The Dept. of Labor released weekly unemployment data showing an additional 2.1 million workers filed new unemployment compensation claims last week; bringing the total claims to over 40 million since the Wuhan virus mitigation effort shut down the U.S. economy.

However, there is some good news within the data.   The “continuing claims”, meaning those who have been collecting unemployment compensation for at least two weeks, is now at 21 million.  That’s a drop of almost four million from the prior week and signals that jobs are returning as the state economies begin reopening.

Additionally, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the second estimate of the first quarter Gross Domestic Product.  The estimate moved the prior contraction of -4.8 percent slightly lower to a newly revised estimate of -5.0 percent.

With the first quarter at -5.0 percent (Jan, Feb, March) and a guaranteed much larger contraction in the second quarter (April, May, June) it is now a certainty we will officially be labeled “in a recession” when the Q2 numbers are released on the last Friday of July.  The media is using the data lag to narrate, and drag-out discussion of negative economic news, as long as possible.

There are some indicators the rebound will be strong (home sales, housing starts, mortgage applications, consumer confidence) but the key to both a wide and deep recovery is putting people back to work as quickly as possible.

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Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross contrasts the importance of the latest U.S. SpaceX launch in an era when China is increasingly expressing communist control over Hong Kong.  Within the interview Secretary Ross outlines the likelihood of an economic response toward Beijing to countermand aggressive geopolitical ambitions.

Shifting high-tech industrial manufacturing away from China, back to the United States, is an important component in the strategic U.S. economic approach.

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White House Trade and Manufacturing Advisor Peter Navarro has a good discussion with Martha MacCallum about the economy, White House economic policy and the focus in the aftermath of the COVID crisis to reemphasize an industrial resurgence in the U.S.

As Navarro outlines the focus of the administration policy is on Main Street and driving the main street economy that overwhelmingly benefits middle-class workers.

That said, when questioned about President Trump’s recent tone toward China, Navarro hints toward what many expect… President Trump is going to deliver a very deliberate, very strategic, very focused and very painful economic blow to Beijing.  WATCH:

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Many people foresaw this likely happening and today it begins. Twitter has intervened in the tweets and speech of the President of the United States to review, censor and use their own perspectives to countermand the opinions of President Donald Trump.

By taking this position Twitter has put themselves into the position of arbitrating the opinions of general speech. This is a remarkable shift in the control mechanism of the platform which will likely have ramifications.

However, beyond the intervention, it is worth pointing to the specific issue that has triggered their decision. Note the issue of greatest concern to the command authority of Twitter is specifically mail-in ballots; this is not accidental.

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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer addressed the issue of her husband attempting to use his position to get their personal boat prepped and in the water prior to Memorial day so they could enjoy the holiday. The Michigan governor said her husband was joking when he told the boat storage operator he was the husband of the governor and asked if that would move him up in the line of requests.

Additionally Governor Whitmer highlights how the citizens of Michigan are victimizing her; including scary men who have surrounded her home while carrying “automatic weapons.” Whitmer says the COVID-19 virus has created an undue hardship on her and her family, and she is burdened by hurt feelings and wounded sensibilities.  Whitmer personifies what happens when left-wing moonbats are allowed to gain political power.

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Additionally (below), Whitmer denies reports that her family violated her own stay-home orders and traveled to their second home. She insists her husband only traveled to their second home to rake leaves by moonlight for one, or, well, maybe two days… or something.

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China is signaling they will drop the panda illusion and take a full frontal dragon approach toward Hong Kong. Chairman Xi Jinping is deploying, some say he has already deployed, the Ministry of State Security – China’s leading intelligence agency – into Hong Kong to begin formal control through national security laws.

The move appears to be a direct signal that communist Beijing will not longer accept or allow Hong Kong’s current autonomous status as a free democracy. Beijing signaling “enough is enough”, and Hong Kongers are rightly concerned.  If Xi follows through, we can expect to see even more protests and confrontations; and the possibility President Trump will remove the “special trade status” the U.S. gives to Hong Kong.

Right now Hong Kong is exempt from U.S. tariffs and other economic measures the U.S. has deployed against China.  If Beijing takes full control, that could quickly change.

(Reuters) – Beijing appears determined to stamp out any renewed rebellion against the Communist Party’s authority over the former British colony. China’s largely rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress, is preparing to circumvent the city’s lawmaking body, the Legislative Council, in drafting the new laws.

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Well this is an interesting development.  The goal of the lockdown to “flatten the curve” in Michigan has now morphed into eliminating a mysterious second-wave of the COVID-19 virus that no-one has actually identified.

The rules are now justified to prevent the appearance of a ghost virus.

With a mysterious and invisible new-phase of the virus to battle, the Michigan stay home lock-down can possibly be extended to infinity.

According to the Detroit Free Press: [Whitmer] said while coronavirus cases and deaths are clearly declining, “we are not out of the woods yet.”

“If we’re going to lower the chance of a second wave and continue to protect our neighbors and loved ones from the spread of this virus, we must continue to do our part by staying safer at home,” she said in a statement first reported by the Free Press. (read more)

See what Comrade Whitmer is doing there?  The objective that grants her unilateral control over the lives of all citizens, has morphed to “lowering the chance of a second wave” as the hot new justification legalizing her totalitarian dictates.  Slick move.

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On Thursday afternoon President Trump delivered remarks after a tour of the Ford Motor Company Rawsonville Components Plant in Michigan. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Well, thank you very much. I like that dais very much, actually. That’s very special. Nice wood. Beautiful like the dashboards on your cars, Bill. Right?

MR. FORD: Absolutely.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. And I just heard you’re going to be having two more — two thousand more jobs right down the road for the Bronco, which is a big winner. That’s great. Fantastic job. Thank you very much, Bill.

MR. FORD: Thank you, sir.

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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a press briefing from the Brady Room.  Anticipated start time 3:00pm ET.  Livestream Links Below.

UPDATE: Video Added

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Many CTH readers are probably aware of John Spiropoulos as he created some brilliant investigative reports and videos to highlight the FISA scandal, the Clinton email scandal and Spying on Team Trump.  John is planning another adventure to showcase how ordinary middle-class America is responding to the challenges of COVID-19.

John would like to trek across America and do video segments showcasing how Americans rise to the challenges; and in many cases how ordinary people are pushing-back against the dictatorial fiats of overzealous local and state officials.

This would be the type of real, on-the-ground, reporting adverse to the corporate interests of mainstream media.  The “Let’s Roll America” program would be John in his RV traveling from California to the southeast coast, up the eastern seaboard and across the heartland back to the West coast.  Each day he’d be doing video journals showing what real Americans are doing along the way.

To accomplish this effort Mr. Spiropoulos would need financial support, and he has set up a GoFundMe Page to see if people would crowd-fund the eight week traveling series.  CTH has agreed to help promote and support the effort with additional details below:

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