Category: News

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Trump’s Approval Rating Sinks Amid Coronavirus Debacle

Trump walks past reporters with no comment

Trump walks past reporters with no comment
Donald Trump (image via public domain/White House)
The latest polls show the mixed messaging of the Trump administration is taking a toll on Donald Trump’s job approval rating. Via Mediaite:

An ABC News/Ipsos poll released Friday, 47 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s coronavirus response, while 52 percent of Americans disapprove — a steep drop from the same poll taken just two weeks ago when a whopping 55 percent approved of Trump’s response.

And in Trump’s favorite survey, the Trump-skewing Rasmussen daily tracking poll, his approval rating has dropped four points in a matter of days. The last time Trump was above water in that poll was Feb. 27, when his approval was at 52 percent. But he began this week with a -5 point net unfavorability, and finishes it nine points underwater with 44 percent approving and 53 percent disapproving.

 

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News Round-Up: April 1, 2020

Ron Rich becomes the second Winter Party festival attendee to die from coronavirus.

Ron Rich becomes the second Winter Party festival attendee to die from coronavirus. Some news items you might have missed: • National LGBTQ Task Force: Volunteer Ron Rich (above) is the second Winter Party attendee to succumb to the coronavirus. According to a Facebook post, he had served on the Task Force’s hospitality team for five years and also volunteered with the Outshine Film Festival and Lambda Legal. Israel Carreras was the first attendee to die from COVID-19. • The Gay UK: A woman found her husband’s Grindr account on his phone. She asked the “Dear Uncle” column in the UK for advice on what to do. • Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Wisconsin is still planning on holding its Democratic primary next Tuesday. But a lack of poll workers has led the governor to use members of the Wisconsin Army National Guard to man the polls during the April 7 election. • Out Music: Troye Sivan originally planned to release his latest single, “Take Yourself Home,” later this year but current events caused him to reconsider that plan. The track mixes acoustic guitar and club beats resulting in a winning mid-tempo groove.

• Mediaite: In a message to his supporters, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) admits he has a very narrow path to the Democratic nomination but vows: “If I’m not the nominee, I will do everything I can to see that Joe Biden is elected president because Trump is the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country, and we’re seeing just how dangerous he is with all of the misinformation that he is providing during this coronavirus pandemic.” • Washington Post: The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 410 points, or 1.9 percent, to cap the most dismal first quarter of its 135-year history. The Dow ended Tuesday at 21,917.16 — a full 23 percent below its January start and 26 percent off the record high it set in February. • Tiger King: It’s interesting to learn that Saff, one of the few sympathetic characters on the Netflix series, is presented as a lesbian. It turns out he’s transgender and was misgendered repeatedly throughout each episode. Robert Moor, who produced a podcast chronicling the private zoo’s story prior to the Netflix docu-series, tweeted that Saff’s gender identity was virtually erased in the series.

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IRS Will Require Filing Tax Return To Qualify For Stimulus Check

(image via Pixabay)
The Internal Revenue Service has announced Americans will need to file a “simple” tax return even if they don’t owe taxes in order to receive a coronavirus stimulus check. From the Washington Post:

The Trump administration is requiring Americans on Social Security to file a tax return to receive the $1,200 coronavirus payment, an added step that is causing confusion and could prevent millions from easy access to relief.

Many lawmakers and advocates for the poor say filing a tax return shouldn’t be necessary for people on Social Security since the government already knows how to send this population monthly checks. The $2.2 trillion aid package said that if someone has not filed a 2019 or 2018 tax return, the U.S. Treasury should get their information from Social Security, if applicable.

But, the Internal Revenue Service posted a notice on its website on Monday, instructing Social Security recipients to file a “simple” tax return, which will be available soon. “People who typically do not file a tax return will need to file a simple tax return to receive an economic impact payment,” the IRS said. “Low-income taxpayers, senior citizens, Social Security recipients, some veterans and individuals with disabilities who are otherwise not required to file a tax return will not owe tax.”

Seventeen and eighteen-year-olds won’t qualify for stimulus checks as well because the legislation follows the tax-code definition of “child” that states a “qualifying child … has not attained age 17.” In other words, many high school juniors and seniors and their families won’t receive a $500 check from the stimulus bill. Plus, many immigrants won’t qualify because you will need a valid social security number to receive a check.

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CNN Anchor Chris Cuomo Tests Positive For Coronavirus

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo (via Instagram)
CNN Anchor Chris Cuomo has announced he’s tested positive for coronavirus. Via Twitter, Cuomo (brother to New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo) wrote, “I have been exposed to people in recent days who have subsequently tested positive and I have fever, chills and shortness of breath. I just hope I didn’t give it to the kids and Cristina. That would make me feel worse than this illness!” Cuomo adds that he is quarantined in his basement and will continue to do his evening shows from there.

Chris Cuomo (image via Instagram)

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News Round-Up: March 30, 2020

Ryan Worley of the Chippendales (photo: Noel Photo Studios)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Ryan Worley of the Chippendales (above) says he’s missing performing in the long-running Las Vegas production asking, “Who wants to save a horse?” #RideACowboy • The Advocate: According to a recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of anti-LGBTQ hate groups is continuing to rise. In 2018, there were 49 groups classified as an LGBTQ hate group. In 2019, that number increased 43 percent to 70 anti-LBTQ hate groups. • Entertainment Weekly: Andy Cohen will continue to host Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, coronavirus be damned. Bravo announced Monday that new episodes of the late-night talk show will begin airing Monday at 11 p.m. ET direct from Cohen’s New York City apartment via video chats with his guests. • NowThis: Watch the hilarious way sportscasters are passing the time while they’re out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic by calling play-by-play of daily tasks.

• NewNowNext: Singapore’s High Court has ruled against a challenge to the country’s law criminalizing gay sex, which punishes the act with up to two years in prison. Justice See Kee Oon rejected arguments against Section 377A of the penal code, which not only punishes men who have sex with other men, but also anyone who aids in or attempts to participate in, such an act.  Justice See argued the law “serves the purpose of safeguarding public morality by showing societal moral disapproval of male homosexual acts.” • Daily Beast: A new survey conducted by Ipsos provides some of the clearest evidence to date that the president’s attempts to paint a rosy picture about the coronavirus’ spread throughout the country are not resonating beyond a small segment of the populace with a small exception for those who say they’re getting their information from Fox News. • Buzzfeed: Click over for a collection of some of the best of gay Twitter including…

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Twitter Shades David Geffen For Socially Tone-Deaf Instagram Post

The Twitterverse threw all kinds of shade at out billionaire David Geffen after he sent ‘stay safe’ regards from his $590 million yacht currently parked in the Caribbean. Wrote Geffen, “Sunset last night…isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus. I’m hoping everybody is staying safe.” Now, it’s very possible Geffen missed the mark by accident. That his post, with the world in the midst of a planetary crisis, went socially tone-deaf in a humble brag kind of way without meaning to. I mean, we all send out the photo-drone over the yacht to capture our truest sense of concern at sunset, yes? In fairness, Geffen does a lot of great things with his billions including funding several LGBTQ organizations as well as giving financial support to Los Angeles area health clinics, theaters, museums, and charities for the homeless. Let’s not lose sight of that. But folks on Twitter, who might be worried about having jobs when the pandemic comes to an end, weren’t having it. There have been over 10,000 responses to his post so far. See below. p.s. Geffen took his Insta private amid the f*ck ton of shade thrown his way.

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Trump Brags On White House TV Ratings After Reviving Press Briefings

Donald Trump
Donald Trump took the time to copy and paste text from a New York Times report about the viewership of the White House daily press briefings since the onset of the COVID-19 threat. It took the Donald four tweets to fit in all the ratings numbers he is so proud of, and then he came back an hour later with yet another ‘ratings tweet.’ An unprecedented number of Americans are contracting a lethal virus and Trump’s takeaway is beating “Bachelor finale” ratings.

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Terror Charges For Woman Who ‘Intentionally’ Coughed On $35K Worth Of Groceries

(image via Facebook)
A woman in Pennsylvania entered a Gerrity’s Supermarket on Wednesday afternoon this week and proceeded to intentionally cough on fresh produce, a small section of the bakery, meat case and grocery items, alleges the store’s co-owner Joe Fasula. Writing on the store chain’s Facebook page, Fasula says the woman is known “to be a chronic problem in the community.” “While there is little doubt this woman was doing it as a very twisted prank, we will not take any chances with the health and well-being of our customers,” writes Fasula. “We had no choice but to throw out all of the products she came in contact with. Working closely with the Hanover Township health inspector, we identified every area that she was in, we disposed of the product and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected everything.” Fasula adds, “Although we have not yet quantified the total loss, we estimate the value to be well over $35,000.” “The only silver lining to this travesty is that it gave us the unfortunate opportunity to test our protocols and demonstrate how seriously we take your safety,” said Fasula in closing. “At one point, we had over 15 employees involved in the disposal and clean up.” The Hill is now reporting the woman has been charged for making terrorist threats via her coughing stunt.

Margaret Cirko, 35, allegedly “intentionally contaminated” grocery items by coughing and spitting on them, claiming to be sick while attempting to steal a pack of beer, according to the Hanover Township Police Department.

The incident resulted in the store disposing of $35,000 worth of produce, meat, and other essential items. Cirko was sent to a mental health hospital to be evaluated after her arrest.

Cirko was charged with two felony counts of terroristic threats using a biological agent, one count of criminal mischief, and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and attempted retail theft.

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Miami Winter Party Attendee Dies Due To COVID-19

Israel Carreras (image via Facebook)
From WSVN in Miami:

Miami-Dade County has reported its first two coronavirus-related deaths, and one of them has been identified as a 40-year-old man with no prior health issues or complications, according to family members.

Israel Carreras was identified as the first death in Miami-Dade, Friday. Later that evening, a 79-year-old man was reported as the county’s second death.

Carreras succumbed to the virus after his friends said he contracted it during the Winter Party Festival in Miami, where several other cases of the virus had appeared.

Carreras’s partner, Franco Conquista, told WSVN he stayed with Carreras at his home, taking care of him for two days, as he also had been infected. Conquista says Carreras eventually found it difficult to breathe so he went to the hospital. But after four or five days the doctors put him in an induced coma because he was really agitated. The sleep state keeps patients who might be anxious about breathing from removing a respirator out of panic. Carreras never regained consciousness. The 40-year-old Cuban native had lived in South Florida for several years, and friends described him as a hard worker who often clocked in around 14 hours per day at a warehouse. He also drove as an Uber driver in order to save money to send to his family in Cuba each month. As Conquista is still self-isolating himself, he wants people to know “this is serious.” “They need to stay at home,” he told the news station. “It doesn’t just kill old people. This poor boy had only 40 years old. It can kill anybody, so just stay home and think of other people. Try to save other people’s lives. Just because you are not affected directly doesn’t mean that people are not suffering from this.”

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Trump Wants His Signature On Stimulus Checks As If He’s Giving Americans Money

Donald Trump (photo: public domain)
The Wall Street Journal reports Donald Trump would like to see his signature on the stimulus checks that will be sent out after he signed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package into law Friday, according to an administration official. Normally such checks would be signed by a disbursing officer, not the president. Trump always wants “credit” for everything that happens in the country, and a check bearing his signature could appear to some as if the Donald is giving Americans these funds when actually the American people are writing the checks.