npr--2020-11-19--Thailand's Prime Minister Signals Tougher Measures Against Anti-Government Protests

Thailand 's prime minister has vowed to use all available laws to quash protests calling for his ouster , after parliament rejected key demands of the demonstrators by rejecting a motion to revamp the country 's constitution and overhaul the monarchy .
Prayuth Chan-ocha , a former army chief who seized power in a bloodless coup six years ago , issued a statement on Thursday , addressing months of increasing unrest in the capital , Bangkok , led by students demanding a more freer and more open society .
The on again , off again demonstrations have intensified in recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dozens of protesters .
Several protesters received gunshot wounds , though the circumstances of the shootings were not clear and police denied firing on them .
The demonstrators have demanded that parliament take up the changes to the country 's constitution , which was rewritten on Prayuth 's watch to bolster the military 's role in government and secure his place in office .
On Wednesday , there were more demonstrations in front of the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police , where protesters vented anger at authorities by throwing paint on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defacing it with graffiti .
The demonstrators want Prayuth to step down and to curb the power and vast wealth of the royal family , which is considered the richest monarchy in the world , worth an estimated $ 40 billion — much of it tied up in lucrative land holdings .
`` The situation is not improving , '' Prayuth said in a statement , adding that there was `` a risk of escalation to more violence . ''
`` If not addressed , it could damage the country and the beloved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maha Vajiralongkorn , 68 , acceded to the thrown in 2016 , has proven less popular than his father , who enjoyed near cult-like status in the country of 70 million people .
Although Thailand is a constitutional monarchy , the king wields considerable influence and Thai law , known as lese majeste , carries harsh penalties for anyone who publicly criticizes the crown .
In his short reign so far , the new king has become embroiled in several scandals that have tarnished the reputation of the palace .
In a move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few years ago , protesters in Bangkok last month jeered a motorcade transporting Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida .
Prayuth said earlier this year that laws against insulting the monarchy had been temporarily suspended at the king 's request , but in his statement Thursday , his reference to `` all laws '' was considered by some as signaling that enforcement of the lese majeste might resume .
The government 's refusal to consider the protesters ' demands was more or less `` a foregone conclusion , '' says Thitinan Pongsudhirak , who teaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` The established centers of power are very clear that they are not going to compromise , '' he says .
`` The prime minister will not resign , there will be no rewrite of the constitution and there will be no reform of the monarchy . ''
Thitinan says the students are digging in as well .
`` What we are seeing now is escalation leading to radicalization because the protest movement is dead-set on reforming Thailand , '' he said .
They want to reset the rules `` for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forward and also for Thailand to be more democratic with equality as a base , '' he said .
More violence could be ahead , as activists say they are planning a major rally next Wednesday in front of the Crown Property Bureau , a quasi-governmental agency that helps manage the royal families fortune .

Thailand's Prime Minister Signals Tougher Measures Against Anti-Government Protests
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sakchai Lalit/AP Sakchai Lalit/AP
Thailand's prime minister has vowed to use all available laws to quash protests calling for his ouster, after parliament rejected key demands of the demonstrators by rejecting a motion to revamp the country's constitution and overhaul the monarchy.
Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army chief who seized power in a bloodless coup six years ago, issued a statement on Thursday, addressing months of increasing unrest in the capital, Bangkok, led by students demanding a more freer and more open society.
The on again, off again demonstrations have intensified in recent days, with police on Tuesday injuring dozens of protesters. Several protesters received gunshot wounds, though the circumstances of the shootings were not clear and police denied firing on them.
The demonstrators have demanded that parliament take up the changes to the country's constitution, which was rewritten on Prayuth's watch to bolster the military's role in government and secure his place in office.
On Wednesday, there were more demonstrations in front of the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police, where protesters vented anger at authorities by throwing paint on the sign in front of the building and defacing it with graffiti.
The demonstrators want Prayuth to step down and to curb the power and vast wealth of the royal family, which is considered the richest monarchy in the world, worth an estimated $40 billion — much of it tied up in lucrative land holdings.
"The situation is not improving," Prayuth said in a statement, adding that there was "a risk of escalation to more violence."
"If not addressed, it could damage the country and the beloved monarchy," he said.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 68, acceded to the thrown in 2016, has proven less popular than his father, who enjoyed near cult-like status in the country of 70 million people.
Although Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, the king wields considerable influence and Thai law, known as lese majeste, carries harsh penalties for anyone who publicly criticizes the crown.
In his short reign so far, the new king has become embroiled in several scandals that have tarnished the reputation of the palace. In a move that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, protesters in Bangkok last month jeered a motorcade transporting Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida.
Prayuth said earlier this year that laws against insulting the monarchy had been temporarily suspended at the king's request, but in his statement Thursday, his reference to "all laws" was considered by some as signaling that enforcement of the lese majeste might resume.
The government's refusal to consider the protesters' demands was more or less "a foregone conclusion," says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, who teaches political science at Bangkok's Chulalangkorn University.
"The established centers of power are very clear that they are not going to compromise," he says. "The prime minister will not resign, there will be no rewrite of the constitution and there will be no reform of the monarchy."
Thitinan says the students are digging in as well.
"What we are seeing now is escalation leading to radicalization because the protest movement is dead-set on reforming Thailand," he said.
They want to reset the rules "for a more democratic future where Thailand can move forward and also for Thailand to be more democratic with equality as a base," he said.
More violence could be ahead, as activists say they are planning a major rally next Wednesday in front of the Crown Property Bureau, a quasi-governmental agency that helps manage the royal families fortune.


npr--2020-11-19--NASA Satellite To Measure Global Sea Level Rise

A satellite scheduled to launch from California later this month will measure sea level rise and provide other crucial data to scientists who study how global warming is affecting the Earth 's oceans .
Melting ice has already caused sea levels to rise by about 8 inches since 1880 , and the trend is accelerating .
The Earth 's oceans have soaked up the vast majority of the extra heat , and about one quarter of the extra carbon dioxide , that humans have generated by burning fossil fuels .
The new satellite , named Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ division , will measure sea level around the globe for the next five years .
At that point a second satellite of the same type will take its place , providing scientists with a full decade of reliable data about the Earth 's oceans .
The mission is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency .
`` Sea level is continuing to rise and we ca n't stop measuring it , '' says Josh Willis , the mission 's project scientist at NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory .
`` Every year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the climate and raising sea levels higher and higher . ''
The satellite is the latest in a parade of sea level measurement missions going back to the early 1990s .
The Sentinel-6 mission , with two state-of-the-art satellites over 10 years , is an indication of how much demand there is for reliable , high-resolution data about climate change .
`` We know that the oceans are rising because of human-caused interference with the climate .
And , to see that , you really have to see sea level rise over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` That is what this satellite does best . ''
Sentinel-6 will orbit about 800 miles up and use radar to measure the surface of the ocean .
An instrument on the satellite sends a radar wave down to Earth .
The radar bounces off the surface of the ocean and returns to the satellite .
By measuring how long it took for the radar to go down and back — and accounting for moisture in the atmosphere which slows the radar down — scientists can measure how far away the surface of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In other words , the satellite can tell scientists on Earth how high the oceans are , and how that height is changing over time .
`` It 's really kind of an incredible feat of technology , '' Willis says .
`` We can accurately measure the water level with an accuracy of 1 inch from 800 miles up . ''
Rising seas affect coastal areas of the U.S. in tangible , often destructive , ways .
Ocean water has infiltrated drainage systems , flooded streets and removed entire island communities from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Mexico and Pacific coasts .
But the higher , hotter water also affects people far from the coasts .
What happens in the oceans does not stay in the oceans .
For example , ocean currents and temperatures affect weather and fish populations .
And because water expands as it gets hotter , sea level data can help scientists understand other things about the ocean .
`` We can also use the sea level measurements to understand how currents are changing , how the ocean is storing heat , '' says LuAnne @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Washington .
Thompson and her colleagues use sea level rise data from satellites every day , and she says it 's indispensable for her research about how much heat the oceans are storing .
`` By knowing the sea level , we have an indication of how much the ocean has expanded because of warming , '' Thompson explains .
There is still a lot that scientists do n't know about how the oceans will change in the coming decades .
Climate models are clear that sea levels will continue to rise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will accelerate as the Earth gets hotter .
But exactly what that will look like at the local level requires detailed , continuous data from both satellites and tide gauges down on Earth .

NASA Satellite To Measure Global Sea Level Rise
Notes In this animation a radar pulse bounces between the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite and the sea surface, collecting data on the height of the ocean.
A satellite scheduled to launch from California later this month will measure sea level rise and provide other crucial data to scientists who study how global warming is affecting the Earth's oceans.
Melting ice has already caused sea levels to rise by about 8 inches since 1880, and the trend is accelerating. The Earth's oceans have soaked up the vast majority of the extra heat, and about one quarter of the extra carbon dioxide, that humans have generated by burning fossil fuels.
The new satellite, named Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich after the former director of NASA's Earth Science division, will measure sea level around the globe for the next five years. At that point a second satellite of the same type will take its place, providing scientists with a full decade of reliable data about the Earth's oceans. The mission is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency.
"Sea level is continuing to rise and we can't stop measuring it," says Josh Willis, the mission's project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Every year, every decade, we're remaking the climate and raising sea levels higher and higher."
The satellite is the latest in a parade of sea level measurement missions going back to the early 1990s. The Sentinel-6 mission, with two state-of-the-art satellites over 10 years, is an indication of how much demand there is for reliable, high-resolution data about climate change.
Notes This visualization shows total sea level change between 1992 and 2019, based on data collected from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 satellites. Blue regions show where sea level has gone down, and orange/red regions show where sea level has gone up. Since 1992, seas around the world have risen an average of nearly 6 inches.
"We know that the oceans are rising because of human-caused interference with the climate. And, to see that, you really have to see sea level rise over the entire planet," Willis says. "That is what this satellite does best."
Sentinel-6 will orbit about 800 miles up and use radar to measure the surface of the ocean. An instrument on the satellite sends a radar wave down to Earth. The radar bounces off the surface of the ocean and returns to the satellite. By measuring how long it took for the radar to go down and back — and accounting for moisture in the atmosphere which slows the radar down — scientists can measure how far away the surface of the ocean is from the satellite.
In other words, the satellite can tell scientists on Earth how high the oceans are, and how that height is changing over time.
"It's really kind of an incredible feat of technology," Willis says. "We can accurately measure the water level with an accuracy of 1 inch from 800 miles up."
Rising seas affect coastal areas of the U.S. in tangible, often destructive, ways. Ocean water has infiltrated drainage systems, flooded streets and removed entire island communities from existence in the Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific coasts.
But the higher, hotter water also affects people far from the coasts. What happens in the oceans does not stay in the oceans. For example, ocean currents and temperatures affect weather and fish populations.
toggle caption Felix Marquez/AP
And because water expands as it gets hotter, sea level data can help scientists understand other things about the ocean.
"We can also use the sea level measurements to understand how currents are changing, how the ocean is storing heat," says LuAnne Thompson, an oceanographer at the University of Washington. Thompson and her colleagues use sea level rise data from satellites every day, and she says it's indispensable for her research about how much heat the oceans are storing.
"By knowing the sea level, we have an indication of how much the ocean has expanded because of warming," Thompson explains.
There is still a lot that scientists don't know about how the oceans will change in the coming decades. Climate models are clear that sea levels will continue to rise rapidly, and that sea level rise will accelerate as the Earth gets hotter. But exactly what that will look like at the local level requires detailed, continuous data from both satellites and tide gauges down on Earth.


npr--2020-11-19--As Vaccine Approvals Loom, U.S. Funds A Back-Up Plan For Delivery

As Vaccine Approvals Loom , U.S. Funds A Back-Up Plan For Delivery As the nation gears up for a massive vaccination effort , the Trump administration is doubling down on a novel , unproven injection device by providing more than half a billion dollars in government financing for something that is still awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval .
Later today , the U.S. International Development Finance Corp , or DFC , is expected to announce that it has extended a $ 590 million loan to ApiJect Systems America , NPR has learned .
The Connecticut company makes a disposable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mass produced to deliver vaccines and medications around the world .
The single-use , self-contained devices are designed to be an alternative to traditional vials and syringes .
`` This is going to be , we believe , the next generation of safe injections worldwide , '' ApiJect Systems Corp. Executive Chairman Jay Walker told NPR .
The hefty investment in an unproven device is also part of the administration 's attempt to hedge its bets against any potential for equipment shortages and supply-chain glitches as it starts to roll out COVID vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reagents plagued early efforts to distribute coronavirus tests and it took months to catch up .
`` I think it is sensible to have backups to glass vials , '' said Nicole Lurie , a strategic advisor at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations who served as the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services .
She says the fact that the administration has placed such a large bet on a technology that has n't cleared FDA hurdles gives her some pause .
`` The challenge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a completely untested technology and it is not clear to me what kinds of conversations ApiJect has had with the FDA or any other regulators , '' she said .
`` What testing has been done to ensure that the materials inside the containers do n't interact with the compounds of various vaccines ?
They probably need to be tested for each vaccine and especially each vaccine platform . ''
The Pfizer vaccine for example , needs to be kept at arctic temperatures .
ApiJect says that its devices can handle that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they can .
The new loan is on top of some $ 150 million in previous contracts ApiJect landed with both the Defense Department and Department of Health and Human Services — all for the single-dose plastic injection syrette , as they call it , a little bigger than your thumb .
The FDA has yet to approve its use , but the Trump administration clearly sees ApiJect as a component in the next phase of the race for a vaccine .
As companies like Pfizer and Moderna prepare to apply to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 vaccines , they 'll soon need the means of packaging , distributing and injecting perhaps billions of doses of those vaccines .
There is concern among public health and Trump administration officials that this so-called `` Fill-Finish '' part of the vaccine manufacturing process — producing glass vials , filling them with the vaccine , securing syringes , and then distributing them across the country — will create enormous bottlenecks and prevent the vaccine from reaching Americans in a timely way .
That 's what happened during the first phase of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and medical centers to get COVID-19 tests only to be turned away because of a shortage of reagent chemicals , testing kits , and nose swabs .
State laboratories that were also facing shortages began competing on the open marketplace for pipettes and lab materials they needed to process the tests .
Two major purveyors of medical vials are Corning Incorporated in New York and Schott Pharmaceutical Systems in Germany , and the worry is that any unforeseen production problems at either of their factories could have a disastrous effect on the administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , built into the glass vial production estimates is a 20 percent overrun , to account for breakage .
If something goes wrong — say there is a shortage of vials — that could derail the whole enterprise .
Walker says , of ApiJect : `` We are the back-up plan . ''
The DFC financing is meant to help ApiJect build a million square foot campus in North Carolina for a speedier fill-finish operation .
It will take pharmaceutical-grade plastic resin , pour it into a mold and then move it to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or the vaccine will be inserted before it is sealed .
ApiJect says when the GigaFactory , as they call it , is fully operational it will produce as many as 3 billion single-dose injectors a year .
They expect the project will create some 650 jobs in Research Triangle Park , N.C. ApiJect has to raise $ 200 million on its own to qualify for the federal funds .
The company first came to the attention of the administration by chance .
Walker , one of the founders of the travel booking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now-Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir at a medical conference several years ago and he happened to have an ApiJect device in his pocket .
Giroir thought it might be a solution that could change the national stockpile .
Instead of warehousing material , the thought was , they would just have the production capacity to produce something fast .
To test the theory , in December 2019 , ApiJect got a small $ 13 million contract from HHS to build out their capacity .
A few months later , COVID happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from DFC is the first high visibility loan the agency has awarded since its ill-fated decision to give Eastman Kodak in Rochester , N.Y. , a $ 765 million loan to refashion itself into a pharmaceutical company to produce generic drugs .
That deal is now on hold as various agencies and congressional committees investigate allegations of insider trading and concerns about how the loan was awarded in the first place .
The ApiJect loan was made possible by an executive order President Trump signed in May that cleared the way for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Overseas Private Investment Corp. — to make loans to ramp up domestic production to address the coronavirus .
The DFC is run by Adam Boehler , a healthcare professional , White House senior advisor and former roommate of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner .
ApiJect said company officials never dealt with Boehler directly .
ApiJect 's technology has been used for years in the liquid pharmaceutical market , typically including solutions for ophthalmic , respiratory therapy and injectable drug products .
It has n't been used in precisely this way before , however , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get FDA approval to do what it wants to do .
That means it is unclear whether the Trump administration 's gamble on the company will pay off .
ApiJect Chairman Walker said the FDA has been working with the company and `` we 're through all the hard parts . ''
A FDA spokesperson said federal rules preclude the administration from talking about products that have not been approved .

As Vaccine Approvals Loom, U.S. Funds A Backup Plan For Delivery
Enlarge this image toggle caption ApiJect ApiJect
As the nation gears up for a massive vaccination effort, the Trump administration is doubling down on a novel, unproven injection device by providing more than half a billion dollars in government financing for something still awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval.
Later Thursday, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp, or DFC, is expected to announce it has extended a $590 million loan to ApiJect Systems America, NPR has learned. The Connecticut company makes a disposable injection device that it says can be mass-produced to deliver vaccines and medications around the world.
The single-use, self-contained devices are designed to be an alternative to traditional vials and syringes. "This is going to be, we believe, the next generation of safe injections worldwide," ApiJect Systems Corp. Executive Chairman Jay Walker told NPR.
The hefty investment in an unproven device is also part of the administration's attempt to hedge its bets against any potential for equipment shortages and supply-chain glitches as it starts to roll out COVID-19 vaccines. Unforeseen shortages of swabs and chemical reagents plagued early efforts to distribute coronavirus tests, and it took months to catch up.
"I think it is sensible to have backups to glass vials," said Nicole Lurie, a strategic adviser at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations who served as the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services. She said the fact that the administration has placed such a large bet on a technology that hasn't cleared FDA hurdles gives her some pause.
Enlarge this image toggle caption ApiJect ApiJect
"The challenge that I see is that it is a completely untested technology, and it is not clear to me what kinds of conversations ApiJect has had with the FDA or any other regulators," she said. "What testing has been done to ensure that the materials inside the containers don't interact with the compounds of various vaccines? They probably need to be tested for each vaccine and especially each vaccine platform."
The Pfizer vaccine, for example, needs to be kept at arctic temperatures. ApiJect said that its devices can handle that, but the FDA hasn't certified that they can. The new loan is on top of some $150 million in previous contracts ApiJect landed with both the Defense Department and HHS — all for the single-dose plastic injection syrette, as they call it, a little bigger than your thumb.
The FDA hasn't approved its use, but the Trump administration clearly sees ApiJect as a component in the next phase of the race for a vaccine. As companies such as Pfizer and Moderna prepare to apply to the FDA for emergency use authorization of their COVID-19 vaccines, they'll soon need the means of packaging, distributing and injecting perhaps billions of doses of those vaccines.
There is concern among public health and Trump administration officials that this so-called fill-finish part of the vaccine manufacturing process — producing glass vials, filling them with the vaccine, securing syringes and then distributing them across the country — will create enormous bottlenecks and prevent the vaccine from reaching Americans in a timely way.
That's what happened during the first phase of the pandemic when Americans rushed to doctors' offices and medical centers to get coronavirus tests, only to be turned away because of a shortage of reagent chemicals, testing kits and nose swabs. State laboratories that were also facing shortages began competing on the open marketplace for pipettes and lab materials they needed to process the tests.
Two major purveyors of medical vials are Corning Inc. in New York and Schott Pharmaceutical Systems in Germany, and the worry is that any unforeseen production problems at either of their factories could have a disastrous effect on the administration's vaccination efforts. As it is, built into the glass vial production estimates is a 20% overrun, to account for breakage. If something goes wrong — say there is a shortage of vials — that could derail the whole enterprise.
ApiJect's Walker said: "We are the backup plan."
Backup plans
The DFC financing is meant to help ApiJect build a million-square-foot campus in North Carolina for a speedier fill-finish operation. It will take pharmaceutical-grade plastic resin, pour it into a mold and then move it to a sterile filling space, where the drug or the vaccine will be inserted before it is sealed.
ApiJect said when the GigaFactory, as the firm calls it, is fully operational it will produce as many as 3 billion single-dose injectors a year. The company expects the project will create some 650 jobs in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.
ApiJect has to raise $200 million on its own to qualify for the federal funds.
The company first came to the attention of the administration by chance. Walker, one of the founders of the travel booking website Priceline, found himself sitting next to Adm. Brett Giroir, now the assistant secretary for health, at a medical conference several years ago, and he happened to have an ApiJect device in his pocket.
Giroir thought it might be a solution that could change the national stockpile. Instead of warehousing material, the thought was, they would just have the production capacity to produce something fast. To test the theory, in December, ApiJect got a small $13 million contract from HHS to build out its capacity. A few months later, COVID-19 happened.
The $590 million ApiJect loan from DFC is the first high visibility loan the agency has awarded since its ill-fated decision to give Eastman Kodak in Rochester, N.Y., a $765 million loan to refashion itself into a pharmaceutical company to produce generic drugs. That deal is now on hold as various agencies and congressional committees investigate allegations of insider trading and concerns about how the loan was awarded in the first place.
The ApiJect loan was made possible by an executive order President Trump signed in May that cleared the way for the DFC — which had previously been called Overseas Private Investment Corp. — to make loans to ramp up domestic production to address the coronavirus. The DFC is run by Adam Boehler, a health care professional, White House senior adviser and former roommate of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. ApiJect said company officials never dealt with Boehler directly.
ApiJect's technology has been used for years in the liquid pharmaceutical market, typically including solutions for ophthalmic, respiratory therapy and injectable drug products.
It hasn't been used in precisely this way before, however, and it is unclear whether it will get FDA approval to do what it wants to do. That means it is unclear whether the Trump administration's gamble on the company will pay off.
Walker, ApiJect's chairman, said the FDA has been working with the company and "we're through all the hard parts."
A FDA spokesperson said federal rules preclude the administration from talking about products that have not been approved.


npr--2020-11-19--Who Might Joe Biden Select To Lead The Justice Department?

Who Might Joe Biden Select To Lead The Justice Department ?
Choosing an attorney general is a critical task for a new president in normal times .
But after nearly four years of attack from President Trump , who pushed the Justice Department to punish his enemies and protect his friends , these are not normal times , as former Solicitor General Don Verrilli pointed out recently to an online audience at the Brennan Center for Justice .
`` I think we have to not only rebuild the public 's confidence in the Department of Justice as an institution , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confidence and integrity on the inside , because it 's been so terribly , terribly damaged over the last three and a half years , '' Verrilli said .
`` It 's a colossal tragedy . ''
Restoring public confidence in law enforcement will be the main job of the next attorney general .
But for President-elect Joe Biden and his team , picking the next leader of the Justice Department may not be an easy call .
The diverse coalition that helped Biden win the White House has some strong ideas about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of police departments and rethinking who and how many people are sent to prison .
That poses a dilemma for the Justice Department , and the new administration in general : Pick a candidate who will shake up the way things have worked for decades ?
Or choose someone with experience prosecuting cases and managing 113,000 employees and a nearly $ 30 billion budget ?
Latinx advocates are pushing for former civil rights division chief and Labor Secretary Tom Perez .
Perez helped usher in a wave of consent decrees with errant police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We 're not in this to fix the blame , we 're in this to fix the problem , '' he told NPR in 2011 .
But Perez currently runs the Democratic National Committee , which may make an appointment seem too close to political combat for Biden .
The incoming president has stressed the need for the Justice Department to reach decisions and act independently following what Democrats call improper closeness with Trump .
Others want to see a Black attorney general , such as former Massachusetts Gov .
Deval Patrick , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Bill Clinton era , or Tony West , who served as the associate attorney general — the third in command — in the Barack Obama years .
West now runs the legal department at Uber Technologies , not an easy job , as he told an interviewer who wondered why he took that daunting post at a conference in 2018 .
`` Well , I mean , why do people climb great mountains , right ? ''
West asked .
`` It was a huge , huge challenge . ''
Then again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an administration anxious about the distance between the White House and DoJ because he 's the brother-in-law of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris .
Practical politics always plays a role in who might get a nomination , and that could be the case if Republicans retain their majority in the Senate , which confirms major presidential nominees .
Senate Republicans have signaled they would support outgoing Alabama Sen. Doug Jones , a Democrat who worked as U.S. Attorney in Birmingham during the Clinton administration .
Another leading candidate is former deputy attorney general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 days into the administration for refusing to defend his travel ban for visitors from majority Muslim countries .
Yates referenced that episode in remarks at the Democratic convention this year .
`` That was the start of his relentless attacks on our democratic institutions and countless dedicated public servants , '' she said .
Before she became known for how she left Justice , Yates had been a career prosecutor , meaning she worked in top jobs under Democrats and Republicans , for 27 years .
She brought to justice corrupt public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well as Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph .
Yates ' supporters point out that during the Obama years , she helped promote education programs for incarcerated people and phased out DoJ 's contracts with private prisons .
Trump appointees later reversed both those moves .
For deputy attorney general , the number two job at Justice , one leading candidate is Neil MacBride .
MacBride has been the top federal prosecutor in Northern Virginia , where he oversaw prosecutions against gang members , white collar fraudsters , and even Somali pirates — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 190 years .
MacBride also has long ties to Biden .
He worked for the president-elect in the Senate and deferred law school 33 years ago to work on Biden 's first campaign for president .
Other new appointees at Justice could make history .
Vanita Gupta , who ran the civil rights unit under President Obama , may be in line to serve as associate attorney general , overseeing a broad portfolio that includes civil rights .
California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger is a possible U.S .
Solicitor General @ @ @ @ @ @ @ track that could be her route to the Supreme Court as the Black woman nominee Biden has promised .

Who Might Joe Biden Select To Lead The Justice Department?
Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Harnik/AP Andrew Harnik/AP
Updated at 10:40 a.m. EST 11/20/20
Choosing an attorney general is a critical task for a new president in normal times.
But after nearly four years of attack from President Trump, who pushed the Justice Department to punish his enemies and protect his friends, these are not normal times, as former Solicitor General Don Verrilli pointed out recently to an online audience at the Brennan Center for Justice.
"I think we have to not only rebuild the public's confidence in the Department of Justice as an institution, we have to rebuild the sense of confidence and integrity on the inside, because it's been so terribly, terribly damaged over the last three and a half years," Verrilli said. "It's a colossal tragedy."
Restoring public confidence in law enforcement will be the main job of the next attorney general. But for President-elect Joe Biden and his team, picking the next leader of the Justice Department may not be an easy call.
Law A Look At Attorney General William Barr's Time In Office A Look At Attorney General William Barr's Time In Office Listen · 8:07 8:07
The diverse coalition that helped Biden win the White House has some strong ideas about overhauling the system that include stricter oversight of police departments and rethinking who and how many people are sent to prison.
That poses a dilemma for the Justice Department, and the new administration in general: Pick a candidate who will shake up the way things have worked for decades? Or choose someone with experience prosecuting cases and managing 113,000 employees and a nearly $30 billion budget?
Potential candidates
Latinx advocates are pushing for former civil rights division chief and Labor Secretary Tom Perez. Perez helped usher in a wave of consent decrees with errant police departments in the Obama years.
"We're not in this to fix the blame, we're in this to fix the problem," he told NPR in 2011.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
But Perez currently runs the Democratic National Committee, which may make an appointment seem too close to political combat for Biden. The incoming president has stressed the need for the Justice Department to reach decisions and act independently following what Democrats call improper closeness with Trump.
Others want to see a Black attorney general, such as former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who led civil rights at Justice in the Bill Clinton era, or Tony West, who served as the associate attorney general — the third in command — in the Barack Obama years.
West now runs the legal department at Uber Technologies — not an easy job, as he told an interviewer who wondered why he took that daunting post at a conference in 2018.
"Well, I mean, why do people climb great mountains, right?" West asked. "It was a huge, huge challenge."
Then again, West could be a sensitive choice in an administration anxious about the distance between the White House and the DOJ because he's the brother-in-law of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Practical politics always plays a role in who might get a nomination, and that could be the case if Republicans retain their majority in the Senate, which confirms major presidential nominees.
Senate Republicans have signaled they would support outgoing Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat who worked as U.S. attorney in Birmingham during the Clinton administration.
Another leading candidate is former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. President Trump fired her 10 days into the administration for refusing to defend his travel ban for visitors from majority Muslim countries. Yates referenced that episode in remarks at the Democratic convention this year.
"That was the start of his relentless attacks on our democratic institutions and countless dedicated public servants," she said.
Before she became known for how she left Justice, Yates had been a career prosecutor, meaning she worked in top jobs under Democrats and Republicans, for 27 years. She brought to justice corrupt public officials in her native state of Georgia as well as Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph.
Yates' supporters point out that during the Obama years, she helped promote education programs for incarcerated people and phased out DoJ's contracts with private prisons. Trump appointees later reversed both those move
The deputy
For deputy attorney general, the No. 2 job at Justice, one leading candidate is Neil MacBride.
MacBride has been the top federal prosecutor in Northern Virginia, where he oversaw prosecutions against gang members, white collar fraudsters and even Somali pirates — winning the first such jury convictions in more than 190 years.
Enlarge this image toggle caption S. Todd Rogers/AP S. Todd Rogers/AP
MacBride also has long ties to Biden. He worked for the president-elect in the Senate and deferred law school 33 years ago to work on Biden's first campaign for president.
Other new appointees at Justice could make history.
Vanita Gupta, who ran the civil rights unit under President Obama, may be in line to serve as associate attorney general, overseeing a broad portfolio that includes civil rights.
California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger is a possible U.S. solicitor general — perhaps as part of a career track that could be her route to the Supreme Court as the Black woman nominee Biden has promised.


npr--2020-11-19--Florida Looks At A Winter Without Canadians

Florida Looks At A Winter Without Canadians In Florida , this is the time of year for `` snowbirds , '' people who flock south when the weather turns cold up north .
Many own homes or condos .
Others rent or come with their own RV 's .
But with COVID-19 , this year , some of Florida 's most faithful seasonal visitors — Canadians — are staying home .
Every year for a decade , Julia Hayes and her husband John have closed up their home in Mount Albert , north of Toronto and driven south to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida 's Gulf coast .
But not this year .
Hayes says , `` You 're under loads and load of snow and it 's not safe to go out and walk .
And you certainly ca n't swim .
It 's a much healthier lifestyle when we go down to Florida . ''
Land crossings at the border between the U.S. and Canada have been prohibited since March to contain spread of the coronavirus .
The closure means that tens of thousands of Canadians who usually drive south this time of year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trudeau said recently his government wants Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel .
`` People can make their own decisions , '' he said .
`` But a travel advisory from the government of Canada to not travel outside the borders unless it 's essential travel is about as strong as we can go . ''
For many Canadians , there 's a bigger obstacle than the closed border keeping them home .
It 's health insurance .
Travel insurance broker Martin Firestone says policies that cover COVID-19 are expensive .
And some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they 'll pay .
Firestone says , `` I would say my business is down close to 75 % right now from the traditional period that it used to be very busy with people all leaving for upwards of 185 days , coming back typically in April . ''
In Florida , Canadians make up a significant part of the tourism-dependent economy .
Fort Myers and Cape Coral are especially popular with visitors from Ontario .
The Lee County Visitors and Convention Bureau says last year , more than 215,000 Canadians visited , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At the Upriver RV Resort in Fort Myers , co-owner Lynda Phillips says most of her Canadian customers , many of whom usually stay for the season , have cancelled .
`` It has definitely impacted the whole area , '' she says .
`` Hotel and motel space are down . ''
Phillips says she is seeing more guests than usual from other parts of the U.S. , but they 're short-term bookings that do n't make up for the loss of her Canadian snowbirds .
The border is closed until at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has indicated the closure will likely be extended indefinitely .
Because the border closure does n't affect air travel , some Canadians are flying to Florida this year .
But for those who insist on bringing their cars , Jeremy Rood recently came up with a work-around .
`` Actually , my parents were wanting to go to Florida , '' Rood says .
He 's the charters manager for Great Lakes Helicopter in Cambridge , Ontario .
He says his parents have a vacation home there and were planning to self-isolate once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I said , 'Well you know , that 's not a problem .
We can get you across the border by helicopter . '
'' A friend with a trucking company loaded his parents ' car on a flatbed and delivered it just across the U.S. side of the border .
Rood 's parents picked it up and continued south to Florida .
Rood has helped take more than a dozen other Canadians and their cars across the border since then .
U.S. and Canadian Customs officials say it complies with their regulations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basic Canadian need .
He says , `` People need to go where it 's warm . ''

Florida Looks At A Winter Without Canadians
Enlarge this image toggle caption Rebecca Blackwell/AP Rebecca Blackwell/AP
In Florida, this is the time of year for "snowbirds," people who flock south when the weather turns cold up north. Many own homes or condos. Others rent or come with their own RV's. But with COVID-19, this year, some of Florida's most faithful seasonal visitors — Canadians — are staying home.
Every year for a decade, Julia Hayes and her husband John have closed up their home in Mount Albert, north of Toronto and driven south to their vacation getaway in Cape Coral, on Florida's Gulf coast. But not this year. Hayes says, "You're under loads and load of snow and it's not safe to go out and walk. And you certainly can't swim. It's a much healthier lifestyle when we go down to Florida."
Land crossings at the border between the U.S. and Canada have been prohibited since March to contain spread of the coronavirus. The closure means that tens of thousands of Canadians who usually drive south this time of year, can't. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said recently his government wants Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel. "People can make their own decisions," he said. "But a travel advisory from the government of Canada to not travel outside the borders unless it's essential travel is about as strong as we can go."
For many Canadians, there's a bigger obstacle than the closed border keeping them home. It's health insurance. Travel insurance broker Martin Firestone says policies that cover COVID-19 are expensive. And some policies have limits as to how much they'll pay. Firestone says, "I would say my business is down close to 75% right now from the traditional period that it used to be very busy with people all leaving for upwards of 185 days, coming back typically in April."
In Florida, Canadians make up a significant part of the tourism-dependent economy. Fort Myers and Cape Coral are especially popular with visitors from Ontario. The Lee County Visitors and Convention Bureau says last year, more than 215,000 Canadians visited, spending more than $218 million.
At the Upriver RV Resort in Fort Myers, co-owner Lynda Phelps says most of her Canadian customers, many of whom usually stay for the season, have canceled. "It has definitely impacted the whole area," she says. "Hotel and motel space are down." Phelps says she is seeing more guests than usual from other parts of the U.S., but they're short-term bookings that don't make up for the loss of her Canadian snowbirds.
The border is closed until at least Nov. 21. Prime Minister Trudeau has indicated the closure will likely be extended indefinitely. Because the border closure doesn't affect air travel, some Canadians are flying to Florida this year.
But for those who insist on bringing their cars, Jeremy Rood recently came up with a work-around. "Actually, my parents were wanting to go to Florida," Rood says. He's the charters manager for Great Lakes Helicopter in Cambridge, Ontario. He says his parents have a vacation home there and were planning to self-isolate once they got t0 Florida. "And I said, 'Well you know, that's not a problem. We can get you across the border by helicopter.'"
A friend with a trucking company loaded his parents' car on a flatbed and delivered it just across the U.S. side of the border. Rood's parents picked it up and continued south to Florida. Rood has helped take more than a dozen other Canadians and their cars across the border since then.
U.S. and Canadian Customs officials say it complies with their regulations. And Rood is helping fill a basic Canadian need. He says, "People need to go where it's warm."


npr--2020-11-19--The Legacy Of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

What to make of the tenure of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos depends , like Beauty itself , on the eye of the beholder .
To the president who asked her to run the Department of Education , she was a loyal lieutenant who argued for her department 's irrelevance in a nation where control of schools is a local affair — that is , until she argued the opposite , at the president 's urging , and threatened schools with a loss of federal funding if they refused to reopen mid-pandemic .
To Christian conservatives , she was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight against anyone who would have government be the parent to everyone . ''
DeVos used her bully pulpit to champion religious education , push for school choice and help private schools in financial turmoil .
To her critics , including the nation 's teachers unions , she was a stone-cold villain who famously suggested guns belong in some schools ( to fend off bears ) , who needed the vice president 's vote to survive confirmation and who spent four years disparaging American public education .
Whatever view you take of Secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the facts of her achievements and how likely they are to survive the next secretary .
One of the easiest ways an administration can undo the work of its political predecessor is to rollback what is called `` guidance , '' and Betsy DeVos wasted little time helping to reverse Obama-era guidance protecting transgender students .
In May 2016 , the Obama Justice and Education Departments sent a letter to school districts , advising them that students should be allowed to use facilities , including bathrooms , that are consistent with their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 , DeVos helped rescind that guidance .
Doing so sent a message to school leaders that her department would be enforcing a much narrower view of Title IX , the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education .
Student advocates and civil rights groups excoriated DeVos for the move .
Looking back , Liz King , of the liberal-leaning Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights , describes the rollback as `` heartless , cruel , reckless and irresponsible . ''
In late 2018 , DeVos made a similar move , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ students of color from what the Obama administration called `` discriminatory discipline . ''
The 2014 guidance had encouraged schools to use alternatives to suspension and expulsion and came with a threat : If a school district 's discipline patterns revealed significant racial disparities , it could face a federal civil rights investigation .
To justify rescinding the discipline guidance , DeVos ' department used an argument she would often repeat : that states and local districts should make education policy , not the U.S. government .
Or , as she said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made anything better or cheaper , more effective or more efficient .
And nowhere is that more true than in education . ''
Even when it came to budgeting for her agency , DeVos was ideologically consistent .
She argued for less money from Congress , massive cuts in federal education spending and consolidating the programs that would remain ( requests lawmakers repeatedly rebuffed ) .
Secretary DeVos talked often about what she perceived as the failures of America 's public education system and , instead , touted controversial and unproven alternatives , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to spend where they like .
`` Instead of holding fast to what we know does not work , '' DeVos told lawmakers earlier this year , `` let me suggest we find the courage to do something bold and begin a new era of student growth and achievement . ''
While this kind of bold talk proved popular with many of the president 's supporters , her early moves made for a quicksand legacy — because just as DeVos could easily abandon guidance from a previous administration , so too can the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` I think , within a year , we 're going to look back and there 's not going to be much of a mark , '' says Michael Petrilli , head of the conservative-leaning Thomas B. Fordham Institute , an education think tank .
And in Congress , Republicans and Democrats alike never shared DeVos ' vision for a diminished department , ignoring those stripped-down budget proposals , year after year .
DeVos made a more lasting impact on how schools must respond to incidents of sexual assault and harassment by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aimed at beefing up protections for accused college students , '' as NPR 's Tovia Smith wrote earlier this year .
These new regulations allow the representative of a student accused of sexual assault to cross examine his accuser in real time , raising concerns from survivor advocates that victims would be more reluctant to come forward .
The department also limited the definition of sexual harassment to behavior that is `` severe , pervasive and objectively offensive . ''
`` It communicated to survivors that they should not expect to be believed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guidance changes , the rigorous process of writing new rules , as well as opening them to public comment , would make it difficult for a Biden administration to quickly scrap them .
`` DeVos went through the full rulemaking process .
They spent a couple of years .
They dotted all the i 's , crossed all the t 's , '' says Rick Hess , who directs education policy at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute .
`` They came up with a Title IX playbook , which strikes me as both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , Hess argues , `` [ DeVos ] deserves credit that nobody 's likely to give her . ''
When the Obama administration cracked down on Corinthian Colleges and other predatory , for-profit schools that defrauded students , it also rewrote an old rule , known as Borrower Defense to Repayment , to help these student borrowers shed their unfair debts and start over .
Under Secretary DeVos , though , the Education Department did the administrative equivalent of throwing sand in the gears of Borrower Defense .
It stopped reviewing cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hundreds of thousands of students to pile up , then began the arduous process of rewriting the rule yet again .
At the same time , the department refused to release legal reviews written by the Obama administration that justified sweeping debt forgiveness .
`` While students should have protections from predatory practices , schools and taxpayers should also be treated fairly , '' DeVos said in a 2017 speech .
`` Under the previous rules , all one had to do was raise his or her hands to be entitled to so-called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the latest rewrite of Borrower Defense requires borrowers to meet a much higher standard before they can have their loans erased .
Most notably , they not only have to prove they were misled by a school but also provide evidence of the school 's intent to mislead them .
In fact , this new rule was considered so extreme that a bipartisan Congress voted to block it , forcing President Trump to use a rare veto .
`` The Department of Education under Secretary DeVos has gone above and beyond to deny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' says Toby Merrill , the director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending and an attorney who continues to fight DeVos ' moves in court .
`` Instead of getting the fresh start they were entitled to , former Corinthian students became political footballs in this administration , as did borrower defense rights as a whole . ''
Merrill says the DeVos rule will be difficult for a Biden administration to scrap without again going through an arduous rulemaking process .
That said , the rule is currently at the center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ District of New York , where a judge could order a return to the Obama-era rule .
On no other issue has Betsy DeVos been more consistent , or more consistently outspoken , than on her desire to expand school choice via charter schools and private school vouchers .
In a statement to NPR , DeVos ' press secretary , Angela Morabito , says `` school choice is on the march across the country , and Secretary DeVos will be remembered for leading the charge for every student 's right to seek out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the charge , she did .
But for all her efforts , DeVos has little to show for it .
The department 's 2018 budget proposal , for example , would have set aside more than $ 400 million to expand charter schools and private school vouchers , but Congress nixed the idea .
School choice advocates believed President Trump 's overhaul of the tax code would be the perfect opportunity to implement an ambitious voucher program , but that too never materialized .
When Congress agreed to send K-12 schools more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , DeVos angered even some Republicans by insisting that public schools should have to use more of that money to pay for services , like tutoring and transportation , for private school students .
Congress had agreed that services should be based on a private school 's share of low-income students ; DeVos argued they should be based on schools ' overall share of students .
This fight captures DeVos ' determination to use federal power to legitimize and nurture alternatives to public education , but , as was often the case , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a federal judge determined that the department had not only `` acted beyond its authority '' but misinterpreted the will of Congress , and DeVos later dropped the fight .
When asked to name DeVos ' lasting achievements , Morabito tops the list with Education Freedom Scholarships , calling the proposed voucher program `` the most transformative K-12 policy in our nation 's history . ''
It would have provided up to $ 5 billion a year for children to attend the school of their choice , including non-public and religious schools .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-sponsors in Congress , it does n't have the kind of broad support it needs to pass .
And so this `` most transformative K-12 policy in our nation 's history '' remains an airplane without wings .
In fact , Petrilli says , DeVos has been something of a drag on the school choice movement .
`` Charter schools used to have strong bipartisan support , '' Petrilli says , but DeVos and President Trump have been such polarizing figures that many Democrats abandoned the cause .
`` Now , Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school platform since charter schools were invented 25 years ago .
And I think that some of that has to be laid at the feet of Betsy DeVos . ''
It 's clear from the department 's own language , about school choice `` on the march '' and DeVos `` leading the charge , '' that this secretary tore into the debate looking for combat , not compromise .
As a result : School choice may soon be in retreat .
In early 2018 , teachers in West Virginia and Arizona did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the job to protest low pay and underfunded schools .
These demonstrations caught on with teachers in other states too , creating a national `` Red for Ed '' movement .
While DeVos had done little formal policy-making to earn the ire of teachers nationwide , her criticism of public schools and teachers unions , as well as her eagerness to boost charter , private and religious schools , made her an easy target and a powerful rallying cry for teachers who felt overworked and underappreciated .
Becky Pringle , the head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the National Education Association or NEA , remembers attending protests where `` at least 50 % of the signs had Betsy DeVos ' name on them , demanding her removal . ''
In the middle of this protest movement , the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that limited unions ' ability to collect fees — a move that many believed would imperil unions financially .
But the decision , coupled with DeVos ' knack for angering teachers , instead energized educators and their unions — an energy that President-elect Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same time educators were taking to the streets , NPR reported that a grant program , meant to pay the college bills of new teachers who promise to work in high-need schools , was instead unfairly saddling those teachers with debts because of small paperwork mistakes .
The TEACH Grant program had become a trap .
But in one of the more surprising moves of DeVos ' tenure , the Education Department sided with teachers and not only worked to improve the program , but officially apologized for its failings ( even though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump administration ) and created a path to make things right , ultimately helping more than 6,500 teachers shed their debts .
The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most disruptive events in the history of U.S. education .
Even now , many students have n't seen the inside of a school building since March .
Districts far and wide have been hit with crushing new costs at the same time the pandemic has hammered state education budgets .
Yet the nation 's education secretary played a largely passive role in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sidestepped calls from states and school leaders to provide science-driven guidance , alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , to help determine safety thresholds for closing and reopening schools .
She also parried calls to track school-based infections .
On the matter of helping schools weather the pandemic 's financial toll , DeVos has also been largely passive , with schools getting little beyond the aid Congress passed in March .
The secretary 's most forceful pandemic moment came in July , when she stood alongside President Trump in arguing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regardless of their ability to meet CDC safety recommendations .
It was a striking pivot for a secretary who had repeatedly cited local control of schools to argue against action at the federal level .
At a roundtable with DeVos , Trump threatened that his administration would even `` put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools , '' including saying ( erroneously ) that he could cut off federal school funds .
Where does all of this leave Betsy DeVos ' legacy as education secretary ?
Practically speaking , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in undoing , and can similarly be undone .
For the cause she most often championed , that of expanding families ' access to charter and private schools , she made little progress — and may have been counterproductive , scaring away sympathetic Democrats who did n't dare align with one of their party 's favorite villains .
Perhaps her most remarkable achievement was n't in the realm of policy at all , but in the fact that she became a household name — as a Cabinet secretary — and brought a white-hot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should educate its children .
`` I do n't think there is another secretary of education who is better known than her throughout our history , '' Pringle says .

How Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Will Be Remembered
Enlarge this image LA Johnson/NPR/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images LA Johnson/NPR/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
What to make of the tenure of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos depends, like beauty itself, on the eye of the beholder.
To the president who asked her to run the Department of Education, she was a loyal lieutenant who argued for her department's irrelevance in a nation where control of schools is a local affair — that is, until she argued the opposite, at the president's urging, and threatened schools with a loss of federal funding if they refused to reopen mid-pandemic.
To Christian conservatives, she was a hero who once proclaimed, "I fight against anyone who would have government be the parent to everyone." DeVos used her bully pulpit to champion religious education, push for school choice and help private schools in financial turmoil.
To her critics, including the nation's teachers unions, she was a stone-cold villain who famously suggested guns belong in some schools (to fend off bears), who needed the vice president's vote to survive confirmation and who spent four years disparaging American public education.
Whatever view you take of DeVos, here's a look back at the facts of her achievements and how likely they are to survive the next secretary.
Scuttling Obama-era guidance
One of the easiest ways an administration can undo the work of its political predecessor is to rollback what is called "guidance," and DeVos wasted little time helping to reverse Obama-era guidance protecting transgender students.
In May 2016, the Obama Justice and Education departments sent a letter to school districts, advising them that students should be allowed to use facilities, including bathrooms, that are consistent with their gender identity. But in February 2017, DeVos helped rescind that guidance. Doing so sent a message to school leaders that her department would be enforcing a much narrower view of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
Student advocates and civil rights groups excoriated DeVos for the move. Looking back, Liz King of the liberal-leaning Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights describes the rollback as "heartless, cruel, reckless and irresponsible."
In late 2018, DeVos made a similar move, dropping guidance that was meant to protect students of color from what the Obama administration called "discriminatory discipline." The 2014 guidance had encouraged schools to use alternatives to suspension and expulsion and came with a threat: If a school district's discipline patterns revealed significant racial disparities, it could face a federal civil rights investigation.
To justify rescinding the discipline guidance, DeVos' department used an argument she would often repeat: that states and local districts should make education policy, not the U.S. government. Or, as she said in October 2019, "government has never made anything better or cheaper, more effective or more efficient. And nowhere is that more true than in education."
Even when it came to budgeting for her agency, DeVos was ideologically consistent. She argued for less money from Congress, massive cuts in federal education spending and consolidating the programs that would remain (requests lawmakers repeatedly rebuffed).
The secretary talked often about what she perceived as the failures of America's public education system and, instead, touted controversial and unproven alternatives, such as distributing school funds to families, to spend where they like. "Instead of holding fast to what we know does not work," DeVos told lawmakers earlier this year, "let me suggest we find the courage to do something bold and begin a new era of student growth and achievement."
While this kind of bold talk proved popular with many of the president's supporters, her early moves made for a quicksand legacy — because just as DeVos could easily abandon guidance from a previous administration, so too can the next education secretary undo her work here.
"I think, within a year, we're going to look back, and there's not going to be much of a mark," says Michael Petrilli, head of the conservative-leaning Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank.
And in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike never shared DeVos' vision for a diminished department, ignoring those stripped-down budget proposals, year after year.
New sexual assault regulations
DeVos made a more lasting impact on how schools must respond to incidents of sexual assault and harassment by writing new regulations around Title IX "aimed at beefing up protections for accused college students," as NPR's Tovia Smith wrote earlier this year.
These new regulations allow the representative of a student accused of sexual assault to cross-examine his accuser in real time, raising concerns from survivor advocates that victims would be more reluctant to come forward. The department also limited the definition of sexual harassment to behavior that is "severe, pervasive and objectively offensive."
"It communicated to survivors that they should not expect to be believed," King says.
Unlike guidance changes, the rigorous process of writing new rules, as well as opening them to public comment, would make it difficult for a Biden administration to scrap them quickly.
"DeVos went through the full rule-making process. They spent a couple of years. They dotted all the i's, crossed all the t's," says Rick Hess, who directs education policy at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. "They came up with a Title IX playbook, which strikes me as both fair-minded and reasonable," and for that, Hess argues, "[DeVos] deserves credit that nobody's likely to give her."
Borrower Defense
When the Obama administration cracked down on Corinthian Colleges and other predatory, for-profit schools that defrauded students, it also rewrote an old rule, known as Borrower Defense to Repayment, to help these student borrowers shed their unfair debts and start over.
Under DeVos, though, the Education Department did the administrative equivalent of throwing sand in the gears of Borrower Defense. It stopped reviewing cases for months, allowing the complaints of hundreds of thousands of students to pile up, then began the arduous process of rewriting the rule yet again. At the same time, the department refused to release legal reviews written by the Obama administration that justified sweeping debt forgiveness.
"While students should have protections from predatory practices, schools and taxpayers should also be treated fairly," DeVos said in a 2017 speech. "Under the previous rules, all one had to do was raise his or her hands to be entitled to so-called free money."
Under DeVos, the latest rewrite of Borrower Defense requires borrowers to meet a much higher standard before they can have their loans erased. Most notably, they not only have to prove they were misled by a school but also provide evidence of the school's intent to mislead them. In fact, this new rule was considered so extreme that a bipartisan Congress voted to block it, forcing President Trump to use a rare veto.
"The Department of Education under Secretary DeVos has gone above and beyond to deny relief to borrowers cheated by for-profit colleges," says Toby Merrill, director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending and an attorney who continues to fight DeVos' moves in court. "Instead of getting the fresh start they were entitled to, former Corinthian students became political footballs in this administration, as did Borrower Defense rights as a whole."
Merrill says the DeVos rule will be difficult for a Biden administration to scrap without again going through an arduous rule-making process. That said, the rule is currently at the center of a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, where a judge could order a return to the Obama-era rule.
School choice
On no other issue has DeVos been more consistent, or more consistently outspoken, than on her desire to expand school choice via charter schools and private school vouchers. In a statement to NPR, DeVos' press secretary, Angela Morabito, says that "school choice is on the march across the country, and Secretary DeVos will be remembered for leading the charge for every student's right to seek out their best educational fit."
Lead the charge, she did. But for all her efforts, DeVos has little to show for it. The department's 2018 budget proposal, for example, would have set aside more than $400 million to expand charter schools and private school vouchers, but Congress nixed the idea. School choice advocates believed Trump's overhaul of the tax code would be the perfect opportunity to implement an ambitious voucher program, but that too never materialized.
When Congress agreed to send K-12 schools more than $13 billion to cover costs related to COVID-19, DeVos angered even some Republicans by insisting that public schools should have to use more of that money to pay for services, such as tutoring and transportation, for private school students. Congress had agreed that services should be based on a private school's share of low-income students; DeVos argued they should be based on schools' overall share of students.
This fight captures DeVos' determination to use federal power to legitimize and nurture alternatives to public education, but, as was often the case, her efforts failed. In September, a federal judge determined that the department had not only "acted beyond its authority" but misinterpreted the will of Congress, and DeVos later dropped the fight.
When asked to name DeVos' lasting achievements, Morabito tops the list with Education Freedom Scholarships, calling the proposed voucher program "the most transformative K-12 policy in our nation's history." It would have provided up to $5 billion a year for children to attend the school of their choice, including nonpublic and religious schools. While the bill has more than 120 co-sponsors in Congress, it doesn't have the kind of broad support it needs to pass. And so this "most transformative K-12 policy in our nation's history" remains an airplane without wings.
In fact, Petrilli says, DeVos has been something of a drag on the school choice movement. "Charter schools used to have strong bipartisan support," Petrilli says, but DeVos and Trump have been such polarizing figures that many Democrats abandoned the cause. "Now, Joe Biden has come in with the most anti-charter school platform since charter schools were invented 25 years ago. And I think that some of that has to be laid at the feet of Betsy DeVos."
It's clear from the department's own language, about school choice "on the march" and DeVos "leading the charge," that this secretary tore into the debate looking for combat, not compromise. As a result: School choice may soon be in retreat.
Teacher strikes
In early 2018, teachers in West Virginia and Arizona did something rare for educators: They walked off the job to protest low pay and underfunded schools. These demonstrations caught on with teachers in other states, too, creating a national "Red for Ed" movement.
While DeVos had done little formal policymaking to earn the ire of teachers nationwide, her criticism of public schools and teachers unions, as well as her eagerness to boost charter, private and religious schools, made her an easy target and a powerful rallying cry for teachers who felt overworked and underappreciated.
Becky Pringle, the head of the nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association, or NEA, remembers attending protests where "at least 50% of the signs had Betsy DeVos' name on them, demanding her removal."
In the middle of this protest movement, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that limited unions' ability to collect fees — a move that many believed would imperil unions financially. But the decision, coupled with DeVos' knack for angering teachers, instead energized educators and their unions — an energy that Biden's campaign harnessed.
TEACH Grant
At roughly the same time educators were taking to the streets, NPR reported that a grant program, meant to pay the college bills of new teachers who promise to work in high-need schools, was instead unfairly saddling those teachers with debts because of small paperwork mistakes. The TEACH Grant program had become a trap.
But in one of the more surprising moves of DeVos' tenure, the Education Department sided with teachers and not only worked to improve the program, but officially apologized for its failings (even though they were not the fault of the Trump administration) and created a path to make things right, ultimately helping more than 6,500 teachers shed their debts.
Coronavirus
The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most disruptive events in the history of U.S. education. Even now, many students haven't seen the inside of a school building since March. Districts far and wide have been hit with crushing new costs at the same time the pandemic has hammered state education budgets. Aside from distributing the more than $13 billion Congress set aside for K-12 schools in the CARES Act, DeVos has been largely passive on the matter of helping schools further weather the pandemic's financial toll — which dozens of education organizations estimated in May would take at least another $175 billion.
In the early days of the pandemic, DeVos did waive federal testing requirements for K-12 schools and worked with Congress to suspend payments on federal student loans and temporarily drop interest rates to 0%. But she has since sidestepped calls from states and school leaders to provide science-driven guidance, alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to help determine safety thresholds for closing and reopening schools. She also parried calls to track school-based infections.
The secretary's most forceful pandemic moment came in July when she stood alongside Trump in arguing that schools should reopen in the fall, regardless of their ability to meet CDC safety recommendations. It was a striking pivot for a secretary who had repeatedly cited local control of schools to argue against action at the federal level. At a roundtable with DeVos, Trump threatened that his administration would even "put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools," including saying (erroneously) that he could cut off federal school funds.
Household name
Where does all of this leave DeVos' legacy as education secretary?
Practically speaking, much of the work she did was in undoing, and can similarly be undone.
For the cause she most often championed, that of expanding families' access to charter and private schools, she made little progress — and may have been counterproductive, scaring away sympathetic Democrats who didn't dare align with one of their party's favorite villains.
Perhaps her most remarkable achievement wasn't in the realm of policy at all, but in the fact that she became a household name — as a Cabinet secretary — and brought a white-hot spotlight to the debate about how America should educate its children.
"I don't think there is another secretary of education who is better known than her throughout our history," the NEA's Pringle says.


npr--2020-11-19--In U.S. Cities, The Health Effects Of Past Housing Discrimination Are Plain To See

In U.S. Cities , The Health Effects Of Past Housing Discrimination Are Plain To See The lingering harms of racist lending policies known as redlining are apparent today .
Researchers created a set of interactive maps allowing you to explore the current impacts in your city .
Torey Edmonds has lived in the same house in an African-American neighborhood of the East End of Richmond , Va. , for all of her 61 years .
When she was a little girl , she says her neighborhood was a place of tidy homes with rose bushes and fruit trees , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beauty salons , movie theaters and several grocery stores .
But as she grew up , she says , the neighborhood went downhill .
By the 1970s , stores had disappeared ; those that did return were corner shops selling cheap alcohol but `` no real food , '' Edmonds says .
Houses declined too , as homeowners – including her parents – were rejected for loans .
`` If the bank 's not loaning , she says , `` then things deteriorate . ''
Today , Edmonds ' neighborhood remains overwhelmingly African-American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 60 % .
Many of her neighbors suffer chronic medical conditions like kidney disease and diabetes .
`` They age differently , '' says Edmonds , who works for Virginia Commonwealth University promoting community health .
`` We have a lot of our neighbors that have health challenges . ''
But it 's not just Edmonds ' neighborhood .
In city after city across the U.S. , from Milwaukee to Miami , researchers have found a disturbing pattern : People who live in neighborhoods that were once subjected to a discriminatory lending practice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experience shorter life spans – sometimes , as much as 20 or 30 years shorter than other neighborhoods in the same city .
Researchers from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition , the University of Richmond and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee analyzed historic redlining maps from 142 urban areas across the U.S. — these maps , created in the 1930s , classified Black and immigrant communities as risky places to make home loans .
They compared the maps to the current economic status and health outcomes in those neighborhoods today and found higher rates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher rates of chronic diseases including asthma , diabetes , hypertension , obesity and kidney disease .
These once-redlined neighborhoods are also more likely to have greater social vulnerability , meaning they 're less able to withstand natural and human disasters because of their more limited resources .
The researchers published interactive versions of these city-by-city maps online for the public to explore their own communities .
If your neighborhood was mapped back in the 1930s , these graphics allow you to see how it ranked back then and how it fares today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today , the researchers note , is that these neighborhoods have higher levels of many conditions that raise the risk of severe COVID-19 .
`` That 's a startling revelation , that this global pandemic is going to have a more serious impact on communities that were redlined by official policy in the 1930s , '' says Jason Richardson , research director for the NCRC and a co-author of the study .
The redlining maps originated in the aftermath of the Great Depression , when the federal government set out to evaluate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the country .
The maps , created by the federal Home Owners ' Loan Corporation , color-coded neighborhoods by credit worthiness .
Areas with African-Americans and immigrants were almost always considered the highest risk , and they were marked in red on maps ... hence , `` redlining . ''
That practice and other discriminatory housing policies of the time helped concentrate poverty in communities of color for generations .
`` When banks and other actors are discouraged from lending in the community , you see a very kind of predictable arc @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` When I stop and think about it , I 'm kind of shocked by the lingering impact of these policies . ''
Redlining made it difficult , if not impossible , to buy or refinance .
A lack of investment meant houses fell into disrepair .
That led to health hazards like mold and lead paint .
Industrial sites were more likely to be located near redlined neighborhoods , which meant more exposure to pollution .
As areas declined , retailers left , including grocery stores , which meant less access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had less access to parks and other green spaces , meaning fewer places to exercise .
All of those factors combined to create an environment conducive to poorer health outcomes , the researchers say .
`` Where we live impacts our exposure to health-promoting resources and opportunities , '' says Helen Meier , an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and co-author of the study .
`` Redlining has systematically shaped characteristics of the built environment in neighborhoods [ in ways ] that are impacting our health . ''
The findings come as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me , I know , '' she says .
The average life expectancy in her neighborhood is just 68 years .
That 's 21 years less than in a well-off predominantly white community a few miles away in the West End of Richmond — a community that got the highest rating on those government redlining maps back in the 1930s .
At one point in the pandemic , Edmonds ' zip code — 23223 — also had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Richmond .
Dr. Lisa Cooper , a health disparities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Public Health , was not involved in the research .
She says that people often think of health as the result of individual choices .
But she says the redlining study 's findings show how health is also a result of a lack of choices baked into the very fabric of American cities by racist policies made long ago .
`` If you just happened to be born in that neighborhood , who 's to say you would n't be in the same predicament ? ''
Cooper says .
Cooper notes that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ linking residential segregation to negative health effects .
It 's less about who your neighbors are than about the concentration of disadvantage . ''
Redlining played a major role in shaping the demographics of modern American urban areas , says Robert Nelson , a historian at the University of Richmond who focuses on urban housing policy and race .
And the racism underlying those redlining decisions is undeniable , he says .
He 's a co-author of the study on redlining and modern health outcomes .
As director of the Digital Scholarship Lab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an interactive project that visualizes the study 's findings ; it juxtaposes the comments made by federal surveyors who rated neighborhoods on those 1930s maps with their modern-day health indicators .
`` Infiltration of negroes '' is a common reason cited to explain an area 's rating as high risk .
`` These are not just racist attitudes .
This is policy that is being made by the federal government in these documents , '' Nelson says .
He says redlining did n't create residential segregation but helped cement it , because the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a standard which private lenders followed .
`` If you want an example of what systemic or structural racism looks like , you really are n't going to find a better example '' than these maps , he says .
Along with other federal segregationist housing policies of the time , redlining helped turn white families into homeowners and moved them into the suburbs , while leaving out many families of color , particularly African-American families , many of whom later ended up pushed into urban housing projects , he says .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to build intergenerational wealth , and black families are just cut off from those opportunities for generations , '' says Nelson .
Although redlining was outlawed by the 1968 Fair Housing Act , the damage was already done , he says .
The redlining maps were first digitized in 2016 .
Since then , several studies have examined the links between redlining and health outcomes today in specific cities or regions of the U.S. , says Dr. Nancy Krieger , a professor of social epidemiology at the Harvard T.H .
Chan School of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's work has found links between redlining and preterm births in New York City and late-stage cancer diagnoses in Massachusetts .
Other work has found that formerly redlined neighborhoods tend to be hotter than non-redlined areas in the same city , with fewer trees , which also impacts health , as NPR has previously reported .
Krieger , who was not involved in the study from NCRC and its partner universities , says its findings are important because they offer the first nationwide look at the links between redlining and a range of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ways in which racist policies of the past have ongoing ramifications .
`` History never really says goodbye , '' Krieger says , quoting the Uruguyan writer Eduardo Galeano .
`` History says , see you later . ''

In U.S. Cities, The Health Effects Of Past Housing Discrimination Are Plain To See
Enlarge this image toggle caption Max Posner for NPR Max Posner for NPR
Torey Edmonds has lived in the same house in an African-American neighborhood of the East End of Richmond, Va., for all of her 61 years. When she was a little girl, she says her neighborhood was a place of tidy homes with rose bushes and fruit trees, and residents had ready access to shops like beauty salons, movie theaters and several grocery stores.
But as she grew up, she says, the neighborhood went downhill. By the 1970s, stores had disappeared; those that did return were corner shops selling cheap alcohol but "no real food," Edmonds says. Houses declined too, as homeowners – including her parents – were rejected for loans.
"If the bank's not loaning, she says, "then things deteriorate."
Today, Edmonds' neighborhood remains overwhelmingly African-American, with a poverty rate of nearly 60%. Many of her neighbors suffer chronic medical conditions like kidney disease and diabetes.
"They age differently," says Edmonds, who works for Virginia Commonwealth University promoting community health. "We have a lot of our neighbors that have health challenges."
Loading...
But it's not just Edmonds' neighborhood. In city after city across the U.S., from Milwaukee to Miami, researchers have found a disturbing pattern: People who live in neighborhoods that were once subjected to a discriminatory lending practice called redlining are today more likely to experience shorter life spans – sometimes, as much as 20 or 30 years shorter than other neighborhoods in the same city.
Researchers from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, the University of Richmond and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee analyzed historic redlining maps from 142 urban areas across the U.S. — these maps, created in the 1930s, classified Black and immigrant communities as risky places to make home loans. They compared the maps to the current economic status and health outcomes in those neighborhoods today and found higher rates of poverty, shorter life spans and higher rates of chronic diseases including asthma, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and kidney disease.
These once-redlined neighborhoods are also more likely to have greater social vulnerability, meaning they're less able to withstand natural and human disasters because of their more limited resources.
The researchers published interactive versions of these city-by-city maps online for the public to explore their own communities. If your neighborhood was mapped back in the 1930s, these graphics allow you to see how it ranked back then and how it fares today.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Max Posner for NPR Max Posner for NPR
What makes these findings especially urgent today, the researchers note, is that these neighborhoods have higher levels of many conditions that raise the risk of severe COVID-19.
"That's a startling revelation, that this global pandemic is going to have a more serious impact on communities that were redlined by official policy in the 1930s," says Jason Richardson, research director for the NCRC and a co-author of the study.
Redlining: Federally sanctioned discrimination
The redlining maps originated in the aftermath of the Great Depression, when the federal government set out to evaluate the riskiness of mortgages in major metropolitan areas of the country. The maps, created by the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation, color-coded neighborhoods by credit worthiness. Areas with African-Americans and immigrants were almost always considered the highest risk, and they were marked in red on maps... hence, "redlining."
Enlarge this image toggle caption University of Richmond Digital Scholarship Lab University of Richmond Digital Scholarship Lab
Enlarge this image toggle caption Max Posner for NPR Max Posner for NPR
That practice and other discriminatory housing policies of the time helped concentrate poverty in communities of color for generations.
"When banks and other actors are discouraged from lending in the community, you see a very kind of predictable arc of that community," Richardson says. "When I stop and think about it, I'm kind of shocked by the lingering impact of these policies."
Redlining made it difficult, if not impossible, to buy or refinance. A lack of investment meant houses fell into disrepair. That led to health hazards like mold and lead paint. Industrial sites were more likely to be located near redlined neighborhoods, which meant more exposure to pollution.
As areas declined, retailers left, including grocery stores, which meant less access to healthy food. These neighborhoods also had less access to parks and other green spaces, meaning fewer places to exercise. All of those factors combined to create an environment conducive to poorer health outcomes, the researchers say.
"Where we live impacts our exposure to health-promoting resources and opportunities,"says Helen Meier, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and co-author of the study. "Redlining has systematically shaped characteristics of the built environment in neighborhoods [in ways] that are impacting our health."
Loading...
The findings come as no surprise to Edmonds. "Trust me, I know," she says.
The average life expectancy in her neighborhood is just 68 years. That's 21 years less than in a well-off predominantly white community a few miles away in the West End of Richmond — a community that got the highest rating on those government redlining maps back in the 1930s. At one point in the pandemic, Edmonds' zip code — 23223 — also had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Richmond.
Dr. Lisa Cooper, a health disparities researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was not involved in the research. She says that people often think of health as the result of individual choices. But she says the redlining study's findings show how health is also a result of a lack of choices baked into the very fabric of American cities by racist policies made long ago.
"If you just happened to be born in that neighborhood, who's to say you wouldn't be in the same predicament?" Cooper says.
Cooper notes that there's a large body of research linking residential segregation to negative health effects. It's less about who your neighbors are than about the concentration of disadvantage."
Structural racism, illustrated
Redlining played a major role in shaping the demographics of modern American urban areas, says Robert Nelson, a historian at the University of Richmond who focuses on urban housing policy and race. And the racism underlying those redlining decisions is undeniable, he says. He's a co-author of the study on redlining and modern health outcomes.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Max Posner for NPR Max Posner for NPR
As director of the Digital Scholarship Lab at the university, Nelson helped create an interactive project that visualizes the study's findings; it juxtaposes the comments made by federal surveyors who rated neighborhoods on those 1930s maps with their modern-day health indicators. "Infiltration of negroes" is a common reason cited to explain an area's rating as high risk.
"These are not just racist attitudes. This is policy that is being made by the federal government in these documents," Nelson says. He says redlining didn't create residential segregation but helped cement it, because the practice was a federal policy that set a standard which private lenders followed.
"If you want an example of what systemic or structural racism looks like, you really aren't going to find a better example" than these maps, he says.
Along with other federal segregationist housing policies of the time, redlining helped turn white families into homeowners and moved them into the suburbs, while leaving out many families of color, particularly African-American families, many of whom later ended up pushed into urban housing projects, he says.
"This is a way for white families to build intergenerational wealth, and black families are just cut off from those opportunities for generations," says Nelson. Although redlining was outlawed by the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the damage was already done, he says.
Links between redlining and health
The redlining maps were first digitized in 2016. Since then, several studies have examined the links between redlining and health outcomes today in specific cities or regions of the U.S., says Dr. Nancy Krieger, a professor of social epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. For example, Krieger's work has found links between redlining and preterm births in New York City and late-stage cancer diagnoses in Massachusetts.
Other work has found that formerly redlined neighborhoods tend to be hotter than non-redlined areas in the same city, with fewer trees, which also impacts health, as NPR has previously reported.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Max Posner for NPR Max Posner for NPR
Krieger, who was not involved in the study from NCRC and its partner universities, says its findings are important because they offer the first nationwide look at the links between redlining and a range of public health outcomes. They also emphasize the ways in which racist policies of the past have ongoing ramifications.
"History never really says goodbye," Krieger says, quoting the Uruguyan writer Eduardo Galeano. "History says, see you later."