Friday, May 1st, 2020

U.S. intelligence debunks conspiracy theories claiming COVID-19 is ‘manmade’  The Director of National Intelligence’s office released a statement Thursday concluding the coronavirus is not manmade or a bioweapon, as some conspiracy theories have claimed. However, the DNI’s office is still investigating to figure out exactly where the coronavirus came from. “The Intelligence community concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified,” the DNI office’s statement read. But it will continue to “rigorously examine … whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.” The White House has also reportedly ordered U.S. intelligence to probe whether China hid information about the virus from the rest of the world in its early days. Source: NBC News

NBC News has reported that U.S. intelligence agencies saw early warning signs of a health crisis in Wuhan as far back as November and that the National Center for Medical Intelligence predicted that the coronavirus would cause a global pandemic in February, well before the WHO declared one.

Well if they didn’t get the word out to the public than this is the biggest intelligence failure in history. The intelligence agencies along with half of congress was trying to impeach the President and not focusing on actual national security.

The intelligence agencies along with everybody else just didn’t find this alarming enough in January to warrant making a bigger deal of it then. Saying that they did now in retrospect is disingenuous. One can simply consult the headlines on wikipedia for the dates in question to see what was being said and talked about with any urgency.

January 20th is the first time wikipedia decided to list coronavirus as a headline.

Previous to this all news stories concerning China are concerning other topics. On that particular day the stories linked on wikipedia mention there being 136 infections in China and three deaths and a case in South Korea.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin temporarily steps down after being diagnosed with COVID-19; he will be replaced by Andrey Belousov. (Reuters)

Jobless claims during coronavirus crisis surpass 30 million  The Labor Department said on Thursday that more than 3.8 million additional Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, which brings the six-week total to about 30.3 million. Last week’s total officially meant that all of the job gains since the Great Recession had been wiped out. The latest 30 million number represents roughly 18 percent of the workforce. Thursday’s report came in above the 3.5 million filings economists were expecting, CNBC reports, but is a decrease following the previous week’s 4.4 million new filings. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department said the economy during the first quarter of this year experienced its biggest contraction since the Great Recession, but the worst is expected to come in the second quarter. Source:  NBC News

 

Macy’s announces ambitious plan to reopen 775 stores in 6 to 8 weeks  More than a month after all of its stores were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Macy’s announced on Thursday it plans on reopening each one within the next six to eight weeks. Macy’s is one of the largest department store chains in the United States, and the goal is to reopen 775 Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury stores. The company said it is only reopening in areas where state and local governments have lifted restrictions on nonessential businesses, and is expected to open 68 stores in Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas on Monday. There will be social distancing guidelines, and employees will have to wear masks. Beauty counters will not be able to give consultations or have testers out, and a limited number of fitting rooms will be open. Source: The New York Times

 

California closes Orange County beaches and parks  California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday announced an order to temporarily close state beaches and parks in Orange County, effective Friday, to curb spreading of the COVID-19 coronavirus.The move comes after crowds gathered at many Southern California beaches last weekend, and as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that his city would offer coronavirus testing for anyone who wants it, regardless of whether they have COVID-19 symptoms. Los Angeles County and Orange County have been the hotbed for coronavirus infections in California. “We can reopen very, very quickly but … we’ve got to make sure we get this right,” said Newsom, pledging to work with local officials, some of whom have criticized the move as government overreach. Source: Los Angeles Times

Congressman Justin Amash joins the Libertarian Party and announces his bid for the presidency. This also makes him the first Libertarian in Congress in the party’s 48-year history. (Reason)

NASA officially selects SpaceX, Blue Origin and Dynetics to build its next-generation lunar lander to carry American astronauts to the Moon by 2024. (Reuters)