npr--2020-07-31--One Man's COVID-19 Death Raises The Worst Fears Of Many People With Disabilities

One Man 's COVID-19 Death Raises The Worst Fears Of Many People With Disabilities What Melissa Hickson says happened to her husband — and what the hospital says — are in conflict .
But this much is for sure : Michael Hickson , a 46-year old quadriplegic who 'd contracted COVID-19 , died at St. David 's South Austin Medical Center in Austin , Texas , on June 11 after the hospital ended treatment for him and moved him from the intensive care unit to hospice care .
Melissa Hickson says her husband was denied potentially lifesaving treatment because doctors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on their biases that , because of his disabilities , Michael Hickson had a low quality of life .
The hospital says it acted based on the man 's dire medical prognosis and that it would have been pointless and cruel to give him invasive treatment .
Michael Hickson 's death has become a cause among many with disabilities , an emblem of a medical system that they believe views their lives as having less value , even before a pandemic put doctors and hospitals under stress .
And now Hickson 's death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civil rights office .
ADAPT of Texas , a disability rights group in Austin , sent a complaint on July 24 to the federal Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services .
And on Friday , the National Council on Independent Living filed a similar complaint to ask the Office for Civil Rights to open an investigation into Hickson 's death .
`` In Mr. Hickson 's case , the issue is not abstract , '' the complaint says .
`` The treating professional for Mr. Hickson made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his disabilities , Mr. Hickson 's life would not be supported . ''
In addition to those formal complaints , two members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas expressed alarm .
Rep. Chip Roy , a Republican , called the circumstances around Hickson 's death `` highly troubling . ''
And Rep. Joaquin Castro , a Democrat , said Hickson 's death `` should be immediately investigated . ''
Since the start of the pandemic , the federal civil rights office has kept an eye on health care rationing .
Specifically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and hospitals that they ca n't place elderly and disabled people at the back of the line for care for COVID-19 .
`` We 're concerned that stereotypes about what life is like living with a disability can be improperly used to exclude people from needed care , '' said Roger Severino , the Office for Civil Rights director , on March 28 as he announced guidelines for states and medical providers .
To do so , he warned , would violate laws — including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Affordable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and older people will not face discrimination when they need medical care .
Since then , Severino 's office has investigated multiple states that put out plans for limiting care and has announced settlements with four of those states .
But those plans were simply guidelines , telling medical providers what , theoretically , they could do in case they faced the need to triage care .
Much harder to determine is what actually takes place on the front lines of medical care , especially when hospitals are overwhelmed and doctors are forced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says she believes she saw proof that her husband was denied care because of his disability .
( Hickson says she thinks her husband may have been dismissed as a Black man , too , but `` the main reason was because of his disabilities . ''
) On June 5 , Hickson went to see her husband in the ICU at St. David 's South Austin Medical Center .
Michael Hickson was a quadriplegic who 'd been diagnosed with COVID-19 .
Now he had pneumonia .
A BiPap machine , a kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own homes , was pushing air into his lungs to help him breathe .
Through the mask , he answered her questions with short answers .
Would you like me to get you a Long Island iced tea , she joked .
Yes , he said with a smile .
Will you pray with me ?
Yes .
She asked him `` to keep it in your mind : You will live and not die .
You will live . ''
She asked him to repeat the words with her and she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breathing device , his lips move as he repeated it with her .
She called the kids on the phone — their five teenage children — for a FaceTime conversation .
They told their Dad what they were up to .
The 16-year-old was excited she was going to get her driver 's license .
`` They chattered .
Very chattery , '' she recalls with a laugh .
`` And so I could see him just kind of shaking his head '' and smiling .
That was June 5 .
One morning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Morehouse College graduate who was an auto insurance claims estimator , went into sudden cardiac arrest as he was driving his wife to work .
Blood stopped flowing to his brain and other organs .
Sudden cardiac arrest is often fatal , but paramedics arrived and performed extensive CPR .
He survived .
But the temporary loss of oxygen to his brain left him with significant disabilities — an anoxic brain injury , blindness and quadriplegia .
He could no longer walk .
He had trouble talking .
Melissa Hickson posted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after his injuries : singing Happy Birthday to his daughter from his hospital bed , joking with his kids , getting physical therapy , bobbing his head as he listens to music .
He seems to have difficulty speaking and moving , but he is aware and involved .
Still , Melissa Hickson says , the years since the accident were difficult for her husband .
He 'd moved from hospital to nursing home to back home — and then back to more hospitals and nursing homes .
That day at St. David @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the medical staff had something to tell Melissa Hickson .
They were going to stop treating her husband .
And move him from the ICU to hospice care .
In the hallway , Hickson found the doctor .
She asked why .
And she recorded their conversation .
The recording is hard to hear , the doctor 's voice a bit distant .
But he tells Hickson : `` The decision is : Do we want to be extremely aggressive with his care or do we feel like this would be futile ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ As of right now , his quality of life — he does n't have much of one . ''
Hickson challenges the doctor .
`` What do you mean ? ''
she asks .
`` Because he 's paralyzed with a brain injury , he does n't have quality of life ? ''
After a while , the doctor gives a different explanation : If we have to intubate him — put him on a more powerful ventilator — in his weakened condition , he 's not going to survive .
That did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The hospital was n't overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients .
It did n't need to ration care .
Her husband had dealt with pneumonia before , and other hospitals had successfully treated it .
`` This decision was not made based on a disability in any way , '' says Dr. DeVry Anderson , the chief medical officer at St. David 's .
He adds that it was not an issue of the hospital being short on its ability to treat COVID-19 patients .
Anderson says Michael Hickson was much sicker than his wife @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pneumonia in both lungs and that his organs were shutting down .
Anderson says a medical team — of doctors , palliative care specialists , a chaplain — made the decision that Hickson could not survive further treatment .
The team then got signoff from Michael Hickson 's medical guardian .
A Texas probate court earlier this year had stepped in and appointed an elder care agency to make medical decisions for Michael Hickson .
That happened after Melissa Hickson disagreed with a previous hospital .
She says it wanted to discharge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She insisted he needed more specialized care at a brain and spinal cord injury center .
It 's not unusual for caregivers and medical staff to fight .
It 's unusual , though , that a probate court would step in .
Anderson says that tape recording Melissa Hickson made — of the doctor at the hospital saying her husband had no quality of life — was just a miscommunication .
He says the doctor misused the term `` quality of life '' and that he was n't saying the hospital was ending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anderson says : `` But rather he was trying to help Mrs. Hickson understand compassion based on understanding what quality of life is — how someone might suffer more based on doing things that we consider treatments or interventions that are actually not helping them be better or feel better . ''
NPR listened to the five-minute recording Melissa Hickson made of her conversation with the unnamed doctor .
The doctor speaks of Michael Hickson 's quality of life , of wanting to make a `` humane '' decision .
He says he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on ventilators in the ICU — all young and previously in good health — recover .
The difference between them and her husband , he says : `` They 're walking and talking . ''
Her husband , he says , has `` a number of medical problems . ''
Melissa Hickson agrees that she does n't want her husband intubated .
She asks if he could get Remdesivir , a drug in short supply that , studies suggest , can reduce the hospital stay of someone seriously ill from COVID-19 .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to save her husband .
`` It does n't make any sense to me to not try , '' she tells the doctor .
The doctor , on the tape , never mentions the issues that Anderson says led to the decision to end treatment — the sepsis and organ failure .
Hospitals call in Devan Stahl on cases just like this .
Stahl is an associate professor of ethics at Baylor University in Waco , Texas .
She was n't consulted on this case .
She does n't know all the details @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But she 's listened to the tape .
`` It was very troubling .
Kind of a gut punch , '' she says .
`` Because a treatment working or not working has nothing to do with a patient 's quality of life , however it 's deemed by this physician , '' she says .
`` And by all accounts — by his wife — that he had a quality of life . ''
Stahl says there 's research that we — all of us , and especially doctors — see someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disability and say , I would n't want to live like that .
And we have a bias to underestimate that person 's quality of life .
Stahl says doctors need to protect against doing that with disabled patients .
`` That does n't mean they should be triaged out of medical treatment , '' she says .
Melissa Hickson says no one asked Michael Hickson if he wanted treatment .
`` He would say , ' I want to live .
I love my family and my children and they 're the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` she says .
`` He would probably say that 's the reason for the past three years I have fought to survive . ''
On June 11 , Hickson tried to make a FaceTime call to her husband .
The hospital said that she needed permission from that guardianship agency .
The guardian said she needed it from the hospital .
The next morning she got up early and tried again .
Later that morning she got a phone call — this time from the hospice agency .
The message said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It took 12 hours before anyone called to tell Melissa Hickson .
`` Michael Hickson 's life mattered — to his wife , to his children , and to his community , '' says a statement released by the National Council on Independent Living .
`` It should have mattered to the medical professionals charged to care for him . ''
On Friday , the council , along with seven other disability groups , asked the Office for Civil Rights to investigate his death .
The complaint named the hospital , its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guardianship agency .
The council represents a national network of 400 centers run by disabled people to advise and advocate for other disabled people .
A spokeswoman for the Office for Civil Rights would not say if the office would open an investigation .
But sources told NPR that the office has been interested in pursuing a complaint if it thought a decision to triage care was based improperly on a person 's disability .
The Office for Civil Rights `` ca n't discuss open or potential investigations , '' spokesperson Arina Grossu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation , and finds that the hospital violated civil rights laws , it could then work on an agreement with the hospital to put systems in place to prevent that kind of decision on treatment from happening again .
Or if a hospital fails to address a problem , the office can seek to get back or end federal funds to the hospital .
Disability groups have seen the Office for Civil Rights as an agency that will protect access to medical care during the pandemic .
Groups in multiple states have filed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called `` crisis standards of care plans '' — that they feel allow medical providers to give lesser care to the elderly and people with disabilities .
One of the most recent complaints , filed July 22 , comes from national and Texas disability groups , led by Disability Rights Texas .
It asks the Office for Civil Rights to tell Texas to modify guidelines that allow hospitals to use a point scale to determine who is most likely to benefit from care when it is scarce .
The point system , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disabilities because they lose points for their disabilities and underlying medical conditions .
The Office for Civil Rights has investigated complaints in other states and forced changes .
Pennsylvania modified a system similar to the one now challenged in Texas ; Alabama and Tennessee rewrote their rules to ensure that people with dementia , intellectual disabilities , traumatic brain injuries , advanced neuromuscular disease and other disabilities would not be denied ventilator and other care simply because of those conditions .
Now , the death of Michael Hickson , at that hospital in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of how doctors and hospitals , stressed by the coronavirus pandemic , provide medical care and whether they do it in a way that values the lives of people with disabilities .

One Man's COVID-19 Death Raises The Worst Fears Of Many People With Disabilities
Enlarge this image toggle caption Melissa Hickson Melissa Hickson
What Melissa Hickson says happened to her husband — and what the hospital says — are in conflict.
But this much is for sure: Michael Hickson, a 46-year old quadriplegic who'd contracted COVID-19, died at St. David's South Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas, on June 11 after the hospital ended treatment for him and moved him from the intensive care unit to hospice care.
Melissa Hickson says her husband was denied potentially lifesaving treatment because doctors at the hospital made a decision based on their biases that, because of his disabilities, Michael Hickson had a low quality of life.
The hospital says it acted based on the man's dire medical prognosis and that it would have been pointless and cruel to give him invasive treatment.
Michael Hickson's death has become a cause among many with disabilities, an emblem of a medical system that they believe views their lives as having less value, even before a pandemic put doctors and hospitals under stress.
And now Hickson's death may get the scrutiny of a federal civil rights office.
ADAPT of Texas, a disability rights group in Austin, sent a complaint on July 24 to the federal Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services. And on Friday, the National Council on Independent Living filed a similar complaint to ask the Office for Civil Rights to open an investigation into Hickson's death.
"In Mr. Hickson's case, the issue is not abstract," the complaint says. "The treating professional for Mr. Hickson made a discriminatory determination that, due to his disabilities, Mr. Hickson's life would not be supported."
In addition to those formal complaints, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas expressed alarm. Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican, called the circumstances around Hickson's death "highly troubling." And Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, said Hickson's death "should be immediately investigated."
Since the start of the pandemic, the federal civil rights office has kept an eye on health care rationing. Specifically, it has warned states, doctors and hospitals that they can't place elderly and disabled people at the back of the line for care for COVID-19.
"We're concerned that stereotypes about what life is like living with a disability can be improperly used to exclude people from needed care," said Roger Severino, the Office for Civil Rights director, on March 28 as he announced guidelines for states and medical providers.
To do so, he warned, would violate laws — including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Affordable Care Act — that guarantee the disabled and older people will not face discrimination when they need medical care.
Since then, Severino's office has investigated multiple states that put out plans for limiting care and has announced settlements with four of those states.
But those plans were simply guidelines, telling medical providers what, theoretically, they could do in case they faced the need to triage care.
Much harder to determine is what actually takes place on the front lines of medical care, especially when hospitals are overwhelmed and doctors are forced to make quick decisions.
Melissa Hickson says she believes she saw proof that her husband was denied care because of his disability. (Hickson says she thinks her husband may have been dismissed as a Black man, too, but "the main reason was because of his disabilities.")
On June 5, Hickson went to see her husband in the ICU at St. David's South Austin Medical Center.
Michael Hickson was a quadriplegic who'd been diagnosed with COVID-19. Now he had pneumonia. A BiPap machine, a kind of ventilator that people often use in their own homes, was pushing air into his lungs to help him breathe.
Through the mask, he answered her questions with short answers. Would you like me to get you a Long Island iced tea, she joked. Yes, he said with a smile. Will you pray with me? Yes.
She asked him "to keep it in your mind: You will live and not die. You will live." She asked him to repeat the words with her and she saw, under the mask of the breathing device, his lips move as he repeated it with her.
She called the kids on the phone — their five teenage children — for a FaceTime conversation. They told their Dad what they were up to. The 16-year-old was excited she was going to get her driver's license.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Melissa Hickson Melissa Hickson
"They chattered. Very chattery," she recalls with a laugh. "And so I could see him just kind of shaking his head" and smiling.
That was June 5. One morning, three years earlier, Michael Hickson, a Morehouse College graduate who was an auto insurance claims estimator, went into sudden cardiac arrest as he was driving his wife to work. Blood stopped flowing to his brain and other organs. Sudden cardiac arrest is often fatal, but paramedics arrived and performed extensive CPR. He survived. But the temporary loss of oxygen to his brain left him with significant disabilities — an anoxic brain injury, blindness and quadriplegia.
He could no longer walk. He had trouble talking.
Melissa Hickson posted YouTube videos of him in the years after his injuries: singing Happy Birthday to his daughter from his hospital bed, joking with his kids, getting physical therapy, bobbing his head as he listens to music. He seems to have difficulty speaking and moving, but he is aware and involved.
Still, Melissa Hickson says, the years since the accident were difficult for her husband. He'd moved from hospital to nursing home to back home — and then back to more hospitals and nursing homes.
That day at St. David's hospital, on June 5, the medical staff had something to tell Melissa Hickson. They were going to stop treating her husband. And move him from the ICU to hospice care.
In the hallway, Hickson found the doctor. She asked why. And she recorded their conversation.
The recording is hard to hear, the doctor's voice a bit distant. But he tells Hickson: "The decision is: Do we want to be extremely aggressive with his care or do we feel like this would be futile?"
And then he adds: "As of right now, his quality of life — he doesn't have much of one."
Hickson challenges the doctor. "What do you mean?" she asks. "Because he's paralyzed with a brain injury, he doesn't have quality of life?"
"Correct," the doctor replies.
After a while, the doctor gives a different explanation: If we have to intubate him — put him on a more powerful ventilator — in his weakened condition, he's not going to survive.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Melissa Hickson Melissa Hickson
That didn't make sense to Melissa Hickson. The hospital wasn't overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. It didn't need to ration care. Her husband had dealt with pneumonia before, and other hospitals had successfully treated it.
"This decision was not made based on a disability in any way," says Dr. DeVry Anderson, the chief medical officer at St. David's. He adds that it was not an issue of the hospital being short on its ability to treat COVID-19 patients.
Anderson says Michael Hickson was much sicker than his wife may have realized: He had sepsis, pneumonia in both lungs and that his organs were shutting down.
Anderson says a medical team — of doctors, palliative care specialists, a chaplain — made the decision that Hickson could not survive further treatment. The team then got signoff from Michael Hickson's medical guardian.
A Texas probate court earlier this year had stepped in and appointed an elder care agency to make medical decisions for Michael Hickson. That happened after Melissa Hickson disagreed with a previous hospital. She says it wanted to discharge her husband to a nursing home. She insisted he needed more specialized care at a brain and spinal cord injury center.
It's not unusual for caregivers and medical staff to fight. It's unusual, though, that a probate court would step in.
Anderson says that tape recording Melissa Hickson made — of the doctor at the hospital saying her husband had no quality of life — was just a miscommunication. He says the doctor misused the term "quality of life" and that he wasn't saying the hospital was ending care because her husband was disabled.
Anderson says: "But rather he was trying to help Mrs. Hickson understand compassion based on understanding what quality of life is — how someone might suffer more based on doing things that we consider treatments or interventions that are actually not helping them be better or feel better."
NPR listened to the five-minute recording Melissa Hickson made of her conversation with the unnamed doctor. The doctor speaks of Michael Hickson's quality of life, of wanting to make a "humane" decision. He says he's seen only three people with COVID-19 on ventilators in the ICU — all young and previously in good health — recover.
The difference between them and her husband, he says: "They're walking and talking." Her husband, he says, has "a number of medical problems."
Melissa Hickson agrees that she doesn't want her husband intubated. She asks if he could get Remdesivir, a drug in short supply that, studies suggest, can reduce the hospital stay of someone seriously ill from COVID-19. She wants the hospital to try some treatment to save her husband. "It doesn't make any sense to me to not try," she tells the doctor.
The doctor, on the tape, never mentions the issues that Anderson says led to the decision to end treatment — the sepsis and organ failure.
Hospitals call in Devan Stahl on cases just like this. Stahl is an associate professor of ethics at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
She wasn't consulted on this case. She doesn't know all the details of Michael Hickson's medical condition.
But she's listened to the tape.
"It was very troubling. Kind of a gut punch," she says.
"Because a treatment working or not working has nothing to do with a patient's quality of life, however it's deemed by this physician," she says. "And by all accounts — by his wife — that he had a quality of life."
Stahl says there's research that we — all of us, and especially doctors — see someone such as Michael Hickson with a significant disability and say, I wouldn't want to live like that. And we have a bias to underestimate that person's quality of life.
Stahl says doctors need to protect against doing that with disabled patients. "That doesn't mean they should be triaged out of medical treatment," she says.
Melissa Hickson says no one asked Michael Hickson if he wanted treatment. "He would say, 'I want to live. I love my family and my children and they're the most important things to me,' " she says. "He would probably say that's the reason for the past three years I have fought to survive."
On June 11, Hickson tried to make a FaceTime call to her husband. The hospital said that she needed permission from that guardianship agency. The guardian said she needed it from the hospital.
The next morning she got up early and tried again.
Later that morning she got a phone call — this time from the hospice agency. The message said: Michael Hickson had died the night before. It took 12 hours before anyone called to tell Melissa Hickson.
"Michael Hickson's life mattered — to his wife, to his children, and to his community," says a statement released by the National Council on Independent Living. "It should have mattered to the medical professionals charged to care for him."
On Friday, the council, along with seven other disability groups, asked the Office for Civil Rights to investigate his death. The complaint named the hospital, its parent company and Family Eldercare, the guardianship agency. The council represents a national network of 400 centers run by disabled people to advise and advocate for other disabled people.
A spokeswoman for the Office for Civil Rights would not say if the office would open an investigation. But sources told NPR that the office has been interested in pursuing a complaint if it thought a decision to triage care was based improperly on a person's disability.
The Office for Civil Rights "can't discuss open or potential investigations," spokesperson Arina Grossu says. If it does open an investigation, and finds that the hospital violated civil rights laws, it could then work on an agreement with the hospital to put systems in place to prevent that kind of decision on treatment from happening again. Or if a hospital fails to address a problem, the office can seek to get back or end federal funds to the hospital.
Disability groups have seen the Office for Civil Rights as an agency that will protect access to medical care during the pandemic. Groups in multiple states have filed complaints about state triage policies — often called "crisis standards of care plans" — that they feel allow medical providers to give lesser care to the elderly and people with disabilities.
One of the most recent complaints, filed July 22, comes from national and Texas disability groups, led by Disability Rights Texas. It asks the Office for Civil Rights to tell Texas to modify guidelines that allow hospitals to use a point scale to determine who is most likely to benefit from care when it is scarce. The point system, the complaint says, discriminates against people with disabilities because they lose points for their disabilities and underlying medical conditions.
The Office for Civil Rights has investigated complaints in other states and forced changes. Pennsylvania modified a system similar to the one now challenged in Texas; Alabama and Tennessee rewrote their rules to ensure that people with dementia, intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, advanced neuromuscular disease and other disabilities would not be denied ventilator and other care simply because of those conditions.
Now, the death of Michael Hickson, at that hospital in Austin, could be the next test of how doctors and hospitals, stressed by the coronavirus pandemic, provide medical care and whether they do it in a way that values the lives of people with disabilities.


npr--2020-07-31--Citing Election Delay Tweet, Influential Trump Ally Now Demands His Re-Impeachment

After voting for President Trump in 2016 and staunchly defending him in conservative publications , a Federalist Society leader appears to be having some very public buyer 's remorse .
Steven Calabresi , co-founder of the powerful conservative legal organization , is now calling on the House of Representatives to do again what it has already done once this year : impeach Trump .
In a scathing opinion piece in The New York Times published online Thursday , the Northwestern University law professor points to what ignited his newfound ire with the president : a tweet Trump sent out shortly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. economy had suffered its biggest recorded contraction ever last quarter .
`` With Universal Mail-In Voting ( not Absentee Voting , which is good ) , 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history .
It will be a great embarrassment to the USA , '' the president intoned on Twitter .
`` Delay the Election until people can properly , securely and safely vote ?
?
? ''
Calabresi declared himself `` appalled '' by the tweet , which he characterized as `` seeking to postpone the November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I had taken as political hyperbole the Democrats ' assertion that President Trump is a fascist , '' the conservative legal scholar wrote .
`` But this latest tweet is fascistic and is itself grounds for the president 's immediate impeachment again by the House of Representatives and his removal from office by the Senate . ''
It was a remarkable turnaround for a man who as recently as November had accused House Democrats of conducting an `` unconstitutional '' and `` Kafkaesque 'trial ' `` in their Trump impeachment proceedings .
Calabresi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawmakers , many of whom have routinely approved conservative judicial nominees endorsed and promoted by the Federalist Society .
`` President Trump needs to be told by every Republican in Congress that he can not postpone the federal election .
Doing so would be illegal , unconstitutional and without precedent in American history , '' Calabresi warned .
`` Anyone who says otherwise should never be elected to Congress again . ''
Calabresi 's public distancing from the 45th president was applauded by other conservatives critical of Trump .
`` Steve Calabresi , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington attorney George Conway , the famously Trump-bashing husband of senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway .
Former national security adviser John Bolton , whose scorching tell-all account of his time in the Trump White House was published last month over the objections of Trump 's lawyers , tweeted that Calabresi 's op-ed was `` a must-read . ''
Trump , for his part , did not directly respond to his one-time ally 's demand that he be re-impeached .
Instead , the president sought to portray his provocative suggestion that the election be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Glad I was able to get the very dishonest LameStream Media , '' Trump tweeted later on Thursday , `` to finally start talking about the RISKS to our Democracy from dangerous Universal Mail-In-Voting ( not Absentee Voting , which I totally support ! )
. ''
Many news organizations — including NPR — have noted that , contrary to Trump 's assertions , there is no universal mail-in voting for the November presidential election , just as there is essentially no difference between mail-in ballots and absentee ballots .

Citing Election Delay Tweet, Influential Trump Ally Now Demands His Re-Impeachment
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Brandon/AP Alex Brandon/AP
After voting for President Trump in 2016 and staunchly defending him in conservative publications, a Federalist Society leader appears to be having some very public buyer's remorse.
Steven Calabresi, co-founder of the powerful conservative legal organization, is now calling on the House of Representatives to do again what it has already done once this year: impeach Trump.
In a scathing opinion piece in The New York Times published online Thursday, the Northwestern University law professor points to what ignited his newfound ire with the president: a tweet Trump sent out shortly after news broke Thursday morning that the U.S. economy had suffered its biggest recorded contraction ever last quarter.
"With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA," the president intoned on Twitter. "Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"
Calabresi declared himself "appalled" by the tweet, which he characterized as "seeking to postpone the November election."
"Until recently, I had taken as political hyperbole the Democrats' assertion that President Trump is a fascist," the conservative legal scholar wrote. "But this latest tweet is fascistic and is itself grounds for the president's immediate impeachment again by the House of Representatives and his removal from office by the Senate."
It was a remarkable turnaround for a man who as recently as November had accused House Democrats of conducting an "unconstitutional" and "Kafkaesque 'trial' " in their Trump impeachment proceedings.
Calabresi also had some stern advice for Republican lawmakers, many of whom have routinely approved conservative judicial nominees endorsed and promoted by the Federalist Society.
"President Trump needs to be told by every Republican in Congress that he cannot postpone the federal election. Doing so would be illegal, unconstitutional and without precedent in American history," Calabresi warned. "Anyone who says otherwise should never be elected to Congress again."
Calabresi's public distancing from the 45th president was applauded by other conservatives critical of Trump.
"Steve Calabresi, welcome to the Resistance," tweeted Washington attorney George Conway, the famously Trump-bashing husband of senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Former national security adviser John Bolton, whose scorching tell-all account of his time in the Trump White House was published last month over the objections of Trump's lawyers, tweeted that Calabresi's op-ed was "a must-read."
Trump, for his part, did not directly respond to his one-time ally's demand that he be re-impeached. Instead, the president sought to portray his provocative suggestion that the election be delayed as stirring a needed public debate.
"Glad I was able to get the very dishonest LameStream Media," Trump tweeted later on Thursday, "to finally start talking about the RISKS to our Democracy from dangerous Universal Mail-In-Voting (not Absentee Voting, which I totally support!)."
Many news organizations — including NPR — have noted that, contrary to Trump's assertions, there is no universal mail-in voting for the November presidential election, just as there is essentially no difference between mail-in ballots and absentee ballots.


npr--2020-07-31--Coronavirus FAQ: Cases Are Spiking Again In Hong Kong. What Are They Doing About It?

Coronavirus FAQ : Cases Are Spiking Again In Hong Kong .
What Are They Doing About It ?
Each week , we answer `` frequently asked questions '' about life during the coronavirus crisis .
If you have a question you 'd like us to consider for a future post , email us at goatsandsoda @ npr.org with the subject line : `` Weekly Coronavirus Questions . ''
Hong Kong is seeing its biggest surge in coronavirus cases since the outbreak began .
After periods when the city had gotten the number of domestic cases — infections not linked to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ zero , Hong Kong is now reporting more than 100 new cases a day .
So what is Hong Kong doing about it ?
A lot .
And the goal is to get the reported coronavirus case numbers back down to just a handful if not none at all .
Interestingly , Hong Kong is n't ordering a blanket `` shelter in place '' or universal `` stay at home '' order as some places have .
Hong Kong actually has never implemented a full lockdown since the pandemic began .
Instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , shut non-essential businesses and required everyone to wear a mask in all outdoor places and on the subway .
Violators can be fined $ 5,000 Hong Kong Dollars ( $ 650 US ) .
On Wednesday of this week new rules went into effect that closed all bars , nightclubs , karaoke halls and mahjong parlors .
Gyms , hair salons and swimming pools were shut as well .
The rules also shuttered food courts , bathhouses , movie theaters , party halls and sports facilities .
And restaurants which had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to switch to takeout only ( more on that later ) .
Business owners who violate the restrictions face fines of $ 50,000 HKD or roughly $ 6,500 USD and six months in jail .
And while some places in the world have been capping the size of public gatherings at 50 or 20 or 10 people , Hong Kong set their new limit for public gatherings at 2 .
Yes , you read that right .
You ca n't really get a smaller party .
At a time when there have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beijing over the semi-autonomous territory , people who gather in groups larger than 2 can face up to a half a year in prison and a fine of $ 25,000 HKD ( $ 3,250 USD ) .
As the new rules were announced , Carrie Lam , chief executive of Hong Kong , told Hong Kongers in a video message that the city is on the verge of an even larger outbreak that could overwhelm its hospitals .
`` The government has put in place the most stringent measures ever in enforcing social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a white mask .
`` Our frontline staff are battling with the surge and the central government is helping us to enhance testing capability and set up a community treatment facility .
What we need now is your co-operation . ''
You may wonder how the new restrictions are playing out .
On Wednesday , the first day restaurants were forced to only offer takeout , sidewalks were jammed with people trying to eat lunch outside .
`` What we saw on the streets of Hong Kong was a lot of office workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it on the street , crouching down , kneeling down , sitting on park benches with umbrellas because it 's raining , '' says Ben Cowling , an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong .
`` It made Hong Kong seem like it was a different country to what we 're used to .
We do n't normally see people crouching down eating their lunch outside .
So it 's kind of strange to see that . ''
The takeaway-only rule caused so much chaos that city officials reversed it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they put in place new rules allowing restaurants to serve sitdown lunch at 50 % capacity and with at least 1.5 meters between tables – just shy of 5 feet .
Despite Hong Kong having contained the coronavirus incredibly efficiently for months , Cowling says he 's not that surprised there 's now a surge in cases .
`` We knew that we 'd get a resurgence sooner or later because we had relaxed all of the public health measures , '' Cowling says .
`` By opening up again , we were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And that 's what 's happened in the past month . ''
Even before this recent wave of cases , Hong Kong had a strict system for isolating people who are infected and people who 'd had close contact with any known case .
Anyone who tests positive is admitted to a hospital for treatment even if they 've got no symptoms whatsoever .
And they 're not allowed to leave until they 're confirmed negative on two consecutive tests – ideally two days in a row .
Close contacts of confirmed cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also required to quarantine up to 14 days , even if they test negative .
The quarantine rules are so burdensome that an association representing FedEx pilots this week called on the international shipping giant to suspend operations in Hong Kong .
The Air Line Pilots Association said three asymptomatic FedEx pilots who tested positive were `` forced '' to stay in hospitals for nearly 2 weeks .
And other crew members who 'd been in contact with them were placed in government camps .
But those strict quarantine requirements have been part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers so low for so long .
Cowling says the new rules that went into effect this week are a way for health officials to put additional pressure on the virus and drive down transmission .
`` Hopefully we 're going to get the numbers coming down and down over the course of the next month , back to zero again , '' he says .
Slowly restaurants will fill back up .
Karaoke will return .
Hair salons and swimming pools will reopen .
`` And then the whole thing starts again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for as long as possible , but sooner or later , they 're going to be back and then we 'll be facing another wave . ''
And Hong Kong will have to tighten up measures to push down transmission once again .

Coronavirus FAQ: What's Life Like For Hong Kongers As The Virus Spikes Again?
Enlarge this image toggle caption Miguel Candela/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Miguel Candela/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Each week, we answer "frequently asked questions" about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions."
Hong Kong is seeing its biggest surge in coronavirus cases since the outbreak began.
After periods when the city had gotten the number of domestic cases — infections not linked to people arriving from abroad — down to zero, Hong Kong is now reporting more than 100 new cases a day.
So what is Hong Kong doing about it?
A lot. And the goal is to get the reported coronavirus case numbers back down to just a handful if not none at all.
Interestingly, Hong Kong isn't ordering a blanket "shelter in place" or universal "stay at home" order as some places have. Hong Kong actually has never implemented a full lockdown since the pandemic began.
Instead, city officials have tightened social distancing rules, shut non-essential businesses and required everyone to wear a mask in all outdoor places and on the subway. Violators can be fined $5,000 Hong Kong Dollars ($650 US).
On Wednesday of this week new rules went into effect that closed all bars, nightclubs, karaoke halls and mahjong parlors. Gyms, hair salons and swimming pools were shut as well.
The rules also shuttered food courts, bathhouses, movie theaters, party halls and sports facilities. And restaurants which had been allowed to offer sit-down service were ordered to switch to takeout only (more on that later).
Business owners who violate the restrictions face fines of $50,000 HKD or roughly $6,500 USD and six months in jail.
And while some places in the world have been capping the size of public gatherings at 50 or 20 or 10 people, Hong Kong set their new limit for public gatherings at 2. Yes, you read that right. You can't really get a smaller party.
At a time when there have been mass street demonstrations about the influence of Beijing over the semi-autonomous territory, people who gather in groups larger than 2 can face up to a half a year in prison and a fine of $25,000 HKD ($3,250 USD).
As the new rules were announced, Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong, told Hong Kongers in a video message that the city is on the verge of an even larger outbreak that could overwhelm its hospitals.
"The government has put in place the most stringent measures ever in enforcing social distancing," Lam said from behind a white mask. "Our frontline staff are battling with the surge and the central government is helping us to enhance testing capability and set up a community treatment facility. What we need now is your co-operation."
You may wonder how the new restrictions are playing out.
On Wednesday, the first day restaurants were forced to only offer takeout, sidewalks were jammed with people trying to eat lunch outside.
"What we saw on the streets of Hong Kong was a lot of office workers buying their lunch takeaway and then eating it on the street, crouching down, kneeling down, sitting on park benches with umbrellas because it's raining," says Ben Cowling, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong.
"It made Hong Kong seem like it was a different country to what we're used to. We don't normally see people crouching down eating their lunch outside. So it's kind of strange to see that."
The takeaway-only rule caused so much chaos that city officials reversed it the next day. On Thursday, they put in place new rules allowing restaurants to serve sitdown lunch at 50% capacity and with at least 1.5 meters between tables – just shy of 5 feet.
Despite Hong Kong having contained the coronavirus incredibly efficiently for months, Cowling says he's not that surprised there's now a surge in cases.
"We knew that we'd get a resurgence sooner or later because we had relaxed all of the public health measures," Cowling says. "By opening up again, we were vulnerable to a resurgence in cases. And that's what's happened in the past month."
Even before this recent wave of cases, Hong Kong had a strict system for isolating people who are infected and people who'd had close contact with any known case.
Anyone who tests positive is admitted to a hospital for treatment even if they've got no symptoms whatsoever. And they're not allowed to leave until they're confirmed negative on two consecutive tests – ideally two days in a row. Close contacts of confirmed cases and people who arrive from abroad are also required to quarantine up to 14 days, even if they test negative.
The quarantine rules are so burdensome that an association representing FedEx pilots this week called on the international shipping giant to suspend operations in Hong Kong. The Air Line Pilots Association said three asymptomatic FedEx pilots who tested positive were "forced" to stay in hospitals for nearly 2 weeks. And other crew members who'd been in contact with them were placed in government camps.
But those strict quarantine requirements have been part of how Hong Kong kept its COVID-19 numbers so low for so long.
Cowling says the new rules that went into effect this week are a way for health officials to put additional pressure on the virus and drive down transmission.
"Hopefully we're going to get the numbers coming down and down over the course of the next month, back to zero again," he says. Slowly restaurants will fill back up. Karaoke will return. Hair salons and swimming pools will reopen.
"And then the whole thing starts again. We try and keep infections out for as long as possible, but sooner or later, they're going to be back and then we'll be facing another wave."
And Hong Kong will have to tighten up measures to push down transmission once again.


npr--2020-07-31--Fauci Says He's 'Optimistic' Americans Will Get Coronavirus Vaccine Next Year

Fauci Says He 's 'Optimistic ' Americans Will Get Coronavirus Vaccine Next Year A coronavirus vaccine could be ready for distribution by the end of the year , and distributed to Americans in 2021 , the nation 's top infectious disease specialist told lawmakers Friday .
While it typically takes years to develop vaccines , new technologies , the lack of bureaucratic red tape and the human body 's robust immune response to COVID-19 have hastened the process , Dr. Anthony Fauci said .
`` From everything we 've seen now — in the animal data , as well as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year and as we go into 2021 , '' said Fauci , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases .
`` I do n't think it 's dreaming . ''
In contrast to the decades-long search for an HIV vaccine , COVID-19 is more likely to respond to a vaccine , Fauci said .
HIV vaccine development has been so difficult because the body does n't make a strong immune response to that virus , he explained .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ much stronger .
More than 250,000 people have already registered their interest in participating in clinical trials , Fauci said .
He urged Americans to sign up at CoronavirusPreventionNetwork.org `` so that you can be part of the solution of this terrible scourge . ''
The administration is preparing for wide distribution , with the hope that the current vaccine candidate will prove effective in phase three trials , Fauci said .
Fauci said the administration is taking `` financial risk '' to prepare for distribution once the vaccine is shown to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Defense and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would work together to distribute a vaccine to Americans in phases .
Government committees will determine who needs the vaccine first , Fauci said .
That will likely include essential workers and people at greater risk .
The Food and Drug Administration would still need to grant final approval before any vaccine is administered to the public .
Lawmakers at the hearing drew attention to issues of importance to them and their supporters .
Rep. Jim Jordan , R-Ohio , appeared especially concerned about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without also putting similar restrictions on political protests .
`` Do protests increase the spread of the virus ? ''
Jordan asked Fauci .
`` Crowding together , particularly when you 're not wearing a mask , contributes to the spread of the virus , '' Fauci responded .
`` Should we limit the protesting ? ''
Jordan pressed .
`` I 'm not sure what you mean , '' Fauci said .
`` I do n't think that 's relevant , '' Fauci said , adding : `` I 'm not in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can do in a forceful way . ''
`` Well , you make all kinds of recommendations .
You 've made comments on dating , on baseball , on everything you can imagine , '' Jordan said .
The back and forth lasted for several minutes as Fauci repeatedly declined to discuss which specific activities should be limited .
`` I 'm not going to opine on limiting anything , I 'm telling you what ... is the danger .
And you can make your own conclusion about that .
You should stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crowds are . ''
`` Any crowd in which you have people close together without masks is a risk , '' Fauci said later in response to accusations by Jordan that he had changed his position several times on many things .
`` And I 'll stick by that statement .
It 's a public health statement .
It 's not a judgment on why you 're there in the crowd ; it 's a judgment related to the fact that you 're in the crowd . ''
Democratic lawmakers defended the protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the result of a protest , '' said Rep. James Clyburn , D-S.C. , who was chairing the hearing .
He met the late Rep. John Lewis from Georgia years ago while protesting , Clyburn said .
`` Trying to get off the back of the bus .
Trying to integrate schools .
Trying to be able to shop in a 5- and 10-cent store and not be arrested for trespassing . ''
`` I 'm glad the government did not limit our protests , '' Clyburn said , adding that the protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington , D.C. , were peaceful .
Republican lawmakers expressed a desire to get students back in school as soon as possible .
It 's not just about education , said ranking Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana .
Schools perform several other important functions , he said , including detecting thousands of cases of child abuse every year .
CDC Director Robert Redfield said he agrees that getting K-12 students back to school for face-to-face learning is in the public health interest .
In-person school attendance helps children 's mental health , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detect child abuse , he said .
`` As a grandfather of 11 grandkids , I want these kids back in school , '' Redfield said .
There was also a question from Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer , R-Mo.
, on the widely discredited theory that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment of COVID-19 .
A Henry Ford Health System study finding it effective was flawed , Fauci said , calling it `` a noncontrolled , retrospective cohort study that was confounded by a number of issues . ''
No randomized , placebo-controlled study has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .

Fauci Says He's 'Optimistic' Americans Will Get Coronavirus Vaccine Next Year
Enlarge this image toggle caption Kevin Dietsch/AP Kevin Dietsch/AP
Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET
A coronavirus vaccine could be ready for distribution by the end of the year, and distributed to Americans in 2021, the nation's top infectious disease specialist told lawmakers Friday.
While it typically takes years to develop vaccines, new technologies, the lack of bureaucratic red tape and the human body's robust immune response to COVID-19 have hastened the process, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.
"From everything we've seen now — in the animal data, as well as the human data — we feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year and as we go into 2021," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "I don't think it's dreaming."
In contrast to the decades-long search for an HIV vaccine, COVID-19 is more likely to respond to a vaccine, Fauci said. HIV vaccine development has been so difficult because the body doesn't make a strong immune response to that virus, he explained. With COVID-19, the immune response is much stronger.
More than 250,000 people have already registered their interest in participating in clinical trials, Fauci said. He urged Americans to sign up at CoronavirusPreventionNetwork.org "so that you can be part of the solution of this terrible scourge."
The administration is preparing for wide distribution, with the hope that the current vaccine candidate will prove effective in phase three trials, Fauci said. Fauci said the administration is taking "financial risk" to prepare for distribution once the vaccine is shown to be safe and effective.
The Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would work together to distribute a vaccine to Americans in phases. Government committees will determine who needs the vaccine first, Fauci said. That will likely include essential workers and people at greater risk.
The Food and Drug Administration would still need to grant final approval before any vaccine is administered to the public.
Lawmakers at the hearing drew attention to issues of importance to them and their supporters. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, appeared especially concerned about state edicts limiting attendance at religious gatherings without also putting similar restrictions on political protests.
"Do protests increase the spread of the virus?" Jordan asked Fauci.
"Crowding together, particularly when you're not wearing a mask, contributes to the spread of the virus," Fauci responded.
"Should we limit the protesting?" Jordan pressed.
"I'm not sure what you mean," Fauci said.
"Should government limit the protesting?"
"I don't think that's relevant," Fauci said, adding: "I'm not in a position to determine what the government can do in a forceful way."
"Well, you make all kinds of recommendations. You've made comments on dating, on baseball, on everything you can imagine," Jordan said.
The back and forth lasted for several minutes as Fauci repeatedly declined to discuss which specific activities should be limited. "I'm not going to opine on limiting anything, I'm telling you what ... is the danger. And you can make your own conclusion about that. You should stay away from crowds no matter where the crowds are."
"Any crowd in which you have people close together without masks is a risk," Fauci said later in response to accusations by Jordan that he had changed his position several times on many things. "And I'll stick by that statement. It's a public health statement. It's not a judgment on why you're there in the crowd; it's a judgment related to the fact that you're in the crowd."
Democratic lawmakers defended the protests. "I'm sitting here as the result of a protest," said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who was chairing the hearing.
He met the late Rep. John Lewis from Georgia years ago while protesting, Clyburn said. "Trying to get off the back of the bus. Trying to integrate schools. Trying to be able to shop in a 5- and 10-cent store and not be arrested for trespassing."
"I'm glad the government did not limit our protests," Clyburn said, adding that the protesters on the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., were peaceful.
Republican lawmakers expressed a desire to get students back in school as soon as possible. It's not just about education, said ranking Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Schools perform several other important functions, he said, including detecting thousands of cases of child abuse every year.
CDC Director Robert Redfield said he agrees that getting K-12 students back to school for face-to-face learning is in the public health interest. In-person school attendance helps children's mental health, contributes to good nutrition and lets counselors detect child abuse, he said.
"As a grandfather of 11 grandkids, I want these kids back in school," Redfield said.
There was also a question from Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., on the widely discredited theory that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment of COVID-19.
A Henry Ford Health System study finding it effective was flawed, Fauci said, calling it "a noncontrolled, retrospective cohort study that was confounded by a number of issues." No randomized, placebo-controlled study has shown the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine, he said.


npr--2020-07-31--In Florida, COVID-19 Death Toll Keeps Rising

For the fourth day in a row , Florida set a record for the number of COVID-19 deaths with 257 deaths reported Friday .
A total of 6,843 people in Florida have died so far from the coronavirus .
Epidemiologists say that number will keep rising following the surge in cases seen over the past six weeks .
Jay Wolfson , a public health expert at the University of South Florida , said : `` What we 're seeing now is the result of the push to open the state .
Now we 'll have to wait to see if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is behind only California in the total number of cases of the coronavirus , but it ranks seventh in the number of deaths .
Republican Gov .
Ron DeSantis said the experience doctors have gained in learning how to treat coronavirus patients and the use of therapeutics like the anti-viral medication remdesivir have helped improve outcomes .
`` We actually like some of the trends that we 've been seeing , '' DeSantis said .
`` If you look at the emergency department visits for COVID-like illness , those have been declining since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hospitalization trends for hospital admissions , those have been declining . ''
In another positive sign , the percentage of people who tested positive for the virus was the lowest in two weeks .
`` We definitely believe that we 've seen a peak , '' DeSantis said as he reminded Floridians to keep following guidelines including social distancing and wearing face coverings .
As DeSantis points to signs of progress in Florida 's battle with the coronavirus , Democrats continue to criticize him for not adopting tougher policies , including a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the U.S. House Oversight and Reform subcommittee , Democrat James Clyburn , sent a letter to DeSantis this week asking why the state was n't following White House Coronavirus Task Force recommendations on face masks , gyms and social gatherings .
In the latest report , 8,983 people in Florida tested positive for the coronavirus .
With the approach of Hurricane Isaias , the state has closed many of its testing centers , including all in Miami-Dade County , the state 's hot spot .

In Florida, COVID-19 Death Toll Keeps Rising
Enlarge this image toggle caption Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
For the fourth day in a row, Florida set a record for the number of COVID-19 deaths with 257 deaths reported Friday. A total of 6,843 people in Florida have died so far from the coronavirus.
Epidemiologists say that number will keep rising following the surge in cases seen over the past six weeks.
Jay Wolfson, a public health expert at the University of South Florida, said: "What we're seeing now is the result of the push to open the state. Now we'll have to wait to see if it will level out."
Florida is behind only California in the total number of cases of the coronavirus, but it ranks seventh in the number of deaths. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said the experience doctors have gained in learning how to treat coronavirus patients and the use of therapeutics like the anti-viral medication remdesivir have helped improve outcomes.
"We actually like some of the trends that we've been seeing," DeSantis said. "If you look at the emergency department visits for COVID-like illness, those have been declining since early July. If you look at the hospitalization trends for hospital admissions, those have been declining."
In another positive sign, the percentage of people who tested positive for the virus was the lowest in two weeks. "We definitely believe that we've seen a peak," DeSantis said as he reminded Floridians to keep following guidelines including social distancing and wearing face coverings.
As DeSantis points to signs of progress in Florida's battle with the coronavirus, Democrats continue to criticize him for not adopting tougher policies, including a statewide face covering mandate. The head of the U.S. House Oversight and Reform subcommittee, Democrat James Clyburn, sent a letter to DeSantis this week asking why the state wasn't following White House Coronavirus Task Force recommendations on face masks, gyms and social gatherings.
In the latest report, 8,983 people in Florida tested positive for the coronavirus. With the approach of Hurricane Isaias, the state has closed many of its testing centers, including all in Miami-Dade County, the state's hot spot.


npr--2020-07-31--Hong Kong Delays Elections For A Year, Citing Coronavirus Pandemic

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam is delaying the region 's legislative elections by a year , citing a resurgence in coronavirus cases .
Critics decry the decision , seen as the latest in a series of recent moves that curb Hong Kong 's limited autonomy .
That autonomy was guaranteed for 50 years after the end of British rule and its handover to China in 1997 .
Lam , who is backed by Beijing , invoked emergency powers — a holdover from the Chinese territory 's colonial era — to postpone the elections , scheduled for Sept. 6 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the toughest decision , '' Lam told reporters on Friday .
`` But I have to have consider the public safety and the health condition for all the Hong Kong residents , '' she said , noting that the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Hong Kong has doubled in the past six weeks .
From June 13 to July 5 , there were no locally transmitted cases in Hong Kong .
Schools started reopening in late May but were shut down in mid-July , as the number of cases began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a third wave of infections .
As of Friday evening , there were 3,273 cases in Hong Kong .
Lam said the central government in Beijing supports the delay .
A day earlier , President Trump had mused about delaying U.S. elections — a move that would require a change in law and was quickly rejected by top Republican officials .
But the White House was quick to respond to Hong Kong 's announcement .
`` We condemn the Hong Kong government 's decision to postpone for one year its Legislative Council elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Friday morning .
`` This action undermines the democratic processes and freedoms that have underpinned Hong Kong 's prosperity . ''
Lam 's decision comes a month after Beijing imposed a controversial and sweeping national security law — passed in secret — on Hong Kong .
The law bans subversion of state power , secession , terrorism and collusion with foreign entities — and carries a penalty of up to life in prison .
This has heightened fears that Beijing is stripping away the freedoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The legal firewall , if you like , that separates the two systems [ of Hong Kong and Beijing ] is now gone , '' Alan Leong , a former chair of Hong Kong 's bar association and chair of Hong Kong 's Civic Party , told NPR 's Emily Feng at the time .
`` We are allowing the long arms of the Chinese Communist Party to reach Hong Kong . ''
Earlier this week , Hong Kong disqualified 12 opposition candidates from running in legislative elections , citing their collusion with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security law .
Also this week , Hong Kong police arrested four people for online statements .
Police say the statements promote Hong Kong 's independence from China , which is illegal under the national security law .
`` What we 're seeing here is four young people who are potentially facing quite serious jail time simply for expressing their political views online , '' Joshua Rosenzweig of Amnesty International in Hong Kong told NPR 's John Ruwitch .
`` Under international human rights law , blanket prohibitions of peaceful expression are just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Lam , the Hong Kong chief executive , marks the second time she has invoked emergency powers since assuming office in 2017 .
The first time occurred in October 2019 , Feng reported , to ban face masks in public gatherings amid anti-government protests .
Before that , the ordinance had not been used since 1967 .

Hong Kong Delays Elections For A Year, Citing Coronavirus Pandemic
Enlarge this image toggle caption Kin Cheung/AP Kin Cheung/AP
Updated at 1:40 p.m. ET
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam is delaying the region's legislative elections by a year, citing a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
Critics decry the decision, seen as the latest in a series of recent moves that curb Hong Kong's limited autonomy. That autonomy was guaranteed for 50 years after the end of British rule and its handover to China in 1997.
Lam, who is backed by Beijing, invoked emergency powers — a holdover from the Chinese territory's colonial era — to postpone the elections, scheduled for Sept. 6, until September 2021.
It was "the toughest decision," Lam told reporters on Friday.
"But I have to have consider the public safety and the health condition for all the Hong Kong residents," she said, noting that the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Hong Kong has doubled in the past six weeks.
From June 13 to July 5, there were no locally transmitted cases in Hong Kong. Schools started reopening in late May but were shut down in mid-July, as the number of cases began to climb in what's been dubbed a third wave of infections. As of Friday evening, there were 3,273 cases in Hong Kong.
Lam said the central government in Beijing supports the delay.
A day earlier, President Trump had mused about delaying U.S. elections — a move that would require a change in law and was quickly rejected by top Republican officials.
But the White House was quick to respond to Hong Kong's announcement.
"We condemn the Hong Kong government's decision to postpone for one year its Legislative Council elections and to disqualify opposition candidates," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Friday morning. "This action undermines the democratic processes and freedoms that have underpinned Hong Kong's prosperity."
Lam's decision comes a month after Beijing imposed a controversial and sweeping national security law — passed in secret — on Hong Kong. The law bans subversion of state power, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign entities — and carries a penalty of up to life in prison. This has heightened fears that Beijing is stripping away the freedoms that Hong Kong has enjoyed.
"The legal firewall, if you like, that separates the two systems [of Hong Kong and Beijing] is now gone," Alan Leong, a former chair of Hong Kong's bar association and chair of Hong Kong's Civic Party, told NPR's Emily Feng at the time. "We are allowing the long arms of the Chinese Communist Party to reach Hong Kong."
Earlier this week, Hong Kong disqualified 12 opposition candidates from running in legislative elections, citing their collusion with foreign forces and opposition to the national security law.
Also this week, Hong Kong police arrested four people for online statements. Police say the statements promote Hong Kong's independence from China, which is illegal under the national security law.
"What we're seeing here is four young people who are potentially facing quite serious jail time simply for expressing their political views online," Joshua Rosenzweig of Amnesty International in Hong Kong told NPR's John Ruwitch. "Under international human rights law, blanket prohibitions of peaceful expression are just not allowed."
Friday's announcement by Lam, the Hong Kong chief executive, marks the second time she has invoked emergency powers since assuming office in 2017. The first time occurred in October 2019, Feng reported, to ban face masks in public gatherings amid anti-government protests. Before that, the ordinance had not been used since 1967.


npr--2020-07-31--House Unites To Reprimand GOP Lawmaker Tied To 11 Ethics Violations

The House unanimously passed a rare ethics resolution on Friday morning to reprimand Rep. David Schweikert , R-Ariz. , for breaking congressional and campaign finance rules .
Schweikert agreed to pay a $ 50,000 fine and admitted to 11 ethics violations including the misuse of official funds .
The House Ethics Committee had been investigating Schweikert , who was elected in 2010 , for more than two years .
Its investigative subcommittee concluded there was `` substantial reason '' to believe Schweikert violated the government code of ethics , campaign finance laws , and House rules .
House investigators concluded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Schweikert failed to disclose , or falsely disclosed , $ 305,000 in loans or loan repayments and failed to report more than $ 140,000 in campaign contributions .
A 13-page report detailing the committee 's investigation and findings points to Schweikert 's campaign accepting over $ 270,000 from his then-chief of staff , Richard Schwab , which is a violation of campaign finance laws .
A statement issued on Thursday by the Ethics Committee also said Schweikert had misused his congressional allowance for `` unofficial purposes '' and pressured `` official staff to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say Schweikert made `` vague or misleading comments '' that `` allowed him to evade the statue of limitations for the most egregious violations of campaign finance laws . ''
Continued the report : `` Efforts like the ones Rep. Schweikert undertook to delay and impede the [ investigative subcommittee ] investigation were not only highly detrimental to the committee 's work and reputation of the House , they were themselves sanctionable misconduct . ''
Speaking before the House on Friday morning , Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Ted Deutch , D-Fla. , emphasized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` One of our most basic obligations as members of Congress is to adhere to the principle that public office is a public trust .
To uphold that trust , and to maintain civic confidence in the integrity of this body , we as members have bound ourselves by certain standards of official conduct , '' he said .
Deutch went on to encourage congressional members and staff to approach the committee if they have ethics questions to `` avoid the mistakes like those made by Rep .
Schweikert . ''
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always available to answer any ethics related questions , to hold special training sessions for members and employees in addition to the mandated annual ethics trainings and to issue advisory opinions upon request , '' he said .
Schweikert filed a response to the committee saying that while he thought he could refute some allegations , he decided to settle because the process `` was time consuming and extremely costly . ''
The House reprimand is a major blow to Schweikert , who faces a tough race in Arizona 's competitive 6th district @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Four Democrats will face off in an Aug. 4 primary .
Schweikert 's top Democratic opponent , Dr. Hiral Tipirneni , said Schweikert had `` abused his power and betrayed the public trust . ''
As NPR member station KJZZ 's Steve Goldstein reports , Schweikert was already expected to face an intense challenge , partly because the electorate wants to see increased action on combating racial injustice .

House Unites To Reprimand GOP Lawmaker Tied To 11 Ethics Violations
Enlarge this image toggle caption Matt York/AP Matt York/AP
The House unanimously passed a rare ethics resolution on Friday morning to reprimand Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., for breaking congressional and campaign finance rules.
Schweikert agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and admitted to 11 ethics violations including the misuse of official funds.
The House Ethics Committee had been investigating Schweikert, who was elected in 2010, for more than two years. Its investigative subcommittee concluded there was "substantial reason" to believe Schweikert violated the government code of ethics, campaign finance laws, and House rules.
House investigators concluded that over a seven year period, Schweikert failed to disclose, or falsely disclosed, $305,000 in loans or loan repayments and failed to report more than $140,000 in campaign contributions.
A 13-page report detailing the committee's investigation and findings points to Schweikert's campaign accepting over $270,000 from his then-chief of staff, Richard Schwab, which is a violation of campaign finance laws.
A statement issued on Thursday by the Ethics Committee also said Schweikert had misused his congressional allowance for "unofficial purposes" and pressured "official staff to perform campaign work."
The findings say Schweikert made "vague or misleading comments" that "allowed him to evade the statue of limitations for the most egregious violations of campaign finance laws."
Continued the report: "Efforts like the ones Rep. Schweikert undertook to delay and impede the [investigative subcommittee] investigation were not only highly detrimental to the committee's work and reputation of the House, they were themselves sanctionable misconduct."
Rep faulted over breach of trust
Speaking before the House on Friday morning, Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., emphasized the consequence of breaking the public trust.
"One of our most basic obligations as members of Congress is to adhere to the principle that public office is a public trust. To uphold that trust, and to maintain civic confidence in the integrity of this body, we as members have bound ourselves by certain standards of official conduct," he said.
Deutch went on to encourage congressional members and staff to approach the committee if they have ethics questions to "avoid the mistakes like those made by Rep. Schweikert."
"The committee's nonpartisan advisory staff is always available to answer any ethics related questions, to hold special training sessions for members and employees in addition to the mandated annual ethics trainings and to issue advisory opinions upon request," he said.
Schweikert filed a response to the committee saying that while he thought he could refute some allegations, he decided to settle because the process "was time consuming and extremely costly."
The House reprimand is a major blow to Schweikert, who faces a tough race in Arizona's competitive 6th district, which spans Phoenix and Scottsdale.
Four Democrats will face off in an Aug. 4 primary.
Schweikert's top Democratic opponent, Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, said Schweikert had "abused his power and betrayed the public trust."
As NPR member station KJZZ's Steve Goldstein reports, Schweikert was already expected to face an intense challenge, partly because the electorate wants to see increased action on combating racial injustice.


npr--2020-08-01--Opinion: 75 Years On, Remember Hiroshima And Nagasaki. But Remember Toyama Too

Opinion : 75 Years On , Remember Hiroshima And Nagasaki .
But Remember Toyama Too Cary Karacas ( @ CaryKaracas ) is associate professor of geography at the City University of New York - College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center .
David Fedman ( @ dfedman ) is assistant professor of history at the University of California , Irvine .
Together , they maintain JapanAirRaids.org , a bilingual digital archive .
On Aug. 1 , 1945 , 12-year-old Hideko Sudo went to bed fully clothed and full of worry .
For days , air raid alerts had left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , prompting her school 's closure .
More alarmingly , earlier that day , American planes had rained down leaflets warning of an imminent attack .
Hideko 's fears proved well-founded .
Despite a sophisticated alert system and a decade of air defense drills , the arrival just after midnight of a wave of B-29 bombers plunged Toyama into chaos .
Superfortresses — 173 of them — encountered only sparse antiaircraft fire as they released around 1,500 tons of incendiaries onto the city 's center .
In a few short hours , Toyama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fire , '' Hideko recalled in a written account .
Over 95 % of the city was incinerated , leaving around 2,600 people dead .
While Hideko 's family survived , they numbered among the 165,000 left homeless , virtually the entire population .
With the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings upon us , we would do well to retrieve the burning of Toyama from the margins of public memory .
For too long , scholarly predilections and public fascination with the atomic bomb have divorced the mushroom clouds from the firestorms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sideshow to the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9 , the incendiary destruction of cities was a fundamental facet of the war against Japan .
The atomic bombings evolved out of a fierce U.S. campaign to target and destroy entire cities , in hopes of forcing a Japanese surrender .
This was not how air power strategists had initially imagined the war against Japan .
The commitment at first was to the precision bombing of `` war-making targets , '' such as airplane factories .
Planes , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due in no small part to the jet streams they encountered while flying at high altitudes over Japan .
Eager to both justify the immense costs of the newly developed B-29 and play a central role in the defeat of Japan , U.S. Army Air Forces officials in Washington , D.C. , were hungry for results .
Enter Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay , the commander of the 21st Bomber Command based on the Mariana Islands , who , in early 1945 , ushered in a shift to nighttime incendiary area bombing — a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the American air assault against Japan .
The scale of destruction wrought by this scorched-earth campaign remains underappreciated .
By the time of the assault on Toyama , incendiary raids had already destroyed significant portions of dozens of cities and wiped out over a quarter of Japan 's housing .
Some Americans may be familiar with the firebombing of Tokyo on March 10 , 1945 , the most destructive incendiary air raid in history .
Overnight , B-29s burned down 16 square miles of the capital 's main working-class neighborhood , claiming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the results , LeMay thereafter sent squadrons to burn down Osaka , Nagoya and other large cities in quick succession .
In just 10 days , the U.S. Army Air Forces reduced 32 square miles of urban fabric to ashes .
Further bombing of these major metropolises in April and May resulted in destruction that one staff officer described as `` beyond our wildest hopes . ''
In what remains one of the most striking gaps in American public memory regarding the war with Japan , the AAF thereafter turned its sights on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minor or negligible importance to Japan 's war machine .
Between June 17 and Aug. 14 , one after another of Japan 's smaller cities joined their larger cousins in fire and ruin .
In total , 8,000 sorties dropped roughly 54,000 tons of incendiary bombs on 66 cities , killing ( by conservative estimates ) about 180,000 people .
The attacks burned 76 square miles of urban Japan to the ground .
To bring home the extent of the destruction , one postwar report by a government magazine included a U.S. map @ @ @ @ @ @ @ populations , asking the reader to imagine ( as in the case of Toyama ) the incineration of 96.5 % of Chattanooga , Tenn .
Still , there were sensitivities to potential criticism from the American public , so AAF officials commonly used sanitizing language to mask the fact that they were targeting entire cities for destruction .
Press releases described attacks not on cities , but on `` industrial urban areas . ''
Tactical reports set their sights not on densely populated neighborhoods , but on `` worker housing . ''
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials made no bones about the fact that they were targeting residential areas and civilian populations .
Publicly , however , they went to great pains to cast Japanese cities as singularly military or industrial in composition .
Toyama is a case in point .
Although planners highlighted the city 's industrial sites , maps distributed to flight crews led directly to the residential city center .
By dawn , Toyama 's schools , shrines , hospitals , and neighborhoods lay in ruins .
Left unscathed were the war-related factories just outside the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general of the newly christened U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific , handwrote an amendment to a press communique on the bombings of Toyama and three other small cities to emphasize that bombers struck `` industrial areas '' rather than the entirety of each city .
While the scale of Toyama 's destruction was extraordinary , the planning and prosecution of this raid was business as usual .
In the parlance of American flight crews , the firebombing of this city was just another `` milk run '' — an act by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a local neighborhood delivery .
With major newspapers and magazines regularly running stories detailing such urban destruction , the American public on the eve of the atomic bombings had come to see the burning of Japan 's cities as part and parcel of the war .
If this firebombing campaign shaped public perceptions of what constituted an acceptable target , it also played a part in bringing the war to an end .
While historians have rightly emphasized the atomic bombings and the Soviet Union 's declaration of war against Japan as decisive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that incendiary raids continued until the penultimate day of the war .
The Japanese state had utterly failed to protect its urban population .
As the number of homeless ballooned into the millions , officials feared widespread domestic unrest .
A multitude of interlocking factors figured into the calculus of Japan 's surrender , and the cumulative effects of these incendiary raids were among them .
This August , remembering the incineration of Toyama and other smaller Japanese cities allows us to arrive at a fuller understanding not only of the course of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evolution of American air power at the dawn of the nuclear age .
We also find a reminder of the ease with which proclamations of the intent to protect civilians during war can mutate into an embrace of attacking the cities in which they reside .
Barely five years after the surrender of Japan — during the Korean War — the U.S. once more abandoned its stated commitment to refrain from attacking civilians , designating North Korean cities and towns as `` main bombing targets . ''
As the world pauses this month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and future of nuclear weapons , we might also take a moment to think more critically about how cities are rendered into targets .

Opinion: 75 Years On, Remember Hiroshima And Nagasaki. But Remember Toyama Too
Enlarge this image toggle caption U.S. Army Air Forces U.S. Army Air Forces
Cary Karacas (@CaryKaracas) is associate professor of geography at the City University of New York-College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center. David Fedman (@dfedman) is assistant professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Together, they maintain JapanAirRaids.org, a bilingual digital archive.
On Aug. 1, 1945, 12-year-old Hideko Sudo went to bed fully clothed and full of worry. For days, air raid alerts had left the coastal city of Toyama on edge, prompting her school's closure. More alarmingly, earlier that day, American planes had rained down leaflets warning of an imminent attack.
Hideko's fears proved well-founded. Despite a sophisticated alert system and a decade of air defense drills, the arrival just after midnight of a wave of B-29 bombers plunged Toyama into chaos. Superfortresses — 173 of them — encountered only sparse antiaircraft fire as they released around 1,500 tons of incendiaries onto the city's center.
In a few short hours, Toyama was enveloped by a "sea of fire," Hideko recalled in a written account. Over 95% of the city was incinerated, leaving around 2,600 people dead. While Hideko's family survived, they numbered among the 165,000 left homeless, virtually the entire population.
With the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings upon us, we would do well to retrieve the burning of Toyama from the margins of public memory. For too long, scholarly predilections and public fascination with the atomic bomb have divorced the mushroom clouds from the firestorms that preceded them.
Rather than a sideshow to the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, the incendiary destruction of cities was a fundamental facet of the war against Japan. The atomic bombings evolved out of a fierce U.S. campaign to target and destroy entire cities, in hopes of forcing a Japanese surrender.
This was not how air power strategists had initially imagined the war against Japan. The commitment at first was to the precision bombing of "war-making targets," such as airplane factories.
Planes, however, struggled to hit their targets, due in no small part to the jet streams they encountered while flying at high altitudes over Japan. Eager to both justify the immense costs of the newly developed B-29 and to play a central role in the defeat of Japan, U.S. Army Air Forces officials in Washington, D.C., were hungry for results.
Enter Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay, the commander of the 21st Bomber Command based on the Mariana Islands, who, in early 1945, ushered in a shift to nighttime incendiary area bombing — a doctrine that quickly moved to the center of the American air assault against Japan.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
The scale of destruction wrought by this scorched-earth campaign remains underappreciated. By the time of the assault on Toyama, incendiary raids had already destroyed significant portions of dozens of cities and wiped out over a quarter of Japan's housing.
Some Americans may be familiar with the firebombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945, the most destructive incendiary air raid in history. Overnight, B-29s burned down 16 square miles of the capital's main working-class neighborhood, claiming an estimated 100,000 lives.
Elated with the results, LeMay thereafter sent squadrons to burn down Osaka, Nagoya and other large cities in quick succession. In just 10 days, the U.S. Army Air Forces reduced 32 square miles of urban fabric to ashes.
Further bombing of these major metropolises in April and May resulted in destruction that one staff officer described as "beyond our wildest hopes."
In what remains one of the most striking gaps in American public memory regarding the war with Japan, the AAF thereafter turned its sights on cities such as Toyama that were of minor or negligible importance to Japan's war machine. Between June 17 and Aug. 14, one after another of Japan's smaller cities joined their larger cousins in fire and ruin.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Impact via Curtis LeMay Papers/Library of Congress Impact via Curtis LeMay Papers/Library of Congress
In total, 8,000 sorties dropped roughly 54,000 tons of incendiary bombs on 66 cities, killing (by conservative estimates) about 180,000 people. The attacks burned 76 square miles of urban Japan to the ground.
To bring home the extent of the destruction, one postwar report by a government magazine included a U.S. map showing dozens of American cities with comparable populations, asking the reader to imagine (as in the case of Toyama) the incineration of 96.5% of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Still, there were sensitivities to potential criticism from the American public, so AAF officials commonly used sanitizing language to mask the fact that they were targeting entire cities for destruction. Press releases described attacks not on cities, but on "industrial urban areas." Tactical reports set their sights not on densely populated neighborhoods, but on "worker housing."
In the privacy of briefing rooms, AAF officials made no bones about the fact that they were targeting residential areas and civilian populations. Publicly, however, they went to great pains to cast Japanese cities as singularly military or industrial in composition.
Toyama is a case in point. Although planners highlighted the city's industrial sites, maps distributed to flight crews led directly to the residential city center. By dawn, Toyama's schools, shrines, hospitals and neighborhoods lay in ruins. Left unscathed were the war-related factories just outside the city.
Carl Spaatz, the commanding general of the newly christened U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, handwrote an amendment to a press communique on the bombings of Toyama and three other small cities to emphasize that bombers struck "industrial areas" rather than the entirety of each city.
While the scale of Toyama's destruction was extraordinary, the planning and prosecution of this raid was business as usual. In the parlance of American flight crews, the firebombing of this city was just another "milk run" — an act by then so commonplace it was akin to a local neighborhood delivery.
With major newspapers and magazines regularly running stories detailing such urban destruction, the American public on the eve of the atomic bombings had come to see the burning of Japan's cities as part and parcel of the war.
If this firebombing campaign shaped public perceptions of what constituted an acceptable target, it also played a part in bringing the war to an end. While historians have rightly emphasized the atomic bombings and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan as decisive inflection points, we should not forget that incendiary raids continued until the penultimate day of the war.
The Japanese state had utterly failed to protect its urban population. As the number of homeless ballooned into the millions, officials feared widespread domestic unrest. A multitude of interlocking factors figured into the calculus of Japan's surrender, and the cumulative effects of these incendiary raids were among them.
This August, remembering the incineration of Toyama and other smaller Japanese cities allows us to arrive at a fuller understanding not only of the course of the Pacific War, but also of the evolution of American air power at the dawn of the nuclear age.
We also find a reminder of the ease with which proclamations of the intent to protect civilians during war can mutate into an embrace of attacking the cities in which they reside.
Barely five years after the surrender of Japan — during the Korean War — the U.S. once more abandoned its stated commitment to refrain from attacking civilians, designating North Korean cities and towns as "main bombing targets."
As the world pauses this month to reflect on the past, present and future of nuclear weapons, we might also take a moment to think more critically about how cities are rendered into targets.