usatoday--2020-10-12--'How lonely this place is going to be': Can a Louisiana town recover after yet another hurricane?

CAMERON , La .
— Michelle Vincent stood before the Virgin Mary and whispered a prayer , thanking the mother for her protection during Hurricane Delta .
She ’ s grateful : She and her family survived the hurricane — another hurricane .
Her home is mostly intact , but her church is wrecked .
A thought is swirling in her mind , first lodged years ago , after Hurricane Rita : Should she stay in Cameron ?
It ’ s the only home she ’ s known , but as hurricanes keep decimating southwest Louisiana and jobs ship out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is there .
Vincent , a Cameron native , came to inspect Our Lady Star of the Sea , to view the destruction left in the path of Laura and compounded by Delta .
She was raised in the church , the same one where generations of her family attended .
To see it damaged , with broken windows , shattered pews and sludge creeping through the hall , is devastating .
It was already hammered by Laura when the hurricane made landfall in Cameron on Aug. 27 .
The beating continued Friday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ miles east .
Is Delta the last ?
Record-breaking hurricane season could pass into history as drenching Delta exits Gulf Coast After hurricanes Ike ( 2008 ) and Rita ( 2005 ) , Vincent was ready to move elsewhere , but it was her husband who encouraged her to return .
His job was soon after shipped out to another part of the state , putting a four-hour commute between work and home .
“ It ’ s hard to come back and see it again and then to know there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out there , ” she said .
“ It ’ s tough.
” Hurricanes are a way of life for people here .
Vincent ’ s mother survived Audrey and every one since .
But as they keep battering the coast , they ’ re driving people away .
With each storm that barrels through , Vincent said fewer people return .
“ Yeah , our house is still there , ” she said as tears streamed down her face , “ but do you know how lonely this place is going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children' An hour before Vincent stood before the white marble statue of the Virgin Mary , the Rev .
D.B .
Thompson was making the trek along the damaged coast to check on the shrine .
Our Lady is one of the two churches in the Cameron Parish overseen by Thompson .
The priest juggles masses between Our Lady and Sacred Heart of Jesus in Creole .
He stopped first to survey the damage at the Creole church and walked the grounds where his home used to be before Laura crushed it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ roots stretch back to when Creole was established in 1890 .
Although the original building has been washed away by storms , the congregation has pulled together time and time again to rebuild it at least four times .
The original church was knocked down by a hurricane in the 20th century .
Then plummeted by Audrey in 1957 .
Decimated by Rita in 2005 and hit by Ike in 2008 .
Laura and Delta may be the final one-two punch .
Thompson said he was unsure if Sacred Heart would rebuild — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Lake Charles — and it would be at least a year before the restoration would be complete if they move forward with raising a new building for the fifth time .
All churches in the diocese sustained approximately $ 60- $ 100 million in damage from the latest storms , he said .
“ It was a little gem , ” Thompson said of the church .
The shrine for Our Lady withstood Laura , and Thompson and Canon Jean-Marie Moreau prayed she ’ d still be standing when they arrived to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mother stood spotless in front of the church .
The shrine , blessed by a bishop in 1963 , is made of stunning white marble , quarried in Carrara , Italy .
'Do n't forget about us ' : Gueydan family rides out Hurricane Delta weeks after Laura Standing tall above the ground , with her hand outstretched , as if holding back deadly water , a command is etched into a plaque : “ Do not harm my children.
” Four angels stand guard around the mother .
She has her arm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at her .
The mother and child are modeled after the wife and children of Norman McCall , who died during Audrey , one of the worst hurricanes in the country ’ s history , when more than 400 people died .
McCall , who survived Audrey and is now in his 90s , is the caretaker of the shrine to this day .
To see her standing unscathed from two hurricanes is a testament to the congregation ’ s unwavering hope .
As Thompson and Moreau surveyed the second church , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside that withstood Delta ’ s rains .
The flame danced in the tall candle inside the dark and dingy church , crushed by winds and water .
Behind the church , down a paved path , stand raised graves that are popular in Louisiana , and a mausoleum , washed out by the intruding floods .
Vincent ’ s family members , including her brother and her grandmother , are buried there .
She came to check on their graves to ensure they weren ’ t robbed by the floods , knowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after her grandmother ’ s casket was moved by a prior hurricane .
She was recovered , but Vincent said some families still have lost loved ones after Ike and Rita .
Bodies are frequently tagged now before burial to make sure they can be identified if the waters pull the caskets out from mausoleums .
“ You always want that closure when someone dies , ” Vincent said .
“ But when they disappear after a hurricane , you want them found and put back .
...
The wounds are reopened but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re back in their resting place.
” The Rev .
D.B .
Thompson said he ’ s already held two community meetings with families of those whose bodies were lost in the most recent bout of storms .
After Laura , the church saw a constant stream of people to check on their loved ones .
“ We wouldn ’ t be here today if it weren ’ t for all the people buried in that cemetery , ” Thompson said .
They called it the Hermit Kingdom .
With few houses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , sitting high on stilts above the marshy ground , it ’ s easy to see why .
The sparse population paired with the sprawling wetlands where alligators pop up along the roadway make for a captivating beauty that draws visitors in .
It makes sense why some residents return hurricane after hurricane , rebuilding homes destroyed by encroaching waters and intruding winds .
But storm after storm has broken some people down .
Thompson said after each hurricane , fewer people return to Creole , where the population is less than 700 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 400 residents .
He expects the same to happen in wake of Laura and Delta .
“ The people here , they don ’ t keep moving back here because they ’ re imprudent , ” Thompson said .
“ They keep moving back here because they have a great love for the way of life here .
There ’ s something here that can ’ t be found in many other places.
” More : See what Hurricane Delta looks like after landfall It ’ s that resilience that ’ s kept @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Higgins men are shrimpers and pass the knowledge down from son to son .
Neil Higgins ’ deep roots in the town is what pulled him and his wife , Edie , to build their home there and what ’ s keeping them there even after Laura .
Edie Higgins is a teacher at the high school .
She stays optimistic for her students about the future of Cameron , even as the town ’ s population dwindles .
“ You don ’ t want to give up on the community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to keep pushing and give it hope.
” Cameron is a tight-knit batch of people nestled in the swamps close to the Gulf of Mexico .
Many of the residents are outdoors folks , and the easy access to the waterways makes it a prime spot for fishing , crabbing and shrimping .
Residents use dune buggies to get to the beach .
It ’ s a peaceful slice of heaven , but its settlers know it ’ s likely impossible to avoid another hurricane .
“ It ’ s always in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Edie Higgins said .
“ You know it could happen again.
” The town ’ s gas station and little restaurant were ruined by Laura , and the storms forced the new bar and grill – a town treat – to shutter .
But with time , the Higginses are sure Cameron will rebound .
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Brinley Hineman, Lafayette Daily Advertiser

'How lonely this place is going to be': Can a Louisiana town recover after yet another hurricane?
Show Caption Hide Caption Hurricane Delta crashes into Louisiana coast as Category 2 storm Delta is forecast to bring dangerous storm surge, wind and rainfall hazards along the coast of Louisiana throughout Friday evening. USA TODAY
CAMERON, La. – Michelle Vincent stood before the Virgin Mary and whispered a prayer, thanking the mother for her protection during Hurricane Delta.
She’s grateful: She and her family survived the hurricane – another hurricane.
Her home is mostly intact, but her church is wrecked. A thought is swirling in her mind, first lodged years ago, after Hurricane Rita: Should she stay in Cameron? It’s the only home she’s known, but as hurricanes keep decimating southwest Louisiana and jobs ship out of the Cameron Parish, the temptation is there.
Vincent, a Cameron native, came to inspect Our Lady Star of the Sea, to see the destruction left in the path of Laura and compounded by Delta. She was raised in the church, the same one where generations of her family attended.
To see it damaged, with broken windows, shattered pews and sludge creeping through the hall, is devastating. It was already hammered by Laura when the hurricane made landfall in Cameron on Aug. 27. The beating continued Friday when Delta landed near Creole, 13 miles east.
Is Delta the last? Record-breaking hurricane season could pass into history as drenching Delta exits Gulf Coast
Hurricane Laura damage: Drone footage shows Cameron after storm This drone footage over Cameron provides an immediate look at the damage done by Hurricane Laura in August 2020. To make a donation in support of the recovery efforts currently underway, please visit https://cameronlionsclub.com/home/contact-usdonate/. Courtesy of Cameron Parish Police Jury, Lafayette Daily Advertiser
After hurricanes Ike (2008) and Rita (2005), Vincent was ready to move elsewhere, but it was her husband who encouraged her to return. His job was soon after shipped out to another part of the state, a four-hour commute between work and home.
“It’s hard to come back and see it again and then to know there’s another (hurricane) that’s out there,” she said. “It’s tough.”
Hurricanes are a way of life for people here. Vincent’s mother survived Audrey and every one since. But as storms keep battering the coast, they’re driving people away. With each storm that barrels through, Vincent said fewer people return.
“Yeah, our house is still there,” she said as tears streamed down her face. “But do you know how lonely this place is going to be?”
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'Do not harm my children'
An hour before Vincent stood before the white marble statue of the Virgin Mary, the Rev. D.B. Thompson was making the trek along the damaged coast to check on the shrine.
Our Lady is one of the two churches in the Cameron Parish overseen by Thompson. The priest juggles masses between Our Lady and Sacred Heart of Jesus in Creole. He stopped first to survey the damage at the Creole church and walked the grounds where his home used to be before Laura crushed it.
Sacred Heart is old, and its roots stretch back to when Creole was established in 1890. Although the original building has been washed away by storms, the congregation has pulled together to rebuild it at least four times.
The original church was knocked down by a hurricane in the 20th century. Then plummeted by Audrey in 1957. Decimated by Rita in 2005 and hit by Ike in 2008. Laura and Delta may be the final one-two punch.
Thompson said he was unsure if Sacred Heart would rebuild – it’s up to the Diocese of Lake Charles – and it would be at least a year before the restoration would be complete if they move forward with raising a new building for the fifth time. All churches in the diocese sustained $60 million to $100 million in damage from the latest storms, he said.
The church "was a little gem,” Thompson said.
The shrine for Our Lady withstood Laura, and Thompson and Canon Jean-Marie Moreau prayed she’d still be standing when they arrived to Cameron.
And she was.
The mother stood spotless in front of the church. The shrine, blessed by a bishop in 1963, is made of stunning white marble quarried in Carrara, Italy.
'Don't forget about us': Gueydan family rides out Hurricane Delta weeks after Laura
Standing tall above the ground, with her hand outstretched, as if holding back deadly water, a command is etched into a plaque: “Do not harm my children.”
Four angels stand guard around the mother. She has her arm around a child, who looks up at her.
The mother and child are modeled after the wife and children of Norman McCall, who died during Audrey, one of the worst hurricanes in the country’s history, when more than 400 people died. McCall, who survived Audrey and is now in his 90s, is the caretaker of the shrine to this day.
To see her standing unscathed from two hurricanes is a testament to the congregation’s unwavering hope.
As Thompson and Moreau surveyed the second church, they found a lit candle from a parishioner inside that withstood Delta’s rains. The flame danced in the tall candle inside the dark and dingy church, crushed by winds and water.
“A sign of faith,” Thompson said.
Reopening old wounds
Behind the church, down a paved path, stand raised graves that are popular in Louisiana, and a mausoleum, washed out by the intruding floods. Vincent’s family members, including her brother and her grandmother, are buried there. She came to check on their graves to ensure they weren’t robbed by the floods, knowing the pain of finding an empty tomb after her grandmother’s casket was moved by a past hurricane.
She was recovered, but Vincent said some families still have lost loved ones after Ike and Rita. Bodies are frequently tagged now before burial to make sure they can be identified if the waters pull the caskets from mausoleums.
“You always want that closure when someone dies,” Vincent said. “But when they disappear after a hurricane, you want them found and put back. ... The wounds are reopened, but it’s peaceful to know they’re back in their resting place.”
The Rev. Thompson said he has already held two community meetings with families of those whose bodies were lost in the most recent bout of storms. After Laura, the church saw a constant stream of people to check on their loved ones.
“We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for all the people buried in that cemetery,” Thompson said.
The Hermit Kingdom
They called it the Hermit Kingdom.
With few houses dotting the road into Creole and Cameron, sitting high on stilts above the marshy ground, it’s easy to see why. The sparse population paired with the sprawling wetlands where alligators pop up along the roadway make for a captivating beauty that draws visitors in.
It makes sense why some residents return hurricane after hurricane, rebuilding homes destroyed by encroaching waters and intruding winds.
But storm after storm has broken some people down.
Thompson said that after each hurricane, fewer people return to Creole, where the population is less than 700. Cameron is even smaller – about 400 residents. He expects the same to happen in wake of Laura and Delta.
“The people here, they don’t keep moving back here because they’re imprudent,” Thompson said. “They keep moving back here because they have a great love for the way of life here. There’s something here that can’t be found in many other places.”
More: See what Hurricane Delta looks like after landfall
It’s that resilience that has kept the Higgins family in Cameron for generations. The Higgins men are shrimpers and pass the knowledge down from son to son. Neil Higgins’ deep roots in the town is what pulled him and his wife, Edie, to build their home there and what’s keeping them there even after Laura.
Edie Higgins is a teacher at the high school. She stays optimistic for her students about the future of Cameron, even as the town’s population dwindles.
“You don’t want to give up on the community,” she said. “You want to keep pushing and give it hope.”
Cameron is a tight-knit batch of people nestled in the swamps close to the Gulf of Mexico. Many of the residents are outdoors folks, and the easy access to the waterways makes it a prime spot for fishing, crabbing and shrimping. Residents use dune buggies to get to the beach. It’s a peaceful slice of heaven, but its settlers know it’s probably impossible to avoid another hurricane.
“It’s always in the back of your mind,” Edie Higgins said. “You know it could happen again.”
The town’s gas station and little restaurant were ruined by Laura, and the storms forced the new bar and grill – a town treat – to shutter. But with time, the Higginses are sure Cameron will rebound.
“We’re coming back,” Neil Higgins said, “no matter what.”
Follow reporter Brinley Hineman on Twitter: @brinleyhineman
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Trump campaign's pitch to women voters: Let's get back to pre-pandemic 'normal'


usatoday--2020-10-12--How we got here: The battle over Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court, recapped

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court confirmation hearings are set to begin Monday for President Donald Trump 's Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the fight to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg 's seat on the Supreme Court moves into its final phase .
Though Republicans are speeding the process along , Barrett 's confirmation will still take time .
They plan to hold four days of confirmation hearings and to fill the seat by Election Day .
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Sunday on Fox News , `` I believe she 'll be confirmed no later than Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Democrats cite the proximity to the election in arguing the Senate should wait to consider a Supreme Court nominee .
Here is how we got to this point : Ginsburg , 87 , died on Sept. 18 .
According to National Public Radio , Ginsburg dictated a statement to her daughter before her death : `` My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed . ''
McConnell said the same evening that Trump 's nominee `` will receive a vote on the floor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats said they would oppose any of Trump 's nominees before the election in the hopes Democrats could win the White House and flip the Senate in November .
Democrats cited Republicans ' obstruction of President Barack Obama Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2016 , when Republican senators argued Obama could not fill the seat during an election year .
Barrett 's candidate questionnaire revealed she had been called by White House officials about the Supreme Court nomination one day after Ginsburg 's death , on Sept. 19 , and formally offered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Trump at the White House .
Sen. Mitt Romney , R-Utah , often a Trump critic , announced Sept. 21 he would support moving forward on a Supreme Court nomination , meaning Senate Republicans all but locked up the votes to advance the as-yet-unnamed nominee .
The Senate is split 53-47 , meaning Democrats would need at least four Republicans to break with their party to block a nomination from moving forward .
In the days after Ginsburg 's death , two Republican senators , Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forward on a Supreme Court nomination before Election Day .
Sen. Dianne Feinstein , D-Calif. , the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee , acknowledged Sept. 24 she did not have the power to block Trump 's nominee from passing through the Republican-controlled Senate .
`` Neither this committee nor the Senate should consider a nomination at this time , '' she said Thursday during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee .
`` I recognize I don ’ t have the power to carry that through , but I feel it very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watch for when Kamala Harris questions Amy Coney Barrett at her nomination hearing this week Trump announced Barrett , a federal appeals court judge , as his nominee in a ceremony in the Rose Garden .
`` Her qualifications are unsurpassed , and her record is beyond reproach .
This should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation , '' Trump said .
The same day , Graham announced her confirmation hearings would begin on Oct. 12 , with the goal of forwarding her nomination to the full Senate by Oct. 26 .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largely unmasked crowd of over 200 people without much distance between seats .
Since then , the president , a number of top aides , and lawmakers all tested positive for COVID-19 , and top health experts , including the nation 's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci , called it a `` superspreader '' event for COVID-19 .
Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee , Sen. Thom Tillis , R-N.C. , and Sen. Mike Lee , R-Utah , tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month , but they are expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or in person .
More : Here 's everyone at the White House Rose Garden SCOTUS event now called a likely 'superspreader . '
Help us ID them all .
Barrett started one-on-one meetings on Capitol Hill with senators , all Republicans , on Sept. 29 .
After meeting with her , Graham praised her as `` one of the most qualified people ever nominated to the Supreme Court '' and `` really good at everything '' she has chosen to do in life .
The nominee tested negative for COVID-19 after her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senators opted to skip the meetings with Barrett , calling the nomination `` illegitimate . ''
A Democratic senator did not meet with Barrett until Oct. 1 , when Sen. Joe Manchin , D-W.V.
, a moderate Democrat who voted for both of Trump 's previous Supreme Court nominees , met with Barrett .
Altogether , at least seven Democrats met or spoke with Barrett by phone , including Sens .
Amy Klobuchar , D-Minn. , and Cory Booker , D-N.J .
Both Booker and Klobuchar served on the Senate Judiciary Committee .

How we got here: The battle over Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court, recapped
Show Caption Hide Caption Judge Amy Coney Barrett on what a Trump Supreme Court would look like Judge Amy Coney Barrett spoke at Jacksonville University’s Public Policy Institute in 2016 discussing what a Trump Supreme Court would look like. USA TODAY Handout
WASHINGTON – Supreme Court confirmation hearings are set to begin Monday for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the fight to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the Supreme Court moves into its final phase.
Though Republicans are speeding the process along, Barrett's confirmation will still take time. They plan to hold four days of confirmation hearings and to fill the seat by Election Day. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Sunday on Fox News, "I believe she'll be confirmed no later than Tuesday, a week before the election."
Democrats cite the proximity to the election in arguing the Senate should wait to consider a Supreme Court nominee.
Here is how we got to this point:
More: Read Trump Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett's opening statement for Monday's Senate hearing
Sept. 18: Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies
Ginsburg, 87, died on Sept. 18. According to National Public Radio, Ginsburg dictated a statement to her daughter before her death: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."
McConnell said the same evening that Trump's nominee "will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate."
Democrats said they would oppose any of Trump's nominees before the election in the hopes Democrats could win the White House and flip the Senate in November. Democrats cited Republicans' obstruction of President Barack Obama Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2016, when Republican senators argued Obama could not fill the seat during an election year.
Sept. 19: White House officials call Barrett
Barrett's candidate questionnaire revealed she had been called by White House officials about the Supreme Court nomination one day after Ginsburg's death, on Sept. 19, and formally offered the position during a Sept. 21 meeting with Trump at the White House.
Sept. 21: Senate Republicans coalesce around confirmation
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, often a Trump critic, announced Sept. 21 he would support moving forward on a Supreme Court nomination, meaning Senate Republicans all but locked up the votes to advance the as-yet-unnamed nominee.
The Senate is split 53-47, meaning Democrats would need at least four Republicans to break with their party to block a nomination from moving forward. In the days after Ginsburg's death, two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, said they opposed moving forward on a Supreme Court nomination before Election Day.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, acknowledged Sept. 24 she did not have the power to block Trump's nominee from passing through the Republican-controlled Senate.
"Neither this committee nor the Senate should consider a nomination at this time," she said Thursday during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I recognize I don’t have the power to carry that through, but I feel it very deeply."
More: What to watch for when Kamala Harris questions Amy Coney Barrett at her nomination hearing this week
More: Supreme Court nominee Amy Barrett signed anti-abortion letter accompanying ad calling to overturn Roe v. Wade
Sept. 26: Trump picks Barrett
Trump announced Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, as his nominee in a ceremony in the Rose Garden.
"Her qualifications are unsurpassed, and her record is beyond reproach. This should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation," Trump said. The same day, Graham announced her confirmation hearings would begin on Oct. 12, with the goal of forwarding her nomination to the full Senate by Oct. 26.
At the ceremony, Trump spoke to a largely unmasked crowd of over 200 people without much distance between seats. Since then, the president, a number of top aides, and lawmakers all tested positive for COVID-19, and top health experts, including the nation's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, called it a "superspreader" event for COVID-19.
Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, but they are expected to attend the confirmation hearings either virtually or in person.
More: Here's everyone at the White House Rose Garden SCOTUS event now called a likely 'superspreader.' Help us ID them all.
Sept. 29: Barrett meets with GOP senators
Barrett started one-on-one meetings on Capitol Hill with senators, all Republicans, on Sept. 29. After meeting with her, Graham praised her as "one of the most qualified people ever nominated to the Supreme Court" and "really good at everything" she has chosen to do in life.
The nominee tested negative for COVID-19 after her meetings with the senators.
Several Democratic senators opted to skip the meetings with Barrett, calling the nomination "illegitimate."
I will not be meeting with Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. We need to treat this nomination like the illegitimate power grab it is. pic.twitter.com/KwmtQ27miP — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 29, 2020
A Democratic senator did not meet with Barrett until Oct. 1, when Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., a moderate Democrat who voted for both of Trump's previous Supreme Court nominees, met with Barrett. Altogether, at least seven Democrats met or spoke with Barrett by phone, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Cory Booker, D-N.J. Both Booker and Klobuchar served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.


usatoday--2020-10-12--Lara Trump, Fox News host Chris Wallace spar over president's family removing masks at first debate

WASHINGTON – Lara Trump , a top campaign aide to President Donald Trump , sparred Sunday with Fox News host Chris Wallace over the Trump family 's refusal to wear face masks during the first presidential debate on Sept. 29 .
`` Did you think , Lara , that the rules that applied to everybody else in that hall did n't apply to you ? ''
`` Fox News Sunday '' host Wallace said as he asked Lara Trump about the absence of face coverings among the Trump family during the debate .
`` We walked in with a mask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the seats were socially distanced , and ...
I want to be very clear , never one time did anyone from Cleveland Clinic come up and ask any member of our family to put a mask on .
So , that is totally false , '' she replied .
Trump said no one from the clinic asked her family to put on a mask , adding she thought a Cleveland Clinic employee had asked a person sitting behind her to offer a different mask .
All members of the audience tested negative for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I understand afterwards is that Colby Covington , who was sitting behind me , had a MAGA mask on and they did n't appreciate that apparently , '' she said , referring to the UFC fighter and Trump supporter who attended the debate as a guest of the president .
`` So I think they were coming up to offer him maybe a different mask . ''
Wallace said a member of the Trump campaign group was offered a face mask by a Cleveland Clinic employee , citing both a pool report and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waved away . ''
The video seems to show an employee offering a mask to a person sitting behind Trump , but does not capture one being offered to any members of the family .
The Trump family and other guests of the president walked into the debate in Cleveland , Ohio wearing masks but mostly declined to wear face masks during the debate itself despite the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic .
The audience at the first presidential debate was strictly limited compared to the large audiences normally at debates in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 tests and mask-wearing were required for all in attendance .
Trump and his campaign staff , however , arrived too late to be tested before the debate , and Wallace told Fox the president 's tardiness meant `` there was an honor system '' on test results .
More : Trump campaign 's pitch to women voters : Let 's get back to pre-pandemic 'normal' More : Mike Pence , Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Grassley are in the line of succession .
What if they get sick with COVID-19 ?
It is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been exposed to COVID-19 before the debate .
The president , top staff , and advisers including those who helped him prep for the debate have all tested positive for COVID-19 .
Trump announced a positive test result on Oct. 2 .
The president and many of those officials attended a Sept. 26 event at the White House Rose Garden where Trump announced his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court .
The event has since been called a `` superspreader '' event by public health experts including the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anthony Fauci .
The president 's COVID-19 diagnosis and the ongoing pandemic prompted the Commission on Presidential Debates to move the second scheduled presidential debate on Oct. 15 to a virtual format .
Citing concerns with a virtual debate , Trump pulled out , and the Commission canceled the debate .
The next presidential debate , originally the third debate , is scheduled for Oct. 22 and will be moderated by NBC correspondent Kristen Welker .
More : Contact tracing and visualizing the people exposed to COVID-19 by Trump outbreak More : Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , says president no longer a risk for transmitting COVID-19

Lara Trump, Fox News host Chris Wallace spar over president's family removing masks at first debate
Show Caption Hide Caption Second presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden has been canceled The Commission on Presidential Debates cancels the second presidential debate planned for Miami, following President Trump's refusal to take part in a virtual format. Associated Press, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – Lara Trump, a top campaign aide to President Donald Trump, sparred Sunday with Fox News host Chris Wallace over the Trump family's refusal to wear face masks during the first presidential debate on Sept. 29.
"Did you think, Lara, that the rules that applied to everybody else in that hall didn't apply to you?" "Fox News Sunday" host Wallace said as he asked Lara Trump about the absence of face coverings among the Trump family during the debate.
"We walked in with a mask on. We sat down – all the seats were socially distanced, and...I want to be very clear, never one time did anyone from Cleveland Clinic come up and ask any member of our family to put a mask on. So, that is totally false," she replied.
Trump said no one from the clinic asked her family to put on a mask, adding she thought a Cleveland Clinic employee had asked a person sitting behind her to offer a different mask. All members of the audience tested negative for COVID-19, Trump said.
"What I understand afterwards is that Colby Covington, who was sitting behind me, had a MAGA mask on and they didn't appreciate that apparently," she said, referring to the UFC fighter and Trump supporter who attended the debate as a guest of the president. "So I think they were coming up to offer him maybe a different mask."
Wallace said a member of the Trump campaign group was offered a face mask by a Cleveland Clinic employee, citing both a pool report and a video, but "they were waved away." The video seems to show an employee offering a mask to a person sitting behind Trump, but does not capture one being offered to any members of the family.
The Trump family and other guests of the president walked into the debate in Cleveland, Ohio wearing masks but mostly declined to wear face masks during the debate itself despite the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The audience at the first presidential debate was strictly limited compared to the large audiences normally at debates in an effort to promote social distancing. COVID-19 tests and mask-wearing were required for all in attendance.
Trump and his campaign staff, however, arrived too late to be tested before the debate, and Wallace told Fox the president's tardiness meant "there was an honor system" on test results.
More: Trump campaign's pitch to women voters: Let's get back to pre-pandemic 'normal'
More: Mike Pence, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Grassley are in the line of succession. What if they get sick with COVID-19?
It is possible the president and his inner circle had been exposed to COVID-19 before the debate.
The president, top staff, and advisers including those who helped him prep for the debate have all tested positive for COVID-19. Trump announced a positive test result on Oct. 2.
The president and many of those officials attended a Sept. 26 event at the White House Rose Garden where Trump announced his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. The event has since been called a "superspreader" event by public health experts including the nation's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The president's COVID-19 diagnosis and the ongoing pandemic prompted the Commission on Presidential Debates to move the second scheduled presidential debate on Oct. 15 to a virtual format. Citing concerns with a virtual debate, Trump pulled out, and the Commission canceled the debate.
The next presidential debate, originally the third debate, is scheduled for Oct. 22 and will be moderated by NBC correspondent Kristen Welker.
More: Contact tracing and visualizing the people exposed to COVID-19 by Trump outbreak
More: Trump's doctor, without addressing past tests, says president no longer a risk for transmitting COVID-19


usatoday--2020-10-12--Trump claims he got COVID-19 from Gold Star event; evidence shows he probably was already sick by th

President Donald Trump has publicly suggested that he caught COVID-19 during a ceremony to honor fallen soldiers .
It ’ s more likely he was the one exposing the military families to the virus .
Epidemiologists familiar with USA TODAY ’ s efforts to trace the contacts of White House officials say Trump likely was in the early stages of COVID-19 days before hosting a series of events leading up to the ceremony for the Gold Star families on Sunday , Sept. 27 .
Reporters have scoured photos , video , social media and travel schedules to identify and trace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aides and those in their orbit who have contracted the novel coronavirus .
Aside from the president and first lady , so far the only others from the Gold Star event known to have tested positive are Coast Guard Adm. Charles Ray and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany .
By contrast , at least a dozen people who attended the announcement of the president ’ s nominee for the Supreme Court the previous day , Saturday , have tested positive .
“ There are several other people who got sick , and the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they attended the Saturday event , ” said Jorge Salinas , hospital epidemiologist and clinical assistant professor of infectious diseases at the University of Iowa .
“ That ’ s the smoking gun.
” It was during an interview Thursday with Fox Business that Trump implied he caught the virus during the annual veterans event , which was held indoors at the White House .
According to those who were there , about 25 families were involved , and they were required to take a rapid COVID-19 test before entering .
Based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of time it takes to develop symptoms , infectious disease specialists familiar with USA TODAY ’ s reporting say it ’ s more likely Trump contracted the virus earlier .
They said they can not pinpoint “ patient zero ” of the White House outbreak without access to more robust government tracing and molecular typing to identify matching virus samples .
Further complicating matters is the administration ’ s refusal to disclose the date of Trump ’ s last negative test .
Contact tracing and visualizing the people exposed to COVID-19 by Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for contact tracing , which has included going back 48 hours from a positive test involving any White House staff .
For those with no official ties to the White House , it was up to their own doctor to attempt tracing .
The point of contact tracing is to curb the spread by encouraging those exposed to the virus to quarantine .
By now , some epidemiologists believe the window of opportunity for that already has closed .
After months of downplaying the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Oct. 2 that he had contracted the coronavirus .
More than 33 people tied to the White House have since tested positive , including the first lady , senior adviser Hope Hicks and McEnany .
USA TODAY found some of those people came in dangerously close contact with at least 120 others in the days around the Supreme Court event .
Many then scattered across the country and continued to go about their daily lives , traveling , attending campaign rallies and fundraisers , going to the gym and leading religious sermons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump suggested he caught the virus because he had such close contact with veterans ' families .
“ I can ’ t back up and say : ‘ Give me room .
I want room .
Give me 12 feet .
Stay 12 feet away when you talk , ’ ” Trump said .
The military family members had “ come within an inch of my face , sometimes .
They want to hug me , and they want to kiss me .
And they do .
And , frankly , I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I ’ m not doing it.
” It can take up to 14 days for someone infected with COVID-19 to fully develop symptoms , but about half begin feeling ill within a week , and by day 10 , it ’ s 90 % .
On average , a person can begin to spread COVID two days before they ’ re symptomatic – the critical 48 hours on which the White House is focusing .
But health experts note that it ’ s complicated to estimate when exactly a patient becomes contagious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ With the president ’ s schedule and behavior , it will be very hard to identify exactly when he got infected , ” said Amesh Adalja , a medical doctor and senior scholar for the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security , referring to both the veterans ceremony and the SCOTUS celebration .
“ If you ’ re going to have events like this , you ’ re going to get cases .
… This is something you would expect to happen .
It was only a matter of time.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the event now pegged as the outbreak ’ s superspreader , when hundreds of conservative officials and evangelicals from across the country gathered in the Rose Garden for the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court .
Many did not wear masks or social-distance .
Some were photographed shaking hands , hugging and kissing , including at indoor receptions affiliated with the outdoor ceremony .
Public health officials tasked with stopping the spread of COVID-19 say comprehensive tracing of everyone who attended the SCOTUS event is the only way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak originated and how far it has traveled .
Based solely on the timeline of his positive test , epidemiologists say it is indeed possible that Trump could have caught the virus at the Gold Star Families event .
But , they said , other factors almost entirely rule out the possibility .
Ray , the admiral who confirmed he had COVID-19 on Oct. 5 , and McEnany were the only other people beyond the Trumps to attend the Gold Star event and catch the virus .
Meanwhile , among those at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went on to test positive for the coronavirus .
That includes Barrett supporters , like Notre Dame president Rev .
John Jenkins , who has no official ties to the White House and did not attend the Gold Star event .
Help USA TODAY : We need assistance identifying everyone at the White House Rose Garden SCOTUS event .
Experts also point to the size and nature of both events as natural spreaders for an outbreak that could have been spawned even earlier .
By mid-September , a White House staff member already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bailey , head of the White House security office , has been hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms since late last month , Bloomberg News has reported .
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel , who also has tested positive , attended a private fundraiser with Trump at the Trump International Hotel in Washington , D.C. , on Sept. 25 .
That same night , Trump was with Hicks at a rally in Virginia .
An RNC spokesman said that after her meeting with Trump , McDaniel went home to Michigan and stayed there .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Hicks tested positive the following day , Trump the day after that .
The president 's comments about the Gold Star event drew ire from Democrats in Congress and some military supporters , who cited his disrespect for the troops and lackluster response to the deadly pandemic .
But military families who attended the event themselves told USA TODAY they felt safe at the ceremony and were not bothered by the president ’ s remarks .
White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah has tried to walk back Trump ’ s comments about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We by no means are blaming anyone who was present , and we did take a lot of precautions for that event so based on contact tracing and the data we have , we do n't think it arose from that event . ''
She said the president ’ s point was that “ in the time frame that he was potentially exposed , there were a number of different venues that he 'd been at and individuals he 'd interacted with that it could have come from.
” The group VoteVets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , tweeted this week , “ Like everything else , Donald Trump 's White House did n't follow CDC guidelines with this event , and still is n't being straight with families , or doing real contact tracing through the CDC to put their minds at ease.
” Several Democrats in Congress took to social media and issued statements lambasting Trump for his remarks , demanding an apology .
“ President Trump seems to think it ’ s okay to try and shift the blame and scapegoat others for his own failures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee , said in a statement .
“ Instead of casting aspersions on the families of the fallen for infecting him , President Trump should be transparent about his own actions , who he met with and when , and release detailed medical information including a timeline and do some real contact tracing to help stop the spread.
” Others also condemned Trump for his comments – and for allowing the White House outbreak to metastasize .
“ For Donald Trump to continue to insult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spreading a deadly pandemic that he ’ s actually the one spreading is beyond shameful , ” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth , D-Ill. , who is a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel .
Multiple people who attended the veterans ceremony told USA TODAY they felt comfortable with the health precautions taken .
After being tested on arrival , families said they were kept isolated until they received their test results .
They also continued to wear masks during small group tours of the White House .
Families said they were given the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the event and could choose whether to mingle with other guests or be taken to a private room .
Britt Harris , whose husband , Army Spc .
Christopher Harris , was killed in 2017 in Afghanistan , said she and her mother-in-law opted to spend time in a private room because they were there with Harris ’ 2-year-old daughter .
They rejoined the other families and officials later that evening for a ceremony that included speeches from the president and Gold Star father Steven G. Xiarhos as well as lighting candles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being honored .
Harris said she didn ’ t expect her husband ’ s name to be one of two highlighted in the president ’ s speech .
“ It was a big deal to our family , ” she said .
“ It was really special to have him talk about Chris.
” She said her mother-in-law tested negative for COVID-19 after the event .
Harris did not get tested but quarantined with her daughter .
Texas resident Ruth Holler , whose son Lance Cpl .
Luke Holler died in 2006 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heartwarming ” and “ the trip of a lifetime.
” Holler and one of her daughters told USA TODAY the seven members of their family who attended the event have not been tested , but none are showing symptoms .
Hank Cramer , whose father , Capt .
Harry G. Cramer , was killed in Vietnam in 1957 , also said he felt safe throughout the evening .
Cramer said the president spent several minutes asking about his father ’ s service .
He and other attendees said they stood 6 feet away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hands .
“ I think he was probably speaking realistically that he might have caught the virus in any public meeting that he ’ s been at in the last few weeks , ” Cramer said .
“ And I appreciate the fact that he did not shy away from us .
That he came and spent the evening with us and was willing to talk with us.
” Cramer , who lives in Washington state , said he learned the president had COVID-19 from the news .
That day , Cramer called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked if he and his wife could be tested .
The receptionist asked if they were showing symptoms and , when he said they were not , explained that the office offered testing only to those who were ill. “ I said , ‘ Well I ’ m asking to get tested because I was at the White House with the president of the United States last Sunday , and he has COVID , ’ and there was a silence at the end of the phone , ” Cramer said .
“ They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , come on down.
’ ” He said he and his wife ’ s tests came back negative .
A USA TODAY review of timelines and travel schedules for many of the officials now confirmed ill shows the virus had infiltrated the White House much earlier than the president let on in his Fox Business interview .
Trump confirmed in a briefing with reporters at the White House on Sept. 16 that at least one case had emerged within the administration .
At the time , the White House would not confirm whom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether he was referring to Crede or another staffer entirely .
“ It was one person .
That ’ s – I mean , so not too much – not a person that I was associated with , ” Trump said at the time .
Following the disclosure , Trump and his administration continued to flout public health guidelines by organizing large public gatherings , with little regard for face coverings and proper social distancing .
In the last two weeks of September , the president participated in at least 11 rallies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump spoke without a mask at the White House Conference on American History , while first lady Melania Trump visited a firehouse in Manchester , New Hampshire , to discuss substance abuse .
President Trump then flew to events in Minnesota , North Carolina , Ohio , Wisconsin and Pennsylvania .
The president and U.S. Attorney General William Barr met with the attorneys general in various states about protecting consumers from social media abuse , and he hosted a Latinos for Trump roundtable at the Trump National Doral Miami on Sept. 25 before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them without masks .
He traveled to a black economic empowerment event near Atlanta on Sept. 25 , where he elbow-bumped NFL legend Herschel Walker and mingled with other supporters .
The Sept. 18 Trump rally in Minnesota alone has been associated with nine COVID-19 cases , including two hospitalizations , according to MPR News .
Even after the outbreak snowballed and Trump himself tested positive , members of the White House have continued to skirt basic recommendations about such events , relying instead upon a strategy of testing those who are to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stopped at faith summits , campaign rallies and other political fundraisers , where they came into contact with thousands .
Sen. Ron Johnson , R-Wis. , a vocal critic of mask mandates , attended a fundraiser after he had taken a test for the virus but before the results came back positive .
McEnany continued to interact with members of the media without a mask before she tested positive .
And at least six faith leaders from the Rose Garden Supreme Court event gave in-person sermons the following Sunday – after Trump announced @ @ @ @ @

Josh Salman, Marisa Kwiatkowski, Tricia L. Nadolny, Dinah Voyles Pulver and Katie Wedell, USA TODAY

Trump claims he got COVID-19 from Gold Star event; evidence shows he probably was already sick by then
Show Caption Hide Caption Ben Carson adds to the list of Trump's circle positive for COVID-19 Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson adds to the running list of people who tested positive for COVID-19 since the president's diagnosis. USA TODAY
President Donald Trump has publicly suggested that he caught COVID-19 during a ceremony to honor fallen soldiers. It’s more likely he was the one exposing the military families to the virus.
Epidemiologists familiar with USA TODAY’s efforts to trace the contacts of White House officials say Trump likely was in the early stages of COVID-19 days before hosting a series of events leading up to the ceremony for the Gold Star families on Sunday, Sept. 27.
Reporters have scoured photos, video, social media and travel schedules to identify and trace the whereabouts of White House officials, aides and those in their orbit who have contracted the novel coronavirus.
Aside from the president and first lady, so far the only others from the Gold Star event known to have tested positive are Coast Guard Adm. Charles Ray and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
By contrast, at least a dozen people who attended the announcement of the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court the previous day, Saturday, have tested positive.
“There are several other people who got sick, and the only thing that they had in common is that they attended the Saturday event,” said Jorge Salinas, hospital epidemiologist and clinical assistant professor of infectious diseases at the University of Iowa. “That’s the smoking gun.”
It was during an interview Thursday with Fox Business that Trump implied he caught the virus during the annual veterans event, which was held indoors at the White House. According to those who were there, about 25 families were involved, and they were required to take a rapid COVID-19 test before entering.
Based on how COVID-19 incubates and the amount of time it takes to develop symptoms, infectious disease specialists familiar with USA TODAY’s reporting say it’s more likely Trump contracted the virus earlier.
They said they cannot pinpoint “patient zero” of the White House outbreak without access to more robust government tracing and molecular typing to identify matching virus samples. Further complicating matters is the administration’s refusal to disclose the date of Trump’s last negative test.
Tracing the White House COVID-19 outbreak:
White House officials said the administration has followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for contact tracing, which has included going back 48 hours from a positive test involving any White House staff. For those with no official ties to the White House, it was up to their own doctor to attempt tracing.
The point of contact tracing is to curb the spread by encouraging those exposed to the virus to quarantine. By now, some epidemiologists believe the window of opportunity for that already has closed.
After months of downplaying the disease’s dangers, Trump announced on Oct. 2 that he had contracted the coronavirus. More than 33 people tied to the White House have since tested positive, including the first lady, senior adviser Hope Hicks and McEnany.
USA TODAY found some of those people came in dangerously close contact with at least 120 others in the days around the Supreme Court event. Many then scattered across the country and continued to go about their daily lives, traveling, attending campaign rallies and fundraisers, going to the gym and leading religious sermons.
During the Fox Business interview, Trump suggested he caught the virus because he had such close contact with veterans' families.
“I can’t back up and say: ‘Give me room. I want room. Give me 12 feet. Stay 12 feet away when you talk,’” Trump said. The military family members had “come within an inch of my face, sometimes. They want to hug me, and they want to kiss me. And they do. And, frankly, I’m not telling them to back up. I’m not doing it.”
COVID-19 testing: Positivity rates and why they are so important COVID-19 widespread testing is crucial to fighting the pandemic, but is there enough testing? The answer is in the positivity rates. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
It can take up to 14 days for someone infected with COVID-19 to fully develop symptoms, but about half begin feeling ill within a week, and by day 10, it’s 90%. On average, a person can begin to spread COVID two days before they’re symptomatic – the critical 48 hours on which the White House is focusing.
But health experts note that it’s complicated to estimate when exactly a patient becomes contagious because early symptoms can be so subtle.
“With the president’s schedule and behavior, it will be very hard to identify exactly when he got infected,” said Amesh Adalja, a medical doctor and senior scholar for the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, referring to both the veterans ceremony and the SCOTUS celebration. “If you’re going to have events like this, you’re going to get cases. … This is something you would expect to happen. It was only a matter of time.”
The veterans ceremony came just one day after the event now pegged as the outbreak’s superspreader, when hundreds of conservative officials and evangelicals from across the country gathered in the Rose Garden for the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Many did not wear masks or social-distance. Some were photographed shaking hands, hugging and kissing, including at indoor receptions affiliated with the outdoor ceremony.
Public health officials tasked with stopping the spread of COVID-19 say comprehensive tracing of everyone who attended the SCOTUS event is the only way to know for sure where the White House outbreak originated and how far it has traveled.
Based solely on the timeline of his positive test, epidemiologists say it is indeed possible that Trump could have caught the virus at the Gold Star Families event. But, they said, other factors almost entirely rule out the possibility.
Ray, the admiral who confirmed he had COVID-19 on Oct. 5, and McEnany were the only other people beyond the Trumps to attend the Gold Star event and catch the virus.
Meanwhile, among those at the Barrett nomination ceremony, at least 12 went on to test positive for the coronavirus. That includes Barrett supporters, like Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, who has no official ties to the White House and did not attend the Gold Star event.
Help USA TODAY: We need assistance identifying everyone at the White House Rose Garden SCOTUS event.
Experts also point to the size and nature of both events as natural spreaders for an outbreak that could have been spawned even earlier.
By mid-September, a White House staff member already had tested positive for COVID-19. Crede Bailey, head of the White House security office, has been hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms since late last month, Bloomberg News has reported.
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who also has tested positive, attended a private fundraiser with Trump at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25. That same night, Trump was with Hicks at a rally in Virginia.
An RNC spokesman said that after her meeting with Trump, McDaniel went home to Michigan and stayed there. Four days later, she tested positive. Hicks tested positive the following day, Trump the day after that.
Gold Star event described as 'heartwarming'
The president's comments about the Gold Star event drew ire from Democrats in Congress and some military supporters, who cited his disrespect for the troops and lackluster response to the deadly pandemic. But military families who attended the event themselves told USA TODAY they felt safe at the ceremony and were not bothered by the president’s remarks.
White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah has tried to walk back Trump’s comments about the Gold Star ceremony, telling reporters, “We by no means are blaming anyone who was present, and we did take a lot of precautions for that event so based on contact tracing and the data we have, we don't think it arose from that event."
She said the president’s point was that “in the time frame that he was potentially exposed, there were a number of different venues that he'd been at and individuals he'd interacted with that it could have come from.”
The group VoteVets, which has been critical of Trump, tweeted this week, “Like everything else, Donald Trump's White House didn't follow CDC guidelines with this event, and still isn't being straight with families, or doing real contact tracing through the CDC to put their minds at ease.”
Like everything else, Donald Trump's White House didn't follow CDC guidelines with this event, and still isn't being straight with families, or doing real contact tracing through the CDC to put their minds at ease. (1/2) https://t.co/6vkTmXU1GX — VoteVets (Text VOTEVETS to 88424) (@votevets) October 8, 2020
Several Democrats in Congress took to social media and issued statements lambasting Trump for his remarks, demanding an apology.
“President Trump seems to think it’s okay to try and shift the blame and scapegoat others for his own failures,” U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “Instead of casting aspersions on the families of the fallen for infecting him, President Trump should be transparent about his own actions, who he met with and when, and release detailed medical information including a timeline and do some real contact tracing to help stop the spread.”
Others also condemned Trump for his comments – and for allowing the White House outbreak to metastasize.
“For Donald Trump to continue to insult Gold Star Families and blame them for spreading a deadly pandemic that he’s actually the one spreading is beyond shameful,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who is a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel.
Multiple people who attended the veterans ceremony told USA TODAY they felt comfortable with the health precautions taken. After being tested on arrival, families said they were kept isolated until they received their test results. They also continued to wear masks during small group tours of the White House.
Families said they were given the option of wearing masks for the rest of the event and could choose whether to mingle with other guests or be taken to a private room.
Britt Harris, whose husband, Army Spc. Christopher Harris, was killed in 2017 in Afghanistan, said she and her mother-in-law opted to spend time in a private room because they were there with Harris’ 2-year-old daughter.
They rejoined the other families and officials later that evening for a ceremony that included speeches from the president and Gold Star father Steven G. Xiarhos as well as lighting candles for each of the 25 service members being honored. Harris said she didn’t expect her husband’s name to be one of two highlighted in the president’s speech.
“It was a big deal to our family,” she said. “It was really special to have him talk about Chris.”
She said her mother-in-law tested negative for COVID-19 after the event. Harris did not get tested but quarantined with her daughter.
Texas resident Ruth Holler, whose son Lance Cpl. Luke Holler died in 2006 in Iraq, said her experience was “heartwarming” and “the trip of a lifetime.” Holler and one of her daughters told USA TODAY the seven members of their family who attended the event have not been tested, but none are showing symptoms.
Hank Cramer, whose father, Capt. Harry G. Cramer, was killed in Vietnam in 1957, also said he felt safe throughout the evening. Cramer said the president spent several minutes asking about his father’s service. He and other attendees said they stood 6 feet away from the president and did not shake hands.
“I think he was probably speaking realistically that he might have caught the virus in any public meeting that he’s been at in the last few weeks,” Cramer said. “And I appreciate the fact that he did not shy away from us. That he came and spent the evening with us and was willing to talk with us.”
Cramer, who lives in Washington state, said he learned the president had COVID-19 from the news. That day, Cramer called a clinic in his small town and asked if he and his wife could be tested. The receptionist asked if they were showing symptoms and, when he said they were not, explained that the office offered testing only to those who were ill.
“I said, ‘Well I’m asking to get tested because I was at the White House with the president of the United States last Sunday, and he has COVID,’ and there was a silence at the end of the phone,” Cramer said. “They said, ‘Well in that case, come on down.’”
He said he and his wife’s tests came back negative.
Virus infiltrated White House by mid-September
A USA TODAY review of timelines and travel schedules for many of the officials now confirmed ill shows the virus had infiltrated the White House much earlier than the president let on in his Fox Business interview.
Trump confirmed in a briefing with reporters at the White House on Sept. 16 that at least one case had emerged within the administration. At the time, the White House would not confirm whom he meant, and it remains unclear whether he was referring to Crede or another staffer entirely.
“It was one person. That’s – I mean, so not too much – not a person that I was associated with,” Trump said at the time.
Following the disclosure, Trump and his administration continued to flout public health guidelines by organizing large public gatherings, with little regard for face coverings and proper social distancing. In the last two weeks of September, the president participated in at least 11 rallies and fundraisers.
The very next day, Trump spoke without a mask at the White House Conference on American History, while first lady Melania Trump visited a firehouse in Manchester, New Hampshire, to discuss substance abuse.
President Trump then flew to events in Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
The president and U.S. Attorney General William Barr met with the attorneys general in various states about protecting consumers from social media abuse, and he hosted a Latinos for Trump roundtable at the Trump National Doral Miami on Sept. 25 before more than 150 people, many of them without masks. He traveled to a black economic empowerment event near Atlanta on Sept. 25, where he elbow-bumped NFL legend Herschel Walker and mingled with other supporters.
The Sept. 18 Trump rally in Minnesota alone has been associated with nine COVID-19 cases, including two hospitalizations, according to MPR News.
Even after the outbreak snowballed and Trump himself tested positive, members of the White House have continued to skirt basic recommendations about such events, relying instead upon a strategy of testing those who are to have contact with the president.
They stopped at faith summits, campaign rallies and other political fundraisers, where they came into contact with thousands. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a vocal critic of mask mandates, attended a fundraiser after he had taken a test for the virus but before the results came back positive.
McEnany continued to interact with members of the media without a mask before she tested positive. And at least six faith leaders from the Rose Garden Supreme Court event gave in-person sermons the following Sunday – after Trump announced he had the coronavirus.
Contributing: Kyle Bagentose and Nicholas Wu


Amy Coney Barrett

WASHINGTON – The 48-year-old federal judge who could cement a decades-long conservative era at the Supreme Court comes to her confirmation hearing this week facing political , philosophical and public health challenges .
Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana , a Notre Dame Law School professor for nearly two decades , can expect Democrats to ask why President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans should move her nomination amid a pandemic that has sidelined senators , White House staff and even the president himself .
She can expect to hear complaints that Republicans are rushing her confirmation at near-record speed just days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years after blocking President Barack Obama 's election-year nomination of federal Judge Merrick Garland .
She can expect to be contrasted with the women 's rights pioneer she would succeed , Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , in much the same way an even younger conservative nominee , Clarence Thomas , was compared to retiring Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall , a civil rights pioneer , in 1991 .
It will be difficult to top the explosiveness of the last such Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2018 , when Brett Kavanaugh was attacked as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sexually assaulting a high school classmate decades earlier , which he denied .
Kavanaugh eventually was confirmed 50-48 .
It will be equally hard to top the partisan machinations of the previous Supreme Court confirmation battle in 2017 , when Republicans eliminated the Senate filibuster for high court justices to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the seat Garland was denied .
Gorsuch made it to the court on a 54-45 vote .
But when it comes to the future of the court , Barrett 's nomination is far more consequential than those of her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice Antonin Scalia , for whom Barrett clerked .
Kavanaugh replaced Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy , a moderate who most often aligned with the court 's conservatives .
As Ginsburg 's successor , Barrett – who opposes abortion , favors expanded gun rights and has questioned the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act – could take the court so far to the right that liberal interest groups are demanding Democrats add more justices if they regain the levers of political power in Washington .
`` If she is someone who is more open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , reconsidering , overturning long-settled cases , that could lead to a period of great instability , '' Sen. Chris Coons , D-Del.
, a Judiciary Committee member , said last week .
Trump made clear in the 2016 presidential campaign that he wanted judges who were `` pro-life '' and who would defend Americans ' gun rights under the Second Amendment .
He has sought to overturn the Affordable Care Act , Obama 's signature legislative achievement , by any means necessary ; the high court will hear a new challenge to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The president also made clear in recent days that he wants Barrett confirmed quickly so she can rule on legal challenges after Election Day .
That is sure to lead Democrats on the judiciary committee to call for her to recuse herself from any such cases , a suggestion she is likely to sidestep .
More : Supreme Court begins 2020 term as a key election issue : Will it decide the election , too ?
Barrett will have advantages her recent predecessors in the committee 's hot seat did not .
Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not be admitted ; in 2018 , # MeToo activists and others stood and shouted periodically from the back of the room , disrupting the four-day hearing .
Fact check : 'Kingdom of God ' comment by Amy Coney Barrett lacks context in meme In addition , Democrats were burned once in 2017 when they confronted Barrett with questions about her deep Catholic faith and its influence on her jurisprudence .
She proved to be a Teflon nominee in that regard , and they are unlikely to try that failed tactic again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court nominee , and each time he has sought to move the court further to the right , making for bitterly contested confirmation hearings .
Gorsuch came before the committee at age 49 in March 2017 .
By then , it was more than 400 days since Scalia 's death , a year since Obama 's failed nomination of Garland , and seven weeks since Trump introduced Gorsuch in the East Room of the White House .
A federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit , based in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Gorsuch inundated the panel with 175,000 pages of records , then avoided controversial subjects and skated through the process .
Still , Democrats used the power of the minority to block the required 60-vote threshold , forcing Republicans to change Senate rules and win confirmation by a simple majority .
Fact check : Republicans , not Democrats , eliminated the Senate filibuster on Supreme Court nominees It got worse in 2018 .
Kavanaugh , a powerful judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for 12 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voluminous for the panel to pile through between his July nomination and the start of the Supreme Court 's term in October .
Republicans released more than 400,000 pages of documents but concealed much from Kavanaugh 's time working for President George W. Bush as deputy White House counsel and staff secretary .
After the customary four-day hearing concluded , Kavanaugh faced accusations of sexual misconduct as a teenager in the 1980s that required an additional hearing and nearly killed the nomination .
Barrett likely will face an easier time on a personal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and because she bested Democrats in the debate over her religious convictions three years ago .
But she ca n't expect Democrats ' votes , either in committee or the full Senate , because of the dramatic change she would deliver , the rush to confirm her before the election and Republicans ' 2016 actions .
What she is sure to do is dodge Democrats ' questions about her views on issues that could come before the court .
That 's a common strategy of nominees dating back at least as far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on offering `` no forecasts , no hints . ''
She was confirmed 96-3 ; her predecessors , Scalia and Kennedy , were unanimous .
Things were different in 1991 , however , when President George H.W .
Bush 's nomination of Thomas to fill Marshall 's seat turned into what Thomas called a `` high-tech lynching . ''
He was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee , Anita Hill , and ultimately survived by a narrow 52-48 vote .
Conservatives spearheading Barrett 's nomination do n't expect her opponents to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a focus on her judicial philosophy – one that puts the words of the Constitution and federal laws before the sanctity of high court precedents .
Barrett is prepared for that .
At Notre Dame last year , she said a nominee `` can ’ t answer about specific cases , but questions about judicial philosophy should be on the table ... .
You have a right to know what yardstick you ’ re using to make those decisions.
” More : We binge-watched 15 hours of Amy Coney Barrett 's speeches .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ her judicial philosophy Here are some of the lines of attack Democrats likely will mount against Barrett : • Abortion : Barrett has written that Supreme Court precedents are not sacrosanct , which liberals have interpreted as a threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide .
As a law professor in 2006 , she signed an anti-abortion letter that accompanied a January 2006 newspaper ad calling for `` an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v .
Wade . ''
In a 2016 talk at Jacksonville University , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be safe but that the Supreme Court could uphold further restrictions .
On the appeals court , she signed a dissent indicating she would have reheard Indiana 's defense of a law banning abortions based on sex , race or disability .
• Health care : Barrett wrote in 2017 that Chief Justice John Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning in order to save it .
Roberts interpreted as a tax the law ’ s penalty on those who don ’ t buy insurance , allowing the court to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ More : Health care law faces another Supreme Court showdown , this time without Justice Ginsburg 's vote With a third major challenge set to be heard by the justices the week after the election , former Vice President Joe Biden and Democrats have made the health care law their first line of attack against Barrett 's confirmation .
`` Literally in the midst of a public health pandemic , when over 210,000 people have died ... Donald Trump is in court right now trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last week 's debate with Vice President Mike Pence .
• Gun control : Barrett dissented when the appeals court upheld a decision restricting the Second Amendment rights of a felon convicted of mail fraud .
She said nonviolent offenders should not lose their constitutional right to firearms possession .
In her committee questionnaire , she rated the dissent as her most important opinion .
More : Ginsburg 's death injects new urgency into Second Amendment debate Sen. Richard Blumenthal , D-Conn. , a Judiciary Committee member whose state endured the 2012 mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left 26 dead , has promised to make gun control an issue at the hearing .
• LGBTQ rights : In a 2016 speech , Barrett implied that same-sex marriage was an issue for state legislatures to decide rather than the courts .
That was a year after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states can not ban gays and lesbians from marrying .
More : Supreme Court to decide if foster care agencies can snub gay , lesbian couples due to religious objections '' What we ’ re talking about for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s really a 'who decides the question ? '
'' she said .
• Voting rights : Just as Gorsuch was made to answer for Trump 's criticism of federal court judges in 2017 , Barrett likely will be asked about the president 's expressed desire to have her rule on post-election challenges .
She 's almost sure to be asked if she would recuse herself from those cases .
But when it comes to religion , Democrats will have to tread carefully .
They may ask about her ties to a charismatic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but they recall the 2017 dialogue that cemented Barrett 's reputation among defenders of religious freedom .
Fact check : Post online satirizes Judge Amy Coney Barrett in 'yearbook ' photo with fake quote '' If you 're asking whether I take my faith seriously and I 'm a faithful Catholic , I am , '' Barrett responded , `` although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge . ''

Amid pandemic and presidential race, Supreme Court confirmation hearing will be unprecedented
Show Caption Hide Caption Amy Coney Barrett is nominated by President Trump to the Supreme Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett speaks at the White House after being put forward by President Trump as his nominee to fill Justice Ginsburg's vacant seat. USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – The 48-year-old federal judge who could cement a decades-long conservative era at the Supreme Court comes to her confirmation hearing this week facing political, philosophical and public health challenges.
Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a Notre Dame Law School professor for nearly two decades, can expect Democrats to ask why President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans should move her nomination amid a pandemic that has sidelined senators, White House staff and even the president himself.
She can expect to hear complaints that Republicans are rushing her confirmation at near-record speed just days before a presidential election – and four years after blocking President Barack Obama's election-year nomination of federal Judge Merrick Garland.
She can expect to be contrasted with the women's rights pioneer she would succeed, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in much the same way an even younger conservative nominee, Clarence Thomas, was compared to retiring Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights pioneer, in 1991.
More: Read Barrett's opening statement for Monday's Senate hearing
It will be difficult to top the explosiveness of the last such Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2018, when Brett Kavanaugh was attacked as a Republican political hack and accused of sexually assaulting a high school classmate decades earlier, which he denied. Kavanaugh eventually was confirmed 50-48.
It will be equally hard to top the partisan machinations of the previous Supreme Court confirmation battle in 2017, when Republicans eliminated the Senate filibuster for high court justices to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the seat Garland was denied. Gorsuch made it to the court on a 54-45 vote.
But when it comes to the future of the court, Barrett's nomination is far more consequential than those of her predecessors. Gorsuch succeeded fellow conservative Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom Barrett clerked. Kavanaugh replaced Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, a moderate who most often aligned with the court's conservatives.
As Ginsburg's successor, Barrett – who opposes abortion, favors expanded gun rights and has questioned the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act – could take the court so far to the right that liberal interest groups are demanding Democrats add more justices if they regain the levers of political power in Washington.
More: Pence presses Harris over expanding the Supreme Court
"If she is someone who is more open even than Scalia to revisiting, reviewing, reconsidering, overturning long-settled cases, that could lead to a period of great instability," Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a Judiciary Committee member, said last week.
Trump made clear in the 2016 presidential campaign that he wanted judges who were "pro-life" and who would defend Americans' gun rights under the Second Amendment. He has sought to overturn the Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature legislative achievement, by any means necessary; the high court will hear a new challenge to the health care law in November.
More: Six conservative justices? 10 ways the Supreme Court could change
The president also made clear in recent days that he wants Barrett confirmed quickly so she can rule on legal challenges after Election Day. That is sure to lead Democrats on the judiciary committee to call for her to recuse herself from any such cases, a suggestion she is likely to sidestep.
More: Supreme Court begins 2020 term as a key election issue: Will it decide the election, too?
Barrett will have advantages her recent predecessors in the committee's hot seat did not. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public will not be admitted; in 2018, #MeToo activists and others stood and shouted periodically from the back of the room, disrupting the four-day hearing.
Fact check: 'Kingdom of God' comment by Amy Coney Barrett lacks context in meme
In addition, Democrats were burned once in 2017 when they confronted Barrett with questions about her deep Catholic faith and its influence on her jurisprudence. She proved to be a Teflon nominee in that regard, and they are unlikely to try that failed tactic again.
Gorsuch and Kavanaugh
Barrett is Trump's third Supreme Court nominee, and each time he has sought to move the court further to the right, making for bitterly contested confirmation hearings.
Gorsuch came before the committee at age 49 in March 2017. By then, it was more than 400 days since Scalia's death, a year since Obama's failed nomination of Garland, and seven weeks since Trump introduced Gorsuch in the East Room of the White House.
A federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, based in Denver, for more than a decade, Gorsuch inundated the panel with 175,000 pages of records, then avoided controversial subjects and skated through the process. Still, Democrats used the power of the minority to block the required 60-vote threshold, forcing Republicans to change Senate rules and win confirmation by a simple majority.
Fact check: Republicans, not Democrats, eliminated the Senate filibuster on Supreme Court nominees
It got worse in 2018. Kavanaugh, a powerful judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for 12 years, arrived with a paper trail too voluminous for the panel to pile through between his July nomination and the start of the Supreme Court's term in October.
Republicans released more than 400,000 pages of documents but concealed much from Kavanaugh's time working for President George W. Bush as deputy White House counsel and staff secretary. After the customary four-day hearing concluded, Kavanaugh faced accusations of sexual misconduct as a teenager in the 1980s that required an additional hearing and nearly killed the nomination.
Barrett likely will face an easier time on a personal level because of her gender and demeanor, and because she bested Democrats in the debate over her religious convictions three years ago. But she can't expect Democrats' votes, either in committee or the full Senate, because of the dramatic change she would deliver, the rush to confirm her before the election and Republicans' 2016 actions.
What she is sure to do is dodge Democrats' questions about her views on issues that could come before the court. That's a common strategy of nominees dating back at least as far as Ginsburg, who in 1993 insisted on offering "no forecasts, no hints." She was confirmed 96-3; her predecessors, Scalia and Kennedy, were unanimous.
Things were different in 1991, however, when President George H.W. Bush's nomination of Thomas to fill Marshall's seat turned into what Thomas called a "high-tech lynching." He was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee, Anita Hill, and ultimately survived by a narrow 52-48 vote.
Philosophy 'on the table'
Conservatives spearheading Barrett's nomination don't expect her opponents to attack her personally, but they anticipate a focus on her judicial philosophy – one that puts the words of the Constitution and federal laws before the sanctity of high court precedents.
Barrett is prepared for that. At Notre Dame last year, she said a nominee "can’t answer about specific cases, but questions about judicial philosophy should be on the table.... You have a right to know what yardstick you’re using to make those decisions.”
More: We binge-watched 15 hours of Amy Coney Barrett's speeches. Here’s what we learned about her judicial philosophy
Here are some of the lines of attack Democrats likely will mount against Barrett:
• Abortion: Barrett has written that Supreme Court precedents are not sacrosanct, which liberals have interpreted as a threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. As a law professor in 2006, she signed an anti-abortion letter that accompanied a January 2006 newspaper ad calling for "an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade."
More: Barrett signed anti-abortion letter accompanying ad calling to overturn Roe v. Wade
In a 2016 talk at Jacksonville University, she said the right to abortion may be safe but that the Supreme Court could uphold further restrictions. On the appeals court, she signed a dissent indicating she would have reheard Indiana's defense of a law banning abortions based on sex, race or disability.
• Health care: Barrett wrote in 2017 that Chief Justice John Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning in order to save it. Roberts interpreted as a tax the law’s penalty on those who don’t buy insurance, allowing the court to uphold the constitutionality of the law.
More: Health care law faces another Supreme Court showdown, this time without Justice Ginsburg's vote
With a third major challenge set to be heard by the justices the week after the election, former Vice President Joe Biden and Democrats have made the health care law their first line of attack against Barrett's confirmation.
"Literally in the midst of a public health pandemic, when over 210,000 people have died ... Donald Trump is in court right now trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act," Sen. Kamala Harris said during last week's debate with Vice President Mike Pence.
• Gun control: Barrett dissented when the appeals court upheld a decision restricting the Second Amendment rights of a felon convicted of mail fraud. She said nonviolent offenders should not lose their constitutional right to firearms possession. In her committee questionnaire, she rated the dissent as her most important opinion.
More: Ginsburg's death injects new urgency into Second Amendment debate
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a Judiciary Committee member whose state endured the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 dead, has promised to make gun control an issue at the hearing.
• LGBTQ rights: In a 2016 speech, Barrett implied that same-sex marriage was an issue for state legislatures to decide rather than the courts. That was a year after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states cannot ban gays and lesbians from marrying.
More: Supreme Court to decide if foster care agencies can snub gay, lesbian couples due to religious objections
"What we’re talking about for the future of the court, it’s really a 'who decides the question?'" she said.
• Voting rights: Just as Gorsuch was made to answer for Trump's criticism of federal court judges in 2017, Barrett likely will be asked about the president's expressed desire to have her rule on post-election challenges. She's almost sure to be asked if she would recuse herself from those cases.
More: Supreme Court restores witness signature rule for absentee ballots in South Carolina
But when it comes to religion, Democrats will have to tread carefully. They may ask about her ties to a charismatic Christian religious group called People of Praise, but they recall the 2017 dialogue that cemented Barrett's reputation among defenders of religious freedom.
Fact check: Post online satirizes Judge Amy Coney Barrett in 'yearbook' photo with fake quote
"If you're asking whether I take my faith seriously and I'm a faithful Catholic, I am," Barrett responded, "although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge."


Amazon Prime Day

The online holiday shopping season kicks off this week with heavily advertised promotions for Amazon Prime Day , Target Deal Days and Walmart 's The Big Save event .
And do n't the scammers know it .
We 're being warned that 2020 's flurry of online shopping is triggering yet another scam .
This time the fraudsters are impersonating Amazon , which begins its Prime Day sales at midnight going into Tuesday morning .
Some recorded voice claims to be from Amazon and then tells you about a fraudulent charge on your Amazon Prime card .
Or maybe the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so-called lost or damaged package .
Deals right to your inbox : We sort the good from the bad and send our recommendations right to your inbox Some complaints earlier in 2020 reported that consumers received emails containing an order confirmation for an item they didn ’ t purchase .
Amazon suggests that you first go to your orders to check out what you 've purchased and `` see if there is an order that matches the details in the correspondence . ''
`` If it does n't match an order in your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amazon international website , the message is n't from Amazon , '' the company warns online .
Much like the old phony IRS calls , the con artists want your personal information here or they might want you to send money .
They may ask you for your credit card account number or account login details , according to a new warning from the Better Business Bureau .
In some cases , they 're even so bold as to request remote access to your computer `` under the guise of 'helping ' to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Better Business Bureau .
More : Scammers tell people they 're fired or may have COVID-19 Election 2020 : Voting by mail ?
How about by smartphone instead ?
Scams involving fake tracking codes and delivery mix-ups have become quite popular during the online holiday shopping rush over the past few years .
And this latest twist where scammers pretend to be from Amazon follows a similar script .
Online shopping scams are one of the hottest tricks for ID thieves and others during the pandemic as more people work from home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with others .
The Federal Trade Commission received 31,922 complaints through Oct. 8 related to online shopping , making it the No .
1 category for complaints , according to the FTC 's COVID-19 and Stimulus reports .
Here are some warnings of online shopping scams that can help on Amazon Prime Day — which runs Tuesday and Wednesday — and through the holidays .
Do n't believe it 's necessarily your bank , Amazon or FedEx reaching out to you While some departments at Amazon will call customers , the company said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to disclose sensitive personal information or offer you a refund that you do not expect .
Amazon is n't going to request remote access to your computer .
Amazon will never ask you to make a payment outside of its website .
Thousands of people are falling victim to phony emails , texts and calls from scammers who are impersonating big names , like Amazon , or their banks every day .
And the scams are only likely to heat up more as consumers shop for holiday gifts late in the year .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Why , really , would Amazon be requesting your bank account number or your Tax ID ?
Yet that 's just what scammers might request here .
Be careful how you pay when you shop online Red flags of a scam include requests that you send money via wire transfer ; CashApp ; PayPal ; prepaid debit cards , such as MoneyPak ; or gift cards , like Best Buy and others .
The Federal Trade Commission suggests that you use a credit card for online shopping .
`` If you pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your transaction will be protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act , '' the FTC notes .
`` Under this law , you can dispute charges under certain circumstances and temporarily withhold payment while the creditor investigates them .
In the event that someone uses your credit card without your permission , your liability generally is limited to the first $ 50 in charges .
Some companies guarantee that you won ’ t be held responsible for any unauthorized charges made to your card online ; some cards provide additional warranty , return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who you 're really dealing with Some fake websites will pop up , especially during the holidays , to try to trick you .
Do n't click links for special deals or gift cards that you spot when you 're on Facebook or other social media .
Bad actors are doing their best to install malware on your computer too .
As stressful as 2020 has been for many families , we can all sit back and ask ourselves many days : `` What 's the rush ? ''
So many things can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week or even next year .
Scammers like to create a false sense of urgency and fear , though , trying to get you to do something quickly before you even have a second to think twice .
A fraudster might claim that your bank account will be frozen or your Amazon Prime Card will be canceled .
A real company , like Amazon , is n't going to get upset if you politely say : `` I 'm going to hang up now and call the phone number listed on the back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just to make sure that I 'm talking to the real deal here . ''
ContactSusan Tompor v stompor @ freepress.com .
Follow her on Twitter @ tompor .
To subscribe , please go to freep.com/specialoffer .
Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter .

Amazon Prime Day 2020: Beware of these online shopping scams
Show Caption Hide Caption Amazon Prime Day: What you need to know, including when it is Amazon Prime Day will be on June 21 and 22. ProblemSolved, USA TODAY
The online holiday shopping season kicks off this week with heavily advertised promotions for Amazon Prime Day, Target Deal Days and Walmart's The Big Save event.
And don't the scammers know it.
We're being warned that 2020's flurry of online shopping is triggering yet another scam. This time the fraudsters are impersonating Amazon, which begins its Prime Day sales at midnight going into Tuesday morning.
Some recorded voice claims to be from Amazon and then tells you about a fraudulent charge on your Amazon Prime card. Or maybe the recorded message will alert you to a so-called lost or damaged package.
Deals right to your inbox: We sort the good from the bad and send our recommendations right to your inbox
Some complaints earlier in 2020 reported that consumers received emails containing an order confirmation for an item they didn’t purchase. Amazon suggests that you first go to your orders to check out what you've purchased and "see if there is an order that matches the details in the correspondence."
"If it doesn't match an order in your account in Amazon.com, or in another Amazon international website, the message isn't from Amazon," the company warns online.
Much like the old phony IRS calls, the con artists want your personal information here or they might want you to send money. They may ask you for your credit card account number or account login details, according to a new warning from the Better Business Bureau.
In some cases, they're even so bold as to request remote access to your computer "under the guise of 'helping' to solve the issue," according to the Better Business Bureau.
More: The shocking series of steps well-versed scammers are taking amid COVID-19
More: Scammers tell people they're fired or may have COVID-19
Election 2020: Voting by mail? How about by smartphone instead?
Social media: Facebook vows to remove content denying the Holocaust
Scams involving fake tracking codes and delivery mix-ups have become popular during the online holiday shopping rush over the past few years. And this latest twist where scammers pretend to be from Amazon follows a similar script.
Online shopping scams are one of the hottest tricks for ID thieves and others during the pandemic as more people work from home and shop online to limit their contact with others.
The Federal Trade Commission received 31,922 complaints through Oct. 8 related to online shopping, making it the No. 1 category for complaints, according to the FTC's COVID-19 and Stimulus reports.
Here are some warnings of online shopping scams that can help on Amazon Prime Day – which runs Tuesday and Wednesday – and through the holidays.
Don't believe it's necessarily your bank, Amazon or FedEx reaching out to you
While some departments at Amazon will call customers, the company said they're never going to ask you to disclose sensitive personal information or offer you a refund you do not expect.
Amazon isn't going to request remote access to your computer.
Amazon will never ask you to make a payment outside its website.
Thousands of people are falling victim to phony emails, texts and calls from scammers who are impersonating big names, like Amazon, or their banks every day. And the scams are likely to only heat up more as consumers shop for holiday gifts late in the year.
Ask yourself: Does this make sense?
Why, really, would Amazon be requesting your bank account number or your tax ID? Yet that's just what scammers might request here.
Be careful how you pay when you shop online
Red flags of a scam include requests that you send money via wire transfer; CashApp; PayPal; prepaid debit cards, such as MoneyPak; or gift cards, like Best Buy and others.
The Federal Trade Commission suggests you use a credit card for online shopping.
"If you pay by credit or charge card online, your transaction will be protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act," the FTC notes.
"Under this law, you can dispute charges under certain circumstances and temporarily withhold payment while the creditor investigates them. In the event that someone uses your credit card without your permission, your liability generally is limited to the first $50 in charges. Some companies guarantee that you won’t be held responsible for any unauthorized charges made to your card online; some cards provide additional warranty, return and purchase protection benefits."
Know whom you're dealing with
Some fake websites will pop up, especially during the holidays, to try to trick you. Don't click links for special deals or gift cards that you spot when you're on Facebook or other social media.
Bad actors are doing their best to install malware on your computer too.
Do not rush
As stressful as 2020 has been for many families, we can all sit back and ask ourselves many days: "What's the rush?"
So many things can be put off until tomorrow, next week or even next year.
Scammers like to create a false sense of urgency and fear, trying to get you to do something quickly before you even have a second to think twice.
A fraudster might claim your bank account will be frozen or your Amazon Prime Card will be canceled.
A real company, like Amazon, isn't going to get upset if you politely say: "I'm going to hang up now and call the phone number listed on the back of my credit card or debit card just to make sure that I'm talking to the real deal here."