Free Republic

Several states have started to outline how they will reopen after a month of lockdown measures designed to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

America's economy is in freefall. More than 20 million people have filed unemployment claims in recent weeks. And the worst is yet to come. Unemployment could reach 30 percent in the second quarter, according to the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Yet America's immigration policy is running on autopilot. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is scheduled to start doling out 85,000 "H-1B" guest-worker visas this month. Most of these aren't for foreign doctors or nurses either -- the visas will largely go to computer programmers and IT technicians. There's zero reason to import foreign laborers while...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth says some businesses required to close under the ongoing stay at home order should be allowed to immediately reopen. Ainsworth and the Alabama Small Business Commission’s Emergency Task Force released a report Friday morning with recommendations to Gov. Kay Ivey for reopening businesses in Alabama. The task force is a subcommittee of business leaders and members of the Alabama Legislature. [Read the full report here] These are just recommendations. Alabama issued a statewide stay at home order on April 3. The order, which is set to expire May 1, prohibits all...

Sunny Hostin said Friday that former Vice President Joe Biden should choose a black woman as his running mate, claiming that black women will “have to risk their lives to vote.” During a segment of ABC’s “The View,” Hostin argued that because black women were a strong voting bloc and Republicans opposed a large-scale move to vote by mail, the threat of coronavirus would put black women at increased risk come Election Day.

A Yellowstone County judge whose misconduct case sparked public input from hundreds of Montanans is being suspended without pay for 30 days. District Judge Ashley Harada’s month away from the office will begin May 1, according to the order from the Montana Supreme Court. In the order, signed by six of the seven justices, Chief Justice Mike McGrath said the misconduct was a serious violation of the public trust. "They manifest a flagrant disregard and threat to the rule of law and public confidence in the independence, impartiality, and integrity of our judicial system,” the order said.

Three armed robbers got the shock of their lives when they broke into a Florida apartment — and were shot at by the person inside, police said. Chilling surveillance video shows the trio walking up to a second-story Neptune Beach residence on Tuesday evening, as one of them uses his body to push in the door. Seconds later, about five gunshots ring out and the three men scurrying out, with one even leaping over the balcony to the ground. Police said one of the home invaders was shot in the chest and was being treated at a hospital, local outlet WJXT...

Once I saw a “Vote” mask by Resistance by Design, I knew it was only a matter of time before pro-abortion face masks entered the fray. Lo and behold, I was right. At a time when the world is going to extreme lengths to save lives from coronavirus by doing things like wearing face masks in public, the pro-abortion industry is trying to encourage death with new “Abortions Are Essential” face masks. How ironic. Yes, a group called We Are Pro-Abortion (WAPA) is selling black and white face masks with the word “pro-abortion” written all over them along with the...

Kansans can be punished for going to church this week because of the coronavirus, but abortion facilities in the state continue to jeopardize lives by killing unborn babies. The Kansas Supreme Court quickly handed down a ruling Saturday allowing Gov. Laura Kelly, a pro-abortion Democrat, to ban church services and punish those who refuse to comply. Allowed to stand barely 24 hours before Easter Sunday, Kelly’s executive order bans religious services of more than 10 people. It also allows religious leaders and their congregants to be punished with fines of up to $2,500 and 12 months in jail for violations....

The beaches and parks will reopen at 5 PM on Saturday. The beaches will be open for hiking, running, swimming, taking care of pets and surfing. Not real freedom. https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/regional/florida/st-johns-county-beaches-partially-reopen-friday/77-2ada3b85-08d6-47f1-9432-38d473c81142 On Friday the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners announced that county beaches are now open from 6 a.m. to noon, seven days a week. In a press release, commissioners note that the beaches should only be used for activities that include physical activity and motion include walking, running, exercise, surfing, biking, fishing, swimming, surfing, and others. “Walk to exercise not to socialize,” said Dawn C. Allicock, Director and...

Yet another pro-lifer has experienced harassment for prayerful, peaceful witness on the sidewalks outside of an abortion facility; this time, in Hagerstown, Maryland. On April 2, 2020, Wanda King and several other pro-lifers praying outside Hagerstown Reproductive Health were approached by city police officers who accused them of violating the state’s stay-at-home order, even though less than 10 people were gathered and all were maintaining social distancing guidelines. At that time, the officers threatened King with a $5,000 for her supposed violation. Before any citation could be issued, a friend drove King home. One of the pro-lifers then contacted Maryland...

The Pennsylvania investment firm that owns the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove in Miami has applied for as many as 48 taxpayer-backed loans under an emergency program meant to help the nation’s smallest businesses hang on to their employees through the coronavirus pandemic. A Maryland hotel company that did more than $1.5 billion in revenue last year has applied for more than 50 loans — and been approved for about 10 so far. And Winter Park’s Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. — the parent company of Ruth’s Chris Steak House that made $42 million in profits last year and spent $41 million buying...

Gov. Andy Beshear says it’s unlikely that Kentucky will begin easing coronavirus crowd restrictions and business closures starting May 1, as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said would happen in his state. At Thursday’s briefing, Beshear said that the state is looking at several different metrics for how to determine when it’s safe to start opening Kentucky’s economy up, but that May 1 “is a hard day to hit.” “It’s really gradual and phased in, every plan we see out there,” Beshear said. “Late May or June, we hope there are certainly some things Kentuckians will be able to be doing...

RUSH: Folks, you have to hear this — and I want you to envision something. This is Plugs last night. CNN ran a special: “Coronavirus Facts and Fears: A CNN Global Town Hall.” The host was a dire and very gloomy looking Anderson Cooper along with the official medical doctor at CNN, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. So on the screen from left to right as you’re looking at the screen, you had the gloomy Anderson Cooper; in the middle, you had Dr. Sanjay Gupta; and then you had Plugs, from his basement studio in Delaware. The question: “Looking at the president’s...

Investors may be too enthusiastic about a scoop from the health-care news website STAT on a trial of Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir in patients with severe Covid-19, analysts say. Gilead (ticker: GILD) shares were up 10.6% shortly after the open on Friday, and had risen much further in trading after the close on Thursday. STAT reported Thursday evening that nearly all of the patients at one Chicago hospital participating in a Gilead-sponsored trial of remdesivir were discharged in less than a week. The S&P 500 and other major stock indexes rallied in response to the news, as well as...

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room6:06 P.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Our nation is engaged in a historic battle against the invisible enemy.  To win this fight, we have undertaken the greatest national mobilization since World War Two.  And that’s exactly what it’s been.We’ve marshaled every instrument of American power, and we’ve unleashed our most potent weapon of all: the courage of the American people.These have been trying times.  A cruel virus from a distant land has unfairly claimed thousands of precious American lives.  To every citizen who has lost a cherished loved one: Your pain is...

<p>ACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s governor on Friday gave the green light for some beaches and parks to reopen if it can be done safely after being closed because of the coronavirus.</p> <p>Gov. Ron DeSantis’ announcement came as north Florida beaches became among the first to allow allow beach-goers to return since the virus-induced closures.</p>

  BEGINNING THE NEXT PHASE IN THE FIGHT: President Donald J. Trump is continuing the fight against the coronavirus by beginning to reopen the country in a smart and safe way. The Trump Administration is issuing new guidelines to enable individual States to reopen in phases using a deliberate, data-driven approach. Under these guidelines, States will reopen one step at a time, rather than all at once. The guidelines will empower Governors to tailor the phased reopening to address the situation in their State. Governors can begin phased openings at the Statewide or county-by-county level. These guidelines were developed by...

When I was young I had the chicken pox. When a kid had the chicken pox, parents would send their kids over to play so that all the kids would get it. So why not do that with COVID-19? Kids pass diseases to their families all the time, and is probably a major way to spread covid. But, as we know, few people under 30 even show symptoms. So why not set up summer camps this summer where kids can go get infected? They can be kept there for three weeks until they test negative. The camps can be staffed...

US intelligence agencies alerted Israel to the coronavirus outbreak in China already in November, Israeli television reported Thursday. According to Channel 12 news, the US intelligence community became aware of the emerging disease in Wuhan in the second week of that month and drew up a classified document. Information on the disease outbreak was not in the public domain at that stage — and was known only apparently to the Chinese government. US intelligence informed the Trump administration, “which did not deem it of interest,” but the report said the Americans also decided to update two allies with the classified...

A vaccine for COVID-19 may be available by September, according to Oxford University scientists who are developing the vaccine. A report in The Times of Israel said the scientists are expected to commence human trials next week for a coronavirus vaccine. A total of 510 people between the ages of 18 and 55 have been recruited to take part in the trial, The Times said, quoting British tabloid The Daily Mail. The subjects will receive either the vaccine developed at the university or a control injection for comparison. “We are going into human trials next week. We have tested the...