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WASHINGTON – Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, got a haircut Friday at the salon owned by Shelley Luther, who was briefly jailed for refusing to obey stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic.
Luther, who opened Salon à la Mode nearly two weeks ago, was found in contempt for ignoring a court order to close from state Judge Eric Moyé, who sentenced her to seven days in Dallas County jail Tuesday and hit her with a $7,000 fine.
The state's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Dallas County officials to free Luther while they weigh an appeal challenging her incarceration.
Cruz wrote on Twitter: "Hair salons & barbershops are open in TX today. Just got my hair cut for first time in 3 months at Salon ALa Mode to support Shelley Luther, who was wrongly imprisoned when she refused to apologize for trying to earn a living. Glad Shelley is out of jail & her business is open!"
Hair salons & barbershops are open in TX today. Just got my hair cut for first time in 3 months at Salon ALa Mode to support Shelley Luther, who was wrongly imprisoned when she refused to apologize for trying to earn a living. Glad Shelley is out of jail & her business is open!
The fine and jail sentence came as barbershops and hair salons were allowed to reopen Friday under an executive order issued by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Under Abbott’s previous stay-at-home order, effective April 2, salons and other nonessential businesses were required to close.
Luther refused to apologize to Moyé in court in order to avoid jail time, saying, "I have hairstylists that are going hungry because they'd rather feed their kids. So sir, if you think the law is more important than kids being fed then please go ahead with your decision but I'm not going to shut the salon."
Abbott announced Thursday that officials will be prohibited from jailing Texans for violating any of his coronavirus-related executive orders.
During an interview on "Fox and Friends" Friday morning, Criminal President Donald Trump applauded Luther's defiance, saying she is an "incredible representative for a large group of people that want to do the same thing, they want to get back to work."
Texas has had more than 36,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and about 1,000 deaths from the virus, according to Texas Health and Human Services. Additionally, the number of cases continues to climb in the state, with more than 1,000 new cases each day in the week since the stay-at-home orders ended May 1.
Stay-at-home orders and business closures were deployed to combat COVID-19. Many individuals around the country have protested the orders as the closures have hurt businesses.
Luther was supported by many state politicians, as well, including GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who said there are "more important things than living” regarding reopening businesses. Patrick offered to pay Luther's fine.
After his haircut on Friday, Cruz said, "I'm proud to stand with Shelley Luther. What happened to her was wrong. It was ridiculous to see somebody sentenced to seven days in jail for cutting hair. That's not right. That's not justice. That's not Texas."
Contributing: Nicole Cobler and Chuck Lindell, Austin American-Statesman
Katie Miller, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence and spokeswoman for the White House’s coronavirus task force, has tested positive for COVID-19.
“She’s a wonderful young woman, Katie. She tested very good for a long period of time, then all of a sudden today she tested positive. She hasn’t come into contact with me. She’s spent some time with the vice president,” President Donald Trump said on Friday. “She was tested very recently and tested negative and then today I guess for some reason, she tested positive. Mike knows about it and Mike has done what he has to do.”
Trump said that Pence and other White House aides were retested on Friday and that the Vice President tested negative.
Miller, who is married to Trump adviser Stephen Miller, is the second known White House staffer who has COVID-19. On Thursday, the White House confirmed that Trump’s personal valet tested positive.
Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at Friday’s press briefing that there were “guidelines” in place, including contact tracing, to “keep this building safe.”
“All of the recommended guidelines we have for businesses that have essential workers, we are now putting them in place here in the White House,” McEnany said. “So as America reopens safely, the White House is continuing to operate safely.”
Trump WH on high alert as COVID-19 hits Secret Service
It looks as though COVID-19 is coming for Trump. Katie Miller one of Pence's propagandists has tested positive for COVID-19 and now members of Trump's Secret Service staff have tested positive. Oh happy day! I hope the members of the Secret Service survive COVID-19 but as far as Trump and much of his staff goes... FUCK THEM!
Let's hope that the Trumptards continue to defy orders regarding the COVID-19 virus while decent law abiding Americans continue to behave responsibly and survive this while the MAGAts drop like flies.
WASHINGTON — Multiple members of the U.S. Secret Service have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to Department of Homeland Security documents reviewed by Yahoo News.
In March, the Secret Service, which is responsible for the protection of President Trump and other leaders, acknowledged that a single employee tested positive in March. However the problem is currently far more widespread, with 11 active cases at the agency as of Thursday evening, according to a daily report compiled by the DHS.
This report comes as a pair of cases among White House staffers close to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have put the West Wing’s coronavirus security procedures in the spotlight.
According to the DHS document, along with the 11 active cases there are 23 members of the Secret Service who have recovered from COVID-19 and an additional 60 employees who are self-quarantining. No details have been provided about which members of the Secret Service are infected or if any have recently been on detail with the president or vice president.
The DHS, which oversees the agency, referred all requests for comment to the Secret Service, which declined to comment on the number of coronavirus cases among its employees.
“To protect the privacy of our employee’s health information and for operational security, the Secret Service is not releasing how many of its employees have tested positive for COVID-19, nor how many of its employees were, or currently are, quarantined,” Justine Whelan, a Secret Service spokesperson, said.
While the Secret Service is best known for providing security to the president and vice president, it also protects other leaders, including presidential candidates, former presidents, and visiting dignitaries. The Secret Service also conducts investigations, including most recently, scams involving the coronavirus.
Whelan said the Secret Service is following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, but she declined to comment on how many of the Secret Service employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus worked at the White House complex.
“Since the beginning of this pandemic, the Secret Service has been working with all of our public safety partners and the White House Medical Unit to ensure the safety and security of both our protected persons and our employees,” Whelan said. “The Secret Service continues to follow guidance issued by the CDC to ensure the health and welfare of our employees and those they come in contact with.”
However, the coronavirus measures at the White House complex, which includes both Trump and Pence’s offices, have not necessarily followed the guidelines from the CDC or the president’s own coronavirus task force. Those guidelines include staying 6 feet away from other people, avoiding large gatherings and wearing masks or other face coverings.
On Monday, Yahoo News reported that there are regularly held large events with unmasked attendees in close quarters at the White House — including inside the Oval Office, which is the president’s inner sanctum. Many Secret Service employees on the White House grounds are among those who are not wearing masks. The agency did not respond to questions about why its employees are not wearing masks or whether personal protective equipment is being provided to members of the Secret Service who request it. Pence and Trump have also regularly opted not to wear masks.
White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere responded to questions about coronavirus protocols in the West Wing last week by saying, “Those in close proximity to the president and vice president are being tested for COVID-19.”
“Temperature checks are occurring for all those entering the complex as well as an additional temperature check for those in close proximity to the president and vice president,” Deere said.
While temperature checks were being administered to everyone entering the White House complex, not everyone who entered the Oval Office with the president was given a test. On multiple occasions last week, reporters were brought into the Oval Office without being given tests or being required to wear masks.
Dr. Kavita Patel, a primary care physician who worked in the Obama administration as director of policy for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, said she believes the partial testing for those in the White House complex is not sufficient.
“Having worked in the White House, there’s a ton of people that come in and out of there, and they touch things,” said Patel, a Yahoo News health contributor. “So, unless you are literally testing every individual and then following up … even with wiping down those surfaces every night, it’s not foolproof.”
In the days since that report, multiple COVID-19 cases have been confirmed within Trump’s inner circle. On Thursday, news broke that one of Trump’s military valets tested positive. According to CNBC, the valet “had very close contact with the president, including serving meals and helping him with his clothes and other personal needs.”
After the news emerged about his valet, Trump told reporters that the White House had only been testing on a weekly basis and would increase the number of tests given to key staffers.
“So we test once a week. Now we’re going to go testing once a day, but even when you test once a day, somebody could — something happens where they catch something,” Trump said.
On Friday, another top staffer tested positive for the coronavirus. Speaking at a meeting with Republican lawmakers in the White House State Dining Room, Trump indicated the staffer was Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller.
“She’s a wonderful young woman, Katie,” Trump said. “She tested very good for a long period of time and, all of a sudden today, she tested positive. She hasn’t come into contact with me.”
Miller is the wife of Stephen Miller, who is one of the president’s closest and most influential advisers. The Millers did not respond to requests for comment.
The White House declined to comment on whether Stephen Miller had tested negative or was being quarantined. Deere, the deputy press secretary, provided a new statement saying, “the President’s physician and White House Operations continue to work closely to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the President, First Family and the entire White House Complex safe and healthy at all times.”
“In addition to social distancing, daily temperature checks and symptom histories, hand sanitizer, and regular deep cleaning of all work spaces, every staff member in close proximity to the president and vice president is being tested daily for COVID-19 as well as any guests,” Deere said.
Yet even after the pair of coronavirus cases among the Trump administration staff, not everyone who gets in a room with the president is being tested. The press that covered the event where Trump discussed Miller’s diagnosis was brought into the State Dining Room without being given tests. One of the untested reporters asked Trump for a reaction to the fact the virus is apparently spreading inside the White House, which is ostensibly one of the safest places in the country.
“It could happen anywhere,” Trump said. “You see where it happens.”
More Good News! Ivanka Trump assistant tests positive for coronavirus, among other White House staff
This is more good news folks! At least three Whitehouse staffers are positive for Coronavirsus and criminals Trump and Pence are not wearing masks. It's only a matter of time before one of those scumbags get infected.
Ivanka Trump's personal assistant is among the latest at the White House to test positive for the coronavirus. Vice President Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive this week, as well as a White House valet. The White House insists it is taking precautions, but President Trump was not seen wearing a mask at a ceremony for WWII veterans. This comes as whistleblower Rick Bright spoke out on "60 Minutes" after being removed from his job for what he says was "putting science over politics." Nikole Killion looks at the exclusive interview. The US now has over 1/3 of the world's COVID 19 virust cases. Thanks a lot Conald Trump!
President Donald Trump, who has never worn a mask in public, was criticized for not covering his face during a factory tour on Tuesday.
According to a new Associated Press report, he is afraid that he would look ridiculous in it and that his opponents would use footage of him in attack ads and hurt his reelection chances.
Trump has reportedly also said that wearing a face mask would "send the wrong message" that he is more focused on health than reopening the economy, sources told the AP.
The president has never been seen wearing a mask in public, and on Tuesday he was criticized for failing to wear one during a tour of a Honeywell plant in Arizona — going against guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a rule requiring workers at the factory to wear them.
Vice President Pence praised Iowa's response to COVID-19, but the state — which is starting to reopen — is experiencing a rising death toll from the coronavirus.
Trump has also said that wearing a face mask would "send the wrong message" that he is more focused on health than reopening the economy, which aides think is key to his winning in November, one administration source and two campaign officials told the AP.
One of the officials added that Trump was afraid that he might look ridiculous wearing a face mask and that the image could be used against him in attack ads. My Op Ed: He already looks like a clown.
This isn't the first time Trump has publicly gone against coronavirus-related safety guidelines. My Op Ed: Is anyone surprised? Trump is a known criminal.
In early March, the president said he would continue to shake people's hands, despite health officials' warnings, because "you can't be a politician and not shake hands."
The White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the AP report.
Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email covidtips@businessinsider.com and tell us your story.
From May 16 2:40 pm to May 16 7:50 pm 1167 Americans have died from COVID-19. That is over 1000 people every 5 hours who have died from COVID-19. That's over 5000 Americans per day who are killed by COVID-19
Sorry Trump and sorry MAGAts, COVID 19 is not a hoax so shut your filthy lie holes!
I'll start with an Op Ed: It's a fact, Trump supporters AKA MAGAts are no damn good. Many are worse than Trump so if follows that for the good of the country they become extinct. Welcome COVID 19 and their own selfishness, arrogance and stupidity. COVID 19 and Trump may be a blessing in disguise for America.
I would encourage Trump's MAGAts to mingle and completely ignore social distancing. While that puts everyone at greater risk of contracting and dying from COVID 19 we are less likely to become infected because we practice social distancing and if we do get infected we are healthier.
COVID 19 is the gift that keeps on giving, it's not going away anytime soon. Hopefully by late September there will an a 2nd wave of COVID 19 if the Bible belt and hopefully in will spread like wildfire killing of the MAGAts turning the red states blue. More of them will die than us.
Scumbag Idiot Mike Pence Refusing To Wear A Mask. Please DIE ASSHOLE!
