npr--2020-05-13--Biden, Comey Among Obama-Era Officials Who May Have Received Flynn Intel

Biden , Comey Among Obama-Era Officials Who May Have Received Flynn Intel Former Vice President Joe Biden is on a list of names provided to Senate Republicans by a sympathetic spy boss in connection with the case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn .
That was the latest twist in a years-long saga that changed course again this week following action by acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell , who declassified the names of a number of people who requested intelligence information in the final days of the Obama administration .
A number of former officials , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are described as having potentially received intelligence reporting connected to Flynn .
A message from the National Security Agency included with Grenell 's note to the Republicans says it is n't clear who may actually have viewed it .
You can see the list and notes here .
Nonetheless , President Trump and his supporters have sought political revenge with the release of the material years after what they perceive as a pernicious attack by the expiring Obama team .
Biden 's campaign slammed what it called a political stunt that it said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to distract Americans from the coronavirus pandemic .
The melodrama began years ago , when a White House official in the final days of the Obama era revealed to The Washington Post that Flynn had spoken with Russia 's then-ambassador to the United States during the presidential transition period .
That kernel of news snowballed into a scandal that led to Flynn 's ouster and a guilty plea for lying to the FBI .
All along , Flynn 's allies have slammed Obama-era officials for leaking his identity in a political attack , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meanwhile , Flynn 's case never was resolved , and he has been battling back against federal authorities , helped politically by revelations about problems with the Russia investigation and by allies eager to rehabilitate him and strike at the Obama team .
This month , as the Justice Department said it was moving to drop its case against Flynn , Grenell was working behind the scenes to identify and then reveal the Obama-era officials who might have had access to the information about Flynn 's phone conversation .
Biden , the likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , was just one of a number of top Obama lieutenants on the list provided by Grenell .
Also present were then-Chief of Staff Denis McDonough , then-FBI Director James Comey , then-CIA Director John Brennan and others .
Grenell provided the list to Republican Sens .
Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin , who unveiled it on Wednesday .
The senators demanded explanations from Biden and the others .
`` The officials listed should confirm whether they reviewed this information , why they asked for it and what they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other questions that have been raised by recent revelations , '' Grassley and Johnson said in a statement .
`` We are making this public because the American people have a right to know what happened . ''
Revealing classified information is against the law , and the identification of the names on Wednesday could set the stage , at least in theory , for the prosecution of whoever was connected definitively with talking to The Post .
Andrew Bates , a spokesman for Biden 's campaign , slammed what he called an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the subject in Washington from the coronavirus disaster .
`` Donald Trump 's attempt at dishonest media manipulation to distract from his response to the worst public health crisis in 100 years has backfired , '' he said .
`` These documents simply indicate the breadth and depth of concern across the American government — including among career officials — over intelligence reports of Michael Flynn 's attempts to undermine ongoing American national security policy through discussions with Russian officials or other foreign representatives . ''
The U.S. intelligence community produces a flood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world .
In much of what it yields , the identities of `` U.S. persons '' are `` minimized '' : Rather than saying `` Foreign Agent X communicated with John Smith , '' a report might say , `` X communicated with U.S .
Person 1 . ''
Government officials of sufficient stature can request that `` Person 1 , '' in this example , be `` unmasked '' to learn more about the report .
The officials may specialize in Foreign Agent X 's home country or be working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , placing the focus first on Foreign Agent X and then , as necessary , on Foreign Agent X 's correspondents .
Spy agencies get thousands of such unmasking requests per year , and records are kept , as confirmed by Grenell 's documents , about who makes them .
But the material from the intelligence community also says that people can make requests on behalf of their bosses — their `` principals , '' in government-speak .
So `` while the principals are identified ... we can not confirm they saw the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says .
Bates , the Biden spokesman , underscored that the `` minimization '' of intelligence reports means that serving officials ca n't single out `` U.S. persons '' — because their identities are n't revealed .
What intelligence `` consumers '' see are reports focused on prior targets of collection , such as foreign spies or diplomats , and references to contacts that radiate outward from them .
`` Importantly , none of these individuals could have known Flynn 's identity beforehand , '' Bates said .
`` These documents have absolutely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and they confirm that all normal procedures were followed — any suggestion otherwise is a flat-out lie . ''
In late 2016 and early 2017 , Flynn and the Trump transition team began making contacts with foreign diplomats , many of whom likely were ongoing surveillance targets .
That means `` U.S .
Persons '' connected with the new administration also likely began cropping up in the reporting about their conversations .
Sen. Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. , said on Wednesday that he wants more information about who else from the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those reports .
On Dec. 29 , 2016 , Flynn spoke on the phone with Russia 's then-ambassador to the United States and asked him to ask his government not to retaliate against punitive measures then being imposed on Moscow by the outgoing Obama administration .
The ambassador 's communications were being monitored , and U.S. officials learned about the contents of that conversation with Flynn .
But when Flynn and the White House later talked publicly about what was said , the two stories did n't match .
The backdrop for all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Washington at a time when many Americans were reeling from the revelations about Russia 's interference in the recent election .
Trump , meanwhile , was denying there had been any interference , claiming that his campaign had no contact with those involved and that he had no business dealings with Russia .
Those claims all eventually would be exploded , although investigators never made any conspiracy charges against anyone in Trump 's camp for cooperating with the Russians who interfered in the election .
In early 2017 , the FBI had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ camp — including Flynn — might have been coordinating with the Russians who were attacking the election .
Flynn had traveled to Russia for a dinner with Putin and took tens of thousands of dollars ' worth of payments from Russian entities .
Obama warned Trump personally about Flynn .
Subsequent evidence has suggested that in early 2017 , investigators may have been ready to close the file on Flynn .
Then came the flap over the sanctions conversation ; special agents went to interview him about it .
Flynn lied to them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal in which he agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a comparatively lenient prosecution and cooperating with investigators , which he did until a change of tune last year .
This year , Flynn 's team asked for a rescinding of that guilty plea and began a legal campaign to reveal material from the FBI officials involved with his interview — documents that have shown it in a new light .
Those documents , along with subsequent investigations about the investigation , have since shown how problematic the Flynn encounter was for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the bureau and the Justice Department were .
Those new facts about the case , along with the presence of Grenell as the acting boss of the spy infrastructure , have created an opening for payback by Trump , Grassley and Johnson .
The Justice Department dropped its charges against Flynn , although his case remains unresolved .

Biden, Comey Among Obama-Era Officials Who May Have Received Flynn Intel
Enlarge this image toggle caption Patrick Semansky/AP Patrick Semansky/AP
Updated at 5:34 p.m. ET
Former Vice President Joe Biden is on a list of names provided to Senate Republicans by a sympathetic spy boss in connection with the case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
That was the latest twist in a years-long saga that changed course again this week following action by acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, who declassified the names of a number of people who requested intelligence information in the final days of the Obama administration.
A number of former officials, including Biden, are on the list and are described as having potentially received intelligence reporting connected to Flynn. A message from the National Security Agency included with Grenell's note to the Republicans says it isn't clear who may actually have viewed it.
You can see the list and notes here.
Nonetheless, President Trump and his supporters have sought political revenge with the release of the material years after what they perceive as a pernicious attack by the expiring Obama team.
Biden's campaign slammed what it called a political stunt that it said was an attempt by the White House to distract Americans from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Russia imbroglio
The melodrama began years ago, when a White House official in the final days of the Obama era revealed to The Washington Post that Flynn had spoken with Russia's then-ambassador to the United States during the presidential transition period.
That kernel of news snowballed into a scandal that led to Flynn's ouster and a guilty plea for lying to the FBI. All along, Flynn's allies have slammed Obama-era officials for leaking his identity in a political attack, calling that an abuse of power.
Meanwhile, Flynn's case never was resolved, and he has been battling back against federal authorities, helped politically by revelations about problems with the Russia investigation and by allies eager to rehabilitate him and strike at the Obama team.
This month, as the Justice Department said it was moving to drop its case against Flynn, Grenell was working behind the scenes to identify and then reveal the Obama-era officials who might have had access to the information about Flynn's phone conversation.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Biden, the likely Democratic Party nominee for president this year, was just one of a number of top Obama lieutenants on the list provided by Grenell. Also present were then-Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, then-FBI Director James Comey, then-CIA Director John Brennan and others.
Grenell provided the list to Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who unveiled it on Wednesday. The senators demanded explanations from Biden and the others.
"The officials listed should confirm whether they reviewed this information, why they asked for it and what they did with it, and answer many other questions that have been raised by recent revelations," Grassley and Johnson said in a statement. "We are making this public because the American people have a right to know what happened."
Revealing classified information is against the law, and the identification of the names on Wednesday could set the stage, at least in theory, for the prosecution of whoever was connected definitively with talking to The Post.
Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden's campaign, slammed what he called an attempt by the Trump administration to change the subject in Washington from the coronavirus disaster.
"Donald Trump's attempt at dishonest media manipulation to distract from his response to the worst public health crisis in 100 years has backfired," he said.
"These documents simply indicate the breadth and depth of concern across the American government — including among career officials — over intelligence reports of Michael Flynn's attempts to undermine ongoing American national security policy through discussions with Russian officials or other foreign representatives."
Unmasking
The U.S. intelligence community produces a flood of reporting about myriad targets and issues around the world. In much of what it yields, the identities of "U.S. persons" are "minimized": Rather than saying "Foreign Agent X communicated with John Smith," a report might say, "X communicated with U.S. Person 1."
Government officials of sufficient stature can request that "Person 1," in this example, be "unmasked" to learn more about the report. The officials may specialize in Foreign Agent X's home country or be working on an investigation that involves that target, placing the focus first on Foreign Agent X and then, as necessary, on Foreign Agent X's correspondents.
Spy agencies get thousands of such unmasking requests per year, and records are kept, as confirmed by Grenell's documents, about who makes them. But the material from the intelligence community also says that people can make requests on behalf of their bosses — their "principals," in government-speak.
So "while the principals are identified ... we cannot confirm they saw the unmasked information," the NSA document says.
Bates, the Biden spokesman, underscored that the "minimization" of intelligence reports means that serving officials can't single out "U.S. persons" — because their identities aren't revealed.
What intelligence "consumers" see are reports focused on prior targets of collection, such as foreign spies or diplomats, and references to contacts that radiate outward from them.
"Importantly, none of these individuals could have known Flynn's identity beforehand," Bates said. "These documents have absolutely nothing to do with any FBI investigation, and they confirm that all normal procedures were followed — any suggestion otherwise is a flat-out lie."
The conversation
In late 2016 and early 2017, Flynn and the Trump transition team began making contacts with foreign diplomats, many of whom likely were ongoing surveillance targets. That means "U.S. Persons" connected with the new administration also likely began cropping up in the reporting about their conversations.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on Wednesday that he wants more information about who else from the Trump camp besides Flynn might have been in those reports.
On Dec. 29, 2016, Flynn spoke on the phone with Russia's then-ambassador to the United States and asked him to ask his government not to retaliate against punitive measures then being imposed on Moscow by the outgoing Obama administration.
Russian President Vladimir Putin later announced he wouldn't retaliate.
The ambassador's communications were being monitored, and U.S. officials learned about the contents of that conversation with Flynn. But when Flynn and the White House later talked publicly about what was said, the two stories didn't match.
The backdrop for all this was a fun-house mirror political environment in Washington at a time when many Americans were reeling from the revelations about Russia's interference in the recent election.
Trump, meanwhile, was denying there had been any interference, claiming that his campaign had no contact with those involved and that he had no business dealings with Russia.
Those claims all eventually would be exploded, although investigators never made any conspiracy charges against anyone in Trump's camp for cooperating with the Russians who interfered in the election.
In early 2017, the FBI had been investigating whether anyone in Trump's camp — including Flynn — might have been coordinating with the Russians who were attacking the election.
Flynn had traveled to Russia for a dinner with Putin and took tens of thousands of dollars' worth of payments from Russian entities. Obama warned Trump personally about Flynn.
Subsequent evidence has suggested that in early 2017, investigators may have been ready to close the file on Flynn. Then came the flap over the sanctions conversation; special agents went to interview him about it.
Flynn lied to them about the discussions and later accepted a deal in which he agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a comparatively lenient prosecution and cooperating with investigators, which he did until a change of tune last year.
This year, Flynn's team asked for a rescinding of that guilty plea and began a legal campaign to reveal material from the FBI officials involved with his interview — documents that have shown it in a new light.
Those documents, along with subsequent investigations about the investigation, have since shown how problematic the Flynn encounter was for the FBI and how divided the leadership of the bureau and the Justice Department were.
Those new facts about the case, along with the presence of Grenell as the acting boss of the spy infrastructure, have created an opening for payback by Trump, Grassley and Johnson.
The Justice Department dropped its charges against Flynn, although his case remains unresolved.


npr--2020-05-13--Uber Woos Grubhub, In A Move Lawmaker Calls 'Pandemic Profiteering'

With its ride-hailing business devastated by the coronavirus pandemic , Uber is in talks to acquire online food delivery company Grubhub .
If the two sides can reach a deal , the combined company would emerge as the dominant food-delivery app with 55 % of the U.S. market , according to analyst Dan Ives with Wedbush Securities .
`` Clearly this would be an aggressive move by Uber to take out a major competitor on the Uber Eats front and further consolidate its market share position , especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shift more of a focus to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Ives wrote in a note to investors .
With so many people unwilling or unable to go out to restaurants because of the coronavirus pandemic , demand for food delivery has surged .
Competition among the various apps , including DoorDash and Postmates , has intensified .
Despite a spike in orders , none of the top food-delivery apps are turning a profit .
That has caused discussion about mergers to swirl for some time .
The pandemic has sped up those deliberations , says analyst Tom White with D.A .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that consolidation in online food delivery is inevitable , '' he wrote in an email to NPR .
White predicts food-delivery apps will remain popular even after the economy gets moving again .
In March — the most recent month for which data is available — DoorDash was the most popular meal-delivery service , with some 42 % of all U.S. sales in the category , according to analytics firm Second Measure .
It was trailed by Grubhub with 28 % and Uber Eats with 20 % .
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that as its ride-hailing business has nose-dived , enlisting drivers to deliver food to doorsteps may become a larger part of the company 's future .
`` The big opportunity we thought Eats was just got bigger , '' Khosrowshahi said .
He argued that a merged food-delivery company could be a boon for both restaurants and diners .
`` There is a bunch of consolidation happening on a global basis where bigger players can not only provide better service for restaurants and consumers , but can provide a better service kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Khosrowshahi said .
But the merger chatter comes as cities across the country are cracking down on food-delivery apps by capping the fees they can charge per order .
Some restaurant owners say the fees , which can range from 10 % to 40 % of the total bill , hurt their bottom lines at a time when the industry is struggling to survive .
Companies like Grubhub counter that they are widening restaurants ' customer bases and that the higher-end fees reflect the additional marketing services that they provide to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delivery apps also contend it would be more costly for restaurants to develop their own technology and pay for their own drivers to deliver meals .
A deal between Uber and Grubhub may run into problems with federal regulators .
Analyst White said antitrust regulators may inspect the potential merger closely given the impact it could have on the restaurant sector at a time of deep peril for the industry .
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline , D-R.I. , who chairs the House 's antitrust subcommittee , has come out in opposition of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ characterized the potential merger in starkly critical terms .
`` Uber is a notoriously predatory company that has long denied its drivers a living wage , '' Cicilline said .
`` Its attempt to acquire Grubhub — which has a history of exploiting local restaurants through deceptive tactics and extortionate fees — marks a new low in pandemic profiteering . ''

Uber Woos Grubhub, In A Move Lawmaker Calls 'Pandemic Profiteering'
Enlarge this image toggle caption Lynne Sladky/AP Lynne Sladky/AP
With its ride-hailing business devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, Uber is in talks to acquire online food delivery company Grubhub.
If the two sides can reach a deal, the combined company would emerge as the dominant food-delivery app with 55% of the U.S. market, according to analyst Dan Ives with Wedbush Securities.
"Clearly this would be an aggressive move by Uber to take out a major competitor on the Uber Eats front and further consolidate its market share position, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shift more of a focus to deliveries versus ride-sharing in the near term," Ives wrote in a note to investors.
With so many people unwilling or unable to go out to restaurants because of the coronavirus pandemic, demand for food delivery has surged. Competition among the various apps, including DoorDash and Postmates, has intensified.
Despite a spike in orders, none of the top food-delivery apps are turning a profit. That has caused discussion about mergers to swirl for some time. The pandemic has sped up those deliberations, says analyst Tom White with D.A. Davidson.
"We've long believed that consolidation in online food delivery is inevitable," he wrote in an email to NPR.
White predicts food-delivery apps will remain popular even after the economy gets moving again.
In March — the most recent month for which data is available — DoorDash was the most popular meal-delivery service, with some 42% of all U.S. sales in the category, according to analytics firm Second Measure. It was trailed by Grubhub with 28% and Uber Eats with 20%.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told investors during an earnings call last week that as its ride-hailing business has nose-dived, enlisting drivers to deliver food to doorsteps may become a larger part of the company's future.
"The big opportunity we thought Eats was just got bigger," Khosrowshahi said.
He argued that a merged food-delivery company could be a boon for both restaurants and diners.
"There is a bunch of consolidation happening on a global basis where bigger players can not only provide better service for restaurants and consumers, but can provide a better service kind of on an economic basis that is sustainable," Khosrowshahi said.
But the merger chatter comes as cities across the country are cracking down on food-delivery apps by capping the fees they can charge per order. Some restaurant owners say the fees, which can range from 10% to 40% of the total bill, hurt their bottom lines at a time when the industry is struggling to survive.
Companies like Grubhub counter that they are widening restaurants' customer bases and that the higher-end fees reflect the additional marketing services that they provide to restaurant owners who choose it. Food delivery apps also contend it would be more costly for restaurants to develop their own technology and pay for their own drivers to deliver meals.
A deal between Uber and Grubhub may run into problems with federal regulators. Analyst White said antitrust regulators may inspect the potential merger closely given the impact it could have on the restaurant sector at a time of deep peril for the industry.
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who chairs the House's antitrust subcommittee, has come out in opposition of a deal. In a statement, he characterized the potential merger in starkly critical terms.
"Uber is a notoriously predatory company that has long denied its drivers a living wage," Cicilline said. "Its attempt to acquire Grubhub — which has a history of exploiting local restaurants through deceptive tactics and extortionate fees — marks a new low in pandemic profiteering."


npr--2020-05-13--Cease-And-Desist Order Issued Against 1st Concert As Arkansas Reopens

The Arkansas Department of Health has issued a cease-and-desist letter for what could have been the first concert of the coronavirus era .
The show was set to take place in Fort Smith , Ark.
, on Friday — three days before the state is set to allow businesses to open in a limited capacity .
The event organizers originally announced the show in April , with certain safety precautions in place : Tickets were sold in groups that would be seated at least 6 feet apart ; attendees would have their temperatures taken at entry points ; and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 229 people .
But the event was still in violation of the state 's health directives .
Arkansas Gov .
Asa Hutchinson said during a news conference Tuesday that he would issue a cease-and-desist warning to the venue , and later that day , the state health department followed through .
The letter stressed that even after the state is set to allow businesses to open in a limited capacity on May 18 , a `` large indoor venue '' would only be allowed to host 50 people or fewer .
According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Health Nathaniel Smith had tried to get the event manager to postpone : '' On May 11 , 2020 , I personally advised you by phone through counsel that you should postpone your event , and as of today 's date , it is my understanding that you intend to violate the orders of the Governor and the Health Directive by holding your event on May 15 . ''
NPR has reached out to the concert promoter , TempleLive , to see whether the show is still scheduled to go on ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday afternoon ) but has not yet received a response .
TempleLive has also announced a separate event with Friday 's scheduled performer , Travis McCready , on Saturday at an outdoor distillery venue in Missouri , which has eased its restrictions on public gatherings , provided people maintain social distance .

Cease-And-Desist Order Issued Against 1st Concert As Arkansas Reopens
Updated Thursday at 3:40 p.m. ET
The Arkansas Department of Health has issued a cease-and-desist letter for what could have been the first indoor concert with an audience of more than 200 of the coronavirus era. The show was set to take place in Fort Smith, Ark., on Friday — three days before the state is set to allow businesses to open in a limited capacity.
In a press conference on Thursday, concert promoter TempleLive said it would abide by the state's mandates and postpone the event until May 18. This was only after the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division revoked the venue's licenses. According to the organizers, a stipulation for getting those licenses back was to publicly postpone the event.
TempleLive originally announced the show in April, with certain safety precautions in place: Tickets were sold in groups that would be seated at least 6 feet apart; attendees would have their temperatures taken at entry points; and the normally 1,100-capacity venue would be reduced to 229 people. But the event still would have been in violation of the state's health directives.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said during a news conference Tuesday that he would issue a cease-and-desist warning to the venue, and later that day, the state health department followed through. The letter stressed that even after the state is set to allow businesses to open in a limited capacity on May 18, a "large indoor venue" would only be allowed to host 50 people or fewer.
According to the cease-and-desist letter, the state Secretary of Health Nathaniel Smith had tried to get the event manager to postpone:
"On May 11, 2020, I personally advised you by phone through counsel that you should postpone your event, and as of today's date, it is my understanding that you intend to violate the orders of the Governor and the Health Directive by holding your event on May 15."
TempleLive has also announced a separate event with the Fort Smith performer, Travis McCready, on Saturday at an outdoor distillery venue in Missouri,which has eased its restrictions on public gatherings, provided people maintain social distance.


npr--2020-05-13--Apple, Google Coronavirus Tool Won't Track Your Location. That Worries Some States

Apple , Google Coronavirus Tool Wo n't Track Your Location .
That Worries Some States When Vern Dosch heard that Apple and Google had teamed up to develop smartphone technology to help curb the spread of the coronavirus , he was excited .
Dosch leads North Dakota 's contact tracing strategy .
He believed the tech giants ' move would amplify his state 's efforts to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus — a critical step as states reopen for business .
In addition to hiring hundreds of contact tracers to call people with COVID-19 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they 've been with , North Dakota has built its own smartphone app for people to download .
Dosch thought Google and Apple 's system , which relies on the standard Bluetooth technology in most phones , would make that app more powerful .
But the terms the tech companies have set to protect smartphone users ' privacy are getting in the way .
`` Do we try to do this on our own ? ''
he asked .
`` Or do we just bow to the demands of Apple and Google ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' rules , it would have to build a new app .
If the state opts out of the tech giants ' system , it wo n't be able to reach as many smartphone users who may be at risk of the virus .
`` We need to have every tool '' Dosch , a veteran of the information technology industry , retired in January , only to be tapped weeks later by North Dakota 's government to head up its contact tracing effort .
Among the projects he is overseeing is Care19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's location using GPS .
More than 30,000 people in the state have already downloaded it .
Dosch said he hopes more will do so , enabling officials to keep tabs on potential coronavirus hot spots as the state lifts restrictions .
`` We want to know if , all of a sudden , contact tracing identifies that we 've had a lot of positives at a particular grocery store or a bar , '' he said .
In addition to knowing where people with the virus have been , North Dakota also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ close to , so those people can be notified and get tested .
`` We feel that in order to do our very best to protect the citizens and to do ... a very thorough job of contact tracing , we need to have every tool that we can , '' Dosch said .
That 's where Apple and Google 's new system could help .
The two are setting aside their normal rivalry to develop technology that will work across 3 billion iPhones and Androids around the world .
But there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governments that use their technology can not track users ' locations .
In their view , letting GPS report your every movement to the government is too big an invasion of privacy .
Other people working on digital contact tracing share the companies ' caution .
Daniel Weitzner , a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , is working on a Bluetooth-based project similar to Apple and Google 's .
While he is not working directly with Apple and Google , he said he understands why the companies are taking this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what is going to be effective here , we felt that the right thing to do ... was to start with the least intrusive approach that had a chance of being effective , '' Weitzner said .
For the technology to work as intended , people have to feel comfortable downloading and using it .
But an April poll by Pew Research Center shows Americans are split , with just over half saying it would be `` at least somewhat acceptable '' for the government to use cellphone-tracking information to find out where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same survey found 6 in 10 people doubted location-tracking information would help fight the spread of the virus .
The debate extends beyond North Dakota .
South Dakota is also using the Care19 app , while Utah has an app that tracks location as well as the identities of users .
Other states have told NPR that they are considering using apps to help with contact tracing , but they have not yet made a final decision .
Jared Allgood , co-founder of Twenty , the startup that built Utah 's app , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bar location-data collection is `` disappointing . ''
He said he hopes to reach some kind of agreement with the tech giants to use their system in Utah .
But he said tracking location and identity remain key to the state 's contact-tracing plan .
`` For [ contact tracers ] to do their job , they have to identify who that person is so that they can pick up the phone , have the conversation and encourage them to take the steps that they want them to take so that they can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
`` We 're trying to balance that ... with the need to protect user privacy . ''
In Europe , governments are split .
Germany and Italy said they will use the Apple-Google system , while Norway and the United Kingdom are building their own apps .
Back in North Dakota , Dosch said the state may build a second app that detects proximity in line with the tech companies ' rules .
But he said , `` I do n't know that too many citizens are going to be interested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the state will decide in the next few weeks .
`` There 's an urgency on our part , as the economy opens back up , to make sure we keep on top of this , so that we do n't end up with a surge that was bigger than the first one , '' he said .
`` This technology is a part of that . ''
Traditional contact tracing is laborious .
Health workers spend hours on the phone with infected people , going over where they have been and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ track the spread of the disease .
Technology could supercharge those efforts .
But experts caution that it is not a silver bullet .
Jennifer Nuzzo , an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health , said it is not clear yet whether any of these apps will be useful to contact tracers .
`` [ They ] might actually give you a much larger haystack to sort through in order to find your needle , '' she said .
Contact tracing has always fundamentally been about human interaction — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up about their personal lives .
`` It really relies on trust and it relies on the person being interviewed being willing to divulge that information to a public health official , '' Nuzzo said .
No app — regardless of the data it collects — can do the same .
Editor 's note : Apple and Google are among NPR 's financial supporters .

Apple, Google Coronavirus Tool Won't Track Your Location. That Worries Some States
Enlarge this image toggle caption Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images
When Vern Dosch heard that Apple and Google had teamed up to develop smartphone technology to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, he was excited.
Dosch leads North Dakota's contact tracing strategy. He believed the tech giants' move would amplify his state's efforts to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus — a critical step as states reopen for business.
In addition to hiring hundreds of contact tracers to call people with COVID-19 to learn where they've been and whom they've been with, North Dakota has built its own smartphone app for people to download. Dosch thought Google and Apple's system, which relies on the standard Bluetooth technology in most phones, would make that app more powerful. But the terms the tech companies have set to protect smartphone users' privacy are getting in the way.
Now Dosch faces a dilemma.
"Do we try to do this on our own?" he asked. "Or do we just bow to the demands of Apple and Google?" If North Dakota follows the companies' rules, it would have to build a new app. If the state opts out of the tech giants' system, it won't be able to reach as many smartphone users who may be at risk of the virus.
"We need to have every tool"
Dosch, a veteran of the information technology industry, retired in January, only to be tapped weeks later by North Dakota's government to head up its contact tracing effort.
Among the projects he is overseeing is Care19, an app that tracks a phone's location using GPS. More than 30,000 people in the state have already downloaded it. Dosch said he hopes more will do so, enabling officials to keep tabs on potential coronavirus hot spots as the state lifts restrictions.
"We want to know if, all of a sudden, contact tracing identifies that we've had a lot of positives at a particular grocery store or a bar," he said.
In addition to knowing where people with the virus have been, North Dakota also wants to know whom they've come close to, so those people can be notified and get tested.
"We feel that in order to do our very best to protect the citizens and to do ... a very thorough job of contact tracing, we need to have every tool that we can," Dosch said.
That's where Apple and Google's new system could help. The two are setting aside their normal rivalry to develop technology that will work across 3 billion iPhones and Androids around the world.
But there is a catch: The tech giants say governments that use their technology cannot track users' locations. In their view, letting GPS report your every movement to the government is too big an invasion of privacy.
Other people working on digital contact tracing share the companies' caution. Daniel Weitzner, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is working on a Bluetooth-based project similar to Apple and Google's. While he is not working directly with Apple and Google, he said he understands why the companies are taking this stand.
"Given the uncertainty about what is going to be effective here, we felt that the right thing to do ... was to start with the least intrusive approach that had a chance of being effective," Weitzner said.
For the technology to work as intended, people have to feel comfortable downloading and using it. But an April poll by Pew Research Center shows Americans are split, with just over half saying it would be "at least somewhat acceptable" for the government to use cellphone-tracking information to find out where people with COVID-19 had been. The same survey found 6 in 10 people doubted location-tracking information would help fight the spread of the virus.
A global question with global urgency
The debate extends beyond North Dakota. South Dakota is also using the Care19 app, while Utah has an app that tracks location as well as the identities of users. Other states have told NPR that they are considering using apps to help with contact tracing, but they have not yet made a final decision.
Jared Allgood, co-founder of Twenty, the startup that built Utah's app, said Apple and Google's decision to bar location-data collection is "disappointing." He said he hopes to reach some kind of agreement with the tech giants to use their system in Utah. But he said tracking location and identity remain key to the state's contact-tracing plan.
"For [contact tracers] to do their job, they have to identify who that person is so that they can pick up the phone, have the conversation and encourage them to take the steps that they want them to take so that they can stop spreading the disease," he said. "We're trying to balance that ... with the need to protect user privacy."
In Europe, governments are split. Germany and Italy said they will use the Apple-Google system, while Norway and the United Kingdom are building their own apps.
Back in North Dakota, Dosch said the state may build a second app that detects proximity in line with the tech companies' rules.
But he said, "I don't know that too many citizens are going to be interested in doing both apps."
He said the state will decide in the next few weeks.
"There's an urgency on our part, as the economy opens back up, to make sure we keep on top of this, so that we don't end up with a surge that was bigger than the first one," he said. "This technology is a part of that."
Contact tracing "relies on trust"
Traditional contact tracing is laborious. Health workers spend hours on the phone with infected people, going over where they have been and whom they have seen, attempting to track the spread of the disease. Technology could supercharge those efforts.
But experts caution that it is not a silver bullet. Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said it is not clear yet whether any of these apps will be useful to contact tracers.
"[They] might actually give you a much larger haystack to sort through in order to find your needle," she said.
Contact tracing has always fundamentally been about human interaction — public health staff asking people to open up about their personal lives.
"It really relies on trust and it relies on the person being interviewed being willing to divulge that information to a public health official," Nuzzo said.
No app — regardless of the data it collects — can do the same.
Editor's note: Apple and Google are among NPR's financial supporters.
NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin contributed to this report.


npr--2020-05-14--Millions Of Pigs Will Be Euthanized As Pandemic Cripples Meatpacking Plants

Millions Of Pigs Will Be Euthanized As Pandemic Cripples Meatpacking Plants Third generation hog farmer Chad Leman , making his daily rounds , points to dozens of 300-pound pigs .
`` These pigs should be gone , '' he said .
He means gone to the meatpacking plant to be processed .
But with pork processing plants shut down due to worker safety concerns , he 's faced with a grisly task : He needs to kill the pigs to make room for more .
And Leman is n't the only one .
With meatpacking plant closures and reduced processing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expect an unprecedented crisis : the need to euthanize millions of pigs .
The meatpacking industry is being ravaged by the Coronavirus crisis , and thousands of employees have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 .
This has led to a significantly reduced capacity for processing hogs into pork , which is forcing farmers like Leman to make the difficult decision to euthanize their pigs .
Jason Lusk , the head of the agricultural economics department at Purdue University , estimates that there is currently a 40 percent reduction in meat processing capacity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day being left on their farms .
`` That 's a million extra pigs that would have gone to market , but instead are staying on the farm , from just one week , '' Lusk said .
Hogs ready for slaughter can not be easily held on farms because of their fast rate of growth .
Pigs that are held much longer than six months after birth grow too large for processing , and meat processing plants typically wo n't accept hogs larger than 300 pounds .
`` Nationwide , as an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , given what we know , somewhere between five and ten million '' hogs for euthanization , said Leman , a farmer from Eureka , Ill. , and a board member of the Illinois Pork Producers Association .
Before the Coronavirus crisis , pork production was a finely-tuned , just-in-time supply chain .
During normal times , this led to efficiency and the reduction of the cost to produce pork .
Now , it is a significant burden to hog farmers who will have nowhere to sell their ready-for-market pigs .
`` The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go to the processor , and to be in the barns , '' said Heather Hill , a multi-generational hog farmer living in Greenfield , Ind .
`` So even by tweaking their diets and trying to slow down how fast they 're growing , the pigs are still going to continue to get bigger . ''
Hill and her husband sell 30,000 pigs to market per year , and typically send 500 to 600 pigs to slaughter each week .
But for now , they 're holding more pigs on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Each load of pigs we ca n't sell , it definitely creates a domino effect , where we have a backlog of pigs , '' she told NPR .
Most farmers do n't want to talk about the prospect of euthanizing pigs , but considering the reduction in processing capacity , it has become almost inevitable that farmers in the American Midwest will need to consider what to do with the pigs that they can neither sell nor afford to hold on to .
`` What the challenge has become , now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long these plants were going to be down , '' Leman said .
`` And so now the problem is going to linger for far longer than we thought .
I mean , I think we 're going to have shipping disruptions now until at least July or August . ''
The tragedy of euthanizing millions of pigs is compounded by the fact that other parts of America face unemployment , poverty and hunger .
But without meat processing , you ca n't turn pigs into pork .
`` There 's conversations going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how can we most efficiently and humanely do this , '' Leman said .
`` This is not about euthanizing half a dozen animals .
This is thousands and millions of animals .
This is just an unforeseen calamity , really . ''
And beyond just killing the hogs there 's an open question about what to do with the many , many 300-pound carcasses .
The logistics alone are difficult to contemplate : while most farmers have euthanized pigs before in small numbers , doing so for large groups of pigs requires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once they 're killed , the heavy pigs need to be transported for disposal .
The large numbers prevent easy solutions , like giving away the pigs to food pantries — for which they would have to go through processing plants .
One possibility is the disposal of carcasses in massive landfills .
And to make matters worse for Leman : Last weekend a polar vortex swept through the Midwest and froze some of his emerging crop of soybeans , which he uses to feed pigs .
This means he 'll have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even as he deals with the pork crisis .
`` My wife and I have a longstanding joke between us .
She always says , 'well Chad , it could be worse , ' '' Leman told NPR .
'And I say , ' I know , but it could be better ! '
''

Millions Of Pigs Will Be Euthanized As Pandemic Cripples Meatpacking Plants
Enlarge this image toggle caption Scott Olson/Getty Images Scott Olson/Getty Images
Third generation hog farmer Chad Leman, making his daily rounds, points to dozens of 300-pound pigs.
"These pigs should be gone," he said.
He means gone to the meatpacking plant to be processed. But with pork processing plants shut down due to worker safety concerns, he's faced with a grisly task: He needs to kill the pigs to make room for more.
And Leman isn't the only one. With meatpacking plant closures and reduced processing capacity nationwide, America's hog farmers expect an unprecedented crisis: the need to euthanize millions of pigs.
The meatpacking industry is being ravaged by the Coronavirus crisis, and thousands of employees have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
This has led to a significantly reduced capacity for processing hogs into pork, which is forcing farmers like Leman to make the difficult decision to euthanize their pigs.
Jason Lusk, the head of the agricultural economics department at Purdue University, estimates that there is currently a 40 percent reduction in meat processing capacity, which will lead to 200,000 pigs per day being left on their farms.
"That's a million extra pigs that would have gone to market, but instead are staying on the farm, from just one week," Lusk said.
Hogs ready for slaughter cannot be easily held on farms because of their fast rate of growth. Pigs that are held much longer than six months after birth grow too large for processing, and meat processing plants typically won't accept hogs larger than 300 pounds.
"Nationwide, as an industry, we're thinking right now, given what we know, somewhere between five and ten million" hogs for euthanization, said Leman, a farmer from Eureka, Ill., and a board member of the Illinois Pork Producers Association.
Before the Coronavirus crisis, pork production was a finely-tuned, just-in-time supply chain. During normal times, this led to efficiency and the reduction of the cost to produce pork. Now, it is a significant burden to hog farmers who will have nowhere to sell their ready-for-market pigs.
"The system is built for certain sized pigs to go to the processor, and to be in the barns," said Heather Hill, a multi-generational hog farmer living in Greenfield, Ind. "So even by tweaking their diets and trying to slow down how fast they're growing, the pigs are still going to continue to get bigger."
Hill and her husband sell 30,000 pigs to market per year, and typically send 500 to 600 pigs to slaughter each week. But for now, they're holding more pigs on the farm than they typically do.
"Each load of pigs we can't sell, it definitely creates a domino effect, where we have a backlog of pigs," she told NPR.
Most farmers don't want to talk about the prospect of euthanizing pigs, but considering the reduction in processing capacity, it has become almost inevitable that farmers in the American Midwest will need to consider what to do with the pigs that they can neither sell nor afford to hold on to.
"What the challenge has become, now, is that we didn't realize how long these plants were going to be down," Leman said. "And so now the problem is going to linger for far longer than we thought. I mean, I think we're going to have shipping disruptions now until at least July or August."
The tragedy of euthanizing millions of pigs is compounded by the fact that other parts of America face unemployment, poverty and hunger. But without meat processing, you can't turn pigs into pork.
"There's conversations going on every day... to figure out how can we most efficiently and humanely do this," Leman said. "This is not about euthanizing half a dozen animals. This is thousands and millions of animals. This is just an unforeseen calamity, really."
And beyond just killing the hogs there's an open question about what to do with the many, many 300-pound carcasses. The logistics alone are difficult to contemplate: while most farmers have euthanized pigs before in small numbers, doing so for large groups of pigs requires more sophisticated equipment — after all, once they're killed, the heavy pigs need to be transported for disposal.
The large numbers prevent easy solutions, like giving away the pigs to food pantries — for which they would have to go through processing plants. One possibility is the disposal of carcasses in massive landfills.
And to make matters worse for Leman: Last weekend a polar vortex swept through the Midwest and froze some of his emerging crop of soybeans, which he uses to feed pigs. This means he'll have to replant acres and acres of soybeans, even as he deals with the pork crisis.
"My wife and I have a longstanding joke between us. She always says, 'well Chad, it could be worse,'" Leman told NPR. 'And I say, 'I know, but it could be better!'"


npr--2020-05-14--White House List Of Testing Labs Wasn't Helpful, States Say

The White House has touted the fact that its coronavirus task force provided each state with a list of labs that could potentially test for the virus , but officials in a number of states told NPR that the lists did not actually help them increase testing .
The White House task force has said for weeks that testing in the U.S. is going smoothly , and that it is helping states gear up to check more people for SARS-CoV-2 , the virus that causes COVID-19 .
That capacity is still lacking in many places that are considering re-opening their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to slow the spread of the virus .
On April 20 , President Trump said that the task force had given each state a list of labs that could offer additional testing capacity .
He later said this had quickly produced dramatic results .
`` One week ago , we provided each governor with a list of names , addresses , and phone numbers of the labs where they could find additional testing capacity in their states , '' said President Trump during one of the task force 's daily briefings .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests performed across the country began to absolutely skyrocket . ''
NPR reached out to all 50 state health departments to ask about their testing efforts , including what impact the the task force 's list had .
Twenty-five states responded to NPR 's questions , though not all answered specific questions about the task force 's lists of labs .
Of those that did , however , only one — Alabama — said the list it received had helped .
Representatives from nine states said that the list had been reviewed but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states said that the lists had n't even been seen or reviewed — at least as far as the responding official knew .
`` We do n't recall seeing this list , but we believe we know the labs in state and out of state that are available to us currently , '' replied Elizabeth Goodsitt , a communications specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services , who noted that her state already had an established network of clinical labs .
Officials from the Colorado State Joint Information Center replied that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` it did not identify any labs we were not aware of . ''
Representatives from Idaho and South Carolina also responded that officials there had seen the list , but that it did not result in any additional testing .
Minnesota officials replied that they had reviewed the list but when asked if it had led to an increase in testing , replied `` not yet . ''
In Wyoming , the list was reviewed , but , according to officials , it did not provide any useful new information because it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have the regulatory approval needed to perform diagnostic medical testing for people .
The labs that had the necessary approvals `` were already performing COVID testing , '' explains Kim Deti , a public information officer at Wyoming 's Department of Health .
Other states cited similar problems .
`` The list from the White House omitted some labs that are doing testing and included sites that do not have current capacity to do COVID-19 testing , '' said Robert Long , communications director at Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also a concern for some officials , who noted that the labs on the list had testing machines , but did not have the materials such as swabs and testing chemicals they needed to perform coronavirus tests .
`` Oregon had already surveyed labs to identify what instruments are already in the field , '' said Robb Cowie , a spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority , referring to the testing machines .
`` The issue is that these instruments are not being supplied with the reagents/test cartridges needed to run to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list received by Montana did not result in any increase in testing because the laboratories on that list are not receiving `` an adequate supply of kits , reagents and supplies , '' according to Jon Ebelt , a public information officer for Montana 's Department of Public Health and Human Services .
`` We received a partial list of laboratories that have equipment , have reviewed the list and provided feedback to the Governor 's Coronavirus Task Force , '' Ebelt said .
`` The list outlined test equipment but did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equipment . ''
Vermont officials did review the list received from the task force , but it did not have any effect as the state does `` not need increased lab capacity at this time , '' according to Erik Filkhorn , a spokesperson for Vermont 's health operations center .
On April 20 , the day that the lists of labs went out , Maryland Governor Larry Hogan noted on a conference call with the coronavirus task force that the list given to his state included federal labs that the state could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get access for more than a month .
That , plus the news that Maryland had obtained a half-million testing kits from South Korea , seemed to draw a swift rebuke from the president .
`` Some of the governors , like , as an example , the governor from Maryland , did n't really understand the list , '' said President Trump .
`` He did n't understand too much about what was going on .
So , now I think he 'll be able to do that .
It 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capacity and we hope to be able to help him out . ''
Hogan responded by immediately writing a letter to the president thanking him for his `` generous offer '' and asking for assistance in securing access to testing equipment in federal labs .
Last week , a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health told NPR that it `` has been in discussions with the National Institutes of Health and other federal labs in the state about processing COVID-19 tests . ''
The NIH , however , seemed to suggest that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or had not been fruitful .
`` NIH 's laboratories support clinical research conducted at the NIH Clinical Center and testing of NIH staff suspected of coronavirus infection , '' a spokesperson told NPR .
`` NIH does not currently have the laboratory capacity to support testing beyond our own staff and Clinical Center patients . ''
Alabama is the only state where officials told NPR that the list had been reviewed and that it had resulted in increased testing .
`` Some additional commercial labs were beginning to test '' for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alabama Department of Public Health .
`` These were additional resources for the citizens of the state . ''
Landers said how much testing was added `` varies '' depending on `` whether labs have issues with collection supplies , reagents , and so forth which can happen with any lab depending on demand . ''
Federal officials continue to cite the task force lists that were given to the states as an important step in ramping up the nation 's testing .
During testimony to lawmakers on Tuesday , for example , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brett Giroir noted that the government had `` detailed the location and capacity of every lab machine in every state that could potentially run COVID-19 '' tests .
And an official with the task force , when asked by NPR if there was any evidence that these lists had significantly assisted states , said that `` the success of this effort is in the increased testing the nation has seen in recent weeks due to states tapping into unused capacity . ''

White House List Of Testing Labs Wasn't Helpful, States Say
Enlarge this image toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The White House has touted the fact that its coronavirus task force provided each state with a list of labs that could potentially test for the virus, but officials in a number of states told NPR that the lists did not actually help them increase testing.
The White House task force has said for weeks that testing in the U.S. is going smoothly, and that it is helping states gear up to check more people for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. That capacity is still lacking in many places that are considering re-opening their economies after locking down in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.
On April 20, President Trump said that the task force had given each state a list of labs that could offer additional testing capacity. He later said this had quickly produced dramatic results.
"One week ago, we provided each governor with a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of the labs where they could find additional testing capacity in their states," said President Trump during one of the task force's daily briefings. "Within 48 hours, the number of tests performed across the country began to absolutely skyrocket."
NPR reached out to all 50 state health departments to ask about their testing efforts, including what impact the the task force's list had.
Twenty-five states responded to NPR's questions, though not all answered specific questions about the task force's lists of labs. Of those that did, however, only one — Alabama — said the list it received had helped.
Representatives from nine states said that the list had been reviewed but had not produced more testing. Six states said that the lists hadn't even been seen or reviewed — at least as far as the responding official knew.
"We don't recall seeing this list, but we believe we know the labs in state and out of state that are available to us currently," replied Elizabeth Goodsitt, a communications specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, who noted that her state already had an established network of clinical labs.
Officials from the Colorado State Joint Information Center replied that the list they received had been reviewed but "it did not identify any labs we were not aware of."
Representatives from Idaho and South Carolina also responded that officials there had seen the list, but that it did not result in any additional testing. Minnesota officials replied that they had reviewed the list but when asked if it had led to an increase in testing, replied "not yet."
In Wyoming, the list was reviewed, but, according to officials, it did not provide any useful new information because it included veterinary or research labs that did not have the regulatory approval needed to perform diagnostic medical testing for people. The labs that had the necessary approvals "were already performing COVID testing," explains Kim Deti, a public information officer at Wyoming's Department of Health.
Other states cited similar problems. "The list from the White House omitted some labs that are doing testing and included sites that do not have current capacity to do COVID-19 testing," said Robert Long, communications director at Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The lack of testing supplies was also a concern for some officials, who noted that the labs on the list had testing machines, but did not have the materials such as swabs and testing chemicals they needed to perform coronavirus tests.
"Oregon had already surveyed labs to identify what instruments are already in the field," said Robb Cowie, a spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority, referring to the testing machines. "The issue is that these instruments are not being supplied with the reagents/test cartridges needed to run to their maximum capacity."
Similarly, the list received by Montana did not result in any increase in testing because the laboratories on that list are not receiving "an adequate supply of kits, reagents and supplies," according to Jon Ebelt, a public information officer for Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services.
"We received a partial list of laboratories that have equipment, have reviewed the list and provided feedback to the Governor's Coronavirus Task Force," Ebelt said. "The list outlined test equipment but did not delve into testing supply availability for that equipment."
Vermont officials did review the list received from the task force, but it did not have any effect as the state does "not need increased lab capacity at this time," according to Erik Filkhorn, a spokesperson for Vermont's health operations center.
On April 20, the day that the lists of labs went out, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan noted on a conference call with the coronavirus task force that the list given to his state included federal labs that the state couldn't access, despite his having tried to get access for more than a month.
That, plus the news that Maryland had obtained a half-million testing kits from South Korea, seemed to draw a swift rebuke from the president.
"Some of the governors, like, as an example, the governor from Maryland, didn't really understand the list," said President Trump. "He didn't understand too much about what was going on. So, now I think he'll be able to do that. It's pretty simple. But they have tremendous capacity and we hope to be able to help him out."
Hogan responded by immediately writing a letter to the president thanking him for his "generous offer" and asking for assistance in securing access to testing equipment in federal labs. Last week, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health told NPR that it "has been in discussions with the National Institutes of Health and other federal labs in the state about processing COVID-19 tests."
The NIH, however, seemed to suggest that such discussions either were no longer happening or had not been fruitful. "NIH's laboratories support clinical research conducted at the NIH Clinical Center and testing of NIH staff suspected of coronavirus infection," a spokesperson told NPR. "NIH does not currently have the laboratory capacity to support testing beyond our own staff and Clinical Center patients."
Alabama is the only state where officials told NPR that the list had been reviewed and that it had resulted in increased testing. "Some additional commercial labs were beginning to test" for the virus, said Karen Landers of the Alabama Department of Public Health. "These were additional resources for the citizens of the state."
Landers said how much testing was added "varies" depending on "whether labs have issues with collection supplies, reagents, and so forth which can happen with any lab depending on demand."
Federal officials continue to cite the task force lists that were given to the states as an important step in ramping up the nation's testing.
During testimony to lawmakers on Tuesday, for example, White House coronavirus task force member Admiral Brett Giroir noted that the government had "detailed the location and capacity of every lab machine in every state that could potentially run COVID-19" tests.
And an official with the task force, when asked by NPR if there was any evidence that these lists had significantly assisted states, said that "the success of this effort is in the increased testing the nation has seen in recent weeks due to states tapping into unused capacity."


npr--2020-05-14--With School Buildings Closed, Children's Mental Health Is Suffering

Nightmares .
Tantrums .
Regressions .
Grief .
Violent outbursts .
Exaggerated fear of strangers .
Even suicidal thoughts .
In response to a call on social media , parents across the country shared with NPR that the mental health of their young children appears to be suffering as the weeks of lockdown drag on .
Most U.S. states have canceled in-person classes for the rest of the academic year .
This week in Senate testimony , Dr. Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , sounded a cautionary note on the prospect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the fall .
He pointed to the emergence of serious inflammatory illness in a handful of children .
`` We do n't know everything about this virus , and we really better be very careful , particularly when it comes to children , '' Fauci said .
He was responding to this comment by Sen. Rand Paul , Republican of Kentucky : `` I think it 's a huge mistake not sending our kids back to school . ''
Dr. Dimitri Christakis , one of the nation 's most prominent pediatricians , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ physician by training .
Christakis , who directs the Center for Child Health , Behavior and Development at Seattle Children 's Hospital , is the editor-in-chief of the journal JAMA Pediatrics .
And in a new piece published in the journal , he argues that the risks to children 's learning , social-emotional development and mental health need to be better balanced with the risks of spreading the coronavirus .
Sarah , a mom in Northern California , is one of many parents who responded to our query about how their children are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ husband work in the tech industry and have two daughters .
Their older daughter , Phoebe , turned 5 just as their area 's stay-at-home orders went into effect .
Her birthday party had to be postponed .
`` She has happy moments and laughs about things and plays and gets excited , '' says Sarah ( we 're not using her last name to protect her daughter 's privacy ) .
But , she adds , Phoebe has also `` started saying some things that were really freaking me out . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked her daughter to be more careful on the stairs in their house .
`` And she got indignant and she was like , 'Why ?
It 's my choice if I fall and kill myself . '
`` Another day , Phoebe asked to join her mother on a trip to the post office .
`` I told her no .
And she 's like , 'Why ?
I do n't care if I die . '
`` Sarah asked , `` 'Can you tell me more about that , please ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you have an extra kid [ her baby sister , Hannah ] , and Hannah 's a good kid and I 'm a bad kid . '
`` Sarah says she 's lucky that she has been able to take administrative leave from her job to be with her daughters full time during the lockdown and that they have mental health coverage .
But it has been difficult finding a therapist who can treat a young child over video chat .
Christakis says the serious effects of this crisis on children like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision to close schools initially , and now to potentially keep them closed , is n't , I think , taking the full measure of the impact this is going to have on children , '' he told NPR .
`` Not just the short term , but the long term . ''
The problem , Christakis says , is n't just learning loss , which is expected to fall particularly hard on low-income children with unequal access to distance learning .
Recent research from a large testing association on the `` COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fall having made almost a third less progress in reading , and half as much progress in math , compared with what they would have in a typical school year .
Mental health and social-emotional development , Christakis argues , have been less discussed : `` The social-emotional needs of children to connect with other children in real time and space , whether it 's for physical activity , unstructured play or structured play , this is immensely important for young children in particular . ''
A new study in JAMA Pediatrics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and anxiety among children under lockdown in China .
A third major risk , says Christakis , is child abuse .
With schools closed and activities canceled , adults who are mandatory reporters , such as teachers , are less likely to catch wind of abuse or neglect .
Hospitals around the country are reporting a rise in admissions for severe child abuse injuries and even deaths — a rise that coincides with lockdown orders .
And a sex-abuse hotline operated by the Rape , Abuse & Incest National Network reported that half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , for the first time in its history .
In his editorial , Christakis calls for a panel made up of interdisciplinary experts to make school reopening a priority in the United States .
`` I think we should sort of reason backwards from the expectation that children do start school , that that 's an imperative .
And then how do we make that happen safely ? ''
Safety , of course , is the reason schools closed around the world in the first place .
It 's still considered very rare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus , but recently a handful of children have died from an inflammatory illness related to COVID-19 , the disease caused by the coronavirus .
The science on children 's role in spreading the virus is also a moving target .
A new analysis of Chinese contact-tracing data in the journal Science , co-authored by Maria Litvinova , suggests that children are in fact less susceptible to coronavirus infections .
But because they have so much close contact at school , canceling in-person classes plays a key role in flattening the curve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is doubtful that schools , especially in big cities , can reliably enforce social distancing to reduce the number of contacts .
`` It 's very difficult to explain to children that they should n't stay with their friends or talk with them or be close to each other . ''
Christakis is himself an epidemiologist by training .
But he says these concerns are exactly why experts from different backgrounds need to be consulted , so that the risks of reopening schools can be properly balanced with the risks of keeping them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meat supply a national emergency , we should do the same with the brain supply . ''

With School Buildings Closed, Children's Mental Health Is Suffering
Enlarge this image LA Johnson/NPR LA Johnson/NPR
Nightmares. Tantrums. Regressions. Grief. Violent outbursts. Exaggerated fear of strangers. Even suicidal thoughts. In response to a call on social media, parents across the country shared with NPR that the mental health of their young children appears to be suffering as the weeks of lockdown drag on.
Most U.S. states have canceled in-person classes for the rest of the academic year. This week in Senate testimony, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sounded a cautionary note on the prospect of reopening school buildings nationwide, even in the fall.
He pointed to the emergence of serious inflammatory illness in a handful of children. "We don't know everything about this virus, and we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children," Fauci said. He was responding to this comment by Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky: "I think it's a huge mistake not sending our kids back to school."
Dr. Dimitri Christakis, one of the nation's most prominent pediatricians, agrees with Paul, who is a physician by training. Christakis, who directs the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Hospital, is the editor-in-chief of the journal JAMA Pediatrics. And in a new piece published in the journal, he argues that the risks to children's learning, social-emotional development and mental health need to be better balanced with the risks of spreading the coronavirus.
"I don't care if I die"
Sarah, a mom in Northern California, is one of many parents who responded to our query about how their children are handling the shutdown. She and her husband work in the tech industry and have two daughters. Their older daughter, Phoebe, turned 5 just as their area's stay-at-home orders went into effect. Her birthday party had to be postponed.
"She has happy moments and laughs about things and plays and gets excited," says Sarah (we're not using her last name to protect her daughter's privacy). But, she adds, Phoebe has also "started saying some things that were really freaking me out."
One day, Sarah says, she asked her daughter to be more careful on the stairs in their house. "And she got indignant and she was like, 'Why? It's my choice if I fall and kill myself.' "
Another day, Phoebe asked to join her mother on a trip to the post office. "I told her no. And she's like, 'Why? I don't care if I die.' "
Sarah asked, " 'Can you tell me more about that, please?' And she's like, 'Well, you have an extra kid [her baby sister] and [she]'s a good kid and I'm a bad kid.' "
Sarah says she's lucky that she has been able to take administrative leave from her job to be with her daughters full time during the lockdown and that they have mental health coverage. But it has been difficult finding a therapist who can treat a young child over video chat.
"An imperative"
Christakis says the serious effects of this crisis on children like Phoebe have been overlooked.
"The decision to close schools initially, and now to potentially keep them closed, isn't, I think, taking the full measure of the impact this is going to have on children," he told NPR. "Not just the short term, but the long term."
The problem, Christakis says, isn't just learning loss, which is expected to fall particularly hard on low-income children with unequal access to distance learning. Recent research from a large testing association on the "COVID-19 slide" suggests children may return in the fall having made almost a third less progress in reading, and half as much progress in math, compared with what they would have in a typical school year.
Mental health and social-emotional development, Christakis argues, have been less discussed: "The social-emotional needs of children to connect with other children in real time and space, whether it's for physical activity, unstructured play or structured play, this is immensely important for young children in particular." A new study in JAMA Pediatrics, he says, documents elevated depression and anxiety among children under lockdown in China.
A third major risk, says Christakis, is child abuse. With schools closed and activities canceled, adults who are mandatory reporters, such as teachers, are less likely to catch wind of abuse or neglect. Hospitals around the country are reporting a rise in admissions for severe child abuse injuries and even deaths — a rise that coincides with lockdown orders. And a sex-abuse hotline operated by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network reported that half its calls in March came from minors, for the first time in its history.
In his editorial, Christakis calls for a panel made up of interdisciplinary experts to make school reopening a priority in the United States. "I think we should sort of reason backwards from the expectation that children do start school, that that's an imperative. And then how do we make that happen safely?"
Safety, of course, is the reason schools closed around the world in the first place. It's still considered very rare for children to become seriously ill from the coronavirus, but recently a handful of children have died from an inflammatory illness related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The science on children's role in spreading the virus is also a moving target. A new analysis of Chinese contact-tracing data in the journal Science, co-authored by Maria Litvinova, suggests that children are in fact less susceptible to coronavirus infections. But because they have so much close contact at school, canceling in-person classes plays a key role in flattening the curve of an outbreak.
Litvinova says she is doubtful that schools, especially in big cities, can reliably enforce social distancing to reduce the number of contacts. "It's very difficult to explain to children that they shouldn't stay with their friends or talk with them or be close to each other."
Christakis is himself an epidemiologist by training. But he says these concerns are exactly why experts from different backgrounds need to be consulted, so that the risks of reopening schools can be properly balanced with the risks of keeping them closed. "If we declared the meat supply a national emergency, we should do the same with the brain supply."