thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--The Supreme Court Built America’s Broken Policing System And It’s Working Just As Intended

Police and the politicians who protect them get most of the attention in the movement to defund or reform law enforcement. But there’s another, more powerful force that’s allowed law enforcement to use force on citizens, stop them without a warrant, lock them up for minor crimes and even raid their homes without a knock.
The Supreme Court has spent the last 50 years affirming the power of police to legally take such actions. The system built by officials and sanctioned by the court isn’t broken; it’s working just as intended.
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Beginning in 1968, amid rising white anxiety about the unrest in urban Black communities largely instigated by police brutality and crime, the court has signed off on controversial police practices marking a near total reinterpretation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments while also creating a multi-step system protecting police from accountability when they are charged with abuse. The rulings provide the legal authorization for the policing system now deemed broken by politicians and protestors.
Court decisions joined by justices from all political persuasions enable police to stop and frisk anyone they deem suspicious; to stop any vehicle driver for any infraction even if the stop was a pretext for a different concern; to arrest anyone for any legal infraction, no matter how minor; to use force, including deadly force, even to enforce a speeding violation. And then the court has granted multiple layers of protection for officers and police departments from accountability from criminal and civil suits brought by victims of their actions.
Almost all of these cases are rooted in the interpretation of the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects “against unreasonable searches and seizures.” The court sided with police to rule that these practices were within those bounds.
“When a police officer initiates a traffic stop or a pedestrian stop, makes an arrest, applies for a warrant ― all of those behaviors and a number of others are subject to constitutional restrictions,” Seth Stoughton, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and a former police officer, said. “And that means the Supreme Court creates a lot of the legal framework that applies to day-to-day policing.”
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A protester holds a sign in front of New York Supreme Court on May 29 demanding justice for George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died Memorial Day in Minneapolis police custody. ASSOCIATED PRESS/Mary Altaffer
From the outset, a justice warned the rest of the court that the system it was approving was “a long step down the totalitarian path,” that would disproportionately target Black and brown communities ― specifically Black and brown men. The court approved those practices anyway. And the names recited at today’s civil rights protests are just part of the result.
Enter A New Regime
The legal regime justifying the nation’s broken policing system emerged in the long, hot summer of 1968. Days after the assassination of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and a few months after riots erupted in Black communities after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the Supreme Court issued an 8-1 decision in the Terry v. Ohio case.
Where previously the court had allowed police to stop and search suspects based on “probable cause,” the court switched gears in its near-unanimous Terry decision and gave the green light for police to temporarily detain and stop and frisk a suspect solely based on the lower standard of “reasonable suspicion.”
The case emerged out of Cleveland, Ohio, when in 1965 a white police officer saw two Black men during the daytime in the downtown commercial district looking into store windows. He suspected them of “casing” the store ― looking for a robbery target ― although he told the court he couldn’t put his finger on why. “They didn’t look right to me at the time,” he said. The officer confronted the two men, who declined to give their names when asked, which he said increased his suspicion. The officer grabbed them, pushed them against a wall and searched their bodies and clothes pockets. He found two pistols and arrested them.
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At trial, John Terry, one of the two suspects, motioned for the court to dismiss the evidence of the pistol the officer found because the officer’s search and seizure of him violated the Supreme Court’s 1925 ruling that required police officers to have “probable cause” when initiating a search.
The Supreme Court, at the time under attack from everyone from the arch-segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace to Richard Nixon to the New York Times editorial page for a perception that its pro-defendant rulings coddled criminals, sided with police. The Court ultimately ruled that the officer did not have “probable cause,” but that his “reasonable suspicion” was enough to meet the demands of the Fourth Amendment. Police could now stop and search anyone that they thought could be a criminal, whatever that crime may be.
The stop-and-frisk police tactic targeted by protestors in New York City in 2012 was approved by the Supreme Court in its 1968 Terry v. Ohio decision. ASSOCIATED PRESS/Seth Wenig
In his lone dissenting opinion, Justice William Douglas, a stalwart defender of constitutional civil liberties, wrote that the change in the Fourth Amendment made by the majority may be, “desirable to cope with modern forms of lawlessness,” but it, “should be the deliberate choice of the people through a constitutional amendment.” The result of the court’s decision to do otherwise, however, would be tyranny.
“To give the police greater power than a magistrate is to take a long step down the totalitarian path,” Douglas wrote. “[I]f the individual is no longer to be sovereign, if the police can pick him up whenever they do not like the cut of his jib, if they can ‘seize’ and ‘search’ him in their discretion, we enter a new regime.”
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Police, particularly in Cleveland, Chicago and New York City, the latter of which submitted a brief in support of the officer in Terry, had already used the stop-and-frisk tactic for at least a decade before the court approved it. Unsurprisingly, this tactic was almost exclusively used to target Black people both in and outside of their own communities.
The court’s ruling never explicitly mentioned race, either of the police officer or Terry. But the court knew exactly what it was doing.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund recognized the case had potential to unleash the police to target Black communities and sweep men and women into the criminal justice system. And it warned the Supreme Court in a brief that approving stop-and-frisk tactics would do untold damage to Black Americans as “reasonable suspicion” would very easily overlap with racial fear and anxiety.
“The essence of stop and frisk doctrine is the sanctioning of judicially controlled and uncontrollable discretion by law enforcement officers,” the brief states. “History, and not in this century alone, has taught that such discretion comes inevitably to be used as an instrument of oppression of the unpopular. It was so in the case of the search and seizure practices which the Fourth Amendment was written to condemn. We believe that that Amendment protects the unpopular, the Negro, and all our citizens alike, from subjection to the oppressive police discretion which stop and frisk embodies.”
“To give the police greater power than a magistrate is to take a long step down the totalitarian path.” - Supreme Court Justice William Douglas
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The justices acknowledged they knew not only the danger of what they would approve, but the political climate in which they were acting.
Justice William Brennan, a liberal, wrote ahead of the ruling that he was “acutely concerned” that the court’s opinion would “be taken by the police all over the country as our license to them to carry on, indeed widely expand, present ‘aggressive surveillance’ techniques which the press tell us are being deliberately employed in Miami, Chicago, Detroit [and] other ghetto cities.” That could aggravate Black Americans’ resentment toward the police and make the court the scapegoat, he wrote.
The Nixon administration would soon launch a war on drugs that, when combined with the authority granted in Terry, would apply “reasonable suspicion” to anyone. The police would, as the court was told, direct their attention to stopping, frisking, detaining and assaulting Black men.
“Since that case, and in pretty much every case in which there’s been an issue of how much power police and prosecutors should have, the court’s been warned that if you give this power to the police they’re going to use it mainly against black people or brown people,” Paul Butler, a criminal law professor at the Georgetown Law Center, said. “And the court’s either ignored that concern, or discounted, or deflected, as it did in the Terry case.”
Police ‘Super Powers’
In the wake of the Terry decision, the court, including justices of all political persuasions, continued to authorize increasingly expansive powers for police despite warnings and clear evidence that the policing system they authorized was largely used to terrorize Black and brown communities.
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In 1989, the court determined in Graham v. Connor that police could use deadly force if it was objectively reasonable. The 1996 Whren v. U.S. decision authorized police to racially profile when making traffic stops. In the Atwater v. City of Lago Vista case in 2001, the court said police can arrest anyone for any infraction even if the punishment for the alleged violation does not include any prison time. And in its 2007 Scott v. Harris decision, the court took the logic of Graham v. Connor further by ruling it reasonable for police to use deadly force against a suspect who fled a traffic stop related to a speeding ticket.
Butler refers to these court approved police tactics as police “super powers,” in his book “Chokehold: Policing Black Men.” These “super powers” acting in concert create the regime now denounced as a “broken system.”
For example, take the court’s decisions in Whren and Atwater.
In 1993, police in Washington, D.C., pulled over two Black men, Michael Whren and James Brown, after noticing that they had stopped at a stop sign for 20 seconds before making a right-hand turn without signaling in what the police deemed a “high drug area.” Whren and Brown were found with drugs on them and arrested.
Police stopped them for the minor traffic infraction of stopping too long at a stop sign and the failure to signal a turn, neither of which is an arrestable offense. And police admitted they did not care about the failure to signal. The turn signal infraction was a pretext to search for drugs. The fact that Whren and Brown were both Black was also a key part of the “reasonable suspicion” aroused in the arresting officers.
A memorial for Eric Garner at the site of his killing by police in State Island. Police used powers granted to them by the Supreme Court in Garner's stop and killing. ASSOCIATED PRESS/John Minchillo
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Did it matter that Whren and Brown were racially profiled or should the court only pay attention to the minor traffic infraction as an acceptable pretext for the traffic stop? The Supreme Court said no.
The officer’s “subjective state of mind,” that is to say, whether the officer considered the suspect’s race as a reason to pull them over, must be discounted, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in a unanimous opinion. The only consideration should be the objective reason, meaning the traffic violation.
Due to the Whren ruling, courts can ignore whether police are picking and choosing people based on their being Black so long as police can present a legitimate traffic infraction for each stop.
“In the context of traffic stops, the fact that everyone commits traffic infractions almost every time they drive gives the police the ability to pick who they’re going to stop,” Stoughton, the professor and former police officer, said.
In Atwater, where an officer arrested and jailed Gail Atwater, a middle-age suburban white woman driving her children from soccer practice, for failing to wear a seatbelt. In a 5-4 decision, conservatives on the court ruled it constitutional for police to arrest anyone for any infraction even if the maximum underlying punishment for the infraction is a $50 ticket.
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Add Whren’s approval of racial profiling to Atwater’s arresting power and police can now racially profile drivers and then arrest them for failing to signal a turn or even displaying an air freshener. Since police can seize assets from those they arrest, these combined powers, “provides a legal framework for among other things policing for profit or revenue policing,” according to Stoughton. That “focus on revenue rather than public safety needs,” shaped the racial bias of policing in Ferguson, Missouri, according to a 2015 Department of Justice report.
Eric Garner’s 2014 death at the hands of New York police is a example of these police “super powers.” Garner was stopped and arrested under the Terry decision for “reasonable suspicion” of selling a single loose cigarette. Under Graham v. Connor, police could use significant force against him if they thought he was resisting arrest and that they thought the proportion of the violence was “objectively reasonable.”
So while the chokehold used to kill Garner by officer Daniel Pantaleo may have been banned under NYPD rules, it would likely be acceptable based on the court’s interpretations of use of force. While Pantaleo was fired five years after he killed Garner, he was never charged with a crime.
No Accountability
Black Lives Matter protestors have called for the end to qualified immunity, the doctrine created by the Supreme Court to protect police from accountability for abuse. Erik McGregor via Getty Images
Police officers who kill, maim or abuse people rarely face criminal charges. They are also rarely held liable in civil court. That’s because the Supreme Court has provided the already super-powered police with an additional super power: a shield from accountability.
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The most well-known of these shields is the doctrine of qualified immunity that the court wholly invented in its 1967 Pierson v. Ray decision and radically expanded in multiple cases over the ensuing decades.
Qualified immunity protects police officers from civil liability lawsuits seeking monetary damages when the officers can show that they did not break “clearly established” laws. The idea proposed by the court, which invented this doctrine out of whole cloth, is to protect officers from having to pay monetary damages for actions undertaken while carrying out duties related to their job. But the result has been an almost complete shield from liability.
“The Supreme Court has really undercut the deterrent value of constitutional rights in preventing police abuses by making it extremely hard to hold officers accountable,” Scott Michelman, legal director for the ACLU of the District of Columbia, said.
Many of the court’s assumptions about qualified immunity are false. In particular, there is no evidence for the court’s fear that officers will be held personally liable. In actuality, it’s taxpayers who pay excessive force settlements through municipal budgets. Municipalities paid settlements in 99% excessive force cases, according to a study by UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz. New York City taxpayers paid $5.9 million to settle the excessive force complaint resulting from Garner’s death.
Perhaps the most absurd problem with qualified immunity comes from the Supreme Court’s unanimous 2009 decision in Pearson v. Callahan. That decision held that courts can choose to look at whether an officer’s actions are protected by qualified immunity before addressing whether the underlying actions were themselves constitutional.
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“The effect of that rule is to enable courts to grant immunity for the same kind of conduct without ever establishing constitutional law for future cases,” Michelman said.
This means that a victim alleging police abuse must show that courts ruled in previous cases considering similar facts that police were not covered by qualified immunity. If the abuse had never been considered by a court then the victim is out of luck. The Catch-22 absurdity of this protection is perfectly illustrated in a short video made by TikToker Karan Menon.
This video is not an exaggeration. Take the case of Baxter v. Bracey.
Alexander Baxter, a homeless Black man, brought an excessive force complaint against the Nashville, Tennessee, police after he was mauled by a police dog. The police had pursued Baxter under suspicion of burglary with the help of a police dog. Baxter surrendered by sitting down and putting his hands in the air, but despite seeing this surrender one officer released the dog’s collar. The dog bit Baxter in the underarm causing a severe wound that required his emergency hospitalization.
Even though the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled that the use of a dog to subdue an already surrendered fugitive suspect at night was excessive force, the court granted qualified immunity protection in this case. The one reason that the court offered why the prior precedent did not apply to Baxter’s case: Baxter surrendered while seated, the prior victim was lying down. The Supreme Court declined to take up the case on June 15.
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The broad grant of qualified immunity by the court, particularly in cases involving the use of deadly force, provides officers a sense that they are above the law.
This is evident in rulings like Scott v. Harris where the court ruled that the police can use deadly force to ram the car of a suspect fleeing a speeding ticket into a ravine even though they could have simply stopped chasing. Then there is Mullenix v. Luna, where the court ruled that an officer had immunity from damages even when they shot and killed a fleeing suspect against direct orders from superiors when a less lethal measure was already planned. Or Kissela v. Hughes, when the court ruled that an officer was immune after shooting a suspect wielding a knife even when other officers on the scene felt that verbal, nonlethal options had not been exhausted.
In each of the case, the court granted immunity for the most lethal action when alternatives were not only available, but in some cases requested or ordered by other officers.
This, “sends an alarming signal to law enforcement officers and the public,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent in Kissela v. Hughes. “It tells officers that they can shoot first and think later, and it tells the public that palpably unreasonable conduct will go unpunished.”
Exiting The Broken Regime
White anxiety of Black men is the root of the nation's broken policing system and its approval by the Supreme Court. Bettmann via Getty Images
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The Supreme Court has shown little evidence that it is willing to review its decisions that have built the legal structure of America’s broken policing system. Qualified immunity is the lone area where Justices Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Clarence Thomas have voiced an openness to reviewing the court’s precedents. But Sotomayor may be the only justice willing to reconsider the “super powers” the court has granted to police.
“Between the super conservative justices and the more moderate ones I can’t see this court cutting back on police power,” Butler said.
Congress or state governments may pass laws that override court decisions. For example, some states already have stricter use of force standards than those approved by the Supreme Court. Colorado enacted legislation to end qualified immunity protection for police on June 19.
House Democrats introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that would roll back qualified immunity protections and change a host of ways police can interact with the public.
One key piece of the bill would change the use of deadly force standard to require police to avoid deadly force unless it is the only alternative. This means officers would have to exhaust all other alternatives before using deadly force.
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“To a lot of people it sounds like common sense, but it’s not the law now,” Butler said.
This new standard probably would have prevented Atlanta police officers from shooting and killing Rayshard Brooks. It also would overturn the standard in Scott v. Harris that said police could kill a fleeing suspect to stop the danger created by the high speed pursuit instead of simply stopping the pursuit.
But what Congress, state legislatures and governors and courts cannot do is address the underlying issue at the heart of the broken policing system: the reason it was created in the first place.
“When we ask how things got so bad, I think understanding the position of white anxiety about Black men is the answer,” Butler said.
If the U.S. entered “a new regime” with Terry, it did so due to white fears of a Black planet, according to Butler’s analysis. Exiting the regime not only requires legislation and policy, but a political will to change the way white America sees Black America.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--Trump Faces Political Headwinds With Election 100 Days Away

WASHINGTON ( AP ) — With the November election 100 days away , more Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction than at any previous point in Donald Trump ’ s presidency , putting the incumbent in a perilous position as his reelection bid against Democrat Joe Biden enters a pivotal stretch .
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds Trump ’ s approval for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic falling to a new low , with just 32 % of Americans supportive of his approach .
Even Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long the high water mark for the president , has fallen over the past few months after seeming ascendant earlier this year .
Those political headwinds have sparked a sudden summer shift in the White House and the Trump campaign .
After spending months playing down the pandemic and largely ignoring the virus ’ resurgence in several states , Trump warned this past week that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better .
After repeatedly minimizing the importance of wearing masks to limit the spread of the virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And after insisting he would press forward with a large campaign convention in August , the president announced that he was scrapping those plans .
Trump ’ s abrupt about-face underscores the reality of the situation he faces just over three months from Election Day .
Even as he tries to refocus his contest with Biden on divisive cultural issues and an ominous “ law and order ” message , Trump ’ s reelection prospects are likely to be inextricably linked to his handling of the pandemic and whether voters believe the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ direction under his leadership .
The AP-NORC poll makes clear the challenge ahead for Trump on that front : 8 in 10 Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction .
That ’ s more than at any point since Trump took office .
The poll also finds just 38 % of Americans say the national economy is good , down from 67 % in January , before the pandemic upended most aspects of everyday life .
Biden ’ s campaign is eager to keep the final months of the campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the former vice president can emerge victorious if the contest is a referendum on whether the current commander in chief has succeeded during his four years in office .
“ People are sick and tired of a government that is divided and broken and unable to get things done , ” said Kate Bedingfield , Biden ’ s deputy campaign manager .
“ What people feel like they ’ re getting from Trump right now is a hodgepodge mess of self-interested political talk.
” The past few months have proved to be beneficial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ managed to swiftly consolidate the Democratic Party in ways Hillary Clinton , the party ’ s 2016 nominee , struggled to do .
Biden ’ s fundraising , a weakness for him in the primary , has surged , allowing his campaign to build out infrastructure and start ad spending in both traditional battleground states and more aspirational targets , including Texas and Georgia .
Another pandemic test for the president lies ahead in August and September , as Trump and his administration aggressively try to sell a skeptical public on reopening schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Americans are opposed entirely to the idea , while close to half say major adjustments to instruction will be required .
The limitations the pandemic placed on the candidates ’ ability to travel and hold large rallies have also played more to Biden ’ s strengths .
While Trump relishes headlining rallies at packed arenas , Biden is less adept in those settings .
He ’ s instead spent the past several months delivering speeches to small groups of invited guests and journalists within driving distance of his home in Delaware , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ donors .
Democrats have been buoyed by public polls finding Biden ahead of Trump both nationally and in some battleground states by a comfortable margin .
However , Biden advisers caution that they expect the race to tighten in the final stretch before Election Day as more Republicans who may be dissatisfied with Trump ’ s job performance gravitate back to their party ’ s leader .
Overall , 38 % of Americans approve of the president ’ s job performance — well within the narrow range that Trump ’ s approval ratings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down slightly from earlier this year before the pandemic .
Most Republicans — 81 % — approve of Trump ’ s job performance , but just 68 % of Republicans support his handling of the pandemic .
Publicly , Trump and his advisers say they have been here before : underestimated and counted out .
They point to public polls throughout the summer of 2016 that showed Trump trailing Clinton , only to eclipse her on Election Day .
But privately , Trump ’ s political aides and allies have spent months trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president , warning that he could lose the Midwestern battlegrounds he carried in 2016 , as well as some reliably red states , if the trajectory — both of his campaign and the virus — continues .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the November election 100 days away, more Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction than at any previous point in Donald Trump’s presidency, putting the incumbent in a perilous position as his reelection bid against Democrat Joe Biden enters a pivotal stretch.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds Trump’s approval for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic falling to a new low, with just 32% of Americans supportive of his approach. Even Trump’s standing on the economy, long the high water mark for the president, has fallen over the past few months after seeming ascendant earlier this year.
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In this July 24, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Those political headwinds have sparked a sudden summer shift in the White House and the Trump campaign. After spending months playing down the pandemic and largely ignoring the virus’ resurgence in several states, Trump warned this past week that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. After repeatedly minimizing the importance of wearing masks to limit the spread of the virus, Trump urged Americans to do exactly that. And after insisting he would press forward with a large campaign convention in August, the president announced that he was scrapping those plans.
Trump’s abrupt about-face underscores the reality of the situation he faces just over three months from Election Day. Even as he tries to refocus his contest with Biden on divisive cultural issues and an ominous “law and order” message, Trump’s reelection prospects are likely to be inextricably linked to his handling of the pandemic and whether voters believe the country will head back in the right direction under his leadership.
The AP-NORC poll makes clear the challenge ahead for Trump on that front: 8 in 10 Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction. That’s more than at any point since Trump took office. The poll also finds just 38% of Americans say the national economy is good, down from 67% in January, before the pandemic upended most aspects of everyday life.
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Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to speak at McGregor Industries in Dunmore, Pa., Thursday, July 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Biden’s campaign is eager to keep the final months of the campaign focused squarely on Trump, confident that the former vice president can emerge victorious if the contest is a referendum on whether the current commander in chief has succeeded during his four years in office.
“People are sick and tired of a government that is divided and broken and unable to get things done,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager. “What people feel like they’re getting from Trump right now is a hodgepodge mess of self-interested political talk.”
The past few months have proved to be beneficial for Biden’s campaign. He managed to swiftly consolidate the Democratic Party in ways Hillary Clinton, the party’s 2016 nominee, struggled to do. Biden’s fundraising, a weakness for him in the primary, has surged, allowing his campaign to build out infrastructure and start ad spending in both traditional battleground states and more aspirational targets, including Texas and Georgia.
Biden has also benefited from Trump landing on the wrong side of the public in his initial reactions to the pandemic. For example, 3 in 4 Americans back requiring people to wear masks in public, which Trump initially dismissed.
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Another pandemic test for the president lies ahead in August and September, as Trump and his administration aggressively try to sell a skeptical public on reopening schools. The poll finds that about third of Americans are opposed entirely to the idea, while close to half say major adjustments to instruction will be required.
The limitations the pandemic placed on the candidates’ ability to travel and hold large rallies have also played more to Biden’s strengths. While Trump relishes headlining rallies at packed arenas, Biden is less adept in those settings. He’s instead spent the past several months delivering speeches to small groups of invited guests and journalists within driving distance of his home in Delaware, and holding virtual events with supporters and donors.
Trump argues that shows Biden doesn’t have the stamina for a full-blown campaign; Biden’s advisers say voters want to see their leaders abide by the same public health guidelines they’re urging others to follow.
Democrats have been buoyed by public polls finding Biden ahead of Trump both nationally and in some battleground states by a comfortable margin. However, Biden advisers caution that they expect the race to tighten in the final stretch before Election Day as more Republicans who may be dissatisfied with Trump’s job performance gravitate back to their party’s leader.
Overall, 38% of Americans approve of the president’s job performance — well within the narrow range that Trump’s approval ratings have stayed throughout this presidency, but down slightly from earlier this year before the pandemic. Most Republicans — 81% — approve of Trump’s job performance, but just 68% of Republicans support his handling of the pandemic.
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Publicly, Trump and his advisers say they have been here before: underestimated and counted out. They point to public polls throughout the summer of 2016 that showed Trump trailing Clinton, only to eclipse her on Election Day.
But privately, Trump’s political aides and allies have spent months trying to sound the alarm bells for the president, warning that he could lose the Midwestern battlegrounds he carried in 2016, as well as some reliably red states, if the trajectory — both of his campaign and the virus — continues.
One of the most concrete signs that Trump recognized he had gone off course came this month, when he demoted longtime campaign manager Brad Parscale, replacing him with experienced GOP operative Bill Stepien.
Stepien told reporters he expects the campaign to “be a knock-down, drag-out fight to the very end.”
___
Associated Press writers Bill Barrow, Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.
___
Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Hannah Fingerhut at http://twitter.com/hrfingerhut


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--The Reagan Foundation Wants Nothing To Do With Trump's Fundraising Appeals

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute has demanded that President Donald Trump ’ s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee stop using the 40th president ’ s image and name for fundraising .
“ We own the likeness of President Reagan and they used his image for a coin without our consent , ” Melissa Giller , chief marketing officer for the foundation , told The Hill .
“ We called the RNC and asked them to cease and desist the use of President Reagan on the coin , and they agreed.
” Foundation officials were moved to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out last week with the subject line , “ Ronald Reagan and Yours Truly.
” In exchange for a $ 45 donation , contributors were promised a “ limited edition ” set of coins , one with an image of Reagan and another of Trump .
They were mounted with a 1987 photograph of Reagan and Trump shaking hands in a standard White House receiving line , according to the Washington Post .
The coins symbolize an “ important time in our Nation , ” the email said .
“ This year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President , it also marks the 40th anniversary of our Nation ’ s 40th President , Ronald Reagan.
” Proceeds were to go to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee , a joint fundraising operation of the Trump campaign and the RNC .
Foundation officials are attempting to determine how many coins may already have been distributed , and are still considering how to address the suggested association between the presidents .
The Reagan Foundation , which runs the Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles , has the sole rights to Nancy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likenesses and images .
Officials claim they have the power to block the use of images in the public domain from being used for commercial gain and political endorsements .
Ahrens said the committee believes the use of Reagan ’ s image was “ appropriate ” but added , “ We will stop emailing this fundraising solicitation as a courtesy.
” Earlier this month , the Republican Voters Against Trump group used excerpts from Reagan ’ s “ A Vision For America ” speech to make a case against Trump .
Reagan ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ footage to create a damning indictment of the Trump presidency .
( Check out the video up top . )
In May , the “ never Trump ” Republican Lincoln Project also used excerpts from Reagan ’ s hopeful 1984 reelection ad “ Morning in America ” to contrast against what it characterized as “ Mourning in America ” under Trump .

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute has demanded that President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee stop using the 40th president’s image and name for fundraising.
The complaint involved a fundraising email that offered commemorative coins featuring the late president and Donald Trump, implying an important link between the men.
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“We own the likeness of President Reagan and they used his image for a coin without our consent,” Melissa Giller, chief marketing officer for the foundation, told The Hill. “We called the RNC and asked them to cease and desist the use of President Reagan on the coin, and they agreed.”
Foundation officials were moved to action after a Trump fundraising email went out last week with the subject line, “Ronald Reagan and Yours Truly.”
In exchange for a $45 donation, contributors were promised a “limited edition” set of coins, one with an image of Reagan and another of Trump. They were mounted with a 1987 photograph of Reagan and Trump shaking hands in a standard White House receiving line, according to the Washington Post.
The coins symbolize an “important time in our Nation,” the email said. “This year, in addition to being re-elected as YOUR President, it also marks the 40th anniversary of our Nation’s 40th President, Ronald Reagan.”
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Proceeds were to go to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising operation of the Trump campaign and the RNC.
Foundation officials are attempting to determine how many coins may already have been distributed, and are still considering how to address the suggested association between the presidents.
The coins were still being offered to donors late Saturday.
The Reagan Foundation, which runs the Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles, has the sole rights to Nancy and Ronald Reagan’s names, likenesses and images. Officials claim they have the power to block the use of images in the public domain from being used for commercial gain and political endorsements.
RNC Communications Director Michael Ahrens told the Post that the foundation’s objections “came as a surprise.”
Ahrens said the committee believes the use of Reagan’s image was “appropriate” but added, “We will stop emailing this fundraising solicitation as a courtesy.”
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Earlier this month, the Republican Voters Against Trump group used excerpts from Reagan’s “A Vision For America” speech to make a case against Trump. Reagan’s words were juxtaposed with recent news footage to create a damning indictment of the Trump presidency. (Check out the video up top.)


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--Late Rep. John Lewis Crosses Edmund Pettus Bridge In Selma

The bridge became a landmark in the fight for racial justice when Lewis and other civil rights marchers were beaten there 55 years ago on “ Bloody Sunday , ” a key event that helped galvanize support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act .
Lewis returned to Selma each March in commemoration .
Sunday found him crossing alone — instead of arm-in-arm with civil rights and political leaders — after his coffin was loaded atop a horse-drawn wagon that retraced the route through Selma from Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church , where the 1965 march began .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ members of the crowd shouted “ Thank you , John Lewis !
” and “ Good trouble !
” the phrase Lewis used to describe his tangles with white authorities during the civil rights movement .
Some crowd members sang the gospel song “ Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed on Jesus.
” Later , some onlookers sang the civil rights anthem “ We Shall Overcome ” and other gospel tunes .
The casket of Rep. John Lewis moves over the Edmund Pettus Bridge by horse drawn carriage during a memorial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 26 , 2020 , in Selma , Ala. Lewis , who carried the struggle against racial discrimination from Southern battlegrounds of the 1960s to the halls of Congress , died Friday , July 17 , 2020 .
( AP Photo/John Bazemore ) Lewis died July 17 at 80 , months after he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer .
Lewis served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Georgia ’ s 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death .
The wagon rolled over a carpet of rose petals , pausing atop the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summer heat so family members could walk behind it .
On the south side of the bridge , where Lewis was beaten by Alabama state troopers in 1965 , family members placed red roses that the carriage rolled over , marking the spot where Lewis spilled his blood and suffered a head injury .
“ I had to come back and see John Lewis cross the bridge for the last time , ” said Hill .
“ It ’ s funny to see the state troopers here to honor and respect him rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Lewis ’ body was then taken to the Alabama Capitol in the afternoon to lie in repose , retracing the route marchers took in the days after Bloody Sunday to demand justice from Alabama Gov .
George Wallace .
“ They didn ’ t give up and something good came from it .
Still need some improvement , but something good came from it.
” “ John was willing to sacrifice life so we can have the freedom to vote , ” said Edna Goldsmith , who was wearing a Black Lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see him off with a bang.
” A series of events began Saturday in Lewis ’ hometown of Troy , Alabama , to pay tribute the late congressman and his legacy .
He will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol next week before his private funeral Thursday at Atlanta ’ s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church , which the Rev .
Martin Luther King Jr. once led .

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SELMA, Ala. (AP) — The late U.S. Rep. John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, for the final time Sunday as remembrances continue for the civil rights icon.
The bridge became a landmark in the fight for racial justice when Lewis and other civil rights marchers were beaten there 55 years ago on “Bloody Sunday,” a key event that helped galvanize support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Lewis returned to Selma each March in commemoration.
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WATCH: Crowds erupt in cheers and applause as the casket carrying the late @repjohnlewis makes its final journey across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama#JohnLewis pic.twitter.com/aS1UiPfL1S — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 26, 2020
Sunday found him crossing alone — instead of arm-in-arm with civil rights and political leaders — after his coffin was loaded atop a horse-drawn wagon that retraced the route through Selma from Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where the 1965 march began.
As the wagon approached the bridge, members of the crowd shouted “Thank you, John Lewis!” and “Good trouble!” the phrase Lewis used to describe his tangles with white authorities during the civil rights movement.
Some crowd members sang the gospel song “Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed on Jesus.” Later, some onlookers sang the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” and other gospel tunes.
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The casket of Rep. John Lewis moves over the Edmund Pettus Bridge by horse drawn carriage during a memorial service for Lewis, Sunday, July 26, 2020, in Selma, Ala. Lewis, who carried the struggle against racial discrimination from Southern battlegrounds of the 1960s to the halls of Congress, died Friday, July 17, 2020. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lewis died July 17 at 80, months after he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Lewis served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Georgia’s 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death.
The wagon rolled over a carpet of rose petals, pausing atop the bridge over the Alabama River in the summer heat so family members could walk behind it. On the south side of the bridge, where Lewis was beaten by Alabama state troopers in 1965, family members placed red roses that the carriage rolled over, marking the spot where Lewis spilled his blood and suffered a head injury.
As a military honor guard lifted Lewis’ casket from the horse-drawn wagon into an automobile hearse, Alabama state troopers, including some African American ones, saluted Lewis.
The casket of Rep. John Lewis moves over the Edmund Pettus Bridge by horse-drawn carriage during a memorial service for Lewis, Sunday, July 26, 2020, in Selma, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Franz and Ellen Hill drove more that four hours from Monroe, Louisiana, to watch the procession.
Franz Hill, 60, said he remembers, as an African American child, watching news footage of Lewis and other civil rights marchers being beaten by law enforcement officers.
“I had to come back and see John Lewis cross the bridge for the last time,” said Hill. “It’s funny to see the state troopers here to honor and respect him rather than beat the crap out of him.”
Lewis’ body was then taken to the Alabama Capitol in the afternoon to lie in repose, retracing the route marchers took in the days after Bloody Sunday to demand justice from Alabama Gov. George Wallace.
A man places flower petals on the Edmund Pettus Bridge ahead of Rep. John Lewis' casket crossing during a memorial service for Lewis, Sunday, July 26, 2020, in Selma, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bertha Surles and Edna Goldsmith stood along the highway between Selma and Montgomery to pay their final respects. Both carried signs, reading “Thank you.”
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“He fought for rights up unto his death,” said Surles, 70.
She was in high school on Bloody Sunday and remembered watching the news footage of Lewis being beaten with horror.
“They didn’t give up and something good came from it. Still need some improvement, but something good came from it.”
“John was willing to sacrifice life so we can have the freedom to vote,” said Edna Goldsmith, who was wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt. “We want to see him off with a bang.”
A series of events began Saturday in Lewis’ hometown of Troy, Alabama, to pay tribute the late congressman and his legacy. He will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol next week before his private funeral Thursday at Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once led.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-26--Trump's Federal Squads Steal Leaf Blower Idea From Portland Protest Dads

The military-style federal squads sent by the Trump administration to protect U.S. buildings from graffiti were a bit slow on the uptake , but have now stolen a clever idea from protesters in Portland , Oregon : leaf blowers to redirect tear gas .
The hand-held machines were apparently first used earlier this week by protesters calling themselves “ Fathers Against Fascism ” ( who joined the “ Wall of Moms ” ) to blast tear gas back at federal forces .
Other protesters have since adopted the idea .
The leaf blowers are an innocuous clean-up tool that redirects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Now the federal squads have their own blowers , according to The Associated Press .
It ’ s not clear whether the appliances were purchased by the feds — or were confiscated from protesters .
The squads , now firing tear gas and leaf blowers , are adding to the “ fog ” of war as Portland ’ s downtown has been turned into a battle zone .
Far from quelling disruption in the city , the federal forces are exacerbating it and drawing new throngs of protesters outraged by the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials .
Oregon Gov .
Kate Brown has characterized the deployments as “ political theater ” intended to provoke violence in a desperate bid by Donald Trump in his quest to win reelection .
Several videos posted on Twitter have shown federal squads attacking protesters for no apparent reason : striking them , jumping on them , blasting them in the face with gas .
Thirty local officials from both political parties have demanded the uninvited squads leave the city .
“ We condemn the actions undertaken by the officers — shooting unarmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bones of protesting veterans , tear gassing parents , ” said a letter they sent Friday to Trump and acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf .
“ We call on you both to put an end to this at once.
” They added : “ We also want to declare to the rest of the country that Portland is not a ‘ city under siege.
’ There are nightly protests in our downtown core – something with which we are quite familiar .
These protests are a foundational part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. Constitution .
Federal interference only inflames more animosity from those who have peaceably assembled.
” The federal squads were sent to protect statues and monuments from damage and graffiti by protesters .
Wolf posted a long list of his critical concerns over “ graffiti ” by what he calls “ violent anarchists ” on the DHS website .

The military-style federal squads sent by the Trump administration to protect U.S. buildings from graffiti were a bit slow on the uptake, but have now stolen a clever idea from protesters in Portland, Oregon: leaf blowers to redirect tear gas.
The hand-held machines were apparently first used earlier this week by protesters calling themselves “Fathers Against Fascism” (who joined the “Wall of Moms”) to blast tear gas back at federal forces. Other protesters have since adopted the idea. The leaf blowers are an innocuous clean-up tool that redirects toxins back at those who fired them.
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Now the federal squads have their own blowers, according to The Associated Press. It’s not clear whether the appliances were purchased by the feds — or were confiscated from protesters.
The squads, now firing tear gas and leaf blowers, are adding to the “fog” of war as Portland’s downtown has been turned into a battle zone.
Federal officers throw tear gas into crowd, the crowd usss leaf blowers to push tear gas back, so most of the gas ends up in the courthouse pic.twitter.com/9x32vvX84p — Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 25, 2020
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DHS also carrying leaf blowers now pic.twitter.com/eZw35SgOJG — Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 25, 2020
Far from quelling disruption in the city, the federal forces are exacerbating it and drawing new throngs of protesters outraged by the city’s occupying army, according to officials. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has characterized the deployments as “political theater” intended to provoke violence in a desperate bid by Donald Trump in his quest to win reelection.
Several videos posted on Twitter have shown federal squads attacking protesters for no apparent reason: striking them, jumping on them, blasting them in the face with gas.
Guy dancing with flowers in front of the DHSChadArmy kidnapped pic.twitter.com/HkmOJ0itwW — ALT-immigration 🛂 (@ALT_uscis) July 25, 2020
Portland protester hit in head by munition fired by federal officer recovering but still suffering from brain injury https://t.co/rhd7bsg44W pic.twitter.com/NMRfFc3fgO — The Oregonian (@Oregonian) July 25, 2020
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Police and the president's militarized federal agents are brutally attacking volunteer street medics in Portland.
We're suing. pic.twitter.com/abvG1jsNfM — ACLU (@ACLU) July 25, 2020
Thirty local officials from both political parties have demanded the uninvited squads leave the city. “We condemn the actions undertaken by the officers — shooting unarmed protestors in the face, breaking the bones of protesting veterans, tear gassing parents,” said a letter they sent Friday to Trump and acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. “We call on you both to put an end to this at once.”
They added: “We also want to declare to the rest of the country that Portland is not a ‘city under siege.’ There are nightly protests in our downtown core – something with which we are quite familiar. These protests are a foundational part of our democracy and are protected by the U.S. Constitution. Federal interference only inflames more animosity from those who have peaceably assembled.”
The federal squads were sent to protect statues and monuments from damage and graffiti by protesters. Wolf posted a long list of his critical concerns over “graffiti” by what he calls “violent anarchists” on the DHS website.
Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz has launched an investigation into use-of-force incidents against Portland protesters by federal agents.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-25--Monica Lewinsky Wins The Internet With Best 'I Have A Joke' Tweet

Monica Lewinsky just won the “ I have a joke ” meme that spread across Twitter on Saturday .
Her contribution concerned her relationship with former President Bill Clinton when she was a White House intern , which led to his impeachment for perjury .
The meme goes , “ I have a joke but ... ” and the humor comes in the explanation of why the joke won ’ t be revealed — as in : “ I have a prune joke , but it ’ s kind of dated.
” Or “ I have an astronomy joke , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Or “ I have a Star Wars joke , but it ’ s kinda forced.
” Lewinsky was particularly taken with the quip : “ I have a Charles Mansion joke , and it kills.
” She fired back : “ I have an intern joke and it ... nevermind.
” The Twitterverse was smitten .
Even the never-Trump Republican Lincoln Project responded .
Girl are you taking applications for new friends ?
When this quarantine is over me and you need to hang out and have drinks ... pic.twitter.com/xWOLnbSWCI — Sheletta Brundidge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 Love you , Monica .
That ’ s really the best of these joke memes I ’ ve read .
On a related note , I ’ m sorry for what this country put you through .
— Kent ( @ windsorknot ) July 25 , 2020 Important conversations are happening now .
Add your voice !
Join HuffPost Today !

Monica Lewinsky just won the “I have a joke” meme that spread across Twitter on Saturday. Her contribution concerned her relationship with former President Bill Clinton when she was a White House intern, which led to his impeachment for perjury.
The meme goes, “I have a joke but ...” and the humor comes in the explanation of why the joke won’t be revealed — as in: “I have a prune joke, but it’s kind of dated.” Or “I have an astronomy joke, but might be over your head.” Or “I have a Star Wars joke, but it’s kinda forced.”
I have a Star Wars joke, but it’s kinda forced. https://t.co/9VdJpL3tLS — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 25, 2020
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I have a religion joke, but God forbid. — Elizabeth Mika (@yourauntemma) July 25, 2020
I have an IKEA joke, but it needs a setup. — AWhitneyBrown (@TheWhitneyBrown) July 25, 2020
Lewinsky was particularly taken with the quip: “I have a Charles Manson joke, and it kills.” She fired back: “I have an intern joke and it... nevermind.”
i have an intern joke and it... nevermind. https://t.co/SCHRGYVIJV — Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) July 24, 2020
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The Twitterverse was smitten. Even the never-Trump Republican Lincoln Project responded.
Monica wins the internet — Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) July 24, 2020
Omg Monica pic.twitter.com/gJ0sa320Zd — The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 24, 2020
You are so good. — Cheryl Strayed (@CherylStrayed) July 24, 2020
Girl are you taking applications for new friends? When this quarantine is over me and you need to hang out and have drinks... pic.twitter.com/xWOLnbSWCI — Sheletta Brundidge (@ShelettaIsFunny) July 24, 2020
Queen. — Hilarie Burton Morgan (@HilarieBurton) July 25, 2020
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Love you, Monica. That’s really the best of these joke memes I’ve read. On a related note, I’m sorry for what this country put you through. — Kent (@windsorknot) July 25, 2020
Guy walks into the Oval Office with a cigar... — EVENT DRIVEN / SPECIAL SITUATIONS (@EVENTDRIVEN2020) July 25, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-27--Ford Retooling Plants With Help Of Dog-Like Robot Named "Fluffy"

July 27 ( Reuters ) - It runs , walks , and prances , rhythmically tapping its four feet before it sinks down on its haunches and crouches .
Despite its name , Fluffy has no fur .
But the bright yellow robot , leased by Ford Motor Co from Boston Dynamics Inc , can fetch pictures and videos of a car factory with its five “ eyes ” to help engineers design upgrades for workspaces .
With an accurate camera scan , “ we can build those pieces within the workstation , and we can see if there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is going to fit , ” said Mark Goderis , Ford ’ s advanced manufacturing center digital engineering manager .
Fluffy , controlled by an engineer with a handheld device , can travel up to 3 miles per hour ( 4.8 kph ) for about two hours on its battery .
Fluffy can also ride ‘ Scouter , ’ a small round robot , through a factory to save power , while the two companions gather data .
Wherever Scouter can not glide into , Fluffy can fill in the gaps .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Michigan .
The robots ’ scans cost a fraction of the $ 300,000 needed for engineers to walk over millions of square feet in a factory to set up cameras on a tripod , Ford said in a statement .
But the new engineers are just helpers , Goderis said .
“ Our goal isn ’ t to displace any of the workforce , ” he said , but “ automating our processes and making the engineers and people that work for our company more efficient and effective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not provide lease terms but Fluffy ’ s robot model , named ‘ Spot , ’ can be purchased for $ 74,500 .

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July 27 (Reuters) - It runs, walks, and prances, rhythmically tapping its four feet before it sinks down on its haunches and crouches.
Despite its name, Fluffy has no fur. But the bright yellow robot, leased by Ford Motor Co from Boston Dynamics Inc, can fetch pictures and videos of a car factory with its five “eyes” to help engineers design upgrades for workspaces.
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With an accurate camera scan, “we can build those pieces within the workstation, and we can see if there’s any interferences or if everything new is going to fit,” said Mark Goderis, Ford’s advanced manufacturing center digital engineering manager.
Fluffy, controlled by an engineer with a handheld device, can travel up to 3 miles per hour (4.8 kph) for about two hours on its battery.
Fluffy can also ride ‘Scouter,’ a small round robot, through a factory to save power, while the two companions gather data. Wherever Scouter cannot glide into, Fluffy can fill in the gaps.
The automaker is testing the robots at its Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Michigan. The robots’ scans cost a fraction of the $300,000 needed for engineers to walk over millions of square feet in a factory to set up cameras on a tripod, Ford said in a statement.
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But the new engineers are just helpers, Goderis said.
“Our goal isn’t to displace any of the workforce,” he said, but “automating our processes and making the engineers and people that work for our company more efficient and effective in building quality products.”
Boston does not provide lease terms but Fluffy’s robot model, named ‘Spot,’ can be purchased for $74,500.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-25--One Year In Ice City: A Look Inside The World’s Largest Arctic Expedition

For four weeks , the Russian icebreaker inched at a walking pace through the ice to deliver Bowman and 60 other scientists and engineers to the Polarstern , a 400-foot ship that had been lodged within the sea ice for nearly five months .
Once aboard , they would join in an unprecedented yearlong research mission to the northernmost reaches of the Earth , collecting data crucial to understanding and predicting climate changes affecting the entire globe .
Launched in September , the $ 160.3 million MOSAiC ( Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate ) program is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A collaboration among a consortium of international polar research institutions led by Germany ’ s Alfred Wegener Institute , it is the first time scientists will be able to measure climatic conditions in the Arctic at every point in the year — including in the middle of winter , when it is dark 24 hours a day , the ice is at its thickest , and temperatures fall as low as minus 40 degrees ( which , in addition to being brutal for researchers and causing the malfunction of critical machinery , happens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Celsius and Fahrenheit scales converge ) .
To make this possible , the Polarstern — the center of the expedition and one of the world ’ s most powerful icebreakers — is locked among the floes to drift with the natural movement of the sea ice for 12 months , from the coast of Siberia across the pole toward Greenland .
After leaving the Norwegian city of Tromsø in the relative warmth of September , the Polarstern wound its way to the 85th parallel — 5 degrees shy of the North Pole — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to penetrate .
When it encountered an ice floe big enough to support operations , it moored , letting the shifting frozen landscape enclose it .
Nature would chart its course from there .
Around the ship , crew erected a temporary city of research stations called the “ ice camp , ” with monitors and sensors stretching as far as 20 miles away .
From there , researchers are studying the ice itself and measuring changes in thickness .
Some bore holes through it to capture fish and test the temperature and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2.5 miles down .
They launch weather balloons and drones into the air , monitoring wind and humidity , and sensing aerosols that have traveled from distant parts of the globe .
Six guards keep lookout for polar bears .
Whereas in Antarctica there are permanent research stations to serve as bases for scientific expeditions , “ that simply doesn ’ t happen in the central Arctic , because there is no land , ” Bowman explained .
“ It ’ s ocean .
The only way you can do it is by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of ships that are capable of doing that are very , very few and far between.
” Bowman , one of about 90 Americans on the mission , was in the third wave of researchers to arrive at the ice camp .
His research focuses on microscopic organisms that live in the upper regions of the ocean .
The Amazon rainforest may be known as the lungs of the planet , he said , taking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and breathing out oxygen , but about half of the photosynthesis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carried out by single-celled phytoplankton at the ocean ’ s surface .
Only a fraction of that is happening in the polar North , but it ’ s an important fraction that scientists know very little about .
From their position at the bottom of the food chain , “ these phytoplankton communities really drive the dynamics of the ecosystem ... but we don ’ t have a baseline understanding of what that ecosystem is doing , ” Bowman said .
MOSAiC is giving researchers their first look at how the process changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a part of the Earth where the sun — the very engine of photosynthesis — doesn ’ t rise for months at a time .
One of the things Bowman wanted to learn is how much carbon dioxide is being taken in by photosynthesizing phytoplankton versus how much ends up being released back into the air at different times — an equation that determines the net amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere and sequestered in the system .
Bowman was supposed to stay on the Polarstern until early April , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Norway , land on a runway on the ice , and whisk him and his colleagues away .
But by then , the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading fast .
With international travel severely limited , the April personnel exchange was postponed and the team at the Alfred Wegener Institute scrambled to arrange a stopgap solution .
They requisitioned a pair of 19-seat Twin Otter planes from Canada .
Bowman , with an infant son at home , scored a seat .
He left the ice on April 22 , making eight connections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back to California .
“ As you ’ re getting closer and closer and closer to civilization , things are getting more and more bizarre , ” Bowman said , describing the journey from the pristine Arctic to the evolving chaos of the rest of the world .
The rest of the people scheduled to return in April stayed on the Polarstern until the middle of May and didn ’ t reach port until June .
The length and timing of the remaining crew rotations have been rejiggered , but the mission will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ herself from the ice in September .
“ We lack these baseline observations in the central Arctic in a way that we don ’ t lack for virtually any other place on the globe , ” he said .
“ So the ingenuity that has been employed to keep this thing going is very heartening to see .
And it ’ s going to have tremendous scientific payoff .
”

Thunderous creaks and crashes reverberated throughout the lower decks of the Kapitan Dranitsyn in February as it carved a course through 1,000 miles of dense Arctic ice pack toward the North Pole.
The sound was incredible, said Jeff Bowman, a biological oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, like steel being shredded. “It’s the sound of every shipwreck movie that you’ve ever watched — but amplified. It’s quite a horrific sound, and that never ceases so long as the ship is moving.”
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For four weeks, the Russian icebreaker inched at a walking pace through the ice to deliver Bowman and 60 other scientists and engineers to the Polarstern, a 400-foot ship that had been lodged within the sea ice for nearly five months. Once aboard, they would join in an unprecedented yearlong research mission to the northernmost reaches of the Earth, collecting data crucial to understanding and predicting climate changes affecting the entire globe.
The Kapitan Dranitsyn presses through sea ice on Feb. 23, 2020. John Cassano
What happens in the Arctic impacts global weather patterns, atmospheric carbon and sea level rise. Arctic ice sheets are melting at alarming rates and the region is warming twice as fast as other parts of the world.
Launched in September, the $160.3 million MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) program is the largest Arctic expedition in history. A collaboration among a consortium of international polar research institutions led by Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, it is the first time scientists will be able to measure climatic conditions in the Arctic at every point in the year — including in the middle of winter, when it is dark 24 hours a day, the ice is at its thickest, and temperatures fall as low as minus 40 degrees (which, in addition to being brutal for researchers and causing the malfunction of critical machinery, happens to be the temperature at which the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales converge).
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To make this possible, the Polarstern — the center of the expedition and one of the world’s most powerful icebreakers — is locked among the floes to drift with the natural movement of the sea ice for 12 months, from the coast of Siberia across the pole toward Greenland.
An aerial view of Polarstern, embedded in the Arctic ice. Michael Gutsche
If Polarstern is the International Space Station, the Kapitan Dranitsyn is one of several space shuttles bringing supplies and a rotating assembly of hundreds of researchers from 20 countries, and returning others home.
After leaving the Norwegian city of Tromsø in the relative warmth of September, the Polarstern wound its way to the 85th parallel — 5 degrees shy of the North Pole — through ice that was fragmented and easier to penetrate. When it encountered an ice floe big enough to support operations, it moored, letting the shifting frozen landscape enclose it. Nature would chart its course from there.
Around the ship, crew erected a temporary city of research stations called the “ice camp,” with monitors and sensors stretching as far as 20 miles away. From there, researchers are studying the ice itself and measuring changes in thickness. Some bore holes through it to capture fish and test the temperature and salinity of the water as far as 2.5 miles down. They launch weather balloons and drones into the air, monitoring wind and humidity, and sensing aerosols that have traveled from distant parts of the globe. Six guards keep lookout for polar bears.
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Scientific teams drill into the ice to extract core samples on the afternoon of Dec. 15, 2019. Esther Horvath
“By having Polarstern be a central observatory, you can have people on the ice throughout the day, for months and months at a time,” said Frank Rack, a MOSAiC program manager from the National Science Foundation.
Whereas in Antarctica there are permanent research stations to serve as bases for scientific expeditions, “that simply doesn’t happen in the central Arctic, because there is no land,” Bowman explained. “It’s ocean. The only way you can do it is by putting a ship there. And the number of ships that are capable of doing that are very, very few and far between.”
Researchers sample water for lead, with Polarstern in the background. Torsten Sachs
Bowman, one of about 90 Americans on the mission, was in the third wave of researchers to arrive at the ice camp. His research focuses on microscopic organisms that live in the upper regions of the ocean. The Amazon rainforest may be known as the lungs of the planet, he said, taking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and breathing out oxygen, but about half of the photosynthesis that takes place on Earth is being carried out by single-celled phytoplankton at the ocean’s surface.
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Only a fraction of that is happening in the polar North, but it’s an important fraction that scientists know very little about. From their position at the bottom of the food chain, “these phytoplankton communities really drive the dynamics of the ecosystem ... but we don’t have a baseline understanding of what that ecosystem is doing,” Bowman said.
MOSAiC is giving researchers their first look at how the process changes as the ice melts and freezes, in a part of the Earth where the sun — the very engine of photosynthesis — doesn’t rise for months at a time. One of the things Bowman wanted to learn is how much carbon dioxide is being taken in by photosynthesizing phytoplankton versus how much ends up being released back into the air at different times — an equation that determines the net amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere and sequestered in the system.
Storms and brutally cold temperatures make science difficult at the top of the world. John Cassano
That balance is key to predicting “whether the Arctic will become more of a source or a sink of carbon dioxide,” a heat-trapping greenhouse gas. The oceans’ absorption of heat has enormous implications for the global climate.
Bowman was supposed to stay on the Polarstern until early April, when ski-equipped jets would fly in from Svalbard, Norway, land on a runway on the ice, and whisk him and his colleagues away. But by then, the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading fast. With international travel severely limited, the April personnel exchange was postponed and the team at the Alfred Wegener Institute scrambled to arrange a stopgap solution. They requisitioned a pair of 19-seat Twin Otter planes from Canada. Bowman, with an infant son at home, scored a seat.
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He left the ice on April 22, making eight connections through Greenland and Canada on his way back to California. “As you’re getting closer and closer and closer to civilization, things are getting more and more bizarre,” Bowman said, describing the journey from the pristine Arctic to the evolving chaos of the rest of the world.
A polar bear guard stands watch on an ice ridge. Lukas Piotrowski
The rest of the people scheduled to return in April stayed on the Polarstern until the middle of May and didn’t reach port until June. The length and timing of the remaining crew rotations have been rejiggered, but the mission will continue as planned until the ship frees herself from the ice in September.
Bowman was relieved that the pandemic didn’t shut down MOSAiC the way it has stopped field research around the world. (Really, if there’s a team equipped to handle the complex logistics of sudden disaster, it’s probably the folks who built a floating ice city at the North Pole and populated it with 600 people from 20 countries.)
“We lack these baseline observations in the central Arctic in a way that we don’t lack for virtually any other place on the globe,” he said. “So the ingenuity that has been employed to keep this thing going is very heartening to see. And it’s going to have tremendous scientific payoff.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-16--Florida Says Earlier Pediatric Data Was Wrong, Doesn’t Give Correct Figures [UPDATE]

UPDATE : July 26 ― The Florida Department of Health has said that figures it released earlier this month concerning coronavirus rates among children were incorrect .
Those statistics showed that nearly one-third of children within the state who were tested for the virus tested positive .
In a statement to HuffPost on Sunday , the department said that “ a certain number of negative test results were not included ” in the total that it included in its weekly coronavirus data report on July 10 .
This erroneously led to a 31 % positive rate .
But the department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for that week ’ s dataset , nor did it release the exact number of negative test results that it said were missing from the initial data , despite HuffPost ’ s request .
The health department ’ s admission came after it quietly scrapped the figures from its website on July 17 without explanation .
The new data posted that day showed a 321 % rise in testing among children , compared to the previous week ’ s figures , and a positivity rate that dropped to 13 % .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changes so dramatically that it warrants explanation , and then to not provide any explanation , ” Jason Salemi , associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida College of Public Health in Tampa told the Sun Sentinel .
“ I ’ m trying to get an understanding of why the number changed so much , what underlies it — and can we trust this new number.
” PREVIOUSLY : Nearly one-third of children who have been tested for the coronavirus in Florida have tested positive , according to data from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on July 10 .
The figures come amid ongoing debate and uncertainty over whether schools will reopen this fall .
Of the 54,022 people under the age of 18 who have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida , 16,797 of them , or roughly 31 % , have tested positive , data through July 9 shows .
In comparison , roughly 11 % of everyone in the state who has been tested for the virus — roughly 2.8 million people — has tested positive .
Following the release of this data , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % increase in testing among children from the week before , amounting to 6,373 new cases and 33 hospitalizations .
The new figures dropped the percentage of children testing positive from 31 % to 13 % .
Cases throughout the Sunshine State have risen at alarming rates in recent weeks .
On Thursday , the state set a new one-day coronavirus death record while also reporting nearly 14,000 new cases of COVID-19 ― the second-highest daily total that the state has seen .
Its highest total reported last weekend set a national record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virologist and pediatrician at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine , suggested that case numbers among children are low because this age group is less likely to be tested .
This may be because children typically contract a more mild form of the disease and don ’ t show symptoms .
In Florida , 213 children have been hospitalized for the virus and four of them have died .
Those aged 15-17 make up the highest percentage of those hospitalized , at 29 % , while those aged 10-14 ranked second at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s health department data .
Dr. Alina Alonso , the director of Palm Beach County ’ s health department , which has reported some of the highest COVID-19 case numbers in Florida , warned at a July 14 meeting with county commissioners that the virus ’ s symptoms may be mild among children but that potential long-term effects are being seen .
“ We don ’ t know how that is going to manifest a year from now or two years from now , ” she said .
“ Is that child @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not ?
”

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UPDATE: July 26 ― The Florida Department of Health has said that figures it released earlier this month concerning coronavirus rates among children were incorrect. Those statistics showed that nearly one-third of children within the state who were tested for the virus tested positive.
In a statement to HuffPost on Sunday, the department said that “a certain number of negative test results were not included” in the total that it included in its weekly coronavirus data report on July 10. This erroneously led to a 31% positive rate.
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But the department did not provide the actual positivity rate for that week’s dataset, nor did it release the exact number of negative test results that it said were missing from the initial data, despite HuffPost’s request.
A spokesperson, reached by the Florida Sun-Sentinel, blamed a “computer programming error” for the mistake.
The health department’s admission came after it quietly scrapped the figures from its website on July 17 without explanation. The new data posted that day showed a 321% rise in testing among children, compared to the previous week’s figures, and a positivity rate that dropped to 13%.
The department’s latest pediatric figures, released on Saturday, show a 14.4% positivity testing rate. In all, the state’s total pediatric case count rose from 6,373 new cases and 33 hospitalizations on July 17 to 31,150 cases and 303 hospitalizations on July 25. An additional death was reported, raising the count to five.
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The state’s error in reporting, along with its reluctance to release COVID-19 data, has led to additional criticism of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handling of the coronavirus epidemic in his state.
“It’s unacceptable to publish information that changes so dramatically that it warrants explanation, and then to not provide any explanation,” Jason Salemi, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida College of Public Health in Tampa told the Sun Sentinel. “I’m trying to get an understanding of why the number changed so much, what underlies it — and can we trust this new number.”
Florida on Saturday reported the nation’s second-highest coronavirus case count, behind California.
PREVIOUSLY: Nearly one-third of children who have been tested for the coronavirus in Florida have tested positive, according to data from the state’s Department of Health on July 10. The figures come amid ongoing debate and uncertainty over whether schools will reopen this fall.
Of the 54,022 people under the age of 18 who have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida, 16,797 of them, or roughly 31%, have tested positive, data through July 9 shows. In comparison, roughly 11% of everyone in the state who has been tested for the virus — roughly 2.8 million people — has tested positive.
Nearly half of the state’s positive cases among children were in the counties of Broward, Dade, Hillsborough and Palm Beach.
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Following the release of this data, the state on July 17 reported a 321% increase in testing among children from the week before, amounting to 6,373 new cases and 33 hospitalizations. The new figures dropped the percentage of children testing positive from 31% to 13%.
Cases throughout the Sunshine State have risen at alarming rates in recent weeks. On Thursday, the state set a new one-day coronavirus death record while also reporting nearly 14,000 new cases of COVID-19 ― the second-highest daily total that the state has seen. Its highest total reported last weekend set a national record.
Amid this growth, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has continued to push for schools to reopen this fall, telling mayors in south Florida — the state’s hardest-hit area for cases — that doing so is low-risk.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a roundtable discussion with Miami-Dade County mayors during the coronavirus pandemic on July 14 in Miami. ASSOCIATED PRESS
“There is risk in everything,” he said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “What’s the level of risk for school-age children? ... Fortunately, the risk is relatively low.”
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Various studies have suggested that children are less likely to contract the virus and to transmit it to adults, though it’s not yet clear why.
Dr. Megan Culler Freeman, a virologist and pediatrician at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, suggested that case numbers among children are low because this age group is less likely to be tested. This may be because children typically contract a more mild form of the disease and don’t show symptoms.
“It does seem that kids are less affected than adults. But I think their role in community spread is still somewhat untested,” she told NPR.
Though the virus’s symptoms have been generally more mild among children than adults, serious illness and even death are still occurring.
People wait in line outside a COVID-19 testing site on July 16 in Opa-locka, Florida. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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In Florida, 213 children have been hospitalized for the virus and four of them have died. Those aged 15-17 make up the highest percentage of those hospitalized, at 29%, while those aged 10-14 ranked second at 26%, according to the state’s health department data.
Dr. Alina Alonso, the director of Palm Beach County’s health department, which has reported some of the highest COVID-19 case numbers in Florida, warned at a July 14 meeting with county commissioners that the virus’s symptoms may be mild among children but that potential long-term effects are being seen.
“They are seeing there is damage to the lungs in these asymptomatic children,” she said, citing X-ray records, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
“We don’t know how that is going to manifest a year from now or two years from now,” she said. “Is that child going to have chronic pulmonary problems or not?”
Uncertainties remain about how the virus spreads, as well.
Orange County Public School teachers on July 7 protested the decision by Gov. DeSantis and the state education commissioner to mandate that all public schools open in August despite the spike in coronavirus cases in Florida. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
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The World Health Organization recently revised its COVID-19 transmission guidelines to note that it cannot rule out the likelihood that the virus can go airborne, particularly in enclosed spaces like restaurants, gyms and classrooms.
Earlier this month, the American Academy of Pediatrics and national education groups voiced support of students returning to school this fall but in a way that prioritizes health safety for both students and teachers. One method suggested by the organizations in a joint statement is investing in schools so that they can “adapt safety protocols to make in-person learning safe and feasible.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a number of measures that reopening schools can take to help protect students and staff. The guidelines include washing hands, wearing masks, not sharing materials and keeping people at least 6 feet apart.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-27--Scott Walker Gets Brutal Reminders Of His Past After 'Joke' Tweet Backfires

Former Wisconsin Gov .
Scott Walker ( R ) attempted to join Twitter ’ s “ I have a joke ” meme on Monday .
But it didn ’ t go well for him .
Walker ’ s attempt at the viral gag was a play off the fact that he won a recall election in 2012 : But Walker ’ s critics on Twitter weren ’ t having it ― joining in with reminders of other parts of his history .
Walker ran for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination but dropped out months before a single vote was cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one-half of 1 percent support .
He also lost his 2018 reelection bid in Wisconsin to Democrat Tony Evers .
Twitter users were quick to remind him of all that and more with some biting “ jokes ” of their own , causing his name to trend on the website : We also have a Scott Walker joke , but it 's irrelevant now .
https : //t.co/kf2Y5d0J7b — Wisconsin Democrats ( @ WisDems ) July 27 , 2020 Here it is- Scott Walker ca n't recall caring about the working ppl of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cared about recalling Scott Walker .
Now do please slither back to your lobbyist nest & enjoy what you helped enable .
https : //t.co/P7Aji1GBfU — John Fugelsang ( @ JohnFugelsang ) July 28 , 2020 I have a Scott Walker joke but it took a state plane to get a haircut .
— Bluepool ( Voting for Biden ) ( @ BadgerStew ) July 27 , 2020 I had a Scott Walker joke but it dropped out before the first primary — Will Bunch Sign Up For My Newsletter ( @ Will_Bunch @ @ @ @ @

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Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) attempted to join Twitter’s “I have a joke” meme on Monday.
But it didn’t go well for him.
Walker’s attempt at the viral gag was a play off the fact that he won a recall election in 2012:
I have a Scott Walker joke, but I can’t recall it. https://t.co/lASWRFBdnr — Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) July 27, 2020
But Walker’s critics on Twitter weren’t having it ― joining in with reminders of other parts of his history.
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Walker ran for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination but dropped out months before a single vote was cast after polls found him with less than one-half of 1 percent support.
He also lost his 2018 reelection bid in Wisconsin to Democrat Tony Evers.
Twitter users were quick to remind him of all that and more with some biting “jokes” of their own, causing his name to trend on the website:
We also have a Scott Walker joke, but it's irrelevant now. https://t.co/kf2Y5d0J7b — Wisconsin Democrats (@WisDems) July 27, 2020
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I have a Scott Walker joke but a majority of Wisconsin voters rejected it. — Alex Palombo (@AlexPalombo) July 28, 2020
I have a Scott Walker joke, but I hate redundancy. https://t.co/MkvORs3r6a — Charlotte Clymer 🏳🌈 (@cmclymer) July 28, 2020
I have a Scott Walker joke but it can’t get elected. — Devin Nunes’ cow 🐮 (@DevinCow) July 28, 2020
Here it is-
Scott Walker can't recall caring about the working ppl of Wisconsin...
But working ppl of Wisconsin cared about recalling Scott Walker.
Now do please slither back to your lobbyist nest & enjoy what you helped enable. https://t.co/P7Aji1GBfU — John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) July 28, 2020
I have a Scott Walker joke but it took a state plane to get a haircut. — Bluepool (Voting for Biden) (@BadgerStew) July 27, 2020
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I have a Scott Walker joke, but it only works if you’re a Koch brother. https://t.co/rgP9tdF7V2 — John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) July 25, 2020
I had a Scott Walker joke but it dropped out before the first primary — Will Bunch Sign Up For My Newsletter (@Will_Bunch) July 27, 2020
I also have a Scott Walker joke, but it doesn't matter anymore. https://t.co/T1k1FlALQl — Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 28, 2020
you *are* a Scott Walker joke https://t.co/8a7Xb4NRx5 — Seth D. Michaels (@sethdmichaels) July 28, 2020
I had a Scott Walker joke, but Foxcon bilked me out of it. — Mac Brandt (@MacBrandt) July 28, 2020
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