FBI Says Skyrocketing Demand for Guns Has Broken Record for Background Checks; Gun Control Activists Freak Out at Trump

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By The Blaze. The panic over the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in such a demand for gun purchases that the FBI has noted a record-breaking number of gun background checks.

The FBI says they fulfilled 3.7 million background checks for the month of March, the largest monthly number they have ever seen.

Previously the record for monthly background checks was 3.3 million in December of 2015.

The record set for March is more than one million higher than that from a year previous in March, when the FBI said they fulfilled 2.64 million checks.

Gun store owners have reported a skyrocketing demand for firearms, and many have sold out their inventory. Long lines delay new gun owners, many of which are frustrated by the gun control laws they face. (Read more from “FBI Says Skyrocketing Demand for Guns Has Broken Record for Background Checks” HERE)

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Trump Coronavirus Guidance on Keeping Gun Stores Open Draws Criticism

By Reuters. Gun control activists on Monday criticized guidance issued by President Donald Trump’s administration recommending that states find that gun stores are critical businesses that can stay open during the coronavirus crisis.

The new guidance, issued on Saturday by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, offers the administration’s views on which workers are essential during the pandemic at a time when state governors have ordered numerous “non-essential” businesses to close to try to limit the spread of the virus. The agency is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Gun control advocates said gun rights groups are sowing fear during the pandemic in order to boost firearms sales, adding that increased gun ownership during the crisis could lead to more domestic violence.

“Adding more guns to more homes during a time of more anxiety could lead to more deaths. And that’s the last thing we need when our hospitals are already bursting at the seams,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, a leading gun control group. (Read more from “Trump Coronavirus Guidance on Keeping Gun Stores Open Draws Criticism” HERE)

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90 Suspects Identified in Major Online Child Sexual Abuse Operation

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Police around the world have taken down a global child abuse ring with links to over 40 countries through a Belgian investigation supported by Europol. 4 suspects have been convicted today by a Belgian court.

This case was sparked by the Belgian East Flanders Federal Judicial Police (Federale Gerechtelijke Politie Oost-Vlaanderen) after more than 9 million pictures and videos of the abuse of thousands of children from around the world were found there during a house search.

The vast majority of this footage had never been seen in circulation before by law enforcement. Suspecting they were producing their own, the Belgian investigators launched Operation GARGAMEL together with Europol across Europe and beyond . The image and video data seized during this investigation has been used for Victim Identification Task Forces hosted by Europol through which 70 children and 30 suspects have been identified. The Belgian Federal Judicial Police succeeded in identifying 60 suspects (of which 24 in Belgium) and 40 victims, which brings the actual total to 90 suspects and 110 victims.

Some suspects have already appeared before court in a number of other countries. In Australia, a suspect was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

More arrests and rescues are expected globally as police in over 40 countries examine the intelligence packages compiled by Europol and information from the Belgian Federal Judicial Police.

(Press release originally appeared HERE)

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Coronavirus Forces Farmers to Scrap Food They Can’t Sell

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A tractor with a 35-foot blade mowed down one million pounds of green beans ready to be picked at R.C. Hatton’s Pahokee fields.

Those crops should have been going to South Florida’s restaurants, cruise ships, school cafeterias, airlines and even theme parks. . .

The total shutdown of the hospitality industry, to stem the spread of the coronavirus, means farmers who grew crops intended for everyone from small, independent restaurants to busy hotels are stuck with millions of pounds of produce that will soon be left to die on the vine.

And even food banks, soup kitchens and rescue missions, which have seen a surge of unemployed workers making hours-long lines for boxes of donated fresh fruits and vegetables, are saturated with farm donations.

“It’s catastrophic,” said Tony DiMare, vice president of the third-generation-owned DiMare tomato company. “It’s a dire situation, and there’s no relief in sight.” (Read more from “Coronavirus Forces Farmers to Scrap Food They Can’t Sell” HERE)

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Report: Only India, China Will Survive Coronavirus, Rest of the Entire World Economy Will Go Into Recession

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With two-thirds of the world’s population living in developing countries facing unprecedented economic damage from the COVID-19 crisis, the UN is calling for a USD 2.5 trillion rescue package for these nations.

The world economy will go into recession this year with a predicted loss of trillions of dollars of global income due to the coronavirus pandemic, spelling serious trouble for developing countries with the likely exception of India and China, according to a latest UN trade report.

With two-thirds of the world’s population living in developing countries facing unprecedented economic damage from the COVID-19 crisis, the UN is calling for a USD 2.5 trillion rescue package for these nations.

According to the new analysis from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN trade and development body titled ‘The COVID-19 Shock to Developing Countries: Towards a ‘whatever it takes’ programme for the two-thirds of the world’s population being left behind’, commodity-rich exporting countries will face a USD 2 trillion to USD 3 trillion drop in investments from overseas in the next two years.

The UNCTAD said that in recent days, advanced economies and China have put together massive government packages which, according to the Group of 20 leading economies (G20), will extend a USD 5 trillion lifeline to their economies. (Read more from “Report: Only India, China Will Survive Coronavirus, Rest of the Entire World Economy Will Go Into Recession” HERE)

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Governor Declares Religious Services ‘Essential’ During Coronavirus

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As authorities arrest pastors for holding Sunday services in defiance of social distancing orders, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that religious services are to be considered essential in his state.

Abbott issued an executive order relating to state-wide continuity of essential services and activities during the coronavirus pandemic. The order mandated that all Texans will minimize social gatherings and in-person contact with people who are not in the same household, and, among other statutes, clarified that religious services conducted in churches, congregations and houses of worship are to be considered essential services.

“‘Essential services’ shall consist of everything listed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce, Version 2.0, plus religious services conducted in churches, congregations, and houses of worship,” the order stated. “Other essential services may be added to this list with the approval of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.”

The governor encouraged those involved in essential services to practice good hygiene, environmental cleanliness, sanitation, social distancing and working from home when possible.

(Read more from “Governor Declares Religious Services ‘Essential’ During Coronavirus” HERE)

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‘Shocking’ List of What’s Killed the Most People in 2020

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With millions of Americans concerned about coronavirus, radio host Rush Limbaugh is providing some perspective on the actual number of fatalities from COVID-19 compared to those from other causes.

On his Wednesday broadcast, Limbaugh cited a list from worldometers.info that rounded up the worldwide deaths from Jan. 1 through March 25 of 2020:

“Coronavirus: 21,000 deaths.

Seasonal flu: 113,000.

Malaria: 228,000.

Suicide: 249,000.

Traffic fatalities, 313, almost 314,000 deaths.

HIV/AIDS, 391,000 deaths.

Alcohol related deaths, 581,000.

Smoking-related deaths, 1,162,000.

Cancer deaths, 1,909,000 deaths.

Deaths attributed to starvation, 2,382,000 deaths.

And death by abortion, 9,900,000.”

(Read more from “‘Shocking’ List of What’s Killed the Most People in 2020” HERE)

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Doctor Dies of Coronavirus After Leaving Retirement to Fight the Pandemic

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A retired British doctor who returned to work to help battle the country’s coronavirus outbreak died of the disease this week, according to new reports.

Dr. Alfa Saadu, 68, died Tuesday morning after suffering from the infection for two weeks, his son Dani said in a social media post, Metro UK reported.

He worked at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, until his passing.

“‘My dad was a living legend, worked for the NHS for nearly 40 years saving people’s lives here and in Africa,” Dani wrote. “Up until he got sick, he was still working part-time saving people.”

Dani told Huffington Post UK that his father was “a very passionate man, who cared about saving people.” (Read more from “Doctor Dies of Coronavirus After Leaving Retirement to Fight the Pandemic” HERE)

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Chinese Student Disappears After Demanding XI Jinping Resign

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A Chinese student who called for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping to step down in a message posted to social media on Monday has gone missing. On Tuesday, reports suggested he was in police custody for his remarks.

Zhang Wenbin, a university student in eastern Shandong province, wrote on social media on March 30 that the police had already summoned him for the post, and that he would be detained for five days. Since then, he has not made any further posts. On March 31, he was no longer accessible via social media. . .

On Monday, Zhang posted a video of his message, which has been viewed 175,200 times so far.

In the video, Zhang says he was once a young supporter of the ruling CCP, referring to himself as a former “little pink,” a term to describe youths indoctrinated by the regime. However, after bypassing the government’s internet censorship, he discovered the truth about the CCP and its “sinister” history. In his statement, Zhang referred to his enlightenment as scaling the “Great Firewall” of CCP internet censorship:

Since I scaled the Great Firewall, I gradually came to the realization that the Chinese Communist Party has extended its dragon claws into every corner of the world, including the collective farming [1950s], the Cultural Revolution [1966-1976], the Great Famine [1958-1961], the One-Child Policy, the Tiananmen massacre [1989], as well as the persecution of the Falun Gong [spiritual movement], and the peoples of Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

(Read more from “Chinese Student Disappears After Demanding XI Jinping Resign” HERE)

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Donald Trump Responds to Illegals Not Getting Stimulus Checks; Trump Administration Urged to Release Illegal Aliens

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By Breitbart. President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter on Wednesday about “undocumented” immigrants not getting a stimulus check from the government as part of the coronavirus economic rescue package.

“Well, you know, you are saying undocumented, meaning they came in illegally,” Trump said. “A lot of people would say that we have a lot of citizens right now that won’t be working, so what are you going to do?” . . .

“It’s a very sad question, I must be honest with you, but they came in illegally and we have a lot of people that are citizens in our country that won’t be able to have jobs,” Trump said. (Read more from “Donald Trump Responds to Illegals Not Getting Stimulus Checks” HERE)

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Trump Administration Urged to Release Illegal Aliens Amid Coronavirus

By New York Post. The Trump administration is facing a looming deadline to figure out whether it will continue to hold illegal immigrant detainees at migrant detention centers amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

Over the weekend, a federal judge ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to either release illegal migrant minors in their custody or explain why they must remain detained amid the virus outbreak.

The judge also warned that ICE officials will be given a week to show the court that three specific family detention centers are providing adequately hygienic conditions for migrants being housed there.

The judge described conditions at those centers as “hotbeds of contagion.” (Read more from “Trump Administration Urged to Release Illegal Aliens Amid Coronavirus” HERE)

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Chinese Scientists Seeking Potential COVID-19 Treatment Find ‘Effective’ Antibodies

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By Reuters. A team of Chinese scientists has isolated several antibodies that it says are “extremely effective” at blocking the ability of the new coronavirus to enter cells, which eventually could be helpful in treating or preventing COVID-19.

There is currently no proven effective treatment for the disease, which originated in China and is spreading across the world in a pandemic that has infected more than 850,000 and killed 42,000.

Zhang Linqi at Tsinghua University in Beijing said a drug made with antibodies like the ones his team have found could be used more effectively than the current approaches, including what he called “borderline” treatment such as plasma.

Plasma contains antibodies but is restricted by blood type.

In early January, Zhang’s team and a group at the 3rd People’s Hospital in Shenzhen began analysing antibodies from blood taken from recovered COVID-19 patients, isolating 206 monoclonal antibodies which showed what he described as a “strong” ability to bind with the virus’ proteins. (Read more from “Chinese Scientists Seeking Potential COVID-19 Treatment Find ‘Effective’ Antibodies” HERE)

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Top NY Blood Center Doctor Says Plasma Coronavirus Treatment Looking ‘Promising’

By Fox News. r. Beth Shaz, chief medical and scientific officer at the New York Blood Center, joined “The Story” Wednesday night to discuss “promising” efforts to treat coronavirus using the blood plasma of recovered patients.

“Right now we have a handful [of donors],” Shaz told host Martha MacCallum. “You have to be at least 14 days after [having] symptoms. With the first cases in the New York area [confirmed] on March 1, we are just beginning to get there.”

Prior to bringing Shaz on the show, MacCallum spotlighted a New York Post report about Long Island mother Diana Berrent, who became one of the first people in New York to donate her blood plasma for treatment efforts.

“Take my blood. Take my plasma,” Berrent said in the first-person story. “Swab my nasal passage over and over again. If it can potentially save a single life it would be nothing less than a miracle. (Read more from “Top NY Blood Center Doctor Says Plasma Coronavirus Treatment Looking ‘Promising'” HERE)

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