Felix Baumgartner broke the sound barrier when he jumped from a helium balloon 24 miles above the Earth yesterday. Isn’t that impressive enough?
Pillow man-approved botanical toxins will save us
Trump has solicited advice on the virus from a medley of voices, with anyone gaining access to him able to bend his ear about possible treatments. The chorus includes Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham, who has paid regular visits to the Oval Office to discuss hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug that Trump promoted as a cure for the coronavirus despite scientific studies showing that the drug if used as a treatment could have deadly side effects.
The president recently hosted Andrew Whitney, a biopharmaceuticals executive on the board of a company called Phoenix, who met in the Oval Office with Trump. Whitney, who has a limited health background, pitched Trump on a botanical extract called oleandrin as a treatment for the coronavirus, according to two senior administration officials with knowledge of the discussion.
One official said Mike Lindell, a Trump booster and the chief executive of MyPillow — who stars as pitchman for his product in advertising on some of the Fox News shows Trump watches — helped arrange the meeting. Since then, Whitney has personally made overtures to senior leaders at the Food and Drug Administration, including its commissioner, Stephen Hahn, in an effort to get the agency to approve oleandrin as a treatment for the coronavirus.
“Either Tim Kaine and I had a very vivid shared hallucination four years ago or Maureen had too much pot brownie before writing her column again,” Hillary Clinton tweeted in response.
Undone by a zipper
The head of the conservative evangelical Liberty University has been forced to take an “indefinite leave of absence” after he shared a photo of himself with his pants unzipped to reveal his underwear.
Jerry Falwell Jr, a prominent backer of Donald Trump and one of America’s most powerful evangelical leaders, was accused of hypocrisy after posting the photo to Instagram this week. …
The move represents an extraordinary downfall for Falwell, who has served as the president of the ultra-conservative university since 2007. Liberty University was founded by Falwell’s father, and the younger Falwell became head after his death.
An in-person meeting
American conflict with China escalates
The U.S. is placing sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and their allies in Hong Kong, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam, over their role in curtailing political freedoms in the former U.K. colony, the Treasury Department said Friday.
“The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong and we will use our tools and authorities to target those undermining their autonomy,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
Uh huh
A better than expected jobs report
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