CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: April 22nd

April 22, 2020

WRITER

Glenn gives the latest coronavirus numbers, updating YOU on everything needed to know as Americans and officials monitor China's new COVID-19 virus:

Daily Stats as of 5:30 AM CT (from John's Hopkins)

Total Confirmed Cases Worldwide: 2,573,471 (up from 2,498,474 Yesterday)
Total Confirmed Deaths Worldwide: 178,558 (up from 171,332 Yesterday)
Total Confirmed Recovered Worldwide: 701,838 (up from 657,808 Yesterday)
The US has 819,175 Confirmed Cases and 45,343 Deaths, up from 792,938 cases and 42,518 deaths yesterday
The US currently has 14,016 people in Serious or Critical Condition, up from 13,887 yesterday
The US has now tested 4,190,002 people, with 21% of tests showing positive for SARS-CoV-2

Food/Meat Rationing Hits US https://finance.yahoo.com/news/food-rationing-reality-buyers-once-230000895.html

At a Publix store in St. Petersburg, Florida, handmade signs limit customers to two packages of beef, pork and Italian sausage products.
In Toronto, shoppers at a west end Loblaws can't buy more than two dozen eggs and two gallons of milk.
Shoppers at Walmart in Utah were limited to no more than 2 of any item from the stores Meat department.
Across the US, grocers have started limiting the amount of meat and other products whose supply chains have been impacted by COVID-19 outbreaks.
"The thing I'm struck by, in the U.S., we're so used to walking down a supermarket aisle and having thousands of choices," said Heidi Heitkamp, a former North Dakota Senator and current member of Alliant Group's strategic advisory board. "Now that's not what people see on the shelves and it's a little unnerving.
"But what everyone should be grateful for is that you can walk into any supermarket in a major metro area and you can still find food to eat. That's a critically important national security concern."
"Once we see the impact of workers testing positive in the meat packing plants, we're going to see a shortage of meat," said Heitkamp, the former senator.
49% of U.S. shoppers report their supermarket has had products out of stock, according to one industry survey. On popular items, "they could consider limits based on where the grocer may be located and when their supplier or wholesalers can get them product," industry analysts said in a report.

Iowa Governor "Meat Packers Must Remain Open" https://apnews.com/e4d88c7f43d429fd01c58c8bc08ab4e2

Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday that Iowa's meatpacking plants must stay open despite coronavirus outbreaks that have sickened hundreds of workers, saying that shutting them down would be devastating for farmers and the nation's food supply.
"But these are also essential businesses and an essential workforce," she said. "Without them, people's lives and our food supply will be impacted. So we must do our part to keep them open in a safe and responsible way."
If hogs are unable to be processed, farmers may "have to consider euthanizing" them, the governor said. "We're not that far from that and it will be devastating not only for the food supply but for the cost of food moving forward," she said.
The Tama National beef plant resumed limited production Monday after a two-week shutdown, employees said, despite the news that 177 workers out of more than 500 tested were positive.
Tyson Foods also said that its pork plant in Waterloo remained open, defying pleas from the mayor and other officials to temporarily close for cleaning and additional testing of workers.
Coronavirus cases in Black Hawk County have doubled in recent days to 356, with 90 percent of them traced to Tyson plant workers. The county reported two more deaths on Monday, both former Tyson employees.

Let Them Eat Ice Cream https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/21/biden-spent-nearly-11-thousand-on-pelosi-favorite-ice-cream/

Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign has spent nearly $11,000 on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's favorite ice-cream, which she has come under fire for after showing off her collection in an interview.
According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Biden's campaign has spent $10,600 on Pelosi's favorite ice cream as donor gifts between May 2019 and March 2020.
The description for the ice-cream in the FEC filing says "donor gifts." The Daily Caller contacted the Biden campaign to ask about the gifts but did not immediately receive a response.
Jeni's Gourmet Ice Cream has also responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic by offering customers free to download Zoom backgrounds featuring selections of Jeni's Gourmet flavors.
President Donald Trump's campaign released an advertisement Monday blasting Pelosi for focusing on eating ice cream instead of working with Congress to put together legislation for coronavirus funding.

VA Study: No Benefit From Taking HydroxyChloroquine https://apnews.com/a5077c7227b8eb8b0dc23423c0bbe2b2

A malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a study of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.
The nationwide study was not a rigorous experiment. But with 368 patients, it's the largest look so far of hydroxychloroquine with or without the antibiotic azithromycin for COVID-19, which has killed more than 171,000 people as of Tuesday.
Researchers analyzed medical records of 368 male veterans hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infection at VA medical centers who either died or were discharged by April 11.
About 28% who were given hydroxychloroquine plus usual care died, versus 11% of those getting routine care alone. About 22% of those getting the drug plus azithromycin died too, but the difference between that group and usual care was not considered large enough to rule out other factors that could have affected survival.
Hydroxychloroquine made no difference in the need for a breathing machine, either.
The study was posted on an online site for researchers and has not been peer reviewed by other scientists. Grants from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Virginia paid for the work.

Total US COVID-19 Deaths Double Over Last 8 Days https://news.trust.org/item/20200421211344-sn3xj

U.S. coronavirus deaths doubled in a little over a week and rising by a near-record amount in a single day.
U.S. deaths increased by more than 2,750 on Tuesday alone, just shy of a peak of 2,806 deaths in a single day on April 15.
Officials reminded the public that deaths are a lagging indicator since the average victim takes 24 days to succumb to the disease.
New reported U.S. cases appear to be slowing this week, rising by less than 30,000 a day for the past four days through Tuesday.
The United States had a high of 35,392 new cases on April 4.

First West Texas, Now Northsea Brent Crude Crashes https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-brent-crude-hits-1999-lows-as-oil-prices-continue-to-fall-072702942.html

Brent Crude, Europe's equivalent to West Texas Intermediary crude oil, crashed to levels not seen in 3 decades yesterday and is trading at levels well below production cost.
More than 140 Million Barrels are being stored at sea, according to one industry survey.
Some companies have taken to floating barrels chained together to form 'barrel rafts', a practice not seen since barrels of oil were floated down the Mississippi River in the early 1900s.
In Europe, demand for Petrol has dropped by over 30% since April 1st, as more and more countries limit travel and have closed borders.

Mexico Enters Phase III of Outbreak, Deaths Spike https://news.yahoo.com/mexico-entered-most-serious-phase-125222515.html

Mexico has entered what the government calls "Phase 3" of the spread of the new coronavirus, the most serious stage, as transmission of the virus is intensifying.
Mexico has registered 712 coronavirus deaths and 8,772 infections, with 511 new cases reported on Monday.
But health officials expect the real number to be substantially higher as Mexico has limited testing capacity.
The government's "Sentinel Surveillance" mathematical model estimated there were 55,951 cases across the country, and estimated over 2,800 deaths due to COVID-19. Hospitals in Mexico City reported nearly 3,000 more deaths so far in April compared to the same month last year.
Mexico's leftist leader, President Obrador once again vowed that the country would not enforce "authoritarian" measures such as curfews or travel restrictions, which other countries around the globe have implemented.
He has come under fire for downplaying the seriousness of the outbreak, and as recently as last week had allowed a bullfight in Mexico City, with nearly 28,000 spectators in attendance.

Survey: 4 in 5 Households Report COVID-19 Lockdowns Bring Family Closer Together https://www.studyfinds.org/quarantine-quality-time-4-in-5-parents-say-coronavirus-lockdown-has-brought-family-closer-together/

British study finds 4 out of 5 Parents report lockdowns have brought the family closer together.
Six in ten say they're happier with their spouse or partner than ever before.
A Quarter of respondents say the extra time together has improved their sex life.
The survey finds that half of families are getting together to play board games and make puzzles. Another 30% say they've formed book clubs and read together.
And some parents are engaging in new activities with their kids. Just over a quarter of families (28%) have picked up family gardening.
The study was conducted online by MumPoll, and included over 2,000 participants.

NY Times: Massive Undercounting of COVID-19 Deaths Worldwide https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/21/world/coronavirus-missing-deaths.html

There are tens of thousands of "Excess Deaths" across the globe, in a country by country analysis conducted by researchers from the Times.
Examining state medical records and official death statistics, more than 25,000 extra deaths were recorded compared to the same period last year.
The totals include suspected deaths from COVID-19 as well as those from other causes, likely including people who could not be treated as hospitals became overwhelmed.

AREA	PCT. ABOVE NORMAL	EXCESS DEATHS	−	REPORTED COVID-19 DEATHS	=	DIFFERENCE
Spain Mar. 9 - Apr. 5	66%	19,700	−	12,401	=	7,300
England & Wales Mar. 7 - Apr. 10	33%	16,700	−	10,335	=	6,300
New York City Mar. 11 - Apr. 18	298%	17,200	−	13,240	=	4,000
France Mar. 9 - Apr. 5	21%	10,500	−	8,059	=	2,500
Netherlands Mar. 9 - Apr. 5	33%	4,000	−	2,166	=	1,900
Istanbul Mar. 9 - Apr. 12	29%	2,100	−	1,006	=	1,100
Jakarta March	36%	1,000	−	84	=	900
Belgium Mar. 9 - Apr. 5	25%	2,300	−	1,632	=	700
Switzerland Mar. 9 - Apr. 5	21%	1,000	−	712	=	300

Among all countries who included causes, deaths by Automobile-Accident dropped dramatically and was down by over 59% in the US for April compared to 2019.

GLENN

From Pharaoh to Hamas: The same spirit of evil, new disguise

GLENN

Bill Gates ends climate fear campaign, declares AI the future ruler

GLENN

Why the White House restoration sent the left Into panic mode

Trump’s secret war in the Caribbean EXPOSED — It’s not about drugs

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The president’s moves in Venezuela, Guyana, and Colombia aren’t about drugs. They’re about re-establishing America’s sovereignty across the Western Hemisphere.

For decades, we’ve been told America’s wars are about drugs, democracy, or “defending freedom.” But look closer at what’s unfolding off the coast of Venezuela, and you’ll see something far more strategic taking shape. Donald Trump’s so-called drug war isn’t about fentanyl or cocaine. It’s about control — and a rebirth of American sovereignty.

The aim of Trump’s ‘drug war’ is to keep the hemisphere’s oil, minerals, and manufacturing within the Western family and out of Beijing’s hands.

The president understands something the foreign policy class forgot long ago: The world doesn’t respect apologies. It respects strength.

While the global elites in Davos tout the Great Reset, Trump is building something entirely different — a new architecture of power based on regional independence, not global dependence. His quiet campaign in the Western Hemisphere may one day be remembered as the second Monroe Doctrine.

Venezuela sits at the center of it all. It holds the world’s largest crude oil reserves — oil perfectly suited for America’s Gulf refineries. For years, China and Russia have treated Venezuela like a pawn on their chessboard, offering predatory loans in exchange for control of those resources. The result has been a corrupt, communist state sitting in our own back yard. For too long, Washington shrugged. Not any more.The naval exercises in the Caribbean, the sanctions, the patrols — they’re not about drug smugglers. They’re about evicting China from our hemisphere.

Trump is using the old “drug war” playbook to wage a new kind of war — an economic and strategic one — without firing a shot at our actual enemies. The goal is simple: Keep the hemisphere’s oil, minerals, and manufacturing within the Western family and out of Beijing’s hands.

Beyond Venezuela

Just east of Venezuela lies Guyana, a country most Americans couldn’t find on a map a year ago. Then ExxonMobil struck oil, and suddenly Guyana became the newest front in a quiet geopolitical contest. Washington is helping defend those offshore platforms, build radar systems, and secure undersea cables — not for charity, but for strategy. Control energy, data, and shipping lanes, and you control the future.

Moreover, Colombia — a country once defined by cartels — is now positioned as the hinge between two oceans and two continents. It guards the Panama Canal and sits atop rare-earth minerals every modern economy needs. Decades of American presence there weren’t just about cocaine interdiction; they were about maintaining leverage over the arteries of global trade. Trump sees that clearly.

PEDRO MATTEY / Contributor | Getty Images

All of these recent news items — from the military drills in the Caribbean to the trade negotiations — reflect a new vision of American power. Not global policing. Not endless nation-building. It’s about strategic sovereignty.

It’s the same philosophy driving Trump’s approach to NATO, the Middle East, and Asia. We’ll stand with you — but you’ll stand on your own two feet. The days of American taxpayers funding global security while our own borders collapse are over.

Trump’s Monroe Doctrine

Critics will call it “isolationism.” It isn’t. It’s realism. It’s recognizing that America’s strength comes not from fighting other people’s wars but from securing our own energy, our own supply lines, our own hemisphere. The first Monroe Doctrine warned foreign powers to stay out of the Americas. The second one — Trump’s — says we’ll defend them, but we’ll no longer be their bank or their babysitter.

Historians may one day mark this moment as the start of a new era — when America stopped apologizing for its own interests and started rebuilding its sovereignty, one barrel, one chip, and one border at a time.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Antifa isn’t “leaderless” — It’s an organized machine of violence

Jeff J Mitchell / Staff | Getty Images

The mob rises where men of courage fall silent. The lesson from Portland, Chicago, and other blue cities is simple: Appeasing radicals doesn’t buy peace — it only rents humiliation.

Parts of America, like Portland and Chicago, now resemble occupied territory. Progressive city governments have surrendered control to street militias, leaving citizens, journalists, and even federal officers to face violent anarchists without protection.

Take Portland, where Antifa has terrorized the city for more than 100 consecutive nights. Federal officers trying to keep order face nightly assaults while local officials do nothing. Independent journalists, such as Nick Sortor, have even been arrested for documenting the chaos. Sortor and Blaze News reporter Julio Rosas later testified at the White House about Antifa’s violence — testimony that corporate media outlets buried.

Antifa is organized, funded, and emboldened.

Chicago offers the same grim picture. Federal agents have been stalked, ambushed, and denied backup from local police while under siege from mobs. Calls for help went unanswered, putting lives in danger. This is more than disorder; it is open defiance of federal authority and a violation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

A history of violence

For years, the legacy media and left-wing think tanks have portrayed Antifa as “decentralized” and “leaderless.” The opposite is true. Antifa is organized, disciplined, and well-funded. Groups like Rose City Antifa in Oregon, the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club in Texas, and Jane’s Revenge operate as coordinated street militias. Legal fronts such as the National Lawyers Guild provide protection, while crowdfunding networks and international supporters funnel money directly to the movement.

The claim that Antifa lacks structure is a convenient myth — one that’s cost Americans dearly.

History reminds us what happens when mobs go unchecked. The French Revolution, Weimar Germany, Mao’s Red Guards — every one began with chaos on the streets. But it wasn’t random. Today’s radicals follow the same playbook: Exploit disorder, intimidate opponents, and seize moral power while the state looks away.

Dismember the dragon

The Trump administration’s decision to designate Antifa a domestic terrorist organization was long overdue. The label finally acknowledged what citizens already knew: Antifa functions as a militant enterprise, recruiting and radicalizing youth for coordinated violence nationwide.

But naming the threat isn’t enough. The movement’s financiers, organizers, and enablers must also face justice. Every dollar that funds Antifa’s destruction should be traced, seized, and exposed.

AFP Contributor / Contributor | Getty Images

This fight transcends party lines. It’s not about left versus right; it’s about civilization versus anarchy. When politicians and judges excuse or ignore mob violence, they imperil the republic itself. Americans must reject silence and cowardice while street militias operate with impunity.

Antifa is organized, funded, and emboldened. The violence in Portland and Chicago is deliberate, not spontaneous. If America fails to confront it decisively, the price won’t just be broken cities — it will be the erosion of the republic itself.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

URGENT: Supreme Court case could redefine religious liberty

Drew Angerer / Staff | Getty Images

The state is effectively silencing professionals who dare speak truths about gender and sexuality, redefining faith-guided speech as illegal.

This week, free speech is once again on the line before the U.S. Supreme Court. At stake is whether Americans still have the right to talk about faith, morality, and truth in their private practice without the government’s permission.

The case comes out of Colorado, where lawmakers in 2019 passed a ban on what they call “conversion therapy.” The law prohibits licensed counselors from trying to change a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation, including their behaviors or gender expression. The law specifically targets Christian counselors who serve clients attempting to overcome gender dysphoria and not fall prey to the transgender ideology.

The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The law does include one convenient exception. Counselors are free to “assist” a person who wants to transition genders but not someone who wants to affirm their biological sex. In other words, you can help a child move in one direction — one that is in line with the state’s progressive ideology — but not the other.

Think about that for a moment. The state is saying that a counselor can’t even discuss changing behavior with a client. Isn’t that the whole point of counseling?

One‑sided freedom

Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs, has been one of the victims of this blatant attack on the First Amendment. Chiles has dedicated her practice to helping clients dealing with addiction, trauma, sexuality struggles, and gender dysphoria. She’s also a Christian who serves patients seeking guidance rooted in biblical teaching.

Before 2019, she could counsel minors according to her faith. She could talk about biblical morality, identity, and the path to wholeness. When the state outlawed that speech, she stopped. She followed the law — and then she sued.

Her case, Chiles v. Salazar, is now before the Supreme Court. Justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday. The question: Is counseling a form of speech or merely a government‑regulated service?

If the court rules the wrong way, it won’t just silence therapists. It could muzzle pastors, teachers, parents — anyone who believes in truth grounded in something higher than the state.

Censored belief

I believe marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God. I believe that family — mother, father, child — is central to His design for humanity.

I believe that men and women are created in God’s image, with divine purpose and eternal worth. Gender isn’t an accessory; it’s part of who we are.

I believe the command to “be fruitful and multiply” still stands, that the power to create life is sacred, and that it belongs within marriage between a man and a woman.

And I believe that when we abandon these principles — when we treat sex as recreation, when we dissolve families, when we forget our vows — society fractures.

Are those statements controversial now? Maybe. But if this case goes against Chiles, those statements and others could soon be illegal to say aloud in public.

Faith on trial

In Colorado today, a counselor cannot sit down with a 15‑year‑old who’s struggling with gender identity and say, “You were made in God’s image, and He does not make mistakes.” That is now considered hate speech.

That’s the “freedom” the modern left is offering — freedom to affirm, but never to question. Freedom to comply, but never to dissent. The same movement that claims to champion tolerance now demands silence from anyone who disagrees. The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The real test

No matter what happens at the Supreme Court, we cannot stop speaking the truth. These beliefs aren’t political slogans. For me, they are the product of years of wrestling, searching, and learning through pain and grace what actually leads to peace. For us, they are the fundamental principles that lead to a flourishing life. We cannot balk at standing for truth.

Maybe that’s why God allows these moments — moments when believers are pushed to the wall. They force us to ask hard questions: What is true? What is worth standing for? What is worth dying for — and living for?

If we answer those questions honestly, we’ll find not just truth, but freedom.

The state doesn’t grant real freedom — and it certainly isn’t defined by Colorado legislators. Real freedom comes from God. And the day we forget that, the First Amendment will mean nothing at all.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins Megyn Kelly LIVE — One night ONLY in Fort Worth!

Get ready for sparks to fly. For the first time in years, Glenn will come face-to-face with Megyn Kelly — and this time, he’s the one in the hot seat. On October 25, 2025, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Glenn joins Megyn on her “Megyn Kelly Live Tour” for a no-holds-barred conversation that promises laughs, surprises, and maybe even a few uncomfortable questions.

What will happen when two of America’s sharpest voices collide under the spotlight? Will Glenn finally reveal the major announcement he’s been teasing on the radio for weeks? You’ll have to be there to find out.

This promises to be more than just an interview — it’s a live showdown packed with wit, honesty, and the kind of energy you can only feel if you are in the room. Tickets are selling fast, so don’t miss your chance to see Glenn like you’ve never seen him before.

Get your tickets NOW at www.MegynKelly.com before they’re gone!