Chamber of Commerce pushes back on Trump extending ban on racial discrimination training | TheHill

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged President Trump to withdraw his executive order that extended his administration’s ban on race- and sex-based discrimination training to include federal contractors.

The Chamber, joined by more than 150 state and local chambers, trade associations and nonprofits, wrote a letter to Trump on Thursday, saying the order creates significant obstacles for employers.

“Many of our members are federal contractors and subcontractors that will be covered by this E.O. As currently written, we believe the E.O. will create confusion and uncertainty, lead to non-meritorious investigations, and hinder the ability of employers to implement critical programs to promote diversity and combat discrimination in the workplace,” the groups wrote.

Source: Chamber of Commerce pushes back on Trump extending ban on racial discrimination training | TheHill

GOP congressman condemns Trump-promoted theory that Bin Laden killing was a hoax | TheHill

An outgoing Republican congressman blasted President Trump for amplifying a baseless conspiracy theory that the Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden actually killed a body double and were later murdered to cover it up.

“It’s a dangerous tweet, and it’s the kind of thing we cannot do,” Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday. He went on to note that the since-suspended account the president retweeted linked to a YouTube video calling for the hanging of former President Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden.

“That is the language of radicalization,” Riggleman told Tapper. “People go down these rabbit holes and I think the people that believe this … are the same people that believe Lord of the Rings was a documentary and that’s how crazy they are.”

Source: GOP congressman condemns Trump-promoted theory that Bin Laden killing was a hoax | TheHill

Georgia gets Trump approval for Medicaid work requirements, partial expansion | TheHill (more than 800,000 in US filed for unemployment for 2nd month but gotta work for free to get Medicaid in Georgia if unemployed)

The Trump administration has given Georgia the green light to partially expand Medicaid without federal support, and to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries Source: Georgia gets Trump approval for Medicaid work requirements, partial expansion | TheHill

Unemployment Claims Rise Anew in Latest Sign of Economic Distress – The New York Times

The American economy is showing fresh signs of deceleration, hammered by layoffs, a surge in coronavirus cases and the lack of fresh aid from Washington.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 886,000 people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, an increase of nearly 77,000 from the previous week. Adjusted for seasonal variations, the total was 898,000.

The rise follows the announcement of layoffs by major companies including Disney and United Airlines in recent weeks and an impasse between Republicans and Democrats over another round of aid for the economy. A recent jump in coronavirus infections, principally in the Midwest and Western states, only added to the grim outlook.

Remdesivir Has Little Effect on Covid-19 Mortality, WHO Study Says – Slashdot

Results from the WHO’s highly anticipated Solidarity trial, which studied the effects of remdesivir and three other potential drug regimens in 11,266 hospitalised patients, found that none of the treatments “substantially affected mortality” or reduced the need to ventilate patients, according to a copy of the study seen by the Financial Times. “These remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir and interferon regimens appeared to have little effect on in-hospital mortality,” the study found. The results of the WHO trial also showed that the drugs had little effect on how long patients stayed in hospital. However, WHO researchers said the study was primarily designed to assess impact on in-hospital mortality. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed. Remdesivir was one of a series of drugs used to treat US President Donald Trump after he tested positive for Covid-19. It was developed by US drugmaker Gilead Sciences, initially as a potential medicine to treat Ebola. Source: Remdesivir Has Little Effect on Covid-19 Mortality, WHO Study Says – Slashdot

Billy Graham’s granddaughter urges evangelicals not to support Trump | TheHill

Jerushah Duford, granddaughter of evangelical icon Billy Graham, on Thursday criticized President Trump for his “attempt to hijack our faith.”

“Trump’s attempt to hijack our faith for votes, and the evangelical leaders’ silence on his actions and behavior, has presented a picture of what our faith looks like — that’s so erroneous it’s done significant damage to the way people view Jesus,” she said on a press call through the group Not Our Faith, a PAC that focuses on faith voters.

Source: Billy Graham’s granddaughter urges evangelicals not to support Trump | TheHill

Giuliani’s latest B.S. Ukraine smear failed. You can thank the Trump impeachment for that | Salon.com

Rudy Giuliani will go down as one of the more perplexing mysteries of our time. Even though the man was a terrible mayor of New York City, he was likely going to be remembered fondly as the guy who actually stepped up and did his job on 9/11. But instead of spending his retirement years sipping martinis and resting on that particular laurel, Giuliani has apparently decided that being a basement-level launderer of Russian disinformation is the best use of his dotage. And all on behalf of Donald Trump, whose guaranteed role in American history will be, at best, as our nation’s greatest embarrassment.  Source: Giuliani’s latest B.S. Ukraine smear failed. You can thank the Trump impeachment for that | Salon.com