Researchers: New UV Technology ‘Safe for Humans,’ Potentially Lethal for Coronavirus; Top Scientist Says Heat Slows Virus

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By Breitbart. A Columbia University researcher this week said new ultraviolet technology he helped develop is a “game changer” that has shown promise for killing the novel coronavirus in indoor places without harming human skin.

The findings echo other studies that found UV technology could potentially sterilize the novel coronavirus on surfaces and the air. This week, the media and their Democrat allies lambasted U.S. President Donald Trump for suggesting that health officials could use UV light to treat coronavirus.

David Brenner, a professor of radiation biophysics and director of Columbia University’s Center for Radiological Research, helped develop technology that uses lamps to emit a wavelength of ultraviolet light known as far-UVC the could be lethal to the novel coronavirus. . .

“Far-UVC light has the potential to be a ‘game-changer,’” Brenner said, Columbia News reported on Tuesday. “It can be safely used in occupied public spaces, and it kills pathogens in the air before we can breathe them in.” (Read more from “Researchers: New UV Technology ‘Safe for Humans,’ Potentially Lethal for Coronavirus” HERE)

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Top DHS Scientists Says Heat, Humidity Slow Coronavirus

By New York Post. A top scientist from the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that preliminary research shows that the coronavirus dies out more quickly in hot, humid weather than in colder, drier conditions.

“Increasing the temperature and humidity … is generally less favorable to the virus,” said William Bryan, head of science and technology at DHS, said during the daily Coronavirus Task Force daily briefing at the White House.

Bryan said the preliminary study showed that the half life of the virus was lower at higher temperatures and humidity than in colder weather.

“If you look as the temperature increases, as the humidity increases, no sun involved, you can see how drastically the half-life goes down on the virus. So it’s dying in a much more rapid pace [with] just exposure to higher temperatures and to humidity,” Bryan continued. (Read more from “Top DHS Scientist Says Heat, Humidity Slow Coronavirus” HERE)

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U.S. Considers Redirecting WHO Funds to Faith-Based, Independent Organizations

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The United States is looking for alternate partners to carry out health programs previously supported through the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze funding to the United Nations agency, American officials indicated this week.

Trump administration officials are conducting a 60-to-90 day review of the Beijing-influenced W.H.O.’s response to the novel coronavirus illness (COVID-19) ravaging the world.

Echoing other U.S. officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeatedly accused the W.H.O. of helping China hide the severity of the novel coronavirus illness during its early stages, a move that slowed the world’s response and allowed the disease to spiral out of control. . .

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who also briefed reporters, announced an additional $270 million in American taxpayer-funded aid for the international coronavirus response, bringing the total amount of U.S. assistance to $775 million spread over 100 countries worldwide.

“For more than half a century, the United States has been the largest contributor to global health security. We have built the foundations upon which the global health system is based,” Richardson noted. (Read more from “U.S. Considers Redirecting WHO Funds to Faith-Based, Independent Organizations” HERE)

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Christopher Steele Says Documents Regarding ‘Source’ for Dossier Gone

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Christopher Steele told a British court last month that he no longer has documents and other information from his meetings with the main source for his Trump dossier, suggesting that the former British spy has no way of backing up his side in a dispute with the Justice Department’s inspector general (IG), according to a deposition transcript obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Steele also told the court that his communications regarding the dossier, including with Fusion GPS, were “wiped” in December 2016 and January 2017, the transcript shows.

The former MI6 officer made the disclosures during a March 17-18 deposition in a defamation case related to the dossier. The DCNF obtained a transcript of the deposition. . .

Steele’s statement was a response to an IG report released the day before that said that Steele’s source — dubbed the “Primary Sub-Source” — told the FBI in January 2017 that Steele misrepresented or embellished information in the dossier.

That bombshell severely undermined Steele’s report, which the FBI used as part of its investigation into the Trump campaign. (Read more from “Christopher Steele Says Documents Regarding ‘Source’ for Dossier Gone” HERE)

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Study: Nearly All NYC Coronavirus Patients Had Underlying Health Conditions; NYC Struggles With Growing Homeless Population Amid Crisis

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By Disrn. Nearly all the patients hospitalized for the coronavirus in New York City had underlying health conditions, according to a new study.

Health records showed that 94% of the 5,700 patients in the Northwell Health system — which has had the most patients in the country during the pandemic — had at least one disease other than COVID-19, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. 88% had more than one ailment on top of coronavirus. . .

Hypertension was the most common ailment, affecting 53% of coronavirus patients. Another 42% of patients who had a body mass index on file were obese and 32% of all patients had diabetes. (Read more from “Study: Nearly All NYC Coronavirus Patients Had Underlying Health Conditions” HERE)

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NYC Struggles With Growing Homeless Population Amid Coronavirus Crisis

By Fox News. As the nation obeys orders to stay home amid the coronavirus crisis, it’s an impossible feat for the country’s homeless population. In New York City, more than 78,000 people, including children, are homeless.

“You have doctors and health professionals saying to stay home. You can’t do that. You can’t protect yourself,” said Giselle Routhier, the Coalition for the Homeless policy director. The New York City Department of Homeless Services is tracking more than 650 COVID-19 cases with 51 deaths so far.

To slow the spread, the city will move people into hotels starting with at-risk seniors and single adults to improve social distancing.

“We have had Bowery Mission Guests who have been in our setting, become ill, gone to the hospital and now gone into a hotel. Now we actually have direct access to the hotel rooms this week for the first time, which will help keep our space safe and healthy,” said James Winans, the Bowery Mission’s interim CEO.

The city is reportedly working to make 2,500 rooms available but organizations like #HomelessCantStayHome say it’s not enough. As many New Yorkers steer clear of the subway, the homeless are not. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) says the city should handle the growing number of people living in the cars during the pandemic. (Read more from “NYC Struggles With Growing Homeless Population Amid Coronavirus Crisis” HERE)

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Pandemic Stretches Trump Image as Gutsy Decision-Maker to the Breaking Point

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By Washington Examiner. President Trump awoke Thursday morning to newspapers in Georgia reporting he had thrown plans for reopening its economy into “disarray,” as his efforts to balance getting the coronavirus under control with the need to get people back to work begin to raise questions about his decisiveness.

Trump has sought to cultivate an image as a confident, strong leader. Georgia is a state he carried in 2016 and hopes to win again in November. His presidential campaign four years ago was premised on his managerial prowess. As he deals with the biggest crisis of his presidency, supporters and critics alike are wondering whether he will follow his gut, which seems inclined to get an economy halted by widespread lockdowns moving again, or the advice of medical experts who counsel continued social distancing as the only way to curb the spread of the coronavirus. . .

These competing instincts came into focus as Trump disavowed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s efforts to reopen the state’s businesses. “I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree — strongly — with his decision to open certain facilities,” Trump said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing. “It’s just too soon. I think it’s too soon.”

But he also conveyed a sense of indecision: “I want him to do what he thinks is right,” Trump said of Kemp Wednesday. “But I disagree with him on what he’s doing.” . . .

The confusion was heightened by reports that Trump had initially held a supportive phone call with Kemp about his plans, and that experts on the federal coronavirus task force, led by Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci, changed his mind (White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied this Thursday night). Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican ally of the president, has also expressed concern that Georgia was moving too fast and tweeted in support of the White House. Trump emphasized that Kemp’s actions “are in violation of the phase one guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia.” (Read more from “Pandemic Stretches Trump Image as Gutsy Decision-Maker to the Breaking Point” HERE)

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Trump, Officials Suggest Coronavirus Is Weakened by Sunlight and Humidity

By Fox News. President Trump and public health officials argued on Thursday that higher temperatures and humidity, as well as direct exposure to sunlight, quickly kills the coronavirus, leading to hopes that the threat of the contagion could drastically recede during the summer months.

Bill Bryan, the head of the science and technology directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, said that solar light along with high temperatures and humidity have a “powerful effect” of creating environments less favorable for the virus to survive.

A chart released by during the White House coronavirus task force by the DHS showed that the novel coronavirus dies within two minutes in hot summer humidity while on surfaces and a minute and a half while in the air.

“Coronavirus dies at a much more rapid pace when exposed to sunlight and humidity,” Bryan said during the White House briefing. “The virus dies the quickest in direct sunlight. Isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds.”

Bryan, however, warned that the results from a DHS study were still in the nascent stages and cautioned Americans to continue practicing social distancing and other hygiene measures outlined by the federal government. (Read more from “Trump, Officials Suggest Coronavirus Is Weakened by Sunlight and Humidity” HERE)

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Supreme Court Rules Green Card Holding Immigrant Subject to Deportation

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The Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision against a permanent immigrant resident subject to deportation for multiple crimes.

In a 5-4 decision split along ideological lines on Thursday, the high court issued a ruling to broaden the scope of crimes that make immigrants, including green card holders, ineligible to have their deportation orders canceled.

The case, Barton v. Barr, involved the U.S. government ordering Jamaican immigrant Andre Martello Barton to be deported in 2016 for multiple crimes in Georgia, including firearms violations, drug crimes, and aggravated assault offenses. Barton, a permanent resident who holds a green card, applied for a cancellation of removal, which the attorney general is authorized to grant under U.S. law so long as an immigrant meets certain eligibility requirements.

One such requirement demands that immigrants reside within the United States for at least seven years after being granted any form of legal status. However, the residency requirement is subject to “stop-time rule,” which halts time accrued within the country should an immigrant commit a crime, making them “inadmissible.” The law was part of the immigration package signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. At the time, Clinton lauded the package as legislation that “strengthens the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and in the criminal justice system — without punishing those living in the United States legally.” . . .

“Removal is particularly difficult when it involves someone such as Barton who has spent most of his life in the United States,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the court’s majority opinion. “Congress made a choice, however, to authorize removal of noncitizens — even lawful permanent residents — who have committed certain serious crimes … the immigration laws enacted by Congress do not allow cancellation of removal when a lawful permanent resident has amassed a criminal record of this kind.” (Read more from “Supreme Court Rules Green Card Holding Immigrant Subject to Deportation” HERE)

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Bernie Sanders’ Press Secretary Hints That Biden May Be Replaced as the Nominee

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Briahna Joy Gray has spent the past year waging war on behalf of Bernie Sanders—and now she’s shifted her focus to attacking Joe Biden. At a moment when Democrats are calling for unity around the former vice president, Gray is an outlier, someone her critics accuse of inadvertently aiding Donald Trump now that Sanders is out of the Democratic-primary race. . .

Gray: The Democratic Party would like us to believe that’s the case, and they behaved that way even before Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race. But we are, in fact, still in a Democratic-primary season. Biden is only the presumptive nominee. . .

And there’s all kinds of whispers and rumors about whether or not something might happen at the convention, which might mean Joe Biden isn’t even the nominee.

Green: Are you talking about the Tara Reade allegations?

[Emma] Gray: There’s a lot of reasons why Democrats might want to substitute a different person for Joe Biden as the nominee. The Tara Reade allegation has been handled abysmally by the press. If anyone looks at this closely, then they will see reason for concern.

(Read more from “Bernie Sanders’ Press Secretary Hints That Biden May Be Replaced as the Nominee” HERE)

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Dems Plan Censure of Lawmaker for Praising President Trump

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A Democratic Michigan state lawmaker who credited President Donald Trump with saving her life because he promoted a treatment for COVID-19 is now facing censure from her own party for praising the president and criticizing the state’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer. . .

When State Rep. Karen Whitsett (D) began suffering from scary symptoms like shortness of breath after falling ill with the coronavirus, she asked her doctor to prescribe hydroxychloroquine because she saw President Trump tout the drug as a possible treatment. Whitsett says it saved her life.

The Detroit Democrat even went to the White House to meet with the president and to personally thank him. She told President Trump that were it not for him talking about the drug to the American people, “I wouldn’t be here today.”

Yet, the Democrats aren’t just angry that Whitsett praised President Trump. She also dared to criticize Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying the governor’s widely-criticized stay-at-home orders hurt the poor who cannot afford to stock up on groceries on a weekly basis in accordance with Whitmer’s dictates.

(Read more from “Dems Plan Censure of Lawmaker for Praising President Trump” HERE)

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Pelosi: Next Stimulus Will ‘Enable the American People to Vote by Mail’; Pelosi Accuses McConnell, GOP of Holding up Coronavirus Funds

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By Breitbart. Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said a “chunk of money” will be designated in the next coronavirus stimulus bill to enable the American people to vote by mail. . .

She added, “No matter what the president says, it cannot be denied. But it takes us to the next step. They have also told us 24/7 the Russians are still at work trying to undermine our election. That is why we have to have an important chunk of money in this next bill that will enable us to protect the integrity of our elections, as well as enable the American people to vote by mail, especially at this time of a health danger in going to the polls.”

She concluded, “This is the lifeblood of our democracy, the vote. So here we are trying to protect the lives of American people, the livelihoods of the American people, and also the life of our democracy. That is what we are going to do in the next bill as well.” (Read more from “Pelosi: Next Stimulus Will ‘Enable the American People to Vote by Mail’” HERE)

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Pelosi Accuses McConnell, GOP of Holding up Coronavirus Funds

By Fox News. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back hard against ongoing criticism from Republicans that she was responsible for the Paycheck Protection Program running out of money and for holding up legislation to replenish the popular small business loan program.

“I want to correct that record,” Pelosi said Thursday on the House floor, “because nothing could be further from the truth.”

“To say we delayed this, no, you delayed this,” Pelosi said, directing her ire at the Republicans and singling out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Pelosi spoke on the House floor before a vote on a bipartisan $484 billion package to replenish the small business loan program that ran dry last week and to direct $100 billion for hospitals and testing. The relief package passed the Senate Tuesday by a voice vote.

Pelosi took aim at McConnell, R-Ky., for initially blocking money for hospitals that Democrats wanted and for recently saying he’ll resist additional funding for state and local governments whose tax coffers are running dry during the pandemic. (Read more from “Pelosi Accuses Mcconnell, GOP of Holding up Coronavirus Funds” HERE)

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Top General: Russia Is Testing U.S. Military for Weaknesses Amid Pandemic

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Russia is testing whether the U.S. military has developed any weaknesses during the novel coronavirus crisis, a top general said, noting three run-ins with that country’s planes over a two-month period.

“We just want to make it very clear to them … there are no vulnerabilities as a result of COVID-19,” Air Force Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, head of U.S. Northern Command, told reporters Tuesday. “We are postured and maintain that ability to respond at a moment’s notice.” . . .

Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets intercepted two Russian maritime patrol planes earlier this month approximately 50 miles from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. About a month earlier, a pair of Russian reconnaissance aircraft were intercepted by U.S. and Canadian jets 50 miles from the state’s coast over the Beaufort Sea.

That was the second time in days Russian aircraft were spotted in the region. A Russian plane also flew within 25 feet of a Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft last week. The aircraft was flying inverted at high speed, putting the Navy crew at risk, officials said.

O’Shaughnessy said Russia is likely to continue testing the U.S. — including near the homeland. (Read more from “Top General: Russia Is Testing U.S. Military for Weaknesses Amid Pandemic” HERE)

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