Day: April 7, 2020

Researchers Lower Fatality Projections in Coronavirus Model Used by White House

Minnesota Sun Staff

The researchers whose model the White House has used to help guide its coronavirus response lowered their estimate Sunday for the number of Americans projected to die during the first wave of the pandemic.

The model, from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, now projects 81,766 deaths in the United States through Aug. 1, with most of the fatalities occurring by the middle of May. The IHME team projected a range of between 49,431 and 136,401 for the same period.

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Commentary: Constitution-Respecting Sheriffs Refuse to Enforce Lockdowns

Minnesota Sun Staff

Across the country governors, county commissioners and executives, and city and town officials have announced “lockdowns” or stay-at-home orders of dubious constitutional validity. The result of these orders is the bizarre situation in which jails are being emptied of criminals while individuals engaged in their ordinary business at appropriate social distance have been arrested for the crime of being outside their home.

One of the most high-profile examples of this inverted constitutional order happened in California, where a paddle boarder was arrested near the Malibu Pier for ignoring orders from lifeguards to get out of the water. CBS News Los Angeles reports the unidentified man spent 30 to 40 minutes paddling in the ocean waters off Malibu Beach after refusing to heed orders from L.A. County lifeguards to go ashore. LASD Harbor Patrol brought in a boat, at which point the paddleboarder voluntarily swam in and was taken into custody.

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Trump Pushes Lupus-Coronavirus Study, But the Evidence Is Mixed

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Chuck Ross   President Donald Trump again touted the drug hydroxychloroquine Saturday, citing an unspecified study showing that lupus patients are fighting off coronavirus infections because they take the drug hydroxychloroquine. Trump has come under fire from some health experts and journalists for hyping the hydroxychloroquine as a potential…

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Attorneys General Give Conflicting Views on Future of Antitrust Probe Targeting Google as States Respond to Virus Spread

Minnesota Sun Staff

The attorneys general who are involved in an antitrust investigation targeting Google are weighing whether to press the accelerator on the probe or focus resources on the coronavirus response.

Google is doing everything it can to protect not only its employees, but also Americans, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry told the Daily Caller News Foundation. He is referring to what he said was the company’s work to help the Trump administration on the virus response.

Landry is one of the 33 attorneys general who is helping to spearhead the probe.

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ICE Says Reports of Hunger Strikes by Detainees Are Completely False

Minnesota Sun Staff

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is pushing back against reports that detainees in its facility in Tacoma, Washington, are going on a hunger strike.

Over the past several days, activists have said detainees at the Northwest ICE Processing Center have gone on a hunger strike in order to force concessions out of ICE amid the coronavirus pandemic, claims that were then cited by several news outlets. However, the agency came out with a strong statement late Sunday, saying such claims are bogus.

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Smugglers Posed as Border Wall Construction Workers, Shootout Ensued: Report

Minnesota Sun Staff

Migrant smugglers reportedly posed as border wall construction employees, and one of them shot at a Border Patrol agent following a high-speed chase.

Smugglers on Wednesday entered the U.S. with vehicles, designed to look like pickup trucks involved with border wall construction, carrying numerous illegal aliens, according to a report from the Washington Times. A dangerous encounter took place after Border Patrol agents became suspicious of the pickup trucks and began to follow them.

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Professor Encourages Students to File ‘Bias Reports’ if They Hear Someone Say ‘Chinese Virus’

Minnesota Sun Staff

A professor at the University of Nevada, Reno encourages students and faculty to file bias reports to combat “coronavirus” racism.

President Donald Trump recently referred to the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” at a press briefing saying, “It’s not racist at all.” Trump began using the term “Chinese virus” after China attempted to blame the U.S. military for the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

Nicole Jacobs, associate dean of diversity and inclusion at the University of Nevada, Reno published an article on the university’s website, encouraging readers to combat “coronavirus racism.” According to Jacobs, Americans need to “ARISE” to become an “active bystander” and oppose “act[s] of racism and bias.” To Jacobs, this also includes comments like “Chinese virus.”

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Commentary: The Coronavirus Crisis Is President Trump’s Opportunity for Lasting Victories for His America First Agenda

Minnesota Sun Staff

When Rahm Emanuel told audiences that former President Barack Obama should “never let a serious crisis go to waste,” he was applauded. Emanuel was referring to the Obama Administration’s response to the Great Recession. Clearly, President Obama agreed. Obama ushered in the greatest reorganization of the American socio-economic order under the auspices of resolving the financial crisis (which, of course, Obama never actually did resolve).

Similarly, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus from Wuhan, China offers President Trump a momentous opportunity to enact his own sweeping agenda – all of which would be far more beneficial to the American people than Obama’s statism. Trump needs to press his advantage with as much vigor and alacrity as Obama pressed his during the financial crisis.

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Walz Launches ‘Bias and Discrimination’ Helpline for Reporting Incidents to the State

Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday that his office has created a “discrimination helpline” amid “rising reports of discrimination from the Asian American community.”

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan claimed that America has a “distinct pattern” of “increased discrimination during uncertain and trying times, of needing someone to blame.”

“This is unacceptable and, as Minnesotans, we must work to break this cycle,” she added.

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