DeSantis To Cut Back Work With Some Labs, Says ‘Many’ Are Too Slow To Provide COVID-19 Results

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) said on Wednesday that state officials will stop sending COVID-19 tests to labs that are slow to turn around results.

“Those who can produce are going to get more of the business, and I think that’s the best way to go about it,” DeSantis said, according to the Miami Herald. 

The governor announced that instead the Department of Emergency Management will start sending work to labs with a track record of faster turnaround time – a move raises questions about what impact having fewer testing labs would have for COVID-19 testing in the state overall.  

DeSantis said he was frustrated with many of the labs the state has contracted with to perform tests. He asked labs serving drive-through testing sites to produce results within 48 hours, a target that he said “many” of the labs aren’t meeting.

“You have somebody going through one of the [testing] sites, and then they get a result back 10 days later,” DeSantis said. “That is not really going to be very helpful.”

On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health reported a total of roughly 302,000 positive cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic with 4,626 deaths. Tuesday also broke a previous record for the state, becoming the deadliest date  yet for the pandemic with 132 fatalities, according to state health department data.

DeSantis did not specify which labs have been lagging on results nor did he say which labs would be affected by the change.

Parscale Demoted As Trump’s Dismal Poll Numbers Continue To Sink

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday night that his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, would be replaced by deputy campaign manager Bill Stepien.

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WH Claims Trump Didn’t Approve Navarro’s Op-Ed Attacking Fauci

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday denied that President Trump gave White House trade adviser Peter Navarro the green light to publish his caustic USA Today op-ed criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci. Continue reading “WH Claims Trump Didn’t Approve Navarro’s Op-Ed Attacking Fauci” →

Twitter Accounts Of Obama, Biden Hacked In Apparent Bitcoin Scam

Con artists on Wednesday apparently hacked into the Twitter accounts of technology moguls, politicians and major companies in an apparent bitcoin scam.

The ruse included bogus tweets from Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and a number of tech billionaires including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The fake tweets offered to send $2,000 for every $1,000 sent to a bitcoin address.

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Ginsburg Sent Home From Hospital And Is ‘Doing Well’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Wednesday that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was discharged from a hospital after being treated for a possible infection.

A court spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that Ginsburg was “home and doing well.”

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No Thanks! COVID-Infected Oklahoma Guv Still Refuses To Require People To Wear Masks

Becoming the first U.S. governor to test positive for COVID-19 apparently wasn’t enough to convince the perennially mask-resistant Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) to do some reevaluating.

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Fauci Says WH Effort To Discredit Him Is ‘Major Mistake’ That ‘Ultimately Hurts’ Trump

The nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told The Atlantic in an interview published Wednesday, that recent attempts by the White House to attack and discredit him are “nonsense” and “completely wrong.”

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New Report Shows WH’s Ruthless Campaign Against Vindman After Impeachment

A new report has shed light on the extent to which the White House went after Lt. Col. Alex Vindman after his blockbuster impeachment testimony.

The National Security Council reportedly sent a list of criticisms against Vindman to the Pentagon following his House impeachment hearing against President Trump. Continue reading “New Report Shows WH’s Ruthless Campaign Against Vindman After Impeachment” →

Trump Is Donating Ventilators To Countries That Don’t Need Or Can’t Use Them

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As President Donald Trump came under criticism that his administration had failed to manage the coronavirus pandemic, he cited one area of success: his plan to donate thousands of ventilators to other countries.

“Now we’re the king of ventilators,” Trump told reporters on April 18.
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Trump Leaves Door Open For Flynn To Rejoin Administration: ‘He’s A Great Gentleman’

President Donald Trump alluded Tuesday that he would welcome retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn back into his administration now that the former national security adviser’s three-year legal battle over lying to the FBI during the Russia probe is close to evaporating.

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