Friday, May 1, 2020

Here's what we're following today. Essential workers will strike nationwide on Friday to demand safer conditions during the coronavirus outbreak. Others are using May Day to demand an end to stay-at-home orders they say are ruining livelihoods and irreparably harming the economy.

by Korva Coleman and Jill Hudson

First Up

Nurses stand in counter-protest during a demonstration against stay-at-home orders due to coronavirus concerns, at the State House in Providence, R.I., on Saturday.
Michael Dwyer/AP

Here's what we're following today.

Essential workers will strike nationwide on Friday to demand safer conditions during the coronavirus outbreak. Others are using May Day to demand an end to stay-at-home orders they say are ruining livelihoods and irreparably harming the economy. Employees at Target, FedEx, Amazon and its subsidiary Whole Foods, and other companies will either stage mass sickouts or simply walk off the job in various cities to demand time off, hazard pay, sick leave, protective gear and cleaning supplies, The Associated Press reports.

Joe Biden addressed allegations of sexual assault by former Senate staffer Tara Reade for the first time Friday, saying in a statement “They aren’t true. This never happened.” The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said he is asking officials to locate Reade’s alleged written complaint from 1993 and release it to the public.

President Trump on Thursday announced an independent commission focused on safety in nursing homes during the coronavirus outbreak. The move comes after nursing home operators have been clamoring for more equipment and testing. FEMA also announced it will send two shipments of personal protective gear to every nursing home, each shipment containing a one-week supply, by July 4.

The New York City subway system will soon begin halting service every night from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. so that trains can be disinfected. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the move "unprecedented" and “a massive undertaking.” Essential workers will be able to take alternative transportation for free.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all Orange County beaches and state parks closed after crowds packed the shoreline during a heat wave last weekend. Officials in less-populated areas of the state have called on Newsom to allow them to reopen.

American Airlines and United reported Thursday combined losses of nearly $4 billion. Few industries have been as hard-hit by the pandemic as airlines, as the number of air travelers has plummeted 95% over the last two months. It's not just that people aren't flying now. They are also not booking for future travel, decimating the airlines' balance sheets.
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Today's Listen

Alexis Jones committed to going to Cornell University in the fall. "I don't know how to feel," she says, "because I don't know if I'm going immediately in the fall with this pandemic and everything."
Elissa Nadworny/NPR

May 1 is typically the day many college-bound students have to make up their minds about where they'll go. But because of the added stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 400 schools have moved the deadline to June 1. But making a decision doesn’t clear up the uncertainty of what will happen in the fall. (Listening time, 3:46 or read the story)

Thousands of people went to YouTube Thursday night to watch musicians sing about space, isolation and getting through tough times. Sting and Daveed Diggs were two of the performers for the National Air and Space Museum’s virtual concert, "Space Songs Through The Distance." (Listening time, 1:41)

The Picture Show

Dorothea Lange, Migratory Cotton Picker, Eloy, Arizona (1940).
Dorothea Lange/Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Photographer Dorothea Lange had an eye for capturing what was going on around her. Across her body of work there are intimate glimpses of Great Depression bread lines, Japanese American internment camps during World War II and migrant farm workers — including the subject of perhaps her most famous portrait, Migrant Mother. A retrospective of Lange's work at New York City's Museum of Modern Art opened in mid-February and promptly closed less than a month later because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, perhaps more than ever, Lange's portraits of humanity and adversity still have a lot to say. (Listening time, 4:12 or read the story)

Before You Go

Beastie Boys' Michael Diamond, Adam Yauch and Adam Horovitz in 1993. Diamond and Horovitz lead a live history session on the group in Spike Jonze's new Apple TV+ documentary, Beastie Boys Story.
Apple TV+
  • With Spike Jonze's new documentary, Beastie Boys Story, now streaming on Apple+ and Damien Chazelle's The Eddy on the way, here are 20 television series or specials to pass the time at home — or inspire your next playlist.
  • Anderson Cooper is a new dad, reports CNN. Wyatt Morgan Cooper was born on Monday weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces.
  • Antarctica and Greenland have lost enough ice that they could fill Lake Michigan, according to data from a new NASA satellite. 
  • Are you struggling with mental health during the pandemic? We are here to listen to your story and hope to use your experience to inform and help others. Please consider sharing your experience by clicking here. 

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Thursday’s Daily newsletter incorrectly reported that 30 million Americans filed for unemployment claims over the last five weeks. The correct time frame is six weeks. 

— Suzette Lohmeyer contributed to this report. 
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The Real Threats Behind Iran's Military Satellite Launch by Potkin Azarmehr IPT News


Steven Emerson, Executive DirectorMay 1, 2020

The Real Threats Behind Iran's Military Satellite Launch

by Potkin Azarmehr
IPT News
May 1, 2020


While the rest of the world is busy battling the coronavirus outbreak, and lockdowns grind economies to a halt, Iran managed to successfully launch its first military satellite last week which poses a serious threat to the West.
Until now, Iran's missile capabilities posed a regional threat. But Iran's latest technological breakthrough in launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) extends that threat for the first time to American military bases in England. Moreover, new mobile launch technology enables Iran to launch ICBMs from anywhere inside the country virtually undetected.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reacted to the launch by accusing Iran of breaching a UN Security Council resolution restricting its use of ballistic missiles. "[t]he world's leading state sponsor of terrorism should not be allowed to develop and test ballistic missiles," Pompeo said. "This common-sense standard must be restored by the international community."
Even the UK government, which normally takes a conciliatory approach with Iran, said the launch was "of significant concern and inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution."
Iran's space agency has tried to launch satellites before. The April 22 launch of Nour-1 (Light-1) satellite using the new Qassed Space Launch Vehicle (SLV), however is the first successful military satellite launch for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"We are now a space power," General Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRGC aerospace program, triumphantly shouted through his face mask, when the satellite reached the orbit.
"We now don't have the ground limitations we had before for collecting information," he said.
In January, Hajizadeh suffered the humiliation of admitting Iran's air defenses shot down the Ukrainian flight 752 passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board. Three months later, he boasted of becoming a space superpower.
Iranian state TV showed two pictures on the Qassed rocket. One included an image of Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC Quds Force leader killed in January by an American drone strike. He is depicted praying in space, while a satellite cast its shadow on the maps of Israel and Saudi Arabia, thus sending a clear message.


But while Iran celebrates and threatens, the Nour-1 satellite's intelligence gathering capabilities are said to be limited along with its three-month operational lifetime. The head of the U.S. Space Command, General Jay Raymond, described the satellite's imaging ability as "a tumbling webcam in space."
The real danger is the new missile's range.
The Qassed SLV is a three-stage rocket, and the breakthrough is in its second stage. The IRGC claims it uses a solid-propellant Salman motor, a technology crucial to developing modern, long-range missiles. This means Iran would now greatly increase the range of its missiles and some experts even suggest they can reach U.S. bases in England.
Experts disagree on the size of any explosive payload the Qassed SLV can carry, or whether it could carry nuclear warheads. But many agree it's a matter of time before Iran develops that ability.
While the United States has developed long range anti-rocket and anti-ballistic missile systems, none of the countries that Iran has targeted for destruction, such as Israel or Saudi Arabia, has a defense against such advanced missiles.
Iran's trademark adventurism in launching missiles is no longer limited to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf.
Iran has been working on its solid-propellant technology for many years. It suffered a major setback in 2011 after an explosion at a missile garrison in Tehran killed 17 top IRGC commanders, including General Tehrani-Moghadam, dubbed the father of Iran's missile program.
The other worrying issue for the West in last week's launch is the fact it was sent into space using a mobile transporter-erector launcher. Previous fixed-structure launch pads allowed for advanced warnings that could be detected by satellite geospatial images and thus could be taken out by preemptive military strikes. Now, the mobile launch ability means Iran may be able to fire ICBMs freely from anywhere within its borders.
Despite the hawkishness by the IRGC generals, the Islamic Republic's modus operandi has always been to dip its toes in the water first and assess the international reaction next. If the Iranian regime detects a serious backlash that could threaten its survival, it will withdraw; if not, it will dip in further.
Thus far, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been unusually quiet about the Nour-1 rocket launch. He has always strongly backed the IRGC and its missile program.
On the other hand, former Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Aminzadeh criticized Iran's military ambitions in the face of its current economic hardship.
Along with ""military deterrence, countries need an economic deterrent power in order to protect their national security," he said. "The coronavirus outbreak has redoubled Iran's economic problems in the face of U.S. sanctions. But even before the outbreak, Iran's inability to protect its national economy had exposed the country to this extremely difficult situation."
Aminzadeh is no pacifist. He was among the students behind the 1979 hostage crisis at the U.S. embassy.
U.S. economic sanctions, Aminzadeh admitted, "have proved to be more effective than engaging in an arms race."
He drew a lesson from "the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago, when it was at the peak of its military power, [which] showed that lack of economic power can be catastrophic."
"[D]evelopment of a military power disproportionate with the country's economic power is a dangerous thing. One of the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union was the continuous decline of its economic resources."
It is noteworthy to say that Aminzadeh is one of those former Iranian officials who has long fallen out of favor with the ruling establishment. He has no real policy-making influence today, but the fact that his comments were allowed to be published shows Iran is just as scared as it is hawkish.
Iran's next move depends on the West's reaction. If Iran senses the West will simply issue a few statements of concern, that reply will be interpreted as weakness. But if Europe and NATO show a unified front, it could seriously curtail the threat of Iran's ICBMs. Or, better still, if they make clear that a provocation threatens the Islamic Republic's survival, the Ayatollahs and the IRGC will back down.
IPT Senior Fellow Potkin Azarmehr, is a London-based investigative journalist, business intelligence analyst, and TV documentary maker who was born in Iran. He regularly contributes to several newspapers and television stations on Iran and Middle East related news. You can follow him @potkazar.
The IPT accepts no funding from outside the United States, or from any governmental agency or political or religious institutions. Your support of The Investigative Project on Terrorism is critical in winning a battle we cannot afford to lose. All donations are tax-deductible. Click here to donate online. The Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation is a recognized 501(c)3 organization.  

 
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As Citizens Try To Scrape By During Pandemic, Dem Mayor Tries 32% Property Tax Hike

Nashville, Tennessee, Mayor John Cooper speaks on stage during a concert in Nashville on Dec. 31, 2019.Jason Davis / Getty ImagesNashville, Tennessee, Mayor John Cooper speaks on stage during a concert in Nashville on Dec. 31, 2019. (Jason Davis / Getty Images)
By Carmine Sabia
Published April 30, 2020 at 7:10pm
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Democrats never miss an opportunity to stick it to the American people with taxes — no matter the situation.
And that is precisely what the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, proposed doing while many of his constituents are out of work.
Mayor John Cooper pushed for a 31.7 percent property tax increase and major cuts because, he said, the city is faced with “the greatest financial challenge” it has had in a lifetime, the Tennessean reported.
“This is a crisis budget,” he said as he gave a frightening outlook for the financial future of the city.
And he is correct: This is likely the “greatest financial challenge” the city has faced in modern history.
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But it is also the greatest financial challenge many of his city’s residents have faced in a lifetime, and raising taxes on them to that degree is not going to help.
“Cooper’s $2.44 billion budget proposal is about $115 million more than this year’s budget,” the Tennessean reported.
“After two deals to bring in a quick influx of cash faltered last year, Nashville’s house of cards collapsed, leading to a $42 million shortfall.”
Nashville was in a financial hole before it was hit with a major storm and then the coronavirus pandemic.
Do you think the city should cut its budget further rather than raise the property tax?
  
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City grants to nonprofits would bear the brunt of Cooper’s proposed new budget, the Tennessean reported. The mayor had ruled out cuts to cost-of-living adjustments for city employees.
“In the end, hard, hard decisions have to be made,” he said. “Everybody is sacrificing in this budget.”
But while city employees will be keeping their jobs, property-owning taxpayers will be taken to the woodshed by the proposed budget.
“It’s an insult to small businesses in Nashville that are literally at best on their knees, but most are on the ground. It’s like getting kicked in the gut with a steel-toed boot,” local restaurant owner Will Newman told WKRN-TV.
“This will absolutely crush whatever restaurants are left, crush it. Small businesses in Nashville are on life support and you know our plea now is to metro council: Do the right thing and propose an alternate budget that is balanced in its approach and not shocking to the core.”
RELATED: CA's 'Dirty Little Secret': DAs, Sheriffs Undermining Gov; Brutal Lockdown Bill Is Coming Due
District 19 Councilman Freddie O’Connell said he has received many calls from restaurant owners who are concerned about the proposed increase.
“Thinking about a sharp property tax increase right now is really, really troubling to me,” he said.
“A small business by sometime next year is probably going to see their rent increase as they also try and deal with an economy that’s struggling to regain its footing.”
No one who lives in a city with a Democratic mayor should ever be surprised when tax increases are proposed.
The simple solution to eliminate that issue is to stop voting for Democrats.
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
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Carmine Sabia
   
Carmine Sabia is a political pundit, editor and writer and has been featured on various television and radio programs. He is a former professional wrestling promoter and real estate investor.
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CELEBRATE ISRAEL'S BIRTHDAY... Plant Fruit Trees Today! “…a land of wheat and barley, vines, figs and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey” (Deuteronomy 8:8) Join Israel's Spring Planting!

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