thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--California Governor To Release 8,000 People From Prisons Amid Coronavirus Outbreaks

California Gov .
Gavin Newsom ( D ) is set to announce the release of some 8,000 people from prisons across the state as several prisons face deadly coronavirus outbreaks .
Officials will release some people through “ expedited ” paroles , and also let out some people who are at high health risk for severe complications from the virus , the San Francisco Chronicle first reported .
The incarcerated people in question will get out over the next few weeks , according to the Mercury News .
The governor ’ s announcement , expected later Friday , comes after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release prisoners , particularly amid a rapidly worsening COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin prison in the San Francisco Bay Area .
As of Friday , 1,335 of about 4,000 people incarcerated at San Quentin had active coronavirus cases , and seven had died .
There have been 205 cases among staff .
It is still unclear exactly how many of the people set to be released are from San Quentin .
Today the Governor announced a prison population reduction in response to the # COVID19 humanitarian disaster in our prisons .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remains .
CA ’ s addiction to mass incarceration is now causing people to die from the virus .
We need structural change .
— Senator Scott Wiener ( @ Scott_Wiener ) July 10 , 2020 There are about 112,000 people in prisons across California .
So far , the state has counted more than 2,300 confirmed coronavirus cases in its prisons .
Five facilities have over 100 cases .
Earlier this month , 20 inmates at San Quentin went on a hunger strike to protest the inhumane conditions they were facing amid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cramped cells .
There have been severe coronavirus outbreaks at other prisons and detention facilities across the U.S .
The U.S. continues to lead the world with more than 3.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 133,000 dead from the virus so far .
Some of the country ’ s worst outbreaks have been in crowded settings like nursing homes , meatpacking plants , Amazon warehouses and prisons .
California has seen a steady increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks .
In total , the state had recorded more than 296,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as of Thursday .

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is set to announce the release of some 8,000 people from prisons across the state as several prisons face deadly coronavirus outbreaks.
Officials will release some people through “expedited” paroles, and also let out some people who are at high health risk for severe complications from the virus, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported. The incarcerated people in question will get out over the next few weeks, according to the Mercury News.
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The governor’s announcement, expected later Friday, comes after repeated calls from activists and officials to release prisoners, particularly amid a rapidly worsening COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin prison in the San Francisco Bay Area.
As of Friday, 1,335 of about 4,000 people incarcerated at San Quentin had active coronavirus cases, and seven had died. There have been 205 cases among staff.
It is still unclear exactly how many of the people set to be released are from San Quentin.
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D) called the announcement “a solid step,” but added that “more work remains.”
Today the Governor announced a prison population reduction in response to the #COVID19 humanitarian disaster in our prisons. This is a solid step, but more work remains. CA’s addiction to mass incarceration is now causing people to die from the virus. We need structural change. — Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) July 10, 2020
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There are about 112,000 people in prisons across California. So far, the state has counted more than 2,300 confirmed coronavirus cases in its prisons. Five facilities have over 100 cases.
Earlier this month, 20 inmates at San Quentin went on a hunger strike to protest the inhumane conditions they were facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including dirty, cramped cells.
The U.S. continues to lead the world with more than 3.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 133,000 dead from the virus so far. Some of the country’s worst outbreaks have been in crowded settings like nursing homes, meatpacking plants, Amazon warehouses and prisons.
California has seen a steady increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks. In total, the state had recorded more than 296,000 confirmed cases and more than 6,700 deaths as of Thursday.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Senator John Cornyn Claims He Doesn’t Know If Kids Can Get And Transmit COVID-19

As COVID-19 numbers rise across the nation — including in his state — Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas incorrectly said Thursday that experts are still unsure whether children can get and spread the coronavirus .
“ We still don ’ t know whether children can get it and transmit it to others , ” Cornyn , who is up for reelection this year , said in an interview with local TV station NBC 5 when asked about schools reopening this fall .
Children make up a small portion of the COVID-19 cases nationwide , according to the Centers for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do account for some of them .
The actual number of kids in Texas who have contracted COVID-19 is still unknown ; the demographic data for positive cases in the state come from completed investigations in regional health departments , and many cases are still under investigation .
But data shows that at least 550 children in Texas age 9 and under ― 99 of whom are infants under 1 year old ― have contracted COVID-19 .
Another 1,172 Texans between the ages of 10 and 19 have contracted the disease , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ linked back to child care facilities in the state .
Texas ’ compilation of completed case investigations does not list any COVID-19 fatalities for minors , but county officials say 17-year-old Jameela Dirrean Emoni Barber died in Lancaster , Texas , in April after testing positive for the virus .
Still , President Donald Trump and many of his GOP allies have pushed to reopen schools full time this fall , partially by downplaying the virus ’ s risks .
Even if children are generally less susceptible to the disease than the elderly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to medical conditions .
Teachers and other school staff may be as well .
And children don ’ t exist in a vacuum ― they go home to family members , friends and neighbors who may be high-risk .
Sen. John Cornyn ( R-Texas ) told a local news channel that he was n't sure if kids could get or transmit COVID-19 .
Data shows they can .
When NBC 5 asked about Barber ’ s death , Cornyn ’ s office called the senator ’ s failure to acknowledge her death an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ included in the statistics the senator had seen , the office said .
The outlet also asked Cornyn to clarify his previous comment on kids contracting and transmitting the virus , and asked if knowing that a teen had presumably died due to COVID-19 changed his stance on reopening .
Cornyn ’ s office did not respond to those questions .
Texas paused its reopening process at the end of June due to rising numbers of coronavirus cases .
Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott ( R ) has also reversed his initial stance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put a statewide mask mandate in place .
At least 1,335 people — including 441 were children — had tested positive for COVID-19 in Texas child care facilities as of last Friday , according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services .
Since the state began its reopening process , 883 child care facilities have resumed operations in the state .

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As COVID-19 numbers rise across the nation — including in his state — Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas incorrectly said Thursday that experts are still unsure whether children can get and spread the coronavirus.
“We still don’t know whether children can get it and transmit it to others,” Cornyn, who is up for reelection this year, said in an interview with local TV station NBC 5 when asked about schools reopening this fall.
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But that’s not true.
Children make up a small portion of the COVID-19 cases nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but they do account for some of them. The actual number of kids in Texas who have contracted COVID-19 is still unknown; the demographic data for positive cases in the state come from completed investigations in regional health departments, and many cases are still under investigation.
But data shows that at least 550 children in Texas age 9 and under ― 99 of whom are infants under 1 year old ― have contracted COVID-19. Another 1,172 Texans between the ages of 10 and 19 have contracted the disease, and more than 1,300 coronavirus cases have been linked back to child care facilities in the state. Texas’ compilation of completed case investigations does not list any COVID-19 fatalities for minors, but county officials say 17-year-old Jameela Dirrean Emoni Barber died in Lancaster, Texas, in April after testing positive for the virus.
Still, President Donald Trump and many of his GOP allies have pushed to reopen schools full time this fall, partially by downplaying the virus’s risks.
Even if children are generally less susceptible to the disease than the elderly, some kids are more vulnerable due to medical conditions. Teachers and other school staff may be as well. And children don’t exist in a vacuum ― they go home to family members, friends and neighbors who may be high-risk.
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Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told a local news channel that he wasn't sure if kids could get or transmit COVID-19. Data shows they can. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images
When NBC 5 asked about Barber’s death, Cornyn’s office called the senator’s failure to acknowledge her death an honest misunderstanding. The death was not included in the statistics the senator had seen, the office said.
The outlet also asked Cornyn to clarify his previous comment on kids contracting and transmitting the virus, and asked if knowing that a teen had presumably died due to COVID-19 changed his stance on reopening. Cornyn’s office did not respond to those questions.
The senator’s office also did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Texas paused its reopening process at the end of June due to rising numbers of coronavirus cases. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has also reversed his initial stance on requiring masks in public and has put a statewide mask mandate in place.
At least 1,335 people — including 441 were children — had tested positive for COVID-19 in Texas child care facilities as of last Friday, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. Since the state began its reopening process, 883 child care facilities have resumed operations in the state.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Here's What It's Like To Live With A Tracheostomy

I have muscular dystrophy , a genetic condition that causes my muscles to progressively weaken .
As a child , I had severe scoliosis of the spine , to the extent that my lungs were being gradually crushed by my curved torso .
Eventually , I needed surgery to straighten my spine , and the surgeons told my parents that I wouldn ’ t survive the operation without having a trache inserted .
I was 11 when I got my trache , and for a number of years , I found it really hard to deal with .
It used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be unable to breathe .
After getting the trache , I had to get used to my chest making loud noises randomly during classes .
When it would happen , I ’ d have to rush out of the room , often embarrassed .
I also had to get used to people staring .
I once went to a Doctor Who exhibition , and , as I entered the gift shop , all the children ( and adults ) stared and whispered because they thought I was a monster from the exhibit .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of maintenance .
Most people with traches need to change their tube maybe once a fortnight or even once a month , but for me , it ’ s daily .
Changing it is not painful at all ― one tube just slides out and a fresh tube takes its place ― but it is an odd sensation .
You could liken the whole thing to clipping your toenails , a boring job that needs to be done and feels a little strange .
I also need to schedule time in my life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tube clear and free from secretions .
I have a cough assist machine , which connects to my tube and helps me cough and dislodge any blockages .
And my suction machine is literally a tiny vacuum that I can feed down into my trache tube to suck out any secretions .
These machines are so loud that when I turn them on at night , my whole house shakes .
Friends and family never want to sleep in the same hotel room with me when we travel because my ventilator and all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noise .
Any future partners of mine have got to be heavy sleepers .
I come with a lot of baggage .
We ’ re talking three bags of machines with me at all times , plus some spare ventilator batteries stashed somewhere .
At my high school prom , the DJ ’ s music was so loud that I didn ’ t hear my ventilator beeping .
It died suddenly and I didn ’ t have a spare battery nearby , so I lost consciousness .
I ’ ve never traveled without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things about having a trache that aren ’ t that great .
Like the fact that I get a lot of carbon dioxide headaches in the morning when my breathing changes throughout the night ( it ’ s like waking up with a hangover ) .
Or the fact that when I cry , it makes my trache and my nose block up with secretions .
Before I had my trache put in , I was using a noninvasive ventilator .
This meant that my ventilator connected to a face mask , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some people , this works well , but for me , it was detrimental .
I couldn ’ t eat without taking my mask off ( and then would be short of breath ) , so I just didn ’ t eat .
I became dangerously thin and I had to have a feeding tube inserted .
The mask also made it difficult for me to speak and be heard .
Not to mention , now I have friends !
My best friend asked me if he could be trained in how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can now go on trips together , and we went to a Pride festival last summer .
He accepts and actively tries to help me with all aspects of my disability .
People often talk about how they would never want to live a life with tubes coming out of their body or attached to machines .
Many medical professionals say that these things decrease your quality of life , and this perspective can lead to people choosing ( or being pressured into choosing ) death rather than a life filled with tubes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ completely personal one .
However , let me tell you that my life , and the lives of countless other disabled people , have been vastly improved by invasive tubes and machines .
I ’ m a young woman , living my best life , about to become a lawyer , and I have a trache and ventilator .
My tubes and machines have not taken anything away from me .

The author at her law school graudation. Courtesy of Ginny Butcher
For some of you, having a hole in your neck may sound like something out of a horror movie. For me, it’s a means of survival.
I have a tracheostomy, or a “trache”; it’s a hole in my trachea, in which a plastic tube sits to create an artificial airway, and then the tube is connected to a ventilator.
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I have muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition that causes my muscles to progressively weaken. As a child, I had severe scoliosis of the spine, to the extent that my lungs were being gradually crushed by my curved torso. Eventually, I needed surgery to straighten my spine, and the surgeons told my parents that I wouldn’t survive the operation without having a trache inserted.
I was 11 when I got my trache, and for a number of years, I found it really hard to deal with. It used to block up and I would suddenly be unable to breathe. After getting the trache, I had to get used to my chest making loud noises randomly during classes. When it would happen, I’d have to rush out of the room, often embarrassed. I also had to get used to people staring. I once went to a Doctor Who exhibition, and, as I entered the gift shop, all the children (and adults) stared and whispered because they thought I was a monster from the exhibit.
It’s challenging to look different when you’re young. Making friends is hard, and as a disabled child, it’s harder — and then when you’re a child with a trache and ventilator, it’s even harder. I always felt isolated, and it made me grow up very quickly and with few friends.
“It’s challenging to look different when you’re young. I always felt isolated, and it made me grow up very quickly and with few friends.”
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Having an artificial airway requires a lot of maintenance. Most people with traches need to change their tube maybe once a fortnight or even once a month, but for me, it’s daily. Changing it is not painful at all ― one tube just slides out and a fresh tube takes its place ― but it is an odd sensation. You could liken the whole thing to clipping your toenails, a boring job that needs to be done and feels a little strange.
I also need to schedule time in my life for things that help keep my trache tube clear and free from secretions. I have a cough assist machine, which connects to my tube and helps me cough and dislodge any blockages. And my suction machine is literally a tiny vacuum that I can feed down into my trache tube to suck out any secretions. These machines are so loud that when I turn them on at night, my whole house shakes. Friends and family never want to sleep in the same hotel room with me when we travel because my ventilator and all of these machines make a lot of noise. Any future partners of mine have got to be heavy sleepers.
I come with a lot of baggage. We’re talking three bags of machines with me at all times, plus some spare ventilator batteries stashed somewhere. At my high school prom, the DJ’s music was so loud that I didn’t hear my ventilator beeping. It died suddenly and I didn’t have a spare battery nearby, so I lost consciousness. I’ve never traveled without spare batteries again.
There are other things about having a trache that aren’t that great. Like the fact that I get a lot of carbon dioxide headaches in the morning when my breathing changes throughout the night (it’s like waking up with a hangover). Or the fact that when I cry, it makes my trache and my nose block up with secretions.
But (and this is a big but) — I’m 22 now, and I’ve realized that living with a hole in my neck isn’t the end of the world and that my trache and ventilator don’t often hold me back.
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I have just completed my master’s degree to become a lawyer in the U.K. I have done things many nondisabled people still haven’t done. I’ve been rock climbing, abseiling, canoeing and zip lining, all with my ventilator strapped to my body. I have flown a plane and completed a half marathon and acted in a professional play.
Before I had my trache put in, I was using a noninvasive ventilator. This meant that my ventilator connected to a face mask, which covered my nose and mouth. For some people, this works well, but for me, it was detrimental. I couldn’t eat without taking my mask off (and then would be short of breath), so I just didn’t eat. I became dangerously thin and I had to have a feeding tube inserted. The mask also made it difficult for me to speak and be heard.
Now I can eat and speak to my heart’s content. Thanks to having a trache, I don’t need a feeding tube anymore, and I really enjoy public speaking now, which is lucky if you consider my chosen career path. My trache has actually improved my quality of life dramatically.
Not to mention, now I have friends! My best friend asked me if he could be trained in how to manage my trache and ventilator. We can now go on trips together, and we went to a Pride festival last summer. He accepts and actively tries to help me with all aspects of my disability.
“I’m a young woman, living my best life, about to become a lawyer, and I have a trache and ventilator. My tubes and machines have not taken anything away from me.”
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There’s also some fun to be had when you have a trache. I don’t breathe through my nose or mouth, so I can technically drink without pausing. This makes me the absolute best at downing pints.
My ventilator pipe lies on my body and can act as a great accessory. I dressed up as a Christmas tree once, so my pipe was glittered and wrapped in tinsel.
And, it gives me the crème de la crème of escape clauses: If I want to get out of something, I just say “the trache is causing me trouble,” and people feel so awkward they don’t question it. Sweet.
I’d be lying if I said that my trache doesn’t still impact my life. I often worry my trache will block up, or the ventilator will pop off at an inopportune moment. But I’ve had a trache for half of my life now.
People often talk about how they would never want to live a life with tubes coming out of their body or attached to machines. Many medical professionals say that these things decrease your quality of life, and this perspective can lead to people choosing (or being pressured into choosing) death rather than a life filled with tubes and machines. This choice is a completely personal one.
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However, let me tell you that my life, and the lives of countless other disabled people, have been vastly improved by invasive tubes and machines. I’m a young woman, living my best life, about to become a lawyer, and I have a trache and ventilator. My tubes and machines have not taken anything away from me.
The opposite is true: They have given me my good health, independence and voice. In a funny kind of way, I owe a lot of my happiness to having my trache and ventilator.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--U.S. Catholic Church Won At Least $1.4 Billion In Pandemic Aid

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NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Roman Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups.
The church’s haul may have reached ― or even exceeded ― $3.5 billion, making a global religious institution with more than a billion followers among the biggest winners in the U.S. government’s pandemic relief efforts, an Associated Press analysis of federal data released this week found.
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Houses of worship and faith-based organizations that promote religious beliefs aren’t usually eligible for money from the U.S. Small Business Administration. But as the economy plummeted and jobless rates soared, Congress let faith groups and other nonprofits tap into the Paycheck Protection Program, a $659 billion fund created to keep Main Street open and Americans employed.
By aggressively promoting the payroll program and marshaling resources to help affiliates navigate its shifting rules, Catholic dioceses, parishes, schools and other ministries have so far received approval for at least 3,500 forgivable loans, AP found.
The Archdiocese of New York, for example, received 15 loans worth at least $28 million just for its top executive offices. Its iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue was approved for at least $1 million.
Timothy Dolan, Cardinal and Archbishop of New York, leads a Mass at New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral on June 28, 2020. The archdiocese loans worth at least $28 million just for its top executive offices. St. Patrick’s Cathedral was approved for at least $1 million. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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In Orange County, California, where a sparkling glass cathedral estimated to cost over $70 million recently opened, diocesan officials working at the complex received four loans worth at least $3 million.
And elsewhere, a loan of at least $2 million went to the diocese covering Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, where a church investigation revealed last year that then-Bishop Michael Bransfield embezzled funds and made sexual advances toward young priests.
Simply being eligible for low-interest loans was a new opportunity. But the church couldn’t have been approved for so many loans ― which the government will forgive if they are used for wages, rent and utilities ― without a second break.
Religious groups persuaded the Trump administration to free them from a rule that typically disqualifies an applicant with more than 500 workers. Without this preferential treatment, many Catholic dioceses would have been ineligible because ― between their head offices, parishes and other affiliates ― their employees exceed the 500-person cap.
“The government grants special dispensation, and that creates a kind of structural favoritism,” said Micah Schwartzman, a University of Virginia law professor specializing in constitutional issues and religion who has studied the Paycheck Protection Program. “And that favoritism was worth billions of dollars.”
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The amount that the church collected, between $1.4 billion and $3.5 billion, is an undercount. The Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference, an organization of Catholic financial officers, surveyed members and reported that about 9,000 Catholic entities received loans. That is nearly three times the number of Catholic recipients the AP could identify.
The AP couldn’t find more Catholic beneficiaries because the government’s data, released after pressure from Congress and a lawsuit from news outlets including the AP, didn’t name recipients of loans under $150,000 ― a category in which many smaller churches would fall. And because the government released only ranges of loan amounts, it wasn’t possible to be more precise.
Even without a full accounting, AP’s analysis places the Catholic Church among the major beneficiaries in the Paycheck Protection Program, which also has helped companies backed by celebrities, billionaires, state governors and members of Congress.
The program was open to all religious groups, and many took advantage. Evangelical advisers to President Donald Trump, including his White House spiritual czar, Paula White-Cain, also received loans.
Kevin Vann, Bishop of Orange County, poses for a photo inside Christ Cathedral in California after a $77 million renovation in 2019. Diocesan officials working at the complex received four loans worth at least $3 million. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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‘TRULY IN NEED’
There is no doubt that state shelter-in-place orders disrupted houses of worship and businesses alike.
Masses were canceled, even during the Holy Week and Easter holidays, depriving parishes of expected revenue and contributing to layoffs in some dioceses. Some families of Catholic school students are struggling to make tuition payments. And the expense of disinfecting classrooms once classes resume will put additional pressure on budgets.
But other problems were self-inflicted. Long before the pandemic, scores of dioceses faced increasing financial pressure because of a dramatic rise in recent clergy sex abuse claims.
The scandals that erupted in 2018 reverberated throughout the world. Pope Francis ordered the former archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, to a life of “prayer and penance” following allegations he abused minors and adult seminarians. And a damning grand jury report about abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses revealed bishops had long covered for predator priests, spurring investigations in more than 20 other states.
As the church again reckoned with its longtime crisis, abuse reports tripled during the year ending June 2019 to a total of nearly 4,500 nationally. Meanwhile, dioceses and religious orders shelled out $282 million that year — up from $106 million just five years earlier. Most of that went to settlements, in addition to legal fees and support for offending clergy.
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Loan recipients included about 40 dioceses that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few years paying victims through compensation funds or bankruptcy proceedings. AP’s review found that these dioceses were approved for about $200 million, though the value is likely much higher.
One was the New York Archdiocese. As a successful battle to lift the statute of limitations on the filing of child sexual abuse lawsuits gathered steam, Cardinal Timothy Dolan established a victim compensation fund in 2016. Since then, other dioceses have established similar funds, which offer victims relatively quick settlements while dissuading them from filing lawsuits.
Spokesperson Joseph Zwilling said the archdiocese simply wanted to be “treated equally and fairly under the law.” When asked about the waiver from the 500-employee cap that religious organizations received, Zwilling deferred to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
A spokesperson for the bishops’ conference acknowledged its officials lobbied for the paycheck program, but said the organization wasn’t tracking what dioceses and Catholic agencies received.
“These loans are an essential lifeline to help faith-based organizations to stay afloat and continue serving those in need during this crisis,” spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said in a written statement. According to AP’s data analysis, the church and all its organizations reported retaining at least 407,900 jobs with the money they were awarded.
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Noguchi also wrote the conference felt strongly that “the administration write and implement this emergency relief fairly for all applicants.”
Not every Catholic institution sought government loans. The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy based in Stamford, Connecticut, told AP that even though its parishes experienced a decline in donations, none of the organizations in its five-state territory submitted applications.
Deacon Steve Wisnowski, a financial officer for the eparchy, said pastors and church managers used their rainy-day savings and that parishioners responded generously with donations. As a result, parishes “did not experience a severe financial crisis.”
Wisnowski said his superiors understood the program was for “organizations and businesses truly in need of assistance.”
Catholic Charities host a pop-up food distribution site for community members impacted by the coronavirus pandemic on May 8, 2020 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)
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LOBBYING FOR A BREAK
The law that created the Paycheck Protection Program let nonprofits participate, as long as they abided by SBA’s “affiliation rule.” The rule typically says that only businesses with fewer than 500 employees, including at all subsidiaries, are eligible.
Lobbying by the church helped religious organizations get an exception.
The Catholic News Service reported that the bishops’ conference and several major Catholic nonprofit agencies worked throughout the week of March 30 to ensure that the “unique nature of the entities would not make them ineligible for the program” because of how SBA defines a “small” business. Those conversations came just days after President Trump signed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which included the Paycheck Protection Program.
In addition, federal records show the Los Angeles archdiocese, whose leader heads the bishops’ conference, paid $20,000 to lobby the U.S. Senate and House on “eligibility for non-profits” under the CARES Act. The records also show that Catholic Charities USA, a social service arm of the church with member agencies in dioceses across the country, paid another $30,000 to lobby on the act and other issues.
In late April, after thousands of Catholic institutions had secured loans, several hundred Catholic leaders pressed for additional help on a call with President Trump. During the call, Trump underscored the coming presidential election and touted himself as the candidate best aligned with religious conservatives, boasting he was the “best (president) the Catholic church has ever seen,” according to Crux, an online publication that covers church-related news.
The lobbying paid off.
Catholic Charities USA and its member agencies were approved for about 110 loans worth between $90 million and $220 million at least, according to the data.
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In a statement, Catholic Charities said: “Each organization is a separate legal entity under the auspices of the bishop in the diocese in which the agency is located. CCUSA supports agencies that choose to become members, but does not have any role in their daily operations or governance.”
The Los Angeles archdiocese told AP in a survey that reporters sent before the release of federal data that 247 of its 288 parishes ― and all but one of its 232 schools ― received loans. The survey covered more than 180 dioceses and eparchies.
Like most dioceses, Los Angeles wouldn’t disclose its total dollar amount. While the federal data doesn’t link Catholic recipients to their home dioceses, AP found 37 loans to the archdiocese and its affiliates worth between $9 million and $23 million, including one for its downtown cathedral.
In 2014, the archdiocese paid a record $660 million to settle sex abuse claims from more than 500 victims. Spokespeople for Los Angeles Archbishop Jose M. Gomez did not respond to additional questions about the archdiocese’s finances and lobbying.
In program materials, SBA officials said they provided the affiliation waiver to religious groups in deference to their unique organizational structure, and because the public health response to slow the coronavirus’ spread disrupted churches just as it did businesses.
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A senior official in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which oversees the SBA, acknowledged in a statement the wider availability of SBA loans to religious organizations. “The CARES Act expanded eligibility to include nonprofits in the PPP, and SBA’s regulations ensured that no eligible religious nonprofit was excluded from participation due to its beliefs or denomination,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, some legal experts say that the special consideration the government gave faith groups in the loan program has further eroded the wall between church and state provided in the First Amendment. With that erosion, religious groups that don’t pay taxes have gained more access to public money, said Marci Hamilton, a University of Pennsylvania professor and attorney who has represented clergy abuse victims on constitutional issues during bankruptcy proceedings.
“At this point, the argument is you’re anti-religious if in fact you would say the Catholic Church shouldn’t be getting government funding,” Hamilton said.
Wearing a mask amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19, volunteer Karen Cooperstein handles chilled milk for the pubic during a drive through food pantry distribution by Catholic Charities in Dallas, Thursday, July 2, 2020. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
CASHING IN FAST
After its lobbying blitz, the Catholic Church worked with parishes and schools to access the money.
Many dioceses ― from large ones such as the Archdiocese of Boston to smaller ones such as the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin ― assembled how-to guides to help their affiliates apply. The national Catholic fiscal conference also hosted multiple webinars with legal and financial experts to help coach along local leaders.
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Federal data show that the bulk of the church’s money was approved during the loan program’s first two weeks. That’s when demand for the first-come, first-served assistance was so high that the initial $349 billion was quickly exhausted, shutting out many local businesses.
Overall, nearly 500 loans approved to Catholic entities exceeded $1 million each. The AP found that at least eight hit the maximum range of $5 million to $10 million. Many of the listed recipients were the offices of bishops, headquarters of leading religious orders, major churches, schools and chapters of Catholic Charities.
Also among recipients was the Saint Luke Institute. The Catholic treatment center for priests accused of sexual abuse and those suffering from other disorders received a loan ranging from $350,000 to $1 million. Based in Silver Spring, Maryland, the institute has at times been a way station for priests accused of sexual abuse who returned to active ministry only to abuse again.
Perhaps nothing illustrates the church’s aggressive pursuit of funds better than four dioceses that sued the federal government to receive loans, even though they entered bankruptcy proceedings due to mounting clergy sex-abuse claims. Small Business Administration rules prohibit loans to applicants in bankruptcy.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico ― once home to a now-closed and notorious treatment center for predator priests ― prevailed in court, clearing the way for its administrative offices to receive nearly $1 million. It accused the SBA of overreaching by blocking bankruptcy applications when Congress didn’t spell that out.
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Yet even when a diocese has lost in bankruptcy court, or its case is pending, its affiliated parishes, schools and other organizations remain eligible for loans.
On the U.S. territory of Guam, well over 200 clergy abuse lawsuits led church leaders in the tiny Archdiocese of Agana to seek bankruptcy protection, as they estimated at least $45 million in liabilities. Even so, the archdiocese’s parishes, schools and other organizations have received at least $1.7 million as it sues the SBA for approval to get a loan for its headquarters, according to bankruptcy filings.
The U.S. church may have a troubling record on sex abuse, but Bishop Lawrence Persico of Erie, Pennsylvania, pushed back on the idea that dioceses should be excluded from the government’s rescue package. Approximately 80 organizations within his diocese received loans worth $10.3 million, the diocese said, with most of the money going to parishes and schools.
Persico pointed out that church entities help feed, clothe and shelter the poor ― and in doing so keep people employed.
“I know some people may react with surprise that government funding helped support faith-based schools, parishes and dioceses,” he said. “The separation of church and state does not mean that those motivated by their faith have no place in the public square.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Goya Foods CEO Doubles Down On Trump Support As Boycott Grows

The CEO of Goya Foods doubled down on his support for President Donald Trump following calls for a boycott against his company and added that the outrage at his praise for the president is sowing dangerous divisions .
“ We are with the president .
We ’ re with this country , you know , right , left , center , up and down , ” CEO Robert Unanue said Friday on Fox Business Network .
Calls for a boycott against the New Jersey-based Goya Foods , which markets Latin American pantry staples , lit up after Unanue appeared with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday .
Unanue heaped praise on the president after Trump — who has a long history of racism toward Latinx people — announced a White House Hispanic prosperity initiative .
“ We ’ re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump , who is a builder , ” Unanue said , comparing Trump to his Spanish immigrant grandfather .
“ It ’ s just a reflection , I believe , of the division that exists today in our country , ” he said .
He added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is killing our nation .
We ’ re tearing down statues of Jesus Christ.
” That ’ s not true .
One activist , who had already been largely shunned by other leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement , called for European depictions of Jesus to come down amid the anti-racism reckoning , but it has not happened .
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) and Julián Castro , a former secretary of housing and urban development , were among those who vowed to boycott Goya after Unanue ’ s remarks Wednesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the sound of me Googling ‘ how to make your own Adobo , ’ ” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted .
Trump launched his first presidential campaign with hateful and incendiary comments about Mexicans and has spent much of his presidency vilifying Latinx people seeking safe refuge in the U.S .

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The CEO of Goya Foods doubled down on his support for President Donald Trump following calls for a boycott against his company and added that the outrage at his praise for the president is sowing dangerous divisions.
“We are with the president. We’re with this country, you know, right, left, center, up and down,” CEO Robert Unanue said Friday on Fox Business Network.
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Calls for a boycott against the New Jersey-based Goya Foods, which markets Latin American pantry staples, lit up after Unanue appeared with Trump in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday. Unanue heaped praise on the president after Trump — who has a long history of racism toward Latinx people — announced a White House Hispanic prosperity initiative.
“We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder,” Unanue said, comparing Trump to his Spanish immigrant grandfather.
Speaking on Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.” Friday, Unanue dismissed the calls for a boycott.
“It’s just a reflection, I believe, of the division that exists today in our country,” he said.
He added: “Unfortunately, this great divide is killing our nation. We’re tearing down statues of Jesus Christ.”
That’s not true. One activist, who had already been largely shunned by other leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, called for European depictions of Jesus to come down amid the anti-racism reckoning, but it has not happened.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Julián Castro, a former secretary of housing and urban development, were among those who vowed to boycott Goya after Unanue’s remarks Wednesday.
“Oh look, it’s the sound of me Googling ‘how to make your own Adobo,’” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
Castro said Unanue is praising a president who “maliciously attacks Latinos for political gain.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Trump Commutes Sentence Of Adviser Roger Stone In Obstruction Case

President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant Roger Stone , who was convicted in November on seven charges including lying to Congress , tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign worked with Russia to tip the 2016 election .
“ Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency , ” it read .
“ There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign , or the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election.
” “ He maintains his innocence and has stated that he expects to be fully exonerated by the justice system , ” the White House statement said .
“ Mr .
Stone , like every American , deserves a fair trial and every opportunity to vindicate himself before the courts .
The President does not wish to interfere with his efforts to do so.
” Stone , a GOP operative and an adviser to Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 40 months earlier this year despite ongoing efforts by the president and Attorney General William Barr to stymie the court .
He was scheduled to report to a federal prison in Georgia in a matter of days .
In early February , the Department of Justice walked back federal prosecutors ’ sentencing recommendation immediately following a Trump tirade about the case on Twitter .
Shortly thereafter , the entire prosecution team resigned .
One former member , Aaron S.J .
Zelinsky , later testified before Congress that the Stone case had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zelinsky said , had been “ treated differently from any other defendant because of his relationship to the President.
” Meanwhile , Trump and conservative media ― particularly Fox News ― ramped up their defense of Stone , leading pundits to wonder whether a pardon or commutation of his sentence were on the horizon .
A commutation is a reduction , either totally or partially , of a sentence someone is currently serving but does not eliminate a federal conviction .
A pardon is typically granted after a person has served their sentence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case , Stone had loudly maintained his innocence and was issued a gag order last year after he posted a threatening image on Instagram targeting the federal judge assigned to his case .
According to charging documents , Stone compromised a witness and lied to investigators in a probe of his communications with WikiLeaks , which leaked documents from the hack of Democratic National Committee servers in 2016 .
But ever since Mueller concluded his probe into Russian influence in the 2016 election , Trump has been faced with the option of pardoning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of former aides and advisers who were charged in the investigation .
In February 2019 , he was admonished for posting a picture on Instagram depicting the federal judge on his case , Amy Berman Jackson , with what appeared to be crosshairs next to her head .
The judge took it as a threat and added Stone to an existing gag order on the case , barring him from talking about it at all .
He responded by reminding the judge that he counted prominent members of the extremist Proud Boys street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offered that one of them could have posted the image .
He continued to tiptoe around the order , however , regularly posting his running hashtag # RogerStoneDidNothingWrong to Instagram , alongside calls to donate to his legal defense fund and claims that he was being targeted by the “ fake news ” media .

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President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant Roger Stone, who was convicted in November on seven charges including lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign worked with Russia to tip the 2016 election.
The White House press secretary’s office released a lengthy statement defending Trump’s decision.
“Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency,” it read. “There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia. Such collusion was never anything other than a fantasy of partisans unable to accept the result of the 2016 election.”
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With his clemency granted, Stone is now seeking a new trial.
“He maintains his innocence and has stated that he expects to be fully exonerated by the justice system,” the White House statement said. “Mr. Stone, like every American, deserves a fair trial and every opportunity to vindicate himself before the courts. The President does not wish to interfere with his efforts to do so.”
Stone, a GOP operative and an adviser to Trump during the presidential campaign, was sentenced to 40 months earlier this year despite ongoing efforts by the president and Attorney General William Barr to stymie the court. He was scheduled to report to a federal prison in Georgia in a matter of days. In early February, the Department of Justice walked back federal prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation immediately following a Trump tirade about the case on Twitter.
Shortly thereafter, the entire prosecution team resigned. One former member, Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, later testified before Congress that the Stone case had been inappropriately influenced by politics. Stone, Zelinsky said, had been “treated differently from any other defendant because of his relationship to the President.”
Meanwhile, Trump and conservative media ― particularly Fox News ― ramped up their defense of Stone, leading pundits to wonder whether a pardon or commutation of his sentence were on the horizon. A commutation is a reduction, either totally or partially, of a sentence someone is currently serving but does not eliminate a federal conviction. A pardon is typically granted after a person has served their sentence and may suggest innocence.
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On the eve of Stone’s sentencing, Trump tweeted a Fox News video in which host Tucker Carlson called the case “a shocking insult to the American tradition of equal justice.”
During his case, Stone had loudly maintained his innocence and was issued a gag order last year after he posted a threatening image on Instagram targeting the federal judge assigned to his case.
According to charging documents, Stone compromised a witness and lied to investigators in a probe of his communications with WikiLeaks, which leaked documents from the hack of Democratic National Committee servers in 2016.
But ever since Mueller concluded his probe into Russian influence in the 2016 election, Trump has been faced with the option of pardoning or commuting the sentences of a handful of former aides and advisers who were charged in the investigation.
Stone’s case was rife with drama, as the eccentric regularly used social media to raise money for himself, deny allegations and attack his opponents.
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In February 2019, he was admonished for posting a picture on Instagram depicting the federal judge on his case, Amy Berman Jackson, with what appeared to be crosshairs next to her head.
The judge took it as a threat and added Stone to an existing gag order on the case, barring him from talking about it at all. He responded by reminding the judge that he counted prominent members of the extremist Proud Boys street gang among his volunteer staff, and offered that one of them could have posted the image.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Trump's Reckless Push To Reopen Schools Is An Admission Of Failure

The guidelines , which are influential but not binding , say states can enter the first phase of reopening if they have a “ downward trajectory ” of documented cases over 14 days or a lower percentage of positive tests over that time period .
Schools should only reopen in the second phase ― after an additional two weeks with cases going down .
Now , though , as the president insists against all evidence that the virus is under control ahead of the November election , those guidelines have gone out the window .
Trump is not saying cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He ’ s saying schools should open no matter what .
“ We ’ re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools , to get them open , ” Trump said Tuesday .
On Friday , he upped the threat , tweeting , “ Schools must be open in the Fall .
If not open , why would the Federal Government give Funding ?
It won ’ t !
!
!
” ( Schools are mostly funded by state and local taxes , and federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s not clear how much the president ’ s threat matters . )
Cases have risen over the previous 14 days in most states , according to a New York Times coronavirus database , with alarmingly high numbers of infections in states that took Trump ’ s encouragement to “ liberate ” themselves from public health recommendations .
Nationally , the daily death toll is still below its April peak , but the number of new infections has set six daily records in 10 days .
And there ’ s no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said Leana Wen , an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University .
Wen has argued that the only way to make it safe to reopen schools is to get the virus under control in the general population .
Part of the strategy likely involves closing some businesses , such as bars and nightclubs .
In his various remarks this week , the president hasn ’ t said anything about the possibility of closing down businesses or curtailing economic activity .
Instead , he ’ s gushed about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ pretty amazing stat ” that out of thousands of children infected in New Jersey , only one has died .
He ’ s whined that European countries are reopening schools without acknowledging that they ’ ve controlled their outbreaks .
And he ’ s railed against governors who haven ’ t committed to sending kids back into classrooms five days per week .
A poll last month suggested most voters worry about reopening schools this fall .
But that doesn ’ t translate into some cheap political benefit for the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ horrible .
Kids aren ’ t learning and their parents are miserable .
People probably understand , however , that there ’ s a grim balancing act , that their sacrifice might buy a general reduction in illness and gasping death .
Recognizing a scientific consensus that the virus spreads by people breathing and talking near each other for extended periods , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said schools ought to try to keep students 6 feet apart .
Since most schools don ’ t have enough space to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that would allow different groups of students to take turns going to class two or three days per week .
Instead of working with Congress to help schools find more space , or to ramp up testing for the virus , or to afford cleaning and personal protective equipment , or to invest in ventilation systems that could reduce the number of virus particles circulating through classrooms , the White House has decided all of a sudden that the CDC guidance is actually bad and should be changed .
Trump tweeted this week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools ” and “ will be meeting with them !
!
!
” Vice President Mike Pence , chair of the administration ’ s coronavirus task force , then said that there would be new guidance for schools and that the White House never intended for states to actually follow the original recommendations .
Congress , for its part , is on recess , but might pass another coronavirus stimulus bill later this month .
Democrats have proposed $ 100 billion for schools , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feared wave of coronavirus-related lawsuits against schools and businesses that open up ― a tacit admission that doing so won ’ t be remotely safe .
The school situation is starting to look like a crisis .
Staying home has awful consequences for children , and the American Academy of Pediatrics has said the ultimate policy goal should be for kids to be physically back in school full time , noting that children seem less likely to spread the virus or suffer severe illness .
( The AAP said Friday , however , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 community spread should not be compelled to reopen against the judgment of local experts.
” ) “ On the one hand their words are saying schools must open , ” Jha said .
“ Their actions suggest they ’ re giving up on schools being open in large parts of the country .
You can say whatever you want , but schools will not be able to open and stay open with the kinds of outbreaks we ’ re seeing.
” Here ’ s what ’ s going to happen , Jha @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the school year without controlling the outbreaks first : The business community will pressure local governments to open the schools so that working parents can return to their jobs .
COVID-19 symptoms may be mild in children , but teachers will start getting sick , their unions will revolt , and schools will close again .
The whole year could be lost .

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By pushing to reopen schools this fall regardless of whether the coronavirus is still spreading wildly, President Donald Trump is giving up on his own plan to contain the virus.
In April, the White House unveiled ”Guidelines for Opening Up America Again,” which call for business and other activities to resume in staggered phases, depending on local progress in containing the virus.
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The guidelines, which are influential but not binding, say states can enter the first phase of reopening if they have a “downward trajectory” of documented cases over 14 days or a lower percentage of positive tests over that time period. Schools should only reopen in the second phase ― after an additional two weeks with cases going down.
Now, though, as the president insists against all evidence that the virus is under control ahead of the November election, those guidelines have gone out the window. Trump is not saying cases should go down before schools reopen. He’s saying schools should open no matter what.
“We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools, to get them open,” Trump said Tuesday. On Friday, he upped the threat, tweeting, “Schools must be open in the Fall. If not open, why would the Federal Government give Funding? It won’t!!!” (Schools are mostly funded by state and local taxes, and federal funds are appropriated by Congress, so it’s not clear how much the president’s threat matters.)
Cases have risen over the previous 14 days in most states, according to a New York Times coronavirus database, with alarmingly high numbers of infections in states that took Trump’s encouragement to “liberate” themselves from public health recommendations. Nationally, the daily death toll is still below its April peak, but the number of new infections has set six daily records in 10 days.
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President Donald Trump demands that schools reopen during a meeting at the White House on July 7. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
And there’s no indication that things will get better soon, said Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University. Wen has argued that the only way to make it safe to reopen schools is to get the virus under control in the general population. Part of the strategy likely involves closing some businesses, such as bars and nightclubs.
“We need to do the hard work now in order to have any hope of schools reopening safely,” Wen said.
In his various remarks this week, the president hasn’t said anything about the possibility of closing down businesses or curtailing economic activity. Instead, he’s gushed about the jobs numbers, the stock market, the “pretty amazing stat” that out of thousands of children infected in New Jersey, only one has died. He’s whined that European countries are reopening schools without acknowledging that they’ve controlled their outbreaks. And he’s railed against governors who haven’t committed to sending kids back into classrooms five days per week.
“They don’t want to open because they think it will help them on Nov. 3rd,” Trump said Thursday. “I think it’s gonna hurt them on Nov. 3rd. Open your schools.”
A poll last month suggested most voters worry about reopening schools this fall. But that doesn’t translate into some cheap political benefit for the president’s opponents. School closures are horrible. Kids aren’t learning and their parents are miserable. People probably understand, however, that there’s a grim balancing act, that their sacrifice might buy a general reduction in illness and gasping death.
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Recognizing a scientific consensus that the virus spreads by people breathing and talking near each other for extended periods, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said schools ought to try to keep students 6 feet apart. Since most schools don’t have enough space to do that, some governors are announcing schemes that would allow different groups of students to take turns going to class two or three days per week.
Children in an elementary school class wear masks and sit as desks spaced apart during summer school at Happy Day School in Monterey Park, California. Gov. Gavin Newsom says the reopening of California schools for the coming school year will be based on safety — not pressure from Trump. FREDERIC J. BROWN via Getty Images
Instead of working with Congress to help schools find more space, or to ramp up testing for the virus, or to afford cleaning and personal protective equipment, or to invest in ventilation systems that could reduce the number of virus particles circulating through classrooms, the White House has decided all of a sudden that the CDC guidance is actually bad and should be changed.
Trump tweeted this week that he disagreed with the CDC “on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools” and “will be meeting with them!!!” Vice President Mike Pence, chair of the administration’s coronavirus task force, then said that there would be new guidance for schools and that the White House never intended for states to actually follow the original recommendations.
“If states can’t meet those guidelines, then they’re not safe to reopen,” Wen said.
But the White House has seemingly settled on a new mantra. “The virus is with us, but we need to live with it,” as a senior official told NBC News.
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Congress, for its part, is on recess, but might pass another coronavirus stimulus bill later this month. Democrats have proposed $100 billion for schools, while Republicans are preoccupied with stopping a feared wave of coronavirus-related lawsuits against schools and businesses that open up ― a tacit admission that doing so won’t be remotely safe.
The school situation is starting to look like a crisis. Staying home has awful consequences for children, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has said the ultimate policy goal should be for kids to be physically back in school full time, noting that children seem less likely to spread the virus or suffer severe illness. (The AAP said Friday, however, that “areas with high levels of COVID-19 community spread should not be compelled to reopen against the judgment of local experts.”)
“The severe negative impacts of keeping schools closed, including mental and social development, are well documented, including by pediatricians,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email. “The president wants to see schools open and the administration is committed to working in partnership with university presidents, superintendents, principals, counselors, teachers, health professionals, parents, and students to ensure in-person learning resumes in a safe and healthy way.”
But the administration is acting like it does not actually want schools open in the fall, said Ashish Jha, professor of global health at Harvard University.
“On the one hand their words are saying schools must open,” Jha said. “Their actions suggest they’re giving up on schools being open in large parts of the country. You can say whatever you want, but schools will not be able to open and stay open with the kinds of outbreaks we’re seeing.”
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Here’s what’s going to happen, Jha said, in places that head into the school year without controlling the outbreaks first: The business community will pressure local governments to open the schools so that working parents can return to their jobs. COVID-19 symptoms may be mild in children, but teachers will start getting sick, their unions will revolt, and schools will close again. The whole year could be lost.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Republicans Keep Downplaying Coronavirus Rise As They Push To Reopen Economy

Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are downplaying the rise and risks associated with the coronavirus as they push to reopen the economy and the nation ’ s schools ahead of the November elections .
Cases have risen over the previous 14 days in most states , according to a New York Times coronavirus database .
The country recorded its sixth single-day record in 10 days with almost 60,000 cases on Thursday .
Hot spots include Arizona , Texas , Florida , South Carolina and California , which keep shattering records as well .
But top Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t as concerning because fatalities have largely decreased in recent weeks .
GOP lawmakers in states like Texas and Florida have also sought to dismiss the problem by citing death statistics in their states .
That stance reinforces a weeks-old Republican pattern of repeated denial in the face of increasingly alarming data on coronavirus infections , test positivity , hospitalizations and deaths .
“ Because of what our health care workers have done ― because of the innovation and the medicines that we ’ ve been able to make available ― @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by 90 % , ” Vice President Mike Pence , the leader of the White House coronavirus task force , said at an event this week .
Dr. Deborah Birx , another member of the task force , said at Friday briefing she expected to see an increase in mortality in individuals with COVID-19 in the coming weeks .
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany , for example , claimed at a press conference on Thursday that a resumption of procedures unrelated to the pandemic are largely driving the increase in hospitalizations ― @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has been steadily increasing for the past three weeks , according to The Covid Tracking Project .
The website says more than 43,000 people are reported to be hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. — a level not seen since May .
“ We believe that the takeaway for every American , particularly in those states that are impacted , is keep doing what you ’ re doing because we ’ re starting to see the first indications ... that they are having a good effect , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may indicate that health officials are not “ casting a wide enough net to know how much of the virus is spreading within its communities , ” according to Johns Hopkins .
Trump , who repeatedly has falsely attributed rising infections to increased testing , this week demanded that the nation ’ s schools reopen in the fall , and threatened to withhold federal funding if they don ’ t .
He touted what he called the “ pretty amazing stat ” that out of thousands of children infected in New Jersey , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suburban mom will say ’ I ’ m going to stick with President Trump on this one ― because he wants to make sure my kid gets back to school , ” Trump campaign senior adviser Mercedes Schlapp said in an online video .
But even if children are generally less susceptible to the disease ’ s worst symptoms , they still may put teachers and other school staff at risk .
Moreover , public health experts say the broader threat associated with reopening schools is children unknowingly infecting family members , friends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 .

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Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are downplaying the rise and risks associated with the coronavirus as they push to reopen the economy and the nation’s schools ahead of the November elections.
Cases have risen over the previous 14 days in most states, according to a New York Times coronavirus database. The country recorded its sixth single-day record in 10 days with almost 60,000 cases on Thursday. Hot spots include Arizona, Texas, Florida, South Carolina and California, which keep shattering records as well.
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But top Trump administration officials maintain this rise in cases isn’t as concerning because fatalities have largely decreased in recent weeks. GOP lawmakers in states like Texas and Florida have also sought to dismiss the problem by citing death statistics in their states. That stance reinforces a weeks-old Republican pattern of repeated denial in the face of increasingly alarming data on coronavirus infections, test positivity, hospitalizations and deaths.
“Because of what our health care workers have done ― because of the innovation and the medicines that we’ve been able to make available ― literally, we have seen fatalities decline by 90%,” Vice President Mike Pence, the leader of the White House coronavirus task force, said at an event this week.
Pence last month wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed headlined “There Isn’t a Coronavirus ‘Second Wave,’” just as cases began spiking nationwide.
Nationally, the daily death toll is still below its April peak, but fatalities are again on the rise, reaching the highest levels since early June.
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Public health experts have consistently said that deaths are a lagging indicator of infections, and that the coronavirus remains a serious problem.
“It’s a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and a member of the task force, warned this week.
Dr. Deborah Birx, another member of the task force, said at Friday briefing she expected to see an increase in mortality in individuals with COVID-19 in the coming weeks.
The GOP effort to minimize the threat of the virus applies to data on hospitalizations, as well.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, for example, claimed at a press conference on Thursday that a resumption of procedures unrelated to the pandemic are largely driving the increase in hospitalizations ― not the coronavirus.
“A lot of it is elective surgeries,” McEnany said.
However, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has been steadily increasing for the past three weeks, according to The Covid Tracking Project. The website says more than 43,000 people are reported to be hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. — a level not seen since May.
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Test positivity ― the percentage of people who test positive for the virus compared with the total number tested ― is another area administration and GOP officials have sought to spin.
During a White House coronavirus task force briefing earlier this week, Pence touted “early indications” of the number of positive tests flattening in Arizona, Florida and Texas.
“We believe that the takeaway for every American, particularly in those states that are impacted, is keep doing what you’re doing because we’re starting to see the first indications ... that they are having a good effect,” Pence said.
Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, and 25 other states are seeing spikes in their positivity rates, according to Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 tracking project. Arizona recorded the nation’s highest positivity rate ― 25%.
Higher positivity rates may indicate that health officials are not “casting a wide enough net to know how much of the virus is spreading within its communities,” according to Johns Hopkins.
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Trump, who repeatedly has falsely attributed rising infections to increased testing, this week demanded that the nation’s schools reopen in the fall, and threatened to withhold federal funding if they don’t. He touted what he called the “pretty amazing stat” that out of thousands of children infected in New Jersey, only one has died.
The push to reopen schools, as openly acknowledged by Trump’s campaign, is fueled at least in part by concern over his increasingly poor reelection prospects.
“The suburban mom will say ’I’m going to stick with President Trump on this one ― because he wants to make sure my kid gets back to school,” Trump campaign senior adviser Mercedes Schlapp said in an online video.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) also appeared to downplay the threat of coronavirus to younger Americans in an interview Friday with NBC 5, a Texas affiliate.
“We still don’t know whether children can get it and transmit it to others,” Cornyn said.
The claim is contradicted by health experts and data provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services, which counts more than 1,700 COVID-19 cases in people ages 19 and younger statewide.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Combat Veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth Responds To Tucker Carlson's 'Desperate' Attacks

“ To morons like Tammy Duckworth , [ George ] Washington is just some old white guy who needs to be erased , ” Carlson said earlier this week .
The moron is Carlson , who ― intentionally or not ― seemed to miss what Duckworth actually said , which was that President Donald Trump is more focused on protecting statues than he is on stopping the spread of the coronavirus , which has killed more than 130,000 Americans .
“ [ Trump ’ s ] priorities are all wrong here , ” Duckworth said .
“ He should be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do to overcome this pandemic.
” That didn ’ t stop Carlson from calling Duckworth “ deeply silly and unimpressive ” and claiming that she and other Democrats hate America .
Duckworth reminded Carlson that he can tell his lies in part because Duckworth and others like her fought for his right to .
“ Setting aside the fact that the right wing ’ s right to lie about me is one of the rights I fought to defend , let me be clear : I don ’ t want George Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any more than I want the Purple Heart that he established to be ripped off my chest .
I never said that I did , ” she said in her op-ed .
Duckworth said she believes Carlson is using the baseless attacks to distract from the president ’ s colossal failures .
But what I actually said isn ’ t the reason Mr. Carlson and Mr. Trump are questioning my patriotism , nor is it why they ’ re using the same racist insults against me that have been slung my way time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have never worked on me .
They ’ re doing it because they ’ re desperate for America ’ s attention to be on anything other than Donald Trump ’ s failure to lead our nation , and because they think that Mr. Trump ’ s electoral prospects will be better if they can turn us against one another .
Their goal isn ’ t to make — or keep — America great .
It ’ s to keep Mr. Trump in power , whatever the cost .
Read the full New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out to Carlson to comment on this story .

“To morons like Tammy Duckworth, [George] Washington is just some old white guy who needs to be erased,” Carlson said earlier this week.
The moron is Carlson, who ― intentionally or not ― seemed to miss what Duckworth actually said, which was that President Donald Trump is more focused on protecting statues than he is on stopping the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 130,000 Americans.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Trump Mocked After Threatening To Remove Universities' Tax-Exempt Status

The man who once famously said , “ I love the poorly educated , ” apparently has a big problem with higher education .
President Donald Trump on Friday railed against universities and school systems that he argued were “ about radical left indoctrination , not education.
” In two tweets , the president said he was telling the Treasury Department to “ re-examine ” the tax-exempt status of colleges and universities if they use “ propaganda or act against public policy.
” Too many Universities and School Systems are about Radical Left Indoctrination , not Education .
Therefore , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re-examine their Tax-Exempt Status ... — Donald J. Trump ( @ realDonaldTrump ) July 10 , 2020 ... and/or Funding , which will be taken away if this Propaganda or Act Against Public Policy continues .
Our children must be Educated , not Indoctrinated !
— Donald J. Trump ( @ realDonaldTrump ) July 10 , 2020 But Trump ’ s proposal to eliminate tax-exempt status for educational institutions that supposedly indoctrinate students may not pass legal muster .
The “ advocacy of a particular position or viewpoint ” can qualify as educational @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sufficiently full and fair exposition of pertinent facts to permit an individual or the public to form an independent opinion or conclusion , ” according to IRS policy reported by Politico .
Many Twitter users also took issue with the president ’ s tweets .
I 'm old enough to remember when conservatives went crazy when they thought the IRS was targeting right-wing organizations for political purposes .
No doubt , they will all loudly express their indignation over this .
https : //t.co/Lfn1a5v6KH — David Corn ( @ DavidCornDC ) July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
You do NOT get to define what education is or is not .
You do not get to mandate what we say , think , read or how we express ourselves .
You do not control our bodies , our minds , our beliefs , or our sexual preferences .
@ realDonaldTrump https : //t.co/wK0YqpOY26 — Brian J. Karem ( @ BrianKarem ) July 10 , 2020 The would-be dictator wants to withhold funding based on the content of speech .
So much for the Constitution .
https : //t.co/AOFAbvIeQU — Walter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2020 He 's hoping news organizations cover this empty threat today instead of his refusal/inability to read his daily intelligence briefs containing real threats like Putin paying to kill American troops .
https : //t.co/AwiCnAk4lg — Lawrence O'Donnell ( @ Lawrence ) July 10 , 2020 No one gets to bitch about `` cancel culture '' after this overt threat by the sitting president against all higher ed institutions that are n't an iteration of Liberty U because he disagrees with some professors ' politics ⬇ https : //t.co/t1GBSkPdez — Fiddler ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dude who had someone take his SATs does n't understand higher learning .
I am shocked .
No wonder he created that sham Trump University .
https : //t.co/apHVGbvYX3 — Jerry James Stone ( @ jerryjamesstone ) July 10 , 2020 One person gently suggested that the president might want to rethink his plan .
Good luck with this one at the Supreme Court .
You ’ ve been racking up loss after loss lately , you really want to go again ?
https : //t.co/BZeICpcKoB — Gary Whitta ( @ garywhitta ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Treasury Department for comment .

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The man who once famously said, “I love the poorly educated,” apparently has a big problem with higher education.
President Donald Trump on Friday railed against universities and school systems that he argued were “about radical left indoctrination, not education.”
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In two tweets, the president said he was telling the Treasury Department to “re-examine” the tax-exempt status of colleges and universities if they use “propaganda or act against public policy.”
Too many Universities and School Systems are about Radical Left Indoctrination, not Education. Therefore, I am telling the Treasury Department to re-examine their Tax-Exempt Status... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2020
... and/or Funding, which will be taken away if this Propaganda or Act Against Public Policy continues. Our children must be Educated, not Indoctrinated! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2020
But Trump’s proposal to eliminate tax-exempt status for educational institutions that supposedly indoctrinate students may not pass legal muster.
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The “advocacy of a particular position or viewpoint” can qualify as educational for tax purposes “if there is a sufficiently full and fair exposition of pertinent facts to permit an individual or the public to form an independent opinion or conclusion,” according to IRS policy reported by Politico.
Many Twitter users also took issue with the president’s tweets.
America wants to investigate YOUR tax-exempt status. https://t.co/3fO2QZe854 — Dan Rather (@DanRather) July 10, 2020
I'm old enough to remember when conservatives went crazy when they thought the IRS was targeting right-wing organizations for political purposes. No doubt, they will all loudly express their indignation over this. https://t.co/Lfn1a5v6KH — David Corn (@DavidCornDC) July 10, 2020
Real politburo crap here. You do NOT get to define what education is or is not. You do not get to mandate what we say, think, read or how we express ourselves. You do not control our bodies, our minds, our beliefs, or our sexual preferences. @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/wK0YqpOY26 — Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) July 10, 2020
The would-be dictator wants to withhold funding based on the content of speech. So much for the Constitution. https://t.co/AOFAbvIeQU — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) July 10, 2020
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He's hoping news organizations cover this empty threat today instead of his refusal/inability to read his daily intelligence briefs containing real threats like Putin paying to kill American troops. https://t.co/AwiCnAk4lg — Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) July 10, 2020
No one gets to bitch about "cancel culture" after this overt threat by the sitting president against all higher ed institutions that aren't an iteration of Liberty U because he disagrees with some professors' politics ⬇ https://t.co/t1GBSkPdez — Fiddler (@cFidd) July 10, 2020
Dude who had someone take his SATs doesn't understand higher learning. I am shocked.
No wonder he created that sham Trump University. https://t.co/apHVGbvYX3 — Jerry James Stone (@jerryjamesstone) July 10, 2020
One person gently suggested that the president might want to rethink his plan.
Good luck with this one at the Supreme Court. You’ve been racking up loss after loss lately, you really want to go again? https://t.co/BZeICpcKoB — Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) July 10, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Joe Biden Credits Elizabeth Warren With Helping Craft His New Economic Plan

Former Vice President Joe Biden is explicitly crediting Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
with helping develop his new plan for rebuilding the U.S. economy , a sign that Warren has been able to influence the policy positions of the presumptive Democratic nominee as his campaign continues to vet potential vice presidential picks .
“ I am grateful to so many ― including my friend Elizabeth Warren , labor unions , and other progressive partners for their help in putting together this bold new set of policies aimed at healing our economy and ensuring good , dignified jobs for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an email to members of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee , a Warren-allied progressive group , that is scheduled to go out later Friday .
“ In the face of Donald Trump ’ s egregious mismanagement of the public health and economic crises , there has never been a more important moment to reinvest in good-paying jobs for workers across our country.
” Biden ’ s plan , which he began to roll out Thursday during a speech near his hometown of Scranton , Pennsylvania , includes $ 400 billion of federal procurement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States and a $ 300 billion investment in government research on electric vehicles and other advanced technologies .
The Biden campaign says the spending will help create more than 5 million new jobs .
Elements of the plan are similar to proposals Warren released during the primary , including pushes to increase government procurement of American-made products .
But while Warren aimed to spend $ 150 billion a year on clean energy technology , Biden plans to spend $ 300 billion on a wider variety of products .
“ This money will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is in on the deal , including communities that have historically been left out — Black , brown and Native American entrepreneurs , cities and towns in every region of the country , ” Biden said in the speech .
“ This will be a mobilization of R & D and procurement investments in ways not seen since World War II.
” Since becoming his party ’ s presumptive nominee earlier this year , Biden has made halting but significant steps toward more populist economic positions without adopting the full-scale progressivism of Warren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That tone continued on Thursday , when Biden declared it was time to “ end shareholder capitalism.
” Allies of Warren have praised many of these steps , and have argued they show Warren ’ s ability to influence Biden and his campaign .
“ Biden clearly takes the enormity of this crisis seriously , recognizes that bold progressive solutions are needed in this moment , and smartly is collaborating with Elizabeth Warren and other progressive thinkers and organizations as he develops solutions , ” said Adam Green , the co-founder of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to this ambitious plan to create millions of good-paying union jobs , and his engagement with progressives in developing it , credit is definitely due.
” Warren is still seen as a top contender to become Biden ’ s running mate , though the former vice president is under intense pressure to select a Black woman for the job .
Biden is unlikely to announce his vice presidential pick until later in July or early August .
“ I ’ m glad to talk to anyone about it , and Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ ve had a lot of back-and-forth , ” she said Thursday during an appearance on CNN .
“ But understand , these are the plans that the vice president has embraced because it ’ s his vision .
He doesn ’ t just want to build the old economy , he wants to build the next economy.
” Republicans are likely to attack Biden , who has a healthy lead over President Donald Trump in polling , for acknowledging Warren ’ s influence .
The GOP has argued that Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Democratic Party despite his center-left stances on most policy issues .
Biden ’ s speech on Thursday was seen as the beginning of an effort to limit Trump ’ s advantage on the economy .
Biden plans to roll out additional policies on clean energy , aiding family caregivers and advancing racial equity in the coming weeks .

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Former Vice President Joe Biden is explicitly crediting Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with helping develop his new plan for rebuilding the U.S. economy, a sign that Warren has been able to influence the policy positions of the presumptive Democratic nominee as his campaign continues to vet potential vice presidential picks.
“I am grateful to so many ― including my friend Elizabeth Warren, labor unions, and other progressive partners for their help in putting together this bold new set of policies aimed at healing our economy and ensuring good, dignified jobs for American workers,” Biden wrote in an email to members of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a Warren-allied progressive group, that is scheduled to go out later Friday. “In the face of Donald Trump’s egregious mismanagement of the public health and economic crises, there has never been a more important moment to reinvest in good-paying jobs for workers across our country.”
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Biden’s plan, which he began to roll out Thursday during a speech near his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, includes $400 billion of federal procurement spending on products manufactured in the United States and a $300 billion investment in government research on electric vehicles and other advanced technologies. The Biden campaign says the spending will help create more than 5 million new jobs.
Elements of the plan are similar to proposals Warren released during the primary, including pushes to increase government procurement of American-made products. But while Warren aimed to spend $150 billion a year on clean energy technology, Biden plans to spend $300 billion on a wider variety of products.
“This money will be used purposefully to ensure all of America is in on the deal, including communities that have historically been left out — Black, brown and Native American entrepreneurs, cities and towns in every region of the country,” Biden said in the speech. “This will be a mobilization of R&D and procurement investments in ways not seen since World War II.”
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) helped former Vice President Joe Biden develop a plan for empowering American manufacturing and research. Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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Since becoming his party’s presumptive nominee earlier this year, Biden has made halting but significant steps toward more populist economic positions without adopting the full-scale progressivism of Warren or Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). That tone continued on Thursday, when Biden declared it was time to “end shareholder capitalism.”
Allies of Warren have praised many of these steps, and have argued they show Warren’s ability to influence Biden and his campaign.
“Biden clearly takes the enormity of this crisis seriously, recognizes that bold progressive solutions are needed in this moment, and smartly is collaborating with Elizabeth Warren and other progressive thinkers and organizations as he develops solutions,” said Adam Green, the co-founder of the PCCC. “When it comes to this ambitious plan to create millions of good-paying union jobs, and his engagement with progressives in developing it, credit is definitely due.”
Warren is still seen as a top contender to become Biden’s running mate, though the former vice president is under intense pressure to select a Black woman for the job. Biden is unlikely to announce his vice presidential pick until later in July or early August.
Warren acknowledged she had talked to Biden’s team but gave full credit to the former vice president.
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“I’m glad to talk to anyone about it, and Biden’s team is a smart economic team, we’ve had a lot of back-and-forth,” she said Thursday during an appearance on CNN. “But understand, these are the plans that the vice president has embraced because it’s his vision. He doesn’t just want to build the old economy, he wants to build the next economy.”
"Joe Biden wants to build the economy back better than before," says Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
"Instead of just patching over the cracks, he wants to make this economy work for the whole country." https://t.co/u1Y5mvR7pK pic.twitter.com/VaqLvqh1hc — Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) July 10, 2020
Republicans are likely to attack Biden, who has a healthy lead over President Donald Trump in polling, for acknowledging Warren’s influence. The GOP has argued that Biden’s election would empower radical elements of the Democratic Party despite his center-left stances on most policy issues.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-10--Watchdog Details Storm Of Political Pressure In Sharpiegate

Political pressure from the White House and a series of “ crazy in the middle of the night ” texts , emails and phone calls caused top federal weather officials to wrongly admonish a weather office for a tweet that contradicted President Donald Trump about Hurricane Dorian in 2019 , an inspector general report found .
Commerce Department Inspector General Peggy Gustafson concluded in a report issued Thursday that the statement chastising the National Weather Service office in Birmingham , Alabama , could undercut public trust in weather warnings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and for a short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials downplayed and disputed the findings .
Former Obama NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco , a scientist at Oregon State University , said in an email that high-level officials “ put politics and their own jobs above public safety .
In my view , this is shameful , irresponsible , and unethical.
” The tweet came out 10 minutes after Trump had tweeted that Alabama was among states that “ will most likely be hit ( much ) harder than anticipated.
” Forecasters in Alabama said they didn ’ t know about the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on outdated information , and that they were instead responding to calls from a worried public .
By the time the two tweets were posted , Alabama was no longer in the hurricane center ’ s warning cone , although it had been in previous days .
One hurricane center graphic at the time showed a “ non-zero ” chance of tropical storm force winds for a tiny corner of Alabama , something NOAA officials later scurried to highlight , according to the report .
However , NOAA acting chief Neil Jacobs told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was baffled by Trump ’ s reference to Alabama : “ ( T ) hat was the first time when I was wondering why are we still talking about Alabama , you know ?
” The dust-up came to be referred to as “ Sharpiegate ” after the president later displayed a National Hurricane Center warning map that had been altered with a black marker to include Alabama in the potential path of the storm .
The president is known for his use of Sharpies .
Four days after the tweets , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mick Mulvaney sent Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross an email after 9 p.m. , saying “ it appears as if the NWS intentionally contradicted the president .
And we need to know why .
He wants either a correction or an explanation or both.
” That triggered a series of texts , emails and phone calls involving Ross underlings , especially Department of Commerce Chief of Staff Michael J. Walsh Jr. from 1 a.m. to 3:43 a.m. , laying the groundwork for a NOAA statement that came out the next day .
Then-NOAA communications @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general ’ s office that Walsh told her “ there are jobs on the line .
It could be the forecast office in Birmingham .
Or it could be someone higher than that .
And the higher is less palatable.
” Walsh denied that to the inspector general .
The report said there was no credible evidence found to say that jobs were threatened .
However , Jacobs told the inspector general ’ s office he “ definitely felt like our jobs were on the line ” but that “ nobody told me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ By requiring NOAA to issue an unattributed statement related to a then-5-day-old tweet , while an active hurricane continued to exist off the east coast of the United States , the Department displayed poor judgment in exercising its authority over NOAA , ” the inspector general report said .
In a statement attached to the report , Walsh said the report ’ s conclusions “ are completely unsupported by any of the evidence or factual findings that the report lays out .
The Inspector General instead selectively quotes from interviews , takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House declined to comment .
The Department of Commerce attached a letter to the report saying the report doesn ’ t dispute the accuracy of the Sept. 6 statement that criticized the Birmingham office nor does it find that the agency suppressed scientific communication .

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Political pressure from the White House and a series of “crazy in the middle of the night” texts, emails and phone calls caused top federal weather officials to wrongly admonish a weather office for a tweet that contradicted President Donald Trump about Hurricane Dorian in 2019, an inspector general report found.
Commerce Department Inspector General Peggy Gustafson concluded in a report issued Thursday that the statement chastising the National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Alabama, could undercut public trust in weather warnings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and for a short time even hindered public safety. Agency officials downplayed and disputed the findings.
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“Instead of focusing on NOAA’s successful hurricane forecast, the Department unnecessarily rebuked NWS forecasters for issuing a public safety message about Hurricane Dorian in response to public inquiries — that is, for doing their jobs,” the report concluded.
Former Obama NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco, a scientist at Oregon State University, said in an email that high-level officials “put politics and their own jobs above public safety. In my view, this is shameful, irresponsible, and unethical.”
At issue was a Sept. 1 tweet from the Birmingham weather office that “Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian.”
The tweet came out 10 minutes after Trump had tweeted that Alabama was among states that “will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated.” Forecasters in Alabama said they didn’t know about the president’s tweet, which was based on outdated information, and that they were instead responding to calls from a worried public.
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President Donald Trump holds a chart on Sept. 4, 2019, as he talks with reporters after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Dorian. Evan Vucci/Associated Press
By the time the two tweets were posted, Alabama was no longer in the hurricane center’s warning cone, although it had been in previous days. One hurricane center graphic at the time showed a “non-zero” chance of tropical storm force winds for a tiny corner of Alabama, something NOAA officials later scurried to highlight, according to the report.
However, NOAA acting chief Neil Jacobs told the inspector general’s office that he was baffled by Trump’s reference to Alabama: “(T)hat was the first time when I was wondering why are we still talking about Alabama, you know?”
The dust-up came to be referred to as “Sharpiegate” after the president later displayed a National Hurricane Center warning map that had been altered with a black marker to include Alabama in the potential path of the storm. The president is known for his use of Sharpies.
Four days after the tweets, then acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney sent Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross an email after 9 p.m., saying “it appears as if the NWS intentionally contradicted the president. And we need to know why. He wants either a correction or an explanation or both.”
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That triggered a series of texts, emails and phone calls involving Ross underlings, especially Department of Commerce Chief of Staff Michael J. Walsh Jr. from 1 a.m. to 3:43 a.m., laying the groundwork for a NOAA statement that came out the next day.
Jacobs said “things went crazy in the middle of the night.”
Then-NOAA communications chief Julie Kay Roberts told the inspector general’s office that Walsh told her “there are jobs on the line. It could be the forecast office in Birmingham. Or it could be someone higher than that. And the higher is less palatable.”
Walsh denied that to the inspector general. The report said there was no credible evidence found to say that jobs were threatened. However, Jacobs told the inspector general’s office he “definitely felt like our jobs were on the line” but that “nobody told me I was going to get fired.”
The eventual unsigned statement from NOAA said: “The Birmingham National Weather Service’s Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time.”
Dorian made landfall in North Carolina and had no major impact on Alabama, which is about 600 miles (965 kilometers) away.
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“By requiring NOAA to issue an unattributed statement related to a then-5-day-old tweet, while an active hurricane continued to exist off the east coast of the United States, the Department displayed poor judgment in exercising its authority over NOAA,” the inspector general report said.
The report also criticized Roberts for deleting text messages, which is contrary to government document retention rules.
In a statement attached to the report, Walsh said the report’s conclusions “are completely unsupported by any of the evidence or factual findings that the report lays out. The Inspector General instead selectively quotes from interviews, takes facts out of context.”
The White House declined to comment. The Department of Commerce attached a letter to the report saying the report doesn’t dispute the accuracy of the Sept. 6 statement that criticized the Birmingham office nor does it find that the agency suppressed scientific communication.
Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, said she could not support Jacobs’ nomination to be the full-time chief of NOAA, saying the report shows Jacobs “failed to protect scientists from political influence.”