May 1, 2020

Washington, DC, sees large uptick in coronavirus cases

Source: CNN

Washington, DC, has continued to see an overall rise in coronavirus cases over the last seven weeks.

As of Thursday, DC tested 21,135 people, with 4,658 total positives. There have been a total of 231 deaths. The number of positive cases took a drastic jump to 335 cases Friday — the biggest rise in a single day.

Friday’s rise in cases coincides with the first day DC has received more than 1,000 test results in a single day.

When broken down by race, 48% of positive Covid-19 cases are African American.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/us-coronavirus-update-05-01-20/index.html

May 1, 2020

Louisiana reports highest new case total since April 11

Source: CNN

he Louisiana Department of Health announced Friday 710 new cases of Covid-19 in the state, bringing the total to 28,711. This is the biggest jump in new cases in a day since April 11.

According to the governor's office, the health department has two new labs reporting tests, which likely explains the bump. Those labs reported 381 positive results, so the increase could be a function of delayed reporting to the state.

At least 1,927 people have died of coronavirus across the state.

Although Gov. John Bel Edwards extended the stay-at-home order through May 15, he did ease some restrictions to the order, which go into effect today.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/us-coronavirus-update-05-01-20/index.html

May 1, 2020

Two major Texas universities plan to return in the fall

Source: CNN

Texas A&M University and the University of Texas will reopen and be operational for the fall semester.

"This summer, we’re fully online and enrollment is actually up, a sign that you remain undeterred in pursuing your goals," Texas A&M University President Michael K. Young said in a letter.

The University of Texas (UT) said plans for its campus reopening won't be announced until the end of June, UT President Gregory L. Fenves said in a letter to students.

"Our goal remains to reopen the Forty Acres in the fall, likely with some courses and activities held in person and others online as dictated by health and safety concerns," Fenves said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/us-coronavirus-update-05-01-20/index.html

May 1, 2020

Georgia reports nearly 1,000 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours

Source: CNN

The number of coronavirus cases in Georgia has surpassed 27,000 with nearly 1,000 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, according to the state's department of health.

As of noon on Friday, Georgia Department of Health reported 27,134 cases, up from 26,175 recorded cases on Thursday.

The majority of the state's cases are in the metro Atlanta area.

At least 1,147 Georgia residents have died as a result of COVID-19

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/us-coronavirus-update-05-01-20/index.html

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Sounds stressful; I'd go out for drink.....

May 1, 2020

Pennsylvania (GOP poll): Biden +6

https://twitter.com/HarperPolling/status/1256272313693155328

May 1, 2020

Statement by Vice President Joe Biden

Source: 4President.org

Statement by Vice President Joe Biden

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.

Read more: https://blog.4president.org/2020/2020/05/statement-by-vice-president-joe-biden.html

May 1, 2020

Public companies received $1 billion in stimulus funds meant for small businesses

Source: Washington Post

Publicly traded companies have received more than $1 billion in funds meant for small businesses from the federal government’s economic stimulus package, according to data from securities filings compiled by The Washington Post.

Nearly 300 public companies have reported receiving money from the fund, called the Paycheck Protection Program, according to the data compiled by The Post. Recipients include 43 companies with more than 500 workers, the maximum typically allowed by the program. Several other recipients were prosperous enough to pay executives $2 million or more.

After the first pool of $349 billion ran dry, leaving more than 80 percent of applicants without funding, outrage over the millions of dollars that went to larger firms prompted some companies to return the money. As of Thursday, public companies had reported returning more than $125 million, according to a Post analysis of filings.

Other companies have said they plan to keep the funds, saying the loans had been awarded according to the program’s rules and that they would use most of it to pay workers, as required, in order for the loans to be forgiven.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/01/sba-ppp-public-companies/

May 1, 2020

Six weeks after social distancing began, Mass. coronavirus hospitalizations and cases remain high

Boston Globe

May 1, 2020

Video: NYPD Chases Hearse Through Borough Park During Crowded Hasidic Funeral

Gothamist

A Hasidic funeral in Borough Park erupted in chaos on Thursday afternoon, as NYPD efforts to break up the crowded procession were met with defiance from some mourners, leading to at least one arrest.

Video shared with Gothamist shows NYPD officers sprinting after a minivan — believed to be carrying the body of Rabbi Yehezkel Shraga Vagshal — as hundreds of Orthodox Jews packed the streets of 13th Avenue. Witnesses said that police handcuffed a young boy, and threatened others with summonses for violating social distancing orders and not wearing masks.

A spokesperson for the NYPD, Lieutenant John Grimpel, confirmed that one person was arrested, but could not provide any other details.

The incident comes just two days after Mayor Bill de Blasio personally dispersed a large funeral procession in Williamsburg. “The next gathering will be met with summonses and arrests, period," the mayor said on Wednesday. "If you have a large gathering — hundreds of people, thousands of people — we’re not even going to have a warning."

May 1, 2020

To everyone complaining about the Tara Reade questions for Joe Biden on MORNING JOE...

Biden knew what was coming and wanted to do the interview. And MSNBC appreciates your viewership...