Today's News: June 01, 2020

World News

Chinese State Media Calls Violent U.S. Protests A ‘Beautiful Sight’

Gateway Pundit – A state newspaper in China is calling violent riots in U.S. cities “retribution” for Washington’s support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, adding that they are a “beautiful sight.”
The Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party outlet, suggested in a column that Beijing “would be justified if it openly backed the protests and riots in the U.S. that have prompted eight governors to call out the National Guard,” The Washington Times reported.
The column, written by Global Times Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin, took aim at the Trump administration for threatening to impose sanctions on China over its new security law in Hong Kong.
The newspaper also took aim at [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. It mocked a statement Mrs. Pelosi made nearly a year ago that pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong were “a beautiful sight to behold” at the time.
“Now, the ‘beautiful sight’ is extending from Hong Kong to over a dozen U.S. states,” the paper said. “U.S. politicians now can enjoy this sight from their own windows.”
Trump has doubled down on his stern policies against China. Last week, he withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization over its handling of China’s role in the coronavirus crisis. The president has also hit Beijing for its “security lockdown” on Hong Kong.

How Bad Is It In Caracas? It Takes $100 Bribe To Fill Your Tank

I thought I’d come well prepared for 10 hours in a gasoline queue, stuffing a backpack with four slices of pizza, a chocolate bar, a thermos of black coffee and “Nemesis” by Philip Roth. Setting off in my Chevy Cruze, nervously watching the almost-empty fuel gauge, I reached my destination at 10:40 p.m. It was a dark street under a highway overpass that smelled horribly of urine.
Tuesday is one of the two days of the week that I’m allowed to try to fill up my tank (the military makes the assignments according to the last number of your license plate) and I knew that for even the slimmest chance of success I’d have to get there on Monday. I was late to the game. There were about 70 vehicles already waiting. Every now and then a Toyota SUV or another fancy model would glide into a spot far ahead. Drivers with greenbacks, my new friends beneath the underpass told me, were bribing the officers patrolling the nightmare. The word was that $100 would get you very close to the front.
“This is the fourth night that I’ve come here in two weeks,” said Wilmer Cabrera, a 37-year-old handyman sitting desolately in a Chery Orinoco, one of the popular Chinese imports. He hadn’t scored a gallon yet.
Like everyone else in Caracas, Cabrera is no stranger to lines, for food or municipal services, such as a they are, or the few buses still running or to see a doctor. But gasoline, really, in the country with the most crude oil reserves on the planet? For generations, gas was considered practically a god-given right, with such hefty government subsidies that it was basically free.
It’s still pretty cheap today, even after President Nicolas Maduro raised prices over the weekend. A liter of regular is 5,000 bolivars, or about 2.5 U.S. cents — just shy of 10 cents a gallon. And premium is about $1.89 a gallon.
Price, of course, isn’t the issue. It’s supply. After years of mismanagement of the production and refining systems, the Maduro regime, battered by U.S. sanctions, can’t deliver anymore.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Barr says violence by antifa and others during riots is ‘domestic terrorism’

Washington Examiner – Attorney General William Barr declared that the violence being “instigated and carried out” by “antifa and other similar groups” in connection to nationwide rioting is “domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.”
“With the rioting that is occurring in many of our cities around the country, the voices of peaceful and legitimate protests have been hijacked by violent radical elements,” he said in a Sunday statement. “Groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate, violent, and extremist agenda.”

AFTER TRUMP VOWS TO CLASSIFY IT AS TERRORIST GROUP, LEFTISTS DEFEND ANTIFA

Hundreds of thousands declaring themselves in allegiance with Anarcho-communists
Infowars – Following President Trump’s promise to classify ANTIFA as a terrorist organisation, hyperventilating leftists, virtue signalling celebrities and fake media mouthpieces rushed to DEFEND the group responsible for the wanton violence and destruction, because orange man is bad.
The hashtag ‘#IamAntifa’ began trending on Twitter, with hundreds of thousands declaring themselves in allegiance with Anarcho-communists.
What’s weird is that if you spelled out what the acronym for this loose movement called “antifa” stands for and rewrite Trump’s tweet accordingly, it would read: “The United States of America will be designating anti-fascists as a Terrorist Organization.” https://t.co/JTwVR1bPsk
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) May 31, 2020

Apple’s Tim Cook sends memo to employees on the death of George Floyd

Fox – Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a memo to employees following the violence that has erupted across the country following the death of George Floyd. He mentions the discrimination in our society, the role Apple plays in trying to make the world a better place and the donations the company is making to organizations that fight injustices.
THE FOLLOWING IS APPLE CEO TIM COOK’S ENTIRE MEMO.
Team,
Right now, there is a pain deeply etched in the soul of our nation and in the hearts of millions. To stand together, we must stand up for one another, and recognize the fear, hurt, and outrage rightly provoked by the senseless killing of George Floyd and a much longer history of racism.
That painful past is still present today — not only in the form of violence, but in the everyday experience of deeply rooted discrimination. We see it in our criminal justice system, in the disproportionate toll of disease on Black and Brown communities, in the inequalities in neighborhood services and the educations our children receive.
While our laws have changed, the reality is that their protections are still not universally applied. We’ve seen progress since the America I grew up in, but it is similarly true that communities of color continue to endure discrimination and trauma.
I have heard from so many of you that you feel afraid — afraid in your communities, afraid in your daily lives, and, most cruelly of all, afraid in your own skin. We can have no society worth celebrating unless we can guarantee freedom from fear for every person who gives this country their love, labor and life.
At Apple, our mission has and always will be to create technology that empowers people to change the world for the better. We’ve always drawn strength from our diversity, welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores around the world, and strived to build an Apple that is inclusive of everyone.
But together, we must do more. Today, Apple is making donations to a number of groups, including the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit committed to challenging racial injustice, ending mass incarceration, and protecting the human rights of the most vulnerable people in American society. For the month of June, and in honor of the Juneteenth holiday, we’ll also be matching two-for-one all employee donations via Benevity.
To create change, we have to reexamine our own views and actions in light of a pain that is deeply felt but too often ignored. Issues of human dignity will not abide standing on the sidelines. To our colleagues in the Black community — we see you. You matter, your lives matter, and you are valued here at Apple.
For all of our colleagues hurting right now, please know that you are not alone, and that we have resources to support you. It’s more important than ever to talk to one another, and to find healing in our common humanity. We also have free resources that can help, including our Employee Assistance Program and mental health resources you can learn about on the People site.
This is a moment when many people may want nothing more than a return to normalcy, or to a status quo that is only comfortable if we avert our gaze from injustice. As difficult as it may be to admit, that desire is itself a sign of privilege. George Floyd’s death is shocking and tragic proof that we must aim far higher than a ‘normal’ future, and build one that lives up to the highest ideals of equality and justice.
In the words of Martin Luther King, “Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”
With every breath we take, we must commit to being that change, and to creating a better, more just world for everyone.
-Tim

Big-city Dems who had imposed strict coronavirus lockdowns now let George Floyd rioters flout rules

Fox – The coronavirus lockdown is seemingly down and out, as many Democrats in charge of big cities — including several who once insisted on strict quarantine measures — line up to champion the nationwide mass demonstrations over the in-custody death of George Floyd, sans social distancing.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo lashed out at protesters calling to reopen the state earlier this month, saying at a news conference, “you have no right to jeopardize my health … and my children’s health and your children’s health.” Cuomo’s directives have been enforced throughout the state: A New York City tanning salon owner told Fox News he was fined $1,000 for reopening briefly last week, calling the situation “insane” and saying he already was “broke.”
On Friday, though, Cuomo said he “stands” with those defying stay-at-home orders: “Nobody is sanctioning the arson, and the thuggery and the burglaries, but the protesters and the anger and the fear and the frustration? Yes. Yes, and the demand is for justice.”
In April, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told the Jewish community that “the time for warnings has passed” after he said a funeral gathering had violated social distancing guidelines. On Sunday, the mayor asserted, “We have always honored non-violent protests.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, meanwhile, had warned that in-person worship services would be a “public-health disaster,” disregarding constituents’ concerns that he was violating their First Amendment rights. Now, his administration has been distributing masks to rioters, even though public gatherings of 10 or more are still ostensibly banned. Frey also allowed a police station to burn, saying it was necessary to protect police and rioters.
“The city encourages everyone to exercise caution to stay safe while participating in demonstrations, including wearing masks and physical distancing as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” a news release read. “The city has made hundreds of masks available to protesters this week.”
The mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser, vowed $5,000 fines or 90 days in jail for anyone violating stay-at-home orders. This weekend, though, Bowser defended the protests: “We are grieving hundreds of years of institutional racism. … People are tired, sad, angry and desperate for change.” An angry mob of rioters in the city turned its rage on a Fox News crew early Saturday, chasing and pummeling the journalists outside the White House in a harrowing scene captured on video.

Health officials worry about second coronavirus wave after George Floyd
Fox – Health officials in the U.S. have new concerns that the nationwide protests over the George Floyd death in police custody could spark a wider spread of the coronavirus after many cities reported bringing the virus under control.

Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that there are still some “pockets of spread” in communities. He said there has been an uptick in new coronavirus cases in recent days at the epicenter of the protests.
Minnesota Health Department Spokesman Doug Schultz said Sunday that any spike from the protests will not be seen until six to 10 days after its transmission, the Star Tribune reported. The report pointed out that the Minneapolis provided hundreds of masks for protesters.
Gov. Tim Walz said, according to the paper, that he is “deeply concerned about a super-spreader type of incident … after this. We are going to see a spike in COVID-19. It’s inevitable.”
The U.S. has seen more than 1.7 million infections and over 104,000 deaths in the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected racial minorities. Protests over Floyd’s death have shaken the U.S. from New York to Los Angeles.

Susan Rice makes claim Russians could be behind violent George Floyd demonstrations

Fox – Former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice bizarrely suggested in a televised interview Sunday that the Russians could be behind the violent nationwide demonstrations following the in-custody death of George Floyd, although she offered no evidence for the incendiary claim.
Rice’s made the claim after top Democrats insisted for years that the White House had conspired with Russia, although Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence to support any conspiracy with Russia by any U.S. actor to influence the 2016 election. Her remarks also came amid efforts by Democrats to pin the blame on outside white supremacist agitators, even though data suggests the vast majority of arrested protesters in recent days are local.
“To designate Antifa a terrorist organization, fine, but let’s also focus on the right-wing terrorist organizations,” Rice told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, referring to President Trump’s decision earlier in the day to brand the left-wing militant group as a terrorist organization. “The white supremacists that he’s called, in the past, very fine people.”
Rice’s claim that Trump praised white supremacists has been debunked. Like Rice, Trump specifically made a distinction between peaceful political protesters and white supremacists, whom Trump said he condemned “totally.” (“Very fine people” were protesting the censorship and removal of a Civil War statue, Trump said.)
Rice continued: “We have peaceful protesters focused on the very real pain and disparities that we’re all wrestling with that have to be addressed, and then we have extremists who’ve come to try to hijack those protests and turn them into something very different. And they’re probably also, I would bet based on my experience, I’m not reading the intelligence these days, but based on my experience this is right out of the Russian playbook as well.”
“I would not be surprised to learn that they have fomented some of these extremists on both sides using social media,” Rice said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they are funding it in some way, shape, or form.”
Even left-of-center commentators were bewildered by Rice’s claim, which was not supported by any evidence. Although Mueller concluded that Russian-linked actors sought to use social media to influence the 2016 election, no evidence surfaced to show that their effort was successful in any measurable way. Earlier this year, the DOJ abruptly dropped Mueller’s once-heralded prosecution of a Russian troll farm, just days before trial.

Michael Jordan on death of George Floyd: ‘We have had enough’

Fox – Chicago Bulls legend and NBA icon Michael Jordan shared his thoughts on the death of George Floyd.
“I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,” Jordan said in a statement posted to social media by his manager and spokeswoman, Estee Portnoy. “I see and feel everyone’s pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough.
“I don’t have the answers, but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others. We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality,” Jordan added. “We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability. Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws, or else we need to use our vote to create systematic change. Every one of us needs to be part of the solution, and we must work together to ensure justice for all.
“My heart goes out to the family of George Floyd and to the countless others whose lives have been brutally and senselessly taken through acts of racism and injustice.”

National Guard Now Authorized to Use Live Ammo as Nationwide Protests Spread

Already deployed in multiple states, over 10,000 guardsmen are scheduled to flood Minneapolis streets – representing the first time in its 164-year history that the organization has been fully mobilized – and they have been authorized to carry live ammunition.
Mint Press News – In response to the police capitulation in Minneapolis, leaving their precinct to be burned down, Minnesota governor Tim Waltz has called on the National Guard to put down the revolt. Already deployed in multiple states, over 10,000 guardsmen are scheduled to flood Minneapolis streets, representing the first time in its 164-year history that the organization has been fully mobilized. They have been authorized to carry live ammunition. While Waltz’s actions might appear drastic, it appears he is actually a moderating influence, as Washington is pushing him to put active duty military on the streets.
Saturday, the Pentagon ordered soldiers and military police from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Drum, New York, Fort Riley, Kansas and Fort Carson, Colorado, to be ready to be deployed potentially anywhere in the United States within a matter of hours. Authorities also deployed a Predator Drone to Minneapolis to monitor the protests.
According to documents leaked to The Nation, the military is actively monitoring uprisings in six other states – New York, Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Waltz revealed yesterday that he is already working closely with the military, receiving “intelligence support of what they’re seeing, what they’re signal intercepting, they have obviously from N.S.A. and others massive support to be able to see who these operators are.” The N.S.A. is supposed to be a purely foreign intelligence agency, but, as Edward Snowden revealed, the agency was conducting a massive spying operation both internationally and domestically. Waltz later claimed that he misspoke when referencing the N.S.A. by name.
Some National Guard members appear to be profoundly uncomfortable with the idea of being deployed to oppose protestors. One anonymous guardsman told The Nation’s Ken Klippenstein: “We’re a combat unit not trained for riot control or safely handling civilians in this context. Soldiers up and down the ranks are scared about hurting someone, and leaders are worried about soldiers’ suffering liability,” adding that, “My [colleagues] are people of common sense and common decency. They may not want to step over any lines when doing their jobs, but wanting only goes so far when you’re under-trained and under-equipped.”
President Trump, however, appears very keen to see the National Guard respond to the protests. “I can’t stand back and watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard and get the job done right,” he stated, adding that the rioting “thugs” were dishonoring Floyd’s memory. “When the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” he concluded, clearly encouraging a violent crackdown against protestors.

Luxury stores looted in overnight protests in NYC as de Blasio says there’s ‘limited protest activity’

Fox – The looting and destruction continued during overnight riots in New York City for a third night in a row, even as Mayor Bill de Blasio reported “limited protest activity” in Manhattan.
Fox News crews on the scene in SoHo reported hundreds of people stealing from luxury stores – including Chanel and Dior – for hours on Sunday night going into the early hours of Monday morning. The looters were seen piling shoplifted merchandise into vehicles while others rode off with the merchandise in black garbage bags balanced on CitiBikes.
Eyewitnesses told Fox News the looting started before 11 p.m. Sunday, following a day of protests demanding justice for the death of George Floyd while in police custody. The daytime demonstrations had been largely peaceful, according to NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea.
“Most of the day we had large crowds throughout the city in multiple boroughs [on Sunday]. But when it got dark, things changed and it changed rapidly,” Shea said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning. “We anticipated it, but you saw large groups of people had no inclination to all this protest once it got dark, particularly in the area of SoHo between Canal and West Broadway. We had a number of stores broken into.”
Fox News reported nearly two dozen stores destroyed, defaced or broken into, and looters emptying the shops while throwing debris at news crews and littering the streets with discarded shoeboxes and miscellaneous clothing items.

“Light ’em Up!” Military and Police Open Fire on Innocent People in Their Own Home

Activist Post – Utterly horrifying video was just submitted to the Free Thought Project showing police and National Guard patrolling a neighborhood in Minneapolis and opening fire on people standing on their porch.
Several innocent people were standing on their front porch filming Humvees rolling down the street that were followed by dozens of troops on the ground. The troops were yelling at residents to “get inside!”
As the innocent people stood on their own property, someone in the group of troops gave the order to “light ’em up!”
The troop or cop then turned toward the group of people filming and opened fire. The people then ran inside and appeared to dust off debris, possibly from a ricochet.
This is not acceptable.

One dead in Louisville after police and National Guard ‘return fire’ on crowd

Louisville authorities did not specify who fired the fatal shot, and authorities have not released information about the victim
NBC – A man was shot dead in Louisville after police officers and the Kentucky National Guard “returned fire” while clearing a large crowd early Monday.
Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad said in a statement that at around 12:15 a.m. his officers and the National Guard were sent to a parking lot to break up a crowd.
“Officers and soldiers began to clear the lot and at some point were shot at,” Conrad said in a statement. “Both LMPD and National Guard members returned fire, we have one man dead at scene”
Conrad did not specify who fired the fatal shot, and authorities have not released information about the victim.

Donald Trump: Joe Biden Supporters Bailing Anarchists out of Jail

Breitbart – President Donald Trump warned Americans on Monday former Vice President Joe Biden’s radical left supporters would seize power if he was elected president.
“Sleepy Joe Biden’s people are so Radical Left that they are working to get the Anarchists out of jail, and probably more,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The president commented after another night of punishing rioting and looting in America’s major cities on Sunday. He suggested that Americans would be punished in a similar way if the radical left ever took power.
“Joe doesn’t know anything about it, he is clueless, but they will be the real power, not Joe,” Trump wrote. “They will be calling the shots! Big tax increases for all, Plus!”
Several prominent celebrities announced over the weekend that they would send money to bail out protesters from jail, despite widespread rioting and looting.
The president also tweeted the date of the presidential election in 2020.

Roberts joins liberals as Supreme Court rejects challenge to coronavirus limits on church services

A California church had argued that putting a limit on crowd size violates constitutional guarantees of religious freedom
NBC – The U.S. Supreme Court late Friday rejected a California church’s request to ease restrictions on attendance at worship services, in the court’s first effort to balance religious freedom and public health during the coronavirus pandemic.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s four liberals in an unsigned order that denied the church’s application for a stay of the statewide restrictions imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. They limit attendance at 25 percent of capacity or a maximum of 100 people.
“Although California’s guidelines place restrictions on places of worship, those restrictions appear consistent with the free exercise clause of the First Amendment,” Roberts wrote in concurring with the order.
He said the limits were similar to those that apply to other places where people gather closely together for long periods of time, including concert halls, movie theaters, sporting arenas, theaters.
Local officials have the duty to shape the limits on public gatherings, he said. Given the medical and scientific uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, the courts should not second guess them as long as they act within broad limits.
The case was brought by the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista, in the San Diego area. It urged the court to act quickly, before the day of the Pentacost, or seventh Sunday after Easter, which this year is May 31.
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the church.
“We’re dealing here with a highly contagious and often fatal disease for which there presently is no known cure,” it said. Its ruling quoted former Supreme Court justice Robert Jackson: “If a court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact.”
Writing for the Supreme Court’s four other conservatives in dissenting from Friday’s order, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Newsom’s order treats houses of worship less favorably than secular businesses, such as factories, offices, supermarkets, restaurants, shopping malls, and even marijuana dispensaries.
They are not subject to a cap on occupancy, he noted. “The Church would suffer irreparable harm from not being able to hold services on Pentacost Sunday in a way that comparable secular businesses and persons can conduct their activities.”
Quoting from a decision in a different case he said, “The state cannot assume the worst when people go to worship but assume the best when people go to work or go about the rest of their daily lives in permitted social settings.”
Federal courts have divided on whether houses of worship should be compared to retail stores or movie theaters.

Economy & Business

Retailers and restaurants across the U.S. close their doors amid protests

Washington Post – It had only been two days since Lilliannia Ayers reopened her Queen Hippie Gypsy store in downtown Oakland, Calif., before her front window was smashed and her storefront was spray painted Friday.
On Saturday night, she and neighbors stayed up all night to protect their stores — hopeful the protest movements across the U.S. would not destroy her business so soon after it suffered a devastating hit from the pandemic shutdown.
“It goes beyond the window,” she said. “We’re losing sales every day. We’ve already been impacted by covid. We’ve lost so much more.”
Similar scenes of destruction have created chaos and concern along the path of the nation’s protests over the death of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis. That’s pushed brick-and-mortar retail and restaurant industries, already hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, to the center.

“It’s Too Dangerous” – Amazon Orders Delivery Drivers To “Turn Back” Amid Riots, Prepares To Cut Hazard Pay

Activist Post – As Amazon prepares to end hazard pay for workers at its fulfillment centers across the US, the company is scaling back deliveries and recalling drivers in cities impacted by the rioting and violence breaking out across the US. Bloomberg reported that the company is “scaling back deliveries in a small number of cities” including Chicago, Portland and LA.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and in a handful of cities we adjusted routes or scaled back typical operations to ensure the safety of our teams,” a company spokeswoman said.
The company is also reportedly closing some of its hubs near these areas (though, to be sure, most of Amazon’s larger fulfillment centers are in more rural or suburban areas).

There Will Be A Lot More Rioting, Looting And Civil Unrest As The U.S. Economy Continues To Crumble

Michael Snyder – What we have been witnessing on the streets of Minneapolis is just the beginning. Our nation is so deeply divided, and a large portion of the population is losing faith in the basic institutions that govern our society. Personally, I don’t know how anyone can watch the video of what happened to George Floyd without having an emotional reaction. Police brutality has been a massive problem in the United States for many years, and it has gotten to the point where most of the country no longer has faith in the police. Of course the rioters are not helping their cause by burning down the communities that they are supposedly defending.
Sadly, this is just a small preview of what is coming to major cities all over America.
If you think that these riots about police brutality are intense, just wait until the economic riots start.
We are moving into a time when millions upon millions of Americans will become increasingly desperate as we plunge even deeper into a new economic depression. On Thursday, we learned that another 2.1 million Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits last week…
First-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 2.1 million last week, the lowest total since the coronavirus crisis began though indicative that a historically high number of Americans remain separated from their jobs.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 2.05 million. The total represented a decrease of 323,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised 2.438 million.
This was the 10th week in a row when the number of new claims for unemployment benefits has been above 2 million.
As I keep reminding my readers, prior to this year the highest that number had ever been for a single week was 695,000 in 1982.
So even after so many catastrophic weeks in a row, we are still at a level that is approximately three times higher than that old record.
Overall, 40.8 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits over the past 10 weeks. That is the greatest spike in unemployment in all of U.S. history by a very wide margin, and it means that more than one-fourth of all the jobs in the United States have already been wiped out.
But for now, the impact of those job losses has been cushioned by the extremely generous $600 a week unemployment bonuses that the federal government has been handing out, but those benefits are set to expire at the end of July…
Right now, many are able to take advantage of an additional $600 a week in unemployment benefits provided by the federal government on top of each state’s standard jobless benefit. But that benefit is set to expire at the end of July if Congress does not pass another stimulus bill to extend benefits.
If those benefits are not extended we will see a massive national temper tantrum, and right now President Trump and Republican leaders in the Senate do not plan to extend them.
We shall see what happens, but we may soon have tens of millions of very angry unemployed Americans that are unable to pay their bills anymore.

Sign here first: U.S. salons, gyms, offices require coronavirus waivers

Reuters – As U.S. businesses reopen after weeks of pandemic lockdowns, many have been posting coronavirus disclaimers or requiring employees and patrons to sign waivers before entering.

Energy & Environment

NHC raises storm chances in Gulf to 80%

NBC – What was formerly Tropical Storm Amanda has weakened after making landfall in Guatemala, but the remnants of Amanda could reorganize in the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical depression over the next day or so.
The National Hurricane Center on Monday morning gave it a 80 percent chance of development over the next 48 hours.
The remnants of the system will continue to move northwest and could end up over the Bay of Campeche by Monday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center. If it moves back over water, it could redevelop as a tropical depression. Heavy rainfall is expected to continue over southern Mexico during the next few days. If it strengthens to a Tropical Storm, it would be named Cristobal.
ABC13 meteorologists began watching the system that became Amanda last week as it formed in the Pacific Ocean.
This does not pose an immediate risk to the Texas coast, or to any one specific area, but forecast models are hinting at the possibility of this storm continuing its northern trajectory and strengthening, so everyone along the Gulf Coast should be staying weather-aware over the coming days.

Science & Technology

Historic first: SpaceX delivers US astronauts to space station

CS Monitor – After Saturday’s historic liftoff, the SpaceX Dragon capsule arrived at the space station Sunday and docked automatically, no human help needed.

Health

Why Was Wuhan Lab Locked Down When Outbreak Began?

Mercola – Fueling suspicions that SARS-CoV-2 escaped from the Wuhan lab is an analysis of commercial telemetry (i.e., cellphone) data showing a significant and unusual reduction in device activity in and around the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s National Biosafety Laboratory during October 2019.
Between October 14 and October 19, there was no device activity in the area around the laboratory at all, and between October 7 and October 24, there was no activity within the facility itself.
While not concrete proof of a biohazard leak, the absence of cellphone traffic in and around the laboratory in October 2019 suggests the lab may have been shut down for a period, and the roads around it blocked off.
A crucial piece of the lab release hypothesis that is missing from media reports and scientific opinion is a clear description of the experiments being conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Researchers have engineered chimeric viruses where the gene for the cell entry protein (S protein receptor-binding domain) from one virus is replaced by that of another virus

Novel coronavirus losing potency, top Italian doctor says

Head of a Milan hospital tells RAI TV that recent swab tests show less viral load compared with previous findings.
Al Jazeera – The new coronavirus is losing its potency and has become much less lethal, a senior Italian doctor said on Sunday.
“In reality, the virus clinically no longer exists in Italy,” said Alberto Zangrillo, head of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy’s coronavirus outbreak.
“The swabs that were performed over the last 10 days showed a viral load in quantitative terms that was absolutely infinitesimal compared to the ones carried out a month or two months ago,” he told RAI television.
Italy has the third-highest death toll in the world fromCOVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, with 33,415 people dying since the outbreak came to light on February 21.
It has the sixth-highest global number of cases at 233,019.

Eli Lilly starts human study of potential COVID-19 antibody treatment

Reuters – Eli Lilly and Co said on Monday it had started an early-stage trial to test its potential treatment for COVID-19, in the world’s first study of an antibody treatment against the disease.
Lilly is one of the several drugmakers and research institutions that are working on vaccines, antivirals and other treatments to help those infected with the fast-spreading novel coronavirus, which has already killed over 370,000 worldwide.
An antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences called remdesivir has shown some promise against COVID-19 and is being given to patients by some countries under compassionate or emergency use rule.
Lilly said its early stage study will assess safety and tolerability in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and results are anticipated by the end of June.

NY Times on Bluelight and“Screentime” Affecting Skin and Sleep

Activist Post – Bluelight + RF Radiation from screens = health problems including skin afflictions like hyperpigmentation and premature aging (see 1, 2, 3, 4)! There’s actually been quite a bit of research already published about this. There’s also been quite a bit of research already published about LED light bulbs being biologically and environmentally awful.
Thanks to the New York Times for publishing an article about how Bluelight, LED bulbs, and “Screentime” could be affecting you and your loved ones and what you can do about it:
You’ve probably heard more about the perils of blue light lately because our lives are more likely to be lived indoors and online. Our laptops, phones, tablets, TVs and even LED light bulbs are all sources of blue light. And now that we’re tethered to those devices, are we getting drenched? Should we be more worried about damage to our skin?
Here’s what we know: Compared with the well-understood dangers of ultraviolet light (skin aging and cancer), science isn’t settled on the effects of indoor sources of blue light on skin. It can cause hyperpigmentation and premature aging, but the rest — what dose of it causes trouble, for instance — was debated well before we were confined to our homes.
Here, we’ve checked in with some blue light and skin experts to help us understand the real risks.
Read full article

The Medicinal Properties Of Lemongrass & Why You Should Grow It This Summer

Natural Blaze – Lemongrass is a wonderful herb to complement the summer garden! It has many medicinal and aromatic properties and can be used in a variety of ways. It is often considered a must for home medicinal herb gardens, and it’s easy to see why that is!
Other than sandalwood, one of my personal favorite essential oils to diffuse is lemongrass. The aromatic properties of lemongrass are said to help those with anxiety. Maybe that’s why nothing ever bothers me! This herb smells a little like lemon, but it also smells “green.” It has a scent that I can only describe as almost like fresh plants outside after it rains mixed with a slight lemony citrus aroma. It’s truly incredible.
Lemongrass Is Beneficial for Natural Remedies
Also often known as citronella, lemongrass provides some natural herbal medicinal properties as well. Both the leaves and the oil are useful in herbal medicines. Here are some of the uses of lemongrass:

Digestive Tract Spasms – stomachache, high blood pressure, convulsions, pain, vomiting, cough, achy joints (rheumatism), fever, the common cold, and exhaustion.
Anti-Microbial – It is also used to kill germs and as a mild astringent. With hand sanitizer sold out everywhere, why not give a plant the job of killing some of those germs that can make us sick?
Food & Beverages – not only does lemongrass add flavor to food and makes a great tea, but it is used to make natural citral and vitamin A.
Topical Remedies – Lemongrass can also be used in a variety of ways. If can be inhaled (aromatherapy) or it can be applied directly on the skin. It can also help with headaches and anxiety. It can also help with muscle pain when made into a salve.
Aromatherapy– If you are a little sore after an intense workout, diffuse some lemongrass! It has been shown to help with muscle pain and soreness. Plus, it’s not a heavy overbearing scent and perfect for hot summer days! Try making this disinfecting spray for the home using essential oils like lemongrass.

Planting Lemongrass
Lemongrass is a great summer choice for the garden as it loves hot conditions. So you will want to plant it in the spring after the last chance of frost has passed. Plant it in full sun. You should also make sure you have well-drained soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. Space your lemongrass plants 24 inches apart. Kick off the growing season by mixing several inches aged compost or other rich organic matter into your native soil.
Lemongrass will also require consistent watering. Give the plant more moisture and water when the top inch of soil becomes dry. You can also get the most out of your growing efforts by regularly feeding with water-soluble plant food. Harvest lemongrass stalks once plants reach 12 inches tall and are a half-inch wide at the base.