January 1, 1 in 3 Americans: Stimulus Checks Won’t Last a Month

This Day in History | 1942

Japanese forces capture 75,000 Filipino and American troops on the Bataan Peninsula. The prisoners are forced to march to a prison camp 85 mile away. They completed the “Bataan Death March”. The prisoners received only one meal of rice during the six day trek. By the end of the march, hundreds of Americans and many more Filipinos had died.

Good morning Middle Americans, 

Despite the fact that New York state now has more COVID-19 cases than any COUNTRY in the world, there’s a sense of optimism in the air.  The White House’s top economic advisor Larry Kudlow says he expects the economy to open back up, and come back roaring in 4-8 weeks. Do you believe him? And what happens between now and then? A new study released this week shows that just 1 out every 3 Americans feels like their stimulus checks – won’t even last a month. It’s clear the federal government must do more. And do it faster – to avoid an even steeper and deeper recession. If you are wondering about your stimulus check.. we have a link below to find out if you qualify. 

If you’re lucky enough to be working from home, you are probably using Zoom for video conferencing. But beware. The platform wasn’t built to handle all this extra traffic. Now we are learning that it’s extremely vulnerable to security flaws. But what are we supposed to do? Zoom is simple, it works well. And now we’re all hooked. But – U.S. intelligence officials say foreign spies are hooked too. They are snooping and looking for dirt and ways to leverage your video chats. Get informed. 

There’s an interesting debate going on about prescription drugs and the treatment of COVID-19. The nation’s leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, and others have cautioned against the blanket use of hydroxychloroquine to treat the disease, citing it’s potentially deadly side effects for people with bad hearts. Meanwhile, President Trump and a lot of medical professionals, as well as recovering COVID-19 patients have touted the drug’s benefits. And a lot of the media seems to have their knickers in a knot about the fact that Conservatives aren’t willing to put all of their trust in a long-time government official like Dr. Fauci.  We have the poll below. 

And it’s Good Friday, and a lot of us are getting ready to celebrate Easter in a new kind of way. Socially distant. It’s also a good Friday for British Prime Minister Boris Johnon, who’s been moved out of an intensive care unit and is in “good spirits. 

Read all about it!

-Fraser Dixon

1 in 3 Americans Say Their Stimulus Checks Won’t Sustain Them for Even a Month

(Market Watch) – While millions of Americans are counting the days until their stimulus checks arrive, many fear that the one-time $1,200 payment won’t go very far.

In fact, just under one in three Americans (31%) expect that their share of the stimulus money won’t even sustain them for a full month — or help them out at all, for that matter, according to a new Bankrate.com survey of nearly 1,500 adults. Almost two-thirds (64%) said it will cover their expenses for less than three months.

A recent report from retirement income company SimplyWise also found that 63% of respondents said they will need another stimulus check within the next three months.

The coronavirus pandemic has dealt the globe a double-whammy since the end of 2019, sickening 1.45 million and killing 83,471 and counting worldwide, as well as wreaking havoc on financial markets and spurring mass layoffs as businesses considered “non-essential” have closed to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Find out more here

**Will you get a stimulus check ? – click here

U.S. Intel Officials: Foreign Spies Are Targeting Americans on Zoom and Other Video Chat Platforms

(Time) – As much of the world works from home, an explosion of video conference calls has provided a playground not just for Zoombombers, phishermen and cybercriminals, but also for spies. Everyone from top business executives to government officials and scientists are using conferencing apps to stay in touch during the new coronavirus lockdowns and U.S. counterintelligence agencies have observed the espionage services of Russia, Iran, and North Korea attempting to spy on Americans’ video chats, three U.S. intelligence officials tell TIME.

But the cyberspies that have moved fastest and most aggressively during the pandemic, the intelligence officials say, have been China’s. “More than anyone else, the Chinese are interested in what American companies are doing,” said one of the three. And that, in turn, has some U.S. counterintelligence officials worrying about one video conference platform in particular: Zoom. While the Chinese, Russians, and others are targeting virtually every tool Americans and others are using now that they’re forced to work from home, Zoom is an attractive target, especially for China, the intelligence officials and internet security researchers say.

See the report here

Poll: Republicans Who Watch Fox News More Likely to Believe COVID-19 Falsehoods

(The Daily Beast) – The novel coronavirus pandemic—which has already infected nearly half a million victims and claimed more than 16,000 lives in the United States alone—is proving to be significantly more lethal than the seasonal flu.

Yet 58 percent of self-identified Republicans who depend on Fox News, Breitbart, and other conservative media outlets for information about the public-health crisis erroneously believe that COVID-19 is “less deadly or as deadly as” influenza.

That’s according to the results of a new public-opinion survey released Thursday by the Knight Foundation and the Gallup polling organization.

In a conference call Thursday, the Knight Foundation’s chief program officer, Sam Gill, said the survey results suggest that “those who are Republican and lean Republican are a third more likely to believe that COVID is less deadly than the seasonal flu.”

See the result of the poll here

Boris Johnson Out of Intensive Care but Still in Hospital

(BBC) – Mr Johnson has been receiving treatment for coronavirus at St Thomas’ Hospital in London since Sunday.

No 10 said he “has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery”.

A spokesman added: “He is in extremely good spirits.”

He was taken to hospital on Sunday – 10 days after testing positive – and was moved to intensive care on Monday.

Mr Johnson received “standard oxygen treatment” in intensive care and was not put on a ventilator, Downing Street said earlier.

He “continues to improve” after a “good night” and thanked the NHS for the “brilliant care” he has received, the spokesman added.
Learn more here