thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Released From Hospital More Than 1 Month After Poisoning

BERLIN ( AP ) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been released from a Berlin hospital after more than a month ’ s treatment for poisoning , with doctors now believing that a “ complete recovery ” from the Soviet-era nerve agent is possible for him , the hospital said Wednesday .
As he was released Tuesday , the 44-year-old displayed his characteristic sarcastic sense of humor .
In an Instagram post , he took swipe at Russian President Vladimir Putin , scoffing at reported comments by the Russian leader suggesting that Navalny might have intentionally poisoned himself .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ who is Putin ’ s most visible opponent , was flown to Germany two days after falling ill on Aug. 20 on a domestic flight in Russia .
He spent those two days in a coma in a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk , where Russian doctors said they found no trace of any poisoning .
The hospital said based on Navalny ’ s progress , physicians believe that a “ complete recovery is possible , ” but added it ” remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Navalny has been posting regular photos of his convalescence from the hospital on Instagram , first showing him sitting up in his bed surrounded by his family , then up and about in the building .
In his post Tuesday night , he laughed off a report in the French newspaper Le Monde saying that Putin suggested to French President Emmanuel Macron in a call that he “ could have taken the poison himself.
” He wryly wrote that the “ ultimate aim of my cunning plan ” must have been to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of death would be “ lived long enough.
” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said the report about Putin ’ s conversation with Macron was “ inaccurate in its reported wording , ” but refused to elaborate as to which part was inaccurate .
Macron ’ s office refused to comment on the report .
The nerve agent used in the attack was the same class of Soviet-era poison that Britain said was used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury , England , in 2018 .
German @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempted murder and she and other world leaders have demanded that Russia fully investigate the case .
Navalny was kept in an induced coma for more than two weeks as he was treated with an antidote .
Members of his team accused the Kremlin of involvement in the poisoning , charges that Russian officials have vehemently denied .
Russia has bristled at the demands for an investigation , saying that Germany needs to share medical data in the case or compare notes with Russian doctors .
Germany has noted that Navalny was in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia has its own samples from Navalny .
Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow needs data from Germany “ to compare ” tests results .
Germany has also enlisted the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for technical assistance in the case .
The agency has collected independent samples from Navalny for testing but results have not yet been announced .
The Charite statement was released in consultation with Navalny and his wife , and the hospital would not comment further on any outpatient care for him .
Peskov said Wednesday that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizen , ” is free to come back to Russia “ at any moment.
” He reiterated that what happened to the him remains “ a big question ” for the Kremlin , as Russian investigators “ don ’ t have any facts pointing to ” poisonous substances in Navalny ’ s body .

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BERLIN (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been released from a Berlin hospital after more than a month’s treatment for poisoning, with doctors now believing that a “complete recovery” from the Soviet-era nerve agent is possible for him, the hospital said Wednesday.
Navalny spent 32 days at Berlin’s Charite hospital, 24 of them in intensive care, before doctors deemed his “condition had improved sufficiently for him to be discharged from acute inpatient care.”
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As he was released Tuesday, the 44-year-old displayed his characteristic sarcastic sense of humor. In an Instagram post, he took swipe at Russian President Vladimir Putin, scoffing at reported comments by the Russian leader suggesting that Navalny might have intentionally poisoned himself.
Navalny, a politician and corruption investigator who is Putin’s most visible opponent, was flown to Germany two days after falling ill on Aug. 20 on a domestic flight in Russia. He spent those two days in a coma in a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk, where Russian doctors said they found no trace of any poisoning.
German chemical weapons experts have determined that he was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok — findings corroborated by labs in France and Sweden.
The hospital said based on Navalny’s progress, physicians believe that a “complete recovery is possible,” but added it ”remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning.”
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In recent days, Navalny has been posting regular photos of his convalescence from the hospital on Instagram, first showing him sitting up in his bed surrounded by his family, then up and about in the building.
In his post Tuesday night, he laughed off a report in the French newspaper Le Monde saying that Putin suggested to French President Emmanuel Macron in a call that he “could have taken the poison himself.”
“Good theory, I believe it deserves the most careful attention,” Navalny wrote in Russian. “Cooked Novichok in the kitchen. Took a sip from a flask on the plane. Fell into a coma.”
He wryly wrote that the “ultimate aim of my cunning plan” must have been to die in Siberia, where the cause of death would be “lived long enough.”
“But Putin outmaneuvered me. You can’t fool him,” Navalny wrote. “As a result, I lay in coma for 18 days like a fool, but didn’t get my way. The provocation failed!”
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said the report about Putin’s conversation with Macron was “inaccurate in its reported wording,” but refused to elaborate as to which part was inaccurate. Macron’s office refused to comment on the report.
The nerve agent used in the attack was the same class of Soviet-era poison that Britain said was used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, in 2018. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the poisoning attempted murder and she and other world leaders have demanded that Russia fully investigate the case.
Navalny was kept in an induced coma for more than two weeks as he was treated with an antidote. Members of his team accused the Kremlin of involvement in the poisoning, charges that Russian officials have vehemently denied.
Russia has bristled at the demands for an investigation, saying that Germany needs to share medical data in the case or compare notes with Russian doctors.
Germany has noted that Navalny was in Russian treatment for 48 hours and that Russia has its own samples from Navalny. Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow needs data from Germany “to compare” tests results.
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Germany has also enlisted the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for technical assistance in the case. The agency has collected independent samples from Navalny for testing but results have not yet been announced.
The Charite statement was released in consultation with Navalny and his wife, and the hospital would not comment further on any outpatient care for him.
Navalny’s team has said he eventually plans to return to Russia, but had no immediate statement after his release from the hospital.
Peskov said Wednesday that Navalny, “as any other Russian citizen,” is free to come back to Russia “at any moment.” He reiterated that what happened to the him remains “a big question” for the Kremlin, as Russian investigators “don’t have any facts pointing to” poisonous substances in Navalny’s body.
Peskov once again called for Germany, France and Sweden to share their data with Moscow.
“We’re still expecting it and are convinced that it can help us make significant progress in this case,” he said.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--Johnson & Johnson Begins Late-Stage Trials On Single-Dose Coronavirus Vaccine

The study starting Wednesday will be one of the world ’ s largest coronavirus vaccine studies so far , testing the shot in 60,000 volunteers in the U.S. , South Africa , Argentina , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Mexico and Peru .
A handful of other vaccines in the U.S. — including shots made by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. — and others in other countries are already in final-stage testing .
Hopes are high that answers about at least one candidate being tested in the U.S. could come by year ’ s end , maybe sooner .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ can without sacrificing safety or efficacy — we ’ re not going to do that — to make sure that we end up with vaccines that are going to save lives , ” Dr. Francis Collins , director of the National Institutes of Health , told reporters .
But many vaccine specialists question whether the Food and Drug Administration will stick to that goal under intense pressure from the Trump administration .
President Donald Trump has consistently presented a faster timeline for a new vaccine than experts say is adequate to fully test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still another experimental vaccine , made by AstraZeneca , remains on hold in the U.S. as officials examine a safety question , even though studies have resumed in other countries .
And Dr. Anthony Fauci , the top U.S. infectious disease expert , added in the call to governors that he is confident in “ a tried and true process ” that has checks and balances built in , including an independent board evaluating the progress of each vaccine trial , as well as “ the integrity of the FDA.
” Even if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a vaccine by year ’ s end , supplies would be limited and given first to vulnerable groups such as health workers .
Most Americans aren ’ t likely to receive a vaccine until sometime next year .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants states to get ready now to roll out vaccinations , which will present enormous logistical challenges .
On Wednesday the CDC was set to announce distribution of $ 200 million in congressionally approved funds to help begin setting up operations .
Health and Human Services Secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will build on longstanding cooperation between the federal government and the states on immunizations .
J & J ’ s vaccine is made with slightly different technology than others in late-stage testing , modeled on an Ebola vaccine the company created .
Unlike the other three vaccines that started late-stage testing in the U.S. , it requires only one shot , not two .
Despite a later start to testing than some of its competitors , Dr. Paul Stoffels , J & J ’ s chief scientific officer , told reporters that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibly by early next year .

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Johnson & Johnson is beginning a huge final study to try to prove if a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine can protect against the virus.
The study starting Wednesday will be one of the world’s largest coronavirus vaccine studies so far, testing the shot in 60,000 volunteers in the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
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A handful of other vaccines in the U.S. — including shots made by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. — and others in other countries are already in final-stage testing. Hopes are high that answers about at least one candidate being tested in the U.S. could come by year’s end, maybe sooner.
U.S. health officials insist the race for a vaccine isn’t cutting corners.
“We want to do everything we can without sacrificing safety or efficacy — we’re not going to do that — to make sure that we end up with vaccines that are going to save lives,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told reporters.
But many vaccine specialists question whether the Food and Drug Administration will stick to that goal under intense pressure from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has consistently presented a faster timeline for a new vaccine than experts say is adequate to fully test the candidates.
Meanwhile, testing of still another experimental vaccine, made by AstraZeneca, remains on hold in the U.S. as officials examine a safety question, even though studies have resumed in other countries.
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Earlier this week, Vice President Mike Pence urged state governors to “do your part to build public confidence that it will be a safe and effective vaccine.”
And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, added in the call to governors that he is confident in “a tried and true process” that has checks and balances built in, including an independent board evaluating the progress of each vaccine trial, as well as “the integrity of the FDA.”
A recording of the call was provided to The Associated Press.
Senators were scheduled to question FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Fauci and other administration officials later Wednesday about the pandemic response.
Even if the FDA were to allow emergency use of a vaccine by year’s end, supplies would be limited and given first to vulnerable groups such as health workers. Most Americans aren’t likely to receive a vaccine until sometime next year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants states to get ready now to roll out vaccinations, which will present enormous logistical challenges. On Wednesday the CDC was set to announce distribution of $200 million in congressionally approved funds to help begin setting up operations.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the COVID-19 vaccine campaign will build on longstanding cooperation between the federal government and the states on immunizations.
J&J’s vaccine is made with slightly different technology than others in late-stage testing, modeled on an Ebola vaccine the company created. Unlike the other three vaccines that started late-stage testing in the U.S., it requires only one shot, not two. Despite a later start to testing than some of its competitors, Dr. Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer, told reporters that the study was large enough to yield answers possibly by early next year.
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Associated Press writers Lauran Neergaard and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--What Socializing Will Be Like This Fall And Winter During COVID-19

“ We ’ re going to have to adjust once fall and winter come , at least in most of @ @ @ @ @ Lisa Miller , professor of epidemiology at the University of Colorado School of Public Health @ @ @ @ @ of COVID are the more we have contact with each other , the more transmission @ @ @ @ @ see .
So we need to think creatively and be diligent about trying to maintain @ @ @ @ @ much as we can to minimize the increase.
” Expect an increase in virtual celebrations @ @ @ @ @ sports will likely be a relatively safe way to socialize .
Restaurants may figure out @ @ @ @ @ dining into the colder months .
Anticipate more drive-in social events across the country .
@ @ @ @ @ transform into spaces for smaller socially distant gatherings .
People may increase the use of @ @ @ @ @ can definitely count on experts stressing that you get a flu shot .

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The spring and summer months made it easy — whatever “easy” means during a global pandemic — to have relatively safe social gatherings outdoors, where the coronavirus does not spread as easily. As we face the fall and winter months, most of the country must contend with the reality that colder temperatures will make getting together even harder.
Public health experts know that the virus spreads largely from person-to-person contact and that the risk increases exponentially when people are indoors. That leads to serious concerns around viral spread in the winter when our time is mostly spent inside.
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“We’re going to have to adjust once fall and winter come, at least in most of the U.S.,” said Lisa Miller, professor of epidemiology at the University of Colorado School of Public Health. “The very basics of COVID are the more we have contact with each other, the more transmission we’re going to see. So we need to think creatively and be diligent about trying to maintain social distance and mask-wearing as much as we can to minimize the increase.”
Kaz Nelson, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, acknowledged the exhaustion many are feeling as they continue to stay home, wear masks and socially distance. But she stressed that these tactics are used for good reason.
“I hope people continue to remain sensitive to cues from people in public health who are trying to curb this pandemic,” Nelson said. “I know there is a lot of fatigue related with staying at home and the physical distancing that has been necessary.”
She fears the public will fall back into old social behaviors as the cold-weather months bring frustrating barriers to social gatherings, and she emphasized that the public has to fight the urge as much as possible.
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The fall and winter are sure to bring new pandemic challenges, but experts predict we’ll find less risky ways to socialize both virtually and in person as temperatures drop. Here’s what we might see:
Expect an increase in virtual celebrations and performances.
David Aronoff, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, noted that the isolation, loneliness and depression that the winter season already brings to many may only be worsened by the social limitations and increased stress of the pandemic.
“There is a real chance that COVID-19 could compound this sense of isolation and aloneness,” Aronoff said. “One of the ways that we have seen some people combat that has been with the adaptation of technology to help connect with other people. Some are becoming more facile with smartphones, even older adults who may previously not have had much familiarity with smartphone technology or tablet technology.”
Many of us leaned into Zoom happy hours and other virtual gatherings at the beginning of the pandemic. While we may have done fewer in recent weeks, Aronoff said it might be wise to utilize those options again in the colder months.
“Certainly, the ability to create communities through the internet is not the same as being in person, but it can be really helpful and an important way for us to check up on each other,” he added.
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Beyond virtual birthday parties and holiday celebrations, Aronoff expects more comedians and musicians to utilize digital technologies for live-stream performances, as some are doing already.
“We’re seeing musicians who are struggling right now, we’re seeing comedians who are struggling right now. But they are finding ways to connect by having special performances online and those are helpful,” he said.
Aronoff also stressed that not everyone is privileged to have easy access to technology so those who can safely see loved ones in virtual gatherings should be grateful for that at least.
Tempura via Getty Images
Outdoor winter sports will likely be a relatively safe way to socialize.
When snow starts to fall in certain parts of the country, Nelson expects winter sports to provide many with much-needed chances for socialization.
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Winter sports — activities like skiing, ice skating or sledding — may come with a lower risk, especially if you engage in them on your own or as a household.
“Outdoor winter enthusiasts will get a lot of their social time and social needs met on the ice or on the sledding hill or cross-country skiing,” Nelson said. “If you have the right gear and equipment, there can be a lot of recreational enjoyment that’s unique to areas where there is ice and snow.”
She pointed out that when dressed properly for winter sports, participants are somewhat protected from transmitting the coronavirus, as long as all guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are also followed. Winter sports can call for gloves on the hands and goggles over the eyes, and everybody can and should wear face coverings like ski masks.
Restaurants may figure out new ways to offer outdoor dining into the colder months.
Restaurants that have been heavily reliant on outdoor tables for risk mitigation are likely to think creatively about dining al fresco as the temperatures start to drop, Miller said.
“A lot of this is learning as we go and seeing what’s possible and what works,” she said.
Miller suggested that people will also likely think differently about what they can tolerate weather-wise. What may have been too cold before may be something they’ll choose to endure now for a chance at a safer interaction.
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“Certainly, sometimes it’s not possible to be outside, but I think we can do more than we have before because we’re pushed,” she said.
Anticipate more drive-in social events across the country.
In recent months, drive-in movies, festivals and concerts have become the new norm because of their low-risk nature. When less-than-pleasant weather becomes our reality, Nelson predicts even more drive-in gatherings.
People can stay warm inside their heated cars, no matter the temperature outside, while participating in everything from organized events like movies to drive-by celebrations for religious holidays to friends waving at one another from their car windows.
Benjamin Clapp via Getty Images
Large-scale meeting facilities could potentially transform into spaces for smaller socially distant gatherings.
Convention and conference centers across the country have tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of square feet of empty space. Aronoff noted there could be opportunities during the winter months for small numbers of people to gather in those spaces for socially distanced and well-ventilated meet-ups.
Operators of large meeting facilities could receive guidance from their local health department or public health experts on how to create an environment that is as safe as it can be for the public.
“There could be lots of intent put into making sure there’s good spacing, good ventilation, good social distancing and good opportunities for hand hygiene. Now is an opportunity to think about doing some events indoors that are purposefully designed to exist during this pandemic,” Aronoff said.
He added that plans would need to adhere to CDC guidelines and should be canceled if the rate of infection in the community rises.
People may increase the use of COVID-19 social bubbles.
It’s safe to assume that we’ll be staying home more (or should be) in the next few months given the chance of a second wave and the limitations of being outdoors. Enter the bubble.
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Coronavirus social bubbles are groups of family members or friends who either shelter in place together or forgo social interaction with anyone outside their bubble in order to see those inside the bubble in a safe and low-risk manner.
Nelson said she expects people to use the bubble strategy when planning their social gatherings for the winter season. But she emphasized that this option is only for those who can truly avoid the folks outside their bubble and are willing to do so.
“It really requires a lot of commitment to employ the bubble strategy. The bubble doesn’t work if you’re in multiple bubbles or with people who are in multiple bubbles,” she added.
If one person sees someone outside the bubble ― especially in a high-risk setting ― that could increase the likelihood of COVID-19 exposure not just for them but for other members of the bubble. In other words, if you are going the bubble route, keep it small and make it airtight.
Anastasiia Korotkova via Getty Images
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You can definitely count on experts stressing that you get a flu shot.
Miller highlighted the importance of preventive care, particularly vaccines, as winter approaches.
“When we’re thinking about the winter, we always think about influenza,” she said. “I think that will be a challenge because some of the ways people were vaccinated in the past ― for instance, at work ― might not be available. But it’s still really important and we want to make sure we are using all of the protective measures we can.”
Everyone who can safely get a flu shot should do so— including children ages 6 months and older, who should also get any vaccinations they have missed during the pandemic.
Miller noted that the same safety measures we take for COVID-19 “should also protect us from other respiratory viruses.”
Bottom line: As we begin spending more time indoors during a time of year when respiratory illnesses are already more common, people need to keep prioritizing preventive care to stay healthy.
Experts are still learning about COVID-19. The information in this story is what was known or available as of publication, but guidance can change as scientists discover more about the virus. Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most updated recommendations.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--Getting COVID-19 Is Putting Americans On The Brink Of Economic Crisis

For this survey , researchers asked if Americans had “ serious ” financial Issues as a result of the coronavirus pandemic .
Typically in the event of a hurricane or flood , government aid is there to provide a cushion for those in distress , which limits the number of people who report “ serious ” issues .
Blendon and his fellow researchers assumed that the stimulus checks and expanded aid provided in the economic stimulus package , called the CARES Act , would cushion the blow of the pandemic .
They expected to find what they normally see after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people for whom that cushion wasn ’ t enough .
The Harvard survey , for all the distress it shows , could even be painting a fairly rosy picture , as it was conducted in July and August just as the financial benefits of the CARES Act expired .
Researchers surveyed a national representative group of 3,454 adults , ages 18 and over , both online and by phone , asking a range of questions about the effect of the coronavirus on their household finances , jobs , health care , housing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Early on in the pandemic , lawmakers passed three stimulus packages , the largest was the $ 2 trillion CARES Act in March .
It provided $ 1,200 one-time payments to most Americans , with some households getting even more , expanded unemployment insurance to include those not traditionally covered , such as gig workers , and it beefed up unemployment payments with an additional $ 600 a week for jobless workers so they could afford to stay home and ride out the storm of the pandemic .
But those payments expired .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Part of the issue is that policymakers didn ’ t realize the crisis would go on this long .
“ There was a belief it would be over sooner , ” said Blendon , who added that there was little familiarity with the disease .
So there was a lack of awareness that some would suffer long-term disability from COVID-19 .
These people should be getting help from the government , so they can have enough time to recover , he said .
Nearly 2 in 3 households where an adult has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loss , furloughs or a reduction in hours , according to the survey .
About half of the coronavirus-affected households have used up their savings and are facing serious problems paying credit cards or other debt .
And about 1 in 5 of these households are having problems affording medical care .
Pre-pandemic , English had two jobs and was running ultra-marathons .
Now she says she can be up and about for only a few hours a day before becoming exhausted .
She counts herself among the COVID-19 “ long-haulers ” experiencing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and shortness of breath .
All that was exacerbated recently when she and her family had to evacuate their home because of the fires raging out west .
She was getting unemployment for a time , but the payments just ran out .
“ I probably have enough to pay the mortgage next month , but no food or bills , ” she said .
“ I ’ m a wreck to be honest with you .
I ’ ve had breakdowns , throughout this.
” She emphasized that she was never like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that girl at work that annoys everyone because I ’ m always in a good mood .
It ’ s been devastating .
I ’ ve learned to just let the tears flow .
It ’ s not doing me any good .
”

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Contracting COVID-19 is putting already financially stressed Americans on the brink of economic disaster. And the rest of the country isn’t that far behind.
Of the Americans who’ve contracted COVID-19, 63% are facing serious financial problems, according to a survey released Wednesday morning from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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Those who haven’t gotten sick aren’t faring much better: 46% of households in the U.S. reported serious financial problems because of the pandemic in the survey, 31% have used up all their savings and 21% are having trouble paying debt.
The high percentages of financial distress shocked researchers, said Robert J. Blendon, an emeritus professor of health policy and policy analysis at Harvard who worked on the survey.
“We were completely surprised,” said Blendon, who has done other polling around natural disasters.
For this survey, researchers asked if Americans had “serious” financial Issues as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Typically in the event of a hurricane or flood, government aid is there to provide a cushion for those in distress, which limits the number of people who report “serious” issues. Blendon and his fellow researchers assumed that the stimulus checks and expanded aid provided in the economic stimulus package, called the CARES Act, would cushion the blow of the pandemic. They expected to find what they normally see after a disaster: a small subset of people for whom that cushion wasn’t enough.
Instead they found widespread, serious financial distress ― particularly among Americans earning less than $100,000 a year, people of color, those with disabilities and those who’ve contracted the coronavirus. The numbers are jaw-dropping for nonwhite Americans: 72% of Latino households reported serious financial problems; so did 60% of Black households and slightly more than half of Native Americans.
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Desirae Hernandez, a 39-year-old home health care worker, said she did everything she could to keep from getting sick while she worked through the pandemic, but she wound up contracting the virus from a client. She was out of work for four weeks, with only six hours of sick leave.
Everyone in her home in Kennewick, Washington, got sick, too. Her husband, who was already working less because of the coronavirus shutdowns, was out of work for weeks with COVID-19. Hernandez’s 9-year-old son contracted the virus, as did her mother-in-law. Hernandez’s brother- and sister-in-law were both hospitalized.
“It was all around a scary situation,” she said. “Financially, I’m still catching up.”
They paid only the bills they had to pay and went to the food bank. Her cellphone was shut off. So was the Internet at home. She paid a neighbor $20 to borrow WiFi so her young son could attend online school. Luckily, Hernandez has insurance through the health care arm of the Service Employees International Union.
Now everyone is feeling better, but the financial pain lingers. Hernandez says she has $3.94 in her checking account.
“At least it’s not in the red,” she said with a laugh.
Desirae Hernandez, a home health care worker in Kennewick, Washington, is in financial straits after she and everyone else in her household contracted the coronavirus. Courtesy Desirae Hernandez
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The Harvard survey, for all the distress it shows, could even be painting a fairly rosy picture, as it was conducted in July and August just as the financial benefits of the CARES Act expired. Researchers surveyed a national representative group of 3,454 adults, ages 18 and over, both online and by phone, asking a range of questions about the effect of the coronavirus on their household finances, jobs, health care, housing, caregiving and other measures of well-being.
Early on in the pandemic, lawmakers passed three stimulus packages, the largest was the $2 trillion CARES Act in March. It provided $1,200 one-time payments to most Americans, with some households getting even more, expanded unemployment insurance to include those not traditionally covered, such as gig workers, and it beefed up unemployment payments with an additional $600 a week for jobless workers so they could afford to stay home and ride out the storm of the pandemic. But those payments expired. And the stimulus checks were spent.
Part of the issue is that policymakers didn’t realize the crisis would go on this long. “There was a belief it would be over sooner,” said Blendon, who added that there was little familiarity with the disease. So there was a lack of awareness that some would suffer long-term disability from COVID-19. These people should be getting help from the government, so they can have enough time to recover, he said.
Though Congress and the White House have discussed additional relief and stimulus, and the House actually passed a $3 trillion relief bill in May, it hasn’t happened, and a political war over the confirmation of a new Supreme Court justice could distract from the matter.
Blendon said it was clear that whatever aid the CARES Act provided, it was inadequate. He was incredulous that the benefits had expired and that there was no more aid coming.
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Jennifer English, a 46-year-old mother of three living just outside of Portland, Oregon, blew through her savings over the past 170-plus days that she’s been dealing with the coronavirus Courtesy Jennifer English
“We have this incredible number of people who are very financially stressed and vulnerable, and it’s affecting their ability to educate their kids at home. For whatever reason, this aid is not going to be continued.”
Most parents are struggling to care for school-age children, who are doing virtual classes, while trying to keep their jobs. The Harvard survey found that 59% of households with children are having serious problems caring for them, including 36% where there is difficulty with keeping the kids in school at all.
In households where someone has contracted COVID-19, the situation is more dire. In households with kids younger than 18 where someone contracted the coronavirus, 87% of respondents said they’ve faced serious problems caring for their children.
Hernandez said that caring for her son, whose school is online this year, is still a challenge. She and her husband are back to work, and there’s no one home during the day. Getting child care isn’t easy when you’ve had the coronavirus.
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“Nobody wants to watch a kid that just had COVID,” she said. “The last place you want your kid to be is where they’re not wanted.” So far, she’s been able to rely on a niece for child care.
Nearly 2 in 3 households where an adult has been sick with the coronavirus has experienced job loss, furloughs or a reduction in hours, according to the survey. About half of the coronavirus-affected households have used up their savings and are facing serious problems paying credit cards or other debt. And about 1 in 5 of these households are having problems affording medical care.
Jennifer English, a 46-year-old mother of three living just outside of Portland, Oregon, blew through her savings over the past 170-plus days that she’s been dealing with the coronavirus. She got sick in March, when she sat down for a taco dinner with her 15-year-old son and noticed she couldn’t taste the carne asada.
“I had just watched a CNN episode about how loss of taste was a symptom, and I just knew I had it,” she said. “I felt like my world crashed around me after two bites of a taco.”
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Things got worse from there; multiple trips to the hospital, fever, a dizzy spell so intense she fell onto the bathroom floor and was stuck there for hours because no one was home with her.
Pre-pandemic, English had two jobs and was running ultra-marathons. Now she says she can be up and about for only a few hours a day before becoming exhausted. She counts herself among the COVID-19 “long-haulers” experiencing debilitating symptoms. She has dizzy spells and shortness of breath. All that was exacerbated recently when she and her family had to evacuate their home because of the fires raging out west.
Recently, English was told she could return to one of her jobs, at a restaurant, but says she’s still too sick to work. Her other job, running a restaurant at a nearby convention center, is still on ice because of the pandemic.
She was getting unemployment for a time, but the payments just ran out. “I probably have enough to pay the mortgage next month, but no food or bills,” she said. “I’m a wreck to be honest with you. I’ve had breakdowns, throughout this.” She emphasized that she was never like this before. “I’m that girl at work that annoys everyone because I’m always in a good mood. It’s been devastating. I’ve learned to just let the tears flow. It’s not doing me any good.”
Her children just started online school, and English is counting her blessings that her husband, who is out of work right now, is home with her and able to help the 6- and 7-year-olds attend virtual school.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--'Bye Kayleigh' Trends After Scathing Supercut Highlights Defense Of Trump Lies

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany found herself trending for all the wrong reasons on Tuesday after a new supercut highlighted her lies in defense of President Donald Trump .
In a statement , the progressive PAC MeidasTouch compared McEnany to “ Baghdad Bob , ” a.k.a .
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf , the infamous Iraqi propaganda minister under dictator Saddam Hussein .
The video starts with McEnany claiming in February that “ we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here ” because of Trump ’ s leadership .
That ’ s followed by a series of wildly shifting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its toll as well as McEnany ’ s defense of the president : “ Kayleigh ’ s deceit and treachery will be long remembered once we vote these criminals out of office , ” MeidasTouch said in a news release .
“ She will have a special place in the halls of horrible liars next to Baghdad Bob.
” MeidasTouch was started earlier this year by attorney Ben Meiselas , who represented former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in his settlement with the NFL , along with his two brothers .
Previous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family members , including Ivanka Trump , her husband Jared Kushner ― both advisers to the president ― as well as Fox News personality Sean Hannity .
In addition to their viral videos , the three brothers also recently launched a radio show on SiriusXM .
Trump ’ s critics were only too happy to share the latest video : ‼Trump and his minions keep LYING about the deadly # coronavirus pandemic .
More than 200,000 Americans have DIED , and he ’ s still done NOTHING .
Time to say goodbye to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House.👋🏼 # ByeKayleigh # TrumpLied200KDied # COVID19 pic.twitter.com/6mC7n8mCD6 — Dr. Dena Grayson 🇺🇸 ( @ DrDenaGrayson ) September 23 , 2020 I ’ VE HAD ENOUGH—We need to say goodbye to all of these coronavirus naysayers , pandemic deniers , and dangerous down-players in the WH .
# COVID19 # ByeKayleigh @ MeidasTouch pic.twitter.com/HE4UjTpLzc — Eric Feigl-Ding ( @ DrEricDing ) September 23 , 2020 Every single lie Trump has told about the coronavirus has been enabled by people like Kayleigh McEnany in the White House and the rest of his crooked administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Keith Boykin ( @ keithboykin ) September 23 , 2020 Watch how Trump reacts when asked why he hasn ’ t said anything about the 200,000 dead Americans All you need to know .
His soul is vacant RT # ByeKayleigh , Trump ’ s minister of propaganda 🔥 from @ MeidasTouch pic.twitter.com/n3swC895Xv — Lindy Li ( @ lindyli ) September 23 , 2020

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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany found herself trending for all the wrong reasons on Tuesday after a new supercut highlighted her lies in defense of President Donald Trump.
In a statement, the progressive PAC MeidasTouch compared McEnany to “Baghdad Bob,” a.k.a. Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, the infamous Iraqi propaganda minister under dictator Saddam Hussein.
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The video starts with McEnany claiming in February that “we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here” because of Trump’s leadership. That’s followed by a series of wildly shifting statements from Trump on the infection and its toll as well as McEnany’s defense of the president:
“Kayleigh’s deceit and treachery will be long remembered once we vote these criminals out of office,” MeidasTouch said in a news release. “She will have a special place in the halls of horrible liars next to Baghdad Bob.”
The clip sent #ByeKayleigh soaring on Twitter’s trending topics.
MeidasTouch was started earlier this year by attorney Ben Meiselas, who represented former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in his settlement with the NFL, along with his two brothers. Previous videos have hit other Trumpworld insiders and family members, including Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner ― both advisers to the president ― as well as Fox News personality Sean Hannity.
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In addition to their viral videos, the three brothers also recently launched a radio show on SiriusXM.
Trump’s critics were only too happy to share the latest video:
#ByeKayleigh .. I don’t know how you live with yourself. https://t.co/QjasDmz0aa — Shadow Person Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) September 23, 2020
‼Trump and his minions keep LYING about the deadly #coronavirus pandemic. More than 200,000 Americans have DIED, and he’s still done NOTHING.
Time to say goodbye to ALL of the liars occupying the White House.👋🏼#ByeKayleigh #TrumpLied200KDied #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/6mC7n8mCD6 — Dr. Dena Grayson 🇺🇸 (@DrDenaGrayson) September 23, 2020
I’VE HAD ENOUGH—We need to say goodbye to all of these coronavirus naysayers, pandemic deniers, and dangerous down-players in the WH. #COVID19 #ByeKayleigh @MeidasTouch pic.twitter.com/HE4UjTpLzc — Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) September 23, 2020
Every single lie Trump has told about the coronavirus has been enabled by people like Kayleigh McEnany in the White House and the rest of his crooked administration. #ByeKayleigh https://t.co/l2sOsqEf6c — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) September 23, 2020
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Watch how Trump reacts when asked why he hasn’t said anything about the 200,000 dead Americans
All you need to know. His soul is vacant
RT #ByeKayleigh, Trump’s minister of propaganda
🔥 from @MeidasTouch pic.twitter.com/n3swC895Xv — Lindy Li (@lindyli) September 23, 2020
Eleven Films is absolutely ready to say #ByeKayleigh 👋
It’s been real.
New from @MeidasTouch 🔥🔥🔥
pic.twitter.com/9VGLAA4buz — Eleven Films (@Eleven_Films) September 23, 2020
Pretty rough, deservedly so. Because it’s spot on. https://t.co/AtZT4pWrnV — Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) September 23, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--Ilhan Omar Hits Back After Trump’s Racist Rally Attack: ‘This Is My Country’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night launched into a racist diatribe against Rep. Ilhan Omar ( D-Minn. ) , saying this isn ’ t her country and mocking her birthplace .
“ She ’ s telling us how to run our country !
” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania .
“ How did you do where you came from ?
How is your country doing ?
” Omar was born in Somalia and immigrated to the United States as a child when her family fled the violence there .
She ’ s been a U.S. citizen for 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country & I am a member of the House that impeached you .
Secondly , I fled civil war when I was 8 .
An 8-year-old doesn ’ t run a country even though you run our country like one .
https : //t.co/zcKKjdC8ju — Ilhan Omar ( @ IlhanMN ) September 23 , 2020 She then added a meme to her response : Trump has repeatedly launched racist attacks on Omar and three other women of color serving in Congress who are informally known as “ The Squad.
” Last year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came , ” adding that “ you can ’ t leave fast enough.
” “ Weak minds and leaders challenge loyalty to our country in order to avoid debating the policy , ” said one of his targets , Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) .
“ This president doesn ’ t know how to defend his policies , so what he does is attack us personally .
”

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday night launched into a racist diatribe against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), saying this isn’t her country and mocking her birthplace.
“She’s telling us how to run our country!” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania. “How did you do where you came from? How is your country doing?”
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Omar was born in Somalia and immigrated to the United States as a child when her family fled the violence there. She’s been a U.S. citizen for 20 years.
She fired back on Twitter:
Firstly, this is my country & I am a member of the House that impeached you.
Secondly, I fled civil war when I was 8. An 8-year-old doesn’t run a country even though you run our country like one. https://t.co/zcKKjdC8ju — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23, 2020
She then added a meme to her response:
These cult-like rallies leave me wondering one thing: pic.twitter.com/58VjLl4II0 — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23, 2020
Trump has repeatedly launched racist attacks on Omar and three other women of color serving in Congress who are informally known as “The Squad.”
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Last year, he told them “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” adding that “you can’t leave fast enough.”
The attacks drew widespread condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-22--Trump Celebrates Recent Violence Against Journalists, Says It’s ‘Actually A Beautiful Sight’

President Donald Trump celebrated violence against journalists during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night , mocking a reporter who was injured covering this summer ’ s racial injustice demonstrations and calling the act “ actually a beautiful sight.
” The president ’ s comments are the latest of many attacks on the free press but an overt endorsement of members of the media coming under attack .
During one moment at the rally , Trump recounted racial justice demonstrations in Minneapolis following the police killing of George Floyd , saying the city had been “ cured ” after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They ’ d grab one guy — I ’ m a reporter .
I ’ m a reporter , ’ ” Trump said , imitating the scene .
“ They threw him aside like he was a little bag of popcorn .
Honestly , when you watch the crap that we ’ ve all had to take so long , when you see that — you don ’ t want to do that — but when you see it , it ’ s actually a beautiful sight.
” When Trump was describing another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Velshi was struck in the knee with a rubber bullet , the president mockingly said the journalist was an “ idiot reporter ” who yelled , “ I ’ ve been hit.
” '' We want to go in , and we want to take over Portland '' -- Trump recounts a conversation he had with the governor of Oregon He then mocks @ AliVelshi for getting shot with a rubber bullet in Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/OSqDJ3XYLa — Aaron Rupar ( @ atrupar ) September 23 , 2020 Velshi responded to the comments later Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting shot on the job was a “ beautiful thing to Trump ?
” The president made a similar remark about Velshi ’ s injury at another rally this weekend .
The president went on to spread falsehoods about the largely peaceful demonstrations across the nation that are calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism following the deaths of Floyd and other Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement .
“ They go out and buy tuna fish and soup , ” Trump claimed , adding : “ Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the perfect weight .
Tuna fish , they can really rip it and it hits you .
… You can throw that sucker , you can put a curve on it .
”

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President Donald Trump celebrated violence against journalists during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, mocking a reporter who was injured covering this summer’s racial injustice demonstrations and calling the act “actually a beautiful sight.”
The president’s comments are the latest of many attacks on the free press but an overt endorsement of members of the media coming under attack. During one moment at the rally, Trump recounted racial justice demonstrations in Minneapolis following the police killing of George Floyd, saying the city had been “cured” after National Guard troops were deployed.
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“They’d grab one guy — I’m a reporter. I’m a reporter,’” Trump said, imitating the scene. “They threw him aside like he was a little bag of popcorn. Honestly, when you watch the crap that we’ve all had to take so long, when you see that — you don’t want to do that — but when you see it, it’s actually a beautiful sight.”
“It’s a beautiful sight,” he repeated.
"It's a beautiful sight" -- Trump glorifies violence against reporters pic.twitter.com/UAENo59vrR — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 23, 2020
When Trump was describing another incident, in which MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi was struck in the knee with a rubber bullet, the president mockingly said the journalist was an “idiot reporter” who yelled, “I’ve been hit.”
"We want to go in, and we want to take over Portland" -- Trump recounts a conversation he had with the governor of Oregon
He then mocks @AliVelshi for getting shot with a rubber bullet in Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/OSqDJ3XYLa — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 23, 2020
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Velshi responded to the comments later Tuesday, wondering on Twitter why a journalist getting shot on the job was a “beautiful thing to Trump?” The president made a similar remark about Velshi’s injury at another rally this weekend.
The president went on to spread falsehoods about the largely peaceful demonstrations across the nation that are calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism following the deaths of Floyd and other Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-22--CNN Host Unleashes On Fox News Doctor For Feeding Trump Conspiracy Theory

Trump has for months called Biden “ sleepy Joe ” and accused him of lacking mental acuity , but he recently switched gears ahead of the first presidential debate by claiming that the former vice president will perform well only because he is taking drugs .
He has made absurd demands that the two take drug tests before the debate .
Siegel , who recently deemed Trump “ extremely sharp ” after an interview in which the president boasted about being able to recall five words in a row , speculated with Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amphetamines to enhance his cognitive abilities .
He lent credence to Trump ’ s call for a drug test , comparing the situation to doping in professional sports .
Keilar let rip on Trump and his favorite network for spewing propaganda , telling her viewers , “ He ’ s just making stuff up.
” “ But it ’ s designed to make you wonder , to creep into your head and stick because that ’ s how conspiracy theories take hold .
He ’ s planting a seed , and his state-run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watering the hell out of it.
” '' Now we know that Fox News is the green room for Trump sycophants , but it 's also apparently the doctor 's office , and it hands out some of the worst medical advice that money can buy .
`` @ brikeilarcnn on a Fox News doctor suggesting Joe Biden uses drugs to aid cognitive abilities .
pic.twitter.com/JyHvUrLGsW — CNN Newsroom ( @ CNNnewsroom ) September 22 , 2020 “ Siegel is paid actual money by a network with the word ‘ News ’ in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Not to help spread the word about keeping people safe in a pandemic or to correct the anti-science rhetoric of the Trump administration that has cost lives , but to weaponize his medical credentials against a presidential candidate.
” She made note of the “ one thing ” that the doctor said that people should put credence in : his admission later in the Fox News segment that he has not examined Biden and doesn ’ t have a clinical diagnosis to make .
She concluded with a reminder that this came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impressed with President Trump being able to repeat a string of five words ” and who told millions of viewers on March 6 that the coronavirus , which has now killed more than 200,000 Americans , was “ at worst ” the flu .

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Trump has for months called Biden “sleepy Joe” and accused him of lacking mental acuity, but he recently switched gears ahead of the first presidential debate by claiming that the former vice president will perform well only because he is taking drugs. He has made absurd demands that the two take drug tests before the debate.
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Siegel, who recently deemed Trump “extremely sharp” after an interview in which the president boasted about being able to recall five words in a row, speculated with Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday about the possibility of Biden taking Adderall or amphetamines to enhance his cognitive abilities. He lent credence to Trump’s call for a drug test, comparing the situation to doping in professional sports.
Keilar let rip on Trump and his favorite network for spewing propaganda, telling her viewers, “He’s just making stuff up.”
“But it’s designed to make you wonder, to creep into your head and stick because that’s how conspiracy theories take hold. He’s planting a seed, and his state-run news channel and its on-staff doctor is watering the hell out of it.”
"Now we know that Fox News is the green room for Trump sycophants, but it's also apparently the doctor's office, and it hands out some of the worst medical advice that money can buy."@brikeilarcnn on a Fox News doctor suggesting Joe Biden uses drugs to aid cognitive abilities. pic.twitter.com/JyHvUrLGsW — CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) September 22, 2020
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“He’s supposed to be a doctor. And he’s talking about speed and drug tests?” Keilar asked.
“Siegel is paid actual money by a network with the word ‘News’ in its title,” she continued. “Not to help spread the word about keeping people safe in a pandemic or to correct the anti-science rhetoric of the Trump administration that has cost lives, but to weaponize his medical credentials against a presidential candidate.”
She made note of the “one thing” that the doctor said that people should put credence in: his admission later in the Fox News segment that he has not examined Biden and doesn’t have a clinical diagnosis to make.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--Russian State-Owned Media Taunts Trump With Post-Election Job Offer

RT , a state-owned Russian media outlet , attempted to promote its coverage of the U.S. elections with a job offer for President Donald Trump should he lose in November .
The organization created a video using “ deepfake ” technology that put the president ’ s face and voice onto an actor ’ s body , then showed him coming to work in Moscow as a “ special host ” just days after losing the election : “ The mainstream media has accused RT and Trump of working together to swing elections for years , ” RT said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So they might as well do it for real.
” RT said the video was satire , but added : “ Seriously though , Mr. President , if you do want a job let us know , the canteen is very reasonable.
” RT is registered as an agent of a foreign government and receives its funding from the Russian government .
While the video is being played for laughs and is an obvious fake , the U.S. intelligence community believes Russia has been attempting to interfere in the 2020 election in much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2016 to aid Trump .
The CIA said Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely directing the effort himself , The New York Times reported this week .
FBI Director Christopher Wray also told Congress last week that Russia was engaging in “ very active efforts ” to “ denigrate ” former Vice President Joe Biden and help with Trump ’ s reelection effort .

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RT, a state-owned Russian media outlet, attempted to promote its coverage of the U.S. elections with a job offer for President Donald Trump should he lose in November.
The organization created a video using “deepfake” technology that put the president’s face and voice onto an actor’s body, then showed him coming to work in Moscow as a “special host” just days after losing the election:
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“The mainstream media has accused RT and Trump of working together to swing elections for years,” RT said in a statement explaining the video. “So they might as well do it for real.”
RT said the video was satire, but added: “Seriously though, Mr. President, if you do want a job let us know, the canteen is very reasonable.”
RT is registered as an agent of a foreign government and receives its funding from the Russian government.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-22--Officer Involved In Breonna Taylor Killing: 'The Good Guys Are Demonized'

Louisville , Kentucky , police officer Jonathan Mattingly — who was one of three officers involved in the police killing of Breonna Taylor in March — wrote an email to his fellow officers early Tuesday railing against “ thugs ” and saying , “ We did the legal , moral and ethical thing that night.
” “ You DO NOT deserve to be in this position .
The position that allows thugs to get in your face and yell , curse and degrade you , ” Mattingly , who is white , wrote in a 2 a.m. email to about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Mattingly ’ s attorney later confirmed to several news outlets that his client sent the email .
“ The position that if you make a mistake during one of the most stressful times in your career , the department and FBI … go after you for civil rights violations , ” he added .
Early the morning of March 13 , police executed a “ no-knock ” warrant at the apartment of Taylor , a Black medical technician , and her boyfriend , who both were asleep .
The warrant was for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her boyfriend .
Mattingly was one of three officers who fired more than 20 gunshots , several of which hit the 26-year-old woman , killing her .
Her boyfriend , who said he didn ’ t hear police announce their presence before breaking into the apartment , shot Mattingly once in the leg .
Kentucky ’ s attorney general and the FBI are investigating the killing .
Mattingly and another officer , Myles Cosgrove , were placed on administrative leave .
The third officer , Brett Hankinson , was fired about three months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
None of the three has been charged .
In Mattingly ’ s email , he claimed officers “ wanted to do the right thing in the midst of an evil world ” and that “ police DO NOT CARE if you are black , white , Hispanic , Asian.
” “ Regardless of the outcome today or Wednesday , I know we did the legal , moral and ethical thing that night , ” Mattingly added .
“ It ’ s sad how the good guys are demonized , and criminals are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jonathan Mattingly ( who is being investigated as part of Breonna Taylor ’ s case ) sent an email to around 1,000 officers at 2am that calls protestors thugs , complains about the government enforcing civil rights violations , and claims this is `` good versus evil ” pic.twitter.com/VcuyPDP790 — Roberto Aram Ferdman ( @ robferdman ) September 22 , 2020 Taylor was one of several high-profile police killings of Black people this year .
After protests grew nationwide in response to the police killing of George Floyd in May , many activists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s death , noting Black women don ’ t often get the same level of public outrage as men .
People have been protesting in Louisville for months calling for justice for Taylor and for the arrest of the officers involved .

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Louisville, Kentucky, police officer Jonathan Mattingly — who was one of three officers involved in the police killing of Breonna Taylor in March — wrote an email to his fellow officers early Tuesday railing against “thugs” and saying, “We did the legal, moral and ethical thing that night.”
“You DO NOT deserve to be in this position. The position that allows thugs to get in your face and yell, curse and degrade you,” Mattingly, who is white, wrote in a 2 a.m. email to about 1,000 Louisville officers, reported Vice News. Mattingly’s attorney later confirmed to several news outlets that his client sent the email.
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“The position that if you make a mistake during one of the most stressful times in your career, the department and FBI … go after you for civil rights violations,” he added.
Early the morning of March 13, police executed a “no-knock” warrant at the apartment of Taylor, a Black medical technician, and her boyfriend, who both were asleep. The warrant was for a narcotics investigation not involving Taylor or her boyfriend. Mattingly was one of three officers who fired more than 20 gunshots, several of which hit the 26-year-old woman, killing her. Her boyfriend, who said he didn’t hear police announce their presence before breaking into the apartment, shot Mattingly once in the leg.
Kentucky’s attorney general and the FBI are investigating the killing. Mattingly and another officer, Myles Cosgrove, were placed on administrative leave. The third officer, Brett Hankinson, was fired about three months later, after a string of protests. None of the three has been charged.
In Mattingly’s email, he claimed officers “wanted to do the right thing in the midst of an evil world” and that “police DO NOT CARE if you are black, white, Hispanic, Asian.”
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“Regardless of the outcome today or Wednesday, I know we did the legal, moral and ethical thing that night,” Mattingly added. “It’s sad how the good guys are demonized, and criminals are canonized.”
New: LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly (who is being investigated as part of Breonna Taylor’s case) sent an email to around 1,000 officers at 2am that calls protestors thugs, complains about the government enforcing civil rights violations, and claims this is "good versus evil” pic.twitter.com/VcuyPDP790 — Roberto Aram Ferdman (@robferdman) September 22, 2020
Louisville’s mayor declared a state of emergency Tuesday, reportedly anticipating an announcement in the case over Taylor’s death.
Last week, Taylor’s family reached a settlement for $12 million in their wrongful death lawsuit against the city.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--The Futile Quest for Hard Numbers on Child Sex Trafficking

Is there any truth to the stories about hundreds of thousands of children being trafficked ?
OK , so the @ @ @ @ @ bonkers .
What about the numbers from legitimate anti-trafficking organizations ?
So what do we @ @ @ @ @ child sex trafficking ?
What ’ s a better way to think about this issue @

As if we needed any more problems in 2020, the last few months have made it increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction when it comes to child sex trafficking.
It was ― or at least should have been ― obvious that the online furniture retailer Wayfair was not selling children in overpriced cabinets. But what about those “Save the Children” rallies a few weeks later? Or all those posts bouncing around social media claiming that children were disappearing by the thousands?
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Child sex trafficking is a fraught, troubling topic that’s hard to talk about in any medium and even harder online. But I’m here to help. For almost a year, I’ve been talking to anti-trafficking charities, academic experts and sex workers about the real threats to children and how they differ from the sensationalized screenshots currently taking over the internet.
The biggest problem, I’ve found, is the definition of “child sex trafficking” itself. Under the law, anyone under 18 who trades sex for money, drugs, a place to stay or anything else of value is a victim of trafficking. They don’t have to be recruited by a pimp, moved across state lines or forced into prostitution. A homeless runaway having sex with some sleazeball in exchange for a warm bed is a tragedy, but it’s a less salacious one than the “Taken” myths that trafficking memes circulating on social media imply. It’s also far more common.
Sketchy statistics also make it nearly impossible to know what to think about child sex trafficking. The internet is awash in exaggerated, misleading and downright fabricated numbers about how many children are forced into the sex trade every year.
This is my attempt to debunk all the false trafficking numbers and walk you through the reliable ones. Because child sex trafficking is indeed something that deserves your moral attention. But it looks nothing like the memes you see on social media.
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Is there any truth to the stories about hundreds of thousands of children being trafficked?
In a word, no. Despite what your anti-vaxx aunt has been sharing on Facebook, there’s no evidence that children are being RFID-chipped so traffickers can keep track of them. Spammy text messages are not notifying traffickers of your location. In general, any theory that depends on insidious criminal networks communicating through back-window graffiti in a Kroger parking lot is not going to check out.
Where it gets a little harder to separate fact from fiction is in the numerical claims. One of the most circulated social-media statistics is the claim that 800,000 children go missing each year. You may have seen this figure or one of its various offshoots, such as the claim that 22,000 kids go missing per day (that math is wrong, but whatever) or that the annual victims of trafficking could fill a stadium a few times over (as if entire crowds of children were just vanishing at once).
This figure is false both specifically and generally. Specifically, 800,000 children do not go missing every year. That figure is from a 2002 survey that asked parents if they had reported their children as runaways in the previous year (the actual figure was 797,500, by the way). A more recent and credible figure, from 2018 FBI data, is 424,066.
That’s still a lot of missing kids! But what’s important to know about that number, and every other large estimate of missing children circulating online, is that it refers to reports of missing children, not the actual number of children who disappear each year.
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This is a crucial difference. The vast majority of children reported missing — most reports put it at over 99% — return home, most within hours or days.
Nor do these reports represent children who are kidnapped by strangers. Roughly half of missing children reports relate to custody disputes — a father takes the kids for the weekend, doesn’t come back on Sunday night and the mother calls the cops. These situations can be tragedies in their own right, but they have nothing to do with trafficking.
The rest of the missing children reports mostly relate to runaways. Children in abusive homes (especially those living in foster care) often run away and sleep at friends’ houses or on the street for a few days. This includes queer and trans minors who run away from parents who have rejected them. Every time their guardian asks the police to help with the search, they end up in the statistics. Many of these children end up running away multiple times each year, so the FBI figures likely include a significant number of duplicate reports. Again: These are tragedies, but the overwhelming majority are not trafficking.
Those aren’t the only false statistics to go viral this summer. A widely shared graphic showing a spike in human trafficking arrests after President Donald Trump took office was found to be using fabricated figures. I wasn’t able to find the origin of the oddly resilient claim that children are “66,667 times more likely to be sold to human traffickers than die of COVID-19,” but if it were true, it would mean that roughly 7% of all children in the United States were trafficked annually. I’m going to need to see a citation before I smash that share button.
What is clear is that years of data indicate that a very small number of children are kidnapped by strangers every year. The generally accepted figure is 115 “stereotypical kidnappings” per year, according to the Crimes Against Children Research Center.
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And if that’s not enough to convince you, consider this: The Amber Alert system, which was specifically set up to address stranger kidnappings, sent just 161 alerts throughout the entire United States in 2018. Of those, 11 turned out to be hoaxes and 12 were based on misunderstandings.
Supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, seen here at a May rally in Olympia, Washington, have been behind much of the trafficking misinformation circulating online this summer. Ted S. Warren/ASSOCIATED PRESS
OK, so the numbers in Facebook memes are bonkers. What about the numbers from legitimate anti-trafficking organizations?
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is one of America’s most prominent anti-trafficking organizations. “Of the more than 23,500 endangered runaways reported to NCMEC in 2019,” the organization states on its website, “one in six were likely victims of child sex trafficking.”
This is one of the most repeated statistics about child sex trafficking. However, it comes with major caveats.
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First, it does not refer to all missing children. Staca Shehan, NCMEC’s vice president of analytical services, said the figure applies only to the missing-child cases reported to NCMEC.
Take a look at the organization’s name again: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Given the organization’s mission, the report it receives will be heavily skewed toward cases in which caregivers suspect exploitation. The 23,500 reports to NCMEC in 2019 are a small fraction of the roughly 420,000 total reports of missing children each year.
But that’s not even the most misleading thing about how that statistic gets used. The statistic is carefully worded: One in six children is a “likely” victim of sex trafficking. As Shehan told me, the organization considers a child as a likely trafficking victim if the person filing the report merely suspects the child was trafficked. NCMEC doesn’t confirm whether these suspicions are later determined to be true. Given the increasing prominence of child sex trafficking in media reports, conspiracy theories and blockbuster films, many of these reports will turn out to be false.
The same slippery definitions and careful wording show up in other sex trafficking statistics, like the frequently repeated statement that “300,000 children are at risk of being trafficked into commercial sex.” Everyone from the Department of Justice to prominent anti-trafficking organizations to Ashton Kutcher has repeated this number.
Not only is the figure meaningless on its face ― what exactly does “at risk” even mean? ― it also has no credibility among actual experts in child sexual exploitation. The estimate comes from a 2001 paper, which stated that 300,000 minors (it was actually 325,575) were subject to risk factors that make them vulnerable to trafficking, such as growing up in public housing, experiencing homelessness or being in a gang.
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For each category, researchers estimated the number of potential victims. So for homeless youth, they calculated that there were 523,000 runaways, 35% of whom were gone for more than a week. That gave them 183,050 kids.
From there, they simply multiplied by the risk of being trafficked. In homeless shelters, the chances were 30%; on the streets, 70%. They ran the numbers and, presto, 121,911 children were at risk of trafficking. They repeated the same calculation for the other 16 categories to reach the total figure.
If you don’t have a background in statistics, it might not be clear to you just how garbage this analysis is. At the most basic level, the researchers’ categories aren’t meaningfully distinct from each other — lots of kids who grow up in public housing also end up homeless at some point in their lives — which means the authors could count the same kids two, three or four times.
Not only that, but nearly all of the numbers in the risk analysis are inflated. Not even close to 35% of runaway kids are gone for more than a week. Nowhere near 70% of street youth end up trafficked. The number is based on bad assumptions, bad methods and bad data.
But don’t trust me, trust actual experts. In 2008, the Crimes Against Children Research Center published a report that called the method behind the 300,000 figure “crude” and concluded, in bold type and capital letters, “PLEASE DO NOT CITE THESE NUMBERS.” When a Washington Post fact-checker contacted the author of the original report in 2015, he admitted that he would not use the same method if he had to do the paper again.
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These figures are two of the zombie statistics regarding child sex trafficking staggering from meme to meme years after being debunked. Numerous fact-checkers have discredited the claim that the average age of trafficked children is 13 ― it’s based on the same sketchy 2001 study that produced the 300,000 “at risk” figure ― but it still shows up in government documents, academic studies and Facebook posts. There has never been any evidence that the Super Bowl increases human trafficking, yet the rumor appears in news reports like clockwork every year.
Then there are the numbers that are credible but meaningless. Every major estimate of the profits human trafficking generates (the numbers $32 billion and $150 billion get tossed around a lot) refers to forced labor in dozens of industries, includes both adults and children, and doesn’t differentiate between sex work and forced sex work — which is supposed to be the entire point of citing them.
The lack of credible statistics on child sex trafficking is noteworthy. Other threats to children, from gun violence (roughly 3,000 deaths per year) to car crashes (4,000 deaths per year) to sexual abuse (1 in 9 girls; 1 in 53 boys) are backed up by firm, consistent statistics about their prevalence.
Most estimates of child sex trafficking, by contrast, use figures from The National Human Trafficking Hotline, a database that collates anonymous reports from phone calls, texts and internet forms. The organization doesn’t make any effort to confirm those reports. As Caroline Diemar, the hotline’s director, told me in February, rising or falling call volumes may simply indicate growing public awareness of trafficking as a social issue, not a change in the prevalence of trafficking itself.
That’s why, over time, child sex trafficking organizations have drifted into one of two categories. Some provide no statistics regarding the prevalence of child sex trafficking at all. Others continue to use old, debunked or irrelevant statistics to declare that the problem is large and growing.
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This is, to put it lightly, odd. Child sex trafficking is not a new problem. Advocacy organizations have been pushing for increased awareness of the issue since the late 1990s. Congress passed the first major legislation on the issue in 2000.
And yet, even as anti-trafficking groups have collected hundreds of millions of dollars in donations and carried out near-constant awareness campaigns, they still have not produced any credible research on the scale or nature of the problem they’re focused on addressing.
The U.S. Marshals Service operation in August widely described as a "trafficking raid" was a widespread effort to find endangered runaways, mostly from foster care facilities. Shane T. McCoy/U.S. Marshals Service
So what do we know about the prevalence of child sex trafficking?
We don’t have perfect information, but what we do know indicates that child sex trafficking is less widespread than the viral social-media posts are making it seem.
The Human Trafficking Institute reported last week, for example, that federal authorities initiated 145 human trafficking cases in 2019. Of those, 88 involved children. Other sources indicate a similar scale: According to a Texas Christian University database of every trafficking case in the country, federal prosecutors took on a total of 642 cases involving sex trafficking of minors from 2000 to 2015, an average of about 43 per year.
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These small figures, however, represent only federal prosecutions. According to a 2019 study, 190 suspects were charged under state laws on human trafficking in 2012, the most recent year for which data was available, and those charges included both adult and child victims.
While we’re at it, there is no evidence for the theory that human trafficking rings are tied to shadowy international criminals. A survey of every human trafficking case prosecuted from 2000 to 2015 found that none of the cases were linked to international cartels or organized crime.
Prosecutions, of course, don’t tell the whole story, but other data sources indicate child sex trafficking at a similar scale. According to a Department of Health and Human Services report, child protection authorities in 27 states identified 741 child victims of sex trafficking in 2018. But this, too, surely undercounts the problem. Commercial sex with children is an underground market that, by definition, isn’t perfectly captured by reports to authorities or law enforcement arrests.
But it’s also important to note that child sex trafficking is not the only crime that has these characteristics. According to Bureau of Justice figures, every report of sexual assault made to police indicates another three victims who don’t come forward. For domestic violence, roughly one woman reports her abuse for every two who are victimized.
And while it’s undoubtedly true that a significant percentage of trafficking victims are reluctant to come forward, under-reporting simply can’t explain the scale of the mismatch. Take, for example, a 2016 estimate from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin that claimed 79,000 people younger than 18 were victims of sex trafficking in Texas alone. The same report noted that law enforcement authorities identified a total of 320 minors who were victims of sex trafficking from 2007 to 2014.
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If both those figures are correct, that would mean that just 0.41% of child sex trafficking victims, or 1 in 244, are reporting their experiences to police.
This ratio is unprecedented for other crimes against children. The same report that found 741 victims of child trafficking also found 72,814 child victims of physical abuse and 47,124 victims of sexual abuse in 2018 nationwide. The vast majority of these crimes were committed by parents and caregivers, making them even less likely to come to the attention of authorities than crimes committed by strangers. And yet authorities were able to confirm orders of magnitude more cases.
Awareness campaigns depict a version of trafficking that rarely happens in real life. Department of Homeland Security
What’s a better way to think about this issue?
None of this means that child sex trafficking victims don’t matter or that we shouldn’t care. They do and we should. But Americans have spent the last two decades — and especially the last three months — hearing nonstop warnings that pedophiles are coming for our kids, that traffickers are everywhere and that we should maintain constant vigilance against outside threats. It is reasonable ― responsible, even ― to ask whether, of the wide array of things to panic about in 2020, child sex trafficking should be among them.
All available evidence indicates that child sex trafficking is one of a huge number of American tragedies concentrated among the most vulnerable children in our society. Most minors who engage in commercial sex do so out of desperation because they are homeless or abused or pushed out of their families because they are queer or trans. Though some children are indeed recruited into commercial sex by family members or domestic partners, these arrangements are almost always the result of lifelong trauma and vulnerability — the kinds of problems that societies solve by bolstering their safety nets and expanding social services.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--Thousands Expected To Honor Ginsburg At Supreme Court

WASHINGTON ( AP ) — Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects at the Supreme Court to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , the women ’ s rights champion , leader of the court ’ s liberal bloc and feminist icon who died last week .
Even with the court closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic and Washington already consumed with talk of Ginsburg ’ s replacement , the justice ’ s former colleagues , family , close friends and the public will have the chance Wednesday and Thursday to pass by the casket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Supreme Court .
The sad occasion is expected to bring together the remaining eight justices for the first time since the building was closed in March and they resorted to meetings by telephone .
Ginsburg will lie in repose for two days at the court where she served for 27 years and , before that , argued six cases for gender equality in the 1970s .
Following a private ceremony Wednesday in the court ’ s Great Hall , her casket will be moved outside the building to the top of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public mourners can pay their respects in line with public health guidance for the pandemic .
Since her death Friday evening , people have been leaving flowers , notes , placards and all manner of Ginsburg paraphernalia outside the court in tribute to the woman who became known in her final years as the “ Notorious RBG.
” Court workers cleared away the items and cleaned the court plaza and sidewalk in advance of Wednesday ’ s ceremony Following past practice at the tradition-laden court , Ginsburg ’ s casket is expected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the court said .
Supreme Court police will carry it up the court steps , which will be lined by former Ginsburg law clerks serving as honorary pallbearers .
Chief Justice John Roberts and the other justices will be in the Great Hall when the casket arrives and is placed on the Lincoln Catafalque , the platform on which President Abraham Lincoln ’ s coffin rested in the Capitol rotunda in 1865 .
A 2016 portrait of Ginsburg by artist Constance P. Beaty will be displayed nearby .
It ’ s unclear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court before he leaves town Wednesday afternoon , though he did pay respects when Justice John Paul Stevens died last year and President Barack Obama visited the court after Justice Antonin Scalia ’ s death in 2016 .
The entrance to the courtroom , along with Ginsburg ’ s chair and place on the bench next to Roberts , have been draped in black , a longstanding court custom .
These visual signs of mourning , which in years past have reinforced the sense of loss , will largely go unseen this year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oct. 5 , but the justices will not be in the courtroom and instead will hear arguments by phone .
On Friday , Ginsburg will lie in state at the Capitol , the first woman to do so and only the second Supreme Court justice after William Howard Taft .
Taft had also been president .
Rosa Parks , a private citizen as opposed to a government official , is the only woman who has lain in honor at the Capitol .
Ginsburg will be buried beside her husband , Martin , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next week .
Martin Ginsburg died in 2010 .
She is survived by a son and a daughter , four grandchildren , two step-grandchildren and a great-grandchild .
Ginsburg ’ s death from cancer at age 87 has added another layer of tumult to an already chaotic election year .
Trump and Senate Republicans are plowing ahead with plans to have a new justice on the bench , perhaps before the Nov. 3 election .

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts says the words that best describe the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are “tough, brave, a fighter, a winner” but also “thoughtful, careful, compassionate, honest.”
Roberts spoke Wednesday during a private ceremony in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court. After the ceremony, Ginsburg’s flag-draped casket was placed at the top of the court’s front steps so that the public can pay their respects to the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court in line with public health guidance for the coronavirus pandemic.
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Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects throughout the day to the women’s rights champion, leader of the court’s liberal bloc and feminist icon who died last week at 87.
The flag-draped casket of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrives at the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. Ginsburg, 87, died of cancer on Sept. 18. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Her voice in court and in our conference room was soft, but when she spoke people listened,” Roberts said
Ginsburg’s flag-draped casket arrived at the court at 9:30 a.m. and was carried into the court’s Great Hall, past her former law clerks who lined the steps.
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Inside, the court’s remaining eight justices, all of them wearing masks, were together for the first time since the building was closed in March and they resorted to meetings by telephone. Because of the pandemic, however, chairs for the justices were spaced apart.
Ginsburg will lie in repose for two days at the court where she served for 27 years and, before that, argued six cases for gender equality in the 1970s. Ginsburg’s casket will be on public view from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday.
Nearly 500 members of the public had gathered to pay their respects Wednesday morning.
The flag-draped casket of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is carried up the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. Ginsburg, 87, died of cancer on Sept. 18. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Since her death Friday evening, people have been leaving flowers, notes, placards and all manner of Ginsburg paraphernalia outside the court in tribute to the woman who became known in her final years as the “Notorious RBG.” Court workers cleared away the items and cleaned the court plaza and sidewalk in advance of Wednesday’s ceremony.
Inside, the entrance to the courtroom, along with Ginsburg’s chair and place on the bench next to Roberts, have been draped in black, a longstanding court custom. These visual signs of mourning, which in years past have reinforced the sense of loss, will largely go unseen this year. The court begins its new term Oct. 5, but the justices will not be in the courtroom and instead will hear arguments by phone.
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On Friday, Ginsburg will lie in state at the Capitol, the first woman to do so and only the second Supreme Court justice after William Howard Taft. Taft had also been president. Rosa Parks, a private citizen as opposed to a government official, is the only woman who has lain in honor at the Capitol.
Ginsburg will be buried beside her husband, Martin, in a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery next week. Martin Ginsburg died in 2010. She is survived by a son and a daughter, four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Ginsburg’s death from cancer has added another layer of tumult to an already chaotic election year. Trump and Senate Republicans are plowing ahead with plans to have a new justice on the bench, perhaps before the Nov. 3 election.
Only Chief Justice Roger Taney, who died in October 1864, died closer to a presidential election. Lincoln waited until December to nominate his replacement, Salmon Chase, who was confirmed the same day.
When Scalia, Ginsburg’s closest friend on the court, died unexpectedly in 2016, Republicans refused to act on President Barack Obama’s high-court nomination of Judge Merrick Garland.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--TP The CDC? Agency Wants Trick-Or-Treating Canceled Over Coronavirus Fears

The CDC might want to be on the lookout for toilet paper and shaving cream after it recommended canceling trick-or-treating for Halloween this year to limit the spread of the coronavirus .
“ Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses , ” the CDC said in a news release .
High on the list of those potentially dangerous activities was the one kids look forward to most : trick-or-treating .
The CDC warned against both door-to-door trick-or-treating and walking from car-to-car in parking lot events known as trunk-or-treating , where candy is piled high inside a trunk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virtual costume parties were okay ) , indoor haunted houses and hayrides/tractor rides with people not in your household .
Instead , the CDC suggested enjoying “ lower-risk ” activities , such as carving pumpkins with members of your household or doing so with others outdoors and at a safe distance .
Decorating your home , walking to see other decorations from a safe distance , socially-distanced scavenger hunts and watching Halloween movies at home with those you live with were other suggested lower-risk activities .
While no low-risk activities involved the traditional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ moderate-risk ” activity called “ one-way trick-or-treating.
” That ’ s essentially leaving individually wrapped goodie bags in a grab-and-go location such as the end of a driveway .
The CDC recommended washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before and after prepping the bags .
Small-group events and parties held outdoors with masks , including socially distanced costume parades , were also on the “ moderate risk ” list , although the agency warned that Halloween masks were no substitute for cloth masks .
In addition , wearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could make it difficult to breathe .
Socially distanced outdoor events , such as visiting a haunted forest or pumpkin patch , also made the “ moderate risk ” list , as did watching outdoor horror movies with viewers sitting at least 6 feet apart .
“ If screaming will likely occur , greater distancing is advised , ” the CDC said .
“ The greater the distance , the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.
” See the full list of recommendations , as well as advice for Día de @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CDC ’ s website .

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The CDC might want to be on the lookout for toilet paper and shaving cream after it recommended canceling trick-or-treating for Halloween this year to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
“Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses,” the CDC said in a news release.
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High on the list of those potentially dangerous activities was the one kids look forward to most: trick-or-treating. The CDC warned against both door-to-door trick-or-treating and walking from car-to-car in parking lot events known as trunk-or-treating, where candy is piled high inside a trunk.
Ditto for costume parties (although virtual costume parties were okay), indoor haunted houses and hayrides/tractor rides with people not in your household.
wildpixel via Getty Images
Instead, the CDC suggested enjoying “lower-risk” activities, such as carving pumpkins with members of your household or doing so with others outdoors and at a safe distance. Decorating your home, walking to see other decorations from a safe distance, socially-distanced scavenger hunts and watching Halloween movies at home with those you live with were other suggested lower-risk activities.
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While no low-risk activities involved the traditional candy-gathering, the agency said there was a “moderate-risk” activity called “one-way trick-or-treating.” That’s essentially leaving individually wrapped goodie bags in a grab-and-go location such as the end of a driveway. The CDC recommended washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before and after prepping the bags.
Small-group events and parties held outdoors with masks, including socially distanced costume parades, were also on the “moderate risk” list, although the agency warned that Halloween masks were no substitute for cloth masks. In addition, wearing a cloth mask under a costume mask could make it difficult to breathe.
“Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask,” the agency said.
Socially distanced outdoor events, such as visiting a haunted forest or pumpkin patch, also made the “moderate risk” list, as did watching outdoor horror movies with viewers sitting at least 6 feet apart.
“If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised,” the CDC said. “The greater the distance, the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.”
See the full list of recommendations, as well as advice for Día de los Muertos and Thanksgiving, on the CDC’s website.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-09-23--Jimmy Kimmel: I Wonder If Trump Realizes Why Republicans Want A Quick Supreme Court Fill

Jimmy Kimmel is curious if it ’ s occurred to President Donald Trump why Republicans are in such a rush to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg .
Senate Republicans , including Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney ( R-Utah ) , have lined up behind the president in his push to tilt the Supreme Court ’ s majority further to the right before the Nov. 3 election .
Many , including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) , have directly contradicted comments they made in 2016 when former President Barack Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than seven months before Election Day and McConnell blocked a Senate vote , claiming that it would not be fitting to appoint a justice in an election year .
“ Now they say we can ’ t wait for the next president , we need to get this done now .
I wonder if the reason why they ’ re doing this , why they ’ re revealing themselves to be utter hypocrites , has occurred to Donald Trump ?
” the “ Jimmy Kimmel Live ” host said on Tuesday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to win , they ’ d just wait .
But they ’ re not waiting , they want to do it now .
Because they think he ’ s going to lose .
”

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Jimmy Kimmel is curious if it’s occurred to President Donald Trump why Republicans are in such a rush to fill the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Senate Republicans, including Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), have lined up behind the president in his push to tilt the Supreme Court’s majority further to the right before the Nov. 3 election. Many, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have directly contradicted comments they made in 2016 when former President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to a vacant seat more than seven months before Election Day and McConnell blocked a Senate vote, claiming that it would not be fitting to appoint a justice in an election year.
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“Now they say we can’t wait for the next president, we need to get this done now. I wonder if the reason why they’re doing this, why they’re revealing themselves to be utter hypocrites, has occurred to Donald Trump?” the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host said on Tuesday.
“If Republicans thought he was going to win, they’d just wait. But they’re not waiting, they want to do it now. Because they think he’s going to lose.”
Watch the rest of Jimmy Kimmel’s roast below: