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CNN’s Brooke Baldwin announced on Friday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus. Baldwin announced her diagnosis on Instagram, in a post which read, “I am OKAY. It came on suddenly yesterday afternoon. Chills, aches, fever. I’ve been social distancing. Doing ALL the things we’re being told to do. Still — it got me.” “Honestly, I feel like one of the lucky ones,” Baldwin added before giving a “shout out” to the doctors and nurses on the front lines. Before testing positive, Baldwin had covered the virus extensively on CNN’s Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin. Although the anchor will take...

I contacted the University of Pittsburgh because I wanted to volunteer for testing their new COVID-19 vaccine. They said it was way too soon, and they weren’t looking for any volunteers now. By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)April 4, 2020On April 2, 2020, the Tribune Review reported:Pittsburgh scientists develop possible coronavirus vaccine, hope FDA can fast-track itA potential vaccine against the novel coronavirus causing the covid-19 outbreak has been created in a University of Pittsburgh lab.Researchers say the first phase of human clinical trials — which would include healthy volunteers in the Pittsburgh area — could start in the...

The union that represents healthcare workers in California announced it had arranged the purchase of 39 million N95 masks for hospitals and government agencies that badly need the protective equipment. Among the intended recipients was Kaiser Permanente, which placed orders for 6 million masks. A week later, none of those masks have materialized, and Kaiser is cooperating with a federal fraud investigation into the deal, a spokesman for the health plan confirmed.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) is encouraging residents in his city to tattletale on their neighbors who defy his stay-at-home order. Specifically, he's targetting businesses that continue to remain open despite not being considered "essential" (at least by government standards). “If any non-essential businesses continue to operate in violation of the stay at home order, we’re going to act to enforce the safer at home order and ensure their compliance,” Garcetti said. “You know the old expression about snitches. Well, in this case, snitches get rewards.” “We want to thank you for turning folks in and making sure we...

Yesterday's thread here: http://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3831367/posts?page=1

Noontime Special edition. Four little kittens being raised by humans (lost their mom) learning how to play. Video, 3 minutes, 56 seconds.

Mexican brewers are halting production and domestic distribution in response to a federal suspension of nonessential economic activity to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Heineken Mexico, which brews brands such as Dos Equis, Sol and Indio, said Friday it would suspend nationwide distribution of its products. Output at its seven breweries will be reduced to a minimum to prevent “irreversible effects that could make it impossible to reactivate our economic activity,” the company said in a statement. Its main rival, Grupo Modelo, brewer of Corona and Modelo, took similar measures on Thursday. The company is a unit of...

China has been appointed to a panel on the controversial U.N. Human Rights Council, where it will help vet candidates for important posts -- despite its decades-long record of systematic human rights abuse that the U.S. has said fueled the coronavirus pandemic. Jiang Duan, minister at the Chinese Mission in Geneva, was appointed to the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Consultative Group -- where he will serve as the representative of the Asia-Pacific states. He will serve as one of five representatives for blocs of countries and is joined by delegates from Spain, Slovenia and Chad.

NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills said that "widespread testing would have to be available before the reopening of the league could be contemplated," according to Judy Battista of NFL.com. Sills "cautioned against assuming that earlier comments from league officials about the league's focus on starting the season on time mean it will definitely happen." He said, "That's everyone's hope, that we are in a position to do that. But the reality is none of us know those facts for certain right now." Sills added that the "widespread availability of point of care testing -- where a test could...

Oregon is sending 140 ventilators to New York, Gov. Kate Brown announced on Twitter Saturday morning. “New York needs more ventilators, and we are answering their call for help,” Brown tweeted. “We’ll be sending 140 ventilators to help NY because Oregon is in a better position right now. We must do all that we can to help those on the front lines of this response.” . . . . Oregon received 140 ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile on March 27.

Experts now agree the virus’s spread can be slowed but not contained. It will take its place among mostly seasonal respiratory infections. After a time, recurrent outbreaks will be moderated by a large number of potential carriers who have immunity from their last infection. And then we can ask some questions. The cost to Americans of the economic shutdown is vast. What are they getting for their money? Essentially less excess demand for respiratory ventilators and other emergency care than can currently be supplied.

Retail giant Walmart on Friday announced changes to its retail stores across the country. The changes are geared to protect staff and customers from the Wuhan coronavirus. "While many of our customers have been following the advice of the medical community regarding social distancing and safety, we have been concerned to still see some behaviors in our stores that put undue risk on our people," Dacona Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said in a post on the company's website. "We want to encourage customers to bring the fewest number of people per family necessary to shop, allow...

1) Trump proclaims Pence will not take part in the one VP debate. Reason: the #2 in a Biden WH has a decent chance to be #1 inside the 4 years so it's only right she's goes against the current POTUS. 2 )POTUS declares the ONE issue discussed will be racism thereby putting himself in position to challenge everything they stand by-especially an angry woman. We are all confident what the results will be.

Everyone is up in arms about the fact that the Navy brass fired Captain Brett Crozier, of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, after Crozier complained about people on his ship being infected with COVID-19. To many people, he was a lone man fighting a hardened bureaucracy on behalf of the men and women in his care. To others, though, he was a dangerous malcontent who placed his entire ship at risk by ignoring rules that exist for a reason. The report about Captain Brett Crozier, whose ship, the USS Roosevelt, was docked in Guam, broke like...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8gvk-nwzV8 Start at 9 minutes Dr. Fauci

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

In an announcement published just before 1:30 p.m. Friday, Evers said he “is urging the Legislature to take up legislation allowing an all-mail election, to send a ballot to every registered voter who has not already requested one by May 19, and to extend the time for those ballots to be received to May 26.”

Millions of college students will be closing out the semester from home, with online courses replacing in-person offerings. Due to the abrupt change, many schools are acknowledging the disruption, and associated changes in students’ circumstances, may lead to a decrease in academic performance unrelated to effort or intelligence, and are therefore instituting grading policies that provide appropriate understanding for the bizarre situation. Many universities, including Georgetown, Duke, University of Pennsylvania, have extended the deadline for taking a class pass/fail until either the last day of classes or even a week after report cards are released. However, many student groups are...

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice-President Joe Biden renewed his pledge "to have a woman be my running mate" and vowed he will "take a hands-on approach to vetting the field of contenders." One that has recently garnered Biden's attention is Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. "She looks like she has what it will take to serve under me when I'm president," he said. "That 180 degree turn she took on that malaria drug—first banning it in her state, then demanding the feds supply her with it—showed that she has moves. She also has some of the most alluring hair...

When will it be safe for sports to start back up again? That’s something many millions of fans want to know, and it will be addressed as part of President Trump’s agenda today. A call with the commissioners of the professional sports leagues has been scheduled for today. The noon entry on Saturday’s official White House schedule says, “The President participates in a phone call with Major League Commissioners.” The entry does not say which commissioners will be on the call, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would presumably take part. So far the NFL has been the least-affected of America’s...