CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: April 24th

April 24, 2020

WRITER

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 2,734,102 (up from 2,658,794 Yesterday)
Total Confirmed Deaths Worldwide 191,189 (up from 185,440 Yesterday)
Total Confirmed Recovered Worldwide: 751,408 (up from 730,039 Yesterday)
The US has 886,709 Confirmed Cases and 50,255 Deaths, up from 849,114 cases and 47,784 deaths yesterday
The US has now tested 4,775,625 people, with 19% of tests showing positive for SARS-CoV-2

Symptoms of COVID-19 Increase https://www.foxnews.com/health/cdc-triples-number-of-possible-coronavirus-symptoms

The CDC has added muscle pain & weakness, headaches and loss of taste or smell as symptoms of COVID-19 infection.
The Center's website indicated that these symptoms were added because they were occurring with 'regularity' among confirmed infected patients nationwide.
Its website says fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell could all be symptoms that appear between two and 14 days after exposure.
As many as 25% of victims are experiencing a loss of taste or smell.
Doctors are still studying other symptoms that patients have complained about, including what are known as "COVID toes," which include small bumps or lesions on toes or feet.

Here Comes The Sun: UV Light Effective Against SARS-CoV-2 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-coronavirus-sunlight-heat-and-humidity

The Trump administration confirms testing by the DHS science and technology directorate that UV light, heat and humidity all have a powerful effect in accelerating the death of the virus on exposed surfaces.
The findings are consistent with research on other forms of Coronavirus and may help accelerate further preventative measures that can be undertaken to slow further spread of the disease.
Doctors are now more confident that there should be a respite from the spread of the virus during warmer, sunnier months of summer.
Additionally, the confirmation that UV light is effective at destroying the virus should accelerate the use of UV-C lightbulbs in public spaces.
As reported by The Blaze earlier this week, UV-C light is harmless to human skin and eyes, but is still effective at destroying viruses.

Virus May Have Spread Much Earlier Than Previously Reported https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/us/coronavirus-early-outbreaks-cities.html

According to the Northeastern University model, there could have actually been about 28,000 infections in major cities by early February, when officially the US only had a handful of cases.
The model estimates all infections, including those in people who may experience mild or no symptoms and those that are never detected in testing.
Other disease researchers said the findings of Dr. Vespignani's team were broadly in line with their own analyses.
The research offers the first clear accounting of how far behind the United States was in detecting the virus. And the findings provide a warning of what can recur, the researchers say, if social distancing restrictions are lifted too quickly.
Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said last week that American health officials had been successful in tracking the first known cases and their contacts in the United States before the outbreak got out of control.
This week, health officials in Santa Clara County, Calif., announced a newly discovered coronavirus-linked death on Feb. 6, weeks earlier than what had been previously thought to be the first death caused by the virus in the United States.
Still, the model is being challenged by some who suggest that if the Virus had been that widespread in early February, more hospital visits and deaths would be apparent in medical records.
The CDC is said to be reviewing the findings and has yet to comment officially.

Canada the Latest Victim of China's Defective Equipment 'Gifted' by the CCP https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3081335/coronavirus-canada-says-1-million-k95-masks-china

Public health authority says respirators failed to meet federal standards for use by front-line health professionals.
The KN95 is a Chinese model similar to the N95, a crucial type of personal protective equipment used to defend nurses, doctors and other health workers.
Several other countries, including Denmark, Belgium and Italy had also reported that ventilators, respirators and other Personal Protective Equipment provided by China was defective.
In one instance, ventilators provided as a gift by the Chinese government were shipped without power control units installed, meaning they couldn't be turned on.
China has become the source of around 70 percent of Canada's imports of PPE, with much of the rest coming from the US, Britain and Switzerland, a senior Canadian source told POLITICO this week.
Some have accused China of moving to 'corner the market' on PPEs during the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, including massive orders of Indian cotton and Brazilian rubber in January, two key ingredients used in N-95 mask production.

Study of 783 COVID-19 Patients Taking HydroxyChloroquine: No Safety Concerns https://covidpep.umn.edu/updates

"On April 22, 2020, the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the COVID-19 post-exposure prophylaxis trial has reviewed the cumulative safety data from 783 participants in the ongoing hydroxychloroquine prevention trial.
The DSMB has identified no safety concerns or efficacy concerns at this time.
Testing is still ongoing to validate that patients receiving hydroxychloroquine have a 50% reduction in total hospitalization and earlier discharge rate than victims not receiving treatment.

Low Oil Prices May Trigger Regime Change https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15923/iran-struggle-oil-price

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has tried to put a brave face on the latest setback to hit the regime, claiming that Iran is unlikely to suffer as much as other countries from the oil price drop because it is less reliant than others on crude exports.
If that were truly the case, then Tehran would not be asking the IMF for a bailout, and Mr Rouhani, together with Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, would not be begging Washington to remove sanctions.
The truth of the matter is, for all the regime's attempts to claim it has everything under control, that the country is teetering on the brink of collapse, and the ayatollahs are fast running out of options to save themselves.
Iran has requested $28 Billion in initial bailout loans from the IMF.
According to recent estimates by the IMF, Iran needs global oil prices to reach the highly unlikely benchmark of $195 a barrel just in order to meet its budget requirements for 2020.
Current predictions suggest oil prices are likely to remain around the $19 a barrel mark, the ayatollahs are facing the prospect of an economic Armageddon: the oil slump means there is little prospect of a revival in the country's economic fortunes for the foreseeable future.
Official Inflation in Iran is running at 35%, but estimates by some analysts indicate the number is closer to 100% inflation for 2020.
Other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, are also heavily reliant on oil revenues and are facing massive budget shortfalls due to sustained lower oil prices.

Thousands of People Still Quarantined on Cruise Ships Off Florida https://www.wesh.com/article/cruise-ships-thousands-stuck-off-florida-coast/32256662

Major cruise lines are having trouble getting crew members back to homes on the other side of the world amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Up to seven ships at a time are moored to Port Canaveral docks or lying at anchor off Cocoa Beach and have been for over a month.
They can have up to 2,500 crew members, and no one gets off unless they're taking a flight home per official US policy.
"While you would think initially that you would move a couple hundred off at a time, it hasn't been that easy," John Murray, Port Canaveral's CEO said.
Several destination countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, have travel bans restricting all flights from the US.

Japanese Mayor Suggests Men Should Do All Grocery Shopping https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/24/asia/japan-coronavirus-osaka-mayor-hnk-scli-intl/index.html

The mayor of Japan's third-largest city is facing a public backlash after he suggested men are better suited to grocery shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, because women take too long and contribute to overcrowding at supermarkets.
The number of confirmed cases of the virus in Japan has spiked in recent weeks -- dashing hopes that the government's initial virus response had succeeded in controlling its spread. As of Thursday,
On Thursday, Osaka mayor Ichiro Matsui implied male grocery shoppers would reduce the potential spread of the virus as they would spend less time in stores.
"Women take a longer time grocery shopping because they browse through different products and weigh out which option is best," Matsui told reporters at a coronavirus press conference in Osaka on Thursday.
"Men quickly grab what they're told to buy so they won't linger at the supermarket -- that avoids close contact with others," added Matsui.

GLENN

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

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Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

GLENN

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

POLL: Is Gen Z’s anger over housing driving them toward socialism?

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A recent poll conducted by Justin Haskins, a long-time friend of the show, has uncovered alarming trends among young Americans aged 18-39, revealing a generation grappling with deep frustrations over economic hardships, housing affordability, and a perceived rigged system that favors the wealthy, corporations, and older generations. While nearly half of these likely voters approve of President Trump, seeing him as an anti-establishment figure, over 70% support nationalizing major industries, such as healthcare, energy, and big tech, to promote "equity." Shockingly, 53% want a democratic socialist to win the 2028 presidential election, including a third of Trump voters and conservatives in this age group. Many cite skyrocketing housing costs, unfair taxation on the middle class, and a sense of being "stuck" or in crisis as driving forces, with 62% believing the economy is tilted against them and 55% backing laws to confiscate "excess wealth" like second homes or luxury items to help first-time buyers.

This blend of Trump support and socialist leanings suggests a volatile mix: admiration for disruptors who challenge the status quo, coupled with a desire for radical redistribution to address personal struggles. Yet, it raises profound questions about the roots of this discontent—Is it a failure of education on history's lessons about socialism's failures? Media indoctrination? Or genuine systemic barriers? And what does it portend for the nation’s trajectory—greater division, a shift toward authoritarian policies, or an opportunity for renewal through timeless values like hard work and individual responsibility?

Glenn wants to know what YOU think: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from? What does it mean for the future of America? Make your voice heard in the poll below:

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism comes from perceived economic frustrations like unaffordable housing and a rigged system favoring the wealthy and corporations?

Do you believe the Gen Z support for socialism, including many Trump supporters, is due to a lack of education about the historical failures of socialist systems?

Do you think that these poll results indicate a growing generational divide that could lead to more political instability and authoritarian tendencies in America's future?

Do you think that this poll implies that America's long-term stability relies on older generations teaching Gen Z and younger to prioritize self-reliance, free-market ideals, and personal accountability?

Do you think the Gen Z support for Trump is an opportunity for conservatives to win them over with anti-establishment reforms that preserve liberty?

Americans expose Supreme Court’s flag ruling as a failed relic

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In a nation where the Stars and Stripes symbolize the blood-soaked sacrifices of our heroes, President Trump's executive order to crack down on flag desecration amid violent protests has ignited fierce debate. But in a recent poll, Glenn asked the tough question: Can Trump protect the Flag without TRAMPLING free speech? Glenn asked, and you answered—thousands weighed in on this pressing clash between free speech and sacred symbols.

The results paint a picture of resounding distrust toward institutional leniency. A staggering 85% of respondents support banning the burning of American flags when it incites violence or disturbs the peace, a bold rejection of the chaos we've seen from George Floyd riots to pro-Palestinian torchings. Meanwhile, 90% insist that protections for burning other flags—like Pride or foreign banners—should not be treated the same as Old Glory under the First Amendment, exposing the hypocrisy in equating our nation's emblem with fleeting symbols. And 82% believe the Supreme Court's Texas v. Johnson ruling, shielding flag burning as "symbolic speech," should not stand without revision—can the official story survive such resounding doubt from everyday Americans weary of government inaction?

Your verdict sends a thunderous message: In this divided era, the flag demands defense against those who exploit freedoms to sow disorder, without trampling the liberties it represents. It's a catastrophic failure of the establishment to ignore this groundswell.

Want to make your voice heard? Check out more polls HERE.

Labor Day EXPOSED: The Marxist roots you weren’t told about

JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Contributor | Getty Images

During your time off this holiday, remember the man who started it: Peter J. McGuire, a racist Marxist who co-founded America’s first socialist party.

Labor Day didn’t begin as a noble tribute to American workers. It began as a negotiation with ideological terrorists.

In the late 1800s, factory and mine conditions were brutal. Workers endured 12-to-15-hour days, often seven days a week, in filthy, dangerous environments. Wages were low, injuries went uncompensated, and benefits didn’t exist. Out of desperation, Americans turned to labor unions. Basic protections had to be fought for because none were guaranteed.

Labor Day wasn’t born out of gratitude. It was a political payoff to Marxist radicals who set trains ablaze and threatened national stability.

That era marked a seismic shift — much like today. The Industrial Revolution, like our current digital and political upheaval, left millions behind. And wherever people get left behind, Marxists see an opening.

A revolutionary wedge

This was Marxism’s moment.

Economic suffering created fertile ground for revolutionary agitation. Marxists, socialists, and anarchists stepped in to stoke class resentment. Their goal was to turn the downtrodden into a revolutionary class, tear down the existing system, and redistribute wealth by force.

Among the most influential agitators was Peter J. McGuire, a devout Irish Marxist from New York. In 1874, he co-founded the Social Democratic Workingmens Party of North America, the first Marxist political party in the United States. He was also a vice president of the American Federation of Labor, which would become the most powerful union in America.

McGuire’s mission wasn’t hidden. He wanted to transform the U.S. into a socialist nation through labor unions.

That mission soon found a useful symbol.

In the 1880s, labor leaders in Toronto invited McGuire to attend their annual labor festival. Inspired, he returned to New York and launched a similar parade on Sept. 5 — chosen because it fell halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.

The first parade drew over 30,000 marchers who skipped work to hear speeches about eight-hour workdays and the alleged promise of Marxism. The parade caught on across the country.

Negotiating with radicals

By 1894, Labor Day had been adopted by 30 states. But the federal government had yet to make it a national holiday. A major strike changed everything.

In Pullman, Illinois, home of the Pullman railroad car company, tensions exploded. The economy tanked. George Pullman laid off hundreds of workers and slashed wages for those who remained — yet refused to lower the rent on company-owned homes.

That injustice opened the door for Marxist agitators to mobilize.

Sympathetic railroad workers joined the strike. Riots broke out. Hundreds of railcars were torched. Mail service was disrupted. The nation’s rail system ground to a halt.

President Grover Cleveland — under pressure in a midterm election year — panicked. He sent 12,000 federal troops to Chicago. Two strikers were killed in the resulting clashes.

With the crisis spiraling and Democrats desperate to avoid political fallout, Cleveland struck a deal. Within six days of breaking the strike, Congress rushed through legislation making Labor Day a federal holiday.

It was the first of many concessions Democrats would make to organized labor in exchange for political power.

What we really celebrated

Labor Day wasn’t born out of gratitude. It was a political payoff to Marxist radicals who set trains ablaze and threatened national stability.

Kean Collection / Staff | Getty Images

What we celebrated was a Canadian idea, brought to America by the founder of the American Socialist Party, endorsed by racially exclusionary unions, and made law by a president and Congress eager to save face.

It was the first of many bones thrown by the Democratic Party to union power brokers. And it marked the beginning of a long, costly compromise with ideologues who wanted to dismantle the American way of life — from the inside out.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Durham annex EXPOSES Soros, Pentagon ties to Deep State machine

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The Durham annex and ODNI report documents expose a vast network of funders and fixers — from Soros’ Open Society Foundations to the Pentagon.

In a column earlier this month, I argued the deep state is no longer deniable, thanks to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. I outlined the structural design of the deep state as revealed by two recent declassifications: Gabbard’s ODNI report and the Durham annex released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

These documents expose a transnational apparatus of intelligence agencies, media platforms, think tanks, and NGOs operating as a parallel government.

The deep state is funded by elite donors, shielded by bureaucracies, and perpetuated by operatives who drift between public office and private influence without accountability.

But institutions are only part of the story. This web of influence is made possible by people — and by money. This follow-up to the first piece traces the key operatives and financial networks fueling the deep state’s most consequential manipulations, including the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.

Architects and operatives

At the top of the intelligence pyramid sits John Brennan, President Obama’s CIA director and one of the principal architects of the manipulated 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. James Clapper, who served as director of national intelligence, signed off on that same ICA and later joined 50 other former officials in concluding the Hunter Biden laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation” ahead of the 2020 election. The timing, once again, served a political objective.

James Comey, then FBI director, presided over Crossfire Hurricane. According to the Durham annex, he also allowed the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server to collapse after it became entangled with “sensitive intelligence” revealing her plan to tie President Donald Trump to Russia.

That plan, as documented in the annex, originated with Hillary Clinton herself and was personally pushed by President Obama. Her campaign, through law firm Perkins Coie, hired Fusion GPS, which commissioned the now-debunked Steele dossier — a document used to justify surveillance warrants on Trump associates.

Several individuals orbiting the Clinton operation have remained influential. Jake Sullivan, who served as President Biden’s national security adviser, was a foreign policy aide to Clinton during her 2016 campaign. He was named in 2021 as a figure involved in circulating the collusion narrative, and his presence in successive Democratic administrations suggests institutional continuity.

Andrew McCabe, then the FBI’s deputy director, approved the use of FISA warrants derived from unverified sources. His connection to the internal “insurance policy” discussion — described in a 2016 text by FBI official Peter Strzok to colleague Lisa Page — underscores the Bureau’s political posture during that election cycle.

The list of political enablers is long but revealing:

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who, as a former representative from California, chaired the House Intelligence Committee at the time and publicly promoted the collusion narrative while having access to intelligence that contradicted it.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), both members of the “Gang of Eight” with oversight of intelligence operations, advanced the same narrative despite receiving classified briefings.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, exchanged encrypted text messages with a Russian lobbyist in efforts to speak with Christopher Steele.

These were not passive recipients of flawed intelligence. They were participants in its amplification.

The funding networks behind the machine

The deep state’s operations are not possible without financing — much of it indirect, routed through a nexus of private foundations, quasi-governmental entities, and federal agencies.

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations appear throughout the Durham annex. In one instance, Open Society Foundations documents were intercepted by foreign intelligence and used to track coordination between NGOs and the Clinton campaign’s anti-Trump strategy.

This system was not designed for transparency but for control.

Soros has also been a principal funder of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, which ran a project during the Trump administration called the Moscow Project, dedicated to promoting the Russia collusion narrative.

The Tides Foundation and Arabella Advisors both specialize in “dark money” donor-advised funds that obscure the source and destination of political funding. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was the biggest donor to the Arabella Advisors by far, which routed $127 million through Arabella’s network in 2020 alone and nearly $500 million in total.

The MacArthur Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation also financed many of the think tanks named in the Durham annex, including the Council on Foreign Relations.

Federal funding pipelines

Parallel to the private networks are government-funded influence operations, often justified under the guise of “democracy promotion” or counter-disinformation initiatives.

USAID directed $270 million to Soros-affiliated organizations for overseas “democracy” programs, a significant portion of which has reverberated back into domestic influence campaigns.

The State Department funds the National Endowment for Democracy, a quasi-governmental organization with a $315 million annual budget and ties to narrative engineering projects.

The Department of Homeland Security underwrote entities involved in online censorship programs targeting American citizens.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The Pentagon, from 2020 to 2024, awarded over $2.4 trillion to private contractors — many with domestic intelligence capabilities. It also directed $1.4 billion to select think tanks since 2019.

According to public records compiled by DataRepublican, these tax-funded flows often support the very actors shaping U.S. political discourse and global perception campaigns.

Not just domestic — but global

What these disclosures confirm is that the deep state is not a theory. It is a documented structure — funded by elite donors, shielded by bureaucracies, and perpetuated by operatives who drift between public office and private influence without accountability.

This system was not designed for transparency but for control. It launders narratives, neutralizes opposition, and overrides democratic will by leveraging the very institutions meant to protect it.

With the Durham annex and the ODNI report, we now see the network's architecture and its actors — names, agencies, funding trails — all laid bare. What remains is the task of dismantling it before its next iteration takes shape.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.