Dr. Deborah Birx is in the hall of fame -- the Bobblehead Hall of Fame -- and like Dr. Fauci before her ... her plastic likeness will raise funds for protective gear for medical workers.
Bobbleheads for Birx -- the coronavirus response coordinator for the White House task force -- went on pre-sale Wednesday for $25, and 5 bucks from each sale will be donated to the American Hospital Association's Protect the Heroes campaign ... according to National Bobblehead HOF and Museum co-founder Phil Sklar.
Sklar says ... "Bobbleheads are the ultimate honor, and we think Dr. Birx deserves it, given what she has done and continues to do for our country and the world in the battle against COVID-19."
Birx's figurine features her wearing one of her signatures scarves, which have garnered a fan following -- one Instagram account has more than 17,000 followers. The bobbleheads are expected to ship in July.
Birx bobbleheads come a week after the museum released Fauci bobbleheads for presale, which have already raised over $130k for the same good cause and quickly became the company's best-seller.
Deepak Chopra's urging everyone to be kind now -- even to your adversaries -- assuming we all, like Deepak, want the best possible post-pandemic outcome.
The mindfulness expert and holistic health guru specifically calls out people blasting the President, and other "Trumps of the world," because he believes you can't fight darkness with darkness ... and we all need to work together.
Sounds great, but if you're fighting darkness, who represents the light? Chopra suggests it COULD be Joe Biden, but adds he's going to need help from a variety of other progressive leaders.
Watch the video ... Deepak thinks he has a pretty solid game plan for Biden and says the likely Democratic presidential nominee is off to a good start with Barack Obama's endorsement.
As for whether he'd consider joining the Biden team as a spiritual adviser, Chopra tells us the formality of that situation's not really his thing ... but he's open to a chat.
Deepak also suggests his 21-day meditation plan for help getting through this difficult time. That goes for everyone, not just Biden.
Former President Barack Obama waited until the dust settled among all the Democratic presidential candidates, but he's fully throwing his support behind Joe Biden now.
Obama opened a video message with an uplifting sentiment about the fight against coronavirus and gave a thank you to those on the frontlines. He then transitioned to the political side ... saying, "That's why I'm so proud to endorse Joe Biden as President of the United States."
Obama then goes in on Trump and Republicans, saying, "One thing everybody has learned by now, the Republicans running the White House and the U.S. Senate are not interested in progress, they're interested in power."
At one point he mentions the failure of the Trump administration in containing the coronavirus, saying Republicans ignored the science of pandemics just as they ignored the science of climate change ... reminding everyone of the importance of honesty and informativeness from a President.
Biden was obviously thrilled with the endorsement, tweeting just a few minutes later, "Barack — This endorsement means the world to Jill and me. We’re going to build on the progress we made together, and there’s no one I’d rather have standing by my side."
Obama's backing of Biden comes just a day after Bernie Sanders joined Joe on a livestream to offer his endorsement, as well. Sanders dropped out of the race last week, seemingly leaving the nomination to Biden.
Joe told Bernie if he does indeed become the nominee, he's going to need Sanders' help "not just to win the campaign, but to govern."
Biden will certainly need more of Obama's help to defeat Trump, as well. The good news is ... 44 has been getting back out there more lately, mostly on social media to post helpful info about the coronavirus pandemic.
Ya gotta think he'll pivot to pushing his party to vote for Joe now though ... especially since it's been his goal to unite Democrats after all the primary chaos cooled down.
President Trump has yet to respond to Obama's endorsement. Start the countdown.
3:50 PM PT -- Dr. Fauci just addressed the reported head-butting that's supposedly been going on behind closed doors with himself and the President's administration, and the guy sure seemed to be trying to put out the fire with a clear and concise timeline of events.
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The good doctor was at the podium Monday in the White House Press Briefing Room, where he laid exactly when he and his CDC/NIAID colleagues told DT they strongly suggested shutting stuff down, and how the Prez responded. Sounds like Trump wasn't going rogue or ignoring the advice of the scientists -- he acted on their recommendations when they told him he should ... at least that's what Fauci seems to be saying here.
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He DID clarify something he recently said in the press regarding some "pushback" he claimed was taking place among cabinet officials when Fauci and co. first recommended closing up shop for an extended period of time. DF says he used a poor choice of words, and insists Trump officials only raised concerns about ramifications of such an action -- like crippling the economy, job loss, etc. He says NO ONE in Trump's administration told him they shouldn't do it -- which is what many took away from his remarks this past week.
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Bottom line ... Fauci says each and every time he and his cohorts suggested the President do something, the answer was yes. When a reporter asked if he was making these clarifications voluntarily, he got a little snippy ... telling her not to even insinuate he wasn't.
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Sounds like Dr. Fauci wanted to put any perceived bad blood between him and 45 to bed.
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10:57 AM PT -- Trump is not firing Fauci -- even if his retweet suggested he's thinking about it -- and the White House says, "This media chatter is ridiculous."
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Hogan Gidley, a spokesman for the Trump administration, insists ... "Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted advisor to President Trump."
President Trump hit the retweet button on a call to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci -- which seems to indicate a growing rift between Trump and his pandemic right-hand man.
Trump's promotion of a #FireFauci tweet comes in response to the infectious disease expert's CNN interview Sunday ... where he said the U.S might have prevented deaths if it had put mitigation efforts in place in February, instead of mid-March.
Fauci's comments weren't necessarily a direct shot at Trump -- he told Tapper "what goes into those decisions is complicated" -- but the retweet seems to indicate the Prez took it as one.
Trump retweeted a woman claiming Fauci himself told people "there was nothing to worry about and [COVID-19] posed no threat to the US public at large" on February 29. She then wrote, "Time to #FireFauci..."
The President added ... "Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up."
If you haven't been paying attention, Trump has been touting his China travel restrictions for saving lives -- something Fauci's praised him for as well -- while ignoring his other missteps.
Trump's next coronavirus task force briefing -- typically attended by Fauci -- is gonna be interesting.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is off his potential COVID-19 deathbed ... getting out of the hospital on Easter morning, and he's giving props to the people who helped him survive.
Johnson made a 5-minute long address shortly after he was released from a London hospital, and parts of it sounded like an Oscars acceptance speech. That's not a dig, it was actually very cool the PM mentioned by name almost every nurse or doctor who treated him as he battled the coronavirus.
He made special mention of 2 nurses named Jenny and Luis, who he says were at his bedside through his 3 nights in ICU. As he put it, "They were watching and they were thinking and they were caring and making the interventions I needed" in order to increase his body's oxygen levels.
You can tell he's not anywhere near 100 percent ... Johnson was gasping for air at times during his speech. His office says he will not be going back to work immediately as he continues recovering.
6:32 AM PT -- 4/12 - Governor Kelly wins. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled the Legislature lacked the authority to override Kelly's resolution. The Court's decision was based solely on the language of the resolution. The Justices did NOT address the Legislature's claims Gov. Kelly had infringed on religious freedom.
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Bottom line: Easter services -- and all church services during the state's safer-at-home order -- must, legally, have 10 or fewer people.
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Kentucky had a similar ruling, upholding the Governor's plan to ban mass gatherings for church with one exception ... a drive-in Easter service being held in Louisville
The Kansas Supreme Court will decide today whether Kansans can flock to church for Easter, and they're deliberating on webcam ... just like the rest of us.
The surreal scene went down Saturday morning as all 6 state Justices hopped on a Zoom conference from their homes to hear oral arguments in a case that will have major ramifications in the state -- and perhaps in others too.
The case is between Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas State Legislature -- the latter overturned Kelly's executive order banning religious gatherings of 10 or more people.
Gov. Kelly didn't take that sitting down -- she sued the state body and now the matter's being discussed by the highest court in the Sunflower State. Gov. Kelly wanted this figured out before Easter, and she'll get it too. A decision is expected later today.
It's just the latest installment in pastors vs. coronavirus. As you know, several church leaders -- including Tony Spell in Baton Rouge -- insist they can and will continue holding services that violate social distancing. Spell told us his parishioners would behappy to die from the virus if it means they can go to church.
Of course, all the other people they could infect outside his church don't get a say in the matter.
Anyway, point is ... a lot of eyes are on Gov. Kelly and the Kansas Supreme Court.
Joe Exotic's former campaign manager wants to do forJoe Bidenwhat he did for the 'Tiger King' star -- raise tons of cash with some wild fundraising parties.
Joshua Dial, who ran Joe's failed campaign for governor of Oklahoma, and was heavily featured in the Netflix docuseries, tells TMZ ... Joe's campaign would regularly rake in $5,000 to $10,000 for tiger parties catering to rich folks.
Joshua says they would load a baby tiger into a cage in the back of a van and haul it off to private parties for rich donors ... who gladly paid top dollar to party the night away and play with the tiger cub.
The tiger fundraiser parties were a huge hit, and Joshua says they organized several of them during Joe's 2018 campaign.
While Joe ran as a Libertarian, Joshua says the party has a lot in common with the Democrats ... and he wants a chance to work his magic for Biden!!!
Joe Exotic is officially on the White House's radar now -- thanks to a reporter asking President Trump if he plans to pardon the 'Tiger King' star and convicted felon.
The bizarre exchange went down Wednesday during, of all things, the coronavirus taskforce briefing. The reporter asked Trump if he's heard of the popular Netflix series, and, if so, might he consider commuting Joe's 22-year prison sentence.
The reporter told the Prez ... his son, Don Jr., joked during a radio interview he'd lobby POTUS to pardon Joe Exotic for the memes "and just for frankly watching the media reaction to this thing."
It's actually pretty hilarious ... Trump asked which son made that comment before answering in signature fashion, saying, "I know nothing about it." That didn't stop him from also saying he'd look into it. For good measure ... he also asked CNN's Jim Acosta -- a reporter Trump often feuds with -- if he thought a pardon was a good idea.
As you know by now ... Joe Exotic's behind bars after he was found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot targeting his nemesis, Carole Baskin. He's also in the middle of a lawsuit in which he's asking for a new judge .... alleging the original one is homophobic and biased.
1:54 PM PT -- Linda died Wednesday according to her family. We're told she passed in the morning. There are reports she'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer ... although the family has not confirmed that. Linda was 70.
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RIP
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11:09 AM PT -- Lewinsky just reacted to the news of Linda's illness, saying, "no matter the past, upon hearing that linda tripp is very seriously ill, i hope for her recovery. i can't imagine how difficult this is for her family."
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A rep for the Tripp family tells us they are asking for privacy during this difficult time.
Linda Tripp, whose recorded conversations with Monica Lewinsky led to President Clinton's impeachment -- is near death ... according to her daughter.
Allison Tripp Foley said late Tuesday, "My mommy is leaving this earth. I don't know myself if I can survive this heartache." In her FB post, Allison said she is at her mother's bedside, and she asked for prayers for "a painless process for the strongest woman I will ever know in my entire lifetime."
She has not revealed what illness, or medical crisis, 70-year-old Linda is battling. Allison did confirm to TMZ that it is NOT COVID-19.
Tripp is known as a whistleblower for turning over secretly-recorded conversations with Lewinsky to Ken Starr in January 1998. The recordings exposed Lewinsky's sexual relationship with Clinton.
Linda also told Starr about Lewinsky's infamous blue dress. She was working in the Pentagon when she befriended the 22-year-old White House intern and learned about her physical relationship with the POTUS. The rest is history.
Linda and her husband, Dieter Rausch, have 2 children -- Allison and Ryan.
9:28 AM PT -- In a message to his supporters, Bernie promised he'd work with Vice President Biden to help further his campaign ... Biden also posted a message about Bernie.
UPDATE
I know Bernie well. He’s a good man, a great leader, and one of the most powerful voices for change in our country. And it’s hard to sum up his contributions to our politics in one, single tweet. So I won’t try to. https://t.co/Z6OkCDWFNm
9:05 AM PT -- President Trump just chimed in on Twitter, of course, saying ... "Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday!"
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Trump adds ... "This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco. The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!"
Sen. Bernie Sanders just ended his 2020 bid for President ... leaving Joe Bidena wide open path for the Democratic nomination.
Bernie made the inevitable decision Wednesday from his hometown of Burlington, Vermont after telling staffers he was suspending his campaign. The news, of course, makes Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Bernie tweeted, "Today I am suspending my campaign. But, while the campaign ends, the struggle for justice continues on."
The announcement comes about a month after getting walloped in primaries held in 6 states, but most importantly ... it came during a global pandemic that effectively shut down the U.S.
It also comes a day after Wisconsin controversially held its state elections. Sanders said about the decision ... "holding this election amid the coronavirus outbreak is dangerous, disregards the guidance of public health experts, and may very well prove deadly." The campaign refused to promote any "get out to vote" efforts for that reason.
Furthermore, the math just wasn't there for Bernie as he faced insurmountable odds. Bernie would reportedly have had to win more than 55% of delegates to score a delegate majority. That no longer seemed possible as Sanders badly struggled to make his case in Florida (Biden's shellacking him there, polls show) and Georgia (Sanders lost badly there 4 years ago to Hillary Clinton) ... two states holding primaries in the next couple of weeks.
The senator from Vermont -- whose platform resonated with young voters who were all-in on his push for universal healthcare and free college -- had hoped to pick up crucial wins Tuesday to give his campaign a much-needed boost. But, instead, it was Biden who distanced himself ... scoring victories in Missouri, Idaho, Mississippi, and perhaps most importantly, Michigan.
After a resounding win, Biden spoke to supporters and all but talked like he was the presumptive nominee saying, "I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion. We share a common goal, and together we'll defeat Donald Trump."
Once left for dead before the South Carolina primary, Biden's all but officially emerged as the Democratic nominee for president.
Former U.S. Congressman Paul Broun is turning to pandemic fear-mongering and a gun giveaway in an effort to return to the U.S. House of Representatives.
The GOP politician from Georgia's latest ad leans in hard on the 2nd Amendment, and includes what sounds like a racist dog whistle. In the spot, Broun says warns you might have to defend against "looting hordes from Atlanta" during these "uncertain times."
Broun, who served as the Rep. for GA's 10th congressional district from 2007 to 2015, also touts AR-15s as the ultimate "liberty machine" for fighting off a tyrannical government and the ever-looming threat of socialism.
Not only does Broun vow to never give up his guns ... he's also giving away a semi-automatic rifle to "one lucky person" who signs up for his email updates.
Fear, guns, and propaganda -- that's one approach to getting out the vote. God bless America.
Los Angeles is implementing a new coronavirus mandate that could eventually become standard across all major cities ... everyone at an essential business is being ordered to cover their faces.
Workers and shoppers in L.A. will be required to wear non-medical grade face coverings starting Friday ... as ordered by Mayor Eric Garcetti. It's called the Worker Protection Order.
People can cover their faces with fabric, such as bandannas and scarves. The mayor says any essential business owner can deny admission or service to folks who aren't covering their face.
The rules apply to essential businesses such as grocery stores, banks, convenience stores, warehouses, restaurants, laundromats, taxis, etc. The mandate is in addition to social distancing measures, and the mayor is encouraging retailers to install plexiglass to separate cashiers and customers at points of sale.
Employers are also required to provide face coverings or reimburse employees for the cost of coverings, provide access to clean and sanitary restrooms on-site, allow employees to wash their hands every 30 minutes and implement physical distancing measures.
Failure to comply with the order constitutes a misdemeanor subject to fines and imprisonment, according to the Mayor.
The goal is pretty clear ... continuing to slow down the rapid spread of COVID-19.
Here's Justin Trudeau putting a super-gross image in the minds of Canadians dealing with the coronavirus pandemic -- he says face coverings prevent you from "speaking moistly."
Canada's Prime Minister uttered the phrase Tuesday during his daily address on the virus ... and ya gotta see the video, because he's getting roasted online!!!
It's kinda hilarious, but mostly awkward ... Justin's talking about the benefits of protective face masks when he says "it prevents you from breathing or speaking moistly" on others.
The PM instantly knew he'd just stepped in it. He paused, then admitted he'd just given life to a "terrible image."
Donald Trump just did something jaw-dropping ... he shut down the leading infectious disease specialist in the United States of America -- stopped him from exposing a dangerous lie the President had just told.
Trump held a coronavirus briefing late Sunday and made a long pitch for people to use the drug hydroxychloroquine to battle the disease. He looked in the camera and said, "What have you got to lose?" There's actually an answer -- side effects include mild problems like nausea, but doctors say there's also a risk of stroke and major heart issues.
Fact is ... the drug is unproven. There have been very limited tests and results are a light-year from conclusive, and as you see, the side effects are significant.
A reporter then asked Dr. Fauci about the drug. He's spoken about it before, and there's no way he was on Team Trump, and the President knew it. You gotta watch the video.
Trump ended the briefing by insulting 2 reporters he didn't like, cutting off legit questions ... but watch and judge for yourself.
Queen Elizabeth II just delivered an official palace address to the UK about the coronavirus pandemic -- her basic message ... hang in there, y'all!!!
We're being flip, but that's the gist of Her Majesty's broadcast speech. QE2 tells the British to maintain their resolve, keep their good humor and spirits about them and that together ... we'll all come out on the other side of this challenging time, across the pond and beyond.
You can watch the full speech above, but what's interesting about it is the historical nature of the Queen delivering remarks like this at all -- it rarely happens outside of Christmas.
Sunday's address marks just the fourth time Liz has spoken to the public in an official speech -- again, besides her annual Christmas talks -- during her 68-year reign as Queen of England. So yeah, it's a big deal she felt the need to talk now. The 'rona got to her!
One other interesting note ... according to Deadline, the Queen's speech here was filmed with just one cameraman in the room with her (fully decked out in protective gear) while the rest of the crew monitored and tinkered from other rooms in the building.
Considering Prince Charles got hit with COVID-19 himself, the precautions probably a good idea around QE2. She's right in that age group where coronavirus can hit hard.
Forget politics for a minute ... Donald Trump is demanding, of all things, gratitude from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, despite the fact New York's health care system is about to break without these phantom tests, ventilators and PPE's the President constantly claims are rolling out.
Trump was true to form as he MC'd his daily coronavirus briefing, boasting about the federal response ... something in sharp, sharp contrast to the thousands of doctors and nurses who are now drafting their wills because there's nothing to adequately protect them from the disease.
Trump went in on Cuomo, saying he's given him everything imaginable ... maybe he didn't hear about the broken ventilators, the ridiculous competitive bidding among states for lifesaving equipment, the lack of masks, the lack of tests, and on and on.
Trump said Cuomo should be more like CA Gov Gavin Newsom. Here's the thing ... Newsom's a smart guy, and he, like every other leader at this point, knows Trump's enormous ego needs heavy stroking ... or else. Remember, he told Pence not to even call the governors of Washington State and Michigan because they supposedly lacked gratitude.
Here's what clearly escapes Trump. We want leaders who speak up, leaders who raise their voices when the doctors and nurses in their states are getting infected and dying. We need leaders who will stand up to a federal government that STILL will not recommend that EVERY state impose a stay-at-home order ... which is the most absurd thing in this whole messed up situation.
Trump likes polls, so check ours out today. People think Cuomo is a better leader than Trump by a margin that exceeds 2 to 1.
