Mayor Says Hairstylists Not ‘Essential,’ Then Goes to Hairstylist

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The mayor of one of America’s largest cities is coming under fire after she urged people to stay at home instead of going to get their hair styled amid the coronavirus pandemic, and then getting her own hair professionally trimmed to look good on television.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, is defending her fresh “do” this weekend, while barbers and hair stylists in Illinois have been shut down by the state’s “stay-at-home” order.

According to the Chicago Tribune, when Lightfoot was asked about social-media photos showing her with a stylist, she acknowledged the trim, but claimed the public cares more about other issues. . .

A reporter asked her about one of her “stay home, save lives” public service announcements in which Lightfoot warns an off-screen person: “Getting your roots done is not essential.”

The Tribune says Lightfoot became “visibly annoyed” by the question, and responded: “I’m the public face of this city. I’m on national media and I’m out in the public eye. (Read more from “Mayor Says Hairstylists Not ‘Essential,’ Then Goes to Hairstylist” HERE)

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State Tickets 50 Cars Attending Easter Church Service

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As hymns sang out Easter Sunday from a large outdoor speaker overlooking the Maryville Baptist Church parking lot, two Kentucky State troopers placed quarantine notices on parishioners’ cars and wrote down their license numbers.

Inside the church, roughly 50 worshipers ignored Gov. Andy Beshear’s order against mass gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic so they could attend services together on Christianity’s holiest day.

Several said as they left that they had no intention of abiding by the notice on their windshields that called for a 14-day self-quarantine or face the threat of “further enforcement measures.” . . .

Even so, it’s clear that Maryville’s pastor, the Rev. Jack Roberts, has no intention of ending in-person services, despite the deadly pandemic, putting his church among a handful of others across Kentucky that have rebuffed Beshear’s wishes.

Roberts arrived at the church Sunday morning to find several piles of nails dumped at the church entrances to the parking lot. He said he wouldn’t tell his congregation to follow or defy the orders that Beshear announced Friday in his ongoing effort to hold down the spread of COVID-19. (Read more from “State Tickets 50 Cars Attending Easter Church Service” HERE)

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State to Record License Plates of Easter Churchgoers, Enforce Quarantines; Church Members Issued $500 Fines for Parking Lot Service

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By Fox 19. Gov. Andy Beshear introduced a new executive order Friday that anyone who decides to participate in a mass gathering over Easter weekend will be forced to quarantine for 14 days.

The license plates of participants will be recorded and provided to local health departments, Beshear said. The departments will then come to the participant’s door and provide them with a 14-day quarantine order.

The participant will also be notified attending the gathering is misdemeanor violation of the emergency orders issued by the governor and Kentucky Department for Public Health.

“There are some that say, ‘This is my choice, about if I go some place and get the coronavirus,’” he said. “But it is not the next person’s choice you spread it to.”

The governor introduced the order after he announced 11 new deaths due to COVID-19 in Kentucky, bringing the Commonwealth’s total to 90. (Read more from “State to Record License Plates of Easter Churchgoers, Enforce Quarantines” HERE)

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Temple Baptist Church Members Issued $500 Tickets for Parking Lot Service

By Delta Democrat-Times. . .The parking lot of the church was full Wednesday night with members of the church who gathered in parked vehicles to listen to Pastor Arthur Scott’s sermon broadcast on a low-power FM frequency radio. . .

Those social distancing mandates were strengthened with Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves shelter-in-place order on April 3 and further strengthened with Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons’ executive order on Tuesday that all church buildings are to be closed for both in-person and drive-in church services.

The executive order further halted drive-in church meetings and encouraged those churches to use other means to communicate their message.

That’s what the membership of Temple Baptist Church thought they were doing on Wednesday, but Simmons said their meeting in the parking lot of the church is in direct defiance of the executive order. . .

Gordon, who is also a representative for the Washington County Board of Supervisors, was in the parking lot Wednesday night and both he and his wife were issued $500 tickets. (Read more from “Temple Baptist Church Members Issued $500 Tickets for Parking Lot Service” HERE)

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Biden Accuser Files Criminal Complaint Over Sex Assault Allegation

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A woman who accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her when she worked for him in 1993 has filed a formal criminal complaint with the Washington, DC, police about the alleged incident, Business Insider has learned.

Tara Reade says she told police that Biden assaulted her in a Senate corridor, shoving his hand under her skirt and penetrating her with his fingers. She was a staffer in his Senate office at the time. The statute of limitations for the alleged assault has passed. . .

Late Thursday afternoon, Reade filed a report of the incident with the sexual assault unit of the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department. Business Insider has obtained a public incident report recording the allegation. (Read more from “Biden Accuser Files Criminal Complaint Over Sex Assault Allegation” HERE)

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Bill Gates: This Is How Long It May Take Before Americans ‘Can Be Completely Safe’ From COVID-19

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It might not be until fall 2021 that Americans “can be completely safe” from COVID-19, Bill Gates said in a Tuesday interview with Judy Woodruff on PBS Newshour.

That’s because it will take more than a year before a vaccine can be developed and deployed, according to researchers working to develop a treatment for COVID-19.

“The vaccine is critical, because, until you have that, things aren’t really going to be normal,” the billionaire philanthropist told Woodruff. “They can open up to some degree, but the risk of a rebound will be there until we have very broad vaccination.”

Social distancing is helping to lower the number of COVID-19 cases. The goal, Gates explained, is to get that number down to a point where “contact tracing” (a process in which those within close contact with an infected person are closely monitored) can be done, in order to maintain necessary quarantines.

To understand what life in the U.S. will look like six to 12 months from now, Gates suggested China as a good model. “They are sending people back to work, but they’re wearing masks. They’re checking temperatures. They’re not doing large sporting events. And so they have been able to avoid a large rebound,” he said. (Read more from “Bill Gates: This Is How Long It May Take Before Americans ‘Can Be Completely Safe’ From COVID-19” HERE)

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Fake Cops Are Stopping Drivers for Violating Stay-At-Home Orders

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Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams shakes his head in confusion: Somewhere out in his county, a guy with flashing lights on his Dodge Charger has been stopping drivers and warning them they’re violating coronavirus-related travel restrictions.

Whoever is stopping the cars isn’t one of Ream’s deputies. Instead, the police impersonator is himself breaking the law and putting himself at extreme risk, because traffic stops are among the most dangerous things most law enforcement officers do. The stops happened several times in March. . .

Reams is not alone. Authorities have reported police impersonators making coronavirus-related stops in Georgia and California, among others. While there are always some people, almost always men, who like to pretend they’re cops, the coronavirus outbreak seems to have emboldened an unusual number of them, particularly in Northern Colorado. . .

And he isn’t the only one. An apparently different group of imposters conducted an even more elaborate checkpoint in Greeley, the capital city of Weld County, around the same time, funneling drivers into a corral where men with unmarked black uniforms and dash-mounted flashing lights questioned them about violating travel restrictions, police said. Like other states, Colorado’s stay-at-home order permits essential travel, including trips to work. . .

In Georgia’s Dawson and Hall counties, a man driving a dark sedan with flashing blue lights in its windshield area stopped several drivers late last month to “enforce a curfew,” the Dawson County Sheriff’s office said. In California, authorities are investigating a man they say pretended to be a cop and falsely said on Facebook that officers from El Centro, a small city near the U.S.-Mexico border, were enforcing a quarantine against three families. (Read more from “Fake Cops Are Stopping Drivers for Violating Stay-At-Home Orders” HERE)

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Man Comes Home Upset About Not Qualifying for COVID-19 Stimulus Check. After Wife Wouldn’t Give Him Car Keys to Buy More Beer, He Allegedly Tries to Set Her on Fire.

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Joe Macias’ disabled wife told police he arrived home around 5 p.m. last Wednesday with a four-pack of beer and “upset because he did not qualify for the [COVID-19] stimulus check,” the Albuquerque Journal reported. . .

After Macias finished the beer, the 63-year-old asked for his wife’s car keys so he could buy more — but when she refused, he yelled “you’re going to pay the consequences” and stormed out of their mobile home, the paper said, citing a criminal complaint filed in metropolitan court.

His wife said he came back a few hours later with a gas can and pushed her to the floor, the paper said. She told police she was unable to get up, and Macias threw gasoline on her and all over their home, the Journal added.

But when Macias pulled out a cigarette and attempted to light it several times, he couldn’t because the lighter had gasoline on it, the paper said. (Read more from “Man Comes Home Upset About Not Qualifying for COVID-19 Stimulus Check. After Wife Wouldn’t Give Him Car Keys to Buy More Beer, He Allegedly Tries to Set Her on Fire.” HERE)

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Largest County in the U.S. Threatens Churchgoers With $1,000 Fine and 90 Days in Jail

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By The Blaze. San Bernardino County, the largest county in the United States, drastically increased public restrictions over the coronavirus pandemic in an order issued on Tuesday.

The order prohibited public church and other faith-based services, banned “driving parades” that have become popular online, and threatened violators with a $1,000 fine and possible jail time.

The order also formally commanded residents to wear face coverings in public areas.

“In an effort to protect the public from further spread of COVID-19, the County’s Acting Health Officer has formally ordered everyone in San Bernardino County to wear a face covering when leaving home,” the statement read.

The order recommended that families have their own Easter egg hunts at home. (Read more from “Largest County in the U.S. Threatens Churchgoers With $1,000 Fine and 90 Days in Jail” HERE)

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Coronavirus: These U.S. States Refuse to Issue Stay-At-Home Orders

By Al Jazeera. Even as most Americans are under orders from their governor to stay at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, leaders in a handful of states have steadfastly refused to take that action, arguing it is unneeded and could be harmful.

Nine governors have refused to issue statewide mandates that people stay at home, but local leaders have taken action in some of those states. North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Arkansas are the only states where no one is under a stay-at-home order.

The lack of action from those governors – even as they take other steps such as closing schools and limiting the size of gatherings – has frustrated health experts and left some residents puzzled.

“If social distancing manoeuvres are going to work, they’re most likely going to work if you do them early,” said Arthur L Reingold, a professor and infectious disease expert at the University of California-Berkeley. “The longer you wait, the harder it is for them to have a substantial impact on transmission of the virus.”

That also has been the message of Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who has said all states should have statewide orders that people remain at home. (Read more from “Coronavirus: These U.S. States Refuse to Issue Stay-At-Home Orders” HERE)

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Joe Biden and His Wife Omit Hunter Biden’s Love Child From List of Grandchildren (VIDEO)

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Former Vice President (and presumptive Democratic nominee) Joe Biden seems confused about the number of grandchildren he has. Last week, he told Jimmy Fallon he has five. On Sunday night, his wife Jill Biden said they have six. In reality, the Bidens have seven grandchildren, at least biologically. The former veep appeared to miss the memo after his youngest son Hunter Biden welcomed a child into the world late last month, but it appears both Uncle Joe and his wife Jill are deliberately excluding another child from the list.

Last Wednesday, the presumptive Democratic nominee appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. He told the host, “I have five grandchildren. Every single day I either talk to them or we text. I’ve got family scattered around like I suspect everybody does.”

The proud grandpa apparently forgot Hunter Biden’s new baby boy, born over the previous weekend, The Washington Examiner reported. . .

In May 2019, Hunter Biden, 49, married Melissa Cohen, 33, in a surprise wedding — six days after meeting her. Cohen gave birth to a son in late March. Joe Biden has not acknowledged the birth, nor did he attend the couple’s wedding, although he did thank Cohen for “giving my son the courage to love again.”

Joe Biden’s statement to Jimmy Fallon and Jill Biden’s “correction” raise a host of questions. Did Joe Biden deliberately omit the newborn from his list of grandchildren? Did he forget a child born just days previously? Do he and his wife deny the existence of Hunter Biden’s love child because his or her existence is politically inconvenient? (Read more from “Joe Biden and His Wife Omit Hunter Biden’s Love Child From List of Grandchildren” HERE)

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Judges Order Ankle Monitors for People Exposed to Coronavirus — Even If They Have Not Tested Positive; Church Holds Services, Defying Stay-At-Home Order

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By The Blaze. . .There are ongoing threats of fines and jail time for those who would dare leave their homes for non-pre-approved reasons. Everybody from pro-life protesters to paddleboarders to pastors have seen what happens when you violate commands to isolate.

And now judges have ordered at least four people in Louisville, Kentucky, to wear ankle bracelets for repeatedly refusing to isolate themselves after being in contact with coronavirus patients, CNN reported.

Two of the people fitted with the monitors have not tested positive for coronavirus. . .

In a case reported by CNN, a Louisville resident identified only as “D.L.” lives with “someone who has tested positive for the illness and another person who is a presumptive case.” D.L. — who has not tested positive for the virus — has repeatedly refused to stay home as ordered. According to family members, D.L. “leaves the house often,” CNN said.

Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Angela Bisig ordered that D.L. be fitted with the GPS device for 14 days. If the person leaves the home again, he or she faces possible criminal charges, according to CNN. (Read more from “Judges Order Ankle Monitors for People Exposed to Coronavirus — Even If They Have Not Tested Positive” HERE)

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Church Holds Services, Defying Coronavirus Stay-At-Home Order

By Reuters. The pastor of the Life Tabernacle Church near Baton Rouge held services on Sunday in defiance of a stay-at-home order issued by Louisiana because of the coronavirus pandemic, telling worshippers they had “nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Pastor Tony Spell, who was arrested last week for holding services, summoned his faithful again, three weeks after the state’s governor, John Bel Edwards, banned gatherings of 10 people or more.

Hundreds of worshippers, about half of them black and half white, converged on the church, many arriving in 26 buses sent to pick them up. Everyone but immediate family members kept a social distance of at least six feet, a lawyer for the pastor said.

“They would rather come to church and worship like free people than live like prisoners in their homes,” Spell told reporters. (Read more from “Church Holds Services, Defying Coronavirus Stay-At-Home Order” HERE)

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