theguardian--2020-04-30--States use coronavirus to ban abortions, leaving women desperate: ‘You can’t pause a pregnancy’

A woman in Texas was isolating with her family .
She was frightened and carried a secret : she was eight weeks pregnant .
Even under normal circumstances , obtaining an abortion in Texas is described as “ mostly impossible ” .
But during the Covid-19 pandemic , politicians in Texas and seven other states have worked to try to halt abortions entirely .
They have undertaken costly lawsuits to restrict abortion in the name of health and safety , even as doctors lined up against them .
Experts have described the order as the most chaotic 30 days since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on abortion clinics , later overturned by the supreme court .
Alabama , Arkansas , Iowa , Louisiana , Ohio , Tennessee and West Virginia have all seen confusion and intermittent bans as anti-abortion state politicians categorized abortion services as non-essential , and included abortion clinics in bans on elective surgical procedures .
The orders have left women desperate , as appointments were cancelled , rescheduled and cancelled again subject to court rulings .
“ I am scared to go outside , ” said the Texas woman , who the Guardian is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she is pregnant and seeking an abortion .
Her story was provided by WeTestify , a group which collects women ’ s stories of seeking abortions .
“ I just saw the news about Ohio and that scared me that I can ’ t get an abortion in time , ” she said about restrictions in that state .
“ Now , they did it in Texas .
I don ’ t know what to do.
” Abortion clinics across the US face existential threats under normal circumstances .
Providers and clinics routinely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threats of violence .
Abortion providers said Covid-19 has exacerbated this fight , with some states claiming abortions need to be stopped during the pandemic to preserve hospital beds and personal protective equipment for workers .
“ No one is exempt from the governor ’ s executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures , including abortion providers , ” said the Texas attorney general , Ken Paxton , early in the pandemic .
“ Those who violate the governor ’ s order will be met with the full force of the law.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for comment .
The American Medical Association , the country ’ s largest association of physicians , has described such regulations as “ exploiting ” the Covid-19 pandemic .
“ Instead of saying , for example , ‘ There should be no abortion ’ ... [ abortion opponents ] are trying to create uncertainty about what the reality on the ground is , ” said Mary Ziegler , a law professor at Florida State University and an expert on reproductive rights .
At the same time , clinic directors have anecdotally reported a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raised by the pandemic .
More than 26 million Americans have lost jobs , with more unemployment claims expected , and at least 55,000 people have died as a result of the virus .
One clinic in Wichita , Kansas , reported an almost threefold increase in patients , CBS reported .
“ People are delaying all kinds of medical care to stay out of hospitals .
You can ’ t put a pregnancy on pause , so imagine being forced into that position – it must be terrifying ” , said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and CEO of the National Abortion Federation said Texas politicians ’ decision to ban abortion set off a month-long ping-pong of court battles .
As Covid-19 spread ferociously in the US in March and April , federal court rulings restored , then abolished , abortion access multiple times , sometimes just hours apart .
On 23 March , the Texas governor , Greg Abbott , issued an executive order halting all elective surgical procedures , specifically calling out abortion .
Abortion providers sued on 25 March , a federal court agreed with them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on 30 March .
But the reprieve lasted only 21 hours .
The fifth circuit court of appeals in New Orleans , Louisiana , reinstated Texas ’ s executive order on 31 March .
The court ’ s bench is arguably the most conservative in the nation , and is outwardly hostile to abortion rights .
“ They were open one day , and they were closed the next day , and they were allowed to do medication abortions one day , and not the next day , ” said Nikiya Natale , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fund , which helps women pay for abortions .
“ We ’ ve had to cancel hundreds of appointments … and numerous times , ” said Amy Hagstrom Miller , founder and CEO of Whole Woman ’ s Health , which operates clinics in Texas and four other states .
Whole Woman ’ s Health sued Texas to continue providing abortions .
“ Women are sobbing on the phone , begging , ” she said .
The process , she said , felt like “ abuse ” .
At one point , only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to serve a population of 5.8 million women of reproductive age , she said .
Three of them were Whole Woman ’ s Health locations .
That has left clinics across the state with a month ’ s worth of patients on a waiting list .
In other states , similar situations have played out .
An epileptic woman in Tennessee with twins , premature infant daughters and a two-year-old son told a federal court of her attempt to get an abortion , when she was caught up in that state ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she underwent a tubal ligation and used condoms as well .
She was in disbelief when both failed .
“ I feel science failed me , ” she told the court .
When she tried to obtain an abortion , arguments were already under way in court .
One Friday in April , it was legal to get an abortion .
But by Monday , before she could go to the clinic , it was banned .
“ I was terrified again , ” she told the court .
“ Caring for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while exhausted from and deeply anxious about an unwanted pregnancy , worrying every day that the pregnancy will suddenly leave me unable to care for my kids , and managing all of this in the midst of a pandemic.
” Monied interests have also come to support the bans .
In just one example , one of Donald Trump ’ s personal attorneys , Jay Sekulow , bragged about his faith-based not-for-profit legal centers support for Texas ’ s abortion ban .
“ The [ American Center for Law and Justice ] has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals out of Texas , ” Sekulow tweeted .
The back and forth has forced women , at least the few with means , to travel at an exceptionally dangerous time , boarding planes or driving out of state and violating stay-at-home orders .
“ We had someone who flew in from Texas , ” said Renee Chelian , founder of Northland Family Planning Clinics in Detroit , Michigan .
“ She had family here , but she got on a plane and flew .
None of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When workers from Whole Woman Health ’ s called to reschedule patients , some were in the car driving to neighboring Oklahoma and New Mexico .
The women would ask , are you sure we should turn around ?
Is 5am too early to come in ?
As restrictions have gone into place , interest has grown in self-managed abortions .
Plan C , a website which provides information on self-managed abortions , saw daily visits grow 20 % in April and 11 % in March , around the time states enacted bans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the world that a great number of abortions can ’ t be done through telemedicine , ” said Ragsdale .
“ Talk to your doctor , or video conference , and have the drugs delivered to your home .
The FDA regulations don ’ t allow that – it ’ s time they do.
” Even in states supportive of abortion clinic directors have said protesters have become more antagonistic during the pandemic , flouting social distancing guidelines .
“ These people are standing out in front of abortion clinics , harassing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Chelian said .
Some of Chelian ’ s clinic protesters , who are reliable regulars week-in and week-out , have joined pro-gun , anti-social-distancing rallies at the Michigan capitol of Lansing .
“ At the end of March , they were claiming as Christians they won ’ t get the virus ” , she said .

A woman in Texas was isolating with her family. She was frightened and carried a secret: she was eight weeks pregnant.
Even under normal circumstances, obtaining an abortion in Texas is described as “mostly impossible”. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, politicians in Texas and seven other states have worked to try to halt abortions entirely. They have undertaken costly lawsuits to restrict abortion in the name of health and safety, even as doctors lined up against them.
Experts have described the order as the most chaotic 30 days since 2013, when Texas imposed severe restrictions on abortion clinics, later overturned by the supreme court.
Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia have all seen confusion and intermittent bans as anti-abortion state politicians categorized abortion services as non-essential, and included abortion clinics in bans on elective surgical procedures. The orders have left women desperate, as appointments were cancelled, rescheduled and cancelled again subject to court rulings.
“I am scared to go outside,” said the Texas woman, who the Guardian is not naming because her family is not aware she is pregnant and seeking an abortion. Her story was provided by We Testify, a group which collects women’s stories of seeking abortions. “I just saw the news about Ohio and that scared me that I can’t get an abortion in time,” she said about restrictions in that state. “Now, they did it in Texas. I don’t know what to do.”
A group gathers to protest abortion restrictions at the state capitol in Austin, Texas, on 21 March 2019. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP
Abortion clinics across the US face existential threats under normal circumstances. Providers and clinics routinely face state harassment, angry protesters and threats of violence.
Abortion providers said Covid-19 has exacerbated this fight, with some states claiming abortions need to be stopped during the pandemic to preserve hospital beds and personal protective equipment for workers.
“No one is exempt from the governor’s executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures, including abortion providers,” said the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, early in the pandemic. “Those who violate the governor’s order will be met with the full force of the law.” Paxton did not return a call for comment.
The American Medical Association, the country’s largest association of physicians, has described such regulations as “exploiting” the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Instead of saying, for example, ‘There should be no abortion’... [abortion opponents] are trying to create uncertainty about what the reality on the ground is,” said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University and an expert on reproductive rights.
Imagine being forced to carry and deliver a baby in the middle of this pandemic Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale
At the same time, clinic directors have anecdotally reported a rise in demand amid the myriad uncertainties raised by the pandemic. More than 26 million Americans have lost jobs, with more unemployment claims expected, and at least 55,000 people have died as a result of the virus. One clinic in Wichita, Kansas, reported an almost threefold increase in patients, CBS reported.
“People are delaying all kinds of medical care to stay out of hospitals. You can’t put a pregnancy on pause, so imagine being forced into that position – it must be terrifying”, said the Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation said
Texas politicians’ decision to ban abortion set off a month-long ping-pong of court battles. As Covid-19 spread ferociously in the US in March and April, federal court rulings restored, then abolished, abortion access multiple times, sometimes just hours apart.
On 23 March, the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, issued an executive order halting all elective surgical procedures, specifically calling out abortion. Abortion providers sued on 25 March, a federal court agreed with them and blocked the state’s order on 30 March.
But the reprieve lasted only 21 hours. The fifth circuit court of appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana, reinstated Texas’s executive order on 31 March. The court’s bench is arguably the most conservative in the nation, and is outwardly hostile to abortion rights.
“They were open one day, and they were closed the next day, and they were allowed to do medication abortions one day, and not the next day,” said Nikiya Natale, statewide manager of the Texas Equal Access Fund, which helps women pay for abortions.
“We’ve had to cancel hundreds of appointments … and numerous times,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, which operates clinics in Texas and four other states. Whole Woman’s Health sued Texas to continue providing abortions. “Women are sobbing on the phone, begging,” she said. The process, she said, felt like “abuse”.
The Whole Woman’s Health sued Texas to continue providing abortions. ‘Women are sobbing on the phone, begging,’ said the CEO. Photograph: Tony Gutierrez/AP
At one point, only four abortion clinics in Texas were open to serve a population of 5.8 million women of reproductive age, she said. Three of them were Whole Woman’s Health locations. That has left clinics across the state with a month’s worth of patients on a waiting list.
In other states, similar situations have played out. An epileptic woman in Tennessee with twins, premature infant daughters and a two-year-old son told a federal court of her attempt to get an abortion, when she was caught up in that state’s ban.
To prevent another pregnancy, she underwent a tubal ligation and used condoms as well. She was in disbelief when both failed. “I feel science failed me,” she told the court.
When she tried to obtain an abortion, arguments were already under way in court. One Friday in April, it was legal to get an abortion. But by Monday, before she could go to the clinic, it was banned.
“I was terrified again,” she told the court. “Caring for a toddler and two twin babies alone, while exhausted from and deeply anxious about an unwanted pregnancy, worrying every day that the pregnancy will suddenly leave me unable to care for my kids, and managing all of this in the midst of a pandemic.”
Monied interests have also come to support the bans. In just one example, one of Donald Trump’s personal attorneys, Jay Sekulow, bragged about his faith-based not-for-profit legal centers support for Texas’s abortion ban.
BREAKING: The @ACLJ has helped secure a huge victory for life in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals out of Texas. The Court agreed with our argument, concluding that there’s “no constitutional right to any particular #abortion procedure.” https://t.co/NDG66plP0n — Jay Sekulow (@JaySekulow) April 21, 2020
“The [American Center for Law and Justice] has helped secure a huge victory for life in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals out of Texas,” Sekulow tweeted.
The back and forth has forced women, at least the few with means, to travel at an exceptionally dangerous time, boarding planes or driving out of state and violating stay-at-home orders.
“We had someone who flew in from Texas,” said Renee Chelian, founder of Northland Family Planning Clinics in Detroit, Michigan. “She had family here, but she got on a plane and flew. None of the rest of us are flying.”
When workers from Whole Woman Health’s called to reschedule patients, some were in the car driving to neighboring Oklahoma and New Mexico. The women would ask, are you sure we should turn around? Is 5am too early to come in?
As restrictions have gone into place, interest has grown in self-managed abortions. Plan C, a website which provides information on self-managed abortions, saw daily visits grow 20% in April and 11% in March, around the time states enacted bans.
“There’s no reason in the world that a great number of abortions can’t be done through telemedicine,” said Ragsdale. “Talk to your doctor, or video conference, and have the drugs delivered to your home. The FDA regulations don’t allow that – it’s time they do.”
The operating room at the Whole Woman’s Health clinic in Fort Worth, Texas. On 30 March the fifth circuit court of appeals reinstated the state’s executive order to restrict abortions during the pandemic. Photograph: Tony Gutierrez/AP
Even in states supportive of abortion clinic directors have said protesters have become more antagonistic during the pandemic, flouting social distancing guidelines.
“These people are standing out in front of abortion clinics, harassing women, refusing to wear masks,” Chelian said.
Some of Chelian’s clinic protesters, who are reliable regulars week-in and week-out, have joined pro-gun, anti-social-distancing rallies at the Michigan capitol of Lansing. “At the end of March, they were claiming as Christians they won’t get the virus”, she said.


theguardian--2020-04-30--Birx risks reputation in bid to keep on Trump's good side

Sometimes the story is not so much Donald Trump as the people around him , and not so much what they say but what they don ’ t .
Last Thursday Deborah Birx sat in the White House press briefing roomas the US president speculated on whether injecting disinfectant might offer a “ cleaning ” of the lungs .
“ Don ’ t do anything he just said !
” is what Dr Birx should have exclaimed at that moment , argues Kurt Bardella , a political columnist and commentator , explaining : “ A doctor right there has an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If the president wants to fire that person , then so be it.
” But Birx said no such thing .
The cringeworthy remarks about disinfectant and ultraviolet light compounded fears that Birx , the lead advocate of social distancing , has been somewhat less successful at critical distancing from the president .
Like other White House officials before her , she is said to be sacrificing a hard-won professional reputation at the altar of Trump ’ s vanity .
Critics note that she has repeatedly failed to speak out against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claims when the occasion demands .
Worse still , in an apparent attempt to stay in his good graces , the 64-year-old doctor and diplomat has praised Trump and even sided with him in jabbing at the media .
Bardella , a former spokesman and senior adviser for the House of Representatives ’ oversight committee , said : “ A doctor ’ s responsibility first and foremost is to tell the truth and correct falsehoods that could do people harm .
I don ’ t think it ’ s realistic or possible to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to science.
” Although everything in Birx ’ s career prepared her for a global pandemic , nothing could have prepared her for a mercurial boss with a tendency to parrot bad science .
Her professional life began in 1985 with the defence department as a clinician in immunology , specialising in research on a vaccine for HIV/Aids .
Birx was promoted to director of the US military HIV research program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research from 1996 to 2005 .
She helped lead one of the most influential HIV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promoted to colonel .
Birx went on to lead President George W Bush ’ s Pepfar programs combating HIV/ Aids around the world , managing an annual budget of more than $ 1.5bn .
She is now one of two women on the White House coronavirus taskforce , where Vice-Ppresident Mike Pence , has described her as his “ right arm ” .
Another prominent taskforce member , Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , is widely regarded as having walked the diplomatic tightrope more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president ’ s false claims at times , while holding his tongue or offering gentle praise at others .
Birx has been a team player to a fault , careful not to aggravate Trump by tempering his wild medical ruminations and exaggerations about testing capacity .
On the contrary , last month she told the Christian Broadcasting Network : “ He ’ s been so attentive to the scientific literature and the details and the data .
I think his ability to analyse and integrate data that comes out of his long history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefit during these discussions about medical issues.
” Joe Lockhart , a former White House press secretary , tweeted : “ I , for one , am no longer interested in hearing from Dr. Brix [ sic ] .
Her vouching for Trump ’ s vast scientific abilities from his business background was the breaking point .
Stepford Doc ” – a reference to The Stepford Wives , a 1972 satirical novel about submissive housewives who lack free will .
The disinfectant debacle inflicted a severe political wound for Trump but also caused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was pressed about the issue later on two Sunday politics TV shows , she claimed this is merely the way Trump processes new information and expressed frustration that the media had not moved on .
“ It bothers me that this is still in the news cycle , ” she told CNN ’ s State of the Union .
Emily Nussbaum , a staff writer at the New Yorker magazine , tweeted : “ Dr Birx is going to leave a horrible legacy .
It ’ s one thing to be a cynical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in my eyes , to be the expert who props up the mad king .
I get that it ’ s an emergency & I understand the theoretical strategy she may think she ’ s pursuing , but it ’ s a moral horror.
” Birx is not the first White House official to find themself walking a tightrope .
Memoirs of the Trump era are replete with anecdotes about senior staff removing documents from the president ’ s desk or accidentally-on-purpose forgetting to pass on his orders .
Charlie Sykes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , explored the moral quandary earlier this month in an article headlined , “ The Faucian Bargain ” , and said this week : “ If Dr Birx and Dr Fauci were not in the room , decisions might have been made that cost tens of thousands of lives , but the price for them is to flatter and fawn.
” Of Birx ’ s silence over disinfectant at the crucial moment when the cameras were rolling , Sykes commented : “ It ’ s cringeworthy and embarrassing , but I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is what ’ s required .
It ’ s a trade-off , and I don ’ t envy her position .
If she had said , ‘ This is terrible and the president put people in danger ’ , she ’ d be gone and replaced by someone even less willing to speak truth to power .
”

Sometimes the story is not so much Donald Trump as the people around him, and not so much what they say but what they don’t.
Last Thursday Deborah Birx sat in the White House press briefing roomas the US president speculated on whether injecting disinfectant might offer a “cleaning” of the lungs.
“Don’t do anything he just said!” is what Dr Birx should have exclaimed at that moment, argues Kurt Bardella, a political columnist and commentator, explaining: “A doctor right there has an obligation to correct that in real time. If the president wants to fire that person, then so be it.”
But Birx said no such thing.
The cringeworthy remarks about disinfectant and ultraviolet light compounded fears that Birx, the lead advocate of social distancing, has been somewhat less successful at critical distancing from the president. Like other White House officials before her, she is said to be sacrificing a hard-won professional reputation at the altar of Trump’s vanity.
Critics note that she has repeatedly failed to speak out against the president’s false and potentially dangerous claims when the occasion demands. Worse still, in an apparent attempt to stay in his good graces, the 64-year-old doctor and diplomat has praised Trump and even sided with him in jabbing at the media.
Bardella, a former spokesman and senior adviser for the House of Representatives’ oversight committee, said: “A doctor’s responsibility first and foremost is to tell the truth and correct falsehoods that could do people harm. I don’t think it’s realistic or possible to pander to Trump but also maintain fidelity to science.”
Although everything in Birx’s career prepared her for a global pandemic, nothing could have prepared her for a mercurial boss with a tendency to parrot bad science.
Her professional life began in 1985 with the defence department as a clinician in immunology, specialising in research on a vaccine for HIV/Aids. Birx was promoted to director of the US military HIV research program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research from 1996 to 2005. She helped lead one of the most influential HIV vaccine trials in the world and was promoted to colonel.
Birx went on to lead President George W Bush’s Pepfar programs combating HIV/ Aids around the world, managing an annual budget of more than $1.5bn. She is now one of two women on the White House coronavirus taskforce, where Vice-President Mike Pence has described her as his “right arm”.
Another prominent taskforce member, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is widely regarded as having walked the diplomatic tightrope more successfully. He contradicts and corrects the president’s false claims at times, while holding his tongue or offering gentle praise at others.
Birx has been a team player to a fault, careful not to aggravate Trump by tempering his wild medical ruminations and exaggerations about testing capacity. On the contrary, last month she told the Christian Broadcasting Network: “He’s been so attentive to the scientific literature and the details and the data. I think his ability to analyse and integrate data that comes out of his long history in business has really been a real benefit during these discussions about medical issues.”
Such remarks have provoked a backlash.
Joe Lockhart, a former White House press secretary, tweeted: “I, for one, am no longer interested in hearing from Dr. Brix [sic]. Her vouching for Trump’s vast scientific abilities from his business background was the breaking point. Stepford Doc” – a reference to The Stepford Wives, a 1972 satirical novel about submissive housewives who lack free will.
It’s cringeworthy and embarrassing, but I’m guessing she thought in Trumpland, this is what’s required Charlie Sykes
The disinfectant debacle inflicted a severe political wound for Trump but also caused collateral damage to Birx. When she was pressed about the issue later on two Sunday politics TV shows, she claimed this is merely the way Trump processes new information and expressed frustration that the media had not moved on. “It bothers me that this is still in the news cycle,” she told CNN’s State of the Union.
Emily Nussbaum, a staff writer at the New Yorker magazine, tweeted: “Dr Birx is going to leave a horrible legacy. It’s one thing to be a cynical paid fixer. It’s worse, in my eyes, to be the expert who props up the mad king. I get that it’s an emergency & I understand the theoretical strategy she may think she’s pursuing, but it’s a moral horror.”
Birx is not the first White House official to find themself walking a tightrope. Memoirs of the Trump era are replete with anecdotes about senior staff removing documents from the president’s desk or accidentally-on-purpose forgetting to pass on his orders.
Charlie Sykes, founder and editor-at-large of the Bulwark website, explored the moral quandary earlier this month in an article headlined, “The Faucian Bargain”, and said this week: “If Dr Birx and Dr Fauci were not in the room, decisions might have been made that cost tens of thousands of lives, but the price for them is to flatter and fawn.”
Of Birx’s silence over disinfectant at the crucial moment when the cameras were rolling, Sykes commented: “It’s cringeworthy and embarrassing, but I’m guessing she thought in Trumpland, this is what’s required. It’s a trade-off, and I don’t envy her position. If she had said, ‘This is terrible and the president put people in danger’, she’d be gone and replaced by someone even less willing to speak truth to power.”


theguardian--2020-04-30--Politics drive Georgia's reopening gamble as coronavirus cases rise

When John Gianoulidis , owner of the Kafenio Greek Diner , heard the Georgia governor , Brian Kemp , announce restaurants could offer dine-in services once again this week , he feared the worst for his restaurant and coffee shop in Atlanta .
Here ’ s the deal , he typed out on Facebook .
“ Kemp mandates restaurants reopen , whether I reopen dining rooms or not .
I file for business interruption insurance , it does not go through since I am ‘ allowed ’ to operate full capacity , ” he hypothesized , adding further down in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things blow up again , they are still on my tab not on the states , since they are no longer employed .
Guys , this is about screwing the working class and small business , not about helping us.
” Economists are uncertain if Gianoulidis is entirely correct about the exact rationale behind the sudden announcement to reopen Georgia as coronavirus cases continue to rise , with nearly 25,000 confirmed in the state as of Tuesday afternoon .
The state ’ s reopening has been so early that even Donald Trump urged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they can agree the most in danger from Kemp ’ s actions – both economically and healthwise – are those who open their businesses or return to work in Georgia ’ s new sudden easing of restrictions .
The state ’ s current count of positive virus cases makes it the tenth highest in the country as employees were cleared to serve meals in a restaurant , offer up tattoos or provide hair and nails services and check-in gym goers for Zumba class .
In the last month , Georgia ’ s department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the last three previous years combined .
Nearly a third of the claims came from the food and accommodation industry , many of whom can now – technically – go back to work as restaurants open .
While that may help ease the burden of claims processed by the state , how it affects the greater economy is unclear , said Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Initiative .
“ From an economic standpoint , it ’ s just not really clear why you open up one set of businesses , versus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ referring to Kemp allowing non-essential business to reopen .
Kemp ’ s office did not respond to the Guardian ’ s request for comment .
The state ’ s department of labor did not have much concrete guidance as to whether the reopening would see jobless claims shifted off the government books .
“ This is a way for them to continue to receive some of those same benefits as they gradually come back to work .
And then when it ’ s time to get back to work that employer stops filing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of labor communications director , Kersha Cartwright , said .
But it ’ s unclear when that line between gradual and full time was drawn and by whom it was to be decided – the state or the employer .
Many business owners , like Gianoulidis , will continue to offer carry-out options , but want to wait to hear the risks versus rewards from health officials before opening and seating customers in close quarters , they say .
“ I ’ m just trying to figure out what ’ s going on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US health department , ” Gianoulidis said , adding he would rather hear from health officials than politicians .
But for those businesses that do open up , while the state continues to follow through on its shelter-in-place order until 30 April , this could leave vulnerable employees on even more uncertain grounds , said Gould .
Some might not want to go back to work , feeling unsafe while others may be living with elderly family members or those with pre-existing conditions .
Others may return to work , uncertain about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insurance , Gould added , unsure if they would still qualify now that their place of employment is open .
When asked what would happen if employees of non-essential businesses that could reopen under the state ’ s mandate chose not to return in fear of their safety , Georgia ’ s department of labor could not clarify if they would still be eligible to file for unemployment .
“ Work with your employer , try to work something out .
If you can not work it out and you decide to separate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we will base our eligibility upon the facts presented in the case , ” Cartwright said .
Georgia ’ s governor might not have felt the pressure to rush his state ’ s residents back to work if he had more financial support to fill in gaps where the Cares Act did not reach , an April report from American Progress said .
“ I think that if the federal government stepped in and actually provided significantly more state and local aid to help them deal with the pandemic and to help them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery , that would be good for the economy , ” Gould agreed .
But the health risks of an early reopening could be even more risky than an economic one .
According to a new analysis of data released by the Daily Beast in collaboration with MIT and Harvard Universities , that could most likely be the case .
If the state had continued its current stay-at-home mandate and kept non-essential businesses closed , coronavirus fatalities by mid-June would have been somewhere between 1,004 and 2,922 .
Instead , the team ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be as high as 9,748 .
“ This is a policy that has not been endorsed by experts in public health … one concern going forward is whether it would lead to new outbreaks and contribute to a second wave of growth of the pandemic , ” Cornell University labor economics professor Francine Blau said .
For now , Gianoulidis will keep his dining areas closed , like many other restaurants in Atlanta , with too many financial and health risks at play for him to open them with confidence .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what I ’ m doing until we get a better idea of what ’ s going on , ” he said .

When John Gianoulidis, owner of the Kafenio Greek Diner, heard the Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, announce restaurants could offer dine-in services once again this week, he feared the worst for his restaurant and coffee shop in Atlanta.
Here’s the deal, he typed out on Facebook.
“Kemp mandates restaurants reopen, whether I reopen dining rooms or not. I file for business interruption insurance, it does not go through since I am ‘allowed’ to operate full capacity,” he hypothesized, adding further down in the now viral post, “If things blow up again, they are still on my tab not on the states, since they are no longer employed. Guys, this is about screwing the working class and small business, not about helping us.”
Economists are uncertain if Gianoulidis is entirely correct about the exact rationale behind the sudden announcement to reopen Georgia as coronavirus cases continue to rise, with nearly 25,000 confirmed in the state as of Tuesday afternoon. The state’s reopening has been so early that even Donald Trump urged Kemp not to do it.
But they can agree the most in danger from Kemp’s actions – both economically and healthwise – are those who open their businesses or return to work in Georgia’s new sudden easing of restrictions.
The state’s current count of positive virus cases makes it the tenth highest in the country as employees were cleared to serve meals in a restaurant, offer up tattoos or provide hair and nails services and check-in gym goers for Zumba class. In the last month, Georgia’s department of labor processed 1,090,536 claims, more than the last three previous years combined. Nearly a third of the claims came from the food and accommodation industry, many of whom can now – technically – go back to work as restaurants open.
While that may help ease the burden of claims processed by the state, how it affects the greater economy is unclear, said Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Initiative.
“From an economic standpoint, it’s just not really clear why you open up one set of businesses, versus another set,” she said, referring to Kemp allowing non-essential business to reopen.
Kemp’s office did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment. The state’s department of labor did not have much concrete guidance as to whether the reopening would see jobless claims shifted off the government books.
“This is a way for them to continue to receive some of those same benefits as they gradually come back to work. And then when it’s time to get back to work that employer stops filing for them,” the Georgia department of labor communications director, Kersha Cartwright, said.
But it’s unclear when that line between gradual and full time was drawn and by whom it was to be decided – the state or the employer.
Many business owners, like Gianoulidis, will continue to offer carry-out options, but want to wait to hear the risks versus rewards from health officials before opening and seating customers in close quarters, they say.
“I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on. I haven’t heard from the US health department,” Gianoulidis said, adding he would rather hear from health officials than politicians.
But for those businesses that do open up, while the state continues to follow through on its shelter-in-place order until 30 April , this could leave vulnerable employees on even more uncertain grounds, said Gould. Some might not want to go back to work, feeling unsafe while others may be living with elderly family members or those with pre-existing conditions.
Others may return to work, uncertain about the state’s policy on unemployment insurance, Gould added, unsure if they would still qualify now that their place of employment is open.
When asked what would happen if employees of non-essential businesses that could reopen under the state’s mandate chose not to return in fear of their safety, Georgia’s department of labor could not clarify if they would still be eligible to file for unemployment.
“Work with your employer, try to work something out. If you cannot work it out and you decide to separate yourself from that place of employment then we will base our eligibility upon the facts presented in the case,” Cartwright said.
Georgia’s governor might not have felt the pressure to rush his state’s residents back to work if he had more financial support to fill in gaps where the Cares Act did not reach, an April report from American Progress said.
“I think that if the federal government stepped in and actually provided significantly more state and local aid to help them deal with the pandemic and to help them deal with this relief period and the recovery, that would be good for the economy,” Gould agreed.
But the health risks of an early reopening could be even more risky than an economic one.
According to a new analysis of data released by the Daily Beast in collaboration with MIT and Harvard Universities, that could most likely be the case. If the state had continued its current stay-at-home mandate and kept non-essential businesses closed, coronavirus fatalities by mid-June would have been somewhere between 1,004 and 2,922. Instead, the team’s simulation suggests that number could now be as high as 9,748.
“This is a policy that has not been endorsed by experts in public health … one concern going forward is whether it would lead to new outbreaks and contribute to a second wave of growth of the pandemic,” Cornell University labor economics professor Francine Blau said.
For now, Gianoulidis will keep his dining areas closed, like many other restaurants in Atlanta, with too many financial and health risks at play for him to open them with confidence.
“I’m just going to continue doing what I’m doing until we get a better idea of what’s going on,” he said.


theguardian--2020-04-30--Meet some of Trump’s most conservative judicial picks

One of Donald Trump ’ s central 2016 presidential campaign promises was that he would fill the courts with judges who evoked the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia .
In the White House Trump has delivered on this , with confirmations of more judges than any president at a comparable stage in history .
Progressive groups , as well as civil rights activists , have opposed many Trump judicial appointees , characterizing them as a decades-long conservative push to dismantle social protections – be they healthcare reforms or equality initiatives .
Lena Zwarensteyn , fair courts campaign director at The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said the circuit court appointments were “ some of the most extreme judges we ’ ve ever seen ” .
Several judges exemplify this shift , advocates say .
• None Eastern , middle district and western districts of Louisiana ; northern and southern districts of Mississippi ; eastern , northern , southern , and western districts of Texas .
Ho has epitomized Trump ’ s efforts to reshape the courts , critics say .
The Taipei , Taiwan-born Texan , who graduated from Stanford University and then University of Chicago Law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government “ would be unrecognizable to our Founders ” and used the phrase “ the moral tragedy of abortion ” .
He has also complained that the US constitution ’ s second amendment , which permits an individual to “ keep and bear arms , ” has been treated as a “ second class right ” , NPR reported him saying in legal writings .
Ho , 47 , was among the three judges to strike down Mississippi ’ s 15-week abortion ban in December , but made clear that his ruling had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – and was not enthused by this requirement .
“ Nothing in the text or original understanding of the constitution establishes a right to an abortion .
Rather , what distinguishes abortion from other matters of health care policy in America – and uniquely removes abortion policy from the democratic process established by our founders – is supreme court precedent , ” he wrote .
Ho also said : “ Consider how the supreme court has construed the cruel and unusual punishments clause of the eighth amendment to forbid executions of convicted murderers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ methods that avoid causing unnecessary pain to convicted murderers , but does not even permit them from preventing abortions that cause unnecessary pain to unborn babies.
” Elliot Mincberg , a senior fellow at the People For the American Way ( PFAW ) advocacy group , said : “ Ho is among the most radical of the radical Trump judges .
He makes clear his far right ideology in his decisions , and always consistency writing dissents on issues that would take law even further to the right.
” Ho ’ s past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice Clarence Thomas and serving as Texas ’ solicitor general , as well as private practice .
He also worked for the Department of Justice and US Senate ’ s subcommittees on the constitution and immigration .
Unlike some other Trump judicial appointees , the American Bar Association did rate him as “ well qualified , ” the Dallas Morning News reported .
Rao , a former Trump White House official , created headlines before she took the bench because she had opposed prohibitions on “ dwarf tossing , ” by arguing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of legal agency .
She disavowed this position during her confirmation hearing , as well as past seemingly victim-blaming in writing on date rape in columns as a student such as when she wrote “ a good way to avoid a potential date rape is to stay reasonably sober ” .
Rao replaced Brett Kavanaugh , who despite extensive controversy during his confirmation hearing is now on the US supreme court .
Her professional path has similarities to Ho .
She was a law clerk for Thomas and worked as counsel for nominations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee on the Judiciary .
In addition to private practice , she was special assistant and associate White House counsel to George W Bush .
From 2006 to 2017 , she taught at George Mason University ’ s Antonin Scalia Law School .
The American Bar Association also ranked her as “ well qualified , ” NPR reported .
Born in Detroit , the 47-year-old judge , who was reportedly on Trump ’ s shortlist for the supreme court , opposed the House of Representatives ’ ability to subpoena Trump ’ s financial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the House should have employed its impeachment power , not its legislative authority , in requesting these records .
She also wanted to thwart Democrats from obtaining grand jury testimony and materials from special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election .
In her March dissent , Rao reportedly maintained the House Judiciary Committee didn ’ t have the legal grounds to request that the court enforce their subpoena .
“ She is right there , on one of the nation ’ s most important appellate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voice for whatever outrageous thing the Trump administration wants to do , ” said Elliot Mincberg of PFAW .
• None Eastern and western Districts of Arkansas ; northern and southern districts of Iowa ; district of Minnesota ; eastern and western districts of Mississippi ; district of Nebraska ; district of North Dakota ; district of South Dakota Once also on Trump ’ s shortlist for the US supreme court , the Kansas native said in a 2-1 decision last August that a video company would likely succeed in arguing that because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it could refuse to sell services to same-sex couples – effectively creating a faith-based exemption from Minnesota anti-discrimination law .
Dissenting Judge Jane Kelly pointed out that Stras ’ ruling effectively gave “ ’ affirmative constitutional protections ’ to private discrimination , ” which would be similar to a hotel denying “ its services to an individual based on race , ” PFAW notes .
In July 2019 , Stras agreed that a woman could be charged with manslaughter – for using drugs during pregnancy , if it helped prompt the death of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Colloton , who was appointed by George W Bush and also on Trump ’ s supreme court shortlist , opposed this ruling , saying it set the stage for women being charged with manslaughter or assault for consuming alcohol while pregnant , if they “ use chemotherapy to treat cancer , ” or “ negligently drive an automobile and cause an accident ” resulting in harm to their as-yet unborn children .
“ His record in advance certainly showed that he was very interested in dismantling the social safety net , ” Mincberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the bench are not only in that direction , but also go further to the right than other very conservative Republican judges.
” Stras ’ ascent to the eighth circuit also marked a significant divergence from decades-long practice on how the Senate confirms presidents ’ judicial picks – showing Republicans ’ eagerness to greenlight Trump ’ s nominees .
The Minnesota was confirmed despite opposition from one of his state ’ s two senators – a move which hasn ’ t happened in 30 years , the Associated Press reported .
Stras @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home state , at the University of Kansas .
In addition to two clerkships on federal appeals courts , he worked as a clerk for Thomas .
He held various teaching and scholarly positions at law schools , according to the Federal Judicial Center .
When Stras was nominated , he was an associate justice of the Minnesota state supreme court .
• None Northern , Middle and southern districts of Alabama , Florida and Georgia Branch ’ s involvement in recent decisions shows her efforts to undermine civil rights , advocates say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alabama ’ s argument that people and organizations could not file suit against the state for violating the federal Voting Rights Act ( VRA ) .
Branch , 52 , dissented .
She contended that people and organizations can ’ t sue states for VRA violations .
She also said that the language used to describe legal action involving VRA violations employs the phrase “ in any State or political subdivision , ” but “ does not authorize proceedings ‘ against ’ a state or political subdivision.
” “ The bizarre part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to bar people from challenging discrmination and voter suppression because she thinks Congress used the wrong preposition in a statute , ” said Michael Meltsner , the Matthews distinguished university professor of law at Northeastern University School of Law .
He later said : “ She ’ s also taken other votes that suggest pretty much the same highly conservative approach , and that ’ s pretty much the same situation for the other judges.
” The Atlanta-born Branch , who graduated from Davidson College and Emory University School of Law , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court and worked in private practice .
Her government experience includes the US Department of Homeland Security and the White House management and budget office , in George W Bush ’ s administration .
Prior to Branch ’ s federal appellate confirmation , she was a judge on Georgia ’ s court of appeals , her 11th circuit biography says .
• None Eastern and western districts of Kentucky ; eastern and western districts of Michigan ; northern and southern districts of Ohio ; eastern , middle and western districts of Tennessee .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s decisions have indicated a pattern of decisions that have the potential to undermine oversight and civil rights , progressive court-watchers contend .
Bush , 55 , and Judge Joan Larsen , who ’ s also a Trump appointee , upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that involved an airline employee who was terminated after complaining to company higher-ups about safety concerns involving her supervisor .
The former employee , a technical writer whose work involved operations and maintenance manuals for pilots , claimed that she was protected from the firing despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She cited an Ohio law that prohibits firing people if doing so is in violation of public policy .
She contended that she was protected under this law , arguing that public safety was public policy , says PFAW .
In his January opinion , Bush wrote that she “ failed to provide clear notice … that she was invoking a governmental policy in her complaints , ” meaning her “ dismissal did not jeopardize any public policy , and the facts of her case do not trigger Ohio ’ s public-policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In July , Bush voted to affirm the dismissal without trial of a free speech case .
In that lawsuit , protesters had claimed that they were wrongfully arrested while trying to protest the Kentucky Farm Bureau for alleged discriminatory policies .
“ Bush is one of the earliest judges that was put on the court by Trump and therefore he has one of the longest records – and his record is broad and deep and bad in a wide variety of cases , ” Mincberg said .
“ It ’ s hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hasn ’ t written a decision , or dissent , that would take the law backwards.
” Prior to Bush ’ s confirmation , Buzzfeed reported that he had likened abortion to slavery in a pseudonymous blog post , writing that they were the “ two greatest tragedies in our country ” .
The Arkansas-born Bush , who graduated from Vanderbilt University and then Harvard Law School , was a clerk in the eighth circuit , and then worked in private practice in Washington DC and Louisville , Kentucky .

One of Donald Trump’s central 2016 presidential campaign promises was that he would fill the courts with judges who evoked the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia.
In the White House Trump has delivered on this, with confirmations of more judges than any president at a comparable stage in history.
Progressive groups, as well as civil rights activists, have opposed many Trump judicial appointees, characterizing them as a decades-long conservative push to dismantle social protections – be they healthcare reforms or equality initiatives.
Lena Zwarensteyn, fair courts campaign director at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said the circuit court appointments were “some of the most extreme judges we’ve ever seen”.
Several judges exemplify this shift, advocates say.
James Ho
Fifth circuit court of appeals
Eastern, middle district and western districts of Louisiana; northern and southern districts of Mississippi; eastern, northern, southern, and western districts of Texas.
Ho has epitomized Trump’s efforts to reshape the courts, critics say. The Taipei, Taiwan-born Texan, who graduated from Stanford University and then University of Chicago law school, has written that the present-day government “would be unrecognizable to our Founders” and used the phrase “the moral tragedy of abortion”. He has also complained that the US constitution’s second amendment, which permits an individual to “keep and bear arms”, has been treated as a “second class right”, NPR reported him saying in legal writings.
James Ho.
Ho, 47, was among the three judges to strike down Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban in December, but made clear that his ruling had to be based on supreme court precedent – and was not enthused by this requirement. “Nothing in the text or original understanding of the constitution establishes a right to an abortion. Rather, what distinguishes abortion from other matters of health care policy in America – and uniquely removes abortion policy from the democratic process established by our founders – is supreme court precedent,” he wrote.
Ho also said: “Consider how the supreme court has construed the cruel and unusual punishments clause of the eighth amendment to forbid executions of convicted murderers that involve unnecessary pain … use execution methods that avoid causing unnecessary pain to convicted murderers, but does not even permit them from preventing abortions that cause unnecessary pain to unborn babies.”
Elliot Mincberg, a senior fellow at the People For the American Way (PFAW) advocacy group, said: “Ho is among the most radical of the radical Trump judges. He makes clear his far-right ideology in his decisions, and always consistently writing dissents on issues that would take law even further to the right.”
Ho’s past work includes clerking for the conservative supreme court Justice Clarence Thomas and serving as Texas’s solicitor general, as well as private practice. He also worked for the Department of Justice and US Senate’s subcommittees on the constitution and immigration. Unlike some other Trump judicial appointees, the American Bar Association did rate him as “well qualified”, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Neomi Rao
District of Columbia circuit court of appeals
Washington DC
Rao, a former Trump White House official, created headlines before she took the bench because she had opposed prohibitions on “dwarf tossing”, by arguing that such bans strip little people of legal agency. She disavowed this position during her confirmation hearing, as well as past seemingly victim-blaming in writing on date rape in columns as a student such as when she wrote “a good way to avoid a potential date rape is to stay reasonably sober”.
Rao replaced Brett Kavanaugh, who despite extensive controversy during his confirmation hearing is now on the US supreme court. Her professional path has similarities to Ho.
She was a law clerk for Thomas and worked as counsel for nominations and constitutional law to the US Senate committee on the judiciary. In addition to private practice, she was special assistant and associate White House counsel to George W Bush. From 2006 to 2017, she taught at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia law school. The American Bar Association also ranked her as “well qualified”, NPR reported.
Neomi Rao.
Born in Detroit, the 47-year-old judge, who was reportedly on Trump’s shortlist for the supreme court, opposed the House of Representatives’ ability to subpoena Trump’s financial records. Rao contended in her dissent that the House should have employed its impeachment power, not its legislative authority, in requesting these records.
She also wanted to thwart Democrats from obtaining grand jury testimony and materials from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. In her March dissent, Rao reportedly maintained the House judiciary committee did not have the legal grounds to request that the court enforce their subpoena.
“She is right there, on one of the nation’s most important appellate courts, in being the major consistent voice for whatever outrageous thing the Trump administration wants to do,” said Mincberg of PFAW.
David Stras
Eighth circuit court of appeals
Eastern and western districts of Arkansas; northern and southern districts of Iowa; district of Minnesota; eastern and western districts of Mississippi; district of Nebraska; district of North Dakota; district of South Dakota
Once also on Trump’s shortlist for the US supreme court, the Kansas native said in a 2-1 decision last August that a video company would probably succeed in arguing that because of the owners’ religious beliefs, it could refuse to sell services to same-sex couples – effectively creating a faith-based exemption from Minnesota anti-discrimination law. Dissenting, Judge Jane Kelly pointed out that Stras’s ruling effectively gave “’affirmative constitutional protections’ to private discrimination”, which would be similar to a hotel denying “its services to an individual based on race”, PFAW notes.
David Stras.
In July 2019, Stras agreed that a woman could be charged with manslaughter – for using drugs during pregnancy, if it helped prompt the death of her newborn child. Even Judge Steven Colloton, who was appointed by George W Bush and also on Trump’s supreme court shortlist, opposed this ruling, saying it set the stage for women being charged with manslaughter or assault for consuming alcohol while pregnant, if they “use chemotherapy to treat cancer”, or “negligently drive an automobile and cause an accident” resulting in harm to their as-yet unborn children.
“His record in advance certainly showed that he was very interested in dismantling the social safety net,” Mincberg said. “His decisions since coming to the bench are not only in that direction, but also go further to the right than other very conservative Republican judges.”
Stras’s ascent to the eighth circuit also marked a significant divergence from decades-long practice on how the Senate confirms presidents’ judicial picks – showing Republicans’ eagerness to greenlight Trump’s nominees. The Minnesota supreme court justice was confirmed despite opposition from one of his state’s two senators – a move which hasn’t happened in 30 years, the Associated Press reported.
Stras, 45, was educated in his home state, at the University of Kansas. In addition to two clerkships on federal appeals courts, he worked as a clerk for Thomas. He held various teaching and scholarly positions at law schools , according to the Federal Judicial Center. When Stras was nominated, he was an associate justice of the Minnesota state supreme court.
Elizabeth Branch
Eleventh circuit court of appeals
Northern, Middle and southern districts of Alabama, Florida and Georgia
Branch’s involvement in recent decisions shows her efforts to undermine civil rights, advocates say. In February, the circuit rejected Alabama’s argument that people and organizations could not file suit against the state for violating the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA). Branch, 52, dissented.
She contended that people and organizations can’t sue states for VRA violations.
She also said that the language used to describe legal action involving VRA violations employs the phrase “in any State or political subdivision,” but “does not authorize proceedings ‘against’ a state or political subdivision”.
“The bizarre part of that dissent is that she seems to want to bar people from challenging discrimination and voter suppression because she thinks Congress used the wrong preposition in a statute,” said Michael Meltsner, the Matthews distinguished university professor of law at Northeastern University school of law. He later said: “She’s also taken other votes that suggest pretty much the same highly conservative approach, and that’s pretty much the same situation for the other judges.”
The Atlanta-born Branch, who graduated from Davidson College and Emory University school of law, was a law clerk in Chicago federal court and worked in private practice. Her government experience includes the US Department of Homeland Security and the White House management and budget office, in George W Bush’s administration. Before Branch’s federal appellate confirmation, she was a judge on Georgia’s court of appeals, her 11th circuit biography says.
John K Bush
Sixth circuit court of appeals
Eastern and western districts of Kentucky; eastern and western districts of Michigan; northern and southern districts of Ohio; eastern, middle and western districts of Tennessee.
Since ascending to the appellate bench, Bush’s decisions have indicated a pattern with the potential to undermine oversight and civil rights, progressive court-watchers contend. Bush, 55, and Judge Joan Larsen, who is also a Trump appointee, upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that involved an airline employee who was terminated after complaining to company higher-ups about safety concerns involving her supervisor.
The former employee, a technical writer whose work involved operations and maintenance manuals for pilots, claimed that she was protected from the firing despite being an “at will” worker. She cited an Ohio law that prohibits firing people if doing so is in violation of public policy. She contended that she was protected under this law, arguing that public safety was public policy, says PFAW.
In his January opinion, Bush wrote that she “failed to provide clear notice … that she was invoking a governmental policy in her complaints”, meaning her “dismissal did not jeopardize any public policy, and the facts of her case do not trigger Ohio’s public-policy exception to the at-will employment doctrine”.
In July, Bush voted to affirm the dismissal without trial of a free speech case. In that lawsuit, protesters had claimed that they were wrongfully arrested while trying to protest against the Kentucky Farm Bureau for alleged discriminatory policies.
“Bush is one of the earliest judges that was put on the court by Trump and therefore he has one of the longest records – and his record is broad and deep and bad in a wide variety of cases,” Mincberg said. “It’s hard to find a single area where Bush hasn’t written a decision, or dissent, that would take the law backwards.”
Before Bush’s confirmation, Buzzfeed reported that he had likened abortion to slavery in a pseudonymous blogpost, writing that they were the “two greatest tragedies in our country”. The Arkansas-born Bush, who graduated from Vanderbilt University and then Harvard law school, was a clerk in the eighth circuit, and then worked in private practice in Washington DC and Louisville, Kentucky.


theguardian--2020-04-30--Trump seizes on pandemic to speed up opening of public lands to industry

The Trump administration has ratcheted up its efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic to overhaul and overturn Obama-era environmental regulations and increase industry access to public lands .
The secretary of the interior , David Bernhardt , has sped efforts to drill , mine and cut timber on fragile western landscapes .
Meanwhile , the EPA , headed by the former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler , has weakened critical environmental laws and announced in March that it would cease oversight of the nation ’ s polluters during the Covid-19 crisis .
The rollbacks appear to follow a playbook put forth by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House to use the pandemic as justification for curtailing , or eliminating , environmental rules and oversight .
President Trump should have “ the ability to suspend costly regulations without extensive process ” , according to a recent report by the Heritage Foundation .
Critics , such as Melyssa Watson , executive director of the Wilderness Society , accuse the administration of using the pandemic as a smokescreen to further its pro-industry agenda .
“ From rolling back EPA ’ s pollution standards , to pushing for more oil and gas drilling and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal government is fast-tracking rollbacks that deserve public scrutiny , ” she said .
While millions of acres of public lands across the country have been shuttered to visitors , they remain open to oil and gas companies .
And despite plummeting oil prices , the Bureau of Land Management has announced no plans to cancel , or even scale back , upcoming auctions that would make hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands across the western US available to energy companies .
One of the most controversial sales would offer up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies .
Some of the parcels are located within a half-mile of Canyonlands national park .
The bureau did not respond to requests for comment .
Environmentalists , however , say that the push to drill near the iconic red rock landscapes of Arches and Canyonlands is not only destructive but also unnecessary in light of an oil glut that has swamped storage capacity , driving oil prices last week into negative territory for the first time in history .
“ The idea that it would be ‘ critical ’ work to speed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the planet drowns in oil tells you all you ’ d ever want to know about the corruption , both intellectual and actual , of the Trump administration , ” said the climate activist and author Bill McKibben .
In addition to ramping up oil and gas development on public lands , the Department of Energy announced plans last week to “ revitalize ” the US uranium mining and processing industry .
Such a scheme , say environmentalists , puts uranium-rich Grand Canyon national park and Bears Ears national monument at extreme risk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resources so they can plunder national treasures like Bears Ears and the Grand Canyon will harm our land , water and public health , ” said America Fitzpatrick , a spokeswoman for the Wilderness Society .
“ To do so in the face of a global pandemic is an abuse of public trust.
” The water demands of the uranium industry are significant .
Depending on the method of extraction , a mine can require hundreds , even thousands , of gallons per minute .
Those requirements are particularly onerous considering that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the most water-starved parts of the country .
Another rule change takes aim at the western forests .
In March , the BLM announced a proposal that would allow the BLM and US Forest Service to destroy large parcels of piñon and juniper forests across the western US with minimal environmental review .
Other recent Trump administration actions threaten air and water quality and herald a drastic increase in carbon emissions .
At the end of March , the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to roll back Obama-era @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increased the average fuel efficiency of the American vehicle fleet by more than 6 miles per gallon .
Referred to by the EPA as “ the largest deregulatory initiative of this administration ” , the reduction in fuel efficiency standards will result in close to a billion additional tons of carbon emissions per year .
Days earlier , the EPA announced that it would suspend enforcement of environmental regulations during the Covid-19 outbreak , allowing industrial firms – from oil refineries to small manufacturers – to self-monitor and avoid penalties for violations if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resulted from the pandemic .
“ The Covid-19 pandemic is a nationwide phenomenon , ” the EPA administrator , Andrew Wheeler , wrote in a letter to Congress .
“ Diverting EPA staff time to respond to individual questions about routine monitoring and reporting requirements would hinder EPA ’ s ability to focus on continued protection of human health and the environment.
” Others see it differently : “ This is an open license to pollute , ” said the former EPA administrator and current National Resources Defense Council president Gina McCarthy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of an unprecedented public health crisis to do favors for polluters that threaten public health .
”

The Trump administration has ratcheted up its efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic to overhaul and overturn Obama-era environmental regulations and increase industry access to public lands.
The secretary of the interior, David Bernhardt, has sped efforts to drill, mine and cut timber on fragile western landscapes. Meanwhile, the EPA, headed by the former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler, has weakened critical environmental laws and announced in March that it would cease oversight of the nation’s polluters during the Covid-19 crisis.
The rollbacks appear to follow a playbook put forth by influential conservative thinktanks, urging the White House to use the pandemic as justification for curtailing, or eliminating, environmental rules and oversight. President Trump should have “the ability to suspend costly regulations without extensive process”, according to a recent report by the Heritage Foundation.
Critics, such as Melyssa Watson, executive director of the Wilderness Society, accuse the administration of using the pandemic as a smokescreen to further its pro-industry agenda. “From rolling back EPA’s pollution standards, to pushing for more oil and gas drilling and stifling the public review process, the federal government is fast-tracking rollbacks that deserve public scrutiny,” she said.
While millions of acres of public lands across the country have been shuttered to visitors, they remain open to oil and gas companies. And despite plummeting oil prices, the Bureau of Land Management has announced no plans to cancel, or even scale back, upcoming auctions that would make hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands across the western US available to energy companies.
One of the most controversial sales would offer up 150,000 acres in southern Utah to energy companies. Some of the parcels are located within a half-mile of Canyonlands national park. The bureau did not respond to requests for comment.
Environmentalists, however, say that the push to drill near the iconic red rock landscapes of Arches and Canyonlands is not only destructive but also unnecessary in light of an oil glut that has swamped storage capacity, driving oil prices last week into negative territory for the first time in history.
“The idea that it would be ‘critical’ work to speed up oil production on public lands while the planet drowns in oil tells you all you’d ever want to know about the corruption, both intellectual and actual, of the Trump administration,” said the climate activist and author Bill McKibben.
In addition to ramping up oil and gas development on public lands, the Department of Energy announced plans last week to “revitalize” the US uranium mining and processing industry. Such a scheme, say environmentalists, puts uranium-rich Grand Canyon national park and Bears Ears national monument at extreme risk.
“Enriching special interests with taxpayer resources so they can plunder national treasures like Bears Ears and the Grand Canyon will harm our land, water and public health,” said America Fitzpatrick, a spokeswoman for the Wilderness Society. “To do so in the face of a global pandemic is an abuse of public trust.”
The water demands of the uranium industry are significant. Depending on the method of extraction, a mine can require hundreds, even thousands, of gallons per minute. Those requirements are particularly onerous considering that the largest uranium deposits are found in some of the most water-starved parts of the country.
Another rule change takes aim at the western forests. In March, the BLM announced a proposal that would allow the BLM and US Forest Service to destroy large parcels of piñon and juniper forests across the western US with minimal environmental review.
Changes to EPA fuel efficiency standards could lead to a dramatic increase in carbon emissions. Photograph: Étienne Laurent/EPA
Other recent Trump administration actions threaten air and water quality and herald a drastic increase in carbon emissions. At the end of March, the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to roll back Obama-era automobile fuel efficiency standards that would have increased the average fuel efficiency of the American vehicle fleet by more than 6 miles per gallon. Referred to by the EPA as “the largest deregulatory initiative of this administration”, the reduction in fuel efficiency standards will result in close to a billion additional tons of carbon emissions per year.
Days earlier, the EPA announced that it would suspend enforcement of environmental regulations during the Covid-19 outbreak, allowing industrial firms – from oil refineries to small manufacturers – to self-monitor and avoid penalties for violations if they can prove that those violations somehow resulted from the pandemic.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is a nationwide phenomenon,” the EPA administrator, Andrew Wheeler, wrote in a letter to Congress. “Diverting EPA staff time to respond to individual questions about routine monitoring and reporting requirements would hinder EPA’s ability to focus on continued protection of human health and the environment.”
Others see it differently: “This is an open license to pollute,” said the former EPA administrator and current Natural Resources Defense Council president Gina McCarthy. “The administration … is taking advantage of an unprecedented public health crisis to do favors for polluters that threaten public health.”


theguardian--2020-04-30--We mocked preppers and survivalists – until the pandemic hit

You ’ ve heard of preppers , right ?
Survivalists ?
If you ’ ve watched TV shows like Doomsday Preppers , you know about their strange , apocalyptic beliefs : that a disaster could strike at any time , overwhelming first responders and the social safety net ; that this crisis could disrupt supply chains , causing scarcity and panic and social breakdown ; that authorities might invoke emergency powers and impose police curfews .
Crazy theories like that .
In fact , many perfectly reputable organizations – including the US federal government and the Red Cross – recommend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Federal Emergency Management Agency ( Fema ) advises keeping a two-week supply of food , as well as water , batteries , medical masks , first-aid supplies and a battery or hand-powered radio , among other things .
In mainstream society , however , interest in prepping usually invites ridicule about bunkers and tin-foil hats .
Preppers have spent years as the objects of our collective derision .
Until now .
Today , we ’ re all preppers – or rather , wish we had been .
Non-preppers have been caught @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I don ’ t know if preppers are laughing right now , but perhaps they ’ re entitled to some vindication .
Now , I ’ m not a prepper .
I am an effete quasi-intellectual with no practical skills of any kind .
My current “ emergency supplies ” are some Hungry-Man Dinners and a liter of bourbon .
If things get really bad I will finish the bourbon , lie down and wait to be eaten by stray cats .
But I ’ ve come to respect the preppers ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of my friends is one , or at least on the spectrum .
When coronavirus hit , he wasn ’ t one of the millions of people scrambling to buy surgical masks ; he already had them in his survival kit .
He kept a few and gave the rest to elderly people .
It has become fashionable to argue – not entirely accurately – that there are “ no libertarians in a pandemic ” .
Certainly , this crisis has been a stark reminder of the importance of collective action .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; Covid-19 has laid bare the pathetic inadequacy of the US social safety net , our lack of investment in the common good , and our government ’ s short attention span for preparing for crises that don ’ t involve terrorism or war .
But collective action also requires some level of individual responsibility and preparedness , too , at least for those with the ability and the means .
You can ’ t aid your elderly , immunocompromised or poorer neighbors if you haven ’ t taken the bare minimum of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that airplane safety demonstrations warn passengers to put on their own air-masks before assisting others .
We ’ re right to be angry at the people stripping supermarkets bare and hoarding desperately needed supplies .
Those people aren ’ t preppers , however .
Preppers don ’ t engage in panic-buying .
That ’ s the whole point .
That ’ s why it is called prepping .
“ Prepping is a choice that occurs before a panic , not during , ” a prepper recently complained on Reddit .
“ If you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you are a hoarder or , perhaps worse , an opportunist .
In times like these we need to come together and support one another .
That doesn ’ t mean giving away your supplies , but it does mean living in a society.
” Another added , “ We aren ’ t the reason that elderly or immunocompromised people can ’ t find hand sanitizer , masks or toilet paper .
We bought things in small increments when it made zero impact on the supply.
” Yes , some preppers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Rightwing survivalists , in particular , are often motivated by paranoid , apocalyptic , and racist or conspiratorial beliefs .
A massive doomsday industry caters to their fantasies with expensive survival supplies of questionable utility .
The preppers we encounter in popular culture are invariably the worst examples - religious or political zealots , eccentrics , middle-aged men suffering crises of masculinity , and , in the case of shows such as Doomsday Preppers , caricatures selected for entertainment value .
But not all are gun and gear fetishists with delusions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leftwing .
Global warming , environmental degradation and anxiety about the Trump administration have spurred liberals and leftists into the fold .
Websites such as ThePrepared offer useful , non-alarmist advice on disaster preparedness .
The more sophisticated practitioners have always understood that prepping is a matter of both individual and collective wellbeing .
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , better known as the Mormon church , operates a massive network of grain silos and food depots .
People undergoing hardship receive food and household goods , for free or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the church ’ s Costco-style warehouses .
The system is vertically integrated , with food supplied by church-owned farms .
All Mormons are also encouraged to maintain emergency stockpiles in their home – not only for their own sake , but to assist neighbors when a hurricane or flood strikes .
When disaster strikes , not if .
The problem is that disasters always look like remote possibilities before they occur , and historical abstractions afterward .
Even the coronavirus , as insurmountable as it seems , will eventually pass ; we will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and maybe even go back to ridiculing preppers .
Yet global warming probably means more and more of these kinds of crises – natural disasters , but also economic instability and possibly more pandemics , as thawing ice releases long-dormant pathogens .
I suspect the real reason many people instinctively recoil from prepping is psychological .
Prepping comes across as pessimistic or even cynical .
But perhaps it is better to think of it as a form of pragmatism .
We should prepare for disasters for the same reason we buy life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hope for the best , plan for the worst .
Recently , while doing some quarantine cleaning , I found several books I acquired during younger – less lazy , and more idealistic – days : The Boy Scout Fieldbook ; The US Army Survival Manual ; Living Off the Country .
It seems unlikely they ’ ll prove too relevant here in Brooklyn , New York , but I ’ ve decided to brush up anyway .
I also found a book called Home Brewing Without Failures , by the unimprovably named @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one should speak for itself .

You’ve heard of preppers, right? Survivalists? If you’ve watched TV shows like Doomsday Preppers, you know about their strange, apocalyptic beliefs: that a disaster could strike at any time, overwhelming first responders and the social safety net; that this crisis could disrupt supply chains, causing scarcity and panic and social breakdown; that authorities might invoke emergency powers and impose police curfews. Crazy theories like that.
In fact, many perfectly reputable organizations – including the US federal government and the Red Cross – recommend Americans maintain extra food and emergency supplies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) advises keeping a two-week supply of food, as well as water, batteries, medical masks, first-aid supplies and a battery- or hand-powered radio, among other things.
In mainstream society, however, interest in prepping usually invites ridicule about bunkers and tin-foil hats. Preppers have spent years as the objects of our collective derision.
Until now. Today, we’re all preppers – or rather, wish we had been. Non-preppers have been caught in a rain shower without an umbrella. I don’t know if preppers are laughing right now, but perhaps they’re entitled to some vindication.
Now, I’m not a prepper. I am an effete quasi-intellectual with no practical skills of any kind. My current “emergency supplies” are some Hungry-Man Dinners and a liter of bourbon. If things get really bad I will finish the bourbon, lie down and wait to be eaten by stray cats.
But I’ve come to respect the preppers’ ethos of survival and preparedness. One of my friends is one, or at least on the spectrum. When coronavirus hit, he wasn’t one of the millions of people scrambling for surgical masks; he already had them in his survival kit. He kept a few and gave the rest to elderly people.
It has become fashionable to argue – not entirely accurately – that there are “no libertarians in a pandemic”. Certainly, this crisis has been a stark reminder of the importance of collective action. We’re all on this ship together; Covid-19 has laid bare the pathetic inadequacy of the US social safety net, our lack of investment in the common good, and our government’s short attention span for preparing for crises that don’t involve terrorism or war.
But collective action also requires some level of individual responsibility and preparedness, too, at least for those with the ability and the means. You can’t aid your elderly, immunocompromised or poorer neighbors if you haven’t taken the bare minimum of preparations. There’s a reason that airplane safety demonstrations warn passengers to put on their own air-masks before assisting others.
We’re right to be angry at the people stripping supermarkets bare and hoarding desperately needed supplies. Those people aren’t preppers, however. Preppers don’t engage in panic-buying. That’s the whole point. That’s why it is called prepping.
“Prepping is a choice that occurs before a panic, not during,” a prepper recently complained on Reddit. “If you didn’t stock up over time, you are a hoarder or, perhaps worse, an opportunist. In times like these we need to come together and support one another. That doesn’t mean giving away your supplies, but it does mean living in a society.”
Another added, “We aren’t the reason that elderly or immunocompromised people can’t find hand sanitizer, masks or toilet paper. We bought things in small increments when it made zero impact on the supply.”
Yes, some preppers are individualistic to the point of being antisocial. Rightwing survivalists, in particular, are often motivated by paranoid, apocalyptic, and racist or conspiratorial beliefs. A massive doomsday industry caters to their fantasies with expensive survival supplies of questionable utility.
The preppers we encounter in popular culture are invariably the worst examples - religious or political zealots, eccentrics, middle-aged men suffering crises of masculinity, and, in the case of shows such as Doomsday Preppers, caricatures selected for entertainment value.
But not all are gun and gear fetishists with delusions of grandeur; many are apolitical or even leftwing. Global warming, environmental degradation and anxiety about the Trump administration have spurred liberals and leftists into the fold. Websites such as ThePrepared offer useful, non-alarmist advice on disaster preparedness.
The more sophisticated practitioners have always understood that prepping is a matter of both individual and collective wellbeing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon church, operates a massive network of grain silos and food depots. People undergoing hardship receive food and household goods, for free or in exchange for volunteer service, at the church’s Costco-style warehouses. The system is vertically integrated, with food supplied by church-owned farms. All Mormons are also encouraged to maintain emergency stockpiles in their home – not only for their own sake, but to assist neighbors when a hurricane or flood strikes.
When disaster strikes, not if. The problem is that disasters always look like remote possibilities before they occur, and historical abstractions afterward. Even the coronavirus, as insurmountable as it seems, will eventually pass; we will return to normalcy, and then complacency, and maybe even go back to ridiculing preppers.
Yet global warming probably means more and more of these kinds of crises – natural disasters, but also economic instability and possibly more pandemics, as thawing ice releases long-dormant pathogens.
I suspect the real reason many people instinctively recoil from prepping is psychological. Prepping comes across as pessimistic or even cynical. But perhaps it is better to think of it as pragmatism. We should prepare for disasters for the same reason we buy life insurance or back up computer files: hope for the best, plan for the worst.
Recently, while doing some quarantine cleaning, I found several books I acquired during younger – less lazy, and more idealistic – days: The Boy Scout Fieldbook; The US Army Survival Manual; Living Off the Country. It seems unlikely they’ll prove too relevant here in Brooklyn, New York, but I’ve decided to brush up anyway. I also found a book called Home Brewing Without Failures, by the unimprovably named HE Bravery. The utility of that one should speak for itself.


theguardian--2020-04-30--Trump says coronavirus will be 'eradicated' as US death toll passes 60,000 – video

'It 's going to leave .
It 's going to be gone .
It 's going to be eradicated , @ @ @ @ @ said of the coronavirus during a White House round table with business leaders .
His @ @ @ @ @ of Americans who have died of coronavirus passed 60,000 .
Trump was asked if he @ @ @ @ @ Drug Administration ( FDA ) to help fast track the use of a closely watched @ @ @ @ @ , currently undergoing trials for treating Covid-19 patients .
'We want everything to be safe @ @ @ @ @ to see very quick approvals , especially with things that work , ' Trump said @ @ @ @ @ infectious disease expert , Dr Anthony Fauci , has said that the antiviral drug remdesivir @ @ @ @ @ care for Covid-19 after early results showed it helped patients recover more quickly from the @ @ @ @ @ wo n't extend distancing guidelines as death toll passes 60,000 • Trump says distancing guidelines @ @ @ @ @ US deaths pass 60,000 – as it happened

'It's going to leave. It's going to be gone. It's going to be eradicated,' US president Donald Trump said of the coronavirus during a White House round table with business leaders. His comment comes as the number of Americans who have died of coronavirus passed 60,000. Trump was asked if he wanted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help fast track the use of a closely watched intravenous therapeutic drug, remdesivir, currently undergoing trials for treating Covid-19 patients. 'We want everything to be safe, but we would like to see very quick approvals, especially with things that work,' Trump said. The US's top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, has said that the antiviral drug remdesivir will become the standard of care for Covid-19 after early results showed it helped patients recover more quickly from the illness


theguardian--2020-05-01--Trump claims to have evidence coronavirus started in Chinese lab but offers no details

Donald Trump claimed to have seen evidence to substantiate the unproven theory that the coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology , despite US intelligence agencies ’ conclusion that the virus was “ not manmade or genetically modified ” .
“ We ’ re going to see where it comes from , ” Trump said at a White House event on Thursday .
“ We have people looking at it very , very strongly .
Scientific people , intelligence people , and others .
We ’ re going to put it all together .
I think we will have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China might even tell us.
” Pressed to explain what evidence he had seen that the virus originated in a Chinese lab , Trump responded , “ I can ’ t tell you that .
I ’ m not allowed to tell you that.
” Prior to the White House event , the Office of the Director of National Intelligence , the clearinghouse for the web of US spy agencies , issued a statement asserting that the intelligence community “ concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the Covid-19 virus was not manmade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intelligence community will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan , ” the statement added .
The president and his allies have repeatedly touted the theory – for which there is no evidence – that an infectious disease lab in Wuhan , the center of the Chinese outbreak , was the source of the global pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 worldwide .
Mike Pompeo , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier this month that “ the mere fact that we don ’ t know the answers that China hasn ’ t shared the answers I think is very , very telling ” .
Pompeo pressed China to let outside experts into the lab “ so that we can determine precisely where this virus began ” .
Scientists say the virus arose naturally in bats .
Even so , Pompeo and others have pointed fingers at an institute that is run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences .
It has done groundbreaking research tracing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , finding new bat viruses and discovering how they could jump to people .
“ We know that there is the Wuhan Institute of Virology just a handful of miles away from where the wet market was , ” Pompeo said two weeks ago .
The institute has an address eight miles , or 13 kilometers , from the market .
US officials say the American embassy in Beijing flagged concerns about potential safety issues at the lab in Wuhan in 2018 but have yet to find any evidence the virus originated there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ praising the Chinese government ’ s handling of the coronavirus outbreak , Trump has reversed course in recent weeks , blaming China for not containing the virus more quickly .
At the White House event to address the government ’ s efforts to protect seniors during the coronavirus pandemic , Trump said : “ I don ’ t want to cast any dispersions [ sic ] , I just will tell you that China would like to see sleepy Joe Biden ” win the presidential election in November .
“ China doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The president ’ s recent attacks on China line up with leaked Republican party memos , published by Politico , encouraging candidates to aggressively target Beijing in their public remarks on the pandemic .
The Chinese government said on Thursday that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory were “ unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing ” .
The foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang cited the institute ’ s director , Yuan Zhiming , as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that would prevent the release of any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point out again that the origin of the virus is a complex scientific issue , and it should be studied by scientists and professionals , ” Geng said .
He also criticized US politicians who have suggested China should be held accountable for the global pandemic , saying they should spend their time on “ better controlling the epidemic situation at home ” .
But a Chinese government spokesman , Zhao Lijian , demonstrated that China was not above sowing confusion in the face of the pandemic .
He tweeted in March the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the US army .

Donald Trump claims to have seen evidence to substantiate the unproven theory that the coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, despite US intelligence agencies’ conclusion that the virus was “not manmade or genetically modified”.
“We’re going to see where it comes from,” Trump said at a White House event on Thursday. “We have people looking at it very, very strongly. Scientific people, intelligence people, and others. We’re going to put it all together. I think we will have a very good answer eventually. And China might even tell us.”
Pressed to explain what evidence he had seen that the virus originated in a Chinese lab, Trump responded, “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”
Prior to the White House event, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the clearinghouse for the web of US spy agencies, issued a statement asserting that the intelligence community “concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the Covid-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified”.
“The intelligence community will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan,” the statement added.
Trump’s comments came as global infections passed 3.25 million, a third of which were in the US, and where the death toll was approaching 63,000. Recoveries worldwide have passed 1 million.
The US president is increasingly making Beijing’s handling of the outbreak a major issue for his November re-election campaign and has repeatedly threatened retaliation against Beijing.
The president and his allies have repeatedly touted the theory – for which there is no evidence – that an infectious disease lab in Wuhan, the center of the Chinese outbreak, was the source of the global pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 worldwide.
The World Health Organization’s representative in China, Gauden Galea, said the organisation has made requests of Chinese authorities to join research into the origins of the virus. “We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage we have not been invited to join,” he told Sky News in remarks published on Thursday.
He said the WHO has not been able to look at logs from two laboratories in Wuhan that were working on viruses but that researchers are convinced the disease was not manufactured.
“From all available evidence, WHO colleagues in our three-level system are convinced that the origins are in Wuhan and that it is a naturally occurring, not a manufactured, virus,” he said.
On Friday, Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, said: “What we have before us doesn’t suggest that (a lab in Wuhan) is a likely source”. His government has called for an “objective assessment” into the virus and its spread by an independent international team.
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said earlier this month that “the mere fact that we don’t know the answers that China hasn’t shared the answers I think is very, very telling”. Pompeo pressed China to let outside experts into the lab “so that we can determine precisely where this virus began”.
Scientists say the virus arose naturally in bats. Even so, Pompeo and others have pointed fingers at an institute that is run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has done groundbreaking research tracing the likely origins of the Sars virus, finding new bat viruses and discovering how they could jump to people.
“We know that there is the Wuhan Institute of Virology just a handful of miles away from where the wet market was,” Pompeo said two weeks ago. The institute has an address eight miles, or 13 km, from the market.
US officials say the American embassy in Beijing flagged concerns about potential safety issues at the lab in Wuhan in 2018 but have yet to find any evidence the virus originated there nearly two years later.
After initially praising the Chinese government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Trump has reversed course in recent weeks, blaming China for not containing the virus more quickly.
On Thursday Trump said: “I don’t want to cast any dispersions [sic], I just will tell you that China would like to see sleepy Joe Biden” win the presidential election in November. “China doesn’t want to see me re-elected.”
The president’s recent attacks on China line up with leaked Republican party memos, published by Politico, encouraging candidates to aggressively target Beijing in their public remarks on the pandemic.
The Chinese government said on Thursday that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory were “unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing”.
The foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang cited the institute’s director, Yuan Zhiming, as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that would prevent the release of any pathogen.
Geng also refuted Trump’s claim that China was attempting to meddle in the US election. “The US presidential election is an internal affair, we have no interest in interfering in it,” he said.
He also criticized US politicians who have suggested China should be held accountable for the global pandemic, saying they should spend their time on “better controlling the epidemic situation at home”.
In an op-ed published on Thursday, editor of the state-run Global Times, Hu Xijin, labelled Trump’s focus on China a “stunt to divert Americans’ rage towards his administration’s own incompetence in fighting the virus”.
“Only by making Americans hate China can they make sure that the public might overlook the fact that Trump’s team is stained with the blood of Americans,” said Hu.
In other coronavirus developments:
30 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits since 21 March, bringing the country’s jobless toll to more than 18.4% of the working-age population.
Armed protesters demonstrating against lockdown have entered the Michigan capitol as lawmakers debated extending emergency powers.
British PM Boris Johnson has said the UK is “past the peak” of the pandemic
A New Zealand poll found PM, Jacinda Ardern, had a 65% approval rating.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines will soon require passengers to cover their faces during flights.
Jair Bolsonaro has said Brazilian footballers are very unlikely to die from coronavirus. The country has seen a record 7,218 cases in one day.
Agencies contributed reporting