Good now lets get rid of the GD paranoid, weird and freakish masks, they are not an accessory to fashion you idiots

A decreasing number of Americans are practicing social distancing despite guidelines that continue to say otherwise, according to the results of a new poll.

Key figures in the Gallup survey:

58% of U.S. adults are practicing social distancing, down from 75% during the week of March 30-April 5.

In states that have stay at home orders, 64% are practicing social distancing. In states without the orders, the number drops to 51%.

The poll results also show that a rising percentage of people are leaving their home to shop for groceries (49%, up from 42% on April 5), go to work (30%, up from 25%), and visit another person's house (19%, up from 11%).

Fewer people (73%) are choosing to stay at home as much as possible, while a rising number of people (27%) are starting to lead normal lives. On March 22, those numbers were at 87% and 13%, respectively.

The poll was conducted among 4,159 U.S. adults aged 18 and older from May 4-10. The margin of error for individual samples is plus or minus 3 percentage points, but the number is higher for subgroups (no exact figure was provided).

The Gallup results were released as states start to loosen restrictions and allow people to eat at restaurants and shop at more stores after the country was largely shut down for several weeks in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

https://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/967531?section=us&keywords=social-distancing-stay-at-home-gallup&year=2020&month=05&date=15&id=967531&oref=issuesinsights.com

Hillary Clinton: 'Domestic terrorism' by armed men protesting Mich. shutdown 'cannot be tolerated

STFU bitch you’re irrelevant and a sore loser

Hillary Clinton says “domestic terrorism” has come to America via armed and angry quarantine protesters in Michigan.

The former secretary of state blasted citizens who showed up outside the state’s capital building this week to protest Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of roughly 87,000 Americans nationwide.

“Armed men storming a legislature to disrupt its democratic proceedings is domestic terrorism,” Mrs. Clinton wrote. “It cannot be tolerated.”

The failed presidential candidate’s tweet linked to a Newsweek article on the situation, which involved private invitation-only Facebook groups; random members expressed a desire for the governor to “be hanged, lynched, shot, beaten or beheaded.”

“Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have considered banning firearms from the Capitol building but are awaiting the six-member Michigan State Capitol Commission to figure out if they have the legal authority to do so,” Newsweek reported.

The Detroit Free Press reported on Thursday that police departments are struggling with how and when to for compliance with the governor’s executive orders.

https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/15/hillary-clinton-domestic-terrorism-by-armed-men-pr/

U.S. Invests Up To $1.2 Billion With Drugmaker In Effort To Secure 300 Million Doses Of Potential Vaccine

Potus please stop giving money to these people recommending these drug and vaccine companies, if Fauci had his way he’d spend everything on drugs to save a few people, while others die of starvation, no job and depression, spend it on the economy and being in an outsider to decide what is worthy from Pharma, please sir. You’d be better off giving the money to the unemployed and not through state DOL that steal it

The government made the deal with AstraZeneca as part of its "Operation Warp Speed" vaccine push. The drugmaker will begin late-stage clinical trials this summer with roughly 30,000 people for the potential vaccine developed at a Oxford University lab. The deal is the latest in a funding race that's quickly heating up as countries try to secure vaccines that haven't even been developed yet.

The New York Times: $1.2 Billion From U.S. To Drugmaker To Pursue Coronavirus Vaccine

Expanding its pursuit of an inoculation against the coronavirus, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday it would provide “up to $1.2 billion” to the drug company AstraZeneca to develop a potential vaccine from a laboratory at Oxford University. The deal with AstraZeneca is the fourth and by far the largest vaccine research agreement that the department has disclosed. The money will pay for a Phase 3 clinical trial of a potential vaccine in the United States this summer with about 30,000 volunteers. (Kirkpatrick, 5/21)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. To Invest $1.2 Billion To Secure Potential Coronavirus Vaccine From AstraZeneca, Oxford University

Under the deal, the government will bankroll a 30,000-person vaccine trial in the U.S. starting in the summer, plus the ramp-up of manufacturing capacity to make at least 300 million doses. The first doses will be ready in the fall should the vaccine prove effective, it said. Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services secretary, called the deal a “major milestone” in the administration’s effort—code-named “Operation Warp Speed”—to make a safe, effective vaccine widely available to Americans by 2021. (Roland, 5/21)

Reuters: U.S. Secures 300 Million Doses Of Potential AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

While not yet proven to be effective against the coronavirus, vaccines are seen by world leaders as the only real way to restart their stalled economies, and even to get an edge over global competitors. After President Donald Trump demanded a vaccine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agreed to provide up to $1.2 billion to accelerate British drugmaker AstraZeneca’s vaccine development and secure 300 million doses for the United States. (Aakash B, Baulconbridge and Holton, 5/21)

Stat: U.S. Gives Up To $1.2 Billion To AstraZeneca For Covid-19 Vaccine

The moves underscore the frantic efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine as quickly as possible as the novel coronavirus has so far infected nearly 4.8 million people and claimed more than 318,000 lives across the globe, according to the World Health Organization. In the U.S., the number of infections has exceeded 1.47 million people and caused more than 89,200 deaths. (Silverman, 5/21)

In other news —

Stat: The World May Also Be Overestimating The Power Of Covid-19 Vaccines

With a little luck and a lot of science, the world might in the not-too-distant future get vaccines against Covid-19. But those vaccines won’t necessarily prevent all or even most infections. In the public imagination, vaccines are often seen effectively as cure-alls, like inoculations against measles. Rather than those vaccines, however, the Covid-19 vaccines in development may be more like those that protect against influenza — reducing the risk of contracting the disease, and of experiencing severe symptoms should infection occur, a number of experts told STAT. (Branswell, 5/22)

ABC News: ‘Science By Press Release’: Sudden Rise Of Vaccine Developer Moderna Rankles Some In Scientific Establishment

Moderna Inc., a nearly 10-year-old Massachusetts-based biotech company, is suddenly the talk of the scientific community after they announced this week "positive" indications from their early work on a potential vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Not all of it is complimentary. (Rubin, 5/21)

https://khn.org/morning-breakout/u-s-invests-up-to-1-2-billion-with-drugmaker-in-effort-to-secure-300-million-doses-of-potential-vaccine/

Those are coming’: Grenell promises to declassify Flynn-Kislyak calls in possession of top spy agency

I like Grennell, he’s not intimidated

The nation’s outgoing spy chief, Richard Grenell, declared “transparency is a must” as he promised to declassify those conversations between retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the possession of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence soon to be replaced by Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas after he was confirmed to post this week on Thursday, pushed back against criticism from Democrats and in the midst of a declassification spree, which has resulted in a series of revelations in recent weeks.

Grenell stressed that he has started the declassification process only for those Flynn-Kislyak calls which are in possession of the top spy agency, which is not all of them, since they didn't originate with ODNI.

Daily Beast Editor-in-Chief Noah Shachtman tweeted out a podcast link, claiming that Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California “really lets loose here, saying he no longer trusts ODNI and FBI to deliver the truth about Russian interference in 2020.” Swalwell then replied with a “slight correction on your tweet: I trust FBI & Director Wray. I don’t trust ODNI Directors Richard Grenell or Rep. Ratcliffe. They’re the ones with the shovels burying evidence to protect Donald Trump.” That’s when Grenell jumped in.

I’m letting the public see more info. You are the one who worked to hide the information you didn’t like. You listened to multiple people in classified hearings say they had no evidence and yet go on TV and say the opposite,” Grenell tweeted on Friday. “Transparency is now a must

That was a reference to Grenell pressuring Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff to release dozens of witness transcripts from the panel’s investigation on Russian election interference, which showed top Obama national security officials saying they did not have direct evidence of Trump-Russia collusion. Grenell also helped declassify dozens of footnotes from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s December report on the FBI's Russia investigations, which revealed the bureau was aware that British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s unverified anti-Trump dossier may have been compromised by Russian disinformation and used it anyway.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/those-are-coming-grenell-promises-to-declassify-flynn-calls-with-russian-ambassador

Big government fail: Washington state unemployment fraud loses ‘hundreds of millions

Joke: How do you lose 100s of millions of dollars for unemployment? Give it to lefty states, and track the money laundering, and blame it on Nigerian Princes

The state of Washington just openly admitted that it lost “hundreds of millions” of taxpayer dollars in a massive fraud scandal. A group of Nigerian scammers successfully exploited the state’s system as it became the first to enact the $2.2 trillion CARES Act’s massive expansion of unemployment benefits and eligibility

The Seattle Times reports:

"The legislation not only boosted benefits available under existing state unemployment insurance systems, including an extra $600 per week; it also gave state officials less time to verify new claims for those benefits. [State government] officials have acknowledged that, because of the elimination of the so-called waiting week between the time a claim is filed and the time the benefit is paid, the agency wasn’t always able to get verification from employers about a claim before payment was made.

"Furthermore, because federal benefits were technically available beginning in March, several weeks before Washington was able to upgrade its processing system to be able to pay them, many claimants had retroactive claims for multiple weeks waiting to be paid in the [state government’s] system. Those retroactive payments went out all at once, which added to the volume of the fraud."

That’s right: The state government started handing out taxpayer cash without verifying payments with employers and without a waiting period.

And sadly, this is just the beginning.

The Secret Service suspects similar attacks have occurred in Florida, Wyoming, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Oklahoma

Does anyone here actually think The SS believes these states were scammed by Nigerians. This is utter bullshit

It will be interesting to see, when the crisis has passed and we can fully account for all the waste and fraud in retrospect, how many billions of taxpayer dollars such attacks cost.

Of course, only an anarchist would argue that no government response was needed to the coronavirus crisis and ensuing economic downturn. But any response relying on 1,000-page relief bills and bloated state agencies was always going to result in rampant waste and fraud.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/washington-state-unemployment-fraud-loses-hundreds-of-millions

The truth about US coronavirus deaths: American fatalities per capita are lower than EIGHT European countries

surprising truth out of the daily mail

The US has recorded more than 92,000 COVID-19 deaths - the highest number of anywhere in the world by far

But when folded into the country's population of 328million, it accounts for 0.028 percent of Americans

In Belgium, 9,150 have died which accounts for 0.08 percent of the country's 11.4million person population

The US has done more tests than anyone at 12.67million - but per capita, it is eighth in the world on testing

Only 3% of the US population has been tested compared to 6% of Spain and Portugal and 4% of the UK

Russia and Qatar both claim to have tested more than 5 percent of their populations

Testing is key to every country's reopening plans and in the US, it is handled state by state

Every state is now partially reopening but all are still a long way from getting back to life before the pandemic

New York City, the epicenter of the crisis, remains closed and will do for at least a few more weeks, official say

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8340121/US-coronavirus-deaths-lower-million-eight-European-countries.html

By Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com

11:18 EDT 20 May 2020 , updated 13:25 EDT 20 May 2020

The Air Force Is Now Accepting Bids to Build R2D2-Like 'Skyborg' Copilots

The U.S. Air Force has launched the bidding process for its next-generation "Skyborg" program, aimed at pairing artificial intelligence with a human piloting a fighter jet.

The service posted a solicitation notice last week on the government's acquisition and awards website. Multiple companies could potentially win contract awards of $400 million each, according to the posting.

Depending on how many companies the Air Force chooses, firms may develop tailored portions of the Skyborg system, it states.

"The intent of Skyborg is to integrate an autonomy mission system core and suite of services … with multiple low-cost air vehicle systems, each designed to perform one or more mission types," the solicitation adds.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/05/22/air-force-now-accepting-bids-build-r2d2-skyborg-copilots.html

She's Doing Well:' Esper Discusses Young Sailor Who Took Down Corpus Christi Gunman

Esper discloses the sailor was a woman that took down the gunman

The FBI is crediting sailors at a Texas air station with "potentially saving many innocent lives" when they thwarted what the agency has called a terrorism-related attack at their base Thursday.

"The FBI would like to recognize the bravery and heroism of the [Naval Air Station Corpus Christi] personnel who took quick action to prevent the shooter from entering the base," the agency's office tweeted Thursday.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that, when the gunman tried to get through the gate, he was stopped by a young sailor. The sailor, whose identity has not been released, suffered minor injuries and was released from the hospital Thursday.

"She's doing well, I understand," he told the "Today" show on Friday.

The gunman was killed, said Leah Greeves, the supervisory senior resident agent for the FBI's Corpus Christi office, in a brief Thursday press conference. No additional details about the attacker were released.

Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are investigating the incident. The FBI has the lead, Esper said.

The gunman is not believed to have been affiliated with the Defense Department, he added.

"We hope to know more in the coming days as to what happened, what this person was motivated by," Esper said. "… But we need to let the facts come out and let the investigators do their job."

Greeves didn't say Thursday what led the FBI to determine the attack was terrorism-related. It marks the second attack on a Navy installation with ties to terrorism, following the December attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.

That attack, which killed three sailors and injured eight others, was carried out by a Saudi officer training there who had ties to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Justice Department officials announced this week.

"I am very concerned about both cases," Esper said on the "Today" show, detailing several new security measures that have been put into place following the Pensacola attack, including barring foreign military students from carrying weapons and limiting their base access.

There could be more policy changes, he added, as the FBI continues investigating the attacks.

"We're looking at additional measures we will take to ensure foreign-inspired terrorists do not have access to our posts, bases and installations – and of course our country," he told Savannah Guthrie.

Officials at the FBI's Houston office say they're working nonstop to investigate this week's attack in Corpus Christi. They ask anyone with information about the incident to call 1800-CALL-FBI.

Greeves said Thursday that there could be a second person of interest at large in the community.

"If you see something, say something," she said.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/05/22/shes-doing-well-esper-discusses-young-sailor-who-took-down-corpus-christi-gunman.html

Sorry if already posted

Officials ID Texas Naval Base Shooter

The suspect killed during what the FBI is calling a “terrorism-related” attack at a Texas naval air base voiced support for hardline clerics, according to a group that monitors online activity of jihadists.

The attack Thursday at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead. The gunman was identified as Adam Alsahli of Corpus Christi, according to three officials familiar with the investigation who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The gunman tried to speed through a security gate at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, opening fire and wounding the sailor, a member of base security, U.S. officials told the AP.

But she was able to roll over and hit a switch that raised a barrier, preventing the man from getting onto the base, the officials said

Other security personnel shot and killed the attacker.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/05/22/officials-id-texas-naval-base-shooter.html

WTF classic books being removed, 1984 anyone

After Outcry, Alaska School Board Reverses Ban on 2 Classic Military Novels

An Alaska school board's decision to remove four acclaimed novels and one short story collection deemed too "controversial" from high school English reading lists has been reversed.

The 6-1 vote Wednesday by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District in Palmer, Alaska, reversed the action taken by the board last month to pull the five books. The board also voted to revisit the issue next year, however.

Read Next: Bombers Take Center Stage in Air Force's New Force Employment Strategy

The livestream of the board's proceedings resurfaced age-old arguments on what reading material is appropriate for young minds. The adults couldn't agree on that, or even whether what they had done in April actually qualified as a ban since the five books were still available within school libraries.

__The books in question were Joseph Heller's satire "Catch-22," set in World War II; Tim O'Brien's short story collection "The Things They Carried," based on his Vietnam experiences; Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man"; and Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."

The fifth book was F. Scott Fitzgerald's landmark 1925 novel "The Great Gatsby," which sold poorly at the time but has since come to be acclaimed by some critics as the "Great American Novel__

The initial objections to "Catch-22" were that it contained "racial slurs" and "scenes of violence;" O'Brien's book had "profanity and sexual references;" Angelou's work might be considered "anti-white;" Ellison's novel had racial slurs; and "Gatsby" had inappropriate language and sexual references.

The school district, headquartered in Palmer, about 40 miles northeast of Anchorage, has an enrollment of more than 19,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Without going to the merits of the arguments, board president Thomas Bergey said the vote to remove the books had to be rescinded on grounds that it violated procedures under state statutes.

However, "we need to revisit our policy" on the books listed for the high school English elective courses, Bergey said. The board accepted a motion to consult on the issue and come to a decision sometime in May of next year.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/05/22/after-outcry-alaska-school-board-reverses-ban-2-classic-military-novels.html

Coast Guard Cutter Brings Ton of Seized Cocaine to San Diego

SAN DIEGO — More than 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of cocaine seized from smugglers in the eastern Pacific Ocean has been brought to San Diego.

The haul estimated to be worth about $37 million was offloaded from the Coast Guard cutter Active on Wednesday.

The Coast Guard says the cocaine was seized early this month in known drug transit zones during enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere that involved numerous U.S. agencies.

The cutter Active is homeported in Port Angeles, Washington, and routinely operates from the Straits of Juan de Fuca down to the waters off Central America.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/05/21/coast-guard-cutter-brings-ton-seized-cocaine-san-diego.html