npr--2020-10-31--How Humans Domesticated Themselves

How Humans Domesticated Themselves

In 1959 , Dmitri Belyaev made his way to Siberia to look for the most polite foxes he could find .
A Soviet geneticist , Belyaev was interested in how animal domestication occurs — and in what happens biologically when the wild canine evolves into the mild-mannered dog .
The thousands of fox fur farms stippling the Siberian countryside at the time were ideal grounds for his experiment .
Belyaev started breeding especially docile foxes and observing the temperament of their pups .
Within just three generations they were noticeably less fearful and aggressive toward people .
By the fourth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ captors , wagging their tails like giddy retrievers .
The animals were showing signs of friendliness toward humans .
They 'd been domesticated .
Duke anthropologist Brian Hare argues that humans unintentionally experienced a similar process that left us more cooperative than our now extinct human cousins , like Neanderthals and Denisovans .
While Belyaev 's foxes underwent artificial evolution through breeding , Hare and others believe that in Homo sapiens natural selection favored friendliness — that without realizing it we were self-domesticated by our own evolution , and that our more agreeable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ propagation across the planet .
In his new book , Survival of the Friendliest : Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity , Hare presents a thesis on why being more cooperative with those around us , and more willing to compromise , may have conferred survival advantages .
Violence and aggression , he writes , was n't always a sound evolutionary strategy .
Being the alpha bully means you 're more often engaged in dangerous encounters , and a target of the greater group , in whose best interest it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ males .
`` When you look back in nature and see when a species or group of species underwent a major transition or succeeded in a new way , friendliness or an increase in cooperation are typically part of that story , '' says Hare .
He cites the evolution of flowering plants , which evolved over 100 million years ago out of cooperation with pollinators .
Dogs too were domesticated as amicability became adaptive .
Wolves friendlier toward humans would 've had a more reliable food source and a better chance of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for humans was the cognitive revolution that took place between 40,000 and 90,000 years ago , when our creativity exploded into a gallery of tools , weapons , carvings , and cave drawings .
Cooperation meant skills and knowledge could spread within and between groups of our hunter-gatherer ancestors like never before .
Human domestication has provoked scientists plenty of times before , with some claiming it 's bringing us down as a species , leaving us weak and dependent like other domesticated animals .
Darwin observed that domesticated animals share certain traits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ floppier ears than their wild counterparts , and curlier tails .
They 're smaller and have recessed jaws and littler teeth .
Domestication also shrinks the amygdala , the brain 's fear center , leading to a reduction in aggressive , fearful reactions .
Belyaev noticed that his domesticated foxes eventually developed black and white , or piebald , spots , now known to be a classic sign of domestication .
Think of the black and white pelts of cows , horses , dogs , and cats – especially those white-footed felines we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing is , with the exception of docility , these characteristics do n't do anything at all .
Research like Belyaev 's made it apparent that if you select for friendliness and cooperation in foxes , you get a host of features that come along for the ride that do n't serve a purpose – in evolutionary parlance they 're non-adaptive , much like the male nipple .
Together this suite of traits is called the `` domestication syndrome . ''
For years scientists have recognized that domestication seems to preserve childlike psychological @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elicit care from parents and other adults .
`` Cuter '' features .
A little more helplessness .
And friendliness towards humans , supporting Hare 's argument .
Recent science has helped piece together why this is .
During vertebrate development there is a strip of what are called neural crest cells running down the back of the embryo .
As we grow inside the womb , these cells migrate throughout the body to help form the cartilage and bone of our face and jaw , the melanin-producing cells that give our skin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nervous system .
They also form our adrenal glands , which , among other functions , release cortisol — our `` stress hormone '' — and adrenaline , involved in our fight or flight response .
Domesticated animals have smaller adrenal glands .
Hare believes selection for friendliness results in less neural crest migration , and as a result , less aggressive , reactionary behavior driven by adrenal hormones .
But fewer neural crest cells reaching their intended targets also influences the other traits driven by their voyage through the body , explaining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ domesticates , and white patches of fur lacking melanin .
Scientists now know that domestication — whether artificial or natural — seems to involve selection on a gene called BAZ1B , which helps drive neural crest migration during development .
In recent years , the self-domestication theory is perhaps most associated with Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham .
He was Hare 's graduate adviser , and the two of them have long collaborated to study how domestication occurred in certain species , including traveling to Siberia together to study Belyaev 's foxes ( the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later despite Belyaev 's death in 1985 ) .
In the late 1990s , writings by Belyaev 's longtime collaborator Lyudmila Trut got Wrangham thinking that the story of the Russian foxes might shed light on primate domestication , specifically that of bonobos .
Bonobos and chimpanzees are our closest cousins .
Yet whereas chimps are often violent buffoons , bonobos live a more peaceful existence , with females wielding the social power .
Like humans , male bonobos can be plenty violent , but the females band together to keep the overly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , bonobos do n't murder members of their own species .
They also have lots of sex , earning them their free-love reputation .
`` I started thinking of self-domestication as being the best way to think about selection against aggression in bonobos , '' says Wrangham .
And this , both he and Hare believe , was due to where the respective species lived .
Chimps evolved in African regions scarcer in food , where they had to compete with gorillas for their spoils .
Bonobos evolved in the lush Congo basin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aggression can be evolutionarily advantageous when times are tough , a hierarchical structure in which only a few individuals in a group get most of the resources and reproductive opportunity can be extremely costly .
Chimpanzee and baboon data suggest as much .
If for whatever reason a new or abundant resource becomes available , the benefits of aggression no longer pay off .
Following his bonobo revelation , Wrangham took the idea a step further , applying the same theory to humans : `` Since I was already aware of some parallels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ self-domestication therefore became a fascinating possibility . ''
It appears that the friendliest bonobo males were the ones who succeeded .
Hare thinks that we share a similar past , in which a new ecological situation in our evolution — perhaps finding ourselves in a region with more abundant fruits and fauna — changed the calculus of our social interaction in favor of cooperation .
It 's true , humans are far more cooperative than most other species .
Yet how do we then reckon with our capacity for brutalities like murder , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became more social and cooperative with each other , we began to strongly identify with our community .
In turn we were left more suspicious of others — anyone outside of our circle of family and friends .
`` There are two ways to make a group , '' says Emiliano Bruner , a paleoneuroscientist at the National Research Center for Human Evolution in Burgos , Spain .
`` First , you can rely on what people have in common , giving importance to similarities .
Alternatively , you can stress the differences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work , but in the first case you bet on love , which is often difficult , because it requires the acceptance of our differences .
In the second case , you bet on hate which is , unfortunately , much easier to do ! ''
Self-domestication brought cohesion within our in-groups as psychologists put it — we got tighter with our cliques .
But it also brought with it a deeper sense of xenophobia .
`` Union is often based on hate toward somebody , in the name of differences in ideology @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or whatever excuse one wants to find , '' says Bruner .
`` A social species is , in this sense , easy to manipulate .
Individuals need to feel they belong to a group , and they are ready to do any foolish thing to reach that affiliation .
So often humans are afraid of loneliness . ''
Prejudice is toxic , and sadly humans are stuck with it .
But according to Hare , our willingness to harm and exploit members of our own species is rooted in far deeper psychic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Instead it comes from not seeing them as humans in the first place .
Our capacity to dehumanize is perhaps the darkest Homo sapiens quality .
We instinctually blind ourselves to the humanity of those we fear , or those we can exploit .
`` There 's a network in the brain that may dampen empathy and no longer calculate what those who threaten our own group are thinking -- you do n't necessarily perceive those individuals as fully human , '' Hare speculates , citing neuroscience research that supports his view .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ use when you interact with a table or a chair , which allows for moral exclusion . ''
If the theory holds , it may explain why warfare , enslavement , and other human atrocities arose alongside increasingly cooperative civilizations beginning around 11,000 years ago , following the agricultural revolution .
Hare feels that by explaining our social ills through prejudice , we may be focusing on the wrong problem .
Psychologists , neuroscientists , and politicians might find more success trying to short-circuit brain mechanisms that allow for dehumanization .
He believes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country 's stifling political polarization .
Hare did n't devise the concept of human self-domestication on his own .
His ideas are built on those of Wrangham and other academics in the field .
But , as Wrangham recalls , Hare 's work with the Russian foxes , and later dogs and bonobos , did add a great deal of credibility to the idea that a new , agreeable human psychology was the result of natural selection for being less aggressive and friendlier to our peers , and perhaps more aggressive to outsiders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together really tightly first , '' says Wrangham on presenting the idea to the public .
`` Brian 's been pushing it faster than I wanted to go ! ''
Bret Stetka is a writer based in New York and an editorial director at Medscape .
His work has appeared in Wired , Scientific American , and on The Atlantic.com .
His forthcoming book , A History of the Human Brain , will be out on Timber Press in March 2021 .
He 's also on Twitter : @ BretStetka .

How Humans Domesticated Themselves
Enlarge this image toggle caption Ley Uwera for NPR Ley Uwera for NPR
In 1959, Dmitri Belyaev made his way to Siberia to look for the most polite foxes he could find.
A Soviet geneticist, Belyaev was interested in how animal domestication occurs — and in what happens biologically when the wild canine evolves into the mild-mannered dog. The thousands of fox fur farms stippling the Siberian countryside at the time were ideal grounds for his experiment.
Belyaev started breeding especially docile foxes and observing the temperament of their pups. Within just three generations they were noticeably less fearful and aggressive toward people. By the fourth generation some pups would even approach their captors, wagging their tails like giddy retrievers. The animals were showing signs of friendliness toward humans. They'd been domesticated.
Duke anthropologist Brian Hare argues that humans unintentionally experienced a similar process that left us more cooperative than our now extinct human cousins, like Neanderthals and Denisovans.
While Belyaev's foxes underwent artificial evolution through breeding, Hare and others believe that in Homo sapiens natural selection favored friendliness — that without realizing it we were self-domesticated by our own evolution, and that our more agreeable demeanor is responsible for our success and propagation across the planet.
In the new book, Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity, Hare and his wife, Vanessa, a science writer, present a thesis on why being more cooperative with those around us, and more willing to compromise, may have conferred survival advantages.
Violence and aggression, he writes, wasn't always a sound evolutionary strategy. Being the alpha bully means you're more often engaged in dangerous encounters, and a target of the greater group, in whose best interest it is to weed out threatening, socially destabilizing males.
"When you look back in nature and see when a species or group of species underwent a major transition or succeeded in a new way, friendliness or an increase in cooperation are typically part of that story," says Hare. He cites the evolution of flowering plants, which evolved over 100 million years ago out of cooperation with pollinators. Dogs too were domesticated as amicability became adaptive. Wolves friendlier toward humans would've had a more reliable food source and a better chance of living on.
A major social milestone for humans was the cognitive revolution that took place between 40,000 and 90,000 years ago, when our creativity exploded into a gallery of tools, weapons, carvings, and cave drawings. Cooperation meant skills and knowledge could spread within and between groups of our hunter-gatherer ancestors like never before.
The domestication syndrome
Human domestication has provoked scientists plenty of times before, with some claiming it's bringing us down as a species, leaving us weak and dependent like other domesticated animals. Darwin observed that domesticated animals share certain traits across species. Domesticates tend to have floppier ears than their wild counterparts, and curlier tails. They're smaller and have recessed jaws and littler teeth. Domestication also shrinks the amygdala, the brain's fear center, leading to a reduction in aggressive, fearful reactions.
Belyaev noticed that his domesticated foxes eventually developed black and white, or piebald, spots, now known to be a classic sign of domestication. Think of the black and white pelts of cows, horses, dogs, and cats – especially those white-footed felines we claim "wear socks."
The thing is, with the exception of docility, these characteristics don't do anything at all.
Research like Belyaev's made it apparent that if you select for friendliness and cooperation in foxes, you get a host of features that come along for the ride that don't serve a purpose – in evolutionary parlance they're non-adaptive, much like the male nipple. Together this suite of traits is called the "domestication syndrome."
For years scientists have recognized that domestication seems to preserve childlike psychological and physical tendencies, especially those that elicit care from parents and other adults. "Cuter" features. A little more helplessness. And friendliness towards humans, supporting Hare's argument. Recent science has helped piece together why this is.
During vertebrate development there is a strip of what are called neural crest cells running down the back of the embryo. As we grow inside the womb, these cells migrate throughout the body to help form the cartilage and bone of our face and jaw, the melanin-producing cells that give our skin pigment, and part of our peripheral nervous system. They also form our adrenal glands, which, among other functions, release cortisol — our "stress hormone" — and adrenaline, involved in our fight or flight response.
Domesticated animals have smaller adrenal glands. Hare believes selection for friendliness results in less neural crest migration, and as a result, less aggressive, reactionary behavior driven by adrenal hormones.
But fewer neural crest cells reaching their intended targets also influences the other traits driven by their voyage through the body, explaining the smaller snouts and jaws seen in domesticates, and white patches of fur lacking melanin. Scientists now know that domestication — whether artificial or natural — seems to involve selection on a gene called BAZ1B, which helps drive neural crest migration during development.
In recent years, the self-domestication theory is perhaps most associated with Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham. He was Hare's graduate adviser, and the two of them have long collaborated to study how domestication occurred in certain species, including traveling to Siberia together to study Belyaev's foxes (the experiment is still ongoing some 60 years later despite Belyaev's death in 1985).
In the late 1990s, writings by Belyaev's longtime collaborator Lyudmila Trut got Wrangham thinking that the story of the Russian foxes might shed light on primate domestication, specifically that of bonobos.
Bonobos and chimpanzees are our closest cousins. Yet whereas chimps are often violent buffoons, bonobos live a more peaceful existence, with females wielding the social power. Like humans, male bonobos can be plenty violent, but the females band together to keep the overly aggressive fellows in check. Unlike chimps, bonobos don't murder members of their own species. They also have lots of sex, earning them their free-love reputation.
"I started thinking of self-domestication as being the best way to think about selection against aggression in bonobos," says Wrangham. And this, both he and Hare believe, was due to where the respective species lived.
Chimps evolved in African regions scarcer in food, where they had to compete with gorillas for their spoils. Bonobos evolved in the lush Congo basin.
toggle caption Ley Uwera for NPR
Hare explains that while despotism and aggression can be evolutionarily advantageous when times are tough, a hierarchical structure in which only a few individuals in a group get most of the resources and reproductive opportunity can be extremely costly. Chimpanzee and baboon data suggest as much.
If for whatever reason a new or abundant resource becomes available, the benefits of aggression no longer pay off.
Following his bonobo revelation, Wrangham took the idea a step further, applying the same theory to humans: "Since I was already aware of some parallels between bonobo and human features, human self-domestication therefore became a fascinating possibility."
It appears that the friendliest bonobo males were the ones who succeeded. Hare thinks that we share a similar past, in which a new ecological situation in our evolution — perhaps finding ourselves in a region with more abundant fruits and fauna — changed the calculus of our social interaction in favor of cooperation.
Fair-weather friends
It's true, humans are far more cooperative than most other species. Yet how do we then reckon with our capacity for brutalities like murder, genocide, and slavery?
As we became more social and cooperative with each other, we began to strongly identify with our community. In turn we were left more suspicious of others — anyone outside of our circle of family and friends.
"There are two ways to make a group," says Emiliano Bruner, a paleoneuroscientist at the National Research Center for Human Evolution in Burgos, Spain. "First, you can rely on what people have in common, giving importance to similarities. Alternatively, you can stress the differences toward another group. Both strategies can work, but in the first case you bet on love, which is often difficult, because it requires the acceptance of our differences. In the second case, you bet on hate which is, unfortunately, much easier to do!"
Self-domestication brought cohesion within our in-groups as psychologists put it — we got tighter with our cliques. But it also brought with it a deeper sense of xenophobia. "Union is often based on hate toward somebody, in the name of differences in ideology, sex, race, politics, or whatever excuse one wants to find," says Bruner. "A social species is, in this sense, easy to manipulate. Individuals need to feel they belong to a group, and they are ready to do any foolish thing to reach that affiliation. So often humans are afraid of loneliness."
Prejudice is toxic, and sadly humans are stuck with it. But according to Hare, our willingness to harm and exploit members of our own species is rooted in far deeper psychic caverns than simply not liking them. Instead it comes from not seeing them as humans in the first place.
Our capacity to dehumanize is perhaps the darkest Homo sapiens quality. We instinctually blind ourselves to the humanity of those we fear, or those we can exploit. "There's a network in the brain that may dampen empathy and no longer calculate what those who threaten our own group are thinking--you don't necessarily perceive those individuals as fully human," Hare speculates, citing neuroscience research that supports his view. "You're using cognition you might use when you interact with a table or a chair, which allows for moral exclusion."
If the theory holds, it may explain why warfare, enslavement, and other human atrocities arose alongside increasingly cooperative civilizations beginning around 11,000 years ago, following the agricultural revolution.
Hare feels that by explaining our social ills through prejudice, we may be focusing on the wrong problem. Psychologists, neuroscientists, and politicians might find more success trying to short-circuit brain mechanisms that allow for dehumanization. He believes doing so could even help assuage our country's stifling political polarization.
Hare didn't devise the concept of human self-domestication on his own. His ideas are built on those of Wrangham and other academics in the field.
But, as Wrangham recalls, Hare's work with the Russian foxes, and later dogs and bonobos, did add a great deal of credibility to the idea that a new, agreeable human psychology was the result of natural selection for being less aggressive and friendlier to our peers, and perhaps more aggressive to outsiders.
"I wanted to tie everything together really tightly first," says Wrangham on presenting the idea to the public. "Brian's been pushing it faster than I wanted to go!"
Bret Stetka is a writer based in New York and an editorial director at Medscape. His work has appeared in Wired, Scientific American, and on The Atlantic.com. His forthcoming book, A History of the Human Brain, will be out on Timber Press in March 2021. He's also on Twitter: @BretStetka.


npr--2020-10-31--Colorado Abortion Ban Could Be Felt Nationwide

Last year around this time , Tammy , her husband , and their young son were getting ready for a big expansion of their family : she was expecting twins – one boy and one girl .
The family celebrated around Christmastime with a gender reveal party , complete with matching onesies reading , `` Little Brother '' and `` Little Sister . ''
`` It was great , and I think my husband I would both say that that was probably the highest point of what had already been a difficult pregnancy , '' she said .
Tammy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Atlanta area .
We 're not using her last name because she 's worried about facing stigma for sharing her story .
There were some worrisome test results earlier in the pregnancy , but the couple decided to wait things out .
Then , around 25 weeks , Tammy said she and her husband learned their daughter had a rare condition that could mean a lifetime of seizures , heart problems , and developmental delays .
`` Thinking about having twins after already having a toddler and then one of those twins constantly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – I do n't know how I 'd be able to give enough love and attention to my boys , '' Tammy said .
Georgia bans most abortions after 22 weeks ; it 's one of many states that restrict abortion later in pregnancy .
And few physicians nationwide are willing or able to perform such procedures .
Tammy was referred to a clinic in Boulder , Colo. , founded by Dr. Warren Hern , who specializes in later abortions .
`` The women who come to me are in extremely difficult circumstances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difficult decision of their lives , '' Hern said in an interview with NPR .
Tammy 's case was particularly complex because of the other twin , who was born healthy a few weeks after her procedure .
A ballot initiative before Colorado voters threatens to shut down Hern 's clinic , where he estimates that like Tammy , about 85 percent of his patients come from outside Colorado .
Most of the procedures performed at the clinic in Boulder would be banned under Proposition 115 , which would prohibit abortion after 22 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life .
Doctors found in violation could face fines and lose their medical license .
Hern said many of his patients are facing a medical crisis ; others have been victims of rape or incest and may have faced delays in getting an abortion .
`` And so I think these are very private decisions , '' Hern said .
Later abortion is relatively rare – a little more than 1 percent of abortions nationwide occur after 21 weeks , according to the Guttmacher Institute , which supports abortion rights .
The 22-week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when doctors say a fetus could survive delivery with significant medical intervention .
Tom Perille , a Colorado physician and advocate for the abortion ban , argues allowing abortion at that stage is cruel and out of step with much of the rest of the world .
He said women should make the decision earlier .
`` Women have 22 weeks to continue to make their choices about the pregnancy – including in the tragic situations of rape , incest , and fetal anomaly , '' Perille said .
For several anxious months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to use her first name , waited to decide whether to terminate a complicated and high-risk pregnancy .
`` It was just something I always wanted to be , was to be a mother , '' she said .
Leah , 29 , was told there might be problems with the fetus , and that the pregnancy could worsen her own longstanding health problems , even threaten her vision .
`` I just needed to have some type of proof , '' she said .
`` And if I was never gon na @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stay pregnant . ''
Leah says she finally got that proof , in devastating form , around 24 weeks – when she was told her fetus had a fatal condition .
It was too late for an abortion in her home state of Iowa , so she traveled to Colorado .
Nerys Benfield , a physician based in New York and board member for the Society of Family Planning , said there are many reasons why patients sometimes seek abortions later in pregnancy .
Some fetal abnormalities can develop later in pregnancy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early on .
Benfield said some women also are delayed in beginning prenatal care .
`` Maybe they did n't know that they were pregnant ; they 've got irregular periods ; they 're just kind of not aware until later in the process , '' Benfield said .
`` We also have areas [ of the country ] where getting access to care is very hard . ''
Groups including the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists are opposing Proposition 115 on the grounds it will interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the initiative say they hope it will shut down Hern 's clinic , and pave the way for more abortion restrictions in the future .
In an interview last year with Denver radio station KHOW , activist Erin Behrens suggested she hopes it 's just the beginning .
`` Let 's get that passed ; let 's get that on the books ; let 's put the Boulder abortion clinic out of business and prevent those lives from being taken every year , '' she said .
`` And then let 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2022 and 2024 . ''
Recent polling indicates a narrow split among voters on the 22-week abortion ban .
Whatever they decide on Tuesday will have implications for pregnant women well beyond Colorado 's borders .

Colorado Abortion Ban Could Be Felt Nationwide
Last year around this time, Tammy, her husband, and their young son were getting ready for a big expansion of their family: she was expecting twins – one boy and one girl.
The family celebrated around Christmastime with a gender reveal party, complete with matching onesies reading, "Little Brother" and "Little Sister."
"It was great, and I think my husband I would both say that that was probably the highest point of what had already been a difficult pregnancy," she said.
Tammy, 37, is a teacher from the Atlanta area. We're not using her last name because she's worried about facing stigma for sharing her story.
A 'Painful and Difficult' Decision
There were some worrisome test results earlier in the pregnancy, but the couple decided to wait things out. Then, around 25 weeks, Tammy said she and her husband learned their daughter had a rare condition that could mean a lifetime of seizures, heart problems, and developmental delays.
"Thinking about having twins after already having a toddler and then one of those twins constantly being in and out of the hospital – I don't know how I'd be able to give enough love and attention to my boys," Tammy said.
Georgia bans most abortions after 22 weeks; it's one of many states that restrict abortion later in pregnancy. And few physicians nationwide are willing or able to perform such procedures.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Ed Andrieski/ASSOCIATED PRESS Ed Andrieski/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tammy was referred to a clinic in Boulder, Colo., founded by Dr. Warren Hern, who specializes in later abortions.
"The women who come to me are in extremely difficult circumstances; this is the most painful and difficult decision of their lives," Hern said in an interview with NPR.
Tammy's case was particularly complex because of the other twin, who was born healthy a few weeks after her procedure.
Many Restrictions, Few Options
A ballot initiative before Colorado voters threatens to shut down Hern's clinic, where he estimates that like Tammy, about 85 percent of his patients come from outside Colorado. Most of the procedures performed at the clinic in Boulder would be banned under Proposition 115, which would prohibit abortion after 22 weeks except to save a woman's life. Doctors found in violation could face fines and lose their medical license.
Hern said many of his patients are facing a medical crisis; others have been victims of rape or incest and may have faced delays in getting an abortion.
"And so I think these are very private decisions," Hern said.
Later abortion is relatively rare – a little more than 1 percent of abortions nationwide occur after 21 weeks, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights.
The 22-week cutoff is close to the earliest point when doctors say a fetus could survive delivery with significant medical intervention.
Tom Perille, a Colorado physician and advocate for the abortion ban, argues allowing abortion at that stage is cruel and out of step with much of the rest of the world. He said women should make the decision earlier.
"Women have 22 weeks to continue to make their choices about the pregnancy – including in the tragic situations of rape, incest, and fetal anomaly," Perille said.
'Some Type of Proof'
For several anxious months, Leah, who also asked us to use her first name, waited to decide whether to terminate a complicated and high-risk pregnancy.
"It was just something I always wanted to be, was to be a mother," she said.
Leah, 29, was told there might be problems with the fetus, and that the pregnancy could worsen her own longstanding health problems, even threaten her vision.
"I just needed to have some type of proof," she said. "And if I was never gonna get that proof, I was going to stay pregnant."
Leah says she finally got that proof, in devastating form, around 24 weeks – when she was told her fetus had a fatal condition. It was too late for an abortion in her home state of Iowa, so she traveled to Colorado.
Nerys Benfield, a physician based in New York and board member for the Society of Family Planning, said there are many reasons why patients sometimes seek abortions later in pregnancy. Some fetal abnormalities can develop later in pregnancy, and others are difficult to diagnose early on.
Benfield said some women also are delayed in beginning prenatal care.
"Maybe they didn't know that they were pregnant; they've got irregular periods; they're just kind of not aware until later in the process," Benfield said. "We also have areas [of the country] where getting access to care is very hard."
Nationwide Implications
Groups including the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists are opposing Proposition 115 on the grounds it will interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and complicate difficult medical decisions.
Some supporters of the initiative say they hope it will shut down Hern's clinic, and pave the way for more abortion restrictions in the future. In an interview last year with Denver radio station KHOW, activist Erin Behrens suggested she hopes it's just the beginning.
"Let's get that passed; let's get that on the books; let's put the Boulder abortion clinic out of business and prevent those lives from being taken every year," she said. "And then let's come back and talk more about it in 2022 and 2024."
Recent polling indicates a narrow split among voters on the 22-week abortion ban. Whatever they decide on Tuesday will have implications for pregnant women well beyond Colorado's borders.


npr--2020-10-30--Mom Dragged From SUV, Beaten By Officers With Toddler In Back Seat Filing Suit

Mom Dragged From SUV , Beaten By Officers With Toddler In Back Seat Filing Suit As some protesters smashed storefront windows to make off with merchandise during the chaos of Monday night 's Walter Wallace Jr. protests , some Philadelphia Police officers smashed an SUV 's windows and violently yanked out its driver and a teenaged passenger , threw them to the ground , then pulled a small child from the back seat .
The incident was captured on video and streamed live by Aapril Rice , who watched the `` surreal '' scene from a rooftop across the street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than a dozen police officers swarm the dark SUV , which appeared to be trying to slowly make its way out of the melee .
Officers shouted for the driver to get out of the car before at least two , bashed in several of its windows with their batons .
With the windows destroyed , officers apparently forcibly removed Rickia Young , who was driving at the time , and her 16-year-old nephew .
The two are surrounded by officers who appear to wail on the two bodies on the ground @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child out of the backseat and carries him away .
On Thursday , lawyers representing Young and her 2-year-old son , who is hearing impaired , said she was beaten by the officers , separated from the child for hours , and kept in handcuffs while being treated for injuries at a hospital .
Civil rights attorneys Kevin Mincey and Riley H. Ross III said the 28-year-old woman , who is a home health care aide , is filing a civil rights case against the police department .
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Mincey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a swollen trachea , blood in her urine , and swelling and pain on her left side , '' while the child was treated at Children 's Hospital of Philadelphia for `` a large welt on his head . ''
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the incident is under investigation by Philadelphia Police Internal Affairs .
In a video interview on Friday , Outlaw said one of the officers — `` the one that we see using the strikes against the car '' — has been put on restricted duty pending the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not name the officer .
In an interview with the Inquirer , Young 's attorneys explained that she had set out for that part of West Philadelphia in an effort to get her son to fall asleep in the car .
She decided to drive to pick up her 16-year-old nephew who lives in that neighborhood , but on her way home ran into the police barricade .
Young tried to make a three-point turn to head in the opposite direction but that 's when police officers attacked the vehicle , Mincey said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the police were taking her child , they refused to tell her , saying , `` he 's gon na go to a better place , we 're gon na report it to [ the Department of Human Services . ]
'' Young was initially transported to police headquarters but then transferred to Jefferson University Hospital for medical treatment , where she remained handcuffed , Mincey recounted .
Young was then taken back to police headquarters and although she spent the night in a holding cell , was released without being charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about 4 miles away from the scene where his grandmother , found him `` sitting in his car seat in a police cruiser with two officers , '' the Inquirer reported .
Mincey said the child 's car seat was still covered in shattered glass from the SUV 's broken windows and he had a lump on his head .
In a strange twist , photos of the barefoot child in the arms of an officer have become another point of tension .
The National Fraternal Order of Police on Thursday posted a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social media with a caption that read : `` This child was lost during the violent riots in Philadelphia , wandering around barefoot in an area that was experiencing complete lawlessness .
The only thing this Philadelphia police officer cared about in that moment was protecting this child . ''
When contacted by reporters asking questions about the post and the false claim alongside it , the FOP removed the image .
Later , a spokesperson told the Inquirer the organization `` subsequently learned of conflicting accounts of the circumstances under which the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officer and immediately took the photo and caption down . ''
But Riley Ross , a partner at the firm representing Young , called the move racist propaganda .
`` This post by the [ FOP ] is a lie , '' he wrote in a tweet .
`` This photo was taken moments after police attacked their vehicle , busted out the windows , ripped the mother from her car and assaulted her . ''
He added : `` Our firm will not stand for this blatant attempt to use our clients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear to force compliance . ''

Mom Dragged From SUV, Beaten By Officers With Toddler In Back Seat Filing Suit
Enlarge this image toggle caption Rickia Young/AP Rickia Young/AP
As some protesters smashed storefront windows to make off with merchandise during the chaos of Monday night's Walter Wallace Jr. protests, some Philadelphia Police officers smashed an SUV's windows and violently yanked out its driver and a teenaged passenger, threw them to the ground, then pulled a small child from the back seat.
The incident was captured on video and streamed live by Aapril Rice, who watched the "surreal" scene from a rooftop across the street.
In it, she narrates as more than a dozen police officers swarm the dark SUV, which appeared to be trying to slowly make its way out of the melee. Officers shouted for the driver to get out of the car before at least two, bashed in several of its windows with their batons.
With the windows destroyed, officers apparently forcibly removed Rickia Young, who was driving at the time, and her 16-year-old nephew. The two are surrounded by officers who appear to wail on the two bodies on the ground. Moments later another officer grabs the child out of the backseat and carries him away.
On Thursday, lawyers representing Young and her 2-year-old son, who is hearing impaired, said she was beaten by the officers, separated from the child for hours, and kept in handcuffs while being treated for injuries at a hospital.
Civil rights attorneys Kevin Mincey and Riley H. Ross III said the 28-year-old woman, who is a home health care aide, is filing a civil rights case against the police department.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Mincey said Young "had a bloody nose, a swollen trachea, blood in her urine, and swelling and pain on her left side," while the child was treated at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for "a large welt on his head."
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the incident is under investigation by Philadelphia Police Internal Affairs. In a video interview on Friday, Outlaw said one of the officers — "the one that we see using the strikes against the car" — has been put on restricted duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
She did not name the officer.
In an interview with the Inquirer, Young's attorneys explained that she had set out for that part of West Philadelphia in an effort to get her son to fall asleep in the car. She decided to drive to pick up her 16-year-old nephew who lives in that neighborhood, but on her way home ran into the police barricade. Young tried to make a three-point turn to head in the opposite direction but that's when police officers attacked the vehicle, Mincey said.
He said that when Young asked where the police were taking her child, they refused to tell her, saying, "he's gonna go to a better place, we're gonna report it to [the Department of Human Services.]"
Young was initially transported to police headquarters but then transferred to Jefferson University Hospital for medical treatment, where she remained handcuffed, Mincey recounted. Young was then taken back to police headquarters and although she spent the night in a holding cell, was released without being charged.
Meanwhile, her son was taken about 4 miles away from the scene where his grandmother, found him "sitting in his car seat in a police cruiser with two officers," the Inquirer reported. Mincey said the child's car seat was still covered in shattered glass from the SUV's broken windows and he had a lump on his head.
In a strange twist, photos of the barefoot child in the arms of an officer have become another point of tension.
The National Fraternal Order of Police on Thursday posted a close up image of the officer on social media with a caption that read: "This child was lost during the violent riots in Philadelphia, wandering around barefoot in an area that was experiencing complete lawlessness. The only thing this Philadelphia police officer cared about in that moment was protecting this child."
When contacted by reporters asking questions about the post and the false claim alongside it, the FOP removed the image. Later, a spokesperson told the Inquirer the organization "subsequently learned of conflicting accounts of the circumstances under which the child came to be assisted by the officer and immediately took the photo and caption down."
But Riley Ross, a partner at the firm representing Young, called the move racist propaganda.
"This post by the [FOP] is a lie," he wrote in a tweet.
"This photo was taken moments after police attacked their vehicle, busted out the windows, ripped the mother from her car and assaulted her."
He added: "Our firm will not stand for this blatant attempt to use our clients to peddle propaganda by using racism and fear to force compliance."


npr--2020-10-30--After Months Of Questions, A Key Operation Warp Speed Adviser's Contract Emerges

The Department of Health and Human Services has released the contract of pharmaceutical industry veteran Moncef Slaoui , a key adviser to Operation Warp Speed , after questions from the press , members of Congress and advocacy groups .
Operation Warp Speed is the Trump administration 's multibillion-dollar push to develop and manufacture hundreds of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine .
Slaoui has been instrumental in guiding the effort , but the terms of his employment raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest .
President Trump announced in May that Slaoui , former chairman for vaccines at GlaxoSmithKline , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him `` one of the most respected men in the world in the production and , really , on the formulation of vaccines . ''
But Slaoui was brought on as a consultant instead of as a federal employee .
Slaoui 's consultant status means that he did n't have to go through the standard Office of Government Ethics process for federal employees , which involves signing ethics agreements , disclosure of financial holdings and divestiture of anything that might pose a conflict of interest .
Importantly , this information is available to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Slaoui defended his status and role in Operation Warp Speed , saying in an emailed statement to NPR : While the gist of much of Slaoui 's consulting agreement has emerged previously , the contract released to NPR lays things out in black and white .
The contract , dated effective May 18 , showed that Slaoui had a financial interest in vaccine makers GlaxoSmithKline and Moderna .
As a federal employee , he would have had to divest holdings such as those or recuse himself from decisions that pose a conflict .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ option of keeping them .
He also sat on the corporate boards of Artizan Biotechnology , Clasado Biosciences , Lonza , Moderna and ViceBio Limited , the contract documents show .
And he was an adviser to Brii Biosciences .
An HHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement that Slaoui resigned from his board seat at Moderna and divested his equity holdings in the company .
He `` committed to donate to cancer research all incremental value accrued from his Moderna shares between the evening of Thursday , May 14 , prior to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Warp Speed and the time of sale . ''
Slaoui also `` left all advisory boards and boards of directors of companies with even the appearance of conflict , '' the statement said .
That includes the board of Lonza , a contract manufacturer helping Moderna make its vaccine , before Slaoui received any equity in the company , according to a Sept. 23 letter from HHS to Rep. James E. Clyburn , D-S.C. As for his GlaxoSmithKline shares , the contract says if they accrue more value than the average of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Operation Warp Speed , he will donate the difference to the National Institutes of Health .
Slaoui has said his stock in GlaxoSmithKline , his former employer , is his retirement and declined to give it up .
In late July , GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi received a contract worth up to $ 2.1 billion from Operation Warp Speed for their collaborative effort on a COVID-19 vaccine .
An HHS spokesperson said Slaoui 's expertise is `` invaluable to the Board of Directors ' decisions , but he does not commit the government to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's investment decisions are recommended to , and approved by , the Operation Warp Speed Board of Directors ( BoD ) on a weekly basis .
The BoD is composed of the Secretaries of HHS and DOD , in addition to White House COVID-19 Task Force personnel . ''
The conflict of interest section repeats protections first disclosed by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis , chaired by Clyburn , in late September when it got the information from HHS .
As for Slauoi 's compensation , the contract obtained by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not $ 1 , as has been previously reported .
Additional covered expenses include reasonable food , lodging and `` coach economy class '' travel .
In response to a question about the discrepancy in pay , the HHS spokesperson said in a written statement : Despite the protections laid out in the contract and Slaoui 's actions to minimize potential conflicts , Democratic lawmakers have criticized them as inadequate .
`` Dr. Slaoui was hired as a contractor so that he could evade ethics laws and work on Operation Warp Speed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial conflicts , '' Sen. Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass.
, said in an emailed statement to NPR .
`` His meager salary is the tell that reveals how valuable and important it is for him to use this bogus contracting scam as a way to maintain those conflicts . ''
HHS sent NPR the contract after a request for comment on a set of letters from members of Congress , who were seeking the contract from the department .
Warren , Sen. Richard Blumenthal , D-Conn. , and Reps. Pramila Jayapal , D-Wash. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote to Slaoui on Thursday about the `` unusual contractual arrangement , '' which they called `` a blatant attempt to skirt federal ethics law . ''
In it , they said HHS downplayed Slaoui 's role to justify his status as a contractor , citing a New York Times interview with Kara Swisher published on Oct. 5 .
When pressed about his role , Slaoui told Swisher , `` I 'm not a decision-maker .
But of course , there is significant influence . ''
`` This is a textbook case of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key decisions and damage OWS 's scientific integrity and the race for a vaccine more broadly , '' the legislators wrote .
In his statement to NPR , Slaoui said : Attorney Franklin Turner , a partner at McCarter & English who specializes in government contracts , said Slaoui 's terms do n't raise any red flags for him , though he noted that the statement of work section was quite short .
`` It 's not entirely atypical to see something like this , particularly with respect to an individual with this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the field in light of the compressed time schedule , '' Turner said .
`` On its own , this agreement contains the standard sorts of protections , the standard type of language that consultants to federal contracts have , '' he said , adding that this contracting mechanism was likely quicker than hiring Slaoui and putting him through the Office of Government Ethics ' process .
Separately , Warren and Porter also wrote a letter to the inspector general for the General Services Administration , Carol Ochoa .
They asked her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and whether Slaoui and others contracted through outside firm Advanced Decision Vectors are `` acting consistent with federal law as a contractor , or whether they have been misclassified and should in fact be serving as federal employees . ''
Advanced Decision Vectors did not respond to NPR 's request for comment .
In an emailed statement , Michael Bars , a White House spokesman , called the legislators ' letters `` false , politically motivated attacks . ''
`` With four vaccine trials in phase three and additional trials nearing this critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Slaoui 's invaluable contribution to ensure Americans have access to a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine and treatments as soon as possible . ''
You can contact NPR pharmaceuticals correspondent Sydney Lupkin at slupkin @ npr.org .

After Months Of Questions, A Key Operation Warp Speed Adviser's Contract Emerges
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Department of Health and Human Services has released the contract of pharmaceutical industry veteran Moncef Slaoui, a key adviser to Operation Warp Speed, after questions from the press, members of Congress and advocacy groups.
Operation Warp Speed is the Trump administration's multibillion-dollar push to develop and manufacture hundreds of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine. Slaoui has been instrumental in guiding the effort, but the terms of his employment raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
President Trump announced in May that Slaoui, former chairman for vaccines at GlaxoSmithKline, would be its chief scientist, calling him "one of the most respected men in the world in the production and, really, on the formulation of vaccines."
But Slaoui was brought on as a consultant instead of as a federal employee. Slaoui's consultant status means that he didn't have to go through the standard Office of Government Ethics process for federal employees, which involves signing ethics agreements, disclosure of financial holdings and divestiture of anything that might pose a conflict of interest. Importantly, this information is available to the public.
For his part, Slaoui defended his status and role in Operation Warp Speed, saying in an emailed statement to NPR:
"I accepted this role out of a commitment to public health and to helping our nation and the world control this deadly pandemic. Throughout my career I have always held myself to the highest ethical standards, and that has not changed upon my assumption of this role. HHS career ethics officers have determined my contractor status, divestitures and resignations have put me in compliance with the department's robust ethical standards."
While the gist of much of Slaoui's consulting agreement has emerged previously, the contract released to NPR lays things out in black and white.
The contract, dated effective May 18, showed that Slaoui had a financial interest in vaccine makers GlaxoSmithKline and Moderna. As a federal employee, he would have had to divest holdings such as those or recuse himself from decisions that pose a conflict. As a consultant, he had the option of keeping them.
He also sat on the corporate boards of Artizan Biotechnology, Clasado Biosciences, Lonza, Moderna and ViceBio Limited, the contract documents show. And he was an adviser to Brii Biosciences.
An HHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement that Slaoui resigned from his board seat at Moderna and divested his equity holdings in the company. He "committed to donate to cancer research all incremental value accrued from his Moderna shares between the evening of Thursday, May 14, prior to the announcement of his position on Operation Warp Speed and the time of sale."
Slaoui also "left all advisory boards and boards of directors of companies with even the appearance of conflict," the statement said. That includes the board of Lonza, a contract manufacturer helping Moderna make its vaccine, before Slaoui received any equity in the company, according to a Sept. 23 letter from HHS to Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C.
As for his GlaxoSmithKline shares, the contract says if they accrue more value than the average of a pharmaceutical stock index during his time at Operation Warp Speed, he will donate the difference to the National Institutes of Health.
Slaoui has said his stock in GlaxoSmithKline, his former employer, is his retirement and declined to give it up. In late July, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi received a contract worth up to $2.1 billion from Operation Warp Speed for their collaborative effort on a COVID-19 vaccine.
An HHS spokesperson said Slaoui's expertise is "invaluable to the Board of Directors' decisions, but he does not commit the government to any financial obligations. Operation Warp Speed's investment decisions are recommended to, and approved by, the Operation Warp Speed Board of Directors (BoD) on a weekly basis. The BoD is composed of the Secretaries of HHS and DOD, in addition to White House COVID-19 Task Force personnel."
The conflict of interest section repeats protections first disclosed by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Clyburn, in late September when it got the information from HHS.
As for Slauoi's compensation, the contract obtained by NPR says he is paid $1,000, not $1, as has been previously reported. Additional covered expenses include reasonable food, lodging and "coach economy class" travel.
In response to a question about the discrepancy in pay, the HHS spokesperson said in a written statement:
"Although the agreement lists a lump sum of $1,000, Dr. Slaoui never intends to submit an invoice to [Advanced Decision Vectors, the outside firm administering his contract] for this lump sum. In the event that government contracting laws require ADV to deliver payment, Dr. Slaoui will donate the money to NIH for research, in accord with his previous statements of working for $1.00 salary. At this time, Dr. Slaoui has not received any payment in regards to this lump sum."
Despite the protections laid out in the contract and Slaoui's actions to minimize potential conflicts, Democratic lawmakers have criticized them as inadequate.
"Dr. Slaoui was hired as a contractor so that he could evade ethics laws and work on Operation Warp Speed without divesting from millions of dollars in financial conflicts," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in an emailed statement to NPR. "His meager salary is the tell that reveals how valuable and important it is for him to use this bogus contracting scam as a way to maintain those conflicts."
HHS sent NPR the contract after a request for comment on a set of letters from members of Congress, who were seeking the contract from the department.
Warren, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Katie Porter, D-Calif., wrote to Slaoui on Thursday about the "unusual contractual arrangement," which they called " a blatant attempt to skirt federal ethics law."
In it, they said HHS downplayed Slaoui's role to justify his status as a contractor, citing a New York Times interview with Kara Swisher published on Oct. 5. When pressed about his role, Slaoui told Swisher, "I'm not a decision-maker. But of course, there is significant influence."
"This is a textbook case of a conflict of interest that could affect key decisions and damage OWS's scientific integrity and the race for a vaccine more broadly," the legislators wrote.
In his statement to NPR, Slaoui said:
"I have seen the letter from Senator Warren et al yesterday and appreciated the shared commitment to my being involved. I concur with the need to be transparent about potential conflicts of interests and I will provide information that addresses her questions. I have made the same commitment to Chairman Clyburn in our Tuesday, October 27th meeting."
Attorney Franklin Turner, a partner at McCarter & English who specializes in government contracts, said Slaoui's terms don't raise any red flags for him, though he noted that the statement of work section was quite short. "It's not entirely atypical to see something like this, particularly with respect to an individual with this man's level of expertise and knowledge in the field in light of the compressed time schedule," Turner said.
"On its own, this agreement contains the standard sorts of protections, the standard type of language that consultants to federal contracts have," he said, adding that this contracting mechanism was likely quicker than hiring Slaoui and putting him through the Office of Government Ethics' process.
Separately, Warren and Porter also wrote a letter to the inspector general for the General Services Administration, Carol Ochoa. They asked her office to investigate the contracting process, and whether Slaoui and others contracted through outside firm Advanced Decision Vectors are "acting consistent with federal law as a contractor, or whether they have been misclassified and should in fact be serving as federal employees."
Advanced Decision Vectors did not respond to NPR's request for comment.
In an emailed statement, Michael Bars, a White House spokesman, called the legislators' letters "false, politically motivated attacks." "With four vaccine trials in phase three and additional trials nearing this critical stage, we are grateful for Dr. Slaoui's invaluable contribution to ensure Americans have access to a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine and treatments as soon as possible."
You can contact NPR pharmaceuticals correspondent Sydney Lupkin at slupkin@npr.org.


npr--2020-10-31--Police In N.C. Arrest, Pepper Spray Protesters During March To Polls Event

Police In N.C .
Arrest , Pepper Spray Protesters During March To Polls Event Police in Graham , N.C. , moved in on a march and rally to drive voter turnout , using pepper spray and making several arrests on the state 's last day of early voting .
According to video , police and participants , deputies with the Alamance County Sheriff 's Office and Graham police officers twice used pepper spray on the `` I Am Change '' march to the polls .
Participants and organizers say they had proper permits for Saturday 's event , which marched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a rally at the city 's Court Square .
Following the rally , organizers had then planned to lead the some 200 marchers to a nearby polling place .
Along the way , marchers led by organizer the Rev .
Greg Drumwright stopped for a nearly nine minute long silence in memory of George Floyd , the Black man who was killed after a white police officer kept a knee on his neck for that span of time .
It was shortly after that moment of silence that the first confrontation occurred , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cooper says that police then began ordering marchers to remain on the sidewalk .
`` They said they were clearing the downtown area of Graham , it was shut down and people were n't allowed to be in the streets , '' Cooper told NPR .
Cooper says shortly after that police began to pepper spray .
Video streaming from Drumwright 's Facebook page shows participants crowded on the sidewalk , with Drumwright leading people to a stage built for the speaker portion of the event .
During that part a man is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spraying children . ''
Later on , at the stage , Drumwright stops speaking to acknowledge a something happening just out of frame .
Separate video shared by the Raleigh News & Observer shows confrontations between police and participants .
Law enforcement are then seen using pepper spray .
Sylvester Allen Jr. , an activist in Alamance County , says police had attempted to take a generator being used by people speaking .
`` The whole point was to rally and go to the voter polls , '' Allen told NPR .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we do n't have any power . ''
Reporter Rusty Jacobs with member station WUNC tweeted that at one point , police had said the permitted march was an unlawful assembly and ordered people out of the streets .
Jacobs noted that officers began making arrests .
The Graham Police Department says it arrested eight people .
One of those arrested was Drumwright , who says he was charged with failure to disperse on command .
Speaking to NPR 's All Things Considered , Drumwright said they had worked with authorities in getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to leave that rally in just a few more minutes and head to the polls .
This is something that we have worked on for the greater part of this month with the law enforcement agencies , '' Drumwright told NPR .
In a statement issued Saturday evening , Graham police say organizers had n't gotten clearance for a temporary road closure .
The also justified the use of pepper spray , saying law enforcement officers issued several warnings to clear the road beforehand .
`` As a result of actions that occurred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the assembly reached a level of conduct that led to the rally being deemed unsafe and unlawful by unified command , '' the statement said .
The Alamance County Sherriff could not be reached for comment .
Drumwright contends participants were not in the road but on the sidewalk when police began using pepper spray .
When asked if he thought this was an effort to suppress the vote , Drumwright said , `` I can not say that that was what it was , but I can say that 's what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not get to vote today because they ended up in jail . ''

Police In N.C. Arrest, Pepper Spray Protesters During March To Polls Event
Enlarge this image toggle caption Gerry Broome/AP Gerry Broome/AP
Police in Graham, N.C., moved in on a march and rally to drive voter turnout, using pepper spray and making several arrests on the state's last day of early voting.
According to video, police and participants, deputies with the Alamance County Sheriff's Office and Graham police officers twice used pepper spray on the "I Am Change" march to the polls.
Participants and organizers say they had proper permits for Saturday's event, which marched from Wayman's Chapel AME Church to a rally at the city's Court Square. Following the rally, organizers had then planned to lead the some 200 marchers to a nearby polling place.
Along the way, marchers led by organizer the Rev. Greg Drumwright stopped for a nearly nine minute long silence in memory of George Floyd, the Black man who was killed after a white police officer kept a knee on his neck for that span of time.
It was shortly after that moment of silence that the first confrontation occurred, according to march participant Amy Cooper. Cooper says that police then began ordering marchers to remain on the sidewalk.
"They said they were clearing the downtown area of Graham, it was shut down and people weren't allowed to be in the streets," Cooper told NPR. Cooper says shortly after that police began to pepper spray.
Video streaming from Drumwright's Facebook page shows participants crowded on the sidewalk, with Drumwright leading people to a stage built for the speaker portion of the event.
During that part a man is heard angrily saying "they're pepper spraying children."
Later on, at the stage, Drumwright stops speaking to acknowledge a something happening just out of frame.
Separate video shared by the Raleigh News & Observer shows confrontations between police and participants. Law enforcement are then seen using pepper spray.
Sylvester Allen Jr., an activist in Alamance County, says police had attempted to take a generator being used by people speaking.
"The whole point was to rally and go to the voter polls," Allen told NPR. "They wanted to send a message that we don't have any power."
Reporter Rusty Jacobs with member station WUNC tweeted that at one point, police had said the permitted march was an unlawful assembly and ordered people out of the streets. Jacobs noted that officers began making arrests.
The Graham Police Department says it arrested eight people. One of those arrested was Drumwright, who says he was charged with failure to disperse on command.
Speaking to NPR's All Things Considered, Drumwright said they had worked with authorities in getting the march together.
"We were to leave that rally in just a few more minutes and head to the polls. This is something that we have worked on for the greater part of this month with the law enforcement agencies," Drumwright told NPR.
In a statement issued Saturday evening, Graham police say organizers hadn't gotten clearance for a temporary road closure.
The also justified the use of pepper spray, saying law enforcement officers issued several warnings to clear the road beforehand.
"As a result of actions that occurred within the rally, on courthouse grounds, the assembly reached a level of conduct that led to the rally being deemed unsafe and unlawful by unified command," the statement said.
The Alamance County Sherriff could not be reached for comment.
Drumwright contends participants were not in the road but on the sidewalk when police began using pepper spray.
When asked if he thought this was an effort to suppress the vote, Drumwright said, "I cannot say that that was what it was, but I can say that's what happened. There are people that did not get to vote today because they ended up in jail."


npr--2020-10-31--Good News: You Can Sleep For One More Hour Tonight

Good News : You Can Sleep For One More Hour Tonight As the U.S. adds nearly 100,000 new positive coronavirus cases in one day , and the never-ending election season strains our mystic chords of memory , there is at least a small bit of good news : You can have one extra hour of sleep tonight .
Some night owls might enjoy a fleeting moment of temporal delight as the clock flips from 1:59:59 to 1:00 a.m. , ending the daylight saving time ( DST ) that started in March .
But many Americans may just awake feeling a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Geographic , the modern version of DST was suggested in the late 1800s by New Zealand entomologist George Hudson , who proposed a two-hour time shift so he could have more time to collect bugs .
Some years later , various European countries adopted the policy as way to save energy .
The U.S. Congress first enacted DST in 1918 , also adding time zones in the process .
There have been several changes in the years since .
Most recently , in 2005 , Congress extended DST by a month , by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March , and ending one week later , in November .
That was welcome news to the candy industry , which for decades has wanted to extend the length of time that kids can go trick-or-treating , hoping for increased candy sales .
Yet the time change has faced pushback in recent years .
Studies are torn on whether the practice actually reduces energy consumption .
But sleep researchers are in agreement that it does more harm than good .
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine believes the U.S. should eliminate seasonal time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout the year .
Shifting from standard time to DST has been associated with increased risk of heart attacks , strokes , and hospital admissions .
Even the `` fall back '' causes problems , they say , including an increase in suicides .
`` An abundance of accumulated evidence indicates that the acute transition from standard time to daylight saving time incurs significant public health and safety risks , '' the AASM wrote in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine this month .
`` These seasonal time changes should be abolished .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 2019 letter to the European Commission on DST , multiple European medical associations urged installing permanent Central European Time .
They argued the change would improve sleep , be more heart-healthy , and reduce the incidence of cancer .
In fact , the European Parliament voted last year to discontinue the practice .
It 's up to individual EU member states to enact the change in their own countries .
In the U.S. , several bills have been introduced in Congress to effectively implement year-round DST .
But according to a September @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Representatives is still awaiting feedback from the Department of Transportation .

Good News: You Can Sleep For One More Hour Tonight
Enlarge this image toggle caption Elise Amendola/AP Elise Amendola/AP
As the U.S. adds nearly 100,000 new positive coronavirus cases in one day, and the never-ending election season strains our mystic chords of memory, there is at least a small bit of good news: You can have one extra hour of sleep tonight.
Some night owls might enjoy a fleeting moment of temporal delight as the clock flips from 1:59:59 to 1:00 a.m., ending the daylight saving time (DST) that started in March. But many Americans may just awake feeling a bit more refreshed.
(Residents of Hawaii, most of Arizona, and U.S. overseas territories aren't included; they'll just wake up as they normally do, though perhaps with a tinge of regret from eating too much candy the night before.)
According to National Geographic, the modern version of DST was suggested in the late 1800s by New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, who proposed a two-hour time shift so he could have more time to collect bugs. Some years later, various European countries adopted the policy as way to save energy.
The U.S. Congress first enacted DST in 1918, also adding time zones in the process. There have been several changes in the years since.
Most recently, in 2005, Congress extended DST by a month, by starting it three weeks earlier, in March, and ending one week later, in November. That was welcome news to the candy industry, which for decades has wanted to extend the length of time that kids can go trick-or-treating, hoping for increased candy sales.
Yet the time change has faced pushback in recent years. Studies are torn on whether the practice actually reduces energy consumption. But sleep researchers are in agreement that it does more harm than good.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine believes the U.S. should eliminate seasonal time changes in favor of standard time fixed throughout the year. Shifting from standard time to DST has been associated with increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, and hospital admissions. Even the "fall back" causes problems, they say, including an increase in suicides.
"An abundance of accumulated evidence indicates that the acute transition from standard time to daylight saving time incurs significant public health and safety risks," the AASM wrote in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine this month. "These seasonal time changes should be abolished."
European sleep researchers agree. In a 2019 letter to the European Commission on DST, multiple European medical associations urged installing permanent Central European Time. They argued the change would improve sleep, be more heart-healthy, and reduce the incidence of cancer.
In fact, the European Parliament voted last year to discontinue the practice. It's up to individual EU member states to enact the change in their own countries.
In the U.S., several bills have been introduced in Congress to effectively implement year-round DST. But according to a September Congressional Research Service report, the House of Representatives is still awaiting feedback from the Department of Transportation.


npr--2020-10-31--England To Return To Lockdown In Coming Days

England To Return To Lockdown In Coming Days England will enter a second coronavirus lockdown beginning on Thursday that is scheduled to run until early December , Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday .
All pubs and restaurants will close along with nonessential retail shops , and different households will be banned from mixing indoors .
In addition , outbound international travel will be prohibited , except for work , while schools and universities will remain open .
`` The virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst-case scenario of our scientific advisors , whose models ... now suggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths in this country running at several thousand a day , '' Johnson said in an address to the nation .
The decision is yet another U-turn for Johnson , who had refused to impose a second lockdown , saying it would be a disaster for the country .
It comes after a summer when life largely returned to normal and cases nationwide fell below 600 a day .
But the virus began to rebound in August and the government said there are now about 50,000 new cases a day .
The resurgence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failure of some people to adequately social distance over the summer .
One study also suggests that British travelers brought back a strain of the virus from holidays in Spain .
Repeating nearly the same words he spoke when he announced the first lockdown in late March , Johnson said the government had to impose the measures to keep from overwhelming the National Health Service .
`` The current projections mean that hospitals in the southwest will run out of capacity in just a matter of weeks unless we act , '' said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the NHS would be a medical and a moral disaster . ''
Other nations inside the United Kingdom have already imposed tougher measures .
Wales went into lockdown last week .
In Scotland , which has the U.K. 's lowest coronavirus infection rate , First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people not to travel across the border to England unless it was essential .
The virus ' resurgence is a problem across much of Europe .
England is now aligning itself closer with France , which imposed a stricter lockdown on Friday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for essential work or medical reasons .
Meanwhile , Germany plans to close restaurants , bars , gyms and theaters on Monday .

England To Return To Lockdown In Coming Days
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alberto Pezzali/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Alberto Pezzali/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
England will enter a second coronavirus lockdown beginning on Thursday that is scheduled to run until early December, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday.
All pubs and restaurants will close along with nonessential retail shops, and different households will be banned from mixing indoors. In addition, outbound international travel will be prohibited, except for work, while schools and universities will remain open.
"The virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst-case scenario of our scientific advisors, whose models ... now suggest unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day," Johnson said in an address to the nation.
The decision is yet another U-turn for Johnson, who had refused to impose a second lockdown, saying it would be a disaster for the country. It comes after a summer when life largely returned to normal and cases nationwide fell below 600 a day. But the virus began to rebound in August and the government said there are now about 50,000 new cases a day.
The resurgence appears to have been driven by a failure of some people to adequately social distance over the summer. One study also suggests that British travelers brought back a strain of the virus from holidays in Spain.
Repeating nearly the same words he spoke when he announced the first lockdown in late March, Johnson said the government had to impose the measures to keep from overwhelming the National Health Service.
"The current projections mean that hospitals in the southwest will run out of capacity in just a matter of weeks unless we act," said Johnson, adding, "the overrunning of the NHS would be a medical and a moral disaster."
Other nations inside the United Kingdom have already imposed tougher measures. Wales went into lockdown last week. In Scotland, which has the U.K.'s lowest coronavirus infection rate, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people not to travel across the border to England unless it was essential.
The virus' resurgence is a problem across much of Europe. England is now aligning itself closer with France, which imposed a stricter lockdown on Friday, ordering people to stay at home except for essential work or medical reasons. Meanwhile, Germany plans to close restaurants, bars, gyms and theaters on Monday.


npr--2020-10-31--Philippines Prepares As Powerful Typhoon Goni Bears Down

The Philippines is bracing as Typhoon Goni , this year 's most powerful storm , bears down on the country 's largest island .
Forecasters with the U.S. Military 's Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect Goni to make landfall on Luzon early Sunday with maximum sustained winds of more than 130 mph , equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane .
By early Sunday local time , the typhoon — known locally as Rolly — reached maximum wind speeds surpassing 190 miles an hour , making it the most powerful storm of the year so far .
Ahead of the storm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ orders .
Nearly a million residents have been evacuated ahead of the storm .
The international airport in Manila announced it would be closed for 24 hours starting Sunday , according to The Washington Post .
The Philippine Atmospheric , Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is predicting destructive typhoon strength winds and life-threatening storm surges of more than 9 feet that can cause damaging coastal inundation .
The forecast also call for heavy rains which can create flooding and landslides .
Multiple outlets call Goni the most powerful storm to hit the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 6,000 people dead .
Goni is also projected to follow the trajectory of Typhoon Molave , which killed 22 people in the Philippinnes last week , Reuters adds .
Goni bears down as the Philippines reports some of the highest COVID-19 cases in the region .
Johns Hopkins University tracks more than 380,000 cases and 7,200 deaths , putting it behind Indonesia for most cases in southeast Asia .
`` We are having a hard time with COVID-19 , and then here comes another disaster , '' said Philippines Sen. Christopher Go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Duterte , the BBC reports .
The BBC adds officials announced plans to relocate some 1,000 COVID patients currently sheltered in large isolation tents in and near Manila to hospitals and hotels .
Health officials planned to screen for COVID-19 symptoms in evacuation shelters , the Post reported .
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center says that Goni will weaken before tracking south of Manila and into the South China Sea .
As it weakens further , the storm is predicted to make its second landfall in central Vietnam .
According to Reuters , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country every year .

Philippines Prepares As Powerful Typhoon Goni Bears Down
Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP
The Philippines is bracing as Typhoon Goni, this year's most powerful storm, bears down on the country's largest island.
Forecasters with the U.S. Military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect Goni to make landfall on Luzon early Sunday with maximum sustained winds of more than 130 mph, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. By early Sunday local time, the typhoon — known locally as Rolly — reached maximum wind speeds surpassing 190 miles an hour, making it the most powerful storm of the year so far.
Ahead of the storm's arrival, officials begin issuing evacuation orders. Nearly a million residents have been evacuated ahead of the storm.
The international airport in Manila announced it would be closed for 24 hours starting Sunday, according to The Washington Post.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is predicting destructive typhoon strength winds and life-threatening storm surges of more than 9 feet that can cause damaging coastal inundation. The forecast also call for heavy rains which can create flooding and landslides.
Multiple outlets call Goni the most powerful storm to hit the country since Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 left more than 6,000 people dead. Goni is also projected to follow the trajectory of Typhoon Molave, which killed 22 people in the Philippinnes last week, Reuters adds.
Goni bears down as the Philippines reports some of the highest COVID-19 cases in the region. Johns Hopkins University tracks more than 380,000 cases and 7,200 deaths, putting it behind Indonesia for most cases in southeast Asia.
"We are having a hard time with COVID-19, and then here comes another disaster," said Philippines Sen. Christopher Go, the top aide of President Rodrigo Duterte, the BBC reports.
The BBC adds officials announced plans to relocate some 1,000 COVID patients currently sheltered in large isolation tents in and near Manila to hospitals and hotels.
Health officials planned to screen for COVID-19 symptoms in evacuation shelters, the Post reported.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center says that Goni will weaken before tracking south of Manila and into the South China Sea. As it weakens further, the storm is predicted to make its second landfall in central Vietnam.
According to Reuters, an average of 20 typhoons hit the country every year.


npr--2020-10-31--Trump Blankets Pennsylvania, While Obama Joins Biden On Michigan Trail

While President Trump made a four-stop blitz in Pennsylvania , Democratic nominee Joe Biden reunited with his old running mate , former President Barack Obama , to turn out votes in pivotal Michigan .
And as Vice President Pence took the stage at two rallies in North Carolina , the Democratic vice presidential nominee , California Sen. Kamala Harris , hustled between events in South Florida .
The presidential campaigns on Saturday began the final weekend before Election Day by making efforts to drive up needed support in a handful of key states .
The campaigning took place amid a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the events highlighted the tickets ' very different messages on the pandemic .
In Flint , Mich. , Obama eviscerated Trump 's efforts to downplay the ongoing severity of the pandemic and ridiculed his successor 's `` obsession '' with crowd size and holding large rallies in states where outbreaks are spiraling out of control .
`` When a country 's going through a pandemic , that 's not what you 're supposed to be worrying about , '' Obama told people gathered at a drive-in event .
`` And that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump right there .
Trump cares about feeding his ego .
Joe cares about keeping you and your family safe . ''
At the same time , Trump told a rally crowd in Newtown , Pa. , that Democrats are playing up the pandemic 's threat to affect the election .
He promised the country will `` never lock down again '' and falsely asserted that Biden would invoke perpetual lockdown .
`` There 'll be no school , no graduations , no weddings , no Thanksgivings , no Christmas , no Easters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump said of a Biden presidency .
`` There will be nothing . ''
Trump 's blanketing of Pennsylvania signals the key role the Keystone State may play in determining who wins the presidency .
Biden himself campaigns there both Sunday and Monday .
The polls are tightest in Pennsylvania out of the three reliably blue Great Lakes states — along with Michigan and Wisconsin — that Trump flipped in 2016 .
Trump spent his final Saturday of campaigning mostly outside of Pennsylvania 's major media markets , trying instead to turn out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and squeeze out as many low-propensity new voters as he can .
But he began the day speaking outside of a home used as Gen. George Washington 's headquarters in Bucks County , in the Philadelphia suburbs .
It 's a county Hillary Clinton won in 2016 by fewer than 3,000 votes .
Biden is expecting to do better there , as college-educated suburban women especially flee the Republican Party .
Trump , who lags in the state 's polling average , predicted a `` great red wave . ''
But he also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a winner is not declared on election night .
`` November 3rd is gon na come and go and you 're not going to know and you 're going to have bedlam in our country , '' Trump said .
`` You 're going to have this period of nine days , seven days . ''
Indeed Pennsylvania is one swing state in which results may take days .
Biden , meanwhile , engaged in a turnout operation of his own on Saturday , joining up with Obama to hit two majority Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In 2016 , Clinton won about 46,000 fewer votes in Detroit than Obama , the nation 's first Black president , did in 2012 .
Trump won Michigan by just 10,000 votes .
`` The power to change the country is literally in your hands , '' Biden said in Flint .
`` There is nothing he can do to stop the people of this nation from voting in overwhelming numbers and taking back this democracy . ''
Saturday was Biden 's first in-person joint campaign trail appearance with the former president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , saying , `` Joe Biden is my brother .
I love him , '' and diagnosed Democrats ' stinging defeat in Michigan in 2016 : `` We got a little complacent the last election . ''
As he has all campaign , Obama stressed the importance of voting .
`` The fact that you do n't get 100 % of what you want right away , that 's not a good reason [ not ] to vote ; you just got ta keep at it , '' Obama said .
Obama will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday .
After holding three rallies herself in South Florida Saturday , Harris will fly to Georgia and North Carolina on Sunday .
Biden heads to Pennsylvania on Sunday , and the Democratic ticket and their spouses are scheduled to barnstorm the state all day Monday .
Trump has five rallies scheduled on Sunday — in Michigan , Iowa , Georgia , North Carolina and Florida — and has a similarly packed schedule on Monday .
At least 90 million Americans have already voted in the election , but tens of millions have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the polls in person on Tuesday .

Trump Blankets Pennsylvania, While Obama Joins Biden On Michigan Trail
Enlarge this image toggle caption Chris Szagola/AP Chris Szagola/AP
Update at 7:16 p.m. ET
While President Trump made a four-stop blitz in Pennsylvania, Democratic nominee Joe Biden reunited with his old running mate, former President Barack Obama, to turn out votes in pivotal Michigan.
And as Vice President Pence took the stage at two rallies in North Carolina, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, California Sen. Kamala Harris, hustled between events in South Florida.
The presidential campaigns on Saturday began the final weekend before Election Day by making efforts to drive up needed support in a handful of key states. The campaigning took place amid a startling rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, and the events highlighted the tickets' very different messages on the pandemic.
In Flint, Mich., Obama eviscerated Trump's efforts to downplay the ongoing severity of the pandemic and ridiculed his successor's "obsession" with crowd size and holding large rallies in states where outbreaks are spiraling out of control.
"When a country's going through a pandemic, that's not what you're supposed to be worrying about," Obama told people gathered at a drive-in event. "And that's the difference between Joe Biden and Trump right there. Trump cares about feeding his ego. Joe cares about keeping you and your family safe."
At the same time, Trump told a rally crowd in Newtown, Pa., that Democrats are playing up the pandemic's threat to affect the election. He promised the country will "never lock down again" and falsely asserted that Biden would invoke perpetual lockdown.
"There'll be no school, no graduations, no weddings, no Thanksgivings, no Christmas, no Easters, no Fourth of Julys," Trump said of a Biden presidency. "There will be nothing."
Trump's blanketing of Pennsylvania signals the key role the Keystone State may play in determining who wins the presidency. Biden himself campaigns there both Sunday and Monday. The polls are tightest in Pennsylvania out of the three reliably blue Great Lakes states — along with Michigan and Wisconsin — that Trump flipped in 2016.
Trump spent his final Saturday of campaigning mostly outside of Pennsylvania's major media markets, trying instead to turn out his base of more rural white voters and squeeze out as many low-propensity new voters as he can.
But he began the day speaking outside of a home used as Gen. George Washington's headquarters in Bucks County, in the Philadelphia suburbs. It's a county Hillary Clinton won in 2016 by fewer than 3,000 votes. Biden is expecting to do better there, as college-educated suburban women especially flee the Republican Party.
Trump, who lags in the state's polling average, predicted a "great red wave." But he also stoked fear about what might happen if a winner is not declared on election night.
"November 3rd is gonna come and go and you're not going to know and you're going to have bedlam in our country," Trump said. "You're going to have this period of nine days, seven days."
Indeed Pennsylvania is one swing state in which results may take days.
Biden, meanwhile, engaged in a turnout operation of his own on Saturday, joining up with Obama to hit two majority Black communities in Michigan, Flint and Detroit.
In 2016, Clinton won about 46,000 fewer votes in Detroit than Obama, the nation's first Black president, did in 2012. Trump won Michigan by just 10,000 votes.
"The power to change the country is literally in your hands," Biden said in Flint. "There is nothing he can do to stop the people of this nation from voting in overwhelming numbers and taking back this democracy."
Saturday was Biden's first in-person joint campaign trail appearance with the former president. Obama introduced his one-time vice president, saying, "Joe Biden is my brother. I love him," and diagnosed Democrats' stinging defeat in Michigan in 2016: "We got a little complacent the last election."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Harnik/AP Andrew Harnik/AP
As he has all campaign, Obama stressed the importance of voting.
"The fact that you don't get 100% of what you want right away, that's not a good reason [not] to vote; you just gotta keep at it," Obama said.
Obama will head to Atlanta and South Florida on Monday. After holding three rallies herself in South Florida Saturday, Harris will fly to Georgia and North Carolina on Sunday. Biden heads to Pennsylvania on Sunday, and the Democratic ticket and their spouses are scheduled to barnstorm the state all day Monday.
Trump has five rallies scheduled on Sunday — in Michigan, Iowa, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida — and has a similarly packed schedule on Monday.
At least 90 million Americans have already voted in the election, but tens of millions have yet to vote and will head to the polls in person on Tuesday.


npr--2020-10-31--U.S. Adds Almost 100,000 New Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day As Colder Weather Sets In

U.S .
Adds Almost 100,000 New Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day As Colder Weather Sets In The U.S. is edging ever closer to 100,000 new daily cases of the coronavirus .
According to data released Saturday by Johns Hopkins University , the country added 99,321 cases and 1,030 deaths to its tally on Friday .
It 's the greatest single-day increase of the pandemic so far — a sentence likely to be repeated in the coming weeks as the U.S. experiences a third surge in infections that 's expected to dwarf the previous two .
Experts have long warned of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the seasons , as colder weather forces a pandemic-weary public inside and social distancing restrictions become harder to enforce .
Health experts say the current increase is being driven in large part by people who do n't have any symptoms .
It 's a `` silent epidemic , '' Dr. Robert Redfield , director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , told the SiriusXM show Doctor Radio Reports on Friday , according to CNN .
The Dakotas are faring particularly poorly .
South Dakota is currently seeing some of the fastest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up 61 % from two weeks ago .
Over the past seven days , the state has been averaging 994 new cases per day .
South Dakota has no mask requirement , and its governor has opposed mandating them .
`` Those who do n't want to wear a mask should n't be shamed into wearing one , '' South Dakota Gov .
Kristi Noem wrote earlier this month .
`` And government should not mandate it . ''
North Dakota , Iowa and Wisconsin also reported record cases Friday .
Cases are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which could have implications for Tuesday 's presidential election as key battleground states struggle to contain the virus .
In Wisconsin , more than 20,000 people tested positive over the past week and nearly 200 died , according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel .
Four years ago , the state went to Donald Trump .
This year , Democratic nominee Joe Biden currently has a more than six-point lead in the polls , according to the Real Clear Politics polling average .
`` Donald Trump waved the white flag , surrendered to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Friday , echoing statements he has made in several states along the campaign trail .
`` But the American people do n't give up .
We do n't give in .
Unlike Donald Trump , we 're not going to surrender to this virus . ''
At another rally in Wisconsin on Friday , President Trump said the country is `` rounding the turn '' and promised a vaccine was on its way .
As he campaigned from Pennsylvania on Saturday , the nation crossed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Halloween could pose additional dangers .
The CDC cautions against `` higher-risk activities '' such as traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating , crowded indoor costume parties , haunted houses and hayrides with people outside your household .
And costume masks are generally no substitute for cloth masks , unless they 're made of multiple layers of fabric that entirely cover your mouth and nose , the CDC says .
But a `` virtual Halloween costume contest '' is just fine , the agency says .

U.S. Adds Almost 100,000 New Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day As Colder Weather Sets In
Enlarge this image toggle caption Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg via Getty Images
The U.S. is edging ever closer to 100,000 new daily cases of the coronavirus. According to data released Saturday by Johns Hopkins University, the country added 99,321 cases and 1,030 deaths to its tally on Friday.
It's the greatest single-day increase of the pandemic so far — a sentence likely to be repeated in the coming weeks as the U.S. experiences a third surge in infections that's expected to dwarf the previous two. Experts have long warned of a devastating increase with the changing of the seasons, as colder weather forces a pandemic-weary public inside and social distancing restrictions become harder to enforce.
Health experts say the current increase is being driven in large part by people who don't have any symptoms. It's a "silent epidemic," Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the SiriusXM show Doctor Radio Reports on Friday, according to CNN.
The Dakotas are faring particularly poorly. South Dakota is currently seeing some of the fastest growth in the country, with cases up 61% from two weeks ago. Over the past seven days, the state has been averaging 994 new cases per day.
South Dakota has no mask requirement, and its governor has opposed mandating them.
"Those who don't want to wear a mask shouldn't be shamed into wearing one," South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wrote earlier this month. "And government should not mandate it."
North Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin also reported record cases Friday. Cases are up across much of the Midwest, which could have implications for Tuesday's presidential election as key battleground states struggle to contain the virus.
In Wisconsin, more than 20,000 people tested positive over the past week and nearly 200 died, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Four years ago, the state went to Donald Trump. This year, Democratic nominee Joe Biden currently has a more than six-point lead in the polls, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.
"Donald Trump waved the white flag, surrendered to the virus," a masked Biden said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Friday, echoing statements he has made in several states along the campaign trail. "But the American people don't give up. We don't give in. Unlike Donald Trump, we're not going to surrender to this virus."
At another rally in Wisconsin on Friday, President Trump said the country is "rounding the turn" and promised a vaccine was on its way. As he campaigned from Pennsylvania on Saturday, the nation crossed the tragic toll of more than 230,000 deaths.
Halloween could pose additional dangers. The CDC cautions against "higher-risk activities" such as traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating, crowded indoor costume parties, haunted houses and hayrides with people outside your household. And costume masks are generally no substitute for cloth masks, unless they're made of multiple layers of fabric that entirely cover your mouth and nose, the CDC says.
But a "virtual Halloween costume contest" is just fine, the agency says.