Free Republic

San Francisco is banning reusable shopping bags to prevent outside germs from entering grocery stores as the coronavirus pandemic affects cities around the country, The new ordinance from the San Francisco Department of Public Health aims to reinforce existing social distancing protocols by restricting customers from bringing their own bags, mugs, or other reusable items to essential stores, according to a statement. San Francisco was one of the first cities in the U.S. to ban the use of plastic shopping bags in 2007 to reduce the environmental impact caused by plastic waste, according to SFGate.com. San Francisco Mayor London Breed...

Speaking, singing and possibly even breathing too close to people might spread the novel coronavirus even before people feel symptoms, according to findings in a study from Asia published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The analysis sheds new light on person-to-person transmission of COVID-19, as more than 90 percent of Americans hunker down at home to stem the spread of the virus. The new report, published Wednesday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, documents seven "clusters" of cases in Singapore, the island city-state off the southern tip of Malaysia. The outbreak, researchers say, most...

Coronavirus fears leading to ACT/SAT testing cancellations are leaving college-hopefuls concerned about applications and admissions. Many colleges are easing admissions requirements by waiving ACT/SAT requirements due to test cancellations and rescheduling due to coronavirus. Prospective students for fall 2020 may find it easier to get into some universities around the country. Several universities and colleges in America are beginning to ease their admissions requirements for prospective students by waiving ACT/SAT standards given testing cancellations and postponements due to the coronavirus. The abrupt health crisis led to ACT pushing its April testing date to June, and the College Board pushing the...

In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan famously says “the mind is its own place and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven”. Satan is in Hell while he makes this rousing speech to his fellow fallen angels. Surrounded by darkness and pain, he is urging himself and those listening to ignore their reality. Satan would have it that you and I were that blind as well. And we have been. For years, Americans have lived in a country that has grown stagnate. We are often told that innovation is growing “exponentially” while “Moore’s Law” is touted...

Sixteen named storms, including eight hurricanes, are forecast for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, according to early predictions released Thursday by experts at Colorado State University. Four of the hurricanes will become major storms of Category 3 to 5, with sustained winds of at least 111 mph, the projections indicate for the season that runs from June 1 to November 30. The chance that at least one major hurricane will make landfall in 2020 along the US coastline is 69%, compared with an average over the last century of 52%, researchers said. There is a 95% chance -- the average...

BREAKING NEWS: President Trump and Former VP Joe Biden spoke on the phone last night to discuss the Coronavirus Crisis. Mr. Biden brought up a number of concerns and suggestions. President Trump assured Mr. Biden that most of his suggestions had already been addressed and that everything that could be done was already in place. Mr. Biden offered his services to help in the crisis and the President told him that there was one critical area he might be able to help. President Trump indicated that with all of the urgent priorities his administration was dealing with there was one...

There comes every few years a phrase that perfectly captures a cultural moment. "Irrational exuberance" was Alan Greenspan's way of telling investors to tread lightly. The CIA liked "plausible deniability" in the 1960s. The one I have seen recently, and really has struck a chord, is "pathological individualism." It is without question that the conditions in early America, particularly during westward expansion, called for a type of person who was self-reliant, determined and able to shape his environment by sheer force of will. This became a uniquely American archetype in movies, portrayed by the likes of John Wayne or Gary...

Prayers up for all the families suffering from the impact of this virus. And we're still praying that the spread starts fading with the warmer Spring weather and that an effective treatment and vaccine are developed before the next flu season starts. And we pray that our people are allowed to go back to work very soon and that our economy comes roaring back. Meanwhile, we may be hurt and slowed down somewhat, but we have faith in the long-run that "what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger." God willing, America will survive and we will survive and we...

Click on link. Note: these pressers rarely start on time. Presser from Tuesday, 3/31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2TRmlsmMNU 2:11:07

Up to $50 million has been approved for new research on a potential COVID-19 treatment, and Duke is taking charge. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a federal government-sponsored nonprofit that funds studies across a variety of types of research, announced a new program April 1 to research hydroxychloroquine, most commonly used as an anti-malaria drug, as a way to prevent COVID-19 infections for high-risk healthcare workers. The program will be led by a Duke research team at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, which is part of the School of Medicine.

(Dr. Evil Parody)

Even in the throes of a global pandemic, it's possible to find things to be grateful for. In fact, I would argue that we are doing things and appreciating things that we really should have been doing and appreciating all along. I'm sure everyone has their own list of things they're grateful for. Here's mine: 1. I'm grateful for private enterprise and American business. There is none better anywhere. Our news is filled with stories of companies such as Under Armour, Ford, GM, JoAnn Fabrics, My Pillow, and Vera Bradley that are pitching in to help make hospital gowns, ventilators...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday announced the creation of a special House committee charged with overseeing the unprecedented, multitrillion-dollar federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. Pelosi has tapped Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the Democratic whip, to lead the bipartisan panel, which will be authorized "to examine all aspects of the federal response to the coronavirus and ensure the taxpayer's dollars are being wisely and efficiently spent." "The panel will root out waste, fraud and abuse; it will protect against price-gauging, profiteering and political favoritism," she told reporters on a press call. "The fact is, we do need transparency and...

The antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine has shown promise in treating the coronavirus – helping to speed up the recovery of a small number of patients suffering a mild form of the illness, according to a report. In a study published online this week, Chinese researchers found that patients who were administered the drug saw their cough, fever and pneumonia go away faster than in a group that did not receive it, according to the New York Times. The illness also appeared less likely to become severe among those who were treated with hydroxychloroquine, according to the small study posted on the...

Yesterday is here: http://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3830614/posts?q=1&;page=1

An ABC News investigation offers sobering insight into how COVID-19 has spread and penetrated so broadly, so deeply and so quickly in the United States. Travel data of passengers arriving in the United States from China during the critical period in December, January and February, when the disease took hold in that country, shows a stunning 759,493 people entered the U.S. "This is an astonishing number in a short period of time, illustrating how globalized our world has become. Just as people can hop continents with amazing ease, the infections they carry can too," said Dr. Vinayak Kumar, an internal...

What would you do to save your local hospital? That question is on the mind of many lawmakers in states struggling with whether or not to expand Medicaid to able-bodied adults under ObamaCare. Advocates of expansion have time and again pitched expansion as a way to save struggling, rural hospitals across the nation. More recently, activists are pitching Medicaid expansion as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak. As more hospitals find themselves in financial trouble, expanding Medicaid is promised to be the cure-all: not only will it save hospitals from closing, but it’ll create jobs too (or so advocates say)....

Tom Hanks has shared an update now that he and wife Rita Wilson returned home safe and sound after their coronavirus diagnoses and quarantine in Australia. "Hey, Folks... We're home now and, like the rest of America, we carry on with sheltering in place and social distancing," Hanks said on Twitter on Saturday. "Many, many thanks to everyone in Australia who looked after us. Their care and guidance made possible our return to the USA. And many thanks to all of you who reached out with well wishes. Rita and I so appreciate it." The married couple were recently photographed...

Seattle chief of police said in a Monday night video that she wants residents to call 911 if called racist names during the coronavirus pandemic. "Washington state is no place for hate. In a show of solidarity between police and community, I'm joined today by Lori Matsukawa," Chief of Police Carmen Best said, referring to the retired KING 5 news anchor who joined her in the video. "Hate crimes have no place in our community," Matsukawa continued. "We're better than that, Washington. We're all trying to deal with the COVID-19 public health crisis together. If you are a victim of a hate crime or hate-based harassment,...

NEW YORK - The coronavirus pandemic has touched every part of New York City, but new data shows it is hitting especially hard in neighborhoods that tend to be poorer and might be more likely to have many people living under one roof. Here are the latest coronavirus developments in New York: Data released late Wednesday by city health officials shows that residents in the immigrant-rich Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona sections of Queens have tested positive for the virus in far greater numbers and at higher rates per capita than in wealthy, mostly white parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn....