Leading expert: Virus could infect up to 70% of population . . . A high-profile infectious disease researcher warns COVID-19 is in the early stages of attacking the world, which makes it difficult to relax stay-at-home orders without putting most Americans at risk. Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said the initial wave of outbreaks in cities such as New York City, where one in five people have been infected, represent a fraction of the illness and death yet to come.  "This damn virus is going to keep going until it infects everybody it possibly can," Osterholm said. "It surely won’t slow down until it hits 60 to 70%" of the population, the number that would create herd immunity and halt the spread of the virus. USA Today

 

 

Twitter to label what it says is misleading COVID-19 info . . . 

Twitter will add labels and warning messages on some tweets with disputed or misleading information about COVID-19, the company said on Monday, as part of a new approach to misinformation that will eventually extend to other topics. Twitter’s new labels will provide links to more information in cases where the risk of harm from the tweet is not severe enough to be removed but people could be confused or misled, Twitter said in a blog post. Reuters

 

Maybe the label they will choose will simply say "conservative opinion: Please beware"

 

These are the coronavirus tests we have

 

Viral photo shows the dangers of flying . . . Ethan Weiss, a San Francisco-based cardiologist, was worried. For the past two weeks, Weiss had been in New York, the epicenter of the U.S. novel coronavirus outbreak, volunteering at hospitals to help care for patients infected with the virus. But as Weiss tells it, he was about to face an even more daunting task this weekend: the plane trip back to San Francisco. On Saturday, the doctor’s fears were confirmed when he and 25 other medical professionals found themselves on a jam-packed flight from Newark to San Francisco — despite a previous assurance from United that social distancing measures would be in place. Washington Post

 

The total raised in April — Biden's first as the lone Democratic candidate — has helped fuel the former vice president's recent hiring spree and nearly matched the combined $61.8 million that was raised in April 2016 by Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Politico

 

Trump bolts after reporter suggests he said "ask China" because she is Asian-American . . . CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang Monday asked Trump why he was comparing U.S. testing for the coronavirus to that of other countries. “Why does that matter? Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives?” asked Jiang. “They are losing their lives everywhere in the world,” Trump responded. “And maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me. Ask China that question, OK? When you ask them that question, you might get a very unusual answer.” Jiang, who was born in China and raised in West Virginia, tried to ask why he was “specifically” telling her to ask China a question. Trump said it was a question for “anybody.” White House Dossier

 

Today's Trump schedule 

 

Supreme Court to hear case on whether Trump finances can be kept private . . . The Supreme Court will face its most politically potent case of the term on Tuesday when the justices hear arguments in a landmark dispute over access to President Trump’s financial records and tax returns.Trump contends that the broad powers he enjoys as the country’s chief executive invalidate subpoenas issued by House Democrats and a New York grand jury, and even bar access to a third-party paper trail of his financial dealings from before he entered office. The Hill

 

White House directs staff to wear masks on entering . . . The White House is directing staffers to wear masks of facial covering when entering the West Wing, though they can take them off at their desks. President Trump is not covered by the order. He enters the West Wing by exiting the residence and ambling down the collonade to the Oval Office. Two White House aides have recently tested positive for the coronavirus: A valet to the president, whatever that is, and Katie Miller, press secretary to Vice President Pence and wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller. White House Dossier

 

GOP positioned to flip first California House seat since 1998 . . . California has not seen a congressional seat flip from blue to red in more than two decades, but state and national Republican officials say they are well-positioned to do so in Tuesday's special election. Democrats have scrambled to retain control of the state's highly contested 25th Congressional District after former representative Katie Hill resigned in November 2019 amid a salacious scandal involving a "throuple" and allegations of workplace sexual misconduct. Washington Free Beacon

 

Actor tweets risqué photo of Melania and says "I hope" she is a good mother . . . . Comedian and actor Michael Rapaport, of True Romance and The War at Home, decided to help Melania Trump celebrate Mother’s Day by slamming her job as first lady and questioning whether she’s a good mother. Hmm. I don’t know who the hell he is, but I hope he is a better actor than he is a human being. White House Dossier

 

That Melania is a classy woman and an excellent mother seems to annoy a lot of liberals

 

Pentagon lacks Arctic  strategy to counter Russia and China, critics say . . . The Trump administration is struggling to effectively counter Russian and Chinese naval and maritime moves in the Arctic, according to analysts and several lawmakers, who say Washington will need to commit more resources than initially thought if it seeks to outmaneuver Moscow and Beijing in the region over the decade to come. The Pentagon rolled out a fresh “Arctic Strategy” last year, and a recent spending bill in Congress prodded the Defense Department to devote greater attention to the region, but critics say the U.S. posture remains largely reactive and lacks long-term vision.

In contrast, Russia and China are pushing strategies that portray the Arctic as key to their 21st-century economic blueprints. Washington Times

 

Trump's Space Force releases first recruiting ad

 

China to test all 11 million Wuhan residents . . . 

 

Ex- French Prez Valery Giscard d-Estaing accused of sexual harrasment at age 94 . . . German reporter Ann-Kathrin Stracke says the former leader touched her buttocks repeatedly during a 2018 interview. Ms. Stracke said the global MeToo movement, which has highlighted sexual harassment and assault against women, inspired her to come forward. The 94-year-old has denied the charge. An emailed statement from Mr Giscard d'Estaing's lawyer said he did not remember the incident, was not aware of any complaint, and that he was considering legal action after the "particularly undignified and offensive media attack". BBC

 

 

Consumer prices expected to keep falling . . . 

U.S. consumer prices are expected to have fallen for the second consecutive month in April after energy prices collapsed and efforts to contain the new coronavirus disrupted demand for a wide array of goods and services. The pandemic has unsettled supply chains and created temporary spikes in demand for some household goods. That likely nudged food prices higher. But those forces have been overwhelmed by cheap oil, and falling prices for airfares, clothing, cars and other goods and services as Americans shelter at home. Wall Street Journal

 

Elon Musk says he's ready to be arrested as he reopens Calif. plant . . . Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday said production was resuming at the automaker’s sole U.S. vehicle factory, in California, defying an order to stay closed and saying if anyone had to be arrested it should be him. The move comes as states and cities around the United States experiment with ways to safely reopen their economies after the coronavirus outbreak shuttered businesses and forced tens of millions of Americans out of work. Reuters

 

Uber lays off 4,500 . . . Thousands of Uber employees learned that they were being laid off in a three-minute Zoom call last week. The ride-sharing company informed 3,500 people who worked in customer service and recruitment around the country that it would be their last day working for Uber on the live call. Uber's Ruffin Chaveleau told staff: 'Our rides business is down by more than half. There is not enough work for many frontline customer support employees. [As a result] we are eliminating 3,500 frontline customer support roles.' Daily Mail

 

Fauci: Football may not be able to function . . . 

Dr. Anthony Fauci claimed that the NFL’s football season could be seriously affected by the pandemic even if the virus is waning by fall. Fauci insisted that teams could have a significant problem if more than one, perhaps as many as four players, were diagnosed with the virus during the season. "Once you wind up having a situation where it looks like it’s spread within a team, you got a real problem. You gotta shut it down,” he said. If an entire team ends up being “shut down” for 14 days in quarantine, then they would have to forfeit the games they are missing. If several teams end up in this situation, it could disrupt the entire season, Fauci said. Breitbart

 

Man seeks trial by combat with ex-wife . . . A Kansas man who sought legal permission in Iowa to engage in a sword fight with his ex-wife is not insane but merely angry over their child custody arrangement, according to a psychological evaluation. David Ostrom, of Paola, Kansas, asked in a Jan. 3 court filing to be allowed to fight his former wife, Bridgette Ostrom, of Harlan, Iowa, and her attorney, Matthew Hudson, so that he can “rend their souls” from their bodies. The Ostroms have been embroiled in disputes over custody and visitation issues, and property tax payments. Associated Press

 

 

Califorinia inmates try to infect themselves in so they'd be released . . . A group of California inmates are accused of trying to intentionally infect themselves with the coronavirus — thinking they would be set free if they contracted the contagion, authorities said Monday. Prisoners at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic were filmed sharing a disposable cup and sniffing a used face mask in order to accomplish their alleged plot, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. “Somehow, there was some mistaken belief among the inmate population that if they tested positive, that there was a way to force our hand and somehow release more inmates out of our jail environment — and that’s not going to happen,” Villanueva said at a press briefing. New York Post