7 Things: May 1 could be the target date to reopen, U.S. is close to its peak as Alabama’s projections head downward again, stimulus checks start hitting accounts and more …

7. Only believe some women?

• After years of being told that all women must be believed and an attempt to derail now-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh based on the uncorroborated word of one woman, the American media has now determined that some accusations need vetting and dismissal when they are about the Democratic candidate for President of the United States.
• When former Vice President Joe Biden was accused of various sexual improprieties by Tara Reade, and apparently other women, the American media went into protection mode with the New York Times tweeting (and deleting), “We found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Biden, beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable.” The Washington Post declared, “Sexual assault allegation by former Biden Senate aide emerges in campaign, draws denial.”

6. Never let a crisis go to waste

• State Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) is making a push for Medicaid expansion amid the current coronavirus pandemic, arguing that “if we had expansion of Medicaid, we could be assured that every Alabamian would have some form of medical care that they could go in and get treatment.”
• While on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” Singleton mentioned different essential workers that could be going without health care, such as people who work at grocery stores and drug stores and truck drivers. He added that people are dying from underlying issues “because simply they don’t have health care to be able to go to the doctor and get them treated before they get out of hand.”

5. Shutdowns are a lot like the Green New Deal

• Former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville recently shared his thoughts on the shutdowns we’ve seen across the country to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, saying that this “might be an experiment for the Green New Deal.”
• Tuberville mentioned how much travel has been paused, with very few people traveling anymore, and went on to say that this is what having the Green New Deal “would be like – government telling you what to do, and when you can work and can’t work.” He also emphasized that people are “ready to go back to work and get back to a normal life with their families.”

4. Some people just got their stimulus check

• The IRS has announced that people who have previously received their tax return through direct deposit may have received their coronavirus stimulus check over the weekend, while others will be getting theirs soon.
• Those who receive their tax returns by mail will wait slightly longer for their checks, but the IRS has said they understand “many people are anxious to get their payments; we’ll continue issuing them as fast as we can.”

3. The U.S. is very close to its peak

• While Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn has said that “we really have to take this day by day” with the coronavirus, he does think we’re “very close to the peak” in the United States.
• Hahn said that they’re “hopeful about that target” when talking about social distancing guidelines being relaxed by May 1, but added “it’s just too early to be able to tell that.”

2. Projected deaths in Alabama are down again

• The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has released a new projection on how many deaths Alabama could have from the coronavirus, saying the state will have 429 by May 16, which is down significantly from previous projections.
• Previously, the institution said that Alabama would have 5,516 deaths by mid-May, which would’ve put Alabama in the top five states for coronavirus deaths. Projections have continued to trend down, and the peak for the state is expected on April 20 without a shortage of ventilators or hospital beds.

1. Things could start reopening soon for some states

• In spite of the constant media hand-wringing, stay-at-home orders in some states that aren’t as affected by the coronavirus could start relaxing “maybe next month,” according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. This is after President Donald Trump said things could start to reopen at the beginning of May.
• While speaking to Jake Tapper on CNN, Fauci said that he wants a “rolling reentry” on a case by case basis, saying that it’ll “be depending on where you are in the country, the nature of the outbreak that you already experienced, and the threat of an outbreak that you may not have experienced.”