Free Republic

There was no additional decline after lockdowns were implemented. The whole rationale for lockdowns is to #StopTheSpread better than through social distancing. Perish the thought that people might look at this elite research team’s findings and ask their elected leaders to justify life-ruining, economy-destroying, health-worsening lockdowns with actual evidence that they #SlowTheSpread by themselves, not just piggybacking on less draconian measures.

Flu season has hit hard in South Florida, bringing the typical fever, muscle aches and lingering cough, but this year it also includes one telltale sign: severe fatigue. “People feel like they have been hit by a bus,” said Clara St. Thomas, a nurse practitioner with the CVS Minute Clinic in Miramar. “They are coming in dragging and saying they have never felt like this before.” Health officials had warned the 2019-2020 flu season could be one of the worst in history. Although the season tends to peak in February, in South Florida, doctors report they are not only treating...

Lionel Messi has taken to social media once again to voice his frustration at ‘fake news’ regarding reports he would be joining Inter Milan and had paid Ronaldinho’s bail money. The Barcelona captain took to Instagram to hit back at Argentine media outlet TNT Sports and made his feelings pretty clear. He wrote ‘Lie No.1’ over a report he would be heading to the San Siro and ‘Lie’ No. 2’ over a claim he had bailed Ronaldinho out of prison. He also added: “What they said in this same newspaper about Newell’s [Old Boys] a few weeks ago was also...

PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron visited a French doctor in Marseille on Thursday whose work on an anti-malaria drug has been promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a potential weapon against COVID-19 but has split medical opinion. Macron, who met Professor Didier Raoult at his Marseille hospital behind closed doors, did not endorse the treatment, his office said, adding that it was too early for the French government to assess its effectiveness. "One visit does not legitimate a scientific protocol, a visit simply marks the head of state's interest for these clinical trials, whether they are promising or not,"...

In early March, before medical and infectious disease experts were fully aware of the havoc the novel coronavirus was already wreaking in New York City — what would soon become the nation’s epicenter of COVID-19 — Dr. Jake Deutsch was ailed by a low-grade fever, body aches, and general malaise. Already treating dozens of patients with “flu-like” symptoms at Cure Urgent Care, a walk-in clinic that he founded, Deutsch was suspicious he may have been exposed to the novel virus that was making headlines in the U.S. and beyond, as his patients were testing negative for the flu. At the...

Former Vice President Joe Biden released plans to expand Medicare eligibility and forgive some student debt as he works to unite a fractured Democratic base behind his presumptive 2020 nomination. Biden announced Thursday he would lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60 and forgive student debt for low-income and middle class families who attended public colleges and universities, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and underfunded minority-serving institution (MSIs). The proposals mark an initial olive branch to supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), some of whom have expressed skepticism at Biden’s centrist brand of politics and were dismayed when the...

The Washington Post continues to ruin its reputation by relying on a mix of a Soros-affiliated organization, the UN and the ADL to claim criticism of China’s handling of the coronavirus is racist. The Post’s story is headlined “As the coronavirus spreads, so does online racism targeting Asians, new research shows.” The article argued that “Fears of the coronavirus have fueled rising anti-Chinese sentiment online as a combination of traditional slurs and new terms such as ‘kungflu’ conflate the pandemic with ethnic and national identity, say social media researchers who tracked surging expressions of hostility for papers published Wednesday evening.”

A U.S. Border Patrol agent wouldn’t let Jackeline Reyes explain why she and her 15-year-old daughter fled Honduras and needed asylum, pointing to the coronavirus. It was just days after the Trump administration quietly empowered itself to shut down the nation’s asylum system. “The agent told us about the virus and that we couldn’t go further, but she didn’t let us speak or anything,” said Reyes, 35, who was shuttled on March 24 to Reynosa, Mexico, a violent border city. The Trump administration is relying on a seldom-used public health law to set aside decades-old national and international immigration laws....

Trump's daily update. Usually starts a bit later than 5pm. Best President EVER!!

RUSH: From The Federalist — this Mollie Hemingway — “Trump Was Right, Cuomo Was Wrong About Ventilator Needs.” You know, one thing that has been axiomatic from the beginning of the Trump presidency, time in and time out, when Trump says something that drives the media nuts, makes them go insane, and it’s every day and it’s multiple times a day, it is later proven beyond doubt that Trump was correct, but by then everybody’s forgotten, nobody cares. Trump seldom gets any credit for being right, and he’s right so frequently. He is right so often. And he was right...

The Trump administration is laying the foundation to push for a reopening of parts of the U.S. economy as early as the beginning of May amid rising pressure over unemployment numbers rivaling those during the Great Depression. President Trump and top government officials in recent days have talked about seeing “glimmers of hope” and “light at the end of the tunnel” while publicly discussing ideas for how to revive the economy. The president has floated reopening businesses in parts of the country that do not have outbreaks. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday unveiled guidelines meant...

For the second time in four days, a coronavirus projection model heavily relied upon by the White House task force has been updated, again dropping the number of projected deaths and hospitalizations. The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington dropped its estimated death projection on Sunday for the first wave of the pandemic to 81,766 deaths, down from 93,531.

Attorney General William Barr told "The Ingraham Angle" Wednesday that he was disappointed over the partisan attacks leveled against President Trump during the coronavirus pandemic and blasted reporters for waging a "jihad" to discredit the effectiveness of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine. "It's very disappointing because I think the president went out at the beginning of [the coronavirus pandemic] and really was statesmanlike, trying to bring people together, working with all the governors," Barr said. "Keeping his patience as he as he got these snarky, gotcha questions from the White House media pool and the stridency of the partisan attacks on...

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Protesters unhappy with Ohio’s social-distancing restrictions could be heard in the background during Gov. Mike DeWine’s daily briefing Thursday at the Ohio Statehouse. (snip) Some protesters said they are worried about how many Ohioans are out of work because of the DeWine administration’s “stay-at-home" order, as well as similar directives closing “non-essential” businesses and banning mass gatherings. (The statewide order banning mass gatherings specifically exempted First Amendment demonstrations). (snip) The protesters didn’t identify themselves. Multiple demonstrators said they were not with an organized group, though some appeared to be associated with a religious group, as they were carrying a...

A Tennessee man faces a felony murder charge after he allegedly broke into an Arlington Heights home Saturday to rob a family at gunpoint and the homeowner shot and killed his accomplice, police say. Bradley J. Finnan, 38, of Chattanooga, and his accomplice Larry Brodacz allegedly rang the doorbell of a home in the 2400 block of North Evergreen Avenue in a “targeted” robbery, Arlington Heights police said in a statement. Finnan and Brodacz, who was armed with a gun, entered the home and were attacked by the homeowner, police said. After a struggle, the homeowner chased Finnan out of the...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday questioned why former President Barack Obama was waiting to endorse his former vice president, Joe Biden, even though Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the Democrat presidential primary. “I don’t know why President Obama hasn’t supported Joe Biden a long time ago,” Trump said. “There’s something. He feels is wrong.” Trump said he was amazed that Obama was still waiting to endorse Biden, suggesting that the former president knew something about Biden’s suitability to be president. “He knows something that you don’t know,” Trump said. “But I think I know, but you don’t know.” The...

RUSH: They owe us an explanation. Now, I touched on this yesterday. We are owed a huge explanation. So, 2.2 million deaths. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God, 2.2. We gotta shut it down. And if we mitigate, maybe 240,000 deaths. If we social distance, we stay at home, if we shut down, if we wear masks, we do all this stuff, maybe a hundred thousand to 200,000, maybe 240,000.” Guess what? Sixty thousand. “Fauci Slashes U.S. Death Projection, Raising Hope for Reopening.” The doomsayers get to get away with everything. “Fauci Slashes U.S. Death Projection, Raising...

some of his language about the giveaway has ruffled some feathers. With the coronavirus pandemic spreading, a Georgia Republican running for Congress is giving away a semiautomatic rifle to one “lucky” supporter who can use it to shoot “looting hordes from Atlanta.” Broun told The Guardian in a Tuesday phone interview that his reference to “looting hordes from Atlanta” was “not racial.” “Only the liberal press would take that kind of position. There are a lot of white people in Atlanta as well,” Broun said to The Guardian. “Ma’am, I have been a keynote speaker at an MLK Day Celebration.”

The office of Vice President Mike Pence will no longer allow members of the White House coronavirus task force to appear on CNN unless the network broadcasts President Donald Trump’s daily press briefings in their entirety. Pence’s office, which is responsible for booking the officials on networks during the pandemic, said it will only allow experts such as Dr. Deborah Birx or Dr. Anthony Fauci to appear on CNN if the network televises the portion of the White House briefings that includes the vice president and other coronavirus task force members. … After Trump leaves the podium, CNN frequently cuts...

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday he is working on a plan with the state legislature to provide economic relief for California residents who are in the country illegally. “Californians care deeply about undocumented residents in this state,” Newsom said. About 2 million people in California are likely residing in the country illegally, according to the California Latino Legislative Caucus, which has asked the governor to provide cash assistance to those without citizenship status, since they are not eligible for the stimulus checks and other benefits provided in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed by Congress.