npr--2020-12-23--Retiree Living The RV Dream, Fights A Nightmare $12,387 Lab Fee

Lorraine Rogge and her husband , Michael Rogge , travel the country in a recreational vehicle , a well-earned adventure in retirement .
This spring found them parked in Artesia , New Mexico , for several months .
In May , Rogge , 60 , began to feel pelvic pain and cramping .
But she had had a total hysterectomy in 2006 , so the pain seemed unusual , especially because it lasted for days .
She looked for a local gynecologist and found one who took her insurance at the Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad , New Mexico , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot .
The doctor asked if Rogge was sexually active , and she responded yes and that she had been married to Michael for 26 years .
Rogge felt she made it clear that she is in a monogamous relationship .
The doctor then did a gynecological examination and took a vaginal swab sample for laboratory testing .
The only lab test Rogge remembered discussing with the doctor was to see whether she had a yeast infection .
She was n't given any medication to treat the pelvic pain and eventually it disappeared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bill came .
The Patient : Lorraine Rogge , 60 .
Her insurance coverage was an Anthem Blue Cross retiree plan through her husband 's former employer , with a deductible of $ 2,000 and out-of-pocket maximum of $ 6,750 for in-network providers .
Total Bill : Carlsbad Medical Center billed $ 12,386.93 to Anthem Blue Cross for a vaginosis , vaginitis and sexually transmitted infections ( STI ) testing panel .
The insurer paid $ 4,161.58 on a negotiated rate of $ 7,172.05 .
That left Rogge responsible for $ 1,970 of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Her total owed for the lab bill was $ 3,010.47 .
Rogge also paid $ 93.85 for the visit to the doctor .
Service Provider : Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad , New Mexico .
It is owned by Community Health Systems , a large for-profit chain of hospital systems based in Franklin , Tennessee , outside Nashville .
The doctor Rogge saw works for Carlsbad Medical Center and its lab processed her test .
Medical Service : A bundled testing panel that looked for bacterial and yeast infections as well as common @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trichomoniasis .
What Gives : There were two things Rogge did n't know as she sought care .
First , Carlsbad Medical Center is notorious for its high prices and aggressive billing practices and , second , she was n't aware she would be tested for a wide range of sexually transmitted infections .
The latter bothered her a lot since she has been sexually active only with her husband .
She does n't remember being advised about the STI testing at all .
Nor was she questioned about whether she or her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other people , which could have justified broader testing .
They have been on the road together for five years .
`` I was incensed that they ran these tests , when they just said they were going to run a yeast infection test , '' says Rogge .
`` They ran all these tests that one would run on a very young person who had a lot of boyfriends , not a 60-year-old grandmother that 's been married for 26 years . ''
Although a doctor does n't need a patient 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not good practice to do so without informing the patient , says Dr. Ina Park , an associate professor of family community medicine at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine .
That is particularly true with tests of a sensitive nature , like STIs .
It is doubly true when the tests are going to costs thousands of dollars .
Park , an expert in sexually transmitted infections , also questioned the necessity of the full panel of tests for a patient who had a hysterectomy .
Beyond that , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` It should not cost $ 12,000 to get an evaluation for vaginitis , '' says Park .
`` Quite frankly , the retail prices on [ the bill ] are ridiculous , they make no sense at all , '' says Root .
`` Those are tests that cost about $ 10 to run . ''
In fall 2019 , The New York Times and CNN investigated Carlsbad Medical Center and found the facility had taken thousands of patients to court for unpaid hospital bills .
Carlsbad Medical Center also has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 2019 Rand Corp. study found that private insurance companies paid Carlsbad Medical Center 505 % of what Medicare would pay for the same procedures .
The bundled testing panel run on Rogge 's sample was a Quest Diagnostics SureSwab Vaginosis Panel Plus .
It included six types of tests .
Quest Diagnostics did n't provide the cost for the bundled tests , but Kim Gorode , a company spokesperson , says if the tests had been ordered directly through Quest rather than through the hospital , it was likely `` the patient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' According to Medicare 's Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule , Medicare would have reimbursed labs only about $ 40 for each test run on Rogge 's sample .
And Medicaid would reimburse hospitals in New Mexico similarly , according to figures provided by Russell Toal , superintendent of New Mexico 's insurance department .
But hospitals and clinics can — and do — add substantial markups to clinical tests sent out to commercial labs .
Although private health insurance does n't typically reimburse hospitals at Medicare or Medicaid rates , Root says , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 200 % to 300 % of Medicare 's rates .
Assuming a 300 % reimbursement rate , the total private insurance would have reimbursed for the six tests would have been $ 720 .
That $ 720 is less than what Carlsbad Medical Center charged Rogge for her chlamydia test alone : $ 1,045 .
And for several of the tests , the medical center charged multiple quantities — presumably corresponding to how many species were tested for — elevating the cost of the yeast infection test to over $ 4,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cross and talked to a customer service representative , who submitted a fraud-and-waste claim and an appeal contending the charges were excessive .
The appeal was denied .
Anthem Blue Cross told Rogge that under her plan the insurance company had paid the amount it was responsible for , and that based on her deductible and coinsurance amounts , she was responsible for the remainder .
Anthem Blue Cross said in a statement to KHN all the tests run on Rogge were approved and `` paid for in accordance with Anthem 's pre-determined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' By the time Rogge 's appeal was denied , she had researched Carlsbad Medical Center and read the stories of patients being brought to court for medical bills they could n't pay .
She had also gotten a notice from the hospital that her account would be sent to a collection agency if she did n't pay the $ 3,000 balance .
Fearing the possibility of getting sued or ruining her credit , Rogge agreed to a plan to pay the bill over three years .
She made three payments of $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ November , totaling $ 250.89 .
After a Nov. 18 call and email from KHN , Carlsbad Medical Center called Rogge on Nov. 20 and said the remainder of her account balance would be waived .
Rogge was thrilled .
We `` are n't the kind of people who have payment plans hanging over our heads , '' she said , adding : `` This is a relief . ''
`` I 'm going to go on a bike ride now '' to celebrate , she said .
The Takeaway : Particularly when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't have a long-standing trusted relationship , do n't be afraid to ask : How much is this test going to cost ?
Also ask , what exactly are you being tested for ?
Do not be comforted by the facility 's in-network status .
With coinsurance and deductibles , you can still be out a lot .
If it 's a blood test that will be sent out to a commercial lab like Quest Diagnostics anyway , ask the physician to just give you a requisition to have the blood drawn at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ avoid the markup .
This advice is obviously not possible for a vaginal swab gathered in a doctor 's office .
Patients should always fight bills they believe are excessively high and escalate the matter if necessary .
Rogge started with her insurer and the provider , as should most patients with a billing question .
But , as she learned : In American medicine , what 's legal and in accordance with an insurance contract can seem logically absurd .
Still , if you get no satisfaction from your initial inquiries , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complaints further .
Every state and U.S. territory has a department that regulates the insurance industry .
In New Mexico , that 's the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance .
Consumers can look up their state 's department on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website .
Toal , the insurance superintendent in New Mexico , said his office does n't ( and no office in the state does that he 's aware of ) have the authority to tell a hospital its prices are too high .
But he can look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a complaint is filed with his office.But he can look into a bill like Rogge 's if a complaint is filed with his office .
`` If the patient wants , they can request an independent review , so the bill would go to an independent organization that could see if it was medically necessary , '' Toal says .
That was n't needed in this case because Rogge 's bill was waived .
And after being contacted by KHN , Melissa Suggs , a spokesperson with Carlsbad Medical Center , says the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Pricing for these services will be lower in the future , '' Suggs said in a statement .

Retiree Living The RV Dream, Fights A Nightmare $12,387 Lab Fee
Enlarge this image toggle caption Heidi de Marco/Kaiser Health News Heidi de Marco/Kaiser Health News
Lorraine Rogge and her husband, Michael, travel the country in a recreational vehicle, a well-earned adventure in retirement. This spring found them parked in Artesia, N.M., for several months.
In May, Rogge, 60, began to feel pelvic pain and cramping. But she had had a total hysterectomy in 2006, so the pain seemed unusual, especially because it lasted for days. She looked for a local gynecologist and found one who took her insurance at the Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad, N.M., about a 20-mile drive from the RV lot.
The doctor asked if Rogge was sexually active, and she responded yes and that she had been married to her husband for 26 years. Rogge felt she made it clear that she is in a monogamous relationship. The doctor then did a gynecological examination and took a vaginal swab sample for laboratory testing.
The only lab test Rogge remembered discussing with the doctor was to see whether she had a yeast infection. She wasn't given any medication to treat the pelvic pain, and eventually it disappeared after a few days.
Then the bill came.
The patient: Lorraine Rogge, 60. Her insurance coverage was an Anthem Blue Cross retiree plan through her husband's former employer, with a deductible of $2,000 and out-of-pocket maximum of $6,750 for in-network providers.
Total bill: Carlsbad Medical Center billed $12,386.93 to Anthem Blue Cross for a vaginosis, vaginitis and sexually transmitted infections testing panel. The insurer paid $4,161.58 on a negotiated rate of $7,172.05. That left Rogge responsible for $1,970 of her deductible and $1,040.36 coinsurance. Her total owed for the lab bill was $3,010.47. Rogge also paid $93.85 for the visit to the doctor.
Service provider: Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad, N.M. It is owned by Community Health Systems, a large for-profit chain of hospital systems based in Franklin, Tenn., outside Nashville. The doctor Rogge saw works for Carlsbad Medical Center, and its lab processed her test.
Medical service: A bundled testing panel that looked for bacterial and yeast infections as well as common STIs, including chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis.
What gives: There were two things Rogge didn't know as she sought care. First, Carlsbad Medical Center is notorious for its high prices and aggressive billing practices and, second, she wasn't aware she would be tested for a wide range of sexually transmitted infections.
The latter bothered her a lot since she has been sexually active only with her husband. She doesn't remember being advised about the STI testing at all. Nor was she questioned about whether she or her husband might have been sexually active with other people, which could have justified broader testing. They have been on the road together for five years.
"I was incensed that they ran these tests, when they just said they were going to run a yeast infection test," Rogge says. "They ran all these tests that one would run on a very young person who had a lot of boyfriends, not a 60-year-old grandmother that's been married for 26 years."
Although a doctor doesn't need a patient's authorization to run tests, it's not good practice to do so without informing the patient, says Dr. Ina Park, an associate professor of family community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. That is particularly true with tests of a sensitive nature, such as STIs. It is doubly true when the tests are going to costs thousands of dollars.
Park, an expert in sexually transmitted infections, also questioned the necessity of the full panel of tests for a patient who had a hysterectomy.
Beyond that, the pricing for these tests was extremely high. "It should not cost $12,000 to get an evaluation for vaginitis," Park says.
Charles Root, an expert in lab billing, agrees.
"Quite frankly, the retail prices on [the bill] are ridiculous; they make no sense at all," Root says. "Those are tests that cost about $10 to run."
In fall 2019, The New York Times and CNN investigated Carlsbad Medical Center and found the facility had taken thousands of patients to court for unpaid hospital bills. Carlsbad Medical Center also has higher prices than many other facilities — a 2019 Rand Corp. study found that private insurance companies paid Carlsbad Medical Center 505% of what Medicare would pay for the same procedures.
The bundled testing panel run on Rogge's sample was a Quest Diagnostics SureSwab Vaginosis Panel Plus. It included six types of tests. Quest Diagnostics didn't provide the cost for the bundled tests, but Kim Gorode, a company spokesperson, says if the tests had been ordered directly through Quest rather than through the hospital, it was likely "the patient responsibility would have been substantially less."
According to Medicare's Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, Medicare would have reimbursed labs only about $40 for each test run on Rogge's sample. And Medicaid would reimburse hospitals in New Mexico similarly, according to figures provided by Russell Toal, superintendent of New Mexico's insurance department.
But hospitals and clinics can — and do — add substantial markups to clinical tests sent out to commercial labs.
Although private health insurance doesn't typically reimburse hospitals at Medicare or Medicaid rates, Root says, private insurance reimbursement rates are rarely much more than 200% to 300% of Medicare's rates. Assuming a 300% reimbursement rate, the total private insurance would have reimbursed for the six tests would have been $720.
That $720 is less than what Carlsbad Medical Center charged Rogge for her chlamydia test alone: $1,045. And for several of the tests, the medical center charged multiple quantities — presumably corresponding to how many species were tested for — elevating the cost of the yeast infection test to more than $4,000.
Toal, who reviewed Rogge's bill, calls the prices "outrageous."
Resolution: Rogge contacted Anthem Blue Cross and talked to a customer service representative, who submitted a fraud-and-waste claim and an appeal contending the charges were excessive.
The appeal was denied. Anthem Blue Cross told Rogge that under her plan the insurance company had paid the amount it was responsible for, and that based on her deductible and coinsurance amounts, she was responsible for the remainder.
Anthem Blue Cross said in a statement to Kaiser Health News all the tests run on Rogge were approved and "paid for in accordance with Anthem's pre-determined contracted rate with Carlsbad Medical Center."
By the time Rogge's appeal was denied, she had researched Carlsbad Medical Center and read the stories of patients being brought to court for medical bills they couldn't pay. She had also gotten a notice from the hospital that her account would be sent to a collection agency if she didn't pay the $3,000 balance.
Fearing the possibility of getting sued or ruining her credit, Rogge agreed to a plan to pay the bill over three years. She made three payments of $83.63 each in September, October and November, totaling $250.89.
After a Nov. 18 call and email from KHN, Carlsbad Medical Center called Rogge on Nov. 20 and said the remainder of her account balance would be waived.
Rogge was thrilled. We "aren't the kind of people who have payment plans hanging over our heads," she said, adding: "This is a relief."
"I'm going to go on a bike ride now" to celebrate, she said.
The takeaway: Particularly when visiting a doctor with whom you don't have a long-standing trusted relationship, don't be afraid to ask: How much is this test going to cost? Also ask, what exactly are you being tested for? Do not be comforted by the facility's in-network status. With coinsurance and deductibles, you can still be out a lot.
If it's a blood test that will be sent out to a commercial lab such as Quest Diagnostics anyway, ask the physician to give you a requisition to have the blood drawn at the commercial lab. That way you avoid the markup. This advice is obviously not possible for a vaginal swab gathered in a doctor's office.
Patients should always fight bills they believe are excessively high and escalate the matter if necessary.
Rogge started with her insurer and the provider, as should most patients with a billing question. But as she learned: In American medicine, what's legal and in accordance with an insurance contract can seem logically absurd. Still, if you get no satisfaction from your initial inquiries, be aware of options for taking your complaints further.
Every state and U.S. territory has a department that regulates the insurance industry. In New Mexico, that's the Office of Superintendent of Insurance. Consumers can look up their state's department on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website.
Toal, the insurance superintendent in New Mexico, said his office doesn't (and no office in the state does that he's aware of) have the authority to tell a hospital its prices are too high. But he can look into a bill such as Rogge's if a complaint is filed with his office.
"If the patient wants, they can request an independent review, so the bill would go to an independent organization that could see if it was medically necessary," Toal says.
That wasn't needed in this case because Rogge's bill was waived. And after being contacted by KHN, Melissa Suggs, a spokesperson with Carlsbad Medical Center, says the facility is revising its lab charges.
"Pricing for these services will be lower in the future," Suggs said in a statement.


npr--2020-12-23--The Toll Of Conspiracy Theories: A Voting Security Expert Lives In Hiding

The Toll Of Conspiracy Theories : A Voting Security Expert Lives In Hiding More than a month ago , Eric Coomer went into hiding .
The voting conspiracy theories that have led millions of Republicans to feel as though the election was stolen from them , which are still spreading , have also led to calls for Coomer 's head .
Coomer oversees product strategy and security for Dominion Voting Systems , the Denver-based company that has suddenly found itself at the center of many of President Trump 's false claims about November 's election , spread by allies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters have focused on Coomer as the supposed evil mastermind .
`` I actually am in fear for my safety , '' Coomer said recently , speaking by video call from an undisclosed location to Colorado Public Radio .
`` I 'm in fear for my family 's safety .
These are real , tangible things coming out of these baseless accusations . ''
On Tuesday , Coomer sued the Trump campaign and a number of allies , alleging defamation .
It 's just the latest example of how people 's lives are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unprecedented flurry of disinformation this year .
As people experience their own individual internet bubbles , it can be hard to recognize just how much misinformation exists and how the current information ecosystem compares to previous years .
But companies that specialize in the subject say it is getting exponentially worse .
Newsguard , which vets news sources based on transparency and reliability standards , found recently that among the top 100 sources of news in the U.S. , sources it deemed unreliable had four times as many interactions this year compared to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Labs , in an analysis performed at the request of NPR , found that misinformation narratives related to vote-by-mail systems alone were mentioned across the media spectrum more than 40 million times since Election Day .
That flood reached Dominion the week after the election , according to Zignal , and misinformation related to the company 's machines has been mentioned more than 10 million times since then .
Coomer said in addition to his own information , the personal addresses of everyone from his parents and siblings to his ex-girlfriends have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threatening letters .
`` I 've been threatened more times than I could even count .
Whether it 's the standard online trolls , voicemails that are left almost on a daily basis , being called a traitor to this country .
I ca n't even begin to describe what effect this has had on my life , '' he said .
Dominion provides election equipment and software to 28 states , including many of the swing states on which Trump has focused his post-election ire .
In preparing for this November 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sorts of worst case scenarios , but it was n't on anyone 's radar that Dominion and its employees could become the targets of threats .
Coomer says the first barb aimed at him came five days after the election .
The accusation started with a conservative activist in Colorado , Joe Oltmann .
He claimed on his podcast that he 'd infiltrated a call with Denver area `` Antifa '' members that included a man identified as `` Eric from Dominion . ''
Oltmann claimed that Coomer said with a laugh on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump did n't win the election .
`` The minute I saw it , it left a big pit in my stomach , '' he said .
After that podcast went out , the threats quickly arrived .
An online search turns up segments on the pro-Trump outlets Newsmax and One America News Network , discussing the allegations , as well as people accusing Coomer of treason and calling for him to be publicly executed .
Those networks are among the defendants Coomer is suing .
`` God is at the wheel , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do the work of men to repel evil , '' said one of numerous posts on the conservative social media site Parler .
A Dominion spokeswoman says other company employees have also gone to more secure locations , been threatened and been digitally stalked .
On Nov. 21 , a group protested in front of Dominion 's Denver headquarters , waving American flags and signs saying `` fraud equals arrests . ''
Social media posts from the event tagged the far right group the Proud Boys .
No one is currently working out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there are signs that elections companies , like some election officials , are pushing back against the false accusations .
In addition to Coomer 's lawsuit , Dominion is threatening legal action against Sidney Powell , who has been among the loudest voices pushing conspiracy theories on behalf of the Trump campaign .
Powell is named in Coomer 's suit , along with the president 's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani .
Smartmatic , a competitor of Dominion 's that has also been the subject of wild rumors , has demanded that numerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
This weekend , both Fox Business Network and Newsmax appeared to answer those demands with segments debunking some claims .
But election integrity advocates worry that the disinformation wo n't truly begin to recede until political leaders like Trump stop questioning the election 's legitimacy .
Even in an election where almost all the voting was recorded on paper ballots and rigorous audits were done more than ever before , none of that helps if millions of people are working with an alternative set of facts , said Joe Kiniry , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election technology company Free & Fair .
Even if an election is run perfectly , that does n't matter to a sizable portion of the public who believes it was unfair .
No amount of transparency at the county and state level can really combat the sort of megaphone that Trump wields , Kiniry worries .
`` When we 're in the realm of coupling disinformation from both foreign and domestic sources , and government and non-government sources , and none of it is really grounded in reality ...
Evidence does n't help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eric Coomer , that means his life may be forever changed .
His top goal right now is pretty simple — hoping one day it 'll be safe to return home .
But he has no idea if that will ever be possible .
`` Some of the threats that I 've gotten have made very clear that these actors are in it for the long haul .
The wishes are that I forever have to look over my shoulder , '' Coomer said .
`` And I probably will . ''

The Toll Of Conspiracy Theories: A Voting Security Expert Lives In Hiding
Enlarge this image toggle caption John Bazemore/AP John Bazemore/AP
More than a month ago, Eric Coomer went into hiding.
The voting conspiracy theories that have led millions of Republicans to feel as though the election was stolen from them, which are still spreading, have also led to calls for Coomer's head.
Coomer oversees product strategy and security for Dominion Voting Systems, the Denver-based company that has suddenly found itself at the center of many of President Trump's false claims about November's election, spread by allies and pro-Trump media.
Some of Trump's supporters have focused on Coomer as the supposed evil mastermind.
"I actually am in fear for my safety," Coomer said recently, speaking by video call from an undisclosed location to Colorado Public Radio. "I'm in fear for my family's safety. These are real, tangible things coming out of these baseless accusations."
On Tuesday, Coomer sued the Trump campaign and a number of allies, alleging defamation.
It's just the latest example of how people's lives are being upended and potentially ruined by the unprecedented flurry of disinformation this year.
The problem grows
As people experience their own individual Internet bubbles, it can be hard to recognize just how much misinformation exists and how the current information ecosystem compares with previous years.
But companies that specialize in the subject said it is getting exponentially worse.
NewsGuard, which vets news sources based on transparency and reliability standards, found recently that among the top 100 sources of news in the U.S., sources it deemed unreliable had four times as many interactions this year compared with 2019.
The media intelligence platform Zignal Labs, in an analysis performed at NPR's request, found that misinformation narratives related to vote-by-mail systems alone were mentioned across the media spectrum more than 40 million times since Election Day.
That flood reached Dominion the week after the election, according to Zignal, and misinformation related to the company's machines has been mentioned more than 10 million times since then.
Coomer said in addition to his own information, the personal addresses of everyone from his parents and siblings to his ex-girlfriends have been posted online. Some have also received threatening letters.
"I've been threatened more times than I could even count. Whether it's the standard online trolls, voicemails that are left almost on a daily basis, being called a traitor to this country, I can't even begin to describe what effect this has had on my life," he said.
Dominion provides election equipment and software to 28 states, including many of the swing states on which Trump has focused his post-election ire.
In preparing for this November's election, the company gamed out all sorts of worst-case scenarios, but it wasn't on anyone's radar that Dominion and its employees could become the targets of threats.
Coomer said the first barb aimed at him came five days after the election.
The accusation started with a conservative activist in Colorado, Joe Oltmann. He claimed on his podcast that he'd infiltrated a call with Denver-area antifa members that included a man identified as "Eric from Dominion."
Oltmann claimed that Coomer said with a laugh on the call that he would make sure Trump didn't win the election.
Immediately, Coomer knew things would blow up.
"The minute I saw it, it left a big pit in my stomach," he said.
After that podcast went out, the threats quickly arrived. An online search turns up segments on the pro-Trump outlets Newsmax and One America News Network discussing the allegations as well as people accusing Coomer of treason and calling for him to be publicly executed. Those networks are among the defendants Coomer is suing.
"God is at the wheel, but we are the warriors that must do the work of men to repel evil," said one of numerous posts on the conservative social media site Parler.
A Dominion spokeswoman said other company employees have also gone to more secure locations, been threatened and been digitally stalked.
On Nov. 21, a group protested in front of Dominion's Denver headquarters, waving American flags and signs saying "fraud equals arrests." Social media posts from the event tagged the far-right group the Proud Boys. No one is currently working out of the building.
Pushing back
Recently, however, there are signs that elections companies, like some election officials, are pushing back against the false accusations.
In addition to Coomer's lawsuit, Dominion is threatening legal action against Sidney Powell, who has been among the loudest voices pushing conspiracy theories on behalf of the Trump campaign. Powell is named in Coomer's suit, along with the president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Smartmatic, a competitor of Dominion's that has also been the subject of wild rumors, has demanded that numerous news networks take back their allegations against it. This weekend, both Fox Business Network and Newsmax appeared to answer those demands with segments debunking some claims.
But election integrity advocates worry the disinformation won't truly begin to recede until political leaders such as Trump stop questioning the election's legitimacy.
Even in an election where almost all the voting was recorded on paper ballots and rigorous audits were done more than ever before, none of that helps if millions of people are working with an alternative set of facts, said Joe Kiniry, chief scientist of the open-source election technology company Free & Fair.
Even if an election is run perfectly, it doesn't matter to a sizable portion of the public who believes it was unfair. No amount of transparency at the county and state level can really combat the sort of megaphone that Trump wields, Kiniry says.
"When we're in the realm of coupling disinformation from both foreign and domestic sources, and government and nongovernment sources, and none of it is really grounded in reality ... evidence doesn't help much," he said.
For Coomer, that means his life may be forever changed.
His top goal right now is pretty simple — hoping one day it'll be safe to return home. But he has no idea if that will ever be possible.
"Some of the threats that I've gotten have made very clear that these actors are in it for the long haul. The wishes are that I forever have to look over my shoulder," Coomer said. "And I probably will."


npr--2020-12-23--Wheels Come Off For Bus Companies, Closing Down Travel Options For Poorer Americans

Wheels Come Off For Bus Companies , Closing Down Travel Options For Poorer Americans The wheels on the nation 's buses are n't going round and round very much these days .
Demand for bus travel has fallen by more than 80 % during the pandemic , as public health authorities urge people to avoid travel where possible .
That is raising concerns about the potential long-term damage to an essential transport method for millions of lower-income Americans even as air travel has shown signs of picking up since the Thanksgiving holiday period .
And those who have to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are finding fewer options , and often higher prices as a result .
Feeling the pinch most are people like Andrew Sarkis .
He paid $ 97 for a one-way bus ticket from Hampton , Va. , to New York City — a 12-hour journey that required two transfers .
`` It 's expensive , man , '' said Sarkis , while stretching his legs after his bus took a brief stop at Union Station in Washington , D.C. '' I used to go on another bus for $ 45 a trip , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he added .
Sarkis was on his way to visit family for Christmas , but was forced into taking a half-day travel on a Greyhound bus after finding his usual options in competing services pared down .
`` The service is not bad , '' he said .
`` It 's just long hours of traveling . ''
Greyhound said it 's operating less than half its normal bus routes during the pandemic , while revenues have fallen nearly 60 % .
`` Greyhound has been immensely impacted by the effects of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statement .
`` From temporary and permanent closures of routes to sudden workforce reductions , our ability to provide critical service to communities—especially those that are underserved and/or rural—has been reduced . ''
Industrywide , the service cuts are even deeper .
`` We see the industry operating at about 10 % capacity , '' said Peter Pantuso , president of the American Bus Association .
And it 's hard to estimate how soon demand can pick up .
Not many people are interested in riding the bus these days , spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Unlike airlines , which saw an uptick in travel over Thanksgiving , demand for bus tickets remains severely depressed , according to Wanderu , a travel website .
That raises concerns about the long-term health of a sector that generally operates on thinner margins and has less financial cushion .
Pantuso estimates that 85 % of the 100,000 people who work in the bus industry have been laid off or furloughed — in most cases since March .
It 's not just long-haul services like Greyhound that are limping .
Traffic on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and from the suburbs has also dried up , since many people are working from home .
Charter buses and specialty services are struggling as well .
The Nitetrain Coach Company in Nashville offers tricked-out buses with bars and bunk beds for touring musicians .
Since March , the company 's 120-bus fleet has gone silent .
`` It 's been a hard time with concerts not happening , '' said Nitetrain 's Angela Eicher .
`` No job .
No income . ''
The company has idled more than 200 drivers as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` We 're at the mercy of the venues , '' Eicher said .
`` When the venues allow the concerts to start happening , that 's when our buses will start rolling again . ''
Nitetrain did send a few of its buses to the Gulf Coast this fall , to house utility crews cleaning up after hurricanes .
Elsewhere , buses have been used to evacuate people from the path of wildfires .
And with less competition among bus companies , the few people who are buying tickets are often paying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 18 % jump in intercity bus fares last month , even as overall inflation was tame .
While bus travel is still cheaper than other options , the extra cost can be a hardship for many riders .
`` This is a mode of travel that caters to people often who ca n't afford cars — that need to go at the least possible cost from point A to point B , '' said Joe Schwieterman , a transportation expert who directs the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of reach . ''
But while Congress has offered billions of dollars in financial aid to airlines and Amtrak , bus companies have been overlooked .
New emergency aid passed by Congress this week provides help for airlines , though bus companies were largely overlooked .
Pantuso , the bus trade group president , said the lack of attention from Congress was a concern , calling his sector a critical piece of the nation 's transportation network .
`` If more members of Congress took the bus on a more regular basis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'd probably be at the top of the list for funding . ''

Wheels Come Off For Bus Companies, Closing Down Travel Options For Poorer Americans
Enlarge this image toggle caption Eric Gay/AP Eric Gay/AP
The wheels on the nation's buses aren't going round and round very much these days.
Demand for bus travel has fallen by more than 80% during the pandemic as public health authorities urge people to avoid travel where possible.
That is raising concerns about the potential long-term damage to an essential transport method for millions of lower-income Americans even as air travel has shown signs of picking up since the Thanksgiving holiday period.
And those who have to take the bus, for whatever reason, are finding fewer options, and often higher prices as a result.
Feeling the pinch most are people such as Andrew Sarkis. He paid $97 for a one-way bus ticket from Hampton, Va., to New York City — a 12-hour journey that required two transfers.
"It's expensive, man," said Sarkis, while stretching his legs after his bus took a brief stop at Union Station in Washington, D.C.
"I used to go on another bus, for $45 a trip, that goes straight to New York," he added.
Sarkis was on his way to visit family for Christmas but ended up with a half-day travel option on a Greyhound bus after finding his usual options in competing services pared down.
"The service is not bad," he said. "It's just long hours of traveling."
Greyhound said it's operating at less than half its normal bus routes during the pandemic, while revenues have fallen nearly 60%.
"Greyhound has been immensely impacted by the effects of COVID-19," the company said in a statement. "From temporary and permanent closures of routes to sudden workforce reductions, our ability to provide critical service to communities — especially those that are underserved and/or rural — has been reduced."
Industrywide, the service cuts are even deeper.
"We see the industry operating at about 10% capacity," said Peter Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association.
And it's hard to estimate how soon demand can pick up. Not many people are interested in riding the bus these days, which means spending hours with strangers in an enclosed space.
Unlike airlines, which saw an uptick in travel over Thanksgiving, demand for bus tickets remains severely depressed, according to Wanderu, a travel website.
Loading...
That raises concerns about the long-term health of a sector that generally operates on thinner margins and has less financial cushion.
Pantuso estimates that 85% of the 100,000 people who work in the bus industry have been laid off or furloughed — in most cases since March.
It's not just long-haul services like Greyhound that are limping. Traffic on commuter lines that ordinarily ferry workers to and from the suburbs has also dried up, since many people are working from home.
Charter buses and specialty services are struggling as well.
The Nitetrain Coach Co. in Nashville offers tricked-out buses with bars and bunk beds for touring musicians. Since March, the company's 120-bus fleet has gone silent.
"It's been a hard time with concerts not happening," said Nitetrain's Angela Eicher. "No job. No income."
The company has idled more than 200 drivers as well as mechanics and office staff.
"We're at the mercy of the venues," Eicher said. "When the venues allow the concerts to start happening, that's when our buses will start rolling again."
Nitetrain did send a few of its buses to the Gulf Coast this fall to house utility crews cleaning up after hurricanes. Elsewhere, buses have been used to evacuate people from the path of wildfires.
And with less competition among bus companies, the few people who are buying tickets are often paying more. The Labor Department reported an 18% jump in intercity bus fares last month, even as overall inflation was tame.
While bus travel is still cheaper than other options, the extra cost can be a hardship for many riders.
"This is a mode of travel that caters to people often who can't afford cars — that need to go at the least possible cost from point A to point B," said Joe Schwieterman, a transportation expert who directs the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University. "If prices jump, it might be out of reach."
But while Congress has offered billions of dollars in financial aid to airlines and Amtrak, bus companies have been overlooked.
New emergency aid passed by Congress this week provides help for airlines, though bus companies were largely overlooked.
Pantuso, the bus trade group president, said the lack of attention from Congress was a concern, calling his sector a critical piece of the nation's transportation network.
"If more members of Congress took the bus on a more regular basis," he said, "we'd probably be at the top of the list for funding."


npr--2020-12-23--U.K.-France Border Reopens Amid Spread Of New Coronavirus Strain

France has reopened its borders to travelers and truck drivers from the United Kingdom who show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within the previous 72 hours .
The two countries reached the deal Tuesday after France closed the route on Sunday following news of an outbreak in southeast England of a new strain of the coronavirus .
The shutdown caused chaos for the crucial freight route between France and the U.K. , with thousands of truck drivers stranded in the port of Dover and drivers unable to return to the continent .
`` We continue to urge hauliers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notice as we work to alleviate congestion at port , '' U.K. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement .
The agreement allows for rail , sea , and freight services to return to operation .
It is set to be reviewed on Dec. 31 , but could run through Jan. 6 , according to the U.K. 's Department for Transport .
All truck drivers will require a `` lateral flow '' coronavirus test , which can detect the new strain of COVID-19 and provide results in as little as 30 minutes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out sample tests on incoming freight to the U.K , according to the transport department .
Much of Europe has banned travel to and from the U.K. in an attempt to preemptively halt the spread of the new coronavirus strain .
U.K. officials warn the new variant could be as much as 70 % more contagious than the various strains previously in circulation .
However , there 's no evidence so far suggesting the new variant is more deadly .

U.K.-France Border Reopens Amid Spread Of New Coronavirus Strain
Enlarge this image toggle caption Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images
France has reopened its borders to travelers and truck drivers from the United Kingdom who show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within the previous 72 hours.
The two countries reached the deal Tuesday after France closed the route on Sunday following news of an outbreak in southeast England of a new strain of the coronavirus. The shutdown caused chaos for the crucial freight route between France and the U.K., with thousands of truck drivers stranded in the port of Dover and drivers unable to return to the continent.
"We continue to urge hauliers not to travel to Kent until further notice as we work to alleviate congestion at port," U.K. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement.
The agreement allows for rail, sea and freight services to return to operation. It is set to be reviewed on Dec. 31 but could run through Jan. 6, according to the U.K.'s Department for Transport.
All truck drivers will require a "lateral flow" coronavirus test, which can detect the new strain of COVID-19 and provide results in as little as 30 minutes. The French government will also carry out sample tests on incoming freight to the U.K., according to the transport department.
Much of Europe has banned travel to and from the U.K. in an attempt to preemptively halt the spread of the new coronavirus strain. U.K. officials warn the new variant could be as much as 70% more contagious than the various strains previously in circulation. However, there's no evidence so far suggesting the new variant is more deadly.
NPR's Paris correspondent Eleanor Beardsley contributed to this report.


npr--2020-12-23--Ohio Officer Removed From Duty After Fatal Shooting Of Black Man

Ohio Officer Removed From Duty After Fatal Shooting Of Black Man A police officer in Columbus , Ohio , was temporarily removed from duty pending the outcome of criminal and internal investigations following the fatal shooting of an apparently unnamed Black man early Tuesday .
The city 's Mayor Andrew Ginther demanded that the unidentified officer who fired the shot be removed following news that the officer 's body camera was switched off in the moments leading up to the shooting .
`` While it is very early in the investigation , there is one fact that disturbs me greatly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conference Tuesday , according to member station WOSU .
`` The officer involved did not turn on their body-worn camera until after the shooting . ''
The shooting occurred at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday .
Police received calls in the Cranbrook neighborhood of the city reporting a suspicious vehicle at one home .
When officers arrived , they saw a man in the garage .
Police say the man walked toward the officers with a cellphone in his left hand , but they could n't see his right hand .
The officer then shot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers activated their body-worn cameras until after the shooting .
But the cameras offer a 60-second `` look back '' function , meaning the actual shooting was recorded .
No audio was captured through this function , so what was said , if anything , between the man and the officers leading up to the shooting is unclear .
There is also no dash-cam video because police are not required to activate it if they are n't responding to an emergency call .
Officers on scene failed to offer first aid to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ near the victim .
He was transported to Riverside Hospital where he died .
WOSU says the man was 47 .
Tuesday 's shooting is the second involving Columbus police this month in which officers ' body cameras were n't turned on .
The city is still reeling from the Dec. 4 police killing of Casey Goodson Jr. Police claim Goodson pointed a gun at officers , though without body-cam video or witnesses , their assertion can not be corroborated .
The mayor on Tuesday went on to say , `` If you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ body-worn camera , you can not serve and protect the people of Columbus . ''
Ginther said available body camera footage of the shooting will be released within 24 hours .
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been asked to look into the shooting .
Ginther also asked U.S. Attorney Dave DeVillers to review the case to see if any federal civil rights laws were violated , WOSU reports .

Ohio Officer Removed From Duty After Fatal Shooting Of Black Man
A police officer in Columbus, Ohio, was temporarily removed from duty pending the outcome of criminal and internal investigations following the fatal shooting of an apparently unarmed Black man early Tuesday.
Mayor Andrew Ginther demanded that the unidentified officer who fired the shot be removed following news that the officer's body camera was switched off in the moments leading up to the shooting.
"While it is very early in the investigation, there is one fact that disturbs me greatly," Ginther said in a news conference Tuesday, according to member station WOSU. "The officer involved did not turn on their body-worn camera until after the shooting."
The shooting occurred at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. Police received calls in the Cranbrook neighborhood of the city reporting a suspicious vehicle at one home. When officers arrived, they saw a man in the garage. Police say the man walked toward the officers with a cellphone in his left hand, but they couldn't see his right hand. The officer then shot him.
Neither of the two responding officers activated their body cameras until after the shooting. But the cameras offer a 60-second "look back" function, meaning the actual shooting was recorded. No audio was captured through this function, so what was said, if anything, between the man and the officers leading up to the shooting is unclear. There is also no dashcam video because police are not required to activate it if they aren't responding to an emergency call.
Officers at the scene failed to offer first aid to the man immediately, and no weapon was found near the victim. He was transported to Riverside Hospital, where he died. WOSU says the man was 47.
The mayor on Tuesday went on to say, "If you're not going to turn on your body-worn camera, you cannot serve and protect the people of Columbus."
Ginther said available body camera footage of the shooting will be released within 24 hours.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been asked to look into the shooting. Ginther also asked U.S. Attorney Dave DeVillers to review the case to see if any federal civil rights laws were violated, WOSU reports.
Tuesday's fatal police shooting is the second in Columbus this month. The city is still reeling from the Dec. 4 killing of Casey Goodson Jr. by a Franklin County Sheriff's deputy. The Sheriff's Office does not issue body cameras to its deputies, and no witnesses to the shooting have been identified.


npr--2020-12-22--Tennessee Hospitals Are Disturbingly Close To Their Breaking Point

Tennessee Hospitals Are Disturbingly Close To Their Breaking Point COVID-19 is hitting a handful states harder than anywhere else — California , Oklahoma , Texas and Tennessee .
And in Tennessee , hospitals are having to improvise , as nearly 3,000 people are hospitalized for COVID-19 and treatment is underway for far more COVID patients than ever thought possible .
Clinicians say they are trying to bend but not break as they wait for vaccines .
`` If we have another surge after Christmas and New Year 's like we did after Thanksgiving , it will completely break our hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Piercey said this week .
A couple of Tennessee 's rural hospitals have requested ventilators from the state 's emergency stockpile .
A federal emergency team has been sent to the mountainous northeast part of the state .
And alternative care sites that were set up months ago , to deal with this kind of patient surge , are empty — rendered useless because there 's no staff to run them .
From outside the hospital walls , it 's impossible to see how serious the situation is .
Visitors are largely kept @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the street .
Ambulances do n't line up around the block .
But inside , hospitals are frantically constructing new COVID units .
Hospitals are forced to adapt and work with existing space In an effort to avoid treating patients in hallways , emergency departments are doing flash renovations .
Last week , in the ER at TriStar Hendersonville , the waiting room was transformed into a patient care area .
A small café is now the waiting room .
`` We 're already taking measures for the onslaught that we believe is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the ER medical director .
`` It is daunting to walk into the emergency room at 6 a.m. and see 13 people and know that there are no beds upstairs — and know that you are waiting for discharges and , unfortunately , deaths .
But we keep making a place . ''
Harrison says the crowding is not going to be comfortable , but it 's better than the alternative of turning people away .
Even the regional giant , Vanderbilt University Medical Center — with its huge staff , massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drew a line earlier this year .
`` You know , we thought we knew where our breaking point was , '' says chief nursing officer Robin Steaban .
But VUMC already crossed that threshold , several weeks ago .
`` There is a breaking point .
We have not discovered that yet , but we know that there is one when it 's going to be impossible to do the kind of care we want to do for patients , '' she says .
That 's not to say coping has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's COVID ICU , and has been fielding calls from as far away as Missouri and Virginia from hospitals with no room for — or no capabilities to treat — complex COVID patients .
Rice has to tell other physicians there 's no room at VUMC either , at least not for their transfer patients .
And turning anyone away feels wrong for a major medical center that 's usually thought of as a backstop for the region , he says .
`` We want to help them , '' Rice says .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ really triage our resources . ''
So a strange thing is happening .
Even smaller hospitals that would usually refer critical cases to urban medical centers ca n't do that and are actually having to accept overflow from out of state .
`` It 's pretty unusual for us — or was unusual — to get patients [ from out of state ] .
Now we 're getting them fairly regularly , '' says Dr. Matt King , a pulmonary critical care physician at a smaller Tennessee hospital , Sumner Regional Medical Center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patient who was flown in recently from Kentucky , having sought a bed from Ohio to Alabama .
And this patient was n't even a COVID case .
But COVID is what 's causing the capacity issues .
King says many of those patients are hospitalized for weeks .
`` It does n't take very many patients staying for a week or two weeks for us to fill up , '' he says `` The hospital really relies on being able to get people in , get them well , and get them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the next person . ''
At the bedside , resorting to uncommon measures Doctors say they are doing things that feel risky , like sending patients home earlier than they typically would , even when they still need supplemental oxygen to breathe .
`` Actually right now , I 'm signing some paperwork to get a patient home with oxygen , '' King admitted during an interview last week .
Hospitals are also telling more people who show up for care to go home , and only come back if things get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meet some pretty strict criteria to be admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 right now , '' says Dr. James Parnell , president of Tennessee 's chapter of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine .
Hospitals anticipate that they will have to make even more space , because they know additional cases are coming soon — from both the massive ongoing surge in new cases and from all the end-of-year holiday gatherings that will go on , despite the increasingly desperate pleas to stay home from public officials in Tennessee , and beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Nashville Public Radio and Kaiser Health News .

Tennessee Hospitals Are Disturbingly Close To Their Breaking Point
Enlarge this image toggle caption Blake Farmer/WPLN Blake Farmer/WPLN
COVID-19 is hitting a handful states harder than anywhere else — California, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee. And in Tennessee, hospitals are having to improvise, as nearly 3,000 people are hospitalized for COVID-19 and treatment is underway for far more COVID patients than ever thought possible.
Clinicians say they are trying to bend but not break as they wait for vaccines.
"If we have another surge after Christmas and New Year's like we did after Thanksgiving, it will completely break our hospitals," Tennessee Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey said this week.
A couple of Tennessee's rural hospitals have requested ventilators from the state's emergency stockpile. A federal emergency team has been sent to the mountainous northeast part of the state. And alternative care sites that were set up months ago, to deal with this kind of patient surge, are empty — rendered useless because there's no staff to run them.
From outside the hospital walls, it's impossible to see how serious the situation is. Visitors are largely kept out. Patients aren't spilling into the street. Ambulances don't line up around the block.
But inside, hospitals are frantically constructing new COVID units.
Hospitals are forced to adapt and work with existing space
In an effort to avoid treating patients in hallways, emergency departments are doing flash renovations. Last week, in the ER at TriStar Hendersonville, the waiting room was transformed into a patient care area. A small café is now the waiting room.
"We're already taking measures for the onslaught that we believe is coming," says Dr. Duane Harrison, the ER medical director. "It is daunting to walk into the emergency room at 6 a.m. and see 13 people and know that there are no beds upstairs — and know that you are waiting for discharges and, unfortunately, deaths. But we keep making a place."
Harrison says the crowding is not going to be comfortable, but it's better than the alternative of turning people away.
Even the regional giant, Vanderbilt University Medical Center — with its huge staff, massive campus and top infectious disease capabilities — drew a line earlier this year.
"You know, we thought we knew where our breaking point was," says chief nursing officer Robin Steaban.
But VUMC already crossed that threshold, several weeks ago.
"There is a breaking point. We have not discovered that yet, but we know that there is one when it's going to be impossible to do the kind of care we want to do for patients," she says.
That's not to say coping has been pretty.
Dr. Todd Rice directs Vanderbilt's COVID ICU, and has been fielding calls from as far away as Missouri and Virginia from hospitals with no room for — or no capabilities to treat — complex COVID patients. Rice has to tell other physicians there's no room at VUMC either, at least not for their transfer patients.
And turning anyone away feels wrong for a major medical center that's usually thought of as a backstop for the region, he says.
"We want to help them," Rice says. "And here we're having to really triage our resources."
So a strange thing is happening. Even smaller hospitals that would usually refer critical cases to urban medical centers can't do that and are actually having to accept overflow from out of state.
"It's pretty unusual for us — or was unusual — to get patients [from out of state]. Now we're getting them fairly regularly," says Dr. Matt King, a pulmonary critical care physician at a smaller Tennessee hospital, Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin.
Dr. King handled a patient who was flown in recently from Kentucky, having sought a bed from Ohio to Alabama. And this patient wasn't even a COVID case.
But COVID is what's causing the capacity issues. King says many of those patients are hospitalized for weeks.
"It doesn't take very many patients staying for a week or two weeks for us to fill up," he says "The hospital really relies on being able to get people in, get them well, and get them home quickly so we can take care of the next person."
At the bedside, resorting to uncommon measures
Doctors say they are doing things that feel risky, like sending patients home earlier than they typically would, even when they still need supplemental oxygen to breathe.
"Actually right now, I'm signing some paperwork to get a patient home with oxygen," King admitted during an interview last week.
Hospitals are also telling more people who show up for care to go home, and only come back if things get worse.
"You've gotta meet some pretty strict criteria to be admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 right now," says Dr. James Parnell, president of Tennessee's chapter of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.
Hospitals anticipate that they will have to make even more space, because they know additional cases are coming soon — from both the massive ongoing surge in new cases and from all the end-of-year holiday gatherings that will go on, despite the increasingly desperate pleas to stay home from public officials in Tennessee, and beyond.
This story was produced in partnership with Nashville Public Radio and Kaiser Health News.


npr--2020-12-22--Trump Slams COVID-19 Relief Bill, Asks For Changes After Bitter Negotiations

Trump Slams COVID-19 Relief Bill , Asks For Changes After Bitter Negotiations President Trump is threatening to derail a $ 900 billion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress on Monday after months of bitter negotiations .
In a video released on his Twitter feed Tuesday evening , Trump said he wants Congress to `` send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package . ''
Trump said the bill was a `` disgrace '' and called the $ 600 payments to individuals in the current bill `` ridiculously low . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 2,000 per individual and $ 4,000 for couples — despite the fact that it was Republicans who stood in the way of higher payments for months .
The relief package was passed as part of a bill to fund government operations for the rest of the fiscal year , though the president did earlier sign a stopgap measure that extends government funding until Monday .
Trump blasted money appropriated for foreign aid , environmental programs and cultural institutions , calling them `` wasteful . ''
Trump did not expressly threaten to veto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate with enough votes to potentially override a presidential veto if Trump were to carry out that option .
Democrats seized on Trump 's call for higher payments .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said they 'll bring the $ 2,000 direct payments to the floor Thursday for a vote by unanimous consent .
`` Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks , '' Pelosi said .
`` At last , the President has agreed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent .
Let 's do it ! ''
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina responded on Twitter , calling the relief bill `` imperfect , '' but saying that it `` will save jobs and lives .
The sooner the bill becomes law — the better . ''

Trump Slams COVID-19 Relief Bill, Asks For Changes After Bitter Negotiations
Enlarge this image toggle caption Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Updated at 9:21 p.m. ET
President Trump is threatening to derail a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress on Monday after months of bitter negotiations.
In a video released on his Twitter feed Tuesday evening, Trump said he wants Congress to "send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package."
Trump said the bill was a "disgrace" and called the payments of up to $600 to qualifying individuals in the current bill "ridiculously low." He said he wants that boosted to $2,000 per individual and $4,000 for couples — despite the fact that it was Republicans who stood in the way of higher payments for months.
The relief package was passed as part of a bill to fund government operations for the rest of the fiscal year, though the president did earlier sign a stopgap measure that extends government funding until Monday.
Trump blasted money appropriated for foreign aid, environmental programs and cultural institutions, calling them "wasteful."
Trump did not expressly threaten to veto the legislation. It was passed by overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate with enough votes to potentially override a presidential veto if Trump were to carry out that option.
Trump's move throws a big wrench into what's been a hotly contentious process.
Democrats seized on Trump's call for higher payments. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said they'll bring the $2,000 direct payments to the floor Thursday for a vote by unanimous consent.
"Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks," Pelosi said. "At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let's do it!"
Trump's comments also put leading Republicans in a box.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina responded on Twitter, calling the relief bill "imperfect," but saying that it "will save jobs and lives. The sooner the bill becomes law — the better."


npr--2020-12-22--Trump Grants Slew Of Pardons, Including George Papadopoulos And Duncan Hunter

Update at 2 a.m .
ET on Wednesday Perpetrators of a massacre , perjurers , corrupt politicians , money launderers , nonviolent convicted drug dealers and a 1950s moonshine-maker are among those whom President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday , ahead of the Christmas holiday .
In all , Trump granted full pardons to 15 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional 5 .
Among the high-profile pardons are three former Republican members of Congress , including Rep. Duncan Hunter , who pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds ; Trump also singled out George Papadopoulos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charged in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller 's Russia investigation ; four Blackwater mercenaries who were convicted for killing civilians in Iraq ; and two Border Patrol agents who attempted to cover up their shooting of a Mexican national fleeing arrest .
The move comes as activists have lobbied Trump to use his executive powers to help prisoners who are serving what they view as unduly long sentences .
Before this latest batch , Trump had issued 28 pardons and 16 commutations during his time in office .
Presidents traditionally have granted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before leaving office , especially when dealing with controversial cases .
Trump is expected to follow that path , but he has not shied away from granting clemency in high-profile cases , even early on in his presidency .
In 2007 , Nicholas Slatten , Paul Slough , Evan Liberty , and Dustin Heard were working as Blackwater guards on an assignment to protect a U.S. convoy in Baghdad .
But a jury found they instead ambushed innocent civilians without provocation .
On Sept. 16 2007 , the ex-guards opened fire with machine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nisour Square , killing the 14 unarmed civilians and wounding 17 others .
All four men were convicted in 2014 for their roles in the massacre on charges ranging from first-degree murder to voluntary manslaughter .
Slatten was convicted of murdering the driver of a white Kia that was stopped in the square .
As NPR reported , the court 's opinion stated , `` The government 's case against Slatten hinged on his having fired the first shots , his animosity toward the Iraqis having led him to target the white Kia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as Blackwater officials , all maintained that the for-hire guards were attacked first .
Defense attorneys also accused witnesses of fabricating their testimony .
Blackwater Worldwide — whose founder and former CEO Erik Prince is the brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos — was banned from serving U.S. contracts in Iraq in 2009 .
A previously unknown figure , George Papadopoulos was plucked from obscurity by Trump in March 2016 .
The following year , Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian operatives — lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation .
In 2018 , Dutch attorney Alex van der Zwaan , was hit with the same charge by Mueller .
Both pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and served short prison sentences .
At his sentencing in September 2018 , Papadopoulos told the court that he recognized what he did was wrong .
The candidate and later president distanced himself generally from the Russian help his team received and specifically from Papadopoulos .
On the day of his sentencing , Trump told reporters : `` I see Papadopoulos today ; I do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know ...
They got him on , I guess , on a couple of lies . ''
Papadopoulos served a 14-day prison sentence .
After his release , he repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation and claimed that he was set up by the FBI .
As NPR reported , `` Van der Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $ 20,000 after he pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his work for Skadden with Paul Manafort and his protégé , Rick Gates . ''
He has since been deported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hunter of California was sentenced in March to 11 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a single count of unlawfully using more than $ 250,000 in campaign funds , just one of 60 counts he and his wife , Margaret , faced at the time .
Court documents stated the former Marine and his wife racked up more than $ 37,700 in overdraft fees and stole the money to cover basic living expenses — including their childrens ' schooling , groceries and pet food for the family rabbits .
They then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ luxury hotels , airline tickets , and dinners .
Hunter 's 11-month prison sentence had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and was set to begin in January .
Trump 's full pardon means he will serve no time .
Former U.S. Rep. Chris Collins , R-N.Y. , convicted for insider trading , has been serving a 26-month prison sentence in a minimum-security federal prison in Florida .
Collins , who served on the board of an Australian biotech company , Innate , pleaded guilty to tipping off his son and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a drug trial so they could unload stock ahead of a bad announcement .
That information allowed them to make timely stock trades and avoid more than $ 768,000 in losses , according to court documents .
Collins was the first House Republican to endorse Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election .
Trump commuted the remaining prison sentence of former Texas congressman Steve Stockman , who was convicted of 23 felony counts , among them money laundering and mail and wire fraud .
Stockman has served more than two years of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president explained that the 64-year-old `` has underlying pre-existing health conditions that place his health at greater risk during the COVID epidemic , and he has already contracted COVID while in prison . ''
Despite being freed from prison , Stockman will remain subject to a period of supervised release and an order requiring that he pay more than $ 1,000,000 in restitution .
Trump granted full pardons to Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean , two former Border Patrol agents who in 2005 shot an alleged drug dealer crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man was carrying a gun .
The man they shot in the buttocks escaped back across the border to Mexico .
Their case became a cause célèbre for anti-immigration advocates .
But a federal prosecutor charged Ramos and Compean for the shooting , claiming no gun from the alleged drug dealer was ever found .
The prosecutor said the agents wrongfully fired their weapons and then failed to report the shooting .
They then tried to cover up the incident by picking up spent shell casings .
A judge sentenced Compean to 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2009 , President George W. Bush commuted their respective sentences .
Trump 's pardon expunges their records .
Trump pardoned Alfonso Costa , a former Pittsburgh dentist and friend of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson , according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette .
Costa pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud related to false billing over exaggerated oral surgery claims , the paper said .
The White House said Costa `` took full responsibility for his conduct , served two years of probation , and paid nearly $ 300,000 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for what the Justice Department has called the largest single health care bribery and kickback scheme in U.S. history , according to The Chicago Tribune , has also had his prison term commuted by Trump .
The president held up the remaining aspects of his sentence , including supervised release and restitution .
Esformes owned nursing homes stretching from Chicago to Miami .
He garnered $ 1.3 billion in Medicaid revenue by bribing medical professionals to refer their patients to his facilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to turn the other way when elderly patients were housed alongside younger adults suffering from mental illness and drug addiction — a mix that led to at least one killing , according to the Tribune .
While Trump has pardoned a number of politically connected allies , he has also intervened in the cases of some people caught up in the war on drugs – those hit with the mandatory minimum sentences often blamed for the exploding prison population in the past few decades .
The president reduced the remainder of the prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Tynice Nichole Hall and Judith Negron — who were all previously convicted of drug crimes .
Trump had previously shortened their prison terms , but his actions on Tuesday further reduced the terms of supervised release for the three women .
The recommendation for clemency for the three was made by Alice Johnson , the woman whose sentence was commuted by Trump after reality star Kim Kardashian got involved .
Clemency advocates have pressed Trump to act on more of these lesser-known cases , including on behalf of women who have or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be onerous sentences .
Trump also granted a full pardon to Weldon Angelos , who was sentenced in 2002 to 55 years in prison for selling marijuana and carrying a handgun in the course of dealing .
Angelos was released by judicial order after serving 13 years in prison .
Otis Gordon , who is now a pastor , and Philip Lyman , a former county commissioner in Utah , also received full pardons .
Gordon was convicted of possession with intent to distribute .
Lyman served 10 days in prison for protesting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to close the Recapture Canyon to ATV riders .
Alfred Lee Crum , 89 , was also granted a full pardon by Trump for his involvement in illegally distilling moonshine in Oklahoma when he was just 19 .
In 1952 , Crum pleaded guilty to the crime , served three years of probation .
He paid a $ 250 fine .

Trump Grants Slew Of Pardons, Including To George Papadopoulos And Duncan Hunter
Enlarge this image toggle caption Susan Walsh/AP Susan Walsh/AP
Update at 2 a.m. ET Wednesday
Perpetrators of a massacre, perjurers, corrupt politicians, money launderers, nonviolent convicted drug dealers and a 1950s moonshine-maker are among those whom President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday, ahead of the Christmas holiday.
In all, Trump granted full pardons to 15 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional five.
Among the high-profile pardons are three former Republican members of Congress, including Duncan Hunter, who pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds; Trump also singled out George Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser who was charged in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation; four Blackwater mercenaries who were convicted for killing civilians in Iraq; and two Border Patrol agents who attempted to cover up their shooting of a Mexican national fleeing arrest.
The move comes as activists have lobbied Trump to use his executive powers to help prisoners who are serving what they view as unduly long sentences.
Before this latest batch, Trump had issued 28 pardons and 16 commutations during his time in office.
Presidents traditionally have granted a large number of pardons and commutations before leaving office, especially when dealing with controversial cases. Trump is expected to follow that path, but he has not shied away from granting clemency in high-profile cases, even early on in his presidency.
Blackwater killers
In 2007, Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were working as Blackwater guards on an assignment to protect a U.S. convoy in Baghdad. But a jury found they instead ambushed innocent civilians without provocation. On Sept. 16, 2007, the ex-guards opened fire with machine guns and grenade launchers in Baghdad's Nisour Square, killing 14 unarmed civilians and wounding 17 others. All four men were convicted in 2014 for their roles in the massacre on charges ranging from first-degree murder to voluntary manslaughter.
Slatten was convicted of murdering the driver of a white Kia that was stopped in the square. As NPR reported, the court's opinion stated, "The government's case against Slatten hinged on his having fired the first shots, his animosity toward the Iraqis having led him to target the white Kia unprovoked."
The men, as well as Blackwater officials, all maintained that the for-hire guards were attacked first. Defense attorneys also accused witnesses of fabricating their testimony.
Blackwater Worldwide — whose founder and former CEO Erik Prince is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos — was banned from serving U.S. contracts in Iraq in 2009.
Mueller investigation pardons
A previously unknown figure, Papadopoulos was plucked from obscurity by Trump in March 2016. The following year, Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian operatives — lies that hampered the bureau in its Russia investigation. In 2018, Dutch attorney Alex van der Zwaan was hit with the same charge by Mueller. Both pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and served short prison sentences.
At his sentencing in September 2018, Papadopoulos told the court he recognized what he did was wrong.
The candidate and later president distanced himself generally from the Russian help his team received and specifically from Papadopoulos.
On the day of his sentencing, Trump told reporters: "I see Papadopoulos today; I don't know Papadopoulos, I don't know. ... They got him on, I guess, on a couple of lies."
Papadopoulos served a 14-day prison sentence. After his release, he repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation and claimed the FBI set him up.
As NPR reported, "Van der Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 after he pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his work for [law firm Skadden, Arps] with Paul Manafort and his protégé, Rick Gates."
He has since been deported to Europe.
Politicians
Hunter, the former congressman from California, was sentenced in March to 11 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a single count of unlawfully using more than $250,000 in campaign funds, just one of 60 counts he and his wife, Margaret, faced at the time. Court documents stated the former Marine and his wife racked up more than $37,700 in overdraft fees and stole the money to cover basic living expenses — including their children's schooling, groceries and pet food for the family rabbits. They then splurged on big-ticket items, including luxury hotels, airline tickets and dinners.
Hunter's 11-month prison sentence had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and was set to begin in January. Trump's full pardon means he will serve no time.
Former U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., convicted for insider trading, has been serving a 26-month prison sentence in a minimum-security federal prison in Florida.
Collins, who served on the board of an Australian biotech company, Innate, pleaded guilty to tipping off his son and the father of his son's fiancée about the results of a drug trial so they could unload stock ahead of a bad announcement. That information allowed them to make timely stock trades and avoid more than $768,000 in losses, according to court documents.
Collins was the first House Republican to endorse Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump commuted the remaining prison sentence of former Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, who was convicted of 23 felony counts, among them money laundering and mail and wire fraud.
As The Texas Tribune reported:
"Prosecutors said Stockman misused $1.25 million in funds from political donors to pay for miscellaneous and sundry personal expenses: hot air balloon rides, kennel bills and a new dishwasher. Stockman was also accused of planting an undercover intern in the state House office of a political rival, state Rep. James White, R-Hillister."
Stockman has served more than two years of his 10-year sentence. On Tuesday, the president explained that the 64-year-old "has underlying preexisting health conditions that place his health at greater risk during the COVID epidemic, and he has already contracted COVID while in prison."
Despite being freed from prison, Stockman will remain subject to a period of supervised release and an order requiring he pay more than $1 million in restitution.
Border Patrol agents
Trump granted full pardons to Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, two former Border Patrol agents who in 2005 shot an alleged drug dealer crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2005. Ramos and Compean claim the man was carrying a gun. The man they shot in the buttocks escaped back across the border to Mexico.
Their case became a cause célèbre for anti-immigration advocates. But a federal prosecutor charged Ramos and Compean in the shooting, claiming no gun from the alleged drug dealer was ever found. The prosecutor said the agents wrongfully fired their weapons and then failed to report the shooting. They then tried to cover up the incident by picking up spent shell casings. A judge sentenced Compean to 12 years and Ramos to 11.
In 2009, President George W. Bush commuted their respective sentences. Trump's pardon expunges their records.
Health care fraud cases
Trump pardoned Alfonso Costa, a former Pittsburgh dentist and friend of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Costa pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud related to false billing over exaggerated oral surgery claims, the paper said.
The White House said Costa "took full responsibility for his conduct, served two years of probation, and paid nearly $300,000 in fines and restitution."
Philip Esformes, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for what the Justice Department has called the largest single health care bribery and kickback scheme in U.S. history, according to the Chicago Tribune, has also had his prison term commuted by Trump. The president held up the remaining aspects of his sentence, including supervised release and restitution.
Esformes owned nursing homes stretching from Chicago to Miami. He garnered $1.3 billion in Medicaid revenue by bribing medical professionals to refer their patients to his facilities. He also paid off government regulators to turn the other way when older patients were housed alongside younger adults suffering from mental illness and drug addiction — a mix that led to at least one killing, according to the Tribune.
Nonviolent drug offenders
While Trump has pardoned a number of politically connected allies, he has also intervened in the cases of some people caught up in the war on drugs – those hit with the mandatory minimum sentences often blamed for the exploding prison population in the past few decades.
The president reduced the remainder of the prison sentences for three women — Crystal Munoz, Tynice Nichole Hall and Judith Negron — who were all previously convicted of drug crimes. Trump had previously shortened their prison terms, but his actions on Tuesday further reduced the terms of supervised release for the three women.
The recommendation for clemency for the three was made by Alice Johnson, the woman whose sentence was commuted by Trump after reality star Kim Kardashian got involved.
Clemency advocates have pressed Trump to act on more of these lesser-known cases, including on behalf of women who have or continue to serve what some consider to be onerous sentences.
Trump also granted a full pardon to Weldon Angelos, who was sentenced in 2002 to 55 years in prison for selling marijuana and carrying a handgun in the course of dealing. Angelos was released by judicial order after serving 13 years in prison.
Otis Gordon, who is now a pastor, and Philip Lyman, a former county commissioner in Utah, also received full pardons. Gordon was convicted of possession with intent to distribute. Lyman served 10 days in prison for protesting the Bureau of Land Management's decision to close the Recapture Canyon to ATV riders.
A 1950s moonshine-maker
Alfred Lee Crum, 89, was also granted a full pardon by Trump for his involvement in illegally distilling moonshine in Oklahoma when he was just 19.
In 1952, Crum pleaded guilty to the crime and served three years of probation. He paid a $250 fine.
____


npr--2020-12-22--Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Coordinator, To Retire After Biden Transition

Dr. Deborah Birx , one of the nation 's highest-ranking infectious disease experts , suggested on Tuesday she 'll likely retire ... soonish .
In an interview with Newsy , the coordinator of the White House coronavirus response said she would like to be part of the team that helps the forthcoming Biden administration with its coronavirus response .
But following that last bit of public service , Birx disclosed that she 'd step away from more than three decades as the steward of some of the country 's most important public health systems .
`` I will be helpful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can be helpful in , and then I will retire , '' Birx told the news outlet .
She added : `` I only came into the White House to ensure that our COVID response could utilize whatever information I had from confronting this pandemic around the globe . ''
It is unclear when she is expecting to retire .
Birx did n't provide an exact time frame for her plans .
She did not immediately respond to NPR 's questions about her departure .
Birx was appointed to the coronavirus task force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S .
Global AIDS coordinator — an ambassador-level job inside the State Department in which she oversaw the U.S. government efforts to combat the spread of HIV globally .
She 'd held the position since 2014 after being appointed by President Barack Obama .
Before that , she spent nearly a decade running the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 's global HIV/AIDS division .
For decades , Birx has been able to successfully navigate between Washington diplomatic circles and public health experts .
But over the last 10 months her once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In recent days , Birx has come under fire for being among the list of public officials offering mea culpas for their do-as-I-say , not-as I-do behavior .
The AP reported yesterday that Birx traveled to Delaware over the Thanksgiving weekend after warning Americans to stay home for the holiday .
While she urged the public to `` be vigilant '' and limit celebrations to people in `` your immediate household , '' the 64-year-old drove with family members from two separate households — another no-no according to the CDC — to visit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Island in Delaware .
She later explained to the AP that the purpose of the trip was to weatherize the home , which she and her husband intend to put up for sale .
`` We never visited anyone .
We never had anyone into the household .
It was the same situation as if we had been here at home , '' she told Newsy .
But she did acknowledge the trip created a negative perception and pledged not to embark on a similar trip through the remaining holidays .
`` This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Birx admitted to Newsy , adding that her family has been unfairly drawn into the backlash she now faces .
`` They did n't choose this for me , '' she said .
But that is n't the only issue members of the public , politicians and other public health officials have with Birx .
She 's also been accused of being too tolerant of President Trump 's bizarre claims about the coronavirus pandemic and possible treatments .
Among the most memorable public moments is when in April Birx quietly stood by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body , then proposed irradiating patients ' bodies with UV light .
`` So , supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it 's ultraviolet or just very powerful light ... and I think you said that has n't been checked but you 're going to test it , '' the president said , turning to Birx , who appeared stunned by the question but offered no rebuttal .
Instead , she sat stoically , breaking eye contact with the president and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clasped in her lap .
The president pressed Birx further , asking if she had ever heard of using `` the heat and the light '' to treat coronavirus .
Finally , she responded .
`` Not as a treatment . ''
`` I mean , certainly , fever is a good thing .
When you have a fever , it helps your body respond .
But I 've not seen heat or light , '' she added .
Despite her efforts not to publicly confront or contradict Trump — something Dr. Anthony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — the president eventually turned on Birx .
When she issued a warning that the coronavirus was spreading at an extraordinary rate , Trump called her pathetic .

Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Coordinator, To Retire After Biden Transition
Enlarge this image toggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP Carolyn Kaster/AP
Dr. Deborah Birx, one of the nation's highest-ranking infectious disease experts, suggested on Tuesday she'll likely retire ... soonish.
In an interview with Newsy, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus response said she would like to be part of the team that helps the forthcoming Biden administration with its coronavirus response. But following that last bit of public service, Birx disclosed that she'd step away from more than three decades as the steward of some of the country's most important public health systems.
"I will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in, and then I will retire," Birx told the news outlet.
She added: "I only came into the White House to ensure that our COVID response could utilize whatever information I had from confronting this pandemic around the globe."
It is unclear when she is expecting to retire. Birx didn't provide an exact time frame for her plans. She did not immediately respond to NPR's questions about her departure.
Birx was appointed to the coronavirus task force in February, leaving her post as the U.S. Global AIDS coordinator — an ambassador-level job inside the State Department in which she oversaw the U.S. government efforts to combat the spread of HIV globally. She'd held the position since 2014 after being appointed by President Barack Obama. Before that, she spent nearly a decade running the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's global HIV/AIDS division.
For decades, Birx has been able to successfully navigate between Washington diplomatic circles and public health experts. But over the last 10 months her once impeccable reputation has been somewhat tarnished.
In recent days, Birx has come under fire for being among the list of public officials offering mea culpas for their do-as-I-say, not-as I-do behavior. The AP reported yesterday that Birx traveled to Delaware over the Thanksgiving weekend after warning Americans to stay home for the holiday.
While she urged the public to "be vigilant" and limit celebrations to people in "your immediate household," the 64-year-old drove with family members from two separate households — another no-no according to the CDC — to visit one of her vacation properties on Fenwick Island in Delaware.
She later explained to the AP that the purpose of the trip was to weatherize the home, which she and her husband intend to put up for sale.
"We never visited anyone. We never had anyone into the household. It was the same situation as if we had been here at home," she told Newsy.
But she did acknowledge the trip created a negative perception and pledged not to embark on a similar trip through the remaining holidays.
"This experience has been a bit overwhelming," Birx admitted to Newsy, adding that her family has been unfairly drawn into the backlash she now faces.
"They didn't choose this for me," she said.
But that isn't the only issue members of the public, politicians and other public health officials have with Birx. She's also been accused of being too tolerant of President Trump's bizarre claims about the coronavirus pandemic and possible treatments. Among the most memorable public moments is when in April Birx quietly stood by as Trump wondered aloud if the coronavirus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body, then proposed irradiating patients' bodies with UV light.
Euronews YouTube
"So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light ... and I think you said that hasn't been checked but you're going to test it," the president said, turning to Birx, who appeared stunned by the question but offered no rebuttal. Instead, she sat stoically, breaking eye contact with the president and staring at the ground with her hands clasped in her lap.
The president pressed Birx further, asking if she had ever heard of using "the heat and the light" to treat coronavirus.
Finally, she responded. "Not as a treatment."
"I mean, certainly, fever is a good thing. When you have a fever, it helps your body respond. But I've not seen heat or light," she added.
Despite her efforts not to publicly confront or contradict Trump — something Dr. Anthony Fauci did not shy away from doing — the president eventually turned on Birx. When she issued a warning that the coronavirus was spreading at an extraordinary rate, Trump called her pathetic.