...

Five tons of the malaria-fighting medication called chloroquine was sent recently from India to Greece, after the Greek government managed to secure this enormous quantity of the drug to equip its National Health Service. The use of chloroquine has been described by the World Health Organization as ”promising” in combatting the COVID-19 coronavirus. ”Chloroquine is a drug that has been tested and its early results suggest that it may have a positive effect on the treatment of patients with coronavirus infection,” said Dimitris Philippou, president of the Greek National Medicines Agency, or EOF. The Greek medical industry has already begun...

Foreign government hackers have broken into companies conducting research into COVID-19 treatment and the U.S. healthcare sector, an FBI official reportedly said. Tonya Ugoretz, the FBI Deputy Assistant Director, told participants in an online panel discussion on Thursday that the bureau has seen state-backed hackers looking at a series of healthcare and research institutions. She didn't specify what countries backed the hackers or what organizations were targeted.

PING LIST Some of you have asked to be placed on the COVID-19 Update Ping List. Those who give me a request, will be placed on the list before the next Update is posted. If a person has expressed an appreciation for the data I'm presenting, I may add that person to the Ping List. Some folks don't like to be on ping lists, and I won't mind if you would rather I remove your name from the list. COVID-19 Update As of 04/16/2020 23:59 PDST Good morning everyone. Thank you for stopping by to check out the COVID-19 Update....

A possible showdown is brewing in Sussex County over Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive orders ending public gatherings in New Jersey amid the coronavirus outbreak. The president of the Skylands Tea Party, William J. Hayden, said the local police chief warned he would be arrested if he went ahead with a protest at the county-owned Newton Green on Saturday. If Hayden moves forward anyway — he was noncommittal in an interview Thursday — it might be the first protest in New Jersey targeting the directives from Murphy, a Democrat. Protests against stay-at-home orders have taken place in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Minnesota,...

Centers for Disease Control (CDC-Taiwan) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo yesterday said that a post on Professional Technology Temple (PTT) was what on Dec. 31 last year alerted him about a disease outbreak in Wuhan, China. At about 3am, a CDC doctor specializing in disease prevention had shared information from a post on PTT, the nation’s biggest online academic bulletin board system, in a private chat group, said Lo, who is also an official at the Central Epidemic Command Center. The original post was made on PTT at about 2am, he said, adding that as he was CDC spokesman at the...

Eric Holder, who served as former President Barack Obama’s attorney general, said the quiet part out loud this week and admitted he saw coronavirus as “an opportunity” to permanently change the way Americans voted. “Coronavirus gives us an opportunity to revamp our electoral system so that it permanently becomes more inclusive and becomes easier for the American people to access,” Holder said in an interview with TIME magazine. He called for a “sea change” in voting systems, allowing Americans to vote from home, using prepaid mail-in ballots and unlimited absentee voting. Holder did not discuss concerns about voter fraud in...

A two-decade-long dry spell that has parched much of the western United States is turning into one of the deepest megadroughts in the region in more than 1,200 years, a new study found. '''

President Trump's guidelines on reopening the country leaves much up to governors, states and businesses as they look to find ways to restart their economies amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a copy of a White House "Opening Up America Again" document obtained by CBS News. The plan is expected to put much of the onus on states to develop sufficient testing and contact tracing systems. The 18-page document, which resembles a detailed PowerPoint presentation, lists basic "gating" criteria a state or region should reach before beginning to send people back to work and school. Mr. Trump relayed the guidelines...

WASHINGTON - Newly released material raises the possibility that Russian disinformation made its way into a dossier of opposition research that the FBI relied on when applying for warrants to eavesdrop on a former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump. The new material, contained in footnotes to a Justice Department watchdog report that were recently declassified by the Trump administration, indicates the FBI was advised even as it sought the warrants that some of the information included in the dossier was not accurate or was potentially influenced by Russian disinformation. It may add to accusations that the FBI did not...

Two protests are planned for the Capitol Hill area in downtown Denver on Sunday, April 19. Both are aimed at urging Governor Jared Polis to allow closed businesses to reopen, and both are touting their commitment to gather peaceably and maintain social distancing. Called Operation Gridlock Denver, the first protest is planned for 1 p.m. on Sunday and has 1,700 interested followers on its Facebook event page. The event is being organized by members of Peace, Love, & Hippie Juice. "Drive to the Capitol in Denver and gridlock the roads in protest to the mandatory lockdowns and violation of constitutional...

Poland’s parliament has deferred a final decision on a bill that seeks to tighten the country’s already strict abortion legislation. The bill would outlaw abortion on the grounds of serious foetal abnormalities, one of a small number of exceptions to a near-total ban on abortion currently in place in the country. It has been sent back to a parliamentary committee for further work. The proposed new restriction was proposed by an ultra-conservative Catholic group, under a regulation that allows citizen’s initiatives that gain more than 100,000 signatures to be debated. Parliament, dominated by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party,...

A speeding enforcement operation spanning the 5 Freeway from Kern County to the Mexico border nabbed hundreds of offenders Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers from 10 Southern California stations patrolled the freeway from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., searching for motorists taking advantage of light traffic during statewide coronavirus restrictions, the CHP’s Santa Ana office said in a Facebook post. A total of 356 speeding citations were handed out, as well as 94 verbal and written warnings, officials said. Fourteen of the offenders were traveling in excess of 100 mph, while the fastest was clocked at 119...

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) finds herself at the center of the news cycle amid COVID-19, on account of her far-reaching stay-at-home order. Gov. Whitmer’s order is one of the most strict, and is being criticized as a constitutional overreach. Michigan lawmakers, including Democrats, are evidently frustrated with Gov. Whitmer’s harsh order. Democrat Mike Duggan, Mayor of Detroit, called his state’s system for reporting COVID-19 “not reliable,” as hospital officials also blame the state government for an inefficient system that ultimately leads to longer wait times. Michigan State Rep. Karen Whitsett, a Democrat representing Detroit, alleged that Gov. Whitmer was...

India has brought charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the head of a Muslim seminary for holding a gathering last month that authorities said led to a big jump in COVID-19 infections, police said yesterday. The headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat group in New Delhi has been sealed and thousands of followers — including some from Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh — have been placed in quarantine after it emerged that they attended meetings there in the middle of last month. Police initially filed a case against Tablighi Jamaat head Muhammad Saad Kandhalvi for breaching a ban on...

Health authorities in Wuhan, China have revised the death toll from the coronavirus upwards by over 50 per cent. Wuhan’s Epidemic Prevention and Control Center said on Friday that 3,869 people had died from the disease in the city as of Thursday, according to state media. Fatalities are up by 1,290 compared to previous data. The number of cases overall in Wuhan was revised 50,333 – an increase of 325. The authorities said the revision was made in order to include patients who were not treated at hospitals and passed away at home, since medical facilities faced a shortage of...

Former Vice President Joe Biden has made limited public appearances ever since the coronavirus outbreak has sent virtually the entire country into quarantine, but in the several interviews he has done for various television networks, he has yet to be asked about the sexual assault allegation made by his former staffer Tara Reade. On March 25, Reade came forward in a podcast interview with progressive commentator Katie Halper about the alleged 1993 assault after having made previous claims last year about Biden's pattern of inappropriate touching. While his campaign has denied that the assault occurred, Biden himself has yet to...

Former Vice President Joe Biden this week dismissed the idea of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as his running mate, doubling down on his previous vow to have a woman on the ticket. During the coronavirus outbreak, Cuomo has been seen by many as a political star among Democrats for his handling of the crisis in his state. Some have even floated the idea that he should be Biden's vice presidential pick. Appearing on CNN's coronavirus town hall on Thursday, a virtual attendee brought the possibility of a Biden-Cuomo ticket to the former vice president and presumptive nominee's attention.

Disgraced lawyer Michael Cohen will be released from an upstate New York prison over coronavirus concerns, sources said. President Trump’s former fixer must first complete a 14-day quaratine period at Otisville Federal prison that begins Friday, before he’s let out on home confinement, according to sources. Cohen, in March, had unsuccessfully argued he should be released from prison because of the pandemic.