Lawmakers Eye Reforms to $600 Unemployment Benefit in Bid to Save Jobs

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Lawmakers are eyeing changes to the $600 payment boost to unemployment benefits to alleviate the incentives leading some workers to choose to remain jobless.

Adding to the urgency is that business owners with granted Paycheck Protection Program loans are having a hard time rehiring furloughed workers because of the unemployment benefit. Yet, if they cannot get those workers back, they risk the loan not being forgiven.

Lawmakers hope to address the problem, which stems from the fact that the increased benefits mean that many people would lose money by working, either by reducing the payment or providing workers with a bonus for staying on the job.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney from Utah went the bonus route. He has proposed “Patriot Pay,” which would provide essential workers earning less than $50,000 a temporary bonus of up to $12 per hour for May, June, and July, which are the remaining months of the $600 payment if unemployment benefits are not extended.

“Healthcare professionals, grocery store workers, food processors, and many others — the unsung patriots on the front line of this pandemic — every day risk their safety for the health and well-being of our country, and they deserve our unwavering support,” the senator said when announcing his proposal. (Read more from “Lawmakers Eye Reforms to $600 Unemployment Benefit in Bid to Save Jobs” HERE)

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Transcripts Prove Trump-Russia Investigation ‘Was All Phony the Whole Time’ Says Devin Nunes

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In the past week, transcripts of House Intelligence Committee testimony from various Obama officials proved that they had no evidentiary basis for investigating alleged Trump-Russia collusion. Rep. Devin Nunes says this proved that the investigation was phony “the whole time.”

“We had a strategy here that we wanted to get every single person that we interviewed, to say whether or not they knew of any evidence of collusion, coordination or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians,” Nunes said Sunday morning on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with anchor Maria Bartiromo. “Furthermore, what you will see is that we’ve been asked questions about hearsay. Did they hear anything? Do they know anything? Do they have any leads for us whatsoever? And the answer was always the same. Nothing.”

“I think that’s the real revelation for the American people, is they were using their own Russian dirt to ask questions,” Nunes added. “And it was all fake. It was all phony the whole time.”

At least one former Obama official, Evelyn Farkas, publicly claimed that she new of evidence proving collusion, but later admitted under oath she did not. . .

Following the release of these transcripts and documents, President Trump blasted the Obama administration for their attempted coup. “It was a very dangerous situation what they did,” he said. “These are dirty politicians and dirty cops and some horrible people and hopefully they’re going to pay a big price in the not too distant future.” (Read more from “Transcripts Prove Trump-Russia Investigation ‘Was All Phony the Whole Time’ Says Devin Nunes” HERE)

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Dozens Feared Dead as Iranian Destroyer Accidentally SINKS One of the Country’s Own Warships; Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S.

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By Daily Mail. An Iranian destroyer has reportedly opened fire on one of its own warships by accident, causing ‘dozens of casualties’.

The friendly fire reportedly sank one of Iran’s own warships in the Sea of Oman.

40 naval personnel are missing in the incident, according to local media reports this evening. . .

According to local media, an Iranian battleship was accidentally hit by a C-802 Noor missile during military exercises, causing it to sink.

ELINT News reported that the Iranian Jamaran frigate accidentally fired on the Konarak support ship with an anti-ship cruise missile during exercises. (Read more from “Dozens Feared Dead as Iranian Destroyer Accidentally SINKS One of the Country’s Own Warships” HERE)

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Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S. Amid Coronavirus Fears

By TIME. Iran says it is ready for unconditional prisoner swap talks with the United States because of fears that the coronavirus could put the lives of the prisoners at risk, Iranian media reported Sunday.

An Iranian news website, Khabaronline.ir, quoted Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying there is a “readiness for all prisoners” to be discussed without condition.

“But the U.S. has refused to answer, so far,” said Rabiei. “We hope that as the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease threatens the lives of Iranian citizens in the U.S. prisons, the U.S. government eventually will prefer lives to politics.”

A senior U.S. official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “There has been no offer and no offer of direct talks.” (Read more from “Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S. Amid Coronavirus Fears” HERE)

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Tesla Sues Over Shutdown as Musk Threatens California Exit; California Democrat Reacts to Tesla Lawsuit: ‘F— Elon Musk’

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By Bloomberg. Elon Musk lashed out at the California county blocking Tesla Inc. from reopening its only U.S. car plant, threatening to immediately relocate operations to other states and cease manufacturing at the factory.

Hours after the chief executive officer tweeted that Tesla would sue Alameda County, which didn’t allow the facility to resume operations Friday, the electric-car maker filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Tesla claims the county’s health order violates due process and “puts businesses deemed critical to the nation’s well-being by the federal and state governments between a rock and a hard place.”

Musk, who has called coronavirus-related shutdown orders fascist, said Tesla will decide whether to keep producing cars in Fremont, California, based on how it’s treated going forward. The Bay area was the first region in the country to implement stay-home orders to contain the spread of Covid-19 and has been cautious about lifting them.

(Read more from “Tesla Sues Over Shutdown as Musk Threatens California Exit” HERE)

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California Democrat Reacts to Tesla Lawsuit, Pullout Plan Over Coronavirus Rules: ‘F— Elon Musk’

By Fox News. A California Democrat seemed less than upset Saturday night at the news that entrepreneur Elon Musk planned to pull much of his company Tesla – along with an unspecified number of jobs — out of the state over coronavirus shutdown rules that have stalled the automaker’s operations.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego appeared to be saying something along the lines of “Good riddance” – except she didn’t exactly use those words.

“F— Elon Musk,” was Gonzalez’s brief response on Twitter.

(Read more from “California Democrat Reacts to Tesla Lawsuit, Pullout Plan Over Coronavirus Rules: ‘F— Elon Musk’” HERE)

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Bombshell Intel Report Exposes How China Colluded With WHO to Hide Truth About Coronavirus

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By The Blaze. A new intelligence report from Germany’s intelligence service, known as the Bundesnachrichtendienst, reveals how China and the World Health Organization colluded to suppress the truth about coronavirus.

According to the report, which was obtained by German newspaper Der Spiegel, Chinese President Xi Jinping asked WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom in January to suppress the truth about COVID-19.

Unfortunately for the international community, Adhanom complied with China’s request, according to the Taiwan News.

During a conversation on Jan. 21, Xi reportedly asked Tedros not to announce that the virus could be transmitted between humans and to delay any declaration of a coronavirus pandemic.

It took until the end of January before the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak needed to receive international attention. Because of China’s delay, the world wasted four to six weeks it could have used better to counter the virus from spreading, the BND concluded.

(Read more from “Bombshell Intel Report Exposes How China Colluded With WHO to Hide Truth About Coronavirus” HERE)

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What We Don’t Know About Coronavirus Origins Might Kill Us

By Bloomberg. The best minds in virology are trying to unravel a mystery: How did a lethal coronavirus jump from the wilds of rural China to major human population centers? And what chain of genetic mutations produced a pathogen so perfectly adapted for stealth and mass transmission?

Deciphering the creation story of SARS-CoV-2, as the virus now rampaging around the globe is known, is a crucial step toward arresting a pandemic that’s killed 270,000-plus and triggered what could be the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression.

While crash vaccine programs are underway in the U.S., Europe and China, an inoculation to ward off the virus may not be ready for months, and the jury’s out on potential treatments. In the meantime, to reduce the risk of deadly secondary outbreaks or the emergence of an entirely new strain, disease chasers need to retrace the pathogen’s journey around the globe. That means heading back to China, where it all started sometime in 2019. . .

President Xi Jinping, who’s personally overseeing China’s virus response and investigation into how the outbreak started, is keeping tight control over Chinese scientific research, which must be approved prior to publication by authorities, according to two people familiar with the situation. (Read more from “What We Don’t Know About Coronavirus Origins Might Kill Us” HERE)

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43 Million Americans in Danger of Losing Health Insurance as a Result of Coronavirus Crisis, Study Shows

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As many as 43 million Americans are in danger of losing their current health insurance as unemployment surges amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a new study has shown.

The Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, an economic and social policy think tank, published a study last week on how the economic recession caused by COVID-19 could affect the health insurance coverage of Americans. The analysis found that between 25 million and 43 million Americans are at risk of losing, or have already lost, their health insurance, which is often tied directly to an individual’s employer.

“Thirty million workers filed initial unemployment claims between March 15 and April 25. Near-term forecasts suggest the unemployment rate will likely be between 15 to 20 percent by June,” the research, which was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, explained.

Although the analysis noted that some Americans would be able to apply for Medicaid in states that have expanded the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known commonly as Obamacare, while others would purchase other private insurance, it estimated that many would be unable to access coverage. The study went on to project how high the number of uninsured Americans will rise. (Read more from “43 Million Americans in Danger of Losing Health Insurance as a Result of Coronavirus Crisis, Study Shows” HERE)

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American Airlines, Hyatt to Give Free Vacations to Thousands of Health Care Workers

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American Airlines and Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced in a joint statement Friday that they would be giving thousands of free vacations to New York City health care workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

The companies said in the statement that more than 4,000 workers employed at the NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst medical center would be treated to roundtrip vacations to destinations throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean once they can “take time for themselves.”

Hyatt Hotels plans to provide accommodations once they arrive at no cost.

The companies said doctors, nurses, physician assistants, facility workers, and food service teams would be among those who qualify for the trips. (Read more from “American Airlines, Hyatt to Give Free Vacations to Thousands of Health Care Workers” HERE)

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Wuhan Reports First Coronavirus Case in a Month

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The Chinese city of Wuhan has seen its first new case of the novel coronavirus in more than a month as China has also reported a spate of new infections in the northeast, after moving to reopen from months of stringent lockdown. Meanwhile, Germany, which has also taken steps to ease lockdown restrictions, has seen its infection rate rise and South Korea has seen a flare up of new cases in Seoul, causing the mayor to shutter bars and nightclubs.

As several countries around the world have begun taking steps to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions after seeing a significant decline in new infections and deaths, states and municipalities across the U.S. have also begun to reopen slowly. But health experts continue to warn of the risk of new outbreaks and a possible second wave of infections that could potentially once again overwhelm hospitals and clinics.

On Sunday, Chinese officials reported that the northeastern city of Shulan had 11 new confirmed cases of the novel virus after one woman in a family tested positive on May 7. The city has now implemented restrictive measures, including a ban on non-essential travel, closure of schools, and a lockdown of residential compounds.

Additionally, the first new confirmed case of the virus has been reported in Wuhan, where COVID-19 was initially discovered last year. In total, China confirmed 14 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, after more than a week of new daily cases remaining in the single digits. (Read more from “Wuhan Reports First Coronavirus Case in a Month” HERE)

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President Trump: Dems Don’t Want Economy to Recover; Biden Attacks Trump, Blames Him For Coronavirus ‘Economic Disaster’

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By Politico. President Donald Trump said Friday some Democratic leaders hope the American economy will not bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic because they believe a national financial recovery would boost his electoral prospects.

“The people want to come back. You see what’s going on at statehouses all over the country. They want to come back,” Trump said at a White House meeting with congressional Republicans, referring to recent demonstrations in several state capitals against stay-at-home orders.

“I think some people don’t want it really to come back, for political reasons, which is sick,” Trump continued, offering no evidence to support his claim. “But the people — the real people, the people that want this country to be great, and great again — we can say they want to get back.” . . .

“I will tell you, you look at some cases, some people think they’re doing it for politics. Here we go again. But they think they’re doing it because it’ll hurt me, the longer it takes to — hurt me in the election, the longer it takes to open up,” Trump told “Fox & Friends.” (Read more from “President Trump: Dems Don’t Want Economy to Recover” HERE)

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Biden Argues Trump’s Policies Fueled Coronavirus ‘Economic Disaster’

By Fox News. Joe Biden launched a blistering attack at President Trump on Friday, hours after the nation’s jobless rate skyrocketed to levels not seen since the Great Depression nearly a century ago.

And the former vice president charged that the sharp economic downturn — caused by the shuttering of much of the nation’s economy in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic — was deepened “because Donald Trump has spent three years tilting the playing field to the wealthy, and not the middle class.” . . .

He emphasized that the president’s economic agenda has “three unmistakable failings.” Biden said Trump’s main measure of economic progress is the state of the stock market and that the president delayed action on the virus to “protect the Dow Jones average.” He also claimed that that Trump’s strategy is focused on helping wealthy corporations and that the president hasn’t lived up to his promise to fight for the forgotten middle class.

“Donald Trump utterly failed to prepare for this pandemic and delayed in taking the necessary steps to safeguard our nation against the near-worst-case-economic scenario we are now living. COVID-19 caused a massive economic challenge. But this crisis hit us harder, and will last longer, because Donald Trump spent the last three years undermining the core pillars of our economic strength,” Biden argued. (Read more from “Biden Argues Trump’s Policies Fueled Coronavirus ‘Economic Disaster’” HERE)

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Michael Flynn Could Get Security Clearance Back

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Now that the Justice Department is moving to dismiss the criminal case against Michael Flynn, the former Defense Intelligence Agency director may be eligible to recover his access to the nation’s top defense secrets.

Flynn, who headed the DIA from 2012 to 2014 under President Barack Obama, pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the transition to the Trump administration, in which he was briefly national security adviser. But Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, later declared his innocence and argued he was set up by the FBI.

The Justice Department filed to dismiss criminal charges against Flynn on Thursday, leaving it up to a federal judge overseeing the case to make the final determination.

“It’s been our practice to maintain a clearance, continued access, to classified defense information for former directors,” DIA spokesman Jim Kudla told the Washington Examiner. “The DIA maintains a clearance for former directors so that the current director can contact them on pertinent matters if he or she needs to do that.” . . .

“Lt. Gen. Flynn’s access to national security information remains suspended until there is a final resolution in the case,” Kudla said. “Once there’s a final decision, following established processes mandated by applicable federal guidance, we will then adjudicate his continued eligibility for such access.” (Read more from “Michael Flynn Could Get Security Clearance Back” HERE)

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