npr--2020-02-28--Joe Biden's Campaign Is On The Line In South Carolina

Joe Biden 's Campaign Is On The Line In South Carolina Asked during this week 's debate in Charleston , S.C. , if he would drop out if he does n't win the primary there , former Vice President Joe Biden was blunt .
Asked again after the debate if he could carry on if he does n't win South Carolina , Biden was equally declarative .
`` I 'm gon na win South Carolina , '' Biden said , and then for those who might not have heard , he reiterated , `` I 'm gon na win South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ riding on South Carolina than Biden .
Biden led for nearly a year in national polls for the Democratic presidential nomination and by big margins in South Carolina .
After disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire , Biden collapsed nationally and margins tightened in South Carolina .
In the past week , Biden 's lead has rebounded in South Carolina , as fears of a potential Bernie Sanders nomination are hitting fever pitch among establishment Democrats .
In South Carolina , black voters are crucial , and Biden had one of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night .
Then , the next morning , he got the endorsement of popular longtime South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn .
It was probably the best 24 hours Biden has had since voting began in the nominating contest and was a much-needed shot in the arm for his candidacy .
But the candidate who staked his claim in the race as the most electable has n't won anything yet — making South Carolina must-win for Biden .
The stakes are especially high for Biden , as he jockeys to be the principal alternative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running on fumes — trailing badly in ad spending and organization in those crucial Super Tuesday states that vote just three days after South Carolina .
Biden dismissed losses in Iowa and New Hampshire , the first two states in the Democratic nominating process , because they are overwhelmingly white states and do n't represent the entire country .
Never mind that Biden held leads in both states in an average of the polls , just days and weeks before both contests .
Never mind that Biden has touted his ability not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white , working-class voters .
But Biden lost white voters without a college degree in all three of the first states , finishing behind Sanders and former South Bend , Ind.
, Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa and Nevada .
In New Hampshire , he finished behind Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar , too , with the group .
Biden has won just an average of 13 % of whites without a degree , including 13 % of white men without a degree and 14 % of women , according to entrance and exit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially surprising , considering that severely underperformed his standing in national polls before the contests began .
In the December NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll , Biden 's strongest support came from white women without a college degree — 34 % said Biden was their choice versus 17 % for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren , 13 % for Sanders and 10 % for Buttigieg .
Here 's how the candidates have done with groups since voting began : Biden also said he would fare better when the electorate became more diverse , but in Nevada @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Latino populations , Sanders won Latinos overwhelmingly .
Sanders won half of Latinos ( 50 % ) , and Biden finished a distant second with them , more than 30 points behind ( 17 % ) .
If the Vermont senator runs up the score with Latinos again on Super Tuesday in California and Texas , there may be no catching him in the pledged-delegate race .
Biden did win black voters in Nevada , but only by a 38 % -to-28 % margin over Sanders .
Wealthy businessman Tom Steyer finished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Incidentally , the spread in the average of the polls in South Carolina is not that far off from those entrance polls in Nevada .
Biden holds a 34 % -to-22 % lead over Sanders with Steyer third with 14 % .
In 2016 , South Carolina was more than 60 % black .
Biden hopes a win in South Carolina will propel him to a good day on Super Tuesday , March 3 .
But that might be more difficult than it sounds .
Biden 's campaign is not in a position @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of South Carolina .
His campaign has spent just over $ 600,000 on television and digital advertising in Super Tuesday states , according to data from Advertising Analytics provided to NPR .
His campaign has only been on TV in six of the 14 states that vote on Super Tuesday — Tennessee , North Carolina , Virginia , Texas , Alabama and Arkansas .
Those happen to be the states with the highest percentages of black voters as shares of the Democratic electorates .
Black voters are undoubtedly important in a Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his coalition , it 's going to take more than African American voters to get Biden over the finish line to be the nominee .
In California , Super Tuesday 's crown jewel of delegates , the Biden campaign has only spent roughly $ 4,000 on digital ads .
By comparison , Sanders has spent more than $ 15 million on Super Tuesday states , including $ 7 million in California and $ 4 million in Texas , the states with the two biggest delegate hauls on Super Tuesday .
California and Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at stake that day .
Bigger than Sanders , though , Biden is competing for moderate voters with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg , Buttigieg and Klobuchar .
Putting aside Bloomberg , whose level of personal spending has never been seen before in a presidential election , both Klobuchar and Buttigieg are far outspending Biden on the airwaves and on digital .
Klobuchar and a superPAC supporting her have spent more than $ 4 million .
Buttigieg has spent nearly $ 3 million .
• Bloomberg : $ 218 million ( including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 53 million in Texas and $ 15 million in North Carolina ) • Steyer : $ 41 million ( including $ 33 million in his home state of California and $ 5 million in Texas ) • Sanders : $ 15.5 million ( including $ 7 million in California and $ 3.8 million in Texas ) In addition to ad spending , Biden is lagging in organization .
According to NBC News , Biden has about 500 staffers on the ground in Super Tuesday states , compared with 1,300 for Warren , 1,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bloomberg .
All those obstacles make Biden an underdog for the nomination , which is why he needs South Carolina to have any hopes of staging a comeback .
He likely needs to win by a wide margin to be able to juice all the free media he can get — plus some outside help — ahead of the biggest day of the campaign yet , Super Tuesday .

'I Will Win': What It Would Mean For Biden To Lose South Carolina
Enlarge this image toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Asked during this week's debate in Charleston, S.C., if he would drop out if he doesn't win the primary there, former Vice President Joe Biden was blunt.
"I will win South Carolina," Biden said.
Asked again after the debate if he could carry on if he doesn't win South Carolina, Biden was equally declarative.
"I'm gonna win South Carolina," Biden said, and then for those who might not have heard, he reiterated, "I'm gonna win South Carolina."
No one has more riding on South Carolina than Biden. Biden led for nearly a year in national polls for the Democratic presidential nomination and by big margins in South Carolina. After disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden collapsed nationally and margins tightened in South Carolina.
In the past week, Biden's lead has rebounded in South Carolina, as fears of a potential Bernie Sanders nomination are hitting fever pitch among establishment Democrats. In South Carolina, black voters are crucial, and Biden had one of his best debate performances of the cycle Tuesday night. Then, the next morning, he got the endorsement of popular longtime South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn.
It was probably the best 24 hours Biden has had since voting began in the nominating contest and was a much-needed shot in the arm for his candidacy. But the candidate who staked his claim in the race as the most electable hasn't won anything yet — making South Carolina must-win for Biden.
The stakes are especially high for Biden, as he jockeys to be the principal alternative to Sanders, because his campaign is running on fumes — trailing badly in ad spending and organization in those crucial Super Tuesday states that vote just three days after South Carolina.
A shrinking coalition
Biden dismissed losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states in the Democratic nominating process, because they are overwhelmingly white states and don't represent the entire country.
Never mind that Biden held leads in both states in an average of the polls, just days and weeks before both contests.
Never mind that Biden has touted his ability not to win just black voters, but also white, working-class voters.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sean Rayford/Getty Images Sean Rayford/Getty Images
But Biden lost white voters without a college degree in all three of the first states, finishing behind Sanders and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa and Nevada. In New Hampshire, he finished behind Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, too, with the group.
Biden has won just an average of 13% of whites without a degree, including 13% of white men without a degree and 14% of women, according to entrance and exit polls. The number with women is especially surprising, considering that severely underperformed his standing in national polls before the contests began.
In the December NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, Biden's strongest support came from white women without a college degree — 34% said Biden was their choice versus 17% for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 13% for Sanders and 10% for Buttigieg.
Here's how the candidates have done with groups since voting began:
White, no college
Iowa (42% of electorate): Sanders 29%, Buttigieg 22%, Biden 17%, Warren 14%
(42% of electorate): Sanders 29%, Buttigieg 22%, Biden 17%, Warren 14% New Hampshire (42%): Sanders 30%, Buttigieg 25%, Klobuchar 15%, Biden 9%
(42%): Sanders 30%, Buttigieg 25%, Klobuchar 15%, Biden 9% Nevada (28%): Sanders 35%, Buttigieg 18%, Biden 14%, Warren 12%
White men, no college
Iowa (18%): Sanders 31%, Buttigieg 19%, Biden 17%, Warren 13%
(18%): Sanders 31%, Buttigieg 19%, Biden 17%, Warren 13% New Hampshire (18%): Sanders 36%, Buttigieg 22%, Klobuchar 12%, Biden 10%
(18%): Sanders 36%, Buttigieg 22%, Klobuchar 12%, Biden 10% Nevada (14%): Sanders 44%, Buttigieg 16%, Biden 13%, Warren 8%
White women, no college
Iowa (24%): Sanders 26%, Buttigieg 24%, Biden 17%, Warren 16%
(24%): Sanders 26%, Buttigieg 24%, Biden 17%, Warren 16% New Hampshire (24%): Buttigieg 28%, Sanders 26%, Klobuchar 18%, Biden 9%
(24%): Buttigieg 28%, Sanders 26%, Klobuchar 18%, Biden 9% Nevada (15%): Sanders 27%, Buttigieg 19%, Warren 16%, Biden 15%
Biden also said he would fare better when the electorate became more diverse, but in Nevada, the first state with significant black and Latino populations, Sanders won Latinos overwhelmingly. Sanders won half of Latinos (50%), and Biden finished a distant second with them, more than 30 points behind (17%).
If the Vermont senator runs up the score with Latinos again on Super Tuesday in California and Texas, there may be no catching him in the pledged-delegate race.
Biden did win black voters in Nevada, but only by a 38%-to-28% margin over Sanders. Wealthy businessman Tom Steyer finished third with a sizable 17%.
Incidentally, the spread in the average of the polls in South Carolina is not that far off from those entrance polls in Nevada. Biden holds a 34%-to-22% lead over Sanders with Steyer third with 14%.
In 2016, South Carolina was more than 60% black.
Super Tuesday woes
Biden hopes a win in South Carolina will propel him to a good day on Super Tuesday, March 3. But that might be more difficult than it sounds.
Biden's campaign is not in a position to fully capitalize on any potential momentum out of South Carolina. His campaign has spent just over $600,000 on television and digital advertising in Super Tuesday states, according to data from Advertising Analytics provided to NPR.
His campaign has only been on TV in six of the 14 states that vote on Super Tuesday — Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Alabama and Arkansas. Those happen to be the states with the highest percentages of black voters as shares of the Democratic electorates.
Black voters are undoubtedly important in a Democratic nominating contest, but with Sanders expanding his coalition, it's going to take more than African American voters to get Biden over the finish line to be the nominee.
In California, Super Tuesday's crown jewel of delegates, the Biden campaign has only spent roughly $4,000 on digital ads.
By comparison, Sanders has spent more than $15 million on Super Tuesday states, including $7 million in California and $4 million in Texas, the states with the two biggest delegate hauls on Super Tuesday. California and Texas account for almost half of all delegates at stake that day.
Bigger than Sanders, though, Biden is competing for moderate voters with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Buttigieg and Klobuchar. Putting aside Bloomberg, whose level of personal spending has never been seen before in a presidential election, both Klobuchar and Buttigieg are far outspending Biden on the airwaves and on digital.
Klobuchar and a super PAC supporting her have spent more than $4 million. Buttigieg has spent nearly $3 million.
Top Super Tuesday ad spenders
Bloomberg: $218 million (including $78 million in California, $53 million in Texas and $15 million in North Carolina)
$218 million (including $78 million in California, $53 million in Texas and $15 million in North Carolina) Steyer: $41 million (including $33 million in his home state of California and $5 million in Texas)
$41 million (including $33 million in his home state of California and $5 million in Texas) Sanders: $15.5 million (including $7 million in California and $3.8 million in Texas)
$15.5 million (including $7 million in California and $3.8 million in Texas) Klobuchar and allies: $4.5 million (Klobuchar campaign $3.8 million, Kitchen Table Conversations PAC $679,000)
$4.5 million (Klobuchar campaign $3.8 million, Kitchen Table Conversations PAC $679,000) Warren and allies: $3.6 million (Persist PAC $2.4 million, Warren campaign $1.2 million)
$3.6 million (Persist PAC $2.4 million, Warren campaign $1.2 million) Buttigieg: $2.6 million
$2.6 million Biden: $625,000
$625,000 Andrew Yang: $412,000
$412,000 Tulsi Gabbard: $383,000
In addition to ad spending, Biden is lagging in organization. According to NBC News, Biden has about 500 staffers on the ground in Super Tuesday states, compared with 1,300 for Warren, 1,000 for Sanders and at least 950 for Bloomberg.
All those obstacles make Biden an underdog for the nomination, which is why he needs South Carolina to have any hopes of staging a comeback. He likely needs to win by a wide margin to be able to juice all the free media he can get — plus some outside help — ahead of the biggest day of the campaign yet, Super Tuesday.


npr--2020-02-28--How A Coronavirus Blood Test Could Solve Some Medical Mysteries

How A Coronavirus Blood Test Could Solve Some Medical Mysteries As the coronavirus spreads more widely around the globe , scientists are starting to use a powerful new tool : a blood test that identifies people who have previously been exposed to the virus .
This kind of test is still under development in the United States but it has been rolled out for use in Singapore and China .
The current lab test used in the United States identifies people who are currently spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 .
That 's crucial information , but that test does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That 's important too , for understanding the unfolding epidemic .
The other test , used widely in science and medicine , detects antibodies that people produce after they 've become infected with a bacterium or virus .
Those antibodies can appear in the blood one to three weeks after infection , and they 're part of the immune system 's response to infection .
The antibody-based tests can identify people who were not known to be infected `` either because they never developed symptoms , or they had symptoms that were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ancel Meyers , a biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin .
That means the test can identify silent infections , as well as identifying people who were once sick but have recovered .
If it turns out that many people got infected with the novel coronavirus but did n't get sick , that means the virus is less likely to be fatal than it now appears .
That 's just one insight the test could bring .
`` One of the key questions we 're grappling with is what 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Meyers says .
Very few kids globally have ended up in the hospital .
Is that because they 're not getting infected , or they 're getting infected but not getting sick ?
An answer to that question will help public health officials figure out whether it makes sense to close schools if there 's a big outbreak .
`` Without knowing whether children are getting infected , or the rate at which they 're getting infected , or how severe the disease is in children , it 's really hard for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school closures might be , '' she says .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently developing an antibody test .
But it 's now playing catch-up with scientists in both Singapore and China , who have produced their own tests and are putting them to use .
`` I think that the Chinese laboratories have been amazingly fast , '' says Dr. Stanley Perlman , a coronavirus scientist at the University of Iowa .
`` I have n't seen any publications to show they 're validated — and that 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But I think they are really capable of doing this pretty quickly . ''
Validating the test is critical — otherwise you have no idea how many false findings you 're getting .
You do n't want to flag people who have simply been infected with one of harmless coronaviruses that are already in wide circulation .
And you do n't want a test that misses a lot of cases , either .
Assuming the Chinese test is reliable , scientists there can figure out if these antibodies provide good protection against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
People who have been exposed to the virus might only be immune for a matter of months , Perlman says .
`` You can imagine if the virus is around in a year and the antibodies wane that maybe someone could be re-infected , '' Perlman says .
`` Again , this is speculative .
We do n't know . ''
If that turns out to be the case , the world could confront repeated waves of the disease rather than having it concentrated in one particularly bad year .
Because it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks to produce these antibodies , this test is n't useful for tracking the illness in real time .
That means it wo n't replace the diagnostic test the CDC is currently running and that is , after a delay due to technical problems , only now being expanded to health labs across the United States .
To understand where the epidemic is going , we need to know where it 's been .
For example , `` has this virus ever entered the population undetected and been spreading ? ''
asks Andrew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health .
If in previous instances it induced only mild disease , `` it may not have registered a large enough number of cases to get on the public health radar screen . ''
Ebola and HIV both turned out to have existed for many years before scientists recognized the diseases those viruses cause .
Scientists discovered that by running antibody tests on blood that had been stored long ago .
Pekosz says that because an antibody test for the new coronavirus can answer so many questions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` so you also have to think of scale of production and making sure that the test that you 're doing can be scaled up for widespread use . ''
Since the federal government has declared a health emergency , the Food and Drug Administration can conduct a speedy review of a new test .
But first the agency needs a product it can evaluate .
You can contact NPR Science Correspondent Richard Harris at rharris @ npr.org .

How A Coronavirus Blood Test Could Solve Some Medical Mysteries
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jane Barlow /WPA Pool/Getty Images Jane Barlow /WPA Pool/Getty Images
As the coronavirus spreads more widely around the globe, scientists are starting to use a powerful new tool: a blood test that identifies people who have previously been exposed to the virus. This kind of test is still under development in the United States, but it has been rolled out for use in Singapore and China.
The current lab test used in the United States identifies people who are currently spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. That's crucial information, but that test doesn't reveal who had previously been infected. That's important too for understanding the unfolding epidemic.
The other test, used widely in science and medicine, detects antibodies that people produce after they've become infected with a bacterium or virus. Those antibodies can appear in the blood one to three weeks after infection, and they're part of the immune system's response to infection.
The antibody-based tests can identify people who were not known to be infected "either because they never developed symptoms, or they had symptoms that were never correctly diagnosed," says Lauren Ancel Meyers, a biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
That means the test can identify silent infections, as well as identifying people who were once sick but have recovered. If it turns out that many people got infected with the novel coronavirus but didn't get sick, that means the virus is less likely to be fatal than it now appears. That's just one insight the test could bring.
"One of the key questions we're grappling with is what's happening with children in this outbreak," Meyers says.
Very few kids globally have ended up in the hospital. Is that because they're not getting infected, or they're getting infected but not getting sick? An answer to that question will help public health officials figure out whether it makes sense to close schools if there's a big outbreak.
"Without knowing whether children are getting infected, or the rate at which they're getting infected, or how severe the disease is in children, it's really hard for us to project what the impacts of school closures might be," she says.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently developing an antibody test. But it's now playing catch-up with scientists in both Singapore and China, who have produced their own tests and are putting them to use.
"I think that the Chinese laboratories have been amazingly fast," says Dr. Stanley Perlman, a coronavirus scientist at the University of Iowa.
"I haven't seen any publications to show they're validated — and that's of course what you want to know. But I think they are really capable of doing this pretty quickly."
Validating the test is critical — otherwise you have no idea how many false findings you're getting. You don't want to flag people who have simply been infected with one of harmless coronaviruses that are already in wide circulation. And you don't want a test that misses a lot of cases either.
Assuming the Chinese test is reliable, scientists there can figure out if these antibodies provide good protection against disease, and how long they persist. People who have been exposed to the virus might only be immune for a matter of months, Perlman says.
"You can imagine if the virus is around in a year and the antibodies wane that maybe someone could be reinfected," Perlman says. "Again, this is speculative. We don't know."
If that turns out to be the case, the world could confront repeated waves of the disease rather than having it concentrated in one particularly bad year.
Because it likely takes the body one to three weeks to produce these antibodies, this test isn't useful for tracking the illness in real time. That means it won't replace the diagnostic test the CDC is currently running, and that is, after a delay due to technical problems, only now being expanded to health labs across the United States.
To understand where the epidemic is going, we need to know where it's been.
For example, "has this virus ever entered the population undetected and been spreading?" asks Andrew Pekosz, a biologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. If in previous instances it induced only mild disease, "it may not have registered a large enough number of cases to get on the public health radar screen."
Ebola and HIV both turned out to have existed for many years before scientists recognized the diseases those viruses cause. Scientists discovered that by running antibody tests on blood that had been stored long ago.
Pekosz says that because an antibody test for the new coronavirus can answer so many questions, demand for it will be fierce, "so you also have to think of scale of production and making sure that the test that you're doing can be scaled up for widespread use."
Since the federal government has declared a health emergency, the Food and Drug Administration can conduct a speedy review of a new test. But first the agency needs a product it can evaluate.
You can contact NPR Science correspondent Richard Harris at rharris@npr.org.


npr--2020-02-28--South Carolina Primary Voters Will Use Brand New Machines

South Carolina Primary Voters Will Use Brand New Machines When primary voters go to the polls in South Carolina on Saturday , they 'll be the first in the nation to use all-new voting equipment .
It 's one of about a dozen states replacing all or most of their voting machines this year , in part because of security concerns after Russian interference in the 2016 election .
South Carolina officials are eager to emphasize the reliability of their state 's equipment following the Iowa caucuses debacle , where a flawed app delayed the reporting of accurate results for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ machines relied on touchscreen technology that did n't leave a paper trail that could be audited after the election .
The new machines will mark a paper ballot with a bar code and the selected candidates ' names .
The ballots then get inserted into a scanner for counting .
Chris Whitmire of the state 's Election Commission showed voters earlier this week how to use the new equipment , part of an effort to educate them about changes to the voting process ahead of the primary .
`` When we say we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's voted ballot at the end of the day , they like that and that makes them feel more confident in the integrity of the election and about the security of the election and it does us , too , '' said Whitmire .
At an early voting site in Columbia this week , voter Dwayne Sims agreed .
`` I do like the fact that there 's a paper ballot .
I did double-check and make sure that the person I selected was the name that was on the ballot . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ needed to vote under the new system could cause long lines at some polling sites .
Another voter at the site was Duncan Buell , a computer scientist at the University of South Carolina who is concerned about aspects of the technology .
`` I 'm not a fan of the ballot marking devices because the votes are actually counted not from the text that I can read , but from bar codes . ''
He says he 'd be more confident if the state more thoroughly audited the ballots afterward .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elsewhere , including in neighboring Georgia , which is also using new machines this year .
Buell thinks one advantage South Carolina has is that it was able to use the equipment for several low-turnout elections and will have time to work out any kinks before the November general election .
Some voters also have concerns about the technology .
`` I personally can not read the bar code , so I 'm having to trust the system , '' said Melissa Rose .
It was a concern shared by the League of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-President Christe McCoy-Lawrence says the group is putting it aside to focus on voter turnout .
`` We feel now that one of the greatest dangers comes from people losing faith in the voting process , '' she said .
`` So we did not agree with this decision , but it 's made , so we are now completely engaged in conveying confidence in the system . ''

South Carolina Primary Voters Will Use Brand New Machines
Enlarge this image toggle caption Pam Fessler/NPR Pam Fessler/NPR
When primary voters go to the polls in South Carolina on Saturday, they'll be the first in the nation to use all-new voting equipment. It's one of about a dozen states replacing all or most of their voting machines this year, in part because of security concerns after Russian interference in the 2016 election.
South Carolina officials are eager to emphasize the reliability of their state's equipment following the Iowa caucuses debacle, where a flawed app delayed the reporting of accurate results for weeks.
The state's old voting machines relied on touchscreen technology that didn't leave a paper trail that could be audited after the election. The new machines will mark a paper ballot with a bar code and the selected candidates' names. The ballots then get inserted into a scanner for counting.
Chris Whitmire of the state's Election Commission showed voters earlier this week how to use the new equipment, part of an effort to educate them about changes to the voting process ahead of the primary.
"When we say we have a paper record of the voter's voted ballot at the end of the day, they like that and that makes them feel more confident in the integrity of the election and about the security of the election and it does us, too," said Whitmire.
toggle caption Pam Fessler/NPR
At an early voting site in Columbia this week, voter Dwayne Sims agreed.
"I do like the fact that there's a paper ballot. I did double-check and make sure that the person I selected was the name that was on the ballot."
But Sims worries that the extra steps needed to vote under the new system could cause long lines at some polling sites.
Another voter at the site was Duncan Buell, a computer scientist at the University of South Carolina who is concerned about aspects of the technology. "I'm not a fan of the ballot marking devices because the votes are actually counted not from the text that I can read, but from bar codes."
He says he'd be more confident if the state more thoroughly audited the ballots afterward. It's a concern computer scientists have expressed elsewhere, including in neighboring Georgia, which is also using new machines this year.
Buell thinks one advantage South Carolina has is that it was able to use the equipment for several low-turnout elections and will have time to work out any kinks before the November general election.
Some voters also have concerns about the technology.
"I personally cannot read the bar code, so I'm having to trust the system," said Melissa Rose.
It was a concern shared by the League of Women Voters of South Carolina, but co-President Christe McCoy-Lawrence says the group is putting it aside to focus on voter turnout.
"We feel now that one of the greatest dangers comes from people losing faith in the voting process," she said. "So we did not agree with this decision, but it's made, so we are now completely engaged in conveying confidence in the system."


npr--2020-02-28--If South Carolina Is Joe Biden's Firewall, Tom Steyer Wants To Breach It

If South Carolina Is Joe Biden 's Firewall , Tom Steyer Wants To Breach It As Tuesday 's Democratic presidential primary debate came to a close , each of the candidates was asked to name the biggest misconception voters have about them .
A day later , the question was still on the mind of Tom Steyer , the billionaire hedge fund investor who has barnstormed South Carolina , aggressively courting the black vote with a focus on racial justice and climate issues .
`` I know that people describe me as being a rich person , '' Steyer told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Georgetown , S.C. 's Bethel AME .
`` We 're in church .
I 'm not defined by money .
That is not how I think about myself .
I 'm from a family that has never thought that way about life . ''
Whether Steyer sees himself that way or not , his spending has prompted a stir in South Carolina as he seeks a foothold here .
He has poured money into the black community , in the form of supporting black businesses , vendors and the ads that have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on display in Georgetown .
As people trickled in out of the rain , some picked up shirts that Steyer 's campaign is giving out .
One said `` Reparations are Past Due , '' another `` Invest in HBCUs . ''
A volunteer handed out church fans with photos of Steyer surrounded by black South Carolinians .
At one point , there was a throwback to the refrain of the Obama years , but instead of `` fired up '' and `` ready to go , '' people chanted `` Steyered up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ta go .
Jack Scoville , a retired lawyer and the former mayor of Georgetown was in the front row .
He was leaning toward supporting Biden , who was campaigning in Georgetown , about a mile away .
`` Well frankly , I had n't been very impressed with Mr. Steyer .
I do n't like the fact that these guys come in because they 've got a lot of money and think they can run the country , '' Scoville said .
Scoville prefers someone with a more traditional background , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be convinced .
Sitting next to him was Mack Nesmith of Georgetown , who is also retired and also undecided .
`` I 'm in a dilemma right now between Steyer , Vice President Biden and Elizabeth Warren , it 's between those three . ''
Nesmith said he wanted to learn about Steyer 's positions on Medicare , Social Security and what his plans are for America 's senior citizens .
One thing that everyone here mentioned was the ads that Steyer has been running in the state .
They 're impossible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jumped into the race — after initially demurring — he has spent more than $ 17 million on local television ads .
And then there are the mailers .
Nesmith said he got more from Steyer than anyone else .
Sitting on the other side of the room , Marvin Neal who is the head of Georgetown 's NAACP , said he got three or four each week .
They 're so ubiquitous that a voter at Steyer 's CNN town hall this week asked Steyer , the founder of NextGen America and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the strategy was environmentally responsible .
Steyer has staked his campaign on South Carolina , and there are signs that his strategy — which leans heavily on courting the black vote — has helped his candidacy .
A Monmouth University poll on Thursday showed that he has support of 15 % of Democratic primary voters , in third place behind Biden with 36 % and Bernie Sanders with 16 % .
No other candidate is in the double digits , or nearing the 15 % threshold to earn statewide delegates .
Steyer did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , New Hampshire , or Nevada , so while South Carolina is regarded as a firewall for Biden , it could be a last stand for Steyer too .
Like Biden , his campaign 's theory of the case is that victory in South Carolina would act as a launchpad ahead of Super Tuesday on March 3 , when 14 other states vote .
But polls in many of those states , where they do exist , show little good news for Steyer .
But here in South Carolina , it 's not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him three or four times .
At a breakfast town hall focused on rural health care in Orangeburg , Rosella and Michael Cooper said that Steyer had been to Denmark , where they live , over and over again .
Residents have raised questions about the water system there , and Steyer often talks about his trips when he 's campaigning , here or elsewhere .
`` Come to Denmark , which is such a small , small town , and it 's a poor town , and then they have our interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But when you come back as many times as he has , now you have our support . ''
As people wound through the line for a breakfast buffet provided by Steyer 's campaign , Rosella Cooper told me she 'd been volunteering for Steyer all week .
While some have criticized Steyer , and fellow billionaire Michael Bloomberg , for self-funding their own campaigns , it did n't bother the Coopers .
They saw the fact that Steyer was not seeking donations as a good thing .
`` I was originally planning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ familiar , '' said Palmer .
`` I figured if Barack Obama could trust him , I could trust him as well . ''
But she saw Steyer 's ads , and learned more about him , and ultimately decided to give him her support .
Steyer 's also picked up the support of some influential South Carolina lawmakers , including Gilda Cobb-Hunter , the longest-serving member of the South Carolina House , and an influential African American leader in the state .
She is a paid national adviser to Steyer 's campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when first reported by The Associated Press .
Cobb-Hunter pushed back against some of the skepticism around Steyer 's spending and concern that he is buying the state 's black vote .
`` It 's not just about money .
It 's about message .
You can have all the money in the world , but if you ai n't saying nothing , then what does it really matter , '' she said at an interview at her Columbia office .
`` I think Steyer is a billionaire with a heart and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' She also suggested that Biden 's grip on the state 's black vote was not as strong as polls make it seem .
`` Joe Biden 's support was a mile wide and an inch deep , and that 's not to be offensive , it 's just being real , '' she said .
She said Biden 's success should be judged not by whether he wins her state , but by what margin .
Though Biden leads in the polls here , Steyer rarely mentions him on the trail .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ first place between Sanders and Bloomberg , neither of which he says are really Democrats .
`` Actually nominating one of the people from the extremes of the party risks the party turnout , '' Steyer said this week .
`` And that 's what I 've been trying to say about Bernie and Mike Bloomberg . ''
He says he 's a progressive Democrat , the kind with the solutions that voters are looking for .
They just have to give him a chance .
`` That 's why South Carolina matters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in real time with real people that they are voting for me and I can be the person to pull the party together , '' he said .
`` That 's what has to happen , and that 's what I 'm asking you to help me do . ''

If South Carolina Is Joe Biden's Firewall, Tom Steyer Wants To Breach It
Enlarge this image toggle caption Scott Olson/Getty Images Scott Olson/Getty Images
As Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary debate came to a close, each of the candidates was asked to name the biggest misconception voters have about them.
A day later, the question was still on the mind of Tom Steyer, the billionaire hedge fund investor who has barnstormed South Carolina, aggressively courting the black vote with a focus on racial justice and climate issues.
"I know that people describe me as being a rich person," Steyer told the group gathered in the fellowship hall of Georgetown, S.C.'s Bethel AME. "We're in church. I'm not defined by money. That is not how I think about myself. I'm from a family that has never thought that way about life."
Whether Steyer sees himself that way or not, his spending has prompted a stir in South Carolina as he seeks a foothold here. He has poured money into the black community, in the form of supporting black businesses, vendors and the ads that have inundated this state.
That focus was on display in Georgetown. As people trickled in out of the rain, some picked up shirts that Steyer's campaign is giving out. One said "Reparations are Past Due," another "Invest in HBCUs." A volunteer handed out church fans with photos of Steyer surrounded by black South Carolinians.
At one point, there was a throwback to the refrain of the Obama years, but instead of "fired up" and "ready to go," people chanted "Steyered up," and "Trump's gotta go."
Jack Scoville, a retired lawyer and the former mayor of Georgetown, was in the front row. He was leaning toward supporting Biden, who was campaigning in Georgetown, about a mile away.
"Well frankly, I hadn't been very impressed with Mr. Steyer. I don't like the fact that these guys come in because they've got a lot of money and think they can run the country," Scoville said.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Scoville prefers someone with a more traditional background, but he said he was willing to be convinced. Sitting next to him was Mack Nesmith of Georgetown, who is also retired and also undecided.
"I'm in a dilemma right now between Steyer, Vice President Biden and Elizabeth Warren, it's between those three," Nesmith said.
Nesmith said he wanted to learn about Steyer's positions on Medicare, Social Security and what his plans are for America's senior citizens.
One thing that everyone here mentioned was the ads that Steyer has been running in the state. They're impossible to miss. Since July when Steyer jumped into the race — after initially demurring — he has spent more than $17 million on local television ads.
And then there are the mailers.
Nesmith said he got more from Steyer than anyone else. Sitting on the other side of the room, Marvin Neal, who is the head of Georgetown's NAACP, said he got three or four each week.
They're so ubiquitous that a voter at Steyer's CNN town hall this week asked Steyer, the founder of NextGen America and a longtime climate change champion, how the strategy was environmentally responsible.
Steyer has staked his campaign on South Carolina, and there are signs that his strategy — which leans heavily on courting the black vote — has helped his candidacy. A Monmouth University poll on Thursday showed that he has support of 15% of Democratic primary voters, in third place behind Biden with 36% and Bernie Sanders with 16%. No other candidate is in the double digits, or nearing the 15% threshold to earn statewide delegates.
Steyer did not net a single delegate in Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada, so while South Carolina is regarded as a firewall for Biden, it could be a last stand for Steyer too.
Like Biden, his campaign's theory of the case is that victory in South Carolina would act as a launchpad ahead of Super Tuesday on March 3, when 14 other states vote. But polls in many of those states, where they do exist, show little good news for Steyer.
But here in South Carolina, it's not hard to find voters who have met him three or four times. At a breakfast town hall focused on rural health care in Orangeburg, Rosella and Michael Cooper said that Steyer had been to Denmark, where they live, over and over again.
Residents have raised questions about the water system there, and Steyer often talks about his trips when he's campaigning, here or elsewhere.
"Come to Denmark, which is such a small, small town, and it's a poor town, and then they have our interest," said Michael Cooper. "But when you come back as many times as he has, now you have our support."
As people wound through the line for a breakfast buffet provided by Steyer's campaign, Rosella Cooper told me she'd been volunteering for Steyer all week.
While some have criticized Steyer, and fellow billionaire Michael Bloomberg, for self-funding their own campaigns, it didn't bother the Coopers. They saw the fact that Steyer was not seeking donations as a good thing.
Tatanshia Palmer also attended the Orangeburg breakfast.
"I was originally planning on supporting Joe Biden because he was familiar," said Palmer. "I figured if Barack Obama could trust him, I could trust him as well."
But she saw Steyer's ads, and learned more about him, and ultimately decided to give him her support.
I think Steyer is a billionaire with a heart and a message that is resonating with people.
Steyer's also picked up the support of some influential South Carolina lawmakers, including Gilda Cobb-Hunter, the longest-serving member of the South Carolina House, and an influential African American leader in the state. She is a paid national adviser to Steyer's campaign, a move that drew some scrutiny when first reported by The Associated Press.
Cobb-Hunter pushed back against some of the skepticism around Steyer's spending and concern that he is buying the state's black vote.
"It's not just about money. It's about message. You can have all the money in the world, but if you ain't saying nothing, then what does it really matter," she said at an interview at her Columbia office. "I think Steyer is a billionaire with a heart and a message that is resonating with people."
She also suggested that Biden's grip on the state's black vote was not as strong as polls make it seem.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Meg Kinnard/AP Meg Kinnard/AP
"Joe Biden's support was a mile wide and an inch deep, and that's not to be offensive, it's just being real," she said.
She said Biden's success should be judged not by whether he wins her state, but by what margin.
Though Biden leads in the polls here, Steyer rarely mentions him on the trail. Instead, he describes a race for first place between Sanders and Bloomberg, neither of which he says are really Democrats.
"Actually nominating one of the people from the extremes of the party risks the party turnout," Steyer said this week. "And that's what I've been trying to say about Bernie and Mike Bloomberg."
He says he's a progressive Democrat, the kind with the solutions that voters are looking for. They just have to give him a chance.
"That's why South Carolina matters so much. I have to show in real time with real people that they are voting for me and I can be the person to pull the party together," he said. "That's what has to happen, and that's what I'm asking you to help me do."


npr--2020-02-27--Olympic Officials Dismiss 'Speculation' That Coronavirus Could Disrupt Tokyo Games

The organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics pushed back on `` speculation '' that the novel coronavirus epidemic could lead to the cancellation of the Summer Games , after an IOC official appeared to suggest otherwise .
`` Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with all relevant organisations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organisations , '' the local organizing committee said in a statement on Thursday .
`` The rest is speculation , '' it said .
The Tokyo Organizing Committee said that countermeasures against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its plans to host safe and secure Games .
In an emailed statement to NPR , the International Olympic Committee also confirmed that `` preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 continue as planned . ''
`` The IOC is in contact with the World Health Organization , as well as its own medical experts .
We have full confidence that the relevant authorities , in particular in Japan and China , will take all the necessary measures to address the situation , '' it said .
The statements come in apparent response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier this week by longtime International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound .
In an interview with the AP , the former Olympic swimmer estimated that officials would have until late May to decide on the fate of the Tokyo Games , which are scheduled to begin on July 24 .
His comments to the news agency caused an uproar in the sporting world and forced an almost immediate response from organizers in Tokyo and the Japanese government .
Pound , who is also the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency , told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would require a worsening of the epidemic .
He said that right now , the assumption is that the Games would go ahead as planned , but that `` not even considering the possibility that changes might be required '' would be negligent .
`` People would think we 're just crazy , '' he said .
Pound further explained that the deadline of late May , which he mentioned in the AP interview , is not a fixed date .
It all depends on how the next few months play out , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement , the Tokyo Organizing Committee said that Pound 's three-month window `` is not necessarily the IOC 's collective view . ''
Meanwhile , Japan 's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday asked organizers of large sporting and cultural events scheduled for the next two weeks to consider canceling or postponing them .
On Thursday , Abe took the additional step of ordering public schools in Japan to close as a precaution against the further spread of the virus .
The coronavirus outbreak , which has disrupted global travel and trade , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Worldwide , the epidemic has caused more than 80,000 people to become infected and killed some 2,700 globally — the vast majority of them in mainland China .
In Japan , officials say more than 200 people have become infected with the coronavirus and at least five people have died from COVID-19 , the disease caused by the virus .
The epidemic has also forced the cancellation or postponement of many high-profile events , including several sporting events .
Global motorsports series Formula One and World Athletics have already called off some events @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which was scheduled for April 19 , and World Athletics postponed its World Athletics Indoor Championships , slated for March 13-15 .
Even so , moving or postponing an individual sporting event is much easier , logistically , than doing so for a multi-sporting event such as the Olympics , Pound says , adding that `` the health and safety of the athletes '' must take precedence over `` commercial aspects . ''
If the Games were cancelled , it would `` be a big hit to the financial situation of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the international federations , '' he told NPR .
`` But the first priority , as far as I 'm concerned , and I 'm sure the IOC generally would share [ this view is ] that ... you have to protect the team members from additional risk . ''
Australian IOC member John Coates is quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying that the committee has an emergency fund of about $ 900 million , meaning the funding for member sports and National Olympic Committees would continue in the unlikely event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also noted that it would n't be the first time that Olympic Games might fall victim to global events .
The 1916 , 1940 and 1944 Summer Games were canceled because of the last century 's two world wars .
Coates also pointed to the more recent boycotts of the 1980 Moscow Games and the 1984 Los Angeles Games due to Cold War tensions .
Pound believes that postponing the Games until 2021 would be an insurmountable challenge .
It would require the commitment of everyone involved , hotels , volunteers , sporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They all would have to be in agreement over a potential move , he said .
The official budget for the Tokyo Olympics stands at $ 12.6 billion , which is far more than its original $ 7.3 billion estimate , according to latest update from local organizers .
But a recent report by Japan 's National Audit Board put the Games ' overall cost at about $ 28 billion .

Olympic Officials Dismiss 'Speculation' That Coronavirus Could Disrupt Tokyo Games
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jae C. Hong/AP Jae C. Hong/AP
The organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics pushed back on "speculation" that the novel coronavirus epidemic could lead to the cancellation of the Summer Games, after an IOC official appeared to suggest otherwise.
"Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with all relevant organisations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organisations," the local organizing committee said in a statement on Thursday.
"The rest is speculation," it said.
The Tokyo Organizing Committee said that countermeasures against infectious diseases are an important part of its plans to host safe and secure Games.
In an emailed statement to NPR, the International Olympic Committee also confirmed that "preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 continue as planned."
"The IOC is in contact with the World Health Organization, as well as its own medical experts. We have full confidence that the relevant authorities, in particular in Japan and China, will take all the necessary measures to address the situation," it said.
The statements come in apparent response to remarks made to The Associated Press earlier this week by longtime International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound. In an interview with the AP, the former Olympic swimmer estimated that officials would have until late May to decide on the fate of the Tokyo Games, which are scheduled to begin on July 24.
His comments to the news agency caused an uproar in the sporting world and forced an almost immediate response from organizers in Tokyo and the Japanese government.
Pound, who is also the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, told NPR on Wednesday that such a decision would require a worsening of the epidemic.
He said that right now, the assumption is that the Games would go ahead as planned, but that "not even considering the possibility that changes might be required" would be negligent.
"People would think we're just crazy," he said.
Pound further explained that the deadline of late May, which he mentioned in the AP interview, is not a fixed date. It all depends on how the next few months play out, he said.
However, it its statement, the Tokyo Organizing Committee said that Pound's three-month window "is not necessarily the IOC's collective view."
Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday asked organizers of large sporting and cultural events scheduled for the next two weeks to consider canceling or postponing them. On Thursday, Abe took the additional step of ordering public schools in Japan to close as a precaution against the further spread of the virus.
The coronavirus outbreak, which has disrupted global travel and trade, began in December in central China. Worldwide, the epidemic has caused more than 80,000 people to become infected and killed some 2,700 globally — the vast majority of them in mainland China. In Japan, officials say more than 200 people have become infected with the coronavirus and at least five people have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
The epidemic has also forced the cancellation or postponement of many high-profile events, including several sporting events.
Global motorsports series Formula One and World Athletics have already called off some events. F1 canceled its Chinese Grand Prix, which was scheduled for April 19, and World Athletics postponed its World Athletics Indoor Championships, slated for March 13-15.
Even so, moving or postponing an individual sporting event is much easier, logistically, than doing so for a multi-sporting event such as the Olympics, Pound says, adding that "the health and safety of the athletes" must take precedence over "commercial aspects."
If the Games were cancelled, it would "be a big hit to the financial situation of the IOC, the National Olympic Committees and the international federations," he told NPR. "But the first priority, as far as I'm concerned, and I'm sure the IOC generally would share [this view is] that ... you have to protect the team members from additional risk."
Australian IOC member John Coates is quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying that the committee has an emergency fund of about $900 million, meaning the funding for member sports and National Olympic Committees would continue in the unlikely event that the Games were canceled.
He also noted that it wouldn't be the first time that Olympic Games might fall victim to global events. The 1916, 1940 and 1944 Summer Games were canceled because of the last century's two world wars. Coates also pointed to the more recent boycotts of the 1980 Moscow Games and the 1984 Los Angeles Games due to Cold War tensions.
Pound believes that postponing the Games until 2021 would be an insurmountable challenge. It would require the commitment of everyone involved, hotels, volunteers, sporting federations, government officials and the public. They all would have to be in agreement over a potential move, he said.
The official budget for the Tokyo Olympics stands at $12.6 billion, which is far more than its original $7.3 billion estimate, according to latest update from local organizers. But a recent report by Japan's National Audit Board put the Games' overall cost at about $28 billion.


npr--2020-02-27--'We're Supposed To Do That': Bloomberg Defends NYPD's Spying Of Muslims After 9/11

'We 're Supposed To Do That ' : Bloomberg Defends NYPD 's Spying Of Muslims After 9/11 Muslim American advocates and civil rights organizations are condemning comments presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg made defending the practice of surveilling Muslims in New York City when he was mayor .
It 's the latest blowback Bloomberg 's campaign for president has generated as his long history in the public eye dredges up former positions and remarks .
His now-renounced support of stop-and-frisk policing and use of non-disclosure agreements with women created controversy .
So too have past comments he made about the discriminatory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Now , new attention is turning to his backing of the monitoring of Muslims in the New York City area in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks .
In an interview that aired Thursday on PBS NewsHour , Bloomberg explained the New York Police Department 's secret monitoring Muslims as an intelligence-gathering tactic that was part of a larger effort to keep America safe .
`` We sent to some officers into some mosques to listen to the sermon that the imam gave , '' Bloomberg said .
`` We were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looked at us said , yes you complied with the law .
But we had every intention of going every place we could legally to get as much information to protect this country .
We had just lost 3,000 people at 9/11 .
Of course we 're supposed to do that . ''
`` There were imams who publicly at that time were urging the terrorism , '' Bloomberg continued .
`` And so of course that 's where you gon na go .
That does not , incidentally , mean that all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Muslims .
But the people who flew those airplanes came from the Middle East . ''
The police surveillance program was aimed at places of worship , cafes and schools where Muslims frequented .
In one instance , an undercover officer accompanied 18 Muslims students from the City College of New York on a whitewater rafting trip .
The program became the target of multiple lawsuits , which resulted in a settlement deal .
A court never declared the program to be legal , but in settling the suits , neither the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any wrongdoing or violations of the law .
NPR reached out to the Bloomberg campaign for a response to the criticism , but they did not immediately respond .
`` The NYPD literally mapped our communities across three states , causing systemic self-censoring , distrust of any interaction with the government , and untold harm to our communities , '' said Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry .
`` One 's ethnicity or faith is not grounds for law enforcement scrutiny . ''
Hina Shamsi , director of the ACLU 's National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defense of the spying activity .
`` This is an insulting attempt to rewrite the history of an unconstitutional surveillance program that left Muslims , particularly in communities of color , devastated , '' Shamsi said .
`` It took brave Muslims and their supporters to go to court before the NYPD finally agreed to reforms to safeguard communities in New York and beyond .
And no court ever said that the NYPD 's discriminatory surveillance program under Bloomberg was lawful . ''
Muslim Advocates , which has been calling on Bloomberg to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over Bloomberg 's comments .
Executive Director Farhana Khera says that no federal court ever upheld the program .
`` What happened in New York City was a massive civil rights breach that caused lasting harm to countless innocent American Muslims .
Mayor Bloomberg needs to correct the record immediately , '' Khera said .
In 2018 , city officials reached a settlement over the NYPD 's activity in which New York officials agreed to adopt `` reasonable and diligent '' measures to expunge information the police department 's intelligence unit had gathered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the monitoring resulted in the NYPD agreeing to stop launching investigations on the basis of race , ethnicity , religion or natural origin .
The settlements came after the Associated Press won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for exposing the program .
At the time of AP 's investigation , the NYPD denied the spying program existed .
In the Thursday interview , Bloomberg claimed that the same kind of aggressive efforts to surveil people of one religion would have been approved had the 9/11 hijackers been of a different religious background @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the same place and all that came were from a place they happened to be one religion , '' Bloomberg said .
`` And if they 'd been another religion , we would 've done the same thing . ''

'We're Supposed To Do That': Bloomberg Defends NYPD's Spying Of Muslims After 9/11
Enlarge this image toggle caption Rick Bowmer/AP Rick Bowmer/AP
Muslim American advocates and civil rights organizations are condemning comments presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg made defending the practice of surveilling Muslims in New York City when he was mayor.
It's the latest blowback Bloomberg's campaign for president has generated as his long history in the public eye dredges up former positions and remarks.
His now-renounced support of stop-and-frisk policing and use of non-disclosure agreements with women created controversy. So too have past comments he made about the discriminatory lending practice known as "redlining."
Now, new attention is turning to his backing of the monitoring of Muslims in the New York City area in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
In an interview that aired Thursday on PBS NewsHour, Bloomberg explained the New York Police Department's secret monitoring Muslims as an intelligence-gathering tactic that was part of a larger effort to keep America safe.
"We sent to some officers into some mosques to listen to the sermon that the imam gave," Bloomberg said. "We were very careful. And the authorities that looked at us said, yes you complied with the law. But we had every intention of going every place we could legally to get as much information to protect this country. We had just lost 3,000 people at 9/11. Of course we're supposed to do that."
"There were imams who publicly at that time were urging the terrorism," Bloomberg continued. "And so of course that's where you gonna go. That does not, incidentally, mean that all Muslims are terrorists or all terrorists are Muslims. But the people who flew those airplanes came from the Middle East."
The police surveillance program was aimed at places of worship, cafes and schools where Muslims frequented. In one instance, an undercover officer accompanied 18 Muslims students from the City College of New York on a whitewater rafting trip.
The program became the target of multiple lawsuits, which resulted in a settlement deal.
A court never declared the program to be legal, but in settling the suits, neither the city of New York nor the NYPD admitted any wrongdoing or violations of the law.
NPR reached out to the Bloomberg campaign for a response to the criticism, but they did not immediately respond.
Civil liberties advocates swiftly condemned Bloomberg's comments.
"The NYPD literally mapped our communities across three states, causing systemic self-censoring, distrust of any interaction with the government, and untold harm to our communities," said Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry. "One's ethnicity or faith is not grounds for law enforcement scrutiny."
Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project, also criticized Bloomberg's defense of the spying activity.
"This is an insulting attempt to rewrite the history of an unconstitutional surveillance program that left Muslims, particularly in communities of color, devastated," Shamsi said. "It took brave Muslims and their supporters to go to court before the NYPD finally agreed to reforms to safeguard communities in New York and beyond. And no court ever said that the NYPD's discriminatory surveillance program under Bloomberg was lawful."
Muslim Advocates, which has been calling on Bloomberg to disavow the program, joined those dismayed over Bloomberg's comments.
Executive Director Farhana Khera says that no federal court ever upheld the program.
"What happened in New York City was a massive civil rights breach that caused lasting harm to countless innocent American Muslims. Mayor Bloomberg needs to correct the record immediately," Khera said.
In 2018, city officials reached a settlement over the NYPD's activity in which New York officials agreed to adopt "reasonable and diligent" measures to expunge information the police department's intelligence unit had gathered.
Two other suits also settled related to the monitoring resulted in the NYPD agreeing to stop launching investigations on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or natural origin.
The settlements came after the Associated Press won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for exposing the program. At the time of AP's investigation, the NYPD denied the spying program existed.
In the Thursday interview, Bloomberg claimed that the same kind of aggressive efforts to surveil people of one religion would have been approved had the 9/11 hijackers been of a different religious background.
"All of the people came from the same place and all that came were from a place they happened to be one religion," Bloomberg said. "And if they'd been another religion, we would've done the same thing."


npr--2020-02-27--U.S. Supreme Court Agrees To Dismiss 'D.C. Sniper' Case Following Virginia Parole Law

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees To Dismiss 'D.C .
Sniper ' Case Following Virginia Parole Law The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to dismiss the case of `` D.C. sniper '' Lee Boyd Malvo , who mounted a legal challenge to his life-without-parole sentence for a deadly 2002 shooting rampage he committed as minor .
The request to withdraw the appeal from the high court by lawyers on both sides came after Virginia Gov .
Ralph Northam signed legislation on Monday that allows all juvenile lifers who committed crimes under the age of 18 to seek parole after serving 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was 17 when he and John Allen Muhammad , his surrogate father , spread terror in Washington D.C. , Virginia and Maryland by randomly shooting and killing 10 people over three weeks .
Malvo , who is now 35 and held at Red Onion supermax prison in Virginia , should be eligible for release in 2022 .
Muhammad was sentenced to death and executed in 2009 .
But neither the latest change in state law nor the Supreme Court dismissal eliminates the likelihood that Malvo will live any of his life outside of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentences in Virginia and six life without parole sentences in Maryland , where he is also appealing for a new sentence .
In 2012 , the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for juvenile offenders and declared mandatory life-without-parole sentences unconstitutional .
Another decision in 2017 , went a bit further .
It established that the use of life without parole for juveniles should be reserved for `` the rare juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption . ''
Despite the Supreme Court rulings , the judge in Malvo 's Maryland case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that his life terms had not been mandatory .
However , in 2018 , a federal appeals court ruled that in light of the 2012 and 2017 Supreme Court decisions , Malvo deserved a new sentencing hearing .
Virginia 's Attorney General Mark Herring appealed to the Supreme Court , arguing that its ruling only applied to mandatory sentencing schemes , not in cases where judges have discretionary power in deciding the terms of punishment .
The Supreme Court , which heard arguments in the Malvo case in October , had been expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Now , the withdrawal of Malvo 's case leaves open the central question of retroactive resentencing for thousands of Americans behind bars .
The Sentencing Project says as many 2,300 offenders were serving life-without-parole for crimes committed before turning 18 .
The federal government and 29 states are in the process of reviewing or resentencing parole-ineligible offenders .
Only a small fraction of individuals have been released from prison , according to the nonprofit group .
Meanwhile , in New Mexico , Missouri , New York and Maine no one is serving @ @ @

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees To Dismiss 'D.C. Sniper' Case Following Virginia Parole Law
Enlarge this image toggle caption Virginia Department of Corrections /AP Virginia Department of Corrections /AP
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to dismiss the case of "D.C. sniper" Lee Boyd Malvo, who mounted a legal challenge to his life-without-parole sentence for a deadly 2002 shooting rampage he committed as minor.
The request to withdraw the appeal from the high court by lawyers on both sides came after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation on Monday that allows all juvenile lifers who committed crimes under the age of 18 to seek parole after serving 20 years.
That includes Malvo, who was 17 when he and John Allen Muhammad, his surrogate father, spread terror in Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland by randomly shooting and killing 10 people over three weeks.
Malvo, who is now 35 and held at Red Onion supermax prison in Virginia, should be eligible for release in 2022. Muhammad was sentenced to death and executed in 2009.
But neither the latest change in state law nor the Supreme Court dismissal eliminates the likelihood that Malvo will live any of his life outside of confinement. He is serving four life sentences in Virginia and six life without parole sentences in Maryland, where he is also appealing for a new sentence.
In 2012, the Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for juvenile offenders and declared mandatory life-without-parole sentences unconstitutional. Another decision in 2017, went a bit further. It established that the use of life without parole for juveniles should be reserved for "the rare juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption."
Despite the Supreme Court rulings, the judge in Malvo's Maryland case allowed his sentence to stand, finding that his life terms had not been mandatory.
However, in 2018, a federal appeals court ruled that in light of the 2012 and 2017 Supreme Court decisions, Malvo deserved a new sentencing hearing.
Virginia's Attorney General Mark Herring appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that its ruling only applied to mandatory sentencing schemes, not in cases where judges have discretionary power in deciding the terms of punishment.
The Supreme Court ,which heard arguments in the Malvo case in October, had been expected to deliver a ruling by the summer.
Now, the withdrawal of Malvo's case leaves open the central question of retroactive resentencing for thousands of Americans behind bars. The Sentencing Project says as many 2,300 offenders were serving life-without-parole for crimes committed before turning 18.
The federal government and 29 states are in the process of reviewing or resentencing parole-ineligible offenders. Only a small fraction of individuals have been released from prison, according to the nonprofit group. Meanwhile, in New Mexico, Missouri, New York and Maine no one is serving the sentence.


npr--2020-02-27--Overturned Cargo Ship Soon To Be Sliced Up And Removed From Georgia Sound

Overturned Cargo Ship Soon To Be Sliced Up And Removed From Georgia Sound The view from the mainland in coastal Georgia is mostly miles of salt marsh and barrier islands , shore birds hunting in the mud , shrimp boats traveling the Intracoastal Waterway .
Since September , from the coastal city of Brunswick , the view has also featured the Golden Ray .
The cargo ship capsized as it was leaving the Port of Brunswick , heading for Baltimore with 4,200 new cars on board .
The cause is still under investigation .
Now , crews are beginning work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting rid of such a giant wreck is complicated .
From Brunswick , the 656-ft. Golden Ray is a big dark hump near the horizon .
From nearby bridges and islands , the red , white and blue ship is even more visible .
It 's resting on its side offshore , partially submerged .
`` You just ca n't get away from it , '' said Susan Inman , coastkeeper with the local environmental organization , Altamaha Riverkeeper .
It 's just really big , which means getting it out of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The plan to dismantle the wreck is to use a giant chain to slice the cargo ship into eight segments , lift those giant pieces up out of the water , then take them away on a barge .
At a recent community meeting , curious residents like Bill Bulfer were generally impressed .
`` This is going to be cool , '' he said .
`` I 'm into equipment and cranes , and all that kind of stuff .
This is going to be awesome .
I 'm going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it . ''
This wreck is unprecedented in the United States , according to the U.S. Coast Guard , which is coordinating the recovery .
That 's why it 's still there after almost six months , the agency said .
As wild as the plan to slice the ship like a gigantic , semi-submerged loaf of bread might sound , it has been done before in other places with car carriers , and also on part of the Russian submarine , Kursk .
`` It 's not all that unusual , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ engineering and naval architecture at the Maritime College of the State University of New York .
Every wreck is different with its own set of challenges .
With the Golden Ray , `` there are a number of things you have to worry about , '' he said .
`` First of all , the ship has — now the remains of – 4,200 vehicles . ''
So it 's not just getting the ship itself out of the sound , it 's also all the cars , with their fuel and batteries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things complicated include that the ship is on its side , and that there are strong tides and currents in the area , according to the salvage company removing the wreck .
Workers are building a barrier around the Golden Ray that 's meant to soak up oil and catch debris — and cars — once the actual slicing starts .
`` My main concern is the biggest part of this operation is coming up , '' said Inman .
She said she 's worried that cutting the ship into big pieces is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coastal ecosystems .
And the original salvage company working on the Golden Ray is now suing the Coast Guard in federal court .
It claims it was a violation of federal law that it lost the contract to remove the wreck , and that the current plan is environmentally risky .
Still , at least so far , it could have been worse , said Doug Haymans , director of Georgia 's Coastal Resources Division .
`` For a disaster of this nature , we 're very fortunate , '' he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ rescued .
There was an oil spill , but most of the ship 's fuel was removed from its tanks .
`` We could have had 300,000 gallons on our shorelines and we 've had nowhere near that , '' Haymans said .
The company working to remove the Golden Ray will begin slicing up the ship once the environmental barrier is installed , in about a month .
The goal is to have it out of the St. Simons Sound before peak hurricane season this summer .

Overturned Cargo Ship Soon To Be Sliced Up And Removed From Georgia Sound
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sean Rayford/Getty Images Sean Rayford/Getty Images
The view from the mainland in coastal Georgia is mostly miles of salt marsh and barrier islands, shore birds hunting in the mud, shrimp boats traveling the Intracoastal Waterway.
Since September, from the coastal city of Brunswick, the view has also featured the Golden Ray.
The cargo ship capsized as it was leaving the Port of Brunswick, heading for Baltimore with 4,200 new cars on board. The cause is still under investigation.
Now, crews are beginning work to eventually remove the ship, but getting rid of such a giant wreck is complicated.
From Brunswick, the 656-ft. Golden Ray is a big dark hump near the horizon. From nearby bridges and islands, the red, white and blue ship is even more visible. It's resting on its side offshore, partially submerged.
"You just can't get away from it," said Susan Inman, coastkeeper with the local environmental organization, Altamaha Riverkeeper.
It's just really big, which means getting it out of the St. Simons Sound is a big job.
The plan to dismantle the wreck is to use a giant chain to slice the cargo ship into eight segments, lift those giant pieces up out of the water, then take them away on a barge.
At a recent community meeting, curious residents like Bill Bulfer were generally impressed.
"This is going to be cool," he said. "I'm into equipment and cranes, and all that kind of stuff. This is going to be awesome. I'm going to go out in my boat and watch it."
This wreck is unprecedented in the United States, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which is coordinating the recovery. That's why it's still there after almost six months, the agency said.
As wild as the plan to slice the ship like a gigantic, semi-submerged loaf of bread might sound, it has been done before in other places with car carriers, and also on part of the Russian submarine, Kursk.
"It's not all that unusual," said Richard Burke, professor of marine engineering and naval architecture at the Maritime College of the State University of New York.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sean Rayford/Getty Images Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Every wreck is different with its own set of challenges. With the Golden Ray, "there are a number of things you have to worry about," he said. "First of all, the ship has — now the remains of – 4,200 vehicles."
So it's not just getting the ship itself out of the sound, it's also all the cars, with their fuel and batteries and oil.
Other things that make things complicated include that the ship is on its side, and that there are strong tides and currents in the area, according to the salvage company removing the wreck.
Workers are building a barrier around the Golden Ray that's meant to soak up oil and catch debris — and cars — once the actual slicing starts.
"My main concern is the biggest part of this operation is coming up," said Inman. She said she's worried that cutting the ship into big pieces is going to make a mess near sensitive coastal ecosystems.
And the original salvage company working on the Golden Ray is now suing the Coast Guard in federal court. It claims it was a violation of federal law that it lost the contract to remove the wreck, and that the current plan is environmentally risky.
Still, at least so far, it could have been worse, said Doug Haymans, director of Georgia's Coastal Resources Division. "For a disaster of this nature, we're very fortunate," he said.
All the ship's crew members were rescued.
There was an oil spill, but most of the ship's fuel was removed from its tanks.
"We could have had 300,000 gallons on our shorelines and we've had nowhere near that," Haymans said.
The company working to remove the Golden Ray will begin slicing up the ship once the environmental barrier is installed, in about a month. The goal is to have it out of the St. Simons Sound before peak hurricane season this summer.


npr--2020-02-27--How The Brain Teases Apart A Song's Words And Music

How The Brain Teases Apart A Song 's Words And Music A song fuses words and music .
Yet the human brain can instantly separate a song 's lyrics from its melody .
And now scientists think they know how this happens .
A team led by researchers at McGill University reported in Science Thursday that song sounds are processed simultaneously by two separate brain areas – one in the left hemisphere and one in the right .
`` On the left side you can decode the speech content but not the melodic content , and on the right side @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the speech content , '' says Robert Zatorre , a professor at McGill University 's Montreal Neurological Institute .
The finding explains something doctors have observed in stroke patients for decades , says Daniela Sammler , a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Cognition and Neurosciences in Leipzig , Germany , who was not involved in the study .
`` If you have a stroke in the left hemisphere you are much more likely to have a language impairment than if you have a stroke in the right hemisphere , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to certain areas of the right hemisphere can affect a person 's ability to perceive music .
The study was inspired by songbirds , Zatorre says .
Studies show that their brains decode sounds using two separate measures .
One assesses how quickly a sound fluctuates over time .
The other detects the frequencies in a sound .
`` We thought , hey , maybe that 's what the human brain does too , '' Zatorre says .
To find out , the team got help from a composer and a soprano .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ songs that were just a few seconds long .
Then the team used a computer to alter the recordings .
Sometimes they removed information about sound frequencies , which produced a breathy voice a bit like Darth Vader 's .
`` The speech is perfectly comprehensible , but all the melody is essentially gone , '' Zatorre says .
Other songs were altered to remove information about how the sound changed over time .
That sounds a bit like someone humming a sentence rather than singing the words .
`` You can still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longer tell what the speech is , '' Zatorre says .
Armed with hundreds of altered song fragments , recorded in both English and French , the team set out to learn how a human brain would process these sounds .
The scientists played them for 49 people while an fMRI scanner monitored brain activity .
And it turned out that the people decoded sounds the same way songbirds do , by separating a sound 's time-related elements from the frequencies it contains , and processing the information using two different groups of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when we hear a song , it engages both hemispheres of the brain in a way that 's different than either speech or music alone , Zatorre says .
`` That might be why [ songs are ] especially prominent and especially meaningful '' in cultures around the globe , Zatorre says .
But it 's not just songs that require both hemispheres working together , Sammler says .
That process is necessary to fully experience any type of sound .
Also , the brain circuits involved probably existed before human language @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Darwin said the languages that we use today emerged from something that was a song-like proto-language , '' she says .
Now that there 's good evidence a song takes two separate paths through the brain , researchers will need to figure out how the brain combines those twin streams of information into a coherent listening experience , Sammler says .
`` We perceive the song as a song , right ? ''
she says .
`` It 's one thing and it 's not like a speech stream or a melody stream @ @

How The Brain Teases Apart A Song's Words And Music
Enlarge this image toggle caption Christoph Hetzmannseder/Getty Images Christoph Hetzmannseder/Getty Images
A song fuses words and music. Yet the human brain can instantly separate a song's lyrics from its melody.
And now scientists think they know how this happens.
A team led by researchers at McGill University reported in Science Thursday that song sounds are processed simultaneously by two separate brain areas – one in the left hemisphere and one in the right.
"On the left side you can decode the speech content but not the melodic content, and on the right side you can decode the melodic content but not the speech content," says Robert Zatorre, a professor at McGill University's Montreal Neurological Institute.
The finding explains something doctors have observed in stroke patients for decades, says Daniela Sammler, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Cognition and Neurosciences in Leipzig, Germany, who was not involved in the study.
"If you have a stroke in the left hemisphere you are much more likely to have a language impairment than if you have a stroke in the right hemisphere," Sammler says. Moreover, brain damage to certain areas of the right hemisphere can affect a person's ability to perceive music.
The study was inspired by songbirds, Zatorre says.
Studies show that their brains decode sounds using two separate measures. One assesses how quickly a sound fluctuates over time. The other detects the frequencies in a sound.
"We thought, hey, maybe that's what the human brain does too," Zatorre says.
To find out, the team got help from a composer and a soprano. And they created lots of a cappella songs that were just a few seconds long.
Then the team used a computer to alter the recordings. Sometimes they removed information about sound frequencies, which produced a breathy voice a bit like Darth Vader's.
"The speech is perfectly comprehensible, but all the melody is essentially gone," Zatorre says.
Other songs were altered to remove information about how the sound changed over time. That sounds a bit like someone humming a sentence rather than singing the words.
"You can still perceive the melody but you can no longer tell what the speech is," Zatorre says.
Armed with hundreds of altered song fragments, recorded in both English and French, the team set out to learn how a human brain would process these sounds.
The scientists played them for 49 people while an fMRI scanner monitored brain activity. And it turned out that the people decoded sounds the same way songbirds do, by separating a sound's time-related elements from the frequencies it contains, and processing the information using two different groups of specialized brain cells.
As a result, when we hear a song, it engages both hemispheres of the brain in a way that's different than either speech or music alone, Zatorre says.
"That might be why [songs are] especially prominent and especially meaningful" in cultures around the globe, Zatorre says.
But it's not just songs that require both hemispheres working together, Sammler says. That process is necessary to fully experience any type of sound.
Also, the brain circuits involved probably existed before human language appeared, Sammer says.
"Charles Darwin said the languages that we use today emerged from something that was a song-like proto-language," she says.
Now that there's good evidence a song takes two separate paths through the brain, researchers will need to figure out how the brain combines those twin streams of information into a coherent listening experience, Sammler says.
"We perceive the song as a song, right?" she says. "It's one thing and it's not like a speech stream or a melody stream."