npr--2020-08-04--Touting Her Experience, Susan Rice Makes Her Case For Biden's VP Slot

Touting Her Experience , Susan Rice Makes Her Case For Biden 's VP Slot Former national security adviser Susan Rice told NPR she 's `` honored and humbled '' to be on Joe Biden 's shortlist for vice president and that her lengthy tenure in the executive branch would make her an effective No .
2 .
`` I think I could bring my experience of almost now 20 years in the senior levels of the executive branch to bear to help tackle the most pressing problems we face , '' she told Morning Edition 's Steve Inskeep in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there 's an opportunity to serve again , I 'm certainly eager to do so , but not because it 's something that I want for myself , '' she added .
`` I 've been blessed to have served already at the highest levels .
But if at a time when we are suffering domestically and internationally , people with skills and experience are asked to come back , my judgment is they should say yes , even if it may not be the best thing for them personally . ''
Rice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past two Democratic administrations , serving on the National Security Council during the Clinton administration and as ambassador to the United Nations and subsequently national security adviser under former President Barack Obama .
Despite her extensive resume , Rice has never held or run for office herself , a concern she dismisses — especially this year .
`` I 've run for office on other people 's behalf , where I did actually quite a bit of retail politics and speaking on the stump and speaking to groups of people , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think , unfortunately , in the current context with the pandemic , this will be quite an unusual campaign , where much of the outreach is done via television , via radio , via Zoom .
And those are all media in which I , like many others , have considerable experience as well . ''
Rice said that the other candidates on Biden 's shortlist `` are very strong '' and that all have their `` relative strengths and weaknesses . ''
If she were on the ticket , Republicans would likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a 2012 assault on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya that killed four Americans .
When it happened , Rice went on TV and called the assault an act of spontaneous violence , which was later shown to be incorrect .
In the NPR interview , Rice suggested a Biden administration would need to push back against the division President Trump has sown while in office .
`` One of the critical reasons why we are in such a difficult spot , whether with respect to the pandemic or economy , national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are now burdened with leadership in the White House that thrives on dividing us and pitting Americans against each other , '' she said .
`` We absolutely have to move past that to a point of a recognition that we are all in this boat together , we sink or swim together . ''
Rice has personal experience relating to people who disagree fundamentally with her politics .
`` I have a 23-year-old son whom I love dearly , whose politics are very , very different from my own and from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she explained .
`` My son and I will have some robust disagreements over some matters of policy , not all .
And yet , at the end of the day , you know , I love him dearly and he loves me . ''
Rice said she believes , for her family and country , it comes down to finding areas of agreement and respecting people with differing political views .
`` We agree , for example , on the importance of the United States playing a responsible , principled leadership role @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of her son .
`` We agree on the importance of having strong alliances .
We agree we have to be cleareyed and strong in dealing with adversaries like Russia and the threat that China may pose .
We disagree on things like choice .
I 'm pro-choice .
He 's pro-life .
That 's the kind of difference that we ought to be able to respect . ''

Touting Her Experience, Susan Rice Makes Her Case For Biden's VP Slot
Enlarge this image toggle caption Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
Former national security adviser Susan Rice told NPR she's "honored and humbled" to be on Joe Biden's shortlist for vice president and that her lengthy tenure in the executive branch would make her an effective No. 2.
"I think I could bring my experience of almost now 20 years in the senior levels of the executive branch to bear to help tackle the most pressing problems we face," she told Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep in an interview that aired Tuesday.
"If there's an opportunity to serve again, I'm certainly eager to do so, but not because it's something that I want for myself," she added.
"I've been blessed to have served already at the highest levels. But if at a time when we are suffering domestically and internationally, people with skills and experience are asked to come back, my judgment is they should say yes, even if it may not be the best thing for them personally."
Rice, 55, is a veteran of the past two Democratic administrations, serving on the National Security Council during the Clinton administration and as ambassador to the United Nations and subsequently national security adviser under former President Barack Obama.
Despite her extensive resume, Rice has never held or run for office herself, a concern she dismisses — especially this year.
"I've run for office on other people's behalf, where I did actually quite a bit of retail politics and speaking on the stump and speaking to groups of people," she told Inskeep. "But I think, unfortunately, in the current context with the pandemic, this will be quite an unusual campaign, where much of the outreach is done via television, via radio, via Zoom. And those are all media in which I, like many others, have considerable experience as well."
Rice said that the other candidates on Biden's shortlist "are very strong" and that all have their "relative strengths and weaknesses."
If she were on the ticket, Republicans would likely attack her on Benghazi, the location of a 2012 assault on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya that killed four Americans. When it happened, Rice went on TV and called the assault an act of spontaneous violence, which was later shown to be incorrect.
In the NPR interview, Rice suggested a Biden administration would need to push back against the division President Trump has sown while in office.
"One of the critical reasons why we are in such a difficult spot, whether with respect to the pandemic or economy, national cohesion, racial justice issues is because we are now burdened with leadership in the White House that thrives on dividing us and pitting Americans against each other," she said. "We absolutely have to move past that to a point of a recognition that we are all in this boat together, we sink or swim together."
Rice has personal experience relating to people who disagree fundamentally with her politics.
"I have a 23-year-old son whom I love dearly, whose politics are very, very different from my own and from the rest of our family," she explained. "My son and I will have some robust disagreements over some matters of policy, not all. And yet, at the end of the day, you know, I love him dearly and he loves me."
Rice said she believes, for her family and country, it comes down to finding areas of agreement and respecting people with differing political views.
"We agree, for example, on the importance of the United States playing a responsible, principled leadership role in the world," she said of her son. "We agree on the importance of having strong alliances. We agree we have to be cleareyed and strong in dealing with adversaries like Russia and the threat that China may pose. We disagree on things like choice. I'm pro-choice. He's pro-life. That's the kind of difference that we ought to be able to respect."


npr--2020-08-04--2020 Flu Shot Strategy: Get Yours Early In The Season

2020 Flu Shot Strategy : Get Yours Early In The Season Get set for 2020 's mega-campaign against the flu amid the COVID-19 pandemic : immunization drives in the parking lots of churches and supermarkets , curbside inoculations outside doctors ' offices , socially distanced vaccine appointments held indoors , with breaks in between for disinfecting .
These are just some of the ways heath providers say they will give tens of millions of flu shots this fall — arguably the most important U.S. effort to prevent influenza 's spread among Americans in a century .
Flu shots will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pharmacies and supermarkets by early September .
And though what 's normally thought of as flu season in North America does n't really begin until October and peaks between December and February , because of changes wrought by COVID-19 , now is the time to start thinking about when , how and where you 'll get immunized against the flu this year .
`` If you usually get the shot at the office but you 're working from home , for example , you 'll need a new plan , says Lori Uscher-Pines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rand Corp. `` And if you usually drop in to the pharmacy or the supermarket for your shot while you 're out and about anyway , you 'll need a new plan this year if , these days , you 're just not 'out and about . '
`` But do make a plan .
`` No year is a good year to get the flu , but this year — with COVID-19 also raging — it 's especially bad , '' says Mark Thompson , an epidemiologist in the Influenza Division at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` People who can avoid the flu will help reduce the burden on a U.S. health care system already overwhelmed by COVID-19 , '' Thompson says .
Emergency rooms and urgent care clinics are often flooded with flu patients during winter months , he explains .
So getting a flu shot can help prevent those visits — and thereby prevent the co-mingling of flu patients and COVID-19 patients , who can infect each other and spread their viruses to other ER patients .
`` This year , more than ever , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that flu is no benign disease and you should do everything you can to prevent it , '' says L.J Tan , the chief strategy officer at the Immunization Action Coalition , a nonprofit group in St. Paul , Minn. , that provides educational information for physicians and consumers on immunization .
`` In particular , get your flu vaccine .
Take flu off the table . ''
In most years , some who get the flu would reasonably choose to ride it out , feeling miserable for a week or so , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of several prescription drugs approved to treat the illness , says Dr. Steven Pergam , an associate professor in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle .
But this year , `` even people who never see a doctor for the flu might be prompted to book an appointment or head for the ER if they feel flu-like symptoms coming on , '' Pergam says .
That 's because the flu and COVID-19 can share many ( though not all ) symptoms , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throat , muscle or body aches , headaches and fatigue .
Loss of taste and smell , which can happen with COVID-19 , does not occur with the flu .
The flu is dangerous in its own right , hospitalizing and killing tens of thousands of people each year and sidelining millions more for days to weeks .
`` And even if you might only have a few days of feeling poorly , '' Pergam says , `` transmitting the flu to babies , older people and people with compromised immune systems risks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Public health experts are also concerned about people having both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time .
`` We do n't know yet whether that could compound either illness , but why take the risk ? ''
says Dr. Ashish Jha , director of the Harvard Global Health Institute .
Preliminary CDC data for the 2019-2020 flu season , which ended in May , found the flu to be a factor in at least 18 million visits to health providers in the U.S. , 410,000 hospitalizations and as many as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans eligible for a flu shot ( that 's nearly everyone over 6 months old ) , more than half do n't get immunized in a typical year , according to CDC data .
Among the reasons people give : worry about side effects ( serious ones are very rare ) , worry that the shot will give them the flu ( it wo n't ) , a belief that the flu is n't all that serious ( it can cause severe illness and death ) and an aversion to vaccines in general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ via a shot or a nasal spray — is n't perfect .
It 's designed toward the end of each flu season — February for the Northern Hemisphere and September for the Southern Hemisphere — based on the four most prevalent strains of the flu circulating at each time .
The expectation of those designing the vaccine , often right , is that those will be the most common strains that people in each hemisphere will face in the following flu seasons .
The Food and Drug Administration has final say on what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be , and then it 's made by private manufacturers during the spring and summer — generally ready for U.S. consumers by September .
But strains can mutate after the recipe is finalized ( the flu virus is more changeable , genetically , than many other viruses ) , sometimes making the vaccine less effective .
Last year , the U.S. flu vaccine was about 40 % effective on average — that 's defined by the CDC as reducing the chances by 40 % that someone exposed to the virus had symptoms severe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` That 's about the effectiveness rate we have many years and one reason people decide not to get the vaccine , '' Tan says .
`` But that 's a mistake on their part , '' he adds .
`` If you get a flu shot and then get the flu , you may be less likely to get a severe case .
That could make it less likely you 'll head to the doctor or the ER — just when they 're filled with COVID-19 patients . ''
Most years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doses of the flu vaccine and at least a few million doses go unused , says Tan .
For the 2020-2021 flu season , close to 190 million doses were produced , according to the CDC , including 7 million purchased by the agency for distribution to local health departments .
`` That 's the largest number of doses ever produced , '' says Tan , and manufacturers say more could be produced if there 's even more demand .
While manufacturers might currently have the capacity to make additional doses of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the flu season , once COVID-19 vaccines are potentially approved , some producers of flu shots could be competing for supplies as companies work to ramp up billions of doses against the coronavirus , says Harvard 's Jha .
`` Given what will be needed to make and administer a COVID-19 vaccine along with all other vaccines currently given , physicians , manufacturers and public health specialists are currently in discussion about the needed supplies and distribution , '' Jha says .
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic , many health organizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medical Association , are working on public awareness campaigns to be unleashed in September to prompt people to get the flu shot early .
In a recent survey conducted by Families Fighting Flu , an advocacy group made up of people with a family member who became severely ill or died from the flu , over 40 % of those polled did not believe it is important to get a flu vaccine this fall so they can stay healthy and preserve the health care system .
That 's 40 % of Americans making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specialists .
`` We must plan now for a coordinated , season-long flu vaccination public outreach campaign that targets all , but especially communities with low vaccination rates — younger adults , African Americans and Hispanics , '' says Tom Daschle , a former Senate majority leader and the head of Coalition to Stop Flu , which advocates for increased funding for anti-flu efforts .
`` This will require federal funding for programs designed to increase awareness of and access to flu vaccine as well as expand the number of licensed health care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
The Coalition to Stop Flu is lobbying Congress for an increase of $ 300 million in support for the flu vaccine effort this year , possibly to be included in the next coronavirus emergency supplemental appropriations package .
The funding would be used by the CDC for a public outreach media campaign and enhanced federal , state and local public health operations .
Dr. Susan R. Bailey , an immunologist , allergist and president of the AMA , has another message for patients and their doctors : `` It 's vital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of vaccines for nonmedical reasons . ''
For that matter , even some of the medical reasons that exempt some patients from certain vaccines do n't hold water when it comes to the current types of flu shot , says Bailey .
For example , though the standard flu vaccine is indeed made in eggs , she says , even most people allergic to eggs can get the shot with no side effects , or they can opt for a flu vaccine that is not grown in eggs .
Consult your doctor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few other messages from the AMA president : • If you 're hesitant about getting a flu shot because you 've had a severe reaction in the past , check with your doctor about your best strategy this year .
Nearly everyone over 6 months old should be immunized against the flu .
• September and October are the best times to be vaccinated to achieve immunity throughout the flu season , though getting the shot later is better than not at all .
• It takes two weeks after your flu shot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear until then of anyone who has flu symptoms .
• Flu vaccine versions this year include the standard shot , the nasal spray , a version without egg protein and high-dose versions aimed at giving a boost to the immune responses of people 65 and above .
But Bailey and others say that especially this year — when your trips to the pharmacy may be less frequent than usual — you should take whatever vaccine the clinic you 're using has in stock , unless you have a severe allergy risk or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Pharmacies and doctors ' offices are trying to be as creative as possible to allay the fears some people have expressed that they could catch the coronavirus while waiting in line for a flu shot .
Chris Krese , spokesman for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores , says proposed plans by member pharmacies in his association include the following : • Off-site vaccination clinics ( i.e.
, away from the pharmacy ) .
Some of these may be held in smaller venues such as community centers , senior centers or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as sports arenas and parking-lot drive-up clinics .
( Watch for details on locations near you in the next few weeks . )
• Extra levels of protection inside stores , such as requiring that masks be worn by those giving the shots and their patients .
• Encouraging patients to schedule vaccination appointments , then check in for those appointments digitally and wait outside the store or physician 's office to be called in for the immunization .
Spectrum Health , a health system serving hundreds of thousands of people in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make an appointment this fall to have a health provider meet them curbside for the vaccination , or just drop by and call the clinic on arrival for a flu immunization outside ; staff will be standing by .
Kaiser Permanente in Northern California is planning drive-through flu clinics for all days of the week , at least through late fall , that will permit patients to stick one arm out the car window for an immunizing jab .
Meanwhile , patients coming inside the Kaiser clinics for any health reason will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because outdoors is safer than indoors during this year of COVID-19 , physicians who run One Medical , a nationwide primary care practice , say they hope to set up a number of outdoor flu clinics in addition to inside options .
The AMA 's Bailey recommends reaching out to your doctor 's office staff or website , or to the supermarket or pharmacy you 're considering for the shot , to find out everything you need to know about signing up in advance or about the locations of outdoor vaccine clinics .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the family for a flu immunization at the same time , `` so no one gets left without . ''
Parents of young children might check with the pediatrician 's office , says Uscher-Pines , to see if the office will vaccinate the adults as well .
By Sept. 1 , calling 211 or 311 should get you information on flu vaccine clinics in your area , including many hosted by local public health departments that wo n't charge a fee .
Also , flu vaccines are generally free for anyone with Medicare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other insurance that conforms to the Affordable Care Act , as well as for many Medicaid beneficiaries .
However , you may have to go to an in-network doctor or pharmacy to get the free vaccine , says Cheryl Fish-Parcham , director of access initiatives at Families USA .
The CDC 's website has a flu shot locator that will be operational by Sept. 1 , but you may have to contact each location directly for social distancing details , such as which entrance to use .

2020 Flu Shot Strategy: Get Yours Early In The Season
Enlarge this image toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Get set for 2020's mega-campaign against the flu amid the COVID-19 pandemic: immunization drives in the parking lots of churches and supermarkets, curbside inoculations outside doctors' offices, socially distanced vaccine appointments held indoors, with breaks in between for disinfecting.
These are just some of the ways heath providers say they will give tens of millions of flu shots this fall — arguably the most important U.S. effort to prevent influenza's spread among Americans in a century.
Flu shots will be in stock at doctors' offices, pharmacies and supermarkets by early September. And though what's normally thought of as flu season in North America doesn't really begin until October and peaks between December and February, because of changes wrought by COVID-19, now is the time to start thinking about when, how and where you'll get immunized against the flu this year.
"If you usually get the shot at the office but you're working from home, for example, you'll need a new plan, says Lori Uscher-Pines, a senior policy researcher with the Rand Corp. "And if you usually drop in to the pharmacy or the supermarket for your shot while you're out and about anyway, you'll need a new plan this year if, these days, you're just not 'out and about.' "
But do make a plan. "No year is a good year to get the flu, but this year — with COVID-19 also raging — it's especially bad," says Mark Thompson, an epidemiologist in the Influenza Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"People who can avoid the flu will help reduce the burden on a U.S. health care system already overwhelmed by COVID-19," Thompson says.
Emergency rooms and urgent care clinics are often flooded with flu patients during winter months, he explains. So getting a flu shot can help prevent those visits — and thereby prevent the co-mingling of flu patients and COVID-19 patients, who can infect each other and spread their viruses to other ER patients.
"This year, more than ever, we're trying to get out the message that flu is no benign disease and you should do everything you can to prevent it," says L.J Tan, the chief strategy officer at the Immunization Action Coalition, a nonprofit group in St. Paul, Minn., that provides educational information for physicians and consumers on immunization. "In particular, get your flu vaccine. Take flu off the table."
In most years, some who get the flu would reasonably choose to ride it out, feeling miserable for a week or so, or even shorten the illness by taking one of several prescription drugs approved to treat the illness, says Dr. Steven Pergam, an associate professor in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
But this year, "even people who never see a doctor for the flu might be prompted to book an appointment or head for the ER if they feel flu-like symptoms coming on," Pergam says.
"No year is a good year to get the flu, but this year — with COVID-19 also raging — it's especially bad."
That's because the flu and COVID-19 can share many (though not all) symptoms, including fever, chills, cough, sore throat, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue. Loss of taste and smell, which can happen with COVID-19, does not occur with the flu.
The flu is dangerous in its own right, hospitalizing and killing tens of thousands of people each year and sidelining millions more for days to weeks.
"And even if you might only have a few days of feeling poorly," Pergam says, "transmitting the flu to babies, older people and people with compromised immune systems risks severe illness or death for them."
Public health experts are also concerned about people having both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. "We don't know yet whether that could compound either illness, but why take the risk?" says Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute.
Preliminary CDC data for the 2019-2020 flu season, which ended in May, found the flu to be a factor in at least 18 million visits to health providers in the U.S., 410,000 hospitalizations and as many as 64,000 deaths.
Still, of all Americans eligible for a flu shot (that's nearly everyone over 6 months old), more than half don't get immunized in a typical year, according to CDC data. Among the reasons people give: worry about side effects (serious ones are very rare), worry that the shot will give them the flu (it won't), a belief that the flu isn't all that serious (it can cause severe illness and death) and an aversion to vaccines in general.
The flu vaccine — whether given via a shot or a nasal spray — isn't perfect. It's designed toward the end of each flu season — February for the Northern Hemisphere and September for the Southern Hemisphere — based on the four most prevalent strains of the flu circulating at each time. The expectation of those designing the vaccine, often right, is that those will be the most common strains that people in each hemisphere will face in the following flu seasons.
The Food and Drug Administration has final say on what the composition of the flu vaccine will be, and then it's made by private manufacturers during the spring and summer — generally ready for U.S. consumers by September.
But strains can mutate after the recipe is finalized (the flu virus is more changeable, genetically, than many other viruses), sometimes making the vaccine less effective. Last year, the U.S. flu vaccine was about 40% effective on average — that's defined by the CDC as reducing the chances by 40% that someone exposed to the virus had symptoms severe enough to visit a doctor or hospital.
"That's about the effectiveness rate we have many years and one reason people decide not to get the vaccine," Tan says.
"But that's a mistake on their part," he adds. "If you get a flu shot and then get the flu, you may be less likely to get a severe case. That could make it less likely you'll head to the doctor or the ER — just when they're filled with COVID-19 patients."
Most years, vaccine firms make about 170 million doses of the flu vaccine and at least a few million doses go unused, says Tan. For the 2020-2021 flu season, close to 190 million doses were produced, according to the CDC, including 7 million purchased by the agency for distribution to local health departments.
"That's the largest number of doses ever produced," says Tan, and manufacturers say more could be produced if there's even more demand.
While manufacturers might currently have the capacity to make additional doses of the flu vaccine, if more is needed during the flu season, once COVID-19 vaccines are potentially approved, some producers of flu shots could be competing for supplies as companies work to ramp up billions of doses against the coronavirus, says Harvard's Jha.
"Given what will be needed to make and administer a COVID-19 vaccine along with all other vaccines currently given, physicians, manufacturers and public health specialists are currently in discussion about the needed supplies and distribution," Jha says.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many health organizations, including the CDC and the American Medical Association, are working on public awareness campaigns to be unleashed in September to prompt people to get the flu shot early.
In a recent survey conducted by Families Fighting Flu, an advocacy group made up of people with a family member who became severely ill or died from the flu, over 40% of those polled did not believe it is important to get a flu vaccine this fall so they can stay healthy and preserve the health care system. That's 40% of Americans making a big mistake, say infectious disease specialists.
"We must plan now for a coordinated, season-long flu vaccination public outreach campaign that targets all, but especially communities with low vaccination rates — younger adults, African Americans and Hispanics," says Tom Daschle, a former Senate majority leader and the head of Coalition to Stop Flu, which advocates for increased funding for anti-flu efforts. "This will require federal funding for programs designed to increase awareness of and access to flu vaccine as well as expand the number of licensed health care professionals who are able to administer vaccines."
The Coalition to Stop Flu is lobbying Congress for an increase of $300 million in support for the flu vaccine effort this year, possibly to be included in the next coronavirus emergency supplemental appropriations package. The funding would be used by the CDC for a public outreach media campaign and enhanced federal, state and local public health operations.
Dr. Susan R. Bailey, an immunologist, allergist and president of the AMA, has another message for patients and their doctors: "It's vital that patients are not permitted to opt out of vaccines for nonmedical reasons."
For that matter, even some of the medical reasons that exempt some patients from certain vaccines don't hold water when it comes to the current types of flu shot, says Bailey. For example, though the standard flu vaccine is indeed made in eggs, she says, even most people allergic to eggs can get the shot with no side effects, or they can opt for a flu vaccine that is not grown in eggs. Consult your doctor for specifics, she says.
A few other messages from the AMA president:
If you're hesitant about getting a flu shot because you've had a severe reaction in the past, check with your doctor about your best strategy this year. Nearly everyone over 6 months old should be immunized against the flu.
September and October are the best times to be vaccinated to achieve immunity throughout the flu season, though getting the shot later is better than not at all.
It takes two weeks after your flu shot to achieve full immunity, so steer clear until then of anyone who has flu symptoms.
Flu vaccine versions this year include the standard shot, the nasal spray, a version without egg protein and high-dose versions aimed at giving a boost to the immune responses of people 65 and above. But Bailey and others say that especially this year — when your trips to the pharmacy may be less frequent than usual — you should take whatever vaccine the clinic you're using has in stock, unless you have a severe allergy risk or your doctor has advised a particular version.
Pharmacies and doctors' offices are trying to be as creative as possible to allay the fears some people have expressed that they could catch the coronavirus while waiting in line for a flu shot. Chris Krese, spokesman for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, says proposed plans by member pharmacies in his association include the following:
Off-site vaccination clinics (i.e., away from the pharmacy). Some of these may be held in smaller venues such as community centers, senior centers or libraries — or in larger venues such as sports arenas and parking-lot drive-up clinics. (Watch for details on locations near you in the next few weeks.)
Extra levels of protection inside stores, such as requiring that masks be worn by those giving the shots and their patients.
Encouraging patients to schedule vaccination appointments, then check in for those appointments digitally and wait outside the store or physician's office to be called in for the immunization.
Spectrum Health, a health system serving hundreds of thousands of people in the Midwest, will be encouraging its patients to make an appointment this fall to have a health provider meet them curbside for the vaccination, or just drop by and call the clinic on arrival for a flu immunization outside; staff will be standing by.
Kaiser Permanente in Northern California is planning drive-through flu clinics for all days of the week, at least through late fall, that will permit patients to stick one arm out the car window for an immunizing jab. Meanwhile, patients coming inside the Kaiser clinics for any health reason will be offered a vaccination too.
And because outdoors is safer than indoors during this year of COVID-19, physicians who run One Medical, a nationwide primary care practice, say they hope to set up a number of outdoor flu clinics in addition to inside options.
The AMA's Bailey recommends reaching out to your doctor's office staff or website, or to the supermarket or pharmacy you're considering for the shot, to find out everything you need to know about signing up in advance or about the locations of outdoor vaccine clinics.
Rand's Uscher-Pines suggests taking everyone in the family for a flu immunization at the same time, "so no one gets left without." Parents of young children might check with the pediatrician's office, says Uscher-Pines, to see if the office will vaccinate the adults as well.
By Sept. 1, calling 211 or 311 should get you information on flu vaccine clinics in your area, including many hosted by local public health departments that won't charge a fee.
Also, flu vaccines are generally free for anyone with Medicare Part B, employer health insurance or other insurance that conforms to the Affordable Care Act, as well as for many Medicaid beneficiaries. However, you may have to go to an in-network doctor or pharmacy to get the free vaccine, says Cheryl Fish-Parcham, director of access initiatives at Families USA.
The CDC's website has a flu shot locator that will be operational by Sept. 1, but you may have to contact each location directly for social distancing details, such as which entrance to use.


npr--2020-08-04--Tropical Storm Isaias Brings Wind, Rain And Tornado Risks Up Through The Northeast

Tropical Storm Isaias Brings Wind , Rain And Tornado Risks Up Through The Northeast Tropical Storm Isaias is bringing strong winds , heavy rainfall and the threat of tornadoes as it races northward across southern and central New England .
As of 8 p.m. , the National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 5 miles north-northwest of Rutland , Vt. , and clocking maximum sustained winds of 50 mph .
Isaias is traveling at nearly 40 mph as it heads inland , and it 's expected to lose strength and become post-tropical through the evening or early Wednesday as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ southern Canada .
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for areas from Watch Hill , R.I. , to Stonington , Maine , and Martha 's Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts and Block Island in Rhode Island .
The National Hurricane Center said parts of New England could see power outages , flash floods and storm surges .
It said the risk of tornadoes may continue and spread across parts of northern New England through Tuesday evening .
Tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles from the center of Isaias .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Connecticut , Rhode Island and Massachusetts recorded wind gusts greater than 50 mph on Tuesday afternoon .
As of early Tuesday evening , Isaias has left more than 3 million people without power from North Carolina to Vermont , with 1.3 million of those in New Jersey .
The hurricane center also said minor to moderate river flooding is likely across portions of the Mid-Atlantic , which Isaias plowed through earlier Tuesday .
As of 6 p.m. Tuesday , the National Weather Service Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center forecast flooding at 14 locations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landfall as a hurricane late Monday night with sustained winds of 85 mph , and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it worked its way up the coast , flooding low-lying areas of the Carolinas and Virginia .
The National Ocean Service said that water levels in Wilmington , N.C. , reached more than 4 feet over normal high tide , breaking a record set by Hurricane Florence in 2018 .
At least two deaths have been attributed to a tornado that struck a mobile home park in Bertie County , N.C. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the Southeast copes with large numbers of coronavirus cases .
Concerns about the potential to spread the virus forced Florida to suspend testing .
Agencies also had to change their plans for handling people stranded by the storm .
`` The impact of our shelter operations is really limited to the amount of people we can put in shelters safely , '' said Edward Conrow , director of emergency Services for Brunswick County , N.C .
He added that the facilities are now required to have isolation areas and to provide personal @ @ @

Isaias Brings Wind, Rain And Tornado Risks Up Through The Northeast Into Canada
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sean Rayford/Getty Images Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Updated at 12:15 a.m. ET Wednesday
Isaias, now a post-tropical cyclone, is still bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall and the threat of tornadoes as it moves into southeastern Canada after passing through southern and central New England.
As of 11 p.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 45 miles south-southeast of Montreal, and clocking maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
Isaias is traveling at nearly 40 mph as it heads further inland.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for areas from Merrimack River, Mass., to Stonington, Maine.
As of early Tuesday evening, Isaias has left more than 3 million people without power from North Carolina to Vermont, with 1.2 million of those in New Jersey.
The hurricane center also said minor to moderate river flooding is likely across portions of the Mid-Atlantic, which Isaias plowed through earlier Tuesday.
As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center forecast flooding at 14 locations across the region.
The storm made landfall as a hurricane late Monday night with sustained winds of 85 mph, and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it worked its way up the coast, flooding low-lying areas of the Carolinas and Virginia.
The National Ocean Service said that water levels in Wilmington, N.C., reached more than 4 feet over normal high tide, breaking a record set by Hurricane Florence in 2018.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sean Rayford/Getty Images Sean Rayford/Getty Images
At least two deaths have been attributed to a tornado that struck a mobile home park in Bertie County, N.C.
Isaias has strained emergency agencies, arriving as the Southeast copes with large numbers of coronavirus cases. Concerns about the potential to spread the virus forced Florida to suspend testing. Agencies also had to change their plans for handling people stranded by the storm.
"The impact of our shelter operations is really limited to the amount of people we can put in shelters safely," said Edward Conrow, director of emergency Services for Brunswick County, N.C. He added that the facilities are now required to have isolation areas and to provide personal protective gear.


npr--2020-08-05--NFL's Top Doctor On How Football Plans To Return

NFL 's Top Doctor On How Football Plans To Return American football is famous for being a full-contact sport .
That presents a challenge for trying to keep the coronavirus at bay .
But the NFL is going for it , with some changes .
The league started daily testing for the first two weeks of training camp , which began for all players on July 28 .
Testing frequency is set to change based on the positivity rate after that .
`` We expect to have positive cases , '' says NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ try to be and how many protocols we have in place , we know that this disease remains endemic in our societies and our communities and it 's highly contagious . ''
More than 80 players have reportedly been put on the NFL COVID-19 list , which means they have tested positive or come into contact with someone who has .
Dozens of players are opting out of the season altogether .
Full-contact training is set to begin Aug. 17 and the regular season is scheduled to start on Sept. 10 .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try to learn to live with this virus in a sense , because we do n't think it 's going away anytime soon , '' he tells NPR 's Rachel Martin on Morning Edition .
Here are excerpts of the interview : Let me press you on some of the specific changes .
We 're talking dozens of teams around the country , presumably they 're going to travel still .
We 're also talking about a high-contact sport .
We always say that the game of football and physical distance do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But realize that the three hours of the game time represents a small fraction of the overall week of the team being together .
So I think part of how we address that is trying to make sure that everyone who gets to the field is not infected and we do that again through all of the protocols we have in place .
We also have a very extensive testing program for surveillance , trying to detect any new cases as quickly as we can , make sure we get that person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that team environment to prevent outbreaks .
So I think part of how we mitigate risk on the field is arriving to the field uninfected .
But we 've also , again , looked at some things on the field that can mitigate risk , such as these Oakley mouth shields .
...
It 's basically if you think about an eye visor that some of our players have worn , it 's an extension of that where you have a multilayer plastic device with a filter in it that actually does come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ area .
So we think there are some things like that that on the field can be beneficial again in mitigating risk .
The NBA has created just a massive bubble , where all the teams , the staff , the press , everyone is together at this resort to protect them .
Why not consider that for the NFL ?
Or maybe you did , but why did n't you do it ?
Yeah , we absolutely did consider that .
In fact , we considered many different options and scenarios of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like .
And what we ultimately settled on is what we 're calling a `` virtual football bubble , '' which means that , yes , teams are in their own home markets .
And yes , players , coaches and staff can stay at their own homes .
But when everyone is at the facility , they 're under a very careful set of protocols .
They 're under a number of measures that we 've put in place .
And then we 're asking them essentially when they 're not at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home , if you will .
But when they go out to observe all of the best precautions that we can recommend , which means avoiding large gatherings , avoiding crowds , making sure they 're doing masks and all of the other measures that we know that work .
We settled on that approach because we thought it combined the elements of risk mitigation with also being practical and pragmatic over the course of a six-month season .
NPR 's Avery Keatley and Mohamad ElBardicy produced and edited the audio interview .

NFL's Top Doctor On How Football Plans To Return
Enlarge this image toggle caption Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
American football is famous for being a full-contact sport. That presents a challenge for trying to keep the coronavirus at bay.
But the NFL is going for it, with some changes.
The league started daily testing for the first two weeks of training camp, which began for all players on July 28. Testing frequency is set to change based on the positivity rate after that.
"We expect to have positive cases," says NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills. "No matter how careful that we try to be and how many protocols we have in place, we know that this disease remains endemic in our societies and our communities and it's highly contagious."
More than 80 players have reportedly been put on the NFL COVID-19 list, which means they have tested positive or come into contact with someone who has. Dozens of players are opting out of the season altogether.
Full-contact training is set to begin Aug. 17, and the regular season is scheduled to start on Sept. 10.
"We're all going to have to try to learn to live with this virus in a sense, because we don't think it's going away anytime soon," he tells NPR's Rachel Martin on Morning Edition.
Here are excerpts of the interview:
Let me press you on some of the specific changes. We're talking [about] dozens of teams around the country. Presumably they're going to travel still. We're also talking about a high-contact sport.
We always say that the game of football and physical distance do not go together, that's for sure. But realize that the three hours of the game time represents a small fraction of the overall week of the team being together. So I think part of how we address that is trying to make sure that everyone who gets to the field is not infected, and we do that, again, through all of the protocols we have in place. We also have a very extensive testing program for surveillance, trying to detect any new cases as quickly as we can, make sure we get that person isolated, treated appropriately and removed from that team environment to prevent outbreaks. So I think part of how we mitigate risk on the field is arriving to the field uninfected.
But we've also, again, looked at some things on the field that can mitigate risk, such as these Oakley mouth shields. ... It's basically if you think about an eye visor that some of our players have worn, it's an extension of that where you have a multilayer plastic device with a filter in it that actually does come down and cover the nose and mouth area. So we think there are some things like that, that on the field can be beneficial again in mitigating risk.
The NBA has created just a massive bubble, where all the teams, the staff, the press, everyone is together at this resort to protect them. Why not consider that for the NFL? Or maybe you did, but why didn't you do it?
Yeah, we absolutely did consider that. In fact, we considered many different options and scenarios of what we thought the season could look like. And what we ultimately settled on is what we're calling a "virtual football bubble," which means that, yes, teams are in their own home markets. And yes, players, coaches and staff can stay at their own homes.
But when everyone is at the facility, they're under a very careful set of protocols. They're under a number of measures that we've put in place. And then we're asking them essentially when they're not at the team environment to mostly stay at home, if you will. But when they go out to observe all of the best precautions that we can recommend, which means avoiding large gatherings, avoiding crowds, making sure they're doing masks and all of the other measures that we know that work.
We settled on that approach because we thought it combined the elements of risk mitigation with also being practical and pragmatic over the course of a six-month season.
NPR's Avery Keatley and Mohamad ElBardicy produced and edited the audio interview.


npr--2020-08-05--Foreign Workers Living Overseas Mistakenly Received $1,200 U.S. Stimulus Checks

Thousands of foreign workers who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas received $ 1,200 checks in error during the first round of stimulus payments , and many of them are spending the money in their home nations .
One tax preparation firm told NPR that it has clients from 129 countries who mistakenly received stimulus checks , including Brazil , Canada , China , India , Nigeria and South Korea .
Government officials and tax experts say the mistake happened because many foreign workers , whether unintentionally or on purpose , file incorrect tax returns that make them appear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them are now trying to amend their returns because they worry that having mistakenly received a stimulus check will jeopardize their visa status , green card application or ability to return to the U.S. How much stimulus money was mistakenly sent to foreign workers living overseas is difficult to quantify .
But Sprintax , which does U.S. tax preparation for nonresidents , did about 400 amended returns last year for people who mistakenly filed as U.S. residents , and so far this year it has done 5,000 — almost 5 % of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , according to the company .
If just 5 % of last year 's more than 700,000 student and seasonal workers with F-1 and J-1 visas received a stimulus check in error , that would total $ 43 million .
The `` economic impact payments '' sent erroneously to non-U.S. citizens are the latest in a series of mishaps involving coronavirus relief efforts , including nearly $ 1.4 billion in stimulus checks sent to dead Americans .
As Congress debates another pandemic relief package , it 's considering a second round of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but its new bill does not address the problem of $ 1,200 checks having mistakenly gone to foreign workers in other countries .
Many of those workers are college students , often from Eastern Europe and South and Central America , who travel to the United States for temporary and seasonal low-wage jobs such as waiters , lifeguards and hotel housekeepers at ski resorts , amusement parks and beach destinations .
In a typical year , the U.S. issues work visas to several hundred thousand foreign students .
One of them is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spent last summer working at a Cape Cod grocery store and this spring received a $ 1,200 stimulus check signed by President Donald J. Trump .
`` I was really surprised because I was not expecting that money , '' the man told NPR , which agreed not to identify him because he is concerned that receiving the check could put him at odds with the U.S. government .
`` I do n't want ... any problems , '' added the man , whose former Cape Cod landlord received the check and sent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` If they say that we have to return it , I will return it .
It is not a problem . ''
He said numerous foreign student workers he knows have also received stimulus checks , including people in Bulgaria , Colombia , Jamaica and Montenegro .
Sometimes the checks were directly deposited into bank accounts on file with the IRS .
Sometimes the checks were mailed to their former U.S. addresses and forwarded to them .
And some checks could have been mailed to them directly overseas .
The payments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by giving consumers spending money , but this Dominican man is not able to work on Cape Cod this summer because the Trump administration 's freeze on foreign work visas has prevented seasonal workers from coming to the U.S. — so he 'll be spending his stimulus payment in his own country .
`` This money , to be honest , is a big help , '' he said , `` because we can buy food , we can pay the cable services , and we also can pay the university , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republic where he takes online classes .
Only U.S. citizens and U.S. `` resident aliens '' are eligible for stimulus money , but the Dominican man interviewed by NPR and some of his friends do not meet that eligibility standard .
A `` resident alien '' is a federal tax classification , and to qualify for it an individual needs a green card or must have been in the U.S. for a certain amount of time .
The U.S. government acknowledges that some stimulus checks were improperly sent to foreign workers and told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exploring possible options '' to prevent that from happening again .
Most foreign workers should file a form 1040-NR — the NR stands for nonresident — but instead mistakenly file a 1040 , the form most commonly used by individual U.S. taxpayers , according to Georgia attorney Clayton Cartwright , who specializes in immigration tax law and has a background in accounting .
`` I would say probably anywhere to a third to a half [ of first-time foreign filers ] are filing the wrong return , '' especially if they use e-filing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only for U.S. residents , Cartwright said .
When foreign workers file the wrong form , `` I do n't know if the IRS would even be able to tell , '' he added .
`` I mean , they have no way of knowing .
You do n't mark on your [ Form 1040 ] tax return whether you 're a citizen . ''
If a foreign worker files an incorrect tax form and also has a U.S. address , a bank account on file with the IRS , and a Social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work visas do — that increases the likelihood that the IRS would mistakenly mail them a stimulus check , he said .
Some foreign workers did not realize they had filed incorrect tax forms until they received a stimulus check in error this spring , and they are now scrambling to amend their returns , said Sprintax 's vice president , Enda Kelleher .
`` We saw a huge number of people contacting us after the first stimulus payment because they said , 'Hey , I got this check .
I never asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was entitled to it , and how can I correct it ? '
'' he said .
Those clients were from 129 different countries , including Argentina , Zimbabwe , Peru , Colombia , Vietnam , Pakistan , Spain , Japan , Germany , Ghana , Russia , Nepal , Mongolia , Uzbekistan and the Philippines , according to Kelleher .
`` It 's a serious issue , '' he added , noting that in a recent Sprintax survey of more than 500 schools , 43 % reported they had students or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in error .
As a result , many schools `` believe it 's a significant problem , '' he said .
`` It does n't surprise me that that would have happened , '' said Cartwright , the Georgia attorney .
`` Now , does that make good policy sense ?
Probably not . ''
Cartwright said Congress was in `` panic mode '' in March as the U.S. economy was shutting down over the pandemic , so it rushed stimulus funding out the door .
`` You know — damn the torpedoes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got to get the money out , '' he added .
`` So they just do it and just live with the consequences , '' including unintended ones .
`` That is spillage , '' Cartwright said of the money that accidentally leaked overseas as Congress tried to flood the U.S. economy with stimulus money .
`` I do n't mean to sound flip or cavalier , but it 's spillage . ''
The IRS says non-U.S. residents who received stimulus money in error should return it .
But Kelleher anticipates that if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign workers who tried to send back their first mistaken check will get a second one .

Foreign Workers Living Overseas Mistakenly Received $1,200 U.S. Stimulus Checks
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jeff Fusco/Getty Images Jeff Fusco/Getty Images
Thousands of foreign workers who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas received $1,200 checks in error during the first round of stimulus payments, and many of them are spending the money in their home nations. One tax preparation firm told NPR that it has clients from 129 countries who mistakenly received stimulus checks, including Brazil, Canada, China, India, Nigeria and South Korea.
Government officials and tax experts say the mistake happened because many foreign workers, whether unintentionally or on purpose, file incorrect tax returns that make them appear to be U.S. residents. Some of them are now trying to amend their returns because they worry that having mistakenly received a stimulus check will jeopardize their visa status, green card application or ability to return to the U.S.
How much stimulus money was mistakenly sent to foreign workers living overseas is difficult to quantify. But Sprintax, which does U.S. tax preparation for nonresidents, did about 400 amended returns last year for people who mistakenly filed as U.S. residents, and so far this year it has done 5,000 — almost 5% of the total federal tax returns it filed last year, according to the company. If just 5% of last year's more than 700,000 student and seasonal workers with F-1 and J-1 visas received a stimulus check in error, that would total $43 million.
The "economic impact payments" sent erroneously to non-U.S. citizens are the latest in a series of mishaps involving coronavirus relief efforts, including nearly $1.4 billion in stimulus checks sent to dead Americans. As Congress debates another pandemic relief package, it's considering a second round of payments that would exclude the deceased, but its new bill does not address the problem of $1,200 checks having mistakenly gone to foreign workers in other countries.
Many of those workers are college students, often from Eastern Europe and South and Central America, who travel to the United States for temporary and seasonal low-wage jobs such as waiters, lifeguards and hotel housekeepers at ski resorts, amusement parks and beach destinations. In a typical year, the U.S. issues work visas to several hundred thousand foreign students.
One of them is a 24-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic who spent last summer working at a Cape Cod grocery store and this spring received a $1,200 stimulus check signed by President Donald J. Trump.
"I was really surprised because I was not expecting that money," the man told NPR, which agreed not to identify him because he is concerned that receiving the check could put him at odds with the U.S. government.
"I don't want ... any problems," added the man, whose former Cape Cod landlord received the check and sent it to him in the Dominican Republic. "If they say that we have to return it, I will return it. It is not a problem."
He said numerous foreign student workers he knows have also received stimulus checks, including people in Bulgaria, Colombia, Jamaica and Montenegro. Sometimes the checks were directly deposited into bank accounts on file with the IRS. Sometimes the checks were mailed to their former U.S. addresses and forwarded to them. And some checks could have been mailed to them directly overseas.
The payments were intended to stimulate the U.S. economy by giving consumers spending money, but this Dominican man is not able to work on Cape Cod this summer because the Trump administration's freeze on foreign work visas has prevented seasonal workers from coming to the U.S. — so he'll be spending his stimulus payment in his own country.
"This money, to be honest, is a big help," he said, "because we can buy food, we can pay the cable services, and we also can pay the university," referring to a school in the Dominican Republic where he takes online classes.
Only U.S. citizens and U.S. "resident aliens" are eligible for stimulus money, but the Dominican man interviewed by NPR and some of his friends do not meet that eligibility standard. A "resident alien" is a federal tax classification, and to qualify for it an individual needs a green card or must have been in the U.S. for a certain amount of time.
The U.S. government acknowledges that some stimulus checks were improperly sent to foreign workers and told NPR that the Treasury Department is "exploring possible options" to prevent that from happening again.
Most foreign workers should file a form 1040-NR — the NR stands for nonresident — but instead mistakenly file a 1040, the form most commonly used by individual U.S. taxpayers, according to Georgia attorney Clayton Cartwright, who specializes in immigration tax law and has a background in accounting.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
"I would say probably anywhere to a third to a half [of first-time foreign filers] are filing the wrong return," especially if they use e-filing software such as TurboTax that is intended only for U.S. residents, Cartwright said.
When foreign workers file the wrong form, "I don't know if the IRS would even be able to tell," he added. "I mean, they have no way of knowing. You don't mark on your [Form 1040] tax return whether you're a citizen."
If a foreign worker files an incorrect tax form and also has a U.S. address, a bank account on file with the IRS, and a Social Security number — as many foreigners with work visas do — that increases the likelihood that the IRS would mistakenly mail them a stimulus check, he said.
Some foreign workers did not realize they had filed incorrect tax forms until they received a stimulus check in error this spring, and they are now scrambling to amend their returns, said Sprintax's vice president, Enda Kelleher.
"We saw a huge number of people contacting us after the first stimulus payment because they said, 'Hey, I got this check. I never asked for it, I didn't think I was entitled to it, and how can I correct it?'" he said.
Those clients were from 129 different countries, including Argentina, Zimbabwe, Peru, Colombia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Spain, Japan, Germany, Ghana, Russia, Nepal, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and the Philippines, according to Kelleher.
"It's a serious issue," he added, noting that in a recent Sprintax survey of more than 500 schools, 43% reported they had students or scholars who think they received stimulus checks in error. As a result, many schools "believe it's a significant problem," he said.
"It doesn't surprise me that that would have happened," said Cartwright, the Georgia attorney. "Now, does that make good policy sense? Probably not."
Cartwright said Congress was in "panic mode" in March as the U.S. economy was shutting down over the pandemic, so it rushed stimulus funding out the door. "You know — damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead. We've got to get the money out," he added. "So they just do it and just live with the consequences," including unintended ones.
"That is spillage," Cartwright said of the money that accidentally leaked overseas as Congress tried to flood the U.S. economy with stimulus money. "I don't mean to sound flip or cavalier, but it's spillage."
The IRS says non-U.S. residents who received stimulus money in error should return it. But Kelleher anticipates that if additional stimulus payments are distributed, some foreign workers who tried to send back their first mistaken check will get a second one.


npr--2020-08-05--Sally Yates, DoJ Boss At Close Of Obama Era, Due In Senate Hearing Wednesday

Sally Yates , DoJ Boss At Close Of Obama Era , Due In Senate Hearing Wednesday President Trump 's allies in the Senate are set to resume a public investigation on Wednesday that aims to tie former Vice President Joe Biden with what Republicans call abuses of power .
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. , wants to question former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates about her actions and those of the Justice Department and FBI as President Barack Obama 's era closed and Trump 's began .
Yates headed the Justice Department for part of the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interference in the 2016 election and was instrumental in a few of its key developments .
Although subsequent investigations have vindicated the findings of the core Russia investigation , officials within the Justice Department also have uncovered problems with some aspects of it .
Graham and other allies of the president have sought to keep those problems in the spotlight and , more recently , try to link them with Biden , Trump 's rival in the 2020 race .
Biden has denied any wrongdoing and Democrats have complained about what they call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looking into events from four years ago when foreign election interference continues to target the presidential campaign running even now .
One issue is with the surveillance conducted by the FBI on a former junior foreign policy adviser to Trump , Carter Page .
The Justice Department 's inspector general has faulted the evidence and the practices associated with that case Another top official from the early Trump era , former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , acknowledged to Graham 's panel that if he 'd known then what he knows now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Page was never charged in the Russia investigation , but Graham and his allies have taken up his cause as one in which they say an American was wronged by what Republicans call overzealous federal law enforcement .
Yates was among the officials who signed applications for surveillance on Page and she likely can expect a similar line of questioning on Wednesday to that faced earlier by Rosenstein .
Another issue involves former national security adviser Michael Flynn , whom Trump , Graham and their allies have sought to rehabilitate even as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an appeals process .
Subsequent revelations about the handling of the Flynn matter have exposed a fissure between Yates ' Justice Department and the FBI under then-Director James Comey — and revealed connections to the Flynn story involving Obama and Biden .
Graham said on Fox News last month that he wants to ask Yates why , according to evidence that surfaced more recently , Obama evidently knew that Flynn was subject to surveillance connected with the Russia investigation but Yates herself did not .
Attorney General William Barr criticized Comey because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his ostensible superior , out of matters she needed to know .
On Wednesday , Graham likely will ask Yates about the White House meeting in which Obama , not Comey , told her about the Flynn surveillance .
Broached in that meeting may also have been the now-infamous federal law called the Logan Act , which is intended to prohibit Americans outside officialdom from negotiating with foreign dignitaries on behalf of the U.S. government .
No one has ever been prosecuted successfully under that law , but it was part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an abuse of power from the Obama era : the leak , to The Washington Post , of the fact of Flynn 's conversations with Russia 's then-ambassador to the United States .
The Post column in which that nugget appeared mentioned the prospect that Flynn 's conversations might have violated the Logan Act .
So , Trump 's allies want to know , did the idea about Flynn 's theoretical transgression make its way from the White House discussion and into the newspaper — which sparked the political furor that led to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's camp viewed Flynn warily after having pushed him out of his job as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and then watched him cultivate relationships with Russian officialdom before he joined the Trump team .
Obama warned Trump personally against keeping Flynn on his staff .
Flynn 's own conduct complicated his case .
After the Post report , he denied discussing sanctions with Russia 's ambassador , including to Vice President Mike Pence , who announced that denial publicly .
But American counterintelligence officials monitoring the Russian ambassador 's conversations knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — as official records about those conversations have subsequently confirmed .
Biden , Comey and a number of other officials have been listed in official records as having been in receipt of intelligence reporting about Flynn 's conversations , although those details are n't entirely clear .
Graham has said he wants to know what other people in Trump 's camp may have been the subject of these reports .
Barr has commissioned at least two investigations into the Russia imbroglio within the Justice Department .
Democrats have accused the attorney general of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the investigations simply to create the appearance that some wrongdoing may have taken place .
And Biden 's camp rejects allegations that he was improperly monitoring Trump 's incoming administration ; the reporting is based on the targets of the surveillance , Biden 's team says , not on the Americans who communicate with them .
In other words , U.S. officials were getting accounts of the ambassador 's phone calls with someone who 's name was `` masked . ''
The officials could then ask for that name to be `` unmasked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saw that the person communicating with the subject of the surveillance was Flynn .
What Yates has said , in her own subsequent telling , was that she and other officials worried the Russians could blackmail Flynn because they too knew he 'd lied publicly about the discussion and could threaten to expose that .
This helped prompt the FBI — which newer evidence shows was on the verge of closing its file on Flynn , satisfied that he was n't conspiring with the Russian attack on the election — to decide to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Flynn told the FBI agents the same lie he 'd earlier told Pence : that he had n't discussed sanctions with Russia 's ambassador during the transition period when , in fact , he had .
The political blowback over Flynn 's accounts cost him his job in the White House and then prompted him to negotiate a plea agreement with prosecutors in which he admitted lying to the FBI and agreed to turn state 's evidence .
Flynn 's plea deal may have spared him and family members from prosecution involving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advocacy .
But his relationship with the government soured and he and his legal team ultimately sought to withdraw the guilty plea .
In the meantime , changing political weather in Washington brought Trump , Graham and other supporters back to Flynn 's side — including Barr , who ordered that the case against Flynn be abandoned altogether .
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C .
Circuit is scheduled to take up that question next week .

Sally Yates, DoJ Boss At Close Of Obama Era, Due In Senate Hearing Wednesday
Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Harnik/AP Andrew Harnik/AP
President Trump's allies in the Senate are set to resume a public investigation on Wednesday that aims to tie former Vice President Joe Biden with what Republicans call abuses of power.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wants to question former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates about her actions and those of the Justice Department and FBI as President Barack Obama's era closed and Trump's began.
Yates headed the Justice Department for part of the time covered by the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and was instrumental in a few of its key developments.
Although subsequent investigations have vindicated the findings of the core Russia investigation, officials within the Justice Department also have uncovered problems with some aspects of it.
Graham and other allies of the president have sought to keep those problems in the spotlight and, more recently, try to link them with Biden, Trump's rival in the 2020 race.
Biden has denied any wrongdoing and Democrats have complained about what they call Graham's waste of time and effort looking into events from four years ago when foreign election interference continues to target the presidential campaign running even now.
Graham's agenda
One issue is with the surveillance conducted by the FBI on a former junior foreign policy adviser to Trump, Carter Page.
The Justice Department's inspector general has faulted the evidence and the practices associated with that case
Another top official from the early Trump era, former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, acknowledged to Graham's panel that if he'd known then what he knows now, he wouldn't have approved the collection.
Page was never charged in the Russia investigation, but Graham and his allies have taken up his cause as one in which they say an American was wronged by what Republicans call overzealous federal law enforcement.
Yates was among the officials who signed applications for surveillance on Page and she likely can expect a similar line of questioning on Wednesday to that faced earlier by Rosenstein.
Another issue involves former national security adviser Michael Flynn, whom Trump, Graham and their allies have sought to rehabilitate even as his complicated legal case winds ever on in an appeals process.
Subsequent revelations about the handling of the Flynn matter have exposed a fissure between Yates' Justice Department and the FBI under then-Director James Comey — and revealed connections to the Flynn story involving Obama and Biden.
Graham said on Fox News last month that he wants to ask Yates why, according to evidence that surfaced more recently, Obama evidently knew that Flynn was subject to surveillance connected with the Russia investigation but Yates herself did not.
Attorney General William Barr criticized Comey because he said the director had boxed Yates, his ostensible superior, out of matters she needed to know.
On Wednesday, Graham likely will ask Yates about the White House meeting in which Obama, not Comey, told her about the Flynn surveillance. Broached in that meeting may also have been the now-infamous federal law called the Logan Act, which is intended to prohibit Americans outside officialdom from negotiating with foreign dignitaries on behalf of the U.S. government.
No one has ever been prosecuted successfully under that law, but it was part of another subplot that Trump's allies consider an abuse of power from the Obama era: the leak, to The Washington Post, of the fact of Flynn's conversations with Russia's then-ambassador to the United States.
The Post column in which that nugget appeared mentioned the prospect that Flynn's conversations might have violated the Logan Act.
So, Trump's allies want to know, did the idea about Flynn's theoretical transgression make its way from the White House discussion and into the newspaper — which sparked the political furor that led to his ouster and legal woes?
Legal odyssey
Enlarge this image toggle caption Susan Walsh/AP Susan Walsh/AP
Obama's camp viewed Flynn warily after having pushed him out of his job as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and then watched him cultivate relationships with Russian officialdom before he joined the Trump team.
Obama warned Trump personally against keeping Flynn on his staff.
Flynn's own conduct complicated his case. After the Post report, he denied discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador, including to Vice President Mike Pence, who announced that denial publicly.
But American counterintelligence officials monitoring the Russian ambassador's conversations knew that he and Flynn had discussed sanctions — as official records about those conversations have subsequently confirmed.
Biden, Comey and a number of other officials have been listed in official records as having been in receipt of intelligence reporting about Flynn's conversations, although those details aren't entirely clear.
Graham has said he wants to know what other people in Trump's camp may have been the subject of these reports. Barr has commissioned at least two investigations into the Russia imbroglio within the Justice Department.
Democrats have accused the attorney general of indulging Trump's conspiracy theorizing and pursuing the investigations simply to create the appearance that some wrongdoing may have taken place.
And Biden's camp rejects allegations that he was improperly monitoring Trump's incoming administration; the reporting is based on the targets of the surveillance, Biden's team says, not on the Americans who communicate with them.
In other words, U.S. officials were getting accounts of the ambassador's phone calls with someone who's name was "masked." The officials could then ask for that name to be "unmasked" and in these cases, they saw that the person communicating with the subject of the surveillance was Flynn.
Yates' fears about compromise
What Yates has said, in her own subsequent telling, was that she and other officials worried the Russians could blackmail Flynn because they too knew he'd lied publicly about the discussion and could threaten to expose that.
This helped prompt the FBI — which newer evidence shows was on the verge of closing its file on Flynn, satisfied that he wasn't conspiring with the Russian attack on the election — to decide to interview Flynn anyway at the White House.
Flynn told the FBI agents the same lie he'd earlier told Pence: that he hadn't discussed sanctions with Russia's ambassador during the transition period when, in fact, he had.
The political blowback over Flynn's accounts cost him his job in the White House and then prompted him to negotiate a plea agreement with prosecutors in which he admitted lying to the FBI and agreed to turn state's evidence.
Flynn's plea deal may have spared him and family members from prosecution involving other alleged lawbreaking, including unregistered foreign advocacy. But his relationship with the government soured and he and his legal team ultimately sought to withdraw the guilty plea.
In the meantime, changing political weather in Washington brought Trump, Graham and other supporters back to Flynn's side — including Barr, who ordered that the case against Flynn be abandoned altogether.
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is scheduled to take up that question next week.


npr--2020-08-05--Americans Back Trump On Immigration — But Only To Stop COVID-19, Poll Finds

Americans Back Trump On Immigration — But Only To Stop COVID-19 , Poll Finds Most Americans support Trump administration efforts to stop immigrants from coming to the United States as long as it 's done in the name of slowing the spread of the coronavirus , according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll .
But Trump 's anti-immigration rhetoric during the pandemic has done little to budge public opinion on other immigration policies , the poll found .
Most of Trump 's policies , including his border wall , remain unpopular except among Republicans .
`` Americans do want to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' said pollster Mallory Newall .
`` But that 's not because their views on immigration have changed .
It 's because they want to do everything in their power to contain the spread of COVID-19 . ''
Meanwhile , immigration is no longer a top concern ahead of the November election .
The poll shows it has been eclipsed by the coronavirus , racial justice , unemployment , political extremism and a range of other pressing issues .
The poll was conducted July 30-31 and surveyed 1,115 adults from the continental U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found broad support for a single , national strategy to address the pandemic and for more aggressive measures to contain it .
Two-thirds of respondents said they believe the U.S. is handling the pandemic worse than other countries , and most favor more aggressive action , including a nationwide order making it mandatory to shelter at home for two weeks .
Since March , Trump has taken broad actions to curtail legal immigration during the pandemic , imposing new limits on green cards and visas for guest workers , and turning away asylum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration also closed the southern and northern borders to all but `` essential '' travel .
There is sizable bipartisan support — 85 % of Republicans and 75 % of Democrats — for temporarily shutting down the borders .
And more than half overall support limits on legal immigrants , though that is largely driven by Republicans .
`` I feel like we need to take care of America first , '' Tammy Bunce , a Republican respondent from Queen Creek , Ariz. `` We should be staying at home , and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in until we have the coronavirus especially under control . ''
Another respondent , Robert Torres of San Leandro , Calif. , is a third-generation immigrant from Mexico who identifies as politically independent .
He said : `` Right now is not a very good time to be immigrating . ''
That 's partly because of the pandemic , Torres says , but also because `` there 's a lot of undocumented here that should be documented before we start adding to the immigration . ''
President Trump has made his immigration crackdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ argument for reelection .
From the outset of the pandemic , Trump has blamed foreigners for bringing coronavirus to the United States , calling it the `` China virus '' and `` kung flu . ''
He 's also returned to a familiar refrain about protecting American jobs as justification for the latest immigration restrictions , pointing to the battered economy .
But Americans remain divided on immigration policy when it 's not tied to stopping the spread of the virus .
`` I get right now that we got this pandemic going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Jo Lee of Houston , Texas , in a follow-up interview .
`` But once this calms down , if somebody really wants to come over here and raise their family and be a citizen , let them do that .
I do n't have a problem with that , '' said Lee , who says she often votes for Democrats .
That divide was clear when poll respondents were asked about whether the federal government should provide stimulus relief checks to undocumented immigrants who pay U.S. taxes : 49 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Democrats ; 43 % said no , including 66 % of Republicans .
The NPR/Ipsos poll found that underlying attitudes about immigration are deeply entrenched , remaining remarkably stable since a previous poll in 2018 .
For example , about 70 % of respondents — then and now — say immigrants are an `` important part of our American identity . ''
And efforts to build a border wall and limit immigration still fail to garner majority support , except among Republicans , according to the poll : • Fewer than half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wall or fence along the entire U.S./Mexico border , '' with 43 % expressing support now compared to 40 % two years ago .
• Just 36 % support ending the Diversity Visa Lottery system , which is designed to bring in immigrants from nations that are under-represented in the U.S , down from 39 % in 2018 .
• 49 % say the U.S. has a `` moral obligation '' to accept refugees facing persecution , a slight uptick from 46 % two years ago .
• 59 % support legal status @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as children , often referred to as `` Dreamers , '' compared to 60 % support in 2018 .
What has changed , according to the new poll , is how much weight Americans place on immigration as an issue .
Two years ago , one in four respondents cited immigration as one of their top concerns , and it ranked fourth behind health care , crime and terrorism .
Now 46 % of respondents say COVID-19 is a top concern , while immigration has fallen out of the top 10 , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's one of the topics they find `` most worrying . ''
Immigration is no longer `` a major factor when it comes to deciding who to vote for , '' Ipsos pollster Mallory Newall said .
`` That 's where we 're sort of almost seeing bipartisan agreement , '' she said .
`` People may not have the same stance when it comes to how to deal with the virus , how to deal with immigration .
But what they do know is that taking care of COVID , and addressing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is priority number one , full stop . ''

Americans Back Trump On Immigration — But Only To Stop COVID-19, Poll Finds
Enlarge this image toggle caption Mario Tama/Getty Images Mario Tama/Getty Images
Most Americans support Trump administration efforts to stop immigrants from coming to the United States as long as it's done in the name of slowing the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll.
But Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric during the pandemic has done little to budge public opinion on other immigration policies, the poll found. Most of Trump's policies, including his border wall, remain unpopular except among Republicans.
"Americans do want to take steps to limit immigration right now," said pollster Mallory Newall. "But that's not because their views on immigration have changed. It's because they want to do everything in their power to contain the spread of COVID-19."
Loading...
Meanwhile, immigration is no longer a top concern ahead of the November election. The poll shows it has been eclipsed by the coronavirus, racial justice, unemployment, political extremism and a range of other pressing issues.
The poll was conducted July 30-31 and surveyed 1,115 adults from the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii.
The poll found broad support for a single, national strategy to address the pandemic and for more aggressive measures to contain it. Two-thirds of respondents said they believe the U.S. is handling the pandemic worse than other countries, and most favor more aggressive action, including a nationwide order making it mandatory to shelter at home for two weeks.
Since March, Trump has taken broad actions to curtail legal immigration during the pandemic, imposing new limits on green cards and visas for guest workers, and turning away asylum seekers at the southern border. The administration also closed the southern and northern borders to all but "essential" travel.
There is sizable bipartisan support — 85% of Republicans and 75% of Democrats — for temporarily shutting down the borders. And more than half overall support limits on legal immigrants, though that is largely driven by Republicans.
"I feel like we need to take care of America first," Tammy Bunce, a Republican respondent from Queen Creek, Ariz. "We should be staying at home, and I think other countries should not be coming in until we have the coronavirus especially under control."
Another respondent, Robert Torres of San Leandro, Calif., is a third-generation immigrant from Mexico who identifies as politically independent. He said: "Right now is not a very good time to be immigrating."
That's partly because of the pandemic, Torres says, but also because "there's a lot of undocumented here that should be documented before we start adding to the immigration."
President Trump has made his immigration crackdown a signature policy and key to his argument for reelection.
From the outset of the pandemic, Trump has blamed foreigners for bringing coronavirus to the United States, calling it the "China virus" and "kung flu." He's also returned to a familiar refrain about protecting American jobs as justification for the latest immigration restrictions, pointing to the battered economy.
But Americans remain divided on immigration policy when it's not tied to stopping the spread of the virus.
"I get right now that we got this pandemic going on, that's fine," said Jo Lee of Houston, Texas, in a follow-up interview. "But once this calms down, if somebody really wants to come over here and raise their family and be a citizen, let them do that. I don't have a problem with that," said Lee, who says she often votes for Democrats.
That divide was clear when poll respondents were asked about whether the federal government should provide stimulus relief checks to undocumented immigrants who pay U.S. taxes: 49% of respondents said yes, including 71% of Democrats; 43% said no, including 66% of Republicans.
The NPR/Ipsos poll found that underlying attitudes about immigration are deeply entrenched, remaining remarkably stable since a previous poll in 2018. For example, about 70% of respondents — then and now — say immigrants are an "important part of our American identity."
And efforts to build a border wall and limit immigration still fail to garner majority support, except among Republicans, according to the poll:
Fewer than half say the U.S. should build "a wall or fence along the entire U.S./Mexico border," with 43% expressing support now compared to 40% two years ago.
Just 36% support ending the Diversity Visa Lottery system, which is designed to bring in immigrants from nations that are under-represented in the U.S, down from 39% in 2018.
49% say the U.S. has a "moral obligation" to accept refugees facing persecution, a slight uptick from 46% two years ago.
59% support legal status for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, often referred to as "Dreamers," compared to 60% support in 2018.
What has changed, according to the new poll, is how much weight Americans place on immigration as an issue.
Loading...
Two years ago, one in four respondents cited immigration as one of their top concerns, and it ranked fourth behind health care, crime and terrorism. Now 46% of respondents say COVID-19 is a top concern, while immigration has fallen out of the top 10, with only 11% of respondents saying it's one of the topics they find "most worrying."
Immigration is no longer "a major factor when it comes to deciding who to vote for," Ipsos pollster Mallory Newall said.
"That's where we're sort of almost seeing bipartisan agreement," she said. "People may not have the same stance when it comes to how to deal with the virus, how to deal with immigration. But what they do know is that taking care of COVID, and addressing that and taking care of the economy, is priority number one, full stop."
NPR's Senior Producer Marisa Peñaloza contributed to this report.