washingtontimes--2020-05-22--Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade's life marred by abuse and financial hardship

SAN LUIS OBISPO , Calif. ( AP ) — One thing is clear in the complicated , sometimes contradictory and often chaotic story of Tara Reade : Her life has not been easy .
Her earliest childhood memory was of being abused by her father , she told her former husband , a man she would later leave after he abused her , too .
She was also a child of big dreams , of being an Olympic skier and studying acting at Juilliard , before developing an interest in politics .
She was hired in 1992 for a low-level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s highest-profile senators at the time , Joe Biden .
Less than a year later , Reade said , she was again the victim of abuse , assaulted by Biden in the hallway of a Senate office building — an allegation he vehemently denies .
That accusation , which Reade made publicly for the first time in March , has revived difficult questions about how to evaluate allegations of assault in the era of # MeToo .
It also has thrust Reade ’ s life story into the 2020 presidential race and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman with a winding trail of extreme debt , an unfounded claim of educational attainment and questionable business practices .
Along the way , some people who dealt with her found her duplicitous and deceitful , while others found her a heroic survivor .
And Reade ’ s story about the alleged assault by Biden is hardly a straight line .
It has changed over the past year , from accusations of uncomfortable , harassing behavior to allegations of assault .
Reade came forward publicly with her most serious accusation just as Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential nomination .
It is often not possible to conclusively resolve an allegation like the one Reade has made , where there are no witnesses and no timely police report .
So how her claim is evaluated turns largely on her credibility .
By some accounts , Reade is a bright and engaging woman who has tried her best as a single mother to raise her daughter while constantly looking for a fresh start .
In others , Reade uses her charm and flair for drama to manipulate those supporting her until their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critics have her wrong .
“ I ’ m not a lying , manipulative user , ” she said in a Wednesday interview with The Associated Press .
“ I ’ ve really understood what it ’ s like to be struggling and poor .
I ’ ve really tried to help people when I could.
” This account of Reade ’ s life is based on interviews with more than a dozen of her friends , relatives and personal and professional associates , as well as numerous interviews with Reade .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court documents , emails and Reade ’ s own writings .
Reade was born Tara Moulton in the coastal town of Monterey , California , and says she spent most of her childhood living on a farm in northern Wisconsin .
Her father , Robert Reade Moulton , worked as a sportswriter for the Wausau Daily Herald in the 1960s before taking a public relations job with a defense contractor in Minnesota ; Reade said her mother , Jeanette Altimus , was an artist .
Reade has written that she was an accomplished @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team in downhill skiing at age 12 in Wisconsin and trained for three years before her parents ’ divorce prompted a move to Athens , Georgia .
A stepbrother said most people in Wausau skied , mainly at nearby Rib Mountain , but he does not remember Reade being a standout .
“ I ’ m sure Tara did , but I don ’ t really remember her getting some significant accolades for her performance , ” said Scott Thoma , 56 , of Mound , Minnesota , who was a year ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his mother married her father .
Reade and her brother Collin lived with her mother after her parents ’ split , eventually moving to Georgia , while Moulton and his new wife moved to the Minneapolis area .
Another of Reade ’ s aspirations was to be an actress , performing in “ school theatre , community and regional theatre , sprinkled with some radio and television commercials , ” according to her blog .
She set out for California to pursue acting at age 17 and said she got a referral from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reed , an actor best known for his role as the “ Brady Bunch ” father .
She also said she scored an audition in New York for The Juilliard School ’ s exclusive acting program .
Reade said she learned at the audition that no scholarships were available and returned home brokenhearted when her father said he wouldn ’ t pay the tuition .
The school declined to confirm whether Reade was selected for an audition .
She wrote in January that her father , who died in 2016 , was physically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Thwarting my college dreams was the mild bit , the rejection and the physical assaults set the stage for how I would walk into the world , ” she wrote .
Reade often discussed the issue with her former husband , Ted Dronen , according to Dronen ’ s account in the couple ’ s divorce filings .
“ She referenced a long history of events dating back to her first memories in which her father would physically and emotionally , and mentally abuse her .
She stated also that her mother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s father ’ s abuse , ” he wrote .
Thoma described Reade ’ s parents as alcoholics but said he never saw Moulton become angry when he drank , or emotionally or physically abuse Reade or anyone else .
“ He got frustrated at her , ” said Thoma , adding that Reade started more things than she finished .
“ He would have to put the kibosh on whatever she wanted .
But no , I never saw Bob lay a hand on any of us kids , or Collin and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ documents , described Reade as also having a sometimes tumultuous relationship with her mother , who he said kicked her out of her house during a fall 1994 argument while Reade was in the late stages of a pregnancy .
Reade has said her mother , who also died in 2016 , was one of the few people she confided in about Biden ’ s alleged assault .
Early abuse can inform a victim ’ s relationships for the rest of his or her life , according to Barbara Ziv , a forensic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If you grow up in an abusive household , where your needs , your basic needs aren ’ t met and you aren ’ t taught to appropriately identify boundaries or emotions , then that ’ s going to impact the way that you develop as an adult , ” Ziv said .
There ’ s little public accounting of the next few years of Reade ’ s life , after she says her Juilliard dreams were dashed .
She eventually attended Pasadena City College , where she says her strong performance in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an internship in Washington with then-California Rep. Leon Panetta .
Reade said in the 2019 interview that she then worked as a field manager for Santa Barbara County Supervisor Gloria Ochoa in her campaign against Rep. Michael Huffington , the former husband of Arianna Huffington .
A few days after Ochoa ’ s loss , Reade said , she got a call to interview for a job with Biden — which she described as a dream job .
It was unclear how that interview came about .
“ I just always wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , he was the champion of women ’ s legislation , women ’ s rights legislation , ” she told the AP .
Reade said she traveled to Washington and was interviewed by Biden ’ s executive assistant , Marianne Baker .
During their conversation , she said , Biden walked in and was introduced to the young job prospect .
“ He kind of smiled and said , ‘ Hire her , ’ ” Reade said .
“ That was it.
” Once she was in Washington , multiple friends described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her own .
Stacey Lentz , a friend at the time who worked in North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad ’ s office , said the two would get together for lunch on Capitol Hill , and on days off , they ’ d peruse antique shops or enjoy a ballgame .
Another close friend of Reade ’ s , who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her family ’ s privacy , described her as a laid-back Californian in contrast to her own East Coast conservative upbringing .
All three lived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s dormitory across the street from the Hart Senate Office Building .
Over the years , Reade spoke favorably about working for Biden .
Margie Estberg , of Aptos , California , said she got to know Reade after hiring her in late 2017 to pet sit .
Over a pizza dinner and cocktails in 2018 , Estberg said she asked Reade what Biden was like — and whether Biden was one of the “ bad guys.
” “ I said , ‘ Is he a nice guy ?
’ And she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ’ ” Estberg recently recalled .
“ I said , ‘ Oh , good .
Because I hate to see somebody who you think is a decent person and somebody shuts them down and says , ‘ No , they aren ’ t. ’ ” Reade said she didn ’ t share details of the alleged assault with Estberg because she wasn ’ t ready to discuss it .
But Reade ’ s friend , the one who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity , said Reade told her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1993 .
That ’ s when Reade says she was asked to deliver a gym bag to Biden in a Senate office building ; when she met him , she says , he kissed her and digitally penetrated her .
The friend said Reade called her a few nights after the assault allegedly occurred , and the friend described in vivid detail feeling “ so physically sick ” at the disclosure that she ran to the bathroom and threw up in the middle of their conversation .
Reade recommended that the AP interview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her multiple times , beginning in 2019 .
Initially , the friend confirmed Reade ’ s original , limited account of harassment by Biden .
When Reade added assault to her allegation in March of this year , this friend also added those details to her own recollection .
This friend says she counseled Reade not to file a police report , and now expresses deep regret for what she characterized as leading Reade astray in dealing with the situation .
Reade left Washington shortly after the alleged assault .
She says she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — but not assault — to a Senate personnel office and the senator ’ s top advisers , but felt retaliated against and ultimately said she was encouraged to find another job and quit .
During her time in Washington , Reade met Ted Dronen , whom she describes in a 2009 essay as “ a smiling 6 ‘ 4 ” blonde Nordic-looking man ” who playfully shot her with a water gun at a party one spring night in 1993 .
Facing financial difficulties after leaving Biden ’ s office , Reade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to follow him to North Dakota , where he was working on a campaign that winter , according to his account in court records .
In her divorce filing , Reade described early warning signs that Dronen was explosive and unstable and says she fled North Dakota for California after Dronen became upset that she was pregnant .
She soon came back to him , however , and they married in July 1994 and had a daughter that November .
In a domestic violence case filed 15 months later , Dronen admits that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got violent with him as well .
“ I admit that on February 21 , 1996 my wife and I were involved in a heated argument and during that argument that I may have acted out in an inappropriate manner .
During our marriage my wife and I had arguments .
She has on past occasions struck me ; specifically , in the face .
That fact , however , does not excuse my conduct on the date in question , ” he states .
Dronen did not respond to several requests for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggested that Reade conflated childhood traumas with her recollections of abuse by him .
“ I believe these incidences , in addition to the abuse , harassment and other truamatic ( sic ) events in Petitioner ’ s life , color Petitioner ’ s perception and judgment in the instant case and I believe them to be the underlying psychological reasons that Petitioner is making me out to be some sort of monster , ” he said .
During their divorce proceedings , Dronen also told the court that Reade said she was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office , but made no mention of assault , a detail that was first reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune .
“ On several occasions petitioner related a problem that she was having at work regarding sexual harassment in U.S .
Senator Joe Biden ’ s office , ” he wrote .
Reade “ eventually struck a deal ” with Biden ’ s chief of staff and left the office , and Dronen supported her financially as she looked for work .
The past two decades of Reade ’ s life have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she had to flee Dronen ’ s abuse , took shelter in domestic violence safe houses and moved to Washington state , where she changed her name to Alexandra Tara McCabe .
She also said she received a new Social Security number to protect her safety , putting her in a “ really vulnerable economic situation.
” She said the focus on her financial difficulties since coming forward with her allegation against Biden was “ classist ” and should have no bearing on the credibility of her accusation .
“ How high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be believed as a victim of sexual assault ?
” Reade asked .
Reade ’ s resume states that she graduated from Antioch University with a bachelor ’ s degree in political science and later worked at the school ’ s Seattle campus as an “ Ongoing Online Visiting Professor for degree completion.
” But school officials said she did not graduate and was never a faculty member , though she was paid to do several hours of administrative work as an independent contractor .
Reade disputed this , but could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was accepted to Seattle University Law School through an alternative admissions program and obtained a law degree in 2004 , but struggled to keep a job .
She was helped by sympathetic strangers drawn to her story of escaping abuse , but often failed to meet financial obligations and was perpetually in debt and frequently entangled in legal battles .
By May 2006 , she was back in California , working as a victims ’ advocate for the Monterey County YWCA .
There , Reade lodged a series of complaints with the chapter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the job , alleging that she and others were harassed and discriminated against by managers , which formed the basis of a 2007 lawsuit .
Reade and three co-workers alleged that two managers , who were both black , potentially misspent funds and favored African American employees who were members of their church .
One supervisor , the lawsuit alleged , made racist comments .
Meanwhile , Reade and her three co-workers , all of whom were white , said they were denied benefits and promotions .
“ I find your response to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I am taking the next step to get some resolution , ” Reade wrote in a Nov. 9 , 2006 , memo to her boss .
She was also upset because someone called her “ whitebread , ” according to the memo , which was circulated to the board .
Bridgette Allen , the former YWCA chapter president , was among those sued .
She said she viewed Reade ’ s persistent emails as an effort to build a court case .
“ I was the first black board president in the history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the dynamics : It was four white women that accused three black women , ” Allen said .
But to some of Reade ’ s co-workers , she was a hero empowered by a difficult past .
“ She was such a great example of what I wanted to be as a mom and a woman and an advocate , ” said Diane Wegner , a former YWCA employee who was part of the lawsuit , which was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum .
Reade soon found a new job @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rescue Project in Pacific Grove .
She also needed a new place to live and , in 2008 , turned to Austin Chung , an inexperienced property manager , and inquired about a cottage he was renting out that offered a glimpse of the waves at nearby Monterey Bay .
She told him she was fleeing abuse and had no credit history , explaining her change of name and Social Security number .
But she did have a law degree and a job , she told him .
“ My heart went out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Chung said he had the interior painted and installed new flooring to make the home welcoming .
Within five months , she was behind on rent .
Pretty soon , she was out of a job , too , after her management style grated on some employees and supporters of the animal shelter , according to former board members .
“ There wasn ’ t any one big thing that happened .
It was just , over time , her not really being competent , ” said Carie Broecker , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she remained friends with Reade until Reade recently threatened to sue her because she publicly discussed her tenure at the agency .
Reade said she was proud of her work for the animal shelter .
Chung moved to evict Reade after she fell $ 3,600 behind on rent ; Reade accused him of harassment in an email .
She eventually left behind a house in need of $ 8,000 in repairs that included carpets so stained by animal waste that they needed to be replaced , according to Chung , who provided emails @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s interior .
In 2011 , Reade was again in a relationship that turned violent .
Neighbors called Santa Cruz police to her home , and her live-in boyfriend , Edward Walker , was charged with corporal injury and battery against Reade and her daughter .
“ Male subject battered live-in girlfriend , causing visible injury .
During the altercation , the suspect also battered the victims daughter , ” police said in an April 3 , 2011 report .
Reade , who had spent years testifying in court as an advocate for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slapped her daughter at one point .
She paid his bail and continued to live with Walker , caring for him after he suffered a stroke in 2012 , court records show .
Walker , who could not be reached for comment , pleaded guilty and was given probation .
A judge dismissed the charges in 2016 .
Financial and legal turmoil followed her as she continued to move around California ’ s central coast , living in some of the most scenic and affluent parts of the state : — She sought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighbor whom she accused of harassment and making racist threats against Walker .
A judge dismissed the petition , and Reade dropped the matter .
— Months later , Reade was evicted again over $ 12,750 in unpaid rent .
She filed for bankruptcy and listed $ 406,407 in debts , including nearly $ 300,000 in unpaid school loans , $ 1,715 owed to a bail bondsman and $ 2,100 due to a locally owned grocery store .
— Reade enrolled in an advanced legal degree program through Southwestern Law School .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 22,000 in loans , which remain unpaid , according to an attorney working on the case .
— She launched a charity that aimed to provide pet food to impoverished animal owners .
The group ’ s nonprofit status was revoked in 2017 after Reade failed to submit three years of mandatory tax filings , though she continued to solicit donations .
In 2016 , Reade tweeted that she was raising money for a nonprofit called Boudicca Rising Legal Assistance , which included a link to a GoFundMe page she created .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that name in the IRS database .
Reade raised $ 210 but said she eventually abandoned the effort because it was too difficult to sort out the logistics .
In 2014 , Reade started volunteering at a Watsonville , California , nonprofit horse farm called the Pregnant Mare Rescue .
She proved to be a dedicated volunteer who excelled at caring for abused horses , but “ always had drama and craziness going on in her life , ” according to Lynn Hummer , the organization ’ s founder .
“ She was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Hummer said .
The two had a falling out in 2016 after Reade charged $ 1,400 in veterinary care for her horse to the Pregnant Mare Rescue , billing records show .
In a June 8 , 2016 , email to Hummer , Reade acknowledged that she charged the bill to the organization but said that she was poor , that her mother ’ s health was failing and that she was “ disgusted and appalled ” that Hummer would “ villainize ” her poverty .
Reade said that she planned on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it after Hummer “ started trashing me ” on social media .
At the time , Reade had been asking for money to finance a cross-country move to take care of her mother .
She also told acquaintances that Dronen , her ex-husband , had reappeared and was harassing her .
According to a letter from a domestic violence advocacy group that Reade shared , Dronen sent her and her daughter “ friend requests ” via Facebook after 15 years without contact , and the two were scared for their safety .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back to Tara Reade , which she goes by now .
Eventually , a man in Seattle raised $ 3,500 for her through GoFundMe .
Reade says her decision to go public with her claims against Biden has brought her more hardship .
She describes facing death threats online and feeling abused and abandoned by the Democratic Party , which she says she ’ s supported her whole life .
Numerous prominent Democrats have said they believe Biden ’ s denials .
But she ’ s targeted critics , too .
Reade said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hummer in Nevada County , California , and Reade ’ s attorney , Douglas Wigdor , followed up last week with a cease-and-desist letter , accusing the former friend of making statements that were “ intended to tarnish and impugn Ms. Reade ’ s character and reputation.
” Still , Reade , a woman who ’ s spent her life trying to regain her footing in the face of myriad setbacks , said her decision to come forward has been empowering .
“ It ’ s made my life so difficult in so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing this for more of an existential reason , and also for my own justice , ” she said .
When she first spoke out about the sexual assault allegation , Reade said , “ I felt this release , of this burden , this secret that I ’ ve kept.
” Jaffe and Slodysko reported from Washington ; Dale reported from Philadelphia .
Associated Press writers Stephen Braun in Washington and Don Thompson in Sacramento , Calif. , and news researchers Monika Mathur , Rhonda Shafner and Jennifer Farrar contributed to this @ @

Alexandra Jaffe, Brian Slodysko, Maryclaire Dale, Martha Mendoza

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — One thing is clear in the complicated, sometimes contradictory and often chaotic story of Tara Reade: Her life has not been easy.
Her earliest childhood memory was of being abused by her father, she told her former husband, a man she would later leave after he abused her, too.
She was also a child of big dreams, of being an Olympic skier and studying acting at Juilliard, before developing an interest in politics. She was hired in 1992 for a low-level staff job for one of the nation’s highest-profile senators at the time, Joe Biden. Less than a year later, Reade said, she was again the victim of abuse, assaulted by Biden in the hallway of a Senate office building — an allegation he vehemently denies.
That accusation, which Reade made publicly for the first time in March, has revived difficult questions about how to evaluate allegations of assault in the era of #MeToo. It also has thrust Reade’s life story into the 2020 presidential race and, with it, scrutiny of a woman with a winding trail of extreme debt, an unfounded claim of educational attainment and questionable business practices.
Along the way, some people who dealt with her found her duplicitous and deceitful, while others found her a heroic survivor.
And Reade’s story about the alleged assault by Biden is hardly a straight line. It has changed over the past year, from accusations of uncomfortable, harassing behavior to allegations of assault. Reade came forward publicly with her most serious accusation just as Biden was securing a path to the Democratic presidential nomination.
It is often not possible to conclusively resolve an allegation like the one Reade has made, where there are no witnesses and no timely police report.
So how her claim is evaluated turns largely on her credibility.
By some accounts, Reade is a bright and engaging woman who has tried her best as a single mother to raise her daughter while constantly looking for a fresh start. In others, Reade uses her charm and flair for drama to manipulate those supporting her until their goodwill runs out.
Reade says her critics have her wrong.
“I’m not a lying, manipulative user,” she said in a Wednesday interview with The Associated Press. “I’ve really understood what it’s like to be struggling and poor. I’ve really tried to help people when I could.”
This account of Reade’s life is based on interviews with more than a dozen of her friends, relatives and personal and professional associates, as well as numerous interviews with Reade. The AP also reviewed hundreds of pages of court documents, emails and Reade’s own writings.
CHILDHOOD OF DREAMS, DISAPPOINTMENT
Reade was born Tara Moulton in the coastal town of Monterey, California, and says she spent most of her childhood living on a farm in northern Wisconsin.
Her father, Robert Reade Moulton, worked as a sportswriter for the Wausau Daily Herald in the 1960s before taking a public relations job with a defense contractor in Minnesota; Reade said her mother, Jeanette Altimus, was an artist.
Reade has written that she was an accomplished skier who qualified for the Junior Olympics team in downhill skiing at age 12 in Wisconsin and trained for three years before her parents’ divorce prompted a move to Athens, Georgia.
A stepbrother said most people in Wausau skied, mainly at nearby Rib Mountain, but he does not remember Reade being a standout.
“I’m sure Tara did, but I don’t really remember her getting some significant accolades for her performance,” said Scott Thoma, 56, of Mound, Minnesota, who was a year ahead of Reade in middle school, when his mother married her father.
Reade and her brother Collin lived with her mother after her parents’ split, eventually moving to Georgia, while Moulton and his new wife moved to the Minneapolis area.
Another of Reade’s aspirations was to be an actress, performing in “school theatre, community and regional theatre, sprinkled with some radio and television commercials,” according to her blog. She set out for California to pursue acting at age 17 and said she got a referral from a friend to informally train with Robert Reed, an actor best known for his role as the “Brady Bunch” father. She also said she scored an audition in New York for The Juilliard School’s exclusive acting program.
Reade said she learned at the audition that no scholarships were available and returned home brokenhearted when her father said he wouldn’t pay the tuition. The school declined to confirm whether Reade was selected for an audition.
She wrote in January that her father, who died in 2016, was physically and emotionally abusive throughout her childhood.
“Thwarting my college dreams was the mild bit, the rejection and the physical assaults set the stage for how I would walk into the world,” she wrote.
Reade often discussed the issue with her former husband, Ted Dronen, according to Dronen’s account in the couple’s divorce filings.
“She referenced a long history of events dating back to her first memories in which her father would physically and emotionally, and mentally abuse her. She stated also that her mother seemed not to interfere with petitioner’s father’s abuse,” he wrote.
Thoma described Reade’s parents as alcoholics but said he never saw Moulton become angry when he drank, or emotionally or physically abuse Reade or anyone else.
“He got frustrated at her,” said Thoma, adding that Reade started more things than she finished. “He would have to put the kibosh on whatever she wanted.
But no, I never saw Bob lay a hand on any of us kids, or Collin and Tara.”
Dronen, in the court documents, described Reade as also having a sometimes tumultuous relationship with her mother, who he said kicked her out of her house during a fall 1994 argument while Reade was in the late stages of a pregnancy.
Reade has said her mother, who also died in 2016, was one of the few people she confided in about Biden’s alleged assault.
Early abuse can inform a victim’s relationships for the rest of his or her life, according to Barbara Ziv, a forensic psychologist and sexual assault expert.
“If you grow up in an abusive household, where your needs, your basic needs aren’t met and you aren’t taught to appropriately identify boundaries or emotions, then that’s going to impact the way that you develop as an adult,” Ziv said.
AN EYE TOWARD POLITICS
There’s little public accounting of the next few years of Reade’s life, after she says her Juilliard dreams were dashed.
She eventually attended Pasadena City College, where she says her strong performance in a political science class helped her land an internship in Washington with then-California Rep. Leon Panetta.
Reade said in the 2019 interview that she then worked as a field manager for Santa Barbara County Supervisor Gloria Ochoa in her campaign against Rep. Michael Huffington, the former husband of Arianna Huffington. A few days after Ochoa’s loss, Reade said, she got a call to interview for a job with Biden — which she described as a dream job. It was unclear how that interview came about.
“I just always wanted to work for Biden. Because at the time, he was the champion of women’s legislation, women’s rights legislation,” she told the AP.
Reade said she traveled to Washington and was interviewed by Biden’s executive assistant, Marianne Baker. During their conversation, she said, Biden walked in and was introduced to the young job prospect.
“He kind of smiled and said, ‘Hire her,’” Reade said. “That was it.”
WORKING FOR BIDEN
Once she was in Washington, multiple friends described Reade as a young woman coming into her own.
Stacey Lentz, a friend at the time who worked in North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad’s office, said the two would get together for lunch on Capitol Hill, and on days off, they’d peruse antique shops or enjoy a ballgame.
Another close friend of Reade’s, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her family’s privacy, described her as a laid-back Californian in contrast to her own East Coast conservative upbringing. All three lived in Thompson Markward Hall, a women’s dormitory across the street from the Hart Senate Office Building.
Over the years, Reade spoke favorably about working for Biden.
Margie Estberg, of Aptos, California, said she got to know Reade after hiring her in late 2017 to pet sit. Over a pizza dinner and cocktails in 2018, Estberg said she asked Reade what Biden was like — and whether Biden was one of the “bad guys.”
“I said, ‘Is he a nice guy?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, he is,’” Estberg recently recalled. “I said, ‘Oh, good. Because I hate to see somebody who you think is a decent person and somebody shuts them down and says, ‘No, they aren’t.’”
Reade said she didn’t share details of the alleged assault with Estberg because she wasn’t ready to discuss it.
But Reade’s friend, the one who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity, said Reade told her a much different story about Biden in 1993. That’s when Reade says she was asked to deliver a gym bag to Biden in a Senate office building; when she met him, she says, he kissed her and digitally penetrated her.
The friend said Reade called her a few nights after the assault allegedly occurred, and the friend described in vivid detail feeling “so physically sick” at the disclosure that she ran to the bathroom and threw up in the middle of their conversation.
Reade recommended that the AP interview the friend, and reporters spoke to her multiple times, beginning in 2019. Initially, the friend confirmed Reade’s original, limited account of harassment by Biden. When Reade added assault to her allegation in March of this year, this friend also added those details to her own recollection.
This friend says she counseled Reade not to file a police report, and now expresses deep regret for what she characterized as leading Reade astray in dealing with the situation.
Reade left Washington shortly after the alleged assault. She says she tried to complain about harassment by Biden — but not assault — to a Senate personnel office and the senator’s top advisers, but felt retaliated against and ultimately said she was encouraged to find another job and quit.
MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, ABUSE
During her time in Washington, Reade met Ted Dronen, whom she describes in a 2009 essay as “a smiling 6‘4” blonde Nordic-looking man” who playfully shot her with a water gun at a party one spring night in 1993.
Facing financial difficulties after leaving Biden’s office, Reade moved in with Dronen and ultimately asked to follow him to North Dakota, where he was working on a campaign that winter, according to his account in court records.
In her divorce filing, Reade described early warning signs that Dronen was explosive and unstable and says she fled North Dakota for California after Dronen became upset that she was pregnant. She soon came back to him, however, and they married in July 1994 and had a daughter that November.
In a domestic violence case filed 15 months later, Dronen admits that he attacked Reade but alleges that Reade got violent with him as well.
“I admit that on February 21, 1996 my wife and I were involved in a heated argument and during that argument that I may have acted out in an inappropriate manner. During our marriage my wife and I had arguments. She has on past occasions struck me; specifically, in the face. That fact, however, does not excuse my conduct on the date in question,” he states.
Dronen did not respond to several requests for comment.
In court documents, he suggested that Reade conflated childhood traumas with her recollections of abuse by him.
“I believe these incidences, in addition to the abuse, harassment and other truamatic (sic) events in Petitioner’s life, color Petitioner’s perception and judgment in the instant case and I believe them to be the underlying psychological reasons that Petitioner is making me out to be some sort of monster,” he said.
During their divorce proceedings, Dronen also told the court that Reade said she was harassed while working in Biden’s office, but made no mention of assault, a detail that was first reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
“On several occasions petitioner related a problem that she was having at work regarding sexual harassment in U.S. Senator Joe Biden’s office,” he wrote. Reade “eventually struck a deal” with Biden’s chief of staff and left the office, and Dronen supported her financially as she looked for work.
TURBULENT TIMES
The past two decades of Reade’s life have been tumultuous. In her own telling, she had to flee Dronen’s abuse, took shelter in domestic violence safe houses and moved to Washington state, where she changed her name to Alexandra Tara McCabe.
She also said she received a new Social Security number to protect her safety, putting her in a “really vulnerable economic situation.”
She said the focus on her financial difficulties since coming forward with her allegation against Biden was “classist” and should have no bearing on the credibility of her accusation.
“How high does your credit score have to be to be believed as a victim of sexual assault?” Reade asked.
Reade’s resume states that she graduated from Antioch University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and later worked at the school’s Seattle campus as an “Ongoing Online Visiting Professor for degree completion.” But school officials said she did not graduate and was never a faculty member, though she was paid to do several hours of administrative work as an independent contractor.
Reade disputed this, but could not produce evidence that she graduated.
She was accepted to Seattle University Law School through an alternative admissions program and obtained a law degree in 2004, but struggled to keep a job. She was helped by sympathetic strangers drawn to her story of escaping abuse, but often failed to meet financial obligations and was perpetually in debt and frequently entangled in legal battles.
By May 2006, she was back in California, working as a victims’ advocate for the Monterey County YWCA.
There, Reade lodged a series of complaints with the chapter’s board within months of taking the job, alleging that she and others were harassed and discriminated against by managers, which formed the basis of a 2007 lawsuit.
Reade and three co-workers alleged that two managers, who were both black, potentially misspent funds and favored African American employees who were members of their church. One supervisor, the lawsuit alleged, made racist comments. Meanwhile, Reade and her three co-workers, all of whom were white, said they were denied benefits and promotions.
“I find your response to my recent complaint unacceptable. Therefore, I am taking the next step to get some resolution,” Reade wrote in a Nov. 9, 2006, memo to her boss.
She was also upset because someone called her “whitebread,” according to the memo, which was circulated to the board.
Bridgette Allen, the former YWCA chapter president, was among those sued. She said she viewed Reade’s persistent emails as an effort to build a court case.
“I was the first black board president in the history here. You have to look at the dynamics: It was four white women that accused three black women,” Allen said.
But to some of Reade’s co-workers, she was a hero empowered by a difficult past.
“She was such a great example of what I wanted to be as a mom and a woman and an advocate,” said Diane Wegner, a former YWCA employee who was part of the lawsuit, which was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Reade soon found a new job as executive director at the Animal Friends Rescue Project in Pacific Grove.
She also needed a new place to live and, in 2008, turned to Austin Chung, an inexperienced property manager, and inquired about a cottage he was renting out that offered a glimpse of the waves at nearby Monterey Bay.
She told him she was fleeing abuse and had no credit history, explaining her change of name and Social Security number. But she did have a law degree and a job, she told him.
“My heart went out to her right away,” Chung said.
Chung said he had the interior painted and installed new flooring to make the home welcoming.
Within five months, she was behind on rent. Pretty soon, she was out of a job, too, after her management style grated on some employees and supporters of the animal shelter, according to former board members.
“There wasn’t any one big thing that happened. It was just, over time, her not really being competent,” said Carie Broecker, a longtime former board member. Broecker said she remained friends with Reade until Reade recently threatened to sue her because she publicly discussed her tenure at the agency.
Reade said she was proud of her work for the animal shelter.
Chung moved to evict Reade after she fell $3,600 behind on rent; Reade accused him of harassment in an email.
She eventually left behind a house in need of $8,000 in repairs that included carpets so stained by animal waste that they needed to be replaced, according to Chung, who provided emails and video footage of the home’s interior.
In 2011, Reade was again in a relationship that turned violent. Neighbors called Santa Cruz police to her home, and her live-in boyfriend, Edward Walker, was charged with corporal injury and battery against Reade and her daughter.
“Male subject battered live-in girlfriend, causing visible injury. During the altercation, the suspect also battered the victims daughter,” police said in an April 3, 2011 report.
Reade, who had spent years testifying in court as an advocate for domestic violence victims, acknowledged that Walker slapped her daughter at one point. She paid his bail and continued to live with Walker, caring for him after he suffered a stroke in 2012, court records show.
Walker, who could not be reached for comment, pleaded guilty and was given probation. A judge dismissed the charges in 2016.
Financial and legal turmoil followed her as she continued to move around California’s central coast, living in some of the most scenic and affluent parts of the state:
— She sought a restraining order in 2012 against a neighbor whom she accused of harassment and making racist threats against Walker. A judge dismissed the petition, and Reade dropped the matter.
— Months later, Reade was evicted again over $12,750 in unpaid rent. She filed for bankruptcy and listed $406,407 in debts, including nearly $300,000 in unpaid school loans, $1,715 owed to a bail bondsman and $2,100 due to a locally owned grocery store.
— Reade enrolled in an advanced legal degree program through Southwestern Law School. The school sued Reade in 2016 over $22,000 in loans, which remain unpaid, according to an attorney working on the case.
— She launched a charity that aimed to provide pet food to impoverished animal owners. The group’s nonprofit status was revoked in 2017 after Reade failed to submit three years of mandatory tax filings, though she continued to solicit donations. In 2016, Reade tweeted that she was raising money for a nonprofit called Boudicca Rising Legal Assistance, which included a link to a GoFundMe page she created. There is no record of a nonprofit by that name in the IRS database. Reade raised $210 but said she eventually abandoned the effort because it was too difficult to sort out the logistics.
In 2014, Reade started volunteering at a Watsonville, California, nonprofit horse farm called the Pregnant Mare Rescue. She proved to be a dedicated volunteer who excelled at caring for abused horses, but “always had drama and craziness going on in her life,” according to Lynn Hummer, the organization’s founder.
“She was always broke and in a crisis,” Hummer said.
The two had a falling out in 2016 after Reade charged $1,400 in veterinary care for her horse to the Pregnant Mare Rescue, billing records show.
In a June 8, 2016, email to Hummer, Reade acknowledged that she charged the bill to the organization but said that she was poor, that her mother’s health was failing and that she was “disgusted and appalled” that Hummer would “villainize” her poverty.
Reade said that she planned on paying back the money but decided against it after Hummer “started trashing me” on social media.
At the time, Reade had been asking for money to finance a cross-country move to take care of her mother. She also told acquaintances that Dronen, her ex-husband, had reappeared and was harassing her.
According to a letter from a domestic violence advocacy group that Reade shared, Dronen sent her and her daughter “friend requests” via Facebook after 15 years without contact, and the two were scared for their safety. She also inquired about changing her legal name back to Tara Reade, which she goes by now.
Eventually, a man in Seattle raised $3,500 for her through GoFundMe.
FALLOUT
Reade says her decision to go public with her claims against Biden has brought her more hardship. She describes facing death threats online and feeling abused and abandoned by the Democratic Party, which she says she’s supported her whole life. Numerous prominent Democrats have said they believe Biden’s denials.
But she’s targeted critics, too. Reade said she recently filed a police report against Hummer in Nevada County, California, and Reade’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, followed up last week with a cease-and-desist letter, accusing the former friend of making statements that were “intended to tarnish and impugn Ms. Reade’s character and reputation.”
Still, Reade, a woman who’s spent her life trying to regain her footing in the face of myriad setbacks, said her decision to come forward has been empowering.
“It’s made my life so difficult in so many ways, but I’m doing this for more of an existential reason, and also for my own justice,” she said. When she first spoke out about the sexual assault allegation, Reade said, “I felt this release, of this burden, this secret that I’ve kept.”
___
Jaffe and Slodysko reported from Washington; Dale reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writers Stephen Braun in Washington and Don Thompson in Sacramento, Calif., and news researchers Monika Mathur, Rhonda Shafner and Jennifer Farrar contributed to this report.


washingtontimes--2020-05-22--Loughlin, Giannulli to plead guilty to college bribes scheme

For more than a year , “ Full House ” actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband , Mossimo Giannulli , insisted they were innocent of charges in the college admissions bribery case .
They accused investigators of fabricating evidence against them and seemed eager to bring their fight to trial .
Now they ’ re preparing for prison as part of a deal to plead guilty to charges that they paid $ 500,000 in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California .
Loughlin and Giannulli are scheduled to plead guilty via video conference on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court judge .
If the judge approves the deal , Loughlin will serve two months in prison and Giannulli will serve five months .
And they ’ ll avoid the uncertainty of facing a jury and a likely much harsher punishment if convicted at trial .
“ I think they made a calculated assessment that the risks were just too great , ” said Bradley Simon , a former federal prosecutor now with the firm Windels Marx in New York .
Under Loughlin ’ s plea deal , she will also pay a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of community service .
Giannulli has agreed to pay a $ 250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service .
An attorney for the couple declined Thursday to comment .
Loughlin and Giannulli were among dozens of wealthy parents charged with paying hefty bribes to get their kids into elite universities with bogus test scores or fake athletic credentials .
The couple was scheduled to go to trial in October on charges that they got their two daughters into USC as crew recruits , even though neither girl was a rower .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ sham charity operated by college admissions consultant Rick Singer , who has pleaded guilty to orchestrating the scheme .
Loughlin and Giannulli had argued they believed their payments were legitimate donations to the school or Singer ’ s charity and accused prosecutors of withholding evidence that would exonerate them .
The judge earlier this month rejected the defense ’ s bid to dismiss the case over allegations of misconduct by federal agents .
They are the 23rd and 24th parents to plead guilty in the case .
Others who have admitted to participating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” actress Felicity Huffman and the heir to the Hot Pockets fortune , Michelle Janavs .
Huffman was sentenced to two weeks in prison and Janavs was sentenced to five months .

“Full House” star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty Friday to paying half a million dollars to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as part of a college admissions bribery scheme, but a judge has not decided whether he’ll accept the deals they made with prosecutors.
The famous couple appeared on separate screens during their video hearing, both sitting with a lawyer, showing no emotion as the prosecutor detailed their crimes and making no comments other than to answer questions from U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton.
Under their proposed deals, Loughlin, 55, hopes to spend two months in prison and Giannulli, 56, is seeking to serve five months.
But the judge said he will decide whether to accept the deals after considering the presentencing report, a document that contains background on defendants and helps guide sentencing decisions.
Gorton did not say when he would decide but scheduled their sentencing hearings for Aug. 21.
Loughlin and Giannulli were among dozens of wealthy parents, athletic coaches and others charged last year in the bribery scheme. The parents paid hefty bribes to get their kids into top universities with bogus test scores or fake athletic credentials, authorities said.
Prosecutors announced Friday that a 54th person has been charged and will plead guilty to paying $300,000 to bribe his son’s way into Georgetown University as a tennis recruit, though he did not play tennis.
Peter Dameris, 60, of Pacific Palisades, California, will plead guilty to fraud conspiracy, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, which is leading the admissions case. A hearing has not been scheduled.
Dameris, a former executive at technology services company ASGN Inc., is the 25th parent to plead guilty. His lawyer did not immediately return message seeking comment.
Loughlin and Giannulli had been scheduled to go to trial in October on charges that they got their two daughters into USC as crew recruits, even though neither girl was a rower. Prosecutors say they funneled money through a sham charity operated by college admissions consultant Rick Singer, who has pleaded guilty to orchestrating the scheme.
Prosecutors recorded phone calls and emails showing the couple worked with Singer to get their daughters into USC with fake athletic profiles depicting them as star rowers. In one email, Singer told Loughlin and Giannulli he needed a picture of their older daughter on a rowing machine in workout clothes “like a real athlete.”
Giannulli responded, according to the court filings: “Fantastic. Will get all” and sent Singer the photo.
Prosecutors also had a bogus resume presented to USC that falsely claimed their younger daughter, social media star Olivia Jade, rowed in prestigious competitions like the Head of the Charles. Singer and the former coach he paid to create Jade’s fake athletic profile are cooperating with investigators and were expected to testify against the couple at trial.
Loughlin has also agreed to pay a $150,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. Giannulli has agreed to pay a $250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service.
Loughlin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Giannulli pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges of money laundering and federal programs bribery that were added after the case was filed.
Loughlin and Giannulli insisted for over a year that they were innocent and that they believed their payments were legitimate donations to the school or Singer’s charity.
They accused prosecutors of withholding evidence that would exonerate them and claimed investigators had sought to trick parents into incriminating themselves. The judge this month r ejected the defense’s bid to dismiss the case over allegations of misconduct by federal agents.
Legal analyst Peter Elikann called the deal on the table a low-risk proposition for Loughlin and Giannulli.
“If the judge doesn’t want to do the sentence that they agreed upon with the prosecution, then they’re allowed to back out. So it’s what we call in the legal profession, a free bite at the apple,” said Elikann, a longtime criminal defense attorney who teaches criminal law at Bridgewater State University. “The judge either goes ahead and accepts what they do or what they want, or they can back out and they live to fight another day.”
An attorney for the couple declined to comment this week.
Others who have admitted to participating in the scheme include “Desperate Housewives” actress Felicity Huffman, who paid $15,000 to have someone rig her daughter’s entrance exam. Huffman was sentenced to two weeks in prison.
___
AP video journalist Rodrique Ngowi contributed to this story.


washingtontimes--2020-05-22--Pakistani passenger plane crashes near Karachi; 107 on board

KARACHI , Pakistan ( AP ) — A passenger plane belonging to state-run airline Pakistani International Airlines has crashed near the southern port city of Karachi , according to Abdul Sattar Kokhar , spokesman for the country ’ s civil aviation authority .
There were no immediate reports on the number of casualties .
The aircraft arriving from the eastern city of Lahore was carrying 99 passengers and eight crew members , Kokhar said .
Witnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to land two or three times before crashing in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the airport known as Model Colony is a poor area and heavily congested .
A resident of the area , Abdul Rahman , said he saw the aircraft circle at least three times , appearing to try to land at the airport before it crashed into several houses .
Police and military had cordoned off the area .
Local television reports showed smoke coming from the direction of the airport .
Ambulances were on their way to the airport .
Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the crash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a half to travel from the northeastern city of Lahore , the capital of Pakistan ’ s most populous Punjab province to Karachi .

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A passenger plane with 98 people on board crashed in a crowded neighborhood on the edge of the international airport near Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Friday after what appeared to be an engine failure during landing.
Mayor Wasim Akhtar said at least five or six houses were destroyed in the crash of the domestic flight operated by Pakistan International Airlines.
He said all those on board died, but two civil aviation officials later said that at least two people survived the crash. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
Local TV stations reported that three people sitting in the front row of the aircraft survived and aired footage of a man on a stretcher they identified as Zafar Masood, the head of the Bank of Punjab. They reported that at least 11 bodies were recovered from the crash site and six people were injured. It was not immediately clear if the casualties were passengers.
The airport in the northeastern city of Lahore, where the flight originated, initially said there were 107 people on board. The civil aviation authority later said the plane carried 91 passengers and seven crew members. Spokesman Abdul Sattar Kokhar said the discrepancy was due to confusion in the chaotic aftermath of the crash.
Police wearing protective masks struggled to clear away crowds to allow a firetruck and an ambulance to move through the narrow streets toward the crash site, the air filled with dust and smoke. Police and soldiers cordoned off the area.
A transmission of the pilot’s final exchange with air traffic control, posted on the website LiveATC.net, indicated he had failed to land and was circling around to make another attempt.
“We are proceeding direct, sir — we have lost engine,” a pilot said.
“Confirm your attempt on belly,” the air traffic controller said, offering a runway.
“Sir — mayday, mayday, mayday, mayday Pakistan 8303,” the pilot said before the transmission ended.
Pakistan had resumed domestic flights earlier this week ahead of the Eid-al Fitr holiday marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Pakistan has been in a countrywide lockdown since mid-March to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Witnesses said the Airbus A320 appeared to attempt to land two or three times before crashing in a residential area near Jinnah International Airport. The residential area on the edge of the airport, known as Model Colony, is poor and heavily congested.
A resident of the area, Abdul Rahman, said he saw the aircraft circle at least three times, appearing to try to land before it crashed into several houses.
Video circulated on social media appeared to show the aircraft flying low over a residential area with flames shooting from one of its engines.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted: “Shocked & saddened by the PIA crash… Immediate inquiry will be instituted. Prayers & condolences go to families of the deceased.”
Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the crash. The flight from the northeastern city of Lahore typically lasts about an hour and a half.
Airworthiness documents showed the plane last received a government check on Nov. 1, 2019. PIA’s chief engineer signed a separate certificate April 28 saying all maintenance had been conducted. It said “the aircraft is fully airworthy and meets all the safety” standards.
Ownership records for the Airbus A320 showed China Eastern Airlines flew the plane from 2004 until 2014. The plane then entered PIA’s fleet, leased from GE Capital Aviation Services.
Perry Bradley, a spokesman for GE, said the firm was “aware of reports of the accident and is closely monitoring the situation.”
___
Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Kathy Gannon and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, and Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.


washingtontimes--2020-05-22--Virus accelerates across Latin America, India, Pakistan

NEW DELHI ( AP ) — The coronavirus pandemic accelerated across Latin America , Russia and the Indian subcontinent on Friday even as curves flattened and reopening was underway in much of Europe , Asia and the United States .
Many governments say they have to shift their focus to saving jobs that are vanishing as quickly as the virus can spread .
In the United States and China , the world ’ s two largest economies , unemployment is soaring .
The Federal Reserve chairman has estimated that up to one American in four could be jobless , while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the urban workforce is unemployed .
But the virus is roaring through countries ill-equipped to handle the pandemic , which many scientists fear will seed the embers of a second global wave .
India saw its biggest single-day spike since the pandemic began , and Pakistan and Russia recorded their highest death tolls .
Most new Indian cases are in Bihar , where thousands returned home from jobs in the cities .
For over a month , some walked among crowds for hundreds of miles .
Latin America ’ s two most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have reported record counts of new cases and deaths almost daily this week , fueling criticism of their presidents , who have slow-walked shutdowns in attempts to limit economic damage .
Cases were rising and intensive-care units were also swamped in Peru , Chile and Ecuador — countries lauded for imposing early and aggressive business shutdowns and quarantines .
Brazil reported more than 20,000 deaths and 300,000 confirmed cases Thursday night — the third worst-hit country in the world by official counts .
Experts consider both numbers undercounts due to widespread lack of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it does not choose race , or if you are rich or poor , black or white , ” Bruno Almeida de Mello , a 24-year-old Uber driver , said at his 66-year-old grandmother ’ s burial in Rio de Janeiro .
“ It ’ s sad that in other countries people believe , but not here.
” She had all the virus ’ s symptoms , but Vandelma Rosa ’ s death certificate reads “ Suspected of COVID-19 , ” he said , because her hospital lacked tests .
That means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death toll , which nevertheless on Thursday marked its biggest single-day increase : 1,181 .
President Jair Bolsonaro has scoffed at the seriousness of the virus and actively campaigned against state governors ’ attempts to limit movement and commerce .
Bolsonaro fired his first health minister for supporting governors .
His second minister resigned after openly disagreeing with Bolsonaro about chloroquine , the predecessor of the anti-malarial often touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a viable coronavirus treatment .
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador downplayed the threat for weeks as he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s first confirmed case .
He insisted that Mexico was different , that its strong family bonds and work ethic would pull it through .
The country is now reporting more than 400 deaths a day , and new infections still haven ’ t peaked .
Armando Sepulveda , a mauseleum manager in the massive Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec , said his burial and cremation business has doubled in recent weeks .
“ The crematoriums are saturated , ” Sepulveda said .
“ All of the ovens don ’ t have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looking for funeral services that can handle their dead , because the hospitals can ’ t keep the bodies , he said .
Meanwhile Mexico ’ s government has shifted its attention to reactivating the economy .
Mining , construction and parts of the North American automotive supply chain were allowed to resume operations this week .
Russian health officials registered 150 deaths in 24 hours , for a total of 3,249 .
Many outside Russia have suggested the country is manipulating its statistics to show a comparatively low death rate .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Friday .
China announced it would give local governments 2 trillion yuan ( $ 280 billion ) to help undo the damage from shutdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus that first appeared in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 and has now infected at least 5.1 million people worldwide , according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University .
The Bank of Japan said it would provide $ 280 billion in zero-interest , unsecured loans to banks for financing small and medium-size businesses .
European countries also have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government safety-net programs in places like Germany and France are subsidizing the wages of millions of workers and keeping them on the payroll .
Nearly 39 million Americans have lost their jobs since the crisis accelerated two months ago .
States from coast to coast are gradually reopening their economies and letting people return to work , but more than 2.4 million people filed for unemployment last week alone .
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said over the weekend that U.S. unemployment could peak in May or June at 20 % to 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the depths of the Great Depression almost 90 years ago .
Unemployment in April stood at 14.7 % , a figure also unmatched since the 1930s .
In an eerie echo of famous Depression-era images , U.S. cities are authorizing homeless tent encampments , including San Francisco , where about 80 tents are now neatly spaced out on a wide street near city hall as part of a “ safe sleeping village ” opened last week .
The area between the city ’ s central library and its Asian Art Museum is fenced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clock and provides meals , showers , clean water and trash pickup .
Nathan Rice , a 32-year-old who is camping there , said he ’ d much rather have a hotel room than a tent on a sidewalk .
“ I hear it on the news , hear it from people here that they ’ re going to be getting us hotel rooms , ” he said .
“ That ’ s what we want , you know , to be safe inside.
” Despite an often combative approach to scientists who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approval ratings have remained steady , underscoring the way Americans seem to have made up their minds about him .
A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research says 41 % approve of his job performance , while 58 % disapprove .
That ’ s consistent with opinions of him throughout his three years in office .
The World Bank announced a $ 500 million program for countries in East Africa battling COVID-19 and deadly flooding along with historic swarms of ravenous desert locusts .
The added threat of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions lack regular access to food .
While many African countries have been praised for their response to the coronavirus , Tanzania is the most dramatic exception , run by a president who questions — or fires — his own health experts and says prayer has solved the crisis .
The East African country ’ s number of confirmed virus cases hasn ’ t changed for three weeks , and the international community is openly worrying that Tanzania ’ s government is hiding the true scale of the pandemic .
Just over 500 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of nearly 60 million people .
Hinnant reported from Paris and Biller from Rio de Janeiro .
Associated Press reporters around the world also contributed .

Lori Hinnant, Sheikh Saaaliq, David Biller

NEW DELHI (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic accelerated across Latin America, Russia and the Indian subcontinent on Friday even as curves flattened and reopening was underway in much of Europe, Asia and the United States.
Many governments say they have to shift their focus to saving jobs that are vanishing as quickly as the virus can spread. In the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, unemployment is soaring.
The Federal Reserve chairman has estimated that up to one American in four could be jobless, while in China analysts estimate around a third of the urban workforce is unemployed.
But the virus is roaring through countries ill-equipped to handle the pandemic, which many scientists fear will seed the embers of a second global wave.
India saw its biggest single-day spike since the pandemic began, and Pakistan and Russia recorded their highest death tolls. Most new Indian cases are in Bihar, where thousands returned home from jobs in the cities. For over a month, some walked among crowds for hundreds of miles.
Latin America’s two most populous nations — Mexico and Brazil — have reported record counts of new cases and deaths almost daily this week, fueling criticism of their presidents, who have slow-walked shutdowns in attempts to limit economic damage.
Cases were rising and intensive-care units were also swamped in Peru, Chile and Ecuador — countries lauded for imposing early and aggressive business shutdowns and quarantines.
Brazil reported more than 20,000 deaths and 300,000 confirmed cases Thursday night — the third worst-hit country in the world by official counts.
Experts consider both numbers undercounts due to widespread lack of testing.
“It does not forgive, it does not choose race, or if you are rich or poor, black or white,” Bruno Almeida de Mello, a 24-year-old Uber driver, said at his 66-year-old grandmother’s burial in Rio de Janeiro. “It’s sad that in other countries people believe, but not here.”
She had all the virus’s symptoms, but Vandelma Rosa’s death certificate reads “Suspected of COVID-19,” he said, because her hospital lacked tests. That means she didn’t figure in the death toll, which nevertheless on Thursday marked its biggest single-day increase: 1,181.
President Jair Bolsonaro has scoffed at the seriousness of the virus and actively campaigned against state governors’ attempts to limit movement and commerce.
Bolsonaro fired his first health minister for supporting governors. His second minister resigned after openly disagreeing with Bolsonaro about chloroquine, the predecessor of the anti-malarial often touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a viable coronavirus treatment.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador downplayed the threat for weeks as he continued to travel the country after Mexico’s first confirmed case. He insisted that Mexico was different, that its strong family bonds and work ethic would pull it through.
The country is now reporting more than 400 deaths a day, and new infections still haven’t peaked.
Armando Sepulveda, a mauseleum manager in the massive Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec, said his burial and cremation business has doubled in recent weeks.
“The crematoriums are saturated,” Sepulveda said. “All of the ovens don’t have that capacity.” Families scour the city looking for funeral services that can handle their dead, because the hospitals can’t keep the bodies, he said.
Meanwhile Mexico’s government has shifted its attention to reactivating the economy. Mining, construction and parts of the North American automotive supply chain were allowed to resume operations this week.
Russian health officials registered 150 deaths in 24 hours, for a total of 3,249. Many outside Russia have suggested the country is manipulating its statistics to show a comparatively low death rate. The total confirmed number of cases exceeded 326,000 on Friday.
China announced it would give local governments 2 trillion yuan ($280 billion) to help undo the damage from shutdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus that first appeared in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 and has now infected at least 5.1 million people worldwide, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The Bank of Japan said it would provide $280 billion in zero-interest, unsecured loans to banks for financing small and medium-size businesses.
European countries also have seen heavy job losses, but robust government safety-net programs in places like Germany and France are subsidizing the wages of millions of workers and keeping them on the payroll.
Nearly 39 million Americans have lost their jobs since the crisis accelerated two months ago. States from coast to coast are gradually reopening their economies and letting people return to work, but more than 2.4 million people filed for unemployment last week alone.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said over the weekend that U.S. unemployment could peak in May or June at 20% to 25%, a level last seen during the depths of the Great Depression almost 90 years ago. Unemployment in April stood at 14.7%, a figure also unmatched since the 1930s.
In an eerie echo of famous Depression-era images, U.S. cities are authorizing homeless tent encampments, including San Francisco, where about 80 tents are now neatly spaced out on a wide street near city hall as part of a “safe sleeping village” opened last week. The area between the city’s central library and its Asian Art Museum is fenced off to outsiders, monitored around the clock and provides meals, showers, clean water and trash pickup.
Nathan Rice, a 32-year-old who is camping there, said he’d much rather have a hotel room than a tent on a sidewalk.
“I hear it on the news, hear it from people here that they’re going to be getting us hotel rooms,” he said. “That’s what we want, you know, to be safe inside.”
Despite an often combative approach to scientists who disagree with him, Trump’s approval ratings have remained steady, underscoring the way Americans seem to have made up their minds about him. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research says 41% approve of his job performance, while 58% disapprove. That’s consistent with opinions of him throughout his three years in office.
The World Bank announced a $500 million program for countries in East Africa battling COVID-19 and deadly flooding along with historic swarms of ravenous desert locusts. The added threat of the pandemic has further imperiled a region where millions lack regular access to food.
While many African countries have been praised for their response to the coronavirus, Tanzania is the most dramatic exception, run by a president who questions — or fires — his own health experts and says prayer has solved the crisis.
The East African country’s number of confirmed virus cases hasn’t changed for three weeks, and the international community is openly worrying that Tanzania’s government is hiding the true scale of the pandemic. Just over 500 cases have been reported in a country of nearly 60 million people.
___
Hinnant reported from Paris and Biller from Rio de Janeiro. Associated Press reporters around the world also contributed.


washingtontimes--2020-05-22--China boosts spending for virus-hit economy, takes up Hong Kong law

BEIJING ( AP ) — China ’ s No .
2 leader on Friday promised higher spending to revive its pandemic-stricken economy and curb surging job losses but avoided launching a massive stimulus on the scale of the United States or Japan .
Premier Li Keqiang told lawmakers Beijing would set no economic growth target , usually a closely watched feature of government plans , in order to focus on fighting the outbreak .
The virus battle “ has not yet come to an end , ” Li warned .
Also Friday , legislators took up a proposed national security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s desire to tighten control over the former British colony .
No details were released , but Washington has warned it might withdraw Hong Kong ’ s preferential trade status if the “ high degree of autonomy ” promised by the mainland is eroded .
The coronavirus pandemic that prompted China to isolate cities with a total population of 60 million people has added to strains for the ruling Communist Party that include anti-government protests in Hong Kong and a tariff war with Washington .
China has reported 83,000 virus cases and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the first country to shut down factories , shops and travel to fight the pandemic and the first to reopen in March but it is still struggling to revive activity .
Private sector analysts say as much as 30 % of the urban workforce , or as many as 130 million people , have lost their jobs at least temporarily .
They say as many as 25 million jobs might be lost for good this year .
Beijing will give local governments 2 trillion yuan ( $ 280 billion ) to spend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the public ’ s basic needs are met and helping private companies survive , Li said .
The government ’ s budget deficit will swell by 1 trillion yuan ( $ 140 billion ) this year to help meet targets including creating 9 million new urban jobs , Li said .
That is in line with expectations for higher spending but a fraction of the $ 1 trillion-plus stimulus packages launched or discussed by the United States , Japan and Europe .
“ These are extraordinary measures for an unusual time , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech .
The world ’ s second-largest economy contracted by 6.8 % over a year earlier in the three months ending in March after factories , offices , travel and other businesses were shut down to fight the virus .
Forecasters expect little to no growth this year , down from 2019 ’ s 6.1 % , already a multi-decade low .
The big deficit “ indicates significant policy support for the domestic recovery , ” Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics said in a report .
However , Beijing is reluctant to launch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high Chinese debt and strains on the financial system , Kuijs said .
Li also promised to work with Washington to carry out the truce signed in January in their fight over Beijing ’ s technology ambitions and trade surplus .
The premier gave no details , but President Donald Trump has threatened to back out of the deal if China fails to buy more American exports .
Strains with Washington have been aggravated by Trump ’ s accusations that Beijing is to blame for the virus ’ s global spread .
Also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ budget , the world ’ s second-biggest after the United States , will rise 6.6 % to 1.3 trillion yuan ( $ 178 billion ) .
The military budget excludes some large items including acquisitions of major weapons systems .
This year ’ s annual session of the ceremonial National People ’ s Congress is being held under intensive anti-disease controls .
Officials are holding news conferences by video instead of meeting reporters face to face .
Reporters are required to undergo laboratory tests for the virus before being allowed into the press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kong law would create “ enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security.
” Beijing has pushed for measures in Hong Kong such as punishment for showing disrespect for the Chinese flag and increasing patriotic-themed education in schools .
Friday ’ s move appears to have been prompted by anti-government protests in Hong Kong that began in June over a proposed extradition law and have expanded to cover other grievances and demands for more democracy .
A similar measure was withdrawn from Hong Kong ’ s legislature in 2003 following massive public protests .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a report on Hong Kong ’ s status to see whether the NPC takes steps that “ further undermine ” its autonomy , said a spokesman for the American Embassy in Beijing .
“ Any effort to impose national security legislation that does not reflect the will of the people of Hong Kong would be highly destabilizing , and would be met with strong condemnation from the United States and the international community , ” the spokesman , Frank Whitaker , said in an email .
Hong Kong ’ s main stock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news .
Other Asian markets also declined due to concern about U.S.-Chinese tension but none by such a wide margin .
Traders are waiting to see “ how severe the terms are ” and the White House response , said market analyst Stephen Innes of AxiCorp in a report .
Li urged officials to make progress in an array of areas including employment , trade , attracting foreign investment , meeting the public ’ s basic living needs and ensuring the stability of industrial supply chains .
Ensuring economic growth is “ of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no official target , Li said .
Pressure on employment has “ risen significantly , ” he said .
Automakers and other manufacturers say production has rebounded almost to normal levels , but consumer spending , the main engine of economic growth , is weak amid widespread worries about potential job losses .
Forecasters say China is likely to face a “ W-shaped recovery ” with a second downturn and millions of politically volatile job losses later in the year due to weak U.S. and European demand for Chinese exports .
The ruling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year including eliminating rural poverty despite virus-related disruptions of efforts to double economic output and incomes from 2010 levels by this year .
“ We will give priority to stabilizing employment and ensuring people ’ s livelihood , resolutely win the battle to overcome poverty , ” the premier said .

BEIJING (AP) — China’s No. 2 leader on Friday promised higher spending to revive its pandemic-stricken economy and curb surging job losses but avoided launching a massive stimulus on the scale of the United States or Japan.
Premier Li Keqiang told lawmakers Beijing would set no economic growth target, usually a closely watched feature of government plans, in order to focus on fighting the outbreak. The virus battle “has not yet come to an end,” Li warned.
Also Friday, legislators took up a proposed national security law for Hong Kong that reflects Beijing’s desire to tighten control over the former British colony. No details were released, but Washington has warned it might withdraw Hong Kong’s preferential trade status if the “high degree of autonomy” promised by the mainland is eroded.
The coronavirus pandemic that prompted China to isolate cities with a total population of 60 million people has added to strains for the ruling Communist Party that include anti-government protests in Hong Kong and a tariff war with Washington.
China has reported 83,000 virus cases and 4,634 deaths from the virus. It was the first country to shut down factories, shops and travel to fight the pandemic and the first to reopen in March but it is still struggling to revive activity.
Private sector analysts say as much as 30% of the urban workforce, or as many as 130 million people, have lost their jobs at least temporarily. They say as many as 25 million jobs might be lost for good this year.
Beijing will give local governments 2 trillion yuan ($280 billion) to spend on preventing job losses, making sure the public’s basic needs are met and helping private companies survive, Li said.
The government’s budget deficit will swell by 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) this year to help meet targets including creating 9 million new urban jobs, Li said. That is in line with expectations for higher spending but a fraction of the $1 trillion-plus stimulus packages launched or discussed by the United States, Japan and Europe.
“These are extraordinary measures for an unusual time,” the premier said in the nationally televised speech.
The world’s second-largest economy contracted by 6.8% over a year earlier in the three months ending in March after factories, offices, travel and other businesses were shut down to fight the virus. Forecasters expect little to no growth this year, down from 2019’s 6.1%, already a multi-decade low.
The big deficit “indicates significant policy support for the domestic recovery,” Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics said in a report.
However, Beijing is reluctant to launch a stimulus that would add to already high Chinese debt and strains on the financial system, Kuijs said.
Li also promised to work with Washington to carry out the truce signed in January in their fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions and trade surplus. The premier gave no details, but President Donald Trump has threatened to back out of the deal if China fails to buy more American exports.
Strains with Washington have been aggravated by Trump’s accusations that Beijing is to blame for the virus’s global spread.
Also Friday, the government announced the military budget, the world’s second-biggest after the United States, will rise 6.6% to 1.3 trillion yuan ($178 billion). The military budget excludes some large items including acquisitions of major weapons systems.
This year’s annual session of the ceremonial National People’s Congress is being held under intensive anti-disease controls. Officials are holding news conferences by video instead of meeting reporters face to face. Reporters are required to undergo laboratory tests for the virus before being allowed into the press center.
Li said the proposed Hong Kong law would create “enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security.”
Beijing has pushed for measures in Hong Kong such as punishment for showing disrespect for the Chinese flag and increasing patriotic-themed education in schools.
Friday’s move appears to have been prompted by anti-government protests in Hong Kong that began in June over a proposed extradition law and have expanded to cover other grievances and demands for more democracy. A similar measure was withdrawn from Hong Kong’s legislature in 2003 following massive public protests.
The Trump administration is delaying submission to Congress of a report on Hong Kong’s status to see whether the NPC takes steps that “further undermine” its autonomy, said a spokesman for the American Embassy in Beijing.
“Any effort to impose national security legislation that does not reflect the will of the people of Hong Kong would be highly destabilizing, and would be met with strong condemnation from the United States and the international community,” the spokesman, Frank Whitaker, said in an email.
Hong Kong’s main stock market index tumbled 5.6% on the news. Other Asian markets also declined due to concern about U.S.-Chinese tension but none by such a wide margin.
Traders are waiting to see “how severe the terms are” and the White House response, said market analyst Stephen Innes of AxiCorp in a report.
Li urged officials to make progress in an array of areas including employment, trade, attracting foreign investment, meeting the public’s basic living needs and ensuring the stability of industrial supply chains.
Ensuring economic growth is “of crucial significance” even though Beijing set no official target, Li said. Pressure on employment has “risen significantly,” he said.
Automakers and other manufacturers say production has rebounded almost to normal levels, but consumer spending, the main engine of economic growth, is weak amid widespread worries about potential job losses.
Forecasters say China is likely to face a “W-shaped recovery” with a second downturn and millions of politically volatile job losses later in the year due to weak U.S. and European demand for Chinese exports.
The ruling party hopes to achieve longer-term goals this year including eliminating rural poverty despite virus-related disruptions of efforts to double economic output and incomes from 2010 levels by this year.
“We will give priority to stabilizing employment and ensuring people’s livelihood, resolutely win the battle to overcome poverty,” the premier said.


washingtontimes--2020-05-22--Magnitude-6.1 earthquake hits in ocean west of Mexico

MEXICO CITY ( AP ) - The U.S. Geological Survey says a relatively strong earthquake has been recorded in the @ @ @ @ @ .
The quake , with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 , hit at 3:46 a.m. @ @ @ @ @ shallow depth of 10 kilometers ( 6 miles ) .
The epicenter was 173 km @ @ @ @ @ southeast of the resort city of San Jose del Cabo , on the southern tip @ @ @ @ @ .

MEXICO CITY (AP) - The U.S. Geological Survey says a relatively strong earthquake has been recorded in the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico.
The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1, hit at 3:46 a.m. local time Friday at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). The epicenter was 173 km (108 miles) east southeast of the resort city of San Jose del Cabo, on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.
No tsunami warning was issued.


washingtontimes--2020-05-22--Muti to conduct classical music's return to Italian stage

SOAVE , Italy ( AP ) - Riccardo Muti will conduct a youth orchestra in an open-air concert launching the annual Ravenna Festival next month in what organizers billed Friday as Italy ’ s first live classical music performance since its strict lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus .
The Italian government is permitting concerts and other live performances to begin on June 15 , a time when most theaters are winding down their calendars and as summer festivals begin .
Italy ’ s famed La Scala theater is looking at re-opening only in September , with a performance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Milan Duomo to remember Italy ’ s coronavirus dead followed by Beethoven ’ s Symphony No .
9 .
The open-air opera festival at the Verona Arena was canceled before the start date was even announced , substituted by plans for classical music concerts in August .
Inspired by Italian industry , the Ravenna Festival prepared its own protocols during the lockdown , which were approved by the Italian government , allowing the quick start , said festival general manager Antonio de Rosa .
The festival will open June 21 with Ravenna native @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , featuring musicians under age 30 , inside the 15th-Century Rocca Brancaleone fortress .
The audience will be limited to 250 people , with mandatory masks , staggered entrances and physical distancing .
On stage , the performers will maintain a distance of one-meter ( three feet ) , expanding to 1.5 to 2 meters ( 4 1/2 feet to 6 feet ) between woodwinds .
There will be a single singer , soprano Rosa Feola .
The festival , founded 30 years ago by Muti ’ s wife , Cristina Mazzavillani Muti @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the full program to be announced shortly .
While the audience is limited , de Rosa said the performances would also be streamed to a global audience .
‘ ’ We have the confirmation in these months of the great importance of culture and performance .
We listened to music , we read books and we watched many musical performances on television , ’ ’ de Rosa told the AP .
‘ ’ Now it is the moment to return to the stage with a live performance , with streaming online , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the flame of music burning within and that must never go out.
’ ’ Italy ’ s native lyric opera is suffering the most even as the country slowly eases its lockdown , due to the increased threat of contagion among a chorus and singers acting out dramatic roles on the stage .
The Verona summer program - popular with foreign tourists - was canceled due to such concerns .
La Scala ’ s general manager , Dominique Meyer , said during a video conference on Thursday that the crisis for the classical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when there are no longer government programs to help cover theater workers ’ salaries and when attendance is likely to still suffer .
“ There are not so many moments in history when the future for society is so uncertain , ’ ’ Meyer said .
‘ ’ We need to continue , to bring our art ahead , and make the audience return to the theater to be together , to experience emotion in front of the performance.
’ ’ Meyer said a longer-term solution lies in bringing families and children closer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ love of performance , but also lowering ticket prices - he said they too often are set by “ people who don ’ t have to pay , or don ’ t have problems paying.
” He also appealed for help for contract singers and performers who have been unable to earn during Europe ’ s lockdowns , and who are not covered by various unemployment schemes covering orchestras or theater workers .
“ I would like La Scala to have this role that it has always had in the relaunch of society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
He added that the planned performance of Beethoven ’ s Symphony No .
9 - a choral symphony - will carry “ a message of home , of friendship and of warmth .
”

SOAVE, Italy (AP) - Riccardo Muti will conduct a youth orchestra in an open-air concert launching the annual Ravenna Festival next month in what organizers billed Friday as Italy’s first live classical music performance since its strict lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The Italian government is permitting concerts and other live performances to begin on June 15, a time when most theaters are winding down their calendars and as summer festivals begin.
Italy’s famed La Scala theater is looking at re-opening only in September, with a performance of Verdi’s Requiem in the Milan Duomo to remember Italy’s coronavirus dead followed by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
The open-air opera festival at the Verona Arena was canceled before the start date was even announced, substituted by plans for classical music concerts in August.
Inspired by Italian industry, the Ravenna Festival prepared its own protocols during the lockdown, which were approved by the Italian government, allowing the quick start, said festival general manager Antonio de Rosa.
The festival will open June 21 with Ravenna native Muti conducting the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, featuring musicians under age 30, inside the 15th-Century Rocca Brancaleone fortress. The audience will be limited to 250 people, with mandatory masks, staggered entrances and physical distancing.
On stage, the performers will maintain a distance of one-meter (three feet), expanding to 1.5 to 2 meters (4 1/2 feet to 6 feet) between woodwinds. There will be a single singer, soprano Rosa Feola.
The festival, founded 30 years ago by Muti’s wife, Cristina Mazzavillani Muti, will present 40 performances, with the full program to be announced shortly. While the audience is limited, de Rosa said the performances would also be streamed to a global audience.
‘’We have the confirmation in these months of the great importance of culture and performance. We listened to music, we read books and we watched many musical performances on television,’’ de Rosa told the AP. ‘’Now it is the moment to return to the stage with a live performance, with streaming online, to give everyone the possibility to keep alive the flame of music burning within and that must never go out.’’
Italy’s native lyric opera is suffering the most even as the country slowly eases its lockdown, due to the increased threat of contagion among a chorus and singers acting out dramatic roles on the stage. The Verona summer program - popular with foreign tourists - was canceled due to such concerns.
La Scala’s general manager, Dominique Meyer, said during a video conference on Thursday that the crisis for the classical music world will deepen in 2021, when there are no longer government programs to help cover theater workers’ salaries and when attendance is likely to still suffer.
“There are not so many moments in history when the future for society is so uncertain,’’ Meyer said. ‘’We need to continue, to bring our art ahead, and make the audience return to the theater to be together, to experience emotion in front of the performance.’’
Meyer said a longer-term solution lies in bringing families and children closer to the theater, inspiring a lifetime love of performance, but also lowering ticket prices - he said they too often are set by “people who don’t have to pay, or don’t have problems paying.”
He also appealed for help for contract singers and performers who have been unable to earn during Europe’s lockdowns, and who are not covered by various unemployment schemes covering orchestras or theater workers.
“I would like La Scala to have this role that it has always had in the relaunch of society after a low moment,” Meyer said. He added that the planned performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 - a choral symphony - will carry “a message of home, of friendship and of warmth.”