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A government whistleblower leveled the harshest pubic criticism yet of the U.S. response to the new coronavirus, testifying before Congress Thursday that the Trump administration ignored his warnings about the severity of the health crisis and deliberately misled the American public.
America faces the “darkest winter in modern history” unless government leaders act to prevent a rebound of the coronavirus, immunologist Dr. Rick Bright said in a dire warning to a House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Bright’s testimony came the same day the U.S. Department of Labor reported that 36 million Americans are now jobless, an increase of nearly 3 million from the week prior and four times the record low that prevailed before the coronavirus struck hard in March.
Adding to the hardships, jobless workers in some states are still reporting difficulty applying for or receiving unemployment benefits. These include freelance, gig and self-employed workers, who became newly eligible for jobless aid this year.
The latest jobless claims follow a devastating monthly jobs report released last week. The government said the unemployment rate soared to 14.7 percent in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, and employers shed a stunning 20.5 million jobs. A decade’s worth of job growth was wiped out in a single month.
It’s likely the numbers fail to truly capture the number of Americans not working.
The government said many workers in April were counted as employed but absent from work and should have been counted as temporarily unemployed. Millions of other laid-off workers didn’t look for a new job in April, likely discouraged by their prospects in a mostly shuttered economy. They weren’t counted either.
In short, if all those people had been counted as unemployed, the jobless rate would have reached nearly 24 percent.
READ: 36M Have Sought U.S. Unemployment Aid Since Virus Hit
Whistleblower Issues Dire Warning If Virus Rebounds
Bright, ousted as the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority , testified for nearly four hours Thursday.
“I believe by not telling America the truth or being totally transparent regardless of where the information was coming from, people were not prepared as they could have been,” he told the House Energy and Commerce Committee..
Bright was removed as the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency in April. He claims he was moved to a lesser position after warning the Trump administration against distributing a malaria drug President Donald Trump had promoted as a treatment for COVID-19.
“Our window of opportunity is closing,” Bright said. “If we fail to develop a national coordinated response, based in science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse and be prolonged, causing unprecedented illness and fatalities.”
Sen. Burr Steps Down As Intelligence Chair Amid Probe
Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, stepped down as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday after the FBI served a warrant to seize his phone as part of an investigation tied to insider trading.
The investigation centers around Burr’s mysteriously timed sale of stocks right before the coronavirus crisis caused markets to plummet.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he and Burr agreed he should step aside in the best interest of the Senate.
The Justice Department declined to comment. Burr’s attorney did not respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press.
Governors Warn COVID-19 Relief Is Becoming A ‘Political Football’
Likely frustrated by the federal government’s lack of recent action to help the millions of unemployed Americans, the National Governors Association on Wednesday urged Congress to put aside the back-and-forth politicking and push through an assistance package to help place states and Americans on the road to economic recovery.
The request was made after House Democrats rolled out their newest economic relief package — $3 trillion that would provide cash for cities and states, “hazard pay” for essential workers and a new round of cash payments to Americans, among other provisions.
Senate Republicans, however, have their own list of priorities and declared the Democrats’ legislation “dead on arrival” even before the ink had a chance to dry.
In their statement, the governors association chairmen — Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo — urged lawmakers to stop the economic aid package from turning into yet another partisan flashpoint, according to a report by The Hill.
“Each day that Congress fails to act, states are being forced to make cuts that will devastate the essential services the American people rely on and destroy the economic recovery before it even gets off the ground,” Hogan and Cuomo said.
“With widespread bipartisan agreement on the need for this assistance, we cannot afford a partisan process that turns this urgent relief into another political football,” they said. “This is not a red state or blue state crisis. This is a red, white and blue pandemic. The coronavirus is apolitical. It does not attack Democrats or Republicans. It attacks Americans.”
Pandemic Has Claimed 100K Small Businesses
Congress approved a historic $700 billion to help U.S. small businesses through the coronavirus pandemic. It wasn’t enough to save some.
Economists project that more than 100,000 small businesses have permanently shuttered since the pandemic escalated in March, according to researchers at the University of Illinois, Harvard Business School, Harvard University and the University of Chicago. The data suggests at least 2 percent of small businesses are gone, according to a survey conducted May 9-11.
The toll is even higher in the restaurant industry, where 3 percent of restaurant owners have gone out of business, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The money funneled through Paycheck Protection Program loans and grants is only covering so much for a fraction of small businesses in America.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told The Washington Post he wouldn’t be surprised if “well over 1 million of these micro firms ultimately fail.”
Fauci Warns Of ‘Serious Consequences’ If States Open Too Soon
As states begin easing social distancing requirements that shuttered businesse arcross America, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Wednesday the coronavirus is still spreading and “the consequences could be really serious” if cities and states reopen too quickly.
In fact, Fauci — the nation’s top infectious disease expert and member of the U.S. coronavirus task force — said opening too soon not only would cause “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery.”
If there is a rush to reopen without following guidelines, “my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” Fauci said. “The consequences could be really serious.”
U.S. Voters Want Congress To Focus On Aid Legislation: Poll
Nearly seven in 10 voters in the United States think controlling the spread of the coronavirus and stimulating economic recovery from the pandemic’s effects should be the top priority of Congress, according to a new poll from Morning Consult and Politico.
The poll’s findings are a sharp contrast to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s remarks to reporters that he and the White House “have not yet felt the urgency of acting immediately” on an additional round of coronavirus relief legislation.
The poll, conducted May 8-10, shows backlash from Republican voters, 73 percent of whom said Congress should focus on economic stimulus packages.
House Democrats proposed a $3 trillion virus relief bill Tuesday that aims to help state and local government, unemployment insurance and food stamp spending, but the aid package isn’t expected to gain Senate approval.
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From Across America Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down ‘Safer-At-Home’ Order
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has struck down the state’s “Safer-At-Home” order, stating that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration overstepped its legal boundaries when crafting the order.
NJ Student Helps Kids Quarantined With Abusers
Ashna Gupta of Basking Ridge, who overcame child emotional abuse, talks about being co-quarantined with an abuser during the pandemic.
Michigan Barber Who Reopened Has License Suspended
The action follows Karl Manke’s statements that he will continue to operate his barbershop despite Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders.
How To Get Free Or Discounted Prescirptions During Coronavirus
Pharmacies across the U.S. are stepping up to help consumers find affordable medications.
Should We Believe Gov. Pritzker’s Coronavirus Testing Statistics?
KONKOL COLUMN: Illinois Gov. Pritzker wants us to believe the state with the most coronavirus tests wins, but statistics don’t tell the whole story.
Coronavirus Stalks California’s Wildfire Season
Crackling flames won’t be all that threatens California firefighters this wildfire season. For the first time, they’ll be faced with another, invisible menace: the new coronavirus.
Official Warns Of A Possible Sustained Recession
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Wednesday of the threat of a prolonged recession resulting from the viral outbreak and urged Congress and the White House to act further to prevent long-lasting economic damage.
Cold Cases Get Colder As Pandemic Wears On
Police departments nationwide are grappling with changes the virus has wrought on their investigations, even as law enforcement agencies report major decreases in crime due to stay-at-home orders.
Twitter Employees Can Work From Home Permanently
Twitter shuttered its San Francisco corporate headquarters back in March when shelter-in-place orders were first issued across multiple Bay Area counties. Now, there’s a new message from founder and CEO Jack Dorsey: go ahead an work from home permanently.
Doll Maker Switches To Creating Face Masks
Carole Brothers, owner of Agape Dolls, is sewing fashionable masks for people to wear during the coronavirus pandemic.
Teen DJ Spinning From Truck, Donating To First Responders
DJ Tory T, just 14, has been spinning records for celebratory parades across town and donates to food bank, first responders.
Students Teach, Inspire Future Doctors
Daniel Jin and Julie Wang created a virtual science camp to inspire kids to make the world safer amid the coronavirus.
NYC Barber’s Virtual ‘Quarancuts’ Guides At-Home Haircuts
Even Emmy winner Billy Porter needs help giving loved ones haircuts when stuck at home. New York City barber Xavier Cruz is here to help.
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