LARGEST IN HISTORY: President, Congress Agree on $2 Trillion Coronavirus Emergency Relief Bill

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By Breitbart. President Donald Trump and Congress reached a deal on the terms for a $2 trillion emergency relief bill to address the economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, early in the morning on Wednesday.

Politico reported:

Lawmakers and the Trump administration reached an agreement on a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus emergency rescue package, a move intended to assist businesses and millions of Americans amid an unprecedented halt in the economy.

The announcement caps five days of tense negotiations between senators and the White House. Both the Senate and House still need to approve the bill before sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

The president had sounded an optimistic tone in his briefing for reporters at the White House on Tuesday evening, though Republicans had been scathing in their criticism of Democrats for blocking Senate passage of a relief bill that had been agreed to by the two parties on Sunday. (Read more from “President Trump, Congress Agree on $2 Trillion Coronavirus Emergency Relief Bill” HERE)

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White House and Senate Reach Deal on $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package

By Axios. The White House and Republican and Democratic Senate leaders struck a bipartisan deal early Wednesday over a $2 trillion stimulus package designed to ease the economic impact of the novel coronavirus, per AP.

Details: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted soon after the deal was reached, “At last, we have a deal. After days of intense discussions, the Senate has reached a bipartisan agreement on a historic relief package for this pandemic. We’re going to pass this legislation later today.”

White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland, told reporters just before 1 a.m. a deal had been reached but the bill’s text had yet to be completed, the New York Times reports.

“We have either, clear, explicit legislative text reflecting all parties or we know exactly where we’re going to land on legislative text as we continue to finish,” he added.

. . .Per Axios’ Alayna Treene, the emergency legislation will deliver desperately needed aid to American families, small businesses and corporations hit hardest by the virus. (Read more from “White House and Senate Reach Deal on $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package” HERE)
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What’s in the Emergency Relief Bill?

The stimulus bill — by far the largest ever proposed — comes with a price tag equivalent to 9% of the nation’s gross domestic product and is meant to provide direct financial aid to help individuals, hospitals and businesses. It includes $300 billion for small businesses, $150 billion for local and state governments and $130 billion for hospitals, according to those involved in the negotiations. . .

The amounts of the one-time payments, which officials hope could go out to Americans as soon as early April, will be based on income reported in 2018 taxes, declining gradually beginning with individuals who made $75,000 or married couples filed jointly who made $150,000. Individuals making $99,000 or above or married couples making $198,000 or more would receive no check. People would also receive an additional $500 per child.

Schumer said negotiators agreed to put “unemployment insurance on steroids” by expanding those covered to include people who are furloughed, gig workers and freelancers, and by increasing the payments by $600 dollars per week for four months on top of what states provide as a base unemployment compensation. (Read more about the emergency relief bill HERE)

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Doctor: I Treated 350 Coronavirus Patients With 100% Success (VIDEO); Cuba Uses ‘Wonder Drug’ to Fight Coronavirus Around World Despite U.S. Sanctions; New York Hospitals Treating Coronavirus Patients With Vitamin C

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By WND. A physician in New York state claims he has used the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and zinc to treat 350 patients for COVID-19 with 100 percent success.

In a video posted on YouTube, Dr. Vladimir Zelenko said he saw the symptom of shortness of breath resolved within four to six hours, the Gateway Pundit blog reported.

Zelenko, addressing his message to President Trump, said he’s a board-certified family practioner in the community of Kiryas Joel in Orange County, New York, in the Hudson Valley, about 50 miles north of New York City.

“I’m seeing a tremendous outbreak in this community,” he said. “My estimate is more than 60% currently have the infection.

“That’s based on the percentage of the tests that I’m getting back already,” Zelenko explained. “That’s probably around 20,000 people, probably more.” (Read more from “Doctor: I Treated 350 Coronavirus Patients With 100% Success (VIDEO)” HERE)

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Cuba Uses ‘Wonder Drug’ to Fight Coronavirus Around World Despite U.S. Sanctions

By Newsweek. Cuba has mobilized its medical corps around the world to distribute a new “wonder drug” that officials there say is capable of treating the new coronavirus despite the United States’ strict sanctions that continue to pressure the communist-run island.

The drug, called Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant (IFNrec), is jointly developed by scientists from Cuba and China, where the coronavirus COVID-19 disease outbreak first emerged late last year. Already active in China since January, the Cuban Medical Brigades began deploying to dozens of nations, providing personnel and products such as its new anti-viral drug to battle the disease that has exceeded 400,000 confirmed cases across the globe. As of Tuesday, over 100,000 people have recovered from the infection and more than 18,000 have died.

Cuba first used advanced interferon techniques to treat dengue fever in the 1980s and later found success in using it to combat HIV, human papillomavirus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and other diseases. The use of Interferon Alpha-2B Recombinant “prevents aggravation and complications in patients reaching that stage that ultimately can result in death,” Cuban biotech expert Luis Herrera Martinez said, according to a recent Yale University Press Blog feature written by the University of Glasgow’s Helen Yaffe. She called the treatment a potential “wonder drug” against the new coronavirus. (Read more from “Cuba Uses ‘Wonder Drug’ to Fight Coronavirus Around World Despite U.S. Sanctions” HERE)

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New York Hospitals Treating Coronavirus Patients With Vitamin C

By New York Post. Seriously sick coronavirus patients in New York state’s largest hospital system are being given massive doses of vitamin C — based on promising reports that it’s helped people in hard-hit China, The Post has learned.

Dr. Andrew G. Weber, a pulmonologist and critical-care specialist affiliated with two Northwell Health facilities on Long Island, said his intensive-care patients with the coronavirus immediately receive 1,500 milligrams of intravenous vitamin C.

Identical amounts of the powerful antioxidant are then re-administered three or four times a day, he said.

Each dose is more than 16 times the National Institutes of Health’s daily recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C, which is just 90 milligrams for adult men and 75 milligrams for adult women.

The regimen is based on experimental treatments administered to people with the coronavirus in Shanghai, China, Weber said. (Read more from “New York Hospitals Treating Coronavirus Patients With Vitamin C” HERE)

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President Trump Announces a General Timeframe for Re-Opening American Businesses; Health Officials Want Trump to ‘Double Down, Not Lighten up’ Restrictions

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By Townhall. Speaking from the White House Monday evening, President Donald Trump announced America will be “open for business very soon” as the country continues to battle the Wuhan coronavirus.

“America will again and soon be open for business. Very soon, a lot sooner than three or four months as someone was suggesting. We’re not going to let the cure be worse than the problem itself. We’re not going to let the cure be worse than the problem,” Trump said. “This was a medical problem, we are not going to let it turn into a long lasting financial problem.” . . .

The tension between medical decisions and a cratering economy are increasing by the day as millions lose their jobs. President Trump urged Americans to continue the 15-day “stop the spread” plan, which includes social distancing and hygiene efforts.

“I want Americans to know that we will get through this challenge. The hardship will end, it will end soon, normal life will return and our economy will rebound very very strongly but right now in the midst of this great national trial, Americans must remain united in purpose and focused on victory,” Trump said. “To every single American please know that the sacrifice you are making at this time is saving lives.” (Read more from “President Trump Announces a General Timeframe for Re-Opening American Businesses” HERE)

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Health Officials Want Trump to ‘Double Down, Not Lighten up’ Restrictions

By Politico. Rattled health officials are trying to fight off ascendant voices around Donald Trump pressing the president to restart the economy as soon as Monday to stem severe business and job losses.

The prospect of resuming typical business so soon has horrified these public health leaders, who see the debate as premature amid a crisis that the administration is just beginning to wrangle, according to eight people with knowledge of the administration’s discussions about its coronavirus guidelines.

Health experts are contending the fallout will be worse if the White House declares victory now, only to have the virus resurface weeks or months from now. The government, they argue, has yet to definitively answer key questions that would dictate how to reactivate the economy: Do those who recover from coronavirus become immune? How do underlying health conditions affect the severity of the virus? And, most important, how widely has it spread?

Others have stressed the political risks facing Trump and his reelection campaign if the outbreak worsens significantly, warning that it would be catastrophic if the virus made a comeback closer to the November election — especially after Trump declared himself a “wartime” president and assured the public that his administration was in control. (Read more from “Health Officials Want Trump to ‘Double Down, Not Lighten up’ Restrictions” HERE)

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When the Hunter Gets Hunted: Video of Fight Between Mongoose and Cobra Has Netizens Hooked

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While many would dither in fighting a venomous cobra, the mongoose is not one of them. In fact, mongooses are known to be fearless slayers of snakes, especially cobras and now a video has now gone viral on social media showing an encounter between them. In the video, a mongoose can be seen approaching a cobra in an attempt to devour the reptile.

The 1.02-minute clip was tweeted by Indian Forest Officer Susanta Nanda along with a caption that read, “Animals trying to kill a snake is akin to suicide, but mongoose has tricks of their own. Residing for millions of years alongside them, they have adopted to its venom. Agility, thick coats and glycoprotein production makes it immune to venom. Thick jaws bring cobra down in seconds.”

(Read more from “When the Hunter Gets Hunted: Video of Fight Between Mongoose and Cobra Has Netizens Hooked” HERE)

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Trump Says He’s Activated National Guard In Numerous States; U.S. Coronavirus Cases Top 32,000, Worldwide 340K; Rand Paul, Weinstein Positive; Romney in Isolation

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By NBC News. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he would activate the National Guard to assist Washington, California and New York, three of the states hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

Those three states have been approved for major disaster declarations as of Sunday night. That status allows the federal government to provide supplies more seamlessly, he said.

Trump said large quantities of masks, respirators, gowns, face shields and other items are due to arrive in the three states within days. He added that he has ordered the government to set up large federal medical stations in each of the states.

Of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Trump said, “The relationship has really been amazing,” adding that he believes the federal government should serve as “sort of a backup for the states.” . . .

States like New York and California have already activated their states’ National Guards. (Read more from “Trump Says He’s Activated National Guard In Numerous States” HERE)

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Trump Orders National Guard Into Federalized Status in Three States; They Keep Control, Federal Government Foots Bill as COVID-19 Cases Rise

By Military Times. As the number of coronavirus cases increases in the U.S., President Donald Trump Sunday night ordered National Guard troops in three states to operate under a status that allows them to be managed by state governors, but be paid by the federal government. . .

More states are expected to seek Title 32 status as the need arises, Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters Sunday night. . .

Speaking to reporters via a telephone conference, Lengyel again tamped down rumors that the Guard troops will be used to enforce martial law.

“There is no truth to this rumor that people are conspiring, that governors are planning, that anyone is conspiring to use the National Guard, mobilized or not, Title 32 or state, to do military action to enforce shelter in place or quarantines.”

The move is important, said Lengyel, because “governors and adjutant generals know the best use of what’s needed in their states,. This will help with unity of effort and speed of responses.” (Read more from “Trump Orders National Guard Into Federalized Status in Three States; They Keep Control, Federal Government Foots Bill as COVID-19 Cases Rise” HERE)

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U.S. Cases Top 32,000 as New York Governor Estimates 40% to 80% of State Will Get Coronavirus

By CNN. At least 400 people have died due to the novel coronavirus in the United States, another grim milestone as the number of US cases topped 32,000 on Sunday.

Almost half of those cases — 15,168 — were in New York state, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday morning that an estimated 40% to 80% of residents could get the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic.

“All we’re trying to do is slow the spread, but it will spread. It is that contagious,” he said, adding most people will overcome the illness unless they’re older or have an underlying condition. (Read more from “U.S. Cases Top 32,000 as New York Governor Estimates 40% to 80% of State Will Get Coronavirus” HERE)

Here are the numbers, worldwide, as of March 22, 2020, at 3:30 a.m. EST:

Read more:

Rand Paul Tests Positive, Romney in Isolation

Weinstein Tests Positive in Prison

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China Targeting U.S. Navy Warships With Electromagnetic Weapons

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China has called for using electromagnetic attacks on U.S. warships transiting the South China Sea, according to a state-run Chinese outlet.

The Communist Party-affiliated organ Global Times, quoting a military expert, said the use of nonlethal electromagnetic and laser weapons should be used by the People’s Liberation Army to expel American warships from the disputed sea.

The report followed China’s potentially dangerous use of a laser against a Navy P-8A maritime patrol aircraft near Guam last month, and an earlier lasing two years ago of C-130 aircraft near China’s military base in Djibouti on the coast of Africa.

The article was published Tuesday, the same day the Pacific Fleet announced on Twitter that the aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and the USS America, an amphibious assault carrier and leader of an expeditionary strike group, were conducting exercises in the South China Sea.

The training exercise for both strike groups included flight maneuvers, air defense tests and surface-support mission exercises, the fleet said in a report on the exercises. At one point, Marines carried out a simulated visit, board, search and seizure exercise on the guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, according to the report. (Read more from “China Targeting U.S. Navy Warships With Electromagnetic Weapons” HERE)

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Nancy Pelosi’s Daughter Just Endorsed Felony Assault Against Rand Paul

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Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., started the week by cynically blowing up a bipartisan compromise to deliver economic relief to millions of Americans whose livelihoods have been destroyed by mandated government pandemic shutdowns. And then her daughter added insult to injury by explicit endorsing violent felony assault against Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

“Rand Paul’s neighbor was right,” Pelosi’s daughter Christine tweeted.

Pelosi was responding to a Washington Post congressional reporter writing on Twitter that Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney’s biggest concern about the Wuhan virus is contracting it and giving it to his wife who has Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Romney announced on Sunday he and fellow Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee would be self-isolating after being exposed to Paul who tested positive for the virus. (Read more from “Nancy Pelosi’s Daughter Just Endorsed Felony Assault Against Rand Paul” HERE)

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There Is a Possible ‘New’ Coronavirus Symptom; Teen Dies One Day After Testing Positive for Coronavirus

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By Townhall. The Wuhan coronavirus pandemic still has the world on edge. Italy has been ravaged by the illness, with tens of thousands infected and thousands of deaths. The U.S. also has tens of thousands of confirmed cases, but the death toll isn’t nearly as high. For Italy, the good news is the number of confirmed cases today shows that the nation’s lockdown is working and there may be signs that the curve is starting to flatten over there. Again, things can change.

The disease has crashed the markets. The virus is highly contagious and very lethal to those who are over the age of 65 and the immunocompromised. That doesn’t mean younger people can’t get it. They can and have—and some have died already. A woman in her 30s is said to have passed away from the virus in the St. Louis area. Young people can still get really sick, but a great many will either have mild symptoms or be asymptomatic. That’s good and bad news. The bad news is that since people who are mild-to-asymptomatic-aren’t deathly ill, they could go outside and spread it to those who are highly susceptible to dying from the virus. This disease can survive in the air for hours and on certain surfaces for up to three days. The symptoms are fever, cough, fatigue, and difficulty breathing. Yet, across the pond, in the UK, we have a new symptom that is causing concern for doctors: loss of smell. (Read more from “There Is a Possible ‘New’ Coronavirus Symptom” HERE)

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20-Year-Old With Coronavirus Reports Experiencing ‘Very Different’ Symptoms

By New York Post. A 20-year-old American woman who tested positive for the novel coronavirus said she suffered symptoms that hadn’t previously been associated with the infection, including hearing loss.

Julia Buscaglia — who was staying in Italy when she first started showing symptoms — decided to share her story in a now-viral Twitter thread because “others are reporting very different experiences than mine,” she wrote. . .

On March 1, she said, she woke up feeling better but decided to see a doctor because of the escalating coronavirus concerns in Italy. The doctor said she simply had a cold — but then she began to lose hearing in her left ear, despite having no cough, she wrote.

The next day, “hearing in both ears was significantly less,” and she said she could feel phlegm in the back of her throat, but simply brushed it off as a cold symptom. . .

“I still couldn’t hear, and at this point I lost all ability to taste and smell, yet I did not have a runny nose or cough,” she wrote. “I had a headache constantly during the day which I just treated with Tylenol. I left the next morning to return to America.” (Read more from “20-Year-Old With Coronavirus Reports Experiencing ‘Very Different’ Symptoms” HERE)

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British Teen Dies One Day After Testing Positive for Coronavirus

By New York Post. An 18-year-old has died in the UK — one day after testing positive for COVID-19, according to officials.

The unidentified teen died in University Hospital in Coventry and is believed to be the youngest of 281 fatalities linked to the pandemic in the UK, officials confirmed to the Telegraph on Sunday.

The 18-year-old had “significant underlying health issues” when confirmed to have COVID-19, the hospital’s chief medical officer, professor Kiran Patel, told CoventryLive. (Read more from “British Teen Dies One Day After Testing Positive for Coronavirus” HERE)

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China Allegedly Destroyed Evidence of Wuhan Coronavirus in December; How China Can Be Held Legally Accountable for Coronavirus Pandemic; Report Claims China Is Faking Its Recovery

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By Legal Insurrection. My daily update must start with the revelation by an independent, investigative journalism team at Caixin Global.

The team discovered that Chinese scientists destroyed proof of research involving the novel coronavirus that is now spreading at pandemic levels.

An article published by the Times of London indicates that Chinese authorities have been deleting the stories from the internet.

Chinese laboratories identified a mystery virus as a highly infectious new pathogen by late December last year, but they were ordered to stop tests, destroy samples and suppress the news, a Chinese media outlet has revealed.

A regional health official in Wuhan, centre of the outbreak, demanded the destruction of the lab samples that established the cause of unexplained viral pneumonia on January 1. China did not acknowledge there was human-to-human transmission until more than three weeks later.

(Read more from “Report: China Destroyed Evidence of Wuhan Coronavirus in December” HERE)

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How China Can Be Held Legally Accountable for Coronavirus Pandemic

By Fox News. A cover-up and clampdown by the Chinese government in the early weeks of the coronavirus’s emergence is raising questions over whether the communist superpower can be held legally accountable.

“Generally countries like China have sovereign immunity and governments cannot be brought to regular courts or held liable regardless of their conduct,” Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, an Israel-based attorney who has long specialized in suing terrorist regimes and state sponsors who orchestrate human rights abuses on behalf of victims, told Fox News.

“However, an argument could be made that just like support for terrorism, which is legally actionable, a government that engages in such reckless disregard and negligence and covers up an epidemic which has the potential to spread worldwide could be held legally liable ,” Darshan-Leitner said. “Cover-ups and deliberate acts to conceal a deadly medical crisis are not [among] the protected acts of a sovereign state or of responsible leaders.”

According to Darshan-Leitner, if a private party like a hospital or health care worker of a chemical company had learned of a dangerous and highly contagious disease and then deliberately covered its existence up and concealed it from the public they would clearly face criminal and civil liability.

“Why should a local or national government be any different? Clearly, China signed treaties and had a duty under international law to report the virus and not cover it up,” she continued. “China is not to blame for creating the virus but for not sounding the international alarm and trying to conceal it from the world.” (Read more from “How China Can Be Held Legally Accountable for Coronavirus Pandemic” HERE)

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Report Claims China Is Faking Its Recovery From the Coronavirus Outbreak

By The Blaze. . .Those reports are being disputed by local Chinese officials who say the government is using deceptive measures to create the appearance of normal business operations and productivity, according to the Chinese media outlet Caixin.

Back to normal? For the first time since the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, was discovered, China has reported no new infections. For the past couple of days, the number of new reported deaths has been in the single digits.

As a result, some of the businesses in China that were forced to shut down have begun reopening, and some travel restrictions have been lifted (although that is creating some new issues, including a fear of imported COVID-19 cases).

Not what it seems: Although the Chinese government, well-known for concealing or manipulating information, would obviously prefer the world seeing signs of strength and recovery, that might not be the case. Chinese whistleblowers tell Caixin they’re working to create an appearance that things are back to normal when they’re not[.] (Read more from “Report Claims China Is Faking Its Recovery From the Coronavirus Outbreak” HERE)

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WATCH: Trump Calls out Reporter When She Says Government Was Unprepared on Coronavirus Testing; Ilhan Omar Offers Trump Rare Praise; Joe Biden Claims We Have Pandemic Because of Trump

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By The Blaze. President Donald Trump shot down a reporter’s question during a coronavirus media briefing on Thursday over previous accusations of racism made by her network.

NBC’s Kristen Welker asked a pointed question about the government’s preparedness in relation to the pandemic when the president fired back.

“You did say a few days ago though, you did have a sense that this was a pandemic that was coming, so why was the United States not prepared with more testing?” asked Welker.

“We were very prepared, the only thing we weren’t prepared for was the media, the media has not treated it fairly,” responded the president.

(Read more from “WATCH: Trump Calls out Reporter When She Says Government Was Unprepared on Coronavirus Testing” HERE)

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Ilhan Omar Offers Trump Rare Praise for Coronavirus Response

By New York Post. Rep. Ilhan Omar commended President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic in an unexpected moment of rare praise.

“Politics aside, this is incredible and the right response in this critical time,” Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted Wednesday evening alongside a hand-clapping emoji.

The frequent Trump critic and member of “The Squad” was responding to a tweet about the commander in chief’s recent actions to combat the coronavirus, including, as the quote read, “suspending mortgage foreclosures, demanding cash payments to Americans, now invoking the Defense Production Act to force private firms to produce needed supplies.”

Omar went on to praise Trump, who has feuded with Omar on multiple occasions, by referencing words of wisdom from fellow “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

(Read more from “Ilhan Omar Offers Trump Rare Praise for Coronavirus Response” HERE)

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Fact Check: Joe Biden Claims We Have Coronavirus Because of Trump

By Breitbart. CLAIM: The coronavirus outbreak hit the U.S. because President Donald Trump “eliminated” President Barack Obama’s pandemic office.

VERDICT: FALSE.

Former vice president Joe Biden claimed on Twitter on Thursday that the U.S. is “paying the price” of coronavirus because President Trump “eliminated” an office that dealt with pandemics.

Biden is wrong — very wrong. This falsehood almost deserves an entirely separate category of ignominy because of its ability to divide and frighten people in the middle of a crisis that requires social cooperation and trust.

The truth — as explained earlier this week in the Washington Post by former National Security Council official Tim Morrison — is that the office was combined with others in a reorganiztion that “left the biodefense staff unaffected.” (Read more from “Fact Check: Joe Biden Claims We Have Coronavirus Because of Trump” HERE)

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