theguardian--2020-05-10--Coronavirus live news: Obama calls Trump's Covid-19 response 'chaotic', as global cases pass 4 milli

Coronavirus live news: Obama calls Trump's Covid-19 response 'chaotic', as global cases pass 4 million

France and Spain , two of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus , are preparing to ease out of lockdown , as the number of cases worldwide passes 4 million .
Amid the barrage of deaths , some European countries cited signs of progress they said justified taking slow steps back toward some version of normality , French news agency AFP reports .
French officials on Saturday said the day ’ s death toll of 80 was the lowest since early April .
Nursing home fatalities also fell sharply as France prepared to relax curbs on public movement imposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve been scared to death ” about the reopening , said Maya Flandin , a bookshop manager from Lyon .
“ It ’ s a big responsibility to have to protect my staff and my customers.
” French health officials warned that “ the epidemic remains active and is evolving ” , and a state of emergency remains in place to July 10 .
In Spain , about half the population will be allowed out on Monday for limited socialization , and restaurants will be able to offer some outdoor service as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last through June .
Fears lingered , however , of a viral resurgence if restrictions are lifted too quickly : “ The virus has not gone away , ” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned .
Belgium is also easing some restrictions on Monday , and in some parts of Germany bars and restaurants reopened on Saturday with further easing set for Monday .
Overall , however , the situation in Europe is still far from normal .

10 May 2020 23.05 BST Survey by @NEUnion: 49,000 members responded within an hour.
85% of them disagreed with Boris Johnson's plan to restart reception, year 1 and year 6 from 1 June.
89% who were parents said they felt it would be unsafe or very unsafe to send their own children back to school — Alice Woolley (@alicewoolley1) May 10, 2020
10 May 2020 22.43 BST Boris Johnson has been warned by trade unions that ordering many people back to work from as early as Monday is a “recipe for chaos” in the absence of urgent action to safeguard workers’ health, Richard Partington and Rob Davies write. The UK prime minister said on Sunday that anyone who cannot work from home should be “actively encouraged” to return to their jobs from Monday. Detailing plans to gradually reopen the British economy after more than a month of tough controls during the health emergency, he said those in manufacturing and construction jobs in particular should be encouraged to return. Read the full report here. 'Recipe for chaos': union leaders sound warning over return to work Read more
Updated at 22.46 BST
10 May 2020 22.18 BST South Africa passes 10,000 confirmed cases The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Africa has topped 10,000, including 194 fatalities, health minister Zwelini Mkhize has announced. “As of today, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa is 10,015,” the minister said in a statement. “We note with concern that the Western Cape and Eastern Cape combined comprises 84% of the total new cases.” The death toll of 194 is an increase of eight on the previous figure. Since 1 May the government has gradually eased the confinement measures put in place in late March to stem the spread of the virus. South Africa is the country worst-hit in sub-Saharan Africa.
Updated at 22.26 BST
10 May 2020 21.58 BST Here’s a handy overview of how European countries are emerging from lockdown, courtesy of AFP. France : Hair salons, clothes shops, florists and bookshops will open again on Monday. Bars, restaurants, theatres and cinemas remain closed. Primary schools will take small numbers of pupils, depending on space. Masks will be obligatory on public transport. Everyone will be able to move outside without having to present a form on demand but people will only be able to go 100 kilometres from their place of residence.
: Hair salons, clothes shops, florists and bookshops will open again on Monday. Bars, restaurants, theatres and cinemas remain closed. Primary schools will take small numbers of pupils, depending on space. Masks will be obligatory on public transport. Everyone will be able to move outside without having to present a form on demand but people will only be able to go 100 kilometres from their place of residence. Belgium: Most businesses will open Monday, with social distancing. Masks are recommended. Cafes, restaurants and bars remain closed. In central Brussels there will be speed limits on cars and priority will be given to cyclists and pedestrians. Schools remain closed until 18 May.
Most businesses will open Monday, with social distancing. Masks are recommended. Cafes, restaurants and bars remain closed. In central Brussels there will be speed limits on cars and priority will be given to cyclists and pedestrians. Schools remain closed until 18 May. Britain : People will be actively encouraged to return to work from this week if they cannot work from home. Unlimited outdoor exercise will be allowed from Wednesday. From 1 June (at the earliest) nurseries and primary schools may reopen, and some non-essential shops. By July, at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places could be reopened.
: People will be actively encouraged to return to work from this week if they cannot work from home. Unlimited outdoor exercise will be allowed from Wednesday. From 1 June (at the earliest) nurseries and primary schools may reopen, and some non-essential shops. By July, at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places could be reopened. The Netherlands: Primary schools will partially reopen Monday. Driving schools, hair salons, physiotherapists and libraries also return, with social distancing measures.
Primary schools will partially reopen Monday. Driving schools, hair salons, physiotherapists and libraries also return, with social distancing measures. Switzerland: Primary and middle schools will reopen Monday, with classes often reduced in size. Restaurants, museums and bookshops will also open, with conditions. Meetings of more than five people remain banned.
Primary and middle schools will reopen Monday, with classes often reduced in size. Restaurants, museums and bookshops will also open, with conditions. Meetings of more than five people remain banned. Spain : Half of Spain’s 47 million people will be able to meet with family or friends in gatherings of up to 10 as of Monday. Outdoor spaces at bars and restaurants can reopen with limited capacity. Hardest-hit Madrid and Barcelona are excluded from the easing, though football clubs FC Barcelona resumed training on Friday and Real Madrid will follow Monday. Only movements within provinces are authorised and cinemas and theatres remain closed. Schools will not start up again until September.
: Half of Spain’s 47 million people will be able to meet with family or friends in gatherings of up to 10 as of Monday. Outdoor spaces at bars and restaurants can reopen with limited capacity. Hardest-hit Madrid and Barcelona are excluded from the easing, though football clubs FC Barcelona resumed training on Friday and Real Madrid will follow Monday. Only movements within provinces are authorised and cinemas and theatres remain closed. Schools will not start up again until September. Italy : While schools remain closed until September, factories, building sites and offices reopened on 4 May. Social distancing rules are in place in parks. Wearing masks is mandatory on public transport. All retail businesses will reopen on 18 May, as will museums, cultural sites, churches and libraries. Bars and restaurants will reopen from 1 June, along with hair and beauty salons.
: While schools remain closed until September, factories, building sites and offices reopened on 4 May. Social distancing rules are in place in parks. Wearing masks is mandatory on public transport. All retail businesses will reopen on 18 May, as will museums, cultural sites, churches and libraries. Bars and restaurants will reopen from 1 June, along with hair and beauty salons. Germany : Eating in restaurants is now possible in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the country’s first cafes and restaurants reopened on Saturday. Under Germany’s federal system, each of the 16 states makes its own decisions on how to emerge from lockdown and cafes and restaurants will reopen in a number of other states in the coming days and weeks. Most shops are already open and children are slowly returning to classrooms. Bundesliga football matches are also set to resume. Heeding signs of a second wave, German authorities have agreed to reimpose restrictions locally if an area has more than 50 new infections per 100,000 residents over a week.
: Eating in restaurants is now possible in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the country’s first cafes and restaurants reopened on Saturday. Under Germany’s federal system, each of the 16 states makes its own decisions on how to emerge from lockdown and cafes and restaurants will reopen in a number of other states in the coming days and weeks. Most shops are already open and children are slowly returning to classrooms. Bundesliga football matches are also set to resume. Heeding signs of a second wave, German authorities have agreed to reimpose restrictions locally if an area has more than 50 new infections per 100,000 residents over a week. Austria : Hairdressers, tennis courts and golf courses reopened in the first weekend in May. Travel restrictions have been lifted and gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed, with social distancing. Masks are compulsory in public transport and shops. Final-year school students returned to class on 4 May ahead of a gradual return for others.
: Hairdressers, tennis courts and golf courses reopened in the first weekend in May. Travel restrictions have been lifted and gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed, with social distancing. Masks are compulsory in public transport and shops. Final-year school students returned to class on 4 May ahead of a gradual return for others. Poland: Hotels can reopen on Monday but foreign tourists must quarantine for two weeks on arrival.
Hotels can reopen on Monday but foreign tourists must quarantine for two weeks on arrival. Denmark: Shopping centres reopen in Denmark on Monday. Primary schools opened in mid-April and secondary schools will open on 18 May.
Shopping centres reopen in Denmark on Monday. Primary schools opened in mid-April and secondary schools will open on 18 May. Norway: Schools opened for pupils aged 6-10 at the end of April, and all classes will start again Monday. Bars and leisure centres remain closed until 1 June.
Schools opened for pupils aged 6-10 at the end of April, and all classes will start again Monday. Bars and leisure centres remain closed until 1 June. Iceland: Universities, museums and hair salons reopened on 4 May.
Universities, museums and hair salons reopened on 4 May. Finland: Schools will start up again on 14 May, with social distancing measures.
Schools will start up again on 14 May, with social distancing measures. Croatia: Outdoor spaces at bars and restaurants reopen Monday and gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed. Kindergartens and schools will resume on a voluntary basis.
Outdoor spaces at bars and restaurants reopen Monday and gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed. Kindergartens and schools will resume on a voluntary basis. Serbia: Nursery schools will welcome children from Monday.
Nursery schools will welcome children from Monday. Greece: Following bookshops and hairdressers reopening on 4 May, all other shops will resume trading on Monday. Shopping centres remain closed until 1 June. The Acropolis and all archeological sites will reopen 18 May. Museums reopen on 15 June.
Updated at 22.11 BST
10 May 2020 21.34 BST Overcrowding and outmoded design may have made Canada’s care homes more vulnerable to Covid-19, experts have said. Jodi Hall, chair of the Canadian Association for Long Term Care, said the pandemic’s toll has highlighted the chronic problem of government underfunding of long-term care homes, CBC reports. Many homes maintain four-bed, hospital-like wards, where residents are separated only by a curtain. Around 80% of all Covid-19-related deaths in Canada have been in long-term care facilities, according to CBC. In light of the devastating impact on homes, New Democratic party leader Jagmeet Singh has called for an end to privatised facilities, advocating a universal framework for senior care. In an interview aired on its network, CTV reports Singh as saying the government must work to bring long-term care under the Canada Health Act and make it federally regulated, while abolishing the private system.
Updated at 22.49 BST
10 May 2020 20.58 BST Avianca Holdings, Latin America’s No. 2 airline and one of the oldest in the world, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, as a bond payment deadline loomed and after pleas for aid from Colombia’s government to weather the coronavirus crisis have so far been unsuccessful.
If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, Avianca would be one of the first major carriers worldwide to go under as a result of the pandemic, which has resulted in a 90% decline in global air travel. Avianca has not flown a regularly scheduled passenger flight since late March and most of its 20,000 employees have gone without pay through the crisis. While Avianca was already weak before the coronavirus outbreak, its bankruptcy filing highlights the challenges for airlines that cannot count on state rescues to avoid bankruptcy restructuring. An Avianca representative told Reuters it is still trying to secure government loans.
Updated at 20.59 BST
10 May 2020 20.24 BST Meanwhile in Poland, the head of the electoral commission has said that the speaker of parliament has 14 days to declare the date of a new presidential election, according to Reuters. Poland had been due to hold a presidential election on Sunday and, while the vote was not officially cancelled or postponed, the electoral commission had said on Thursday it could not be held due to the coronavirus crisis.
Updated at 20.32 BST
10 May 2020 20.22 BST The municipality of Kos, the Greek island home to Hippocrates, regarded as the father of medicine and author of the Hippocratic oath, has made this video thanking medical staff worldwide.


theguardian--2020-05-09--Trump fumes as White House staffers test positive and death toll nears 80,000 – as it happened

While there ’ s no single , magic-bullet solution , there are clear and urgently needed policy fixes that would make our food and farming system far more balanced , sustainable , and resilient to crises – whether it be the Covid-19 pandemic or intensifying climate havoc .
For starters , policies must support smaller farmers and diversified sustainable production .
This includes what ’ s known as “ parity ” – a fair price for farmers ’ crops , guaranteed by the government , to prevent overproduction and market chaos .
Subsidies that currently propel farming consolidation and mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fuel must be reformed to promote organic , smaller-scale , regionally and local foods .
This will help farmers survive and provide communities with resilient and diverse food supplies rather than depending on vast and fragile corporate food supply chains .
If there were ever a time to bust up the food and farming monopolies , which are reminiscent of the Beef Trust of the early 1900s , now is it .
Centralized corporate power is creating agricultural and economic mono-cropping at a time when we most need a food system that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Covid-19 crisis and worsening climate chaos require far more public-sector direction and coordination of something as central to human survival as food .
Amid the current supply-chain breakdown , as news spread of gargantuan food waste , some farmers and caravans of volunteers have helped deliver food directly from the farms to people in need – a truly heroic gift .
But this vital act , feeding people in need and averting massive food waste , can ’ t be left to random acts of kindness .
Why aren ’ t federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up food distribution networks , employing laid-off truckers , warehouse workers , and others ?
Why not create a Green New Deal for food that creates jobs and boosts communities ’ ability to feed themselves in these increasingly volatile times ?
The food supply breakdowns spurred by the coronavirus pandemic are a horrific wake-up call to revamp today ’ s anarchic corporate food system and start replacing it with a publicly coordinated system that supports small and mid-sized farmers producing diverse organic crops for local and regional markets .
Not only can we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we can not afford not to make this urgent shift .

Bryan Armen Graham, Tom Lutz, Martin Pengelly and Edward Helmore in New York

9 May 2020 23.46 BST The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director, Robert Redfield, “will be teleworking” for the next two weeks after he was exposed to a person at the White House who tested positive for Covid-19, the Washington Post has reported citing a CDC spokesperson. Late Friday, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Stephen Hahn, said he will spend the next couple of weeks in self-quarantine after coming into contact with someone who tested positive, though he took a diagnostic test that came back negative. Both Redfield and Hahn are members of the White House coronavirus task force, which last convened on Thursday. Previously on Friday, Katie Miller, the US vice-president Mike Pence’s press secretary and wife of Trump senior advisor Stephen Miller, tested positive for Covid-19, raising alarm about the virus’ potential spread within the White House’s innermost circle.
Updated at 23.51 BST
9 May 2020 22.42 BST Donald Trump has announced the federal government will purchase $3bn of dairy, meat and produce from farmers as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the food supply chain. “Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens,” Trump tweeted on Saturday afternoon. Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens. “FARMERS TO FAMILY FOOD BOX” Great news for all! @SecretarySonny @ZippyDuvall — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2020 Farmers across the United States have faced a massive surplus of perishable items in recent weeks as the shutdown of the food service industry has scrambled the supply chain. Christopher D Cook has written about the how Covid-19 has exposed pre-existing malfunctions in the system, suggesting that a focus on smaller farmers and breaking up monopolies could represent a long-term solution.
While there’s no single, magic-bullet solution, there are clear and urgently needed policy fixes that would make our food and farming system far more balanced, sustainable, and resilient to crises – whether it be the Covid-19 pandemic or intensifying climate havoc. For starters, policies must support smaller farmers and diversified sustainable production. This includes what’s known as “parity” – a fair price for farmers’ crops, guaranteed by the government, to prevent overproduction and market chaos. Subsidies that currently propel farming consolidation and mass production of commodities for livestock feed and fuel must be reformed to promote organic, smaller-scale, regionally and local foods. This will help farmers survive and provide communities with resilient and diverse food supplies rather than depending on vast and fragile corporate food supply chains. If there were ever a time to bust up the food and farming monopolies, which are reminiscent of the Beef Trust of the early 1900s, now is it. Centralized corporate power is creating agricultural and economic mono-cropping at a time when we most need a food system that’s diverse, equitable and sustainable. The Covid-19 crisis and worsening climate chaos require far more public-sector direction and coordination of something as central to human survival as food. Amid the current supply-chain breakdown, as news spread of gargantuan food waste, some farmers and caravans of volunteers have helped deliver food directly from the farms to people in need – a truly heroic gift. But this vital act, feeding people in need and averting massive food waste, can’t be left to random acts of kindness. Why aren’t federal, state, and local governments setting up food distribution networks, employing laid-off truckers, warehouse workers, and others? Why not create a Green New Deal for food that creates jobs and boosts communities’ ability to feed themselves in these increasingly volatile times? The food supply breakdowns spurred by the coronavirus pandemic are a horrific wake-up call to revamp today’s anarchic corporate food system and start replacing it with a publicly coordinated system that supports small and mid-sized farmers producing diverse organic crops for local and regional markets. Not only can we afford to create such a system, we cannot afford not to make this urgent shift. Farmers are destroying mountains of food. Here's what to do about it | Christopher Cook Read more
9 May 2020 22.03 BST The mayor of Palo Alto said he “would be really sad and disappointed” if the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, pulled his company’s factory out of California and is “ready to help” resolve the tech billionaire’s escalating spat with local officials. Palo Alto Mayor here. I would be really sad and disappointed if @Tesla left @cityofpaloalto, and stand ready to help. I truly appreciate having a cutting edge company based here, employing people, paying taxes, and helping to solve the climate crisis. Happy to help @elonmusk. https://t.co/LYsu0gbPfa — Adrian M. Fine (@adrianfine) May 9, 2020 “Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately,” Musk tweeted on Saturday morning. “The unelected & ignorant “Interim Health Officer” of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!”
Musk, who has been the subject of criticism for downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, has been up in arms over California’s stay-at-home restrictions since a first-quarter earnings call at the end of April, calling the directives “fascist”. Tesla’s Fremont plant has been shuttered since 23 March in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19 with public health officials having since extended the order to the end of May.
Updated at 22.11 BST
9 May 2020 21.14 BST The Massachusetts department of health reported 138 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, including 85 at long-term care facilities, bringing the state’s overall toll to 4,840. Authorities said the number of confirmed cases rose by 1,410, lifting the total count to 76,743. As around most of the country, the virus is disproportionately affecting nursing homes and assisted living facilities. As the Boston Herald reports: More than half the state’s deaths, 2,922, continue to come from long-term care facilities that have been major sources of infection across the country as the pandemic rages. At least 336 long-term care centers in the state had reported at least one Covid-19 case on Saturday, and some 15,965 residents and health care workers had been sickened. The death tolls at nursing homes and assisted living facilities at times have seemed staggering. As of Friday, 73 veterans who tested positive for coronavirus had died in a large outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home that has sickened another 78 residents and 83 employees. At the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home, 28 veterans who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, with another 30 residents and 57 staff infected. Earlier this week, the parent company of Courtyard Nursing Care Center in Medford reported 54 residents had died. In all, 75% of coronavirus cases in the city of Holyoke have come from long-term care facilities, Mayor Alex Morse told the Herald Friday, a situation that’s playing out in communities large and small across the commonwealth. “That’s a high percentage here in the city and reflective of elsewhere,” Morse said. Four percent of all coronavirus patients were hospitalized as of Saturday, with 814 in intensive care units.
9 May 2020 20.00 BST The NCAA president, Mark Emmert, has acknowledged that college football – a multibillion dollar industry – may not start on time this year. “If a school doesn’t reopen, then they’re not going to be playing sports. It’s really that simple,” Emmert said in an interview on the NCAA’s official Twitter account on Friday. Emmert said that he hoped fans would be allowed into stadiums at some point in the season but the NCAA would take a cautious approach. “Just because there’s some regulation that’s been lifted doesn’t mean that ... you should immediately put 105,000 fans in a football stadium,” he said. “I think that the proper thing to do and the sensible thing to do is a phased approach. It’s plausible to me that early in the season, let’s just stick with football, you see a very limited fan access, but by later in the season, as things develop, hopefully in a very positive way, you all of sudden can see larger fan bases attending,” he said.
Updated at 20.18 BST
9 May 2020 19.47 BST Edward Helmore has news from South Dakota on attempts to keep Covid-19 from the Cheyenne River Sioux’s reservation. Leaders of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe in South Dakota have refused a request from Republican governor Kristi Noem to remove checkpoints leading to their reservation. The leaders say the checkpoints pay a valuable part in protecting the tribe from Covid-19. Harold Frazier, the tribal chairman, said in a statement that the Cheyenne River Sioux would “regretfully decline” to remove the checkpoints, and explained that the reservation is an “island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death”. Frazier said that Noem “continuing to interfere in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate seriously undermine our ability to protect everyone on the reservation. Ignorant statements and fiery rhetoric encourage individuals already under stress from this situation to carry out irrational actions.” In letters to the Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux citing a Bureau of Indian Affairs memorandum, Noem said she would take legal action if the checkpoints weren’t lifted. “The memo makes it clear that tribes must consult with the state of South Dakota and enter into an agreement with the state before closing or restricting travel on state or US Highways. Neither consultation nor agreement among the tribal and state government occurred. Regardless, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe established checkpoints on state and US Highways to control and restrict non-tribal member travel,” Noem’s letter said. According to guidelines issued by the Cheyenne River Sioux, residents and visitors can pass through the checkpoints only to complete “essential activities”, such as medical appointments or getting essential supplies. South Dakota reported three Covid-19-related deaths on Saturday, as well as another single-day record increase of confirmed cases. There were 249 new cases reported, bringing the statewide total to 3,393. There have been 253 people hospitalized by the virus, with 79 currently in hospital, according to the Argus Leader. There have been 34 recorded deaths from Covid-19 in South Dakota since the pandemic began.
Updated at 20.19 BST
9 May 2020 19.31 BST New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, called it “a matter of time” until the state defeats Covid-19 with the number of new cases in steady decline. Speaking at his daily press briefing from Trenton, the governor said there were 1,759 new coronavirus cases statewide in the last 24-hour period, raising the overall total to 137,085 but continuing the downward trend. LOOK: The number of new cases continues to show an overall positive trend.
We’re seeing the most progress in the DECLINING positivity rate – the number of tests which are coming back positive. pic.twitter.com/8UPWNstyVV — Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 9, 2020 Murphy also reported 166 coronavirus-reated deaths in the last day, lifting the overall toll to 9,116. “These lives should never be just a number,” he said. “They were real people, who lived real lives, and who leave behind real families. They were each a treasured part of our New Jersey family.”
Updated at 20.20 BST
9 May 2020 18.38 BST The Food and Drug Administration has announced emergency authorization for a new type of antigen tests that could help detect coronavirus quicker and hasten the reopening of the country. Regulators say the tests, developed by San Diego-based Quidel Corp, can “rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs swiped inside the nasal cavity”. The Associated Press reports: The test can rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs swiped inside the nasal cavity, the FDA said in a statement. The antigen test is the third type of test to be authorized by the FDA. Currently, the only way to diagnose active Covid-19 is to test a patient’s nasal swab for the genetic material of the virus. While considered highly accurate, the tests can take hours and require expensive, specialized equipment mainly found at commercial labs, hospitals or universities. A second type looks in the blood for antibodies, the proteins produced by the body days or weeks after fighting an infection. Such tests are helpful for researchers to understand how far a disease has spread within a community, but they aren’t useful for diagnosing active infections. Antigen tests can diagnose active infections by detecting the earliest toxic traces of the virus rather than genetic code of the virus itself. The FDA said that it expects to authorize more antigen tests in the future.
Updated at 19.00 BST
9 May 2020 17.55 BST Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has incurred criticism for downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, has threatened to move his business out of California in lashing out against a warning from Alameda county to not open his company’s plant in Fremont, California. “Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda county immediately,” Musk tweeted on Saturday morning. “The unelected & ignorant “Interim Health Officer” of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!” Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant “Interim Health Officer” of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense! — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020 Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020 On Friday, the county released a statement saying Tesla “must not reopen”, adding: “Restoring all daily activities too soon risks a rapid spike in cases and would jeopardize the relative stability we’ve seen in our health and hospital system.” Six counties in the San Francisco Bay area, including Alameda, barred nonessential manufacturing in a wide-ranging 16 March order.
Updated at 18.12 BST


theguardian--2020-05-09--In leaked conversation Obama says US 'rule of law' at risk after Flynn case dropped

Barack Obama has reportedly said the “ rule of law is at risk ” in the US , after the justice department said it would drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn .
In remarks likely to enrage Donald Trump , Obama also reportedly labeled the current administration ’ s handling of the coronavirus outbreak “ an absolute chaotic disaster ” .
Flynn , a retired general , pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador about sanctions over election interference , which were levied by Obama at the end of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for lying to the vice-president , Mike Pence , Flynn co-operated with investigators before seeking to withdraw his plea .
Trump publicly toyed with pardoning Flynn and his supporters mounted a fierce campaign in support of the general , who had not been sentenced , before the decision to drop the case was announced on Thursday .
It prompted fierce criticism from Democrats and many in the mainstream media , met by counter-attacks from the White House .
On Friday , Yahoo News reported that it had obtained a tape of a web @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Obama Alumni Association .
“ The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed – about the justice department dropping charges against Michael Flynn , ” Obama reportedly said .
“ And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury [ in fact Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI ] just getting off scot-free .
That ’ s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic – not just institutional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rule of law is at risk .
“ And when you start moving in those directions , it can accelerate pretty quickly as we ’ ve seen in other places.
” The president has repeatedly blamed Obama for the FBI investigation into Russian election interference which expanded to include links between his campaign and Moscow .
Last week , Trump retweeted a conspiracy theorist who claimed Obama directed the investigation .
On Thursday Trump said at the White House : “ What they did , what the Obama administration did , is unprecedented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people will pay a big price because they are dishonest , crooked people .
They are scum , human scum.
” The president added : “ [ Flynn ] was targeted by the Obama administration , and he was targeted in order to try to take down a president.
” After nearly two years of work , special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish a criminal conspiracy but did detail extensive links between Trump aides and Russians and numerous instances of possible obstruction of justice by the president .
Trump claims exoneration by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exonerating Trump .
Flynn ’ s guilty plea to lying to the FBI was one of Mueller ’ s biggest coups .
In 2017 Trump acknowledged it , writing on Twitter : “ I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice-President and the FBI .
He has pled guilty to those lies .
It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful .
There was nothing to hide !
” According to Yahoo News , Obama told the web call the case made him feel a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s election , in which Trump is set to face Joe Biden , Obama ’ s vice-president .
“ Whenever I campaign , ” Obama reportedly said , “ I ’ ve always said , ‘ Ah , this is the most important election.
’ Especially obviously when I was on the ballot , that always feels like it ’ s the most important election .
This one , I ’ m not on the ballot but I am pretty darn invested .
We got to make this happen.
” Obama reportedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ long-term trends in which being selfish , being tribal , being divided , and seeing others as an enemy [ have ] become a stronger impulse in American life ” .
“ It ’ s part of the reason , ” he reportedly said , “ why the response to this global crisis [ the coronavirus outbreak ] has been so anaemic and spotty .
It would have been bad even with the best of governments .
It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset of ‘ what ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to heck with everybody else ’ , when that mindset is operationalised in our government .
“ That ’ s why , I , by the way , am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden.
” As of Saturday morning , according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University , 1,283,762 cases of Covid-19 had been confirmed in the US , with 77,175 deaths .
Encouraged by the White House , more than half the 50 states are seeking to reopen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health experts that it is too soon to do so without risking a high death toll .
Obama has followed precedent in not criticising his successor in the Oval Office in public but reports of his view of Trump are fairly regular .
In January , for example , it was reported that he said Trump was a fascist .
On Saturday Trump was at the White House .
He did not immediately respond to the Yahoo News report .
However the attorney general , William Barr , perhaps spoke for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he thought history would view his decision to drop the Flynn case .
“ Well , history is written by the winner , ” he told CBS News .
“ So it largely depends on who ’ s writing the history .
”

Barack Obama has reportedly said the “rule of law is at risk” in the US, after the justice department said it would drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
In remarks likely to enrage Donald Trump, Obama also reportedly labeled the current administration’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak “an absolute chaotic disaster”.
Flynn, a retired general, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador about sanctions over election interference, which were levied by Obama at the end of his presidency.
Having been fired by Trump for lying to the vice-president, Mike Pence, Flynn co-operated with investigators before seeking to withdraw his plea.
Trump publicly toyed with pardoning Flynn and his supporters mounted a fierce campaign in support of the general, who had not been sentenced, before the decision to drop the case was announced on Thursday.
It prompted fierce criticism from Democrats and many in the mainstream media, met by counter-attacks from the White House.
On Friday, Yahoo News reported that it had obtained a tape of a web talk between the former president and members of the Obama Alumni Association.
“The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed – about the justice department dropping charges against Michael Flynn,” Obama reportedly said.
“And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury [in fact Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI] just getting off scot-free. That’s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic – not just institutional norms – but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk.
“And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we’ve seen in other places.”
The president has repeatedly blamed Obama for the FBI investigation into Russian election interference which expanded to include links between his campaign and Moscow. Last week, Trump retweeted a conspiracy theorist who claimed Obama directed the investigation.
On Thursday Trump said at the White House: “What they did, what the Obama administration did, is unprecedented … and I hope a lot of people will pay a big price because they are dishonest, crooked people. They are scum, human scum.”
The president added: “[Flynn] was targeted by the Obama administration, and he was targeted in order to try to take down a president.”
After nearly two years of work, special counsel Robert Mueller did not establish a criminal conspiracy but did detail extensive links between Trump aides and Russians and numerous instances of possible obstruction of justice by the president.
Trump claims exoneration by Mueller. Mueller said he was not exonerating Trump.
Flynn’s guilty plea to lying to the FBI was one of Mueller’s biggest coups. In 2017 Trump acknowledged it, writing on Twitter: “I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice-President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!”
According to Yahoo News, Obama told the web call the case made him feel a “sense of urgency” about November’s election, in which Trump is set to face Joe Biden, Obama’s vice-president.
“Whenever I campaign,” Obama reportedly said, “I’ve always said, ‘Ah, this is the most important election.’ Especially obviously when I was on the ballot, that always feels like it’s the most important election. This one, I’m not on the ballot but I am pretty darn invested. We got to make this happen.”
Obama reportedly said the election would be about fighting “long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy [have] become a stronger impulse in American life”.
“It’s part of the reason,” he reportedly said, “why the response to this global crisis [the coronavirus outbreak] has been so anaemic and spotty. It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’, when that mindset is operationalised in our government.
“That’s why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden.”
As of Saturday morning, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 1,283,762 cases of Covid-19 had been confirmed in the US, with 77,175 deaths. Encouraged by the White House, more than half the 50 states are seeking to reopen their shuttered economies, despite warnings from public health experts that it is too soon to do so without risking a high death toll.
Obama has followed precedent in not criticising his successor in the Oval Office in public but reports of his view of Trump are fairly regular. In January, for example, it was reported that he said Trump was a fascist.
On Saturday Trump was at the White House. He did not immediately respond to the Yahoo News report.
However the attorney general, William Barr, perhaps spoke for the president earlier when he was asked how he thought history would view his decision to drop the Flynn case.
“Well, history is written by the winner,” he told CBS News. “So it largely depends on who’s writing the history.”


theguardian--2020-05-09--The right cannot resist a culture war against the 'liberal elite', even now | Nick Cohen

All of a sudden , and after years of bluffing , conservatives are warning of the dangers of jumping to hasty conclusions .
Before I go any further , I must therefore say our newly scrupulous masters have a point .
The league tables of national Covid-19 death figures are not the last word on the crisis , and may look different in a few weeks .
That ’ s that done , then .
Everybody happy ?
Good .
Let ’ s get on with it .
In the world as it is , rather than as it may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The highest Covid-19 casualties are in the US and the UK , where the mendacities of the populist right have deformed society .
It turns out that being governed by Anglo-Saxon conservatives is a threat to the health of nations .
Their rule kills the old and blights the futures of the young .
To understand their ineptitude , think of how conservatism turned into a know-nothing culture in the past decade , and ask what Donald Trump and Boris Johnson would be doing in an alternative universe where they never came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t think you need a wild imagination to find the answer .
Trump would be propagating corona conspiracy theories about 5G and Bill Gates as enthusiastically as he endorsed the straight lie that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and ineligible to serve as US president .
Johnson would have been egging on his colleagues at the Telegraph as they insisted last week the lockdown was a “ pant-wetting ” response to the virus from a government of “ nervous nellies ” .
When it was Johnson ’ s turn to offer his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeat the Brexit right ’ s party line that the government had “ petrified the public ” to the point where it was overwhelmingly against lifting the lockdown and going back to work as it jolly well should .
My guess is he would remind readers , for they are never allowed to forget , that he managed a second-class classics degree from Oxford sometime in the 1980s by deadlifting a Latin phrase and announcing “ aegrescit medendo ” – the cure is worse than the disease .
For that is what the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believes .
The British new right , “ alt-right ” , populist right , call it what you will , sees itself as sceptical and independent , even if its supporters ’ reactions to all events are as predictable as speaking clocks .
Class plays its part , as it always does in England .
We are witnessing the Oxbridge arts graduate ’ s fear of expertise , particularly the expertise of scientists who can not cut a good figure or turn a catchy phrase .
In Johnson ’ s days at Oxford @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chemists ” – chemist being a catch-all term covering everyone studying subjects the suave could not understand .
Northern chemists drank beer , went to comprehensives and were boring as hell .
By what right do these nobodies now tell us what we can and can not do ?
For all the unearned superiority of the Brit right , its differences with the US are more of tone than substance .
Its American cousins embrace paranoid conspiracism .
The Trump administration is now asserting that the virus was developed in a Chinese lab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ valid reasons to condemn what the Chinese Communist party has done .
The worst of the British right marches down the same road .
It turned Neil Ferguson ’ s liaison with his lover from a personal failing to abide by his own guidelines into evidence of a leftwing plot .
Writing in the Critic , Toby Young , Johnson ’ s friend and I would say his greatest admirer on Fleet Street , said that , because the lover had campaigned for leftish causes , he was “ 99 % sure ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the world were leftists with an ideology that was pushing governments into panic measures .
Confronted with an emergency they do not understand , modern rightwingers reduce complexity to culture war , and dismiss advice they can not take with the only reason their limited minds can comprehend : the political bias of the “ liberal elite ” .
It has worked for them until now .
Blaming the libs has taken them to power .
In theory , today ’ s crisis ought to suit them , as it has shown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The nationalist right might hope that , along with global supply chains disappearing as countries “ reshore ” vital industries , multilateral agreements on climate , justice and human rights will vanish .
In the world of Trump and Xi Jinping , they did not seem to have much of a chance anyway .
Yet nationalists in power can not cry “ America first ” or Britannia Unchained as they turn their nation states into failing states .
Most people are not “ petrified ” because the government has scared them to death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservatives are making of managing the crisis .
I accept that there is a danger on the left of robotically damning everything Tories do , and that if Rishi Sunak had been a Labour rather than a Conservative chancellor , his bold rescue package would have had him cheered at the Durham Miners ’ Gala .
But come now .
The ever-expanding list of fiascos , from failing to lock down early enough , to failing to provide adequate protective equipment .
The trickery in pretending that the government was committed to providing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out to be 100,000 tests for just one day .
The chaos of an administration that briefs that it will be allowing picnics in parks one minute and denies it the next .
Everybody is noticing that the state doesn ’ t have a grip on the crisis .
As faith melts away , people will be less inclined to believe ministers when they say it is safe to end lockdown , and less inclined to trust the government ’ s tracking apps .
And however much unjustifiable cynicism there is about government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trust modern rightwing leaders .
As the words of their loudest supporters show , they come from a culture that despises the actions we need to take to protect ourselves .
That culture was guaranteed to fail when strong government was needed , and is , as a matter of shameful fact , demonstrably failing today .

All of a sudden, and after years of bluffing, conservatives are warning of the dangers of jumping to hasty conclusions. Before I go any further, I must therefore say our newly scrupulous masters have a point. The league tables of national Covid-19 death figures are not the last word on the crisis, and may look different in a few weeks. That’s that done, then. Everybody happy? Good. Let’s get on with it.
In the world as it is, rather than as it may be, a shameful fact is undeniable. The highest Covid-19 casualties are in the US and the UK, where the mendacities of the populist right have deformed society. It turns out that being governed by Anglo-Saxon conservatives is a threat to the health of nations. Their rule kills the old and blights the futures of the young. To understand their ineptitude, think of how conservatism turned into a know-nothing culture in the past decade, and ask what Donald Trump and Boris Johnson would be doing in an alternative universe where they never came close to power.
The alt-right sees itself as sceptical and independent, even if its supporters are as predictable as speaking clocks
I don’t think you need a wild imagination to find the answer. Trump would be propagating corona conspiracy theories about 5G and Bill Gates as enthusiastically as he endorsed the straight lie that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and ineligible to serve as US president. Johnson would have been egging on his colleagues at the Telegraph as they insisted last week the lockdown was a “pant-wetting” response to the virus from a government of “nervous nellies”. When it was Johnson’s turn to offer his two pennies’ worth, he would repeat the Brexit right’s party line that the government had “petrified the public” to the point where it was overwhelmingly against lifting the lockdown and going back to work as it jolly well should. My guess is he would remind readers, for they are never allowed to forget, that he managed a second-class classics degree from Oxford sometime in the 1980s by deadlifting a Latin phrase and announcing “aegrescit medendo” – the cure is worse than the disease. For that is what the world that provided his most loyal support believes.
The British new right, “alt-right”, populist right, call it what you will, sees itself as sceptical and independent, even if its supporters’ reactions to all events are as predictable as speaking clocks. Class plays its part, as it always does in England. We are witnessing the Oxbridge arts graduate’s fear of expertise, particularly the expertise of scientists who cannot cut a good figure or turn a catchy phrase. In Johnson’s days at Oxford, they were dismissed as “northern chemists” – chemist being a catch-all term covering everyone studying subjects the suave could not understand. Northern chemists drank beer, went to comprehensives and were boring as hell. By what right do these nobodies now tell us what we can and cannot do?
Everybody is noticing that the state doesn’t have a grip on the crisis
For all the unearned superiority of the Brit right, its differences with the US are more of tone than substance. Its American cousins embrace paranoid conspiracism. The Trump administration is now asserting that the virus was developed in a Chinese lab – as if there were not enough valid reasons to condemn what the Chinese Communist party has done. The worst of the British right marches down the same road. It turned Neil Ferguson’s liaison with his lover from a personal failing to abide by his own guidelines into evidence of a leftwing plot. Writing in the Critic, Toby Young, Johnson’s friend and I would say his greatest admirer on Fleet Street, said that, because the lover had campaigned for leftish causes, he was “99% sure” that the majority of scientific advisers everywhere in the world were leftists with an ideology that was pushing governments into panic measures. Confronted with an emergency they do not understand, modern rightwingers reduce complexity to culture war, and dismiss advice they cannot take with the only reason their limited minds can comprehend: the political bias of the “liberal elite”.
It has worked for them until now. Blaming the libs has taken them to power. In theory, today’s crisis ought to suit them, as it has shown the centrality of the nation state. The nationalist right might hope that, along with global supply chains disappearing as countries “reshore” vital industries, multilateral agreements on climate, justice and human rights will vanish. In the world of Trump and Xi Jinping, they did not seem to have much of a chance anyway.
Hundreds protest in a ‘reopen Pennsylvania’ demonstration on 20 April 2020. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
Yet nationalists in power cannot cry “America first” or Britannia Unchained as they turn their nation states into failing states. Most people are not “petrified” because the government has scared them to death but because they see the fatal mess conservatives are making of managing the crisis. I accept that there is a danger on the left of robotically damning everything Tories do, and that if Rishi Sunak had been a Labour rather than a Conservative chancellor, his bold rescue package would have had him cheered at the Durham Miners’ Gala. But come now. The ever-expanding list of fiascos, from failing to lock down early enough, to failing to provide adequate protective equipment. The trickery in pretending that the government was committed to providing 100,000 tests a day when it turned out to be 100,000 tests for just one day. The chaos of an administration that briefs that it will be allowing picnics in parks one minute and denies it the next. Everybody is noticing that the state doesn’t have a grip on the crisis.
As faith melts away, people will be less inclined to believe ministers when they say it is safe to end lockdown, and less inclined to trust the government’s tracking apps. And however much unjustifiable cynicism there is about government, there are good reasons not to trust modern rightwing leaders. As the words of their loudest supporters show, they come from a culture that despises the actions we need to take to protect ourselves. That culture was guaranteed to fail when strong government was needed, and is, as a matter of shameful fact, demonstrably failing today.


theguardian--2020-05-08--Welcome to William Barr's America, where the truth makes way for the president | Lloyd Green

Welcome to law and order in the age of William Barr .
Against the tableau of a raging pandemic and job market in freefall , on Thursday the justice department announced that it would be dropping its case against Michael Flynn , the president ’ s short-tenured national security adviser .
The fact that Flynn had pleaded guilty and Donald Trump had previously accused him of lying to the vice-president no longer mattered .
These days , Trump was claiming that Flynn had been exonerated and , after all , Barr was the president ’ s obedient servant .
His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To be sure , Barr had already been there before with Trump and decades earlier with George HW Bush .
Little more than a year ago , after Robert Mueller had relayed his conclusions to the justice department , Barr issued a summary that distorted the special counsel ’ s report and turned them into a wholesale vindication of the president .
When Mueller complained in writing of Barr ’ s deceit , Barr became “ pissed ” , thought Mueller ’ s letter “ nasty ” and felt personally “ betrayed ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been friends .
But that wasn ’ t the end of his story .
This past March , Barr also earned the ire of Reggie Walton , a George W Bush appointee to the federal bench .
The judge “ seriously ” questioned Barr ’ s integrity and credibility .
The court ’ s March 2020 opinion deployed words like “ distorted ” and “ misleading ” to drive the point home , not the language generally used to describe the nation ’ s chief law enforcement officer .
To be sure , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s fealty to Trump .
In February , Barr put his finger on the scale when it came to the sentencing of Roger Stone and overrode the recommendations of career prosecutors .
For his valor , Barr won the president ’ s admiration .
In a pre-8am tweet , Trump congratulated his attorney general and trashed Mueller , accusing him of lying to Congress .
Like Roy Cohn , Trump ’ s personal lawyer of yore , Barr had attended Horace Mann and Columbia .
History can repeat itself , in more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1990s , when Barr was George HW Bush ’ s attorney general he repeatedly ran political interference for the man who hired him .
Confronted with congressional demands for copies of classified documents and that Barr appoint an independent counsel to investigate Iraqgate , the extension of government credits to Saddam Hussein ’ s regime before its invasion of Kuwait , Barr pushed back hard .
In a rebuke to congressional oversight , Barr refused to turn over the information .
In a separate letter to the House judiciary committee , Barr denied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ independent counsel , tossing around such phrases as “ not a crime ” , “ simply not criminal in any way ” , “ nothing illegal ” , and “ far from being a crime ” .
In essence , Republican presidents were legally off-limits , ditto their appointees .
But that wasn ’ t the end of Barr running interference for the elder Bush .
After he lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton , Barr successfully argued for the pardon of Caspar Weinberger , Ronald Reagan ’ s defense secretary , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iran-Contra scandal .
Then as now , Barr was attorney general : “ I favored the broadest pardon authority , ” said Barr .
He added , “ There were some people just arguing just for Weinberger .
I said , ‘ No – in for a penny , in for a pound.
’ ” Not every attorney general is the president ’ s handmaiden .
Likewise , not every president is determined to ride roughshod over DoJ .
John Ashcroft , attorney general to George W Bush , refused to be steamrolled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reauthorize “ Stellar Wind ” , a domestic surveillance program .
At the time , Ashcroft was in a hospital intensive care unit .
The fact that the president ’ s counsel and the White House chief of staff were hovering over his bed did not alter the outcome .
Indeed , unlike Bill Clinton and Donald Trump , the younger Bush recognized that presidential pardons were not baubles .
Bush commuted the prison sentence meted out to Scooter Libby , Dick Cheney ’ s chief of staff , after a jury had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perjury in connection with an investigation of unauthorized leaks of the identity of Valerie Plame , a CIA officer .
But despite Cheney ’ s repeated requests for a pardon he was rebuffed .
At the time , Bill Burck , the deputy White House counsel , told the president : “ You have to follow the law , and the law says if you say something that is untrue , knowingly , to a federal official in the context of a grand jury investigation and it is material to their investigation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favoritism and unfairness of the process “ frustrated ” Bush .
Ultimately , the relationship between Bush and his vice-president took a permanent hit .
As history would have it , Libby had represented Marc Rich , whose pardon further tarnished Clinton ’ s legacy There is a coda .
Trump subsequently pardoned Libby just as he pardoned Joe Arpaio , the Arizona sheriff found to be in contempt of court .
For Trump , l ’ état , c ’ est moi , and for Barr it ’ s pretty much what @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Welcome to law and order in the age of William Barr. Against the tableau of a raging pandemic and job market in freefall, on Thursday the justice department announced that it would be dropping its case against Michael Flynn, the president’s short-tenured national security adviser.
The fact that Flynn had pleaded guilty and Donald Trump had previously accused him of lying to the vice-president no longer mattered. These days, Trump was claiming that Flynn had been exonerated and, after all, Barr was the president’s obedient servant. His tweets were Barr’s commands.
To be sure, Barr had already been there before with Trump and decades earlier with George HW Bush.
Little more than a year ago, after Robert Mueller had relayed his conclusions to the justice department, Barr issued a summary that distorted the special counsel’s report and turned them into a wholesale vindication of the president. When Mueller complained in writing of Barr’s deceit, Barr became “pissed”, thought Mueller’s letter “nasty” and felt personally “betrayed”. Supposedly, the two men had been friends.
But that wasn’t the end of his story. This past March, Barr also earned the ire of Reggie Walton, a George W Bush appointee to the federal bench. The judge “seriously” questioned Barr’s integrity and credibility. The court’s March 2020 opinion deployed words like “distorted” and “misleading” to drive the point home, not the language generally used to describe the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
To be sure, that was just another episode of Barr’s fealty to Trump. In February, Barr put his finger on the scale when it came to the sentencing of Roger Stone and overrode the recommendations of career prosecutors. For his valor, Barr won the president’s admiration. In a pre-8am tweet, Trump congratulated his attorney general and trashed Mueller, accusing him of lying to Congress.
Like Roy Cohn, Trump’s personal lawyer of yore, Barr had attended Horace Mann and Columbia. History can repeat itself, in more ways than one.
In the early 1990s, when Barr was George HW Bush’s attorney general he repeatedly ran political interference for the man who hired him. Confronted with congressional demands for copies of classified documents and that Barr appoint an independent counsel to investigate Iraqgate, the extension of government credits to Saddam Hussein’s regime before its invasion of Kuwait, Barr pushed back hard.
In a rebuke to congressional oversight, Barr refused to turn over the information. In a separate letter to the House judiciary committee, Barr denied the committee’s request for an independent counsel, tossing around such phrases as “not a crime”, “simply not criminal in any way”, “nothing illegal”, and “far from being a crime”. In essence, Republican presidents were legally off-limits, ditto their appointees.
But that wasn’t the end of Barr running interference for the elder Bush. After he lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton, Barr successfully argued for the pardon of Caspar Weinberger, Ronald Reagan’s defense secretary, and others in the aftermath of the Iran-Contra scandal.
Then as now, Barr was attorney general: “I favored the broadest pardon authority,” said Barr. He added, “There were some people just arguing just for Weinberger. I said, ‘No – in for a penny, in for a pound.’”
Not every attorney general is the president’s handmaiden. Likewise, not every president is determined to ride roughshod over DoJ.
John Ashcroft, attorney general to George W Bush, refused to be steamrolled by the White House and declined to reauthorize “Stellar Wind”, a domestic surveillance program. At the time, Ashcroft was in a hospital intensive care unit. The fact that the president’s counsel and the White House chief of staff were hovering over his bed did not alter the outcome.
Indeed, unlike Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, the younger Bush recognized that presidential pardons were not baubles. Bush commuted the prison sentence meted out to Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, after a jury had convicted Libby of obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with an investigation of unauthorized leaks of the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA officer. But despite Cheney’s repeated requests for a pardon he was rebuffed.
At the time, Bill Burck, the deputy White House counsel, told the president: “You have to follow the law, and the law says if you say something that is untrue, knowingly, to a federal official in the context of a grand jury investigation and it is material to their investigation, that’s a crime.”
The favoritism and unfairness of the process “frustrated” Bush. Ultimately, the relationship between Bush and his vice-president took a permanent hit. As history would have it, Libby had represented Marc Rich, whose pardon further tarnished Clinton’s legacy
There is a coda. Trump subsequently pardoned Libby just as he pardoned Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff found to be in contempt of court.
For Trump, l’état, c’est moi, and for Barr it’s pretty much what a Republican president says it is.


theguardian--2020-05-10--Coronavirus live news: Germany sees infections rise again after easing lockdown

Afghanistan has announced its highest one-day rise of new infections as the government issued a decree to distribute bread to those affected by coronavirus .
This comes as at least six people were killed in a protest against unfair distribution of aid .
361 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported in the war-torn country , marking the biggest one-day rise of infections , five patients also died overnight , taking the total number of infections to 4,402 and death toll to 120 .
The capital Kabul , which is Afghanistan ’ s worst affected area recorded its worst day with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours .
Total number of infections in the capital passed 1,000 and now stands at 1,096 .
The country ’ s health minister , Ferozuddin Feroz , has been isolating at home after being infected with the virus , meanwhile local officials in Kandahar announced its governor also tested positive as 26 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the southern province .
Toward the east , six out of the eight new coronavirus cases in Nangarhar were from province ’ s prison , said Shah Mahmoud Meyakhil , provincial governor , adding there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the prison .
The government announced yesterday that it was planning to distribute bread amongst the poor across the country with around two million Afghans losing their jobs due to the pandemic .
However , the heath ministry raised concerns that the distribution of bread through bakeries will even worsen the situation .
“ Some bread is being distributed in the bakeries , but more people gathering .
It has more disadvantages than advantages because the virus is spreading rapidly , ” said Wahidullah Mayar , a spokesman for the health ministry .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than a dozen wounded yesterday in a protest went violent against the unfair distribution of aid to those affected by coronavirus in central Ghor province of Afghanistan .
Interior ministry spokesman said two police officers and four civilians were killed , including a journalist .
The country ’ s vice president apologised for the incident and said will investigate that .
“ I want the countrymen of Ghor to keep calm , we will investigate the case seriously .
I apologies for the incompetence of the management .
Forgive us ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Mattha Busby (now); Nazia Parveen and Eleanor Ainge Roy (earlier)


theguardian--2020-05-10--Veep impact: battle to be Joe Biden's running mate plays out in public

Traditionally , American presidential candidates pick vice-presidential running mates largely in secret , outside the view of the public or even members of their own party so as to maximize news value – and not offend those passed over for the job .
But in 2020 – during a campaign already driven mostly online due to the coronavirus pandemic – Joe Biden ’ s quest to make a vice-presidential pick has been an unusually open , vocal and public audition , both within the campaign and outside it .
A range of organizations and political figures have either covertly or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as his running mate and vice-presidential nominee .
“ We know now that the VP selection committee has been named and they ’ re starting to meet , ” said Aimee Allison , co-founder of the She The People outside group .
Allison and her group want to see Biden pick a woman of color – which has matched some of Biden ’ s allusions to what he is looking for in a running mate .
“ This is our moment , this is a make-or-break moment for the Democrats , so we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both show the strategic wisdom and how valuable it would be to have the enthusiasm of women of color.
” The most commonly mentioned names for Biden ’ s running mate are the California senator Kamala Harris , Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer , former Georgia state house minority leader Stacey Abrams , Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren .
They have all emerged on the national stage in the last 10 years – as opposed to Biden who has been on the scene for decades .
Publicly or privately they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offer to be vice-president .
Allies of those Democrats as well as potential Biden running mates have tried to tip the scales in their favor publicly and privately .
But those efforts have varied .
“ Obviously Abrams is doing a sort of a different strategy – much more aggressively vying for it whereas Warren ’ s people have been much more low-key about vying for it , ” said Sean McElwee , a liberal activist and co-founder of the Data for Progress thinktank .
Biden himself has openly described some of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has vowed to pick a woman .
The former vice-president and presumptive Democratic nominee on multiple occasions has said he ’ s looking for someone who is naturally “ simpatico with me ” adding “ who is a real partner in progress and is ready to be president on a moment ’ s notice ” .
“ There are a lot of women out there with the experience to do that job , ” Biden said during a fundraiser in late April .
As many as a dozen candidates have been mentioned as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important as he has begun framing himself as a “ transition candidate ” who would bridge high office to the next generation of Democratic and liberal lawmakers .
That suggests that Biden ’ s running mate could be a strong contender to run for president as soon as 2024 if Biden won the 2020 presidential election and opted to serve only one term .
Harris , Whitmer and Klobuchar have all done fundraisers for Biden or been guests on his podcast , where the former vice-president interviews them .
Influential Democratic party figures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stars , such as the Nevada senator Catherine Cortez-Masto or Florida congresswoman Val Demmings .
Abrams has been the most overt in her eagerness to be considered .
In interviews she has repeatedly said Biden would benefit from having her as a running mate and that she would accept an offer .
.
Lauren Groh-Wargo , a top aide for Abrams and her former campaign manager , penned a New York Times op-ed titled Stacey Abrams Knows the Secret to Winning the White House .
Abrams herself wrote an article for Foreign Affairs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus pandemic .
There is a long history in American politics of politicians trying to demonstrate foreign policy knowledge to show well-rounded qualifications for the White House .
Donors and allies of Abrams have also been encouraging Biden and his team to strongly consider choosing her .
Among liberal outside groups and grassroots , Abrams and Warren are the favored candidates .
A poll commissioned by Way to Win , a women-run group of Democratic donors , suggested that Abrams would be the best running mate for Biden .
A recent tracking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the clear lead among a list of about a dozen potential picks .
Our Revolution , the outside group aligned with the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders , conducted a poll of its members and found members “ overwhelmingly ” preferred Warren .
“ For progressives there ’ s really two options it ’ s either Warren or Abrams as the top pick , ” McElwee said .
Sara Nelson , the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants , has been an outspoken proponent of Biden picking Warren as his running mate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the way to boost turnout Democrats need .
“ We need to turn out an inspired and engaged electorate and the way to do that is to bring together a coalition of voters that we ’ ve never seen before , ” Nelson said .
Nelson warned that without support from liberal activists and grassroots progressives who back Warren or other members of that wing , Democrats could lose to Trump in November .
“ I think it ’ s a problem because we need that energy , ” Nelson said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ seems “ pretty pragmatic ” about that .
But other Democrats have argued that picking a liberal darling like Warren would undercut Biden ’ s chances of winning over conservative voters open to voting for someone other than Trump .
Less a favorite of progressive activists , Whitmer has been catapulted into the national spotlight partially because of her handling of the coronavirus pandemic .
She has publicly said she would accept and has kept in contact with the former vice-president .
The ties between Biden and Whitmer go back before the 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 2018 Michigan Democratic primary for governor .
When the two were discussing Whitmer endorsing Biden in the presidential race , part of the discussion veered to how Biden would approach picking a running mate if he won the nomination , according to a Democrat with knowledge of those conversations .
Other major Democratic party figures have been pushing Biden to consider other candidates .
The former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has strongly encouraged Biden to consider Senator Cortez-Masto , a favorite for some Hispanic Democrats , according to two Democrats with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clyburn has encouraged Biden to pick an African American woman like Harris or a lesser-known figure like the former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice .
Influential Democratic donors have voiced support for Harris or Demmings .
Harris allies have also been pushing Biden aides and allies to consider Harris .
Rumblings about Harris ’ s prospects as a potential vice-presidential pick for Biden began immediately after she dropped out of the Democratic primary , with some Democrats saying she ended her campaign partially to preserve her chances of being selected for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interest groups , operatives and lawmakers pushing various candidates or types of candidates , arguably the strongest has been the push for Biden to pick an African American woman as a running mate .
A group of 200 women recently signed a letter urging Biden to pick a black women as his running mate .
“ Choosing a white running mate right now is not a safe choice .
It doesn ’ t broaden the coalition , ” Allison , who signed the letter , said .
“ The safe choice is to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vital parts of the electorate , who pulls together a multiracial coalition and gets people to the polls .
”

Traditionally, American presidential candidates pick vice-presidential running mates largely in secret, outside the view of the public or even members of their own party so as to maximize news value – and not offend those passed over for the job.
But in 2020 – during a campaign already driven mostly online due to the coronavirus pandemic – Joe Biden’s quest to make a vice-presidential pick has been an unusually open, vocal and public audition, both within the campaign and outside it.
A range of organizations and political figures have either covertly or overtly told Biden who he should pick as his running mate and vice-presidential nominee.
“We know now that the VP selection committee has been named and they’re starting to meet,” said Aimee Allison, co-founder of the She The People outside group.
Allison and her group want to see Biden pick a woman of color – which has matched some of Biden’s allusions to what he is looking for in a running mate. “This is our moment, this is a make-or-break moment for the Democrats, so we’re doing everything we can to both show the strategic wisdom and how valuable it would be to have the enthusiasm of women of color.”
The most commonly mentioned names for Biden’s running mate are the California senator Kamala Harris, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, former Georgia state house minority leader Stacey Abrams, Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. They have all emerged on the national stage in the last 10 years – as opposed to Biden who has been on the scene for decades.
Publicly or privately they have all expressed openness to accepting an offer to be vice-president. Allies of those Democrats as well as potential Biden running mates have tried to tip the scales in their favor publicly and privately. But those efforts have varied.
“Obviously Abrams is doing a sort of a different strategy – much more aggressively vying for it whereas Warren’s people have been much more low-key about vying for it,” said Sean McElwee, a liberal activist and co-founder of the Data for Progress thinktank.
Biden himself has openly described some of the criteria he is looking for. He has vowed to pick a woman. The former vice-president and presumptive Democratic nominee on multiple occasions has said he’s looking for someone who is naturally “simpatico with me” adding “who is a real partner in progress and is ready to be president on a moment’s notice”.
“There are a lot of women out there with the experience to do that job,” Biden said during a fundraiser in late April.
Stacey Abrams has been the most upfront about her willingness to serve as Joe Biden’s running mate. Photograph: Michael McCoy/Reuters
As many as a dozen candidates have been mentioned as serious candidates. His selection is especially important as he has begun framing himself as a “transition candidate” who would bridge high office to the next generation of Democratic and liberal lawmakers. That suggests that Biden’s running mate could be a strong contender to run for president as soon as 2024 if Biden won the 2020 presidential election and opted to serve only one term.
Harris, Whitmer and Klobuchar have all done fundraisers for Biden or been guests on his podcast, where the former vice-president interviews them. Influential Democratic party figures have pushed Biden to consider other rising stars, such as the Nevada senator Catherine Cortez-Masto or Florida congresswoman Val Demmings.
Abrams has been the most overt in her eagerness to be considered. In interviews she has repeatedly said Biden would benefit from having her as a running mate and that she would accept an offer. . Lauren Groh-Wargo, a top aide for Abrams and her former campaign manager, penned a New York Times op-ed titled Stacey Abrams Knows the Secret to Winning the White House.
Abrams herself wrote an article for Foreign Affairs critiquing Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. There is a long history in American politics of politicians trying to demonstrate foreign policy knowledge to show well-rounded qualifications for the White House.
Donors and allies of Abrams have also been encouraging Biden and his team to strongly consider choosing her.
Among liberal outside groups and grassroots, Abrams and Warren are the favored candidates. A poll commissioned by Way to Win, a women-run group of Democratic donors, suggested that Abrams would be the best running mate for Biden.
A recent tracking poll commissioned by MoveOn found Warren with the clear lead among a list of about a dozen potential picks. Our Revolution, the outside group aligned with the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, conducted a poll of its members and found members “overwhelmingly” preferred Warren.
“For progressives there’s really two options it’s either Warren or Abrams as the top pick,” McElwee said.
Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, has been an outspoken proponent of Biden picking Warren as his running mate. She argued that a progressive favorite is the way to boost turnout Democrats need.
“We need to turn out an inspired and engaged electorate and the way to do that is to bring together a coalition of voters that we’ve never seen before,” Nelson said.
Nelson warned that without support from liberal activists and grassroots progressives who back Warren or other members of that wing, Democrats could lose to Trump in November.
“I think it’s a problem because we need that energy,” Nelson said. Nelson said she thinks the Biden campaign seems “pretty pragmatic” about that.
But other Democrats have argued that picking a liberal darling like Warren would undercut Biden’s chances of winning over conservative voters open to voting for someone other than Trump.
Gretchen Whitmer has gained publicity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Photograph: Al Goldis/AP
Less a favorite of progressive activists, Whitmer has been catapulted into the national spotlight partially because of her handling of the coronavirus pandemic. She has publicly said she would accept and has kept in contact with the former vice-president. The ties between Biden and Whitmer go back before the 2020 presidential race. He endorsed her during the 2018 Michigan Democratic primary for governor. When the two were discussing Whitmer endorsing Biden in the presidential race, part of the discussion veered to how Biden would approach picking a running mate if he won the nomination, according to a Democrat with knowledge of those conversations.
Other major Democratic party figures have been pushing Biden to consider other candidates. The former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has strongly encouraged Biden to consider Senator Cortez-Masto, a favorite for some Hispanic Democrats, according to two Democrats with knowledge of those conversations.
Congressman Jim Clyburn has encouraged Biden to pick an African American woman like Harris or a lesser-known figure like the former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice. Influential Democratic donors have voiced support for Harris or Demmings. Harris allies have also been pushing Biden aides and allies to consider Harris.
Rumblings about Harris’s prospects as a potential vice-presidential pick for Biden began immediately after she dropped out of the Democratic primary, with some Democrats saying she ended her campaign partially to preserve her chances of being selected for the eventual ticket.
Of all the interest groups, operatives and lawmakers pushing various candidates or types of candidates, arguably the strongest has been the push for Biden to pick an African American woman as a running mate. A group of 200 women recently signed a letter urging Biden to pick a black women as his running mate.
“Choosing a white running mate right now is not a safe choice. It doesn’t broaden the coalition,” Allison, who signed the letter, said. “The safe choice is to choose a running mate who can attract vital parts of the electorate, who pulls together a multiracial coalition and gets people to the polls.”


theguardian--2020-05-10--'We can't stay home': how America's poorest state is trying to reopen

The boulevard that snakes along the Biloxi coastline marks a crossroads in the city ’ s bid to reopen .
To the north , towering hotels and casinos , lights dim , doors shut – a sign of a once-booming tourist industry that evaporated overnight last month .
To the south , turquoise sea and white sand , hundreds of sunbathers enjoying recently reopened beaches .
In this medium-sized city , known for its hedonistic nightlife and its seafood , most reopening is being done by halves .
Earlier this week , the Republican governor , Tate Reeves , allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retail stores to reopen with restrictions and up to 20 people to gather in groups outside .
But one thing that has shown no sign of relaxing is the state ’ s number of Covid-19 cases .
Three days before the governor ’ s latest guidance , Mississippi announced its highest number of daily cases and deaths .
On Friday the tally stood at 396 deaths – far from the worst in America but certain to rise .
Other states in the south , including Georgia , Texas and Florida , have also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases .
Like many conservative governors , Reeves has taken cues from Donald Trump , who has encouraged states to open in the face of White House taskforce guidance , which states that phased reopening should not commence until a 14-day decrease in the number of coronavirus cases has been seen .
Earlier this week , leaked guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) indicated that the move to open up could lead by 1 June to a daily death toll across America of 3,000 , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate .
In Biloxi , as the sun beat down and gulls squawked , some at the beach seemed to care little about the potentially fatal health outcomes associated with reopening too soon .
Although many practised social distancing , others queued , unmasked and non-distanced , at the Life ’ s a Beach jet ski rental hut .
“ I just don ’ t think we know enough about the virus , ” said Shannon Carrou , an out-of-work casino worker .
“ We can ’ t stay at home forever.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and had travelled 160 miles from central Mississippi , argued without evidence that the death toll had been “ inflated ” .
“ People are going to die , ” he said .
“ Period .
I ’ m sorry .
That ’ s not being cold or unaffected by it , that ’ s just the way things happen .
For people in certain areas to always call on these [ official death toll ] numbers and generate fear just makes people more compliant to do what they ’ re told to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make a decision for themselves.
” A few blocks into the sloped streets that surround the beach front , more nuanced views were easier to come by .
Lee Price , 45 , who moved to the city two years ago to take up stable work as a cook , grimaced as he described the moment a month ago when Reeves announced a stay-at-home order – belatedly in the eyes of many – that led to him losing his job .
Tens of thousands in Biloxi , where 25 % of the economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fate .
“ It was a very scary time , a very uneasy feeling , ” said Price .
“ They sent us all home with boxes of food.
” Mississippi is America ’ s poorest state : before the pandemic , 20 % lived below the poverty line and 600,000 of 2.9 million residents had limited access to healthy food .
Unemployment hit Price , a single father of three living paycheck to paycheck , like a punch to the gut .
Having battled homelessness and addiction , he was reminded of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the phone for hours each day , trying in vain to claim unemployment benefits .
The state employment department has been overwhelmed by an average of 46,000 new claims a week .
Price received a federal stimulus check , a one-off $ 1,200 .
It wasn ’ t enough .
He and his 14-year-old son have taken to mowing lawns for $ 20 a go and rely on the kindness of neighbours .
Price is frank about his desire to return to work , despite the obvious risks .
“ I don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .
“ I have to take care of my family .
I just have to lay my faith in God.
” Biloxi ’ s mayor , Andrew “ FoFo ” Gilich , a Republican , said reopening was being executed responsibly , and argued that the number of coronavirus cases in the area had already fallen .
( He cited no city-specific data , but the county has reported no new deaths in the past week . )
“ The sun is shining , summer is here , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve got things that need to be done in order to maintain our sanity and just our way of life .
“ The cure [ should not ] be worse than the problem , ” Gilich added – echoing a catchphrase Trump has used .
This week , the president acknowledged that reopening was likely to cost more lives .
“ We have to be warriors , ” he said on Wednesday .
“ We can ’ t keep our country closed down for years.
” Not all in Biloxi , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 , feel the same .
Lea Campbell , a frontline healthcare worker and community organizer with the Poor People ’ s Campaign , described the decision to reopen as “ an ideological reflection of putting the economy before public health ” .
“ It ’ s irresponsible and it ’ s unproductive , ” she said .
Campbell is a physical therapist at a hospital , working exclusively with Covid-19 patients , some of whom are recovering from critical illness .
She acknowledged the caseload had gone down in recent days , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the need to keep the city closed down .
“ People are making a willful decision to put other people at risk , and I have seen the consequences of doing that , ” Campbell said , as a gentle breeze wafted over her garden .
“ If they had seen what I have , I think their behaviour would be different .
”

The boulevard that snakes along the Biloxi coastline marks a crossroads in the city’s bid to reopen. To the north, towering hotels and casinos, lights dim, doors shut – a sign of a once-booming tourist industry that evaporated overnight last month. To the south, turquoise sea and white sand, hundreds of sunbathers enjoying recently reopened beaches.
In this medium-sized city, known for its hedonistic nightlife and its seafood, most reopening is being done by halves.
Earlier this week, the Republican governor, Tate Reeves, allowed restaurants to host dining at half-capacity, retail stores to reopen with restrictions and up to 20 people to gather in groups outside.
But one thing that has shown no sign of relaxing is the state’s number of Covid-19 cases. Three days before the governor’s latest guidance, Mississippi announced its highest number of daily cases and deaths. On Friday the tally stood at 396 deaths – far from the worst in America but certain to rise. Other states in the south, including Georgia, Texas and Florida, have also moved to open despite growing numbers of cases.
Like many conservative governors, Reeves has taken cues from Donald Trump, who has encouraged states to open in the face of White House taskforce guidance, which states that phased reopening should not commence until a 14-day decrease in the number of coronavirus cases has been seen.
reopening restaurants Left: Kayla Hester, bartender at the Blind Tiger, pours a drink for a customer on the day restaurants reopened. Right: Ashley Arnold, Derrick Jones and Michael Jones at the bar at the Blind Tiger. Photographs: Bryan Tarnowski/The Guardian
Earlier this week, leaked guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that the move to open up could lead by 1 June to a daily death toll across America of 3,000, an increase of 70% on the current rate.
In Biloxi, as the sun beat down and gulls squawked, some at the beach seemed to care little about the potentially fatal health outcomes associated with reopening too soon. Although many practised social distancing, others queued, unmasked and non-distanced, at the Life’s a Beach jet ski rental hut.
“I just don’t think we know enough about the virus,” said Shannon Carrou, an out-of-work casino worker. “We can’t stay at home forever.”
Mark Bresset, who works in transportation and had travelled 160 miles from central Mississippi, argued without evidence that the death toll had been “inflated”.
“People are going to die,” he said. “Period. I’m sorry. That’s not being cold or unaffected by it, that’s just the way things happen. For people in certain areas to always call on these [official death toll] numbers and generate fear just makes people more compliant to do what they’re told to do rather than be an individual and make a decision for themselves.”
Andrew ‘Fofo’ Gilich, mayor of Biloxi, in the council chamber. Photograph: Bryan Tarnowski/The Guardian
‘A very scary time’
A few blocks into the sloped streets that surround the beach front, more nuanced views were easier to come by.
Lee Price, 45, who moved to the city two years ago to take up stable work as a cook, grimaced as he described the moment a month ago when Reeves announced a stay-at-home order – belatedly in the eyes of many – that led to him losing his job. Tens of thousands in Biloxi, where 25% of the economy depends on tourism, suffered the same fate.
“It was a very scary time, a very uneasy feeling,” said Price. “They sent us all home with boxes of food.”
Mississippi is America’s poorest state: before the pandemic, 20% lived below the poverty line and 600,000 of 2.9 million residents had limited access to healthy food.
I have to take care of my family. I just have to lay my faith in God.
Unemployment hit Price, a single father of three living paycheck to paycheck, like a punch to the gut. Having battled homelessness and addiction, he was reminded of such struggles. He has sat on the phone for hours each day, trying in vain to claim unemployment benefits. The state employment department has been overwhelmed by an average of 46,000 new claims a week. Price received a federal stimulus check, a one-off $1,200. It wasn’t enough.
He and his 14-year-old son have taken to mowing lawns for $20 a go and rely on the kindness of neighbours. Price is frank about his desire to return to work, despite the obvious risks.
“I don’t have time to worry about it,” he said. “I have to take care of my family. I just have to lay my faith in God.”
‘The sun is shining, summer is here’
the beach Right: Residents can now go to the beach in groups of 20 or smaller. Left: A sign at a beach explains that groups of 20 or less are permitted. Those not following social distancing rules provided by the CDC can be fined $500 or put in jail for six months. Photographs by Bryan Tarnowski/The Guardian
Biloxi’s mayor, Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, a Republican, said reopening was being executed responsibly, and argued that the number of coronavirus cases in the area had already fallen. (He cited no city-specific data, but the county has reported no new deaths in the past week.)
“The sun is shining, summer is here,” he said. “You know, I’ve got things that need to be done in order to maintain our sanity and just our way of life.
“The cure [should not] be worse than the problem,” Gilich added – echoing a catchphrase Trump has used.
This week, the president acknowledged that reopening was likely to cost more lives.
“We have to be warriors,” he said on Wednesday. “We can’t keep our country closed down for years.”
Not all in Biloxi, which voted 64% for Trump in 2016, feel the same.
Lea Campbell, a frontline healthcare worker and community organizer with the Poor People’s Campaign, described the decision to reopen as “an ideological reflection of putting the economy before public health”.
“It’s irresponsible and it’s unproductive,” she said.
Lea Campbell, a physical therapist working in a Covid-19 unit at her hospital, at her home in Ocean Springs. Photograph: Bryan Tarnowski/The Guardian
Campbell is a physical therapist at a hospital, working exclusively with Covid-19 patients, some of whom are recovering from critical illness. She acknowledged the caseload had gone down in recent days, but argued that the lull should reinforce the need to keep the city closed down.
“People are making a willful decision to put other people at risk, and I have seen the consequences of doing that,” Campbell said, as a gentle breeze wafted over her garden. “If they had seen what I have, I think their behaviour would be different.”