7. Poarch Band of Creek Indians helping produce PPE for health care workers
- Muskogee Technology, a company owned by Poarch Band of Creek Indians, is producing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which not only helps in the fight against the coronavirus but also allows them to keep their employees.
- Muskogee started working with the Food and Drug Administration after finding out that there was a shortage of PPE. The items they produce will go to Baptist Health Care.
6. Mobile jail now has coronavirus patients
- There are 10 inmates at the Metro Jail that have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran. There are at least six inmates showing symptoms but don’t qualify for testing.
- Ten correctional officers had the coronavirus, and inmates who have tested positive or are sick have been placed in isolation to receive treatment. Cochran said that there have been inmates that had their sentences shortened or if they were “age 60 and above on a misdemeanor” they were “allowed to sign their own bonds unless it was either domestic violence or DUI.”
5. California is going to give illegal immigrants a stimulus check
- There are 150,000 adults in California who are in the country illegally and will be receiving $500 from the state. California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced these checks will be funded through donations and tax dollars.
- Newsom said that about 10% of California’s workforce are illegal immigrants that paid an estimated $2.5 billion in state and local taxes last year. The plan in total will cost $125 million, and payments won’t be based on income because these people do not legally pay income taxes because they are working illegally.
4. Tom Cotton was right about the coronavirus originating in Wuhan
- In another black eye for the American media, it appears U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) was correct when he suggested the coronavirus pandemic originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, after weeks of being dismissed as a crank pushing conspiracy theories.
- In fact, Cotton was right all along. Fox News is reporting that U.S. officials have “high confidence” that the virus originated at the virology lab and was released when an infected intern infected her boyfriend, and then went to the wet market in Wuhan where it began to spread.
3. Doug Jones continues to raise more money out-of-state
- From February 13 – March 31, U.S. Senator Doug Jones’ (D-AL) reelection campaign only raised 28.84% from people within the state of Alabama, while 71.16% of funds came from out of state.
- Of course, a large portion of Jones’ out-of-state contributions came from New York, Washington, D.C. and California, including Hollywood director and producer Steven Spielberg. A total $100,977.06 came from leadership PACs.
2. No, Alabama isn’t expanding Medicaid
- During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a lot of people have made a stronger push for expanding Medicaid in Alabama, but Governor Kay Ivey has said this would be “irresponsible … without having a complete and honest discussion about the source of stable funding to pay the match.”
- U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) hasn’t been shy about his support to expand Medicaid, and he’s even said it would bring close to a billion dollars to the state. Jones is pushing to get state funding for Medicaid expansion through another federal coronavirus stimulus package. He estimates there are about 340,000 Alabamians who can’t be covered by Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act.
1. Trump said we’ve passed the peak
- President Donald Trump has said that “the data indicated that we have passed the peak” of the coronavirus in the United States, and while he didn’t announce guidelines on reopening the economy, he’s expected to announce those Thursday.
- Within the last three weeks, one out of every 10 working Americans have lost their jobs due to coronavirus shutdowns, but Trump said that “some states may be able to open before May 1.”
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