Day: May 15, 2021

Whitmer Ends Statewide Mask Mandate for Fully Vaccinated Starting Saturday

The Center Square
group of people wearing masks

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday announced the state health department will align its policy with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest guidance on face coverings starting Saturday at 9 a.m.

“For more than a year, we’ve been following the best data and science to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The vast majority of us have trusted the scientists and experts to keep us safe during the pandemic, and it has worked. With millions of Michiganders fully vaccinated, we can now safely and confidently take the next step to get back to normal. The message is clear: vaccines work to protect you and your loved ones. If you have not yet received your vaccine, now is the time to sign up. This pandemic has been one of the toughest challenges of our lifetimes, but we came together as a state to persevere. We have all been working incredibly hard toward getting back to some sense of normalcy, and today’s news makes all of that work worthwhile.”

On Thursday, the CDC released updated guidance recommending “fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”

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Commentary: Bernie Sanders Proves He’s Nothing More Than an Establishment Mouthpiece

Michigan Star Staff
Bernie Sanders

Remember Bernie Sanders? You know, the goofy socialist who nearly became the Democratic nominee in 2016 and 2020. In both presidential races, his supporters touted him as a threat to the system. His campaign was a “revolution” and, if he became president, he was going to bring down the warmongering, plutocratic establishment.

Bernie has since proved these claims very wrong.

Last week, he tweeted in support of Liz Cheney, the very embodiment of the warmongering plutocratic establishment.

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Commentary: Celebrating Our Heroes on Armed Forces Day

Michigan Star Staff
Close-up of military helmets

Every third Saturday in May, America comes together to celebrate Armed Forces Day in honor of the brave men and women who serve in the U.S. military.

May 15, 2021 is the 71st anniversary of the establishment of Armed Forces Day.  This commemorative holiday was established by President Harry Truman in 1950 following the passage of the National Security Act in 1947. 

At the end of World War II and the onset of the Cold War, the United States Congress and the Truman administration recognized that an overhaul of our national security, intelligence, and defense apparatuses were needed for America to defeat the expanding threat of communism.  The National Security Act established the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Air Force.  It also unified and restructured the U.S. military by moving the War Department, Navy Department, and Air Force under the direction of the new Department of Defense.  

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Lawmakers Reach Deal on Bipartisan 9/11-Style Commission to Investigate Capitol Riot

Michigan Star Staff

The two top lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee reached an agreement Friday on legislation that would create a bipartisan, 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The bill, authored by Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and New York Republican Rep. John Katko, is focused exclusively on the attack and not other episodes of political violence as multiple Republicans earlier insisted. Though it has the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it is unclear whether Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other members of his caucus support it.

“I haven’t read through it,” McCarthy told reporters when asked about the bill Friday morning.

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Not One State Reported a Sizable Increase in Coronavirus Cases Last Week

Michigan Star Staff
Sick person talking to CDC employee

For the first time in months, not one state reported a dramatic weekly increase in coronavirus cases.

While average daily cases fell by less than 10% in 11 states, 37 states saw cases fall by over 10% and just two states had cases marginally increase, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The United States also averaged fewer than 40,000 daily cases last week, a 21% drop from the week prior and the lowest total since September.

Death and hospitalization rates have also plummeted nationwide. The U.S. has averaged 600 deaths per day, the lowest point in approximately 10 months. If the number continues to fall the nation could soon hit its lowest point of the entire pandemic, according to the Associated Press.

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Jobless Claims Hit New Pandemic Low, Drop to 473,000

Michigan Star Staff
Photo “Unemployment Insurance Claims Office” by Bytemarks. CC BY 2.0.

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims dropped to 473,000 last week as the economy continues to slowly recover from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics figure released Thursday represented a decrease in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending May 1, when 507,000 new jobless claims were reported. That number was revised up from the 498,000 jobless claims initially reported last week.

Economists expected Thursday’s jobless claims number to come in at 500,000, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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Texas Bill Will Ban Abortions After an Unborn Baby’s Heartbeat Can Be Detected

Michigan Star Staff
Close up of baby feet lying in bed

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott indicated Thursday that he will sign a heartbeat abortion bill banning abortions after the unborn baby has reached six weeks gestation.

Texas’ Heartbeat Act passed the state’s Senate Thursday. Abbott highlighted the bill’s passage in a tweet that noted the bill was “on its way to my desk for signing.” The governor also thanked Republican state lawmakers Bryan Hughes and Shelby Slawson for their leadership in introducing the legislation.

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Steve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’

Michigan Star Staff

An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.

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‘Too Risky’: Progressives Are Upset CDC Lifted Mask Mandate

Michigan Star Staff
mask in persons hand

Progressives voiced their dismay following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance that vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks indoors or outdoors.

Progressives and medical experts immediately criticized the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mask guidelines, arguing that the alteration was extreme and would be harmful to certain parts of the population. Others said the new guidance is confusing and disincentivizes people to get vaccinated.

“The CDC has done an about-face that’s shockingly abrupt: it’s confusing & could actually disincentivize vaccines,” Dr. Leana Wen, a George Washington University public health professor, tweeted after the announcement Thursday.

“Yes, vaccinated people are well-protected and not a threat to others,” she said in a later tweet. “But do we trust that the honor system—won’t unvaccinated people pretend to be vaccinated & stop wearing masks?”

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Michigan House Committee Votes to Ban Vaccine Passports

Peter D'Abrosca
Passport with COVID Vaccination sheet

The state House Oversight Committee voted Thursday in favor of a bill that would ban vaccine passports, which will now head to the floor of the House for debate. 

House Bill 4667 prohibits “governmental entity from producing, issuing, or providing an incentive for [COVID-19 vaccination passport] under certain circumstances.”

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