L-R Chris Wallace, Dr. Deborah Birx (screen capture) One of the medical experts on the White House Coronavirus Task Force told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace she finds crowds, like the ones that protested at the Michigan state capitol recently, “devastatingly worrisome” from a “public health standpoint.” From Fox News:
Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of President Trump’s coronavirus task force, warned that some activities that Americans are engaging in across the country are potentially putting lives in danger as the coronavirus pandemic continues to plague the nation.
In a “Fox News Sunday” interview, Birx weighed in on recent incidents ranging from crowds flocking to Califonia beaches to the reopening of salons and spas, but came down particularly hard on Michigan protesters who stormed the state capitol in large numbers without wearing masks.
“It’s devastatingly worrisome to me personally because if they go home and infect their grandmother or their grandfather who has a co-morbid condition and they have a serious or a very unfortunate outcome, they will feel guilty for the rest of our lives,” Birx said. “So we need to protect each other at the same time we’re voicing our discontent.”
Wallace also asked Birx if she was worried about the many states that have started reopening, and yet not one has met the guidelines of 2 weeks of decline in new coronavirus cases. Said Birx, “Federal guidelines are pretty firm policy of what we think is important from a public health standpoint.” Additionally, Birx restated that the projections for deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19 “have always been between 100,000 and 240,000.” The full interview segment is at the bottom of the post.
Watch: Dr. Birx says on Fox News Sunday that protesters gathering without face masks in Michigan is “devastatingly worrisome” pic.twitter.com/crUn4NRInM
WALLACE: More than half the states have started reopening, but not a single one has met the guidelines of 2 weeks of decline in new coronavirus cases. Are you worried?
BIRX: “Federal guidelines are pretty firm policy of what we think is important from a public health standpoint” pic.twitter.com/4O5lWQJZIE — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 3, 2020
Birx on Fox News Sunday today: “Our projections have always been between 100,000 and 240,000 [deaths] … and that’s with full mitigation.” Trump on April 20: “We’re going toward 50 or 60,000 people. … As you know, the low number was supposed to be 100,000 people.”
A scientist at Oxford University told “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd this morning his team hopes to see a “signal” by June was to whether a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed there might work. “We are gradually reeling it in, bit by bit and as everyday goes by, the likelihood of success goes up,” said Sir Bell. From NBC News:
Sir John Bell, the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, where one of the leading efforts to develop a vaccine is underway, said that the prospects for its candidate are “pretty good” and that “as every day goes by, the likelihood of success goes up.”
The researchers hope to have enough data from their phase-two trials that “we would get evidence that the vaccine has efficacy by the beginning of June.”
The group at Oxford is one of the many racing toward finding an effective and safe vaccine for the coronavirus alongside efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic.
EXCLUSIVE: Professor Sir John Bell of Oxford University says “the prospects are pretty good” for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. #MTP#IfItsSunday
Sir Bell: “We are gradually reeling it in, bit by bit and as everyday goes by, the likelihood of success goes up.” pic.twitter.com/SSmKN9XVgT
Former Vice President Joe Biden on MSNBC (screen capture) Former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, in a statement from his campaign, explicitly denied accusations that he sexually assaulted a former aide during his time in the Senate.
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.
Biden echoed his denial on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” shortly after the statement was released. He also called on the National Archives to release any record of a complaint that the former aide, Tara Reade, says she filed. “If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there,” said Biden.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the National Archives said that “any records of Senate personnel complaints from 1993 would have remained under the control of the Senate.”
“Accordingly, inquiries related to these records should be directed to the Senate,” the statement added.
Reade has said that she filed a complaint with a congressional human resources or personnel office but did not remember the exact name. Her complaint dealt only with the alleged harassment, not the alleged assault, she said. The Post could find no record of the complaint, and Reade said she didn’t have a copy.
In an MSNBC interview with host Mika Brzezinski, Biden appeared from his makeshift home television studio in Delaware. It was the first time he faced questions on the allegations in a public setting.
“I don’t remember any type of complaint she may have made,” Biden said in the interview, when asked if he remembered Reade or the complaint. “It was 27 years ago, and I don’t remember. Nor does anyone else that I’m aware of.”
Joe Biden, asked on @Morning_Joe if he sexually assaulted Tara Reade:
“No, it is not true. I’m saying unequivocally it never, never happened. And it didn’t. It never happened.” pic.twitter.com/nXIAdGloG5
Reade made her initial accusation last year to several news outlets: that Biden had put his hands on her shoulders and neck when she was working in his Senate office and it made her ‘uncomfortable.’ She says that she brought up the incident to senior aides in the office, but when interviewed those aides told the Washington Post that they had no memory of her allegations. Reade also says she filed a report about the incident, which she’s characterized as changing ‘the trajectory’ of her life, but says she didn’t keep a copy. No one seems to know anything about the alleged report. Then during a podcast interview last month, her allegations escalated to claiming Biden sexually assaulted her somewhere on Capitol Hill. She said he pushed her up against a wall, moved his hands up under her skirt and penetrated her. In a detailed examination of her account two weeks ago, the Washington Post wrote that one of her friends confirmed that Reade had told her of an incident shortly after she said it had occurred. In that same report, the Post wrote that Reade’s brother, Collin Moulton, acknowledged that she had told him in 1993 that Biden had touched her neck and shoulders. But there was no mention of the actual sexual assault – clearly the most important aspect of the alleged incident. Interestingly, days after the interview, he sent messages via texts adding that he “recalled her telling him that Biden had put his hand under her clothes.'” At this point in this post, I want to state clearly: I have personally been the target of sexual misconduct in the workplace in the past. Additionally, I was sexually assaulted during a first “date” in the early 1990s. I firmly believe anyone who raises such allegations should be taken seriously and the accusations should be properly vetted. That said, I don’t think every single accusation should be blindly taken as truth. While Biden has been accused of over-hugging in the past, which has often been attributed to his age and how men acted in the past, he’s since acknowledged times have changed and he plans to be more aware of touching people. Michael J. Stern, a 28-year federal and state prosecutor who handled numerous sexual assault cases, penned an op-ed for USA Today explaining his skepticism regarding Reade’s allegations. I encourage you to read it in full, but some of the issues he raises are: • Reade waiting 27 years to make her accusations public. • She spoke with a newspaper last year and accused Biden of touching her in a way that made her uncomfortable — but neglected to mention her claim that he forcibly penetrated her with his fingers. She later said she felt uncomfortable with the reporter, but as Stern points out, why would it take a year to find a qualified journalist to tell her story to? • The New York Times and the Washington Post have cumulatively interviewed dozens of people in the past month about Reade’s accusation and no other allegations of sexual assault by Biden arose. As Stern writes, “In my experience, men who commit a sexual assault are accused more than once … like Donald Trump, who has had more than a dozen allegations of sexual assault leveled against him and who was recorded bragging about grabbing women’s genitalia.” • Biden campaigned and went on to become Vice President of the United States for 8 years, but Reade never said anything during that time. • In 2017, on multiple occasions, Reade retweeted or “liked” praise for Biden and his work combating sexual assault. It is bizarre that Reade would publicly laud Biden for combating the very thing she would later accuse him of doing to her. • By January of 2020, though, Reade had become a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders and penned an essay on Medium saying the Democratic party was trying to “shove” Biden down Democrats throats. She also wrote approvingly of Russian President Vladimir Putin. • Speaking of timing, Stern notes that Reade’s allegations didn’t escalate to full-on sexual assault until Biden began to win in the Democratic primaries in March. There’s much more in Stern’s USA Today op-ed and I encourage you to read it. One more thing I’ll add here. On the same day Reade accused Joe Biden of sexual assault in March, she apparently edited her previous statements posted to her Medium account to better match the new allegations. At that link, a journalist has compared and highlighted the numerous additions and deletions made on March 24, 2020. Why would she alter her original words without mentioning the amendment on her post…on the DAY she accused him of sexual assault? As I earlier stated, I believe allegations of sexual assault should be taken seriously. But believing ALL accusations blindly doesn’t serve women, the #MeToo movement or truth as a whole.
DJ/producer David Nazar (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: DJ/producer David Nazar (above) sends regards from his “balcony vacation” in Miami, Florida. Follow him on Instagram here. • Human Rights Campaign: May is officially recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month, and now more than ever, it’s crucial to shine a light on mental health in the LGBTQ community. Click the link for information about how LGBTQ people are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, lowered self-esteem, and even suicidal thoughts compared to their straight and cisgender peers. • Broadway Bares: The 30th-anniversary performance of the annual striptease spectacular, featuring the sexist dancers on Broadway, is being postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the June spectacle has been postponed, plans are in the works to still celebrate Broadway Bares online this summer. Check out this clip from last year’s “Game Night” edition.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: An internal poll conducted for the Georgia House GOP Caucus held bad news for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the former financial executive who dumped millions in stocks after receiving coronavirus briefings in January. Loeffler only received 11% support in the survey regarding her upcoming race this fall, and essentially tied with two Democratic candidates. U.S. Rep. Doug Collins leads the field with 29% of the vote and outpaces Loeffler among Republicans by a 62-18 margin. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly look at what’s making news in LGBTQ magazines like South Florida’s Hot Spots! (below). • Gay Star News: Magistrates in Israel have ruled the ironically named Rainbow Color print shop must compensate an LGBT+ association after it refused to print posters for the Ben Gurion University LGBT group three years ago. The Beersheba Magistrates Court said the duty to serve customers comes before religious beliefs. • Instagram: In the middle of Madonna’s ‘Madame X’ themed post on Thursday, the pop-star revealed she’d “taken a test” and found out she “had the antibodies.” Madge didn’t elaborate as to when she was tested. She added, “So tomorrow, I’m just going to go for a long drive in a car, and I’m going to roll down the window, and I’m going to breathe in, I’m going to breathe in the COVID-19 air. Yup. I hope the sun is shining.” Note – scientists have not determined if having the coronavirus makes one immune going forward.
Los Angeles, CA, 1998 Some news items you might have missed: • International Day of Dance: I’m a day late but I have to pay tribute to the gift, the discipline, and the artistry afforded me by my many (many) years of dance training. It all was a gift. The pic above was taken as I warmed up for a performance of CHICAGO the Musical in Los Angeles at the Shubert Theatre in 1998. • Agence France-Presse: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said the World Health Organization encourages homosexuality and masturbation among young children, his latest clash with an organization whose advice on social distancing and other anti-coronavirus measures he has repeatedly questioned. • Washington Blade: Rufus Gifford has been named deputy campaign manager for Joseph Biden, the campaign confirmed Wednesday. The former U.S. ambassador to Denmark from 2013 to 2017, Gifford was one of seven openly gay ambassadors who served under the Obama administration. Oh, and he’s a dog man and pretty easy on the eyes, which never hurts 🙂 Former US Ambassador Rufus Giffords (via Instagram) • Media Matters: National Rifle Association board member Anthony Colandro called the novel coronavirus pandemic “bullshit” and encouraged his followers to join him at an anti-social distancing protest in New Jersey insisting the state police “can’t arrest all of us.” • Pink News: A scientist has explained why Mike Pence refused to wear a mask while visiting patients recovering from coronavirus: toxic masculinity. Peter Glick Ph.D., a social sciences professor, says Pence refusing to abide by the hospital’s guidelines comes down to “one critical reason, which is that appearing to play it safe contradicts a core principle of masculinity: show no weakness.” p.s. Pence wore a mask at a GM plant after the backlash. • Fox News: After over one million confirmed cases and over 62,000 deaths of COVID-19 in the U.S., plus 30 million Americans have lost their jobs, Donald Trump’s campaign is set to launch a seven-figure ad blitz on his “spectacular success.” Priorities USA has its own take on Trump’s efforts.
Less than 24 hours after the US coronavirus death toll passed 60,000, Trump says, “I think we did a spectacular job” responding to the outbreak. pic.twitter.com/cAU2o3EZTu
— The American Independent (@AmerIndependent) April 30, 2020
Donald Trump has finally put “America first.” America has the most coronavirus cases. America has the most coronavirus deaths. 26 million Americans have lost their jobs. Donald Trump is failing America. pic.twitter.com/Me625uPqeQ
L-R Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky From NowThis News:
States across the U.S. are struggling to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. New York state has been hit especially hard, as coronavirus cases across the state and New York City increase.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who holds coronavirus press briefings regularly, has called out Donald Trump and the Trump admin for its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Recently, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo laid into Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans for blocking emergency aid for Democratic states amid COVID-19.
As Gov. Cuomo points out, New York state pays $29 billion more to the federal government than it gets back on an annual basis. But Sen. McConnell’s state of Kentucky regularly takes $37 billion MORE than it sends to Washington DC, and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida sees his state take $30 billion more than it sends to the federal government. So, when McConnell and his GOP compatriots say they don’t want to “bailout” states like New York, Cuomo rightfully asks, “Who is bailing out whom?”
(stock image via Pixabay) A new investigation by The Guardian shows over 100,000 crew members of cruise ships are still stuck onboard as ports refuse to allow the vessels to dock. Additionally, air travel restrictions are keeping them from returning to their home countries. The Guardian reports:
Many of these crew are quarantined in tiny cabins, and some have had their pay cut off. They have in effect become a nation of floating castaways, marooned on boats from the Galapagos Islands to Dubai port.
Many of the crew have only minimal communication with the outside world, making their situations hard to scrutinise. But at least 17 cruise ship workers are confirmed to have died from suspected Covid-19, and dozens more have had to be evacuated from ships and taken to hospital, the Guardian found.
“We all have family, we all want to go home,” said one crew member who has been isolating in his cabin onboard the MSC Seaview off South America for nearly a month, but is no longer being paid.
One crew member, who spoke anonymously for fear of losing his job, said those on his ship were initially allowed to move about freely, but have since been told to remain in their cabins after a co-worker (who had already left the ship) tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Guardian’s reporting adds that at the beginning of April the U.S. Coast Guard estimated there were approximately 93,000 crew members still onboard ships in and around U.S. waters alone. In other parts of the world, its believed there are tens of thousands more crew members stuck on their ships. The article quotes John Hickey, a maritime lawyer, who said crew members “did not have access to the rights afforded by their nations of citizenship, yet they were often outside the jurisdiction of the countries where their ships were sailing.”
In this week’s podcast: • A former police officer will receive a settlement after being denied a job because he is HIV positive • Ohio teacher fired for having a husband • Small steps forward for LGBTQ rights in Morocco • The Trump administration is close to removing important anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQs from the Affordable Care Act • Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series Hollywood is a progressive, pro-LGBTQ reimagining of post-World War II Tinseltown • New ‘good news’ podcast to help you sleep at night – UNSAD Podcast www.unsadpodcast.com All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast
I’m a little late getting this News Round-Up out, so rather than make you wait while I scour the Gram of Insta for an InstaHunk, you get this pic of me from this morning before the day got away from me. Just want to let you know we’re still kicking out here in Las Vegas and I hope everyone’s going great as we close out Hump Day. Here are a few news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: After teaching English for 23 years at Archbishop Alter High School in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, a teacher has been notified his contract will not be renewed for the coming school year because he’s married to his husband. • Gay City News: LGBTQ groups in Morocco are encouraging gay men to get rid of the Grindr accounts after a social media influencer encouraged people to use the app’s location data to identify gay locals. • Out Music: After years battling a debilitating chronic pain condition, out indie artist Stefan Alexander recently released his first new music since 2016. Check out the pop-synth title track from his new EP, Cry Again. “Cry Again is sort of the aftermath and getting back in touch with my emotions, all these emotions I had bottled up for so long and didn’t allow myself to feel,” Alexander shared with American Songwriter earlier this year.
• Washington Post: U.S. intelligence agencies issued warnings about the novel coronavirus in more than a dozen classified briefings prepared for President Trump in January and February, months during which he continued to play down the threat, according to current and former U.S. officials. • KIT212: For this week’s edition of ‘Wrestle Wednesdays,’ Kenneth notes “there’s so much going on in this scene you have to see it for yourself.” In addition to the athlete, that coach can seriously wear some pants…
The New York Times reports the F.D.A. is expected to authorize as early as Wednesday Gilead Sciences’ experimental anti-viral drug remdesivir for emergency use in treating patients with Covid-19. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the federal government’s leading infectious diseases scientist, told reporters a trial study overseen by the National Institutes of Health showed clear signs the drug could make a difference in speeding up the recovery of some patients.
Dr. Fauci said the federal trial indicated that the drug remdesivir could shorten the time to recovery by about a third. “Although a 31 percent improvement doesn’t seem like a knockout 100 percent, it is a very important proof of concept because what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus,” Dr. Fauci said. “This is very optimistic.”
In a statement, Gilead Sciences said it was “aware of positive data emerging from” the study by Dr. Fauci’s institute, known as NIAID. “We understand that the trial has met its primary endpoint and that NIAID will provide detailed information at an upcoming briefing.”
Remdesivir is not yet licensed or approved in the United States or anywhere in the world “and has not yet been demonstrated to be safe or effective for the treatment of Covid-19,” according to Gilead.
Remdesivir has never been approved as a treatment for any disease. It was developed to fight Ebola, but results from a clinical trial in Africa were disappointing.
Why would she 
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I’m a little late getting this News Round-Up out, so rather than make you wait while I scour the Gram of Insta for an InstaHunk, you get this pic of me from this morning before the day got away from me. Just want to let you know we’re still kicking out here in Las Vegas and I hope everyone’s going great as we close out Hump Day. Here are a few news items you might have missed: • 