npr--2020-05-20--More Lysol, No More Pens In Rooms. Hotels Adapt To Win Back Guests

More Lysol , No More Pens In Rooms .
Hotels Adapt To Win Back Guests In normal times , hotels promote their star chefs or their swanky design upgrades .
But priorities have changed .
In the age of the coronavirus , the news from Hilton is a partnership — with Lysol .
As hotel guests begin to return , the standard expectation of hygiene has been elevated to `` where it 's cleanliness almost with a double exclamation point after it , '' says Phil Cordell , Hilton 's global head of brand development .
Hotels have been devastated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 hotel rooms in the U.S. remain empty , according to the research firm STR .
And that 's the hotels that are actually open .
To survive , they are adapting — not just with extra-deep cleaning , but with technology that allows for more contactless interactions .
And some amenities that guests normally find in their rooms are going away .
The challenges for an industry reeling from massive layoffs and lost revenue are daunting .
A comeback will start with baby steps .
At Hilton and other hotels , guests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and visibly — for cleanliness and for psychological reassurance , says Jim Coyle of Coyle Hospitality , a customer experience consulting company .
`` When you get a guest key , you will see the staff members , '' he says .
`` They will conspicuously wipe the guest key in front of you before they hand it to you .
When you arrive at a desk , you 're going to see hotel staff wiping the desk clean in front of you even though there 's nothing on it . ''
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there will be more efforts at reassurance .
Marriott International has identified 12 touch points for extra disinfectant , including doorknobs , thermostats , door handles and drawer knobs .
Hilton is teaming up with RB , the parent company of Lysol , and the Mayo Clinic .
As Hilton rolls out its CleanStay campaign , Cordell says guests will notice some familiar objects missing .
`` They will see that some of the items in the room that could likely be fingerprinted by previous guests — magazines , notepads , pens — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room , '' he says .
And there 's likely to be more .
Coyle says the hotel-room phone has probably seen its last days because of the coronavirus .
And what about that most divisive object in the hotel room ?
`` I think the death of the minibar is probably finally here , '' Coyle says .
The remote control will likely be encased in a plastic bag or envelope with a sticker indicating it has been disinfected .
Hotels will be promoting apps that allow guests to check in without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more ambitious technology — a digital key — that allows guests to unlock their rooms with their phones is likely to become more commonplace .
All these steps have one purpose : to assure travelers that hotels are safe — or at least as safe as they possibly can be while the coronavirus is still with us .
An early test will be convincing business travelers like Liz Oppenheim , who lives outside Boston .
She 's itching to get back on the road .
`` The longer I go without traveling , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like a person , '' she says .
`` I literally have dreams almost every night about traveling . ''
Oppenheim works with pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials and normally spends three or four nights a week in hotels .
She enjoys it .
For one thing , she racks up a lot of loyalty points .
`` I have all the statuses , '' she says with a laugh .
For now , her travel is on pause .
And as Oppenheim contemplates staying in hotels again , there 's one word @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` There 's something about slipping between the sheets — the clean , white crisp sheets of a hotel — that 's just incredibly relaxing , especially if you 've ... had a hard , tense day at work , and it 's just so wonderful .
But I think I will be anxious . ''
As hotels spray , disinfect and purge their rooms of pens , magazines and notepads , they may eliminate germs .
But will they eliminate anxiety ?
Hotels are about to find out .

More Lysol, No More Pens In Rooms. Hotels Adapt To Win Back Guests
Enlarge this image nico_blue/Getty Images nico_blue/Getty Images
In normal times, hotels promote their star chefs or their swanky design upgrades. But priorities have changed. In the age of the coronavirus, the news from Hilton is a partnership — with Lysol.
As hotel guests begin to return, the standard expectation of hygiene has been elevated to "where it's cleanliness almost with a double exclamation point after it," says Phil Cordell, Hilton's global head of brand development.
Hotels have been devastated by the pandemic. Seven out of 10 hotel rooms in the U.S. remain empty, according to the research firm STR. And that's the hotels that are actually open. To survive, they are adapting — not just with extra-deep cleaning, but with technology that allows for more contactless interactions. And some amenities that guests normally find in their rooms are going away.
The challenges for an industry reeling from massive layoffs and lost revenue are daunting. A comeback will start with baby steps. At Hilton and other hotels, guests can expect disinfectants to be applied liberally and visibly — for cleanliness and for psychological reassurance, says Jim Coyle of Coyle Hospitality, a customer experience consulting company.
"When you get a guest key, you will see the staff members," he says. "They will conspicuously wipe the guest key in front of you before they hand it to you. When you arrive at a desk, you're going to see hotel staff wiping the desk clean in front of you even though there's nothing on it."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Will Newton/Hilton Will Newton/Hilton
And when you get to your room, there will be more efforts at reassurance. Marriott International has identified 12 touch points for extra disinfectant, including doorknobs, thermostats, door handles and drawer knobs.
Hilton is teaming up with RB, the parent company of Lysol, and the Mayo Clinic. As Hilton rolls out its CleanStay campaign, Cordell says guests will notice some familiar objects missing. "They will see that some of the items in the room that could likely be fingerprinted by previous guests — magazines, notepads, pens — those items have been removed from the room," he says.
And there's likely to be more. Coyle says the hotel-room phone has probably seen its last days because of the coronavirus. And what about that most divisive object in the hotel room? "I think the death of the minibar is probably finally here," Coyle says.
The remote control will likely be encased in a plastic bag or envelope with a sticker indicating it has been disinfected.
Hotels will be promoting apps that allow guests to check in without interacting with the front desk. A more ambitious technology — a digital key — that allows guests to unlock their rooms with their phones is likely to become more commonplace.
All these steps have one purpose: to assure travelers that hotels are safe — or at least as safe as they possibly can be while the coronavirus is still with us.
An early test will be convincing business travelers like Liz Oppenheim, who lives outside Boston. She's itching to get back on the road.
"The longer I go without traveling, the more I just don't feel like a person," she says. "I literally have dreams almost every night about traveling."
Oppenheim works with pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials and normally spends three or four nights a week in hotels. She enjoys it. For one thing, she racks up a lot of loyalty points. "I have all the statuses," she says with a laugh.
For now, her travel is on pause. And as Oppenheim contemplates staying in hotels again, there's one word she uses a lot: anxious.
"There's something about slipping between the sheets — the clean, white crisp sheets of a hotel — that's just incredibly relaxing, especially if you've ... had a hard, tense day at work, and it's just so wonderful. But I think I will be anxious."
As hotels spray, disinfect and purge their rooms of pens, magazines and notepads, they may eliminate germs. But will they eliminate anxiety? Hotels are about to find out.


npr--2020-05-20--Progressives See Coronavirus Crisis As A Chance To Make Big, Lasting Policy Changes

Progressives See Coronavirus Crisis As A Chance To Make Big , Lasting Policy Changes Democrats said the $ 3 trillion coronavirus aid bill that was approved last week in the House of Representatives is meant to meet the needs of everyday Americans .
Republicans dismissed that same bill as a partisan attempt to enact a longstanding wish list of Democratic policy priorities .
`` Over 80 % of the bill we have already passed in one way , shape or form , '' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif. , told reporters last week .
`` So , now we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We 're open to negotiation . ''
The bill that passed the House on Friday is full of proposals Democrats on the left have been pitching for years — from a more generous allowance for food stamps to changes in the way people qualify for federal benefits .
Many progressives see the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus and the public health response as proof that more expansive social policies are needed now , and in the future , to help people survive in times of crisis .
`` The coronavirus pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety net and has brought into stark relief issues that we knew were there , '' said Rep. Katherine Clark , D-Mass.
, the House Democratic Caucus vice chair .
`` Now we can see their devastating impacts so clearly . ''
Among the policies Clark supported in the House bill is a provision to provide funding for child care providers .
She said women have always borne the brunt of the effects when schools and day care centers are closed .
The issue is playing out on an enormous scale with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 50 billion in immediate child care funding .
They also advocated for another $ 50 billion to fund long-term structural change .
Republicans , such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , call that logic gross politics .
`` Democrats can not stop salivating , salivating over the possibilities for partisan gain , '' McConnell said last week on the Senate floor .
`` Eighty-thousand Americans have died .
More than 20 million have lost their jobs .
I call that a crisis .
They call it leverage . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for programs that are gaining public support in the crisis .
Rep. Rosa DeLauro , D-Conn. , said until the coronavirus hit , Republicans generally did n't support any expansion of domestic spending intended to help people in a crisis .
Now there is a crisis , and Democrats want to use this moment to remake the system .
`` These folks have never wanted to go down this road and protect what was a social safety net that we 've had in the past and a new social safety net for people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in an interview .
`` I 've been fighting for these issues for a very , very long time , OK .
I 'm trying to deal with the pandemic . ''
Democrats have a running list of policies they said are helping now during the coronavirus crisis and could be used to support people during any future economic dip .
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon , the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee , said he wants to tie the expanded benefits that passed in the CARES Act to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposal would allow the benefits to ebb and flow to meet the economy .
Wyden said the existing system has n't worked for a long time .
Many states provide benefits below the minimum wage , and the system does not regularly support people who are paid contractors or work in the so-called gig economy .
`` The unemployment system , which was invented in the 1930s , is still in kind of a time warp , '' Wyden said .
`` Nobody ever heard of a gig worker back in the 1930s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response as a chance to prove that policies they support can work and should be made permanent .
Some of these benefits , such as extra unemployment assistance , already got big bipartisan support and will be harder to take away later .
Moderates , such as Rep. Stephanie Murphy , D-Fla. , are not eager to use the coronavirus to advocate for long-term spending increases .
Murphy , who is a co-chair of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition , said any policies need to be reevaluated over time .
`` I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really highlight the deficiencies in our society , '' Murphy said in an interview .
`` But I also believe that the best approach to legislating in a divided Congress is to do what is possible and that means it has to be able to make it through a divided Congress and signed by a Republican president .
Only things that become law can actually help the people that we 're trying to assist . ''
Several moderate Democrats , including Rep. Abigail Spanberger , D-Va. , voted against the $ 3 trillion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unfortunately , many members of Congress — including some in my own party — have decided to use this package as an opportunity to make political statements and propose a bill that goes far beyond pandemic relief and has no chance at becoming law , '' Spanberger said in a statement .
`` We must come together to build a targeted , timely relief package that avoids partisan posturing and instead prioritizes combating our nationwide public health emergency , addressing catastrophic unemployment rates , and protecting the security of the next generation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ options out there .
She pointed to funding for state and local governments that can bring the two parties together and a proposal to extend and expand a tax credit for businesses that keep employees on the payroll during the crisis .
Those bipartisan proposals may succeed in the near-term , but progressives are also looking to see how their policies can be sustained well into the future .
Democrats are hoping to take control of the Senate and the White House in November , which would make it easier to build on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Progressives See Coronavirus Crisis As A Chance To Make Big, Lasting Policy Changes
Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP
Democrats said the $3 trillion coronavirus aid bill that was approved last week in the House of Representatives is meant to meet the needs of everyday Americans. Republicans dismissed that same bill as a partisan attempt to enact a longstanding wish list of Democratic policy priorities.
Progressive Democrats don't exactly dispute that.
"Over 80% of the bill we have already passed in one way, shape or form," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters last week. "So, now we're putting our offer on the table. We're open to negotiation."
The bill that passed the House on Friday is full of proposals Democrats on the left have been pitching for years — from a more generous allowance for food stamps to changes in the way people qualify for federal benefits. Many progressives see the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus and the public health response as proof that more expansive social policies are needed now, and in the future, to help people survive in times of crisis.
"The coronavirus pandemic has exposed gaping holes in our social safety net and has brought into stark relief issues that we knew were there," said Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the House Democratic Caucus vice chair. "Now we can see their devastating impacts so clearly."
Among the policies Clark supported in the House bill is a provision to provide funding for child care providers. She said women have always borne the brunt of the effects when schools and day care centers are closed. The issue is playing out on an enormous scale with the coronavirus. Clark and other Democrats proposed $50 billion in immediate child care funding. They also advocated for another $50 billion to fund long-term structural change.
Republicans, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., call that logic gross politics.
"Democrats cannot stop salivating, salivating over the possibilities for partisan gain," McConnell said last week on the Senate floor. "Eighty-thousand Americans have died. More than 20 million have lost their jobs. I call that a crisis. They call it leverage."
Progressive Democrats said they are simply advocating for programs that are gaining public support in the crisis.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said until the coronavirus hit, Republicans generally didn't support any expansion of domestic spending intended to help people in a crisis. Now there is a crisis, and Democrats want to use this moment to remake the system.
"These folks have never wanted to go down this road and protect what was a social safety net that we've had in the past and a new social safety net for people in today's world," DeLauro said in an interview. "I've been fighting for these issues for a very, very long time, OK. I'm trying to deal with the pandemic."
Democrats have a running list of policies they said are helping now during the coronavirus crisis and could be used to support people during any future economic dip.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said he wants to tie the expanded benefits that passed in the CARES Act to the unemployment rate going forward. Such a proposal would allow the benefits to ebb and flow to meet the economy.
Wyden said the existing system hasn't worked for a long time. Many states provide benefits below the minimum wage, and the system does not regularly support people who are paid contractors or work in the so-called gig economy.
"The unemployment system, which was invented in the 1930s, is still in kind of a time warp," Wyden said. "Nobody ever heard of a gig worker back in the 1930s."
Many progressives see the coronavirus response as a chance to prove that policies they support can work and should be made permanent.
Some of these benefits, such as extra unemployment assistance, already got big bipartisan support and will be harder to take away later.
Not all Democrats necessarily agree.
Moderates, such as Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., are not eager to use the coronavirus to advocate for long-term spending increases. Murphy, who is a co-chair of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, said any policies need to be reevaluated over time.
"I agree that in a crisis, you really highlight the deficiencies in our society," Murphy said in an interview. "But I also believe that the best approach to legislating in a divided Congress is to do what is possible and that means it has to be able to make it through a divided Congress and signed by a Republican president. Only things that become law can actually help the people that we're trying to assist."
Several moderate Democrats, including Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., voted against the $3 trillion House bill over similar concerns.
"Unfortunately, many members of Congress — including some in my own party — have decided to use this package as an opportunity to make political statements and propose a bill that goes far beyond pandemic relief and has no chance at becoming law," Spanberger said in a statement.
"We must come together to build a targeted, timely relief package that avoids partisan posturing and instead prioritizes combating our nationwide public health emergency, addressing catastrophic unemployment rates, and protecting the security of the next generation."
Murphy said there are clear bipartisan options out there. She pointed to funding for state and local governments that can bring the two parties together and a proposal to extend and expand a tax credit for businesses that keep employees on the payroll during the crisis.
Those bipartisan proposals may succeed in the near-term, but progressives are also looking to see how their policies can be sustained well into the future. Democrats are hoping to take control of the Senate and the White House in November, which would make it easier to build on temporary programs and permanently remake the system.


npr--2020-05-20--To Figure Out Who's A Citizen, Trump Administration Is Using These Records

To Figure Out Who 's A Citizen , Trump Administration Is Using These Records You will not find a citizenship question on the 2020 census forms .
But in the months since federal courts permanently blocked the Trump administration from asking the hotly-contested question for this year 's national head count , the administration has been pushing ahead with a backup plan — amassing government records to try to determine the U.S. citizenship status of every adult living in the country .
Information from the U.S. Army , federal prisons and the Department of the Interior 's law enforcement system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ records the Census Bureau says it is using to comply with President Trump 's executive order for citizenship data , according to a memo the bureau quietly posted on its website earlier this month .
Previously released government documents have confirmed the bureau is also compiling IRS tax forms and data from Medicare and Medicaid , as well as records from the Department of Homeland Security , Social Security Administration , and State Department .
The bureau has also asked states to share their driver 's license records , and in November , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an agreement to turn over monthly data about license and ID card holders ' citizenship status , names , addresses , dates of birth , sex , race and eye color .
Put together , these records could be used to yield data that could radically change political mapmaking and shift the balance of political power across the U.S. over the next decade .
Instead of drawing voting districts based on the number of overall residents in an area , the citizenship data the Trump administration wants created — detailed down to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allow mapmakers to redistrict using the number of citizens old enough to vote .
A GOP strategist concluded that excluding U.S. citizens under the age of 18 and noncitizens , both those lawfully and unlawfully in the country , from the numbers used to remake political maps would be `` advantageous to Republicans & Non-Hispanic Whites . ''
That method of redistricting was one of the main uses of the data outlined in Trump 's executive order , which also noted that the information could help the government `` generate a more reliable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country . ''
Last year , U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced in the White House Rose Garden that the citizenship data `` may be relevant '' in an ongoing federal lawsuit the state of Alabama and Rep. Mo Brooks , a Republican from that state , has filed against the Census Bureau to get unauthorized immigrants excluded from the 2020 census numbers used to redistribute congressional seats and Electoral College votes among the states .
The coronavirus outbreak and the changes it 's forced upon the bureau 's 2020 census plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the citizenship data .
Last month , the bureau said in a regulatory document that it plans to announce its final plans for citizenship data by Oct. 31 .
The pandemic-related delays have led the bureau to ask Congress to push back by four months the legal deadlines for delivering the results of the 2020 census , including redistricting data the bureau now would like to provide to the states by the end of July 2021 .
If a new law is passed that allows for that extension , the bureau is also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ordered by Trump by July 31 , 2021 , James Whitehorne , the head of the Census Bureau 's redistricting and voting rights data office , told redistricting officials last month during a webinar organized by the National Conference of State Legislatures .
The House Democrats ' new coronavirus relief bill does allow for a deadline extension for redistricting data from the 2020 census .
But the bill — which is not expected to get support from the Republican-controlled Senate — also includes a provision that would stop the efforts to create the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Asked how the more recently disclosed sources of records are helping the Census Bureau 's researchers develop citizenship data , the bureau 's public information office directed NPR to slides the agency 's officials presented last year that said they help researchers link records about the same individual and determine whether that person is a U.S. citizen .
The Census Bureau is obtaining these records through sharing agreements negotiated with the other agencies , and the bureau has said the records are `` stripped of any personal identifiable information and are used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They can not be shared in identifiable form with any other government agency or the public , '' the bureau emphasized in a technical document on its webpage about the citizenship data .
Still , Latinx community groups in Arizona and Texas represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC are trying to stop the release of the citizenship data with a federal lawsuit against the administration .
The challengers contend the production of the data is part of a conspiracy to prevent Latinos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fair political representation .
In response to the Census Bureau 's announcement last month about delaying its field operations for the 2020 census , Thomas Saenz , MALDEF 's president and general counsel , called continued work on citizenship data a `` dangerous diversion from the necessity of concentrating on Census 2020 in the Bureau and from accomplishing pandemic recovery efforts in other federal and state agencies . ''
Amy O'Hara , who previously led the Census Bureau 's Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications , has also warned about the dangers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to creating more detailed citizen voting age population data , also known as CVAP .
`` The sources for CVAP are mostly new to the Census Bureau , requiring more effort to understand the files and how to appropriately link it with other data , '' O'Hara , who is now a research professor at Georgetown University 's Massive Data Institute , says in an email .
`` This competes with staff time for planned uses of administrative data , and with emerging needs during the pandemic , like correctly counting college students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be useful to at least one state .
Missouri state lawmakers approved a resolution last week that includes a ballot initiative that would require the state 's house and senate districts to be drawn `` on the basis of one person , one vote . ''
Critics of the proposed constitutional amendment worry that it could lead to redistricting based on the number of citizens old enough to vote rather than of all residents , including children .
`` The Supreme Court held in 2016 that it is constitutional to draw districts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so that every district has the same number of people , '' explains Michael Li , a redistricting expert who is a senior counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice 's Democracy Program , in an email .
`` But the court left open the question of whether it might also be constitutional to use another population basis , such as eligible voters .
That open question could be one of the big fights of this decade . ''

To Figure Out Who's A Citizen, Trump Administration Is Using These Records
Enlarge this image toggle caption Mario Tama/Getty Images Mario Tama/Getty Images
Updated at 10:10 a.m. ET
You will not find a citizenship question on the 2020 census forms.
But in the months since federal courts permanently blocked the Trump administration from asking the hotly contested question for this year's national head count, the administration has been pushing ahead with a backup plan — amassing government records to try to determine the U.S. citizenship status of every adult living in the country.
Information from the U.S. Army, federal prisons and the Department of the Interior's law enforcement system are among the newly disclosed batch of records the Census Bureau says it is using to comply with President Trump's executive order for citizenship data, according to a memo the bureau quietly posted on its website this month.
Previously released government documents have confirmed that the bureau is also compiling IRS tax forms and data from Medicare and Medicaid, as well as records from the Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration and State Department. The bureau has also asked states to share their driver's license records, and in November, Nebraska's Department of Motor Vehicles signed an agreement to turn over monthly data about license and ID card holders' citizenship status, names, addresses, dates of birth, sex, race and eye color.
Put together, these records could be used to yield data that could radically change political mapmaking and shift the balance of political power across the United States over the next decade.
Instead of drawing voting districts based on the number of overall residents in an area, the citizenship data the Trump administration wants created — detailed down to the level of a census block — may allow mapmakers to redistrict using the number of citizens old enough to vote. A GOP strategist concluded that excluding U.S. citizens under the age of 18 and noncitizens, both those lawfully and unlawfully in the country, from the numbers used to remake political maps would be "advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites."
That method of redistricting was one of the main uses of the data outlined in Trump's executive order, which also noted that the information could help the government "generate a more reliable count of the unauthorized alien population in the country."
Last year, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced in the White House Rose Garden that the citizenship data "may be relevant" in an ongoing federal lawsuit the state of Alabama and Rep. Mo Brooks, a Republican from that state, has filed against the Census Bureau to get unauthorized immigrants excluded from the 2020 census numbers used to redistribute congressional seats and Electoral College votes among the states.
But the Census Bureau is not planning to release estimates of noncitizens living in the U.S. or a breakdown between unauthorized immigrants and green card holders, according to a technical document on its webpage about the citizenship data. Instead, the document says the bureau is working on data tables that show estimates of the voting-age citizen population, as well as groupings by race and ethnicity.
The coronavirus outbreak and the changes it has forced upon the bureau's 2020 census plans have interrupted the agency's work on the citizenship data. Last month, the bureau said in a regulatory document that it plans to announce its final plans for citizenship data by Oct. 31.
The pandemic-related delays have led the bureau to ask Congress to push back by four months the legal deadlines for delivering the results of the 2020 census, including redistricting data the bureau now would like to provide to the states by the end of July 2021.
If a new law is passed that allows for that extension, the bureau is also expecting to release the citizenship data as ordered by Trump by July 31, 2021, James Whitehorne, the head of the Census Bureau's redistricting and voting rights data office, told redistricting officials last month during a webinar organized by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The House Democrats' new coronavirus relief bill does allow for a deadline extension for redistricting data from the 2020 census. But the bill — which is not expected to get support from the Republican-controlled Senate — also includes a provision that would stop the efforts to create the citizenship data requested by the Trump administration.
Asked how the more recently disclosed sources of records are helping the Census Bureau's researchers develop citizenship data, the bureau's public information office directed NPR to slides the agency's officials presented last year that said they help researchers link records about the same individual and determine whether that person is a U.S. citizen.
The Census Bureau is obtaining these records through sharing agreements negotiated with the other agencies, and the bureau has said the records are "stripped of any personal identifiable information and are used for statistical purposes only."
"They cannot be shared in identifiable form with any other government agency or the public," the bureau emphasized in its technical document about citizenship data.
Still, Latinx community groups in Arizona and Texas represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Asian Americans Advancing Justice are trying to stop the release of the citizenship data with a federal lawsuit against the administration. The challengers contend that the production of the data is part of a conspiracy to prevent Latinos, noncitizens and other immigrants from receiving fair political representation.
In response to the Census Bureau's announcement last month about delaying its field operations for the 2020 census, Thomas Saenz, MALDEF's president and general counsel, called continued work on citizenship data a "dangerous diversion from the necessity of concentrating on Census 2020 in the Bureau and from accomplishing pandemic recovery efforts in other federal and state agencies."
Amy O'Hara, who previously led the Census Bureau's Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications, has also warned about the dangers of directing limited resources during the pandemic to creating more detailed citizen voting age population data, also known as CVAP.
"The sources for CVAP are mostly new to the Census Bureau, requiring more effort to understand the files and how to appropriately link it with other data," O'Hara, who is now a research professor at Georgetown University's Massive Data Institute, says in an email. "This competes with staff time for planned uses of administrative data, and with emerging needs during the pandemic, like correctly counting college students."
Still, the citizenship data could be useful to at least one state.
Missouri state lawmakers approved a resolution last week that includes a ballot initiative that would require the state's House and Senate districts to be drawn "on the basis of one person, one vote."
Critics of the proposed constitutional amendment worry that it could lead to redistricting based on the number of citizens old enough to vote rather than of all residents, including children.
"The Supreme Court held in 2016 that it is constitutional to draw districts on the basis of total population, so that every district has the same number of people," Michael Li, a redistricting expert who is a senior counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice's Democracy Program, explains in an email. "But the court left open the question of whether it might also be constitutional to use another population basis, such as eligible voters. That open question could be one of the big fights of this decade."


npr--2020-05-19--Johnson & Johnson Stops Selling Talc-Based Baby Powder In U.S. And Canada

Johnson & Johnson Stops Selling Talc-Based Baby Powder In U.S. And Canada Johnson & Johnson will stop selling talcum-based baby powder in the U.S. and Canada after being ordered to pay out billions of dollars in lost legal battles over claims the product causes cancer .
The company made the announcement Tuesday .
It denied allegations that the powder is responsible for health problems .
`` Demand for talc-based Johnson 's Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ J & J said in a statement .
Separate investigations by Reuters and The New York Times in December 2018 revealed documents showing J & J fretted for decades that small amounts of asbestos lurked in its baby powder .
`` From at least 1971 to the early 2000s , the company 's raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos , and that company executives , mine managers , scientists , doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Reuters reported .
Asbestos can occur naturally underground near talc .
It becomes harmful when it breaks down and lodges in the lung tissue , possibly leading to diseases including lung cancer , asbestosis and mesothelioma .
Company leaders called the news reports `` false and inflammatory . ''
And on Tuesday , they reiterated denials of the veracity of such claims : In 2018 , a St. Louis jury ordered J & J to pay $ 4.7 billion to 22 women and their families who say asbestos the powder contributed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a woman in California who says Johnson & Johnson baby powder caused her to develop mesothelioma was awarded $ 29 million .
The company is appealing the decisions .
The company 's big moneymakers are no longer its lines of household medicine cabinet brands .
`` Fully half of its revenue now comes from pharmaceuticals , used to treat everything from depression to blood clots , '' NPR 's Scott Horsley reported .
That has opened up the company to a variety of other massive lawsuits over its role in the nation 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first to take Johnson & Johnson to court in such a case , accused the company of creating a `` public nuisance '' by oversupplying prescription painkillers .
The state won the case and was eventually awarded $ 465 million .
( The judge had initially ordered a $ 572 million payout in error . )
Stores around the country and in Canada will continue to sell whatever remaining inventory of baby powder remains on their shelves , the company said .
Additionally , cornstarch-based Johnson 's Baby Powder will remain available @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the powder will continue to be sold in other countries around the world `` where there there is significantly higher consumer demand for the product . ''
J & J is one of a handful of companies working with the National Institutes of Health to develop potential treatment options for the coronavirus pandemic and a vaccine for COVID-19 .

Johnson & Johnson Stops Selling Talc-Based Baby Powder In U.S. And Canada
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jeff Chiu/AP Jeff Chiu/AP
Johnson & Johnson will stop selling talcum-based baby powder in the United States and Canada after being ordered to pay out billions of dollars related to lost legal battles over claims the product causes cancer.
The company made the announcement Tuesday. It denied allegations that the powder is responsible for health problems.
"Demand for talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.
Separate investigations by Reuters and The New York Times in December 2018 revealed documents showing Johnson & Johnson fretted for decades that small amounts of asbestos lurked in its baby powder.
"From at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company's raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, and that company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public," Reuters reported.
Asbestos can occur naturally underground near talc. It becomes harmful when it breaks down and lodges in the lung tissue, possibly leading to diseases including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Company leaders called the news reports "false and inflammatory." And on Tuesday, they reiterated denials of the veracity of such claims:
"Decades of scientific studies by medical experts around the world support the safety of our product. We will continue to vigorously defend the product, its safety, and the unfounded allegations against it and the Company in the courtroom. All verdicts against the Company that have been through the appeals process have been overturned."
In 2018, a St. Louis jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $4.7 billion to 22 women and their families who say the powder contributed to their ovarian cancer. Last year, a woman in California who says Johnson & Johnson baby powder caused her to develop mesothelioma was awarded $29 million.
The company is appealing the decisions.
Johnson & Johnson faces more than 16,000 talc-related lawsuits nationwide, Reuters reported.
The company's big moneymakers are no longer its lines of household medicine cabinet brands. "Fully half of its revenue now comes from pharmaceuticals, used to treat everything from depression to blood clots," NPR's Scott Horsley reported.
That has opened up the company to a variety of other massive lawsuits over its role in the nation's opioid crisis.
Oklahoma, which was the first to take Johnson & Johnson to court in such a case, accused the company of creating a "public nuisance" by oversupplying prescription painkillers.
The state won the case and was eventually awarded $465 million. (The judge had initially ordered a $572 million payout in error.)
Stores around the country and in Canada will continue to sell whatever remaining inventory of baby powder remains on their shelves, the company said. Additionally, cornstarch-based Johnson's Baby Powder will remain available in North America.
Both types of the powder will continue to be sold in other countries around the world "where there is significantly higher consumer demand for the product."
Johnson & Johnson is one of a handful of companies working with the National Institutes of Health to develop potential treatment options for the coronavirus pandemic and a vaccine for COVID-19.


npr--2020-05-20--Answering Your Coronavirus Questions: Health Insurance, Jobs And What Kids Are Asking

Answering Your Coronavirus Questions : Health Insurance , Jobs And What Kids Are Asking On this broadcast of The National @ @ @ @ @ your questions about health insurance , job searching during a pandemic and breakups .
We @ @ @ @ @ and the questions they have .

Answering Your Coronavirus Questions: Health Insurance, Jobs And What Kids Are Asking On this broadcast of The National Conversation, we'll answer your questions about health insurance, job searching during a pandemic and breakups. We'll also hear from kids on their questions.


npr--2020-05-20--Barbers Cut Hair On The Michigan Capitol Lawn To Protest Anti-Coronavirus Shutdown

Barbers Cut Hair On The Michigan Capitol Lawn To Protest Anti-Coronavirus Shutdown A protest in Lansing , Mich. , against stay-at-home orders focused on what has become a rallying cry for such demonstrations — haircuts .
The Capitol lawn was turned into a barber shop .
At least a dozen barbers and stylists , highlighting the damage to their shuttered businesses , set up card tables and generators to power the clippers , and people lined up .
There were no temperature checks , few people wearing masks , and little to no social distancing .
Seven hairdressers were ticketed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for refusing to stop .
Sreeny Cherukuri had n't gotten his haircut in three months .
He said he came out to show his support for small businesses .
He said he thinks salons and barber shops are in the spotlight because everyone can relate to them .
`` It 's one of the places you still have a relationship with the provider , '' he said .
`` I do n't really know the name of the guy who works at the gas station , but I do know the names of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so I think that 's why it 's a touch point . ''
For protesters across the country , a haircut is a political statement .
Sen. Ted Cruz , R-Texas , made a statement recently by getting his first pandemic haircut from a hairdresser who was jailed for defying the state 's order to close her salon .
A barber in New York drew the disapproval of state officials , after continuing to give haircuts against orders .
The barber later tested positive for the coronavirus .
Wednesday 's protest was organized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same group that organized Operation Gridlock in Lansing in April .
This protest was billed as Operation Haircut in support of 77-year-old-barber Karl Manke whose license has been revoked and is now in a court battle with the state after opening up his business during the stay-at-home order .
But some customers and business owners are n't so eager to return to salons and barber shops , even those that will open under strict safety protocols .
Nefertiti Harris , owns Textures by Nefertiti , a salon that caters to Detroit 's black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 .
She said she finds it hard to believe that people are protesting to get their hair cut and to open salons and barbers back up .
`` Are they really chomping at the bit to get their hair cut ?
I mean , are those protests really about that ?
I question that .
I do n't even think it 's about a haircut at all .
...
When you have lost so many loved ones to this disease you think twice , '' said Harris .
The freedom to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In states like Missouri and Arkansas , barbers and salons have sprung back to life .
In others , like Michigan , even as remote parts of the state reopen , salons and barbers remain closed , and according to Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer are unlikely to reopen even after the stay-at-home order has been lifted .

Barbers Cut Hair On The Michigan Capitol Lawn To Protest Anti-Coronavirus Shutdown
Enlarge this image toggle caption Abigail Censky/WKAR Abigail Censky/WKAR
A protest in Lansing, Mich., against stay-at-home orders focused on what has become a rallying cry for such demonstrations — haircuts.
The Capitol lawn was turned into a barber shop. At least a dozen barbers and stylists, highlighting the damage to their shuttered businesses, set up card tables and generators to power the clippers, and people lined up.
There were no temperature checks, few people wearing masks, and little to no social distancing. Seven hairdressers were ticketed by Michigan State Police for disorderly conduct for refusing to stop.
Sreeny Cherukuri hadn't gotten his haircut in three months. He said he came out to show his support for small businesses. He said he thinks salons and barber shops are in the spotlight because everyone can relate to them.
"It's one of the places you still have a relationship with the provider," he said. "I don't really know the name of the guy who works at the gas station, but I do know the names of the ladies who cut my hair, so I think that's why it's a touch point."
For protesters across the country, a haircut is a political statement.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, made a statement recently by getting his first pandemic haircut from a hairdresser who was jailed for defying the state's order to close her salon.
A barber in New York drew the disapproval of state officials, after continuing to give haircuts against orders. The barber later tested positive for the coronavirus.
Wednesday's protest was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition, the same group that organized Operation Gridlock in Lansing in April.
This protest was billed as Operation Haircut in support of 77-year-old-barber Karl Manke whose license has been revoked and is now in a court battle with the state after opening up his business during the stay-at-home order.
But some customers and business owners aren't so eager to return to salons and barber shops, even those that will open under strict safety protocols.
Nefertiti Harris, owns Textures by Nefertiti, a salon that caters to Detroit's black community which has been particularly hard-hit by COVID-19.
She said she finds it hard to believe that people are protesting to get their hair cut and to open salons and barbers back up.
"Are they really chomping at the bit to get their hair cut? I mean, are those protests really about that? I question that. I don't even think it's about a haircut at all. ... When you have lost so many loved ones to this disease you think twice," said Harris.
The freedom to make that decision depends on where you live. In states like Missouri and Arkansas, barbers and salons have sprung back to life.
In others, like Michigan, even as remote parts of the state reopen, salons and barbers remain closed, and according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are unlikely to reopen even after the stay-at-home order has been lifted.


npr--2020-05-20--As States Locked Down In March, Motor Vehicle Fatality Rate Spiked By 14%

As States Locked Down In March , Motor Vehicle Fatality Rate Spiked By 14 % In March , as states around the country began implementing stay-at-home orders and commuters got off the road , traffic dropped , but a new National Safety Council report finds that the number of motor vehicle fatalities per miles driven increased by 14 % compared to the March 2019 rate .
The total number of motor-vehicle-related deaths dropped by 8 % in March of this year compared to March 2019 , but the number of miles driven dropped by over 18 % , due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Safety Council analysis counts a fatality as anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident ; drivers , passengers , pedestrians and cyclists .
When the Council compared the number of fatalities to the number of miles driven in March 2020 to March 2019 , that 's where analysts saw the 14 % spike .
`` What really strikes me is the incredible speed of the changes we 're seeing on a roadways , '' Ken Kolosh , manager of statistics at the National Safety Council told NPR .
`` Looking at other recessions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the number of deaths , or the injuries and fatality rate holding steady or decreasing slightly . ''
The Council also found that for every 100 million miles driven in March there were 1.22 deaths on the road , compared to 1.07 in March 2019 .
`` When we see the combination of both a dramatic decrease in number of total deaths coupled with a dramatic increase in the fatality rate on our roads that was very surprising , '' Kolosh said .
In particular during the first three months of 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , New York and California saw significant jumps in roadway fatality rates .
The new nationwide data comes as some regional officials have reported that during the pandemic people have been driving more recklessly and there have been local upticks in car crashes .
The number of pedestrians and cyclists that have been killed by motor vehicles has gone up in recent years .
In 2018 , the number of both pedestrian and cyclist deaths shattered decades-long records .

On Nearly Emptied Roads, Motor Vehicle Fatality Rate Spikes By 14% In March
Enlarge this image toggle caption Richard Vogel/AP Richard Vogel/AP
In March, as states across the country began implementing stay-at-home orders and commuters got off the road, traffic dropped, but a new National Safety Council report finds that the number of motor vehicle fatalities per miles driven increased by 14% compared with the March 2019 rate.
The total number of motor-vehicle-related deaths dropped by 8% in March of this year compared with March 2019, but the number of miles driven dropped by over 18%, because of myriad COVID-19 related impacts.
The National Safety Council analysis counts a fatality as anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident; drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.
When the council compared the number of fatalities with the number of miles driven in March 2020 to March 2019, that's where analysts saw the 14% spike.
"What really strikes me is the incredible speed of the changes we're seeing on a roadways," Ken Kolosh, manager of statistics at the National Safety Council, told NPR. "Looking at other recessions what you usually see is a decrease in the number of deaths, or the injuries and fatality rate holding steady or decreasing slightly."
The council also found that for every 100 million miles driven in March, there were 1.22 deaths on the road, compared with 1.07 in March 2019.
"When we see the combination of both a dramatic decrease in number of total deaths coupled with a dramatic increase in the fatality rate on our roads, that was very surprising," Kolosh said.
In particular during the first three months of 2020, states such as Connecticut, Louisiana, New York and California saw significant jumps in roadway fatality rates.
The new nationwide data comes as some regional officials have reported that during the pandemic, people have been driving more recklessly and there have been local upticks in car crashes.
The number of pedestrians and cyclists who have been killed by motor vehicles has gone up in recent years. In 2018, the number of both pedestrian and cyclist deaths shattered decades-long records.


npr--2020-05-20--Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks House Request For Mueller Grand Jury Evidence

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring the Trump Justice Department to turn over to the House Judiciary Committee secret evidence compiled by the grand jury during the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller last year .
The withheld evidence was first requested more than a year ago , prior to the beginning of formal impeachment proceedings against President Trump , and his acquittal by the Senate this past February .
Two lower courts ordered the evidence turned over to the House Judiciary Committee .
The lower courts said that grand jury records are court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and that similar records in the past have been turned over to Congress as part of impeachment investigations .
The Trump administration , as it has in every other case involving Trump records and investigations , appealed to the Supreme Court , contending that the case presents `` serious separation of powers concerns '' that should be examined by the High Court .
The House , in a Supreme Court filing this week , told the justices that the information is still relevant to an `` ongoing investigation '' and could even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The House said that it was particularly interested in evidence regarding improper political influence over decisions made in the prosecution of Trump 's longtime political adviser and friend Roger Stone , and the prosecution of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn .
Mueller 's April 2019 report stopped short of determining whether there had been any obstruction of justice in the course of the Russia investigation .
Attorney General William Barr did allow House Judiciary Committee members to review material that had been redacted from the publicly released version of the report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committee access to evidence the department considered to be grand jury material .
`` Those redactions bear on whether the president committed impeachable offenses by obstructing the FBI 's and Special Counsel 's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his possible motivations for doing so , '' the House said in its filing this week .
The House went on to request that the Supreme Court leave the lower court orders intact , or , in the alternative , it asked the court to decide before the end of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for review .
The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to file a formal appeal by June 1 .
That could give the court time to grant review by July when it likely will recess for the summer .
Even if the court agrees to hear the case , it almost certainly would not be until October at the earliest , meaning that there would be no decision until after the election .

Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks House Request For Mueller Grand Jury Evidence
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Brandon/AFP via Getty Images Alex Brandon/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring the Trump Justice Department to turn over to the House Judiciary Committee secret evidence compiled by the grand jury during the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller last year.
The withheld evidence was first requested more than a year ago, prior to the beginning of formal impeachment proceedings against President Trump and his acquittal by the Senate this past February.
Two lower courts ordered the evidence turned over to the House Judiciary Committee. The lower courts said that grand jury records are court records, not just Justice Department records, and that similar records in the past have been turned over to Congress as part of impeachment investigations.
The Trump administration, as it has in every other case involving Trump records and investigations, appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that the case presents "serious separation of powers concerns" that should be examined by the high court.
The House, in a Supreme Court filing this week, told the justices that the information is still relevant to an "ongoing investigation" and could even lead to new impeachment charges against Trump.
The House said it was particularly interested in evidence regarding improper political influence over decisions made in the prosecution of Trump's longtime political adviser and friend Roger Stone and the prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Mueller's April 2019 report stopped short of determining whether there had been any obstruction of justice in the course of the Russia investigation. Attorney General William Barr did allow House Judiciary Committee members to review material that had been redacted from the publicly released version of the report.
But Barr refused to allow the committee access to evidence the department considered to be grand jury material.
"Those redactions bear on whether the president committed impeachable offenses by obstructing the FBI's and Special Counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his possible motivations for doing so," the House said in its filing this week.
The House went on to request that the Supreme Court leave the lower court orders intact or, in the alternative, it asked the court to decide before the end of this term whether it will accept the case for review.
The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to file a formal appeal by June 1. That could give the court time to grant review by July, when it likely will recess for the summer. Even if the court agrees to hear the case, it almost certainly would not be until October at the earliest, meaning there would be no decision until after the election.


npr--2020-05-20--Why The Race For A Coronavirus Vaccine Will Depend On Global Cooperation

Why The Race For A Coronavirus Vaccine Will Depend On Global Cooperation These days , it seems any morsel of good news about a coronavirus vaccine sends hopes — and markets — soaring .
The reality is , developing and producing a vaccine is an incredibly complicated process — one that is heavily reliant on global cooperation , says Prashant Yadav , a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development .
Yadav says cooperation is necessary for a number of reasons .
For one , `` just protecting U.S. population wo n't be sufficient for us to resume global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then there 's the matter of simple logistics .
Assuming U.S. researchers are able to discover a vaccine , the spare parts , components and ingredients that would go into manufacturing it all come from a global supply chain .
Cooperation is also a way for the U.S. to hedge its own risks `` in terms of who has the most efficacious vaccine first , '' says Yadav .
`` It may well be that it 's not a U.S. vaccine , so global cooperation will help on all of those three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been working around the world to improve health care supply chains , spoke with All Things Considered on Wednesday about the race for a vaccine .
Here are highlights from the conversation .
How is the U.S. doing on the vaccine effort ?
So , first thing , I think we have some of the top scientists for vaccine development and for vaccine manufacturing and looking at all of these novel platforms here in the U.S. ... Somewhere along the way we backtracked on global collaboration , which may hurt us in some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's also efforts being put in place — one notable one is a public/private partnership that Health and Human Services announced a week or so ago to make new technology for syringes and vaccine containers , which will relieve the global supply chain of some of the pressures in glass vials .
So some things are moving well , especially when it comes to things that manufacturing scientists and clinical scientists control .
Things which are about making sure that our global diplomacy is working , things that are about making sure that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coordinated manner , those are where I think we see some deficiencies .
Is it possible that multiple countries who are working on this will announce successful vaccines around the same time ?
Yeah , so I think what constitutes successful vaccine is somewhat unclear and fuzzy , right ?
I mean , we may not have a successful vaccine in the sense that it is ready to be used at widespread population level for prevention in a country , but we may have earlier vaccines which are more of our smaller population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in specific age groups , and so on .
So I think what is most likely going to happen is that we would have a number of vaccines with slightly varying efficacy profile characteristics around the same time , and then it will be a question of which vaccine does the global convergence circle around or do countries and health systems start paying attention to one or two as compared to just everyone scrambling to get the one vaccine .
And that will determine whether the manufacturing capacity can be more distributed or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Why The Race For A Coronavirus Vaccine Will Depend On Global Cooperation
Enlarge this image toggle caption Douglas Magno /AFP via Getty Images Douglas Magno /AFP via Getty Images
These days, it seems any morsel of good news about a coronavirus vaccine sends hopes — and markets — soaring.
The reality is, developing and producing a vaccine is an incredibly complicated process — one that is heavily reliant on global cooperation, says Prashant Yadav, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.
Yadav says cooperation is necessary for a number of reasons. For one, "just protecting U.S. population won't be sufficient for us to resume global travel and trade," he says.
Then there's the matter of simple logistics. Assuming U.S. researchers are able to discover a vaccine, the spare parts, components and ingredients that would go into manufacturing it all come from a global supply chain.
Cooperation is also a way for the U.S. to hedge its own risks "in terms of who has the most efficacious vaccine first," says Yadav. "It may well be that it's not a U.S. vaccine, so global cooperation will help on all of those three fronts."
Yadav, who has been working around the world to improve health care supply chains, spoke with All Things Considered on Wednesday about the race for a vaccine. Here are highlights from the conversation.
How is the U.S. doing on the vaccine effort?
So, first thing, I think we have some of the top scientists for vaccine development and for vaccine manufacturing and looking at all of these novel platforms here in the U.S. ... Somewhere along the way we backtracked on global collaboration, which may hurt us in some ways. And then I think there's also efforts being put in place — one notable one is a public/private partnership that Health and Human Services announced a week or so ago to make new technology for syringes and vaccine containers, which will relieve the global supply chain of some of the pressures in glass vials.
So some things are moving well, especially when it comes to things that manufacturing scientists and clinical scientists control. Things which are about making sure that our global diplomacy is working, things that are about making sure that we work with this in a multilateral coordinated manner, those are where I think we see some deficiencies.
Is it possible that multiple countries who are working on this will announce successful vaccines around the same time?
Yeah, so I think what constitutes successful vaccine is somewhat unclear and fuzzy, right? I mean, we may not have a successful vaccine in the sense that it is ready to be used at widespread population level for prevention in a country, but we may have earlier vaccines which are more of our smaller population groups, controlling outbreaks or applicable only in specific age groups, and so on. So I think what is most likely going to happen is that we would have a number of vaccines with slightly varying efficacy profile characteristics around the same time, and then it will be a question of which vaccine does the global convergence circle around or do countries and health systems start paying attention to one or two as compared to just everyone scrambling to get the one vaccine. And that will determine whether the manufacturing capacity can be more distributed or will it be all towards one vaccine.


npr--2020-05-20--Florida Governor Defends Firing Of Top Data Scientist

Florida Gov .
Ron DeSantis is defending the firing of the state 's top data scientist tracking the coronavirus pandemic .
Rebekah Jones was ousted from her position with the Department of Health on Monday .
She says she was let go for refusing to manipulate data to support the state 's reopening .
When first asked about Jones ' dismissal , DeSantis on Monday called it a `` nonissue . ''
He said he understood from an email she sent her supervisor that `` she was tired and needed a break . ''
In a statement later that day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communications director , Helen Aguirre Ferré , said , `` Rebekah Jones exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the department , including her unilateral decisions to modify the department 's COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors . ''
In Orlando on Wednesday , where he was with Vice President Pence , DeSantis took up the charge of insubordination and attacked Jones ' claims that she created the state 's highly praised COVID-19 portal .
`` She is not the chief architect of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ false statement , and what she was doing was she was putting data on the portal , which the scientists did n't believe was valid data . ''
Until her dismissal , Jones was the manager of the geographic information system team at Florida 's Department of Health .
She helped create a data portal that for months has provided easily accessible and detailed information on COVID-19 cases broken down by ZIP code .
The Florida COVID-19 dashboard has been praised by researchers in the state and by Dr. Deborah Birx , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Last week , Jones notified public health researchers in an email that she 'd been removed from the project .
`` As a word of caution , '' she wrote , `` I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months .
After all , my commitment to both is largely ( arguably entirely ) the reason I am no longer managing it . ''
After she was fired Monday , Jones told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fla. , that it was because she refused to `` manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen . ''
In Orlando on Wednesday , DeSantis said , `` Our data is available .
Our data is transparent .
In fact , Dr. Birx has talked multiple times about how Florida has the absolute best data .
So any insinuation otherwise is just typical partisan narrative trying to be spun . ''
DeSantis says he has also learned since her firing that Jones faces criminal stalking charges .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a relationship Jones had with another student that turned contentious while she pursued a doctorate at Florida State University .
`` I 've asked the Department of Health to explain to me how someone would be allowed to be charged with that , '' DeSantis said , `` and continue on because this was many months ago . ''
Jones ' removal from the project and her subsequent dismissal have raised questions among researchers about the impartiality and transparency of Florida 's COVID-19 dashboard .
Ben Sawyer , director of LabX at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is investigating how local health systems are coping with COVID-19 cases , said her ouster is `` quite disturbing to me as a scientist and as a citizen . ''
`` Regardless of what you think about reopening Florida , you would like to know what 's going on , '' Sawyer said .
`` This data is our ability to see what 's happening .
I think there are enormous questions that arise when you do n't know if what you see [ is ] fair or accurate . ''
Jones ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Congresswoman Kathy Castor , who represents the Tampa area , is asking the governor to provide immediate answers as to why Jones was fired .
`` Amidst pressure to 'reopen ' the state regardless of data and science , '' Castor wrote , `` transparency is vital to keeping our neighbors safe and ensuring that they have confidence that our government is reporting honestly . ''
State Senator José Javier Rodríguez from Miami is calling for an investigation by Florida 's chief inspector general .
`` Floridians must have confidence that critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behalf of the state is accurate , complete and reliable .
It is especially important during this period of economic reopening that decision-makers in the private and public sector — whether they be leaders of institutions , employers or parents — have access to accurate information as they make decisions impacting the lives and livelihoods of our families and communities . ''

Florida Governor Defends Firing Of Top Data Scientist
Enlarge this image toggle caption Chris O'Meara/AP Chris O'Meara/AP
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending the firing of the state's top data scientist tracking the coronavirus pandemic. Rebekah Jones was ousted from her position with the Department of Health on Monday. She says she was let go for refusing to manipulate data to support the state's reopening.
When first asked about Jones' dismissal, DeSantis on Monday called it a "nonissue." He said he understood from an email she sent her supervisor that "she was tired and needed a break."
In a statement later that day to The Miami Herald, DeSantis' communications director, Helen Aguirre Ferré, said, "Rebekah Jones exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the department, including her unilateral decisions to modify the department's COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors."
In Orlando on Wednesday, where he was with Vice President Pence, DeSantis took up the charge of insubordination and attacked Jones' claims that she created the state's highly praised COVID-19 portal. "She is not the chief architect of our Web portal. That is another false statement, and what she was doing was she was putting data on the portal, which the scientists didn't believe was valid data."
Until her dismissal, Jones was the manager of the geographic information system team at Florida's Department of Health. She helped create a data portal that for months has provided easily accessible and detailed information on COVID-19 cases broken down by ZIP code. The Florida COVID-19 dashboard has been praised by researchers in the state and by Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House's coronavirus task force coordinator.
Last week, Jones notified public health researchers in an email that she'd been removed from the project. "As a word of caution," she wrote, "I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months. After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it."
After she was fired Monday, Jones told CBS12 News in West Palm Beach, Fla., that it was because she refused to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen."
In Orlando on Wednesday, DeSantis said, "Our data is available. Our data is transparent. In fact, Dr. Birx has talked multiple times about how Florida has the absolute best data. So any insinuation otherwise is just typical partisan narrative trying to be spun."
DeSantis says he has also learned since her firing that Jones faces criminal stalking charges. According to court documents, Jones faces one misdemeanor charge. It stems from a relationship she had that turned contentious while she pursued a doctorate at Florida State University. "I've asked the Department of Health to explain to me how someone would be allowed to be charged with that," DeSantis said, "and continue on because this was many months ago."
Jones' removal from the project and her subsequent dismissal have raised questions among researchers about the impartiality and transparency of Florida's COVID-19 dashboard.
Ben Sawyer, director of LabX at the University of Central Florida, which is investigating how local health systems are coping with COVID-19 cases, said her ouster is "quite disturbing to me as a scientist and as a citizen."
I think there are enormous questions that arise when you don't know if what you see [is] fair or accurate.
"Regardless of what you think about reopening Florida, you would like to know what's going on," Sawyer said. "This data is our ability to see what's happening. I think there are enormous questions that arise when you don't know if what you see [is] fair or accurate."
Jones' dismissal has also drawn criticism from Democrats. Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who represents the Tampa area, is asking the governor to provide immediate answers as to why Jones was fired.
"Amidst pressure to 'reopen' the state regardless of data and science," Castor wrote, "transparency is vital to keeping our neighbors safe and ensuring that they have confidence that our government is reporting honestly."
State Senator José Javier Rodríguez from Miami is calling for an investigation by Florida's chief inspector general. "Floridians must have confidence that critical public health information produced and published on behalf of the state is accurate, complete and reliable. It is especially important during this period of economic reopening that decision-makers in the private and public sector — whether they be leaders of institutions, employers or parents — have access to accurate information as they make decisions impacting the lives and livelihoods of our families and communities."


npr--2020-05-20--The Smithsonian Is Collecting Coronavirus 'Artifacts' To Document The Pandemic

The Smithsonian Is Collecting Coronavirus 'Artifacts ' To Document The Pandemic If you were designing a museum exhibit that would explain the coronavirus pandemic to future generations , what would you put in it ?
Smithsonian curators in Washington , D.C. , are trying to answer that question , even as the virus continues to spread in some states .
The National Museum of American History and the Anacostia Community Museum have recently launched coronavirus collection projects .
A third effort from the National Museum of African American History and Culture will kick off in June .
Each collection will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American History Museum is taking a broad approach : Curators on its COVID-19 task force are putting together lists of objects they want to collect , ranging from handwritten grocery lists and letters from patients to personal protective equipment , test kits and ventilators .
Some of the objects will be put on display in an exhibit on disease planned for late next year .
`` Obviously those are objects we will not collect until the pandemic has really wound down , '' said Alexandra Lord , the chair of the American History @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` We do n't want to put pressure on supplies . ''
Object collection is on hold for another reason : The District of Columbia 's stay-at-home order is still in effect and the Smithsonian museums and offices are all closed .
`` There 's a whole set of protocol around artifacts that we ca n't follow right now , '' Lord said .
In the meantime , Smithsonian curators are soliciting digital items and oral histories for their online collections .
`` Three , five , 10 years from now , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this story to get lost .
And so that 's what we 're really trying to collect , '' says Melanie Adams , the director of the Anacostia Community Museum , which explores local social change .
People in the Washington region can submit digital photographs , videos and written accounts to the museum 's new `` Moments of Resilience '' online collection .
Adams ' team will eventually start collecting objects for an exhibit planned for next summer .
They 'll pay particular attention to the pandemic 's impact on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black and Latino residents .
Curators at the National Museum of African American History and Culture plan to collect objects that tell the stories of black Americans during the pandemic .
For the pilot program , they 'll ask residents of Baltimore , Chicago , Denver and New Orleans to upload oral histories , images and short videos to an online platform .
Object collection will come later , once curators are back in their offices .
`` It 's important to make sure that those stories from African Americans are included in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reece , the museum 's associate director for curatorial affairs .
She said the museum is modelling its current efforts off its work collecting artifacts during the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson and Baltimore in 2014 , prior to the museum opening to the public .
Even though object collection ca n't start yet , the Smithsonian curators are hustling to get the word out about their various projects to keep people from throwing away would-be artifacts .
Even a homemade face mask or an empty box that held a shipment of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot about the current moment .

The Smithsonian Is Collecting Coronavirus 'Artifacts' To Document The Pandemic
Enlarge this image toggle caption Tyrone Turner/WAMU Tyrone Turner/WAMU
If you were designing a museum exhibit that would explain the coronavirus pandemic to future generations, what would you put in it?
Smithsonian curators in Washington, D.C., are trying to answer that question, even as the virus continues to spread in some states. The National Museum of American History and the Anacostia Community Museum have recently launched coronavirus collection projects. A third effort from the National Museum of African American History and Culture will kick off in June.
Each collection will have its own particular focus. The American History Museum is taking a broad approach: Curators on its COVID-19 task force are putting together lists of objects they want to collect, ranging from handwritten grocery lists and letters from patients to personal protective equipment, test kits and ventilators. Some of the objects will be put on display in an exhibit on disease planned for late next year.
"Obviously those are objects we will not collect until the pandemic has really wound down," said Alexandra Lord, the chair of the American History Museum's medicine and science division. "We don't want to put pressure on supplies."
Object collection is on hold for another reason: The District of Columbia's stay-at-home order is still in effect and the Smithsonian museums and offices are all closed.
"There's a whole set of protocol around artifacts that we can't follow right now," Lord said.
In the meantime, Smithsonian curators are soliciting digital items and oral histories for their online collections.
"Three, five, 10 years from now, we really don't want the human impact of this story to get lost. And so that's what we're really trying to collect," says Melanie Adams, the director of the Anacostia Community Museum, which explores local social change. People in the Washington region can submit digital photographs, videos and written accounts to the museum's new "Moments of Resilience" online collection.
Adams' team will eventually start collecting objects for an exhibit planned for next summer. They'll pay particular attention to the pandemic's impact on the Washington region's restaurant industry and on black and Latino residents.
Curators at the National Museum of African American History and Culture plan to collect objects that tell the stories of black Americans during the pandemic. For the pilot program, they'll ask residents of Baltimore, Chicago, Denver and New Orleans to upload oral histories, images and short videos to an online platform. Object collection will come later, once curators are back in their offices.
"It's important to make sure that those stories from African Americans are included in the record," said Dwandalyn R. Reece, the museum's associate director for curatorial affairs. She said the museum is modelling its current efforts off its work collecting artifacts during the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson and Baltimore in 2014, prior to the museum opening to the public.
Even though object collection can't start yet, the Smithsonian curators are hustling to get the word out about their various projects to keep people from throwing away would-be artifacts. Even a homemade face mask or an empty box that held a shipment of toilet paper could tell future historians a lot about the current moment.
Today's junk, tomorrow's artifact.


npr--2020-05-20--Amarillo Mayor: New Testing Data Will Help Track Spread As Rest Of Texas Reopens

Amarillo Mayor : New Testing Data Will Help Track Spread As Rest Of Texas Reopens In Texas , as more businesses get the green light to reopen , those plans have been delayed in some areas where the governor says jump in positive COVID-19 cases follow ramped-up testing capacity .
Over the weekend , Texas saw its highest single-day number of confirmed COVID-19 cases — more than 1,800 — since the start of the outbreak .
Over 700 of those positive cases were recorded in Amarillo , a spike that officials link to increased testing at the city 's Tyson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a spike in positive test results come back , '' Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson told NPR 's Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition .
`` But it 's because we 've had the support of the state of Texas and even the support from the president and recognizing that our meat packing industry is a critical part of our nation 's food supply . ''
President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act as one of several measures to keep meatpacking plants open .
To address the surge in positive cases , Gov .
Greg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Amarillo to provide testing and personal protective equipment to plant workers .
Texas has n't met Abbott 's goal to test 30,000 per day .
Still , the Republican governor has begun to lift restrictions on restaurants , movie theaters , salons and gyms .
Abbott has postponed the phased re-openings in Potter and Randall Counties , over which the city of Amarillo stretches .
Mayor Nelson thinks the new testing data can help inform decisions on reopening her region safely .
`` I think it 's important for us to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but only if we can safely do it , '' she said .
`` Some additional testing does help us track where the disease is spreading .
That helps the industry track what 's happening inside their facilities .
I think we 'll use that information more strategically . ''

Amarillo Mayor: New Testing Data Will Help Track Spread As Rest Of Texas Reopens
Enlarge this image toggle caption Ross Lewis/Getty Images Ross Lewis/Getty Images
In Texas, as more businesses get the green light to reopen, those plans have been delayed in some areas where the governor says jump in positive COVID-19 cases follow ramped-up testing capacity.
Over the weekend, Texas saw its highest single-day number of confirmed COVID-19 cases — more than 1,800 — since the start of the outbreak. Over 700 of those positive cases were recorded in Amarillo, a spike that officials link to increased testing at the city's Tyson Foods plant.
"We've had a spike in positive test results come back," Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson told NPR's Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition. "But it's because we've had the support of the state of Texas and even the support from the president and recognizing that our meat packing industry is a critical part of our nation's food supply."
President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act as one of several measures to keep meatpacking plants open. To address the surge in positive cases, Gov. Greg Abbott sent a so-called Surge Response Team to Amarillo to provide testing and personal protective equipment to plant workers.
Texas hasn't met Abbott's goal to test 30,000 per day. Still, the Republican governor has begun to lift restrictions on restaurants, movie theaters, salons and gyms. Abbott has postponed the phased re-openings in Potter and Randall Counties, over which the city of Amarillo stretches.
Mayor Nelson thinks the new testing data can help inform decisions on reopening her region safely.
"I think it's important for us to be open as quickly as we can be, but only if we can safely do it," she said. "Some additional testing does help us track where the disease is spreading. That helps the industry track what's happening inside their facilities. I think we'll use that information more strategically."