npr--2020-10-07--Ironic Twist: In Spring Trump Halted Research Key To COVID-19 Drug He's Now Taken

Ironic Twist : In Spring Trump Halted Research Key To COVID-19 Drug He 's Now Taken President Trump has credited the apparent improvement of his coronavirus infection to , as he put it in one tweet , `` some really great drugs '' that were `` developed , under the Trump Administration . ''
For years Daszak led a U.S.-funded project that played an important role in the emergence of one of those drugs — remdesivir — as a promising treatment for COVID-19 .
Specifically , Daszak 's U.S.-based research group , EcoHealth Alliance , collaborated with scientists in China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in search of coronaviruses that could pose a threat if they spilled over into humans .
Beginning in 2014 , virus experts in the U.S. tested remdesivir against some of the bat strains that EcoHealth Alliance had discovered .
The results were promising — helping to elevate remdesivir 's profile within pharmaceutical research such that , when the current coronavirus hit , the drug was one of the first options scientists proposed trying against it .
Yet in April the National Institutes of Health abruptly terminated funding for the China bat research project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks earlier , Trump administration officials had been pushing a largely discredited theory that the Chinese lab that EcoHealth Alliance was partnered with – the Wuhan Institute of Virology – had accidentally released the virus causing COVID-19 .
And at a White House press conference days before the funding was pulled , Trump erroneously implied that the entirety of the money had gone to the Wuhan Institute and promised that his administration would take action on the issue .
After an uproar among scientists — including 77 Nobel laureates who sent a letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health said it would reinstate the grant in July .
But officials have imposed conditions that Daszak says are unprecedented and purposefully impossible to meet : `` One involves investigating the whereabouts of a lab technician who worked in Wuhan and who the conspiracy theorists say has disappeared mysteriously '' — but with whom , Daszak says , his group never worked .
`` It 's extremely frustrating , '' Daszak says .
`` I understand what 's going on .
[ The president ] is not trying to undermine our organization specifically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ narrative that 's anti-China . ''
But he adds a little wistfully , `` If collaborating with China on this work led to a drug that might help save his life , maybe that will turn him around and make him realize that this research is the sort of thing we need to be doing . ''
Another researcher who shares that hope is Mark Denison , a professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in studying coronaviruses .
Denison notes that the one causing the current pandemic — known as SARS-CoV-2 — is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ humans in the last 20 years , following SARS and MERS .
So when it comes to the focus of his research , `` I 'm preparing for SARS-CoV-3 . ''
But Denison adds that work is now hampered because EcoHealth Alliance has been effectively barred from discovering additional coronaviruses in China — which research suggests is a major reservoir for viruses that could cause future outbreaks .
`` We can not be prepared for these things if we are n't looking ahead , '' Denison says .
`` We can not close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
For example , he says , it will be important to track how many other potentially deadly coronaviruses share a vulnerability of the current one : When making copies of itself , the virus uses a particular proofreading mechanism to ensure that errors are n't introduced into its genetic sequence .
Disrupt the proofreading , and you prevent the virus from replicating inside the human body .
Denison and some collaborators at his lab — notably Clint Smith — first identified key aspects of this proofreading vulnerability between 2007 and 2014 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mice .
Denison then immediately went to the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences to ask if it had any experimental compounds that might interfere with the proofreading .
`` They had this immense panel [ of options ] , '' Denison recalls .
And `` one of the first they sent us was the parent drug of remdesivir . ''
When Denison 's team put the drug into a petri dish with the mouse hepatitis coronavirus , it showed `` tremendous '' success .
This sparked a collaboration with researchers at still more institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .
At the time , another coronavirus — MERS — was circulating among humans .
So `` we were focused on developing MERS-specific therapies , '' Sheahan says .
But there was also strong interest in ensuring they came up with a treatment that could work against many other coronaviruses as well — as Sheahan puts it , `` not just one drug for one bug but a drug for many kinds of bugs . ''
That prompted Sheahan also to try remdesivir on two bat coronaviruses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — as well as against the coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome , or SARS , in humans .
These were experiments in petri dishes and mice .
`` But the potency of remdesivir against all the different coronaviruses we tested was high enough that it would make you excited and encouraged that this could perhaps work [ against the virus ] in a person , '' Sheahan says .
He notes that even if remdesivr had n't been tested on the bat coronaviruses , its success against MERS and SARS would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing it against the current coronavirus .
( It also helped that remdesivir was more recently tested in humans against Ebola .
And though it did not pan out as a cure for that virus , the clinical trial at least offered evidence of remdesivir 's safety . )
Still , Sheahan says , the tests on the bat coronaviruses provided information that was `` undoubtedly '' useful .
Denison agrees , and he says this history behind remdesivir 's development offers an important lesson : `` This feels sometimes like it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : You know , there remdesivir was sitting on a shelf — let 's try it in humans .
But that was predicated on the availability of these bat viruses that allowed us to make predictions about the broad use of this drug . ''

Ironic Twist: In Spring, Trump Halted Research Key To COVID-19 Drug He's Now Taken
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sima Diab/Bloomberg via Getty Images Sima Diab/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump has credited the apparent improvement of his coronavirus infection to, as he put it in one tweet, "some really great drugs" that were "developed, under the Trump Administration."
The assertion carries special irony for researcher Peter Daszak.
For years Daszak led a U.S.-funded project that played an important role in the emergence of one of those drugs — remdesivir — as a promising treatment for COVID-19. Specifically, Daszak's U.S.-based research group, EcoHealth Alliance, collaborated with scientists in China to collect fluid samples from bats there in search of coronaviruses that could pose a threat if they spilled over into humans.
Beginning in 2014, virus experts in the U.S. tested remdesivir against some of the bat strains that EcoHealth Alliance had discovered. The results were promising — helping to elevate remdesivir's profile within pharmaceutical research such that, when the current coronavirus hit, the drug was one of the first options scientists proposed trying against it.
Yet in April the National Institutes of Health abruptly terminated funding for the China bat research project with no clear explanation. In the weeks earlier, Trump administration officials had been pushing a largely discredited theory that the Chinese lab that EcoHealth Alliance was partnered with – the Wuhan Institute of Virology – had accidentally released the virus causing COVID-19. And at a White House press conference days before the funding was pulled, Trump erroneously implied that the entirety of the money had gone to the Wuhan Institute and promised that his administration would take action on the issue.
After an uproar among scientists — including 77 Nobel laureates who sent a letter in protest — the National Institutes of Health said it would reinstate the grant in July. But officials have imposed conditions that Daszak says are unprecedented and purposefully impossible to meet: "One involves investigating the whereabouts of a lab technician who worked in Wuhan and who the conspiracy theorists say has disappeared mysteriously" — but with whom, Daszak says, his group never worked.
"It's extremely frustrating," Daszak says. "I understand what's going on. [The president] is not trying to undermine our organization specifically. He just wants to create a narrative that's anti-China." But he adds a little wistfully, "If collaborating with China on this work led to a drug that might help save his life, maybe that will turn him around and make him realize that this research is the sort of thing we need to be doing."
Another researcher who shares that hope is Mark Denison, a professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in studying coronaviruses. Denison notes that the one causing the current pandemic — known as SARS-CoV-2 — is the third coronavirus to prove deadly to humans in the last 20 years, following SARS and MERS. So when it comes to the focus of his research, "I'm preparing for SARS-CoV-3."
But Denison adds that work is now hampered because EcoHealth Alliance has been effectively barred from discovering additional coronaviruses in China — which research suggests is a major reservoir for viruses that could cause future outbreaks. "We cannot be prepared for these things if we aren't looking ahead," Denison says. "We cannot close our research to what's out there."
For example, he says, it will be important to track how many other potentially deadly coronaviruses share a vulnerability of the current one: When making copies of itself, the virus uses a particular proofreading mechanism to ensure that errors aren't introduced into its genetic sequence. Disrupt the proofreading, and you prevent the virus from replicating inside the human body.
Denison and some collaborators at his lab — notably Clint Smith — first identified key aspects of this proofreading vulnerability between 2007 and 2014 in a coronavirus that causes hepatitis in mice. Denison then immediately went to the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences to ask if it had any experimental compounds that might interfere with the proofreading. "They had this immense panel [of options]," Denison recalls. And "one of the first they sent us was the parent drug of remdesivir."
When Denison's team put the drug into a petri dish with the mouse hepatitis coronavirus, it showed "tremendous" success. This sparked a collaboration with researchers at still more institutions — including Timothy Sheahan at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
At the time, another coronavirus — MERS — was circulating among humans. So "we were focused on developing MERS-specific therapies," Sheahan says. But there was also strong interest in ensuring they came up with a treatment that could work against many other coronaviruses as well — as Sheahan puts it, "not just one drug for one bug but a drug for many kinds of bugs."
That prompted Sheahan also to try remdesivir on two bat coronaviruses that EcoHealth Alliance had identified in China — as well as against the coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in humans.
These were experiments in petri dishes and mice. "But the potency of remdesivir against all the different coronaviruses we tested was high enough that it would make you excited and encouraged that this could perhaps work [against the virus] in a person," Sheahan says.
He notes that even if remdesivr hadn't been tested on the bat coronaviruses, its success against MERS and SARS would probably still have led researchers to prioritize testing it against the current coronavirus. (It also helped that remdesivir was more recently tested in humans against Ebola. And though it did not pan out as a cure for that virus, the clinical trial at least offered evidence of remdesivir's safety.)
Still, Sheahan says, the tests on the bat coronaviruses provided information that was "undoubtedly" useful.
Denison agrees, and he says this history behind remdesivir's development offers an important lesson: "This feels sometimes like it was fully formed from the head of Zeus: You know, there remdesivir was sitting on a shelf — let's try it in humans. But that was predicated on the availability of these bat viruses that allowed us to make predictions about the broad use of this drug."


npr--2020-10-07--Golden Dawn: Greek Court Delivers Landmark Verdicts Against Neo-Nazi Party

After a trial that lasted more than five years , a Greek court ruled Wednesday that the Golden Dawn neo-Nazi party is a criminal organization .
It convicted 68 party members of crimes including murder and attempted murder .
Eleven defendants were present in the courtroom .
Huge crowds massed outside the courtroom in Athens , waving banners that read `` Nazis in Prison . ''
The crowds roared after each guilty verdict was announced .
`` It 's a victory because this means Golden Dawn as an organization does not have the right to exist anymore , '' says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and anti-fascism activist who was in the crowd .
`` This is the first significant trial of a neo-Nazi party in Europe after World War II .
It 's not the end of fascism , because fascism is everywhere .
But it is an extremely important moment for us . ''
The party emerged some four decades ago .
A Hitler-praising former army commando , Nikos Michaloliakos , founded Golden Dawn in the 1980s as a violent fringe party of racist , xenophobic Holocaust deniers .
Many Greeks were horrified as they watched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last decade .
During Greece 's debt crisis , which destroyed the country 's economy , many Greeks were left destitute and angry .
Golden Dawn tapped into that anger , rising from the fringes and winning 18 seats in parliament in 2012 .
Golden Dawn members celebrated those political victories by shouting `` Blood , Honor , Golden Dawn ! ''
— adapting a Nazi slogan — as they flanked Michaloliakos , who compared himself to Julius Caesar .
`` I came , I saw , I conquered , '' he declared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ silenced me .
I defeated you . ''
The win emboldened party members who were already violently attacking migrants , saying Greece needed to be `` cleaned '' of foreigners .
In 2012 , Golden Dawn members broke into the homes of Egyptian fishermen and beat them nearly to death with wooden bats and iron rods .
These attackers were convicted on Wednesday of attempted murder .
The following year , on Sept. 13 , 2013 , Golden Dawn members stabbed to death a Greek anti-fascist musician , Pavlos Fyssas , who sang @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 34-year-old performer 's murder , his grieving mother , Magda Fyssa , pushed for the government to open a criminal inquiry into Golden Dawn .
The trial began in April 2015 .
Fyssa attended all 454 sessions .
When the three judges convicted Golden Dawn members of murdering her son , she burst into tears and pumped her fists , looking up at the sky .
`` You did it , Pavlos !
You did it , my son ! ''
she shouted .
`` She was there every day , even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying , 'Where 's your son now ? '
'' says Oikonomidou , whose own parents grew up when Greece was occupied by the Nazis and fought fascism in the years when Greece was ruled by a military junta from 1967 to 1974 .
`` Magda Fyssa fought back all the way . ''
Golden Dawn members claim they are victims of political persecution .
Party loyalists portray themselves as patriots and even endorsed Donald Trump for U.S , president in 2016 because they believed he promotes , in their words , `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trial of Golden Dawn choked the life out of the party .
With its brutality on full display , the party hemorrhaged voters and was so broke it could no longer pay rent for its Athens offices .
Infighting prompted resignations and defections .
The party did not win enough votes to make it into parliament in elections last year .
Political leaders in Greece welcomed Wednesday 's verdicts .
`` Today 's decision is a confirmation that democracy and its institutions are always capable of fending off any attempt to undermine them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Amnesty International 's Europe Director , Nils Muiznieks , said in a statement that the verdicts send `` a clear message to political groups with aggressive anti-migrant and anti-human rights agendas in Greece and across Europe that violent and racist criminal activity — whether perpetrated by individuals on the street or members of parliament , will not go unpunished . ''
Golden Dawn member Giorgos Roupakias , convicted of murdering Fyssas , faces life in prison .
Party leader Michaloliakos and his deputies face up to 15 years of jail time .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ parties have been complicit in legitimizing xenophobic rhetoric , '' writes Georgia Nakou of the political analysis site Macropolis .
She adds that `` anti-systemic , populist slogans adopted at both ends of the political spectrum will also continue to find fertile ground as long as living standards remain depressed . ''
Golden Dawn 's ultranationalist ideology also lives on in parties like Greek Solution , founded by Kyriakos Velopoulos , a far-right , anti-immigrant journalist who wants to install an electric fence on Greece 's border with Turkey .
Velopoulos admires the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orban and President Trump .
One of the party 's slogans is `` Greece first , '' modeled after Trump 's `` America first . ''
Human rights groups say there are also Golden Dawn sympathizers in the Greek police .
At least 2,000 riot police guarded the courthouse on Wednesday .
They drenched the crowd with tear gas and shot a water cannon after some protesters eager to storm the courthouse pelted officers with firebombs and stones .
`` After that , people just left , '' Oikonomidou says .
`` We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tear gas at us .
It 's OK. We won . ''

Golden Dawn: Greek Court Delivers Landmark Verdicts Against Neo-Nazi Party
Enlarge this image toggle caption Yorgos Karahalis/AP Yorgos Karahalis/AP
After a trial that lasted more than five years, a Greek court ruled Wednesday that the Golden Dawn neo-Nazi party is a criminal organization. It convicted 68 party members of crimes including murder and attempted murder. Eleven defendants were present in the courtroom.
Huge crowds massed outside the courtroom in Athens, waving banners that read "Nazis in Prison." The crowds roared after each guilty verdict was announced.
"It's a victory because this means Golden Dawn as an organization does not have the right to exist anymore," says Dora Oikonomidou, an Athens business owner and anti-fascism activist who was in the crowd. "This is the first significant trial of a neo-Nazi party in Europe after World War II. It's not the end of fascism, because fascism is everywhere. But it is an extremely important moment for us."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Petros Giannakouris/AP Petros Giannakouris/AP
The party emerged some four decades ago. A Hitler-praising former army commando, Nikos Michaloliakos, founded Golden Dawn in the 1980s as a violent fringe party of racist, xenophobic Holocaust deniers.
Many Greeks were horrified as they watched the rise of Golden Dawn in the last decade. During Greece's debt crisis, which destroyed the country's economy, many Greeks were left destitute and angry. Golden Dawn tapped into that anger, rising from the fringes and winning 18 seats in parliament in 2012.
Golden Dawn members celebrated those political victories by shouting "Blood, Honor, Golden Dawn!" — adapting a Nazi slogan — as they flanked Michaloliakos, who compared himself to Julius Caesar. "I came, I saw, I conquered," he declared. "You defamed me. You silenced me. I defeated you."
The win emboldened party members who were already violently attacking migrants, saying Greece needed to be "cleaned" of foreigners. In 2012, Golden Dawn members broke into the homes of Egyptian fishermen and beat them nearly to death with wooden bats and iron rods. These attackers were convicted on Wednesday of attempted murder.
The following year, on Sept. 13, 2013, Golden Dawn members stabbed to death a Greek anti-fascist musician, Pavlos Fyssas, who sang under the stage name Killah P. After the 34-year-old performer's murder, his grieving mother, Magda Fyssa, pushed for the government to open a criminal inquiry into Golden Dawn.
The trial began in April 2015. Fyssa attended all 454 sessions.
When the three judges convicted Golden Dawn members of murdering her son, she burst into tears and pumped her fists, looking up at the sky. "You did it, Pavlos! You did it, my son!" she shouted.
"She was there every day, even as the Nazis were taunting her, saying, 'Where's your son now?'" says Oikonomidou, whose own parents grew up when Greece was occupied by the Nazis and fought fascism in the years when Greece was ruled by a military junta from 1967 to 1974. "Magda Fyssa fought back all the way."
Golden Dawn members claim they are victims of political persecution. Party loyalists portray themselves as patriots and even endorsed Donald Trump for U.S, president in 2016 because they believed he promotes, in their words, "clean ethnic states."
The long trial of Golden Dawn choked the life out of the party. With its brutality on full display, the party hemorrhaged voters and was so broke it could no longer pay rent for its Athens offices. Infighting prompted resignations and defections. The party did not win enough votes to make it into parliament in elections last year.
Political leaders in Greece welcomed Wednesday's verdicts. "Today's decision is a confirmation that democracy and its institutions are always capable of fending off any attempt to undermine them," said Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Amnesty International's Europe Director, Nils Muiznieks, said in a statement that the verdicts send "a clear message to political groups with aggressive anti-migrant and anti-human rights agendas in Greece and across Europe that violent and racist criminal activity — whether perpetrated by individuals on the street or members of parliament, will not go unpunished."
Golden Dawn member Giorgos Roupakias, convicted of murdering Fyssas, faces life in prison. Party leader Michaloliakos and his deputies face up to 15 years of jail time.
But there is concern that "mainstream parties have been complicit in legitimizing xenophobic rhetoric," writes Georgia Nakou of the political analysis site Macropolis. She adds that "anti-systemic, populist slogans adopted at both ends of the political spectrum will also continue to find fertile ground as long as living standards remain depressed."
Golden Dawn's ultranationalist ideology also lives on in parties like Greek Solution, founded by Kyriakos Velopoulos, a far-right, anti-immigrant journalist who wants to install an electric fence on Greece's border with Turkey. Velopoulos admires the nativist policies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Trump. One of the party's slogans is "Greece first," modeled after Trump's "America first."
Human rights groups say there are also Golden Dawn sympathizers in the Greek police.
At least 2,000 riot police guarded the courthouse on Wednesday. They drenched the crowd with tear gas and shot a water cannon after some protesters eager to storm the courthouse pelted officers with firebombs and stones.
"After that, people just left,"Oikonomidou says. "We were like, go ahead and throw tear gas at us. It's OK. We won."


npr--2020-10-07--Florida's Governor: Officials Can Require Face Masks, But Can't Enforce It

Florida 's Governor : Officials Can Require Face Masks , But Ca n't Enforce It The disagreement among elected officials over how to respond to the coronavirus is playing out , not just in the nation 's capital , but also in the states .
In Florida , Gov .
Ron DeSantis surprised local officials last month when he lifted all statewide COVID-19 restrictions on businesses .
He said the peak of the state 's COVID-19 cases were months in the past , and that measured steps to reopen the economy had n't caused the spike many had predicted .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to allow bars , restaurants , even movie theaters to open at full capacity .
On Friday , hours after President Trump announced he had coronavirus , in an interview with conservative radio talk show host Drew Steele , DeSantis was undeterred .
`` I 've focused a lot on making sure society continues to function , '' he said .
`` I think you fight a pandemic better from that posture than if society is in the fetal position.
`` DeSantis 's order came on a day when nearly 2,800 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida .
In Miami-Dade County , Mayor Carlos Gimenez , like DeSantis a Republican , says infectious disease experts he consulted thought it was too much , too soon .
Miami-Dade has been the state 's hot spot .
The number of cases has come down , Gimenez said because of a cautious approach that includes a late-night curfew and strict capacity limits on bars and restaurants .
He said , `` My concern is that opening too many things too quickly could lead us in the opposite direction . ''
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lifted , Miami-Dade and some other counties are keeping capacity limits on restaurants and bars in place .
To do so , they had to file with the state the estimated economic impact of the local restrictions .
In the Orlando area , Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings had a warning for businesses that were considering operating at full capacity .
He encouraged them first to check their insurance policies .
Demings said , `` There are liability issues that should be considered now the state government really has abdicated all responsibility .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ also targeted requirements that people wear face coverings in public places .
Despite repeated requests from local officials and infectious disease experts , DeSantis refused to issue a statewide face covering mandate .
But in Miami , Orlando , Tampa , and most other large and mid-size cities , local governments did .
Those ordinances can remain in place , DeSantis said but local officials ca n't collect fines from scofflaws .
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said , `` I think unfortunately , Governor DeSantis made a political decision . ''
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believes DeSantis is taking a page from President Trump 's playbook .
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman agrees .
`` He 's listening to Donald Trump ... as opposed to epidemiologist and infectious disease specialists . ''
Kriseman says St. Petersburg has a face mask mandate in place , but up to now had n't issued any fines .
But , he says , `` I still like having that tool in my tool belt . ''
Prohibiting local officials from enforcing the mandate , Kriseman says is `` like telling somebody we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you to follow the speed limit , but we 're not going to give you a ticket if you do violate it . ''
Gelber sent a letter to the governor asking him to reconsider his order on face mask mandates .
`` A mask is one of the only counter-measures that does n't impact the economy , '' he says .
`` So why would he send out a message that you do n't need to worry about wearing the mask anymore ? ''
DeSantis has n't responded to Gelber 's letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for those who want to go slow .
An example is the schools .
He insisted school districts throughout Florida open for in-person classes and threatened to pull funding if they do n't .
In his interview on a conservative talk show last week , DeSantis called those who believe schools should conduct classes online only `` the flat earthers of our day . ''
And in hindsight , he said he now believes closing schools in March was `` one of the biggest public health mistakes in modern American history . ''

Florida's Governor: Officials Can Require Face Masks, But Can't Enforce It
Enlarge this image toggle caption Stan Badz/AP Stan Badz/AP
The disagreement among elected officials over how to respond to the coronavirus is playing out, not just in the nation's capital, but also in the states. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis surprised local officials last month when he lifted all statewide COVID-19 restrictions on businesses.
He said the peak of the state's COVID-19 cases were months in the past, and that measured steps to reopen the economy hadn't caused the spike many had predicted. That's why he said it's time to allow bars, restaurants, even movie theaters to open at full capacity.
On Friday, hours after President Trump announced he had coronavirus, in an interview with conservative radio talk show host Drew Steele, DeSantis was undeterred. "I've focused a lot on making sure society continues to function," he said. "I think you fight a pandemic better from that posture than if society is in the fetal position. "
DeSantis's order came on a day when nearly 2,800 people tested positive and 112 deaths were reported in Florida. In Miami-Dade County, Mayor Carlos Gimenez, like DeSantis a Republican, says infectious disease experts he consulted thought it was too much, too soon. Miami-Dade has been the state's hot spot. The number of cases has come down, Gimenez said because of a cautious approach that includes a late-night curfew and strict capacity limits on bars and restaurants. He said, "My concern is that opening too many things too quickly could lead us in the opposite direction."
Even though state restrictions on businesses have been lifted, Miami-Dade and some other counties are keeping capacity limits on restaurants and bars in place. To do so, they had to file with the state the estimated economic impact of the local restrictions.
In the Orlando area, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings had a warning for businesses that were considering operating at full capacity. He encouraged them first to check their insurance policies. Demings said, "There are liability issues that should be considered now the state government really has abdicated all responsibility."
In his order, the governor also targeted requirements that people wear face coverings in public places. Despite repeated requests from local officials and infectious disease experts, DeSantis refused to issue a statewide face covering mandate. But in Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and most other large and mid-size cities, local governments did. Those ordinances can remain in place, DeSantis said but local officials can't collect fines from scofflaws.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said, "I think unfortunately, Governor DeSantis made a political decision." On CBS4 in Miami, Gelber said he believes DeSantis is taking a page from President Trump's playbook. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman agrees. "He's listening to Donald Trump ... as opposed to epidemiologist and infectious disease specialists."
Kriseman says St. Petersburg has a face mask mandate in place, but up to now hadn't issued any fines. But, he says, "I still like having that tool in my tool belt." Prohibiting local officials from enforcing the mandate, Kriseman says is "like telling somebody we have a speed limit, we expect you to follow the speed limit, but we're not going to give you a ticket if you do violate it."
Gelber sent a letter to the governor asking him to reconsider his order on face mask mandates. "A mask is one of the only counter-measures that doesn't impact the economy," he says. "So why would he send out a message that you don't need to worry about wearing the mask anymore?"
DeSantis hasn't responded to Gelber's letter. But he has shown little patience for those who want to go slow. An example is the schools. He insisted school districts throughout Florida open for in-person classes and threatened to pull funding if they don't. In his interview on a conservative talk show last week, DeSantis called those who believe schools should conduct classes online only "the flat earthers of our day." And in hindsight, he said he now believes closing schools in March was "one of the biggest public health mistakes in modern American history."


npr--2020-10-07--Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin Is Released On $1 Million Bond

Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin Is Released On $ 1 Million Bond Derek Chauvin was released from jail Wednesday after posting a $ 1 million bond .
The former Minneapolis police officer faces charges of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in May – an encounter that helped trigger mass protests against police brutality .
After the release , Minnesota Gov .
Tim Walz activated National Guard troops to help local law enforcement .
Chauvin had been held at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights , a maximum-security state prison .
His noncash bond was guaranteed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to court records .
Chauvin , 44 , was released from custody at 11:22 a.m. CT Wednesday , according to the Hennepin County Sheriff 's Office .
The charges against Chauvin include murder in the third degree , which his release notice describes as `` perpetrating eminently dangerous act and evincing depraved mind . ''
The other charges against the former officer include manslaughter and murder in the second degree .
Judge Jeannice M. Reding set bail for Chauvin four months ago , putting it at $ 1 million with conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ By posting the lower bail amount , Chauvin will have to abide by all laws , have no contact with Floyd 's family and surrender any guns and firearms licenses .
He will also be required not to leave Minnesota .
In a handwritten note on her order setting the bail amounts , the judge added a stipulation for Chauvin : `` Do not work in law enforcement or security . ''
Chauvin 's next court date is on March 8 , when his trial is slated to begin .

Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin Is Released On $1 Million Bond
Updated at 6:41 p.m. ET
Derek Chauvin was released from jail Wednesday after posting a $1 million bond. The former Minneapolis police officer faces charges of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in May – an encounter that helped trigger mass protests against police brutality.
After the release, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz activated National Guard troops to help local law enforcement.
Chauvin had been held at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights, a maximum-security state prison. His noncash bond was guaranteed by Allegheny Casualty Co. of Calabasas, Calif., according to court records.
Chauvin, 44, was released from custody at 11:22 a.m. CT Wednesday, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
The charges against Chauvin include murder in the third degree, which his release notice describes as "perpetrating eminently dangerous act and evincing depraved mind."
The other charges against the former officer include manslaughter and murder in the second degree.
Judge Jeannice M. Reding set bail for Chauvin four months ago, putting it at $1 million with conditions or $1.25 million without conditions.
By posting the lower bail amount, Chauvin will have to abide by all laws, have no contact with Floyd's family and surrender any guns and firearms licenses. He will also be required not to leave Minnesota.
In a handwritten note on her order setting the bail amounts, the judge added a stipulation for Chauvin: "Do not work in law enforcement or security."
Chauvin's next court date is on March 8, when his trial is slated to begin.


npr--2020-10-08--Trump Says He Won't Participate In Virtual Debate As Commission Changes Format

Trump Says He Wo n't Participate In Virtual Debate As Commission Changes Format President Trump said Thursday he 's `` not going to do a virtual debate '' after the independent commission that runs the debates announced that the second presidential debate , which had been scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami , will now be virtual .
Trump told Fox Business that the change in the debate style was `` not acceptable to us . ''
`` I 'm not going to do a virtual debate , '' he said , calling the format `` a waste of time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interview since returning from the hospital Monday .
Trump said he said he had no advance notice of the change .
Earlier Thursday , the debate commission said the decision to change format was made `` to protect the health and safety of all involved . ''
The candidates and the town hall participants will be in separate , remote locations , the commission said .
Bill Stepien , Trump 's campaign manager , rebuked what he called the commission 's `` unilateral declaration . ''
`` For the swamp creatures at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden 's defense by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic , '' he said in a statement .
`` President Trump will have posted multiple negative tests prior to the debate , so there is no need for this unilateral declaration .
The safety of all involved can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head to head .
We 'll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead , '' he added .
Meanwhile , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will still participate in the debate .
`` Vice President Biden looks forward to speaking directly to the American people and comparing his plan for bringing the country together and building back better with Donald Trump 's failed leadership on the coronavirus that has thrown the strong economy he inherited into the worst downturn since the Great Depression , Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement .
The developments come a day after Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris , D-Calif. , Joe Biden 's running mate , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The candidates sat at desks more than 12 feet apart and separated by plexiglass shields .
The measures were put in place after Trump and several other White House officials tested positive for the coronavirus — though Pence has not .
But the pandemic , and the more than 200,000 Americans who have died from the virus , are likely to dominate the next few weeks before Election Day , Nov. 3 .
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Tuesday , `` We should n't have a debate '' next week if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump tweeted Tuesday that he was looking forward to the next debate , which is scheduled to take place in Miami on Oct. 15 — 10 days after the president was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and returned to the White House to continue treatment for COVID-19 .
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh suggested the format of the second presidential debate could be altered to accommodate safety concerns , saying , `` Everyone agrees that an outdoor event would be the safest possible environment . ''
Trump 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vital signs all remain stable and in normal range .
Dr. Sean Conley issued the information in a memo .
`` The president this morning says , ' I feel great ! '
'' Conley said in the memo .
Conley also said Trump has detectable levels of COVID antibodies in his bloodwork that was drawn on Monday .
On Thursday night , those antibodies were undetectable , he said .
Conley told reporters Monday , the day of Trump 's discharge from Walter Reed , that while he is cautiously optimistic about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will remain on guard for another week .

The Debate Over Debates: Trump Campaign Pushes For In-Person Debate Next Week
Enlarge this image toggle caption Patrick Semansky/AP Patrick Semansky/AP
Updated at 8:31 p.m. ET
President Trump's campaign is calling for next week's presidential debate to be held in person in Miami, despite the organizing commission's decision to hold it virtually.
Campaign manager Bill Stepien said Thursday night there is "no medical reason" why the debate should be shifted virtually. He cited a memo from White House physician Sean Conley, who said Trump would be safe for public events by Saturday.
The Commission said it made the decision to go virtual in consultation with the Cleveland Clinic "to protect the health and safety of all involved," not directly in response to Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis. The Oct. 15 town hall was set for Miami.
Earlier Thursday, President Trump said he wouldn't participate in a virtual town hall.
The major-party presidential campaigns then spent most of the day in a back-and-forth about the remaining debates, with the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, scheduling a separate town hall.
"I'm not going to do a virtual debate," Trump told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo on Thursday morning, calling the format "a waste of time."
Instead, Trump and Biden — along with all the town hall participants — would be in in separate, remote locations, the commission said.
Thursday morning's interview was Trump's first since returning from the hospital Monday to receive the rest of his treatment for COVID-19 at the White House.
Trump told Bartiromo that he had no advance notice of the change.
Stepien, Trump's campaign manager — who also has tested positive for the coronavirus — earlier rebuked what he called the commission's "unilateral declaration."
"For the swamp creatures at the Presidential Debate Commission to now rush to Joe Biden's defense by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic," he said in a statement. "The safety of all involved can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head to head. We'll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead."
The Biden campaign quickly fired back.
"Joe Biden was prepared to accept the CPD's proposal for a virtual Town Hall, but the President has refused, as Donald Trump clearly does not want to face questions from the voters about his failures on COVID and the economy," Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement. "As a result, Joe Biden will find an appropriate place to take questions from voters directly on October 15th, as he has done on several occasions in recent weeks."
Late Thursday afternoon, it was announced that Biden will instead take part in a town hall in Philadelphia hosted by ABC News on the 15th.
Bedingfield called on the commission to make the third and final scheduled presidential debate, slated for Oct. 22, a town hall.
"Every Presidential candidate since 1992 has participated in such an event, and it would be a shame if Donald Trump was the first to refuse," she said.
Stepien then sent another statement Thursday afternoon, calling on the commission to just postpone the second and third debates a week each. So the town hall would happen Oct. 22 and the third debate would be Oct. 29 — both in person.
"Voters should have the opportunity to directly question Biden's 47-year failed record of leadership," Stepien said in his second statement.
The Biden campaign quickly rejected the Oct. 29 proposal, saying the schedule is set by the debate commission, not the president.
"Trump chose today to pull out of the October 15th debate. Trump's erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar, and pick new dates of his choosing," Bedingfield said in a statement.
These developments came a day after Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Biden's running mate, met in the sole vice presidential debate.
The candidates sat at desks more than 12 feet apart and separated by plexiglass shields. The measures were put in place after Trump and several other White House officials tested positive for the coronavirus — though Pence has not.
Stepien noted the timing of the commission's announcement of the change of format for the second debate, saying in a statement: "Clearly the commission wanted to shift attention away from Pence's complete victory."
The pandemic and the more than 210,000 Americans who have died from the virus are likely to dominate the next few weeks before Election Day, Nov. 3.
On Tuesday, Biden had said they shouldn't debate next week if Trump is still infected with the coronavirus.
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh had suggested the format of the second presidential debate could be altered to accommodate safety concerns, saying, "Everyone agrees that an outdoor event would be the safest possible environment."
Trump's medical team said Wednesday that the president's vital signs all remain stable and in normal range.
"The president this morning says, 'I feel great!' " his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a memo.
Conley told reporters Monday, the day of Trump's discharge from Walter Reed National Medical Military Center, that while he is cautiously optimistic about the president's prognosis, medical staff will remain on guard for another week.


npr--2020-10-08--'To Protect Myself And My Family': Saudi Critics Abroad Fear Long Reach Of The Crown

'To Protect Myself And My Family ' : Saudi Critics Abroad Fear Long Reach Of The Crown Saad Aljabri knows a lot of secrets .
The former senior intelligence official in Saudi Arabia 's Interior Ministry was a valued partner of the U.S. government , a man who had access to troves of sensitive information about terrorism suspects , informants and the vast Saudi royal family .
But Aljabri ran afoul of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and went into exile in 2017 .
The royal has been hunting for him ever since , he says .
In August , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crown prince , alleging the king 's powerful son tried to use Aljabri 's children to lure him back to Saudi Arabia as well as `` personally orchestrated '' attempts to kill him in North America .
The case follows a disturbing trend in several countries , Saudi Arabia watchers say , of how far the Saudi crown prince is willing to go to silence rivals or dissidents .
Researchers say the efforts include tracking down critics who have left Saudi Arabia , hacking into cellphones and arresting their relatives back home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a dissident , as in the case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi , who was killed and dismembered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul two years ago this month .
U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Crown Prince Mohammed was involved in planning the killing .
The crown prince has denied having prior knowledge of the crime .
When he was still in government , Aljabri got on Mohammed bin Salman 's bad side in several ways .
Aljabri was aligned with the then-counterterrorism czar , Prince Mohammed bin Nayef , who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throne .
Aljabri also began publicly questioning some of Mohammed bin Salman 's decisions , including the devastating Saudi-led campaign in Yemen , according to former CIA Director John Brennan , author of the new memoir , Undaunted .
`` MBS took offense to Saad 's outspokenness , '' Brennan says , using the crown prince 's initials .
`` Also Mohammed bin Salman is very concerned about what Saad may do in terms of exposing some of the activities that are going on inside of Saudi Arabia under MBS . ''
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widespread arrests of businessmen , activists and critics .
When King Salman removed Mohammed bin Nayef , his nephew , from the line of succession to make his son the crown prince , Aljabri went to Turkey and ultimately ended up with his family members in Toronto .
Aljabri declined an interview , but his son Khalid Aljabri , a cardiologist who lives with his father in Toronto , spoke to NPR .
He says soon after leaving the kingdom , his father received a cordial text message from the crown prince .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ disagreements but I need you back in government , '' Khalid Aljabri remembers the message saying .
`` He made it sound like just , 'let 's come and have a clear the air talk and we 'll go back to business as usual , ' '' he says .
`` We did n't buy that . ''
The family thought it might be a trap .
Within a few days , Khalid says , two of Saad 's other children who were still in Saudi Arabia , ages 17 and 18 at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the kingdom .
The text messages became more aggressive and threatening .
`` It was ultimatums , saying , 'You have one hour to tell us where you are , ' you know , ' I 'll send the jet to get you .
Otherwise ... we will use all legal means and other means that will be harmful to you , ' '' Khalid recalls .
He says his father has kept the texts as evidence .
Saad Aljabri alleges that Crown Prince Mohammed has been trying to have him killed for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says that is largely because of the former official 's knowledge of the kingdom 's inner workings and dealings and his ties to U.S. intelligence officials .
`` Dr. Saad is uniquely positioned to existentially threaten Defendant bin Salman 's standing with the U.S. government , '' the suit says .
In mid-October 2018 , the suit alleges , the crown prince dispatched members of his `` personal mercenary group , the Tiger Squad , '' to Canada to hunt Aljabri .
According to the file , this was the squad that assassinated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the journalist 's killing on Oct. 2 , 2018 .
Khalid Aljabri says his father got an `` early heads-up '' from former colleagues and U.S. intelligence officials not to go anywhere near a Saudi embassy .
The suit says Canadian authorities blocked the hit team at Toronto 's airport .
`` Two of the people that attempted entry ... had luggage with some kind of cleanup tools belong to the same department that the forensic doctor who dismembered Jamal belonged to , '' Khalid says .
The Saudi Embassy in Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other questions from NPR .
Canada 's government did not immediately respond to NPR 's request for comment .
But in a statement to national news outlets , Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said : `` We are aware of incidents in which foreign actors have attempted to monitor , intimidate or threaten Canadians and those living in Canada . ''
Saudi officials have long worked to monitor and encourage critics and activists to return to the kingdom — or be forcibly repatriated , according to international human rights groups .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Loujain al-Hathloul , from neighboring countries .
To head off criticism , Saudi officials have flooded social media with praise for Crown Prince Mohammed and the kingdom , according to Ron Deibert , director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto that tracks the use of spyware by authoritarian regimes .
The kingdom used people who were either paid or `` pressured by the regime to post content that 's favorable to them , '' he says .
Deibert says the regime has become very sophisticated at tracking citizens electronically on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ location , emails and social media conversations .
`` They take these very powerful tools that are marketed to them to fight ostensibly crime , national security issues and so on , and direct them towards regime opponents and journalists who cover Saudi issues , '' he says .
`` Especially those that have prominence in social media and in international media because they present a threat to the regime 's credibility and legitimacy . ''
Two years ago , researchers at the Citizen Lab said they discovered that the phone of Omar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ host in Montreal who was critical of the Saudi royal family , was hacked with Saudi-linked spyware .
Abdulaziz was a confidant of Khashoggi and said the two had been discussing plans to raise awareness about human rights in Saudi Arabia .
`` Jamal was killed two months later .
For sure the conversations between us played a major role in what happened to Jamal , '' Abdulaziz told NPR in 2018 .
That year , Saudi officials arrested Abdulaziz 's relatives and friends Saudi Arabia to put pressure on him , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was also being followed on Twitter , according to U.S. prosecutors who last year charged two former employees of the social platform with obtaining personal information of Saudis criticizing the regime .
It is the first time federal prosecutors have charged Saudis with deploying agents inside the U.S. Ali Alzabarah , a Saudi citizen , worked at Twitter as a `` site reliability engineer . ''
The federal complaint says he accessed `` data of over 6,000 Twitter users , '' including Abdulaziz .
Another employee , Ahmad Abouammo , a U.S. citizen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 300,000 for information gleaned from his job at Twitter .
A third man , Ahmed Almutairi , a Saudi citizen , was also charged with spying .
He is described in the complaint as a principal in a social media marketing company that works for the Saudi royal family .
Placing agents inside Twitter was part of an ongoing national strategy by the Saudi regime , according to Adam Ereli , a former U.S. ambassador to Bahrain .
`` Their infiltration of Twitter by their own agents was designed to obtain and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the names , addresses and , very importantly , contact lists of users in Saudi Arabia who were then subsequently rounded up , '' Ereli said at a recent conference .
For the apparent targets of spying , life is frightening even if they 're not in Saudi Arabia .
Ali al-Ahmed is the founder of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington , D.C. , and a critic of the royal family .
He lives in the U.S. but has safety concerns .
`` Absolutely , I fear , of course , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my car , I look around the house , '' he says .
`` And I do everything I can to protect myself and my family . ''
Saad Aljabri , the former intelligence official , was not able to protect his family .
In March , Saudi security forces swarmed his home near Riyadh and arrested his daughter and son , both in their early 20s .
The U.S. State Department has called the detentions of Aljabri 's family members `` unacceptable '' and said it has repeatedly pressed Saudi Arabia to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't heard from them since .

'To Protect Myself And My Family': Saudi Critics Abroad Fear Long Reach Of The Crown
Enlarge this image toggle caption Bandar Aldandani/AFP via Getty Images Bandar Aldandani/AFP via Getty Images
Saad Aljabri knows a lot of secrets. The former senior intelligence official in Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry was a valued partner of the U.S. government, a man who had access to troves of sensitive information about terrorism suspects, informants and the vast Saudi royal family.
But Aljabri ran afoul of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and went into exile in 2017. The royal has been hunting for him ever since, he says.
In August, Aljabri brought a U.S. federal lawsuit against the crown prince, alleging King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud's powerful son tried to use Aljabri's children to lure him back to Saudi Arabia as well as "personally orchestrated" attempts to kill him in North America.
The case follows a disturbing trend in several countries, Saudi Arabia watchers say, of how far the Saudi crown prince is willing to go to silence rivals or dissidents. Researchers say the efforts include tracking down critics who have left Saudi Arabia, hacking into cellphones and arresting their relatives back home.
The efforts also include permanently silencing a dissident, as in the case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed and dismembered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul two years ago this month. U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Prince Mohammed was involved in planning the killing. The crown prince has denied having prior knowledge of the crime.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A royal rival
When he was still in government, Aljabri got on Prince Mohammed's bad side in several ways. Aljabri was aligned with the then-counterterrorism czar, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was a rival to the throne. Aljabri also began publicly questioning some of Mohammed bin Salman's decisions, including the devastating Saudi-led campaign in Yemen, according to former CIA Director John Brennan, author of the new memoir, Undaunted.
"MBS took offense to Saad's outspokenness," Brennan says, using the crown prince's initials. "Also Mohammed bin Salman is very concerned about what Saad may do in terms of exposing some of the activities that are going on inside of Saudi Arabia under MBS."
In 2017, Prince Mohammed began widespread arrests of businessmen, activists and critics. When King Salman removed Mohammed bin Nayef, his nephew, from the line of succession to make his son the crown prince, Aljabri went to Turkey and ultimately ended up with his family members in Toronto.
Texts turn threatening
Aljabri declined an interview, but his son Khalid Aljabri, a cardiologist who lives with his father in Toronto, spoke to NPR.
He says that soon after leaving the kingdom, his father received a cordial text message from the crown prince.
"You know, we had our disagreements but I need you back in government," Khalid Aljabri remembers the message saying.
"He made it sound like just, 'Let's come and have a clear-the-air talk and we'll go back to business as usual,' " he says. "We didn't buy that."
The family thought it might be a trap.
Within a few days, Khalid says, two of Saad's children who were still in Saudi Arabia, ages 17 and 18 at the time, were barred from leaving the kingdom. The text messages became more aggressive and threatening.
"It was ultimatums, saying, 'You have one hour to tell us where you are,' you know, 'I'll send the jet to get you. Otherwise ... we will use all legal means and other means that will be harmful to you,' " Khalid recalls. He says his father has kept the texts as evidence.
Dispatching Tiger Squad
Saad Aljabri alleges that Crown Prince Mohammed has been trying to have him killed for the past three years. The lawsuit says that is largely because of the former official's knowledge of the kingdom's inner workings and dealings and his ties to U.S. intelligence officials. "Dr. Saad is uniquely positioned to existentially threaten Defendant bin Salman's standing with the U.S. government," the suit says.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Images Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Images
In mid-October 2018, the suit alleges, the crown prince dispatched members of his "personal mercenary group, the Tiger Squad," to Canada to hunt Aljabri. According to the file, the squad was sent two weeks after killing Khashoggi, on Oct. 2, 2018.
Khalid Aljabri says his father got an "early heads-up" from former colleagues and U.S. intelligence officials not to go anywhere near a Saudi embassy. The suit says Canadian authorities blocked the hit team at Toronto's airport.
"Two of the people that attempted entry ... had luggage with some kind of cleanup tools belong to the same department that the forensic doctor who dismembered Jamal belonged to," Khalid says.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington didn't comment on this case or answer other questions from NPR.
Canada's government did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment. But in a statement to national news outlets, Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said: "We are aware of incidents in which foreign actors have attempted to monitor, intimidate or threaten Canadians and those living in Canada."
Saudi officials have long worked to monitor and encourage critics and activists to return to the kingdom — or be forcibly repatriated, according to international human rights groups. That includes renditioning female activists, such as Loujain al-Hathloul, from neighboring countries.
The great Saudi hack
To head off criticism, Saudi officials have flooded social media with praise for Prince Mohammed and the kingdom, according to Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which tracks the use of spyware by authoritarian regimes. The kingdom used people who were either paid or "pressured by the regime to post content that's favorable to them," he says.
Deibert says the regime has become very sophisticated at tracking citizens electronically on cellphones, allowing officials to see their location, emails and social media conversations.
"They take these very powerful tools that are marketed to them to fight ostensibly crime, national security issues and so on, and direct them towards regime opponents and journalists who cover Saudi issues," he says. "Especially those that have prominence in social media and in international media because they present a threat to the regime's credibility and legitimacy."
Two years ago, researchers at the Citizen Lab said they discovered that the phone of Omar Abdulaziz, a prominent Saudi talk show host in Montreal who was critical of the Saudi royal family, was hacked with Saudi-linked spyware.
Abdulaziz was a confidant of Khashoggi and said the two had been discussing plans to raise awareness about human rights in Saudi Arabia.
"Jamal was killed two months later. For sure, the conversations between us played a major role in what happened to Jamal," Abdulaziz told NPR in 2018.
That year, Saudi officials arrested Abdulaziz's relatives and friends in Saudi Arabia to put pressure on him, he wrote in The Washington Post.
Abdulaziz was also being followed on Twitter, according to U.S. prosecutors who last year charged two former employees of the social platform with obtaining personal information of Saudis criticizing the regime. It is the first time federal prosecutors have charged Saudis with deploying agents inside the U.S.
Ali Alzabarah, a Saudi citizen, worked at Twitter as a "site reliability engineer." The federal complaint says he accessed "data of over 6,000 Twitter users," including Abdulaziz. Another employee, Ahmad Abouammo, a U.S. citizen, allegedly received payments of up to $300,000 for information gleaned from his job at Twitter. A third man, Ahmed Almutairi, a Saudi citizen, was also charged with spying. He is described in the complaint as a principal in a social media marketing company that works for the Saudi royal family.
Placing agents inside Twitter was part of an ongoing national strategy by the Saudi regime, according to Adam Ereli, a former U.S. ambassador to Bahrain.
"Their infiltration of Twitter by their own agents was designed to obtain and then transmit back to the Saudi government the names, addresses and, very importantly, contact lists of users in Saudi Arabia who were then subsequently rounded up," Ereli said at a recent conference.
For the apparent targets of spying, life is frightening even if they're not in Saudi Arabia.
Ali al-Ahmed is the founder of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, D.C., and a critic of the royal family. He lives in the U.S. but has safety concerns.
"Absolutely, I fear, of course, every day I go ... look under my car, I look around the house," he says. "And I do everything I can to protect myself and my family."
Saad Aljabri, the former intelligence official, was not able to protect his family. In March, Saudi security forces swarmed his home near Riyadh and arrested his daughter and son, both in their early 20s.
The U.S. State Department has called the detentions of Aljabri's family members "unacceptable" and said it has repeatedly pressed Saudi Arabia to release them.
But the family hasn't heard from them.


npr--2020-10-08--Coronavirus World Map: Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak

Coronavirus World Map : Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak On Sept. 28 , the world marked a tragic milestone : 1 million deaths from COVID-19 .
That 's according to a tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University .
And public health experts believe the actual toll – the recorded deaths plus the unrecorded deaths – is much higher .
While the number of cases has slowed in many countries that were hit hard early on by coronavirus , the number of new cases continues to increase .
Since early July , new daily cases averaged over 200,000 worldwide .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ country-by-country breakdown of new and total cases since January .
At over 6 million cases , the United States leads the world 's COVID-19 crisis .
In late spring and early summer , new COVID-19 cases were largely driven by cases in the Americas .
While the U.S. has consistently had the most new daily cases of coronavirus in the region , Brazil 's new daily cases increased rapidly between May and August .
However , in September , several countries that had previously flattened their curve saw a resurgence in cases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , daily case counts have risen swiftly since June , without signs of slowing down .
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 .
To compare country outbreaks , the chart below graphs trend lines for average new daily cases and deaths against each country 's totals to date .
This type of visualization highlights a state 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overall size of its outbreak .
When both new and total case and death counts grow quickly , the curves bend upward .
As new cases and deaths slow , the curves level or bend down .
In countries like Israel , which is seeing a second wave of case growth after an initial wave in April , the line forms a V-shape , as the initially bent curve spikes upwards again .
Click here to see the state-by-state breakdown of cases in the United States .
This story was originally published on @ @ @ @ @

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.
Loading...
Loading...
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.
Loading...
Loading...
This story was originally published on March 30, 2020.


npr--2020-10-08--Coronavirus Maps: How Severe Is Your State's Outbreak?

Coronavirus Maps : How Severe Is Your State 's Outbreak ?
More than 7 million people in the U.S. have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 210,000 have died .
Tens of thousands of new cases are reported daily nationwide .
In the graphics below , explore the trends in your state .
View the data via a heat map ( immediately below ) , curve charts , a table of state-by-state trends over four weeks , or a map of total cases and deaths .
The map above shows the risk of infection in each state based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These color-coded risk levels were developed by a consortium of researchers and public health experts .
The group advises states in the red category to issue stay-home orders .
Orange states may need to consider stay-home orders , along with increased testing and contact tracing .
Yellow states need to keep up social distancing and mask usage , and both yellow and green states should continue testing and contact tracing .
To compare state outbreaks , the chart above graphs trend lines for average new daily cases and deaths against each state 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visualization highlights a state 's daily growth or decline relative to the overall size of its outbreak .
When both new and total case and death counts grow quickly , the curves bend upward .
As new cases and deaths slow , the curves level or bend down .
In New York , the 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 under 800 per day in late September .
Explore the map above @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the country for both new confirmed cases and reported deaths from COVID-19 .
New York was the original epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. As of mid August , California , Florida and Texas have surpassed New York for total cases to date , though New York still has the highest death total .
Click here to see a global map of confirmed cases and deaths .
To show trends , the table below shows the change in average new cases per day in each state , week over week for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in shades of red have growing outbreaks ; those in shades of green , are declining .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resolves anomalies and updates its feeds .
State-by-state recovery data are unavailable at this time .
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 .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , resulting in a spike in the state 's daily death numbers .
This story was originally published 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
Loading...
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.
Loading...
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.
Loading...
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--2020-10-08--Nobel Prize In Literature Awarded To U.S. Poet Louise Glück

Nobel Prize In Literature Awarded To U.S .
Poet Louise Glück The 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to @ @ @ @ @ `` for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal .
@ @ @ @ @ of poetry was Firstborn in 1968 .
She received the Pulitzer Prize for The Wild @ @ @ @ @ is currently writer-in-residence at Yale University and was the 12th Poet Laureate of the United @ @ @ @ @ , the announcement was made in Stockholm at The Swedish Academy .
The 2020 Nobel @ @ @ @ @ of 10 million Swedish krona ( $ 1.12 million ) .
The traditional December awards @ @ @ @ @ place virtually this year because of the pandemic .

Nobel Prize In Literature Awarded To U.S. Poet Louise Glück
Enlarge this image toggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP Carolyn Kaster/AP
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature has been given to the U.S. poet Louise Glück for what the Swedish Academy calls "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal."
Glück is the 16th woman to win a literature Nobel, and she already has a bookshelf's worth of heavyweight awards: a National Book Award, a National Humanities Medal and a Pulitzer Prize for her 1992 collection The Wild Iris.
She published her first volume of poetry, Firstborn in 1968; she's currently writer-in-residence at Yale University and was the 12th Poet Laureate of the United States.
Glück's work often focuses on family relationships, loneliness, divorce and death, her poetic personas grappling with intensely personal agonies.
Writing in The New Yorker, critic Dan Chiasson described her poems as "flash bulletins from her inner life, a region that she examines unsparingly. Outside her poems, much noisy history has occurred, this past half century. Inside them, you find, X-rayed by an unusually analytic mind, only the kinds of thing that Emerson once said a poet needed: 'day and night, house and garden, a few books, a few actions.'"
In a statement, Nobel Committee chair Anders Olsson praised Glück's "striving for clarity, adding, "But even if Glück would never deny the significance of the autobiographical background, she is not to be regarded as a confessional poet. Glück seeks the universal, and in this she takes inspiration from myths and classical motifs, present in most of her works."
As is customary, the announcement was made in Stockholm at The Swedish Academy.
The 2020 Nobel Prize has a cash award of 10 million Swedish krona ($1.12 million). The traditional December awards ceremony in Stockholm will take place virtually this year because of the pandemic.


npr--2020-10-08--Ranked Choice Voting Could Play A Deciding Role In Maine's Senate Race

One of this November 's closest and highest-profile U.S. Senate races could turn on a unique way of voting in the state of Maine .
There , Republican incumbent Susan Collins is defending her seat against Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon , as well as two independents .
Polls show a close contest between Collins , who 's seeking her fifth term , and the well-funded Gideon .
And Maine voters will use the ranked choice voting system , which allows them to rank their choices among the four Senate candidates .
To someone not familiar with the process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McCormick , cofounder of the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting , says it is something most of us are familiar with .
`` We rank choices in our everyday life all the time , '' she says .
`` We 're always saying , you know , 'If they do n't have the mint chocolate chip ice cream , can you please get me the rocky road ? '
`` In terms of voting , `` It allows people to really express their full range of opinions and preferences about all of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working for us in Maine .
And I think it 's definitely encouraging more positive campaigns . ''
The ballot voters will use is pretty straightforward , says Kathleen Montejo , city clerk in Lewiston , Maine .
`` Once folks look at it , it does seem to be fairly intuitive , and you fill in the little bubble , '' she says .
`` It 's almost like taking the SAT test , you know , from years ago .
And you just fill in the little bubbles . ''
Montejo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaction is , `` 'Oh , this is n't as bad as I was expecting .
This seems to be pretty straightforward and pretty simple . '
`` The ranked choice voting system was first used in the state 's 2018 federal elections , so Maine voters are becoming more comfortable and familiar with the process .
But Montejo says many still have questions .
`` The No .
1 question we always get from folks is , 'Do I have to rank every candidate ?
Or if I just rank my No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rank the other candidates , will my vote still count ? '
And the answer is yes . ''
Ranked choice voting only comes into play if no candidate receives a majority — that is , 50 % plus one vote .
That happened in 2018 in Maine 's 2nd Congressional District .
Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin received a plurality but not a majority , and after voters ' second choices were counted , Democrat Jared Golden won the seat .
In this year 's U.S. Senate race , one candidate , independent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting in her messaging , telling voters to make her their first choice and the Democrat Gideon their second choice .
University of Maine political science professor Mark Brewer says that 's problematic for Collins .
`` In a ranked choice voting scheme , assuming that Savage 's supporters list Gideon second , which Savage is asking them to do , this now turns into a disadvantage for Collins , '' he says .
But it 's unclear how the votes for the two independent candidates will break , with recent polls showing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vote .
In a statement , the Collins campaign says `` there is one clear choice '' and it is encouraging voters to choose Collins as their first choice .
Republicans in the state continue to challenge ranked choice voting in court , because it also applies to the presidential race .
Maine gives an electoral vote to the winners of each of the state 's two congressional districts .
And while polls show Democrat Joe Biden with a lead in the state overall , in the rural 2nd district it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kellar , executive director of the League of Women Voters of Maine .
`` The race between Biden and [ President ] Trump in that district is neck and neck , '' she says .
`` So if neither gets a majority , the votes cast for a third party or independent candidate may end up playing a role .
But instead of being spoilers , those candidates , the second choices will end up probably deciding the vote . ''
So Maine 's ranked choice voting system could possibly have an effect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. Senate — but even , conceivably , who wins the presidency .

Ranked-Choice Voting Could Play A Deciding Role In Maine's Senate Race
Enlarge this image toggle caption Robert F. Bukaty/AP Robert F. Bukaty/AP
One of this November's closest and highest-profile U.S. Senate races could turn on a unique way of voting in Maine.
There, Republican incumbent Susan Collins is defending her seat against Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon as well as two independents. Polls show a close contest between Collins, who's seeking her fifth term, and the well-funded Gideon.
And Maine voters will use the ranked-choice voting system, which allows them to rank their choices among the four Senate candidates.
To someone not familiar with the process, it sounds complex. But Cara McCormick, co-founder of the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, says it is something with which most of us are familiar.
"We rank choices in our everyday life all the time," she says. "We're always saying, you know, 'If they don't have the mint chocolate chip ice cream, can you please get me the rocky road?' " In terms of voting, "It allows people to really express their full range of opinions and preferences about all of the candidates running. And it's definitely working for us in Maine. And I think it's definitely encouraging more positive campaigns."
The ballot voters will use is pretty straightforward, says Kathleen Montejo, city clerk in Lewiston, Maine.
"Once folks look at it, it does seem to be fairly intuitive, and you fill in the little bubble," she says. "It's almost like taking the SAT test, you know, from years ago. And you just fill in the little bubbles."
Montejo says once voters see it, their reaction is, "'Oh, this isn't as bad as I was expecting. This seems to be pretty straightforward and pretty simple.' "
The ranked-choice voting system was first used in the state's 2018 federal elections, so Maine voters are becoming more comfortable and familiar with the process.
But Montejo says many still have questions. "The No. 1 question we always get from folks is, 'Do I have to rank every candidate? Or if I just rank my No. 1 first choice and do not rank the other candidates, will my vote still count?' And the answer is yes."
Ranked-choice voting only comes into play if no candidate receives a majority — that is, 50% plus one vote. That happened in 2018 in Maine's 2nd Congressional District. Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin received a plurality but not a majority, and after voters' second choices were counted, Democrat Jared Golden won the seat.
In this year's U.S. Senate race, one candidate, independent Lisa Savage, has used ranked-choice voting in her messaging, telling voters to make her their first choice and the Democrat Gideon their second one.
University of Maine political science professor Mark Brewer says that's problematic for Collins.
"In a ranked-choice voting scheme, assuming that Savage's supporters list Gideon second, which Savage is asking them to do, this now turns into a disadvantage for Collins," he says.
But it's unclear how the votes for the two independent candidates will break, with recent polls showing each with roughly the same share of the vote.
In a statement, the Collins campaign says "there is one clear choice" and it is encouraging voters to choose the incumbent as their first choice.
Republicans in the state continue to challenge ranked-choice voting in court, because it also applies to the presidential race.
Maine gives an electoral vote to the winners of each of the state's two congressional districts. And while polls show Democrat Joe Biden with a lead in the state overall, in the rural 2nd district it's a much closer race, says Anna Kellar, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Maine.
"The race between Biden and [President] Trump in that district is neck and neck," she says. "So if neither gets a majority, the votes cast for a third party or independent candidate may end up playing a role. But instead of being spoilers, those candidates, the second choices will end up probably deciding the vote."
So Maine's ranked-choice voting system could possibly have an effect not only on the makeup of the U.S. Senate — but even, conceivably, who wins the presidency.


npr--2020-10-08--4 Takeaways From The Mike Pence, Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Debate

After a raucous debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden last month that was marked by constant interruptions , name-calling and a moderator unable to control the discussion , Wednesday night 's vice presidential debate marked a return to a more traditional affair .
It 's unclear whether it will be the last debate of the 2020 presidential campaign .
Trump , who is recovering at the White House and sidelined — at least for the moment — from the campaign trail after being hospitalized with COVID-19 , said Thursday he 's `` not going to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commission that runs the debates announced that the second presidential debate , which had been scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami , will now be virtual .
Trump called the format `` a waste of time , '' adding he had no advance notice of the change .
While most voters do n't base their decision on the vice presidential candidates , 2020 's contest is possibly different .
Biden is 77 and has presented himself as a `` transitional '' figure to the Democratic Party 's next generation .
And the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illness .
The vice presidential debate was n't likely to change many voters ' minds or shift the trajectory of the race , but it showed sharp contrasts between the two parties ' agendas for the economy , health care and more .
Here are four takeaways from the vice presidential debate between Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris , D-Calif. : 1 .
The 2020 election still hinges on the coronavirus .
From the outset of the debate the pandemic was center stage .
Spectators were warned not to remove their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 12 feet apart and separated by plexiglass shields .
It was also the first topic .
Harris was aggressive , seizing on the Democratic ticket 's central argument that the Trump administration 's handling of the novel coronavirus was `` the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country . ''
She accused the president of covering up information about the virus when he was briefed in January by his national security team , and she argued that Trump still did n't have a plan to combat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's record and pointed to Trump 's decision to restrict travel from China at the end of January as evidence that he took the threat seriously .
He noted that the Biden-Harris team 's plan to address the coronavirus with testing and the development of a vaccine mirrored actions the administration has already taken .
`` It looks a little bit like plagiarism , '' Pence said .
He also attempted to portray Harris ' criticism of the administration 's response as an attack on the sacrifices Americans have made during the crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flat .
Throughout the debate , whether the question was about the economy or health care , Harris returned to the administration 's response to the pandemic .
Pence , in turn , touted what he called record-setting progress on developing a vaccine and pledged , as the president has before , that millions of doses would be available by the end of the year .
Harris said she would take a vaccine approved by medical professionals , but `` if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it , I 'm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harris was seeking to `` undermine public confidence '' in the effort to develop and approve a vaccine .
`` Stop playing politics with people 's lives , '' he said .
2 .
There was an actual debate this time , but not necessarily answers to the moderator 's questions .
There was far less interrupting , angry cross-talk and fewer personal attacks than in the presidential debate .
Moderator Susan Page , Washington bureau chief of USA Today , called for a `` respectful exchange '' and regularly reminded the candidates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Pence and Harris did n't always comply .
And Harris pushed back , calling out Pence when he started to step on her answers or take away from her time .
She scolded him with , `` Mr. Vice President , I 'm speaking .
I 'm speaking '' — making it clear she was n't going to let a male debate opponent get away with any intimidation tactics .
Both candidates frequently sidestepped questions altogether .
The moderator chose to move on to new topics rather than pose follow-up questions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key issues that could have made news or at least educated voters about the candidates ' positions .
Both ignored a key question that could be top of mind with Biden 's age and the president 's illness — what would you do if the president became incapacitated ?
Pence did n't answer how a Trump-Pence administration would protect preexisting conditions if the Affordable Care Act is struck down by the Supreme Court .
He also did n't explain what he would do if the president did n't accept the election results or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Harris refused to answer a question posed by both the moderator and again by Pence about whether she backed what many liberal activists are pushing : adding justices to the Supreme Court — court packing .
Biden dodged the same question in the first debate .
Both also evaded a question about what they thought states should do if the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade , which would leave the states to write abortion laws .
3 .
Candidates ' strategies reflected the state of the campaign — Pence attacked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump 's record on the coronavirus .
Pence 's debate style is almost polar opposite of the president 's .
He was calm and disciplined and came prepared to paint the Biden-Harris ticket as captive to the extreme left of the Democratic Party , specifically on economic issues .
The economy has consistently been the GOP ticket 's strongest issue with voters , but that strength has declined as the country struggles with job losses and business closures .
The vice president cited an analysis that Harris in 2019 was the U.S. Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeatedly linked the Democratic ticket with the Green New Deal , a proposal pushed by progressives in Congress to remake the economy with a new energy infrastructure .
Although Harris backed the proposal prior to her nomination , Biden has not .
Pence also asserted that Biden 's vow to roll back the president 's 2017 tax cuts would translate into tax increases on Americans as soon as he took office , though in fact that would take an act of Congress .
Harris appeared in the crowded Democratic primary debates , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debate stage one-on-one .
She leaned on her skills as a prosecutor and came with a mission to hammer the case against Trump 's handling of the pandemic and the fallout for the economy .
She made Pence Trump 's stand-in on the subject .
In several exchanges , Harris sidestepped directly answering questions from the moderator and instead shifted the conversation to Trump .
She used a question about the Breonna Taylor case in Kentucky to remind the audience of one stunning moment in the Biden-Trump debate , when the president declined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did n't generate much news or many knockout lines , so when a fly landed and remained on the vice president 's head for over two minutes , people were transfixed and many took to social media , unable to resist weighing in with jokes .
Enormous attention was given to health precautions , ventilation systems and testing of attendees at the debate site .
But the appearance of one insect was a scenario no one prepared for , and it was hard to ignore .
Shortly after the debate ended , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ branded fly swatter .

4 Takeaways From The Mike Pence-Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Debate
Enlarge this image toggle caption Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
Updated at 12:57 p.m. ET
After a raucous debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden last week that was marked by constant interruptions, name-calling and a moderator unable to control the discussion, Wednesday night's vice presidential debate marked a return to a more traditional affair.
It's unclear whether it will be the last debate of the 2020 presidential campaign. Trump, who is recovering at the White House and sidelined — at least for the moment — from the campaign trail after being hospitalized with COVID-19, said Thursday he's "not going to do a virtual debate" after the independent commission that runs the debates announced that the second presidential debate, which had been scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami, will now be virtual. Trump called the format "a waste of time," adding he had no advance notice of the change.
While most voters don't base their decision on the vice presidential candidates, 2020's contest is possibly different. Biden is 77 and has presented himself as a "transitional" figure to the Democratic Party's next generation. And the president is 74 and has contracted a serious illness.
The vice presidential debate wasn't likely to change many voters' minds or shift the trajectory of the race, but it showed sharp contrasts between the two parties' agendas for the economy, health care and more. Here are four takeaways from the vice presidential debate between Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.:
NPR YouTube
1. The 2020 election still hinges on the coronavirus.
From the outset of the debate the pandemic was center stage. Spectators were warned not to remove their masks. The candidates sat at desks more than 12 feet apart and separated by plexiglass shields. It was also the first topic.
Harris seized on the Democratic ticket's central argument that the Trump administration's handling of the novel coronavirus was "the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country." She accused the president of covering up information about the virus when he was briefed in January by his national security team, and she argued that Trump still didn't have a plan to combat the disease.
Pence defended the president's record and pointed to Trump's decision to restrict travel from China at the end of January as evidence that he took the threat seriously. He noted that the Biden-Harris team's plan to address the coronavirus with testing and the development of a vaccine mirrored actions the administration has already taken. "It looks a little bit like plagiarism," Pence said.
He also attempted to portray Harris' criticism of the administration's response as an attack on the sacrifices Americans have made during the crisis, an answer that seemed to fall flat.
Throughout the debate, whether the question was about the economy or health care, Harris returned to the administration's response to the pandemic.
Pence, in turn, touted what he called record-setting progress on developing a vaccine and pledged, as the president has before, that millions of doses would be available by the end of the year.
Harris said she would take a vaccine approved by medical professionals, but "if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I'm not taking it."
Pence said Harris was seeking to "undermine public confidence" in the effort to develop and approve a vaccine. "Stop playing politics with people's lives," he said.
2. There was an actual debate this time, but not necessarily answers to the moderator's questions.
There was far less interrupting, angry cross-talk and fewer personal attacks than in the presidential debate. Moderator Susan Page, Washington bureau chief of USA Today, called for a "respectful exchange" and regularly reminded the candidates that answers should be "uninterrupted."
Pence and Harris didn't always comply. And Harris pushed back, calling out Pence when he started to step on her answers or take away from her time. She retorted, "Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking" — making it clear she wasn't going to let a male debate opponent get away with any intimidation tactics.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Both candidates frequently sidestepped questions altogether. The moderator chose to move on to new topics rather than pose follow-up questions, which was a lost opportunity on some key issues that could have made news or at least educated voters about the candidates' positions. Both ignored a key question that could be top of mind with Biden's age and the president's illness — what would you do if the president became incapacitated?
Pence didn't answer how a Trump-Pence administration would protect preexisting conditions if the Affordable Care Act is struck down by the Supreme Court. He also didn't explain what he would do if the president didn't accept the election results or agree to a peaceful transition of power.
Harris refused to answer a question posed by both the moderator and again by Pence about whether she backed what many liberal activists are pushing: adding justices to the Supreme Court — court packing. Biden dodged the same question in the first debate.
Both also evaded a question about what they thought states should do if the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, which would leave the states to write abortion laws.
3. Candidates' strategies reflected the state of the campaign — Pence attacked Biden-Harris as extreme; Harris pivoted to Trump's record on the coronavirus.
Pence's debate style is almost polar opposite of the president's. He was calm and disciplined and came prepared to paint the Biden-Harris ticket as captive to the extreme left of the Democratic Party, specifically on economic issues.
The economy has consistently been the GOP ticket's strongest issue with voters, but that strength has declined as the country struggles with job losses and business closures. The vice president cited an analysis that Harris in 2019 was the U.S. Senate's most liberal member, and he repeatedly linked the Democratic ticket with the Green New Deal, a proposal pushed by progressives in Congress to remake the economy with a new energy infrastructure. Although Harris backed the proposal prior to her nomination, Biden has not.
Pence also asserted that Biden's vow to roll back the president's 2017 tax cuts would translate into tax increases on Americans as soon as he took office, though in fact that would take an act of Congress.
Harris appeared in the crowded Democratic primary debates, but she has had less experience on the debate stage one-on-one. She leaned on her skills as a prosecutor and came with a mission to hammer the case against Trump's handling of the pandemic and the fallout for the economy. She made Pence Trump's stand-in on the subject.
In several exchanges, Harris sidestepped directly answering questions from the moderator and instead shifted the conversation to Trump. She used a question about the Breonna Taylor case in Kentucky to remind the audience of one stunning moment in the Biden-Trump debate, when the president declined to denounce white supremacists.
4. A fly generated the most buzz.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
The debate didn't generate much news or many knockout lines, so when a fly landed and remained on the vice president's head for over two minutes, people were transfixed and many took to social media, unable to resist weighing in with jokes. Enormous attention was given to health precautions, ventilation systems and testing of attendees at the debate site. But the appearance of one insect was a scenario no one prepared for, and it was hard to ignore.
Shortly after the debate ended, the Biden campaign posted an ad for a branded fly swatter.