npr--2020-08-09--'It's Ridiculous': States Struggle To Accommodate COVID-19 Positive Voters

With few signs the coronavirus is fading , election officials face an increasingly urgent question : how to accommodate voters who become infected in the days leading up to the election .
In Texas — a state that fought expanding mail-in ballot access all the way up to the Supreme Court — COVID-19 positive voters can be put in the position of choosing between their right to vote and the public 's health .
Vote-by-mail is only available to people over 65 , not present in the state on election day , or who have a disability .
Democrats across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statute to include everyone during the pandemic , but the court ruled that being afraid of catching COVID-19 does n't qualify .
And you have to register almost two weeks before the election to vote by mail .
That 's how Katya Ehresman came to be in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant about 40 minutes before the polls for Texas ' July 14 primary runoff closed to meet Linda Harrison .
Ehresman , the voting rights intern for the Texas Civil Rights Project , a legal organization that pushes for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absentee ballot or hospital ballot for Harrison — a pediatric nurse who contracted COVID-19 after the state 's mail-in application deadline .
Harrison had to jump through hoops to get this ballot , including finding a doctor to certify she was ill. '' I 'm going to drop this off on the hood of her car while she gets out to fill our her ballot , '' said Ehresman .
`` Thank you , '' said a weary Harrison .
She is 62 , and despite being exhausted and sick , she drove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When completed .
Ehresman had about a half hour to deliver the ballot , otherwise it would n't be counted .
`` It 's ridiculous that we ca n't figure out a way for people who want to vote to get to vote , '' said Harrison coughing .
`` How many people in Texas are in this situation ?
We can not not be the only ones . ''
COVID-19 cases in Texas grew by 100,000 between the deadline to apply for a mail in ballot and Election Day .
COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states since June .
If it persists , thousands could be in the same predicament as Harrison come November .
`` If we want voter confidence , we ca n't make them choose between exercising their right to vote and their health , '' said Kathleen Hale , director of the Elections Administration Initiative at Auburn University .
Hale said there is so much uncertainty around COVID-19 and the next election and voters need to educate themselves on their state 's rules now .
`` Registering to vote by mail — even if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by mail , is a smart choice as a voter ... because once you miss registration deadlines those rules get trickier and harder to unpack , '' said Hale .
Many states have tried to increase access and availability of voting to accommodate the pandemic 's uncertainties .
`` All 50 states have done something to address elections in the time of COVID , '' said Wendy Underhill , director of the Elections and Redistricting program for the National Conference of State Legislatures .
A handful of states have gone to all-mail elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expanded early-voting .
Two-thirds of states do n't require any excuse to get an absentee ballot .
Of the 16 that do require it , some are exploring removing the impediment .
Missouri , Connecticut , Delaware and others will allow mail-in ballots from anyone that wants one this year .
Many of the others still requiring accepted excuses to vote absentee are fighting in court over it .
While some have moved to increase access to safer voting , Texas is one that has n't .
`` Unfortunately Texas has thrown up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They have doubled down on the type of voter suppression we 've been seeing for years , '' said Mimi Marziani , president of the Texas Civil Rights Project .
It sued so that Harrison and Vernon Webb — her sick husband — could vote without a doctor 's note .
They lost , which is why Katya Ehresman feverishly worked to cast Linda Harrison 's ballot .
`` So the question is whether we 're ready ?
No , '' said Nate Persily , co-director of the Stanford-MIT Project on Healthy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and more help to pull this election off .
While COVID-19 positive voters may pose specific challenges to localities in some states , they are just the tip of the iceberg .
`` The United States is confronting the largest challenge to its election infrastructure in our nation 's history .
And we are trying to switch the way tens of millions of Americans vote with just four months of preparation , '' he said .
Back in Texas — where 16 million are registered to vote — an intern fought to ensure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrived at the county elections office Katya Ehresman had 11 minutes to spare .
She grasped the ballot — wrapped in a t-shirt because she did n't have gloves — in an outstretched hand .
`` Hi , mail-in ballot ?
Mail-in ballot , '' she said navigating to the proper line .
When she finally reached a clerk , she explained the situation and gave a warning .
`` This is an emergency ballot , so I do n't have the ID or anything .
It was someone with COVID-19 that touched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' she said .
With four minutes to spare , the clerks accepted it .
Linda Harrison was only able to vote because she got a doctor 's note .
But her husband Vernon Webb was unable to get out of bed most of that week and could n't cast a ballot .
`` The fact that I kept at it and kept at it , '' Harrison said , `` is the only reason I got to send my ballot in . ''
With the November election coming and no end in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be in their shoes .

'It's Ridiculous': States Struggle To Accommodate COVID-19 Positive Voters
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy Linda Harrison and Vernon Webb Courtesy Linda Harrison and Vernon Webb
With few signs the coronavirus is fading, election officials face an increasingly urgent question: how to accommodate voters who become infected in the days leading up to the election.
In Texas — a state that fought expanding mail-in ballot access all the way up to the Supreme Court — COVID-19 positive voters can be put in the position of choosing between their right to vote and the public's health.
Vote-by-mail is only available to people who are over 65, who are not present in the state on election day, or who have a disability. Democrats across Texas tried to expand the disability statute to include everyone during the pandemic, but the court ruled that being afraid of catching COVID-19 doesn't qualify.
And you have to register almost two weeks before the election to vote by mail.
That's how Katya Ehresman came to be in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant, about 40 minutes before the polls for Texas' July 14 primary runoff closed, to meet Linda Harrison.
Ehresman — the voting rights intern for the Texas Civil Rights Project, a legal organization that pushes for expanded voting access — had an emergency absentee ballot or hospital ballot for Harrison, a pediatric nurse who contracted COVID-19 after the state's mail-in application deadline. Harrison had to jump through hoops to get this ballot, including finding a doctor to certify she was ill.
"I'm going to drop this off on the hood of her car while she gets out to fill our her ballot," said Ehresman.
"Thank you," said a weary Harrison. She is 62, and despite being exhausted and sick, she drove 30 minutes to fill out this ballot.
When completed, Ehresman had about a half hour to deliver the ballot, otherwise it wouldn't be counted.
"It's ridiculous that we can't figure out a way for people who want to vote to get to vote," said Harrison, coughing. "How many people in Texas are in this situation? We cannot be the only ones."
COVID-19 cases in Texas grew by 100,000 between the deadline to apply for a mail in ballot and the July election day. COVID-19 cases have been growing in dozens of states since June. If it persists, thousands could be in the same predicament as Harrison come November.
"If we want voter confidence, we can't make them choose between exercising their right to vote and their health," said Kathleen Hale, director of the Elections Administration Initiative at Auburn University.
Hale said there is so much uncertainty around COVID-19 and the next election and voters need to educate themselves on their state's rules now.
"Registering to vote by mail — even if you don't anticipate wanting to vote by mail — is a smart choice as a voter ... because once you miss registration deadlines those rules get trickier and harder to unpack," said Hale.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images
Many states have tried to increase access and availability of voting to accommodate the pandemic's uncertainties.
"All 50 states have done something to address elections in the time of COVID," said Wendy Underhill, director of the elections and redistricting program for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A handful of states have gone to all-mail elections. Many, including Texas, have expanded early-voting. Two-thirds of states don't require any excuse to get an absentee ballot. Of the 16 that do require it, some are exploring removing the impediment. Missouri, Connecticut, Delaware and others will allow mail-in ballots from anyone who wants one this year. Many of the other states still requiring accepted excuses to vote absentee are fighting in court over it.
While some have moved to increase access to safer voting, Texas is one that hasn't.
"Unfortunately Texas has thrown up roadblock after roadblock for people like Linda. They have doubled down on the type of voter suppression we've been seeing for years," said Mimi Marziani, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project.
It sued so that Harrison and Vernon Webb, her sick husband, could vote without a doctor's note. They lost, which is why Ehresman feverishly worked to cast Harrison's ballot.
"So the question is whether we're ready? No," said Nate Persily, co-director of the Stanford-MIT Project on Healthy Elections.
Elections officials need more money and more help to pull this election off. While COVID-19 positive voters may pose specific challenges to localities in some states, they are just the tip of the iceberg.
"The United States is confronting the largest challenge to its election infrastructure in our nation's history. And we are trying to switch the way tens of millions of Americans vote with just four months of preparation," he said.
Back in Texas — where 16 million are registered to vote — an intern fought to ensure one vote got counted.
When she arrived at the county elections office, Ehresman had 11 minutes to spare. She grasped the ballot — wrapped in a T-shirt because she didn't have gloves — in an outstretched hand.
"Hi, mail-in ballot? Mail-in ballot," she said navigating to the proper line. When she finally reached a clerk, she explained the situation and gave a warning.
"This is an emergency ballot, so I don't have the ID or anything. It was someone with COVID-19 that touched it so I would be careful," she said.
With four minutes to spare, the clerks accepted it.
Harrison was only able to vote because she got a doctor's note. But her husband was unable to get out of bed most of that week and couldn't cast a ballot.
"The fact that I kept at it and kept at it," Harrison said, "is the only reason I got to send my ballot in."
With the November election coming and no end in sight for COVID-19, thousands of people could be in their shoes.


npr--2020-08-09--Dear World, You're Not Going To Have The Year You Thought You'd Have

Dear World , You 're Not Going To Have The Year You Thought You 'd Have '' You are n't going to have the year you thought you 'd have . ''
That 's what a nurse told my wife and me after my wife was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer .
The cancer news came as a shock , as it often does .
There were no warning signs .
The tumor was picked up on a routine mammogram .
It was a hard to take in what the nurse was telling us .
We had plans and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then suddenly – surgery , chemotherapy and radiation were the top items on our agenda .
We were mad .
How dare cancer interfere ?
I was reminded of our year of cancer when the pandemic was declared .
Like many people around the world , I thought , well , there 's an outbreak in China but it wo n't happen to us .
Which is how I always thought about cancer .
Now here we are , months into a global pandemic the likes of which virtually no one alive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ survivors ) has experienced .
In the U.S. , where I live , people are tired of lockdowns and restrictions .
They want to go out and reclaim their lives .
They want to eat out , attend a ballgame , hang out with friends .
I understand all those instincts , but I am guided by that nurse 's advice .
Because of the pandemic , we 're not going to have the year we thought we 'd have .
We ca n't do all the things we want to do until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as my wife and I hoped that surgery , chemotherapy and radiation would leave her with `` no evidence of disease , '' as they say in cancer world .
I once interviewed surgeon Sherwin Nuland , author of How We Die : Reflections on Life 's Final Chapter , and asked him about the stresses and uncertainties of the year of treatment .
His answer : `` I always consider that year to be a sacrifice you make in the interest of the rest of your life . ''
Because those are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that the rigors of treatment will not be in vain , that the physical toll – not to mention the personal strength you must summon to cope – will be for a greater good .
For some cancer patients , it 's not a year , it 's a lifetime .
When cancer metastasizes – spreads to other parts of the body – the fight to keep it at bay can be never-ending .
And takes tremendous courage and strength .
Then there 's the unpredictability of disease to deal with – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That 's what Elissa Bantug reminded me .
`` The challenge with breast cancer — and with the virus — is that the finish line keeps getting moved , '' says Bantug , who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 23 and had a recurrence two years later .
Now 38 , she counsels breast cancer survivors at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center .
`` Type A people who need everything to be on schedule `` are the ones who struggle the most , '' she says .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Be flexible . ''
As the saying goes , easier said than done .
There were times when my wife and/or I lost it , when tears flowed , when anger simmered over at how unfair cancer is .
There are no easy solutions .
We found that crying actually helps – releasing all those pent-up emotions is a relief .
And sometimes my wife comforted me when I was despondent .
And I hope I was able to do the same for her – maybe with a back rub , maybe with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and relaxation helps , too .
They do n't have to be big deals .
It 's more like you 're reclaiming a little bit of old normal pleasure and , for a while , not thinking about cancer ( or the pandemic ) .
During my wife 's year of treatment , we took short hikes when we could .
We went to the movies once or twice .
We even went away overnight to a spa .
It was my wife 's idea as a birthday getaway for me .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What if she was feeling too queasy from chemo ?
What if it was too risky because she was more vulnerable to infections due to chemo ?
My wife was right to insist .
Our overnight getaway was a lovely respite from reminders of cancer all over our house , from the appointment notices to the doctor 's bills .
So in 2020 , just as we did during our year of cancer , we look for ways to escape pandemic anxiety .
I 'm playing piano more than I have in years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We mask up and amble through our neighborhood .
We binge on TV shows , with a special weakness for sitcoms .
Mary Tyler Moore , you really can turn the world on with your smile !
We are especially grateful for all the technological advances that help us cope .
Virtual chats with family and friends are a balm .
The strength we gain from human connections in 2020 reminds us how the support of our loved ones helped us get through cancer .
There were times when all we wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' – and hear back , `` It sure does . ''
I do n't have to tell you that the pandemic does suck .
Maybe when we get to the other side , there will be lessons learned about patience and humility and lovingkindness .
Then again we are only human .
`` I used to say , 'learn not to sweat the small stuff , ' '' Bantug says with a laugh .
`` But I still get pissed by traffic . ''
I ca n't wait for traffic to come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , too .
Marc Silver is the editor of NPR '' s Goats & Soda blog .

Dear World, You're Not Going To Have The Year You Thought You'd Have
Enlarge this image Cornelia Li for NPR Cornelia Li for NPR
"You aren't going to have the year you thought you'd have."
That's what a nurse told my wife and me after my wife was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. The cancer news came as a shock, as it often does. There were no warning signs. The tumor was picked up on a routine mammogram.
It was hard to take in what the nurse was telling us. We had plans and projects and dreams for the months ahead. Then suddenly — surgery, chemotherapy and radiation were the top items on our agenda.
We were mad. How dare cancer interfere?
I was reminded of our year of cancer when the pandemic was declared. Like many people around the world, I thought, well, there's an outbreak in China but it won't happen to us. Which is how I always thought about cancer.
Now here we are, months into a global pandemic the likes of which virtually no one alive (with the exception of 1918 flu survivors) has experienced.
In the U.S., where I live, people are suffering. Many people have lost a loved one to COVID-19. Millions have lost their jobs.
We are tired of lockdowns and restrictions. We want to reclaim our lives — to go to the office, eat out, attend a ballgame, hang out with friends.
I understand all those instincts, but I am guided by that nurse's advice.
Because of the pandemic, we're not going to have the year we thought we'd have. We can't do all the things we want to do until this pandemic is under control — just as my wife and I hoped that surgery, chemotherapy and radiation would leave her with "no evidence of disease," as they say in cancer world.
I once interviewed surgeon Sherwin Nuland, author of How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter, and asked him about the stresses and uncertainties of the year of treatment. His answer: "I always consider that year to be a sacrifice you make in the interest of the rest of your life." Because those are some tough treatments. But the hope is that the rigors of treatment will not be in vain, that the physical toll — not to mention the personal strength you must summon to cope — will be for a greater good.
For some cancer patients, it's not a year — it's a lifetime. When cancer metastasizes — spreads to other parts of the body — the fight to keep it at bay can be never-ending. And takes tremendous courage and strength.
Then there's the unpredictability of disease to deal with — whether cancer or the novel coronavirus. That's what Elissa Bantug reminded me. "The challenge with breast cancer — and with the virus — is that the finish line keeps getting moved," says Bantug, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 23 and had a recurrence two years later.
Now 38, she counsels breast cancer survivors at Johns Hopkins' Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Type A people who need everything to be on schedule are the ones who struggle the most," she says. What she learned from her experience: "Be flexible."
As the saying goes, easier said than done. There were times when my wife and/or I lost it, when tears flowed, when anger simmered over at how unfair cancer is.
There are no easy solutions. We found that crying actually helps — releasing all those pent-up emotions is a relief. And sometimes my wife comforted me when I was despondent. And I hope I was able to do the same for her — maybe with a back rub, maybe with kind words.
Finding moments of fun and relaxation helps too. They don't have to be big deals. It's more like you're reclaiming a little bit of old normal pleasure and, for a while, not thinking about cancer (or the pandemic). During my wife's year of treatment, we took short hikes when we could. We went to the movies once or twice. We even went away overnight to a spa. It was my wife's idea as a birthday getaway for me. I thought it was a ridiculous plan. What if she was feeling too queasy from chemo? What if it was too risky because she was more vulnerable to infections due to chemo?
My wife was right to insist. Our overnight getaway was a lovely respite from reminders of cancer all over our house, from the appointment notices to the doctor's bills.
So in 2020, just as we did during our year of cancer, we look for ways to escape pandemic anxiety. I'm playing piano more than I have in years. My wife is dabbling in watercolors. We mask up and amble through our neighborhood. We binge on TV shows, with a special weakness for sitcoms. Mary Tyler Moore, you really can turn the world on with your smile!
We are especially grateful for all the technological advances that help us cope. Virtual chats with family and friends are a balm. The strength we gain from human connections in 2020 reminds us how the support of our loved ones helped us get through cancer. There were times when all we wanted to do is say "cancer sucks" — and hear back, "It sure does."
I don't have to tell you that the pandemic does suck.
Maybe when we get to the other side, there will be lessons learned about patience and humility and lovingkindness. Then again, we are only human. "I used to say, 'Learn not to sweat the small stuff,' " Bantug says with a laugh. "But I still get pissed by traffic."
I can't wait for traffic to come back so it can piss me off, too.
Marc Silver is the editor of NPR's Goats and Soda blog and author of Breast Cancer Husband: How to Help Your Wife (and Yourself) Through Diagnosis, Treatment and Beyond.


npr--2020-08-09--How This Conservative Florida County Became A Surprise 2020 Battleground

How This Conservative Florida County Became A Surprise 2020 Battleground Before COVID-19 and before the death of George Floyd , Monique Sampson said she thought Joe Biden and President Trump were `` different wings on the same bird . ''
The 23-year-old American history teacher with dangling earrings that proclaim , `` A woman 's place is in the struggle , '' had been hoping for a Bernie Sanders presidency .
She still does n't like plenty of Biden 's policies — and she 's not thrilled he 's the presumptive Democratic nominee .
But a summer of chaos has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` For a very long time I was n't going to vote for [ Biden ] , '' Sampson said .
`` And then COVID happened .
And I was like , 'You know what , he sucks , ' for lack of a better term .
But he 's not criminal .
His actions are n't criminal in the sense that he would n't view 150,000 deaths as progress . ''
Sampson 's story is part of a larger shift underway in Florida 's Duval County — one that mirrors many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swaths of the country .
In a county that for more than four decades has been a reliable Republican vote , Democrats are sensing new optimism ahead of the November elections , thanks to intense anti-Trump energy among black voters like Sampson , young voters and college-educated professionals in the suburbs .
Duval County , a traditionally conservative area in Florida 's northeast corner along the Atlantic Ocean , has n't voted for a Democratic president since Jimmy Carter in 1976 .
But in recent presidential elections , it 's begun tilting more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump won Duval County by 1.5 percentage points — one of his slimmest margins in the state .
Pollsters , political scientists and party leaders all agree the county 's changing landscape is largely due to demographics and grassroots organizing .
Stronger turnout among the county 's relatively large black population combined with an influx of college-educated transplants has turned this once-reliable red county into a contested political battleground in a must-win state for President Trump .
In the late 1960s , Duval County and the city of Jacksonville merged into one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that feels like an overgrown suburb .
President Trump has struggled in recent polling with suburban voters nationwide , and the same trend seems evident in Duval .
Mitt Romney won the county by a bigger margin in 2012 than Donald Trump did in 2016 ( though Romney lost the state of Florida and Trump won it ) .
Beyond demographics , activists point to the work that progressive groups like Indivisible and the New Florida Majority have been doing on the ground .
Traditionally , after a midterm , the state party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the 2018 elections , half a dozen Democratic staffers stayed on the ground to prepare for the presidential race .
Activists like Sampson , a cofounder of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee , organized protests for racial justice this summer with voter registration tables .
Sampson is frank when describing her hometown .
`` It can be very backwards politically , '' she said , sitting on the steps of the county courthouse in downtown Jacksonville .
`` If you drive down the street from here ... you have Hemming Park — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You have Confederate Park , which is named after the Confederacy . ''
But as critical as she is , Sampson admits her county feels like it 's changing .
Earlier this summer , she organized a protest for racial justice .
She said 10,000 people showed up .
She was floored .
The old assumption was that this corner of Florida was more culturally akin to South Georgia than the Democratic enclaves of Miami and Orlando .
Multiple people said they could n't have envisioned a time when confederate statues would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ born here it was a town that was predominantly a military town and a manufacturing town , '' said Lisa King , 57 , the former chair of the Duval County Democratic Party .
`` We were always told here , at the local party , our job is to turn out Democrats and try to keep the margin of loss down to a minimum . ''
But those margins began to tighten significantly around 2008 , a change local Democrats say was helped by the attention the Obama campaign paid to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has developed from a small Navy town into a hub for the medical , financial and insurance industries .
`` We have Mayo Clinic now , '' said King , referring to the renowned Minnesota medical center that has opened a campus in Jacksonville .
`` Those companies bring their workforce from all over the country ... we have a lot of professionals that have moved here for work , and as we know Donald Trump does worse with college-educated people . ''
Data from the Florida Chamber of Commerce finds the two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from in recent years are New York and Pennsylvania .
The assumption is these outsiders are bringing their more liberal politics to the South .
Voter registration data seems to somewhat align with this theory .
But the shift is not tied solely to new college-educated voters moving into the area .
The new chair of the Democratic Party elected last year is a 28-year-old black man , the youngest leader in the local party 's history .
The average age in Duval is younger than many other Florida counties , and young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At the same time , there are some Republicans who have grown disenchanted with the president .
While this frustration will not necessarily translate into votes for Biden , it has become one factor in Duval 's changing landscape .
`` I do n't like the the brand of Republicanism that he 's brought about , '' said Jack Rowan , a recent high school graduate who registered as a Republican because of fiscal policy .
`` I think it 's a brand built on division , more than a brand built on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wo n't be voting for Trump ; the president 's response to the Black Lives Matter protests deeply bothered him .
But he 's also not yet sure if he 'll vote for Biden .
A number of locals said the Republican Party under President Trump has morphed into a very different type of Republicanism from the traditional politics that once attracted moderate Chamber of Commerce types in Jacksonville .
`` I 'm a Republican voter , '' said John Delaney , who served as Jacksonville 's mayor from 1995 to 2003 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be healthier and better off with somebody new there . ''
Delaney said even though he appreciates some of the judicial appointments and economic decisions the president has made in office , he can not convince himself to support Trump in November .
`` It 's the style , the recklessness , the bombast , the attacking , the critiquing , '' he said that has turned him off from the president , more than any one specific policy .
Delaney said he tends to be more liberal on immigration than where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wo n't be voting for Joe Biden this November either .
He may write in another Republican instead .
`` You know , I tend to think of suburbs as Episcopalian , and they expect a certain dress when you go to church , '' he said in explaining why he thinks the president seems to be struggling in Duval .
In Duval County , there are more registered Democrats than Republicans , but the GOP still usually wins elections .
Jacksonville has a Republican mayor .
The GOP has a majority on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2018 , Andrew Gillum , the Democratic candidate for governor , won Duval County — a first since the 1980s .
Republicans and Democrats agree this November will be tight .
`` Arguably the single most important county in the single most important state in the most important election in a century is Duval County , '' said Dean Black , the GOP county chair .
Black is convinced that more than demographic change , Democrats started doing better in the area because Republicans became complacent over the years with little competition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its job , '' he said .
One side effect of the now-cancelled plans to bring the Republican National Convention to the area , he said , was that the local party was able to build up a 5,000 person volunteer list .
But Black admits an outright victory in the county this November will be challenging .
`` If Democrats could win Duval I think it would be very important , a symbolic victory , '' said Matt Corrigan , a political science professor at Jacksonville University who has written a book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Corrigan said what happens in Duval is only part of the story .
All of the surrounding counties are far more conservative .
And Democrats , he said , will undoubtedly lose a lot of votes in those communities .
`` The challenge of Florida is you just ca n't pick out a couple of counties now and say , 'OK , I win this county , and then I 'm going to win the state . '
That 's just not true , '' said Corrigan .
Republicans , he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in rural , exurban towns across Florida .
`` As they get their polling and other data , if they see , well , Republicans are down 20,000 votes in the state , they go look for those 20,000 votes , '' he said .
On a recent weekend , Republicans with no masks on were selling Trump face masks and t-shirts outside a grocery store in Ponte Vedra , a wealthy , overwhelmingly white community on the ocean just southeast of Jacksonville in neighboring St. Johns County .
St. Johns is one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state .
The president 's enduring popularity here runs counter to trends in other well-educated suburban enclaves and it 's a sign of hope for the GOP .
Many people — some fleeing Duval — have been moving here in recent years for better schools and cheaper housing .
`` The secret started getting out about the great schools , '' said Brandon Patty , the GOP chair in St. Johns County .
`` It 's safe , the sheriff 's office is real good .
Next thing you know , St. Johns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's a red county . ''
When the president speaks about law and order , it 's a message meant for a place like St. Johns .
In 2016 , over 60 % of voters here chose President Trump .
And most Republicans think he deserves reelection .
`` From a policy perspective , economically he 's done very well with the deregulation , with the tax cut , '' said Patty .
Ultimately , some Republicans say the demographics and the momentum nationwide will make it difficult to win Duval County .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ red , they 'll need to focus on a broader game plan .
Dean Black , the Duval County GOP chair , said he 's fundamentally focused on a `` North Florida '' strategy .
`` The bottom line is we need north Florida to turn out the Republican vote totals to overwhelm South Florida , '' Black said .
`` The truth is , a vote for President Trump in Duval County will count the same as one from St. Johns County or Nassau County or Leon County - right ?
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come from . ''

How This Conservative Florida County Became A Surprise 2020 Battleground
Enlarge this image toggle caption Asma Khalid/NPR Asma Khalid/NPR
Before COVID-19 and before the death of George Floyd, Monique Sampson said she thought Joe Biden and President Trump were "different wings on the same bird."
The 23-year-old American history teacher with dangling earrings that proclaim, "A woman's place is in the struggle," had been hoping for a Bernie Sanders presidency. She still doesn't like plenty of Biden's policies — and she's not thrilled he's the presumptive Democratic nominee. But a summer of chaos has made her reassess her own politics.
"For a very long time I wasn't going to vote for [Biden]," Sampson said. "And then COVID happened. And I was like, 'You know what, he sucks,' for lack of a better term. But he's not criminal. His actions aren't criminal in the sense that he wouldn't view 150,000 deaths as progress."
Sampson's story is part of a larger shift underway in Florida's Duval County — one that mirrors many of the headwinds facing Trump in large swaths of the country. In a county that for more than four decades has been a reliable Republican vote, Democrats are sensing new optimism ahead of the November elections, thanks to intense anti-Trump energy among Black voters like Sampson, young voters and college-educated professionals in the suburbs.
Duval County, a traditionally conservative area in Florida's northeast corner along the Atlantic Ocean, hasn't voted for a Democratic president since Jimmy Carter in 1976. But in recent presidential elections, it's begun tilting more toward the Democratic Party. In 2016, Trump won Duval County by 1.5 percentage points — one of his slimmest margins in the state.
Pollsters, political scientists and party leaders all agree the county's changing landscape is largely due to demographics and grassroots organizing. Stronger turnout among the county's relatively large Black population combined with an influx of college-educated transplants has turned this once-reliable red county into a contested political battleground in a must-win state for Trump.
New energy from activists
In the late 1960s, Duval County and the city of Jacksonville merged into one entity, creating a large sprawling city that feels like an overgrown suburb. Trump has struggled in recent polling with suburban voters nationwide, and the same trend seems evident in Duval.
Mitt Romney won the county by a bigger margin in 2012 than Trump did in 2016 (though Romney lost the state of Florida and Trump won it).
Beyond demographics, activists point to the work that progressive groups like Indivisible and the New Florida Majority have been doing on the ground.
Traditionally, after a midterm, the state party packs up and goes home, but after the 2018 elections, half a dozen Democratic staffers stayed on the ground to prepare for the presidential race.
Activists like Sampson, a cofounder of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, organized protests for racial justice this summer with voter registration tables.
Sampson is frank when describing her hometown.
"It can be very backwards politically," she said, sitting on the steps of the county courthouse in downtown Jacksonville. "If you drive down the street from here ... you have Hemming Park — that's named after a Confederate. You have Confederate Park, which is named after the Confederacy."
But as critical as she is, Sampson admits her county feels like it's changing. Earlier this summer, she organized a protest for racial justice. She said 10,000 people showed up. She was floored.
New residents, new politics
The old assumption was that this corner of Florida was more culturally akin to South Georgia than the Democratic enclaves of Miami and Orlando. Multiple people said they couldn't have envisioned a time when Confederate statues would be taken down.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Asma Khalid/NPR Asma Khalid/NPR
"When I was born here it was a town that was predominantly a military town and a manufacturing town," said Lisa King, 57, the former chair of the Duval County Democratic Party. "We were always told here, at the local party, our job is to turn out Democrats and try to keep the margin of loss down to a minimum."
But those margins began to tighten significantly around 2008, a change local Democrats say was helped by the attention the Obama campaign paid to the Jacksonville area.
Nowadays, the area has developed from a small Navy town into a hub for the medical, financial and insurance industries. "We have Mayo Clinic now," said King, referring to the renowned Minnesota medical center that has opened a campus in Jacksonville. "Those companies bring their workforce from all over the country ... we have a lot of professionals that have moved here for work, and as we know Donald Trump does worse with college-educated people."
Data from the Florida Chamber of Commerce finds the two states where most Duval transplants have arrived from in recent years are New York and Pennsylvania. The assumption is these outsiders are bringing their more liberal politics to the South. Voter registration data seems to somewhat align with this theory.
Young voters and disenchanted Republicans
But the shift is not tied solely to new college-educated voters moving into the area. The new chair of the Democratic Party elected last year is a 28-year-old Black man, the youngest leader in the local party's history. The average age in Duval is younger than many other Florida counties, and young voters tend to be more liberal.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Asma Khalid/NPR Asma Khalid/NPR
At the same time, there are some Republicans who have grown disenchanted with the president. While this frustration will not necessarily translate into votes for Biden, it has become one factor in Duval's changing landscape.
"I don't like the the brand of Republicanism that he's brought about," said Jack Rowan, a recent high school graduate who registered as a Republican because of fiscal policy. "I think it's a brand built on division, more than a brand built on unifying people."
Rowan has decided he won't be voting for Trump; the president's response to the Black Lives Matter protests deeply bothered him. But he's also not yet sure if he'll vote for Biden.
A number of locals said the Republican Party under Trump has morphed into a very different type of Republicanism from the traditional politics that once attracted moderate Chamber of Commerce types in Jacksonville.
"I'm a Republican voter," said John Delaney, who served as Jacksonville's mayor from 1995 to 2003. "But I think the country would be healthier and better off with somebody new there."
Delaney said even though he appreciates some of the judicial appointments and economic decisions the president has made in office, he cannot convince himself to support Trump in November.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Asma Khalid/NPR Asma Khalid/NPR
"It's the style, the recklessness, the bombast, the attacking, the critiquing," he said that has turned him off from the president, more than any one specific policy. Delaney said he tends to be more liberal on immigration than where the current Republican administration stands, but won't be voting for Biden this November either. He may write in another Republican instead.
"You know, I tend to think of suburbs as Episcopalian, and they expect a certain dress when you go to church," he said in explaining why he thinks the president seems to be struggling in Duval.
"The single most important county"
In Duval County, there are more registered Democrats than Republicans, but the GOP still usually wins elections. Jacksonville has a Republican mayor. The GOP has a majority on the city council as well.
But in 2018, Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for governor, won Duval County — a first since the 1980s.
Republicans and Democrats agree this November will be tight.
"Arguably the single most important county in the single most important state in the most important election in a century is Duval County," said Dean Black, the GOP county chair.
Black is convinced that more than demographic change, Democrats started doing better in the area because Republicans became complacent over the years with little competition.
"The party did not do its job," he said.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Asma Khalid/NPR Asma Khalid/NPR
One side effect of the now-cancelled plans to bring the Republican National Convention to the area, he said, was that the local party was able to build up a 5,000 person volunteer list.
But Black admits an outright victory in the county this November will be challenging.
"If Democrats could win Duval I think it would be very important, a symbolic victory," said Matt Corrigan, a political science professor at Jacksonville University who has written a book about the 2016 presidential election in Florida.
Finding the votes
Corrigan said what happens in Duval is only part of the story. All of the surrounding counties are far more conservative. And Democrats, he said, will undoubtedly lose a lot of votes in those communities.
"The challenge of Florida is you just can't pick out a couple of counties now and say, 'OK, I win this county, and then I'm going to win the state.' That's just not true," said Corrigan.
Republicans, he said, are experts at at finding votes in rural, exurban towns across Florida.
"As they get their polling and other data, if they see, well, Republicans are down 20,000 votes in the state, they go look for those 20,000 votes," he said.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Asma Khalid/NPR Asma Khalid/NPR
On a recent weekend, Republicans with no masks on were selling Trump face masks and T-shirts outside a grocery store in Ponte Vedra, a wealthy, overwhelmingly white community on the ocean just southeast of Jacksonville in neighboring St. Johns County.
St. Johns is one of the most college-educated counties in the state. The president's enduring popularity here runs counter to trends in other well-educated suburban enclaves and it's a sign of hope for the GOP. Many people — some fleeing Duval — have been moving here in recent years for better schools and cheaper housing.
"The secret started getting out about the great schools," said Brandon Patty, the GOP chair in St. Johns County. "It's safe, the sheriff's office is real good. Next thing you know, St. Johns develops into a conservative heavyweight ... it's a red county."
When the president speaks about law and order, it's a message meant for a place like St. Johns. In 2016, over 60% of voters here chose Trump.
And most Republicans think he deserves reelection.
"From a policy perspective, economically he's done very well with the deregulation, with the tax cut," said Patty.
Ultimately, some Republicans say the demographics and the momentum nationwide will make it difficult to win Duval County. And so for Trump to keep Florida red, they'll need to focus on a broader game plan.
Black, the Duval County GOP chair, said he's fundamentally focused on a "North Florida" strategy.
"The bottom line is we need North Florida to turn out the Republican vote totals to overwhelm South Florida," Black said. "The truth is, a vote for President Trump in Duval County will count the same as one from St. Johns County or Nassau County or Leon County, right? It doesn't really matter where the votes come from."


npr--2020-08-09--A Global Guide To Binge-worthy TV For The Pandemic

A Global Guide To Binge-worthy TV For The Pandemic What TV are you bingeing these days ?
It 's a question you 've probably been asked a lot — and asked others — five months into the pandemic .
Movies are shut .
Theater is on hold .
So there 's not much else to do .
I myself ca n't stop watching Korean dramas ( just finished Crash Landing On You ) and reruns of Gossip Girl on Netflix .
Our blog covers the globe , so we were curious — what shows are people in other countries obsessed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporters in nine countries to find out .
— Malaka Gharib In Argentina , people are pondering existential questions .
What is the meaning of life ?
What is time ?
And it 's not just because of the pandemic .
Can it be because nearly everyone is watching the Netflix series Dark ?
The suspenseful show from Germany , set in the town of Winden in the present day , explores time travel and the philosophical issues related to it .
Members of four families try to discover the reason why children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past and future .
`` I could have a lot of debates [ around these existential topics ] thanks to this show , '' says Maria Pirsch , a 30-year-old Dark fan and producer and photographer .
She studied physics for a time and is interested in the idea of time travel .
Launched in 2017 , Dark is now in its third season .
The latest installment was released on June 27 in Argentina — and some fans were so excited they watched it at 4 a.m. when it premiered .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need answers , '' wrote someone on Twitter .
Julia Pujol , a technician in a pathology laboratory , confesses that when Season 3 came out she watched two episodes and , after sleeping a little , watched the remaining six in a row .
And like many fans stuck home in the pandemic , she found the quarantine to be a good excuse to watch the first two seasons over again .
Dark is available in the U.S. on Netflix .
India : An iconic '80s show with a demon king and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on Hindu mythology , tells the story of Lord Ram as he goes into exile , fights the demon king Ravan who kidnapped his wife — then finally returns to his hometown Ayodhya to be crowned king .
That 's the plot of an iconic show that first aired in 1987 — when TV sets were n't common in India and neighbors would make a pilgrimage to the nearest home with TV to watch .
During the pandemic , fans demanded its return and state-run TV channel Doordarshan National ( DD National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ramayan on March 28 .
That week , the channel 's viewership jumped to 545 million from about 9 million in January .
Social media is now full of nostalgic posts from people reliving their childhood memories — many with their own kids this time .
Ramayan is now streaming on Disney-owned Hotstar .
Sushmita Pathak is a producer for NPR in Mumbai .
Colombia : A telenovela about 3 brothers out for revenge In Colombia , telenovela addicts are binge-watching an old favorite , Pasión de Gavilanes , which has made a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The TV network Caracol says it is re-running the Colombian telenovela — the second-most watched show in its history — during lockdown at its audience 's request , given that recordings of current shows are on pause due to the pandemic .
Over 188 episodes , Pasión de Gavilanes tells the story of three brothers looking to avenge the suicide of their sister , Libia Reyes .
She was in a relationship with a wealthy married man named Bernardo Elizondo and got pregnant .
Then he died .
She went to his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having his baby .
And after Elizondo 's wife humiliated her , she threw herself off a bridge .
The Reyes brothers descend upon the Elizondo household posing as bricklayers .
Their plan is to seduce Elizondo 's three daughters as payback for their sister 's death .
María Fernanda Martínez , 24 , says she is re-watching the novela with her mother during lockdown out of `` pure and simple nostalgia . ''
Hilda Cárdenas Vergara , 57 , who watched the novela in its heyday , enjoys reliving the experience with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's not one boring episode , '' she told NPR .
But not everyone feels the same .
Some Twitter users say the storyline is classist , as Gabriela , the wife of late Elizondo , punishes her wealthy daughters for falling in love with working class men .
Others say it glorifies physical and verbal violence against women .
Pasión de Gavilanes is currently leading national TV ratings and is the most-watched show on Colombian Netflix .
It 's also available for streaming in Spanish on U.S. Netflix .
Sophie Foggin is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , covering politics , human rights , history and justice in Latin America .
Kenya : Rich man falls for poor woman — but he has another lover One of the most-watched TV shows in Kenya during the pandemic is Maria , a 30-minute Kenyan drama that revolves around the life of Luwi , the youngest son of a wealthy family .
Luwi falls in love with gorgeous — and poor — Maria .
Only he has another lover , and when she finds out , things get complicated .
Even before COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the most popular TV shows in the country , according to the GeoPoll Audience Measurement Report , which measures viewership .
In fact , when the actor Brian Ogana , who plays Luwi , visited a primary school in Kibera in March , hooting and hollering young fans could barely contain their excitement .
And people love Yasmin Said , the actress who plays Maria .
`` You have bewitched my family !
As from 6 p.m. , people in this family run up and down to prepare so as not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' wrote one person on Twitter .
New episodes continue to air throughout the pandemic .
The half-hour show is broadcast from Monday to Friday at 7:30 p.m. , with reruns on Saturday from 4-6 p.m .
There are about 150 episodes to date .
The show has been one of Julia Anyango 's favorite ways to pass time since the pandemic began .
A teacher by profession , living in the Korogocho slums in Nairobi , she 's had to stop work due to school closures .
Her favorite character is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family problems because she is coming from a ghetto life , '' Anyango says .
Some of the episodes can be found on YouTube .
Thomas Bwire is a co-founder and editor at Habari Kibra , a news hub that focuses on reporting stories from the Kibera community .
Israel : Spies , lovers and Iran 's nuclear reactor are part of the plot The hot new binge-watch in Israel is Tehran , an Israeli spy thriller about Israel 's covert war with its archenemy Iran .
A young Mossad agent goes on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Tehran to help Israel take out an Iranian nuclear reactor , but the mission goes awry and she ends up falling in love with an Iranian activist who opposes the regime .
The show is based on real-life tensions between the Jewish state and the Islamic republic 's rulers .
It appears to be the first popular Israeli TV series to focus on contemporary Iran .
Israel and Iran have hostile relations and Iran bans Israelis from visiting .
So there 's a lot of curiosity .
The main Iranian character is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Based in London , he says his participation in the show is controversial in Iran — and it means he may not be able to travel back to the country and see his family because Iran strictly forbids interaction with Israel .
The 8-episode show , with each episode about 45 minutes long , premiered on June 22 on Israel 's public TV broadcaster Kan .
The show is in Hebrew , Farsi and English with Hebrew subtitles .
China is enthralled by The Bad Kids , a Chinese thriller TV drama that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who decide to take justice into their own hands after they accidentally capture on camera a cliffside double homicide .
In their pursuit of the truth , the kids are caught up in revenge and blackmail .
It 's filled with thrilling twists and turns : it obfuscates ethical boundaries for its characters and tests its viewers ' moral compass .
The 12-episode series premiered on the Chinese streaming platform iQIYI on June 16 .
And it 's won over China 's demanding viewers — it received a 8.9/10 rating on the notoriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People 's Daily , the official Communist Party paper , published an article praising the show for being `` an exemplar of high-quality short series . ''
Chinese drama shows tend to favor interminable plot lines ( The Story of Yanxi Palace , another wildly popular TV series from two summers ago , required serious commitment to finish all 75 episodes . )
But most important , the show is seen as the herald of a new age in Chinese television , one that expands beyond traditional genres like period pieces , family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cheng is a producer for NPR in Beijing .
Senegal 's TV series Infidéles -- or `` unfaithful '' in French — is dripping with drama .
Within the first few minutes of the first episode , audiences were introduced to half a dozen characters and a few different entanglements .
A wife and husband dispute over social media posts , but quickly make up ; one woman confides to her male friend that her boyfriend — their mutual friend — is physically abusing her ; and two friends pressure a third friend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dress more provocatively and study less .
The series , which premiered on July 18 on YouTube and Senegalese TV channel SenTV , airs every Wednesday and Friday .
And it has both fans and detractors .
In the country of 16 million , the YouTube videos get well over 1.5 million views , but most people prefer to watch it on TV to watch it as it airs , says Senegalese cultural critic Aboubacar Demba Cissokho .
`` People are watching it on TV so that afterward on Facebook or WhatsApp they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happening , '' he says .
The show has also created controversy .
After a character with the same name as the mother of a historic Muslim leader in the country – Mame Diarra — was portrayed in a scene that discussed same-sex relations ( which are outlawed in Senegal ) , a leader of a local conservative nonprofit organization , Jaamra , publicly denounced the name choice .
On the other hand , says Cissokho , the episode 's controversy highlights the contentious LGBT issues in the country .
`` People are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the debate becomes a public debate , and it takes on another dimension when it 's portrayed on television . ''
Ricci Shryock is a freelance photographer and journalist based in Dakar , Senegal .
Follow her on Instagram at @ ricci_s .
Pakistan : They call it 'The Muslim Game Of Thrones' In Pakistan , the must-watch show is a wildly popular Turkish drama that local media call `` The Muslim Game of Thrones . ''
Resurrection : Ertugrul dramatizes the story of the man it 's named for — the father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It was the last sweeping Muslim empire , ruling swathes of Europe , the Middle East and North Africa for more than 600 years , falling apart in the aftermath of World War I .
The 5-season series , which first premiered on the Turkish channel TRT 1 in 2014 , has drama , heroes and heroines and chaste romance with Muslim characters at its center .
That 's key to its popularity in Pakistan , a Muslim-majority country of more than 200 million people , where it 's seen as gripping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lets Pakistanis indulge in nostalgia for the glories of the Muslim past .
`` What has affected me most about [ Etrugrul ] the way he united the entire tribe and formed the Ottoman Empire , '' says Muhammad Shahzad Cheema to local newspaper Dawn .
He is such a fan that he arranged for a statue of the character of Ertugrul from the show to be erected in his Lahore housing community in June .
Prime Minister Imran Khan , a playboy-turned-conservative , is also a fan .
He recommended Pakistanis watch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roots .
The show is n't without its critics .
In an op-ed for Dawn , liberal writer Pervez Hoodbhoy , described it as `` frankly propagandistic '' and said the violence inflicted by the Muslim heroes `` suggests the way forward is through the sword . ''
When a newborn named Zephany Nurse was kidnapped from beside her mother 's bed in a Cape Town hospital in 1997 , the case gripped South Africa .
And then the trail went cold .
That is , until 17 years later , when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who bore an uncanny resemblance to her at her new high school , and a DNA test proved they were sisters .
Zephany Nurse 's stranger-than-fiction story is now the basis of a popular South African Netflix series , Blood & Water .
The series turns up the glamor on the Nurses ' story by giving it the Gossip Girl treatment , with the fictional retelling set against the backdrop of an ivy-covered Cape Town prep school whose students come home to waterfront mansions and spend their weekends drinking cocktails at beachside hotels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is an escapist fantasy , but for a country used to wincing through Western retellings of their stories ( think Morgan Freeman 's strangely American-accented Nelson Mandela in Invictus ) it 's also a reversal of roles .
`` I 've seen a lot of excitement ... in the States , to see young Black kids be represented , '' Ama Qamata , the show 's lead , told Elle .
Blood & Water , only the second Netflix original series from Africa , has been streaming globally on the platform since May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ryan Brown is a reporter based in Johannesburg for The Christian Science Monitor .

A Global Guide To Binge-worthy TV For The Pandemic
toggle caption Youtube/ Screenshots by NPR
What TV are you bingeing these days?
It's a question you've probably been asked a lot — and asked others — five months into the pandemic. Movies are shut. Theater is on hold. So there's not much else to do. I myself can't stop watching Korean dramas (just finished Crash Landing On You) and reruns of Gossip Girl on Netflix.
Our blog covers the globe, so we were curious — what shows are people in other countries obsessed about in this pandemic? We asked reporters in nine countries to find out. — Malaka Gharib
Argentina: Time travel and missing kids in a German drama
YouTube
In Argentina, people are pondering existential questions. What is the meaning of life? What is time? And it's not just because of the pandemic. Can it be because nearly everyone is watching the Netflix series Dark?
The suspenseful show from Germany, set in the town of Winden in the present day, explores time travel and the philosophical issues related to it. Members of four families try to discover the reason why children have mysteriously disappeared by heading to the past and future.
"I could have a lot of debates [around these existential topics] thanks to this show," says Maria Pirsch, a 30-year-old Dark fan and producer and photographer. She studied physics for a time and is interested in the idea of time travel.
Launched in 2017, Dark is now in its third season. The latest installment was released on June 27 in Argentina — and some fans were so excited they watched it at 4 a.m. when it premiered. "I do not need sleep, I need answers," wrote someone on Twitter.
Julia Pujol, a technician in a pathology laboratory, confesses that when Season 3 came out she watched two episodes and, after sleeping a little, watched the remaining six in a row. And like many fans stuck home in the pandemic, she found the quarantine to be a good excuse to watch the first two seasons over again.
Dark is available in the U.S. on Netflix.
Anita Pouchard Serra is a photojournalist based in Argentina.
India: An iconic '80s show with a demon king and a kidnapped wife
YouTube
Ramayan, a series based on Hindu mythology, tells the story of Lord Ram as he goes into exile, fights the demon king Ravan who kidnapped his wife — then finally returns to his hometown Ayodhya to be crowned king.
That's the plot of an iconic show that first aired in 1987 — when TV sets weren't common in India and neighbors would make a pilgrimage to the nearest home with TV to watch.
During the pandemic, fans demanded its return and state-run TV channel Doordarshan National (DD National) obliged.
DD National began re-telecasting Ramayan on March 28. That week, the channel's viewership jumped to 545 million from about 9 million in January.
Social media is now full of nostalgic posts from people reliving their childhood memories — many with their own kids this time. Ramayan is now streaming on Disney-owned Hotstar.
Full attendance infront of the TV @ 9am. We are re-living our childhood (I was 7 years old and my parents bought a Bush TV for me to see this show)... my kids might never understand but I’m happy they are watching with me. #Ramayan @DDNational pic.twitter.com/pYIM7zj4wD — Shweta Shalini (@shweta_shalini) March 28, 2020
Sushmita Pathak is a producer for NPR in Mumbai.
Colombia: A telenovela about 3 brothers out for revenge
YouTube
In Colombia, telenovela addicts are binge-watching an old favorite, Pasión de Gavilanes, which has made a comeback 17 years after it originally aired.
The TV network Caracol says it is re-running the Colombian telenovela — the second-most watched show in its history — during lockdown at its audience's request, given that recordings of current shows are on pause due to the pandemic.
Over 188 episodes, Pasión de Gavilanes tells the story of three brothers looking to avenge the suicide of their sister, Libia Reyes. She was in a relationship with a wealthy married man named Bernardo Elizondo and got pregnant. Then he died. She went to his family to tell them that she was having his baby. And after Elizondo's wife humiliated her, she threw herself off a bridge.
The Reyes brothers descend upon the Elizondo household posing as bricklayers. Their plan is to seduce Elizondo's three daughters as payback for their sister's death.
María Fernanda Martínez, 24, says she is re-watching the novela with her mother during lockdown out of "pure and simple nostalgia."
Hilda Cárdenas Vergara, 57, who watched the novela in its heyday, enjoys reliving the experience with her family during lockdown. "There's not one boring episode," she told NPR.
But not everyone feels the same. Some Twitter users say the storyline is classist, as Gabriela, the wife of late Elizondo, punishes her wealthy daughters for falling in love with working class men. Others say it glorifies physical and verbal violence against women.
Pasión de Gavilanes is currently leading national TV ratings and is the most-watched show on Colombian Netflix. It's also available for streaming in Spanish on U.S. Netflix.
Sophie Foggin is a journalist based in Medellin, Colombia, covering politics, human rights, history and justice in Latin America.
Kenya: Rich man falls for poor woman — but he has another lover
YouTube
One of the most-watched TV shows in Kenya during the pandemic is Maria, a 30-minute Kenyan drama that revolves around the life of Luwi, the youngest son of a wealthy family. Luwi falls in love with gorgeous — and poor — Maria. Only he has another lover, and when she finds out, things get complicated.
Even before COVID-19 came along, the Swahili-language drama was one of the most popular TV shows in the country, according to the GeoPoll Audience Measurement Report, which measures viewership. In fact, when the actor Brian Ogana, who plays Luwi, visited a primary school in Kibera in March, hooting and hollering young fans could barely contain their excitement.
And people love Yasmin Said, the actress who plays Maria. "You have bewitched my family! As from 6 p.m., people in this family run up and down to prepare so as not to miss you in action. Congratulations," wrote one person on Twitter.
New episodes continue to air throughout the pandemic. The half-hour show is broadcast from Monday to Friday at 7:30 p.m., with reruns on Saturday from 4-6 p.m. There are about 150 episodes to date.
The show has been one of Julia Anyango's favorite ways to pass time since the pandemic began. A teacher by profession, living in the Korogocho slums in Nairobi, she's had to stop work due to school closures.
Her favorite character is Maria: "She gives the rich family problems because she is coming from a ghetto life," Anyango says.
Some of the episodes can be found on YouTube.
Thomas Bwire is a co-founder and editor at Habari Kibra, a news hub that focuses on reporting stories from the Kibera community.
Israel: Spies, lovers and Iran's nuclear reactor are part of the plot
YouTube
The hot new binge-watch in Israel is Tehran, an Israeli spy thriller about Israel's covert war with its archenemy Iran. A young Mossad agent goes on her first mission to her home city of Tehran to help Israel take out an Iranian nuclear reactor, but the mission goes awry and she ends up falling in love with an Iranian activist who opposes the regime.
The show is based on real-life tensions between the Jewish state and the Islamic republic's rulers. It appears to be the first popular Israeli TV series to focus on contemporary Iran. Israel and Iran have hostile relations and Iran bans Israelis from visiting. So there's a lot of curiosity.
The main Iranian character is portrayed by Iranian-born actor Shervin Alenabi. Based in London, he says his participation in the show is controversial in Iran — and it means he may not be able to travel back to the country and see his family because Iran strictly forbids interaction with Israel.
The 8-episode show, with each episode about 45 minutes long, premiered on June 22 on Israel's public TV broadcaster Kan. The show is in Hebrew, Farsi and English with Hebrew subtitles.
Daniel Estrin is NPR's international correspondent in Jerusalem.
China: Kids solve a double homicide
YouTube
China is enthralled by The Bad Kids, a Chinese thriller TV drama that tells the tale of three young children who decide to take justice into their own hands after they accidentally capture on camera a cliffside double homicide. In their pursuit of the truth, the kids are caught up in revenge and blackmail.
It's filled with thrilling twists and turns: it obfuscates ethical boundaries for its characters and tests its viewers' moral compass.
The 12-episode series premiered on the Chinese streaming platform iQIYI on June 16. And it's won over China's demanding viewers — it received a 8.9/10 rating on the notoriously hard-to-please review site Douban. Even The People's Daily, the official Communist Party paper, published an article praising the show for being "an exemplar of high-quality short series."
Chinese drama shows tend to favor interminable plot lines (The Story of Yanxi Palace, another wildly popular TV series from two summers ago, required serious commitment to finish all 75 episodes.) But most important, the show is seen as the herald of a new age in Chinese television, one that expands beyond traditional genres like period pieces, family drama and the Sino-Japanese War.
Amy Cheng is a producer for NPR in Beijing.
Senegal: Love affairs — and lots of controversy
YouTube
Senegal's TV series Infidéles -- or "unfaithful" in French — is dripping with drama. Within the first few minutes of the first episode, audiences were introduced to half a dozen characters and a few different entanglements. A wife and husband dispute over social media posts, but quickly make up; one woman confides to her male friend that her boyfriend — their mutual friend — is physically abusing her; and two friends pressure a third friend who prefers to wear the hijab to dress more provocatively and study less.
The series, which premiered on July 18 on YouTube and Senegalese TV channel SenTV, airs every Wednesday and Friday. And it has both fans and detractors.
In the country of 16 million, the YouTube videos get well over 1.5 million views, but most people prefer to watch it on TV to watch it as it airs, says Senegalese cultural critic Aboubacar Demba Cissokho. "People are watching it on TV so that afterward on Facebook or WhatsApp they can engage in the reactions that are happening," he says.
The show has also created controversy. After a character with the same name as the mother of a historic Muslim leader in the country – Mame Diarra — was portrayed in a scene that discussed same-sex relations (which are outlawed in Senegal), a leader of a local conservative nonprofit organization, Jaamra, publicly denounced the name choice.
On the other hand, says Cissokho, the episode's controversy highlights the contentious LGBT issues in the country. "People are already talking about these issues, but the debate becomes a public debate, and it takes on another dimension when it's portrayed on television."
Ricci Shryock is a freelance photographer and journalist based in Dakar, Senegal. Follow her on Instagram at @ricci_s.
Pakistan: They call it 'The Muslim Game Of Thrones'
YouTube
In Pakistan, the must-watch show is a wildly popular Turkish drama that local media call "The Muslim Game of Thrones."
Resurrection: Ertugrul dramatizes the story of the man it's named for — the father of the founder of the Ottoman Empire. It was the last sweeping Muslim empire, ruling swathes of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa for more than 600 years, falling apart in the aftermath of World War I.
The 5-season series, which first premiered on the Turkish channel TRT 1 in 2014, has drama, heroes and heroines and chaste romance with Muslim characters at its center. That's key to its popularity in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country of more than 200 million people, where it's seen as gripping, wholesome family fare. And it lets Pakistanis indulge in nostalgia for the glories of the Muslim past.
"What has affected me most about [Etrugrul] the way he united the entire tribe and formed the Ottoman Empire," says Muhammad Shahzad Cheema to local newspaper Dawn. He is such a fan that he arranged for a statue of the character of Ertugrul from the show to be erected in his Lahore housing community in June.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, a playboy-turned-conservative, is also a fan. He recommended Pakistanis watch the show to connect to their Muslim roots.
The show isn't without its critics. In an op-ed for Dawn, liberal writer Pervez Hoodbhoy, described it as "frankly propagandistic" and said the violence inflicted by the Muslim heroes "suggests the way forward is through the sword."
Diaa Hadid is NPR's international correspondent in Islamabad.
South Africa: Kidnapped At Birth, Found 17 Years Later
YouTube
When a newborn named Zephany Nurse was kidnapped from beside her mother's bed in a Cape Town hospital in 1997, the case gripped South Africa. And then the trail went cold. That is, until 17 years later, when the Nurses' younger daughter spotted a girl who bore an uncanny resemblance to her at her new high school, and a DNA test proved they were sisters.
Zephany Nurse's stranger-than-fiction story is now the basis of a popular South African Netflix series, Blood & Water. The series turns up the glamor on the Nurses' story by giving it the Gossip Girl treatment, with the fictional retelling set against the backdrop of an ivy-covered Cape Town prep school whose students come home to waterfront mansions and spend their weekends drinking cocktails at beachside hotels.
For South Africans, the show is an escapist fantasy, but for a country used to wincing through Western retellings of their stories (think Morgan Freeman's strangely American-accented Nelson Mandela in Invictus) it's also a reversal of roles. "I've seen a lot of excitement... in the States, to see young Black kids be represented," Ama Qamata, the show's lead, told Elle.
Blood & Water, only the second Netflix original series from Africa, has been streaming globally on the platform since May and was renewed for a second season.
Ryan Lenora Brown is a reporter based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She writes frequently about women, migration and pop culture.


npr--2020-08-09--At Virtual Summit, World Leaders Pledge $298 Million In Aid To Lebanon

At Virtual Summit , World Leaders Pledge $ 298 Million In Aid To Lebanon International leaders at a virtual summit Sunday pledged $ 298 million in aid to help Lebanon in the aftermath of the catastrophic blast that killed at least 158 people and devastated large swaths of Beirut .
In his opening remarks , French President Emmanuel Macron — co-host of the summit along with the U.N. — said `` Lebanon 's future was at stake '' and urged attendees `` to come together in support of Lebanon and its people . ''
Among attendees were officials with some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Trump , who had announced his participation on Twitter .
Reuters quotes Macron 's office as saying the approximately $ 298 million would not be conditional on governmental reforms in Lebanon , but longer-term support would be .
During Sunday 's summit , Macron urged Lebanon 's leaders to act in the best interest of the country , making apparent allusion to outrage at the country 's ruling class following the blast .
`` It is up to the authorities of the country to act so that the country does not sink @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Lebanese people are expressing right now , legitimately , in the streets of Beirut , '' Macron said , according to a translation by France 24 .
Unrest in Lebanon has been at a high following last week 's explosion at Beirut 's port .
Anger over the blast has been directed at corruption and negligence by the country 's politicians .
A day ahead of the virtual summit , massive demonstrations drew thousands into the streets of downtown Beirut , with protesters even assembling a mock gallows for cut-outs of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut 's port — the country had already been undergoing a major economic collapse .
Lebanon had also been struggling under the COVID-19 pandemic .
The BBC reports that 15 leaders at the summit released a joint statement , insisting the aid must be `` directly delivered to the Lebanese population , with utmost efficiency and transparency . ''
`` Assistance should be timely , sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people , '' the statement said .
The European @ @ @ @ @ @ @ European Union — pledged some $ 35 million on top of an already promised $ 39 million .
The United Kingdom also pledged $ 26 million during the summit .
Earlier on Sunday , the acting administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development specified that the agency would avoid pledging money through Lebanon 's government .
John Barsa told reporters on a conference call that $ 15 million would instead go through universities trusted by the United States .

At Virtual Summit, World Leaders Pledge $298 Million In Aid To Lebanon
Enlarge this image toggle caption Christophe Simon/AP Christophe Simon/AP
International leaders at a virtual summit Sunday pledged $298 million in aid to help Lebanon in the aftermath of the catastrophic blast that killed at least 158 people and devastated large swaths of Beirut.
In his opening remarks, French President Emmanuel Macron — co-host of the summit along with the U.N. — said "Lebanon's future was at stake" and urged attendees "to come together in support of Lebanon and its people."
Among attendees were officials with some 30 international bodies and nations, including President Trump, who had announced his participation on Twitter.
Reuters quotes Macron's office as saying the approximately $298 million would not be conditional on governmental reforms in Lebanon, but longer-term support would be. During Sunday's summit, Macron urged Lebanon's leaders to act in the best interest of the country, making apparent allusion to outrage at the country's ruling class following the blast.
"It is up to the authorities of the country to act so that the country does not sink, and to respond to the aspirations that the Lebanese people are expressing right now, legitimately, in the streets of Beirut," Macron said, according to a translation by France 24.
Unrest in Lebanon has been at a high following last week's explosion at Beirut's port. Anger over the blast has been directed at corruption and negligence by the country's politicians. A day ahead of the virtual summit, massive demonstrations drew thousands into the streets of downtown Beirut, with protesters even assembling a mock gallows for cut-outs of prominent politicians.
Prior to the explosion — caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut's port — the country had already been undergoing a major economic collapse. Lebanon had also been struggling under the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BBC reports that 15 leaders at the summit released a joint statement, insisting the aid must be "directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency."
"Assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people," the statement said.
The European Commission — the executive body of the European Union — pledged some $35 million on top of an already promised $39 million. The United Kingdom also pledged $26 million during the summit.
Earlier on Sunday, the acting administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development specified that the agency would avoid pledging money through Lebanon's government. John Barsa told reporters on a conference call that $15 million would instead go through universities trusted by the United States.


npr--2020-08-09--A National Lockdown Could Be The Economy's Best Hope, Says Minneapolis Fed President

A National Lockdown Could Be The Economy 's Best Hope , Says Minneapolis Fed President The United States has now surpassed five million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 160,000 deaths from the virus as tens of millions of Americans file for unemployment , causing experts to debate how the nation should respond .
Neel Kashkari , the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis , says the answer should be a return to mandated lockdowns in every state for up to six weeks in an effort to save both lives and the economy .
`` If we are n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more cases with many more deaths are likely before a vaccine might be available , '' Kashkari wrote in a New York Times op-ed on Friday alongside Dr. Michael Osterholm , director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota .
Kashkari says lockdowns were having a positive effect during the spring .
The problem , he told NPR 's All Things Considered on Sunday , is that `` we threw in the towel before the health officials had actually gotten control of the virus . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , says Kashkari .
What the country needs now , he says , is `` a more stringent , uniform lockdown state-by-state '' until the virus can be brought under control .
`` Then we can return to normal economic activity with more confidence . ''
On the economic argument for a more strict lockdown The economic argument is what we 're doing right now is n't working .
We did a modest lockdown and then we let up far too quickly according to the public health experts , and now our economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people feel scared to go back into restaurants , so restaurants ca n't return to normal .
We 're not really going to be able to return to a robust economy until we get control of the virus , and at 50,000 cases a day it 's spreading like wildfire throughout the country .
So unfortunately , yes , a lockdown for six weeks would impose short term pain , but I believe we as a country can afford to support Americans through that short term lockdown so then we can reopen and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returning to school .
I want us to get back to a robust economy as quickly as possible .
This is much faster than allowing the virus to spread uncontrolled .
On the concern that increasing federal unemployment benefits will wrack up federal debt Well one of the things that has happened in this recession that is unlike any recession in modern times , our savings rate has taken off .
It 's really curious .
Those of us , like me , who have been able to keep our jobs , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 're not going out to restaurants or movies or on vacations .
So the personal savings rates soared from about 8 % to 20 % .
The way it works is that money then gets put in the bank , or put into a money market fund , and those resources are available so that when the government runs deficits , it does n't have to borrow as much from abroad because we 're generating savings domestically .
It is much safer for a country to fund its own government deficits from its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from abroad .
So it turns out , we can actually fund the additional unemployment benefits , for example , or additional support to small businesses from our own domestic resources .
That is much , much better than having to borrow it from abroad .
So this recession is very unique in how we 've shut down part of the economy because it 's also generating savings that can support the workers who are most affected .
I know it 's complicated , but this is a unique moment when the traditional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GDP , do not apply .
Will Jarvis and Tinbete Ermyas produced and edited the audio version of this story .

A National Lockdown Could Be The Economy's Best Hope, Says Minneapolis Fed President
Enlarge this image toggle caption Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
The United States has now surpassed five million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 160,000 deaths from the virus as tens of millions of Americans file for unemployment, causing experts to debate how the nation should respond.
Neel Kashkari, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, says the answer should be a return to mandated lockdowns in every state for up to six weeks in an effort to save both lives and the economy.
"If we aren't willing to take this action, millions more cases with many more deaths are likely before a vaccine might be available," Kashkari wrote in a New York Times op-ed on Friday alongside Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Kashkari says lockdowns were having a positive effect during the spring. The problem, he told NPR's All Things Considered on Sunday, is that "we threw in the towel before the health officials had actually gotten control of the virus."
Giving up too early cost the economy, says Kashkari. What the country needs now, he says, is "a more stringent, uniform lockdown state-by-state" until the virus can be brought under control. "Then we can return to normal economic activity with more confidence."
Interview Highlights
On the economic argument for a more strict lockdown
The economic argument is what we're doing right now isn't working. We did a modest lockdown and then we let up far too quickly according to the public health experts, and now our economy is only very slowly recovering. Many people feel scared to go back into restaurants, so restaurants can't return to normal.
We're not really going to be able to return to a robust economy until we get control of the virus, and at 50,000 cases a day it's spreading like wildfire throughout the country. So unfortunately, yes, a lockdown for six weeks would impose short term pain, but I believe we as a country can afford to support Americans through that short term lockdown so then we can reopen and have a vigorous economy, have kids returning to school.
I want us to get back to a robust economy as quickly as possible. This is much faster than allowing the virus to spread uncontrolled.
On the concern that increasing federal unemployment benefits will wrack up federal debt
Well one of the things that has happened in this recession that is unlike any recession in modern times, our savings rate has taken off. It's really curious. Those of us, like me, who have been able to keep our jobs, we're actually saving more money because we're not going out to restaurants or movies or on vacations. So the personal savings rates soared from about 8% to 20%.
The way it works is that money then gets put in the bank, or put into a money market fund, and those resources are available so that when the government runs deficits, it doesn't have to borrow as much from abroad because we're generating savings domestically. It is much safer for a country to fund its own government deficits from its own people than it is to borrow from abroad.
So it turns out, we can actually fund the additional unemployment benefits, for example, or additional support to small businesses from our own domestic resources. That is much, much better than having to borrow it from abroad. So this recession is very unique in how we've shut down part of the economy because it's also generating savings that can support the workers who are most affected. I know it's complicated, but this is a unique moment when the traditional concerns about government deficits, debt to GDP, do not apply.
Will Jarvis and Tinbete Ermyas produced and edited the audio version of this story.


npr--2020-08-09--Democrats Slam Trump's Executive Actions, Critiquing Both Substance And Legality

Democrats on Sunday slammed President Trump 's executive actions aimed at providing economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic , saying the measures are both ineffective and unconstitutional .
Trump signed three memoranda and one executive order at his Bedminster , N.J. , golf resort on Saturday amid stalled negotiations with Congress over a new COVID-19 relief package .
The measures would extend some federal unemployment benefits , continue the suspension of student loan repayment , defer payroll tax collection for many workers , and task federal officials with reviewing `` resources that may be used to prevent evictions and foreclosures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voicing concerns about the president 's moves to control federal spending , which is a power reserved for Congress .
Andrew Rudalevige , chair of the Department of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College , told NPR on Saturday that the unemployment benefits measure is particularly controversial because it is `` really using appropriated funds by Congress in ways that Congress might not have intended . ''
Trump calls for using billions of unused dollars from the Department of Homeland Security 's Disaster Relief Fund for the unemployment payments .
Rudalevige added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` fairly rapidly , '' citing the specific measures regarding unemployment appropriations and the payroll tax , which funds Social Security and Medicare .
`` The president can defer the payroll tax , but he ca n't forgive it , '' Rudalevige said .
`` He talked about terminating the tax [ if he wins reelection ] , but that would certainly require a law to do that .
So I think you will see pushback here . ''
Pushback from lawmakers was swift , and mounted over the weekend .
Mostly it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservatives too .
`` Our Constitution does n't authorize the president to act as king whenever Congress does n't legislate , '' said Libertarian-leaning Michigan Congressman Justin Amash , who left the Republican Party last year to become an independent .
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska wrote in a statement that Trump does not have the power to `` unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law . ''
`` The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop , '' he said .
But several members of the Trump administration defended the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic adviser Larry Kudlow responded to Sasse 's comments about the payroll tax deferral on ABC 's This Week .
`` I appreciate those things , maybe we 're going to go to court on them , '' Kudlow said .
`` We 're going to go ahead with our actions anyway .
Our counsel 's office , the Treasury Department believes it has the authority to temporarily suspend tax collections , so we 're banking on that . ''
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said all of the actions cleared the administration 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against potential challengers .
`` If Democrats want to challenge us in court and hold up unemployment benefits to those hard-working Americans that are out of a job because of COVID , they 're going to have a lot of explaining to do , '' Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday .
Rudalevige told NPR that it is `` conceivable '' that Congress itself could have standing to sue over the question of unemployment appropriations , and noted that the House sued then-President Barack Obama over spending on the Affordable Care Act .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Union on Sunday , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif. , called Trump 's executive actions unconstitutional but sidestepped a question about whether she would sue to block them .
`` My constitutional advisers tell me they 're absurdly unconstitutional , and that 's a parallel thing , '' Pelosi said .
`` Right now the focus , the priority , has to be on ... meeting the needs of the American people . ''
In response to a question about whether a future stimulus package would make the executive actions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adviser Peter Navarro told NBC 's Meet the Press that there would be no need for the president to act if Congress could come to an agreement .
`` The Lord and the Founding Fathers created executive orders because of partisan bickering and divided government , '' he said .
Several GOP lawmakers , including Sens .
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee , praised the president for taking action but said they would prefer a congressional agreement , with Alexander calling on Democrats to `` stop blocking commonsense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a return to negotiations , saying the president 's measures fall short .
In a joint statement issued Saturday evening , Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y. , called the executive actions `` unworkable , weak and narrow . ''
They said the measures will cut families ' unemployment benefits from the recently expired $ 600-a-week benefits , exacerbate states ' budget crises , and endanger seniors ' Social Security and Medicare .
And they said Trump 's actions ignore important issues like increasing testing , reopening schools and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to `` return to the table , meet us halfway and work together to deliver immediate relief to the American people . ''
Talks on Capitol Hill to reach a new COVID-19 relief bill have stalled , with Republicans and Democrats still trillions of dollars apart after weeks of negotiations .
Schumer said on ABC 's This Week that Democrats had been willing to compromise on their $ 3.4 trillion bill , with Pelosi suggesting to White House negotiators that Democrats go down $ 1 trillion and Republicans go up $ 1 trillion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Schumer said .
`` I said to them , 'This means it 's your way or the highway ? '
And they basically said yes .
That is not the way to create a deal . ''
Both Schumer and Pelosi reiterated on Sunday that they hope talks will resume .
Mnuchin told Fox that Democrats refuse to negotiate on state and local aid and enhanced unemployment benefits , but that on almost every other issue `` we 've come to an agreement . ''

Democrats Slam Trump's Executive Actions, Critiquing Both Substance And Legality
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jim Watson /AFP via Getty Images Jim Watson /AFP via Getty Images
Democrats on Sunday slammed President Trump's executive actions aimed at providing economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic, saying the measures are both ineffective and unconstitutional.
Trump signed three memoranda and one executive order at his Bedminster, N.J., golf resort on Saturday amid stalled negotiations with Congress over a new COVID-19 relief package.
The measures would extend some federal unemployment benefits, continue the suspension of student loan repayment, defer payroll tax collection for many workers, and task federal officials with reviewing "resources that may be used to prevent evictions and foreclosures."
Some lawmakers and experts are voicing concerns about the president's moves to control federal spending, which is a power reserved for Congress.
Andrew Rudalevige, chair of the Department of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College, told NPR on Saturday that the unemployment benefits measure is particularly controversial because it is "really using appropriated funds by Congress in ways that Congress might not have intended."
Trump calls for using billions of unused dollars from the Department of Homeland Security's Disaster Relief Fund for the unemployment payments.
Rudalevige added that he expects legal challenges to move "fairly rapidly," citing the specific measures regarding unemployment appropriations and the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare.
"The president can defer the payroll tax, but he can't forgive it," Rudalevige said. "He talked about terminating the tax [if he wins reelection], but that would certainly require a law to do that. So I think you will see pushback here."
Pushback from lawmakers was swift, and mounted over the weekend. Mostly it came from Democrats, but from some conservatives too.
"Our Constitution doesn't authorize the president to act as king whenever Congress doesn't legislate," said Libertarian-leaning Michigan Congressman Justin Amash, who left the Republican Party last year to become an independent.
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska wrote in a statement that Trump does not have the power to "unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law."
"The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop," he said.
Politics Legal Questions Follow Trump's Executive Actions Legal Questions Follow Trump's Executive Orders On Stimulus Package Listen · 5:59 5:59
But several members of the Trump administration defended the president's actions on Sunday.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow responded to Sasse's comments about the payroll tax deferral on ABC's This Week. "I appreciate those things, maybe we're going to go to court on them," Kudlow said. "We're going to go ahead with our actions anyway. Our counsel's office, the Treasury Department believes it has the authority to temporarily suspend tax collections, so we're banking on that."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said all of the actions cleared the administration's Office of Legal Counsel. He warned against potential challengers.
"If Democrats want to challenge us in court and hold up unemployment benefits to those hard-working Americans that are out of a job because of COVID, they're going to have a lot of explaining to do," Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday.
Rudalevige told NPR that it is "conceivable" that Congress itself could have standing to sue over the question of unemployment appropriations, and noted that the House sued then-President Barack Obama over spending on the Affordable Care Act.
In an appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Trump's executive actions unconstitutional but sidestepped a question about whether she would sue to block them.
"My constitutional advisers tell me they're absurdly unconstitutional, and that's a parallel thing," Pelosi said. "Right now the focus, the priority, has to be on ... meeting the needs of the American people."
In response to a question about whether a future stimulus package would make the executive actions null and void, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told NBC's Meet the Press that there would be no need for the president to act if Congress could come to an agreement.
"The Lord and the Founding Fathers created executive orders because of partisan bickering and divided government," he said.
Several GOP lawmakers, including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, praised the president for taking action but said they would prefer a congressional agreement, with Alexander calling on Democrats to "stop blocking commonsense proposals."
Democratic leaders also called for a return to negotiations, saying the president's measures fall short.
In a joint statement issued Saturday evening, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the executive actions "unworkable, weak and narrow."
They said the measures will cut families' unemployment benefits from the recently expired $600-a-week benefits, exacerbate states' budget crises, and endanger seniors' Social Security and Medicare. And they said Trump's actions ignore important issues like increasing testing, reopening schools and safeguarding elections.
The leaders urged Republicans to "return to the table, meet us halfway and work together to deliver immediate relief to the American people."
Talks on Capitol Hill to reach a new COVID-19 relief bill have stalled, with Republicans and Democrats still trillions of dollars apart after weeks of negotiations.
Schumer said on ABC's This Week that Democrats had been willing to compromise on their $3.4 trillion bill, with Pelosi suggesting to White House negotiators that Democrats go down $1 trillion and Republicans go up $1 trillion.
"They said absolutely not," Schumer said. "I said to them, 'This means it's your way or the highway?' And they basically said yes. That is not the way to create a deal."
Both Schumer and Pelosi reiterated on Sunday that they hope talks will resume.
Mnuchin told Fox that Democrats refuse to negotiate on state and local aid and enhanced unemployment benefits, but that on almost every other issue "we've come to an agreement."