Michigan Gov. Whitmer extends modified stay-at-home order into May, as lawmakers intervene

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday extended the state’s stay-at-home order to May 15, while making some revisions to the policy -- as the state’s legislature launched a committee to review her actions in response to the coronavirus crisis.
“Data shows that most Michiganders are doing their part by staying home and staying safe. That’s good, but we must keep it up. Social distancing is our best weapon to defeat this enemy,” Whitmer said in a statement. “With new COVID-19 cases leveling off, however, we are lifting some of the restrictions put in place in the previous order."
"I want to be crystal clear: the overarching message today is still the same. We must all do our part by staying home and staying safe as much as possible," she said,
The current order had been scheduled to expire next week, and is now being replaced by one that tightens some restrictions and loosens others.
The new order requires, rather than encourages, residents to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces and says employers must provide coverings to their employees. But landscapers, lawn-service companies and bike repair shops will be allowed to resume operations, as long as they follow social distancing rules. Those selling nonessential supplies can reopen for curbside pickup and delivery.
But the order does not explicitly address the auto industry, an industry vital in places such as Detroit. It does, however, flag "transportation and logistics" and "critical manufacturing" as areas where some employees could return to work.
“This is one of what will be many waves,” Whitmer said. “My hope is that we can contemplate the next one. But it all depends on if people observe these best practices, if we can keep the COVID-19 trajectory headed downward and if we can keep people safe.”
Critics have accused Whitmer, a 48-year-old first-term Democratic governor, of overstepping her authority with a series of measures intended to stem the spread of coronavirus. A ban on garden centers selling gardening supplies and on residents visiting relatives were cited as two glaring examples of overreach.
In the new order, garden centers will no longer need to be closed off, nor will those selling paint and flooring. But dine-in restaurants, cinemas, gyms and sport complexes will remain closed. The order also allows individuals to travel between residences, although it is "strongly discouraged."
The new order comes amid increasing pressure on Whitmer as the claims of overreach have gone from mere accusations to legal threats. Anglers, landscaping companies and others had filed lawsuits against the order, while protesters against the lockdown held rallies outside the state Capitol and governor's residence.
Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled legislature on Friday created an oversight committee that will review the orders -- and could even strip her of her powers.
"It’s possible to be concerned about public health, the economy and personal liberty all at the same time. It’s a false narrative that you must choose between them. I choose all three," House Speaker Lee Chatfield tweeted. "We can take COVID-19 seriously yet be reasonable in our fight. Michigan needs a change ASAP."
According to the Detroit Free Press, a majority of both chambers passed a resolution to create the committee during a special legislative session. The Senate also approved a bill to repeal the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governors Act, which gives Whitmer wide power to declare a state of emergency. Another bill would reduce the length of a state of emergency from 28 days to 14.
But Whitmer has promised to veto such efforts if they were to pass the legislature.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Clip surfaces of Biden accuser Tara Reade's mother phoning into 'Larry King Live' in 1993 alluding to claim

A resurfaced clip of "Larry King Live" from 1993 appears to include the mother of Tara Reade -- who has accused Joe Biden of past sexual assault while in the Senate -- alluding to “problems” her daughter faced while working as a staffer for the then-U.S. senator from Delaware.
In a telephone interview with Fox News on Friday night, Reade confirmed that her mother called in to the show. Biden's presidential campaign has adamantly denied Reade's allegations but the video could be cited as evidence supporting Reade’s allegation – even though her late mother, in the clip, does not specifically refer to a sexual assault claim.
The Intercept on Friday first reported the transcript of a broadcast from Aug. 11, 1993, of a woman from San Luis Obispo County, Calif., calling in to the show about her daughter's experience on Capitol Hill.
"San Luis Obispo, California, hello," King begins.
"Yes, hello. I’m wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him," the caller says.
"In other words, she had a story to tell but, out of respect for the person she worked for, she didn’t tell it?" King inquires.
"That’s true," the woman responds before King cuts away to a panel to discuss her claim.
That woman was Jeanette Altimus, Reade's mother, Reade told news outlets, including Fox News.
Later Friday, the Media Research Center found the clip in its archives matching the information provided by The Intercept.
Reade took to Twitter to confirm that it was her mother who called in to "Larry King Live."
"This is my mom. I miss her so much and her brave support of me," Reade tweeted about her mother, who died in 2016.
Reade's story first resurfaced in an article in The Intercept on March 24. Podcast host Katie Halper then interviewed Reade, who said that in 1993, a more senior member of Biden's staff asked her to bring the then-senator his gym bag near the U.S. Capitol building, which led to the encounter in question.
"He greeted me, he remembered my name, and then we were alone. It was the strangest thing," Reade told Halper. "There was no like, exchange really. He just had me up against the wall."
Reade said that she was wearing “a business skirt,” but “wasn’t wearing stockings — it was a hot day.”
She continued: “His hands were on me and underneath my clothes, and he went down my skirt and then up inside it and he penetrated me with his fingers and he was kissing me at the same time and he was saying some things to me.”
Reade claimed Biden first asked if she wanted “to go somewhere else.”
“I pulled away, he got finished doing what he was doing,” Reade said. “He said: ‘Come on, man. I heard you liked me.’”
Reade said she tried to share her story last year, but nobody listened to her. Earlier this month, she filed a criminal complaint against Biden with police in Washington, D.C.
Fox News reached out to the Biden campaign on Friday for comment. The campaign referred Fox News to a statement earlier this month from Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield that said: “What is clear about this claim: it is untrue. This absolutely did not happen."
"Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women," Bedingfield said. "He authored and fought for the passage and reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard - and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press.
Speaking to Fox News on Friday, Reade recalled being "furious" at her mother for phoning in to CNN after having watched the clip on a recorded tape following the broadcast.
She told Fox News she "dreamt" about her mother on Thursday night. The following morning, The Intercept's Ryan Grim told her that he found the transcript.
Reade said she "cried" when she watched the clip on Friday evening, telling Fox News it had been years since she had heard mother's voice. She had urged Reade to file a police report at the time of the alleged assault, Reade said.
"Always listen to your mom, always listen to your mom," an emotional Reade told Fox News.
Still, the mother’s interview doesn’t specifically corroborate Reade’s latest allegations of assault, and could be referring more to the bullying allegations she raised last year. In a 2020 interview, Reade laid more blame with Biden’s staffers for “bullying her” than with Biden himself, The Washington Post reported.
Reade has come forward before: Last year, when multiple women emerged claiming inappropriate touching by Biden.
Reade, at the time, claimed Biden put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed his fingers up and down her neck, but was unable to gain traction on her story aside from an article in a local newspaper.
But in recent weeks, Reade told a far more graphic account, with different and more serious details, raising the allegation to the level of sexual assault.
“Now we’ll see if a different set of rules still applies to Joe Biden,” Erin Perrine, the principal deputy communications for President Trump's re-election campaign, said in a statement to Fox News. “Maybe now at least one reporter will ask him about it.”
Fox News has also requested comment from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who ran against Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and recently endorsed Biden's campaign after wthdrawing from the race.
Fox News' Alex Pappas contributed to this report.

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Georgia Democrat who endorsed Trump not quitting after all

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2017, file photo, Rep. Vernon Jones listens as Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal delivers the State of the State address on the House floor in Atlanta. Jones, a polarizing Democratic state lawmaker in Georgia, broke party ranks on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, to endorse President Donald Trump's reelection. Jones, who represents portions of metro Atlanta’s DeKalb and Rockdale counties, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he's supporting Trump because of the Republican president's handling of the economy and his criminal justice reform efforts. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

ATLANTA (AP) — A Democratic Georgia lawmaker who recently endorsed President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is no longer planning to resign and will instead serve the remainder of his term.

A day after Rep. Vernon Jones said he would resign effective immediately, Jones posted a Twitter video stating he changed his mind because he received “overwhelming” support from his constituents.

“Because of what you did for me, I’m going to remain on the battlefield,” Jones said. “I’m going to complete my term. I’m going to continue to put my country before my party. And I’m going to do everything I can to get Donald J. Trump elected.”

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Jones has been the subject of a complaint alleging that he doesn’t live in his district, which includes portions of metro Atlanta’s DeKalb and Rockdale counties. He has called the accusation baseless.

The Democrat made waves last week when he endorsed Trump, stating in a video that he’s backing the Republican president because of his support for criminal justice reform and historically black colleges and universities.

The endorsement resulted in swift blowback from fellow state Democrats, many of whom publicly said they were making donations to Rhonda Taylor, a community activist running for Jones’ seat in the state’s Democratic primary set for June 9. State Sen. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, had issued a statement calling Jones an “embarrassment.”

“The Left hates me because they can’t control me,” Jones said on Twitter on Wednesday.

Although Jones will complete his term, he did withdraw his candidacy for re-election, a spokesman said.

Texas county judge's coronavirus mask order faces court challenge, hundreds of protesters

A Texas county judge’s 30-day coronavirus mask mandate is being challenged by a local doctor who claims the order requiring Houston-area residents to wear masks in public is “unconstitutional.”
"If Judge Hidalgo's Order is not declared unconstitutional and void, once this virus passes, the rights we are afforded under the Texas Constitution will forever be damaged,” Dr. Steven Hotze, who is also a conservative activist, said of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s order in a court petition, according to the Texas Tribune.
Hotze also claims Hidalgo doesn’t have the authority to issue an order more restrictive than the governor's, which doesn't require masks. The doctor organized a protest Thursday in which hundreds of demonstrators opposed Hidalgo's order.
In Texas, a county judge is the equivalent of a county executive in other parts of the U.S. Harris County, which includes Houston and some nearby communities, is the third most populous county in the nation, home to more than 4 million residents.
Hidalgo enacted the temporary mask order, which is scheduled to take effect Monday, after other large Texas cities like Austin, Dallas and San Antonio issued similar orders. Other areas of the country have also started requiring masks in public, including Los Angeles and New York state.
In his petition, Hotze objects to punishments for violators, such as a $1,000 fine.
"The heavy hand of local government will fine individuals who refuse to wear a mask, fail to wash their hands, get within six feet of another, or inadvertently touch their face,” the petition says.

​​​​​​​Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo speaks during a news conference in Houston, Texas, July 20, 2019. (Getty Images)

 “Folks have been fantastic, but we did want to make them enforceable,” Hidalgo said of the rules and the possible fines.
She said police have discretion regarding enforcement.
Assistant Harris County Attorney Seth Hopkins spoke in support of Hidalgo's order.
“There’s no constitutional right not to wash your hands; no constitutional right during a pandemic to be allowed to spread a deadly virus to other people," Hopkins told Houston's to KTRK-TV.
Robert Soard, the first assistant county attorney, said Texas law gives local judges the authority to “control the movement of persons and the occupancy of premises in that area” during a disaster declaration, the Houston Chronicle reported.
"The past couple of weeks have shown our community has come together - as we always do during times of crisis - to save human life. The public health interventions we've enacted with the support of our residents is already making a difference with over 4,500 lives saved, but we cannot let our guard down," Hidalgo said in a statement, according to the Tribune.
Hundreds of protesters organized by Hotze also gathered outside of the county administration building Wednesday to denounce the order as a violation of their rights.
“I’m tired of the government trying to tell us what to do," one protester told KPRC-TV in Houston.
A Hidalgo spokesman accused Hotze and other critics of "politicizing" the outbreak.
“Politicizing a public health crisis is the worst outcome imaginable for the long-term health and safety and our community, and we urge everyone to continue taking this seriously,” Hidalgo spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said, according to the Chronicle.
Hotze previously sued Hidalgo over her stay-at-home order that limited church services, claiming it violated residents' First Amendment rights. Once Hidalgo changed the order to make church services “essential” he asked for it to be dismissed by the Texas Supreme Court but is still challenging it in a state district court. He is also suing Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton over church social distancing restrictions, according to the Chronicle.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday slammed Hidalgo’s order as an “overreach.”
“Her abuse of the use of executive orders is the ultimate government overreach. These kind of confused government policies fuel public anger - and rightfully so,” he said.
Harris County leads the state in the number of cases, KTRK reported.

Michigan Democrat facing censure for 'thank you' to Trump should join GOP, president says

President Trump on Thursday night shared some advice for U.S. Rep. Karen Whitsett, the Michigan congresswoman who recently survived a bout with coronavirus – only to now face possible censure by some fellow Democrats.
“Should join the Republican Party!” the president wrote on Twitter.
Trump was responding to a message posted by Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, who retweeted a Detroit News story reporting that Whitsett was facing a possible rebuke for having said “thank you” to President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during a recent White House meeting.
DEMS PLAN TO CENSURE MICHIGAN LAWMAKER WHO SAID TRUMP'S BOOSTING OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE 'SAVED MY LIFE'
Whitsett had thanked Trump and Pence because she attributed her recovery from the coronavirus to having taken the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine -- a treatment Trump has frequently supported during White House news briefings.
The congresswoman said the drug had “saved my life.”
Whitsett also thanked the president during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” earlier this month.
“I really want to say that you have to give this an opportunity," she said on the show, referring to the drug. "For me, it saved my life. I only can go by what it is that I have gone through and what my story is, and I can't speak for anyone else. So that's not what I'm trying to do here. I'm only speaking for myself.”
During the White House meeting on April 14, Whitsett hinted she was already receiving pushback from Democrats for thanking Trump.
“Thank you for everything that you have done,” Whitsett told the president, according to The Detroit News. “I did not know that saying thank you had a political line. … I’m telling my story and my truth, and this how I feel and these are my words.”

"Thank you for everything that you have done. I did not know that saying thank you had a political line."
— U.S. Rep. Karen Whitsett, thanking President Trump

A group called the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization will consider censuring Whitsett when it meets Saturday, The Detroit News reported.
Whitsett is not the only Democrat to face repercussions for positive comments about Trump.
Also in Thursday, a state-level Democratic lawmaker in Georgia reversed a decision to resign after facing pressure from other Democrats for saying he supported the president.
State Rep. Vernon Jones of Lithonia said he was convinced to remain in office after receiving an outpouring of support following his initial plan to step down.
“I will not allow the Democrats to bully me into submission,” Jones said. “I will not let them win. I will NOT resign.”
Last December, New Jersey Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew announced he was switching to the GOP after deciding that his fellow Democrats’ arguments for Trump’s impeachment were “weak” and “thin.”
In January, Van Drew appeared with the president before a capacity crowd at a rally in Wildwood, N.J.

Michigan Democratic Gov. Whitmer faces protest outside her home as lawmakers mull curbing her powers

Idiot

Protesters gathered outside the home of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday -- the same day reports emerged that she plans to extend the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order by two weeks until May 15.
The demonstration, dubbed “Operation Queen’s Castle,” featured an image of Whitmer wearing a crown, FOX 2 of Detroit reported.
“We wanted to send Gretchen Whitmer a message, we didn't want to surrender our liberties just for a little temporary safety,” Brian Pannebecker, who helped organize the protest, told the station.
Meanwhile, the Michigan Legislature has scheduled a special session for Friday with the goal of creating an oversight committee to review Whitmer’s coronavirus orders and possibly strip her of some of her powers, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Critics have accused Whitmer, a 48-year-old first-term Democratic governor, of overstepping her authority with a series of measures intended to stem the spread of coronavirus in the state. April 9 revisions to her initial stay-at-home order included bans on visiting friends and relatives or traveling to vacation homes, and halts on sales of items such as furniture and gardening supplies.
In a podcast interview, she also said abortions should continue in the state during the virus outbreak because the procedures were part of "life-sustaining" health care for women.
In addition, Whitmer came under fire after a no-bid coronavirus-related state contract was awarded to a firm operated by a well-known Democratic consultant who had written that President Trump should "get coronavirus ASAP." Whitmer’s office later acknowleged that the contract was awarded without adhering to normal protocols.
Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, explained the point of Friday’s planned session in a Twitter message.
“The House & Senate will convene tomorrow to create a special oversight committee on COVID-19 to examine our government’s response,” he wrote. “Michigan needs to handle this pandemic seriously yet properly. It’s what the people deserve, and we will see that it happens.”
In another tweet, Chatfield noted that marijuana, lottery tickets and alcohol had been declared "essential," while lawn care, construction and fishing in a motorized boat had been declared nonessential amid the outbreak.
On Monday, Whitmer said she would take a 10 percent cut to her $159,300 annual salary and her staffers would take cuts of 5 percent as the state grapples with the financial fallout of the coronavirus shutdowns. She also continued defending the orders she has issued.
“I know it’s not easy, but the price of losing loved ones is what’s at stake,” she said, noting that many people who contract the virus show no symptoms but can still spread it.
The theme of Thursday’s protest in Lansing, the state’s capital city, was that many Michiganders who are able to work should be able to do so, Pannebecker said.
“Younger people, healthy people, without putting anybody else in danger, including ourselves, and others in danger, should be able to go back to work,”  Pannebecker told FOX 2.
The demonstration came eight days after a larger gathering outside the Statehouse called “Operation Gridlock.”
As of late Thursday, Michigan had more than 35,200 confirmed cases of the virus and nearly 3,000 deaths, the Detroit News reported.
Fox News’ Gregg Re and Michael Ruiz contributed to this story.

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Usama bin Laden wanted to kill Obama so 'totally unprepared' Biden would be president, declassified docs show

Usama bin Laden wanted to assassinate then-President Barack Obama so that the "totally unprepared" Joe Biden would take over as president and plunge the United States "into a crisis," according to documents seized from bin Laden's Pakistan compound when he was killed in May 2011.
The secretive documents, first reported in 2012 by The Washington Post, outlined a plan to take out Obama and top U.S. military commander David Petraeus as they traveled by plane.
“The reason for concentrating on them is that Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make [Vice President] Biden take over the presidency," bin Laden wrote to a top deputy. "Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis. As for Petraeus, he is the man of the hour ... and killing him would alter the war's path" in Afghanistan.
Bin Laden specifically wanted fellow terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri to shoot down Obama.
“Please ask brother Ilyas to send me the steps he has taken into that work,” bin Laden wrote to the top lieutenant, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman. Kashmiri wouldn't get too far along in the plot, however; he was killed in 2011 in a U.S. drone strike shortly after bin Laden himself was shot to death by U.S. special forces.

Usama bin Laden said he wanted Joe Biden to be president, according to declassified documents.

Intelligence officials told the Post that bin Laden's plan never progressed past the aspirational stage.
For his part, Biden has sent mixed signals on his role in bin Laden's death, as explained at length in a timeline by The Washington Examiner's Jerry Dunleavy. In late April 2011, Obama gathered together a team that included Biden before making a final decision on whether to strike at bin Laden's suspected compound.
In January 2012, Biden revealed he had opposed to the raid, and claimed that “every single person in that room hedged their bet” except for CIA Director Leon Panetta, who supported striking the compound.
“Mr. President, my suggestion is, don’t go,” Biden said he told his boss, as reported by The New York Times. "We have to do two more things to see if he's there.'"
But in 2015, Biden changed his mind and said he had told Obama he "should go."
Obama himself verified Biden's opposition to the plan, telling Mitt Romney in a 2012 presidential debate, “Even some in my own party, including my current vice president, had the same critique as you did."
On CBS’s “60 Minutes" in Oct. 2015, Biden tried to clear up the confusion, and insisted everything he said had been "accurate."
“In order to give the president the leeway he needed, I said, ‘Mr. President, there’s one more thing we can do.’ … One more pass to see if it was bin Laden. I said, ‘You should do that, and there’d still be time to have the raid, but that’s what I would do,” Biden said.
SEAL Team Six ultimately landed at bin Laden's compound in two MH-60 Black Hawks, killed the terror leader and seized a fateful cache of valuable intelligence.

Newsom won’t share details on $1B mask deal with China

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing pushback as state lawmakers have begun demanding details of his nearly $1 billion deal to receive 200 million masks per month from a Chinese manufacturer.
Just two weeks after announcing the deal, Newsom has remained largely mum on the specifics.
Advisers to the California Democrat have declined requests for comment from the Los Angeles Times about the agreement, which was inked with Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD — which stands for Build Your Dreams — earlier this month.
BYD was formed in 1995 as a battery manufacturer. In 2008, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased a 24.8% stake in the company.
Since then, it has grown into one of the largest electric car makers and partnered with Toyota in November to launch a joint venture into electric car batteries.
The Buffett-backed company also operates a US subsidiary in Lancaster, California, which employs about 1,000 people, according to the Times.
Despite its growth under Buffett, the company announced it saw a 42% drop in profits from 2019, citing the coronavirus pandemic, cuts to government subsidies and changes to emissions rules in China.
Around the same time, the company said on its website that it had converted one of its manufacturing facilities into “the world’s largest mass-produced face masks plant,” adding that it would make 5 million masks per day in the fight against the spread of the virus.
After announcing the deal, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow pressed Newsom for details, though he would only say he had decided to utilize “the purchasing power” of California “as a nation-state,” and that of the 200 million masks, 150 million would be N95 masks and the remainder would be surgical masks.
Pressed by reporters this week about withholding details of the contract, Newsom maintained scant specifics.
“I’m for outcome here. Some are consumed by process, personality, intrigue. Who’s up, who’s down. We are for actually solving a major, major problem — not only for the state but potentially a template for the country,” he said.
The California Senate and Assembly have also been kept in the dark about the deal, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“It would be great to get a heads-up directly from the governor’s office rather than watching it on national TV,” Assembly Budget Committee Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) said in an interview Wednesday with the Chronicle.
“We don’t have any information as to how many masks we’re buying, who we’re buying them from, at what price … What are we obligated? For how long are we obligated?”
Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) sent a letter to the Newsom administration requesting full details, including quality standards and price per mask.
“Under normal circumstances, the Legislature would have had more time to deliberate an expenditure of this magnitude and would have been allowed to thoroughly vet the details of the contract before proceeding,” Mitchell wrote.
The paper reports that a Newsom administration official refused to provide state senators with a copy of the contract during a budget oversight hearing in Sacramento last Thursday, despite the state having already paid half the cost.
The state’s chief deputy director of the Office of Emergency Services told senators via videoconference that providing all specifics of the deal would risk disrupting the supply line of masks to the state.
A BYD spokesperson referred all questions about negotiations over the purchase of masks to Newsom’s office when reached by the Times.
A spokesperson for Newsom could not immediately be reached for comment by The Post.