North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Said to Be in ‘Grave Danger’ After Surgery

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The South Korean government said Tuesday no unusual activity has been detected in North Korea after unconfirmed reports described leader Kim Jong Un as in fragile condition after heart surgery.

The presidential Blue House says it had no information about the rumors on Kim’s health. Speculation often surfaces about North Korea’s leadership based on attendance at important state events. Kim, who is in his mid-30s, missed the celebration of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung on April 15, the country’s most important holiday.

Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party on April 11, discussing preventive measures against the coronavirus and electing his sister as an alternate member of the bureau.

“We have no information to confirm regarding rumors about Chairman Kim Jong Un’s health issue that have been reported by some media outlets. Also, no unusual developments have been detected inside North Korea,” Blue House spokesman Kang Min-seok said in the statement.

A political upheaval in North Korea would be unlikely even if Kim became sidelined by health problems, according to analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at South Korea’s private Sejong Institute. (Read more from “North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Said to Be in ‘Grave Danger’ After Surgery” HERE)

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REPORT: Coronavirus Vaccine Development Companies Using Aborted Fetal Cells

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. . .Pro-life organization Children of God for Life, which focuses on the question of ethical vaccines, had found out that several of the leading COVID-19 vaccine developments are using aborted fetal cells.

Debi Vinnedge, executive director of Children of God for Life, said “her heart sank when she discovered that Spike protein,” which is part of a vaccine being developed by Moderna, “was produced using HEK 293 aborted fetal cells.”

Similarly, a vaccine developer owned by Johnson & Johnson “is using [its] PER C6 Ad5 technology, derived from an aborted baby’s retinal tissue.”

According to Children of God for Life, during a hearing of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a physician revealed how he harvested the fetal cells.

“So I isolated retina from a fetus, from a healthy fetus as far as could be seen, of 18 weeks old,” Alex van der Eb said. “There was nothing special with a family history or the pregnancy was completely normal up to the 18 weeks, and it turned out to be a socially indicated abortus — abortus provocatus, and that was simply because the woman wanted to get rid of the fetus[.] … [W]hat was written down was unknown father, and that was, in fact, the reason why the abortion was requested.” (Read more from “REPORT: Coronavirus Vaccine Development Companies Using Aborted Fetal Cells” HERE)

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President Trump: Dems ‘Go After Christian Churches, but They Don’t Tend to Go After Mosques’; Wonders If Social Distancing Will Be Enforced for Ramadan

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President Donald Trump accused Democrats of bias against Christians and Jews — and wondered if coronavirus social distancing policies will be enforced against Muslims during Ramadan.

“They go after Christian churches, but they don’t tend to go after mosques,” Trump said of Democrats during a news conference Saturday. . .

A reporter asked Trump about his retweet of conservative author Paul Sperry’s Twitter post, which asked, “Let’s see if authorities enforce the social-distancing orders for mosques during Ramadan (April 23-May 23) like they did churches during Easter.” . . .

Trump replied, “I would like to see that. And, you know, I just spoke with leaders and people that love mosques. They love mosques. And I’m all in favor of that. But I would say that there could be a difference. And we’ll have to see what will happen, because I’ve seen a great disparity in this country. I’ve seen a great disparity.” . . .

Then apparently turning back to Democratic governors who’ve made headlines for enforcing coronavirus stay-at-home orders prior to Easter, Trump said he would be “very interested” to see what happens over Ramadan “because they go after Christian churches, but they don’t tend to go after mosques. And I don’t want them to go after mosques, but I do want to see what their — what their bent is.” (Read more from “President Trump: Dems ‘Go After Christian Churches, but They Don’t Tend to Go After Mosques’; Wonders If Social Distancing Will Be Enforced for Ramadan” HERE)

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Harvard Posts an Article Calling for a Ban on Home Schooling

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The Harvard Crimson published an article by an Elizabeth Bartholet, Wasserstein public interest professor of law and faculty director of the Law School’s Child Advocacy Program. She wants homeschooling banned. . .

The article states: Homeschooling, she says, not only violates children’s right to a “meaningful education” and their right to be protected from potential child abuse, but may keep them from contributing positively to a democratic society.

And it continues: “We have an essentially unregulated regime in the area of homeschooling,” Bartholet asserts. All 50 states have laws that make education compulsory, and state constitutions ensure a right to education, “but if you look at the legal regime governing homeschooling, there are very few requirements that parents do anything.”

That isn’t true. The children have to pass the same tests as everyone else. This is a direct slam on people of faith who don’t want the secularists teaching their children. . .

(Read more from “Harvard Posts an Article Calling for a Ban on Home Schooling” HERE)

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The Jihad Attacks on Churches in Illinois That You Heard Nothing About

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Osama E. El Hannouny, a 25-year-old man who lives in the Chicago suburb of Palos Hills, Illinois, has made his prejudices very clear, saying that he doesn’t like Christians. More than once he has acted on that dislike at churches in his area. But as his attacks don’t fit the mainstream media narrative, this article is likely to be the only place where you’ll hear about them.

Last Tuesday, when he should have been staying at home and making TikTok videos like other people his age, El Hannouny ventured out into the coronavirus-ridden wilds, heading for Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palos Hills. Once he got there, he looked into the church through the doors, and saw that there were people inside (doesn’t anyone honor the coronavirus quarantine in Cook County?). Seeing his chance for jihad, El Hannouny immediately began piling leaves around the church’s gas main and air conditioning unit, making numerous trips back and forth to do so. Once he was satisfied that he had sufficient kindling, El Hannouny, according to the charges against him, set fire to the leaves.

As it happened, no one was hurt: firefighters quickly arrived on the scene and put out the fire before it did any significant damage. El Hannouny, however, continued his jihad, this time against the police who arrested him. According to Patch, “while El Hannouny was being processed, police said he started spitting at officers, reports said. El Hannouny also wrote a religious slur on the wall of his cell, according to the report. El Hannouny allegedly scratched, bit and spit at police when they tried to stop him.” . . .

When he was arrested and asked why he had done such a thing, El Hannouny replied with unusual directness: “I don’t like Christians.” According to WBBM, he admitted to the 19 tire-slashings and was “charged with 14 counts of criminal damage to property.” El Hannouny was then “released on a personal recognize [sic] bond and electronic monitoring.” In January, authorities added on hate crime charges. (Read more from “The Jihad Attacks on Churches in Illinois That You Heard Nothing About” HERE)

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Nearly 150 People Without Symptoms Test Positive for COVID-19 at Homeless Shelter; How Many People Have Had Coronavirus With No Symptoms?

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By Washington Examiner. A small cluster of coronavirus cases at a Boston homeless shelter prompted broadscale testing at the facility, and officials were shocked by the results.

Of nearly 400 people tested at the Pine Street Inn earlier this month, 146 people tested positive for the virus. None of those who tested positive showed symptoms, leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin “actively looking into” the results.

“It was like a double knockout punch. The number of positives was shocking, but the fact that 100% of the positives had no symptoms was equally shocking,” said Dr. Jim O’Connell, president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. (Read more from “Nearly 150 People Without Symptoms Test Positive for COVID-19 at Homeless Shelter” HERE)

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How Many People Have Had Coronavirus With No Symptoms?

By NBC News. A flood of new research suggests that far more people have had the coronavirus without any symptoms, fueling hope that it will turn out to be much less lethal than originally feared. . .

In the last week, reports of silent infections have come from a homeless shelter in Boston, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, pregnant women at a New York hospital, several European countries and California.

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 25 percent of infected people might not have symptoms. The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John Hyten, thinks it may be as high as 60 percent to 70 percent among military personnel. (Read more from “How Many People Have Had Coronavirus With No Symptoms?” HERE)

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Here’s What Americans Are Buying During Coronavirus Pandemic

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. . .As people remain sheltered in their homes due to the coronavirus outbreak, online shopping has surged as a replacement for an old-fashioned trip to the store. In addition to the overall boom in e-commerce spending, sales data reveals that following an initial stockpiling of goods, many online shoppers have shifted their focus to entertainment products such as books and games as they adjust to the new normal of life in quarantine.

E-commerce spending in the U.S. is up more than 30% from the beginning of March through mid-April compared with the same period last year, according to market research firm Rakuten Intelligence. That is significantly more growth — about 50% more — than the annual 20% growth in online shopping the firm has become accustomed to seeing in recent years.

This snapshot of the economy paints a picture of both what Americans are buying and how shopper priorities have shifted over the course of the extended quarantine period.

It also offers a stark contrast to recently released figures on U.S. retail sales, which include estimates for brick-and-mortar businesses. The 8.7% plunge in March was the biggest decline since the government started tracking it in 1992.

An initial surge in online ordering appears to have been driven by a run on staples as it became increasingly likely that people would be staying home for the foreseeable future. (Read more from “Here’s What Americans Are Buying During Coronavirus Pandemic” HERE)

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Dow Drops More Than 500 Points to Start the Week After Historic Oil Plunge

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By CNBC. Stocks fell sharply Monday, retreating after back-to-back weekly gains, as a historic decline in U.S. crude prices raised concerns about the economic damage being done by coronavirus shutdowns. A delay in funding the for the depleted small business rescue loan program also weighed on sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 592.05 points lower, or 2.5%, 23,650.44. The S&P 500 slid 1.8% to 2,823.16. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1% to 8,560.73.

Boeing fell more than 6% to lead the Dow lower while Chevron and Exxon Mobil dropped more than 4% each. Energy, real estate and utilities were the worst-performing sectors in the S&P 500, falling more than 3% each.

The May contract for West Texas Intermediate, which expires on Tuesday, plunged more than 100% to settle at negative $37.63 per barrel, a bizarre move tied to weak demand outlook and storage capacity issues.

The negative impact on stocks from oil likely would have been worse were it not for lesser declines in oil contracts expiring during future months. WTI’s June contract slid over 15.6% to $21.09 per barrel. July’s oil contract was down 6.9%. It was a strange phenomenon that analysts chalked up to the collapse in demand for oil contracts expiring this week. Refineries don’t need the oil and are near storage capacity with most of the country shut down. The negative price means producers will pay to take this oil off their hands. (Read more from “Dow Drops More Than 500 Points to Start the Week After Historic Oil Plunge” HERE)

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Oil Crashes 305% to -$36.73 a Barrel

By Fox Business. U.S. oil prices plummeted in historic fashion Monday, crashing below zero as traders unloaded positions ahead of the May contract’s Tuesday expiration.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May delivery cratered by 305 percent to -$36.73 a barrel. At a price below zero, buyers would be paid to take delivery as there are costs associated with transportation and storage. The selling had WTI on track to close at its lowest level since recordkeeping began in March 1983, according to Dow Jones Market Data. . .

The May contract is a “horror show” and “heading into the worst delivery situation in history,” Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Group Futures, told FOX Business. “With demand still dead and OPEC+ cuts not hitting fast enough, the market looks like it has no bottom.”

Demand for crude oil is projected to fall by 29 million barrels per day this month, according to the International Energy Administration, as COVID-19 has forced countries around the world to issue “stay-at-home” orders to slow the spread of the disease. Lower economic activity means weaker demand for crude oil and its byproducts, including gasoline and jet fuel. (Read more from “Oil Crashes 305% to -$36.73 a Barrel” HERE)

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Alaska Governor to Outline Plans to Reopen Economy

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Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Alaskans soon could be making appointments at barbershops and nail salons again, as the state looks to further reopen parts of the economy shut down or restricted over coronavirus concerns.

Dunleavy on Monday said details are expected this week. Other areas he said were being looked at include restaurants and retail shops, businesses he said employ many people and could put in place safety protocols while meeting demand for services.

The state feels pretty good about its numbers and its health care capacity, equipment and ability to track cases, he said Monday. The state has reported at least 321 cases of COVID-19, with 161 of those cases recovered and nine deaths. (Read more from “Alaska Governor to Outline Plans to Reopen Economy” HERE)

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Trump Plans to Temporarily Suspend Immigration

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President Donald Trump said Monday that he will sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” because of the coronavirus. . .

He offered no details as to what immigration programs might be affected by the order. The White House did not immediately elaborate on Trump’s tweeted announcement.

Trump has taken credit for his restrictions on travel to the U.S. from China and hard-hit European countries, arguing it contributed to slowing the spread of the virus in the U.S. But he has yet to extend those restrictions to other nations now experiencing virus outbreaks. (Read more from “Trump Plans to Temporarily Suspend Immigration” HERE)

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