npr--2020-07-01--Fauci: Mixed Messaging On Masks Set U.S. Public Health Response Back

While conceding missteps in the federal response to the coronavirus , Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday it is not too late to avoid the dire picture he outlined in congressional testimony of 100,000 coronavirus cases a day .
The nation 's leading infectious disease experts said the conflicting advice offered by federal leaders around face masks in the early days of the pandemic helped sow distrust and continues to hamper the government 's ability to slow the outbreak .
`` We have to admit it , that that mixed message in the beginning , even though it was well meant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health workers , that was detrimental in getting the message across , '' Fauci said in an interview with Mary Louise Kelly of NPR 's All Things Considered .
`` No doubt about it . ''
Despite the overwhelming consensus among public-health experts that face masks can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus , face coverings have become a partisan issue , something critics of the federal response have blamed on what they say has been a confusing back-and-forth on the issue from the Trump administration .
As late as February 29 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans on Twitter to stop buying masks , saying they are `` NOT effective . ''
But the guidance soon changed , and by early April the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began recommending that Americans wear face coverings in public .
Even then , however , President Trump said he would not be wearing a mask himself .
`` I think that that did have an effect , '' said Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , of the conflicting guidance .
`` The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
But , he added , once it became clear people can spread the virus without knowing they 're sick , public health leaders realized the message needed to change .
`` We have people who may not even know they 're infected and are inadvertently infecting others , '' said Fauci .
And the latest evidence shows some protection to the wearer too .
`` It is n't 100 % protection by any means , but certainly the amount that you get is worth wearing it , not only worth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to wear it . ''
Fauci said he has been encouraged by a growing chorus among Republican leaders in recent days encouraging Americans to wear masks .
That list has grown to include not only Vice President Mike Pence , but top Republicans in the Senate , including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , Tim Scott of South Carolina , Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Marco Rubio of Florida .
That 's been matched by a rising number of states that now require that masks be worn in public .
Eighteen states and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public — a list that was joined by Pennsylvania on Wednesday .
The tightening of coronavirus-related restrictions in many states comes amid a rapidly escalating surge in new cases that has eclipsed some of the worst days of the pandemic during the spring .
More than 44,000 cases were reported Tuesday , according to data from Johns Hopkins University , one of the highest daily totals yet .
And the worst may still be to come .
In testimony before the Senate on Tuesday , Fauci warned that the virus could soon reach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testimony , Fauci said one reason cases continue to climb is because the nation may not have shut down as aggressively as it needed to early in the crisis .
He noted that in Europe , as much as 95 % of the population was effectively shut down , while in the U.S. , the figure was closer to 50 % .
`` If you look at the Europeans , they got the curve way down , '' he told NPR .
`` Once the curve is way down ... it is much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of infection as you try to open up , to contain those infections .
And if you look at our curve , it peaked , it came down a little and then it stayed about flat until just recently when it resurged up again .
It makes it much more difficult because ... you 're sort of chasing after things as opposed to getting your thumb on them .
So we 're in a bad position because of what happened early on . ''
Fauci said he believes the country can avoid another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do things a bit differently than what we 've been doing . ''
He said activities like `` congregating in bars , congregating in crowds , people getting together in a celebratory way ... without wearing masks '' contributed to recent case surges .
This behavior , he said , while understandable because people `` felt cooped up , '' represented `` a violation of the principles of what we 're trying to do , and that is the social distancing , the wearing of masks . ''
`` It 's really in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a nation , as a populace to make this happen , '' he said .
`` It does not have to be 100,000 cases a day . ''

Fauci: Mixed Messaging On Masks Set U.S. Public Health Response Back
Enlarge this image toggle caption Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images
While conceding missteps in the federal response to the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday it is not too late to avoid the dire picture he outlined in congressional testimony of 100,000 coronavirus cases a day.
The nation's leading infectious disease experts said the conflicting advice offered by federal leaders around face masks in the early days of the pandemic helped sow distrust and continues to hamper the government's ability to slow the outbreak.
"We have to admit it, that that mixed message in the beginning, even though it was well meant to allow masks to be available for health workers, that was detrimental in getting the message across," Fauci said in an interview with Mary Louise Kelly of NPR's All Things Considered. "No doubt about it."
Despite the overwhelming consensus among public-health experts that face masks can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, face coverings have become a partisan issue, something critics of the federal response have blamed on what they say has been a confusing back-and-forth on the issue from the Trump administration.
As late as February 29, Surgeon General Jerome Adams was telling Americans on Twitter to stop buying masks, saying they are "NOT effective." But the guidance soon changed, and by early April the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began recommending that Americans wear face coverings in public. Even then, however, President Trump said he would not be wearing a mask himself.
"I think that that did have an effect," said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of the conflicting guidance. "The message early on became confusing," he said.
But, he added, once it became clear people can spread the virus without knowing they're sick, public health leaders realized the message needed to change.
"We have people who may not even know they're infected and are inadvertently infecting others," said Fauci.
And the latest evidence shows some protection to the wearer too. "It isn't 100% protection by any means, but certainly the amount that you get is worth wearing it, not only worth wearing it, but really compels you to wear it."
Fauci said he has been encouraged by a growing chorus among Republican leaders in recent days encouraging Americans to wear masks. That list has grown to include not only Vice President Mike Pence, but top Republicans in the Senate, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Marco Rubio of Florida.
That's been matched by a rising number of states that now require that masks be worn in public. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia now mandate masks in public — a list that was joined by Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
The tightening of coronavirus-related restrictions in many states comes amid a rapidly escalating surge in new cases that has eclipsed some of the worst days of the pandemic during the spring. More than 44,000 cases were reported Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, one of the highest daily totals yet.
And the worst may still be to come. In testimony before the Senate on Tuesday, Fauci warned that the virus could soon reach 100,000 cases per day.
In his testimony, Fauci said one reason cases continue to climb is because the nation may not have shut down as aggressively as it needed to early in the crisis. He noted that in Europe, as much as 95% of the population was effectively shut down, while in the U.S., the figure was closer to 50%.
"If you look at the Europeans, they got the curve way down," he told NPR. "Once the curve is way down ... it is much easier, when you do get blips of infection as you try to open up, to contain those infections. And if you look at our curve, it peaked, it came down a little and then it stayed about flat until just recently when it resurged up again. It makes it much more difficult because ... you're sort of chasing after things as opposed to getting your thumb on them. So we're in a bad position because of what happened early on."
Fauci said he believes the country can avoid another lockdown, "but we have to do things a bit differently than what we've been doing."
He said activities like "congregating in bars, congregating in crowds, people getting together in a celebratory way ... without wearing masks" contributed to recent case surges. This behavior, he said, while understandable because people "felt cooped up," represented "a violation of the principles of what we're trying to do, and that is the social distancing, the wearing of masks."
"It's really in our hands as a community, as a nation, as a populace to make this happen," he said. "It does not have to be 100,000 cases a day."


npr--2020-07-01--Lawyers Charged With Seven Felonies In Molotov Cocktail Attack Out On Bail

Lawyers Charged With Seven Felonies In Molotov Cocktail Attack Out On Bail A surveillance camera is said to have recorded it all : a woman in a black t-shirt stepping out of a tan minivan ; the lighting of a toilet-paper fuse , the arc of a beer bottle filled with fuel as it was thrown onto the dashboard of an empty police car .
That act of vandalism , in the early hours of May 30 , is why two Brooklyn lawyers are fighting federal explosives charges and could face as much as life in prison .
They had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until Tuesday night , after a government effort to keep them behind bars failed .
Federal prosecutors have n't accused Urooj Rahman , 31 , or Colinford Mattis , 32 , of harming anyone that night .
But they have indirectly cast the two defendants as characters in the favored Trump administration narrative that suggests that last month 's violent protests were n't just an eruption of anger from peaceful protesters , but rather the work of dedicated extremists .
In a recent memo to U.S .
Attorneys and department heads , Attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expected the department to respond — in the same way it did to organized crime or terrorism `` by disrupting their violent activities and ultimately dismantling their capability to threaten the rule of law . ''
Urooj Rahman and Colinford Mattis do n't claim to be members of any group ; their friends say they are n't people who espouse radical beliefs , but against this backdrop , they have been treated as if they are .
`` This is not a case about youthful indiscretion or a crime of passion , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hearing in the case .
`` It is about a calculated , dangerous crime committed by adults who risked the lives of innocent civilians and first responders , who had more Molotov cocktails ready ...
These were lawyers in particular who had every reason to know what they were doing was wrong and knew the consequences .
Committing this crime required a fundamental change in mindset for them . ''
Barr has said publicly that the FBI is building cases against `` a witches ' brew '' of extremist groups who he claims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrest people and charge them , at this stage anyway , we do n't charge them with being a member of Antifa , '' Barr told NPR 's Steve Inskeep in an interview on June 25 .
`` We charge them for throwing a Molotov cocktail , or we charge them for possession of a gun , or gasoline , or things to make bombs with .
Those are the kinds of charges that are filed . ''
By most accounts Rahman and Mattis were idealistic attorneys hoping to change the world .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ case that all changed on May 29th when the pair drove to a convenience store to buy beer bottles , gasoline , and toilet paper and built homemade explosives they intended to use .
In doing that , they became part of Barr 's witches ' brew .
`` These defendants allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at NYPD vehicles without regard for the potentially deadly consequences , '' the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District , Richard Donoghue , said in a statement when he announced the charges against the two attorneys .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with legitimate protest .
Those who carry out attacks on NYPD officers or vehicles are criminals , and they will be treated as such . ''
The police say it is an open-and-shut case — a camera outside the 88th Precinct caught the entire episode ; and , if that 's true , it is compelling evidence against Rahman and Mattis .
What it does n't explain , though , is why their case has been treated so differently — so much more harshly — than other Molotov cocktail protester cases around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's Office in the Eastern District of New York decided to charge Rahman and Mattis federally and the charges read like a domestic terrorism case : arson , conspiracy , use of destructive device , civil disorder , making or possessing a destructive device , and the use of explosives during a crime of violence .
That last charge alone – something called 924 ( c ) in the criminal code – carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison .
NPR reviewed forty-seven recent federal cases filed against other protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ damaging police property nationwide , and this case was the only instance in which 924 ( c ) appears .
( Prosecutors charged another woman , Samantha Shader , alongside Mattis and Rahman .
Shader threw a Molotov cocktail at a police van filled with officers in another part of Brooklyn that night .
It is unclear why they were charged together . )
Most protesters arrested for throwing Molotov cocktails are charged under 844 ( i ) – malicious damage or destruction by fire or explosive .
When asked why the Rahman-Mattis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the U.S. Attorney 's office declined to comment .
But two federal prosecutors who worked in the Eastern District and know the U.S. Attorney there well say the fact that the two were lawyers and knew better certainly played a role in the decision to level so many serious charges .
Defense Attorney Paul Shechtman , who represents Urooj Rahman , said he thinks federal prosecutors brought the case because they thought the local prosecutor in Brooklyn would be too lenient .
`` Ever since it has been taken federally , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a harshness unlike any I have ever seen , '' Shechtman said .
Before all this happened , Rahman and Mattis were kids from immigrant families who were making good .
Rahman , born to a Pakistani working-class family , grew up in Brooklyn and had gone to Fordham Law School .
She had worked as a human rights lawyer overseas and was working for Bronx Legal Services helping tenants in Housing Court .
`` She 's not a radical , '' her friend Salmah Rizvi said .
`` She believes in our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or somebody on the fringe who is disconnected .
No , she is quite the opposite . ''
Mattis grew up in East New York , the son of Jamaican immigrants .
With the help of a program called Prep for Prep , which places high-achieving minority students in private high schools , he attended St. Andrew 's , a boarding school in Delaware .
He went on to graduate from Princeton University and NYU School of Law .
Until a few months ago , he was an associate at Pryor Cashman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The company confirmed he had recently been laid off in COVID-19-related cutbacks .
`` His mother had been fostering three children and when she died last year , Mattis stepped in .
They 're all under the age of 11 , '' said Carolyn Chica , a mentor and advisor for Prep for Prep with Mattis .
`` And he 's a great dad . ''
So Rahman was a public interest lawyer .
Mattis was working at a corporate firm trying to raise three kids .
Chica said no one would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` It 's just surreal , '' she said .
The scene outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 29th was raucous and chaotic .
Thousands of chanting protesters filled the plaza in front of the arena ; police in riot gear drew up next to them .
Demonstrators threw water bottles and bricks at the cops on the line and when the police moved in to arrest them it was a clash that included swinging batons and pepper spray .
Brooklyn Assemblywoman Diana Richardson was in the crowd and expressed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The NYPD is being excessively aggressive with this crowd and it is inappropriate , '' she told a reporter there .
`` I am an elected official and they just pepper-sprayed me . ''
Urooj Rahman was there too .
A local journalist interviewed her just outside the Barclays Center shortly after the police began their arrests .
She wore a keffiyeh that she kept adjusting to cover her face .
`` I think this protest is a long time coming .
I think the mayor should have held the police department back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' she began .
`` This s*** wo n't ever stop unless we f***ing take it all down and that 's why the anger is being expressed in this way . ''
By then , protesters had started torching police cars , putting up barricades and mixing it up with authorities .
By night 's end , hundreds of protesters were arrested and some 400 NYPD officers were injured , some seriously .
A handful of the cops are facing disciplinary action for their behavior .
One waved a gun at crowds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a protester to the pavement causing a concussion .
The short excerpt from Rahman 's interview was taken in the midst of all that .
It first aired on a YouTube channel from a news outlet called LoudLabs , and eventually ricocheted around the Internet after the New York Daily News posted it on its website alongside with a mugshot of Rahman wearing a black t-shirt that read `` The Struggle Continues . ''
It went viral because not long after that interview , Rahman climbed into a van with Mattis , drove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and , police say , threw that Molotov cocktail into an abandoned , vandalized police car and tried to get away .
No one was around , according to defense attorney Shechtman , except for two police officers across the street .
`` They gave chase and Urooj and Colin were arrested , '' he said .
NPR called more than two dozen federal law enforcement officials across the country to discuss their investigations into the recent violence .
Without discussing individual cases in detail , they said that the Justice Department was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the absence of finding cases linked to extremists groups , they 've been told to pursue any protester cases that they do have aggressively — like the one in Brooklyn .
Alleged crimes like arson or vandalism are usually considered local crimes , charged and tried in local courts .
But Rahman and Mattis are facing charges in federal court .
To make that possible , prosecutors have to show a federal interest .
It has to affect , for example , interstate commerce in some way .
The way prosecutors in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case is by using the Commerce Clause .
`` The theory in this case is because the New York Police Department receives federal funding , that 's a federal interest , '' said Rachel Barkow , vice dean at NYU School of Law .
Mattis was in her criminal law class in 2014 , though Barkow says she does n't remember him and had to look him up in records to be sure.. '' They are also arguing that the police car itself travels in the country , so that 's the other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I believe it would pass constitutional muster .
But if we 're asking , as a matter of discretion , is this the kind of thing that should be a federal crime ?
You know , no .
This could have easily been handled by local prosecutors and it 's a bit odd that it 's been charged federally . ''
The aggressiveness of prosecutors in the Rahman-Mattis case goes beyond just the charges .
The government is also fighting their pre-trial release on bail .
Most defendants who have no criminal history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community can generally work out a bail package with a judge .
And initially , a Magistrate judge said both Rahman and Mattis could be released to home confinement , if they agreed to be electronically monitored and posted a $ 250,000 bond .
Rahman and Mattis were released and were home for five days before they were rearrested .
The prosecution had appealed their bail package .
A District judge reviewed the case a second time and also agreed the pair were n't a danger to the community and could be released @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court of Appeals .
The crime was so serious , they argued , no bail package could be stringent enough .
However Rahman and Mattis might have conducted themselves before May 29th did n't matter , they said , because they had all the hallmarks of secure and stable life and yet still committed this crime .
Fifty-six former federal prosecutors were so alarmed by the government 's argument , they filed a friend of the court brief .
Brian Jacobs , a former federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York was one of them .
`` Under the Bail Reform Act it is entirely appropriate for district judges and magistrate judges to consider a defendant 's history and characteristics in weighing whether there 's a bail package that could assure the safety of the community , '' Jacobs said .
`` The position the government takes [ in this case ] is that if you have an alleged offense that reaches a certain level of seriousness , when you have a certain quantum of proof on the government 's side , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter . ''
A three judge panel heard the appeal last week and the government argued that the two judges who granted bail did n't properly weigh the presumption that this kind of crime posed a danger of repeat behavior .
Shechtman , for his part , said this was all about one night in which two good people lost their way .
Two of the three judges decided Tuesday night to reaffirm the decision of the lower court and ordered that Rahman and Mattis be released on bail .
The two walked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brooklyn a few hours later , ending weeks of solitary confinement at the facility .
They had been isolated in a bid to prevent them from catching COVID-19 .
It is unclear whether the government will appeal their bail again .
Both Rahman and Mattis have pleaded not guilty to all charges and are due in court again in mid-July .

Lawyers Charged With Seven Felonies In Molotov Cocktail Attack Out On Bail
Enlarge this image toggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A surveillance camera is said to have recorded it all: a woman in a black t-shirt stepping out of a tan minivan; the lighting of a toilet-paper fuse, the arc of a beer bottle filled with fuel as it was thrown onto the dashboard of an empty police car. That act of vandalism, in the early hours of May 30, is why two Brooklyn lawyers are fighting federal explosives charges and could face as much as life in prison. They had been sitting in a New York jail until Tuesday night, after a government effort to keep them behind bars failed.
Federal prosecutors haven't accused Urooj Rahman, 31, or Colinford Mattis, 32, of harming anyone that night. But they have indirectly cast the two defendants as characters in the favored Trump administration narrative that suggests that last month's violent protests weren't just an eruption of anger from peaceful protesters, but rather the work of dedicated extremists.
In a recent memo to U.S. Attorneys and department heads, Attorney General William Barr made clear how he expected the department to respond — in the same way it did to organized crime or terrorism "by disrupting their violent activities and ultimately dismantling their capability to threaten the rule of law." Urooj Rahman and Colinford Mattis don't claim to be members of any group; their friends say they aren't people who espouse radical beliefs, but against this backdrop, they have been treated as if they are.
"This is not a case about youthful indiscretion or a crime of passion," a government lawyer argued at a recent hearing in the case. "It is about a calculated, dangerous crime committed by adults who risked the lives of innocent civilians and first responders, who had more Molotov cocktails ready... These were lawyers in particular who had every reason to know what they were doing was wrong and knew the consequences. Committing this crime required a fundamental change in mindset for them."
Barr has said publicly that the FBI is building cases against "a witches' brew" of extremist groups who he claims hijacked the protests. "When we arrest people and charge them, at this stage anyway, we don't charge them with being a member of Antifa," Barr told NPR's Steve Inskeep in an interview on June 25. "We charge them for throwing a Molotov cocktail, or we charge them for possession of a gun, or gasoline, or things to make bombs with. Those are the kinds of charges that are filed."
YouTube
By most accounts Rahman and Mattis were idealistic attorneys hoping to change the world. Government attorneys are trying to make the case that all changed on May 29th when the pair drove to a convenience store to buy beer bottles, gasoline, and toilet paper and built homemade explosives they intended to use. In doing that, they became part of Barr's witches' brew.
"These defendants allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at NYPD vehicles without regard for the potentially deadly consequences," the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, Richard Donoghue, said in a statement when he announced the charges against the two attorneys. "Such criminal acts should never be confused with legitimate protest. Those who carry out attacks on NYPD officers or vehicles are criminals, and they will be treated as such."
The police say it is an open-and-shut case — a camera outside the 88th Precinct caught the entire episode; and, if that's true, it is compelling evidence against Rahman and Mattis. What it doesn't explain, though, is why their case has been treated so differently — so much more harshly — than other Molotov cocktail protester cases around the country.
Mandatory Minimum Sentences
Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York decided to charge Rahman and Mattis federally and the charges read like a domestic terrorism case: arson, conspiracy, use of destructive device, civil disorder, making or possessing a destructive device, and the use of explosives during a crime of violence. That last charge alone – something called 924(c) in the criminal code – carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison.
NPR reviewed forty-seven recent federal cases filed against other protesters who threw Molotov cocktails or started fires damaging police property nationwide, and this case was the only instance in which 924(c) appears. (Prosecutors charged another woman, Samantha Shader, alongside Mattis and Rahman. Shader threw a Molotov cocktail at a police van filled with officers in another part of Brooklyn that night. It is unclear why they were charged together.)
Most protesters arrested for throwing Molotov cocktails are charged under 844(i) – malicious damage or destruction by fire or explosive. When asked why the Rahman-Mattis case was charged differently, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment. But two federal prosecutors who worked in the Eastern District and know the U.S. Attorney there well say the fact that the two were lawyers and knew better certainly played a role in the decision to level so many serious charges.
Defense Attorney Paul Shechtman, who represents Urooj Rahman, said he thinks federal prosecutors brought the case because they thought the local prosecutor in Brooklyn would be too lenient.
"Ever since it has been taken federally, it has been treated with a seriousness, a harshness unlike any I have ever seen," Shechtman said.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Hyder Kazmi, Salmah Y Rizvi Hyder Kazmi, Salmah Y Rizvi
Before all this happened, Rahman and Mattis were kids from immigrant families who were making good. Rahman, born to a Pakistani working-class family, grew up in Brooklyn and had gone to Fordham Law School. She had worked as a human rights lawyer overseas and was working for Bronx Legal Services helping tenants in Housing Court.
"She's not a radical," her friend Salmah Rizvi said. "She believes in our system. She's not an anarchist or somebody on the fringe who is disconnected. No, she is quite the opposite."
Mattis grew up in East New York, the son of Jamaican immigrants. With the help of a program called Prep for Prep, which places high-achieving minority students in private high schools, he attended St. Andrew's, a boarding school in Delaware. He went on to graduate from Princeton University and NYU School of Law.
Until a few months ago, he was an associate at Pryor Cashman, a mid-level law firm in Manhattan. The company confirmed he had recently been laid off in COVID-19-related cutbacks.
"His mother had been fostering three children and when she died last year, Mattis stepped in. They're all under the age of 11," said Carolyn Chica, a mentor and advisor for Prep for Prep with Mattis. "And he's a great dad."
So Rahman was a public interest lawyer. Mattis was working at a corporate firm trying to raise three kids. Chica said no one would have imagined it would all come to this. "It's just surreal," she said.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
The scene outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 29th was raucous and chaotic. Thousands of chanting protesters filled the plaza in front of the arena; police in riot gear drew up next to them. Demonstrators threw water bottles and bricks at the cops on the line and when the police moved in to arrest them it was a clash that included swinging batons and pepper spray. Brooklyn Assemblywoman Diana Richardson was in the crowd and expressed anger at the police response. "The NYPD is being excessively aggressive with this crowd and it is inappropriate," she told a reporter there. "I am an elected official and they just pepper-sprayed me."
Urooj Rahman was there too. A local journalist interviewed her just outside the Barclays Center shortly after the police began their arrests. She wore a keffiyeh that she kept adjusting to cover her face. "I think this protest is a long time coming. I think the mayor should have held the police department back, like the mayor in Minneapolis did," she began. "This s*** won't ever stop unless we f***ing take it all down and that's why the anger is being expressed in this way." By then, protesters had started torching police cars, putting up barricades and mixing it up with authorities.
By night's end, hundreds of protesters were arrested and some 400 NYPD officers were injured, some seriously. A handful of the cops are facing disciplinary action for their behavior. One waved a gun at crowds gathered in Greenwich Village, another pushed a protester to the pavement causing a concussion.
The short excerpt from Rahman's interview was taken in the midst of all that. It first aired on a YouTube channel from a news outlet called LoudLabs, and eventually ricocheted around the Internet after the New York Daily News posted it on its website alongside with a mugshot of Rahman wearing a black t-shirt that read "The Struggle Continues."
It went viral because not long after that interview, Rahman climbed into a van with Mattis, drove to the nearby neighborhood of Fort Greene and, police say, threw that Molotov cocktail into an abandoned, vandalized police car and tried to get away.
No one was around, according to defense attorney Shechtman, except for two police officers across the street. "They gave chase and Urooj and Colin were arrested," he said.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Frank Franklin II/AP Frank Franklin II/AP
NPR called more than two dozen federal law enforcement officials across the country to discuss their investigations into the recent violence. Without discussing individual cases in detail, they said that the Justice Department was making protester cases a priority and in the absence of finding cases linked to extremists groups, they've been told to pursue any protester cases that they do have aggressively — like the one in Brooklyn.
Alleged crimes like arson or vandalism are usually considered local crimes, charged and tried in local courts. But Rahman and Mattis are facing charges in federal court. To make that possible, prosecutors have to show a federal interest. It has to affect, for example, interstate commerce in some way. The way prosecutors in the Eastern District have done that in this case is by using the Commerce Clause.
"The theory in this case is because the New York Police Department receives federal funding, that's a federal interest," said Rachel Barkow, vice dean at NYU School of Law. Mattis was in her criminal law class in 2014, though Barkow says she doesn't remember him and had to look him up in records to be sure..
"They are also arguing that the police car itself travels in the country, so that's the other hook," she said. "I believe it would pass constitutional muster. But if we're asking, as a matter of discretion, is this the kind of thing that should be a federal crime? You know, no. This could have easily been handled by local prosecutors and it's a bit odd that it's been charged federally."
Federal Prosecutors Appeal Bail
The aggressiveness of prosecutors in the Rahman-Mattis case goes beyond just the charges. The government is also fighting their pre-trial release on bail.
Most defendants who have no criminal history and can show strong ties to the community can generally work out a bail package with a judge. And initially, a Magistrate judge said both Rahman and Mattis could be released to home confinement, if they agreed to be electronically monitored and posted a $250,000 bond. Rahman and Mattis were released and were home for five days before they were rearrested.
The prosecution had appealed their bail package. A District judge reviewed the case a second time and also agreed the pair weren't a danger to the community and could be released. Prosecutors appealed again, this time to a three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court of Appeals. The crime was so serious, they argued, no bail package could be stringent enough. However Rahman and Mattis might have conducted themselves before May 29th didn't matter, they said, because they had all the hallmarks of secure and stable life and yet still committed this crime.
Fifty-six former federal prosecutors were so alarmed by the government's argument, they filed a friend of the court brief. Brian Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York was one of them.
"Under the Bail Reform Act it is entirely appropriate for district judges and magistrate judges to consider a defendant's history and characteristics in weighing whether there's a bail package that could assure the safety of the community," Jacobs said. "The position the government takes [in this case] is that if you have an alleged offense that reaches a certain level of seriousness, when you have a certain quantum of proof on the government's side, the defendant's history and characteristics no longer matter."
A three judge panel heard the appeal last week and the government argued that the two judges who granted bail didn't properly weigh the presumption that this kind of crime posed a danger of repeat behavior. Shechtman, for his part, said this was all about one night in which two good people lost their way.
Two of the three judges decided Tuesday night to reaffirm the decision of the lower court and ordered that Rahman and Mattis be released on bail. The two walked out of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn a few hours later, ending weeks of solitary confinement at the facility. They had been isolated in a bid to prevent them from catching COVID-19. It is unclear whether the government will appeal their bail again.
Both Rahman and Mattis have pleaded not guilty to all charges and are due in court again in mid-July.


npr--2020-07-01--Richmond, Va., Mayor Orders Emergency Removal Of Confederate Statues

Virginia 's capital city began taking down its statue of Stonewall Jackson after Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the immediate removal of multiple Confederate statues in Richmond .
A crane and a cherry picker swiftly arrived on the city 's Monument Avenue to remove the statue of the Confederate general .
Crowds gathered to watch and cheer the crew 's work , reported Mallory Noe-Payne of NPR member station WVTF .
Stoney says he has the powers to remove the statues immediately because of powers he holds during a declared state of emergency .
In an interview Wednesday afternoon with NPR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to remove the statue for public safety and other reasons .
`` We 've had 33 days of unrest , '' the mayor said .
`` It 's time .
It 's time to move beyond the lost cause and embrace the righteous cause .
We can be more than just the capital of the Confederacy .
It 's time for us to be the capital of compassion . ''
Earlier in the day , Stoney had sought approval from the Richmond City Council for the immediate removal of the city-owned Confederate statues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to public safety .
While many council members voiced full support for the mayor 's proposal , procedural issues caused them to push a vote on the matter until Thursday , to allow enough time for public notice .
Interim City Attorney Haskell Brown warned that the mayor 's going ahead with emergency statue removal would be contrary to the legal advice he has offered previously .
Stoney says that he will work with the council in the coming weeks on a public process to determine the ultimate fate of the statues .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ into storage .
Monument Avenue 's Robert E. Lee statue is owned by the state .
Gov .
Ralph Northam is trying to remove it , but that effort has been blocked by an injunction from a Richmond judge .
A statue of Jefferson Davis was toppled by protesters last month , leaving Monument Avenue with two other city-owned statues of Confederate figures still standing : J.E.B .
Stuart and Matthew Fontaine Maury .
City Council member Michael Jones was among those watching the statue come down on Wednesday .
He said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice in Richmond are a manifestation of what Martin Luther King Jr. called `` the beautiful community . ''
`` That 's what he was shooting for , '' Jones told CBS station WTVR .
`` Out here in the streets protesting you have black young men and women , white young men and women , Latinx young men and women , Asian .
Everyone is gathering together to say , 'Black Lives Matter ' and that white supremacy can not exist and should not exist in this country . ''
`` I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done to get us to this point , to where we can truly say that Virginia is for lovers . ''

Richmond, Va., Mayor Orders Emergency Removal Of Confederate Statues
toggle caption Steve Helber/AP
Updated at 4:53 p.m. ET
Virginia's capital city began taking down its statue of Stonewall Jackson after Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the immediate removal of multiple Confederate statues in Richmond.
A crane and a cherry picker swiftly arrived on the city's Monument Avenue to remove the statue of the Confederate general. Crowds gathered to watch and cheer the crew's work, reported Mallory Noe-Payne of NPR member station WVTF.
Stoney says he has the powers to remove the statues immediately because of powers he holds during a declared state of emergency.
In an interview Wednesday afternoon with NPR, Stoney said he had moved quickly to remove the statue for public safety and other reasons.
"We've had 33 days of unrest," the mayor said. "It's time. It's time to move beyond the lost cause and embrace the righteous cause. We can be more than just the capital of the Confederacy. It's time for us to be the capital of compassion."
Earlier in the day, Stoney had sought approval from the Richmond City Council for the immediate removal of the city-owned Confederate statues, arguing that they posed a threat to public safety.
While many council members voiced full support for the mayor's proposal, procedural issues caused them to push a vote on the matter until Thursday, to allow enough time for public notice. Interim City Attorney Haskell Brown warned that the mayor's going ahead with emergency statue removal would be contrary to the legal advice he has offered previously.
Stoney says that he will work with the council in the coming weeks on a public process to determine the ultimate fate of the statues. Until then, the monuments will go into storage.
Monument Avenue's Robert E. Lee statue is owned by the state. Gov. Ralph Northam is trying to remove it, but that effort has been blocked by an injunction from a Richmond judge. A statue of Jefferson Davis was toppled by protesters last month, leaving Monument Avenue with two other city-owned statues of Confederate figures still standing: J.E.B. Stuart and Matthew Fontaine Maury.
City Council member Michael Jones was among those watching the statue come down on Wednesday. He said the protesters who have been rallying for racial justice in Richmond are a manifestation of what Martin Luther King Jr. called "the beautiful community."
"That's what he was shooting for," Jones told CBS station WTVR. "Out here in the streets protesting you have black young men and women, white young men and women, Latinx young men and women, Asian. Everyone is gathering together to say, 'Black Lives Matter' and that white supremacy cannot exist and should not exist in this country."
"I'm proud of everything young Richmonders have done to get us to this point, to where we can truly say that Virginia is for lovers."


npr--2020-07-01--Trump Vows To Veto Defense Bill If It Removes Confederate Names From Military Bases

Trump Vows To Veto Defense Bill If It Removes Confederate Names From Military Bases President Trump is escalating his fight with Congress over a broad bipartisan effort to rename military installations named for figures from the Confederacy , threatening to veto an annual defense bill if it includes the provision .
The Senate is debating the National Defense Authorization Act , which already includes the provision backed by most members of the Senate panel .
Meanwhile , a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is looking to add the change as part of ongoing negotiations for its version of the defense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , D-N.Y. , called Trump 's threat `` typical bluster '' and assured colleagues the defense bill will still pass with the directive intact .
Trump made the threat just hours after Schumer dared him to take such a step as a result of the issue over Confederacy names .
Trump zeroed in on the sponsor of the Senate amendment , Sen. Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass.
, with a racial slur .
The Senate Armed Services Committee adopted Warren 's provision last month , but there were some dissenting members on the panel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ create a commission charged with issuing recommendations for renaming Army installations that bear Confederate names .
The Pentagon would have three years to install the changes , including the removal of other Confederate names and symbols from ships , aircraft , streets and other Defense Department property .
`` The Confederate soldiers who betrayed the United States to fight for the Confederacy were fighting for the institution of slavery .
Plain .
Simple .
Ugly , '' Warren said on the Senate floor Monday .
`` It is time to put the names @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. soldiers in defense of a perverted version of America where they belong , as footnotes in our history books , not plastered on our nation 's most significant military installations . ''
Schumer remained confident as the fight moved to Twitter .
`` Let me make a prediction : First , that provision will not change in this bill as it moves through the House and Senate .
Second , let me predict , President Trump will not veto a bill that contains pay raises for our troops and crucial support for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The massive annual bill sets policy for the Pentagon and military service members — one that , because of its size and importance , passes overwhelmingly nearly every year .
It includes everything from plans on boosting troop levels and equipment to pay increases .
Already , the White House dug in earlier on standing by the current names of a number of Army bases named for Confederate commanders , including Robert E. Lee , who commanded the Confederate army ; Braxton Bragg , the namesake of the Army 's massive North @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's veto threat now escalates that fight .
Sen. John Cornyn , R-Texas , was holding out hope Wednesday , saying it 's possible that the provision could be tweaked in a way to win Trump 's approval .
`` You know we 've got a long way to go to get the NDAA bill done in the first place , and there 's a conference committee , '' Cornyn told reporters .
`` So there 's many places along the way where we can modify that and hopefully in a way the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rep. Karen Bass , D-Calif. , chair of the Congressional Black Caucus , joined Schumer in dismissing Trump 's tweet during a press conference on legislative proposals to further racial equality in the country .
`` The president has said he is going to veto it , but we know that we never know what the president is going to do from one minute to the next , '' Bass told reporters .
`` I would find it hard-pressed that he would actually veto that bill because he wants traitors to continue being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
The debate also highlights a growing gulf between the president and even members of his own party when it comes to revising American tributes to symbols of the Confederacy , highlighting a painful chapter of racial injustice in U.S. history .
Republicans , including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif. , had expressed support for the move to rename the 10 Army bases named for Confederate commanders .
Many were named around World War I following a War Department decision that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders and that ones in the South for Confederates .
`` I do n't think the name of the facility should be something that 's divisive or offensive to people , especially if there are better alternatives to it , but there has to be a process to it , '' Sen. Marco Rubio , R-Fla. , told reporters .
`` I personally do n't have any problem renaming bases .
We have plenty of American military heroes we can rename these things after . ''
But some GOP members , including Sen. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate Armed Services Committee , said Warren 's language to force the Pentagon to make the changes goes too far .
On Wednesday , Sen. Josh Hawley , R-Mo.
, said he 's sponsoring an amendment to soften the Warren provision — allowing a commission only to make recommendations — that could allay Trump 's concerns .
`` I hope we 'll get a vote on it .
I think that would take care of the issues that the President seems to have , '' Hawley said .
The House is moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ works on its defense bill and takes it up on the floor later this summer .
Rep. Don Bacon , R-Neb.
, a Marine veteran , crafted a bipartisan proposal with Rep. Anthony Brown , D-Md.
, that renames bases named for Confederates .
A member of the House Armed Services Committee , Bacon said he thinks the vast majority of House Republicans will support the measure .
`` I always did n't think it was right , '' Bacon told NPR on Tuesday , ahead of Trump 's veto threat .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Jim Crow South era , and it was n't done to respect the African Americans of the South .
It was to appease the Jim Crow governments of that era .
So again I think to be respectful to our minority population in our country , I think it 's the right thing to do . ''
The stand-alone version of the legislation has more than two dozen sponsors , including two Illinois Republicans , Reps. Adam Kinzinger and John Shimkus , who are also both military veterans .
Brown , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trained at several bases named for Confederacy figures , is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and also sits on the House Armed Services Committee .
He said he 's heard from several Republicans who have told him they want to see the measure pass .
`` There 's much greater awareness today of symbols and monuments and names , '' Brown said .
`` I think you 'll have [ a ] higher percentage of men and women in uniform today who can tell you who Gen. Bragg was and why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on one of the major force projection platforms of the United States Army , an institution that should be taking pride in inclusion and diversity and unity , and not on symbols that have divided us over the years . ''
Brown said he 's looking throughout the services to remove Confederate symbolism or names from military and Department of Defense facilities .
For example , Brown noted the Navy has to reassess the name of one of its warships , the cruiser USS Chancellorsville , which is named for a Confederate victory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee approved one of Brown 's amendments to remove any Confederate flags from Defense Department properties .
NPR congressional reporters Kelsey Snell and Philip Ewing contributed to this report .

Trump Vows To Veto Defense Bill If It Removes Confederate Names From Military Bases
Enlarge this image toggle caption Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images
President Trump is escalating his fight with Congress over a broad bipartisan effort to rename military installations named for figures from the Confederacy, threatening to veto an annual defense bill if it includes the provision.
The Senate is debating the National Defense Authorization Act, which already includes the provision backed by most members of the Senate panel. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is looking to add the change as part of ongoing negotiations for its version of the defense legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Trump's threat "typical bluster" and assured colleagues the defense bill will still pass with the directive intact. Trump made the threat just hours after Schumer dared him to take such a step as a result of the issue over Confederacy names.
Trump zeroed in on the sponsor of the Senate amendment, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with a racial slur. The Senate Armed Services Committee adopted Warren's provision last month, but there were some dissenting members on the panel who were opposed.
The amendment would create a commission charged with issuing recommendations for renaming Army installations that bear Confederate names. The Pentagon would have three years to install the changes, including the removal of other Confederate names and symbols from ships, aircraft, streets and other Defense Department property.
"The Confederate soldiers who betrayed the United States to fight for the Confederacy were fighting for the institution of slavery. Plain. Simple. Ugly," Warren said on the Senate floor Monday. "It is time to put the names of those leaders who fought and killed U.S. soldiers in defense of a perverted version of America where they belong, as footnotes in our history books, not plastered on our nation's most significant military installations."
Schumer remained confident as the fight moved to Twitter. "Let me make a prediction: First, that provision will not change in this bill as it moves through the House and Senate. Second, let me predict, President Trump will not veto a bill that contains pay raises for our troops and crucial support for our military," Schumer said Wednesday.
The massive annual bill sets policy for the Pentagon and military service members — one that, because of its size and importance, passes overwhelmingly nearly every year. It includes everything from plans on boosting troop levels and equipment to pay increases.
Already, the White House dug in earlier on standing by the current names of a number of Army bases named for Confederate commanders, including Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Confederate army; Braxton Bragg, the namesake of the Army's massive North Carolina installation; and others. Trump's veto threat now escalates that fight.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was holding out hope Wednesday, saying it's possible that the provision could be tweaked in a way to win Trump's approval.
"You know we've got a long way to go to get the NDAA bill done in the first place, and there's a conference committee," Cornyn told reporters. "So there's many places along the way where we can modify that and hopefully in a way the President will agree to."
But Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, joined Schumer in dismissing Trump's tweet during a press conference on legislative proposals to further racial equality in the country.
"The president has said he is going to veto it, but we know that we never know what the president is going to do from one minute to the next," Bass told reporters. "I would find it hard-pressed that he would actually veto that bill because he wants traitors to continue being on the name of our military institutions."
The debate also highlights a growing gulf between the president and even members of his own party when it comes to revising American tributes to symbols of the Confederacy, highlighting a painful chapter of racial injustice in U.S. history.
Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had expressed support for the move to rename the 10 Army bases named for Confederate commanders. Many were named around World War I following a War Department decision that Northern installations could be named for Union leaders and that ones in the South for Confederates.
"I don't think the name of the facility should be something that's divisive or offensive to people, especially if there are better alternatives to it, but there has to be a process to it," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told reporters. "I personally don't have any problem renaming bases. We have plenty of American military heroes we can rename these things after."
But some GOP members, including Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Warren's language to force the Pentagon to make the changes goes too far.
"Let's preserve our history," Inhofe told reporters on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he's sponsoring an amendment to soften the Warren provision — allowing a commission only to make recommendations — that could allay Trump's concerns.
"I hope we'll get a vote on it. I think that would take care of the issues that the President seems to have," Hawley said.
The House is moving forward with a bipartisan provision as it works on its defense bill and takes it up on the floor later this summer.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a Marine veteran, crafted a bipartisan proposal with Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., that renames bases named for Confederates. A member of the House Armed Services Committee, Bacon said he thinks the vast majority of House Republicans will support the measure.
"I always didn't think it was right," Bacon told NPR on Tuesday, ahead of Trump's veto threat. "Particularly, the bases were named during the Jim Crow South era, and it wasn't done to respect the African Americans of the South. It was to appease the Jim Crow governments of that era. So again I think to be respectful to our minority population in our country, I think it's the right thing to do."
The stand-alone version of the legislation has more than two dozen sponsors, including two Illinois Republicans, Reps. Adam Kinzinger and John Shimkus, who are also both military veterans.
Brown, a retired Army officer who has deployed and trained at several bases named for Confederacy figures, is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and also sits on the House Armed Services Committee. He said he's heard from several Republicans who have told him they want to see the measure pass.
"There's much greater awareness today of symbols and monuments and names," Brown said. "I think you'll have [a] higher percentage of men and women in uniform today who can tell you who Gen. Bragg was and why it's inappropriate to have his name on one of the major force projection platforms of the United States Army, an institution that should be taking pride in inclusion and diversity and unity, and not on symbols that have divided us over the years."
Brown said he's looking throughout the services to remove Confederate symbolism or names from military and Department of Defense facilities.
For example, Brown noted the Navy has to reassess the name of one of its warships, the cruiser USS Chancellorsville, which is named for a Confederate victory. On Wednesday, the Armed Services Committee approved one of Brown's amendments to remove any Confederate flags from Defense Department properties.
NPR congressional reporters Kelsey Snell and Philip Ewing contributed to this report.


npr--2020-07-01--New York City Mayor Delays Indoor Dining Indefinitely

New York City is delaying plans to open restaurants and bars to indoor dining , Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday .
De Blasio said at a press conference that while the city had planned to allow indoor service in the near future , the rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the United States has led it to take caution .
A number of states — including ones with large populations such as Florida , California , Texas and Georgia — have seen big spikes in cases recently .
`` We know a lot of other parts of this country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something other than the data , '' de Blasio said .
`` We see a lot of problems and we particularly see problems revolving around people going back to bars and restaurants indoors . ''
`` Indoors is the problem .
More and more , the science is showing it , '' he added .
The mayor said that outdoor dining in the city , which was allowed back last month , has worked well thus far .
New York state and New York City have continued to see a waning number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a huge spike in cases and deaths due to the virus earlier this year .
De Blasio did not say when the city plans to reopen indoor dining .
He added , `` even a week ago , honestly , I was hopeful we could , but the news we have gotten from around the country gets worse and worse all the time . ''

New York City Mayor Delays Indoor Dining Indefinitely
Enlarge this image toggle caption Kathy Willens/AP Kathy Willens/AP
New York City is delaying plans to open restaurants and bars to indoor dining, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
De Blasio said at a press conference that while the city had planned to allow indoor service in the near future, the rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the United States has led it to take caution.
A number of states — including ones with large populations such as Florida, California, Texas and Georgia — have seen big spikes in cases recently.
"We know a lot of other parts of this country have very sadly made decisions based on something other than the data," de Blasio said. "We see a lot of problems and we particularly see problems revolving around people going back to bars and restaurants indoors."
"Indoors is the problem. More and more, the science is showing it," he added.
The mayor said that outdoor dining in the city, which was allowed back last month, has worked well thus far. New York state and New York City have continued to see a waning number of coronavirus cases in recent months after experiencing a huge spike in cases and deaths due to the virus earlier this year.
De Blasio did not say when the city plans to reopen indoor dining.
He added, "even a week ago, honestly, I was hopeful we could, but the news we have gotten from around the country gets worse and worse all the time."


npr--2020-07-02--Tracking The Pandemic: Are Coronavirus Cases Rising Or Falling In Your State?

Tracking The Pandemic : Are Coronavirus Cases Rising Or Falling In Your State ?
More than 2.5 million people in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus and more than 125,000 have died .
Though growth in new cases slowed in late spring , by mid-June new cases began to trend upward nationally .
In the graphics below , explore the trend in new cases in your state to see whether cases are rising , falling or staying level .
You can view the data via a heat map ( immediately below ) , a curve chart and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case trends over the last three weeks .
Or to see states ' total cases and deaths on a map , click here .
The following chart displays states ' trends in new daily case counts , total cases , and per capita totals .
To compare state outbreaks , the trend lines for average new daily cases are graphed against each state 's total case count to date .
This highlights a state 's daily growth relative to the overall size of its outbreak .
When both new and total case counts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As cases slow , the curve levels or bends down .
In New York , site of the country 's largest outbreak , the state 's curve rose sharply before reaching over 170,000 total cases in April .
Since then , new cases have fallen from about 10,000 per day in mid-April to fewer than 700 per day in late June .
Some states , such as Hawaii , have declined to just a dozen new cases per day , while others are growing .
Arizona , which had leveled off at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saw a sudden sharp spike in new cases in June .
The coronavirus has hit some states much harder than others .
For much of the pandemic , a large share of U.S. cases have been centered around New York City .
As of early June , New York state , Connecticut and New Jersey accounted for about 30 % of total cases in the nation and 42 % of deaths , although new cases have been dropping in these three states .
Across the country , other large , populous states such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high totals as well .
Some smaller states have had a heavy burden of disease relative to their population size , such as Nebraska and Iowa , which have high case counts per capita , and Louisiana and Michigan which have a high death count per capita .
Explore the map below to see totals and per capita figures around the country .
Click here to see a global map of confirmed cases and deaths .
For more detail on your state , the table below shows the change in average new cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over week .
States marked in shades of red are showing growth , those in shades of green , are showing declines .
The data used here are compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University from several sources , including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ; the World Health Organization ; national , state and local government health departments ; 1point3acres ; and local media reports .
The JHU team automates its data uploads and regularly checks them for anomalies .
State-by-state recovery data are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be discrepancies between what you see here and what you see on your local health department 's website .
Figures shown do not include cases on cruise ships .
In early June , Michigan health authorities started including probable cases in its totals .
This resulted in a brief spike in the state 's daily numbers until the JHU team was able to reconcile the historical data .
On June 25 , New Jersey included 1,854 previously-unreported probable deaths in its totals , resulting in a spike in the state 's daily death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on March 16 , 2020 .
Elena Renken was a co-author on that version .
Sean McMinn contributed to and Carmel Wroth edited this story .

Tracking the coronavirus around the U.S.: See how your state is doing
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Note: This page was last updated on Feb. 1, 2023. It will no longer be updated. For current data on COVID cases and deaths, demographics, and hospitalizations, consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Feb. 1, there have been more than 101 million confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. and more than 1 million people have died of COVID-19. In the graphics below, explore the trends in your state.
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The above charts show average new cases per 100,000 people for each state over the last 12 months.
Note: Actual cases may be substantially higher, since many who test positive with at-home tests don't report their cases.
For additional data about COVID-19 in the U.S, including cases and deaths, demographics, and hospitalizations, consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
To show trends, the table below shows the change in average new cases per day in each state, week over week for the last 28 days. States marked in shades of red have growing outbreaks; those in shades of green, are declining.
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Methodology
The graphics on this page pull from data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University from several sources, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the World Health Organization; national, state and local government health departments; 1point3acres; and local media reports.
The JHU team automates its data uploads and regularly checks them for anomalies. This may result in occasional data discrepancies on this page as the JHU team resolves anomalies and updates its feeds. There may be discrepancies between what you see here and what you see on your local health department's website. Figures shown do not include cases on cruise ships.
Fluctuations in the numbers may happen as health authorities review old cases, process testing backlogs or update their methodologies. The JHU team maintains a list of such changes.
This story was originally published on March 16, 2020. Elena Renken was a co-author on that version. Sean McMinn and Audrey Carlsen contributed to this story. Carmel Wroth edited this story.


npr--2020-07-02--Coronavirus World Map: Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak

Coronavirus World Map : Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak Since the new coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan , China , in December , the infectious respiratory disease COVID-19 has spread rapidly within China and to neighboring countries and beyond .
The first confirmed coronavirus cases outside China occurred on Jan. 20 , in Japan , Thailand and South Korea .
On Jan. 21 , the first case in the U.S. was identified in Washington state .
On Jan. 24 , the first two European cases were confirmed in France .
By Feb. 1 , eight European nations had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month later that count had risen to 24 countries with at least 2,200 cases , most of them in Italy .
On March 11 , Italy eclipsed 10,000 cases and the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic — the first since H1N1 in 2009 .
That 's also when China , the original epicenter , began seeing drops in daily counts of new cases .
March also saw exponential spread of the virus throughout the U.S. , with all 50 states reporting cases by March 17 .
This particular virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the third strain of coronavirus known to frequently cause severe symptoms in humans .
The other two strains cause Middle East respiratory syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome .
Click here to see the state-by-state breakdown of cases in the United States .
This story was originally published on March 30 , 2020 .

Coronavirus world map: We've now passed the 600 million mark for infections
Editor's note: This page is no longer being updated. The last update was Sept. 5, 2022. For current data about COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world, Johns Hopkins University and Our World in Data are useful resources.
In late January 2020 only a few dozen COVID-19 infections had been identified outside of China. A year later, the world tallied its first 100 million cases. It took the globe just 7 more months to pass the 200 million mark— then another 5 months to hit 300 million, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Now the virus has spread to every corner of the globe and has been blamed for more than 6 million deaths.
The United States, India and Brazil in that order have had the most COVID cases and the three nations collectively account for almost half of all recorded infections so far in the pandemic.
Explore the chart below to find a country-by-country breakdown of new and total cases since January 2020.
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Explore how the number of coronavirus cases have shifted in different parts of the world over time. The first chart compares each continent to each other, while the next charts highlight the number of cases in select countries by region.
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This story was originally published on March 30, 2020.


npr--2020-07-02--COVID-19 Exploits Cracks In Chilean Society

Chile looked as if it were well prepared to deal with the new coronavirus .
It 's a rich country — classified as high income by the World Bank .
Life expectancy is roughly 80 years — better than the United States ' .
It has a solid , modern health care system , and when the outbreak began spreading , officials made sure they had plenty of ventilators and intensive care beds at the ready .
But the virus exploited the cracks in Chilean society .
The country now has the highest per capita infection rate of any major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million people .
That 's more than 10 times the rate in neighboring Argentina and twice the rate in Brazil .
Like many well-to-do countries , Chile saw its first cases of COVID-19 among its elite — people who 'd recently traveled to Europe and the United States .
That was in April .
The government quickly rolled out a plan to provide testing and treatment .
Health officials quarantined hard-hit neighborhoods .
Residents had to apply for a pass online before they could go out of their homes even to buy groceries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going so well that Chile was starting to talk about reopening .
`` And then May started bringing more cases and more cases .
Currently we have , in my opinion , more cases than we are able to handle , '' says Thomas Leisewitz , a physician in Santiago .
Leisewitz is a professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and heads up strategic development at Red de Salud UC Christus , a nonprofit Catholic health care network .
Since May , the number of cases has been rising steadily , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 6,000 new cases a day in June .
The virus spread out of the affluent parts of Santiago to low-income neighborhoods where many residents do n't have the luxury of being able to work from home .
And the high numbers are not just a reflection of an efficient testing infrastructure .
Chile 's per capita testing rate is lower than most European nations ' and almost half the rate in the United States .
So how did this particular virus come to spread incredibly rapidly in wealthy , well-prepared Chile ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , says the reason is something unrelated to the virus itself .
That something is social inequity .
`` In Chile , there are two countries , '' says Insunza , who runs the center for investigative journalism at Universidad Diego Portales .
`` There 's a country for people like me .
I have a good education .
I have a good salary , and all my social security is privatized . ''
By this she means she has access to high-quality private hospitals and clinics .
But there 's another Chile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and you depend on the public health [ system ] , '' says Insunza .
Last October , violent street protests erupted in Santiago over a fare hike on the subway of 30 pesos , or less than 5 U.S. cents .
The protests became about far more than the price of a subway ride .
Chile is one of the most unequal countries in Latin America , according to the World Bank .
The elite , the top 10 % , controls more than half the country 's wealth .
And while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the last decade , the social unrest in October centered on the frustrations of lower- and middle-class Chileans who view their economic opportunities as unfairly limited .
Insunza says part of the frustration is driven by the elite often not even seeming to recognize their privileged lifestyles .
`` Santiago , it 's a very segregated place , '' Insunza says .
`` You can actually live your whole life and do n't see poverty .
Never . ''
Chile 's initial plan to deal with the coronavirus outbreak — which at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — failed to recognize that the affluent have maids , gardeners and cooks who might also get infected .
The country 's response went well in those early weeks .
Case numbers were holding steady .
The fatality rate was low .
Then the virus started spreading in lower-income neighborhoods and quickly got out of control .
`` One thing that 's interesting about Chile is that it probably has more state capacity in a technical way than any place in Latin America , '' says James Robinson , a professor at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nations Fail .
He has written extensively about Latin America and , in particular , Chile .
`` It 's good at raising taxes and building roads and infrastructure , '' he says .
`` And there 's not much corruption and things like that , but it 's also a very polarized place . ''
Robinson says large segments of the public do n't trust the state .
They are wary of cooperating with government , which may be part of what has hindered Chile 's response to the coronavirus outbreak .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ down over his handling of the crisis and discrepancies over the case numbers he reported domestically , which were lower than the counts given to the World Health Organization .
President Sebastián Piñera caused an uproar last week when he attended the funeral of his uncle along with more than 30 other people , while the government 's coronavirus rules allow only 20 people at funerals .
Despite the government offering cash support and food to people who 've lost work because of the lockdowns , Robinson says many Chileans feel that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that 's impeding the country 's ability to tackle this virus .
`` There 's a real problem with the social contract in Chile , '' he says .
`` And the way they tried to manage this thing just seems to have sort of exacerbated a lot of those problems . ''
Chile has now extended lockdowns to more areas and put in tougher limits on movement to try to rein in the surging outbreak .
In Santiago , residents who are not deemed essential workers are only being allowed to leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trips for grocery shopping .
The regional office of the World Health Organization , the Pan American Health Organization , predicts that cases will continue to rise in Chile at least into the middle of July .

How Chile Ended Up With One Of The Highest COVID-19 Rates
Enlarge this image toggle caption Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images
Chile looked as if it were well prepared to deal with the new coronavirus.
It's a rich country — classified as high income by the World Bank. Life expectancy is roughly 80 years — better than the United States'. It has a solid, modern health care system, and when the outbreak began spreading, officials made sure they had plenty of ventilators and intensive care beds at the ready.
But the virus exploited the cracks in Chilean society. The country now has the highest per capita infection rate of any major country — 13,000 cases for every 1 million people. That's more than 10 times the rate in neighboring Argentina and twice the rate in Brazil.
Like many well-to-do countries, Chile saw its first cases of COVID-19 among its elite — people who'd recently traveled to Europe and the United States. That was in April. The government quickly rolled out a plan to provide testing and treatment. Health officials quarantined hard-hit neighborhoods. Residents had to apply for a pass online before they could go out of their homes even to buy groceries. In late April, things were going so well that Chile was starting to talk about reopening.
"And then May started bringing more cases and more cases. Currently we have, in my opinion, more cases than we are able to handle," says Thomas Leisewitz, a physician in Santiago. Leisewitz is a professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and heads up strategic development at Red de Salud UC Christus, a nonprofit Catholic health care network.
Since May, the number of cases has been rising steadily, with the country recording at one time 5,000 to 6,000 new cases a day in June. The virus spread out of the affluent parts of Santiago to low-income neighborhoods where many residents don't have the luxury of being able to work from home.
And the high numbers are not just a reflection of an efficient testing infrastructure. Chile's per capita testing rate is lower than most European nations' and almost half the rate in the United States.
So how did this particular virus come to spread incredibly rapidly in wealthy, well-prepared Chile?
Andrea Insunza, a journalist in Santiago, says the reason is something unrelated to the virus itself. That something is social inequity.
"In Chile, there are two countries," says Insunza, who runs the center for investigative journalism at Universidad Diego Portales. "There's a country for people like me. I have a good education. I have a good salary, and all my social security is privatized."
By this she means she has access to high-quality private hospitals and clinics.
But there's another Chile.
"And that Chile is poor and you depend on the public health [system]," says Insunza.
Last October, violent street protests erupted in Santiago over a fare hike on the subway of 30 pesos, or less than 5 U.S. cents.
The protests became about far more than the price of a subway ride. Chile is one of the most unequal countries in Latin America, according to the World Bank. The elite, the top 10%, controls more than half the country's wealth. And while extreme poverty has been driven down significantly over the last decade, the social unrest in October centered on the frustrations of lower- and middle-class Chileans who view their economic opportunities as unfairly limited.
Insunza says part of the frustration is driven by the elite often not even seeming to recognize their privileged lifestyles.
"Santiago, it's a very segregated place," Insunza says. "You can actually live your whole life and don't see poverty. Never."
Chile's initial plan to deal with the coronavirus outbreak — which at first affected mainly the elite in Santiago — failed to recognize that the affluent have maids, gardeners and cooks who might also get infected.
The country's response went well in those early weeks. Case numbers were holding steady. The fatality rate was low.
Then the virus started spreading in lower-income neighborhoods and quickly got out of control.
"One thing that's interesting about Chile is that it probably has more state capacity in a technical way than any place in Latin America," says James Robinson, a professor at the University of Chicago and co-author of Why Nations Fail. He has written extensively about Latin America and, in particular, Chile.
"It's good at raising taxes and building roads and infrastructure," he says. "And there's not much corruption and things like that, but it's also a very polarized place."
Robinson says large segments of the public don't trust the state. They are wary of cooperating with government, which may be part of what has hindered Chile's response to the coronavirus outbreak.
In June, the health minister stepped down over his handling of the crisis and discrepancies over the case numbers he reported domestically, which were lower than the counts given to the World Health Organization.
President Sebastián Piñera caused an uproar last week when he attended the funeral of his uncle along with more than 30 other people, while the government's coronavirus rules allow only 20 people at funerals.
Despite the government offering cash support and food to people who've lost work because of the lockdowns, Robinson says many Chileans feel that the system is stacked against them. And that's impeding the country's ability to tackle this virus.
"There's a real problem with the social contract in Chile," he says. "And the way they tried to manage this thing just seems to have sort of exacerbated a lot of those problems."
Chile has now extended lockdowns to more areas and put in tougher limits on movement to try to rein in the surging outbreak. In Santiago, residents who are not deemed essential workers are only being allowed to leave their houses twice a week, including trips for grocery shopping.
The regional office of the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, predicts that cases will continue to rise in Chile at least into the middle of July.


npr--2020-07-02--Trump And McConnell, Via Swath Of Judges, Will Affect U.S. Law For Decades

Trump And McConnell , Via Swath Of Judges , Will Affect U.S. Law For Decades With a boost from the Republican-led Senate , President Trump has now confirmed 200 federal judges .
Each one has a life term , representing a legacy that could extend for a generation .
The president often trumpets the achievement in speeches and on Twitter .
But the credit belongs as much to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , who took a victory lap last week .
`` When we depart this chamber today , there will not be a single circuit court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least 40 years , '' said McConnell , who 's been advancing the judicial nominees with single-minded focus .
`` Filling all of these circuit seats is an unmitigated success , no downside to that , '' said Severino , who leads the Judicial Crisis Network , a group that pushes for confirmation of Trump judges .
`` Let 's , as Leader McConnell has said , 'leave no vacancy behind . '
'' She pointed to Trump 's record in appointing judges to the federal appeals court , one step below the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Obama confirmed 55 appellate picks .
Trump already has installed 53 in just four years .
Democrats said there 's a reason for that startling number — Republican stonewalling of the previous president .
`` McConnell confirmed the fewest judges since President Truman during Obama 's last two years in office , '' said Christopher Kang , who vetted judicial nominees in the Obama White House .
`` So the reason President Trump had 200 judgeships to fill in the first place , is because McConnell obstructed . ''
Obama made the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being confirmed in order to wait for a Republican — in Trump — whose campaign the Senate majority leader then carried out with zeal , Kang said .
Aside from the sheer numbers of Trump judges , the other important thing is the longevity this cadre likely will have .
Many of the Trump nominees are in their 30s and 40s , not anywhere near retirement age .
There is no minimum age restriction to serve as a judge .
Judge Allison Jones Rushing , who now sits on the U.S. Court of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only 36 years old when she was nominated .
Justin Walker , who 's preparing to take the bench on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C .
Circuit , is 38 .
`` Even if Donald Trump is gone from office in January , these judges are going to be ruling for decades to come , '' Kang said .
And , he added , they 'll be ruling in cases that matter : abortion access , climate change , voting rights , and more .
For some civil rights advocates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump judge picks : diversity .
`` They are largely white and male , '' said Vanita Gupta , who runs the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights .
`` It is an astonishing lack of representation . ''
By her count , nearly 7 in 10 of the Trump judges are white men .
Just 28 of the 200 are people of color .
And , she said , there 's only one Latina appeals court judge , and no Black appellate judges .
`` You end up with a judiciary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the country is as a whole because it takes a fair amount of work actually to end up with those statistics , '' Gupta said .
But Trump allies say some of the nominees do represent diverse backgrounds more broadly : Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the Seventh Circuit appeals court is the mother of seven children .
Judge Don Willett on the Fifth Circuit was raised by his single mom in a trailer park .
And Judge Jim Ho , also of the Fifth Circuit , is the son of immigrants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could appear on President Trump 's short list for the next Supreme Court vacancy .
The president says he 'll publish a new list by September , before the election .
Candidate Trump adopted a similar approach four years ago , to signal that Republican voters could trust him .
Things worked well back then , said Severino .
She said Trump 's judges have been different — they 're bolder — but not in a bad way .
`` They 're not simply trying to keep their heads down and become the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ideal nominee in a prior Republican administration — someone who really has no track record whatsoever , '' she said .
`` But , instead , these nominees are people who were willing to stand up for what they knew was right . ''
For Democrats , like Kang , that 's not something to celebrate .
`` These are far more extreme judges than even President George W. Bush put on the bench , and we 're moving in the wrong direction , '' said Kang , who now works at Demand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to mobilize Democrats ' interest in the courts as an election issue .
Kang said he has no doubt that if more vacancies emerge later this year , Trump and McConnell will race to fill them while they control the White House and the Senate — underscoring how important judges are to Republican officeholders and the people who vote for them .

Wave Of Young Judges Pushed By McConnell Will Be 'Ruling For Decades To Come'
Enlarge this image toggle caption Patrick Semansky/AP Patrick Semansky/AP
With a boost from the Republican-led Senate, President Trump has now confirmed 200 federal judges. Each one has a life term, representing a legacy that could extend for a generation.
The president often trumpets the achievement in speeches and on Twitter. But the credit belongs as much to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who took a victory lap last week.
"When we depart this chamber today, there will not be a single circuit court vacancy for the first time in at least 40 years," said McConnell, who's been advancing the judicial nominees with single-minded focus.
Conservative advocate Carrie Severino is thrilled.
The NPR Politics Podcast Supreme Court Overturns Restrictions On Abortion Access Supreme Court Overturns Restrictions On Abortion Access Listen · 14:59 14:59
"Filling all of these circuit seats is an unmitigated success, no downside to that," said Severino, who leads the Judicial Crisis Network, a group that pushes for confirmation of Trump judges. "Let's, as leader McConnell has said, 'Leave no vacancy behind.' "
She pointed to Trump's record in appointing judges to the federal appeals court, one step below the Supreme Court. Over eight years, President Barack Obama confirmed 55 appellate picks. Trump already has installed 53 in just four years.
Unfair, say Democrats
Democrats said there's a reason for that startling number — Republican stonewalling of the previous president.
"McConnell confirmed the fewest judges since President Truman during Obama's last two years in office," said Christopher Kang, who vetted judicial nominees in the Obama White House. "So the reason President Trump had 200 judgeships to fill in the first place is because McConnell obstructed."
Obama made the nominations, but McConnell kept them from being confirmed to wait for a Republican — in Trump — whose campaign the Senate majority leader then carried out with zeal, Kang said.
Aside from the sheer numbers of Trump judges, the other important thing is the longevity this cadre likely will have.
Many of the Trump nominees are in their 30s and 40s, not anywhere near retirement age. There is no minimum age restriction to serve as a judge.
Judge Allison Jones Rushing, who sits on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was 36 years old when she was nominated. Justin Walker, who is preparing to take the bench on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is 38.
"Even if Donald Trump is gone from office in January, these judges are going to be ruling for decades to come," Kang said.
And, he added, they'll be ruling in cases that matter: abortion access, climate change, voting rights and more.
For some civil rights advocates, something else stands out about the Trump judge picks: diversity.
"They are largely white and male," said Vanita Gupta, who runs the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "It is an astonishing lack of representation."
By her count, nearly 7 in 10 of the Trump judges are white men. Just 28 of the 200 are people of color. And, she said, there's only one Latina appeals court judge, and no Black appellate judges.
"You end up with a judiciary that is really out of step with where the country is as a whole because it takes a fair amount of work actually to end up with those statistics," Gupta said.
Supporters defend the new cadre
But Trump allies said some of the nominees do represent diverse backgrounds more broadly: Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the mother of seven children. Judge Don Willett on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was raised by his single mom in a trailer park. And Judge Jim Ho, also on the 5th Circuit, is the son of immigrants from Taiwan.
All three of them could appear on Trump's shortlist for the next Supreme Court vacancy. The president said he'll publish a new list by September before the election. Candidate Trump adopted a similar approach four years ago to signal that Republican voters could trust him.
Things worked well back then, Severino said. She said Trump's judges have been different — they're bolder — but not in a bad way.
"They're not simply trying to keep their heads down and become the blank slate that may have been the ideal nominee in a prior Republican administration — someone who really has no track record whatsoever," she said. "But instead these nominees are people who were willing to stand up for what they knew was right."
For Democrats such as Kang, that's not something to celebrate.
"These are far more extreme judges than even President George W. Bush put on the bench, and we're moving in the wrong direction," said Kang, who now works at Demand Justice, a group that's trying to mobilize Democrats' interest in the courts as an election issue.
Kang said he has no doubt that if more vacancies emerge later this year, Trump and McConnell will race to fill them while they control the White House and the Senate — underscoring how important judges are to Republican officeholders and the people who vote for them.