thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Laura Ingraham Lashes Out At Dems Who Dare Question ‘Trump Recovery’ From Coronavirus

Fox News ’ Laura Ingraham on Tuesday accused Democrats who talk about the new spike in coronavirus cases of selling “ panic porn.
” The host of “ The Ingraham Angle ” — in her latest impassioned defense of President Donald Trump ’ s botched handling of the pandemic and push to restart the economy ― argued Democrats were “ sacrificing ” children ’ s educations just to defeat Trump in the 2020 election .
“ In early April , I began to warn about the damage extended lockdowns would have on America , ” Ingraham recalled .
“ And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of job losses , added trillions to our debt , and experienced terrible riots.
” One of the first and worst things to happen , she said , “ was how much learning was lost by our kids by being locked out of their classrooms .
“ “ So , with the Trump recovery fully underway , Democrats are shifting back to their default position : shut the economy down , ” Ingraham continued .
“ Yes , that is where they are now .
That includes , of course , our schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID infection rates in certain states to sell their latest panic porn.
” Ingraham also told viewers of her prime time show to “ take it with a grain of salt ” when “ people say follow the science.
” It ’ s “ never difficult to find an expert who will try to scare you into giving up your freedom , ” she said .
Last month , Ingraham described Dr. Anthony Fauci , the nation ’ s top infectious disease expert , as “ the medical deep state ” and , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden .

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Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Tuesday accused Democrats who talk about the new spike in coronavirus cases of selling “panic porn.”
The host of “The Ingraham Angle” — in her latest impassioned defense of President Donald Trump’s botched handling of the pandemic and push to restart the economy ― argued Democrats were “sacrificing” children’s educations just to defeat Trump in the 2020 election.
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“In early April, I began to warn about the damage extended lockdowns would have on America,” Ingraham recalled. “And since then, we have experienced millions of job losses, added trillions to our debt, and experienced terrible riots.”
One of the first and worst things to happen, she said, “was how much learning was lost by our kids by being locked out of their classrooms. “
“So, with the Trump recovery fully underway, Democrats are shifting back to their default position: shut the economy down,” Ingraham continued. “Yes, that is where they are now. That includes, of course, our schools. Now, they cite the rising COVID infection rates in certain states to sell their latest panic porn.”
Ingraham also told viewers of her prime time show to “take it with a grain of salt” when “people say follow the science.” It’s “never difficult to find an expert who will try to scare you into giving up your freedom,” she said.
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Last month, Ingraham described Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, as “the medical deep state” and, without evidence, asked if he is working for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Ilhan Omar Wants To Build Progressive Power. She’s Starting With This Muslim Candidate.

Without major corporate donors , the party ’ s backing or name recognition , first-time progressive candidates have struggled to find footing .
Those like Charles Booker in the Kentucky Senate race came within striking distance of the Democratic nomination with a fraction of their opponents ’ spending , but still , the resource hurdle proved too big to overcome .
Just two years ago , not a single candidate backed by the Sen. Bernie Sanders-inspired group Our Revolution won a seat in Congress .
Omar ’ s endorsement of Leckey is the first through her political action committee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( ILHAN PAC ) , a leadership PAC she established less than a week after getting elected to Congress in 2018 as one of the first two Muslim women to serve in the House of Representatives .
For Omar , endorsing Leckey through the PAC is the start of what her campaign sees as a long-term project to build out a more robust bench of progressive leaders in Congress .
Alongside fellow House progressives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley , collectively known as “ the squad , ” Omar has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House representative that can energize progressive voters and — hopefully — bring in donations .
So far , the PAC has been dormant .
In 2019 , it raised $ 5,000 from an agricultural cooperative in Minnesota and now sits on roughly $ 85,000 , despite Omar ’ s personal campaign raising more than $ 3.3 million .
Omar ’ s campaign says fundraising will become a priority through the PAC going forward , but wouldn ’ t comment on how much money it was hoping to spend on progressive candidates .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was never just about me—it ’ s about people in Minnesota around the country who feel they don ’ t have a voice in the political process , ” Omar told HuffPost in a statement .
“ It ’ s about fighting for bold policies like Medicare for All , a Green New Deal , student debt cancellation , and a peaceful foreign policy .
It ’ s about fighting for a system that reflects the diversity of our country.
” “ It ’ s the building blocks for making sure that progressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are the insurgents , ” Leckey told HuffPost in an interview .
“ It ’ s not just about funding .
Funding is important , but it ’ s about the energy it generates to make those calls , to make sure that voters will cast their vote.
” Leadership PACs play an important role for lawmakers to help their colleagues — particularly those in the highest ranks of the Republican and Democratic parties .
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy ( R-Calif. ) has a PAC , for example , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million dollars to Republican candidates .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has likewise spent more than a half a million dollars in donations to Democratic candidates .
But so far , progressive elected leaders haven ’ t had the same organizing power .
Until now , Omar ’ s PAC has only cut one check to a candidate : $ 2,000 to Nabilah Islam .
A former congressional candidate from Georgia , Islam was endorsed by both Omar and Ocasio-Cortez , but she lost her primary in June and has since backed her Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ocasio-Cortez and California Rep. Ro Khanna helped Islam earn some national attention and collect tens of thousands of dollars , mostly in small-dollar contributions .
But it was too little too late , Islam said , recognizing the lack of progressive institutions with the capital to support people like her .
“ My parents are working-class ; I don ’ t come from money .
I ’ m not a billionaire , and typically , a lot of people of color that run for office have a working-class background .
So the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friends aren ’ t maxed out donors .
It ’ s not a level playing field .
You have to work 10 times harder , ” said Islam , who relinquished her own health care plan and put her student loans into forbearance to run her campaign .
“ It ’ s a cycle of the progressive movement fighting for everyday Americans to become the power to become our faces in Congress , and when we elect them , then they come around and help us build that political bench , ” she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2019 , Muslim women won an unprecedented number of local legislative seats .
In Virginia , Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim person elected to Virginia ’ s state Senate .
Also from Virginia , 24-year-old Abrar Omeish became one of the first Muslim women elected in the state and the youngest woman to hold elected office in Virginia ’ s history .
In Minnesota , Nadia Mohamed made history by becoming the first Muslim and Somali person elected to the St. Louis Park City Council .

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In the final months of the 2020 election cycle, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is exercising her influence as a national progressive leader, endorsing Ihssane Leckey, a former Wall Street regulator and an immigrant Muslim woman.
Leckey — running on a platform backing the Green New Deal, “Medicare for All,” and canceling student debt in a packed, nearly all-white field of candidates to take over Rep. Joe Kennedy’s Massachusetts House seat — is the kind of candidate lawmakers like Omar want as an ally in the halls of Congress.
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But the progressive movement has struggled to build a robust infrastructure around candidates like Leckey.
Without major corporate donors, the party’s backing or name recognition, first-time progressive candidates have struggled to find footing. Those like Charles Booker in the Kentucky Senate race came within striking distance of the Democratic nomination with a fraction of their opponents’ spending, but still, the resource hurdle proved too big to overcome. Just two years ago, not a single candidate backed by the Sen. Bernie Sanders-inspired group Our Revolution won a seat in Congress.
Now, as the majority of the 2020 primaries are done and gone, some of the highest-profile progressives who won in the 2018 cycle are making a concerted effort to put more resources toward new progressive candidates.
Omar’s endorsement of Leckey is the first through her political action committee, the Inspiring Leadership Has A Name PAC (ILHAN PAC), a leadership PAC she established less than a week after getting elected to Congress in 2018 as one of the first two Muslim women to serve in the House of Representatives.
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For Omar, endorsing Leckey through the PAC is the start of what her campaign sees as a long-term project to build out a more robust bench of progressive leaders in Congress. Alongside fellow House progressives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, collectively known as “the squad,” Omar has a uniquely large platform as a freshman House representative that can energize progressive voters and — hopefully — bring in donations.
So far, the PAC has been dormant. In 2019, it raised $5,000 from an agricultural cooperative in Minnesota and now sits on roughly $85,000, despite Omar’s personal campaign raising more than $3.3 million. Omar’s campaign says fundraising will become a priority through the PAC going forward, but wouldn’t comment on how much money it was hoping to spend on progressive candidates.
Ihssane Leckey attends the Brookline Democratic Town Committee as one of the candidates for Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District on Oct. 20, 2019. Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
“I launched ILHAN PAC because my election was never just about me—it’s about people in Minnesota around the country who feel they don’t have a voice in the political process,” Omar told HuffPost in a statement. “It’s about fighting for bold policies like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, student debt cancellation, and a peaceful foreign policy. It’s about fighting for a system that reflects the diversity of our country.”
Leckey said this kind of national involvement can make a real difference in her race.
“It’s the building blocks for making sure that progressive candidates win these seats, especially when we are the insurgents,” Leckey told HuffPost in an interview. “It’s not just about funding. Funding is important, but it’s about the energy it generates to make those calls, to make sure that voters will cast their vote.”
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Progressive candidates often face the same barriers to getting elected: They’re not well-known and are under-financed. National progressive groups still don’t have a wealth of resources to buck experienced establishment machines.
Leadership PACs play an important role for lawmakers to help their colleagues — particularly those in the highest ranks of the Republican and Democratic parties. House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has a PAC, for example, that’s disbursed more than $1.5 million dollars to Republican candidates. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has likewise spent more than a half a million dollars in donations to Democratic candidates.
But so far, progressive elected leaders haven’t had the same organizing power. Until now, Omar’s PAC has only cut one check to a candidate: $2,000 to Nabilah Islam. A former congressional candidate from Georgia, Islam was endorsed by both Omar and Ocasio-Cortez, but she lost her primary in June and has since backed her Democratic rival.
Endorsements from progressives like Omar, Ocasio-Cortez and California Rep. Ro Khanna helped Islam earn some national attention and collect tens of thousands of dollars, mostly in small-dollar contributions. But it was too little too late, Islam said, recognizing the lack of progressive institutions with the capital to support people like her.
“Typically, a lot of people of color that run for office have a working-class background. ... It’s not a level playing field. You have to work 10 times harder.” - Nabilah Islam, former congressional candidate
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Islam is hopeful the PACS created by Omar and the squad are a good starting point.
“I think it’s incredibly important and crucial that they continue to do things like this. It’ll be really helpful for progressive women of color, minority candidates, Muslim candidates, and candidates that look like the squad to get elected office,” she said.
The daughter of working-class Bangladeshi immigrants, Islam ran on a progressive platform including Medicare for All, tuition-free college and a Green New Deal. She said a lack of funds was her biggest obstacle. (She also pointed to the voting obstacles caused by the pandemic.)
“My parents are working-class; I don’t come from money. I’m not a billionaire, and typically, a lot of people of color that run for office have a working-class background. So the challenging part of that is that your friends aren’t maxed out donors. It’s not a level playing field. You have to work 10 times harder,” said Islam, who relinquished her own health care plan and put her student loans into forbearance to run her campaign.
“It’s so hard for us to get a seat at the table, and it shouldn’t be that hard,” she added.
Leckey sees the same need.
“It’s a cycle of the progressive movement fighting for everyday Americans to become the power to become our faces in Congress, and when we elect them, then they come around and help us build that political bench,” she said.
Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), collectively known as "the squad," hold a news conference on July 15, 2019. Erin Scott / Reuters
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Last week, Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Pressley launched “The Squad Victory Fund,” an independent expenditure to raise money for both their own campaigns and their respective leadership PACs, which can in turn fund up-and-coming progressive candidates’ campaigns.
Notably, Omar and Tlaib are facing primary challenges in the Minnesota and Michigan August primaries. Ocasio-Cortez easily fought off a primary challenger in the state’s primary election late last month, in a campaign that unexpectedly cost millions. Omar is expecting a similarly expensive race.
“Her first priority is leading the movement to get justice and equality for her community, but in order to do that, it will take having other progressive leaders in Congress,” said Jeremy Slevin, Omar’s campaign spokesperson.
Omar and Tlaib, the first two Muslim women in Congress, have since inspired more progressive Muslim American women to run for public office. Across the country, Muslim civic engagement skyrocketed and 2018 was dubbed the “Muslim blue wave” when nearly 100 American Muslims, almost all Democrats, ran for public office.
Subsequently, in 2018 and 2019, Muslim women won an unprecedented number of local legislative seats. In Virginia, Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim person elected to Virginia’s state Senate. Also from Virginia, 24-year-old Abrar Omeish became one of the first Muslim women elected in the state and the youngest woman to hold elected office in Virginia’s history. In Minnesota, Nadia Mohamed made history by becoming the first Muslim and Somali person elected to the St. Louis Park City Council.
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More recently, Nida Allam became the first Muslim woman to hold office in the state of North Carolina last March, and earlier this year in Massachusetts, Sumbul Siddiqui became Cambridge’s first-ever Muslim mayor.
These Muslim women’s successes demonstrate the increasing diversity of progressive candidates and that they don’t have to minimize their religious and racial identities to win. But to create substantial and permanent change beyond the freshmen congresswomen, running a progressive platform as a person of color isn’t enough on its own.
“We need to be supporting our candidate from the beginning, just like the establishment institutions are. That’s why their candidates are usually the ones that succeed, because they understand that we need to coalesce around candidates earlier on,” noted Islam, adding that “early money makes more money come through the door.”
“At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, it’s contributions from people that really propel these progressive candidates to be able to cross the finish line.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--5 Eyebrow-Raising Details In Mary Trump’s New Book About The President

Early copies of the tell-all , obtained by multiple media outlets on Tuesday , reportedly say Trump cheated his way into college , commented on his own niece ’ s breasts in front of his wife and threatened to disown his son Donald Trump Jr. if he joined the military .
The White House has refuted many of the claims made by the president ’ s niece , a clinical psychologist , in “ Too Much and Never Enough , How My Family Created The World ’ s Most Dangerous Man.
” Mary Trump wrote her uncle ’ s “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our country ’ s future have created a perfect storm of catastrophes that no one is less equipped than my uncle to manage.
” 1 .
Trump cheated his way into college Trump paid someone to take the SAT on his behalf , according to The New York Times account of the book .
Trump feared his grade point average “ would scuttle his efforts to get accepted , ” so he paid “ a smart kid with a reputation for being a good test taker , to take his SATs for him.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ niece ’ s breasts in front of his wife “ Holy shit , Mary .
You ’ re stacked , ” Trump ’ s niece alleged he said ( in front of his then-wife Marla Maples ) after seeing her in a swimsuit at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach , Florida , in the 1990s , according to The Guardian .
Trump one Christmas regifted a food basket to his niece , she said , but only after taking out a tin of caviar , reported CNN .
Another year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of underwear from Bloomingdales , according to The Guardian account of the book .
Her brother , meanwhile , received a leather-bound journal — that was out of date .
Donald Trump Jr. , the president ’ s eldest son , admitted in a 2018 interview that his father was a notorious regifter .
“ There was one Christmas where he may or may not have given me the gift I had given him the year before , because I had monogrammed it , ” Trump Jr. recalled to “ Extra.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I know you didn ’ t get this.
’ ‘ How do you know that ?
’ ‘ Because I gave it to you last year.
’ ” 5 .
Trump threatened to disown his son if he joined the military Trump reportedly told his eldest son Donald Trump Jr. that he would disown him “ in a second ” if he joined the U.S. Army , according to MSNBC ’ s Rachel Maddow , who read segments from the book on air Tuesday .

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More damning details have emerged from the upcoming book written by Mary Trump about her uncle, President Donald Trump.
Early copies of the tell-all, obtained by multiple media outlets on Tuesday, reportedly say Trump cheated his way into college, commented on his own niece’s breasts in front of his wife and threatened to disown his son Donald Trump Jr. if he joined the military.
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The White House has denied many of the claims made by the president’s niece, a clinical psychologist, in “Too Much and Never Enough, How My Family Created The World’s Most Dangerous Man.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday afternoon said she’d “yet to see the book,” but nevertheless said “it’s a book of falsehoods.”
The president’s brother Robert Trump attempted to stop the book from being published. It is scheduled for release on Tuesday.
Mary Trump wrote her uncle’s “penchant for division, and uncertainty about our country’s future have created a perfect storm of catastrophes that no one is less equipped than my uncle to manage.”
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Here are some of the other eyebrow-raising details:
1. Trump cheated his way into college
Trump paid someone to take the SAT on his behalf, according to The New York Times account of the book.
Trump feared his grade point average “would scuttle his efforts to get accepted,” so he paid “a smart kid with a reputation for being a good test taker, to take his SATs for him.”
2. Trump commented on his niece’s breasts in front of his wife
“Holy shit, Mary. You’re stacked,” Trump’s niece alleged he said (in front of his then-wife Marla Maples) after seeing her in a swimsuit at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, in the 1990s, according to The Guardian.
“I was 29 and not easily embarrassed,” wrote Mary Trump. “But my face reddened and I suddenly felt self-conscious. I pulled my towel around my shoulders.”
Trump speculated about his then-1-year-old daughter Tiffany’s breasts during a 1994 interview with Robin Leach.
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3. Trump’s own sister called him ‘a clown’
Trump’s eldest sister, retired judge Maryanne Trump Barry, dismissed her brother’s run for office during a 2015 meal with Mary Trump.
“He’s a clown. This will never happen,” Mary Trump recalled her aunt saying of the presidential bid, reported CNN.
4. Trump is a terrible Christmas gift-giver
Trump one Christmas regifted a food basket to his niece, she said, but only after taking out a tin of caviar, reported CNN. Another year, he gave her a $12 pack of underwear from Bloomingdales, according to The Guardian account of the book. Her brother, meanwhile, received a leather-bound journal — that was out of date.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, admitted in a 2018 interview that his father was a notorious regifter. “There was one Christmas where he may or may not have given me the gift I had given him the year before, because I had monogrammed it,” Trump Jr. recalled to “Extra.” “And I’m like, ‘I know you didn’t get this.’ ‘How do you know that?’ ‘Because I gave it to you last year.’”
5. Trump threatened to disown his son if he joined the military
Trump reportedly told his eldest son Donald Trump Jr. that he would disown him “in a second” if he joined the U.S. Army, according to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who read segments from the book on air Tuesday.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--FBI Investigating Reported Assault On Black Indiana Man

Vauhxx Booker , a civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission , said the men pinned him against a tree , shouted racial slurs and one of them threatened to “ get a noose ” at Monroe Lake near Bloomington over the Fourth of July weekend .
“ We want this investigated as a hate crime .
It was clearly racially motivated , ” Liell said .
“ We will continue our quest every day until some justice is served.
” Liell also complained that law enforcement officers with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in response to reports of the attack .
She said their failure to make arrests at the scene warrants further investigation from other law enforcement agencies .
Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton said at the news conference that police continue to search for two people accused of knocking a woman unconscious and dragging a man with their car at a protest over the assault on Booker .
A male passenger got out of a red Toyota car and went to move an electric scooter that had been left in the road near the protest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman approached the car and placed her hands on the hood , he said .
The driver accelerated into the woman , launching her onto the hood .
A 35-year-old man then grabbed the driver ’ s side of the car and held on as the vehicle continued to accelerate .
Both were eventually flung to the ground and the car fled the scene , Pedigo said .
The woman was knocked unconscious and suffered a cut to her head , while the man scraped his arm .
She was transported by ambulance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not believed to be life-threatening , Pedigo said .
Authorities have not released the identities of the injured nor said if they were participating in the protest .
The red Toyota has not been located and investigators are still trying to determine the identities and location of the male passenger and female driver , police said in a news release .
“ The event last evening is being actively and aggressively investigated right now , ” Hamilton said .
“ We are taking whatever steps it takes to bring justice to that event @ @

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The FBI said Tuesday it’s investigating the reported assault of a Black man by a group of white men at a southern Indiana lake.
Vauhxx Booker, a civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, said the men pinned him against a tree, shouted racial slurs and one of them threatened to “get a noose” at Monroe Lake near Bloomington over the Fourth of July weekend.
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Much of the assault was captured on cellphone video by Booker’s acquaintances.
“The FBI is investigating. We have no further comment,” spokeswoman Chris Bavender said.
Booker’s attorney, Katherine Liell, said the FBI was questioning witnesses and that charging decisions could be made soon.
“We want this investigated as a hate crime. It was clearly racially motivated,” Liell said. “We will continue our quest every day until some justice is served.”
Booker said he’s pleased the FBI got involved.
“I’m sad that this happened, honestly,” Booker said. “I just wanted to have a good time with some friends.”
Liell also complained that law enforcement officers with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources “did not move rapidly enough” in response to reports of the attack. She said their failure to make arrests at the scene warrants further investigation from other law enforcement agencies.
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Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton said at the news conference that police continue to search for two people accused of knocking a woman unconscious and dragging a man with their car at a protest over the assault on Booker.
Police Capt. Ryan Pedigo told The Associated Press that the confrontation happened near the Monroe County courthouse in Bloomington on Monday evening.
A male passenger got out of a red Toyota car and went to move an electric scooter that had been left in the road near the protest site, Pedigo said. A 29-year-old woman approached the car and placed her hands on the hood, he said.
The driver accelerated into the woman, launching her onto the hood. A 35-year-old man then grabbed the driver’s side of the car and held on as the vehicle continued to accelerate. Both were eventually flung to the ground and the car fled the scene, Pedigo said.
The woman was knocked unconscious and suffered a cut to her head, while the man scraped his arm. She was transported by ambulance to a hospital but her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Pedigo said. Authorities have not released the identities of the injured nor said if they were participating in the protest.
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The red Toyota has not been located and investigators are still trying to determine the identities and location of the male passenger and female driver, police said in a news release.
Several protesters provided police with cellphone footage, Pedigo said.
“The event last evening is being actively and aggressively investigated right now,” Hamilton said. “We are taking whatever steps it takes to bring justice to that event.”
The protesters had gathered in Bloomington, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis, to demand arrests in the assault on Booker.
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This story has been corrected to show that Chris Bavender is an FBI spokeswoman
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Peaceful Protesters Targeted By Wave Of Vehicle-Ramming Attacks

Protesters ran for their lives early Saturday as a man drove past a police barricade and barreled toward them in the wrong direction on a closed stretch of a Seattle freeway , where they had been peacefully demonstrating against police brutality .
His car struck 32-year-old Diaz Love and 24-year-old Summer Taylor , sending them flying into the air as people screamed .
Love was hospitalized in serious condition .
Taylor died that night .
Hours later , in Mishawaka , Indiana , a man in an SUV swerved around police barriers and into a crowd of protesters on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Davis , who was hospitalized .
Two days after that , on Monday night , a driver plowed into protesters in front of a courthouse in Bloomington , Indiana , before speeding away with two people desperately clinging to the roof of the car , causing them to fly off .
Protesters have been the target of a startling wave of vehicle-ramming assaults amid the nationwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations sparked by the police killing of George Floyd .
In several cases , authorities are still working to determine a motive , although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hate-fueled attack that killed anti-racism activist Heather Heyer three years ago at white supremacist rally in Charlottesville , Virginia .
Of at least 50 vehicle-ramming incidents since Floyd ’ s death on May 25 , 18 or more are categorized as deliberate assaults , researcher Ari Weil told NPR in late June .
A number of the alleged assailants are accused of demonstrating openly hateful behavior , including a man who screamed “ I will kill you ” before trying to mow down protesters in Queens , New York , according to District @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the community ’ s first of two vehicle-ramming incidents in a single week . )
Days later , a man reportedly made a U-turn to get behind a group of protesters near Richmond , Virginia , revved the engine of his truck and then slammed it into them .
Police later reported that he is a self-described state leader of the Virginia Ku Klux Klan .
Vehicles are becoming increasingly popular weapons that terrorists and other extremists around the globe use to intimidate , harm and kill .
Cars and trucks are easily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and can facilitate unpredictable attacks with mass casualties .
“ This is a tactic that has been around for several years , ” said Josh Lipowsky , a senior researcher at the Counter Extremism Project .
“ It was originally used early on by Islamist extremists — ISIS , Al Qaeda , Hamas — but in the last five years or so , we have seen this tactic being adopted by the far-right.
” “ One of the common themes among these memes is that the protesters are in the way and an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your car is going to be the best way to remove that inconvenience from your life , ” Lipowsky said .
“ The goal is to dehumanize the protesters and make it more acceptable to strike back physically at them in retaliation to what people see as disruptions to their own lives.
” Police have been directly involved in a handful of recent vehicle-ramming incidents .
In May , an NYPD SUV surrounded by protesters in Brooklyn abruptly accelerated , knocking many to the ground .
Law enforcement officers have even encouraged this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Henry Grabar reported in the wake of Heyer ’ s killing in Charlottesville .
In January 2016 , a police sergeant in St. Paul , Minnesota , wrote a Facebook comment urging people to run down protesters on Martin Luther King Day : “ Keep traffic flowing and don ’ t slow down for any of these idiots who try and block the street , ” wrote Sgt .
Jeff Rothecker .
“ Run them over.
” In July of that year , following the police killings of Philando Castile and Alton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , South Carolina , Fire Department threatened on Facebook to run over who were blocking an interstate : “ Idiots shutting down I-126 , ” James Morris wrote .
“ Better not be there when I get off work or there is gon na be some run over dumb asses.
” That same day , an SUV driver yelling , “ All lives matter — not Blacks — all lives , ” smashed into a crowd of protesters in Carbondale , Illinois .
Later that month , Oregon officer Tom Newberry said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matter protests should be called “ a day of target practice.
” He also reminded people that “ there are 3 pedals on your floor , ” and if protesters block the street , “ push the right one all the way down.
” Rogue cops aren ’ t alone in pushing the idea that protesters who demonstrate in the streets are at fault in vehicle-ramming incidents .
In 2017 , multiple states responded to mass demonstrations by introducing bills that would effectively grant drivers immunity for unintentionally hitting protesters in the streets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Blocking a freeway is a crime and no longer are we going to enable that criminal conduct to continue , ” said State Patrol Capt .
Ron Mead , upon announcing that demonstrators would no longer be allowed on the freeway .
“ We are not going to be allowing protesters to access the freeway unimpeded , and there are consequences for criminal conduct .
”

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Protesters ran for their lives early Saturday as a man drove past a police barricade and barreled toward them in the wrong direction on a closed stretch of a Seattle freeway, where they had been peacefully demonstrating against police brutality. His car struck 32-year-old Diaz Love and 24-year-old Summer Taylor, sending them flying into the air as people screamed. Love was hospitalized in serious condition. Taylor died that night.
Hours later, in Mishawaka, Indiana, a man in an SUV swerved around police barriers and into a crowd of protesters on a bridge, hitting and dragging 23-year-old Trevor Davis, who was hospitalized. Two days after that, on Monday night, a driver plowed into protesters in front of a courthouse in Bloomington, Indiana, before speeding away with two people desperately clinging to the roof of the car, causing them to fly off.
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Protesters have been the target of a startling wave of vehicle-ramming assaults amid the nationwide Black Lives Matter demonstrations sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. In several cases, including the Seattle case mentioned above, authorities are still working to determine a motive, although many are reminiscent of the infamous, hate-fueled attack that killed anti-racism activist Heather Heyer three years ago at white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Of at least 50 vehicle-ramming incidents since Floyd’s death on May 25, 18 or more are categorized as deliberate assaults, researcher Ari Weil told NPR in late June. A number of the alleged assailants are accused of demonstrating openly hateful behavior, including a man who screamed “I will kill you” before trying to mow down protesters in Queens, New York, according to District Attorney Melinda Katz. (It was the community’s first of two vehicle-ramming incidents in a single week.) Days later, a man reportedly made a U-turn to get behind a group of protesters near Richmond, Virginia, revved the engine of his truck and then slammed it into them. Police later reported that he is a self-described state leader of the Virginia Ku Klux Klan.
Vehicles are becoming increasingly popular weapons that terrorists and other extremists around the globe use to intimidate, harm and kill. Cars and trucks are easily accessible, require little skill to operate and can facilitate unpredictable attacks with mass casualties.
“This is a tactic that has been around for several years,” said Josh Lipowsky, a senior researcher at the Counter Extremism Project. “It was originally used early on by Islamist extremists — ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas — but in the last five years or so, we have seen this tactic being adopted by the far-right.”
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A photo of Summer Taylor, who suffered critical injuries and died after being hit by a car while protesting over the weekend, sits among flowers at the King County Correctional Facility. Elaine Thompson/Associated Press
In 2018, a man rented a van and charged it into pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 and injuring 16 in the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history. The driver, a so-called incel, said he was radicalized online — indicative of a growing trend among vehicle-ramming perpetrators.
There is a deluge of far-right propaganda in the form of memes and other hateful posts on social media intended to incite and normalize violence against protesters, added Lipowsky.
“One of the common themes among these memes is that the protesters are in the way and an inconvenience, and running them over with your car is going to be the best way to remove that inconvenience from your life,” Lipowsky said. “The goal is to dehumanize the protesters and make it more acceptable to strike back physically at them in retaliation to what people see as disruptions to their own lives.”
Police have been directly involved in a handful of recent vehicle-ramming incidents. In May, an NYPD SUV surrounded by protesters in Brooklyn abruptly accelerated, knocking many to the ground. Law enforcement officers have even encouraged this kind of aggression, as Slate’s Henry Grabar reported in the wake of Heyer’s killing in Charlottesville.
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In January 2016, a police sergeant in St. Paul, Minnesota, wrote a Facebook comment urging people to run down protesters on Martin Luther King Day: “Keep traffic flowing and don’t slow down for any of these idiots who try and block the street,” wrote Sgt. Jeff Rothecker. “Run them over.”
In July of that year, following the police killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, a captain in the Columbia, South Carolina, Fire Department threatened on Facebook to run over who were blocking an interstate: “Idiots shutting down I-126,” James Morris wrote. “Better not be there when I get off work or there is gonna be some run over dumb asses.” That same day, an SUV driver yelling, “All lives matter — not Blacks — all lives,” smashed into a crowd of protesters in Carbondale, Illinois.
Later that month, Oregon officer Tom Newberry said in posts on Facebook that the Black Lives Matter protests should be called “a day of target practice.” He also reminded people that “there are 3 pedals on your floor,” and if protesters block the street, “push the right one all the way down.”
In February 2017, Santa Fe police sergeant and local police union president Troy Baker shared a meme on Facebook depicting a Jeep hitting pedestrians with the text, “ALL LIVES SPLATTER” and “NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR PROTEST [...] MORAL OF THE STORY.. STAY OFF THE ROAD !!”
And days after Heyer’s murder by car in August 2017, Springfield, Massachusetts officer Conrad Lariviere wrote on Facebook, “Hahahaha love this, maybe people shouldn’t block roads.”
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Rogue cops aren’t alone in pushing the idea that protesters who demonstrate in the streets are at fault in vehicle-ramming incidents. In 2017, multiple states responded to mass demonstrations by introducing bills that would effectively grant drivers immunity for unintentionally hitting protesters in the streets. (The bills failed.)
Seattle officials appeared to blame protesters for Taylor’s death on Saturday, casting them as lawless menaces.
“Blocking a freeway is a crime and no longer are we going to enable that criminal conduct to continue,” said State Patrol Capt. Ron Mead, upon announcing that demonstrators would no longer be allowed on the freeway. “We are not going to be allowing protesters to access the freeway unimpeded, and there are consequences for criminal conduct.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Mary Kay Letourneau, Former 6th Grade Teacher Jailed For Raping Student, Dead At 58

SEATTLE ( AP ) — Mary Kay Letourneau , a teacher who married her former sixth-grade student after she was convicted of raping him in a case that drew international headlines , has died .
She was 58 .
Her lawyer David Gehrke told multiple news outlets Letourneau died Tuesday of cancer .
He did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press .
Letourneau was a married mother of four having difficulties with her marriage in 1996 when Vili Fualaau was a precocious 12-year-old in Letourneau ’ s class at Shorewood Elementary in Burien , a south Seattle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initially told officers the boy was 18 , raising suspicions that something sexual was going on .
But back at the police station , Fualaau and Letourneau denied there had been any “ touching.
” Instead , they said , Letourneau had been babysitting the boy and took him from her home after she and her husband had a fight .
About two months after the marina incident , Letourneau became pregnant with the couple ’ s first daughter .
Their second child was conceived in 1998 , after Letourneau had pleaded guilty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1/2-year prison term .
Fualaau and Letourneau had previously characterized their relationship as one of love , and even wrote a book together — “ Un Seul Crime , L ’ Amour , ” or “ Only One Crime , Love.
” Their story was also the subject of a USA Network movie , “ All American Girl.
” Seattle attorney Anne Bremner befriended Letourneau in 2002 , when she represented the Des Moines police department in a lawsuit brought by Fualaau ’ s mother , claiming the city and school district failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A jury found against the family in the civil action .
Bremner visited Letourneau in prison and would meet her for lunch after her release .
“ She accepted that it was a crime and that she had to serve her time , but when she got out she didn ’ t dwell , ” Bremner said .
“ She moved forward in a very positive way and raised those girls .
She was somebody I rooted for .
I really wanted her to do well , and she did.
” In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Fualaau ’ s mother , the police department and school district insisted the romance was so bizarre that no one could have predicted it .
The district ’ s lawyer said it began off school grounds after the academic year had ended .
Police argued that they simply had no evidence of sexual abuse until it was too late .
Bremner said of Letourneau and Fualauu ’ s relationship : “ Everyone said it wouldn ’ t last , but it did , at least for 20 years .
”

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SEATTLE (AP) — Mary Kay Letourneau, a teacher who married her former sixth-grade student after she was convicted of raping him in a case that drew international headlines, has died. She was 58.
Her lawyer David Gehrke told multiple news outlets Letourneau died Tuesday of cancer. He did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press.
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In this 1998, file photo, Mary Kay LeTourneau listens to testimony during a court hearing in Seattle. AP Photo/Alan Berner
Letourneau was a married mother of four having difficulties with her marriage in 1996 when Vili Fualaau was a precocious 12-year-old in Letourneau’s class at Shorewood Elementary in Burien, a south Seattle suburb.
At about 1:20 a.m. on June 19, 1996, police discovered them in a minivan parked at the Des Moines Marina.
Letourneau, then 34, initially told officers the boy was 18, raising suspicions that something sexual was going on. But back at the police station, Fualaau and Letourneau denied there had been any “touching.” Instead, they said, Letourneau had been babysitting the boy and took him from her home after she and her husband had a fight.
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About two months after the marina incident, Letourneau became pregnant with the couple’s first daughter. Their second child was conceived in 1998, after Letourneau had pleaded guilty to child rape and received a 7 1/2-year prison term.
Letourneau and Fualaau married on May 20, 2005, in Woodinville, Washington, after she finished serving time in prison.
Fualaau and Letourneau had previously characterized their relationship as one of love, and even wrote a book together — “Un Seul Crime, L’Amour,” or “Only One Crime, Love.” Their story was also the subject of a USA Network movie, “All American Girl.”
King County court records show Fualaau asked the court for a legal separation from Letourneau on May 9, 2017.
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Seattle attorney Anne Bremner befriended Letourneau in 2002, when she represented the Des Moines police department in a lawsuit brought by Fualaau’s mother, claiming the city and school district failed to protect him from the teacher. A jury found against the family in the civil action. Bremner visited Letourneau in prison and would meet her for lunch after her release.
“She accepted that it was a crime and that she had to serve her time, but when she got out she didn’t dwell,” Bremner said. “She moved forward in a very positive way and raised those girls. She was somebody I rooted for. I really wanted her to do well, and she did.”
In the civil trial following the multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by Fualaau’s mother, the police department and school district insisted the romance was so bizarre that no one could have predicted it. The district’s lawyer said it began off school grounds after the academic year had ended. Police argued that they simply had no evidence of sexual abuse until it was too late.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Father And Sons Charged After Allegedly Selling ‘Miracle’ Bleach COVID-19 Cure

Mark Grenon , 62 , and his sons Jonathan Grenon , 34 , Jordan Grenon , 26 , and Joseph Grenon , 32 , all of Bradenton , were charged Wednesday in Miami with conspiracy and criminal contempt in the manufacture and sale of a mixture that prosecutors said has been linked to illnesses and death .
The company brands itself as a church , but it said on its website that it is not religious .
The name was instead selected to avoid government regulation , prosecutors said .
Federal authorities also quoted Mark Grenon as saying that Genesis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” and that the company ’ s name was a ploy to “ legalize the use of MMS ” and to avoid going to jail .
A judge ordered that chemicals recovered in the raid , which were being used to produce the solution , be destroyed and that the suspects contact people who purchased it to offer them a refund , according to an order of permanent injunction filed against the family and company Tuesday .
The father-and-sons team allegedly marketed the solution , which is a combination of sodium chlorite and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just for the coronavirus but also for dozens of other serious diseases and conditions , including cancer , Alzheimer ’ s disease , autism , multiple sclerosis , HIV and AIDS , prosecutors said .
“ The Grenons allegedly directed their customers to ingest MMS orally , which causes the solution to become chlorine dioxide , a powerful bleach , typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles , pulp and paper , ” prosecutors said .
Drinking the chemical mix is the same as drinking bleach , which can cause severe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pressure , the Food and Drug Administration warned .
President Donald Trump in April famously suggested falsely that injecting oneself with disinfectant might cure the coronavirus .
He later claimed this was a joke .
But his comments prompted health officials and the makers of Clorox and Lysol to issue a series of warnings against ingesting bleach .
The Grenons were ordered by a federal judge back in April to stop selling the mixture .
Prosecutors at the time argued that any medicinal claims about MMS are “ unsupported by any well-controlled clinical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Grenons told the judge shortly after the ruling that they would not comply with the court order .
They also threatened violence in letters sent to the judge , prosecutors said .
There is currently no vaccine for the coronavirus , nor are there drugs licensed for the treatment or prevention of it .
That hasn ’ t stopped celebrities and businesses from trying to take advantage of consumers ’ fears by peddling fake drugs and products .
Conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones and televangelist Jim Bakker have been threatened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ products containing silver that they falsely say can kill the virus .
Trump also briefly touted the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential “ game changer ” in the fight against the coronavirus .
The FDA subsequently deemed it risky and likely infective for treatment of the virus .

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Four Florida men are facing federal charges for allegedly refusing a court order to stop selling a toxic bleach solution called “Miracle Mineral Solution,” or MMS, as a drinkable preventative, treatment and cure for COVID-19.
Mark Grenon, 62, and his sons Jonathan Grenon, 34, Jordan Grenon, 26, and Joseph Grenon, 32, all of Bradenton, were charged Wednesday in Miami with conspiracy and criminal contempt in the manufacture and sale of a mixture that prosecutors said has been linked to illnesses and death.
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The Grenons’ company, the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, was raided by multiple agencies executing search warrants on Wednesday, local station WWSB reported.
The company brands itself as a church, but it said on its website that it is not religious. The name was instead selected to avoid government regulation, prosecutors said. Federal authorities also quoted Mark Grenon as saying that Genesis “has nothing to do with religion” and that the company’s name was a ploy to “legalize the use of MMS” and to avoid going to jail.
A judge ordered that chemicals recovered in the raid, which were being used to produce the solution, be destroyed and that the suspects contact people who purchased it to offer them a refund, according to an order of permanent injunction filed against the family and company Tuesday.
Genesis II Church of Health and Healing allegedly marketed “Miracle Mineral Solution” as a preventative, treatment and cure for COVID-19. The product was a combination of sodium chlorite and water, authorities said. tarasov_vl via Getty Images
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The father-and-sons team allegedly marketed the solution, which is a combination of sodium chlorite and water, as a miracle cure not just for the coronavirus but also for dozens of other serious diseases and conditions, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, multiple sclerosis, HIV and AIDS, prosecutors said.
“The Grenons allegedly directed their customers to ingest MMS orally, which causes the solution to become chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach, typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles, pulp and paper,” prosecutors said.
Drinking the chemical mix is the same as drinking bleach, which can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea and life-threatening low blood pressure, the Food and Drug Administration warned.
President Donald Trump in April famously suggested falsely that injecting oneself with disinfectant might cure the coronavirus. He later claimed this was a joke. But his comments prompted health officials and the makers of Clorox and Lysol to issue a series of warnings against ingesting bleach.
In the case of MMS, prosecutors said that the FDA “has received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions and dying after drinking MMS.”
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The Grenons were ordered by a federal judge back in April to stop selling the mixture. Prosecutors at the time argued that any medicinal claims about MMS are “unsupported by any well-controlled clinical studies or other credible scientific substantiation.” The Grenons told the judge shortly after the ruling that they would not comply with the court order. They also threatened violence in letters sent to the judge, prosecutors said.
There is currently no vaccine for the coronavirus, nor are there drugs licensed for the treatment or prevention of it. That hasn’t stopped celebrities and businesses from trying to take advantage of consumers’ fears by peddling fake drugs and products.
Conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones and televangelist Jim Bakker have been threatened with legal action over their promotion of products containing silver that they falsely say can kill the virus.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Vermont Is First State To Ban Throwing Food Scraps Into The Trash

Vermont set a precedent in waste conservation this month when it became the first U.S. state to ban food scraps in trash .
The legislation , which took effect July 1 , prohibits residents , restaurants , supermarkets and other businesses from disposing of food scraps ― such as peels , rinds , seeds eggshells , coffee grinds and meal leftovers ― into trash cans or other containers used for refuse .
“ If it was once part of something alive , like a plant or animal , it does not belong in the landfill , ” officials say on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law requires Vermonters to collect their food scraps in a separate container .
At that point , they have three options : compost the scraps on their own property , take them to a drop-off facility or hire an outside company for at-home pickup .
The food-scrap ban mirrors those adopted by San Francisco , Seattle and some other large U.S. cities , but Vermont is the first state to enact such legislation .
Its law codifies what is already a widespread practice ― a recent study by the University of Vermont found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s residents already composting .
“ Vermont is ahead of the curve because we have such a strong agricultural base , it makes it a no-brainer for us , ” Vermont-based compost consultant Cat Buxton told the Valley News .
“ We have a lot of people who know how to manage organic waste of all kinds and they ’ ve been doing it for a long time.
” Vermont officials estimate that at present , about 20 % of the state ’ s waste comes from food .
When that waste is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ produces methane , a greenhouse gas that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deems 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period .
Along with its environmental impact , officials hope the law will make Green Mountain State residents more conscious of the financial benefits of wasting less food .
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a family of four can save an average of $ 1,500 annually by being less wasteful .
“ From a climate change and greenhouse gas perspective , this is huge , ” Josh Kelly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has said .
“ In addition , it puts our waste to work .
It puts it into a job-creating system where you are creating a product that is being processed and made into something and it ’ s not disposed of .
”

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Vermont set a precedent in waste conservation this month when it became the first U.S. state to ban food scraps in trash.
The legislation, which took effect July 1, prohibits residents, restaurants, supermarkets and other businesses from disposing of food scraps ― such as peels, rinds, seeds eggshells, coffee grinds and meal leftovers ― into trash cans or other containers used for refuse.
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“If it was once part of something alive, like a plant or animal, it does not belong in the landfill,” officials say on the state’s website.
Yard debris like leaves and cut grass are also included in the ban.
The law requires Vermonters to collect their food scraps in a separate container. At that point, they have three options: compost the scraps on their own property, take them to a drop-off facility or hire an outside company for at-home pickup.
The food-scrap ban mirrors those adopted by San Francisco, Seattle and some other large U.S. cities, but Vermont is the first state to enact such legislation. Its law codifies what is already a widespread practice ― a recent study by the University of Vermont found that 72% of the state’s residents already composting.
“Vermont is ahead of the curve because we have such a strong agricultural base, it makes it a no-brainer for us,” Vermont-based compost consultant Cat Buxton told the Valley News. “We have a lot of people who know how to manage organic waste of all kinds and they’ve been doing it for a long time.”
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Vermont officials estimate that at present, about 20% of the state’s waste comes from food. When that waste is disposed of in a landfill and covered, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deems 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.
Along with its environmental impact, officials hope the law will make Green Mountain State residents more conscious of the financial benefits of wasting less food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a family of four can save an average of $1,500 annually by being less wasteful.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--My Fat Body Is Not A Punishment, No Matter What Drew Barrymore Says

In the August issue of InStyle , between discussing life during COVID-19 and her upcoming talk show , cover girl Drew Barrymore also made some ( to me ) startling comments about her body , saying , among other problematic things , that she has to diet and exercise so she ’ s not “ the size of a bus.
” “ I eat really clean and healthy , and I do an hour of Pilates at least four days a week , ” she told the magazine .
“ I have to work so hard at not being the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s OK. That is just my journey .
That is my karma .
I don ’ t know , maybe I was thin and mean in a past life.
” The whole quote strikes me as off-brand for Barrymore , who generally comes across as a relentlessly positive if kooky everywoman with a feminist bent and enough of a wild child past to thumb her nose at the conventions of “ celebrity.
” Her image of hippie-ish serenity is reinforced by the interview ’ s accompanying images , in which she makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live chicken tucked under her arm .
It also reads to me like something from the realm of women ’ s media 10 to 15 years ago , before we banished terms such as “ bikini body ” from our glossy cover lines and replaced them with Tess Holliday .
Sure , diet culture is alive and thriving , and the watered-down lip service version of “ body positivity ” is now being used to sell us things , but I still thought we ’ d come a little further than this .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ upset about in Barrymore ’ s answer , starting with the fact that when asked a fairly innocuous question , she conflates “ taking care of herself ” with regulating her body ’ s size .
Eating nourishing food and moving our bodies can certainly be self-care .
But thinness and striving for thinness are not inherently good for you .
In fact , the pursuit of thinness quite often results in behaviors that are the opposite of providing loving care for yourself .
Then there ’ s the term “ eat clean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that what a person chooses to eat has some kind of moral value .
Food isn ’ t good or bad , clean or unclean .
Food is just food , and the choices we make about what to eat don ’ t say anything about our value as people .
( Not to mention that the foods we consider “ clean ” are often the foods that are least accessible to those in lower-income brackets . )
But what bothers me most of all is the idea , expressed in Barrymore ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her “ karma ” for being “ thin and mean in a former life , ” that gaining weight , or simply having a fat body , is some kind of punishment .
As Barrymore said of herself , I have the kind of body that resists thinness .
I was a fat kid , I was a very fat adolescent , and today I ’ m a slightly less fat but still plus-sized adult .
The “ less fat ” was “ achieved ” in college through low-carb dieting , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100-pound weight loss were punctuated by periods of restrictive dieting .
Periods that , by the way , were always followed by the slow regaining of whatever weight I ’ d lost , because that is generally how diets work ― or rather , don ’ t work .
Like Barrymore , and probably most women ( and many men ) who haven ’ t done the hard work of dismantling and unlearning fatphobia , I still have deeply internalized but unwanted ideas about weight and my body , driven largely by diet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live my life on a forever diet , hating myself and hating my body .
It wants me to believe that I am worthless if I gain a pound and morally superior when I lose one .
It wants me to believe that I will only be healthy and happy at a smaller size because it wants me to buy things I believe will get me there .
So while I think it was irresponsible of Barrymore to uncritically express those thoughts in a publication , I don ’ t think she ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victim of that same culture that tells us gaining weight or having a larger body is inherently bad .
Being fat , getting fat , staying fat : These are things that have no inherent moral value .
My body , which is larger than Barrymore ’ s , is not a punishment .
The bodies of those who are larger than me are not a punishment .
The punishment , in fact , is living while fat in a society in which fat is treated as retribution for bad behavior , while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the saintly pursuit of self-deprivation .
We ’ re living a moment in which a lot of our cultural hang-ups about weight are awkwardly on display : the Instagram influencer who crafts a caption simultaneously apologizing for and pretending to embrace her quarantine weight gain , the people so desperate to get back to their gym routines they ’ re working out in plastic pods .
As a society , we ’ re so uncomfortable with the idea of weight gain that we ’ re agonizing over a few extra pounds during a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yourself ” is not defined as shrinking your body or maintaining a smaller body size .
In fact , we can not begin to truly take care of ourselves until we opt out of a system that tells us our worth is determined by a number on the scale and make peace with our bodies , sans judgment or shame .

Drew Barrymore on the cover of the August edition of InStyle magazine. InStyle
In the August issue of InStyle, between discussing life during COVID-19 and her upcoming talk show, cover girl Drew Barrymore also made some (to me) startling comments about her body, saying, among other problematic things, that she has to diet and exercise so she’s not “the size of a bus.”
“I eat really clean and healthy, and I do an hour of Pilates at least four days a week,” she told the magazine. “I have to work so hard at not being the size of a bus. And it’s OK. That is just my journey. That is my karma. I don’t know, maybe I was thin and mean in a past life.”
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The whole quote strikes me as off-brand for Barrymore, who generally comes across as a relentlessly positive if kooky everywoman with a feminist bent and enough of a wild child past to thumb her nose at the conventions of “celebrity.” Her image of hippie-ish serenity is reinforced by the interview’s accompanying images, in which she makes the peace sign and poses with a live chicken tucked under her arm.
It also reads to me like something from the realm of women’s media 10 to 15 years ago, before we banished terms such as “bikini body” from our glossy cover lines and replaced them with Tess Holliday. Sure, diet culture is alive and thriving, and the watered-down lip service version of “body positivity” is now being used to sell us things, but I still thought we’d come a little further than this.
There are LAYERS of things to be upset about in Barrymore’s answer, starting with the fact that when asked a fairly innocuous question, she conflates “taking care of herself” with regulating her body’s size. Eating nourishing food and moving our bodies can certainly be self-care. But thinness and striving for thinness are not inherently good for you. In fact, the pursuit of thinness quite often results in behaviors that are the opposite of providing loving care for yourself.
Then there’s the term “eat clean,” which reinforces the damaging idea that what a person chooses to eat has some kind of moral value. Food isn’t good or bad, clean or unclean. Food is just food, and the choices we make about what to eat don’t say anything about our value as people. (Not to mention that the foods we consider “clean” are often the foods that are least accessible to those in lower-income brackets.)
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There’s the fact that Barrymore refers to her strenuous efforts to maintain a smaller body size as “her journey,” which frankly just makes me sad, even if she’s being glib. What a depressing thing to consider your journey, a lifetime of struggling to be thin.
But what bothers me most of all is the idea, expressed in Barrymore’s joke that her body type is her “karma” for being “thin and mean in a former life,” that gaining weight, or simply having a fat body, is some kind of punishment.
As Barrymore said of herself, I have the kind of body that resists thinness. I was a fat kid, I was a very fat adolescent, and today I’m a slightly less fat but still plus-sized adult. The “less fat” was “achieved” in college through low-carb dieting, and the almost two decades after my more than 100-pound weight loss were punctuated by periods of restrictive dieting. Periods that, by the way, were always followed by the slow regaining of whatever weight I’d lost, because that is generally how diets work ― or rather, don’t work.
Like Barrymore, and probably most women (and many men) who haven’t done the hard work of dismantling and unlearning fatphobia, I still have deeply internalized but unwanted ideas about weight and my body, driven largely by diet culture. Diet culture wants me to live my life on a forever diet, hating myself and hating my body. It wants me to believe that I am worthless if I gain a pound and morally superior when I lose one. It wants me to believe that I will only be healthy and happy at a smaller size because it wants me to buy things I believe will get me there.
So while I think it was irresponsible of Barrymore to uncritically express those thoughts in a publication, I don’t think she’s a villain so much as a victim of that same culture that tells us gaining weight or having a larger body is inherently bad.
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But just as with food, there are no good or bad bodies. There are just bodies, in their myriad shapes and sizes, with the vast weight of cultural assumptions we put on them.
Being fat, getting fat, staying fat: These are things that have no inherent moral value. My body, which is larger than Barrymore’s, is not a punishment. The bodies of those who are larger than me are not a punishment. The punishment, in fact, is living while fat in a society in which fat is treated as retribution for bad behavior, while thin is seen as a reward for the saintly pursuit of self-deprivation.
We’re living a moment in which a lot of our cultural hang-ups about weight are awkwardly on display: the Instagram influencer who crafts a caption simultaneously apologizing for and pretending to embrace her quarantine weight gain, the people so desperate to get back to their gym routines they’re working out in plastic pods. As a society, we’re so uncomfortable with the idea of weight gain that we’re agonizing over a few extra pounds during a global pandemic.
It seems like a particularly fraught time to be reinforcing the idea, even jokingly, that fat is something that happens to bad people.
“Taking care of yourself” is not defined as shrinking your body or maintaining a smaller body size. In fact, we cannot begin to truly take care of ourselves until we opt out of a system that tells us our worth is determined by a number on the scale and make peace with our bodies, sans judgment or shame.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Japan's Amusement Parks Warn Coaster Riders: Screaming Can Spread COVID-19

Japan ’ s amusement parks may not be as amusing as they used to be .
Currently many of the country ’ s parks are open or reopening in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic .
However , park officials are hoping to minimize the possible spread of COVID-19 by asking customers not to scream while on rides , according to The Wall Street Journal .
The edict is based on health studies that suggest actions such as coughing and screaming will spread the disease .
Back in March , a person attending choir practice in Skagit County , Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two of whom died .
College student Rika Matsuura thinks the new no-scream rule will be hard to enforce at places like Tokyo Disneyland , even though masks will be required .
“ There ’ s just no way not to scream , ” she told The Wall Street Journal .
“ It ’ s kind of torture to be back at your favorite place in the world and to not be able to scream and enjoy everything 100 % .
” In order to give customers guidance on how to avoid screaming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made a video showing two top executives sitting stone-faced on a coaster zipping around at 80 miles an hour .
See the video below : “ We received complaints that the theme park association ’ s request to not make loud noises was impossible and too strict .
That ’ s why we decided to release the video , ” a Fuji-Q spokesman said .
The video ends with the line ( written in Japanese ) , “ Please scream inside your heart ” ― an instruction Twitter users found , well , @ @

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Japan’s amusement parks may not be as amusing as they used to be.
Currently many of the country’s parks are open or reopening in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, park officials are hoping to minimize the possible spread of COVID-19 by asking customers not to scream while on rides, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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The edict is based on health studies that suggest actions such as coughing and screaming will spread the disease.
Back in March, a person attending choir practice in Skagit County, Washington, managed to infect 52 others, two of whom died.
College student Rika Matsuura thinks the new no-scream rule will be hard to enforce at places like Tokyo Disneyland, even though masks will be required.
“There’s just no way not to scream,” she told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s kind of torture to be back at your favorite place in the world and to not be able to scream and enjoy everything 100%.”
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In order to give customers guidance on how to avoid screaming, the Fuji-Q Highland park in Fujiyoshida made a video showing two top executives sitting stone-faced on a coaster zipping around at 80 miles an hour. See the video below:
“We received complaints that the theme park association’s request to not make loud noises was impossible and too strict. That’s why we decided to release the video,” a Fuji-Q spokesman said.
The video ends with the line (written in Japanese), “Please scream inside your heart” ― an instruction Twitter users found, well, amusing:
Japan’s theme parks have banned screaming on roller coasters because it spreads coronavirus. “Please scream inside your heart.” https://t.co/DJjC40H0Ap — Ben Pershing (@benpershing) July 8, 2020
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I bet they banned throwing up on roller coasters as well😏 — Eric Johnson (@Eric_Johnson719) July 8, 2020
I feel the phrase "Please scream inside your heart" should be the official slogan for 2020. — Susan Stone 🎃 (@SusanStone12) July 8, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Trump's Tulsa Rally 'Likely' Source Of Coronavirus Surge: Health Official

OKLAHOMA CITY ( AP ) — President Donald Trump ’ s campaign rally in Tulsa that drew thousands of people in late June , along with large protests that accompanied it , “ likely contributed ” to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases , Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said Wednesday .
Although the health department ’ s policy is to not publicly identify individual settings where people may have contracted the virus , Dart said those large gatherings “ more than likely ” contributed to the spike .
“ In the past few days , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases , and we had several large events just over two weeks ago , so I guess we just connect the dots , ” Dart said .
A reporter who attended the Trump rally is among those who have tested positive for COVID-19 , along with six of Trump ’ s campaign staffers and two members of the Secret Service who worked in advance of the rally .
Statewide , Oklahoma health officials on Wednesday reported 673 new confirmed cases of coronavirus , the state ’ s second-highest daily total since the start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health follow a record high of 858 cases that were reported on Tuesday and bring the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 17,893 .
The actual number of infections is thought to be much higher because many people haven ’ t been tested and some who get the disease don ’ t show symptoms .
In response to a recent surge in coronavirus cases , the cities of Norman and Stillwater have approved mandates that people must wear masks in public .
Norman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five-hour city council meeting during which citizens on both sides of the issue spoke out .
For most people , the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks .
But for others , especially older adults and people with existing health problems , the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal .

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa that drew thousands of people in late June, along with large protests that accompanied it, “likely contributed” to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said Wednesday.
Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday.
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Although the health department’s policy is to not publicly identify individual settings where people may have contracted the virus, Dart said those large gatherings “more than likely” contributed to the spike.
“In the past few days, we’ve seen almost 500 new cases, and we had several large events just over two weeks ago, so I guess we just connect the dots,” Dart said.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A reporter who attended the Trump rally is among those who have tested positive for COVID-19, along with six of Trump’s campaign staffers and two members of the Secret Service who worked in advance of the rally.
Statewide, Oklahoma health officials on Wednesday reported 673 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, the state’s second-highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.
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The new cases reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health follow a record high of 858 cases that were reported on Tuesday and bring the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 17,893. The actual number of infections is thought to be much higher because many people haven’t been tested and some who get the disease don’t show symptoms.
The health department also reported three additional COVID-19 deaths, bringing the statewide death toll to 407.
In response to a recent surge in coronavirus cases, the cities of Norman and Stillwater have approved mandates that people must wear masks in public. Norman approved its ordinance Tuesday night after a five-hour city council meeting during which citizens on both sides of the issue spoke out.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--CDC Will Relax School Reopening Guidelines, Mike Pence Says

“ The president said today , we just don ’ t want the guidance to be too tough , ” Pence said during a press briefing at the Department of Education .
“ That ’ s the reason why next week , the CDC is going to be issuing a new set of tools , five different documents that will be giving even more clarity on the guidance going forward.
” The CDC is under clear pressure from the White House to amend its current nonbinding guidelines for schools , which say , among other things , that teachers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ desks should be “ at least 6 feet apart when feasible.
” Trump tweeted earlier Wednesday that he disagreed with the CDC “ on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools ” and “ will be meeting with them !
!
!
” He also threatened to cut off funding to schools if they did not reopen quickly enough , although schools are mostly funded by state and local governments .
The president has framed continued closures as a sign of political opposition and has downplayed the ongoing threat of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 million cases on Wednesday .
There is no vaccine for the virus , and testing remains slow and difficult to access in many parts of the country .
Reopening schools without adequate safety measures could mean spreading the virus even further and putting students , teachers , school staff members and their families at risk .
Several school districts announcing their tentative reopening plans for the fall have suggested a combination of in-person instruction and “ distancing learning ” in order to abide by the recommendation that students stay 6 feet apart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has said students might physically attend classes only two or three days per week .
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has implored schools to reopen full-time in the fall .
On a call with governors on Tuesday , she chided a district that plans to open to students for up to two days a week .
“ Ultimately , it ’ s not a matter of if schools need to open — it ’ s a matter of how .
Schools must fully open ; they must be fully operational , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conceded that reopening schools is inherently risky , but said “ risk is involved in everything we do , from learning to ride a bike to riding a rocket into space and everything in between.
” Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a White House coronavirus task force press briefing at the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday .
He said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will relax guidelines for reopening schools in the fall .
Distancing learning has generally not been considered successful ― it ’ s a major stressor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for classroom instruction — and kids going to school only a couple of days per week would be a disaster for many working parents already burned out from three months of struggling to teach their kids at home .
Being in school is also better for children ’ s socialization , as the American Society of Pediatrics has noted .
School administrators are already facing a major budget crunch due to economic losses during the pandemic , and reopening safely will require a host of costly new procedures .
Schools may need more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one child is allowed per seat .
Class sizes may need to be cut in half , requiring more space and teachers .
And staff may decide to bring lunch to their classrooms instead of seating kids in a cafeteria , which would likely require more food service workers .
Schools also need to contend with how they will monitor and test children for the virus .
Dr. Deborah Birx of the coronavirus task force addressed the problem at Wednesday ’ s briefing , saying saliva tests could be a useful alternative to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She did not clarify , however , whether such alternative tests would be ready in the coming months , and at scale .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) said Monday that he would likely address schools in a bill to be unveiled sometime this month , though he said his top priority is blocking coronavirus-related lawsuits .
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ( R-Calif. ) also said Congress should stop “ frivolous lawsuits ” and that the Department Health and Human Services should study whether the coronavirus is as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adults .

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will weaken guidelines for reopening schools that President Donald Trump said were too stringent, Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday.
“The president said today, we just don’t want the guidance to be too tough,” Pence said during a press briefing at the Department of Education. “That’s the reason why next week, the CDC is going to be issuing a new set of tools, five different documents that will be giving even more clarity on the guidance going forward.”
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The CDC is under clear pressure from the White House to amend its current nonbinding guidelines for schools, which say, among other things, that teachers and students should wear cloth masks and that desks should be “at least 6 feet apart when feasible.” Trump tweeted earlier Wednesday that he disagreed with the CDC “on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools” and “will be meeting with them!!!” He also threatened to cut off funding to schools if they did not reopen quickly enough, although schools are mostly funded by state and local governments.
At multiple points in the briefing, CDC Director Robert Redfield downplayed his agency’s recommendations by stressing that they “are not requirements” and are “not meant to be prescriptive.”
“Ultimately, it’s not a matter of if schools need to open — it’s a matter of how.” - Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
The president has framed continued closures as a sign of political opposition and has downplayed the ongoing threat of the coronavirus, even as the U.S. hit 3 million cases on Wednesday. There is no vaccine for the virus, and testing remains slow and difficult to access in many parts of the country. Reopening schools without adequate safety measures could mean spreading the virus even further and putting students, teachers, school staff members and their families at risk.
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Several school districts announcing their tentative reopening plans for the fall have suggested a combination of in-person instruction and “distancing learning” in order to abide by the recommendation that students stay 6 feet apart. New York City, for instance, has said students might physically attend classes only two or three days per week.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has implored schools to reopen full-time in the fall. On a call with governors on Tuesday, she chided a district that plans to open to students for up to two days a week.
“Ultimately, it’s not a matter of if schools need to open — it’s a matter of how. Schools must fully open; they must be fully operational,” DeVos said on the call. She conceded that reopening schools is inherently risky, but said “risk is involved in everything we do, from learning to ride a bike to riding a rocket into space and everything in between.”
Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a White House coronavirus task force press briefing at the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday. He said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will relax guidelines for reopening schools in the fall. Alex Wong via Getty Images
Distancing learning has generally not been considered successful ― it’s a major stressor for working parents and a poor replacement for classroom instruction — and kids going to school only a couple of days per week would be a disaster for many working parents already burned out from three months of struggling to teach their kids at home. Being in school is also better for children’s socialization, as the American Society of Pediatrics has noted.
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But reopening schools safely is complicated ― and expensive.
School administrators are already facing a major budget crunch due to economic losses during the pandemic, and reopening safely will require a host of costly new procedures. Schools may need more buses to safely transport kids if only one child is allowed per seat. Class sizes may need to be cut in half, requiring more space and teachers. And staff may decide to bring lunch to their classrooms instead of seating kids in a cafeteria, which would likely require more food service workers.
At the same time, some groups are already forecasting that schools may have to lay off hundreds of thousands of teachers and employees amid new budget shortfalls.
Schools also need to contend with how they will monitor and test children for the virus. Dr. Deborah Birx of the coronavirus task force addressed the problem at Wednesday’s briefing, saying saliva tests could be a useful alternative to the swab test many say is uncomfortable. She did not clarify, however, whether such alternative tests would be ready in the coming months, and at scale.
Congress could include funding for schools in its next major coronavirus relief package. A House-passed Democratic bill included $100 billion for coronavirus costs, but Senate Republicans have scoffed at the measure.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that he would likely address schools in a bill to be unveiled sometime this month, though he said his top priority is blocking coronavirus-related lawsuits. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also said Congress should stop “frivolous lawsuits” and that the Department Health and Human Services should study whether the coronavirus is as transmissible among children as it is among adults.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--U.S. Passes 3 Million Coronavirus Cases

U.S. Passes 3 Million Coronavirus Cases

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed 3 million on Wednesday as the nation logged record rises in daily infections .
The grim milestone , tallied by researchers at Johns Hopkins University , came almost exactly a month after the U.S. passed 2 million COVID-19 cases .
The U.S. has the world ’ s highest number of reported cases and deaths from the virus .
Second is Brazil , which has reported roughly half as many cases and deaths .
Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott has declared masks or face coverings must be worn in public across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say hospitals are in danger of becoming overrun as cases of the coronavirus surge .
The U.S. is seeing the number of daily cases almost double over the previous baseline high , rather than decline like many other countries , which is “ a serious problem ” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci , the nation ’ s top infectious disease expert , warned at a news conference on Monday .
On Friday , 40,173 new cases in the U.S. were reported .
That topped the previous daily record , set only the day before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeatedly downplayed the threat of the virus and said it will just “ go away ” on its own , on Tuesday vowed to pressure states and local governments to open schools in the fall despite the rising case numbers .
President Donald Trump listens during a `` National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America 's Schools '' at the White House on Tuesday .
He has said he will pressure states and local governments to open schools in the fall .
The president threatened to cut off funding to those who don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats want to keep schools closed to hurt his reelection .
He further compared schools in the U.S. with those in “ Germany , Denmark , Norway , Sweden and many other countries , ” which he said are “ open with no problems.
” Trump ’ s school funding threat came after he pointed to the declining U.S. coronavirus death rate as an indicator of progress .
In Germany , Denmark , Norway , Sweden and many other countries , SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS .
The Dems think it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools open before the November Election , but is important for the children & families .
May cut off funding if not open !
— Donald J. Trump ( @ realDonaldTrump ) July 8 , 2020 Fauci and other experts , however , pointed out that the falling death rate may be because younger , heather people are becoming infected .
“ It ’ s a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death , ” Fauci said Tuesday .
“ There ’ s so many other things that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Don ’ t get yourself into false complacency.
” “ If you say that it doesn ’ t matter whether you put it on or you take it off , you ’ re giving a wrong , mixed signal , ” Fauci said .
“ The signal should be wear a mask , period .
”

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The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed 3 million on Wednesday as the nation logged record rises in daily infections.
The grim milestone, tallied by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, came almost exactly a month after the U.S. passed 2 million COVID-19 cases. The U.S. has the world’s highest number of reported cases and deaths from the virus. Second is Brazil, which has reported roughly half as many cases and deaths.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared masks or face coverings must be worn in public across most of the state as local officials say hospitals are in danger of becoming overrun as cases of the coronavirus surge. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The U.S. is seeing the number of daily cases almost double over the previous baseline high, rather than decline like many other countries, which is “a serious problem” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned at a news conference on Monday.
On Friday, 40,173 new cases in the U.S. were reported. That topped the previous daily record, set only the day before.
President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the virus and said it will just “go away” on its own, on Tuesday vowed to pressure states and local governments to open schools in the fall despite the rising case numbers.
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President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's Schools" at the White House on Tuesday. He has said he will pressure states and local governments to open schools in the fall. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The president threatened to cut off funding to those who don’t obey his order, and claimed Democrats want to keep schools closed to hurt his reelection. He further compared schools in the U.S. with those in “Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries,” which he said are “open with no problems.”
Trump’s school funding threat came after he pointed to the declining U.S. coronavirus death rate as an indicator of progress.
In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2020
Fauci and other experts, however, pointed out that the falling death rate may be because younger, heather people are becoming infected.
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“It’s a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death,” Fauci said Tuesday. “There’s so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus. Don’t get yourself into false complacency.”
Fauci urged state and local governments ― including those that bowed to the president’s pressure to lift restrictions and reopen businesses ― to mandate facial coverings.
“If you say that it doesn’t matter whether you put it on or you take it off, you’re giving a wrong, mixed signal,” Fauci said. “The signal should be wear a mask, period.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-08--Supreme Court Says Employers May Deny Birth Control Coverage Over Religious Objections

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld rules issued by the Trump administration that allow employers with religious or moral objections to deny women access to free birth control coverage .
The court ’ s 7-2 vote struck a blow against the birth control mandate , a hotly litigated regulation under the Affordable Care Act that requires most private health insurance plans to cover contraceptives without a copay .
At issue in Trump v. Pennsylvania , consolidated with Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania , were new rules established by the Trump administration that vastly expanded the types of organizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on religious beliefs or moral objections .
The states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged the rules , arguing that they would have to cover the cost of birth control for people who lost coverage .
Justice Clarence Thomas , who wrote the opinion , said that the Trump administration “ had the authority to provide exemptions from the regulatory contraceptive requirements for employers with religious and conscientious objections.
” He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts , and Justices Samuel Alito , Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh .
Oral arguments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the first times in history for the court ― due to the coronavirus pandemic .
It was the third time that the birth control mandate reached the Supreme Court , but the first since Gorsuch and Kavanaugh ― appointed by President Donald Trump ― joined the bench .
“ [ T ] his Court leaves women workers to fend for themselves , to seek contraceptive coverage from sources other than their employer ’ s insurer , and , absent another available source of funding , to pay for contraceptive services out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote , joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor .
“ Faced with high out-of-pocket costs , many women will forgo contraception … or resort to less effective contraceptive methods.
” The mandate has been credited with significantly reducing birth control costs across the country .
Before the Affordable Care Act , commonly known as Obamacare , contraceptives made up about 30 % of women ’ s total out-of-pocket health care costs , according to the National Women ’ s Law Center .
In 2013 , the mandate saved women more than $ 1.4 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ This is a shameful decision from the Supreme Court , ” said Brigitte Amiri , deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project .
“ Denying employees and students coverage for birth control will limit their ability to decide whether and when to have a family and make other decisions about their futures .
And it will exacerbate existing inequalities , falling hardest on people with the fewest resources and people of color.
” “ Right now in the middle of a public health crisis and an economic crisis , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have that important health coverage when you go to pick up your prescription is really terrifying , ” she said .
“ This isn ’ t what the intent of the Affordable Care Act was .
”

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld rules issued by the Trump administration that allow employers with religious or moral objections to deny women access to free birth control coverage.
The court’s 7-2 vote struck a blow against the birth control mandate, a hotly litigated regulation under the Affordable Care Act that requires most private health insurance plans to cover contraceptives without a copay.
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Under the judgment, between 70,500 and 126,400 women could lose access to no-cost birth control, according to government estimates.
At issue in Trump v. Pennsylvania, consolidated with Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, were new rules established by the Trump administration that vastly expanded the types of organizations that could opt out of the mandate based on religious beliefs or moral objections.
The states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey challenged the rules, arguing that they would have to cover the cost of birth control for people who lost coverage.
Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the opinion, said that the Trump administration “had the authority to provide exemptions from the regulatory contraceptive requirements for employers with religious and conscientious objections.” He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
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Justices Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer filed a separate opinion concurring in the judgment.
Oral arguments were presented in May via teleconference ― one of the first times in history for the court ― due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was the third time that the birth control mandate reached the Supreme Court, but the first since Gorsuch and Kavanaugh ― appointed by President Donald Trump ― joined the bench.
Wednesday’s decision sent the case back to a lower court. Further attempts to block the Trump rules may soon follow.
In a statement, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who challenged the Trump rules, said he was disappointed in the ruling but was not giving up. “We now return to the lower courts to address whether the exemptions are arbitrary and capricious,” he said. “This fight is not over.” In a dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a stark warning about the potential impact of the ruling on employees.
“[T]his Court leaves women workers to fend for themselves, to seek contraceptive coverage from sources other than their employer’s insurer, and, absent another available source of funding, to pay for contraceptive services out of their own pockets,” she wrote, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “Faced with high out-of-pocket costs, many women will forgo contraception … or resort to less effective contraceptive methods.”
The mandate has been credited with significantly reducing birth control costs across the country. Before the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, contraceptives made up about 30% of women’s total out-of-pocket health care costs, according to the National Women’s Law Center. In 2013, the mandate saved women more than $1.4 billion in out-of-pocket expenses for birth control pills.
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Wednesday’s ruling was criticized by leading reproductive health and civil rights groups.
“This is a shameful decision from the Supreme Court,” said Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “Denying employees and students coverage for birth control will limit their ability to decide whether and when to have a family and make other decisions about their futures. And it will exacerbate existing inequalities, falling hardest on people with the fewest resources and people of color.”
Mara Gandal-Powers, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, said she was worried about the uncertainty created by the ruling.