Light News

Republican-Controlled Trump Administration Eliminates Almost All Back Paid Leave In Coronavirus Relief Law, 75% Workers Disqualified | In guidance issued on Wednesday, the Labor Department said that employers at companies with fewer than 50 workers had broad latitude to decline to offer the 12 weeks of paid leave that the law required for workers whose children were home from school or for child care because of the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation, which provides two weeks of paid sick leave and 12 weeks of paid family leave, and reimburses employers for it with tax credits, already excludes workers at companies with more than 500 employees. In all, more than 75 percent of American workers are at companies that qualify for exemptions from the law.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/politics/coronavirus-paid-leave.html
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/ffcra
https://www.bls.gov/web/cewbd/table_f.txt

Reminder: Thousands of Thai elephants ‘face starvation as tourism industry collapses due to coronavirus pandemic’: Caretakers are struggling to afford food for the country’s 4,000 captive elephants. The animals can eat up to 200kg of food per day.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/thailand-elephants-starvation-coronavirus-tourism-collapses-a4403561.html

He may have lost his job but he accomplished his goal which was to save his sailors’ lives. This is true leadership: Hundreds were pictured in the gathering in the aircraft carrier’s hangar deck and many chanted Capt. Brett Crozier’s name. |  A cheering and applauding crowd of sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt wished farewell to their captain, whom the Navy relieved of command after he raised concerns about the spreading coronavirus on his ship in a letter that was leaked to the media. Hundreds were pictured in the gathering in the ship’s hangar deck and many chanted Capt. Brett Crozier’s name in multiple videos posted to social media.
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/captain-crozier-captain-crozier-videos-show-sailors-sending-off-ousted-uss-roosevelt-commander-with-cheers-1.624732
https://www.facebook.com/100006162696918/videos/2529251917290207/

All our enemies have to do is turn on the TV and watch Trumps pressers to see our country’s greatest weaknesses. It’s no secret.

The website for the federal stockpile literally says it’s for states to use when they need it
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUoyOYdWoAAKwxb.jpg

It took the government less than 24 hours to change the copy on its website about stockpiles to make it look like Kushner was telling the truth.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUsISRwX0AAwlOK.jpg

They edited it again. Unbelievable.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUsOZi5UMAApopm.jpg

They’re trying to excuse their failure to provide states with enough emergency covid-19 equipment by saying it’s not their job to do so. The website clearly said it was their job, after Kushner said it wasn’t, so they changed the website to suggest states should have their own stockpile (and states do, but not enough during a national emergency, states have exhausted their own supply).
https://twitter.com/LEBassett/status/1246119524094615552

This is what our government is working on America. While hundred of thousands of us die to the virus, our government is spending time updating websites to make sure their website information matches the President's son-in-law's lies and propaganda.

The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” - George Orwell, 1984

The Trump administration on Friday changed its description of the Strategic National Stockpile on a government website after journalists noted that it contradicted a claim Jared Kushner had made about the program. Kushner on Thursday evening offered a novel argument about the national stockpile. He said some states still had stockpiles that they hadn’t been employing for the coronavirus outbreak and that localities should go to them first. And then he suggested that the national stockpile wasn’t even meant for them. “And the notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile,” Kushner said. “It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.” As reporters quickly noted, that didn’t match with how the Department of Health and Human Services was describing the program. On its website, it said, “Strategic National Stockpile is the nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.” It continued to say, "When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency.” That language suddenly disappeared from the site Friday morning, as journalist Laura Bassett noted, and was replaced with something de-emphasizing the size of the stockpile and its role in helping states. The new description cast it as a “short-term stopgap.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/03/jared-kushner-stands-trump-proceeds-offer-very-trumpian-claim-about-stockpiles/
https://www.phe.gov/about/sns/Pages/default.aspx
https://twitter.com/LEBassett/status/1246099093694435328

This guy isn’t even suppose to have a security clearance above a third grader...

Then I guess "our money" shouldn't be footing the bill: Jared Kushner Ripped For Saying 'Our Stockpile' Isn't Meant For States To Use
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jared-kushner-stockpile_n_5e86dca8c5b6a949183425ca

Pakistani authorities on Friday ordered the detention of four men set to be released after being acquitted by a court over the murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, and the government said it would challenge the acquittal next week.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-court-danielpearl/pakistan-re-arrests-four-men-acquitted-in-daniel-pearl-murder-case-idUSKBN21L17R

Bill Gates funding the construction of factories for 7 different vaccines to fight coronavirus
https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-factories-7-different-vaccines-to-fight-coronavirus-2020-4

Coronavirus could trigger biggest fall in carbon emissions since World War Two
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-emissions/coronavirus-could-trigger-biggest-fall-in-carbon-emissions-since-world-war-two-idUKKBN21L0KC

Trump orders American-based medical supply firm 3M to stop selling N95 respirators to Canada
https://globalnews.ca/news/6772979/coronavirus-3m-n95-respirators-trump-canada/

3M refused Trump’s demand to divert 10 million N95 masks produced in Singapore to the US. The masks are produced in Singapore and exported to countries in Asia.
https://mothership.sg/2020/04/trump-3m-10-million-masks/

American-made face masks bound for Canada and Germany diverted to US, Germany's interior minister deplores 'act of modern piracy'
https://www.thenational.ae/world/the-americas/coronavirus-face-masks-bound-for-canada-and-germany-diverted-to-us-1.1001199

Trudeau warns U.S. over restricting the trade of essential goods into Canada - highlight flow of essential supplies to the US from Canada as well
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-trudeau-warns-us-over-restricting-the-trade-of-essential-goods-into/

Trump on March 19: "Nobody knew there'd be a pandemic or an epidemic of this proportion"...: In a speech last year at government-sponsored summit, Trump's top NSC official for biodefense warned of a pandemic threat as what kept him up at night. Saying the idea of a pandemic was "the thing we're not prepared for that we should be." At the same conference, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said a pandemic was the the number one concern in the biodefense world and kept him up at night as well. The comments undercut claims from Trump on five different occasions no one saw a pandemic coming.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/politics/kfile-officials-worried-over-pandemic-last-year/index.html

Federal judge declines to postpone April 7 presidential primaries in Wisconsin
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-judge-declines-to-postpone-april-7-presidential-primaries-in-wisconsin/2020/04/02/2ff660b4-74dc-11ea-87da-77a8136c1a6d_story.html

Federal judge orders Wisconsin clerks to wait until April 13 to release results of Tuesday's election | State law requires clerks to report unofficial returns on election night and state election officials didn't want that to start happening on Tuesday when only a portion of ballots will have been counted. | In his initial ruling, Conley did not require that absentee ballots be postmarked by election day. That means voters who have received absentee ballots could fill them out and return them days after voting would normally conclude. Election observers have raised concerns that reporting returns starting Tuesday would have affected the behavior of those who requested ballots but hadn't cast them by election day. It could also lead to pressure on voters who hadn't returned their ballots from campaigns and parties if they see that some races were tight. Conley allowed absentee ballots to be returned after Tuesday because tens of thousands of voters likely won't receive them until after election day. He determined that if they requested their ballots on time, they should be able to cast them.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/04/03/wisconsin-cant-release-election-results-until-april-13-judge-rules/2940768001/

Reduced pollution due to the countrywide lock-down allows Indian town a glimpse of Himalayan mountain range more than 140 kms away
https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/jalandhar-residents-wake-up-to-view-of-himalayan-range-as-covid-19-lockdown-leaves-air-cleaner-2563427.html

The dismissal of Captain Brett Crozier as commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt for seeking safe harbor for his COVID-19 sickened crew recalls a letter Theodore Roosevelt wrote to his superiors when his Rough Riders faced a Yellow Fever and malaria outbreak during Spanish-American War.
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/april/uss-theodore-roosevelt-commanding-officer-followed-example-colonel

“I cannot see our men, who have fought so bravely and who have endured extreme hardship and danger so uncomplainingly, go to destruction without striving so far as lies in me to avert a doom as fearful as it is unnecessary and undeserved.”
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/april/uss-theodore-roosevelt-commanding-officer-followed-example-colonel

Today, 12% of newly-reported tests produced positive results in Italy. 10 days ago, that figure was 24%. So that's quite a bit of progress, more so than the topline numbers would imply because Italy has increased testing volume.
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1246120277806911489

Trump announces the federal government will reimburse hospitals for treating people who don't have insurance if they become sick from coronavirus. Like how he paid the contractors after they worked on his properties.

Trump says that the CDC is recommending Americans cover their faces when outside. Trump calls it "voluntary" and adds: "I don't think I'm going to be doing it." Way to lead by example. Nothing but a terrorist. If anyone should be covering his/her face it should be him.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital furloughs employees due to 'drastic drop in patient volumes' when IN FUCKING FACT THEY HAVE AN INCREASE IN PATIENT VOLUMES with 118+ people testing positive for covid-19 and 46 hospitalized because of covid-19
https://fdoh.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/8d0de33f260d444c852a615dc7837c86
https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-sarasota-manatee/sarasota-memorial-hospital-furloughs-employees-due-to-drastic-drop-in-patient-volumes

US Supreme Court cancels oral arguments for the remainder of the term due to coronavirus concerns
https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/1246196045123641351

"I'm feeling good, I just don't want to be doing it ..." Trump says, explaining his reasoning for why he doesn't want to follow new CDC guidance to wear a face covering. Says he doesn't see it happening, as he sits behind the Resolute Desk and meets kings and queens and vagabonds and liars and thieves and dictators

“The professionals did the model, I was never involved in a model - at least this kind of a model.” Talking about your sex life in response to a question about whether hundreds of thousands of people are still expected to die. He outrages me every time he appears on TV. I can't take it anymore. As usual Republicans stand silently by and not say a word. Half of America love him for saying that. That’s the problem in this country.

In Wisconsin you have to scan and send in your ID to get an absentee ballot. And then you have to have a witness sign your absentee ballot. Trump claims - citing no evidence - that “a lot of people cheat” with mail-in voting. He says people should got to a voting booth and “proudly display yourself” and have an ID. If you vote in a state that does not require ID: 1) ID is required to register to vote 2) When you vote, you provide basic info, you sign your name, your name is marked off, you are officially recorded as having voted, nobody can use your name/information to vote, you can't vote again elsewhere. I live in a state that requires a photo id and the process is identical, your name is found, you sign, you're marked as having voted, nobody can use your name/id to vote again and you can't vote again. Three people voted illegally in person in 2016: two were Republicans. Trump babbled about using a debit card for purchases. I buy online all the time. Amazon doesn't make me use an Amazon picture id. LOL. F!ck Trump and all Republicans and all their supporters. Shitstain Trump VOTED BY MAIL for the Florida primary, fuck him already.

Oregon: 1st state to conduct a presidential election by mail. In 2000. Participation = 80% Popular in both parties ever since. ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ just scorched vote-by-mail ⁦@repgregwalden⁩ discusses Oregon’s voting history here. Listen. Enjoy!
https://twitter.com/MajorCBS/status/1246210700554444800

This phone alert today is just crushing. Yet another example of a painful and unprecedented time in NYC. G/d Bless the city’s first responders and healthcare workers. ❤️🙏🏻
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUtcU7NXQAA4N2o.jpg

5 weeks ago: 61 cases, 0 deaths
4 weeks ago: 265 cases, 14 deaths
3 weeks ago: 1,899 cases, 41 deaths
2 week ago: 15,905 cases, 208 deaths
1 Week ago 100,514 cases, 1,546 deaths
Right Now 273,777 cases, 7028 deaths

He Was Hospitalized, But His COVID-19 Test Was Negative. Days Later, He Tested Positive And Died. | A man who dedicated his career to education — spending 20 years at an all-girls private Catholic high school in Queens, rising the ranks from teacher and coach to athletic director and most recently to assistant principal of student life — has died as a result of the coronavirus.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/maryanngeorgantopoulos/coronavirus-victim-joe-lewinger-queens-assistant-principal

Jason Hargrove drove a bus in Detroit. On March 21, he posted this video calling out the irresponsibility of a passenger who coughed several times without covering her mouth. He died on April 2—leaving behind a wife—having been infected with #COVID19. RIP.
https://twitter.com/AjitPaiFCC/status/1246237478891249666

Trump acts like a spectator to the decisions he himself made. His administration. His policies. His consequences.

Bill Withers, Who Sang ‘Lean on Me’ and ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ Dies at 81
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/arts/music/bill-withers-dead.html?referringSource=articleShare

Social Distancing Might Stop. And Start. And Stop. And Start. Until We Have A Vaccine.

Trump said he would authorize the use of a wartime-era law to force GM to produce ventilators, but the company still hasn't received a formal order. GM, as a result, hasn't allowed private companies or hospitals to place orders, a source says.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/politics/supply-delay-fema-coronavirus/index.html

Some of the state’s most popular beaches will be allowed to reopen Friday night due to Gov. Brian Kemp’s statewide order superseding that of some city-level shelter-in-place mandates.
https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-georgia-beaches-reopening-friday-night/FeVxuRX6ohp7Yd8tDZlZdN/

I don’t even care any longer. I just don’t effing CARE. Let them get sick. Let them bankrupt their families. Let them die in debt. I. DO. NOT. CARE. At this point, every death of a Trumper due to this pandemic makes the world a better, cleaner place, with a deeper gene pool.