theguardian--2020-06-26--The secretive government agency planting 'cyanide bombs' across the US

The call came over Tony Manu ’ s police radio one March day in 2017 : some sort of pipe had exploded in the hills outside Pocatello , Idaho and the son of a well-known local doctor was hurt , or worse .
Manu , a long-time detective with the county sheriff ’ s office , was shocked .
A pipe bomb in Pocatello ?
“ We were like , ‘ Holy shit , ’ ” says Manu .
He hit the gas and screeched up winding mountain roads outside of town .
“ I thought maybe [ the victim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That is what it sounded like.
” At the home of Dr Mansfield and his family , he found a frightening scene .
On the driveway , just outside the sprawling timbered house , the family ’ s dog , Kasey , was dead .
Inside the home , Canyon Mansfield , 14 years old , the youngest of three children , was sobbing .
His head was pounding and his eyes were burning – he needed to go to the emergency room .
Manu soon pieced together the story .
While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home , Canyon and his dog had stumbled upon a strange device that sprayed them in the face with a dose of of sodium cyanide .
The boy managed to quickly clean the poison out of his eyes , but the dog collapsed and started convulsing .
As Kasey lay dying on the hillside , Dr Mansfield had wanted to give Kasey CPR , but Canyon told him that if he did , he ’ d ingest the deadly stuff himself .
It didn ’ t take detective Manu and his team of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there .
The so-called cyanide bomb was not the work of some rogue actor or terrorist cell .
It had been installed by a federal employee on official business .
“ The United States government put a cyanide bomb 350ft from my house , and killed my dog and poisoned my child , ” said Theresa Mansfield , Canyon ’ s mother .
More than three years later , she and her husband are in the midst of a legal and political campaign to hold the government accountable and ban the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m after justice , ” she said .
If you haven ’ t heard of the US agency that placed the bomb , you ’ re not alone .
Its name is Wildlife Services , and for years it has operated in relative obscurity , with limited oversight from Congress or the American public .
Housed in the Department of Agriculture , the agency primarily works on behalf of private ranchers and farmers , killing coyotes , wolves , bears , birds and other creatures that cause problems for agricultural interests .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ native animals , and a huge number of invasive animals as well .
Sometimes its agents shoot wolves or coyotes from helicopters .
Sometimes they employ leg traps and snares .
And sometimes they place poison devices on public and private land .
M-44s , also known as “ cyanide bombs ” , are baited and spring-loaded tubes that spray an orange plume of cyanide powder when triggered .
Aimed at coyotes and other canids that predate livestock , they killed 6,500 animals in 2018 alone .
Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has described the agency as more secretive than the Department of Homeland Security .
“ I served on the homeland security committee for a decade , and Wildlife Services , so called , is more opaque than some of our intelligence agencies , ” said DeFazio .
“ Basically , in some cases , it is rogue.
” He said that the agency , which has a century-long history and roughly 2,000 employees , is highly decentralized .
State offices like the one in Idaho basically “ run themselves ” , with little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington .
Even local law enforcement agencies are sometimes unaware of the extent of the agency ’ s activities in their jurisdictions .
“ I am telling you , I was in the total dark , ” said Lorin Nielsen , the longtime sheriff of Bannock county , whose team of detectives responded to the Mansfield poisoning .
“ I had no idea [ Wildlife Services ] existed and why they existed and it still boggles me.
” He said he was never notified that the agency was placing cyanide bombs in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even existed .
Supporters of the agency include influential agriculture organizations .
The American Sheep Industry Association has called the M-44 a “ critical tool ” that has a “ proven track record of protecting livestock and the environment ” .
Wildlife Services declined to comment on the Mansfield case to the Guardian , and the agency only provided a link to a webpage in response to numerous questions concerning M-44s .
In the past the agency , has said that it is committed “ to safe and responsible use of these devices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says the use of cyanide bombs , and the agency that administers them , is out of control .
Theresa Mansfield is still furious about what Wildlife Services did to Canyon and Kasey , and takes every opportunity to make her feelings known .
On a late afternoon last September , she hopped behind the wheel of her white SUV , drove into downtown Pocatello , and parked in front of a squat , nondescript brick building called the Pocatello Supply Depot .
The building ’ s unassuming name belies its purpose .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ barbed wire fencing , the facility is a federally owned warehouse and the key producer of M-44s in the US .
The trapper that placed the devices behind the Mansfield family home , at the behest of a sheep rancher , regularly ordered sodium cyanide capsules from the depot , according to records reviewed by the Guardian .
After arriving at the supply depot that day , Theresa Mansfield got out of her car and marched to the building ’ s front door .
Just then , a man in jeans and boots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the depot entrance .
Before he could get inside , Mansfield confronted the stranger and offered him a piece of her mind .
“ You here to pick up cyanide bombs ?
” she asked the man , who seemed taken aback by the question .
The man smiled awkwardly , laughed , and said yes .
“ I ’ m serious , ” she said , her voice rising .
“ You killed my dog and you almost killed my kid !
” The man hurried into the depot without uttering another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Mansfields have waged a crusade of sorts against Wildlife Service and its killing practices , including filing a lawsuit against the agency in federal court in Idaho .
They are seeking monetary damages , a public apology – and above all else , a ban on “ cyanide bombs ” nationwide .
Wildlife Services has been mostly quiet about the litigation , though lawyers representing the agency initially responded to the Mansfield lawsuit by blaming the family for the tragic M-44 incident , before walking back that position .
Still , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rising tide of anti-cyanide-bomb sentiment .
After the Mansfields traveled to Washington to meet lawmakers , the agency ’ s top official in Idaho sent news coverage of the visit to his colleagues , in an email obtained by the Guardian .
In a separate email exchange in June 2018 , a representative of the Idaho Wool Growers Association emailed the official , Todd Grimm , with a number of new clippings concerning the Mansfields .
“ One of the articles below is about M-44 , ” the wool representative wrote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ # MeToo , ” Grimm replied , using the hashtag employed by opponents of sexual harassment .
Public concern about Wildlife Services ’ practices has been growing for years .
According to a list of incidents compiled by the environmental group Predator Defense , roughly 40 domestic pets have been killed by M-44s across the country since 2000 , and numerous humans have been exposed .
“ M-44s are indiscriminate killers and a public safety menace , ” said Brooks Fahy , the executive director of Predator Defense , who is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key ally of the Mansfields .
Yet the Mansfields and their allies in the wildlife conservation community appear to be moving the needle .
In response to the Pocatello incident , Wildlife Services agreed in 2017 to impose a moratorium on the use of M-44s in Idaho , and last year , Oregon became the first state in the nation to pass a law that bans M-44s within its boundaries .
Conservation organizations are also suing to force an environmental review of the Pocatello Supply Depot .
In May 2019 , DeFazio and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , dubbed “ Canyon ’ s Law ” , that seeks to ban cyanide bombs nationwide .
Jeff Merkley of Oregon has introduced a companion bill in the Senate .
“ I do not like the idea that if I am wandering on public land or my children are wandering on it or my wife , that we can stumble across and be poisoned by an exploding cyanide device or that our dog might be killed , ” said Merkley .
M-44s are “ something that impinges on the ability of all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to safely enjoy them ” .
Such efforts are running up against inertia – M-44s continue to be used in roughly a dozen states across the nation – and the Trump administration .
In December 2019 , the Environmental Protection Agency reauthorized the use of cyanide bombs nationwide .
Canyon ’ s Law is currently stalled in Congress .
But in an era of rising environmental consciousness , many advocates feel that public sentiment is shifting away from the sort of lethal predator-control practices that Wildlife Services embodies .
And public sentiment is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Mansfield case , said Fahy , “ was the game-changer , it was the tipping point ” .
Canyon Mansfield still sometimes feels sad and guilty over the loss of Kasey .
He gets the occasional crippling migraine , as well as a strange numbness in his hands that he never experienced before his exposure to sodium cyanide .
But , as he prepares to head to college next year , he ’ s certain his family will prevail .
“ We are going to find a way to keep [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said , “ until we get this done .
”

The call came over Tony Manu’s police radio one March day in 2017: some sort of pipe had exploded in the hills outside Pocatello, Idaho and the son of a well-known local doctor was hurt, or worse.
Manu, a long-time detective with the county sheriff’s office, was shocked. A pipe bomb in Pocatello?
“We were like, ‘Holy shit,’” says Manu. He hit the gas and screeched up winding mountain roads outside of town. “I thought maybe [the victim] was missing a leg or something. That is what it sounded like.”
At the home of Dr Mansfield and his family, he found a frightening scene. On the driveway, just outside the sprawling timbered house, the family’s dog, Kasey, was dead. Inside the home, Canyon Mansfield, 14 years old, the youngest of three children, was sobbing. His head was pounding and his eyes were burning – he needed to go to the emergency room.
Manu soon pieced together the story. While playing in the woods behind the family home, Canyon and his dog had stumbled upon a strange device that sprayed them in the face with a dose of of sodium cyanide. The boy managed to quickly clean the poison out of his eyes, but the dog collapsed and started convulsing. As Kasey lay dying on the hillside, Dr Mansfield had wanted to give Kasey CPR, but Canyon told him that if he did, he’d ingest the deadly stuff himself.
It didn’t take detective Manu and his team of investigators long to uncover how it got there. The so-called cyanide bomb was not the work of some rogue actor or terrorist cell. It had been installed by a federal employee on official business.
“The United States government put a cyanide bomb 350ft from my house, and killed my dog and poisoned my child,” said Theresa Mansfield, Canyon’s mother.
More than three years later, she and her husband are in the midst of a legal and political campaign to hold the government accountable and ban the use of cyanide bombs nationwide. “I’m after justice,” she said.
If you haven’t heard of the US agency that placed the bomb, you’re not alone.
Its name is Wildlife Services, and for years it has operated in relative obscurity, with limited oversight from Congress or the American public. Housed in the Department of Agriculture, the agency primarily works on behalf of private ranchers and farmers, killing coyotes, wolves, bears, birds and other creatures that cause problems for agricultural interests. In 2018, it exterminated nearly 1.5 million native animals, and a huge number of invasive animals as well.
Sometimes its agents shoot wolves or coyotes from helicopters. Sometimes they employ leg traps and snares. And sometimes they place poison devices on public and private land. M-44s, also known as “cyanide bombs”, are baited and spring-loaded tubes that spray an orange plume of cyanide powder when triggered. Aimed at coyotes and other canids that predate livestock, they killed 6,500 animals in 2018 alone.
Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon, a long-time critic of Wildlife Services, has described the agency as more secretive than the Department of Homeland Security.
Canyon Mansfield with his dog Kasey. Photograph: Theresa Mansfield
“I served on the homeland security committee for a decade, and Wildlife Services, so called, is more opaque than some of our intelligence agencies,” said DeFazio. “Basically, in some cases, it is rogue.” He said that the agency, which has a century-long history and roughly 2,000 employees, is highly decentralized. State offices like the one in Idaho basically “run themselves”, with little transparency or accountability to elected officials in Washington.
Even local law enforcement agencies are sometimes unaware of the extent of the agency’s activities in their jurisdictions.
“I am telling you, I was in the total dark,” said Lorin Nielsen, the longtime sheriff of Bannock county, whose team of detectives responded to the Mansfield poisoning. “I had no idea [Wildlife Services] existed and why they existed and it still boggles me.” He said he was never notified that the agency was placing cyanide bombs in his community, or that such a thing even existed.
Supporters of the agency include influential agriculture organizations. The American Sheep Industry Association has called the M-44 a “critical tool” that has a “proven track record of protecting livestock and the environment”.
Wildlife Services declined to comment on the Mansfield case to the Guardian, and the agency only provided a link to a webpage in response to numerous questions concerning M-44s. In the past the agency, has said that it is committed “to safe and responsible use of these devices”.
But a chorus of critics says the use of cyanide bombs, and the agency that administers them, is out of control.
Theresa Mansfield is still furious about what Wildlife Services did to Canyon and Kasey, and takes every opportunity to make her feelings known.
On a late afternoon last September, she hopped behind the wheel of her white SUV, drove into downtown Pocatello, and parked in front of a squat, nondescript brick building called the Pocatello Supply Depot. The building’s unassuming name belies its purpose.
Equipped with security cameras and surrounded by barbed wire fencing, the facility is a federally owned warehouse and the key producer of M-44s in the US. The trapper that placed the devices behind the Mansfield family home, at the behest of a sheep rancher, regularly ordered sodium cyanide capsules from the depot, according to records obtained by the Western Watersheds Project, a conservation group, and reviewed by the Guardian.
After arriving at the supply depot that day, Theresa Mansfield got out of her car and marched to the building’s front door. Just then, a man in jeans and boots appeared from around the corner and approached the depot entrance. Before he could get inside, Mansfield confronted the stranger and offered him a piece of her mind.
“You here to pick up cyanide bombs?” she asked the man, who seemed taken aback by the question.
The man smiled awkwardly, laughed, and said yes.
“Don’t kill anyone,” Mansfield replied.
Again, the man laughed nervously.
“I’m serious,” she said, her voice rising. “You killed my dog and you almost killed my kid!”
The man hurried into the depot without uttering another word.
Ever since the poisoning, the Mansfields have waged a crusade of sorts against Wildlife Service and its killing practices, including filing a lawsuit against the agency in federal court in Idaho. They are seeking monetary damages, a public apology – and above all else, a ban on “cyanide bombs” nationwide.
We are going to find a way to keep Wildlife Services up at night – until we get this done Canyon Mansfield
Wildlife Services has been mostly quiet about the litigation, though lawyers representing the agency initially responded to the Mansfield lawsuit by blaming the family for the tragic M-44 incident, before walking back that position.
Still, the agency seems to be keenly aware of the rising tide of anti-cyanide-bomb sentiment. After the Mansfields traveled to Washington to meet lawmakers, the agency’s top official in Idaho sent news coverage of the visit to his colleagues, in an email obtained by the Guardian.
In a separate email exchange in June 2018, a representative of the Idaho Wool Growers Association emailed the official, Todd Grimm, with a number of new clippings concerning the Mansfields.
“One of the articles below is about M-44,” the wool representative wrote. “These people are driving me crazy.”
“#MeToo,” Grimm replied, using the hashtag employed by opponents of sexual harassment.
Public concern about Wildlife Services’ practices has been growing for years. According to a list of incidents compiled by the environmental group Predator Defense, roughly 40 domestic pets have been killed by M-44s across the country since 2000, and numerous humans have been exposed.
“M-44s are indiscriminate killers and a public safety menace,” said Brooks Fahy, the executive director of Predator Defense, who is a leading opponent of M-44s and a key ally of the Mansfields.
Fahy and Theresa Mansfield at the Pocatello Supply Depot. Photograph: Jimmy Tobias
Yet the Mansfields and their allies in the wildlife conservation community appear to be moving the needle. In response to the Pocatello incident, Wildlife Services agreed in 2017 to impose a moratorium on the use of M-44s in Idaho, and last year, Oregon became the first state in the nation to pass a law that bans M-44s within its boundaries. Conservation organizations are also suing to force an environmental review of the Pocatello Supply Depot.
In May 2019, DeFazio and Republican congressman Matt Gaetz re-introduced a bill, dubbed “Canyon’s Law”, that seeks to ban cyanide bombs nationwide. Jeff Merkley of Oregon has introduced a companion bill in the Senate.
“I do not like the idea that if I am wandering on public land or my children are wandering on it or my wife, that we can stumble across and be poisoned by an exploding cyanide device or that our dog might be killed,” said Merkley. M-44s are “something that impinges on the ability of all of us who are co-owners of public lands to safely enjoy them”.
Such efforts are running up against inertia – M-44s continue to be used in roughly a dozen states across the nation – and the Trump administration. In December 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency reauthorized the use of cyanide bombs nationwide. Canyon’s Law is currently stalled in Congress.
But in an era of rising environmental consciousness, many advocates feel that public sentiment is shifting away from the sort of lethal predator-control practices that Wildlife Services embodies. And public sentiment is the key to reforming such an agency. The Mansfield case, said Fahy, “was the game-changer, it was the tipping point”.
Canyon Mansfield still sometimes feels sad and guilty over the loss of Kasey. He gets the occasional crippling migraine, as well as a strange numbness in his hands that he never experienced before his exposure to sodium cyanide. But, as he prepares to head to college next year, he’s certain his family will prevail.
“We are going to find a way to keep [Wildlife Services] up at night,” he said, “until we get this done.”


theguardian--2020-06-26--Pinocchio Pence casts off reality and insists everything's under control | David Smith's sketch

Mike Pence is the guy you ’ d want in your foxhole .
You might be out of ammo , bleeding profusely and about to be run over by a tank , but the hard-praying vice-president would assure you that total victory is assured and it will all be over by Christmas .
The Baghdad Bob of Washington was on top form on Friday , reassuring an anguished nation that up is down , square is round and an all-time high of daily coronavirus infections is proof positive that America has flattened the curve .
Sans face mask , Pence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ task force briefing in nearly two months – not at the White House at all but at the health department , a sign of diminished status since the halcyon days when Donald Trump pondered the efficacy of bleach .
The vice-president will have impressed his boss with his truthiness .
“ We have made truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward , ” Pence declared , against a backdrop of nearly 2.5m infections and 125,000 deaths , the worst tallies on the planet .
“ As we stand here today , all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country are opening up safely and responsibly.
” Pinocchio !
On Friday Texas , where cases have topped 130,000 , became the first state to reimpose a lockdown that had previously been lifted .
Florida closed down bars after a record one-day high of 8,942 infections .
“ We slowed the spread , we flattened the curve , we saved lives , ” Pence went on , a day after America saw a record 40,000 new cases nationwide .
“ There may be a tendency among Americans to think we ’ re in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hardship on the American people , like we were two months ago .
But in reality , we ’ re in a much better place.
” Yes , Pence admitted , we are now seeing cases “ rise precipitously across the south ” , but always look on the bright side of life : “ Thirty-four states across the country … are experiencing a measure of stability.
” He echoed Trump by claiming “ it ’ s almost inarguable that more testing is generating more cases ” .
But experts have noted that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases shows that this does not explain away the rates .
Pence was questioned over why Trump is still holding campaign rallies , Paula Reid of CBS News asking : “ You ’ re telling people to listen to local officials , but in Tulsa you defied them to have an event that resulted in dozen of people being quarantined .
How can you say the campaign isn ’ t part of the problem ?
” His response was like Alexa or Siri defaulting to a programmed response and thereby satisfying no one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the constitution of the United States and , even in a health crisis , the American people don ’ t forfeit our constitutional rights.
” Drs Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci , who had been virtually banished from the public gaze like embarrassing relatives , returned to action with masks and sobering graphics .
Fauci offered a reality check : “ We are facing a serious problem in certain areas.
” But health secretary Alex Azar decided to rival Pence in the sycophancy stakes , somehow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victory ” .
Trump has been described as the worst possible person to lead America through this crisis .
Friday was a reminder that Pence may be the second worst .
When in February he was appointed head of the taskforce , Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez noted his failures to tackle HIV as governor of Indiana and tweeted : “ Mike Pence literally does not believe in science.
” Pence once claimed the pandemic in the US would be “ behind us ” by Memorial Day – 25 May .
At the latest briefing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secret plan : “ Pray , and keep praying.
” The response of public health experts was duly withering .
Dr Irwin Redlener of Columbia University told MSNBC : “ George Orwell could have called his book 2020 as opposed to 1984 .
It was a stunning example of misrepresenting reality .
”

Mike Pence is the guy you’d want in your foxhole. You might be out of ammo, bleeding profusely and about to be run over by a tank, but the hard-praying vice-president would assure you that total victory is assured and it will all be over by Christmas.
The Baghdad Bob of Washington was in top form on Friday, reassuring an anguished nation that up is down, square is round and an all-time high of daily coronavirus infections is proof positive that America has flattened the curve.
Sans face mask, Pence was holding his first White House coronavirus task force briefing in nearly two months – not at the White House at all but at the health department, a sign of diminished status since the halcyon days when Donald Trump pondered the efficacy of bleach.
The vice-president will have impressed his boss with his truthiness.
“We have made truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward,” Pence declared, against a backdrop of nearly 2.5m infections and 125,000 deaths, the worst tallies on the planet. “As we stand here today, all 50 states and the territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly.”
George Orwell could have called his book 2020 as opposed to 1984 Dr Irvin Redlener
Pinocchio! On Friday Texas, where cases have topped 130,000, became the first state to reimpose a lockdown that had previously been lifted. Florida closed down bars after a record one-day high of 8,942 infections.
“We slowed the spread, we flattened the curve, we saved lives,” Pence went on, a day after America saw a record 40,000 new cases nationwide. “There may be a tendency among Americans to think we’re in a time of great losses and great hardship on the American people, like we were two months ago. But in reality, we’re in a much better place.”
Yes, Pence admitted, we are now seeing cases “rise precipitously across the south”, but always look on the bright side of life: “Thirty-four states across the country … are experiencing a measure of stability.”
He echoed Trump by claiming “it’s almost inarguable that more testing is generating more cases”. But experts have noted that a rise in the percentage of positive cases shows that this does not explain away the rates.
05:28 From miracle cures to slowing testing: how Trump has defied science on coronavirus – video explainer
Pence was questioned over why Trump is still holding campaign rallies, Paula Reid of CBS News asking: “You’re telling people to listen to local officials, but in Tulsa you defied them to have an event that resulted in dozen of people being quarantined. How can you say the campaign isn’t part of the problem?”
His response was like Alexa or Siri defaulting to a programmed response and thereby satisfying no one: “Freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the constitution of the United States and, even in a health crisis, the American people don’t forfeit our constitutional rights.”
Doctors Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci, who had been virtually banished from the public gaze like embarrassing relatives, returned to action with masks and sobering graphics. Fauci offered a reality check: “We are facing a serious problem in certain areas.”
But health secretary Alex Azar decided to rival Pence in the sycophancy stakes, somehow conjuring the phrase “major public health victory”.
Trump has been described as the worst possible person to lead America through this crisis. Friday was a reminder that Pence may be the second worst. When in February he was appointed head of the taskforce, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez noted his failures to tackle HIV as governor of Indiana and tweeted: “Mike Pence literally does not believe in science.”
Pence once claimed the pandemic in the US would be “behind us” by Memorial Day – 25 May. At the latest briefing, the devout Christian finally revealed his secret plan: “Pray, and keep praying.”
The response of public health experts was duly withering. Dr Irwin Redlener of Columbia University told MSNBC: “George Orwell could have called his book 2020 as opposed to 1984. It was a stunning example of misrepresenting reality.”


theguardian--2020-06-26--US coronavirus cases hit new one-day high as states backtrack on reopening

The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the US hit an all-time high of 40,000 Thursday , according to figures released by Johns Hopkins on Friday , eclipsing the mark first set during one of the deadliest stretches in late April .
It ’ s a resurgence that has led some governors to backtrack or at least pause the reopening of their states .
The news came as the governor of Texas ordered the closing of all bars again and scaled back restaurant dining , in the biggest retreat yet by any state after business reopening .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ also announcing bars immediately have to stop serving alcohol .
Halsey Beshears , the head of Florida ’ s department of business and professional regulatinon , said the policy would be in effect “ immediately.
” The announcement came less than an hour after the Florida department of health reported that the state confirmed 8,942 new cases of coronavirus yesterday , breaking a record set earlier this week .
The Florida health department also reported a frightening rise in the rate of positive test results .
On Thursday , 13.1 % of test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 8.9 % on Wednesday , confounding Donald Trump ’ s recent assertions , repeated on Thursday , that “ if you did not do testing , you would not have cases ” .
On Thursday , Texas had paused its reopening process and was swiftly followed by Arizona , as both states saw a surge of new infections .
Florida and California are also seeing record increases .
While the national increase is believed to reflect , in part , greatly expanded testing , experts say there is ample evidence the virus is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and hospitalizations in parts of the country , especially in the south and west .
The number of confirmed infections soared past the previous high set on 24 Aprilof 36,400 , according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University .
Deaths from the coronavirus in the US are down to around 600 per day , compared with about 2,200 in mid-April .
Some experts have expressed doubt that deaths will return to that level , in part because of advances in treatment and prevention but also because a large share of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who are more likely than older ones to survive , although officials have warned that younger people are at risk of then passing the virus on to older friends and relatives who will be less resilient .
The virus is blamed for 124,000 deaths in the US and 2.4m confirmed infections nationwide , by Johns Hopkins ’ count .
But US health officials said on Thursday that the true number of Americans infected is about 20 million , or almost 10 times higher .
Worldwide , the virus has claimed close to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On Friday , Texas governor Greg Abbott ordered a sharp reversal on reopening .
He had pursued one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any state and had not only resisted calls to order the wearing of masks but had refused until last week to let local governments take such measures .
“ It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities , including Texans congregating in bars , ” he said .
“ The actions in this executive order are essential to our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect public health.
” And on Friday , just before the first White House coronavirus taskforce briefing in two months , the White House confirmed reports that Trump canceled his weekend trip his private golf club in Bedminster , New Jersey .
He was severely criticized last month , when he went golfing over Memorial Day weekend as the US coronavirus death toll neared 100,000 .
And there had been questions raised about whether Trump would have to self-quarantine in New Jersey because the state is currently requiring those who travel from states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus to do so for 14 days .
Earlier this week , Trump traveled to Arizona , which was included on New Jersey ’ s list of affected states .
Health experts warned earlier on Friday that the US was not doing enough testing for Covid-19 and that simply pausing reopening plans in some states – as others continue to press ahead – would not be enough to stem the spread of the disease .
“ Pausing reopening is not enough .
We have got to try to put the horse back in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We need to start to reverse the opening-up , ” Ashish Jha , director of Harvard University ’ s Global Health Institute , told ABC on Friday morning .
He warned that hospitals face being overwhelmed unless leaders take stronger measures to slow the spread .
Jha urged more testing , saying the US was not doing enough , even though it is performing an estimated 500,000 tests per day , after the CDC on Thursday said that there were likely an estimated 10 times as many Americans who have or have had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They are missing cases because there is not enough testing .
They are way below where they need to be , ” said Jha .
An ABC/Ipsos poll on Friday showed that 56 % of Americans believe the country is opening back up too quickly , with no vaccine and no cure available for Covid-19 .
Jha urged Americans to wear face masks in public .
“ It ’ s a pretty small step to take to make sure our hospitals don ’ t get overwhelmed , ” he said .
Jha said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despite a high-profile anti-mask backlash in some parts of the country .
Arizona governor Doug Ducey , a Republican , on Thursday declared his state “ on pause ” as hospitals accelerate toward capacity .
Many governors are retreating to measures they once resisted and striking a more urgent tone .
“ I think they ’ re going to have to , ” said Dr Mark McClellan , former head of the Food and Drug Administration .
“ It doesn ’ t take most people in a community getting sick to overwhelm healthcare @ @ @

Joanna Walters in New York,  Joan E Greve in Washington and agencies

The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the US hit an all-time high of 40,000 according to figures released by Johns Hopkins University on Friday, eclipsing the mark first set during one of the deadliest stretches in late April. It is a resurgence that has led some governors to backtrack or at least pause the reopening of their states.
The news came as the governor of Texas ordered the closing of all bars again and scaled back restaurant dining, in the biggest retreat yet by any state after business reopening.
The move was quickly followed by Florida also announcing bars immediately have to stop serving alcohol.
Halsey Beshears, the head of Florida’s department of business and professional regulation, said the policy would be in effect “immediately.”
Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide. — HalseyBeshears (@HalseyBeshears) June 26, 2020
The announcement came less than an hour after the Florida department of health reported that the state confirmed 8,942 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, breaking a record set earlier this week.
The Florida health department also reported a frightening rise in the rate of positive test results. On Thursday, 13.1% of test results come back positive, compared to 8.9% on Wednesday, confounding Donald Trump’s recent assertions, repeated on Thursday, that “if you did not do testing, you would not have cases”.
On Thursday, Texas had paused its reopening process and was swiftly followed by Arizona, as both states saw a surge of new infections. Florida and California are also seeing record increases.
While the national increase is believed to reflect, in part, greatly expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the virus is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalizations in parts of the country, especially in the south and west.
The number of confirmed infections soared past the previous high set on 24 April of 36,400, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins.
Deaths from the coronavirus in the US are down to around 600 per day, compared with about 2,200 in mid-April.
Some experts have expressed doubt that deaths will return to that level, in part because of advances in treatment and prevention but also because a large share of the new infections are in younger adults, who are more likely than older ones to survive, although officials have warned that younger people are at risk of then passing the virus on to older friends and relatives who will be less resilient.
The virus is blamed for 124,000 deaths in the US and 2.4m confirmed infections nationwide, by Johns Hopkins’ count.
But US health officials said on Thursday that the true number of Americans infected is about 20 million, or almost 10 times higher. Worldwide, the virus has claimed close to 500,000 lives, according to Johns Hopkins.
On Friday, Texas governor Greg Abbott ordered a sharp reversal on reopening. He had pursued one of the most aggressive reopening schedules of any state and had not only resisted calls to order the wearing of masks but had refused until last week to let local governments take such measures.
“It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars,” he said. “The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.”
And on Friday, just before the first White House coronavirus taskforce briefing in two months, the White House confirmed reports that Trump canceled his weekend trip to his private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
He was severely criticized last month, when he went golfing over Memorial Day weekend as the US coronavirus death toll neared 100,000.
And there had been questions raised about whether Trump would have to self-quarantine in New Jersey because the state is currently requiring those who travel from states with high levels of community spread of coronavirus to do so for 14 days.
Earlier this week, Trump traveled to Arizona, which was included on New Jersey’s list of affected states.
Tubers float in the Comal River despite the recent spike in Covid-19 cases Thursday, in New Braunfels, Texas. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP
Health experts warned earlier on Friday that the US was not doing enough testing for Covid-19 and that simply pausing reopening plans in some states – as others continue to press ahead – would not be enough to stem the spread of the disease.
“Pausing reopening is not enough. We have got to try to put the horse back in the barn, as it were. We need to start to reverse the opening-up,” Ashish Jha, director of Harvard University’s Global Health Institute, told ABC on Friday morning.
He warned that hospitals face being overwhelmed unless leaders take stronger measures to slow the spread.
Jha urged more testing, saying the US was not doing enough, even though it is performing an estimated 500,000 tests per day, after the CDC on Thursday said that there were likely an estimated 10 times as many Americans who have or have had coronavirus than current statistics show.
“They are missing cases because there is not enough testing. They are way below where they need to be,” said Jha.
An ABC/Ipsos poll on Friday showed that 56% of Americans believe the country is opening back up too quickly, with no vaccine and no cure available for Covid-19.
Jha urged Americans to wear face masks in public. “It’s a pretty small step to take to make sure our hospitals don’t get overwhelmed,” he said. Jha said masks do help prevent the spread, despite a high-profile anti-mask backlash in some parts of the country.
Arizona governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, on Thursday declared his state “on pause” as hospitals accelerate toward capacity.
Many governors are retreating to measures they once resisted and striking a more urgent tone.
“I think they’re going to have to,” said Dr Mark McClellan, former head of the Food and Drug Administration. “It doesn’t take most people in a community getting sick to overwhelm healthcare systems.”


theguardian--2020-06-26--'Please for the love of God do not vote for my dad': Republican's daughter voices opposition

It ’ s not the usual rallying cry one might expect from a political candidate ’ s child as their father runs for office , but the daughter of a Republican candidate has urged people in Michigan to “ please , for the love of God ” not vote for her father .
“ Tell everyone , ” Stephanie Regan wrote in a viral tweet – which has now been liked more than 180,000 times on Twitter .
In a follow-up tweet , she called on voters to research the background of her father , Robert Regan , for themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t feel safe rn sharing further information regarding his beliefs , but please look him up and just read for yourself.
” Regan is running in Michigan ’ s primary for a state house seat this August .
Stephanie Regan ’ s words seem to have come as a blow to her father , who has espoused a commitment to his family on his campaign website , using multiple photos of himself and his children to support his campaign .
Robert Regan has spoken on local TV since his daughter sent out the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for her views .
“ When they go off to college , quite frankly they get involved with these Marxist , socialist universities , and they start getting indoctrinated with things that are completely polar opposite from where you raised them , ” Regan told local TV .
Regan , who describes himself on his own website as “ so conservative [ he ] makes Rush Limbaugh look like a liberal , ” says he and his daughter have disagreed on systemic racism , white privilege and Black Lives Matter .
“ She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he told the Hill .
“ The only place where I really see systemic racism would be the abortion clinic , because they seem to target the African American community.
” His tone seems to have taken a turn since Thursday , when he posted a lengthy statement to Facebook that seemed appreciative of his daughter ’ s political engagement .
“ I am happy that she feels confident enough in our relationship to express her opposing thoughts so publicly ” while encouraging her and others to voice their own opinions @ @ @ @

It’s not the usual rallying cry one might expect from a political candidate’s child as their father runs for office, but the daughter of a Republican candidate has urged people in Michigan to “please, for the love of God” not vote for her father.
“Tell everyone,” Stephanie Regan wrote in a viral tweet – which has now been liked more than 180,000 times on Twitter.
In a follow-up tweet, she called on voters to research the background of her father, Robert Regan, for themselves, writing: “I don’t feel safe rn sharing further information regarding his beliefs, but please look him up and just read for yourself.”
Regan is running in Michigan’s primary for a state house seat this August.
if you’re in michigan and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. tell everyone — STEPH (@streeganz) June 23, 2020
Stephanie Regan’s words seem to have come as a blow to her father, who has espoused a commitment to his family on his campaign website, using multiple photos of himself and his children to support his campaign.
Robert Regan has spoken on local TV since his daughter sent out the tweet, blaming her liberal college education for her views.
“When they go off to college, quite frankly they get involved with these Marxist, socialist universities ,and they start getting indoctrinated with things that are completely polar opposite from where you raised them,” Regan told local TV.
Regan, who describes himself on his own website as “so conservative [he] makes Rush Limbaugh look like a liberal,” says he and his daughter have disagreed on systemic racism, white privilege and Black Lives Matter.
“She’s a big believer in that,” he told the Hill. “The only place where I really see systemic racism would be the abortion clinic, because they seem to target the African American community.”
His tone seems to have taken a turn since Thursday, when he posted a lengthy statement to Facebook that seemed appreciative of his daughter’s political engagement.
“I am happy that she feels confident enough in our relationship to express her opposing thoughts so publicly” while encouraging her and others to voice their own opinions, he said.


theguardian--2020-06-26--Trump mocks 'basement' strategy but prudent approach pays off for Biden

Joe Biden ’ s Republican opponents have gleefully mocked him for effectively hiding out in his basement rather than hitting the campaign trail over the past few months .
But an uncomfortable truth is now setting in for Biden ’ s critics : his low-key approach to campaigning is paying off .
A swath of new polls have shown Biden leading Donald Trump handsomely in key battleground states and nationally .
That ’ s despite Trump ’ s eagerness to hit the campaign trail and hold rallies as if the country weren ’ t in the middle of a national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basement and house to campaign ( on Thursday , for instance , he delivered remarks in Lancaster , Pennsylvania ) but he and his team have been far more cautious than the Trump campaign in following health recommendations .
Mocking Biden and his “ basement ” strategy has become part of the larger strategy by Trump and his allies to frame the Democratic candidate as frail and afraid .
But that criticism hasn ’ t done much to boost Trump .
“ Sometimes candidates have trouble getting out of their own way , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of that , ” said Jon-David Schlough , a Democratic strategist .
Schlough described Trump as a “ destabilizing force ” and added : “ I think Biden ’ s strategy is smart .
He wants to be a steady hand to guide the country through multiple crises , in contrast to Trump ’ s recklessness.
” Biden and his team have also retained a robust fundraising schedule , with a number of upcoming virtual events featuring him as a headliner .
The campaign has also recently been rolling out new appointees in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan to run the campaign there , according to multiple Democratic officials .
( The campaign has not publicly announced those hires yet . )
The campaign has also continued to roll out policy proposals and statements .
Meanwhile , Trump , over the past few weeks , has tried to resume normal campaigning .
He held his first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic began last Saturday in Tulsa , Oklahoma .
Attendance for that rally fell short of the president ’ s expectations , but that hasn ’ t deterred Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ headlined a Students for Trump event in Arizona on Tuesday , and participated in a town hall hosted by Sean Hannity that was televised on Thursday night as he visited Wisconsin .
But Trump ’ s eagerness to campaign as usual hasn ’ t given him a notable boost in recent polling .
If anything , Biden ’ s more cautious approach has cemented his lead .
A New York Times/Siena College poll found the former vice-president leading Trump nationally , 50 % to 36 % .
The Biden campaign has been eager @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In talking points to campaign surrogates obtained by the Guardian , the campaign pointed to recent national polls showing him up , and state polls such as one from Marquette showing him leading Trump in Wisconsin , and an Ohio poll showing him leading Trump by one percentage point .
Another set of talking points included figures that show an “ overwhelming majority oppose Trump ’ s efforts to gut Obamacare , and that a majority trust Joe more on the issue of healthcare ” .
In statewide polling of six key battleground @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant leads over Trump .
Many of the details of those statewide polls show that voters who are backing Biden are more inclined to do it to oppose Trump than because they support Biden .
“ They certainly have the trends going their way , ” Nan Whaley , the mayor of Dayton , Ohio , and a Biden supporter , said of the Democrat ’ s campaign .
“ Americans haven ’ t been this unhappy since 1970 .
I think 80 % of the country is worried about the country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are for new leadership.
” But Whaley pointed out that how either candidate has been campaigning may not be the deciding factor in this race right now .
She pointed to recently polling showing a tight race in Ohio , despite heavy advertising by the Trump campaign and new serious staff presence by the Biden campaign .
Biden and his campaign have not indicated any plans to tweak their strategy to match Trump ’ s .
Republicans , meanwhile , contend that as election day approaches and especially during the upcoming general election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s lost .
Biden spokesman Mike Gwin said in a statement : “ Vice-President Biden and our campaign have been aggressively making the case to voters and laying out the clear contrast between the strong , steady , and compassionate leadership Biden would bring to the White House in a moment of crisis like this … and Donald Trump ’ s erratic and divisive behavior.
” He added : “ Trump and his campaign have desperately thrown everything they can at Biden , but none of it ’ s sticking because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and they know that Trump is responsible for the historic bungling of the coronavirus that ’ s left more than 120,000 Americans dead and another 20 million unemployed , and that Trump has spent every day in office dividing our country and inflaming racial tensions.
” The past few months , where Biden has closely followed medical officials ’ guidelines on social distancing , have represented a tumultuous period in American politics .
Trump has struggled to handle protests over the death of George Floyd , a black man in police custody .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a flailing economy and the continuing pandemic .
Voters generally view Trump more favorably than Biden on the economy , according to most polling , but not on much else .
Paul Maslin , a Democratic pollster , said that given recent events and the current polling , Biden ’ s lead may be a snapshot of the election in November .
“ We ’ ll see if it holds , but in the past six weeks the country has moved dramatically to a judgment , and I ’ m beginning to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will do , to possibly turn it around , ” Maslin said .
“ He ’ s talked about , ‘ Well , we ’ ll have a roaring recovery.
’ OK , well , where is it ?
” Biden ’ s lead over Trump in state polls and national polls has looked steady for a while , said Eric Goldman , who ran Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer ’ s campaign in 2018 .
That could still change , but it may not , he adds .
“ A lot has to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ momentum shifting back in his direction , and it ’ s not clear that that ’ s going to happen , ” Goldman said .
“ It doesn ’ t seem they have any sort of solutions from a governance standpoint .
”

Joe Biden’s Republican opponents have gleefully mocked him for effectively hiding out in his basement rather than hitting the campaign trail over the past few months.
But an uncomfortable truth is now setting in for Biden’s critics: his low-key approach to campaigning is paying off.
A swath of new polls have shown Biden leading Donald Trump handsomely in key battleground states and nationally. That’s despite Trump’s eagerness to hit the campaign trail and hold rallies as if the country weren’t in the middle of a national pandemic.
Biden has physically left his basement and house to campaign (on Thursday, for instance, he delivered remarks in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) but he and his team have been far more cautious than the Trump campaign in following health recommendations. Mocking Biden and his “basement” strategy has become part of the larger strategy by Trump and his allies to frame the Democratic candidate as frail and afraid.
But that criticism hasn’t done much to boost Trump.
“Sometimes candidates have trouble getting out of their own way, and the president is a profound example of that,” said Jon-David Schlough, a Democratic strategist. Schlough described Trump as a “destabilizing force” and added: “I think Biden’s strategy is smart. He wants to be a steady hand to guide the country through multiple crises, in contrast to Trump’s recklessness.”
Biden and his team have also retained a robust fundraising schedule, with a number of upcoming virtual events featuring him as a headliner. The campaign has also recently been rolling out new appointees in battleground states and hired experienced strategists in Michigan to run the campaign there, according to multiple Democratic officials. (The campaign has not publicly announced those hires yet.) The campaign has also continued to roll out policy proposals and statements.
Meanwhile, Trump, over the past few weeks, has tried to resume normal campaigning. He held his first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic began last Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Attendance for that rally fell short of the president’s expectations, but that hasn’t deterred Trump from holding more public events. He headlined a Students for Trump event in Arizona on Tuesday, and participated in a town hall hosted by Sean Hannity that was televised on Thursday night as he visited Wisconsin.
But Trump’s eagerness to campaign as usual hasn’t given him a notable boost in recent polling. If anything, Biden’s more cautious approach has cemented his lead. A New York Times/Siena College poll found the former vice-president leading Trump nationally, 50% to 36%.
The Biden campaign has been eager to tout national and state polls. In talking points to campaign surrogates obtained by the Guardian, the campaign pointed to recent national polls showing him up, and state polls such as one from Marquette showing him leading Trump in Wisconsin, and an Ohio poll showing him leading Trump by one percentage point. Another set of talking points included figures that show an “overwhelming majority oppose Trump’s efforts to gut Obamacare, and that a majority trust Joe more on the issue of healthcare”.
Trump at the rally in Tulsa last week, which drew condemnation from public health experts. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
In statewide polling of six key battleground states, Biden, similarly, has significant leads over Trump. Many of the details of those statewide polls show that voters who are backing Biden are more inclined to do it to oppose Trump than because they support Biden.
“They certainly have the trends going their way,” Nan Whaley, the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, and a Biden supporter, said of the Democrat’s campaign. “Americans haven’t been this unhappy since 1970. I think 80% of the country is worried about the country. I mean, these are trends that are for new leadership.”
But Whaley pointed out that how either candidate has been campaigning may not be the deciding factor in this race right now. She pointed to recently polling showing a tight race in Ohio, despite heavy advertising by the Trump campaign and new serious staff presence by the Biden campaign.
Biden and his campaign have not indicated any plans to tweak their strategy to match Trump’s. Republicans, meanwhile, contend that as election day approaches and especially during the upcoming general election debates, Trump will regain the ground he’s lost.
Biden spokesman Mike Gwin said in a statement: “Vice-President Biden and our campaign have been aggressively making the case to voters and laying out the clear contrast between the strong, steady, and compassionate leadership Biden would bring to the White House in a moment of crisis like this … and Donald Trump’s erratic and divisive behavior.”
He added: “Trump and his campaign have desperately thrown everything they can at Biden, but none of it’s sticking because voters know who Joe Biden is, and they know that Trump is responsible for the historic bungling of the coronavirus that’s left more than 120,000 Americans dead and another 20 million unemployed, and that Trump has spent every day in office dividing our country and inflaming racial tensions.”
Trump is responsible for the historic bungling of the coronavirus that’s left more than 120,000 dead Mike Gwin
The past few months, where Biden has closely followed medical officials’ guidelines on social distancing, have represented a tumultuous period in American politics.
Trump has struggled to handle protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man in police custody. His administration has also had to deal with a flailing economy and the continuing pandemic. Voters generally view Trump more favorably than Biden on the economy, according to most polling, but not on much else.
Paul Maslin, a Democratic pollster, said that given recent events and the current polling, Biden’s lead may be a snapshot of the election in November.
“We’ll see if it holds, but in the past six weeks the country has moved dramatically to a judgment, and I’m beginning to wonder what Trump can do, or will do, to possibly turn it around,” Maslin said. “He’s talked about, ‘Well, we’ll have a roaring recovery.’ OK, well, where is it?”
Biden’s lead over Trump in state polls and national polls has looked steady for a while, said Eric Goldman, who ran Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer’s campaign in 2018. That could still change, but it may not, he adds.
“A lot has to go right for him, including the momentum shifting back in his direction, and it’s not clear that that’s going to happen,” Goldman said. “It doesn’t seem they have any sort of solutions from a governance standpoint.”


theguardian--2020-06-27--Outrage mounts over report Russia offered bounties to Afghanistan militants for killing US soldiers

Outrage has greeted a bombshell New York Times story that says American intelligence officials believe a Russian military intelligence unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing foreign soldiers in Afghanistan , including targeting Americans .
The story , citing its sources as unnamed officials briefed on the matter , said that the US had come to the conclusion about the operation several months ago and and offered rewards for successful attacks last year .
The Times wrote : “ The intelligence finding was briefed to Trump , and the White House ’ s National Security Council discussed the problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” However , despite drawing up numerous options by way of a response , the White House has not taken any action .
As the news broke it triggered a fierce response from top Democrats , especially those who have long pointed to what they say is Trump ’ s overly close relationship to Russia ’ s autocratic leader , Vladimir Putin .
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine , who was Hillary Clinton ’ s running mate in 2016 , said : “ Trump was cozying up to Putin and inviting him to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia was trying to kill US troops in Afghanistan and derail peace talks with the Taliban.
” Michael McFaul , a former ambassador to Russia and a professor of political science at Stanford University , said : “ I hope the American people will be as outraged as I am over Trump ’ s complacency .
After he knew about these Putin-ordered contracts to kill US soldiers , Trump invited Putin to the G7.
” John Weaver , a Republican political consultant who helped found the anti-Trump Lincoln Project group , also expressed @ @

Outrage has greeted media reports that American officials believe a Russian intelligence unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing foreign soldiers in Afghanistan, including targeting Americans.
The story first appeared in the New York Times, citing its sources as unnamed officials briefed on the matter, and followed up by the Washington Post. The reports said that the US had come to the conclusion about the operation several months ago and that Russia had offered rewards for successful attacks last year.
The Times wrote: “The intelligence finding was briefed to Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March.” White House officials apparently drew up several possible options to retaliate against the Kremlin, ranging from a diplomatic reprimand right through to fresh sanctions. However, the White House has so far not taken any action.
It is not clear if bounties were ever paid out for successfully killing American soldiers. The White House denied that either Trump or the vice-president, Mike Pence, were briefed on such a matter.
01:35 Joe Biden: Donald Trump presidency has been 'a gift to Putin' – video
As the news broke it triggered a fierce response from top Democrats, especially those who have long pointed to what they say is Trump’s overly close relationship to Russia’s autocratic leader, Vladimir Putin.
Virginia senator Tim Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016, said: “Trump was cozying up to Putin and inviting him to the G7 all while his administration reportedly knew Russia was trying to kill US troops in Afghanistan and derail peace talks with the Taliban.”
Michael McFaul, a former ambassador to Russia and a professor of political science at Stanford University, said: “I hope the American people will be as outraged as I am over Trump’s complacency. After he knew about these Putin-ordered contracts to kill US soldiers, Trump invited Putin to the G7.”
John Weaver, a Republican political consultant who helped found the anti-Trump Lincoln Project group, also expressed outrage.
Trump knew Russia was paying bounties on the lives of American servicemen in Afghanistan. He took no action against Putin. Instead, @realDonaldTrump REWARDED Putin by trying to insert Russia back into the G-7. And, not enough, withdrawing 25,000 American troops from Germany. — John Weaver (@jwgop) June 27, 2020
The news comes after the US reached an initial peace deal with the Taliban, which aimed for the full withdrawal of the US military from the war-torn country within just over a year. The pact was supposed to kickstart talks between the rebels and the Afghan government but they have not materialized.
The unit that US officials have reportedly identified as responsible for the bounties has also been linked to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, in Britain in 2018, which triggered a huge diplomatic dispute between Moscow and London.
Trump’s relationship with Russia has been the source of much scandal and frustration with US allies, especially in Europe.
Russia’s attempts to interfere with the 2016 US election were part of the basis of the Robert Mueller investigation that dogged much of Trump’s time in office. He has repeatedly flown in the face of his own intelligence briefings to say that he believes Russian denials of meddling in US affairs, and has touted his close relationship with Putin as a benefit to the US. He has also pushed for Russia to be allowed back into the G7 group of major industrial powers, while at the same questioning the role of Nato.


theguardian--2020-06-27--Covid-19 survivors could lose health insurance if Trump wins bid to repeal Obamacare

Millions of Americans who have survived Covid-19 or face future infections could lose their insurance or be barred from getting coverage should the Trump administration successfully repeal Obamacare .
The Trump administration asked the supreme court late Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act – a move that , if successful , would bring a permanent end to the health insurance reform law popularly known as Obamacare .
Under the ACA , insurance companies can not deny coverage for pre-existing conditions .
Its abolition would mean millions of Americans who have had or have cancer , multiple sclerosis or other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anyone applying for insurance who subsequently contracts Covid-19 could also find their insurance invalidated or be denied coverage in the future .
If they were allowed to keep their insurance , they could still be charged higher premiums or have future treatment for coronavirus turned down .
“ Abolishing the ACA would cause tremendous damage and cause chaos throughout the country , ” said Karen Pollitz , senior fellow at the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation .
Anyone buying health insurance who subsequently contracted the coronavirus would face loss of coverage , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insurance and then caught the virus , you would be out of luck , ” she said .
The abolition of pre-existing condition coverage is especially difficult for those who have has Covid-19 , because so little is known about the long-term health impact of the disease .
There is evidence that the respiratory illness causes permanent damage in some patients .
Those who have had the disease and recovered would have to disclose their status to apply for insurance , and could be turned down for coverage .
“ We could see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of coverage , ” said Pollitz .
“ There would be an onslaught of un-insurance.
” Donald Trump has said he would maintain the protections for people with pre-existing conditions , but has not said how it would replace the existing rules if the ACA was invalidated .
The supreme court has not scheduled a date for oral arguments in the case , but it is expected to take place in the autumn and a decision would likely not arrive until after the November election .
In the meantime , doctors are searching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 124,000 Americans have died from the illness .
There has been a new surge in cases in several states , and the nation hit an all-time high of 40,000 recorded cases on Thursday , according to figures released by Johns Hopkins .
Hours before the Trump administration filed its briefing on Thursday , Joe Biden warned about the government ’ s assault on the ACA and said : “ Most cruelly of all , if Donald Trump has his way , complications from Covid-19 could become a new pre-existing condition.
” “ Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like lung scarring and heart damage , ” Biden said during a speech in Lancaster , Pennsylvania .
“ And if Donald Trump prevails in court , insurers would be allowed to strip away coverage or jack up premiums simply because of their battle with the coronavirus .
”

Millions of Americans who have survived Covid-19 or face future infections could lose their insurance or be barred from getting coverage should the Trump administration successfully repeal Obamacare.
The Trump administration asked the supreme court late Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act – a move that, if successful, would bring a permanent end to the health insurance reform law popularly known as Obamacare.
Under the ACA, insurance companies cannot deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. Its abolition would mean millions of Americans who have had or have cancer, multiple sclerosis or other diseases would struggle to find insurance.
Anyone applying for insurance who subsequently contracts Covid-19 could also find their insurance invalidated or be denied coverage in the future. If they were allowed to keep their insurance, they could still be charged higher premiums or have future treatment for coronavirus turned down.
“Abolishing the ACA would cause tremendous damage and cause chaos throughout the country,” said Karen Pollitz, senior fellow at the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation.
Anyone buying health insurance who subsequently contracted the coronavirus would face loss of coverage, she said. “If you bought the insurance and then caught the virus, you would be out of luck,” she said.
The abolition of pre-existing condition coverage is especially difficult for those who have Covid-19, because so little is known about the long-term health impact of the disease. There is evidence that the respiratory illness causes permanent damage in some patients. Those who have had the disease and recovered would have to disclose their status to apply for insurance, and could be turned down for coverage.
“We could see tens of millions of people thrown out of coverage,” said Pollitz. “There would be an onslaught of un-insurance.”
Donald Trump has said he would maintain the protections for people with pre-existing conditions, but has not said how it would replace the existing rules if the ACA was invalidated.
The supreme court has not scheduled a date for oral arguments in the case, but it is expected to take place in the autumn and a decision would likely not arrive until after the November election.
In the meantime, doctors are searching for a vaccine for Covid-19, and 124,000 Americans have died from the illness. There has been a new surge in cases in several states, and the nation hit an all-time high of 40,000 recorded cases on Thursday, according to figures released by Johns Hopkins.
Hours before the Trump administration filed its briefing on Thursday, Joe Biden warned about the government’s assault on the ACA and said: “Most cruelly of all, if Donald Trump has his way, complications from Covid-19 could become a new pre-existing condition.”
“Some survivors will experience lasting health impacts – like lung scarring and heart damage,” Biden said during a speech in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
“And if Donald Trump prevails in court, insurers would be allowed to strip away coverage or jack up premiums simply because of their battle with the coronavirus.”


theguardian--2020-06-27--Trump bruised as polls favour Biden – but experts warn of risk of dirty tricks

It was the death of a salesman .
With tie undone and crumpled “ Make America great again ” cap in hand , Donald Trump cut a forlorn figure shambling across the White House south lawn on his return from his failed comeback rally in Tulsa , Oklahoma .
Some observers likened him to Willy Loman , the tragic protagonist of Arthur Miller ’ s benchmark drama .
The US president , critics say , has spent years selling a bill of goods to the American people .
Now they are no longer buying .
The thinly attended rally in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the physical manifestation of what poll after poll is showing : Trump is trailing his Democratic rival Joe Biden by double digits and seemingly on course for a historic defeat in November ’ s presidential election .
But seasoned commentators warn against complacency .
Trump still has time to fight back – and fight dirty .
“ You look at the polls and think ‘ he can ’ t win ’ , ” tweeted Bill Kristol , who served in two Republican administrations .
“ But Trump ’ s path to victory doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It depends on voter suppression , mass disinformation , foreign interference , and unabashed use of executive branch power to shape events , and perceptions , this fall.
” It was a reminder that the polls only tell part of any election story .
In 2016 , Trump nearly always appeared to be heading to defeat by Hillary Clinton .
This time polls appear to point to a Biden landslide .
The former vice-president leads Trump by 14 percentage points in a national survey of registered voters by the New York Times and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll showed Biden well ahead among women , young people and African American and Hispanic voters .
Alarmingly for the president , Biden had also drawn level among white voters , men , and middle-aged and older voters – typically the pillars of Trump ’ s support .
This and numerous other polls also show Trump trailing badly in six swing states likely to decide the all-important electoral college .
At the start of the year Trump was confident of victory , but the research suggests voters are punishing him for his handling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economic crisis and violent response to Black Lives Matter protests .
This week he continued to downplay the virus , and staged campaign events with few face masks and little physical distancing , even as the national death toll topped 120,000 and the infection rate soared to the highest level since April .
But Trump ’ s foes have learned to write him off at their peril .
He once famously boasted that he could shoot someone on New York ’ s Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters .
He still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , opponents say , of being entirely untroubled by a moral conscience : the president will stop at nothing to cling to power .
Kristol , editor at large of the Bulwark website and director of the advocacy organisation Defending Democracy Together , said in an interview : “ The special circumstances with Trump are his total abandonment of any constraints and even more important , perhaps , his having people around him who ’ ve abandoned any constraints on the way in which they ’ ll use the federal government , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do things , pretend to do things .
“ Richard Nixon did a little of that in 1972 , and of course presidents always tout good news in the months before the election .
But this time , it ’ s the degree to which you could have a real sustained effort to suppress minority voting and not make it easy for young people to vote .
“ It ’ s the degree to which you could have foreign intervention and also Trump colluding , not in the sense of coordinating but just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s the degree to which you could have Putin deciding if he wants Trump re-elected .
to give Trump a ‘ foreign policy victory ’ weeks before the election , which will turn out to be not a real victory months later.
” Kristol added : “ It ’ s the use of loyalists at the office of the Director of National Intelligence and to some degree the state department and justice department .
It ’ s the degree to which we ’ ll get ‘ new ’ news about Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , sort of based on something but wildly exaggerated and trumpeted and on Fox News .
“ If you put all that together and you have a circumstance where someone is really shameless and a lot of the normal constraints have weakened , it ’ s conceivable that the reluctant Trump voter from 2016 who ’ s become a reluctant Biden voter in 2020 goes back to being a reluctant Trump voter .
That ’ s what worries me the most.
” Voter suppression has haunted US elections for decades but the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are seeking a massive expansion of mail-in ballots so people do not have risk their health by queuing and voting in person .
The president has intensified claims that this will lead to widespread cheating , even though several studies have shown that voter fraud is extremely rare .
“ RIGGED 2020 ELECTION : MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES , AND OTHERS , ” was a false claim he tweeted this week in capital letters .
“ IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES !
” His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ muscle and action .
The Republican National Committee has devoted $ 20m to oppose Democratic lawsuits across the country seeking to expand voting .
Republicans are also reportedly aiming to recruit up to 50,000 people in 15 key states to serve as poll watchers and challenge the registration of voters they believe are ineligible .
Monika McDermott , a political science professor at Fordham University in New York , said : “ What we ’ re seeing in some primary states is the closures of polling places in African American dominated areas and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rolls .
Some of this is anecdotal , but it is worrying all the same .
And it will , no doubt , continue through the general election.
” Only two incumbent presidents have been defeated for reelection since the second world war : Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush .
Trump has the advantages of the bully pulpit , support from Fox News and other conservative media , a huge data harvesting operation and more cash than Biden .
He is traveling the country , throwing virus caution to the winds , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his basement .
But critics fear that the president could also bend state apparatus to his advantage , noting the loyalty of officials such as attorney general Bill Barr , who ordered security forces to use tear gas against peaceful protesters outside the White House so his boss could stage a photo op .
Trump has repeatedly asserted a baseless conspiracy theory called “ Obamagate ” , claiming that former president Barack Obama and Biden concocted fake allegations about Trump ’ s links to Russia in a “ coup ” to deny him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barr and Republicans in Congress to focus on this , as well as on Biden ’ s son Hunter ’ s business activities in Ukraine , as election day nears .
Lawrence Tribe , a constitutional law professor at Harvard University , said : “ He could announce , perhaps without any basis at all , in mid-October that a new vaccine has been found , and he could pressure the FDA [ Food and Drug Administration ] to approve it and that could mess with the vote .
He could get help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for from China and Russia to interfere with the vote.
” “ He could engage in conspiratorial vote suppression in which a number of people are prevented from voting by a sudden announcement that there is a spike in the coronavirus in certain jurisdictions .
The power that he has as president to both manipulate the votes actually cast , and in addition to that , to launch challenges where his manipulation has not been sufficiently successful is enormously broad.
” Tribe added : “ If we know nothing else about this man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entirely personal and narcissistic .
We know that he is not worried about the stability or the safety of the country and , given that set of psychological realities , it would take a much more ironclad process than we have to warrant any degree of confidence that we will have a smooth and peaceful transition to a new president next January.
” Another of Kristol ’ s warnings is about foreign interference .
Special Counsel Robert Mueller identified 272 contacts between Trump ’ s 2016 campaign team and Russia-linked operatives , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , asked by ABC News if he would take dirt on an opponent from a foreign source , the president said candidly : “ I think I ’ d take it.
” Trump was impeached for asking the president of Ukraine to investigate Biden on baseless charges in return for $ 400m in military aid .
And in his new memoir , former national security adviser John Bolton alleges that Trump pleaded with China ’ s president Xi Jinping to help him get re-elected by buying more US agricultural products .
Neil Sroka @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democracy for America , said : “ We already know he ’ s actively solicited the help of a foreign government in this election from the Bolton book.
” And concerns persist that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are still doing too little to weed out foreign-based accounts that spread disinformation aimed at dividing Americans and potentially helping Trump .
Sroka added : “ I don ’ t think we have any reason to believe that foreign actors would be successful in intruding in our voting systems , which means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an impact is through disinformation and trying to stoke up divides within ourselves .
That ’ s another reason why it ’ s so important that we make sure we win big.
” Scarred by 2016 , Democrats know their greatest threat could be complacency , especially among younger voters who might decide to stay at home on a rainy day and not get around to voting .
Biden , who held a virtual fundraiser with Obama this week , tweeted : “ Ignore the polls .
Register to vote.
” With four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Antjuan Seawright , a Democratic strategist based in Columbia , South Carolina , agreed that Trump should not be underestimated .
“ We should adopt the philosophy that there ’ s no education in the second kick of the mule , ” he said .
“ If someone finds success in something before , they ’ re going to try to use those same ingredients to find success again .
He is willing to do , to say , to have and be a part of anything that will position him to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even if it means doing what is not in the long term best interests of this country .
”

It was the death of a salesman. With tie undone and crumpled “Make America great again” cap in hand, Donald Trump cut a forlorn figure shambling across the White House south lawn on his return from his failed comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some observers likened him to Willy Loman, the tragic protagonist of Arthur Miller’s benchmark drama.
The US president, critics say, has spent years selling a bill of goods to the American people. Now they are no longer buying.
The thinly attended rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last weekend was the physical manifestation of what poll after poll is showing: Trump is trailing his Democratic rival Joe Biden by double digits and seemingly on course for a historic defeat in November’s presidential election.
But seasoned commentators warn against complacency. Trump still has time to fight back – and fight dirty.
“You look at the polls and think ‘he can’t win’,” tweeted Bill Kristol, who served in two Republican administrations. “But Trump’s path to victory doesn’t depend on persuading Americans. It depends on voter suppression, mass disinformation, foreign interference, and unabashed use of executive branch power to shape events, and perceptions, this fall.”
It was a reminder that the polls only tell part of any election story. In 2016, Trump nearly always appeared to be heading to defeat by Hillary Clinton. This time polls appear to point to a Biden landslide. The former vice-president leads Trump by 14 percentage points in a national survey of registered voters by the New York Times and Siena College.
As expected, the poll showed Biden well ahead among women, young people and African American and Hispanic voters. Alarmingly for the president, Biden had also drawn level among white voters, men, and middle-aged and older voters – typically the pillars of Trump’s support. This and numerous other polls also show Trump trailing badly in six swing states likely to decide the all-important electoral college.
At the start of the year Trump was confident of victory, but the research suggests voters are punishing him for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, exacerbation of the economic crisis and violent response to Black Lives Matter protests. This week he continued to downplay the virus, and staged campaign events with few face masks and little physical distancing, even as the daily infection rate soared to an all-time high of more than 40,000.
But Trump’s foes have learned to write him off at their peril. He once famously boasted that he could shoot someone on New York’s Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters. He still has the significant advantages of incumbency and, opponents say, of being entirely untroubled by a moral conscience: the president will stop at nothing to cling to power.
Kristol, editor at large of the Bulwark website and director of the advocacy organisation Defending Democracy Together, said in an interview: “The special circumstances with Trump are his total abandonment of any constraints and even more important, perhaps, his having people around him who’ve abandoned any constraints on the way in which they’ll use the federal government, the executive branch, to say things, do things, pretend to do things.
“Richard Nixon did a little of that in 1972, and of course presidents always tout good news in the months before the election. But this time, it’s the degree to which you could have a real sustained effort to suppress minority voting and not make it easy for young people to vote.
“It’s the degree to which you could have foreign intervention and also Trump colluding, not in the sense of coordinating but just welcoming it and making it easier. It’s the degree to which you could have Putin deciding if he wants Trump re-elected, to give Trump a ‘foreign policy victory’ weeks before the election, which will turn out to be not a real victory months later.”
Kristol added: “It’s the use of loyalists at the office of the Director of National Intelligence and to some degree the state department and justice department. It’s the degree to which we’ll get ‘new’ news about Biden and [his son] Hunter Biden, sort of based on something but wildly exaggerated and trumpeted and on Fox News.
“If you put all that together and you have a circumstance where someone is really shameless and a lot of the normal constraints have weakened, it’s conceivable that the reluctant Trump voter from 2016 who’s become a reluctant Biden voter in 2020 goes back to being a reluctant Trump voter. That’s what worries me the most.”
Trump at the BOK Center in Tulsa last week. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
Voter suppression has haunted US elections for decades but the pandemic presents Trump with new opportunities. States are seeking a massive expansion of mail-in ballots so people do not have risk their health by queuing and voting in person. The president has intensified claims that this will lead to widespread cheating, even though several studies have shown that voter fraud is extremely rare.
“RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS,” was a false claim he tweeted this week in capital letters. “IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!”
His wild words are often backed by organizational muscle and action. The Republican National Committee has devoted $20m to opposing Democratic lawsuits across the country seeking to expand voting. Republicans are also reportedly aiming to recruit up to 50,000 people in 15 key states to serve as poll watchers and challenge the registration of voters they believe are ineligible.
Monika McDermott, a political science professor at Fordham University in New York, said: “What we’re seeing in some primary states is the closures of polling places in African American dominated areas and mistaken purging of Democrats from the voter rolls. Some of this is anecdotal, but it is worrying all the same. And it will, no doubt, continue through the general election.”
Only three incumbent presidents have been defeated for reelection since the second world war: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush. Trump has the advantages of the bully pulpit, support from Fox News and other conservative media, a huge data harvesting operation and more cash than Biden. He is traveling the country, throwing virus caution to the winds, as the Democrat remains mostly confined to his basement.
But critics fear that the president could also bend state apparatus to his advantage, noting the loyalty of officials such as attorney general Bill Barr, who ordered security forces to use tear gas against peaceful protesters outside the White House so his boss could stage a photo op.
Trump has repeatedly asserted a baseless conspiracy theory called “Obamagate”, claiming that former president Barack Obama and Biden concocted fake allegations about Trump’s links to Russia in a “coup” to deny him the White House. He could pressure Barr and Republicans in Congress to focus on this, as well as on Biden’s son Hunter’s business activities in Ukraine, as election day nears.
Lawrence Tribe, a constitutional law professor at Harvard University, said: “He could announce, perhaps without any basis at all, in mid-October that a new vaccine has been found, and he could pressure the FDA [Food and Drug Administration]to approve it and that could mess with the vote. He could get help of the sort he has already asked for from China and Russia to interfere with the vote.”
“He could engage in conspiratorial vote suppression in which a number of people are prevented from voting by a sudden announcement that there is a spike in the coronavirus in certain jurisdictions. The power that he has as president to both manipulate the votes actually cast, and in addition to that, to launch challenges where his manipulation has not been sufficiently successful is enormously broad.”
Tribe added: “If we know nothing else about this man, we know that his priorities are entirely personal and narcissistic. We know that he is not worried about the stability or the safety of the country and, given that set of psychological realities, it would take a much more ironclad process than we have to warrant any degree of confidence that we will have a smooth and peaceful transition to a new president next January.”
Another of Kristol’s warnings is about foreign interference.
Special counsel Robert Mueller identified 272 contacts between Trump’s 2016 campaign team and Russia-linked operatives, including at least 38 meetings. Last year, asked by ABC News if he would take dirt on an opponent from a foreign source, the president said candidly: “I think I’d take it.”
Trump was impeached for asking the president of Ukraine to investigate Biden on baseless charges in return for $400m in military aid. And in his new memoir, former national security adviser John Bolton alleges that Trump pleaded with China’s president Xi Jinping to help him get re-elected by buying more US agricultural products.
Neil Sroka, a spokesperson for the progressive group Democracy for America, said: “We already know he’s actively solicited the help of a foreign government in this election from the Bolton book.”
And concerns persist that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are still doing too little to weed out foreign-based accounts that spread disinformation aimed at dividing Americans and potentially helping Trump.
Sroka added: “I don’t think we have any reason to believe that foreign actors would be successful in intruding in our voting systems, which means that the way in which they have an impact is through disinformation and trying to stoke up divides within ourselves. That’s another reason why it’s so important that we make sure we win big.”
Scarred by 2016, Democrats know their greatest threat could be complacency, especially among younger voters who might decide to stay at home on a rainy day and not get around to voting. Biden, who held a virtual fundraiser with Obama this week, tweeted: “Ignore the polls. Register to vote.”
With four months to go, anything could happen.
Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist based in Columbia, South Carolina, agreed that Trump should not be underestimated. “We should adopt the philosophy that there’s no education in the second kick of the mule,” he said. “If someone finds success in something before, they’re going to try to use those same ingredients to find success again. He is willing to do, to say, to have and be a part of anything that will position him to come across the finish line first, even if it means doing what is not in the long term best interests of this country.”


theguardian--2020-06-27--Video appears to show Trump campaign removing social-distancing stickers in Tulsa

Video has emerged of Trump campaign volunteers apparently removing social distancing stickers from seats in the arena where the US president gave a campaign rally that many public health experts had warned against because of the still-surging coronavirus pandemic .
The Washington Post published the video , which it says shows Trump campaign workers methodically removing the stickers from seats at the BOK Center in Tulsa , Oklahoma .
The labels read “ Do Not Sit Here , Please !
” and had been placed there by the venue in order to minimize the risk of Covid-19 infection .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removal of the stickers , against the wishes of the management of the 19,000-seat arena where the 20 June rally was held as part of Trump ’ s re-election campaign .
The story was originally reported in Billboard magazine , which said thousands of the stickers were removed .
Billboard quoted Doug Thornton – a senior executive at the firm that owns the BOK Center – as saying : “ They also told us that they didn ’ t want any signs posted saying we should social distance in the venue.
” Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus cases were rising in Oklahoma and sparked widespread condemnation from local health officials , as well as the president ’ s critics .
Since the rally , eight Trump staffers have tested positive for the virus and many more have been directed to self-quarantine .
On Friday night , according to ABC News , campaign staff who were in Tulsa were emailed and told they “ are required to obtain a negative Covid-19 test this weekend ” .
Trump has been widely criticized for his response to the coronavirus pandemic , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed more than 120,000 of his fellow citizens .
In particular , critics have decried his refusal to wear a mask , his determination to continue campaign events , and his repeated touting of conspiracy theories and false claims , such as advocating the use of bleach to stop the virus .

Video has emerged of Trump campaign volunteers apparently removing social distancing stickers from seats in the arena where the US president gave a campaign rally that many public health experts had warned against because of the still-surging coronavirus pandemic.
The Washington Post published the video, which it says shows Trump campaign workers methodically removing the stickers from seats at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The labels read “Do Not Sit Here, Please!” and had been placed there by the venue in order to minimize the risk of Covid-19 infection.
The Post said the Trump campaign directed the removal of the stickers, against the wishes of the management of the 19,000-seat arena where the 20 June rally was held as part of Trump’s re-election campaign.
The story was originally reported in Billboard magazine, which said thousands of the stickers were removed. Billboard quoted Doug Thornton – a senior executive at the firm that owns the BOK Center – as saying: “They also told us that they didn’t want any signs posted saying we should social distance in the venue.”
Trump’s Tulsa rally was held as coronavirus cases were rising in Oklahoma and sparked widespread condemnation from local health officials, as well as the president’s critics.
Since the rally, eight Trump staffers have tested positive for the virus and many more have been directed to self-quarantine. On Friday night, according to ABC News, campaign staff who were in Tulsa were emailed and told they “are required to obtain a negative Covid-19 test this weekend”.
Trump has been widely criticized for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has now infected several million Americans and killed more than 120,000 of his fellow citizens. In particular, critics have decried his refusal to wear a mask, his determination to continue campaign events, and his repeated touting of conspiracy theories and false claims, such as advocating the use of bleach to stop the virus.