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House opens center to answer questions, considering unspent money for digital phones, laptops The eco-system of Congress – 435 House members, 100 senators and hundreds of support staffers all working in close quarters – is preparing for a scenario in which Capitol Hill is shuttered to avoid spreading the coronavirus. The House on Monday opened a logistics center in advance of hundreds of laptops, cellphones and other digital devices possibly being used if the roughly 12-building complex is closed to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. “We’re doing everything to have the resources everybody needs,” a House Administration Committee...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Monday pledged that he will provide all Americans with a free vaccine for coronavirus if he is elected president. Addressing supporters in St. Louis on the eve of the Missouri primary contest, Sanders assailed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar for saying the Trump administration cannot control the price of the vaccine “because we need the private sector to invest.” “We are uniquely prepared to take on a pharmaceutical industry which in some cases charges us ten times more for the same exact drug that’s sold abroad,” Sanders began. “Let me tell you, if...

A person, who attended the 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Mainstream media has gone mad reporting this fact:

New research from the Barna Group found that the share of practicing Christians in the United States has nearly dropped in half over the last two decades — a shift the group warns will have “major repercussions” for church leaders. The latest research from the evangelical Christian polling firm, which examined the role of Christianity in the American Church, reveals that that just 25 percent of Americans are practicing Christians, compared to 45 percent in 2000. Barna defines a “practicing Christian” as someone who identifies as a Christian, agrees strongly that faith is very important in their lives and has...

Vatican 2022 Synod on Synodality Holy See: Synodality is a 'linguistic novelty' VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - So-called synodality will be the topic of the next ordinary Synod of Bishops. "Pope Francis has convoked the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops," according to Cdl. Lorenzo Baldisseri via a Vatican press release issued on Saturday. Baldisseri, as general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, is saying the theme of the synod — scheduled for October 2022 — will be "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission." Pope St. Paul VI Synodality, as it has been put into practice of late, has been a maturing concept...

The unfortunate incident occurred ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, which makes the bite ominous – as according to legend, the patron saint of Ireland performed a miracle that banished all the venomous snakes from the island almost 1,500 years ago, using nothing but his faith. According to The Irish Post, a 22-year-old man from Dublin was sent to Connolly Hospital due to a venomous snakebite – which is believed to be the first such case ever recorded in the country. The hospital had to ask the National Reptile Zoo for an antivenom, as only this facility has the right to...

...In the 1970s, Congress facilitated the passage of tax breaks for companies that base their operations in Puerto Rico. Drug manufacturers took advantage of these benefits and converted the island into one of the world’s pharma production hubs. However, President Bill Clinton signed a law that started to phase out the tax breaks during the 1990s. Once these tax breaks fully expire in 2006, the industry started to leave the island. Policymakers should consider bringing back these strategic tax breaks...

SÃO PAULO, Brazil —A recent visit of a member of President Jair Bolsonaro’s cabinet to the headquarters of the National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) may not be enough to heal the sometimes turbulent relationship between the conservative government and the Catholic Church in the South American country, according to leading experts. On Feb. 19, Damares Alves – the Minister of Women, Family, and Human Rights – met in the capital Brasilia with two of the bishops’ conference’s vice-presidents, Archbishop Jaime Spengler of Porto Alegre and Bishop Mário Antônio da Silva of Roraima, and the secretary-general of the...

Portland, Maine, Mar 4, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Maine voters Tuesday upheld a ban on exemptions to the requirement that students in Maine schools be vaccinated. Voters in the state rejected an effort to overturn a state law that will go into effect next September. The law eliminates parents’ ability to opt-out of the state’s school enrollment vaccination requirement because of their philosophical or religious beliefs. LD 798 passed in May 2019. Under the law, a child must be vaccinated to attend any school, public or private, unless there is a medical reason preventing vaccination, such as an allergy...

Video at link Cramer's not the biggest Trump fan. Apparently doesn't like the current health system. But he does offer advice that is probably correct in this scenario.

The incarcerated workers typically make 65 cents an hour. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that the state had found a way to counteract price gouging on hand sanitizer amid the COVID-19 outbreak: by deploying cheap prison labor. Incarcerated people will be producing 100,000 gallons of the disinfectant, branded as “NYS Clean hand sanitizer,” to be distributed to government agencies, prisons, public transportation systems, and schools for free. “This is a superior product to products now on the market,”

A 22-year-old Guatemalan woman who passed her initial asylum screening and was in detention for several months died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at a Texas hospital Sunday, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. The death is the eighth in ICE custody in the 2020 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, and equals the number of deaths for the entire 2019 fiscal year. SNIP On Feb. 7, Ochoa Yoc de Ramirez was taken from detention to a hospital in Oklahoma, where she was admitted. Two days later, she had her gallbladder surgically removed, the source said....

Anton Coppola, who appeared in the children’s chorus for the 1926 American premiere of Puccini’s uncompleted “Turandot,” conducted his own ending to the work some nine decades later, and in between had one of the longest careers as a maestro in modern times, died on Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 102. His daughter, Lucia Coppola, confirmed his death. Mr. Coppola was the elder statesman of the Coppola movie clan, which includes Francis Ford Coppola (nephew), Talia Shire (niece), Nicolas Cage (grandnephew) and Sofia Coppola (grandniece). His brother Carmine, who died in 1991, wrote music for his own...

Although far-left outlets like CNN have been describing the coronavirus as “Wuhan” for weeks, that description is now being described as racist by members of the left-wing media. Nevermind that the Asian media have used the term “Wuhan virus,” an NBC News reporter still tweeted Monday, “FYI: Calling #COVID19 the ‘Wuhan Virus’ is racist.” The stupidity, the ignorance behind this is simply astounding, but unfortunately, not at all surprising anymore. Naming a virus after the location from where it likely originated, using that as a shorthand, goes back decades. “Wuhan” was first discovered in Wuhan, China.

Stock prices briefly dropped during premarket trading Monday evening. The after-hours dip followed a massive sell-off Monday prompted by coronavirus fears and an oil price war, which raised questions about whether a recession could be imminent. However, stock prices began to recover and entered positive territory after President Donald Trump discussed some possible recovery mechanisms at a White House briefing Monday evening.

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, CaliforniaMarine Corps Air Station Miramar, formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, San Diego, California, about 14 miles north of Downtown San Diego. The airfield is named Foss Field after Joe Foss. The air station is the former location of Pacific Fleet fighter and Airborne Early Warning and...

People attending a campaign rally for former Vice President Joe Biden in Detroit were offered hand sanitizer upon entry as the country grapples with the coronavirus outbreak. Biden's supporters and reporters covering the rally were given spritzes of hand sanitizer as they entered the event space. The Democratic front-runner is campaigning in Michigan ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Videos posted on Twitter showed volunteers shouting “hand sanitizer” as supporters shuffled into the room. The Biden campaign told The Hill it plans to “closely follow” guidelines from local and federal health officials when it comes to “the types of events we hold...

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that starting Tuesday, the entire country will be placed under lockdown to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus—an expansion of a lockdown that was previously limited to the virus-hit north. The restrictions will include banning all public gatherings while preventing movement other than for work and emergencies, he said. Such a drastic measure is necessary to protect Italy’s most vulnerable citizens, including elderly people and individuals with underlying health problems, said Conte, adding that the right course of action is to remain at home, according to ANSA. There has been a significant increase...

While none of them are showing signs of symptoms, a growing number of Republicans who have been in close contact with President Trump are now self-quarantined after exposure at CPAC late last month to a man infected with the novel coronavirus sweeping the globe, raising concerns about the risk to the President of being infected. Trump himself has not shown any signs of symptoms. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) announced Monday that he is among the Republicans self-quarantining after learning that he came into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus at last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference. https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1237105148821938179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1237105148821938179&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fconservativeus.com%2Fvideo-iranian-nurse-begs-please-for-the-love-of-god-since-this-morning-100-people-have-died-before-my-eyes%2F...