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One of the Democrats considered to be in the running to join Joe Biden on the party’s 2020 presidential ticket says recent sexual assault allegations against the former vice president “deserve to be listened to.” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., addressed the matter in a podcast interview Thursday, one day before Biden planned to answer questions himself in a scheduled Friday TV appearance. A former Biden Senate staffer, Tara Reade, claims Biden sexually assaulted her near the U.S. Capitol in 1993. The Biden campaign has claimed the allegations are unfounded but the candidate himself has so far not addressed them –...

Megan Rapinoe, the reigning FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, is eyeing another prestigious title: vice president of the United States of America. The 34-year-old soccer star told presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday that she is willing to serve as his running mate. Rapinoe conducted a 44-minute Instagram Live chat with Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, during which she endorsed the former vice president in his candidacy for president. She had supported Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren during the primaries.

A newly created House panel for overseeing the Trump administration’s multitrillion-dollar coronavirus response -- which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has dubbed "another impeachment committee" -- may lack bipartisan spirit. That's because the seven appointees House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., unveiled this week to the House Select Coronavirus Committee were all Democrats, including a fellow Californian, Rep. Maxine Waters. No Republicans were on the list -- and McCarthy, R-Calif., said it may stay that way.

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called for an international investigation into the Chinese Communist Party's response to the coronavirus. During a Thursday morning appearance on CNBC, Bannon claimed Beijing engaged in a cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak, which began in Wuhan in late 2019, and called the Chinese government the "enemy" of the rest of humanity. "The Chinese Communist Party knew about this. They turned a blind eye to it, and particularly when they had it in their own country, they tried to protect it going around the rest of China, but they didn't care about it going...

It's now May 1st. The emergency is over. Open up your businesses and use the police to protect the businesses, not carry out the "orders" of the governor. We are a republic of republics, which includes towns, cities and counties. Each with legislative, executive and judicial powers. Seize back your elective authority!

The Trump-Russia collusion narrative collapsed a year ago with the Robert Mueller report, but the story’s not over. Democrats are now trying to suppress details of how the bogus theory was promoted, led by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff. Republicans on the Intelligence Committee, under then-chairman Devin Nunes, wrapped up their investigation of election interference in April 2018. They found no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians. Mr. Schiff and Democrats objected to that conclusion and accused Republicans of hiding incriminating evidence. GOP Members were therefore only too happy in September 2018 to vote to release the transcripts of...

PING LIST - Please contact me as needed... COVID-19 Update As of 04/30/2020 23:45 PDST     Johns Hopkins University - Capture Nations InformatonAs of 00/00/2020 23:45 PDST     Johns Hopkins University - Capture Counties InformatonAs of 00/00/2020 23:46 PDST     Johns Hopkins University - Process JHU DataAs of 00/00/2020 23:59 PDST     WorldofMeters - Document Core NumbersAs of 00/00/2020 23:59 PDST     WorldofMeters - Capture Nations InformatonAs of 00/00/2020 23:59 PDST     WorldofMeters - Capture States InformatonAs of 00/00/2020 00:00 PDST     WorldofMeters - Data Processing begins...As of 00/00/2020 ??:?? PDST    ...

SAN DIEGO - The Trump administration on Thursday suspended immigration court hearings for asylum-seekers waiting in Mexico through June 1, bowing to public health concerns while extending a state of limbo those locked down in Mexican migrant shelters. With an order suspending hearings through Friday set to expire, the Homeland Security and Justice departments said that asylum-seekers with hearings through June 1 should appear at a border crossing when instructed to get new dates. They said that authorities will review conditions related to the coronavirus and proceed “as expeditiously as possible,” raising the prospect of additional delays. While it is...

A Texas company claims it has a solution for COVID-19 ... a robot that can kill the virus ... feds, hospitals and universities are already buying in, and pro sports could be next. Here's the deal ... San Antonio-based Xenex Disinfection Services claims they have perfected a $100,000 robot that can zap the deadly virus to death, and it's already being used by the Department of Defense, Mayo Clinic and prestigious universities, with more deep-pocketed clients waiting in the wings. The so-called savior is dubbed the Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot ... and we're told it's already decontaminating workspaces at 10...

Link only - https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/30/texas-coronavirus-barber-shops-hair-salons-gyms-cant-reopen/

**SNIP** Normally, when you're behind on certain debts or obligations, like back taxes or federal student loan payments, you risk having your tax refund garnished. Under the CARES Act, you won't lose your stimulus payment for those same reasons -- but overdue child support is the one exception. If you're behind on child support, your relief check could be partially garnished or garnished in full, depending on the amount you owe. Here's even more bad news: If you file a joint tax return with your spouse, and your spouse is behind on child support, your entire stimulus payment could be...

PERTH, Australia (AP) -- Police shot dead a man who stabbed and slashed several people at an Australian shopping mall on Friday, an official said. Officials have not revealed how many people were injured in the northwest coastal town of South Hedland or detailed their conditions. No motive for the attacks has been revealed. "A person has engaged in multiple stabbings or slashings of people," Western Australia state Premier Mark McGowan told reporters.

House leaders on Tuesday reversed course on plans to bring the chamber back into session next week amid fears about whether it is safe to return to the Capitol during the coronavirus pandemic. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced the change in plans after initially saying the day before that the House would return the following Monday, citing discussions with the Capitol physician, who warned that the Washington region has not yet flattened its number of coronavirus cases. "We will not be meeting next week," Hoyer told reporters. "The House physician's view was that there was a risk to members...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A group pushing to reopen all businesses in Mecklenburg County is planning a protest for Noon Friday. "We want to make sure that people do get back to work because the unemployment rate across the country has been really high but specifically here in Mecklenburg County,” said Maya Pillai, who founded the group Reopen Meck as an offshoot of the Reopen NC movement. “It's absurd." Supporters of the Reopen NC push have protested the governor’s stay-at-home order and closure of non-essential businesses at the state capitol the last three weeks. The group claims that the data from...

BIOLOGICAL WARFARE: The head of the NSB said it does not have a unit focused on gathering intelligence on biological warfare activity, but one would be set up The COVID-19 virus originated in China, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Chiu Kuo-cheng told lawmakers yesterday, adding that intelligence indicated that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is “ill,” but remains in control of the nation. Tsai asked Chiu about the bureau’s intelligence regarding the source of COVID-19 and whether it originated in China or the US, as has been suggested by some Chinese officials. National Security Bureau Director-General Chiu Kuo-cheng speaks at...

I have three questions: 1) Why did huge numbers of hospitals across the country lay off huge numbers of health care workers? 2) Why did most governors ban elective medical procedures? 3) Why did several of those governors give an exemption to abortion? All across the country, huge numbers of hospitals have laid off huge numbers of health care workers. Here are some news headlines about this:https://www.masslive.com/boston/2020/04/coronavirus-financial-losses-prompt-boston-medical-center-to-furlough-700-employees-10-of-hospitals-workforce.htmlCoronavirus financial losses prompt Boston Medical Center to furlough 700 employees, 10% of hospital’s workforcehttps://www.kentucky.com/news/coronavirus/article241565211.htmlKentucky hospital chain furloughs about 500 employees as coronavirus saps businesshttps://www.sungazette.com/news/top-news/2020/04/a-mounting-casualty-crisis-health-care-jobs/A mounting casualty crisis: Health care jobshttp://wvmetronews.com/2020/04/03/thomas-health-to-lay-off-hundreds-as-business-shrinks-because-of-coronavirus/Four West Virginia hospitals lay...

University of Chicago students began a tuition strike today, calling on the school to halve tuition and waive fees during the COVID-19 pandemic. “They say they have a robust financial aid system and can’t reduce their tuition without trade-offs. Those are things that our campaign disagrees with wholeheartedly,” said Julia Attie, an organizer with UChicago for Fair Tuition, the group behind the campaign. Attie said that a 50% tuition reduction for all students would cost about $85 million, a fraction of the school’s $8.5 billion endowment. “We’re in the top one percent of all endowments nationally,” she said. “What’s the...

China sent scientists to climb Mount Everest while the world’s highest peak is empty of commercial climbers because of the coronavirus pandemic. China and Nepal canceled spring climbing on their sides of the mountain to prevent infections from spreading as expedition teams traveled to the region and lived for weeks in tightly packed camps at high altitudes with little access to emergency medical help. The official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday a 53-member team from the Ministry of National Resources has been conducting preliminary scientific work since early March and survey work on the mountain is due to begin this...

When schools first announced closures and a shift to online learning, many worried about how this would affect the students who didn’t have computers, mobile devices, or adequate high-speed internet. Cities and school districts scrambled to fix this problem, and more than a month later, it’s still being resolved. But in the meantime, it seems some educators in New York City decided to report parents to child protective services when their children didn’t log into classes. In the past month, several parents have received child welfare visits from the Administration for Children’s Service, local independent news outlet The City reported....

A Florida man with extensive full-body tattoos who allegedly drugged, abducted and sexually battered a woman in a run-down camper earlier this year has been arrested, the local sheriff announced Thursday. Efthimios Michael Zachary Mikedis, also known as Zak, a 28-year-old from Ocklawaha, allegedly attacked the victim with an accomplice on Jan. 5. When the victim regained consciousness, Mikedis allegedly burned her hair with a cigarette and held a pair of scissors to her throat before beating her, dragging her to a waiting car and eventually letting her go at a Winn-Dixie parking lot.