The Patriot Post® · Thursday News Executive Summary

Above the Fold

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• “These developments have put us in a strong position to finalize guidelines for states opening the country, which we will be announcing [today]:” Trump says coronavirus pandemic has peaked, some states to reopen before May 1 (New York Post¹)

• From Michigan to Kentucky to Ohio to Utah to North Carolina to Virginia, protests draw thousands over state stay-at-home orders (USA Today²)

Business & Economy

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• Weekly jobless claims hit 5.245 million, raising monthly loss to 22 million (CNBC³)

• IRS relief-check tracking system crashes — but officials insist website is operating “smoothly and effectively” (Daily Mail⁴)

• 8.7% plunge: U.S. retail sales see biggest drop ever in March, shattering the previous record in 2008 by 4.8% (New York Post⁵)

• Small-business relief fund runs dry amid Democrat-driven standoff (The Washington Free Beacon⁶)

National Security

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• “Increasing confidence” China blamed coronavirus on wet market to deflect from Wuhan lab escape (Washington Examiner⁷)

• China may have conducted low-level nuclear test: “Beijing is modernizing its nuclear arsenal while the United States handcuffs itself with one-sided arms-control restrictions” (The Guardian⁸)

• Iran taunts U.S. Navy ships in Persian Gulf (Fox News⁹)

Government & Politics

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• House Democrats propose $2,000 monthly payments to Americans (The Hill¹⁰)

• The AP says¹¹, “China didn’t warn public of likely pandemic for 6 key days.” National Review’s Jim Geraghty elucidates¹², “It is more accurate to say the coverup lasted about six weeks.”

• Gov. Cuomo announces executive order requiring face masks in public (Hot Air¹³)

Other Notables

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• Conflict of interest? Rep. Omar funnels nearly $300,000 more to her husband’s firm (The Washington Free Beacon¹⁴)

• Universities and colleges across the United States failed to report nearly $1 billion in foreign gifts from 2013-2018, despite legal requirements from the Department of Education (Campus Reform¹⁵)

Closing Arguments

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• Policy: Investigate the Wuhan lab (Washington Examiner¹⁶)

• Policy: Trump is right about the World Health Organization (National Review¹⁷)

• Humor: Obama: “I’m so proud to endorse Joe Biden — that’s who they went with, huh? — for president” (The Onion¹⁸)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights¹⁹.

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