Overwhelming Majority of Americans Hold Chinese Government Responsible for Coronavirus

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.

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Carol Swain Commentary: Is This Pandemic What God Describes in Revelation?

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.

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New IHME Model Decreases Its Ohio Coronavirus Projections

  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…

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IHME Model Drastically Lowers U.S. Coronavirus Death Projections to 60,415

Seven states will have seen their peak hospital resource use come and go by the end of Wednesday, according to a leading coronavirus projection model that has informed the White House’s response to the pandemic.

New York, Michigan and Louisiana, which have seen some of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the United States, are among the states projected to reach peak hospital resource usage by the end of Wednesday, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) model. Vermont, Washington, Colorado and Ohio are also projected to reach their peak hospital resource use by the end of the day, the model shows.

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Commentary: Rethinking University Dependence on Foreign Students

Were all of the foreign students returning to America’s campuses in January vectors of infection for coronavirus? Especially the students from China? There’s no evidence yet to prove the point, although the odds are that at least some coronavirus infection came to the United States from foreign students.

If we’ve been spared a campus plague, it’s owing to the grace of God, and not to any actions by our colleges and universities.

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Wells Fargo Bows Out of Small Business Bailout Program After Receiving $10 Billion of Loan Applications

One of the largest banks in the United States announced that it is no longer accepting applications for a federal program aimed at rescuing small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Wells Fargo has stopped accepting new applications for the government’s Paycheck Protection Program, an initiative created by the government to assist U.S. businesses that employ fewer than 500 people. The bank’s decision came after it was inundated with billions of dollars in loan requests since Friday.

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Michigan Dem Says Chloroquine Saved Her Life, Thanks Trump for ‘Making It a Priority’

A Democrat state representative from Detroit, Michigan, who has been battling the coronavirus for weeks, is crediting hydroxychloroquine for saving her life, the Detroit Free Press reported on Monday.  State Rep. Karen Whitset thanked President Trump  – even as the corporate media continued to criticize him for touting an “unproven” drug—because she would not have asked for it unless he had brought it up.

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Commentary: $350 Billion of Forgivable Loans for 8 Weeks Won’t Be Enough to Save 30 Million Small Businesses

One of the key aspects of President Donald Trump and Congress’ $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package are provisions for $350 billion for 30 million small businesses to cover payrolls for 60 million Americans for eight weeks to encourage people to stay home to wait out the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

Along with the expanded unemployment and credit facilities covering critical industries and larger employers, the policy is designed to ensure that in saving as many lives as possible — the White House coronavirus task force has said as many as 2.2 million Americans could die without social distancing — we don’t find ourselves in a long, deep recession or depression as a result that might take a decade to recover from.

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Thales Academy of Franklin Now Offering Substantial Tuition Discounts to Help Families Get Through the Coronavirus Shutdown

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The 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.– host Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by new all-star panelist and Thales Academy of Franklin Principal Rachael Bradley.

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3D Printing Presents Possible Solution to Personal Protective Equipment Shortage

Mayo Clinic announced last week that it is exploring the possibility of 3D printing face masks and other personal protective equipment items to employ in the national fight against COVID-19.

The famous clinic said its 3D Anatomic Modeling Laboratories across the country as well as its Division of Engineering are working together to “reverse-engineer, 3D-print and machine solutions for patient care.”

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Michigan Legislature Approves 23-Day Extension of Whitmer’s Emergency Powers

Michigan legislature voted on Tuesday to approve an extension of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency powers through the end of April.

The governor originally asked for a 70-day extension of emergency powers, but Michigan legislators said they felt that was too much.

“I agree that there needs to be an extension; we’re far from being out of the woods on this issue. But I believe 70 days looks too far forward considering the information we have now and how quickly that changes,” said Sen. Rick Outman (R-33-Six Lakes) in a statement. “The best thing to do for the immediate future is continue following suggested protocols and stay at home to keep you, your family and your community safe.”

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Ohio Now Allows Alcohol with Take-Out, Delivery

The Ohio Liquor Control Commission passed an emergency rule that allows restaurants to sell and deliver alcohol with take-out and delivery orders, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday.

The rule only applies to establishments with an existing on-premises liquor permit and has restrictions on quantity.

Breweries can now sell beer and wine that are not their own without food purchase, although liquor must be purchased with food. Patrons are only allowed to purchase two drinks per meal, and all drinks must remain closed during transport per the state’s open container laws.

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Ohio Department of Education Sets New Graduation Guidelines for High School This Year

The Ohio Department of Education (ODOE) announced on Monday new guidelines for students set to graduate this year.

Schools in Ohio have been closed since March 17 after Gov. Mike DeWine canceled them due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, schools remain empty as Ohio extended its “stay-at-home” measure until May 1.  

DeWine has not decided if schools will open after May 1, but the governor said in March that schools could be closed for the rest of the academic year. 

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Public Art about COVID-19 and Recent Tornadoes on the Way, Courtesy of Nashville Taxpayers

Metro Nashville officials plan to spend taxpayer money to create public art that, in some way, acknowledges the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as the tornadoes that battered Middle Tennessee last month.

Last Friday Metro Nashville Arts Commission board members approved re-allocating $40,000 from their operating funds toward this project, part of their THRIVE program, said Metro Arts spokeswoman Emily Waltenbaugh.

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Commentary: Constitution-Respecting Sheriffs Refuse to Enforce Lockdowns

Across the country governors, county commissioners and executives, and city and town officials have announced “lockdowns” or stay-at-home orders of dubious constitutional validity. The result of these orders is the bizarre situation in which jails are being emptied of criminals while individuals engaged in their ordinary business at appropriate social distance have been arrested for the crime of being outside their home.

One of the most high-profile examples of this inverted constitutional order happened in California, where a paddle boarder was arrested near the Malibu Pier for ignoring orders from lifeguards to get out of the water. CBS News Los Angeles reports the unidentified man spent 30 to 40 minutes paddling in the ocean waters off Malibu Beach after refusing to heed orders from L.A. County lifeguards to go ashore. LASD Harbor Patrol brought in a boat, at which point the paddleboarder voluntarily swam in and was taken into custody.

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Researchers Lower Fatality Projections in Coronavirus Model Used by White House

The researchers whose model the White House has used to help guide its coronavirus response lowered their estimate Sunday for the number of Americans projected to die during the first wave of the pandemic.

The model, from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, now projects 81,766 deaths in the United States through Aug. 1, with most of the fatalities occurring by the middle of May. The IHME team projected a range of between 49,431 and 136,401 for the same period.

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Vast Majority of Tennessee General Assembly Candidates Will Face No Opposition in 2020 Elections

In a list released last week from the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office of the candidates for the Tennessee General Assembly, the vast majority will have no opponent in their party primary, the general election or both in 2020.

The list includes candidates who filed their nominating petitions as of the qualifying deadline of last Thursday, April 2 at 12 noon.

Candidates have one week, or until Thursday, April 9 at 12 noon, to withdraw.

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U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Admitted to Intensive Care with Coronavirus – UPDATED

Boris Johnson

UPDATE: The Office of the Prime Minister issued the following statement late Monday:

Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.

Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.

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Metro Councilman At-Large Steve Glover Weighs in on Mayor Cooper’s Sharp Tax Increase Proposal

During the third hour of Monday’s, Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, Metro Councilman at Large Steve Glover expressed his disagreement with the significant property tax increase proposed by Mayor Cooper last week. He stated that he didn’t believe that this was a solution to the problem and vowed to stand up to his promise of protecting the people of Davidson County’s wallets.

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Commentary: The Coronavirus Crisis Is President Trump’s Opportunity for Lasting Victories for His America First Agenda

When Rahm Emanuel told audiences that former President Barack Obama should “never let a serious crisis go to waste,” he was applauded. Emanuel was referring to the Obama Administration’s response to the Great Recession. Clearly, President Obama agreed. Obama ushered in the greatest reorganization of the American socio-economic order under the auspices of resolving the financial crisis (which, of course, Obama never actually did resolve).

Similarly, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus from Wuhan, China offers President Trump a momentous opportunity to enact his own sweeping agenda – all of which would be far more beneficial to the American people than Obama’s statism. Trump needs to press his advantage with as much vigor and alacrity as Obama pressed his during the financial crisis.

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Tennessee’s Public Transit Systems Get Big Chunk of Taxpayer Money, Courtesy of COVID-19 Relief Funding

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) announced that, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the already publicly-funded Memphis Area Transit Authority will receive more nearly $36 million in taxpayer money.

This, according to a press release Cohen released late last week.

MATA is Memphis’ public transportation provider.

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Trump Pushes Lupus-Coronavirus Study, But the Evidence Is Mixed

by Chuck Ross   President Donald Trump again touted the drug hydroxychloroquine Saturday, citing an unspecified study showing that lupus patients are fighting off coronavirus infections because they take the drug hydroxychloroquine. Trump has come under fire from some health experts and journalists for hyping the hydroxychloroquine as a potential “game-changer.” That did not change Saturday when many Trump critics accused him of peddling pseudo-science. But as is often the case with the president’s claims, anecdotal accounts both support and undermine the study he is touting. The Lupus Foundation of America said Saturday that there is no evidence that lupus patients are shielded from the virus because they take hydroxychloroquine. An alliance of doctors studying coronavirus in people with autoimmune disorders also said 25% of patients the group is observing has the virus despite begin on hydroxychloroquine. There is some anecdotal evidence that lupus patients have lower rates of coronavirus than the general public. “None of my lupus patients have developed covid, which is quite remarkable,” Dr. Daniel Wallace, a rheumatologist at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, said in a teleconference for the Lupus Research Alliance. Wallace said that of around 1,000 patients with coronavirus that have showed up at his hospital…

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Attorneys General Give Conflicting Views on Future of Antitrust Probe Targeting Google as States Respond to Virus Spread

The attorneys general who are involved in an antitrust investigation targeting Google are weighing whether to press the accelerator on the probe or focus resources on the coronavirus response.

Google is doing everything it can to protect not only its employees, but also Americans, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry told the Daily Caller News Foundation. He is referring to what he said was the company’s work to help the Trump administration on the virus response.

Landry is one of the 33 attorneys general who is helping to spearhead the probe.

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ICE Says Reports of Hunger Strikes by Detainees Are Completely False

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is pushing back against reports that detainees in its facility in Tacoma, Washington, are going on a hunger strike.

Over the past several days, activists have said detainees at the Northwest ICE Processing Center have gone on a hunger strike in order to force concessions out of ICE amid the coronavirus pandemic, claims that were then cited by several news outlets. However, the agency came out with a strong statement late Sunday, saying such claims are bogus.

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Smugglers Posed as Border Wall Construction Workers, Shootout Ensued: Report

Migrant smugglers reportedly posed as border wall construction employees, and one of them shot at a Border Patrol agent following a high-speed chase.

Smugglers on Wednesday entered the U.S. with vehicles, designed to look like pickup trucks involved with border wall construction, carrying numerous illegal aliens, according to a report from the Washington Times. A dangerous encounter took place after Border Patrol agents became suspicious of the pickup trucks and began to follow them.

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Professor Encourages Students to File ‘Bias Reports’ if They Hear Someone Say ‘Chinese Virus’

A professor at the University of Nevada, Reno encourages students and faculty to file bias reports to combat “coronavirus” racism.

President Donald Trump recently referred to the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” at a press briefing saying, “It’s not racist at all.” Trump began using the term “Chinese virus” after China attempted to blame the U.S. military for the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

Nicole Jacobs, associate dean of diversity and inclusion at the University of Nevada, Reno published an article on the university’s website, encouraging readers to combat “coronavirus racism.” According to Jacobs, Americans need to “ARISE” to become an “active bystander” and oppose “act[s] of racism and bias.” To Jacobs, this also includes comments like “Chinese virus.”

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Ohio State Rep. Galonski Wants The Hague to Prosecute President Trump Over His Coronavirus Response

An Ohio state representative says she wants to subject America’s sitting president to an international tribunal at The Hague over President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus.

State Rep. Tavia Galonski (D-OH-35) from Akron tweeted, “I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been to The Hague. I’m making a referral for crimes against humanity tomorrow. Today’s press conference was the last straw. I know the need for a prosecution referral when I see one.”

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Cincinnati Sees First Two Coronavirus Deaths

Cincinnati has seen its first two deaths from the coronavirus, the city’s Health Commissioner Melba Moore confirmed on Monday.

The two men who died were ages 86 and 71 and both had pre-existing conditions, according to The Enquirer.

“On behalf of the entire City of Cincinnati, we express our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the patients who died as well as all families of those affected by this pandemic,” Mayor John Cranley said, according to Fox News affiliate Fox19.

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Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 Forecast Was Off by 850 Cases Monday, Actual Cases Just One-Third of ‘Mitigated’ Projections

Ohio health officials and Gov. Mike DeWine continue to reference a coronavirus model that hasn’t been updated since March 28.

The Ohio Star still hasn’t been provided with any information on the identities of the Ohio State University researchers behind the controversial model.

The Ohio Department of Health (OHD) claims on its website for the forecast model that it was “created based on current data” and becomes “more precise as more information is available.”

However, the model still predicts that the coronavirus pandemic will reach its peak in Ohio on April 25 when the state is projected to have 9,689 new cases. But that number is based on the information that was available as of March 28 and hasn’t been updated since.

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Study Says Ohio Will Hit COVID-19 Peak Wednesday, with Cases and Deaths Far Below DeWine’s Apocalyptic Forecasts That Shut State Down

A health institute that has been making national and state COVID-19 forecasts revised its model for Ohio, suggesting that the peak will be hit Wednesday, leaving far fewer cases and deaths than the gruesome numbers painted by Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration.

The Sandusky Register reported on the model update Monday.

The forecaster is the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHMC), and it is a model that has been cited by many state and federal officials, including President Donald Trump.

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Tennessee GOP Chair Allows Democratic Presidential Primary Voter to Run as a Republican

At the Saturday meeting of the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee, Chairman Scott Golden responded to the challenge of a candidate who donated to Democrats and voted as a Democrat in the last statewide primary by deciding the candidate is a bona fide Republican.

Golden’s decision overruled the vote of the members of the State Executive Committee (SEC) who were on the meeting conference call.

The candidate being challenged is Cecil “Eddie” Mannis, who is running for Tennessee House District 18. The seat is being vacated by State Representative Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville), who announced in March that he would not seek re-election to a fourth term, The Tennessee Star reported.

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