npr--2020-06-15--Rancor Erupts In 'LA Times' Newsroom Over Race, Equity And Protest Coverage

Rancor Erupts In 'LA Times ' Newsroom Over Race , Equity And Protest Coverage The Los Angeles Times ' top editor is scrambling to placate journalists of color after years of often-unfulfilled promises by the paper to make grand progress in the diversity of the newsroom 's ranks .
Some journalists have used terms such as `` internal uprising '' to describe their anger over racial inequity at the paper .
Scores have participated in intense internal debates over the LA Times ' coverage of recent protests and hiring practices , to the point that senior editors have weighed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` I would say in the case of black journalists , that we do not have enough journalists in positions where they are able to help us tell stories that really need to be told , '' LA Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine told NPR .
`` I 've asked myself in hindsight what got us to where we are now . ''
Related conflicts have toppled leaders at other news outlets in recent weeks .
Leaders at The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer stepped down after the publication of an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respectively , about the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis .
Bon Appétit 's chief editor resigned , and a top ABC News executive was put on leave over accusations they mistreated colleagues of color .
In Los Angeles , the inequities sparking today 's rancor have existed for years , long before the current owner or editors were involved .
But they were brought to a head , journalists throughout the paper say , by Floyd 's killing and the protests demanding societal change .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement aggressively and from a variety of angles .
Houston bureau chief Molly Hennessy-Fiske , an experienced police reporter and war correspondent , was among those tear-gassed and shot with rubber bullets by police in Minneapolis .
On Sunday , the Times published a piece exploring the implications of the evolution of the way black , deaf Angelenos translate `` Black Lives Matter '' into American Sign Language .
In an internal Slack exchange last week about recent coverage of protests , however , LA Times film reporter Sonaiya Kelley , who is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too squarely and too often on the question of looting .
`` We ca n't constantly pander to our primarily white audience with stories like this that affirm their biases , '' she wrote .
`` One of the responsibilities of the job is to state the facts and tell it true .
There 's so much implicit bias in those few sentences alone .
And it 's alienating the viewers we 're trying to attract .
As well as the [ people of color ] journalists like me who contribute so much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ read stories like this that oversimplify our struggles and realities . ''
In response to such objections , Pearlstine , who is white , promised a formal review of the way the paper has covered and characterized the protests .
He also pledged new mechanics of writing ; From now on , the LA Times will capitalize the `` B '' in the term `` Black Americans , '' as is done for Latinos and Asian Americans .
And Pearlstine has promised to hire a new senior news executive for diversity and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be black .
`` The conversation taking place at The Los Angeles Times and across the country reflects a necessary and long overdue shift in thinking about racism , '' Pearlstine wrote last week in an internal memo to staff obtained by NPR .
`` Without exception The Times is opposed to racism .
We must re-evaluate and improve upon our own performance as we commit The Times to documenting and fighting racism whenever and wherever we encounter it . ''
The memo followed an intense virtual meeting held by editors of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , attended by some of the most senior news leaders , though not Pearlstine .
And the internal Slack messaging boards have been burning up .
Black reporter paid 'shameful ' salary as others wooed away A veteran news executive with national stature who has held the top job for two years in Los Angeles , Pearlstine appears to face increasing skepticism .
The population of Los Angeles County is about 9 % black .
Black journalists made up about 4 % of the newspaper 's overall newsroom last year .
And there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ metro desk of nearly 90 people covering greater Los Angeles , the largest desk at the paper .
There is also a black editor and a newly added black columnist .
`` I think if you look at raw numbers , we are as inclusive a newsroom as any I 'm aware of in a major media company in the U.S. , '' Pearlstine told NPR .
`` But as a reflection of Los Angeles , we are far from where we should be . ''
Late Sunday , Pearlstine received a vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the paper : its owner and executive chairman , Patrick Soon-Shiong .
`` I am responding with a heavy heart to those who have questioned that commitment , '' Soon-Shiong said in a statement to NPR .
`` I hired Norm Pearlstine not only for his integrity and passion for great journalism , but also because he shared our desire to create a leadership team where women and people of color are ascendant .
`` Despite the industry 's struggles , he and his team continue to build a diverse , inclusive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It 's an ongoing process , as is providing coverage that reflects and serves our community , '' Others at the paper say Pearlstine was alerted to racial disparities in the newsroom early on in his tenure .
Pearlstine was hired as executive editor in June 2018 after serving as a senior adviser to Soon-Shiong , a billionaire inventor and physician who had just bought the newspaper .
A former top news executive at The Wall Street Journal , Time Inc. and Bloomberg News , Pearlstine had initially been expected to counsel Soon-Shiong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ newsroom .
Just a few weeks later , in July 2018 , Pearlstine went to a lunch at a Spanish fusion restaurant in downtown Los Angeles with a half-dozen new colleagues , including editors .
Several warned him that he needed to find ways to give notable pay increases to black and Latino reporters , according to three veteran Times journalists .
A number of prominent black reporters had been poached by the New York Times , ESPN and other outlets over the years .
The colleagues told Pearlstine the pay inequities were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times city editor Hector Becerra wrote to Pearlstine asking for a raise for several journalists and highlighting one in particular , Angel Jennings , according to an email reviewed by NPR .
`` I want to raise a particular moral issue with Angel ( I would otherwise argue that all of these cases , at this point , are moral issues ) : Through no fault of the current leadership , Angel is the only African-American reporter in Metro .
In fact , she 's one of the only ones in the entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` The L.A. Times does not have a good reputation when it comes to black journalists , '' he added .
`` She should get something .
[ She receives ] a shameful salary for anyone with her experience . ''
Pearlstine turned him down , saying the company 's new ownership was entering into negotiations for the first collective bargaining agreement with Los Angeles Times Guild , the newsroom 's first union .
He tells NPR that he had expected those negotiations would wrap up quickly , with significant pay bumps for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jennings .
Instead , the contract talks lasted more than a year .
`` Over the time between that conversation and the ratification of an agreement , there were some efforts to be responsive to her concerns , '' Pearlstine said , adding that he did not want to be more specific about an individual journalist 's situation .
`` And those have continued since then . ''
Pearlstine says he and Soon-Shiong were committed to enhancing the racial diversity of the staff .
While his senior leadership team is notably diverse , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below the top ranks .
Staffers note that Pearlstine and his new team of news leaders embarked upon a hiring spree that started that year , bringing more than a hundred new journalists on board to reinvigorate a withered staff .
And yet the diversity numbers did not noticeably budge .
( A corporate spokeswoman says that new statistics about newsroom demographics are expected to be released to the staff later on Monday . )
`` A very large part of the hiring that was done , especially in the first 12 months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black journalists particularly , but Latino journalists as well , to the degree that people wanted or felt they had reason to expect , '' Pearlstine tells NPR .
New pledges echo past promises that failed to deliver Pearlstine 's memos last week about the need for change at the paper in light of the national protests over racial injustice made many LA Times journalists anguished and angry , according to Slack messages reviewed by NPR .
One reporter said Pearlstine 's promises to review processes and set off a greater newsroom discussion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the Rodney King riots tore through LA for five days .
Another asked why the newspaper failed to hire or even interview strong Latino and black job candidates .
One Latina reporter , Esmeralda Bermudez , said she had repeatedly offered senior news editors a long list of potential hires .
`` Over the past two years , I submitted three memos to management with 40-50 promising Latino candidates ( writers , photographers , columnists , mid-level editors , editors with masthead potential ) , '' Bermudez wrote last week on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( with the bold-faced emphasis hers ) .
`` Not a single person has been hired off these lists .
From what I know , only one writer was brought in for an interview . ''
In written comments to NPR , Bermudez added , `` It sent a message that in a region that 's half Latino and Latinos make up a small percentage of our newsroom , the hiring of Latinos is not a priority . ''
Latinos make up about 14 % of the newsroom , as do Asian Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American Society of News Editors .
Much resentment focused on the role of the two-year Metpro training program , intended to identify , cultivate and hire promising journalists of color early in their careers at the Times and its sister papers .
Instead , some staffers at the newspaper argue it was used to boost numbers of minority journalists and to plug vacancies inexpensively .
NPR spoke to six nonwhite LA Times journalists about Metpro .
They said they did not want to be named , fearing it could harm their careers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Los Angeles-based parent company of the LA Times until its sale to the Chicago-based Tribune Co. in 2000 .
Tribune held the paper under various incarnations , until selling it in 2018 to Soon-Shiong .
On the Slack channels and in interviews with NPR , journalists said Metpro served to bring in African Americans and other journalists from underrepresented races at a junior level .
As a result , these journalists say , their pay remained lower than that of peers with comparable experience for years .
Some who have been through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ career , as Errin Haines and Akilah Johnson did on NPR 's On Point last week .
Others say it failed to set them up to succeed .
`` I wanted to learn from the best — or from some of the best — journalists in the world , and that 's what it was billed to me as , '' says former Metpro fellow Michael Livingston , who is black .
`` And I did n't get that . ''
The 31-year-old had previously worked as a crime reporter for small papers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrapped up his Metpro stint in November 2018 , about five months after Soon-Shiong and Pearlstine took control of the paper .
`` There is a lack of structure , a lack of guidance , lack of communication for the journalists of color that they bring into this newsroom , '' says Livingston , who has left journalism .
He said he needed further coaching to flourish professionally but was repeatedly denied opportunities to report .
Livingston says he temporarily filled a reporting job at the Times ' suburban sister paper in Glendale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to consider him for a permanent opening .
Pearlstine tells NPR that he believes the LA Times has improved over recent years .
`` It 's a work in progress , '' Pearlstine says .
`` I think the guild feels that it 's not where it would like to be .
I think Patrick [ Soon-Shiong ] probably thinks he spent more money than he ever imagined possible . ''
The newspaper union first won recognition in January 2018 , which helped lead to the sale of the LA Times to Soon-Shiong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of negotiations to create the paper 's first union contract , news guild leaders proposed increasing pay for many veteran reporters and broadening initiatives to bring in more female staffers and journalists of color .
Soon-Shiong , a South African immigrant of Chinese descent , has spoken passionately of the need for racial pluralism .
In December 2018 , internal union emails from a multimedia editor on the negotiating team reflected the company 's resistance to proposals that it interview `` at least two candidates from traditionally underrepresented groups , including women , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to correspondence reviewed by NPR .
The proposal resembles the NFL 's so-called `` Rooney Rule , '' which requires teams to interview a diversity of candidates for head coaching and other top jobs , and is increasingly common in corporate America .
Union negotiators had advocated that the newspaper also adopt a goal of reflecting the demographics of Los Angeles County , which is more than three-quarters nonwhite .
But a senior editor serving as a negotiator for management , Colin Crawford , questioned whether mirroring those demographics would help the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to the contemporaneous email .
And the account said Crawford argued that some beats , including sports and Silicon Valley , would be hard to staff with black or Latino reporters .
( Crawford did not respond to NPR 's requests for comment . )
The newspaper ultimately agreed to the Rooney Rule clause .
Pearlstine says he has embraced the practice throughout his career .
But he added a cautionary note : '' It 's one thing to say before you 'll fill a job , you want to interview at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basis of race or gender or sexual orientation or would make you a more inclusive newsroom , '' he said .
`` That 's a very different conversation from saying the next two positions in Metro will not be filled unless they 're with black journalists . ''
In his statement to NPR , Soon-Shiong said , `` Michele 's and my decision to acquire the Los Angeles Times reflected our lifelong commitment to overcoming racial inequality and supporting diversity .
We had come to America from South Africa where , under apartheid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as 'non-whites , ' without the right to vote , own property , attend white schools or visit white hospitals . ''
He concluded , `` We shall continue to build the L.A. Times to be a beacon of equality and inspiration for civil society . ''

Rancor Erupts In 'LA Times' Newsroom Over Race, Equity And Protest Coverage
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sarah Morris/Getty Images Sarah Morris/Getty Images
The Los Angeles Times' top editor is scrambling to placate journalists of color after years of often-unfulfilled promises by the paper to make grand progress in the diversity of the newsroom's ranks.
Some journalists have used terms such as "internal uprising" to describe their anger over racial inequity at the paper. Scores have participated in intense internal debates over the LA Times' coverage of recent protests and hiring practices, to the point that senior editors have weighed in, promising to listen and learn.
"I would say in the case of black journalists, that we do not have enough journalists in positions where they are able to help us tell stories that really need to be told," LA Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine told NPR. "I've asked myself in hindsight what got us to where we are now."
Related conflicts have toppled leaders at other news outlets in recent weeks. Leaders at The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer stepped down after the publication of an inflammatory op-ed and a provocative headline, respectively, about the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Bon Appétit's chief editor resigned, and a top ABC News executive was put on leave over accusations they mistreated colleagues of color.
In Los Angeles, the inequities sparking today's rancor have existed for years, long before the current owner or editors were involved. But they were brought to a head, journalists throughout the paper say, by Floyd's killing and the protests demanding societal change.
Accusations of 'pandering' to white readers
The LA Times has covered the protest movement aggressively and from a variety of angles. Houston bureau chief Molly Hennessy-Fiske, an experienced police reporter and war correspondent, was among those tear-gassed and shot with rubber bullets by police in Minneapolis. On Sunday, the Times published a piece exploring the implications of the evolution of the way black, deaf Angelenos translate "Black Lives Matter" into American Sign Language.
In an internal Slack exchange last week about recent coverage of protests, however, LA Times film reporter Sonaiya Kelley, who is black, said the newspaper had focused too squarely and too often on the question of looting.
"We can't constantly pander to our primarily white audience with stories like this that affirm their biases," she wrote. "One of the responsibilities of the job is to state the facts and tell it true. There's so much implicit bias in those few sentences alone. And it's alienating the viewers we're trying to attract. As well as the [people of color] journalists like me who contribute so much to this paper and then have to read stories like this that oversimplify our struggles and realities."
In response to such objections, Pearlstine, who is white, promised a formal review of the way the paper has covered and characterized the protests. He also pledged new mechanics of writing; From now on, the LA Times will capitalize the "B" in the term "Black Americans," as is done for Latinos and Asian Americans. And Pearlstine has promised to hire a new senior news executive for diversity and that the next hires for the metro desk will be black.
"The conversation taking place at The Los Angeles Times and across the country reflects a necessary and long overdue shift in thinking about racism," Pearlstine wrote last week in an internal memo to staff obtained by NPR. "Without exception The Times is opposed to racism. We must re-evaluate and improve upon our own performance as we commit The Times to documenting and fighting racism whenever and wherever we encounter it."
The memo followed an intense virtual meeting held by editors of the metro news desk with its staffers, attended by some of the most senior news leaders, though not Pearlstine. And the internal Slack messaging boards have been burning up.
Black reporter paid 'shameful' salary as others wooed away
A veteran news executive with national stature who has held the top job for two years in Los Angeles, Pearlstine appears to face increasing skepticism. The population of Los Angeles County is about 9% black. Black journalists made up about 4% of the newspaper's overall newsroom last year. And there is just one black reporter on the metro desk of nearly 90 people covering greater Los Angeles, the largest desk at the paper. There is also a black editor and a newly added black columnist.
"I think if you look at raw numbers, we are as inclusive a newsroom as any I'm aware of in a major media company in the U.S.," Pearlstine told NPR. "But as a reflection of Los Angeles, we are far from where we should be."
Late Sunday, Pearlstine received a vote of public support from a key figure at the paper: its owner and executive chairman, Patrick Soon-Shiong. "I am responding with a heavy heart to those who have questioned that commitment," Soon-Shiong said in a statement to NPR. "I hired Norm Pearlstine not only for his integrity and passion for great journalism, but also because he shared our desire to create a leadership team where women and people of color are ascendant.
"Despite the industry's struggles, he and his team continue to build a diverse, inclusive newsroom," Soon-Shiong wrote. "It's an ongoing process, as is providing coverage that reflects and serves our community,"
Others at the paper say Pearlstine was alerted to racial disparities in the newsroom early on in his tenure.
Pearlstine was hired as executive editor in June 2018 after serving as a senior adviser to Soon-Shiong, a billionaire inventor and physician who had just bought the newspaper. A former top news executive at The Wall Street Journal, Time Inc. and Bloomberg News, Pearlstine had initially been expected to counsel Soon-Shiong about who to select to lead the newsroom.
Just a few weeks later, in July 2018, Pearlstine went to a lunch at a Spanish fusion restaurant in downtown Los Angeles with a half-dozen new colleagues, including editors. Several warned him that he needed to find ways to give notable pay increases to black and Latino reporters, according to three veteran Times journalists. A number of prominent black reporters had been poached by the New York Times, ESPN and other outlets over the years. The colleagues told Pearlstine the pay inequities were glaring.
Several weeks later, LA Times city editor Hector Becerra wrote to Pearlstine asking for a raise for several journalists and highlighting one in particular, Angel Jennings, according to an email reviewed by NPR.
"I want to raise a particular moral issue with Angel (I would otherwise argue that all of these cases, at this point, are moral issues): Through no fault of the current leadership, Angel is the only African-American reporter in Metro. In fact, she's one of the only ones in the entire L.A. Times," Becerra wrote.
"The L.A. Times does not have a good reputation when it comes to black journalists," he added. "She should get something. [She receives] a shameful salary for anyone with her experience."
Pearlstine turned him down, saying the company's new ownership was entering into negotiations for the first collective bargaining agreement with Los Angeles Times Guild, the newsroom's first union. He tells NPR that he had expected those negotiations would wrap up quickly, with significant pay bumps for many reporters overdue a raise, including Jennings. Instead, the contract talks lasted more than a year.
"Over the time between that conversation and the ratification of an agreement, there were some efforts to be responsive to her concerns," Pearlstine said, adding that he did not want to be more specific about an individual journalist's situation. "And those have continued since then."
Pearlstine says he and Soon-Shiong were committed to enhancing the racial diversity of the staff. While his senior leadership team is notably diverse, Pearlstine concedes he fell short in representation below the top ranks.
Staffers note that Pearlstine and his new team of news leaders embarked upon a hiring spree that started that year, bringing more than a hundred new journalists on board to reinvigorate a withered staff. And yet the diversity numbers did not noticeably budge. (A corporate spokeswoman says that new statistics about newsroom demographics are expected to be released to the staff later on Monday.)
"A very large part of the hiring that was done, especially in the first 12 months, did not advance the number of black journalists particularly, but Latino journalists as well, to the degree that people wanted or felt they had reason to expect," Pearlstine tells NPR.
New pledges echo past promises that failed to deliver
Pearlstine's memos last week about the need for change at the paper in light of the national protests over racial injustice made many LA Times journalists anguished and angry, according to Slack messages reviewed by NPR.
One reporter said Pearlstine's promises to review processes and set off a greater newsroom discussion simply echo pledges made in 1992, after the Rodney King riots tore through LA for five days. Another asked why the newspaper failed to hire or even interview strong Latino and black job candidates. One Latina reporter, Esmeralda Bermudez, said she had repeatedly offered senior news editors a long list of potential hires.
"Over the past two years, I submitted three memos to management with 40-50 promising Latino candidates (writers, photographers, columnists, mid-level editors, editors with masthead potential)," Bermudez wrote last week on a Slack channel dedicated to questions of diversity (with the bold-faced emphasis hers). "Not a single person has been hired off these lists. From what I know, only one writer was brought in for an interview."
In written comments to NPR, Bermudez added, "It sent a message that in a region that's half Latino and Latinos make up a small percentage of our newsroom, the hiring of Latinos is not a priority." Latinos make up about 14% of the newsroom, as do Asian Americans, according to the latest figures from the American Society of News Editors.
Metpro training program elevates few journalists of color
Much resentment focused on the role of the two-year Metpro training program, intended to identify, cultivate and hire promising journalists of color early in their careers at the Times and its sister papers. Instead, some staffers at the newspaper argue it was used to boost numbers of minority journalists and to plug vacancies inexpensively. NPR spoke to six nonwhite LA Times journalists about Metpro. They said they did not want to be named, fearing it could harm their careers.
Metpro was created under Times-Mirror, the Los Angeles-based parent company of the LA Times until its sale to the Chicago-based Tribune Co. in 2000. Tribune held the paper under various incarnations, until selling it in 2018 to Soon-Shiong.
On the Slack channels and in interviews with NPR, journalists said Metpro served to bring in African Americans and other journalists from underrepresented races at a junior level. As a result, these journalists say, their pay remained lower than that of peers with comparable experience for years.
Some who have been through the program hail it for furthering their career, as Errin Haines and Akilah Johnson did on NPR's On Point last week. Others say it failed to set them up to succeed.
"I wanted to learn from the best — or from some of the best — journalists in the world, and that's what it was billed to me as," says former Metpro fellow Michael Livingston, who is black. "And I didn't get that."
The 31-year-old had previously worked as a crime reporter for small papers in Virginia and South Carolina. He wrapped up his Metpro stint in November 2018, about five months after Soon-Shiong and Pearlstine took control of the paper.
"There is a lack of structure, a lack of guidance, lack of communication for the journalists of color that they bring into this newsroom," says Livingston, who has left journalism. He said he needed further coaching to flourish professionally but was repeatedly denied opportunities to report.
Livingston says he temporarily filled a reporting job at the Times' suburban sister paper in Glendale, Calif., but the publication refused to consider him for a permanent opening.
Pearlstine tells NPR that he believes the LA Times has improved over recent years.
"It's a work in progress," Pearlstine says. "I think the guild feels that it's not where it would like to be. I think Patrick [Soon-Shiong] probably thinks he spent more money than he ever imagined possible."
The newspaper union first won recognition in January 2018, which helped lead to the sale of the LA Times to Soon-Shiong two months later.
In initial rounds of negotiations to create the paper's first union contract, news guild leaders proposed increasing pay for many veteran reporters and broadening initiatives to bring in more female staffers and journalists of color. Soon-Shiong, a South African immigrant of Chinese descent, has spoken passionately of the need for racial pluralism.
In December 2018, internal union emails from a multimedia editor on the negotiating team reflected the company's resistance to proposals that it interview "at least two candidates from traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, when job postings open up," according to correspondence reviewed by NPR. The proposal resembles the NFL's so-called "Rooney Rule," which requires teams to interview a diversity of candidates for head coaching and other top jobs, and is increasingly common in corporate America.
Union negotiators had advocated that the newspaper also adopt a goal of reflecting the demographics of Los Angeles County, which is more than three-quarters nonwhite. But a senior editor serving as a negotiator for management, Colin Crawford, questioned whether mirroring those demographics would help the paper attract or retain paying subscribers, according to the contemporaneous email. And the account said Crawford argued that some beats, including sports and Silicon Valley, would be hard to staff with black or Latino reporters. (Crawford did not respond to NPR's requests for comment.)
The newspaper ultimately agreed to the Rooney Rule clause. Pearlstine says he has embraced the practice throughout his career. But he added a cautionary note:
"It's one thing to say before you'll fill a job, you want to interview at least two people who either on the basis of race or gender or sexual orientation or would make you a more inclusive newsroom," he said. "That's a very different conversation from saying the next two positions in Metro will not be filled unless they're with black journalists."
In his statement to NPR, Soon-Shiong said, "Michele's and my decision to acquire the Los Angeles Times reflected our lifelong commitment to overcoming racial inequality and supporting diversity. We had come to America from South Africa where, under apartheid, we had been born and raised as 'non-whites,' without the right to vote, own property, attend white schools or visit white hospitals."
He concluded, "We shall continue to build the L.A. Times to be a beacon of equality and inspiration for civil society."


npr--2020-06-15--Texas Calls In A Strike Force To Try To Slow Coronavirus Spread In Nursing Homes

Texas Calls In A Strike Force To Try To Slow Coronavirus Spread In Nursing Homes Some of the worst coronavirus outbreaks have occurred at long-term care facilities that now account for more than one-third of all COVID-19 deaths in America .
Some states have taken aggressive actions to slow the spread of the virus among elderly populations and workers in nursing homes .
Texas formed a strike force to assess problems at its 1,222 nursing homes .
On a bright South Texas morning in the parking lot of a suburban nursing home , paramedics from the San Antonio Fire Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ periwinkle-blue protective gowns .
They were part of the massive state intervention to stop infection from spreading in nursing homes .
Municipal and Texas State Guard medics have fanned out to test more than a 250,000 residents , as well as staff , for coronavirus .
`` OK , guys , so we got 260 swabs we 're gon na do here today .
It 's 200 staff and 60 residents .
We got y'all divided up in your teams already , '' shouted Paramedic Lt. Travis Hopp .
`` Be safe , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay clean . ''
Their work is critical .
In Texas , 47 % of the state 's nearly 1,900 COVID-19 deaths have been tied to skilled nursing and assisted-living facilities — an even greater proportion than national COVID fatality figures .
`` Right now we 're focused on licensed nursing facilities .
We 've seen extremely high mortality rates and that 's a very vulnerable population , '' said Eric Epley , executive director of Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council , who is coordinating the statewide paramedic teams .
As the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enters the summer months , why is the virus still running rampant through nursing homes ?
The fundamentals of infection control are well known by now : frequent hand-washing , wearing masks , social distancing , donning protective gear and disposing of it properly , and isolating sick people .
`` Let me tell you , some of this stuff is really basic and I do n't understand why they 're not getting it , '' said Kevin Dinnin , president of BCFS .
The nonprofit emergency provider of health and human services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Force for nursing homes .
BCFS medical teams have completely taken over operations at six Texas nursing homes where a third to a half of the population contracted COVID-19 , and staffers were too afraid to come back to work .
Dinnin has a picture on his phone of a nurse 's aide — without a mask — standing in the hallway of an East Texas facility and directly behind her is an elderly resident who is COVID positive .
What 's alarming , he says , is that staffers are contracting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have it , and they 're likely infecting residents .
`` And they 're moving room to room to room with close patient contact , '' Dinnin continued .
`` Certainly , if they 're not wearing any mask at all to protect others from them there 's a good chance they 're shedding the virus and they 're exposing those high-risk patients to the virus . ''
His chief of operations , Todd Gates , has been working inside nursing home hot zones in Texas for weeks .
`` They [ nursing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of ignorance because they just do n't know what they 're doing is wrong , '' Gates says .
Dinnin said guidance on infection control from state and federal health care authorities `` is too complex and it needs to be simpler and easier to understand . ''
The nursing home industry has generally blamed its coronavirus crisis on the early scarcity of masks and other protective equipment , and the lack of testing .
Moreover , they say , aged residents are especially vulnerable , and no one saw this virulent disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a perennial problem well before 2020 .
Nursing homes throughout America have fallen short for years , according to a report released last month by the federal Government Accountability Office .
`` We found that a number of nursing homes had deficiencies in their infection prevention and control efforts and that these deficiencies unfortunately were widespread across most nursing homes , '' said John Dickin , director of GAO 's health care team , on an agency podcast .
The GAO report found that 82 % of America 's nursing homes got at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2013 and 2017 .
And about half of the homes `` had persistent problems and were cited across multiple years . ''
Texas — with more than 1,200 nursing homes — is always a trouble spot .
`` This is a long-standing problem , particularly in Texas , with basic infection control practices , '' said Patty Ducayet , the long-term care ombudsman for Texas .
Federal and state inspections show that Texas nursing homes have among the most citations for infection deficiencies in the country , and that infection prevention is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ducayet says nursing homes conduct emergency planning , and infectious disease epidemics are supposed to be part of that .
`` Without a doubt , '' she said , `` nursing homes could have been better prepared for this . ''
In their defense , a nursing home trade association says its members have taken stringent measures to stop the spread , such as canceling family visits and eliminating communal activities such as dining and bingo .
`` I think there 's always room to look at infection control protocols and how do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kevin Warren , president of the Texas Health Care Association .
`` And how do we learn from this moving forward so that if and when something like this happens again , we do n't have concerns like this . ''
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission , which regulates skilled nursing facilities , says it has conducted hundreds of on-site inspections over the past two months due to the coronavirus crisis .
But now the agency is ratcheting up the response .
Last week , HHSC announced that — in light @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nursing homes — it has created Special Infection Control Assessment teams .
They will visit troubled facilities throughout the state to review their practices and provide immediate guidance in an attempt to prevent further outbreaks of COVID-19 .

Texas Calls In A Strike Force To Try To Slow Coronavirus Spread In Nursing Homes
Enlarge this image toggle caption John Burnett/NPR John Burnett/NPR
Some of the worst coronavirus outbreaks have occurred at long-term care facilities that now account for more than one-third of all COVID-19 deaths in America. Some states have taken aggressive actions to slow the spread of the virus among residents and workers in nursing homes. Texas formed a strike force to assess problems at its 1,222 nursing homes.
On a bright South Texas morning in the parking lot of a suburban nursing home, paramedics from the San Antonio Fire Department were setting up swabbing stations and donning periwinkle-blue protective gowns. They were part of the massive state intervention to stop infection from spreading in nursing homes. Municipal and Texas State Guard medics have fanned out to test more than 250,000 residents, as well as staff, for the coronavirus.
"OK, guys, so we got 260 swabs we're gonna do here today. It's 200 staff and 60 residents. We got y'all divided up in your teams already," shouted paramedic Lt. Travis Hopp. "Be safe, take care of each other, and stay clean."
Their work is critical. In Texas, 47% of the state's nearly 1,900 COVID-19 deaths have been tied to skilled nursing and assisted living facilities — an even greater proportion than national COVID-19 fatality figures.
"Right now we're focused on licensed nursing facilities. We've seen extremely high mortality rates and that's a very vulnerable population," said Eric Epley, executive director of Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council, who is coordinating the statewide paramedic teams.
As the public health crisis that began in winter enters the summer months, why is the virus still running rampant through nursing homes?
The fundamentals of infection control are well known by now: frequent hand-washing, wearing masks, social distancing, donning protective gear and disposing of it properly, and isolating sick people.
Enlarge this image toggle caption John Burnett/NPR John Burnett/NPR
"Let me tell you, some of this stuff is really basic and I don't understand why they're not getting it," said Kevin Dinnin, president of BCFS. The nonprofit emergency provider of health and human services is part of the Texas Quick Reaction Force for nursing homes. BCFS medical teams have completely taken over operations at six Texas nursing homes where a third to a half of the population contracted COVID-19 and staffers were too afraid to come back to work.
Dinnin has a picture on his phone of a nurse's aide — without a mask — standing in the hallway of an East Texas facility, and directly behind her is an elderly resident who is COVID-19 positive.
What's alarming, he said, is that staffers are contracting the sickness, they don't know they have it, and they're likely infecting residents.
"And they're moving room to room to room with close patient contact," Dinnin continued. "Certainly, if they're not wearing any mask at all to protect others from them there's a good chance they're shedding the virus and they're exposing those high-risk patients to the virus."
His chief of operations, Todd Gates, has been working inside nursing home hot zones in Texas for weeks.
"They [nursing home administrators] are acting generally out of ignorance because they just don't know what they're doing is wrong," Gates said.
Dinnin said guidance on infection control from state and federal health care authorities "is too complex and it needs to be simpler and easier to understand."
The nursing home industry has generally blamed its coronavirus crisis on the early scarcity of masks and other protective equipment and the lack of testing. Moreover, they say, older adults are especially vulnerable, and no one saw this virulent disease coming.
But infection control has been a perennial problem well before 2020.
Enlarge this image toggle caption John Burnett/NPR John Burnett/NPR
Nursing homes throughout America have fallen short for years, according to a report released last month by the federal Government Accountability Office.
"We found that a number of nursing homes had deficiencies in their infection prevention and control efforts and that these deficiencies unfortunately were widespread across most nursing homes," said John Dickin, director of GAO's health care team, on an agency podcast.
The GAO report found that 82% of America's nursing homes got at least one deficiency in infection control between 2013 and 2017. And about half of the homes "had persistent problems and were cited across multiple years."
Texas — with more than 1,200 nursing homes — is always a trouble spot.
"This is a long-standing problem, particularly in Texas, with basic infection control practices," said Patty Ducayet, the long-term care ombudsman for Texas.
Federal and state inspections show that Texas nursing homes have among the most citations for infection deficiencies in the country and that infection prevention is the No. 1 problem in the state.
Ducayet said nursing homes conduct emergency planning, and infectious disease epidemics are supposed to be part of that.
Enlarge this image toggle caption John Burnett/NPR John Burnett/NPR
"Without a doubt," she said, "nursing homes could have been better prepared for this."
In their defense, a nursing home trade association said its members have taken stringent measures to stop the spread, such as canceling family visits and eliminating communal activities such as dining and bingo.
"I think there's always room to look at infection control protocols and how do we improve the process," said Kevin Warren, president of the Texas Health Care Association. "And how do we learn from this moving forward so that if and when something like this happens again, we don't have concerns like this."
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which regulates skilled nursing facilities, said it has conducted hundreds of on-site inspections over the past two months because of the coronavirus crisis. Now the agency is ratcheting up the response.
Last week, HHSC announced that — in light of continuing serious problems with the coronavirus in nursing homes — it has created Special Infection Control Assessment teams. They will visit troubled facilities throughout the state to review their practices and provide immediate guidance in an attempt to prevent further outbreaks of COVID-19.


npr--2020-06-15--Philippine Journalist's Conviction Called A Blow To Press Freedom

Maria Ressa , who co-founded the Philippines ' Rappler news site , has been found guilty of libel in a @ @ @ @ @ closely watched by press freedom advocates .
She 's been sentenced to jail .

Philippine Journalist's Conviction Called A Blow To Press Freedom
Maria Ressa, who co-founded the Philippines' Rappler news site, has been found guilty of libel in a Manila trial that's been closely watched by press freedom advocates. She's been sentenced to jail.
NOEL KING, HOST:
A court in the Philippines has found a prominent journalist guilty of cyber libel. Maria Ressa is the CEO and co-founder of an online news portal called Rappler. And some people say this is blatant intimidation of the media. NPR's Julie McCarthy has been following this story. Hey, Julie.
JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Hi there.
KING: Tell me about Maria Ressa. Who is she?
MCCARTHY: Maria Ressa is an award-winning journalist - in fact, she was the Time's person of the year in 2018 - who went after the government. Now, in the Philippines, the press is under huge pressure from a hostile government. And prosecutors went after Ressa using a law that is specifically aimed at publishing online, which is where her news operation exists. Rappler reported on a businessman, suggesting that he had links to human trafficking. The government argued it was libelous.
Ressa's message after the verdict against her to Filipinos who were listening was protect your rights. Here she is speaking at a Rappler online forum just after the hearing.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARIA RESSA: I appeal again - don't be afraid. Freedom of the press is the foundation of every single right you have as a Filipino citizen.
KING: She mentions your rights as a Filipino citizen, which makes me wonder, where is President Rodrigo Duterte in all of this?
MCCARTHY: Well, he makes no secret about his antipathy toward the media and Ressa. Her news outfit has done extensive coverage of his administration, especially close attention to his violent drug war. And this case is only one of a half a dozen that they've charged Ressa and Rappler with. The government has hit them with tax evasion and illegally obtaining foreign funding. Duterte came to office telling journalists, you're not immune to assassination. Now, that's a chilling remark.
And the Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Sixteen have been killed in the past four years, usually unsolved murders. But this libel case is being treated as a sort of emblem for press freedom under assault across the globe. But the government and the court maintained this is not about press freedom. It's a case of libel.
KING: And are people there buying it?
MCCARTHY: Well, you know, many Filipinos are distracted by the worst economic downturn in 30 years, the COVID pandemic. But there was wall-to-wall coverage of this verdict in the Philippines.
The Press Freedom Defense Fund struck a chord that you heard rights groups echo. And they said that, you know, there are many at this hour wondering who will be next. And they urged Duterte to carefully weigh the consequences of his treatment of the media. And Human Rights Watch Asia Director Phil Robertson called it a dire day for press freedom in the Philippines. Here he is.
PHIL ROBERTSON: If this was a civil libel case where he was suing for damages, saying that you've damaged my reputation, then we wouldn't have much to say about it. But the issue of a journalist going to prison for something they wrote is fundamentally problematic.
KING: So what happens to Maria Ressa now?
MCCARTHY: Well, she's free on bail, pending appeal. But the judge gave her what's called an indeterminate sentence, with six months minimum up to six years maximum if the conviction holds. Essentially, you get paroled once you serve six months. But she looked extraordinarily calm in the face of prison. She told the graduating class at Princeton last month that she had embraced her fear and defeated it.
KING: NPR's Julie McCarthy. Julie, thank you.
MCCARTHY: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF CLOGS' "2:3:5")
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npr--2020-06-15--What Federal Police Reform Could Include — And What The Sticking Points May Be

What Federal Police Reform Could Include — And What The Sticking Points May Be After almost three weeks of demonstrations following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody , America seems to be at a threshold moment .
Polling shows attitudes shifting more in favor of protesters and embracing the potential for change when it comes to how policing is done in this country .
Police departments in at least half a dozen states have already moved to make reforms , but when it comes to sweeping national change , it 's not clear how far Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Defund The Police '' a rallying cry , but most Democrats on Capitol Hill — and the party 's presumptive presidential nominee , Joe Biden — have stayed away from that language .
Instead , House Democrats introduced a bill that would , among its provisions : • ban chokeholds at the federal level and condition federal funding on state and local governments doing the same ; • ban no-knock warrants in federal drug cases and tie federal funding to state and local governments banning them too ; • weaken `` qualified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pursue criminal and civil action against police ; • require body cameras for federal law enforcement officers and require that state and local forces ensure camera use as well ; • make it easier to have independent investigations of police departments ; A Reuters/Ipsos poll of U.S. adults , conducted last week , found broad support for a lot of those items : • 75 % support `` allowing victims of police misconduct to sue police departments for damages '' ; • and 91 % support independent investigations of police departments that show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are holding a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on police reform , are set to release their own legislation this week .
The effort is led by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina , the only black Republican in the U.S. Senate .
Scott talked about some of those sticking-point legislative items on two Sunday political shows : • No-knock warrants : He did n't appear ready to get rid them altogether and said he needs more information on when and how they 're used , and he wants more data to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the libertarian-leaning Republican , introduced a bill to eliminate their use . )
• Chokeholds and misconduct registries : Scott said on NBC 's Meet The Press that chokeholds were a `` policy whose time has come and gone , '' but questioned whether there should be a state or national approach to getting rid of their use , as well as implementing misconduct registries .
• Qualified immunity : He said on CBS 's Face The Nation that for Republicans and the president , weakening the immunity is `` off the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` as a poison pill on our side . ''
He said he would be more in favor of `` decertification '' of officers , but police unions are an obstacle there .
Scott has said his bill would include making lynching a federal hate crime , and he wants to establish a commission on effective policies that lead to better outcomes that includes former and current police officers and civilians .
It 's unclear what legislation President Trump would sign .
At a roundtable on law enforcement last week in Dallas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order that would `` encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current professional standards for the use of force , including tactics for deescalation . ''
But he fumbled over whether he would be in favor of banning chokeholds .
During a Fox News interview in which he claimed to have `` done more for the black community than any other president '' except maybe Abraham Lincoln , he said he does n't like chokeholds .
`` Generally speaking , they should be ended , '' Trump said .
But then he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to limit the police : `` You get somebody in a chokehold , and what are you going to do now ?
Let go and say , 'Oh , let 's start all over again .
I 'm not allowed to have you in a chokehold ' ? ''
1 .
Trump on race : Trump 's first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic was supposed to take place in Tulsa , Okla. , on Friday — which is Juneteenth , the holiday commemorating the effective end of slavery in the U.S. Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the rally , saying he did n't do it on purpose , but that it should be seen as a `` celebration . ''
After being pressured , he moved it to Saturday .
Trump has fumbled the issue of race repeatedly , and it 's not going away any time soon .
When Trump , who has largely stuck to a `` law and order '' hard line , releases that promised executive order on police reform , how will that be received ?
2 .
Confederate statues and base names @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he 's largely been out there on his own defending Confederate statues that are still standing , as well as military bases named for confederates .
A Morning Consult poll last week found that 44 % of voters are in favor of letting the statues remain standing , but that 's down from 52 % in 2017 .
Just 32 % say they should be taken down , up from 26 % in 2017 , so the trend is clear .
But 71 % of Republicans think the statues should remain standing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ catered to since taking office .
The danger sign for this president is that independents have shifted from 51 % in favor of them remaining standing to just 40 % now in the poll .
And after Trump said there were good people on both sides after Charlottesville , his approval dropped to the lowest of his presidency — and he 's seen a similar , if not as steep , decline now .
3 .
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing : The committee , led by Chair Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. , holds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Community Relations '' hearing Tuesday at 2:30 p.m .
ET .
The witness list is n't clear yet , but Democrats penned letters to Graham requesting Attorney General William Barr testify , given his role in the forcible removal of protesters outside the White House before Trump took a walk and photo with a Bible at a nearby damaged church .
4 .
What about COVID-19 ?
More than 115,000 people are confirmed to have died from the coronavirus in the U.S. , and more than 2 million people have contracted it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing spikes , especially in the South and West .
`` I would hope to get to some degree of real normality within a year or so , but I do n't think it 's this winter or fall , '' Dr. Anthony Fauci , head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , told The Telegraph Sunday .
And yet , every state in the country has loosened restrictions , and the Trump campaign is going ahead with a rally in a 19,000-seat arena .
Trump and his campaign have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and yet appended this disclaimer for those attending the rally : `` By attending the Rally , you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President , Inc. ; BOK Center ; ASM Global ; or any of their affiliates , directors , officers , employees , agents , contractors , or volunteers liable for any illness or injury . ''
5 .
Watching the Supreme Court : The court will issue opinions on both Monday and Thursday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release decisions in a high-profile LGBTQ employment discrimination case , as well as on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals , or DACA .
When the DACA case was argued in the fall , the court 's conservative majority appeared ready to go along with the Trump administration 's argument that it acted lawfully in shutting down the program .
The program was enacted by former President Barack Obama by executive order .
The court may also take up cases involving the Second Amendment and qualified immunity .
Quote of the weekend '' All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to use the military as a prop .
I think this president 's probably taken that to a new level , but the military has to be very sensitive about being exploited in that way . ''
-- Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates , who served both Presidents George W. Bush , a Republican , and Obama , a Democrat , on NBC 's Meet The Press Sunday .
Last week , several current and former military officials rebuked Trump for his photo op walk to a church .
The Joint Chiefs of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apologized for his role in it after a backlash from troops .
`` I should not have been there , '' he said .
`` My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics . ''
( Hear more from Gates on NPR here . )

What Federal Police Reform Could Include — And What The Sticking Points May Be
Enlarge this image toggle caption Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images
After almost three weeks of demonstrations following the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, America seems to be at a threshold moment.
Polling shows attitudes shifting more in favor of protesters and embracing the potential for change when it comes to how policing is done in this country.
Police departments in at least half a dozen states have already moved to make reforms, but when it comes to sweeping national change, it's not clear how far Washington will go.
Many protesters have made "Defund The Police" a rallying cry, but most Democrats on Capitol Hill — and the party's presumptive presidential nominee, Joe Biden — have stayed away from that language.
Instead, House Democrats introduced a bill that would, among its provisions:
ban chokeholds at the federal level and condition federal funding on state and local governments doing the same;
at the federal level and condition federal funding on state and local governments doing the same; ban no-knock warrants in federal drug cases and tie federal funding to state and local governments banning them too;
in federal drug cases and tie federal funding to state and local governments banning them too; weaken "qualified immunity" and make it easier to pursue criminal and civil action against police;
and make it easier to pursue criminal and civil action against police; create a national registry of police misconduct ;
; require body cameras for federal law enforcement officers and require that state and local forces ensure camera use as well;
for federal law enforcement officers and require that state and local forces ensure camera use as well; make it easier to have independent investigations of police departments;
of police departments; and, make lynching a federal hate crime.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of U.S. adults, conducted last week, found broad support for a lot of those items:
82% support banning chokeholds;
75% support "allowing victims of police misconduct to sue police departments for damages";
92% support requiring federal police to wear body cameras;
and 91% support independent investigations of police departments that show patterns of misconduct.
(The survey did not ask about no-knock warrants or lynching.)
Republicans, who are holding a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on police reform, are set to release their own legislation this week. The effort is led by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only black Republican in the U.S. Senate.
Scott talked about some of those sticking-point legislative items on two Sunday political shows:
No-knock warrants: He didn't appear ready to get rid them altogether and said he needs more information on when and how they're used, and he wants more data to be required. (Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican, introduced a bill to eliminate their use.)
He didn't appear ready to get rid them altogether and said he needs more information on when and how they're used, and he wants more data to be required. (Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican, introduced a bill to eliminate their use.) Chokeholds and misconduct registries: Scott said on NBC's Meet The Press that chokeholds were a "policy whose time has come and gone," but questioned whether there should be a state or national approach to getting rid of their use, as well as implementing misconduct registries.
Scott said on NBC's Meet The Press that chokeholds were a "policy whose time has come and gone," but questioned whether there should be a state or national approach to getting rid of their use, as well as implementing misconduct registries. Qualified immunity: He said on CBS's Face The Nation that for Republicans and the president, weakening the immunity is "off the table" and that they see it "as a poison pill on our side." He said he would be more in favor of "decertification" of officers, but police unions are an obstacle there.
Scott has said his bill would include making lynching a federal hate crime, and he wants to establish a commission on effective policies that lead to better outcomes that includes former and current police officers and civilians.
It's unclear what legislation President Trump would sign. At a roundtable on law enforcement last week in Dallas, Trump said he'd sign an executive order that would "encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current professional standards for the use of force, including tactics for deescalation."
But he fumbled over whether he would be in favor of banning chokeholds. During a Fox News interview in which he claimed to have "done more for the black community than any other president" except maybe Abraham Lincoln, he said he doesn't like chokeholds.
"Generally speaking, they should be ended," Trump said.
But then he indicated that he doesn't really want to limit the police: "You get somebody in a chokehold, and what are you going to do now? Let go and say, 'Oh, let's start all over again. I'm not allowed to have you in a chokehold'?"
5 things to watch this week
1. Trump on race: Trump's first campaign rally since the coronavirus pandemic was supposed to take place in Tulsa, Okla., on Friday — which is Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the effective end of slavery in the U.S. Trump first defended the selection of the date of the rally, saying he didn't do it on purpose, but that it should be seen as a "celebration." After being pressured, he moved it to Saturday.
Trump has fumbled the issue of race repeatedly, and it's not going away any time soon. When Trump, who has largely stuck to a "law and order" hard line, releases that promised executive order on police reform, how will that be received?
2. Confederate statues and base names: Speaking of Trump and race, he's largely been out there on his own defending Confederate statues that are still standing, as well as military bases named for confederates. A Morning Consult poll last week found that 44% of voters are in favor of letting the statues remain standing, but that's down from 52% in 2017. Just 32% say they should be taken down, up from 26% in 2017, so the trend is clear. But 71% of Republicans think the statues should remain standing, which has been the group Trump has catered to since taking office.
The danger sign for this president is that independents have shifted from 51% in favor of them remaining standing to just 40% now in the poll. And after Trump said there were good people on both sides after Charlottesville, his approval dropped to the lowest of his presidency — and he's seen a similar, if not as steep, decline now.
3. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: The committee, led by Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., holds its "Police Use of Force and Community Relations" hearing Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET. The witness list isn't clear yet, but Democrats penned letters to Graham requesting Attorney General William Barr testify, given his role in the forcible removal of protesters outside the White House before Trump took a walk and photo with a Bible at a nearby damaged church.
4. What about COVID-19? More than 115,000 people are confirmed to have died from the coronavirus in the U.S., and more than 2 million people have contracted it. And now some two dozen states are seeing spikes, especially in the South and West.
"I would hope to get to some degree of real normality within a year or so, but I don't think it's this winter or fall," Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told The Telegraph Sunday. And yet, every state in the country has loosened restrictions, and the Trump campaign is going ahead with a rally in a 19,000-seat arena.
Trump and his campaign have downplayed the seriousness of the continuing pandemic and yet appended this disclaimer for those attending the rally: "By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury."
5. Watching the Supreme Court: The court will issue opinions on both Monday and Thursday, and it's possible the justices will release decisions in a high-profile LGBTQ employment discrimination case, as well as on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. When the DACA case was argued in the fall, the court's conservative majority appeared ready to go along with the Trump administration's argument that it acted lawfully in shutting down the program. The program was enacted by former President Barack Obama by executive order. The court may also take up cases involving the Second Amendment and qualified immunity.
Quote of the weekend
"All the presidents I've worked for liked to use the military as a prop. I think this president's probably taken that to a new level, but the military has to be very sensitive about being exploited in that way."
-- Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who served both Presidents George W. Bush, a Republican, and Obama, a Democrat, on NBC's Meet The Press Sunday.
Last week, several current and former military officials rebuked Trump for his photo op walk to a church. The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, apologized for his role in it after a backlash from troops. "I should not have been there," he said. "My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics." (Hear more from Gates on NPR here.)


npr--2020-06-15--What Zebra Mussels Can Tell Us About Errors In Coronavirus Tests

What Zebra Mussels Can Tell Us About Errors In Coronavirus Tests During the coronavirus pandemic , many scientists who usually have nothing to do with viruses or infectious disease are turning their attention to COVID-19 .
For example , one wildlife biologist is raising questions about the accuracy of tests that detect the coronavirus .
In normal times , Andrew Cohen focuses his attention on issues of ecology and conservation , as director of the Center for Research on Aquatic Bioinvasions .
In 2007 , the state of California hired him to fight back the invasion of non-native mussels , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the eastern United States .
`` We began getting reports after that of these mussels showing up all across the western U.S. , '' he says .
Scientists were using a clever technique to find them .
They 'd take a water sample and then look for the tiniest traces of genetic material from these mussels .
They used a test called PCR ( short for polymerase chain reaction ) , which vastly amplifies genetic material to look for mussel DNA .
This is the same technology used to diagnose COVID-19 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ results , showing signs of invasion by these pests .
But Cohen grew suspicious .
`` I began to realize that many of these — if not all of these — were false positives , especially when they started being reported in waters that had chemistry that would not allow the mussels to reproduce and establish themselves , '' he says .
Cohen wanted to understand why these tests were going awry , so he could spread the word to the labs that were using them .
`` I eventually turned to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been done of medical diagnostic labs that used PCR-based testing in humans . ''
Cohen discovered that false positives were actually fairly common .
The best labs reported few if any , but other labs reported up to 8 % of their positive results were false-positives .
The average was around 2 % false-positive .
Fast forward to March 2020 .
Cohen started thinking about this issue of false positives .
He was skeptical of reports that people with absolutely no symptoms were nonetheless getting positive PCR test results for the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asymptomatic carriers were n't in large part or in whole part the human counterparts of those false-positive results of quagga and zebra mussels in all those water bodies across the across the West , '' he says .
He dug in and found that in previous outbreaks , such as SARS , scientists ran a second PCR test before confirming a case .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started to do that as well during the earliest days of COVID-19 .
Labs capable of running their own tests were also told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmation .
But that system was quickly abandoned , as the number of cases grew and the ability to test remained limited .
Cohen , working with physician colleagues in Hawaii , surveyed procedures for coronavirus testing around the world , including the governments of Canada and the U.K. , as well as the World Health Organization and the CDC but found no requirement for re-testing positive samples .
( The CDC recommends that a patient who has recovered from coronavirus infection in the hospital be tested twice before being discharged , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ common problem with these tests : falsely negative results ) .
So , Cohen updated the survey of medical testing he 'd done to explore the cause of false-positives in wildlife testing .
He posted that paper online .
It has n't been peer reviewed , but Dr. Bobbi Pritt , a clinical microbiologist who chairs the microbiology committee for the College of American Pathologists , says his numbers seem reasonable .
`` There 's no 100 % perfect test , '' says Pritt , who works at the Mayo Clinic .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do boast a very low false-positive rate .
But they 're not always done perfectly .
Certified labs like hers use procedures to reduce the risk of false test results , since a false-positive test can lead to a medical misdiagnosis .
But slip-ups are inevitable .
Most errors are caused by poor sample handling or other errors even before a sample gets to the lab , she says .
And PCR is so incredibly sensitive , contamination is a particular concern .
Even the tiniest amount of stray material in a lab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` That viral material could get into the environment and then contaminate your specimens around you and then cause false-positives in those specimens . ''
That kind of problem is apparently what caused the CDC 's own coronavirus test to fail back in February , according to a Washington Post investigation .
Labs in Europe also reported contamination issues with some of their coronavirus tests .
Even automated testing machines , like the ones used at the White House , can produce false-positive results .
They are designed to use simple plug-in cartridges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they are foolproof , '' Pritt says .
`` We 've observed some of these tests and these little cartridges have issues such as leaking — even amplified viral nucleic acid — into the laboratory , which can cause quite a bit of problems . ''
The College of American Pathologists is now starting to help labs evaluate the accuracy of their coronavirus PCR tests .
And there 's a lot at stake for getting these tests right .
People can be sent to isolation for weeks with a positive test result @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many workers test positive .
People who are diagnosed with COVID-19 in a hospital may not be allowed to return to nursing homes or other senior living situations .
As for Cohen 's original concern about asymptomatic carriers , he still believes false-positives could be a big part of that .
Unfortunately , the studies to date have not tracked patients carefully , so it 's not possible to say just how big a role false results could be playing .
Cohen is concerned that researchers are n't taking potential false-positives in PCR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as we can tell , the medical establishment and public health authorities and researchers ... appear to be assuming that the false positive rate in in the PCR based test is zero , or at least so low that we can ignore it , '' he says .
He is particularly concerned about research that seeks to track the progress of the epidemic .
In areas where the disease is rare , there will be few truly positive results in apparently healthy people .
If a PCR test has a 2 % error @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the people are actually infected , Cohen notes , most of the positive results will be false positives .
That 's the lesson from his attempt to track invasive mussels .
`` Actually , nobody has ever found a quagga or zebra mussel '' in these vast stretches of the West , he says .
It turned out all the positive test results were false .
You can contact NPR Science Correspondent Richard Harris at rharris @ npr.org .

What Zebra Mussels Can Tell Us About Errors In Coronavirus Tests
Enlarge this image toggle caption Kevin Winter/Getty Images Kevin Winter/Getty Images
During the coronavirus pandemic, many scientists who usually have nothing to do with viruses or infectious disease are turning their attention to COVID-19. For example, one wildlife biologist is raising questions about the accuracy of tests that detect the coronavirus.
In normal times, Andrew Cohen focuses his attention on issues of ecology and conservation, as director of the Center for Research on Aquatic Bioinvasions.
In 2007, the state of California hired him to fight back the invasion of non-native mussels, which had been wreaking havoc on ecosystems in the eastern United States.
"We began getting reports after that of these mussels showing up all across the western U.S.," he says.
Scientists were using a clever technique to find them. They'd take a water sample and then look for the tiniest traces of genetic material from these mussels. They used a test called PCR (short for polymerase chain reaction), which vastly amplifies genetic material to look for mussel DNA. This is the same technology used to diagnose COVID-19.
The studies kept coming up with alarming results, showing signs of invasion by these pests. But Cohen grew suspicious.
"I began to realize that many of these — if not all of these — were false positives, especially when they started being reported in waters that had chemistry that would not allow the mussels to reproduce and establish themselves," he says.
Cohen wanted to understand why these tests were going awry, so he could spread the word to the labs that were using them. "I eventually turned to the medical literature to look at assessments that had been done of medical diagnostic labs that used PCR-based testing in humans."
Cohen discovered that false positives were actually fairly common. The best labs reported few if any, but other labs reported up to 8% of their positive results were false positives. The average was around 2% false positive.
Fast forward to March 2020. Cohen started thinking about this issue of false positives. He was skeptical of reports that people with absolutely no symptoms were nonetheless getting positive PCR test results for the coronavirus.
"I began wondering whether these asymptomatic carriers weren't in large part or in whole part the human counterparts of those false-positive results of quagga and zebra mussels in all those water bodies across the West," he says.
He dug in and found that in previous outbreaks, such as SARS, scientists ran a second PCR test before confirming a case. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started to do that as well during the earliest days of COVID-19. Labs capable of running their own tests were also told to send a sample to CDC for confirmation. But that system was quickly abandoned as the number of cases grew and the ability to test remained limited.
Cohen, working with physician colleagues in Hawaii, surveyed procedures for coronavirus testing around the world, including the governments of Canada and the U.K., as well as the World Health Organization and the CDC, but found no requirement for retesting positive samples. (The CDC recommends that a patient who has recovered from coronavirus infection in the hospital be tested twice before being discharged, but the concern there is a much more common problem with these tests: falsely negative results).
So, Cohen updated the survey of medical testing he'd done to explore the cause of false positives in wildlife testing. He posted that paper online.
It hasn't been peer reviewed, but Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a clinical microbiologist who chairs the microbiology committee for the College of American Pathologists, says his numbers seem reasonable.
"There's no 100% perfect test," says Pritt, who works at the Mayo Clinic.
The PCR tests, when done perfectly, do boast a very low false-positive rate. But they're not always done perfectly.
Certified labs like hers use procedures to reduce the risk of false test results, since a false-positive test can lead to a medical misdiagnosis. But slip-ups are inevitable.
Most errors are caused by poor sample handling or other errors even before a sample gets to the lab, she says.
And PCR is so incredibly sensitive, contamination is a particular concern. Even the tiniest amount of stray material in a lab can spell trouble, Pritt says.
"That viral material could get into the environment and then contaminate your specimens around you and then cause false positives in those specimens."
That kind of problem is apparently what caused the CDC's own coronavirus test to fail back in February, according to a Washington Post investigation. Labs in Europe also reported contamination issues with some of their coronavirus tests.
Even automated testing machines, like the ones used at the White House, can produce false-positive results. They are designed to use simple plug-in cartridges, but "it doesn't mean that they are foolproof," Pritt says. "We've observed some of these tests and these little cartridges have issues such as leaking — even amplified viral nucleic acid — into the laboratory, which can cause quite a bit of problems."
The College of American Pathologists is now starting to help labs evaluate the accuracy of their coronavirus PCR tests.
And there's a lot at stake for getting these tests right.
People can be sent to isolation for weeks with a positive test result. Hospitals risk running short-staffed if too many workers test positive. People who are diagnosed with COVID-19 in a hospital may not be allowed to return to nursing homes or other senior living situations.
As for Cohen's original concern about asymptomatic carriers, he still believes false-positives could be a part of that. However, at least one recent study shows that asymptomatic illnesses are real. Japanese researchers who treated patients from the stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship ran multiple tests on asymptomatic patients. As they report in the New England Journal of Medicine, they documented repeated positive results before those patients eventually tested negative for the disease.
Cohen is concerned that researchers aren't taking potential false positives in PCR tests seriously enough. "As near as we can tell, the medical establishment and public health authorities and researchers ... appear to be assuming that the false-positive rate in in the PCR based test is zero, or at least so low that we can ignore it," he says.
He is particularly concerned about research that seeks to track the progress of the epidemic. In areas where the disease is rare, there will be few truly positive results in apparently healthy people. If a PCR test has a 2% error rate in an area where only 1% of the people are actually infected, Cohen notes, most of the positive results will be false positives.
That's the lesson from his attempt to track invasive mussels.
"Actually, nobody has ever found a quagga or zebra mussel" in the vast majority of western waters where PCR tests indicated mussels were present, he says. It turned out that in those water bodies, all the positive test results were false.
You can contact NPR Science Correspondent Richard Harris at rharris@npr.org.


npr--2020-06-15--Chaos In Primary Elections Raises Fears For November

Wisconsin voters had to wait in long lines to cast their ballots .
Absentee ballots went missing in Maryland , Pennsylvania and Washington , D.C. And last week , voters in Georgia and Nevada were frustrated by long lines and widespread confusion .
Recent primary elections held during the pandemic have exposed an overtaxed voting system and raised questions about how much can be fixed by November .
Everything seemed to come to a head in Georgia .
Voters waited for hours , as confused poll workers struggled to operate new equipment .
And some polling sites ran out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Fulton County resident Latrisha Hernandez , tried to vote by mail but never got a ballot .
She went to the polls in person only to encounter more dysfunction .
`` The system said I already voted and I had never voted , '' she said .
`` And they were trying to get the system reset , but they did n't have the password to the system so we had to sit to the side until they finally got a password to get it reset . ''
Still , Hernandez 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the county who had to wait past midnight to cast their ballots .
One problem in Georgia , as elsewhere , is that election officials decided to consolidate polling sites , expecting that most people would vote by mail because of the pandemic .
On top of that , hundreds of poll workers pulled out at the last minute because of health concerns , so those who did show were overwhelmed .
And there was little time to train any new recruits .
`` In addition to a lot of voter confusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worker confusion , '' Sara Mullen , associate director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania , said of her state 's June 2 primary .
She heard complaints from voters who said poll workers turned them away when they should have been allowed to cast provisional ballots .
Mullen said some of the confusion was understandable .
The state was dealing with new election procedures and voting machines .
`` And then in a number of counties , there were a lot of protests on the same day , and there were curfew in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she said .
`` So it really was a perfect storm , but I think it really shows that we do n't know what 's going to happen in the fall , and so we should really prepare for that . ''
But preparing for the unexpected — especially in such a turbulent time — is a challenge unlike any others that United States election officials have encountered before .
And with just five months to go until Election Day in November , there 's little consensus on what needs to be done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voter a mail-in ballot and extend deadlines for getting them in .
Republicans insist that would lead to fraud and undermine the integrity of the election .
Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar favors a middle approach , sending every voter an absentee ballot application instead , while figuring out what went wrong in the primary .
`` That 's really our first focus is to plot out the entire mail-in process from start to finish , '' she said .
As in many states , this was Pennsylvania 's first experience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million absentee ballots were cast in June , compared with 84,000 in the primary four years ago .
Boockvar says some counties handled the surge better than others .
`` So what we 're going to do over the coming weeks is really looking at every single step of the process , from the moment the application is made to the moment the ballot is received back , '' she said .
Boockvar hopes they can figure out what deadlines and processes would work best in November .
Some county officials complained they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the ballot requests they received .
`` An all-hands-on-deck moment for our democracy '' Boockvar said that without a doubt , local election offices could use more resources .
Congress approved $ 400 million to help states respond to the COVID-19 crisis , but the recent primary meltdowns have reignited demand for additional funds .
`` I hear that every day , '' said Ben Hovland , chairman of the U.S Election Assistance Commission , the agency that distributes the money .
Hovland said election offices have basically been asked to run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the other in person — to deal with the coronavirus threat .
But they only budgeted for one .
He said there 's also a desperate need for more and better-trained poll workers .
He suggested that election officials could partner with companies and nonprofits to recruit the army of workers required for November .
`` This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for our democracy , '' he said .
`` We need election officials to do their job , but citizens that can help out will go a long way to making this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hale , a political scientist at Auburn University who trains local election officials , said Americans are asking a lot .
`` Our expectations are very high of our election administration system and they should be , '' she said .
But this year , those expectations might have to be lowered .
`` Maybe it 's time for us to put our money where our mouth is , '' she said .
`` If we want multiple methods of voting , if we want access for days and days at a time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the choice — not being told , but have the choice — to vote by mail or in other kinds of ways , we have to provide the resources to do those things or it will all look like a miserable failure . ''
The danger , she said , is that issues with voting will undermine public confidence in the election itself .
Adding to the challenge is the nation 's decentralized voting system , run differently in every state .
What might work in one place might not work in another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get orders from above .
Still , Hale and other election experts think many of the problems can be fixed , if there 's the political will .
They worry about the impact of partisan finger-pointing .
Republicans are blaming the primary problems on incompetent Democratic officials .
Democrats fault Republicans for making it it harder to vote .
And they 've made little progress so far in trying to find a solution .

Chaos In Primary Elections Raises Fears For November
Enlarge this image toggle caption Brynn Anderson/AP Brynn Anderson/AP
Wisconsin voters had to wait in long lines to cast their ballots. Absentee ballots went missing in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. And last week, voters in Georgia and Nevada were frustrated by long lines and widespread confusion.
Recent primary elections held during the pandemic have exposed an overtaxed voting system and raised questions about how much can be fixed by November.
Everything seemed to come to a head in Georgia. Voters waited for hours, as confused poll workers struggled to operate new equipment. And some polling sites ran out of backup emergency ballots.
Many voters, like Fulton County resident Latrisha Hernandez, tried to vote by mail but never got a ballot. She went to the polls in person only to encounter more dysfunction.
"The system said I already voted and I had never voted," she said. "And they were trying to get the system reset, but they didn't have the password to the system so we had to sit to the side until they finally got a password to get it reset."
Still, Hernandez's two-hour ordeal paled in comparison to others in the county who had to wait past midnight to cast their ballots.
One problem in Georgia, as elsewhere, is that election officials decided to consolidate polling sites, expecting that most people would vote by mail because of the pandemic. On top of that, hundreds of poll workers pulled out at the last minute because of health concerns, so those who did show were overwhelmed. And there was little time to train any new recruits.
"In addition to a lot of voter confusion, there was a lot of poll worker confusion," Sara Mullen, associate director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said of her state's June 2 primary. She heard complaints from voters who said poll workers turned them away when they should have been allowed to cast provisional ballots.
Mullen said some of the confusion was understandable. The state was dealing with new election procedures and voting machines.
"And then in a number of counties, there were a lot of protests on the same day, and there were curfew in some cities, as well," she said. "So it really was a perfect storm, but I think it really shows that we don't know what's going to happen in the fall, and so we should really prepare for that."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Brynn Anderson/AP Brynn Anderson/AP
But preparing for the unexpected — especially in such a turbulent time — is a challenge unlike any others that United States election officials have encountered before. And with just five months to go until Election Day in November, there's little consensus on what needs to be done. Democrats would like to send every voter a mail-in ballot and extend deadlines for getting them in. Republicans insist that would lead to fraud and undermine the integrity of the election.
Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar favors a middle approach, sending every voter an absentee ballot application instead, while figuring out what went wrong in the primary.
"That's really our first focus is to plot out the entire mail-in process from start to finish," she said.
As in many states, this was Pennsylvania's first experience with widespread mail-in voting — over 1.4 million absentee ballots were cast in June, compared with 84,000 in the primary four years ago.
Boockvar says some counties handled the surge better than others.
"So what we're going to do over the coming weeks is really looking at every single step of the process, from the moment the application is made to the moment the ballot is received back," she said.
Boockvar hopes they can figure out what deadlines and processes would work best in November. Some county officials complained they didn't have enough time to fill all the ballot requests they received.
"An all-hands-on-deck moment for our democracy"
Boockvar said that without a doubt, local election offices could use more resources. Congress approved $400 million to help states respond to the COVID-19 crisis, but the recent primary meltdowns have reignited demand for additional funds.
"I hear that every day," said Ben Hovland, chairman of the U.S Election Assistance Commission, the agency that distributes the money. Hovland said election offices have basically been asked to run two elections — one by mail, the other in person — to deal with the coronavirus threat. But they only budgeted for one.
He said there's also a desperate need for more and better-trained poll workers. He suggested that election officials could partner with companies and nonprofits to recruit the army of workers required for November.
"This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for our democracy," he said. "We need election officials to do their job, but citizens that can help out will go a long way to making this as successful as possible."
Kathleen Hale, a political scientist at Auburn University who trains local election officials, said Americans are asking a lot.
"Our expectations are very high of our election administration system and they should be," she said. But this year, those expectations might have to be lowered.
"Maybe it's time for us to put our money where our mouth is," she said. "If we want multiple methods of voting, if we want access for days and days at a time, if we want folks to have the choice — not being told, but have the choice — to vote by mail or in other kinds of ways, we have to provide the resources to do those things or it will all look like a miserable failure."
The danger, she said, is that issues with voting will undermine public confidence in the election itself.
Adding to the challenge is the nation's decentralized voting system, run differently in every state. What might work in one place might not work in another, and local officials are loath to get orders from above.
Still, Hale and other election experts think many of the problems can be fixed, if there's the political will. They worry about the impact of partisan finger-pointing. Republicans are blaming the primary problems on incompetent Democratic officials. Democrats fault Republicans for making it it harder to vote. And they've made little progress so far in trying to find a solution.


npr--2020-06-15--France Announces Further Reopening Amid Declining Number Of Coronavirus Cases

France 's President Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday a further easing of restrictions imposed after the COVID-19 outbreak , beginning with the full reopening of cafes and restaurants and the lifting of bans on travel from European countries .
France , which has been among the countries in Europe hardest-hit by COVID-19 , with nearly 30,000 deaths , has nonetheless seen its daily count of new cases fall dramatically since a peak in mid-April .
`` The fight against the epidemic is not finished but I am happy about this first victory against the virus , '' Macron said in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ France , including Paris , would be classified as a `` green zone '' for the deadly virus .
Only the overseas French territories of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean and French Guiana will remain on a higher `` orange '' alert level , he said .
Travel from other European countries will now be allowed with travel from outside Europe to resume on July 1 , he said , outlining the government 's plan .
The further easing is part of a gradual relaxation of restrictions in France that began with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order .
Among other things , Macron 's announcement means that cafes and restaurants can be fully reopened after they were allowed to resume business for outdoor seating only earlier this month .
Earlier , officials had indicated that might have to wait another week .
Sunday 's announcement also allows people to resume visiting family members in retirement homes .
From June 22 , all nursery schools , primary schools and junior high schools will be open and attendance will be mandatory .
France expects the economy to contract by 11 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was pumping an `` unprecedented '' 500 billion euros ( $ 563 billion ) into the economy in the form of financial aid and relief payments to forestall layoffs and support key business sectors .
`` With this epidemic , the global economy has come to a virtual standstill , '' he said .
`` Our first priority will be to rebuild an economy that is strong , ecological , sovereign and united . ''
According to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University , the United Kingdom is the worst-hit country in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just under 42,000 deaths .
Spain has had some 240,000 cases and more than 41,000 deaths .
Italy , which saw a huge number of coronavirus-related deaths beginning in March , has seen nearly 237,000 cases and more than 34,000 COVID-19 deaths .
All four countries , including France , have seen significant declines in infections in recent weeks .

France Announces Further Reopening Amid Declining Number Of Coronavirus Cases
Enlarge this image toggle caption Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
France's President Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday a further easing of restrictions imposed after the COVID-19 outbreak, beginning with the full reopening of cafes and restaurants and the lifting of bans on travel from European countries.
France, which has been among the countries in Europe hardest-hit by COVID-19, with nearly 30,000 deaths, has nonetheless seen its daily count of new cases fall dramatically since a peak in mid-April.
"The fight against the epidemic is not finished but I am happy about this first victory against the virus," Macron said in a televised address.
He said that mainland France, including Paris, would be classified as a "green zone" for the deadly virus. Only the overseas French territories of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean and French Guiana will remain on a higher "orange" alert level, he said.
Travel from other European countries will now be allowed with travel from outside Europe to resume on July 1, he said, outlining the government's plan.
The further easing is part of a gradual relaxation of restrictions in France that began with the May 11 end of a two-month stay-at-home order. Among other things, Macron's announcement means that cafes and restaurants can be fully reopened; they had been allowed to resume business for outdoor seating only earlier this month. Earlier, officials had indicated that might have to wait another week.
Sunday's announcement also allows people to resume visiting family members in retirement homes.
From June 22, all nursery schools, primary schools and junior high schools will be open and attendance will be mandatory.
France expects the economy to contract by 11% this year. Macron said his government was pumping an "unprecedented" 500 billion euros ($563 billion) into the economy in the form of financial aid and relief payments to forestall layoffs and support key business sectors.
"With this epidemic, the global economy has come to a virtual standstill," he said. "Our first priority will be to rebuild an economy that is strong, ecological, sovereign and united."
According to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, the United Kingdom is the worst-hit country in Europe with nearly 300,000 infections and just under 42,000 deaths. Spain has had some 240,000 cases and more than 41,000 deaths. Italy, which saw a huge number of coronavirus-related deaths beginning in March, has seen nearly 237,000 cases and more than 34,000 COVID-19 deaths. All four countries, including France, have seen significant declines in infections in recent weeks.