Jimmy Kimmel's Quarantine Monologue - Trump's Twitter Feud with Twitter

Second Lawsuit Filed Against Missouri Medicaid Expansion

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Conservative advocacy group United for Missouri on Wednesday announced it's suing to take a proposal to expand Medicaid health care eligibility to thousands more low-income adults off the Aug. 4 ballot.

The limited-government group's lawsuit against the Secretary of State’s office claims the proposal would expand the government health insurance program without coming up with a funding source to pay for that.

“The costs to cover Medicaid expansion will come directly off the top of the budget without any regard to available funds and the legislature will have absolutely no discretion over this spending,” United for Missouri senior adviser Ryan Johnson said in a statement.

The director of Americans for Prosperity-Missouri announced Tuesday that he has filed a similar lawsuit.

Read more: https://hosted.ap.org/semissourian/article/772c6ded0e751208746313434a1a5e40/second-lawsuit-filed-against-missouri-medicaid-expansion

Joaquin Castro Asks USDA to Look Into How San Antonio Events Firm Landed $39M Federal Deal

A second Texas congressman has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to review the controversial $39 million contract issued to San Antonio-based events company CRE8AD8 to distribute food to needy families.

Joining U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who asked that the company be stripped of its federal pact, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro is demanding that the agency probe how contracts were awarded under its Farmers to Families Food Box Program, designed to feed families financially harmed by the pandemic.

Both congressmen are Democrats representing San Antonio.

In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Castro questioned why food-distribution novice CRE8AD8 was award a contract ahead of experienced companies with years of industry experience.

"At a time when millions of Americans are struggling to put food on the table, USDA is wrong to bet the success of vital food safety net programs on neophyte food distribution companies," Castro wrote. "Food banks, nonprofits, and needy families should not have to hope and wait to see if a distributor can deliver as promised."

Read more: https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2020/05/27/joaquin-castro-asks-usda-to-look-into-how-san-antonio-events-firm-landed-39m-federal-deal

Is Shelley Luther a Hero or Villain? Why Not Ask Her Wallaby?

Scratch below the surface — beneath the cavalcade of supporters, piles of cash donations, President Donald Trump’s approval and Sen. Ted Cruz’s cameo “mullet” — and Dallas' pandemic martyr has herself an optics problem.

Even for Shelley Ann Luther, defiant owner of Salon à la Mode and America’s viral “hero” of the anti-lockdown right, it’s not a good look when …

• Your lucrative crowdsourcing site is billed as a spontaneous, grass-roots response to government overreach, but it was set up before you even flouted government orders to keep your North Dallas salon closed temporarily.
• You state you’re two months behind on your mortgage, but in the past year took a healthy divorce settlement and bought a luxury SUV to drive to your $500,000, five-acre ranch complete with guest house, five-stall barn and bevy of exotic animals.
• You cry on the jailhouse steps to Fox News host Sean Hannity while knowing you already collected an $18,000 emergency federal small business assistance loan, you get monthly child support from divorce No. 1 and more than $2,000 a month from divorce No. 2, and have half a million bucks waiting with your name on it in a GoFundMe account.
• You claim to struggle with “panic” and “feeding my kids,” but recently took a Caribbean cruise in the middle of a global pandemic.

Depending on one's perspective — and, let’s face it, political party — Luther is either a Rosa Parks freedom fighter or a shill for the right. She’s a conservative hero suddenly coveted by The View who's been thrust in the political spotlight, which has provided a boost in bookings for her cover band.

“I can’t think of anyone more undeserving of a giant donation or a hero label,” says Luther’s former coworker Phillip Bradley. “It’s disgusting. She’s being applauded by the Facebook Nazis as some sort of vigilante, but she’s far better off than most people donating to her cause. She didn’t need any of that shit to begin with.”

Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/shelley-luther-dallas-salon-coronavirus-lockdown-11913776

BEGA Fines Jack Evans $35,000 For 'Mistaken Understanding' of Ethics Rules

A "mistaken understanding" of the D.C. Council's ethics rules is costing former Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans a lot of cash.

Evans agreed to pay a $35,000 fine in a settlement with the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, the largest fine the board has ever levied. Evans agreed to pay $2,000 by June 30. The rest is due by June 30, 2021.

With the $20,000 fine that Evans still owes BEGA from a separate ethics investigation, today's fine brings his total tab to $55,000.

The most recent settlement marks an end to a long anticipated investigation into the disgraced former councilmember's mixing of his private consulting business and his Council office. The investigation initially began in January 2018, and was put on hold at the request of federal investigators.

Read more: https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/article/21134766/jack-evans-fined-35000-for-mistaken-understanding-of-ethics-rules

Hospitalizations for the coronavirus climb again as Maryland reports 736 new infections

For the second day in a row, Maryland officials reported an uptick in the number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus even as the number of infections continued a downward trend.

Gov. Larry Hogan’s office has been closely tracking hospitalizations as it determines the next steps in Maryland’s reopening plan. After tracking downward for much of May, hospitalizations rose by 36 Tuesday and 23 Wednesday, climbing to 1,338. Cases requiring intensive care remained flat at 520.

There were 102 new hospitalizations reported Wednesday, bringing the total of patients who have ever been hospitalized during the outbreak to 8,281. The state reported a total of 3,401 been released from isolation.

Even with increase in hospitalizations, Hogan relaxed more restrictions Wednesday, allowing outdoor dining at restaurants, the return of youth sports and camps, and the reopening of pools and drive-in movies.

Read more: https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-coronavirus-cases-deaths-hospitalizations-20200527-ccodvrjnqvgsbgejdroznftroq-story.html

Pelosi to appear at Texas Democrats' virtual state convention

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has made it plain that Texas is her top target for the 2020 elections, will appear as the “special guest” of the Texas Democratic Party’s State Convention next week.

The convention, which will run June 1-6, is being conducted virtually in response to the coronavirus pandemic. (Before the pandemic reached Texas, the convention had been slated for San Antonio’s convention center.) Texas Republicans are planning an in-person convention in Houston in mid-July.

“It is an honor to join Democrats from the Lone Star State and share my message of belief, hope and opportunity during the Texas Democratic Convention,” said Pelosi, a Californian who is the first and only women to have served as speaker. “As I’ve stated previously, Texas is ground zero for this election.”

“The big and bold work happening at the Texas Democratic Party is why we will strengthen our House Democratic majority, elect more Democrats across the state, and elect a Democratic president of the United States, Joe Biden, in November,” Pelosi said.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20200526/pelosi-to-appear-at-texas-democratsrsquo-virtual-state-convention

Coronavirus in Texas: Baylor Scott & White to lay off 1,200 employees

Employees at Baylor Scott & White Health, one of the largest hospital systems in Texas, are now facing layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts as the health care provider struggles with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The nonprofit hospital said Tuesday it will eliminate about 3% of its workforce, or about 1,200 workers.

The hospital system did not say exactly how many — or for how long — employees would be put on furloughs and reduced pay.

The system employs at least 2,000 people in the Austin area, according to the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce website. Baylor Scott & White did not say Tuesday how the layoffs would affect its Austin area facilities.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/business/20200526/coronavirus-in-texas-baylor-scott--white-to-lay-off-1200-employees

Testing 'Remains a Struggle,' State's Public Health Chief Concedes

Despite efforts to protect nursing home residents from COVID-19 by limiting access to essential staff, “the virus is getting in,” the state’s deputy secretary for public health said on Tuesday.

“That is because asymptomatic people, before they have any symptoms, are infectious, [they] are carriers,” Fran Phillips told a Greater Washington Board of Trade briefing on the novel coronavirus.

More than half of Maryland’s 2,217 reported COVID-19 deaths — 1,143, or 52% — come from the state’s congregate facilities, its nursing homes, assisted living facilities and group homes, according to the Department of Health.

The findings reinforce how easily the virus can be spread — and how important it is to protect the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, for whom COVID-19 is particularly dangerous.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/05/27/testing-remains-a-struggle-states-public-health-chief-concedes/

Md. Dems Plan Celebrity-Studded Virtual Rally, Week of Action Ahead of Primary

With the Maryland primary quickly approaching and Democratic leaders casting about for ways to engage voters in the months leading up to the November election, the Maryland Democratic Party and former vice president Joe Biden’s White House campaign have a series of events scheduled for this week that are designed to be building blocks for the general election push.

The main event is a “Dems@Distance” rally next Sunday at 3 p.m., sponsored by the Maryland Democratic Party. A cavalcade of Democratic stars are providing videos for the virtual rally, including U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), the state’s two U.S. senators, Benjamin L. Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Democratic National Committee Chairman (and Marylander) Tom Perez, and a half dozen former presidential contenders: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang.

“This is big time,” said Yvette Lewis, chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party.

As of Monday morning, almost 1,000 people had signed up to attend the rally, and other state parties, she said, are looking to replicate the Maryland event — or borrow the video messages.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/05/24/md-dems-plan-celebrity-studded-virtual-rally-week-of-action-ahead-of-primary/