Tag: Coronavirus

Michigan Autodealerships, Medical Care, Retail to Reopen Next Week

Jordyn Pair

Michigan retail businesses, autodealerships and medical services will begin to reopen next week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on Thursday.

The latest executive order allows retail businesses to reopen on Tuesday with health and safety guidelines, including providing COVID-19 training to workers. The training must include the proper use of personal protection equipment and steps to take if a worker suspects he or she has symptoms of the coronavirus, among other information.

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COVID-19 Unemployment Claims Approach 39 Million Since Mid-March

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Even as much of the country eases restrictions and slowly begins to reopen state economies, new jobless claims continued their COVID-19 spike last week, increasing the total number of those filing for unemployment benefits to nearly 39 million since mid-March.

According to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor, an additional 2.44 million workers filed for benefits in the week ending May 16. That’s down 249,000 from the revised number of claims filed in the week ending May 9.

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US Birth Rates Continue to Fall as Millennials Put Off Having Kids

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Birth rates in the United States continue to fall as millennials put off having kids, and experts warn that coronavirus could make people less likely to have children.

Federal figures released Wednesday show that women in the U.S. had babies record-low rates in 2019, causing the number of U.S. births to reach the smallest number in 35 years, the Wall Street Journal reports. The data demonstrates that birth rates in the U.S. have not rebounded since the 2007-2009 recession when childbearing began declining.

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Mayor Calls on Walz to Immediately Reopen Greater Minnesota Businesses

Anthony Gockowski

A mayor in Greater Minnesota called for immediately reopening businesses in his region in a letter sent Monday to Gov. Tim Walz.

Cambridge Mayor James Godfrey pointed to the “significant difference” in the spread of the coronavirus in rural Minnesota compared to the Metro area. Cambridge is located in Isanti County, which had just 20 confirmed cases and zero deaths as of Wednesday.

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Walz Stumbles Incoherently Over Explanation for Why Churches Are Limited to 10 People, But Restaurants Can Host 50

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday that bars and restaurants can now host up to 50 people for outdoor dining, but churches are still required to limit both indoor and outdoor services to 10 people.

The governor was asked during his Wednesday press briefing why restaurants can host 40 more people than churches for outdoor gatherings.

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Commentary: Resolving the Argument Between Lockdown and Liberty

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As the debate between those who want an unlimited lockdown and those who want to reopen America as quickly as possible becomes more clangorous every day, months of intensive study and sad experience with the coronavirus enable us to determine the best course and resolve the argument.

The shutdown must end in all but severely afflicted areas. Its original purpose was to “flatten the curve.” In the early stages, the number of coronavirus reported cases and deaths in the United States was doubling every few days. Horrifying projections based on the scanty evidence available and hyped by the anti-Trump media to put as much pressure and blame on the president as possible for his initially somewhat casual treatment of the subject, stirred fears of millions of deaths and of a universal vulnerability to an almost untreatable fatal illness.

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‘Null and Void:’ Judge Overturns Oregon Gov. Brown’s COVID-19 Executive Orders

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A judge granted a preliminary injunction Monday freezing Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s coronavirus executive orders restricting church services and business.

Brown exceeded her authority when she restricted activities for longer than the 28 days the governor is authorized under a state law, Baker County Circuit Court Judge Matt Shirtcliff said. The judge’s ruling effectively blocks enforcement of the 10 orders Brown gave since early March when she first imposed stay-at-home orders on citizens.

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Owosso Barber Draws Support After License Suspended for Violating Gov. Whitmer’s Shutdown Order

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Throngs of people waited for as long as three hours in an Owosso downpour to see Karl Manke, a local 77-year-old barber, speak on Monday afternoon.

Manke has gained celebrity status and a certain amount of notoriety for his refusal to adhere to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s shutdown of what are deemed non-essential businesses. Manke’s barbershop falls under that rubric as defined by the governor’s executive orders.

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Whitmer Extends Order Allowing Pharmacies to Administer Emergency Refills

Jordyn Pair

Michigan pharmacies will be able to continue to dispense emergency refills for up to 60 days’ worth of medication after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended an executive order designed to make accessing medications easier during the coronavirus pandemic.

The order allows pharmacists to dispense emergency refills of up to 60 days’ worth of medication, as well as requires an insurer to cover early refills for up to 90 days’ worth of supply. The executive order also allows pharmacists to dispense treatments for COVID-19 according to government protocols.

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Minnesota Senate Bill Would Require Governor to Seek Legislative Approval for Extending Future Peacetime Emergencies

Anthony Gockowski

The Minnesota Senate passed a bill last week that would require the governor to obtain legislative approval before extending any future peacetime emergencies.

The bill, authored by Sen. David Osmek (R-Mound), passed Friday in a vote of 36-31, but failed to advance in the DFL-controlled House before the legislative session expired Sunday night.

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‘Pelosi Basically Lost Me:’ White House Says Checks for Illegal Aliens a No-Go for Stimulus Negotiations

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White House adviser Peter Navarro swatted down the possibility that the coronavirus stimulus package passed by House Democrats would be acceptable by the Trump administration.

Navarro said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “lost” him with her party’s stimulus bill during a Sunday morning appearance on ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos. The legislation includes cash assistance for eligible illegal aliens, protections for sanctuary cities and other progressive provisions.

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Illegal Aliens Can Begin Applying for Cash Assistance in California

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by Jason Hopkins   Illegal aliens can apply for direct cash assistance from the California state government as of Monday, marking the implementation of the first relief program of its kind. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced in April the launch of The Disaster Relief Fund, a $125 million coronavirus relief program for illegal aliens living in the state who don’t otherwise qualify for assistance from the federal government. The program, which is being funded in large part by private donations, will also require millions more from the state. “Every Californian, including our undocumented neighbors and friends, should know that California is here to support them during this crisis,” the governor said during the announcement. “We are all in this together.” The Disaster Relief Fund will proceed despite pushback from California GOP lawmakers, a minority in the state legislature, and a lawsuit challenging the legality of the program. Judicial Watch, a conservative legal firm, filed a temporary restraining order against Newsom May 5 to keep him from spending state taxpayer funds on the program. The group argues that the relief fund violates federal law because Newsom did not receive explicit authority from the state government to distribute money to illegal aliens. Federal immigration law typically bars…

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Northern Michigan, Upper Peninsula Allowed To Reopen, Gov. Whitmer Says

Jordyn Pair

Two regions in Michigan will be allowed to reopen retail businesses, office work and restaurants with limited seating, according to an executive order signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday.

The partial reopening, which will take effect on May 22, will allow retail businesses and office work that cannot be done remotely to reopen, as well as restaurants and bars with limited seating. Restaurants and bars will be required to limit capacity to 50 percent of normal seating, keep groups at least six feet from one other and require serves to wear face coverings.

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Keith Ellison Sues Minnesota Restaurant Owner Who Planned to Open Early, Threatens $150,000 in Fines

Anthony Gockowski

Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Sunday night that his office has sued a Minnesota restaurant owner who planned to reopen for business Monday.

Kris Schiffler, owner of Shady’s Bar and Grill, planned on reopening his six locations for dine-in business Monday, two weeks earlier than the June 1 reopening date set by the state. He told one local outlet that he received a call from Ellison’s office Friday threatening $25,000 in fines per location, which would amount to $150,000 in total.

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Letter to the Editor: Results Are All That Matter

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Once when I was a health care worker in a small, rural hospital in the desert Southwest, we respiratory therapists and nurses were in the cafeteria, discussing at lunch the relative merits of various doctors with whom we worked, in ER and on the clinical floors. Who was better?

It was unanimous that a guy who was a jovial, folksy dude with a decent bedside manner was our LAST choice — because he was incompetent.

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Commentary: Sweden’s COVID-19 Strategy Is Quietly Becoming the World’s Strategy

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Sweden’s unique approach to the COVID-19 pandemic has been drawing a great deal of scrutiny for weeks, including both admiration and criticism.

The Swedes, unlike most other nations, have eschewed the hardline approach that has led to mass economic shutdowns and skyrocketing unemployment. Restaurants, bars, public pools, libraries and most schools remain open. While the nation’s “laissez-faire” approach has drawn rebuke from some quarters, it is also beginning to draw praise.

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Michigan Conservative Coalition to Host ‘Operation Haircut’ on Capitol Lawn on May 20

Jordyn Pair

The Michigan Conservative Coalition is planning to hold another protest in Lansing, just a month after hosting Operation Gridlock.

The protest, dubbed “Operation Haircut,” was inspired by the Michigan barber in Owosso who opened in defiance of the state’s lockdown orders. Karl Manke, 77, had originally opened his barbershop on May 4, but was ticketed by Michigan State Police and ordered to close. He recently had his license revoked after a judge denied the state a temporary restraining order.

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Minnesota Citizens Protest Shutdown Again Outside Govs’s Mansion

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Hundreds of protestors congregated in front of Governor Tim Walz’s executive mansion, Thursday, to protest Minnesota’s thrice extended economic shutdowns.

The demonstration began around noon, as concerned citizens lined the street outside the governor’s mansion holding protest signs and flags as vehicles adorned with anti-shutdown messages drove slowly down Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Those in attendance aimed to express their displeasure with how Walz has handled Minnesota’s COVID-19 response.

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New York Admits Knowingly Undercounting Nursing Home Deaths After Quietly Changing Reporting Rules

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New York has omitted an unknown number of coronavirus deaths in recent reports regarding residents of nursing home and adult care facilities, the New York State Department of Health acknowledged in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

In early May, those reports quietly began omitting long-term care residents who died of coronavirus in hospitals. Even so, New York still leads the nation with 5,433 reported deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities as of Wednesday.

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Carol Swain Question’s Mayor Cooper’s Spending While Expecting More Bailout Money from the Federal Government

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Thursday 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. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by all-star panelist and former Vanderbilt Professor of Law Dr. Carol Swain.

At the bottom of the second hour, Swain reported from credible sources that Mayor Cooper has purchased 40,000 thermometers for Metro employees while keeping his hands out for federal coronavirus bailout money. She added that the coronavirus numbers don’t add up to a shutdown which has forced Nashville to the top of the list of metropolitan cities that are losing the most money during the pandemic.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down Evers’ Safer-at-Home Restrictions

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A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ extended safer at home order Wednesday, siding with Republicans who claimed the governor overstepped his authority when his administration extended restrictions on individuals and businesses through May 26.

In the 4-3 decision, all but one of the court’s conservative members ruled that the Evers’ administration does not have the legal power to continuously extend restrictions in the name of trying to slow the spread of COVID-19.

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Lewis Says Any Politician Who Purports to Represent the People Can’t ‘Deny Them Their God-Given Right to Earn a Living’

Anthony Gockowski

  There’s no “pandemic exception” to the Bill of Rights, Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis told The Minnesota Sun in a recent interview. That’s the same argument U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr made in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. “We have three branches of government, and allowing the unitary executive to do this, especially making a pandemic exception to the Bill of Rights, seems to me to be, and to Attorney General Bill Barr, to be overstepping their bounds. Now states, to be perfectly objective about it, states do have plenary police powers, but that assumes the state will make a law in the normal order – introduced in the legislative branch and signed by the governors. That’s not what’s happening here,” Lewis told The Minnesota Sun. Lewis said he’s been campaigning all over the state for the past two weeks because his team decided “enough was enough.” Going through “a second Great Depression” won’t do “anything to stop a virus,” he said. “The lockdown was meant to give hospital capacity a head start – we’ve accomplished that by anybody’s standard. Any official who purports to represent the people of Minnesota cannot deny them their God-given right to earn…

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Minnesota Organization for Retired Americans Sue To Keep Voting Rights for Quarantined Residents

Jordyn Pair

The Minnesota Alliance for Retired American Educational Fund, along with three of its members, filed a lawsuit to protect voting rights of those who may be self-quarantining without a legal adult.

The lawsuit alleges that those who are quarantining alone — or without a voting-age member of the household — essentially lose their ability to cast a vote, as mail-in absentee ballots require a witness signature.

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Judge Orders Paul Manafort Released from Prison to Home Confinement

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A federal judge on Wednesday ordered former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to be released from prison to home confinement amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

Manafort, 71, is serving a seven-year prison sentence on fraud and money-laundering charges. He was convicted in August 2018, sentenced to jail in March 2019 and scheduled to be released on Nov. 4, 2024.

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Democrats’ $3 Trillion ‘Relief’ Package Declared Dead-on-Arrival, Republicans Say

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A new Democratic bill proposed by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), without input from Republicans or the Trump administration is “dead on arrival,” top Republican leaders say.

The White House has said it wants to wait and see how the $3 trillion Congress already allocated will impact the economy and help Americans suffering from the economic shutdown due to the coronavirus.

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Gov. Tim Walz Signs Six Bills, Skips Mail-in Election Bill

Jordyn Pair

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed six bills into law on Tuesday on legislative topics ranging from health to underage marriage.

One law extends the funding used to increase testing capacity for the coronavirus pandemic, as well as ensure there are hospital beds and personal protective equipment. Another requires drug makers to provide a “detailed rationale to the state” for large price increases for drugs that cost $100 or more for a 30-day supply. A third prohibits marriage by residents in the state under age 18.

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Gov. Tim Walz Extends Peacetime Emergency Order Until Mid-June

Zachery Schmidt

Gov. Tim Walz announced late Wednesday that he will extend Minnesota’s peacetime emergency order for thirty days.

“Our actions have saved lives, but the threat of COVID-19 remains,” Walz said. “The next stages of this pandemic are going to challenge us – an extension of Minnesota’s peacetime emergency will allow us to protect Minnesotans’ health and wellbeing and continue to respond effectively to this rapidly-evolving situation.”

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Speaker Pelosi’s Coronavirus Bill Includes Billions for Eligible Illegal Aliens

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced her party’s coronavirus relief package, which includes billions of dollars in carve outs for illegal aliens, grants to sanctuary cities, and other protections for the undocumented community.

House Democrats released the HEROES Act on Tuesday, a bill that provides a total of $3 trillion in stimulus funds to state and local governments, along with other industries affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation — which was not negotiated with the GOP or the Trump administration — includes $500 billion for state governments and $375 billion for local governments.

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