buzzfeednews--2020-04-08--Kentucky And Tennessee Are In A COVID-19 “Natural Experiment” Over The Success Of Social Distancing

The politically opposite neighboring states have had two different approaches to tackling the spread of COVID-19 , and , some residents fear , two drastically different outcomes .
A natural experiment in stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus is playing out on the border between Kentucky and Tennessee , where an early start to social distancing is pitted against a late one .
As of Saturday , Kentucky is now reporting 1,840 cases and 94 deaths , while as of Sunday , Tennessee is reporting 5,308 cases and 101 deaths .
Kentucky Gov .
Andy Beshear declared a state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighboring Tennessee ’ s Bill Lee waited until March 12 , and then took until the end of the month to suggest people stay at home .
The two approaches led to two drastically different outcomes playing out on the national stage .
`` Honestly , it was just a matter of curiosity , ” said Stephanie Jolly , a Kentucky resident and educator whose plot of the contrasting timelines and COVID-19 case numbers went viral on Facebook .
Inspired by a now-famous chart depicting the stark difference in deaths between the early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one in Philadelphia during the 1918 influenza pandemic , she set out to make her chart looking for a modern-day comparison .
St. Louis saw only 1,703 deaths from the influenza pandemic , while Philadelphia suffered the worst fatality rate in the nation , with over 16,000 people dead in six months .
Ironically enough , Jolly was quarantined in New York City while waiting for thyroid cancer surgery there as that city became the center of the US outbreak .
She posted the first version of her chart on Facebook on March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group of friends .
“ I woke up to find it had gone everywhere , ” she said .
The next day , March 21 , the chart spread across Twitter , helped by sports radio show hosts who noted her color choices for the two states reflected heated basketball and football rivalries as well as political ones , pitting a Democratic governor ’ s choices against a Republican 's .
“ I never meant it to be political — it ’ s about policy choices , ” said Jolly .
Since her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ updated the chart , adding notes explaining the lack of testing data from both states .
The chart was meant to spur people to take social distancing seriously , she said , and on those merits it has been a success .
“ I ’ d say it was 90 % positive feedback , ” she said .
“ I ’ ve had a lot of people from Tennessee telling me they wished they were taking the same steps as Kentucky.
” Beshear has enjoyed a burst of popularity for his early actions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and bars , as well as 5 p.m. chats to explain things .
He ’ s even become a Twitter sex symbol , something perhaps only slightly less unexpected than New York Gov .
Andrew ’ s Cuomo rise in status , which has come as a surprise even to Kentuckians who support him .
“ Here ’ s our Mr. Rogers — that ’ s more his tone — and I think he has helped , ” ER doctor Ryan Stanton of Lexington , Kentucky , an American College of Emergency Physicians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We think we have flattened the curve out , ” he said , with the peak of cases now expected in five weeks in the state .
“ But we are seeing a steady uptick in serious cases.
” The extra time bought by social distancing means people who come to the emergency room in Lexington are greeted right away by health care workers in full protective gear , he noted , with fresh new emergency room walls dividing suspect coronavirus patients from the rest of the hospital .
Even correcting for Tennessee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Kentucky ’ s 4.5 million , Tennessee has more than double the number of cases per resident .
The peak in Kentucky 's cases is now projected to be in mid-May , roughly a month after Tennessee ’ s , a sign that the state took more effective measures to “ flatten the curve ” and spread out serious hospitalizations .
While agreeing the two states do present epidemiologists with a natural experiment , Tennessee might have had a much earlier outbreak of the illness , University of Kentucky epidemiologist Kathleen Winter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s hard to compare .
We really prefer to look at hospitalized cases rather than just overall case numbers , ” she said .
It ’ s also not clear that the differing orders from the state governors have led to significantly different behavior from the residents of the two states .
An analysis of cellphone traffic provided to BuzzFeed News by San Francisco–based SafeGraph , which tracks store visits for businesses , suggests social distancing behavior by people who never left their homes tracked closely in the two states since the second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put out by another data tracking company , Unacast , even suggests that Tennesseans deserve better grades for social distancing than Kentuckians . )
But Beshear hasn ’ t hesitated to make the comparison , calling on Kentuckians not to travel to other states except to get groceries or medicine , after he criticized Tennessee in a news conference , in a March 30 state order .
Ohio , to the north , also took very early steps to lock down , which Ohio State University modelers suggest has flattened the peak of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end of April .
In Tennessee , “ The general sense is that people in urban areas are following recommendations more than more rural ones , ” Vanderbilt University School of Medicine infectious disease expert William Schaffner told BuzzFeed News , something that his state 's governor noted as a reason for an eventual stay-at-home recommendation late last month .
Even orders closing restaurants in small towns and limiting gatherings should go a long way toward social distancing in small towns , Shaffner added .
In Nashville , Vanderbilt is bracing for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even building out part of a parking garage into new hospital beds .
“ Not just unusual , amazing that it could be done so fast , ” said Schaffner .
Nashville ’ s mayor reported more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus on Monday .
But the capital city ’ s aggressive measures happened in the face of delays from the state .
“ I do wish our governor had acted faster , and had done more , ” said Schaffner .
He noted that while the Tennessee Medical Society had asked Gov @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on March 22 , Lee only issued a “ safer at home ” order on March 30 , spurred by calls from doctors and other political leaders in the state .
Even then , he declined to take more sweeping measures .
“ This is not a mandated 'shelter in place ' order , because it remains deeply important to me to protect personal liberties , '' Lee said at the time .
To Jolly , the online popularity of her chart in spurring calls for social distancing shows the gap between messages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the language of epidemiology and public health .
“ The goal was n't to position myself as some sort of epidemiologist for the state but to provide information to people that might explain what they are telling us to do , ” Jolly said .
In her latest tweets , Jolly has tried to call attention to all the people in both states who can ’ t telecommute or isolate themselves because of their work .
“ There are lots of people telling me they want to be home but can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the jobs are essential but is selling mulch or arranging begonias for people bored in isolation really essential ?
”

The next day, March 21, the chart spread across Twitter, helped by sports radio show hosts who noted her color choices for the two states reflected heated basketball and football rivalries as well as political ones, pitting a Democratic governor’s choices against a Republican's.
“I never meant it to be political — it’s about policy choices,” said Jolly. Since her first bit of virality, she has updated the chart, adding notes explaining the lack of testing data from both states. The chart was meant to spur people to take social distancing seriously, she said, and on those merits it has been a success.
“I’d say it was 90% positive feedback,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of people from Tennessee telling me they wished they were taking the same steps as Kentucky.”
Beshear has enjoyed a burst of popularity for his early actions taken to close schools, restaurants, and bars, as well as 5 p.m. chats to explain things. He’s even become a Twitter sex symbol, something perhaps only slightly less unexpected than New York Gov. Andrew’s Cuomo rise in status, which has come as a surprise even to Kentuckians who support him.
“Here’s our Mr. Rogers — that’s more his tone — and I think he has helped,” ER doctor Ryan Stanton of Lexington, Kentucky, an American College of Emergency Physicians spokesperson, told BuzzFeed News. “We think we have flattened the curve out,” he said, with the peak of cases now expected in five weeks in the state. “But we are seeing a steady uptick in serious cases.”
The extra time bought by social distancing means people who come to the emergency room in Lexington are greeted right away by health care workers in full protective gear, he noted, with fresh new emergency room walls dividing suspect coronavirus patients from the rest of the hospital.
Even correcting for Tennessee’s bigger population of 6.8 million against Kentucky’s 4.5 million, Tennessee has more than double the number of cases per resident. The peak in Kentucky's cases is now projected to be in mid-May, roughly a month after Tennessee’s, a sign that the state took more effective measures to “flatten the curve” and spread out serious hospitalizations.
While agreeing the two states do present epidemiologists with a natural experiment, Tennessee might have had a much earlier outbreak of the illness, University of Kentucky epidemiologist Kathleen Winter told BuzzFeed News. “It’s hard to compare. We really prefer to look at hospitalized cases rather than just overall case numbers,” she said.


buzzfeednews--2020-03-25--QAnon Followers And Right-Wing Influencers Are Falsely Accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci Of Being A Deep St

QAnon Followers And Right-Wing Influencers Are Falsely Accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci Of Being A Deep State Plant

The fringe debates whether the coronavirus is the real deep state plot — or the federal government 's response to it .
Right-wing influencers and QAnon supporters are waging an information war against Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and top-ranking member of the White House 's Coronavirus Task Force .
They are falsely claiming that Fauci is working with Hillary Clinton and the deep state to cause an economic collapse and discredit President Donald Trump .
Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory , a labyrinthine belief system that posits that President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a global criminal organization , have spent much of the COVID-19 outbreak struggling to fit the disease into their narratives .
At first , they theorized the virus was a bioweapon created by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates .
Then , following remarks last month from radio host Rush Limbaugh , a sizable contingent suggested that the virus was actually a deep state hoax meant to damage Trump politically .
In recent days , their baseless speculations have settled on Fauci .
QAnon-supporting radio host Bill Mitchell has been the biggest promoter of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mitchell has been spinning a conspiracy theory that Fauci is a “ Democrat plant '' and nicknamed him “ Dr .
# FearPorn.
” Mitchell ’ s first tweets about Fauci date back to March 3 , when Fauci first suggested the closure of schools and businesses .
“ Sorry President Trump , but replace this crackpot , ” Mitchell tweeted .
Several minutes later , Mitchell tweeted about Fauci again , “ Have you ever seen the market drop 1000 points AFTER a 50 basis point Fed cut ?
That 's # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mitchell ’ s ire against Fauci has seemed to grow over time , as he insists the doctor is spreading fear about the outbreak to hurt the US economy .
On March 8 , Mitchell tweeted a link to a Fox News article about Fauci , writing , “ AM I WRONG THINKING THIS FAUCI GUY IS A BIG DEMOCRAT SPREADING FEAR PORN ?
” A week later , Mitchell shared a 2009 NIH interview with Fauci providing an update about the then-outbreak of H1N1 influenza .
Mitchell insisted Fauci ’ s apparently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was conducted during the Obama administration — was proof that the doctor was now sowing fear about the coronavirus to discredit Trump .
“ You 'll notice none of the over-the-top hyperbole - none of the panic inducing rhetoric .
Watch for yourselves , ” Mitchell tweeted .
On the evening of March 20 , Mitchell tweeted about Fauci 36 times in 30 minutes .
Mitchell was enraged at Fauci going on CNN and publicly disagreeing with Trump ’ s suggestion that the CDC should allow the use of the anti-malaria drug chloroquine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his wife needed critical care after they both took a drug containing chloroquine phosphate meant for aquariums after hearing the president speak about the drug .
Mitchell ’ s tweetstorm against Fauci was intense .
He repeatedly accused Fauci of being a Democrat plant , reshared the 2009 H1N1 interview , ran Twitter polls asking his followers if they thought Fauci was a Democrat , accused him of destroying the economy , and demanded Trump fire him .
Mitchell finished his tweetstorm by digging through WikiLeaks ’ collection of leaked emails and found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2013 .
“ Is Fauci a Hillary plant ?
Think about this .
Trump makes a hopeful statement on # hydrochloroquine and Fauci immediately runs to # CNN , Trump 's most hated # FakeNews outlet to contradict him ?
That is EXACTLY what a Hillary plant would do , ” he tweeted .
It created a swarm .
Mitchell ’ s discovery was written up by pro-Trump blog the Gateway Pundit , which linked to his tweet and another containing a screenshot of a different Fauci email to Clinton .
The next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ published a piece titled “ Anthony Fauci , the NIH 's face of the coronavirus , is a Deep-State Hillary Clinton–loving stooge.
” American Thinker also picked up the 2009 H1N1 interview .
“ It seems some viral infection pandemics are more equal than others .
At least when it comes to burning a vibrant Trump economy to the ground , ” the article read .
( The piece was shared Sunday by Fox News host Laura Ingraham . )
The same press conference during which Fauci sparred with Trump over chloroquine ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put his hand over his face , seemingly in embarrassment , as the president joked that the State Department was `` the deep state Department . ''
( Fauci later claimed he had a lozenge stuck in his throat . )
The Fauci facepalm was seized on by Shiva Ayyadurai , a GOP Senate candidate in Massachusetts who questionably claimed to have invented email and was briefly romantically connected to actor Fran Drescher .
On March 20 , Ayyadurai tweeted , “ Time to expose ‘ Deep State ’ Emperor Fauci & his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imposing ‘ one-size-fits-all ’ Medieval Mandated Medicine to profit his BIG PHARMA minions , [ at ] the expense of crashing our economy.
” Ayyadurai also shared Fauci ’ s email to Clinton and has made several Periscope videos accusing Fauci of being a member of the deep state .
Ayyadurai ’ s video , titled `` How To Kill Coronavirus , '' was removed from YouTube for violating community standards .
On Tuesday , QAnon influencer Greg Rubini accused Fauci of making the novel coronavirus in 2015 , receiving over 3,000 retweets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spreading on 4chan .
On the site ’ s /pol/ message board , anonymous users have posted dozens of huge threads about Fauci , implying he ’ s part of a global pedophile ring after surfacing a photo of him and singer Elton John , claiming Trump has secretly fired him , and accusing him of being part of a global Jewish cabal .
The campaign against Fauci is quickly becoming more mainstream — especially as Trump looks to put economic growth ahead of mitigating the damage caused by the virus .
Fauci @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Fox News .
Right now , the channel is still backing him , but that narrative could already be shifting .
On Sunday , Fox News host Steve Hilton sniped at Fauci for saying that he would be fine overreacting to a public health crisis .
“ Well that 's easy for him to say .
He 'll still have a job at the end of this , whatever happens , ” Hilton said .
“ Our ruling class and their TV mouthpieces — whipping up fear over this virus .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans ca n't , they 'll be crushed by it.
” Ingraham may have already telegraphed Fox News ’ newest narrative for Fauci in a tweet the Fox anchor posted Tuesday .
“ The left-wing media ’ s methods are so transparent , ” she wrote .
“ 1 .
Pressure Fauci to criticize @ realDonaldTrump in interviews .
2 .
Hope this leads to a blowup .
3 .
Slam Trump for not listening to doctors .
4 .
Blame him for everything .
”

Right-wing influencers and QAnon supporters are waging an information war against Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and top-ranking member of the White House's Coronavirus Task Force. They are falsely claiming that Fauci is working with Hillary Clinton and the deep state to cause an economic collapse and discredit President Donald Trump.
Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a labyrinthine belief system that posits that President Trump is waging a secret war against a global criminal organization, have spent much of the COVID-19 outbreak struggling to fit the disease into their narratives. At first, they theorized the virus was a bioweapon created by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. Then, following remarks last month from radio host Rush Limbaugh, a sizable contingent suggested that the virus was actually a deep state hoax meant to damage Trump politically.
In recent days, their baseless speculations have settled on Fauci. QAnon-supporting radio host Bill Mitchell has been the biggest promoter of the latest theory. For weeks, Mitchell has been spinning a conspiracy theory that Fauci is a “Democrat plant" and nicknamed him “Dr. #FearPorn.” Mitchell’s first tweets about Fauci date back to March 3, when Fauci first suggested the closure of schools and businesses.
“Sorry President Trump, but replace this crackpot,” Mitchell tweeted. Several minutes later, Mitchell tweeted about Fauci again, “Have you ever seen the market drop 1000 points AFTER a 50 basis point Fed cut? That's #FearPorn. Thanks Dr. Anthony Fauci.”


buzzfeednews--2020-04-19--A Federal Judge Appointed By Trump Ruled To Let Church Gatherings Resume In Kansas

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
A federal judge in Kansas ruled in favor of two Baptist churches challenging a ban on religious gatherings over 10 people , issuing a temporary restraining order on Saturday that found Gov .
Laura Kelly ’ s restrictions for public assemblies during the coronavirus pandemic had likely violated the churchgoers ’ constitutional rights to religious exercise .
US District Court Judge John @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump in 2017 , wrote in a four-page order that the state can not enforce its April 7 stay-at-home order “ prohibiting religious gatherings involving more than ten attendees , ” as long as the two churches use social distancing measures .
Filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom , a conservative Christian legal group , the case is one of several challenges by religious organizations in the past couple weeks that attempt to block social distancing and shelter-in-place orders .
The group has contended the rules can unfairly punish people of faith .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s efforts , the Trump administration on Tuesday filed in court in Mississippi to help challenge a ban on drive-in church services .
In Kansas , the First Baptist Church of Dodge City and Calvary Baptist Church of Junction City had sued on Thursday to challenge the governor ’ s April 7 executive order that largely banned public assemblies over 10 people .
That state ’ s ban didn ’ t provide an exemption for religious groups , even though it explicitly allowed bars and restaurants to stay open if they take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ libraries were also allowed to remain open .
In blocking the policy while the case proceeds , Broomes said the churches were likely to prevail to their challenge because the governor ’ s social distancing policy was overly broad and treated the churches differently than secular activity .
Broomes wrote : “ Plaintiffs are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the form of denial of their constitutional right to the free exercise of their religion , arising from state-imposed restrictions on religious exercises that are not narrowly tailored to further the compelling governmental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 19 , and which are more severe than restrictions on some comparable non-religious activities.
” According to the decision , the churches must abide by a set of social distancing measures proposed in their lawsuit , including keeping crowds under 50 people , avoiding physical contact , and deep-cleaning the churches before gatherings .
The ruling will remain until May 2 , Broomes said , “ unless extended by the court for good cause .
”

A federal judge in Kansas ruled in favor of two Baptist churches challenging a ban on religious gatherings over 10 people, issuing a temporary restraining order on Saturday that found Gov. Laura Kelly’s restrictions for public assemblies during the coronavirus pandemic had likely violated the churchgoers’ constitutional rights to religious exercise.
US District Court Judge John W. Broomes, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, wrote in a four-page order that the state cannot enforce its April 7 stay-at-home order “prohibiting religious gatherings involving more than ten attendees,” as long as the two churches use social distancing measures.
Filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, the case is one of several challenges by religious organizations in the past couple weeks that attempt to block social distancing and shelter-in-place orders. The group has contended the rules can unfairly punish people of faith.
In an effort to support the group’s efforts, the Trump administration on Tuesday filed in court in Mississippi to help challenge a ban on drive-in church services.
In Kansas, the First Baptist Church of Dodge City and Calvary Baptist Church of Junction City had sued on Thursday to challenge the governor’s April 7 executive order that largely banned public assemblies over 10 people. That state’s ban didn’t provide an exemption for religious groups, even though it explicitly allowed bars and restaurants to stay open if they take social distancing measures. Shopping malls and libraries were also allowed to remain open.
In blocking the policy while the case proceeds, Broomes said the churches were likely to prevail to their challenge because the governor’s social distancing policy was overly broad and treated the churches differently than secular activity.
Broomes wrote: “Plaintiffs are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the form of denial of their constitutional right to the free exercise of their religion, arising from state-imposed restrictions on religious exercises that are not narrowly tailored to further the compelling governmental interest in halting the spread of COVID- 19, and which are more severe than restrictions on some comparable non-religious activities.”
According to the decision, the churches must abide by a set of social distancing measures proposed in their lawsuit, including keeping crowds under 50 people, avoiding physical contact, and deep-cleaning the churches before gatherings. The ruling will remain until May 2, Broomes said, “unless extended by the court for good cause.”


buzzfeednews--2020-03-15--New Orleans Police Cleared Out Bourbon Street To Prevent The Spread Of The Coronavirus

Cities around the US are promising to enforce bans on large gatherings , and in some places , bars are shutting down altogether .
Police cleared out Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Saturday night after the city banned large gatherings to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
Videos posted to Twitter showed police cars slowly patrolling the iconic tourist destination as an officer ordered bar crowds to avoid congregating .
`` By order of the governor and the mayor , large crowds of people are prohibited from congregating together .
Your actions are jeopardizing public health , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ streets and to go home or back to your hotel , '' the officer said .
`` Thank you for your cooperation . ''
As of Sunday , 65 people within Orleans Parish had tested positive for COVID-19 , the disease caused by the coronavirus , and two people had died .
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said she expected the number of cases to increase , noting the `` significant '' spread of the virus within the community .
On Friday , Louisiana Gov .
John Bel Edwards signed a proclamation banning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including public schools , for the next month .
At a press conference with the governor , Cantrell called on people in New Orleans to use common sense and good judgment .
Some businesses were voluntarily instituting new limits on the number of people allowed inside at one time , she noted .
She also said police would be responding to complaints of large groups or to people blocking streets .
`` We 're not going to be out counting heads , '' she said .
`` We trust that our people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good citizens .
Public safety and public health remain our top priority as we move through this . ''
Saturday night did bring crowds to the city 's French Quarter , and in a tweet , Cantrell announced that police would be enforcing the new ban .
`` Do your part in this critical # COVID19 moment !
Limiting interaction will SAVE LIVES in # NewOrleans , '' she said .
Though public health officials have appealed to Americans to avoid crowds to slow the spread of the virus , bars were still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Boston , local TV station WCVB showed long lines of people preparing to celebrate St. Patrick 's Day .
The video drew attention , and bars and restaurants in South Boston agreed to close on Sunday , said state Sen. Nick Collins , who represents the traditionally Irish American neighborhood .
`` We are in this together & it ’ s imperative now that we do all that we can to keep our communities safe . ''
On Sunday , Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine announced that all bars and restaurants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 9 p.m. local time .
Later on Sunday , Illinois Gov J.B. Pritzker ordered all bars and restaurants in the state to close down from March 16 to March 30 .
California Gov .
Gavin Newsom also announced bars , wineries , and nightclubs would be closing , calling their functions `` non-essential . ''
Restaurants could stay open , he added , though measures to reduce capacity would be in place .
In Washington , DC , Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that all nightclubs would be closed , while bars and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a minimum .
Gatherings of more than 250 had already been banned , Bowser said , and she clarified that restaurants would be required to limit seating to 6 people per table — with tables 6 feet apart .
Bar seating or serving standing customers would not be allowed , she said .
One DC restaurant and bar called for Bowser to go even further .
In an Instagram , Reveler 's Hour announced it was voluntarily closing its doors temporarily to protect guests and staff .
`` We need strong governmental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses intact .
That is why we are urging the mayor to # shutusdown , '' the post said .
`` Doing so properly acknowledges the scale of the current crisis and begins to make available the kind of resources our employees and businesses will require to endure this financial storm . ''
In New York , Gov .
Andrew Cuomo on Sunday reminded bar and restaurant owners that they 'd already been ordered to reduce capacity by 50 % — and failing to do so would result in a police response .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ shutdown of businesses , but he did n't rule it out in the future .
`` Reducing density is both a social responsibility and will help protect workforces , '' he said .
`` If businesses do n't voluntarily cooperate , we will consider mandatory measures . ''

"By order of the governor and the mayor, large crowds of people are prohibited from congregating together. Your actions are jeopardizing public health, and we are directing you to clear the streets and to go home or back to your hotel," the officer said. "Thank you for your cooperation."
As of Sunday, 65 people within Orleans Parish had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and two people had died. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said she expected the number of cases to increase, noting the "significant" spread of the virus within the community.
On Friday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a proclamation banning all gatherings of 250 people or more, including public schools, for the next month. At a press conference with the governor, Cantrell called on people in New Orleans to use common sense and good judgment. Some businesses were voluntarily instituting new limits on the number of people allowed inside at one time, she noted.


buzzfeednews--2020-03-15--US Airports Saw Massive Lines After Coronavirus Travel Restrictions

People wait in line to go through the customs at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Saturday .
After the Trump administration ordered travel restrictions because of the coronavirus , people arriving at US airports Saturday night faced long waits in dense crowds — the kind of mass gatherings that public health officials have advised against .
People arriving in the US shared accounts of chaos and confusion as they waited to go through customs at airports including Chicago 's O'Hare International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport .
Photos showed winding lines and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds , with people reporting wait @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The federal government needs to get its s @ # t together .
NOW , ” Illinois Gov .
J.B. Pritzker tweeted in response to the situation at O'Hare .
The chaos comes after the Trump administration announced new rules forcing all US travelers from 26 European countries to reroute flights to arrive at just 13 airports .
The rule went into effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday .
The administration had previously blocked all foreign nationals who have been in mainland Europe in the two weeks prior to their planned visit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump announced that foreign nationals who had been in the UK and Ireland would also soon be blocked .
“ We knew when the president gave the orders that European travel back to the United States was going to be cut off , that there would be an influx of people , Americans and others , that would come before the final cutoff , ” Pritzker said on NBC 's Meet the Press Sunday .
The new rules , and all the confusion about implementing them , led to airport hell for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekend .
Brendan Schachle , a 26-year-old in Raleigh , North Carolina , told BuzzFeed News his family trip to Barcelona ended with the frantic rebooking of flights that were scheduled to take the seven of them through five different airports .
Originally , Schachle was supposed to fly from Barcelona to London and then straight back to Raleigh .
But because of the travel restrictions , had to rebook his trip to fly from London to Washington , DC to Charlotte , North Carolina and then to Raleigh .
The whole family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DC and rented a car to drive them home to Raleigh .
Schachle said the airport in DC was absolute mayhem , and that he and his fellow travelers were crammed in together , bucking CDC recommendations to practice social distancing to stop the spread of the virus .
“ [ We were ] just on line after line after line , just packed in there , thinking , ‘ Hey , I hope no one has [ the coronavirus ] , because at this point , we ’ re all going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Schachle said the biggest mess was the line intended to screen travelers for coronavirus .
Travelers had their temperatures taken , and were asked to fill out a simple questionnaire that asked whether they were experiencing any symptoms .
“ It ’ s a mess there , everyone ’ s just huddled in , trying to answer the questions and get going , and we ’ ve realized everyone ’ s missing their flights at this point , '' said Schachle .
`` They actually asked at one point , ‘ Does anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next 30 minutes ?
’ And 95 % of people raised their hands.
” In Chicago Saturday , a reporter tweeted a photo showing a large crowd filling a hallway and said that police were handing out water and disinfectant wipes .

After the Trump administration ordered travel restrictions because of the coronavirus, people arriving at US airports Saturday night faced long waits in dense crowds — the kind of mass gatherings that public health officials have advised against.
People arriving in the US shared accounts of chaos and confusion as they waited to go through customs at airports including Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Photos showed winding lines and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, with people reporting wait times from 5 to 7 hours long.
“The federal government needs to get its s@#t together. NOW,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tweeted in response to the situation at O'Hare.
The chaos comes after the Trump administration announced new rules forcing all US travelers from 26 European countries to reroute flights to arrive at just 13 airports. The rule went into effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday.
The administration had previously blocked all foreign nationals who have been in mainland Europe in the two weeks prior to their planned visit from entering the US. On Saturday, Trump announced that foreign nationals who had been in the UK and Ireland would also soon be blocked.
“We knew when the president gave the orders that European travel back to the United States was going to be cut off, that there would be an influx of people, Americans and others, that would come before the final cutoff,” Pritzker said on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday.
The new rules, and all the confusion about implementing them, led to airport hell for Americans traveling back from Europe over the weekend.
Brendan Schachle, a 26-year-old in Raleigh, North Carolina, told BuzzFeed News his family trip to Barcelona ended with the frantic rebooking of flights that were scheduled to take the seven of them through five different airports.
Originally, Schachle was supposed to fly from Barcelona to London and then straight back to Raleigh. But because of the travel restrictions, had to rebook his trip to fly from London to Washington, DC to Charlotte, North Carolina and then to Raleigh. The whole family wound up missing their connecting flights from DC and rented a car to drive them home to Raleigh.
Schachle said the airport in DC was absolute mayhem, and that he and his fellow travelers were crammed in together, bucking CDC recommendations to practice social distancing to stop the spread of the virus.
“[We were] just on line after line after line, just packed in there, thinking, ‘Hey, I hope no one has [the coronavirus], because at this point, we’re all going to get it,” Schachle said.
Schachle said the biggest mess was the line intended to screen travelers for coronavirus. Travelers had their temperatures taken, and were asked to fill out a simple questionnaire that asked whether they were experiencing any symptoms.
“It’s a mess there, everyone’s just huddled in, trying to answer the questions and get going, and we’ve realized everyone’s missing their flights at this point," said Schachle. "They actually asked at one point, ‘Does anyone waiting in line have a connection in the next 30 minutes?’ And 95% of people raised their hands.”
In Chicago Saturday, a reporter tweeted a photo showing a large crowd filling a hallway and said that police were handing out water and disinfectant wipes.


buzzfeednews--2020-05-04--A Flint, Michigan Family Dollar Security Guard Was Shot Dead After Telling A Woman To Wear A Mask

`` This just ca n't be real , my babies need their daddy , '' the guard 's wife said .
`` I 'm just suffocating , I feel like a knife is in my chest . ''
BuzzFeed News has reporters across five continents bringing you trustworthy stories about the impact of the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
A security guard at a Family Dollar store in Flint , Michigan , was shot and killed after an argument ensued when he told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a face mask while shopping .
According to police , the incident started when Calvin Munerlyn told Sharmel Teague ’ s daughter , who has not been named but is said to be in her twenties , that she would need to wear a mask inside the store .
While the daughter then returned to the family ’ s car , police say Teague , who was wearing a mask , remained in the store and started yelling and even spitting at Munerlyn .
Prosecutors say Munerlyn then asked a cashier not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ footage shows that after the argument , Teague got into her car and drove off , only for the vehicle to return to the parking lot about 20 minutes later .
This time , police say , Teague ’ s husband and son , Larry Teague , 44 , and Ramonyea Bishop , 23 , climbed out of the family ’ s SUV .
Investigators say Larry Teague approached Munerlyn and started yelling at him about disrespecting the women in his family .
Bishop then allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Munerlyn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sharmel Teague , but her husband and son remain at large .
All three have been charged with first-degree premeditated murder .
`` From all indications , Mr. Munerlyn was simply doing his job in upholding the governor 's executive order related to the COVID-19 pandemic for the safety of store employees and customers , '' Genesee County prosecutor David Leyton said in announcing the charges .
On April 24 , Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order requiring customers to wear face coverings inside businesses in hopes of curbing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were no penalties attached to the legislation , stores were allowed to refuse service to anyone not wearing a mask .
As of May 3 , Michigan was reporting 43,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 4,000 deaths .
In Genesee County , where Flint is located , officials say there have been 1,634 cases and 196 deaths .
“ The hostile tone that we 've seen in recent days on television and social media can permeate our society in ways that we sometimes do n't fully realize or anticipate , '' Leyton said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be political arguments , they do n't necessitate acts of defiance and we simply can not devolve into an us-versus-them mentality.
” Munerlyn is survived by Latryna Sims Munerlyn , his wife of 10 years , eight children , and his mother .
`` This just ca n't be real , my babies need their daddy , '' Sims Munerlyn , sobbing , told Flint television station WEYI .
`` I 'm just suffocating .
I feel like a knife is in my chest . ''
At the press conference Monday , Bryant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of the Berston Field House , a local gym where Munerlyn often worked out , said he had been a longtime friend .
`` This really broke my heart , '' Nolden said .
`` He would come in three or four times a week and he 'd train anyone who wanted to be trained for free .
We have a senior dance , and he 'd come and dance with the seniors . ''
On Sunday , friends and family gathered outside the Family Dollar store for a vigil , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spelled Munerlyn ’ s nickname , Duper , with candles .
They said Munerlyn was a gentle giant who was always willing to help anyone .
“ This is not the way to do things right now , '' Munerlyn 's cousin , Tina James , told local television station WJRT .
`` We need to come together . ''
`` This is senseless — over a mask !
Over a mask ! ''
she added .
`` I do n't understand it . ''

A security guard at a Family Dollar store in Flint, Michigan, was shot and killed after an argument ensued when he told a customer she was required to wear a face mask while shopping.
According to police, the incident started when Calvin Munerlyn told Sharmel Teague’s daughter, who has not been named but is said to be in her twenties, that she would need to wear a mask inside the store. While the daughter then returned to the family’s car, police say Teague, who was wearing a mask, remained in the store and started yelling and even spitting at Munerlyn. Prosecutors say Munerlyn then asked a cashier not to serve Teague.
Police say surveillance camera footage shows that after the argument, Teague got into her car and drove off, only for the vehicle to return to the parking lot about 20 minutes later. This time, police say, Teague’s husband and son, Larry Teague, 44, and Ramonyea Bishop, 23, climbed out of the family’s SUV. Investigators say Larry Teague approached Munerlyn and started yelling at him about disrespecting the women in his family. Bishop then allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Munerlyn in the head.
Police officers found Munerlyn bleeding in the store’s doorway.


buzzfeednews--2020-03-03--Don’t Buy An Air Purifier To Protect Yourself From Coronavirus

“ Your typical HEPA filter is not going to be able to remove coronavirus from the air , ” said Dr. Erin Sorrell , an assistant professor of microbiology and a member of Georgetown ’ s Center for Global Health Science and Security .
“ The filter itself is .3 microns and the virus itself is roughly .1 microns.
” The issue , according to experts , are the air filters themselves .
Most commercially available air purifiers are high-efficiency particulate air ( HEPA ) filters .
They can remove many particles from the air , but coronavirus is too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air purifier campaign sent out an email titled “ Fight Coronavirus with cutting edge tech , ” saying that “ This tech is being installed in hospitals in Wuhan.
” It claims that the air purifier can “ eradicate virus on a single air pass ” in a fundraising video set to upbeat music .
The company has raised nearly $ 7,000 via the campaign , and said it will ship the devices in April .
As ever more coronavirus infections in the US are diagnosed , some companies have begun promoting air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus .
However , scientists told BuzzFeed News that air purifiers are not the best preventive measure against the coronavirus .
The purifier on IndieGoGo , called Hextio , also advertises a UVC filter .
Dr. Sorrell said a UV filter does kill some viruses , but won ’ t affect coronavirus as the HEPA filter is not fine enough to suck it up from the air .
Even if it could , the process “ typically takes about 15 minutes but it varies across viruses.
” It ’ s not clear how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UV , Dr. Sorrell clarified .
Dr. Aaron Glatt , an IDSA spokesperson agreed , saying the exposure of the virus to UV light “ would have to be significant , it could not just be for a second.
” '' Indiegogo takes the COVID-19 situation very seriously and , while we are an open platform , have put strict guidelines around virus-related campaigns during this time to ensure the protection and safety of our community , '' a spokesperson from IndieGoGo told BuzzFeed News .
`` We do not condone claims about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without medical proof and are actively reaching out to campaign owners , including the owners of the Hextio purifier , to ensure all statements related to viruses of any kind are true in nature . ''
Another air purifier , Molekule , which doesn ’ t use HEPA filters , is being tested for its ability to kill coronavirus , Bloomberg reports .
Yet it is worth noting the company ’ s previous claims about the effectiveness of its $ 799 air purifier have been challenged , and it subsequently agreed to withdraw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wirecutter report .
( Molekule spokesperson Kayla Wilkinson told BuzzFeed News the withdrawal is an ongoing legal matter . )
“ The best thing to do is to stay in a room alone if you ’ re sick , ” said Dr. Glatt .
“ And an open window will probably clear out the room better than your typical air purifier.
” The best way to protect yourself from the virus is to thoroughly wash your hands and to use hand sanitizer that ’ s above 60 % alcohol content , ensuring you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanitizer to dry .
It ’ s also key to physically distance yourself from anyone who appears to be sick in public and cover your mouth and nose if you yourself are sick .
“ Portable filters are not going to be helpful in capturing coronavirus and could give someone a false sense of security , ” Dr. Sorrell said .

The purifier on IndieGoGo, called Hextio, also advertises a UVC filter. Dr. Sorrell said a UV filter does kill some viruses, but won’t affect coronavirus as the HEPA filter is not fine enough to suck it up from the air. Even if it could, the process “typically takes about 15 minutes but it varies across viruses.” It’s not clear how long coronavirus would take to kill using UV, Dr. Sorrell clarified. Dr. Aaron Glatt, an IDSA spokesperson agreed, saying the exposure of the virus to UV light “would have to be significant, it could not just be for a second.”
"Indiegogo takes the COVID-19 situation very seriously and, while we are an open platform, have put strict guidelines around virus-related campaigns during this time to ensure the protection and safety of our community," a spokesperson from IndieGoGo told BuzzFeed News. "We do not condone claims about the effectiveness of virus-killing or related products without medical proof and are actively reaching out to campaign owners, including the owners of the Hextio purifier, to ensure all statements related to viruses of any kind are true in nature."
Another air purifier, Molekule, which doesn’t use HEPA filters, is being tested for its ability to kill coronavirus, Bloomberg reports. Yet it is worth noting the company’s previous claims about the effectiveness of its $799 air purifier have been challenged, and it subsequently agreed to withdraw many of them, according to a Wirecutter report. (Molekule spokesperson Kayla Wilkinson told BuzzFeed News the withdrawal is an ongoing legal matter.)
“The best thing to do is to stay in a room alone if you’re sick,” said Dr. Glatt. “And an open window will probably clear out the room better than your typical air purifier.”
The best way to protect yourself from the virus is to thoroughly wash your hands and to use hand sanitizer that’s above 60% alcohol content, ensuring you cover your entire hands and allowing the sanitizer to dry. It’s also key to physically distance yourself from anyone who appears to be sick in public and cover your mouth and nose if you yourself are sick.
“Portable filters are not going to be helpful in capturing coronavirus and could give someone a false sense of security,” Dr. Sorrell said.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-22--People Are Still Being Evicted During The Coronavirus Pandemic. Housing Lawyers Fear A “Tsunami” Of

People Are Still Being Evicted During The Coronavirus Pandemic. Housing Lawyers Fear A “Tsunami” Of Cases When State Moratoriums End.

Legal aid lawyers say they ’ re still seeing illegal evictions , and expect a surge in need from millions of newly unemployed tenants once state and local moratoriums end .
WASHINGTON — On March 19 , three days after an eviction moratorium took effect in New York in response to the novel coronavirus , Akil Mayfield was evicted from his Queens apartment — his landlord had changed the locks and wouldn ’ t let him back in .
Mayfield , who is 45 years old and has a disability , spent several days at a YMCA until his mother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay with her at a hotel .
He told BuzzFeed News that he was worried about his safety if he went to a shelter and was scared of being exposed to the coronavirus during the two weeks that he was out of his home .
“ I was feeling very hopeless and violated , ” he said .
Mayfield is back in his home now , but it took an emergency eviction challenge in court .
In an April 2 order , the judge concluded that Mayfield “ was illegally forced out , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he lived in the apartment , but also that he had paid his rent .
There are moratoriums preventing landlords from evicting residents in all but five states at the state or local level due to the coronavirus pandemic , according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University .
But lawyers who work with low-income clients told BuzzFeed News that despite moratoriums and stay-at-home orders intended to stop the spread of COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus , landlords and property owners are still trying to force people out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing are people who are changing locks without a marshal — just the landlord doing it themselves , an illegal lockout , ” said Edward Josephson , director of litigation for Legal Services NYC .
His organization has also handled cases of landlords cutting off services to force out tenants — in once case , a landlord in Brooklyn sealed off access to bathrooms , he said .
Legal services providers said that once state officials lift temporary eviction moratoriums , they ’ re bracing for a flood of calls not only from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ newly unemployed Americans unable to afford housing and facing eviction , lawfully or not .
Approximately 22 million people in the US have filed for unemployment benefits in the past month , and others are facing reduced hours and pay cuts .
“ I worry the most about how we keep our staff safe while responding to what 's going to be , I think , our biggest civil legal aid crisis that we 've ever undergone with our client population , ” Laura Tuggle , executive director of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier this week .
“ Right now the most pressing [ issue ] that we 're concerned about is the tsunami of evictions that is headed our way.
” Tami Arntzen , a staff attorney with the Northwest Justice Project who handles housing cases in eastern Washington state , said many landlords were being “ cooperative and compassionate ” in trying to work with tenants , but at some point they will expect past due rent to be paid .
“ The moratorium doesn ’ t say , ‘ You don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legitimately can not pay it now , you ’ re getting yourself deeper into a hole and you have no control how deep it goes , ” Arntzen said .
Alexis Erkert , a staff attorney with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services , said housing lawyers were “ really nervous ” about the lack of long-term options for people who had lost their jobs or faced other economic insecurity because of the pandemic .
“ There ’ s no official waiver of late fees , rent is still owed , and our clients are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ They need their stimulus money to buy food and diapers and pay for basic living expenses .
It won ’ t go very far if you have no other source of income right now .
I just can ’ t fathom how most of my clients are going to be able to pay back one , two , or three — who knows how long this will go on — months of rent.
” One of Erkert ’ s clients is Lee Harris , who is paying $ 45 a day to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Louisiana .
Harris , 43 , was approved for unemployment benefits after he was laid off from his job as a restaurant fry cook in March , but hasn ’ t gotten the funds yet .
He ’ d run out of money , and the motel was preparing to evict him .
He was working with Erkert to stay in the room until the money arrived , and said he had nowhere else to go .
He feared going to a shelter — “ that ’ s where the disease is running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m scared to death .
I watch TV .
I see who that stuff ’ s affecting .
It ’ s affecting the black community , ” Harris said in a phone call the night of April 21 ; he was facing eviction the next day .
He has high blood pressure and was worried he ’ d be at a higher risk of complications if he contracted COVID-19 .
“ Hell yeah I ’ m scared.
” On Wednesday morning , Erkert told BuzzFeed News that Harris had found a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the motel until his unemployment benefits arrived .
No one answered the phone at the motel .
Erkert said government officials in Orleans Parish had issued formal guidance making clear that its eviction suspension applied to hotels and motels , but neighboring Jefferson Parish , where Harris was staying , hadn ’ t done that so far .
Erkert said her office had handled more than two dozen eviction cases involving traditional residences as well as hotels and motels since March .
One of the office ’ s clients , Bobby Parker , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spent several nights sleeping on the street after he was evicted from his home .
Although a judge ruled against his landlord , it wasn ’ t until local media began covering his story and the mayor ’ s office intervened that she let him back in .
The coronavirus pandemic has created new obstacles and risks for tenants and their lawyers .
Some courts require tenants who may already be out of cash to post bond to pursue a restraining order .
In Washington state , the eviction moratorium still allows evictions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety .
And lawyers in Snohomish County , Washington , with the Northwest Justice Project petitioned the state Supreme Court to intervene after the county court adopted a system for telephone hearings in eviction cases that the lawyers argued violated clients ’ due process rights — landlords didn ’ t have to provide tenants with notice of the new telephone procedures , for instance .
The legal services lawyers entered into a settlement resolving those issues with the court on April 17 .
Deborah Dorfman , a staff attorney with the Northwest Justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court issue , said she ’ d handled the case of a family challenging an eviction initiated just before the state moratorium first took effect in late February .
Dorfman said the landlord was illegally trying to evict the family , which included an elderly person , by the end of March because they were using a federal housing subsidy .
“ Even after the governor issued the stay-at-home orders , they still were … insisting that the family should vacate in the middle of COVID .
A ) it was illegal to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was nowhere for the family to go , ” Dorfman said .
She said the landlord rescinded the eviction notice after she wrote them a letter arguing the eviction was not only illegal income-based discrimination , but also a violation of state stay-at-home orders .
Although many courts are handling cases online or by phone when possible , Erkert said she has had to do a few in-person meetings to get documents signed — she said she ’ s asked clients and witnesses to bring their own pens and use hand sanitizer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stay 6 feet away .
Melissa Banks , the housing deputy director of Legal Services NYC ’ s Queens program , said she had to meet a client at the post office to help get paperwork mailed out .
“ I haven ’ t been able to maintain , you know , social distancing guidelines when I ’ m dealing with these issues .
I ’ m just wearing a mask , trying to use as much protection as possible and try to maintain as much distance as I can , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Connecting tenants with lawyers has also become harder .
Tuggle , of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services , told reporters that typically 50 % of client intake in their New Orleans office had been through walk-ins , but that can ’ t happen now with offices closed and people scared to go outside .
Legal service providers are routinely referred cases after tenants go to court in person to challenge evictions , but court closures and stay-at-home orders have disrupted those lines of communication , lawyers told BuzzFeed News .
Arntzen , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she ’ d fielded calls from clients about landlords who were insisting they prove that their loss of income was coronavirus-related ; an amended order from Gov .
Jay Inslee made clear that wasn ’ t required .
Landlords were “ looking for the cracks , I would say , in what the moratorium said and didn ’ t say , looking for ways they could still get around the ban , ” Arntzen said .
She said she ’ d recently handled the case of a woman facing eviction from the land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of an issue with a fence .
Arntzen said she was able to resolve the situation informally with the landlord ’ s lawyer after arguing the eviction would threaten her client ’ s health and safety .
Arntzen said her office had been doing outreach with community groups and nonprofits to raise awareness about resources for tenants once the state moratorium lifts and landlords can legally pursue evictions again .
She said her office also did internal training for lawyers who usually handle other client needs so they ’ re prepared to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been back in his Queens apartment since April 3 , although he said he ’ d like to find a new place — there were leaks and other maintenance issues in the apartment , and he had a bad relationship with the landlord .
But he said he didn ’ t feel comfortable exploring other options during the pandemic .
“ Where can I go ?
What can I do right now ?
” he said .
“ I would move out tomorrow in a heartbeat .
”

WASHINGTON — On March 19, three days after an eviction moratorium took effect in New York in response to the novel coronavirus, Akil Mayfield was evicted from his Queens apartment — his landlord had changed the locks and wouldn’t let him back in.
Mayfield, who is 45 years old and has a disability, spent several days at a YMCA until his mother flew up from Florida and he could stay with her at a hotel. He told BuzzFeed News that he was worried about his safety if he went to a shelter and was scared of being exposed to the coronavirus during the two weeks that he was out of his home.
“I was feeling very hopeless and violated,” he said.
Mayfield is back in his home now, but it took an emergency eviction challenge in court. In an April 2 order, the judge concluded that Mayfield “was illegally forced out,” noting there was not only evidence that he lived in the apartment, but also that he had paid his rent.
There are moratoriums preventing landlords from evicting residents in all but five states at the state or local level due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. But lawyers who work with low-income clients told BuzzFeed News that despite moratoriums and stay-at-home orders intended to stop the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, landlords and property owners are still trying to force people out.
“The cases that we are seeing are people who are changing locks without a marshal — just the landlord doing it themselves, an illegal lockout,” said Edward Josephson, director of litigation for Legal Services NYC. His organization has also handled cases of landlords cutting off services to force out tenants — in once case, a landlord in Brooklyn sealed off access to bathrooms, he said.
Legal services providers said that once state officials lift temporary eviction moratoriums, they’re bracing for a flood of calls not only from existing low-income clients, but also from newly unemployed Americans unable to afford housing and facing eviction, lawfully or not. Approximately 22 million people in the US have filed for unemployment benefits in the past month, and others are facing reduced hours and pay cuts.
“I worry the most about how we keep our staff safe while responding to what's going to be, I think, our biggest civil legal aid crisis that we've ever undergone with our client population,” Laura Tuggle, executive director of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, told reporters during a video briefing earlier this week. “Right now the most pressing [issue] that we're concerned about is the tsunami of evictions that is headed our way.”
Tami Arntzen, a staff attorney with the Northwest Justice Project who handles housing cases in eastern Washington state, said many landlords were being “cooperative and compassionate” in trying to work with tenants, but at some point they will expect past due rent to be paid.
“The moratorium doesn’t say, ‘You don’t owe your rent.’ So if you legitimately cannot pay it now, you’re getting yourself deeper into a hole and you have no control how deep it goes,” Arntzen said.
Alexis Erkert, a staff attorney with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, said housing lawyers were “really nervous” about the lack of long-term options for people who had lost their jobs or faced other economic insecurity because of the pandemic.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-01--A Man Who Allegedly Tried To Kill An Asian American Family Because Of The Coronavirus Could Face Hat

A Man Who Allegedly Tried To Kill An Asian American Family Because Of The Coronavirus Could Face Hate Crime Charges

A man who allegedly tried to kill an Asian American family of three because he believed they were spreading the coronavirus at a Sam 's Club in Texas could face hate crime charges , the FBI told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday .
Jose L. Gomez , 19 , stabbed the three people on March 14 at the Midland , Texas , Sam 's Club before being taken down by a store employee , who saved the family 's lives and was injured in the process , police told BuzzFeed News .
Gomez was then taken into custody by an off-duty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with three counts of attempted capital murder and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon .
Bernie Ramirez , the Border Patrol agent , told CBS7 he initially approached Gomez and family with the intention of breaking up what he thought was a fight over scarce goods .
Ramirez said `` credit is due '' to Zach Owen , the store employee who stopped Gomez by putting him in a chokehold and suffered stab wounds to the hand in the process .
`` He went into a knife fight bare-handed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control of the individual , and he disarmed him .
If Zach had not been there , things could ’ ve gone really badly.
” Ramirez did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
The father in the family declined to comment .
Gomez allegedly stabbed the three `` because he thought the family was Chinese , and infecting people with the coronavirus , '' the FBI stated in a document obtained by ABC News .
An FBI spokesperson told BuzzFeed News they were unable to comment on the document but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a possible hate crime .
According to the FBI report , federal law enforcement officials are warning there could be a surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans .
`` The FBI assesses hate crime incidents against Asian Americans likely will surge across the United States , due to the spread of coronavirus disease … endangering Asian American communities , '' the document reportedly states .
`` The FBI makes this assessment based on the assumption that a portion of the US public will associate COVID-19 with China and Asian American populations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the many racist attacks Asian Americans have been facing amid the coronavirus pandemic 's rise in the US .
On March 11 , a woman in New York punched another woman for not wearing a face mask and `` made anti-Asian statements and fled the location on foot . ''
In February , a 16-year-old boy was sent to the hospital after being physically attacked by bullies who accused him of having the coronavirus .
One couple in Minnesota got a note on their door that said `` we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese virus back to China . ''
President Donald Trump has deliberately referred to COVID-19 as the `` Chinese virus '' on multiple occasions , which critics have seen as a way of scapegoating China and , in turn , inciting hatred and harassment of people of Asian descent .
The World Health Organization has urged people not to attach locations or ethnicity to the virus to prevent social stigma .
When questioned , Trump defended his use of the term .
“ It 's not racist at all , no .
Not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It comes from China.
” The FBI spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the agency `` will use all authority granted to us by federal law to investigate and hold those who commit violent acts accountable for their actions . ''
`` During the COVID-19 pandemic , we want to remind everyone that any violent criminal act against any person because of their race , ethnicity or national origin is a hate crime , '' the spokesperson said .
`` This includes violence toward Asian Americans or individuals from East Asian countries . ''

A man who allegedly tried to kill an Asian American family of three because he believed they were spreading the coronavirus at a Sam's Club in Texas could face hate crime charges, the FBI told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday.
Jose L. Gomez, 19, stabbed the three people on March 14 at the Midland, Texas, Sam's Club before being taken down by a store employee, who saved the family's lives and was injured in the process, police told BuzzFeed News.
Gomez was then taken into custody by an off-duty Border Patrol agent. He was charged with three counts of attempted capital murder and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Bernie Ramirez, the Border Patrol agent, told CBS7 he initially approached Gomez and family with the intention of breaking up what he thought was a fight over scarce goods.
Ramirez said "credit is due" to Zach Owen, the store employee who stopped Gomez by putting him in a chokehold and suffered stab wounds to the hand in the process.
"He went into a knife fight bare-handed," Ramirez said. "He took control of the individual, and he disarmed him. If Zach had not been there, things could’ve gone really badly.”
Ramirez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The father in the family declined to comment.
Gomez allegedly stabbed the three "because he thought the family was Chinese, and infecting people with the coronavirus," the FBI stated in a document obtained by ABC News.
An FBI spokesperson told BuzzFeed News they were unable to comment on the document but confirmed that the case is being treated as a possible hate crime.
According to the FBI report, federal law enforcement officials are warning there could be a surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans.
"The FBI assesses hate crime incidents against Asian Americans likely will surge across the United States, due to the spread of coronavirus disease … endangering Asian American communities," the document reportedly states. "The FBI makes this assessment based on the assumption that a portion of the US public will associate COVID-19 with China and Asian American populations."
The Texas stabbing was just one of the many racist attacks Asian Americans have been facing amid the coronavirus pandemic's rise in the US.
On March 11, a woman in New York punched another woman for not wearing a face mask and "made anti-Asian statements and fled the location on foot." In February, a 16-year-old boy was sent to the hospital after being physically attacked by bullies who accused him of having the coronavirus. One couple in Minnesota got a note on their door that said "we’re watching you" and "take the Chinese virus back to China."
President Donald Trump has deliberately referred to COVID-19 as the "Chinese virus" on multiple occasions, which critics have seen as a way of scapegoating China and, in turn, inciting hatred and harassment of people of Asian descent. The World Health Organization has urged people not to attach locations or ethnicity to the virus to prevent social stigma.
When questioned, Trump defended his use of the term.
“It's not racist at all, no. Not at all,” Trump said. “It comes from China.”
The FBI spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the agency "will use all authority granted to us by federal law to investigate and hold those who commit violent acts accountable for their actions."
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to remind everyone that any violent criminal act against any person because of their race, ethnicity or national origin is a hate crime," the spokesperson said. "This includes violence toward Asian Americans or individuals from East Asian countries."


buzzfeednews--2020-04-21--At Least Seven People Contracted Coronavirus During Wisconsin's Elections, Officials Say

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
At least seven people in Milwaukee are believed to have contracted the coronavirus from taking part in the Wisconsin elections on April 7 , according to the city ’ s health department .
Ahead of the vote , Wisconsin ’ s Democratic governor , Tony Evers , had sought to delay the in-person voting and extend the deadline for mail-in ballots out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hot spots for spreading the coronavirus .
But the state ’ s Republicans fought his efforts all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court , forcing the election to be held as planned .
“ Everything that we were fearful of and everything we warned about has unfortunately started to come true , ” said Philip Shulman , a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Democratic Party , told BuzzFeed News .
“ This is exactly why we pushed to change the way the election was administered.
” On Election Day , Wisconsin ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video to assure Wisconsinites they were safe to vote while he wore a mask and full-body protective gear .
And on Tuesday , the Republican legislature filed a motion in support of a state Supreme Court lawsuit seeking to end the governor ’ s stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
The Wisconsin Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment , nor did the legislature ’ s Republican leaders .
These seven new coronavirus cases are the first to be officially confirmed as linked to Election Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state ’ s largest outbreaks of the coronavirus at the time .
Large numbers of poll workers quit out of health concerns , and the city could only staff five polling places instead of the 180 it normally operates .
Some Milwaukee voters spent hours in line in order to cast their ballots .
In a statement to BuzzFeed News on Tuesday evening , the Wisconsin Department of Health said they had not yet seen evidence of a large surge in cases linked to election day .
Statewide , 19 people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day reported visited a polling place .
But , spokeswoman Jennifer Miller said , several of those people reported other possible exposures as well .
But the numbers could continue to grow as more data comes in .
The Milwaukee Health Department has only collected 30 % of data concerning the period following April 7 , said Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik , but it hopes to have complete data by the end of this week .
Democrats proved to have a superior turnout operation than the Republicans for voting amid the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court seat , Jill Karofsky , overwhelmingly defeated the incumbent , Daniel Kelly , who was endorsed by President Donald Trump .
Wisconsin will again confront the question of voting during the coronavirus pandemic next month when a special election is scheduled to fill a vacant seat in the northern 7th Congressional District .
Shulman said the Democratic Party was still weighing legal options to try to shift away from in-person voting .

At least seven people in Milwaukee are believed to have contracted the coronavirus from taking part in the Wisconsin elections on April 7, according to the city’s health department.
Ahead of the vote, Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, had sought to delay the in-person voting and extend the deadline for mail-in ballots out of concern that the polls could become hot spots for spreading the coronavirus. But the state’s Republicans fought his efforts all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, forcing the election to be held as planned.
“Everything that we were fearful of and everything we warned about has unfortunately started to come true,” said Philip Shulman, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, told BuzzFeed News. “This is exactly why we pushed to change the way the election was administered.”
On Election Day, Wisconsin’s Republican House Speaker Robin Vos broadcast a video to assure Wisconsinites they were safe to vote while he wore a mask and full-body protective gear. And on Tuesday, the Republican legislature filed a motion in support of a state Supreme Court lawsuit seeking to end the governor’s stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Wisconsin Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the legislature’s Republican leaders.
These seven new coronavirus cases are the first to be officially confirmed as linked to Election Day in Milwaukee, which had one of the state’s largest outbreaks of the coronavirus at the time. Large numbers of poll workers quit out of health concerns, and the city could only staff five polling places instead of the 180 it normally operates. Some Milwaukee voters spent hours in line in order to cast their ballots.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News on Tuesday evening, the Wisconsin Department of Health said they had not yet seen evidence of a large surge in cases linked to election day. Statewide, 19 people who tested positive for the coronavirus after election day reported visited a polling place. But, spokeswoman Jennifer Miller said, several of those people reported other possible exposures as well. But the numbers could continue to grow as more data comes in. The Milwaukee Health Department has only collected 30% of data concerning the period following April 7, said Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik, but it hopes to have complete data by the end of this week.
Democrats proved to have a superior turnout operation than the Republicans for voting amid the pandemic. The progressive candidate for the Supreme Court seat, Jill Karofsky, overwhelmingly defeated the incumbent, Daniel Kelly, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Wisconsin will again confront the question of voting during the coronavirus pandemic next month when a special election is scheduled to fill a vacant seat in the northern 7th Congressional District. Shulman said the Democratic Party was still weighing legal options to try to shift away from in-person voting.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-22--Scientists Haven’t Found Proof The Coronavirus Escaped From A Lab In Wuhan. Trump Supporters Are Spr

Scientists Haven’t Found Proof The Coronavirus Escaped From A Lab In Wuhan. Trump Supporters Are Spreading The Rumor Anyway.

There 's much about the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak that scientists are still trying to discover .
But animosity between the United States and China — and a bellicose American president — have made it harder to find the truth .
A provocative and unproven theory is gaining traction on Fox News and in other right-wing media : The novel coronavirus originated inside of a Chinese lab .
Some version of the theory is appealing to President Donald Trump and his supporters , because it gives them an easy scapegoat to blame for the pandemic .
And more outlandish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the internet , with some suggesting the novel coronavirus was intentionally released as a bioweapon .
That claim has been swiftly knocked down by scientists .
But this particular internet rabbit hole is difficult to hop out of , because the idea that the virus may have originated in a lab is less far-fetched and there are too many unknowns to eliminate this possibility .
While scientists are not yet ready to rule it out , disinformation researchers are clear about why the claim has spread so far , so fast : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News published a story claiming COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus , `` likely '' originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology .
It described the report as based on multiple sources who had been briefed on the details of early actions by China 's government .
`` The sources believe the initial transmission of the virus — a naturally occurring strain that was being studied there — was bat-to-human and that ‘ patient zero ’ worked at the laboratory , then went into the population in Wuhan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next day that members of the US intelligence community were investigating whether the novel coronavirus had escaped from the Wuhan lab .
The Fox News report came one day after Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin published excerpts from two-year-old State Department communications in which US diplomats described what they saw as safety issues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology .
`` Two years before the novel coronavirus pandemic upended the world , U.S. Embassy officials visited a Chinese research facility in the city of Wuhan several times and sent two official warnings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lab , which was conducting risky studies on coronaviruses from bats , '' he wrote .
Rogin reported that the rediscovery of the two-year old communications had fueled discussions among national security officials in the Trump administration about whether the Wuhan lab might have been the source of COVID-19 — “ even though conclusive proof has yet to emerge.
” In the days that followed , the Fox News report and Rogin ’ s column have reignited a long-standing suspicion — particularly on the US right — that the Chinese lab could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rather than the Wuhan wet market .
And while there may well have been discussions about that possibility within the US intelligence community , scientists have suggested that while they ca n't yet rule out a transmission at the lab , an artificial creation of the virus appears next to impossible .
In fact , there 's a great deal that scientists still do n't know about the origins of the novel coronavirus .
In January , a group of scientists wrote in the medical journal Lancet that not all of the initial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the market in Wuhan .
That does not mean that experts believe the virus is an escaped bioweapon : “ All available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not [ a ] manipulated or constructed virus in a lab or somewhere else , ” WHO spokesperson Fadela Chaib said on Tuesday , echoing the results of a study published in March .
It does mean that key questions about its origin have yet to be determined — and may never be .
For instance , the exact origins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been determined , despite the first human case being detected in 1976 .
The origin of the novel coronavirus is a legitimate area of scientific inquiry , in which there are still open questions .
As Carl T. Bergstrom , a professor of biology at the University of Washington , tweeted last week , `` There is strong evidence that the # SARSCoV2 # coronavirus is NOT an engineered bioweapon .
That said , it 's important to be upfront that we do not have sufficient evidence to exclude entirely the possibility that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' But other scientists were quick to distinguish their work from the currently unsupported claims circulating on Fox News and in the Washington Post .
`` It 's irresponsible for political reporters like Rogin [ to ] uncritically regurgitate a secret ‘ cable ’ without asking a single virologist or ecologist or making any attempt to understand the scientific context , '' tweeted Columbia University virologist Angela Rasmussen .
( Rogin defended his work , writing to her that he did speak to several scientists , including virologists , but their quotes didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
Regardless of the science , it 's in the political interest of the president and his most fervent supporters to raise the possibility of a Chinese lab origin .
Vincent Racaniello , a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University and host of the podcast This Week in Virology , told BuzzFeed News that he wasn ’ t even comfortable calling the idea that the lab was the source of the outbreak a theory .
“ A theory is based on results , ” he said .
“ I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ There was no way this could escape a lab , ” Racaniello added .
“ If this escaped a Wuhan lab , [ the researchers ] would have all gotten sick.
” Racaniello explained that the lab studies some of the world ’ s deadliest pathogens , with a particular focus on novel coronaviruses found in bats , and that in January its scientists were the first to genetically sequence COVID-19 .
“ They isolated it from a patient and found it to be very similar ” to RaTG13 , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bats in China ’ s Yunnan province , he said .
“ You can see there is a common ancestor of both viruses.
” Racaniello said the two claims — that the virus could be human-made and that it could have escaped from a laboratory — had no scientific backing .
“ People who are saying it escaped from a lab have no idea what they 're talking about , ” he said , adding , “ No human could ever design this virus.
” The first public speculation that the lab , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dubbed “ Bat Woman ” by Chinese media , could be responsible for the outbreak came in a February research paper in which Chinese scientists pointed out that the virology institute is close to a Wuhan seafood market where the virus is commonly believed to have first come into contact with humans .
The authors withdrew their paper as “ speculation ” after it received international notice .
Yuan Zhiming , a senior official at the Wuhan facility , told Chinese state television earlier this month “ there ’ s no way this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jordan Sather warned his followers in January that the coronavirus was a “ new fad disease ” that had been “ planned.
” Sather ’ s conspiracy theory hinged on a 2015 patent for a coronavirus vaccine filed by scientists at the Pirbright Institute in Surrey , England , a research institute that studies a weakened form of a different coronavirus that could be used as a respiratory disease vaccine for birds and other animals — not humans .
Ten days later , far-right finance news site Zero Hedge claimed without evidence that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virology had created the novel coronavirus .
“ If anyone wants to find out what really caused the coronavirus pandemic that has infected thousands of people in China and around the globe , they should probably pay [ the Chinese scientist ] a visit , ” the article concluded , adding the scientist ’ s phone number and email address .
Following the publication of the scientist 's name in a tweet , Twitter suspended Zero Hedge 's account permanently for violation of its terms of service , which forbid coordinated harassment and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also speculated that Chinese agents smuggled the coronavirus out of a laboratory in Canada and turned it into a weapon .
Like a fugue , the American right has been playing variations on this theme in the months since then .
In February , radio host Rush Limbaugh claimed the deep state had created the coronavirus as a political weapon to “ to bring down Trump.
” Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton , while speaking on Fox News a week later , claimed the virus could be a lab-made bioweapon .
( Cotton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought there were four possible origins for the coronavirus — including an accidental breach or deliberate release of the virus . )
The idea has become so popular that Chinese state propaganda organs are now trolling American conservatives by promoting their own conspiracy theories .
In early March , Lijian Zhao , a prominent Chinese diplomat , tweeted a conspiracy theory that the novel coronavirus did not originate in Wuhan , but in the United States .
According to Wilson Center disinformation researcher Nina Jankowicz , the claim that the Wuhan Institute of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the novel coronavirus left the fringe and entered the American conservative mainstream in early April .
“ It seems to me to be emanating from that Epoch Times documentary , ” she said .
On April 7 , the Epoch Times , an aggressively pro-Trump news outlet , released a 54-minute video titled “ 1st Documentary Movie on the Origin of CCP Virus , Tracking Down the Origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus.
” The Epoch Times is linked to Falun Gong , a religious movement persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on YouTube and shared over 50,000 times on Facebook , which has flagged the video as “ partly false '' for promoting “ the unsupported hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 is a bioengineered virus released from a Wuhan research laboratory.
” “ All these campaigns are preying on people 's desires to know more about the situation , ” Jankowicz said .
“ It bothers people that we ca n't pinpoint where this virus came from.
” But Jankowicz did pinpoint who benefited , saying that putting the blame on a Wuhan lab helps the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It becomes more politically convenient for Trump and his administration the further we get into this maelstrom , especially in comparison to the Chinese response , ” she said .
Following last week ’ s reports in the Washington Post and Fox News , the right-wing media machine has sounded the theme loudly .
One of the top referrals for the Fox piece , according to social metrics site CrowdTangle , was Sen. Cotton ’ s Facebook page , which shared the as-of-yet-unproven article with the caption “ China did this .
China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is.
” In the following days , the hyperpartisan Washington Examiner published a story headlined “ Tom Cotton Was Right : Coronavirus May Have Come From a Chinese Lab , '' and the American Conservative published a piece describing the Epoch Times video as “ impressive in its scope , scale , and overall depth.
” Jeremy Konyndyk , a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development , has been outspoken on Twitter about how the Trump administration has groped to find a direct link between the coronavirus and Chinese @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Washington Post ’ s Rogin for publishing excerpts of a two-year-old cable , rather than the cable in its entirety .
`` They 're looking really hard at the intel and they have n't found anything yet , ” he said .
Konyndyk said there is currently no evidence that the coronavirus originated in a lab — either as a deliberate creation or an accidental release .
“ There was a very early cluster [ of cases ] in the [ Wuhan seafood ] market , ” he said , citing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If the lab was the point of spillover , you would n't necessarily see the early clustering in the market.
” There 's good reason to be suspicious about what China is and is n't reporting .
The CCP heavily censored early information about the outbreak and was reticent to share data internationally in the months that followed .
But the country 's motivations are less clear .
“ Should [ we ] read that as a desire to cover up or a fear that anything that is discovered wo n't be handled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I think the Chinese should be open to a more open process.
” Since then , the country ’ s government and people have grown to resent the lack of compassion the rest of the world has shown China , Shirk said , while Chinese citizens have become more nationalistic , proud that they were able to flatten the curve on their own .
“ Now that they 've gotten control over the first wave , they 're prematurely celebrating out of defensiveness and claiming a lot of credit , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just Trump who has a political interest in scapegoating another country .
Leaders of both nations are trying to find ways to reframe their failures to contain the outbreak .
“ Xi Jinping and Donald Trump are both vulnerable to a lot of public criticism for having failed in their responses to the disease , ” she said .
“ They ’ re just trying to protect their own political skin by blaming and stoking ill will to the other country.
” Shirk said that if the US and China can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third waves of the coronavirus outbreak could be even more dangerous than the first .
“ What really gets me , even in the middle of the Cold War , the Soviet Union and the United States jointly led the global effort and totally eradicated smallpox , ” she said .
“ Could you imagine the United States and China doing that ?
”

A provocative and unproven theory is gaining traction on Fox News and in other right-wing media: The novel coronavirus originated inside of a Chinese lab.
Some version of the theory is appealing to President Donald Trump and his supporters, because it gives them an easy scapegoat to blame for the pandemic. And more outlandish versions of it circulate in certain corners of the internet, with some suggesting the novel coronavirus was intentionally released as a bioweapon. That claim has been swiftly knocked down by scientists.
But this particular internet rabbit hole is difficult to hop out of, because the idea that the virus may have originated in a lab is less far-fetched and there are too many unknowns to eliminate this possibility. While scientists are not yet ready to rule it out, disinformation researchers are clear about why the claim has spread so far, so fast: Donald Trump.
Five days ago, Fox News published a story claiming COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, "likely" originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It described the report as based on multiple sources who had been briefed on the details of early actions by China's government.
"The sources believe the initial transmission of the virus — a naturally occurring strain that was being studied there — was bat-to-human and that ‘patient zero’ worked at the laboratory, then went into the population in Wuhan," wrote Fox News, which claimed the next day that members of the US intelligence community were investigating whether the novel coronavirus had escaped from the Wuhan lab.
The Fox News report came one day after Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin published excerpts from two-year-old State Department communications in which US diplomats described what they saw as safety issues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
"Two years before the novel coronavirus pandemic upended the world, U.S. Embassy officials visited a Chinese research facility in the city of Wuhan several times and sent two official warnings back to Washington about inadequate safety at the lab, which was conducting risky studies on coronaviruses from bats," he wrote.
Rogin reported that the rediscovery of the two-year old communications had fueled discussions among national security officials in the Trump administration about whether the Wuhan lab might have been the source of COVID-19 — “even though conclusive proof has yet to emerge.”
In the days that followed, the Fox News report and Rogin’s column have reignited a long-standing suspicion — particularly on the US right — that the Chinese lab could be the origin of the pandemic, rather than the Wuhan wet market. And while there may well have been discussions about that possibility within the US intelligence community, scientists have suggested that while they can't yet rule out a transmission at the lab, an artificial creation of the virus appears next to impossible.


buzzfeednews--2020-04-07--A Marathon Runner Who Was "The Picture Of Health" Has Died Of The Coronavirus

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
A longtime journalist for the Associated Press based in New York City who ran more than 80 marathons around the world has died as a result of the coronavirus .
Friends , family , and colleagues of Anick Jesdanun — who went by Nick — are mourning the man they say was `` the picture of health . ''
Jesdanun 's cousin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no underlying health conditions and was not considered to be high risk if he developed COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
Mulpramook said that Jesdanun , 51 , had completed 83 full marathons — including 15 in New York City .
`` He had run so many New York City Marathons ( 15 ! )
he was now guaranteed entry for life , '' Mulpramook wrote in a now-viral Facebook post .
Running was a hobby he picked up in his thirties .
`` In 2002 , he decided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about it for two years , '' Mulpramook told BuzzFeed News .
`` He was nervous , but his excitement was palpable .
It ended up igniting a new passion that brought him lifelong friends , took him to all seven continents , and he finished those 83 marathons . ''
But Jesdanun did n't run for a fast time , his cousin Risa Harms said — he did it for the experience .
`` He said that he took some pit stops to check out the penguins , '' she said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Antarctica .
`` He did n't run for time .
He always brought a camera with him to capture spectators and the sights . ''

A longtime journalist for the Associated Press based in New York City who ran more than 80 marathons around the world has died as a result of the coronavirus.
Friends, family, and colleagues of Anick Jesdanun — who went by Nick — are mourning the man they say was "the picture of health."
Jesdanun's cousin, Prinda Mulpramook, said he had no underlying health conditions and was not considered to be high risk if he developed COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Mulpramook said that Jesdanun, 51, had completed 83 full marathons — including 15 in New York City.
"He had run so many New York City Marathons (15!) he was now guaranteed entry for life," Mulpramook wrote in a now-viral Facebook post.
Running was a hobby he picked up in his thirties.
"In 2002, he decided to run the NYC marathon after talking about it for two years," Mulpramook told BuzzFeed News. "He was nervous, but his excitement was palpable. It ended up igniting a new passion that brought him lifelong friends, took him to all seven continents, and he finished those 83 marathons."
But Jesdanun didn't run for a fast time, his cousin Risa Harms said — he did it for the experience.
"He said that he took some pit stops to check out the penguins," she said, referring to the marathon he ran in Antarctica. "He didn't run for time. He always brought a camera with him to capture spectators and the sights."


buzzfeednews--2020-04-12--People Are Buying Stamps And Praising Mail Carriers After The US Postal Service Said It Needs A Coro

People Are Buying Stamps And Praising Mail Carriers After The US Postal Service Said It Needs A Coronavirus Bailout

A US Postal Service worker wears a mask and gloves while delivering mail as the coronavirus pandemic continues in California , April 9 .
The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
But so far , the USPS has n't received cash in the stimulus plans aimed at propping up other types of US businesses — prompting some people on Sunday to show support by buying stamps , sharing tributes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about why the mail is such an important part of American life .
As the coronavirus pandemic continues , the US Postal Service said that it 's seen a `` devastating '' drop in revenue and needs funding from Congress to ensure it can keep delivering letters and packages to the millions of Americans currently sheltering at home .
# USPostalService and # saveUSPS were tweeted thousands of times after the Washington Post reported Saturday that President Donald Trump was personally blocking potential emergency funding .
According to the Post , Trump threatened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passed stimulus package that included a $ 13 billion bailout for the US Postal Service and instead extended the agency a $ 10 billion loan .
The USPS has been financially troubled for decades , but a drop in its main funding source — first-class and marketing mail — due to the coronavirus pandemic has only worsened its economic outlook .
`` We now estimate that the COVID-19 pandemic will increase the Postal Service ’ s net operating loss by more than $ 22 billion dollars over the next eighteen months , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the longer term , threatening our ability to operate , '' Postmaster General Megan Brennan said in a statement on Friday .
Rep. Gerry Connolly , a Democrat who has led the push to provide USPS with aid , has also said Trump personally blocked potential funding plans .
`` Every single one of us will feel the impact if the # USPostalService disappears , @ realDonaldTrump , '' Connolly tweeted on Sunday .
`` The American people want to # SaveTheUSPS .
Whether we can is up to you . ''
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their lives .

#USPostalService and #saveUSPS were tweeted thousands of times after the Washington Post reported Saturday that President Donald Trump was personally blocking potential emergency funding. According to the Post, Trump threatened to veto a version of the recently passed stimulus package that included a $13 billion bailout for the US Postal Service and instead extended the agency a $10 billion loan. The USPS has been financially troubled for decades, but a drop in its main funding source — first-class and marketing mail — due to the coronavirus pandemic has only worsened its economic outlook.
"We now estimate that the COVID-19 pandemic will increase the Postal Service’s net operating loss by more than $22 billion dollars over the next eighteen months, and by over $54 billion dollars over the longer term, threatening our ability to operate," Postmaster General Megan Brennan said in a statement on Friday.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat who has led the push to provide USPS with aid, has also said Trump personally blocked potential funding plans.
"Every single one of us will feel the impact if the #USPostalService disappears, @realDonaldTrump," Connolly tweeted on Sunday. "The American people want to #SaveTheUSPS. Whether we can is up to you."
Some people praised the mail delivery personnel in their lives.