Category: News

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Trumper Buys All Paper Towels & Toilet Paper From Dollar Store, Promises To Sell It For Double

A Trump supporter was caught on video loading up her truck after clearing out all the toilet paper, paper towels and paper napkins from a Dollar Tree store in Pompano Beach, Florida. The short video, shot by another customer at the store, shows the woman loading several huge boxes onto the back of a truck. In the clip, you can hear the woman recording the scene ask, “I hope you’re not like going to go sell it to other people. Don’t worry you’ll see her on the street corner selling it for double in a minute.” “That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” replies the woman who purchased the products. “I bet you she likes Donald Trump too,” says the woman recording the video to which the purchaser begins yelling, “Donald Trump! Go, Donald Trump!” Is anyone surprised? Show of hands – anyone? Yeah, I didn’t think so. The video in Brian Tyler Cohen’s tweet has been viewed 3.4 million times. Needless to say, the Twitterverse wasn’t exactly thrilled with Toilet Paper Tammy.

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Asymptomatic Sen. Rand Paul Tests Positive For COVID-19

Sen. Rand Paul (photo: Gage Skidmore)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has become the first U.S. Senator to test positive for coronavirus. From NBC News:

“Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19,” Paul’s account tweeted. “He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.”

“He expects to be back in the Senate after his quarantine period ends and will continue to work for the people of Kentucky at this difficult time,” the thread continued. “Ten days ago, our D.C. office began operating remotely, hence virtually no staff has had contact with Senator Rand Paul.”

Paul is the third member of Congress to announce a positive test for coronavirus, following Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Ben McAdams, D-Utah. Several Republican lawmakers also self-quarantined earlier this month after learned they had interacted with someone who tested positive for the virus at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Some might note the irony that Paul was the only senator to vote against a bipartisan $8 billion deal to provide emergency coronavirus funding earlier this month. Earlier this week, I reported that Walking Dead actor Daniel Newman developed symptoms, knew he’d been exposed to the coronavirus, went to the ER and was told (after ringing up a bill for $9,000+) that his test couldn’t be “processed” because he wasn’t a senior citizen or traveled recently in China or Italy. How did an asymptomatic U.S. senator get tested if Newman and others couldn’t? Of course, we know the answer to that question.

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Economy Roiled By Health Threat, But Some Companies Looking To Hire

From the New York Times:

The volume of food and paper products passing through a warehouse just outside Los Angeles is up 30 percent from the same time a year ago.

Pizza deliveries are surging as people around the country hunker down. Medical product manufacturers are racing to help hospitals lacking critical equipment needed to diagnose and treat Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Millions of people lost jobs or saw their wages severely curtailed last week as many companies shut down or cut back on operations. But the pandemic has also created a spike in demand for critical products and services, causing some of America’s biggest employers to scramble to try to hire workers.

On Thursday, Walmart, the nation’s largest employer, said it was looking to hire 150,000 additional employees through the end of May.

The grocery chain Kroger is hiring 10,000 people across its stores and distribution centers. Amazon is also planning to hire 100,000 additional people to keep up with the crush of online orders.

While the casinos here in Las Vegas are closed, I did see several of the large grocery stores have “Hiring” signs up. I know these may not be some people’s “chosen careers,” but if a family needs an income, at least there are a few opportunities to earn a living.

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FDA Approves ‘Quick Result’ Coronavirus Test

The Washington Post reports the FDA has approved a new “rapid result” coronavirus test that can deliver results in 45 minutes.

The FDA granted “emergency use authorization” to Cepheid, a California company that makes a rapid molecular test for the coronavirus. Getting results in 45 minutes would be far quicker than the current situation in which tests typically are sent to central reference labs that can take days to deliver results.

The FDA authorization covers “patient care settings,” including doctors’ offices, but initially will be used primarily by hospitals and emergency departments, the company said.

The specimen can be collected either by a nasal swab or by a saline wash using a small catheter. Neither is particularly comfortable, but the advantage of the wash is that it doesn’t require swabs, which are in short supply.

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Full Ground Stop At All NYC Area Airports Due To Staffing Shortages

(image via Erik Odiin/Unsplash)
UPDATE: The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its brief suspension of flights to New York City-area airports due to coronavirus-related staffing issues at a regional air-traffic control center.

The halt was lifted after about 30 minutes. Initially, air traffic controllers were warned it could last several hours.

Apparently someone in the regional New York center for air traffic control tested positive, so the FAA shut it down. Inbound flights are being diverted and take-offs have been canceled. From CBNC:

Air traffic into major New York City-area airports was halted on Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration said, as coronavirus continues to cause staffing issues at FAA facilities around the country.

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Trump Promotes Anti-Malaria Drug Not Approved As Treatment For Coronavirus

Donald Trump continues to push the idea that anti-malaria drug chloroquine has been approved as treatment for COVID-19. It has not. Via Mediaite:

At a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing Friday, Fox News reporter John Roberts asked Fauci about the anti-malaria drug chloroquine, which is being tested as a treatment for COVID-19 but has not been approved for that use, despite Trump’s claim to the contrary yesterday.

“It was explained yesterday there has been some promise with hydroxychloroquine, this potential therapy for people who are infected with coronavirus,” Roberts said, then asked, “Is there any evidence to suggest that as with malaria it might be used as a prophylaxis against COVID-19?”

“The answer is no, and the evidence that you’re talking about, John, is anecdotal evidence,” Dr. Fauci replied, adding “So as the commissioner of FDA and the president mentioned yesterday, we’re trying to strike a balance between making something with a potential of an effect to the American people, available, at the same time that we do it under the auspices of a protocol that would give us information to determine if it’s truly safe and truly effective.”

Trump tweeted about the drug again this morning:

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News Round-Up: March 20, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Steve_in_LA (above) looks handsome as ever self-isolating in style as he works from home. • LGBTQ Nation: At least four LGBTQ people who were at the Winter Party – a huge circuit party held in Miami earlier this month – have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Other partiers have also developed symptoms. • CNBC: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 913 points lower, or more than 4%, after rallying more than 400 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 slid 4.4%. The Nasdaq Composite closed 3.8% lower after jumping more than 2%. • KIT212: Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in local gay rags like Scissor Sister’s lead singer Jake Shears in the latest issue of GRAB. • Washington Post: U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous, classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of the pathogen, according to U.S. officials familiar with spy agency reporting. • CNN: Economists at Goldman Sachs predict next week’s unemployment report will show 2.25 million Americans filing for their first week of unemployment benefits this week — eight times the number of people who filed last week and the highest level on record. • New Music: Scottish singer/writer ONR (pronounced “honor”) shares new track and video “Human Enough,” the latest from his forthcoming Must Stop EP.

ONR says of the new track: “I liked the idea that ‘being human’ wasn’t a defining quality, but rather a sliding-scale… that you could consider yourself ’not human enough’ to be someone else’s equal. The video is dark, confused, frustrated; it exists within this fantastical alternative reality where the concept of being human is (literally) different from our own.”

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‘Walking Dead’s’ Daniel Newman Goes To ER For COVID-19, Can’t Get Tested

Daniel Newman (image via Instagram)
Walking Dead actor Daniel Newman shared via Instagram he is currently self-quarantining after being told he’d been exposed to the coronavirus and has now developed symptoms. “I was just in Australia with Sam Smith, Dua Lipa, and thousands of people from around the world for Mardi Gras Pride,” writes the openly gay actor. “I was exposed to some sick people and I started developing symptoms and then back in the states I was notified someone in our group tested positive for #Covid19.” Upon hearing the news, Newman set out to get properly tested, But that turned out to be more difficult than he imagined. Even though he “spent all day calling every urgent care and hospital,” Newman was told repeatedly facility after facility didn’t have tests. “Finally I found one emergency room that told me my symptoms match and to come in immediately. I did all the tests and they told me because I have ‘mild symptoms’ the government won’t allow them to process my tests!” Newman was informed that the only tests being processed were for those with “severe symptoms,” the elderly, or individuals who had recently traveled to Italy or China. And just to make things a bit worse, the ER visit cost him $9,116 but provided no results. “They sent me home and tons of other ill people that could potentially infect their communities, just telling us to ‘self quarantine,’” wrote Newman. He went on to express frustrations many have voiced about the government’s lack of planning despite watching China’s epidemic for months. “Why after almost 3 months since China is our country not prepared with tests, masks, hand sanitizer, toilet paper! Why after one day of shaky stock markets did they invest $1.5 trillion into the markets, but not the healthcare system after three months! This was not a surprise, this was not being prepared.” Noting the H1N1 and SARS health threats in the recent past, Newman added, “Why didn’t we have a pandemic unit ready when this happens every few years?” As has been reported, the Trump administration chose to dismantle a National Security Council directorate at the White House in 2018 which would have been prepared for when another pandemic would hit the nation. Newman also reminded folks to wash hands, practice social distancing and to remember that “young people are not immune.” You can read Newman’s full post on Instagram below.

View this post on Instagram

Thanks for all the concern! I guess a lot of #WalkingDead fans saw me in the emergency room regarding #CoronaVirus. Sorry I didn’t reply I needed time to process. So here’s what happened. Yes I was just in Australia with Sam Smith, Dua Lipa, and thousands of people from around the world for Mardi Gras Pride. I was exposed to some sick people and I started developing symptoms and then back in the states I was notified someone in our group tested positive for #Covid19. I spent all day calling every urgent care and hospital no one had tests! Finally I found one emergency room that told me my symptoms match and to come in immediately. I did all the tests and they told me because I have “mild symptoms“ the government won’t allow them to process my tests! They don’t have enough they’re not prepared, even though all my symptoms match. They’re only allowed to process “severe symptoms, elderly, or people recently in Italy and China”. It cost me $9,116!! and they didn’t even give me results. They sent me home and tons of other ill people that could potentially infect their communities, just telling us to “self Quarantine“. Why after almost 3 months since China is our country not prepared with tests, masks, hand sanitizer, toilet paper! Why after one day of shaky stock markets did they invest 1.5 trillion into the markets, but not the Healthcare system after three months! This was not a surprise, this was not being prepared. We’ve already gone through #H1N1 #SARS why didn’t we have a pandemic unit ready when this happens every few years!? Everyone please treat each other with kindness and Love ❤️! We are all going through this together. Young people are not immune, thousands of people are dying around the world. Please be safe, wash your hands, stay 6 feet or more away from people and stay home. I love you guys so much you can get a hold of me on here or Twitter if you need to talk I’m here for you. Love – D

A post shared by DANIEL NEWMAN (@danielnewman_) on

Several famous folks have been diagnosed with the coronavirus including Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Andy Cohen, Idris Elba, and the Bachelor’s Colton Underwood.

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California: Gov. Newsom Issues ‘Stay At Home’ Order

Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA)

All Californians, nearly 40 million people, have been ordered to stay at home except for when it is absolutely necessary for them to leave “until further notice” in response to the ongoing coronavirus threat. There are exemptions for public safety and health care operations as well as other essential services, including laundromats, grocery stores, and restaurants that offer takeout or delivery.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (image via Facebook)
From Buzzfeed News:

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the order late Thursday just an hour after officials in Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the US, issued a similar mandate. Earlier this week, their Bay Area counterparts handed down similar “shelter-in-place” orders, the strictest measures taken in the country so far.

Across the state of California, health officials have confirmed 675 cases of COVID-19 and 16 deaths from the disease as of Wednesday evening, behind Washington state and New York, where more than 5,000 cases have been confirmed.

The state’s order takes effect immediately and will be in place indefinitely with Newsom telling reporters that officials “could not give a deadline that we really could believe in.”

The Los Angeles order, which will stay in effect until at least April 19, requires all businesses, including museums, malls, retail stores, and workplaces, to stop operations and only allows people to leave their home for “essential activities,” like to pick up food, go to the doctor, or take a walk in the neighborhood.

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Gov. Cuomo Orders New York Workers To Stay Home

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered all non-essential businesses to keep all employees at home beginning Sunday evening. Grocery stores, pharmacies & other support businesses will be allowed to stay open. There were 2,950 new cases reported in New York state in the last day alone. From the Washington Post:

All New York workers are prohibited from reporting to their workplace in person, with the exception of people who perform essential services, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said Friday.

The policy, to be formalized via executive order, will take effect Sunday evening and will be backed by the force of law, Cuomo said at a news conference. “These provisions will be enforced,” he said. “These are not helpful hints; this is not if you really want to be a good citizen.”

Cuomo emphasized that this policy is not an order to “shelter in place” — a term that is usually used in mass shooting situations. He said the guidance to residents to mostly stay inside may continue for months and that people should feel free to take walks for the sake of their mental health.