Kamis, 23 April 2020

Salisbury News

Salisbury News


Al Gore Suggests Banning Gas-Powered Cars, Biden Agrees

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 09:00 PM PDT

Presumed Democratic nominee Joe Biden received another high-profile Democratic endorsement on Wednesday, from former Vice President Al Gore (D). Vice President Gore served under President Bill Clinton and ran against President Bush in the 2000 general election, leading to the landmark Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore.

A high-profile climate activist, Vice President Gore founded The Climate Reality Project and works exclusively on environmental issues. During his virtual endorsement of a fellow former vice president, Gore suggested that if elected, Biden should ban gasoline-powered vehicles. This radical proposal is a provision present in the Green New Deal. Despite his continued promise to hold moderate policy stances, Biden agreed with Gore:

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You Have Every Reason to Be Angry At Communist China... And the Liberals Defending Them

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 08:30 PM PDT

Tens of thousands of Americans are dead today because of the actions, inactions, lies, and deceptions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). And you have every reason to be righteously pissed off about it.

Beyond the tragedy of those deaths, our economy, our schools, and our way of life have all been forced to a grinding halt in an effort to fight the enemy China has inflicted upon us and the rest of the world. If you aren't angry, you need to explain yourself.

All current evidence points to the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak to the Wuhan region in China. When the CCP was finally forced to acknowledge the deadly virus and the horrific toll it was taking on its citizens, it said the virus had originated at a "wet market" and was not transmissible from human-to-human contact.

We now know that the CCP knew the exact opposite. It knew the virus was highly contagious and it was transmissible from human-to-human contact, but it lied. The CCP lied to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the entire world.

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US states are WEEKS away from safely lifting lockdown restrictions, new model shows

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 08:00 PM PDT

US states are WEEKS away from safely lifting lockdown restrictions, new model shows - as it's revealed NONE of the five states that have declared they will reopen have met White House guidelines that call for a two week decline in coronavirus cases

An influential projection model shows most US states are still weeks away from being able to safely liftcoronavirus restrictions - despite five states partially reopening amid the pandemic.

None of the states that have committed to partially reopening have met White House guidelines that urge for a two week steady decline in cases before restrictions are lifted.

The Republican governors of Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have all set dates for lifting restrictions to kick start their economies again within two weeks.

Colorado's Democratic governor became the latest to say some businesses will be allowed to reopen from April 27.

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Abrams: Biden VP Pick Should Be a Black Woman as Payback for Our ‘Loyalty’

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:30 PM PDT

Wednesday on ABC's "The View," former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) said presumptive Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden should pick an African-American woman as a running mate because black women were "the strongest part of the Democratic Party."

Co-host Sunny Hostin said, "You know, Stacey, this is something that is concerning to me because Biden has committed to a woman as vice president, but has stopped short of committing to a woman of color. How important is it do you think for Biden to make that commitment? Do you think that not choosing a woman of color, a black woman actually, is a slap in the face to the black female voters who are credited with really reviving his candidacy?"

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Filter coffee is GOOD for you: Study shows people who drink up to four cups a day are 15 per cent less likely to die from a heart attack

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:00 PM PDT

Filter coffee can cut risk of heart attack, with its drinkers being 15 per cent less likely to die from the condition, a study has concluded.

Preparing your morning brew using a filter-based approached is best to avoid heart problems and lower cholesterol — and is better for you than not drinking any coffee.

When coffee is poured through a filter, the oily components that can raise cholesterol and lead to health complications are removed.

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Virginia Republican running for governor to defend gun rights: 'I can't take it anymore'

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:30 PM PDT

RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia Republican state senator says she's running for governor next year as an unabashed conservative whose top priority will be to promote gun rights.

Sen. Amanda Chase announced her candidacy Monday to a crowd of about 100 outside the Capitol on Monday, saying voters were unhappy with the state's new liberal direction under a Democratic majority - particularly on gun laws.

"I can't take it anymore," Chase said.

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Border wall construction ‘cam’ live this week: ‘164 miles of promises kept’

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:00 PM PDT

The Trump administration this week plans to set up a border camera to stream the construction of the wall President Trump promised in 2016 and that his administration is delivering on.

Under consideration since top aide Jared Kushner first proposed it in November, the "wall cam" will go live some day this week, said an administration official. It will show the construction of the first 164 miles of the complicated border wall.

"People will see that President Trump is coming through on his promises," said a top aide.

Another added, "This shows 164 miles of promises kept."

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Pentagon issues blunt warning to Iran: 'We will come and we will come large'

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:30 PM PDT

The Pentagon's top brass on Wednesday gave a strong endorsement to President Trump's tweet ordering the Navy to "shoot down and destroy" Iranian boats harassing U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf.

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon briefing Wednesday he appreciated Mr. Trump's message and said the president's intention was to emphasize that any warship has the inherent right of self-defense.

"I like that the president warned an adversary. That's what he's doing: He's providing a warning," Gen.Hyten said.

Now That's Funny!

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:00 PM PDT


Helpful Information

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:30 PM PDT


Trump advisor Peter Navarro accuses China of 'creating coronavirus probably in a lab' and 'committing four kills' with its response to COVID-19

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:00 PM PDT

China is profiting from the coronavirus outbreak after creating the bug in a lab, says White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy director Peter Navarro.

Branding the outbreak the 'Wuhan virus', Navarro appeared on the Hannity show onFox News Tuesday evening, blaming the Chinese for the creation on the novel coronavirus and accusing them of hiding the outbreak from the rest of the world, furthering its spread.

He called the process 'the four kills' and said China is now looking to make a profit from the outbreak by price gouging on drastically-needed medical supplies.

Navarro's comments support a conspiracy theory that coronavirus did not first transmit from animals to humans in a wet market in Wuhan – the world's first outbreak hotspot – but was man-made in a Wuhan laboratory.

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CBS’s Jiang Parrots Unnamed Dem Calling Trump ‘Insane and Criminal’

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 03:30 PM PDT

CBS White House correspondent Weijia Jiang was on a crusade to take down President Trump and politicize the coronavirus crisis in the process. As NewsBusters as documented over recent weeks, she has been out of control: getting into repeated shouting matches with the President, decry his messages of hope, and directly claimed blood was on his hands. She flaunted her animus again on Monday when she parroted words from an unnamed Democratic aide who said Trump was "insane and criminal."

Teed up by CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell to talk about Democratic governors asking Vice President Mike Pence to control unemployed protesters, Jiang touted how one anonymous Democrat lashed out.

"Well Norah, they are still begging the White House to help them get testing supplies. And one senior official who works for a Democratic governor, who listened in on that call, said it is 'insane and criminal' the administration is not doing more to help," she enthusiastically reported. "But tonight, once again, the President said the burden is on the states."

Continuing to ignore administration progress on getting private companies to convert their facilities to produce personal protective equipment for health care workers and ventilators for virus patients, Jiang portrayed Trump's response to the virus as a mess.

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Chinese Agents Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S.

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 03:00 PM PDT

Spread the word, the messages said: The Trump administration was about to lock down the entire country.

"They will announce this as soon as they have troops in place to help prevent looters and rioters," warned one of the messages, which cited a source in the Department of Homeland Security. "He said he got the call last night and was told to pack and be prepared for the call today with his dispatch orders."

The messages became so widespread over 48 hours that the White House's National Security Council issued an announcement via Twitter that they were "FAKE."

Since that wave of panic, United States intelligence agencies have assessed that Chinese operatives helped push the messages across platforms, according to six American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to publicly discuss intelligence matters. The amplification techniques are alarming to officials because the disinformation showed up as texts on many Americans' cellphones, a tactic that several of the officials said they had not seen before.

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Navarro: Coronavirus ‘Probably’ Spawned in Lab in China

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:30 PM PDT

On Tuesday's broadcast of the Fox News Channel's "Hannity," White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro stated that the coronavirus was "probably" spawned in a lab in China.

Navarro said, "They spawned the virus, probably in that P4 lab right there in China, and then they hid the virus behind the shield of the World Health Organization. And Sean, what that did over a six-week period is allow hundreds of thousands of Wuhanians, basically, to get on aircraft and seed the world."

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U.S. Legal Immigration System Continues to Favor China

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:00 PM PDT

The United States' legal immigration system, admitting about 1.2 million permanent foreign residents a year, continues to heavily favor China despite national security concerns.

No country in the world delivers more legal immigrants to the U.S., with the exception of Mexico, as China has annually for the last three years that federal immigration records are available.

From 2008 to 2018, more than 825,000 Chinese nationals arrived in the U.S. on green cards — an immigration status that provides them with permanent residency, a pathway to American citizenship, and eventually the ability to bring an unlimited number of foreign relatives to the country through the process known as "chain migration."

Between 1990 and 1999, hundreds of thousands of Chinese nationals arrived in the U.S., but since 2000, the flow of legal immigration from China has been steady at about 65,000 t0 88,000 admissions a year.

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Flashback: Bill Clinton gave China sensitive missile technology

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 01:30 PM PDT

With all this talk of Russians allegedly interfering in U.S. elections, it is worth recalling that it wasn't too long ago that the previous Democrat in the White House betrayed America by working hand in hand with our Communist enemies in mainland China.

As president, Bill Clinton essentially wiped out any strategic advantage the U.S. had by selling advanced U.S. missile technology to our enemy, the People's Republic of China.

That "administration's voluntary release of all the secrets of America's nuclear tests, combined with the systematic theft of the secrets that were left as a result of its lax security controls, effectively wiped out America's technological edge," David Horowitz writes in the recently published, The Black Book of the American Left Volume 7: The Left in Power: Clinton to Obama.

Unlike the administrations that preceded it, the Clinton administration accepted millions of dollars from the military and intelligence services of at least one hostile foreign power. All of this was done in exchange for illegal campaign contributions from a massive totalitarian country determined to eclipse the U.S. as a world superpower.

President Clinton also lifted security controls, allowing thieves to access other vital military technologies, while disarming his own side and opposing needed defenses.

"One of the key technological breaks China received, without having to spy to get it, was the deliverance of supercomputers, once banned from export for security reasons," writes Horowitz.

"Supercomputers underpin the technology of nuclear and missile warfare, and not only for firing and controlling the missiles. A supercomputer can simulate a nuclear test and is thus crucial to the development of nuclear warheads. But, according to a Washington Post editorial: 'In the first three quarters of 1998 nine times as many [supercomputers] were exported [to China] as during the previous seven years.'"

There's lots more here

Response to Culver news release

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 01:00 PM PDT

GO HERE to see Executive Culver's original press release on this matter.

Response to Culver news release
To all:
First I would like to address Mr Culver's statement in his recent press release that certain Council members have created hysteria in the KIlbirnie-Walstons Switch neighborhoods.  In the 2016 Md. Dept of Environment (MDE) documents, the project in question is addressed as an Urban Service agreement. Earlier this year it came back to the Council as a pre-annexation agreement. Concerns arose after the citizens found out it was to be a pre-annexation agreement and no longer an urban services agreement.  They wanted to know when and why this changed.  I do not call that hysteria but a desire for additional information and clarification.  Many made contact with myself and other Council members requesting a public hearing. If you live in the County and found there was going to be a pre-annexation agreement in your neighborhood wouldn't you want more information?

The Council has also heard great concern from the area's volunteer fire department. Parsonsburg Volunteer Fire Department has been providing excellent service to these neighborhoods for years. In the past few years they have lost area to the City of Salisbury which affects their funding and recruitment.  In most situations, their response time has been less than the response time from City equipment. They are not disagreeing with the water line going to the airport, just that the bigger picture is that the citizens of Wicomico County need to be heard. Their fear is that the closest and most appropriate fire/EMS service is not utilized for calls due to annexation.  The current Fire Service Agreement does not protect their fire service area.

On April 17th, a fellow Council member requested from the County Executive's Office, that the Airport Manager and the engineer over-seeing the water project from the contracted engineering firm be present at our next Council meeting to offer answers to some of these questions.  The County Executive's office replied that the Airport Manager was not involved in the project and a question "what would be the purpose of the engineers being at the meeting." We took that as a"NO" to the request. The question now is," Why can't the County Council and citizens get any answers to valid concerns?" There are no engineers on the Council that can answer these question. Are we to understand that the Council is suppose to approve a large financial agreement that could have long ranging impact on the citizens of that area when the necessary information is being withheld from Council and homeowners? Four Council members agreed that more information was vital before voting for the project.

The City has said that it has no interest in any further annexation in the area at this time. However, one only has to look 1/2 mile North from Walstons Switch road to see areas that have been annexed. While this water line has been deemed a denied-access line, it would only take a request from the City and/or County to the State of Maryland to change this designation.  Also, if this water line is vital to the development of our airport, why is it being said that it cannot be used for the adjacent Airport Business Park?

In summation, some County Council members have been vilified in the media and in emails from people that don't even work or live in the area, for not just signing on the dotted line. When in fact, the responsibility actually rest on the shoulders of the County Executive's Office for not being forthcoming with information in a timely manner to the Council so that an informed decision could be made. And the County Executive bears a responsibility to inform and reply to the requests that the citizens have a voice by holding a public forum. Trying to push this vote through without more transparency and during a time of National crisis seems suspect at best. Why the rush?  The Council is more than willing to work collaboratively with the Executive's Office but when requests for information, questions on projects, etc. are met with resistance, silence or accusatory press releases, that is hard to do.

Sincerely,
Wicomico County Councilman, District 5
Joe Holloway

Councilman Bill McCain responds to Joe Holloway
To all:

Joe, I have to respond to your response because of its inaccuracies and lack of facts. You keep referring to fears of annexation. Please read the water agreements. There is no "annexation" of anything taking place. The City of Salisbury does not do urban service agreements anymore and have not for some time. Any provisions of water outside their municipal city limits requires a pre-annexation agreement. This does not mean anything is being annexed and in fact to relieve any such fears the Airport agreement includes a clause/statement that no such agreement can be considered until 30 years have passed. You fail to mention that very important clause in any of your statements. In addition, you also fail to mention that the City of Salisbury cannot just annex anyone's property. Property owners have to petition to be annexed.

You also fail to mention the fact that the water line is a dedicated denied access line that only permitted purpose by the Maryland Department of the Environment is to provide potable public water to the Airport. Residents cannot tap into the line.

As the County Council representative of the citizens in the area you are referencing, you should take the responsibility to help them understand the facts and explain to them the facts. You also failed to mention and inform your constituents that the construction contract was extended 90 days in February and expires May 12. Which creates an urgency of this matter. The County Council's failure to act for the second time regarding the construction contract will certainly cost our taxpayers significant dollars probably in the hundreds of thousands. Not to mention the threatened future of our most treasured Airport asset. The State of Maryland recognized the importance of this project and thus awarded the County 4 million dollars. Another fact you failed to mention. This delay tactic will now place that in jeopardy. Trust me, other counties in the State of Maryland will be happy to take our 4 million dollars and put it to use in their counties.

It is even more disappointing to see statements in your conclusion about trying to accuse the Council of trying to pass the resolution through without transparency and during the current climate.  This project has been in the works for nearly four years, publicized often, and this agreement was just discussed in detail in a council public open work session in January.

The public is able and welcomed to send the County Council any concerns and have done so over several weeks. All public comments regarding this issue that are submitted have been shared with all council members. Thus, delaying for a public hearing which is not required for a resolution serves no purpose.

I will continue to advocate to make Wicomico County a better place to live, work, and play.

Bill McCain, Wicomico ,County Council At Large

Wicomico County park trails and day use areas reopen

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:55 PM PDT

SALISBURY, Md. – Wicomico County officials have reopened trails and day use areas in county parks. Playgrounds, pavilions, tennis courts, basketball courts and pickleball courts will remain closed.

Visitors must follow social distancing guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC; https://www.cdc.gov/) and the Maryland Department of Public Health (MDH; https://health.maryland.gov/) to ensure a safe environment for themselves and others. Park restrooms will remain closed, and visitors are advised to prepare accordingly.

"Public cooperation with social distancing guidelines at county parks is critical," said Steve Miller, director of Wicomico Recreation, Parks & Tourism. "Failure to adhere to these guidelines could result in reverting back to complete park closures."

Clarification on activities permitted at parks under Governor Hogan's Stay at Home order can be found on the Department of Natural Resources website at https://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2020/03/31/frequently-asked-questions-about-governor-hogans-stay-at-home-order/.

Decisions made by county officials are fluid and can be changed at any time.

The Wicomico Recreation, Parks, Tourism and Civic Center department will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation through regular updates from the Wicomico County Health Department and the Department of Emergency Services. Updates will be shared with the press, as well as posted to department websites and social media outlets.

Minor League Baseball will accept MLB proposal that could cut more than 40 teams, report says

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:30 PM PDT

MiLB responded to the report saying no agreements have yet been reached

Minor League Baseball is prepared to accept a proposal from Major League Baseball which includes drastically cutting the number of affiliated minor-league teams, J.J. Cooper of Baseball America reports. The proposal is part of negotiations for a new Professional Baseball Agreement and the two sides are set to meet Wednesday.

Here's more from Cooper:

When MLB and MiLB negotiators convene on a teleconference on Wednesday, multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations say MiLB will indicate that it agrees to 120 affiliated teams in a new PBA.

Such a concession by MiLB could be a clear step toward a deal. MiLB has now agreed to find ways to come to agreement on almost all of MLB's public demands. Now the open question is whether MLB will be willing to accept the concession as a foundation for a potential deal.

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Coronavirus Kills More Americans in One Month Than the Flu Kills in One Year

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:00 PM PDT

Although there is still much we don't know about the coronavirus, we know enough to say that it is far more dangerous and deadly than the flu. It took twelve months and 61 million infections for the H1N1 swine flu to kill 12,500 Americans in 2009–10. The Centers for Disease Control estimated that the seasonal flu killed 34,200 Americans during the 2018–19 flu season. In 2019, car crashes killed 38,800 Americans.
As for the new coronavirus? On March 20, the death toll in the United States was 225. By April 20, the coronavirus had killed more than 42,000 Americans.
Last week The New Atlantis produced a chart that starkly portrays just how quickly COVID-19 became one of the leading causes of death in the United States:

Why are we letting China buy American companies?

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 11:30 AM PDT

This takeover, the largest takeover of a US company by a Chinese firm, represents a precedent that will damage the American economy and cost jobs in the long run.

It also may have emboldened China. Weeks after permission was granted by Washington, Beijing claimed the airspace over some contested islands in the East China Sea as "a defense identification zone." Chinese saber rattling forced the Pentagon to dispatch two unarmed B-52 bombers to fly in the airspace to send a message to China that it was overstepping its bounds.

China's ambitions are multi-pronged and the Smithfield Foods transaction is another questionable invasion by Beijing. Currently, American authorities only evaluate foreign takeovers on the basis of national-security issues or shareholder rights and securities laws. But these criteria are inadequate.

A fairer test in the case of Smithfield, and future buyout attempts by China, should also require reciprocity: Only corporations from countries that allow Americans to buy large companies should be allowed to buy large American companies.

That's not the case with China, Middle Eastern sheikhs or Russians. Critics of reciprocity label this as protectionism. It's not. It's protectiveness.

Here's why.

Archie and Edith Bunker's Final Appearance

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 11:00 AM PDT

State Police Arrest Salisbury, MD Man for Domestic Burglary and Assault Related Charges

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:30 AM PDT

Laurel – The Delaware State Police have arrested 33 year old, Jordan Kirn of Salisbury, MD as the result of two domestic-related incidents with his ex-girlfriend, which occurred on March 29, 2020, and April 19, 2020.
On March 29, 2020, at 12:55 a.m., Kirn responded to the victim's residence located in the 6000 block of Old Sharptown Road, Laurel, to retrieve personal property. While at the residence, Kirn and the victim engaged in a verbal altercation that escalated to Kirn striking the victim in the face. After a brief struggle, the victim was able to flee the scene and call 911. During the incident, two children were present but were not injured. The victim did not seek medical treatment for her injuries. Troopers attempted to locate Kirn after the incident with negative results, and a warrant was issued for his arrest for the following crimes:
•    Assault 3rd Degree
•    Endangering the Welfare of a Child (2 counts)
On Sunday, April 19, 2020, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Troopers were dispatched to the victim's residence for a report of a physical domestic. Further investigation revealed Kirn had responded to the residence and entered the home without permission.  The victim and two children were asleep in the residence and were awoken by a loud noise in the hallway. The victim went into the hall and was immediately confronted by Kirn.  A physical altercation ensued, and Kirn produced a pocket knife from his pocket and threatened the victim bodily harm before exiting the residence.  The victim was able to lock the door to the residence and call 911. Prior to Troopers arriving on scene, Kirn fled the area in his vehicle.
After Troopers cleared the scene, Kirn was observed in the area by the victim and a Trooper in the area. The Trooper attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Kirn's vehicle and it came to a delayed stop but Kirn failed to exit the vehicle upon the Troopers request.  Kirn then placed his vehicle in drive, fled the scene and failed to stop for the Trooper with his patrol vehicles' lights and siren activated. Kirn continued to drive at a high rate of speed and fled into Maryland.
Kirn was taken into custody by police in Wicomico County, Maryland, and was extradited back to Delaware on April 21, 2020 where he was charged with the following crimes:
•    Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony
•    Burglary 2nd Degree (felony)
•    Aggravated Menacing (felony)
•    Criminal Contempt of a Domestic Violence Protective Order (felony)
•    Disregarding a Police Officer Signal (felony)
•    Terroristic Threatening
•    Endangering the Welfare of a Child (2 counts)
•    Reckless Driving
•    Offensive Touching
•    Criminal Mischief under $1000 Damaged Property (2 counts)
Kirn was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court and was committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on $36,050.00.
If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and are in need of assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit/Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll free hotline 1800 VICTIM-1. (1800 842-8461).  You may also email the unit Director at debra.reed@state.de.us.

Shore hospitals to admit out-of-area COVID-19 patients

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:27 AM PDT

EASTON — As the most populous counties in Maryland continue to house more than 90% of the state's confirmed COVID-19 cases, rural Eastern Shore hospitals with remaining surge capacity have stepped up to accommodate inundated hospitals' patient overflow.

University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton is among the Shore's hospitals that have admitted COVID-19 patients from the western shore of Maryland, Talbot County Health Officer Dr. Fredia Wadley confirmed in an email Wednesday, April 22.

Trena Williamson, a spokesperson for Shore Regional Health, declined to say from which jurisdictions the patients came or how many the rural hospitals expect to take in.

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A Viewer Writes: Social Distancing State Police

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 10:00 AM PDT


Took this picture as I was out this morning getting supplies. Went home and had to go back about half hour later. State Policeman still talking to car salesman at Courtesy Chevrolet across from Bob Evans.

NEITHER sales person or patrolman wearing a mask while they were talking the whole time.

Cannot make out tag number but State Police are not leading by example neither is Courtesy. Kinda make you go Hmmmm?

Study: Russian Trolls Supremely Effective At Exploiting American Fear, Anger Online

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 09:45 AM PDT

Divisive and toxic social media posts created by Russian trolls have become all too common over the past five years or so. You know the kind: they're poorly worded, sloppily constructed, and serve to spread a message of hate and controversy. But, are these thinly veiled attempts at manipulation actually effective at influencing Americans? According to a recent study conducted at the University of Colorado, Boulder, the answer to that question is an emphatic yes.

Of course, the main purpose of posts by Russian trolls is to incite arguments among different groups or ideologies: conservatives versus liberals, pro-life versus pro choice, pro-immigrant groups versus border wall enthusiasts, etc. Researchers say as outrageous as much of this content appears to be, Americans can't help but to click.

After analyzing over 2,500 of these Russian posts, researchers discovered they generated clickthrough rates as much as nine times higher than the norm in digital advertising campaigns. In a rather poor reflection of human nature, it seems that controversy, lies, and fear mongering do very much equal clicks.

"We found that fear and anger appeals work really well in getting people to engage," says lead author Chris Vargo, an assistant professor of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design at CU Boulder, in a release.

More here

MD. LAWMAKERS: BOATING BAN COULD BE EASED THIS WEEK

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 09:30 AM PDT

As three states just to our north lift restrictions on the recreational boating industry, Maryland Republican leaders are calling on Governor Hogan to follow suit. And Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga believes it could happen as early as this week.

Szeliga and House Republican Leader Del. Nic Kipke expressed confidence Wednesday morning that the governor's directive keeping pleasure boats off the Bay may soon ease up.

"I think it's quite reasonable that people could take a cruise with other family members without putting the safety of others at risk. I can't imagine how that would have any negative outcomes," Kipke tweeted. "I think the governor is on the same page."

The governor held a call on Friday with Republican leaders in which the boating ban was discussed, according to Hogan's communications director, Mike Ricci. Szeliga, who was on that call, put it simply in a Facebook post:

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Exposing the Leftmedia's False CV19 Narrative

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 09:15 AM PDT

We owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Li Wenliang and Sen. Tom Cotton for their commitment to reveal the truth.

Most of the Democrats' Leftmedia PR outlets have hedged on condemning Red Chinese dictator Xi Jinping for the clear and indisputable evidence that he directed his politburo officials to systematically cover up the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in China, in effect becoming the global state sponsor of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no question that the pandemic was "Made in China."

The consequence of Xi's coverup, in direct collaboration with the World Health Organization, is that the virus was in the U.S. and worldwide before we were aware of its virulence.

Some of the Left's mainstream-media scribes and talkingheads have also reluctantly edged toward considering whether Xi's coverup was motivated by the possibility his ChiCom bioweapon engineers at the Pathogen Level 4 lab in Wuhan accidentally released the novel coronavirus responsible for the current CV19 pandemic.

Hedging about Xi's cover-up and reluctance to reconsider the assumed "natural source" of the virus is predictable: Both cases support the fact that Donald Trump and his administration did not have sufficient evidence about the China Virus to take action sooner to prevent its spread to the U.S. And that would undermine the MSM's collective ability to blame President Trump for its catastrophic public-health and economic costs ahead of the 8 November presidential election.

I want to chronicle here the actions of two people to whom we Americans, and by extension the world, owe a great debt of gratitude for the fact the CV19 outcome has not been much worse than it has already proven to be..

Georgia leads the race to become America’s No. 1 Death Destination

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 09:00 AM PDT

Whether you're going to heaven or hell, the old joke goes, you'll have to change planes in Atlanta.

But Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is proposing to offer a new nonstop service to the Great Beyond: He has a bold plan to turn his state into the place to die.

Kemp, a Republican and an ally of President Trump, just called for the reopening within days of his state's gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body-art studios, barbers, nail salons, cosmetologists, aestheticians, beauty schools, massage therapists, theaters, private social clubs and dine-in restaurants.

He's doing this even though the state ranks near last in testing, even though it's not clear that covid-19 cases are declining there, and even knowing "we're probably going to have to see our cases continue to go up," as Kemp himself said.

Public health experts fear coronavirus will burn through Georgia like nothing has since William Tecumseh Sherman. But Kemp is making a big gamble that his constituents wouldn't want to swab places with anyone, and that tourists will be dying to get to Georgia in any class of travel — economy, economy plus or intensive care — as the Peachtree State remakes itself as the Petri State.

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Ohio man, 60, who blasted COVID-19 lockdown as 'a political ploy' and said stay-at-home orders were 'b*****t' dies after contracting coronavirus

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 08:30 AM PDT

A 60-year-old Ohio man who dismissed the state's coronavirus lockdown as a 'political ploy' and claimed the governor didn't have the authority to close businesses because of the pandemic has died of COVID-19.

John W. McDaniel tested positive for the coronavirus in late March and died at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus last Wednesday.

On Facebook, he had dismissed the killer virus as a 'political ploy' that he said officials were using to exert control over the public.

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20 New Confirmed Cases of Covid-19 In Wicomico County

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 08:29 AM PDT


There Will Be No Grand Reopening for Restaurants

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 08:00 AM PDT

Masked waiters, half-empty dining rooms, and mobile ordering may all be part of the new reality when restaurants open their doors again

InIn a press conference this week to discuss the gradual reopening of public spaces in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco restaurateur, referred to himself as "someone, like yourself, that looks forward to going back out and having dinner." But when California's restaurants do reopen — minus an estimated 30 percent that could permanently close during the COVID-19 crisis, according to the state's restaurant lobby — Newsom's regular table might not look like it used to.

"You may be having dinner with a waiter wearing gloves," suggested the governor, drawing on previous remarks made by California public health director Dr. Sonia Angell. "Maybe a face mask, a dinner where the menu is disposable, where the tables, half of the tables in that restaurant no longer appear, where your temperature is checked before you walk into the establishment."

The message to restaurant operators and patrons: Don't expect a grand reopening. A rolling soft opening might be more like it.

In order for the public to return to spaces like bars and restaurants before a vaccine for the novel coronavirus is available, which could be more than a year, public health experts say there are some major prerequisites for safety. Those include expanded capacity for COVID-19 testing, perhaps new antibody tests to show who has previously been infected, and a system of contact tracing (a process of identifying who may have been exposed to the virus) by either manual or digital methods.

Last night, the White House released "Guidelines for Opening America Again," which included its own proposed criteria for states to reopen: a two-week downward trajectory of positive tests and flu-like and COVID-19-like symptoms reported, hospital capacity to treat all patients without crisis care, and "robust testing" for health care workers including "emerging antibody tests." But according to the CDC, its own evaluation of antibody tests won't be completed until "late April."

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Maryland COVID-19 Data 4-23-2020

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:49 AM PDT

Donald Trump: I’ve Ordered Navy to Destroy Iranian Ships if Provoked

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:30 AM PDT

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he had ordered the destruction of Iranian gunboats harassing American ships.

"I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea," Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president reacted to ongoing reports of Iranian gunboats who continue harassing American ships in the Persian Gulf.

Last Wednesday, 11 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gunboats repeatedly harassed six U.S. Navy warships.

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Rep. Dan Crenshaw: Fortitude | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT

China sent USA contaminated test kits

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:45 AM PDT

The University of Washington School of Medicine went to extraordinary lengths to airlift tens of thousands of Covid-19 testing kits from China during a nationwide shortage of sampling swabs and the liquid that preserves specimens for diagnostic testing.

In short: a Seattle importer used a business associate in China, who had a connection to a doctor in the province hardest hit by the disease, to secure testing kits from a Shanghai factory and then have them flown stateside as soon as possible on an Amazon-chartered plane. UW Medicine allocated US$125,000 to purchase the kits.

Late last week, the saga took a dour turn.

UW Medicine has decided to halt, at least temporarily, the use of the testing kits from Lingen Precision Medical Products, after a small percentage of the kits showed signs of contamination.

"I've just recommended everyone who has these things pause and not use them at all," said Geoff Baird, the interim chair of the University of Washington Department of Laboratory Medicine, who was part of the group that went to great lengths to secure the materials. "I can't say I'm not disappointed."

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Mayor Bill de Blasio's text hotline for New Yorkers to snitch on social distance violators is suspended after being bombarded with prank memes and VERY rude pictures

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:30 AM PDT

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was forced to temporarily close his coronavirus'snitch hotline' over the weekend as the service was inundated with prank calls, pictures of genitalia and memes likening de Blasio to Adolf Hitler.

De Blasio unveiled the controversial scheme on Saturday, urging New Yorkers to text 311 to report anyone violating the state's social distancing rules or stay-at-home orders.

However, the response didn't quite go to plan as aggrieved members of the public vehemently criticized the 'tyrannical overreach' the hotline posed and within hours it was flooded messages of contempt for de Blasio instead.

Such messages included photos of extended middle fingers and links to articles about de Blasio breaking his own social distancing instructions when he was seen going into a gym in mid-March, after the coronavirus outbreak had already started ravaging the city.

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State of Maryland Files Felony Charges Against Julie Brewington

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:15 AM PDT

Case Information
Court System:District Court For Wicomico County - Criminal
Location:Wicomico
Case Number:D-023-CR-20-000711
Title:State of Maryland vs. JULIE D BREWINGTON
Case Type:Criminal - SOC - Application
Filing Date:04/20/2020
Case Status:Open
Tracking Number(s):201001136022

Defendant Information
Defendant
Name:BREWINGTON, JULIE D
Race:WhiteSex:FemaleHeight:5'1"Weight:120
HairColor:Blond or StrawberryEyeColor:
DOB:08/17/1967
Address:3975 MEADOWBRIDGE RD
City:SALISBURYState:MDZip Code:21804-0000

Involved Parties Information
Plaintiff
Name:State of Maryland
Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff
Name:State's Attorney - Wicomico County
Address Line 1:309 E. Main Street
Address Line 2:PO Box 1006
City:SalisburyState:MDZip Code:21803


Complainant
Name:BREWINGTON, MICHAEL C

Court Scheduling Information
Event TypeEvent DateEvent TimeCourt LocationCourt RoomResult
Hearing - Preliminary Inquiry06/08/202008:30:00Wicomico District CourtCourtroom 2

Charge and Disposition Information
Charge No:1CJIS Code:1-1136Statute Code:CR.7.104
Charge Description:THEFT: $1,500 TO UNDER $25,000Charge Class:Felony District Court
Probable Cause:YES
Offense Date From:04/11/2020To: 04/11/2020
Agency Name:Officer ID:

Document Information
File Date:04/20/2020
Filed By:
Document Name:Document Issued

File Date:04/20/2020
Filed By:
Document Name:Summons Issued

Service Information
Service TypeIssued DateService Status
Summons Issued04/20/2020

Montana County Orders Residents to Wear Mandatory Pink Wristbands in Order to Shop

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 06:00 AM PDT

The Valley County Health Department in Montana sent out a flier to businesses with a scary edict requiring all essential workers from outside the county to wear pink armbands or bracelets signifying their quarantine status in order to shop in the county. The flier demanded that anyone not wearing a pink armband be reported to police.
The flier read in part,

Anyone who is from out of town or out of Valley County who has a PINK wristband has been here 14 days or more and no longer needs to do the strict self-quarantine. They may enter your business. Anyone who is from out of town or out of Valley County, staying here/working here, and has not completed the 14 day quarantine is REQUIRED BY THE VALLEY COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER ORDER to use curbside delivery only. They are not to enter your business to shop.

Not only are the people without the bracelets to be banned from stores but the health department suggested that business owners practice authoritarian speeches for non-conformers. They were told to say, "You are violating our Governor's and Valley County's Health Officer's orders. I am happy to shop for you with curbside delivery...If you don't cooperate, you will force me to call law enforcement."

Someone is enjoying their newfound authority a little too much, don't you think? The imagery of marking people to single them out for special treatment is unbelievably bad, hearkening back to Nazi brownshirts with their armbands and the stars they issued to the Jews. I mean, who are these people and why are they so stupid?

It took a very short time before the county health department issued an apology and retracted the policy.

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Leftists Want Homeschooling Banned To Stop Conservative Christian Influence

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:30 AM PDT

Harvard's Elizabeth Bartholet, Wasserstein public interest professor of law and faculty director of Harvard Law School's Child Advocacy Program, has chosen now of all times to come out and lay out what she believes is one the greatest threats to the wellbeing of children today: Homeschooling.

This month's edition of Harvard Magazine contains her analysis in an article titled "The Risks of Homeschooling," in which Bartholet essentially explains why people who do not think the way she thinks are dangerous to their own children, because of the fact that they do not think the way she thinks.

Due to the stubborn unwillingness of some parents to hand their children off to state schools to receive their pre-approved worldview, Bartholet thinks that the government should step in and ban the practice of homeschooling entirely.

Sorghum: The New Superfood

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 05:00 AM PDT

There's a new healthy grain trending that's actually thousands of years old. It's called sorghum, and although it's fairly new to American palates, this cereal grain is revered around the world, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia. Experts say that sorghum is poised to surpass quinoa in popularity as more Americans discover its taste, versatility, and health benefits.

According to John Franke of Franke Culinary Consulting, sorghum is ideal for those who have given up gluten but still want to bake with flour.

"It's the closest thing to all-purpose flour I've found," he tells Newsmax. Besides baking, you can use this super grain as you would rice or quinoa. It can also be popped in a frying pan for a tasty variation of popcorn, says Frank, who describes its taste as "rich and earthy."

According to Healthline, sorghum contains B vitamins, which play an essential role in metabolism, neural development, and the health of hair and nails. It's also chock-full of magnesium, which is important for over 600 bio-chemical reactions in the body. Magnesium is also crucial for bone and heart health.

Sorghum is high in antioxidants that can help lower oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, says Healthline.

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Good Question

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT


'Droves' of people are fleeing New York City permanently to live in the suburbs or smaller cities - sparking questions of how the city will bounce back once coronavirus lockdown is lifted

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 03:00 AM PDT

Waves of people are trying to leave New York for the suburbs and smaller cities amid growing fears that the city may never return to its former glory or that it will take years to get there.

Among those fleeing are parents with young children who had already been eyeing moves to suburbs and were give a push when the pandemic hit, and frustrated singletons who no longer see the point in paying exorbitant rent prices for small apartments when there is no city beyond their homes for them to enjoy.

It has sparked questions of whether New York will bounce back - like it did in the 1920s after the Spanish Flu, when there was a spike in creativity and population growth - but also fears that the Big Apple, beloved for its chaotic density and busyness, may never be the same again.

As of Wednesday morning, there were more than 134,000 cases of COVID-19 in New York City and more than 9.400 deaths.

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VA Business Owner to Gov. Northam: Use Your Terminology: ‘Abort’ the Stay-at-Home Order

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 02:00 AM PDT

Jenee Welsh, a small business owner attending the Reopen Virginia Rally in the state's capital on Wednesday, called on Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to "abort" the state's stay-at-home order.

"Our governor's always preaching about pro-choice, pro-choice, yet all of us small business owners — we don't have a choice right now," Welsh, owner of Something Else Boutique, told Breitbart News as she held a sign reading "Terminology you understand! ABORT the stay at home order!"

Welsh said she employees three people and had to "completely shut down for a month" due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"So it was nothing. So my livelihood was, you know, gone and all the business loans didn't count for people like us, because we're so small," she explained.

When asked what message she would like to send Northam, Welsh said, "Give us the choice like you've been preaching, that everyone has their own choice. Let us choose."

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Chris Cuomo's 14-year-old son tests positive for coronavirus after the CNN host and his wife Cristina both recover from the illness

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 01:00 AM PDT

Chris Cuomo's 14-year-son has tested positive for coronavirus two days after theCNN host emerged from quarantine following his own recovery.

Cuomo's wife Cristina, who has also recovered from the illness, revealed her son Mario has been diagnosed in a somber Instagram post paying tribute to late photographer Peter Beard and remembering Earth Day.

'After 10 days of ups and downs, feeling good one-day and terrible the next, I am now working hard to get my son, Mario, through the virus,' the 50-year-old magazine editor wrote.

'My heart hurts more than my head over his infection. This virus does not discriminate.'

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NORWEGIAN PSYCHIATRIST CLAIMS JOE BIDEN IS SUFFERING FROM “DEMENTIA”

Posted: 23 Apr 2020 12:00 AM PDT

Says condition has worsened "at galloping speed."

Norwegian psychiatrist Fred Heggen claims that Joe Biden is suffering from "dementia" and that his condition has worsened "at galloping speed."

In an opinion piece published by Nettavisen entitled 'Why Democrats are rallying behind a possibly demented candidate?', Heggen, who is also a medical director at the Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital's psychiatric clinic in Oslo, says the presidential candidate is suffering from obvious cognitive failure.

"Of course I may still judge him wrongly, but in my eyes he appears as a person who is already very affected by dementia. And the presidential election is still far ahead. What if his condition worsens further over the next two-three months?" Heggen asked.

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