Tag: coronavirus

Posted on

Fox News: Pence Dodges Questions On Trump Inciting Protests

Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday defended President Donald Trump for inciting protests in the middle of a pandemic. During an interview on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked Pence about the demonstrations in certain states calling for the economy to reopen where people were seen violating social distancing guidelines. Instead of answering the question, Pence dodged and went on a lengthy praise of his boss. “We continue to see encouraging results, declining cases, declining hospitalizations because of what the American people have done, because of the president’s leadership,” the vice president said. “We are slowing the spread, we are hastening the day when we can put the coronavirus in the past and reopen the American economy.” As you can see – nothing about the question at hand. So, Wallace went back to his question about federal guidelines on social distancing. “But Mr. Vice President,” Wallace said. “In a number of these cases, these protesters – who are not social distancing – are saying they don’t want to wait. In many cases, they’re protesting your own guidelines to stop the spread.” Wallace also brought up Trump’s tweets on Friday that called for citizens to “Liberate Minnesota, liberate Michigan and liberate Virginia.”

“So what does the president mean because you’ve got guidelines that are calling for social distancing and staying at home?” asked the host. “Even your guidelines to reopen the country are very phased and gradual. What does the president mean when he says liberate these states?” “The American people know that no one in this country wants to reopen this country more than President Donald Trump,” said Pence again ignoring the question. “And on Thursday that president asked us to lay out guidelines for how the states can responsibly do that.” “And in the president’s tweets and public statements, I can assure you he’s going to continue to encourage governors to find ways to safely and responsibly let America go back to work,” added the vice president.

Posted on

Some Florida Beaches Reopened Today

(screen capture)
What could possibly go wrong?… Via the New York Post:

Beaches in Jacksonville, Florida, will be reopened for limited hours beginning Friday evening, following President Trump’s announcement that governors could decide when to open their states back up, the city’s mayor announced Thursday.

Mayor Lenny Curry said beaches and parks would reopen in the county for essential uses including recreational activities at an appropriate social distance, including walking, fishing, biking, swimming and dog walking.

“This can be the beginning of the pathway back to normal life,” Curry said. “Please respect and follow these limitations. Stay within the guidelines for your safety as well as for the safety of your neighbors.”

The beaches will open from 6 to 11 a.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. each day for the limited activities, ABC News reported. But swimmers and surfers will go into the water at their own risk.

The Jacksonville parks will also reopen but gatherings must still be limited to 50 people or less.

Posted on

Gilead COVID-19 Drug May Offer Glimmer Of Hope

(image via Depositphotos)
For some weeks now, Donald Trump has heralded malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as showing “tremendous promise” to combat COVID-19 but no study has yielded any sufficient data (yet) that bears out Trump’s “feeling” that it would be the salvation folks are hoping for. But drugmaker Gilead may have some good news soon about its experimental drug Remdesivir. From StatNews:

Remdesivir was one of the first medicines identified as having the potential to impact SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, in lab tests. The entire world has been waiting for results from Gilead’s clinical trials, and positive results would likely lead to fast approvals by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies.

If safe and effective, it could become the first approved treatment against the disease.

The University of Chicago Medicine recruited 125 people with COVID-19 into Gilead’s two Phase 3 clinical trials. Of those people, 113 had severe disease. All the patients have been treated with daily infusions of remdesivir. 

“The best news is that most of our patients have already been discharged, which is great. We’ve only had two patients perish,” said Kathleen Mullane, the University of Chicago infectious disease specialist overseeing the remdesivir studies for the hospital.

It’s important to note that a  group of 125 patients in Chicago isn’t large enough to give researchers the depth of information they need. Gilead is currently overseeing 152 separate clinical trials around the world involving 2,400 severe patients. There are an additional 169 trials following 1,600 moderate COVID-19 patients. Until the trials are closed and the numbers crunched we won’t have a clear idea as to how useful the drug might be against coronavirus. That said, one man’s story definitely shows promise. Slawomir Michalak, a 57-year-old factory worker from a suburb west of Chicago, told StatNews he went to the University of Chicago Medicine hospital on Friday, April 3, when he spiked a 104 fever and found it difficult to breathe. He was put on oxygen and given the option to join the severe coronavirus trial. On Saturday, April 4, he received his first infusion of the drug. “My fever dropped almost immediately and I started to feel better,” he said. The next day, he received a second dose and was able to breathe without supplemental oxygen. After two more daily treatments of remdesivir, he was well enough to be discharged on Tuesday, April 7. It’s only one man’s experience with the drug, but let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Read more at StatNews.

Posted on

Funny: 16-Year-Old Offers Clever Coronavirus Parody “I Dreamed A Dream”

Nick and his mom before the quarantine
Well, give it up for 16-year-old Nick offering this clever coronavirus parody of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables. Apparently this was recorded before the quarantine kicked in where Nick and his mom live. Props to mom for the straight face throughout.

(h/t Boy Culture)

Posted on

News Round-Up: April 16, 2020

(image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Gorgeous photo of the moon over Turkey from Instagram user mostafa.rok (above). Follow him here. #AnyoneSeeAMoon? • The Advocate: Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips is being sued (again) after refusing to bake a birthday cake for a transgender woman. • Washington Examiner: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced Thursday that Ohio will begin to reopen some of its businesses on May 1. The governor has a stay-at-home order in place until May 1 and opted not to extend it as he begins to roll out his plan for relaxing some of the social distancing guidelines. • Gallup Polling: As Donald Trump works to contain the damage from the novel coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., the rally in support he enjoyed as the nation entered a virtual lockdown has faded. His job approval rating, now 43%, has slipped six percentage points since mid-March when he earned 49% approval, which tied his personal best.
(graphic via Gallup)
• OUT: Illustrator Tommy Taylor has transformed Disney Princes into the quarantined gays we know and love. • Newsweek: According to survey averages from Real Clear Politics, Biden is ahead of Trump in half a dozen states critical to the Electoral College map this November: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. • Twitter: I am not mad at Spain’s army uniforms for members of its elite La Legión, and neither is the internet.

Posted on

New York City’s Nightly 7PM Cheer In Tribute To Healthcare Workers, Essential Workers

(photo via Twitter user @forrest1175)
Since March 27, New Yorkers have taken part in a ritual of banging pots, applauding, screaming and making all kinds of noise in tribute to the healthcare workers, first responders and essential workers who put their lives on the line to save lives during the coronavirus health threat. Each night the “7PM Cheer” gets louder and more creative. God, I love NYers.

This past Sunday night, as the 7PM Cheer began to die down, a rainbow appeared over the city. At the same time, a man who apparently goes by the handle ‘John the Baptist’ ripped a tribute to Jimi Hendrix’s national anthem.

Via Gothamist (filmed by Rainer Turim and shared with Gothamist):

Posted on

News Round-Up: April 15, 2020

Daniel Newman (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Walking Dead star Daniel Newman (above) asks that you please forgive his “messy room.” • NPR: Despite pleas from cities across the state, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) has held out on issuing a statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But an outbreak of COVID-19 at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls, S.D., has infected nearly 450 workers and caused the number of cases in the city to grow so quickly that the mayor, Paul TenHaken, calls it an explosion. • KIT212: Kenneth’s ‘Wrestle Wednesdays’ (below) certainly help brighten Hump Day. Find all of his WW posts here.
(via kenneth-in-the-212)
• Axios: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said Wednesday he will be issuing an executive order requiring all New Yorkers to wear masks or face coverings in public situations in which social distancing is not possible. • Vox: Kentucky’s heavily Republican legislature voted Tuesday to require voters to show a government-issued photo ID, overriding Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto in the process. Meanwhile, all of the state’s offices that issue such IDs are….wait for it…closed. • NewNowNext: In the new film, Sublet, Michael (played John Benjamin Hickey), a New York Times travel writer, journeys to Tel Aviv after suffering a tragedy. The energy of the city, and his relationship with a younger man (played by Niv Nissim) who becomes his tour guide, brings him back to life. Director Eytan Fox shares a scene from the movie where Michael and Tomer meet on the beach in Tel Aviv after spending a few days together. “This sensual setting sparks real intimacy between them for the first time,” says Fox. “As these two men sit there, they open up to each other about matters of the heart—and soul.” The film was to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this year which, clearly, was canceled. No word on when the movie will be officially released but the scene below certainly sparks my interest.

Posted on

As NY Gov Fights For His State, Trump Demeans Requests For Help

Donald Trump

Donald Trump took to Twitter to troll New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday claiming the governor was “begging” for federal government assistance to combat the COVID-19 threat. “Cuomo’s been calling daily, even hourly, begging for everything, most of which should have been the state’s responsibility, such as new hospitals, beds, ventilators, etc,” Trump tweeted. “I got it all done for him, and everyone else, and now he seems to want Independence! That won’t happen!” This follows Cuomo’s repeated statements denying Trump’s claim to have “total authority” on when U.S. states will cease their COVID-19 lockdowns. On Monday, Trump told reporters he has “total authority” to run the country, which he believes, re-opening the country’s businesses at any given time. But legal experts point to the fact that Trump never issued a national disaster proclamation. And so, there’s no ban from his office to lift. Cuomo told reporters that he would sue Trump if he attempted to re-open the Empire state too early. Cuomo also said, “there’s no value” in the president’s coronavirus press conferences.

Posted on

News Round-Up: April 13, 2020

InstaHunk Green.Joel
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Hunky Green.Joel (above) makes it black and white – he wants you to “Rise up and attack the day with enthusiasm!!”  • Boy Culture: Matt Rettenmund pays tribute to Madonna on the 30th anniversary of the Blond Ambition Tour with lots of rare video clips from the record-setting production. • The Gaily Grind: Ireland’s prime minister, openly gay Leo Varadkar, will be returning to medical practice to work as a doctor as the country battles the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The prime minister left the medical profession in 2013 after working as a doctor for seven years. By 2017, he’d become the country’s youngest-ever prime minister. • Out Music: California native St. Panther recently released her debut single, “Infrastructure,” in advance of her upcoming album later this summer. The out hip-hop artist brings a 90s sensibility to a very ‘now’ soul sound. Drop the beat below.

• LA Times: Event production companies, that usually build tents, staging and facilities for tens of thousands of revelers at music, sports and dining events have seen hundreds of such events canceled. But they are now busy using their resources to help build temporary hospital stations to help accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic. • NY Times: A member of the crew of the coronavirus-infected USS Theodore Roosevelt died Monday of complications related to the disease, 11 days after the aircraft carrier’s captain was fired for pressing his concern that the Navy had done too little to safeguard his crew. Of the 4,860 crew members aboard the Roosevelt, 585 have tested positive for COVID-19. • NY Post: Bishop Gerald O. Glenn, the Pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Richmond who proudly defied coronavirus safety guidelines in order to hold church services, died from COVID-19 complications on Saturday. He told the congregation he’d keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital” because “people are healed” in his church. • Broadway Cares: The stream of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ benefit concert celebrating Disney on Broadway’s 25th anniversary will be rescheduled for Friday, April 17, 2020, at 7 PM ET after the American Federation of Musicians dropped its opposition to the stream. The online playback will raise money for Broadway Cares’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund, which is helping everyone in the theater and performing arts community impacted by the pandemic.

Posted on

White House Press Briefing Turns Into #TrumpMeltdown

Please note the chyron by CNN (screen capture)
Donald Trump held another of his propaganda rallies White House press briefings on the coronavirus threat today, and it didn’t go well. At one point, he claimed he has “total authority” as president to do what he wants like re-open all the businesses in the country when he wants to. Mind you, it’s the governors of each state that has made the decisions to announce stay-at-home orders, but now the Donald says he can do what he wants when he wants because “the Constitution says so.”

Then, he got into another heated exchange when he was asked what it was he was doing during the month of February regarding the COVID-19 threat (answer: basically not much). Paula Reid of CBS News does not back down here.

“OMG Trump” and #TrumpMeltdown are now trending on Twitter. I’ll also mention it became apparent during today’s press briefing that the writer of CNN’s chyron has zero fucks left to give.