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TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

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Texas AG: Price Gouging Is 'Like Porn, You Know It When You See It'

August 31, 2017
 Staff

WRITER

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined Thursday’s “The Glenn Beck Radio Program” to talk about Texans’ “remarkable” response to Tropical Storm Harvey as well as the politics of price gouging.

“Overall, it’s been a remarkable effort,” Paxton said. “Any loss of life is horrible, but it’s been amazingly low given the magnitude and the length of this storm.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state and federal officials have worked together to mitigate damage from the storm and make sure stranded people are rescued. They have been joined by volunteers from around the country.

“This is the toughest time in my lifetime,” Glenn Beck said. “I’ve never seen our country more divided. And look at what the people of Texas [are doing] coming from all over the region just to go in and help.”

There will be some fluctuation for the price of water, gasoline and other necessities simply because the storm has shut down the country’s biggest oil refinery, reducing how much gas is available to use and to transport goods.

“Gas will go up to some degree,” Paxton said. “Supply and demand is going to be affected here.”

While some expense is normal, an unreasonable increase to products that the government defines as price gouging is against the law.

“Do you remember when the Supreme Court had to deal with pornography, and they basically said, 'We know it when we see it?'  When I see gas prices at $20 a gallon, I know it’s price gouging. When I saw water at $100 a case, I know it’s price gouging,” Paxton said. “When I see gas at $2.57, it’s probably not price gouging.”

Based on historic price and context from the current market, officials use discretion to keep people from being ripped off, he asserted.

“We’re not talking about price gouging as it relates to anything other than things that really are critical to people surviving,” Paxton said.

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: Lots to talk about today. First, I don't know what it's like in your part of the country, but here in Texas, I think there's going to be a lot of people that are late for work. Because anybody who got up this morning and was driving in and saw the little red light go on and went, "Uh-oh, I got to go get gas," you are now sitting in a line. And that line is getting longer. We could be out of gas in Texas by the -- by the weekend.

Ninety percent of all of the gasoline that fuels the cars at least in Texas -- and I bet it's the greater southwest region, comes out of Houston. Forty-two percent of all of the jet fuel comes out of Houston. Those refineries are now gone, or at least shut down.

We don't know when they will start refining again and when trucks will be replenishing again. This is going to affect all of us. We just have to keep our heads about us. And we also have to discuss, how are we going to get some of the -- how is this going to affect the people who are just getting on the road with their trucks and their cars, and they're going to help?

You can't really drive down to Houston, four hours away, if you can't get gas somewhere along the way to get you back.

We've had another wrinkle added now to the hurricane in Houston. We begin there and also talk a little about price gouging with the attorney general in Texas. Ken Paxton joins us. We begin, right now.

(music)

GLENN: This is a really weird situation because the -- the -- if I warn you about gas, it's going to make people go and sit in lines and everybody starts to hoard gas. And I got to get my lawn mower filled. It's probably not the right move.

But I warn you now because I want you to think about this weekend. This is Labor Day Weekend. Especially if you're in the -- in the Dallas area or the Texas area, we get our gas from those refineries.

JEFFY: Yeah, but nobody has to worry until after this program is over.

GLENN: Right.

JEFFY: Then it's fine. Once I go fill up my car, after the show, then -- then they can worry.

GLENN: Right. Well, we got the tweet from a guy in New York just a little while ago that said -- what was it? It went up 17 cents in an hour, or half an hour?

STU: Yeah, another person writes: Gas here in Cincinnati went up 2.23 to 2.59 in the day.

GLENN: I mean, you know, it's going to impact all of us, this hurricane. It's going to impact us hard. But those oil refineries -- it's my understanding, these oil refineries were locked down tight. We didn't have a problem with winds, just flooding. And it's my understanding that, you know, this can and will come back online as soon as the waters recede. And they're going to start those plants back up. Is that your understanding, Stu? Not really?

STU: Yeah. I'm not...

GLENN: Can we get? Keith! Let's see if we can get somebody on from the oil industry. I know they're probably not busy at all, but to give us some information about these oil refineries. And perhaps Ken Paxton knows a little about this, even though this is not his area of expertise. He is our attorney general.

Ken, how are you, sir?

KEN: I'm doing well. How are you this morning?

GLENN: I'm good. Thank you for all of the hard work, and please pass on to the governor how proud we are of him and what a good job he is doing.

KEN: You know, I would have to totally agree. The magnitude of the storm and what they've had to deal with over a long period of time, and obviously still continues. I'm amazed, the job that both the federal and state government have done working together.

GLENN: You know, I know that there was a disagreement -- and I -- I would have been on the wrong side of this disagreement, I think. And I don't know who had what side, and it doesn't matter.

But there was a disagreement on when to evacuate people. And I think the city of Houston said, "No, no, we're not going to evacuate." Which in New Orleans, worked out horribly.

The way this is stacking up, it might have been a blessing that we didn't have a whole bunch of people, a million people on the road, stuck in traffic on Houston when this thing rolled in.

KEN: Yeah, it's so hard to know. Because you've got 7 million people or more down in the Houston area. And to try to evacuate that -- we're not talking about evacuating some small town. We're talking about a massive effort. I don't even know how you get that many people out.

So I don't know, maybe some could have evacuated. We could look at that later.

I do think overall, it's been a remarkable effort. And if you look at loss of life, obviously any loss of life is horrible, but it's been amazingly low, given the magnitude and the length of this storm and what we're still dealing with.

GLENN: I have to tell you, I can't get my arms around how low those numbers are.

Are we concerned that when the waters recede, we're going to just start going through homes, and we're just going to find a lot of people, or are we pretty sure that this is relatively stable? I mean, we know we're going to find a lot more people, but that we haven't lost an eye-bleed amount of people, is astonishing.

KEN: Yeah. You just think about the magnitude of the storm coming to shore, we could have lost hundreds, if not thousands of people. And who knows what the future holds and what we're going to find. I can just say, I think they've done an amazing job rescuing people. They've gotten resources in place.

The federal government was there early and quick and offered up everything we needed. And Abbott and his team have done an amazing job, just keeping this thing going and making sure that we get this thing done right.

GLENN: I will tell you that this is where -- you know, having the governor and the -- and the president and everybody on board come in handy as now cleanup and real big, huge infrastructure pieces need to be moved.

But I have been -- it is -- it is proof to me why I moved here five or six years ago, when I said on the air, "There are going to be tough times, and you just have to know that the people around you have the same kind of attitude, that when push comes to shove, we're all neighbors."

I mean, we've never been -- I don't remember the 1960s. I was like four.

KEN: Me too.

GLENN: But I know those were tough times in our -- in my lifetime. This is the toughest time in my lifetime. I've never seen our country more divided. And look at the people of Texas, coming from all over the region, just to go in and help. Without the government, without anybody organizing, just, "I got a boat. I'm going in."

KEN: Well, not only that, hundreds of people have done that, and it wasn't like it was not risky for them. They were risking their lives.

GLENN: I know.

KEN: You know, there's just so much at stake for them personally. They didn't have to do it. You would think people would want to go out and save their own families, and yet they came back to help. So it does say a lot about the type of people that live in Texas, and it's really encouraging, given what you just talked about, the divisive nature of what's going on in our country and how difficult it is. And yet, you see in Texas, we -- we've had a devastating hurricane, devastating storms. And yet, you know we'll come back.

GLENN: Ken, I know this is not in your purview, and I'm sorry to hit you with this and even the questions I'm asking you. Because this is not what you do for a living.

But have you heard any talk at all about the gasoline situation? We're seeing -- I mean, stopping at four different gas stations here in the Dallas area on the way into work, four of them had signs on the pumps, out of gas. Ninety percent of all of the fuel coming into Texas is coming in from those refineries that have all been shut down. Are we concerned at all about running out of gas temporarily? Do you have any clue as to what's happening with the gas situation?

KEN: Well, I do think that we're going to start getting supplies from other places. But I think gas is going to go up to some degree. Obviously, supply and demand is going to be affected here. But I do think we're going to have other places that it's going to come from. The supply chain is going to change a bit until those refineries in Texas open back up.

GLENN: And the 42 percent of the fuel for jet fuel comes out of Houston. How long before these refineries can open up. Do you know that?

KEN: That I don't know. I think it's been so dependent on when the rain stops and the water receded. So I believe it will be -- I'm hopeful in the next week they'll open back up. It's an issue. But I do think, as I said, I think the supply chain is changing to address that. It's just prices are going to go up some.

GLENN: So that brings me to what we actually wanted to talk about, and that is price gouging. We just had a listener tweet in from New York and said, "I went. I brought my car in. It was, what? 2.41 or 2.43. I fill up. I go and I get my mom's car. I come back, and it's 2.57, 30 minutes later." And that was in New York.

KEN: That was in New York? Wow.

GLENN: Yes.

KEN: It's going to -- look, it's the natural supply and demand. Prices are going to go up, until the refineries are back open. That's just the reality. We're going to see higher gas prices, for at least, you know, the next few weeks.

GLENN: So I, in my head, can make the leap to things like water. I don't want -- I mean, water -- you have to have water to live. But that stops -- by not -- by saying you can't raise the price, that stops the trucker or the somebody else that might live, you know, in another state, who says, you know what, I'm going to go buy a bunch of water, because I'll be able to make it up. And I'm going to deliver a whole truckload of it, and I'm going to sell it.

So it actually, by -- by disrupting the capitalist system or the free market system, it actually can end up hurting the -- the efforts. How do you balance that?

How do you define price gouging and -- and -- and know where the line is?

KEN: Do you remember when the Supreme Court had to deal with pornography, and they basically said, "We know it when we see it?"

So when I see gas prices at $20 a gallon, I know it's price gouging. When I see water at $100 a gas, I know it's price gouging. When I see gas at 2.57, it's probably not price gouging.

So, you know, we take a look at it and we try to figure out based on the historic price, based on what's going on in the market, are these people taking advantage of people in crisis? And, you know, there is some -- there is definitely some discretion here. And we're not trying to stop the market from working. We're just trying to stop people from ripping people off.

STU: Ken, are you at all uncomfortable with -- and I know you're trying to do good work here and help people in need. But are you at all uncomfortable with the government making a standard of, we know it when we see it?

KEN: Well, so, you know, my job isn't to make laws. I have to deal with the laws I'm given. Whether I would have passed a law exactly like this --

GLENN: Yes.

KEN: As I know from being in the legislature, I never got to pass any law that I exactly liked. I get to -- I get to negotiate laws that were partly what I liked and partly what I didn't.

So, yeah. I'm a free market guy. But I don't think -- in this case, we're not talking about efficient markets. We are talking about really inefficient markets. And I don't think we necessarily have a free market right now in Houston. We have limited supplies. And we've got -- we're talking about critical supplies.

So we're not talking about price gouging as it relates to anything other than things that really are critical to people surviving.

GLENN: You know, Ken, there's an article. And I'm not going to mention where. You know, some person on the left said, "What we're seeing in Houston is not miraculous. People just -- people just rise to the occasion." And I think that's absolutely untrue. We have seen other places and other disasters where people don't necessarily rise to the occasion. And the bad guys take advantage of the occasion. And, you know, are doing some really horrible things.

Are we missing the stories of the violence and the looting and everything else that is happening in Houston? Because I know some of it is happening.

But are -- are we just not seeing a large level of that taking root in Houston?

KEN: You know, I don't think there's a large level. Look, I may -- we could be wrong. We may find more than there is. But part of it is, it's hard for looters to get in and out. They're limited by the same things we're limited by. And so it's made it difficult for them to loot. Now, as the water recedes, we may have more of a problem. But I know that local law enforcement is focused on that. Although, they're particularly focused on rescuing lives first.

But as the waters recede, we'll see what happens. Hopefully, you know, there won't be a lot of that going on.

GLENN: You know, there was a story that came out that President Bush just allowed all of the sales of the transfer of, you know, some serious armaments or, you know -- you know, armed personnel, et cetera, to our local police. And that bothers me. It bothered me under George Bush. And it bothered me under Barack Obama. It bothers me under this president.

I don't understand why that's happening. I want our police to be effective and to be safe. But why isn't that equipment just being transferred to our National Guard. Because they're the ones that really need. We don't really need it to serve a warrant of arrest to somebody.

Why -- why is that happening? And what are we doing with that and our police? Do you know?

KEN: I don't know. I'm not involved in that transfer.

GLENN: Okay.

KEN: I don't know that I disagree with you, that local police shouldn't be armed like they're the US military. That would be better served put into the hands of the National Guard. So I tend to agree with your assessment of that. I have the same concerns you do.

GLENN: One last question: Besides prayer, what can we do to help the governor and everybody else in service the next week or so?

KEN: Well, that's a great question. I think you can pray. That's obviously very important. Still people that are in harm's way. Still people that are rescuing. And that will continue. But there's also great organizations on the ground. Like Samaritan's Purse. There's a group called Minute Man out of Texas, actually out of McKinney, Texas, that I'm very aware that are on the ground. We have groups like the Red Cross.

There are some really good groups that are -- that are down there doing -- also, Texas Baptist Men. So those are at least three or four of the groups that I know of, that are down there now that know what they're doing, that are, you know, legitimate organizations. And that are trying to make a difference.

So you can give money to them. I think they will make a difference down there.

GLENN: Ken, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

KEN: Thank you. Absolutely.

GLENN: By the way, yesterday, I got word that Mercury One -- this is about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, hit a million dollars from this audience. And we can't thank you enough. And you can donate.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: April 3rd

Glenn gives the latest coronavirus numbers, updating YOU on everything needed to know as Americans and officials monitor China's new COVID-19 virus:

Daily Stats as of 5:30 AM CT (from John's Hopkins)

  • Total Confirmed Cases Worldwide: 1,030,324 (up from 950,638 Yesterday)
  • Total Confirmed Deaths Worldwide: 54,226 (up from 48,289 Yesterday)
  • Total Confirmed Recovered Worldwide: 219,896 (up from 202,631 Yesterday)
  • 5% of Active Cases are considered serious (requiring hospitalization) Steady from 5% Yesterday, but down from 19% high back in February
  • Note that 12% of US Confirmed Cases require Hospitalization, roughly on par with Italy at 12% requiring hospitalization and lower than Spain, where 18% of patients require hospitalization.
  • US has 245,380 Confirmed Cases and 6,095 Deaths, up from 215,344 cases and 5,112 deaths yesterday
  • The US currently has 228,874 Active Cases of COVID-19, with about 1% of the US Population tested
  • 15% of Americans who have been tested have been diagnosed with COVID-19
White House to Recommend All Americans Wear Face Masks in Public https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/02/coronavirus-facemasks-policyreversal/
  • The White House is poised to urge Americans to wear cloth masks or face coverings in public to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, in a reversal of earlier advice.
  • President Trump said Thursday at a coronavirus task force briefing that "a recommendation is coming out," but "I don't think it will be mandatory. If people want to wear them, they can."
  • Later, however, a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to relate internal discussions, said that the guidance being considered is "narrowly targeted to areas with high community transmission" and that the matter remains under discussion.
  • A new Memo from the CDC states: "In light of new data, along with evidence of widespread transmission in communities across the country, CDC recommends the community use of cloth masks as an additional public health measure people can take to prevent the spread of the virus to those around them."
  • The recommendations represent a major change in CDC guidance that healthy people don't need masks or face coverings.
  • The news comes as Laredo, TX joins more than a dozen American cities or Counties that have mandated the use of face masks for all persons in public spaces such as grocery stores or shopping centers. Violaters without a facemask risk up to a $1000 fine. https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-city-fine-people-who-dont-cover-faces-outside-coronavirus
  • Similar provisions are being considered for the entire State of California, according to Governor Gavin Newsom's office.
Anti-body Tests Getting Accelerated Availability https://news.yahoo.com/antibody-tests-key-ending-covid-19-lockdowns-162305617.html
  • Unlike Vaccine testing and production which could take months or years, SARS-CoV-2 Antibody tests could be available in the US in a few weeks.
  • Such tests could be key in enabling the partial lifting of lockdown and shelter-in-place orders, as authorities could determine who might already have immunity to the virus and could return to work.
  • "If we can determine someone's already had the virus and now has immunity and is no longer contagious to others, that's what we're looking for here," said Anthony Fauci in Thursday's White House COVID-19 Task Force update.
  • However, it should be noted that researchers have yet to determine if anti-body production renders people permanently or only temporarily immune to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
  • While some Virus immunities, such as Chicken Pox, are generally permanent immunities, others, such as SARS-1 and Rhinovirus (the common cold) grant only short-term, multi-month immunity...which is why people can get a cold each year.
  • Most known Coronavirus immunities in humans are not permanent, researchers have noted. Influenza, for example, grants only seasonal immunity and can be caught again only a few months later.
Lord Have Mercy...Hospital Ships Sit Empty https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/nyregion/ny-coronavirus-usns-comfort.html
  • The much-touted Navy Hospital Ships in New York and Los Angeles sit 95% empty as of Thursday evening.
  • In New York, The USNS Comfort's 1,000 beds are largely unused, its 1,200-member crew mostly idle. "We're waiting for patients," one nurse was quoted by the New York Times.
  • Only 20 patients had been transferred to the ship, officials said, even as New York hospitals struggled to find space for the thousands infected with the coronavirus.
  • Another Navy hospital ship, the USNS Mercy, docked in Los Angeles, has had a total of 15 patients, officials said.
  • "If I'm blunt about it, it's a joke," said Michael Dowling, the head of Northwell Health, New York's largest hospital system. "Everyone can say, 'Thank you for putting up these wonderful places and opening up these cavernous halls.' But we're in a crisis here, we're in a battlefield."
  • What's the issue? In classic government style: Red Tape.
  • On top of its strict rules preventing people infected with the virus from coming on board, the Navy is also refusing to treat a host of other conditions. Guidelines disseminated to hospitals included a list of 49 medical conditions that would exclude a patient from admittance to the ship.
  • Ambulances cannot take patients directly to the Comfort; they must first deliver patients to a city hospital for a lengthy evaluation — including a test for the virus — and then pick them up again for transport to the ship. With 911 call centers already massively over-capacity, ambulances aren't available to take non-infected persons to each ship.
  • Meanwhile, across New York hospitals are overrun. Patients have died in hallways before they could even be hooked up to one of the few available ventilators in New York. Doctors and nurses, who have had to use the same protective gear, again and again, are getting sick.
  • "So many people are dying that the city is running low on body bags," Dowling said. "The Coroner's office told our administrator to start double-wrapping bodies in sheets for the time being."
In Hopeful Sign, University of Pittsburgh Researchers May Have Found COVID-19 Vaccine https://nypost.com/2020/04/02/scientists-believe-they-found-potential-coronavirus-vaccine/
  • Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine believe that they've found a potential vaccine for the new coronavirus.
  • The researchers announced their findings Thursday and believe the vaccine could be rolled out quickly enough to "significantly impact the spread of disease," according to their study published in EBioMedicine.
  • The vaccine would be delivered on a small, fingertip-sized patch. When tested on mice, the vaccine produced enough antibodies believed to successfully counteract the virus.
  • The scientists say they were able to act fast because they had already done research on the similar coronaviruses SARS and MERS.
  • The Trump Administration ordered the FDA to fast-track the next phase of Animal trials for the experimental vaccine.
  • Officials did warn that even if successful, human trials and ultimate production could still be as many as 12-18 months away.
  • "It's early, but this is a very positive result," the lead scientist said in an interview. "We're well on our way."
Vermont, Maryland Make Buying Seeds to Grow Food Illegal https://www.eagletimes.com/covid_19/large-retailers-stop-in-person-sales-of-nonessential-items-in-vermont/article_c1d0e43c-7432-11ea-8ca9-a30ed891d9fd.htmlimage.png Canada's Farmers Warn of Food Supply Impact Due to Non-Essential Designation https://ipolitics.ca/2020/04/02/the-sprout-canadian-farmers-worry-for-food-supply/, https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/agriculture/agriculture-sector-scrambling-to-offset-consequences-of-covid-19-crisis
  • Canada's government issues a list of industries and jobs it deemed essential, including food delivery, shipping & logistics, medical care, energy production & delivery.
  • One industry that was glaringly absent: agricultural production.
  • Like the US, Canada's agricultural industry relies on migrant and seasonal workers to plant and harvest foods, especially key fruits and vegetables that must be picked by hand.
  • Industry representatives have begun to petition the government to include Ag production an essential service so travel restrictions can be relaxed to allow workers to travel into Canada and use of public transportation systems to get to where planting activities must occur soon to allow for Fall food harvests.
  • Canada's Federation of Independent Grocers also extended a warning to the Government that it projects food costs in Canada could rise by as much as 90% in the coming months due to COVID-19 related disruptions. https://nationvalleynews.com/2020/04/01/grocers-group-warns-rising-food-costs-come/
Industry Expert Warns Illness Among Agricultural Workers Could Threaten US Food Supplies https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/markets/an-outbreak-among-farm-workers-would-be-catastrophic/ar-BB1257dl
  • Much of the US food supply chain is staffed by low-wage workers, many of them undocumented immigrants with limited ties to health services.
  • The Pew Research Center has estimated that about one-quarter of U.S. farmworkers are undocumented.
  • A 2019 U.S. Department of Labor survey estimated that the share of field workers who are undocumented is closer to half of all farmworkers.
  • The food processing industry also has high numbers of undocumented workers, as do many of the nation's smaller grocers and fast-food restaurants.
  • Immigrant farming communities are often close-knit, with laborers living and working in close proximity, with workers sharing hotel rooms and even make-shift Tents with cots, to save on costs.
  • As the California-based Western Growers Association states, "Social distancing is difficult or perhaps impossible in certain settings such as harvesting, transport (of workers) and housing."
  • One California grower told National Public Radio that if the coronavirus penetrates the agricultural community, "it will spread like wildfire."
  • The news comes as Mexico only recently restricted movements and travel, issuing shelter-in-place orders for 90% of the country.
  • The Trump Administration recently eased restrictions on H-2a Ag Worker visas, but industry experts warned many workers planned to stay in Mexico or other Central American countries due to travel restrictions now in effect in those countries. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-03-27/state-department-eases-requirements-for-h2a-visa
  • The Western Growers Association currently estimates a 30% reduction in labor force this year, which may be further impacted if COVID-19 spreads among workers who live and work in tight close quarters.
LA Mayor: "Snitches Get Rewards" https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-los-angeles-eric-garcetti-snitches-get-rewards/
  • Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced new guidelines for construction sites that continue to operate during the coronavirus pandemic while encouraging the community to report businesses that violate the Safer at Home order.
  • Garcetti said that since the stay at home order was put in place, the city has been told about construction sites that have not been following the guidelines set out in that order.
  • "You know the old expression about snitches, well in this case snitches get rewards," Garcetti said. "We want to thank you for turning folks in and making sure we are all safe."
  • As of Tuesday afternoon, Garcetti said "business ambassadors" from the city had visited 540 businesses that had not complied with the Safer at Home order. Of those, 144 were visited by officers with the Los Angeles Police Department to ensure compliance with the order.
  • So far, Four businesses have been referred to the city attorney's office for misdemeanor filings.
  • The story comes as business owners across the US have been cited and even arrested for violating House Arrest orders, many turned in by way of anonymous calls to police departments. https://apnews.com/343ed4a8e95dfc8f8dda87b9e450ca57
In Germany, Hundreds of Citations Handed Out Based on Anonymous Reports and Emails to Police Departments https://news.trust.org/item/20200402160625-8y12u
  • (Headline Bloomberg News) Germans snitch on neighbors flouting virus rules, in an echo of the Stasi past
  • Law-abiding Germans are zealously helping police crackdown on people flouting new social distancing rules aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus by reporting on strangers, neighbors and friends.
  • In a country where denunciation was commonplace under the Communists in East Germany and Hitler's Nazis, police forces across the country are getting tip-offs on anything from "corona parties" to people driving to weekend cottages.
  • Rules introduced in March forcing restaurants, pubs and sports facilities to shut and banning gatherings of people have given police plenty of work. With the number of corona cases and deaths climbing fast, there is no sign of easing enforcement.
  • Since March 14, police in the German capital have ordered 830 pubs, shisha bars and other establishments to shut and recorded 898 crimes.
  • "We are getting tip-offs from the public about open restaurants or large gatherings of people in parks," said a spokeswoman, adding officers were, as always, ready to deal with information from the public.
  • Forces around Germany are in a similar situation. Munich police took up to 150 calls every day last week from citizens reporting alleged breaches of corona rules, according to Spiegel Online.

The TRUTH about face masks and COVID-19: Here's what they're not telling you

For weeks now, our political leaders and the media have been repeating the World Health Organization's claim that non-medical-grade face masks don't work when it comes to preventing the spread of COVID-19. So, why are infectious disease experts now reconsidering their guidelines?

According to the New York Times, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, said the guidance on wearing non-medical masks is "being critically re-reviewed, to see if there's potential additional value for individuals that are infected or individuals that may be asymptomatically infected."

In actuality, they didn't trust the American people to do the right thing and prioritize healthcare workers to receive masks first, opined Glenn Beck on the radio program Thursday. But they do work, and "if we're going to open the country up, we are going to all have to wear face masks," he said.

Listen to the clip to hear more details:

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Face Masks DO Work, US Cases Per Capita, and WHO Lies for Communist China youtu.be

In response to the COVID-19 quarantine, BlazeTV is offering our BIGGEST discount ever! Get $30 off your subscription when you use promo code GLENN. Claim your special offer at https://get.blazetv.com/glenn/.

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'We'll get through it...it's in our American blood': 95-year-old WWII vet who survived coronavirus shares powerful message of hope

William "Bill" Kelly is 95-year-old World War II veteran from Oregon. He lived through the Great Depression.
He served in the South Pacific during World War II. And now he has just fought the coronavirus -- and won.

Bill joined Glenn Beck on the radio program Thursday to share his experience and a hopeful message about why the younger generations can overcome this crisis.

"I want to tell the people, it wasn't pleasant, but on the other hand, you know, if you do what you're supposed to do, and you have some loved ones around you, and do a lot of praying, why, you'll come through okay. We [American's] have been through a lot. We've been through Pearl Harbor. We've been through the Great Depression, and who knows what else. We're tough. We'll get through it. Hang in there," Bill said.

"You know, it's just -- it's in our American blood," he added. "We're that type of people. We take care of each other, and we are not going to break down. We're going to make it through, every time. Every time."

"There are people that don't think we are those people anymore. That it was the greatest generation -- your generation -- that did it, but now we're not the same people. Do you agree with that? Glenn asked.

"No," asserted Bill. "And the reason I say that is because I remember when I was a young kid, you know, and people, the older people, said 'all those young kids are soft' ... but when we were attacked at Pearl Harbor -- sneak attack, you know -- it's surprising how those so-called goofy kids turned into mighty fine fighting people. And they're very loyal. I have lots of faith in them ... no, I don't have any problems with this new generation. They'll take care of us. We're Americans."

Watch the video below to catch more of the conversation:

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CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: April 2nd

Glenn gives the latest coronavirus numbers, updating YOU on everything needed to know as Americans and officials monitor China's new COVID-19 virus:

Daily Stats as of 5:30 AM CT (from John's Hopkins)

  • Total Confirmed Cases Worldwide: 950,638 (up from 872,891 Yesterday)
  • Total Deaths Worldwide: 48,289 (up from 43,271 Yesterday)
  • Total Confirmed Recovered Worldwide: 202,631 (up from 184,588 Yesterday)
  • 5% of Active Cases are considered serious (requiring hospitalization) Steady from 5% Yesterday, but down from 19% high back in February
  • Note that 12% of US Confirmed Cases require Hospitalization, roughly on par with Italy at 12% requiring hospitalization
  • US has 215,344 Confirmed Cases and 5,112 Deaths, up from 188,592 cases and 4,056 deaths yesterday
  • COVID-19 is now the 3rd leading cause of death in the US, behind Heart Disease and Cancer (based on daily fatalities per 1,000 people)
  • The United States of America now leads the world in total confirmed cases, with 115,000 more cases than Italy (although Italy leads the world in Deaths with 13,155 officially dead)
  • US is 25th in Total Confirmed Cases per 1 Million Population, with 651 cases per 1 Million people. Spain has 2,583 Cases per 1 Million people.
  • US is 23rd in Total Confirmed Dead per 1 Million Population, with 15 Dead per 1 Million citizens. Italy has 218 Dead per 1 Million.
  • US has 5,112 Dead vs 8,878 Recovered and 5,075 in Critical Condition
  • The US currently has 201,354 Active Cases of COVID-19, with still less than 1% of the total US population tested.
  • 17% of Americans who have been tested have been diagnosed with COVID-19
COVID-19 Now Killing Victims Who Don't Have COVID-19 https://nypost.com/2020/04/02/coronavirus-nyc-emts-stop-taking-cardiac-arrest-patients-to-hospitals/
  • EMTs in New York have been given a directive not to transport heart-attack victims to hospitals if they cannot be revived at the scene.
  • Prior cardiac arrest victims would have been transported to hospitals for further life-saving procedures, but with hospitals being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, heart attack victims are solely in the hands of local EMTs. If EMTs cannot restore a pulse at the scene, victims are to be left there to die.
  • "Artificial ventilation and/or compressions must not be delayed," the memo states, adding that chest "compressions must begin as soon as it is determined the patient does not have a pulse."
  • But the guidelines change if the patient cannot be revived before arriving at a hospital.
  • "In the event a resuscitation is terminated, and the body is in public view, the body can be left in the custody of the NYPD."
China Lied, People Died Trending on Social Media https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-01/china-concealed-extent-of-virus-outbreak-u-s-intelligence-says
  • US Intelligence Services has concluded what the Internet has known since January: The Chinese Communist Party lied about total infected and total deaths due to Coronavirus.
  • Citing a report provided to the White House last week, officials confirmed that US Intelligence concludes 'gross' underreporting of total cases and total deaths, especially from Hubei Province.
  • Many have speculated that numbers coming out of China, Iran, North Korea, Russia and other totalitarian countries have been dramatically underreported, by as much as a factor of 10 according to official British Intelligence reports.
  • The early misrepresentation of data by the CCP may have lead some Western Politicians and epidemiologists to underestimate the seriousness of COVID-19 and delayed response in Italy, Spain, the UK and the US.
  • Though why anybody would have believed anything the Chinese Communist Party had to say remains an open question...
Italy's Death Toll Far Higher Than Reported https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/italys-coronavirus-death-toll-is-far-higher-than-reported/ar-BB122vvc
  • In the town of Coccaglio, an hour's drive east of here, the local nursing home lost over a third of its residents in March. None of the 24 people who died there were tested for the new coronavirus. Nor were the 38 people who died in another nursing home in the nearby town of Lodi.
  • These aren't isolated incidents. Italy's official death toll from the virus stands at 13,155, the most of any country in the world. But that number tells only part of the story because many people who die from the virus don't make it to the hospital and are never tested, therefore they aren't included in official numbers.
  • "They were all sick, they all had flu-like symptoms and difficulty breathing," stated a nurse from one of the nursing homes. "We had no ambulance to get them to Milan."
  • In the areas worst hit by the pandemic, Italy is undercounting thousands of deaths caused by the virus, a Wall Street Journal analysis shows, indicating that the pandemic's human toll may end up being much greater, and infections far more widespread, than official data indicate.
  • As stretched and sometimes overwhelmed hospitals fight to save their patients, many other people die unseen and uncounted, including elderly people in out-of-the-way locations.
  • In addition, the health-care crisis can lead to a surge of deaths from other causes that would normally be treatable.
  • "There are many more dead from the virus than are officially declared... People died and they were never tested because time and resources are limited," Eugenio Fossati, deputy mayor of Coccaglio, says of deaths caused by the virus.
More Numbers Hard to Trust as Bodies Left On The Streets in Ecuador https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3078077/coronavirus-bodies-are-being-left-streets-ecuador
  • Coronavirus: bodies are being left on the streets in Ecuador.
  • 'They fall in front of hospitals or in back street alleys, or in small villages…no one wants to recover them,' says the mayor of Ecuador's largest city.
  • The army is placing unclaimed bodies in refrigerated cargo containers at the port while authorities pursue plans for a new cemetery.
  • The corpses have been overwhelming Guayaquil, a port city of 2.8 million at the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in Ecuador.
  • Over the last few days, several were wrapped in plastic and left on the streets. Others have lain unclaimed in hospitals and clinics that have been overwhelmed by infections. The city morgue is full.
  • The majority of the dead are believed to be victims of the virus, but nobody can say for sure how many. There has been little testing.
  • The country has confirmed 2,700 infections and 93 deaths - 60 of them in Guayaquil and its immediate surroundings. But municipal officials there said they have recovered at least 400 bodies in the last 3 days.
  • Mayor Cynthia Viteri, who announced that she has also tested positive for the virus, said the national government should be responsible for collecting the corpses.
  • "They're leaving them in the villages, they are stacked in front of hospitals," she said in a Twitter video message to residents late last week.
  • Many local villages in Ecuador are simply burying the dead in unmarked graves, which will make official counting of COVID-19 victims impossible in the weeks ahead.
50% of Viral Spread Comes from People With No Symptoms https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/health/us-coronavirus-updates-wednesday/index.html
  • Researchers in Iceland have confirmed earlier reports from Hong Kong that a significant amount of viral spread is caused by carriers who have no symptoms.
  • In the US, Doctors at the CDC have confirmed asymptomatic spread, but estimate a number of about 25%.
  • If true, then the case for all persons to wear masks, even those who don't have symptoms, becomes much stronger.
  • To prevent further spread, the top infectious disease expert in the US says health officials are reconsidering guidance on face masks.
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci said he would "lean towards" recommending that the general public wear face masks "if we do not have the problem of taking away masks from the health care workers who need them. The public can stay home to avoid infection, but health care workers cannot," he said.
  • "We're not there yet, but I think we're close to coming to some determination," Fauci said.
Ship vs Train... Ship Wins https://abc7.com/usns-mercy-coronavirus-train-crash-derailment/6069395/
  • A Locomotive Engineer in Los Angeles has been charged with 1 Count of "Train Wrecking", a Class A Felony under Federal Law, after purposely derailing his freight train while attempting to sink the US Hospital ship Mercy.
  • Eduardo Moreno, 44, intended to hit the ship, saying he thought it was "suspicious" and did not believe "the ship is what they say it's for.'"
  • Moreno admitted to crashing the train intentionally but said he did not plan it out in advance. It is believed that he acted alone.
  • He allegedly made statements to a CHP officer that included "You only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to. People don't know what's going on here. Now they will."
  • Officials say video from inside the train's cab shows Moreno holding a lighted flare during the incident.
Biggest Issue With COVID-19 in Malaysia: Nagging Wives https://www.npr.org/2020/04/01/825051317/dont-nag-your-husband-during-lock-down-malaysias-government-advises-women
  • Malaysia has the largest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia with more than 2,900 and counting.
  • This week, Malaysia's government also had a serious public relations issue after an ill-conceived plan went online.
  • Malaysia's Ministry for Women, Family and Community Development issued a series of online posters on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #WomenPreventCOVID19. It advised the nation's women to help with the country's partial lockdown by not nagging their husbands.
  • The ministry also advised women to refrain from being "sarcastic" if they asked for help with household chores.
  • Additionally, the Ministry urged women working from home to dress up and wear makeup.
  • After some negative response on social media, the public service messages have been removed from the Ministry's Facebook page.