Category: Opinion

A New York federal appeals court ruled against some of the extreme restrictions put in place by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit blocked the enforcement of an executive order that set limitations on religious gatherings, which in some of the country’s “hot spots” have been capped at 10 or 25 persons depending on that area’s infection rate.

In some of the more high-risk areas known as “red zone” hot spots, Cuomo required all nonessential businesses to halt all in-person workforce and forced restaurants to relegate to takeout and delivery services only.

Houses of worship were also limited to just 10 people, or 25% capacity, whichever happened to be fewer.

According to the plaintiff’s arguments, the restrictions infringed on the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

The court unanimously agreed that the order placed greater unnecessary restrictions on religious gatherings than secular ones.

Several religious groups, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America, filled the lawsuit. New York’s Orthodox Jewish community has also protested Cuomo’s restrictions on religious gatherings.

The number of coronavirus cases has spiked all over the country since the holidays causing some of these “red zones” to experience higher infection rates and therefore restrictions have become tighter.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is trying to deny that he deliberately pushed back the finish line for when the country would have enough people vaccinated against COVID-19 to reach herd immunity.

Fauci claims to have been previously offering “guestimates” but others are calling it a “confession.” The doctor told The New York Times, “When polls said only about half of all Americans would take a vaccine, I was saying herd immunity would take 70 to 75 percent…”

“Then, when newer surveys said 60 percent or more would take it,” he continued, “I thought, ‘I can nudge this up a bit,’ so I went to 80, 85.”

In later interviews, Fauci tried to direct attention to other parts of that Times report where he compared COVID-19 to measles, stating that he would “bet my house that COVID isn’t as contagious as measles.”

“Measles is about 98% effective vaccine; the COVID-19 vaccine is about 94%,” he explained. “When you get below 90% of the population vaccinated with measles, you start seeing a breakthrough against the herd immunity, people starting to get infected, like we saw in upper New York State and in New York City, with the Orthodox Jewish group, when we had the measles outbreak.”

“So I made a calculation that COVID-19 is not as nearly as transmissible as measles,” Fauci added and stressed that measles is “the most transmissible” virus.

Still, Fauci remained firm on his new guess of 75-80% of Americans needing to be vaccinated before the country would reach herd immunity.

“I think 75-80% for herd immunity for COVID-19 is a reasonable estimate, and in fact, most of my epidemiology colleagues agree with me,” Fauci said.

He went on to say that he is doing all he can to encourage people, not just in the United States but all over the world, to get the vaccine.

When questioned as to when he thought the country would reach the threshold for herd immunity, Fauci said it could be March before the vaccine is available to the general public.

In this case, general public vaccinations beginning in April would mean potentially reaching herd immunity around the end of summer even though numbers projected by Operation Warp Speed are still lower than they were when the vaccine was still awaiting approval.

Police confirmed during a press conference that the suspected bomber behind the Christmas Day explosion in downtown Nashville has been identified as 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner.

According to the investigation Warner, who died during the blast, owned the RV that exploded.

Among the debris left behind were pieces of human tissue that investigators linked to Warner.

Metro Nashville Police Department Spokesman Don Aaron told the Associated Press that it was Warner in the RV but did not provide any more details.

It reported that Warner lived in the Antioch, Tennessee, area and had experience with electronics and alarms. FBI and other law enforcement agencies thoroughly searched his home but found no evidence to suggest that Nashville is in danger.

Witnesses say a woman’s robotic voice came from the RV warning people to evacuate and began a 15-minute countdown to clear the area then just before detonating blasted the 1964 hit “Downtown” by Petula Clark.

Investigators are still trying to determine how Warner could have assembled a bomb and the motive behind the destructive act.

Special agent Douglas Korneski is in charge of the FBI’s Memphis field office and said during a news conference, “It’s just going to take us some time.

He added that “Our investigative team is turning over every stone” to understand who someone would do this.

An AT&T building was damaged in the explosion and continues to cause disruption to cellphone service. Police and hospital communications in several Southern states have also been affected.

Less than a week after President Trump called the coronavirus relief bill a “disgrace” he signed the $2.3 trillion COVID-19 stimulus and government spending package.

On Tuesday Trump slammed the bill and claimed it had “almost nothing to do with COVID.”

“Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists, and special interests while sending the bare minimum to the American people who need it,” he said.

Thanks to the president’s decision to sign the package into law the country will avoid a government, unemployment benefits will be restored, evictions will be halted, rental assistance will be provided, and small businesses will receive additional funding along with many other items in the massive 5,500-page bill.

🚨🚨🚨President @realDonaldTrump has signed H.R. 133, an Act making consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, providing coronavirus emergency response and relief, and for other purposes.

— Judd Deere 45 Archived (@JuddPDeere45) December 28, 2020

Trump also sent Congress a “redlined version” of the bill which includes a detailed breakdown and formal request insisting that “wasteful” items be removed from the bill.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere issued a statement from the president that said, “As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child. Much more money is coming. I will never give up my fight for the American people!”

NEW: @AppropsDems Chairwoman @NitaLowey on President Trump’s belated signing of HR 133: 
 
“The House Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over rescissions, and our Democratic Majority will reject any rescissions submitted by President Trump.”https://t.co/H3XqJUrPCZ

— House Appropriations Democrats (@AppropsDems) December 28, 2020

However, House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey says it is her committee’s Democratic majority plan to block the president’s request.

“President Trump has indicated that he will now send a rescissions package to Congress that aims to reverse funding his own administration requested and undo the careful bipartisan agreement he has just signed,” said Lowey.“The House Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over rescissions, and our Democratic Majority will reject any rescissions submitted by President Trump. By turning the page on this request, we will allow the Biden-Harris Administration to begin to Build Back Better.”

The announcement comes one day before the House is set to vote on a bill that would significantly increase direct payments to most Americans from $600 to $2,000.

After a white box truck parked outside a local convenience store in Walterhill, Tennessee, was reported playing an audio recording similar to the one heard coming from an RV moments before the Nashville explosion on Christmas morning police from Rutherford and Wilson counties were called in to investigate.

According to a statement by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office a call came in at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning alerting authorities about the truck which was parked outside of the Crossroads Market.

Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office posted this update to their Facebook page.

Deputies detain box truck driver playing audio at store

Sheriff’s deputies in Rutherford and Wilson Counties are investigating a box truck parked at a convenience store playing audio similar to what was heard before the Christmas Day explosion in Nashville.

The driver traveled from Rutherford County into Wilson County where he was stopped by deputies and detained.

Deputies quickly located the truck which by then had traveled from Rutherford County into Wilson County and moved in to make a traffic stop. Police then detained the driver.

Highway 231 from the Cedars of Lebanon State Park to Richmond Shop road has been temporarily closed by police as a precaution.

***ROAD CLOSURE***

Highway 231 South from the Cedars of Lebanon State Park to Richmond Shop road is currently shut down due to a suspicious vehicle. Please avoid the area and seek an alternate route. We will post updates as more information comes in.

— Wilson Co Sheriff (@wilsonsheriff) December 27, 2020

Nearby residents have also been safely evacuated from the active scene. The sheriff’s office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol is currently conducting an investigation.

Police urge residents to avoid the area and seek alternate routes for the time being.

Several different residents living in different households in the same apartment complex became infected with coronavirus and officials believe it may be because they all share the same ventilation system.

A cluster of cases was investigated in South Korea after a series of new patients were identified on various floors of a residential complex in Seoul.

On August 23, a woman living on the sixth floor tested positive, followed later by her husband and daughter.

The very next day, a child living one unit below the woman also tested positive for the virus. It was only when another woman living on the fourth floor was diagnosed with COVID-19 that health officials decided to test all 437 residents.

The mother of the infected child on the fifth floor tested positive as well as two more residents living several floors directly above them.

Two other cases were also reported in other units of the same building. These units were not aligned with the others but do share the same ventilation system.

“Each line was connected through a single air duct in the bathroom for natural ventilation,” investigators wrote.

They noted that all of the patients in separate units were not acquaintances and had no history of interpersonal contact.

“Our investigation found no other possible contact between the cases than the airborne infection through a single air duct in the bathroom.”

These findings suggest to researchers of the virus that people may need to stay indoors and away from others even more to avoid interpersonal contact but “some may be exposed to viral infection by inhalation due to inadequate ventilation systems.”

Some of the very first people in line to get the new COVID-19 vaccine this week in California were prison inmates with special needs.

There were sixty-five inmates and employees from the California Health Care Facility in Stockton who volunteered to receive the shot. The employees who received the vaccinations work in high-risk positions dealing with potentially infected inmates.

Of the facility’s 2,400 inmates, over 150 tested positive for COVID-19.

The Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla and the California Medical Facility in Vacaville is also expected to receive a round of vaccinations for employees and high-risk inmates.

The California Correctional Health Care Services said in a statement, “Supply of the vaccine is limited and will be distributed according to state and federal guidelines. Our first focus will be people at high risk of becoming infected or severely ill from COVID-19.”

According to the California Department of corrections and Rehabilitations website, the Golden State prison system houses more than 90,000 inmates and has had over 10,000 active cases of COVID-19 among the population as well as 3,400 cases among the staff.

Complications from the virus have caused the deaths of 113 inmates and 11 staff members.

Outside of prisons, front-line medical workers are receiving vaccinations as California has had a major surge of coronavirus cases that officials believe stem from Thanksgiving gatherings.

California became the first state in the country to surpass 2 million cases this week leaving many hospitals at capacity. Earlier this week, Governor Gavin Newsom expressed his fear that COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state could reach 100,000 by the end of the year.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not spoken up about President Trump’s demand that Congress include a $2,000 stimulus check for every American in the coronavirus aid package passed earlier this week instead of the measly $600 check they approved.

Trump’s last-minute objection to the bill that Congress seemingly threw together with very little involvement from the president came after McConnell said on Monday, “The Senate just passed another major bipartisan, COVID-19 relief package. The American people can rest assured that more help is on the way, immediately.”

However, that no longer seems to be the case.

McConnell, as head of the Republican Senate majority, will be the key to whether or not a change will be made based on Trump’s demands. Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has vowed to bring the $2,000 checks to the House floor and attempt to have them unanimously passed.

Pelosi said, “Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 – Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!”

She later re-upped her calls, “Mr. President, sign the bill to keep government open! Urge McConnell and McCarthy to agree with the Democratic unanimous consent request for $2,000 direct payments! This can be done by noon on Christmas Eve!”

Mr. President, sign the bill to keep government open! Urge McConnell and McCarthy to agree with the Democratic unanimous consent request for $2,000 direct payments! This can be done by noon on Christmas Eve!

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 23, 2020

At least one House Republican is expected to object to the President’s request, though House GOP leadership has not discussed a plan on what to do in light of Trump’s rejection of the bill.

President Trump also objected to many provisions included in the all-for-one package that he says are “wasteful and unnecessary.”

Senator Pat Toomey told President Trump to sign the $908 billion coronavirus relief bill into law despite all of its flaws.

Toomey told “The Daily Briefing, “We negotiated the bill, and the president’s people were intimately involved every step of the way. [Treasury] Secretary Steve Mnuchin was arguably one of the most involved people in this whole negotiation.”

The president had been expected to sign the package as soon as it passed the Senate Monday night. Instead, Trump tore the bill apart, calling for Congress to increase the amount given directly to Americans to $2,000 for each individual.

Trump also expressed concern over several provisions put into the 5,593-page bill, part of a cover-all package that stuffs 12 spending measures into one. But the president did not directly say that he would veto the legislation.

Toomey said of the legislation, “There are a lot of provisions I don’t like. There are provisions that the Democrats don’t like. This is what we were able to get to, and my suggestion would be let’s pass this and get this signed, let’s get this into law, and we can have an ongoing discussion about whether there should be additional direct payments or not.”

The Pennsylvania Republican told host Dana Perino that he is “not a fan of these direct payments because the vast majority of the money inevitably goes to people who never had a loss of income.”

“Consider all the federal employees, millions of people across the country who never lost a dime of income,” Toomey said. “Why would we be sending them $600, much less 2,000? So, if we are not in the same place we were in last March — I was not riled up about the direct payments back in March — but in March, it was a fair question of whether we even had an economy, because governors were so overreacting in terms of shutdowns and doing so much damage, so that took really, really extraordinary and sort of global intervention.

“We are in a very different place in December where we have had a very strong recovery,” he added. “The unemployment rate is half of what it was [in April], and the problems are very acute in certain industries but they are not universal. So, the help should be targeted. This bill, for all its imperfections, that’s what it tries to do.”

Socialists are not happy with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ lack of response to the much-needed economic relief to Americans during the pandemic.

This issue was brought up on the socialist website Jacobin, with the headline: “Where in the World is Kamala Harris?”

The subject was addressed several days after Congress passed a $900 billion COVID relief bill. Americans making up to $75,000 a year will receive a check for $600 – only half the amount provided in the previous coronavirus legislation passed months ago.

The article criticized Harris for not speaking up to demand a higher amount for Americans suffering during the pandemic.

Jacobin pointed out that months earlier before Joe Biden had picked Harris as his running mate, she had introduced coronavirus relief legislation to provide most Americans with recurring $2,000 monthly payments during the pandemic.

At the time Harris and the bills co-sponsors Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey said the one-time payment of $1,200 provided in the CARES Act would not be enough to help families suffering from health and financial crisis.

Harris said, “The CARES Act gave Americans an important one-time payment, but it’s clear that wasn’t enough to meet the needs of this historic crisis. Bills will continue to come in every single month during the pandemic and so should help from the government.”

The original proposal was considered radical and seen as an attempt for Harris to validate her progressive credentials. The author of the Jacobin article suggested that Harris’ silence could mean that the progressive causes she defended on the campaign trail could have all been all talk.

The author called on the Vice President-elect to take more aggressive action by writing, “This is her chance to lead Democrats to a big win over McConnell in support of a policy that will help millions of people.”

They added, “Let’s hope she seizes the moment and doesn’t decide to just disappear.”