| Coronavirus is coming for the red states too Posted: 06 May 2020 09:43 AM PDT  The New York metro area's seven-day average has been declining for weeks. For the national daily case count to stay the same, other areas must be making up the difference. In other words, the virus isn't receding. It's relocating.
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| Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Posted: 07 May 2020 02:57 AM PDT  I cannot be the only American who somehow missed the news that on March 26 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the United States would offer bounties of a combined $55 million for the capture of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and four of his top associates. By the end of March, most of the country was living under some sort of mandatory lockdown. People were fighting for toilet paper and stocking up on bags of rice and making plans for aspirational quarantine reading. Millions of us were preparing for Mad Max.It now appears that we were thinking of the wrong '80s action flick. Last weekend it was reported that a group of more than 100 American mercenaries, including two former Green Berets and one ex-agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration, had failed in some kind of apparent coup attempt and that some of them were being detained by the Maduro government. What was being called "Operation Gideon" perhaps unsurprisingly failed to bring about regime change, much less result in the apprehension of the country's socialist dictator. Reports suggest that 50 of the mercenaries stormed Venezuela by sea, joining up with around the same number of fellow soldiers of fortune already waiting behind enemy lines. The Venezuelan army (and Maduro's own paramilitary loyalist forces) outmatched them by around 350,000. A small ragtag band of American warriors attempts to force the commies out of South America against all odds? This is basically the plot of Predator if the Predator hadn't shown up.Pompeo maintains that the United States government was not involved in this offensive. For what it's worth, he is probably telling the truth. Instead it appears that the plot was launched long ago by a bunch of former Venezuelan military officials who have been training deserters from the Maduro regime in secret Colombian camps for a year. One of the principals, a retired general named Cliver Alcalá, was arrested in the United States back in March for drug smuggling and is imprisoned in New York.Operation Gideon was, not to put too fine a point on it, at odds with both federal social distancing guidelines and current recommendations from the World Health Organization. It was also absolutely insane. Convincing Maduro, whose presidency is considered illegitimate by the United States and around 80 other countries, to release captured Americans is going to be an enormous hassle for everyone involved. Pompeo says that the Trump administration is prepared "to use every tool" to secure their freedom. This includes, presumably, the threat of military force. What other options are realistically on the table? Official recognition of the Maduro regime? The imposition of additional economic sanctions upon what is arguably the worst economy in the Western hemisphere during the middle of a global public health crisis? A nice handwritten apology note saying, "Sorry, next time we want to encourage bored ex-servicemen to collaborate with your own generals in a revolutionary plot on the pretext that you are involved in high-level drug trafficking, we will, well, there won't be a next time?"Under virtually any other circumstances a story like this one would be a foreign policy blunder worthy of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in terms of the lunatic scope of its ambition, if not, thankfully, in the number of lives lost, American or otherwise. Instead it is likely to be forgotten amid the pandemic. This does not mean that it is lacking in significance.The main lesson of Operation Gideon is that whatever the Trump administration claims about the importance of Venezuela to American foreign policy, they have no serious interest in doing anything about Maduro, much less in helping ordinary citizens for whom a carton of eggs now costs more than a month's wages. It is easy to rail against the undeniable wickedness of the communist dictatorship there; it is harder to displace it. Sounder heads would leave off talk of gazillion-dollar bounties and hope that the worldwide collapse in oil prices might force Maduro out of power, at which time the United States would be better positioned to help a new government.The other lesson is that, whatever we owe the people of Latin America after a half century of destroying their economies through unfair trade arrangements and our addiction to vile drugs, we lack the national will to help them, just as we failed to move the needle against the Taliban in Afghanistan despite 20 years of trying. This is why, no matter how illogical it seems, one of our nation's two major political parties has committed itself to the principle that virtually unlimited immigration is the only feasible solution. So far, no one is proving them wrong.More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through Trump cryptically tells reporters 'a lot of things' might happen soon following call with Putin
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| Missouri to seek death penalty in Wisconsin brothers' deaths Posted: 06 May 2020 04:10 PM PDT  The state of Missouri plans to seek the death penalty against a man charged with killing two brothers from Wisconsin, according to the man's new attorney. Garland Nelson is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and several other counts in the deaths of Nicholas and Justin Diemel, of Shawano County, Wisconsin. Patrick Berrigan, a public defender who handles only death penalty cases, told the St. Joseph News-Press Wednesday that the state would seek the death penalty.
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| New Yahoo News/YouGov coronavirus poll: Most Americans deny Trump’s response is a ‘success story’ Posted: 06 May 2020 04:26 PM PDT  Nearly half of Americans believe the United States would be faring better in the current coronavirus pandemic if Barack Obama were president instead of President Trump, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
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| ‘It’s Wrong’: Biden Vows to Overturn DeVos’s Due Process Protections for Students Accused of Sexual Assault Posted: 07 May 2020 06:25 AM PDT  Former vice president Joe Biden promised on Wednesday that as president he would reverse new due process protections that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos put in place to protect university students accused of sexual assault, saying they "shame and silence survivors, and take away parents' peace of mind."Biden, who has recently been accused of sexual assault in 1993 by a woman who worked for him, said the new rules give colleges and universities a "green light to ignore sexual violence and strip survivors of their rights."The Title IX rule, issued on Wednesday, is intended to enhance due process for accused individuals on college campuses as well as in elementary and high schools. One part of the reforms ensures the right of the accused to "submit, cross-examine and challenge evidence at a live hearing." The rule protects alleged victims from having to physically face the person they say assaulted them or answer questions written personally by the accused, but it does allow the accused to ask questions through a surrogate as well as question other witnesses."Survivors deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced." Biden's campaign said in a statement."It's wrong," Biden continued. "And, it will be put to a quick end in January 2021, because as president, I'll be right where I always have been throughout my career — on the side of survivors, who deserve to have their voices heard, their claims taken seriously and investigated, and their rights upheld."Tara Reade claims that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 when she worked for him as a Senate staffer. She alleges that she was told by a top staffer to bring Biden a duffel bag in a Senate building, and when she met with him he pinned her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers while forcibly kissing her.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has also condemned the Education Department due process rules, said last month that she is "satisfied" with how Biden has responded to the allegation.
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| Black and Asian People Are 2 to 3 Times More Likely to Die of COVID-19, U.K. Study Finds Posted: 06 May 2020 04:01 PM PDT  A new U.K. analysis found that black, Asian and ethnic minority groups were two to three times more likely to die of COVID-19.
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| EU’s pivot to China falls foul of Beijing’s censors Posted: 06 May 2020 08:16 PM PDT  Europe learns the risks of courting China as a letter by its envoys is censored in an official newspaper.
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| Coronavirus deals 'powerful blow' to Putin's grand plans Posted: 07 May 2020 07:09 PM PDT  The bombastic military parade through Moscow's Red Square on Saturday was slated to be the spectacle of the year on the Kremlin's calendar. Standing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron, President Vladimir Putin would have overseen a 90-minute procession of Russia's military might, showcasing 15,000 troops and the latest hardware. Now, military jets will roar over an eerily quiet Moscow, spurting red, white and blue smoke to mark 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.
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| Ex-California lawmaker seeks prison term delay due to virus Posted: 06 May 2020 11:12 AM PDT |
| Person hit by plane, killed on Austin-Bergstrom airport runway, officials say Posted: 07 May 2020 07:57 PM PDT  A person died Thursday night after being hit by a plane as it was landing at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, according to airport officials.
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| Meghan McCain Goes Off on Kayleigh McEnany for ‘Spinning Propaganda’ Posted: 07 May 2020 08:56 AM PDT  Meghan McCain, The View's resident conservative host, tore into Kayleigh McEnany for "spinning propaganda" on Thursday morning after the new White House press secretary dismissed the need for increased coronavirus testing as the economy reopens.During her press briefing on Wednesday, McEnany said it was "nonsensical" to think that every American should be able to get tested for coronavirus, even though President Donald Trump said two months earlier that "anybody that wants a test can get a test." The hosts of The View took the press secretary to task over those remarks.Co-host Sunny Hostin said she found it "shocking" that the White House spokesperson would say that considering recent news that one of the president's personal valets just tested positive for the virus."So it's obviously important enough for everyone in the White House and surrounding the president to be tested for the coronavirus, but it's not important to the press secretary and to the administration for Americans to be tested for the coronavirus," she declared. "And so that tells me that she is just spinning lies to the American people rather than being honest with the American people."After first saying there has been "mixed messaging" coming not just from the White House but from medical experts since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, McCain went on to blast McEnany as a propagandist."I think in regards to Kayleigh McEnany, she was hired for this job because she's good at spinning propaganda, and she was good spinning propaganda before she got hired," she exclaimed. "And you can make the argument that's the role of any press secretaries but it's probably a little more egregious with this particular president."The conservative co-host then worried aloud that we were reaching a tipping point on saving the economy, criticizing the Trump administration for not taking the necessary steps to safely reopen the country."If we don't start getting a plan to get testing, to somehow pull ourselves out of this and get America back to work," she proclaimed. "This is going to be far more egregious than any crisis any of us have seen in all of our lifetimes." "If the tests aren't important, why is the White House, and everybody else getting tested before they go before the president?" McCain concluded. "I would like to go back to work. I know you would, and I would be comfortable doing that if we all had the capacity to get tested."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Africa disease centre rejects Tanzania's allegation that its coronavirus tests faulty Posted: 07 May 2020 02:51 AM PDT  The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday rejected an assertion by Tanzania's president that coronavirus tests it supplied are faulty. Tanzania's government spokesman said a team was conducting investigations on the laboratory that conducted the tests, and the outcome will be made public once complete. The World Health Organization expressed confidence in the tests.
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| Satellite images reveal North Korea is building a giant facility which could hold nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States Posted: 07 May 2020 05:10 AM PDT  Satellite images suggest North Korea has almost built a facility large enough to store all of its nuclear missiles.
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| EU agreed to Chinese censorship over coronavirus origins Posted: 07 May 2020 05:43 AM PDT  The European Union agreed to Chinese censorship of a public letter by its ambassadors that removed any mention of the fact the coronavirus pandemic originated in China, it has emerged. The EU's foreign affairs service agreed to cut out a reference to the "outbreak of the coronavirus in China" as a reason for a cancelled EU-China summit in the letter, which was published in the state-run China Daily newspaper. The European External Action Service (EEAS) excised the reference after coming under pressure from China's foreign ministry. Two weeks ago, the EEAS was forced to deny it had bowed to Beijing by watering down language in a report accusing China of a campaign of disinformation about the virus. It was revealed EU officials softened some of the language condemning China after repeated calls by Chinese officials. "It is of course regrettable to see that the sentence about the spread of the virus has been edited," said Nicolas Chapuis, the EU's ambassador to China, who co-signed the opinion piece with the 27 ambassadors to China of the bloc's member states.
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| After National Outcry, White Father and Son Arrested on Murder Charges in Ahmaud Arbery’s Killing. Here's What to Know Posted: 06 May 2020 05:23 PM PDT  After national outcry, a father and son were both charged with murder and aggravated assault
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| Regulators waive $200M fine on PG&E for causing deadly fires Posted: 07 May 2020 01:58 PM PDT  California regulators on Thursday suspended a $200 million fine against Pacific Gas & Electric as punishment for the utility's neglect of electrical equipment that ignited a series of deadly wildfires in Northern California. The waiver approved in a unanimous vote by California's Public Utilities Commission will deprive the state coffers of money to help offset losses income and sales taxes as the coronavirus pandemic pushes the state into a $54 billion budget deficit. PG&E resisted the fine on the grounds that it would threaten its ability to raise the tens of billions of dollars needed to finance its complex plan to emerge from bankruptcy by a June 30 deadline.
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| U.S. strengthens arms to nullify China's missile supremacy Posted: 06 May 2020 02:33 PM PDT  A long-term struggle between China and the United States is at a turning point, as the United States rolls out new weapons and strategy in a bid to close a wide missile gap with China.
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| For many cautious African Americans, the move to reopen America is not a 'black friendly' campaign Posted: 07 May 2020 06:59 AM PDT  "Nothing about this movement is really black friendly."
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| Trump Gives Hill Dems the Middle Finger and There’s Little They Can Do About It Posted: 07 May 2020 01:36 AM PDT  Even a global pandemic and economic crisis isn't enough to break President Trump's perception of the Democratic House as a den of haters and losers who care more about hurting him than about helping the American public.Asked on Tuesday why he wasn't permitting members of his coronavirus task force to testify in front of the House, Trump responded that the chamber is a "set-up" that's full of "Trump haters." "They," said Trump, "frankly, want our situation to be unsuccessful, which means death."It was a remarkable bit of open political retaliation that not only undercut the White House's official line—that individuals like Dr. Anthony Fauci were too busy fighting the pandemic to spend hours before Congress—but also set up a situation where only the president's own party would be in charge of hearings into his conduct. Indeed, shortly after Trump spoke, the Republican-run Senate Health panel announced that Fauci would be testifying there next week."It's so political. I've never seen anything like it," said Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL), who serves as the House Democratic representative on the not-yet-functional panel to oversee COVID-19 spending. "I can't remember anyone preventing us from testifying in one house of Congress versus another… To not go to the People's House is just—it's stupid, and it's dangerous."Congressional oversight has always been an irritant to the occupant of the White House. But rarely has a president so blatantly disregarded it when the context has been so non-partisan and the stakes so high. Even before the emergence of COVID-19, Trump's defiance of Congress had prompted legal battles that promised to rearrange the long-term balance of federal power. But his insistence on continuing to snub the legislative branch in the midst of a pandemic has sparked an altogether new set of questions and frustrations. "The fact that the president of the United States has directed those responsible for the federal response to avoid appearing before Congress is shocking, irresponsible, and will result in more loss of life," said Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.). Democrats trying to understand the federal COVID-19 response, he said, are being "limited to what the president says" and what mid-level officials from the administration "tell us on a conference call."Lawmakers Know They Can't Keep Track of the $2.2T They Just Spent on Virus ReliefPrivately, Democrats have grumbled that the party should have anticipated this situation. Just a few months ago, the administration staved off subpoena and document requests as part of the impeachment inquiry. With resolution of those matters still in the courts, leadership—the argument goes—should have demanded stronger oversight structures be put in place before trillions of dollars went out the door to prop up an imploded economy. "[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi has left Democrats largely invisible in negotiating COVID-19 legislative responses and sidelined at a moment that cries out for congressional oversight," said Jeff Hauser, the founder and director of the Revolving Door Project, a public interest group. "An unleashed House could also make sure Trump's systemic errors are well understood and beyond dispute for the 70 percent of Americans who are not willfully indoctrinated by Fox News. Such public education is necessary to make sure the federal government is never again so unprepared for a mass tragedy."Those criticisms have been amplified as it's become clearer that the oversight mechanisms in existence have been either undercut, brushed aside, or largely neglected.There was, for example, no creation of a centralized database to show who received so-called Paycheck Protection Program loans that were meant to aid small businesses but also found their way to boutique hotels and publicly traded restaurant chains. A Democratic aide said that the presumption was that the Small Business Administration would release such information under provisions in existing law. But, the aide conceded, "they aren't." The congressional panel tasked with tracking the trillions of dollars being lent out by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department was authorized six weeks ago. But it still lacks a chair and the appointed members can't hire staff—rendering it basically non-functional.Meanwhile, the president has sidelined or sacked independent inspectors general who have surfaced damning information about the administration's COVID-19 response or were in a position to—while telling Congress he has the power to decide what lawmakers learn about the pandemic response, not a special IG assigned to the task.And, while administration officials involved in the COVID-19 response appeared before lawmakers in the early stages of the pandemic, they have since gone silent. None has testified since March 12, when there were fewer than 1,000 cases of the virus in the U.S. And House Democrats told The Daily Beast that direct engagement with top officials has been inconsistent. On April 15, for example, the administration cold-emailed a handful of Democratic lawmakers informing them they'd been selected to a congressional task force to advise Trump on reopening the economy. After an initial conference call the next day, no follow-up was scheduled until this week, when House members in the group were told there would be a second call with top Trump economic advisers Larry Kudlow and Kevin Hassett on Thursday. In the interim, administration officials instructed lawmakers to contact them with their three "best ideas" on economic responses—"like homework," recalled an aide. In the absence of traditional lines of oversight and cooperation, there has been improvising. Bharat Ramamurti, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer's appointee to the new congressional panel, said that he was leaning on friends and associates with expertise in his issue areas. And though he continues to encounter absurdly commonplace hurdles (on Tuesday, his computer ran out of batteries because electricity in his neighborhood was down and he couldn't venture elsewhere) he held out hope that the commission would soon have a chair and get its report done by May 9."The other unique thing about the oversight commission is all the members are appointed by the Congress," Ramamurti told The Daily Beast. "Our committee is the only one immune from tampering by the president, which is why it is really important to get the chair in place as soon as possible."Meanwhile, outside groups are trying to reverse-engineer oversight by starting from the broadest set of data points and working their way back to the administration. Accountable.US, a nonpartisan oversight group, has filed nearly 200 public records requests and skimmed through hundreds of federal filings to see if publicly traded companies have nabbed PPP loans.This still leaves gaping holes. And on those fronts, Democrats are scrambling to patch things up, with a group of lawmakers introducing legislation mandating disclosure of PPP loans and others calling for subpoenaing witnesses. "They're going to stonewall as much as they can," Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) told The Daily Beast. "We can't fold. We have to use the tools we have. We may have to issue subpoenas, and try every way we can to get the information we need."Some Democrats argue that the party's most effective mechanism for forcing the Trump administration to comply with congressional oversight would be through the purse. But few believe that Pelosi will, or even could, effectively deploy such hardball tactics if the economic situation in the country remains dire. And so, the last hope is that the public pressure will become so overbearing that members of the Trump administration will see it as in their political self-interest to comply. Already, one member—former BARDA program director Dr. Richard Bright—has agreed to testify before a House Democratic committee about a whistleblower complaint he filed detailing systematic missteps and misjudgements the administration made in the early stages of the pandemic. And it would not be unprecedented for the White House to eventually fold on others. In 2013, the Obama White House refused to make available for testimony key figures involved in the botched rollout of the Affordable Care Act on grounds that their time fixing the website was too valuable to spend on the Hill. Under threat of subpoena, top technology officer Todd Park eventually agreed to testify in front of the GOP-led House Oversight Committee. Two professors—Mark J. Rozell of George Mason University and Mitchel A. Sollenberger of the University of Michigan at Dearborn—praised the move at the time as a worthy mitigation of tension between the two branches. Reached by The Daily Beast, both said a similar step from Trump would be warranted now. "This is why you have a hierarchical organization," Sollenberger told The Daily Beast. "They're there to give voice to organizational needs, respond to Congress when it comes to the organizational issues at hand, the questions Congress has. This is how government works."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Russia overtakes Germany, France after record rise in coronavirus cases Posted: 07 May 2020 12:58 AM PDT  Russia's coronavirus cases overtook France and Germany on Thursday to become the fifth highest number in the world after a record daily rise, and Moscow's mayor said the real figure, not captured by official statistics, was much higher. The official tally surged to 177,160, meaning Russia now has more registered cases than Germany or France, as the number of new cases of the novel coronavirus jumped by 11,231 in the past 24 hours.
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| WHO: If lockdowns go on for 6 months, there could be 31 million new domestic violence cases globally Posted: 07 May 2020 09:50 AM PDT  Women and children are experiencing unprecedented levels of abuse and violence at home as stress and anxiety continue to mount due to the pandemic.
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| N. Korea lashes South as Kim praises China's Xi Posted: 07 May 2020 07:11 PM PDT  North Korea condemned the South Friday for holding military drills, saying the situation was returning to before the diplomatic rapprochement of 2018, as leader Kim Jong Un -- whose health was the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks -- reached out to traditional ally Beijing. Kim sent Chinese leader Xi Jinping a diplomatic communication congratulating him for China's "success" in controlling the novel coronavirus epidemic, the state news agency KCNA reported. Kim told Xi he was as pleased with China's successes as his own, KCNA reported, adding he "sent militant greetings to every member of the Communist Party of China".
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| Supreme Court struggles to find balance between religious freedom, reproductive rights Posted: 06 May 2020 10:50 AM PDT  Chief Justice John Roberts emerged as the potential swing vote in a battle that has stretched for nearly a decade.
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| Ahmaud Arbery: How the killing of an unarmed black jogger is drawing fresh attention to stand your ground laws Posted: 07 May 2020 06:04 AM PDT  A graphic video was released this week showing a black man, Ahmaud Arbery, being killed on a street in Georgia with a shotgun held by a white man, Travis McMichael.Dating from February, the violent footage has stoked both sorrow and fury across the US – not least because, some three months later, neither of the white men shown has been arrested.
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| Snow in May? Historic storm could hit Northeast this weekend Posted: 07 May 2020 01:35 PM PDT  In addition to snow, 75 million people will wake up to below freezing temperatures Saturday.
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| Asian American woman harassed by self-identified Trump supporter thanks bystanders Posted: 06 May 2020 02:08 PM PDT  "Americans said we don't want you here," the harasser said in a video. "That's why we elected President Trump."
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| ‘A Major Disinformation Campaign’: U.S. Denies Involvement in Alleged Venezuelan Coup Posted: 06 May 2020 08:14 AM PDT  The U.S. government has denied involvement in a failed coup against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro that resulted in the capture of a pair of former U.S. Special Forces soldiers."The United States government is fully and completely involved in this defeated raid," Maduro said at a press conference following the raid, in which he brandished the U.S. passport of Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, who were captured with six other men.President Trump said Tuesday that the attack "has nothing to do with our government," and a State department spokesperson elaborated further, saying Maduro's claims were part of a "major disinformation campaign.""The record of falsehoods and manipulation by Maduro and his accomplices, as well as their highly questionable representation of the details, argues that nothing should be taken at face value when we see the distorting of facts," the spokesperson said.Former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau claimed responsibility for orchestrating the raid, called "Operation Gideon," with just 60 fighters, including Denman and Berry."A daring amphibious raid was launched from the border of Colombia deep into the heart of Caracas," Goudreau, who runs his own private security company, Silvercorp USA, told Miami-based journalist Patricia Poleo. He said that his mission had been initially backed by Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaidó, and provided an alleged "general services" contract signed by Guaidó and two political advisers in Miami in October for $213 million. But Goudreau said Guaidó — who denied involvement — abandoned the effort, and he elected to forge ahead with the plan.The United States has ramped up pressure on Maduro in recent weeks, including indicting the socialist leader as a narco-trafficker in March and offering a $15 million reward for his arrest, while also increasing sanctions to stifle Venezuela's oil sector.
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| Top U.S. House Republican calls for pause in coronavirus legislation Posted: 07 May 2020 08:01 AM PDT  The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives called for a pause in coronavirus legislation on Thursday, saying Congress should first assess the impact of earlier relief bills and then take a slower path forward through committee hearings. "Before we move to the next bill, let's make sure the $3 trillion that we had legislated and appropriated gets implemented and gets implemented correctly," House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters.
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| Over 500 Employees at Trump’s Las Vegas Hotel Have Been Laid Off Amid Coronavirus Posted: 07 May 2020 12:09 PM PDT  Over 500 workers at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas have temporarily lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.The resort, which is part-owned by the Trump Organization, broke the news to employees last month in a letter to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation."Based on the fluid and rapidly evolving nature of this situation, however, at this time we are unable to provide a specific date at which we will be able to recommence regular hotel operations and return affected employees to work," Human Resources Director LaDawndre Stinson wrote in the letter posted to the agency's website.The April 3 letter added that because of the "sudden, dramatic, and unexpected nature of this unforeseen emergency" and the demands of Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak's decision to shut down non-essential businesses amid the pandemic, the hotel would be "unable to provide employees with additional notice of these temporary layoffs." Cuomo Blasts Trump: Your Bailout Strategy Will Doom Us AllAs first reported by The Washington Post, the president's properties in New York, D.C., Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas, Vancouver, and Honolulu have all laid-off workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has gutted the hospitality industry. To date, 1,500 employees at hotels owned by the Trump Organization have been laid off or furloughed."You can't have many hundreds of employees standing around doing nothing," Trump said at the White House on April 21, addressing job cuts. "There's no customer. You're not allowed to have a customer."During the same press conference—which took place two weeks after the Las Vegas employees learned they were out of a job—Trump expressed his support for Sisolak's decision to lock down Sin City, despite its cold reception from other elected officials and the Las Vegas mayor, who called it "total insanity.""They closed a big hotel down in Nevada that I have in Las Vegas. It's a very severe step he took. I'm OK with it," Trump said. "But you could call that one either way."Bethany Khan, the communications director for the Culinary Union in Las Vegas—which represents nearly all of the Trump employees who were laid off—told The Daily Beast on Thursday that 98 percent of their members are currently furloughed or laid off. The Culinary Union is Nevada's most powerful labor organization, representing about 60,000 hotel-casino workers.In addition to Las Vegas, more than 200 employees were laid off at the president's hotel in Vancouver, and over 75 percent of his Chicago hotel was placed on leave. "In an effort to conserve energy, most common areas...are illuminated and heated at a minimum level," the Chicago hotel told its investors in a letter, stating that the "heartbreaking decision" to lay off two-thirds of its staff also included suspending 401(k) contributions. Trump Shakes Everyone's Hands at Coronavirus Press Conference—Ignoring CDC GuidelinesAccording to the Post, the combined closed properties used to generate about $650,000 every day for the Trump Organization. The family business, which is now managed by the president's two sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, racked up a property-tax bill in April of more than $1.8 million.The group reportedly reached out to the Deutsche Bank in March to ask about delaying payments on at least some of its hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and other financial obligations.According to The New York Times, a Florida-based company executive also emailed and called Palm Beach County officials to talk about whether they had planned to keep asking for payments on land the Trump Organization rents from the county for a 27-hole golf club."These days everybody is working together," Eric Trump told the Times. "Tenants are working with landlords, landlords are working with banks. The whole world is working together as we fight through this pandemic."Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which sits just blocks away from the White House, is also looking for a government break on its rent payments. On April 21, the Times also reported the hotel has asked to delay its monthly rent payments of about $268,000 a month in an effort to curtail their ongoing money troubles. The hotel is housed in the Old Post Office Building, a federally-owned property.The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Salon owner who illegally reopened out of jail on Texas Supreme Court’s order Posted: 07 May 2020 02:49 PM PDT  Shelley Luther was sentenced to a week in jail after violating an order to close her salon. The Texas Supreme Court ordered her release.
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| Dallas salon owner jailed for defying virus shutdown order Posted: 06 May 2020 04:38 AM PDT  Texas' Republican governor and top law enforcement officer on Wednesday came to the defense of a Dallas hair salon owner who was jailed for keeping her business open in defiance of the governor's restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Shelley Luther was booked in the Dallas County jail on Tuesday following a video hearing during which she refused to apologize for repeatedly flouting the order, leading the judge to find her in contempt of court and sentence her to a week behind bars. Luther was cited last month for keeping her salon open despite state and local directives that kept nonessential businesses closed, but she continued to defy the order and tore up a cease and desist letter in front of TV cameras.
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| California governor says state's 1st community spread COVID-19 case happened in a nail salon Posted: 07 May 2020 04:16 PM PDT  California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday said the first spread of COVID-19 in the state started in a nail salon.State health officials consider nail and hair salons and gyms high-risk businesses, and Newsom said because "this whole thing started in the state of California, the first community spread, in a nail salon," he is "very worried about that."California has developed a four-phase reopening plan for the state, and is now in phase one. Under phase two, which is set to start Friday, some small businesses, like sporting goods stores and florists, can reopen in order to provide curbside pickup. California will not allow nail salons to reopen until phase three, and Newsom has not given a timeline for when that may happen.Some states, like Georgia, have allowed nail salons to reopen, but Newsom has repeatedly said his plan is based on science and data, not protests, and will depend on how different parts of the state contain the outbreak. There have been more than 60,600 confirmed coronavirus cases in California, with at least 2,460 deaths, Johns Hopkins University data shows.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through
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| New Jersey 'Bridgegate' scandal convictions tossed by U.S. Supreme Court Posted: 07 May 2020 07:12 AM PDT  Two aides to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who were at the center of the "Bridgegate" scandal engaged in corruption and abuse of power but not criminal acts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday as it unanimously threw out their convictions and placed new limits on political corruption prosecutions. The justices sided with Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, both convicted for their roles in a scheme to engineer traffic chaos in September 2013 on the world's busiest bridge to punish a local Democratic mayor who refused to endorse Republican Christie's gubernatorial re-election bid.
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| GOP Sen. Richard Burr's brother-in-law, a Trump appointee, dumped up to $280,000 in stocks the same day Burr did before the market plunged Posted: 06 May 2020 05:27 PM PDT  Burr is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has access to the federal government's most classified and sensitive information.
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| Virus crisis leaves thousands of cruise ship crew stuck at sea Posted: 07 May 2020 06:35 PM PDT  The cruise industry has taken a beating during the coronavirus crisis -- on-board outbreaks, refusal of port access and now no clear idea of when ships can sail once again. While the passengers have headed home, the journey drags on for tens of thousands of crew members who are stranded at sea aboard their vessels, with no end in sight. Saldanha shares a cabin with his 29-year-old girlfriend Jessica Furlan, who hosted on-board activities for passengers.
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| US northern border illegal crossings rise; many are Mexicans Posted: 07 May 2020 11:16 AM PDT  The number of people apprehended for illegally crossing from Canada into the United States along its northern border has nearly tripled over the past three years, and a growing portion are Mexican citizens, according to federal data. One Mexican man who crossed illegally to work on a Vermont dairy farm said it was easier than trying the southern border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics obtained by The Associated Press after a public records request provide new detail on what was apparent anecdotally: Along the border from Maine to Washington, 446 of the 1,586 illegal crossers apprehended in the 2019 fiscal year were Mexican, or 28%.
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| The White House has reportedly buried detailed CDC guidance for reopening specific institutions Posted: 06 May 2020 11:37 PM PDT  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created a 17-page report with detailed step-by-step guidance for local leaders, business owners, educators, clergy, and others to draw on when deciding how to lift coronavirus mitigation measures. The document, "Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework," was supposed to be released last Friday, The Associated Press reported late Wednesday, but agency scientists have now been informed it "would never see the light of day," one CDC official told AP.The White House has kept an unusually tight grip on the federal flow of COVID-19 information from government scientists and public health officials, and a person close to the White House told AP top administration officials don't want the federal government to offer detailed advice for how different businesses, churches, schools, day care centers, and other public places should reopen, calling it a "slippery slope."The 17-page document, circulated widely inside the CDC, was stripped down from an earlier 36-page document submitted April 10. President Trump's coronavirus task force instead released a vague set of guidelines on April 16, but the detailed recommendations were held back, as "many in the White House resisted, particularly when it came to restricting parishioners from singing in choirs or sharing hymnals and offering plates, and suggesting that restaurants use digital menus and avoid salad bars," The Washington Post reported.Trump has made it clear that he wants states to take charge, and any blame, for reopening the economy, but he also wants business to resume quickly. "You can say that restaurants can open and you need to follow social distancing guidelines," Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, told AP. "But restaurants want to know, 'What does that look like?' States would like more guidance." They can still get it if they contact CDC scientists directly, officials say, but you won't find the information anywhere on the CDC website.More stories from theweek.com Did we just witness one of the nuttiest foreign policy blunders in American history? Trump reportedly got 'lava level mad' over potential exposure to coronavirus Sen. Joe Manchin forgot to mute a call with Senate Democrats while he went through an Arby's drive-through
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