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‘Lean on Me’ Singer Bill Withers Dies at Age 81 of Heart Complications

Texas Town Orders Residents to Wear Masks or Face $1,000 Fine

Authorities in a South Texas border town said that anyone aged 5 and above not wearing a mask in a range of settings like pumping gas or going into a store could be fined up to $1,000. The Laredo City Council said in a press release Wednesday that, starting Thursday, people “entering into or inside of any building open to the public; when using public transportation, taxis, or ride shares; or when pumping gas,” would have to don masks. Authorities said people would be required to wear “some form of covering over their nose and mouth,” with homemade masks, scarfs, bandanas, or handkerchiefs all considered acceptable. Violation of the new rule will be considered a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. The move comes as another 26,000 Americans…

‘Lean on Me’ Singer Bill Withers Dies at Age 81 of Heart Complications

Bill Withers, the influential soul singer who wrote “Aint No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me,” died at age 81.

A statement from his family said his cause of death was related to heart complications.

Withers won three Grammy awards over his career and also was named in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame several years ago. He largely stopped making music in the 1980s.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other. As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world. In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones,” his family wrote in a statement to news outlets on Friday.

He is survived by his wife Marcia Johnson and their two children.

The 2009 documentary, “Still Bill,” revealed why he stopped making music after a short career. Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert wrote of the documentary: “[Withers] still lives and survives as a happy man. Still Bill is about a man who topped the charts, walked away from it all in 1985 and is pleased that he did.”

“He’s the last African-American Everyman,” musician Questlove told Rolling Stone in 2015. “Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.”

His famed song “Lean On Me” was based on his experiences growing up in a West Virginia coal-mining town. When times got rough, his neighbors would lend each other assistance.

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Feds Distribute Thousands of Masks, Gloves Seized From Hoarders to Healthcare Workers

The Justice Department (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Thursday that more than half a million boxes of medical supplies, including N95 respirator masks, that were seized from a price gouger have been distributed to healthcare workers combating the CCP virus. The supplies were discovered by the FBI during an enforcement operation on March 30, the department said. They include about 192,000 N95 respirator masks, 598,000 medical grade gloves, and 130,000 surgical masks, procedure masks, N100 masks, surgical gowns, disinfectant towels, particulate filters, bottles of hand sanitizer, and bottles of spray disinfectant. HHS used its power under the Defense Production Act to order that the supplies be immediately given to the federal government. The owner of the hoarded supplies will be paid pre-pandemic fair market value for the…