Thousands of Californians flock to open beaches despite Gov. Newsom's pleas for them to stay home

Thousands of Californians flocked to open beaches during a heatwave Friday despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pleas for them to stay home.

The nation’s most populous state recorded its deadliest day yet in the pandemic, with 115 fatalities in the 24 hours from Wednesday to Thursday. As of Thursday there were more than 40,000 confirmed cases in the state; the death toll stands at 1,597.

But Californians locked down for weeks during the coronavirus pandemic came back to local beaches as the weather warmed, prompting Gov. Newsom on Friday to plead for social distancing during the continued heat wave expected this weekend.

Newsom tweeted Friday: ‘It’s going to be nice outside this weekend. You might be feeling cooped up. Ready for life to go back to “normal.” But can’t stress this enough: CA can only keep flattening the curve if we stay home and practice physical distancing. You have the power to literally save lives.’

California has been under a mandatory stay-at-home order since March 19.

Pictures taken in Huntington Beach, an Orange County city, on Friday show crowds gathering to enjoy as the state roasted in a spring heat wave. Dozens of locations reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher well before noon, the National Weather Service said, and officials are bracing for even larger crowds this weekend.

https://www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com/health-news/thousands-of-californians-flock-to-open-beaches-despite-gov-newsoms-pleas-for-them-to-stay-home/

California needs 'an army of volunteers' for its coronavirus response, Newsom says

SACRAMENTO — Urging Californians to answer the immediate needs of the coronavirus pandemic and create a lasting commitment to community volunteerism, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday unveiled a new statewide program designed to enlist more of the state’s residents to offer both in-person and remote help for those in need.
“We’ve launched this initiative in order to launch an army of volunteers to express themselves, day in and day out, as only Californians can,” Newsom said. “Not only to meet this moment, but to prepare to meet subsequent moments.”

The “Californians for All” effort focuses on a new web-based application for those willing to volunteer in a variety of ways. Josh Fryday, the state’s chief service officer, said the program is designed to provide a variety of options for those who want to get involved. Not all volunteerism has to be done in person, he said. Those concerned about their health and safety can offer to help from home.

“We want you to sign up and tell us, when you sign up: What interests you? What issues do you want to work on in your community? Where would you like to make a difference?” Fryday said. In the weeks since the public health crisis began, state officials have highlighted the particular challenges for at-risk Californians. Some seniors, especially those with underlying health problems, have suffered as long-standing services such as meal deliveries have been curtailed. Others, confined to their homes for the first time, have few or no family members to check on their well-being.

“We need you. And we need each other,” Fryday said.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-21/california-volunteers-coronavirus-reponse-gavin-newsom

Email addresses and passwords allegedly from NIH, WHO and Gates Foundation, are dumped online

Anonymous activists have posted nearly 25,000 email addresses and passwords allegedly belonging to the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation and other groups working to combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremism and terrorist groups.

While SITE was unable to verify whether the email addresses and passwords were authentic, the group said the information was released on Sunday and Monday and almost immediately used to foment attempts at hacking and harassment by far-right extremists. An Australian cybersecurity expert, Robert Potter, said he was able to verify that the WHO email addresses and passwords were real.

The lists, whose origins are unclear, first appear to have been posted to 4chan, a message board notorious for its hateful and extreme political commentary, and later to Pastebin, a text storage site, Twitter and to far-right extremist channels on Telegram, a messaging app.

“Neo-Nazis and white supremacists capitalized on the lists and published them aggressively across their venues,” said Rita Katz, SITE’s executive director. “Using the data, far-right extremists were calling for a harassment campaign while sharing conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic. The distribution of these alleged email credentials were just another part of a months-long initiative across the far right to weaponize the covid-19 pandemic.”

The report by SITE, based in Bethesda, Maryland, said the largest group of alleged emails and passwords was from the NIH, with 9,938 found on lists posted online. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had the second-highest number, with 6,857. The World Bank had 5,120. The list of WHO addresses and passwords totaled 2,732.

Smaller numbers of entries were listed for the Gates Foundation, a private philanthropic group whose co-founder, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, last week announced $150 million in new funding to combat the pandemic. Also targeted was the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a Chinese research center in the city where the pandemic began that has been accused of a role in triggering the outbreak.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/email-addresses-and-passwords-allegedly-from-nih-who-and-gates-foundation-are-dumped-online/

BREAKING: Trump temporarily suspends immigration into the US

US source: North Korean leader in grave danger after surgery

Source: cnn

(CNN)The US is monitoring intelligence that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, is in grave danger after a surgery, according to a US official with direct knowledge.

Kim recently missed the celebration of his grandfather's birthday on April 15, which raised speculation about his well-being. He had been seen four days before that at a government meeting.

CNN has reached out to the CIA, National Security Counsel and the State Department for comment. CNN has also sought comment from the South Koreans.


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/kim-jong-un-north-korea/index.html

Police: At least 10 killed in shooting rampage in Canada

Source: abc12

ENFIELD, Nova Scotia (AP) — Canadian police said at least 10 people were killed after a 51-year-old man went on a shooting rampage across the northern part of the province of Nova Scotia. The man was identified as Gabriel Wortman. He was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in a gas station in Enfield, Nova Scotia, northwest of downtown Halifax. Police later announced that he had died.

“In excess of 10 people have been killed,” RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said. "We believe it to be one person who is responsible for all the killings and that he alone moved across the northern part of the province and committed what appears to be several homicides.” Brian Sauvé, President of National Police Federation union, said a police officer was among those killed in a shooting and another was injured.

Police have not provided a motive for the attack. By late morning, there were half a dozen police vehicles at the scene. Yellow police tape surrounded the gas pumps, and a large silver-colored SUV was being investigated by police. The incident started in the small, rural town of Portapique, with police advising residents to lock their homes and stay in their basements. Several building fires were reported by residents as well, but police didn’t immediately confirm details.


Read more: https://www.abc12.com/content/news/Shooter-in-custody-Canadian-police-say-multiple-victims-569770961.html

Landlords taking advantage of current crisis soliciting sex in exchange for rent, advocates say

Some landlords are taking advantage of the coronavirus outbreak, soliciting sexual favors in lieu of rent payments from economically vulnerable tenants, according to advocates.

Khara Jabola-Carolus, executive director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, said her office has received more reports of landlords sexually harassing their tenants in the last two weeks than it had in the two years since she started working there, including cases of landlords offering to move in with tenants and sending sexually explicit photos to them after they communicated concerns about paying April rent.

While the number of cases wasn't necessarily astronomical — the commission received 10 reports about nine landlords — Jabola-Carolus said they were especially notable given such cases go "vastly underreported."

"Landlord coercion has always been a reality, but we've never seen anything like this," Jabola-Carolus said. "The coronavirus creates the perfect conditions for landlords who want to do this because not only are people being instructed to stay home, but the virus has added to the economic stress with people losing their jobs, especially in Hawaii, which is driven by tourism."

Around 5 million more people filed first-time unemployment claims last week, bringing the total of unemployed Americans to nearly 22 million. While some states have enacted eviction and rent moratoriums, experts caution that these policies may not be enough to keep low- and middle- income renters in their homes. Only 69 percent of apartment tenants had paid their monthly rent by April 5, down from 81 percent the previous month, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/landlords-soliciting-sex-exchange-rent-214103708.html

Youtube has hundreds of movies for free available now

I think it's even more than Netflix. Some of the movies aren't free though, but most are free with ads.

https://www.youtube.com/feed/storefront?bp=kgEmCGQSIlBMSFBUeFR4dEMwaWJWWnJUMl9XS1dVbDJTQXhzS3VLd3iiBQIoAg%3D%3D&app=desktop

Las Vegas mayor begging for city to be reopened, looks like they're screwed for good now

They're utterly screwed, with no tourism revenue coming it at all their city no longer has any sustainable income.

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman called the statewide shutdown one of "total insanity" during a city council meeting Wednesday morning, and she urged the governor to allow the state to reopen.

"This is truly an opportunity for having a bully pulpit as your mayor," began Goodman, "and I am going to take advantage of that before we begin our public comment."

The mayor challenged Gov. Steve Sisolak's directive to close nonessential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to minimize its spread, saying there is "no data" to support why the city is shutdown and there is "no plan in place" for navigating through it or coming out of it.

Experts, she says, tell her the coronavirus is not going away any time soon. Goodman compared it to the common flu and other viruses.

"This virus, or a derivative thereof, will be part of what we work through going forward," she said.

https://www.ktnv.com/news/coronavirus/mayor-goodman-this-shutdown-has-become-one-of-total-insanity

Newsom: California unemployment hours extended; $125M fund for undocumented immigrants

Source: ktvu

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said he has extended the unemployment call center hours to help the record 2.7 million Californians who have filed claims and created a fund to help undocumented immigrants, who comprise 10% of the state's workforce.

The Employment Development Department's call center will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, rather than closing at noon Monday through Friday. Newsom extended the hours through an executive order.

Undocumented immigrants will be eligible to tap into a $125 million relief fund as they navigate through the economic upheaval unleashed by coronavirus outbreak, Newsom announced. The $2 trillion federal stimulus package did not include aid to undocumented workers.

To staff the expanded EDD hotline, Newsom said he has redeployed 600 employees for a total of 1,340 at the EDD, who will now answer phone calls and help Californians receive their unemployment checks. He took a moment to say a special thanks to all those employees who worked on Easter Sunday.



Read more: https://www.ktvu.com/news/newsom-california-unemployment-hours-extended-125m-fund-for-undocumented-immigrants