Another 6.6 million U.S. workers filed for unemployment compensation last week as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the American economy, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
The new figure pushed the three-week total to more than 16 million workers looking for financial assistance, with millions more laid-off employees expected to file claims in the coming weeks as businesses large and small shut their operations or severely limit them.
Read the full story
Tennessee has brighter days coming in the future as the coronavirus model used by the White House has lowered its projections for the state’s COVID-19 peak. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) model has pushed up Tennessee’s projected coronavirus peak for hospital resources by one day from April 18 to April 17. Last week, the IHME model said the Volunteer State would see its peak for hospital resources on April 26. Based on the previous April 26 projection, Tennessee was expected to need 3,494 beds for its hospitals, including 525 beds for the intensive care unit (ICU). However, the updated IHME projection displays Tennessee needing 1,244, which is a decrease of 2,250 beds. In terms of death, the older IHME model had Tennessee experiencing 1,067 fatalities. But one week later, the new model sees Tennessee having 617 deaths. It must be noted, the projection on Monday anticipated Tennessee having 584 deaths. Between April 17 to April 20, the updated projection shows an average of 25 Tennesseans dying. Previously, the IHME projection had April 26 through April 28 as the stretch were the highest daily death rates. IHME predicts Tenneesse’s fatality rate will flatline around…
Read the full story
One of the characteristics of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States is its unique political explosiveness. In order to deal effectively with it, President Trump has had to show a good deal of dexterity, which his always numerous and vocal critics have assailed as incoherence, or insincerity.
Read the full story
Middle Tennessee grocery store employees are restocking most of their shelves with essential items as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, although some shoppers wonder why the toilet paper and hand sanitizer aisles, among others, still remain empty.
Read the full story
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07), a physician, expressed concern in a recent interview about a potential shortage of sedatives for COVID-19 patients on ventilators.
Read the full story
by Mary Margaret Olohan A federal appeals court backed Texas’s right to ban abortions during the coronavirus crisis. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the state’s right to temporarily prohibit abortions until April 21 during the coronavirus pandemic in a Tuesday ruling, Politico reported. The court threw out a previous ruling from a lower court blocking Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that all non-essential medical procedures temporarily cease — including abortions. “I thank the Fifth Circuit for their attention to the health and safety needs of Texans suffering from this medical crisis,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Governor Abbott’s order ensures that hospital beds remain available for Coronavirus patients and personal protective equipment reaches the hardworking medical professionals who need it the most during this crisis.” He added: “Texans must continue to work together to stop the spread of COVID-19, and we must support the health professionals on the frontlines of this battle.” But acting Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson called the decision “unconscionable” in a Tuesday statement. “Patients are already being forced to put their lives in harm’s way during a pandemic, and now will be forced to continue doing so…
Read the full story
U.S. Republican President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Tennessee Valley Authority CEO Jeffrey Lyash receives “ridiculous” compensation.
Read the full story
A father was arrested and cuffed in front of his 6-year-old daughter at a park in Brighton, Colorado, Sunday afternoon, after he allegedly violated the state’s social distancing guidelines and refused to show his identification to the police.
Now Matt Mooney, 33, thinks the police owe him an apology, according to FOX31.
Read the full story
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday vowed to strip funding for the World Health Organization from the next appropriations bill because of its pro-China virus.
During an appearance on Fox News’ “The Story,” Graham agreed with President Trump’s view that W.H.O. under the current leadership has become “very China-centric” and unworthy of the United States’ funding.
Read the full story
Officials within Major League Baseball (MLB) – along with the players – are working on a plan to return for a 2020 season as early as May, according to ESPN Monday.
Read the full story
Lay the groundwork. According to the Wiktionary, the phrase is a verb which means, “To create a foundation; to provide the basics or fundamentals… (Example) The introductory mathematics courses will lay the groundwork for all your subsequent engineering studies.”
We all do it — lay the groundwork, that is. It’s what planning people do, prepare for the future. With all the recent establishment news media fixation on the Chinese Communist Party (or Wuhan, whichever you prefer) virus, there’s been a heck of a lot of chatter about organization and speed and whether the Trump administration acted quickly enough in the beginning to stem the spread of the twenty-first century plague in the United States. Liberal talkers and Democrats have made much hay over purported delays in the federal government’s efforts to deal with the budding outbreak in February and March.
Read the full story
On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with special guest Neil McCabe who is a former Breitbart colleague and Washington journalist.
Read the full story
Former Vice President Joe Biden appealed to Sen. Bernie Sanders’s supporters Wednesday to get behind his presidential campaign ahead of the November election.
The movement Sanders helped create will become an indispensable tool to help change in the future, Biden wrote in a Medium post, which was published after the senator dropped his White House bid. The olive branch represents a departure from what Biden was saying earlier in the primary.
Read the full story
Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service officials will distribute COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments in the next few weeks, but Tennessee officials warned state residents Wednesday to use caution as they get this money.
Read the full story
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a gang member living in the United States unlawfully shortly after an arrest warrant was issued on him for capital murder.
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers on Thursday apprehended Jonathan Alexander Gonzalez-Rosales, a 25-year-old Salvadoran national and illegal alien, according to a press release from the agency. A member of the 18th Street Gang — a transnational criminal organization — Gonzalez-Rosales had been on the run from U.S. authorities for nearly two years.
Read the full story
A bipartisan consensus has emerged among Americans of all political stripes regarding the Chinese government’s culpability for the spread of coronavirus.
Some 90% of Republicans, 67% of Democrats and 75% of independents believe the Chinese government is responsible for the spread of the virus, according to a Harris tracking poll of 1,993 American adults surveyed between April 3 and April 5.
Read the full story
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) announced this week that he will introduce the Taxpayer Accountability for Airline Relief Act.
Read the full story
Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast live from Music Row on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael.
Read the full story
State Sen. Scott Jensen (R-Chaska), a practicing physician, has sounded the alarm about a CDC guidance that gives doctors the authority to include “suspected or likely” cases of COVID-19 on death certificates.
Read the full story
When Bill and Gloria Gaither penned the words for “The King Is Coming,” they were warning of Jesus Christ’s imminent return. They weren’t describing life during the current global coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down some of the busiest cities in the world such as New York, Los Angeles, London and Moscow. We know a lot about the pandemic. Now is a good time to discuss the possible spiritual significance for Christians.
Read the full story
The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) model has lowered its coronavirus projections for Ohio. Last week, the IHME model projected the coronavirus peak for hospital resources in Ohio would be April 20, and also showed that Ohio would need 5,609 beds, including 854 beds for the intensive care unit (ICU). In addition, this old model projected Ohio would experience 1,672 fatalities by August 4. Fast forward one week, and the picture IHME is painting for Ohio is far more optimistic. The IHME projection on April 8 shows that Ohio reached its coronavirus peak for hospital resources yesterday, which is a decrease of 12 days. The number of projected beds needed for the state’s peak decreased by 4,404 beds to 1,205. Furthermore, the ICU beds needed for Ohio’s coronavirus peak fell by 617 beds to 237. Projected Fatalities occurring by August 4 also went down by 1,183 to 489. The old IHME model projected the highest death toll day in Ohio was April 23 with 57. However, the updated model displays April 12 being the day Ohio experiences the most deaths with 26. By May 1, the updated model shows Ohio having between 0 and…
Read the full story
The Buckeye Institute says Ohio should end the collaborative supervision requirements that prevent advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) from offering the medical care they have been trained and licensed to provide.
Read the full story
The office of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer confirmed to FOX 2 that the governor will announce an extension of the state’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order on Thursday.
Read the full story
Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) apologized Tuesday after a video showed him flipping off his Republican colleagues.
Read the full story
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Consistent with #EmptyHospitals trending on Twitter, Nashville area testing centers and hospitals show a high level of preparedness for an onslaught of potential COVID-19 patients, but little to no signs of activity.
Read the full story