thedenverpost--2020-07-19--Three Points: Rapids officially ticked off after brutal loss to Sporting Kansas City

To say the Colorado Rapids feel slighted about Friday ’ s controversial 3-2 loss to Sporting Kansas City in the MLS is Back Tournament might be an understatement .
The club ’ s evening-long feud with MLS officials started before the match even began , when Rapids officials say they were forced to stay on their bus for 30 minutes amid lightning strikes in the area while Sporting stretched and prepared for play in its locker room .
Because MLS wanted to start the game on time , the Rapids were allowed only a truncated warmup , with kickoff pushed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start time .
Players even had to dress on the bench with no time to get to their locker room , according to the team .
It ’ s hard to say this had any impact in the short-term , since the Rapids came out of the gates flying , and Kellyn Acosta scored six minutes in .
But it ’ s easy to see how the bizarre pregame could have negatively affected their moods from the start and maybe even contributed to the two red cards shown them later in the night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his first start of 2020 , and 22 minutes in he was given a yellow card for unsporting behavior by referee David Gantar .
Rubio ’ s screams — as he drew five fouls against Kansas City — were echoed later by a frustrated Nicolas Benezet , who drew four fouls of his own as well as a caution when one of his stray elbows made contact with a Sporting player .
Danny Wilson was shown a red card in his 2020 debut for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity 16 minutes into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down to 10 men , Sporting quickly leveled the match at 1-1 .
Moments later , Kansas City was awarded a penalty kick for a VAR-reviewed handball .
“ The ball made contact with Rubio ’ s right arm in the COL penalty area , ” Professional Referee Organization ( PRO ) said in a post-match email to reporters .
“ The arm was raised and extended in an unnatural position creating a barrier for the ball.
” Sporting capitalized , taking a 2-1 lead and virtually flipping three points in less than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rapids captain Jack Price decided he had enough and was immediately shown a red card after screaming something at the official .
The Rapids went down to nine men for nearly 30 minutes after that , including stoppage time .
They shockingly scored to even the match at 2-2 but conceded one more tally and dropped the contest .
Post-match , head coach Robin Fraser wouldn ’ t say much beyond that he did not agree with the call .
Some players took to Twitter to voice frustrations .
Andre Shinyashiki retweeted a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was in cahoots with Sporting , while Benezet tweeted directly at the commissioner .
“ Hey @ thesoccerdon next time try to get some real referees , no fake please , ” his tweet read .
“ I never seen that in my life .. ” The Rapids made five changes to their starting lineup before the game .
Goaltender William Yarbrough made his debut in burgundy , while Auston Trusty did the same off the bench .
Most notably starting right back Keegan Rosenberry returned to the field and 18-year-old Cole Bassett @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rubio ’ s playing style up front , coupled with the shift of Younes Namli to the wing , freed things up for Acosta in the midfield .
He was able to shift from a defensive-oriented role to a more balanced one up the field , and Acosta played well for the second straight match .
“ We wanted to bring the intensity , ” Acosta said .
“ Sunday we lacked that aggressive mind state of physical play .
I thought from the first-minute on we brought the game to Kansas City.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Rapids afloat through an undermanned assault .
Had Lewis ’ late equalizer been the last goal , the former Liga MX veteran may have been the man of the match .
“ Will was very good .
You guys see when he actually makes the saves , but throughout the game his ability to direct and lead is excellent , ” Fraser said .
The Rapids will be without Price and Wilson in the next match due to one-match red card bans .
Wilson ’ s replacement will either be Trusty or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a bigger question .
In the late game , Minnesota United FC and Real Salt Lake played to a scoreless draw , and each team now has four points in the Group D standings .
The Rapids could still advance to the tournament ’ s round of 16 , but they will need a win against the Loons on Wednesday , a Sporting loss , a flip in goal differential and some luck from the other groups .
In reality , Colorado will probably play its final match of the tournament next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the regular season once it ends in mid-August , yet no details have been announced to this point .
All group stage games count toward the regular season .

To say the Colorado Rapids feel slighted about Friday’s controversial 3-2 loss to Sporting Kansas City in the MLS is Back Tournament might be an understatement.
The club’s evening-long feud with MLS officials started before the match even began, when Rapids officials say they were forced to stay on their bus for 30 minutes amid lightning strikes in the area while Sporting stretched and prepared for play in its locker room.
Because MLS wanted to start the game on time, the Rapids were allowed only a truncated warmup, with kickoff pushed back just five minutes from the original start time. Players even had to dress on the bench with no time to get to their locker room, according to the team.
It’s hard to say this had any impact in the short-term, since the Rapids came out of the gates flying, and Kellyn Acosta scored six minutes in.
But it’s easy to see how the bizarre pregame could have negatively affected their moods from the start and maybe even contributed to the two red cards shown them later in the night.
Officially ticked off
The always feisty Diego Rubio made his first start of 2020, and 22 minutes in he was given a yellow card for unsporting behavior by referee David Gantar.
Rubio’s screams — as he drew five fouls against Kansas City — were echoed later by a frustrated Nicolas Benezet, who drew four fouls of his own as well as a caution when one of his stray elbows made contact with a Sporting player.
Danny Wilson was shown a red card in his 2020 debut for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity 16 minutes into the second half. Leaving the Rapids down to 10 men, Sporting quickly leveled the match at 1-1.
Moments later, Kansas City was awarded a penalty kick for a VAR-reviewed handball.
“The ball made contact with Rubio’s right arm in the COL penalty area,” Professional Referee Organization (PRO) said in a post-match email to reporters. “The arm was raised and extended in an unnatural position creating a barrier for the ball.”
Sporting capitalized, taking a 2-1 lead and virtually flipping three points in less than 10 minutes. Following the restart, Rapids captain Jack Price decided he had enough and was immediately shown a red card after screaming something at the official.
The Rapids went down to nine men for nearly 30 minutes after that, including stoppage time. They shockingly scored to even the match at 2-2 but conceded one more tally and dropped the contest.
Post-match, head coach Robin Fraser wouldn’t say much beyond that he did not agree with the call. Some players took to Twitter to voice frustrations. Andre Shinyashiki retweeted a meme that implied MLS commissioner Don Garber was in cahoots with Sporting, while Benezet tweeted directly at the commissioner.
“Hey @thesoccerdon next time try to get some real referees, no fake please,” his tweet read. “I never seen that in my life ..”
Roster reviewed
The Rapids made five changes to their starting lineup before the game.
Goaltender William Yarbrough made his debut in burgundy, while Auston Trusty did the same off the bench. Most notably starting right back Keegan Rosenberry returned to the field and 18-year-old Cole Bassett got his first start of 2020.
Rubio’s playing style up front, coupled with the shift of Younes Namli to the wing, freed things up for Acosta in the midfield. He was able to shift from a defensive-oriented role to a more balanced one up the field, and Acosta played well for the second straight match.
“We wanted to bring the intensity,” Acosta said. “Sunday we lacked that aggressive mind state of physical play. I thought from the first-minute on we brought the game to Kansas City.”
Yarbrough made five saves and kept the Rapids afloat through an undermanned assault. Had Lewis’ late equalizer been the last goal, the former Liga MX veteran may have been the man of the match.
“Will was very good. You guys see when he actually makes the saves, but throughout the game his ability to direct and lead is excellent,” Fraser said.
The Rapids will be without Price and Wilson in the next match due to one-match red card bans. Wilson’s replacement will either be Trusty or Drew Moor, while Price’s is a bigger question.
Bigger Picture
In the late game, Minnesota United FC and Real Salt Lake played to a scoreless draw, and each team now has four points in the Group D standings.
The Rapids could still advance to the tournament’s round of 16, but they will need a win against the Loons on Wednesday, a Sporting loss, a flip in goal differential and some luck from the other groups.
In reality, Colorado will probably play its final match of the tournament next week. MLS is planning to continue the regular season once it ends in mid-August, yet no details have been announced to this point. All group stage games count toward the regular season.


thedenverpost--2020-07-19--How to see the remembrance vigil for the Aurora theater shooting

Tiina Marie Coon can feel when the anniversary is getting near .
Her body remembers things — the anxiety , the adrenaline of the summer night eight years ago when a gunman walked into a midnight screening of the new Batman movie in an Aurora movie theater and opened fire .
Her son was in the theater that night but luckily made it out uninjured .
Every July , however , it all comes rushing back .
“ No matter how good you ’ re doing , there ’ s this memory that you ’ re there again , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anniversary of the tragedy , which left 13 people dead , 70 wounded and countless others traumatized by one of America ’ s deadliest mass shootings .
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic , organizers with the 7/20 Memorial Foundation were forced to improvise this year to create an anniversary event that conformed to the new normal .
From 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday , members of the public will be able to walk through the reflection garden and watch artists create individual chalk drawings for each of the 13 victims .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ public viewing until rain washes them away .
Then , at 11:59 p.m. Sunday , organizers will hold the annual midnight vigil .
While people will be able to attend in person — with social distancing measures in place — they are encouraged to watch the live , streaming video on the 7/20 Memorial Foundation ’ s Facebook page and on its website .
“ Everything ’ s a little different right now , as sad as that is , ” Coon said .
“ But I think we made some really good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the live-stream will be able to involve more people.
” The pandemic has not stopped Jansen Young from flying in from California to commemorate the day .
Young ’ s boyfriend , Jonathan Blunk , died that night saving her from the bullets raining through the theater .
Much like birthdays or holidays , July 20 will forever be a part of Young ’ s calendar — and she does not plan to miss an anniversary , no matter what ’ s going on in her life on the West Coast .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ back to that moment , and I feel it like it was yesterday , ” Young said .
“ But there ’ s also a certain level of healing I have gone through with this whole process that I ’ m not stuck in the moment anymore ; I ’ m not stuck in feeling the hurt and feeling like a victim .
Now I feel like survivor.
” These anniversaries are also a chance to reconnect with a group of people unwittingly inducted into a club that nobody wishes to enter .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s such a camaraderie , ” Young said .
“ I feel so much love for every single person — they ’ re family .
I experienced something I have not experienced with anyone else in my life .
We don ’ t have to talk about the details to know what people are feeling .
I can say everything or nothing and still feel and overcome with love for these people.
” For Randy Sagura , one of the artists tasked with creating the chalk pieces , the Aurora theater shooting is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that day , making it out unharmed .
“ Inadvertently , we were all affected somehow , ” Sagura said .
His piece will honor Alex Sullivan , whose father , Tom , is a state legislator .
Sagura plans to incorporate some of Alex ’ s favorite things — the New York Mets , comic books and movies — in his design .
Despite the difficulty in planning during a pandemic , organizers believe the anniversary will continue to be a meaningful way to honor their community .
“ We didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ memorial , ” Coon said .
“ There will always be the bitter part of it , but there can always be the sweet , the silver linings .
Even on the darkest day there is still light.
” The 7/20 Memorial is at the Aurora Water Wise Garden , 15151 E. Alameda Parkway , at the northwest corner of East Alameda and South Chambers Road .
More information about the vigil and anniversary can be found at www.7-20memorial.org .

Tiina Marie Coon can feel when the anniversary is getting near. Her body remembers things — the anxiety, the adrenaline of the summer night eight years ago when a gunman walked into a midnight screening of the new Batman movie in an Aurora movie theater and opened fire.
Her son was in the theater that night but luckily made it out uninjured. Every July, however, it all comes rushing back.
“No matter how good you’re doing, there’s this memory that you’re there again,” Coon said.
Monday marks the eighth anniversary of the tragedy, which left 13 people dead, 70 wounded and countless others traumatized by one of America’s deadliest mass shootings.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers with the 7/20 Memorial Foundation were forced to improvise this year to create an anniversary event that conformed to the new normal. From 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, members of the public will be able to walk through the reflection garden and watch artists create individual chalk drawings for each of the 13 victims. The chalk pieces will stay there for public viewing until rain washes them away.
Then, at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, organizers will hold the annual midnight vigil. While people will be able to attend in person — with social distancing measures in place — they are encouraged to watch the live, streaming video on the 7/20 Memorial Foundation’s Facebook page and on its website.
“Everything’s a little different right now, as sad as that is,” Coon said. “But I think we made some really good changes, added some new things, and the live-stream will be able to involve more people.”
The pandemic has not stopped Jansen Young from flying in from California to commemorate the day.
Young’s boyfriend, Jonathan Blunk, died that night saving her from the bullets raining through the theater. Much like birthdays or holidays, July 20 will forever be a part of Young’s calendar — and she does not plan to miss an anniversary, no matter what’s going on in her life on the West Coast.
“Every year it really takes me back to that moment, and I feel it like it was yesterday,” Young said. “But there’s also a certain level of healing I have gone through with this whole process that I’m not stuck in the moment anymore; I’m not stuck in feeling the hurt and feeling like a victim. Now I feel like survivor.”
These anniversaries are also a chance to reconnect with a group of people unwittingly inducted into a club that nobody wishes to enter.
“But, honestly, it’s such a camaraderie,” Young said. “I feel so much love for every single person — they’re family. I experienced something I have not experienced with anyone else in my life. We don’t have to talk about the details to know what people are feeling. I can say everything or nothing and still feel and overcome with love for these people.”
For Randy Sagura, one of the artists tasked with creating the chalk pieces, the Aurora theater shooting is also personal. His cousin was there that day, making it out unharmed.
“Inadvertently, we were all affected somehow,” Sagura said.
His piece will honor Alex Sullivan, whose father, Tom, is a state legislator. Sagura plans to incorporate some of Alex’s favorite things — the New York Mets, comic books and movies — in his design.
Despite the difficulty in planning during a pandemic, organizers believe the anniversary will continue to be a meaningful way to honor their community.
“We didn’t want to make this a mourning memorial,” Coon said. “There will always be the bitter part of it, but there can always be the sweet, the silver linings. Even on the darkest day there is still light.”
*****
The 7/20 Memorial is at the Aurora Water Wise Garden, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway, at the northwest corner of East Alameda and South Chambers Road.
More information about the vigil and anniversary can be found at www.7-20memorial.org.


thedenverpost--2020-07-19--C.O. to CO: Owings arrives with new swing and versatility

Perhaps it ’ s fitting that Chris Owings has found a home in the Rocky Mountains .
The former Arizona Diamondback — whose nickname and initials are C.O .
— arrived at Colorado Rockies spring training as a non-roster invitee trying to rediscover his swing after a difficult 2019 season .
“ I feel a lot more like myself , ” Owings said .
“ My hand-eye coordination is back to where it was when I was hitting all those extra-base hits.
” However , making the Rockies 40-man roster was far from the only thing on his mind during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rockies on Mar .
5 against the Diamondbacks .
Two days later , he was with his wife Brittany as they welcomed their first child , a daughter named Olivia .
Owings expected to return to Salt River Fields soon after , and was scheduled to play Mar .
12 , but while he was flying back , the NBA canceled its season .
The day he was supposed to return to the field , MLB ended spring training .
It was a tough blow for a player who knew he had a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Owings didn ’ t seem to mind .
“ It ’ s been a huge blessing to get those three months at home with her to watch her grow up , ” he said .
“ She ’ ll be five months here in August so it was really fun to watch her grow and spend time with my wife.
” And while Owings adapted to his new responsibilities as a father , he also continued to work and prepare for a potential baseball restart .
Drafted in the first round by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign when he hit .277 and added 40 extra-base hits including 11 triples , tying him for most in the majors .
“ For a guy who ’ s a little smaller in stature , he ’ s got all-field pop , ” Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black said .
“ There ’ s right-center field power , there ’ s pull power , he can play the little game … he ’ s got a strong arm .
He can run , he can steal a base .
He can win a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ win a game with his bat.
” Owings had another strong season in 2017 , hitting a career-high 12 home runs , but a broken hand suffered in July forced him to undergo two surgeries and limited his effectiveness .
Arizona non-tendered the versatile utility player following the 2018 season .
“ I tried to make some swing changes in spring training ( 2018 ) , ” he said .
“ I don ’ t know if it was the strength of the hand or what , but I kinda got into some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” He signed with the Kansas City Royals in 2019 , but was cut after just 40 games .
A 26-game stint with the Boston Red Sox saw him end the season hitting just .139 with a -1.1 WAR .
Since his time with the Royals , Owings started working with a new hitting coach , Lorenzo Garmendia , who helped him reevaluate his swing and fix his mechanics .
With his improved swing , Owings was looking for a team and chose the Rockies in part because of a familiar face : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked with the 28-year-old in Arizona .
Owings impressed out of the gate in Scottsdale , with Black noticing the utility man ’ s preparation and composure , and the Rockies made sure to bring him to summer camp in Denver once the MLB restart began .
“ C.O.
’ s done great , ” Black said .
“ We saw in spring training one in Scottsdale his versatility , his ability to move all over the field , how he plays .
I think he ’ s built , and he plays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ built the right way , and he ’ s had some good swings.
” Then on Friday , he got the good news he ’ d been waiting for .
“ I felt like I did everything I needed to do to make the team , but man it was nice , ” he said about learning he had made the Rockies ’ 40-man roster along with Matt Kemp and Daniel Bard .
Going forward , Owings ’ role isn ’ t known .
He ’ s played every position in the infield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and everything in-between since joining Colorado .
He said he ’ s most comfortable playing second base , but will play wherever the Rockies need him .
His only goal is to bring the purple and black back to the playoffs .
And he ’ s already contributing to the team .
In the intra-squad scrimmage Friday , Owings had two doubles , scored twice , laid down a good sacrifice bunt in a late-inning simulation , and turned a double play while playing second base .
“ I ’ m just looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , ” he said .
“ Just showing up to the park every day ready to play , whether that ’ s in the infield , outfield , just to help this team out as much as possible .
”

Perhaps it’s fitting that Chris Owings has found a home in the Rocky Mountains.
The former Arizona Diamondback — whose nickname and initials are C.O. — arrived at Colorado Rockies spring training as a non-roster invitee trying to rediscover his swing after a difficult 2019 season.
“I feel a lot more like myself,” Owings said. “My hand-eye coordination is back to where it was when I was hitting all those extra-base hits.”
However, making the Rockies’ 40-man roster was far from the only thing on his mind during spring training.
Owings started for the Rockies on March 5 against the Diamondbacks. Two days later, he was with his wife, Brittany, as they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Olivia. Owings expected to return to Salt River Fields soon after, and was scheduled to play March 12, but while he was flying back, the NBA canceled its season.
The day he was supposed to return to the field, MLB ended spring training. It was a tough blow for a player who knew he had a shot at a roster spot, but Owings didn’t seem to mind.
“It’s been a huge blessing to get those three months at home with her to watch her grow up,” he said. “She’ll be five months here in August so it was really fun to watch her grow and spend time with my wife.”
And while Owings adapted to his new responsibilities as a father, he also continued to work and prepare for a potential baseball restart.
Drafted in the first round by the Diamondbacks, he had a strong 2016 campaign when he hit .277 and added 40 extra-base hits, including 11 triples, tying him for most in the majors.
“For a guy who’s a little smaller in stature, he’s got all-field pop,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “There’s right-center field power, there’s pull power, he can play the little game … he’s got a strong arm. He can run, he can steal a base. He can win a game with his glove, he can win a game with his bat.”
Owings had another strong season in 2017, hitting a career-high 12 home runs, but a broken hand suffered in July forced him to undergo two surgeries and limited his effectiveness. Arizona non-tendered the versatile utility player following the 2018 season.
“I tried to make some swing changes in spring training (2018),” he said. “I don’t know if it was the strength of the hand or what, but I kinda got into some bad habits that carried on through 2018.”
He signed with the Kansas City Royals in 2019, but was cut after just 40 games. A 26-game stint with the Boston Red Sox saw him end the season hitting just .139 with a -1.1 WAR.
Since his time with the Royals, Owings started working with a new hitting coach, Lorenzo Garmendia, who helped him re-evaluate his swing and fix his mechanics.
With his improved swing, Owings was looking for a team and chose the Rockies in part because of a familiar face: hitting coach Dave Magadan, who had worked with the 28-year-old in Arizona.
Owings impressed out of the gate in Scottsdale, with Black noticing the utility man’s preparation and composure, and the Rockies made sure to bring him to summer camp in Denver once the MLB restart began.
“C.O.’s done great,” Black said. “We saw in spring training one in Scottsdale his versatility, his ability to move all over the field, how he plays. I think he’s built, and he plays the right way. He’s built the right way, and he’s had some good swings.”
Then on Friday, he got the good news he’d been waiting for.
“I felt like I did everything I needed to do to make the team, but man it was nice,” he said about learning he had made the Rockies’ 40-man roster along with Matt Kemp and Daniel Bard.
Going forward, Owings’ role isn’t known. He’s played every position in the infield, some outfield, pinch ran, and everything in-between since joining Colorado. He said he’s most comfortable playing second base, but will play wherever the Rockies need him. His only goal is to bring the purple and black back to the playoffs.
And he’s already contributing to the team. In the intra-squad scrimmage Friday, Owings had two doubles, scored twice, laid down a good sacrifice bunt in a late-inning simulation, and turned a double play while playing second base.
“I’m just looking to fit right in whatever role that is,” he said. “Just showing up to the park every day ready to play, whether that’s in the infield, outfield, just to help this team out as much as possible.”


thedenverpost--2020-07-19--Petition urges Trader Joe’s to change “racist” ethnic food labels

SAN FRANCISCO — Responding to calls for Trader Joe ’ s to stop labeling its international food products with ethnic-sounding names , the grocery store chain said it has been in a yearslong process of repackaging those products and will soon complete the work .
In the latest call to re-name racially-charged brands and logos , nearly 1,000 people have signed an online petition urging the retail giant to rename products labeled “ Trader Ming ’ s , ” “ Trader José , ” or “ Trader Giotto ’ s ” to refer to Chinese , Mexican or Italian food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ petition said the labels perpetuate harmful stereotypes .
“ The Trader Joe ’ s branding is racist because it exoticizes other cultures — it presents ‘ Joe ’ as the default ‘ normal ’ and the other characters falling outside of it — they are ‘ Arabian Joe , ’ ‘ Trader José , ’ and ‘ Trader Joe San , ’ the petition states .
The company said in a statement that it decided several years ago to use only the Trader Joe ’ s name on its products and has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ labels .
“ While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness , we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect — one that is contrary to the welcoming , rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day , ” company spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said .
Packaging for a number of the products has already been changed , and the company expects to complete the process “ very soon , ” she said .

SAN FRANCISCO — Responding to calls for Trader Joe’s to stop labeling its international food products with ethnic-sounding names, the grocery store chain said it has been in a yearslong process of repackaging those products and will soon complete the work.
In the latest call to re-name racially-charged brands and logos, nearly 1,000 people have signed an online petition urging the retail giant to rename products labeled “Trader Ming’s,” “Trader José,” or “Trader Giotto’s” to refer to Chinese, Mexican or Italian food, respectively, SFGate reported.
The petition said the labels perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
“The Trader Joe’s branding is racist because it exoticizes other cultures — it presents ‘Joe’ as the default ‘normal’ and the other characters falling outside of it — they are ‘Arabian Joe,’ ‘Trader José,’ and ‘Trader Joe San,’ the petition states.
The company said in a statement that it decided several years ago to use only the Trader Joe’s name on its products and has been in the process of updating the ethnic-sounding labels.
“While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect — one that is contrary to the welcoming, rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day,” company spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said.
Packaging for a number of the products has already been changed, and the company expects to complete the process “very soon,” she said.


thedenverpost--2020-07-18--Blue Jays barred from playing games in Toronto over U.S. travel concerns

TORONTO — The Blue Jays won ’ t play their home games in Toronto this year because Canada ’ s government doesn ’ t think it ’ s safe for players to travel back and forth from the United States , one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic .
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Saturday the federal government had denied the Blue Jays ’ request to play at Rogers Centre , confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement .
The team had been given clearance by city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home stadium and was awaiting approval from Canada ’ s federal government .
The other 29 Major League Baseball teams plan to play in their home ballparks , without spectators , when the pandemic-shortened 60-game season begins on July 23 .
Mendicino told The AP frequent travel to the U.S. , where COVID-19 cases are surging , was the biggest issue .
“ There were serious risks if we proceeded with the regular-season proposal of the MLB and the Jays and therefore we concluded it was not in the national interest , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some people will disappointed but this decision can ’ t be taken as a fan .
It is taken on behalf of the health and safety of Canadians.
” The Blue Jays were informed via a phone call .
The team ’ s alternate sites for home games include its training facility in Dunedin , Florida , which is among the states that are virus hotspots , as well as Sahlen Field in Buffalo , New York , which is home to Toronto ’ s Triple-A affiliate and just across the Niagara River @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shapiro said player health is a concern in Florida .
He said the team has spent more time examining Buffalo in recent days but said the stadium has infrastructure challenges .
A lack of space in the clubhouse makes social distancing difficult , but Shapiro said some players could have their lockers set up in suites .
Sahlen Field also needs upgrades to its field lights and its training facilities , he said .
“ Dunedin is the only one that is 100 % seamless right now and ready to go .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenges , ” Shapiro said .
“ Buffalo is certainly one that we ’ ve spent an increasing amount of time on in the past few weeks .
That is not done .
There are some infrastructure and player-facility challenges to get that up to major league standards .
And then we have other alternatives that are real that we continue to work through that may be better for us.
” He declined to say what other sites they are considering .
He said they would look to improve batting cages , weight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is picked .
“ Buffalo is the place we ’ ve spent the most time on in the last 10 days , ” Shapiro said .
“ There is a lot we have to do .
Some of it might get done after we start playing but I ’ m confident Buffalo is a viable alternative .
With the amount of resources that we would marshal if we focused solely on Buffalo we can make it what it needs to be for us in time to play games.
” The Blue Jays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 24 at Tampa Bay .
Their home opener was set for five days later against Washington .
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz have pushed for the team to relocate to the city .
“ Let ’ s find a way to make them the ‘ Buffalo Blue Jays ’ this year , ” Poloncarz wrote in a text to The AP .
Shapiro called Canada ’ s decision disappointing but gave health officials credit for mitigating the spread of the virus .
“ Without any hesitation we respect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard to think about how well managed and well led the virus has been throughout Toronto and Canada by public health and political leaders , ” Shapiro said .
“ We move forward with no excuses knowing that all of our alternatives are going to be somewhat imperfect.
” Mendicino said the government is open to considering future restart plans for the postseason should the risk of virus transmission diminish .
“ We ’ ve committed to maintaining an open line of communication with both MLB and the Toronto Blue Jays and we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
MLB needed an exemption to a requirement that anyone entering Canada for nonessential reasons must self-isolate for 14 days .
The U.S.-Canada border remains closed to nonessential travel until at least Aug. 21 .
“ In Canada you ’ ve seen us flatten the curve .
You ’ ve seen that cases have decreased significantly and that is largely attributable to the sacrifices Canadians have made .
We can ill afford a step back , ” Mendicino said .
“ We think this is the right call and it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our health experts .
And fans who still would like to see baseball will still be able to watch the broadcast , just from a different location.
” The NHL has received an exemption for its restart to the season , but that was a far simpler case because the games are restricted to two hubs — Edmonton and Toronto .
The Blue Jays received an exemption for summer camp , during which the players agreed to isolate in the hotel attached to Rogers Centre and create a quarantine environment .
Players are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hotel and violators face fines of up to $ 750,000 Canadian ( $ 551,000 U.S. ) and up to six months in jail .
Toronto Mayor John Tory had lobbied the federal government to approve the plan but said Saturday he understands the decision given the situation in the U.S. Dr. Andrew Morris , a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and the medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Sinai-University Health Network , said the city and province were wrong to push for games to be played in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear that having people coming from the U.S. repeatedly is not the right thing to do , ” Morris said .
“ This should have been by a decision made in Toronto or by the province .
It ’ s a bit disappointing it had to be made in Ottawa .
”

TORONTO — The Blue Jays won’t play their home games in Toronto this year because Canada’s government doesn’t think it’s safe for players to travel back and forth from the United States, one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Saturday the federal government had denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement.
The team had been given clearance by city and provincial governments to play in its home stadium and was awaiting approval from Canada’s federal government. The other 29 Major League Baseball teams plan to play in their home ballparks, without spectators, when the pandemic-shortened 60-game season begins on July 23.
Mendicino told The AP frequent travel to the U.S., where COVID-19 cases are surging, was the biggest issue.
“There were serious risks if we proceeded with the regular-season proposal of the MLB and the Jays and therefore we concluded it was not in the national interest,” Mendicino said. “I get that some people will disappointed but this decision can’t be taken as a fan. It is taken on behalf of the health and safety of Canadians.”
The Blue Jays were informed via a phone call. The team’s alternate sites for home games include its training facility in Dunedin, Florida, which is among the states that are virus hotspots, as well as Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, which is home to Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate and just across the Niagara River from Canada.
Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said player health is a concern in Florida. He said the team has spent more time examining Buffalo in recent days but said the stadium has infrastructure challenges. A lack of space in the clubhouse makes social distancing difficult, but Shapiro said some players could have their lockers set up in suites. Sahlen Field also needs upgrades to its field lights and its training facilities, he said.
“Dunedin is the only one that is 100% seamless right now and ready to go. That from a player health standpoint has some challenges,” Shapiro said. “Buffalo is certainly one that we’ve spent an increasing amount of time on in the past few weeks. That is not done. There are some infrastructure and player-facility challenges to get that up to major league standards. And then we have other alternatives that are real that we continue to work through that may be better for us.”
He declined to say what other sites they are considering. He said they would look to improve batting cages, weight rooms and training rooms in Buffalo if it is picked.
“Buffalo is the place we’ve spent the most time on in the last 10 days,” Shapiro said. “There is a lot we have to do. Some of it might get done after we start playing but I’m confident Buffalo is a viable alternative. With the amount of resources that we would marshal if we focused solely on Buffalo we can make it what it needs to be for us in time to play games.”
The Blue Jays are scheduled to start the season July 24 at Tampa Bay. Their home opener was set for five days later against Washington.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz have pushed for the team to relocate to the city.
“Let’s find a way to make them the ‘Buffalo Blue Jays’ this year,” Poloncarz wrote in a text to The AP.
Shapiro called Canada’s decision disappointing but gave health officials credit for mitigating the spread of the virus.
“Without any hesitation we respect the decision. It’s not hard to think about how well managed and well led the virus has been throughout Toronto and Canada by public health and political leaders,” Shapiro said.
“We move forward with no excuses knowing that all of our alternatives are going to be somewhat imperfect.”
Mendicino said the government is open to considering future restart plans for the postseason should the risk of virus transmission diminish.
“We’ve committed to maintaining an open line of communication with both MLB and the Toronto Blue Jays and we will reassess in due course,” he said.
MLB needed an exemption to a requirement that anyone entering Canada for nonessential reasons must self-isolate for 14 days. The U.S.-Canada border remains closed to nonessential travel until at least Aug. 21.
“In Canada you’ve seen us flatten the curve. You’ve seen that cases have decreased significantly and that is largely attributable to the sacrifices Canadians have made. We can ill afford a step back,” Mendicino said.
“We think this is the right call and it is backed by the evidence and advice of our health experts. And fans who still would like to see baseball will still be able to watch the broadcast, just from a different location.”
The NHL has received an exemption for its restart to the season, but that was a far simpler case because the games are restricted to two hubs — Edmonton and Toronto.
The Blue Jays received an exemption for summer camp, during which the players agreed to isolate in the hotel attached to Rogers Centre and create a quarantine environment. Players are not allowed to leave the stadium or hotel and violators face fines of up to $750,000 Canadian ($551,000 U.S.) and up to six months in jail.
Toronto Mayor John Tory had lobbied the federal government to approve the plan but said Saturday he understands the decision given the situation in the U.S.
Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and the medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Sinai-University Health Network, said the city and province were wrong to push for games to be played in Canada.
“It’s very clear that having people coming from the U.S. repeatedly is not the right thing to do,” Morris said. “This should have been by a decision made in Toronto or by the province. It’s a bit disappointing it had to be made in Ottawa.”
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


thedenverpost--2020-07-18--Breathtaking COVID-19 numbers show normal life still far away

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa on Saturday became one of the top five worst-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic , as breathtaking new infection numbers around the world were a reminder that a return to normal life is still far from sight .
The World Health Organization again reported a single-day record of new infections with 259,848 .
South Africa ’ s 350,879 cases make up roughly half of all confirmed infections on the African continent and its struggles are a sign of trouble to come for nations with fewer health care resources .
South Africa now trails the U.S. , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far more populous countries — in the number of infections , surpassing Peru , after health authorities announced 13,285 new cases .
“ The simple fact is that many South Africans are sitting ducks because they can not comply with World Health Organization protocols on improved hygiene and social distancing , ” the foundation of former South African archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and his wife , Leah , warned in a statement .
South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said , “ This is an urgent and important plea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against COVID-19 is in our hands .
We must act now.
” He expressed concern that “ fatigue seems to have set in ” and people are letting down their guard , with little social distancing and face masks abandoned .
Elsewhere , daily death tolls have been reaching new highs in several U.S. states and India ’ s infections are over 1 million .
Experts believe the true numbers around the world are higher because of testing shortages and data collection issues in some nations .
The world on Saturday marked Mandela @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Africa ’ s first Black president — another Nobel Peace Prize winner — and his legacy of fighting inequality .
The country , however , remains the world ’ s most unequal , and health officials have warned that the pandemic will lay that bare .
South Africa ’ s new coronavirus epicenter , Gauteng province , hosts the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria and one-quarter of the country ’ s population of 57 million , with many poor people living in crowded conditions in the middle of a frosty Southern Hemisphere winter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more relevant than ever , ” WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti said , calling for equitable access to care .
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres , who delivered the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture , said “ COVID-19 has been likened to an X-ray , revealing fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built , ” adding that developed countries have “ failed to deliver the support needed to help the developing world through these dangerous times.
” Confirmed virus cases worldwide have topped 14.1 million and deaths are nearing 600,000 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Infections are soaring in U.S. states like Florida , Texas , Arizona , fueled by the haphazard lifting of coronavirus lockdowns and the resistance of some Americans to wearing masks .
In the U.S. , teams of military medics have been deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by patients .
The surge of infections means that millions of American children are unlikely to return to classrooms full time in the fall .
In India , a surge of 34,884 new cases was reported as local governments continue to re-impose focused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Iran , the president made the startling announcement that as many as 25 million Iranians could have been infected , the state-run IRNA news agency reported .
Hassan Rouhani cited a new Health Ministry study that has not been made public .
Iran has the Middle East ’ s worst outbreak with more than 270,000 confirmed cases .
In Bangladesh , confirmed cases surpassed 200,000 but experts say the number is much higher as the country lacks adequate labs for testing .
Most people in rural areas have stopped wearing masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Islamic festival Eid al-Adha this month .
Scientists , meanwhile , poured cold water on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ’ s hope that the country may return to normal by Christmas .
A world where people can “ go to work normally , travel on the buses and trains , go on holiday without restrictions , meet friends , shake hands , hug each other and so on — that ’ s a long way off , unfortunately , ” without a vaccine , said epidemiologist John Edmunds , a member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Group for Emergencies .
Associated Press writers around the world contributed .
Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado .

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa on Saturday became one of the top five worst-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic, as breathtaking new infection numbers around the world were a reminder that a return to normal life is still far from sight.
The World Health Organization again reported a single-day record of new infections with 259,848.
South Africa’s 350,879 cases make up roughly half of all confirmed infections on the African continent and its struggles are a sign of trouble to come for nations with fewer health care resources. South Africa now trails the U.S., Brazil, India and Russia — all far more populous countries — in the number of infections, surpassing Peru, after health authorities announced 13,285 new cases.
“The simple fact is that many South Africans are sitting ducks because they cannot comply with World Health Organization protocols on improved hygiene and social distancing,” the foundation of former South African archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah, warned in a statement.
South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said, “This is an urgent and important plea to all South Africans. The fight against COVID-19 is in our hands. We must act now.” He expressed concern that “fatigue seems to have set in” and people are letting down their guard, with little social distancing and face masks abandoned.
Elsewhere, daily death tolls have been reaching new highs in several U.S. states and India’s infections are over 1 million. Experts believe the true numbers around the world are higher because of testing shortages and data collection issues in some nations.
The world on Saturday marked Mandela Day, remembering Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first Black president — another Nobel Peace Prize winner — and his legacy of fighting inequality. The country, however, remains the world’s most unequal, and health officials have warned that the pandemic will lay that bare.
South Africa’s new coronavirus epicenter, Gauteng province, hosts the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria and one-quarter of the country’s population of 57 million, with many poor people living in crowded conditions in the middle of a frosty Southern Hemisphere winter.
Mandela’s message is “more relevant than ever,” WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti said, calling for equitable access to care.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who delivered the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, said “COVID-19 has been likened to an X-ray, revealing fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built,” adding that developed countries have “failed to deliver the support needed to help the developing world through these dangerous times.”
Confirmed virus cases worldwide have topped 14.1 million and deaths are nearing 600,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Infections are soaring in U.S. states like Florida, Texas, Arizona, fueled by the haphazard lifting of coronavirus lockdowns and the resistance of some Americans to wearing masks.
In the U.S., teams of military medics have been deployed in Texas and California to help hospitals deluged by patients. The surge of infections means that millions of American children are unlikely to return to classrooms full time in the fall.
In India, a surge of 34,884 new cases was reported as local governments continue to re-impose focused lockdowns in several parts of the country.
In Iran, the president made the startling announcement that as many as 25 million Iranians could have been infected, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. Hassan Rouhani cited a new Health Ministry study that has not been made public. Iran has the Middle East’s worst outbreak with more than 270,000 confirmed cases.
In Bangladesh, confirmed cases surpassed 200,000 but experts say the number is much higher as the country lacks adequate labs for testing. Most people in rural areas have stopped wearing masks and are thronging shopping centers ahead of the Islamic festival Eid al-Adha this month.
Scientists, meanwhile, poured cold water on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s hope that the country may return to normal by Christmas.
A world where people can “go to work normally, travel on the buses and trains, go on holiday without restrictions, meet friends, shake hands, hug each other and so on — that’s a long way off, unfortunately,” without a vaccine, said epidemiologist John Edmunds, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
___
Associated Press writers around the world contributed.
Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado.


thedenverpost--2020-07-18--As COVID-19 surges in some U.S. states, emergency rooms swamped

A fast-rising tide of new coronavirus cases is flooding emergency rooms in parts of the United States , with some patients moved into hallways and nurses working extra shifts to keep up with the surge .
Patients struggling to breathe are being placed on ventilators in emergency wards since intensive care units are full , officials say , and the near-constant care they require is overtaxing workers who also are treating more typical ER cases like chest pains , infections , and fractures .
In Texas , Dr. Alison Haddock of the Baylor College of Medicine said the current situation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which swamped Houston with floodwaters in 2017 .
The state reported a new daily record for virus deaths Friday and more than 10,000 confirmed cases for the fourth consecutive day .
“ I ’ ve never seen anything like this COVID surge , ” said Haddock , who has worked in emergency rooms since 2007 .
“ We ’ re doing our best , but we ’ re not an ICU.
” Patients are waiting “ hours and hours ” to get admitted , she said , and the least sick people are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room for most seriously ill. Around Seattle , which was the nation ’ s first hot spot for the virus that causes COVID-19 , a new wave of patients is showing up at emergency departments , said nurse Mike Hastings .
“ What ’ s really frustrating from my side of it is when a patient comes into the emergency department , and is not really having symptoms of COVID , but they feel like they need that testing , ” said Hastings , who works at an area hospital and is president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sometimes we ’ re not able to test them because we don ’ t have enough test supplies , so we ’ re only testing a certain set of patients.
” In Florida , another state that is seeing surging case numbers , hospitals say they are in desperate need of remdesivir — a medication that has been shown to shorten average hospitalization times — to treat the coronavirus patients who are filling up beds .
In response , Gov .
Ron DeSantis announced 30,000 vials of the drug were being shipped to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5,000 patients .
On Saturday , Florida reported more than 10,200 new cases of the virus and 90 additional deaths , while Missouri recorded a pandemic-high 958 new cases in one day .
Arizona , which conducts periodic reviews of death certificates , reclassified 106 deaths as having been from COVID-19 , bringing the number of fatalities reported Saturday to 147 .
Confirmed coronavirus cases around the world have surpassed 14 million , and deaths neared 600,000 , according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University .
On Saturday , the World Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , reported a single-day record of new infections — over 259,000 worldwide — for the second day in a row .
The true toll of the pandemic is thought to be even higher , in part because of shortages in testing and shortcomings in data collection .
The United States , Brazil and India top the list of cases , and South Africa — with more than 350,000 cases , roughly half of all confirmed infections in Africa — entered the top five this weekend .
In the United States , where infections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Megan Jehn , associate professor of epidemiology at Arizona State Universtiy in Tempe , said it ’ s important to monitor emergency room visits since increases there can signal that the virus is spreading more rapidly .
But it ’ s difficult to get a complete picture of how emergency rooms are faring in many places .
In Arizona , one of the few states that reports data on visits to the emergency room by people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 symptoms , numbers started to spike in early June and peaked earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went to an ER with coronavirus symptoms on a single day , July 7 .
On Friday , COVID-19-related hospitalization figures for Arizona were near but below recent records set after the state became a national hot spot .
Dr. Robert Hancock , who works at multiple hospitals in Texas and Oklahoma and serves as president of the Texas College of Emergency Physicians , said some Texas emergency rooms are facing backups of patients awaiting ICU beds .
And many of them are on ventilators , meaning they require more attention than other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the increased demand for personnel , there typically isn ’ t anybody free to come down to the ER to help a lot of times from a nursing standpoint , ” he said .
Burnout could await these health workers , as it did some in New York City , when it was the epicenter of the nation ’ s outbreak in the spring .
Emergency room doctors and nurses were caught off guard by the relentless stream of severely sick patients during shifts that often lasted 12 hours , said Dr. Bernard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center .
“ You were on high alert the whole shift , ” Chang said .
“ It was a brutal , sustained battle.
” Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans , Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix , and Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report .

A fast-rising tide of new coronavirus cases is flooding emergency rooms in parts of the United States, with some patients moved into hallways and nurses working extra shifts to keep up with the surge.
Patients struggling to breathe are being placed on ventilators in emergency wards since intensive care units are full, officials say, and the near-constant care they require is overtaxing workers who also are treating more typical ER cases like chest pains, infections, and fractures.
In Texas, Dr. Alison Haddock of the Baylor College of Medicine said the current situation is worse than after Hurricane Harvey, which swamped Houston with floodwaters in 2017. The state reported a new daily record for virus deaths Friday and more than 10,000 confirmed cases for the fourth consecutive day.
“I’ve never seen anything like this COVID surge,” said Haddock, who has worked in emergency rooms since 2007. “We’re doing our best, but we’re not an ICU.”
Patients are waiting “hours and hours” to get admitted, she said, and the least sick people are lying in beds in halls to make room for most seriously ill.
Around Seattle, which was the nation’s first hot spot for the virus that causes COVID-19, a new wave of patients is showing up at emergency departments, said nurse Mike Hastings.
“What’s really frustrating from my side of it is when a patient comes into the emergency department, and is not really having symptoms of COVID, but they feel like they need that testing,” said Hastings, who works at an area hospital and is president of the Emergency Nurses Association. “Sometimes we’re not able to test them because we don’t have enough test supplies, so we’re only testing a certain set of patients.”
In Florida, another state that is seeing surging case numbers, hospitals say they are in desperate need of remdesivir — a medication that has been shown to shorten average hospitalization times — to treat the coronavirus patients who are filling up beds.
In response, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced 30,000 vials of the drug were being shipped to the state — enough to treat about 5,000 patients.
On Saturday, Florida reported more than 10,200 new cases of the virus and 90 additional deaths, while Missouri recorded a pandemic-high 958 new cases in one day. Arizona, which conducts periodic reviews of death certificates, reclassified 106 deaths as having been from COVID-19, bringing the number of fatalities reported Saturday to 147.
Confirmed coronavirus cases around the world have surpassed 14 million, and deaths neared 600,000, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. On Saturday, the World Health Organization, which also tracks the virus, reported a single-day record of new infections — over 259,000 worldwide — for the second day in a row. The true toll of the pandemic is thought to be even higher, in part because of shortages in testing and shortcomings in data collection.
The United States, Brazil and India top the list of cases, and South Africa — with more than 350,000 cases, roughly half of all confirmed infections in Africa — entered the top five this weekend.
In the United States, where infections are soaring in many Sunbelt states, Megan Jehn, associate professor of epidemiology at Arizona State Universtiy in Tempe, said it’s important to monitor emergency room visits since increases there can signal that the virus is spreading more rapidly.
But it’s difficult to get a complete picture of how emergency rooms are faring in many places. In Arizona, one of the few states that reports data on visits to the emergency room by people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 symptoms, numbers started to spike in early June and peaked earlier this month. More than 2,000 people went to an ER with coronavirus symptoms on a single day, July 7.
On Friday, COVID-19-related hospitalization figures for Arizona were near but below recent records set after the state became a national hot spot.
Dr. Robert Hancock, who works at multiple hospitals in Texas and Oklahoma and serves as president of the Texas College of Emergency Physicians, said some Texas emergency rooms are facing backups of patients awaiting ICU beds. And many of them are on ventilators, meaning they require more attention than other patients.
“Unfortunately, because of the increased demand for personnel, there typically isn’t anybody free to come down to the ER to help a lot of times from a nursing standpoint,” he said.
Burnout could await these health workers, as it did some in New York City, when it was the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak in the spring.
Emergency room doctors and nurses were caught off guard by the relentless stream of severely sick patients during shifts that often lasted 12 hours, said Dr. Bernard P. Chang of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.
“You were on high alert the whole shift,” Chang said. “It was a brutal, sustained battle.”
___
Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans, Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix, and Carla K. Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report.


thedenverpost--2020-07-18--Avalanche coach Jared Bednar has practice tirade; star rookie Cale Makar skates off early

Jared Bednar was as animated as he has probably ever been in his four years as Avalanche head coach Saturday , in Day 5 of the training camp 2.0 at Pepsi Center .
Bednar stopped an end-to-end 5-on-5 and unleashed an obscenity-laced tirade that included his concern about checking , the limited practices remaining before the Avs ’ Aug. 2 opener in the 24-team playoffs and something about “ ( expletive ) golfing ” if things don ’ t go well in Edmonton , the Western Conference hub city .
Shortly before or right after Bednar ’ s lecture , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and did not return for the special-teams portion after the Zambonis made fresh ice .
Per NHL rules during the COVID-19 crisis , Bednar could only say Makar was “ unfit ” to complete the practice and he won ’ t know if the Calder Trophy finalist will participate in Sunday ’ s scrimmage until Sunday morning .
About his tirade , Bednar said : “ I just felt like I wanted to make sure that our team was getting out of the practice what our goal was going into it .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re getting ready to do my 5-on-5 drill that we had set up , and I wanted us to make sure we were doing that drill with the right amount of intensity and physicality and putting a big enough importance on the drill from a defensive side of things .
“ Not that I didn ’ t like the first part of the practice , but as I was going through it I wanted to make sure we were going to get the desired result from that drill .
You only have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the things you want to accomplish .
So that was my message and they really took it well .
I really liked our practice in the 5-on-5 portion and then also I thought that carried over to the special teams after the flood.
” Three players were available on Zoom calls after practice and none took issue with Bednar ’ s rare public tirade .
“ We talked about intensity and competitiveness , ” center J.T .
Compher said .
“ It starts with the players , and obviously the coaches , ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get us going a little more today .
We weren ’ t as sharp and it definitely cranked up the intensity as it went on.
” Defenseman Sam Girard filled in for Makar as the quarterback on the first power-play unit , and defenseman Erik Johnson stepped in for Girard on the second unit .
Girard worked with forwards Nathan MacKinnon , Andre Burakovsky , Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog .
Johnson was with forwards Valeri Nichushkin , Nazem Kadri and Joonas Donskoi , and Compher and Vlad Namestnikov rotated as the left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second scrimmage Sunday .
They had their first Burgundy vs. White game Thursday before taking Friday off .
“ It ’ s been a good week , ” Compher said .
“ We got some good 5-on-5 work , a little bit of special teams and a scrimmage .
One thing I noticed when we came back , first , our depth — it was nice to see our lineup healthy — but the skill level and the intensity the guys came back with .
You could tell all our guys were working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
”

Jared Bednar was as animated as he has probably ever been in his four years as Avalanche head coach Saturday, in Day 5 of the training camp 2.0 at Pepsi Center.
Bednar stopped an end-to-end 5-on-5 and unleashed an obscenity-laced tirade that included his concern about checking, the limited practices remaining before the Avs’ Aug. 2 opener in the 24-team playoffs and something about “(expletive) golfing” if things don’t go well in Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city.
Shortly before or right after Bednar’s lecture, star rookie defenseman Cale Makar left practice and did not return for the special-teams portion after the Zambonis made fresh ice.
Per NHL rules during the COVID-19 crisis, Bednar could only say Makar was “unfit” to complete the practice and he won’t know if the Calder Trophy finalist will participate in Sunday’s scrimmage until Sunday morning.
About his tirade, Bednar said: “I just felt like I wanted to make sure that our team was getting out of the practice what our goal was going into it. We were a couple drills in and we’re getting ready to do my 5-on-5 drill that we had set up, and I wanted us to make sure we were doing that drill with the right amount of intensity and physicality and putting a big enough importance on the drill from a defensive side of things.
“Not that I didn’t like the first part of the practice, but as I was going through it I wanted to make sure we were going to get the desired result from that drill. You only have so many days of practice to accomplish the things you want to accomplish. So that was my message and they really took it well. I really liked our practice in the 5-on-5 portion and then also I thought that carried over to the special teams after the flood.”
Three players were available on Zoom calls after practice and none took issue with Bednar’s rare public tirade.
“We talked about intensity and competitiveness,” center J.T. Compher said. “It starts with the players, and obviously the coaches, (Bednar’s words) definitely helped get us going a little more today. We weren’t as sharp and it definitely cranked up the intensity as it went on.”
Defenseman Sam Girard filled in for Makar as the quarterback on the first power-play unit, and defenseman Erik Johnson stepped in for Girard on the second unit. Girard worked with forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Andre Burakovsky, Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog. Johnson was with forwards Valeri Nichushkin, Nazem Kadri and Joonas Donskoi, and Compher and Vlad Namestnikov rotated as the left winger.
The Avs will hold their second scrimmage Sunday. They had their first Burgundy vs. White game Thursday before taking Friday off.
“It’s been a good week,” Compher said. “We got some good 5-on-5 work, a little bit of special teams and a scrimmage. One thing I noticed when we came back, first, our depth — it was nice to see our lineup healthy — but the skill level and the intensity the guys came back with. You could tell all our guys were working hard during the break to be ready.”


thedenverpost--2020-07-18--Keeler: Can CSU Rams survive losing 2020 Rocky Mountain Showdown?

Yes , Jack Graham assures me , the CSU Rams can survive without the Rocky Mountain Showdown .
Yes , he says , the athletic department could solider on without playing a 2020 football season .
That said , he also wouldn ’ t trade wingtips with Rams athletic director Joe Parker right now for all the jam at Lucile ’ s .
“ I am worried .
I am , ” Graham , the former Rams quarterback , CSU AD from 2011-14 and Parker ’ s predecessor , stressed late last week .
“ I think there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether or not there ’ s going to be a college football season .
I would hate it if there wasn ’ t .
But I would understand it if there wasn ’ t. ” This thing is bigger than Nick Saban , faster than Clemson , tougher than Ohio State .
Your 2020-21 college football champion ?
COVID-19 .
Now that the bugger ’ s taken out the Rose Parade , it ’ s gunning for the Rose Bowl next .
“ College football is very different from the NFL , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a game that ’ s fantastic to watch on television , independent of the fans , whereas college football is pageantry .
“ It ’ s great football , but it ’ s also pageantry .
It ’ s the bands , the cheerleaders — there ’ s just so much more to college football.
” Imagine tailgating in masks , a minimum of two parking spaces apart .
Now imagine trying to enforce that once the kegs get tapped .
“ So much of it is about bringing the alums back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Graham said .
“ All of those things are going away.
” In April , we tried to save August .
In May , we danced .
In June , we raged .
In July , we went right back to March .
The shiv that Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott stuck in the back of the 2020 Showdown feels more like the middle of a row of falling dominoes , as opposed to the end .
The next shoe to drop could come as soon as Friday , when college programs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ access , ” including walk-throughs , meetings and film review .
The pandemic has every organized sports circuit over a barrel , but the NCAA in particular .
Even if the coronavirus is rarely lethal to players , the same can ’ t be said of its effect on coaches , staffers and , most importantly , on boosters and fans .
To put student-athletes under a bubble — or more of one — would further reinforce the notion that they aren ’ t just students who happen to play football , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those entertainment services ( i.e.
, games ) , are deemed essential to the revenue stream .
It ’ s the cold , hard truth , but it ’ s not a truth the NCAA ’ s lawyers would be thrilled to try and defend .
And yet the Rams are also likely on the hook , even without travel , for at least $ 16 million to $ 20 million in football expenses , based on their 2019 fiscal report , before dollar one comes back across the table .
According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4.96 million in 2018-19 .
But football also accounted for $ 20.1 million — 36 % — of the department ’ s $ 56.1 million in revenues .
If it can be done safely , for Parker , any mitigating returns are better than none .
“ There ’ s going to be a financial hit , there ’ s no question about it , ” Graham said .
“ ( The Rams ) have to win in football and basketball , full-stop .
Particularly in football , you ’ ve got to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Big 12 or the Pac-12 , to sustain the level of expense that we ’ ve got in the athletic department requires us to get into a Power 5 conference .
And that ’ s what has to happen .
There ’ s no way to make money if you ’ re going to be a mid-major university.
” Graham has always stumped for CSU to join the Power 5 , which is why he pushed the boat out for the construction of Canvas Stadium , even as it became a bigger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Rams could afford .
Of the department ’ s $ 8.6 million in debt service , leases and rental fees reported in 2019 , $ 8.2 million was attributed to football .
“ I think what ’ s happening now is a result of the coronavirus , it ’ s irrelevant to the stadium .
I really do believe that , ” Graham said .
“ My disappointment is that we ’ re not winning .
Let ’ s win , let ’ s get into a Power 5 conference .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the standard we need to hold ourselves to.
” If you ’ re the Rams , you ’ d love to pounce on a scheduling vacancy that just opened up in the Big 12 .
Or the SEC and the ACC , two leagues in which new coach Steve Addazio has serious roots .
But you also can ’ t shake the feeling that the rest of the Power 5 will eventually tread the same , sad , safe route as CU .
That you ’ d be better off trying to schedule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Texas A & M or Oklahoma State .
“ ( Parker ) is in crisis mode , as many businesses are .
The athletic department at CSU is not unique , ” Graham noted .
“ He ’ s going to have to do everything he can to find ways to cut spending and do everything he can to get people in the community to step up and help him finance the athletic department in the short-term .
“ Joe ’ s a smart guy , he ’ ll figure it out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go out and cut expenses as deep as you can cut them without losing track of what your mission is.
” If university presidents truly cared about student-athlete welfare , they wouldn ’ t go out of their way to nix a 45-mile trek from Boulder to Fort Collins while simultaneously giving the rubber-stamp for the Buffs to visit Arizona and California , the COVID capitals of the West .
There ’ s a reason Scott doesn ’ t travel anywhere by high horse .

Yes, Jack Graham assures me, the CSU Rams can survive without the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Yes, he says, the athletic department could solider on without playing a 2020 football season.
That said, he also wouldn’t trade wingtips with Rams athletic director Joe Parker right now for all the jam at Lucile’s.
“I am worried. I am,” Graham, the former Rams quarterback, CSU AD from 2011-14 and Parker’s predecessor, stressed late last week. “I think there’s a big question out there as to whether or not there’s going to be a college football season. I would hate it if there wasn’t. But I would understand it if there wasn’t.”
This thing is bigger than Nick Saban, faster than Clemson, tougher than Ohio State. Your 2020-21 college football champion? COVID-19. Now that the bugger’s taken out the Rose Parade, it’s gunning for the Rose Bowl next.
“College football is very different from the NFL,” Graham mused. “The NFL has a game that’s fantastic to watch on television, independent of the fans, whereas college football is pageantry.
“It’s great football, but it’s also pageantry. It’s the bands, the cheerleaders — there’s just so much more to college football.”
Imagine tailgating in masks, a minimum of two parking spaces apart. Now imagine trying to enforce that once the kegs get tapped.
“So much of it is about bringing the alums back to campus and the mission of the campus,” Graham said. “All of those things are going away.”
In April, we tried to save August. In May, we danced. In June, we raged. In July, we went right back to March. The shiv that Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott stuck in the back of the 2020 Showdown feels more like the middle of a row of falling dominoes, as opposed to the end. The next shoe to drop could come as soon as Friday, when college programs are slated to begin “enhanced summer access,” including walk-throughs, meetings and film review.
The pandemic has every organized sports circuit over a barrel, but the NCAA in particular. Even if the coronavirus is rarely lethal to players, the same can’t be said of its effect on coaches, staffers and, most importantly, on boosters and fans. To put student-athletes under a bubble — or more of one — would further reinforce the notion that they aren’t just students who happen to play football, but entertainers contracted by the university for whom those entertainment services (i.e., games), are deemed essential to the revenue stream. It’s the cold, hard truth, but it’s not a truth the NCAA’s lawyers would be thrilled to try and defend.
And yet the Rams are also likely on the hook, even without travel, for at least $16 million to $20 million in football expenses, based on their 2019 fiscal report, before dollar one comes back across the table. According to reported financials, CSU football lost $4.96 million in 2018-19. But football also accounted for $20.1 million — 36% — of the department’s $56.1 million in revenues. If it can be done safely, for Parker, any mitigating returns are better than none.
“There’s going to be a financial hit, there’s no question about it,” Graham said. “(The Rams) have to win in football and basketball, full-stop. Particularly in football, you’ve got to get out of the Mountain West into the Big 12 or the Pac-12, to sustain the level of expense that we’ve got in the athletic department requires us to get into a Power 5 conference. And that’s what has to happen. There’s no way to make money if you’re going to be a mid-major university.”
Graham has always stumped for CSU to join the Power 5, which is why he pushed the boat out for the construction of Canvas Stadium, even as it became a bigger house, a sexier car, than the Rams could afford. Of the department’s $8.6 million in debt service, leases and rental fees reported in 2019, $8.2 million was attributed to football.
“I think what’s happening now is a result of the coronavirus, it’s irrelevant to the stadium. I really do believe that,” Graham said. “My disappointment is that we’re not winning. Let’s win, let’s get into a Power 5 conference. It’s winning. That’s the standard we need to hold ourselves to.”
If you’re the Rams, you’d love to pounce on a scheduling vacancy that just opened up in the Big 12. Or the SEC and the ACC, two leagues in which new coach Steve Addazio has serious roots.
But you also can’t shake the feeling that the rest of the Power 5 will eventually tread the same, sad, safe route as CU. That you’d be better off trying to schedule a home-and-home with Wyoming than chasing dates with Texas A&M or Oklahoma State.
“(Parker) is in crisis mode, as many businesses are. The athletic department at CSU is not unique,” Graham noted. “He’s going to have to do everything he can to find ways to cut spending and do everything he can to get people in the community to step up and help him finance the athletic department in the short-term.
“Joe’s a smart guy, he’ll figure it out. He’s just got to go out and cut expenses as deep as you can cut them without losing track of what your mission is.”
If university presidents truly cared about student-athlete welfare, they wouldn’t go out of their way to nix a 45-mile trek from Boulder to Fort Collins while simultaneously giving the rubber-stamp for the Buffs to visit Arizona and California, the COVID capitals of the West. There’s a reason Scott doesn’t travel anywhere by high horse.


thedenverpost--2020-07-18--One reporter, witness to two executions, haunting last words

TERRE HAUTE , Ind .
— Daniel Lewis Lee , a condemned man and convicted murderer , was asked if he wanted to make a final statement from the execution chamber , with its institutional green-tiled walls and plate-glass interior window , moments before he too would die .
He did .
He leaned his head up and we locked eyes .
“ You ’ re killing an innocent man , ” Lee said , looking directly at me .
Those were his last words .
He said them to me .
Lee ’ s execution , one of two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute , Indiana , played out slowly , after painstaking hours of final , futile legal appeals , before prison officials administered a lethal injection and the federal government carried out capital punishment for the first time in almost two decades .
A third execution came later in the week .
Before the lethal injection for Lee , there had been a lot of waiting .
Prison officials searched me extensively each time I arrived , then sent me back to my hotel during the legal maneuvering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the maximum-security facility .
As part of a small group of other reporters , I was an official witness to Lee ’ s death , one that took place in the middle of a pandemic .
Lee , who was convicted of killing an Arkansas gun dealer , his wife and young daughter in the late 1990s , was scheduled to be executed Monday at 4 p.m. EDT .
But there would be a long wait as his legal appeals made their way to the Supreme Court .
Along with other reporters , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alley that was now a prison staff training center .
It was guarded by heavily armed prison officers .
We were all wearing blue surgical masks .
Our temperatures were taken .
We could carry only identification into the prison as we loaded into two unmarked white vans that took us a short distance down “ Justice Drive ” to the penitentiary building for a security screening .
Inside , correction officers outfitted in full protective gear — N95 masks , face shields , gloves and paper gowns — told us we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a souped-up airport screening .
They even took my glasses to X-ray them .
But then came another delay .
Officials told us to grab dinner , so we did , then returned to the prison and waited .
By midnight , all of us left again for our hotels nearby .
At 2:10 a.m. the Supreme Court ruled the execution could proceed .
About a minute or so later , a Bureau of Prisons official was on the phone saying the execution was scheduled for 4:15 a.m. We rushed back to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ read 4:16 when we hopped out and headed into the execution chamber .
Lee was already there — strapped to a gurney .
We were brought into a small witness room .
There were plastic chairs facing the window , a notepad , a pen , small bottle of hand sanitizer and a single sanitizing wipe on each seat .
A correction officer pulled the large metal door closed and a booming click echoed through the room .
We were locked in .
The curtain was shut , but I could hear noises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wall .
We couldn ’ t make small talk .
A man , albeit a convicted murderer , who was supposed to die soon could probably hear us .
We were all uncomfortable .
A reporter next to me scribbled “ legal issue ?
” on his notepad and gestured to me .
“ I guess so , ” I replied .
There was no clock in the room .
We lost track of how long we had been in there .
Eventually someone asked if anyone knew what time it was .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6:10 a.m. , there was a collective gasp of surprise .
At 7:46 a.m. the curtain began to rise slowly .
By that time we ’ d been locked in the room with Lee just on the other side of the glass , strapped in , for nearly four hours .
There he was .
His arms were strapped down and a light blue sheet covered most of his body .
I was annoyed with one of the reporters who was moving around vying for a better view .
Of a man ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , even though we were all there .
A U.S. marshal inside the room with Lee picked up a black phone hanging on the green tiled wall .
“ This is the marshal inside the execution chamber , ” he said .
Washington headquarters was on the other end .
The marshal asked if there were any legal impediments that would prohibit the execution .
He listened , then said , “ I understand there are no impediments.
” And then Lee said those last words , looking right at me .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drug quickly did its deadly work .
His lips turned blue .
His chest stopped moving .
He was pronounced dead .
I rushed back to my computer and filed my story .
It wouldn ’ t sink in until later that I had just watched a man die .
My face was one of the last he saw .
I ’ ve been a crime reporter for years , but this felt different .
It was clinical .
It was like watching someone go to sleep .
And there wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because another execution was scheduled for the next day .
Wesley Ira Purkey was convicted of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl from her Kansas neighborhood , raping and killing her in the late 1990s and also killing an 80-year-old .
But his time to die too was already delayed well into the evening .
We arrived at the staff training center at 4 p.m .
But this time we weren ’ t allowed to leave .
As the hours ticked by , everyone became more anxious , at times pacing in circles .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prisons officials offered us peanuts and chips .
They didn ’ t want to let us go back to the hotels because it would take too long to bring us all back through security .
Just before midnight came more food — Lunchables , dug out from a prison fridge somewhere .
At 2:45 a.m. — about 11 hours after we arrived — we were told to leave our electronics and loaded back into the vans .
This time we stopped just outside of the execution chamber .
And we sat there for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bit in my seat .
Eventually , after Purkey ’ s legal avenues were exhausted , we were brought into the witness room .
The curtain rose at 7:55 a.m. We were again looking into the execution chamber .
The same officials were standing beside Purkey , his arms strapped down with black restraints .
He apologized to the family of the teenage girl he killed and to his own daughter .
“ This sanitized murder really does not serve no purpose whatsoever , ” he said .
“ Thank you.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — a Zen Buddhist priest who had sued the Bureau of Prisons to try to stop the execution because of fears over the coronavirus .
He was wearing a mask under a face shield and appeared to be praying .
I wondered if he was afraid he ’ d get the virus .
I wondered if I would get the virus .
A few minutes later , Purkey was declared dead .
The curtain came down .
In one week , I had spent more than 32 hours inside a prison .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ S NOTE — Michael Balsamo is the lead Justice Department and federal law enforcement writer for The Associated Press .
He has covered criminal justice and policing issues since 2014 .

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Daniel Lewis Lee, a condemned man and convicted murderer, was asked if he wanted to make a final statement from the execution chamber, with its institutional green-tiled walls and plate-glass interior window, moments before he too would die.
He did. He leaned his head up and we locked eyes.
“You’re killing an innocent man,” Lee said, looking directly at me.
Those were his last words. He said them to me.
Lee’s execution, one of two that I witnessed this past week at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, played out slowly, after painstaking hours of final, futile legal appeals, before prison officials administered a lethal injection and the federal government carried out capital punishment for the first time in almost two decades. A third execution came later in the week.
Before the lethal injection for Lee, there had been a lot of waiting. Prison officials searched me extensively each time I arrived, then sent me back to my hotel during the legal maneuvering, only to call me back to the maximum-security facility.
As part of a small group of other reporters, I was an official witness to Lee’s death, one that took place in the middle of a pandemic.
Lee, who was convicted of killing an Arkansas gun dealer, his wife and young daughter in the late 1990s, was scheduled to be executed Monday at 4 p.m. EDT.
But there would be a long wait as his legal appeals made their way to the Supreme Court. Along with other reporters, I was lodged inside a former bowling alley that was now a prison staff training center. It was guarded by heavily armed prison officers. We were all wearing blue surgical masks. Our temperatures were taken.
We could carry only identification into the prison as we loaded into two unmarked white vans that took us a short distance down “Justice Drive” to the penitentiary building for a security screening.
Inside, correction officers outfitted in full protective gear — N95 masks, face shields, gloves and paper gowns — told us we’d be going through the equivalent of a souped-up airport screening. They even took my glasses to X-ray them.
But then came another delay. Officials told us to grab dinner, so we did, then returned to the prison and waited. By midnight, all of us left again for our hotels nearby.
At 2:10 a.m. the Supreme Court ruled the execution could proceed. About a minute or so later, a Bureau of Prisons official was on the phone saying the execution was scheduled for 4:15 a.m.
We rushed back to the prison. The clock in the van read 4:16 when we hopped out and headed into the execution chamber.
Lee was already there — strapped to a gurney.
We were brought into a small witness room. There were plastic chairs facing the window, a notepad, a pen, small bottle of hand sanitizer and a single sanitizing wipe on each seat. A correction officer pulled the large metal door closed and a booming click echoed through the room. We were locked in.
The curtain was shut, but I could hear noises coming from the other side of the wall. We couldn’t make small talk. A man, albeit a convicted murderer, who was supposed to die soon could probably hear us.
We were all uncomfortable. A reporter next to me scribbled “legal issue?” on his notepad and gestured to me. “I guess so,” I replied.
There was no clock in the room. We lost track of how long we had been in there. Eventually someone asked if anyone knew what time it was. When a correction officer replied it was 6:10 a.m., there was a collective gasp of surprise.
At 7:46 a.m. the curtain began to rise slowly. By that time we’d been locked in the room with Lee just on the other side of the glass, strapped in, for nearly four hours.
There he was. His arms were strapped down and a light blue sheet covered most of his body. I was annoyed with one of the reporters who was moving around vying for a better view. Of a man’s death. It bothered me somehow, even though we were all there.
A U.S. marshal inside the room with Lee picked up a black phone hanging on the green tiled wall.
“This is the marshal inside the execution chamber,” he said. Washington headquarters was on the other end. The marshal asked if there were any legal impediments that would prohibit the execution. He listened, then said, “I understand there are no impediments.”
And then Lee said those last words, looking right at me.
He rested his head back down and the drug quickly did its deadly work. His lips turned blue. His chest stopped moving. He was pronounced dead.
I rushed back to my computer and filed my story.
It wouldn’t sink in until later that I had just watched a man die. My face was one of the last he saw. I’ve been a crime reporter for years, but this felt different. It was clinical. It was like watching someone go to sleep.
And there wasn’t much time to dwell on the experience, because another execution was scheduled for the next day.
Wesley Ira Purkey was convicted of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl from her Kansas neighborhood, raping and killing her in the late 1990s and also killing an 80-year-old.
But his time to die too was already delayed well into the evening. We arrived at the staff training center at 4 p.m. But this time we weren’t allowed to leave.
As the hours ticked by, everyone became more anxious, at times pacing in circles.
By 10 p.m., the Bureau of Prisons officials offered us peanuts and chips. They didn’t want to let us go back to the hotels because it would take too long to bring us all back through security.
Just before midnight came more food — Lunchables, dug out from a prison fridge somewhere.
At 2:45 a.m. — about 11 hours after we arrived — we were told to leave our electronics and loaded back into the vans. This time we stopped just outside of the execution chamber.
And we sat there for five hours. I dozed off for a bit in my seat.
Eventually, after Purkey’s legal avenues were exhausted, we were brought into the witness room. The curtain rose at 7:55 a.m. We were again looking into the execution chamber. The same officials were standing beside Purkey, his arms strapped down with black restraints. He apologized to the family of the teenage girl he killed and to his own daughter.
“This sanitized murder really does not serve no purpose whatsoever,” he said. “Thank you.”
I glanced over at his spiritual adviser — a Zen Buddhist priest who had sued the Bureau of Prisons to try to stop the execution because of fears over the coronavirus. He was wearing a mask under a face shield and appeared to be praying. I wondered if he was afraid he’d get the virus. I wondered if I would get the virus.
A few minutes later, Purkey was declared dead. The curtain came down.
In one week, I had spent more than 32 hours inside a prison. And watched two men die.
___
EDITOR’S NOTE — Michael Balsamo is the lead Justice Department and federal law enforcement writer for The Associated Press. He has covered criminal justice and policing issues since 2014.