Huntington Beach protesters assail California Gov. Newsom's order closing beaches

One day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all beaches in the state closed to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, hundreds of protesters flooded the Orange County city of Huntington Beach to demonstrate against the action.
Holding signs with slogans such as, “Open Cali Now,” “All Jobs are Essential” and “Surfing Not a Crime/Newsom is a Kook,” as they took to the street, the protesters -- many without face masks and not practicing social distancing -- backed up traffic along the Pacific Coast Highway for at least a mile.
Police on horseback worked to push the crowd out of the road, FOX 11 of Los Angeles reported.
The protest followed a similar one in the city two weekends ago, when demonstrators called for a reopening of the state's economy after a month under Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
Many participating Friday were with the group Fully Reopen CA Now, according to FOX 11.
"We cannot survive two, three months on this timeline with this amount of businesses shut down and, quite frankly, the data at this point doesn't support it," group member Vivienne Reiten told the station.

"We cannot survive two, three months on this timeline with this amount of businesses shut down and, quite frankly, the data at this point doesn't support it."
— Vivienne Reiten, Fully Reopen CA Now

Newsom called for the beaches to be closed after learning an estimated 80,000 people showed up to nearby Newport Beach during a heatwave last Friday and Saturday. Many had traveled to Orange County beaches because those in neighboring Los Angeles and San Diego counties had been closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
“You didn’t see those images at L.A. beaches and San Diego beaches and [in] Northern California,” Newsom said Monday of the Newport Beach crowds, “because we had strong guidelines that were not only adopted but were abided by," The Los Angeles Times reported.

A protestor holds a hand painted sign on a surfboard during a demonstration at the pier, Friday, May 1, 2020, in Huntington Beach, Calif. (Associated Press)

On Tuesday, the Newport Beach City Council voted 5-2 against a measure that would temporarily close the beach, but Newsom’s latest order overrides that vote.
On Friday a judge refused a Huntington Beach request for an injunction against the beach closure.

Law-enforcement personnel on horseback keep protesters on the sidewalk during a demonstration at the pier during the coronavirus pandemic Friday, May 1, 2020, in Huntington Beach, Calif. (Associated Press)

Newsom said Friday he sympathizes with the protesters but warned the “only thing that is assured to advance the spread of the virus is thousands of people congregating together, not practicing social distancing or physical distancing,” according to The Times.
Some beachgoers defied Newsom’s order Friday, but Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said his department doesn’t plan to make arrests in his jurisdiction -- which also includes Dana Point and San Clemente -- and will instead focus on voluntary compliance and education regarding to the governor's order.
Officials in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach echoed Barnes’ sentiments, according to The Times.

Protesters hold signs and wave flags during a demonstration at the pier Friday, May 1, 2020, in Huntington Beach, Calif., during the coronavirus outbreak. (Associated Press)

“As long as people are social distancing and doing what they’re expected to do, the sheriff does not have interest in criminalizing people enjoying the beach,” sheriff’s office spokeswoman Carrie Braun said.

Law enforcement personnel on horseback keep protesters on the sidewalk during a demonstration at the pier Friday, May 1, 2020, in Huntington Beach, Calif., during the coronavirus outbreak. (Associated Press)

Newsom said he hoped to see better compliance with his order in the days ahead.
“We’ll see what happens over the course of this weekend and, look, if we have the kind of weekend that I hope and expect we will -- where we don’t see those huge crowds descend -- then we’re going to be in a position, as early as Monday, Tuesday, I hope, to make some announcements of new strategies and partnerships that we’re working on in real time to address these large crowds."
There were also about a dozen other rallies across the state, including in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Leaked Western intel dossier reveals how China deceived the world about coronavirus

A research dossier compiled by the so-called "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance states that China intentionally hid or destroyed evidence of the coronavirus outbreak, leading to the loss of tens of thousands of lives around the world
The 15-page document from the intelligence agencies of the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, was obtained by Australia's Saturday Telegraph newspaper and states that China's secrecy amounted to an “assault on international transparency."
The dossier touches on themes that have been discussed in media reports about the outbreak of the virus, including an initial denial by China that the virus could be transmitted between humans, the silencing or "disappearing" of doctors who tried to speak up, the destruction of evidence in laboratories and refusal to provide live samples to international scientists working on a vaccine.
Specifically, the file notes that China began censoring news of the virus on search engines and social media beginning Dec. 31, deleting terms including “SARS variation," “Wuhan Seafood market” and “Wuhan Unknown Pneumonia.”
Three days later, on Jan. 3, China’s National Health Commission ordered virus samples to be either moved to designated testing facilities or destroyed, while simultaneously issuing a "no-publication order" related to the disease.
The Saturday Telegraph report includes a timeline of Chinese obfuscation. On Jan. 5, for example, Wuhan's Municipal Health Commission stopped releasing daily updates on the number of new cases and would not resume them for 13 days. On Jan. 10, Wang Guanga, a respiratory specialist at Peking University First Hospital who had been investigating the outbreak, said it was "under control" and largely a "mild condition." (Wang himself would disclose 12 days later that he had been infected with the virus.)
Two days later, on Jan. 12, a Shanghai professor's lab was closed down after it shared data on the virus' genetic sequence with the outside world. On Jan. 24, Chinese officials stopped the Wuhan Institute of Virology from sharing virus samples with a lab at the University of Texas.
Perhaps most damningly, the dossier states that Chinese authorities denied that the virus could be spread between humans until Jan. 20, "despite evidence of human-human transmission from early December."
The file is similarly unsparing about the World Health Organization (WHO), stating that it toed the Chinese line about human-to-human transmission despite the fact that "officials in Taiwan raised concerns as early as December 31, as did experts in Hong Kong on January 4.”
As of Friday night, the WHO's official Twitter account still featured a tweet from Jan. 14 that stated: "Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China."
The dossier goes on to state that throughout February, "Beijing [pressed] the US [sic], Italy, India, Australia, Southeast Asian neighbours [sic] and others not to protect themselves via travel restrictions, even as [China] impose[d] severe restrictions at home."
At the same time, the file states: "Millions of people [left] Wuhan after the outbreak and before Beijing lock[ed] down the city on January 23."
The dossier continues with a litany of Chinese defensiveness, stating: “As EU [European Union] diplomats prepare a report on the pandemic, [China] successfully presses Brussels to strike language on [China] disinformation."
Similarly, “As Australia calls for an independent inquiry into the pandemic, [China] threatens to cut off trade with Australia. [China] has likewise responded furiously to US [sic] calls for transparency.”
The Saturday Telegraph report does present one apparent point of divergence between the allied governments, with Australia believing the coronavirus most likely originated in the Wuhan wet market and putting the chances it accidentally leaked from a lab at "5 percent."
By contrast, Fox News reported April 15 that U.S. intelligence officials are increasingly confident that coronavirus likely originated in a Wuhan lab as a consequence of China's attempt to demonstrate that its efforts to identify and combat viruses are equal to or greater than the capabilities of the United States
President Trump said Thursday that he's seen evidence suggesting the virus came from a lab after Fox News and others asked if he knew of anything that gave him confidence that the outbreak originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
"Yes, I have," he replied, "And, I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they’re like the public relations agency for China."
Multiple sources previously told Fox News that it is believed standards in Wuhan were disregarded before the virus leaked, prompting Beijing to initiate a cover-up. Sources also claimed the WHO was complicit from the beginning in helping China cover its tracks.
The WHO and China have denied any wrongdoing.
The Saturday Telegraph also reported that key figures at the Wuhan Institute of Virology previously worked or trained in Australian government labs where they conducted research on pathogens in live bats as part of an ongoing partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
According to the dossier, the team's work at the Wuhan lab involved discovering samples of coronavirus within a cave in Yunnan province and synthesizing a bat-derived coronavirus that could not be cured.
Fox News' Bret Baier and Louis Casiano contributed to this report

Sniffing Joe Biden Cartoons

Biden expected to publicly address sexual assault allegation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden on Friday was expected to give his first public comments on a sexual assault allegation that has roiled his presidential campaign.

The presumptive Democratic nominee will appear on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to address the allegation by his former Senate staffer Tara Reade that he assaulted her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in the 1990s. His campaign issued a statement in early April denying the allegation, and a number of former Biden staffers have defended their boss in interviews.

Biden himself has yet to face any questions or weigh in on the accusation, even as it’s taken on fresh attention this week after two of Reade’s associates said she previously told them about elements of her allegations.

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Republicans worried about President Donald Trump’s increasingly precarious political standing are seizing on the allegation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. They are digging in despite the fact that it could renew attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations lodged against Trump.

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of vigorously validating women who come forward with their stories while defending the man who will be their standard-bearer in what many in the party consider the most important election of their lifetimes.

Some in the party have been urging Biden to mount a more forceful response to the allegation.

“The campaign has issued statements, but he hasn’t issued any statements in his own voice,” said former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile. “It’s not helping, it’s just damaging — not only to the person who has come forward, but it’s also damaging the candidate.”

Lis Smith, a top strategist on Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, also called on the Biden campaign to speak up.

“These accusations have not been found to be credible, so it’s in the Biden campaign’s interest to nip this in the bud directly and do it quickly,” she said.

The November contest between Biden and Trump will be the first presidential race of the #MeToo era, which has led numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Trump has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by numerous women, allegations he denies.

Women are a core constituency for Democrats, and Biden has a mixed history. While he wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator, he also came under heavy criticism for his handling of Anita Hill’s Senate testimony in the 1990s. Just before he launched his 2020 campaign, several women accused him of unwanted touching, behavior for which he apologized.

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Biden has pledged to pick a woman as a running mate, and the allegation has left those thought to be in contention in a tough spot.

Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia Democratic governor candidate, said, “I believe Joe Biden,” citing a New York Times investigation that she said exonerated him.

“Women deserve to be heard,” she said, “but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources.”

That echoed talking points issued by the Biden campaign to surrogates last week that were obtained by The Associated Press. They pointed to investigations by The New York Times, The Washington Post and the AP that found no other allegation of sexual assault and no pattern of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also defended Biden. Speaking on CNN, she said she was “satisfied with how he has responded,” even as she acknowledged “it’s a matter that he has to deal with.”

Some Democratic donors and fundraisers say the issue has not come up in calls with party financiers. Others worry that it could be used against Biden, much as Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the activities of the Clinton Foundation were wielded against her by Trump.

Some, most notably women, say they are paying close attention to the allegations, which gave them pause.

Alex Sink, a donor and former Democratic nominee for governor of Florida, said she was “not happy” to read about the allegations against Biden. While she still plans to vote for him, she worried his campaign was too quick to categorically deny Reade’s story.

“They put themselves immediately out on a limb by saying, ‘It didn’t happen, we categorically deny it, it’s not true,’” Sink said.

Some female Democratic operatives expressed concerns the allegation is particularly damaging because it’s an indictment of Biden’s central campaign rationale: that he provides a moral counter to Trump and that the election is a “battle for the soul of America.”

“The stakes could not be higher for defeating Donald Trump — but at the same time, I think we have to apply a consistent standard for how we treat allegations of sexual assault, and also be clear-eyed about how Donald Trump will use these allegations in the general election campaign,” said Claire Sandberg, who worked as Bernie Sanders’ organizing director.

The silence from the Biden campaign has given Republicans an opening on an issue that was, in 2016, more fraught for the GOP, when Trump was asked to answer for the more than two dozen women who alleged varying levels of sexual assault and harassment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News on Thursday that Biden will “have to participate in releasing all the information related to” the allegation, a stance he didn’t take when Trump faced misconduct accusations.

The GOP argues Democrats aren’t being consistent, pointing to aggressive questioning and coverage of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he faced an allegation of sexual assault.

Speaking about the allegation for the first time on Friday, Trump said Biden “should respond” before proceeding to criticize the treatment of Kavanaugh as “an absolute disgrace to our country.”

Steve Guest, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said “the left, and their media allies, has one standard for Republicans and another standard for Democrats like Joe Biden.”

“The double standard,” he said, “is appalling.”

___

Associated Press writers Brian Slodysko in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Biden's call for 'transparency' during Dem debate comes back to haunt him

Former Vice President Joe Biden had gone over a month without addressing the explosive sexual assault allegation made by his former Senate staffer Tara Reade, but he had quite a different tune during one of the Democratic debates earlier this year.
Back in February, during former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's underwhelming run for president, the billionaire businessman was pummelled by his competitors over not releasing former female employees from their non-disclosure agreements (NDA).
And while Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is remembered for her fierce line of attacks at the two debates with Bloomberg, Biden also squeezed in some punches of his own.
"Let's get something straight here. It's easy. All the mayor has to do is say, 'You are released from the non-disclosure agreement. Period," Biden said in an edited clip preserved on his Twitter account. "This is about transparency from the very beginning. Whether it's your health records, whether it's your taxes, whether you have cases against you, whether or not people have signed non-disclosure agreements."
His shaming of Bloomberg continued, "You think that women, in fact, were ready to say, 'I don't want anybody to know about what you did to me.' That's not how it works. The way it works is they say, 'Look, this is what you did to me' and the mayor comes along and his attorneys say, 'I will give you this amount of money if you promise you'll never say anything. That's how it works.
The tweet, which was made on February 20, also read, "Let me be clear: Mayor Bloomberg should release folks from their non-disclosure agreements. This is about transparency. The American people deserve to know the truth."
Biden has been criticized for lack of transparency. The presumptive Democratic nominee is set to break his silence on Friday.
There have also been growing calls for him to unseal his Senate records that are being held at the University of Delaware, where Reade believes her sexual harassment complaint she filed to the Senate personnel office is being held and further corroborate her claims.
However, the university says the records will remain sealed until at least two years after Biden leaves public life.
"I'm calling for the release of the documents being held by the University of Delaware that contain Biden's staff personnel records because I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," Reade has told Fox News. "Maybe if other staffers that have tried to file complaints would come to light -- why are they under seal? And why won't they be released to the public?"
The editorial board of The Washington Post joined that call, urging Biden on Wednesday to address the allegations and "release relevant records."
Biden is set to address the allegations for the first time on Friday. It is unknown if he will be asked whether he would be willing to unseal his Senate records.
His campaign has denied Reade's allegations.

California has list of outdoor activities still permissible during coronavirus, gets panned on social media

LOS ANGELES-- Gov. Gavin Newsom directed California residents to a list of outdoor activities that the state said are still permissible during the statewide shelter-in-place order, drawing ire on social media.
Newsom reportedly directed state residents to read the list that includes activities like Badminton (singles), BMX biking, gardening (not in groups), car-washing and tree climbing. The state still wants safe social distancing to be practiced.
“We want you to see sunsets,” Newsom said, according to SFGate. “We want you to enjoy activities outdoors.  What they don’t want is people congregating outside in large groups.”
The idea that the state would make a list to inform its residents that gardening is allowed did not sit well with many on social media. Residents in the state have been inside for weeks and some have already spoken out on what they see as a Sacramento overreach.
“I swear they made this list by watching a California tourism commercial,” one Twitter user posted. Another wrote, “California, today, released a list of activities that the Liberals in charge are allowing us citizens to do. The list includes ‘watching the sunrise and watching the sunset.’ How gracious of the all-powerful liberal leadership.”
Newsom has insisted that keeping the coronavirus at bay is his top priority and he has been praised for his early approach to the pandemic. But there is beginning to be fissures in the state and more pushback from business owners to surfers.
State health officials say these guidelines are in place to protect citizens from a highly contagious virus.
Harmeet Dhillon, the California Republican Party vice chairwoman, told “The Ingraham Angle” Thursday that Newsom “went off the deep end” with his restrictions.
Earlier Thursday, Newsom cracked down on beachgoers in Southern California, initiating a "hard close" of beaches in Orange County in response to what he considered social distancing violations last weekend.
"The goalposts keep moving with this governor," Dhillon responded. "At the beginning of this crisis, many of us were complimentary of his willingness to work with our president but in the last couple of weeks, he's really gone in the opposite direction.
"I think with the legislators not in session, nobody is asking him any questions," Dhillon added, "and he has really gone off the deep end, as you just mentioned in Orange County today."
Huntington Beach City Council voted in an emergency session Thursday night to try and obtain an injunction against Newsom's order, the Los  Angeles Times reported.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes reportedly said his intention “is to not take enforcement action on this order.”
Fox News' Talia Kaplan contributed to this report

Michigan Gov. Whitmer extends coronavirus state of emergency declaration another month, takes swipe at GOP

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday extended Michigan's state of emergency and disaster declaration through May 28, hours before it was set to expire and after hundreds of protesters, some of whom were armed, gathered in the state Capitol building to voice their displeasure with the Democratic governor.
Whitmer also took shots at the Republican-controlled legislature for refusing to extend the order earlier in the day.
"By refusing to extend the emergency and disaster declaration, Republican lawmakers are putting their heads in the sand and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk," she said in a statement. "I’m not going to let that happen.”
The emergency declaration gives Whitmer additional powers to issue executive orders during an emergency. She claimed she had the emergency authority regardless of what state lawmakers did.
In a rejection of the governor, the state House and Senate adopted resolutions Thursday to legally challenge her authority and also approved a bill to allow some of her mandates but not her stay-at-home order, which expires May 16.
No lawsuit had been filed as of Thursday night, MLive reported.
Whitmer said she planned to veto the bill and won't sign any bills that "that constrain her ability to protect the people of Michigan from this deadly virus in a timely manner," her office said, according to The Detroit News.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of demonstrators, some armed with rifles, descended on the state Capitol building in Lansing to voice frustration over the stay-at-home order, which mandates temporary business closures and that residents remain home.
Many made it inside the building and stood shoulder-to-shoulder, calling for a return to normal daily life. Opponents accuse Whitmer of overstepping her authority by prohibiting sales of items like garden supplies and banning most travel between homes and certain activities.
An earlier rally on April 15 called "Operation Gridlock" drew thousands outside the Capitol building, in addition to another gathering outside Whitmer's home. Similar demonstrations have occurred nationwide as many Americans remain concerned about their livelihoods.
The Michigan Court of Claims sided with the governor Wednesday, denying a motion for a preliminary injunction to the order. The court ruled that the stay-at-home order doesn't violate residents' constitutional rights.
Michigan recorded 41,379 COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, including 3,789 deaths, according to the state website.
In her declaration announcement, Whitmer said scientific data shows the state is not ready to resume normal operations.
“It defies common sense and science," she said during a virtual town hall Thursday night. "We are still in a state of emergency. We have to take this seriously. If we are smart, we can start to reengage safely."
Fox News' Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.

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