Wuhan lab most likely coronavirus source, U.S. government analystis finds . . . A Wuhan laboratory is the “most likely” source of the COVID-19 outbreak now ravaging the globe, according to a U.S. government analysis that catalogs the evidence. The document, compiled from open sources and not a finished product, says there is no smoking gun to blame the virus on either the Wuhan Institute of Virology or the Wuhan branch of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, both located in the city where the first outbreaks were reported.But “there is circumstantial evidence to suggest such may be the case,” the paper says. “All other possible places of the virus’ origin have been proven to be highly unlikely,” the document concludes. Washington Times

 

 

Pfizer says vaccine could be ready by fall . . . The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Tuesday that a new coronavirus vaccine could be tested as early as next week — with the potential for emergency use by fall, a report said Tuesday. “This is a crisis right now, and a solution is desperately needed by all,” Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla told the Wall Street Journal. Pfizer is working with German-based BioNtech to deliver the possible vaccine. Clinical trials on human volunteers in Germany have already started. New York Post

 

Three children first in US to develop coronavirus  inflammatory syndrome . . . Three U.S. children infected with the coronavirus are being treated for a rare inflammatory syndrome that appears similar to one that has raised concerns by doctors in Britain, Italy and Spain, a specialist treating the patients told Reuters. All three - who range in age from 6 months to 8 years - have undergone treatment at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, and all had fever and inflammation of the heart and the gut. 'Right now, we're at the very beginning of trying to understand what that represents,' Columbia's Dr. Mark Gorelik said. Daily Mail

 

Trump orders meat plants to stay open

 

 

Newsom: Calif. to begin reopening in weeks and school may start in July . . . California schools could welcome back students this summer and retail and manufacturing businesses could reopen in the coming weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday as he offered his most concrete glimpse yet of what a gradual reopening may look like. With health care capacity and hospitalizations stabilizing, Newsom said the state is "weeks, not months" away from making “meaningful modifications” to a statewide order that has relegated Californians to their homes for nearly six weeks. On Tuesday, Newsom said schools could start the next academic year early, possibly in late July or early August, though he did not specify how much instruction could occur on campuses. Politico

 

 

"I trusted my people": South Dakota governor defends lack of lockdown . . .  “In South Dakota we didn’t close any businesses,” Kristi Noem told host Sean Hannity. “We didn’t do any shelter-in-place.” Noem previously stated that she opposed government-ordered safety measures because they infringed on citizens’ personal freedoms – and preferred informing the public so they could decide for themselves whether to follow recommendations or not.

“I trusted my people, they trusted me to make decisions that were best for us, and they’ve just done an absolute fantastic job,” Noem told Hannity. “That’s why my plan is not a reopening plan, it’s a back-to-normal plan. Fox News

 

 

De Blasio blasts NYC Jewish community for massive Orthodox funeral . . . Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the Jewish community in Williamsburg on Tuesday night for defying social distancing orders by holding a massive funeral for a rabbi who died of coronavirus. Hundreds of Orthodox Jews gathered in the streets near the intersection of Rutledge Street and Bedford Avenue to pay their respects for the rabbi, identified by The Yeshiva World as Chaim Mertz. “Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic,” de Blasio wrote on Twitter. New York Times

 

 

Nearly 70 veterans killed in "horrific" outbreak at Mass. elder care facility . . . The coronavirus has killed nearly 70 veterans at an elder care facility in Massachusetts, in what's being described as the deadliest known outbreak at a long-term care facility in the U.S.

An additional 82 veterans and 81 employees have tested positive for the virus at Holyoke Soldiers' Home, and federal officials are trying to determine whether residents were denied proper medical care as deaths continue to climb. “It’s horrific,” said Edward Lapointe, whose father-in-law lives at the home and had a mild case of the virus. “These guys never had a chance.” The outbreak has now claimed the lives of nearly one-third of all residents at the veterans' home, with a new fatality being reported almost every day. Fox News

 

Biden campaign talking points show concern about sexual assault allegation . . . The messaging shows that while Biden has stayed quiet on the allegations on the eve of his nomination, aides were taking the claims seriously enough behind the scenes to coordinate messaging among other Democrats to try to cast the matter as one that’s been thoroughly vetted and determined to be unfounded.

“Biden believes that all women have the right to be heard and to have their claims thoroughly reviewed,” the talking points read, according to a copy sent to two Democratic operatives. “In this case, a thorough review by the New York Times has led to the truth: this incident did not happen.” Buzzfeed

 

Stacy Abrams revs up campaign to be Biden running mate

 

"Enabling a sexual predator": Tara Reade blasts Hillary Clinton for endorsing Biden . . . Tara Reade accused Hillary Clinton of "enabling a sexual predator" by endorsing Joe Biden, who Reade alleges sexually harassed and assaulted her in 1993. "I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. I voted for her in the primary. I'm a lifelong Democrat. But yet, what I see now is someone enabling a sexual predator, and it was my former boss, Joe Biden, who raped me," Reade told Fox News on Tuesday. Washington Examiner

 

She's good at it. It's not the first sexual predator she's enabled.

 

House distances from Washington while Senate to return . . . 

House Democrats on Tuesday reversed course on plans to bring the chamber back into session next week as Senate Republicans vowed to return despite a growing number of coronavirus cases in Washington, D.C. The contrasting approaches of the two chambers over whether it’s safe for Congress to be in session served as a microcosm of the broader partisan fight over how and when to reopen the nation’s economy. While Democrats are citing the advice of public health experts in their decision to hold off on reconvening, Republicans are joining President Trump in plowing ahead with efforts to return to business as usual. The Hill

 

Trump links coronavirus aid to sanctuary cities . . . President Trump on Tuesday suggested that new federal payments to help states deal with the coronavirus pandemic could depend on whether or not they were home to sanctuary cities. “If it is COVID related, we can talk about it. We want things including sanctuary city adjustments,” the president said during an event in the East Room of the White House. “I don’t even think they are popular even by radical left, because people are being protected that shouldn’t be protected and bad things are happening with sanctuary cities,” Trump continued. New York Post 

 

Trump, Congress considering new round of stimulus checks

 

Justin Amash to run for president as libertarian . . . Independent Michigan Rep. Justin Amash announced Tuesday that he has launched an exploratory committee for a presidential nomination with the Libertarian Party, hinting he will try to enter the race in full force. “Today, I launched an exploratory committee to seek the @LPNational’s nomination for president of the United States. Americans are ready for practical approaches based in humility and trust of the people,” Amash said on Twitter. “We’re ready for a presidency that will restore respect for our Constitution and bring people together. Daily Caller

 

 

Pence defends not wearing mask during Mayo Clinic visit . . . 

Vice President Pence on Tuesday defended his decision not to wear a face covering during a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, despite the facility's policy requiring all visitors to have one. The vice president said he was following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, which say face coverings are intended to prevent those who may have the virus but are asymptomatic from spreading it to others. "As Vice President of the United States I'm tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,” Pence told reporters traveling with him. The Hill

 

Jeff Flake wants Biden to give Trump a good spanking in November

 

Has Kim Jong Un simply gone boating? . . . 

Satellite imagery showing recent movements of luxury boats often used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his entourage near Wonsan provide further indications he has been at the coastal resort, according to experts who monitor the reclusive regime. Speculation about Kim’s health and location erupted after his unprecedented absence from April 15 celebrations to mark the birthday of his late grandfather and North Korea’s founder, Kim Il Sung. On Tuesday, North Korea-monitoring website NK PRO reported commercial satellite imagery showed boats often used by Kim had made movements in patterns that suggested he or his entourage may be in the Wonsan area. Reuters

 

Africa braces for record wave of locusts . . . First came the floods. The waters swamped bean and corn fields and created a breeding ground for a swarm of desert locusts the size of Manhattan that fanned out and destroyed a swath of farmland across eight East African nations as large as Oklahoma earlier this year. Now their offspring are threatening a historic infestation—a second wave of locusts, 20 times as large as the first, that the U.N. warns could chew their way through 2 million square miles of pastureland, farms and gardens, around the half the size of Western Europe. The swarms, which would be by far the largest on record, are expected to descend as the new coronavirus accelerates across East Africa, raising the prospect of a double-shock to some of the world’s poorest and most heavily-indebted economies. Wall Street Journal

 

Pandemic shakes France's traditional faith in strong central government . . . Local governments are now challenging the primacy of the centralized state, the foundation of French society, after it allowed supplies of virus-fighting masks and test kits to be depleted. New York Times

 

It's a boy! Boris Johnson's fiancée has a baby . . . Prime Minister Boris Johnson's fiancée Carrie Symonds today gave birth to a 'healthy' baby boy at an NHS hospital in London today - weeks earlier than anticipated. Mr Johnson is said to have been by his 32-year-old fiancee's side throughout the labour before their son entered the world in the early hours of this morning. The safe arrival of their child, Carrie's first and Boris' sixth, has come as a shock because Miss Symonds was expected to give birth later in the summer, although a due date was never confirmed by the couple. Daily Mail

 

Desperation: Hundreds line up for drive-thru food bank handouts in LA and PA . . . Hundreds of Americans lined up to access much-needed food handouts in Los Angeles and Prospect, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. Masses of cars waited in line for the drive-thru food giveaway in Pico Rivera, , as volunteers sporting face masks, gloves and high-vis jackets helped dish out supplies.  Over in Prospect, vehicles were seen snaking through the Big Butler Fairgrounds. It comes as millions of people across America lose their jobs amid the pandemic and households have been thrown into turmoil. Daily Mail

 

Healthcare workers bare all to protest PPE shortages . . . Healthcare workers in Germany and France are baring it all to raise awareness about shortages of personal protective equipment as they battle the coronavirus. A German website called “Blanke Bedenken” shows medics posing in the buff using medical equipment, including stethoscopes and anatomical skeletons, as props to partially obscure themselves. “We are your [doctors]. To be able to treat you safely, we need protective gear. When we run out of the little we have, we look like this,” the organizers said in an English statement on the website, whose name translates to “Naked Qualms.” Fox News

 

 

CDC orders pets to obey social distancing rules . . . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling pet owners that their furry family members need to follow the same social-distancing rules as everyone else during the COVID-19 pandemic — including keeping away from their other four-legged friends. “Treat pets as you would other human family members — do not let pets interact with people or animals outside the household,” the agency said in an advisory. “If a person inside the household becomes sick, isolate that person from everyone else, including pets.” The organization is also advising pet owners to avoid dog parks or public places where a large number of people and dogs gather. New York Post