My Daily Grind News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy suffered its sharpest contraction in at least 73 years in the second quarter because of the disruptions from the coronavirus, the government confirmed on Wednesday. Gross domestic product plunged at a 31.4% annualized rate last quarter, the deepest drop in output since the government started keeping records in 1947, the Commerce Department said in its third estimate of GDP. Output was previously reported to have contracted at a 31.7% pace in the second quarter. Source: U.S. economy contracts at 31.4% annualized rate in second quarter | Reuters The article was originally published here!

President Trump offered Amy Coney Barrett the Supreme Court nomination the same day he met with the judge on Sept. 21, three days after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, according to her Senate questionnaire. Barrett submitted her 69-page nominee questionnaire — which reveals her most monumental cases, financial information, work history, public writings and details of her selection process — Tuesday evening. According to a copy reviewed by The Washington Post, Barrett tells senators that she was first contacted for the vacancy on Sept. 19, the day after Ginsburg’s death, by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone. She was invited to Washington for a meeting with Trump that Monday and was offered the nomination that same day, according to the questionnaire. Source: Trump’s Supreme Court choice meets with GOP senators as Republicans fast track nomination – The Washington Post The article was originally published here!

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Brad Parscale, the former campaign manager for Donald Trump who was replaced by the President less than four months before the 2020 election, was armed with a gun and threatening to harm himself at his Fort Lauderdale home on Sunday afternoon, according to police and campaign officials. Police responded to a home in the upscale Seven Isles neighborhood around 4 p.m. in reference to a man barricaded inside a house. When officers arrived on the scene, they made contact with the woman, the man’s wife, who had called 911. She told police that her husband was armed, had access to multiple firearms inside the house, and was threatening to kill himself. Parscale’s wife Candice told police that her husband made suicidal comments in recent days and had a physical altercation with her, according to an incident report released Monday. A responding officer noticed several bruises on both of her arms that she said came from that altercation. Source: Ex-Trump campaign mana...

JERUSALEM — The Israeli government said on Thursday that it was tightening its second national lockdown after coronavirus infection rates soared this week to about 7,000 new cases a day, among the highest in the world. The new measures, which go into effect on Friday, will remain in place at least until the end of the Jewish High Holy Days in mid-October. Most businesses and workplaces will have to close, and all gatherings, including protests and communal prayers, will be restricted to groups of up to 20 people outdoors within about 1,100 yards of home. “Over the past two days, we have heard from the experts that if we do not take tough and immediate measures, we will reach the edge of the abyss,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet, which met through the night to decide on lockdown restrictions. Source: With Coronavirus on the Rampage, Israel Tightens Holiday Lockdown – The New York Times The article was originally published here!

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) announced Tuesday that he believes President Trump should get to choose a replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg regardless of whether he wins in November. The move clears the way for a vote this year by the GOP-led Senate on a nominee that Trump is expected to name Saturday. Source: Election 2020 live updates: Romney backs voting this year on Trump nominee to replace Ginsburg – The Washington Post The article was originally published here!

For months, scientists and public health experts have warned of mounting evidence that the novel coronavirus is airborne, transmitted through tiny droplets called aerosols that linger in the air much longer than the larger globs that come from coughing or sneezing. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees. The CDC recently changed its official guidance to note that aerosols are “thought to be the main way the virus spreads” and to warn that badly ventilated indoor spaces are particularly dangerous.“ There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes),” the agency stated. “In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk.” Source: CDC says the coronavirus is airborne and carried on aerosols – The Washington Post The article was originally published here...

The White House and the pharmaceutical industry were nearing a major deal to lower drug prices. Then the administration demanded that $100 cash cards be sent to millions of seniors before the election — and the industry balked. Source: A Deal on Drug Prices Undone by White House Insistence on ‘Trump Cards’ – The New York Times The article was originally published here!