npr--2020-09-07--Record Heat Wave Creates 'Kiln-Like' Conditions In California

At 121 degrees , Los Angeles County hit its highest temperature ever recorded this weekend , as the state swelters in a heat wave that has helped intensify the most devastating wildfire season California has experienced in years .
The record temperature was measured in Woodland Hills , northwest of downtown Los Angeles .
The `` kiln-like '' heat was exacerbated by a high-pressure system and a weak sea breeze , according to the National Weather Service .
NWS Meteorologist Dave Bruno told The New York Times that these factors `` allowed basically the entire region to roast . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ faced scorching temperatures .
The heat contributed to the death of a 41-year-old hiker , who died Saturday from a heat-related seizure after hiking at Tapia Park in Malibu Creek State Park for several hours , L.A. County Sheriff 's officials told CNN .
After her death , officials decided to close all hiking trails in the Santa Monica Mountains through Labor Day .
`` Do not hike this holiday weekend , especially with dogs , '' Malibu Search and Rescue said .
Late Monday , the U.S. Forest Service announced it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of the conditions .
California firefighters are currently battling dozens of active blazes that have so far consumed more than 1.8 million acres , damaged over 3,800 structures , and killed seven people .
Many of the fires were caused by lightning strikes , but the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County was caused by `` a smoke generating pyrotechnic device used during a gender reveal party , '' the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said .
That fire , which began Saturday morning , spread north and quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 500 people , 60 fire engines and six helicopters were fighting the blaze , which was only 5 percent contained by Sunday night .
2020 has now seen the most acres burned in California than any other year during the modern era , according to Daniel Swain , a climate scientist at UCLA .
But some small relief could be coming .
Weakening high pressure and a stronger sea breeze will lead to `` some decent cooling across the coast today , '' NWS Los Angeles tweeted Monday .
`` A little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be nearly as oppressive as yesterday !
Just one more day of heat before we get a break !
We got this ! ''

Record Heat Wave Creates 'Kiln-Like' Conditions In California
Enlarge this image toggle caption Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Updated at 8:16 p.m. ET
At 121 degrees, Los Angeles County hit its highest temperature ever recorded this weekend, as the state swelters in a heat wave that has helped intensify the most devastating wildfire season California has experienced in years.
The record temperature was measured in Woodland Hills, northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The "kiln-like" heat was exacerbated by a high-pressure system and a weak sea breeze, according to the National Weather Service.
NWS Meteorologist Dave Bruno told The New York Times that these factors "allowed basically the entire region to roast." Several other locations in the state also faced scorching temperatures.
The heat contributed to the death of a 41-year-old hiker, who died Saturday from a heat-related seizure after hiking at Tapia Park in Malibu Creek State Park for several hours, L.A. County Sheriff's officials told CNN. After her death, officials decided to close all hiking trails in the Santa Monica Mountains through Labor Day.
"Do not hike this holiday weekend, especially with dogs," Malibu Search and Rescue said.
Late Monday, the U.S. Forest Service announced it would close eight national forests in Southern California because of the conditions.
California firefighters are currently battling dozens of active blazes that have so far consumed more than 1.8 million acres, damaged over 3,800 structures, and killed seven people. Many of the fires were caused by lightning strikes, but the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County was caused by "a smoke generating pyrotechnic device used during a gender reveal party," the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
That fire, which began Saturday morning, spread north and quickly consumed more than 7,000 acres. More than 500 people, 60 fire engines and six helicopters were fighting the blaze, which was only 5 percent contained by Sunday night.
2020 has now seen the most acres burned in California than any other year during the modern era, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA.
But some small relief could be coming. Weakening high pressure and a stronger sea breeze will lead to "some decent cooling across the coast today," NWS Los Angeles tweeted Monday. "A little less cooling inland but it won't be nearly as oppressive as yesterday! Just one more day of heat before we get a break! We got this!"


npr--2020-09-07--Gary Peacock, A Jazz Bassist Always Ahead Of His Time, Dies At 85

Gary Peacock , A Jazz Bassist Always Ahead Of His Time , Dies At 85 Gary Peacock , a versatile bassist who collaborated with some of the 20th century 's most notable jazz musicians , has died .
He was 85 .
His family confirmed in a statement to NPR that Peacock died peacefully Friday , Sept. 4 , at his home in upstate New York .
No cause of death was provided .
Over a career that spanned seven decades , he played on recordings alongside Albert Ayler , Paul Bley , Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett , among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who recorded with Peacock for more than 30 years starting in the 1980s , said in a 2015 interview with NPR that from the start of the 1960s , Peacock `` was arguably one of the tiny handful of a vanguard of innovators on his instrument , OK ?
In 2015 , you can make the same argument . ''
In the intervening 55 years , Peacock persuaded numerous jazz greats of his virtuosity and innovative approach .
In addition to iconic stints with legendary pianists like Bley , Evans and Jarrett , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recordings of Ayler , a free jazz pioneer , and collaborated with numerous other vital figures in jazz — a partial list includes Marilyn Crispell , Don Pullen , Masubumi Kikuchi , Paul Motian and Tony Williams .
He even did a two-month stint with Miles Davis , subbing for Ron Carter in April and May 1964 .
He recorded 12 times as a leader , but he is probably best known as a member of Keith Jarrett 's Standards Trio with Jack DeJohnette .
The ensemble first recorded in 1977 on Peacock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ created an extraordinary body of work — 22 albums — that are a definitive statement of the piano trio in modern jazz .
Peacock 's personal philosophy enabled him to work with a wide variety of musicians and facilitate great depth in those sessions .
In a 2017 interview , he told Ken Bader of the Arts Fuse , '' I 'm not after my statement or my identity as a bass player or improviser .
It 's not about me .
It 's about the music .
It 's about my responsibility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other people can share , enjoy and feel something . ''
Gary Peacock was born in Burley , Idaho on May 12 , 1935 , and he grew up in Yakima , Wash .
In high school he played trumpet , piano and drums , and he began to attend the Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles before he was drafted into the Army .
He served in Germany , where he played piano in a trio but he switched to bass when the bassist quit .
After his discharge he stayed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Upon his return to Los Angeles , his style , which exuded the influence of jazz greats like Paul Chambers and Ray Brown , won him a steady stream of gigs .
His friendship with the great bassist Scott LaFaro led him to the music of Ornette Coleman , which inspired him to envision the bass in a broader musical function beyond timekeeping .
A move to New York and collaborations with giants like Davis , Bley , Ayler and Willams established him as a formidable player and his style helped set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to follow .
In the late '60s , he took a hiatus from music , studying macrobiotic cooking and meditation and even moving to Japan for several years .
He told NPR in 2015 that his studies of the Japanese language , with its lack of emphasis of personal pronouns , opened his mind to a sense of selflessness .
He resumed playing in the early '70s and began releasing stellar music under his own name , recordings that conveyed his philosophy of striving to `` get out of the way of myself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service of whichever bandmate was taking a solo — facilitating his bandmates to play the best they 've ever played .

Gary Peacock, A Jazz Bassist Always Ahead Of His Time, Dies At 85
Enlarge this image toggle caption Eliott Peacock/Courtesy of the Peacock Family Eliott Peacock/Courtesy of the Peacock Family
Gary Peacock, a versatile bassist who collaborated with some of the 20th century's most notable jazz musicians, has died. He was 85.
His family confirmed in a statement to NPR that Peacock died peacefully Friday, Sept. 4, at his home in upstate New York. No cause of death was provided.
Over a career that spanned seven decades, he played on recordings alongside Albert Ayler, Paul Bley, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, among many others.
Pianist Marc Copland, who recorded with Peacock for more than 30 years starting in the 1980s, said in a 2015 interview with NPR that from the start of the 1960s, Peacock "was arguably one of the tiny handful of a vanguard of innovators on his instrument, OK? In 2015, you can make the same argument." In the intervening 55 years, Peacock persuaded numerous jazz greats of his virtuosity and innovative approach. In addition to iconic stints with legendary pianists like Bley, Evans and Jarrett, he played on many of the mid-1960s recordings of Ayler, a free jazz pioneer, and collaborated with numerous other vital figures in jazz — a partial list includes Marilyn Crispell, Don Pullen, Masubumi Kikuchi, Paul Motian and Tony Williams. He even did a two-month stint with Miles Davis, subbing for Ron Carter in April and May 1964. He recorded 12 times as a leader, but he is probably best known as a member of Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio with Jack DeJohnette. The ensemble first recorded in 1977 on Peacock's Tales of Another album and subsequently created an extraordinary body of work — 22 albums — that are a definitive statement of the piano trio in modern jazz.
YouTube
Peacock's personal philosophy enabled him to work with a wide variety of musicians and facilitate great depth in those sessions. In a 2017 interview, he told Ken Bader of the Arts Fuse,"I'm not after my statement or my identity as a bass player or improviser. It's not about me. It's about the music. It's about my responsibility to be in a particular place that other people can share, enjoy and feel something."
Gary Peacock was born in Burley, Idaho on May 12, 1935, and he grew up in Yakima, Wash. In high school he played trumpet, piano and drums, and he began to attend the Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles before he was drafted into the Army. He served in Germany, where he played piano in a trio but he switched to bass when the bassist quit. After his discharge he stayed abroad, playing with several notable musicians. Upon his return to Los Angeles, his style, which exuded the influence of jazz greats like Paul Chambers and Ray Brown, won him a steady stream of gigs. His friendship with the great bassist Scott LaFaro led him to the music of Ornette Coleman, which inspired him to envision the bass in a broader musical function beyond timekeeping. A move to New York and collaborations with giants like Davis, Bley, Ayler and Willams established him as a formidable player and his style helped set the template for bassists for the decades to follow.
In the late '60s, he took a hiatus from music, studying macrobiotic cooking and meditation and even moving to Japan for several years. He told NPR in 2015 that his studies of the Japanese language, with its lack of emphasis of personal pronouns, opened his mind to a sense of selflessness. He resumed playing in the early '70s and began releasing stellar music under his own name,recordings that conveyed his philosophy of striving to "get out of the way of myself," and creating collaborative scenarios in service of whichever bandmate was taking a solo — facilitating his bandmates to play the best they've ever played.


npr--2020-09-07--Coronavirus World Map: Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak

Coronavirus World Map : Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak Since the new coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan , China , in December , the infectious respiratory disease COVID-19 has spread rapidly within China and to neighboring countries and beyond .
The first confirmed coronavirus cases outside China occurred on Jan. 20 , in Japan , Thailand and South Korea .
On Jan. 21 , the first case in the U.S. was identified in Washington state .
On Jan. 24 , the first two European cases were confirmed in France .
By Feb. 1 , eight European nations had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month later that count had risen to 24 countries with at least 2,200 cases , most of them in Italy .
On March 11 , Italy eclipsed 10,000 cases and the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic — the first since H1N1 in 2009 .
That 's also when China , the original epicenter , began seeing drops in daily counts of new cases .
March also saw exponential spread of the virus throughout the U.S. , with all 50 states reporting cases by March 17 .
This particular virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the third strain of coronavirus known to frequently cause severe symptoms in humans .
The other two strains cause Middle East respiratory syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome .
Click here to see the state-by-state breakdown of cases in the United States .
This story was originally published on March 30 , 2020 .

Coronavirus world map: We've now passed the 600 million mark for infections
Editor's note: This page is no longer being updated. The last update was Sept. 5, 2022. For current data about COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world, Johns Hopkins University and Our World in Data are useful resources.
In late January 2020 only a few dozen COVID-19 infections had been identified outside of China. A year later, the world tallied its first 100 million cases. It took the globe just 7 more months to pass the 200 million mark— then another 5 months to hit 300 million, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Now the virus has spread to every corner of the globe and has been blamed for more than 6 million deaths.
The United States, India and Brazil in that order have had the most COVID cases and the three nations collectively account for almost half of all recorded infections so far in the pandemic.
Explore the chart below to find a country-by-country breakdown of new and total cases since January 2020.
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Explore how the number of coronavirus cases have shifted in different parts of the world over time. The first chart compares each continent to each other, while the next charts highlight the number of cases in select countries by region.
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This story was originally published on March 30, 2020.


npr--2020-09-08--Fast-Moving Wildfire Destroys 80% Of Small Town In Eastern Washington State

Almost every structure in the small farming town of Malden in eastern Washington state was destroyed by a fast-moving fire Monday as high winds created what officials described as a firestorm .
According to the Whitman County Sheriff 's Office , 80 % of the town 's structures were destroyed .
The town of about 200 is 35 miles south of Spokane in an agricultural region known as the Palouse .
`` The scale of this disaster really ca n't be expressed in words , '' said Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers in a statement .
`` The fire will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changed for a lifetime .
I just hope we do n't find the fire took more than homes and buildings .
I pray everyone got out in time . ''
As of early Tuesday there were no reports of injuries .
Officials said the fire was fueled by high winds up to 45 mph , standing timber and dry fields .
Deputies went door-to-door and used PA systems on their patrol vehicles to tell residents to evacuate immediately .
Within hours , most of the small town had burned to the ground .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ office , city hall , library and most of its homes , according to the Sheriff 's Office .
Myers said he believed all residents in the area had safely evacuated but could n't be sure , according to The Spokesman-Review .
`` The fire was too hot and too quick to even get a count , '' Myers said .
Whitman County Emergency Management , Sheriff 's Office and Fire Incident Command will inventory buildings and attempt to contact and account for all residents Tuesday .

Fast-Moving Wildfire Destroys 80% Of Small Town In Eastern Washington State
Enlarge this image toggle caption Whitman County Sheriff's Office/Facebook Whitman County Sheriff's Office/Facebook
Updated at 3 p.m. ET
Almost every structure in the small farming town of Malden in eastern Washington state was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire Monday as high winds created what officials described as a firestorm.
According to the Whitman County Sheriff's Office, 80% of the town's structures were destroyed. The town of about 200 people is 35 miles south of Spokane in an agricultural region known as the Palouse.
"The scale of this disaster really can't be expressed in words," Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers said in a statement. "The fire will be extinguished, but a community has been changed for a lifetime. I just hope we don't find the fire took more than homes and buildings. I pray everyone got out in time."
As of early Tuesday, there were no reports of injuries from the wildfire that swept through Malden.
Officials said the fire was fueled by high winds of up to 45 mph, standing timber and dry fields. Deputies went door to door and used public-address systems on their patrol vehicles to tell residents to evacuate the area immediately. Within hours, most of the small town had burned to the ground.
Malden lost its fire station, post office, City Hall, library and most of its homes, according to the sheriff's office.
Myers said he believed all residents in the area had safely fled but couldn't be sure, according to The Spokesman-Review.
"The fire was too hot and too quick to even get a count," Myers said.
Malden was not alone in seeing catastrophe on Labor Day — a day Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz described as heartbreaking and surreal as a result of the intensity of wildfires and the speed with which they spread.
"Today alone, almost 300,000 acres in Washington have burned," Franz said via social media channels. "Thousands of homes are without power. Many families have had to evacuate their homes and many homes have been lost."
"At least 80 fires started in Washington in what officials call a historic fire event," as Spokane Public Radio reported.
Authorities are still taking stock in Whitman County, where the local emergency management agency, the sheriff's office and fire officials planned to inventory buildings and attempt to contact and account for all residents on Tuesday.
Most of Washington remains under red flag warnings because of the high risk of wildfires. The National Weather Service has declared part of the state and parts of western Oregon as "extremely critical" fire areas.
"We're expecting east winds and extreme fire danger over the next two days," Franz said.
The wind poses a double threat as it can quickly propel fires and also frustrate attempts to fight them. The Cold Springs Fire sprinted 60 miles across Okanogan and Douglas counties in just 20 hours, Spokane Public Radio reported. And the winds drove a mass of smoke and sand into the air, forcing officials to ground firefighting planes and helicopters.
"Really our actions are limited to keeping people out of harm's way and working the edges of the fire as best we can," Russ Lane, a fire manager with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, told the Spokane station.
In addition to Washington and Oregon, parts of California, Arizona and Nevada are seeing "critical fire-weather conditions," the National Weather Service said, citing an ongoing heat wave, dry fuels and strong winds that could gust to above 60 mph in some areas.
As of Tuesday morning, at least nine large fires were burning in Washington state, Franz said.
Clouds of thick smoke from the wildfires have been driven west toward Puget Sound and coastal areas, prompting a number of people to make emergency calls to the King County Sheriff's Office, as NPR member station KUOW reports.
The prevalence and health risks of smoky air are being compounded by a number of factors, from homes that lack air conditioning to officials' reluctance to open "smoke shelters" because of the coronavirus. KUOW has published a list of tips to help people reduce the amount of unhealthy smoke in their homes.
Franz and other officials are pleading with residents to avoid any activities that could cause sparks and ignite a new blaze.
"We're still seeing new fire starts in every corner of the state," Franz said. She added that 90% of the wildfires in Washington's recorded history have been caused by people.


npr--2020-09-08--Boston Pub Struggles To Stay In Business As Other Establishments Stay Closed

Boston Pub Struggles To Stay In Business As Other Establishments Stay Closed Few people have been looking forward to colleges reopening – and staying open — this fall , as much as the adults who run Cornwall 's Tavern in Boston 's Kenmore Square .
A go-to for students and faculty at Boston University , the family-owned pub has been counting on the back-to-school crowds to help it survive .
In an industry hard-hit by the pandemic , it 's a test Cornwall 's ca n't afford to fail .
`` It 's a frightening time , '' said Pam @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her husband John .
`` It feels like the earth is moving under your feel all the time . ''
After forty years in business , and four months shut down by the pandemic , Cornwall 's reopened in July with a lot to learn .
Even as they opened the doors that day , they were still scrambling to work out the kinks in their new takeout and delivery service , set up their new outdoor dining space , implement new safety protocols and master the new breakfast menu they added because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crowded bars running late into the night — the core of Cornwall 's business .
The Beales were running around looking for the umbrellas for their sidewalk seating , and printing out new disposable menus .
Their nephews JR and Billy Moran , who work in the kitchen and behind the bar , respectively , and Billy 's wife Lauren who was helping out , were still working out everything from how to fold a breakfast burrito without breaking it , to how to post on the Instagram account they 'd just set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smiling under their masks in front of their signature copper-top bar , and another one showcasing their new breakfast special : crispy tater tots with avocado , bacon , a fried egg and spicy mayo .
It was the first time ever that this long-time institution had to think about marketing .
Even figuring out how much food to order is a challenge these days , when nothing is predictable .
`` If you see one of us frantically run out the door , '' cracked Billy , `` we 're going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out . ''
At 8 a.m. sharp , one of their regulars , Chris Strang strolled in , and Pam greeted him with a socially-distanced kind of air hug , and reminded him of the new normal .
`` No seats at the bar , so you ca n't sit here and chat with Billy , '' she said .
`` You have to sit over there and talk louder . ''
Billy pulled the first cup of coffee from the new espresso machine they recently installed at the bar , and served @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it turned out , they 'd have plenty of time to catch up .
Strang would be not only Cornwall 's first customer , but also its only customer for nearly two hours .
The usually bustling Kenmore Square was drained of virtually any sign of life ; no commuters , no students , no hotel guests , and no baseball fans headed to nearby Fenway Park .
`` You 've got to have patience , that 's for sure , '' sighed Miz Martinez , Cornwall 's lone server , who spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the empty streets .
`` We all knew this was n't going to be a huge crush right when we opened the doors . ''
Making things even more challenging , a massive construction project was underway outside , and Cornwall 's was one of just two open businesses on the block .
But there were lots of construction workers out there , and Lauren saw a marketing opportunity .
She grabbed a handful of their new breakfast menus and headed out the door .
`` We just opened for breakfast , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was wondering if you guys want a cup of coffee on the house ? ''
Several guys took her up on the offer , as several more started to follow .
Meantime , back at Cornwall 's , a family of four finally showed up .
They were staying at the hotel across the street that had also just reopened .
And they were hungry .
Gushing over the menu , they proclaimed , `` We want everything !
One of each ! ''
In the kitchen , as a printer spat out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happy dance , as JR kicked into gear , firing up their breakfast tots and frying eggs , delighted to finally be busy again with the job he had n't been able to do for far too long .
`` You take that away , and I 'm kind of lost , '' he said .
`` I did n't know what to do with myself . ''
But the celebration was also tempered by a tinge of sadness .
The hotel where the family was staying has its own restaurant , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a landlord dispute .
And that restaurant is owned by a good friend of theirs .
`` It 's great that we have people coming in , and it 's exciting for us , '' said Billy .
`` But at the same time its bittersweet , because we know there 's collateral damage . ''
For another hour or so , a few more customers stopped by .
By the end of Cornwall 's first breakfast shift , they would serve a grand total of six meals .
`` Not setting world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` but it will get better .
It 's just a question of whether colleges come back or not . ''
All summer that 's been an open — and anxiety-inducing — question .
At BU , faculty held protests demanding that students be kept away .
`` I do n't disagree with them , '' Pam said .
`` But I also feel like if we 're stuck like this for a pretty long time , we ca n't be in suspended animation for years .
And life has to go on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find a way to live . ''
Adding to their worry , and weighing on everyone as a kind of cautionary tale , was the fate of their friend 's shuttered restaurants across the street .
`` I was just looking over there for signs of life over there .
And there 's nothing , '' said Strang .
The owner , Garrett Harker , one of Boston 's preeminent restaurateurs , made a point of stopping by Cornwall 's on their opening day , to congratulate everyone .
But he brought only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ca n't imagine Eastern Standard or Island Creek not being in my life , '' he said , referring to two of his restaurants that have yet to reopen .
`` Emotionally , it 's really hard to think about . ''
But Harker said his landlord is playing hardball , and negotiations are going nowhere .
`` Basically we 've said 'Here 's our books .
Let 's open them up to you and let 's figure out something good for both of us , ' '' he explained .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... but that 's got to be the handbook right now .
We have to long-term rely on each other , all the vested partners , to come out of this . ''
So far Cornwall 's is having better luck with the people it does business with .
The day the restaurant opened , Billy huddled over the bar with one of his beer reps , going over past-due invoices .
It took them just a minute to hammer out a repayment plan .
`` We 'll start next week , Billy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start to get a little bit of a cash flow . ''
Kevin Leddy , area sales manager for Craft Brewers Guild , is more than willing to cut customers some slack .
In this industry , everyone 's success is tied to everyone else , he says .
`` If they 're not open , I do n't have a job , and my guys do n't have jobs .
We need them as much as they need us , '' Leddy said , before avowing , `` we probably need them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was whether Cornwall 's landlord would be as accommodating .
They 'd been very friendly so far , and they said they want to have a meeting about the past-due rent .
But so far , they had n't set it up , and so far , Pam was n't exactly chasing them to nail down a date .
`` We do n't know what they 're thinking , '' she said .
`` All of it hangs over my head .
I do n't sleep well anymore . ''
The longer she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news she might have to report .
Indeed , even after their slow start at breakfast on opening day , happy hour turned out to be markedly happier .
Regulars streamed in with squeals and excited greetings , catching up and comparing notes on how everyone had been managing for the past four months .
At one table , Chris Strang , who 's back for dinner , clinked glasses with another regular , Curt Hall .
`` It 's been too long , '' said Hall .
`` This is where we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Strang .
`` And probably the 15th , and the 14th , and possibly the 13th , '' said Hall , only half-joking .
`` It 's cute .
We have our neighborhood regulars , and what we call irregulars , '' added Pam , as she and John made their way around Cornwall 's cozy English-style tavern , schmoozing with all of them .
Kathy Conley , 56 , who 's been coming since she was in college , recalled how her grandmother used to call Cornwall 's looking for her when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20-something grad student told Billy she and her friends biked across town as soon as they heard Cornwall 's had reopened .
`` Wow ! ''
replied Billy .
`` We 're feeling the love right now . ''
Cornwall 's energy and bustle builds , and like family , everyone seemed to be picking up right where they left off .
Strang teased 77-year-old John , the restaurant 's original founder , asking how his experience during this pandemic is different from the last one in 1918 .
Laughter filled the room @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ca n't even put it into words how much it lifts me up , '' she said .
`` Cornwall 's is n't just our livelihood .
It 's our life .
It means the world . ''
In the livelihood department , however , the day did n't do much for the bottom line .
All the opening excitement would add up to just about a third of a normal pre-pandemic day .
And it was nowhere near the 150 dinners they 'd be cranking out on nights when the Red @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Park .
The team 's opening game drew in a decent crowd to watch the game on TV , since fans are n't allowed in the stadium .
But since then , game nights have been a bust .
On one evening , when the Sox were at home playing the Yankees , just two parties were seated in the restaurant , and neither was there for baseball .
`` I honestly did n't realize it was a game day , '' said Justin Wright , who was eating out on Cornwall 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hear the roar of the Fenway faithful from inside the ballpark .
`` It 's way too quiet to be a game day , '' saed Terrell Blackmon .
`` It 's weird , for sure ! ''
`` It 's just a desert , '' said John , shaking his head .
`` Like nothing we 've ever seen , '' added Pam .
Part of the challenge was a lingering reluctance among many to venture out .
Even though Massachusetts ' COVID case numbers are among the best in the nation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially as so many other states are dealing with outbreaks .
`` I watch the news and I freak out , like 'Oh God , why am I doing this ? '
'' said one customer still trying to get comfortable with the idea .
Another regular who came out on opening day to show her support , said she would n't really be a regular again for a while .
`` This is a one-off for us , '' she said .
`` It 's not something I expect to do regularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has left others doubling down , including Nelson Feliciano , who works just across the river as an assistant director of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , where a last-minute decision has most students learning remotely .
But Feliciano wanted to make sure that whenever students do come back , a vibrant city life will still be there for them .
`` I feel somewhat responsible , '' he grinned , working his way through an order of chicken tenders and a beer .
`` This is my portion to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't fall away , and hopefully it makes a difference .
We have to make sure we all do our little part . ''
By the time the end of summer rolls around , Cornwall 's was drawing a somewhat steady business , but still just barely covering its costs .
The bump from the pub 's opening day fizzled out fast .
And BU 's back-to-school had so far been a bust .
Cornwall 's saw a little extra business from parents who were in town to drop off their students , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begun to stream in themselves .
It was still not enough for anyone in the family to draw a paycheck .
`` BU is still the big thing for us .
It 's really dependent on that as to whether we do well , or whether we just sort of hang on by thread . ''
`` It 's a crap shoot .
It 's a real toss up , '' said Pam .
`` But you have to decide if you 're in or out .
That 's the reality of it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we 're going to do whatever it takes to make this work no matter what it means . ''
When they opened their doors in July , she says , no one had any delusions it would be easy .
The goal was always just to work out their new normal and get in a groove so they 'd be ready to catch the wave when the city comes back to life .
`` It will eventually , '' said JR , wolfing down a burger at the end of a long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter of lasting that long , and being there when it does .
That 's the key . ''
Meantime , they hoped their landlord noticed their commitment , and that it weighed in Cornwall 's favor .
At the end of August , Pam finally spoke to the landlord about it .
Sort of .
`` He stopped in for coffee , and I said you know , I 'm not ignoring you , '' she said with a simper .
He asked Pam to keep collecting numbers tracking their business , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Day .
`` It 's nerve wracking , '' she said .
`` But you have the sense that if you just work hard , and you keep treading water , and you can still see the horizon and breathe , then you 're going to survive this . ''
It may be too late for their friend across the street .
One of his former bartenders , John Rodriquez , stopped by and told Billy he and other staff have been told to look for other work .
Billy offered to connect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Much as he 'd love the extra help , so far , Cornwall 's is not .
Then , after a hard , 15-hour day at Cornwall 's , Billy poured himself a Guinness , and let out a sigh .
`` I 'm going to sleep good tonight , '' he said .
`` But not for long .
I 'm coming back to do it all again tomorrow .
And hopefully the day after that and many days after all of those . ''

Boston Pub Struggles To Stay In Business As Other Establishments Stay Closed
toggle caption Tovia Smith/NPR
Few people have been looking forward to colleges reopening – and staying open — this fall, as much as the people who run Cornwall's Tavern in Boston's Kenmore Square. A go-to for students and faculty at Boston University, the family-owned pub has been counting on the back-to-school crowds to help it survive. In an industry hard-hit by the pandemic, it's a test Cornwall's can't afford to fail.
"It's a frightening time," said Pam Beale, who owns the place with her husband John. "It feels like the earth is moving under your feel all the time."
After forty years in business, and four months shut down by the pandemic, Cornwall's reopened in July with a lot to learn. Even as they opened the doors that day, they were still scrambling to work out the kinks in their new takeout and delivery service, set up their new outdoor dining space, implement new safety protocols and master the new breakfast menu they added because new COVID-19 rules put the kibosh on crowded bars running late into the night — the core of Cornwall's business.
The Beales were running around looking for the umbrellas for their sidewalk seating, and printing out new disposable menus. Their nephews JR and Billy Moran, who work in the kitchen and behind the bar, respectively, and Billy's wife Lauren who was helping out, were still working out everything from how to fold a breakfast burrito without breaking it, to how to post on the Instagram account they'd just set up.
They snapped pictures of themselves smiling under their masks in front of their signature copper-top bar, and another one showcasing their new breakfast special: crispy tater tots with avocado, bacon, a fried egg and spicy mayo. It was the first time ever that this long-time institution had to think about marketing. Even figuring out how much food to order is a challenge these days, when nothing is predictable.
"If you see one of us frantically run out the door," cracked Billy, "we're going to buy some milk because we've run out."
At 8 a.m. sharp, one of their regulars, Chris Strang strolled in, and Pam greeted him with a socially-distanced kind of air hug, and reminded him of the new normal.
"No seats at the bar, so you can't sit here and chat with Billy," she said. "You have to sit over there and talk louder." Billy pulled the first cup of coffee from the new espresso machine they recently installed at the bar, and served a hot cup to Strang.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Tovia Smith/NPR Tovia Smith/NPR
As it turned out, they'd have plenty of time to catch up. Strang would be not only Cornwall's first customer, but also its only customer for nearly two hours. The usually bustling Kenmore Square was drained of virtually any sign of life; no commuters, no students, no hotel guests, and no baseball fans headed to nearby Fenway Park.
"You've got to have patience, that's for sure," sighed Miz Martinez, Cornwall's lone server, who spent long stretches looking forlornly out the window at the empty streets. "We all knew this wasn't going to be a huge crush right when we opened the doors."
Making things even more challenging, a massive construction project was underway outside, and Cornwall's was one of just two open businesses on the block. But there were lots of construction workers out there, and Lauren saw a marketing opportunity. She grabbed a handful of their new breakfast menus and headed out the door.
"We just opened for breakfast," she saed, "and I was wondering if you guys want a cup of coffee on the house?" Several guys took her up on the offer, as several more started to follow.
Meantime, back at Cornwall's, a family of four finally showed up. They were staying at the hotel across the street that had also just reopened. And they were hungry.
Gushing over the menu, they proclaimed, "We want everything! One of each!"
In the kitchen, as a printer spat out their order, Lauren did a little happy dance, as JR kicked into gear, firing up their breakfast tots and frying eggs, delighted to finally be busy again with the job he hadn't been able to do for far too long.
"You take that away, and I'm kind of lost," he said. "I didn't know what to do with myself."
toggle caption Tovia Smith/NPR
But the celebration was also tempered by a tinge of sadness.
The hotel where the family was staying has its own restaurant, which has been unable to reopen because of a landlord dispute. And that restaurant is owned by a good friend of theirs.
"It's great that we have people coming in, and it's exciting for us," said Billy. "But at the same time its bittersweet, because we know there's collateral damage."
For another hour or so, a few more customers stopped by. By the end of Cornwall's first breakfast shift, they would serve a grand total of six meals.
"Not setting world on fire," Billy shrugged, "but it will get better. It's just a question of whether colleges come back or not."
All summer that's been an open — and anxiety-inducing — question. At BU, faculty held protests demanding that students be kept away.
"I don't disagree with them," Pam said. "But I also feel like if we're stuck like this for a pretty long time, we can't be in suspended animation for years. And life has to go on on some level. We have to find a way to live."
Adding to their worry, and weighing on everyone as a kind of cautionary tale, was the fate of their friend's shuttered restaurants across the street.
"I was just looking over there for signs of life over there. And there's nothing," said Strang.
"Just heartbreaking," sighed Pam.
The owner, Garrett Harker, one of Boston's preeminent restaurateurs, made a point of stopping by Cornwall's on their opening day, to congratulate everyone. But he brought only grim news of his own.
"I can't imagine Eastern Standard or Island Creek not being in my life," he said, referring to two of his restaurants that have yet to reopen. "Emotionally, it's really hard to think about."
But Harker said his landlord is playing hardball, and negotiations are going nowhere.
"Basically we've said 'Here's our books. Let's open them up to you and let's figure out something good for both of us,'" he explained. "I didn't go to business school ... but that's got to be the handbook right now. We have to long-term rely on each other, all the vested partners, to come out of this."
So far Cornwall's is having better luck with the people it does business with. The day the restaurant opened, Billy huddled over the bar with one of his beer reps, going over past-due invoices. It took them just a minute to hammer out a repayment plan.
"We'll start next week, Billy offered. "We just want to start to get a little bit of a cash flow."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Tovia Smith/NPR Tovia Smith/NPR
Kevin Leddy, area sales manager for Craft Brewers Guild, is more than willing to cut customers some slack. In this industry, everyone's success is tied to everyone else, he says.
"If they're not open, I don't have a job, and my guys don't have jobs. We need them as much as they need us," Leddy said, before avowing, "we probably need them more."
The bigger question looming was whether Cornwall's landlord would be as accommodating. They'd been very friendly so far, and they said they want to have a meeting about the past-due rent. But so far, they hadn't set it up, and so far, Pam wasn't exactly chasing them to nail down a date.
"We don't know what they're thinking," she said. "All of it hangs over my head. I don't sleep well anymore."
The longer she waits, she figured, the better news she might have to report. Indeed, even after their slow start at breakfast on opening day, happy hour turned out to be markedly happier.
Regulars streamed in with squeals and excited greetings, catching up and comparing notes on how everyone had been managing for the past four months.
It felt like a family reunion.
At one table, Chris Strang, who's back for dinner, clinked glasses with another regular, Curt Hall.
"It's been too long," said Hall.
"This is where we were on March 16th," recalled Strang.
"And probably the 15th, and the 14th , and possibly the 13th," said Hall, only half-joking.
"It's cute. We have our neighborhood regulars, and what we call irregulars," added Pam, as she and John made their way around Cornwall's cozy English-style tavern, schmoozing with all of them.
Kathy Conley, 56, who's been coming since she was in college, recalled how her grandmother used to call Cornwall's looking for her when she was out too late.
A 20-something grad student told Billy she and her friends biked across town as soon as they heard Cornwall's had reopened.
"Wow!" replied Billy. "We're feeling the love right now."
Cornwall's energy and bustle builds, and like family, everyone seemed to be picking up right where they left off. Strang teased 77-year-old John, the restaurant's original founder, asking how his experience during this pandemic is different from the last one in 1918. Laughter filled the room, and Pam's heart.
"I can't even put it into words how much it lifts me up," she said. "Cornwall's isn't just our livelihood. It's our life. It means the world."
In the livelihood department, however, the day didn't do much for the bottom line. All the opening excitement would add up to just about a third of a normal pre-pandemic day. And it was nowhere near the 150 dinners they'd be cranking out on nights when the Red Sox play up the street at Fenway Park. The team's opening game drew in a decent crowd to watch the game on TV, since fans aren't allowed in the stadium. But since then, game nights have been a bust.
On one evening, when the Sox were at home playing the Yankees, just two parties were seated in the restaurant, and neither was there for baseball.
"I honestly didn't realize it was a game day," said Justin Wright, who was eating out on Cornwall's front sidewalk, where you can usually hear the roar of the Fenway faithful from inside the ballpark.
"It's way too quiet to be a game day," saed Terrell Blackmon. "It's weird, for sure!"
"It's just a desert," said John, shaking his head.
"Like nothing we've ever seen," added Pam.
Part of the challenge was a lingering reluctance among many to venture out. Even though Massachusetts' COVID case numbers are among the best in the nation, some would-be diners remain skittish, especially as so many other states are dealing with outbreaks.
"I watch the news and I freak out, like 'Oh God, why am I doing this?'" said one customer still trying to get comfortable with the idea. Another regular who came out on opening day to show her support, said she wouldn't really be a regular again for a while.
"This is a one-off for us," she said. "It's not something I expect to do regularly at all."
But the pandemic has left others doubling down, including Nelson Feliciano, who works just across the river as an assistant director of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where a last-minute decision has most students learning remotely. But Feliciano wanted to make sure that whenever students do come back, a vibrant city life will still be there for them.
"I feel somewhat responsible," he grinned, working his way through an order of chicken tenders and a beer. "This is my portion to make sure some of our local spots don't fall away, and hopefully it makes a difference. We have to make sure we all do our little part."
By the time the end of summer rolls around, Cornwall's was drawing a somewhat steady business, but still just barely covering its costs. The bump from the pub's opening day fizzled out fast. And BU's back-to-school had so far been a bust. Cornwall's saw a little extra business from parents who were in town to drop off their students, but the students had so far not begun to stream in themselves. It was still not enough for anyone in the family to draw a paycheck.
"BU is still the big thing for us. It's really dependent on that as to whether we do well, or whether we just sort of hang on by thread."
"It's a crap shoot. It's a real toss up," said Pam. "But you have to decide if you're in or out. That's the reality of it. We're committed to this space and we're going to do whatever it takes to make this work no matter what it means."
When they opened their doors in July, she says, no one had any delusions it would be easy. The goal was always just to work out their new normal and get in a groove so they'd be ready to catch the wave when the city comes back to life.
"It will eventually," said JR, wolfing down a burger at the end of a long day. "It's just a matter of lasting that long, and being there when it does. That's the key."
Meantime, they hoped their landlord noticed their commitment, and that it weighed in Cornwall's favor. At the end of August, Pam finally spoke to the landlord about it. Sort of.
"He stopped in for coffee, and I said you know, I'm not ignoring you," she said with a simper.
He asked Pam to keep collecting numbers tracking their business, so they can discuss it after Labor Day.
"It's nerve wracking," she said. "But you have the sense that if you just work hard, and you keep treading water, and you can still see the horizon and breathe, then you're going to survive this."
It may be too late for their friend across the street. One of his former bartenders, John Rodriquez, stopped by and told Billy he and other staff have been told to look for other work. Billy offered to connect him to a restaurant that's hiring. Much as he'd love the extra help, so far, Cornwall's is not.
Then, after a hard, 15-hour day at Cornwall's, Billy poured himself a Guinness, and let out a sigh.
"I'm going to sleep good tonight," he said. "But not for long. I'm coming back to do it all again tomorrow. And hopefully the day after that and many days after all of those."


npr--2020-09-08--Kentucky City Enjoys Booming Economy Amid Pandemic As Rest Of Country Reels

Much of the country is facing a long , painful recovery from the coronavirus recession .
But some communities are getting a head start .
Owensboro , Ky. , has already recovered most of the jobs it lost this spring , even as the rest of the country is experiencing a painfully slow improvement in employment .
Owensboro , which sits along the Ohio River in northwestern Kentucky , suffered along with the rest of the nation when the pandemic hit .
Unemployment in the metro area soared to 14.9 % in April — slightly higher than the national average @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Owensboro 's jobless rate had dropped to just 4.2 % — slightly lower than it was in January .
The rate inched up in July , though at 5.4 % it remained well below the national average of 10.2 % that month .
The city owes its speedy recovery to a combination of luck , hard work and community spirit .
Owensboro is lucky to have big employers that make things people depend on during the pandemic , like Kimberly Clark toilet paper , Ragu spaghetti sauce and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spirits business was designated as essential , '' says Matt Maimone , chief operating officer at Sazerac , which owns the Glenmore Distillery in Owensboro that produces Fireball whisky and other spirits .
Bars and restaurants are not buying as much liquor these days but the distillery 's 400-plus employees are producing plenty of drinks for home consumption .
They also turned some of their grain alcohol into hand sanitizer .
`` Not only have we continued to operate but we 're actually hiring , '' Maimone says .
`` We definitely had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bringing their workforce back as soon as they could , '' says Brittaney Johnson , president of the Greater Owensboro Econonic Development Corporation .
Ironically , one of the big casualties of the pandemic was Owensboro 's hospital network , which lost two-thirds of its income during the spring when elective surgeries were halted in preparation for a wave of COVID-19 patients that never materialized .
Owensboro Health President Greg Strahan made the decision not to furlough any of his 4,300 employees , though .
It 's not easy to recruit doctors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largely rural part of the country , and Strahan worried if he let people go , they might not come back .
`` We ca n't afford to furlough people , '' Strahan says .
`` We ca n't afford to lay them off . ''
Once surgeries resumed in May , the hospital 's team was ready and they quickly made up much of the lost revenue .
Owensboro has not been spared by the coronavirus .
The surrounding county has logged more than a thousand cases .
But most big employers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The United Food and Commercial Workers union pushed a local ham company hard for more social distancing and protective equipment .
The union is also trying to win a restoration of the 10 % hazard pay that the company 's employees were receiving until the end of May .
`` They go to work every single day so that we have food to put on the table for American families , '' says Caitlin Blair , a spokeswoman for UFCW Local 227 .
`` They deserve to be appreciated , supported , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also home to a mortgage processing arm of U.S. Bank , one of the country 's largest .
Thanks to strong demand for housing and rock-bottom interest rates , the mortgage business is humming during the pandemic .
About three-quarters of the bank 's employees in Owensboro are still working from home .
That 's a challenge for parents now that virtual school is starting up again .
The local chamber of commerce is trying to help : it is working to establish off-campus learning centers , where kids can get school meals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ break .
`` If you 're working full time , even if you 're from home , you ca n't stop and be an instructional aide for your child and be an effective employee , '' says Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Candance Castlen Brake .
`` You can , but it 's going to be extremely challenging . ''
Despite its challenges , Owensboro has come closer to a `` V-shaped '' recovery than just about any city in the country .
But it 's still not out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uptick in unemployment in July .
Tourism continues to suffer in Owensboro , as elsewhere .
The city 's Romp Festival , which usually draws 25,000 people to support the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum , had to be canceled in June .
`` I do n't think any of us can predict what 's going to happen , '' Blake says .
`` Other than the fact that we 're going to have to stick together and get through it . ''

Kentucky City Enjoys Booming Economy Amid Pandemic As Rest Of Country Reels
Enlarge this image toggle caption Owensboro Health Owensboro Health
Much of the country is facing a long, painful recovery from the coronavirus recession. But some communities are getting a head start.
Owensboro, Ky., has already recovered most of the jobs it lost this spring, even as the rest of the country is experiencing a painfully slow improvement in employment.
Owensboro, which sits along the Ohio River in northwestern Kentucky, suffered along with the rest of the nation when the pandemic hit. Unemployment in the metro area soared to 14.9% in April — slightly higher than the national average.
Within two months, though, Owensboro's jobless rate had dropped to just 4.2% — slightly lower than it was in January. The rate inched up in July, though at 5.4% it remained well below the national average of 10.2% that month.
The city owes its speedy recovery to a combination of luck, hard work and community spirit.
Owensboro is lucky to have big employers that make things people depend on during the pandemic, like Kimberly Clark toilet paper, Ragu spaghetti sauce and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.
"In the state of Kentucky, the spirits business was designated as essential," says Matt Maimone, chief operating officer at Sazerac, which owns the Glenmore Distillery in Owensboro that produces Fireball whisky and other spirits.
Enlarge this image toggle caption The Glenmore Distillery The Glenmore Distillery
Bars and restaurants are not buying as much liquor these days, but the distillery's 400-plus employees are producing plenty of drinks for home consumption. They also turned some of their grain alcohol into hand sanitizer.
"Not only have we continued to operate, but we're actually hiring," Maimone says.
"We definitely had employers that were creative and very committed to bringing their workforce back as soon as they could," says Brittaney Johnson, president of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation.
Ironically, one of the big casualties of the pandemic was Owensboro's hospital network, which lost two-thirds of its income during the spring when elective surgeries were halted in preparation for a wave of COVID-19 patients that never materialized.
Owensboro Health President Greg Strahan made the decision not to furlough any of his 4,300 employees, though. It's not easy to recruit doctors and nurses to a small city in largely rural part of the country, and Strahan worried if he let people go, they might not come back.
"We can't afford to furlough people," Strahan says. "We can't afford to lay them off."
Once surgeries resumed in May, the hospital's team was ready and they quickly made up much of the lost revenue.
Owensboro has not been spared by the coronavirus. The surrounding county has logged more than 1,000 cases.
But most big employers have found ways to keep operating safely.
The United Food and Commercial Workers union pushed a local ham company hard for more social distancing and protective equipment. The union is also trying to win a restoration of the 10% hazard pay that the company's employees were receiving until the end of May.
"They go to work every single day so that we have food to put on the table for American families," says Caitlin Blair, a spokeswoman for UFCW Local 227. "They deserve to be appreciated, supported, protected and paid."
Owensboro is also home to a mortgage processing arm of U.S. Bank, one of the country's largest. Thanks to strong demand for housing and rock-bottom interest rates, the mortgage business is humming during the pandemic. About three-quarters of the bank's employees in Owensboro are still working from home.
That's a challenge for parents now that virtual school is starting up again. The local chamber of commerce is trying to help: It is working to establish off-campus learning centers, where kids can get school meals and working parents can get a break.
"If you're working full time, even if you're from home, you can't stop and be an instructional aide for your child and be an effective employee," says Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Candance Castlen Brake. "You can, but it's going to be extremely challenging."
Despite its challenges, Owensboro has come closer to a "V-shaped" recovery than just about any city in the country.
But it's still not out of the woods, as shown by the uptick in unemployment in July.
Tourism continues to suffer in Owensboro, as elsewhere. The city's Romp Festival, which usually draws 25,000 people to support the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, had to be canceled in June.
"I don't think any of us can predict what's going to happen," Blake says. "Other than the fact that we're going to have to stick together and get through it."


npr--2020-09-08--Eating Disorders Thrive In Anxious Times, And Pose A Lethal Threat

For most of her 34 years , Stephanie Parker did n't recognize she had an eating disorder .
At age 6 , she recalls , she stopped eating and drinking at school — behavior that won her mother 's praise .
`` It could have started sooner ; I just do n't have the memory , '' says Parker .
In middle school , she ate abnormally large quantities , then starved herself again in the years after .
This spring , it all came to a head : She was confined and alone in her New York City studio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city .
The pandemic fomented fear and , for Parker , called up past trauma and aggravated the obsessive compulsive disorder that had started to become apparent years earlier .
She realized then her relationship with food was life-threatening .
`` The OCD and anxiety ... just made my eating disorder more intense , and for me that meant I would become obsessed with cleaning everything and then checking in with myself to see if I deserve to eat , '' says Parker .
It was n't just that cleaning frenzies on an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pick up a fork .
`` I would become scared of food — I got scared that food would make me sick because it was n't clean enough . ''
Eating disorders are thriving during the pandemic .
Hotline calls to the National Eating Disorders Association are up 70-80 % in recent months .
For many , eating is a form of control — a coping mechanism tied to stress .
Food scarcity and stockpiling behavior can trigger anxieties about eating , or overeating among some .
`` We know that eating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' says Claire Mysko is CEO of NEDA .
`` Many people with eating disorders have past experiences with trauma , and this [ pandemic era ] is a collective trauma . ''
It 's also a lethal threat .
Eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate of any psychiatric diagnosis — outranked only by opioid use disorder .
A survey in International Journal of Eating Disorders in July found 62 % of people in the U.S. with anorexia experienced a worsening of symptoms as the pandemic hit .
And nearly a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is far more common , reported an increase in episodes .
`` Many people in our study ... were talking about concerns that their eating disorder would get worse because of a lack of structure , a lack of social support , living in a triggering environment .
And now that sense of structure has just kind of gone out the window , '' says Christine Peat , a co-author of the study .
`` And with that can go the structure you had around your meals and your snacks . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has helped some people continue to receive care , but it has left many people behind — 45 % of respondents — without care .
Often eating disorders are misunderstood as a white woman 's disease .
That 's meant early signs are often missed among men or boys ( who make up a quarter of eating disorder cases ) and particularly among people of color .
The gap in access to care also cuts along race : `` We know , unfortunately that people of color are only receiving treatment at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counterparts , '' Peat says .
In fact , says Parker , race was the primary reason she did n't think she had an eating problem until very recently .
`` The language used around eating disorders was about white girls having eating disorders , '' says Parker , who is Black .
`` It was about the emaciated-looking type girls or the girls that I heard throwing up in the bathroom . ''
Besides , Parker was athletic , and she appeared healthy .
So for decades , she ignored her own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ version of normal .
`` For me , in my head , I felt like ...
I do n't fit into any of those categories — so therefore , this is not affecting me . ''
Race , she says , was also a barrier when choosing a therapist .
`` As a woman of color dealing with this eating disorder , I originally wanted to find another woman of color who specialized in eating disorders who could do teletherapy appointments with me , '' Parker says .
Not being able to find @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , made her sad .
`` For me , part of the reason I kept myself in hiding about this was that I did n't feel like I was connected to the people I was seeing , '' she says , `` because they did n't look like me . ''
Nonetheless , she adds , the therapy she 's getting has really helped : `` I can actually feel emotions and talk about them .
I feel great — I just went out to dinner last night . ''
Even for those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life has made it difficult to retain balance .
`` Eating disorders are isolating to begin with , and here we are , isolating ourselves even more , '' says Ryan Sheldon , a model in Los Angeles .
For Sheldon , 32 , who has a binge-eating disorder , lots of time at home alone reminds him of a time , several years ago , when he racked up $ 40,000 in credit card debt , largely from spending on fast food .
Grace Segers is facing down similar ghosts .
Segers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has spent her days during the pandemic working from home , next to a kitchen stocked with items she used to binge and purge : Ice cream and frozen entrees .
It 's almost as if she 's haunted by a reflex to return to an old way of coping , she says .
One weekend recently , she was nearly overcome by a desire to give in : `` I was literally sitting on the bathroom floor saying to myself over and over again , `` I do n't want to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make me feel better . ''
It is , she says , a constant struggle .
`` It 's always there if the conditions are right — or wrong , rather — for me to have a relapse .
And so I feel like I ca n't let myself become complacent about it To find out more or get help in dealing with an eating disorder , you can contact the National Eating Disorder Association online , or text `` NEDA '' to 741741 to reach a trained volunteer at the group 's @ @ @ @

Eating Disorders Thrive In Anxious Times, And Pose A Lethal Threat
Enlarge this image toggle caption Boogich/Getty Images Boogich/Getty Images
For most of her 34 years, Stephanie Parker didn't recognize she had an eating disorder.
At age 6, she recalls, she stopped eating and drinking at school — behavior that won her mother's praise. "It could have started sooner; I just don't have the memory," says Parker. In middle school, she ate abnormally large quantities, then starved herself again in the years after.
This spring, it all came to a head: She was confined and alone in her New York City studio apartment, as COVID-19 ripped through the city. The pandemic fomented fear and, for Parker, called up past trauma and aggravated the obsessive compulsive disorder that had started to become apparent years earlier. She realized then her relationship with food was life-threatening.
"The OCD and anxiety ... just made my eating disorder more intense, and for me that meant I would become obsessed with cleaning everything and then checking in with myself to see if I deserve to eat," says Parker. It wasn't just that cleaning frenzies on an empty stomach left her with no energy to pick up a fork. "I would become scared of food — I got scared that food would make me sick because it wasn't clean enough."
Eating disorders are thriving during the pandemic. Hotline calls to the National Eating Disorders Association are up 70-80% in recent months. For many, eating is a form of control — a coping mechanism tied to stress. Food scarcity and stockpiling behavior can trigger anxieties about eating, or overeating among some.
"We know that eating disorders have a strong link to trauma," says Claire Mysko is CEO of NEDA. "Many people with eating disorders have past experiences with trauma, and this [pandemic era] is a collective trauma."
It's also a lethal threat. Eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate of any psychiatric diagnosis — outranked only by opioid use disorder.
A survey in International Journal of Eating Disorders in July found 62% of people in the U.S. with anorexia experienced a worsening of symptoms as the pandemic hit. And nearly a third of Americans with binge-eating disorder, which is far more common, reported an increase in episodes.
"Many people in our study ... were talking about concerns that their eating disorder would get worse because of a lack of structure, a lack of social support, living in a triggering environment. And now that sense of structure has just kind of gone out the window," says Christine Peat, a co-author of the study. "And with that can go the structure you had around your meals and your snacks."
A boom in teletherapy, Peat says, has helped some people continue to receive care, but it has left many people behind — 45% of respondents — without care.
Often eating disorders are misunderstood as a white woman's disease. That's meant early signs are often missed among men or boys (who make up a quarter of eating disorder cases) and particularly among people of color. The gap in access to care also cuts along race: "We know, unfortunately that people of color are only receiving treatment at about half the rate of their white counterparts," Peat says.
In fact, says Parker, race was the primary reason she didn't think she had an eating problem until very recently. "The language used around eating disorders was about white girls having eating disorders," says Parker, who is Black. "It was about the emaciated-looking type girls or the girls that I heard throwing up in the bathroom."
Besides, Parker was athletic, and she appeared healthy. So for decades, she ignored her own compulsive anxieties and behavior as just some version of normal. "For me, in my head, I felt like ... I don't fit into any of those categories — so therefore, this is not affecting me."
Race, she says, was also a barrier when choosing a therapist.
"As a woman of color dealing with this eating disorder, I originally wanted to find another woman of color who specialized in eating disorders who could do teletherapy appointments with me," Parker says. Not being able to find one, because there are so few, made her sad.
"For me, part of the reason I kept myself in hiding about this was that I didn't feel like I was connected to the people I was seeing," she says, "because they didn't look like me."
Nonetheless, she adds, the therapy she's getting has really helped: "I can actually feel emotions and talk about them. I feel great — I just went out to dinner last night."
Even for those further along in their recovery, pandemic life has made it difficult to retain balance.
"Eating disorders are isolating to begin with, and here we are, isolating ourselves even more," says Ryan Sheldon, a model in Los Angeles. For Sheldon, 32, who has a binge-eating disorder, lots of time at home alone reminds him of a time, several years ago, when he racked up $40,000 in credit card debt, largely from spending on fast food.
Grace Segers is facing down similar ghosts. Segers, a political reporter for CBS, has spent her days during the pandemic working from home, next to a kitchen stocked with items she used to binge and purge: Ice cream and frozen entrees.
It's almost as if she's haunted by a reflex to return to an old way of coping, she says. One weekend recently, she was nearly overcome by a desire to give in: "I was literally sitting on the bathroom floor saying to myself over and over again, "I don't want to do this; this isn't going to make me feel better."
It is a constant struggle, she says. "It's always there if the conditions are right — or wrong, rather — for me to have a relapse. And so I feel like I can't let myself become complacent about it
To find out more or get help in dealing with an eating disorder, you can contact the National Eating Disorder Association online, or text "NEDA" to 741741 to reach a trained volunteer at the group's crisis text line.


npr--2020-09-08--'Children Are Going Hungry': Why Schools Are Struggling To Feed Students

'Children Are Going Hungry ' : Why Schools Are Struggling To Feed Students Six months into schools ' pandemic-driven experiment in distance learning , much has been said ( and debated ) about whether children are learning .
But the more urgent question , for the more than 30 million kids who depend on U.S. schools for free or reduced-price meals , is this : The answer , based on recent data and interviews with school nutrition leaders and anti-hunger advocates across the country , is alarming .
Among low-income households with children who qualify for free or reduced-price school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually been getting those meals , says Lauren Bauer , a researcher at the Brookings Institution .
She 's been poring over the results of the U.S. Census Bureau 's weekly Household Pulse Survey .
Anecdotally , school nutrition directors across the country tell a similar story .
`` Every day I worry about them .
Every day , '' says Alyssia Wright , executive director of Fulton County Schools ' nutrition program in Fulton County , Ga. `` We come up with ways every week to find a new way to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the old ways , from just a few months ago , are n't working anymore .
In pre-COVID times , the Tucson Unified School District served roughly 35,000 meals a day .
So far this school year , according to Lindsay Aguilar , the district 's food services director , that number has plummeted by nearly 90 % .
The drop is `` disheartening , '' says Aguilar , `` because in our district , 70 % of our families qualify for free or reduced-price meals .
So I know there 's a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , school leaders have seen `` a huge difference '' in meal distribution , says Reggie Ross , who works for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and heads the national School Nutrition Association .
So far this year , Ross says , school meals in Charlotte `` were down about 89 % . ''
In many districts , the majority of children who qualify for subsidized school meals are n't getting them — often because they ca n't get to them .
And some districts say their meal-service budgets are being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they could soon face cuts and lay-offs .
Right now , Bauer says , about a third of U.S. families with children are suffering from food insecurity .
`` More alarmingly , 1 in 5 families say that the children themselves do n't have sufficient food , and the families do n't have enough resources to purchase more . ''
For some children , school meals may be the only meals they get in a day .
And with school feeding programs reaching fewer and fewer families , Bauer worries , `` children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : `` Parents are back at work '' When schools closed for remote learning in the spring , most districts quickly shifted into a familiar model of food distribution : their summer plan .
Under this model , districts choose a handful of schools , in neighborhoods with the greatest need , where families can drop by each day , often between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. , and pick up a bag with lunch and often breakfast .
Pick-up during the pandemic has been incredibly easy , thanks to the U.S. Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , school-year paperwork .
If a child wants a meal , that child gets a meal , and the school gets compensated by USDA whether that meal goes to an eligible student , a younger sibling or a kid from the nearby private school .
At the end of August , USDA announced it would extend that flexibility through the end of the year , to `` ensure meals are reaching all children – whether they are learning in the classroom or virtually — so they are fed and ready to learn , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Perdue 's announcement was cheered by school leaders across the country , but they say a major hurdle remains : This food pick-up model still requires families to come to a designated site at a designated time .
And many ca n't .
Often , parents and caregivers have to work , and ca n't get away in the middle of the day .
Or they do n't have a way to get to the designated pick-up site .
Or they 're not comfortable making daily food runs in a pandemic .
Last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surveyed school nutrition directors representing nearly 2,000 districts , 80 % said they were serving fewer meals than they had been when school was in session .
Of those , a majority of districts said the number of meals had dropped by 50 % or more .
`` It was a drastic change , '' says Wright in Fulton County .
Before her schools went remote last spring , she says they served between 50,000 and 60,000 meals a day .
After students were sent home , Wright says they gave out roughly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Aguilar says the challenges her team face distributing food have only worsened as the pandemic has worn on .
In the spring , even with students home , the district served twice as many meals as it 's serving now .
`` We were all quarantined .
Everything was shut down .
So it was a lot more realistic , '' Aguilar says , for families to be able to pick up food because they were working at home or not at all .
`` Now , parents are back at work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers quite drastically decline . ''
Taking the food to the child School nutrition directors say , if the students can no longer come to the food , then they 're going to do everything in their power to take the food to students .
In Tucson , Aguilar has been packing grab-and-go meals onto the district 's school buses and distributing them across 67 bus stops every day .
In Fulton County , Wright is starting to do the same — but instead of a day or two 's worth of food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freezing hamburgers and pizza and trying to give families a week 's worth of meals in one bus drop .
Wright says her happiest day of this pandemic came about a week ago , when her district began sending buses into the community .
She followed one of those buses to an apartment complex .
`` And just to see the thankfulness on the parents ' faces , to hear their comments about , 'This is so great because we could not get to the food , we did n't have transportation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hear the thankfulness in the kids ' voices , to know that they did not have to worry about a meal . ''
But some districts simply ca n't manage — or afford — to put food on buses like this .
And even those that do , still ca n't reach every student , or even most students .
`` I joke all the time , '' says Aguilar , `` I 'm like , 'We need Amazon Prime out of our warehouse , basically , is what we need right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get school meals as close to a child 's doorstep as possible , comes as many school meal programs are in serious financial trouble because of school closures .
Their budgets depend on being able to sell meals and snacks to students who can pay .
In the School Nutrition Association survey , two-thirds of school nutrition directors said they anticipated taking an overall financial loss for the 2019-20 school year .
`` Throughout the country , many of our programs are extremely challenged financially , '' says Reggie Ross .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we saw the first few weeks of school continue , many of our programs are going to be challenged to keep their staff on board . ''
At the same time the nation 's schools began pushing their meal programs into school parking lots and onto buses , Congress created a separate effort meant to feed children by helping their parents and caregivers pay for groceries .
Pandemic EBT took the value of the school meals kids were n't getting in the spring and put it — usually in a lump sum of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debit card that families could use at the grocery store .
Families already enrolled in SNAP ( once known as food stamps ) could have the value placed directly on their SNAP debit card .
`` Although it may be necessary to close schools , it is also imperative that we keep in mind that school meals are often the only meals some students receive , '' said Rep. Marcia Fudge , an Ohio Democrat who helped introduce the legislation in March .
Lauren Bauer , the Brookings researcher , says Pandemic EBT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children out of hunger this summer . ''
But , as of Labor Day , the program has expired in a majority of states , and Congress has not yet renewed it .

'Children Are Going Hungry': Why Schools Are Struggling To Feed Students
Enlarge this image LA Johnson/NPR LA Johnson/NPR
Six months into schools' pandemic-driven experiment in distance learning, much has been said (and debated) about whether children are learning. But the more urgent question, for the more than 30 million kids who depend on U.S. schools for free or reduced-price meals, is this:
Are they eating?
The answer, based on recent data and interviews with school nutrition leaders and anti-hunger advocates across the country, is alarming.
Among low-income households with children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, only about 15% have been getting those meals, said Lauren Bauer, a researcher at the Brookings Institution. She's been poring over the results of the U.S. Census Bureau's weekly Household Pulse Survey.
Anecdotally, school nutrition directors across the country tell a similar story.
"Every day I worry about them. Every day," said Alyssia Wright, executive director of Fulton County Schools' nutrition program in Fulton County, Ga. "We come up with ways every week to find a new way to get meals to our kids."
Because the old ways, from just a few months ago, aren't working anymore.
Before COVID-19, Arizona's Tucson Unified School District served roughly 35,000 meals a day. So far this school year, according to Lindsay Aguilar, the district's food services director, that number has plummeted by nearly 90%.
The drop is "disheartening," Aguilar said, "because in our district, 70% of our families qualify for free or reduced-price meals. So I know there's a need."
In Charlotte, N.C., school leaders have seen "a huge difference" in meal distribution, said Reggie Ross, who works for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and heads the national School Nutrition Association. So far this year, Ross said, school meals in Charlotte "were down about 89%."
In many districts, the majority of children who qualify for subsidized school meals aren't getting them — often because they can't get to them. And some districts said their meal-service budgets are being stretched so much by the pandemic that they could soon face cuts and layoffs.
Right now, Bauer said, about a third of U.S. families with children are suffering from food insecurity. "More alarmingly, 1 in 5 families say that the children themselves don't have sufficient food, and the families don't have enough resources to purchase more."
For some children, school meals may be the only ones they get in a day. And with school feeding programs reaching fewer and fewer families, Bauer worries that "children are going hungry."
The challenge: "Parents are back at work"
When schools closed for remote learning in the spring, most districts quickly shifted into a familiar model of food distribution: their summer plan. Under this model, districts chose a handful of schools, in neighborhoods with the greatest need, where families could drop by each day, often between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and pick up a bag with lunch and often breakfast.
Pickup during the pandemic has been incredibly easy, thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's willingness to forgo traditional, school-year paperwork. If a child wants a meal, that child gets a meal, and the school gets compensated by USDA whether that meal goes to an eligible student, a younger sibling or a kid from the nearby private school.
In late August, USDA announced it would extend that flexibility through the end of the year to "ensure meals are reaching all children – whether they are learning in the classroom or virtually — so they are fed and ready to learn," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said.
Perdue's announcement was cheered by school leaders across the country, but they said a major hurdle remains: This food pickup model still requires families to come to a designated site at a designated time. And many can't. Often, parents and caregivers have to work and can't get away in the middle of the day. Or they don't have a way to get to the designated pickup site. Or they're not comfortable making daily food runs in a pandemic.
Last spring, when the School Nutrition Association surveyed school nutrition directors representing nearly 2,000 districts, 80% said they were serving fewer meals than they had been when school was in session. Of those, a majority of districts said the number of meals had dropped by 50% or more.
"It was a drastic change," Fulton County's Wright said. Before her schools went remote last spring, she said they served between 50,000 and 60,000 meals a day. After students were sent home, Wright said they gave out roughly 70,000 meals per week.
In Tucson, Aguilar said the challenges her team face distributing food have only worsened as the pandemic has worn on. In the spring, even with students home, the district served twice as many meals as it's serving now.
"We were all quarantined. Everything was shut down. So it was a lot more realistic," Aguilar said for families to be able to pick up food because they were working at home or not at all. "Now, parents are back at work. So we're definitely seeing those numbers quite drastically decline."
Taking the food to the child
School nutrition directors said, if the students can no longer come to the food, then they're going to do everything in their power to take the food to students.
In Tucson, Aguilar has been packing grab-and-go meals onto the district's school buses and distributing them across 67 bus stops every day. In Fulton County, Wright is starting to do the same — but instead of a day or two's worth of food, she and her school team are freezing hamburgers and pizza and trying to give families a week's worth of meals in one bus drop.
Wright said her happiest day of this pandemic came about a week ago when her district began sending buses into the community. She followed one of those buses to an apartment complex.
"And just to see the thankfulness on the parents' faces, to hear their comments about, 'This is so great because we could not get to the food, we didn't have transportation,' " Wright said. "Then to hear the thankfulness in the kids' voices, to know that they did not have to worry about a meal."
But some districts simply can't manage — or afford — to put food on buses like this. And even those that do, still can't reach every student, or even most students.
"I joke all the time," Aguilar said, "I'm like, 'We need Amazon Prime out of our warehouse, basically, is what we need right now.' "
This drive, to get school meals as close to a child's doorstep as possible, comes as many school meal programs are in serious financial trouble because of school closures. Their budgets depend on being able to sell meals and snacks to students who can pay. In the School Nutrition Association survey, two-thirds of school nutrition directors said they anticipated taking an overall financial loss for the 2019-20 school year.
"Throughout the country, many of our programs are extremely challenged financially," North Carolina's Ross said. "And if the types of numbers that we saw the first few weeks of school continue, many of our programs are going to be challenged to keep their staff on board."
Pandemic EBT
At the same time the nation's schools began pushing their meal programs into school parking lots and onto buses, Congress created a separate effort meant to feed children by helping their parents and caregivers pay for groceries. Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, took the value of the school meals kids weren't getting in the spring and put it — usually in a lump sum of a few hundred dollars — onto a debit card that families could use at the grocery store. Families already enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (once known as food stamps) could have the value placed directly on their SNAP debit card.
"Although it may be necessary to close schools, it is also imperative that we keep in mind that school meals are often the only meals some students receive," said Rep. Marcia Fudge, an Ohio Democrat who helped introduce the legislation in March.
Bauer, the Brookings researcher, said Pandemic EBT "kept between 2.5 [million] and 3.5 million children out of hunger this summer."
But, as of Labor Day, the program has expired in a majority of states, and Congress has not yet renewed it.


npr--2020-09-07--Trump Fired A 'Faux-Bama,' Michael Cohen Says In Tell-All Memoir

Long before he came into office , Donald Trump was so preoccupied with then-President Barack Obama that he hired a look-alike actor — a `` faux-Bama '' — to castigate and then pretend to fire on video .
That 's just one of many episodes recounted and accusations levied by Michael Cohen , President Trump 's former personal attorney , in his new book Disloyal : A Memoir , which is being published Tuesday and which NPR obtained before its publication .
Cohen includes a photograph of the `` faux-Bama '' episode , in which Trump is seated at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaguely like the 44th American president .
In the middle of Trump 's desk are two books , one of which has `` Barack Obama '' emblazoned across the front .
( If true , the incident is a remarkable ouroboros of a reality TV star cosplaying political power , who then comes to hold exactly that political power . )
In Disloyal , Cohen describes the many years he says he spent as a faithful soldier , first as a teenager who read and reread Trump 's book The Art of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owner and personal-injury lawyer who bought his dream home in a Trump-branded property on Manhattan 's Upper East Side , then as a loyal lieutenant in Trump 's inner circle for many years , and finally as a spurned figure whom the president cast aside .
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has dismissed Cohen , saying that he is attempting to profit off lies with this book .
Over Disloyal 's 400-plus pages , Cohen rips through accounts of dozens of incidents , ranging from Trump allegedly cheating mom-and-pop vendors for services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president making racist remarks to his own involvement in trying to make a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow .
That 's in addition to Cohen 's narrative of the payoff that Trump made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election — which was made via Cohen .
According to Cohen , Trump told his former lawyer that Black and Latino voters were `` too stupid '' to vote for him , and said that any country run by Black leaders was a `` sh**hole .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ death of South African President Nelson Mandela , Cohen says that Trump told him that apartheid-era South Africa had been `` beautiful , '' and that Mandela had `` f***** the whole country up . ''
Cohen also goes in deep on what he describes as the president 's idolization of Russian President Vladimir Putin , whom Cohen says Trump reveres because of his immense personal wealth and his immersive control of his country .
`` An entire society and civilization bent to the will of a single man was how Trump viewed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Cohen writes .
`` With him as the man in charge , of course . ''
Cohen also alleges several episodes in which he says Trump was casually sexist to women and grabbed women in the Trump Organization office and kissing them on the lips .
In describing the run-up to the 2016 presidential election , Cohen describes how the campaign and Trump allegedly used the media to boost him to victory .
`` The biggest influence by far '' in Trump 's victory , Cohen argues , `` was the media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , press conferences , idiotic interviews , 24-7 wall-to-wall coverage , all without spending a penny . ''
In addition , Cohen fills out details on his assertion that the Trump team fixed online polls to enhance the then-candidate 's reputation — utilizing the services of Liberty University 's John Gauger — and how closely he worked with David Pecker , the former CEO of American Media , whose publications include the National Enquirer , to `` catch and kill '' allegations of Trump 's relationships with women , as well as to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cruz .
Cohen also describes how he personally alternated between trying to butter up and bully reporters .
The latter includes NPR 's Tim Mak when at his former publication , the Daily Beast , Mak reported an allegation that Trump 's former wife , Ivana Trump , had accused him of raping her during the couple 's divorce proceedings .
According to Cohen , he told Mak that if he pursued the story , that he would go after the journalist personally along with `` everybody else you possibly know , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , tread very f****** lightly , because what I 'm going to do to you is going to be f****** disgusting .
Do you understand me ? ''
( The New York tough-guy tone is no accident : Cohen describes at length how he saw himself as a consigliere in an organization not unlike the Mafia . )
Tonally , Cohen alternates between taking accountability for his own behavior and trying to describe what he found so magnetic in Trump .
That language sometimes skims close to erotic terms : `` It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emotional , not quite spiritual , but a deep longing and need that Trump filled for me . ''
But , Cohen says , he also saw something quite different as well : `` I bore witness to the real man , in strip clubs , shady business meetings , '' he writes , `` and in the unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was : a cheat , a liar , a fraud , a bully , a racist , a predator , a con man . ''
As is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saves space for some petty score-settling , reserving particular disdain for one of his nemeses in the White House , former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski , as well as Trump 's son-in-law Jared Kushner , whom he describes as `` an aristocratic man-child possessed of supreme arrogance and a completely amoral will to power . ''
Cohen says he began writing Disloyal from prison , where he was sentenced after pleading guilty in 2018 to lying to Congress and for financial crimes and campaign finance violations involving hush-money payments made to women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relationships with Trump .
Cohen was released earlier this year and placed on home confinement due to coronavirus concerns .
After his initial release , the Federal Bureau of Prisons returned him to prison , saying that he had refused the conditions of his release ; in July , a federal judge ordered him back to home confinement , finding that it was retaliation for Cohen 's plans to publish his book .

Trump Fired A 'Faux-Bama,' Michael Cohen Says In Tell-All Memoir
Enlarge this image toggle caption Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Long before he came into office, Donald Trump was so preoccupied with then-President Barack Obama that he hired a look-alike actor — a "faux-Bama" — to castigate and then pretend to fire on video.
That's just one of many episodes recounted and accusations levied by Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, in his new book, Disloyal: A Memoir, which is being published Tuesday and which NPR obtained before its publication.
Cohen includes a photograph of the "faux-Bama" episode in which Trump is seated at a desk across from a man who looks vaguely like the 44th American president. In the middle of Trump's desk are two books, one of which has "Barack Obama" emblazoned across the front. (Allegedly, the video was made for the 2012 Republican National Convention, but not used. If true, the incident is a remarkable ouroboros of a reality TV star cosplaying political power, who then comes to hold exactly that political power.)
Skyhorse Publishing
In Disloyal, Cohen describes the many years he says he spent as a faithful soldier, first as a teenager who read and reread Trump's book The Art of the Deal, later as a successful taxi-medallion owner and personal injury lawyer who bought his dream home in a Trump-branded property on Manhattan's Upper East Side, then as a loyal lieutenant in Trump's inner circle for many years, and finally as a spurned figure whom the president cast aside.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has dismissed Cohen, saying that he is attempting to profit off lies with this book.
Over Disloyal's 400-plus pages, Cohen rips through accounts of dozens of incidents, ranging from Trump allegedly cheating mom-and-pop vendors for services rendered at Trump properties to those of the president making racist remarks to his own involvement in trying to make a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow. That's in addition to Cohen's narrative of the payoff that Trump made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election — which was made via Cohen.
According to Cohen, Trump told his former lawyer that Black and Latino voters were "too stupid" to vote for him, and said that any country run by Black leaders was a "sh**hole." On another occasion, after the death of South African President Nelson Mandela, Cohen says that Trump told him that apartheid-era South Africa had been "beautiful" and that Mandela had "f***** the whole country up."
Cohen also goes in deep on what he describes as the president's idolization of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he says Trump reveres because of his immense personal wealth and his immersive control of his country. "An entire society and civilization bent to the will of a single man was how Trump viewed the ideal historical form of government," Cohen writes. "With him as the man in charge, of course."
Cohen also alleges several episodes in which he says Trump was casually sexist to women and grabbed women in the Trump Organization office and kissed them on the lips.
In describing the runup to the 2016 presidential election, Cohen describes how the campaign and Trump allegedly used the media to boost him to victory. "The biggest influence by far" in Trump's victory, Cohen argues, "was the media. ... Rallies broadcast live, tweets, press conferences, idiotic interviews, 24-7 wall-to-wall coverage, all without spending a penny."
In addition, Cohen fills out details on his assertion that the Trump team fixed online polls to enhance the then-candidate's reputation — utilizing the services of Liberty University's John Gauger — and how closely he worked with David Pecker, the former CEO of American Media, whose publications include the National Enquirer, to "catch and kill" allegations of Trump's relationships with women as well as to take down political rivals, including Sen. Ted Cruz.
Cohen also describes how he personally alternated between trying to butter up and bully reporters. The latter includes NPR's Tim Mak when at his former employer, the Daily Beast, Mak reported an allegation that Trump's former wife, Ivana Trump, had accused him of raping her during the couple's divorce proceedings. According to Cohen, he told Mak that if he pursued the story, that he would go after the journalist personally along with "everybody else you possibly know," adding: "I'm warning you, tread very f****** lightly, because what I'm going to do to you is going to be f****** disgusting. Do you understand me?" (The New York tough-guy tone is no accident: Cohen describes at length how he saw himself as a consigliere in an organization not unlike the Mafia.)
Tonally, Cohen alternates between taking accountability for his own behavior and trying to describe what he found so magnetic in Trump. That language sometimes skims close to erotic terms: "It was physical," Cohen writes, "emotional, not quite spiritual, but a deep longing and need that Trump filled for me."
But, Cohen says, he also saw something quite different as well: "I bore witness to the real man, in strip clubs, shady business meetings," he writes, "and in the unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was: a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man."
As is typical in political memoirs, Cohen also saves space for some petty score-settling, reserving particular disdain for one of his nemeses in the White House, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski as well as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, whom he describes as "an aristocratic man-child possessed of supreme arrogance and a completely amoral will to power."
Cohen says he began writing Disloyal from prison, where he was sentenced after pleading guilty in 2018 to lying to Congress and for financial crimes and campaign finance violations involving hush-money payments made to women who have said that they had sexual relationships with Trump.
Cohen was released earlier this year and placed on home confinement due to coronavirus concerns. After his initial release, the Federal Bureau of Prisons returned him to prison, saying that he had refused the conditions of his release; in July, a federal judge ordered him back to home confinement, finding that it was retaliation for Cohen's plans to publish his book.