Author: Frank

As if 2020 wasn’t strange enough, the United States faces another challenge as the CDC issues warnings about aggressive cannibal rats. In a report by The Independent, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention lately issued a warning to the public. This is in regards to the current status of rats all over the country. The CDC observed that rats are behaving differently as their food sources have decreased due to the lock-down. The CDC then detailed that these rodents have turned to cannibalism and infanticide. Another problem is that the rats are becoming aggressive. Rats in areas such as…

MICHIGAN — A businessman who does not support Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “stay at home” executive order has rented a billboard and displayed the message saying “All business is essential.” The man behind the sign is business owner Erik Kiilunen who claims at least one of his businesses had essentially closed in part because of the current stay-at-home order put in place by Gov. Whitmer. Kiilunen is the CEO of Neuvokas Corporation and made this statement for KARK, saying, “We got hit with the first rounds of the orders and I watched the book of business just absolutely vaporize. I had…

The economy took a major hit in April as 43 states record levels of unemployment. These states hit their new highest amount of people finding themselves unemployed since state series tracking in 1976 when unemployment tracking began in all states, being tracked by the government. Federal data was released for the month of April and all 50 states recorded higher unemployment rates. These numbers are based on federal reports and it suggests that tourist areas hit the hardest took the top three positions on the list of biggest hit states. Nevada, home of many casinos, was stricken with the highest…

President Donald Trump toured the Ford plant in Ypsilanti Township, MI, mostly without a mask. However, at some point the president donned a dark blue protective face mask and it was photographed. As of now, this may be the first known photograph of President Donald Trump wearing the protective covering. Trump was warned by officials to wear the protective covering, but he refused during part of the trip, stating that “I did not want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” per AP.  Trump does not wish to wear a mask in front of the camera during his…

Philadelphia, PA — A former judge has pleaded guilty and been convicted for taking bribes, casting fraudulent ballots, and also certifying false election results for three years during primary elections. This took place during 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections. His name is Domenick J. Demuro, a 73-year-old, from Philadelphia. His guilty plea came during a sealed proceeding back on March 16 in front of U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond. This involving “conspiring to deprive persons of civil rights, and using interstate facilities in aid of bribery” according to the Department of Justice. Demuro’s guilty plea included confessions to…

The California labor board rejected SpaceX’s grant application amid a dispute with Tesla and Elon Musk. California’s program that funds employee training considered the grant application to train 900 existing employees and 300 new ones. The Employment Training panel’s staff recommended that the board approve the grant in its May 15 meeting. As reported by SpaceNews, the panel members, which consisted of industry representatives and organized labor, questioned the suitability of providing state funding to Elon Musk’s company. They’ve cited Musk’s threats in moving Tesla, his electric automobile country, out of state to Nevada or Texas. This threat on May 9…

The $1K Project continues to help families due to these trying times. Its purpose is to help people in financial trouble by giving families $1,000 per month for three months. This project is volunteer-led. As reported by GeekWire, Seattle, and New York capitalists started the project. What sets this aside is that both the families and donors are anonymous. Also, donors can give smaller gifts as a form of contribution. The project was founded by Seattle’s Minda Brusse and Alex Iskold. Brusse is the founder of First Row, a venture capital firm. In GeekWire’s report, she said, “I want to…

JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The retail company plans to close 30% of its locations. According to the company’s presentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, they will close about 240 stores. Should these closings come through, the 846 stores will go down to 604 locations, causing a drop of net store sales from $9.2 billion to $7.5 billion. According to Business Insider, the company planned to close stores in weaker malls. By doing this, they’d be increasing the share of locations in more substantial malls from 58 to 62%. Reuters cited a JCPenney spokeswoman stating that the company…

Small business owners in this state might be facing up to one year in jail and a fines if they defy state orders set in place by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who amended Illinois Department of Public Health rules as an emergency order that went into effect. Pritzker’s adjustment makes it so business owners who open, in defiance of state order to remain closed, can now be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. The business owners will face a maximum of one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500. Mindy Ruckman of Illinois Policy stated that since this…

Tesla’s Fremont factory received approval to resume its operations this week. The tension between Tesla and Alameda County has finally deescalated, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicles. At the start of May, Tesla sued Alameda County after they barred the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto to continue their operations after closing down due to the pandemic. According to the letter from Laurie Shelby, Tesla’s Vice President for Environmental, Health, and Safety, the factory presented a health and safety plan. Alameda County’s interim health officer later approved this plan, but not before having its authorities touring the facility last week. The…

California Governor Gavin Newsom faces quite the pushback as the newly revised budget will “initiate the closure” of Veterans Home of California-Barstow (VHCB). The newly revised budget, which is an attempt to alleviate some costs that were taken on during the ongoing pandemic, will also put a “one-year delay for realignment at VHC-Chula Vista and Yountville.” The new budget, currently at $203 billion, is about 5% less than what they spent last year. This has become a counterpoint that some people have used to push back against the closure of a veterans home that houses around 200 residents. Closing the…

Famed rapper Snoop Dogg sat in his car listening to “Let it Go” from the Frozen soundtrack. He sat in silence for a moment as it the chorus kicked in. He posted the video to his Instagram page and it has received over 233,000 likes so far. His video is here, with a little message from him. https://www.instagram.com/p/CABP91pHgck/ Snoop’s video of himself listening to Frozen’s “Let it Go” was shared over 233,000 times at the time of this article. The video caught the right eye of the right people and somehow the singer, Idina Menzel found it, and she responded.…

Comic actor Fred Willard has passed away. He was a big hit in the TV series “Modern Family. Willard had famous roles in movies like “A Mighty Wind” and “Best in Show” and he was a big part of the mockumentary niche. Willard was 86-years-old as he passed away. The announcement was made by his daughter, Hope Willard, in a message she posted online. She wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my father passed away very peacefully last night at the fantastic age of 86 years old. He kept moving, working and making us…

Democrat Chuck Schumer makes a push for voting by mail in his latest interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. Schumer stated his support for mail provisions and said that it will be a very big part of the next legislation. Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, also mentioned the previous CARES Act relief bill that apparently included funding for mail provisions, but Hayes mentioned there is nothing that requires any individual states to prepare for it. Ian Hanchett reported on Chris Hayes’ big question to Schumer. Hayes asked, “[T]he last CARES Act…the big one, it had money for mail-in voting, but there’s no…

Americans who have long doubted the Common Core in English and Math may have been right all along as the country sees historic drops in Math and Reading scores since Common Core started in 2009 at the beginning of former President Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House. The decline in American reading and math scores also sparks another debate on deciding if the Federal Government should remove itself from their role in education, and therefore return the responsibility back to local control. The latest study by Pioneer Institute tracked the slow progress and declining scores among Americans, looking back…

Things just get more interesting for salon owner Shelley Luther. So far, she’s been arrested and jailed for opening her salon in defiance of Texas state executive orders. Then, she’s fined $7,000. Then she’s set free after Texas attorney general demands the judge who locked her up, set her free. Her good luck kept going as she learns about the Go Fund Me set up in her honor which has topped $500,000. And to top that all off, Senator Ted Cruz stopped by Salon à la Mode for a haircut, giving her some of the best free publicity one could…

General Michael Flynn will receive good news when he finds out the Justice Department has decided to drop the criminal case against him. Flynn is President Donald Trump’s first national security advisor and he was facing prosecution. Flynn became a major figure for Trump supporters who used the FBI’s investigation into Russian allegations against the president, and criticized it heavily. Special counsel Robert Mueller is likely to be disappointed in this, as it’s one of his biggest cases. Flynn was accused of lying to the FBI about talks had with a Russian ambassador back in 2017.  But Michael Flynn apparently…

Shelley Luther probably did not expect this. She is the owner of Salon A La Mode and she opened her business despite Texas state orders to keep her non-essential business closed until further notice. She wanted to make a point and opened anyway, for about seven days. She was then taken to court and offered the chance to apologize and remain closed until Friday, or face jail and a $7,000 fine. She refused to apologize and took the jail and fine. But now that $7,000 seems like a drop in the bucket after a Go Fund Me has raised over…

President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allows slaughterhouses to operate during the quarantine. At this point, the fight between companies wanting to operate to provide food goes against unions and activists fighting for worker’s rights has escalated. An article by Bloomberg reported that the president signed the executive order as the closures of meat processing plants threaten the continuous functioning of national meat and poultry supply chain. Hence, this undermines the critical infrastructure currently in place during the national emergency. The executive order invokes the Defense Production Act that orders plants to stay open to supply food without disruptions. With…

The United States’ bee population is in total jeopardy after the arrival of “murder hornets,” known as the Asian giant hornet, in Blaine, Washington. In a report by the New York Times, beekeeper Ted McFall witnessed the devastating aftermath of a murder hornet’s attack. He went to check up on a group of hives only to see bee carcasses on the ground. The colony was filled with thousands of bees that had their heads torn from their bodies. In the interview, he said, “I couldn’t wrap my head around what could have done that.” Asian giant hornets grow up to 2-inch…

A doctor who worked on three pandemics in early 1900’s looks very similar to today’s Dr. Fauci. His name is Dr. Thomas Dyer Tuttle and here’s his story. He first worked on the Russian Flu that killed tens of thousands of people in Europe before arriving in New York, where it took more than 2500 deaths. He was in med school at that time. In 1909, his name was on the headlines for going against quarantines on Smallpox. Instead, at that time, he prescribed mandatory smallpox vaccinations. Tuttle and the state’s Board of Health promoted smallpox vaccinations with him taking…