New mutant virus more contagious . . . A mutant strain of the coronavirus has become the virus’ dominant form and is even more contagious than earlier versions, according to scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In a new study, the researchers found this new strain has been dominant since mid-March after it first appeared in Europe the month prior and quickly spread to the East Coast. On top of being more contagious and spreading faster, it may also make people at risk of a second infection if it mutates so much that the people are no longer immune to the new strain. New York Daily News

 

 

Tyson Foods reopens largest pork plant . . . Tyson Foods Inc is preparing to reopen its largest US pork plant where at least 444 workers tested positive for COVID-19 and two died. Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, announced the plan to resume limited operations this week at the Waterloo plant late Tuesday night, two weeks after it was shuttered on April 22 amid a coronavirus outbreak.  All employees returning to work have been screened for the virus, the company said, and any employee who tested positive will remain on sick leave until released by health officials to return to work.  Daily Mail

 

 

Researcher on verge of coronavirus discovery killed in murder-suicide . . .  Dr Bing Liu, 37, a coronavirus researcher at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, was shot and killed in a suspected murder-suicide allegedly carried out by a man he knew. He was said to have been on the verge of 'very significant findings' related to the coronavirus when police say he was killed in an apparent murder-suicide. Dr Bing Liu, 37, was alone at his home in the 200 block of Elm Court in Ross Township on Saturday afternoon when another man - identified as 46-year-old Hao Gu - allegedly entered the residence through an unlocked door and opened fire. Liu was struck by bullets in the head, neck and torso, and died of his injuries. His wife was not home at the time of the homicide. Daily Mail

 

 

Biden's edge evaporates in new poll . . . Joe Biden’s advantage over President Donald Trump in popular support has eroded in recent weeks as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee struggles for visibility with voters during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. The opinion poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday found that 43% of registered voters said they would support Biden in the Nov. 3 presidential election, while 41% said they would back Trump. That makes the contest essentially a toss-up, as the results are within the poll’s credibility interval. Biden led by 6 percentage points in a similar poll last week and by 8 points in a poll that ran April 15 to 21. Reuters

 

Trump says US must reopen even if more will get sick . . .  Trump launched headlong into his push to reopen the country on Tuesday, saying Americans should begin returning to their everyday lives even if it leads to more sickness and death from the pandemic. Trump, speaking in Phoenix during his first trip outside Washington in more than a month, said he’s preparing for “phase two” of the U.S. response to the coronavirus. Trump acknowledged that reopening the economy would likely lead to more suffering. “Will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes,” Trump said. “But we have to get our country open and we have to get it open soon.” Bloomberg

 

He's being honest. Everyone knows there is going to be a tradeoff. 

 

Republicans resist Trump payroll tax cut . . . Trump’s latest red line for the next phase of coronavirus legislation — a payroll tax cut for workers — has few fans in Congress even among Republicans, further complicating the path toward a new rescue package as House Democrats rush to release their own plan as early as next week.

 

Trump to families affected by coronavirus: "I love you" . . . 

President Donald Trump told American families affected by coronavirus “I love you” and said that he doesn’t sleep at night thinking about people dying from the virus in an ABC interview Tuesday. “I want to say, I love you,” Trump said. “I want to say that we’re doing everything we can. I also want to say that we’re trying to protect people over 60 years old. We’re trying so hard . . . And to the people that have lost someone, there’s nobody — I don’t sleep at night thinking about it. There’s nobody that’s taken it harder than me.” Daily Caller

 

Trump: Fauci won't testify before House because it's a "setup"

 

Maxine Waters is on the committee. What could go wrong?

 

Biden voted to block creation of Senate office handling sexual harrassment cases . . . Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden voted in favor of a motion that would have blocked the creation of the Senate office that receives sexual harassment complaints. Biden was one of six Democrats who joined an effort to block the Office of Senate Fair Employment Practices in 1991 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. The vote came less than two years before Tara Reade allegedly filed a complaint about her treatment as an employee in Biden's Senate office. Created as a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 in the shadow of Anita Hill's testimony on Capitol Hill, the Office of Senate Fair Employment Practices was an attempt to remedy the fact that Congress was, at the time, exempt from workplace discrimination laws. Washington Free Beacon

 

Video || Trump boaters parade steams to Mar-a-Lago

 

Soros-backed groups push Dems to use virus for progressive wish list . . . A coalition of progressive groups, many funded by billionaire George Soros, is sponsoring a “People’s Bailout” community organizing outfit nudging Congress to use the next stimulus package during the coronavirus crisis to enact reforms that would fundamentally transform American society by achieving longtime progressive aims. The suddenly-created People’s Bailout group is demanding that the next stimulus package adhere to “five principles” the group says are endorsed by “nearly 1,000 organizations, unions, community leaders, and nearly 100 members of Congress.” Those “principals” encompass such far-left wish list items as government healthcare for illegal immigrants, required $15 per hour minimum wage, enhanced union collective bargaining and government regulation of the board of directors of private companies to ensure “worker representation.” Breitbart

 

Trump Schedule - May 6, 2020

 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized but will keep working . . . Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Tuesday was treated for acute cholecystitis at Johns Hopkins Hospital, according to the court's office of public information. Acute cholecystitis is a "benign gallbladder condition," according to the office, and Ginsburg plans to participate in oral arguments Wednesday. "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent non-surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis, a benign gallbladder condition, this afternoon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland," a statement from the Supreme Court said. The Justice is resting comfortably and plans to participate in the oral argument teleconference tomorrow morning remotely from the hospital." CBS News

 

What is Schiff hiding? Republicans demand release of witness interviews

 

Supreme Court set to hear Obamacare case . . . The Supreme Court’s third day of hearing arguments by telephone is its first chance at a high-profile case, this one involving the Affordable Care Act. The justices are hearing a dispute Wednesday about Trump administration rules that would allow more employers who cite a religious or moral objection to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women. Because of the coronavirus pandemic the high court has been hearing arguments by phone, with audio of arguments available live to the public for the first time. Boston Globe

 

Leader of failed Venezuela coup has provided security for Trump . . . .Ex-Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, 43, can be seen in footage with an earpiece at one of the president's rallies in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October 2018. He also claims to have provided security at a rally in Houston four days earlier. The website for his private security firm Silvercorp claims he has planned and led international security teams for the President as well as the Secretary of Defense. Trump Tuesday denied any involvement by the U.S. government in Monday's failed attack. 'We'll find out. We just heard about it,' Trump said when asked about the incident and the Americans' arrests. 'But it has nothing to do with our government.' Daily Mail

 

 

Is it him? Speculation that Kim Jong Un appearance made by body double . . . Shortly after footage of Kim's reappearance emerged, several social media users didn't waste any time in pointing out discrepancies in the leader's facial, hairline and dental features when comparing his recent public outing with previous appearances, leading many to believe that authorities may have used one of his body doubles to stand in for Kim and end the speculation surrounding his ill health. Human rights activist Jennifer Zeng was the first to draw attention to dissimilarities between the two "versions" of Kim, including differences in their teeth, and ears. "Is the Kim Jong-un appearing on May 1 the real one?," she asked on Twitter along with side-by-side comparisons of Kim's "old and new" appearances in two separate posts. International Business Times

 

Mnuchin says international travel may not resume until 2021. . . U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has warned that international travel may not resume until 2021 as he encouraged Americans to consider travelling within the US instead. Speaking during an interview on Fox Business Network on Monday, Mnuchin said it was 'too hard to tell' at the moment whether international travel could open up by the end of the year.  

But, he added: 'This is a great time for people to explore America. A lot of people haven't seen many parts of America.' Daily Mail

 

Poachers in South Africa seize coronavirus opportunity . . . African poachers are having a field day at the expense of the flagging tourism trade. At least six rhinoceroses in Botswana and nine more in South Africa have been killed since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the continent, reported CNBC News. Illegal poaching, which is common in Africa, has ramped up as tourist destinations remain empty and safari guides stay at home. So far, five suspected poachers in Botswana have been fatally shot. Although rangers still patrol reserves, the lack of tourist vehicles gives hunters a distinct edge. New York Daily News

 

Airlines burn through $10B per month as traffic plummets . . . U.S. airlines are collectively burning more than $10 billion in cash a month and averaging fewer than two dozen passengers per domestic flight because of the coronavirus pandemic, industry trade group Airlines for America said in prepared testimony seen by Reuters ahead of a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday. Even after grounding more than 3,000 aircraft, or nearly 50% of the active U.S. fleet, the group said its member carriers, which include the four largest U.S. airlines, were averaging just 17 passengers per domestic flight and 29 passengers per international flight. Reuters

 

Dallas salon owner jailed for reopening in violation of court order . . . A Dallas salon owner will spend a week in jail after she was found in contempt of court Tuesday for violating an order to close her salon during the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, Shelley Luther was fined $7,000 for continuing to operate her business, Salon à la Mode, in violation of a judge’s temporary restraining order issued against the business. Dallas Morning News

 

 

UK prof who convinced Boris Johnson on lockdown broke it with married mistress . . . Professor Neil Ferguson was branded an ‘arrogant hypocrite’ today for catastrophically 'undermining' the government’s position by flouting the strict coronavirus social distancing rules he helped draw up to have secret trysts with his married lover. The shamed scientist, nicknamed 'Professor Lockdown' because he convinced Boris Johnson to order millions to stay at home, has sensationally quit his Government role on the influential SAGE committee - but his employer Imperial College London is standing by him. Professor Ferguson, 51, asked his mistress Antonia Staats, 38, to travel across London to his home at least twice despite lecturing 66million in Britain on the need to stay apart to stop the spread of the killer virus. Daily Mail

 

Elon Musk names his child X Æ A-12 . . . His girlfriend, the singer Grimes, wrote: "X, the unknown variable," the singer wrote first, adding an emoji of two crossing swords. "Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence). A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent," she continued, adding a white heart emoji. "(A=Archangel, my favorite song) (metal rat)." Fox News