Day: August 7, 2020

Twitter, Facebook Hit Trump Over Post Suggesting Children Are ‘Almost Immune’ from Coronavirus

Virginia Star Staff

Twitter partially suspended President Donald Trump’s campaign Twitter account on Wednesday for posting a tweet containing a video of Trump suggesting children are “almost immune” to coronavirus.

The post contains an interview Trump gave to Fox News Wednesday morning in which the president made the claim relating to children and the ongoing pandemic, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Facebook removed a post Wednesday that contained the same video, marking the first time the social media platform has nixed a Trump post over coronavirus misinformation.

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Businesses Drastically Reduced New Hires in July According to Private Payroll Processor

Virginia Star Staff

Private sector job creation for displaced workers slowed in July, with private payroll increases not meeting the growth expected by economists, CNBC reported.

Economists who were surveyed by Dow Jones expected private-sector employment to increase by 1 million, yet reported an increase of 167,000, CNBC reported. The report was issued by Dow Jones economists and Moody’s Analytics.

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Virginia First to Roll Out Pandemic App from Apple, Google

The Associated Press

Virginia has rolled out a smartphone app to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus, becoming the first U.S. state to use new pandemic technology created by Apple and Google.

But hopes for a nationwide app that can work seamlessly across state borders remain unrealized, and there are no known federal plans to create one. State officials say their new app won’t work as well outside Virginia, at least until a group of coordinating public health agencies gets a national server up and running and other states join in.

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1.19 Million Americans Filed for Unemployment Last Week

Virginia Star Staff

The Department of Labor reported Thursday that over 1.19 million Americans filed additional claims for unemployment last week, a slight decline from the approximately 1.4 million in each of the past two weeks.

Though the number of Americans filing for unemployment was less than the 1.4 million expected to do so this week, CNBC reported, the recent news release marks the 20th week in a row that new unemployment claims have been above one million.

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De Blasio Announces COVID-19 Checkpoints on Tunnels and Bridges to Enforce Quarantine Order

Virginia Star Staff

Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday COVID-19 checkpoints will be established on tunnels and bridges leading into the city in order to enforce Governor Cuomo’s quarantine order.

The mayor tweeted, “New Yorkers worked too hard to beat back COVID-19 — we cannot lose that progress. 35 states have dangerously high infection rates. We won’t let the virus spread here.”

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Portland Police, Protesters Clash for Second Consecutive Night

The Associated Press

Police and protesters in Portland, Oregon, have clashed for the second night in a row and the city’s police chief says the ongoing violence is harming the city’s image.

The high-profile clashes outside a U.S. courthouse in Portland, Oregon, have largely stopped since Democratic Gov. Kate Brown reached a deal that called for the draw down of federal agents sent by the Trump administration to protect the building.

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New York Attorney General Files Lawsuit Seeking Dissolution of National Rifle Association

Virginia Star Staff

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit Thursday that seeks to have the National Rifle Association dissolved, saying the gun rights organization has been engaging in “illegal conduct” by funneling charitable donations to its leaders.

James accuses longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre and a number of other executives at the nonprofit advocacy organization of diverting “millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization for personal use by senior leadership, awarding contracts to the financial gain of close associates and family, and appearing to dole out lucrative no-show contracts to former employees in order to buy their silence and continued loyalty.”

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Trump Bans Dealings with Chinese Owners of TikTok, WeChat

The Associated Press

President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered a sweeping but unspecified ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of consumer apps TikTok and WeChat, although it remains unclear if he has the legal authority to actually ban the apps from the U.S.

The twin executive orders — one for each app — take effect in 45 days. They call on the Commerce Secretary to define the banned dealings by that time. While the wording of the orders is vague, some experts said it appears intended to bar the popular apps from the Apple and Google app stores, which could effectively remove them from distribution in the U.S.

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